Edgeworth wastewater treatment plant

Today's CHEM 3310 lecture was rather humorous. Adam showed us complex organic structures which actually resembled people dancing and holding hands! That tickled everyone in the lecture hall greatly. The benzene rings were analogous to a face, and the long alkyl chains or whatsoever resembled hands and legs. Basically, we went through an exercise on multi step synthesis. I got back my chem assignment too and I am really satisfied with the marks I got :)

Had a rather productive time in the library after that, for I printed many pages of information from the set CHEM 3310 organic textbook. But had a fright when I saw a worm resting on mi school bag. Luckily, I managed to use a plastic bag to pull that obnoxious creepy crawlie off and throw it into the dustbin. Now I better be wary when I walk under trees, you never know what could drop from above! At 11.30 am, I went to meet Kris at the Auchmuty Information Centre (AIC), and together we proceeded to the carpark to meet one of our coursemates, Kim, who was going to drive us to the wastewater treatment plant at Edgeworth. The journey was about 20 minutes.

Almost of all the students reached before the stipulated time at 12:20. A lot of them gave their friends lifts and drove there. However, there was a guy who took a 25 minute bike journey instead. The plant tour started promptly. First, all of us were taken to an air-conditioned control room where the guide showed us the entire layout of how the entire treatment plant operates on the computer. Many of the my coursemates were taking down notes,unlike me. The various parts of the treatment plant are located outdoors, and we all had to bear with the bright rays from the blazing sun overhead. The place where they accumulate sludge for treatment gave off a really putrid smell. So it might not be a bad thing that we need to go outdoors in order for the guide to explain how the various parts of the plant operate.

In the clarifying pond, I saw many ducks swimming on the water. I must say they look kind of adorable when they ruffle up their feathers and dip their heads into the pond. In the midst of the tour, I got to know 4 girls in my course. They are Ding, who is a tall Negro girl holding an Australian citizenship, Lisa, Jade, and Rachel. Rachel is doing a double degree in Chemical Engineering and Business. Jade is on a scholarship and lives in Jesmond, which means that Woolsworths is just a stone's throw away from her house. It was rather hard to distinguish between Jade and Lisa initially, for both of them have light blond hair. I am glad that I finally can say hi to someone when I step into the classrooms, instead of being a lone ranger in lessons and not knowing anyone else either than Kris.

The plant tour ended at 1.20pm. Overall, I found the trip quite informative although it was rather short. Shall keep the relevant handout which Geoff gave for remembrance. John, a Brazillian guy of Chinese ( Haerbin and Canton ) descent, offered to give me a trip back to UoN, and I gladly obliged. I also got to know 2 of his other "passengers'', one is a Malaysian guy and the other is a Caucasian guy. John dropped me off at the bus stop in front of the Maths building, and I walked home from there after bidding everyone in the car goodbye. Seems that I have got to know several of my CHEE 2931 classmates within a time span of less than 2 hours :)

Today's afternoon was warmer than usual at 29 degrees celcius. So, I made use of today's sunny weather to wash my bedsheets and Bowie's blankets. In fact, I did quite a lot of novel things today. Such making red bean soup and french toast. For a first attempt, the standard was still acceptable, but I believe that there is still room for improvement. Next time, I should pour in more water while boiling red bean soup and apply more heat to the frying pan when making french toasts, so that the egg will be crispy and more solid, unlike half boiled eggs.

Stir fried vegetables with the Malaysian satay sauce is delicious! For once, I am taking a food risk by keeping mushrooms past their expiry date. Hope to finish them within the next 2 days. And I hope that tomorrow's afternoon will be less warm than today.