Catch me on AIM —my screen name is JVG1981.
My Skype name is joshuagreen.
Check out my LiveJournal blog here or its cross-posted version here on MySpace , or go here or here to subscribe to LiveJournal's RSS or Atom feed, respectively.
My website can be found here .
I also have a Facebook profile here .
My sense of humor is quite dry and I have a penchant for making puns (that tend to elicit groans or worse).
Given that one professor told me that I'm "easily distracted" while another is convinced that I'll never settle down, it is perhaps unsurprising that my life seems to have been spent switching between and among fields.
Though I’ve been interested in and studied many subjects, I’ve always been most comfortable in mathematics and the more mathematical sciences. Graduating from the University of Arizona with a B.S. with Honors in Physics & Mathematics but interested in several subfields in each subject without being “passionate†about any one, I wasn’t sure which further studies to pursue.
I decided to study astrophysics at Princeton University on the grounds that I could explore a new field, answer deep questions about the universe, and still remain flexible with regard to physics used (all of it is necessary!) and methods—in other words, it was a way to not have to settle on any one particular subject. Unfortunately, after I failed my general exam, it was decided that I really shouldn’t continue to Ph.D. anyway, and I was relieved of my status as a graduate student. My thoughts on all of this can be found here .
Now I’m ready to start a new job, a job that is perhaps more suited to my natural strengths than astrophysics research was. Where will this job take me? Besides Maryland , I cannot be sure; for now I’ll just enjoy the ride! I may eventually return to graduate school to earn a Ph.D. (in some as-yet-to-be-decided field), but at this point I’m not convinced that that’s necessary for me to be happy with my life.
When I was very young, I played piano and studied magic (you should see the equipment in my closet!).
Around first grade, I learned chess by accident. I studied tactics and was at the top of my grade school’s chess club (organized by my dad) before entering my first “real†tournament in middle school. This tournament knocked me down a few pegs, but learning that there was more to learn was worth the pain of defeats. I’ve kept studying, and my current USCF rating is 2046 (an “expert†rating). I’ve also composed chess problems, some of which can be found here . Chess was my main hobby for most of my life, allowing me to make friends and also providing my first “real†job (at The Chess Emporium ).
Since coming to Princeton , I've added some new interests. I started dancing (nothing formal, just moving around randomly to beats) in the dbar and regularly attending karaoke (choosing upbeat songs and really getting into them). Although in the past I would have worried about how I looked during these activities, out here I simply stopped caring and started just having fun. Other people seemed to like it too, and suddenly I was meeting people and making lots of friends. This has certainly helped me to open up more, and this is definitely a better way to lead one’s life! Besides the above, I’ve played some bridge (though I'm still not much more than a beginner) and softball during the past few summers.
Before starting my latest job, I was a contestant on the fourth season of Beauty and the Geek .
