I know I’m always going to look back on this summer and
remember it as one of the happiest few weeks of my life (and most days of my
life are categorized under “happy days” anyway!) but I’d point out they’re
generally not in a consecutive order, so this is really something =)
And why was this summer so great? I’ll list three reasons.
Yes, only three. But with sub-reasons of course :P
1. I had
the world’s greatest roommate. My friends will tell you that I never have
trouble striking up a conversation anytime about anything under the sky,
but I’ll be honest, there are very few people with whom I’ve enjoyed
sharing so many thoughts, opinions and random concerns as I did with this
one person. If I had one thing to say, she’d have two, sometimes even more
responses to offer – all profound, insightful and above all, honest words.
I believe we’ve covered every topic ranging from Public Policy and
Criminal Law to genetic v pyschological explanation for homosexuality to my Big Fat Caribbean Beach Wedding, all at 3AM! haha :P I cannot quantify the “growth” I’ve
experienced in my perception and maturity just by being around her!
And so I can never say this enough : Thank you for the incredible experience, Roomie! =)
2. Washington
DC. It’s a warm, wonderful city, full
of just as many old people as there are young people (and just as many in
between). I’d been here before, twice, and I liked it then, but I absolutely
love it now. I love it because it has so much to offer, no matter what
you’re in the mood for. It has a rhythmic yet adjustable pace – from crazy
Saturday night parties to Monday afternoon Congressional hearings open to
public to Tuesday night poetry slams to Friday evening romantic jazz in
the middle of a garden of bizarre sculptures. And museums and galleries
and memorials and exhibitions of course. And book readings. And
just.so.much.more. I’d really, really like to live and work here some day.
*sun in my eyes!
My favorite
spots/activities –
i) Café hopping in Dupont Circle,
Adams Morgan, World Bank/Foggy Bottom, around the National Mall…yes, I checked
out too many cafes I think. Great place to meet different people while (trying)
to get some work done! Haha ;) I’ll definitely miss the political conversations
that just never go out of style in DC.
I’d recommend – Kramerbooks & Afterwards in Dupont, Tryst in Adams Morgan,
Little Corner Bakery in Foggy Bottom, and Busboys and Poets on U
Street.
ii) Georgetown.
All of it. M St,
Wisc Ave..
everything. I’ll miss Ice Berry
fro-yo, the big ass Barnes and Noble with the best deals ever, and Pottery
Barn. And that little Obama-Pajama store haha. I finally eneded up buying a
pair, and a “Geeks for Obama” pin for my bag! Whee! ;-)
iii) Museums, Galleries, Memorials. (This
is a fairly obvious one). Lincoln memorial makes me cry for some reason. I feel
so small and insignificant standing there, looking out on the Reflective Pond.
Favorites – Nat’l Portraits Gallery, Nat’l Museum
of American History, Nat’l Archives
*Lincoln signing the charter for Nat'l Academy of Sciences (NAS)
iv) Live Music – Kramerbooks,
Sculpture garden, Kennedy Center
(I went to a Moroccan tribal performance and ended up feeling so homesick. The
beats and style was pretty much like that of Emirati/Khaleeji dances I grew up
watching!)
*sculpture garden
v) Being a part of the 4th
of July Parade. Now that was quite the experience. Walking around Con Ave
holding a huge flag (while carefully monitoring the horse ahead of us, which according
to its rider, needed to ‘go’. Err yeah.)
*parade flag
vi) First baseball game. Okay that’s
not a DC thing I guess, but the stadium was gorgeous and I had a great deal of
fun so I had to mention it here! (The DC nationals are an awful, awful team)
vii) Living with the MIT-Washington
program interns which meant interesting conversations with like-minded and
sometimes not-so-like minded (read Repub, lol) people.
viii) Cheap Pakistan
Food!!! I discovered this really authentic (together with the “Bhatti Saab” shout-outs) Pakistani restaurant on Penn Ave. Chappli Kababs, Biryani, Nehari
and Karrhai Chicken, each for under $8 per (very generous) serving. Ahhh.
ix)
Grocery Shopping! I made the switch to Trader Joe's. I think their produce had me sold. Good produce = Happy Laila :D
*happiness that money can buy
3. I know
I mentioned this several times already, but here it is once again, just
because I value it so much.
Quality conversations. With friends and
strangers alike.
I think I’m leaving here more centered, more perceptive and
definitely more aware of everything, including my own self. It’s oddly
overwhelming.
On a side note, my research paper is coming along very well, thank
you for asking :P
Boy I thought writing all this down a few hours before I
leave would make me feel better and content, but I think I’m still saddened by
the seemingly abrupt end of the summer. I can feel the bittersweet nostalgia
creep in already. (I think I’ll blame the sad Coldplay song (the Scientist) playing
in the background for my mood.)
Okay, back to packing then…followed by an 8 hour drive up to
Cambridge!
Farewell, everything fab that’s DC!
I was digging through my hard drive looking for a file when I stumbled on a word document titled "my poems". I didn't even remember when I wrote them so I checked up on file properties and it appears the document was created in 2006 - my freshman year! Somehow over the years, the rhymes inside me seem to have lost their way in the infinite corridors at MIT.
Untold
Beneath the fair veneer
Meshed in dirty shadows
Lies a truth untold
About you and me.
This blind sense of incompletion
Lingers beyond reason;
Like a hollow dream locked inside
Raging, struggling to break free.
Compromises with monotony
Bear fruit of an aimless life
Like a lost howling voice
And the lies untold.
---------------------------------------
A smile, a frown,
A frown, a smile
Trickle, tick
Loud raindrops.
Silent tears
Puddle, puddle
Loud muck
Silenced play.
----------------
Moments
Hovering within my presence
are your soft kisses
Lying over my conscience
are your soft whispers
In these moments of rhyme
a candle flame flickers
Gently, as I say your name.
Quietly, as I lay beneath the
covers.
Tugging at lost, blurred memories
Helpless, weak, and halved.
So I just realized this evening (while debating canned soups at Safeway, a local grocery store) that I am totally addicted to grocery shopping. Face it, I've only been down here in DC for 8 days now and I have a good dozen receipts piled up on my desk. Oh and did I mention this Safeway store is inside the Watergate Complex? Yes, THE Watergate Complex with the infamous Nixon admin association. I didn't know much about the scandal so my roommate and I watched the movie "All the President's Men" last week to find out more (after consulting wikipedia of course). I thought the movie was really good. It's from the 70's and revolves around the two Washington Post journalists that helped uncover the scheme in 73. The story, as you can guess, made their careers...in the coming years they wrote books recounting their experience, did interviews and the whole schmear. Isn't it amazing when you just hit gold out of nowhere? Not to trivialize their hardwork and crazy hours they put into investigating the story, but how many hardworking and intelligent people out there really ever hit the jackpot? I pair up intelligence and hardwork because you can't get away without putting in the hours no matter how 'intelligent' you really are, a belief reinforced in me by Gladwell in his new book "Outliers" (which btw I think is this year's must read - I've been shamelessly publicizing the book to no end). Wow, I've rambled on quite a bit there.
So going back to smart, hardworking people and why they deserve success (and more often than not achieve success) over smart and lazy people. Gladwell presents some very strong examples from our world - from Bill Gates to famous writers and Nobel Laureates - almost every subject in his sample has put in roughly 10,000 hours (which he calls the ten thousand hour rule) into their work. These aren't just smart people, they are smart, dedicated, passionate people. I think it takes tremendous discipline to beat on tirelessly for days and weeks, especially if you're not seeing any positive signs of whether you're even going in the right direction! I know from personal experience how easy it is to lose heart in a situation like that...
Anyhoo. Moving on to a slightly less serious topic. I can't believe I'm in DC for the entire summer. And not just that, I'm actually living at a stone's throw from the White House and the National Mall. It's almost like I'm on vacation everyday! I'll explain further why. I'm not working 8-5 hours, I don't have a routine, I'm reading books I've had on my "must-read" list for years, and I have the world's greatest roomie (Hey Khalea! I know you're reading this because I tagged you lol). The most "stressful" part (and the "work" part) of my day involves reading academic papers in economic policy, taking elaborate notes, and then working on my own paper. That's what I'm down here for.. I'm writing a paper on SSDI (Soc. Security Disability Income) on a specific topic TBD within the next few days. Now granted, I could have stayed in Boston and written this paper but c'mmmoooon it's DC! How could I turn down the possibility of catching a glimpse of Obama walking the first dog in his yard? LOL (I'll bet he has people to do that). Oh and if anyone's keeping track, I've added US economic policy to my list of interests (refer to the historic election of 2008, please).
Ah. This is actually a liberating feeling. I haven't written a post in so long because during the semester I'd always have something gnawing at the back of my mind - some pset/email/midterm/reading/friend in distress/hunger pang/you get my point. And for some reason, that's not happening this summer. This summer looks so different from my previous experience..Last year around this time I was chilling at Merrill meeting some of the brightest people I know (read Deepti, Mia) and living it up in New York City. It's still my favorite city in the world. Some wise men argued London would provide competition, but it didn't quite happen - my spring break trip to London this year just proved how much I loved NYC! =)
Okay I think I'm running out of things to write now. Well, not really, but I'd hate to do an overkill. Will save some for next week!
Hope everyone's having a great summer!!! =)
it's been raining outside
for as long as i remember
but inside it's different
and i dont need to cover.
the sunshine that seeps into
my heart comes not
from the window
but from the presence
of your sweet thoughts
because it's been raining
for as long as i can remember.
Then a ploughman said, "Speak to us of Work."
And he answered, saying:
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to
step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud
submission towards the infinite.
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support
of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught
but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.
You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "he who
works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a
nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."
But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide,
that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the
least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is
better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the
temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you
muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
~Gibran (The Prophet : Work)
Obama for president please? :D
You know it's funny how everybody is so tied up in evaluating the the candidates personalities and pay little attention to what they're actually saying they will be doing for the country/economy. So Mccain is a war hero..I respect that. But would I vote for him because he fought for the country? I don't think so.. I mean at the end of the day, he's a Republican. He has a set of Republican economic advisors..and he may be a maverick in the house but he doesn't understand what's going on on the street. So he's obviously going to rely on his advisors.. It's a shame I can't vote haha
Meh. Enough with the political talk already. I'm a senior..I need a big fat dose of motivation right now to get through the next few months ..my last months at MIT...
Back to books then! :)
So my dorm
McCormick organized a trip this past weekend to
Wachusett Mountain - a ski resort right here in MA. I've only been skiing once, but I've never snowboarded, so I dragged my two good friends along and they have me to thank for an ammmazing weekend :D
little kiddies learning how to ski!!!!
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big kiddies with their snowboards....
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viksit wears women's gloves.... :P
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I dont know what happens in that situation. All i know is that now if I have to tell someone about the best 4 weeks of my life, I know what I'll talk about :D
*dreamy look*
So anyway, the MIT Alumni Association organizes an
IAP Externship Program in which students get to intern at firms all over the country (and Europe as well). I participated in the program and was placed in Merrill Lynch's Global Markets Analyst program. And that's how I ended up there. You know, I've been to New York several times before, mostly to apply for visas, renew my passport etc. So it's not like I hadn't seen the city...then what the hell happened? I'm still trying to find answers. So far, I've convinced myself that it's not the city, it's the experience that I am so in love with. I was living the typical city life...working in financial district, apartment in Tribeca, weekend shopping in SoHo, late night desserts at Cafe Figaro in the Village...and oh the gyro on 51st and 7th! That dude knows his stuff. Sigh, I had never seen this coming.
I'd have to give credit to people on my desk for a huuuuge part of the experience. They were the nicest bunch of people I've met, and they made sure I saw the 'real' city...from having authentic new york pizza, to getting my first manicure/pedicure in the city. I'd wake up in the morning with a smile on my face, looking forward to going to work...how many people get to do that? I was never a morning person myself! And I always tried to stay away from Sales and Trading - I had heard not-so-good stuff. Stuff like loud working environment (i LOVED that!), the whole early hours thing...(wasn't a problem at all!), having to follow the markets every second (hey it keeps you on your toes!), etc etc. What's not to like? On a serious note, if anybody (if people read this blog lol) is considering S&T and would like to talk to someone, I'd be more than happy to share my experience. =)
I can't say I'm not disappointed in myself. You know, I always thought of myself as an academic. Applying to grad school and all (which I am going to, no matter what) but I hadn't expected myself to enjoy this life so much. Maybe I liked it so much because it was temporary...and so different. I like change (which also explains my room switch every semester). It's funny because I'm feeling a little guilty about having so much fun in this 'sinful' life. Maybe it's all the MIT masochism in me speaking, you know, pain is heaven and pleasure is sin? Lol. I have GOT to stop analyzing my feelings.
Enough writing. Time for some pictures! I know some people have been waiting for them, so here you go! ;)
* Lobby - World Financial Center
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* 4 World Financial Center, Merrill Lynch HQ
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* View outside the North Tower...
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* Apartment - sadly, I spent little time in there, there was SO much to do in the city!! =)
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* I actually ironed my clothes the night before... *good girl* haha.
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* They had an outdoor pool! It was too freaking cold to go anywhere near it though :(
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* Saying hello to the beavers at the Museum of National History...
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* At a Rangers game, Madison Square Garden! =)
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* This never gets old... =)
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* My favorite picture from the set. At the Brooklyn Bridge..
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* More Brooklyn Bridge..
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* On the Staten Island Ferry...(it's free. Lol)
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* Empire State building, the view from observatory was breathtaking!
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So yeah, school feels pretty dull after all this. And the term is picking up rrreeeal fast. I'm a rising senior now! The flu had me down for over a week but I'm feeling a lot better now.. hence the much belated blog entry. I'm taking some really interesting classes this term, so hopefully I'll get back on track soon.
That's all for now...Oh I moved into a new room. Will post pictures of that once I have all my I <3 NYC posters up. Lol.
Laterrrr!!!
By Matthew Brown
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates may
revalue its currency against the dollar as early as Dec. 2,
ArabianBusiness.com reported today, citing a person close to
the Central Bank of the U.A.E.
There is a plan to revalue the dirham by between 3 percent
and 5 percent when the banks are closed for U.A.E. National Day
on Dec. 2 or during the Eid holidays later in December, the
business news Web site cited the unidentified person as saying.
-----
After 30 years of the peg, I think this might be a crucial step going forward for the UAE. As is it, the Fed is expected to lower rates by a quarter to half points at their next meeting (Dec 11)..which obviously implies a further decline in the dollar, unless oil prices offset the effect. But if this measure causes the dirham to appreciate, the country's dollar reserves are going to lose value in real terms...
In any case, I think it might be safe to consider pegging to a currency basket like Kuwait (even though 70% of their basket is still the dollar, bundled with some European currencies). Let's see how it goes. Interesting times!
By Matthew Brown
Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum,
prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, envisions his country
as a world-class financial hub run by Emiratis. Government
financial support is undermining that goal.
All 800,000 Emirati citizens get free education and health
care, and subsidized utilities. Emirati men can claim free land
and no-interest loans to build homes. Other benefits include a
$19,000 payment toward wedding costs.
The handouts, based on traditions of royal patronage dating
back centuries to Bedouin society, now discourage citizens from
working, academics say. Expatriates outnumber Emiratis and
dominate fields such as banking, law and technology. The quandary
for Sheikh Mohammed is how to reduce the culture of dependence
without alienating his people.
``The relationship between work and income is broken,'' says
Kenneth Wilson, Dubai-based director of the Economic and Policy
Research Unit at Zayed University, a school for Emirati women
that opened in 1998. ``That's unlikely to change until the
government starts trying to give incentives to work in the
private or corporate sector.''
Thanks largely to the country's oil-fueled economic boom,
the average male Emirati receives benefits worth about 204,000
dirhams ($55,500) a year, according to the university's research.
Khalid Saeed, 30, is building a villa on a 15,000 square-
foot plot of land he received free from the government.
Saeed, who has a bachelor's degree from U.A.E. University
and a master's from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, is
living with his parents until his villa is built. Their house
sits on a 40,000-square-foot plot, and has enough room for Saeed,
his wife and three daughters, as well as his brother and his
wife. Rooms at the back are rented out to Asian workers.
Full story here.------
If you're remotely interested in the middle east, you've got to read the article (check out the pictures too). I've been meaning to write about this issue, but never got around doing it. As much as I love the Emirates, their policies are seriously flawed when it comes to treatment of citizens v/s expatriates. Okay, need to get back to psetting.
I didn't realize how addictive coffee is until I stopped having it (I had only started having a cup a day about 2 weeks back). But then I experienced some side effects (pimples, burning sensation in the stomach etc..) and I googled it (lifesaver!) and found
THIS.
Coffee i) raises your blood pressure ii) burns your stomach iii) raises cholestrol iv) may cause acne v) causes headaches!!!
You know, even for a light coffee consumer like myself this is pretty scary :-/
Alright, moving on. I can't believe I haven't blogged in soooo long. I haven't blogged about our Brass Rat ceremony...about sophomore year (skipped it completely!) and about how I actually have a social life now(hello, it's a real achievement at mit. kindly refer to picture below :p ). And whatever happened to that "econ blog"? Hopefully, this year will be a lot more productive (blogging-wise, can't promise anything else!).
Oooh. Long weekend coming up! Thank You Columbus! =)
So a friend forwarded this link on MIT entrance exams in the 1869. I think I found it rather amusing...here it goes.
|
MIT
Institute Archives & Special Collections
|
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Entrance Examination, 1869-70
In
its formative years MIT circulated an announcement stating the requirements
for admission as it readied itself for registering the first class of students
in 1865. No formal entrance examinations were required at that time for
admission as a first year student, although proper preparation was expected.
Robert Hallowell Richards, a member of MIT’s first class (and later
a noted professor of mining and metallurgy), had been struggling at preparatory
school before being inspired by the practical approaches to learning that
MIT seemed to represent. “I was a complete failure at Exeter,”
he recalled in his autobiography. “Perhaps if I had stayed on I might
have been admitted to Harvard, eventually, . . . but in spite of my efforts
I was always at the foot of my class. . . . I could not adapt myself to
the method of education which revolved around learning dead languages by
heart. . . . William Barton Rogers was just starting the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in Boston and [Mother] thought that this new school might
satisfy my needs better. . .”(1) He seemed surprised
by the lack of formality when he was approved for admission in February
1865, the sixth to register of fifteen original students.
[To
take the test, click on the subject below] |
|
 |
|
|
[Check
your answers]
Please
note that the questions have been answered by 20th century persons
and won't always match those that might have been given by 19th
century applicants (or 21st century applicants). You are invited
to send comments and refutations to mithistory@mit.edu.
|
The
MIT Corporation minutes for 1865 charged the faculty with “prescrib[ing]
the age and degree of preparation requisite for admission.”(2)
The “conditions for admission” section of MIT’s catalogue
for 1865-66 indicates that candidates for admission as first year students
must be at least sixteen years old and must give satisfactory evidence “by
examination or otherwise” of a competent training in arithmetic, geometry,
English grammar, geography, and the “rudiments of French.” Rapid
and legible handwriting was also stressed as being “particularly important.”(3)
By 1869 the handwriting requirement and French had been dropped, but algebra
had been added and students needed to pass a qualifying exam in the required
subject areas.(4)
Class
of 1873
Those
below who entered as freshmen probably took the exam.
[Click
on picture for larger image.]
Photograph
courtesy of the MIT Museum
|
An
ancillary effect was to protect unqualified students from disappointment
and professors from wasting their time. In 1867 the faculty requested the
parents of “some incompetent and inattentive students to withdraw
them from the school, wishing to spare them the mortification of an examination
which it was certain they could not pass.”(5) But
there is also some suggestion in the early records of the Corporation that
the degree of difficulty of entrance exams had some relationship to the
fledgling school’s financial solvency. A Corporation member noted
in the minutes for 1873 that “when the . . . financial prospects for
the school were brighter . . . admission would be made so difficult that
students who entered would find no difficulty” with their schoolwork.
In 1873 freshmen paid $200 per year tuition--a hefty increase from the original
$100 charged in 1865.(6)
MIT
catalogues going back to 1865, examinations (including entrance exams) from
the nineteenth century and later (collection #AC 93), and a variety of historical
materials relating to students, professors, courses and other subjects are
available for use in the MIT Institute Archives and Special Collections, 14N-118.
Want to try another 19th century entrance exam?
Notes:
(1)
Robert H. Richards, Robert Hallowell Richards: His Mark (Boston: Little,
Brown, 1936), pp. 34-35.
(2)
MIT Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation (AC 278),
Series I, Minutes, 1862-1995, box 1, vol. I p. 246.
(3)
MIT Catalogue, 1865-1866, pp. 10-11.
(4)
Ibid., pp. 14-15.
(5)
MIT Corporation, Executive Committee, Minutes (AC 272), box 1, vol. I, p.
46.
(6)
Ibid., p. 89.
Object of
the Month: September 2004; September 2007
_uacct = "UA-1760176-1";
urchinTracker();
Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc is the first
international bank to get a license to trade shares on the United
Arab Emirates' two domestic stock exchanges as it seeks to expand
in the second-biggest Arab economy.
``The Middle East is high on the radar of institutional
investors around the world,'' Neil Foster, the London-based
bank's head of global markets for the Middle East, said in a
statement distributed to reporters in Dubai today.
HSBC Middle East Securities will start buying and selling
shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market and the Dubai Financial
Market this year, it said in the statement. It will trade for
institutional clients before adding services for retail customers
next year.
At $161 billion, the U.A.E.'s two domestic exchanges have a
combined market value bigger than Ireland as the federation's
economy expands by about 10 percent a year, data compiled by
Bloomberg show. Regulators allow companies including Emaar
Properties PJSC, the Middle East's biggest developer, to sell
combined stakes of as much as 49 percent to international
investors.
Full story here.
Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and Borse
Dubai, competing to buy Nordic exchange operator OMX AB, agreed
to give Nasdaq control of OMX, while Dubai gets a stake in the
U.S. bourse and a holding in London Stock Exchange Group Plc.
Nasdaq will also make an investment in the Dubai
International Financial Exchange, Nasdaq said in a statement
today. Dubai will in return get a 19.99 percent stake in Nasdaq,
restricted to 5 percent of voting rights, as well as a 28
percent of the London Stock Exchange from Nasdaq.
This is really amazing stuff. DIFX has been growing at tremendous pace, and although its future is still a little unpredictable, I'm really excited about going back and being a part of the whole action.
(Like I wasn't missing home enough, now they're making it even harder for me to stay away! Damn!)
In other news, I'm a junior now! I've been debating grad school/working in Dubai for a while now, and I can't seem to make up my mind. Definitely keeping both options open, but that only means a TON load of work. Good work though. Loving it :)