Very Very Important Memo to Self

Very very important memo to self.

Always make a list of to do's in Excel. Follow the list.

Number of journals read does not matter. What matters is that I have absorbed what was read. Do not miss out any details.

Journal reading should not stop after literature review. Keeping abreast of publications will help plan experiments.

Label results file properly and be consistent with labeling.

Make proper documentations of experiments done. This will avoid unnecessary repeats.

Regularly compile results. Once every two weeks is a good routine. Also, if any results are not to satisfaction, this will help discover them in time.

Good results from experiments is a cumulative process - Every step counts. Pay attention to every step. Do not overlook any.

Ask when in doubt. There will be someone who can help.

If I have work to do, just book the machine. It's every man for himself. I will lose out if I wait for others to finish their work. If I don't need to use it, then just cancel it later -- too bad they didn't come earlier.

Focus on one thing at a time first. Multi-task only when I can perform an experiment reasonably well. Proper results is important. Remember how I worked for 1 semester for nothing.

Use my BRAIN when doing lab work. I can analyze stuff on paper. But I must do it in lab as well.

Good relationships in lab is very very important. I must practise what I learnt in 1006 and 2007.

Do not assume I know. Be humble.

Report cannot be done last minute. I must start at least 1 month in advance and expect multiple changes. Watch out for typo and grammatical mistakes also.

Do not jump to conclusions. Analyze ALL available data and literature first. An exotic idea may not be the correct or logical one.

Standardize fonts on presentation. Use ONE font only.

Towards end of stay in Lab 3?

It's been 2 fun semesters. Perhaps fun is not what most people would put it. Still, I think it's been fun.

Honours students already stopped coming to lab, preferring to write their thesis at home. Makes the lab feel very quiet(they are a very boisterous (read: noisy and gossipy) bunch of girls). I kind of miss them though. Looks like I will need a bit more time to warm up to new labmates next year... Hope honours students do well in their projects.

From lab at 7:40 on Saturday

I read a biography of Dr. James D. Watson, part of the team who discovered the double helix structure of DNA. If memory serves, he said that people do not come to the laboratory on a saturday. UNLESS they are working on something really interesting.

Of course, I am in the laboratory on a saturday. Am I doing something really interesting? Probably so. I do want to confirm my results. However, is this the most important reason for me being in the laboratory on a saturday morning? Probably not. Dateline is in sight but the goods have yet to be delivered --- I am rushing for time because of my squandering of time and efforts for half a year.

Memo to self and anyone who reads:

1. Plan your things properly.

2. Draw a realistic timeline and paste it somewhere so you can see it every day.

3. Troubleshoot immediately, seek help immediately.

4. Take stock of what you did so you know how much you have progressed.

Sure, these looks super simple. Perhaps I am just too thick in the head to put it to practice. I am okay with theoretical stuff, on paper. When it comes to real work, well, I need to put in more effort. Perhaps it is not more effort. But rather, more using of brains and analysis of problems in real work.

On another note, I have a problem. How do I distinguish real fondness of someone, from say, the want to help/protect someone, or just because I am stressed and that person is nice to talk to because that person is someone outside my sources of stress?

Surprise at lecture

Ok. Status report. Not much done.

However, I was finally able to perform a basic experiment to acceptable level. This, after 8 months. Shows how slow I am.

I still remember a scenario 6 years ago. Person X was seated there. I came later and hesitated to sit beside Person X for reason I shall not reveal.

Today, Person Y surprisingly came. Was hoping Person Y would turn up for some time. But after a while, I gave up. Too many things require my more immediate attention. So Person Y came. Ok... then Person Y sat beside me. That was a big big plus. Actually, I was hoping for that.

What a turn of events from 6 years ago. Almost every detail was reversed. However, this is probably transient. I am simply inundated with work. Probably not the type Person Y is looking for anyway. Oh well.

Uncertainties

A lot of uncertainties crept in again....

1. Project Supervisor?
2. Further studies?
3. Gene Chip?
4. Where am I going with my life?
5. How come I cannot think with my head and execute with my hands?


Point 1: It seems almost everyone has started to look for a supervisor. Even if the supervisor is good but mentor is not good, then what is the point? Currently, I have yet to achieve satisfactory ability to work independently. Theoretically, I could... But then things always don't go what I thought it will be...

Point 2: Further studies? Everyone I know seems to assume that I will go on to do further studies. But if I cannot work independently, further studies will only make my life miserable. Then again, I could see it as a way to stretch myself. After all, some do say "If you started out knowing everything, then you could have skipped school." But then, there are those who say "You should be able to do such things at this level". So it is obvious that there is no one truth to such things. Everyone has their own views -- Blindly following them will only lead to doom.

Point 3: Microarray yielded what seniors considered impossible or even ridiculous data. But mentor says it is correct. What to do? On one hand, I trust my mentor. On the other, seniors are not dumb. So how?

Point 4: Financial planning and perhaps.... family planning have not started. Getting old already...

Point 5: This is by far, the most demoralizing part. Ability to think things through, but not the ability to carry experiment to prove them is pathetic for a scientist. My efforts to solve this has yielded dismal results... Perhaps I did not try hard enough?

Analogy

I thought of a suitable anology for my situation at work:

Suppose in the past, I am the only one with true GN drive, now there are others with false GN drives and better machines. Think of the Aheads, Garazzos and Gadessas against the Season 1 Celestial Being machines. They are outperforming me...

Half the Story

I happen to see this advertisement promoting "intensive tuition" for $90, 3 subjects. What struck me was not the price, but the word "intensive".

While I do believe that certain students would do better academically with some tuition, local parents might have taken this a little too far. Just last week, an article from the newspaper revealed that a parent spent close to $200 on assessments books and the likes. The child is merely primary one!

The most explanation from parents, I supposed, is that this is for the good of the child, to give them a headstart amongst their peers. This is all good and well. However, academic results are just a fraction of what determines if a person is successful. Once, on a public transport, I saw a parent telling her child that it is useless to get first in some sports event (her child won some race I think) - getting a good grade is more important. Local parents seemed to forget that there are more ways to be successful tha just through academics, and that the definition of success
depends on the individual. Academic results is important in today's world. However, it is not everything.

Interpersonal effectiveness skills (such as how one interact with other people) are important too. If parents merely focus on the academics and perhaps certain sports just for the purpose of their children emerging ahead of others and winning some competition and glory, their children would perhaps grow up with this competitive mindset that "I must be better than the rest". Time spent studying or training means less time to interact with other children or to see other children as friends, not competitors. Would they grow up to be socially inept?

The very young are impressionable. If we instill such min such mindset in them at an early age, they would grow up believing in such things. I believe that trying to reverse such thoughts would be difficult later in life, especially if the children are successful in their endeavours all along.

So I hope parents would give their children a little break. Tuitions and enrichment classes are fine. But do remember to give the children to interact normally with their peers - without any sense of competition.