100th Post!
Monday, July 14th, 2008Ok, so i haven’t blogged in ages (9 months and counting) due to a combination of procrastination, unwillingness to blog using my SDA quota, lack of ideas for the milestone 100th post and shortage of time too. But this blog, as i told Jared a few months earlier, is "not dead". It’s just "on a sabbatical" =p
So what am I going to write for my 100th post? Well…i’ve thought and thought about it, but just couldn’t find that many things to write about. Sure i’ve changed since I wrote my first post, but i’m not sure if changes are that important. I mean, people definitely change with time, even if some habits and principles stay. I guess it’s what causes the changes that’s important, and in a sense it’s what we’ve learnt and experienced that change us.
Considering that Semester 2, 2008 is starting in a week’s time, I’m already at the halfway point in the course of my degree (excluding Honours year) so in a perhaps nerdy fashion, I’m dedicating my 100th post to things I’ve learnt in University thus far =)
So here goes. In no particular order, I’ve learnt that:
1) You can be a male, have waist-length hair and wear a ring on every single finger and yet still be a good lecturer/researcher at the top university in Australia. Form your own conclusions as to what my conclusions are in regards to KLCC, KLIA etc, if you get my meaning.
2) Textbooks can be wrong. In the words of Dr Peter Janssens who taught developmental biology in BIOL1007 and BIOL1004, " What you read in Campbell is simply what Campbell thinks the authors of journals are trying to convey. Those are his interpretations, not necessarily fact. Well, Campbell is dead. Knox is dead, too." (Campbell and Knox are [were?] authors of 2 biology textbooks we used. Unfortunately they’re dead.)
3) By extension of 2), alternative sources of information are always helpful, as reflected by the lecturers’ use of an average of 5-6 textbooks for 7 weeks worth of lectures.
4) 2) and 3) mean that you’re always free to form your own conclusions.
5) Nobody knows everything, even if they’re experts in their field. It’s far more classy (and professional) to say "I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer to that one. I’ll look it up for you, but I think the answer would be…." when asked a question rather than "Are you trying to challenge me? Who’s the lecturer!?". A world of difference.
6) Nobody gives a shit who you are, as long as you’re good enough for the job/award*
7) To enter Uni you’d need a UAI of 75 for Biotech and 95 for Actuarial Studies, among others. But you don’t actually need to be able to:
i) Flush the toilet after you’ve used it
ii) Refrain from making noise during the exam period
iii) Stop talking during lectures even if it’s annoying the rest of the class
iv) Display the level of maturity, responsibility, punctuality and selflessness required of a young adult in University. Physical age doesn’t mean a thing.
v) Take only your own things from a common fridge and freezer.
People would do even the most pathetic things if it means that it gives them a shot at what they desire. The funny thing is they probably feel there’s nothing wrong with it even when most people see through it and are cringing for all they’re worth. For this reason I found the MSO and SSA elections last year pretty entertaining in a sardonic way. (Yeam and Jared, i’m not talking about you guys).
So there you have it, the small and not-so-small things I’ve learnt in Uni thus far. Maybe it doesn’t make good reading and the last point was certainly written with sarcasm but I have a feeling that it’s these things that have more or less changed me, or reinforced my opinions since I’ve entered uni.
Maybe no one would read this since it’s been on a sabbatical for so long, hehe. And it would probably go on another sabbatical if I don’t find the time to blog. So take care and have fun guys!
*Conditions apply.
