Cells in Aether...

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter, Holi and long-weekend! I can't beleive its almost APRIL! We are a quarter of the way through! In just another 3 more quarters, we will be in 2006! FREAKY!

Having repeated many of my experiments (I keep telling myself that I "can't make-up results"... but really it is probably more likely now that less people will know if I do....), I am quite satisfied! I got told today that I had enough results for the first chapter of my thesis. I don't beleive I do - but its a nice thought.

I just hope I dont use up all my luck in the first few months and then end up having to pray, beg and eventually go insane in trying to get something to work!

I think more importantly, in the last two months - I HAVE MADE NO ENEMIES! Touch wood!

Discovery of the day...
"If you look down the microscope long enough... it feels like you are travelling into space. Especially looking at cells with the DAPI staining."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIIIIKKKAAAA (from Darwin) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Revelation Number 1

People do PhDs for various reasons. Amongst them are such things as "avoiding real life", "avoiding the corporate world", "avoiding 'getting settled'"... and I guess just generally its to avoid stuff...

Apart from the above mentioned obvious reasons, a PhD is also (apparently) supposed to make you learn more about yourself and if possible, contribute to greater scientific knowledge... Today I made a "personal discovery". By that I mean that I found out something about myself. Infact I found out two things!

Revelation number 1: I am a work-o-holic. WA meetings anyone???

Revelation number 2: Wearing high-heeled boots to work is not only impractical - but also completely foolish.

PS:
Experiment of the day: Placing all your weight on the "heel" part of the boot CONSTANTLY will result in the heel snapping - and thus cause further discomfort and "wisdom teeth - like" pains in your feet...

A New Central Dogma?

I got my first lot of results yesterday! My cell staining actually worked! I got very excited and so am going to uni today to repeat it! :D:D:D:D:D:D

When my experiment worked I sent my dad a message that said, "Guess whose experiment worked?? Guess who got results??? MEE!! I GOT RESULTSS! :D:::D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D"

I came home and my dad said "What was your message about? What's 'colon dee (:D)'??"
I told him that they were smileys...

"Ohhh! I thought it was some kind of a genetic code you had discovered and that was the result..."

hmmmm

In the life of a long-term student...

My dad got a letter from Medibank (The medical insurance company) that started with (in bold and underlined mind you!)... "Is Vidya still a student?".

My dad gave it to me and said, "Gayu, when are you going to finish?? I have insurance companies starting to doubt me now!". Apparently I can still be listed under my dad's cover till I am 25!

A few weeks back, a 15 year-old asked me, "Have you finished uni yet? Haven't you been studying like... FOREVER???"

Come on! I ts not that bad!

The eternal optimist?

Started my first experiment last week, and once some of my reagents arrive I should be right for my second experiment! I am still extremely excited about it all. I have been told that I am simply going through "1st-year optimism" and that I shouldn't worry because pretty soon I'll find myself in the bottom of a deep dark abyss, wondering how I got there and spending much of the next 2 and half year trying to crawl out of it...

I work with interesting people...

Have to go into uni today to show someone how to carry out cell staining - it should be interesting seeing as I have never reallly done it myself :-S.

I have also taken up the role of the "official complain lady" for all office needs and deeds. IT and security must hate me!

Hopefully I'll be getting paid this week!

Headlines

"Princess visits hospital - millions dead"

Vector Difficulties!

After thinking about a particular Vector problem for DAYS, I finally sat down and designed a few primers yesterday.

I am trying to make a few mutants of my protein. After Thinking till 7 pm yesterday with a fellow student for HOURS - drawing and redrawing... planning and re-planning and finally deciding to leave it for another day I came home feeling really frustrated. Caused me to miss a dear friend's birthday too :(

This morning, I thought about it some more from a different angle - then FINALLY we (or rather the other student) figured it out! I then sat down and wrote out the steps...it feels good when you solve a problem that originally looks impossible to solve...

Tired

Watched "Bride and Prejudice" over the weekend... I liked it! Very colourful and quite funny! "Bend it like Beckham" was better, but this was deffinetly enjoyable.

Right now, I am just "thinking"... :-S