Hey J,

I have just flown back from Singapore and touched down in Princeton. It was an amazing flight over the frozen tundras of Russia and Alaska, instead of the Ocean, which I'm used to. Frozen rivers that snake across vast, cracked plains. Ice lakes, encircled by white mountains. I'm glad I asked for a window seat.

I just spent a week in Singapore, during my spring break. Just thirty hours ago I was showing pictures of my San Diego visit to my family, including pictures of you juggling stones in Mission beach. Now I'm back in Starbucks in Princeton, back to physics! I'm trying to find a good wavefunction for a fractional topological insulator. It's a new phase of matter theorists are fantasizing about; we still haven't found a realistic material that will realize it, but that doesn't stop anyone from fantasizing.

How was your finals? Are you spending some of your break with the big K? And have you sold your 1000'th cookie yet?

Aris

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I soaked the sun in the outdoor patio of Forbes, overlooking the golf course. My only distractions were nubile Forbes undergraduates, who stretched out on the grass with abandon. They vanished and reappeared in the periphery of my vision, as I fought and gave in. The wind was strong. It toppled my starbucks. The smack of an errant, wind-swept golf ball on metallic roof broke my reverie, and filled everybody with anxiety. The moment of unease dissipated under the overwhelming surfeit of good feeling that carried me through the day.

Last night I frolicked with P. It reminded me of that time with E. Am I doomed to dream these dreams? I woke up with bated anticipation that it might be half the day it was yesterday, as if I couldn't believe. I was right, but nevertheless I find myself walking around campus, searching for sun and warmth. I encountered Arjun(?), who told me I was a great problem-solving TA. He seemed genuinely disappointed that I've lost my spot, even though he's not even in my class. I was warmed by his appreciation, and my desire to reclaim my spot is now renewed. I could never summon the pride and meticulous consideration that M has for these lab sessions, nor am I even certain about my uncertainties. I am not where I want to be. The thought of those lab notebooks waiting for me fills me with dread - double the load, due to Boston.

Tonight I realized the naivety of my non-Abelian Wannier-Stark calculation, which I was so proud of. It is so hard to make a statement about a decades-old topic. However, thinking along these lines has made me wonder: do topological insulators survive in finite electric field? I think there is some statement to be made here. I'm excited.