Sunday, October 17, 2010 @ 8:00 AM: The beginning of third year
Time flies.
It is the start of the third year. Having the impression that it is going to be the daunting year which is mostly dominated by academic work and pretty much nothing else, I am quite surprised positively at how the course is structured. Of course having spent most of my time in the lab this week (being equivalent of a Masters student in terms of lab time this week) is quite unexpected given how the first experiment worked out in the end. Though at long last the happiness when I see the product appears in the rotary evaporator and eventually weighing out the product could not be simply described in words :)
It really reminds me of the lab time back at ICES, when I started with no prior knowledge in the chemistry lab, and having chosen chemistry for my future career cos I love to push arrows on paper and was so fascinated by the world of reagents that are available to almost synthesize anything, no matter how daunting it would look. The brief stint I had before I committed myself to research was more of crystallisation and physical based, so naturally it was very different when I went to the lab the first day. The German supervisor, Gerrit, was a very kind guy who showed me on how to use all the lab equipment despite his busy schedule. However naturally as I was a Cambridge first year student, he had really high expectations of me, despite me telling him repeatedly that my first year chemistry was really basics and all my lab work were just simple 4-5 hr sessions in the lab, unlike serious chemistry lab work. I briefly remembered how the high expectations on me soon evaporated and turned into impatience as he repeatedly asked me 'basic' stuff like NOE, COESY, and organopalladium reactions. The worse part was at the lab part though, where he would exclaim with deep disbelief about how clumsy I would get, the unforgettable solvent machine incident which sees quite a bit of dry solvent spurting out as I did not secure the needle properly. And as my friend who is doing her Masters here would narrate, things do get a bit clumsy, and I couldn't help but think of those small incidents that I would always remember at heart when I start out on this route.
Back to the topic. Academics wise everything has been quite comfortable thus far. There had been worries that with Povilas my previous supervision partner at MIT, the void of such a great supervision partner-cum-friend (who always studied with me during the exam times) would prove hard to replace. But I think generally third years are so motivated this year that I couldn't help but just hope that everything would be alright at the end, and my supervision partner now (for two courses) is equally motivated as I am.
Another big change that I've been facing this year was regarding college life! Having decided to move out for closer proximity to the department trumping over college life which sometimes forms the bedrock of relationships in Cambridge, I decided that for academic reasons and ease of socialising with friends in the city centre during weekends, it should be a better idea to move out. And indeed i think it was quite great, considering the lazy me waking up at 845am and getting to the lecture halls promptly at 9am... and quite an escape from the great hall food... but participation in homerton activities is still going strong which I'm really glad about... intereacting with the juniors, my course mates, taking part in badminton...
And the beginning of third year also reminds us the need to treasure friends around us!!
thank you for bringing me memories...
