A lot of random stuff.
This post is basically a whole chunk of unrelated stuff. Please bear with me :P
The House website isn't working! :( Have to try again tmr... Don't really want to use BT, and too lazy to go and reconfigure my DC++ (which I reinstalled), so probably tonight I will just finish up my anthropology homework :P
My organic chem exam was quite alright according to my standard... but the class did badly in general, so it turned out to be really really good. Though cell bio was, hmms, just right at the upper end of the standard deviation. In an absolute sense I did better for cell bio than organic chem... but apparently people did much better for cell bio, so comparatively I didn't do as well. No matter what I still love those ras, raf, rac, rho and sar stuff more than those don't know what Wittig reaction and Dean Stark distillation :P
By the way, biologists are certainly better at acronyms than Singaporeans. When you see all these in any biology related articles, think before assigning any meaning to them :P
RGS = Regulator of G-protein Signalling
GAP = GTPase Activating Protein
GEF = Guanine-nucleotide Exchange Factor
CREB = Cre-Binding Protein
SOS = Son of Sevenless (GEF of Ras)
PTEN = Phosphatase-Tensin Homologue (lipid phosphatase)
ATM = Ataxia Telengiactasia Mutated (p53 kinase, activator)
Mdm-2 = Mouse Double Minute 2 Homologue (ubiquitin ligase, p53 deactivator)
MAP = Microtubule Associating Protein
MAPK = Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase
MAPKK = MAPK Kinase (aka MEK 'family')
MAPKKK = MAPKK Kinase (aka Raf 'family')
Some more travel-related stuff: other than my UK trip I have confirmed a trip to Niagara Falls/Toronto from 11 May to 15 May with a group of friends. Because of James the lobang king we will be staying in hotels, and so far the total cost for transport + accomodation is $266.15 for me... And well, because of this trip, I would have accumulated enough miles to get a free one-way ticket from anywhere to anywhere in the Continental United States on Southwest. I intend to use it to fly to California over Thanksgiving/Winter to find Ching Hua and to admire nature around Bay Area :P
That reminds me that I have to order Rough Guides from Amazon, to help with my UK planning... :P
And a bit of A*Star stuff:
Philip Yeo on values:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/
266446/1/.htmlBasically what he said was what I practise at home, though this value system is constantly being rocked by forces here and there. How lucky you are if you do not have to face these kinds of challenges :P You don't have to doubt whether it all makes sense, it just does automatically...
Actually I guess at least some Singaporeans (even for those overseas) have a certain misguided impression about the US. I won't say much because I myself isn't sure, but take a look at this updated conversation between some bloggers and Philip Yeo... There are people who think that freedom of speech = tolerance for defamation? And there are also people who think that allowing authority to be challenged = tolerance for insolence? Both of which, from what I know, is not the case at all... (and really take some time to read the conversation. Philip Yeo is speaking just like one of us here. He is not acting like a big figure at all. I have never seen him like that before; I guess my PhD seniors might have. Haha well, he is leaving... I guess it is hard to imagine A*Star without him. I submitted something some months back when ASN asked for farewell messages :P)
http://aaron-ng.info/blog/clarification-from-astar-over-acidflask-incident.htmlAnd refer to post 137 for the following:
If that policy is carried forward to A*Star, I guess I have hope in getting a MD, in Singapore at least, provided that I still want to do it after my PhD. Well, in order to make that happen, it means I have to finish PhD in 3 years, which means more graduate level classes now, which means what I am planning to do (if I can successfully register for everything) will bring me on the right track. Wish me luck :P
Of course the easiest way to do it would be to go to the UK to do my PhD. Though after I looked through the Cambridge NatSci-Bio undergrad syllabus and NUS Life Sciences undergrad syllabus, even Hopkins' sciences look slack (underlying assumption: cannot compete if I were to just relax and do what is required of me here?). I don't know about the reality, but since I am working my head off writing history and anthropology papers while the rest are mugging 2 levels beyond Wittig reactions, I have to compensate for it somehow. Well, with me planning to do a research paper on the history of p53 next semester based on the proposal I am writing up now, to be receiving real work soon in the lab (I guess would be something to do with PTEN expression in developing mice prostates, in which I expect myself to become an IHC expert after this stage of the project is over), getting more involved in the student groups that I am in now, and *maybe* not giving up on anthropology (had this nice chat with my TA and 2 classmates after class today, and got psychoed to take more anthropology classes), I guess I will just, well, need to watch more YouTube everyday :P
SSA elections on Sunday! Haha I guess I should get them to create a 'Map Reader' post and then I will run for it :P Haha I will see what positions are open la, and then I will see :P It will be fun anyway :D
(Just to add,
the site posted above is still active. Apparently ST had an article on Friday, which I cannot access, on the issue AGAIN. I strongly suggest everyone, especially scholars, to read through the comments and then form your own opinion. Everything now makes much more sense, even the 3.8 GPA requirement. Think about it. It makes sense. At least I will not say that it is nonsense anymore. If you still don't understand, and want me to explain, haha think harder if you are in the US. If not, you are utmost welcomed to ask me.)
_____________________________________________
philip yeo // Mar 28, 2007 at 6:32 pm
The excuses that “modules are of different difficulty, some easier, some tougher” are like old gramophone records.
The scholarship is a 8 years BS to PhD program.
The BS is the basic degree.
The threshold is 1st Class Honours OR 3.8 GPA and above.
If applicant think it is tough, he/she should NOT apply..
The standards of the undergrad schools and their curriculum are well established and known to us.
BS candidates must then apply to our list of top graduate schools on their own standing for the PhD part of the training.The grad school admissions chaps also review their applications taking into the type and difficulty level of the courses that the applicants took at the undergrad level.
The End.
Labels: Life, Policy and Politics, Random, Studies and Career
Brain Drain.
Coffee and tea and 1g of paracetamol (I took it because I had a headache, and I checked, no contraindication with caffeine :P) really works. Now I'm more awake than I was at 3pm yesterday.
I have been sleeping A LOT the past few days though :P
Well, had been following recent news about Philip Yeo rather closely. I have some material about it to write about on hand now, but I guess I should postpone it till Friday, when I can resume watching House for maybe, one or two episodes? :P
Though formulated this weird idea to solve our brain drain problem.
It is actually quite easy. Since the big problem is bright Singaporeans who go overseas to study or work do not want to come back, the way to solve it is to tie these people down. How to do that? Well, MOE, MCYS and MINDEF can consider launching a programme to actively and strongly encourage students and NSFs who aspire to study overseas to get themselves attached or better still, married while they are in Singapore. As a result, those overseas people with his/her partner remaining in Singapore will have a stronger bound with his/her homeland and hence are more likely to return. Of course, measures need to be taken to maintain the relationship, and hence the relevant ministries can also try measures like organising support groups for the halves remaining in Singapore and providing some form of recognition and honour (something like the 'scholar' status :P) to those who make an effort to maintain the relationship, and hence according to the government's logic there will be considerable 'dishonour' when the relationship is broken.
Ohhh and it can also serve to lower the temptation for scholars to break bond. Win (lower brain drain)-win (lower bond breaking)-win (increase population)-win (more children born into the upper-middle class) situation for Singapore :D :D :D
(To answer the question what if both parties are studying overseas, especially when both are in the United States (the land of freedom from
slavery), well, that is a loophole for you to find a way to plug! Maybe the scholarship board can
prohibit that right from the start, i.e. no 2 scholars can study in the same country if they are attached/married, or it can combine the L.D.s of the couple by multiplying them together; confirm no one will dare to break bond :P)
Hahahaha yayy I found a potential solution to a serious problem. Should I email this to
www.feedback.gov.sg? :D :D :D
Labels: Policy and Politics
Clarifications.
I have made some changes to the previous post. On second thought I have to admit that it is quite an over-reaction which requires amendment and clarification. Will be more careful next time :P
So here are my clarifications:
1. To me, with regards to national issues,
national interest is tantamount. If the opposition does not make any logical sense in their arguments, is too driven by ideology, and oppose just for the sake of opposing, I will not support them either. If my only other choice is Chee Soon Juan, I am sure I won't support him.
2. Why do I think that we need an opposition to pose challenges to the ruling party? That is because of their intrinsic role: they are at a much better position to view government policies skeptically and tell the government things which they may have missed. It is usually difficult and less effective to challenge yourself: that's why we need editors and peer-reviewers, and that's why I am very happy when I receive comments about my posts! :)
3. Also,
I see credible candidates in the opposition during the last election. This constitutes an important part in formulating my view about voting for the opposition, and it is my negligence for missing that out...
4. We need a more mature civil society to achieve the kind of public debate that would be meaningful. If it is a chicken and egg thing, we need to break the cycle somewhere (maybe more NCMPs? But the problem is, they have
no actual power. This is a critical difference, but it might be a good start.). It is, again, if it has to have an effect politically, the challenge has to come from a rational opposition. That is because the opposition is a form of power that directly challenges the ruling party, and hence will serve to put the ruling party on their edge. I don't like the idea of
lobby groups because they generally do not place public interest before their own (like those in America), whereas the opposition needs to do so to convince people to vote for them (ideal situation).
(Look at Hong Kong... They did it successfully in the
latest rational, peaceful Chief Executive elections, though their people do not even have the power to vote at all! But then, it is hard to compare... the political culture there is so different. Maybe that is why I dare to speak out like that because a Hongkonger's blood flows inside me :P)
5.
I am not anti-government. I am happy with what they are doing now, the budget makes sense and is good (I told my mother: they are even projecting a deficit this year because of all these... the government is seeing things in a much broader sense, which a typical Singaporean might not be able to see), but as a Singaporean I believe that I should not be completely contended with them, no matter how good they are. To put it simply, I quote Mencius:
...... (remember
my previous translated Mencius quote? That is what precedes this.)
人恆過，然後能改；A person has to make mistakes before he can correct them,困於心，衡於慮，而後作；His thinking has to be challenged before he can rise and put forward his cause,徵於色，發於聲，而後喻。He has to show it and voice it out before others can understand.入則無法家拂士，A state without law-abiding officials and capable advisors internally,出則無敵國外患者，and neither is there challenges from other powers externally,國恆亡。Is bound to head towards failure.然後知生於憂患而死於安樂也。From here, we know that people tend to survive better when constantly challenged,And will tend to head towards failure when they are too comfortable and contended.~《孟子》
~ Mencius, ca. 300 B.C.
6. Thanks for everyone's concern... I will be more careful next time :) anyway, yes my scholarship requires me to stay out of politics...
Labels: Policy and Politics
MPs.
Hahahahaha read this...
Wanted: MPs with courage and ability to speak outStar, Malaysia
March 24, 2007
(Accessed through
Singapore Window on March 25, 2007)
.......
But the majority of backbenchers praised the budget, some in exuberant terms that are opposed to public sentiment.
Despite the leaders' exhortations to MPs to speak their minds, not many had done so.
A sample of backbenchers' exuberant praises included "generous and forward looking", "good intentioned" and "made in heaven", "a landmark budget", "wonderful", "innovative" and "pragmatic."
The generosity of the budget is possible under the stewardship of the ruling People's Action Party, said one MP, sounding like a Pyongyang news headline.Another remarked: "Nowhere else in the world can you get a budget
which includes love and compassion in abundance as this one."
......
Hmms, I was just defending the budget yesterday when my mum was telling me about her point of view regarding the civil service's imminent pay rise. My position is that 'the budget has done all conceivably reasonable' and 'what more can you ask for'. My mum has this thinking that the civil service's salary levels should pitch against the earnings of typical Singaporeans rather than top management positions in the private sector, which is a position I contest in a general national interest point of view. However we both agree that the government's role is not solely address the larger picture, as it's also the government's responsibility to make sure that every Singaporean is able to survive decently and help should never be unavailable.
I do also agree that more work can be done to help bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, which is an intrinsic problem in a capitalist society, and these efforts are essential in ensuring stability within society in general.
However after reading the above chilling article (the quotes have to be true, despite the newspaper being Malaysian), I have strengthened my view that I should vote for the opposition when I eventually can vote. It is not just self-praise: they have neglected to consider the feelings of typical Singaporeans, which is an important role politicians are supposed to take on. I don't think I'll need a representative who do not represent my interests.
Well, even if you intrinsically think that you should take a position which supports any policy by the government, speak for it more rationally, and put your argument forward in a more reasonable way. Saying that the budget is 'made in heaven' and 'nowhere else ... includes love and compassion as much as this one' is simply too much. Do these people seriously think that the cabinet ministers are Saints and Lee Hsien Loong is God?! No wonder the commentator likened them to Pyongyang officials.
(And I stress here again: voting for the opposition
is not equal to being not grateful for PAP's contribution to Singapore's success, and it's
not equal to not being loyal. I seriously do not understand why some Singaporeans think this way; to push for improvements in the performance of our politicians is the duty of every Singaporean who has the right to vote. My worry is that if these ruling party MPs continue to not be contested in Parliament, they will become too contended and eventually lose their function, which is evidently happening...)
Labels: Policy and Politics
Poems.
Had an extremely amusing conversation with Tk yesterday. Anyway, I prefer these kinds of poems... They are very commonly known, not original, but are certainly nice... (and certainly they do not contain any eyes.)
(The links will bring you to sites that help explain the poems.)
(And since even GCS tells me that he doesn't understand the Chinese that I post here, I have decided to translate whatever I can... It is really sad that someone who can write so well in Chinese in secondary school have to ask me to explain stuff to him and help him do translation now...)
離思(唐)元稹
曾經滄海難為水，除卻巫山不是雲。
取次花叢懶迴顧，半緣修道半緣君。
(Literal Translation: If one has experienced the ocean, it will be difficult to like any other forms of water; if one has seen clouds from Wu Shan, no other forms of clouds will please him. I am too lazy and unwilling to look around even when I am amidst a flower garden; that is partially because I am cleansing my soul and partially because of you.)
(Happy? :D)
Classical Chinese poems are better than contemporary ones in terms of subtlety and meaning, and often more intense in terms of feeling. Read all the 李清照 ones; those are really to the extreme. For contemporary Chinese poems only very talented people can produce good ones. For example:
再別康橋徐志摩
(I have posted this before (not full text); follow the link above for full text and an English translation, which is a rather good one.)
偶然徐志摩
我是天空裡的一片雲，
偶爾投影在你的波心──
你不必訝異，更無須歡喜──
在轉瞬間消滅了蹤影。
你我相逢在黑夜的海上，
你有你的，我有我的，方向；
你記得也好，
最好你忘掉，
在這交會時互放的光亮！
(This one, I guess, no need to translate? It is not even in classical Chinese...)I don't know much about English poems; though if I come across ones that are nice I will like them too. Tell me if anyone has any to recommend :)
Labels: Random, Relationships
Housing.
> Xinhui: I put up a notice some time ago asking for your identity... weiting saw it and left a message to tell me :P hahaha i'm telling her no need so fierce la :P not you...
Well, I have finalised my housing for next year. Due to our unglamorous ballot number of 227, we are forced to take up a 11-month lease 4-bedroom apartment in Charles Commons. This means a whopping $12,516 total cost in rent + meal plan compared to the $8844 in rent only I am paying this year. And we will have to share our apartment with some random guy...
This is insane. Though, thank goodness we don't have to take McCoy... and actually that place is very good. We will still have a nice kitchen with a big fridge, nice stove, oven and microwave :D and a decent living room which is TV compatible, complete with sofa and a nice and big dining table. Barnes and Noble, food court, Starbucks coffee, and the bus stop to Penn station and medical campus are all just downstairs. There are pool tables, table tennis tables, music practice rooms, etc. in the building, and it is at most 5 minutes walk to any building on campus, especially since I will have a lot of classes in Mudd... And it is nearer to Giant also :P
http://www.jhu.edu/hds/campushousing/charlescommons.htmHaha and guess which room I took...
Labels: Life
Complicated.
I have finally confirmed my air ticket back home!
26/05/07, 1652 BWI - 27/05/07, 1500 LHR (DL/SQ/BA)
21/06/07, 1645 LHR - 22/06/07, 1620 SIN (BA/SQ)
02/09/07, 2350 SIN - 03/09/07, 1645 BWI (SQ/AA)
I have also actually come up with a rough travel plan for my stay in the UK. Now it is time to make arrangements with friends :P
I am continuing to drill on the organ transplantation issue in my paper for
The Triple Helix. Broke a record by reading 6 journal articles (rather short though :P), coming out with an essay plan and an abstract/summary within 2 nights. I am taking a more liberal position now though; however, despite I am clearly not against compensating donors in some way, I am still taking the position that the
commodification of human organs is unacceptable. Anyway, this is considered part of the liberals' agenda too I guess? Human rights, human dignity and equal opportunity?
I realised a completely rational approach to problems often doesn't work. It will make us
indifferent. Well, if we were to be good biomedical researchers and doctors, we cannot be indifferent right, can we? But the nature of our job needs us to be rational... so how to stay rational and still care for individuals, society, and humanity?
This world is just too complicated. Can someone please simplify it for me?
Labels: Travel, Values
Singapore Food.
Some unforgivable person from Singapore sent me this link. And still dare to tell me that this blog is owned by a doctor.
http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/And I just can't believe this:
http://www.taihwa.com.sg/el.htmFor people, e.g. me, who still has >3 months before I can smell Singapore again, this kind of temptation is worse than a devil's. I stare at the pictures until I want to cry...
Though, for someone who is going back to Singapore
AGAIN soon and those people who are in Singapore
NOW, FYI :D :D :D
And this one, sigh........
http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/2006/12/xue-hua-fei-dessert-wha-lao-what.htmlBedok Interchange some more. I've decided I've to find some excuse to bring people there.
Labels: Random
Phase 2 of Spring begins.
This spring break has not been exceptionally exciting. Well, other than going to New York, all I did was just got better at killing mice and doing all sorts of weird things to them, finished watching the first season of House, completed an anthropology paper, got my JHMI pass and cleared the admin, and received a comment 'the food at the Singapore embassy is not that fantastic; xiaoyang cooks better'. Oh well.
Anyway, my anthropology paper was quite crappy. There is no in depth analysis at all; basically all I did was quoting examples from all over the place (well try to link St. Joan of Arc, Falun Gong, Les Miserables, Tibet, and Islamic Terrorism together). The professor and TAs don't seem to need me to do any form of analysis in the previous papers, they are like more concerned about examples and their relevence, so I'll see what happens...
Haha and I realised that Gregory House is from Hopkins. Though he was expelled when he was in medical school because he copied exam answers from his friend, and quoting wikipedia, 'he is extremely bitter about it because the answers were wrong'. On the other hand, Hugh Laurie is from Cambridge. You can't tell that at all by watching the show; his accent is perfect :P
Ok, there it starts again. Well, 47 more days and I will be done for the year. Break for 4 months, and then there will be a 21-credits semester waiting for me, if I got the clearance and if in the end I still want to do that. This is Hopkins afterall...
Labels: Life
First Anniversary.
If not for Noel's reminder, I don't even realise that I have already ORDed for a year :P
So it is time for reflection:
From 14/3/06 to 12/4/06:Slacked? Was planning for the Europe trip... other than that did not do anything. Admin aside... I remember I was worrying over housing or something and told my dad how to respond to letters on my behalf when I would be in Europe.
From 12/4/06 to 10/5/06:
Had a very nice and enchanting trip in Europe. Learnt its beauty, its hospitality, its enchanting history and culture, strengthened a friendship, and realised the fact that you really need to be careful in picking your travel companions...
From 10/5/06 to 15/5/06:
Told people my travel stories. And showed them my photos.
From 15/5/06 to 12/6/06:
Phase one of lab internship. Learnt a lot of new skills and knowledge, and figured that apoptosis is interesting. And my mentor is really very good.
From 12/6/06 to 23/6/06:Astar departing batch pre-departure programme. Basically it's one whole having fun session: got to know a whole new bunch of fun people, got to know those I have met previously better, and had fun with those who were already my friends.
From 23/6/06 to 18/8/06 and 19/8/06 to 29/8/06:Phase two of lab internship and pre-departure period. I was put under the test of faith.
1. Lab was fine... I was running experiments on my own, and decided to extend my internship for 2 weeks at mentor's request.
2. Pre-departure admin was really messed up. I-20 got lost in the mail, and was desperately getting JHU to courier it over again; housing had a last-minute problem; unexpected hiccup for my deed signing... Almost have to draw up crisis management plan in case I cannot arrive on time.
3. Flew twice back to HK once with each of my parents to settle some problems just before I left for the US.
4. And have to deal with the stress of leaving home...
I was extremely grateful that in the end everything was fine.
Though I got to know very good lunch companion(s) over this period of time...
From 29/8/06 to 14/3/07:Have been staying in the US since. And to my horror sister told me recently that my mother was telling her friends that I have 'changed', basis being 'usually I will not want to spend the kind of money flying to Chicago over a weekend just to watch a show'. So how I have changed?
1. Definitely saw/heard/got to know different perspectives, styles of work, cultures, and systems via classes (esp. the humanities/social sciences small classes), interaction with faculty, interaction with other students and interaction with friends who had been here for a while.
2. Discovered that I can actually write in English rather decently. I used to only be able to write bio essays; this I definitely changed.
3. I have begun to not take things for granted. Here, edible food is something you have to either pay a lot of money for or you have to create it yourself. Here, getting from one place to another never fails to be a hassle; buses need not come on time, and planes need not depart on time. Here, no insurance means no medical care. Here, even security and personal safety is not an entitlement too... (sounds worse than SAF right :P)
4. Friendship becomes more important: I realised I talk more to some of my friends now than when I was in Singapore. Might explain why I bother to spend the money (not a lot what anyway... and of course I figured that I can afford it with money to spare...).
5. I think I became more open, or more willing to, directly face my feelings, follow my heart and leave things to fate. This has nothing to do with my American experience; though my sister certainly played a large part in this accidentally :P
6. I am not too sure but I believe I can pretty decently suppress my Singaporean accent now. People are not making me repeat what I say anymore. This is something I can't imagine myself doing before I left. And I can pretty much understand everything in the movies and shows without subtitles too... I am forced to listen carefully nowadays I guess.
From 14/3/07 onwards:Hope that I can continue to get a 4.0 GPA, get started on my research project (I already have a rough idea! I need more knowledge to come up with a concrete plan and skills to carry it out), learn as much as possible from Johns Hopkins, make more friends here, and,
Hope something really really nice will happen! :)
140307 0040hrs
Labels: Life
Lucky Me.
Apparently people like my sister and me are very sought after in the job market in HK because we are fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese and we are comfortable with both Western and traditional Chinese cultures. I don't have any plans to work in HK though (interest and market don't match, and I am under bond), but my sister still can. She should be going there to study anyway.
(Though, having those capabilities means more work. My father is the only one sufficiently fluent in both English and Chinese in his office, and so he is always the one translating documents...)
And before I post the Zaobao article, some air ticket lobang for those in SG:
S$465 Cathay Pacific, SG - HK return, with tax, 1 month max stay, depart before 30/6/07, no miles. Jetstar Asia costs S$393 return with tax in June.Cathay Pacific is an excellent airline with good food, though their personal TV is not as good as SQ's. Also, if something screws up, and you can be bothered to complain, they are pretty generous in their compensation.
Follow this link:
Kowloon Club(Disclaimer: I am not a member of the association so my intention is not to advertise for them. This might not be the cheapest, so do your research :P)
Anyway, short relevant excerpts from the Zaobao article:
掌握“两文三语” 香港新移民子女有优势
(hmms am I that 'new' an immigrant?!)
新加坡双语政策，使香港移民子女掌握“两文三语”(英文、华文；英语、华语、粤语)能力。他们完成学业回香港找工作，比香港年轻人更有优势。
由香港移民组成的新加坡九龙会会长钟庭辉（43岁），在上星期举行的新春晚宴上受访时说，九龙会在1990年4月成立，当时随父母移民到新加坡的孩子，不少已完成教育，回香港创业或找工作。 他说，新加坡对双语教育的重视，让这批年轻人掌握英文和华文，能说英语华语，加上香港家庭讲广东话（粤语），而且保留中国传统习俗，使他们成为能掌握“两文三语”及熟悉双文化的一代人。 钟庭辉说：“他们是香港的欧美跨国公司以及中国公司最乐意录取的人才，这批年轻人可说拥有了香港和新加坡最好的资源。” 在学习双语方面，他表示，香港父母更重视互动，在生活应用华文，而不仅仅把它当作考试科目。“香港移民家庭重视孩子在家讲广东话和华语，在生活上遵循华人传统习俗，加上他们在学校学习英文和西方文化，使他们日后在职场工作起来如鱼得水。”Labels: Random
Back from New York.
After spending the whole afternoon walking rounds in NYC's Chinatown and walking into any shop that looks interesting for the whole afternoon, I now know NYC's Chinatown pretty well. So in terms of greatness of the Chinatowns that I have been to, NYC > Boston > Chicago > Washington. Baltimore's is non-existent.
Brought back 6 egg tarts, packets of candy (great candies which I had come to love since kindergarten I suppose), and Lee Kum Kee curry sauce (good for small scale curry making). Hope I won't finish up all the candies by the end of spring break :P
Haha and ate great food! Dim Sum for lunch and dinner treat from Victoria's uncle (who seems to like Singapore pretty well, and kept asking me to describe to his son how great is Singapore's stability and how the government takes good care of its people :P). We also gave Alex a crash course on Chinese (food) culture (or rather HK/SG food culture); well, we walked into a medicinal provision shop, showed him the various containers of abalone, bird's nest, and dong cong cao, and described how bird's nest and dong cong cao came about. I don't know he is more amazed or more disgusted (at least he didn't show :P).
And some A*Star stuff:
http://aaron-ng.info/blog/clarification-from-astar-over-acidflask-incident.htmlA*Star sent this link to all scholars recently regarding the Acidflask incident 2 years ago. It contains a recent clarification statement from A*Star, the original post from Acidflask, the apology from Acidflask, and some comments.
For those people who was out of the loop 2 years back, now you can judge it for yourself. I recommend scrolling to the middle, read the original post, and then going back to read the clarification. Form your own opinion first.
And I hold no sympathy for the bloggers who are always taking on Philip Yeo in the bloggosphere. Judging by the nicks they use, the remarks they make, it is clearly provocation. These people get their joy from seeing that their comments attracted Philip Yeo's attention, and amuse themselves further by mocking his refutes, and in the end the whole thing turns into a meaningless squabble.
Philip Yeo has a reputation as being combative in nature... Everyone knows what he did in Parliament. Well, whether or not that is appropriate for a high-ranking civil servant, exploiting that and getting amusement out of it in public arena definitely cannot be considered appropriate behaviour either :I
Labels: Life, Random
Spring Break is Here!
Finally! Going to New York for a day tomorrow. I won't come back until I find the three-quarters legendary egg tarts from Chinatown :D
This break is more for me to clear existing work (e.g. organic chem problem sets (carbonyls with all kinds of weird reactions), anthropology paper (on suffering), book review (on
History of Molecular Biology by Michel Morange) and mock research proposal (for History of Science class)), and get started with upcoming work (article for
The Triple Helix, and my research project, on which my B.S. (Hons) depends upon).
I am so glad that I cannot find anywhere to go :P If my spring break coincides with GCS and tk's I would have gone to Bahamas (to lie on the beach, stare at the Atlantic ocean, or maybe pick up a bottle and put a note into it and see whether it will eventually float to the other side) and left me with that heap of nonsense to clear in, like, 2 DAYS?! I cannot imagine that.
Yesterday was reading this article by Arthur Kleinman about the issues surrounding patients suffering from chronic pain. He, in 1988, introduced the idea of 'somatization', which is basically a phenomenon in which a patient suffering from chronic ailments subconsciously exaggerates his symptoms, and very often the patient incorporates his other problems into the symptoms which serve to amplify the problem even more. Sometimes there can be no physical cause attributable to these symptoms, and very often these people do not respond to any form of treatment, causing great stress to the patient, his family, and the attending physician.
Why am I talking about this? Haha because it echoes with my experiences! I have seen too many patients that keep complaining of backache but physical examinations, X-ray and MRI, shows no attributable cause other than muscle spasm or otherwise known as PVS. These people will always walk into the consultation room with a miserable look on their faces, talk to the doctor as if they are going to break into pieces any moment, and sometimes demand things to be done for them (e.g. DOWNGRADE). Well, with negative findings using all kinds of diagnostic tools we can find, there is no way we can downgrade them, so they keep coming back and of course, the doctor will get sick of seeing their faces and will start to lecture them everytime they come. And I will have an interesting time listening to him scolding people :D
Hahaha I have encountered quite a bit of interesting stuff as a medic :D Go and work in A&E (or ED or ER or whatever you call it) for a week and I can guarantee that you will have more than enough stories to tell for the rest of the year :P
And the PVS thing really made me lament that my power has really dwindled :P I took at least 15 minutes to recall that PVS = Paravertebral Spasm :P
More things that I have forgotten, so any medics reading this please enlighten me:
1. There are 2 common kinds of medicine for easing stomach pain due to ulcer or excess acid, other than antacid tablets. One is Famotidine... What is the other?
2. What is the drug used to correct SVT (I can't remember exactly, but definitely some kind of tachycardia...) by putting the patient's heart to asystole, hence allowing the SA node to reset (cool huh)? And it has to be pushed through a 20G plug through the proximal cephalic vein (I set the plug that time :P) because it has a REALLY short half-life?
3. The three kinds of standard cough syrup: Codeine, DME and ___? And what does DME and ___ stand for?
Yeah and it is a myth that SAF doesn't give strong medicine. They might be generic non-branded medicine but no doubt they are sufficiently effective (as hospitals give out the same things too). And the SAF stock is improving (we used to have to write prescriptions for Augmentin... Now every medical centre should have some stock more or less).
Haha my medic days. Interesting and useful. I just hated the management (like getting people to do duty!), and S3 forcing us to do IPPT/SOC...
Yeah I'll watch more House M.D. over spring break, and continue to get confused by what Loh Gehrig's disease, which is actually ALS, or a form of MND. Haha fun though :P
(In addition, Hugh Laurie is cool and Jennifer Morrison is hot. What else can I ask for :P)
After Cell Bio.
a.
Well, this time, I guess should have at least 9 points gone. They ask questions like 'Which of the following three achievements are Nobel Prize worthy?' (completely meaningless mugging kind of question?), and usually I couldn't care less. So I am screwed :P
That is three points. The other six goes to a (or 2) confirmed wrong deduction(s) of the meaning of the word 'accumulate' (Where will membrane proteins accumulate if the cell is deprived of ubiquitin/has a dysfunctional proteasome? On first thought it seems to be endosome, but on further thinking lysosome seems to be more correct. Oh well.). And I just hope that my logical reasoning for the rest of the questions (pretty much all of them) is right.
These papers are really VERY VERY Hwa Chong Bio-like. Even if you can recite the textbook backwards, but if you don't listen/take notes in class, and cannot think during the exam, you'll still be screwed. Like there is one question on J.D.'s hypercholesterolemia... Not in the textbook, mentioned in class, I only have 1 sentence on it in my notes, but it made a 12-point question. Luckily Pubmed proved my deductions right.
b.
My Chicago photos are up! Check out my
photo blog. Not a lot though, cos was too busy talking, laughing, eating, watching people, and cursing the weather. Haha feel free to steal them if you want :)
c.
Looks like I fall into the category of being tagged by foo cexiang. Anyway, it's fun to write about this, so here goes:
6 weird facts about myself:
1. I have a fetish for maps. When I was a kid I used to draw street directories on pieces of A4 paper, and I would make the pieces bigger using those 3M write-on clear tape. Now I have mapquest/google map/google earth :P
2. I am intrinsically unsociable. I can be seeing this person all the time during classes (incl. lab classes and sections) and lectures since last semester, and not talk to him/her at all for the entire time. And I can disappear from friends' radar so entirely to the extent that they will have absolutely no news on what I am up to :P
3. I seem to have the strange inclination towards giving advice. Maybe that's because I'm the eldest in the family? Even my mum asks me for advice and asks me to give advice to her friends and her friends' children.
4. Though I don't seem to, but sometimes I do feel that I REALLY need guidance. Probably that is because of a universal fear of uncertainty? I don't know :P
5. I feel that actually I do not have a strong stand on any issue. I tend to make things complicated for myself by looking at it from too many angles, understanding every argument and then don't know which one to pick because everyone seems to make sense.
6. If you ever realise, I do not like to make decisions for anyone. Though I do give advice, but I will always end with 'most importantly, do what you think is right' or 'this is what I'll do if I am in your situation, it might or might not work, but this is what I'll do'. Oh well.
Haha ok, here is my policy: If you have a blog, and if you want to be tagged by me, go ahead and write 6 weird facts about yourself. You don't have to if you don't feel comfortable doing so... :)
Well...
Sister got nice results, which is good enough for crystal jade. You get the idea.
Anyway, for motivation of self and others, here goes:
(hmms pardon my bad English translation :P)
天將降大任於斯人也，When Heaven is going to bestow upon someone a significantly important position,必先苦其心志，His mental strength will be put to test,勞其筋骨，His body will be overly-exerted,餓其體膚，He will be starved,空乏其身，He will suffer from poverty,行拂亂其所為，And everything will work against him.所以動心忍性，This will hence strengthen his character,增益其所不能。And make him capable of things previously impossible.~《孟子》~ Mencius, ca. 300 B.C.
Moral of the story: Nothing is impossible.
There is a vaccine for pancreatic cancer under phase 2 clinical trial now, because someone in Hopkins wants to make it happen.
The Palestenians and Israelis cannot be reconciled because there is always someone who does not want reconciliation but annihilation.
The only obstacle is whether you want to do it.
Before A-level results.
Just came back from nice and shiok Indian food, thanks to a graduated senior who came back to visit :) Tomorrow should have even more shiok food from the Singapore Embassy in DC :D
A-level results will be out on Friday, and sister is in 'cannot sleep' mode. Every time I call back I will hear something along the lines of 'wah very stressed lor' or 'aiyoh don't say anymore can or not' (esp when I am, as usual, evil-ly trying to predict her results, and she knows most of the time I am correct. My prediction this round is pretty scary for her :P). Anyways, I promised I will give her a treat (not as if I have not treated her enough) if she gets at least a BBB, and the treat will rise in standard if the results turn out to be better. Hence, if she gets a BBB, at most what she will get is Fengshan blk 85 bak chor mee + or luah + sambal stingray + peanut tang yuan (hey like that at least $10 already) or chomp chomp food centre hokkien mee (less in value because must drive there). Well, if she ever gets AAA A1, then she got better results than me right, so should be the other way round what :P
Well, 3 years ago when I was waiting for my A-level results, I feel almost no apprehension at all because I was in BMT. Apparently I was more afraid of screwing up the assembly/disassembly test for that stupid M16S1 than the all important A-levels. So far nothing can be more demoralising than those 3 months; luckily I got a vocation posting that I enjoyed (eh, and in the end ended up training people to do things 100x more complicated than the stupid M16S1). I still remember, when I first stepped into the school that day, Mrs. Foo came and shook my hand and said 'you did very well'. Hmms, decent enough to give me what I have now, and that is good enough :)
