Long Gone ...

It has been quite a while since my last entry ... blame the holidays.

Basically, after my final exam (unfortunately it also marked the end of my freshman year .. so fast time flied ... =( ) ... I spent a week or so in Malaysia .... couple of days with my family and the others with friends ... gained back a few pounds .... =) ..

Anyway, everything came to an end last Friday when I returned to Singapore. That night itself we had a long, dreadful 3.5hours meeting for MSA Senior Camp in preparation for the upcoming Freshman Orientation Camp. Needless to say, MSA people in NTU are very semangat and extremely dedicated. Sleep deprivation was part of the routine .... I even put on makeup to act as a ghost to scare people in one of our programmes ...Well, I am not much like them. I took half a day off on Sunday because I was simply too tired ... I just didn't bother anymore and switched off my handphone and SLEPT !!!!!!!!! .... but I am sure it went on well ...

Monday was the start of my Summer Research. It is a Special Semester course that I signed up to gain some experience in the research field and of course to clear some credits along the way ....The Professot I worked with, thank goodness, is a French Professor ... Europeans tend to have a more relaxed schedule and working environment ... I am attached to his research fellow (a French woman) ....

What I do is really simple - help her (my mentor) out with her research. FULL STOP. Fortunately and unfortunately, so happened the stage they are in now is the experiment stage. Meaning that they have done all the background checks and theories, ready to put their ideas to the test. So, the moment I stepped into the office, we would head straight to the lab and stay there. Do, do, do ..... No toilet breaks. They are not sadistic, of course they allow toilet breaks. Just that when a reaction is running (which may last for hours), we can't really go anywhere). Having said that, I learned A LOT !!! Lab techniques that will so help me in my coming semesters .... not to mention my mentor is preparing me for the NMR licence test. YES, in NTU only certified, licenced people can use the NMR machine ....

I have to say I am really grateful and lucky to get this mentor. I am the only first year student(out of 6, the rest are year 3's) and she patiently taught me all the stuff that I usually overlook or too clumsy to be bothered about in lab. She actually put up with all those stupid questions I threw to her. People have been involved in this field for decades, who am I to question what they are doing? .. LOL ... me and my big mouth .... Having said that, they treated everyone equally. One can come and go any time, everything in the lab is personal effort. One person has his or her own project(s), no interference, no strict order to stay in late for work ... you plan when and what you want to do as long as you get the job done .... Come to think of it, I like this kind of working environment ... well, I'll see more as I go on ...

PS : HAPPY 4 MONTHS ANNIVERSARY ... =)