sqrewloose

I absolutely love mass specs!!! It tells you immediately whether you have made your compound or not, and in my case, whether I have managed to couple my building blocks! It's amazing. Ok, a little background so I don't sound like a complete geek-  basically, the mass spectrometery is one of the methods to characterise compounds that are made. It makes the compound fly (by ionising it) in a time of flight tube (i think that's what they're called), and it gets detected at the other end of the machine as a mass (weight). So, basically all I have to do is calculate the exact mass of my compound, submit a form with my sample to IRL (this process is the rate limiting factor since IRL is in the Hutt, and we normally have to send samples there via kind IRL ppl, or send one of us in the lab there) and if you're lucky, you get an email in a few days giving you the results!

Hence, the heart-dropping moment is when you scan the spectra to see if the magic numbers are there! Gosh.. I didn't mean to make it sound like the lotteries. The time between when you click on the file, and when something appears on your screen must be the longest seconds ever!

So yes.. I did manage to couple the lipid and my sugarbaybeh! And also 2 other sugars, not the models but the actual ones!! Whoopedeedoo!! Now, I wish I had more time to do more experiments in the lab, and I didnt have to write up nor prepare for my presentation!

I'm so grateful to be working in the lab that I am in! The atmostphere is amazing- people are helpful, and it feels like a cohesive group! I reckon having young and enthusiastic supervisors helps too! It was funny... yesterday, at our group meeting, we were having a lesson on immunology, and then somebody mentioned that MHC's are unique in every individual. No two persons have the same MHC molecules. And then someone helpfully chirped "Did you know that apparently, people with opposite MHC molecules are naturally attracted to each other?". The gullible ones in the room accepted the information, because it came from my supervisor, whilst others absolutely rediculed the idea, claiming that you can't just reduce attraction and love to mere MHC molecules in your body! Of course, after that, we digressed to pheromones, stinking guys and true love that acts as perfume to neutralise any foul-smelling underarms. =P

Janice's geeky wish list:

1. Pocket NMR machine

2. In-house mass spectrometer

3. Self-cleaning/disposable NMR tubes

4. Portable heat gun!

I have indulged myself in too much geekiness. I suspect that an hour of squash might have sapped all the energy that is left in the unfit me.. so I better channel the last bit of my mental awareness to writing this report!

sqrewloose

I think my eyes are going to P O P   O U T!

I've been trying to do this structure search on the comp, and I have to browse through so many papers and can't find the data to my compound that I'm trying to characterise! It's such a waste of time... Looking at lit takes forever! And u go on and on and on and on reading it!

And I keep finding ref to this hungarian paper that I have no access to, and even if I do, i think it's in hungarian, and I no read hungarian!

On the other hand I have a science and ethics module that I am doing, and I'm looking forward to it! Will be discussing with a friend later to prep for our poster.

Ok, i lost motivation to blog. Probably  because I know I really should be finding that alpha-D lit value!

sqrewloose

The sun has risen...

The construction workers have begun their work...

The head of school has sent his first email for the day, though rather early...

My head have not hit the bed yet!!!!

But the presentation is coming along well...

Great, now I just need to catch a couple of hours of sleep, if i'm lucky.

On another note, surprisingly, coffee worked this time! It never used to, I either get the jitters and my neurons start firing in an uncontrolled manner, or it simply does not keep me awake. But 2 x half sachets of Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee seem to have done the the trick!

sqrewloose

Phew! It's over! The talk went pretty well.. given the time that I had to prepare for it! Preparing for a talk, where you're meant to share with others all the blood, sweat, sleepless nights and tears you have poured into your project over the year, in less than a week was definitely not the best idea. Not very smart. But given the situation, I guess I couldnt really have improved it any further, other than perhaps, changing the whole me- and be someone who's not misslastminute. But again, of course, I am eternally grateful for the grace shown to me by my supervisors. They helped me formulate my thoughts, and were selfless.

Note to self: last minute work KILLS, you and those around you!!

Sometimes, it's the knowledge that people still care that keeps me going. Thanks Sharon, Mei, Pingy and Reen! I'm feeling much better, but still unsuccessful at removing the internal expectations. I really wanted it to work. I wanted to do a spankin' good job, I wanted to make an adjuvant! But alas, now, all there is left to do is pick up the pieces, and make a story out of them. Ok, I know, it actually isn't as bad.. but still!! Ok.. stop J, stop!

On a higher note, I did pretty well for one of my assignments, and that is keeping me happy.. for now.

And on a random note: "The most successful men are those who can make more money than what their wives can spend. And the most successful women are those who find such men". Pretty funny right? But that was taken out of context- Ps Rob preached on stewardship on Sunday. Taking risks, and cutting the financial bondage that we have- releasing it to God, and allowing Him to use it, to use us. It is when we're generous that we open doors for generosity to flow into our lives as well. One thing I'm ever grateful that my Mum instilled in me, is the habit of tithing. No, I fail sometimes, but there is great significance in tithing, not just in terms of salary that church staff will get, but also for my own faith. To thank God for His provision, and to get my head around the fact that what is mine, is not truly mine. A hard concept to grasp, especially in this day when your name and what you "own", be it tangible possesions, or intellectual property is the mark of success and status.