Archive for January, 2007
Procrastination…taken to the next level
No, I’m not referring to the fact that it is 1:25am, and I’m posting a blog entry – but rather to this next video. It’s not from the little mermaid, and (surprise!) it doesn’t relate to grad school at all! Well, it’s about the wonderful world of “Facebook“, which actually does provide some much needed procrastination to the graduate student.
When my parents ask me “What is this facebook thing? What do you do with it?” it’s hard to give a justifiably normal answer (other than procrastination, of course). I guess you could say it’s good for keeping in touch with old friends, and keeping up to date with your current friends (who you are too busy to hang out with, so your social interaction is reduced to messages on facebook between the hours of 11pm – 2am…but I usually don’t get into such details). Then there are those people who go on facebook for lack of better things to do, and surf other people’s profiles…randomly. Also known as “The facebook stalker”. I know you all have facebook stalked someone before (lalala…no names mentioned!!!!). This video is absolutely hilarious – little geeky indian boys who facebook stalk girls. Slightly scary (let’s just hope this doesn’t actually happen), but wayyyy too funny, considering the recent influx of people facebooking it up.
And of course, it brings up the ultimate philosophical question: If I poke you, will you poke back? :)
PS – to my former facebook looooover, Courtney….despite our recent “break-up”, you will always have a place in my facebook relationship-status field.
The little mermaid is so applicable
Unlike the previous video, I can’t say this is one of my favourites – mostly because I always thought Flounder and Sebastian were so adorable and such good fishie-friends to Ariel, but all she could think about was how much better life would be without them. Awwww.
And here is the graduate student version (obviously, much more relatable than the mermaid dilemma). Can’t you just imagine it…the lone graduate student, lamenting the “real-world” life through the window of her lab. Alas. Although realistically, this is truly one of the major issues that many students have with our educational situation – the fact that we are ridiculously broke for so much longer than our business school counterparts. The feeling that we are “stuck” in the school environment of sleep (ie, none), food (take-out and coffee) and clothing (what is business casual exactly?); which is propagated along by our little bubble of research-life, but upon interaction with someone from the non-science world you realize exactly how student-y you really are for your age. The inability to save, invest…travel (!!!). One day. Either that, or I need to find myself a sugar-daddy to support my educational habits AND my life goals…. :)
Real life stories
Isn’t that the name of a reality tv show on TLC? Anyways, as promised…here is my weekly (I’ve decided to post one weekly) favourite PhD comic series. No time to post a “real” blog entry, but I hope you guys enjoy :) Now that I think about it, these comics may not be quite as entertaining for someone who doesn’t experience this sorta stuff in real life…but alas, the irony is in the fact that this is supposed to be funny, but it’s not really that much of a stretch, but then you real-life, non-lab folks might not get it. Well…too bad, suck it up because I’m gonna keep posting them anyways (insert evil laugh). Isn’t a blog supposed to be a tool of self-expression, anyways?
Ah, graduate student humour
At this bright and early time of 1:30am, during a break from the process of cramming random facts from multiple papers into my zombie-like brain (aka “learning”), I found myself at this site called: Piled Higher and Deeper, a comic strip for graduate students. It is hilarious, and so so true. Oh, the love / hate (dare I admit it. But occasionally, during those moments of extreme sleep deprivation or thumb-pain after hours of pipetting, there is a little teensy bit of resentment) relationship of graduate school. It’s amazing how you feel like you’re the ONLY ONE in the universe who has to go through the trials and tribulations that you’ve been facing, but apparently…the rest of the graduate student world does as well. It is a comforting thought. Here’s one comic from a while back. For anyone who is considering doing graduate school…I can’t say that these comics are an exaggeration. Their humour is 100% derived from the accurate description that is…the desperation of our existence. Ah, grad school. Enjoy!
The stuff of a graduate-student’s nightmares…
100% procrastination
I’m not hiding it – no denial here. I am blatently procrastinating from doing the ridiculous amounts of work I have to do this week….lalalala. After the 12+ hour day today, working with smelly smelly mice, I have to say that I DESERVE a little bit of full-on procrastination. Although sleep would be good too. I apologize for the scattered nature of this blog entry, as you can see my brain has gone on it’s “neutral” setting, which isn’t exactly conducive to completing biostatistics assignments or planning experimental protocols. Or reading three articles on bronchopulmonary dysplasia, for that matter, although it is a really interesting subject.
So the purpose of this post is pure, unabashed procrastination. No real story going on here.
For the sake of a real blog-entry, I shall post a video for your viewing pleasure: Yes, it’s the Little Mermaid. I need some comfort video, so here goes. Don’t you love the little tadpoles that jump out singing along with Sebastian?! But talk about unrequited love (at least at this point).
a little bit of mushiness
I’ve always thought that the only people you really can depend upon are your family members – whether this is a Darwinian definition related to kinship (it benefits them to take care of their gene-pool) or based upon good whole-hearted love, this idea occasionally surfaces from the back of my mind, and of course there are some case-in-point past experiences that help to reinforce such a belief.
Having lived away from home for almost 6 years now, this whole “you can only depend on your family” idea kinda sucks. I mean, the idea that all the people you interact with on a daily basis are untrustable is a pretty depressing one. However, I have to say that this null hypothesis has been officially disproven. I feel lucky enough to have met, through work and school, a good group of really fun and nice people, who I think can officially be called my Toronto family, and here goes the rationale (based upon the Merriam-Webster definition of “family”)
1 : a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : HOUSEHOLD
Although this isn’t always true, it is a viable way of forming a familial relationship. Living under the same roof, seeping the same tea, watching the same ridiculous shows (ie. MFA!) are all contributing factors to the formation of a long-lasting bond of trust and friendship.
2 a : a group of persons of common ancestry : CLAN b : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : RACE
Haha…common stock. This part of the definition would be my immediate family, who of course is irreplacable.
3 a : a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : FELLOWSHIP b : the staff of a high official (as the President)
Science and physiology = common affiliation :)
4 : a group of things related by common characteristics: as a : a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds
Although we are not chemical compounds (hee hee), it’s true that it is easier to form a friendship with someone when you have a lot in common. Like the same appreciation for shopping, food, Seed Magazine or ICAM-1.
5 a : the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family <a single-parent family> b : spouse and children <want to spend more time with my family>
A given…
6: a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographical area
Haha…too funny a thought to not include. I can’t say that I have any groups of friends I can refer to as a “crime syndicate” but it is entertaining to imagine.
So this is my little way of saying a big thank you to those people who have treated me with respect, friendship and kindness during my time away from “home”.
To finish with some pictures…the co-workers
the physiology gang…
two thousand and seven
Wow, it’s a new year. I can’t believe it’s such a…big number? Slightly overwhelming to say the least.
New years morning was spent waking up at a ridiculously early hour (when some people were still out partying, I’m sure) to make it over to Pearson airport. Motivation? A trip to Panama! Relaxing on the beach! Yay! Pretty good motivation for me at least…not so sure about the person who had to drive me.
Panama
Absolutely gorgeous. It was so beautiful there. Maybe it was just me – my family hadn’t been to a “beach-y” destination in a couple of years, which is a bit of a stretch for us (we don’t handle the winter well) – but it was an amazing, beautiful place to be. We stayed at the Decameron all-inclusive resort. It was almost tooooo big – I’m not sure we even saw 1/4 of the place, or took advantage of as much as we could have. The grounds were so beautifully maintained, the pools were really cool (they had little shallow pools where you could put a chair, or a pool that overlooked the entire resort, etc, etc) although we spent most of our time in the Pacific.
The day
Mornings began with a walk along the beach. I love walking with my feet just in the edge of the water, enough to keep cool. We saw these cute little birds – kinda chubby with long legs and a long beak, they would run along the beach with the tide trying to catch something yummy…probably little bugs, but I didn’t want to think about that too much.
Breakfast was our best meal of the day (for the vegetarians), and the fruit was soooooo good. So good. Papaya, passion fruit, “tomate de arbol” (tree tomato), the best pineapple I’ve ever had. Man…I miss that. I went to Dominion yesterday and a teensy little papaya, that didn’t even look ripe-ish, was FOUR dollars. For ONE! Argh. I settled for the peaches, but they too were ridiculously expensive… bursting my fruit-eating bubble.
The night
We went every night to their evening show, put on by the “cabana boys” (and girls). It wasn’t half bad actually…the host was hilarious. So, so, so funny. And there were a few people that stood out as amazing dancers – thoughts of “So You Think You Can Dance…Panama!” definitely went through my head. Man, those guys can shake it better than most of the girls. It was unbelievable.
The drinks had way too much alcohol for us light-weights, but I’m sure other people could appreciate their generosity. They had a great club on the resort, and (my favourite) they had two guys playing guitar and singing each night by a beachside bar. It was unbelievably relaxing to listen to them play with the sound of the ocean in the background. It was definitely paradise, and a place that I would return to (if they had more vegetarian food!).
The City
We spent a couple of days in Panama City. I missed the beach (the heat is much easier to handle when you can jump into a nearby ocean!), but our hotel was really trendy and modern, and the different parts of the city were interesting to see…albeit, mostly through the windows of our tour bus. I felt like such a tourist, not really getting a “feel” for the city, but what can you do in a couple of days. It wasn’t bad, considering it was like a million degrees outside and our tour guide was the same age as I am (therefore not as boring). If you like to shop, Panama City is the place to be.
The end. Tis all I shall write about the trip, for now (until I get all nostalgic…and COLD…and feel the need to reminisce). Check out my pictures along the side, and I’ll be posting some videos as well. Hope everyone had a great holiday and new years!
