On my own

Written on sat afternoon:

So I realized I have been really good about updating this every week and then some hahaha. I think a travel journal was definitely a good thing to keep. This entry may be more reflective seeing as I will mostly be by myself today.

//Ants are attacking my desk for no reason. I have no food or nice smelling things. I don’t understand….

Anyway just came back from seeing Captain America (f*ck yeah!). It was great. The lead was freaking hot, the explosions were fun, the action scenes where entertaining, there was humor, and we saw the lead without his shirt on! Oh yeah and the plot and acting where good and all that jazz (lol). I had fun. I’m glad it was out this weekend otherwise I think I would feel the loss of my weekend crew more acutely (claire and co are out of country).

I think I will try to go to Henderson Wave Bridge this evening. I have no idea what will do tomorrow. I’m kinda banking on Collin being available which I don’t think he will be. :/ oh well

On work(be ready for a lot a bitching I feel frustrated. you don’t actually have to read this section it’s more a I will write it down in my journal/blog for cathartic reasons):

So yeah since Fanny left Saranya and I have had less and less work. The past few days have really been nothing days. I have discussed my frustration with this on numerous occasions with multiple people. What I’ve gathered is that is a common state for interns. Claire (who works separately in ASTAR) is also annoyed. The other day we wondered over dinner why they take on so many interns when they don’t have work for the interns or any real desire (or time) to train us. Basically they seem to be concerned with keeping us out from underfoot. Make no mistake, I have learned things here but I think will only have gotten about 3.5 weeks worth of solid work in the 2 months I will be here. I am enjoying the vacation like aspects but still…

Plus my fellow intern Saranya kind of bothers me. Her lab skills... well Fanny and I wondered if she had any before she got here. And what’s worse in what I’m sure is well meaning way, she tries to coach me through things, when I know what I’m doing already. Yes I make mistakes and yes she points things out to me that would have forgotten otherwise but it’s annoying.  She is both reliant on me and yet tries to tell me what to do. Plus I think we have some culture barriers: she mumbles, makes body language signs that I have trouble interpreting, and stands way to close to me. She’s a nice girl but I would kill for any of lab partners from school. Plus she is a much slower learner than I. I picked up the use of the microscope we have been working with quickly; to the point where I can find a better focus faster than a lot of the other people in our lab. I try to give her time so she can pick up lab skills too but after sitting in front of the microscope for about 10 minutes she gives up, and lets me find the focus (it usually takes me less than half the time, sometimes when I’m on fire it takes me seconds). When she gets it I cheer her on and high five her and everything because I want her to feel she is doing well. I don’t receive any of those positive vibes back. A lot of time I actually feel like she’s trying to cut me out. This is ironic because she is for some reason to afraid to ask for projects and pesters me into asking her questions for her. I wanted to work on my paper the other day and she wanted to do a lipid extraction so she was bugging me to ask Dr Liu for it. I told her no and that if she wanted to she could. She didn’t and she didn’t through a fit or anything after but was unhappy with me.

Make no mistake SHE IS A GOOD PERSON AND A NICE GIRL. She just isn’t someone I would pick to be friends or even lab partners with. I am not rude to her and am trying to work well with her (I say this b/c I can hear my parents starting to lecture me in my head).

Now I can move on to complaining about Dr Liu. First off he speaks very softly and slowly which make it hard for me (and others) to follow him. He is obsessed with “not wasting time” that phrase probably accounts for about 50% of what I have heard him say. And yet the other day when I asked for a project since Saranya and I had done nothing for the past few days he lectured me on…. well I’m not sure. It wasn’t that I wasn’t listening just that he goes on a lot of tangents. For example when I asked him for a project for the third time in this meeting he started talking about how most of the work was really prep work and people couldn’t just run into things. I understand that but it also implies that people have something think about and plan for; we had nothing. Finally I flat out (respectfully as I could) said “That’s fine then give us prep work we have been wasting our time doing nothing the past few days. We need to be in the lab.” That seemed to settle in his head that I was not going to be hot aired aside. He gave us something to do within minutes. Was that so hard?

I am happy and grateful to be here. It’s a great opportunity that most people don’t get and I appreciate how lucky I am to have it. I have learned a lot and accomplished what I set out to do here. I like Dr Liu and Saranya. I just needed to get that out.

Social life at work (back to funny things):

I swear I will get a picture with the people from work eventually….

Well almost back to funny things I swear. So Nick is gone to Hong Kong and Keith didn’t come in on Thursday. Jason was there abut was doing something else, so no one told me when the group left for lunch. I realized that I really only interact with those three (and I’m sure that ample description of them revealed). Even the next we did a pot luck type lunch thing. Jason came and told me when it was. When I didn’t show up right away Keith came and got me (nick is still in Hong Kong). Despite this little get together going from 11:30 till past one I think I talked to just Keith for about 80% of the time. And when I wasn’t just having a conversation with him we were in the same group conversations. One of which was an epic put my foot in my mouth moment (back to funny). Keith was telling a story about this sex shop mall that someone took him to. And well I had been reading damn you auto correct and sometimes weird stuff comes up in a few of the comics I read (they are mostly PG 13), and this sex act had come up. I wanted to know what it was. Naturally I didn’t want to google it. And the conversation was already on (or at least close to) the topic I asked if someone knew what it was. Then followed some of the most awkward moments of my life. Keith adamantly denied knowledge. Jason sympathized with my desire not google it. And Adelaide died of laughter b/c she thought that I was looking to Keith as big brother figure (I don’t) and he had let me down. People asked me where I had heard it and for once I thought about what was about to come out of my mouth before it did. I decided there was no way that this would make any sense taken out of context and just dropped it.  We dropped that topic of conversation on the whole  pretty fast but none the less Keith and I had a few laughs at the situation later (he teased me, I played the part of innocent person who was being teased). I still don’t know what it is….

Sat evening: going to Henderson Wave was an epic fail. But now I know where I went wrong and will try again another day… but I wound up at Ikea. When you’re bored, and tired of staring at a computer screen I recommend Ikea. It’s full of things to stimulate your senses. Plus who doesn’t like designing their dream house(s) in their head? I have decided that when I’m grown and have a home or my own I will decorate it with things from the children’s sections; I love all the colorful prints and cleverly shaped things! Also I must have a big cushy white love seat in which I curl up and read. I also realized that I really like nook-and-crannies type rooms. I feel they are cozy.

Few funny stories about trekking about on the public transport today. This lady was totally falling asleep in the seat next to me. She kept slowly leaning over onto my shoulder. i kinda wanted to teller her it was ok for her to lean on me but figured meh, she already was. A lady standing near by caught my eye and we giggled a little at the situation. Poor sleepy woman was really embarrassed when she woke up sleeping on some strangers shoulder. lol

I caught a toddler/baby's eye later and waved at her. She looked away real fast, then tried to copy the gesture; just wiggling her fingers to herself. Her mom looked down and made the funniest "wtf is this child doing now" face i couldn't help but laugh.  

I won’t actually be on my own tomorrow it seems just got in contact with Collin and it seems I will be hitting the great outdoors with him on the morrow. I’m sure I’ll blog about that too.