Two down

And one to go.

I don’t understand the point of sitting an exam for my Medical Science Practice 332 unit – we are basically required to just memorise information – literally. It’s a cram fest. Thankfully I memorised the right stuff (mostly).

And what better way to start an exam than with a free can of Red Bull? Courtesy of those Red Bull girls who just happen to show up with free energy-filled goodness at just the right time. (Although a can of Red Bull probably isn’t the best thing to have right before an exam due to its diuretic effect)

NB: Personal grooming is non-existent during exam period.

Almost.

At the end of the day

Day one of exams study is coming to an end. What did I achieve?

• I ate two chocolate bars
• Had two cups of coffee
• Watched an episode of Scrubs and 30 Rock
• Made a QR Code and stuck it on my door:

BUT I did manage to take detailed notes on six Micro lectures – that puts me about halfway through the lecture notes. It was actually quite cruisy because a lot of the information I had already learnt in preparation for the practical exams last week.

Tomorrow I start Haematology study which may be a bit of a drag.

I remembered to tell my parents tonight about the Thalassemia screen I had done. Even though I have a tiny deletion – 3.7 kb – my mum did freak out a bit – obviously because she has no idea what it is. For those of you playing at home, that tiny deletion of the alpha globin chain only means I have an alpha Thalassemia trait. It has absolutely no clinical effect on me – just possibly on my offspring (which is rare) - although at times I do wish I could attribute my unfit nature to the fact that my MCV is low. I theorise that the slightly smaller Red Blood Cells carry less Oxygen and thus I pant and flail and complain when I do moderate-intensity exercise.

On the topic of exercise, yesterday I moved beyond my comfort zone of jogging laps down the deserted street near my house in favour of going onto populated streets - with cars driving down them, people walking their dogs and even other people jogging as well. You see – I have a bit of a complex when it comes to exercise. I wasn’t the greatest athlete at school and people paid me out quite a bit, and so doing something physical in a public environment is a bit daunting. Even going to SportsFest was challenging for me – hence not going in previous years.

I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone – I refuse to let intimidation overcome me.

What are you overcoming?

It starts … right after this

According to the two-week study plan I devised yesterday, my first block of study for exams begins at 8pm. I’m feeling a bit eager – so I’m going to start a tad early.

Cue MGMT – Electric Feel. Busting out the dance moves in front of my whiteboard. It’s study time.

Nishie: This will be the face of our new sitcom: The Laboratory. The posing is perfect:

Sanity.

Twelve days

We started the night running from jetty to jetty, trying to find our ferry. We’d been given directions from Tam to go towards the Wheel – well that’s what Priya heard. The directions were in fact the opposite – we were meant to go away from the Wheel. After some frantic running around and fear of missing the ferry, we finally discover the ferry we are meant to board. Phew.

(Even Ashkan wasn’t late. And of course Phil was punctual. Our bad).

It’s almost over. Four years has flown by. In just twelve days I will finish my last exam – ever! This is the last push. Like a marathon runner reaching the last straight – the goal is in sight but the body is aching.

Stick to the status quo? No thanks.

Study Week (not) Much?

The week just gone was what Curtin likes to refer to as ‘Tuition-free Week’. They don’t call it ‘Holiday’ or ‘Week Off’ for a reason – you’re usually bombarded with assignments and study. Unlike some of my peers (Nishie, Priya, Phil, Ashkan – actually I think nearly everyone) I didn’t have any looming assignments to hinder the enjoyment of my week off.

So I didn’t do any uni-related work (well, I did do about 30 mins on Sunday night – but I don’t really count that). What did I do on the week break then?

1. Road Trip to Bunbury for SportsFest

2. Royal Perth Show

(That hammer game must be rigged if Ash can’t win it!)

3. Not one, but THREE birthday parties

And now there are only four weeks of teaching left … in my whole degree! Four weeks! I feel so underprepared entering the workplace with this piece of paper called a degree.

Exciting news though – Asher and I are off to Singapore and Philippines for missons after I finish exams! Woo.

Breathe.

Lacitiz Baciliti

I can almost count the number of weeks left at uni on one hand … how crazy is that? I was thinking about this the other week, and a nostalgic feeling sunk-in – I feel as if I’m finishing high school all over again! I know I’m going to miss seeing my uni mates nearly every day of the week. It’s a shame that it only clicked in the last few weeks that I should make the most of my time that I have – I will probably never have the opportunity to meet such a diverse group of people in such a casual setting – and I should build into these relationships as much as I can so that they will last once we all graduate and go our separate ways (although I’m sure some of us will meet again under the PathWest banner at some point).

A few of us visited UWA to kill a bit of time. We went with the purpose of sizing-up our rival university, and were pretty impressed with the scenery. We’ve all been there at least once, and are still taken aback by the architecture and lush greenery. We managed to track down a peacock, and it obligingly partook in some photos with us.

We met up with Phil and Ashkan for some Korean food in the city. The second time I’ve been to this place and I’d more than likely return – it’s relatively inexpensive and tastes good! We asked the host what a particular dish consisted of, and he gave a good explanation, but could not translate one important word into English – apparently something that aids digestion. He wrote it on a napkin:

”Lacitiz baciliti”

Ash: Oh he must mean laxative!
Priya: They can’t legally put that into food ya!
Ash: But it helps digestion.
Priya: No I’ve got it – Lactobacillus ya!
Us: Oh … ya!

It seems that wherever we go, Microbiology stalks us. We made a new discovery (well, I already knew it about myself) – besides Phil and Ash, we all fail at pool. Marie did attempt to show off with her ‘behind the back’ shot:

Pffft. Show off.

Check out more photos from the night on Picasa.

Crime and punishment

A mum and her son board the bus and take a seat in the priority seating area in front of me.

"Do you want a drink of juice?" inquires the mum.

"Yes please," replies the little boy. He has an olive complexion with short, dark curly hair. The mum is caucasian, but judging by the child's appearance, the father was probably african.

The boy sucks on the bottle for a few seconds. "Mmmmm orange juice - my favourite," he says. In a way I think he knows that he is slowly becoming the centre of attention - and generally that would be enough for me to lose interest in someone, but he is just so adorable that I allow myself to remain amused.

He pulls-out what appear to be his two favourite toys - Spiderman and Superman figurines. He starts playing, prompting his mum to take the role of Spiderman while he assumes the personality of Superman.

"Spidey, we've got to save Mary-Jane from Venom," yells Superman.

How cute. He's even gotten his superheroes mixed-up. It seems Lois Lane has been shafted for the time being.

"Spidey, let's go to Venom's house and rescue Mary-Jane," commands Superman.

* Ding dong *

"Oh hello, Viper. It's me - Superman. I haven't seen you in a long time," says Superman.

At this point, it seems poor Spidey is just an accessory - taking no formal role in the rescuing of Mary-Jane.

"Why are you such a bad man, Viper?" asks Superman.

"Well I just don't know, I try my best," he replies.

"Here, I'll take you out of prison - I want you to be a good person," says Superman.

I smile at the child's perception of right, wrong and redemption.

Can the act of freeing someone from unfavourable circumstances that are completely as a consequence of their own actions instigate change? Can it encourage reformation?

It can. But only if there is a price - such that there is some form of value associated with it. A sacrifice has to be made - a sacrifice that the reformed will be able to remember and be forever grateful for. A sacrifice that is so great, that the reformed cannot repay it, but can only say the words, "Thank you" over and over again.

The lyrics of a song from Kids Church come to mind:

Jesus you're my Superhero

You're my star

My best friend

He took me out of prison and gave me a brand new start. May I never forget that.

We approach uni and under instruction from his mum, the boy jumps back into his pram - ready to continue his adventure sometime later.

Whoever hates his life in this world will find it.

OH&S rebels

So we decided against waffles.

Marie: "They'll take too long"

Me: "How about pancakes?"

Marie: "Sounds good ... but how do we make them?"

Me: "On the sandwhich press?"

So we decided it was worth a shot. And what better occasion than for my 21st Birthday to have our pancake day! We've actually been planning our pancake day for like two years, but it never actually eventuated .. until today.

Talking across the bench to Nishe and Marie in Micro about our pancake party earlier in the week sparked a few people's interest - Brittany offered to bring the cake, Katie said she'd bring bananas and a few others would simply come along and help celebrate.

And dude, what a great party it was! I feel privileged that I was involved in the first party ever held in our common room. I don't think it will be the last either - other ideas such as omelettes and bacon and eggs were being thrown around. Next week we're playing board games during our Friday break.



And of course the cake:



Katie and Julie bought some new posters to decorate the common room with, and I being the tallest person in the room at the time had the kinda dangerous task of putting them up!



Patience. Love. Peace.

Aliens that break your heart

"Turn around - the girl behind us in pink", says Mila.

I discretely turn around and spot the girl in pink and guy in red sitting about 5 metres behind us on the lawn outside the library. She's crying. And not the kind of polite sob ... but like fully crying. She's pretty upset. Trying not to eavesdrop, we take a stab that there's a break up in the process.

It's very awkward indeed. Is the highly populated lawn outside the library really the best place to break up with someone? Is there an ideal place to do such a thing?

Just before we get up to escape the girl storms off in tears, leaving the guy sitting there, head in his hands. A pretty sad thing to witness. To lighten the situation we amuse ourselves by imagining what was really happening. He was an alien allergic to fimbriae, of which she had heaps, forcing them to have a long distance relationship which was just too difficult as the mobile phone reception on the mothership was a lot to be desired of.

Heh.

Later in the afternoon on our way to the Careers Fair (which we ended up missing - it finished just as we arrived), we stop by the ANZ ATM to grab some cash (which we didn't get to use because the girl at the front of the queue got her card stuck). The queue for the ATM goes along the International Students Office, and the lady at the desk closest to the window is counting down until she leaves to travel around Europe.

Well, she was, until some punk came along and altered her sign a tad:



I must admit, it was pretty darn funny. Some students have way too much time on their hands, but do keep the rest of us ammused.

Trust. Obey.

The rhythm

University carparks, I beseech of you to be vacant. My experiences of travelling to uni this week have been somewhat varied:

Day 1 - Catch the train and then bus.
Reasoning: I will never find a parking spot on day one of semester at 2pm.
Experience: Jam-packed bus, bum in my face nearing the end of my trip as people need to move down the aisle. Unpleasant.
Lesson: Grab a window seat next time.

Day 2 - Drive.
Reasoning: It's day two, and I should be able to get a spot at 12pm - especially at Hockey Stadium - nobody likes to walk 15 mins to class. Besides, I don't want to get the train home at 7pm as there are rail replacement buses - too inconvenient - and I need to be back at uni at 8am the next morning, so I want to get home in the shortest amount of time.
Experience: Hell. Every single carpark is full. Even the overflow carpark was full. The thought of looking seedy and asking if the people that look like they're walking to their car want a lift so I can steal their spot comes into my mind. After 25 mins, I find two people walking in the carpark, ask if they are leaving, and stalk them to their car. Turn up to lecture 20 mins late. Because I was that late and there are so many people enrolled in the unit, there are no seats available. I sit in the aisle. Can't see the screen but I can hear the lecturer's voice. Good thing I printed the lecture notes.
Lesson: Get to uni half an hour early, just to find a parking spot.

Day 3 - Drive.
Reasoning: I have to get to work by 1pm after classes today.
Experience: After yesterday, I vowed to get to uni at least 20 mins early - the carparks can't be full at 7:40 can they? Nope, they aren't. But in my effort to be early, I am 30 mins early for my lecture. What's there to do at 7:30 in the morning at uni? Head to the computer lab to waste some time I guess...
Lesson: I'd rather be early than late. But I'd also rather be on time than half an hour early.

I'm getting back into the rhythm of uni - the study, the labs (I'm finding Transfusion labs pretty interesting) and the homework =/ But it's ok - this is my last year and I'm determined to end on a good note :)

What is true worship?

Summer clean

I pretty much spent all day cleaning. Uni is only a week away and I find that I'm most productive at home when everything is organised well. Otherwise by week three I have pieces of paper everywhere and never have the things I need with me.

I re-organised what was on my bookshelf - moving my books for casual reading down, in favour of having uni-related books close at hand. I filed all of my bills and documents sitting in my 'filing' pile and threw out a lot of rubbish that has been accumulating over the summer break.

The result is a nice, clean and organised workspace! I've also labelled my files and writing pads ready to start uni.



The worst thing you can ever do is to start uni unprepared! Work starts piling in from the word go and you can easily find yourself overwhelmed. It's taken me three years to realise this, so for those that have not yet had the revelation, I'm saving you some time - good preparation lays the foundation to success!

I also invested in some new equipment for Jethro - the Logitech Alto Cordless Notebook Stand to raise the height of my screen (and add a few USB ports), and the Logitech MX 1100 Wireless Laser Mouse for comfort. Both cost me a bit of money (both I got for half the RRP on the Logitech website ... score!) however, I realise that I need to make my workspace as ergonomic as possible. I spend quite a bit of time in front of my computer, and the last thing I want is an RSI when I'm older ... that could interfere with being a scientist and all! I also need to improve my posture, and I found that having Jethro flat on the desk didn't really help with that.

The invites for my 21st are all done now .. I just have to wait for RSVP's! It's really creeping up on me - only three weeks away from today.
(Drey: Yours is here, I didn't post it to Sg because it's too much effort doing the Customs Declaration!)

I was saddened to hear this week that Amanda Bennett is studying in Melbourne now .. :( We will all miss her!

Eat the right stuff.