sweet sweet freedom

WOOOHOOOO!!!
OH YEAH I'm super relieved that sem 2 of 2010 has come to an end! As expected the last paper didn't go so well. I could have studied harder and grind my over worked brain even more, but who cares now! I'm officially on HOLIDAY! :D

But unlike last year, there will be NO three month long summer break this time round :(
All I get is 3 weeks LOL. Talk about reduction. Yeah summer school starts in the 2nd week of December and extends to late Jan, followed by exams which will probably be around early Feb. I may have mentioned before that summer school comprises of business units, so I have signed up for Marketing and Principles of Accounting. Interesting huh? Accounting is something I have always wanted to learn, a good skill to have I guess. As for marketing, I heard some of my friends say the unit was easy and fun. I like EASY, hence the choice :P

I intend to have maximum fun throughout this 3 weeks. It was typical of me to make a list of things 'to do', being obsessive compulsive haha I HAD to plan ahead. I'm looking at the list now which so far has 10 items, some of which I kind of dread but know I gotta do... for instance cleaning up the furniture in my room (dust is my greatest enemy!) and backing up all the files in my laptop as well as renewing the anti-virus software. Am also looking at planning a trip, and rehearsing for an upcoming wedding performance hahaha. Interesting rite :P

Another goal I have is to improve my culinary skills! Lately I have become intrigued with shows like 'Top Chef' and 'Masterchef US', which has really inspired me to become a better cook. So far I have made French toast and a ham and egg sandwich this week, but I'm really looking to raise the stakes and come up with something more spectacular. Maybe making a full course meal for my family. And who better to learn from than my mum who has been cooking like... FOREVER! I want to start from scratch, learning all components including prepping ingredients before they actually go into a pan or pot. Unfortunately cooking leads to a pile of utensils that can be quite tedious to wash :/

Let's hope I don't burn down the kitchen!

I also plan to throw in tennis, computer games, movies and LOTS of sleep in the mix. Hope I make the most of this short break! :)

Will update you on my cooking progress. cheers :)

Almost done but not quite there

What a frustrating time. My final paper is on Monday, but the build up to it is just killing me. This is the toughest unit to study for since I joined Monash. Instrumental Analysis.

Just too much info to digest, with lots of details and requirements for operation of the various analytical techniques. The frustration of being unable to stick these facts into my brain is stressing me out. It's like touch and go. After reading I forget most things. I could potentially screw this up. For the first time I could actually score horribly. I'll be damned to see a flaw in my result slip, since I think the other papers went pretty well.

Arghhhhhh wish I wasn't such a kiasu perfectionist.
Under self inflicted pressure. Feel like eating a tub of ice cream and then die from a horrible tummy ache.

OK I'm done procrastinating. Back to notes.

Tragedy of the Commons

Hello! Had my first paper (food chem) on 29th Oct and it went well! :)
As I have mentioned previously there is a 10 day gap between the 1st & 2nd paper, so I have been spending my time evenly to revise on the remaining subjects. The coming week will be tough, with papers on Tuesday, Thursday then the following Monday. But after that I'm free!!!


Anyway I wanted to share with you an interesting concept called the 'Tragedy of the Commons' I learned for my ENV2726 paper. Basically it's a term conservation biologists use to describe how a publicly own biological resource may be exploited by some at the expense of all who utilize those resources.

An example which describes the scenario perfectly is as follows:

"Suppose 5 farmers share a land which can support 100 sheep in a sustainable manner. More than 100 sheep will degrade the land in the long term and will mean less grass for each individual sheep, and therefore a lower growth rate for all.
If each farmer keeps 20 sheep, all will be well. But if 1 farmer decides to increase his flock, all of the other farmers suffer as a consequence. Their sheep will have less to eat, and the commons (land) will be degraded.
The farmer who had increased his flock would however reap some short term benefits, which the other farmers may envy. So they too may decide to increase their own flocks. Eventually, the land will become terribly overgrazed and incapable of supporting any sheep at all."

Interesting story rite!
Conclusion: Don't be greedy. Even though a public resource is there for the taking, it doesn't mean that we should over exploit, even if others are doing it because eventually it will come back to kick our own ass.

Have a nice day everyone :)