Keyboard replacement and science writing

I’m sorta glad that I bought a USB-keyboard as a replacement for my laptop-keyboard. It’s taking me some time to get used to the feel of the new keyboard–especially since some of the keys are in new positions–but I think I’ll get the hang of it eventually.

Today I attended the Christmas party of the School of Science and Engineering. It was great to see all the professors, teaching assistants and research assistants unwinding because it’s incredibly difficult for me to socialize with the teaching and research staff in the context of work.

I was able to get to know Sir Ronie of the Bio Dept who is apparently a science journalist. He writes for the Star Science column at the Philippine Star and in the Philippine Science Letters. He told me about how he attempted to take a masters in science journalism in the US but failed because of global economic circumstances (i.e. recession) which pulled the plug on his funding despite being accepted into his program of choice.

I’m glad to have met someone interested in science journalism because there aren’t many science writers in the Philippines. I told Sir Ronie that he could start a science journalism program with the Comm Dept if he had time, or maybe a student organization dedicated to science journalism.

Ideas, ideas. So many ideas.

 

How I explain my job as a researcher

I avoid going into the nitty gritty details of my job because the moment I mention something technical attention goes screaming out the window. It’s a communications disaster. What better way to send the conversation into a kamikaze nosedive than by saying stuff like “drug delivery system” and “toxicology”. I’m usually better off just calling it “research” and then showing my license. LOL

DIY Biotech Lab: GenSpace NYC

I’m inspired by the story of GenSpace NYC. It was started by a team of scientists, writers, engineers and artists who all share a common thread in biology. This is how they described themselves:

Genspace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting education in molecular biology for both children and adults. We work inside and outside of traditional settings, providing a safe, supportive environment for training and mentoring in biotechnology.

Metro Manila needs laboratories like this where budding scientists can learn and experiment free from the tight restrictions of academic and commercial laboratories; after all it is the spirit of play that fuels our imaginations and allows us to channel our energies into creative work. So why not have a laboratory where people can “play” with science? If today’s science majors are going to become free thinkers and tinkerers of tomorrow, then there must be a physical environment that supports curiosity, experimentation and innovation.

Learn to use a brown bottle wrapped in lots of aluminum foil

Because Ag salts change oxidation states when exposed to sunlight. I had to learn this the hard way by losing a month worth of samples and test results because the silver salt I was testing apparently got reduced to metallic silver and I DIDN’T KNOW. Now I have to start over. FML

Waiting for chemicals

You’ve done your literature review and you’re all set to do some experiments in the lab but you can’t start because the chemicals haven’t been delivered.

The long wait for chemicals to arrive is a deceptive one because there is a sense that you cannot really do anything else but wait until you get your hands on the chemicals; only then can you actually begin to do anything in the lab.

Of course I’m not talking about the common reagents that can be purchased over the weekend. I’m referring to the ”exotic” ones that  often take between 1 to 3 months to get shipped. These are the ones that cost more than they weigh (imagine 300 dollars for a 25 mL bottle).

Waiting for chemicals was one of my problems in thesis; I spent two months trawling the internet for a decent supplier of the chemicals I needed.  I couldn’t get started because I put it into my mind that the supplier needed to sell at a cheap price. I called companies from China, India and South Africa until I finally  settled for the most conveniently located and yet most expensive option: Singapore.

While waiting for the shipment to arrive, my thesis adviser pressured me to start working on other things in the lab. Of course I didn’t think that there was any reason to go to the lab when my chemicals weren’t there. So I completely put off going to the lab for a month.  I ended up focusing on extra-curricular activities and almost forgetting that I had a thesis to start. It wasn’t until the chemicals arrived that I realized I could have used the time to prepare what I was going to do with them.

Waiting for chemicals doesn’t have to be so idle. Looking back, I guess I could have used the time to plan my experiments ahead of time. At least I would have been ready for the moment the chemicals arrived. Also, the time could have been spent doing more literature reviews and writing drafts for the thesis paper.

Application Pains

When I was in high school, I thought applying to college was already difficult. 1) I had to get good recommendations from teachers who knew me well; 2) I had to pass entrance exams with a high enough grade to make it into chemistry; 3) I had to submit my application package on time.

Now that I’m applying for postgrad degrees abroad, it seems clear that graduating from college not only means moving up in the education world, but also having to deal with more difficult application processes.

Today I claimed my authenticated diplomas and transcripts from the Department of Foreign Affairs—the authenticated forms are a requirement in one of my universities. I arrived at the main office at 2:30 PM and left around 4:00 PM after a long wait in the dark and dreary hallways of Philippine bureaucratic hell. Prior to the DFA, my documents had gone through the Commission on Higher Education and Ateneo de Manila University to receive authentication from those offices. As if stamps from these three offices aren’t enough, tomorrow I’m going to submit my forms for a final authentication at the Belgian Embassy  in Manila.

This is just for the diploma and transcript.

Over the next few days, I need to get my professors to write recommendation forms for me. After my professors, I’ll be all set to submit my application to universities. But it’s going to take some time before the professors write me a recommendation—today I found out that so many other students have requested recommendations from my teachers. It looks like I won’t get to send the application for another two weeks.

Of course, sending the application is no longer as easy as driving over to Katipunan or Taft to submit an application that would cost a little more than a box of Krispy Kremes. The combined cost of filing for these official documents and sending them to universities abroad more than makes up for the lack of application fees.  It’s great that most of the universities on my list don’t require app fees anymore… if they did, then I wouldn’t even know how I would fund my own application with the meager salary I get as a researcher.

If there is anything good about the application process, then it would have to be its rigorousness. If you accomplish the application process, then kudos to you; it can already be considered a feat of determination, willpower and all the fluffy words that characterize ambition. Of course, getting accepted and actually funding your studies are different things altogether…

For now, I’m really glad that I’m two or three steps away from finishing one of my applications. I really hope that I get into a university. If I don’t, then I promised myself that I would try to apply every year for the next two years (i.e. 2012 and 2013).

It may be tough but it’s worth every shot.

Thoughts on NU107 Signing Off

It’s a tearful remote control weekend at NU107. I tuned in the live stream this afternoon and witnessed Dylan breaking down in tears as she said her last goodbye to the listeners of NU107. Later that afternoon, Kim cried on air while saying goodbye too. Just now, Shannen cried as she wrapped up her shift and hung up the headphones for the last time.

By now everyone knows what’s happening: NU107 is closing shop. The news came to me via my friend’s Facebook status. At first, I thought he was joking because it seemed absurd to me that the longest running rock station of the country would close down. But he posted a link to the NU107 website with an article posted by Quark Henares himself:

It’s time to come clean, everyone. after 23 years, NU107 is finally closing shop. we’re sorry it took so long for us to confirm this. we were hoping for a miracle, I guess.

Despite all the emotional goodbyes over the airwaves, it hasn’t really dawned on me that NU107 is really signing off. I guess this is because the station has been a ubiquitous part of my life since I was still wearing khaki shorts and white polo shirts in grade school. My brother would always tune into NU107 on the way to school. During one trip to school, I heard Nirvana playing on the radio. Ever since then, I’ve always had NU107 playing in the background while driving.

To say that NU107 changed my life sounds like an exaggeration—I am not like the people of Sugarfree, Razorback, Spongecola, Chicosci, Itchyworms, Urbandub, all of whom got their big breaks in the music industry because the influential rock station played their stuff on air.

But I can say that NU107 has been a constant part of my life in many ways. I would often listen to the rock station during exam weekends in high school–they were my study music. It was the only station I liked tuning into during the pop wave of the 90s—they saved me from music hell. It inspired me to become an aspiring musician in high school and also provided songs that would become part of the never-ending soundtrack of my life. For everything that NU107 has ever done for me, I’m forever grateful and I will miss this station dearly.

I’m sure if there’s anything listeners would request at this point, it would be for the new station managers to retain the present rock format for the community of loyal listeners and rock musicians that have stood behind one of the most influential institutions of music in the country. Heck, if I could request anything, it would be for a miracle to preserve NU107 as it is because no other station in the country will play great rock tunes for its listeners every weekend; or host an annual rock awards to celebrate local musicians and musical artistry; or give amateur musicians a chance to be heard and appreciated by the music community.

I’m obviously still in denial. Maybe I’m being overly emotional about this but who wouldn’t be if you grew up listening to such an awesome  station? So tomorrow I’m going to light a candle for my favorite station and hope for the best after the clock strikes 12 midnight.

Uninspired

So I wasted the last two hours writing and rewriting the draft for my letter of motivation. I get a few ideas for paragraphs that I want to write but three sentences into a paragraph and I get this urge to hit the delete button and start over.

Things that run through my head: It doesn’t sound good. It doesn’t sound whole. Why the hell is that there? Doesn’t sound like anything related to my application… etc. etc. etc.

I will go to sleep in a few minutes and maybe write something inspired tomorrow. But for now I have this train wreck of a letter saved on my desktop.

P.S. Please write yourself. Thanks. Bye.

 

For Dummies Sunday

It’s Sunday morning and I don’t really have much to do. I want to workout but I still feel a bit weak in the stomach.

Then again, I don’t really need my stomach to do any sort of workout. I might as well just make the extra effort since I usually only get to workout on Sundays. Worship?

Anyway, I’ve just downloaded a bunch of For Dummies ebooks. I’m really excited to start reading them especially the ones about microbiology and nanotechnology.

I know, I know. The subjects that I’ve downloaded aren’t what most people call “normal reading” but I don’t care. I need to read these things so that I can become a better scientist.

Besides, the fact that I downloaded Dummies books makes up for the academic nature of the subjects. Dummies books are not academic and I usually can’t stand reading the academic textbooks that university professors give out because it’s basically reading from an edited manuscript instead of actually reading what the professors are thinking in their heads. If only scientists would communicate information in an easier and more accessible way then we would not have such a shortage of scientists in the world.

Welcome to The Zuck

So I’ve just seen The Social Network for the 2nd time this week. I think it’s a really brilliant story about the beginnings of Facebook. But, more importantly, I think it says a lot about what it takes to setup your own company in these trying times of the 21st century.

If there is anything that the movie proves to moviegoers it’s that Zuckerberg is ruthless. There is no doubt that the programming that went into Facebook is beyond anything we can imagine—the idea of hosting hack-a-thons to write programs for Facebook sounds a little crazy (but brilliant) to me. Plus, his vision for the idea behind Facebook also seems to be unending—it goes to the point of Zuckerberg rejecting multi-million dollar buyouts for his company. 

Sure he made a few enemies along the way—well, he made an enemy out of his best friend in college–but it’s that ruthlessness that has gotten Facebook where it is today. What happened to Saverin probably feels a lot like a knife stab to the back followed by a twist. But if it’s any consolation Zuckerberg showed the same coldness to Parker when the latter was suspected of possession of cocaine and forced out of Facebook (at the time, Parker was president of Facebook but Zuckerberg was majority shareholder of the company). It just shows that whatever gets in the way of Facebook has to get out of the way or get trampled on.

Now I’m not trying to say that we should all stab each other in the back to get ahead. If it’s possible, let’s just do it among business partners (LOL!). But, seriously, making your dreams come true isn’t always about making or keeping friends.

I think I can’t stand watching The Social Network a third time but it’s safe to say that Zuckerberg is kind of like a hero to me now. Yes, his company is worth over 15 billion dollars and it’s part of the whole capitalistic scheme of things. But I admire Zuckerberg and what he has created out of his mad computer programming wizardry. Take it as a show of respect from one geek to another geek.

Now if I could only come up with something too…

P.S. One thing I can’t understand though: how does a soft-looking person like Zuckerberg have such a ruthless personality? It’s almost unbelievable. He looks like a marshmallow.