creative urge...

"See though.. "

Creative urge.. I guess we all have them sometimes.. just want to make something fun and interesting.. a painting.. a poem.. music.. food.. a blog post... a piece of code.. scientific idea.. and it doesn't go away till we do it.. just goes on in the head.. feel the need to get it out..

Today it was this necklace for me.. learnt how to knot last week.. and today suddenly I wanted to knot these beads.. couldnt do anything till I finished them.. its a pretty necklace.. dont know if I will wear it sometime.. but I enjoyed making it.. I enjoy making jewellery more than wearing them.. also owning pieces.. sometimes I see something and just want it.. even though I probably would never wear it.. like my mom says.. I have an 'akrantham' (craving) for jewellery.. this one.. again I had the bead for ages.. and this way I like it.. the beads are beautiful.. specially with the light going thru them.. the colors.. the transparency.. :)... also what I liked in my earlier pic with the waitress.. the drinks on her tray were see-though..

talking about creative urges... I was recently searching for a new proj and talked to a few people.. but I have time to do only 1 more coz I already have 2 more to finish.. and I liked 2 projects.. :D... then I decided to take the one from which I would learn more.. a slightly different topic that the one I am currently working on.. but then the other proj I heard about set me thinking.. I got stuck in my head.. after after I decided what I wanted to do.. this proj didnt get out of my head.. and I can feel it going on in my head.. :D.. like a background process.. anyway.. finally told myself that I can work on it may be after a few months.. :D.. its a bit like cheating myself.. to stop myself thinking.. but I have to say I do enjoy it.. thats one of the fun things about doing research..

today read an article about a guy quitting his research (http://blog.devicerandom.org/2011/02/18/getting-a-life/).. seems like he finshed his phd at cambridge.. and was quitting coz he did like the science but not the problems with the lifestyle.. bad pay.. shiffting jobs every few years.. and the cut throat competion.. he also had a link to an article in the economic times which said that it was not worth getting a phd.. considering the number of job u get after doing that and the mild increase in pay than a masters student.. quite true... its really hard to get a postdoc.. even harder to get a tenured position.. the competition is fierce... no stability in the job.. but the stimulation in ur brain.. which u get during the research.. hard to get outside..ok.. not all the time.. probably only a few weeks a year. a nice conference.. or a summer school.. but its all worth it for me... all the frustration.. of course different people want different things.. and now I understand it is good.. lesser competition.. ;)... well I do feel bad thinking that way... but that how life is.. natural selection..

to get something.. one has to fight.. persistence pays.. depends on what you want and how much you want it.. and competition.. being Indian.. I used to it.. one has to compete for everything.. so might as well hv fun too.. :)..

Back after a hectic week..

"Blooming.."

This is the first bloom of the season.. 'kanakambaram'.. one of the flowers you tie with jasmine.. I used to love jasmine on my hair and wanted to wear a string every day.. Once made my grandfather buy me '1 mozham'.. every day of Onam.. but then I got a headache from pesticides on the flowers.. :(.. hmm... last year.. this plant had so many flowers that could see the green stalk.. so waiting for this season's flowers..

I love plants more than animals.. I talk to them.. kiss them.. photograph them.. they are like kids to me.. good thing this is even if you forget to water them a few days.. they dont die.. even better than kids or pets.. may be that is why I don't agree with vegetarianism.. its mean to kill plants to eat.. :D.. plants have feelings too.. but then it is fine to kill something to eat.. just eat enough... not kill and then waste..

The second picture is the bead string I made.. got these beads as a b'day present from my friends about 2 years ago.. that's when I started making jewellery.. recently I got a string of white pearls from my mom to knot. She got it from an old friend of hers from college.. so she is a bit emotional about it every time she speaks.. which is cute.. guess it must be nice to meet an old friend after 25 years.. then I look up videos from youtube to learn how to string them and tested them on these.. not perfect but I loved it.. and beads are so beautiful... hmm but the string is a bit too small to make a necklace.. may be another trial the next time I feel like being creative.. :)..

"Round and colourful.."

Started my German class a week back and it has been fun until now.. very hectic though.. and didn't get out last week.. but starting to exhaust my indoor models.. time to explore.. :)..

people watching..

"Relaxed Saturday Afternoon"

Here is the second part of the photographs from yesterday.. this post is about people.. sunny afternoon in the park.. people are just happy and relaxed.. unlike the usual winter weekdays.. It is interesting how much the general mood changes with the weather.. thats when you value tropical sunshine.. there are days when I miss the 'Sun'.. such a wierd concept when I was back in Kerala.. Back to pictures now..

"Quiet reading.."

Both the pictures above give the same feeling.. something I have been wanting to do for a

while.. but it is always too cold for me.. may be this summer.. :) .. well other than reading ..

sitting or lying down.. one could also just watch people.. :D.. like the bunch below..

"People Watching"

Since it was cold.. decided to get some coffee.. the cafe had a cool spot close to the big glass window... from where I could watch more people..

"More people watching"

"The Busy Waitress"

Finally on the way back home.. I watched a few more people..

"The Red and the Green Men"

That was a fun day.. I should take my best buddy around more often... :) ... that was a good advice.. :).. today.. it is going to be a quiet one instead...

fire and ice..

It was a sunny day with 10 degrees in feb.. and that is weird for Munich.. but it was good.. we had snow the last week and now its like spring.. one of those days which makes winter bearable and beautiful.. since I read somewhere that I should take my camera around like my best friend and only then would I start noticing things differently.. I took my camera out for a walk in the English Garten.. and it was fun.. :)..
Firstly, a few shots of the iced lake.. it was pretty to see lake so iced that one could walk on it.. well.. no other human being was walking on it.. so I didnt try.. but it did look cool.. :)..
"Sun-bathing"

"Man's Best Friend"

"Walking on Io"

(notice the interesting cracks on the ice.. )

"textures"

(I think it is Horse Dung.. :D ..)

Enough of pictures for today.. rest will come tomorrow.. :)... off to sleep.. :)..

stable or unstable..

I couldn't write a post yesterday as I didnt fell like it..my yoga teacher told me.. that one should not be obsessed about anything..even about not being obsessed.. if you do it..it is good.. if you dont do it.. it is also fine.. so even tho I did want to write a post everyday.. I dont want to get obsessed about it.. :D..

so here is the next post.. the title comes from two things.. One is the picture below.. the drop on the leaf.. will it stay there or will it flow down and drop.. :).. it might be stable now.. but the slightest change will send it plunging down.. the life of that drop..

Another thing that inspired this was a game I played.. "http://eterna.cmu.edu/".. which is about designing stable RNAs in the shapes they want.. throught this game we are helping scientists in designing new RNAs which can create new drugs and treatments.. (at least that is what I understood).. there again.. the some of the designs are so unstable and it is so interesting to make it stable..

This whole stable-unstable thing can be extended to so many areas of life.. how stable is life?.. can we make it stable?.. if it is stable, would it be fun any more?.. as far as I have seen, the minute you think it is stable, it starts rolling down.. :D..

time to go off and sleep.. I feel much better today.. no fever.. just a mild cold.. that was a good break.. :).. till tomorrow..