Workin' like a Hog

I'm currently far behind schedule in my research. I think I have been spending too much time reading about politics recently. There have been too many things going on in the past week. North Korea, having successfully fooled us, launched the missile on the 12th. After the incident on the 14th, gun control has become more serious an issue in the U.S. than ever before. We had an election on the 16th, and South Korea has elected the first female president in the country today. As you can see, there've been several topics on my mind lately. Well, to be honest, I listed them just to justify the delay in my schedule.

There is something that I have really wanted to achieve by Christmas day in my research. I thought I could finish it by the end of November, but it was not that easy. The thing that makes me sick about it is the fact that in theory, the thing I've been trying should work just fine. Because of this, I've recently started wondering if the problem was due to some fundamental misunderstandings or simple mistakes. In that case, the day-to-day effort I've spent so far could have just been a waste of time. I'm just crossing my fingers.

Another thing that makes me anxious is the lack of knowledge in the field in general, as I just jumped into it. I still cannot be certain about the thing that I should start out with. I've been reading text books in the field to give me the overall ideas, but it's not like taking undergraduate courses where my main focus tended to be what I'd be tested on the exam.

In the department building, many people seem to be gone for Christmas making the hallway very quiet. I see this is a good chance to catch up. Go Hogs! Yes, I'm an alumnus of the University of Arkansas :D