week 4

time flies!! week 4 already! but i feel like i haven't done much yet for my honours project. :(
dunno if i've mentioned abt this before....
since honours started, i didn't have the feeling of 'looking fwd to weekend' during weekdays. i think it's a good sign which means i (quite) like my weekdays. :) or mayb just becoz weekends are not much different from weekdays? but of course, i'll feel happier on friday night. :D

went for the seminar on every wed today. i fell asleep half way through (as usual) until they showed us a very touching emotional video of a mother and her son with cerebral palsy at the end of the seminar. That video showed how the mother takes care of her disabled son, she mentioned that she lost her other son (the twin brother) and how she still missed him but have to be strong to take care of this son. ppl (not just me) in the theater got teary at the end of that video. there's no cure for that neurological disorder. it makes me think of a girl from my extended family who has Angelmann syndrome (if i'm not wrong). i only see her in Penang during CNY usually. i'm not close to her family. I only know that she's not down syndrome. but as i know more abt Angelmann syndrome, i think that's wat happening to her.
wat really made me feel sad for them is, how are these children going to survive when their parents aren't able to look after them anymore?
i see sick children and happy children everyday in the lift, at the corridor. i really feel how lucky i am to be able to grow and live healthy.
and also, i made a conclusion today after watching that video. that is, i can't be a doctor or even a physiotherapist or anything like that. coz i'm sure when i see those patients, i'll become emotional and stuff. (does that mean i can't be a genetic counselor as well?!)

week 3

been busy this week...
3 2hr-lectures, a library tute (learned how to search papers on database), a bioinformatics tute (learned how to do my assignment 2), a bit of lab work, started learning to do tissue culture (TC), gatherings, farewells.
went to the lab just before 8am on thurs to finish up some sequencing prep before going to 9am lec. that was my first time in the lab that early in the morning when noone else from my lab was around. that was also my first time i did lab work without my supervisor's supervision :P was a bit worried when noone turned up at 9am coz i need to go to lecture. 5 mins past 9, Canny (the PhD student in the lab) came in (finally). she showed me the last step of the procedure and then off I go to lecture. those sequence had been back, will analyze them on monday with my supervisor at my side. :)
started learning to do TC. i hv a flask of cells to look after. hv to make sure the cells are dividing and growing happily, free from contamination.
other than that, been doing lots of data analysis on the computer this week when i'm not in the lab.
we all went for a farewell lunch on thurs. one of the postdocs are leaving at the end of this week. it's always nice to hv everyone from the group/lab goin to tea breaks, lunch, seminars, or meetings together. but yea.. this is a farewell lunch tho. means we'll hv one less ppl for those 'group activities' from next week. :( although i dunno him long, i only join the lab for 3 weeks so far, but he thought me a few tips and he's a really nice person. quite sad to see him go.

today, did TC work at 8.30am before goin to the animal welfare training at 930 in uni.
the training (are basically lecture series from 930am till 3pm) is like a small gathering for most honours students. i met a few familiar faces from biomed in the lectures. my supervisor and an RA went to the training too. so 3 of us sat together, i feel like my 'dad'(my supervisor lar) came to lecture with us too. :D
i've been looking fwd to this training thingy eventhough the things i learned are probably not applicable to me this year (since i'm not doin anything on animals in my hons proj), but the fact that i'm attending courses in uni, got to see other frens in uni.

tmr... wantED to go to the office to do some computer work, but now... seems very unlikely that i'll wake up early for that. might not even go to vic mart in the morning coz it's 2am now and i want to sleep in tmr morning.
1230 meeting till dunno wat time,
6pm fren's bday-potluck

sunday, fren's farewell-karaoke!! :P

dunno if this is true

Congratulations, SC!
Your IQ score is 131

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Insightful Linguist. This means you are highly intelligent and have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results.

Happy Chinese New Year!!

My first CNY not celebrated at home with my family :(
went to uncle's house on sat afternoon. 44 mins train ride, didn't realise it's that long when i'm on the train, with my mp3 player :)
as soon as i stepped into their house, saw those CNY decorations and home-made CNY biscuits and butter cake, made me feel like.... it IS CNY! had dinner before 6pm. uncle and aunt are good cook. we had 7 dishes. all very yummy! and lychee jelly for dessert.
watched dvd at night, talked to 外婆 on the phone when uncle called back to Penang. She was so happy to hear my voice during CNY. I miss home! I miss 外婆! miss playing mahjong with her and my aunts. miss those CNY biscuits! miss sending and receiving cny sms from frens together with bro! miss watching CNY special tv programmes! miss watching fireworks from the balcony in Penang! :(
i didn't feel this bad before, i thought... not home for CNY only mar... i'm not the only one here, most of my frens doing hons are in melb also, so no big deal. But now, i really miss celebrating CNY in Penang with my family and all my relatives.
Really hope that next yr i'll be home for CNY.

came back to city on sunday late afternoon. went for CNY dinner with frens, 3 of us 4 dishes. and we managed to finish everything!! impressive! :D

back to work today (can't say i'm studying coz i feel more like i'm working now altho i still hv some lectures to go to), how sad... 2nd day of CNY, usually i'm still holiday-ing in Penang.

after having lunch in the cafeteria in RCH, took lift back up to 10th floor, i nearly lose my hand coz of the stupid crappy lift!!! i was holding my lunch box with my left hand when i was trying to hold the lift opened for ppl and prams to come out of the lift, then the lift closed and my left hand was caught at the lift door while i'm outside the lift! luckily ppl outside the lift managed to open the door for me. my fingers went numb for a few minutes, my thumb still feel a little wierd when i pressed a little harder on it.
i was so scared and nearly cried out after i went back to the office, thinking wat would hv happened if the door didn't open, and wat would hv happened if the lift just move to the next level when my hand was still there!!
on my way home, on the tram, i started to think abt it again... wat can i do if i lose my hand, can i still type on the computer? can i still play piano? can i still do my honours? can i still do lab work? if not, then wat can i do?!! OMG!! that is so scary!!! >.< (i even told myself tht i can still be APM for the production -_-||)

Music and Lyrics

I really like that song 'Way back into love' in the movie!!
and 'dont write me off' by Huge Grant
din't know Huge Grant can sing! and he plays piano too in the movie (dunno if it's the real thing tho).

http://musicandlyrics-soundtrack.com/

Happy Valentine's Day!

i'm quite happy today, for the second half of my day to be precise.
not becoz someone gave me flowers today, not becoz someone date me today,
but i gave myself a 'little treat' at McD at RCH for dinner :) altho i had it alone, read a paper while eating near the glass wall, but i feel happy and satisfying.
saw other kids hving McD with their parents or parent, feel happy for them :) Maccas just make everyone happy, including me :)

before i left to the tram stop (dun want to validate tram tix before 6 :P), went to the little machines outside the gift shop where you can 'turn for an egg'. and the eggs hv those little toys or thingy that u can hang on ur hp or watever. and i saw this giant egg with giant pooh in it! it's like the little pooh i have, i had them on my hp last yr for a few months, but this one is huge! like 5 times bigger!! :D so i thought... ok.. see if i hv a $2 coin... then yes i do! i was so excited!! and yup... i got myself a little present - a pooh inside a penguin costume :P
then happily, i went to the tram stop, and it was 5.59pm when i sat down in the tram, waited for 1 min, validated my tram tix at 6.00pm :D

watched Music & Lyrics with a girl fren at 6.30. it was quite a big cinema, and of course many couples went for that movie. this is the first day for the movie in the cinema. the movie was simple but nice. and i like the song! :D

it's 10pm... wish i can just jump into my bed now.
but nope... hv to do some hw before i sleep :(

Happy Valentine's Day!

hate to be paranoid, and always worry abt wat ppl think abt myself.
it happened again today, couldn't recall when was the previous one.
i know i cant always make everyone happy, can't always make sure i'm perfect in everybody's eyes. but i really dun want them to hv bad impression of me when i really dont mean it. :(

这几天，
心情很烂...

周杰倫-退后 MV

Free Hugs Campaign. Inspiring Story! (music by sick puppies)

16th GMA Jay YuHao piano duet

First week of Honours yr

hvn't done any lab work except calibrating my 3 pipettes.
spent most of my time reading published scientific papers, attended 2 2-hour lectures, 1 short induction lecture, and went to my first seminar (first in hons year) on Friday 830am!
was worried if i'm the only ppl from my lab goin to that seminar. But actually most of the ppl went, except 3 of them. very happy abt that coz like... feel like i'm part of the family, we go to seminar together. know wat i mean? :D
and also we (except my 'boss', who's our group head) had lunch together everyday (except one day when i had to go to uni to settle my fees), had morning tea, afternoon tea together. really feel that we're in a team.

i think next week will be the real start of the hard work....
let the adventure begins!!

1st day of honours life

started at 9am
met supervisor, and other ppl in the lab. they are all very nice and friendly :) erm... 1 PhD student, 2 RAs (research assistants), 3 RAs (i think they are called RA) at diagnostic lab, 1 postdoc (my co-supervisor who's currently on leave till next monday)
got my own desk in the office area, although it's not a 'leng' spot coz my back is facing the door of the office. but... well, i'm thinking that i'll spend most of my time in the lab, so nvm lor.
supervisor brought me to the lab, showed me my spot in the lab :) yay! i hv my own spot in the lab! the lab is quite spacious. on the 10th floor! good view! can see the 'Balti' Bridge. :D
a bit disappointed coz i dont hv my own comp. i'll hv to share with other ppl in the office (most of them are sharing one comp among the 2 of them) or in the lab (there're 2 comps there).
started reading piles of papers at 930am.
went for lab safety induction session at 10am, happily met 3 other ppl i know who are doin hons there. before this, I thought Li Jeen is the only person i'll know there. took photos for our ID badge (ready to pick up from the HR officer tmr morning).
then went back to lab, Simone brought me around for a tour.
then went lunch with the lab ppl. this really makes me happy coz when i did summer studentship, i usually go lunch alone, or with another summer student before he finished his summer studentship 2 weeks earlier than mine. so.. yay! i hv ppl to go lunch with this time. :D
then went back office, read again... left for home at 5.40pm. i know it's only the first day... but... want to finish taht ppr before i leave mar.

so... yea.. tmr hv to be there at 8.30 for course introduction session >.<
then 9am - 11am lecture, our first lecture! imagine a lecture with only 9 students?! haha! more like a tute
i'm goin to bring lunch tmr :D
gtg sleep looo....

sien

aih... monday start honours liao
so not ready for it yet. just started to read through some basic stuff abt my project few days ago. i just finished reading my research plan.
hv been doin nothing today. felt so wasted! i wanted to play hard, enjoy hard my this last weekend before hons starts. but it turned out to be.... a CTG meeting in the afternoon, then at home whole day watching some taiwanese drama series, then reading at nite. how boring is that!!!

but then, tmr will be out with a fren :) hvn't catch up with her since she came back from KL.

last day of summer studentship

it was my last day of summer studentship at PeterMac today
15 of us went out for lunch together, coz it's my last day. aww... feel so special abt myself :)
we went to Kimchi Grandma at 1pm. everyone was hungry but we still hv to wait for quite awhile until our food comes.

before i left for home at 5pm, went around to the fly labs and the other 'neighbouring' lab to say bye to them. although it's only 6 weeks there, and i didn't really know them well, but still felt a bit 不舍得 when i had to say bye and all the best to them. dont know when will see them again, or mayb i'll never see them anymore in my entire life?!
and in the morning, when i was turning my flies, i was saying 'be good k!' to the flies deep in my heart. and Louis was telling me during lunch that i'll miss the flies. and yea.. i guess so. i missed them already. >.<

two more days before honours starts on monday!!
ppl was asking me whether i'm feeling excited to finish my summer studentship. well, i am happy that i finished that, but on the other hand, i'm worried, nervous, with a little excited abt the honours project. it'll be another start of a new chapter for my 'uni life' (since i wont be in uni as much for classes or watever, can't be saying that it's a uni life, it's more like working life).

really want to spend my weekend well. but dunno how... hmm....
stay at home watching drama series? wat a waste!
but this weekend will be really hot out there! where can i go?

Get to know yourself better

a quiz i saw from frens' blogs: http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:
Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:
You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.


hmm... quite true... wat do u think?

gosh! it's 10.30am and i'm sitting here in the office doing nothing. >.<
everyone else in this lab has gone to some complusory lab safety seminar which will go on till an hour later. ppl from the lab next door all went for their lab meeting. so i'm really bored, nothing to do! wish i can go home then come in again at 4pm to finish up some stuff which i can't do right now.

two more days to go and that's the end of my summer studenthip.
was doing some reading last night for my honours project. seems more and more interesting to me. :) kind of looking fwd to it now but not the work load.

well, it's going to be a really challenging year ahead for me, with this 9 month intensive honours project and 4 months of CTG which can be fun and also stressful.
wish me luck! :)

i'm thinking of changing my blog address. any suggestion?

mum just told me on msn that... the taiwanese actress 徐瑋倫 had just passed away coz of car accident, she's only 28 years old.
life is short......

靠近一點點 - Lara

Australia Day

yday was a good day for me :)
it was Australia Day. although i'm still not very sure wat's the history behind this day, but some ppl said it's a day when Australia was declared as a country, some ppl said it's a day for ppl to celebrate for Australia.
anyways, me, SuangSuang, ChorTeck, HweeNgee and Alan went to the ppl's march in the morning at Swanston St. not many organisation took part, but it's quite interesting to see the different culture in Aus, Melb.
then we walked down towards Alexandra Gardens, de tour to the food court at South Yarra for lunch. watched a street performance there after lunch, when bird poo dropped on my arm! >.<
and I stepped on the muddy grass outside National Art Gallery with my slippers on (luckily i didnt' wear my near shoe!).

Activities at Alexandra Gardens are mostly for kids. eg rock climbing for kids, playground for kids, kite drawing, Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB = My F***ing Balloon says ChorTeck! haha! MFB were giving out balloons, posters and wristband that day)

we all went home for some rest before meeting up again (without Alan) for dinner and fireworks.
So i went home to reinstall english version of win and it works :) so now this new cpu is pretty much set up. except that i couldn't get my songs back from the old HD :( and good that i burned my photos onto the cd before i left for home in dec.

the fireworks were at Alexandra Gardens, Fed Sq and Eureka tower. we were at the princess bridge (i think it's called) watching the fireworks. Not as spectacular as Commonwealth games (of course lar) but quite nice also. :)


watched a bit of the Australia Open women's single final just now.
Serena Williams won the match. i teared when she's giving her speech at the presentation. I hope that one day i can also be on a big stage thanking my parents, and make my parents feel proud of me. :)

and those interviews after each tennis match are actually my fav part of these tennis matches :)

aih...

S**t! such a headache with my winXP!
hate this! hate not being able to do things i want to do for some other reason. >.<
i want my old cpu back! should hv just spend that $450 to get it fixed, and everyone's happy again.
when i was putting the old cpu into the box... i felt like i was putting someone close to me into the coffin! *touchwood!