11 hours at home, 11 hours in the lab and 2 hours on the road. No wonder Klaus Heese said not to expect good results if you'd only work from 9-5, 5 days a week. I hope I'm working hard enough. Was suay to be stuck in the cold room on a rainy day. I was wondering why it dropped to 3.9 deg when last week it hovered between 4-5 deg. Then I came out, looked out the window while spinning my samples and realized it was raining. Cuii. I think Thurs will be another cold room day. When I come out of the cold room and open the fridge, it feels as if the fridge is not working cos the fridge air feels hot on my freezing hands. LOL.
Yesterday was Monday and it honestly felt like it was already end of the week. Was that tired. Perhaps it was because I went back to school on Sunday. So technically it's mid-week now even though it's only Tuesday. And I can't rest when I get home cos I've got to do my thesis. I'm feeling the sense of urgency to at least start on Materials and Methods cos shifu says she won't be coming anymore from mid-june onwards, as she'll be doing her own thesis full-time. =(
I've accomplished quite alot in this first month, and I'm proud of that =) Chionging alot of stuff at the same time and staying in the lab till past 8 is tiring but at least I know I'm getting my stuff done and this way I learn more too. Rather than take it slow and easy and have to panic at the end. But also cos as I said shifu won't be coming anymore soon so she's trying to teach me everything quickly such that I can work on my own when she's not around.
Strange, but I think I'll really miss lab at the end of FYP. My lab people are really funny, and M never fails to amuse me. Hahaha.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
oh clouds of time seem to rain on innocence left behind
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 | Found at bee mp3 search engine |  |
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Lesson of the day:
When all has been going well, brace yourself for sudden upsets. Beware of undercurrents and navigate carefully in choppy waters.
FYP has consumed my life, and it's really tiring working 10-11 hours a day, nonstop, not counting the ~45mins lunch break that we get. I feel dehydrated, my muscles are aching and the only reason I don't doze off on the job is cos I sleep early nowadays (earlier than school days!) and I have that daily cup of coffee during lunch to thank. Plus I'm too busy to have time to feel tired.
I survived the cold room yesterday without getting frostbite! Take it from me and put on 1 pair of latex gloves and 1 pair of nitrile gloves :D Maybe next week I'll try on 2 pairs of nitrile gloves instead ;)
Yesterday was the record for leaving school at 8.20pm. And for my only passenger falling asleep on me -.- (Hahaha you know who you are :P) Oh and yesterday was the record for lunch at 2.30pm. I was certain I was buying food meant for the dinner crowd.
For now, I better tread carefully, learn to be completely self-sufficient, ask less stupid questions, do less (or don't do!) brainless things......
Oh wells. Lemme go rest for awhile before I go back to analysing my experiment. I spend every waking hour thinking of/doing FYP, and I'm certain sometimes I do dream of it. It's stressful, and the stuff we work with is detrimental to health. Think about the hours we work, like camels without water, the bacteria on every surface, all the stupid corrosive chemicals and neurotoxins, the smelly LB and bacteria.....
My best friend is 70% ethanol. Maybe it's everyone's best friend. M was spraying it on his cut today. How about that! And he said it doesn't hurt hahaha. M, the bionic man who is forever in a good mood, has coffee for lunch, goes kickboxing (?!), innocently tries to help, is always blamed by my shifu whenever there are chemical spills, and tries to learn chinese.
I had a really funny conversation with K today. 异族同包s really make my day.
K: Is urea a salt?
Me: Yes.
K: How do you say urea is a salt?
Me: Urea is a salt.
K: How do you say urea is a salt?
Me: Er. Urea? Urea is a salt. Yup.
*we stare at each other with disbelieving expressions*
Me: Oh! You mean WHY is urea a salt?
K: Ya.
Me: Err...Hmm...I duno. Ask Jo.
Jo: Don't ask me!
*K walks away, probably thinking we're hopeless retards*
At the end of the day, when I finally get to lie down, fatigue washes over every fibre of my being and I feel that the day has not been in vain. Strangely, I don't really dread lab as much as going to school, and there's that sense of accomplishment. I guess when you know what you have to do, how you're going to do it, and that you have to do it, and time is so tight, you really feel the pressure and the drive to do it. But I wonder how such motivation can last for years for researchers. Mine is like a 3-month adrenaline boost, complete with turbo. But I think I'll sizzle and die out if I continue at the current pace in the long run. This week I've started multi-tasking, combining 2-3 days' worth of work into 1, and the only limiting factor is time for growth of the cultures. Oh yes, and limited resources. Thanks to stingy boss and poor lab facilities. I no longer count down the time to lunch or to going home, only counting down the time for me to carry out the next step or to use the equipment. And time really flies too. The sky changes colour throughout the day while we're working in the lab and before long it's dark.
Results will be out on Friday but somehow I don't feel anything. Not much impact, compared to the magnitude, perceived or not, of what I'm currently doing. What's done is done, and these are the results for my last sem, so I guess there's no point worrying. The only thing I can think of now is FYP! But I refuse to start on my thesis yet! Hahaha.
When all has been going well, brace yourself for sudden upsets. Beware of undercurrents and navigate carefully in choppy waters.
FYP has consumed my life, and it's really tiring working 10-11 hours a day, nonstop, not counting the ~45mins lunch break that we get. I feel dehydrated, my muscles are aching and the only reason I don't doze off on the job is cos I sleep early nowadays (earlier than school days!) and I have that daily cup of coffee during lunch to thank. Plus I'm too busy to have time to feel tired.
I survived the cold room yesterday without getting frostbite! Take it from me and put on 1 pair of latex gloves and 1 pair of nitrile gloves :D Maybe next week I'll try on 2 pairs of nitrile gloves instead ;)
Yesterday was the record for leaving school at 8.20pm. And for my only passenger falling asleep on me -.- (Hahaha you know who you are :P) Oh and yesterday was the record for lunch at 2.30pm. I was certain I was buying food meant for the dinner crowd.
For now, I better tread carefully, learn to be completely self-sufficient, ask less stupid questions, do less (or don't do!) brainless things......
Oh wells. Lemme go rest for awhile before I go back to analysing my experiment. I spend every waking hour thinking of/doing FYP, and I'm certain sometimes I do dream of it. It's stressful, and the stuff we work with is detrimental to health. Think about the hours we work, like camels without water, the bacteria on every surface, all the stupid corrosive chemicals and neurotoxins, the smelly LB and bacteria.....
My best friend is 70% ethanol. Maybe it's everyone's best friend. M was spraying it on his cut today. How about that! And he said it doesn't hurt hahaha. M, the bionic man who is forever in a good mood, has coffee for lunch, goes kickboxing (?!), innocently tries to help, is always blamed by my shifu whenever there are chemical spills, and tries to learn chinese.
I had a really funny conversation with K today. 异族同包s really make my day.
K: Is urea a salt?
Me: Yes.
K: How do you say urea is a salt?
Me: Urea is a salt.
K: How do you say urea is a salt?
Me: Er. Urea? Urea is a salt. Yup.
*we stare at each other with disbelieving expressions*
Me: Oh! You mean WHY is urea a salt?
K: Ya.
Me: Err...Hmm...I duno. Ask Jo.
Jo: Don't ask me!
*K walks away, probably thinking we're hopeless retards*
At the end of the day, when I finally get to lie down, fatigue washes over every fibre of my being and I feel that the day has not been in vain. Strangely, I don't really dread lab as much as going to school, and there's that sense of accomplishment. I guess when you know what you have to do, how you're going to do it, and that you have to do it, and time is so tight, you really feel the pressure and the drive to do it. But I wonder how such motivation can last for years for researchers. Mine is like a 3-month adrenaline boost, complete with turbo. But I think I'll sizzle and die out if I continue at the current pace in the long run. This week I've started multi-tasking, combining 2-3 days' worth of work into 1, and the only limiting factor is time for growth of the cultures. Oh yes, and limited resources. Thanks to stingy boss and poor lab facilities. I no longer count down the time to lunch or to going home, only counting down the time for me to carry out the next step or to use the equipment. And time really flies too. The sky changes colour throughout the day while we're working in the lab and before long it's dark.
Results will be out on Friday but somehow I don't feel anything. Not much impact, compared to the magnitude, perceived or not, of what I'm currently doing. What's done is done, and these are the results for my last sem, so I guess there's no point worrying. The only thing I can think of now is FYP! But I refuse to start on my thesis yet! Hahaha.
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| Found at bee mp3 search engine | |
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
This is prolly the first time I'm talking about AI here, and I can't help myself cos I was really impressed. I was smiling to myself the whole time I was watching it. When Adam sang his first song, I was thinking, "Damn, I bet this guy's gonna win. He's got personality and he sure stands out." Then when Kris came out with his second song (acoustic with a guitar!), I was like, "OH MY GOODNESS. I really really hope he gets into the finals!!!" He makes me wanna buy his album if he really gets to that stage. Please go catch his rendition of "Heartless".
Check this out!
The shy and cutest boy-next-door oozing commercial appeal :))
The "gay?" rockstar who did aerosmith proud and would give other rockers a run for their money.
/edit: As I was watching this on tv, I kept observing his tongue cos he sings with his mouth so wide open, you can see that his tongue is really big. With 白/黄苔, i couldn't see clearly but oops, just an occupational hazard! He does have good lungs and a deep diaphragm! And as I was watching the video again, when he was talking at the last part, I suddenly thought of Chad. Yeah. Adam reminds me of Chad the gay lifeguard! :O
If only there could be 2 winners. Of course I'm biased, cos Danny's a good singer as well, just that I don't like him. Haha. So yup, kudos to Kris and Adam! =D
Yay. Today is the earliest day in the history (1.5 week history, but still history nevertheless) of FYP thus far. Left school at 5.30pm! Woots! It felt seriously weird going home before sundown for once, but heck, it beat rotting in the lab, it beat ERP and anyway boss had already left. Wahaha. At least I got to catch some tv today, as you can see from above, and maybe I was just so deprived that they sounded exaggeratingly good to me. Anyhow, tomorrow's gonna be a long day and I hope all goes well!
Check this out!
The shy and cutest boy-next-door oozing commercial appeal :))
The "gay?" rockstar who did aerosmith proud and would give other rockers a run for their money.
/edit: As I was watching this on tv, I kept observing his tongue cos he sings with his mouth so wide open, you can see that his tongue is really big. With 白/黄苔, i couldn't see clearly but oops, just an occupational hazard! He does have good lungs and a deep diaphragm! And as I was watching the video again, when he was talking at the last part, I suddenly thought of Chad. Yeah. Adam reminds me of Chad the gay lifeguard! :O
If only there could be 2 winners. Of course I'm biased, cos Danny's a good singer as well, just that I don't like him. Haha. So yup, kudos to Kris and Adam! =D
Yay. Today is the earliest day in the history (1.5 week history, but still history nevertheless) of FYP thus far. Left school at 5.30pm! Woots! It felt seriously weird going home before sundown for once, but heck, it beat rotting in the lab, it beat ERP and anyway boss had already left. Wahaha. At least I got to catch some tv today, as you can see from above, and maybe I was just so deprived that they sounded exaggeratingly good to me. Anyhow, tomorrow's gonna be a long day and I hope all goes well!
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
The only reason I'm online now is because I have more research papers to print and I haven't checked my email today.
I'm in the "I-just-want-to-lie down-and-not-move-for-a-century" mode now. If you thought 30 hours of school per week was bad, think again. (What's more, most peeps have <30 hours a week and are already complaining.) I finally had a taste of lab life. It's only the second day, but I experienced some lab politics already and I see how much energy and stamina is needed to work in the lab. It's much harder than going to school, as it requires constant concentration, intellect, care, skill, physical activity, longer hours...whereas in class you're always seated and you can walk in and out as often as you want to fill water, visit the toilet, buy coffee, chit chat, doze off in class, doodle, daydream...Woots. A good challenge is always nice though. And I bet it's only going to get worse. Dinner is going to be true supper. Haha. But I had fun today :) Even with wasting 3 hours on poster day, it felt like I was in lab for a full day and was kept so busy afterward I didn't even have time to read the lab protocol and molecular cloning "bible". Starvation has found its way into my life! Everything is so new and it's a constant challenge trying to follow, understand, absorb and remember everything at once. Plus my lab's an aliquot of different cultures. Me and Jo are like the only Singaporean Chinese around. Hahaha. And I still wonder what boss does in his room. Youtube? Afternoon nap? Coffee brewing sessions? Hmm. He is as clueless as the labbies make him out to be.
Day 1 was the perfect contrast. I had to find things to do to keep myself from dying of boredom. Reading scientific papers all day wasn't exactly entertaining. But somehow it was equally draining, bringing me into the "I-just-want-to-lie down-and-not-move-for-a-century" mode once I hit home.
Poster day was fun. I like prof spotting. Jo spotted a hobbit today. And the ang moh whom JJ helped converse with the photocopying auntie is actually a prof from SBS. Then I got to see Lai Siang Hui again and I was surprised he recognized us and gave a warm "Hello!" before going about his tootishly funny ways. Then we spotted boss, with his shiny bald "beacon of light" head and BOSS jeans. And Tony Lim, who came late and looked as cui as ever. Yup, I finally agree he looks like frankenstein. Maybe hanging out too much with the dead bodies has made him morph into a zombie too.
Okay I guess that's enough crap to justify my absence if I MIA from now on. At least you guys know I'm still alive, with the bacteria, cold room and -81 deg fridges. I just hope I don't rub shoulders with seniors or bosses from other labs who'd throw their weight around. And I hope Mr Bean will give us a reason to grin back at him.
I better go print and read my scientific papers and brace myself for the rest of the week.
I'm in the "I-just-want-to-lie down-and-not-move-for-a-century" mode now. If you thought 30 hours of school per week was bad, think again. (What's more, most peeps have <30 hours a week and are already complaining.) I finally had a taste of lab life. It's only the second day, but I experienced some lab politics already and I see how much energy and stamina is needed to work in the lab. It's much harder than going to school, as it requires constant concentration, intellect, care, skill, physical activity, longer hours...whereas in class you're always seated and you can walk in and out as often as you want to fill water, visit the toilet, buy coffee, chit chat, doze off in class, doodle, daydream...Woots. A good challenge is always nice though. And I bet it's only going to get worse. Dinner is going to be true supper. Haha. But I had fun today :) Even with wasting 3 hours on poster day, it felt like I was in lab for a full day and was kept so busy afterward I didn't even have time to read the lab protocol and molecular cloning "bible". Starvation has found its way into my life! Everything is so new and it's a constant challenge trying to follow, understand, absorb and remember everything at once. Plus my lab's an aliquot of different cultures. Me and Jo are like the only Singaporean Chinese around. Hahaha. And I still wonder what boss does in his room. Youtube? Afternoon nap? Coffee brewing sessions? Hmm. He is as clueless as the labbies make him out to be.
Day 1 was the perfect contrast. I had to find things to do to keep myself from dying of boredom. Reading scientific papers all day wasn't exactly entertaining. But somehow it was equally draining, bringing me into the "I-just-want-to-lie down-and-not-move-for-a-century" mode once I hit home.
Poster day was fun. I like prof spotting. Jo spotted a hobbit today. And the ang moh whom JJ helped converse with the photocopying auntie is actually a prof from SBS. Then I got to see Lai Siang Hui again and I was surprised he recognized us and gave a warm "Hello!" before going about his tootishly funny ways. Then we spotted boss, with his shiny bald "beacon of light" head and BOSS jeans. And Tony Lim, who came late and looked as cui as ever. Yup, I finally agree he looks like frankenstein. Maybe hanging out too much with the dead bodies has made him morph into a zombie too.
Okay I guess that's enough crap to justify my absence if I MIA from now on. At least you guys know I'm still alive, with the bacteria, cold room and -81 deg fridges. I just hope I don't rub shoulders with seniors or bosses from other labs who'd throw their weight around. And I hope Mr Bean will give us a reason to grin back at him.
I better go print and read my scientific papers and brace myself for the rest of the week.
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