
An Ode to My Slow Cooker
How a special appliance has saved me both time and sanity
The special appliance: my slow cooker I want to thank one special appliance Whose dedication and trusty alliance Have been a time saver for a busy grad mom. You snuck into my kitchen with quiet aplomb, Arriving, in a box, some years ago– Black and sleek. How was I to know That you would […]

Finding My Grad School Home
An experiment in communal living
When I arrived in the foreboding metropolis of Boston, I sought a group of friends that brings soup when someone is sick, welcomes each other into our homes even at the lowest of times, asks deep questions, and challenges each other to be the best we can be. I struggled adapting to this new place […]

A Primer for Understanding ‘Merica
My first few weeks in the USA
This blog is the continuation of my first blog where I wrote about my first few days in the USA. When I came to the USA from India to attend grad school, I had to learn many cultural norms that were very different from those at home on the other side of the planet. It was a steep […]

Educating Myself Out of Education
I’m a fast climber, but why should it matter?
I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t always tell the truth. When people ask me about MIT, I tend to oversell it. After all, it is one of the best, if not the best, university on the planet, nestled at the top of all international rankings. Once up here, everyone simply expects you to be […]

What the Puck?
How a new sport helped me find clarity in grad school
In my first year of graduate school, I fell on my butt a lot. It’s as if I would forget about my feet. I would be gliding along smoothly, comfortably shifting from one skate to the other, but if a puck slid in my direction — and I had to get it! — my skates […]