The year that was 2010

The year that was 2010 for me:

1. The coldest winter I've witnessed yet in the UK. -15 celsius!
2.a. someone I met before died way before his time. makes me feel so sad even though I didn't really know him. But just the thought of someone so young had to go is just unfair.
2.b. Also another family friend passed away.
2.c. And John Clarke, a senior fellow in Oxford's Zoology. He was such a friendly guy. Kinda missed him walking around Darwin's cafe, talking to anyone there over coffee.
3. Grandad passed away. May he be at peace. Love you, Grandad.
4. finished writing my monster of a thesis. yay.
5. Still suing someone for my accident.
6. gone to Barcelona. Again.
7. Gone to Paris to watch the greatest britpop band ever: Suede!
8. Ate a macaron for the first time in Paris. Oo la la!
9. Moved back to London... sort of.
10. Passed my viva. hoping now that my corrections were good enough to put the doctoral in the bag for sure. Argh, the pressure.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster year for me. Mostly due to studies... am glad the worst of it is over. I think there were some highlights in the year, but I feel it's been a tough year overall.

Happy 2011! Here's to the new year. May it be a better, peaceful, and successful year for us all.

Winter holiday prep

Oh the joy of going to a warm country for the winter holidays. Hopefully Heathrow will be opened for my flight. I can't wait to get out of here! But now, time to the holiday prep frenzy.

Annoying thing #2

The clocks go back this weekend. Daylight savings time only makes me (and other people too I'm sure) confused of the time. Does putting the hour back makes any difference really other than making people mess up their clocks? No!

Annoying thing #1

Right now, the most annoying thing to me is the neighbour playing loud music. I'm currently living in an apartment building, and so I haven't a clue which neighbour is playing this loud music because it sounds like it's in my living room...
What is it with these people being so inconsiderate? Sure, sometimes you are a bit too loud without intentionally too, but on a regular basis? Booming their stereo at deafening volume and often in the wee hours of the morning? How are they not deaf yet? How can they also ignore the rest of the neighbours who complained? Seriously, I'd wish I was as big as The Terminator and bash them in the head.
But it isn't just neighbours that are loud. Only a couple of days ago in a bus a guy had his handphone radio on to some hip-hop music at full speaker volume, probably thinking he was some cool underwear-showing-becauseIcan'tputmytrousersoright gangsta. What makes them think they had the right to annoy everyone (or most people? maybe someone in the packed but enjoyed having some beat going in a cramped bus who knows) in a public transport.

OK. Rant over. back to work.

Limbo

Well, I'm almost done... but no quite a doctor yet... I'm in post-graduate limbo land! Things at work is not good, but I'll soon be gone and can't wait to start the next leg in my life. Just hoping my limbo status will not last too long.

Positive, eh?

Holiday?

I'm bored. I'm supposed to take a break now that I'm kinda done with my writing. But a weekend alone (yeah, most of my friends have gone on holiday, and those still around are not the ones I really want to hang out with) is making me crawling up the walls with boredom. Why is it that when one who was so busy desired so much to have all the free time, and yet when the time comes there desire to work comes back? Irony? Or maybe because I haven't settled my future plan yet. I'm still undecided on what to do with my life. yes, I'm an not that young a person who should still be struggling with this question... or so it seems.

I used to think this is what I would like to do, but lately I feel that I've gone a little bit off course. Since young I've always like to go into conservation. Sometime in my undergrad I've decided that evolution was a better choice, since I did well in those subjects than ecology. I do tend to do better in medical-related subjects too, thus ended up with medical entomology. It is still an interesting subject, but I wonder if it is really worth a day job for?

Well, not just in medical entomology, but scientific research positions in general. After years of studies, honing your skills for such specialities, what kind of job do you end up with? Working as a postdoc, if you intend to stay on with research. The pay is terrible (it really is terrible), the benefits near none, working hours are long... At least if you were to study medicine, with the same amount of years put in, you would have been a senior doctor by now or a surgeon.

And the BBC reports that kids nowadays are losing interest in science. Less scientist are being churned out and will affect our ability to be at the cutting edge of scientific discovery. Well, how about pay us scientist to work huh? the average train driver gets paid more than researchers.

I say, maybe, just maybe, the kids are smart.

Anyway, digression over.
Back to the subject. Bored. So I came into lab, to the surprise of some people. Look at my babies in the insectary to make sure they have food and water. Talked to the boss, demanding we write a paper ASAP. He agreed. Now I have something to do, write a scientific paper. Hours later, pondering on my unwritten paper, I decided that I should take a holiday.

I've finally submitted

There it sat my two copies of my thesis... nearly 300 pages long... on the old wooden bench of the examination school... and off it went tucked in two ginormous envelopes, ready to be sent to my examiners. It may be a relief, but years of my life was basically summarised in The Thesis. I'm exhausted, and feeling strangely empty.

The next leg awaits... the oral exam and meantime, the hunt for a real job. *sob*.

Goodbye, Grandpa.

As of today, I no longer have living grandparents. The only granddad that I'd ever known (my other granddad died when I was just born) had passed away. He was 88 years old, I think.
I still remember when I used to visit him as a kid, he would make sure there were plenty of kit-kats and yakults in his fridge...

I'm gonna miss him.

Panic, panic, panic!

I've given in my forms for thesis submission. Deadline is next month.

PANIC!! PANIC!!!

Coffee miss

I keep missing coffee during the lab's morning caffeine round. Nearly everytime that I do, someone puts a note on my desk.

Cute.

State of mind

No more jury duty, yay. But more work in the lab. I'm so ready to finish this work and find a real job! I'm so tired right now, and as one of my friends put it:

Doing a PhD is like having your life on hold, but it ages you like 10 years.

I've been stuck with this song for the past week. check it out if you are a star wars fan: Here

Jury Summoned

Just great. I have been given a jury summon. It's not that I mind doing it, it is just that can it come at a better time? Bleh, guess I can do my thesis while I sit there in court. :P

And there is that concern about my effing shoulder. Man, what should I do? I only have a couple of days to decide.

2010 already

Oh man, time sure flies.

I'm still stuck indoors (with a white fluffy freeze blanket that covers outside my home) attempting to get some progress done with my thesis.

Sigh.

What has changed since 12 months ago?
My shoulder still hurts, thought not as bad as it was 12 months ago. I am permanently on painkillers, and trying to finish this doctorate.

Here's to the new year. Somehow, humans take the start of a calendar to resolve doing something. I kind of find it hard to do so. I believe that once you have a resolve, do your best to have it done, whenever that resolve started and don't wait till new year to get you started.

Still, one can't help to feel that the start of the roman calendar brings an opportunity to do something anew etc...

Ok, so here's to 2010. May it be a mark in time of my life that was notably good and things that I want done gets done.