rev. it up

Has anyone ever heard of Rev. ?
It's a TV show about a rev.
And in case you don't know what a rev is,
perhaps you'll know what a reverend is.
Rev is similar to reverend in that they are the exact same thing.
What makes the two different is that "rev" is spelt with only 3 alphabets.










As you can guess,
the show has religious implications.
The story focuses on a man called Adam.
And why don't you have a guess about what his occupation is?
If your answer was "He's a reverend.",
well done! WRONG !
He's a vicar.

I won't spoil much,
but I will
I definitely recommend it!
I remember seeing DVDs of it on shelves when I was browsing through the ABC shop.
The simple concept of having a reverend as the main character
was (supposedly) more than enough to draw me towards it.
I saw it some time last year but was not foolish enough to purchase it.
Instead, I got it from the library.
#SmartShoppersShopSmart

With only 3 seasons (or series, not sure what to call it),
each episode has a (more or less) stand-alone story.
So you can pretty much start wherever you want.
The main theme of the show is to project
the struggles of being a reverend/priest/vicar.
Even more so in this 21st century,
where religion is sort of a dying race.
Episodes focus on contemporary church issues such as
(but not limited to)
church finance, parish size, muslim community, same-sex marriage etc.
For me,
it's interesting to see how these episodes/mini-plots play out,
because I never really get a chance to see these things happen in real life.
And even if I do,
I'm probably not shown the whole picture.

So I admit.
It's bloody fascinating to see things through the vicar's eyes.
Oh, and I think Adam's a good man.
He may swear and drink and smoke,
but he's good on the inside....
which is what made Season/Series 3 soooooooo good.
Overall,
I think the show's pretty accurate about the modern challenges that the church faces.
If I'm not mistaken,
even local vicars in England watch the show and agree.

So why don't you give this a go as well !?


Listening to Next Chance To Move On - Shihoko Hirata

Back to uni,

TK

mr. innovative

Hello Everyone.
How have you all been ?
(I mean it.
Please answer the aforementioned question.)
If you still refuse the answer the question, fine.
But I'll just go on and tell you how I've been.
I feel great !

So in a week,
I've managed to turn down a "wonderful business opportunity",
do some reading,
volunteer for a bit,
have fun,

polish my piano skills,
visit a beach (enjoy the pictures of them scattered throughout this blog post) ,
and BLOG !
The last part is really something.
I mean, how many of us actually end up blogging
when we tell ourselves to blog ?
But it's only a matter of time,
before uni starts,
and assignments team up with the dormant procrastinating gene in me.
But still,
I shall make it a habit to keep blogging bits and pieces.

Let's talk about this "wonderful business opportunity" first.
By "wonderful business opportunity",
I mean getting into the direct sales industry.
An easier way to put it is,
a job that requires you to constantly bug your friends/family to buy products from you.
Said products are probably cosmetic/health-related.
Some of you may have some experience with this.
Personally,

I don't really like it.
Scratch that.
I hate it.
Its terrible being asked by a friend to buy their products,
when you don't want to.
But you can't say "no".
After all,
they're your friends.
#ThatFeeling

And I don't see myself as much of a salesperson.
I have terrible communication skills,

even if I do say so myself.

And even worse persuasion skills.
At first, I was excited at the notion of having a "business of my own".
But the more I was told about it,
the more I thought it was a direct sales kinda job.
My brain went no-no.
Unfortunately,
I'm not sure how to ACTUALLY say "no".
I'd been invited to a presentation of the job with a friend of mine.
I was sure I was going to force myself to say "no".

I texted my "employer", whom I met at uni.
I asked what the name of the company was.
But she did not reply.
Hahaha. What a great way to not raise suspicion…
But, being the awesome stalker I am.
I found the name of the company.
Google-d tons,
and told myself it DEFINITELY doesn't appeal to me.

NO was definitely my answer.
But what about my friend ?
I didn't wanna drag my friend into this.
So I told her what I'd found online.
And fortunately,
we both played it smart.
We both (kindly) declined.
Since we both lacked "the proper communication and business skills".
So,
to Ms Social Worker,
thanks a bunch for staying with me through the whole presentation.
And thanks for making (hopefully) the right choice of not getting involved.
Also,
thanks Mr Dang,
for tagging along.
Your "moral encouragement" did "wonders".

After we declined and left the cafe,
a wave of relief just swept us all off our feet.
Needless to say,
we went and celebrated….

And while we're on the topic of jobs,
I've managed to land myself in some volunteering positions.
One of it is at my Uni.
I'll be working on a project that involves…
*drumroll please*
SOILS.
That wonders.
It's a citizen science program called MicroBlitz.
Normal citizens will submit soil samples of a certain location in WA.
I will process them,
(Definition of "process" still unknown)
And they will be analysed in a DNA-sequencing Lab
to study the types of microorganisms that exist in that soil.
Fascinating, huh ?
My "processing workshop" is next week,
and I am eager to begin !

Another job I volunteered for is with ANOTHER citizen science program,
called ClimateWatch.
Again,
normal citizens will submit sightings of certain animal/plant species,
detailing their behaviour.
What we do is,
we take all those sightings and
study the trend of its behaviours.
To see whether the timing of its behaviour is affected by climate change.
First-year Biology students work with ClimateWatch.
We are given a dataset to analyse,
and we'd write up a scientific report about it.
My group chose to NOT write about the animal/plant we were given,
but the reliability of those sightings.
(And after looking through 500+ sightings single-handedly,
I am very crossed with how SOME people can't even submit a proper sighting)
So now,
I am simply reprising that role of checking sightings,
for reliability.
Only this time,
I am working directly with the organisation.
And my reliability analysis WILL be taken into account
when updating the database.

And so there you have it,
a bit about my career right now.
Total monthly income: Still $0
But I hope I'll enjoy volunteering now.
I love volunteering in a scientific environment.
So I guess I can end this by saying:
"And I don't know how it gets better than this…"
Give yourself a pat in the back if you get the reference.
Looks like my second semester is/might/maybe
going to be a good one !


Listening to Last Night - The Vamps

Head first, Fearless.

TK

01.01

Minasan konichiwa !
That's "Hello Everyone" in Japanese.
Today, I'm going to write about the things I've accomplished this year.
Because if we all don't sit down and do that once in a while,
we'll turn into self-loathing people.
#InflateThatEgo

To my friends back home,
who have yet to begin Uni.
Maybe you can imagine yourself accomplishing all these nonsensical things
when you begin your adventure.
No offence to anyone, of course.
Ohhh wait,
look at the time.
I'm gonna have to dash now.
I've got a play to catch.
Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography.
Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it ?

*One Day Later*
*Several moments of procrastination later*
*Several nude scenes and a bad ending later*

Now where was I ?
Oh yes,
trying to justify my Accomplishments List,
despite it making me look like I have an oversized ego.
Haha just kidding,
my ego's already the size of Australia.

Well, without further adieu,
let this incredibly boring, stupid, ego-inflating list !
(Please don't hate me)
(Please Like Me)
A list of things I've accomplished in my first semester of Uni:

1. Became familiar with the UWA Campus
2. Stayed at a university college
3. Attended a lecture
4. Seen a peacock(s) on a daily basis
5. Heard noises from a peacock fight
6. Learned Hiragana, Katakana and basic Kanji
7. Conversed with Japanese people
8. Sorted out my own timetable
9. Bought coffee from a school/uni cafe
10. Tried Chai Latte
11. Entered the University's Japanese Room (Mutsumi no Ma)
12. Participated in a citizen science project (ClimateWatch)
13. Wrote a scientific article that got published
14. Volunteered with children
15. Went swimming at a pool in Australia
16. Found several bus routes from home to Uni
17. Relaxed on a piece of rock cliff/shore thing
18. Tried eating at a 24/7 joint in Perth (Fast Eddy's)
19. Spend several dozens of hours on writing one article
20. Wrote a 2500-word essay
21. Wrote an essay on Indigenous Astronomy (fascinating stuff !)
22. Have a sleepover
23. Went to SciTech
24. Watched a planetarium show
25. Attended a Muslim Ramadhan Iftar Dinner
    
26. Created a LinkedIn profile
27. Actually submitted and applied for volunteer jobs
28. Ate a Bi bim bap
29. Ate mushrooms ! (MAN UP !)
30. Bought new shoes…. IN AUSTRALIA
31. Jumped around at a trampoline theme park (Bounce Inc.)
32. Took a bus all the way to Wanneroo
33. Tried a bunch of new playround equipment (Quite scary)
    
34. Ate my first quiche
35. Had a horror movie marathon
36. Watched Human Centipede I AND II
37. Had a conversation with my tutor about her phD thesis
38. Read actual scientific articles
39. Became deeply interested in a topic #soils
40. Met the (ex) Chief Scientist of WA
    
41. Platinum-ed Final Fantasy XIII
42. Went for a 3-hour walk
43. Tried playing a game of pool (and won…)
44. Got a haircut at an actual saloon (again…IN AUSTRALIA)
45. Attempted rock climbing
46. Twisted my glasses while rock climbing
47. Completed a short course in Agriculture
48. Peer review another person's work
49. Had friends over at my place
50. Picked up a(n) (unused) condom from the ground outside the
    
    
    cafe of the science library
51. Watched a theatre play
52. Seen people strip…in real life (IN THE PLAY, I mean)
53. Ate a cake from the Cheesecake Shop

I think that's all I can think of at the moment.

I know some of them sound really silly,

but nevertheless,

I'm quite happy with them.

Hoping for more adventures in my second semester of Uni !

Listening to We Are Done - The Madden Brothers

Chilling on a Sunday afternoon,

TK

soils

What a weird title for this post.
Soils !
That brown-blackish thing that's all around you.
The thing that plants grow on.
The thing that worms live in.
Soils…
The meaning of that title,
so deep.
You can barely understand it.
So what do I mean when I said "soils" ?
What I mean is simply, soils !
I love soils.
#MyStrangeAddiction

And you can blame it all on Uni.
THEY DID THIS TO ME.
But really,
this is the result of having a student go through a combination of
Biology, Earth Science, Communication and Japanese units
in his first semester of Uni.
And I HIGHLY doubt there'd be anyone else
who took those exact 4 combinations of units.
Ironically,
the Communication unit
(SCIE1103: Science, Society and Communication)
was the most influential of 'em all !

But I suppose the lot of you would not be able the understand.
The true beauty and power that is soils !
Here's a picture to help process all this.

A recent trip to my local planetarium
(WHICH WAS AWESOME)
has really got me thinking though…

Soils on Earth is fertile. 

But not on other planets.

The fertility of soils is almost one-of-a-kind on Earth.

Soils are also responsible for growing plants,

the primary producers.

Wouldn't it make sense to think that,

soils were sort of like a platform for the evolution of complex life ?

Life expanded from the ocean, onto land.

Animals relied on plants,

and plants relied on the soils they're on.

Can you comprehend the miraculous prowess of soils NOW !?
If not, refresh this tab and
start reading this all over again.

Have I told you about my sick obsession with soils ?
They made me wanna switch majors to Agriculture !
That's how loopy I am for them.
And when I look at it,
Agriculture might not be so bad after all.
I mean,
I might even enjoy it more than Environmental Science.
No surprise really.
Since I picked Environmental Science on a whim.
And also because the cover guy/girl for the major looked happy.
Unfortunately,
the cover guy/girl for the major this year is not-so-good-looking.
The background was awful as well…
On the other hand,
the cover guy/girl for Agriculture looked happy this year.
Yup !
Now you know how my mind works,
and how to decide on my Uni degrees.
I know, I know.
My priorities are messed up !
(All them Asians doing Commerce degrees though….)
#AsianIntuition

So far,
I think soils are quite impressive,
though most of the work I've done revolved around soil nutrients.
Which reminds me,
I might also have a sick obsession for Phosphorus as well.
But let's not go there.
Perhaps it's one of those moments,
where you find something insanely fascinating.
But as soon as you really get into the nitty-gritty stuff,
things aren't so "fascinating" anymore…
Like climate change !
I bet everyone is interested in that.
Well,
I dare you to enrol in EART1105: Dynamic Planet.
And then, tell me what you think about climate change.
In fact,
just knowing that I'll be taking a unit called "The Climate System"
in my second year makes me shiver.
I fell like fleeing from my lectures and just bury myself….
….IN SOILS !
Because I love them so.

Other than that,
I guess I should give my tutors for this semester
a little shout out !
I've had great people teach me this semester.
The scary my-tutor-is-evil/crap stories I keep hearing from others
definitely helped with making me more grateful.
I salute them !
I also stalk them on the Internet.
Lastly, I wish them Good Luck with their phD projects.
Now I just hope I get some decent tutors for next semester !

Also, my ego got mega-inflated,
thanks to me (and my group) being published in a
student-only online journal.
You can check it out here.
Ahhh yes,
life is sweet when you're in your first semester of Uni
and already have a scientific paper published…


P.S. I should really upload some photos, shouldn't I ?


Listening to Little Sines - Rhian Sheehan

Busy during holidays,

TK