Sleep deprivation mode: ON

Searched for "maximum daily caffeine intake" and I stumbled on this website.

Here is a non exhaustive list of the causes of sleep deprivation:

• Caffeine consumption (check)
• Alcohol consumption
• Smoking
• Stress (CHECK!)
• Working shifts
• Lack of routine (check)
• Poor scheduling (hmm. do i plan properly?)
• Inadequate exposure to light (improper amount and wrong time) (Dunedin lo, lack of sunshine)
• Bad bed (poor student, how to buy Sleepyhead?)
• Inadequate room temperature (check- below 0 degree more like it)
• Poor diet (does indomee as a midnight snack count?)
• Being overweight/obese
• Inadequate "before bed activities" (such as watching TV, working, being on the computer...) (check!)
• Lack of or no exercise (hmm. check)
• Medication consumption
• etc...

So out of 15, I scored 10.

Oh wait. They forgot to mention
neverending assignments
.

Bye bye sleep. I'll see you again on Saturday.

P.S. over 100 photos taken from Monday night's Agnes pre-birthday/A&D-safe-journey-to-europe celebration- to be posted up once the goal above is achieved, aka when I do get to have at least 5 hours of sleep a day.

Quit being a bore

This is something I still struggle until right now.

And it's also one of my resolutions to achieve this year (and beyond).

Not to discourage (and bore) others by complaining.

how to be boring?

So when I logged into Facebook and saw THAT, I began thinking:

I can understand the feeling of being bored. But seriously, friends, the OLYMPICS is on, for goodness' sake. Michael Phelps has just won his 7th gold medal by 1 hundredth of a second (that's 0.01 secs) in the 100m butterfly, with Covic Cavic (corrected by Sam) at second place.

Well maybe you're not into either sports or Phelps. Totally understandable. There's a million other things a person can do to NOT feel bored. I can try listing some, but I do have important things to do/plan/write/read. So PLEASE, UN-BORE yourself: challenge yourself by doing something that scares you every single day.

As for myself, I can't say that I'm a good example for that, but I try to start a friendly conversation with people of other races every day- my coursemates, lab partners, colleagues- it's not that much of a daunting task, but if I were to do that voluntarily 3 years ago, no way I'll agree to that. I DREAD being in the centre of attention, or worse singing in front of a group of people- so when I was asked to be one of the worship leaders at Lighthouse Fellowship, I very reluctantly said yes. It's still scary at times; leading worship and trying to sing in-tune in front of 30-0dd people every week, and I'll have to take over the worship team next year as canai is leaving for Hawke's bay =(

It's not so much about shying away from scary stuff or saying no to a task that might just make you stronger as a person, but for me I hate the idea that my inability to tackle a difficulty might discourage others and make the rest of their days moody. You can argue on this: showing how crap you feel by yakking all day to people coming your way to pull them down too just because you think people should be true to their feelings, OR being a positive influence by staying cheerful despite (eg the bad weather/you simple hate that Phelps is winning all the gold medals) things not going your way. Trust me: when others start smiling and feeling good, you will too.

If you're still finding it hard to break free from boredom/unpositiveness, the late Randy Pausch will make you want to live every single day of your life to the fullest. If you've never heard of him, he gave the famous "last lecture" last year after finding out he had only few months to live as a result of cancer. On youtube, the lecture has been viewed sooo many times. I love this quote of his:

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.

So if you're one of those uninspired souls, find that spark; and if you find that hard, find someone who can and stick with them. If you're having a bad time coping, help someone cope with their hard times- you'll find it surprisingly refreshing. If you feel like the world has turned against you, it's because you're not facing the world the right way. Life sucks. Yeah, don't we all know it. But if you're always dwelling on it, you're only digging deeper into that pit of sorrow. Then don't go complaining that no one cares about how you feel when you're not helping yourself either.

Reality's harsh. So play it smart, and enjoy the laughter it brings.

A legend in the making



(remember to breathe)

Michael Phelps.

All eyes are on him now. Shame on you if you don't already know who he is.

Once bullied as a kid, I wonder what his bullies have to say now.
One thing for sure, he's not only breaking world records- but also breaking the hearts of many girls out there ;P

I'm wondering if this photo is even legal in some countries. (close this now if you're under 18 or get jealous at the sight of perfect abs).


Now if you haven't yet noticed, he has a tattoo- barely noticeable but yes ladies it's there.
(OOooOooo the olympic rings...)

Ok. *slaps myself in the face* Time to finish up the report- 1500 words down, 500 more to go.

Rain rain please go away


StupidTester.com says I'm 38% Stupid! How stupid are you? Click Here!

Nyeh. I still feel like my neurons have wrapped themselves up totally with myelin sheaths and refused to transmit neurotransmitters to make me want to finish my 2000-word management essay (due Friday) and bioinformatics practical report due tomorrow afternoon.

No sleep again tonight I guess.

Today was hectic as.
Ron and I ended up running from the microbiology building (micr lab) to st davids (management tutorial), stayed there for 15 minutes, back to micr building for experiments, go have lunch for 20 mins, go back to lab bla bla. A LOOOOOONG day it has been. Next week would be much worse- micr and bioc353 labs running at the same week. Which means a total of 31 hours of working in labs next week. *faints* And that time excludes time needed to write lab reports.

I'm going headachey trying to organise things for micr336 presentation idea- something related to biotech, original, creative, and has the potential to make big bucks on the market :S Have to come up with draft very soon!

Well, at least I'm happy with the exam timetable which just came out recently.

Oct 21st - mant303
Oct 30th - bioc353
Nov 3rd - bioc354
Nov 4th - micr336

Finishing early is the important thing; which means I can probably start the attachment/internship thing 1 week earlier and have more time to really enjoy my summer holiday. Airtickets/accomodation still not sorted!!!

Speaking of which, quite pissed off at the Singapore Airlines hotline lady which I spoke to the other night. She had absolutely no idea what I information I wanted- to find out if a delay from Sg to Kch flight is possible so I don't have to book another flight back to Singapore. Spent more than 15 mins on the line and she kept telling me (in a very strong accent) "sorry m'am, I can't seem to help you..." I was up to my boiling point and answered (quite harshly oops) "so would you like me to call back some other time when someone else is answering the phone?" *snicker* Yes I know it was mean but I never had the same problem with MAS before. And please lo, my question just needs a simple yes/no answer, and she couldn't even use the search functions on the database correctly. Sien. Which means I'll have to call again (at a different time) or go to STA for help.

...and the rain continues to haunt Dunedin.

The caffeine race

TODAY

9am - Drank a cup of Jarrah coffee.

2pm - at work. Drank a cup of super strong cappuccino (those packet ones from Nestle)

a few minutes ago (11.39pm) - Drank a cup of Moccona coffee.


That makes 3 cups of coffee in a day.
I pity my tummy, but all the assignments have left me no choice.

Must write at least 1000 words tonight!!!

Just for your info, a cup of coffee lasts me for about 5 to 6 hours, which means I'm bound to stay awake till at least 6am tomorrow.

... and I have an 8am lecture tomorrow.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.

:::UPDATE::: 4.05am

WOO. I've reached my goal! Now if only I can sleep... and wake up at 7am