It has now been 3 months since my convocation ceremony, when I talk to my juniors, they're all hyped and excited to graduate. No offense, they would tell me, but I don't fancy continiung study after 4 years of study, they concluded. =) No offense taken. What most would usually regard is that phD is not a work, it is more of a study, like a holiday kinda bond. Well, I wish.
There were several occassions where friends could not understand why I could not be out shopping with them during normal working hours or my dark eye circles after a night of being behind the computer. Well, this is phD. I can hardly classify it as full work, yet I do not have the full freedom of a undergrad student either. I am no longer working for my grads, that is the past. Right now, I am paid to do research within 3 years and am expected to be in my office doing work from 9 to 5. At the end of the period of which, they will determine my qualification. It is much like the process of creditation of any engineers through IEM, IEAU or ICHEME.
After an initial exposure to the engineering world, I discover my idealism of how engineering world works need to be utterly demolish. The engineering world is still quite male dominated. I have been to a training session on modeling with Ansys workbench organised by leap australia and I was the only female. I was also the only female in my research group, although my research group mainly consisted of about 6 - 7 person anyway. =D The fun part is you get to solve the problem, address the issue of your interest using your own way without being cramped by other ppl's ideas really enhances the creativity process. However, at the same time since everything is so unbounded, if you face difficulties, it is hard to look for quality help. Only you can help yourself.
For those who are considering Phd, make sure u consider these criteria/factors before you embark on this journey. Everything has its ups and downs, life has no shortcut, those who take shortcut ends up paying for it in the end.
1. NOT for those who always procrastinate and plagiarise. There is no one's research up for you to plagiarise. If you do, penalty is higher.
2. Check up on the University's resources and support system. Have a chat with past phd grads from the department, do not solely rely on your supervisor's words. Each department have different fundings/support network, so make sure it is well established before you find yourself in a pickle 2 years down the line.
3. Really importantly, Get to KNOW your supervisor. They can make or break you~!
4. Find a topic you are passionate about. Coz frankly, 3 years is a long time and frustration will hit you several times along the way that you feel numb. It is easy to get lost along the way, and in the end it comes down to whether you have a passion for it.
5. Ask yourself whether you need working experience now or refine your research skills now. You will understand this pretty soon.
6. Most importantly, don't take up phD coz u can't find work rite now. Coz unfortunately, after u take up phd, it will further limit your career options. Yes, you will get higher pay the higher qualification you get. But at the same time, not a lot of companies are able to afford you.
Bugs Bunny at the symphony
Have you ever heard of Bugs bunny at the symphony? This is soo my FIRST time. Who would have appreciated the symphony pieces behind such childish and silly cartoons that we used to love and adore? Many years ago, we watched and laughed as Bugs bunny outsmarts the hunter, road runner outruns the coyote and tom and jerry's endless fights. 7 minutes was all it takes for a single cartoon slot, so we never put much thought to the time and effort it took to actually produce it~!
Bugs bunny at the symphony is an orchestra like performance with 'guest performers' like Bugs bunny, Tom and Jerry, Porky pig, etc that has been onstage for 20 years. The conductor and creator of this performance is George Daugherty who is a very famous and diverse artist while the executive producer is David Wong Ka Lik. The orchestra team was from WA itself, the WASO i.e. Western Australia Symphony Orchestra team. The entry costs us about aud89 per person.
This time it was held in Burswood theatre, from 6:30pm till 8:30pm. This is the first time we go to such a genre performance, was so excited beforehand. The venue was indeed a very beautiful place but the aucostic quality of the whole performance was found lacking, they had to resort to using speaker to enhance the sound effect. The whole experience was beautiful, seeing each musician bringing their instruments into life perfectly in sync with the next requires endless practice and skills. It was a beautiful experience for a first timer. =D
Restaurant review: Bonsai
Finally had a chance to dine out, so both of us decided to drop by Bonsai, a newly open restaurant located at Roe Street, Northbridge. I think it was open like 2 or 3 months back, my friend ever mention wanna celebrate his bday there but there was some comments that the food there was overprice and nothing special. However, some time later, some friends later told me that the food is yummy and nice, so decided to give it a try.
The layout and setting is not bad. There isn't any fancy wallpapers or paint on the wall or even nice paintings hung on the wall. However, it uses a mixture of roughness and chic, using black and gray colour as it's theme. I do have to note however that though the restaurant appears modern and chic, the dessert display is very dissappointing. They only display one slice of dessert for each sample, and the glass is a bit blurrish so it doesn't have the impact that perhaps they hoped for.
The first dish is the eggplant and mochi dish, which cost us about about aud7.8. It is practically like grilled eggplant with deep fried blobs of glutinous rice flour served with a special sauce. This is a simple appetizer, it would be better without the 'mochi' instead.
The second dish is unagi sushi, this is where it so enrages me. This dish cost us aud15.80~! Only have small pieces of unagi sushi!! Omg, I was gulping down my surprise before picking up the chopstick. Looks nice, right? The leaf shaped wasabi is so cute~! There is nothing extremely bad or nice about it and that was the reason why I was dissappointed. The vinegar taste in the rice is a bit strong and the rice was not cooked to a smooth texture. It doesn't resemble authentic japanese taste.
I guess they were right when they say save the best for the last, the salmon sashimi served at the last is yummy. :)
The layout and setting is not bad. There isn't any fancy wallpapers or paint on the wall or even nice paintings hung on the wall. However, it uses a mixture of roughness and chic, using black and gray colour as it's theme. I do have to note however that though the restaurant appears modern and chic, the dessert display is very dissappointing. They only display one slice of dessert for each sample, and the glass is a bit blurrish so it doesn't have the impact that perhaps they hoped for.
The first dish is the eggplant and mochi dish, which cost us about about aud7.8. It is practically like grilled eggplant with deep fried blobs of glutinous rice flour served with a special sauce. This is a simple appetizer, it would be better without the 'mochi' instead.
The second dish is unagi sushi, this is where it so enrages me. This dish cost us aud15.80~! Only have small pieces of unagi sushi!! Omg, I was gulping down my surprise before picking up the chopstick. Looks nice, right? The leaf shaped wasabi is so cute~! There is nothing extremely bad or nice about it and that was the reason why I was dissappointed. The vinegar taste in the rice is a bit strong and the rice was not cooked to a smooth texture. It doesn't resemble authentic japanese taste.
I guess they were right when they say save the best for the last, the salmon sashimi served at the last is yummy. :)
Cinderella sister
I am quite in love with this korean tv series entitled 'Cinderella sister'. There is a slight twist in this story where the story no longer revolves around the relationship between the stepmother and Cinderella but the relationship between the stepsister and Cinderella. In this story, Eun jo is the 'evil' stepsister while Hyun sun is the Cinderella. Eun jo's mother is a materialistic person who re-married to Hyun sun's father because of his money. Behind Hyun sun and her father's back, Eun Jo's mother is an inconsiderate woman who also has a secret affair with a useless alcoholic. However, to win Hyun Sun and her father's favour, she acted like an immaculate angel who loves Hyun Sun like any other mother. As her own mother does not treat her the same way, Eun Jo was very jealous of Hyun Sun and caused conflict. That was how the story started and the story developed from there onwards.
The main parts that I like is the way they depict the role of the father. He is a person with a huge heart, when Eun Jo was very rebellious and tried to run away, he managed to see through to her heart and see that the real her is in desperate need for attention and love. The part where he said 'I want to be the reason for you to stay in the family' was also very touching. I guess that was why when the father eventually passed away, I cried along with the main characters. Instead of only focusing on his relationship with his new wife, he actually took the time and effort to win the trust and love of his stubborn and rebellious step daughter, in a way, love above lust. It depicts the beautiful love that a parent should have for their children.
Since then, life for Hyun Sun starts to deteriorate and she became the Cinderella we've all come to know. The twist comes when both of them falls for the same guy, however the guy is in love with Hyun Sun. What will happen next?
Definitely worth a watch~! There are a total of 20 episodes that will be released, however so far only 11 episodes were aired. New episodes are released every wednesday and Thursday 9:11pm onwards. So mark down your calender, this is a beautiful story~!
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