I have an observing run for about 3 nights at the 3.5m at the Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, in about 2 weeks time. In September, I have another 4 nights in Las Campanas in Chile. This is a rather inordinate amount of observing stellar spectra for someone who purports to be working on cosmology theory, but it's a chance to travel.

I am looking forward to visit the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the parts open to the public at any rate (and the White Sands National Park itself has lots of beautiful white sand in it, I'm told). Also Roswell/Area 51 is about 50 miles away from APO, but it's intriguing enough to warrant a drive there I suspect. I'm told that there will be many interesting characters I'll meet out there.

And the bicentennial of Chilean independence is 2 days after my allocated time in the Chile run, so it will be a fun experience to hang around to check it out.

To think that I'm ostensibly working all summer....

I don't quite remember writing up a paper to be such hard work. I am now writing up what was officially my first semester project which had overflowed beyond the first semester and had been put on hold for several months. I had written up papers before, most for most of those I essentially just wrote up the method and a brief summary of the results, leaving the detailed interpretation for my supervisor(s). So I guess it is progress that I understand more about the results than my advisors do. Nevertheless, that is not a very reassuring thought when I'm cracking my head trying to interpret the data.

I think I know understand why Princeton requires us to submit at least one paper before general exams. The process of writing and trying to present the work in a coherent manner is a very effective method of revealing deficiencies in my own understanding. While actually doing the project, my understanding is a vague and jumbled blob. Actually writing it and having to justify to the referee and scientific community is a great way of beating my own comprehension into shape.

I'm still halfway through the first draft, and the week has probably been the most concentrated amount of work I've ever done, averaging 14-15 hours in the office a day. But the thought of getting the paper submitted and fulfilling 1/3 of my generals requirements (the other two is that I pass my courses and oral exam) is a driving motivation. The feeling of actually getting concrete things done is also a very welcome change from the feeling of helplessness and ignorance in my first months here, when I really did fear I will get kicked out (as it transpires, a very common sentiment among graduate students in Princeton).

Nevertheless, it's slightly annoying to realise that after the first draft, there will still be the process of revising and editing the paper (probably extensively) to make it more coherent and take into account my advisors' comments, adding in references etc before submission at some point.

In the meantime, J. who is 2nd semester advisor taps his fingers at my laughable progress in his project...