Just wait...

It had been a mad weekend all the way till tuesday night man. Real crazy and fun...just let me consolidate all the picts and videos and i'll do proper blog postings on them. Need to catch up on sleep and assignments first. Just be patient!

A Realisation...

I was chatting with a friend today whilst going for lunch. And we stumbled upon the topic of asking questions during tutorials and lectures. As generalised, Singaporean students will stick to their chairs, eyes glued to apparently blank pieces of paper during tutorials when the tutor asks for volunteers to answer tutorial questions. This is where the differentiation comes in. There'll definitely be people answering the questions, asking more questions and clarifying doubts. This is a disruption of the common culture in Singapore. I wonder how each of you fare, but personally I found myself at the mercy of my own crime. Basically speaking, I stigmatised these group of people whose positive ideals were what I preached and acted on. These are in fact good practices that we lack and we really ought to reflect on our actions.

What is the purpose of education? To get good grades, to get settled down with a job or to seek knowledge and the greater truth? The last option is definitely a "yes" to the question. When faced with a problem, pry open your mouth and ask. You might be stigmatised but at the end of the day, who learns more? Who gains? And the questions posed, are they beneficial to the general cohort? It might very well be a question everyone's dying to ask but no one dares make the first move. That's a huge stumbling block to learning. Not just in educational terms, in life, in solving issues etc. When faced with a problem, no matter personal, relation-based or work. It's always good to clarify and clear things. Don't let things choke up, it gets unhealthy.

I've this working principle that I preach:" Never say anything's impossible until you've tried and exhausted all means". I really despise people who simply replies there's no solution to the problem when they've only analysed and performed 'skin-deep' attempts. And i'm guilty of this, especially in this semester. Not only did I not put in my best effort, I even labelled others, i'm utterly disgusted with myself over this. Last sem I really put effort into clarifying all that I don't know, I learnt and re-learnt a lot, the people whom i've asked should be nodding their heads off while reading this. Thank goodness I got reminded in time, I agree fully with the discussion. Now let's all work towards a greater understanding....till then

Planning for Tioman

Planning for this upcoming Tioman trip is definitely an ardous task. Changed from 28-30 May, to nil and finally did an about turn twist and ended up with the auspicious date 11-13 May. So now my dearest Tioman Khakis, read this blog posting to remind yourself of the fun and excitement we gonna get!

Details
Event: Trip to Pulau Tioman, Malaysia
Date: 11 - 13 May 2007
Resort: Paya Beach Spa and Dive Resort

People involved:
Xiuwen, Yihan, Ziping, Hanjie, Belle, Junting and me!

Remarks:

• 2 twin standard rooms and 1 triple standard room for the 3 single dudes.
• Rooms are wooden but air-conditioned with proper facilities. I was told the only negative issue is that you get to hear the sea-waves.
• Upgraded to full-board package. We get transport, accomodation, snorkelling trip, daily breakfast and 2 BBQ dinners!! Looking forward to the seafood we shall get!
• Bring along your swimming and tanning suits! Cuz there'll be not just snorkelling; canoes, sampangs etc for rental too. Promise of nice beautiful beaches too...
• Total cost works out to be S$1015 i.e. $145 per pax. Cheap way to have tonnes of fun! (Return me my money!!!)
• Check out the following links for more insight and information!

http://www.tioman.com.my/

http://www.smarttravelasia.com/tioman.htm

Thanks a lot to xw too!! We finally got things together...feel so accomplished. Indeed it has been a long weekend drag. And Jt, i'll treat you to a good meal over there for been so nice. Haha, and i've yet to forget my promise of Redang to you!! The next place we conquer shall only be Redang.

Another Marvellous 02 Gathering

Venue: Tiong Bahru Chicken Rice (Chinatown)
Time: 1330hrs [treize heures et demie]
Event: Meeting up with Leo and for delicious chicken rice

I've got an amazing harvest today. I shall elaborate about it in parts. Firstly, Leo's back from Japan for his spring break people! But he'll be headed back soon next wednesday[lundi], so try to meet up with him while he's still in sg. And today, the mini class gathering's at a chicken rice stall in Chinatown. Xiuqin and Lianchiu were exclaiming about the nice and cheap chicken rice. For a long while, I thought the 2 of them were going to give the rest of us a treat! But good things just don't happen, I get to treat Weifeng though!! Old ties were rekindled and reinforced and classmates just catch up with each other, got to know more about the happenings of each and everyone else there today. The focus shall be on LC...haha...we always have got things to talk when it comes to food, France, exchange and backpacking in Japan. So there you go, I got my translator for my grad trip. We shall backpack the whole of Japan!! As agreed, i'll confirm with you 10 months prior to the trip so that you can arrange for maternity leave!! Do keep me informed after your supposed trip to Europe too! Introduce nice places to me to tour...Visiter France est interressant!!

Since the focus is for Leo, i'm gonna dedicate this paragraph for you dude. Really felt bad the time just now was too short for us to have a good talk. But think we should know it, even though we aren't contacting that very often, we can always rely on the trust that we'll be there to support each other man! Damn nice to have such a friend like you! Now now, just don't let those tears roll...haha...and thanks a lot for your recent help too! I really am appreciative of your effort! Thanks again.

Since we're there for food, how can I miss out on a review about the food? First stop, chicken rice. In all, we ordered chicken rice, salad cream sotong doughsticks and fried tofu. 6 of us were there earlier, and waited till the food turned cold..haha...so might not be a good review either. Anyway, here goes:

The main attraction, the chicken rice. But in my opinion, I wonder if it's cold though but the rice isn't that fragrant and somehow I feel the chicken meat is a little too taut for my liking. But no doubt, $2 is a good deal, not worth running there for it though! The chicken rice stall at my house here is nice though the rice's a little too oily for my liking. Think it was famous for a certain period of time, the stall at Bukit Batok Central is nice. For $2.50, they really offer a succulent serving of chicken meat. Check with me again if you're interested to try, organise another hunt for chicken rice below my house. My treat...no prob

Ok, I must really give credit to this "Salad Cream Sotong Doughstick" aka you tiao in chinese. It's real nice and crispy...and just look at the combination, I think it's rather nicely fried, not overcooked and hard...that's what I like about it. Definitely worth your try. Costs $2 for this plate.

Last but not least is the "Fried Tofu". What can I say? Nice too...chilli haters, don't be deterred by the red chilli, they're for garnishing purpose, trust me, you won't even taste anything spicy.

Finished up lunch, chatted for another long while before we decided we have to leave. Leo had to rush back home for dinner with family so we left...but not long until we found ourselves lodged in a dessert stall. Leo didn't get to join us though...another round of fun with food over there. It's this stall just near to the McDonalds. Got endorsed by this variety show by Bryan Ong's "排排站，查查看"...Kiat was damn enthu about this place, saying it looks nice and everyone got in soon after him. But...haha...sad to say, the dessert here isn't that fantastic, we had a nasty encounter with dessert too. See the picts:

This is mine...almond paste...looks like glue though...don't think the almond fragrance is there. But beware though, not everyone likes almond, definitely not for the faint hearted. This cost me $2...but kudos to Weifeng for his generous sponsorship.

This is LC's "Mango Pomelo Sago" something along these lines...taste like...mango? $3 for this...think this is the most decent tasting thing in the shop though.

Peanut Paste...even tasted Skippy's peanut butter? Mix that with some water to form goo...i'm no fan of peanut butter, so...haha...don't trust me on this if you're a fan of peanut butter. $2 too...

This is plain "Guilingao" aka herbal cooling jelly...$2

This is obviously "Squid ink"...haha..no la, that's just our little comment, this is "Black sesame paste"...doesn't really taste good...I honestly wonder why the desserts doesn't go down well with us.

Just realised I missed out the photo on the most unpalatable dessert of the day ordered by Keeyang, "Egg Pudding in Ginger Sauce"...that thing stinks. Ever smelt raw egg? That's the stench...see if you have the adventure spirit. Anyway, it ended up as forfeit for our little game of "终极密码". LC and Weifeng were the big losers...you all should see their twisted faces when swallowing the pudding! haha...damn comical!! And the rest was gulped down by Yongjin who has to rush for a study session back in NTU. How sick could that be?? NTU on a lovely saturday afternoon.

In either way, I won't recommend this dessert shop. Give it a miss...you won't lose out in anyway possible! Just as I thought my day was over when we parted ways for home, guess who I met while on my way home? My secondary school HCL teacher, Mdm Chu Suat Bee. Real nice chinese teacher, she was voted as the Best Teacher Award years back during my time. Appeared on newspapers too! But sadly she left BP for MGS where she is now teaching at. And she really made my day, I was thinking she won't remember me, but guess again, she still remember me and my full name. Perhaps we were 1 of the last few batches she taught, she still remembers kiat, jesper, yongjin. The 6 sole males from 02 to go 03 for HCL lessons. Found out more about her situation, talked a little about people nowadays and her determination not to have kids cuz last time was "养儿防老", but now it has evolved to become "养儿烦恼".

Till then...

My 1st Cheesecake

The enthusiasm struck and we raged after it...on a lovely sunday afternoon, Choi and me embarked on the adventure of baking our 1st cheesecakes. An engineer and a lab fellow doing the job of a baker. How does that appeal to you? In either way, we baked them no doubt...using techniques of our specialisations. Nice cake though, Xiuwen endorsed it, my mother did...the only complaint from myself was the top layer was slightly overcooked and the cheese layer not fluffy enough. But like what Xiuwen says, it's very good for a 1st timer le.

From raw ingredients...

To a fluffy white cream...

To baking in the oven....

And we have 2 cheesecakes and 4 cheesetarts...1's already in my mother's stomach

Sorry for the low quality pictures...took it at night, the whole cake looks dull from the lousy lighting.

Chilling it...

And in my tummy...like what I said, I think the biscuit base and the top crust is good even though it looks burnt. Damn crispy...shiok...but the cheese layer...I would prefer it to be softer though...i'll alter the recipe next time round.

Here's what we used:

1. 100g Marie biscuit
2. 80ml Melted butter
3. 500g Cream cheese
4. 80g Sugar
5. 3 Tablespoons cornflour
6. 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla essence
7. 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
8. 3 Eggs
9. 80ml Whipping cream
10. 80ml Milk
11. Grated lemon peel

Q: What's the similarity between baking and doing a lab?

A: You mix everything and pray nothing goes wrong.

A Kindred Spirit...

"How long does it take you to read this post?"

This was Garrie's blog posting. Simple yet ambiguous...it might be thought inspiring for some, I pondered a little as to what will be in the posting? My first guess was some IQ question, a riddle, and lastly a puzzle of sorts. Never would I realise that the post is in fact about "...people do not have the ability to process information as fast as "normal" people do."

When was the last time you did any form of volunteer work? What was the last thing you did for charity? For me, the last time was years back. Only went to this 'Ju Eng Home for the Elderly' with army because everyone else had to go. The next nearest date would be my college days where CIP counts towards your CCAs etc...Ju Eng Home is a freaking rich shelter for the elderly by the way. If anyone has been there, you'll realise what I mean by this. Some of the old folks there aren't there because they are abandoned, they are there because they are old and lonely and need company. That's one reason I never liked going there but nevertheless there are people over there who really needs our company and compassion.

When was the last time you asked "eh, got lobang for volunteer work not?" or "when's the next charity roadshow or run" or even "when's the blood buddy coming?". Those thoughts haven't been with me for a real long time I must confess. It aren't right not to confess something so sinful. Instead of those phrases, I personally believe the following will be more endearing to most of us: "hey, got lobang for part time not?", "this saturday got lobang for roadshow not, I short of cash", "got sales is it? until when huh?", "this weekend want go sing kbox not?" and even "that guy/girl is damn CUTE!!! I wanna date him/her!!"

I've lost touch with community involvement projects for a long time. Was quite active back then though...not for the points even though they count towards my CCA score. I don't really bother about CCA points, we only live once on this world, do something new, experience something different...that's what living is all about. Back in the secondary school days we plan for Children's Camp for Nee Soon East CC. Lasted all the way into college...there were other events too no doubt. No pay, no nothing, just a plain heart for doing something meaningful. College's CIP program is simply lame....collecting newspapers from people, all the acting and advertising on a "Friendly School". But I was in charge of a nature walk on Pulau Ubin though. That was my 2nd home before I entered army. You can find me on most weekends there, providing free guided trails for groups, for visually handicapped personnel and at the same time at home with nature. Damn I miss that place...the interaction with people, letting them taste some wild leaves/fruits, and letting people feel and be with nature.

Some random pictures from Ubin years back:

This is the Secret Garden...real nice and tranquil place to be in

Anyone seen a quarry with crystal blue water? We don't have tall mountains or raging waterfalls...but this will definitely make you gasp in awe

Bukit Panjang ROX!! Yeah...this is the combined effort of Wen, Wee, Haojun and me.. :)

Nowadays, where's the volunteerism spirit? In university, people volunteer to join certain CIP projects, but is it out of compassion for these less fortunate people, or for a higher chance to remain lodged in hostel? Where's the compassion of Singaporeans? We seem to be measuring it in monetary terms, how much was collected during a flagday, or the donations collected on tv. Are we really that compassionate or are all these just to make ourselves feel better, that we are in a sharing, caring society? To me, the kindred spirit is something that is intangible and it should be that way....immeasurable. So instead of thinking where to go find money over the weekend, trying asking where to do something more meaningful for the society. So where will you be this weekend? Till then...

Garrie, jio me along next time if there's such events. Thanks..

On French...

I am feeling damn sore and grouchy over today's French lesson. Last week le professeur says there are 2(Deux) quizzes this week: Monday(Le Lundi) and Thursday(Le Jeundi) meaning 2 different quizzes, Quiz 2(Deux) and Quiz 3(Trois). But, what happened deviates from expectation. Quiz 2 is divided into 2 parts, roleplaying to be done today and the written portion on Thursday. I was like so...traumatised down there even though I didn't study much, it's still effort made and no outlet to release my pumped-up adrenalin ok! Damn!!

At the beginning of the French course, le professeur le Français says that French is easier than English(Anglais). I didn't believed her...I'm still glad I held my belief. Guess what we learnt in class today? Numbers(Numero)...sounds simple right? Just counting 1, 2, 3, 4....100. No, counting in French is madness...complete madness. Let me cite an example of what I learnt today:

1(Un)
2(Deux)
3(Trois)
4(Quatre)
5(Cinq)
6(Six)
7(Sept)
8(Huit)
9(Neuf)
10(Dix)

Simple and easy right? Just a matter of pronounciation. But this is not the crux of getting mad over numbers in French.

11(Onze)
12(Douze)
13(Treize)
14(Quartoze)
.
.
20(Vingt)
.
30(Trente)
.
40(Quarante)
.
50(Cinquante)
.
60(Soixante)
..
69(Soixante Neuf)
.
70(Soixante-Dix) = (60+10)
71(Soixante-onze) = (60+11)
..
80(Quartre-Vingt)= (4x20)
81(Quartre-vingt-un)=[(4x20)+1]
..
90(Quartre-vingt-dix) = [(4x20)+10]
91(Quartre-vingt-onze) = [(4x20)+11]

Just look at the way the numbers are pronounced from 70 onwards. Numbers 1-69 are still considered rather simplistic. The numbers from 70 are madness...try it if you like, give yourself a number and try to say/write it in French. Anyway, for people interested to experiment to see whether French is your cup of tea, there's this website: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/french/french.htm

Try it if you have the time, it's very interactive and provocative!! Till then...

On Genetics...

Ever wondered why on earth are we studying genetics when news are aplenty that we get no jobs when we graduate? Weekly practicals, tutorials and lab reports definitely aren't something worth looking forward or to be proud of. In fact, they drain the life out of us. Ask most bioscience students how they spent their weekends, the reply would be rather idiotic to guess: "I was rushing my report". Why didn't we opt for a change in course, like changing to major in engineering, business or even arts? Think for many, they would say, a science degree is the safest to obtain. But looking deeper, have you realised that genetics have in fact become part of us, or to a greater extent, already in us?

When was the last time you saw a short person and you attribute it to genes. This may seem like a touchy topic, but the texture of skin, pimples, sebaceous secretions....did you attribute them to genes too? Look at a plant, in place of green leaves it has purple...genes? Fat, slim, medium...aren't all these attributed to genes too? Even the degree of intellegience, blood type, or the way people act. In a word: Genes!

For people who have no biological or genetics background, genes are IN us! In secondary school science, we study about cells as the basic unit of life. In fact, in a cell, genes bring about all these processes carried out by cells. Genes are all around us, anything that is alive has genes. Viruses, bacteria, insects...all contains this miraculous thing called genes. Since the market for genes is never ending and ever so wide, when will humans be satisfied with their current knowledge?How can we bioscience graduates ever run out of job if man continue to seek more knowledge about the world we live in?

The following are some examples, some photos in fact with relation to genetics. I would never have realised genes played an important role until I studied them. If I knew nothing about genetics.....

This will just be a shark with webbed feet...it'll end up on the table somehow

This will just be a white bird amongst other black birds....

But since I learnt something, the shark may have inherited some gene mutation or simply it might be an "un-evolved" shark. Remember people, the theory was there was fish, then they crawled onto land, grew legs and became land creatures. "Mal-evolution" perhaps?

The bird...the normal colour is black but it's white. So I suppose white feathers are recessive alleles and this particular bird gets 2 of this recessive genes? What next? We can calculate the probability of this occurence...but..that's for another day. Just want to tell you people, or bring to your realisation the importance of genetics around us. Genetics is not useless!! Till then...

On Labs...

Did your teachers at 1 point or another of your schooling life tell you that lab's interesting, hands-on, fun and exciting? Where you get to mix 2 transparent chemicals and *poof* you get a nice colour in a test-tube; You get to dissect animals such as rabbits, frogs, hearts, eyeballs etc...all the more interesting for students into gore; You get to swing a pendulum and count the periods...how fun; (Btw, this is why I hate physics, literally dry and tasteless); As we go onto JC, we are introduced into another form of lab, labs dealing with DNA, western blotting etc and there the teachers go again. Isn't it marvellous this thing about DNA discovery, we can see the proteins, pass a current through and there you have intense bands in a sea of black.

I remember when I was younger ( before I even touched labs...when practical sessions were putting a dented ping-pong ball into a hot cup of water and watching it regain its shap), those were the rosy pictures I had of lab. And at a certain point of my life, I think I swore to be a scientist? Damn...I can't imagine studying science for so many years only to wash test-tubes in a pathetic lab.

Anyway, for those young kids still having a rosy outlook of laboratories, think thrice....because you may jolly well just end up like this halfway through the lab session:

By the way, this is the current Dr. SIYA Chen, PhD, A/P School of Sleepology, NTU. Applications are now open for the 4 years-direct honours course in Sleepology. She's hiring lab techs too...so bioscience grads, no worries...another job opportunity for us.

Face of a Garung Soldier....at a wrong place?

I woke up from my slumber, saw the newspapers and decided to flip through. And there's a few pages on Minister Teo's summary of the armed forces in parliament. Talked about defence spending, 3G army and lastly the incorporation of PRs and new immigrants into our nation's defence. That's the article I posted above. I was just about to flip the page, when I notice the 2 guys(in red oval). Looked closer and realised those are people from my unit! Regular armament technicians...they deal with weapon repairs...forgotten their names though. I only remember them as 2nd Sergeants and that the one on the left always fails IPPT and I see him so very often when conducting tests.

The good citizen, the good soldier or the best he can be. I personally don't know who this new officer is but things definitely sounds rosy. The picture looks good and it's definitely representative of the SAF. Guess where the picture is taken? The infamous "yellow-box" area...don't know what this means? In short, it's an invention of army, called the "smoking area". People gather here to smoke after canteen breaks in all postures: Standing, sitting, squatting. You name it, they have it. Over here, this officer is clearly squatting and I have no doubt he has a cigarette on either of his hands. Now to think of it...why the hell did they take a picture of him when he's smoking?!!

Tremors? Earthquake? Who cares...

My chair rocked independently even though i'm not moving an inch from the table with all the notes. Sitting up straight, the image in front still looks 'shaky'? I thought it was due to lack of sleep and giddiness is setting in. So I slapped myself...no...things are still shaking...I look at my water bottle, the water's swirling on it's own...I switch on the TV, there's an earthquake of 6.6 in Indonesia. Stupid earthquake...wonder how many lives it took away this time.

First time I felt such tremors so strongly though. And the epicentre was 430km away from Singapore? I wonder how the people in Sumatra even stood on their feet! I'll just sit on the floor if it was me. And I wonder why people in Singapore even bother panicking and running out of buildings when the tremors only lasted like 15seconds? Unless you are staying in a mud-house, please don't panic and stay indoors. Singapore buildings are built to withstand earthquakes to a certain extend. The whole ceiling or wall won't collapse on you, the most you'll even see are crack lines on the walls. So stop panicking, don't fight to dial into the news-stations, don't create a mountain out of a ant-hill! Get on with life...i've got a test tomorrow...

Second time it shook, I was sleeping...or just asleep...felt a little shaking. Didn't bother about it, went back to dreamland. But...was soundly woken up by my fanatic father telling my mother it's an earthquake. His voice shook the house... :(

About Lectures....

Bioscience lectures are mostly boring...people fall asleep at various parts of the lecture and i'm no saint either...Here's a classic example of sleeping through a lecture:

Gone Fishing

I was doing my usual food hunting online when I found this café situated right in the Hillview area know as "Gone Fishing". So on a lovely afternoon yesterday, me and Eunice decided to check out the place. Just a mention, this place has currently changed hands and managed by my ex-bpghs senior, Hon Shin. Suppose only those secondary school mates, especially from scouts or guides will have memories of him.

This café is situated at quite a 'deserted' area, and I didn't even realise there was a row of shophouses there in Hillview till yesterday! But nevertheless, we spent a whole afternoon there, lunching and having a good chat. As the café promotes "...for the unhurried soul", we really sat there for 5 hours? lol...let's now introduce some of the food now happily sitting in my stomach.

This is the café, called "Gone Fishing" for the unhurried soul....

This is my main dish, it's a ribs+sausage combo meal. The set comes with a soup of the day and a beverage too. This set costs S$17. The sausages and chicken combo cost around S$12? I'm no fanatic of sausages, so I can't really compare or comment on the sausage part. But as for the ribs, they are SUCCULENTLY DELICIOUS!! Definitely worth a try...the rice isn't bad too...before the rice was served, Eunice was already commenting that the rice smells very nice.

Ok, here is the beverage: Almond Coffee...hmmm....maybe it's just me. But there isn't much aroma of the coffee...sorry but I prefer my coffee strong and black though.

We get to do graffitti on the walls in any manner too...the walls were already generally packed, so we had to spend time looking for empty spaces to do some scribbling...

These were scribblings of Eunice solely...I had no role in these

These are combined efforts...



Anyway, for those interested in visiting the café, check out their site @ www.gonefishing.com.sg Can be a real nice place to hang and rot the whole day...