Creative Engineering ;)

I have always been inclined towards the creative side. In school I used to look forward to the arts and crafts lecture so that I would bring out my scissors, papers and what not out of my bag and watch in awe as the teacher would transform a roll of paper into a lovely coconut tree. Not many were as eager as me and since there was no concept of bunking in school, I would be surrounded by a disgruntled crowd who were waiting for the bell to ring. This goes without saying that I was the art teacher’s pet student because I pooled in my own ideas and improvise on the technique and the next week I was showing off a better version of my previous work.

Even in the drawing and painting lecture, I used to bug the teacher asking her for new techniques for painting and whether there is any new art-and-crafts related product in the market. This interest reached a new level and I advanced to making new and much beautiful work of art. I made flowers out of brightly coloured flower stockings and solawood paper. I even tried making it out of grated soap like I had seen it on television but it didn’t turn out that well. I love ceramic painting and glass painting but they were a costly affair so I had to somehow restrict myself. I then moved on to making gel candles which was the best thing that happened to me. It doesn’t cost a bomb and plus they make great gifting options. It is fun trying to mix and match the decorative stuff to fill inside the glass so that the colorful beads stand out in the clear gel.

I enjoy writing and blogging too. I believe if you have to be a good writer, you should have a strong opinion on everything. I sort of fit well into this criteria. I have to thank my English teachers at school for bringing out the dormant talent in me. I never realised I write well until the teacher made it a habit to read my essays in the class. My ideas were a bit feminist with the topics veering mostly to female liberation and equality and I had an ally in my teacher. She was more than happy to share the views of an eighth grader who surprisingly shared her opinion.

Alias always tells me that I should have been into writing or into a profession that exploits my writing abilities and not into a technical field like engineering. I somehow don’t feel that way because I don’t want to kill my interest by making it my profession. When I write a blog post, it is with the comfort factor that I don’t have a deadline to meet. If I was asked to write an article within x days I won’t be able to produce the expected result. That is why I took up blogging because I post when I feel I have a strong topic and not just for increasing the number of my blog post. Engineering on the other hand is a challenge. It’s so huge and endless that I have something to keep me busy for years on end. With new technological advents I will be having something new to discover every single day. The best part is that I can share my views on this via writing. I believe when you have a creative edge, you tend to have a better understanding of the people and situation around you. After all engineering is not just about having technical expertise; it’s also about how you work for the greater benefit with a group of likeminded individuals.

I can draw parallels between engineering and candle making. Isn’t engineering also about finding the right gems of people and combining them to make a candle which not only looks beautiful but also illuminates your surroundings with a warm glow?

Wild Goose Chase

There have been very rare occasions when exams have frustrated me to such an extent. Now many may find it abnormal, but exams have rarely intimidated me. Not because I was well versed with every subject but I because I had faith in my management skills. With my college running on nine-to -five schedules, it becomes really difficult to manage studies and at the same time handle your social life. So I made up for the lost time by studying really hard on holidays and the much awaited preparatory leave.

But this time I made an extra effort to study during the college schedule. Whenever I find some subject interesting, I go for the reference books. I did that with Electronics where I devoured Boylestead which was a book equal to my own weight. Then in Microcontrollers I studied Mazidi with such interest that my mom thought I was reading a Harry Potter book hidden within it. The good thing about these books is the use of simple, lucid language. The flow is absolutely wonderful and every single term was presented in an uncomplicated way so as not to scare off the reader. That’s the way I believe is right way to study and even in this semester I stuck to it.

But the problem with this method is that it doesn’t prepare you well for your written exams. Getting conceptual knowledge is one thing but presenting it on paper where the examiner is looking for specific words to assess your knowledge is completely different story. I did a lot of hard work for this semester. I don’t remember studying for almost eight hours every single day in any of my previous semesters. But the papers turned out to be a big disappointment and that’s when frustration sets in. I realized while I was busy getting my concepts cleared, I had left out quite a few vital topics which are repeatedly asked in exams. I realized this during the first exams so I went into damage control mode. For the following exams I tried to cover up every single chapter (with the obvious risk of losing out on the concepts) and was feeling a bit confident. But this time I got all muddled up in the end and plus the paper was completely conceptual so I realized I had screwed up my papers.

I managed to write two papers really well but the remaining two have got me all worked up. After three years into engineering, I had become quite a pro in cracking the exams but I am now shrouded in self doubt. As of now I am searching for some pattern in these papers so that I can ensure a smooth ride for myself in my last semester. Or am I on a wild goose chase?