I've started a summer internship at the Technion, Israel's technology institute in Haifa, a world-renowned institute, known for its studies in science. I'm working under an astrophysics professor that studies quasars and Seyfert galaxies, also known as Active Galactic Nucleii (AGN), and I've been given a minor project within this. Its mainly for my own enrichment, but also for the sake of research (meaning, if I take it seriously enough and come up with some results I could even PUBLISH!!!) and definitely not for the wee bit of money that I'm being paid.

And instead of taking this summer off to rest my mind from the collossal pressure I had while studying in Toronto, I'm actually learning more material, and studying new things that may help me in the future, but probably will not. Oh well, at least it will help me in my application for graduate school, it always looks good when one has experience in a laboratory of sorts. Astrophysics doesn't involve the use of telescopes any more, I've come to realize, but rather the theoretical application of what people have been looking at for ages.

I remember owning a telescope as a child (a nice serious model), and setting it up in our back yard, and looking at the moon, at the planets at various stars, and most of the time I really wouldn't see anything truly exciting, but every once in a while I'd see something that made me say "wow". That's the feeling I want to experience in my studies, but sadly it hasn't come yet. Nowadays if I look up at the stars, what I usually get...

...is a headache.

Maybe studying in a university has become more commercialized nowadays. The capitalist system has prevailed, and if you pay enough money, you'll end up with a degree at the end of three, four, five years. Teachers come to give a lecture, and rarely inspire any learning, just memorizing. Most of them are more concentrated on their research than on their students. Nowadays, in academia, its either 'publish or perish' and teaching takes up a chunk of time, something not many teachers are willing to devote. It's a shame, but that's the way it is.

Here's to teachers who enjoy teaching for the sake of education!

PS - I've noticed that quite a few people read what I write here; first of all I'd like to say 'thank you' for your birthday wishes and any other comments you choose to write here, its inspiring. Secondly, I promise to write more interesting stuff from time to time, rather than just random ramblings.