"Publish or Perish"

"Publish or perish" is the phrase that has stuck in my head since this afternoon when my lab coordinator shared her experiences working as a research assistant and lab coordinator for TRiCAM lab with Andrea and me. After she ran us through the CSIA (Center for Study of Impulsivity in Addiction) battery so that we are familiar with the tasks that we will run the students through, we chatted a bit and from our conversation, I gathered a bit about working in the research world as well as making university choices that cater to what you want to do in life. Apparently, life in a research based university isn't that simple and easy for a professor, at the very least if it is clinical/cognitive psychology. It's all about doing research continuously, non-stop - "publish or perish". I think that phrase is pretty self-explanatory. If we want to have a more direct application of psychology with people, we might have to choose to study or work elsewhere, such as in a university which is more practical based, not just by the name and ranking of the university.

I just felt that this insight about the work life of a researcher was pretty handy to me now that I am quite undecided about what I want to do. I am hopeful that by the end of the semester, I would be clear with my goals as to what I would like to do with my life or at least with the part regarding which field of psychology to go for and what I would like to do with that specialization later. That's about psychology.

On a completely different note:
Snow, snow, let it snow! Warmth warmth, yay warmth! Yay -1 degrees celcius. WAHAHAHAHA....To you Malaysians in Malaysia, -1 degrees is very warm here =D. Gosh, when will I get to feel that simmering heat of my country again? Speaking of that, I wish I could be back home this Chinese New Year. All my cousins from overseas are back in Kuching and I am here, and I'll probably be studying for my test on Friday on Chinese New Year. I haven't missed M'sia much till later last week. Ahhh......anyways, GONG XI FA CAI everyone! Take pictures and send them to me so that I can use them for my Malaysian presentation for my house.