Posts on MRes
May 30, 2006
Groves Mechanisms got you down?
Slow down, you move too fast
The IR that needs to be compatible is the last
Just flunkin' down the years
Lookin' for fun and
Feelin' Grovesy!
Hello principal
Whatcha knowin?
I've come to watch your transfers growin'
Ain'tcha got no types for me?
Doo Bee Doo Doo,
Feelin' Grovesy!
Got shitloads of exams to do
Progression criteria to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the pigeons drop their shit on me...
Mechanism design, I hate love you,
All is Grovesy!
Footnote: I'm really sorry but as you can clearly see I'm so far beyond stressed out that I'm doing evil to sweet feel good S&G songs. I need help.
Posted by vinayak at 3:36 PM
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May 28, 2006
Advanced Micro
Over one and a half years ago, I wrote what now seems like a highly overenthusiastic post on my life at the LSE. I looked at it and was very tempted to make changes to the post, but decided that I might as well leave my memories in place as they are! You'll notice that I hadn't got the hang of the right titles for people, deciding to use "Dr." instead of "Professor" everywhere. I even spelt assistantship wrong. Much has changed... the Monetary dream/nightmare is now over, I wasn't allowed to take Advanced Micro, I dropped Reform in favour of Monetary, though I still disagree with the suboptimal separating strategy. The most important reason I revisited that post however, was to find my favourite Lucas quote:
"Friedman's course ended my long career as a conscientious, near-straight A student. Now if a course did not promise to be a life-changing experience, I lost interest and attended only sporadically. I accumulated many C's, but also a lot of time to pursue what I found interesting."
As I near what will be a very fateful Friday (the Advanced Micro exam), I realise that I still feel the same way. It's reassuring to have a sense of constancy in the way you feel about something new that you learn. Let me be honest, I absolutely detest some of the things I do in Micro, mostly because I can't do it for nuts. That said, some of the things I've learnt this year have pushed me to limits I didn't think I was capable of. I still can't (for the life of me) entirely think in the convoluted way necessary to answer a Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium or Contracting question to it's entirety. However, each time I go over topics Multi-Party Contracting and Career Concerns (Holmstrom, Gibbons and Murphy, Morris...), I feel more and more guilty for hating Micro so much. I think I hate it because I never see it straight, whereas I can always get some grip, however tiny it may be, on topics in Macroeconomics. I also know why I feel guilty, it's because on the inside, I enjoy being pushed to my limits. My guilt is that constancy... it's a reassurance that somewhere inside, my thoughts on the Lucas quote remain the same.
Good luck to everyone taking the Advanced Micro exam this week... I'll see you on the other side!
Posted by vinayak at 3:17 PM
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April 30, 2006
Nuestra comida en casa de Ines y Fernando
With barely a month left before the finals, we thought we'd unwind with a potluck at Ines and Fernando's. It was by far the most relaxing day I've had in ages! Here are some photos from the day out at Wimbledon, and here is the rest of the collection!
The gang: Hande, Sanchari, Nathan, Jin, Timothée, Ziad, Luigi, Marco, Selim, Ines, Stefan, Konrad, Vilma, Fernando, and seated: Burch, Yours Truly, with Fernando (Junior) at the helm. The ace photographer: Fernando (Senior) (everyone's in a weird state of laughter after I excitedly screamed "Gülümseme", which is "Smile" in Turkish)
Timothée putting on an arrogant French pose for the camera: "Je ne m'inquiète pas, mes poumons sont faits d'acier... non... acier français!!!" Tsk tsk... all I have to say is... Quelle dommage!
Vilma, Bernhard (in his usual Churchillian victory mode), and Fernando getting the food ready.
50% of our hosts: Ines (Senior) and Fernando (Senior)
75% of our hosts: Ines (Junior), Ines (Senior), and Fernando (Junior)
Posted by vinayak at 12:19 AM
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April 22, 2006
Back with a clear head
It's nice to be back home after a week of vacationing. A lot of work is waiting for me, starting with my mock exams this week, a repeat performance of last year's EC102 revision lectures, and the ever near final exams! That said, the last week was just plain awesome... and I'll try to write about some of my journeys this week (though I still have to write about my Syrian adventures!).
My head also got a lot of much needed fresh air, and I've come back with a decision on what my life will look like next year! I could ramble on, but I guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag -- I've decided to stay on and continue here at the LSE as an MRes/PhD student (who will hopefully be done in the next three years). To me, this place has become a home I'm loath to give up, and was a front runner for first choice at heart from the very beginning. The extended family that I've found here, along with the exciting academic environment I've experienced, and the faculty I've worked with just made it a natural decision for me to spend the next three years of my life here. I won't even start about the city. The flipside is that I have to pass two of my core courses this year, but I hope that should be within possibility (fingers crossed). I love it here, I don't think there's any other way to put it. I'd strongly encourage anyone with an offer here to give it serious consideration... the LSE is an outstanding institution to study in and the experience will be worth every minute of your investment.
Well... there you go... that's that... no need to say more! Have a nice weekend :)
Posted by vinayak at 10:48 PM
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February 24, 2006
Drinks at Pitcher & Piano
Cheryl and I celebrated our birthdays in style this evening at Pitcher & Piano on Kingsway! Since I was really sick on my birthday, I decided to postpone a get together with my buddies from the department. Here are snaps with the MRes gang (just ignore Rex's totally bored look), and the Econ admin gang. Click on the pictures for the rest of the set.
Posted by vinayak at 10:44 PM
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July 18, 2005
oh nothing really
Now that I'm back in London and Dick Cheney's colon is okay, I thought I'd quickly describe the situation at LSE. Its the annual summer school invasion! Last year, when I was a summer school student, I didn't notice exactly how much chaos we bring to the tranquililty that LSE offers during the summer. This year, as someone trying to get work done, it comes as quite a surprise.
Now now, I'm not annoyed, I'm just jealous. When I look out of my window and find people mingling around having a good time, just about every part of me feels like rushing out of the office head on!
Ziad, a regular visitor to this depressing site, dropped in to see me today. It was great meeting someone who makes me feel unenergetic. To Ziad, rocket propellant is something of an antiquated way to fuel motion. I really enjoyed catching up with him - it reassures me that there are others as derangedly enthusiastic as I am about the things we're passionate about, although Ziad and I do differ on what our bowels find troubling.
See, I KNEW all this writing would come in handy some day!
In other news Kerry offers yet more excellent commentary on that brown goo we all love to hate.
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