I'm going back to Viet Nam tmr, so it's gonna be a ten-day-long hiatus for this blog.
Tata!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Out-of-office auto reply
The whole world seems to be in holiday mood now. My colleagues are autonomously taking half-day leave to shop and run family errands. It's understandable, considering the before, during, and after-Christmas sales, and New year's Eve just around the corner. I emailed a few people today with urgent matters at hand, only to groan at their out-of-office replies.
It's a sluggish, sluggish tiiiiime. It's difficult not to be influenced by the wave of laziness and sleep bugs, or to get anything done. Even reading emails seems tiring enough.
Which is why it sucks even more when i need to finish so many tasks before my own holiday starts next week.
It's a sluggish, sluggish tiiiiime. It's difficult not to be influenced by the wave of laziness and sleep bugs, or to get anything done. Even reading emails seems tiring enough.
Which is why it sucks even more when i need to finish so many tasks before my own holiday starts next week.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
X'mas is here
It's that time of the year when everybody takes leave from work to stay at home and catch up with their loved ones, or themselves. It's the time to party, to shop, to stay in bed till noon, to eat way too much, and to sing along cheesy christmas tunes.
Had 3 parties in a row last week, and one more tonight. Too much talking and laughing and socializing. The pretend extraversion has left me in a lazy, bored, and kinda anti-social mood.
But i'm not too bogged down. I'm excited that yf will be back tomorrow and spend christmas eve with me, and that triumphs all boredom! :D
Had 3 parties in a row last week, and one more tonight. Too much talking and laughing and socializing. The pretend extraversion has left me in a lazy, bored, and kinda anti-social mood.
But i'm not too bogged down. I'm excited that yf will be back tomorrow and spend christmas eve with me, and that triumphs all boredom! :D
Monday, December 17, 2007
More random rambling
I don't like to discuss applications. It makes me worried and insecure, and aggravates my self-doubt for no good reasons at all: "Oh no, how come i haven't got any interview?", "I don't have any publication!", "Oh sh*t, she's so much better than me", so on and so forth... But nowadays, among us scholars whose mouths are bigger than the Siberian Lake and jealousy greener than spring grass, the topic of apps is inevitably on the table. Yuck!
Yesterday my sister, being the great financial planner that she is, talked to me at length about my future assets. The conclusion is that i wont be worth anything ten years from now, unless i go and do ibanking. How sad! I always want to be able to get my own house, and give my children the best education possible.
Everyday I realize more and more how impartial I am about research. I'm not passionate about any job in the world, except being a medical doctor (which might just be a pretty illusion fueled by television shows after all). My sister told me "Welcome to the real world". She meant nobody in the real world is passionate about his/her job anyway, people just do their job to feed their children and fund their pastime activities. I think she's right.
On the bright side, the cancer institute in cambridge gives me a phone interview. So i can save plenty of $ on airfare. The thought of being interviewed over the phone, rather than face-to-face, makes me a bit uneasy though. End of discussion.
Yesterday my sister, being the great financial planner that she is, talked to me at length about my future assets. The conclusion is that i wont be worth anything ten years from now, unless i go and do ibanking. How sad! I always want to be able to get my own house, and give my children the best education possible.
Everyday I realize more and more how impartial I am about research. I'm not passionate about any job in the world, except being a medical doctor (which might just be a pretty illusion fueled by television shows after all). My sister told me "Welcome to the real world". She meant nobody in the real world is passionate about his/her job anyway, people just do their job to feed their children and fund their pastime activities. I think she's right.
On the bright side, the cancer institute in cambridge gives me a phone interview. So i can save plenty of $ on airfare. The thought of being interviewed over the phone, rather than face-to-face, makes me a bit uneasy though. End of discussion.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Long day again
Today i woke up at 5, to prepare for a 10-hr long experiment. It's lunch time now and i'm eating alone in the lab, while waiting for the incubation. Gulping down a big bowl of ban mian. Feeling sleepy and grumpy, hmmm. Still have ballet class tonight, which i'm not gonna miss. One, it's the last lesson before christmas break. Two, i really enjoy this class, the teacher is instructive without being too critical, and always humorous.
My break from apps turns out to be longer than i wanted. Once i stop writing, i also stop caring altogether, it's hard to get back into the flow again. I've been procrastinating for what seems like an eternally blissful period of time. My inertia is too high (and so is the mass of my lazy bottom), i need a big force to accelerate.
I talked to a postdoc in my lab early this morning and listened to her complaints about labbing, the futile sacrifices she's made in terms of family and social life. I feel bad for her, cos she's a very sweet-natured and demure person, unlike Mr. O who's more of a pushy go-getter. Her complaints also aggravated my grumpy mood, making me even more worried about my doomed prospect.
Can't wait till holiday!!! I wanna go back to my family, i wanna stay at home all day long and entertain myself by aimlessly watching soap, or animals, or whatever.
My break from apps turns out to be longer than i wanted. Once i stop writing, i also stop caring altogether, it's hard to get back into the flow again. I've been procrastinating for what seems like an eternally blissful period of time. My inertia is too high (and so is the mass of my lazy bottom), i need a big force to accelerate.
I talked to a postdoc in my lab early this morning and listened to her complaints about labbing, the futile sacrifices she's made in terms of family and social life. I feel bad for her, cos she's a very sweet-natured and demure person, unlike Mr. O who's more of a pushy go-getter. Her complaints also aggravated my grumpy mood, making me even more worried about my doomed prospect.
Can't wait till holiday!!! I wanna go back to my family, i wanna stay at home all day long and entertain myself by aimlessly watching soap, or animals, or whatever.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A short break
I decided to take a break from applications for a while. So it's been 4 days or so since I last logged in an online application or edited my essays. I've found time to summarize my experimental results, to read, and even go out to watch a movie. It feels good... although I'm gonna have to go back to apps again tonight, I hope at least I'll be more refreshed this time.
Talk about watching movies, 'Lust, Caution' was such a disturbing film. Not because of its storyline (which is only mildly distressing) but because of its shocking nudity. Of all the RA shows I've watched in my life (quite a few actually), this one is definitely unrivaled. Not for the faint-hearted.
Talk about watching movies, 'Lust, Caution' was such a disturbing film. Not because of its storyline (which is only mildly distressing) but because of its shocking nudity. Of all the RA shows I've watched in my life (quite a few actually), this one is definitely unrivaled. Not for the faint-hearted.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Weekly updates
Almost done with Cambridge. Only left with 2 more UK apps to submit. This whole pain-in-the-backside application process is almost, almost, almost over!!!
The key is not how i started, but how i am going to reach the finishing line.
The sky is not the limit. Funding is.
I can't wait to get back to a normal lab rat existence, especially when my project is about to get interesting again. Hopefully i can strike a jackpot of data before the year ends.
The key is not how i started, but how i am going to reach the finishing line.
The sky is not the limit. Funding is.
I can't wait to get back to a normal lab rat existence, especially when my project is about to get interesting again. Hopefully i can strike a jackpot of data before the year ends.
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