Dear students of Microbiology

Please pay attention to timing of Midterm examinations as follows:

*Protozoology  : 12Dec.2009  (21Azar88)  – 13:30 

*Virology          : 13Dec.2009 (22Azar88) – 15:30  

*MicrobiologyII: 15Dec.2009 (24Azar88)  -  9:30  

          Place: Main Hall-Central Library

       With best wishes

Yikes! I’m headed into my fifth exam period of my university career! I’ve dealt with asthma exacerbations in one form or another at pretty much every exam period so far.  If you are fanatic student like I am, you’re going to want to maximize your time studying, minimize your time spent dealing with your asthma, and NOT miss any exams. Here are some things that have helped me:

1. Study away, but don’t compromise your sleep. The less you sleep, the more susceptible you are to colds and infections, which can create big asthma problems. Sleep is a priority, I mean it.

2. Become a germophobe, especially during this H1N1 outbreak. Avoid your sick friends, wash your hands and use your head. It’s worth it if you can avoid getting sick.

3. Make a study schedule, and arrange it so that you are pretty much prepared for your exam the day before you actually need to be. This way, if you are suddenly flaring the day before your exam, you won’t be in trouble. Less stress for you. I bet it’ll improve your mark too.

4. Know your school’s policy on absenteeism from final examinations. Know what kind of documentation you need if you are to miss an exam.

5. If, 24 hours before your exam you are flaring and are unsure whether or not you’ll be able to write the exam, contact your professor to let them know what the situation is. They appreciate this.

6. Don’t be afraid to step up your meds as per your care plan if you think it’s what you need to get you through.

7. Be aware of potential triggers in the exam hall. For example, every year I seem to have at least one exam scheduled on the rink of the hockey arena. Arenas really set me off due to a mix of cold temperature and fumes from the zamboni. Therefore, I pre-medicate for these exams. Another thing to look out for might be a really old or dusty building.

8. If you think you’ll need it, and even if you don’t, have your ventolin out on your desk. In most cases, you’re not allowed to do so much as reach into your pocket during an exam so have it in plain sight. If a proctor gives you a hard time, be firm and tell him/her that it’s absolutely necessary (I’ve only ever gotten one comment about this).

Does this make me sound neurotic?? If it does, it’s only because I really care about school and because I’ve run into a lot of problems in the past. I know a lot of you are students so tell me: how do you deal with the asthma beast during exam period?

This past month has been hectic, not because I’ve been busy off travelling around the States and Canada, but because of midterms. I only had 3 because Anatomy is 100% final and French is continuous assessment, however I found 3 tough enough. We didn’t have any study break because you’re supposed to be revising throughout the year, but who does that? So the past month has involved me cramming late nights in the library trying to squeeze as much information into my weenie little brain with not much luck! I now have my results in and luckily the work paid off, 3 comfortable passes, which may not be great in comparison to the people in my class, but Science students here are mainly wannabe Doctors, so they are ultra competitive and smart. The opposite to me then! So when the class average is an A-, I’m fairly content with my B.

So what have I been up to? Other than studying…

Well Halloween was great fun. I knew North America liked to celebrate it big, but not this big! Everyone puts in the effort to make a costume, and some hardcore Halloweeners will even wear a different costume for each night out. I, on the other hand, thought I should come up with one killer costume to impress all. So being 6’6”, the logical choice was to go as an old-school Oompah Loompah from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You know what I mean, the dwarf like workers that Willy Wonka employs to make his chocolate. Well, it was a huge hit!!! Most people got the irony, except for a few… And everyone appreciated the effort that some guy from across the pond had put in. I spent a while planning it, and going round thrift shops finding the final pieces to the puzzle, but I eventually got there.

The McGill International Student Network (MISN) arranges socials (pub crawls, weekend trips, movie nights etc) so there’s always plenty of things to do and people to meet, but getting stuck in the international clique is not why I came to Canada. I came here to meet some actual McGill students, rather than fellow Brits. No disrespect to them, I love my exchange friends, we’re all a very similar bunch of people, looking to travel the world and have an amazing time, but it’s very “same same”. You constantly have the same encounters with new faces at Pubs or Clubs and have the same small talk, like “Where are you from? What are you studying? Are you here 1 or 2 semesters?…” Ok, I might be exaggerating a tad, most of my friends are exchange students, but I’m trying my best to break the mould. I still hang out with my Frosh leaders, and I told you that I was in an Ultimate Frisbee Team. Well we’re all good mates and hopefully we’re going to set up a Basketball team next semester. That’s another thing, a lot of exchange students are only here 1 semester, which is kind of depressing because that’s only 3-4 months, whereas my McGill friends will all still be here next year. Phew!

Another thing McGill is great at is looking after its International students. International Student Services (ISS), the people you go to for important info like Visas, Study Permits etc, also organise free/highly discounted Montreal tourist trips e.g. Montreal Bus Tour, Free Museum Passes and just this week, Free Ice Skating. This would be my first attempt at hitting the ice, literally…. I fell over a ridiculous number of times, but it didn’t dent my confidence and I kept getting back up, then falling, again and again. At times I resembled a speed skater, zig-zagging my way between others, but mostly, I resembled a wounded animal after being hit by a moving vehicle. The song “I get knocked down, but I get up again” was a very apt summary of my night. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be a pro, but don’t count on it.

I dreamt I needed to go to the library to find a certain yellow Chinese dictionary for a project of some sort. I walked down the aisles of the main library, where a class was studying Classical Chinese quite loudly. I walked to the front and found a book that caught my eye so I grabbed it and walked out the back door. I figured, if this library did not have the dictionary, the art library next door would. I walked in and asked a man for help. He could not locate my dictionary, which I had only recently returned and I was frustrated since it got checked out so quickly. The check-out was one where a patron had to scan it themselves, but in order to proceed one would have to show his or her ID to the librarian. Mine consisted of letters, apparently, and she asked me to read the last letter. I was baffled. Why should I read the last letter of my own ID? Furthermore, my eyes were getting blurry and I wasn’t sure if she meant the last letter of the ID or the last letter of the series of letters that her thumb was resting upon. She asked why I was grinning so much after I used both. I hadn’t been grinning… I took my book and left. Now my issue was to find my professor’s class, whose room number and building number I had completely forgotten. I started wandering into the halls and emerged into long hallways reminiscent of my old high school. (The outside, however, felt like my elementary school.) I eventually found a large mass of people heading to a class in particular, so I cut through them. This set two of them to start hunting me down. I made my way into the kitchen, ducking and evading them as necessary, until I made it to a tiny little hallway at the end of the kitchen. I walked through, and I saw there was a very large bedroom there but I passed it and made my way into a room with a computer. I figured I could use this to find my way into the room I needed. I also was only three minutes late (the clock read 2:83). Unfortunately, the computer (an iMac) appeared to be having major problems and froze when I accidentally opened up a PDF. Also, apparently, my motions were so noisy that they were causing havoc outside where one of my actual housemates was apparently taking his midterm on the field outside of the window. I became far too late and I never did reach my classroom.

Resting is not for me, i plan ahead. Last week i ordered the CNNA secuirty books from a certain online bookstore. It seemed to strange to get home from work last night and not read something that has does not have Cisco on it or is about Cisco. Out came the CCNA secuirty book.

Secuirty is still a great field to get into, everybody needs it. Everybody always needs to keep ahead of threats to their network, that and i do a lot of work with Cisco ASA’a and as the CCNA Sec is a pre for the CCSP exams now.

Exams start in two weeks minus one day, anyone else feel like these past four months just flew by? From now on in, I am committed to studying and staying healthy. Of course I will run as much as possible because this is what keeps me studying well! Time to hunker down

so, at least i can give you some information about the last week. there were soooo many things to do and to organise and to read, etc.
since i had some exams i needed time to study these nice things and since i used my free time to go and have a closer look on “twilight” and “new moon” (i really like double-features… and i went there with my old man – daddy. he was pretty cool… although there were lots over lots of teenies who were squeeling and shouting and i don’t know what… and… well… the best comment ever: OOOOHHHH, HIS AAAASSS!!!!! WOOOOOWWW, CATCH IT! CATCH IT!!!!).

so this is my comming-out. no, i’m still not gay… even if, who cares?

i like the bella and edward series. i really do. but only because i understand all the cheesy and romantic thoughts bella has about edward. yes. that’s it. and so between my enormous amounts of study-stuff i read the third and the fourth book about bella and edward.

and by the way: i’m really sorry, but i have to disappoint you… i still don’t like robert pattinson. maybe he made a good job, but he is not the typical vampire for me. so i had to read the stories, because i can’t watch him for the next both times. that’s why i read the stories… which in fact i better hadn’t.

the writing style is not thaaaat good. sorry, stephenie meyer… but the story is actually interesting. so, i did it. and i never will do it again.

but fact is… i’ve never read a romantic book like that. first, because i don’t really like romance and second… because it is soooo… individual. i like it. for me this is a double-edged sword. i like it, but i don’t want to read it again.
and… my love would be the perfect edward. he has soft and handsome features in face and body. sooo… he is my edward. ^^

I’m sick of the internet. Really, I am. For the past 1 month (!!!), cuz of the exams, the only thing I’ve been doing to entertain myself is the internet. So no going out, nothing. I haven’t been out of my university grounds for at least a month (yeah, perks of being a foreign student who live in school -__-)

So yeah, I’m really sick of the internet. I just want to go out again, feel like I’m part of the society again, eat food that is not from the school canteen. And I really want to go home and be with my parents and sister again (and Mosh, my dog. He’s such a sweet little thing [Manda, don't argue, he is really cute. Just cuz you don't like him it doesn't mean he isn't]). I miss them so much. Really looking forward to the December break.

Oh exams, won’t you just end already?

P.S: My cousin is getting married today. I’m laughing hysterically cuz my mom is complaining that she have to dress up and stuff when all she wants to do is stay at home and read a book! Ha! One good thing about having exams now, I guess. Me and my mom both dislike attending this kind of events.

Starting to prepare for exams?  Consult our Exam Taking Resources research guide for a bibliography of books and other resources you may find useful for exam preparation.

Woohoo. 2 papers in one day, and now I have just 3 more out of the 6 left for semester 2. Wonderful wonderful feeling.

com225 was alright. The questions were fine, direct and easy to answer. However, the first two questions stumped me terribly. During the review lecture, he said that ‘editing’ wasn’t important. So wrong so wrong. The first 2 questions were about editing lor. What nonsense right?  From now on, I shall not believe any hints any lecturer give. I don’t understand the rationale of giving hints and not following it. com207 is another one. He said this and that were important, and I took much effort to prepare in advance. However, those hints didn’t lead anywhere for the exams. I also heard that 401-ers also got tricked. What is their rational….haiz.

At the end of 225, he gave us back our scripts and the grades for the final assessment. Though I am still not quite satisfied with the results we got, I am happy that he noted our improvement and encouraged us with his comments and advice. I am quite thankful for that. Despite that, what else I can say about ISPgroup02 man. What else what else. All my feelings are hidden inside my heart and head now, and all I can say is Thank you for the memories, memories that will last a lifetime, way way longer than the 4 years we have in school. Fun, laughter, peace and joy. We transcended that.

now about hg803. My first paper this semester that I am actually quite confident about. I shall quote Bond. “Those who SU will regret their decision after taking the paper”. and for now (til the results), the statement reflects my current mood. I am really glad I didn’t su it.

3 more subjects and 6 more days to go. can’t wait can’t wait

I had an awesome weekend courtesy of my work mates and some of them decided to bring their crazy pals. We went bungee jumping and being a “bungee virgin” (that is what the instructor told me), i found it to be the most fulfilling experience apart from excelling in something people misadvise you.

The week has also been great but unfortunately one of my co-workers is on training to the land of Madiba and after that he goes on leave for about a week or two. Unfortunately, we have been working a lot with him and his handover list has me as the main character. Now am doing work for two people and the people am reporting to are making it even more of a slave’s tasks than a job am getting paid for.

That means I will leave the office at around 7 pm, take a matatu ride into the city centre and take the final one to the house (am yet to buy a car). Expected Time of Arrival at home: 8 pm or 8:30 pm. ake dinner and by the time am done, it is already 9.00 pm. I prefer waking up during the night and take a peep into my books for about 2 hours. After dinner, I might take a shower and then read a chapter or two from a novel.

That being the daily routine, when things are in normal mode, am quite used to it but of late, the alarm is what tells me that the day has just started. No studying and am now afraid that I will find myself having done nothing when the exams are just around the corner.

I also prefer doing lots of study during the weekends but this is now becoming a fast fading dream since I might go out on Friday evening, spend Saturday mostly in bed curing a hangover, attend church on Sunday and take a power nap on Sunday afternoon. That leaves me with zero time to study.

But it is a Friday and one of my good friends is graduating. I foresee a bad weekend ahead of me and ultimately, FAILURE.

This is ME.

Seriously… Today has been quite possibly the most depressing day of my life. I’ve never felt like more of a loser and to be honest, I’ve never felt so LONELY!

It’s so tragic, I haven’t really left the house except to run for the last two weeks. It’s the saddest thing ever. I’m starting to get cabin fever and I’m keen for some excitement in my life.

I don’t even have mum to hang out with coz she’s on vacation… That’s reaching all new levels of retard.

Tomorrow will be the first day of my all new will to be social once again. I’m going to Edgecumb Christmas In The Park with Joy. (Gonna go watch Dallas play :]) I really like Joy, she’s one of my really really good friends. She’s the type of friend you really, truly can trust.

Those kinds of friends don’t come around very often.

I’ve decided to make a list of goals that I must achieve these holidays.

Things to achieve:

1. Make good friends with someone entirely new, that I’ve never met/spoken to before.

2. Find a running buddy, run with them 3 times or more.

3. Have a celebratory lunch with my friends to celebrate the end of exams/school year.

4. Have a picnic with Dallas (he doesn’t know about this one yet lol)

5. Get out of the house and spend a day taking photographs of anything and everything that strikes me as beautiful or interesting.

6. Go to Mount Maunganui and run around it, then get waffle cones, then swim at the beach

7. Go up to Auckland and go for a walk with Kerre Woodham.

8. Have a picnic with somebody at the Heads.

9. Have a girly sleepover.

10. Rope more people in to playing Tennis on my tennis court.

11. Go christmas BROWSING (eg, go to shops, but since I’m broke, look at things and decide what I’ll buy/make for everyone).

12. Get something interesting done to my body. e.g belly button piercing again.

13. Volunteer at the SPCA

14. Go to the movies with Dallas.

15. Go to Hamilton and catch up with old friends.

16. Find a way of making money.

17. Try and organize a nice family dinner.

18. Have a heart to heart with someone unexpected.

19. Have a few of my best friends over for a BBQ.

20. Go surfing (once all the jellyfish have fled the area :S)

21. Rope a friend into making a hilarious song on Garageband.

22. Hang out with Kelsi heaps before she leaves.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I will definitely keep updating this with details on how I’m going

Fingers crossed I complete it!

Consider this my “holiday Challenge”

Happy thanksgiving to all the American readers!! I’m thankful for blogging!

xoxo

Hey all,

Christmas is definitely coming. And with it… comes exams.

So seeing as how I’m doing a BFA, and there is no exams for the majority of my courses – just final projects – I’m already swamped. Hence the lack of posts lately. I’m in desperate need for a model for my 2D design photography project, I have to finish a sketchbook for drawing, a sketchbook for 3D, another project for 3D, and an essay for English. Alllll by next week. Then I get to study for my English exam, and Art history exam after that.

As if I’m not anxiety ridden enough about Christmas. And yes, I realize that sounds totally wrong.

Love,

Can <3

Exams have been over for 3 days and GOD I am feeling HAPPY.

The HAPPY has not worn off yet. It’s so nice to be able to watch Project Runway without glancing nervously at the clock and constantly calculating how much time I can spend on a break.

I have done a few interesting things over the past few days!

1. I have gone hunting for a monokini. Singapore is sold out of monokinis. I cannot believe it. Jolin zen-ly said, “Aiyah, monokinis just not popular with Singaporeans lah.” I sadly concur. I am monokini-less and am refusing point blank to remove any cover I have over my bikini in Bali!

2. I have tried to use eye glue! You know, to make fake double eyelids. It works, fascinatingly. But it doesn’t stay up for more than an hour. That is the pathetic part. I have also tried eye tape. That works much better – stays up for a day or so. But I don’t find that my eyes look very much bigger, which was the whole point of the enterprise for me. As such, I think I will turn to Bobbi Brown instead for gel liner that will make my eyes look HUGE. What? I’m being too ambitious you say? Those slits I call eyes are not going to open up except with surgery? Finefine. The liner will make my eyes look LESS SMALL. There. Happy now?

3. I had tea with Mommy at Cova. The salmon and spinach quiche is TO DIE FOR.

4. I bought two firsts: a pair of PINK Steve Madden sandals (I decided I agree with Jolin that my wardrobe needs a little more colour), and a vest from Mango. I have been looking for a vest that does not make me look like a fat waitress since forever, and I finally found it! woohoo!

I want more SHOPPINGS. Unfortch I need more MONAYYYS! Hahahahaha.
Bu ke yi luan hua qian. Nodnod.

Despite what the title might imply, I was not dancing because I failed a test. The two subjects are really just tangentially related, but do go somewhat hand in hand.

To start of with, tests at MIT are really hard. For physics exams, you have two hours to do 6 problems. In math and chem, you have to do 6 problems in an hour. And they’re all really hard problems. So far, I have failed three tests: one math, one chem, and one physics. Sometimes, I feel really depressed right afterwards. Most often though, I absorb it and start looking forward to the next one. Generally, I’m pretty positive about tests, and am pretty fine when I fail them, especially as I’m on Pass/No Record, which means that you either pass a class or you never have taken the class. Here at MIT, though, you don’t strive to get an A though, because if you do, you’ll be really disappointed because you won’t get it very often. There will be times you will be happy to just get a C and pass. It’s intense.

One thing that I’ve discovered at MIT that I’ve had a lot of fun doing is dancing. The first time I went dancing, I went to a folk dance event put on by my church. It was so much fun, and, since it was right after the math test I failed, it cheered me up a lot. Then I went swing dancing with a friend who I had met during my FPOP. We had so much fun together, and became inspired to dance more and become better dancers. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to go since then because she has a p-set due the next day, so she needs Wednesday night to finish it up. But we’re going to try to work out a time to go.

Anyways, there we are: failing tests and dancing. Failing tests — not so fun. Dancing — so much fun. I don’t hope to do much for of the 1st, but I hope to do a lot more of the 2nd.