Machu Picchu

I will make it to this mysterious part of Latin America one day.

Just to sit there and admire it's beauty.

need to resist the temptation from buying geeky t-shirts even though there's a sale going on at phdcomics.com.

Is it really possible?

To publish in Science, Cell or Nature?

It just seems too unreachable.

BUT. nothing is impossible. weijia jiayou!! ^_^

should i go for a holiday? or should i just sell away that ticket? i can't remember why i didn't use it last year. i really should have. and the ticket is best for tokyo, but i have missed the best of springtime in tokyo. no more next year to wait for. bah. i hate making decisions.

police and thief

Yesterday, was the day I had another 2 presentations lined up for me. I left home at 9am, hoping to reach school early to prepare for the 10am presentation. It must have been the rain, for buses were much more packed than usual, and I missed 3 buses. I managed to squeeze onto the 4^th 188 that came along at 930am. I was balancing on the steps of the bus, lugging my file and laptop. I took out my wallet to tap my EZlink card. But the wallet just had to slip out of my hand and drop onto the floor. Onto my feet. Because the bus was making a turn, I decided to wait til it stopped at the next busstop before I bent down to collect my wallet. When the bus stopped, an auntie in front of me bent down, shuffled her plastic bag and ran out of the bus. When I looked down, my wallet was gone! Just before the bus driver closed the door, I suddenly stepped out of the bus to chase after the auntie. She had run into an office building, and I followed her in. I found her shuffling around with her handbag and plastic bag. When I asked her for my wallet, she opened up her plastic bag to say that there was nothing. Then she shouted some stuff in hokkien (which I cannot understand) and ran into the lift. Before I could react and ask to check her handbag, the lift door had already closed. I couldn’t see which level she went to, for there were other people in the lift. I walked out of the building feeling all so unlucky. For a moment, I wondered if the wallet could have been still on the bus. Dismissed that thought as I remembered double checking the floor, I went back into the building. The directory of the offices was so long! 8 levels, but multiple companies. I didn’t know where to start from, so I anyhow pressed ‘level 5’ in the lift. There was another guy in the lift, and I asked if he happened to know which level had a auntie working there. When he found out about my incident, he recommended I go to level7 to report to the management there. So there was one main office that manages the building. Holding some hopes, I told the 3 ladies in the office about what happened. After some discussion, they decided that there were too many aunties that fit my description, and they couldn’t do anything about it. So I left my number with them and left. Leaving the building for a second time, I went back to the busstop, and realized I couldn’t go to school. Coz I had no EZlink card. And no money. Lucky I had a phone, and called my mum to come pick me up. While waiting for her, I saw an uncle waiting for the lift at the lobby, and decided to try my luck to see if he knows any auntie of his age. He didn’t, but was helpful in bringing me up a few levels to find some other cleaners that may know the auntie. I talked to so many people, who were all so helpful in helping to narrow down the list of possible candidates. I ended up with 2 malay cleaners who suggested I wait at the entrance of the building, for there is only 1 entrance to that place. By that time, my mum had already arrived. Thanks to bong, I managed to get the numbers of all the banks and stuff to cancel all my cards. And my group mates who took over my place for the presentation. I called the police, and they told me they could check out the CCTV. Then the cleaner had to tell me that the cctv in that building is not working. And the security guard had quit recently. What luck! After a lot of discussion with the police, they decided to come down to search the building. While waiting for the police, suddenly one of the cleaners called me over. She was pushing a cleaning trolley, with buckets and all. “the auntie”, she said, and pointed to the trolley. SO I thought she wanted me to check that trolley to see if the auntie kept my wallet there. Then I realized, she was using the trolley to block the lift door, coz the auntie was standing in the lift! Then suddenly I wasn’t too sure if it was her. Height, hair, dressing seemed similar. But hair color was abit different from what I remembered. So I asked the auntie what bus she took to work this morning. “188”, she replied. Then I asked her if she came to work at about 930, then she started shouting a whole lot of stuff in hokkien. That’s when I recognized her. But I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I wanted to tell her that the police were on their way, but if she returned my wallet, I could drop the matter. But she just kept shouting at me in that foreign language, and the 2 malay cleaners also couldn’t help. Luckily, my mum was around and she came in to talk to the auntie. And they both ended up shouting. Haha. Soon after, the police arrived, but the auntie was gone. I learnt from my mum that the auntie had denied everything, even after she said I’d called the police. It was only after she pointed to the cctv (which is not working, but not known to the auntie), then she said she picked up a brown wallet in the morning and can bring down to see if it’s mine. So I waited. Indeed, it was my BLACK wallet. With everything intact. Handing over the wallet, she shouting a whole lot of stuff again, but I didn’t know what she was saying. Unfortunately, the 2 policemen were malay too. Haha. So we had to get my mum to translate again. According to my mum, the auntie claimed she ran off the bus all the way into this building only because she works here. And she picked up the wallet because she doesn’t know who’s it was. But excuse me, if you see a wallet lying amongst a whole pool of people, why don’t you ask the people around to see who dropped it? And if it’s in a bus, why not hand it over to the bus driver? Even if you wanted to hand it over to your office people (which she claimed to want to do) why is it that when I approached you, you denied everything? The intention was obvious, and I could have pressed charges against her. But when the police asked me if I wanted to pursue the matter, I just said nevermind lah. Just keep her records. I just wanted my wallet back. And that auntie, will probably not get employed. (she was still on trial working there lah! And she’s been complained against multiple times ler) Just so glad that there were so many people who were so helpful that morning. All the people working in ODC building. the police. And for my mum for speaking hokkien. It’d have been useless if I had found the person but cannot communicate at all!

Rushed to school right after, ironically in the same 188 bus. 2 hours late, but was in time for the closing. Abit sad that I missed the “most intense debate of the century”, given by my group, but at least everything’s over and fine. Right after lesson, I rushed back to the office, entertained the concerns of my fellow labmates for some time, then had to prepare my next presentation. Had barely finished the slides before it was time to give the presentation to my boss. And obviously he was totally not pleased with my presentation. I think there were less than 20 slides, and I could have finished speaking in less than 15 minutes. But he dwelled into each slide for so long, telling me every single thing that I did wrong (which was everything, by the way), that the whole presentation rehearsal took 2 whole hours. Oh man, so tiring. But I am really glad he pointed out all those stuff. 1 week to improve on it, and I have 1 more rehearsal before the actual presentation to my examiners that same day. Bleah. So stressed with the presentation that I kept rehearsing my lines, leading to me lying on my bed fully awake (rehearsing) til 3+am.

payback time.. boohoo

finally received the letter asking me to repay my loans. boohoohoo. haven't even finished studying and i have to repay loans. luckily it's only 2 yrs of educational loan, and the receiver of the $$ is my dad. but still.. i have no $$!! it's stated that full time students can defer payment. but the interest will continue rolling til i pay back! grr.. so not much benefits in that sense lor. HOWHOWHOW. i have not enough money to pay back.. no cpf to deduct from.. argh. money matters give me bad headaches.

what a bad week..

ok. fine. it was just 2 bad incidents. but it still sucks. yesterday, the first presentation went all so well. but the second one.. bah. i was asked the simplest question in the world, with the answer written right in front of me, but i gave the dumbest answer to smoke my way through instead. ugh. then today at work, i put something in the wrong place. and no, you cannot just remove things and replace in the correct places. no things don't work this way in the lab. screwed up all plans for the next week or so. and i'm not the only one affected by my carelessness. arghhhh

looking forward to yet another gathering on friday to end the week on a nice note. but before tt, 2 more presentations on friday!! >.<

waiting sucks

Morning presentation just ended.. and it's 1.5 hours til i start my next presentation. I hate waiting. I know I am prepared for my presentation. Yet, every minute i look at my slides, i edit them. Add things, remove words, alter the animations.. i know there are countless ways to make it better, and it can never be perfect. But i think this waiting is killing me. Is it really worth the amount of effort i put into it? I know very clearly that other students that have presented before me didn't spend much time on their preparations. I can do the same. It's only 50% of the module, you say. It's only 30 minutes of standing there and presenting. Yet, i can't bring myself to stop improving on my slides, and to stop reading even more about the field so that i can tackle the Q&A with ease. It's a mental war.. in my own brain.. bah..

Finally got back my laptop. 9 days of not having it. Just a change of keyboard, which takes less than a day, took them 9 days to finish. Was so upset at them I was dysfunctional yesterday and I went home early. Had 2 dinners to cool down. Comfort eating. Terrible. spent the entire day scolding them in my head, rehearsing how I’d scold them when I collect my laptop. But now that I have my laptop back, I’m happy.

Sawatdii Kha~~

It's not just April Fool's day today.. it's presentation day.. and it's class 401's birthday.. and it's the first time Thai1 class met after graduating!! ^_^ What a happening day. Tired but wonderful. Too bad 2 outings fell on the same day, and i had to leave an hour after i met my rgs classmates. out of 14 of us who were there (the rest were either overseas or missing), half were like doctors who just finished their final exams 2 days ago. And all are like top top medical students lah. So proud of them. ^_^ 8 years since i last met some of them, but noone has changed. Love them.. hope we make this 1st april meeting a regular thing, since more people are back in singapore now. Thanks JH for organizing this manz! i know it was very very very tough to contact pple after so many years.. appreciate it~

Thai1 outing was even more of a surprise. Wancan just smsed me saying she was going to organize an outing. The 401 outing was being planned for the past few years, but i've never thought of getting together the Thai1 pple! Not that i am not close to them, coz indeed we are! or were. haha. It was one of the modules i enjoyed most in NUS. Even the teacher says she loved our class the most. Some went thailand together after 1 semester together. Yet, after we finished 1/2 semesters, i kinda stopped contacting most of them, save for wancan who's in the same course. So glad wancan is still so active in this language and culture.. 3.5 years of studying thai! goodness. no wonder the embassy wants her. ?acaan brought us to a place that sells authentic thai food. yummy~ I never knew where else to get authentic thai food in singapore besides in church (where my thai friends cook). haha. now i finally now. near MOM! cheap cheap too! And it was so weird meeting them, coz everyone turned up in work clothes! i'm so not used to sitting around pple who were all in office clothes. Lucky today i'm not in my usual t-shirt and jeans, coz i had a presentation.. so i could blend in with them! haha.. after just a couple of hours of speaking thai with them, it's coming back to me. i really hope we do meet more often. when mr blue comes back. practise more and go thailand together! ^_^

only 1 thing on my mind..

Aside from the many presentations in school, I still have to prepare for my upcoming first TAC meeting. Some people told me TAC meetings can don't care, coz we just need to meet them to get their signatures. Just a formality. But i don't want that to be the case, and my boss thinks along the same line. (actually, as the days pass, i find so many common points between boss n i) So, the TAC meeting is not just a 'get-your-signature' meeting, but also a presentation for me. To add on, my TAC team is made up of really high profile profs. And even my boss is giving me the jitters. He especially got me mentally prepared for it, telling me that they may scold me or reprimand me for my work, but i have to remember not to worry too much for they only mean good. Even he found the need to warn me before hand! (and i think i know why..) And he even got me to book a room to rehearse with him my presentation 2 weeks before the presentation. Whoa.. given that boss is such a busy person, this meeting must be so important that he's reserving so much time to prepare me for it!! Makes me even more stressed. I think it's partly of the team that we gathered lah. Such capable, high-achieving (and thus demanding) profs i invited. Digging my own grave, many would say. I am indeed feeling the jitters even though i still have 3 weeks before the presentation. Yet, I have faith and still believe that this is a good team that i have pulled together. And i am truly grateful that someone is there to drill me and train me to present better each time. I am sure i will manage fine in the end! GAMBATTE~

so much has happened. only a week passed?

To those who've been wondering where i've been to, my laptop has given up in this crucial handing-up-of-assignments period. As usual. Lucky i'm so experienced in this that i back up all my data on a daily basis.. haha. So that explains my disappearance from MSN.

Or actually, even if my laptop was alive, i'd prolly be too tired to do much online. This week is the first of 3 weeks of craziness, where i have 6 hours of school each day, plus project meetings (to prepare for multiple group presentations), plus my individual presentations to prepare for, plus essays to write, plus labwork to do, plus boss to meet. I am so physically and mentally tired that i can fall asleep watching tv, and i cannot even do my experiments without my eyes tearing.

But i must really thank alot of people for helping me through this hectic week (tho it's only the first week). The most being fangers, for my experiments would definitely be a gone case without someone else to take over! Then there're the other understanding pple around me, who keep cheering me on.. and of course mum who prepared a few days' lunch for me to keep me alive!

Amidst all that busy-ness, alot of other stuff happened too. I had a meeting with boss.. to discuss my upcoming presentation for some other big bosses. STRESS. and i tried to whine to him regarding the recent 2-month worth of failure in my experiments. but he completely ignored me!! grr. haha. but he was really nice and helpful with everything. going down to minute details like powerpoint animation for my presentation. his powerpoint skills are like amazing.. you think powerpoint is just powerpoint? NO!! with boss' skills, we can do amazing things with powerpoint! But the main thing wasn't that. Like any other meeting with boss, i come out enlightened. This time, I came out thoroughly excited. exhilarated. however you describe it. i couldn't even sleep that night. Coz boss has proposed that i take up an additional project. and since it's not 100% confirmed, i shall not say too much. but in short, i may have a chance to go London! WOOHOO!! Though there's not much of my business there even if i'm involved in the project, it seems that boss knows us so well. He knew what kind of person i really am. I don't know how.. for we have minimal interaction.. yet he really knew how i see things. and what i want. Get me involved in London, meaning just fly there to mail something back! haha.. it's obviously just to let me have a chance to go there lah. I've never been there! i really hope it gets through.. i wanna visit london.. ^_^

pray for safety

Riots have been going on for some time now, in that land high up. Honestly speaking, I wouldn’t have bothered more if this happened a year ago. However, I cannot ignore such news anymore, for I know that someone is there. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t worry for that friend. Our friend. I can’t help but wonder if he was there in that city? Or was he back home in the village? Or painting something in his own peaceful corner? At least, I know that I am not the only one worrying. All of us are concerned. No matter how short we had known him, he’s a friend nonetheless. And today’s church bulletin reminded us to pray for the people there, for the matter to be resolved in the best manner possible, and because this may be a very good opportunity to reach out to them. Indeed, I always think back and blame myself, asking why I never thought of planting a seed in him. A friend, I call him? And I never uttered a single word about the gospel to him. He said so much about his faith, but I said nothing about mine. They’re so deeply embedded with their culture and religion, that it’s impossible to change, I declared to myself. And I wonder why I always back off and admit defeat even before I try? Building a barrier for myself. God can work wonders, why don’t I always remember that? Too late to regret. I just want to keep him, and the rest of the population in my prayers, and I hope all of your would do that too. For safety and peace to come upon them soon. For the matter to be resolved with wisdom. And maybe someone would bring the message over to them. I pray for open hearts. I pray that they may be saved.

Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional

That scene had appeared so many times in my dreams. Day dream night dream. Then.. it happened. Or so I thought. Or maybe it was just another daydream. But a dream that felt so real. Not just look like. Talk like. Dress like. Stand like. Only much nicer manners. It was so surreal facing him and talking to him. Right there, where I always imagined it to happen. I did. Or so I think.

words of wisdom

Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional

Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional

Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes
provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.

Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!

Beauty in Beer and Butterflies

Bong sent me this. Made up only of beer cans. It's really pretty.. ^_^
My personal favourite~

The artwork of Paul Villinski. Many other artsy pretty stuff here.

Uncertainty

Work hasn’t been going too smoothly. Things started to change this week, showing signs of possible success. Everyday, I hold this hope in me that I’ll finally succeed in whatever I’m doing. Everyday, I face disappointment. I know that such “failure-blocks” occur every now and then, but I really hate it when it happens. Especially when this “block” has been so extensive, from early February until now. Being at such a loss, I really don’t know how to face my examiners next month. I can only live by faith, believing that I am on the right path.

It's Palm Sunday~

Palm Sunday is the Sunday just before Easter. It commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his crucifixion on Good Friday. So why the name PALM sunday?

It was a common custom in many lands in the ancient times to cover, in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. It was recorded that people gave Jesus this form of honour. In the synoptics they are only reported as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street, whereas John more specifically mentions PALM FRONDS. The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and of victory, in Jewish tradition, and is treated in other parts of the bible as such (e.g. Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9). Because of this, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by waving palms and carpeting his path with them has given the Christian festival its name. It also shows the freedom wanted by the Jews, and their desperation to have political freedom.

Interesting eh? ^_^

save money and health together!

"...a smoker who goes through 20 cigarettes per day could spend more than £2,000 per year..." Came across this piece of news here. I knew that cigarettes do cost quite alot, and i know prices are rising. But i never knew it cost THAT much. only an accumulative calculation could reveal how much money is thrown into destroying health. That's the irony, when people in this age are actually spending their entire fortune to improve their health, and to live longer.

"..Yorkshire Bank recently echoed these arguments, stating that the 1.1 million Britons who quit smoking 12 months ago have since saved a collective total of £1 billion.". That's a whole lot of money! Yes, that is a total by 1.1 million people. But that's only in 1 year! Manz.. if only all smokers would be more money-minded, then they'll all quit smoking to save money! haha..

and it said.. ""Spending over £2,000 a year on cigarettes means that smokers have less money than non-smokers, making them less likely to pay off their credit cards or Mortgage as quickly as somebody who doesn’t smoke,". So maybe that makes me, a non-smoker, a richer person? haha

family of 6~

so glad they actually came without any wrappings. so i had a few days of enjoying my possession of them, before i gave them away as presents. now that most of the recipients have gotten the surprise, i can finally post the pics online. the first family of 6 that i got. ^_^

(L-R: Sea sparkle, lyme disease, syphilis, bookworm, pimple, EBV)

Song's POP

Time really flies. One moment he’s enlisting, the moment he’s a private. The parade was really cool. Even if it was under heavy rain. And it’s always different to see your brother amongst those who’re marching past. Took lots of photos today. And the videocam I won from DnD was so useful! ^_^ I realized I need some arm strength to take good videos though. My arm was so tired after just a minute, resulting in quite a lot of shaking scenes after that. But still, the 32X zoom was so useful for taking photos that my other camera couldn’t!

The day ended really late though. We were trapped in Tekong for 3 hours because of a major accident along Pasir Ris area, which resulted in no buses able to reach the ferry terminal. And that accident happened right after we arrived at the ferry terminal for the POP! In a way, the timing was ‘perfect’ for us. Besides waiting at Tekong til our butts hurt, it was a great day. ^_^ Congrats to recruit, err, no.. private Soon! haha

TEDtalks, the path to scoring A

I came across this site some time ago, TEDtalks. It's really interesting, featuring talks ranging from science to politics, from environment to motivational. During my brother's prelims last year, i recommended him a couple of talks to listen to, for the topics he was sourcing information for his GP (that boy likes to pick questions to study). And i told him, this site is good. Willing or not, it's up to him to search and listen for himself any other talks that may come up now and then. Well, though he is really quite a slacker most of the time, he is smart enough to know when he is required to put in the effort. I noticed that he took the initiative to search for himself, and listened to quite a number of talks, that he turned around to recommend me some talks to listen to instead! And i'm so glad he did that. Coz i think it benefitted him to some extent for his general paper. Thanks TEDtalks. ^_^

need money

I still remember a friend telling me, how his boss started his business years ago. He was married with 2 kids, but wanted to start a business badly. With limited money. So, this guy went around getting loans from banks. credits were his source of money. credits gave him his business. And this site bad credit credit card actually compares 10 of the top credit cards on the market for bad credit for you, and provides links to their online applications! spoonfeeding, i tell you. haha. you want a business? try it. i'm not sure if it works.. but that's what my friend told me anyway

not only for microbiologists

so i was wrong. not only microbiologists can appreciate this toy. coz my sister thinks they're cute too!! that makes me so very happy ^_^ this is my favourite.. i dunno why, but the spiral is nice. it's gonna be the last i will part with. the rest have their (potential) owners already. boohoo. had partial insomnia last night, coz i was contemplating whether to give the sea sparkle to another person (other than the original friend it's meant for). but i decided against it.. it's too childish a thing to give to someone so old. haha. next week i'm going to give away some very 'mean' viruses! be careful not to get any STDs from me!! muahahaha~

congratulations!!

As proud of him as ever, he got what he really deserved. Well done bro~ ^_^

the glint in his eyes

he was around for a longer time than normal. then, he disappeared. notice came a day later. I wonder how he is, and when he'd be back. Hate it when such things happen. Yet, they're an inevitable part of life.. >.<

I gave Wyee EBV

Giantmicrobes.com rocks! I simply love it. The best place to get gifts for friends who're microbiologists. Had wanted to buy the whole collection, but realized that it's took much $$ to waste on myself. And it's so meaningless to buy things for myself. so i bought a few, and gave them away. It's a joy to see the smiles on their faces when they receive it.. and the eyes of envy of those who don'y.. ^_^

i cost more than a house!

When i met up with a friend last weekend, he told me he didn't buy any insurance, not even aCheap Car Insurance, as his company already has him covered. Not surprising, as many companies now buy insurances for their staff. How nice of them. Too bad for me, as I'm still a student, and noone wants to pay to insure me. Seems like i am not valuable enough for anyone but myself. haha. But then again, on second thought, is the insurance that companies buy, sufficient? What does it cover? visits to the doctor? minor accidents? major accidents? serious illnesses? death? And when it gets to this, people ask.. is it really necessary to think about all these? Die means die, what's the money for? Throw in for nothing, for we can take away nothing after we die. Insurance agents would say at this point of time, that the money is for family members, especially those who're dependent. But for me, i don't support a family. I'm not so concerned (if at all) about finances if anything happens to take away my life. What i am truly concerned about, is the event which something terrible happens to my limbs/fingers/toes/eyesight/spine. Becoming handicapped in any manner is way worse than death, as i would then have to figure out how to carry on the rest of my life. I'm not too sure if this sounds weird, coz i am more afraid of accidents than death. haha. And since today is World Glaucoma Day, news everywhere is trying to educate us about how Chinese females are more susceptible to blindness (the result of untreated glaucoma). scary!! I don't want to go blind. You may say, oh, blindness is only if left untreated. so treat it lah! BUt.. the problem is, glaucoma can be symptomless. No pain, no detectable problems, until it is too late. Until blindness arrives within 2-3weeks. 2-3 weeks! That's so short a time to lose your sight! Almost instant! What will happen then? How to support yourself? How to even take care of yourself? the thought itself scares me. Actually, even with alot of money, life would still be difficult. But at least, it's one worry less?

Irresponsible people

They keep losing my documents. It's getting so irritating. I submitted my information when I first started school in august last year. But in november, the new girl who took over the admin told me they hadn't received it. Fine, maybe the handover was messed up so I did her a favor, filling in the form again for her. Now, she emails me telling me I have yet to submit that form. EXCUSE ME, this is the THIRD time you're asking me for the form. And i am 100% sure that I filled it in and submitted it the past 2 times, coz my supervisor's signature is required! Now i have to get him to sign the very same form, for the 3rd time. When have i ever liked NUS admin? Never.

a time to dream...

No wonder God made man to need sleep. We all need to sleep. Noone can ever survive not sleeping. Even the man who challenged not sleeping for a guiness world record, was allowed to catch a teeny weeny amount of sleep every day, just to keep him alive. That explains why research on sleep deprivation is not progressing much... coz they cannot subject people to excessive lack of sleep, or their clinical subjects would die before experiments are over!

Since sleep is essential in our lives, the importance of a good bed is thus magnified. And i saw Oak Beds online.. whoa.. those photos.. make me want to sleep immediately! Soporific effect... zzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Rutland is the best of all those listed. Wide enough for me to roll around, yet does not take up unnecessary space. and it has a pretty streamlined effect, which i tend to look for in everything.. haha. Simplicity is definitely important in a bed. Who can feel relaxed in a complicated bed? haha. actually, i don't know if it happens for everyone, but a wooden bed seems more sleep-inducing than a plastic or a metal one. Erm. If there's any metal/plastic bed that exists, that is. Yeah. Haven't really wondered til now, why most if not all beds are made of wood? Is it just for beauty, or is there something scientific about it?



*this is a sponsored post*

must compensate...

That company.. gave me faulty stuff.. wasted my entire sunday and today (and probably tomorrow) .. grr.. i'm gonna lodge a complaint tomorrow after i gather even more proof that their stuff is faulty.. and they better give me a new set.. and better still, compensate for the time lost.. i don't mind a free PCR kit!! =P

Botulinum Toxin

"Cowell: Botox is no more unusual than toothpaste.."

Read this from Cosmetic Surgery news..

What a chunk... botulinum toxin... but tt's the true name of the well known BOTOX. after plastic surgery and Boob Job, botox is the next big 'in' thing for cosmetic surgery. And who knew that we'd one day start injecting the world's most poisonous neurotoxin (poisonous stuff that harms our nervous system) into ourselves? And who'd think the source of this up and coming cosmetic product is a teeny weeny thing called the Clostridia? Just like penicillin, these microscopic organisms are becoming real famous in our human world.

Did you know that, before the use for removing wrinkles, botox was widely used for many other medical purposes, such as headaches, Parkinson's, stroke, cerebral palsy, and excessive salivation?

BUT.. is this botox thingie.. really so wonderful? Is it the next wonder drug for humans? I'm not too sure. Although not well publicizes, botox has been linked in some cases to adverse reactions, including respiratory failure and death, due to its ability to spread to areas distant to the site of the injection. (report from FDA)

So.. do your research before you want to look pretty. ^_^

time not wasted..

I can't believe my work can fail at the very last minute. at a step that noone can make mistakes in. just makes me feel so terrible, for not knowing what went wrong, but so very wrong that my entire sunday seemed wasted. went to the lab specially on a sunday afternoon, just because the coming week would be full of lessons that i would have not much time for labwork. so it was all in vain? I pray hard for a miracle tonight, for a revival of my bacteria.

Fortunately, ram called and jio-ed me out for dinner! That chap just moved into the block across the road! haha.. it was nice catching up.. and getting updates about every other person who went to Philadelphia 2 yrs back.

Oh how i wish i could travel again. a long, relaxing trip. Tried to ask friends who're graduating this semester, but all seem to be heading to the US, and to places that i've been to. Why can't anyone go to someplace more exciting, like Brazil or Cuba? Arzhou is heading to NZ, a place i've wanted to go for years. But he's graduating in december, which is summer in NZ! no no.. i will only go NZ in winter. and to visit my relatives there too. i heard my uncle is a fantastic tour guide. which june will i be free? I dare not say. the past 10 junes have been so busy i never got to visit them since they migrated. >.<

Maybe i shouldn't be so ambitious. Should just dedicate my only holiday to mission trip in dec. Picked up the language 4 years ago, but never stepped into the country ever since. And since june sounds too hot a period to go there (june's too hot for every place except NZ, aus and the mountains!), dec this year would be my target. i hope this time round nothing crops up to take away my trip again like last year. And.. zp just sms-ed me to invite me to help teach thai next month! haha.. i've only taught english to thais, never thai to english. i wonder if i'm up to it. but it'd be fun, if i manage to end work on time and commit myself!.

oh man.. so many things.. so many big thoughts.. but nothing concrete. i should just think of the present. think of tomorrow. think of my bacteria being revived from the dead and growing miraculously tonight.

critic, critic and more critic...

Isn't this what i asked for? I don't like exams, and prefer to be graded by presentations and essays. So now i have it. 3 modules, graded using 5 presentations, 2 essays and 2 small tests. I'm quite happy actually. Just that, it's alot of work that always seems to clash. Doesn't help when these presentations and essays are on topics that i know almost nothing about. Someone teach me!! And it's even more 'wonderful' that all these presentations, essays and tests... lie within 2 weeks of deadline!! woohoo.. i'll disappear from the face of this earth in that 2 weeks from end march til early april. After which, there's a presentation i have to prepare for my research project. woohoo... welcome to the life of writing and presenting... >.<

well... should learn to get used to it. *shrug*

yikes, i am gluttony

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Very Low
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Medium

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

some come, some go

thanks to facebook, i've been finding back all my long-lost friends.. all the way back to primary one classmates. Been so busy meeting up with many of them, and with a long list still unfulfilled. It is a surreal feeling talking to them. I don't think i used to talk much in school, but yet each person i meet now, we talk like we have been the best of friends our entire lives. it's as if we never got separated for more than a day or two.

yet, at the same time, there are people who leave. departing slowly from my life story. I don't know if their departure would be permanent, or temporary like those of my ex-classmates. I definitely hope it is the latter. Until now, the longest friendships i find are still those from church and from school. i wonder if anyone else can break this trend of mine?

and i seriously hope the 6 of us can share more wonderful times like we did before.

philly visits

we failed to meet in tibet and taiwan last year, but finally, this time round when harry came over we managed to meet! brought him around to have some good food.. ^_^ and steph came along too!! i can't believe i haven't met this gal a single time since we left philly. We had spent so much time together, from traveling to church to planning stuff to heart-to-heart talks. we've really missed out a whole lot about each other since our return to singapore. i really hope we both keep our promise to meet up more often from now on! we did share an important part of lives, albeit for only 5 months (i'm quoting YOU, steph) ^_^

and i finally got to meet up with tzehui n tianai too!! whoaa.. been planning real long for this meeting.. coz tzehui helped me bring back some stuff from the states after she graduated.. and she returned from princeton last july!! *faint* i was sooo excited to receive those stuff from her yesterday. now i'm reluctant to part with them again. haha. thanks tze... and thanks for updating me on all those stuff too!! so much has happened to the rest of the 401ers.. i'm really looking forward to the first MAJOR gathering (as jinghui promises.. after the docs finish their final final final exams.. and chairman tianai has been avoiding her lifelong responsiblity).. 10 years after most of us met! manz.. has it really been so long? muggers united are mostly still muggers! we sure do live up our name >.<

CNY@wesley's

It's a yearly ritual. all the youths of GPC go to wesley's place during CNY.. to have fun. this year was no exception. we had more pple than previous years, and much more fun.. coz there was wii! haha.. pity there was no group photo, as people came and went..

since my bro had to book in tt day, we went abit earlier..
i met a new friend that day
my turn to play wii!my hairless bro. haha.
i don't know when this was taken. grr. for once leon was more camera-sensitive than me. i was too focused on playing uno! >.<we had lots of fun together.. ^_^

Once again

5 years ago, my friends were the ones going through this. Every time we met up, it’d be army talk. All the girls in the clique learnt a lot about what happens in there. 5 years later, it’s my very own brother. A lot of things sound so vaguely familiar to me. Yet, there is still so much more for me to hear. It’s as though I only heard a minute portion of everything that happens. And to think that it was only so many years later that I finally saw for myself what that place really looks like. An opportunity to put an image to what was only my own imagination for years. I can’t remember the reason, but I can’t help think back why I never got to visit that place 5 years ago? I can’t believe it. It’s been 5 years. Half a decade. Haha.

ZZZzzzzzzzzzz....

in need of sleep. being woken up by the opening and slamming of doors by my sister and mother who wake up ultra early, is making me lose my consciousness. one more day and i will really get knocked down by cars. it's like sleepwalking the whole day. live through the day without the ability to think. so fortunate that car drivers tt i encountered with today are patient and nice. i am moving out of this room tonight. coz i still want to come home intact tmr.

the clock is ticking

I know that time is passing very fast. I can sense it. I am stressed by it. But noone around me seems to feel it. Noone seems to think that I am progressing very slowly. Or maybe noone cares. I really want to do much more, to make things go faster. But some things cannot be rushed. And sometimes I wonder if it’s my own opinion that things are very slow? It’s actually been only about 2 months since. Yet, it seems like ages. I work so hard everyday, but it feels like I can do much more. I think I need to calm down and take things more easily. Feeling stressed is no use when I am incapable of speeding things up. Only after I polish my skills can I juggle more things at one go. Meanwhile, this is the best I can do. Thus, I must relax and continue at the current pace… yes, relax..

Who’s fault is it?

You don’t like it happening to you. You complain about it like it’s the worst thing that anyone can ever think of doing to you. But have you ever realized that, you yourself did it gazillion times to others around you? When it happens to you, you know how terrible it feels. Yet, when it’s your turn, you never hesitate to commit the same mistake, and never feel you’re wrong. Sigh. Why are we humans always like that, never able to see things from an objective point of view? 当局者迷，旁观者清……

Friends

Had a surprise sms today. From Lin. And so coincidentally, I was free today too! Managed to free up 2 hrs for lunch with her. Her hair is so long now.. I think the last time we had a good chat was last may! (exclude the short meetings at conferences lah) And since she was so free today, she decided to (or did I coerce her to?) crash my lecture. Heez.. it’s been so long since we sat together for a lecture. That familiar feeling. I wonder if this lecture was any different from others we had attended together before? But at least, all I know is that I really enjoyed the chats we have before, during, and after lectures. (and that fisherman’s friend! =P) Have missed out so much on her life! Hope she learnt as much as I did through the lecture too. ^_^

And oh, I forgot that the picture that she drew for me years ago is back up on my office wall. (or did I tell her already?)

Came and went

I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to jot anything down. My dearest brother, aka Ninja Turtle (my new nickname for him.. ^_^), returned from his confinement ler.. 2.5 weeks of not having him around, and the first sight of him I couldn’t recognize him. Was still wondering who that skinny, bald weirdo was, staring at me with huge eyes and that wide grin?! With him around, we had 2 consecutive days of good food, and 2 consecutive days of joy and laughter. I think all of us will look forward to every weekend now, since it signifies yummy food (that comes along with him, that is. Haha) Oh but the one thing none of us look forward to is that bag that returns with him. Oh manz.. the moment he opened it up, the entire kitchen stank! And that smelly smell diffused so rapidly throughout the house! Gosh.

pics pics for Shanghai Night DnD

Just a few photos.. lazy to upload all lah.. they're all in facebook.. hee~

FeiHong in action
FeiHong with 13-yi


Feihong 'sailormoons' into a female!


13-yi shocked at her feihong being a female


with a custom-made fan


We swap roles.. and i'm supposed to look scared of my feihong
Me chilling out under the stars, by the poolside
The tall oneswyee dajie at the piano.. such a pro..Finally.. a group shot!

Lady Luck with me

Yesterday’s DnD was so much better than last year. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. The food at Hilton Hotel was good too. Loved the baked fish with almonds! The MC this year was so much more entertaining too.. and the games involved everyone in the room, and made us run around til I got hungry again! >.<>th prize.. was mine!!!!!!! Woohoo.. a Panasonic DVD video camera that costs $799!! ^_^ I think amongst the prizes I liked the video camera and the home stereo system the most. Haha.. I think I have the luck for lucky draws. And the prizes just get better. During my sec4 prom I won a tv (but only 14 inch that time >.<).. now a video cam.. next time a CAR! Haha~ I think this year’s DnD was very worth it.

Spent:

$15 ticket for DnD

$21 cheongsam top for the Shanghai theme

$10.80 for the cab home

Received:

$5 sponsorship from chaota

$10 taka voucher from early bird lucky draw

$799 video cam

Net: $767.20 ^_^

For once, I did not take any photos with my camera. I had brought it, but too lazy to take it out, since everyone has a camera. Share share lah… =P

And it worked

I’m in the course! YAY~ It pays to go and beg the prof.. haha.. he doubled the class size and I’m among the 20 pple who went to beg him. I really hope this pays off. Hope we learn a lot from this module, and we can do well too.

Yeah.. doing well is CRUCIAL. I just received results for 1 out of 4 modules I took last semester, and I got a B-. Bah. I better buck up this semester.. coz i need an average of B+ by next semester or I have to pay back everything I’ve taken from the government, and that’s the end of my future. Eeks.

Oh well. It’s a good wake up call. At least I’m only done with half my modules, so I have the other half to score all As to pull up my score. Haha.. I make it sound so easy. =P

trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight!

regular frustration

Every year at this time, I get so upset with the school. Well, it’s not exactly their fault this time round, but once again, for the umpteenth time, I don’t get the module I want. AGAIN. And grad school does not even have bidding for modules! We apply, and we go for the class. But today, in class, the lecturer ‘threw’ us out of class. Coz this module is designed for 12 people, and 62 turned up for class. BAH.

not my fault

I did not forget to go to school today. I did not know there was school today. Module registration starts today, and many professors have replied my email last week saying that school starts next week. However, at 6pm today, after a full day’s work, I finally sat down to check my mail for the day. I got an email sent late this morning, saying “School starts today at 2pm”. Oh, how wonderful. I adore people who give last minute instructions.

day 3

Been so busy these few days. Enjoying the last days of my so called holiday (where I still have work), before my lessons start again. Yeah. Lessons.

It feels weird at home these days too. One missing person. We lack the male species at home now. I don’t know why, but I miss him. I didn’t miss him even when he went overseas for competition! Oh well. My baby bro is a grown up, boy-to-be-man now. It’s like THE event of the month for my family. It started off with mother reminiscing about how my brother used to do this and that when young. Then, it was the packing of the bags that everyone was involved in. On Tuesday, mother cooked a huge meal as a sort of farewell for my brother. Coz he prolly wun get much good food while in there. Wednesday, we all took half day off (thanks fangers for being so accommodating) and sent him to Tekong. I was comforted to see that the living conditions are pretty much chalet-like. The tour-guides kept saying “your son..” this and that. I have no son. But then again, come to think of it, I’ve been his “parent” for the past 6-7 years, attending parent-teacher meetings and other such stuff ever since he was in secondary school. So I am sort of a ‘parent’ too, eh? Haha. It’s really no big deal that someone’s enlisting. Every Singaporean guy has to do it. But.. I dunno. I can’t help thinking and hoping that he’s coping with the training. It’s totally different from 5 years ago when my JC mates went to army! Well, 14 more days til he comes out. I can’t wait to see him without his hair! Hahaha~

He’s the rightful boss

Had a short chat with N and L, the 2 profs involved in academic affairs in the company. It was an opportunity for the students in the company to bring up any issues regarding the policies and stuff, so that they may act as our advocates to A*STAR. Very nice of them to be so genuinely concerned about our welfare and whether we get the best opportunities to do what we want. When the meeting was about to end, the director dropped by to say hi. Due to his terribly busy schedule, he was in the room for probably less than 10 minutes. Yet, in that short span of time, he managed to give us all a lesson on life’s philosophy. It was not any content-less jibberish, not even close. 一针见血 is the best way to describe it. Listening to him was even more inspiring than listening to my boss. No wonder he’s my boss’s boss. He managed to hit right smack on what we were facing. Or I was facing, at least. It was so accurate, it was almost freaky. I couldn’t help when tears welled up in my eyes. I could see that he had a shock, for he was only a metre away from me, but he said nothing. I’m only more convinced that I have made the right choice to join this company, under the management of such wise and kind people. ^_^

…be patient.. it’s never going to be easy… It’s a pentathlon we’re running, not a marathon.. have to be flexible and keep changing strategies..

…aim not for what you want to be, but who you want to be, for you may never become what you want to be, but you can always be who you want to be.. that’s how you will be happy ^_^

the gals I grew up with

Finally, I met up with them. Some of them, at least. Hilda and elly after 2.5 years, Sharon after 1.5 years. They all left to study overseas, and before I know it, everyone’s graduated. Only Hilda’s still not back permanently. Yet. We’re all such busy people, only managed to meet up 1.5 hrs before we had to split. (and met elly’s mama too!! She still remembers me.. aww..) It’s such a nice feeling talking to them. Noone’s changed. Other gal friends grow up, mature, become more feminine, change their life plans. But this bunch of gals never change. That’s why I love them. ^_^ I’ve only known Hilda and Sharon for 10 yrs.. but I’ve known elly for 14 years! She still remembers the days we did projects together, making MRT trains, swimming, and my brother (only 4 years old then) shooting rubber bands at her! Haha.. that’s how her memories of my brother remain as—naughty little boy. She’d be surprised if she sees how tall my bro is now! It wonders me to realize how much each of us have been affected by one another.. sharing some life changing moments together. Our first criticisms, our growing out of naivety, our discovery of who the real Father is. I can never be more grateful to have known them all. Since they’re mostly back in Singapore, I should meet up with them more often! Too wonderful people to have missed out on the past 4-5 years of their lives. Thus I shall add on to my new year resolutions—to meet up with 401 gals more often! ^_^

watch me and remind me!

New Year Resolutions 2007 (not typo.. this is last yr’s)

1. To dedicate my heart and my soul into completing my honors year project. 2007 will be a better year. I cannot waste tax-payers’ money anymore.
2. To pick up a few more skills before I graduate. I will make my life as fulfilling as can be. ^_^
3. Further improve on speaking my mind. Maybe I should learn to care less, think less, and just speak without thinking. Ok.. maybe that’s exaggerating.. but seriously, sometimes I think too much. I should be a little bit more impulsive.
4. To grow spiritually. I need to equip myself with better knowledge of the Word.
5. Time to move on. I experience, I fall, I learn, I pick up myself.. now it’s time to let go and move on. The prayer 4 years ago has been answered (and still being answered). Answered to an extent I myself never expected. All that I have gone through thus far has helped me grow as a person, but at the same time, I cannot let it hold me down. In 2007, I shall leave behind all the negative memories since 2003 and move on only with the lessons learnt.

Did I do it?

1. I can say I really put my heart and soul, my flesh and blood into my final year project. ^_^
2. Skills..err.. I failed in beatboxing. I didn’t learn malay nor Korean, but I did pick up a few lines of French (took an entire course, but skipped most lessons. Haha) But I am in the midst of picking up an interesting skill.. marble sculpturing! ^_^
3. I do speak my mind. The school admin can vouch for that. But being impulsive in all situations.. not there yet.
4. There’s always room for spiritual growth. I personally think there wasn’t much growth this year. No new courses that I attended. NUS BS didn’t work out too well. CG was focused more on fellowship and bonding.
5. Moving on I managed to. In a way. But things can be better. Being sentimental is not my choice.

New Year Resolutions 2008

1. To grow spiritually
2. To serve well in the new ministries I am committing myself to. (CG and Sunday School)
3. To maintain the enthusiasm in the lab, and not to slack. Hope to clinch an opportunity to go for a conference overseas, based on my own works.
4. To improve my health.. coz it’s been going down. I don’t want to die yet! >.< (Thank God for a fellow friend who wants to be more sporty this year too! =P)
5. To spend quality time with friends and family, and not let anything happen due to my negligence.