HARAM!

No, this has nothing to do with anything that is religious at all. Well, if you have been reading the previous few posts that I have made, I made it a point to post at least one blog post per week. Obviously, this wasn't what was happening. So, that's totally HARAM in this case. Lies. Hahahahahaha!

Well, it was test week last fortnight up until last week. Totally busy and stressed. So many new things to learn and yet so little time to master it all. However, I'm happy that it is all over. Test results for my Physics II is quite good, better than I actually expected. Of course, labs weren't as forgiving, as ever. The stress of writing lab reports. Oh well, at the end of the day, we learn how to write fast, probably be better than photocopy machines, or maybe 1000 photocopy machines put together. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Semester break is just around the corner! Glad that the break is finally here. Sadly, just after the break, test 2 will be heading our way soon. Oh dear.

Woots! Test is next week!

In just the blink of an eye, half this semester is almost gone. Really, time does past fast when you are so busy to even have time to think of yourself. Thankfully, this semester has been quite OK so far, except for some tiny hiccups that aren't really that nice, but at least it does encourage me to handle problems and to test my flexibility in handling situations. I prefer not to, though.

Well, it's Physics Test 1 on Monday and I should be having my "NERD MODE" turned on as of now, but that's obviously not the case right now. Kinda' wasting my time away for the moment. You know, studying straight for 2 to 3 hours isn't really cool, it's not my skill. Oh well! Hopefully, it would be fine.

There's isn't much to post right now. I'm quite happy with the situation now. Only a little worried for the MH370 flight. I hope they are all right.

Fear, sadness and everything in between.

'twas a fateful day for many Malaysians and other passengers on the flight MH370 heading from KLIA to Beijing, China. As most Malaysians and citizens of other ASEAN countries have already known, the MAS (Malaysian Airlines System) aircraft, the Boeing 777 (I'm not good with aircraft models, I only know the largest passenger aircraft to date is the Airbus A380-A, is it?) was expected to arrive at Beijing at 6.30-ish a.m on the 8th of March, China local time. What happened was, after two hours, the plane has not arrived and as I am writing this post now, no news about there plane or its whereabouts are known. This is not what I am about to pen down in this post. This totally isn't.

What is more terrifying than the flight going missing is how people in the world and particularly, Malaysians, are reacting. The moment the plane went off the radar, many people started to spread news over social media. Facebook, Twitter and whatever-you-name-its. I'm not sure if it's a Malaysian thing, but Malaysians love to sensationalize news without first verifying the source. Sure, it's easier to hit the "Share" button or to just retweet whatever you have seen. The thing here is, has anyone even thought about those who are currently in the limbo, not sure whether their loved ones are safe? Not sure if they are still alive? Not sure if they have enough to fend for their lives if they are alive? All these uncertainties. They can haunt you for days, for months and sometimes, scar you for life. These memories and trauma, stick. They don't go off like how you wash mud off your shoes after a football game. It's not that simple. To share false news is akin to saying "Hey, your relative is alive! GOTCHA!". Would you love to get the same kind of treatment if you were in their shoes? No? Yes? How cruel can one be!

Another observation is how Malaysians start to put the blame on everyone except themselves regarding the incident. No, I wield no power to say who is right and wrong, but to play the blame game when times are rough like this, isn't going to make the situation any better. Can't we all be a little more understanding. I saw people saying things like "Aiyah, that person (the officer-in-charge at the press conference) don't know how to reply. Stupid" and blaming MAS for being so lousy and such. Before you start playing "Mr. and Mrs. Perfect", why not take a look at a different perspective? Sure, put the blame on the officers for not being transparent enough to divulge information, blame the airline company for being lousy, blame the army for not being efficient enough in the search of the plane. Blame. Blame it all. Now put yourself in their shoes. Some of these officers may not be sleeping well for days on end. Some of the caregivers are away from their families for days apart. Needless to say, the army has been away for quite some time on the search for the plane. Cut them some slack! Stop being so judgemental! If you're so free dishing out comments as of now, why don't you play a role in helping to find the plane! Pity these people running around for days on end, and yet you have no sympathy to understand. Can't Malaysians be more encouraging. A little positive vibe won't kill anyone. Why hurt when you can heal? Why?

I'm just so disappointed. I love my country.

Week 2 is down, I repeat, Week 2 is down!

No, I'm really in distress or totally worried that week 2 of my 4th semester is down. Quite happy that the 2nd week is now gone. It can only mean that the semester is about to get a whole lot tougher, the following weeks to come. Alas, this is what all university students have to face, semester-in, semester-out. It should be fun (I do wish it was fun without the stress), so that's why getting in the right course should be anyone's priority. OK. Down to business. The happenings of the week!

There were quite some observations that I made throughout the week. Some of course, almost made me fall off my seat (in my mind, not literally) while some others made me smirk, along with that evil grin.

Okay, so the first thing is that I realised students with an ultra-Chinese background tend to be more unfriendly and sometimes, tad selfish, when it comes to socialising with others. It's not really bad, but in some ways, not too good, too. This was an experience I had a few days back. So, I saw this 3 girls from a course that I took with them. It's a compulsory course, regardless of your major. These three Chinese girls were Mandarin language major students, while I was a chemistry major. I saw them at a faculty away from class and I wanted to smile at them. All I got was a face that replied imaginary words: "Erk, why is this guy smiling at us?". Is it really that hard to just life those muscles to smile? Anyone looks way gorgeous when they smile (provided that you are not attempting to be a perverted weirdo) and will definitely shave off some years of year real age. Honestly, only Chinese people with ultra-Chinese background will be this unfriendly. Ethnocentrism? Hmmm...

This week's inorganic chemistry taught me something: PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE. Why, you ask? Imagine this, one has to stir the same solution for 3 hours. The catch, the solution MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO BOIL. With this kind of constraint, it really makes it much more annoying. I spent 3 hours stirring a solution of cobalt ions in oxidizing agent and ammonia, to prepare a complex compound consisting of ammonia coordinated to a central ion of cobalt. The first attempt to obtain crystals by cooling the solution didn't work out as it wasn't concentrated enough. So, I had to reheat, to ensure 70% of the initial volume remains. To think that it takes 3 hours to achieve this volume, my life suddenly feels miserable. Final-year project. Oh dear. However, the second attempt to isolate the crystals was a total success and they were, WAIT FOR IT... BEAUTIFUL! YEAH! Looks like dragonfruit sorbet. Except that it's all glittery.

TADAH! SO PRETTY! More scientifically, this is coordination compound (salt) is called: pentaamminecarbanatocobalt(III) chloride.

Pretty right? Things started to take a turn for the worse on Thursday. Thursday is terrible. I hate Thursdays (strictly for this semester only). The six-hours-in-a-row lab is a killer. 2 p.m to 8 p.m with no breaks in between. I fell sick because of the weather and due to exhaustion. Up until now, I'm still not completely well, but I'm thankful this isn't as bad as the time I contracted a viral fever. That, was way worse that what I have now.

I guess this week is quite a dramatic one. Nope, not as dramatic as those that have some loud opera music in the background. Just, drama. Next week, a better week, I hope.

That's all for now! Hope you readers have a blast too!