Gone with the wind

Have you ever experienced the pain of forgetting?
Trying conscientiously hard to pixelate the moment into your memory.
Only to realize that the more you try to remember, the more you forget.
Like a mist that came down and fogged your memories.
And you start to blame yourself for not remembering the exact shade of colors, the exact words that were spelt, the exact smell that lingered in the air....


Eventually, time came by.
And the pain tucked away.

10 more days and endless list of things to settle

It didn't occur to me that I haven't been blogging that conscientiously. I guess the Facebook did a good job snatching away most of the time of internet surfers. I was sort of hooked on to the Fluffpets. It's a brainless game where you pet, feed and race your virtual pet. But they have treasure hunts every now and then, and you get to shop for cute virtual stuff to add on to your habitat and so on.....and created a success in getting people's attention (at least my attention).

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I made a trip to Cairns, Australia during August. It was a nice relaxing conference trip. The weather was excellent, the Gloria Jeans coffee was unforgettable. The mussels were delectable. I met my old research friends, and got to know what they are doing now. I've loaded some photos on Facebook. But I was too lazy to add comments to accompany each photo.

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September and October were one of the craziest months for me. I spent most of the time trying to get hold of the stupid J1 visa. Singaporeans are eligible for the visa waiver program, and do not have to apply for the visa when the duration of stay is less than 3 mths. Unfortunately, my boss happily decided for me that I will be most willing to stay at US from Nov to July (9 months).
I therefore had to apply for the J1 visa (a form of exchange visitor visa). There were periods when I just want to snap off people's head for making me wait for an unbearably long time. Eventually, the ordeal of acquiring a visa ended much more smoothly than I had expected. The trip was however shortened to 4 months. I shall not bore you with why it happened that way.
But the ending conclusion is: 4 months is perfect and it's just 10 more days before my trip!!

It's going to be a freakingly cold winter.

The cycle starts again

6 rounds of revision....
Let's see if it will break the record of 18 rounds of revision.

Update:
Submitted on 24 September 2008, after 8 rounds of revision.

I saw a very funny thing at the PUB website. It reads:

Basin-Wide Identification of Fecal Contamination and Source Tracking in Marina Bay by PCR-Based Approach （PUB Project）

Waters contaminated with human faeces are generally perceived as constituting a greater human health risk than that with animal faeces, because of their potential associations with human pathogens. Microbial Source Tracking (MST) identifies the micro-organisms associated with the sources of excreta, through bacteriological, genotypic, phenotypic, or chemical methods. This allows for adequate assessment of water quality and development of watershed management plans.

In this project, the presence of fecal pollution in seven sampling points in the Marina Basin is studied using bacteria Enterococci, Bacteriodes and Bifidobacteria as indicators (Figure 1). Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based [quantitative PCR (QPCR), nested-PCR, multiplex PCR] and other molecular biology methods (cloning and DNA sequencing), are adopted for rapid, cost-effective, high-throughput and sensitive detection. The results will help to identify the source categories of faecal pollution over whole areas (if any), to locate potential problem areas with intense exposure to specific sources of contamination; to advise management strategies to reduce or eliminate the sources; and to generate database for the characterisation of faecal pollution in Singapore waters.




I'm amazed that PUB is actually doing this. Because I get snubbed so many times when I try to sell microbial source tracking approach to a PUB-related personnel.

Actually, this project has been ongoing for almost 2 yrs. So my question to PUB is:

1) Are we actually going to see any publication on the microbial baseline in Singapore waters?
2) If fecal contamination is really present, are we going to see it in publications?

70% Left brained, 30% right brained

You Are 70% Left Brained, 30% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

To test the accuracy of the above test, I took another one from an independent website. Here's the results:

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (28%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (68%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The reason I posted this is that most people believe left handed people (like me) utilize the right side of the brain most often. This may not necessarily be true. Actually, I am not an obligate left hander.

Fanatic

I'm crazy over pens and perfumes.
Did someone mention that I have > 50 pens and >10 bottles of perfumes?

I'm trying to stop myself from buying more.
But I still have the following wish list.

Kenzo: Amour
Clinique: Happy in Bloom (Limited Edition)
Marc Jacobs: Daisy
D&G: Light Blue

Thank you, but I don't appreciate being called a bully

There are many categories of friends. One category whole-heartedly support whatever decisions made by their friends, and never disagree upon a single thing. Even when those decisions are bad, and will hurt in the long term, they will not hesitate to support their friend. To say that I respect my friend's decision without analysing the whole situation or thinking through the consequences may be the easiest. I can say it too. But I realize eventually I am doing more harm than good.

Another category of friends do not mince down on their words. No doubt whatever they say may not be pleasing to the ears, but they say/criticise and remind their friends of their shortcomings, and remind them of the consequences of their decisions. They did all these also because they care. Those words might hurt in the short term, but it provides another wall of reflection.

To the first category of friends:
Just because I am perceived to be strong and independent doesn't mean I won't get hurt.
Just because I don't cry in front of others doesn't mean that I am not sad.
Just because I say things that people don't like to hear doesn't mean that I am a bully.

And I NEVER bullied any of my friends.
Thank you.

I'm not a fool

This is my blog, and I write what I want to write. If you think I am talking about you, I have no apologies reserved for you.

Some people think I am a fool not to know things. They discuss silently when I am not around, and hush up once I am back. They come into my room in a group, exchange a few glances and then walked out of the room to discuss. If you want to keep things a secret from me, bloody hell do a better job.

Don't let me learn about things from others, and worse, from my own boss. I made myself a fool to try to defend the person two months ago. I felt betrayed to even defend the person, to find excuses in the past and to be scolded by my boss. Now, when my boss tell me what's happening, I felt like a fool and want to eat back my words.

At least I learnt that I need to keep my distance from these people.

Boston- The academic city

One look at Boston and you know it is teeming with knowledge and culture. All the good universities are here! Harvard, MIT and Boston University, all distanced very near to each other.

My hotel was just right next to MIT, overlooking the Charles River. Basically Hyatt Regency Cambridge is darn lousy. Never ever pay your bucks to stay in this place in the future. Everything costs money in this hotel. Internet, breakfast...even the long queue of taxis just right outside are all cheats. They charged me USD35 dollars for a < 15 min car ride from the hotel to the airport. It only costs me USD25 when i took from the airport to the hotel. The difference? One didn't go by the meter, and the other did.

I prefer Boston to Chicago, though I didn't really spend much time sightseeing. I was too caught up with the conference/lazy and would rather stone/cannot be bothered to do intensive sightseeing. But I like the sense of security I get there. I'm not sure why, but it feels safe in Boston compared to Chicago. Maybe it's because of the universities.

Even the subway looks cleaner. Something is terribly wrong with Chicago, because I heard that Boston got their subway much much earlier than Chicago.
At this part of the holiday, I was joined by CD and CA. Both are great company, and we tried to enjoy the good food that Boston has to offer. Unfortunately, my palate only tastes spicy food. So I still prefer Singaporean cuisines to those American food.

Where else can you find nice food at an affordable price? Only in Singapore.

Chicago - The Windy City

After nearly three days at the Land of Corn Fields, I left the rural cities for the city that's filled with skyscrapers - Chicago. I was quite excited to go to a city (finally!). I think I am afterall an urban dweller, and the thought of hitting down to GAP and H&M thrilled me. Haha...

The hostel (Hostelling International Chicago) was right in the Loop of Chicago downtown, which makes it easily accessible and good for sightseeing. I was glad that I shared a dorm with 5 other females, and was no longer the mixed dorm that I had in Vienna two years ago. Sharing with females means that the room is less stinky, the toilets less dirty, and the room less noisy. So it is a good thing. The only one thing that I need to complain was the darn magnetic card, which never seems to cooperate with me. Wireless internet connection also comes free in this hostel, so if you've got your laptop along with you, it's really a cheap place to stay in when visiting Chicago.

The subway is dirty and slow, but it's not packed at most times of the day. So it is a good mode of transport to shuttle around different parts of the city. They also have a lot of Blacks singing live at the metro station, and they sang the Blues or R&B really well.

On the first day, the weather was good, so I decided that I should do more outdoor activities on this day. I went up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Observatory, and got to see the Lake Michigan and the endless horizons of skyscrapers. It's kind of cool to see the Lake Michigan up close, because everytime when I read the research papers, I read about it. I realised I was a bit foolish and should have went up there later, when the lights of most skyscrapers should be on...but oh well..

After that, I hit the shopping avenues off North Michigan and State Street. I found my fav GAP and H&M, and bought tonnes of things. I also found that the Normstrom is also a good place to shop for designer products at a very discounted price.
On the second day, it was raining and overcast for the whole day. I was lucky that I managed to reach the Shedd Aquarium before I got caught in the rain. The 4D theater was quite nice, and I watched the Planet Earth- The Shallow Sea in the theater. I think I am rather slow in this 4D term, but it seems that it is a combination of 3D and sensory effects. So when you are on your seat, they will spray water or have a stick poking at your back, or wind gushing at your feet (all according to the scenes on the screen)!

The Dolphin show was nothing compared to the one that I saw in HK Ocean Park. Maybe they don't want to ill-treat their dolphins too much, so that's good in some sense. The aquarium exhibits are pretty nice as well. I like the seahorse!
After spending nearly 2h at the aquarium, I walked out to the Grant Park. It was raining and windy, but I eventually made it to see the Buckingham Fountain. It's really a pity that the weather was crappy. My jeans were wet and I felt really shitty.

Urbana Champaign - The legendary corn field

I spent close to three days at Urbana-Champaign, which are the two quiet twin cities that stood by the side of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Urbana has comparatively older houses than Champaign, but both are just quiet peaceful cities. In fact, I wouldn't call them cities at all. I would rather call them village towns that are surrounded by vast stretches of corn and soybean fields. That's why they do excellent research at UIUC....no distractions at all.

This trip down to Urbana Champaign is to know the students and faculty members there, as well as to have an idea of what are the lab facilities present at the UIUC. I was very impressed by the level of dynamism that the faculty has, the extensive inter-department collaborations, and the willingness to share the use of their purchased equipment. Sadly speaking, these are the things you don't really see in NUS, especially the dynamism part.

The place that I reside: Hampton Inn, is a nice place. The bed was very comfortable, the toilet is spacious and clean. The room is well equipped with coffee maker, hair dryer, and wireless internet connection. And best of all, I don't have to pay a single cent! Love it!

25h on the plane is just so darn tiring

I survived my first US long overhaul! Congrats to me!
it's a total of 25 h on the plane including of transit, and it just isn't fun at all.

Firstly, traveling to US means lots of security checkpoints. Like it or not, you really have to be well-prepared for it. I tried to travel light (for my hand carry), so I cleared the custom pretty fast. At the Changi Airport, instead of the usual check-in, there are also security officers checking with each and every passenger their passport, their itinierary, and where their accomodation in US will be. They will look into your eyes and ask you what was the purpose of your trip, before they let you go the counter to proceed with your check-in. Right before boarding, there is another round of X-ray scan of your hand carry, and the laptop has to be taken out of the bag, and switched for the officer to see (though I am not sure what's the purpose).

If you think that's all, it's not all. Once I arrived in HK for my transit, my hand-carry was X-ray scanned again,and the laptop taken out of the bag. It's pretty fast, so I thought it was ok. But alas, before boarding the plane, they manually searched through all passenger's hand carry, and some people aren't very happy about it. I was lucky I only had my poster along and one back pack. So I got up the plane really fast. :D

Then it's the long overhaul. I was sitting right in the middle column, second from the left. Sandwiched between a female elderly and a rather well-built Viet American uncle. It's kind of squeezy in my seat and the air-con was blasting right into me (it took me after 10 h of my journey to realize that I can adjust the knob of the air-con so that it doesn't blast at me...oh well...). UA stewards and stewardess are really old, and I meant old. They are grannies and uncles in their 40s-50s! Only one stewardess looks like she was in the middle 30s, but she was too busy having small talks with uncles such that her service to the others sucks. Like she missed giving me a meal (the meals with chicken are rather nice and tasty), and took half an hour to get back to me after two repeated request for water (they serve water too infrequently). The toilets were surprisingly clean (I like that!). But the UA pilot who was in charge of the HK landing is terrible. He made three consecutive altitude dips, and my heart nearly lurched out of my mouth.

Once I landed in America, it's the clearing of the custom again. I have to scan my four fingers on both hands, and the two thumbs together. I have to look into the camera for them to take a photo of my face, and to answer the officer several questions. And then before I board onto the domestic plane, my hand carry has to be X-ray scanned again, and shoes had to be taken off. It's lucky I wore my crocs shoes, but I think the next time I wear it, I will wear it with my socks. It's more comfy on the plane with socks.

So traveling to US is really troublesome and tiring. I'm glad I finally made my way here. :D

Waste of time to read even a page of her thesis

One of my students is pissing the hell out of me.
The first time I told her something is wrong and should be done the other way, she will always argue with me why she does so. To the extent that I was so pissed that I told her to stop arguing with me, and consider that when the reader reads her stupid thesis, she won't be there to "explain" to them what the hell she is trying to say.
Fine, and off she goes to "amend" the thesis. So happens that she directly submitted it to boss, and boss being the busy person, had it passed to me instead.
I read through and was utterly damned pissed that not all of the things were changed accordingly. Then FOR WHAT I waste MY TIME and GO THROUGH with her PAGE BY PAGE????
I cannot take it anymore, so I just told my boss to let her submit directly without any changes. Not without adding another statement noting that IT IS A WASTE OF TIME (to read and revise).

My grandma

Nothing is going to stop me

Having high hopes on oneself is not enough.
Often, it is how much confidence other people had placed on you that keeps you going.

I hope I can eventually make my way there.

Look what flew onto me

Kaoz. This is darn disgusting. I was on the LRT this morning, stoning at my seat, when an uncle standing before me, coughed. Nothing wrong with coughing, but I distinctly saw something flew onto my arm. Initially I thought I might be imagining things. But the lady next to me promptly took out a tissue and started cleaning her arm. Apparently, the saliva flew onto her as well. Utterly disgusted, I took out both my tissue and wet tissue, and cleaned my arm vigorously. Right in front of that uncle.

Uncle, please lah, cover your mouth before you cough lah! Haven't you all forgot the SARS?!

Olympic torch relay

Is it just Chinese inherent personality or what? Why bother to stage one of the most ambitious Olympic torch relay, when obviously they are not capable of it? If it's the face they want, they have lost it all.
Olympic torch symbolises the peace and wisdom, and as it travels around the continent, it spreads the importance of harmony to all. Ironically, wherever it goes, protesters march down the streets. Some even scale themselves up the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, in a bid to have their anti-China sentiments hammered across. They got their point.

Government agenda

I'm sick and tired of the so-called governmental agenda.

Four years ago, when I was called up for the second round of interview with A*Star directors, I was asked times and again why I chose to work with Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, particularly on the production of alternative fuels like biohydrogen. I learnt from Philip Yeo that there isn't going to be much prospects and hype on such research topics. Why not do tissue engineering or stem cell research? That's where all the activities are.

Upon hearing that, I sort of had a deja vu, when I was questioned by the MOE scholarship board about why I wanted to choose Environmental Engineering.

Needless to say, I didn't get all those scholarships. Why are all the students moulded to fit into the same model? Why are they directed to work in areas where only the government/economy are interested in?
And after so many years, we see all the renewed interest in alternative fuels like solar energy. Ironically, EDB has pinpoint the solar energy industry as the next IN thing recently.

Well, on second thoughts, I'm glad I didn't get the scholarships. Because I don't want to work in such short-sighted government/government-affiliated boards.

Miscellaneous updates

It's been a long time since I last update my blog. I've decided that I should just be like "Cecilia" in the PhD comics, and write short entries to keep this blog alive.

First of all, in case you are wondering what has happened to my manuscript. It's been accepted! All the hard work has paid off. But now, I will need to pray harder and make sure no one finds fault with my dear paper.

Many of the lab mates have left the lab. And there's less and less of us hanging around already. No doubt it is good they have escaped from the gallows, and started their own jail term somewhere, it really does feel like the lab doesn't feel like what it used to be anymore.

There have been numerous things happening in my life, and I think I have sorted that out with the help of some of my very trustworthy friends in the lab.

Right before the storm, it's always peaceful....

Trying to showoff

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