30 March 2013

Working hard or hardly working?

School obligations have been putting me under a lot of pressure lately, the main problem is that I am having a difficult time finding a lab with enough funding to be able to take me due to government funding cuts (and I'm certainly not the only student in this situation).  The advisor I have currently been training with has a really promising candidate drug for treating a type of leukemia, but due to lack of funding he hasn't been able to do enough experiments for it to move on to the next stage of testing.  It is really sad.

I've found myself stealing little moments to escape in order to withstand the pressure.  For example, recently I made popovers (which turned out really flat --> new recipe), brewed some tea, pulled out my knitting, and watched an episode of Call the Midwife to prepare for the showing of series two this weekend!


Why yes, that is the silly self-designed sweater I've been struggling with for a while.  After receiving some wonderful advice from my fantastic readers, I decided to do a kind of scoopneck style for the neckline.  However, once I was happy with that I realized I really don't like the sleeves, so I frogged them and started over.  Someday I'll finish this darn sweater!

Today I escaped reading scientific articles for a while, walked down to my local independent theatre, and finally got to see the newest film by my favorite director Park Chan-Wook.


I was a little disappointed because it didn't have some of the elements I've always loved in his past films.  But it was gorgeously shot, even more so than his other films.  Also, the Hitchcock references and a scene where the local sheriff tries to pronounce "Il trovatore" were great fun.  It is also much less violent and disturbing than Park's Vengeance Trilogy, although if that kind of thing doesn't bother you I would really recommend seeing his masterpiece Oldboy (but do not read the plot before you see it).

Do you ever take time to forget about all the hecticness in life?

19 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear that school is stressful, such a shame there isn't more funding for this kind of research :( LOVE Call the Midwife, hope we get the new season soon too, and yes, I definitely zone out when I just can't bear to think about something anymore! knitting and TV is definitely a good option, I also like to add in gin and chocolate. lol

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  2. Good to see you back, such a shame you are having a rough time with work and your knitting, I'm sure things will work out. I love Call the Midwife too, life seemed so different back then. Nothing wrong with stepping away from what stresses you

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  3. I feel ispend most of my time thinking of things to distract me lol

    Baking + knitting sounds like bliss

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  4. Sorry that the budget cuts are hitting the research labs. Hopefully, another source of funding will come through for the projects.

    I'm not familiar with Call the Midwife - where have I been?

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  5. You heard about my day lol. I actually do that more often than not, which is not ok...

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  6. I hope that you will be over that pressure phase soon!! it really sucks, and i understand how its like.

    totally cool that you also watch Korean movies!! :D i have bookmarked the movies that you mentioned, and will look into them! ;)

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  7. Funding cuts are pretty rough. I'm sorry to hear that it is affecting such a promising drug.

    Do we get any sneak peeks at the collar? Or do we have to wait for you to finish?

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  8. I love popovers. My favorite recipe comes from The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook. It's by Christopher Kimball who does the Cooks Illustrated Magazine and the PBS cooking shows.

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  9. Oh my goodness! I haven't had popovers in a coons age and I absolutely love them. I think we all could use a good dose of knitting and good TV programs to take our minds off of all this bad economic news lately. You're not alone there. Hope everything gets better for you soon. I just hate to see funding cuts to our education system!

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  10. It is definitely good to take a break sometimes, and remember that you have a life and interests outside of school! Best of luck with finding funding, it's always a difficult time. Something will work out!

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  11. Sorry you are experiencing this as it's not even your fault. I hope something reveals itself perfect for you soon. Still love that green of your sweater.

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  12. I'm sorry to hear you're stressed! I hope things get better soon. In the meantime, definitely take care of yourself and take those moments where you can find them.

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  13. Sorry you can't find a position. Hopefully something will open up soon.
    I love popovers! http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/popovers-recipe This is my favorite recipe:)

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  14. Hope things will work out for you!
    I love the Call the Midwife series. Hopefully season two will come here too soon :)

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  15. Tea and knitting always makes me happy, don't think I can live without either one. Hope this is some relieve in the lab situation at some point. It's not there is not enough money in the world, but rather where the money is.

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  16. Sounds like a blissful break. :) I'm sorry about your lab trouble. :/ Sounds really frustrating! Our government is so difficult sometimes! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

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  17. Oldboy! Wonderful and disturbing, I really enjoyed that one. My mom is Korean and I try to watch as many K films as possible.

    I made popovers for the first time recently and they were so good! I had never even heard of them before coming across them on a blog.

    Hope things start looking up for you as far as school goes.

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  18. Well, if anything could take you away from every day, this certainly looks like it would take you well away

    Anxious to see your finished sweater
    My goal this year is to knit one that fits.
    Aren't we lucky that our yarn allows do-overs?

    Hugs

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  19. Call the Midwife! Big fan here. We got to watch the season 2 opener Sunday and recapped and watched the Christmas special last night. I just love Chummy! Seriously, take deep breaths and find some quiet time on a regular basis, even if it's just a few minutes each day.

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