Welcome to the Next Level

Well, my experiment in extemporaneous exposition on being a graduate assistant went bust as things got busier. What would not be chronicled were the instances of actually substituting for professors in their classes: Dr. Raffy Saldana's Math 19 class, Dr. Cathy Vistro-Yu's Math 22 class, Dr. Felix Muga's Math 124 and numerical class and Dr. Roden David's AMC 124 class. There were the instances of proctoring for examinations, of course. Somewhere down the line, I was keen on writing on the unique experience of being a "veteran" instructor having to be a graduate assistant, and seeing the power-play that that entails whenever having to substitute for a real professor, but that can no longer be written with what humour and urgency the situation would have evinced, some four or five months past.

And there were the ES 26 classes, with the typical drama and excitement that my previous CS 11 classes had entailed, but with older cast members, like the second season of a school-based TV series - that is, to say, dropping slips, people trying to get to the mythic 480, failing students, well-deserved grades high and low. Again, 2/3 passing.

And then there was the thesis. There was a trip to Cebu reprising the MSP presentation for SMACS 2008, featuring some hemming and hewing on wording and proofs and re-approaching the major result with something that still-doesn't-quite-sting-more-than-itch. Lesson learned: never schedule your thesis defense during what could be the last game of the UAAP finals, especially if the teams playing for the crown are wearing blue and green. Finally, the thesis was accepted, and I graduated with a Master of Science in Mathematics degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.

There's so much more that I learned of the Mathematics Department in that one month than in the semesters I spent purely as a student. It would have been enjoyable to have been a part of that faculty, or even to continue being part of the faculty of the Department of Computer Science at the University of the Philippines, but that was not on the schedule, and so, by late October, I was uncoiling my tendrils from the two universities straddling the ends of Katipunan avenue.

Middle of December found me taking Fred Ezerman's suggestion, with the Letter of Offer secured, to take PhD studies in the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences in Nanyang Technological University, on the western end of Singapore, coast-to-coast from Changi Airport. Aside from Fred, and my beloved, I have settled in with the help of Jayrold Arcede, who is finishing his own degree at the National University of Singapore, and the accommodations of Dr. Noel Cabral, who is witht the National Institute of Education until June of this year.

The seeds of this migration, other than the fact that my lady love had been here for almost two years, was visiting Fred during his first semester, while I was looking for a job here with a spotty resume. (That was Plan A. Finishing the thesis and applying for a scholarship in NTU was Plan B. Protip: They're looking for three years industry experience - Plan C would have involved this route.) Having foregone my MS during my industry phase, Fred's suggestion to try applying for my PhD turned me back to the academe - and that, as they say, was that.

So, I moved into the Graduate Hall within a few days, walked my matriculation papers, celebrated the late-year holidays and, as the new year rolled in, I started my PhD studies.

We are currently in week six of the semester, with a week-long recess scheduled next next week. I'm attending three classes: MAS 710 Continuous Methods (Real + Complex + Functional Analysis); MAS 723 Multivariate Analysis PhD section; MAS 726 PDEs in Image Processing. We've already had Lunar New Year celebrations, and the next holiday seems to be Good Friday (the only day in the Christian Holy Week that is taken off). Tomorrow, my first stipend check clears, and I will be self-sufficient somewhat once more.

Hopefully, this may mean that I will write more. Hopefully, this also means that I will write more here.

So, to all, I hope the new year has given you new life, as it has for me.