virtuoso verses of a vindicated virologist

first post of nov (for e lack of a better title)

2007-11-06T22:13:00.000+08:00

so i've again been neglecting this baby of mine for quite a while except for a quick login to change the header (hands up anyone who actually noticed it).

the evil empire has come to its senses and officially announced its decision today, which was just about time because i was beginning to feel bad for mike. see i was unofficially told abt my outcome last fri and silly me assumed/presumed that everyone got their decisions and went to call mike, only to find out that he had no news. then i told him that the decision wld be out on monday (but somehow it only came out this morning). but anyway the impt thing is that we both made it, and now it's operation get-mike-to-boston-so-we-can-share-an-m3 (sorry grace! :p)

so dat episode is finally settled and i can finally move on! so i went down to lido for the citigold private screening of lions for lambs (courtesy of auntie!). i haf to say the scene-skipping between three concurrently happening events (1. cruise's character being interviewed, 2. the two boys in afghanistan and 3. redford's talk with the privileged californian bum) pieces the whole show together very well although it's not the first time this method is being used. but the whole movie seems rather awkward and the message not well packaged. in any case the underlying message/propaganda is for americans to stand up and do something (against the current war on terror i assume). i personally believe in the more general message of proactivity over passivity! okie time to kooon, champions league again tmr morning.

a picture is worth a thousand words

2007-10-25T23:22:00.000+08:00

'nuff said

concrete angel

2007-10-20T10:10:00.000+08:00

kind of early to be feeling all emotional but this is the first time i'm hearing this song again (probably since my old comp crashed on me), a song that never fails to make my eyes water

Concrete Angel - Martina McBride

She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
Its hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

Music Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QDm03Foq2T0

the irony here is that I found this song again while looking for another Martina song for my friend: Valentine which is a song that cannot be more different than Concrete Angel. this is the charm of country music: its lyrics speak of life, both its goods and bads. enjoy the video and keep some kleenex handy

back from stockholm and some thoughts

2007-10-18T23:21:00.000+08:00

so i've been back from stockholm for about a week liao (din get to extend my stay coz of lack of air tickets and lab presentation on tues). it was a nice break though and a really beautiful place (photos soon when i figure out how to post them).
i've been kind of neglecting this site but i've been rather busy since i came back and i din really have much to talk abt (unless u wanna read abt all the expts i've been running)
now a recent (seemingly) hot topic has been the upcoming tabling of a Parliamentary Petition to the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore to repeal section 377A (Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years) by Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong.
now i have to admit i have no idea about the origins of this issue but on a personal note, i would vote for the repealment of the law if it did come down to a national vote. but to be honest, i am quite sure that the majority of the votes will be for the maintenance of the status quo. this society in general is just not quite ready for such a move yet. this brings me back to the online petition which i am highly skeptical about. the PM has already made his stand pretty clear on this issue and thinking that an online petition will change his position about it is well wishful thinking. i dunno wat to think of some of the people who sign these online petitions and are so proud abt it. if one really wants to support a cause, one should do more than sign such a thing (it's just too easy to do this nowadays). im not sure maybe it's just hip or cool to be associated with such things.
no offense but i can think of many other more worthwhile causes to back (global warming and AIDS in Africa comes to mind) if i can find time to. so i will just sit back and watch things develop over the next few weeks

off to stockholm for five days (hopefully more)

2007-10-06T17:47:00.000+08:00

decided to drop a quite post before i leave for the karolinska study trip (im packing and dressing as i type this!)
at the moment i'm on the waiting list for later flights that will allow me to extend my trip thru the weekend (keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!)
at the moment, i juz cannot wait to get out of this 30+ celsius heat and seek cooler pastures (changi airport first and then stockholm in abt 16 hours!).
on a side note, my bosox are up two-zip while the !@#$%^& yanks are down two-zip. lady luck muz have been shining on bosox fans today as both games were decided in rather peculiar circumstances. firstly the indians were killing my heart this morning (i woke up at 530am to watch the game on espn!) by stranding lead-off man after lead-off man after lead-off man, that was until heaven, or rather nature in the form of Chironomus plumosus (Linnaeus) or Chironomus attenuatus Walker or simply midges, decided to swarm Joba Chamberlain, take him out of his stride and caused him to wild-pitch the tying run in for the indians in the bottom of the 8th.
next, this 17-year-old kid called Danny Vinik (literally) lent a hand to the bosox by swiping manny's foul ball out of the glove of Jeff Mathis, clearing the way for the tying run to be scored!
anyway, gotta go now!

aching body after fun weekend

2007-10-01T21:39:00.000+08:00

aching achilles. check
bum back. check
bruised shin and knee. check
shiok feeling of playing footy. check
i juz played my first footy game in like five months at a street soccer court near my old house. it was worth every bit of ache and cramp i feel at e moment. plus the added poignancy of visiting my old neighborhood where i spent the first 14 years of my life. much has changed to the hougang ave 1 group of flats (the court for one is relatively new) since i moved about 10 years ago but it was nice to see my old malay barber shop still in existence. memories of me getting my hair cut and buying agar agar from the fruit shop came flooding back to my mind.
on a whole it was a very exciting (and busy) weekend. three great rugby matches on tv. not many things can make me not want to switch channels to watch my beloved united on tv but the wales fiji match was a real cliff-hanger. before i slept that nite, i only had one word in my mind to describe it: wow
and since i seem to be reviewing my weekend in reverse, i watched the nanny's diary on sat (wasn't too hard to choose watching a movie with a chio bu over one with two guys acting gay). i have to say it did strike a surprising chord with me, especially so in the singapore context. while we dun have many nannies and upper east siders here, we have many maids and double income families (a phenomenon that i'm partially blaming for the prevalence of spoilt brats among children these days - but this can be a whole separate article for another day). but i'm sure the scene of grayer running to annie instead of his mum would have struck the chord among many singaporean mums who have had the same experience with their children and maids.
the total handsoff approach to parenting by Mr and Mrs X is absolutely grating to me. it brings to mind the spca? ads about pets not being able to be shelved like books after one has lost interest in them. i hope this underlying message is a timely reminder to the parents of today that their child is living human being they need to interact with and not something you can throw money at and expect to grow up well.

off to sweden soon and some perspective

2007-09-28T20:54:00.000+08:00

just realized that i have not blogged for nearly a mth! i'm not sure myself where this month of september has gone but it has been a rather busy month so far. for one, work in the lab has picked up considerably this month, with experiments to both plan and perform (so no more blogging at work. oops!)
the rugby world cup started at the beginning of september and will run thru to the end of october. i have to say i fell in love with rugby back in my ri and rj days (and it is disheartening to see we have fallen on the way side in schools' rugby). despite four years of not watching a rugby game and three years of watching american football, i have to say that i will pick rugby over nfl anytime. my reasons can fill up an entire column but the main reason is this: rugby is a sport played by 15 fit men who can both defend and attack while nfl is a game played by men who can only either defend or attack, with half of whom being unfit and obese men.
so the midweek wee hour telecast of rugby and champions league football matches have been forcing me to keep early nites. on weekends, i have been helping tutor my cousins for their psle and 'o' level exams in the coming mths.
oh. and there's the gis bowling competition that's happening tomorrow for which my team has been practising quite frequently for.
all these add up to a rather busy but enjoyable month of september. now for a preview of october:
1) more rugby world cup, champions league and epl = maximizing my starhub subscription
2) more experiments from a potential extra project (to make it a total of three projects i will be involved in)
3) trip to karolinska institutet for a holiday cum study trip!
4) the !@#$%^&* interview that will determine the next five years of my life
having always been in the 'top tier' of the education stratification all my life, i have always had nothing but good feelings and postitive things to say about the streaming and stratification system in singapore (let everyone progress at their own pace etc.). but the last two events on my oct checklist has given me some food for thought about this. missing the 'grade' by 0.0022 has dropped me into the lower tier of the stratification system that has required me to attend event 4. i never thot this will be such a big deal, at least not until i have gone thru event 4. but signing up for event 3 led to a caution that permission to go on event 3 did NOT constitute an offer. DUH! now i feel that i have been classified even before official confirmation which brings back thoughts i had a month ago about feeling appreciated that can be summed up in one line:
an email to my professors led to multiple replies offering help and support vs. missing by 0.0022 and being condemned to a lower strata
i rest my case. but i have to say the recent events in burma (myanmar) has provided some needed perspective (before i get all angsty again). my problem here seems small compared to the fight the burmese have out of oppression and for a freer way of life. 10 people (more according to some media reports) have been killed during the suppression of the revolt and this has really struck me. maybe it's because its happening in a place closer to home (instead of iraq or congo or other genocide hotspots). or perhaps it's because i'm already numb to the reports of deaths (especially in iraq) such that all i do when i see the headline is raise my eyebrow and flip the page.
time to catch and stop myself. england and tonga face off for a place in the knock-out stages in the rugby world cup at 3am and bowling starts at 10am.

顺其自然

2007-09-04T22:18:00.000+08:00

now i've nv been a believer in these four words but i've given them more thought recently than ever before. i have always been a believer in 'how a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is'. rather than leaving it to fate or 随缘, i would rather push forth and take the chance that comes by. regardless whether success comes along, the lessons learnt and experience gained beats pondering the 'what ifs' after the opportunity has passed. i've always applied this school of thought in all aspects of my life: school, work, play, relationships etc. better to try something and fail than not try it at all. after all we fall to learn how to better pick ourselves up.
but recent events have blurred the margins between these two seemingly opposing trains of thought. while the lessons learnt seem to point me towards full withdrawal from the open market for practical reasons, further thought has brought me to the title of this post for this aspect of my life.
i still stand by being proactive over being passive, and will advise others to do just that. but circumstance creates specific situations that can alter one's stand. i am just learning that now..

highs and lows

2007-08-29T23:51:00.000+08:00

now i just realized i've not posted anything for like a week.
i haf to say it's been a rather strange and busy week. some highs and many lows.

hairspray whose soundtrack i'm grooving to right now as i type. i have to say i'm very impressed by this movie version in spite of the expectation I had of it from the positive reviews in the papers. i nv even thot about watching the broadway version in nyc because e reviews werent great. but now it's the second musical i wanna watch when (if?? more on this later) i get back (after lion king). the movie was like one happy song from start to end and throwing in a bit of reality/history about racial segregation in the 60s in Baltimore was a nice touch. john travolta was a bit stiff and unconvincing in his role as Edna but Nikki Blonsky has to be one of the finds of the year.

i was glad to have watched hairspray on friday because i was really quite pissed/exasperated/!@#$%^&* on fri. as always the antagonist is the dear organization i signed the next ten years of my life to. to cut the long story short, let's just say the national science agency cannot do/see a simple math problem any average school kid in singapore can solve: express 3.7978 to two decimal places.

so it's been five days and there mite be a possible solution in the near future. but that does not put me in any better mood than on friday. sometimes i feel that they should start REALLY caring for our well-being rather than putting us such unnecessary emotional agony.

time to sleep

lasik 101

2007-08-22T09:44:00.000+08:00

as some of you alrdy know, i had lasik done on my eyes on monday afternoon and i'm happy to report that things look good (and clear) at the moment.
there were two main reasons i decided to go ahead with the lasik procedure:
(1) i did not want to wear rigid gas permeable contact lenses all my life because they do have a molding effect on the cornea of which the long term effects are not known
(2) working on a microscope and playing football with spectacles are a pain
so yea here's a rundown of the lasik procedure which i have to say is pain-free but a wee bit uncomfortable at times:
step 1 is the evaluation session that takes a few hours and determines whether you are suitable for lasik and which procedure is suitable for you. so the clinic will run you through a series of tests, most of which are done by any eye doctor (if you have seen an eye doctor before) or even your optician. one of the tests includes the dilation of your pupil to ascertain the refraction of your eye at its natural (relaxed) state. there is no pain but there will be some temporary blurriness and sensitivity to bright light. at the end of the evaluation the doctor will recommend the appropriate surgery technique to take.
now on to the surgery itself. anaesthetic eyedrops are applied to numb your eyes. next the doctor will use sticky tape to tape ur eyebrows back before placing a speculum between ur eyelids. this device keeps ur eyes open and prevents blinking but the process of putting it in causes some discomfort. next a suction ring is positioned on your eye to steady the eyeball. pressure will be applied through the ring and it gives a sensation similar to the pressure you feel in your arm when ur blood pressure is taken. so u will feel like ur eyeball is being lightly squeezed. once this is done, the flap will be created (mechanically using a microkeratome in my case). this step has no pain involved but is rather interesting from the patient's point of view, which is akin to being at the bottom of a well with a transparent hemispherical cover. when the flap is lifted, it looks like the cover has been opened and flipped open (i dun think im doing justice to this with my tepid description). so after the flap is flipped opened, the laser treatment will begin and it feels and sounds like you are being shot at by a machine gun as the laser goes about re-shaping your cornea. the flap is then replaced and smoothened over by a sponge gauze before the instruments are removed from your eye.
post surgery, one should rest (i.e. sleep) as much as possible to allow your eye to recover. the steroid eyedrops must be applied as prescribed to stave off bacterial infection (one big cause of failure) and the eyes should be kept moist as much as possible to promote recovery.

epl review

2007-08-20T10:52:00.000+08:00

after another nite spent in front of tv watching the 'big four' in action..here's my view on how the teams are at the moment:
Man United NEEDS a damn striker..this is probably obvious for all to see except that stubborn scot who makes the decisions..or mebbe he's having a change of heart because anelka is back in the news as a possible 'target'..we shall see wat happens on dat front..but watching torres score such a brilliant goal abt an hour after grimacing through the missed chances of the derby was extremely harsh on my heart..
in any case..while it was excruciating watching poor tevez being manhandled by dunne and richards..this game exposed two reasons why he cannot play as the furthest upfront striker: (1) he is not physical enough to hold up the ball and (2) he does not have the proacher's instinct to finish in the six-yard box
while we can rue our bad luck and blah blah..it is obvious that the title defence has ended before it has even begun (five points is too much to spot the other three teams, especially after only three games)
Chelsea always seems to get a result even when they are playing like crap..i'm sure rob styles is gonna be at the top of moanrinho's xmas card list because they were totally outplayed by pool last nite..but i have to say malouda looks damn good (at both playing and diving)..their ability to grind out points means they will be right in the thick of things at e end of the season..
Liverpool was by far the most impressive of the big four last nite..totally outplaying the Blues last nite and being robbed of a victory by the farcical mr styles..torres' goal was brilliantly taken (at around the same spot where nani blasted straight into kasper schmeichel for that matter)..and they showed all match that they were up for the challenge of bring the premiership back to anfield..sadly the match fizzled out after the penalty but Pool looks totally capable of breaking into the top 2 this year..
I have to admit I only caught bits of Arsenal's game because of the absurd overlap in tv times (so much for maximizing tv coverage..the british still has lots to learn from the yanks in this aspect)..in any case they certainly played tougher/harder/rougher than they did last year in a quite obvious attempt to shed the softie tag placed on them last year..but its taken them away from the smooth playing style that has served them well over the past couple of seasons..they wld haf gotten the W if not for lehman's second howler in three games but they certainly look up for the challenge..i've never doubted that one can win titles with kids..

the demise of ah hock hokkien mee

2007-08-16T10:37:00.000+08:00

let's start with a moment of silence to mourn the loss of another great hawker stall

i went to chomp chomp yesterday for the first time since i got back..and was surprised to see (1) a young man instead of the usual grumpy old man at the hokkien mee stall and (2) zero queue time (compared to the usual hour waiting time)..
to no surprise..i found that the quality of the noodles had dropped considerably when the plate of noodles arrived..
well..there are other great dishes to savor at chomp chomp but i have to say it is very disappointing indeed..
admittedly..the occupation of a hawker is unglamorous and time-consuming..which explains the shunning of many young people from taking over their parent's stall..in some cases..it seems it is the parents who do not want their children to lead the same long tiring lives they have 'suffered'..but i have to say it is a real pity that we are starting to lose the many local delights that distinguish singapore from other asian countries..

since im on the topic of food..i figured that i will take this chance to publish a list of my favorite hawker food stalls in singapore..
in no particular order (since i cannot choose any one over the others) except the order they roll out of my brain:
1) nam sing hokkien mee (old airport road market)
2) zhong zhong fine spice ngoh hiang etc. (macpherson road near the old jackson kopithiam)
3) geylang lorong 9 beef kway teow (go for the smaller dishes: the 10 dollar plate is smaller than two 5 dollar plates)
4) geylang lorong 9 frog porridge (chilli lovers should go for the gong bao version!)
5) bak chor mee (fengshan blk 85 bedok)

knowing me, knowing you

2007-08-12T22:57:00.000+08:00

don't feel in the mood to write much today..
but my current mood can be summed up by ABBA's song knowing me, knowing you..
i've copied a stanza of it as follows:

Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye

Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
We just have to face it, this time we're through
Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go
Knowing me, knowing you
It's the best I can do

it's kind of ironic that the group i turn to to lift my spirits when i'm down actually has a song that fits my current sad mood to a T..sighhhh

with the first step out of the way..

2007-08-11T11:29:00.000+08:00

actual blogging shall commence..
this weekend promises to be an exciting one for several reasons:
1) sg has been forecast experience tremors this evening at around 1800 hours with the return of the big one (aka charlie)..citizens are advised to remain calm..
2) the epl is finally gonna get underway after the rather boring (but positive :D ) appetizer called the community shield last weekend..
3) bowling this sunday when i have to (by hook or by crook) remember how to bowl (properly) again..
while i had in the past looked forward to a laid back weekend or two..im glad this weekend looks rather packed because it will take my mind off other matters..
more of that later but to quote nick lay-chey and his 98 degrees: "it's the hardest thing i've ever have to do"

first post

2007-08-10T16:56:00.000+08:00

lemme start dis blog by writing about the inspiration of its title: a couple of lines from V for Vendetta

V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

[carves V into poster on wall]

V: The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous

it's not hard to see that i've failed to hit the heights of linguistic excellence achieved by V (or rather his writer).. but i will keep trying though as this is after all my first post..