Messy Models

Hello and welcome to the continuation of my previous blog post: She's a Modeller.
If you haven't read that and you're not doing a PhD in atmospheric physics, you will need to in order to understand what I'm gonna say today.
Climat modelling sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?
The very notion of us being able to predict the weather is just mind-shattering.
BUT, there's always a "but".
Climate models are imperfect, and we will never be able to create a carbon copy of our Earth.
As a matter of fact, even if we get the perfect climate model, we still wouldn't be able predict the weather perfectly.
There are three big problems in climate modelling, two of them are kinda related and the last one is the absolute FATHER of "Why-You-Suck-At-Climate-Modelling".

I've already talked about discretisation last week (splitting the globe up into tiny boxes).
Since our computers need to calculate the atmospheric conditions in each box, one at a time, this can be extremely time-consuming.
But we are always trying to get those boxes in higher resolutions (smaller boxes) so that the Earth looks more "smooth" and less "blocky" (Figure 1).
This creates a sort of paradox: we want more (smaller) boxes, but that'll mean it takes even longer for our computers to finish calculating the whole thing.
So, as much as want to, we can't make those boxes too small.
And big boxes have big consequences!
So that's our first dilemma.

Figure 1. As supercomputer processing speeds get faster, we can afford to increase the resolution of our model. That means we can have more, smaller boxes; rather than a few big, bulky ones. This enables us to make a more accurate map of the Earth as well as areas of elevations (such as moutains).
This makes our model more realistic and Earth-like. Taken from Climate Modelling 101.

Now, on to our second problem.
If we have big boxes (more than 100 km wide), we can't represent smaller processes.
CLOUDS are an excellent example of that. We don't know whether they help reduce or induce the greenhouse effect.
But we do know they play a major role in Earth's climate.
But we don't see a full 100 km cloud do we?
That's the problem. We can't make a whole box full of clouds because that will be unrealistic and create horrible climate predictions for us.
Not only that, but we don't even know what its function is (greenhouse effect - yay or nay?).
So us scientists need to rely on (if you haven't guessed it yet) MATHS to try to represent the clouds with an mathematical equation.
This process is called parameterisation.
Don't even try pronouncing it, even I can't spell it right.
Even with parameterisation, we can't get it exactly right, simply because... we don't actually know what clouds do, exactly.
That is a major flaw. We are trying to replicate something we know very little about.
You know, normally, climate models can help advance our understanding of these clouds.
But they're just TOO.DAMN.SMALL.
And if we make our boxes small enough (around 1 km?) to realistically portray these clouds, it'll take infinity years to finish our modelling due to the sheer amount of boxes we get.
See where I'm getting at here?
Discretisation and parameterisation are both limitations to our climate model.
I hope I've made it all understandable up till this point.
The final problem will be a whole lot technical, and wayyyy more interesting.
I promise!

THE REASON YOU SUCK AT MODELLING: CHAOS

Okay, so this is our final challenge, AND our biggest one.

Unlike discretisation and parameterisation, this is not a "technical" problem.

This is all about that bass The Chaos Theory.

Sounds cool, huh?

What the Chaos Theory says is that if you put some numbers (temperature, pressure etc) into a model that's complex, non-linear and dynamic (basically, our atmosphere system), bad things happen.
The guy who came up with the Chaos Theory, Edward Lorenz was playing around with a similar model back in the 1960s.
He put a few numbers in and let the system run for a while. Came back and recorded his results.
Then, he did the test again, only this time, he rounded off his numbers before typing them into the system.
When he came back from his coffee, the results were INSANELY (much emphasis) different from his first test.
So, this is because the system is chaotic. We can't predict what goes on with it.
Not only that, we have systematic errors going on with our measurements.
Some measuring devices can only give you a certain amount of accuracy a.k.a decimal places, where as perfect modelling might need you to be really accurate and have 20 decimals places!
(28.3950358395030128394 degrees celsius, anyone?)
And what if I don't have a 20-decimal thermometer?
Well then, sucks to be you.
Your predicted weather will look nothing like the actual weather.
Therefore, modelling and predicting the climate is nigh impossible and I've just wasted your time in these two blog posts. =)
Thank you very much.

Figure 2. The Chaos Theory is also popular known as the Butterfly Effect, where a butterfly can flap its wings in Brazil and that flap will cause a cyclone to appear in Texas two years later. The butterfly's flap symbolises the small changes in measurements we input into our model. Whether it flapped its wings or not can make all the difference in a cyclone appearing (symbolising tiny changes in the beginning can result in massive differences after long periods). Taken from Mr. Lovenstein.

I'm just trolling.
The Chaos Theory only kicks in when you make the model predict the climate over a long period of time.
Right now, we can predict up to 5-7 days accurately.
10-14 days if we're really pushing it.
But after that, you get the system going haywire!
THAT is the reason why you only get weather forecasts a week in advance.
Any more ahead and the weather station can't guarantee you whether the predictions are true.
But doesn't this sound a little contradictory?
We admit that we can't predict the weather past 2 weeks tops.
And yet we claim to be able to predict how Earth surface temperature will go up by *insert number* degrees in 100 years if we keep emitting greenhouse gases.
So... what's the deal with that?

Well, you'll just have to stick around for the final part of this trilogy!
*Whoopie!*

Listening to Father Figure - Glee Cast

Still modelling,

TK

She's a Modeller

Over the course of my (short and to-be-completed) undergraduate studies, I've had the pleasure of meeting some really great scientists (No, I don't stalk my lecturers... well, actually... nevermind).

The point is, I've met quite a few climate scientists over the year.

Surprisingly (or not), they are all female. 

So, I guess there's a correlation between being female and studying the most controversial field in science (next to GM crops and vaccination).

Anyway, as a student, we are kinda expected to be a "Jack of all trades, Master of none".

That's why I have to study Earth Science, Communications, Biology, Ecology, Genetics, Statistics, Biodiversity Conservation etc in my degree. 

And this semester, it's my turn to try and tackle a unit called "The Climate System".

At the beginning, I was a little excited at the prospect of finally studying what my "scientist acquaintances" are doing/did in their PhD: Climate.

I guess I can finally understand the reasons they were interested in looking at the global climate.

My bubble sorta popped at my first lecture, when I realised the climate system, is mostly just about the atmosphere, which I do not particularly like. 

However, many students have done this and have lived to tell the tale, so I shall persevere.

For our first assignment, we had to write an essay... with some rather ambiguous instructions.

We could pick to write about one of two topics (Wow, is "two" going to be a recurring theme again in this post?):

1. If weather forecasts can only predict one week into the future, how can climate scientists predict the climate for the next 50 to 100 years!?
2. Write about the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and bla bla bla...

People who hear me whine everyday would know how much I hate ENSO.

And therefore, I will not write about ENSO.

Which leaves with Climate Modelling *yay*.

To help me better structure my essay, I will once again blog about my assignment in order to gain a better understanding of...the structure.

So what is climate modelling?

It's (at its most basic form) human's attempt to create a virtual Earth.

We do this by applying mathematical equations that describe the laws and forces of nature.

So you'll get an equation for the conservation of energy, an equation of the laws of thermodynamics etc.

And so through the use of maths (UGH...), we can create/model the Earth's atmosphere, which is the biggest player in the climate system.

However, the atmosphere itself is highly complex. 

If we were to encompass ALL the elements and processes in the atmosphere, it would take our computers wayyyy too long to model the Earth. 

That's why we started with only a few factors. And as computer processors grew faster, we could put in even more factors (but still not all of them).

Of course, if the model was to look at the Earth as ONE big system, it would overload and explode.

Therefore, we have to split the atmosphere up into tiny boxes/grids (as shown in Figure 1). 

And then, in each of the boxes, we apply a whole set of the mathematical equations (mass, energy, thermodynamics).

At this scale, our computer can calculate everything going on in that box and come up with some answers (Oh, the temperature in Box 1 is 39°C).

It does this for every box in the model. And then the boxes communicate with each other.

Box 2 is 34°C, therefore heat will transfer from Box 1 (39°C) to Box 2.

[NOTE: I could be wrong with all the physics going on here. But hopefully my explanations will be sufficient for understanding how models work.]

With this, we have the Earth divided into boxes. 

Each box with has calculated values in them (using maths).

And then the boxes communicate their values with each other (using more maths).

Figure 1. Discretisation is the process of taking one continuous Earth and slicing it up into separate cubes/grids. This process helps simplify climate models enough to make them solvable (by computers).
Computers will take the equations in each cube and calculate them, communicating data with other cubes.
Taken from ETH Zurich.

If you're still keeping up, I am genuinely impressed.

Not because of the complex details of climate modelling, but because of my crap communicating skills.

Anyway, having the atmosphere representing the climate isn't enough.

The ocean is another major player (along with the biosphere, lithosphere and cryosphere).

Thus, scientists have made models of them too.

And what they did next is combine the atmosphere model, with the ocean model (and any other models they have).

So now, the tiny boxes in the model communicate with each other. 

And the models themselves communicate and exchange data with other models.

Because you know... the atmosphere interacts with other systems on Earth, vice versa.

By taking in more factors (the atmosphere, ocean, land, biology etc), we are getting closer to creating a 99.9% copy of the Earth.

Of course, we can't possibly hope to replicate the planet 100% (something I'll get into later).

But with more models at our hands, we can predict the climate pretty well, don't you think?

And as our computers get faster and faster, we can couple MORE models together and predict further into the future.

After the modelling run is complete, you'll get data about what your "virtual Earth" thinks might happen (which can be illustrated into Figure 2). 

With this, climate scientists publish their results, try to use this data to educate to public (but are hated for it) and inform policy makers (but are ignored by them).

Figure 2. A typical graph resulting from climate model data. Each pixel in the graph represents a box/grid that resulted from discretisation. If the cube size was smaller, we would get a more "smooth" picture and less obvious pixels. But doing so will dramatically increase processing time several folds. Taken from IMAGe.

As I promised myself to keep things light and simple, I will stop here. 

But I'll definitely get back to this topic in my next post.

The content of this blog post will form the first (of three) section of my essay.

I hope I communicated the science well enough.

And I also hope that I didn't make any mistakes with the science.

*Fingers crossed*

Listening to Chandelier - Glee Cast (Originally by Sia)

Modelling,

TK

Call Me Dr-eamer

*Deja Vu: I feel like I've blogged about this before. 0_0 But Oh Well!


When I was a kid, people (the adults) used to ask me "What do you wanna become when you grow up?".
And I'm 100% positive I'm not the only who gets asked this.
People would ask me this question.
And I would give them my answer. With great enthusiasm, no less.
Every time I get that question, the same optimism can be heard in my answer.
What was different was my answer itself.
What "I wanna become" seems to keep changing all the time.

Kids looooove blowing things wayyyy out of proportion, so my first answer was "to be an astronaut"!
Because I think space is cool (Doesn't everyone?).
But then, age and maturity caught up to me, and it was dragging me back down to Earth.
My next answer become "pilot".
Because if you can't reach for the stars, you'll just have to make due with the clouds in the sky.
Wait another year and its "artist", because drawing is easy (Hey, I was 6...) and people'll pay me for it.
How great is that!
Variations of "teaching" occupied the rest of my childhood.
Because that was all I ever was exposed to at the time: teachers.
Most times, I just alternated between "English teacher" and "Piano teacher".
Then, the idea of "teacher" just up-and-disappeared when I entered my teenage years.
Being an avid "player" of Neopets gave me some HTML coding skills, something many of my peers didn't have (unless you blog!).
And with that, my career goals at the time shifted into the IT field.
I thought "IT's the only thing I can do".
Journalism (and copywriting, in particular) was also something I've looked into, because my English was decent, but I never looked too deep into it.
So off I went, telling people I was interested in IT.
All this culminated at an Education Fair, where a lady representing a local A-levels college said to me,
"You know IT is a serious field, right? Its not about making computer games or stuff like that."
Wow. Just wow.
I was a little offended, to be honest.
My interest in all-things-computer started from Neopets.
HTML coding was fun for me.
I have never lived with the notion that IT = making games.
Yeah, that wasn't much of a culmination, was it?
Just some trivia.

I didn't really think about "my ambition" until my first trip to Perth, back in 2010.
My parents wanted me to attend UWA, so we paid the uni a visit, and managed to snag a course guide from the Future Students office.
That night, I had a look at all the various courses available.
Two things made me go "wow":

1. So many courses to pick from
2. So many pretty pictures

Mostly the second reason, really.

So, with computing in mind, I browsed through the entire guide and narrowed it down to two courses:

1. Applied Computing
2. Computer Science

"Two" seems to be the recurring theme in this post.

Anyway, Computer Science looked promising. 

But I just wasn't "feeling" it.

So I kept a more open mind and the natural sciences looked interesting!

Again, because I was so sick of Pure Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

"Environmental Science? What a "noble" degree."

And that's how I ended up with Environmental Science.

Also, the person representing the Conservation Biology major in the guide was Asian.

So I guess that helped too!

A badly taken photo of my lab results. Tiny spots on the agar plates are actually colonies of Escherichia coli.
Some plates contain ampicillin, which kills E. coli (up).
Some E. coli have been genetically modified, ie: fluoresce under UV light (down, right).
A simple but fun experiment for my first time in the lab!

*Present Day*
I guess relying on my gut instinct back then worked!
I... can't really imagine myself doing a computing degree.
And I do find the topics in the natural sciences interesting.
Not only that, I do suppose I can see myself working in this field when I grow up (because 21 year olds aren't adults yet).
And I look forward to it.
Oh gosh, this post was due last week. I've procrastinated so much, which means I'm normal and doing what every uni student is doing.


Listening to All Out of Love - Glee Cast

Uni work abound,

TK

Loser Like Me

Several years ago, Glee made its first appearance on TV.
The show was an instant hit!
By second season, it garnered up to 11 million weekly views in the U.S. alone (The Sue Sylvester Shuffle episode had a staggering 26 million!).
Many people considered the show a lifesaver, or at the very least, a decent, positive and entertaining musical.
Glee appeared. Glee exploded. Glee became a worldwide phenomena.
Teens were crazy for the show.
Heck, even the girls in my class tried to create a glee club (unfortunately, the school wasn't so keen on having another singing club).
Although the club never made it, it was still a pretty good indication of how influential Glee had become in the span of 2-3 years.
I mean, who could forget the end of Season 3 when [SPOILERS] the New Directions finally won Nationals and become popular at McKinley? Rachel going to NYADA and bla bla everyone else doing other stuff [/SPOILER].

Season 3: The New Directions celebrating their victory at Nationals, while "performing" Tongue Tied by Grouplove.
Taken from fanpop.

What happened after that was... less pleasant.
If I took a drink whenever someone said "They should've ended it at Season 3" or "Things have went down since Season 4", I would've been through countless liver transplants by now.
Viewership (again, in the U.S. alone) essentially got halved by the end of Season 5.
People attribute the show's downward spiral to the new (but uninteresting and unoriginal) cast members, affectionately known as the Newbies.
Not only that, the storyline was getting stale and writing got sloppier by the seasons.
Factor that in with the insane amount of screen time Darren Criss/Blaine got (he's sung almost as frequently as Rachel, the main girl of the show), and insanity ensues.
Oh and who could forget the untimely departure of Cory Monteith, which caused the story to be hastily re-written.
Yes, sh!t happened.
And fans think Glee just isn't good anymore.
At least that's the impression I'm getting from the community (bar Tumblr, because that place is cray).

Season 4: Finn (played by Cory Monteith) singing Don't Dream It's Over after the New Directions (seemingly) decided to split up after losing Sectionals. Taken from Metatube.

Okay, maybe my sources aren't that reliable.
After all, the only places I've been to are the Youtube comment section and Glee's fanmade Wiki page.
I wouldn't know why the show suddenly started to su*k.
If you don't know me personally, you wouldn't have known that I've never watched Glee.
If you DO know me personally, you probably would've thought that I was struck by the "Glee effect" too back in 2010.
I wasn't a fan of Glee back then.
Everyone was totally into it (well, just the girls actually).
I would've never watched a single episode if my brother didn't have a couple of episodes on his computer at the time.
After that, I kept track of the plot loosely.
Not the convoluted love stories, but major events that one simply cannot avoid, like how the whole world (well, just the girls actually) jumped up with glee when Klaine kissed or when Vocal Adrenaline finally got "pwned".
Ahhh good times.

If you're still keeping up with all these things after six seasons, good job!
Taken from Glee's Facebook Page (yup, even they admit things are all over the place).

The last time I checked up on the show, they were entering Season 6 - their final season.
"Oh dear" I said to myself.
The fans must be pretty sad, I thought.
Well, looks like it's the exact opposite.
The show's had its 15 minutes of fame, and now it's ended up in gutter.
Although stuff like this happen everyday, it really saddens me to see it happen to Glee.
Fans of the show hate it now. That's harsh.
I checked out the summary of the final season, which appealed to me.
Similar to how crap Glee has became in reality, almost everyone in the Glee-verse has hit an all-time low in their lives.
And you know how much of an underdog supporter I am!
I couldn't help myself. I started watching, the sixth season onwards.
And I loved it! (You can laugh if you want)
I'm not a big fan of the original cast, contrary to the rest of the fanbase.
But I really enjoyed the new characters that were introduced into the show, labelled the New Newbies.
Too bad the writers were still focused on the original cast and only used the New Newbies as seat fillers for the glee club.
Fortunately, this week's episode of Glee featured the New Newbies 100%.
To make things even better, Kurt and Blaine did not appear all episode!
Another thing I love is how the characters are poking fun are making meta jokes, like how Rachel knows nothing about the New Newbies (because the show's always too focused on her).
Too bad the show's only 4 episode away from ending now. *sad face*
I just really hope they don't screw up the series finale!

Season 6: Introducing the New Newbies/New Direction. From left to right: Mason and Madison McCarthy (a.k.a incest twins), Jane Hayward (a.k.a token black female; no offence 0_0), Spencer Potter (a.k.a post-modern gay) and Roderick *last name to be announced* (a.k.a fat kid). God, I love them! Taken from Michael Hitcock's Twitter page.

To recap, I started watching Glee because:
a) I love/support the underdog.
b) The final season started with everyone leading miserable lives. #underdog
c) I find the New Newbies likeable (because they're underdogs?).

P.S. I ship Mason with EVERYONETHING!

Season 6: Mason McCarthy (played by Billy Lewis Jr.) being bossed around by a manic Brittany while helping her set up her wedding venue. He was sporting the same jacket as her twin sister, Madison. Oh look, my first GIF on this blog.
Taken from billylewisjrrps.

Listening to It Must Have Been Love - Glee Cast

Underdog since 1994,

TK

Staying After All

It's almost that time of the year again!
Chinese New Year!
Because a single new year is just not enough for us Chinese people.
Our egos demand a two new years.
Double the celebration, double the fortune, luck, money, prosperity (burger).
I really hope I don't get any negative feedback for writing like this.
But what can I say?
I've neglected this blog (yet again) and am in need of some venting.
And what better way to vent than to be completely polarising, racially-offensive and radical.

I've had lots of things to think about these few weeks.
My visit back to my hometown has given me much to feel joyful about.
Seeing old friends, driving my old (but trusty) car (which I've decided to name Vernie) and let's not forget about the one thing us Malaysians love the most: FOOD.
The food here is great.
But most of all, it's soooo good.
I mean who'd wanna pay $30 for a plate of roti canai when you can get it for $1 here!?
I promised myself I'd blog more frequently, now that I'm out of uni.
But it looks like I've let myself down...AGAIN.
Well, if you read my blog (and enjoy reading it), I must apologise for my apparent laziness.
May you and the rest of my readers have mercy on me.
Truth be told, I've been wanting to blog for quite some time now,
but we all know the hardest step to blogging is typing out that first sentence (or even the title)!

The reason for my absence in cyberspace is simply because... I was having wayyyy too much fun in the real world.
Spending time with real people, instead of hammering away on my keyboard.
Hopelessly wishing for more people to read my blog.
But enough about my selfish neglect, I've thought about some other stuff lately.
Malaysia (or to be more specific, Sabah) is such a great place to live in.
Sure it might still be a developing country,
with infrastructures no match for that of Australian standards.
But I've come to realise that I am Malaysian,
and like it or not, I've grown up in a Malaysian environment.
I live and breathe the Malaysian culture (subconsciously, of course).
When I landed here, I found myself alienated.
I felt like a foreigner returning to his favourite vacationing spot.
I couldn't speak their language, I just pointed.
I couldn't understand them, I just nodded cluelessly.
But with time, my (cultural) identity came back to me.
I guess I never lost it in the first place.
It just took some time and lots of confrontations to bring out my old self.
Not that my old self is someone extremely social and all that.
But its good enough to feel at home here.

So much so, that I've spoken to my parents.
I expressed interest in staying here.
Not for another week, not another month, not another semester.
I told them I wanted to move back here permanently.
I'll start all over again.
Do my A-levels here.
Hopefully do well enough to get into a university here.
Public? Private? It doesn't really matter.
As long as its here, where I belong.

Don't get me wrong.
I don't mean to diss Perth or Australia.
It's a great place.
My uni is awesome and all that.
I've met some really great people there.
And I do think I can experience the world better there.
Or at the very least, experience a different world.
But Perth is missing something, can't quite put a finger on it though.
Something that I can only feel when I'm back home.
There's just something about this place, I guess.
Not just the friends or food (though the friends part was a huge determinant).
I just feel more at home here. The smell of the place.
Waking up to a beautiful scenery.
Hearing my high school bell ring every morning,
followed by the national anthem being played shortly after.
That and so many other small things I barely noticed.
Things I think we, as Sabahans, take for granted.

To my utmost delight, dad agreed.
Mum was a little hesitant but I promised her I'd try hard to make this work.
This is where getting good grades really help with convincing parents.
Everything is set.
The gears of fate is about to start spinning again.
Looks like I won't be back at UWA for my second year,
though I'll probably still drop by around there to visit friends.
I'll head back to Perth as planned.
I'll pack up my stuff.
And leave after a month or so.
More than enough time to say goodbye to everyone.
And just enough time for the mid-year intake for A-levels.

Changes are scary, even when change is what you want.
I'm grateful to have a friend with me while I'm going through all this.
And just like me, it seems like she's changing a few things too.
I guess I'll leave things here for the mean time.
This is all quite a bit of news to process, especially for those who know me personally.
And ESPECIALLY to all the friends I made in Perth.
If any of you are reading is, it's not you; its me.
Perth is great and all,
but home is where the heart is.
And my home is here.

Menara Tun Mustapha a.k.a Yayasan Sabah Tower.
The tallest building and symbol of Sabah.
Complete with a restaurant on the 18th floor.
Did I mention the 18th floor also rotates around 360.

Listening to Tongue Tied - Grouplove

Homeward Bound: #obviouslie,

TK

Reading Weeks.

It's been a week now since I've landed on home soil.
(Well done if you've noticed my use of the word 'soil')
I am home. Back in the Land Below The Wind.
I don't know who gave Sabah that name, but I'm glad they did.
(Okay, I Googled. It was named by Agnes Newton Keith.)
Makes it sound hella cool, don't you think?
But let's be real, no matter how much "wind" we have here,
it's still not enough to stop me from hiding under a roof,
face glued to my Mac.
Only problem is, WiFi and Internet really aren't the best things we have.
Even more so for my house, we've been living off the cheapest package.
I wait minutes to watch a short Youtube clip at 144p.
Imagine the horror!

The Particle at the End of the Universe.
A book I borrowed from a Perth library,
and smuggled into Malaysia to read.
My interest in particle physics started with Year 12 Physics,
reignited after watching the film Interstellar late last year.

Fret not! I came prepared this time. With books!
Those who know me well (a.k.a been into my room) are aware of my (expensive) habits of buying books,
and never reading them.
Books are just such great things.
And I really do admire people who read.
Such admiration, yet the lack of any true desire to (actually) read, is what created this...dilemma.
Fortunately, I am now fully aware of this monster lurking deep within me.
I proudly resist the urge to buy just about any book I see.
(Yes, I judge a book by its cover. And then I buy it. Screw the summary on the back cover!)

So there's me. And my shelf of unread books.
Books that I'll probably never open.
I do occasionally pick them up though, just to show people that I'll never read them.
I've always wondered, how do people get into reading?
Why do they read, instead of watch TV?
I wish I could conclude this post with a miraculous answer I found, but I haven't.
I might have found the path to my destination, but I'm still nowhere near it yet.
A few years back, right after my WACE conundrum, I ordered a book online.
Just to feel something, y'know?
Months and months of studying for something can leave you a bit...dead.
And for the first time in (a long time) my life, I actually fell in love with a book.
It was such a page-turner.
The plot/theme definitely grabbed my attention.
It wasn't that predictable.
It was something not found on visual media.
And the best part?
It came in sequels! (Plural!)
I ordered the next one right away.
I fell in love with the characters.
It felt like watching the first season of How I Met Your Mother, then the second, and third, and fourth!
And just when things couldn't get better, the author announces an 'all-grown-up' series.

*Phew* Gotta calm down a little.
I guess, for me, reading only comes when I find the 'right' book.
The book that connects, and resonates with me.
The one that I can easily relate to.
That will only be my early hypothesis.
Time to find more of these books and see if my hypothesis can be proven true.
But does my hypothesis only apply to myself? Do other people have a viable explanation for their bookworm-ish-ness?
P.S. You'll never guess which book I fell in love with!


Listening to I Apologise (Dear Simon) - Moss

Chilling Below The Wind,

TK

purpose'd

I know it's a little late.
But it's that time of the year again.
The end of 2014 (beginning of 2015), which means I need to look back at my 2014 resolutions and make a new list for 2015.
One that I'll hopefully keep and achieve.

Let's have a look at the 2014 Resolutions (taken from my previous blogpost):

• Get Good Grades in my First Year of Uni 

Well, I think its safe to say that I'm happy with my current grades.

Extremely pleased, in fact. 

I did work hard for it, and I think the final grade I got reflected my efforts accurately.

*wink wink*

First contact with a Japanese, Miss Hazuki-san from Gifu, Japan.
We met at my first Kaiwa Session with the UWA Japanese Studies Society (Japssoc).

• GET A JOB

...I did NOT get a job this year *pout*.

But I did sign up for some volunteering.

And as far as I'm concerned, I'm content with the "work" I'm currently doing.

Especially in the social aspect of things, because I got to network a bit and know some great (and wise) people!

Enjoying a drink with my friend at the Varsity Bar at Broadway,
after a long long day trying to get my Fracking report finished during study break.

• Don't Get Drunk

Guilty is charged. 

I must admit, when I wrote this, I probably meant "Don't drink".

But unfortunately, I did drink a few times this year (for good reasons!),

and I did get a little tipsy from some of those drinks (again, for some very reasonable...reasons).

But I'm happy to announce that no foolish deeds were done while in my slightly light-headed state,

which is the ultimate purpose of staying away from alcohol!

Joining the protest in Perth, hosted by the Friends of Palestine.
The protest took place earlier this year, shortly after the attack on Gaza Strip began.

• Actually Finish Reading All The Novels I Have

It's not really a new year's resolution if you don't break a few of 'em, right?

Uni has been insanely hectic for me and I barely had any time to do leisurely reading.

(Haha, this coming from a first-year)

I have tried to do some reading during the semester breaks (including now!),

so we'll see how that goes.

Quite unfortunately, I just can't stop spending when it comes to "intriguing" books,

so I got even more books to add to my collection of "Books I Need To Read".

When, oh when, will this tall stack of paper finally dissipate?

Outing with my church's youth group at BOUNCE.inc.
The indoor recreation zone involves a lot of....bouncing.

• Make New Friends in Uni

Firstly, I'd like to thank (a trillion times) UniSkills, because that's where I met some of my best uni friends.

In fact, I met all (98%) of my uni friends from UniSkills, one way or another.

I'm not insanely popular (and will never be), but I know enough people know, and I'm satisfied with the ones I have. This one's definitely a 'tick'!

A rare outing with my friends, to Fremantle.
The photo was taken while we were lost.
P.S. I want that beanie (without the whiskers, please).

• Retain Friendships

This has and will forever be the hardest challenge for me. 

But I believe that just because we don't talk or see each other everyday anymore, doesn't mean friendships end. There will always be those catch-up sessions where we meet again after a year or so and start unloading tons of things that's been going on in our lives.

Those will be exciting times that I'll be looking forward to!

My first soil processing workshop with MicroBlitz, before the semester started.
We were preparing soil samples sent back from citizen scientists for DNA Extraction a.k.a
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR; quite a mouthful) and soil moisture analysis.
The diversity of soil colour is fascinating!

• be happy =3

My life isn't perfect. No one's is. But I wouldn't do anything to change the things that's happened.

2014 has been a good year. Full of fun and surprises (and a whole lot of stress and anxiety!).

Hmmm...maybe just less embarrassing moments from now on...

Taken at the very top of Winthrop Tower, UWA.
The tour was organised by UniSkills (Love them to death!).
On the same day, there was a "choir"-ish contest happening inside Winthrop Hall.

• Get At Least 100 Blog Posts Out Before 1/1/2015

I failed this one.

I failed very, very hard.

What was I even thinking!? Was I foolish enough to think I'd have the time to blog once every few days. 

I barely even reached 50 this year... Now that is depressing.

Maybe I should set a more realistic goal for 2015.

A trip with fellow MicroBlitz volunteers to the Avondale Discovery Farm at Beverley, WA.
We met up and had lunch with the Malleefowl Preservation Group.
It was also the last time I saw one of the volunteers, who completed her Honours degree in soil science.
ALSO the day I found out my lecturer was a fashion magazine editor before becoming a lecturer.

• Try More New Things

I'm not too sure about this one... Hmmm *flashback*

I tried staying at a college overnight, rock climbing, drinking with friends, going to a gay bar, conversing with Japanese people, volunteering, Bounce!, digging holes, writing a journal article, pulling an all-nighter (for an assignment), UniClub food (several times!), reaching the top of Winthrop Tower, extracting strawberry DNA, tin-rattling,  bringing underprivileged kids out on picnics (#Nightmare), travelling inland, citizen science, movie marathons, SciTech (#MindBlown), bibimbap, protesting, using an actual pipette, Jamie's Italian, economics, plant photography (with my phone, nothing fancy!), being hospitalised, going on a field trip, adopting an English name, attending a Ramadhan dinner, living alone, drinking coffee from a KeepCup, the  ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and living alone.

My second time meeting the ex-chief scientist of WA, Lyn Beazley (right).
I first met her at one of my science communication lecturers (she gives great "lectures").
This photo was taken after the MicroBlitz presentation at the UWA Research Week 2014.
Lyn is also known as the "mother of MicroBlitz", while W/Prof. Andy Whiteley (left) is the "father".

I reckon that's everything. 

Maybe it pales in comparison with other people's achievements.

But I'm quite happy with this.

Now time for my 2015 Resolutions (which probably doesn't deviate much from its 2014 counterpart):

• Get good grades (enough for Honours, I suppose)
• Stay healthy (No more than two fevers!)
• Volunteer more! (Because getting a job is still too scary)
• Stay friendly and make new friends (Just because I already have friends doesn't mean I can't have more)
• Be more active in academic (Talking to postgrads? Student mentoring? Anything!)
• Have a better work-life balance (I spent a lot of my time locked up in the library. Although it did pay off in the end, I wonder if it's possible to juggle things a little better?)
• Stay open to new things (Because it's nice to look back and tell yourself "I lived")
• be happy =3 (There's no point in doing stuff if I'm just going to hate it later! Besides, this resolution is almost customary to me now.)

Taken at the bush area nearby IKEA.
It's mindblowing how you stumble on things like this just by walking a bit and keeping your eyes peeled.

Listening to Make You Feel My Love (Cover) - ortoPilot

Happy 2015,

TK