Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Worth it or not?

Final days of the month are meant to close stuff in anticipation of new beginings. Well. Here goes!

This month, I've finally started on my research project for my M.Sc.. I was all geared up and pretty gung ho till I found out how stiffling my uni can be. So many rules and regulations and policies... I mean, who does research within office hours? And with no access to the keys after hours? Zzzzz... I can go on and on, but that's not the point of this post. Sampling was a blessing, as disappointing the site may be. I'm afraid Lankayan has spoiled me for good. :( Work in the lab has been pretty routine so far, nothing exciting yet. I'm at that stage where I do lots of work (endless even!) without knowing if it will be worth it or not.

That's the golden question: worth it or not?

I distinctly remember myself saying, at the end of my FYP days, that I don't want to do anymore full lab work research in the future...but look where I am now. Did I make the right decision? Or was I too rash in my desperation to do M.Sc. that I took whatever came along? Well, that's not 100% true too... I actually managed to come up with the topic and the proposal, with a few suggestions for analysis from my supervisor thrown in, haha~ I'm pretty proud of it actually. :) But yeah, did I think it through before packing up and leaving the island? Because I damn well miss the island and my job so much I can cry. I miss living by the sea, I miss the diving, I miss the people...most of all, I miss the freedom. Work isn't work when you do what you love, which is probably why I didn't mind the 7-days/week, 10-hours/day work schedule.

*Sigh*

The pay could have been better... And if there were more opportunities for advancement, I don't think I would have left so early. I don't think I want to be a Research Assistant forever, and I seriously doubt that I can pursue my dreams of conquering the world with my paycheck, lol. The island was great for field work, but so fail for lab work, and I really do think that lab work is needed to further understand biological processes in the sea. What I don't understand is why I can't seem to be able to reconcile both field and lab? It's frustrating, really.

I believe in marine conservation, and that's what I want to do for a living. I love being in the field, although I understand the need to be in the lab to uncover more ocean mysteries. I know that bioprospecting is crucial to provide new technologies that may eventually contribute towards environmental rehabilitation. However, most lab people tend to just focus on exploiting the environment instead of heading towards sustainable development, conservation and rehabilitation. I just hope that I'm moving along the right path that will lead me towards what I would be happy doing. :-/

Anyways...

With a new month coming, hopefully there will be more excitement in the project, new stuff to learn from, and I pray that affirmation will come and tell me that I am going in the right direction. :)

Monday, May 30, 2011

Motivation of the day

"I have learned this at least by my experiment: if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
- Henry David Thoreau, US Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

More dive gear!

In addition to the BCD that I got last month, I've finally completed my gear with my set of regulators and gauge. :)


I decided to get a full Mares set because they are the cheapest reliable brand for me now. The Mares Prestige 12S She Dives edition, the Rover octopus and the Mission 2 console cost me around RM1,430. I would have gone for the Scubapro MK25/S600 system if it didn't cost RM2,800 (this is without an octopus and the gauge). 

The set is pretty good~ I initially thought the Prestige was too big, but that's probably because I was used to the Mares Proton which I used in my old workplace. It unfortunately gives off a clicking sound because of the mechanics inside the 2nd stage. I panicked for a while thinking that I may have shaken it too hard while rinsing it. The Aqua Lung Mikron is as small as the Proton I used and if I have more money in the future, I'll probably go for that, hee~ Or the Aqua Lung Titan LX with it's awesome auto-closure device. :)

Next stop, MIDE! I'm planning to get one of these, hoho!