‘Police made me strip’
Am looking through The Star in between centrifugation cycles. Came across this article and it totally gross me out. Sometimes, no matter how much I would love to be back home in my home country, it's situation like this that makes me hesitate. Give her a break man..she's a mum! with three kids!! Why do they need to do that to her for? For a boost of self-confidence? That is just so wrong. What happen to all the ethics we were taught in Moral class in high school? What happen to the well known 'friendly Malaysians'? Worst of all, it involves our own police force. How could we still trust them to protect us? To provide us with justice when we need it? To put them high in our pedastal because they are our shield? This is just so sad and disappointing...
Friday, March 31, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
snowflakes
Had been a crazy week...or maybe it's been a crazy 2 weeks. For the last three days, all I did was sat in front of the computer, from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep. Had my lunch and dinner right in front of the computer too. But I finally presented the data this morning...after a two hours of sleep for the past 48 hours, I think I did a pretty good job (ish ish, praising herself). Well, how well it is doesn't matter as long as all the PIs was satisfied with it. In fact, I think we now have more information than they had before.
As for now, my days will go by without looking at the screen for a while. So I'll be leaving this picture for my visitors to ponder upon.
As for now, my days will go by without looking at the screen for a while. So I'll be leaving this picture for my visitors to ponder upon.
This was taken sometime last week at 6.55am in the morning. The snow was just falling and these clumps are still fresh on the surface of my car. I love it when the snow falling are not all clumped up together (which can be fun sometimes if you decide to build a snowman) but are in its distinct shape. There's a believe that no two snowflakes are alike...how true is that?
Unfortunately, the snow did not stayed around for long as it melts once it touches the ground.
Now that I post all the snowflakes pictures for my fellow M'sians who have yet to see snow, I will leave my readers (few, but definitely appreciated) with another picture of snowflakes and you can look for yourself it the really is an evidence for the 'no two snowflakes are alike' theory.
Unfortunately, the snow did not stayed around for long as it melts once it touches the ground.
Now that I post all the snowflakes pictures for my fellow M'sians who have yet to see snow, I will leave my readers (few, but definitely appreciated) with another picture of snowflakes and you can look for yourself it the really is an evidence for the 'no two snowflakes are alike' theory.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
loves chewing ice???
'Everything is everywhere, the environment selects'... while this is the paradigm of microbial ecology about half a century ago, we now know that this is not always true. However, there are still some cosmopolitan strains such as Escherichia coli. Even then, it's abundance is usually very low. But when it gets to a certain level, it is 'predicted' that the environment is contaminated by human excretes. Why? That's because it is found in human feces and can be used as an indication of contamination. It is also linked to a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, some deadly while some mild. It still amaze me how one species of bacterial can be such a pain in the ass and yet bears the answer to fundamental microbiology. Isn't that interesting? But I'm kinda sick of it...we know so much already. We need new stuff!
Recently, a girl collected ice from fast-food chains and test for presence of E. coli for her science project. She's 12 and already has the mind of a microbiologist. At 12, I don't think I know what a bacteria was...I was still trying to memorize the all the layers found in the skin organ and draw the map of Malaysia (carbon paper sure was something to be treasured at that time!). Guess what her result came out...positive for all the ice she collected. And what's more intriguing, the water from the toilet that she collected were negative or has less E. coli. Can you believe that??? Well, I definitely can. The water that goes into the toilet bowl comes directly from the wastewater treatment and if the toilet bowl is clean, it should be pretty much low in bacteria especially if it is being flushed often. As for the ice, there are tons of hands going in there daily. True, there'll be scoop but how many people can say that they don't touch the ice when scooping it up? Furthermore, if the ice-machine is left open like those at kopi-tiams along New Lane or Macalister Rd, there'll be even more bacteria. I can't even imagine the counts one would get from places like these if there are tons from fast-food chains which are way cleaner than a kopi-tiam at Swatow Lane.
So for those who likes to chew on ice...beware...you might be consuming more bacteria than you should. Definitely not a good idea when immune system is weak...maybe that's why mum always prevent us from eating ice when we're sick.
Recently, a girl collected ice from fast-food chains and test for presence of E. coli for her science project. She's 12 and already has the mind of a microbiologist. At 12, I don't think I know what a bacteria was...I was still trying to memorize the all the layers found in the skin organ and draw the map of Malaysia (carbon paper sure was something to be treasured at that time!). Guess what her result came out...positive for all the ice she collected. And what's more intriguing, the water from the toilet that she collected were negative or has less E. coli. Can you believe that??? Well, I definitely can. The water that goes into the toilet bowl comes directly from the wastewater treatment and if the toilet bowl is clean, it should be pretty much low in bacteria especially if it is being flushed often. As for the ice, there are tons of hands going in there daily. True, there'll be scoop but how many people can say that they don't touch the ice when scooping it up? Furthermore, if the ice-machine is left open like those at kopi-tiams along New Lane or Macalister Rd, there'll be even more bacteria. I can't even imagine the counts one would get from places like these if there are tons from fast-food chains which are way cleaner than a kopi-tiam at Swatow Lane.
So for those who likes to chew on ice...beware...you might be consuming more bacteria than you should. Definitely not a good idea when immune system is weak...maybe that's why mum always prevent us from eating ice when we're sick.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
STOMP
Went to watch Stomp last night (yup yup, despite all the late nights and yet to be finished task list. But hey, it's a once in a blue moon opportunity!). I have seen clips of it before at some of the video stores in Mid Valley or One Stop, Penang. I was intrigue by the performance but never thought that I could actually watch it live! But there I was, sitting right in the middle of Wharton Center, enjoying the 1 hour 40 mins 'chaos'.
There were only 7 casts members. They started out with sweeping the floor with a broom and moved into knocking the broom stick on the stage. Then it was with poles and bins and matchboxes...all the things that everyone would find in the house. One person will usually make some noise from an instrument and then the others follow and it become a blend of sounds like an orchestra instead of just 'noise'. While watching it, I remembered one day when dad found an aluminium sheet somewhere in the house and he was moving it to make noise. We were all irritated and told him to stop it. And here I am, paying USD25 to watch people make noise with bins and paper bags and newspapers. I can imagine showing the clips to ahmah and telling her I paid RM100 to watch that. I will very likely get a 'U lui bo lor khai' (literally, has money but no road to spend - basically it means money spent unwisely). We also had a metal washing machine drum from an old washing machine that dad had dismantled and had made a 'drum' out of it. So we were kinda close to Stomp...but for some reason, not quite up there. hehe..I think if we try that at home, we'll just get a 'mai cho luan lah' (don't make noise!).
The best part of the play was towards the end when he had the audience follow them. We were clapping different tunes and different parts of our body (which actually gives you different sound and they can blend really well), stomping our feets, clicking our fingers...that was fun.
There were only 7 casts members. They started out with sweeping the floor with a broom and moved into knocking the broom stick on the stage. Then it was with poles and bins and matchboxes...all the things that everyone would find in the house. One person will usually make some noise from an instrument and then the others follow and it become a blend of sounds like an orchestra instead of just 'noise'. While watching it, I remembered one day when dad found an aluminium sheet somewhere in the house and he was moving it to make noise. We were all irritated and told him to stop it. And here I am, paying USD25 to watch people make noise with bins and paper bags and newspapers. I can imagine showing the clips to ahmah and telling her I paid RM100 to watch that. I will very likely get a 'U lui bo lor khai' (literally, has money but no road to spend - basically it means money spent unwisely). We also had a metal washing machine drum from an old washing machine that dad had dismantled and had made a 'drum' out of it. So we were kinda close to Stomp...but for some reason, not quite up there. hehe..I think if we try that at home, we'll just get a 'mai cho luan lah' (don't make noise!).
The best part of the play was towards the end when he had the audience follow them. We were clapping different tunes and different parts of our body (which actually gives you different sound and they can blend really well), stomping our feets, clicking our fingers...that was fun.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Happy St. Patrick's day
I just realized something..I don't have any green top! The only one I have is a MSU sweater with the Spartan green. We were planning to wear green today since it's St. Patrick's day but when I looked into my closet this morning, I don't have any! So end up wearing my MSU sweater.
It's 8.20am and there is already a long line outside the bars! Can you imagine that? They can wake up in time to line up for green beer but not to class on regular days? Hmm...
It's 8.20am and there is already a long line outside the bars! Can you imagine that? They can wake up in time to line up for green beer but not to class on regular days? Hmm...
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
infected
Whenever your doctor tells you that the cure to a sickness is just to relax and chill? Believe it. I consider myself a living proof. *grins*
Growing up with a dad who drill me about the importance of being optimistic, I don't get stress out very often. The number of times I get really stressed out can be counted with just my fingers. A major exam, a paper due soon, family events, etc...I get nervous but rarely stressed out. But when I do, I am bound to fall sick soon. Then I'll have to remind myself to cool it and take it one step at a time. Unlike my lil brother, I rarely fall sick too..once or twice a year is all about as much as I get. But if I get stressed out, the once or twice is big deal enough that I am glad that is all I get.
The past week has been really hectic. I had so many plans for experiments but I only got 3 of them done. Why? I had to get some 16S rDNA sequences analyzed and as I started working on it, I realized that some of the solution I need involves multiple programs. Grrrrr...why can't all computer scientist write in the same language? First of all was trying to figure out how to use DOTUR. That was really easy as it runs from command prompt. The same goes for S-Libshuff and TreeClimber...but they were all written by P. Schloss. When I had to take DOTUR's output and input it into EstimateS, I had to use a Java conversion script. It's suppose to be easy right? I mean..hei..it's just Java. Then went into some challenges with the script. Also learned the hard way that I can't copy the path from MS Word into the command prompt. Grrrrr...they are the same!! But apparently the computer must be reading it different. Got that all solved out eventually.
Next I have to built tree. Started out using MEGA. It is a great program and it runs on all MAC, Windows and Linux terminal which is good so I don't have to keep changing the format of my raw data. But guess what...the input for MEGA is totally different from any of the output I get! So what now? Have to do it manually lor. So started writing the script for changing the format of my data into MEGA's format. That was kinda easy...but took me 4 freaking hours straight! Besides playing Diablo or WarCraft, I don't sit in front of the computer for that long!!! And that was just dealing with 250 sequences. Thankfully, MEGA's output can be churned into TreeClimber easily. See..we need more computer scientist who think about other people. They have to learn to accomodata different formats!!
Now, am trying to learn Python. I want to use UniFrac to compare my libraries and this program was writen with the Python interpreter. *pulls hair back in frustration* One day, if I ever have the luxury to stay home and do nothing, I think I will take a class on writing scripts with Perl. Then I'll compile a program that will convert any of these different formats to any format that the user required. There must also be a program that can recognize sequence strings from different library based on their ID and color code them. Wouldn't that be so much easier? Currently we have to import the trees or sequences into Adobe Illustrator and color code them ourselves. Imagine if you have 400 sequences, you have to go through each of them, highlight it and change the color. Too bad the Ctrl button doesn't work for Illustrator. Hmm..now that I'm thinking about this, maybe if we save the Illustrator file with postscript extension then open it in MS Word and use the 'find and replace' function...maybe that might work.
How did I get to talking about all these????? Oh yeah..stressed out. So yeah..that's the spill of my stresses this past week. The challenge I faced last year when constructing a plasmid did not even made me so stressed out. It's only been a week or so since I had to bury myself into programming books and it's already driving me crazy. I think it's because it's not my field and I have no idea what is going on. The worst is when I get erros. Not knowing the codes well enough, it drives me nuts whenever there are 'syntax error' because I don't know where to start correcting. What more when sometimes the error could just be a semi-colon or an extra space (especially Python which is sensitive to spacing AND caps lock).
Due to all these crazy programs, now I am stuck with bacterial infection. Working with bacteria all the time, especially when doing batch growth, it is common to get infection once in a while but when we're healthy physically and mentally, the infection is not obvious. It is only when we get stressed out and the hormones seem to interfere with the immune system that the infection get worse. At this point, it is still at the early stage but I can feel the swell in my lymph nodes already. It gets worst at night when I am tired and my immune system doesn't seem to wanna work with me here. Sleeping is hard because when I lie on one side, the swelling increase due to fluid accumulation. Ice-cream makes me feel better but I don't think I can fit anything in my fridge anymore. Driving to Wendy's to get a freeze right now is too much of a chore too...don't wanna drive. So I've been sucking on ice all day. Am thinking of staying home tomorrow and come in just before my class tomorrow but I have to meet with Tom (the boss) before class. *head hangs down*
At the same time, all these crap is making me miss someone. One of the times that I got infection and it was one of the really bad ones, I didn't have to do anything except sleep and eat ice-cream. He was the sweetest then...
Alright, time to get back to cracking my head trying to use these programs. Praying hard I can get the tree to run on TreeClimber and analyze it with UniFrac. If not, I might have to start using Arb..boo hoo..am trying to avoid that.
Growing up with a dad who drill me about the importance of being optimistic, I don't get stress out very often. The number of times I get really stressed out can be counted with just my fingers. A major exam, a paper due soon, family events, etc...I get nervous but rarely stressed out. But when I do, I am bound to fall sick soon. Then I'll have to remind myself to cool it and take it one step at a time. Unlike my lil brother, I rarely fall sick too..once or twice a year is all about as much as I get. But if I get stressed out, the once or twice is big deal enough that I am glad that is all I get.
The past week has been really hectic. I had so many plans for experiments but I only got 3 of them done. Why? I had to get some 16S rDNA sequences analyzed and as I started working on it, I realized that some of the solution I need involves multiple programs. Grrrrr...why can't all computer scientist write in the same language? First of all was trying to figure out how to use DOTUR. That was really easy as it runs from command prompt. The same goes for S-Libshuff and TreeClimber...but they were all written by P. Schloss. When I had to take DOTUR's output and input it into EstimateS, I had to use a Java conversion script. It's suppose to be easy right? I mean..hei..it's just Java. Then went into some challenges with the script. Also learned the hard way that I can't copy the path from MS Word into the command prompt. Grrrrr...they are the same!! But apparently the computer must be reading it different. Got that all solved out eventually.
Next I have to built tree. Started out using MEGA. It is a great program and it runs on all MAC, Windows and Linux terminal which is good so I don't have to keep changing the format of my raw data. But guess what...the input for MEGA is totally different from any of the output I get! So what now? Have to do it manually lor. So started writing the script for changing the format of my data into MEGA's format. That was kinda easy...but took me 4 freaking hours straight! Besides playing Diablo or WarCraft, I don't sit in front of the computer for that long!!! And that was just dealing with 250 sequences. Thankfully, MEGA's output can be churned into TreeClimber easily. See..we need more computer scientist who think about other people. They have to learn to accomodata different formats!!
Now, am trying to learn Python. I want to use UniFrac to compare my libraries and this program was writen with the Python interpreter. *pulls hair back in frustration* One day, if I ever have the luxury to stay home and do nothing, I think I will take a class on writing scripts with Perl. Then I'll compile a program that will convert any of these different formats to any format that the user required. There must also be a program that can recognize sequence strings from different library based on their ID and color code them. Wouldn't that be so much easier? Currently we have to import the trees or sequences into Adobe Illustrator and color code them ourselves. Imagine if you have 400 sequences, you have to go through each of them, highlight it and change the color. Too bad the Ctrl button doesn't work for Illustrator. Hmm..now that I'm thinking about this, maybe if we save the Illustrator file with postscript extension then open it in MS Word and use the 'find and replace' function...maybe that might work.
How did I get to talking about all these????? Oh yeah..stressed out. So yeah..that's the spill of my stresses this past week. The challenge I faced last year when constructing a plasmid did not even made me so stressed out. It's only been a week or so since I had to bury myself into programming books and it's already driving me crazy. I think it's because it's not my field and I have no idea what is going on. The worst is when I get erros. Not knowing the codes well enough, it drives me nuts whenever there are 'syntax error' because I don't know where to start correcting. What more when sometimes the error could just be a semi-colon or an extra space (especially Python which is sensitive to spacing AND caps lock).
Due to all these crazy programs, now I am stuck with bacterial infection. Working with bacteria all the time, especially when doing batch growth, it is common to get infection once in a while but when we're healthy physically and mentally, the infection is not obvious. It is only when we get stressed out and the hormones seem to interfere with the immune system that the infection get worse. At this point, it is still at the early stage but I can feel the swell in my lymph nodes already. It gets worst at night when I am tired and my immune system doesn't seem to wanna work with me here. Sleeping is hard because when I lie on one side, the swelling increase due to fluid accumulation. Ice-cream makes me feel better but I don't think I can fit anything in my fridge anymore. Driving to Wendy's to get a freeze right now is too much of a chore too...don't wanna drive. So I've been sucking on ice all day. Am thinking of staying home tomorrow and come in just before my class tomorrow but I have to meet with Tom (the boss) before class. *head hangs down*
At the same time, all these crap is making me miss someone. One of the times that I got infection and it was one of the really bad ones, I didn't have to do anything except sleep and eat ice-cream. He was the sweetest then...
Alright, time to get back to cracking my head trying to use these programs. Praying hard I can get the tree to run on TreeClimber and analyze it with UniFrac. If not, I might have to start using Arb..boo hoo..am trying to avoid that.
Monday, March 13, 2006
game over...
Phew! That slow coach actually reaches stationary phase after 16 hours!! I can finally go home...and pray that I can wake up early enough to start comparing sequences before class. Spent the entire night trying to figure out the input for Arlequin. Can't all the computer scientist think with the same language? Why must they have different input format for different programs? Some are easy enough that they provide you a Java or C++ code conversion script. But unfortunately, Arlequin does not. Instead, it gives you some template code and I have to figure it out myself what to put where. Grrrrr....
Grumpy..need sleep (she actually realized that! I thought I have to start a mantra here!).
Grumpy..need sleep (she actually realized that! I thought I have to start a mantra here!).
Sunday, March 12, 2006
antsy
Got home at 11pm and I thought once I have my dinner, I will zoned out until tomorrow morning. But it's 3.30am and I'm still wide awake. Tired but wide awake. There's so much going on that I can't get myself to concentrate on anything. When I get started on something, an hour later I start feel tired and agitated. It's like I have to be everything all at once but that doesn't work all the time right?
After dinner sat down to read a chapter on Microbial Diversity but halfway through I decided to wash the dishes. Tried to read after that but my eye lid felt heavy and I was dozing off. Lie on the bed tried to sleep but my mind was wheeling through all the articles that I need to read, all the stuff I need to check, next week's experiments, etc... I get these feelings every once in a while when I am overwhelmed with lots of stuff. There are new experiments I am eager to try but don't know enough to get started. That means I have a lot to read up first but there's also stuff that I should read up and concentrate on first. Arghggh..distressed, antsy, unconsolable, agitated, bothered, fidgety..all at the same time. Usually a run around the block or a round on the threadmill does the trick but I'm at home and there's not a whole lot I can do pump up the adrenaline supply I need.
Ended up cleaning the bathroom, my desk, my bedroom, the kitchen...and now I have nothing else to clean anymore. My car maybe? But it's kinda dark and I am already comfortable in my pajamas. Maybe I should just lie on the bed and count sheep. One...two...three...
After dinner sat down to read a chapter on Microbial Diversity but halfway through I decided to wash the dishes. Tried to read after that but my eye lid felt heavy and I was dozing off. Lie on the bed tried to sleep but my mind was wheeling through all the articles that I need to read, all the stuff I need to check, next week's experiments, etc... I get these feelings every once in a while when I am overwhelmed with lots of stuff. There are new experiments I am eager to try but don't know enough to get started. That means I have a lot to read up first but there's also stuff that I should read up and concentrate on first. Arghggh..distressed, antsy, unconsolable, agitated, bothered, fidgety..all at the same time. Usually a run around the block or a round on the threadmill does the trick but I'm at home and there's not a whole lot I can do pump up the adrenaline supply I need.
Ended up cleaning the bathroom, my desk, my bedroom, the kitchen...and now I have nothing else to clean anymore. My car maybe? But it's kinda dark and I am already comfortable in my pajamas. Maybe I should just lie on the bed and count sheep. One...two...three...
Saturday, March 11, 2006
dogs
Went with Steph to walk UL's dog, N, this afternoon. N has seen us a few times but they were quite some time ago. N has a history that made him very skittish around strangers. We were not sure if he's going to be okay with us but UL thinks that he'll be fine once we pet him and give him some time to get comfy with us. I personally thought it's going to be fun as I do like N (he reminds me of my own childhood Pomeranian, Pinky).
When we first started getting close to N, he started shaking and barking. It seems like he was really afraid of us. He jumped up onto the couch and won't get near us at all. Steph went closer to get hold of the lease and tried coaxing her to come closer to us. After what feels like an eternity, he finally came close enough for Steph to pet her. After we pet him and played with him in the house for a while, we brought him outside and locked the door. But guess what, our little friend here kept looking at the locked door and won't budge an inch!! I kept telling him that it'll be a fun walk and we'll walk the way UL usually brings him but all he did was looked at the door. It seems like he expects UL to come out of the door and rescue him but we told him that UL won't be back till late night. After a while, he finally started walking around. We walked him to the front of the house and when we got to the front door, he stopped again! We got frustrated so Steph carried him and we walked away from the house and put him down. He walked a few steps, stopped, looked back towards the house and started pulling us back.
In the end, we didn't really walked him at all because all we did was went around the house. Either we looked really mean like we were going to kidnap him or he is just a really shy dog. When we brought him back to the house, we gave him a treat and we won't eat it either! (and I thought dogs are always looking for food!!). There goes our Saturday afternoon that was suppose to be fun!
I am not much of a pet person but if I stay in M'sia with my family, I think I would have gotten a dog..one similar to my Pinky. She came to our family just a few months before I was born. She stayed with me all the time and we were just the same size! When I was about to go to primary school, my family moved to PJ and we had to leave her with my grandma because we were renting a house. Unfortunately, not too long later she died of flu but according to my grandma, she's really old too. I didn't get a chance to see her because she died but I'll always remember the times when she watches over me as I was growing up. Almost every picture of me as a little girl has Pinky in it...
When we first started getting close to N, he started shaking and barking. It seems like he was really afraid of us. He jumped up onto the couch and won't get near us at all. Steph went closer to get hold of the lease and tried coaxing her to come closer to us. After what feels like an eternity, he finally came close enough for Steph to pet her. After we pet him and played with him in the house for a while, we brought him outside and locked the door. But guess what, our little friend here kept looking at the locked door and won't budge an inch!! I kept telling him that it'll be a fun walk and we'll walk the way UL usually brings him but all he did was looked at the door. It seems like he expects UL to come out of the door and rescue him but we told him that UL won't be back till late night. After a while, he finally started walking around. We walked him to the front of the house and when we got to the front door, he stopped again! We got frustrated so Steph carried him and we walked away from the house and put him down. He walked a few steps, stopped, looked back towards the house and started pulling us back.
In the end, we didn't really walked him at all because all we did was went around the house. Either we looked really mean like we were going to kidnap him or he is just a really shy dog. When we brought him back to the house, we gave him a treat and we won't eat it either! (and I thought dogs are always looking for food!!). There goes our Saturday afternoon that was suppose to be fun!
I am not much of a pet person but if I stay in M'sia with my family, I think I would have gotten a dog..one similar to my Pinky. She came to our family just a few months before I was born. She stayed with me all the time and we were just the same size! When I was about to go to primary school, my family moved to PJ and we had to leave her with my grandma because we were renting a house. Unfortunately, not too long later she died of flu but according to my grandma, she's really old too. I didn't get a chance to see her because she died but I'll always remember the times when she watches over me as I was growing up. Almost every picture of me as a little girl has Pinky in it...
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Hayman Island
Ever been to Lover's Isle close to Penang Swimming Club at Batu Feringghi? It's a really cute island, big enough to have it all to yourself and small enough not to get lost. It used to be within swimming distance from Penang Swimming Club but not sure if it still is or if it is still safe to swim over. When I was younger, I used to wish that I could live on the island with my family. (Blurrr...I was already living on an island!! It was just too big for me that I didn't realize it I guess). Built a small two-storey house maybe... As I grew up, I always wonder who owns the island and if someone can just buy it like buying land and built their own house there. Wouldn't that be cool? But it would be kinda dangerous when tsunami happens right? (How in the world would I know that tsunami would happen in Malaysia!!!)
Recently, dad accepted a job in Australia at Hayman Island. I was checking out their website and wow! I'm impress. On the entire island, there is just one resort. Just ONE. That's it. There's nothing else except for the resort. It'll probably be kinda boring to work there for a long time. But to go there for a vacation, I think it'll be lots of fun and definitely relaxing. I can imagine being there during non-peak season, having the entire place to myself (well, almost to myself), with great seafood being served anytime I'm hungry, enjoying the unpolluted breeze of Great Barrier Reef, and swimming with the colorful fishes of Australia in the clear, sky blue water of the Reef. They also have a whole bunch of water sports (I know I know, we can get this from Ferringhi Beach but I'm sure this IS different *grins*) and trails to explore the island. I wonder if there are wild animals on the other side of the island where it is still a jungle..if not, it'll be kinda fun to get lost and try to find your way around to the right side of the island. Haha..just a thought!
The one thing that might make this trip seem too far out of reach is the PRICE. The cheapest one I saw is A$620...calculating...USD455 per night. *Gulp* That means with one month pay, I only get to stay for 3 nights? Hmmm...not worth it wor. I'll just go back to Langkawi or Pulau Paya. Then again, maybe it'll be worth it when I'm earning USD4500 per month right? Yeah, if by the time I get married I still haven't been to Australia, maybe Hayman Island will be a good honeymoon spot. Ahahaha...wishful thinking..wishful thinking. But it'll be such a wonderful trip then..no disturbance, just relax and not having to think about work, sleep through the day and wake up to a wonderful meal via room service, swimming through the night looking up towards the sky full of stars, and exploring the island as though we own it (Ping's evil twin adds..what about hot and sexy love making through the night by the beach??? C'mon, it's your honeymoon! --- oh no no..don't even go there).
Alright alright..time to get back to reality and go home to my bed that will tempt me off to sleep in seconds. Sleepy....
Recently, dad accepted a job in Australia at Hayman Island. I was checking out their website and wow! I'm impress. On the entire island, there is just one resort. Just ONE. That's it. There's nothing else except for the resort. It'll probably be kinda boring to work there for a long time. But to go there for a vacation, I think it'll be lots of fun and definitely relaxing. I can imagine being there during non-peak season, having the entire place to myself (well, almost to myself), with great seafood being served anytime I'm hungry, enjoying the unpolluted breeze of Great Barrier Reef, and swimming with the colorful fishes of Australia in the clear, sky blue water of the Reef. They also have a whole bunch of water sports (I know I know, we can get this from Ferringhi Beach but I'm sure this IS different *grins*) and trails to explore the island. I wonder if there are wild animals on the other side of the island where it is still a jungle..if not, it'll be kinda fun to get lost and try to find your way around to the right side of the island. Haha..just a thought!
The one thing that might make this trip seem too far out of reach is the PRICE. The cheapest one I saw is A$620...calculating...USD455 per night. *Gulp* That means with one month pay, I only get to stay for 3 nights? Hmmm...not worth it wor. I'll just go back to Langkawi or Pulau Paya. Then again, maybe it'll be worth it when I'm earning USD4500 per month right? Yeah, if by the time I get married I still haven't been to Australia, maybe Hayman Island will be a good honeymoon spot. Ahahaha...wishful thinking..wishful thinking. But it'll be such a wonderful trip then..no disturbance, just relax and not having to think about work, sleep through the day and wake up to a wonderful meal via room service, swimming through the night looking up towards the sky full of stars, and exploring the island as though we own it (Ping's evil twin adds..what about hot and sexy love making through the night by the beach??? C'mon, it's your honeymoon! --- oh no no..don't even go there).
Alright alright..time to get back to reality and go home to my bed that will tempt me off to sleep in seconds. Sleepy....
Sunday, March 05, 2006
new mouse
Remember the feeling when you get a new toy as a little kid? That's exactly how I feel right now. I bought my laptop a mouse! I have been using the touchpad ever since I got the laptop and all of a sudden I feel the need to buy a mouse. From one point of view, it's kinda waste of money since I have managed without it for almost 2 years now. But the temptation to keep looking for one until I find doesn't seem to hear my reasons. So I got it! Ordered online through CompUSA and went there to collect it a couple of hours ago. It's not a 'super-canggih' mouse. Just a simple Microsoft Optical mouse.
When I was looking online, I did not think about the connection port at all. Then as I was about to connect it, I realize that my laptop does not have the PS/2 port. Oh-oh! After careful examination, I found out that it is an adapter that can be removed to reveal a USB connecter. Phew! So now I have a mouse! The other motivation for getting the mouse is to be able to play WarCraft III with K. She have been asking me to play a couple of times now but I didn't have it on my laptop. Now maybe I will. Am actually thinking of installing Diablo...but I should finish analyzing my data before the weekend is over right? Hmmm...but Diablo is calling to me...ahaha.
It's gonna take some time to get use to using the mouse because I still have the tendency to use the touchpad. Oh yeah...I can actually use the middle button to open a new tab on Mozilla now!! Woohooo!! :P
When I was looking online, I did not think about the connection port at all. Then as I was about to connect it, I realize that my laptop does not have the PS/2 port. Oh-oh! After careful examination, I found out that it is an adapter that can be removed to reveal a USB connecter. Phew! So now I have a mouse! The other motivation for getting the mouse is to be able to play WarCraft III with K. She have been asking me to play a couple of times now but I didn't have it on my laptop. Now maybe I will. Am actually thinking of installing Diablo...but I should finish analyzing my data before the weekend is over right? Hmmm...but Diablo is calling to me...ahaha.
It's gonna take some time to get use to using the mouse because I still have the tendency to use the touchpad. Oh yeah...I can actually use the middle button to open a new tab on Mozilla now!! Woohooo!! :P
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Elizabethtown
Got home early last night as I was feeling really crappy. Stuff doesn't seem to be working and my brain refuse to cooperate with me. Went shopping for groceries and came home, stretched out on the couch with a box of baked chicken from Meijer and settled in front of the tv watching Elizabethtown.
One thing from the movie caught my attention - one that makes me think about myself and it actually turned out to be motivating.
"I've been the substitute person my whole life"
That is a line by Claire (Kirsten Dunst) while she was out walking with Drew (Orlando Bloom). They were total strangers - she the air-stewardess in the plane he took to Elizabethtown from Oregon. But when he checked into a hotel that night he arrived, he called his sis, ex-gal and none of them were available so he called her. Isn't that such a down time for anyone? When you want to talk to someone, no one seems to be available and you had to end up calling a stranger. I'm glad I always had mum to call whenever I can't find anyone else. Sometimes I wonder to myself, do I really have that few friends to call when I need to talk or just chat? Honestly, yeah..there's only a few that I feel comfortable spilling out my guts to. In fact, it became a whole lot fewer when BK left because he was the friend, the brother, the lover, the mentor...he was my everything. So why did I let one person took all these role? Fear? You never want to call a stranger...so you turn to the same person who is willing to take it all in. But I still have mum. :)
What in the world does that one tagline has got to do with me? When I heard it, I kinda refuse to believe there is such thing. I still believe that people do belong. That there is such thing as true love between a guy and a girl that has nothing to do with the true love between a dad and a daughter or a brother and a sister. Is that naive? BK thinks I'm still naive because of that. But what if you came so close to it? To know that there really is such thing as true love, there is such thing is feeling home when you embrace one person, there is such thing as the feeling of 'belonging', that you know you don't have to keep searching anymore because you're home.
Then as the movie goes on, I realize that what she said can be true for anyone. Why? We have to search before we find home. It's during this search that sometimes we feel that we're just a substitute person. We are close enough to the real thing but not enough to be the real thing. Think I'm crapping? I don't think so. And I think it's okay to be the substitute person. We just helped the other person to realized what is missing and why it wasn't good enough. I was just the substitute person until he found out what he wanted, what he was missing.
There can still be true love and the sense of belonging. But we just had to go through cycles of being a substitute or being with a substitute until we find our match. Thinking this way, I think that it's really okay to be a substitute person. Especially one who is not very easy to remember and yet is impossible to forget. I think that's what makes a person a really good substitute - because then you can be there for that person. You've made a mark right there and when that person can't find anyone else, you'll just be there because he remembers. But at other times, you're just occupying the unlit space in his mind, maybe even his heart.
It all made me feel better...because I know it's okay to be a substitute person.
He remembered February 22nd. We are no longer the closest to each other. We are like strangers. But he remembers...is it selfish to our future other halfs if I think that I had been a really good substitute? That being so faraway in distance and emotions..I am still remembered. Maybe..but at this point, I don't care.
One thing from the movie caught my attention - one that makes me think about myself and it actually turned out to be motivating.
"I've been the substitute person my whole life"
That is a line by Claire (Kirsten Dunst) while she was out walking with Drew (Orlando Bloom). They were total strangers - she the air-stewardess in the plane he took to Elizabethtown from Oregon. But when he checked into a hotel that night he arrived, he called his sis, ex-gal and none of them were available so he called her. Isn't that such a down time for anyone? When you want to talk to someone, no one seems to be available and you had to end up calling a stranger. I'm glad I always had mum to call whenever I can't find anyone else. Sometimes I wonder to myself, do I really have that few friends to call when I need to talk or just chat? Honestly, yeah..there's only a few that I feel comfortable spilling out my guts to. In fact, it became a whole lot fewer when BK left because he was the friend, the brother, the lover, the mentor...he was my everything. So why did I let one person took all these role? Fear? You never want to call a stranger...so you turn to the same person who is willing to take it all in. But I still have mum. :)
What in the world does that one tagline has got to do with me? When I heard it, I kinda refuse to believe there is such thing. I still believe that people do belong. That there is such thing as true love between a guy and a girl that has nothing to do with the true love between a dad and a daughter or a brother and a sister. Is that naive? BK thinks I'm still naive because of that. But what if you came so close to it? To know that there really is such thing as true love, there is such thing is feeling home when you embrace one person, there is such thing as the feeling of 'belonging', that you know you don't have to keep searching anymore because you're home.
Then as the movie goes on, I realize that what she said can be true for anyone. Why? We have to search before we find home. It's during this search that sometimes we feel that we're just a substitute person. We are close enough to the real thing but not enough to be the real thing. Think I'm crapping? I don't think so. And I think it's okay to be the substitute person. We just helped the other person to realized what is missing and why it wasn't good enough. I was just the substitute person until he found out what he wanted, what he was missing.
There can still be true love and the sense of belonging. But we just had to go through cycles of being a substitute or being with a substitute until we find our match. Thinking this way, I think that it's really okay to be a substitute person. Especially one who is not very easy to remember and yet is impossible to forget. I think that's what makes a person a really good substitute - because then you can be there for that person. You've made a mark right there and when that person can't find anyone else, you'll just be there because he remembers. But at other times, you're just occupying the unlit space in his mind, maybe even his heart.
It all made me feel better...because I know it's okay to be a substitute person.
He remembered February 22nd. We are no longer the closest to each other. We are like strangers. But he remembers...is it selfish to our future other halfs if I think that I had been a really good substitute? That being so faraway in distance and emotions..I am still remembered. Maybe..but at this point, I don't care.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
helpless
It's been a long time since I have felt this helpless. I just had to get this out of my system. There's too much feelings here. I am overwhelmed.
As usual, while walking around the lab making sure all my students understand what they are suppose to do, I also try to make sure everything that they need are in order. I was putting all the bins that they need to incubate their plates in together and B came up to me and said 'We have a girl who is passing out here'. My first reaction - Oh no! So I walked out of the lab with him and saw her lying on the floor with her feet up leaning on the wall. What am I suppose to do??? We were never briefed about emergency like this!! If you spill a whole bottle of methanol at least I still know what to do! So I stood there and talk to her, asking her if she needs something to eat. She kept saying she's dizzy and all so I had B get a drink for her. When he came back, she sat up to take a sip and after a couple of minutes, she started panicking and so did I! She said her feets and legs are very tingly and she could hardly move them. Again, what am I suppose to do???
Thankfully, K came in and said we should call 911. Why didn't I thought of that??? I've never called before but there's always a first time right? Even then, it was B who made the call. While I always think they are very efficient and fast, this time, it felt like they were taking ages to get there. Eventually they came and I left the scene to tend to my kids.
I felt bad for my kids because they had questions, they wanted their graded notebooks back, they want to get things done to get out there early and at the same time, I wanted to be there for that girl. But what good was I if I could not do anything? Then I feel guilty because I didn't call 911 earlier. Why didn't I think of that first? Could I have brought her to the emergency room myself? or is there something I should have done to make her feel better? I felt so bad. I wish there was something I could have done. That I wasn't so scared. That I had been more calm and rational. That I had been more professional about the situation instead of sitting there talking to her. But no, I just felt so helpless. Gosh...what kind of TA am I? But I have never experienced anything like that before. Now I'm worried about her.
Remember, when there's an emergency, call 911! especially when I have no idea what to do.
As usual, while walking around the lab making sure all my students understand what they are suppose to do, I also try to make sure everything that they need are in order. I was putting all the bins that they need to incubate their plates in together and B came up to me and said 'We have a girl who is passing out here'. My first reaction - Oh no! So I walked out of the lab with him and saw her lying on the floor with her feet up leaning on the wall. What am I suppose to do??? We were never briefed about emergency like this!! If you spill a whole bottle of methanol at least I still know what to do! So I stood there and talk to her, asking her if she needs something to eat. She kept saying she's dizzy and all so I had B get a drink for her. When he came back, she sat up to take a sip and after a couple of minutes, she started panicking and so did I! She said her feets and legs are very tingly and she could hardly move them. Again, what am I suppose to do???
Thankfully, K came in and said we should call 911. Why didn't I thought of that??? I've never called before but there's always a first time right? Even then, it was B who made the call. While I always think they are very efficient and fast, this time, it felt like they were taking ages to get there. Eventually they came and I left the scene to tend to my kids.
I felt bad for my kids because they had questions, they wanted their graded notebooks back, they want to get things done to get out there early and at the same time, I wanted to be there for that girl. But what good was I if I could not do anything? Then I feel guilty because I didn't call 911 earlier. Why didn't I think of that first? Could I have brought her to the emergency room myself? or is there something I should have done to make her feel better? I felt so bad. I wish there was something I could have done. That I wasn't so scared. That I had been more calm and rational. That I had been more professional about the situation instead of sitting there talking to her. But no, I just felt so helpless. Gosh...what kind of TA am I? But I have never experienced anything like that before. Now I'm worried about her.
Remember, when there's an emergency, call 911! especially when I have no idea what to do.
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