I am officially 20 now. =). It doesn't feel too bad being a 20-year old girl.

Mom gave me a call at around 9AM to with me happy birthday. She sounds so cheerful and happy, and it made me want to give her a hug. She asked if I am wearing my ring (early 20th birthday present from her). Of course. I will always wear the ring, because it will remind me of her.

Hehe, there was a minor accident at the lab today. It is quite funny. The only not fun thing is that the blood bled through my jeans at the knee part, and now I have to think of a way to wash it out. Why do I always stain my new clothings? For some reason, I stopped bringing bandaids with me even though I always cut/injure myself accidentally. I should have kept that habit. So, I have been limping everywhere I go since this morning. I stayed at the lab from 8:30AM until 3:10PM and again from 4:50PM to 7:30PM. A whole entire day of lab. I ran a column to purify my product again, because there were some purity in my product. That single column took up more than 100 testing tubes, so I was standing and switching test tubes the whole entire time. This will surely teach me how to be more patient. My product didn't come out until the 60th tube. After my first rotarap, my product formed white crystals, but for some reason, it didn't form crystals when I rotarapped for a 2nd time after I transfer it from the flask to the vial. :-/. I hope it is still good. It should be though. It is fun working at the lab. =).

Something happened as I walked back to my dorm that made me feel that the world is not hopeless yet. I was carrying 5 boxes that I took out from Shaw Hall in preparation for the casino night tomorrow, and this guy driving an SUV stopped by the side of the road and rolled down his window, "Hey, do you need a ride to take those boxes back?" A total stranger offered me a helping hand to take things back to the dorm. He probably thought those boxes were heavy, but they were not, since they were all empty. "No, I am good!" I yelled back...and he drove away. I forgot to say "thank you" to him. It was so nice of him to even offer me a ride, even though I didn't really need it. THAT is a good birthday present, because it makes me feel hopeful again.

It is these little tiny things that make the day... The appreciation of a red cardinal singing on the tree top, the offer of help from a stranger, the squirrel eating on the grass, a group of guys riding bikes passing me, the ripples on the river, the clouds in the sky... Life is composed of ordinary things, and it is really up to you how you want to make these ordinarty things into extraordinary moments in life.