PowerPoint presentations
When it comes to watching PowerPoint presentations, I seem to have this problem where after 15 minutes, I can barely keep my eyes open, no matter how hard I'm trying to stay awake. It's just something about the way the lights are dimmed and the glow of the projection screen that makes me so sleepy. Earlier in the week, I was watching a presentation on climate change, and, halfway through the talk, I was just thinking, "Stay awake stay awake stay awake stay awake," over and over. The talk wasn't boring or anything, and I didn't want to offend the speaker, but AAAGGGGHHHH, it was so hard to stay focused! I forced my eyelids as wide as possible, but seeing as how I zoned out eventually, I may have been dozing off with my eyes open.
However, even if I'm not struggling to stay awake, I confess to having a very short attention span. Even when it's a very interesting presentation, I keep letting my attention drift to something else. Heck, I would even start daydreaming from time to time when I saw Lord of the Rings in the movie theaters, even though I'm a huge fan of the trilogy!
It's happened a few times where I start thinking about something funny that happened earlier, and I kind of start chuckling silently; I then turn my attention back to the speaker, and realize that he/she is talking about something really serious. I can only imagine what the speaker must be thinking if he/she saw me at that moment; I mean, here they are talking about genocide or something, and there's this one idiot in the crowd who's smiling. I gotta be more careful.
PhD Comics
I discovered
PhD Comics when I first started grad school. For those who have never heard of it, it's a comic strip that pokes fun at "Life (or the lack thereof) in Academia". I totally LOVE this strip! I've read every single one, and I always eagerly await the latest strip.
Here are some of my favorites:
Getting a mean reality check
Reminding us where we rank in the grand scheme of things
I can relate to this one; my work output increases dramatically before a meeting with my advisor!
Back from the dead, ooooooo!!!
My blog is back from the dead, for the fifth or sixth time. I'll try to post at least every week or so (heh, let's see how long that resolution lasts).
Anywho, I just discovered that there's this thing called
Impostor Syndrome, where someone feels like they have accomplished nothing despite their many achievements, and that their successes happened out of luck. Man, I totally act like that sometimes! There have been a number of occasions where I believed that I'm not all that smart, and that I've just been lucky all these years, and what comes up must come down!
I've also had many moments where I felt like I'm nowhere near as intelligent as the other grad students in my department, but after checking out this
forum, I don't feel so alone. Not that it makes me feel
better, either, lol.
Wow, I haven't updated this blog in ages. But my return is not under happy circumstances, unfortunately.
There's been a school shooting at Dawson College in downtown Montreal. An 18 year-old girl is dead, and about 19 others injured (about 4 of whom are in critical condition). The gunman is dead.
I know this sounds really clichéd, but you just don't expect this kind of thing to happen so close to home. When you go to school in the morning, the possibility of being confronted by a gun-wielding madman just seems so unlikely. It seems impossible. Yet it is.
There have been no reports of the gunman being a student or former student of Dawson, so I can't help but wonder what made him choose that school and not another. What if he had picked the next nearest CEGEP, where my sister studies? McGill is a large and well-known university; is the next nutcase going to head there?
Well, that's all I feel like saying for now. My sympathies go out to the victims and their families.
Partial photo collection
I haven't uploaded all my vacation photos yet, but here's a partial list:
Brisbane, AustraliaGold CoastLone Pine Koala SanctuaryMy birthdayQueenstown, New ZealandI have quite a bit of work to finish in preparation of the fieldwork I'll be doing in Gaspésie in early July. I'm not sure I'm completely recovered from my jetlag, though, *YAWN*. But I'm looking forward to checking out the rivers that I've been examining for so long through maps and air photos; I'll probably be helping the electrofishing team with their work, too. Sounds like an 'electrifying' experience, as one of my profs said, lol.
I'm back!
I got back yesterday evening. In an attempt to make a quick adjustment to the changing time zones, I slept only 2 hours during the 33 hours separating my awaking in Brisbane and my climbing into bed in Montreal last night.
Photos and updates will come soon :)
Farewell!!!
I'll be away for the next 2 and a half weeks, travelling to Australia and New Zealand with my mum and sister. I promise I'll post plenty of pics when I return!
I finally got my damn diploma!!!
I had my convocation ceremony earlier today, and now I have officially completed my Bachelor of Science! Whoo! But H-O-L-Y C-O-W, it was so freakin' hot today. Our ceremony was in a giant tent on the McGill campus, and it got unbearably humid. I was sweating like a pig in my black gown and mortar board.
There was a lot of blah-blah-blah-ing for the first hour. Roger Tomlinson, who is dubbed the father of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) got an honorary doctor of science award (or something like that), and then he gave a really, really long speech. I could barely understand what he was saying because he wasn't enunciating his words very well.
When I was waiting in line before crossing the stage, my heart was pounding really hard in my chest and my hands were shaking. I'm not even completely sure why; there wasn't really anything to be nervous about, lol. This dude tapped me on the head with his cap (my dad said that this gesture is descended from the way men are knighted, where they get tapped on the shoulder with a sword), and then I shook hands with the chair of the Geography department. He said, "It's great to have you back again next year," in reference to my Master's program in Geography. I then received my diploma in a big, fancy McGill envelope. When I descended from the stage, I really had to grab onto the rail because I was shaking so hard. Geez, relax!
Afterwards, I took a bunch of pics with my family and various people from the department. My mom bought one of those fancy McGill picture frames for my diploma ($140! I tried to decline the offer, but she insisted on buying one for me. It definitely looks very elegant). It started to rain, though, which is when we all had to run for cover ;).
What a nice day ^_^. Now, to find a place to hang my diploma, which I've worked so hard to earn.
