Hard times

I can't help it, I told myself I wouldn't be writing here until I'm done with my presentation, but then here I am. My presentation will be in a few days, on Tuesday to be exact. And I haven't started yet making the powerpoint slides. I still need to read some journals. Grrrr! And I'm stuck with it. I've been reading since Wednesday, but I haven't moved on with the first journal. That always happens to me. And now, I hate reading journals - those long, scientific articles, which will make your nose bleed for the fact that they contain very, very, VERY technical terms. (pause, inhale, exhale) Well, I suppose you will say, You're in the Sciences, so expect to encounter those scientific journals. Yes, I know, I know. Actually it's amazing to be able to learn the recent studies and advances in my field, but sometimes I just feel so fed up, I'm having information overload already! Haaay, the life of a graduate student, the life of a future scientist. Well, there are also those times that I ask myself, Will you be a good scientist? Do you really want to be a scientist in the first place? Do you? There are times that I can confidently answer with a yes, but there are also times that I think of my other dream. You probably know it already if you've read  my old posts. And if I continue discussing my other dream, it will be another one of my never ending ramblings. So I'll just spare you with it.

Other things happening in my life:

I registered for the August swimming lessons even if I'm the only foreigner in our class. I was expecting to have the same swimming instructor but to my surprise there's a new one. I wanted to back out, but I was already there so I just continued. But as of now, I'm not having a good performance. Freestyle is still difficult for me. Back float while kicking is also hard. WHY IS EVERYTHING SO HARD?!? 

Swimming lessons: second to the last session

Two weeks from now, I'll be having my presentation for our laboratory meeting. waaah! So there, expect a lack of post in the days to come because I really need to prepare for that. But as for now, I would like to take the moment to just be happy. And speaking of happiness, one thing that really makes me happy is swimming.

A Day Well Spent

Started my day by going to church this morning. It felt good to be able to attend mass again. There's always something special about it. After mass, me and a friend went to Zara. Their Sale was still up, and the prices have gotten lower and lower! Nice. But I didn't buy anything because last Sunday I already bought a white trench coat that's on sale (in preparation for the coming autumn and winter seasons). The price was 100+thousand won but I got it for only 59 thousand won. How's that? Surely, it's a super win win! This time I just looked around and checked some items. Actually I love doing that - just looking around even though I'm not going to buy anything because it gives me a mental note on the things that I like so that next time it'll be easier to pick up my favorite item/s.  Well, it's a girl thing. I think it's what most girls do. Then after the "looking around" session, we had lunch in Burger King and I'm kind of loving their burgers already! Yummy! Having a full stomach means having a lot of energy. And this energy would be used in our downtown shops exploration. This part of downtown consists of shops after shops after shops. Shops are just everywhere!

Blessed

This week has been a tough one, emotionally. But at the end of the day, amidst all the problems and challenges, it's nice to know that my life is still full of blessings. I'm very grateful to God for He has always been there for me. Even if there were times that I feel so down and alone, I know that He has never left me. He never give up on me.

Yesterday was the moment I'd been dreading since Tuesday. The whole time, I was anxious about the mistake I did in the experiment and on how professor will react. So there, the worst-case scenario was already playing in my mind. But at the same, I was also praying and hoping that everything would go smoothly. The senior told me that professor would have a discussion regarding the experiment. And the moment came, I told him about my mistake, but surprisingly I didn't get that mad reaction I was imagining he would make. The discussion continued smoothly. And after that, it's like Woah! Amazing! Thank you God! God has once again answered my prayer. It has happened to me many times before - having a problem and getting saved from it. And it's all because God, by His grace, has always saved me and helped me overcome all of them. I am not a preacher but I just want to say, to express into words how GOD is working in my life. And I want to share this verses from the Bible, Matthew 6:25-33

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.   

and this song

Thoughts on My Birthday to Come

Even though my birthday is still several months away, I'm already thinking of how I'll celebrate it. It will be a special one because I'll be turning 25. An article I've read, Your 25th Birthday: An Important Halfway Point, perfectly explains the reason why the 25th birthday is different from our previous birthdays.

"By the 25th birthday most people expect to have accomplished something with their lives. There's only five more years until that big three-O and the average person usually hopes that they are well on their way by their 25th year. They'll have settled into a place of their own, a job and may even be starting a family all ready. Some new twenty-five year olds might be thinking that they want their party to be a little more grown-up, a little more sensible around this time."                                                   

Yes, being 25 entails one to live the life of a matured individual, matured in a sense that one has already accomplished or will soon-to-be accomplishing something in life. If I'm going to compare my life in the examples in the article, 

1. they'll have settled into a place of their own  Me: not yet. Well, I'm even living temporarily in a far off place.
2. have a job Me: I don't have a job. I'm back to being a student.
3. may even be starting a family already Me: nope, I still have to look for my prince. 

So there, I'm kind of in the opposite side of the coin. But my mind right now is thinking of ways on how I'll celebrate that special day in my life. First option - partyin' in the G2 club. Since my birthday is going to be on a Wednesday, I'll be lucky because it means free drinks in G2. But is that type of celebration fitted to celebrate my 25 years of existence? Well, I don't think so. Second option - go somewhere else and do the Eat, Pray, and Love thing. Surely that is a better one. It's more like what matured individuals would do. And now, since my birthday is still far, I have the much needed time to decide on what place to go and to plan my EPL trip. =)           

All for the love of HP

All for the love of Harry Potter, I woke up at 5:45am last Sunday, hurriedly prepared, and went to CGV Cinema in downtown together with my friends to watch the last film installment, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2. It's my first time to experience watching a movie at 7:30 in the morning. Yes, 7:30am! Yeah I know it's crazy! But well, good thing we got a 3000won discount. Not bad after all. We watched in IMAX 3D and it's amazing! First time to try the 3D thing and although it's more expensive than the usual 2D, I must say it's worth every penny. Now for the movie, as I've said in my previous post, A Bittersweet Ending,  it is a wonderful finale. And to the author and to all the cast & crew of the HP films, Thank you for giving us a gift that has been part of our lives since we were kids. We grew up with it and now after ten years, even though it has come to an end, Harry Potter still lives on in us!

haven't seen a big HP poster but this one will do

Him

I feel so down. So a great way to liven up my gloomy life is to think about that one guy who has been my ultimate ideal man since my first day in the university, and who still is up to now. My Marco. Actually he doesn't know it. We're not even close. We've met before but I doubt he still remembers me. It's as if we weren't meant to be. And even though there are some issues surrounding him, it doesn't matter. I still hope someday, somehow, we'll meet again, get to know each other, be friends, and who knows what will happen next? nah! But seriously, I really want to be friends with him. I admire this guy.

Since a girl can dream, here's mine. ♥

*Marco's pictures are from his fb account. Stalker much? I know right. Hehe.

Back to square one

Last night, I wrote my game plan to success (in the laboratory), but now I'm back to square one. I did a major, major mistake last week while doing my experiment and now my senior knows it. gah! We had a very long and serious discussion this morning. I know it's my fault. I should have done this, I should have done that. Once again, I disappoint them. Once again, I disappoint myself. The whole afternoon I was preparing myself on what is to come - Professor, in all his anger, will be talking to me or will probably even scold me. Maybe his lines will be, "It's been how many months? You've been here for five months already! But still, you still commit so many mistakes! What's happening with you?"  blah, blah, blah, blah. And since it's my mistake, I'll be saying sorry over and over again and wishing deep in my heart that I'll just disappear in that instant. But Professor hasn't talked to me yet, maybe senior hasn't told him yet. So okay, this spells AGONY being prolonged.

On a lighter note, my swimming lessons is the one leveling up. A swimming stroke was taught this afternoon, the one which I see swimmers do during competitions, the freestyle stroke! Okay, so since we are in the beginner's class, the substitute instructor (wah i miss our real instructor!) taught us the basics, the alternate rotation of arms. It's difficult but I'm determined to learn. Yey, very much excited for the next session on Thursday! =)

I wanna be like this!