• Who am I?

    I am Qrystal; or at least, that's my dot-name! Har har. (My name is really Crystal, but that's not as internet-searchable; hence, switching the C for the little-used letter Q.)

    I am here because I enjoy writing. I do this mostly for myself, but I also have a passion for helping others learn things from the things I write. Now that I am done my Ph.D. in Physics, I am stepping away from academic research so that I can indulge in some creative ways to share my knowledge and inspire the appreciation of scientific thinking in others. I am also working as a tutor, which is one of the jobs I've most enjoyed doing in my life so far.


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    • Yearning for Returning

    Tuesday, October 11th, 2016

      I have come to the point where I want to say “out loud” that I want to get back here, and write more.  So here I am, doing exactly that. Will I post any of the things I’ve half-written over the past few years?  I don’t know.  Maybe.  I might even backdate them (I’ll [...]

    Self-reinforcing Success

    Monday, February 9th, 2009

    A great weakness has been festering in me for too long now: I am very bad at completing things.  I have great intentions, great directions, great plans, great ideas, but almost none of them get implemented.  What’s worse is that each failure (perceived or actual) reinforces the mindset that causes it. Cause and Effect I’ve tried to [...]

    Analyzing my procrastination

    Saturday, July 19th, 2008

    I’ve been doing it again: procrastinating madly. The way it seems to happen without my awareness is completely unnerving, and I’m really starting to feel the urge to make it stop. But how? I seem to be addicted to being happy-go-lucky, paying no attention to what I’m doing, just existing and not thinking about it. [...]

    What Do I Want, Again?

    Thursday, May 15th, 2008

    I’ve been pondering my life lately (..again….) and in order to help me get my thoughts straight, I took a look at this mindmap that I made in October of 2007. It’s all still very relevant, as it shows what I think I need in order to fulfil my desires for peace, love, and happiness. [...]

    What Do I Want?

    Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

    What Do I Want? mind map

    I don’t care that “Hello world!” is a clichéd title!

    Thursday, January 17th, 2008

    A computer program that outputs “Hello world!” is the first exercise that I always do when learning a new programming language, and I see no reason to let this blog about myself suffer without such an honour. No, I am actually proud to call this my “Hello world!” blog entry, because the name is meaningful [...]

    Divining the future… no! DEFINING it!

    Tuesday, January 1st, 2008

    As I mentioned previously, this post has been in the ‘draft’ pile for quite a while. I’ve been tackling this entry sporadically, distracted by more and more things I want to say — and I know, I know, if I just could control the urge to say everything in one post, I’d have more posts, [...]

    So what DO I want to do with my life?

    Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

    I’ve been feeling the pressure of time lately, and I know I am certainly not the first to be concerned about what the future will hold. I’m also not the first to worry about how my choices now will affect that future, nor the first to ask, “How will I manage both a professional life [...]

    I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

    Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

    So, here I am. Don’t welcome me, and please don’t congratulate me for finally joining the blogosphere. This could, arguably, be one of the worst things I’ve ever done. But if I do this right… I might just come out of it okay. With luck and diligence, I might even be able to turn this [...]