ASM Conference

I better write this entry before I go off for holiday back in my hometown. I assume I will be a tourist in my hometown, cause I presume Penang will change to a phase I will never recognise. But before that, I will be heading to Gold Coast and watch a real life whale. I hope it will be great.

The past five days, I was busy. In fact, I was very very busy. I was attending a international level conference from Australian Society for Microbiology. Sound very interesting huh? Actually it is some sort of lecture over another lectures, that start from morning going through evening. You hear me correctly, sometimes I was over there from 8.30am to 10.00 pm. Of course it is not all about lectures, we have time for networking and social (this is what it said over the itinerary). I have to say, these lectures are very different from those you experienced during undergraduate. During undegraduate study, we were taught of what is the definition of Gram negative bacteria, what is bioremediation or the use of infection control. But over here, since I am the most under-qualified person, their talks were mostly on the research they did and what are they looking for.

There were heaps of microbiologist from all over the world. I was lucky to be able to chat with some of the most powerful person in this field. The first day was rather bleak. I was from the outback and looking at people chatting away are not a good sign when I have no one to talk to (except my supervisor). Luckily I managed to adapt to this kind of situation and prised my mouth open to speak with strangers. Almost everyday, I managed to talk with a handful of strangers, and "network". I didn't know being a scientist is so hard..... Anywho, on the second day, I noticed although there were high amount of people chatting in groups, there were bound to have people who stood there alone, feeling out of place. Then I began to feel relief and chatted away.

Thanks to my supervisor, who invited me to present in a small workshop, I managed to chat with some people from different universities, all around Australia. The picture below is my supervisor presenting in that workshop.
This is my lovely lengthy poster displayed in the Exhibition Hall.
That picture was taken when I was in a plenary presentation by a Laureate Prof Peter C. Doherty. I should say, some of the presentations can bored you to sleep or dead, while others are very amusing and funny.
I was very excited, afterall it is my first time attending a conference. I dare not take too many photos, cause none of them took any photos, and besides people are over here to listen to the presentation. Not to take photograph like all the Asian like to do. So three photos are all I can get from five days of conference.