Monday, December 17, 2007
I know I really shouldn't be writing a blog entry right now in the middle of my studying for finals.. but yes, I will consider this as a break...
I know I really shouldn't be writing a blog entry right now in the middle of my studying for finals.. but yes, I will consider this as a break...
Posted by aquariusblues at 1:15 AM 1 comments
i am 2/3 through with this semester! on the one hand, this is good because I want to be over and done with this insanity. On the other, I'm really unsettled... Am i really 2/3 through with the semester? Why do i feel as though what transcended over the past 10 weeks was merely the tip of the iceberg? but it's like - what more can there be in just 5 more weeks?? hah. just 5 weeks? more like 840 hours, and I wonder how much will actually be spent sleeping.
the past 2 weeks were hellish, and I really don't know how i managed to pull through. caffeine? hah... i hate caffeine... i really doubt it helps to keep me awake. and i feel extremely lethargic after that... and i suspect the terrible headache I got on saturday was all thanks to caffeine as well. but the college runs on caffeine... almost everyone I see carries a thermos mug of coffee. I seriously doubt anyone can get through college without cultivating this reliance on caffeine. of course there are exceptions to the rule. but still...
hahaha anyway enough about caffeine... I am really looking forward to thanksgiving in Minnesota! in 1.5 weeks! Seriously, it's the only holiday we have. Other schools get fall breaks,Veteran's day off etc, but we get only the bare minimal. The timetable here is so well-thought of, that the semester starts exactly after the labor day holiday... whatever...
back to Minnesota - yes! Mall of America! woo! and guess what? people start queuing at 430am when the mall opens only at 8am! haha! that's madness... other than that, there isn't really a lot to see and do in MN. it'll be a nice getaway, and really, it's the company that counts! looking forward to chilling out n slacking the whole day:)
Posted by aquariusblues at 7:20 AM 0 comments
if i didn't have to.
i will be ranting about o chem lab in this post, so beware... if organic chemistry is the love of your life, and you just want to spend every single waking hour in the organic chemistry lab, steer clear...
I don't like o chem lab at all. EVery single thing about the lab is so intimidating. From the solvents in the fume hoods to the glassware. In retrospect, analytical chem lab wasn't that bad. The only good point about organic chemistry lab is that you don't have to spend a whole lot of effort washing your glassware. Just use Acetone. and everything (i think) in you flask will dissolve and can be poured out. spick and span glassware in less than 5 mins. I remember the days of having to wash analytical chemistry glassware with microcleaning solution.. but oh well, those were the days...
Besides the above, everything isn't good. Firstly, the chemicals are volatile. Using the fume hood doesn't help a lot because once you take the compound out, the vapor gets to you. What's more? Sometimes, we have to heat organic solvents. Congratulations! Imagine the amount of hexanes you will be breathing in... And these tend to give you a bad headache, and god knows what else they do to you...
Plus the machines we have to use - people are generally not familiar with how to use them. So for the simplest task of determining the refractive index, which sounds hard but really isn't, people can take a whole 10 mins! My gosh. I don't know how they can spend 10 mins looking through the eye piece to determine the RI! it's not like as if its a kaleidoscope -_-"
Plus those gas chromatography machines that we have to use are really 'lao pok'. They have 3 machines to be shared among 64 students. 2 of the machines are not working. So you can imagine the queue that starts to build up, and it's really frustrating.
Oh man.. i really dread O chem lab... Every monday and wednesday, I will just get super nervous, anxious and frustrated. i know because I feel my heart racing each time I step into the lab... i hope this will get better ove rthe next 8 weeks...
Posted by aquariusblues at 8:34 PM 1 comments
ok... my stats professor is really funny. oh my goodness! he tries to be funny in lecture ALL the time. plus it's always so subtle and when you least expect it. it takes awhile to realize the joke, then it's just uncontrollable laughter... I guess these are the things that make the 1hr 15min lecture bearable...
so he told us to calculate the standard deviation to a problem. someone shouted "0.22". For some reason, he kept hearing it as 0.23, 0.32. anything but 0.22. So the person kept repeating "two two. two two." he finally heard it as 0.22. He went "oh! two two..." wrote the answer on the board, and then after a pause, guess what he said, "you know ballet tutu?".. then he did the classic ballerina pose. My goodness!
and then he was explaining this problem where a researcher counted dendrites in 35 neurons obtained from 7 guinea pigs. He was trying to illustarate why the 35 neurons were not totally random and independent variables. Well, basically it just takes a little bit of common sense to figure that out - the 35 neurons should have been obtained from 35 guinea pigs. But he went on about how a guinea pig can be an Einstein guinea pig or an idiot guinea pig and that the Einstein guinea pig would have more dendrites in a neuron.
seriously! einstein guinea pigs having more dendrites in their neurons?! that's the most absurd thing i've heard!
Plus, what does it take for someone to wake up in the morning, and decide he had to shoot the first squirrel he saw outside his window? Hah! and proudly flaunt his kill to the class... and he claims that his GPA was 0.65 in his freshman year. HAHA! how do you ever do get that?
Posted by aquariusblues at 4:35 AM 0 comments
this semester is going way too fast!
it is starting to get cold in madison now and the sun is rising later and setting earlier. I guess it was gradual process, but I was probably too busy to notice. It was only on saturday that i realized it was already dark outside when it was only 630pm!
Yup, I should probably stop complaining about the weather. Before the temperature dropped, i was complaining about the heat. now, i am dreading the cold. Oh man! I want it to be 18 degrees celsius all year round! but that's not being realistic... anyways... i am not looing forward to experiencing winter in wisconsin all over again. I heard from a senior that winters in madison have been getting milder (yes, -28 degrees celsius is mild by mid-west standards). i hope that winter this year will be even milder! Should we be thanking global warming?! HAHA...
i watched Ratatouille. A really good movie, filled with humor and wit! my goodness! i was laughing throughout... It was for nearly 2 hours? But time flew by...
Anton Ego to Linguini " you're slow for someone in the fast lane."
Linguini's retort " you're thin for someone who loves food."
Gusteau "You know what I say. Anyone can cook."
Remy "Yeah, anyone can cook. That doesn't mean that anyone should."
Gusteau "What can I do? I am a figment of your imagination..."
Posted by aquariusblues at 12:49 AM 0 comments
My school bag is almost 3 years old! I want it to spoil, but it just refuses to!! AHH!
Once in a while, i stuff in so much barang that it will weigh more than 7kg. But it refuses to give way... What more can I do? Plus, it doesn't receive the best treatment - I throw it around on the floor, and i expose it to rain and shine... But it refuses to spoil. Oh man... how how how? I want that north face borealis... hmph... help me think of a good reason to justify getting a new bag... lol
Posted by aquariusblues at 4:22 AM 0 comments
I have always wondered why chefs are inevitably men... it's only when you try cooking for yourself then you know the reason why.
The wok, by itself, is heavy. Imagine it with meat and whatever you are supposed to cook. it becomes REALLY heavy. ok, at least to me. if you cannot even lift the wok up, how are you supposed to be tossing food in it as you cook?
what about cooking stuff in 'cauldrons'?? firstly, you need to make the broth, which means you have to move buckets of water. then you need to stir. Wahh. don't play play and think that stirring is simple. you need to overcome the viscosity of the broth ok...
cooking is not as simple as it seems.
i have a newfound respect for chefs
Posted by aquariusblues at 2:50 AM 0 comments
yup! saturday was a blast! i wish that every single weekend in Madison could be like that...
on saturday morning, we drove to Cave of the Mounds, in Blue Mounds, WI. It was a short drive away, but it felt really good to be away from it all. The cave is a growing limestone cave, so water was dripping from the stalagtites and all... I really liked the cave bacon, a limestone formation just like the stalagmites. They really look like breakfast bacons, trust me... and there's something truly amazing in this cave - a formation that really looks like a parrot. and guess what? Polly the parrot is a stalagmite growing on a stalagtite. Figure that out! apparently, when water was still flwing through the cave, the force of its flow actually knocked off the stalagtite from the ceiling...
then it was Mt Horeb, the troll capital of the America... there weren't that many trolls after all.... we saw llamas though. haha.. just an aside.. i was horrified at myself for mispelling "llama" as i captioned my photos... i guess it was pretty late at night then... so when I was typing this entry this morning, I remembered that llama is spelled with a double "L". oh man!
plus hotpot dinner at xuejiao's placE!:)
Posted by aquariusblues at 5:25 PM 0 comments
i am in utter disbelief that one week has flown by, just like that... papers, work, lab, exams, quizzes and lectures... and the cycle repeats itself every week...
this week was a really really bad week. many things happened.
for one, lab. well, my experiments have been working well so far, as compared to last semester where i spent the entire semester trying to transform bacteria, to no avail. But still, i cannot spend as much time in the lab as I would like to. And somehow, I feel that my mentor isn't very pleased... sigh. oh well... i'm really worried. but there's nothing much i can do about it, except wish that i had 36 hours (yes, again!) in a day...
then exams - i was surprised that i even managed to get through 90% of the material i needed to cover... i overslept and i had to skip my bacteriology lecture to make up for lost time...
then the horrible english paper i submitted on monday, which i did not even have time to proof read. I don't think my arguments were very coherent. and i am seriously worried... crying over spilt milk, i know...
but whatever... whatever is done is done. the weekend is finally here!:)
haha.. one week has passed, just like that
i'm getting better at moving on as time passes me by...
pretending that i don't care when it matters the world to me
Posted by aquariusblues at 4:01 AM 0 comments
sometimes, i wonder why I don't learn from my mistakes.
I wonder why I make decisions that I end up regretting.
Then hopelessly wish I could turn back time.
I only have myself to blame...
Posted by aquariusblues at 3:53 AM 0 comments
yes, the past week was just busy busy busy. The pile of work NEVER gets lesser. It only grows. Ahh. And when there is conflict of interests, you really don't know which one you should prioritize. There are so many things I want to do. But I only have 24 hours a day. I guess I should learn to live with the fact that I cannot always get the best of both worlds. Something's got to give.
I want more hours in a day! ike 36 hours! So that I can go to Devil's Lake today. So that I can go shopping at East Towne mall. So that I can go to more football games! Football games are really fun... I really really like the atmosphere, although I don't really contribute to it. and cheering for UW, and jeering at the random supporters of the offensive team... ... haha. I know this is mean. But it is really fun... Today, we beat Michigan state! Woo! Imagine the adrenaline that was pumping in the stadium. Oh man! When the game ended, I looked at the people filing out of the stadium from my apartment. I think this is absurd, and it could be just me. but it's nice to just watch the sea of red after a football game. It just feels good. Especially after we beat the other team. It's probably Badger pride. haha... I promise to get myself season passes for my senior year.
at the citadel game
Posted by aquariusblues at 2:54 AM 0 comments
Woah... it has been 3 weeks since I came back to Madison. And it has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs...
It's funny how leaving Singapore this time felt much harder. I don't know why. It's really ironic. I was really looking forward to starting a new semester at Madison. But at the departure gate, i was overwhelmed. It suddenly struck me how much I am leaving behind... But oh well... Everything went well enough, until the transit at JFK. The flight to ORD was repeatedly delayed - from 315 pm to 540pm. And then, it was cancelled!! My goodness! Apparently, there was a tornado at Chicago, forcing hundreds of flights across the continent to be cancelled. The next available flight to ORD was from Washington Dulles airport at 6am. Haha. Stranded at airports for almost 15 hours. Not a nice feeling at all... But yup, finally reached Madison. I am settling well into the new apartment, but my room still looks bare. I'll get posters and put up pictures when i find the time...
my room!
It has been 2 weeks into the semester, and I feel overwhelmed by work. I don't know if I am overloading my semester, or if it is like that for everyone in their junior year, or if it is just me. But yes, there are so many commitment - academic, lab, friends and family - and sometimes, I feel as though these are tearing me apart. The past 2 weeks have been really bad. So on Thursday, I decided i needed a break. I tried cooking, and yes, that was like the first time in my life that I actually cooked a decent meal. It turned out well enough. But I severly underestimated the amount to cook for 5 people. I thought 2 cups of rice was enough. Haha. And for the fish, it just shrank by some kind of magic after I stir-fried it. Lol. So... Had to thaw more fish. Thank god for microwaves. They make life so much easier.
And guess what, I baked carrot and raisin muffins from scratch on Friday! haha! it seems like I am going into some sort of compulsive disorder. haha! the things people do when they are stressed.
and yes! I am going to my first football game in Madison in half an hour's time! so excited!
Posted by aquariusblues at 3:26 PM 0 comments
i realise i should not buy cards in future.
I have successfully accumulated a stack of unsent cards.
Some of them are cards I buy on the spur of the moment, WAY in advance. But things happen along the way and often, you don't feel the same way as you did at the time you bought the card. Or there were unexpected change in plans. So the card remains tucked in one corner. But this is OK. Because somehow you will find a way to put the card into good use...
Worst are the cards I have already written in. They are all ready to be sent. But somehow, I just don't get down to the sending part.
I guess writing and actually sending the cards are different things.
Posted by aquariusblues at 6:09 PM 0 comments
My goodness! I am so lazy now. I have so much time and I don't feel like blogging... this post will be just a random compilation of things from the last post till now. Nothing much changed, except that I am now back in Singapore. It felt surreal upon landing at Changi Airport. I guess it is because everything was happening so quickly. After finals, it was packing and moving out of the dorms. Then it was the New York trip. I felt as though I was being pushed forward by the tide of time.
Posted by aquariusblues at 3:26 PM 1 comments
Moving out of the dorm was an experience of a lifetime. I promise you would not want to experience it ever again. It was really funny how I felt busier and more stressed out after my finals, which ended on Thursday afternoon. I started packing on Thursday evening, through Friday and Saturday evening. I was really amazed at the nonsense that had accumulated over the year. My goodness!
Posted by aquariusblues at 4:01 AM 0 comments
I am so excited about going back to Singapore!! woo hoo! Singapore in 3 more weeks!! My goodness! The wait could have been 2 weeks... but all well... its just 1 week more... not much of a difference... i hope...
ANyways, there's so much to do over the summer, and the wait is simply killing me...
And I have made a "To Eat" list when I get back to Singapore:):):)
The top 4:
1) Pork floss bread from BreadTalk (ooh.. my ultimate ultimate favourite)
2) Chicken Rice (mainly because I miss the chilli)
3) Yong Tau Foo
4) Walnut cookies
The list is exhaustive...
How about a "Not to Eat" list (lol)
which isn't too long for obvious reasons...
1) Dim sum (overkill during spring break...)
2) Ice cream (too much in Madison)
3) Pizza
Posted by aquariusblues at 1:09 AM 0 comments
SEATTLE!
Posted by aquariusblues at 5:12 PM 0 comments
SEATTLE!
Posted by aquariusblues at 4:48 PM 0 comments
Posted by aquariusblues at 3:32 PM 0 comments