Posts on Stress
March 7, 2006
Stressbusting Dr. Seuss style
Pressure cookers are great replicas of stressed out people. The physics behind both these odd specimens is identical. Steam builds up until it blows the hell out of this tiny vent.
I've always been a stressed out kind of person deep down, I try to masquerade around and pretend to be this ever cool guru of everything calm. Lies, all lies! I have no nails, very little hair (some of which is turning grey!), and I know know exactly how many paces it is from my office to the mailbox, and to the loo. Playing squash helps, but I'm pretty sure no one else appreciates playing squash with me or in the court next to me -- let's just say I haven't been a happy camper (Powell style). Nerves nerves nerves... they're *very* annoying.
One thing that does calm me down is Dr. Seuss. I went on a second hand buying spree, finding my favourite Dr. Seuss books in and around the internet. Here are my favourite quotes:
"Adults are obsolete children, and the hell with them!"
"Be who you are and say what you want, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
"You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose!"
Theodore is my kind of guy...
Posted by vinayak at 12:11 PM
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February 28, 2006
This is it... I'm ready!
It's that time of the year again. Time to muster up all the courage you've got left, and deal with whatever's coming your way. Time to spring clean those cobwebs in your life while you've got the guts to deal with them (for the arachnophobic among you).
Madhav suggests that it's time for "Zen". I agree... I'm tired of stressing, of wishing, of hoping that everything will be alright, and that things will work out if you really believe that it will strongly enough. I think I'm finally ready to let go. This is it... Zen... for better or for worse! I'll see you on the other side in a few weeks! If you hear from me before that... it's a different person talking :)
And if none of this made sense... forget it. It's 12:23AM and I'm feeling really glum.
Posted by vinayak at 12:19 AM
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February 4, 2006
Run Vinayak... run!
Though I'm not as stressed as I was last year about the upcoming notification season, I'm not leaving much to chance. I've decided that the best time to go on vacation is at the very peak of the stress load. Kevin, for whom this is the first notification season has bravely volunteered to check my mail for me while I run off to Syria early in March to teach for the LSE, and then to India for three blissful weeks of 40 degree sun! I'm probably going to regret it, but hey... it'll be fun to be 14000 kilometers from all the action! I hope.
Posted by vinayak at 3:43 PM
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July 5, 2005
Hardly a few hours left
I'm counting down the hours to my grades coming out. For all the mental abnormalities that the author of this blog displays, stress loads are THE highest on the day the grades come out. My blood pressure Dornbusches the moon (Dornbusch is a common Economics synonym for 'overshooting'), my heart rate automatically self increments by some exploding exponential value, and my world generally comes to a halt.
Some people pretend like they don't give a shit, but my humble hypothesis is that every ounce of shit that their able bodies can produce in a given time period (we could graph the impulse reaction function if necessary) has been aptly, and more importantly deftly redirected towards the effort of controlling the urge to jump off a bridge.
Hence the term "I'm scared shitless."
There's your bit of Vinayak philosophy for the day...! Bring it on examiner man!
Posted by vinayak at 5:10 AM
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June 17, 2005
After the exams... the damage assessment.
I'm still recovering from the whole exam ordeal, in a way, its like the day after your haircut - I swear you can feel the hair still on you! I'm nervously pacing around the house, thinking about what to do next! I figured I might as well take the time to write out my exam experience.
Micro:
For both my Micro and Macro exams, I had the benefit of studying with my soulnerds Janak and Kevin. In a way that eased the pain of the experience. We REALLY crammed it up for Micro. I swear (and I believe I have said this before), if I see another General Equilibrium question in the next year, I might consider jumping out the window.
The exam was a different story. It was incredibly difficult. I know it's normal for every batch to scream and shout about how the previous year was easy. Somehow I really felt that this exam was marginally (by a long margin... calclulus might not help) tougher. There were a lot of new types of questions that I think I was unprepared for. I know I have a lot to complain about, but as always, I never like getting personal or putrid on my blog. Micro was a tough exam, but I have no regrets on the whole with the course, and had a good time learning a subject I often detest. I will write more about this in my year end review of the MSc.
Econometrics:
In my humble opinion, a good course is tough on the inside, but puts up exams that a prepared student can really ace. Too many courses are difficult and then put up an impenetrable exam, leaving students highly disillusioned. Econometrics easily comes under the former classification. The exam was a joy. Now I'm not sure whether I did well on it or not, but the hard work that I put into it paid far higher dividends than Micro did. I really appreciate the fact that there is almost NO informational asymmetry in this course. Exams, along with their solutions are available and date back to 1997. The exam this year was predictable enough to favour a prepared test taker, and had just the right amount of tough questions to annoy the hell out of you. On the whole, I think this was my best paper.
Macro:
I must admit I had very little time and inclination to study hard on the two days before my macro exam. This was because my ordeal with a really tough Micro exam, followed by the Econometrics exam had taken its toll on me. Half of this exam was once again heavily tilted towards a prepared test taker. Looking back, someone who was REALLY prepared should have gotten a full score on those questions. The other half was a nude walk in the Himalayas. Once again, I'm sure I can whine, but there were exams that were far worse in my life. I don't think I really mind that much that half the exam was tough, because the other half was really really really doable. I would safely say that Macro was my second best exam.
Monetary:
This was by leaps and bounds THE toughest exam I have EVER taken in my ENTIRE life. I am not sure how the exam went, and which side of the curve I will end up on, so that leaves me a worried man for the next two weeks. I'll write more on this when I start writing my end of year review.
On the whole - two good exams, one almost good exam, one utter and complete disaster.
The upside: I'm FREE!
Posted by vinayak at 7:52 PM
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