I have been living in Brisbane for nearly four months now; and I must say I am really having a good time. Everyday I wake up elated and excited to spend yet another day in the lab. My experiments have not been going so well though. It's not because I have been slacking off; it's just that some things simply don't work and it takes courage to admit that it doesn't work and one must simply just give it up and try to find another solution. After all, it's not the end of the world. 
To lift my spirit up, I am proud to say that, barely four months into my PhD, I already wrote one book chapter which was accepted for publication. My Professor asked me to write the book chapter a month ago. He said, "Where did I get the impression that you can write well?" I racked my head and silently answered, "maybe you read my blog which I haven't visited for ages?" After completing the book chapter, I was so ecstatic to hear that my Professor was very pleased with my writing technique. This only means I should keep working on my writing skill and never give up. You see, there are also some things one should never give up on even though it apparently does not work.
That's why I am writing in my nearly abandoned blog again.
Aside from spending a great deal of time doing lab experiments, reading papers and writing the book chapter, I have been exceptionally busy doing activities completely unrelated to PhD starting from 7 o'clock Friday until Monday morning the following week. Having a balanced life is crucial especially for someone who is a thousand miles away from home. However, sometimes I have to sacrifice several hours on my weekend to do menial work-related chores. It's inevitable for a PhD student. Last weekend, I had to spend 2 hours working in the biosafety cabinet. The air flow creates so much noise, it's tragically deafening. While working, I kept thinking about aimlessly strolling near the lakes inside the campus. I love lakes so much I can probably spend the entire day gazing at the wild ducks as they create ripples on the water! While I never had the chance to spend the entire day beside the lake as it was getting dark when I finished my lab chores, I was able to steal a glance of the lake's breathtakingly serene beauty for nearly an hour. I also had the chance to lie on the green grass as I stared blankly at the deep blue sky. At that moment, I thought I was living forever!
