I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend.
Ah, yes. Finally. After several failed attempts, the celestial beings finally granted my wish of watching The Fault In Our Stars, several months after reading the movie. The movie was pretty good (as was the book) and touching at several junctures. But the hazard of watching the movie with anybody else (particularly someone prone to high lacrimal activity) is that your own lacrimal activity is stifled. Nevertheless, some of the quotes were truly thought provoking.
"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."
"That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt."
"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you."
And so on. It's a movie that makes you think, ponder, contemplate and yet not make any groundbreaking discovery.
Apart from this I've also watched certain movies I don't take a lot of pride in naming (Ok, not what you think I think you're thinking. [Shush, that makes perfect sense.] But the sanest dialogue was probably this,
"You give me premature ventricular contractions. You make my heart skip a beat."
Sheesh. Seriously? And the thing that cracked me up is that she's a graduate from MIT who then makes it to medical school. (Or maybe I'm the one obsessed with stereotypes. -_-) Nevertheless, a mighty waste of talented star cast such as Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman.
Oh, and Abhi and I have begun the House MD Marathon. (Yeah, I've barely watched a few episodes and it's about time that I amend that.) I've also embarked on the mission to watch Sherlock.
And if you're wondering how is it that I'm watching so many things, it's because I've finally got my Lappy! :D I'm extremely excited that I can finally blog more frequently and use it for reading up more about what we're learning.'
On the college front, Life is progressing fairly sunnily, lecturers have begun to turn up the tempo and there seems to be a quirky kind of equilibrium setting in. Not the most ideal, but certainly different, certainly a welcome change.
In Microbiology, we basically study all about the microorganisms, like bacteria, viruses, fungi, particularly the ones that are pathogenic in nature. So right now we're still in the basics where we're learning about Culture Media. Basically, bacteria need the appropriate medium to grow and exhibit their properties. One example is the MacConkey Agar medium which is used to differentiate Gram positive and negative bacteria based on their inability/ability to ferment lactose in the medium. Similarly, there are different media to distinguish between different species of bacteria and also to demonstrate a particular bacteria specifically.
And that made me wonder, aren't we also the same? We require the right environment, the right 'culture' to bring out the best in us. We interact differently with the people around us based on our surroundings and we are different under different circumstances. I agree, there's not much sense in what I'm rambling, but this just made me realize that we have a lot more in common with Bacteria than we care to recognize.
Another thought that struck me today in the middle of MicroB lab again is the serendipity of the Gram staining technique. To put in simple words, you take your slide containing the sample of the bacteria to be studied, apply a primary dye like crystal violet, follow it up with Iodine, acetone and then a secondary dye such as carbol fuschin. And this brings out two main categories of Bacteria, gram positive and gram negative, (named after Christian Gram, the man behind the procedure) which show several distinctive properties. My thought is rather random, but then, how did Mr. Gram know that those exact same substances, in the exact same order would yield a method to distinguish between bacteria, that would be employed even 100 years later? The funniest thing is, there apparently no strong explanation for this differential staining technique. My point is, if I took a bacterial sample X and added substance A, B and C and then add the same substances on sample Y, definitely, there would be a difference in the reactions. It's like he worked out the reason for the difference in staining after the experiment and not the other way round. A scientific method is one in which you test a hypothesis by conducting an experiment to prove your point. To me, this looks like a case of the other way round.
It's either that, or I'm turning loonier with each passing day.
One thing I'm extremely glad about is the fact that I've been exercising regularly. My morning begins with a good round of jogging (through chilly mist) and is followed by a tiring game of baddie. I only hope that this trend is not just a fad but persists longer. After all, it's important to stay fit, considering the high calorie diet we ingest in the mess everyday.
Speaking of food, the other day, we had our own meal which consisted of:
Ah, yes. Finally. After several failed attempts, the celestial beings finally granted my wish of watching The Fault In Our Stars, several months after reading the movie. The movie was pretty good (as was the book) and touching at several junctures. But the hazard of watching the movie with anybody else (particularly someone prone to high lacrimal activity) is that your own lacrimal activity is stifled. Nevertheless, some of the quotes were truly thought provoking.
"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."
"That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt."
"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you."
And so on. It's a movie that makes you think, ponder, contemplate and yet not make any groundbreaking discovery.
Apart from this I've also watched certain movies I don't take a lot of pride in naming (Ok, not what you think I think you're thinking. [Shush, that makes perfect sense.] But the sanest dialogue was probably this,
"You give me premature ventricular contractions. You make my heart skip a beat."
Sheesh. Seriously? And the thing that cracked me up is that she's a graduate from MIT who then makes it to medical school. (Or maybe I'm the one obsessed with stereotypes. -_-) Nevertheless, a mighty waste of talented star cast such as Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman.
Oh, and Abhi and I have begun the House MD Marathon. (Yeah, I've barely watched a few episodes and it's about time that I amend that.) I've also embarked on the mission to watch Sherlock.
And if you're wondering how is it that I'm watching so many things, it's because I've finally got my Lappy! :D I'm extremely excited that I can finally blog more frequently and use it for reading up more about what we're learning.'
On the college front, Life is progressing fairly sunnily, lecturers have begun to turn up the tempo and there seems to be a quirky kind of equilibrium setting in. Not the most ideal, but certainly different, certainly a welcome change.
In Microbiology, we basically study all about the microorganisms, like bacteria, viruses, fungi, particularly the ones that are pathogenic in nature. So right now we're still in the basics where we're learning about Culture Media. Basically, bacteria need the appropriate medium to grow and exhibit their properties. One example is the MacConkey Agar medium which is used to differentiate Gram positive and negative bacteria based on their inability/ability to ferment lactose in the medium. Similarly, there are different media to distinguish between different species of bacteria and also to demonstrate a particular bacteria specifically.
And that made me wonder, aren't we also the same? We require the right environment, the right 'culture' to bring out the best in us. We interact differently with the people around us based on our surroundings and we are different under different circumstances. I agree, there's not much sense in what I'm rambling, but this just made me realize that we have a lot more in common with Bacteria than we care to recognize.
Another thought that struck me today in the middle of MicroB lab again is the serendipity of the Gram staining technique. To put in simple words, you take your slide containing the sample of the bacteria to be studied, apply a primary dye like crystal violet, follow it up with Iodine, acetone and then a secondary dye such as carbol fuschin. And this brings out two main categories of Bacteria, gram positive and gram negative, (named after Christian Gram, the man behind the procedure) which show several distinctive properties. My thought is rather random, but then, how did Mr. Gram know that those exact same substances, in the exact same order would yield a method to distinguish between bacteria, that would be employed even 100 years later? The funniest thing is, there apparently no strong explanation for this differential staining technique. My point is, if I took a bacterial sample X and added substance A, B and C and then add the same substances on sample Y, definitely, there would be a difference in the reactions. It's like he worked out the reason for the difference in staining after the experiment and not the other way round. A scientific method is one in which you test a hypothesis by conducting an experiment to prove your point. To me, this looks like a case of the other way round.
It's either that, or I'm turning loonier with each passing day.
One thing I'm extremely glad about is the fact that I've been exercising regularly. My morning begins with a good round of jogging (through chilly mist) and is followed by a tiring game of baddie. I only hope that this trend is not just a fad but persists longer. After all, it's important to stay fit, considering the high calorie diet we ingest in the mess everyday.
Speaking of food, the other day, we had our own meal which consisted of:
- Sweet Corn Veg Soup
- Salad (with sprouts, pomogranate, corn, carrots, cucumber, lemon, chillies, onion, Kurkure and some seasonings to lend it a tangy flavour)
- Sandwiches
- Aloo Patties
- Kheer
 |
| Om Nom Nom. :D |
Cooking together was a lot of fun and it is highly likely that such an event will recur at regular intervals.
As always, there's so much more that I want to go on about, I want to finish my story, I want to write a poem, I want to buy a few things online, I want to be blessed with amazing metabolism, I want 30 hours in a day to study first year portions so that I don't keep feeling guilty for having passed first year.... But then
The world is not a wish granting factory....
:)
Welcome to the house and sherlock club!!! Eeee... finally!!! Gosh! ;) ;-) :-P
ReplyDeleteI know right! I'm also a part of the Korean club now. :P xD
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