New week's resolutions

Deadline: get as far as possible with my experiment before end of November. 40 days and counting...

Here is the schedule for the next seven days starting tomorrow (Sunday):

07:00 Get up and run to Godstow before breakfast.
08:30 Get into lab, warm up the lasers and have a coffee (that last bit's very important).
08:45 Work, work, work. Include one hour for lunch and two more ten minute coffee breaks.
19:30 Munchies.
20:30 Go to gym and work out the frustration.
21:30 Chill, watch some television and have yet another coffee.
22:30 Dreamy sleepy nighty snoozey snooze.

Mmm... I guess I've got coffee issues.

I've programmed my mobile phone to remind me what I should be doing during the day. Also, I'm gonna do a review on Wednesday to see what's working and what isn't.

I need to drink 2 liters of water every day. This will help the black rings around my eyes. I can't decide if I look more like a panda or a heroin addict.

Before I finish - start again

After a period despondence, I have decided that a new and fresh approach is called for. Here it is:

Firstly, with regards to my research... I have accepted that my lab work to date has failed. A new plan is required. This plan involves me looking closely at all aspects of my experiment and allowing it to tell me what is going wrong. The aim is to bring myself closer to the science. I have been distracted by the day-to-day running of the equipment to the detriment of properly understanding the nature of the problem. I am a scientist and not a maintenance man.

Secondly, I am going to take a different approach in my hunt for a new career - a career that will largely define who I am. Recently, I've spent a lot of time tailoring my CV to mould myself into the ideal candidate for a particular job. Often, the finished product seems like it is describing somebody else! This cannot be right. I have decided to focus on finding a job that is an organic extension of me. This way I can present myself to an employer in a more honest way. I've enlisted some help from the OU careers service and am taking my CV to them on Wednesday.

I recently read a great book about a guy who was unable to bring about change in his life...

"There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it."

I hope that this doesn't apply to me - no sir!

One up for the therapeutic value of blogging.

Today, I'm realigning a laser

Today was a sad day for me as I finally ran out of Burbury aftershave. It had been a long time in the making. My current spending priorities are: contact lenses, laptop repair and new trainers. Aftershave does not feature on this list. However, I have decided to make a new category for things that are non essential, but are too cool to be without. For example, Burbury aftershave, Tropicana OJ and Starbucks decaf soya latte.

The "frame the name-plate" project (that I talked about previously) is going ahead! I've commissioned an artist to do the work. It will be complete within a fortnight. I should probably explain, the "name-plate" is a piece of the first boat ever owned by my rowing club. It has great historical importance.

This is my week of extreme yoga. I'm trying to get flexible again. Have been to one session already... three more to go.

On Sunday night somebody tried to break into my room. I watched a skinny guy with a baseball cap try to pull my window open for a couple of minutes (he didn't realise that it was bolted in a semi-open position). Then I got bored and shouted at him. That wasn't much fun! If he had hung around for a while, then I would have asked him in for a cup of tea and maybe even a shot of Irish whiskey.

Over the weekend, a team of students and myself organised a party for the housekeeper. This entailed a barbeque, a presentation, an outdoor movie and a bop with a late bar and live DJ. The housekeeper was presented with a calender of guys she knows with their kit off. It went down really well.

Today in lab, I'm realigning a laser. It's hard.

Careers

Recently, I've been thinking about my career. I ask myself... "how do I know if I'm gonna like a job without actually doing it?" With this in mind, I've submitted my CV to an IT consultants firm based in London, Edinburgh and Dublin. I've asked to work with them for a week so that I can see if I like it. It will be interesting to see their response. I'm not sure if IT consultancy is for me, but I can't think of a better way to find out.

Developments

After a scorching hot summer, the weather has finally broken - autumn has introduced itself with a gentle drizzle of warm rain. In a break from my no rowing policy, I have agreed to row in a mixed boat in an upcoming regatta in Oxford (it had to happen sooner or later). Am also getting involved with a canoe trip down the River Wye.

College life is fun at the minute. We're planning a party for a very popular member of staff. She is lively and charismatic so I aim to make the party lively and charismatic.

Have just fully recovered from an equipment failure in lab. This has set back my progress by about two weeks. Apart from this, the work is going smoothly. It is inevitable that over half of my time in lab will be spent fixing and troubleshooting scientific kit. I've only come to accept this recently.

In a strange turn of events, the college development office has expressed a great deal of interest in an idea I had to sell the name of the Common Room for half a million pounds. This is profound stuff and is highly confidential - I don't know what would happen if anyone were to find out!!! Maybe I'd get a few more hits on my website - hint hint...

Event

Have staged an event in college. The idea was to celebrate the summer by relaxing outdoors with friends. The event encompassed a barbecue, a photo exhibit and outdoor movie on big screen. Over 120 people arrived making this one of the most successful events of the year. There are some photographs in the "photos" section of my website.

Everything ran smoothly (almost). The college kitchen (who were doing the BBQ) sold more tickets than they could cater for and tried to pin the screw up on me. This didn't wash. I chose to not engage in a dispute and will instead avoid those involved until it blows over. I haven't got involved in college politics to date and am not gonna start now.

Said my farewells to one of my best friends from college who graduated today. Very sad. Got to meet her parents again. They gave me an Ambercrombe tshirt - great stuff!!! I've grown very close these guys since my visit to their home last Christmas.

I have been playing with Garageband (music synthesis software) in conjunction with my accordion lately. The result is some freaky sounds. More on this shortly...

Shame

I have come to realize that the luxuries that I enjoy come at the expense of the suffering of a third party. An obvious example: when I drive my dad's Mercedes, I am using oil that has been secured via an illegal war. When an Iraqi civilian dies or an American soldier falls, I personally have blood on my hands. Very true. The Irish like to think of themselves as being politically neutral. Yet, Iraqi fighter planes stop at Shannon airport to refuel. Guilt on my behalf ensues.

One of my very best friends has left college for the big city. This marks the end of an era. I partnered well with this person and I am a less effective man as a result of the departure. I am not an independent entity hence any form of change is upsetting. Now that my sidekick is gone, I question how much of myself is me and how much is derived from codependency.

On a more positive note, I went to London this weekend and met my friends from Omagh (County Tyrone) as well as my sister. I had a great time. It is hard to beat the company of your friends from home. We understand each other since we know where each of us has come from.

Are you chorus or against us?

Have set on the biggest recruiting campaign in college history in an attempt to encourage people to joining the Linacre chorus. Our marketing slogans include:
Come on baby, join my choir
Leave life's trebles behind
Don't ignore us, join the chorus, you'll adore us, brontosaurus

In organizing the practices, I have run into conflict with a guy who has made it his mission to complain about the chorus at every opportunity. Unfortunately, the complaints go straight to the Domestic Bursar of the college before I even know that there is a problem. I have extended the olive branch to no avail. Awh shucks - can't win them all.

Attended an english ale tasting evening. That was fun - am sticking to Guiness though.

Me goes public

My brand new web site is up and running and I'm very pleased with the result. I am getting around 100 hits per week from all over the globe (as well as from Dungannon). The entire site is coded by hand - wicked.

Today in lab, I've taken a step towards becoming an electronics guru - I rewired my entire experiment. The idea was too eliminate jitter (nasty stuff which makes things start and stop at the wrong time). I did this with a lot of help from Dr. Dave, Dr. Procter and Prof. Softley (clever guys with titles to match). Collectively, we came up with a fiendishly cunning plan which I will execute tomorrow. As an aside, I have made the decision to make a short movie to explain my experiment to the masses (and maybe potential employers). I will post this on my website - so keep checking.

I have finished my last official college position today (Linacre Boat Club Publicity Officer). I have handed over the reigns to my successor over a drink at the bar. This makes me sad... I really enjoyed working on the Boat Club committee.

The college chorus is going from strength to strength. We've now got 20 members and counting. The chorus is thinking about bringing in a professional to train us, but only if the price is right.

Sunday passes by without event

I spent Saturday in the lab finishing stuff that I should have got done during the week. I went to see Star Wars III and was not impressed. I ask myself, how can Lucasfilms spend millions on high profile actors and then forget to write a decent script? To say that the dialogue was "wooden" is an understatement. Wood comes from tree - once a living thing!

Sunday was spent doing humdrum stuff that had started to get on top of me. For example, washing my clothes, watching 24 (riveting stuff), going to mass, doing correspondence, fixing my bicycle and briefing my colleagues about work.

I have revamped my website, but have resisted the temptation to put it online before it is complete. My new website is fully up-to-date and sports a new fresh appearance. It also incorporates this blog.

Two of my friends from New York have made a return to Oxford and I arranged to meet with them. It will be good to catch up. I have also planned a trip to Ireland next weekend to celebrate my dad's sixtieth birthday.

I spoke to the head of the college choir in an effort to organize a chorus. The chorus will perform at a upcoming party to celebrate the founders of the college. So far, I have recruited 15 people for the chorus and I aim to gather another 10 or so. Should be good fun. Signing raises my spirits and that has to be a good thing.

Made the decision to stop biting my nails. Let's see how that one goes...

Hey, hey, hey!

The plant in my room has all but died. This shows that my room is an unsuitable environment for carbon based life forms. One of my mates has taken it to see if it can be salvaged. Fingers crossed.

I was awarded a scholarship for my contribution to the college. My contribution has always been of a social or recreational nature. I never expected that this sort of activity would receive such prestigious recognitition! It has come as a huge surprise to me.

My rowing timetable is jam packed and I am starting to feel fatigued about the sport. I intend to take a break from rowing to allow me to refocus on heavy weights. My self-appointed lifestyle guru (who provides me with gym advice) is leaving Oxford on Tuesday and is heading to New York. He will be badly missed. I'm looking forward to farewell drink before the real world puts him in handcuffs.

Rowing Finished!

Finished fours days of rowing (rowed over for three days and bumped on one day). Our crew lies at the highest position in its history. This is good stuff. Now that it's over I've discovered loads of free time. It's a bit like finding your life again in a box that you hadn't opened for a long time. Another first is that the new Men's Vice Captain of the Boat Club is a girl! It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Have been listening to some quality music including "I See Darkness" by Johnny Cash. In addition, I've filled my diary with a load of career related stuff. About time methinks. I made some t-shirts for people of importance from the Boat Club. The plant in my room ain't doing so well. I've got to start talking to it. It needs some love.

An anonymous person has mailed me a book of Irish music! Weired. Maybe somebody out there has been reading my blog... my first stalker - how exciting!

Celebrate a single step forwards (forget the three steps backwards)

Having tried to find a signal in the lab for three weeks, I've finally given up. Didn't know what to do next. Had a very useful brainstorming session with my supervisor and others in my research group. It is always productive to tap upon this great pool of expertise and you guys should give yourselves a pat on the back (you know who you are). The new plan is to recreate an experiment that was done three years ago. I will leverage the superior equipment that is now available to get better results. Hope it goes well. Am gutted to have to take this step backwards, but am resigned to the fact that it is very necessary. Awh shucks.

Summer VIIIs (a rowing competition between all the colleges at Oxford University) begins tomorrow. My college has two men's crews and three women's crews. I am rowing in the men's first crew. We aren't very good this year. I have not been able to find my 'space' in the boat. I really like to sit back at the finish of each stroke so as not to disturb the run of the boat. I'm finding it difficult to achieve that sensation.

As Publicity Rep for the boat club, I have created some posters advertising the racing. We are putting up a bar that sells Pimms and fair trade chocolate. One of my posters says 'After a few pints of this stuff, you'll forget it's raining'.

Today I went to see a friend of mine who has just given birth to a baby boy. Isn't it strange how remarkably infertile humans are? Procreation just doesn't come naturally to us. I like babies - I want a puppy.

Signal from above

I am sitting in lab, slowly turning on the detection plates on the experiment. I ask myself... having tried plan a, plan b and plan c, what the frick am I gonna do if plan z doesn't work? I haven't found my signal yet which proves irrefutably that going to Protestant mass on Sunday didn't work. Damn you Protestants!

Had a double session of Desperate Housewives last night, followed by an early morning outing. I rate the outing 6 out of 10. I arranged for a second coach to watch us row from the launch and record us using a video camera. Coach A is known for getting people to row together and coach B is known for correcting problems with individual rowers. A and B are complementary methinks. Another early morning outing tomorrow. Yippee - I get the chance to push my body's caffeine tolerance even further!

One of my friends has had her heart broken into little pieces :( I had her stay with me last night so that I could check on her.

After missing a direct-debit payment, I decided to get my mother on the case. She had my £38 fine overturned. Nice work mom.

Sunday times

Decided that I needed God on my side this week. Ended up in happy-clappy Protestant mass. It made me want to barf. All the music sounded like the theme tune of a chick-flick movie. It was a 'heart on your sleeve' experience. A dork, who was clearly overcome by the sanctity of it all, was undergoing convultions at the front row of the chapel. Have no reservations in slating it in this blog.

Had a double outing at Godstow. I rate it 7 out of 10. Saw a great display of wildlife on the river bank. Horses, deer, geese, rabbits and ducklings. Observed a guy cow-tipping. Very entertaining. Watched a great dvd. Hitchcock's 'The Rope' comes highly recommended. Went into lab to prepare some mutanagenic liquids. Dangerous stuff. Good to get that out of the way.

Got a stack of stuff sorted today. I emailed three of my exes - one after another. In addition, I spent a bit of time filling my iPod with a load of new music. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Big and Rich, Waylon Jennings and Kenny Rogers feature heavily. I find myself apologizing to my lab mates about my weird taste in country music. Go figure...

The rise and fall

Found a signal in the lab - this is a sign post showing me where to go next. In science, it is never wise to be too optimistic. One of my colleagues' experiments was out of action for 13 months. However, I approach my doctorate with a renewed ethusiasm. Had a double outing this morning. The sun was beaming down. I rate it 4 out of 10. There is much rumbling regarding who should stroke the boat. I, as always, have taken the role of the diplomat. Surprisingly, that says a lot about me. Am now officially in the position whereby I owe more money than I own. This isn't uncommon for a student, but I thought that I might be able to fend if off for a little longer.

My first blog

Got up at 6:30 am and went for a row. I rate the outing 7 out of 10. In lab I found something interesting after a moment of inspiration from my boss. Enlightenment - you gotta love it. I spent lunch in the College Development Office with Anne Keene discussing the slideshow that I am preparing for a fundraising party in July. I'm looking forward to it. Finally went to a guest night dinner with the College Common Room Executive committee. Took some great photos! A penny landed in my glass several times - and we all know what that means...