The Primary Investigator of the Parasitology Lab

Watch this if you haven't. Who'd know that the prof would be so sporting?

Scientists can party! Er.

Presenting the DBS Christmas Binge!

Complete with too-loud karaoke, a colouring contest for the children, multi-coloured helium balloons (home made ones! secured with... rubber bands!), and a lucky draw at the end. Of course, not forgetting the refreshments, which was the only thing keeping people seated through it all. Binge yes? I doubt the leftover document bags from a conference (wrapped in newspaper!) given away as lucky draw goodies were much of a draw. Hurhur.

Eugene wondered if the lights on the much bedecked Christmas tree were fluorescing bacteria.


It's really too bad of me to be so cynical. Heh.
It was all good fun la. I think the cleaner aunties, other uncles and the small kids enjoyed it. And it was a chance to see the lab people let down their hair and sing their hearts out. Not fantastic, but entertaining nevertheless.

Psychoanalysis

Sometimes I feel like I'm striving to become something that I am not. As in:
What I am: an upper-middle achiever, with a splash of mediocrity somewhere
What I am deluding myself about: that I am more than that
Result: I keep having to do things that I don't really want to do

In which case, I should just plant my feet solidly on the ground and look for a 9-5 after graduation. Or I could even do something I like, such as things to do with books (as in fiction) or craft (as in the craft in art-and-craft).

But some other times, I'll think that that's not true. As in:
What I am: an above-average achiever, capable of greater glory *snicker*, with a timid streak somewhere, but really wanting to make it big somewhere.
So: to give up is just to take the easy way out, which everyone can do BUT to knuckle down and fight for my glory should be the way to go, which is not what everyone can do.

In which case I should ra-ra and become a warrior. Doesn't that sound really romantic.

What I need is affirmation (doesn't anyone?). As in from people who really know me and understand what I am talking and thinking about. I need to know that I am not deluding myself on this. I also wish that someone could hold my hand and do this with me. But this is asking the impossible, as far as I can envision. So it's up to me.

Fight to the end!

PS: haha, this sounds like quarter-life crisis to me.

What I really don't like is staring at a computer screen.
Give me printed material anyday man. *sigh*

The holiday season is giving me a headache.

Yesterday I experienced Regret. Yes, with a capital "R" no less. *sigh* I knew the moment I walked out of the shop. Dang it, shouldn't have been so easily persuaded when I wasn't even convinced.

Why like that?? The PCR machine doesn't like me.

Argh. I want to go to the beach. Why got monsoon, I ask you.

Chocolate only helped that much.

Crap. Maybe I'm suffering from SAD. Yep, seasonal affective disorder... even though Sg is equatorial. Must be the monsoon.

Trudge trudge.

Post Exam Madness

I have been going out everyday from the day I had the last of my papers. Haha. Even I'm surprised by myself!

5 Dec, Tue
Went Carl's Junior with the girls to have lunch after the rather expected Pharmacogen paper. My first time there actually. And my verdict: it's probably rather exciting for people who take beef. There are over 10 varieties of beef burgers with exotic dressings like guacamole and interesting fillings ranging from bacon to portobello mushrooms (pw went straight for this one). The fish and chicken burgers are considerably less varied but they are more than decent. I love how they give entire leaves of fresh crunchy lettuce instead of the standard fare of yellowing strips of sad vegetable. My Chargrilled Sante Fe Chicken was just right; the others all had massively filling (should I say stuffing) servings for theirs.

Following that, we walked around PS in a bid to aid digestion. Though waffles were going for half-price at Gelare, no one could even entertain the thought.

6 Dec, Wed
Met xq for crazy earring shopping and Ding Tai Feng for dinner. That has been one year in the making, I tell you. And it was definitely well worth the wait.


The appetiser, which is one of the recommended dishes. xq's favourite. I'm ok with it.


Xiao Long Bao! Very very good. The soup was tasty and not oily and the meat was nicely flavoured. The skin was nice and thin. This dish actually has the Health Promotion Board's "Healthier Choice" mark, so I guess the soup in the bun wasn't the result of frozen fat blocks like vally wally wrote.


Then we had the egg fried rice. I like how the egg was nicely distributed throughout the rice. Tasty.


Shrimp wonton soup. The shrimp! So fresh! So crunchy! Oh, this is bliss, I tell you.


And finally we had yam pau for dessert. The yam paste was smooth and not too sweet. We both liked them very much. Did you know that there has to be more than 18 folds on each bun?

7 Dec, Thurs
Met qy for Sakae Teatime buffet at Harbourfront. Sam joined us one hour into our meal. Having learnt our lesson, both of us went in at the start of the buffet time slot and not 15 minutes before the last order. So this time round we took 3 leisurely hours to eat. (And still failed to eat enough for the price we paid! 3 of us consumed 20 plate. Dismal, I know.) The dessert included in the buffet price was strawberries and cream. Real strawberries were filled with ice cream, coated with some sweet white thing and then frozen. Heaven.

After the meal we wandered into Vivo City for a bit to look for cards. Went up to the sky garden thingy which had a play pool made to look like the beach. I wonder why you'd want to play in there when Sentosa is just a stone's throw away. Ok, maybe the kids don't know. Didn't get to the waterfront facade though, which was what I quite want to see.

8 Dec, Fri

(Tired of reading yet? Haha..)

Went shopping with my mum at Orchard. We started off at OG at Somerset and worked our way up towards Orchard. It was raining cats and dogs when we got there soon after lunch but fortunately the water ran out while we were in OG. Eventually we made our way to Taka for which she had vouchers to spend.

I was sort of looking for heeled shoes so I took her to Far East Plaza (!) after failing to find anything I liked. Far East was thronging with teenagers as usual. I kept going for shoes with some sort of bow or quirky bauble, much to my mum's disapproval. Most shoes were really too high for me to function in; if I got them I would only be able to stand around! But tall shoes really do make a girl look good.

We got home around 9 pm. I have to say that I am really quite surprised that we walked for as long as we did; my mum was wearing low heels and she is more than twice my age. The only two times we stopped were to drink coffee at 5 o'clock and to have dinner before we came back. Haha, people still surprise you even when you've known them all your life.

Today
Will be off to an AWC gathering in the evening. Wahahaha. More fun! I think I'll buy Mini Cornettos to bring along.


I'll go back to lab on Monday happy.

Shut Door Meditate

That's bi4 guan1 xiu1 lian4 for those scratching your heads, heh. Can't be bothered to switch to Chinese typing... I only meant to check my email!

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to shout about "The Story of Slimderella."

Way to go, Joyce! That was really funny :) and totally educational to boot.

Cavemen died

In this day and age, it is my firm belief that sheer brute force has no place in our lives anymore.

Speaking loudly doesn't make you more reasonable. Nor does it mean that you are confident. You just look dumb when you are talking to someone sitting about 30 cm away from you.

It's just really annoying when there is loads of noise that doesn't serve any purpose.

Maybe the person who's speaking is hard of hearing. Ok ok, if you look old and you speak loudly, I'll give you the benefit of doubt.

If you deserve attention, you don't have to demand it. People will pay attention to you. If you demand attention when there is none to be given, then you are just wasting your energy. Hah. I have no sympathy for you then.

Being aggressive and forceful is not going to win you your point when you are clearly in the wrong. So just take your energy and go clean up your house/drawer/desk. That is at least constructive.

That you can exert great force, whether through yakking at glass-shattering decibels or punching through ten metres of concrete, doens't mean much. It doesn't even show any skill.

It is when you can control yourself, speaking and acting appropriately such that your point gets across and people respect you, that it is truly impressive.

Didn't the cavemen all die out a long time ago.

Discontent and ennui - the bane of my life.

Yes, isn't it amazing? I actually have time to be bored. While other people are worrying about lab and term papers and CAs, I have time to visit library (the National Library, mind you) and read FICTION. Haha.

I am terribly bored.

I must say this semester has to be my slackest ever. Strange but true. Only 3 modules: 1 straightforward and not difficult, 1 is not straightforward but doesn't have much content anyway and the last is straightforward, could be difficult but have gone through one round of CA. So, my conclusion is that I don't have much to worry about. Also, lab is quite own-time-own-target and I've been assured that I'm well on the way, so that's that.

It's not that I have NOTHING to do. It's just that what I should be doing basically involves reading academic stuff. Only. Off the computer screen, no less. Very unattractive prospect. If I knuckle down to do it, I could be:

(1) reading papers about mitotic misregulation and ageing and about Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome vs Werner's Progeria as models for ageing
(2) reading papers about the SLC22A group of organic cation transporters in the kidney
(3) reading papers about complexes involved in protein trafficking in yeast
(4) reading papers about tandem affinity purification
(5) reading papers about... sorry, I got carried away. But you get my drift.

Argh. I don't like reading pdf files on the computer! But I can't possibly print everything out. Too wasteful.

I could read about applying to grad schools. But it's more reading off the computer screen too. And the prospective information overload is not exactly something I look forward to. Bleah.

(Sidetrack: the GRE PowerPrep software arrived in the mail yesterday... after I've taken the test AND received my results. Well done!)

I need to DO something. And not just sit around and read things.

The sun outside makes me want to go to the beach. Bad.

Oh yes, I had the most fantastic thought yesterday, haha. It just struck me that my ultimate (unattainable) fantasy is to be an Esprit mannequin. Then I can wear all the latest collections without having to spend a cent. The downside is, of course, I would have to be dressed in public AND I'll have no head. hahahahahaha.

Well, I said it was a fantasy.

Some things/occasions that make me happy

- a good book
- a bar of snickers almond, the best chocolate ever
- good sunny weather
- when i give and don't expect
- when i get what i don't expect (have i ever mentioned that i love the concept of serendipity)
- when i see and talk to my friends
- when i receive encouragement from people who matter
- when i see and talk to people i care about
- when i dress up for myself
- after i run
- when i see/meet kind strangers
- when i manage to crack sth that was difficult
- after i bathe
- good music
- gorgeous scenery
- calvin and hobbes
- when i am loved
- when i love
- when i am in love


* list is not exhaustive =)

Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

What's Your Personality Type?

For a short quiz, the result is quite accurate, I think. But I don't really think much of being an alternative medicine guru. "Alternative" and "guru"? Nah, not my cup of tea. And I think I've told almost anyone who cared to know that I don't think I can teach. I'll die from wanting to whack people when they can't get my message. Haha.

There are lengthier descriptions here and here. I like the piece written by Marina Margaret Heiss at the first link.

I can't remember what I got for the personlity test I took in secondary school though. Haha, but my guess is that it's probably not changed much ;P

Breadth and Depth

It struck me during lab meeting today that undergraduates have a hard time balancing breadth and depth.

On one hand, we are supposed to take several modules every semester spanning a great spectrum of specialities. But at the honours level, at least, textbooks are no longer fully sufficient.

On the other hand, we are required to be well acquainted with one area of research in the course of doing the FYP. It is not enough to read one paper to get some background knowledge to start off. We have to be intimately familiar with what has been done, what it all means, what we can do to move on from there. It's a little bit like postgrad already. Not to the same extent, but quite enough.

The thing is: postgrads devote all their time to understanding their field of research. That is all they do and it is what they are rightly suppposed to do.

But undergrads have to do that and we also have to read papers for our modules. We have to know more than a bit in breadth and more than a bit in depth.

It's between a rock and a hard place, really.

I need time.
And I need the brain capacity!
And then should I finally absorb enough, I need to able to execute.

Argh. Not simple life is.

And vast science is. Really.

But then it's good to learn new things. Exposure, exposure!

Wei Theng, your IQ score is 141
The way you think about things makes you a Creative Theorist. This means you are a highly intelligent, complex person. You are able to process information of nearly every kind with ease, using both creativity and analysis to make sense of the world. Compared to others you also have a very rich imagination.

How did we determine that your thinking style is that of a Creative Theorist? When we examined your test results further, we analyzed how you scored on 8 dimensions of intelligence: spatial, organizational, abstract reasoning, logical, mechanical, verbal, visual and numerical. The 3 dimensions you scored highest on combine to make you a Creative Theorist. Only 6 out of 1,000 people have this rare combination of abilities.

The Super IQ Test

Fun in the Sun

Spent the day at Sentosa yesterday. Finally managed to be at the, or rather a, beach without the skies emptying upon us. The weather was really really good! Next time we'll get a proper beach mat, heh.


Didn't get to watch the musical fountain show though, as it was full house when we got there. Tsk tsk, why don't they just expand the seating capacity.

His wrist and my wrist

*gag*

got this from plhu

sugar overdose!!

Social Life at Hogwarts

Most people that know you, like you. You are a little shy, friendly, and very sweet and innocent. You try your best in your studies and often get an okay grade. You are scared of the dark, monsters, and bugs. You love your friends, but sometimes don't trust all of them. You are very quiet around strangers, but when your with your friends you could be the loudest person in the room.

Harry: He is happy for you and Ron and thinks you are a great person. He is kind of torn about who he thinks should be with Ron in the end. It's either you and Hermione, but he thinks you are both good for Ron.

Ron: He loves you. He's glad that you both share the same fears, such as spiders. He thinks you are great to be with and is completely comfortable in your presence. He knows that you and Hermione have a tension between you and always leaves quickly when you three are all together. He is so glad you are his girlfriend, and prays that you'll never leave him.

Hermione: She hates you because you took Ron away. Her logical side knows she's judging you wrong, but her heart refuses to forgive you. She wants to be your best friend again, like she was before you started dating Ron, but everytime she sees you with him she storms off. Jealousy is a tricky thing.

Ginny: She is one of your closest friends. She can't wait til you and her become sisters-in-law. However, she is also torn, like Harry, on who is more of Ron's soul mate. She always says gross when she sees you and Ron snogging, but besides that she's happy that your around the Burrow all the time with Ron.

Neville: He thinks your nice, but that's basically it.

Fred and George: They adore you and pick on you for going out with Ron. They like to tease the two of you when you are snogging and laugh when you both blush. They always tell you about there pranks and love how you laugh and appreciate them. They are ready to weldome you into the family.

Oliver Wood: He doesn't know you that well. Only sees you as the quiet girl who is Ron's girlfriend.

Cedric Diggory: Doesn't know you.

Cho Chang: Thinks you are really cute and the sweetest little thing. She thinks you are very innocent and is always very nice to you.

Lavender Brown: She finds it hard to hate you, since you are so nice and all, but deep down she hates you with every fiber in her body. She is thinking of joining with Hermione to get rid of you, but knows that Hermione wouldn't go that far.

Draco Malfoy: Thinks you and Weasley deserve each other. Both blood traitors. Deep down he wishes he found someone like that, but won't admit it. He thinks you're an okay person, but can't say that for fear of getting punished.

Pansy: Doesn't know or talk to you.

Crabbe and Goyle: Same as Pansy.

Dumbledore: He thinks you are very nice and wishes you the best with Mister Weasley.

McGonagall: She appreciates your effort in class and thinks you are a great student. She just wished that you and Mister Weasley would stop staring at each other during class.

Hagrid: He thinks you are a great girl and laughs when you and Ron always blush. He thinks you two are the cutest couple. He calls it 'puppy love'.

Snape: He doesn't notice you and doesn't care. He takes house points from you every now and then, not because he hates you, it's because you always manage to do something wrong in your potions.

Voldemort: Is thinking of using you to get Ron, but doesn't know if you're worth the trouble. Has you on his list of people to kill, but you aren't exactly his top priority.

Reputation: The Nice Girl
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National Day Special

Singapore celebrated her 41st birthday on Wednesday and for the first time in my whole life (if I remember correctly), I decided not to stay home and watch TV specials. Instead, I took a little trip around the sunny isle to see if there were Kodak moments worth capturing. First up: Istana Park, all dressed up for the occasion.


The fringe activities at Kallang.


En route to the stadium; redder than Chinese New Year!


The spectrum of men serving the nation. There was a whole array of crisis vehicles (I mean things like ambulances, fire trucks, special ops vehicles etc) parked in a line at the carpark but I didn't get a picture.


One last one at the National Stadium...


I then headed to town. Buses (at least the SBS ones) now carry a Singapore flag as do taxis. And that was a whole bunch of tourists on a city tour. I didn't realise the tour company has its grip here too! These buses are all over Europe, at least in ALL the cities I had been to so far. Scary!


Closer home, this is the display my RC put up and that is a very patriotic neighbour living in my block. Now maybe they should have paid more attention when hanging the flag...

And to round it off, the moon decided to put up a show that night.

Weekend Gallivants

15 July: Alien Invasion!
National Orchid Gardens (Singapore)

Orchids are really quite bizarrely designed flowers. Other than the fact the they have the same number of petals, there doesn't seem to be any other rule that govern the gamut of colours, shapes and sizes that runs in the family of our national flower.


29 July: National Cuisine?
Changi Airport Terminal 2

The sundae is our very own creation: sticky chewy chocolate and blueberry flavours for icer-cream and butterscotch and marshmallow for toppings. We found out that the marshmallow topping is in liquid rather than solid state. Heh. The chicken rice and wanton (hurhur, no pun intended) noodles are quite decent considering that they cost more than counterparts from your neighbourhood foodcourt. The chicken is tender and tasty and the serving of xiao bai cai is generous.


5 August: Pyrotechnics!
Singapore Fireworks Festival, Esplanade Waterfront

Why is it that I never have my tripod when I need it? AND that whenever I do bring it out I don't get to use it. Tsk tsk. But I managed to take some okay pictures I think, so I'm not going to complain anymore, heh. I like fireworks! Seems like many Singaporeans do too because the waterfront was packed when we got there at 7.45 pm while the fireworks were slated to begin only at 9 pm. The little boy is so cute; the fireworks hadn't started yet, in case you are wondering. Pre-emptive measures eh, grin.



You can still catch the displays on the 8th, 11th and 12th. And don't forget the National Day ones on the 9th!

Zzing!

The more I sat, the more tired I felt.

The more I read (whether it is a novel, a reference book, a scientific paper or even newspapers), the more tired I felt.

The more I did nothing, the more tired I felt.

But. The moment I put on my running shoes and step out for a jog, I feel awake. Alive. Happy! I'm so glad I discovered running. The wind (if there is wind) in my face, the sun (if there is sun) on my skin... but most of all the clarity of mind that inevitably comes along.

I like running at the neighbourhood stadium. More so than at the track in school or on a treadmill somewhere indoors. At the public stadium, I get to see people of all ages and from all walks of life. Interesting! (There was a cute kid today; his grandpa took him out for fresh air. He's really cute, haha, like small kids are. And pretty agile and fearless!)

It suddenly struck me as I was running that much as I like research and lab and academia (or maybe I think I like, haha), I don't think I'll survive if that is the only thing in my life. I need to get out and work something other than my brain!

So. I want to run!

And I also want to shoot!

For as long as I can. Heh.

And the diagnosis is...

I have come to the conclusion that I am a true-blue escapist. No no, I don't specialise in jail-breaking or anything criminal. It's a bit less exciting than that. I mean that I would rather run away than to confront something, expecially when I know it is going to hurt big time. Hah, this explains my passivity eh.

When I am unhappy about something, and even when I am angry about something, I often clam up and ignore rather than rant about it. Cold war, not arm-to-arm combat.

If possible I try to do things in ways that do not involve troubling other people. If I can do it myself, I do it myself. If no one notices anything, all the better.

When I see an acquaintance in the distance and I know that after saying "Hi!" there would be an awkward pause, I would not say "Hi!"

I don't often call people.

I want to fade into the background when there is an argument around me that I can do nothing about.

I always thought that weakness is abominable and I had hoped that I am not weak. But I think, in my hearts of hearts, I am so very weak. No strength of character. Not garang enough. I don't know if I will ever be strong enough to fight for something. Most things feel very lukewarm at the moment. I guess they have been like this forever already.

In some ways, this contradicts my need for control. When I know I can get my way, I must have it in my way. But who said that life is going to be easy. I guess it's when I know that it is beyond my control that I escape. Well, that just about showcases my cowardice in its full glory.

This is so incredibly sad. It saddens even me.

On Local TV

Oliver's Twist

For some reason, this is one show I never get tired of watching. It was shown about 3 years ago, then it went off and then it's now back on air. That our local TV station likes to milk every show they've ever bought bone-dry is nothing new. And it's not why I'm writing about the show today.

I find that I'm rediscovering the show. I used to like it because of the way it is shot: all the bright colours and rioutous cacophony Jamie Oliver whips up in his kitchen. The food wasn't the main point because I didn't really have any real concept of Western food. If you know what I mean. As in, I couldn't relate.

Now I find myself drawn to the street scenes that precede the actual cooking and then to the actual dishes. I can recognise some of the places he visits! Spotted Borough Market once... and the backdrop view of the Thames and St Paul's from his kitchen window is definitely familiar! Yum. And having steeped in British cooking (ok ok, British supermarkets), I now find his pasta and sandwiches rather exciting! But he uses too much rocket. Bleah!

Commercial time

I have come to the conclusion that these slots of repeating trailers/spoilers/advertisments and what-nots are meant to kill brain cells. No, no, exterminate brain cells. There are only so many times I can tolerate the too-loud soundtrack for a certain local talent show. Really!

Now I know why plhu records her shows and watches them sans the breaks.

If a show is scheduled for Friday and if you regularly watch that channel, then I only hope you have a high threshold, starting on Monday.

Mid Year Resolution

I resolve to gripe/complain less.

You know when you observe two people in conversation, there are instances when you can clearly tell that one party is talking too much and that the other is only listening with half an ear (and wishing with his/her whole heart that the former would just give it a rest). Yet the one's who talking too much still goes on. And on. And on. It is a lot worse for the latter when the former goes on in that kind of sneering/whining/self-righteous tone. Bleah.

I think the world will be a better place if we tell other people happy things. Of course I don't mean for people to bottle up all their unpleasant emotions. But since most of the time complaining will only propagate frustration, my suggestion is to deal with negative feeling to sort it out as best as possible before relating it to someone else with as much neutrality and peace-of-mind that can be mustered. Yep, I hope I can do that.


Here's something that pw sent me; they were taken on the day we moved out of Wolfson. Don't we look so very happy!


Prunes!

doing nothing

random madness.

i've not been up to much lately. does trying to read count? managed absorb some basic details about the bacterial T4SS and some stuff about a protein. some consolation i guess. well, i've put a stop to this inefficient mode of working: i'll be going to lab tomorrow! yay. decided that it's better to get my hands dirty first. being confounded in lab will probably be fresh impetus to read more. just reading with no aim is, frankly, difficult.

did have 2 bad dreams over 3 nights though. in vivid detail. that i still remember. brain on overdrive to compensate for lack of activity in the day? maybe.

ach. my bestest friend has gone abroad. it's not that we see each other a great deal. but knowing that we are on the same island is a good feeling. well, she probably felt the same when i ran off at the beginning of the year. heh. now to rely on the wonders of technology i guess.

ok, going off the gallivant in town. actually i'm hoping to find a cd at hmv. wish me luck.

Commencement

Trust the school to come up with such a name for convocation.

Well, I suppose it is true that while graduation does mark the end of one's education, it also heralds the beginning of a totally new phase in one's life. I know, I know, the "new phase of life" phrase is so often used that some part of the brain just shuts down when one sees it being used to describe an event.

BUT. Isn't it really so. Perhaps for (roughly) half of the country's population, entering the army and serving the nation is the first time when this phrase truly applies. That is when one's entire life changes and when old routines become meaningless and get overwritten in quite an abrupt manner. Yet for the other 50%, it's been school all along, just in mildly varied methods of teaching. For them this is the breakpoint.

Graduating from university. I don't know about you but the thought of it never fails to make me draw a larger breath. It entails making so many decisions about the future. To study more? Or to join the workforce and start contributing to your CPF? (Or to work for a year and then study more?) To be idealistic, looking for that perfect job? Or to be realistic, taking what comes?

I don't know how many people actually still think about this now but the idea of wanting to do better than the last generation is probably not new. Like our parents probably dreamed of living in HDB flats and working in the new industrial estates rather than following their parents', our grandparents', footsteps in the family farm. And my hopes of living in a penthouse with a fantastic view and my other hopes about my future employment.

This "doing better" notion is always hanging around my conscious thoughts somewhere. It is real. I have the potential of earning hell of a lot more money when I start working. I really do. So sometimes I just feel like I should get the *bleep* out of school faster and start working. (In the mean time I should not spend so much of my parents' money). I guess for some of my contemporaries whose parents are university graduates and working professionals (or whose family is quite happily well off), this is entirely irrelevant. Or just less relevant. I don't know.

I wonder if I should do post-grad and spend more time in school or go out and start earning my keep. The unemployed feeling is... uncomfortable. I should be supporting my parents or something.

Commencement. Well, I had better not screw up my honours year. Ok, let's not mince words here. I WANT A FIRST CLASS. I want to do my parents proud. I want to do myself proud.

So before Commencement 2007 comes around, here's presenting a member of the Class of 2006: Congrats! (heh, again.)

Back again!

I'm back!

Spent the last couple of days unpacking, packing, washing, washing and washing. Oh and watching TV. Heh.
The weather is actually ok; I'm not feeling like I'm melting or anything. In fact it is rather nice not to have to depend on the weather forecast to dress to go out!

Ok, back to packing. It's really crazy how much stuff I have. I should just stop buying things altogether. Unless I can buy a house to store them. Haha. Ok, nuts I am.

Last Night in London

I'm going to miss this place, that's for sure.
The Thames.
The walks along the Thames.
The runs along the Thames.
The ever-changing view along the Thames.
The people along the Thames: lovers and couples, families and friends, baskers and tourists, peddlers and stall holders...
The bridges across the Thames: Tower, London, Southwark, Millenium, Blackfriars, Waterloo, Hungerfort aka Jubilee, Westminster, Lambeth and Vauxhall. I'm proud to say that I've crossed them all!
The view from my window. (ok, to be specific, Room 1202 of Wolfson)
The parks: Hyde, St James's, Regent. Hyde's got to be my favourite.
My friends from hall: Peter, Eun Sun, Jamane, Holly.
The lovely blue sky... when it is clear!
The shops we frequent: Tesco, Sainsbury, Boots, Upper Crust, M&S.

The list probably can go on, but these are the most salient things off my mind now.


But then again, it'll be nice to go home.
Hang on, I'm coming home!

Back from Edinburgh

It was a cool trip! The best part of Scotland has to be the spectacular scenery and the awe-inspiring views of the sea.

The first day we went along the Royal Mile to see the "wynds" or the undulating little streets and then ended up at Holyrood Park, hiking up Salisbury Crags and maling it all the way up to Arthur's Seat. It's 250 m above sea level and the view from the top was well worth the scrabbling and scrambling up the last lap on all fours. Heh, amateur rock-climbers eh. cy's judicious question saved us much grief; if not for it we might not have gotten to the Seat this trip!

The second day was rather slack, mainly because it rained most of the time and also because we were all unwilling to fork out money for admission into Edinburgh Castle and Rosslyn Chapel (yes, the one in "The Da Vinci Code"). So like all good tourists, we took photos outside and were happy with those. We did go for a Scotch Whiskey Tour though and I had my first taste of the very strong brew. Highlight for the day was probably the very nice lunch at The Mussel Inn. But I didn't have mussels... ok, I had one.

On the last day, we visited the Museum of Flight for "The Concorde Experience." It took us about an hour and a half on the bus to get to East Lothian Airfield, where the museum is located. En route we passed by North Berwick which boasts an award-winning seaside. cy and I spend the time waiting for our connecting bus taking pictures while the other 4 experienced an award-wnning toilet and hunted down pastry. The beach makes us think of "The Old Man and the Sea." On the return journey, we had lunch at a teashop called "The Pantry" in Haddington where a middle aged couple approached us and remarked on how "quiet" and "gentle" we were through our meal. They are Haddington residents and had apparently been observing us eat. Oh, they first asked where we were from. Haha, they must have had some nasty experience with rowdy Asian tourists in the past. After lunch we headed back to city centre and had time for a little retail therapy along Prince's Street before catching our train back.

The train ride back was very pleasant and comfortable... because cy and I had a lot of leg space! Heh.

All in all, a good trip!

"Rudeness should always be intentional, otherwise it's insensitivity."

- in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P. D. James

Mostly Arty

Phantom last night:


For some reason, the theme for today was 'art'... and I didn't orchestrate it though! Heh.

When I was out running, I saw this group of girls sprawled in front of the Tate Modern doing pencil sketches of the Millenium Bridge. They looked like they take some sort of art class.

Then I decided to go visit the National Gallery in the afternoon. On the way, I passed these 2 groups of people also sketching some part of the view in front of the Tate Modern again. Don't the little group of retirees look so... happily retired? Heh. How nice to have time for leisurely pursuits like this and to have a group of like-minded companions to share the hobby with!



I like the National Gallery. I didn't want to look at the Renaissance pieces today, so mainly I looked at paintings from 1700-1900. These included the impressionists like Monet and Manet and also painters like Degas, Renoir and Cezanne. I rather like Cezanne's works and some of Renoir's paintings. And I like many of the paintings of that period depicting the French countryside.

My favourite one has to be "Bathers at Asnieres" by Georges Seurat. I like the pastel but luminous colours he used that gave the scene a sunny and pleasant feel. Isn't it lovely? (the real thing is definitely loads better than this.)


People seem to kiss more frequently, spontaneously and passionately these days. Must be the summer heat!

All the King's (Queen's) Men...

Horse Guard at Whitehall:


"Toy Soldiers" at Buckingham Palace:


... ok ok, sentries at guard boxes.

Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace:


Spent an hour squashed up against the Palace gates to catch this (and many video snippets). The Military Band played Abba! Haha. The whole thing was quite entertaining.

Serendipitiously, caught the rehearsals of a "Military Spectacular" at Horse Guard Parade when I went back to St James's Park to get flower pictures:



The little old lady near me was so happy to have caught it as well. It was "fantastic" and she had "a lovely afternoon". How very English!

My trophy photo for today:

Perfect Summer

Summer has dawned on London fiercely and brightly the past few days. The sky's been the colour of cornflowers and in Peter's words, "it's so clear it's ridiculous." The sun just beats down and everywhere there are people taking advantage of the precious rays. It's as though all the sunshine that didn't penetrate the thick clouds all winter is being spilled over the city in a single dash. I do so love the sunkissed feeling on my skin.

We took advantage of the first light (it was warm but not clear on Friday) on Saturday to go on the London eye. The view was wonderful and since we took the Discovery Flight (it's not a ride but a flight because British Airways is a partner of the Eye), a guide provided us useful nuggets of information throughout the 30 minutes.


One of the most interesting tidbits is that Westminster Bridge is painted green and the Lambeth Bridge red because the Lords wanted to cross a different bridge from the commoners to get to work at the Houses of Parliament (which, in as you are not aware) is divided the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Correspondingly, the terrace outside the Houses of Parliament are colour-coded with green and red awning so that there are separate eating areas as well. Aristocratic snobbery? You bet!

Then it was off to Hyde Park! I love the place, not just because of the flowers but because the park is really a lovely place. That said, the flowers DO drive me crazy. Wild daisies peek out all over the grass, roses of all varieties bloom left and right on bushes and vines. I stopped to smell one that was in full bloom and it was lovely. Bees buzzed around, busy with nectar collecting. On top of that, there are many many kinds of flowers I didn't recognise.




People do everything and anything at the park to take advantage of the good weather. There are people playing frisbee, playing soccer, picnicking, eating ice-cream, cycling, roller-blading, jogging, reading, sun-tanning, rowing, sleeping... There are families, friends, couples and singles. And there are really people who lie down on the grass in their bikinis. It's just like East Coast Park... minus the sand. My favourite part is that there is actually a deck-chair rental service! It's just so amusing. I've got to admit it's good business acumen!


On Sunday I went for a walk along the river. The weather was still great.

I originally only planned to catch Tower Bridge lifting, have lunch along the river then go back.

But one thing led to another and so after the lift:


...I had lunch on one of the ubiquitous benches along the river with a book. And then I strayed to the book market under Waterloo Bridge:


I was planning to get back to hall to call home but then my mum called while I was out. Serendipitious, heh. So after talking, I went on walking.

There was a spontaneous party taking place below the bridge. There was actually a bit of "beach" (it's the river back) as the tide was out.



And this is one of the ice-cream trucks that's sprung up with the good weather. This one has a really cute license plate though!



There's this really cute saxophone-playing boy outside the National Theatre. Really, he can charm the skirts of any woman! Heh.


I crossed Hungefort Footbridge:


...otherwise known as the Golden Jubilee Bridges. While on it, this little old man stopped to talk to me. He thought we've met before but we haven't. Still he was really pleasant and he left me to my shutters after we bade each other good day.

I then strayed to Trafalgar Square and there was a demonstration taking place:



After that I decided it was too good a day to be indoors and so didn't go into the National Gallery but went on to Leiscester Square/Chinatown/Covent Garden before heading back via Waterloo Bridge. I was going to go up Kingsway but the shops were mostly closed on Sunday, so I didn't.

Then when I got back, I got locked out after leaving all my barang in my room. But that's another story altogether. The lock's fixed now. Or rather, the handyman took out a strip of my doorframe, sawed off the bolt, threw out the old lock and put in a new one. He says since my floor's going to be refurbished this summer, it's ok (and easier) to hack the doorframe out. Haha.

Locked out!

I've been locked out of my room cos the lock has decided not to be friends with the key anymore. So I'm spending the night in an "emergency room" before the handyman comes and fix it tomorrow.

Sigh.

But at least this is not the exam period and I don't exactly have big plans and important appointments to keep this evening or tomorrow morning. And it has been comfortably warm this few days, so I won't need my warm clothing. And I have food in the kitchen, which I can access. So I guess it's not that bad. And people have been really kind to lend me stuff.

I was actually planning to blog about the perfect summer day I spent yesterday. I guess it'll have to wait. zhen shi ren suan bu ru tian suan!

Yesterday's lunch at Kintaro:


It's saba shio rice (grilled mackerel with salt) and it was actually very nice. I like the fish.

And this is today's lunch at Assa:


From left to right: fel, eunsun, me and pw.
Fel's flying home tomorrow and then she's going to San Francisco to do art next year. So no more kcl for her. Eunsun is hoping to meet her conditional offer from Birmingham, so now she's studying really hard.


Kim chi fried rice. Spicy and nice. But I forgot fried rice means ALOT of oil. Oh well, hopefully I walked it off already. If not I'll just run like mad. The weather's supposedly good till Tuesday. Whee!

And by the way, I found zong zi today! How crazy. Saw them in See Woo, this Chinese supermarket that we didn't enter yesterday. They were labelled Hong Kong style and they looked and smelled exactly like what we get at home. So Hong Kongers do eat them afterall! I didn't buy it though, cos it's not duan wu jie anymore... and each cost 2.20! So that's that.