The Beginning!

Last week was like finals week.. only worse. Before the week started I knew I had to start writing my final paper, finish my research, say goodbye, and pack. On Tuesday, I also found out that I had the opportunity to present my research to the graduate students and professors in the programming languages department at UPenn. Of course, I jumped at the chance, but that added a few more items to my already long to-do list: figure out what I was going to speak about. make slides, practice my presentation, overcome the numerous thoughts of doom going through my head, and actually give the presentation. I am good at public speaking, but in this instance I was more afraid of the audience in the presentation than the fact that I was giving a presentation.

I wrapped up my research on Tuesday. We finally had another version of rmax that worked. The cool thing was that it completely reflected the inner workings of the algorithm. Tuesday was also when I found out about my presentation, so in between by 11 o'clock meeting with Stephanie on Tuesday to my 3 o'clock meeting with her on Wednesday, I put the finishing touches on the proof. I spent a few hours cleaning it up and analyzing the proof. I also worked on comparing the two proofs: the proof from the Coq official website and the modified proof. I set up my slides, and I churned out a rough draft of my paper.

Five more rehearsal presentations and 72 hours later, it was Friday, my throat was extremely sore, and I had a presentation to give. I think it went well. Stephanie didn't have any major complaints. And everyone else in the room seemed intrigued, and laughed at some of my jokes.

After the meeting, I wrapped up the loose ends with Stephanie. I will have my final paper ready in little less than a week, and that will be a more formal version of the research I have been describing over the past few weeks.

I went downtown on Friday to celebrate and reward myself for the intense 10 weeks. I also sat for a very long time in front of the fountain in Love Park (my favorite fountain ever!). I spent the weekend with my Aunt and Uncle in New Jersey. My cousins took good care of me for the weekend, and right now I am at the airport, waiting for my flight. My plane is currently delayed indefinitely because of bad weather ( the airport is closed). I have my fingers crossed!

Philadelphia treated me really really really well! UPenn was amazing, the campus was gorgeous, Stephanie is one of the most awesome professors I know, and the PL department at UPenn is the most stimulating environment I have ever been in. My travels added to the fun part of the summer; New York, Boston, and DC were amazing experiences! This summer changed my life and shaped my dreams, and I can't wait for graduate school!

August 4 - August 10