美丽心思界

Boston.com

2008-10-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

My photograph got put on Boston.com leh!!

haha..

http://www.boston.com/thingstodo/special/halloween/20pumpkinfest?pg=9

Sixth Annual Boston Pumpkin Festival 18th Oct 2008

2008-10-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

The annual Pumpkin Festival is here again. Time to start carving and see if Boston can set a New Guinness world record. This is my pumpkin before carving. Huge and heavy. Haha.. time to carve the first pumpkin of my life.

First I had to take a big spoon and remove all the stuff inside the pumpkin so that it is empty. Bf is so much faster than me. He had already given two eyes to his pumpkin and he was starting with the nose.

hehe... The finished product. I carved the orange one and bf did the green one. We decided to name them Dimple Gal and Broken Nose respectively. Although I was slower, I think my pumpkin is nicer leh. Did you notice the dimples... haha

After carving, we took our pumpkins to join the rest of the pumpkin family in the plaza. There were pumpkins all over. Wow...... haha.. We found a good spot for our pumpkins and landed them with very interesting neighbours.

Here are three of their interesting neighours. Bright eyes, The Cat (notice the cat ears) and old grandpa pumpkin.

Other pumpkins around the plaza.

wow... a jay chou fan in boston??

稻香 - 周杰倫 lyrics (meaningful neh..)

2008-09-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

不要这麼容易就想放弃就像我说的
追不到的梦想换个梦不就得了
为自己的人生鲜艳上色先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色
笑一个吧功成名就不是目的
让自己快乐快乐这才叫做意义
童年的纸飞机现在终於飞回我手里
所谓的那快乐赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了
偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了谁在偷笑呢
我靠著稻草人吹著风唱著歌睡著了
哦哦午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆
哦哦阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎
珍惜一切就算没有拥有

还记得你说家是唯一的城堡随著稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧回到最初的美好

Day trip to Ipswich and Essex

2008-07-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ipswich and Essex are two cities near Boston. They can be accessed by taking the commuter rail (train) for about an hour. During the summer, there are buses bringing people from the commuter rail to the tourists destinations in the two cities.

When we reached the Ipswich station, there is already a bus waiting for us. There are many tourists like us and they all told the driver that they are going to Crane beach. Before coming, we did not plan on going to Crane beach as we just went to Revere Beach last week. But seeing how EVERYONE on the bus execpt us is heading for the beach, we decided to go talk a look as well.

We arrived at Crane beach at about 11a.m. and it is really clean and nice. There are already many people there. Although we are not dressed appropriate for the beach, we decided to walk on the sand and play with the waters anyway.

Many people are like us playing with the waters and making sand castles. The most impressive castle is the one below:

Seeing how beautiful the sand castles are, we decided to make one too. Hmm.. except that we have no tool to aid in the construction. Hence we gave up trying to make a castle. Below is our lame attempt at making a sand Mian Mian.

Next, we went to the Russell Orchard for fruit picking. But before we embarked on our fruit picking, we stopped by the Orchard tour and grab some apple cider pop first. wooo.... so.... nice....

There are many different fruits in the orchard. These two weeks is the season for blue berry and Raspberry picking.
To prevent people from picking fruits and not paying, the Orchard authorities decided to put a guard at the front gate. Except ... that....

..... the guard is sleeping very sounding.

There are also many animals at the Orchard. We said hello to the duck family, little pig and their friends.

After that we went to Essex for lunch at Woodman's and take a look around the city. The city is famous for its shipbuilding history and the large number of antiques shop around. Lf finds the shipbuilding stuff pretty interesting although by this time of the day, I was too tired already.

25th birthday

2008-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Don't misunderstand. Mian mian is not yet 25 years old...but I'm already 25 years old!!! Going to be 30 soon.... =(

Revere Beach + Sand sculpture competition

2008-07-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

I went to a sand sculpture competition@ Revere Beach today. But I guess the highlight for bf is not the sculpture but rather the roast beef burger and lobster roll from Kelly's Roast Beef. Bf claimed that Kelly's is the first place in the world to make roast beef burger. I din find the roast beef that great. But I like the lobster roll. The lobster meat is sooooo biggg.... wahhhh....

Delicious neh... After lunch, we went to walk around the beach for a while and take pictures of the beautiful sand sculptures.

This is my first time seeing sand sculptures. Hopefully it does not rain for the next few days.. or else the sculptures may be destroyed.

So which one of the sculptures do you like best?

Orlando-Disney_Magic Kingdom_part I

2008-04-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

We went to Magic Kingdom on the second day of our visit. We arrived very early at around 8.00 a.m. and were one of the first to catch the ferry from the main transportation center into Magic Kingdom.

After a short ferry ride, we reached Magic Kingdom! Yay... the disney theme park with most disney characters and most magic. And of course... most kids... hmmm.... so it is really better to reach there earlier before the kids wake up. We were greeted by beautiful shops and streets on main street. And of course we can see Cinderella's castle.

We decided that the most optimal thing to do was to go straight to Frontierland to get a fastpass for Splash Mountain. (as it is a popular attraction and the waiting time can go up to an hour in the afternoon) When we reached Splash Mountain, we realized that we were so early that there wasn't a queue. So we took the fastpass and went immediately to take the ride too. haha.. meaning that we will get two rides. =P

Splash Mountain as its name suggests probably involved water... and getting wet. Hmm.. but why is there a "splash"? It is because the climax of the ride is a slide from five stories down into the river and of course water will splash up and make u wet. This picture was taken in front of splash mountain. If you look carefully you can see a boat starting its slide down.

For the splash mountain ride, we were sitted on a log. The ride presents scene from Disney production, Song of the South, telling the adventures of a Rabbit that leaves his home to look for his laughing place. A fox and a bear, the bad guys, are determined to catch him. Just before the final drop, we could see the Rabbit tied up into a bundle and crying for help. And then.... whew..... we were dropped from the top of the mountain. Wow... I got pretty wet from the ride and bf said that he could feel himself almost coming out from his seat. (dun worry, the ride is safe.)

The ride was not over after the drop. We were led into another hidden tunnel and we saw the Rabbit safely at home, relaxing, telling us that he had learnt his lesson. In the background, a lot of critters were singing the ride's theme song, Zep-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, to celebrate the rabbit's safe return. Bf started singing along too. haha.... and I was glad that I was still in my seat... seriously.. there was no seat belts or any other safety stuff at all.
After Splash mountain, we went to get a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It is a roller coaster with many turns and drops. It made me dizzy after the ride but it was fun. Next, we went to Adventureland and took a Jungle Cruise and visited Captain Sparrow on the Pirates of Carribbean boat ride.

Kids and parents began to fill in at this time of the day and it got pretty crowded. We walked through Liberty Square, trying to feel the history of America and the huge fight for independence. The Haunted Mansion was our next stop. I must say I was quite impressed with the ride. The exhibits were very nicely made and the effects were also very good.
In Fantasyland, we took many kiddish rides like the Golden Carrousel.

For lunch, bf got himself a huge turkey leg. looks yummy...

Next, we went to Tomorrowland to drive a racecar. I was the driver and bf the passenger.. haha..after the ride, he told me that my decision to quit learning driving is correct. hmmm...

After our scary ride on the racecar, it was time to watch Mickey and his friends for the "Dream come true" performance on Cinderalla Castle.
At 3 pm, the parade will start. So Bf and I quickly went around looking for a good spot to catch the parade. And since there was still some time, we started eating the grapefruit that we brought. Haha.. it was quite cool to eat grapefruit in the hot sun. I think people were envious of us. =)

The parade started.... and first came Daisy, followed by many other characters.

Orlando-Disney_Epcot_World Showcase_Part 5_Japan + Italy + Germany

2008-04-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

We went to Japan for lunch. We had curry rice and beef bowl. Tastes like Yoshinoya. But it is still good to have rice after so many days of waffles, burgers and fries.

The shop in Japan sells many Hello Kitties, no Daniels and many Japanese curiosities. They even sell pearls from oysters. The customer will choose the oyster and it will be open in front of them to retrieve the pearl in it. There are also many Japanese snacks but we decided that those at Porter Exchange are much better. Too bad.. no anime to please my bf.

We went to Italy at 7.30 pm which is the magical time to visit. Italy is very beautiful during sunset. And my bf called it the most beautiful country in Epcot. We took some pictures with Poseidon.

After sunset, we had sauguages at Germany for dinner. They tasted very much like those we get in Shaws. I guess most people were there for the beer.

Orlando-Disney_Epcot_World Showcase_Part 4_France + UK + Canada

2008-04-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

France...home to Paris the city of love! We had a Neapolitan dessert at this bakery

After that we went into a perfume shop and tried out the perfume there. I gave a huge squeeze and a lot of perfume was released into my hand. We would have stayed longer but the shopkeepers were looking at us so we ran away, smelling nice.

There was a garden in front of the perfume shop and they plant flowers that were used for extracting perfume.

There was also a show in France. But I think it pales in comparison to the little girls in China.

Next we went to UK. There is really nothing there other than Beckham's autographies, which my bf din even notice. Oh wait... Mary Poppins was also there. I almost wanted to take a photo with her until I noticed that she asked a lot of questions. [1192]

There was also nothing much in Canada, except for a cute little duckling.

Orlando-Disney_Epcot_Test Track

2008-04-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

The first thing we did when we reached Epcot is to get a FastPass for TestTrack!! It was very early so the return time was not very long. It was just nice to go to the Space Shuttle ride next door while waiting for the FastPass return time.

TestTrack is my most anticipated ride of Epcot! I rode it twice last time I visited Disney, and even took a video clip of the entire ride. But I'm still a little scared this time..hehe

So we finally bypassed the long lines and got into the rides. It always feels good to go on the FastPass lane and cut the queue. I wonder why people are still willing to wait in line...hmmmm...Here is a picture I took inside the car at the starting line.

We waited nervously for the red lights to turn green. 5 minutes....10minutes. Still red. Then there was a broadcast telling us about a technical fault somewhere in the test track. We have to stay in the car and wait. Luckily we were in the car. Look at all the other people standing in line... so kelian

Finally the car started to move. Yay!

We went through the "Brake Test" and then the car stopped. haih...

Then someone told us over the broadcast that the ride has been terminated and we had to get out. But then they gave us an unlimited FastPass for the ride at any other time of the day.

We got out of the car and walked to the exit. which is quite far away. Meanwhile, we passed by the heat chamber...

the cold chamber...
and the acid chamber. On our way out we overheard people saying that they were trapped in the cold chamber during the breakdown. That must be quite an experience.

So we walked out of the TestTrack, we still haven't got a chance to ride on it yet. We decided to come back later in the afternoon.

When we finally got our ride, it was unremarkable...=( The ride was over so fast, I barely got the thrill. Oh well...maybe I'm more jaded this time....

Orlando-Disney_Epcot_World Showcase_Part 3_Morocco

2008-04-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

I went to sit on the Magic Carpet in Morocco. Dun laugh at my weird posture. I am absorbing the essence of the universe. Anyway, can you spot the many hidden mickeys on the picture behind me?

After sitting on the carpet, I must find the genie lamp. I looked through the stalls. There were many carpets, cushions, belly dancing clothing, nice ethnic clothings, tamborine for sale.

Finally I found some lamps. But there were a lot of them.... which one is the magic one....oh well this one did not work.

Water must have some special significance in Morocco culture. There were many Mosaic fountains over all. Maybe they are wishing wells. Let me see if there are coins anywhere. Or mebe Morocco's weather is simply too warm and it is nice to have a fountain at home. Or perhaps it is for religious purposes for cleansing oneself before prayers.

Orlando-Disney_Epcot_World Showcase_Part 2_Norway+China

2008-04-06T11:36:00.001-07:00

Norway is situated near to Mexico... wait.. how can this be true??

Hmmm.. i guess it is only true in Epcot.

After a tiring 2 minutes walk, we finally reach Norway from Mexico. yay...

So what is Norway famous for?

The Vikings!! So do I look fierce in the Viking Hat..

Next we took a leisurely stroll over to China. This is the Cao Yang Men, literally translated into the "Gate that faces the Sun".

We went into the restaurant to find out what they are serving. To our huge disappointment, they are serving Vege Lo Mein, which did not look appetizing at all. We also watch a short film titled "Reflections on China". It is a pretty good film featuring the multi-faceted faces of China, the different cities, landscape and minority ethnic groups.

Haha.. this is the first time, my bf's face is shown on my blog. Welcome welcome....

We also watched an acrobatic performance. Xiao Zhu wanted to take a picture during the performance but the kid next to me gave me a look of despise so Xiao Zhu has to go back into hiding.

Orlando-Disney_Epcot_World Showcase_Part I_Mexico

2008-04-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

I went to Disney@Orlando over spring break. Other than the huge disappointment when I realize how much fat I have put on over the course of winter, everything is good and fun. (In winter, you wear those huge, bulky winter clothes that basically transform u into a roll... of different diameter i suppose. But the point is you dun get to see how big ur tummy is. Sigh.. back to spring clothes... and.. the truth reveals itself. =( )

We went to Epcot on the last day of our visit. Epcot has half the park dedicated to showcasing cultures from around the world. We reached Mexico at about 2 p.m. and the first thing we headed for is to buy a Margarita. Did you know that Margarita is from Mexico? Neither did I until bf told me. haha..

Anyway, we got a nice Margarita and it really helps us to cool down under the hot sun.

Even Xiao Zhu cannot resist it. haha... although she is seriously underaged for drinking. After the drink, we embarked on our tour of MEXICO!! There are stores selling ponchos and huge Hats from Ugly Betty.

Do I look like Betty?? =P

It feels really nice to be walking around Mexico, looking through the colorful clothing and handicrafts, even Xiao Zhu had a nice time.

Can you find her in the picture?

Cant wait for Ugly Betty to be broadcasted again... will they take down Eli stone then... hmm... oh well.. forever conflicting.

When the snow hits edgerton and Mian Mian

2008-02-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

When the sun align with infinite corridor!!

2008-02-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

Cool right?

Updates updates!!

2007-10-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I havent been writing much about my life ever since the start of the Fall semester. The fall semester is crazy manh. So much stuff to do. Got to teach and got to take classes. Okok.. I should learn the virtue of just doing work and complaining less. Haha..

Anyway, despite all my complaints, I am sure that it will be a fruitful semester. Do more and hopefully will get more out. =)

Other than working hard, I have also been playing hard. Finally little turtle is starting to explore Boston which is really quite an exciting city. Eating nice Italian food at Northend, strolling along Backbay, looking at the nice distinct red brick houses with flowers growing along the building walls, apple picking and savouring nice fresh seafood, going for concerts, shopping along Newburry Street and resting in Commonwealth park waiting for time and the falling leaves to bypass me. In short, Boston is a good city for anyone to explore history, arts, food, nature and much more. =)

Pics from apple picking

2007-10-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

So many apples on the tree leh!!

Lunch and dessert at Northend

2007-09-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Mousse Cheesecake and Tiramisu at Mike's Pastry!! I still think that there is too much alcohol in the Tiramisu. I can actually see like alchol on the plate loh...

Anyway.. we were too hungry.. so we had to eat before the photo taking.. haha..

Lunch at Pizzeria Regina. This pizza is really a mix of extreme saltiness and sourness. It tastes really nice and I like the juicy feeling of biting into it. It is supposed to be number 1 pizza place in New England. Must come and try!

One of the stops along Freedom Trail. Paul Revere is the gentleman on the horse.

A nice looking church. =)

Some pics

2007-09-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

(pic on left)

Rynda and I. See the cute gal behind me. She is Miya. The always happy, cheerful and playful Miya.

(pic on right)

The pretty lady in red is my YWD regional leader. She is going back to Japan for two years. We are going to miss her!!

2007-08-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have been back in Boston for about two weeks now. And as I have expected, my apartment got broken into. I have actually been secretly hoping that it would be broken into during my absence so that I have a stronger case for moving out now.

Anyway, luckily, no one was hurt as no one was in the apartment during the breaking in. And the finance loss is not too bad. Think the total losses for everyone added up to be less than 200 dollars. It is also quite fortunate that my webcam and thumbdrive are intact.

Back in Singapore and now in Boston, I am hearing a lot about my female friends' love lives stories. Some are looking forward to getting married, some are dating new people. some are trying to forget the previous and some are just simply hanging out and thinking about life. To those friends who are going to get married soon, I hope that their apartments will come soon and that they are going to get a huge proposal ring. To those who are dating new people. hmm.. this is a really exciting time of your life manh.

For those who are trying to forget the ex or just simply thinking about life, I feel that this is a very important time of their lives. Hmm.. this is the time where we become more mature, more independent and more certain of what we want and what we are looking for. Although this dating business is really random, I think improving ourselves is definitely making the whole process more deterministic. Oh dear.. I am sounding like a nerd again. hmm... oh well... what else can a nerd sounds like. haha..

Haha.. I always think that if I put the love stories of all my friends into a drama, it will become a huge success. A drama where all women can relate to, and definitely not lacking in humour and hope. =)

MMYY trip to Miri

2007-07-20T01:09:00.000-07:00

This is taken with MMYY overlooking the South China Sea. MMYY are so fortunate, get to go out and enjoy the beach and sun. =P

Cute right? Haha... MM and YY mock wedding!! (mock only!!)

MMYY bathing time!!

2007-07-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

Time for MMYY to bath.. they are too dirty..

Met up with ex collegue

2007-07-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

I have not blogged since I came back from Boston. Why? Hmm.. I dun really know. Mebe in the midst of the comforts and the leisure and the bliss, I dun feel like blogging. Yah.. I am enjoying every moment of my time in Singapore, lavishing in the love and friendship from people around me.

Only today did i feel like blogging and the catalyst is the dinner with ex collegues. Hmm.. just feel really comfortable talking to all of them. As if I did not go away for a year and everything is the same. But i guess everything IS the same, we all can talk and joke freely. Haha..perhaps even more freely now since many of us have left the company.

Xl is very cheerful today and I wish her all the best in her new job. W is like before, as entertaining and contented. =) Hope that he will sell many cards tomolo and make a big big profit!! Must also thank him for giving me some of his cards. Shi xiong is as crappy as ever. haha... Xl always tease him as being "xiong1 you3 da4 zhi4". Hope he will accomplish his da4 zhi4 soon! Also very glad to see Cc and Yf today. Haha.. they also look the same as ever. Too bad they have to rush for their second activity of the night and cannot join us in our special lecture about life from W.

All in all, I have a very pleasant heartwarming feeling tonight. =)

oh.. wait.. do you know what the following means? : - x

Arts for Peace Festival 2007

2007-06-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, June 3rd, we held a successful performance at our Waltham cultural center. This is the picture of Rachel, Jennifer, Svyeta and I taken after the concert. Haha.. I still think it is a miracle how the four of us pull it through our little portion of the dance.

I am very old hor. Rachel is the group leader cos she is the one teaching us the dance and she is only 12. Svyeta is 11. I am more than twice their age. =( Haha..

Anyway kids are troublesome. Haha.. arguing over stuff I dun understand. Hmm. Mebe I have to admit that I am old liao. I really admire how Svyeta and Jennifer managed to come for most of the practices. They stayed in western mass and took three hours to travel down to the center, making it 6 hours in travelling time. Must have been tough for kids to do that. Cannot imagine Svyeta thinking still for 6 hours since she is always in the high energy state. I think their drivers are even worth more praise. haha.. driving and taking care of kids. hmm.. poor dads and mums.

Anyway this is a bad photo of me. haha.. But I look happy in it so that is good. Anyway Svyeta is Russian. Everytime I look at her I started to think of what the princesses in Tzar time must have look like. =) Jennifer's parents are originally from Taiwan. Haha.. and despite the fact that she always say that she does not want to perform at every practice, I know that she really wants to do it. =)

End of exams

2007-05-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

I finished my exams for statistical mechanics and introduction to stochastic processes this week! So happy. no course exams for the next four months. =)

I saw my statistics professor during the exam for statistics and I cannot help but feel a sense of respect towards him again. =) Haha.. after all, he is still the best professor for coursework I have in Harvard so far. I remembered during our last day of class, the class applauded loudly for him at the end of the lesson. Haha.. but I guess he is too used to such applaude and did not take it seriously. He was trying hard to remind us when and where the exam for the class will be held. (Anyway it is really not easy to find the exam venue. Luckily I was there earlier cos I know I will take a while to find the place. )

Post exams.... what did I do? I have to start packing. Ann is very nice and offered to give me a ride to my new place. So at least that is settled. In the meantime, I have to start packing. Packing is a really boring task. I wished Siyoung and Jiang Ying were here. Haha... they were so good with helping me moving house when we were back at cornell. =P

Ann treated me to green tea ice cream today. She is so nice. Hmm.. she told me that I should stop watching less drama and start talking to people instead. haha... hmm... but I guess it is true leh. I spend 50% of my conversation talking to inanimate objects or myself. hmmm

I received a phonecall from Jennifer, my sgi ABT friend. She called me "Ruizhen Jie Jie" over the phone. It is such a strange feeling to be addressed as Jie Jie. Oh well, but I guess despite not wanting to admit it, I am really not 17 or 18 anymore. I am 24!! And soon I will be 25 and heading towards 30. What a scary thought. I guess it is not just scary because I am hitting my thirties. But also because I dun feel like I am that age. Hmmm... I was about to tell Jennifer about some of my personal relationship stuff until I realized... hmmm... she is too young.. haha...I guess I will start to feel older when I start having nephews and nieces. =P Meanwhile, the only younger "entities" in my family other than me are my Mian Mian, Yang Yang and alike. =)

Oh.. let me attached the link to my MMYY video:
It is a little cheesy.... but I hope people will like it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKojgHtdgPk

A description of cancer i found online

2007-05-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

Cancers aren’t easy to figure out. They often seem to have two personalities. One is very outgoing, funny and quirky. The other tends to be shy, moody and sometimes downright antisocial. It usually depends on what kind of mood the Cancer person is in. Cancers are very emotional and can have irrational aversions to certain places, people or things. They can also be very sentimental. Once the cancer is comfortable with a person, the Cancer will not have any problems telling the person all about anything that bothers them and will let you know what they have enjoyed. Cancers are talkative and quick to let you know about how they feel.
Hmm... no wonder I feel like a two state system.

Pic!

2007-05-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.. considering the level of turtleness in my life overseas, I seldom take any photo. Hehe.. this is a photo that I took with Ann. Ann is an astronomy phd student from Hong Kong and she likes to watch Hama Kimi too!! There is this guy in our dorm who said that we look alike. Haha.. hmm.. then mebe we can go date 2moro then! BUT.. I want the elder brother hor.

We are kind of dressed up cos we were at the Spring Swing Party at Dudley. It was interesting to see how well people dance. Some of them like Jonathan on my floor danced really well.

Hmm.. cos i dun know how to dance so I din dance. haha.. plus there is NO cute guy!!! haha.. mebe cute guys dun swing, they just stand around and act cool. haha =P

Housing.... complaints.

2007-05-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

First... I met a student working illegally. Okie.. i would not complain too much about her. Life is hard. She is just trying to maximise her coming over here. I told her to study hard and get a good job next time. But oh well, I decided that it is too risky to be her housemate.

The second one... a guy whose name is called Brave. Hmmm... mebe I will find a gal called Beauty next time. He wants to know my hobbies and to see my photograph. Hmmm.. how come he will only show me the apartment after seeing my photography?? That I will nv comprehend.

The third.... a woman who sleeps at 9.30 pm. She told me that cooking at 9 pm is noisy. Coming through the front door is noisy. So I promise to use the backdoor. But she still has to think about it.

Fourth.. a undergraduate student who said " I dun just want a housemate, I want someone who i can be friends with. Someone who I find cool things to talk about. Not someone so quiet."

Hmm... i wonder if i should be getting so much such things.

I am just getting a room how come people need to dissect my personality and social life until like that. I dun drink, I dun smoke, i dun have pets. I pay rent. Promise to help with cleaning. Dun mind coming thought the backdoor after 9.30... what else do u want me to do? I cannot cure you of your sleeping disorder.

Now I even have to be a friend. I need to be able to entertain you. I need to be able to add value to your life, to be able to talk to your friends when they come over. Oh my.. I even need to be a beauty.. I need to send my photo.

Hmmm.... I am just like anyone on the streets. I am responsible, neat and nice.
But I am not the beauty queen or the socializing machine.

End of April updates

2007-04-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, next week will be the last week of the spring semester and after that there will be two weeks of study break and then one weeks of exams. I have 3 exams to take and they are on the 9th of May, 23rd and 25th of May. How I wish the exams can end earlier. Haha.. so that my suffering can end earlier too.

My resolution for this semester is that I will learn a lot from the courseswork this sem. (after a unfulfilling feeling with coursework from last semester. Hmm.. I guess I feel a little bit more fulfilled this semester since I like the Introduction to Stochastic process class. The professor, Samuel, is very good. He teaches very well and I like his voice. Other than the clear teaching, I also like his enthusiasm for what he is teaching. I especially like his brief introductory stories about famous statisticians and scientists. He was talking about Black and Scholes on Wednesday. He told us about how the two guys, one working in the finance sector and one an assistant prof came together to derive the most important equation used for option pricing and how their paper basically revolutionize the view on stocks prices as being brownian motion. I may be imagining. But that lecture, I really though I saw a sparkle in his eyes. I like these stories as they serve to remind me that despite all the sound and fury that surrounds the debate our the worth of research, what it boils down to, for me, is really that kind of passion, idealism and pureness.

My other class in Chemistry is quite a let down actually. I guess the main thing that I learn from this class is that self learning is important. The professor is unable to explain stuff and talks too much random stuff and too little important stuff. Also I feel that there is a lot of frustration for the class and it is being reflected in lecture too. Hmm.. but I think I have to give him credit for covering some of the material that he did. I have always heard about the "arrow of time" but I never knew what it was. I know that it is relating to the fact that entropy always increases. But his explanation of Boltzmann's H theorm really clear everything. I was very confused after class one day and I asked him about the derivation. After finally understanding the derivation, I said "Isn't it an irony, that he is using the property of molecular reversibility hence the reversibility of collisions to prove the irreversibly of time?" And my TA kindly added "Yes. Exactly, this is the beauty of the derivation." Hmmm... indeed indeed. Using reversibility to prove irreversibility. How smart Boltzmann is! What a pity that Boltzmann commit suicide, before people can recognise his achievements and his revolutionary science. Reminds me of Van Gogh too. The similar loneliness and lack of understanding they must have feel. Luckily, Mendel was happy enough counting and growing peas and did not end up in the same path.

I guess I only have one achievement for this month of April. I managed to attend all the four Buddhist meetings for this month. Kind of record breaking for me, considering that my average attendance is 50%. Hmm.. I guess the greatest reward is that I talked to Nathan about Mentor and disciple relationship on 12th of April. Although I cannot remember what he said that day, I remembered that I was feeling very touched by the time I had to part with him at the subway station. He always have the ability to touch people's heart. I remembered he said that "A mentor is not someone who is more senior. He is somone who is fighting alongside you, trying to achieve the same dreams." He also said that although he may not meet president Ikeda ever again, he knows that their hearts will always be join.

I guess this is the part that touches me most. People meet and part. Sometimes never to see each other again. I think to protect myself from the pain of loss after friends leave (especially since many of my friends are from other countries), I often put an expiry date on each friendship. A date which I think a friendship should be able to reach. If it can extend beyond that, it is a big blessing. If it cannot, it is okie since it is beyond the expiry date. But what Nathan is telling me is that even though he will never see president ikeda again, nothing changes. The idea of forever blew me away. Forever... .... something that lasts forever.

Hmm.. I was thinking that my month in April seems to be in vain as nothing much got done. But now as I finished writing my blog. I think it has not been such in vain after all.

End of Hip Hop class

2007-04-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today marks the end of my four week hip hop class. Conclusion is... hmm... like learn nothing leh. =P

Haha.. anyway I will put the link of my instructor here.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.showvids&friendID=105212999&n=105212999&MyToken=f5293b94-5e86-4a4b-be47-b9e9138e78f7

Go see some videos if you are interested!

四月十一

2007-04-08T18:07:00.001-07:00

四月十一is exactly three months after I emotionally give up on my previous rxnship. So I guess I should write something about these three months =)

These three months are good. So much more happiness, joy, activities. =) Hmm.. like the lyrics from the song 谢谢你让我爱过你 esp the line "谢谢你提醒我痛会唤醒勇气". I think that is so true.

Anyway, I really like this pic which I took of the scarf that I knitted for sj. Not that I cannot give up the rxnship. But cos I really think it is a cute photo. Since he will not appreciate it, I hope my friends can. haha. (And yes. I decided not to throw mian mian and yang yang away. Haha.... so friends who were worried for them, need not anymore.)

My first dance class!

2007-04-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

Yup. Today i went for my first dance class in boston. Hmm.. I was very nervous actually cos I signed up for hip hop and I am not exactly sure what it is. Haha... so I arrived there with jeans while everyone else is in tights.. Hmm.. quite dumb of me.. but nvm lah.. i still manage to do the stretches. Haha..

The class is quite fun actually. And it is more like a performance actually cos the teacher did a lot of difficult dance moves for us to see, like those break dancing moves. He is really good.

Hmm.. the class is fun. BUT.. i came to a conclusion. Hip hop is not for me. Cos even though no one will exactly consider me as someone who dances, I think I am exactly classically trained in my dances posture and stuff. Hmm.. not ballet trained. But my belly dancing and chinese dancing background is more classic-ish. Whereas hip hop is really an entirely different kind of dance. How you carry ur weight, the posture. and all that.. is just so different.

Hmm.. anyway hip hop will serve as a nice culture exposure for me, although I try not to look into the mirror.. cos the way i move, even though i am doing the same exact move... is just so unhiphopish.. haha. ( I think I just invented some new compound words.)

Anyway, it was fun and I like it. In the meantime, I really feel like dancing again. Haha.. hope i can find a way to dance belly dancing long term. =)

Updates since 14th of March

2007-04-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

So what did i do since March 14th till now?

Let me see..

1) I did a presentation for my second rotation lab summarizing what I did during my rotation. It was alright. Did not manage to answer every question but I guess it is still consider a pass. Haha.. with that presentation my second rotation officially ends on the 23rd of March.

2) Did my second Byakuren duty at NECC on the 24th of March. I was so tired that day as I did not sleep well the day before. Think I have this weird dream about going to japan to do my Byakuren duty. Haha.. i finally saw Connie. Hmm... and I realize that she is Andy's sister!! Wahaha... no wonder I think she looks familiar. =)

3) Started my third rotation on the 26th of March. Hopefully this will be my last rotation. Sigh.. still need to go through a lot of administrative stuff to get my MIT ID. So mafan... Rotation so far is not very productive. Hopefully more stuff will be done next week.

4) Attended Kosen Rufu meeting@ NECC on the 1st of April. I went with Andrea, Ivy and Helen to the meeting. Helen is a new guest and she is going to attend my district meeting in april. Hopefully she will enjoy the meeting and join my district. =P Looking forward to meet her again.

5) Oh.. the arts for peace concert is coming up on the 3rd of June. There are 6 different performance group: African drums, Arts and crafts, band, chorus, dance and drama. Hmmm... Ivy says that she is going to join the chorus. Mebe i will join the chorus with her but i wonder what they are going to sing. Hopefully not some very tough 18th- 19th century germanic or french song.. or something.. haha...

On Jeff Chang

2007-03-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

I admit that I am getting old. Cos now I like to listen to old songs and watch interviews of old singers. Haha.. anyway after watching many shows and interviews about Jeff Chang, I realize that he is actually the very cultural, humanities kind of person.

First of all, he collects antique and he is becoming an expert in deciphering the age of antiques and which dynasty they are from. His favourite past time is to go visit antique shops, drink tea with the shop owners and talk about antiques.

Second of all, his views about relationship, marriage and wife are similar to those of my cultural, idealistic guy friends. Haha.. but the ironical thing is like what Xiao Yan said to Jeff "usually guys who talk like that, dun get married." Haha.. oh well.. time will tell. Hmm. not so much for jeff lah. Cos even though I hope that he will get married, I dun see much chances for him. Haha...

Thirdly, he likes to travel. He has a friend who is a lama. Haha.. those monks that dress in red and yellow and live in Xi zhang. And he actually went to Xi zhang twice to visit this friend. I really find that quite interesting. =)

Actually watching his interviews is quite funny cos even though he is forty years old, the way he reacts and laugh and talk is really like a little boy. I think his heart is really youthful.
Hmm.. some interesting facts about him bah:

1) When he released his first album, none of the television entertainments shows want to invite him to the shows as they find him too ugly. So the company has no choice but to ask the radio station to keep playing his songs.

2) After he released Ai ru chao shui, he and his company sat down for a long time to discuss what should be thefuture direction taken. Cos he and his company strongly feels that even though ai ru chao shui is very famous, unless they come up with a clear direction or good plan on what kind of music to do next, they will just lose the fans one by one. (nv know that companies actually reflect so much.)

3) He said that sometimes fans will come to the hotel that he is staying in and keep shouting his name. He said that this is the saddest thing for him cos he dunno what he should do. He said that "I dunno what to do. I have sang, give them my autograph, take pictures with them, what else can I do?"

Okie.. so much for now.....

About 90s Chinese Music

2007-03-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

I remembered when I was in my teens. My parents always say "Nowadays singers do not know how to sing. At our time, singers have really good voices. Now it is all about looks."

Hmm... I dun remember arguing with them. Cos from my understanding at their generation, singers have to sing with a band and record the song from there. Hence if the singer does not sing well, the whole band will scold her or him. Therefore all the singers are really good and must be able to record the song really fast and good.

She said that in my generation, singers are based on looks. I think I also sort of agreed. Cos when I look at Andy Lau and Leon Lai, I think looks really play a huge role.

But as I think about it in year 2007. I realize I am about to say the same thing too. Except that I am going to say this to the teens now. My parents once told me that the songs in the 90s are not good and they will not be remembered once the singers grew old. But as I youtube today. I actually feel quite proud. If my mum says her generation has Teresa Teng, at least I can say that my generation has Faye Wong. If she brings out her fav singer of ballads, Fei Fuqing, at least I can say I have Jeff Chang and I am sure she will agree with me that Jeff Chang sings really well. And we have many more good singers. Jacky Chang, Emil Chau.

Even the singers who are just known mostly for looks in the 90s seems to be singing so well as compared to some singers now. Yes... a lot of people thinks Guo Fuchen cannot sing well. But he has the ability to captivatethe audience with his dancing. And even till now people like to inimate the way he sings and speaks. ( I dun remember anyone ever trying to inimate the way F4 sing)

So I am glad. That at least as I think about the songs that accompany me through my teens, I feel that they have not let me down. They are beautiful and fantastic.

I really hope that the as the teens today reach my age, they can say the same thing bah.

Of Emil Chau lyrics

2007-03-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

I was bored today and was listening to music on youtube. The power of youtube is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1yfDw2vNHs&NR

Looking at the chinese and cantonese lyrics of Lang wo huan xi Lang wo you and its cantonese version, I realize that if a Taiwanese guy who wants to express his love for a Hongkong gal sent this song to express his love, the girl will immediately run away. Haha... how can lyrics in two languages be of the opposite meaning?!?! That is just so wat.....

Haha... lyrics are fun actually. =)

14th of March: Two midterms over!!

2007-03-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

I had two midterms today, one right after the other. Hmm.. but i guess i cannot really complain cos the midterms arent tough.

Anyway glad that my midterms are over!

It is kinda strange. I am at the age of 24 (18 years after i started taking my first exam in primary school.) and still I feel the panic, fear and stress of exams. Haha... imagine, 14 years later, if i am a mum, then I will need to tell my kid "Aiyah.. dun worry lah. Exam go in, sit down, do it, then very fast, the exam will be over liao. Dun need to worry one." Haha.. my kid better dun ask me if i was stressed about exams manh. I guess I can tell her frankly "Yes.. when I was in secondary school, I am very stressed over exams." But I will definitely not tell her that "actually hor, at grad sch, i am still very stressed loh." haaha it is good to withhold some truths.

As i was thinking that day, if my mum had told me that I will be in school for 18 years or more, then I will probably be too scared to go to primary one. Haha.. imagine when u are 6 years old, and u are told that u need to spend at least another 300% of ur current age in school, it must be very scary.

Encouragments!!

2007-03-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Stop Sabotaging Yourself (Part 1 - Self-Sabotage)
When it comes to self-improvement, we're often our own worst enemy. Self-sabotage is usually the main reason why our lives are not working out the way we want them to.
Deep within each of us lie powerful limiting beliefs that constrict our freedom and development. They often have their roots in our childhood and adolescence, but we can also pick them up from negative company and the media we expose ourselves to. Things like believing that "my luck is worse than other people's", "marriage kills the romance", "my talents are limited", "I'm not attractive enough", "I can't do anything about my body", "I'll never be rich", or "I can't stop wrecking my relationships!"
We may not always verbalise these beliefs but they act as an invisible choke collar that gives us a hard yank each time we try to venture beyond our comfort zones. Over time, we learn to accept that we are mere tokens in a game of chance; that things will never work out for us, that we have bad luck, that we don't deserve to be loved, or that we just don't have what it takes to be happy and successful.
Think about the major aspects of your life where you feel unfulfilled - your appearance, your job, your finances, your social life, your relationship. How often do you repeat past errors or simply keep doing nothing because you think you "can't" or that "there's no point"?
Maybe you think you're physically unattractive and you'll never find someone to love you. Maybe you think you're not good enough to find a better job. Perhaps you live hand-to-mouth because you need your expensive fixes to keep you going. Maybe you hate meeting and talking to people because you feel inferior and intimidated. Or perhaps you repeatedly damage your relationships with your insecurity and bad temper.
These beliefs seem painfully real to us because we subconsciously create situations that ensure they come true. If you think you're unattractive, you probably don't smile often, don't look people in the eye, pay no mind to grooming and shun social settings. Well, it's no wonder there's no romantic prospect in sight! If you think your talents aren't good enough for a better job, you probably stick with your current position day in day out without even thinking of sending out a job application! If you cannot stop feeling jealous or unloved each time your partner doesn't fulfill your expectation, you will continue bombarding him or her with tantrums, outbursts, and accusations until the relationship falls apart.
This is the power of self-sabotage - the seemingly uncontrollable inclination to ensure failure because you think you're not capable of success. It's your own excuse for not making things better. Fortunately, you can effectively overcome self-sabotage. Join me in the next programme as we explore ways we can stop sabotaging ourselves and start supporting ourselves instead!

A Slice of Life is written, produced and presented by Eugene Loh unless otherwise stated. If you wish to share the scripts with others, please credit it to 'Eugene Loh, A Slice of Life, 938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio'.

2007-03-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

Feeling a strong sense of inertia towards studying for my midterms next week. =(

Anyway there are many things to look forward to after my midterms.
1) I am going to watch the play "Oliver Twist" on Friday. Yay! Haha.. it is good to have Joanne around who also like to go watch musicals and plays. Hmm.. actually I think I have already watched two musicals (CATS and The Chorus Line) and 1 ballet (Nutcracker) with her. Haha.. Hmm.. actually although I always classify my life as boring, I have a feeling that next year I am going to miss this boring year of staying in Dudley. Staying in dudley was not too bad after all. There are so many chances to get concert tix at reduced prices. =P

2) There is a MIT-harvard party at Dudley this Saturday! Frankly speaking, i dun think i will go. Haha.. But then if people go then mebe i will go. Good to burn calories by moving to music. =)

3) Youth meeting at NECC on 24th of March. JM and I will be going and getting a ride from Rynda. Haha.. Good to have rides! I have never taken a ride from Rynda before, wonder what kind of music she listens to. =) Actually I am not sure what this meeting will be about. But it seems like many people will be going!

4) Oh, and the gym is offering Hip Hop lessons. Haha.. 20 bucks for 4 lessons. Hmmm.. mebe i will go sign up. Hmm.. after that I can combined Hip Hop with Belly dancing!!! Wahahaha.. kidding kidding. Cannot believe that I actually took belly dancing for a year and a half and then just give up totally. But then how do people continue with such stuff? Hmm.. mebe I will dance in my room and hopefully the person staying below me will not complain. =P

Mathematics, Physics and Biologists

2007-03-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

It is not surprising to know that Biologists and mathematics/physicists often argue when describing biology.

Here I shall just put in a few comments make by the more mathematically trained people on biology systems.

1) "To a mathematician, a Jellyfish is essentially a bag"

2) Today in class, the biology asked us what do we feel about the fact that actin structure is actually more elongated rather than spherical.

And a student commented that "oh.. i dunno, all protein structures look like potatoes to me."
Indeed, there are many ways to look like a potato but only one way to look like a sphere. =P

To prove this student right, the other structure that we see later is tubulin, which indeed just look like another potato. ( I guess the love for potatoes has something to do with the proteins in our body.)

Indeed how nice will life be, if all biomolecules are shaped either like spheres, cube or long cylinders. Then math becomes easy and we can all sit and drink tea. =P

Okie, i know this is crappy, i think of something better to write next time. =)

Nutcracker + John Harvard

2007-02-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

My ex collegue, HY, mentioned that my blogs are kinda depressing. Hmm.. okok.. I shall put some happy stuff on my blog then.

Hehe, this picture was taken in November last year when Joanne and I went to the opera house in Boston to watch the Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is Boston most famous ballet during Christmas session and it was kinda meant for kids. Haha.. but it is sooooooo good!! Makes me wanna learn ballet. =P

After that we went to John Harvard Restaurant for dinner... Too bad that my pic was very ugly or else I will upload it. Hehe.. but the food at John Harvard was fantastic!!

Updates for week of Feb 5th

2007-02-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is the second week of classes. And it is a generally good week. =) Went to talk to a professor about doing a third rotation and people in his lab seem to enjoy working in his lab. =) I also talked to the professor that I am currently doing rotation with and we set up a ending time for this rotation. hehe.. if everything works out. I can start looking for tix to come back to Singapore!

And hopefully i can find a lab to go into before summer.

Statistical mechanics course was very interesting this week. The derivation for canonical ensemble is different from the one that I learnt in Cornell. But I think this derivation is much more meaningful. The Ergodic hypothesis is introduced and I finally understand why there is the need to construct the ensemble.

Oh well, that is it for now.
Hmm.. I am starting to feel that I am married to work. Haha.. everytime someone asks me what is going on with my life, I feel that I have nothing to say other than.. what I did in lab and whether classes are interesting. Hmm...

The most important ingredient in a conversation

2007-02-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today I realized that it is empathy, which is defined as
Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives.

It is what brings about connection.

Update for third week of January

2007-01-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

This is the third week of January 2007.

Updates for this weeks are:

1) Jiamin invited me to her district meeting on Friday evening. It was a great meeting and I would like to write down some of the thoughts that came up during the meetings.

(a) The lotus sutra was written with many stories, like the Parable of the Phantom City, the Parable of the medicinal herbs. The functions of these parables is to make difficult concepts accessible to the public. Like these parables, our life stories are meant to be meaning lessons and material for us to use to share our buddhism with other people. Why do we face problems? Cos if we rise from our difficulties and succeed. We can use our life stories to motivate and encourage other people who are going through similar problems.

b) One of the members use the image of Mount Fuji to motivate her chanting. I think images work for me as well. Hence I will use the image of Mount Fuji to tell myself that I must chant and be as stronger as Mount Fuji.

c) Do not harbour any doubt when you are chanting. Dun let the negativity affects you.

After the district meeting, Jiamin and I went out for icecream supper!! Haha... but i still prefer the icecream from Christina's!

2) WS, JM and I met out for dinner on Saturday evening. We had delicious Thai food. Yummy yummy. After dinner, we watched a movie, Donnie Darko, at the tv lounge on level 6 of sidney pacific. Donnie Darko is a psychology thriller. Hmm.. reminds me of Molholland Drive. But i think Molholland Drive is more scary and much more exciting towards the end.

Donnie Darko is pretty good too. I remembered how Jy used to say that american movies failed to use background music, lightings to create a sense of fear effectively as they concentrate a lot more on special effects. I think Donnie Darko used the background music and lightings very effectively. haha.. mebe this is because it is filmed in the 1980s but special effects are not that great yet. So the point is when u gain some, u lose some? Hmm.. I think it really takes a lot of effort into making a good movie and maximising the technology that you have to create good efffects.

3) Officially started on my rotation project. Spent a week reading and doing some preliminary experiments. Hmmm.. now i know why my prof said that my preliminary experiments were done well cos they are actually better than the first results i got from the actual experiments. haha...

Of Lizards and Man

2007-01-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Of Lizards:

I am reading a paper in evolutionary dynamics and an interesting fact about lizards caught my eye.

"There exist three morphs of the male Lizard Uta stansburiana who differ in their mate-guarding behaviour.
Type A - monogamous and succeeds in preventing other males from approaching their mate.
Type B - polygamous and less efficient, having to split its effort on several females.
Type C - does not engage in mate guarding behavior at all but roams around in search of sneaky matings."
(Quote from: Science, vol 303, pg 795)

The original research is published in Nature 380, 240 - 243 (21 March 1996
Another result in the paper is that all three kinds of lizards are evolutionary favorable and their numbers will oscillate. Meaning that if a kind is rare, this kind will be able to invade the other 2 more common kinds. But when it is common, it becomes invadable by the other 2 kinds. Hmmmm... and there are evidence of this oscillatory behavior.

Of Man:
Hmmm... I guess there is nothing much to say. Mebe we are unlucky in the sense that our generation is the age where the type A are going extinct. But oh well, it is good to know that they will never go extinct. And that there will be a rebounce of type A guys in future. (when they become rare enough). Haha.. =P

Must start keeping a look out for younger guys.. haha.. 0ops... haha..

7th of January 2007

2007-01-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

I have been slacking a lot for the past few weeks ever since the end of my genetics exam on the 20 Dec 2006. That is why there are so many blogs about dramas that I watched. Think tomorrow will be the day to recharge myself again and I foresee that this semester will be a very hectic one.

I must say that I am a person who is easily overwhelmed by emotions and stress. Sometimes even foreseeing the stress makes me sad. Haha.. but i guess it is time to grow up and learn to cope with such things. Must always remember that if "黑夜如果不黑暗美梦又何必向往". =)

I was trying to write my new year resolution by looking at my new year resolution for 2006. And I realize that actually none of the resolutions have changed. haha... so well, i should just cut and paste them in here. =P

Friends:1) Keep old friends.
- Write a list of friends who I want to stay in touch and ask them out often for dinners.
- Learn to treat friends the way that they feel most comfortable with. Note the difference in opinions between them and me ba and dun try to impose my opinion on them.

2) Have new friends.
- Have friends that think similarly as me. Haha.. so that I will know that I am not the one big weirdo who thinks different from the rest of the world. (Have to thank two friends who are there to share my views so that I feel more assured about my stand and more determined to assert my opinion.)
- Have friends who think differently as me. Learn to accept differences. So that life will be more interesting.

Personal:
1) Improve on communication skills by reading more, talking more.
2) Learn to get comfortable with talking to more people. Learn to ignore remarks that I cannot stand.
3) Brush up on my formal mask. The mask that I wear while interacting with people i work with, collegues, lab people, etc.
4) Build up self-esteem and self confidence, courage, optimism and of course my happiness index.
5) Learn as much as I can. Overcome the stagnation of my learning curve.
6) Be less affected by what other people say.

Graduate School and Research:
1) Find a good lab, project and advisor.
2) Get along with Lab people.
3) Good housing.
4) Good courses.
5) Have faith that I will be a good researcher and work hard towards the goal.

Others:
1) Let Mian Mian and Yang Yang be happy always.
2) Faith, study and practice.

Have been thinking about the meaning of life and how to cope with death sometimes. Hmm.. but i guess i have been reached any conclusion yet. Will think about it more.

SHE lyrics

2007-01-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

If there is a second ACE Album, let's have these 3 songs in it. Haha..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

星光

H：相约来到这世上就在途中失散走的路是否一样
S：看着同一片艳阳我忽然有预感周围的陌生人会遇上
E：也许是你笑的弧度和我很像也许是因为守护的星座和我一样
H：也许是漫长的黑夜特别孤单才会背靠着背一起等天亮
E：黑夜如果不黑暗美梦又何必向往
H：破晓会是坚持的人最後获得的奖赏
E：黑夜如果太黑暗我们就闭上眼看
H：希望若不熄灭就会亮 (酿)成心中的星光

E:上帝布置的悲伤和分配的阳光你和我是否一样
S:拥抱同一种信仰我忽然有预感我们会是彼此的星探
H:也许是你笑的弧度和我很像也许是因为守护的星座和我一样
E:也许是漫长的黑夜特别孤单才会背靠着背一起等天亮
H：黑夜如果不黑暗美梦又何必向往破晓会是坚持的人最後获得的奖赏
S：黑夜如果太黑暗我们就闭上眼看希望若不熄灭就会亮 (酿)成心中的星光

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一眼万年

泪有点咸有点甜你的胸膛吻着我的侧脸回头看踏过的雪慢慢融化成草原而我就像你没有一秒曾后悔
ella: 爱那么绵那么黏管命运设定要谁离别海岸线越让人流连总是美的越蜿蜒我们太倔强连天都不忍再反对
s.h.e: 深情一眼挚爱万年几度轮回恋恋不灭把岁月铺成红毯见证我们的极限心疼一句珍藏万年誓言就该比永远更远要不是沧海桑田真爱怎么会浮现
hebe: 泪有点咸有点甜你的胸膛吻着我的侧脸回头看踏过的雪慢慢融化成草原而我就像你没有一秒曾后悔
selina: 爱那么绵那么黏管命运设定要谁离别
hebe: 海岸线越让人流连总是美得越蜿蜒我们太倔强连天都不忍再反对
s.h.e: 深情一眼挚爱万年几度轮回恋恋不灭把岁月铺成红毯见证我们的极限心疼一句珍藏万年誓言就该比永远更远要不是沧海桑田真爱怎么会浮现
s.h.e: 深情一眼挚爱一年几度轮回恋恋不灭把岁月铺成红毯见证我们的极限心疼一句珍藏万年誓言就该比永远更远要不是沧海桑田真爱怎么会浮现摆渡過斜風冷雨春暖在眼前

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

怎么办哦怎么办
为什么你为什么
老是把空气全都吸光了害得我你害得我在你面前呼吸急促需要叫救护车

别看我先别看我
我的脸红就快要爆料了没什么哪有什么我是绝对不会承认我喜欢你了
怎么办感觉甜又酸偷偷爱你快乐又孤单怎么办爱却不能讲
你真讨厌不来帮我的忙
你怎么可以这样笑容打败太阳
甚至比我还要更好看
我虽然无力抵挡但是日子还长
总有一天换你为我疯狂
为什么你为什么这样
不讲理的就出现了
害得我你害得我连仅有的一点矜持优雅全都毁了
靠近我别靠近我到底离你多近比较好呢
完蛋了我完蛋了我整个人眼看就快不是我的了
怎么办感觉甜又酸偷偷爱你快乐又孤单
怎么办爱却不能讲你真讨厌不来帮我的忙
你怎么可以这样笑容打败太阳甚至比我还要更好看我虽然无力抵挡但是日子还长总有一天换你为我疯狂为我疯狂
怎么办感觉甜又酸偷偷爱你快乐又孤单
怎么办爱却不能讲
你真讨厌不来帮我的忙
怎么办感觉甜又酸偷偷爱你快乐又孤单
怎么办爱却不能讲
你真讨厌不来帮我的忙你
怎么可以这样笑容打败太阳
甚至比我还要更好看
我虽然无力抵挡但是日子还长总有一天换你为我疯狂
怎么办感觉甜又酸偷偷爱你快乐又孤单
怎么办爱却不能讲你真讨厌不来帮我的忙
你怎么可以这样笑容打败太阳甚至比我还要更好看
我虽然无力抵挡但是日子还长总有一天换你为我疯狂怎么办感觉甜又酸偷偷爱你快乐又孤单
怎么办爱却不能讲你真讨厌不来帮我的忙

-->

花样少男少女和真命天女

2006-12-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

Recently I watched two dramas by S.H.E.
I just finished episode 7 and 8 of Hana Kimi. Hmm.. a little bit disappointed. Think it is going downhill. It is still not bad lah.. but just not as good as episode 1 - 5. Now it is not as funny as before and the only worth looking forward to part is when Ella go to find Mei tian doctor to tell him about her troubles. Mei tian is really humorous!! He is so funny..... I think he acted really well, the way he plucked his eyebrow is more girly than gals manh. haha.. Actually he spoke a lot of commonsense. He said that "Rather than worrying about what you cannot control, it is better to start thinking about what you can do." (This is very commonsense lah. But people often forgets about this when trouble comes.)

真命天女 is not as good as Hana Kimi in the beginning. But it becomes better and I think it is very touching leh. Hmm... mebe cos I like the kind of love that the male lead, 正浩，protrays bah. That kind where you can trust him for everything, like 很可以依靠的感觉。It is different from like wanting to be a 小女人。I dunno how to explain, but you know it is like there are certain friends where you can really trust everything with. It is like that kind of love. You can trust him with everything and you know that he will be there for you no matter what happens. (That certainly does not mean that you cede responsibility of your life to him)

Oh well, sadly i think the actor is not very famous. Haha... oops.. hope he will become more famous. =)

Being girly

2006-12-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

I guess I must be too bored. Nothing to do. Everyday watched utube. And... all the actress are so pretty... plus I suddenly got 3 scratches on my face for no reason. Hence..... I decided to go look for skincare products.

Bought the first mask of my life. (haha.. not the first mask I used though.. cos I used to leech from my sis. =P) Sigh.. and I make a mistake.. i thought the mask that my sis uses is Origins... but after talking to her today, I realize that she uses The Natural Source.

Hmmm... she was surprised how I could get it so totally wrong.. .. Hmm.. i also dun understand. I think mebe when I remember names.. i actually dun remember what the names are .. but what the names mean. Origins and Natural source... have similar meanings right? Both like back to the nature lah.. roots lah...

Anyway I pampered myself with the mask and also body butter from body shop. Hopefully.. the dryness on my skin will go away soon. =)

Links to Hana Kimi

2006-12-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

Oh... for those who wants to watch Huayang Shao Nan Shao Nv when they are bored, esp during lunch and you are sitting in front of the computer... haha..

This is the link to the first episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CXLYvm7QQk

For links to the other episodes, you can find it under the video selections in this website:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=babyblueyun

It is a nice show and hope you all will enjoy it.
Also to watch full screen, click on the button on the right bottom corner of the screen. =)

Merry Christmas!!

2006-12-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

To everyone,

Merry Christmas!! May you have a very good year ahead!!

I have been rotting these few days. Not doing anything much. Been addicted to this new taiwanese drama called 花样少男少女（Hana Kimi). Can only watch 1 episode per week though. Just finish watching the episode for this week. Hmmm.. not bad lah.. except that not as nice as the previous episode. haha... I guess in the previous episode, the male lead looks better. =P

Anyway, this show has a kind of typical plot. The female lead, Ella, saw the male lead, Wu Zun, on television during his high jump tournament and found him really cute. SOOOOOOOOOO... she came all the way to either Japan (or taiwan) and pretend to be a guy so that she can be in the same school as him and see him everyday. Haha.. AND.. they happen to be in the same class AND same room!! haha... okok... i know this is reallyreally very typical. BUT.. they really acted very well and really sweet too.

Oh.. there is one character worth commenting on in the show. He is the doctor in the school. He is really funny looking and acts very funny too. Always laugh a lot when watching his scenes with Ella.

Anyway, go check it out if you are free.

Take care........ =)

Random thoughts over lunch

2006-12-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Just thinking...

If Changjin (haha.. i am a HUGE da changjin fan) is in boston at the medical school....

what will she be majoring in?

Hmm.. i mean she will do well in everything.... BUT... do you think she will be a

1) Neurobiologist
2) Molecular biologist
3) Cell biologist
4) Geneticist
5) System biologist
6) Biophysicist
7) Chemical biologist ??
OR... anything that i missed out...

Hmmm... there is no correct answer...

*************************************************************************************
I think she will start out as a geneticist who will turn into a system biologist as she grows old. Haha... reason being that she is extremely observant. Before taking genetics course, I thought that genetics should not be too hard. Just do a knock out in the mouse and look at the phenotype of the mouse. As I am being to realize, phenotyping is very challenging. There are many different mouse strains available and sometimes doing a knock out in one strain works but not the other. This means that the genetic backgound matters too.... a lot of inter-related genetic network and circuitry. Hence the phenotype varies a lot too and it is extremely hard to phenotype.

This is where I think Changjin comes in. Haha.. she is very observant so I dun think she will miss any important phenotype.

As for why she will becomes a system biologist in the end is because just looking at single genes for a very long time, she will realize that everything is extremely inter-linked and it is time to loook at the whole network. =P oh.. well.. i dunno if her programming is good but I think any code she writes will be very neat. (like a delicacy to be served on the table.) =P

I am coming back in July!!

2006-12-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Yay! I will be coming back to Singapore next July. Yay... can eat nice food again. =)

oh.. no.. now i remember.. .i must find a way to lose weight... cos I dun want to be a fat bridesmaid. =( My sis is getting married on the 1st of July. Hehe.. and of course i am the most eligible person to be the bridesmaid. (When I was young, i always wonder who will be my bridesmaid. Haha... already starting to dream when i was young. )

Need to find a pretty dress.. Hehe...

So exciting.. haha..
I will also be going over to Sarawak where they will hold another wedding banquet cos her husband to be is from Malaysia. Think I will be eating a lot.. =(

Sysbio presentation down and last discussion for MCB 156 over!!

2006-12-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Yay!

I finished my sysbio discussion presentation today. Oh well, it was not tough or stressful but still glad that I had my presentation done. =)

Other than that, I also finished my discussion section for MCB 156. Yay.. no more structural papers to read... Dun need to stare hard into figures to try to see whether Arg is interacting with Glu.. or what is Trp doing above the nucleotide. Hehe...

BUT exams are coming!! :((

How how?!?!? :((

************************************************************************************
Yay!! MCB 156 exam is over.
It is really tough. I think i only manage to answer 75 marks out of 100 marks. Really tough. Dunno how to do many of the questions. After the exam, i talked to one of my coursemate and she told me she just anyhow write. Sigh.. I guess I should have done the same. Hmm.. really not very good at stabbing blindly.
Oh well.. MCB 156 is over... yay!! I kept my notes in the drawer already. Haha.. =P

11/26 week

2006-11-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

一天一天的算日子。
从来没有这样过。

希望，未来。。。

Postdoc left =(

2006-11-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

Today is my postdoc's last day of work in the lab. =( We went to Brown Sugar for lunch. It is a great Thai restaurant with what it considers as serving "Thai style, American taste'. I ordered "Fisherman Madness" which is a spicy seafood dish served with rice. Hehe.. it is really good. Our prof is very generous and offered to pay for everyone. =)

After that we had a cake cutting session in the Folin Wu room. Hmmm... it is so nice to have everyone gathering to send Lily off. hmmm... i think this is really a nice lab. =)

I think Lily is a really nice person and that is why there are so many people coming for the farewell lunch. Hope she will enjoy her new job. =)

Updates for this week

2006-11-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

I guess there are always those weeks, u feel exceptionally happy to write updates about. Hmm not cos it has been a good week but mebe cos you know that at least that much is done and over with.

Updates:
1) I had two discussion sections for my structural biology course this week. I never like discussion sections and it is always hard to anticipate what the prof will ask. For my first discussion section, the prof just asked a question that i really have no idea how to answer. Although it is a really simple one. So I had to say i dunno and I felt really unhappy about it. For my second discussion section this week, I could answer the questions asked by my prof so I felt much better. Oh well... there are 10 discussion sections for this class and I have completed 6/10 so I am more than halfway through. =)

2) I had to lead a discussion on "Science and Faith" for my science ethics class. Felt really stressed before that. But the discussion went well. I basically ask one question, and the class went on to talk for 20 minutes, and I only had to go through the two case studies in the book to eat out another 40 minutes. Oh.. what I was most happy about is the fact that they liked the case study that I wrote. Hehe... I actually din have that case study prepared the day before the discussion. On my way to school on the bus, I just felt that I need a better case study and came up with this one. So I am really glad that they like it. =)

Somehow the food that I ordered for the class also seems better than those before. haha... so i guess that is really a lot of good luck.

3) Experiments did not work. Hmmm.. I did the same digest 6 times now..... how come it is not working?? Hmmmm.. it is actually as simple as making agar agar.. what is wrong?

A week + a day of failed experiments

2006-11-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

SIGH. i have so much failed experiments until I dunno what else there is to say about me and experiments.

Very demoralized.

A Chorus Line '06: Musical by Harvard College

2006-10-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

I went to a musical by Harvard College titled "A Chorus Line" today. It was pretty nice and fun. We had dinner at a korean restaurant. I had rice with beef served in this hot stone pot. The food came sizzling pot and u get to have some fun by mixing all the ingredients together. It kinda reminded me of the dinner that SJ and I had at a korean restaurant in Chinatown just before I came over to harvard. Eating this stone pot rice once again gave me the heart warming feeling, especially when it is always raining whenever I eat this dish.

The musical is quite nice. It is about 18 people who are auditioning for 8 positions in a musical and the director went around to ask each of them about their background and about why they want to dance for the musical. The dance and singing are pretty good. What I found a little regretful is the fact that some of the stories of the characters are not very well developed. But I guess there is really no time to develop 18 characters.

I think the director was trying to cover many topics like the wish of children to grow up to do what they feel passionately about, gaining acceptance into society, unemployment, passion for dance and theater, passion versus money and family life.

My favourite character is Paul. He is a really shy guy who had a lot of problems trying to talk about his life and background. I thought he looked really cute and noticed him from among 40 people right from the start of the musical. As the story develops, it turn up that Paul is a self-declared gay who had problems coming into terms that what he really wanted to be is not to be a guy but rather a girl. This is kind of complicated but I guess accepting to be a female soul being trapped in a male body is harder than accepting to be a guy who likes guy. In the end, he injured himself during the audition and was not selected for the musical which I thought was kind of a sad ending for him.

Hmm.. anyway I realized that I still like musicals!! haha... which is good.. if u are in boston with so many schools and colleges and it will be easy to get affordable tickets for nice campus musicals. =)

Midterms are over

2006-10-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah.. i finally got one day of rest. Ever since starting in harvard, I am either working or in lab every mon, tues, wed, thurs, fri, sat and sun. Now.. today.. i got half a day of rest after my third midterm in the week.

Yeah!!!!!!!

Spent 2 hours watching lin junjie on youtube. Watched him talking about his album Cao Cao and the stories behinds his mtvs. Realized that I interpret all the mtvs wrongly. Hmmm.. it is somehow weird to realize that the content of the mtv often has nothing to do with the lyrics of the song.

JJ was talking about his mtv jiang nan. I always find this a very.. strange.. weird.. a little scary mtv.. cos the background is sometimes black and white.. sometimes color... and.. junjie seems to be walking around randomly all the time... climbing staircase.... walking to an old room..

I thought he was singing and remembering his first love and how naive they are about that their love will work... but in the end.. ... things did not work.

Only after jj's explanation did i realize that it is meant to be a love that goes beyond time. Black and white is like in your dream.. and color is like.. in real life.. with the two overlapping... and hard to tell which is which. Hmmm.. so complicated.. even after watching the mtv after the knowing the explanation i still could not get the meaning...

sigh... but i thought it is kind of sad too.. cos i thought the feeling conveyed by the lyrics are really nice... but it was not acted out in the mtv.

Hmmm.. actually i think there is some fragmentation between many songs. For example, listening to the music.. makes u think of something.. carefully listening to the lyrics realize that it is actually talking about something else... and then watching the mtv and it is about something else .. completely different again. hmmm...

2006-10-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

Okie. Little turtle has survived another week in little Cambridge. Has a few scratches on her shell though. But I think they will heal soon or just become more fanciful marks on her shell.

Weather is getting cold and the equilibrium is starting to shift towards the staying-in-shell conformation.

Anyways.. just wanna write something to let everyone knows that i am fine. =)

Why Changjin is a good doctor?

2006-10-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

After being in a biology lab for two weeks, I have came to appreciate why Changjin can change from a good cook to become a good doctor. Actually e skill set is e same. To be a good biologist (which is more similar to being a good doctor) you need to be able to do lab work really well.

Examples of why cooking can help in labwork.
1) Handling of gels. if you can hold tofu well.. i guess 0.5% agarose will be no problem for you.
2) Adding of reagents. You need to remember how much and which reagent to add exactly.
3) Incubation time. If you can know how long to fry ur stuff and can control the temperature well, i guess u will nv miss or overshoot an incubation. Or incubate at too high a temperature.
4) Lab-book recording: Remember changjin's recipe book?

Okie.. i guess you all get the point... sigh.. e other point is why ruizhen is not a good biologist. =(

MCB 156 section

2006-10-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Wahhhhhhhhh... it is like English Literature with Dora Lee relive. So stressful.

Okok.. actually e prof is not scary at all. She has a soft temperament and does not stressed u for answers or ask you to stand up if you cannot answer or ask u to speak louder like what teachers always do in primary school.

But.. it was very stressful cos I din read the papers as detailedly as she was going to discuss. She went through each of the figures in the paper and I din even look at them. In general, I only read, i dun look at pictures, kinda strange but pictures in scientific papers are the hardest to understand (esp more so in structural biology papers.)

Luckily I was able to explain the figure that I was asked to explain. Phew..... .....

Sigh.. tink I need to prepare more next time.

But it is kind of interesting to discuss papers and to think about the future work that can be done on the subject. Kind of give you an inclination about what research is all about.

The Menu from a graduate student's kitchen

2006-10-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

I have realized that if u are a grad student and if u are staying alone, then the food u eat does not really change much.

In short, i realize that almost all e food that i cook share a similar concept of being like a pasta.

Of course, there is the italian pasta = real pasta
japanese pasta = instant noodle
chinese pasta = egg noodle + chicken cube soup
egg noodle + tan tan mee paste

After one week of school

2006-09-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Oh well, I am still surviving. =) Which is expected but great. =))

I am taking three courses this semester plus a lab rotation which I am still trying to search for at this moment. My three courses will be (hopefully there is no more changes) Systems Biology 200, Genetics 201 and Structural biology (mcb 156). I like the first 2 courses but din really like the third and feel like it does not really value add my education. But i guess i shall see how it goes.

Day before school starts

2006-09-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Feeling like fifteen bottles, 7 up and 8 down now. Haha....

Wah... school is starting for Miss slowslowturtle again.

I remembered that Ms turtle was very excited on the absolute first day of school in her life. If only Mrs turtle had told Ms turtle that the latter will be going to school everyday for the next 20 days of her life, Ms turtle would not have been so excited on the first day.

Haha.... hmm.. there is chinese saying "ten years of desolute window" (okok, i am not a translating expert), hmm.. I think there need to be a new version of this saying.

okok.. anyway.. Ms slowslowturtle is feeling v anxious now. wahhhhhhhhhhh school again!!

A name for myself??

2006-09-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. having been practising e act of giving names to my softtoy for the past 15 years or so... it is hard to imagine that now I may actually need to give a name to myself.

Hmm.. I think ruizhen is just too hard for not only an average american but also for advanced american.

Sigh.. so mebe i will give myself another name. This really feel strange cos people can give names to things and pets but usually not themselves.

So.. what should I be named?

Please give me some suggestions on names or just anything that will help.

I have thought of three options
Either I will ask them to call me Rachel (which is the most similar english name to Rui Zhen)
Or get them to call me Zen... which is the american way of pronouning Zhen
Or just get them to call me Tan. Which is my last name.

I kind of feel bad about all e above names.. cos they are names of people I know!!

Haha.. feel like I have stolen their property rights or something. =P
Anyway, have fun, everybody!!

Tour at medical school

2006-09-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

I must say I was impressed. If you have been to the mall at washington D.C. and liked it, you will definitely like the medical school as well. The medical school is like half of the mall with smaller buildings. There are buildings on two sides of the grass patch. The grass is well taken care of and you can see students reading on the grass or on tables at the side of the grass patch. Some of the buildings are roman style and really give this strong and solid feeling. At the end of the medical school is this building with many little steps and reminded me a lot of Lincoln Memorial.

During lunch, you will see medical students wearing their blue and white lab coats sitting around eating their food. They are really dressed like those doctors that you see in "chicago hope". Actually I never quite understand why they can just wear their coats around. I thought there will be some contamination issues or stuff. But I guess it is really cool to see them around like that.

Anyway, I think Harvard is a place with really tight security. There is a security guard at all the buildings in the medical school and I have to show them a photo ID in order to get into the buildings. Luckily I had my learner's permit with me. The other alternative is to carry my passport around which is really irritating.

I was looking for food around the medical school and found this salad bar in the cafe in Building C. For the salad bar, the food are charged by weight. I think I should have taken more chicken and tuna instead of the marcoroni. But oh well, I was glad that I finally see something that looks more nutritious.

Getting Started and Small Talk

2006-09-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

The residential advisors organized a "Getting started" and a "Small Talk" program for us. I found the two events pretty interesting, especially the latter. During "Small Talk". the RAs told us what is considered rude and what is considered polite in America.

In general, it is good to always use "please", "thank you", "excuse me" and "sorry". Basically you can say "thank you" to anyone, from the driver when u alight to the shopkeeper. And even if it is someone who bumped into you, you will often still say "sorry."

Another tip for politeness is to ask for things in the following manner of "Can I have the pepper please?" instead of "i want the pepper" Haha.. it should seem pretty obvious, but sometimes it is just hard to execute.

Oh, there is this other part which teaches us how to respond when people asks us "how are you doing" or "wat's up" along the corridoor . Basically I think americans just use these two phrases to say hi and your response should be just "i am good" and "See you." A lot of the europeans student were quite surprised that they do not actually need to say more stuff.

There is this chinese student who asked "what if you are feeling bad, do you still say that you are good?" haha.. i think this is a really interesting question. But I guess america is a really formal place where many things have to be done and said properly.

Oh yeah.. end of inspiration again. So i guess i shall end here.

Life@Harvard

2006-09-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hey folks!! Today is my fourth day in Cambridge, MA 02138.

Let me tell u all more about life here.
Cambridge is just one river away from Boston, which is of course as everyone knows, a major busy American city. Transport between Cambridge and Boston is very convenient as they are linked by the subway system. The subway is like the mrt in Singapore. In Boston, the subway is known as the T. So for those who likes shopping and have th money to spare, i think staying in harvard will be like heaven to them. For me, I guess the main attraction in Boston has to be its chinatown. I already have plans to go there to get roast duck every week. Haha.

So... life in harvard cannot be all good right? Haha.. of course not. I think the high standard of living is already driving me nuts. Each meal costs at least 5 bucks without the drink and I can't seem to find Macdonalds anywhere. There is this sandwich chain that is like everywhere in Cambridge. It is called au bon pain. (does it mean I born pain?) Hmm... more like I pay the food with pain. haha... anyway, the wraps at au bon pain are quite good. I tried the Chicken Caesar Wrap and the Southwestern Tuna Wrap and they are both pretty good. I got a menu and I am going to try all the sandwiches!

Breakfast is always hard... dunno what to eat. Presently, oatmeal is my breakfast essential. I was eating oatmeal and feeling so bored that I went to goggle on oatmeal. I found out that in England, oat is the food for horses. Hmmm... and it is thought that only poor people eat oat. Hmm.. so if horses eat oats, I am assuming that my Mian Mian, Yang Yang, Moo Moo and Eeyore will like it too. Haha... So i guess oatmeal is breakfast food for my whole family. =P

Okie.. will talk more about life here.

Dinner @ Bugis

2006-08-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hehe. This picture is taken last Friday at Bugis. Cannot remember the name of the restuarant. I had a grilled chicken set dinner with tea and vanilla ice cream. The waiter refused to serve us chocolate ice cream for some reasons. The chicken is a bit dry....
After dinner, SM, JW and I went to walk walk around Bugis. There is this newly opened store that sell cheap jewelleries. The collection is pretty good although some of the necklaces and rings are sooooo big that if you throw it at someone, I think the person will surely faint.

Anyway, both SM and JW are embarking on a new stage of their studies. (Just like me) Haha.

All the best to the three of us!!

=)

Desserts at Secret Recipe

2006-08-20T02:14:00.000-07:00

Xl, Hy and I went to have dessert at Secret Recipe in Marina Square yesterday. Yummy yummy.

The cakes from L to R are Tiramisu, Chocolate Walnut and Strawberry cheese cake. Think the cheese cake is quite sour. But still yummy lah.

Haha.. a closer look at the cakes!! Hmmm.. there is a cute guy at the store who help us take the photos. Hmm.. should have taken a pic of him as well.

HY got a pair of ladies shoes from Crocos. Tink it is suppose to be comfortable, anti microbial, anti slip, blah blah. No wonder so ex. Close to fifty dollars leh. But then nowadays, it is really hard to get a nice looking and comfortable pair of shoes. My new scandal is giving me so much problem. I think it is becos the portion for the toes is too narrow.

Hmm.. should I get a new bag for school?? I am always tempted to be those bags which U carry on one side for school bag. But halfway into the sem, I will feel my shoulder aching and change to those school bags looking bags. Haha. Hmmm.... extra baggage.. hmmm...

Webcam + Smart Media

2006-08-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

I went to Sim Lim on Wednesday to try to look for a webcam. Apparently different people have very different opinions on the same webcam and it is really hard to decide which one to get based on information on the web. Think a lot of the webcam have a long lag time and the screen flickers. Hmmm.. somemore i need to get two webcam. One for my house, one to bring overseas.

I was also looking for smart media which is the storage card for my olympus camera. Hmm.. I got my camera four years ago. I could not find any smart media storage card and after searching on the web, I realized that it is no longer in production since six months ago. Think there are more than 40 kinds of storage cards initially and many got phrased out.

A friend suggested that it is time to buy a new camera since I only have like 96 MB of storage in total and that my camera is big and bulky. Think I will use my camera for another two years bah. Dun feel like condemning it so early.

Sending books off to boston

2006-08-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I packed my important JC and cornell notes and textbooks. Hmm.. they weight 24.5 kg. Wah... cannot imagine.. so heavy. Hmmm.. think by e time i finished my PhD, there will be another like 40 kg? Hmm... or prolly I will just come back with one thesis in hand and nothing else. Haha.... if only textbooks can be all available in soft copy and if only reading from the computer screen is not tiring.

I guess sending off books is the time where a little bit of nostalgia will set in. Haha.. dunno why. But I just hope that the notes will be useful and that it will not waste my dad's painstacking effort in trying to pack them and send them.

Actually sometimes I hope I have an elder brother so that my dad will not need to carry all the heavy stuff. Mebe I really should go to the gym to work up a bit.

Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table

2006-08-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

I read Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table last week. Agatha Christie used to be my favourite author in primary school and each week I will borrow some of her detective stories to read. Being a young feminist then, I never read those stories that are solved by her male detective, Hercule Poirot. I would rather stick to the nice sweet Miss Maple's stories.

I was waiting for a friend in the library and somehow came to pick up this book by Agatha Christie. The story is interesting not because it has an amazing convoluted, strange, amazing plot. It is worth mentioning because of the way the murderer is being discovered.

In this story, Mr Shaitana invited eight guests to his house for dinner. Four of them are Poirot, Superintendent Battle, mystery writer Ariadne Oliver and Colonel Race of His Majesty Secret Service. The other four are four people who he believed had murdered before. For Mr Shaitana, it was immerse entertainment to this detectives intereacting with murderers. But as expected, Mr Shaitana was soon murdered during the dinner while all the guests were playing bridge.

There is no eye witness to the crime and the four people are equally suspicious as they are all present.

Therefore to solve the crime, Mr Poirot decided to work on the psychology of the murderer. And to learn their character, he relied heavily on the four rounds of bridge that were played. Hence this is a very different kind of murder solving. Not looking for alibi, not looking for eye witness, not looking for motive of the murder. But instead looking at the character and personality of the suspects to decide who is more likely to commit the crime, the way it happened.

S.H.E Forever CD and DVD

2006-07-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

Recently, I got the S.H.E Forever CD and DVD as my birthday present.

It is a compilation of the more famous songs in their previous albums and also contains five new songs.

The DVD has the mtvs. Oh, the most interesting one is that it contains a clip of S.H.E teaching the dance moves in their supermodel mtv. It is quite different to see the dance moves without all the backdrop and fancy backgrounds lighting. Reminds me a lot of the mass dance that we did in junior college.

Premature Pre departure Blues

2006-07-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

Okie. I am over-reacting. I am sure I am. But I cannot help feeling stressed and apprehensive these few days. I also feel extremely irritable and prone to anger.

But what exactly am I stressed about?

Mebe it is cos I dunno what harvard is like ba.

Mebe it is cos I realize the heaviness of my liabilities.

But i guess I should relax and just concentrate on enjoying my time now. Hopefully PhD will not be too stressful.

Hmm.. just saw a powerpoint presentation that describes life as a train ride. I should take that attitude and view life more calmly. Anyway the next ten years should be the most important years of my life and I should be focusing on the right stuff.

Learn to relax and enjoy.

Drive away negative thoughts.

If others can do it, so can I!!

What is beauty??

2006-06-25T03:03:00.000-07:00

Got some quotes about what is beauty in "a piece of mirror"

- A woman's true beauty lies not in her appearance, but deep within her heart. A woman who makes all-out efforts and who exerts herself wholeheartedly in her field is beautiful; she really shines.

- A woman who can praise, appreciate and wholeheartedly respect those around her is more beautiful than another who is constantly criticising others.

- Someone who can find joy and excitement of her own in her daily life, or even in nature and changes of the seasons, has the warmth and brightness that can give a sense of peace and comfort to others. Being an expert in discovering beauty makes one beautiful.

- Rodin once said that beauty is not found in one woman but in every woman. He identified the source that lights up this beauty as the "flame in one's inner life" The flame of a pure heart, the flame of compassion, the flame of hope and the flame of courage.

- A woman's beauty shines with age.

- Every woman can be beautiful It all begins by believing in your own beauty.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess these are words that are especially important to me. Cos since young, I feel that I am very ugly. I dunno why. Mebe it is just begin surrounded by so many pretty gals, who use their beauty as a mean to impress, to gain favoritism and nonetheless to hurt.

Our generation seems to be one that stresses so much on beauty. So much on losing weight. I guess the media has a huge role to play in this cult.

But I think after leaving high school, things start to get better. Perhaps, it is greater maturity and also leaving the high school period where popularity and beauty seems to be ever so blatant, so emphasized and so pathetic.

Anyway, my point is

"Every woman can be beautiful. It all begins by believing in your own beauty."

Rainy Sunday

2006-06-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Some updates on little happenings on my life:

1) Abstract for conference got rejected. =( How how? Felt sad. Hmm... my supervisor was very nice actually, trying to console me by saying that a lot more people sent in to the conference this year, making it much more competitive.

2) Learning aerobics, three more lessons to the end of the course: I think overall the class is not bad lah. Offer me something to do on a otherwise boring sunday. And get to do some exercises to relax the mind and train the body. The lessons is conducted at the community center two minutes walk away from my house so it is very convenien too. The stretching at the end of the workup helps to train up muscles too. The only thing that I want to complain about is the extremely loud music. It makes me feel like i am in a pub/club rather than doing exercises.

3) Attachment will end on the 30th of June. After that, i will be pretty free so friends, haha, please feel free to get this lazy turtle out of the house. =)

4) Some reflection: Upon a little reflection, I feel that I have not been conducting myself in the way i would like to be. Feel that I have been complaining too much, working too little, thinking too little and using a lot of harsh words recently. Hmmm.... think I should start showing more self discipline and to learn to control my temper.

5) Got my american visa: This is worth writing about as it is certainly not easy for me to get it. At my first attempt, my application was rejected as the scan on my left index finger showed that my finger does not have enough features. This is due to the fact that my left hand is very dry and suffered from some physical corrosion. I was asked to come back again after my hand recover. This is extremely unappealing as I had to queue for another two hours again. I almost wanted to quarrel with the american officer at the embassy.
Luckily my second attempt was successful after I produced a medical letter from the doctor explaining my hand condition. =)

6) Meeting up with a friend who came to eat supper near my house: It was a pleasant surprise to receive an msg from xb saying that she was near my house eating supper. Oh I went down loh and we had a good although short chat.

7) Yilin going to teach in TJC!! Hehe.. congrats to her!!

Trip to Goat Farm

2006-05-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Went to the Hay Diary Goat Farm on saturday.
The goats are soooooooooo cute!!!!

Got to feed the goats with hay. Some of them are very choosy, only eat the stem but not the little leaflets, then some only eat the leaflets.

There are some baby goats also.. even cuter.. haha.

Da Chang Jin

2006-05-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hey hey.. I shall write down my review of Da Chang Jin

I think the show has a great plot and a lot of effort must have been spent to make each detail as perfect as possible.

There are a few points that I want to make about the show:
1) Very good actors and actress for all the roles including the minor roles.
(a) The three doctors.
Although for most of the time, the three doctors' main roles are just sitting at one corner looking at how changjin manage to cure the king, the queen and the king's mother, their facial expressions show a lot about what they are thinking and helped the audience anticipate the direction that the plot is moving towards. Furthermore, they have to give that expression in a matter of seconds. The contrast of their expressions is also very obvious. The main doctor is of course angry and jealous. The doctor who knew changjin for a long time always looks very happy and impressive. The doctor who was cj teacher had a very sublime, subtle, hard to tell what he is thinking look which finally clarifies itself when he accepted Cj to be the king's personal doctor.

(b) Shang San Da Ren
According to my fren, he thinks that this guy only frown or smile. But then somehow his smile or frown always corresponds directly to my smile or frown. He seems to play a double role, both his role in the show and his role as a audience to the surrounding drama. He is just like me in the show watching the progress of the show. Anyway his frown and smile is also of the type that is easy to relate to. (U know lah.. sometimes certain people smile right, u just dun feel like smiling along with these people, whereas when some people smile, u just naturally smile too. He belong to the latter group.)

(c) Cui Shang Gongs
If this is a fairy tale, the two of them must have been witches. Haha.. I think the temperaments of the two have been carefully chosen. It would have been very ignoring to see two women both loud and noisy and evil and shouting and cursing together. Hence it has been carefully carve to have one of them as a more loud, expressive character and the other to have a more quiet temperament.
Furthermore, their reasons for becoming unscuruplous are different too. For the older Cui, she said "it is for family, for power, for wealth" For the younger Cui, Cj said that it is for her pride, that she became unscrupulous. The younger cui cannot stand losing to Cj and in order to win, she began to use unlawful methods.

2) Good Scenes
Let me talk about my favorite scenes in the show
(a) Cui begging for forgiveness at Mingyi's grave
I think much effort must have been put in to write her monologue at the grave.
Her speech protrayed her guilt, her inability of changing her fate since she is born into the cui family, her respect for the cui shang gongs before her and also her hope that the cui family will rebound in the future. I guess all the above summarize the things that bother hers and also the things that she held closest to her heart.

She said that she is guilty for causing the deaths of both mingyi and ai chong. But she said that she feels less guilty towards ai chong as ai chong had been the lofty lady before and had tried to punish her. This is similar to the kind of self defense mechanism which guilty people employed to lessen the guilt that they feel. Hence she must have been torment by ai chong's death and keep thinking of excuses to feel better.

As for mingyi, she has no excuses except to blame mingyi for seeing her committing her crime and leading to the whole chain of revenge and murderous plots.

What was extremely touching is that when she asked for forgiveness, she not only ask for herself but also for the four generations of aunts before her. She must be really concerned about them too. Cos despite her own lack of peace, she is still caring about them.

Her last words is that she hopes that Jing ying will survive. I guess this is similar to the last hopes that hopeless people usually have.

Okie.. late liao.. i will write my part II next time.

UpDaTeS on my life

2006-05-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. nothing much happened recently so havent been blogging much.

Just some few updates:

1) I exercised my citizenship right yesterday by participating in polling 2006. I went to the polling station in the afternoon and there were basically no queue. Hence I did not have to wait and the whole process just takes like 5 minutes. Haha... should have taken a photo outside the polling station.

2) Went to swensen last Friday. Swensen recently released this new spicy menu. I had the fish and Sj had the barbacue chicken. Think both the food are quite nice. Haha so if you are going to swensen, u can try it out!!

3) Watched finished "Da Chang Jin". My dad's fren lent his DVDs to us to watch. It was a very nice drama. Was addicted to the drama and spent like the entire labor day weekend watching it until my eyes cannot open anymore. My dad likes the show a lot manh. It is rare for him to watch dramas with me and my sis. Hahaa... my sis thinks that Chang Jin looks very aunty and hence appropriate for her role. But I thought she is supposed to look elegant and sophiscated for the role. Hmm....

I think that Cui Shang gong and Han Shang gong acted really well in the show. I remembered that there is a part where Han Shang gong asked Chang Jin to deliver water to her room everyday. So everyday changjin will wake up earlier to get the water. There are like 4 different scenes of CJ waking up and HSG looking at her as CJ left the bedroom. Although in each of these 4 scenes CJ and HSG are doing almost exactly the same stuff, the expression on HSG 's face is subtlely different in each scene. I think it takes a really good actress to be able to show such little subtleness in her performance.

4) Reading "viscous fluid flow" textbook and trying to stay awake. Haahaa... every time i read 15 minutes, I will end up taking a one hour nap, one hour of computer games and then two hours of tv.

Okie. that is all for my updates. In the meantime, hope everyone is happy and healthy.

Good Friday weekends

2006-04-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend is good. I finally got a long awaited break after 11 days of working. I had been working over the weekend last week in preparation for the presentation on monday. All in all I am contented about what happened for the past week.

First of all, both my GSAS letter of acceptance and application for housing reached harvard. So that is good. Hopefully my I-20 application letter will also reach there soon.

Secondly, my presentation went well lah. I conveyed what I wanted to in the most factual way possible. Furthermore I am glad that the experiments were conducted consistently and fair, with little scientist's bias built into it.

Thirdly, I am glad that sj resolved his work issue. Hope that he will get back to his working mode and start being enthusiastic about work again. He has not seem quite like himself with work recently. Hmm.. what actually there is a good side to that too. Haha.. at least he spends more time with me. =P

Fourthly, I submitted my microTAS abstract. Yeah!! At least got one deadline down. =)

Today I went to Thai express for lunch with pj. We sat there for almost three hours. Haha.. think it is a good place where the waitress and waiters dun chase u away. Anyway had a good chat. =) If you have a citibank credit card, u can also get a free drink with every main course that u order. =)

Went to Marche with sj in the evening. Also a very good meal. Haha... sinfully and also xin4 fu2 ly eating two scoops of tiramisu and maple icecreams with crepe. Haha... think put on 0.5kg after this meal. Oh.. anyway learn something today. White cabbage, cauliflower, brocoli, mushrooms, dou miao can be stir fried in plum sauce. Nv know that veggies can be stir fried in plum sauce. Only know got oyster sauce.. haha.. got to try this in the states. =P

Anyway, all in all, a good week past and a good weekend!! =))

Dinner at Billy Bombers

2006-04-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

Went to dinner at Billy Bombers@heerens with xb. Think the food is okie lah. My "seafood paradise" is quite tasty with the dory fish and clams. But I must complain about the service. The waitress kept looking outside when we were telling her our orders. She looked so distracted.

When we are halfway into our food, with lots of food still on our plates, she came over to ask if we want to clear our plates. I mean "can't she see the food on the plates??" soooooooooo weird. There was no queue outside and I really dun understand why she had to rush us.

Anyway it is good to go out with friends. Learn about what they are doing recently. And of course lots of women talk. Haha. =P

Hope xb will not be too busy. And hope to see her again in July after her peak work period. =)

Updates for sunday

2006-04-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

computer got fixed! (at least for the moment!!) It does not shut down for no reason anymore.

Yeah!! All thanks to brother in law. Haha.. think he worked until like three to get the computer fixed.

Got a lot of fires to put out tomorrow.

1) Have to write my weekly report. Have no idea on what to write about. Nothing much being done this week. =(

2) Letter to Harvard.

3) Have to draft out my financial letter. Think this is the fastest way of getting the job done.

4) Going to photocopy more of the fluidics book.

5) Have to debug why my labview program is not functioning. It is really really weird.
Anyone knows what causes a for loop to run at different rate each time and hangs after like 20 rounds?

6) Check that the lock in amplifier idea work?

ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN

2006-04-01T00:10:00.000-08:00

I went to watch ICE AGE 2 yesterday.

Hmm... to those who like ice age 1, ice age 2 will definitely not be a let down. It is funny and entertaining.

But but... (haha.. somehow i always have to add in some buts)

I feel that it is less heartwarming as compared to ice age 1. I guess this is kind of hard to avoid as much of the heartwarming parts of ice age 1 came from the conversations and adventures of the three newly formed good friends. About how they tolerate each other and how even an evil tiger can turn vegetarian. Much of these is taken is already established in ice age 2. Hence ice age 2 can not bring out much warmness of the friendship.

All in all, it is a movie for lots of good laughs and to understand the link between that funny looking animal which is always chasing behind the nut and the rest of the story.

Oh wait wait..... there is love in the movie too. haha.

Lost Mail?

2006-03-29T16:46:00.000-08:00

My letter of accpetance to harvard was not received.

How could that be possible? The address was written correctly and the letter was placed in the to "other countries" box.

How come it did not reach harvard?

I am getting worried.

All my letters to harvard did not reach. There must be a systematic error somewhere which I cannot figure out.

sooooooooooooooooooooooo weird....

getting very worried.

An MC day

2006-03-27T04:57:00.000-08:00

I got fever and headache. Hence took an mc and stayed at home for the entire day.

Realize that it actually feels good to have a quiet day at home. So nice. My fever subsided in the morning and my headache is much better in the afternoon. So I hv time to just sit down and reflect and to just rot, read newsweek.

Watched lots of television too.

The headlines: "Protests in Thailand heightened, demanding Thaksin to step down."

Read an updated newsweek which I got from the library on sunday:

The headlines: "Hamas rose to victory in elections. US and Israel employing dollar policy to force the Hamas government to accept Israel"
Another headlines: "Muslim protestors burnt down houses and cars in France."

Went to clinic, read a newspaper while waiting to see doctor
"Ma Yin Jiu urged China to stop pressuring taiwan"

Hmmm...

I remembered that during a soka meeting that I had in the states, a soka member brought out the fact that after sep 11, she noticed that the world is becoming an unsafe place and that it is hard to achieve world peace."

She also said that she began to question how can an individual like her contribute to peace. Her conclusion is that she will try to make peace with people around her. When there are disputes, she will try to solve it in a nice way. And she will try to be friendly to everyone.

At that point, I was quite touched with what she said. Because she is very right. If you cannot even have peace around you, how can there be peace in the world stage. After all, the world stage is but a macro reflection of the neighbourhood situation which is a macro reflection of a family situation.

Perhaps "peace starts at home" just like how "courtesy starts at home" too.

Now as I reflected upon what she said at that time. I began to feel that mebe this is why exactly there is no world peace. As I look at my neighbours, my workplace and even my family, I realize how hard it is just to achieve peace around me.

For years, my neighours living upstairs had been giving us problems.

For years, I did not really like my aunts and my grandma thinking that they are biased against me.

For this year, there are many challenges at the workplace.

Hmm.... there is indeed a long way towards peace. (in the world, in the neighbourhood, at the workplace, in the family and last but not the least, within oneself.)

Working Life

2006-03-26T05:32:00.000-08:00

I realize that working life is not meant to be a bed of roses. There are bound to be obstacles and problems. And bound to have people, who u feel are not deserving, that gets all the credit and become successful.

I also dunno how to console or motivate myself at this point.

But I guess the end is not yet that near. Hopefully I can use this three months to get some good results and prove to myself that i can do it.

Not till e end, u will never know who is successful.

=)

Hihi: pasta and me = no relevance. haha

2006-03-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

Yingling commented that I should blog more. Hehe.. good to know that I have some supporters for my blog. Haha.. so I shall not disappoint them and I should start my usual dose of chattering and ranting again.

I went to Pasta Cafe for dinner yesterday. It is at Takashimaya, opposite Mos burger. I am beginning to like Pasta. Hmm... although as my departure to the states draws near, I think I might abstained from pasta, burgers and western food again.

Actually mebe Pasta are nice, just that those pasta that I cook are not nice. Haha... I think another reason is that I dun like the tomato sauce that I get from Wegmans. Hmm... mebe when I go back to the states, I should start looking for better spaghetti sauces.

I ate spaghetti ala Japanese yesterday. As usual, my choice of pasta will always have seafood in it. The spaghetti is not bad, taste very american chinese. Haha.. i think they fried the spaghetti in some japanese sauce that is slightly salty. Hmm.. next time I can fry my spaghetti too. (haha.. sadly in oyster sauce. =P, okok, i will get some japanese fish sauce, teriyaki sauce too.)

Other stuffs that are going on... hmm... I see some hope in my hands healing. Hopefully i will not scratch it in my sleep. As long as i can dun scratch it for 3 more weeks, i think it can completely heal.

Back to the basics

2006-02-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Okie. more boredom hence I am back again.

Moral of the story: the sixth world does not last long. Mebe a few weeks. Think it is time to go back to the basics and to aim for the ninth and tenth world in order to create more happiness and meaning in my life.

Today's soka friendship meeting was good. Not only do I get the chance to help out, I also get the chance to listen to the speakers talk about their lives. The Japanese lady was exceptionally inspiring. Mebe this is because she shared many fears and worries that I have too. And that she used to be quite pessimistic one.

I am glad that through this buddhism, she find the courage and confidence to stand up to her problems, think on the bright side and remove her fears. And I guess the fact that she has a gentle demeanor, a sweet voice and a beautiful face added much points too.

I always like females who are confidence and courageous despite looking gentle. Haha... think i like the calm and wise look.

Anyway, good to feel recharged with faith and time to see some hope and meaning in my stupid experiments.

Chinese New Year Resolution

2006-01-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

Time to set some resolutions:

Friends:
1) Keep old friends.
- Write a list of friends who I want to stay in touch and ask them out often for dinners.
- Learn to treat friends the way that they feel most comfortable with. Note the difference in opinions between them and me ba and dun try to impose my opinion on them.

2) Have new friends.
- Have friends that think similarly as me. Haha.. so that I will know that I am not the one big weirdo who thinks different from the rest of the world. (Have to thank two friends who are there to share my views so that I feel more assured about my stand and more determined to assert my opinion.)
- Have friends who think differently as me. Learn to accept differences. So that life will be more interesting.

Personal:
1) Improve on communication skills by reading more, talking more.
2) Learn to get comfortable with talking to more people. Learn to ignore remarks that I cannot stand.
3) Brush up on my formal mask. The mask that I wear while interacting with people i work with, collegues, lab people, etc.
4) Build up self-esteem and self confidence, courage, optimism and of course my happiness index.
5) Learn as much as I can. Overcome the stagnation of my learning curve.
6) Be less affected by what other people say.

Graduate School and Research:
1) Find a good lab, project and advisor.
2) Get along with Lab people.
3) Good housing.
4) Good courses.
5) Have faith that I will be a good researcher and work hard towards the goal.

Others:
1) Let Mian Mian and Yang Yang be happy always.
2) Faith, study and practice.

Okie. as usually a long list of things to do. Haha.

About me

2006-01-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

JY said that I am hyper logical.
XB said she is not so worried about me as compared to YL.

I wonder if I really give that logical, heartless and cool look.

Haha... I wonder.

Nvm, I shall think about the issue in another way.

First of all, why would I want to make my friends worry about me? Haha.. of course everyone wants concern from other people but I guess concern need not equate to getting your friends' needless worries.

I being 22 already have to know how to handle my life and my responsibilities. Friends are good to be there to give some advices, listen to my complaints and share my joy. But ultimately I am the only one responsible for my own life.

Hence if my friends are not worried for me, it is caused they know that I can take care of myself well and that that I am a responsible adult.

Hyper logical... haha... I live with this comment first.

Heartless or not, I still believe that at my very least, I have not caused other people to get hurt or blame them for my problems.

Random Updates

2006-01-11T23:37:00.000-08:00

1) Little Turtle will be going on an excursion to little Taiwan in late February. Hmm.. actually little Taiwan is bigger than small Singapore where little turtle is from. She will be going with her toad friend and a beaver couple. Little Turtle hopes that the trip will be lots of fun and that her four limbs will not get too tired during the nice 8 day trip.

2) The production line has stopped and Little Turtle has no more nanowire to test. Hence little turtle is feeling kind of lost.

3) In the meanwhile, little turtle is learning a little more about the packaging side of the work. This is a little fun and hopefully turtle will master it well.

4) Turtle receives a letter from her grandma in caltech. It is a nice mail and grandma told turtle " give people a little time to understand you, you are like a pearl in an oyster shell na... very hard to crack it open first but glimpses of it are tempting ;-) "
Turtle is still pondering over the meaning of this philosophical statement from up north.

5) In the meantime, Turtle is beginning to understand the importance of give-and-take, virtues of gossiping less, the therapeutic effects of verbalizing her problems and to always try to smile.

Something touching

2006-01-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

One of my three goldfish has fallen sick. It decreases in size and is always stationary at one corner of the tank.

I notice that the other two goldfishes in the tank always stay close to the sick goldfish. Even right now when they are all going to sleep, the two other fishes are right beside this sick fish.

Staying together in times of pain.

Mebe fishes have brains, mebe, what i am really sure is that they do have a heart.

Instant noodles

2005-12-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

Two things to say:

1) I realize I forgot how to cook. Haahaa.. I was cooking instant noodles for supper tonight and I realize that I am actually scared of the heat from the boiling water. Din use to be a problem in the past. =( Did i forgot all I learn in cornell?

2) I miss SY's instant noodles. Cos they are perfect and perfect for supper at 12 p.m. in -32 degrees celsius. It is the kind of joy that I cannot really describe. Hahaa.

Siyoung's killer instant noodles recipe:
1) Only put in the noodles when e water is boiling hot.
2) Never stir the noodles until they are ready to serve.

This create the perfect noodles.

One more point about instant noodles that i heard from a fren (not sure whether this has scientific backing) :
The flavoring will become carcinogenic if u boil them. So only add in the flavoring after u off the heat.

Hope u have the perfect instant noodles too!

Mian Yangs

2005-12-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

New additions to my family of monsters!!
From left to right: Yang Yang and Mian Mian Tan.
"Yang yang say hi!!"
"Baa Baa.. "
"Mian Mian??"
"Meh Meh Meh Meh Meh Meh Meh..."
"ok ok.... shut up!! sigh.... "

Christmas eve's outing to "World of Magic" Performance

2005-12-24T05:35:00.000-08:00

The performance is "World of Magic" and it is a great performance.

Initially I thought that it is just going to be a typical magic show. But it turns up to be much more than that. It actually incorporates magic with muscial and has an asian touch to it.

The storyline goes like this:
A father and daughter magicians are happily working together. The daughter has a crush on the MC of the performing troop. The MC owes a huge sum of money to an evil man who happened to have a feud with the father magician. So the evil man decided to make use of the MC to persuade the daughter magician to leave the dad and to come to work in shanghai instead. The evil man hopes to get the daughter magician to perform a magical trick which she has yet to master, such that she will die while performing the trick.

In the end, all went well and the daughter reunited with the dad.

I think the storyline is really simple. But what was interesting was the way a storyline was interwined into a musical with all the music, dance, entertainment and so cos MAGIC. I never know that magic can be used as a tool to act special effects to a performance.

The asian touch was introduced by the stage design, costume design and the fact that a wu3 shi1 (the traditional lion that u see during chinese new year) was being conjured up instead of mebe santa on his reindeer.

Overall, i think it is quite original to mix magic and musical. After all, everyone has enough of the traditional not so entertaining magic shows on television.

Equality

2005-12-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have to state that i am not a feminist. In fact, I have to admit that I am the kind of gal who prefer to feel protected by my boyfriend.

The topic of today is about girls breaking up with their bf for the reason "I realize that I dun actually like him."

Not to state names or anything, but I realize a number of female friends, collegues, or stories that i heard from other friends about females breaking up with their boyfriends after realizing that they dun really like the guy.

I happened to ask one of the gal, who just break with her bf recently for this reason, before she formally started with her ex boyfriend whether she likes him. Her answer was "as long as the guy treats me well enough, I will accept him."

This gal is pretty, very eloquent, very smart and very independent and has no lack of suitors.
But that was what she said.

Another fren asked me "why can't gals go after the guy they like, but have to stand there and wait for the guy to come and date me?"

Seriously I also dunno.

Haha... mebe social expectations ba.

I think compared to our grandmas and mums who simply like the guys who went after them, there are some gals in our generation who are not that easily satisfied.

But yet the social expectations is such that, they cannot go after those guys who they are interested in.

Hmmm...... mebe that is why these gals ended up with guys that they do not like and break with them.

Why do gals feel that they cannot make the first move?
I did a survey (with less than five ladies) and they say that if they make the first move, the guy will not treasure them.

So they rather lose the guy they have good feelings for, and end up with a guy fanatically going after them but whom they have little feelings for.

I later asked a guy (beware sample size for this is one.) whether if the lady makes the first move, they will treasure the gal less.
He said "actually everything is mutual. if i have to try very hard to get the gal, i might feel that she dun really like me and hence insecure. or if the gal makes the first move and i accept too quickly, i may also be afraid that she might think that i am too easy to get. "

Seriously I have no advice to give on relationship. I just know that I will not start with a guy i do not like cos i will feel very guilty. I believe in short pain as compared to long pain.

Let's end with another anedote.

I asked a gal how long her bf took to get her to accept him.
She said "oh... very fast."
I said "why"
She replied with a smile "cos i like him too."

Mebe this is the ideal case.

Actually in the long run, who ask who may not be so important, what matters is whether the feeling is mutual to start with.

How to create world peace?

2005-12-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

Haaha.. I once asked this question to a soka leader.

Her answer was

"make peace with people around you."

I guess she was right.