09.03.2025—a Semi-productive Weekend. Trying To Find A Balance With Taking Time Off And Getting Work

being a stem major with high love for humanities feels like being in a business marriage with a rich high class wife and having a constant affair with a dark academia mistress

On today's todo list:

Draft and schedule emails

Review existing literature on my PI's current research direction

Review previous NSF GRFP applications

Look into other national fellowships (listed)

Brainstorm about personal statements + project proposals

I've unfortunately fallen off my daily journaling/work routines the last few months, and I'm working on getting myself back into good habits. Today, my main goal is to schedule all my emails to other PhD programs their declining offers of admission. I just finalized everything with my chosen program this week, and the April 15th decision deadline is looming. I feel terrible for dragging my feet on communications, but I want to make sure I send personalized emails to each professor I interviewed with. I know this is part of the process, but I still hate disappointing people.

On the upside, I've already set up my graduate school accounts, put together a preliminary schedule of my classes in the fall, and set up my new email. I'm eager to get back to work

software engineer diaries 👩‍💻 project presentation day 📝

this is the biggest project and the most involved i've been in a project from beginning to (hopefully) end and i need to pitch my execution plan to our engineering team today. i've done these kinds of presentations many times before and prepared thoroughly, so i'm not nervous about the meeting itself, just about the scope, scale, scheduling and responsibilities i have for this project in general. i just have to remind myself that at a certain point it becomes a little too unproductive to think too many steps ahead. i'll take my time and put it together piece by piece 😌

🎯 agenda today:

📝 team check-in meeting

💻 presentation meeting

👩‍💻 follow-up tasks (notes consolidation, further research)

🤝 meeting with my mentor

📝 ticketing (task breakdown for actual execution)

🗓️ send out follow-up schedules

2023.09.25 // 17:00 literature review time! i get to learn so many details about a rare little sparrow

pic: new york public library schwarzman building, manhattan, n.y.

| 29 april 2025 |

wow april is almost over... trying to balance end of the semester TAing and studying for final 🤪 also the cherry blossom picture is from like a week ago haha

🎧 1x1 — bring me the horizon, nova twins

the neurodivergent experience:

20% of the time: wowwieee!!! i love my passions and interests!!!!! they make me so happy i want to jump up and down!!!!! weee!!!!!!! :3333333333

80% of the time: this mind is a prison

toastedbyeli

A cosmic tribute to my current favourite comment in YouTube history

small things we should appreciate more

the chirping of birds in the early morning

the way the sun shines through the trees

nature after it just rained

constantly learning new things every day

libraries, bookshops, bakeries and coffeeshops

16/03/25 || Sunday

Have I ever shown my desk during the day? It looks really cozy today haha.