Perceptions.
1.
From Campton, NH: Never have I, in my whole life, seen meteors together with so many stars. It is only then I realised how these miracles brought about such wonderful theories of creation and great stories that still strike us with awe. I wonder how spectacular the night sky used to be when light pollution was still a non-existent concept. It would be alive, really alive...
2.
From Sunday River, ME: Skiing is tiring, especially for me, who has zero athletic talent. Still fell like >10 times for the whole day despite half a day of lessons the day before and perfect (I suppose)mastery of skills on the learner slope. My mum made me feel so useless when she told me that my sis fell only once into a ditch when they were skiing in Korea. Well, the truth is, they skiied only for 3 hours, on the learner slope, and they didn't even use the ski lift, as what my sis told me.
But it was fun and exciting. More to come... (Alps!)
3.
From Cambridge, MA: Walking down the streets of Cambridge gives me the motivation to work hard... just imagine how great it would be working inside one of those buildings. I am telling myself to finish reading through JHMI Cancer Centre's lab listing by tonight. Yup, it's time to send emails out...
4.
From Boston, MA: As directed by mum, I really enjoyed my time with my relatives in Boston. Suddenly felt so pampered again... with food waiting all the time whenever I go back, and there were even 2 huge lobsters one night. What I contributed were merely 2 bottles of XO sauce and probably some company?
Boston's Chinatown is wonderful. Like Chicago, it makes me feel like I have gone home. Good food, restaurants, and supermarkets. Definitely better than New York's: less crowded, more compact, and definitely no marketplaces selling cheap goods and pirated DVDs. NYC's Chinatown is too Bangkok-like.
5.
From Providence, RI: Very pretty city; the first impression I had when I stepped out of the train station was Providence = Triberg. Though I kind of stayed in Gerald/Ding Ding's room the whole afternoon talking crap, it was a worthwhile trip; since Gerald decided to stay in school to work over winter break...
6.
From New York, NY: Baltimore is not a city. Singapore is not the city. This is THE city...
Places to go to.
I will put up stuff regarding my winter break bit by bit...
So when I was in Boston, I visited these places. It's my dream to work in any one of them, for either Ph.D. or post-doc...
Harvard University
Whitehead Institute, MIT
Massachusetts General Hospital
And needless to say, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine or Johns Hopkins Hospital :)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Holidays have finally started! Just came back from Wan Ton Mee, The Pursuit of Happyness, and *some* new knowledge about clothes and make-up :P Now gathering some info for Boston and waiting for my clothes to dry so that I can pack.
Also, this means I will not be updating anything here nor contactable online until 2 Jan. If you want to say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, thank you, sorry, I love you, I hate you, you're irritating so don't bother me further etc. to me from now till 2 Jan, drop me a message on Facebook or in my email. If you really want to talk to me, I am also always reachable by phone anytime, anywhere (number available on this blog somewhere, on DHS4K01, my mum in Singapore, or my friends in America).
So, wish all a
Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year 2007!
...
Hmms, this might be a little mushy.
When you are living alone overseas, no matter how adaptable you are and how well you have adjusted to life as an independant individual, when you hear a song like this, I am sure it will touch your heart quite a bit.
Especially if you do miss your family, someone special, your friends, or whoever...
留住這時光 張學友曲: 劉諾生 詞: 向雪懷 編: 劉諾生
(獨白)
東東: 哥哥、哥哥, 呢度係邊度嚟架?
(哥哥、哥哥, 這裏是什麽地方?)
學友: 啊，呢度咪太平山囉, 好多遊客都會嚟呢度架!
(啊，這裏就是太平山，很多遊客都會來這裏的;)
喺太平山上面呢, 你可以見到全香港嘅景色架!
(在太平山上，你可以看得見全香港的景色!)
東東: 嗰度呢?
(那裏呢?)
學友: 嗰度? 嗰度咪維多利亞港囉,
(那里? 那里不就是維多利亞港,)
一到夜晚黑呢, 你望過去就會見到好多好多嘅燈, 好靚、好靚架...
(一到晚上, 你看過去就會看到很多很多的燈, 很漂亮、很漂亮的...)
靜靜似風飄過 望著你時也可溫暖我
如若說風景醉人 深深吸引
只因你 你知道麼
願望你會給我 浪漫回憶痴痴醉過
誰像我今天也曾 不分早晚
可跟你 鬧市中穿梭
讓每點陽光 洒於你臉龐
令你的微笑 比花更盛放
誰亦會沉醉 此刻對望
常令我忘了今天在何方
愉快的時光 只因你在旁
令我想念你 與這地方
還用你誠意 將心照亮
留住我不想他往
讓每點陽光 洒於你臉龐
令你的微笑 比花更盛放
還用你誠意 將心照亮
留住我不想他往
留住我不想他往
(Post inspired by Ce Xiang)
This is GCS for you...
Hahaha I really got to write this. If not I am not doing justice to myself, to my friends who were disturbed by him, and especially, to those who will be amused :D
Here is what GCS did when he is at my place:
1. Called me when I was waiting for him at Penn Station, and said 'Hey Mr. Yang, is the freaking train going to come or not?! Can I walk to Penn Station instead cos I can see it straight from here!!' To which I replied 'Yes the train is going to come, probably in 15 - 20 mins, and if you walk, you'll need to find a way to cross the freeway. So wait.'
Jess, I took revenge for you :D
2. Continued to use my Facebook account to stalk his friends in Chicago, and refused to get one.
3. Went to remember my friend's contact on MSN, and then after I have logged out and let him use my computer because I am going for a class, went to add her, wait for her to inquire about his identity, and then start talking about crab cakes and cholesterol. And he is an economist.
4. Gets freaked out by the hair-liked outgrowth from the mussels, suggesting that that might be an invasion of alien organisms, but attempts to cut cooked food using the same knife I use to cut uncooked pork.
5. Has to limp up/down stairs, squat/sit when he needs to stand and stretch himself below a statue of Queen Isabella when we are in DC because he injured his ACL (I suppose?) by running 7 miles (11.2 km) on a treadmill.
(Reason? He wanted to do some exercise because he is feeling too fat and weak (or nuah, as he says), so he decided to go for a run, and thought the pain in his knee was due to his 'weakness of mind', so he pressed on and ran 7 miles. This is the most crazy soldier I have ever met.)
(And hence I asked him whether he needs my support as he walks up/down steps as I do to my grandaunt. He declined my offer.)
6. Came all the way to Baltimore to buy a pillow and a pair of slippers from Walmart. I believe this city must have something more interesting other than that...
7. Continues to amuse me by his stories gathered from his Gestapo network. Example: *deleted at someone's request*. To whoever entitled to know, check it out with him or me at Gotham City.
8. And of course, how can I miss out his obsession with Russians and their ingenuity in poisoning people.
And all these can only happen to him:
1. Dim sum restaurant closed when it is not supposed to. So we had to walk all the way to Inner Habour from Midtown to find food.
2. The bus stop sign at Penn Station conveniently vanished in his presence. And it has not reappeared ever since.
3. The smoke alarm in my room rang 3 times when I asked him to cook dinner for me. You can understand why there is soy sauce left inside his oven. Not surprising at all.
As Deb said, how can we not love him :D :D :D
GCS in Baltimore #2
Yesterday went to DC with GCS. Went to the Archives, the White House, and the Washington Monument again. I did not finish touring the Archives because I know I am going to visit it again and again and again in the future, so at least save something new for myself...
If you were wondering where the previous 2 photos come from, well, they come from the World War II Memorial in DC...
GCS did something very exciting today: I brought him to Walmart. He had been in the US for 3 years and he has not visited a Walmart before :D because he says that the city of Chicago bans Walmart. So at least now he has had one Walmart experience before he leaves the US :D
And he bought a PILLOW to bring back to Chicago. The <$5.00 kind that I bought for myself (surprisingly it is still working very well!). Hahaha when he goes back, at least he would have something to hug onto to keep himself warm when he is waiting for the light rail to come. Indeed, after 4 days here with the MTA, he is now appreciating CTA very very much.
And imagine checking in the PILLOW :D :D (or bringing it through security check :D :D :D)
Ideals, Hope... Reality?
The year ahead.
In the year ahead, I shall:
1. Continue to live up to the name (literally) my parents gave me, such that people will like me and enjoy having me around.
2. Not be an annoyance to, and not to create trouble for, anyone. Everyone will be doing me a big favour if you can tell me that I am indeed annoying you or giving you problems so that I can be given a chance to rectify the problem.
3. Get to know people whom I already know better.
4. Do only what I want to do, and not do something because I feel obliged to. This can be achieved, partially, by playing with my own mindset. (It is not that chim...)
5. Try my best to get 4.0 GPA (though grades for fall sem are more or less set, just that I don't know what are my final grades exactly...).
6. Continue to gain useful knowledge and academic skills.
7. Add more food into my currently rather limited production capabilities, and improve the quality of the current productions.
And I hope I need not switch to full-results pursuing mode such that I have to keep myself so extremely busy with all sorts of work. I will do that usually if I have to give myself excuses to keep out of certain things which I feel I should not do (or in pursue of something which I should, or both). I have had enough of that in JC. Keeping my fingers crossed...
>>Thank you everyone for celebrating my birthday for me (especially when it is in the middle of all those finals...) :) The restaurant was very nice, and the cake too :) Thank you...12.12.2006, 0340hrs E.S.T.
GCS in Baltimore #1
(In the background) Mussels; (Foreground) Crab Cake :)
So, when I was struggling hard between my obligation to study and my unwillingness to study, GCS came and stayed with me to further enhance my unwillingness to study. He came on Saturday, after experiencing first hand the extreme inefficiency of Baltimore's transportation system, and has been sleeping on the floor in my room ever since.
Didn't do anything with him on Sat, as there is really a need to study (I just had a biochem paper, which I believe I have blown 6 points already because I mixed up the 2 and 4 positions of cytosine, and conveniently replaced Crick's contribution (Central Dogma) with some made-up crap). Though on Sunday, after studying the whole morning and half the afternoon, I went with him to Inner Habour and Fell's Point (to get him to understand the inefficiency of Baltimore's transportation system better) to walk around and eat mussels.
Berthas (the place in Baltimore famous for its mussels) was pretty good; good ambience, interesting mussels (which had some strange hair-like outgrowth trapping its prey which freaked GCS out quite a bit, and don't worry, I guarantee you that they are all fully cooked), and very very nice crab cakes. Although expensive, but the crab cakes are definitely worth a try.
60% of my finals are done! Left with one essay and the organic chem finals next Monday. Later we will be going downtown to eat dim sum (with Yiran, Yi Chung and Grace), and I will try to finish my essay tonight so that tomorrow I can go down to DC with him.
Hmms. First time, holidaying, studying and taking exams at the same time. Beat that.
>>P.S.:
From Zaobao:
1. 政府也将在接下来两年里，把永久居民的住院津贴减少10个百分点，以进一步区别新加坡公民和永久居民所享有的待遇。
2. 随着李显龙总理日前宣布政府将区分公民、永久居民及外来人才在教育和医疗保健两大领域的津贴，属于永久居民学生的学费，未来势将与公民有所差异。
Good. Thanks for helping to chase my parents back to Hong Kong. Thanks for giving me less and less reasons to keep my parents in Singapore after my dad retires......
This is HILARIOUS :D
What the...?!!! Worth spending 5 minutes from biochem to post them up :D :D
Hahaha there is this site which translated some 徐志摩's poems to Cantonese... The translation for 《偶然》is even more funny :D will post that next time...
(Mandarin, title literally meaning 'Leaving Cambridge Again')
《再別康橋》
輕輕地我走了，
正如我輕輕地來；
我輕輕地招手，
作別西天的雲彩。
那河畔的金柳，
是夕陽中的新娘；
波光裏的豔影，
在我的心頭蕩漾。
(以下數段從略)
但我不能放歌，
悄悄是別離的笙簫，
夏蟲也為我沉默，
沉默是今晚的康橋！
悄悄的我走了,
正如我悄悄的來，
我揮一揮衣袖，
不帶走一片雲彩。
(Cantonese, title literally meaning 'Cambridge Bye Bye')
《劍橋拜拜》
我靜靜雞散水，
就好似我靜靜雞咁踩嚟；
我靜靜雞yaap手，
同啲雲講聲“係噉先喇，喂”
河邊嗰啲金柳，
好似個新娘喺黃昏曬太陽；
反映喺水上面個靚樣，
喺我個心度浮吓浮吓噉樣。
（以下幾段慳番）
但我唔可以唱K，
講拜拜嗰支笛衰咗；
熱天的昆蟲都為我收聲，
劍橋今晚真喺啞咗！
我靜靜雞散水，
就好似我靜靜雞咁踩嚟；
我拍拍籮柚，
一啲雲都毋拎，嫌重得滯。
More random stuff:
1. 40% of my finals over! So far my results should be good enough to satisfy A*Star. Upcoming work: Biochem exam (Mon, 20% done), Final Essay Revision (Wed, 60% done), Organic Chem Exam (18th), Arrangement for research in Spring (Dr. Horner/Dr. Beemon), Arrangement for Boston/New Hampshire/New York holiday (50% done). Though still don't feel like doing any work...
(and should I try to get a tutor position for Gen Bio? Hmms...)
2. Yi Chung's birthday today. We celebrated yesterday at my place with chicken rice +
CHICKEN RICE CHILLI & DAO YIU contributed by Lynn! :D :D Apparently the sauce that my mum sent me was loved by all :D and we bought a cake from Giant too! It isn't that good though. Really need to source for a proper bakery around campus... And there he went to Jersey (Atlantic City?!) with Michelle this afternoon...
3. Finally found a proper post office which provides proper postal services where I can post parcels and buy stamps at the counter using cash. Just that that area is really a bit, hmms, shady... Passed by this group of guys sitting in front of someone's pouch (analogous to the Bengs sitting around HDB void decks or playgrounds, just that these people here never seem to leave you alone), and passed comments like 'Yo! Do you know you look like Yao Ming?' to me. Hmms. I know. So I smiled at them, tried to wave (couldn't because my hands are full) and walked off :P
4. Updates about Spring sem:
> Taking 5 courses, 16 credits. 2x core science courses: Cell Biology (4), Intro to Organic Chem II (4); 1x lab course: Cell Biology Lab (2); 2x humanities: Genetics in Medicine and Society (3), Invitation to Anthropology (Writing)(3).
> Parents may be coming in March during spring break.
> (It is always easier to plan with fixed dates in mind first) 28/05/07 Baltimore -> London. Stay in London (and surrounds) for 2 weeks. GCS (might be) joining me 13/06/07. Then we'll move all over UK. Return to Singapore 23/06/07. (=27 days, budget = US$2500). Start work with A*Star 27/06/07, ends 22/08/07. Come back 04/09/07 (classes start 06/09/07). The freaking US Dollar better stop devaluing (or, the Sterling Pound can devalue. Whatever..).
5. Last bit:
Genting Wins Sentosa IR Bid If you think about it, it is not at all surprising. Albeit a little disappointed because I was hoping that Kerzner can recreate Atlantis in Singapore so I don't have to go to the Bahamas to experience it. Now seems that I have to already...
Anyway, hmms the government is trying to recreate a Cali experience for all those people from China, India and Indonesia who either cannot afford to go there, cannot tahan the excruciating flight, or just simply cannot get a visa. It will be complete with 1. Universal Studios (yes, there are 16 new rides unique to Singapore, and it's the BIGGEST in the world!), with 2. casinos (hmms fellow Asians who do not speak Chinese, you don't have to go to Macau anymore), 3. dolphins swimming around you trying to get you to kiss them when you do spa (I thought we already had the pink dolphin?), 4. beautiful beaches (artificial ones of course, if you want real ones go to Bintan), 5. nightlife (Clarke Quay, yes, is getting cool), 6. the arts (the Esplanade), 7. Mickey Mouse speaking Singlish (rumour or not, time will tell), 8. a world class airport, and 9. excellent chicken rice, laksa, nasi lemak, char kway teow, bak chor mee, sambal stingray, fried oyster/oyster egg, peanut tang yuan and kaya toast.
Though, however, for our Asian friend who has been to (or who can afford to, in the end, go to):
1. Los Angeles, CA; Orlando, FL (in which, Orlando, FL is the holy shrine);
2. Las Vegas, NV (another holy shrine);
3. Hilo, HI; Atlantis, Nassau;
4. Honolulu, HI; Miami, FL;
5. New York, NY;
6. London, UK; New York, NY; Vienna, Austria; Paris, France;
7. Los Angeles, CA; Orlando, FL; Tokyo, Japan;
all such, in Singapore, has no appeal. Conclusion: what Singapore is building has no appeal to anyone outside China, India and Indonesia (and how can I miss out Malaysia). It's cheaper for Americans to get to CA, FL, Vegas, and Atlantis (~US$300 return airfare), Europeans to get to CA/FL (~£200 return airfare) or any European city (hmms, a TRAIN RIDE away?!), with Cricket, Phamtom of the Opera, Chicago, the Lion King, C.A.T.S., showing ALL YEAR ROUND (I heard in London there are ~£10 tickets?), complete with the Metropolitan, the British Museum, Kunsthistorisches, etc, they must be out of their mind to pay £665 to fly SQ321/SQ322 to Singapore to experience all these.
Maybe our government has ruled that, these people in the West already had their wallets filled to the brim, and theirs are going to explode anytime because of whatever structural economic problems they are facing, so screw them. We are practical people, so we should be tapping the burgeoning spending power of the Chinese, Indian and Indonesian (or Malaysian) middle class, while targeting also the rapidly expanding wallets of their getting-rich class.
Yeah right. What if, one day, most of these people can afford Japan, America, Europe, and coming to Singapore no longer satisfies their ego (you know Chinese, they NEED face; so if my relative has been to Singapore, I must go to Florida; if he has gone to Florida, I must go to Alaska)? Then we die. Hmms.
Though,
8. Changi Airport is really the best. You can transit there for 10 hours without feeling bored, or get aches all over by sleeping on plastic chairs. The signs there so clear, the service so efficient, that you won't feel frustrated at all using their facilities. And they avoid long queues by scanning carry-on baggages at the gate (unlike a lot other airports, e.g. HKG, AMS, BWI, LAX...), provide nice chairs for you to lie on when you sleep, gaming areas, and Internet access at the remotest corner of the airport. So far NO OTHER airport I have been to beats it, really. Thank you CAAS :) and we really shouldn't take it for granted (well, I WILL STILL MAKE NOISE about the 7% GST, unless you raise my salary for more than 2%! I am also a civil servant!).
9. Nothing is better than eating your favourite food at your favourite stall with your friends or your family at home. This has nothing to do with tourism :P as I believe most tourists cannot take our food (not my relatives in HK I guess) such as sambal stingray, laksa, nasi lemak, or the
HUM in char kway teow. Or even the hawker center ambience. (Or they have better; Malaysia!) Haha my Aunts/Uncles (hmms, whoever had not tried everything), come and visit us in summer, and I will bring you all over the island to eat all these food :D:D
Random stuff...
In the midst of finals, and not in the mood to study at all... How how?
Confirmed my accommodations in New York yesterday, still waiting for Gerald and Ding Ding so I can confirm Boston also...
GCS should be coming on Sat, and I have sent him my essay for him to vet (since he has been doing it for his humes girl anyway). He was stunned by its sheer length :P
Parents and sister flying off to HK, and subsequently Korea, and will only go back on the 20th, when I have already gone to Boston :P They will be staying in hotels all the way! Waiting for my turn to be able to fly on Raffles Class every time, take cab (or be driven) everywhere, nice food (no sandwiches) all the time and hotel accommodation every night...
If I can reach that stage, I guess I would have tripled what my parents can afford :P
(and judging by what I am writing here, I guess you can tell that I'm feeling really really xian....)
Angel...
From Tk's MSN nick:
每个人都曾是天使;
当他喜欢一个人时，
他便折断翅膀坠落人间，变成凡人;
所以不要辜负爱你的人，
因为他已经没有翅膀飞回原来的天堂...
Aiyo...
Look what my mum is up to...
They were watching movie when I called back, and they decided to watch me on the projector screen...... Really, I think only my family is capable of this kind of nonsense......
