This is the song that never ends...

Cytogenetics assignment title page!

I can’t believe this trimester is almost over! I’m feeling a bit sad right now…

The week was quite stressful since I had a lab test coming up on Thursday. From previous experience I knew the lab test would be ummm how I put it nicely…??... so I spent all weekend and the previous week studying for it. On Monday I had good old genetics. I really don’t know how I’ll survive without it next semester! I’ll miss it sooo much! I was relieved to know that the due date for our cytogenetics assignment (which was NOT an essay! I was wrong! ...maybe that’s a good thing, I was getting a bit tired of essays) was put back till next Tuesday. What a relief. I had started it, but wasn’t sure how much of it I’ll get done before Friday (which is when it was first due) since I had that lab test to study for. I was feeling pedantic about it. I really wanted to do well in it.

After the lecture I decided to stay at university and study for the lab test. That day I re-discovered the fact that asking questions is a good thing. I was studying the cytogenetics section of the lab and then I decided to go and ask my lecturer some questions. I was actually really surprised with myself. I hadn’t really been asking questions since college… I don’t know, I guess at university I felt shy… But that day I was feeling adventurous. So I wrote down my list of questions and went to see Dr Rickards about the cytogenetics lab. It was great! I had almost forgotten what asking questions felt like! …I understood everything! On the way back I went past the biology office to pick up my remaining lab reports. I was also hoping our essays on immunogenetics would be marked…but no luck. No lab reports or essays. I felt a bit panicky then. Our lab test was only 3 days away!!! I went back to the library and studied till 5pm and then went home…and studied more for the lab test. Then I decided that 24hours in the day is just not long enough!

On Tuesday I went to university really early. Don’t really know why I did that, I just felt like it I guess. I went and asked my other lecturers some questions (but only the nice ones!). It had been an extremely productive day in terms of study, except for that media studies lecture where we really didn’t do much at all. We got our essay questions for the exam. But I barely looked at them. I had to study for that lab test! Once again I went past the biology office that day… and this time I was lucky. All our marked lab reports were there…and they were not depressing at all! As I was about to leave my molecular genetics lecturer Dr Chambers arrived with our essays! He gave me mine…A+!!! Yippeee!! I had been pretty nervous about it; it was way over the word limit! Feeling incredibly positive and inspired I went back to the library and continued pouring over my lab manual. Oh and I also went to the biology lab and got a photograph taken of my chromosomes with a special microscope camera!! Yippeeee!!! We will have them e-mailed to us! I can’t wait! That day I got home at 7pm. And continued studying…

On Wednesday once again I went to university really early and stayed there studying for the whole day! It was so great! Once again I got heaps of study done! The highlight of the day was of course the genetics lecture. I liked the Wednesday lectures, they were two hours long. One hour lectures seem so short when you’re learning about something really exciting! I don’t need to say what I did for the rest of that day. Once again I stayed at university and studied for the lab test…and got home at 7pm.

The next morning I got up feeling really nervous. It was the day of the lab test. Although the test was at lunchtime, I still went in to university at 10am…still clutching my lab manual. I hadn’t parted with it for the past how many days?? Then it was time for the test. Collecting my lab reports and parting with my lab manual (which we weren’t allowed to take in) I went in and did it…and did it…and did it…It was the longest test ever!! It felt like the never-ending story!! Page after page after page…I was seeing stars…and more stars…and more stars… My first intention when I sat the test was to flick straight to the chromosome section and do that first. That was the section I was least worried about… but I restrained myself from doing so, until I was about half way through the test and felt like screeching. Then I went and did the chromosome section…they were mostly questions I had asked a couple of days ago! What a relief! By the time I came out of the test I was feeling….aghhhhh!!!!!!!!!! I had studied so much for it…but I felt terrible afterwards. So upset!!! …but I still had to get my cytogenetics assignment done, which I sat in the computer room till 6:30pm doing. I tried to forget about the test but it wasn’t easy. Sigh. Please let it all be ok.

On Friday we had our last genetics lecture. I felt so sad. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted it to last forever…but it didn’t. Sigh. Now I have to wait till next year. Nooooooo!!!! The great thing about Friday was that when I got home at 7pm I got recieved an e-mail with my chromosome photo!!! Yippee!!! Of course the first thing I did was printed it out and stuck it on my wall!! Did several versions too, in Adobe photoshop trying to get as clear an image as possible! (see previous post for photo!) Come on admit it, it's exciting!!! How many people get to see their own chromosomes in real life?!!

I spent the weekend pouring over my cytogenetics assignment on human translocation heterozygotes. It’s so fascinating! Heheheheh… The only downside was that on Saturday my computer went wacko and I didn't save my work...so I lost half of my assignment! It was grrr!!! But hey, I did it all over ok and now I'm almost done! :) Really need to finish it soon so I can start studying for my media exam which is next Friday!... Oh and I decided that studying at Uni is more exciting than staying at home so I'm going to be going in to uni to study during this study break...