Back to DC...

I had finally made up my mind to move back to DC at the end of this month. It has been wonderful living in Iowa, and working from home has proven to be quite exciting. I had grown to appreciate the ease and the "do-stuff-when-you-like" kind of opportunity. But it makes more sense for me to be where my job is, and apparently that's what my bosses want too : ) So, off I go back to DC at the end of this month. I'll be back to the good old grind - crazy traffic, busy roads, wonderful museums, loads of stuff to do in the weekends, etc.

I'll miss Cedar Falls and my friends here. And oh, what should I say about the parties here. But anyhow, I traveled and moved enough from place to place to realize that it is just a matter of time before I get adjusted back to the pace there in DC.

Fall Colors in Madison

Madison, Wisconsin - the "Mad town"...the home of University of Wisconsin. What a beautiful little town it is!

I went to Madison in Wisconsin this past weekend, primarily to check out the town and to see the fall colors. What a treat it was to see the blazing fall colors - the yellows, the maroons, the reds, and the oranges. And the weather turned out to be just GREAT! It was a very warm day, perhaps even reminiscent of a nice sunny summer day. I really liked the town and the cool, calm university district, and especially the State street. Check out the photos and you will see what I mean!

This is the picture I took while sitting at a cafe, outdoors. With warm outdoors, a nice cup of cappuccino, golden fall foliage on the street, and a nice breeze - that's a nice and ideal day in Madison.

Here are the photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2326066&l=aabd0&id=5734033

To PhD or Not to PhD! That's the BIG question!

"To do a PhD or not? Now or later? Why now? Why not later?"

Well, that pretty much sums up my thoughts over the past few weeks. In other words, I'm entangled in a maze of thoughts about whether or not to do a PhD. My boss has always been encouraging me to go for a PhD degree since I joined Maryland back in 2005. I chose not to do it, until now. Over a recent conversation with my boss, he brought this up and encouraged me to start the PhD program as soon as possible.

During my two year graduate program and my current work at Maryland, I have grown to appreciate the academic way of work, research, and life. And by the way, I have completed 3 years service in my current position at the Maryland and I feel quite happy about it. : ) The projects that I'm working on are major successes and are internationally recognized! I'm waaaay content, and happy, and honored to have been working here.

Now back to my PhD... I am more or less convinced that working in academia is the way to go ahead for me. And as everybody knows, unless one has a PhD, growing professionally in the academic arena is real tough. This is one of those rare fields where having "just" a Master's degree won't cut it. So, I will be doing a PhD for sure...the question of the hour is - now or later? Now is always better, but keeping in mind my other priorities in life, I'm thinking on postponing it for a couple of years.

PhD requires a lot of commitment in terms of time, energy, and intellect. Quite frankly, I feel I'm ready for it! And it seems my friends are more confident about my abilities to succeed in a PhD program than I am : )

Overall, I'm leaning more toward going for a PhD, starting this January. I'm reviewing some literature to pick up a topic, or at least choose a direction for my research and dissertation topic....and perhaps even for my career. I'm gonna make my decision soon, and I will post that here soon.