Friday, March 24, 2006
I had a good day! I'm in high spirits! And just for now...NOTHING can bring me down. Not even sordid revelations and such things. HAH. I spent the morning at a meeting with Graham, Billy and Bill...i know...strange huh...Billy and Bill. They're both Williams so...hahaha at least that differentiates the two. So perhaps next week i'll get to go out on the boat and net some larvae...snorkel-even though i've no idea how it's done- and enjoy the sun! Perhaps do some fishing as well. Couldn't ask for more. Later in the afternoon, i had my first game of football in Australia. And i scored, one of my typical speculative long shots that i normally pull when i play in the field. Woohooo! first blood to the Singaporean! I put up a good show, accurate passing and stronge defending. Although i keep making the same mistakes that i did in Singapore...one touch too many and i lose the ball in bad positions. I'll learn from it. What made today incredible was the presence of two girls, who were better than any girls i've ever seen playing. One was Swede and the other an Asian. They were good....and they could pass like boys. That had me impressed. Girls rock...more girls should play.
Yesterday i went down to the shooting range of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia. I shot GUNS! real guns.. a .22 calibre which...was surprisingly loud. At least that's what i thought until the asshole fire the Beretta. WOAH, now i'm no gun enthusiast, but i can appreciate the energy behind firing a gun. And boy does the magnum pack a punch, i wouldn't want to get shot by one. It could throw you back against the wall like in those Old Westerns. That was a rather pleasent day as well. I had PASTA for lunch, these Aussies make damned good pasta, i am really going to miss the quality of the pasta and pies when i return to Singapore.
I'm going down to Yeppoon tomorrow, that's the town next to the coast. There will be a few nice sights if lady luck smiles down upon me. It should be a fun day.
Yesterday i went down to the shooting range of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia. I shot GUNS! real guns.. a .22 calibre which...was surprisingly loud. At least that's what i thought until the asshole fire the Beretta. WOAH, now i'm no gun enthusiast, but i can appreciate the energy behind firing a gun. And boy does the magnum pack a punch, i wouldn't want to get shot by one. It could throw you back against the wall like in those Old Westerns. That was a rather pleasent day as well. I had PASTA for lunch, these Aussies make damned good pasta, i am really going to miss the quality of the pasta and pies when i return to Singapore.
I'm going down to Yeppoon tomorrow, that's the town next to the coast. There will be a few nice sights if lady luck smiles down upon me. It should be a fun day.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
I'm cheap. But it also means I am opportunistic and resourceful. I realized some time ago, that I had no dish soap or any goo potent enough to get rid of odours and oil residue from the stuff I use to eat and drink barring the detergent I use to wash my clothes of course. So today I realized that the turquoise coloured soap I've been using to wash my hands at the laboratory isn't exactly some super anti-bacterial stuff like hybiscrub...It was plain old dish washing detergent. Now that brought a grin to my laboured expression. I conveniently reached into a cupboard and retrieved a centrifuge tube. One of those 15ml things..and i filled it up with the dish washing soap for personal use. Now that is making use of the stuff around you. Now all that's left is finding a solution for my transport problem around these parts..i could fashion a Kangaroo saddle and then hop on one and let it hop me about. But...i'd likely get a kick...a really hard one. My cookies are getting soft...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, i'm going to refrigerate them now.
Oh...another example of being cheap...I have these great instant foods that i buy everytime i' at woolworth's. But i've no way of cooking it...and some of it requires butter. So i took those tiny packets of butter from the dining hall, and i washed the disposable microwavable bean curd container kinda thingies which i get when i eat at the Chinese food place at the Uni. And there you have it! Crockery!
A hurricane just hit Cairns. Scary i think, i've never seen or experienced a natural disaster...other than a few seriously bad tummy aches...that produced...not so nice results. But this is strangely intriguing and exciting, danger serves to excite and tantalize the imagination...rarely serves as a warning...
Oh...another example of being cheap...I have these great instant foods that i buy everytime i' at woolworth's. But i've no way of cooking it...and some of it requires butter. So i took those tiny packets of butter from the dining hall, and i washed the disposable microwavable bean curd container kinda thingies which i get when i eat at the Chinese food place at the Uni. And there you have it! Crockery!
A hurricane just hit Cairns. Scary i think, i've never seen or experienced a natural disaster...other than a few seriously bad tummy aches...that produced...not so nice results. But this is strangely intriguing and exciting, danger serves to excite and tantalize the imagination...rarely serves as a warning...
Monday, March 20, 2006
Ok..so i had yet another bad day at the lab and this streak is starting to have me extremely concerned. It's getting clumsy, and i don't want to screw this ITP up. Oh...the exasperation... Speaking of exasperation, i think my family must be feeling loads of that right now. Apparently they'd all like to know how i'm faring down under but all i'm giving them is a bunch of one liners and abruptly ended sentences which is probably rather frustrating. I'm not much of a talker huh... well people down here have the impression that i am quiet. I guess when you do get down to it, i keep to myself quite a fair bit, and when i do need someone to pour out to, the mood for it just isn't there or there simply isn't anyone suitable. So whatever happens here will only get jotted down on this small space of the world wide web. I'm quite tempted to give this address to my family so that they'd stop asking. Quite a few things on my mind as it is. I'll have to get the damned ticket to Sydney booked...and i'll have to figure out how to go up to Uncle Dave's and Aunt Liz's place. I hate details...well...just in this instance. I must be quite a difficult person to live with... When the family shows concern, i don't find like the urge to spill out gallons of information for them to devour. I'm extremely argumentative and well..hmm do you need more? I think that makes me an inconsiderate person huh?
I'm not really lonely here... i've got the internet and a couple of people to thank for that. They don't quite know how much they've actually helped me in getting settled.
Well thanks to my mishaps in the lab today, my confidence has taken a masive beating and is trotting away from the front with its tail between its legs. So i can't help but feel a little pathetic right now. Hence the tone of this post. I screwed up a PCR...didn't add Taq. So i didn't get any results. I blew two gels...because i placed the wells in the wrong direction. That got me so down that when i did the PCRs for the wasted samples i was trembling. Damn....TREMBLING. gods..
well, i'll just have to remind myself of the fact that DNA is fucking negatively charged and will travel towards the negative end. And i will make sure i recall that happy little fact the next time i plug red and black wires into the stupid machine. *shoulders slumped*
On a side note...my room light just blinked twice... creepy. I'm not affected, though i do wonder at the coincidence, moments of darkness to compound my already dark mood.
Graham has a nice house and Lindsey..his wife..a scot..makes a mean lasagne..
I'm not really lonely here... i've got the internet and a couple of people to thank for that. They don't quite know how much they've actually helped me in getting settled.
Well thanks to my mishaps in the lab today, my confidence has taken a masive beating and is trotting away from the front with its tail between its legs. So i can't help but feel a little pathetic right now. Hence the tone of this post. I screwed up a PCR...didn't add Taq. So i didn't get any results. I blew two gels...because i placed the wells in the wrong direction. That got me so down that when i did the PCRs for the wasted samples i was trembling. Damn....TREMBLING. gods..
well, i'll just have to remind myself of the fact that DNA is fucking negatively charged and will travel towards the negative end. And i will make sure i recall that happy little fact the next time i plug red and black wires into the stupid machine. *shoulders slumped*
On a side note...my room light just blinked twice... creepy. I'm not affected, though i do wonder at the coincidence, moments of darkness to compound my already dark mood.
Graham has a nice house and Lindsey..his wife..a scot..makes a mean lasagne..
Friday, March 17, 2006
I had a bad day at the lab today, actually managed to slice me finger with a scalpel while excising DNA bands from a stupid gel. All the extractions are finished., leaving just the PCRs to complete. This is then followed by the running of the gels. I really dislike running gels. Firstly because it means i have to work with a carcinogenic dye. And then i have to be gentle with the stupid piece of jelly and make sure i get the samples in the right wells. Next week will be a very long one given all thats going to happen. Nonetheless, it's always the weekends which i look forward to, and this one should be a good one. On Saturday, i hope to cab down to the city center and hopefully enjoy myself in the Zoo. Hopefully the places don't close to early, i'll get some shopping done, and i'll get myself a lovely bottle of wine for the weekend once more. On Sunday, i'll be at Graham's place for a Sunday afternoon BBQ. The thought of that leaves me pretty excited, Australian BBQs are really top notch.
I've managed to err..socialize a little bit more of late. There is this Iranian lady in my house and she's been friendly to me, so for the first time since coming here, i had company for dinner. I sat at the table with some of the people she knows, and managed to utilize my voice box which has likely gone rusty and stiff with disuse.
That damned girl named Jess from the lab...she's been a real pain, putting pressure on me to work harder than i should. It's screwing with the quality of my work. I'm gonna have to make some better judgements in the coming week. She's spoiling the fun i have in the lab...and its a damned surprise that i have any at all.
Well...just 4 weeks left. I'd better make the best of it.
I've managed to err..socialize a little bit more of late. There is this Iranian lady in my house and she's been friendly to me, so for the first time since coming here, i had company for dinner. I sat at the table with some of the people she knows, and managed to utilize my voice box which has likely gone rusty and stiff with disuse.
That damned girl named Jess from the lab...she's been a real pain, putting pressure on me to work harder than i should. It's screwing with the quality of my work. I'm gonna have to make some better judgements in the coming week. She's spoiling the fun i have in the lab...and its a damned surprise that i have any at all.
Well...just 4 weeks left. I'd better make the best of it.
Monday, March 13, 2006
These were taken at the
Kershaw GardensFeatured both temperate and tropical plants
My home...
This is one of the rooms of a typical house from long ago...
Chapel. And some dude pointing at the crucifix. There was no name for the dude...
Nothing ends a slow and pleasent day better than a good sunset
The weekend was a long one, on Saturday, i woke up early hoping to get catch a cab down to shopping fair. Cabs here are not cheap, and they don't drive past as frequently as they do in Singapore. And the meter here...generally increases at a rate which had my heart jumping with every cent that accumulated. The cab driver thought that i was American, because of the way i spoke. Shopping fair is rather huge, the clothes here are not cheap, the surf wear isn't as cheap as some of my friends in Singapore claim it to be... I mean 40 dollars for a T-shirt is...a lot of money..for a stupid piece of cloth. Anyhow, i spent the whole day walking and walking and walking. Not wanting a repeat of the traumatising few minutes i experienced as i took quick glances at the meter from the periphery of my vision, i bought a map, which has been the best thing i've ever bought so far, and i walked a good 6 or more kilometres home. I swear, i won't pull something that stupid off again... But i did enjoy the long tiring walk under the sun as dragged my feet and the burden in both hands and on my back all the way back to the college. Doesn't sound really fun does it...i enjoyed it nonetheless, i doubt ther's a better way of absorbing a foreign place than walking through it. I stopped at the Pet Barn. A local pet store...It had a good variety of things, from dogs to birds to guinea pigs to fish. The fish here are outrageously priced, and i actually complain and make a big fuss over having to purchase Harlquine Rasbora's at 80 cents a piece. A bloody neon tetra at 2 dollars? A Burundi frontosa for 80?????holy crap....it's probably cheaper to keep a dog here... or a cow... hmm
So i spent the whole of that night drinking the wine that i'd bought, and boy was it good. Wolf Blass, Yellow Label, Cabernet Sauvignon. Thank god i stole that wine glass from the airline... i knew it would come in handy, i resolve to buy another bottle of wine the next time i journey down to a bottle shop. Moving on, Sunday was slow and easy, i woke up at 830 and went to the Heritage Village which is just a short walk from the college. The place was fun enough, a piece of history set in a relatively scenic environs. Yeah, i can appreciate the past very much. There was this house of dolls belonging to one in my opinion very sick lady, she had like hundreds of the eerie creations of plastic and porcelain. Although i did like the figurines of the characters from "The Land Before Time" -littlefoot and gang- a very fondly recalled memory from childhood.
Later in the evening, i went out to try and catch the sunset, and i was lucky to bump into a pair of kangaroos, one a juvenile, the other seeming to be in early adolescence. It's quite a strange feeling, seeing a kangaroo hopping around less than minute away from your doorstep. Kangaroo's are very pretty. But i'm not stupid enough to let that fool me, anyone who has a good general knowledge would be aware of the fact that one two footed kick from an adult could break more than a few ribs... I did manage to catch a sunset, not the best, because i didn't have sufficient elevation. But it did produce one or two nice pictures.
This morning, Graham filled up my log book, and generally praised me. I'm aiming with all my heart to get an A for this module...It is SOOOOO important to me. He commented that i am a quiet person. I've not come out of my comfort zone. And as Stef has recently pointed out, if not for my endless teasing, i don't say much. Aye...that's because - thanks to silly girly tests on tickle.com that chenpei's managed to get me curious in- my type of humour is largely banter. In fact....i have this feeling is exclusively banter. Light hearted banter between blokes or with another person. Yeah, that is me, and i like banter because it involves spur of the moment jokes, that more often than not remain exclusive. Anyway, going against the way i normally am, i persisted in filling in a few more of those silly tests and received some surprising results. Like my Emotional IQ is 121, its slightly above average. It says that suit is empathy. "Your test results show that your strongest suit is empathy — your ability to see things from someone else's point of view." I then did another test regarding my true talent, which apparently is my Verbal Ability.You know how to pick the right words for almost every occasion. You understand the power and aesthetic appeal behind language. "Your verbal knowledge can make you versatile in expressing yourself. And you are much more skilled than most people at picking up subtle meanings behind what people say." True?...maybe..
Finally, i got this, when i did the test which analysed whether i follow my head or my heart. Clearly the head, but what really perked my interest was the justification they provided for my lack of a love life. Very good reason, and something i've always known myself.
Benedict, you follow your head when it comes to success
Between all your different activities and goals, you might not have time to stop and smell the dozen long-stemmed roses. It's not that you don't want to make room in your life for love, necessarily. It's just you're probably juggling a lot of different priorities, and matters of the heart might complicate things — or they have the potential to.Between school, work, goals, and friends, racing off toward a fairy-tale ending probably just isn't your thing. You're more grounded than that, and take pride in being smart when it comes to balancing your real life and your relationships behind closed doors. But with smarts like yours, you're sure to notice when love comes knocking. So don't be afraid to answer. Success can be measured in all sorts of ways...
I will know....
So i spent the whole of that night drinking the wine that i'd bought, and boy was it good. Wolf Blass, Yellow Label, Cabernet Sauvignon. Thank god i stole that wine glass from the airline... i knew it would come in handy, i resolve to buy another bottle of wine the next time i journey down to a bottle shop. Moving on, Sunday was slow and easy, i woke up at 830 and went to the Heritage Village which is just a short walk from the college. The place was fun enough, a piece of history set in a relatively scenic environs. Yeah, i can appreciate the past very much. There was this house of dolls belonging to one in my opinion very sick lady, she had like hundreds of the eerie creations of plastic and porcelain. Although i did like the figurines of the characters from "The Land Before Time" -littlefoot and gang- a very fondly recalled memory from childhood.
Later in the evening, i went out to try and catch the sunset, and i was lucky to bump into a pair of kangaroos, one a juvenile, the other seeming to be in early adolescence. It's quite a strange feeling, seeing a kangaroo hopping around less than minute away from your doorstep. Kangaroo's are very pretty. But i'm not stupid enough to let that fool me, anyone who has a good general knowledge would be aware of the fact that one two footed kick from an adult could break more than a few ribs... I did manage to catch a sunset, not the best, because i didn't have sufficient elevation. But it did produce one or two nice pictures.
This morning, Graham filled up my log book, and generally praised me. I'm aiming with all my heart to get an A for this module...It is SOOOOO important to me. He commented that i am a quiet person. I've not come out of my comfort zone. And as Stef has recently pointed out, if not for my endless teasing, i don't say much. Aye...that's because - thanks to silly girly tests on tickle.com that chenpei's managed to get me curious in- my type of humour is largely banter. In fact....i have this feeling is exclusively banter. Light hearted banter between blokes or with another person. Yeah, that is me, and i like banter because it involves spur of the moment jokes, that more often than not remain exclusive. Anyway, going against the way i normally am, i persisted in filling in a few more of those silly tests and received some surprising results. Like my Emotional IQ is 121, its slightly above average. It says that suit is empathy. "Your test results show that your strongest suit is empathy — your ability to see things from someone else's point of view." I then did another test regarding my true talent, which apparently is my Verbal Ability.You know how to pick the right words for almost every occasion. You understand the power and aesthetic appeal behind language. "Your verbal knowledge can make you versatile in expressing yourself. And you are much more skilled than most people at picking up subtle meanings behind what people say." True?...maybe..
Finally, i got this, when i did the test which analysed whether i follow my head or my heart. Clearly the head, but what really perked my interest was the justification they provided for my lack of a love life. Very good reason, and something i've always known myself.
Benedict, you follow your head when it comes to success
Between all your different activities and goals, you might not have time to stop and smell the dozen long-stemmed roses. It's not that you don't want to make room in your life for love, necessarily. It's just you're probably juggling a lot of different priorities, and matters of the heart might complicate things — or they have the potential to.Between school, work, goals, and friends, racing off toward a fairy-tale ending probably just isn't your thing. You're more grounded than that, and take pride in being smart when it comes to balancing your real life and your relationships behind closed doors. But with smarts like yours, you're sure to notice when love comes knocking. So don't be afraid to answer. Success can be measured in all sorts of ways...
I will know....
Friday, March 10, 2006
Leica's left, she brought a cake with her this morning. It was this huge ass mud cake...gosh..these Australians know style. It was good to eat but just sick because of the horrendous amounts of chocolate in it. I liked it nonetheless. I began PCR at 8am today. And i later in the day i went on to run a gel of my genomic DNA extracted from the fish samples. And that is how i made what might be my first friend. An Australian lass doing her third year at the University whom i know as Jess. She's quite the character, it seems all these Australians are like that. We were talking about what she was studying, and she showed me her text book on Pharmacology. I am beginning to understand why through an education in SP i can actually skip the first year or so in an overseas University. I could keep up with her explanation of what they were doing and stuff. Hm, i guess SP isn't so damned bad after all. It's just that the Singapore education system does little to cultivate an interest in learning let alone a passion for it. For all its merits..like inculcating a good work attitude, it's really missed out on the true essence of education. Sacrificing it for the good of efficiency and paper qualifications. I feel sad for the lost potential ungraciously shoved away by this brutal attitude. Where was i? oh right, i think i might have made a friend in her, yeah, i could really use one here. we shall see how things go in the next few days i guess.
When i went to take a piss just a while ago, i found the toilet seat down and covered with yellow piss....FUCK these hong kong or chinese men...For 5 bloody days, i've lived in peace and comfort and good hygiene by my standards...that is an achievement. This joker moves in today and makes a huge mess of his litter box. Your penis too small for you to aim with you ass hole?!
I had Quiche for lunch. I LOVE quiche with bacon in it. i wish i had pictures for today, but nope, i've none. But this past week has been good, i'm feeling more confident of my skills in the lab. And the application of skills learnt in SP to a proper scientific project has showed me that there is hope yet for someone pursuing my diploma.
Anyway, i finally plucked the courage to approach the nice lady at the student's association help desk and asked her how i could get around town on weekends. No buses from the uni..so a cab it is...roughly 8 dollars to shopping fair...i'll take it..its not burn a huge hole in your pocket expensive. Tomorrow will be shopping...perhaps for those damned souvenirs as well. I hate buying things for people. I'm no scrouge...i just dislike getting pointless stuff that people will chuck aside. Shopping tomorrow, sight seeing next week perhaps...i want to take a look at the Caves and the army museum and also the heritage sites where the aborigines are.
When i went to take a piss just a while ago, i found the toilet seat down and covered with yellow piss....FUCK these hong kong or chinese men...For 5 bloody days, i've lived in peace and comfort and good hygiene by my standards...that is an achievement. This joker moves in today and makes a huge mess of his litter box. Your penis too small for you to aim with you ass hole?!
I had Quiche for lunch. I LOVE quiche with bacon in it. i wish i had pictures for today, but nope, i've none. But this past week has been good, i'm feeling more confident of my skills in the lab. And the application of skills learnt in SP to a proper scientific project has showed me that there is hope yet for someone pursuing my diploma.
Anyway, i finally plucked the courage to approach the nice lady at the student's association help desk and asked her how i could get around town on weekends. No buses from the uni..so a cab it is...roughly 8 dollars to shopping fair...i'll take it..its not burn a huge hole in your pocket expensive. Tomorrow will be shopping...perhaps for those damned souvenirs as well. I hate buying things for people. I'm no scrouge...i just dislike getting pointless stuff that people will chuck aside. Shopping tomorrow, sight seeing next week perhaps...i want to take a look at the Caves and the army museum and also the heritage sites where the aborigines are.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Work started at 9 today. I did DNA extraction from fish tissue. So that involved either putting the whole damned fish or its rear end into a microcentrifuge tube and digesting it to pulp... I actually enjoyed myself, the only thing to mar the entire experience was the tedium involved with having to constantly add buffers and then spinning it in the stupid centrifuge. I worked with Leica the whole morning. She's incredibly nice, but she's leaving tomorrow and that saddens me a little. She's been a great help, and she's put in a good word for me with Graham, apparently she finds that i am extremely comfortable working in a lab, and thus reported that my laboratory skills are good. YES! She's rather young, in her twenties or something. I think she's going to do some travelling after this, see Europe. Something i want to do, and it seems i've found a partner in Sameer already! Anyhow, i start at 8 tomorrow, my earliest day yet, nothing wrong with that though. Just that i hate PCR, thanks to that DAMNED Molecular Biology essay i had to do in the first semester of year 2. If there's anyway to make a student hate a tedious long winded lab technique..its making him write a 2500 word essay on the technique.
Anyway, i extracted DNA until lunch time and went up to the are outside the Tea Room, where the staff slack during free time. To my pleasent surprise...they had set up a bloody BBQ pit there, right outside the LABORATORY. And they had a cooler filled with beer sitting against the wall opposite the BBQ pit. One of the professors turned to me and said, "now you can go back home and tell them how it's done eh" Damned if i don't attempt anything similar to that at the next BBQ...that's teh way to enjoy life man. There were sausages and break, and sauteed onions and lettuce to put in it. And there was cake! Delicious continental cheesecake. I like cheese cake... Well all this was a farewell for Leica, she's really a lovely personality, loud and funny.
Oh...and i tipped over and wasted a good amount of Proteinase K today...i hope nobody notices..
These are some of the more interesting dead fish i've been taking photos of.
Anyway, i extracted DNA until lunch time and went up to the are outside the Tea Room, where the staff slack during free time. To my pleasent surprise...they had set up a bloody BBQ pit there, right outside the LABORATORY. And they had a cooler filled with beer sitting against the wall opposite the BBQ pit. One of the professors turned to me and said, "now you can go back home and tell them how it's done eh" Damned if i don't attempt anything similar to that at the next BBQ...that's teh way to enjoy life man. There were sausages and break, and sauteed onions and lettuce to put in it. And there was cake! Delicious continental cheesecake. I like cheese cake... Well all this was a farewell for Leica, she's really a lovely personality, loud and funny.
Oh...and i tipped over and wasted a good amount of Proteinase K today...i hope nobody notices..
These are some of the more interesting dead fish i've been taking photos of.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
I think i'm actually beginning to enjoy myself down here. Today i did pretty much the same thing as yesterday in terms of doing work. Took even more photos. Perhaps i will be able to put up some of the dead larvae photos i've been taking since yesterday. The only drawback about being alone here is actually having to eat alone, and that's pretty much it, because i work comfortably on my own, and spending nights alone is quite a normal thing for me. But i could use somebody to chat with while i eat.
Graham took me down to the coast, i tried a typical Australian meat pie, it had a huge amount of mashed up peas in it. That was the only difficult bit to swallow, otherwise, i think i could live quite comfortably in a country that eats pies so often. The sky was overcast for the better part of the day so the coast wasn't as bloody beautiful as it should have been. It was a lovely sight to behold at any rate with all the huge natural volcanic rock formations and all. I will have to visit Graham's family soon. Shit....that means i have to actually bring something for them. I don't do well at gifts. Aw crap... Anyway, DNA extractions begin tomorrow, fairly long process it will all turn out to be. 3 days in total. This is will be the real test of my skills in the lab. Now i'm slightly nervous about it. It reflects the standard of SP and of my own abilities. Can't let myself down tomorrow..
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I've just ended my first day, ended fairly quickly. They don't work as hard or rather as crazily as they do in Singapore, so being told that we've done enough for today after i'd completed taking microscope photos of roughly 17 different dead fish larvae stored in ethanol came as a surprise to me. What is basically happening here, is that they are using the genes which code for cytochrome oxidase found in mitochondria to differentiate fish at the species level. So currently what they have is an expert who can differentiate the larvae by sight and then they cross check his conclusion using the genes taken from the fish sample. I think the hardest part in all this is actually the DNA extraction... i hate PCR and extracting shit is boring and tedious. Now for this guy called Tony to identify the fish, we take photos for him of the fish under the microscope. In order to get these photos taken, i don't do what i did in Singapore...which was sticking a camera into the microscopes eye piece. They have this spanking new piece of equipment which consists of a super high resolution imaging device attached to the microscope. I get to project images on to a computer monitor and then save them. It's really good fun.
Graham, my supervisor is an old dude, more than 60 years of age it seems, the friendly chap is taking Tony and I down to Yepoon to see some sights tomorow morning at around 8.45...or was it 945....hmmm, ill just wake myself up at 7...or 730.
I just got back from dinner at the dinning hall, and i found out that there's FLIPPING ICE CREAM!!wooohoooooooo! And the food is darn good of course. Not in the least bit like the shit they try to pass off as food at SP.
Graham, my supervisor is an old dude, more than 60 years of age it seems, the friendly chap is taking Tony and I down to Yepoon to see some sights tomorow morning at around 8.45...or was it 945....hmmm, ill just wake myself up at 7...or 730.
I just got back from dinner at the dinning hall, and i found out that there's FLIPPING ICE CREAM!!wooohoooooooo! And the food is darn good of course. Not in the least bit like the shit they try to pass off as food at SP.
The first night in Rockhampton has just passed. Sleep was comfortable, wasn't cold at all. Bathing is a tad troublesome though. To say that this place is rural would be a gross understatement, i saw a Kangaroo on campus...and their are wild birds flying about and standing around on the patch of grass outside my room. Conditions are nice and cozy though, comfortable enough. I've met some of the staff here. And things are so laid back. I honestly don't quite know how they get things done here. The college community seems to consist of a shit load of asian people. There must be hundreds of them everywhere. I even saw a squad of Soldiers from Singapore, airforce i think. I'll have to settle all the documentation and shit like paying for my board here. That should prove to be tedious. Frankly simply getting to the labs will prove to be something of a challenge.
The dinning hall is a nice enough place, slightly small, not nearly as big as a food court at SP. Food was highly palatable though, i'm going to survive very easily here with the kind of food they're feeding me. Beef...fries..some salad.
I wonder what they have for breakfast...
Just a few pictures which i had trouble putting in an orderly arrangement...
The dinning hall is a nice enough place, slightly small, not nearly as big as a food court at SP. Food was highly palatable though, i'm going to survive very easily here with the kind of food they're feeding me. Beef...fries..some salad.
I wonder what they have for breakfast...
Just a few pictures which i had trouble putting in an orderly arrangement...
Monday, March 06, 2006
I've reached the Brisbane domestic terminal and have been waiting for my flight to Rockhampton for the past two hours. In the short time that i've been in the country, i managed to break the handle of somebody's luggage bag....some chinese national's so it doesn't matter. Hah. Now the only way to describe the way i've been since arriving is "wide-eyed stupid". When i wanted to leave the train from the International terminal to the Domestic terminal, i just stood right at the doorway without realising that i had to press a button to actually open the damned stupid thing. So i stood there for a moment completely oblivious to the fact until a lady behind me and to my left took the iniative to open it for me...
I was told the surf wear here would be cheap..seems just as expensive as it is in Singapore. Well that's just at the airport though, i've yet to enter any mall...perhaps its not so unreasonably priced in Rockhampton.
I've just realised that i do not know how to pick out my supervisor-one associate Professor Graham Pegg- who is meeting me at the Rockhampton airport. What the hell does an Australian professor look like? Would he be spectacled...bald? perhaps a huge belly...? Maybe he lays eggs like the Platypus.
The air here is good, its so fresh, and dry..not that the dryness has been a problem at all. I think its just fine. Now among the many worries on my mind are, will the residential college have a wireless network? Where do i wash my clothes? Where do i eat my meals? And...do i have to start work today?
It's probably still early in the day in Singapore, seeing as how we're 2 hours ahead here. Ain't nobody online at this time to chat with. Hm, my thoughts are so jumbled and messed that this entry has no flow at all...some pictures tomorrow or tonight if i'm lucky then.
I was told the surf wear here would be cheap..seems just as expensive as it is in Singapore. Well that's just at the airport though, i've yet to enter any mall...perhaps its not so unreasonably priced in Rockhampton.
I've just realised that i do not know how to pick out my supervisor-one associate Professor Graham Pegg- who is meeting me at the Rockhampton airport. What the hell does an Australian professor look like? Would he be spectacled...bald? perhaps a huge belly...? Maybe he lays eggs like the Platypus.
The air here is good, its so fresh, and dry..not that the dryness has been a problem at all. I think its just fine. Now among the many worries on my mind are, will the residential college have a wireless network? Where do i wash my clothes? Where do i eat my meals? And...do i have to start work today?
It's probably still early in the day in Singapore, seeing as how we're 2 hours ahead here. Ain't nobody online at this time to chat with. Hm, my thoughts are so jumbled and messed that this entry has no flow at all...some pictures tomorrow or tonight if i'm lucky then.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
So here i am right now. In the airport using one of the internet consoles! Im on my way down under on my own and boy is this nerve wrecking! I'm not really scared!, just seriously feeling out of my depth. But soon, i shall grow accustomed to being on my own. Independence. I'd like to say a very warm thank you to all my friends who came to the airport to see me off. It means oh so much to me, because i will miss working with you in the next 6 weeks to come. The DA people....i wish i had your company here with me, your company and energy gives me strength and confidence so often, and your presence in poly is god sent! Band members...the senior that's as loyal as a dog will be back, and refreshed, renewed and spirited! Until then, do us all proud! Conquer the mind, Achieve the dream. I would do well to heed those very words which sprouted from my own mind, inspired by each and everyone of you band members. Till the next time i update then...heaven knows when that will be. But, i look forward to it with earnest! ARGHHH!!!!!*growl* heh..