Maybe its time for an update!

Wow been a while. Nothing much has happened since I last blogged. I mean most of September and October were really hectic, filled with Scholarship applications, seminars and assignments! Its awesome though, after that seminar was over I was on such a high for some reason!

I mean it was in front for like 100 ppl in my year and like 5 profs, so it was pretty nerve wrecking, but still it felt great to be up there and just getting it over and done with! Once the first few slides were over I felt totally comfortable! This gives me hope for being a professor, I mean if I can do this in front of 100 ppl my own age and in my own program then I can probably talk in front of 100ppl younger than me..

Its kind of unfortunate that Seroude really killed me with his questions, but whatever... by the end of this thesis I'll be able to have all the answers to them!

As for the wanting to do field work, I still do, but my chances of getting a scholarship are slim to non, so I may not be able to work with Steve. However, there are a few other good opportunities that I've been looking into and I'll have to email the ppl to see what they are like! I'm planning either Ottawa or Montreal! That should be fun :D

Halloween party was fun too! Its strange to think that we are in 4th year and this is the last time we are going to be hanging out with these friends for Halloween! Well lets not be that fatalistic, but the chances of having us ALL together for a Halloween definitely get slimmer after this year!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was in gr. 12 and I remember feeling so big.. Now I'm getting to the end of 4th year and I feel.. even bigger?

I'm getting ready to move on to the next stage of my life (i.e. Grad school) but the closer it gets to graduation the more I start to look back and think how great my undergrad experience has been and how great the people I've met are! :D

There are still a few more months so I'll have to make the best out of them!

Also as a final note, 4th year has been the best so far!

Bahamas

So, I'm back from my Bahamas trip and I have to say it was a really fun time :)

The more time that passes with me being home, the more I remember it with fond memories. Even though we trudged through the mangroves for hours and hours a day in the sweltering heat, it felt like a great sense of accomplishment!

The sun and warmth were so awesome even though the majority of time we were sweating! I don't mind a little bit of sweat in the summer time (see air-conditioning post) :). I found the fieldwork challenging while I was there, but now that I really think about it, I wouldn't mind doing that for 2 years of a masters. Since Steve (the prof) would like someone to do a masters and basically live in the Bahamas, I am now leaning towards that.. Of course this is a VERY tentative plan since just 2 days ago I was not sure if I wanted to be a prof anymore and was thinking about being a teacher.

The thing is, I get lazy and then I get motivated.. it all depends on the mood of the day/hour/minute. However I do believe that being in the Bahamas or somewhere warm and sunny would do me a lot of good, and that working there would be a challenging but amazing experience.

I always plan ahead and think too much about the future. It sometimes leads to me being discouraged about life. However what I don't do enough is take risks. And having the chance to do a masters in the Bahamas would be a risk, but yet I think it would be an amazing risk worth taking. Plus I loved the profs and even the research was fun, had it not been for so many hours a day! (the last four days we were in the mangroves for 8+ hours counting fish, wading through knee deep mud that felt like quicksand, and seining the creeks at low tide when the water would get to ~42°C!)

All in all, tentative plans as of now are to do well this year in school, see if I like the whole molecular biology thing, apply for some master's scholarships, and potentially try to get in at Steve Cooke's lab to go back to the Bahamas! :)

We'll see.. maybe tomorrow I'll blog about a different idea, but for today (and yesterday) this one sounds good to me!

Evolution?

I don't know if anyone else feels like this, but whenever I watch a movie in which a man protects a woman or a baby, I can't help but feel attracted to him! (ok.. unless he's incredibly ugly)

.. well today's example is Aeon Flux, in which the main guy protects/tries to protect Charlize theron.. even though she's the "assassin" and he's a sissy when it comes to weapons. Even so, I found him very attractive because he clearly showed his emotions for her, and tried to protect her the whole time! :) He also had an air about him.. sort of brooding and wise.

(he's not someone I'd usually find attractive at first glance; see pic)

I also find that I am easily attracted to guys that try to keep going even after they are wounded.. prime example in this movie when he got shot and then tried to keep going even though he had 2 bullets in him! I mean that's determination! And he was leaning on her for support and was almost losing consciousness.. Something about having a weakness past the macho, brooding exterior... raawrr :P

What would have made me like him even more is if he had cried at some point, or if something had gone terribly wrong, so much so that he couldn't help but cry.. but then again I like my happy endings. (I'm pretty sure that character would have cried should Charlize Theron have died..)

So, getting to the point.. is this evolutionarily adaptive? I mean for a woman being attracted to older, brooding, protective types of men who go on even after they are hurt, have weaknesses, and show their emotions for the people they love?...

I think so! haha and since the movie was directed by a woman, i'm pretty sure that is what she was going for. Or at least that's what I like to speculate.

Any opinions?

A month later!

Wow.. its already been a month since I last blogged? That is a bit crazy!

The days are going by so quickly I don't even realize it.. I mean this molecular biology course has been so hectic, thank god its over on friday! I finally get to breathe.

Hmm quick note on what has changed/happened since my last blog.. I have a new computer which is very nice! I've been single for a year now, so I think its time to look for a b/f. I'm in no rush though. Most important for the time being is the need to find a job! I'll just have to go applying on Monday!

I'll probably blog again soon.. I always get good ideas, but by the time I get to write them down I've forgotten them.. lol the trouble with being scatter-brained!

The year is almost over!

YES! Only final's lefts, and those shouldn't be too bad since they are pretty evenly spaced!

Then my 2 week course from May 1-12, and I'm free for the summer :)
Then starts the job hunt, followed by volunteering with the two profs.

I got the thesis I wanted, with the antifreeze protein anti-bodies, and Gerri got offers from two professors as well!! hehe so we are all set for our honours next year. At least that's no more stressing over that!

haha I'm a little bit stressed out about flying to the Bahama's in August since its going to be 4 planes there and then 4 planes back! I've never been afraid of flying before, but this time I'm going to be all alone, and some are going to be SMALL planes! lol Someone help me overcome this fear before I leave!

Ok that's it for now, must keep working on my lab!

A GRIZZLY BEAR.

A GRIZZLY BEAR.

You are the Grizzly. A strong, but good willed person who is in touch with both people and your surroundings. You like the social life, but you also like quiet moments alone simply relaxing and doing nothing. You have an inner temper, which when lashed out upon any unsuspecting victim - can be scary.

So yea i'm a grizzly bear in the test of what animal i am most like.. which sounds cute except for the last part.. I'm scaring myself.. lol

Try it out and let me know what u are! :D

I know one cat already (eh Claire, you manipulator :P)

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=16559

Le tired

So tired... lol this week has already been super hectic.. and its only Monday! Luckily I don't have that much to do for the rest of the week!

The weekend was fun as it was my dad's 46th B-day party so of course we did what anyone in their right mind would do... DANCED! haha

Lets see, what else. The kitty is losing weight which kinda sucks. He was 7.6 kg last week monday and today he is 7.4kg. He's starting his insulin shots on wednesday and hopefully after that everything will be good :D I'm feeling optimistic about the prognosis and I'm becoming rather fond of the kitten, since he slept in my bed yesterday and was doing happy paws to my feet for half the night! :)

Hmm other than that, there is really nothing much going on. I'm still hoping for that thesis dealing with antifreeze proteins in fish.. we'll see how it goes :P Also I'm planning on taking a spring course (2 weeks) which is "Techniques in molecular biology"! now doesn't that just sound like fun :)

Ok well that's it! I'll write more later when I'm not as tired... Off I go to bed