Give It Up

Priority Seats: Give up your seats for those who need it more than you do.

I abide by this rule because I truly think these people deserves the seat more than I do. Being an able young man, standing for a few stations isn't going to kill me. But I have had a few bad experiences which caused me to think otherwise.

1. As usual, I will sleep on the morning train ride to work. Periodically, I will wake up and see if there are people who needs the seat more than I do. So one morning, I saw this elderly man standing in front of me. I signaled to him that he can have my seat. But he turned to me with a hostile face and said he has stood long enough and don't want the seat. People around the elderly man were looking at me in a weird manner. Imagine my embarrassment despite my kind act to offer him the seat.

2. This morning, I gave up my seat for a pregnant lady who didn't even bother to smile or say a simple "Thank you". This is not the first time I experienced this. Not that I am hard up for that, but I feel that Singaporeans need to be more gracious in manners.

A friend told me to 'give and not to expect return'. Can you work for a company for free? Will you donate all you have to a poor person? Will you give up one of your kidneys to a complete stranger? Will you give one of your eyes to a blind man?

Congratulations!

Congratulations to myself! I have been awarded my company's scholarship to pursue my degree at University of Melbourne. Therefore, I will be leaving on February 2009 to Melbourne. Before that, I will be bringing my mum and my sis to Tokyo and Hokkaido, Japan in January. I am excited about these two trips. 

For my studies, I will be going straight into 3rd year of my course. If my results are good, I am hoping that the university will offer me another

 year of Honours study. Hopefully my brain c

an still function properly to secure myself good grades. Heard from Hwee Teng that Melbourne has got very nice (and unpredictable) weather. 

Started playing with a DSLR recently and am addicted to it! Hahaha~ Here are some of the pictures I took with a Canon 400D with EFS 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM lens.

寂寞考－盧廣仲

寂寞考
詞曲 盧廣仲

結束十頁的筆記 記不住那一種感覺
桌上煩人的考題 怎麼算也都是無解
誰了解我 救的了我
空氣裡有個聲音 偷偷說
你沒有用

你關心我的最近 說你也有同樣心情
面對這類的問題 我們總是沒有力氣
鐘聲響起 怎麼繼續
我跳不出相同邏輯
不斷追著我 一整個學期

沒有意外 一直重來
也許簡單還是一樣的難
說過的那些話 還是不明白
在諜對諜之間徘徊
沒有意外 又要重來
只好在圖書館找回一點浪漫
幽默的安慰著我然後笑著說
可能是
寂寞它考倒了我

這是意外 我好想重來
只好在圖書館找回一點浪漫
幽默的安慰著我然後笑著說
就讓我
寂寞考寂寞的過 寂寞的過
寂寞它考倒了我

結束十頁的筆記 寂寞還在我身邊

Updates

Many things have happened since my last update.

1. Went for a Hong Kong trip with Linda, Christelle and Soo Tin in July.
2. Went for a conference in Arizona and toured San Francisco with Christelle in August.
3. Went for program retreat at Yishun SAFRA and had a good time having fun with my colleagues.
4. Crashed an NTU lecture on Cancer.
5. Ordered my laptop.
6. Ordered an iPod Touch 2G.
7. Fell during rollerblading and got myself an entire week of MC.
8. Awarded DSO Undergraduate Scholarship to go study in University of Melbourne for a Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) in February 2009.
9. Got hooked onto Iron Maiden's album .
10. Still learning how to play "Memory" and "Canon in D" on the piano.

Post Hong Kong Trip

Again, it's been some time since I last updated my blog. I've come back from my leisure Hong Kong trip (5-10 July). This trip was joined by Linda, Soo Tin and Christelle. Yes, some of you are going to say I'm a lucky guy. Indeed, I am lucky to have 3 good pals for this trip to share the fun and joy of the dynamic and enjoyable Hong Kong.

This trip is not all about sunshine. Literally, not all about sunshine. Out of the 6 days we were there, we only saw sunshine on the first and last day. The rest of the days were rain, rain and heavier rain. Linda and I broke one umbrella each. We have never used our umbrellas so frequently in our lives. Nonetheless, we had lots of fun, great pictures and good food to sum up this entire trip.

Singaporeans...

Singaporeans...

1. Like to queue for anything new in Singapore
2. Treasure seats (either in MRT/LRT trains, buses or public places) more than anything on earth
3. Especially those in their 40s, expect you to give up your seats for them
4. Like anything free
5. Like to create a lot of noise, be it blasting their 'Yo Yo' music from their mobile phones or raving their custom-modified scooters/cars
6. Do 'Flag Days' for the sake of clocking their community involvement project and not knowing which organisations they're helping
7. Like to have supper
8. Like to criticise, but still accept it anyway (be it products, services or anything in Singapore)
9. Reserve seats by placing their tissue packets on the seats or tables
10. Love Gucci, Coach and Louise Vuitton the most
11. Can only accept, cannot oppose because you will ruin your achievements in 5 years
12. Can think, cannot say
13. Like to change their mobile phones every 1-2 years

Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008

Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008. I was there to help out promote the Wii Guitar Hero as well as demonstrate how the game is played. Saturday was more packed with people, in my own opinion. I was touring around and most of the time, I was caught in a human traffic jam. Sunday was slightly better, less packed but more obstacles to overcome. More families came on Sunday and most of them brought kids and baby prams which proved to be quite a hindrance to a lot of people.

In the midst of taking a break, I toured around and took lots of pictures. So here they are:

Darth Vader and his subordinate having fun playing Lego Star Wars

Even Allen Walker from D.Grayman could not resist having a go at Guitar Hero

Rocker girls!

??? WHY ???

Why can't I come home after work to a peaceful, quiet house?
Why can't I enjoy my game playing at home?
Why can't I go for my studies without worrying about money?
Why can't I earn as much as those who did less work than me?
Why can't I be promoted despite 2 years in the company?
Why can't I sleep peacefully at night?
Why can't I get Silver for IPPT anymore?
Why can't I get myself a girlfriend?

US TRIP CONFIRMED!!!

Yes! My US trip has been confirmed! Now I am trying to get the itinerary from Safe2Travel to fly to San Francisco, then transit to Arizona to attend the conference. I will be staying at Carefree Resort which seems like a pretty expensive place to stay. Hope to have a great time there leisurely and also enrich myself with the conference talks.

I will be going for this conference with Christelle. Yes, we're going on a trip again. But this time, it is an official trip. Again, to clarify, there's nothing between the two of us. I treat her like a sister, nothing beyond that.

It's been 15 years since I lasted visited US. Time to refresh myself with this place again. Main thing for this trip is getting back to nature and also shopping. Since Arizona is like a desert area, nature exploring should be just out of the door. High chance we should be renting a car since public transport ain't very developed there (I think...) We should be going to visit the Grand Canyon, riding horses and traveling on hot air balloon. This is the tentative itinerary for Arizona now.

Initially, we were planning to go to Los Angeles instead of San Francisco. But after browsing through some LA travel guides, it seems the place is putting me off. Throughout the travel guide, there are pictures of muscular women, hunky over-pumped hunks. Both of us were intimidating to us. Hahaha~ After comparing San Francisco and LA, we agreed that San Francisco might not be so daunting after all. So, San Francisco it will be. As for San Francisco, main itinerary will be shopping, seafood and beaches. I know San Francisco has only a few small beaches, but it's part of the American lifestyle. Heard that the Baker Beach and Ocean Beach are something of a nude beach, so I guess it will be nice to take some pictures back. Hehehe~ Stay tuned!

Updates - May 2008

Been some time since I got time to sit in front of my computer to blog. I always have plenty of stuff going in my mind, just that my fingers are not fast enough to type them down. Also, the availability of a computer or laptop is a problem. My mind simply thinks too fast with too many things.

Work has gotten busy. For 2 straight Fridays, I have worked till 7pm, which is a very late timing for me. Friday is meant to leave at 4.30pm for sports hour, which I haven't been able to go due to my hectic schedule. One thing that can keep me going is the possibility of an overseas conference. Christelle has sourced for quite a number of conferences which she is interested in attending. I am mostly fine with the conferences she found, but some places are simply too isolated from the world for us to go. Take for instance, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The "Travel Information" section states this:

From New York City (NYC): The Long Island Rail Road runs between Penn Station in Manhattan and points east on Long Island. To get to CSHL from Penn Station or Jamaica, take the train to Syosset station on the Huntington/Port Jefferson Line. Taxis usually meet arriving trains at Syosset station. Taxis are NOT normally available at Cold Spring Harbor station. Syosset Taxi (516 921-2141)
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Links

From NYC Airports: [Note: We do not recommend Newark (in New Jersey) because of the long travel time to and from the Laboratory]. JFK and LaGuardia are located 45-90 min travel time depending on Long Island traffic (which can be bad!). Islip Airport is located on Long Island approximately 40-60 min away.

The JFK Airtrain runs between JFK airport and Jamaica in Queens/NYC, and connects with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to Syosset (Port Jefferson line).

Car Services from JFK and LaGuardia:
Syosset Limousine Service (SLS): (516) 364-9681; Syossetlimo@aol.com (servicing CSHL since 1989)
*Three day advance reservation required.*
SLS operates non-stop hourly shuttle service from JFK & LGA on the first day of larger CSHL meetings as well as shared rides to the airport on the last day of the meeting.
$90.00 for 1 person / $45.00 pp for 2 / $40.00 pp for 3 or more [Gratuities included]
SLS also provides transportation to and from Islip Airport, Manhattan and the tri-state area.

How the hell are we going to get there anyway? So, will source for other conferences to attend, which gives me the opportunity to travel to either Europe or USA. Hehehe~ Shopping time, I guess...

GD gave his birthday treat at a steamboat buffet restaurant opposite The Concourse. Finally, we managed to get QY to attend this diner after she missed Elaine and my birthday diner. So you can guess our delight at her presence. Here's the collection of photos we took at the restaurant:

Another update is my trip to Hong Kong. I've booked the package with Zuji, so awaiting their confirmation. Should be from 5 - 10 July 2008. Going with Christelle and Soo Tin. Both of them are my colleagues and NOT my girlfriend!!! I must emphasize!!! They're just good colleagues of mine who want to join me in the summer sale. We'll be staying in a 3-room suite, so there will be NO room sharing, just in case any of you out there are reading this and thinking of all the wrong images! But I'm pretty glad they're going because it will be lots of fun shopping and eating. Hopefully I can buy what I want within my budget.

Another agenda for me to go for this Hong Kong trip is to visit my Grand-uncle and Grand-auntie. I promised them I will be visiting them this year, so I have to fulfill my promise.

Who's Afraid Of The Grim Reaper

Read an article in Reader's Digest titled "Who's Afraid Of The Grim Reaper". Here it is, copyright of Reader's Digest, May 2008:

Call it counterintuitive, but a new study published in Psychological Science has found that thoughts of death can make people happier, not sadder. In a series of experiments involving 432 volunteers, people asked to think about their death were much more likely to choose uplifting words like "joy" in word tests than those asked to think about (other) unpleasant events, such as a trip to the dentist.

Researchers say we have a kind of "psychological immune response" to death, making us more emotionally resilient than we think possible.

Study co-author Dr Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky says that one response to the threatening idea of death is the non-conscious search for emotionally pleasant information.

"Clutching at happy thoughts may prevent the conscious mind from being paralysed by terror," he says.

Seems that I'm a happy person. I have always been fascinated by death, not because of the termination of life. I realized that death is like rewinding your life back to where it started for people around you. When you die, people start thinking of all those things you have done for them, all those moments you have spent with them, all those presents and gifts you gave and all those unforgettable experiences you had together. I have written about my fascination for death in my previous blog. Will post it here again since this is going to be my permanent one (I hope...).

Many a times friends will ask me,"How come you're so fascinated by Death? Ain't you afraid to die?" I seldom reply them, just giving them a smile to quit the topic. But now I will pen down why I am fascinated by Death and whether I am afraid to die.

Death to me is even more meaningful than Life. You will ask me,"Why? Death is the end of the road. So why is it more meaningful?" Imagine this: You're sitting for your final paper for your graduation exam. Your palms are sweating and you're intensely nervous. You're frantically trying to recollect whatever you had studied earlier. Throughout the paper, your concentration is the peak and your focus is at the maximum. At the end of the paper, what is the first thing you will do? Most of you will want to go enjoy yourself immediately to celebrate. And while partying for the next few weeks or months, you await your results anxiously. The big day came and you get to see your results. Distinction. You get a First Class Honours. Happy?

The real dissection begins here. See? A simple example of why Death is more meaningful than Life. Still don't get it? Ok, I mince it up a little more detailed. Death is the result of your Life. While you are living your Life, you are seldom aware of what's going on. People don't remember the good things you did for them. People don't remember when you've learnt them your notes when they've missed the lessons. People don't remember when you call them to wish them speedy recovery from an accident. People don't remember you lending them a shoulder to cry on when they're down. But they will remember it all when your Death arrives. At your funeral, these people will remember the last diner you had with them. They will remember how you tease them during your primary school days. They will remember how you gave them words of comfort when their parents passed away. They will remember the exact amount you lend them when they're so broke to barely afford a proper meal. This is the power of Death.

Using Life to talk about life is all too familiar, stagnant and typical. We're too comfortable with Life that it's become too 'normal' to us. No impact. No dynamism. Using Death to talk about life is all the more meaningful. Because you get results at the end, not the beginning. The impact of Death on life is there. BANG! You get the picture. Most of us are only concerned about the results. We don't bother about how to get the results. Hailing a cab, I just want to get to my destination in the shortest time. Do you even care how the cab driver drives to your destination? (You're smiling now because you know it's true...) Does a mother care about the difficulties she has to go through to bear a child? No. She only wants to see the child being born into this world safe and sound.

Death is a summary of how you live your life. It is the portal for you to see how you have influenced the lives of other people. It is also the portal for you to see who is truly grateful to you for the smallest things that you have done for them. While you're alive, you never really know how grateful these people are to you because we take 'live' people around us for granted. We don't treasure their presence when they are around. But we cry so hard til we vomit when these people depart from the face of Earth. I have seen Death too many times to come to know all these. I'm not saying I'm very experienced or whatsoever. I just want to make my point here that ironically, it's only through Death that we see kinship, true friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood, gratitude, forgiveness, apologies, remorsefulness, regret, self-blaming and many more emotions. Does Life bring all these emotions out instantaneously? Not that impactful as Death.

So here, I have once and for all explained why I am so fascinated by Death. The vast array of emotions, feelings and lost that comes with Death is so powerful that it can cover years after years of living in a matter of seconds. I just hope that we can take Death as a lesson to learn what is important to us in our lives and to make sure we have a 'good' result at the beginning of the end. And one last thing: I ain't afraid to die when I am done with my life.

"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." Leonardo da Vinci

Sick and Tired...

I don't know why. I'm starting to dislike staying home. It is becoming like a hotel to me. A place to sleep in, have meals, use the computer.

No, perhaps even worse than a hotel. In a hotel, at least you can have peace and quiet. Here, it is pretty difficult to achieve all that you desire.

The little kid in my house is already such a poor thing. At a age of just 2, her brother poked her ear with a stick and caused her ear drum to be slightly damaged. According to the doctor, her hearing is slightly affected, but not totally deaf. Such a young girl have to live with this for the rest of her life.

Nowadays, she don't sleep too early. Don't know why. Whenever she don't sleep early, she'll be subjected to scolding from my mum. Just 10 minutes ago, she was in my mum's room and was being yelled at by my dad who's scolding her for not sleeping and crying. How can you blame a kid who's alone in the room with no lights for being afraid? Like always, he's irregularly on this crazy, psychotic mode. Sometimes, I really cannot stand his actions.

I don't know how I can stay in this house forever. Tell me how I can break free...

About Me...

W H O . W A S . T H E . L A S T . P E R S O N . T H A T . . .
1. You hung out with?: Sathia, Vijay, Tommy, Charles and Ben (Ex-SMM mates)
2. Saw you cry?: Can't remember this one...
3. Went to the movies with you?: Cynthia
4. You went to the mall with?: Choon Leng
5. You went to dinner with?: Sathia, Vijay, Tommy, Charles and Ben (Ex-SMM mates)
6. You talked on the phone to?: Christelle
7. Said ‘I love you’ to you and really meant it?: Hmmm...
8. Made you laugh?: Christelle

W O U L D . Y O U . R A T H E R . . .
1. Pierce your nose or tongue? I love my body
2. Be serious or be funny? Funny
3. Drink whole or skim milk? Skim milk please...
4. Die in a fire or drown? Do I look like I want to die?
5. Spend time with your parents or enemies? Parents

D O . Y O U . P R E F E R . . .
1. Flowers or candy? Flowers
2. Gray or black? Black
3. Color or Black and white photos? Color
4. Lust or love? Lust
5. Sunrise or sunset? Sunset
6. M&Ms or Skittles? M&Ms
8. Staying up late or waking up early? Stay up late

A N S W E R . T R U T H F U L L Y !!
1. Do you like anyone?: Yes
2. Do they know it?: I think so...

D O . Y O U . P R E F E R . . .
1. Sun or moon? Mo
2. Winter or Fall? Winter
3. Left or right?: Right
4. 10 acquaintances or having two best friends?: 2 best friends
5. Sunny or rainy?: Sunny
6. Vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream?: Chocolate

A B O U T . Y O U
1. What time is it?: 2:33pm
2. Nickname(s): Vin, Ah Boon
3. What is your birth date?: 28th Jan 1982
4. What do you want?: To be rich
5. Where do you want to live? Somewhere quiet and comfortable
6. How many kids do you want?: Depends
7. You want to get married?: Hopefully I am rich enough to do so...

U N I Q U E
1. Nervous habit: Fast heartbeat
2. Are you double jointed?: What the hell is that?!?!?!
3. Can you roll your tongue?: Yes
4. Can you raise one eyebrow?: Yes
5. Can you cross your eyes?: Yes
6. Do you make your bed daily?: Yes

R A N D O M
1. Which shoe goes on first? Left
2. Ever thrown a shoe at someone? No
3. What is your craziest experience ever? Bungee jumping over a algae-filled pond from 50 metres

F O O D
1. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl
2. Have you ever eaten spam? Yes
3. Favorite ice cream: Cookies and cream
4. How many kinds of cereal are in your cabinet?: One
5. What’s your favorite beverage?: Anything chocolatey
6. Do you cook?: Yes

IN . T H E . L A S T . M O N T H . H A V E . Y O U . . .
1. Bought something?: A lot of things
2. Sang?: Randomly, yes. Going to KTV, no.
3. Been hugged?: No
4. Felt stupid?: All the time...
5. Missed someone?: Yes
6. Danced crazy?: No
7. Gotten your hair cut?: No
8. Cried?: No
9. Lied?: Yes

Camp Barrack, Dempsey Road

Went Dempsey Road with Soo Tin, Lim Hui, Willy and his lawyer friend whom he want to introduce to another of his friend and Linda and her friends. Arranged to go to Camp Barrack to chill out.

Pangkor Island, Malaysia

Ok, I haven't been updating this regularly enough. Guess too many things have happened within too short a period of time. Just some major updates. Went to Pangkor Island with my BMT buddy, CJ during the Good Friday long weekend. Also took the time-off during the trip to think about my future. Will update that later in this post. Right now, enjoy the pictures (which I painstakingly collage and I know I ain't very good with PhotoShop):




The bus trip from Singapore to Lumut is about 8 hours. The boat ride is about 30 minutes from Lumut to Pangkor Island. Pangkor town is really very laid back and simple, a little like those 1980s Singapore. However, not all the stuff there are as cheap as you might think. Some of the items are almost Singapore prices. But the food is an exception. The quality and quantity of the food we ordered are not something you can find in Singapore. For slightly less than S$20, we got a plate of fried noodles, roast chicken rice, half a Hainanese kampung chicken and drinks. The soup that comes with the chicken rice is heavenly! There're herbs inside and the taste is just pure goodness! The breakfasts and diners provided by the resort are pretty decent.

Pangkor Island is pretty much a slow place. The sand by the beach is so fine that it just seeps through your hands. The scenery is beautiful with the horizon welcoming you every morning and evening. The sun, sand, sea and beach are all in sync to provide you a warm, comfortable and relaxing stay for the weekend.

Took the trip to really think about whether I want to apply for my company's scholarship. Finally decided that 4 years ain't too long a time with my company if I do decide to switch career later in life. 4 years are just nice for me to complete at least 2 projects to add to my profile. Also, I hope to establish the Biacore instrument which I am put in charge right now into a facility so that its vast potential can be realised. Seriously, I am beginning to get the hang of this instrument and I am being tasked to present this instrument during the Researchers' Forum held by my division. Yes, it is an honour to present in front of the Director and senior researchers. According to my Lab Head, I will be the first non-MTS personnel to present in the forum.

Hence, I would really like to let the rest of the division know about this instrument so that I can also take the opportunity to learn more. Hopefully I can be invited to do a Honours project during my university days and most importantly, utilize the Biacore instrument for my project. This is my wish. =)