Day 16

This week's resolution to be productive and aware of every moment of my day has met with a setback today, but it's nothing I can't overcome. Stefan is in town. I hadn't seen him in... oh... about 7 weeks? Having said that I felt less-than-optimally productive, I did read an _excellent_ paper this evening sitting in a Starbucks wannabe. It has the same look and feel (and three sizes of everything!) except they called it "World Coffee," which I'm guessing is because Starbucks gets bad press in Europe for being a big multinational. But what do I know? I'm only a physicist.

Dance/techno music moves me and gives me a headache. I have to watch for that threshold beyond which the rate of return on listening to more music doesn't make up for the pain it causes. There must be an economics term for that. Gabe, where are you when I need you?

I've also realized that I can bring joy to people. It's really not that hard. Here, you try it. First, smile. (And no, I cannot emphasize this enough.) Bigger. Now open your lips. That's it. Don't be afraid to show some teeth. You see, a smile is contagious. Why just this morning, I walked into the office smiling, at no one in particular really, and one of the techs exclaimed "Oh! You're smiling!" Then guess what... she smiled too!

Okay, lesson number two. Wait... you should practice lesson number one and we'll come back to lesson number two at a later date. Let me know how you make it out with it. It's like Zen meditation where you keep banging your head against a seeming paradox until you see through it. The master knows whether you've solved the riddle or not without your having to say or explain anything. (Incidentally, I've taken up meditation on a semi-regular basis, with rather pleasing results I might add.) I'm really stealing the words from Fritjof Capra's "The Tao of Physics," a book I've picked up recently. My other reading currently includes "The Advent of Divine Justice" by Shoghi Effendi, "The Summons of the Lord of Hosts," selected letters of Baha'u'llah, and "Can We Dance?", a relationship education handbook.

Last night, after watching "The Hunt for Red October" for yet another time, I decided that it's finally okay to read the book. If anyone is looking to buy me a birthday gift I'd much appreciate a healthy copy of the novel that made Tom Clancy a household name in the U.S.A.

Finally, this morning's chocolate croissant was dedicated to Ashley. We wish her all the very best as she launches into the grand adventure which is "the Ph.D." If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Amgad's Morning Schokocroissant just give me a shout.

Hmm... perhaps this would be a good place to refer you to the epicentre of all things graduate: www.phdcomics.com.