Sleep more to stay slim!!

More excuses to sleep more! Not only do early nights help in the rejuvenation of your skin (and thus make you prettier.. that's where 'beauty sleep' comes from), sleep also keeps you slim! Now now, isn't staying pretty easy after all? Just lay in bed!! ^_^

"In experiments by Van Cauter and others, sleep-deprived adults produced more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, and less leptin, a hormone that signals fullness..." Get the full article here.

AACR Pathobiology of Cancer Workshop

32 workshops in 30 years, and this is the first time the workshop was held outside the United States of America.. and they came to SINGAPORE!! ^_^ A thoroughly exhausting but beneficial workshop. I feel so honored to be amongst this group of very privileged people. Presenting the students and teachers~~

End of Part 1

90 more minutes to the end of the pre-conference workshop. The professors from overseas are touring biopolis.. thus i took the opportunity to come back to the lab for a short rest.

I never excepted this workshop to be SOOOOOO intensive! Heard from a colleague (who'd attended this same conference some years back in the States) that this is supposed to be a week-long workshop, which for some reason has been compressed into two days! Imagine the amount of information crammed into our tiny heads.. and staring into the microscope for 12 hours a day is a source of terrible headache! It was a good experience though.. learnt a whole lot of stuff.. but could have been maximised if it was more spread out over a week.

Some people got abit reflective during this course.. coz we got to see really bad tumors in their raw form.. (and touch some of them).. and also getting to hear from the pathologists' point of view.. certain areas of research really isn't getting anywhere beneficial to the general population. But somehow, many pple outside the field get this misunderstanding, that everyone doing scientific research is due for a world-shattering discovery sooner or later. However, the real fact is, science is not something that one can do alone. It's not about making HUGe discoveries and being the next einstein. Working on cancer does not mean i am due to find the next cure. What happens is that everyone does a little bit.. we're like little people working on a huge puzzle. Each person finds a piece that may look unimpressive.. but when everyone comes together with their own little pieces (some bigger than the rest) and puts it together, a big picture is formed, and that's the whole big result that the general public sees. So, it's a group effort. I didn't enter this career wanting to make it big by finding a cure that noone could. I'm just joining this big team in finding more pieces of the puzzle that could eventually make up a big, beautiful picture.

Of course, i am not saying that there are zero big discoveries possible in the near future and that we're all bound to die. BUT, more often than not, alot of big discoveries are surrendipitous.. and thus it's something that we cannot really 'search' for, but can only 'chance upon'. We just have to wait for that surrendipitious discovery (whoever's lab it may be), or wait for the big puzzle to be solved piece by piece. ^_^

AACR

Woot~ My first real conference.. hope the pre-conference workshop would be fun too! (better be fun.. coz i've got to wake up at 6+am just for it!! >.<)

Police!!

For those who don't know, i always hold a certain kind of respect for policemen (and policewomen). It must be all due to the great amount of tv serials i watched that featured the police force and how heroic they can be. I even almost applied for the police scholarship a few yrs back, if not for my strong dislike in running! haha.. oh well.. no policewoman to be, but i chanced upon this really cool site 5.11 Tactical! police gear!! haha.. really cool.. go see see also happy.. ^_^

Dumb Blonde... >.<

Gossimer

Ever thought of hosting your own webpage? have your own domain name? heez.. i used to think it'd be so cool to do that.. just that.. i'm abit of an IT idiot that i never managed to do tt. haha. i'm easily satisfied anyway. haha. but for those who do want to register their own domain but have yet to do so, why not try Gossimer ? Services include web hosting and domain registration. All packages feature no setup fees and come with web site builder, MySQL, PHP, FrontPage, and multimedia support. ^_^

Eat your Cutlery!!

I chanced upon this website, on G-living. Green-living, the new age way of living.. to save the earth!

The website has information of various items that can help you do your part in saving the environment, ranging from cars to hand dryers to edible cutlery! Yes.. my favourite.. edible cutlery!! ^_^

A whole lot of parties, a whole lot of plastic cutlery.

Cutlery? Not exactly what you’re focused on this time of year, but when you consider all the events on all the calendars around the world and all the guests that will probably nosh on various holiday goodies (a party without food is not a party worth attending), it adds up to a lot of disposable silverware. The plastic kind, while convenient – you buy it, use it, then throw it away – is disastrous for our planet. Once it goes into the earth in the form of a landfill, it stays there for hundreds of years.

That’s why I was excited to discover SpudWare™. Just in time for all of your holiday events, this heat tolerant disposable silverware is completely compostable. These fully functioning forks, spoons and knives come are made from 80% potato starch and 20% soy or similar vegetable oils. They’re just as durable as the plastic stuff, but they biodegrade in 180 days.

It’s a cool stustainable alternative to petroleum based cutlery. It can even be washed and used again if you’re a frugal party planner. But you needn’t worry. Twenty bucks can buy you a party pack of 50 forks, 50 spoons and fifty knives.

The full article can be found here.

French vs Singapore

So what's the difference between a Singaporean seminar and a French seminar?


Yeah.. red wine. french seminars provide red wine!!! it's weird entering a seminar with everyone reeking of alcohol.. haha. everyone should learn from them. coz red wine is good for you!!! ^_^

if you have eyes like this...

please stay away from me. this is self protection. ^_^

NUS-Baden Wurttemberg Joint Scientific Conference in Life Sciences

Office of Life Sciences, NUS, together with Baden Wurttemberg, will be holding the NUS-Baden Wurttemberg Joint Scientific Conference in Life Sciences in the fields of Immunology, Cancer, Tissue Engineering and Translational Research. Location: Centre of Life Sciences (CeLS), NUS.

Beautiful eyes..

Was headed to a conference today after class, when Lin called to say that she wouldn't be going today. Since i wasn't totally interested in today's conference topics, i decided to go home. In a split second, i pressed the 'stop' button on the shuttle bus and alighted. There, at the busstop, stood someone grinning at me. WHOA. if i hadn't made that split-second decision to go home, i wouldn't have met him! it's been so so so so sooooooo long already! And it was nice, knowing that it was all over-worrying. i had thought my memory and eyesight had failed me, unable to recognize someone who had been more than just acquaintances. it kinda bothered me, to think that my brain had selectively forgotten some things in so short a time. i even thought it was some variance of those selective amnesia people experience. geez. If that had really happened, i can't imagine what would happen if i don't see some friends for more than 20 years. so happy that i can still recognize a friend. ^_^

had wanted to do something in this post.. but.. i realized all photos have been transfered out of my lappy. too lazy to go find ler. haha. just as well.

toys for everyone

Cat gave me this toy from japan, for my bdae.. it's apparently a cultural toy! (woo hoo.. we're all so cultural.. hahaha) (with a really nice pink LeSportsSac pouch too! and my mum tried to steal it from me.. grr)


It's really fun! Seen fei1 ge1 play with it on tv.. now we have one too!! haha.. challenging k.. now everyone treats it as some morning exercise.. haha.. thanks cat~ ^_^

Loans?

Recently, there's been this big amount of talking about loans.. sigh... finances.. something which i really don't like to have dealings with.. yet, which one of us can run away from financial issues? Everything around us involves money.. home, school, work, holiday, cars, shopping.. involves some kind of $$$.. and worse still.. it usually involves INSUFFICIENT money!! >.< Secured Loans online! ^_^ bright orange template.. i like! makes the first step so happy alreay. haha. Magic Loans, they called it.. sounds fun and exciting already.. taking away the fear and anxiety the word 'loans' tends to bring along with.. heez..

**this is a sponsored post**

OktoberFest and Halloween Party~

It's my first time celebrating OktoberFest and Halloween!! ^_^

There were alot of people...
But i'm quite easy to spot, given the bright pumpkin on my head (courtesy of wyee) It's halloween mah!

All queuing for beer.. (now what's Oktoberfest without beer, right? ^_^)
The cheese sausages were really good..

Lots of other food too..


Some played Indian POker..

While i emerged the Queen of Gamblers~~
It was lots of fun. Can't wait for the next company event ^_^

Thanksgiving

if some of you know, i have a conference from 4-8 november, and a pre-conference workshop 2-3 nov.. luckily it's in singapore, so no plane/hotel to pay, but just entry fees, which total to about S$1000+ for the 1 week. (it's alot of $$!) Unfortunately, one of my current modules' exam is on the 6th.. right smack in the middle! i wrote in to the prof in charge, asking for an alternative plan for me, such as a term paper or an assignment (it's common for grad school modules coz phD students always have conferences overseas). However, this prof very mean.. he refused to excuse me! he insisted that i should skip conference for a useless exam... so i bobian...

Last week, the NUS grad school asked every student to give 1 feedback on any module we are currently taking.. of course i gave a heated feedback on this module! I told them how every module coordinator should be prepared to make alternative arrangements for students who have conferences to attend, coz this is grad school and it'd be a common sight in every semester...

Today, i got an email, informing us that the exam has been postponed from the 6th to the 14th of november!!!!! YAYyyyyyyyyy~~~~ Thank God. He always makes things right in the end. ^_^

Bdae..

Met the chestnutties today.. our almost monthly gatherings.. love it! ^_^ thanks pacey for organizing.. and shamir happened to pass by too!! ^_^

I received my first bdae present for this year.. from pacey! Thanks so much.. for spending time even when u are so busy with school and hyp and interviews.. ur presents are always so special.. so different from what the others give.. things that u make urself, things that i have no skills for.. and i must say ur painting has improved tremendously!! everyone look what he painted for me!! (it's an oil painting..)


I'm the sunflower (i seem to be always associated with the sunflower.. by everyone.. hmm) and he says the dark sky at the top left corner is him.. but i brightened up the sky ^_^ (correct hor pacey? i remembered correctly?) i shall have to think where i can put this up..

India?

Honestly speaking, i've never really thought about going to India, until Bong mentioned that she'd love to live there for maybe a year. It's about the ultra-rich culture there, she said. And i thought about it.. holidays in india would really be quite cool.. can try the authentic indian food!!! ^_^ I love indian food.. it may be oily.. but the rich use of spices!! woohoo~ And then i wonder about the pricing. Would flights to india cost alot? Ah.. no worries.. flights to India are available at DialAFlight! ^_^It offers Delhi flights, Bombay flights.. ah alot alot! I really wonder where will be my next holiday destination?

**this is a sponsored post**

Methane Burp-the end of human kind?

In response to Al Gore's film, my prof brought out a point that CO2 is not exactly the main greenhouse gas that we should be wary of. The scariest greenhouse gas is methane, which is 20 times stronger as a greenhouse gas as compare to CO2. However, where does methane come from? They're all hidden quietly, a ticking time bomb buried in the Arctic tundra. When global warming has caused the earth's temperature ot rise above the threshold for these hidden time bombs, a sudden emergence of methane called a 'methane burp' will occur. Then.. will humans survive that episode?

Read the full article on Methane Burps: Ticking Time Bomb. A follow up article is also available here

A change of perspective

Nowadays, I seem to be more affected by certain things going around me. Things that shouldn’t affect me as much. Take yesterday’s show for example. We all rushed home after CG fellowship to watch the final episode of a particular tv show. But I cannot believe how emotionally affected I was by the show. Just a show. But it got me thinking.. of what I will do if I was in a similar situation.. if someone around me was diagnosed with cancer. Not just focusing on the possibility of losing the person, but the reason behind it—cancer.

It just had to happen. Today I received a call, a notification of a relative who was defeated by cancer. I must admit I wasn’t very close to this person, but it struck me nonetheless. I know I couldn’t have done much, but.. having chosen this field to work in, I just feel more obliged to hold more responsibility for such things happening. I know I shouldn’t, and I know that there is a limit to what I can do. I know that whenever I tell people what I am doing and they ask me “so when will you discover a cure?”, it is probably not going to happen in the near future, nor from me (unless if a miracle happens, that is). Yet, I just feel.. I dunno.. like I haven’t done enough. Will my work now affect anyone at all in the future? Will my work be futile, and I end up not having contributed anything at all?

I haven’t found an answer to any of my own questions.. but I will learn to deal with it along the way. In the meanwhile, I just have to be more hardworking and go out even less.. just to complete my work and be a good student.