I am finally leaving for home! After 2 years I am going to eat Sambhar rice everyday!
Friday, December 30
Wednesday, December 28
Year in Review
I would love to sit and write about my year except that I am as amnesic as they come. So, I cant remember anything that happened more than a month ago - if I am lucky. Many people walking with me complain that I speak to strangers too often. The truth is I have met these people before but I can't remember their names. So, I have a educated,general conversation with them steering them away from personal topics and we both leave each other happy. For all I know, the other person doesn't remember me at all.
Today is shopping day and I am seriously going to go mad buying and thinking of stuff to buy for people.
Will blog later today about the success and failures of my high-street experience.
Today is shopping day and I am seriously going to go mad buying and thinking of stuff to buy for people.
Will blog later today about the success and failures of my high-street experience.
Monday, December 26
Eat,Sleep and Movies - Xmas in brief
My Xmas was a bit of a lazy day. We had got loads of movies (cheap deal) and loaded up on food. Oxford on Xmas resembles a ghost town. Nothing is open and you wont find anybody on the streets. In a very bizarre way, I love Oxford during the holidays. The magnificent buildings, their splendour and beauty are unobscured by the mass of humanity on Broad street. Each street looks clean and forces you to pay attention, to stop and look at it. Walk down Broad street on a normal day and you are more concerned about avoiding barging into people but now you can stand and stare without having to look out for people walking, cars trying to park and cyclists intent on fracturing your foot.
Anyway, Xmas saw me watching bits of lots of movies, eating some great Thai curry cooked by the Little One, had some ice cream and slept after all that exertion. Today is Boxing Day and all I can think of is the Tsunami!
I saw this programme yesterday on ITV1 titled, Where was God? The Tsunami. The aim was to examine how different faiths perceived the destruction and death caused by the Tsunami. There were some Jesuit priests who run an observatory who believe that God caused the Tsunami because he wanted to address the weather imbalances in the world. One part was becoming warmer than the other and therefore the Tsunami occurred to redress this temperature balance.
The creepiest piece of information I received thanks to this programme is about a Baptist church in America which thanked the Lord for killing over 5000 Swedes during the Tsunami. This hatred for Swedes stems from the liberal policies of the Swedish government towards homosexuality. They have de-criminalised it. If you wish to be appalled and disgusted by the lack of human empathy and tshocked by the force of people's hatred towards one another, have a look at their website here.
Towards cheerier things - I am back in the dark room and nearing the completion of my mammoth experiment. Day after shall be spent shopping - not that I am looking forward to it. Brother dearest has become addicted to sainsbury's baked chocolate goods and requires massive supplementation! Will do, although cookies have been in low supply proabably because of decreased demand since he left!
Went to watch some Morris Dancing today, but didn't find SP so left early. Its quite fun and the dancers do a pub crawl of sorts.
Little One's sis et al are here and shall head off in the evening for dinner etc.
Looking forward to New Year now!
Anyway, Xmas saw me watching bits of lots of movies, eating some great Thai curry cooked by the Little One, had some ice cream and slept after all that exertion. Today is Boxing Day and all I can think of is the Tsunami!
I saw this programme yesterday on ITV1 titled, Where was God? The Tsunami. The aim was to examine how different faiths perceived the destruction and death caused by the Tsunami. There were some Jesuit priests who run an observatory who believe that God caused the Tsunami because he wanted to address the weather imbalances in the world. One part was becoming warmer than the other and therefore the Tsunami occurred to redress this temperature balance.
The creepiest piece of information I received thanks to this programme is about a Baptist church in America which thanked the Lord for killing over 5000 Swedes during the Tsunami. This hatred for Swedes stems from the liberal policies of the Swedish government towards homosexuality. They have de-criminalised it. If you wish to be appalled and disgusted by the lack of human empathy and tshocked by the force of people's hatred towards one another, have a look at their website here.
Towards cheerier things - I am back in the dark room and nearing the completion of my mammoth experiment. Day after shall be spent shopping - not that I am looking forward to it. Brother dearest has become addicted to sainsbury's baked chocolate goods and requires massive supplementation! Will do, although cookies have been in low supply proabably because of decreased demand since he left!
Went to watch some Morris Dancing today, but didn't find SP so left early. Its quite fun and the dancers do a pub crawl of sorts.
Little One's sis et al are here and shall head off in the evening for dinner etc.
Looking forward to New Year now!
Saturday, December 24
Merry Xmas
Merry Xmas everyone. Hope you have a great day and a good year ahead of you!
Due to logistical reasons I shall not be celebrating New Year so please have an extra glass of wine and slice of cake for me.
As you can see, the arrival of The Little One, Xmas and my diminished excursions to the dark room have led to a decreased frequency in blogging. Will blog on boxing day as I am going to be sequestered in the dark room in a vain attempt to finish 150 samples in a day.
SP has invited me to see her husband do the Mummers play in headington quarry. Its a traditional english thing so might pop around from work for a bit.
The year has flown by and I must admit i cant remember anything. Last Xmas I was in east ham and london. the Tsunami struck and we were sitting in this small room with poor access to the net. Somehow it took us some time to really appreciate the scale and enormity of the disaster. We organised a tsunami fund raiser in February, had great fun with everyone then working like mad. March saw me working hard and April was my 25th B'day. Oxa was born in May, everyone had exams in June and July. July 7th bombings. Cricket and the Little one arrived in the summer. World Cup mania took over. The ashes were great fun and very exciting. Then there was Berlin and visa hell. Hurricane Katrina and George Best died. November saw me in Harrogate sampling the local pubs while learing about dendritic cells and co-stimulation.
And the last few weeks have been mayhem. No outside interest. Sleep, wake up, lab, eat, sleep.
So, for all those people who I should have emailed by now and wished and haven't because I am Mr. Procastinator and the laziest bum in the world - Merry Xmas and A Happy New Year!
Due to logistical reasons I shall not be celebrating New Year so please have an extra glass of wine and slice of cake for me.
As you can see, the arrival of The Little One, Xmas and my diminished excursions to the dark room have led to a decreased frequency in blogging. Will blog on boxing day as I am going to be sequestered in the dark room in a vain attempt to finish 150 samples in a day.
SP has invited me to see her husband do the Mummers play in headington quarry. Its a traditional english thing so might pop around from work for a bit.
The year has flown by and I must admit i cant remember anything. Last Xmas I was in east ham and london. the Tsunami struck and we were sitting in this small room with poor access to the net. Somehow it took us some time to really appreciate the scale and enormity of the disaster. We organised a tsunami fund raiser in February, had great fun with everyone then working like mad. March saw me working hard and April was my 25th B'day. Oxa was born in May, everyone had exams in June and July. July 7th bombings. Cricket and the Little one arrived in the summer. World Cup mania took over. The ashes were great fun and very exciting. Then there was Berlin and visa hell. Hurricane Katrina and George Best died. November saw me in Harrogate sampling the local pubs while learing about dendritic cells and co-stimulation.
And the last few weeks have been mayhem. No outside interest. Sleep, wake up, lab, eat, sleep.
So, for all those people who I should have emailed by now and wished and haven't because I am Mr. Procastinator and the laziest bum in the world - Merry Xmas and A Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 20
Havent blogged because, yes, you guessed it. I havent been in the dark room of Fox FM torture for the last couple of days. Today I am back in and starting off count from no.280.
Not much happening. Met Halim the other day. Has his transfer tomorrow so I hope it all goes ok. Traveled to London yesterday to pick up my tickets. My dear father who usually travels business class has booked the cheapest airline but the worst travel schedule for me. I pick up a 6.55am flight on the 31st( lets hope the X90 is running on New Year's Eve) to Vienna with a 3 hour layover and then travel to Mumbai from there. What time do I reach BOM? 11.55pm on the 31st!!!
YAY...(with all the sarcasm I can muster) theoretically I will be on land to bring in the New Year! Anyway, its fine as long as I get to go home. The little one is coming here but I am going to be swamped with work.
I need to (This is list-mania again):
1. set up a VNA
2. use MACS beads for ELISPOT
3. have one experiment to finish
4. clone and grow virus
5. challenge experiment
And..I have just deleted all the emails in my herald inbox. I cant think of anything important there.It was full of rubbish Rhodesmailing list stuff but there was some stuff which I needed. Damn!! Might have to go down to OUCS to ask them to retrieve stuff.
With Christmas coming, here's wishing everyone a merry Xmas!! I will never forget my Xmas last year - attending a course in East Ham in London. That place is a hell-hole and nothing else. I get so angry with Indian doctors who come all the way from India and live in miserable conditions in east ham, get exploited by their own countrymen in the UK and are too proud to go back home with nothing to show to their eagerly awaiting families. I know people who borrow upto 10-12 lakhs to come to the UK and linger here for a year or so without a job in the most pitiable conditions. Why would you subject yourself to a life like that?
So, Christmas last year was spent in Arjun's house in Russel Square with lots of alcohol, chocolate fondue and early mornings. I remember next to nothing of the time. I was spending 9-6 in class. Head back to Russel sq by 8ish and then spend the night whiling away time at night watching movies and attempting to finish the crate of wine bottles that Arjun had from BA.
It was idyllic! I felt awful at the end of the day and in the morning but what an experience.
Ok, shall head back to sample no.286!
Not much happening. Met Halim the other day. Has his transfer tomorrow so I hope it all goes ok. Traveled to London yesterday to pick up my tickets. My dear father who usually travels business class has booked the cheapest airline but the worst travel schedule for me. I pick up a 6.55am flight on the 31st( lets hope the X90 is running on New Year's Eve) to Vienna with a 3 hour layover and then travel to Mumbai from there. What time do I reach BOM? 11.55pm on the 31st!!!
YAY...(with all the sarcasm I can muster) theoretically I will be on land to bring in the New Year! Anyway, its fine as long as I get to go home. The little one is coming here but I am going to be swamped with work.
I need to (This is list-mania again):
1. set up a VNA
2. use MACS beads for ELISPOT
3. have one experiment to finish
4. clone and grow virus
5. challenge experiment
And..I have just deleted all the emails in my herald inbox. I cant think of anything important there.It was full of rubbish Rhodesmailing list stuff but there was some stuff which I needed. Damn!! Might have to go down to OUCS to ask them to retrieve stuff.
With Christmas coming, here's wishing everyone a merry Xmas!! I will never forget my Xmas last year - attending a course in East Ham in London. That place is a hell-hole and nothing else. I get so angry with Indian doctors who come all the way from India and live in miserable conditions in east ham, get exploited by their own countrymen in the UK and are too proud to go back home with nothing to show to their eagerly awaiting families. I know people who borrow upto 10-12 lakhs to come to the UK and linger here for a year or so without a job in the most pitiable conditions. Why would you subject yourself to a life like that?
So, Christmas last year was spent in Arjun's house in Russel Square with lots of alcohol, chocolate fondue and early mornings. I remember next to nothing of the time. I was spending 9-6 in class. Head back to Russel sq by 8ish and then spend the night whiling away time at night watching movies and attempting to finish the crate of wine bottles that Arjun had from BA.
It was idyllic! I felt awful at the end of the day and in the morning but what an experience.
Ok, shall head back to sample no.286!
Saturday, December 17
Cricket
I am now officially half way through my experiment...No.250 is loading up now! Yay, only another 15 hours of this mind-numbing insomnia treatment. I cant even read anything as its too dark and I am sick of playing billiards and camperstrike.
So, I shall now rant about rubbish. Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of Lok Sabha, the highest parliament in the land has offered to discuss the non-selection of Mr. Sourav Ganguly in parliament.
With the WTO conference just completed in HK, surely India has more pressing issues than its cricket team. Does he realise the message he is sending to the world? He terms it a "great injustice"!! I shudder to think what he would term female foeticide,farmer suicides,child trafficking.
What a mockery of Indian democracy - a shambles.
The moot point here is not a single person who is agitated about the issue has ever played competitive international cricket or is a stakeholder in the teams cricket results. Simply put,neither the Indian government or Mr.Pawar or BCCI will lose their jobs if Ganguly is reinstated and India lose the test. The coach and captain are the only members whose reputation and future are at stake in this game. If Ganguly is to be reinstated( and discussing this in parliament can and should not have affect selection decisions) for the next two series ,makes no contribution (as he has been doing for the last year or so) and India lose there will an absolute outrage in India with calls for the captain to step down and the "firengi" coach to be sacked!
So, why should anyone without any technical expertise, cricketing competence or stake in the outcome of the result be allowed to have a say in the selection process??
What I would love to see is the outcome of parliamentary discussion. If this discussion has some effect, I can only hope that we can use it as a precedent for parliamentary debates leading to concrete action. What can MP's do? Lobby Pawar - what will Pawar do? Does anyone realise that the selection committee includes the coach and captain? If they were to rescind this decision they will engineer the most fractious and polarised dressing room in international cricket.
Lastly, what is their basis of reinstating Ganguly in the team? He is neither a good enough batsmen to fit into the middle order or young enough to be given a long trial period. Yes, I agree he should have been given the choice to step down or get a farewell match but Ganguly has never wanted to quit. He believes that he is good enough to be in the team but the selectors dont. End of story!
He has been dumped like any other player. What is wrong with that. Why wasn't this hue and cry when Dravid was dropped from the ODI side or Laxman dropped from the Test side. Give me one advantage of Ganguly over Laxman. Yuvraj is in better form than Ganguly. If he loses form and Ganguly scores in domestic matches I can't imagine Dravid or chappel ignoring him. But, he needs to prove his worth to the side.
As an aside, I am slowly developing a deep loathing for the Bengali cricket fan. It was embarrasing and disgusting to see an 80,000 large crowd boo off the Indian Cricket team captain. I think Eden Gardens must never be given a test match/ODI again to host. Either that or play the game with closed doors like they do in European football after crowd misbehaviour.
It has always been my dream to watch a Indo-Pak cricket match at Eden Gardens, but I shall never go to that stadium to watch cricket.
Ok, enough of a rant. Back to robotic activity.
So, I shall now rant about rubbish. Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of Lok Sabha, the highest parliament in the land has offered to discuss the non-selection of Mr. Sourav Ganguly in parliament.
With the WTO conference just completed in HK, surely India has more pressing issues than its cricket team. Does he realise the message he is sending to the world? He terms it a "great injustice"!! I shudder to think what he would term female foeticide,farmer suicides,child trafficking.
What a mockery of Indian democracy - a shambles.
The moot point here is not a single person who is agitated about the issue has ever played competitive international cricket or is a stakeholder in the teams cricket results. Simply put,neither the Indian government or Mr.Pawar or BCCI will lose their jobs if Ganguly is reinstated and India lose the test. The coach and captain are the only members whose reputation and future are at stake in this game. If Ganguly is to be reinstated( and discussing this in parliament can and should not have affect selection decisions) for the next two series ,makes no contribution (as he has been doing for the last year or so) and India lose there will an absolute outrage in India with calls for the captain to step down and the "firengi" coach to be sacked!
So, why should anyone without any technical expertise, cricketing competence or stake in the outcome of the result be allowed to have a say in the selection process??
What I would love to see is the outcome of parliamentary discussion. If this discussion has some effect, I can only hope that we can use it as a precedent for parliamentary debates leading to concrete action. What can MP's do? Lobby Pawar - what will Pawar do? Does anyone realise that the selection committee includes the coach and captain? If they were to rescind this decision they will engineer the most fractious and polarised dressing room in international cricket.
Lastly, what is their basis of reinstating Ganguly in the team? He is neither a good enough batsmen to fit into the middle order or young enough to be given a long trial period. Yes, I agree he should have been given the choice to step down or get a farewell match but Ganguly has never wanted to quit. He believes that he is good enough to be in the team but the selectors dont. End of story!
He has been dumped like any other player. What is wrong with that. Why wasn't this hue and cry when Dravid was dropped from the ODI side or Laxman dropped from the Test side. Give me one advantage of Ganguly over Laxman. Yuvraj is in better form than Ganguly. If he loses form and Ganguly scores in domestic matches I can't imagine Dravid or chappel ignoring him. But, he needs to prove his worth to the side.
As an aside, I am slowly developing a deep loathing for the Bengali cricket fan. It was embarrasing and disgusting to see an 80,000 large crowd boo off the Indian Cricket team captain. I think Eden Gardens must never be given a test match/ODI again to host. Either that or play the game with closed doors like they do in European football after crowd misbehaviour.
It has always been my dream to watch a Indo-Pak cricket match at Eden Gardens, but I shall never go to that stadium to watch cricket.
Ok, enough of a rant. Back to robotic activity.
lists
I am a list-lover! I manic about making lists. I cant function without having every single thing written down and numbered. From experiments to be done everyday to mails that need to be written. If it isn't on a list, it means that I am not going to do the job.
So today while I am stuck again in the dark room listening to Jo Thoenes on Fox FM. Digressing for a bit, Matt Dennis hosts a great show playing the most popular songs from the 80's. I just realised that I love the eighties music. GNR, "The Boss", MJ. THe problem with Fox FM is its all about Oxford and some of the ads are really annoying probably because I have heard them ad infinitum!
Back to lists - This is my shopping list - Mother will add some when she reviews it. (sorry digression no.2 - if you are ever fortunate enough to run 500 flow samples - the trick is to a) either buy a plate reader or b) dispense the sample into the tube just before it needs to be read, the cells stick to the bottom of th tube making it harder to suck up)
BOM - Athi, T & N, DR.Uncle, Guruji,GG Nana???, Vasu mimi, cant think of anyone else (mother's advice reqd)
SWGM - SPK,MVR,N,Ambu, SKGh,Debu, Muku, bats, Himan,nemade,Pandit,Puja,Ritu,Sherin,rest of the batch?,Ananya- debu's kid
HYD - ...
BGLR- Buchi,Sunu??
MDS- Aju?
DEL - The usual suspects - D,M,SG,Prashu. Athi,Prem,School?,Arora?,Mala,Raju mama
GDH- Mama
I suspect thats it..hopefully. We shall see I am sure we can come up with more people. I also need to make a list of people I need to see when in these places. Uff..
Ok, back to work and playing camperstrike.
So today while I am stuck again in the dark room listening to Jo Thoenes on Fox FM. Digressing for a bit, Matt Dennis hosts a great show playing the most popular songs from the 80's. I just realised that I love the eighties music. GNR, "The Boss", MJ. THe problem with Fox FM is its all about Oxford and some of the ads are really annoying probably because I have heard them ad infinitum!
Back to lists - This is my shopping list - Mother will add some when she reviews it. (sorry digression no.2 - if you are ever fortunate enough to run 500 flow samples - the trick is to a) either buy a plate reader or b) dispense the sample into the tube just before it needs to be read, the cells stick to the bottom of th tube making it harder to suck up)
BOM - Athi, T & N, DR.Uncle, Guruji,GG Nana???, Vasu mimi, cant think of anyone else (mother's advice reqd)
SWGM - SPK,MVR,N,Ambu, SKGh,Debu, Muku, bats, Himan,nemade,Pandit,Puja,Ritu,Sherin,rest of the batch?,Ananya- debu's kid
HYD - ...
BGLR- Buchi,Sunu??
MDS- Aju?
DEL - The usual suspects - D,M,SG,Prashu. Athi,Prem,School?,Arora?,Mala,Raju mama
GDH- Mama
I suspect thats it..hopefully. We shall see I am sure we can come up with more people. I also need to make a list of people I need to see when in these places. Uff..
Ok, back to work and playing camperstrike.
Friday, December 16
I have installed wireless on my computer. Cool Linacre is only the second college in Oxford to have wireless on its premises. Its great..you can sit in the CR, while portering or at the bar and surf the net. I am really excited and looking forward to sending people loads of emails from Heathrow.
Bought myself a god wireless network card from OUCS and got it all installed. In the process I have been introduced to crazy racing frogs - the game! Its just ridiculous how much time people have to waste while trying to design these games. Madness, truly!
Cant wait for my next portering shift to test it out.
Bought myself a god wireless network card from OUCS and got it all installed. In the process I have been introduced to crazy racing frogs - the game! Its just ridiculous how much time people have to waste while trying to design these games. Madness, truly!
Cant wait for my next portering shift to test it out.
Have just recovered from yesterday's watering hole exertions. Was in the pub for a long time just chatting and trying very hard to get "wasted"! My experiments with alcohol have lead me to an interesting conclusion : I have a extremely high tolerance for alcohol. I often get tipsy, but some food and fresh air and I am back to normal. This new discovery leads to interesting possibilities!
I got back home at 11 and I think the exhaustion of the last few days with chips and cheese in an alcohol -fuelled body just allowed me to crash while watching some riveting snooker!
Slept for 10 hours which is probably the longest I have slept over the last couple of weeks.
Other interesting things I have discovered while cooped up in my dark room - Camperstrike - the shooting game on mousebreaker, Dan Mills on Fox Fm plays some nice songs and doesn't talk so much.
I had a horrible sandwich for lunch today - brie with stuffing (christmas stuffing) and cranberry sauce.YUCK!! Please never try the veggie option at my Centre - its horrendous. I gargled it down with loads of Lilt juice and tea.
As you can see I am absolutely jobless. Waiting for some reactions to finish and ARS to complete his experiment so that I can get into my dark room again for the night. There is a party tonight organised by TB but I dont think I am going to go. Need to finish loads of work before I take off for home.
I got back home at 11 and I think the exhaustion of the last few days with chips and cheese in an alcohol -fuelled body just allowed me to crash while watching some riveting snooker!
Slept for 10 hours which is probably the longest I have slept over the last couple of weeks.
Other interesting things I have discovered while cooped up in my dark room - Camperstrike - the shooting game on mousebreaker, Dan Mills on Fox Fm plays some nice songs and doesn't talk so much.
I had a horrible sandwich for lunch today - brie with stuffing (christmas stuffing) and cranberry sauce.YUCK!! Please never try the veggie option at my Centre - its horrendous. I gargled it down with loads of Lilt juice and tea.
As you can see I am absolutely jobless. Waiting for some reactions to finish and ARS to complete his experiment so that I can get into my dark room again for the night. There is a party tonight organised by TB but I dont think I am going to go. Need to finish loads of work before I take off for home.
Thursday, December 15
today was the big experiment day and it clashed with my lab's Xmas lunch. You might remember that last year, Secret Santa gifted me a thong at the lunch & a hat! So I usually look forward to Xmas lunch with the added perk of eating for a subsidised rate at the Cherwell Boathouse!
Unfortunately, this year I had to forgo it in favour of peering down a microscope for 5 hours dissecting mossies! Anyway, its done now and I am off to the Lamb and Flag for some good spirits!!
Everything is crossed as it would be great if this works!!
"Shee you Hic! shooon"
Unfortunately, this year I had to forgo it in favour of peering down a microscope for 5 hours dissecting mossies! Anyway, its done now and I am off to the Lamb and Flag for some good spirits!!
Everything is crossed as it would be great if this works!!
"Shee you Hic! shooon"
Wednesday, December 14
Report from the dark room
Am in utter bliss. Listening to coldplay, playing camper strike on mousebreaker and am on sample no.120 of 500!!
Tuesday, December 13
Its 12:37 am and I am finally headed home with "Goodbye my lover" ringing in my head. James Blunt kept me sane for over 4 hours, but I think it might have just been a rather large overdose.
Headed home after ordering mindless things like 25ml pipettes, gloves, p1000 tips and 6 well plates. All this in the middle of the night simply because I wont have time tomorrow morning to do it and AM is throwing a fit (as usual).
I dont know whether I should set up stuff for tomorrow or come in and do it tomorrow. Hmm..maybe I will do a little bit today and some more tmrw.
Amma, got my passport back so might actually go and get my passport renewed. Its expiring in April, but it might be easier to get it done here rather than back home conisdering my current residence does not match the address on my passport. Its such a pain to get police verification done. When the passport office says verification it is often an euphemism for a bribe, however I did find out that this is a genuine problem as even a tout and Rs.2000 did not do the job!
Ok, enough blabbering. Must get home before I sleep in the lab. Warm bed and hot mushroom noodles await!
Headed home after ordering mindless things like 25ml pipettes, gloves, p1000 tips and 6 well plates. All this in the middle of the night simply because I wont have time tomorrow morning to do it and AM is throwing a fit (as usual).
I dont know whether I should set up stuff for tomorrow or come in and do it tomorrow. Hmm..maybe I will do a little bit today and some more tmrw.
Amma, got my passport back so might actually go and get my passport renewed. Its expiring in April, but it might be easier to get it done here rather than back home conisdering my current residence does not match the address on my passport. Its such a pain to get police verification done. When the passport office says verification it is often an euphemism for a bribe, however I did find out that this is a genuine problem as even a tout and Rs.2000 did not do the job!
Ok, enough blabbering. Must get home before I sleep in the lab. Warm bed and hot mushroom noodles await!
Monday, December 12
Reporting from the dark
I am sitting in a 6X 12 feet room in pitch darkness except for the light from the monitor. It does sound very much like a cooler and so reminds me of The Great Escape and Steve McQuinn with his baseball.
Unfortunately, I am spending time near a FACS machine. Its going to be a long night. Every sample is taking me 4minutes and I have 500 samples. Doing the maths - it is going to take me 2000 minutes = 33 hours!
My only solace is FOX FM and James Blunt. In a stroke of inspiration I brought along the Blunt CD and interspersed with FOX FM I suspect I could get through this ordeal.
Its 9pm now and I have another 3 hours before the place shuts. Then I head back to lab1 and set up stuff tomorrow. I just hope I can wake up early enough tomorrow. I wanted to have a look at some of my other results before tomorrow but I doubt whether I will have the time.
On the plus side, I might get some nice results - fingers crossed.
Unfortunately, I am spending time near a FACS machine. Its going to be a long night. Every sample is taking me 4minutes and I have 500 samples. Doing the maths - it is going to take me 2000 minutes = 33 hours!
My only solace is FOX FM and James Blunt. In a stroke of inspiration I brought along the Blunt CD and interspersed with FOX FM I suspect I could get through this ordeal.
Its 9pm now and I have another 3 hours before the place shuts. Then I head back to lab1 and set up stuff tomorrow. I just hope I can wake up early enough tomorrow. I wanted to have a look at some of my other results before tomorrow but I doubt whether I will have the time.
On the plus side, I might get some nice results - fingers crossed.
James Blunt
Am back after cycling in -2 degrees and fog to spend exactly 1 minute in taking some plates out of the incubator. Horrible waste of time. I almost felt like spending more time in the lab just so that I could feel like I had not wasted half and hour of cycling.
I survived because of James Blunt! If anyone is planning to buy a CD for Xmas, I definitely recommend James Blunt. His album "Back to Bedlam" is one of the best albums I have heard in years. Its full of melancholy songs, love songs and a few poems. If you like coldplay,Cohen you would like him.
His song "Goodbye my Lover" is set to become the iconic break-up song of this generation. Its absolutely brilliant! BBC televised his live performance a couple of days ago and although I rarely sit through a musical performances on TV, this guy did keep me captivated.
His song "No Bravery" about his time in Kosovo in the army has some lovely lyrics and is well composed. Of course, his hit single "You're beautiful" is how I heard him first.
My musical education comes courtesy of my lab. While working down in lab1 we are allowed the radio and while doing ELISPOTS and dissecting mossies I listen to FoxFM Oxford. So, I am familiar with all the top singles at the moment. My other favourites are KT Tunstall's "Other side of the world" and Daniel Powlter's "Bad Day"!
Oasis have just released this peach of a song, listen to it if you get a chance. It reminds me of the first time I heard Oasis when I was in school in Delhi. I was never really into music but everyone knew Oasis's "(What's The Story) Morning Glory"!
Ok, am now off to sleep. Tomorrow is a long day!
Signing off with another of these new songs that I like - Natalie Imbruglia's "Counting down the days"
I wanna travel through time
See your surprise
Hold you so tight
Im counting down the days tonight
I just wanna be a million miles away from here
I survived because of James Blunt! If anyone is planning to buy a CD for Xmas, I definitely recommend James Blunt. His album "Back to Bedlam" is one of the best albums I have heard in years. Its full of melancholy songs, love songs and a few poems. If you like coldplay,Cohen you would like him.
His song "Goodbye my Lover" is set to become the iconic break-up song of this generation. Its absolutely brilliant! BBC televised his live performance a couple of days ago and although I rarely sit through a musical performances on TV, this guy did keep me captivated.
His song "No Bravery" about his time in Kosovo in the army has some lovely lyrics and is well composed. Of course, his hit single "You're beautiful" is how I heard him first.
My musical education comes courtesy of my lab. While working down in lab1 we are allowed the radio and while doing ELISPOTS and dissecting mossies I listen to FoxFM Oxford. So, I am familiar with all the top singles at the moment. My other favourites are KT Tunstall's "Other side of the world" and Daniel Powlter's "Bad Day"!
Oasis have just released this peach of a song, listen to it if you get a chance. It reminds me of the first time I heard Oasis when I was in school in Delhi. I was never really into music but everyone knew Oasis's "(What's The Story) Morning Glory"!
Ok, am now off to sleep. Tomorrow is a long day!
Signing off with another of these new songs that I like - Natalie Imbruglia's "Counting down the days"
I wanna travel through time
See your surprise
Hold you so tight
Im counting down the days tonight
I just wanna be a million miles away from here
Sunday, December 11
Have had a long day today and am really tired. Cant think of anything beyond food and a bed. Am still in the lab and have another half an hour of work to do. The annoying thing is that I woke up late and started my experiment late which now means that I cant take my plate out of the incubator in five hours as I will be portering at that time. So, the big dilemma is whether a 4 hour incubation is better than a 7 hour incubation. Of course, a 7 hour incubation means that I will have to head back to the lab at 11pm after portering which I just do not want to do. I suspect I am going to take the plate off before I go.
Another 9 minutes to the next step, so decided to blog. Have nothing to write about. Lab after conference has been busy.Lots of things to catch up on. SS headed off to Delhi today so had pizza with her yesterday. I do feel guilty about missing classes and making her miss classes as well...but I cant see myself coming in time for the beginning of term. She did give me a couple of good tips about buying stuff for people back home. She went slightly mad buying stuff and finally bought the same deo for all the women in her house!! She couldn't really appreciate how impersonal a gift that would be.
Was up last night till late watching Match of the Day and then reading random rubbish on the net. India finally won against Pakistan(hockey for those who aren't upto speed) and Ronnie lost. He probably deserves it after his rather pompous statement at the Worlds.
Right before I head off, take a look at this article. Its amazing how far science has progressed. This operation was done in the days before anyone knew anything about immunology, transplant rejections, immunosuppression or even immunologically privileged sites. This is pioneering research! Thats what science is all about.
Ok, off to porter now. My thursday experiment worked..after about 4 attempts over the last 4 months. Yes, it means that I have some confidence for next thursday's big experiment. It also has infused some life in me and therefore I shall be back in the lab at about 11pm to take my plates out!
Another 9 minutes to the next step, so decided to blog. Have nothing to write about. Lab after conference has been busy.Lots of things to catch up on. SS headed off to Delhi today so had pizza with her yesterday. I do feel guilty about missing classes and making her miss classes as well...but I cant see myself coming in time for the beginning of term. She did give me a couple of good tips about buying stuff for people back home. She went slightly mad buying stuff and finally bought the same deo for all the women in her house!! She couldn't really appreciate how impersonal a gift that would be.
Was up last night till late watching Match of the Day and then reading random rubbish on the net. India finally won against Pakistan(hockey for those who aren't upto speed) and Ronnie lost. He probably deserves it after his rather pompous statement at the Worlds.
Right before I head off, take a look at this article. Its amazing how far science has progressed. This operation was done in the days before anyone knew anything about immunology, transplant rejections, immunosuppression or even immunologically privileged sites. This is pioneering research! Thats what science is all about.
Ok, off to porter now. My thursday experiment worked..after about 4 attempts over the last 4 months. Yes, it means that I have some confidence for next thursday's big experiment. It also has infused some life in me and therefore I shall be back in the lab at about 11pm to take my plates out!
Saturday, December 10
I called everyone in India up today starting with Mother dearest. Plans seem relatively finalised now, except that I am no longer going to Rajasthan. Uncle dear is trying to clean up all the "boo boo" workers( listen to harry Belafonte's "Mama, look a boo boo") in Jharkhand. Seems that the unions have all gone mad on the same day.
Anyway, that only means that I get to go to Giridih, which is always good fun. I love lounging about in Thatha's room with a Louis L'Amour and loads of kheerkadams by my side. Mojave crossing here I come....
Then proceeded to call up sister dearest who without any hesitation began to scold me for not calling me. My advise to anyone dealing with annoying family relations is to attack. A few choice words and I was doing the talking! Anyway, informed her of dates of arrival and departure. News of my arrival seems to have filtered through college already...hmm..
Then spoke to HD and AN and they got me very excited. There seems to have been developments in their lives and I am dying to hear about it. Will be staying with them and am now really looking forward to going back to college.
Memory - all alone in the moonlight.
I can smile at the old days,
I was beautiful then.
I remember the time
I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.
Anyway, that only means that I get to go to Giridih, which is always good fun. I love lounging about in Thatha's room with a Louis L'Amour and loads of kheerkadams by my side. Mojave crossing here I come....
Then proceeded to call up sister dearest who without any hesitation began to scold me for not calling me. My advise to anyone dealing with annoying family relations is to attack. A few choice words and I was doing the talking! Anyway, informed her of dates of arrival and departure. News of my arrival seems to have filtered through college already...hmm..
Then spoke to HD and AN and they got me very excited. There seems to have been developments in their lives and I am dying to hear about it. Will be staying with them and am now really looking forward to going back to college.
Memory - all alone in the moonlight.
I can smile at the old days,
I was beautiful then.
I remember the time
I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.
Friday, December 9
Am back!
Hi! Am back from conference. Harrogate, Yorkshire is a archetypical Northern english town. I felt the difference only when I returned to oxford. In a fifteen minute cycle ride to the lab I saw more multi-cultural faces than I ever saw in three days at Harrogate.
Am really tired, especially as I headed straight to the lab after arriving in Oxford in the afternoon. I thought I was going to do an experiment with JTH but he is leaving Oxford abruptly and my plans of culturing DC's with him are gone for a toss. I still had lots of work to do so am stuck in the lab for another hour or so, after which I go home and crash!
Four successive nights of five-hour-sleeps, numerous G&T's and dancing has only served to place my liver and body under much stress, fun-filled but stress nonetheless. Never though that conferences would be so tiring.
Am off into the lab and shall write about my scientific (and other) experiences tomorrow.
My tickets for home have arrived in London today, so I think the excitement is just adding to my tiredness.
My new favourite song - Amarillo by Tony Christie. Its such a cheesy song.
Am really tired, especially as I headed straight to the lab after arriving in Oxford in the afternoon. I thought I was going to do an experiment with JTH but he is leaving Oxford abruptly and my plans of culturing DC's with him are gone for a toss. I still had lots of work to do so am stuck in the lab for another hour or so, after which I go home and crash!
Four successive nights of five-hour-sleeps, numerous G&T's and dancing has only served to place my liver and body under much stress, fun-filled but stress nonetheless. Never though that conferences would be so tiring.
Am off into the lab and shall write about my scientific (and other) experiences tomorrow.
My tickets for home have arrived in London today, so I think the excitement is just adding to my tiredness.
My new favourite song - Amarillo by Tony Christie. Its such a cheesy song.
Monday, December 5
Am off to Harrogate tomorrow for BSI. Am presenting a poster. Really bad poster with very little data and nothing much to say. I really need to figure out what my story is going to be and pursue it over the next 6 or so months.
Woke up today morning in cold sweat. Realised that I have less than six months to go to get myself a job and step into the real world. After attending the BMJ career fair on Saturday I realised that I have a long way to go to get to the point where I can get myself a job. Its scary! Its also the first time in my life that I have no idea as to what I am going to be doing in the next year. I have always known what I am going to do next. It seems strange that I will no longer be a student same time next year, but the problem being that I dont have anything to do when my scholarship runs out. Where is my money going to come from? Where am I going to stay? what is my affliation going to be?
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere
Woke up today morning in cold sweat. Realised that I have less than six months to go to get myself a job and step into the real world. After attending the BMJ career fair on Saturday I realised that I have a long way to go to get to the point where I can get myself a job. Its scary! Its also the first time in my life that I have no idea as to what I am going to be doing in the next year. I have always known what I am going to do next. It seems strange that I will no longer be a student same time next year, but the problem being that I dont have anything to do when my scholarship runs out. Where is my money going to come from? Where am I going to stay? what is my affliation going to be?
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere
Rajnikant
I was portering last night in college and decided to watch a Tamil movie to pass the time. I was supposed to be working on my articles and other sorts of things but really how could I pass up on a Southie flick?
I had no idea of the movie and also had no idea of the plot etc. It was a surprise to me as well. So, I began to watch and very soon I was in splits. Admittedly I was not watching one of the all time classics, but it was a Rajni special called "Batsha". The plot is the same as in any other Bollywood movie. Good normal guy turns mafia don because of too much oppression. New don has only one aim - to kill old don and relieve the world of tyranny. Anyway, in a "unpredictable" twist in the movie, we learn that the GOOD DON's father is the BAD DON's right hand man. With the second half of the movie in flashback the truth is revealed as to how GOOD DON extinguishes BAD DON's empire. BAD DON in a last ditch move before the police come to arrest him holds father as the sacrificial bait to GOOD DON. In the melodramatic DON confrontation FATHER sacrifices life for SON - but in return extracts promise of a changed life from SON. SON then shifts cities to MDS and becomes auto driver to be able to marry his sisters and educate his younger brother.
Anyway, to cut a long story short new SOFT AUTO DRIVER persona needs to bring back GOOD DON to kill BAD DON who was released from jail. In the end everyone is happy.
Great movie.. I dont think I could have watched it anywhere else except while being bored witless while portering. But RAJNI is another thing. What style, what charisma, what a MAN!
I cant wait for my next shift when I watch my next tamil movie.
I had no idea of the movie and also had no idea of the plot etc. It was a surprise to me as well. So, I began to watch and very soon I was in splits. Admittedly I was not watching one of the all time classics, but it was a Rajni special called "Batsha". The plot is the same as in any other Bollywood movie. Good normal guy turns mafia don because of too much oppression. New don has only one aim - to kill old don and relieve the world of tyranny. Anyway, in a "unpredictable" twist in the movie, we learn that the GOOD DON's father is the BAD DON's right hand man. With the second half of the movie in flashback the truth is revealed as to how GOOD DON extinguishes BAD DON's empire. BAD DON in a last ditch move before the police come to arrest him holds father as the sacrificial bait to GOOD DON. In the melodramatic DON confrontation FATHER sacrifices life for SON - but in return extracts promise of a changed life from SON. SON then shifts cities to MDS and becomes auto driver to be able to marry his sisters and educate his younger brother.
Anyway, to cut a long story short new SOFT AUTO DRIVER persona needs to bring back GOOD DON to kill BAD DON who was released from jail. In the end everyone is happy.
Great movie.. I dont think I could have watched it anywhere else except while being bored witless while portering. But RAJNI is another thing. What style, what charisma, what a MAN!
I cant wait for my next shift when I watch my next tamil movie.
Sunday, December 4
Where is everybody?
I need to fix up accommodation in college and I just cant seem to get through to anyone, even D in Delhi is unavailable. Where is everybody? I also wanted to fix up a class get-together in Delhi especially after meeting both Shalav and Shruti in Delhi.
Anyway, we shall see what happens? Right now I have a hectic schedule and I dont know whether I am going to survive it.
Anyway, we shall see what happens? Right now I have a hectic schedule and I dont know whether I am going to survive it.
London
Went down to London yesterday to attend the BMJ careers fair. They held it in Islington which is where JW lives, so had lunch with her at a really bad Thai restaurant. I ordered the Vegetable Hot Jungle Curry with rice, except it turned out to be a cross between rasam and sambhar with some ginger,coconut and without any dal! Ghastly stuff. There was oil floating at the top of the dish and it reminded me of my college mess.
Going back to college is really exciting. I am so looking forward to it - but have so much work to do before I go.
1. Finish and plan experiments - this includes VNA, RT-PCR's, bulk-ups and titers
2. Email and set up meetings with - VSC,Swami,NII,Arora,Mala aunty all in Delhi. MRC and TRC in Chennai. IISc and CCMB down south. SS in bombay. So lots of work to be done..before getting there.
3. Prepare talks and articles.
4. Read some epidemiology
5. Prepare my stomach for some dosai. Note to Amma - I want dosai on the day I land.Nothing else will suffice!
6. Buy gifts for people. This is the part I am truly dreading.
Also, need to have a look at finances to see how much I can actualy afford. I still havent recieved my pay from college for portering but I dont think it is going to be very substantial this month as I didnt do a lot.
But, it would be great to get the money from my tutoring before I left for India as I can then use that for gifts.
Either way its going to be a hectic Xmas and I cant wait for the new year!!!
Going back to college is really exciting. I am so looking forward to it - but have so much work to do before I go.
1. Finish and plan experiments - this includes VNA, RT-PCR's, bulk-ups and titers
2. Email and set up meetings with - VSC,Swami,NII,Arora,Mala aunty all in Delhi. MRC and TRC in Chennai. IISc and CCMB down south. SS in bombay. So lots of work to be done..before getting there.
3. Prepare talks and articles.
4. Read some epidemiology
5. Prepare my stomach for some dosai. Note to Amma - I want dosai on the day I land.Nothing else will suffice!
6. Buy gifts for people. This is the part I am truly dreading.
Also, need to have a look at finances to see how much I can actualy afford. I still havent recieved my pay from college for portering but I dont think it is going to be very substantial this month as I didnt do a lot.
But, it would be great to get the money from my tutoring before I left for India as I can then use that for gifts.
Either way its going to be a hectic Xmas and I cant wait for the new year!!!
Friday, December 2
Bad Sex!
Read the article linked to the title of this blog only if you dont wish to engage in a passionate moment for the next few days!
I think that it is a great award - it does indicate the meaningless paras devoted to sex right in the middle of a novel. Its often unnecessary and pointless. I often get the impression that the author just didn't know what to write next and decided to insert a para replete with sentences that can be plagiarised from any porn site.
"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other" - Jane Austen.
I am in the second half after reading these excerpts.
I think that it is a great award - it does indicate the meaningless paras devoted to sex right in the middle of a novel. Its often unnecessary and pointless. I often get the impression that the author just didn't know what to write next and decided to insert a para replete with sentences that can be plagiarised from any porn site.
"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other" - Jane Austen.
I am in the second half after reading these excerpts.
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