December is coming!

Hey guys! December is coming! More deadline to meet, more sleepless nights, and more mind-boggling courses! November left me with only 3.47 euros in my bank account (Helloooo??? What have you done with those 708.33 euros per month?). Anyhow I still have that nice babi kecap that I made, tucked safely in my fridge, so food-wise I’m secure although I’m financially insecure.

Okay, here are some things that I have to do this month:

1. Prepare that “Young Stellar Clusters” student talk thing, otherwise I’m gonna lose face in front of everybody. Start reading that 50+ pages of review paper from Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics!
2. Try to comprehend Quantum Theory. You’ve bought the textbook (Le Bellac, 2006), so don’t let it go to waste, to the dustbin, or to De Slegte. I think it’s a “moral obligation” for every future astrophysicists to at least knows some Quantum Theory, whether you’re going to use it in the future or not. Besides, that 10 credits is going to be very useful later.
   
3. Read Peter Coles and Francesco Lucchin’s Cosmology (2nd edition, Wiley 2002) text book and finally start do really get the hang of cosmology. It’s another “moral obligation” thing for every future astrophysicists to know what happen in our universe. You’re here to be smart, not to just put your arse in front of your computer and gobble cups of coffee. That is magabut which stands for makan gaji buta. Only the best and brightest becomes astrophysicist.
   
4. Learn more of this IDL thing. The joy and ease of using IDL begin to creep inside my brains, I think I’ll learn PGPLOT afterwards. The only downside of IDL is that you have to pay the license, which by the way, costs 1700 euros.
5. Radio Astronomy! Don’t forget about it! The exams will be in the middle of January! You still have lots of time to catch up boy! Survive it and 6 credits is yours!
6. Aren’t you forgetting something? Yeah, your minor research project! Finding that proverbial needle in the haystack is sure an interesting thing, the real problem is how to manage the time between research and studying for the classes. Sometimes I wish that I’m only required to do research to get my master degree.
   

Okay, that are the things that I have to do. It’s only the professional things that I can remember of, more personal things await (like that vacation that you’ve been planning for months)!

Be brave young man!