Fairy Tale Moment

The Myers Brigg's personality type test classifies me as an ISFJ (Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging)  person. A fuller description of those who fall under this category can be found here. A lot of the things said on this page applies to me, I thought. The few nit-picks are:


1. ISFJs have the need to be needed
2. Suitable careers include: teaching, social work, religious work, nursing, medicine (general practice only, though---> is the site telling me how incapable ISFJs are in other branches of medicine?!), clerical work, secretarial work, administrative work
3. They produce high quality work but are often over-worked because they do not mind doing tedious work. Often, people take them for granted and do not give due credit to their hard work
4. ISFJs take trouble over meals, gifts, celebrations etc for their loved ones
5. ISFJs shun conflicts and don't handle them well. They avoid confrontations
6. ISFJs are unable to either hide or articulate any distress they may be feeling
7. ISFJs place a strong emphasis on conventional behaviour. They try to guide people who are close to them back to the path that they think is 'right'


Regardless of how accurate the descriptions are, I cannot help but try to go against some of the points above in my daily living. I try to make others appreciate me more, let them know how much I can contribute. I am still far away from learning how to deal with conflicts but I'm determined to make a start now. Also, I have always had ambitions of being either a teacher, librarian, or social worker, even a journalist! But right now, I found different passions and talents in me and I am hard-headed in my goal to shatter the stereotypes outlined above. 


On another note, I had a fairy tale moment two nights ago. A handsome prince asked me for a dance with him. He took both my hands in his and led me to his rhythm on a slow dance (at that point we were the only pair slow-dancing on the dance floor), swirled me at some points and smiled very deeply with his eyes when he spoke to me. Although I was quite embarrassed throughout the dance, he quelled my nervousness by telling me how bad a dancer he was too. All night, I had a feeling (perhaps I was too self conscious) that he was trying to approach me for a conversation, or just a hello and tried so hard to avoid him. In the end, he came over to the sofa where I was sitting with a group of lovely girls and just asked nicely if he could have one dance with me. I felt like I was in the movies, like I was a little star for just that little moment.  He could have been drunk to have asked me in the first place, and I really don't know why he asked me of all people, but one thing I'm sure of is that it was one of those rare fairy tale moments that I'd cherish forever. It was romantic as it was daunting, it was special as it was awkward and above all, it is memorable as it is fleeting. 

Picture Credit

The little things

Waking up late in the afternoon with a tiny sense of panic, only to be relieved to remember that it's a Saturday after all and no soul is expecting you to be somewhere else, doing something other than sleeping nicely in a warm bed. Chomping on toast and sipping a warm cup of lemon infused green tea. Taking an extended, long, misty shower. Cleaning one's own living space and kitchen, plus washing the week's dirty clothes. Surfing the net aimlessly, looking at pretty trinkets and ooh-ing and aah-ing at cute girly accessories.Tidying up a typical messy student's work space. These are a few of my favourite things to do. These are the little things that fuel me up and recharge me, for the onslaught of tasks ahead. 

Easy carefree days, oh how I cherish you. 

Pic Credit

Feeling good about ourselves

Montaigne proposed that we should accept our bodies with a touch of good grace and humour. He said that we are all half animals. Interestingly, he knew a man who committed suicide after making several farts in public, another who wanted to be buried in his underpants because he was ashamed of his genitals and another woman who was too afraid to chew in public that she always had to eat behind a curtain. He believed that if we all learned how to accept ourselves and adopt a more open attitude towards our bodies, we could live more happily. He also encouraged people to travel more in order to discard their prejudices towards other cultures. It was endearing to learn how much pity he took in the Indians that were tortured by the Spanish explorers during his time. 

Montaigne acknowledged that a lot of people are often belittled and feel inadequate by the limitations of their knowledge. Alain de Botton, a British philosopher and Cambridge graduate, debated that there is a problem in our examination system that rewards learning rather than wisdom. To him, learning is the paler shadow of wisdom. 

Biggest take away: Even for the person who sits on the highest throne, he still sits on his arse.

So stop feeling inferior or worse still, superior to other people. We are all humans and God sees us each as positively special in His own way!

Terms to Remember

Economic Efficiency = Maximization of AGGREGATE CS and PS

Market Failure= Situation when an unregulated competitive market is inefficient because prices fail to provide proper signals to consumers and producers


1. Externality= Action taken by either producer/consumer which affects orther p/c but is not accounted for by the market price (eg: Cost to society of environmental pollution of a chemical plant)

2. Lack of info= Consumers lack infor about the quality or nature of a product and so can't make utility-maximizing purchasing decisions


Perfectly Competitive Markets

Short Run (keywords: price taker, max-prof)
P=MR=AR

Long Run (keywords: max prof, normal prof/breakeven/zero-econ prof)
P=LMC=LAC=LMR=LAR

Elasticities

Bloody interesting stuff here..if you're brave enough to read on:

Demand Elasticities

Elasticities are dependent on the time frame in which they are calculated. For most goods, dumand tends to be more elastic in the long-term. For example:

Gasoline/Microsoft Software

a) Short term-An increase in price doesn't really affect demand because people still have to use it (demand is approx inelastic)

b) Long term- People switch to more 'green'/efficient cars or buy cheaper software (demand is more elastic)

Refrigerator/Automobile/Capital Equipment (DURABLES)

a) Short term- Price increase causes people to stop buying (demand is elastic)

b) Long term- Price increase does not deter people from buying because of the wear and tear effect on the capital they own (demand is less elastic)

Supply Elasticities

For most products, long-run supply is much more price elastic

a) Short term- Firms face capacity constraints in the short run and need time to expand capacity by building new facilities/hiring more workers. If price increase, firms would like to supply more, but they are limited by CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS (almost price inelastic)

b) Long term-Firms have now expanded facilities and are more price sensitive (more price elastic)

The opposite is true for the supply of DURABLES! (eg: secondary supply of metals)

Ok, told you it's BLOODY interesting. Have your eyes bled yet?

Purpose

I woke up from my sleep today with almost nothing to wake up for. My professor emailed me last night asking me to return a paper, and my pHd supervisor has asked me for my lab book. Save for these two items to bring over to school, I have absolutely nothing else to do. For the past 11 weeks of the autumn term, I've been so caught up with my research project, carrying out experiments, preparing for my presentation and writing up my report that I've excluded myself from my friends and the ongoings around me. My entire life for the past 11 weeks has been confined in a laboratory, with a project I initially hated, then grew to love and take ownership of. It has been an amazing journey, I had a great partner, who contributed his all to our work and was passionate during our presentation. I had a great professor, whose excitement for science actually rubbed off me! Our research group consisted of amazing pHd students too, who week after week, gave us lots of encouragement and support through their constructive comments and suggestions. Yesterday, my partner and I barely met our deadline, just 2 minutes away from the exact submission time. We were breathless and excited. Closure was there for us. That was all we required.

It felt so strange today, waking up and knowing that there is no more research project for me to worry about. An emptiness surrounded me. I dragged myself out of my bed, took a long and hot shower and just indulged in the time I finally have for myself. Time alone is all I want.
Suddenly, the urgency of my handsome supervisor needing his paper back hit me square in the face. I braved myself out of the hot shower and made my way to school. God has been really good to me. In fact, I actually have another coursework deadline to chase, but my partner has finished it up. Needless to say, that contributed to my blissful sleep last night.

A friend has asked me to join him and a few others to celebrate the end of term, but I made some excuse to avoid joining them. Finally, I have time to breathe and I'm not going to give it up today.

Brr(right)... Be Bright!

Cold was the day, so cold that my poor stomach was hungry all day, from morning to night. I've been loading myself with carbs the entire day, so insatiable was my appetite that I finished my poor lovely roomates' cereal! (He's such a kind spirit, but I pity him because he has to bear with such a greedy sister :P ) Thank you kor, if you're reading this! 

Anyways, this country is constantly cold even when it's not winter. Four years of bracing myself through the chill has not taught my receptors to be more resistant to the weather here. My skin cracks, the strands of my hair repel each other from similar electrostatic charges whenever I apply friction to them, my lips bleed, my eyes become blood shot from all the late nights dedicated to chasing coursework deadlines and I feel like a piece of meat. Yet, this is a living a privileged life, there is only this much to complain about. All these small things that will cease to be significant as time passes by, when I've found my greater purpose, which I still strongly believe in. 

Me busy now? My life, hard? Let a mother with five children show me the meaning of busy. Let a bony rickshaw puller on the hot streets of home tell me what hard is. Or the cleaning lady who sweeps the compounds of the school in which her child attends. Or the stock-up guy who sprains his ankle while unloading heavy packages from the warehouse for the retailer. How very much detached are our lives, how arrogant a spin my mind has taken from the hardships I've seen with my very eyes. All the blessings I've received I do not deserve. All goodness comes from God. Once in a while, when I sigh and fret way too much, He comes by and gives me a slight slap on the face to remind me how fortunate I am, just to be feeling a little bit of cold.