The week so far has been...kind of routine. TA, lab work, and the occasional bit of studying. TA-wise, the students finished early, so it means they get a lab session off next week. while it's nice to have a break, it also means that i get paid for a week less. guess it'll be worth it if i use the time productively for honours research.
going by the way things are working out in lab, i'm definitely going to need those extra few hours. after changing to a slightly different compound, my reaction has gone back to failing again. well, not completely failing, but i've got ridiculously low yields and slightly impure product even after purification. don't know whether i'm leaving the reaction for too long or too short. and i'm running out of starting material too...but that's a minor problem since that can be synthesized with much greater ease. hoping that i can finish purification tomorrow, and end up with enough compound to move on to the main reaction. after that, i'll change to a different functional group, and hopefully never deal with this specific compound again.
semester is ending soon, which means that some last few tests are creeping up on us. there's a transition metal organometallics test 2 weeks from now, as well as the standard assortment of japanese quizzes. good thing that this friday is a holiday, as that means the japanese conversation tutorial is cancelled. while i enjoy the class, it's also kind of a relief to not have to remember a conversation for once. i've also arranged to meet the japanese lecturer for a chat. for some reason, i find myself becoming increasingly lost in japanese. mostly my fault, because i don't spend much time on revision. still, i hope the chat will also address some of the remaining negativity left from the mid-terms.
finally, something not schoolwork-related. i don't know, but it seems i'm in like with someone (yes, again). nothing happened with the previous one...the interaction kind of died out. but for this one...it's different. at least, i think it is. could be my brain messing with me, as it tends to do pretty often. not sure if this will work out, or even if there's anything in the first place. well, i'll see where this goes, i guess.
going by the way things are working out in lab, i'm definitely going to need those extra few hours. after changing to a slightly different compound, my reaction has gone back to failing again. well, not completely failing, but i've got ridiculously low yields and slightly impure product even after purification. don't know whether i'm leaving the reaction for too long or too short. and i'm running out of starting material too...but that's a minor problem since that can be synthesized with much greater ease. hoping that i can finish purification tomorrow, and end up with enough compound to move on to the main reaction. after that, i'll change to a different functional group, and hopefully never deal with this specific compound again.
semester is ending soon, which means that some last few tests are creeping up on us. there's a transition metal organometallics test 2 weeks from now, as well as the standard assortment of japanese quizzes. good thing that this friday is a holiday, as that means the japanese conversation tutorial is cancelled. while i enjoy the class, it's also kind of a relief to not have to remember a conversation for once. i've also arranged to meet the japanese lecturer for a chat. for some reason, i find myself becoming increasingly lost in japanese. mostly my fault, because i don't spend much time on revision. still, i hope the chat will also address some of the remaining negativity left from the mid-terms.
finally, something not schoolwork-related. i don't know, but it seems i'm in like with someone (yes, again). nothing happened with the previous one...the interaction kind of died out. but for this one...it's different. at least, i think it is. could be my brain messing with me, as it tends to do pretty often. not sure if this will work out, or even if there's anything in the first place. well, i'll see where this goes, i guess.
-random thought of the day: Is it normal to hope for something beyond expectations?-
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