Ohh, the last post here was done in March; that's about 7 months ago =).

Just a little update here (in case you're interested). Finally, I have graduated and currently, I'm going to proceed with postgraduate studies. Hopefully, things will turn out fine =)

Will do a recap of events throughout this 7 months soon.

Cheers
Joe

MSMBB Quiz 09 @ UCSI

Two weeks ago, my friends and I took part in the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MSMBB) Quiz which was held in UCSI. Well, since we were officially informed only at the eleventh hour, there was nothing much we can prepare, in terms of knowledge. Having said that, we really didn't expect to go that far.

A photo paints thousand words.

The second round was the most challeging part of the whole thing. To add salt to injury, we (technically, it was me who) "picked" the theme we least wanted. Nevertheless, I believe our effort and teamwork really paid off. Gosh, that 4 hours turned to be one of the most stressful period in my life. Seriously, we felt like being pushed to the limits and this is worsen by the fact that we had (a lot) disagreement on what we wanted to do (initially) and the fact that we have to make collective decisions.

Thank god we were able to finish in time. Following that, we need to present our novel innovation (SMARTlac, I like the name!) in front of a huge crowd and three gruelling judges! Personally, it was a huge challenge for me. Luckily, I didn't let my teammates down and apparently, we actually handled the questions quite well, especially Sze Wan.

The final round was a piece of cake in compared to the previous one. Firstly, Sze Wan represented the team in a final attempt to convince the audience that our idea was better than that of Keith et al. from UCSI. Both of them did very well. It was then followed by the buzzer round. I was surprised that the questions weren't so challenging; only basic stuffs were asked, yet we answered few questions wrongly, embarassing. Lastly, the audience had a chance to decide our fate i.e. by the means of popular vote. The rest were history.

Anyway, here are some random shots:

Muthu hosting the show.

Participants and the organizer.

First time posing with the mock cheque: Poh Kheng laughed till "see teeth, can't see eye"

Apart from that, there were other things I would like to share.

Firstly, the host (UCSI) has done a great job especially the ushers who are so friendly and helpful. We were treated like VIPs during our quarantine period.

Secondly, I had the opportunity to meet people whom I didn't see for quite some time i.e. Muthu (haha)as well as Christina and Ting Wei, my former coursemates from UTAR. The latter blogged about her experience here.

Some of my "ex-coursemates" from UTAR haha.

Participants from UM and UTAR.

Lastly, I was touched by the presence of Dr. Chandran and the members from postharvest lab. Knowing that they purposely (or forced to) came to give us moral support and encouragement was such a pleasant feeling.

Taking photo with him is indeed a rare ocassion.

In short, it was a great experience except that someone was a bit annoying throughout the three days and I hated the ice-breaking session because I kept losing in the games. Pathetic. Though I did speak to some of the contestants from other universities, I secretly wished that I was more outgoing and made more friends.

Overall, I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to be part of MSMBB 2009 and the cash as well ;)

I'm back!

It's a sudden decision that I've decided to blog, again. Of course, in a new blog. Haha.