I started my industrial training/internship last Monday at Asahi Chemical Research Lab, which is near Amy’s house! Very near, in fact. My workplace is just behind Hillcity Hotel if anyone wants to visit (yeah, right…it’s so far) The training lasts for 2 months…and I get minimal pay (RM15 per day if you’re curious) Yeah it’s not that much, but still, better than nothing! And the people there are pretty nice… So I’ll just summarize up my first week…


Day 1:
Feeling super sluggish, I dragged myself to work…working hour’s from 8am to 5.30pm. (I thought companies were supposed to start at 9am??) So anyway, I was told to sit at the mini pantry area cos the workers are in a meeting. I later found out that they have a meeting every morning…and there’s usually more random meetings later in the day. The lady from the accounting department explained that the company makes soldering paste and all, and then took me on a tour around the place. The company’s small, so there’s not that many people.

I’m under the R&D department, and was told to treat some copper plates with acid to remove the oxidized layer. I bet most of you have done that somewhere during school. There wasn’t really much to do that day so I sat around feeling sleepy lol. Not good…oh, and I also washed some beakers and stuff. Pretty uneventful day. There’s also a Malay girl doing her training there from UTM Johor, but she’s already been there for 2 weeks, so she’s pretty much an expert at everything. So that’s it for my pretty uneventful day.


Day 2:
Was sent to do some stock checking in the R&D lab…basically it’s just jotting down names of all the chemicals in the cabinets. Unfortunately, all the cabinets were located under the counter and poor me had to squat to list all the chemicals. And there was a lot of it. I did 4 cabinets worth of listing. T.T My thighs started to ache later in the day…ugh. Later in the afternoon, I was taught how to do an E-Type test with the viscometer. It measures the viscosity of their flux medium, you see. Soldering paste is made of 2 things: flux medium aka. yellow gunk and powder (which contains lead and stannum) Also observed how to use the auto titration machine, which can measure the halide content etc of the flux medium. It looked fun, once you get the hang of it lol.


Day 3: 
Was given a mini project/assignment…I was to carry out a stability test on their yellow gunk. There’s 18 samples divided into groups of 3. One group’s placed at room temperature, the other in the powder room (aka air conditioned room…dunno why they call it powder room though) and the other’s placed in the cold room (it's soo cold in there, like those freezer things you find in kitchens of restaurants). I was to measure their viscosity and stuff every 2 days for the room temp. ones, and after 2 weeks for the ones placed in the powder and cold rooms. I also used the auto titration machine on my own, yay! And I can now proudly say I’m a pro at using it :D Also learned how to do a copper wetting test, solder ball test, slump test…I just observed it though. Yeaa it was a blur though…cos I was so tired and feeling sleepy through the day. And by the time I get back, I usually just pass out on the couch. =/


Day 4:
Tried doing the slump test…it was an epic fail. Basically it’s just using a template and a metal scraper…and you put some solder paste in the scraper and then scrape it HARD along the plastic board thing so that the pattern from the template will be printed on it. Looked easy enough, but lol it’s actually harder than it looks. Mine had gaps and some were half printed on the board *facepalm* Also made some solder paste today…basically it’s just mixing their flux medium and powder. I fear for my health…though we’re told to wear a mask while pouring the powder, it’s still kinda dangerous. It contains LEAD!!! And inhaling lead isn’t good for one’s health…lead poisoning and all O_O Eeek! The quality control lab reeks of isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol, too…I wonder if inhaling too much can lead to unwanted side effects. I mean, they use the alcohol to clean everything…unlike in school where we just use water. Also observed how to do printing…it’s just putting solder paste onto those electrical boards using a much larger template. And it has to be super precise and you have to drag the scraper REALLY HARD.


Day 5:
Ooh turns out on Fridays they have longer lunch breaks cos of prayers! Went out to Simpang Pulai with the other workers for some Indian curry rice. Apparently it was the boss’s idea to go there. Didn’t really feel like going cos it’d be awkward o_O Oh and we paid for our meals ourselves…when I told my parents, they were like ‘Huh? The boss didn’t pay meh? So stingy one!’ hahahahahaha Normally I just have bread for lunch…and sit and read the papers in the pantry area.

Not much work to do today…went around asking the senior workers if they had any work for me, but most of them were busy with their own stuff. At the last minute, like 15mins before 5.30, I was asked to do continuous printing. It’s a test to see how long before the soldering paste starts to dry up, they use paper for it…I was asked to do 15 pieces…and by the time I finished, it was like 5.45pm.



I didn’t really leave at 5.30pm every day…sometimes I left around 6pm cos I couldn’t finish some stuff. The workers there actually do a lot of overtime work, some of them are used to going back late cos there’s not enough people in the company. One of them went back at 11pm the other day O_O Crazy huh?? All in all, it was an interesting (and veeery tiring) week…but I learned some useful stuff. Some of my coursemates mentioned they had nothing much to do, and even had time to go online to Facebook, MSN etc etc!

Ugh tomorrow’s a brand new week already…I’m laaaazy. Can we just fast forward to the weekend already?? Now, I can definitely say that studying is much, MUCH better than going to work. Sorry if I put you to sleep with all the chemistry jargon…lol

Yes, yes have no updated this place in awhile…Twitter is addictive hah. Plus, I’ve been busy, as usual…

I really should start studying Physical Chem…since I have not touched it at all, not even during the study break, was occupied with other subjects >.<

Soo I have 2 more finals to go, and then I’ve got industrial training starting on the 10th. I thought today’s Unit Operations paper was gonna be nasty, but it went much better than I expected O_O, much better than crappy Physics. I dunno if I can even pass that one. So that’s the little update about what’s going on…

I’m sure most of y’all know the hit television series, Glee! It’s super addictive…it’s about a high school glee club made of some misfits and now some popular cheerleaders and jocks! A glee club’s a musical group, they’re like show choir groups :)



Anyway, I looove this week’s episode…even after the epicness of The Power of Madonna episode. It was all about emotions this week, and the fabulous Kristin Chenoweth returned to guest star! I just love it when she’s on…she’s just so perky and she’s got such a BIG voice! This week’s episode’s titled ‘Home’ btw…

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILER AHEAD!

Where was I? Oh Kurt has this master plan to get his dad and Finn’s mom to start dating and have them fall in love just so he’ll get to room with Finn somewhere in the near future. It worked, but Finn’s not too happy about that…and when his mom starts selling his dad’s furniture, it’s the last straw for him!

Kurt gave this amazingly moving performance of ‘A House Is Not A Home’…I can’t believe Chris Colfer hasn’t done any Broadway shows…he just sounds sooo good, and that range, whoa! (We saw that in Defying Gravity).

Meanwhile, Sue wants Mercedes (and Kurt =O who, according to Sue has hips like a pear) to lose some pounds in a week cos a representative from Splits magazine who’s coming to McKinley High to interview her and do a feature on her, or Mercedes will be off the Cheerios. According to the other Cheerios, they stay skinny cos all they drink is Sue Sylvester Master Cleanse, which contains a vomiting agent (EW.) and cayenne pepper among other things.

         'You think this is hard?! I’m passing a gallstone as we speak, THAT’S HARD!’

Another hilarious Brittany one liner in this episode…’Sometimes I add a teaspoon of sand’ (to Sue’s Master Cleanse drink) ROTFL! All this made normally confident Mercedes down and soon she faints due to not eating anything and after saying she wants to eat Artie and Tina lol. And Quinn was so nice to Mercedes in the nurse’s office ^_^

 
                                                              LOL!

During the pep rally, Mercedes along with the other Cheerios does a performance of Christina Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’. Originally when I first listened to it, I thought it was an alright version, but still preferred the original. BUT, after watching the episode, wow…that part was very moving…with all the kids standing up and joining in towards the end. Oh, and Mr Schue looked soooo proud of her ♥ Take that, Sue!

One of the things about Glee that I love is how it celebrates the differences, and being yourself is always enough. Last week in the Madonna special, Mr Schue mentioned how the guys weren’t treating the ladies like they should been treated and respecting them enough, even bordering on being misogynistic, and that her songs are about being strong confident and equality. Looove all the guys singing ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’ except that Puck just HAD to ruin it at the end =_=” Jerk.

I’m so sleepy now…ugh think I’m gonna go faint on my bed. Til then,

Gosh, this semester is so jam packed…for Physical Chem, instead of one tutorial/assignment sheet per week, we have two! Oh joy. All thanks to the fact that they decided to teach us thermodynamics 2 days in a week, and for the remaining day, Electrochemistry. @_@ *head spinning* Not to mention nasty Unit Operation…ugh. And Physics…which looks like gibberish to me. >.< Put them altogether and what do I get? 4 assignments per week…*slumps on the desk* and that’s not counting quizzes. That sounds bad. I MUST study more since I’m the queen of procrastination!

And I had hives during the weekend =/ Still recovering from it, actually…they have now faded to pale red marks on me skin. Oh, and I took some meds this morning for it, and whoaa within an hour or so, I was trying so hard not to fall asleep during class, but I dozed off now and then anyway. I dozed off during Analytical Chem, then in Physics and finally in Phys. Chem… >.< Note to self: Never take meds that make you drowsy before class.

Oh, today just before class ended, my professor showed us this slide about problem solving, which is totally hilarious! And he stressed that in industry, there’s no room for mistakes. Zero defect, he says…eek! Considering that I’ll most probably forget everything I’ve learned throughout my 6 semesters, how the heck will I get a job??? O_O



Notice that, if you fail to find someone else to take the blame, you’re stuck in an endless loop being the poor, poor idiot LOL!!!

Oh, oh Glee won a Golden Globe for Best Televison Series, Comedy or Musical today!! Woot!! I was expecting 30 Rock to win cos they ALWAYS seem to win everything (Hmmph!) and cos Glee’s a brand new series. True Blood didn’t win though =/ oh well, maybe next year…Alexander Skarsgård too, cos he’s hot cos he’s the perfect Eric Nelsan Ellis should’ve gotten a nomination…he’s brilliant as Lafayette!! Jim Parsons too from The Big Bang Theory…he rocks every episode! Hopefully the SAG awards will be much better…

This is ‘Granger Danger’ from ‘A Very Potter Musical’. It’s totally awesome!! It’s originally sung by Ron and Draco (who is played by a girl, but totally rocks the part). It’s infectious lol. Guy on the left’s Darren Criss. He plays Harry in the musical and I found out that he played Chad’s brother in Eastwick which got cancelled (Boo…). And they can SING! Like, really, really SING!! Sooo y’all should check it out, the full thing’s here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/StarKidPotter

They have the soundtrack up at their site, if anyone’s interested!

http://www.teamstarkid.com/verypottermusical.html

Happy 2010 people!!

Here’re my resolutions for this year:

1.  Procrastinate less  (Hopefully…)
2.  Study harder…as always  (With crap subjects this semester, how do I do that??)
3.  Spend less time on Facebook and Twitter (Oh good gosh, is this even possible?)
4.  Exercise more and hopefully shed some pounds  (Hmmm…)
5.  Make a larger dent in my reading list
6.  Acquire a new skill hopefully?

lol let’s hope I actually manage to fulfill at least 2 of those resolutions.

On another note, my birthday’s just 2 weeks away. Oh noooo I’m getting OLD!!!!!!!!

T____T Can I just hit the pause button now?  =/

Randomness…I’m addicted to the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. I’m already on the 6th book now lol unfortunately I’m missing book 7. I’ll have to read the ebook next if I’m desperate enough lol

And ‘Empire State of Mind’ by Jay-Z & Alicia Keys has been playing in my head for days now…it might’ve been out for quite sometime now, but I only just discovered the song like a week or two ago lol. And it makes me really, really want to go to New York all over again. =/ One day…one day…

It’s the middle of the day but I’m getting sleepy again. Oy. Guess I’m signing off now! Happy New Year again! ^_^

Forgot to post this the other day… =_=”

Disney has been churning out digitally animated movies for quite awhile now with the help of Pixar. They’re great and all but there’s hardly any 2D animated movies these days. Disney’s latest offering, ‘The Princess & the Frog’ brings back the lovely handdrawn animation of classic Disney movies and it did not disappoint at all despite my friends and I getting 3rd row seats of the cinema lol!



The Princess & the Frog is a modern twist of the classic fairytale, The Frog Prince where the frog turns into handsome prince after the princess kisses him. Tiana’s a hardworking waitress who’s saving every penny she makes for her own restaurant, which is her father’s dream. In this movie, however the heroine, Tiana turns into a frog after kissing Prince Naveen, a penniless prince (after tampering with voodoo and The Shadow Man) who mistakes her for a princess. Together, they set off on a trip down the bayou with Louis (a trumpet playing alligator) and Ray (a Cajun firefly) to look for Mama Odie, a 197 year old blind voodoo priestess with a pet snake named JuJu so that they return to their human form.

The story is set in the city of New Orleans in the 1920’s and the drawings of the buildings, mansions and the bayou are simply stunning. Below is one of the artist’s concept for the streets of New Orleans:

 
It’s simply breathtaking, isn’t it?? I love how the sunlight filters through windows and down to the pavement below. And look at the amount of detail on the buildings. Beautiful…the artists are so talented! I particularly loved the scene with the fireflies…their light looked so magical <3 Oh and I didn’t know voodoo was practiced in New Orleans.. No wonder they chose NOLA as the setting for the movie, it has such rich history!


I just had to post this. The art is sooooo gorgeous! The fireflies hovering around the trees and flower petals drifting softly to the ground…so purdy. They rarely make movies like this anymore…

Loved the songs in the movie as well! They’re very catchy and fun…and they really have that New Orleans and swampy feel to them lol.

If you haven’t seen it yet, go catch it in a cinema near you! It’s certainly worth every penny :D

Yesterday, I stopped by Audrey’s place yesterday before we headed to Jusco…and look who came over to play!

This is Louise! (pronounced like Louis) His name’s Louis like King Louis the XVI (?). He belongs to Audrey’s gran ^_^ No idea what breed he is but he looks like one of those sheepdogs lol a huge ball of white fluff!

 
How adorable is that?? :D He looooves to play lol he jumped and started licking my hand when I came in…and soon my jeans had doggie saliva all over lol

Audrey and Louis ^_^

Louis and moi…

Later, we headed to Jusco to have lunch at Cafe Takahashi with Ann Li, Stef and Seng Aik. Hmm..the portion of chicken chop with wasabi mayonnaise sauce that I had looked smaller compared to what Ann Li had a few weeks ago. And it cost RM12.90! I hate it when restaurants shrink portions of food after they’ve been open for quite awhile. =_=” Oh, and I tasted Kimchi for the very first time yesterday! It smelled funny… =S Poor Ann Li’s mouth was practically on fire from the Kimchi she ordered. After lunch, we went for another karaoke session before making our way back home. Hehe I must stop by Aud’s house more often during the next semester break ^_^ How could anyone NOT love that big bundle of fur that is Louis??? :D