Last Long Weekend

So it's the last long weekend of the summer and I really haven't done anything special other than school and co-op placement.  Working at a chemical plant is definitely something different.  I would never expect to use the chemistry skills learnt at school.  It feels kind of weird going something that I hated so much in school for money.  The people at the company are very nice and chilled and the workload is not bad.  This is gonna be a good work term!

Finally Done.

This term was the longest term of my life.  I can't believe I actually survived this term, especially with all those lab reports and exams.  I'm just glad that it is over now and I can chill...for 2.5 days only.  My co-op placement starts on August 15th, sadly.  Looks like my summer is gone just like that.

I'm currently waiting for my roommate to move out so I can start moving some of my stuff to the living room.  He said that he was going to leave around 7-8, but it's almost 1am right now and he's just starting to clear out.  I still need to clean the washroom and and the living room so it doesn't look too bad for the inspection.  This is extremely frustrating as I am losing sleep at the moment and I will need to wake up earlier tomorrow to clean up the suite.  This is worse than studying, I swear.

Drained.

For the pass few days, I've been wanting to go to sleep ever time it the clock strikes 11pm.  I don't know it's because of the studying (to be honest I don't think I'm studying too hard) or the lack of coffee.  Exams are near and I really don't think I'm ready at all.  I'm physically in August 2nd, but mentally, I'm already in August 12 after 3pm.

P.S. I can't wait for the Korean to leave.

Two Weeks of Hell.

The two weeks of hell starts tonight as a mass cram all the materials for the upcoming exams.  I need to somehow find my motivation and make sure I have enough time to cover all the materials.  What sucks is that I'm not even thinking about the exams right now.  I'm worrying about the day after I finish my last exam and how much work I have to do (packing and cleaning because of the Korean asshole).  I already have a feeling that the Korean would just leave without doing any cleaning.  I think I have enough of this bad roomie situation.  Moving out with my friend next year for sure!

Classes Done!

As of now, all my classes are done.  Last week was a rough week as I have to cram to finish my lab report and study for my last term test for analytical chemistry.  I basically didn't sleep on Tuesday night and lasted 40.5 hours because I had to do a choir concert the next day.  It was pretty bad because that was the day where I finalized my co-op placement.  So I literally celebrated by staying up and doing my report.  On the bright side, I did better than expected on my chem test considering how little I studied.

Few days ago when I was in Toronto, I found out that my grandma from my dad's side had a stroke and is in critical care right now.  My uncle and aunt in China told my dad that there's no need to go back to China because no one could go into her room to visit her.  My dad believes that she's probably not going to make it since they had to perform the last resort to try and unclog the blockage of the artery in the brain.  He asked my brother to go with him, but my brother doesn't really want to go.  Since my dad asked him (he never really asked for such a big favour), he kinda has to go.  He was not too fond of spending his last month of summer in China, but family comes first I guess.

Finals are coming soon, so I have to start studying.  I really need to do well/decent on those exams (especially in chem and microbio).  This is the homestretch of this horrendous term. GOGOGO!

Science & Music

Yesterday, I had an interview with Peel Region's Health Promotion department (only got ranked, sadly) and they commented on the unique combination of science and music.  At first, I don't think it's that unique, but when I keep thinking about it, I don't know a lot of people who's doing that.

Music has been part of my life ever since I was little, so it's really important that I incorporate that aspect into my life right now.  I realized that I played many instruments in the past, though I'm not exactly the best in any of the instrument that I played.  After high school, I wasn't that musically involved since I didn't join a band and maybe that's why I didn't do as well in school.  Either way, I probably didn't have the time to do anything related to music anyways.

To be honest, I kinda miss playing the piano.  I just don't have the time and initiative to learn again.  Choir is pretty fun and it's nice to finally learn how to sing harmony.  Hopefully I'll continue to develop this passion in music and will carry me through the dreadful sciences.

Careers.

My brother just finished his grade 11 year and is already going into his last year of high school in the coming September.  He'll soon be choosing universities and programs to apply to.  Today, he said that he's gonna apply to Actuarial Science as well.  Hardcore.

It also makes me think of the different options that I could have taken when I was in high school.  Few weeks ago, my mom asked me if I chose the wrong path, I didn't know how to answer that.  To be honest, I don't DISLIKE science, but I do think it might be too much for me.  Plus, I never did an business related stuff (other than accounting) so I don't know if I have that kind of mindset to tank through a business program.  I'm almost finishing my Year 2 of this biology program, so there's no point of thinking and regretting.

Drifting Away

So, this so-called long weekend wasn't really a long weekend to being with.  I originally wanted to leave earlier on Friday morning (I had night class on Thursday...sigh) and take the 10:30 bus back to Toronto.  When I was about to leave, I realized that I forgot my keys in my room and locked myself out.  I promised a friend that I would lend my room for her and her boyfriend who came from Philly.  I was kinda upset with myself for being so stupid, but surprisingly I kept my cool.  I was able to get a hold of one of the management worker to get my door opened.  I had to pay 20 bucks, but it's okay.  I was just glad that she was willing to come all the way to the apartment on a holiday.

I ended up leaving at the usual time, 12:30.  It was already a rough start to this weekend, but I knew that it'll get better because it was Canada Day and there were fireworks.  My mom decided to go with my brother and I to watch fireworks.  We were supposed to meet up with some old friends, but ended up being late.  By the time we got to the park, the fireworks have started.  I guess it was a good mother-son bonding time.

After, we met up with my friends and went for bubble like last year.  It was not as fun as I expected, and shouldn't have gone at all.  It was pretty awkward and I felt like I was out of the loop.  If it wasn't for the guy who's visiting form HK, I don't think I would've stayed that long.  I was kinda irked because I actually tried to start some conversations, but they just indirectly shot me down.  I gave up in the end, so whatever.  Maybe it's a sign for me to find some new friends.  People change, and I can't expect them to stay the same forever.

Never-ending.

I have successfully finished 2 lab reports and 2 midterms that was due this week.  Now I'm pretty much drained, both mentally and physically.  I still have to study for my physio midterm and a lab report to write up, both due on Tuesday.  I really want to start working on it today, but my body won't cooperate.  Not to mention I'm yawning every 5 minutes.  I just want this term to end so badly.

Riots

Lately, there were a lot of news about the riot in downtown Vancouver as the Canucks lost their Stanley Cup finals.  I was never into hockey in the first place, though I still get updates from friends.  When I went on the internet to look at some picture of the destruction, they were pretty bad.  I think it was just as bad as the G20 protest happened in Toronto a while ago.  But honestly, it's just a hockey game.  Some hockey fans just don't think before acting.  I know it was a bit frustrating to see the Canucks lose to miserably, but have they ever thought about the aftermath and consequences?  Everyone would probably take their cellphones out and start recording and snapping photos of the whole situation.  As soon as those pictures and videos gets leaked out. you're outted.  It happened to a lot of people already, some are identified as an elite athlete in Canada (cbc.ca had an article about it).  It's sad because that athlete would probably cost him his future.

While surfing on the web, I found this viral photo of a couple kissing amid of the riot.  I think whoever snapped this photo was a genius and it probably saved Vancouver's image a little (even though the guy in the picture is Australian).  This photo reminded me of the famous photo after WWII (I think) where a random sailor kissed a lady, except the kiss in Vancouver was probably more dramatic.  The photo will probably go down into history as one of the most unexpected event.

Well, back to my boring life.  I've been holding on and trying to finish all my lab reports as quick as possible so I can start studying for my midterms.  I already finished on lab report, but I realized that I won't have a lot of time to study for my midterms.  Looks like I might have to give up some marks here and there.  Time to tank on!

Little Ward Things

Someone made a tumblr page dedicated to little ward things.  When I first read it, it brought back many memories - the good, the bad.  So I decided to write a blog about some of those posts.

#49. Everyone's attraction to Mr. Mcalpine.

Well, the word "everyone" is pretty deceiving since I'm pretty sure most of the guys are not "attracted" to him (unless you're playing for the opposite team).  But I have to admit, he is pretty good looking (teacher wise at least).  I still remember all my female friends falling head over heels for him.  They even purposely plan to go to english whenever he's on the floor.  He was, well, pretty much the "Edward Cullen" of Mary Ward.

#27. When your unit tracker is full coloured in at the end of the year.

Thankfully, I was able to experience that for all 4 years.  It might not be a great deal to regular high school students, but for a ward student, seeing the whole page filled is a sense of great accomplishment.  In my opinion, even filling ONE box feels like it's Christmas all over again.

#26. Having that one friend with a locker near Science.

This one brings me back to grade 9, where Harry had a locker right beside science.  There is a rule where we cannot bring out backpacks into science for safety reasons.  For people who had their lockers in the basement (yup, that's me) and the first floor, it might become an hassle lugging your textbooks up the stairs.  Since Harry's locker was right beside science, we all ended up just using if whenever we go to science.  I still remember we once stuffed 9 backpacks in his locker at once.  Pretty epic, I must say.  After grade 9, his TA got relocated so we all had to suffer.  For my senior years, I ended up just leaving my stuff in french department (just across from science and that's one of the few perks of taking french).

#4. The staircase to nowhere.

There are 4 staircases in the building, but only 2 leads down to the basement.  Since my TA is in the basement, I have to take the stairs periodically.  For the first month or so during my freshman year, I always took this one staircase that seemed like it'll take you to the basement, but they really don't.  Pretty embarrassing.

#1. When you successfully survive June Rush.

I never finished all my courses early, so June Rush affected me every year in high school.  Those sleepless nights trying to complete those last few units were not fun at all.  What's more amazing is that you know you're not the only one suffering.  The amount of swollen eyes and heavy eye bags you see during May and June is ridiculously high.  No pain, no gain, I guess.

These were just a few of them and of course, I don't have enough time to comment on all of them (to be honest, I'm supposed to be working on my lab reports right now...).  Reading these posts makes me want to be a high schooler again sometimes, especially when I'm cramming for exams and/or lab reports (like now).  But I guess we all have to move on someday.

Procrastination.

I really should be studying right now since I have my exam in...exactly 1 hour and 40 minutes.  I can't help but procrastinate because if I don't, I'll end up falling asleep on top of my microbio notes.  Microbio has never been my forte and I don't think it'll every be.  No matter how interesting it is, I'll never be good at it.  It's simply brutal.  On hte bright side, I'm doing pretty good in my lab component, so hopefully it'll pull everything up.

It seems like the end of my stressful days in 2 hours or so, but in reality, it's still in its beginning stages.  I have 2 lab reports that I have to write up by next week - one I don't have the results for and the other one I don't get at all.  I also have 2 midterms to worry about.  I'm pretty much screwed for the next week.

Job search is not going as smoothly as I thought.  I probably didn't get ranked in any of my interviews.  Looks like I have to do some follow up on the nursing research position at TGH after all.  This term is just not a good term at all.

Alright, enough procrastination.  Time to get back at my microbiology (yuck!).

Laziest weekend ever!

I didn't bother taking any books out this weekend because I was so bummed about school.  Plus, my godmother came back from Hong Kong to visit so we went out and eat.  I basically reset my mind (well most of my mind) and try harder for all my courses.  Hopefully, I'll get better results.

P.S.  I finally found my TRUE goal in life.  To make a lot of money and be able to travel to Europe every year! Hehe.

School sucks right about now.

This week was arguably the worst week I had.  Midterm and quizzes went horrible.  Had a bad microbiology lab.  Thank god it ended.

Midterm Mania begins this week

This week was the worst week by far.  I caught a cold during mid-week - right before my 2 midterms.  It's totally not fun studying while your nose is running like a faucet.  I didn't do as well as I should be doing in neither of my midterms, which sucks because I really needed the marks.  It's really sad to know that I still have 7 midterms coming up, along with some lab reports here and there.  I have a lab report and another midterm next week.  Looks like I won't be sleeping much...

Time to play the catch-up game (already)

Last week, I had a throat infection (not caused by flu or cold) and it caused me to have severe body aches and headaches.  I was so beat-up that I didn't have the energy to study and eve get out of my bed.  I actually fell asleep in some of my classes.  The day of my birthday was the worst of this infection.  But my friend's surprise visit made it all better at the end of that day.  Now, I'm forced to play the catch-up game this week.  Usually i never win in this game, but I don't have a choice because if I don't play this game, I'll be playing the 'snowball' game.  What a bad start to this term!

Microbio, Maybe 'Oh No'?

It's only been the second day of my Microbiology class, and I'm already dozing off a bit.  I guess I'll never get along with this subject.  Looks like I'll be spending double the time reviewing the notes.

So far, school's been treating me well, since it's only the first week of school.  Given that I'll have 3 labs to do this term, I think I'll be swamped within the next week or so.  I actually started to make some notes on some of my courses and reviewed them couple of times.  I don't know, but the feeling of getting something accomplished was great!

Yesterday I went to my first choir rehearsal.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it's gonna be fun!  Everyone there was so enthusiastic and I can't wait to get started next week.  I finally got assigned to a singing voice.  Apparently, I'm a tenor 2, or second tenor.  I guess that's basically a tenor but usually stays int he lower range of the tenors.  Regardless, I am totally psyched for next Tuesday!

Time to bring my A-game!

School has finally started and nothing good happened so far.  Yesterday, I realized that one of my roommate forgot to clean my rice cooker before leaving.  Thus, it started to mold and created a revolting smell.  It wasn't stage one of molding - it was the final stage, where you can see the green shine.  I don't even know if I should use that rice cooker again.  I need to find some bleach!

Since not everyone takes spring term in Waterloo, one of my roommate has to sublet to another student.  Not to be mean or anything, they're not he best roomies.  Apparently, the dude brought one of his friend over to room as well.  Yes, two people sharing a room, paying one price.  The other roomies and I are planning to make them pay more [utilities and internet] since they're consuming twice as much.  Also, I think I just caught one of the smoking in their room near the window.  I'm not 100% sure, but it was a lot of smoke.  Can this term get any worse?  I'm dying for this term to end already.

I don't even know how I'm gonna tank through this term.  I know roommates are part of university life experience, no matter if they're great or not.  I'll try to take the high road and make the best out of it.  Keyword, try.

Happy Easter!

Easter holiday is almost coming to an end.  It's sad to say that I worked for three out of the 4-day weekend.  The only positive thing is that I don't have to stay home when my grandparents are playing mahjong because when they do play, dinner's basically has the lowest priority.

I finished up editing the database that I was working on at the hospital this morning.  Now, I officially completed all my tasks for this placement.  I'm kinda anticipating for school to start, but not for the massive course load that I'm taking of course.  Hopefully I get a job at the hospital again for my next co-op term, and build my experience before I apply to UT.

I'm BACK!

Wow, it's almost been 4 months since I updated this blog.  Finding a co-op placement was stressing me out and I totally forgot about this blog until I completed my last day of work.

I had the opportunity to work at Toronto General Hospital at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry.  Although  it is a volunteer placement, it was a worthy position.  I gained a lot of experience and knowledge through the last 4 months.  I had the opportunity to attend meetings and develop a database for the biochemist to use for their calls.  It allowed me to see different careers within the hospital.  Now I kinda have a goal to work towards and hopefully, I'll be successful some day in the future.

300th post? Already?

Yes, I'm not joking!  This is really the 300th post!

I haven't updated in ages because I've been swamped with co-op crap.  I finally got a placement at the hospital doing biochemistry data crap.  In another words, all I do is sit in front of the computer and enter data, analyze, and make the excel pretty.  Pretty lax, I should say.  I honestly don't like the fact that I have to wake up at 7am in the morning and have to push and shove through crowds of people on the TTC.  One trip to downtown via TTC during rush hour is just too tiring.

Ever since I came back to Toronto, I've gain some weight.  I guess it's a good thing since I'm underweight, but I don't want to gain fat.  Looks like I have to start heading out to gym more often...

Sick.

I don't remember the last time being sick.  My nose is like a running faucet, my throat is sore, my voice is weak.  I absolutely hate it.

Everyone's back to school [well for most part cause some school starts next week], and a lot of people has been asking me why I'm still in Toronto.  I feel like a dropout, literally, because I don't know what I'm going to do for the next few weeks.  It's not like I failed out of school [I did really well last term in fact], I just failed at getting a job.  I kinda want to go back to school [though not likely], but with the cold right now, I think I'm better off staying back in Toronto.  I just want a co-op placement.