Sleepy absurdity

Just some absurd thoughts I had while waiting for my DNA gel to run...

Something I read on a website :
'People who work in brightly lit environments, such as near a sunny window, are more productive and less distracted than people who work in darker interior spaces, a recent study suggests. Maximize your output by working on tough tasks near a sunny window if you can, or bring in some extra lamps and overhead lighting.'

So... if I wear a hat with a light attached, I'll literally have a 'thinking cap' :)
And maybe... we could convince our supervisor to 'move our work' to the beach (in the name of productivity :)

But, whether or not I'm working near a sunny window, there are so many better ways to be spending a Sunday afternoon than working in the lab. Like catching up on my sleep... argh...

***
And now that my gel has finished running :

Yes! The PCR worked!
So if I ligate the product tonight, and transform cells tomorrow, then I can pick the transformants on Tuesday and let them grow overnight.

Which means I can leave the lab early on Tuesday... which also (and more importantly) means I can join some friends to watch Star Wars III at Marion in the afternoon! Yay! Hahaha *evil diabolical laughter*

And if the 'Dark-Side' actually worked less in the 'Dark', and 'walked more in the Light', then maybe they'll be more productive too... ;)


Okay... definitely signs that I need to get more sleep... :)

-

Photo moments

*Quick, short note to self :

Should remember to bring my camera to my lab one of these days, the view of sunset is gorgeous from here. Especially when there are wisps of clouds in the sky.
You also never know what you could come across. A pair of kestrels (small hawks) once flew around our building and landed outside our window. They rested there, tenderly preened each other, and I remember hoping that they would build a nest there so that I could watch them everyday. I stopped and watched them for a whole half hour before they took off, circled the building again, and flew off... really wished I had my camera with me then.
And there are always the occasional amusing expressions on some of my lab-mates' faces... :)

I know, I've been saying that to myself for a while now, but my camera's quite bulky and heavy (it's an SLR), and I don't want to leave it unattended in my bag while I run between rooms doing experiments. Maybe someone should invent a camera-lock like one of those computer-locks. Or I'll get a light digi-cam once I've saved up enough and find a model I like... In other words, it may take a while (I've waited this long anyway ... :)

For now, I'll just watch and appreciate another spectacular sunset, and store its beauty in my memory...

Oh NO!!

Got all my gene-sequencing data and ran an analysis of my products.

Turns out that I've isolated and cloned the wrong gene...

2 + months of hard work, the lack of sleep,

The late nights and weekends in the lab...

All the reagents and money wasted...

And the fish I had to murder...

For a set of useless results...

For nothing...

ARGH!!

ARGH!!!!

Now all I wanna do is go home and sleep it off... *sniff* :(

I'll probably feel better when I wake up...

And hope that my supervisor doesn't kill me when I have my meeting with her tomorrow...

On the positive side, I now know some things to avoid in my experiments. Let's hope she sees it that way too...

What 2004 Hit Song are You?

100 Years by Five for Fighting

"Every day's a new day... 15 there's still time for you Time to buy and time to choose Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this When you only got 100 years to live" 2004 was about thinking and reflecting - but isn't every year?

What 2004 Hit Song Are You?

Hmm... at least it's a song I like...

And yes, 2004 was a year filled with thoughts and reflections. I mean, what better way to procrastinate from labwork and thesis writing than relaxing in a corner and going into a silent reverie?

Ah, sweet procrastination... :)

Mothers Day

Our church always does something special for all the mothers on mothers day. I found it rather amusing (and adorable) to see some of my friends standing at the doorways today, dressed in semi-formal wear, handing out flowers and chocolates to all the mothers as they entered the service hall. It was really sweet (pun... :) of them.

Speaking of mothers, something amusing happened last week, when some friends and I went to visit another church. Three of my friends were teachers from Singapore, who had come over to Flinders for a degree in Education (and I was actually the youngest in the group :) After the service, when we were mixing around in the church foyer, another friend of mine from Adelaide Uni came up, chatted with us, and asked one of them if she was my mother. The poor girl was quite surprised, and while we all had a good laugh over it, she joked, "I don't look that old, do I?" :)

It's also not the first time such a thing has happened. Last year, one of my neighbours asked another older friend of mine whether she was my mother. Her response was quite similar : "Do I look that old?!" :)

Yes, when it comes to certain questions...one word... SUBTLETY (oh, the irony... :) But I digress...

~~~

This Sunday is a recognition, celebration and commemoration of that special lady in all our lives.

Mum, you're my one and only... my dear, and beloved mother. I love you, respect you, and honour you. Words cannot encompass all that you've done for me, and I thank you so much for the lifetime of love you've given me. Although I can't celebrate it with you back home, and it sounds so inadequate here, ...

I love you Mum,

Happy Mothers' Day

Spoil-Sport :)

I don't want to be a spoil-sport (pun intended :), but it wasn't such a bad thing that yesterday' OCF sports day was cancelled (due to double bookings of the sports halls). Just as well for me, in my life, the words 'Grace' and 'Sports' don't usually go together very well... :)

Instead, we held auditions for OCF E-nite, which was good, because it meant that most people had already freed up that day. It was very heartening to see so many enthusiastic volunteers who were willing to commit their time and energy into the event. Everyone was sporting, and also encouraged one another throughout the auditions. The acting and singing tryouts were really fun to watch, and it's amazing how talented some of the people are. It was also encouraging to see how some people were just willing to give the auditions a shot, even though they occasionally protested that they had no 'real talent'. To me, if they're willing to put their best effort forth, then it doesn't matter whether or not they sound like Celine Dion or Josh Groban. (coming from someone who can't sing well anyway, and everyone who has played 'bluff' or 'murderer' or 'mafia' with me knows that I can't act either ... :). It's the willingness in their hearts to try, and to commit, that matters most.

Among the volunteers, there were many 'new' faces, as well as people I'd met and gotten to know only this year. Having been in Flinders Uni for 4 1/2 years already, I often joke with many friends about being one of the 'oldies' (more fondly known as 'dinosaurs') here :), or that I feel old whenever I talk to the new students (especially when they ask me how long I've been here... argh...). Honestly, although the occasional reminiscent pang strikes me, especially when I watch old friends graduate and return home, I always feel optimistic when I get to know new faces in the crowd. Infected by their enthusiasm, creativity, and energy, I too am energized, and it fills me with hope to know that OCF (and my other affiliations) will continue to live on through them. Not just to continue, but hopefully to grow as well. Which is one of the beauties of being an 'old-timer'. It fills me with joy to be a part of their lives, to learn with and from them, and to see them grow and mature physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally.

Yes, I'm heartened and encouraged to see the response.

New faces,
new talents,
new promise,
new hope.

Missing You

Katherine flew back to Malaysia today, another dear friend who joins the ever-growing list of people who graduate and return to their home countries.

Why is it so much easier to hold back the tears when I'm watching a heart-wrenching scene in a movie, but so hard to stop the tears when I'm bidding farewell to a close friend in an airport?

Like many dear friends I've parted with in Singapore and Adelaide...

I'll miss you,

Although we have to move on.

We'll still keep in touch,

Though your absence I'll mourn.

But for now... hush, my aching heart

Because life goes on.

Sigh...

Yahoo!!

Yahoo!
Mail!

Three cheers! I now have 1 gigabyte of email storage space!!

Yay! :)

Cheap Thrill

Today's plates and samples have been dated :

05/05/05

Cheap thrill... :)

Blog Things

You Are 31 Years Old

31 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Took this short quiz and was rather surprised by the result, it wasn't exactly what I'd expected. But then again, I guess there were no entries containing the words 'skeptical' or 'insane' :) Not that I believe or trust most of these quizes anyway... saw this one on a friend's blog and decided to give it a try for fun.

The quizzes are so popular that there are several websites which specially contain hundreds of different quizzes on all facets of life. Blog things... some (silly?) quizes you take, in an attempt to better understand yourself or to determine your identity? Most people take these quizzes for fun, while some friends actually use these tests to define themselves. Yet, one's personality is such a fluid entity, that you should never limit yourself to one mindset or perception of yourself. Peoples' responses to different situations would often differ. You may smile politely at someone who irritates you one day, yet snap and retaliate at the same person on another occasion. So would you consider yourself to be tolerant, or would you not?

I'll still have fun trying out most of these tests, and laughing at the results (Me? A taste of success and true love? Ha... :) But hey, remember, these things should be taken with a pinch of salt, and you should never place yourself (or others) in a box simply because they were 'classified' as one out of four particular personality types. One's personality would never be based on the outcome of these quizzes alone.

Hmm... I seem to have taken the fun out of trying these things, huh? Maybe I'll search for a personality quiz on the web to determine if I'm really a wet blanket or not :)

Example : Are you a wet blanket? :)

(P.S. : It's not a real link... :)