Sounds scandalous, eh? ;-)There have been many things happening around here lately, one of them being me extending my work hours. I realized that I don't end up doing anything really constructive by coming home at 5pm everyday,so I might as well stay in the lab for a longer time and take more breaks whilst there. So, now I officially have a 55 hour work week and I'm absolutely loving it! :-D
Talking of work, apart from sitting on a chair all day and staring at a screen, I've even been eating a lot lately. I've started eating breakfast and even follow my meals with a dessert!! So much so for living like student, huh! I've also been cooking Indian food for dinner considering I'm left with no other option other than fine dining. Although a university town, Tuebingen doesn't have any late night dining options. I asked some of the students where they go to satisfy their 3am cravings and they all say they go to their own kitchens and conjure something. According to them, one can't really expect something extravagant in the middle of the night, right? Oh, the disillusioned dears! They don't know what they're missing out on - the euphoria of a 4am Sarpino's delivery! :-P
An irritating aspect about cooking here though, is that Germans don't use gas stoves. They have four circular metallic hot plates which can be heated electrically. The problem with this is that firstly, they take forever to heat up to the maximum. Secondly, being strong conductors of heat they remain heated to the maximum even after the regulator has been lowered. This may often result in one's food being prone to burning in spite of a lowered heat setting. Now that I come to think of it, even the water heater in the shower is messed up. The most annoying part of my mornings is trying to set the correct temperature! Here is an apt cartoon to exactly describe what it is like.
The past weekend, I was supposed to visit the RitterSport chocolate factory with some fellow RISE interns. Instead, I spent the weekend with my flatmates. On Saturday, we went to a house party filled with Americans who have come here on a German language program - friends of my flatmate, Amy. On Sunday, we attended a monthly Sunday Night Worship session at an International Catholic Church - an invite from my other flatmate, Srijana. Both turned out to be interesting nights considering I hadn't done either before.
Interesting reminds me, Hiranandani (my residence in India) is on the front cover of the bi-annual research magazine of the Max Planck Institute! I've shared the link on this page - it is on the top right side and is titled Max Planck Research. I procured the English version of the magazine from somewhere to keep it on my desk so I can show people where I live! It also serves as a great motivator when my eyes wander off to facebook while at work. It's not as if I work all the time, either. Everyday after lunch, all of us end up playing foosball for at least half an hour. So, when our PI joined us for lunch on Monday, I presumed we would meekly go back to work after lunch. Instead, he joined us for a game! Oh and does he suck at it! :-P I thought I was the worst player in the lab, and I think that day he gave me some serious competition! He even played with us yesterday and today! In fact, we even celebrated his birthday today by opening two bottles of sparkling wine served with muffins! Wine at work?! Definitely, a 'neues' experience for me! That's the best part about working here. Not only is the job satisfaction great, but the working conditions are equally awesome! I don't even once feel like leaving the lab cuz I'm bored or overworked. Yes, I do get frustrated at times when my code doesn't carry out its magic, but all I do then is talk to one of my uber interesting colleagues and I'm suddenly rejuvenated again. The Bio Breakfast Tuesdays are another example of why this place is so engaging. Our entire lab gets together every Tuesday morning for a 'bio breakfast'. One person is responsible for bringing the breakfast, and another for discussing an interesting paper/article that they recently read. The others just relish to their stomach's content - or mind's, which ever they may please. I attended my first bio breakfast yesterday and it was so filling. I hadn't eaten so much breakfast in a long time, moreover the topic of discussion was, contrary to popular belief, the transcriptomes of RNA and DNA are actually different! In the midst of these games and discussions, I suddenly realized just how young I was in comparison to the entire group. The age difference between me and the next youngest person is at least 8 years! Yet, they are not at all intimidating. It's as if the age difference just disappears somewhere. :-)
The path that I take to work everyday is so beautifully scenic. I take my camera to work just so I never miss out on capturing these gorgeous moments which never fail to enthrall me.
Ugghhhh..I want a full time position at Max Planck after I graduate!!!! :-D
P.S. If you heard about the hype surrounding the total lunar eclipse a couple of days back, you would appreciate the fact that I actually got to witness it here! Here are some pictures that I could manage! Note the timestamps. :)
Cheers! :-)
Talking of work, apart from sitting on a chair all day and staring at a screen, I've even been eating a lot lately. I've started eating breakfast and even follow my meals with a dessert!! So much so for living like student, huh! I've also been cooking Indian food for dinner considering I'm left with no other option other than fine dining. Although a university town, Tuebingen doesn't have any late night dining options. I asked some of the students where they go to satisfy their 3am cravings and they all say they go to their own kitchens and conjure something. According to them, one can't really expect something extravagant in the middle of the night, right? Oh, the disillusioned dears! They don't know what they're missing out on - the euphoria of a 4am Sarpino's delivery! :-P
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| Aloo mutter |
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| Rajma chawal |
The past weekend, I was supposed to visit the RitterSport chocolate factory with some fellow RISE interns. Instead, I spent the weekend with my flatmates. On Saturday, we went to a house party filled with Americans who have come here on a German language program - friends of my flatmate, Amy. On Sunday, we attended a monthly Sunday Night Worship session at an International Catholic Church - an invite from my other flatmate, Srijana. Both turned out to be interesting nights considering I hadn't done either before.
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| A cool looking house on our way to church |
The path that I take to work everyday is so beautifully scenic. I take my camera to work just so I never miss out on capturing these gorgeous moments which never fail to enthrall me.
Ugghhhh..I want a full time position at Max Planck after I graduate!!!! :-D
P.S. If you heard about the hype surrounding the total lunar eclipse a couple of days back, you would appreciate the fact that I actually got to witness it here! Here are some pictures that I could manage! Note the timestamps. :)
Cheers! :-)
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