Mea Vita

On The Killing of Mice

2009-07-28T21:11:00.005+10:00

I've been killing mice. Those that haven't died of their own volition of course.

Just today, I've murdered 18 mice. A few weeks back, I killed another 23 mice and I'll be doing lots more further down the road. Well, okay, It wasn't I that killed them. My supervisor gassed them, then another person perfused the worms out of them. All I did was count the number of worms present in their system. And anyway, they died for a good cause. To rid the world of schistosomiasis. Okay, well, not the world. Parts of Africa and the Carribean and the Middle East I guess. Still a just cause.

It's interesting how the worms develop in the system. Nice pink healthy livers and lungs become grotesque, deformed nodulous brownish-grey things because the worms lay eggs in them. The spleens become engorged, swelling to about three times its size. The lungs too are affected, becoming hard, scarred things as the juvenile schistosomes pass through on their way to the liver.

Left: Healthy liver.

Right: Schistosome infested liver.

Until next time.

Refresher

2009-07-23T23:17:00.003+10:00

As is obvious, I've updated the template of this blog. I know it's been stagnant for a good long while now but it is to be hoped that with this, comes renewed enthusiasm to record the minutiae of life as it goes on.

As to what has been going on, there's really been nothing much to say. Despite erroneous assumptions by a certain friend, I am still continuing with my honours programme. It is simply that there was nothing of significance, or perhaps relevance, to write about.

I must leave it at that as it grows late and I have spent more time than I should have already, changing the template.

Until the next time,

Honours - Week One

2009-02-16T21:05:00.002+10:00

So, my Honours year has begun. Week one wasn't too bad. A lot of paperwork to do. There was the staff induction process, where I had to run around, getting my photo taken, my ID card made, my computer login created and I had to meet all the different important people. Not forgetting the safety training I had to do. A whole safety manual, an hour-long fire safety course online, and a two-hour long quarantine accreditation course online. Unfortunately there were no spare computers, so I'll have to lug my 4kg laptop there and back day after day.

As for lab work, that was minimal, only making several buffers and reagents as well as some stock media for use in culturing yeast. I can't believe how much I've forgotten over the last two years though. Simple things I should know and remember... all gone. Sigh. I was also shown some mice I'd be working with and the worms I'll be challenging them with as well as the snail hosts. At least I'm not as squeemish as I used to be about mice... all thanks to my brother's hamster.

That's all for week one. Not a bad start to the project.

Until next time.

New Year, New Toy

2009-01-02T12:28:00.004+10:00

I thought I'd start off the new year with a good note, despite several mishaps that marred the ending of the last year (which I will detail soon, or at least, when I get around to it).

Introducing, my new toy:

The Nokia 6210 Navigator. (No... I didn't take the picture myself)

I'd been looking to replace my old phone for some time now. I was really bugging me, the way it's so thick that it bulges out of my pocket everytime I go out with it. When the battery began to die, these thoughts returned in earnest.

After much searching, and considering of various phone models and plans and so on and with help from a couple of people, I finally selected this one (Other contenders were the iPhone and the Nokia 6600 slide/flip as well as the Nokia 6220).

I'm enjoying the phone a lot. It's got high speed internet (although I have to be careful of download quotas), a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, a GPS navigation system and a Symbian operating system. Best of all, at 14.9 mm thick it doesn't stick out of my pocket like my old 21mm thick phone did (well... not as much anyway).

No gripes about it yet, unlike when I first got my N6288.

Until next time,

Blustery Day

2008-11-24T12:57:00.005+10:00

Another post on the weird weather we've been having here in Brisbane over the past few weeks. There were the huge thunderstorms last week, as detailed in my previous post, with three nights of record rains. All of a sudden, as suddenly as it had started, it cleared up on Friday and not a storm cloud in sight since. The weather is still weird though. We're approaching into summer, so I guess it's no surprise that Friday and Saturday were hot. So hot in fact, that I ended up tossing and turning in my bed on Friday night, only getting to sleep at 4.30 am, waking up at 9 am for my 11am shift. That was a 'pleasant' time. The upside is that I managed to clear my laundry backlog.

Clear skies after the rains.

The weird part about the weather is that it ended up cooling down these past few days. Huge winds were blowing down in the city and last night was really really cold. Standing in Adelaide Street felt like being in a wind tunnel.

Aftermath of the storms was that the river turned brown. All the debris, detritus and dirt from the floods washed into the river, causing this murky muck. You can see leaves, shoots and branches all washed away, sedimenting by the riverside. Worst part is, all CityCat services were cancelled from Friday night until Tuesday, making it really inconvenient for me to get to work, as I hate taking the bus. It is understandable though, as all the debris in the water makes it hard for the Cat to operate. On the way to the city on Friday, as the boat was travelling along, you could feel the bumps as some bit of debris or other impacted on the hull.

The 'soup' that is the Brisbane River.

Until next time.

Stormy Weather

2008-11-20T01:03:00.005+10:00

Grey skies and inclement weather we've been having over the past few days. Sprung up as a bit of a surprise that. First inkling of it was a slight drizzle on Sunday which then turned into a storm, a magnitude of which apparently hasn't been seen in Brisbane in years. Newspapers are calling it a generational storm. I, being on my way home and seeing the drizzle, decided to wait it out a bit and went window shopping. What a mistake that was. I ended up getting soaked to the bone walking back from the CityCat in the middle of the storm. Huge winds and torrential downpour all around me.

Above: The view of the storm from the City CityCat Terminal.

Apparently the storm was so great that it caused AUD75 million in damages, with over 8000 claims on insurance for the damage and killed one person who was fell in a drain while trying to photograph the flooding waters.

Above: Another view of the CityCat Terminal with the storm raging away.

Since then, it's been raining intermittently over the past few days. Overcast days with occasional showers and large downpours every night. In fact, I can hear a large gush of rain just outside my window right now, seeming to be another record storm. Good news for the drought situation I guess. Last night's downpour exceeded half of the rainfall for the entire month of November, being 70mm bringing the collective rainfall to 170mm and filling the dams to 42.6%. While it is good for the drought, it's bad for the rest of us. No sun, chilly winds and rainfall does not make good weather to be out in. Add that to the fact that my laundry has been piling up for two weeks, making me almost out of socks.

Above: My two weeks pile of laundry

I wonder when this will end. I'm getting tired of all this wet weather.

Until next time.

Eyes Wide Open

2008-11-11T06:17:00.010+10:00

Yet another post dealing with my insomnia.

Didn't sleep the whole night this time. Guess that'll teach me to drink 6-7 cups of tea, trying to retain my attention for some last minute cramming.

Last subject up ahead. This morning I have Parasitology theory with the practical exam on in the afternoon. Not quite looking forward to it. There's reams and reams of stuff to remember. I hope my sleep addled brain is up to the task.

It's not that bad though. The morning really brightened my mood for some reason. There's just something about being awake when the birds start chirping and the dawn light creeps across the sky. Very peaceful and calming. Hopefully that's a good portent for what is to come.

Wish me luck.

Until next time.

And So It Begins

2008-11-06T19:50:00.003+10:00

My final Finals start tomorrow.

It looks to be a jam-packed schedule. One tomorrow morning, another on Monday afternoon and two on Tuesday. Not much time to prepare in.

After that, no more exams... ever. At least... I think so :D

Strangely apathetic though. I don't feel much about it one way or the other. I should be elated that there'll be no more stressful exams but, when I look at what's up ahead.... honours and so on, all very unknown, I wonder what it'll be like. Don't know if it'll be much better than exams really.

Oh well. Best buckle down to it and cram.

Until next time.

Spotlight - Nation

2008-10-29T16:14:00.004+10:00

One of my favourite authors, Terry Pratchett, brought out a new novel last month. Nation is about a young boy from an island in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean and a girl shipwrecked on the island who work together to reform the Nation after a tidal wave and which marooned the girl, destroyed the entire community on the Nation and its surrounding islands. Along the way, after some communication issues, they pick up additional survivors and learn some lessons (including how to make beer - by spitting in it and singing Baa, Baa Black Sheep sixteen times) as well as uncovering the shocking history of the Nation and a face-off with cannibals.

Despite not being one of Pratchett's famously witty Discworld novels, Nation more than holds its own in the satirical humour department as well as introducing the reader to some novel concepts and ideas. All in all, a really good read.

The End Is Nigh

2008-10-13T22:58:00.003+10:00

Seems like I'm stuck in a once-a-month rut. I get bored... but not bored enough to blog. Just lazy I guess.

Almost to the end of the semester. Just this week and the next to go, then I'm free for the rest of the year. After exams of course. What fun.

My exam timetable? One on the 7th November, then the 10th and two (one's a practical exam) on the 11th. Interestingly, this'll probably be my last formal exam ever, unless of course I need to take IELTS again next time (I don't really count that as much though, seeing as I don't study for it). Can't say I'm sad to see the end of it though.

I'm doing well assignment-wise. Most of them are completed and handed in, save for one lab report and a "Product Development Proposal" that's really complex. Luckily I'm doing the Marketing part which is not too bad, compared to the other sections at least.

Work's been not bad these past few weeks. Been having more fun nowadays after a short 'blah' spell.

Well, enough about the current issues.

Signing off.

Respite

2008-09-23T21:43:00.002+10:00

It's been a while.

Been busy. Somewhat. Assignments... work... etc.

Time off now though. Year Three teaching free week. Although not really teaching free as somehow we still have a solitary lecture on Thursday. Also got a couple more assignments to fit into this week and the midsemester break next week. A thousand five hundred word essay and a product development proposal. Not very simple tasks. I'll get it done somehow though.

Weather's getting warmer here... Not fun. Starting to feel sticky and uncomfortable, especially in my room. Don't know why but it's especially warm in there.

That's it for now. I think. Don't mind the terseness.

The Last Lecture

2008-08-10T00:09:00.002+10:00

I've just read 'The Last Lecture' by the late Randy Pausch (26 October 1960 - 25 July 2008), based on his last lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. This is made all the more poignant by the fact that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and shortly before the lecture, was told that the disease was fatally malignant.

The book is pretty insightful and witty, not morbidly so but more light-hearted, detailling several of his childhood dreams and how the achievement, or not, provided several life lessons to the author. 'The Last Lecture' was written, somewhat, as a means for the author to leave a legacy to his children but everyone can benefit from the insights he shared.

Utter Mundaneness

2008-08-09T19:06:00.003+10:00

Well. I guess I should update after a month of inactivity.

Nothing much has been going on around me. A life of normalcy.

Day in day out, the same old, same old.

Very boring, or so I've been told.

That's it. No more typing in verse. I'll just be terse.

Until there is hue and cry. Goodbye.

Gen Con™

2008-07-08T23:50:00.004+10:00

So last weekend was The Best Four Days In Gaming™ at the South Bank Convention Center.

I attended of course. Didn't find out about it until the day before it started, but luckily I had Thursday off and a late shift on Friday.

So I went... wandered around the booths. They had so much cool stuff there... games, books, DVDs, toy models. They even had a six-foot model of the Battlestar Galactica. Price was AUD180 though.... so tempting... but well... I did get the SOUNDaround box thingy though. It's quite good. Amplifies the sound from DVDs etc. and simulates surround sound from just a couple of speakers. One of the stall-holders even invited me to compete in a Rummikub competition, although I couldn't seeing as I was working Saturday.

Slightly disappointing that Jamie Bamber and James Callis couldn't make it for the convention. The Stargate: Atlantis stars that they brought out to replace them just didn't make the cut. I didn't even bother going to see them as I had no idea who they were.

Wizards of The Coast had a stall there as well... giving demo sessions of games. I tried a demo of Dungeons and Dragons. Was a bit hesitant at first, it took me halfway through the game before I actually got into it and my rogue took a pounding at the hands of some giant scorpions. I'd also tried a Magic: The Gathering demo there. Seeing as I hadn't playing in 4-5 years, I would think that qualifies me to be a newbie... somewhat. Anyway... played a match with the instructor there... and surprise surprise, I won. One of the veteran players there even gave me a free theme deck (rare and foil removed of course). After the demos, WOTC gave out free showbags with stuff in it. I got a Lorowyn theme deck and several D&D miniatures... which I'm not sure what I'm going to do with.

Next day (Friday) I decided on entering one of the tournaments there... play a few rounds of Magic again. So I signed up for the Grand Prix: Auckland trial. Sealed tournament, meaning that they gave a tournament pack and a couple of boosters and you construct your deck there. I made a black/green creature deck. Bad move though. The deck was too slow. In hindsight I should've gone with a red/green deck... cos I had better red cards. Oh well. Anyway, I lost horribly (9 games out of 10). To be expected I guess... seeing as I was really really rusty. Forgot a lot of the rules and so on... so I made so many mistakes that the veteran players had to correct. Still.... all in all it was a fun experience. Nice to play again after so long.

I didn't attend on Saturday and Sunday because I had work going. Very full weekend, cos I swapped half-shifts for full shifts. Had a bit of a disgusting situation on Friday night though. A customer, ran into the shop, up to the first floor (which was where the toilets were). She then headed to the DVD section, proceeded to drop trou and peed on the floor. She was drunk of course... but well... ugghh. And then she raced out the door when one of my colleagues caught her in the act.

And that was it for my Gen Con™ experience. Maybe I'll have a better chance next year... if I keep in practice.

In The Thick Of It

2008-06-15T18:24:00.002+10:00

Another semester... another exam period.

Right in the middle of one right now, with one down and two to go. Didn't really feel like exam period though. The pressure didn't seem to be there... and time passed so fast. Before I knew it, I'd completed the Virology paper already.

Now at work for the second paper, Immunology, tomorrow, after which, comes the last paper for the semester Molecular Microbiology. Then I'll be free for a month.

That stupid tic's still there... irritating me like anything. Nothing I do seems to get rid of it, sleeping more, sleeping less, not thinking about it, actively trying to control it, all doesn't work. It seems hell bent on annoying me.

That's all he wrote for now,

Until next time.

Destressing

2008-05-31T22:27:00.003+10:00

Have you ever noticed how much destressing sounds like distressing? Interesting that. I just noticed it myself.

Anyhow, so semester's almost over. Assignments and so on are mostly done... thankfully. Unusual side-effect this time round though, I developed a tic in my left eyelid. Really quite irritating when you've got it. Can't stop it from quivering. I can't really imagine what would cause such a thing though. Can't be stress... cause I've been quite laid-back and have been sleeping over my quota the past week.

Silly of me though. To oversleep. I'd got to the point where... couldn't for the life of me go to bed last night. I was tossing and turning until 5.30 am. Worst part was, I had work today. Luckily not a full shift though. Somehow I'd made it through unscathed.

There's still tomorrow though, and this time it is a full-shift. Better turn in early tonight and hopefully I get an extra serving of sand.

Au revoir

Sleepless in Cyberspace

2008-05-17T01:10:00.002+10:00

Well... here I am... at 1 am.

Still wide awake. Couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning and tossing and turning and tossing... well... you get the general idea.

Stupid circadian rhythm. Can't it see that I have work at 9.30 tomorrow? And that I'll probably need to keep going until 10pm or later because of my colleague's party-thingy?

No. I guess not. Oh well... probably need to dope up tomorrow.

On Coke and V and so on that is.

Intermittent

2008-04-10T13:25:00.005+10:00

Regularity is just not my thing. I can be mundane, but apparently not regular as evidenced by the sporadic-ness of this blog.

Sparse posts about nothing, punctuated by voids of silence.

It's not that it's impossible to write (type), it's the utter unavailability of to form coherent "essays" and the inability to formulate a topic on which to discourse.

To complicate matters, I'm now expected to produce a composition for the Xaverian's Diamond Jubilee. No mean feat, when so far, in the eight months, since I was first informed, I've come up with one word, and that, I thought up just as I went to bed last night.

Makes me wonder, how those writers do it, churning out books and books thousands of words with no apparent effort. Perhaps there's some super-drug that pumps literary inspiration into their minds, or maybe it's a psychic wavelength that all good writers share, in which their disparate thoughts are shared, bouncing around the dimensions of all those interconnected brains.

That's just about the limit of what my befuddled brain can churn out for now.

When The Leaves Fall

2008-03-12T20:57:00.002+10:00

Autumn's here!

At least that's what I think. What else can you surmise when the day can't decide which season it's in? Blazing hot for an hour or so, then suddenly chilly breezes nipping at your ankles.

Along with the seasonal metamorphosis comes the dreaded bugs. Flu-bugs that is. Apparently I don't deal well with random changes in weather patterns. Endurance is the key word here, with me enduring a stuffy nose, blocked sinuses and more of the like.

And that's it for now.

2008-02-28T13:21:00.005+10:00

So, 1st week is pretty much over and I'm settling into the doldrums of another year. Classes seem pretty boring... except for maybe Virology, the lecturer Paul Young (no... not the one from Desperate Housewives) is pretty entertaining.

Big thing this semester seems to be accents. For Immunology, I've got Stuart Kellie who's a Scot and for Genomics I've got Thomas Huber who is German. Pretty interesting trying to filter what they've been saying. I'm going to have to get used to it pretty quick though, otherwise I'm going to miss a lot of what they're talking about throughout the semester. It helps keep me alert though as I kinda like to see the way they pronounce everything. Nothing really good to say about my last subject, Molecular Microbiology. Pretty boring lecturer although the subject doesn't seem too bad. Apparently they're trying to kill us with lab work though as we've got labs throughout the semester for that course, from first week to the last.

On a side note, my uni computer labs got upgraded! I'm loving the new Macs even though I'm not a fan of Macs. Probably because of the new screen. The mouse and keyboard aren't anything special... but the screen is huge! Much much better than the old and stupid Macs they had which were so slow and terrible to use. I'm definitely going to be using the school computers a lot more...

Source: http://images.apple.com/imac/images/index_hero20071026.png [Online] Accessed 28/2/2008 1:35 pm.

And that's all for now.
Maybe with the new computers I'll be updating my blog more often?
Who knows?

Back In Exile

2008-02-21T23:53:00.002+10:00

Well... vacation's over and I'm back in Australia. So much to do now that I'm back. Have to start organising everything and clearing up so that things are not all over the place. Not really looking forward to starting class tho. Guess I've grown complacent and too used to not studying.

Ah well.
Bed time.

2008-02-14T12:17:00.002+10:00

10 days since my last post. Chinese New Year is pretty much over for me... not that there was much of a fuss this year round. Very low key in fact. Went out, chit-chatted, had cookies. That's the synopsis. Vacation's almost over and soon it'll be back to work and school. Wondering what the next semester will be like... tough? hectic? Oh well... time will tell.
Other than that... nothing much to say. I should keep a notebook to jot down stuff to say. I forget things all too easily.

Until next time then,

Sleeplessness

2008-02-04T01:56:00.000+10:00

Night before exams. I wonder why I can never get to sleep on time the night before exams. Maybe it's the cups of tea I have while studying. Maybe. Been having quite a few sleep issues though... past few weeks. Sleeping at 3-4 am and waking up at 12. Don't know what's got into me. Probably that holiday mood or something.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy day. Exam, real estate issues, enrollment issues, packing etc. Still... can't wait for tomorrow to come. Now, if only I could just get some shut-eye.

Kevin Rudd

2008-01-18T12:47:00.000+10:00

I met the Prime Minister.

Well... not exactly met... ran into him on the escalators in Borders. Apparently he stopped in to use the toilet just before we closed. I wonder if they'll put up a plaque one day... like all the fuss people made about US Presidents in shops and what not.

Anyway, assignment's due today. I've already finished it though... all that remains is just to hand it in.

That's it for now I guess... My usual tounge-tiedness (I wonder if that's a word?)

Resolution

2007-12-31T23:33:00.000+10:00

So, New Year approaching. Looking back on the sparseness that is my blog, I'm wondering how bleak my life this year has been, that I didn't have stuff to put in. Or maybe it's just that I'm less imaginative and can't find that much to stuff my blog with. Whichever it is, I'm meaning to put the past behind and get on with it.
Resolution: To continuously update my blog, mundane though the posts are. Perhaps the frequency will inspire me to greater heights and more interesting posts.

Anyway, I'll use the remainder of the space to wish a Happy New Year to all my friends and acquaintances.

Signing Off,

Back To Nothingness

2007-12-27T20:38:00.000+10:00

I wonder if that's a word...

Anyway, I finally have my internet connection back. Oh sweet, sweet connection.

So, updating, lectures are over, Christmas is over, now back to the usual boring routine. Really. I'm getting really really bored now. A bit alleviated by the return of the internet, at least I can surf online.

Christmas was hectic. Well, the week leading up to Christmas anyway. I had a really boring Christmas. Just sitting on the couch, watching Babe and Simpsons. Must reminisce about the Friday before Christmas though. Shift was from 4 -12.30. Latest I've ever worked. Busy too... up until about 10 pm when all the customers got quite sleepy. Anyway, survived through that shift. Surprisingly less sleepy than I thought. Went out and waited (at the wrong bus stop) for a bus. Was I ever so surprised when the bus sped by me without so much as a touch on the brakes. Found out that after 12 they switch to another bus stop further down the road. Luckily I figured it out, or I could've been sleeping on a park bench.

Christmas came, and Christmas went. Boxing Day, now that was a bit of a let down. Had to work full-shift on that day, so, no time to go shopping. What more, Guess which had a 25% sale on and where I bought something.... now had a 50% storewide sale. Arrrgghhh.

So... I think that pretty much sums it all up to date. Will try to be less lazy and post again sometime soon.

Until then.

Waiting

2007-12-03T08:14:00.001+10:00

So, here I am, back again. Realised I haven't posted in a long long long time.

Water under the bridge. I'm back now. Quite a few things have been happening over the three weeks that I haven't been blogging. For one thing... exams ended (they have to end sometime... can't always continue). My parents came over just after that... I went on a week's vacation to the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. It was quite fun. Sunshine Coast had nothing much, other than a few shops and the beach but it wasn't bad. I went swimming in the ocean for the second time then. Big accomplishment.... since I did it when my mom was there... which logically speaking, would (should?) never happen.

After a couple of days, there we moved over to the Gold Coast. Wrong time to go actually. The whole place was flooded with Matric. and Year 12 school leavers (they call them schoolies) so there were areas cordoned off and huge crowds of 'kids' everywhere. We did go to a theme park, Warner Bros' Movie World. It was pretty fun, going around, doing usual theme park stuff, roller coasters etc. I didn't dare go on the Lethal Weapon ride though, too scary. They had people dangling high high up and turned them all over the place.... like a gyroscope. I did however, get my first round on one of those shot rides, you know... those that shoot you straight up in the air? The Batwing ride. It was not bad... but as I'm slightly altophobic... it'll be a while before I'd dare do anything like that again. That ride, and the Superman roller coaster were the highlights of the park. Quite intense rides, 4,2 and 4.0 Gs respectively.

Other highlights of the trip included going to the Australian Outback Spectacular, a dinner show in which they have horses and sheep and cattle coming on stage to perform and showcase some of the Outback history. Also paid a visit to the Australia Zoo (the late Steve Erwin's zoo). Was not bad actually, I was expecting a lot less of it but it turned out to be quite interesting. Quite a few exhibits and so on. I was particularly taken by the tiger enclosure. The trainers were in there at the time, romping with the baby tigers and playing around. Looked so fun, wished I could've joined them. Of course, we didn't leave without trying to force feed the kangaroos. Poor things, they ate all that everyone gave them until, in the end, they were all sitting on the ground, quite bloated.

All in all, quite a good vacation. Not as hectic as the ones we usually take. Now I'm just sitting here, blogging, waiting for a delivery. It may be another two weeks before I get to blog though. I'm not sure yet. Today marks the beginning of the summer semester for me, an intensive two week course, Mondays to Fridays. On top of that I've work, so I'm thinking I'll be pretty worn out by the time this is over.

Until then,

Dammit

2007-11-16T03:11:00.000+10:00

Just great. I've got a 8 a.m. exam and here I am, 3 a.m. and still wide awake. Drat those 6 cups of tea I had to help me concentrate.

Oh well. I supposed I'd better try somehow. Hopefully I don't get all fuzzy and asleep during the exam.

Back Again

2007-11-09T13:56:00.000+10:00

Exams are half over, I've got a week's break (until next Wednesday before my next exam). Still kinda busy though. Working quite a lot this weekend to make up for the lack of work over the past few days. It's amazing how much you forget after not being on regular duty for almost a week. Yesterday I realised I hadn't been into work proper since the last Friday... so everything seemed quite 'new' to me, even botched a couple of announcements. I'm not looking forward to Saturday though, it's the first full-shift I'm pulling since... I forget when.. but it's been months since I've done that. Hopefully I can maintain my stamina...

Feeling a bit melancholy today. Not quite sure why... but there it is. I guess moods come around. Maybe it's the lack of sleep although I've been striving to catch eight hours a day, I've been sleeping at one or two everyday so maybe that's getting to me...

Oh Well.

Exhausted

2007-11-07T00:58:00.000+10:00

It's been a gruelling day. Woke up at 10:20 am, studied Genetics until 1... then left for an emergency shift at Chermside. Very very tiring. Spent 4.5 hours shifting and shelving books. Up and down and up and down.... then when we left at 8.30, had to wait 1/2 an hour to get a cab back. Had a quick dinner then started studying again.... just finished the final chapter... Exam's tomorrow at 11.15. Definitely very hectic. Luckily I won't have to repeat this soon.

Anyway, time for bed... if the 4 cups of tea and bottle of Coke will let me that is.

Wish me luck for tomorrow's exam. I think I'll need it.

Roadshows

2007-11-05T14:46:00.000+10:00

Looking forward to this evening, I've got a roadshow to go to.... some book publishing company... Murdoch books if I'm not mistaken. Should be interesting, it's held at a quite famous restaurant in Brisbane, Ec'co Bistro. There's gonna be food, wine and hopefully some good books and doorgifts to take away.

I like the last one I went to, Random House's. Gave us very good doorgifts... I got a sling bag, two books, two free movie passes to Attonement and a couple of interesting notebooks... just for sitting there for half an hour listening to upcoming hits.

On another note, I got a payrise last week. 38 cents an hour. Not much.... but still factors to about $20-30/month which is a little something. Added to that, it takes effect from Sept, which means I got an unexpected windfall.... of about $50. Still... not to be sneered at... expenses are high as it is and extras are welcome.

Speaking of expenses, I just spent $150 on printer inks. Stupid Issues in Biotech notes. 670 pages and a lot of them came in full page PDFs which I couldn't change... used up 3 black cartridges, 2 magenta and 1 cyan just printing the notes. Luckily my dad will be bringing a stock over for me so I don't have to buy so many for now. Thinking about it... I've asked my dad to bring me a lot of stuff.... hopefully he has enough space to pack it all....

Well... that's all he wrote.

Until next time.

End of the begining of the end of the ...

2007-11-02T18:37:00.000+10:00

There it is, tomorrow, the end of the world yet again. The sleep-depriving, frustrating period known as exam season. As usual, I'm going with the frantic last minute cram, although, for some reason, this time around it doesn't seem so bad. Probably I'm more relaxed because there's less examable material for this course (Although the course notes come up to 670 pages). There's also the fact that the exams are really spread out over two weeks, so there's no rush of panic. I've got one tomorrow, one on the 7th and one each on the 14th and 16th. Not a bad schedule as the one on the 14th is minor.

After that, I get to play. My parents are planning to come over for that week and I've got off from work for the whole week until the 24th. Look out Gold Coast!

But, I'm day-dreaming again. Looking too far ahead. Have to start concentrating on tomorrow (or now). So... now dinner... then study....

Until the next time.

Lifeless

2007-10-28T22:30:00.000+10:00

No.... I'm not moaning my lack of life... I'm perfectly fine with a boring routine.

It's just that I've been coming back from work utterly exhausted nowadays. I'm not sure why. And this coming week is going to be hectic. One day's break tomorrow then working until Thursday. Friday I have to study for Saturday's exam. Just thinking about it is exhausting.

Anyway, that's about it actually, seeing as I have a lack of social life and I don't do much else but work, study, sleep, play computer games, read and eat....

Until I can come up with something a little more interesting to post about....

Z is for Zurfing

2007-10-13T19:28:00.001+10:00

Had an awesome weekend. Caught two shows; Surf's Up and the Nanny Diaries. Surf's Up was great . Funny and wittty. I didn't want to watch it originally because I thought it'd be Happy Feet all over again.... but I was wrong. Nice and punchy storyline and great graphics. There seems to be a trend in movies about competitions nowadays, where the protagonist doesn't win. In Hairspray, Little Inness won instead of Tracy Turnblad and in Surf's Up, the chicken won instead. Anyway, Nanny Diaries was excellent as well albeit a bit long. It got really touching and heartrending at the end though.

As for other happenings, the semester's winding down and most of my assignments have been handed in so.... slightly more relaxing than usual nowadays but then again, I'm usually quite relaxed anyhow. All will change come exam time although I'm expecting this sem's exams to be easier than the last....

Anyway,
Seeya

2007-10-05T22:33:00.000+10:00

Guess it's time to post. Almost a month since my last post. I just couldn't find anything much to say that'd be interesting enough to post. Even now I struggle to find words to captivate and entrance.

But... anyway. The last month has been mundane at best. Doing what I do everyday. Uni. Work. Eat. Sleep. et cetera et cetera.

Oh yeah. Notable exception. I watched Hairspray twice. Good good show. After watching it the first time, I started listening to the soundtrack and kind of didn't stop for the whole week. I stopped at the end of the week though. Loved the songs.

Almost crunch time though. Finals are barely a month away and tons and tons of assignments due this week. Which generally I usually leave until the last minute to do so....
Anyway, most of them are over. Presentation tomorrow and a few more due on Monday and Friday then we're clear until exams.

Work's getting busier too. Keep running up and down and up and down. They've started hiring holiday temps to gear up for the peak Christmas period. Should ease the strain a bit.

Anyway. Enough chit chat. Seeya in a month. (or not...)

100!

2007-09-11T21:48:00.000+10:00

Wow... post number 100...

Interesting. I wonder that I've that much to post about. Seeing as others hit the hundredth mark way before me though... I guess I can safely assume that I don't have much to say. Which is fine by me. Don't need to bother thinking up what to post... just nice leisurely snippets of the daily grind.

Speaking of snippets... here comes another one.

So... busy week comes round again. I've got a lab report, and 2 assignments to do this week with a mid-sem test on Friday (Stats). Taking a 'break' now to blog but I've gotta finish off one of my assignments and the lab report tonight. I had quite a bit of fun working today. Nice and easy not one of the usual hectic days. Supposedly the calm before the storm though cos Christmas season's coming soon and apparently things go crazy then and doesn't stop. Luckily they hire Christmas temps so the onus is not thrust on us.

And that's all he wrote... for now anyway....

Stay tuned for the next clip.

Done

2007-09-01T00:07:00.000+10:00

Finished a couple of assignments these past couple of days. Last minute work as usual. I cut it a bit too fine this time though. Had a last minute panic attack when the Speculative Fiction assignment I did wouldn't fit properly. In the end I redid the whole thing. Managed to pull it off though. For that I'm happy.

Also, my computer got another transplant. This time it's reminiscent of the movie Face Off. The LCD screen got replaced because of this stupid tendency to black out or go green at the oddest times. Ah well... got a nice shiny new screen. Dell made quite a fuss again... not over having to replace the part but, as usual, mixup over appointments. This time, they didn't show the first time around and had to make a second/third appointment to come over. Still they got the job done.

That's all for now folks.
Until next time.

Mid Sems Again

2007-08-22T12:47:00.000+10:00

It's too soon.... still feeling quite lazy.... Barely 1 month after the start of sem and it's midsem exams already? I thought the sem was supposed to last 14 weeks.... apparently the people at the SIB don't know how to count cos it's just week 5 right now.

Still... shouldn't be too bad cos we've covered a lot of this like 2-3 times already. Mendel and his ever so irritating laws. Now that I think of it.... this is my 4th time going through Mendel... a little bit extra now with chi-square added... but the basics still covered in there....

Good thing about having covered a lot of this already is that assignments are pretty okay. I got 8/10 for a Mendel problem set the other day.... she took a few half marks off here and there for a couple of titchy little mistakes.... but it's still a good mark. Also 7/10 for Mendel practical. Didn't do so well in this one... but could've been worse. Personally I think the number of red marks in the paper was more than 3/10... but.... who am I to disagree right?

Now I've got a midsem coming up.... in about 13 mins.

Wish me luck....

Ekka

2007-08-16T09:47:00.000+10:00

Ooh... hadn't noticed... it's been 10 days since I last blogged. Getting slack. :-)

Anyhow... it's been an uneventful week +. Nothing much but the usual... eat, sleep, play computer games etc.

I went to the Ekka yesterday (the Royal Brisbane Exposition to be more exact). Almost didn't make it cos halfway in the journey, at the city, it started raining so I had to layover for a couple of hours. Finally made it though. It was quite fun. Very crowded. But lots of stuff to see. There was heaps of food everywhere. Displays on stuff like... gardening, quilts, beef and so on.... . It's also a fun-fair so had all the usual fun-fair games there as well as some of the more extreme ones. No rollercoaster though.... . I didn't try the games... too expensive and I really don't like being hung upside down that high.

They had these things called showbags there.... where you buy this big bag full of candy and stuff so I bought a Wonka one. It wasn't bad except for the lack of chocolate. Also, there was this Strawberry Sundae by Nestle Peters that's apparently an Ekka tradition. It wasn't bad. Quite surprising actually as it had a few layers. It looked like just strawberry ice-cream on a standard wafer cone but inside it had fruit and vanilla as well. I got a bit of a shock when strawberries started spilling out of it. Hehe.

Anyway, that's all for now I guess. I'll post up the pics next time when I've finished processing 'em.

Splurging

2007-08-06T22:36:00.000+10:00

Just paid my fees the other day. First time I ever wrote a cheque. Also... amount was huge! $11,030. I have pictures of it... but they're blur and posting pictures of cheques can be dangerous so I'm not gonna bother.
Spending that kind of money can be a bit sobering. It's like.... we're paying that much for a course that takes up about 4-5 hours/week and that's not including textbooks etc.

Ah well.

Been working the whole weekend. Two full day shifts. Pretty tiring but I'm getting used to it....
Must have had something funny for lunch on Sunday though. Stomach complications. Got so bad that I was shaking at registers and my coworkers were all like... "Are you well?"

Stupid class cancellation today. Didn't get the notice until... it was too late. So... could've slept in today. Other than that class at 8 am, my next class was at 5 pm. Woke up at 6.50 just for that class, walked all the way there and discovered only two guys sitting there. What a waste of time. So I went to Chermside and walked around for a bit. Didn't do much there though.

Then came back and napped.

All in all an uneventful day.

Transplant

2007-08-01T20:45:00.000+10:00

So...

Things breaking down all over the place. You've heard all about my troubles with my phone... now it's my PC's turn.

Keyboard broke. 'Y' key chipped off. Good news is.... it's still under warranty so a Dell techie came over today and fixed it up for me after a lot of fuss over when to service it.

Haven't been having pristine days. Been pretty tired these past couple of days. Damn this cold. Guess my body's telling me to catch up on my sleep.

Got through today though. Happy for that at least. Almost didn't make it to Biotech class cos I felt really really lethargic.

Two assignments came in. One Genetics and one big big one on Biotech. Luckily I've got a month to do it in although, cross your fingers, hope I won't wait until the last couple of days to tackle it. I think I won't... but who knows what I would or wouldn't do.... Hehe.

Good thing. My pay for the past couple of weeks has come in. No need to skimp for a while although in keeping with my words earlier. I should kerb spending so much and save a bit. Still, at least I have some excess now.... in case.

Signing Off.

I Spoke Too Soon

2007-07-28T21:29:00.000+10:00

Haih. Rookie mistakes. Thought I'd finally shaken off all those stupid little mistakes. Turns out... they were just compiling them and waiting to hit me with them all at once. 9 sheets today. 9 mistakes.... accumulated over the past... dunno how long. Also.... thought that cold went off for good already. Turns out it was just laying low... waiting to come back with a vengeance.

On the plus side.... Quite nice things have been happening. Yesterday, my phone charger broke. Went to the Three Centre and they told my it was not covered under warranty and I had to replace it but they didn't have one in stock. So I went to the Nokia Care Centre. The lady there was so nice. She replaced it for me at no cost because she recognised me from before.

Watched the Simpsons Movie today after work. Was quite hilarious. The 1 1/2 hours flew by just like that. Was pretty sorry that it was over so soon.

That's it for now I guess.
Stay tuned.

Tired

2007-07-27T10:37:00.000+10:00

Been quite exhausted this past week or so. Probably a spillover from the Harry Potter weekend where on Friday, finished work at 9.30 got back at 10.30, slept at 12.30 and woke up at 4.30. And the spillover lasted a week so far. Can't seem to convince myself to go to bed early. As a result... my concentration suffers. Been behaving a little odd for the past few days...

Ah well. Anyway, First week of classes. Horrible horrible timetable cos there's like 2 5 o'clock classes with not much in between. So it's like... morning classes... then 3-4 hours in between until the next class which is really stupid cos I can't do much else in then.

Work's been okay... gradually falling into a routine there. At least I'm not making any more stupid rookie mistakes. Back to 20 hours a week now... which doesn't seem to be enough. My pay suffers accordingly.

On the subject of pay, my expenditure this month has been horrendous. I really could have got by with less. Have to start cutting back on some of the luxuries... games... shows... clothes... etc.

Things have been pretty quiet nowadays although I suppose the pace will pick up in the coming weeks as school is in now. Don't really have much to do nowadays so mucking around on my computer playing the odd game or so and reading people's blogs :-)

This is interesting. Apparently I'm more eloquent when I'm feeling lethargic than I do when I'm perky as evidenced by the length of this post. Hmm... side effect. Interesting parallel with the Ed. Board days when I also had a general lack of sleep but could come up with all sorts of ideas to write down. Oh well. Suppose if I ever need to write next time... must sleep-deprive myself first.

That's it I suppose....

The End

2007-07-22T01:56:00.001+10:00

There. I've done it. I've finished The Book.

For all my talk of not taking it up tonight because I wouldn't be able to put it down, I did it. There'll be hell to pay tomorrow I guess. Something to do with the lack of sleep over the past couple of days... but I guess I'll just have to handle it somehow.

Okay. Bedtime.

P-Day

2007-07-21T05:02:00.000+10:00

Well... it's here.

P-Day. Potter Day.

Just got about 4 hours of sleep. Then have to work again. Don't know how I'm gonna stand it... but somehow... I must. 9 hours of standing at the registers. Don't quite know what to expect. Long lines? Rushing crowds? Hmm...

Anyway, gotta rush. have to leave in 52 minutes.

I'm Dying....

2007-07-18T22:21:00.000+10:00

Or so someone says...

Bad... bad... bad cold/cough.

Been hacking my way through everything these few days and it's getting really annoying. I mean... I 'd be talking to a customer and suddenly he's wondering why I'm turning red in the face and looking like I'm ready to pop. Not good at all. Went to see a nurse today.... told me to drink more fluids and get some more rest... and said it could last up to 6 weeks. Gosh! 6 weeks...

On the plus side, HP day's coming up. Just got my tie in the post so I'm all ready (almost) for the big day. Wonder if it'll be as big as everyone's making it up to be. Well... we'll see. We'll see. At least I've got my copy preordered and ready and I should get the Plush Owl too. Also going for a post-potter party.... dunno how that'll turn out yet. I'll try to get pics and stuff to post.... but don't hold it against me if I don't. :-P

That's it for now. Until next time.

Feelin' Good....

2007-07-06T21:12:00.000+10:00

The week's been quite okay... aside from the fact that my phone had to go into the shop again... The screen was busted. Got a new one though :-). New screen that is.

And...I've been having a flu these past four or so days. Got until my voice was like really scratchy at the end of today.

All that aside, I'm feeling pretty good. Work's been fun... warming up to my colleagues slightly. I've got some new stuff... new books... shows... games.... etc. So... life's been good.

That's it I guess.

Over and Out.

Relieved

2007-07-04T21:38:00.000+10:00

I was soooo nervous.
My results came out today.

Turns out, I got a 4 (pass) for Biochem and 6 (distinction) for Genetics, Animal and Microbiology.
Really, really a relief. I thought Biochem was a goner for sure. Although it's slightly saddening, to think that if I'd been more alert and attentive, I could've maybe gotten higher for Animal and Micro? Then again... I shouldn't be dwelling on maybes.... Good thing is... I passed BIOCHEM!!!!

In other news, woke up with a horrible flu couple of days ago. Probably cos of all those late nights (damn you internal clock...). But... it's improving... with the help of Dimetapp. Hehe. I'm turning into a druggie.

Today was my day off... went to the Westfield Chermside shopping centre. Not bad. Very big. Lots of shops. Didn't buy much though. They had a Borders there. Made me miss Queensbay quite a bit cause it's almost like it. Same design, same tables, shelves and everything. Borders in the city is quite different. Old style I think. The shelves are deeper and higher and everything's just different. Harder for me. But.... what they hey... I can rough it... I'll adapt.

And... that's all for now I guess. Now playing the Harry Potter OOTP videogame. Can't wait for the movie and the book to come out. Still don't know what I'll be doing for the costume though.

Dos vidanya.

Transformers, Robots In Disguise

2007-06-29T00:05:00.000+10:00

Just caught Transfomers just now. 3.40 showing at the Southbank Cinemas.
Excellent movie. Can't exactly say what set it apart from all other movies but IMHO it's better than Pirates or Spiderman. :-)
My new favourite movie!

In other news, I tried the Nasi Lemak at Satay Hut today. And it was okay. Not bad. But not good either. The beef that accompanied it had a strange texture to it. Very grainy. Don't quite know what it was. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it. I've only just thought that a picture would be a good accompaniment but seeing as it's all gone down the gullet...

That's it for now I guess...

Damn It All...

2007-06-24T23:45:00.000+10:00

The weekend's been absolutely terrible.

Recap:

Had eight transaborts on Friday. Add one more today... brings it up to nine. Hehe. Almost beat Aileen's record. Then there was the whole mess with the SPOs and stuff.

On top of that.... guess what I had for lunch on Saturday.
Pot Flambe!!
Really. The pot caught fire just as I started heating it up. And it was like... two pots burning away on the stove. Luckily, I wield a mean fire extinguisher. And to think I was leaning over the pot just a half minute before it spontaneously combusted. Ugghh.

Above: Scene of the carnage.

Plus, I do believe I've overspent this month. Definitely. Won't go into details here but suffice to say that I have to reign myself in.

On the positive side of the ledger, I got some more new stuff. Bought a few books, some DVDs, and.... 3 more t-shirts and a bag. (Just to make Justin jealous. Hehe. Evil, aren't I?)

And that's all for now. At least I think that's all. Brain's a bit fuzzy now. Definitely not enough sleep over the past few days.

Au revoir!

And Life Goes On...

2007-06-20T23:16:00.000+10:00

Exam's may be over... but life still goes on.
Back to work. Done with my long weekend away. Even better, no 20 hour weekly limit so I get more time at work which = more moolah for me. :-)

Weather here's getting colder and colder. As I sit here, I don't think I can feel my toes.... hehe. Seriously, I'm shivering. Thank God for sweaters and pullovers. At least I'm not shivering at work.

Sales are on now. End of June sales. Lots of shops have 50% discount. Just bought a t-shirt and a pants...
Might buy more... now that I've got more spare cash coming in. Hehe.

Anyway, that's it for now I guess.

Until next time.

Well... It's Over

2007-06-18T23:06:00.000+10:00

and I'm glad for it. It's been a stressful weekend but I'm none too proud with myself over today.

Note to self: Never ever again stay up until 2 a.m. revising. It just takes too much out of you.

I was yawning and fuzzy throughout both my exams. God knows how I did. I know I screwed up at least two questions in Micro and in Animal as well. Ah well... bygones.

Better get to bed then.

G'night

Two Down

2007-06-16T23:29:00.000+10:00

Two down and the worst is over...

Not quite. The worst may be over but the next ones're quantity over quality. Two exams in one single day and just a day to study for them. I suppose I'll really have to hunker down to it tomorrow and get it all settled with. Future's looking brighter though with the end of exams on the horizon. I just have to make it past Monday.

Genetics and Biochem were okay. Not as bad as I feared but not smooth sailing either. Good part is that at least I finished answering as much as I could. Time constraints'll really kill you. We had about 2 hours to answer 8-10 questions for each exam. Supposedly short-answer but their short-answer = full length STPM essay question. Ah well. Have to keep up with the times I guess.

Anyhow. Gotta go to bed. Tomorrow's gonna be packed.

Signing Off.

Arrggghhh!!!!

2007-06-13T22:35:00.001+10:00

Haih. Tomorrow's my Biochem final.

Guess what. I haven't studied yet.

Guess it's an all-nighter for me this time.

Guess I should have studied earlier huh?

Anyway.

Wish me luck. Or at least some divine intervention.

Catching Up

2007-06-04T22:18:00.000+10:00

So...

Yesterday, went out the whole day for a Movie Marathon!
Caught up on some of the shows I'd missed.
Pirates, Spiderman and ... Reno?

Reno sucked. Terrible terrible show. Slightly funny in a few points but otherwise horrible. Ah well.... it was just a filler between Pirates and Spidey anyhow.

Pirates was great! I watched it on the 25m screen (Brisbane's biggest). Awesome special effects and very fun to watch. Really enjoyed it... especially the part where Barbosa and Jack clash. I find Barbosa to be more interesting than Jack tho... probably cos he's more pirate-y.

Spiderman was not bad... comes in a close second out of the three... Although I'm wondering... if Spidey had a friend dying on the floor below... why didn't he remember it and go down immediately instead of chit chatting with the bad guy? Interesting all the same... even though it was a bit long ( I know Pirates was longer but it didn't feel that way...)

At the end of the day... a bit stiff from all that sitting around. Still, I had fun... Shrek's coming out tho... luckily it's still study break... so can probably catch it this weekend.

Seeya.

The End Of The Beginning

2007-06-03T09:17:00.000+10:00

Thus ends my first week back at work.

Turns out there's a ton of things I forgot or a ton of new things that I had to learn/relearn. Makes me feel like such an ass cos I should have known all this stuff. And I guess my feet forgot how to stand that long. And it was only 5-6 hours/time... not like the 9 hour shifts I used to pull...
Ah well... all part of acclimatisation.
Yesterday particularly was really hectic. When at reg.... didn't stop for a single second. It was like... "Next", "Thank You" then "Next"... And even off reg... kept running up and down.

On a brighter note, it was also the last week of classes. Now we have swotvac (study break). I wonder how much studying I can do tho .

Anyway.... day off today... gonna go have a Movie Marathon!!!
Catch up on all that I've missed.

Seeya.

Still Kicking

2007-05-25T21:52:00.000+10:00

No... I'm not dead and
No... I've not dropped off the face of the Earth.

I've just been really really swamped.
I know I promised to update but I had so many things on my plate for the past couple of weeks. I had a huge Biochem poster to do, a Biochem quiz, an Animal Biology presentation, 4 Micro lab reports and a Micro quiz to prepare for. Thank God it's now over and done with. I'm not sure how well I did... but at least I did it.

Anyway, that's some of the things I've been up to....
As for the rest... I've been living.... eating, sleeping, shopping (no... not clothes... groceries - I seem to need a ton of groceries, the other day I humped back 36 rolls of toilet tissue to keep... hehe... turning into an old maid... keeping toilet rolls....).

I bought a chair yesterday... lugged it back on the train and the bus.... all 17 kilos of it. Nearly died... but I made it and it was worth it. Very comfy.

Tomorrow... start training (again! - This'll be like the 3rd time already... for cashiering anyway... guess some things are just meant to be done over and over and over.... again).

I guess I'll be back when I think up more stuff... and pics... next time... still lazy to convert the RAW files...

Signing Off

All Hell Breaks Loose

2007-04-27T21:05:00.000+10:00

The world ends tomorrow. Tomorrow, the dreaded Biochem midsem exam begins and I'm not prepared. Even now, I'm only through with less than half of what I need to know for tomorrow's exam. Even if the world miraculously survives tomorrow, there's still next week. Genetics Lab Report, 3 Microbiology reports, 1 Microbiology quiz... all happens next week.

Can't be giving up though. I persevere. Now on a break from the study but will hit my books again soon.

Wish Me Luck.

Signing Off.

View From Stradbroke

2007-04-21T23:59:00.000+10:00

I promised more photos... so here... some photos from when I was at Stradbroke Island on my Biotech field trip :-). Below is the ferry that we took to get there.
And these are some of my coursemates throwing around a football...That's the view from the back of the ferry....
Moreton Bay Research Station... that's where I stayed. Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures inside so I can't show what it's like in there... . Coincidentally, their sister station, on Herne Island, burnt down the day before the field trip. Lucky it wasn't this one...
They didn't have very much room... by luck of draw I got assigned to the VIP house because there was no more rooms.... that was really nice... no need to queue up with everyone else for the showers....
These are some of the scenes around the island.

And that's a group photo of all of us (Lecturers, 1st year Biotech students , 3rd year mentors)
Ugghh... it's late... really need to go to bed already. I'll post more up next time.

Signing Off.

It's Here Again

2007-04-20T20:22:00.000+10:00

Exam period. Tomorrow signals the start of it. Genetics tomorrow then Biochem next Saturday. Microbiology and Animal Biology have no mid-semesters... but that probably just means that they're waiting to throw their worst at you at the finals. Oh well. Anyway... lazy procrastinator that I am, here I am blogging instead of studying. I should I know... hehe.

Anyway. Good news today... I got 10/10 in a microbiology quiz a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully that's a portent of things to come.

I'd better go start cramming.

Signing Off.

Virtual Tour

2007-04-17T21:03:00.000+10:00

First up on this virtual tour is... the view I get every weekday... on the way to school. This is on the outskirts of the uni, just before the bus stop and the student centre.

Building Number 1. The Frogan-Smith Building. I don't actually have any classes here... but it's a representative of most of the buildings in UQ. It's the most central building and has the nicest architecture (IMHO). This view is from the back (Kelvin Goh would of course call it the front...). This is where the law school is.

Next up, the Biological and Chemical Sciences (BACS) Library. This is where I spend a lot of my spare time surfing the net... When I have a break between classes... that (or the Dorothy Hill Engineering Library (not featured in this tour)... because it's closer) is where I'll usually be found.
Backtracking a bit... this is the Great Court in front of Building 1. It's like this large grassy lawn where a lot of people like to lounge or sleep. Also study of course. I don't know if I can bring myself to actually sleep on the grass. Too self-concious I guess.

The Union. This is where most of the food is. The lolly shop (candy) is here as well as a sushi place and the main refractory (cafeteria). This is one of the archways that surround the Great Court. It's actually the one leading to the Union.

And this is outside the uni... where I do a lot of my grocery shopping. Coles.
And finally... where I rest my head at night.

Hopefully this sates your photo needs Justin.... for now... I still have some others... which I will try and put up soon.

Signing Off.

Fleeting Time

2007-04-06T18:14:00.000+10:00

Time flies really fast... doesn't it? I can't believe I let this long get by before posting again. Oh well... at least I'm doing it now. Anyway, a few things have happened since the last time I posted, we went to Stradbroke Island for a short camp-like trip. Biotech style... meaning a quizzes and workshops.

The quiz was horrible... a lot of questions about the nationality of people who won Nobel Prizes... and a lot of questions on Australian things. Funny thing though. Half to 3/4 of the people who went on the trip were Malaysian, but none of us could get the last question (about Malaysia) right. It went something like... which Malaysian University won *some Japanese prize that I can't remember* and where did the professor who won the award do his tertiary ed. Answer: University Malaya (which I argued for and was overruled) for the Nipah Virus discovery and the Professor was educated in Australia (DUH! We all got that one right). Besides that, it was really, really fun. Interestingly enough, one of my professors could write my name in Chinese, even though I hadn't told him anything but the name.

Later that night, the professors organised a trip to the local pub (The Little Ship... or something like that). Walked through the cemetary at night to get there. Professor was walking so fast and my friends were all creeped out by it. I.... tried not to think of it and concentrated on following Prof. Barnard. Got there and the pub turned out to be closed... at 8 p.m. on a Saturday! Unbelievable. Decided to go to another one nearer the shops. So, we about-faced and went through the cemetary yet again. Walked and walked for ages. The other pub was closed as well. Darn. Hehe. Went back to the research station (where we stayed, btw). Then... really had fun. Played Pictionary until 12 a.m. Didn't stop laughing the whole time it was hilarious. And... funny bit... but the dice... everytime I rolled... it seemed to be jinxed. It went... 1, 2, 3 and then 3, 2, 1 consecutively. That was really freaky.

Next day, went on a hike. Up a cliff near the ocean. Man, the wind was strong. Hair was flying all over the place. When we took our group photo there, didn't dare leave my camera on a rock... too scared it'd blow away. Got down from the cliff then went to a beach. Swam in the ocean (first time!) and then played some cricket (also first time!). After that, went back. So tired, I slept through the entire trip back to Uni.

And that was my Stradbroke Trip. After that was just usual schooling until yesterday. Now... HOLIDAYS!!! WooHoo!!!

Happy Easter everyone!

Signing Off.

Addicted

2007-03-20T22:04:00.000+10:00

Internet addiction creeps up very easily. Since I got my internet here, I started online gaming again. Whole of Sunday, and today... playing online. Ah well... initial period I guess. Hopefully this isn't the trend for the whole semester or the whole year. On the plus side, lectures are getting more interesting, albeit more challenging. More meat to chew on I suppose. I'm enjoying Genetics, Microbiology and Animal Biology. Biochemistry... so so only. It's fine I guess, but fails to catch my interest the way the rest do.

Went to the market for the first time here on Saturday. Lots and lots of interesting things to see there (lots of vegetables too). They had all sorts of food stalls, some craft stalls. I even managed to get 'chang' there. I bought a basil plant for $1 which promptly wilted when I got back. It's back to life now... (I'm crossing my fingers... hoping I suddenly grow a green thumb).

Apparently we're going on a chocolate binge here... barely a day goes by without us eating at least a piece of chocolate here. Hopefully there's no long term side effects. Now if only I can find the willpower....

Signing Off

Back Again

2007-03-16T21:35:00.000+10:00

It looks like what I said here has had an effect. No sooner did I post my last post than I got my home internet line activated... no need to scramble for library terminals just to do the most simple things anymore.

Anyway... it's still pretty much the same as last time... I eat, I sleep, I go to class, I survive.

Aside from that... the occasional jaunt to the shopping mall or grocery store... and that about sums up my week.

That's that again. Until next time.

Signing Off.

And Again

2007-03-13T12:41:00.000+10:00

Well... here I am again. Nothing much just taking the time out to keep typing and make sure that there's something here at least. Can't wait until I get my internet at home so I can go back to surfing the net at home. Was thinking of starting online gaming again... but... we'll see. Anyway, last week was... boring. Highlight: celebrated my b'day on Saturday... and went for pizza on Sunday to celebrate. It was not bad... quite fun. I ate a whole pizza... and then some. Hehe. On Friday night, my housemates suprised me with a cake and candles... but they did it just after I went to bed so I was naturally blur and sleepy. Still it was a nice thought.

Okay... that's it I guess... nowadays very sleepy. Wonder why? anyway... I'm very blur right now... so no idea what to type. Until the next round.

Signing Off.

Monday Blues

2007-03-05T09:21:00.000+10:00

One more week, one more Monday.

Still in the uni library, using their internet, mine hasn't come in yet... for some weird thing... they said it may take until April . Internet deprivation can be so horrendous.

We've had a okay weekend though. Even though I was dead tired at the end of it. Saturday we celebrated the birthday of a friend of a friend of a sister who we got to know here. Was quite fun. She took us out to this Vietnamese place to have dinner.

Sunday was lazy. Nothing to do. I went out to the city but for no purpose. Wanted to go to the post office but, silly me, forgot it was the weekend and the post office was closed. Went to the craft fair but there was nothing there. Pretty boring. Later in the night though, it got more exciting. Had a pitched battle in Warcraft with my housemates. Lasted at least 3 hours... but I Won!!

Which brings us back to now. Long day ahead. I've got 3 more classes and then a 3 hour lab which means there's the whole of my day gone. Oh well...

Signing Off

And Life Goes On

2007-03-01T09:14:00.000+10:00

So... first post from all the way over here. Haven't been able to update my blog or go online at all for the past 2-3 weeks. No internet at home (sad isn't it?) but, thankfully it's about to be solved, internet applications underway and should be up by next week or so. On the plus side, I've got a host of new stuff, new desk (took me almost the whole day and ruined a good screwdriver to fix up), new phone and so on.

Classes have started here in UQ and it's quite fun, some of the subjects at least. It's a different system here than what we're used to back in Malaysia. For one thing the courses here have multiple lecturers per subject. So you never know if the next lecture will be the same or different. It makes it disconcerting because each lecturer will have their own style. Other than that, I'm adapting to life here and doing things on my own. That's one of the things that's slightly harder for me since in Penang, my parents will usually handle most of the things. Still, I'm managing, managing quite well I think (IMHO). No real big problems cropped up yet.

Other than that, things are pretty mundane here. Quite quiet, everything closes at 5 or 6 pm, so can't even 'lepak' at the shopping malls. Mostly stay at home with my computer or go to Uni to 'tumpang' their line like I'm doing now. Chinese New Year was also very quiet. Didn't feel much in the celebration mood because not many people were celebrating it. Still, we paid a visit to Chinatown and saw a few lion dances.

That's basically everything there is since I left... Not one of my better days so I can't think of much to type. Will update when I get my internet connection settled and if I can think of more stuff to say. 'Till then,

Signing Off.

Paradigm Shift

2007-02-11T10:23:00.000+10:00

Okay... this is it. In a little less than ten hours, Yong Ming will officially be headed into exile. Heading of onto another leg of my life story. From this point on everything changes (no... not really... some things remain the same :-)). Still, everything around will become unknown. Exciting because there'll be so many new things unexplored, scary because not all unknown, unexplored things are good. But I will persevere and weather the storm (hopefully). Although some part of me is loth to leave Penang, another part is also excited and ready for new things and new challenges.

Let us descend now, unto the breach.

Signing Off.

Unshackled

2007-02-06T00:52:00.000+10:00

I quit.

Yeah... that was what I did. Stopped working at Borders as of 2nd Feb 2007. It was a nice job. Friendly colleagues, comfortable working environment and all... but it's done. Another chapter of my life closed.

For the weekend, I went to KL. Went down on Friday and stayed with my aunt and uncle. Didn't do much on Friday. On Saturday, went around to BTS and 1-Utama. Walked around shopping but didn't see much. We went to the Eye on Malaysia though on Saturday night. Went up the giant Ferris wheel. Boy did it go up high. I had a touch of altophobia... a bit scary going up there all the way. Luckily it didn't stop right at the top and dangle there.

Sunday, we went to Sunway Pyramid and walked and shopped. A bit of a rush because we were almost late for checkout. And then we went to Genting. Went to the theme park but it was a bit of a let down. Not very interesting to say the least. I had more fun shopping.

Came back at 6 this evening.

That's all.

Signing Off.

A Splash Of Colour

2007-01-24T00:39:00.000+10:00

A splash of colour in an otherwise monotonous life... that's what today was. One of the more interesting days after the same old same old work every day.

Today began just like any other day. The sun rose, I rose and so on. I got up, got dressed, got my teeth cleaned, got my breakfast, got washed up and went out. Went to Gurney and met Justin for a movie. Night in The Museum. I had watched it before... but it was just as nice the second time round.

After that... walked around a bit and then decided to hit Queensbay. Went there and had KFC. Then we walked and we walked and we walked and we walked (suffice to said we walked a whole lot...) went into many stores and looked around, even skipping dinner.

We walked and walked and walked until we were going round over and over again. I think we circled the entire Queensbay Mall at least 3 times. Also went for Starbucks. My working status came in extremely useful there. I had a Grande Toffeenut Lattè and... man... was it good! First time I actually had anything hot from Starbucks... definitely going back for more!! Hehe.

All in all, it's been a very very good day.

Thanks Justin.

Signing Off.

Back Again....

2007-01-10T23:50:00.000+10:00

Well well well... it has been a while... hasn't it?

That's just because nothing much's been going on since the last time I blogged. It's been eat, sleep, play, work (not necessarily in that order) every day for the past 2-3 weeks. The only exciting bit's been that I've just completed a 7-day, no day-off, stint. A personal record.... all thanks to Daniel and Aileen.

The worst part about working at a bookshop is that it's always work... and you don't get to read their books... it's like the saying... water water all around but not a drop to drink.
Still it's been fun. Quite entertaining... especially with all the antics that we get up to.

So... that's that... oh yeah.... I'm quitting at the end of the month... things'll probably be more sporadic and spontaneous then... so I'll probably have more to say. I'll try and keep things going... but I think it'll probably be another void until after I quit.

Signing Off.

Christmas!!

2006-12-26T02:00:00.000+10:00

Hooray!! It's Christmas...

Or it was anyway...

Anyhow... unlike all you lucky folks out there who were whooping and celebrating away... I was stuck at work... no rest for the wicked as they say. Still... not a bad way to spend the day... at least I got to do something... not spend the whole day at home bored to death. Added to the fact that I'm paid for it... well...

Caught a bit of a cold so... not feeling too well right now. Apparently it's the Border's epidemic. Almost everyone has some form of it. Oh well....

Tomorrow I have a class activity just before work so should have more interesting things to blog about. If not... well... hehe.

Belated Merry Christmas everyone!!

Signing Off.

I GOT IT!!!

2006-12-24T00:03:00.000+10:00

Finally... after so long... months and months and months and months and months and months....

I've finally got it...

My D80

Hehe

Signing Off

To Date...

2006-12-22T01:30:00.000+10:00

Hmm... haven't been updating in a long time.

Probably because too busy with work. It's like that.... when you're working you can't blog... and when you're not working you try to spend your time relaxing or doing some recreation.

So... I've gone to the next step of uni applications... I've accepted... got my CoE... now.... VISA APPLICATION!!

Hehe... overly dramatic.

Anyway.... that's all for now I guess

Nothing big happening since I'm at work all the time.

Signing Off.

On Your Feet

2006-12-11T00:52:00.000+10:00

Basically what I've been doing for the past two days. On My Feet. Yesterday morning... started out with a nice refreshing game of paintball. We loaded a hundred pellets and shot it out the first round. Didn't really have fun because everyone was busy hiding and not shooting. The subsequent rounds were more fun. We actually bought 2000 more pellets to share amongst all of us. Then... we went all out, shooting people left and right. I got shot a few times. Once by Poh Yin and once by Ben's brother (that raised a few scars). I gave as good as I got though (poor Jun Lin). Hehe. I shot Jun Lin three or four times. I got Juliana's marker (read: gun) once as well. All in all... very fun. At the end, my adrenaline was pumping. Didn't feel tired or hungry. Very expensive game though. Just for that game, we ended up spending RM80 each. After that, adjourned for lunch and then went to Chin Lin's place for a friendly round of Warcraft... although I'd say that Chin Lin, Jun Lin and Caroline got off on a technicality. I got DCed and Juliana's battery died... so that's why our team lost (we were winning... don't let anyone tell you otherwise) and then at night, I went out for dinner at the BBQ steamboat place at Nagore Road. It was fun... but well... as always... no one seemed to be able to finish all they took. I wonder why that's never a problem when I partake of BBQ steamboat with other people? Then... with full bellies, we went to Batu Ferrighi and walked around a bit... The End (for Saturday that is... this is gonna be a long one... bear with me okay?)

So... now comes Sunday. Went to church as usual... after church... went to Little Cottage for lunch. The food was nice... service was prompt. Very filling. I left almost bursting to the seams. Then... we decided to go to Queensbay... hehe. When we went there... it was about 2.30 pm. When we left... it was 9 pm. Hehe... methinks this was the longest time I've ever been shopping. Body Glove was on sale... 50% off. I took advantage and got a t-shirt. My brother got a jacket. My mom bought a blouse from Bossini at 40% off. Then we walked and walked and walked and walked. Went to Borders.... Old Town for coffee (their bread is seriously nice... don't know what they put in it but it tastes like heaven). Went to Jusco... and so on... In the end... we also went to In-Base... my bro got another t-shirt there... I tried a lot of things... but unfortunately they either weren't suitable or they didn't actually fit so... couldn't get anything more.... Still a full day... Dinner: all I had was a few pieces of sushi and a cream puff from Beard Papa's.

And that's all he wrote.

Not bad for two days... didn't actually go home much...

We'll see what next week brings.

Signing Off

'Tis The Season

2006-12-09T01:11:00.000+10:00

I guess the season currently is... not just because Christmas is near... but it's also the season for part time work and so on. I just landed myself a part time job... after much deliberation and consulting of friends... deciding between two different jobs. I started a day of training and will be starting work next week.

Also... I got a little something for myself... a cute PenGuin skin for my thumbdrive... my classmates have christianed it "Little Yong Ming"... but I don't mind.

Apparently Queensbay has displaced INTI in the second home category. I've spent everyday in the past week going there. Monday... my first time... with Benjamin, Caroline, Chin Lin and Li Lynn. Tuesday.... with dad's friend... Wednesday... Thursday... Friday.. well you get the idea. On Thursday I went with Ee Ling and her sister. Ostensibly to change the RAM in her notebook. Got there... and the RAM couldn't be changed because a screwdriver was missing. Went shopping after that. I saw a green t-shirt in a shop in In-Base that was nice. Wanted to get it... went back there 3 times... but after trying it out... well... not that nice after all... so went away empty handed.

Tomorrow... going for paintball... humph... my classmates are so mean... they said they all will target me! It's so bad of them.... they want to make me run. Never mind.... tomorrow you'll see the heroic last stand of Yong Ming... hehe.

Signing Off

My Achy Breaky Legs...

2006-12-05T02:21:00.001+10:00

Well, fair's over. I sold about 12-13 notebooks in three days. Okay achievement although I really could have done better. I wonder why is it I'm usually unable to sell past 2 or 3 pm? I always make the bulk of my sales earlier in the day. Curious. Anyway, done with that. Although not fully done yet. Customers who are friends and friends who are customers keep calling me to troubleshoot for them. I mean really, you cut your commision for them, cut prices for them, and they expect you to do everything for them despite it not being your job, despite the fact that you're not working already. And all this after carrying out three days of hard labour. Aching legs, sore back, black eyes and extreme lethargy and all.

Some good did come out of the PC Fair though, I got a very nice PenDrive. 1 Gigabyte storage and it looks really cool. Maybe I'll spice it up or something. I also got this no-brand webcam. Sufficient to use I guess. So I can't really complain. Also, I had fun. It really was fun, haggling with customers, trying to convince them of product superiority. I also made some new friends. Downside, I didn't get my camera yet. The price was really really steep. Outside selling at about 4.1k, in the fair, selling at 4.9k.

Today, went to Queensbay for the first time. It was HUGE!! There were shops everywhere. Food shops all around with clothing stores (big name brand clothing stores all around), there was a nice Popular bookstore and a large Borders (which isn't open yet). I think I've died and gone to heaven. Going there again tomorrrow and on Thursday and on goodness knows when. Can't get enough of the place.

Signing Off.

Fairs, Faired, Fairing... Fair

2006-12-02T10:11:00.000+10:00

So... this weekend is the weekend of the PC Fair. I just completed my first day there. Sold a measly three units. After it was done, my legs ached like anything. It was just like my first day at Body Glove. Hopefully today will be like the second day and that it'll be better.

Also, my unconditional offer letter came in already. Finally! I accepted it yesterday. One more small step closer to University. Hehe. Can't wait.

This is a short post. Nothing to say actually. Just keeping it updated.

Signing Off.

Of Designing, Birthdays and Work...

2006-11-28T21:53:00.000+10:00

So... haven't blogged in a while. Not sure if what I've done is worthy of a blog post but hey... this is a place for my thoughts and ideas as well as to keep updating what I've done. So what else is it for if not for the minutiae of my life.

Here goes...

Having done with the science camp, they... the all-seeing, all-knowing powers-that-be of INTI decided to give us more work to do. SO they came up with this scheme to get us to help them with the INTI Open Day (which incidentally was supposed to be the job of the HSC but they were to lazy to lift a finger to help) so... we... the illustrious DSCAU (Biotech) have jobs assigned to us for Open Day as well as creating posters and folios.
Guess what I was supposed to do...

Make Posters!!

And the result of my toils:

All these beautiful posters have been printed and will be displayed in the INTI roadshow as well as Open Day.

Not only that... they're thinking of displaying some in selected schools (not SXI unfortunately... apparently Bro. Paul won't let them have a display area because Michael (the marketing guy) said he couldn't bake (kidding) ).
Just think about it. My work... displayed prominently for all to see... hehe.

Coincidentally, today happens to be Ee Ling's birthday and tomorrow Juliana's. So we gave them both a joint celebration. Had lunch at Pizza Hut with a cake. We even gave Ee Ling her own poster (designed by me of course). She was ecstatic. She was jumping up and down. When we gave it to her... we could hear a gasp and well... it was classic Ee Ling.
So: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ee Ling and Juliana!!

Now, I'll have to go study specs. Getting ready for the PC Fair this weekend.

Signing Off.

And The Saga Continues...

2006-11-21T01:46:00.000+10:00

So... camps are over... technically I have nothing to do anymore... so why is it that I still find myself at school doing stuff? I don't know... all I know is that I'm still there. I was there today... I'm going back there tomorrow. Oh well... I can live with it. At least I'm not at home, bored.

Anyhow... so the great big field trip thingy got cancelled. Don't know how I should be feeling about that. Was kinda looking forward to it and all but I guess it's no biggie that it got cancelled.

And today I caught the latest in the James Bond series: Casino Royale. Pretty interesting and it was fine... all the way up to the end of the casino bit. Then it was just dragging along. Got really boring at the end. I was wishing it'd be over soon. Hehe.

Now I've gotta go hunt down a surgeon from seven years ago... gotta get a report done... haih... God knows how I'm gonna do that. Anyway,

Signing Off

Yay Me

2006-11-19T02:53:00.000+10:00

So... a bit of cheerful news...

Finals results are out and.... they're...... As!!!

A minuses... but still As... who cares about a couple of dashes.

And IELTS also came in... I got an 8. Was hoping for an 8.5... but I'll settle for 8. Especially since Simone (who was trying to console me I think) said that that score was just as good as medical students get.

Not only that.... my 'conditional' offer letter came in... One step closer... now need to finish off... although I don't know why they only gave 8 credits when I should've got 10... oh well... never mind.

Now that all that is done... There's just a million things left to do.... Accept offer... arrange tickets... arrange accomodation... arrange dates... and... well... you get the idea...

Seems I just can't get out of going back to INTI though. Since the holidays have started, there hasn't been one weekday where I haven't been back to INTI... hehe... maybe it's the whole reluctant to leave school thing... but I doubt it... it's just that I've been much too busy with activities...

Last Thursday... went for a movie... just to unwind... wanted to watch Casino Royale... but what can we say... tickets sold out like hot cakes... so watched Happy Feet instead... man... those penguins are cute... especially Baby Gloria... although I didn't really like the whole thumping the feet thing... after a while it got really tiring... shame though... since that was what the whole movie was about.

Time to rest next week I think.... hopefully.

Really time to rest now though. Good night.

Signing Off

Damned If I Do... Damned If I Don't

2006-11-14T23:15:00.000+10:00

Last day tomorrow... Science Camp Third (and final) Chapter happens tomorrow. It's the end of all those long days and hurried lunches that we've been having over the past week and a half just to prepare for the camps. Thinking about it though, after tomorrow... what happens? Back to the days of lazing around... staring at my computer screen...
but then... what's the other end? Going out way way early in the morning, before the cows come home, and working my ass off and coming back at dinnertime exhausted and really grumpy, spending a tired night before going off again the next day. Should I be thankful it's over? or should I be wishing that it wasn't?

Exam results also come out tomorrow.... apparently tomorrow is a very very eventful day... hope for the best... especially for Bio... wish me luck ::crosses fingers::

I'll just end this post with pictures from the last science camp.

That's Dr. Ooi... representing INTI

The Amazing Combustible Chocolate

The Coke-fountain we did to end off the camp

That's me... after diffusing the 'bomb'

Half Gone

2006-11-11T23:43:00.000+10:00

Today's Science Camp was a blast... literally. It took a lot of work, exhaustive preparation and experimentation but we finally pulled off the camp. One down... one more to go.
Did I mention explosives? I played Demolitions expert again... and it blew up... right in my face! I think I have pictures... but I haven't got them yet... so nothing for now... I'll post them up later. Talk about a shock though... my hand was numb for about half an hour after that. It was really tiring... but fun... and we laughed and we played and we kidded around.

Photos forthcoming in upcoming blogs... be patient.

Signing Off.

Insanity

2006-11-10T01:00:00.000+10:00

I'm exhausted... planning for the science camps and all... really takes something out of a person. Haven't had enough sleep and we're all starting to do crazy stuff. Just today, I was assigned to the bomb squad. I geared up and prepared to diffuse the first projectile. I had reached it and was ready to disarm it. Touching it and then undoing the top, it hissed at me then went silent. What a relief... I had fully expected it to blow up in my face... even though I had a face-shield and... wonder of wonders... the second one had already gone off without me having to do anything about it. Hehe. We got all worked up... for nothing.

Very very tired now... Wishing the science camps were over so that I could get some rest.

Signing Off

No Rest For The Wicked

2006-11-07T12:44:00.000+10:00

Busy... busy... busy...

Who knew that post-exam, post-course period could be so busy. Despite not having classes, I still have to go to college almost everyday. It's the stupid Science Camp thing where we're supposed to go and demonstrate to little kids the wonders and the joy of science. Sometimes I wonder if the kids are really impressed by what we do... or if they're bored and pretending for our sake.

On another point... another disappointment...
I can't get my camera... not until next month anyhow... It's just too bad. I've been waiting months and months and months... haih.... what's one more month... I guess. The Star people are so evil. Just after I found out yesterday that I had to wait another month, the just had to come out with a sparkling review on it the next day.

Apparently it's Ivan Teh's birthday today. We celebrated with him yesterday... brought him a cake and all.

Even though I'm really busy now, the rest of the holidays promises to be a real bore. I tried applying for work but Body Glove needed people who can work past Chinese New Year... which I can't so... anyhow I suppose I'll be too preoccupied to work. How could I work anyway, when I might have to arrange things about my education? Applications... tickets... visas... and last but not least.... packing.... and all these things have to be done before February.

Oh well... time to go get ready I guess... One more round at INTI....

Signing Off

Unshaken

2006-11-03T11:25:00.000+10:00

So... Major exams over... one more left... the RM500 exam... IELTS. Not so stressful... because nothing to study for it... just show up at SEGi tomorrow.

Exams are over... and I know I should be relieved... but somehow... I don't feel as free as I did after last semester. Still a lot of things to worry about... unlike last semester.

Arrgghh...

Signing Off

Shaken

2006-10-31T23:01:00.000+10:00

Okay... one down.... another... 2? to go.

Today's Chem exam has ended and, I for one, couldn't be more pleased. It was a toughie... a real toughie... Out of the three hours allocated for the exam, I took 2½ hours writing out my answers, going over my answers, crossing out my answers, rewriting my answers, and finally going over it another three times just to make sure that there was nothing more I could do to resuscitate it. It was nerve-wracking. I was literally shaking when I left the exam hall (just on time... another minute and I wouldn't have been able to leave for the next ½ hour). Took the whole day to calm my nerves. All I have to console myself is that my friend said that I did as expected... which I don't exactly know what that means... Oh well... now... next horror to prepare for... Bio exam... ugghh... Animal Development...

Signing Off

Just Around The Riverbend

2006-10-29T00:43:00.000+10:00

I look once more just around the riverbend
Beyond the shore somewhere past the sea
Don't know what for ...

~Pocahontas~

Well... that's the wisdom of Disney for you... A few riverbends for me to negotiate... not knowing what's on the other side...

Exams next week... that one I can sail through... haven't actually concentrated on studying yet... but it'll come... it'll come... hehe. Been lazing around for the duration of my 'study' break... but now... when push comes to shove... I'll be buckling down soon and working on it...

The more ambigous riverbend... next year... I wish decisions were easy... now especially... the path ahead keeps changing... and different paths have their different appeals... Which do I choose? I don't know... I've picked one... hopefully it's the correct one... but I don't know... I still can change my mind if I want to...

Argghh... maybe I should just be decisive... pick one and stick with it... but I don't know... what if it's the wrong one? What if the choice I make will doom me for the rest of my life? Still harbouring plenty of doubts... why can't choices be more clear cut? I miss the old days... when parents and teachers made the choices for you and you only had to worry about small things... like what to eat for lunch and so on... haih... yeah, I know... it can't always be like that... we have to grow up... make choices of our own...

Anyway... time to begin... holding my breath... hehe... diving into exam week.

Life Goes On

2006-10-24T14:20:00.000+10:00

No more ranting about lasts for me.... at least not until January or February... Hehe.

As always... life must go on. We move on to new and better things and so on and so forth. Still I can't help reminiscing and wondering if I had done anything different, would I be where I am today? Would things be better or worse? Yeah... I know. We only get one shot at life and what we've done, or chosen to do... that's what's happened and there's no undoing it. Still... there's something to be said about the multiverse theory... to think that there's a copy of you in another dimension who made a different choice and is living a different life... total crap I think... but some people subscribe to it.... I must be delusional though... typing it out here.... typical human arrogance... thinking that the world revolves around yourself.

And anyway... as I've said, Life Goes On. I went to Gurney yesterday... 'chaperoning' my brother and watching Prestige.... quite a nice movie... excellent presentation... but the story gives me the creeps. I mean... one guy killing other people and another guy killing himself time and time again... ugghh.

I'm bored... it's only the second day of the study break... the first day I'm stuck at home and I'm bored... Finals are in 7 days.... still no mood to study.... as usual.... last minute kinda thing... still.... it works.... so... what the hey.... After finals.... months and months of boredom... I wonder how I'll pass the time...

Anyway, I'll leave you with pictures of my bio class... as promised...

Last Classes

2006-10-21T22:03:00.000+10:00

It's been so fast. Thursday was the last day for my chemistry class... and the Friday bio... It was quite fun, the teachers were not as rigorous as usual and they had us take group photos. All in all, it was was fun but a bit depressing. That was probably my last class in INTI. I had just gone there.... it seemed like yesterday... and now I'm leaving it already. Submitted my university application yesterday. Now all that remains is the finals next week. 31 October and 2 November... then that's it. Sayonara INTI. Oh well. We can't be stagnant can we. Hehe.

Anyhow... yesterday I went for the Editorial Board Appreciation Dinner. It was to be my last time. Another last. It was very fun. The best part... everyone got stuck in traffic jams because of the rain. So Mr. Liang was late, Ms. Wong, Ms. Wong, Mr. Wong and Mr. Wong were the latest. We waited for them until 9 and had just started when they arrived. The cameraman... couldn't make it. His car stalled. So... no pictures. I had a hilarious time... laughing with Ms. Mary Ann and Pn. Ang and Pn. Low. Very interesting. One time... we laughed and laughed until tears came... Laughing at Ms. Chan's eccentric habits actually. Man that joke was funny. I just realised though. This is definitely my last... I no longer fit in with the little kids. I did... when Matthew, Mark and Asher were around. Those were people I could understand. After that... I don't really know the rest anymore. It's like they're on a whole different wavelength. They talk differently, they joke differently. I just don't belong. High time I just moved on. Leave them to do things in their own way. I think I was just pushing myself last year when I stayed back one more year to finish the magazine. I had lost all the familiar touchstones that I had back in the day... and I just realised it. It's a sobering thought. Knowing that you're not needed... and even if you are... there's nothing you can actually do.

Anyway... sad thoughts aside.... here's a picture of my last chemistry class... Bio class pics forthcoming in the next post... I haven't got them yet, hehe.

Like A Bedraggled Rat...

2006-10-19T00:11:00.000+10:00

I went for badminton today... played for two hours... and then they decided to go hiking before dinner. So... we hiked. A long, arduous climb up many many flights of steps... reaching the top. I had thought I was gonna have a heart attack and my legs were going numb. I was the second to reach. 1 minute after Jun Lin... man... he set a fast pace. Anyway, it then chose to rain... All the way down, pouring, soaking, drenching rain. I had thought I'd reach the bottom reasonably dry... but then... it came down harder... The ironic bit... when we got down the hill, it stopped. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

That's me... at the bottom of the hill... soaked to the skin.

Signing Off

Awards...

2006-10-15T23:34:00.000+10:00

Just the other day, I recieved my first ever award from INTI. Surprise, surprise... it was an award for academic achievement. Apparently I was eligible for a Certificate of Merit for having gotten a minumum 70& average (I got 79.18... just 1 more percentage point and I would've gotten a Certificate of Excellence... boohoo... :-)) and taking at least 12 credits for the semester. So... we (those who got the awards...) all dolled up for the ceremony. Thirty minutes of ceremony and they expect you to dress up in formal shirts and so on for the whole day. Sheesh.

Someone (:-)) said I should post pictures... so here it is... the stars of Biotech. L to R: Caroline, Natasha, Patricia.... and ... yours truly.
And this one... All the Certificate of Merit winners.... with the addition of one Certificate of Excellence winner who didn't realise photos were being taken :-)

Decisions... Decisions

2006-10-06T00:47:00.000+10:00

Why is it that decisions always seem to get more and more complicated as you go along? It's like... when I started this course... I made a big decision... to study Biotech... everything was just fine and dandy... up until now... then a bigger decision... which university to choose? After that... which major to take... then what courses... then where to stay... then how to budget... then... and the list goes on and on... it seems that everytime I make a decision, another four questions are raised.

Anyhow... back to the briefing on updating and so on. Tomorrow... Bio test 2... and Chem quiz 2... after which, we'll be done with the minor tests... Major exams at the end of the month. Next week will be a busy one... I forcast 5 lab reports due on Friday with a big assignment due on Wednesday...

Signing off

Ah Sweet Rest

2006-10-02T00:32:00.001+10:00

T'wasn't much of a rest... but the weekend was quite fun... went swimming and relaxed and so on. I had a huge buffet breakfast and well... okay... hehe. Compared to the weekends before, this one was very much less hectic. I had fewer things to do... so can just relax and forget about most things.

It seems like a pattern is forming. The Friday before the Science camp, we were late for Clarissa's party. This time, we... well actually 'they'... I wasn't originally going. Anyway... was supposed to watch a movie at Gurney... Ben and I hadn't had tickets... you see... it was a last minute thing... us deciding to go... anyhow... the whole point of it... we were kinda late... everyone was rushing us and so on. We made it in time... but only just. Anyhow... the rest of them watched 'Rob-B-Hood'... which I thought was a very silly show. The original plan was to accompany the rest... but on the way up... I saw 'The Devil Wear's Prada'... so... we ditched the rest. And looking at it this way... most of them paid RM10 for the Rob-B-Hood thing... we paid RM10... for premier class tix. That was cool. And the show was great. I really liked Meryl Streep's acting. The character was fun too...

Saturday, I signed up for IELTS... luckily I was informed that I needed it on Thursday... otherwise I would've dragged it on and it would've become a problem sometime later. It was quite last minute... only 6 places left... 'Phew, that was close'.

Signing Off
''

Disaster Relief

2006-09-27T01:35:00.000+10:00

This is basically a sub-topic from last Saturday. As we all know, I got my biotech tee on Saturday and sent it back the same day. Now... complications arise. Apparently, it's not enough that the bottom hem was not sewn properly, it also un-dyes when washed. So... now we have a black shirt that's orange.

Anyhow... that's that but I'm not handling it so it's not my problem I guess. The relief part of this post happens to be the liason's job.

Tomorrow, we're going on a field-trip. An excursion to the hospital. Should be fun. We're visiting the pathology lab. Maybe we'll all come down with some rare strain of toe-rot or something. Hehe.

Signing Off

Playing Professor

2006-09-24T01:49:00.000+10:00

Today was fun. We, that is, my classmates and I, conducted a science camp held for schools within the Bukit Bendera constituency. 'Twas a lotta hard work but it was fun. Part of what I did... lecture to pupils about gram staining of bacteria. Hehe... I enjoyed that... handing out facts, fielding questions and so on. Interesting point of view. From the teacher's perspective and not, as always, from the student's. :-)

Also... we got our Biotech T-shirts today. Wow... it was comfortable... but.... defects... The bottom hem was not done properly and they missed the skirting on the sleeves. Haih... wear it for a day... then have to send it back for touch-ups. What kind of unprofessional workmanship is this?

Yesterday was a very busy day. The whole day was spent... bio test... then preparation for the camp. Clarissa's party was supposed to start at 6... but we got there at 8... sorry Clarissa!! Guess I over-gauged the word 'party'. Turned out to be a pajama party instead... haih... laughing at me... as usual.

Signing Off

Wish Me Luck

2006-09-21T23:56:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is the last of the first tests. MCB 122... Molecular and Cell Biology 2... A bit nervous right now... since I'm blogging when I should be studying... well... breaks are a must and what better way to take a break than to let out some of it on the net... hehe.

Gotta go. Back to the grind.

Signing Off

Forgotten

2006-09-18T19:23:00.000+10:00

Hehe... me and my memory. Totally forgot to mention my hectic Saturday.
Anyhoo... Saturaday. Went to college, supposedly to help with lab work, but ended up doing what I always do... running around like a rabbit snapping photos. Hehe. It's what I know I guess. Anyway, after that... went out with Chin Lin, Benjamin,Patricia and so on. The plan was to make the Biotech T-shirts as well as the name tags. Got a big headache with the t-shirts. One printer couldn't do it in time. The other one... well... in the end we went with the other one. Colour scheming... haih... another big issue. I liked the green and white (of course... being a Xaverian and all). They wanted blue... light blue and white... well... I thought it looked like a girl's shirt. In the end... at the shirt maker's... they couldn't do any of them.... so ended up black and orange. Oh well... I suppose... but then it seems like some of them weren't really happy about that. Big headache there.

Besides that, went shoe shopping with them. Shopping for Pat's shoes that is... hehe... After all of the ruckus, went to Gurney to watch You Me & Dupree... Quite nice, that show. Started a bit slow... but I loved the middle bit. Not a big fan of the ending though.

That was that... the whole day out of the house. No rest for the wicked.

Signing Off

Trials and Tribulations

2006-09-18T19:13:00.000+10:00

The week snuck up on me.
Promises of calm and rest and peace... all dashed by the realisation that once again, I'm faced with a test week. Not only a test week, but two tests... and three lab reports to hand in on Friday. After that... I have to emcee on Saturday... as well as do a Bio lab presentation. My God... if this isn't a week in Hell... I don't know what is. Still I'm keeping upbeat. Knowing that I thrive on pressure. Who knows, I may just survive after all.

Nuclear storm tomorrow. Chemistry test. Wish me Luck!

Signing Off

Week To Date

2006-09-14T17:31:00.000+10:00

Wow... it has been quite a while since I posted anything. I had not thought that it was so long...

Anyway, I'm posting again today. Well... it's been a busy week. Lab sessions and reports and so on... The fun part though... we got to do Microbiology... cultivating and studying bacteria. Klutz that I am... I broke a few of the agar beds.... It was fun though... streaking the bacteria onto the plates and playing with antiseptic solutions. The downside of labs (there always is a downside, isn't there? I mean... when you say that every cloud has a silver lining... you also mean that the silver lining has the cloud) is that we have to prepare lab reports. On Tuesday night... I had to finish 21 drawings of cells... and yesterday... another lab report... Thankfully, today's report will be short.

Oh yeah.... On Tuesday... saw Jee Mee off... Kinda ate into my lab report time... which was probably why it took so long to finish but that was okay... I mean... it's not everyday that you see a friend off to study in UK. Anyhow... so Bon Voyage Jee Mee... and good luck.

Signing Off