…a punch, that is!  Bah, that was lame.

Anyway, I’m going to move into my summer dorm today (since it’s past 12am here).  Thus far, my online housing status does not list a roommate and although I’m praying it stays that way, I think the reality of the situation is that Housing is being incompetent (yet again), and just hasn’t bothered to change the info on my status.  Or maybe they will assign that room to someone during the second summer session starting in July.  For all I know, when I walk into my room tomorrow (today), there’ll be some dude moving in already.  Having to share that small room all summer would blow.

Once I get to my new place, I need to start up on this GRE prep.  Also, I meet my adviser on Thursday to discuss research.  Should be fun.  Right now, I need to pack my keyboard, mouse, and speakers.  Over and out.

I spent the entire day packing and watching Arrested Development and so, not much happened today.  Other than AD, the sight of two boxes I had just purchased taking flight due to the strong winds was perhaps most entertaining.  Good thing I was able to retrieve them quickly enough.  But anyway, I’m gonna go pack some more and then go to sleep earlier than 3am for a change.  I have to finish my packing tomorrow so that I can efficiently move my stuff to my summer room on Monday.  I’ve amassed an unbelievable amount of junk in my four years here.  Damn.

I’ve been on the look out for a new theme for my blog, as I mentioned before.  I’ve looked through at least a dozen websites but no single theme has jumped out and grabbed my attention immediately.  I’m trialling a few of the better ones I found and I may eventually go with one of these.  But I would really, really, really like to find the special theme that I can switch to with no hesitation.

Many good themes are ruined by abnormally large headers that serve no purpose.  Others are handicapped by a poor choice of fonts and/or colors.  Yet more are undone, in my opinion, by the relative lack of information displayed on the blog’s home page.  I can totally see why some people like simple, minimalistic blogs, but that’s not my preference.  I’d like something that presents a decent amount of information in a clear manner and with a dash of color.  I don’t know PHP but I can play around with the CSS code and modify themes to suit my needs.  I think this is what I’ll have to do eventually.

Also, one or more of my older themes will be deleted once I finalize the new theme.  Just cuz.

So it begins.  I’ve formally started researching graduate schools to apply to later this year.  I’m trying to come up with a list that includes some of the top graduate programs for Materials Science, but at the same time, I need some backup schools.  Places that I’m nearly guaranteed to get into.  During my undergrad college search, Adelphi and Georgia Tech were my backups and I got into both.  I need to do something similar again.

So far, my list includes schools like Northwestern, MIT, Standford, UT Austin, Caltech, etc. and I have to do more research before I can finalize this list.  I also don’t want to apply to too many colleges so top choices + backups seems to be the way to go.  If I get into any of my top choices, I’ll definitely go.  Otherwise, my backups should be good enough to make me want to pursue graduate study.

Of course, if I get into multiple programs, then things like financial aid will play a big role in my decision.  But wait a minute, all this is months down the line!  I need to first prepare and do well on the GRE exam and then send in strong applications.  Decision time is almost 10 months away.

I’m also going to try and look for a job.  If I can land one I like between now and March-end, then I might consider working for a bit before going into grad school.  We’ll see, I guess.  Also, just what the fuck is up with the weather in New York?  It’s far too cold for May!  Also also, it seems like the theme switcher is now working fine.  I haven’t worked on the theme or on anything else website-related today.  Tomorrow will be different!

Check off one more item on my summer 2008 list!  I updated my blog to WordPress 2.5.1 today and while not everything is hunky-dory, at least things are functional.  I’m having two issues right now - one, the theme switcher is not behaving properly, and two, some posts have additional text characters like the one here:

I’ve edited most of the posts to fix this problem, but I know it still exists on some posts.  I’m way too lazy to correct the problem in all posts, even though I have nothing else to do right now.  I’m going to look into the theme switcher problem too.

It’s also time for my now annual theme hunt.  The last time I changed my blog theme was last summer, after an intensive search for the perfect theme.  But themes don’t stay perfect for long and now I need a new one.  This time, I’m going to be less strict with my requirements.  I’ll accept any theme that looks good and is functional.  So far, I’ve come across a few good ones and I’ll be trying them out slowly.  If you see new themes pop-up in the switcher, feel free to explore.  But be aware that not all of them will have a switcher installed.  If you notice glaring problems, let me know.

Also, for anyone keeping count, I have now posted a blog entry a day for a month!  WOOOO!  Nothing has affected my determination - finals came and went without interrupting my updates.  Even an utter lack of comments and site visits have not deterred me.