1) As the end of the month approaches, I realise that I am blogging even more infrequently than usual. There are of course a few reasons for this. The first, is I am obviously quite busy trying to complete my thesis experiments and write up in time. The second reason, perhaps the real reason, is that there just isn't much to blog about. Before the lockdown, I could move freely and about, so there were plenty of opportunities to plan trips or just hangout with friends - which obviously makes good content.
2) Instead, I am going to talk about an important decision I made, which turned out really well for me. Before beginning my Masters programme last September, I was contemplating which of my two laptops I should bring with me. At first, I thought of bringing only one, since two would be quite cumbersome to lug around in my knapsack (I wasn't planning on keeping them as checked baggage for fear of damage). In the end, my dad convinced me to bring both along anyway, just in case something happened to either one. And so I did.
3) Throughout the semester, I was using only one laptop (my trusty old MacBook from medical school) to do all assignments and essays. It felt like I had brought along my other laptop for naught. But then, I started my current project which requires downloading of MATLAB - a computer programme commonly used in engineering, science, and economics. Only then did I discover that my MacBook had insufficient space (i.e. MATLAB requires around 40GB of hard-disk space). Even if I deleted a lot of unwanted stuff, it would not be remotely enough to download MATLAB.
4) I was obviously at a loss, until I realised that I had brought my second laptop with me. Thankfully, this one was practically empty to begin with, so I had around 1000GB to play around; more than enough to download the required software. I currently have MATLAB installed in this laptop, while I use my old MacBook for other tasks and functions. It feels great to be able to use two laptops for the purpose of my experiments, as it makes analysis much more convenient and efficient.
5) If there is something I have learnt from this, it is that sometimes things seem to work out in the end. When I got my new laptop, I was a bit worried that it would be a waste of money, as my MacBook was still working, albeit with some overheating issues. Not once did I think that I would end up requiring both in order to finish off my studies here in UK.
6) And on that note, it is time to continue finishing up my project. Thanks very much for tuning in, and stay safe and stay healthy. Cheers!
My Acer laptop of two years, being used to type this very blog post :)
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