Started.
So things have really started.Have been pretty busy... Take today for example. Woke up at 6:30 for breakfast, then started doing some work (and went online for ~1hr) before heading out to get some letter from the advising office. Then I had classes from 10 - 12, followed by some financial officer training, then went to lab to get some work done. Came back at 4:30 for another class which ended at 6.
Didn't rest at all since I woke up basically - later I'm going to take a nap :P
Tomorrow will be almost the same. 2 meetings in the morning: my lab meeting in the medical school and an appointment with a professor in Homewood, followed by classes and then admin. Will have first-aid classes at night as well - haha Nicholas will be there too.
Thank goodness I have a car now!
Anyway, I am really happy because my IHC staining finally worked! After trying for 1.5 months I finally got the right conditions. Haha finally I can do some meaningful stuff now! Yayy! I have not interpreted the results because I have to rush back today but I am pretty sure I will have some nice entries in my lab book tomorrow :) :)
Came across this Jurong West Monkey God thing on tomorrow.sg:
The Story of Monkey God Tree in Jurong West Street 42
Haha this kind of Monkey God Tree saga is not unique to Singapore. I believe it is more likely a general Chinese cultural phenomenon. If you have been to Taiwan you will realise that they can make the Queen's head out of a rock, beancurd out of some seaside cliffs, and a Red Indian's head from a boulder along a river. Their imagination is simply amazing.
I do not remember anything like that from my trips in Europe at all. The Europeans nowadays seem more concerned about a place's natural beauty and its historical heritage than anything resembling Saint George slaying the Dragon (hmms maybe that is a just bit too hard). Though throughout history they do have these superstitious practices - in the Medieval period people will buy any piece of wood the vendor claimed to be a chip from the Cross.
Though it is quite hard to tell from a tourist's standpoint how superstitious the Europeans are these days, simply because I don't know them well enough. Anyway, this is an interesting comparison.
Oh well. Professor Principe's class on the scientific revolution is fantastic. That means I will have more places to visit and re-visit during future Eurotrips - kind of have decided to either go home or not travel at all during Christmas to save funds for summer :P
