academic life - an update

London, 06 Oct 2016 [22:53]

Time? What is time?
If I try to think about it for a while, it feels so fast. My last three and a half months here feels nothing but like a snap. Literally, I have spent 1/10 of my study time here. How could I manage the remaining 9/10 to finish all the research and the thesis? Only future knows.
Let's not focus on that at the moment, shall we retrieve back to these past three months; what have I gained? Okay, let's make a list:
- Reading reading reading! Never have I ever in my life consuming these huge number of scientific journals regularly! By time, I learn how to effectively dig into those papers, understand the real meaning of them and extracting the essential data I need. Averagely now, I can read 10 papers in just couple of hours. Averagely before, I barely read any in a regular basis.
- Seminars, workshops, courses, symposiums, journal clubs! Surrounded by this highly academically intelligent community, leads me to the entirely different realm. I couldn't believe that science world has been this huge, that actually there are these many people who constantly pushing the limit of sorta what was unknown before. Slowly but sure, I have started to get the sense of how the scientific world really is.
- Biomaterials Lab! I have been working with several machines I didn't know exist before, such as Dynamic Mechanical Analysis machine, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, etc. By this time, I feel like being half material engineer really. To understand how the principle behind those tests, how to manage the testing parameters, and finally analise the results, is particularly quite a struggle. I have been digging into chemistry and physics much deeper that I have ever done in my life. Well, at the moment, I'm still striving though. However, it did hit me with some enlightenment I didn't know before. This really really stretching my limit. Oh by the way, I have been certified to handle liquid nitrogen which is quite cool I think, even though it means I risk my life everytime I have to work with that particular substance.
- Tissue Culture Lab! This is still not that much, yet. I am currently in the middle of the induction, which has many stages. Well, this is also a new realm. Here I am learning how to handle cells, how to breed them, seeing them, counting them, analysing them and working with several chemicals and machines I never touched before. Currently, I am playing with human osteosarcoma cell lines for practice as they are abundant in numbers and particularly easy to grow. Later on, I wish to play with some stem cells and osteoblasts on my material. Long way to go!

Bob's your uncle!

Well, perhaps not really. I just briefly summarised them. A part of them, I gained much valuable things and insights of life I can't really describe, not because I don't want to, but rather too complex to elaborate.

In terms of feeling, this study does pump my heart quite hard as what I had during my previous undergrad research and the clinical training during dental school (a.k.a koass). Damn, actually I hate that pressure. It's mentally uncomfortable. But that's how growth feels like, isn't it? Always painful, never actually happens in comfort zone.

Closing remarks, I surrender myself merely to the fate that I have. I have no idea how everything will eventually go, it usually leads to a complete surprise. All I can say is, I feel grateful for having all the opportunity that has been given to me. Being able to see the world in a completely different way is a bliss :)