:: sunrays and saturdays ::

Moved

2009-08-19T23:09:00.000-04:00

aerynjayde.wordpress.com

deep-sea reefs!

2008-12-19T10:45:00.008-05:00

think sea, hundreds of meters down, and coral reefs.

everyone's heard about coral reefs. tropical islands, colourful fish, and snorkelling - these are usually the first images that pop into the mind at the mention of this two words. unfamiliar to most people, there indeed exists reef habitats beyond the depths which divers are allowed to explore. there, light is either scarce or absent, and strange-looking creatures abound.

Blob Sculpin (Cottidae or Psychrolutidae), Davidson Seamount, Pacific Ocean.
Credit: NOAA and MBARI

deep-sea coral reefs were only discovered by scientists in the 19th century (presumably when technology allowed for sonar/unmanned underwater vehicles?)! they can be found in high densities in regions like alaska, norway and colombia and are estimated to be able to live for hundreds or thousands of years. three large ones were recently identified off the coast of florida with the help of high frequency sonar (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081215-deep-sea-reefs-missions.html)

Intact Lophelia pertusa reef or mound with a redfish (Sebastes sp.) peering out
Credit: Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Peches et Oceans Canada

to thrive in deep and cold waters, deep-sea corals filter-feed, meaning they pump water through their bodies to extract whatever plankton or organic material is present. by constantly laying down calcium carbonate with their skeletons, these marine animals contribute to the growth of the reef structures and provide refuge for many other organisms. it is believed that deep-sea coral communities, just like their shallow water relatives, support oceanic biodiversity (and sustainability of fisheries). scientists also propose these habitats to be potential goldmines for pharmaceutical and chemical compounds that could be used in the treatment of illness like cancer and high blood pressure.

Trawl Marks on Lophelia reef, Norway Photo
Credit: Jan Helge Fossaa, IMR

sadly, the reach of human activities has unmistakably extended into the deep-sea territory. it is ironic how deep-sea species, in the process of discovery, are damaged at the same time. oil/gas prospecting, deep-sea mining and (highly destructive) bottom-trawling are the main threats which currently plague deep-sea reefs (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0219_040219_seacorals.html)

large-scale mapping projects, like the one conducted by the waitt institute for discovery can help elevate the situation by identifying deep-sea reefs and proposing areas to be protected under the law. by doing so, oil prospectors and bottom trawling activities will hopefully be guided away from further trashing of these intriguing habitats.

movement ecology

2008-12-07T22:20:00.002-05:00

have you heard of movement ecology?

the greek philosopher aristotle apparently pioneered this field when he attempted to uncover the common characteristics of animal movements. more than 2000 years on, the study of movement ecology continues to generate theories on how animals move, as well as explain their evolution and extinction patterns. i don't know about you, but i find it fascinating how animals like sea turtles and whales manage to navigate through thousands of miles back to their birth place every breeding season.

a recent article in national geographic news elaborates on how scientists hope to use movement ecology theories to predict how animals might respond to small and large scale climate changes, and prevent the spread of pests and diseases.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081204-movement-ecology.html

subic bay 4th-7th December

2008-12-03T10:32:00.004-05:00

subic bay (yellow cross). beach. dive. rest.

ST Life, 18th August 2008: Once the biggest United States military base in Asia, Subic Bay in Zambales province on the west coast of Luzon island is now an economic zone cradled by rich greenery and coastal wonders.

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those are the only words that fill my head right now! my family and i will be on a flight to the philippines tomorrow for a very short getaway. the last holiday we had as a family of four was to canada in 2002, after my o levels. though we'll only be spending effectively three days in subic bay, i'm more than thankful for a real break from the madness of honours project/school. over the past few months, from june onwards, the definition of the term "busy" has re-defined itself in my dictionary. i have never been so physically and mentally exhausted ever, thanks to the twice-a-week trips to st. john's island in particular. that's why i'm more than just looking forward to this holiday - i positively need this time to get good and proper rest before starting on my honours project again, and before the very last semester begins (which i don't want to begin because it means one semester left till we graduate... noooooooooo...)!

wants to dive...wants to dive...wants to dive...

did-you-know

2008-12-01T10:53:00.004-05:00

i love to flip through photo books of animals, especially of marine life, and i had the chance to do that this afternoon - thanks to the stunning national geographic pictorial borrowed (from the science library!) by yan xiang. i heart national geographic :)

5 quick did-you-know facts about coral reels, one of the most biologically diverse habitats:

1. corals are not rocks, plants or dead. they are living animals!

2. coral reefs are built up when reef-building/hermatypic organisms, like hard corals and crustose coralline algae, lay down calcium carbonate in their skeletons, tissues, tests, etc.!

3. credit for the brilliant psychedelic mix of colours you see on corals while snorkelling or diving goes to the zooxanthellae (photosynthetic algae) and photo-protective pigments (think sunscreen) found inside them!

4. coral reefs occupy less than 1% of our earth's waters, but are home to more than 1/4 of of known marine fish species!

5. many fascinating examples of symbiotic relationships (mutualism, commensalism, parasitic) can be found on reefs!

...to be continued...

le fin du premier semestre

2008-11-29T12:12:00.004-05:00

okay, i think i'll make a come-back for this december holidays.

as always, after every block of exams, i'll make a "things to do" list,
and sometimes, a "what i learnt from my module" sharing.

childhood and youth:
from the time i heard about this module, i've been wanting to take it up! aside from marine biology, my other big love is children. the psychology and sociology behind the development of children/youth has fascinated me for the longest while, and i guess it stems partially from a yearning to understand why children/youth behave the way they do at different stages. prof. ho didn't disappoint! although SC2213 is meant to be like an introductory course for students from all faculties and didn't go terribly in-depth into all the topics, it was definitely an eye-opener as to the ways in which agents of socialization (e.g. family, peer, school, community, media, etc.) shape childhood and youth. theories like laureau's "concerted cultivation vs. natural growth" and cote/arnette's "arrested adulthood" make so much sense, and kinda affirmed a number of my personal thoughts on socialization in the context of singapore.

marine biology - haha, i can't believe my crazy mind mistook pandan mangrove for mandai mangrove, and mentioned fur seal culling in an essay on the conservation status of cetaceans (and i'm like a cetacean fan)! okay, enough about exam madness. marine biology caught my eye from the moment i scrolled through the list of life sciences modules available in year 1. with fluffy dreams of being a marine biologist/killer whale researcher, it was a module i naturally couldn't wait to take! having your supervisor/mentor teaching it was initially a little daunting, especially when his response to pre-module pleas not to pick on his students was "of course i'm going to pick on you guys!". haha, i have to say, pete has surpassed my (already high) expectations. just before the semester started, a few of us helped pete to sort some stuff from previous marine bio class batches: literature reviews (as part of their numerous CAs). i remember lamenting somewhat about how boring it'd be if we had to do this for our batch, and he curiously asked for suggestions. haha, i couldn't think of much then so i mentioned field trips (which are admittedly tough to organize)! that's probably why i was pretty impressed with how pete sprinkled fun into our lessons - tickling personal anecdotes, sharing field experiences, photo quizzes, letting us play around with marine research toys, charades for marine biology terms, shark fin debate, predator drawing competition, and running around underwaterworld like mad people. the last lecture was positively memorable, and the prize presentation was certainly the icing to the cake. way to go team red underwear and cedric, our captain! i wish i could copy the short paragraph i came up with to explain why i voted for him for the teacher's award thing. in essence, aside his outward brashness (quoting angie) and weirdness (quoting danwei), pete makes for an excellent mentor/prof./researcher/teacher (brownie points for being such a doting father)! :)

tumour biology - carcinogenesis is scary, and the stats will scare you even more. if we weren't forced to take an outside-concentration module, i wouldn't have taken LSM4243. that said, i don't regret picking it over the ROS/free radical one. prof. pervaiz and dr. ong have strangely managed to pique my touch-and-go interest with cancer, especially having heard so many instances from church people and their relatives/friends. prof. hande, on the other hand, is an example of how some professors may be undoubtedly gifted in research, but not perfected suited for lecturing. i don't usually like having a negative impression about lecturers, but he certainly has room for improvement in the teaching department. what did i learn from these three people? multi-step tumourigenesis, c-myc, 7 hallmarks of cancer, genetic alterations, genomic (chromosomal, microsatellite) instability metastasis and its biology, caspase cascades, molecular cross-talk, cell adhesion molecules and current literature on p53/CIN/how to induce neoplastic transformation in normal human cells/experimental techniques on how to study the mechanisms behind cancer. in the midst of exam preparation, i came to a realization as i flipped through page after page of experimental results on cancer genes: while i believe biomedical studies are essential for therapy breakthroughs and cures for human diseases, i know my interest does not lie within this field.

things to do (this holiday):
check out the 2nd generation casio-exilim pro f1 for pete (urgent!)
shop for pete's lucas/aileen gift with pete's slaves
decorations for christmas service on 21st december
bible class christmas party on boxing day
generate a new list of possible behaviour experiments for the clams (ahhh!)
analyze my geotrophism experiment photos (ahhh!)
update pete on experimental results (ahhh!)
settle receipt claims
botanical gardens picnic with the girls
plan ya cell group for the next few months with val
bbbaaakkkiiinnnggg (can't wait, esp. with my birthday cookie cutters!)
dinner with tioman team, and bake a thank-you-for-lying-for-me something for jeff
catch up with huiping, charmian, dennis,
check out mark's three t. maxima babies, and new tank
check out clam stocks at iwarma/coralfarm
weili's graduation card
let the brain and body relax in peace (by philippine beaches) for the first time in months

christmas is my most favouritest time of the year :) :) :)

a change in the wind

2008-08-07T10:53:00.006-04:00

prof. chou: so how's your "marine biology" project coming along?

me: haha! mmm...

to put it very simply:
yesterday, i was working on a freshwater honours project.
from today, i'll be working on a marine honours project.

some of you may have already heard about my struggle to reconcile my (now ex) freshwater project with my primary interest in marine biology, as well as my place in the marine biology lab. when i decided to join the freshwater gang back in may, i was at the point where i just wanted to take on any experimental project. my prof. (peter todd) and i had discussed earlier about other project ideas like crab behaviour, turtle research (which he claimed would be too 'glamourous' with all that need for licensing) and nation-wide conservation awareness survey - but we couldn't seem to settle on one, though he left the decision completely to me. so in the end, i sort of gave up thinking of marine related projects and agreed to slip into freshwater work. like the prof. said, it'd be novel material for publishing and working with a team has its perks. i never knew taking that step would lead pretty much downhill.

trying to get my head around freshwater community ecology was my first big hurdle. convincing myself that i would eventually grasp esther's style of experimental design discussions was another mistake (esther's the post-doc in charge of the PUB-NUS freshwater project). also, i found myself struggling to explain to my friends (and myself) why i was doing freshwater stuff for my honours when i'm in the marine lab. after weeks of literature reading and futile attempts to develop my methodology, i unknowingly found myself losing motivation for my honours project. it's definitely not the nicest feeling around. the friday before the tioman field trip, i finally shared my dilemma with my prof., and it got him pretty concerned. he explored some marine-related project openings with me on the spot, but i told him that since i agreed to get on board the freshwater project, i won't jump ship and that it's probably just time i need to get back that motivation. that evening, while esther and i were talking about how i might want to shift my project focus away from being too technical with macrophyte fractal dimensions (which was another reason behind my dip in interest), i nearly started tearing. i guess the internal wall just cracked under the entire load of 'why in the world did i get myself into freshwater?!' feelings. the conclusion from that session was to just take a break and discuss the project again after tioman.

unexpected, my marine project at tioman turned out to be somewhat similar with the freshwater one in the sense that both involve studies how habitat influences community structure. so when i returned from that field trip and started getting my head back into developing a methodology for reservoir sampling, it felt like things were turning around. haha i don't know, maybe i was deceiving myself. in any case, if there was one word to describe where i was with my freshwater project, "stuck" would be perfect.

last thursday, my prof. opened up a God-send opportunity for me.
he asked (for the second time) if i'd be interested in working on a giant clam behaviour literature review as well as a few small experiments. wasn't quite what i expected when he said "can i a word with you?", but absolutely what i needed. and this resonates in the way God made my montreal sep work.

there'll be many moments in your life when you feel like you've no control of anything and the unexpected just keeps popping up, but these are also the moments that serve to remind you of our Creator - the writer of our lives, from beginning till end. God has only the best in mind for each and every one of us,. still, we sometimes question why things don't go our way, why we have to face the downs or why bad things happen. i don't think we will ever come to fully understand all that because God works in ways far beyond our imagination. i always remember this illustration i heard years back: for every piece of stitching, there are two sides, and the same goes for life. we see the messy threads that define the underside, but God is working on weaving our paths together to create a beautiful artwork - His bigger plan.

the evening i lost my nokia slide (and squishy) was a wet one. in the midst of the tears, i was reminded of other unpleasant experiences that have taken place during this summer holidays: losing karenne's underwater camera at tioman and being stuck with freshwater. whywhywhy?? but before i ended up wallowing in them, God placed a few things on my heart:

You give, and take away,
but my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name.

You are the writer of my life,
You know what's best for me,
and there's nothing more i can do
but to humbly admit that i'm not the one in control.

all things work for our good,
though sometimes we can't see how they could.
struggles that break our hearts in two,
sometimes blind us to the truth.
our Father knows what's best for us,
His ways are not our own,
so when you don't understand,
when you don't see His plan,
when you can't trace His hand,
trust His heart.

Jesus, take the wheel.

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Project No:

08057

Title:
Giant clam behaviour

Area of Concentration:
BIO

Description:
Behaviour is not usually a word associated with giant clams, yet they display a range of activities from movement and aggregration to anti-predator responses as adults plus various other behaviours as larvae.

Objectives:
1) Review the literature on giant clam behaviour.
2) Fill in gaps in knowledge through experimental work on both larvae and adults.

References:
Huang, D., Todd, P.A. and Guest, J.R. (2007) Locomotion and aggregation in the fluted giant clam (Tridacna squamosa L.). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 342: 269–281. Han, L., Todd, P.A., Chou, L.M., Yap, V.B. and Sivalonganathan, B. (2008) The defensive role of scutes in juvenile fluted giant clams (Tridacna squamosa). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 359: 77–83.

tioman love

2008-07-27T03:13:00.009-04:00

tioman in a nutshell: absolutely freakin'fantasticawesome! :) :) :)

highlights:

relentless giant sea sprays on the ferry there
paya beach's resident cat litter - runt's the cutest!
continuous 2nd left toe cramps
100 plus and bananas
jeff's getting-into-the-water scream
leisure snorkelling with dr. tan and TAs
keith and yuchen's encouters with sea urchins
keropok, ramly burgers and teh limau
THE PDAeveryfreakin'where flowers
wall of fish (conservative estimate = at least 300)
allen's infamous "which part of 5am do you not understand!!!"
being terrorized by a remora
dr. tan's "it's okay, it's with me now"
the remora jokes
sharing of travelling stories by jeff's wife, michelle
turtle trails by the beach
diving next to tomok island
losing karenne's underwater camera + casing
tearing by the beach
jeff's fatherly comforting chat
sunbear's (siva) empathy
our already-turned-to-vinegar celebratory wine
unbelievable thermocline/halocline
playing dai di/bridge anywhere - ferry, bus, sun deck
last night = TAs + students + (tonnes of) booze + excellent singing
lying on a secluded rock to watch the night sky of stars
my first two shooting stars ever (think milliseconds' worth)

...and...

the incredibly charming mixed-blood divemaster whom i had a crush on:
adrian kingsley ho

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my sub-tidal team mates
with whom i share countless crazy+inappropriate+heartfelt+silly+unbelievable moments/laughter/jokes/conversations
- lishi, sherilyn, marcus and paul!

i'm not exactly the most cat person around,
but the resident kittens of paya beach resort are just about the cutest
in the world (i've never picked up or cuddled kittens before)!

haha, my crazy group mates and i created an acknowledgement slide for our presentation, complete with specially formulated scientific names for:
jeff - our whale
kok ben - our stats genius
jeremy - my remora's new best friend
dr. tan - the adorable cleaner wrasse mimic

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i truly miss island life:
sun, sand, sea.

and i love my tioman tan,
which is sadly fading by the day!

one year ago, i'd never have imagined myself saying that.
one year ago, i was all in love with montreal + winter.
who would have thought diving and field work would be as life changing?

this summer holiday has been a completely different one for me.
in ways i never expected, but in ways that make complete sense.

in faith

2008-07-05T12:19:00.003-04:00

a number of big things to chew on:

my honours project

estuary-marine ecotone literature

ma soeur

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[who am i - casting crowns]

not because of who i am,
but because of what You've done,
not because of what i've done,
but because of who You are.

...

and You told me who i am,
i am Yours

---

whom shall i fear
whom shall i fear
'cos i am Yours
i am Yours

pulau tioman: 7th-13th july

2008-07-03T02:18:00.007-04:00

pulau tioman, malaysia

- where i'll be between 7th-13th july 2008 for LSM4263 field studies in biodiversity!

paya beach resort
- our residence for seven days

island life: sun, sand and sea
- ohhhhh post-redang me wants and needs it badly!!!

i'm part of the five-people marine fishy group,
and our project involves studying how salinity gradients, ranging from the freshwater river mouth out to the sea, affect the marine fish communities.

to conduct our experiment, we'd be employing fish belt transects.
jeff and kok ben, our TAs, will help us lay the 50m tapes on the sea bed.
then we would snorkel in pairs along the transects to record the abundance of the various fish down to the family level (using the data sheet above printed on waterproof paper), and also measure the water salinity at different depths to estimate the shape and extent of the halocline (freshwater and seawater boundary).

it's not as easy as it sounds, but it's okay.
i think our marine fishy project obviously has the highest fun potential!
and i can't say how excited i am to finally be doing something marine biology-ish!

other local student projects:

- inter-tidal

this means you wake up at unearthly hours of the day for the low tides, lay transects and collect data while everyone else is sound asleep in their comfy beds and increase your risk of stepping on the notorious stonefish (which camouflages unbelievably well in rocky/sandy areas).

- environmental light pollution

besides having to set the insect (think moths) traps in the day time, you have to collect your specimens by hand at night. thanks, but no thanks.

- dung beetles

cool insects, but you have to collect fresh poo everyday to attract them to your traps. everything's done in the daytime, so at least you get to compile data and chill during the evening. something like our marine project.

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dddddiiiiivvvvviiiiinnnnnggggg????? :) :) :) :) :)

mr. thresher shark and ms. cleaner wrasse

2008-07-02T11:00:00.016-04:00

isn't she gorgeous!

say hellooooo to my newest fascination: the thresher shark.

species:
Alopias vulpinus (common thresher)
Alopias superciliosus (bigeye thresher)
Alopias pelagicus (pelagic thresher)

with its exceptionally skewed (to the upper lobe) heteroceral tail,
thresher sharks stand out from their relatives by a mile.
in fact, some people call it the freak of sharks, but i beg to differ.
not only does its elongated upper lobe highlight its swiftly graceful swimming,
but it can be used to stun prey like fish!

other intriguing tidbits:

- mainly pelagic and prefer open oceans

- one of the few shark species which can breach

- threshers employ ovoviviparous reproduction, meaning they give birth to a litter of developed pups which survive on yoik and unfertilized eggs while in the womb

- IUCN classifies all three species as vulnerable to extinction

- threshers may be spotted at cleaning stations, where the cleaner wrasses (amazing little maids) will dutifully clean the parasites off the sharks' rough skin

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the cleaner wrasse has fascinated me for quite awhile.
the mutualistic relationship they share with other marine fish is amazing!
the wrasses wait at cleaning stations, the fish swim into the area, the wrasses feed off the ecto-parasites, and the fish get a free 'bath'.
a simple win-win situation - how awesome :)

In Christ Alone

2008-06-29T21:29:00.004-04:00

uncle alan introduced a new song during worship yesterday.
like he said, it's one of those songs that embodies the new testament theology.

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In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

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my most out-doorish holidays

2008-06-20T12:50:00.005-04:00

i don't think i've had a three month break as
outdoor-ish/packed/social/challenging/impactful as this summer holidays.

CreativeKids - pasir ris and changi beaches, underwater world
swimming
airport/changi village stay-up
pre-dawn low-tide changi beach recce
countless ice cream rendezvous-ing at udders
PADI open water diving
pulau redang
macritchie reservoir recce
kranji reservoir recce
ya kun breakfasts
tea time/late night heart-to-hearts
catching up with neglected best girls
dealing with family issues
almost-daily trips to the marine biology lab
bukit timah nature reserve x 2
(upcoming) sungei buloh wetlands reserve x 2
(upcoming) pulau tioman
(maybe) pulau ubin/chek jawa

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the parts i love:

making lots of new friends
getting to know the biology honours students better (28 of us)
getting to know the summer exchange bunch
finally settling my way into the mbl
getting more tanned (than macjay!)
discovering the biodiversity of singapore
being with (untouched, undeveloped) nature
walking along the beach, tiny waves splashing at your feet

those who know me know that for the longest time, i'm not the biggest fan of the sun/beach/anyactivitythatwillmakeyousweatlikenoone'sbusiness. i grew up mostly enjoying the safe and shady indoors - that's why the relative fairness. but the past one and a half months has changed all that. now, i just can't wait to get back out to the beach (for intertidal recces)/open waters (for diving)/sun (for more tanning) - and i'm back to shorts and my newly favourite chocolate brown flip flops :)

food mishaps

2008-06-16T07:52:00.001-04:00

picking up longans from the luo han guo bubble tea plastic cup always fail on me.
i was so close to scooping one out with the straw, then it just plopped on the table.

before i could even fully sink my teeth into one of the onde onde balls we bought along katong, the gula melaka just spurted out onto the TAs' faces of my LSM4263 tioman handbook. haha, i just froze for three seconds of silent 'oohhhshitttt'. priceless.

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asif, the best TA in the world, remembers me! :)

m

2008-06-13T10:42:00.002-04:00

crappycrappydammit.
i have a crush on m.

speechless

2008-06-11T05:03:00.005-04:00

yes, i'm alive :)

how was my redang dive trip?
let's just say i'm left speechless.

7th-10th June at Redang Kalong

2008-06-07T02:51:00.010-04:00

ohhhmyyygoshhh, i can't wait.
this is truly one break, even if it's only three days, i desperately need.
time out from the city, time out from home and time out from everyday life.

whenever people discover that my dream is to be a marine biologist,
one of the first questions would always be - so you must learn how to dive?
i'd hesitate and say - well, not necessarily, you can work at the research centre!

you must be wondering, but how can you be a marine biologist without diving?
actually, i usually give that response because of one main reason - my deeply rooted fear of swimming in open waters where you can't see anything below you. i'm sure i'm not the only one, but in my case, it works against my dream. also, i think my secondary school 1 minute treading test experience completely scared the hell out of me. i hadn't learn how to tread water at that point in time, and the pe teacher in charge wasn't the most encourgaging teacher around.

at least seven years later, i'm back to face my fear.
the comforting fact this time is the bdc (buoyancy control device) which you strap around yourself acts like a life vest, so technically, you don't really need to be a fantastic swimmer or threader. but it is always good precaution to know how to swim whenever you engage in water-related activities.

PADI open water diver manual says you'll never forget your first breath under water.
breathing underwater at the 3m outram pool - surreal!
breathing underwater in open waters, right next to marine life - i can't imagine!

my guess is it's so mind-blowing that's why my diver friends say they just have to go back. i hope i come back on tueday with lots exciting stories of reef sharks, green/hawksbill turtles, anemonefish, anenomes, zoanthids, hard/soft corals, triggerfish, wrasses, damselfish, parrotfish, puffer/porcupine fish, angelfish, butterflyfish, etc. to share. by that time, i'd officially be a PADI open water diver :) in the meantime, please pray for me that my blocked/runny nose/cough clears up before sunday's first dive - if not, i'd have trouble equalizing my ears, and that's not a very good thing.

DDDDDIIIIIVVVVVIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

of octopus and equalizing

2008-06-04T20:38:00.003-04:00

three hours of chilling at popeye's and changi village.
3.30am recce for sand stars and button shells at changi beach.
a runny nose and dry throat.
two hours of sleep.
clearing admin stuff at marine biology lab.
diving pool session at outram secondary school.
debrief over newton circus dinner.

all in twenty four hours.

OOOHHHMYGOSHITSSOFREAKIN'SURREAL!!! :) :) :)
and i have an AWESOME dive instructor!!! :) :) :)

au revoir

2008-05-29T19:32:00.005-04:00

goodbye amy/ammiieee.
goodbye lauren.

the two exchange girls whom i've come to know this past semester.

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ammiieee, who just graduated from ucla berkeley about two weeks back (she wrote "boon lay!" on her cap!), was a part of my lsm2104 bioinformatics "exchange" group. each of the six team member had either been for an exchange/noc or is on exchange - and we're all older than the year two batch. haha.

amie - uc berk
markie/elvin - philly noc
pammie/jackie/sellie - montreal/sydney/uc davis exchange

no, we're didn't name ourselves with an "-ie" behind our names for no reason; it just started with markie and the recent jacky chan movie. it's funny looking back at our miniproject. the endless emails back and forth on our google groups, hours poured into sieving out BLAST results and the manymanymany drafts. we had dedicated almost every saturday afternoon of the past few months to meeting up at various starbucks, armed with our laptops and one of those long adaptors (?) for five plugs (?). starbucks should have awarded us some loyal customers pass :)

---------------------------------------

lauren, who has one more year to go at university of western ontario, was my lsm3252 evolution and comparative genomics partner-in-crime. we had infamously (to ourselves) spent a whole ten unbelievable hours, in the science canteen, writing up our primates report!!! it's one marathon that i'd never forget - honestly one of the craziest things i've done for pairwork. the snacks/stretching/chatting/meals in between, the on-the-spot google document transfers and finally submitting our "the evolution of encephalization quotient, age at sexual maturity and life span of primates" to the turnitin website. the immense relief after that definitely trumped the butt-ache and brain drain.

OUTSTANDING, AWESOME and UNBEATABLE TEAMWORK!!! :) :) :)
and it was all worth it in the end - the report received an A!!! :) :) :)

lauren flew in last night from her cambodia/vietnam/australia travels at 9pm, and left in a taxi this morning at 715am - she stayed at my place for a total of 8 hours, haha.

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this year thus far,
i've been to changi at least four times to send someone off.
and i always leave like a part of me had boarded that plane and left.

i have a love-hate relationship wih airports.

marine life workshop!

2008-05-26T22:45:00.010-04:00

my bloodshot-ish eyes were pretty scary :/

this time, the family doctor prescribed steroidal eyedrops called optodexine. trying to assure the but-they-are-so-red me, he said: just don't look in the mirror for the next two days. thankfully, the eyedrops work this time! but the bitter aftertaste that travels down the throat a few minutes later is just plain awful. the only problem now: a half swollen right eye. the kind where it feels so sore even to blink.

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CreativeKids' marine life workshop at underwater world :)
today, we had two primary six classes from yihua primary school.
surprisingly (to me), 80% of the kids are malay!

1. introduction to marine life and food webs

ern chi: so what are corals?
the p6s (with surprising enthusiasm): SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS!!!!!
----------------------------------------------------

2. seabed recreation in sandbox

the kids had to make a seabed profile which included a coral bed, sea floor, trench as well as an island mount. this is where ern chi creatively implemented the spongebob square pants storyline to help them remember these four features better: x (can't remember which character) does squid hunting near the coral bed, sbsp lives (in a pineapple) on the sea floor, sbsp has to save the forever-blur patrick who has fallen into the trench and bring him onto the island mount.
---------------------------------------

3. ikan kuning and baby squid dissection

even though i've been through frog/baby lungfish/catfish/clam/rat dissections, these two were highly fascinating because (1) fish and squids are common foodstuff (2) i'd never really played around with raw fish/squid insides before.

fish - seeing an intact swim bladder was awesome! this membrane structure, which can be inflated or deflated with air, aids with bouyancy. the ikan kuning's eggs are orange in colour!

squid - did you know squids have beaks? yeah, if you press hard on its head, a hard black beak will protude out! squids have internal quill-shaped, plastic-y (chitinous) shell called pens, which provide support for the soft-bodied creatures.

after the dissections, the kids were allowed to cut up their fish and squids into bite-sized pieces to throw into the turtle/fish pond. did you know that male turtles have a distinct tail, while females don't?
-----------------------------------------------

4. oceanarium tour

touch pool (dogfish shark, starfish, blue-spotted stingray, cleaner wrass), ray pool (the experience of stroking their incredibly smooth bodies is always mind-blowing - this is the closest you can ever get to a ray without being hurt by its tail spine, which has been manually removed!), garden eels, sea angels, giant spider crabs, sea dragons, jelly fish, underwater travelator (eagle-nosed sharks, black-tip reef sharks, white-tip reef sharks, nurse sharks, leopard sharks, shovel-nosed rays, leopard rays, sawfish, giant wrasses, humphead wrasse, yellow trevallys, moray eels, gracie the dugong, etc.)! giant wrasses are crazycrazy HUGE - they can grow up to 9 feet in length! lovelovelove the underwater world - i could visit a gazillion times and not get bored (my stance on public zoos/aquaria: necessary evils). of course, watching marine creatures in the wild would definitely be more preferrable.
----------------------

5. conservation debrief

ern chi talked about the commercialism of marine creatures (sharks, turtles, etc.), marine litter and their impacts. ask me why i don't drink turtle soup.
-----------------------------

for all of you shark-fin soup lovers (shame on you, haha!), do you know what exactly you are eating? do you know what shark's fin is made of? do you really, honestly think cartilage is what makes the soup so yummylicious?

shark's fin alone, in it's full cartilaginous glory, has no taste. don't belive me? the next time you attend someone's chinese wedding or the next chinese new year, scurry off to the nearest toilet, wash the gooey soup off your precious piece of shark's fin and try it. does it taste like the hundred dollars your parents paid for that large bowl of chinese new year tradition? i doubt so.

you see, think about cartilage.
where do we find such connective tissues? the ears, noses, invertebral discs, ribcages, bronchial tubes, joints, etc. now, maybe you're thinking, why in the world then do we place such a high price tag on a cartilaginous fish's fins? the works of demand and supply? its exotic factor? unscrupulous restaurants banking on the (in)famous yearly cny tradition?

okay, how about another easy-to-do experiment?
the next time you attend someone's chinese wedding or the next chinese new year, scoop out the bit and pieces of shark's fin and drink the soup. isn't it still as tasty? the fin has long been thought to be the magic ingredient in shark's fin soup. so veryveryvery wrong! shark's fins only provide one aspect of the soup's texture (which can easily be replaced with fish maw/fake cartilaginous); the chicken stock, fish maw, crab meat, etc. that truly constitute the soup's unique flavour.

i'm not just blindly trying to promote a "STOP eating shark's fin!" campaign - i think the bigger picture here is to increase the public awareness of (1) what exactly makes shark's fin soup apparently so-tasty-i-die-die-must-eat-it-every-freakin'-chinese-new-year-or-wedding (2) more ecologically friendly alternatives (e.g. fish maw soup, fake shark's fin soup) (3) how real the over-finning of numerous shark species is (check out goodwill hunting on youtube, or animal planet's crime scene wild)

every year, without fail, i get relatives/friends/people telling me: but it's dead already what. well, to tell you the truth, you yourself cost the life of this one shark because people like you CHOOSE to continue to be part of the demand for it. it's as simple as that - one of those depressing vicious cycles. now, don't get me mixed up, i'm not saying stop eating animals altogether. the point here is, the sharks to which you owe your bowl of cartilage and soup belong to natural populations ranging from south america to asia, and are killed in numbers that would atonish you - this is NOT ecological sustainable in years to come!

you may say: but even if i stop eating shark's fin soup, my family members will still continue to eat because they don't care. baby steps, my friend. fighting for good causes are never easy peasy journeys. i, myself, tend to get disheartened everytime chinese new year dinners come around - because i know i'd be hearing my cousins' request "then i eat your share ah". but i'm not giving up - if one day in the near future, a shark's fin soup lover comes to understand the stark reality of the shark's fin trading industry and realises he/she can do his/her part (no matter how small) to help saves sharks for becoming extinct, it's all worth it.

i didn't sit in front of the laptop to type all this out just so you can read it, then click on the next blog to surf. this is my small plea for the sharks out there: pause for a moment to think about why you indulge yourself, every single year, to that bowl of over-priced soup with shreds of cartilage. if you can't find a decent answer to that question, does it not suggest something to you?

conjunctivitis girl

2008-05-25T22:13:00.004-04:00

i have a mild form of conjunctivitis that apparently refuses to go away even with gentimicin-POS eye drops. the wonderful thing is my family doctor didn't even think i should have come in for a consultation, and didn't really seem interested in elaborating about why/how the infection came about. i'd a similar experience with the other gp i had for my ankle stitches - he had a blatant lack of empathy for traumatised/naturally worried patients. hellooo, some form of warm reassurance would be nice. future-doctor-to-be friends who are reading this, i hope you all won't let age and routine melt into complacency :)

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and so, uncle mark has since called me conjunctivitis girl.
there's a ring to it,

like some out-of-this-world tim burton character right out from the oyster boy storybook.

the end of a beginning

2008-05-24T00:26:00.004-04:00

and so meredith and mcdreamy kiss in the last scene of grey's anatomy season four finale - standing in that field of candles outlining their future house, over-looking downtown seattle.

---------------------------------------------------------------

it warms my heart how meredith has come full circle.
finally and bravely facing up to her past, and learning from her mother's mistakes.
i feel her.

mcdreamy, on the other hand - i'm speechless.
i think his character has lost some shine along the way.
it's like character reversal between him and meredith.

ferry boats... they crash.

--------------------------------------------------------------

the final episode says goodbye on such an untypically romantic note,
yet "the end of the beginning" almost leaves a brooding-storm-clouds-type-of-feeling in me. i guess we'll find out in season five come september.

'cher! changi beach seashore exploration!

2008-05-23T10:32:00.006-04:00

boy: 'cher, can i go wash my hands?
('cos there's sand on them)

girl: is that a stone fish?
(she was pointing to a rock on the sand!)

boy: 'cher, can don't so cheem anot?
(we were trying to explain pH as simply as we could)

boy: how to spell?
me: s-l-i-g-h-t-l-y a-c-i-d...
boy (having trouble keeping up, feeling discouraged): aiyah, don't spell la...
me: no, no, let's spell it. a-c-i-d-i-c.

girl 1: 'cher, she think very digusting one..
girl 2: 'cher, both of you all are still miss right? have you considered me? i've good.. .blahblah...

girl (her hands dirty): 'cher, can you check my pocket if my pen is there?
me (awkwardly trying to peer in): erm, i don't think it's there..
girl (pouting): huhhh... 80 cents leh...
me: err...
(but then when i remembered they're only sec one, i empathized with her)

boy: 'cher, i know why it's called fireworm. 'cos when it moves, then got fire!

girl: 'cher, you know ah, everyone in the class hates him
me: no, cannot hate...
girl: really, you know ah, he... blahblah...
(haha i felt like she was doing girl-gossip time with me)

boys/girls (staring blankly at you): 'cher, i don't know how to tie.
(a trash bag)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

i have never ever used the term "'cher" to address any teacher before,
so it felt a little strange to have twenty secondary one kids (from orchid park secondary school) calling me exactly that, even though tze hwee and i had already introduced ourselves. it puts me in a position of authority i'm not used to. today was our (melin, tze hwee, ben and myself - all from biology) first time as junior instructors for CreativeKids' seashore programme. grace (the founder/director) had prepared us earlier that the two normal stream classes today are most probably the more difficult ones to work with - so all four of us sort of awaiting a bunch of rebellious monkeys. thankfully, reality fell short of our expectations. although some of the students would wander off to collect sea shells (to which i shared why we shouldn't do so - think hermit crabs) or just zone out into their own world, i would say they have taught me a number of things within the short span of four hours!

1. getting students involved in assigned tasks (e.g. measuring water turbidity with visual cues or collecting sea water into the salinometer) gets their attention more often than not

2. secondary one boys are generally attention seekers/nonsense talkers, while secondary one girls are generally painfully shy kids

3. be firm when the boys are endangering themselves

4. secondary one boys apparently have yet to understand the meaning behind helping girl classmates with carrying heavy trashbags. even my please couldn't budge them in that direction.

5. they may only know you for two hours, but they'd offer their sweets/snacks to you
- awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww:)

6. sadly, many singaporean kids aren't exposed to the natural local wildlife
- myself included.

7. at the end of the day, kids are really just kids.

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i admire ms. oi yee's (senior instructor who used to study zoology at nus a longlonglong time ago, and even mentored prof chou!) spontaneity, passion and knowledge. talk about her orange coloured hair! after the seashore exploration, she'd bring the bunch of kids around to learn about seaside flora. tagging along, i felt like one of them, listening and absorbing the features she'd describe (haha lsm 1103 biodiversity's changi beach field trip can be considered a failure). this is what i can recall:

sea hibiscus: in the morning, their flowers bloom in attractive red and orange hues, but fade into yellow and brown shades as they prepare to fall.

casuarina: the ones with needle-like "leaves", which are actually the stems. the leaves are almost microscopic jagged ridges at regular nodes of the stems. casuarinas are one of the best trees to grow along beaches 'cos they survive well in dry environmantal conditions. one boy called their tiny fruits "durians", which isn't too far-fetched, i suppose.

pigeon orchid: the profile of its white flowers, which bloom two days after a drop of one degrees celcius at night, apparently resembles a pigeon's head)

raintree: one of the most common type of flora in singapore. check out how their leaves droop by the time evening comes by.

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listening to grace, athena and oi yee's stories about their enviable experiences as nus zoology students makes us yearn for more field trips or live animal handing. according to oi yee, nus zoology in the past involved incredibly intensive hands-on field work (they had to set their own traps, catch their own specimens), as well as spending thirtheen weeks learning about arthropods (the phylum with the largest number of species). unfortunately, nus merged zoology with the flora department, followed by the revamp into life sciences - well, something along those lines. that left zoology, in the form of biology, standing in the shadow of her giant sisters: biomedical sciences (bms) and molecular and cell biology (mcb). this explains why even biology graduates are starved of sufficient experimental field work and experience. boo :/ everyone's hoping for a reversion back into old-school biology!

to end off,
i can now officially claim that i have a tan!
i have a tan, without a sunburn!!! :)

OHMYGOSH!!! :) :) :)

2008-05-22T08:47:00.005-04:00

OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,
did you see how overwhelmed he was???
i wish i could give him a big bear hug :) :) :) :) :)

my sexy/talented/hot/sincere/humble david cook, you more than deserve this!

made of mcdreaminess

2008-05-19T23:27:00.006-04:00

made of honour.

notice "patrick dempsey" right at the top of the poster? where's "michelle monaghan"?
it's so very telling - this film's specially for mcdreamy lovers.

honestly, i don't think mcdreamy can ever do unsexy.
whether in a well-cut suit, pjay slacks, sport attire, bathrobe, scrubs or out-of-bed-half-naked, patrick dempsey is the epitome is effortless (5 o'clock shadow) sexiness. almost on par with johnny depp :)
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Habitat-Biota interactions at different spatial scales (Honours project: Pamela): study design, site selection, sampling/method development, surveying /sampling, GIS layers - land-use, geology, sorting to order (paid student help?), identification to family level, data entry, habitat data quantification, data structuring, data analysis, data presentation, data interpretation. Writing: methods, introduction, results, discussion, abstract.

haha is that intimidating, or intimidating.

right

2008-05-19T10:09:00.003-04:00

at least i have a sense of humour

---------------------------------------------------------------

right, why don't you share with everyone what it is you said that sunday?
the sunday two days after the birthday surprise i invested so much effort in.
you hurt people's feelings and you don't even freakin' know it.
sure, you have a absolutely mind-blowing sense of humour.
good for you.

---------------------------------------------------------------

i usually try to avoid venting my anger/frustration/disappointment/etc. here.
but hey, i'm only human, and this is my dark place right now.

on to happier things,
mcdreamy time tomorrow :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
a full hundred and one minutes of up-close mcdreaminess with eliza :)

halia, at the botanical gardens, is a lovely place for nature-loving couples.

their smoked sausage spaghettini is pretty yummy.
the veranda/dining room is quaintly nested within lush greenery.
and they have a brunch/lunch/dinner menu.

it's just the place to splurge a little on a lazy saturday morning.

---------------------------------------------------------

aunty suzanne's right.
singapore fails terribly with publicity for the arts/local happenings.
she says even in small swiss towns, they offer free comprehensive monthly annexes about the local and regional events of all sorts. same with my experience in my favourite city. this is not to say singapore doesn't put in any effort to publicize public events at a nation-wide scale, but there is an obvious lack of government financial backing in going all out to inform singaporeans about them. either that, or i'm really ignorant.

surfing midnight poutine, i came across this:
montreal museums day, 25th may 2008!

how cool is that. 29 of the city's museums will be free to the public come sunday!
i'm jealous.

flats and heels

2008-05-19T05:20:00.007-04:00

classic black satin peep-toe killer heels :)

living in singapore, i'm sadly not a big fan of heels,

unless the event calls for it.

i'm a flats fan - reason? simple.
i feel uncomfortably extra tall when i put on my heels and walk amongst the singaporean crowd. and 1.69m isn't even that tall to begin with. yes, heels do satisfy with that icandoanythingandeverything feeling, but i don't really enjoy being the tallest amongst whichever group of friends i'm meeting up with. hence, flats are my happy space - in singapore.

girls

2008-05-18T13:08:00.003-04:00

at lunch time, i was browsing through parenthood, and came across the section about the funniest things kids say:

a lady was asking her seven year old son if he knew the meaning of syntax, and he replied "is it the tax sinners pay?".

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

haha so cute! kids. i can't wait to have two of my own - girls, very much preferably.
my model family: uncle alan and josephine.

me: haha i only want girls, or twins (boy and girl)
o( ^ __ ^ )o: whY not boys???!!!!!
me: haha i told my friend jokingly that ill let her adopt if i have a boy cos she likes boys. but at the end of the day, its all in God's plan, but yeah hopefully i have girls
o( ^ __ ^ )o: haha but y girls?
me: haha cos i can dress them up. boys clothings arent as interesting or cute. hahaha no la thats not the reason. i dont know, i just prefer girls.. maybe cos i grew up without brothers. always wanted an elder brother though..

a la m.

2008-05-18T02:25:00.003-04:00

is an avoider, and a fantastic one at that.

----------------------------------------------------------------

i avoid confronting my sister about that sunday lunch which felt like many stabs in the heart.

i avoid responding to my mum for now because i'm just too stubborn to admit that i'm nursing my pride for not getting what i would like to have.

i avoid talking to my dad because i can't face up to the fact that there is no father-daughter relationship.

right, i just blurted out to the whole wide world (well, whoever you are reading this) that i'm on a cold war with the rest of my family now. ha.

david love

2008-05-14T07:57:00.007-04:00

dear david belting out the classic armaggedon theme song
- moremoremore!!!

my ultimate favourite: david's completely awesome rendition of mariah's always be my baby - ohmygosh, davidddddddddd, you're unbelievably sexy!

--------------------------------------------------------------

this is not some silly teenage crush,
david is something special! i wanna steal him away :)

the very first american idol contestant whose album i will soabsolutelydefinitely buy!

trio

2008-05-14T00:19:00.010-04:00

i heart this trio!
dress one reminds me of 27 dresses.
the black-grey-white tones rock dress two.
love dress three's black straps/band and ifeelliketwirlingaround colours.

the V T M blogs

2008-05-13T10:43:00.007-04:00

i have two new muses!
Beyond Robson l Vancouver blog (http://beyondrobson.com/)
blog TO l Toronto blog (http://blogto.com/)

chanced upon them while surfing Midnight Poutine l Montreal blog.

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these three canadian city blogs belong to freshdaily, canada's first national blog network. how cool is that. daily tidbits of what's happening in the country's busiest cities. i like the whole idea - plus each post is summed up into bite-sized paragraphs for easy breezy reading.

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isn't this funny! this photo (Vancouver blog) was taken at the famous stanley park

(Toronto blog)
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :)
it almost looks a teeny weeny bit fake, doesn't it?

let's keep them in prayer

2008-05-12T11:24:00.004-04:00

serious disasters have been grabbing headlines for the past week:
myanmar cyclone
china earthquake

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it honestly scares me to imagine the fear/confusion/desperation/anger/whateverfeelingyounameit these people must be experiencing. losing your loved ones, separated from the rest of your family, cut off from electricity/water/food, having no home to return to. sitting the the comfort of our homes and having never experienced any natural calamities on such a scale, i doubt any of us singaporeans can even come close to saying we know what they are going through right now. like the island itself, we are very much sheltered from almost all natural disasters - someting taken for granted all the time. i don't have the financial means to effectively contribute to relief supplies, but i do have one thing to offer: prayers.

:) ;) ;-)

2008-05-11T03:30:00.007-04:00

me: haha ohmygosh exactly one year ago, i just flew back from canada!

macjay: nostalgia? ;)

me: yeah. 11th may. haha i wished so hard for the plane to fly slower!

macjay: :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-) :) ;-)

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haha officially the funniest/cutest message ever (to me)!

double yayness

2008-05-06T22:00:00.003-04:00

double yayness!

i completely forgot that i'll be helping with this sunday's praise and play!
can't wait for more marshmellow moments, haha.

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it's really fun and funny hanging out with macjay,
especially when we are both ourselves.

if only

2008-05-06T09:19:00.002-04:00

lunch and ice-cream with macjay.
tea with huiping.

----------------------------------------------------

how lovely it would be -
if every afternoon could be spent with favourite friends,
without any cares or worries.

finalement/joyeux anniversaire

2008-05-05T11:14:00.002-04:00

the girl is done with the papers.
finally done.

---------------------------------------------------------------

grey's anatomy season 4, episode 1:
a change is gonna come.

it's honestly like a drug.
when you don't get it, you're yearning for it.
when you do get it, it's like ohsoabsolutelythisiswhatiwantgood.

---------------------------------------------------------------

joyeuxjoyeux 22ieme anniversaire (happyhappy 22nd birthday), my dear jia!

american idol season 7

2008-05-01T07:58:00.004-04:00

oh this was wayyy too funny!
off from the list of comments posted on the american idol website:

jason's first and last album:

title: voiceless

tracks:
1. i choked
2. i can't sing
3. useless
4. my fourth song
5. i fooled them girls (to vote for me)
6. david the true idol
7. why do you vote for me? (I stink)
8. me and my chair (the love song)
9. the career that never was
10. my final song (career over)

jason castro used to be in my favourites list (the davids and brooke), but after so many weeks of disappointing and lacklustre performances, i had to drop him. and did i mention already that i'm a hhhhhuuuuuugggggeeee fan of david cook - especially after his amazing rendition of mariah's "always be my baby". i was honestly blown away. how many male singers can turn a super girly ballad into a strong semi-rock song, and actually do exceedingly well? i don't think david knows exactly how very sexy is he when he performs.

those eyes, oh my gosh.

he's no johnny depp or orlando bloom, but there's something about david cook.
you're so rockin' hot :)

------------------------------------------------------------------

you'll always be a part of me,
i'm part of you indefinitely.

ssa2211 and lsm3252

2008-04-30T11:25:00.007-04:00

ssa2211:

- compulsory qn: relevance of 14th century temasek to present-day singapore

- selected qn: factors tt led to the establishment of a british settlement in 1819

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lsm3252: 4 choose 3

- intelligent design (creationism) vs. tree-of-life (evolutionary theory)

- (actual excerpt) merriam-webster defines lap dancing as "an activity in which a usually seminude performer sits and gyrates on the lap of a customer". recently, researchers investigated the correlation between the ovulatory cycle of female lap dancers in "gentlemen's clubs" and their earnings from tips. as a control, researchers used lap dancers whose ovulatory cycle was suppressed through the intake of contraceptives ("pill"). the following graph shows the results of the study. note that ovulation occurs approximately 9-15 days after the onset of the menstrual cycle (a) use sexual selection to explain why female lap dancers receive different tips depending on the stage of their ovulatory cycle? why are lap dancers who use contraceptives overall receiving lower tips? (b) discuss whether you would expect male lap dancers performing for female customers to be exposed to similar earning fluctuation.

- altruistic behaviors of female ant workers

- explain dobzhansky's "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" using the example of the hereditary disease cystic fibrosis

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no brownie points guessing which question got me laughing during the exam!
prof meier sure has a sense of humour.
coincidentally, it's wasn't one of the three questions i selected.

looking at these questions again,
it amazes me how through the course of four months, i've learnt enough to be able to answer these questions, and so much more. that is what i quite love about being at the university level: the exposure and intellectual challenges (haha at least to me la!). it isn't about memorization or tys answers or regurgitating facts anymore, thank goodness. instead, it pushes you to analyze the materials presented by the lecturer and synthesizing your own perspectives the issue as well as integrating them to other fields. this past monday, i spent a very interesting afternoon at university hall's spinelli chatting with yiwen about university - our gripes, our likes/what we are grateful for, liberal arts education, the ancient/ideal university system, etc. then we recalled meeting each other at the same cafe around the same time last semester, and having that lengthy sharing about my urops project and her thoughts about her bioethics course. haha it's like that spinelli brings out that side of us.

away from serious university talk.

exactly one year ago today (30th april 2007),
it was my last day of exams as well as the last of exams for the winter semester.
biol313 cell biology and atoc240 science of storms - of course i remember!
then it was off to the famous juliette et chocolate along st. denis for delightful dessert crepes with cindy, manon and elis. i miss.

one whole year ago.
so near, yet so far.

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last night, i caught an hour of animal planet:
orcas, lords of the cold seas.

you can only imagine my excitement!!!
if you don't already know, my interest is in marine biology.
if you don't already know, my favourite marine mammal is orca orcinus.
or, the killer whale.

the hour-long video featured a particular pod of killer whales which live around the icy waters of crozet island (somewhere down south) and has been the subject of loyer bertrand's study for twenty years now (i am crazy insanely jealous). in particular, it focuses on delphine, a young (and very playful/inquisitive) female killer whale, and her journey of learning life skills from her family members - from deliberate beach strandings to keeping silent during hunts to navigating her way when lost among kelp beds. in the animal kindgom, learning is often a key tool for survival.

the ecolocation sounds emmitted by these absolutely gorgeous creatures are so mysteriously mesmerizing beyond words.

a fascinating discovery about killer whale feeding behaviour was made through never-seen-before underwater footage recorded by the researcher: apparently, even top predators like the killer whale engage in scavenging when the opportunity arises! to a large extent, the ecology of many marine creatures has yet to be fully understood mainly because studies often spread over many years and it is difficult to track the exact same pod in their natural environment. so is being a marine biologist still my ultimate dream? definitely!

the beauty behind life created by God is simply too irresistable.

truth about the truth

2008-04-27T07:19:00.003-04:00

pamela is all psyched up for the alternative re-telling of the singapore story tmr morning at 9am. yes, if you didn't know, singapore actually has a history that dates back to the 14th century - that's a whole 4 centuries before sir stanford raffles stepped foot onto this tiny island of ours in 1819. pre-SSA2211 evolution of a global city state, i never had a clue about this! or more honestly, i was quite satisfied with the mainstream/textbook version because i'm not exactly the most enthusiastic, flag-waving fan of singapore.

we all grew up with this national narrative:
singapore's founding and magical transformation from malay fishing village to a modern metropolis are the works of two men: raffles and lky.

well, all i can say is national education works too well. no, that statement above is not wrong per se; but it's just like telling you: everything you see before you is actually two-dimensional. through the course of this singapore studies module, i've gained a completely new/mind-blowing understanding of our island's history, which i dare say is the more objective and true version of the singapore story.

------------------------------------------------------

at the end of the day,
history is a man-made reconstruction of the past.
what nations make of their history is one thing,
what you choose to believe and what you choose to remember is another.

udder-licious (i didn't make this up)

2008-04-26T08:32:00.005-04:00

udders is the best thing that has happened to the united sq. area :)
it's now my family's favourite ice cream cafe, over-taking island creamery!

udders has a truly yummilicious fresh-and-natural range of non-alcoholic and alcoholic ice creams. if you think you've tried the most authentic rum and raisin around, you might want to hold that thought. lovely flavours, delightfully crispy waffles, high tables/stools (my favourite), very personable service, a stash of games (my family engaged in a seriously hilarious game of taboo for the very first time) and magazines (national geographic and reader's digest - i enjoy muchmuch) and that tiny-and-cosy feel. a real cafe with heart - something i've been trying to find in singapore without much success.

------------------------------------------------------------

i counted my heart beat just now.
97 per minute.

and that was after waffle with baileys and bourbon ice cream (new)!
haha, i shall not reveal what happened with the rum and raisin ice cream.

hallmark and holidays

2008-04-25T12:58:00.002-04:00

i absolutely love the hallmark channel :)
best thing that happened to tv, after discovery and animal planet of course. and if you're one of those who think it's just for housewives to while their afternoon away, you are very much sorrily mistaken!

-----------------------------------------------------------

i actually had macdonalds for dinner
because i was angry and wanted comfort food.

haha, i can't believe myself!

-----------------------------------------------------------

almost every study break before the exams, i'd usually come up with a list of how i'd like to while my holidays away, so here's a spontaneous one:

1. ddddddiiiiiiivvvvvviiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg

2. cook for my popo, and spend time with her
- maybe i should organize a cousins+popo outing

3. can't wait to bake gingeys with the "already been chewed" cookie cutters
- my first, very own, all-the-way-from-australia set from jia

4. re-pack my cupboard (it's like a holiday ritual)
- you should witness the magical transformation from perfectly-neat-and-feel-good to ohmygosh-the-moment-you-open-the-cupboard-door during the course of each semester

5. tea/coffee/cupcake/ice-cream time with...
- you know who you are

6. spend an afternoon at my favourite starbucks actually not studying
- i shall have my usual iced chamomile tea, and lonely planet's the blue list 2008 (thank you, it's one of those things i've always secretly wanted!) as my company

7. maybe teach tuition
- biology/english

8. borrow someone's jay "wo hen mang" album
- haha i need new jay songs to sing badly along with

9. shop for/make graduation gifts

10. get back into the kitchen
- someone get me an electric stove already! i'm itching to cook, but it's just so hot/humid and i still can't quite get over my fear of lighting the stove (this is going to sound so silly, but i've an incredibly imaginative mind which can't help flashing all sorts of images of how the gas tank will blow on me)

c'est une heure et demie!
alors, c'est tout pour maintenant!

it's all about You

2008-04-20T04:06:00.008-04:00

it's all about You, Jesus,
and all this is for You, for Your glory and Your fame,
it's not about me,
as if You should do things my way,
for You alone are God,
and i surrender to Your ways.

--------------------------------------------------------

for a few weeks now, my mind's been constantly wrapped around a certain issue.
i was initially disappointed, then hurt, then negativity flooded.
the same thing would persistently resurface in my thoughts, and it didn't do me good. it's certainly not the biggest issue in the whole wide world, but to me, it hurt because i had expectations. not ridiculously unreasonable expectations, just ones which come naturally to most people. what started as only a tiny inkling of disappointedness (if there is such a word) on the very first day only grew bigger and bigger. i struggled hard to stop thinking about it, but it never quite went away. some nights, before i fell asleep, i'd talk to God about it and prayed that He would take those negative thoughts out of my head and help me let go of this hurt.

i thought to myself.
i always try to encourage people to be honest in a friendship, so why can't i be exactly that in this situation? it's very simple, i realised. it's because sometimes, the truth hurts - saying it, and hearing it.

i guess being silent, and hurting inside, is my way of dealing with such things (if you know me, you'd know it's not all things, of course). when i grew up, silence was my best friend when it came to parental discipline. if there was a land called passive agressiva, i'd be the princess of it. throughout the so-called rebellious teenage years, i never once talked-back to my parents (mostly my mum) when they scolded me. i just sat there and listened to the seemingly never-ending lashing out of angry words - and i mean Angry. all sorts of words and emotions would brew inside me, but all stopped short of being verbalized. it was as if the link between my brain and my mouth would automatically disconnect the moment one of the scolding episodes started. in that sense, i think i'd become accustomed to being silent with my parents. (ooh dear, i'm beginning to sound like some sad child huh, haha, i'm not la! this is only one part of my background, and i'm sure every single person out there has some dark childhood experiences stored up somewhere.)

where was i. oh yeah, silence.
what i'm saying here, i guess, is that i'm still learning. aren't we all?
i know myself that i've come a long way since those days, but i suppose there will always be traces that linger on.

----------------------------------------------------------------

the song above struck a chord with me today during worship.
as i was singing it, i thought about the issue, and how it's been making me feel awful for entertaining the negative thoughts that tagged along. then, the lines in bold spoke to me, and i knew. it was really time to totally let go of all that stored up hurt that's been eating me - and i did, finally :)

it's all about You, Jesus.
it's not about me, as if You should do things my way.

le dernier jour du semestre

2008-04-18T13:00:00.002-04:00

and today marks the last day of year 3,
and the last day of university for some of my friends.

and what better way it could have started than with a reddish eye.

elle a seize ans!

2008-04-11T02:20:00.009-04:00

joyeux 16ieme anniversaire,
manny-man-duh!

sweet sixteen.
i can't even remember what i did on mine.

----------------------------------------------------

i've a number of things to say and photos to post, but they have to wait till after the exams. on a short note, when it comes down to one thing, some friends unexpectedly disappoint.

vingt deux

2008-04-03T11:27:00.003-04:00

demain, j'aurai vingt deux ans.
c'est trop vite, je le voudrais pas!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

the reason i don't want to turn 22
is because i don't feel like i'm ready for it.
i kind of would like to remain in the world of 21.

i want a hug

2008-03-27T02:28:00.002-04:00

ohmygosh, jia! a few weeks back, i saw one of the cutest scenes - amongst my mess of bed-side toys, my baby eeyore (a precious gift from my little - okay, not so little - sister the night before i flew off for my exchange) looked like he was reaching out for a hug! awww :)

history repeats itself

2008-03-25T05:09:00.004-04:00

dear mister x,

you're so strange.
sometimes you want to be there, sometimes you just disappear,

and it makes me look like a silly fool.

i almost hate you now. again.

horton hears a who!

2008-03-20T08:34:00.004-04:00

today i took a break and spent $9.50 to catch horton, by myself :)
my leeeterl sista refused to pry herself away from a math question.

funny and full of heart, horton is a tale for the young and old.

i'd no clue it was based on a dr. suess book called horton hears a who!
then again, i haven't read any of his books.

i think i might like them though!
i enjoyed watching the grinch and whoville
plus dr. suess always seems to have a very deep meaning behind all his stories.

talk about delayed childhood reads.

note to self: google jesse mccartney (jojo).

cagibi

2008-03-19T09:57:00.007-04:00

oh. my. gosh.
that was my response when i scrolled down the Midnight Poutine (Montreal) blog and pause to examine this photo. this is the exact cafe janine brought me to for coffee the night before i left montreal. i could never place my finger on the name of the cafe, and what are the chances that Midnight Poutine will blog it! i secretly think montreal misses me too, haha :)

cagibi is the name.
Midnight Poutine describes it as "a Bar/Restaurant/Cafe/Performance Venue on St. Viateur. The brightly lit, eclectically decorated venue is low on pretension, frills, and people under 25, and loaded with folksy charm." very apt. i really liked the quaint, quirky and rustic feel of cagibi, what with its random pairs of chairs.

janine and i picked the two-persons table on the raised wooden platforn, right next to the glass windows. if you look closely at the photo above, its the one on the left side of the entrance, with the white wooden chairs. this brings back quite a fair bit of nostalgia yet again, as if i don't already think about montreal at least once everyday. after our coffee/tea, both of us took a couple of proper and silly shots - we have a thing for goofyness :) unfortunately, the lights in the cafe were pretty dim, so many shots were totally fantastic. below was the best proper one :) oh, janine, my sociology/architecture cafe/coffee buddy - i miss you!

marshmellow moments

2008-03-09T10:24:00.004-04:00

i know i keep gushing about this,
but i've such the soft spot for children.
they just never fail to make me mmeelltt inside.

----------------------------------------------------------

today during praise and play group (for toddlers 4 and below), we had around 6 kids. i say "around" because for young ones like kayla and nathan, it's tough to hold their attention long enough before they start cying for their parents/caretakers.

you can learn so much about them even within 5 minutes.
gabriel barely speaks, but he'll pretty much listen to you.
ian is such the hyperkid, even his father has a tough time handling him.
nathan is at that age when he wants only his way.
kayla is the youngest, but is one who gets jealous easily.

and of course, my favourites: emily and nicholas.
they have such an amazing gentle nature about them, i just want to hug them and never let go :) haha, i want kids like that. after the children lost interest in veggie tales, we settled them down with colouring. i sat in between emily and nicholas, and showed them various animal print-outs to choose from. she chose the duck, he chose the t-rex. while emily was perfectly happy making marks on her duck, nicholas didn't know how to go about re-drawing his dinosaur, so i held his right hand in mine and together, we traced out t-rex's outline. after that, i folded a small envelop and held emily's right hand in mine as we drew three heart shapes inside. she'd repeat after me "heart shape" in that soft, but clear voice of hers. it was such a marshmellow moment for me.

later on, i brought emily to the toilet to wash her hands, and as we walked back hand in hand (she's tiny at less than 0.7m):

me: do you know my name?

emily nods her head, and says in ever so softly: yes.

me [surprised]: what's my name?

emily: jie-jie.

OHMYGOSH, another marshmellow moment! it just made my day.

i don't know

2008-03-08T09:32:00.005-05:00

immanuel:
haha how can you not know? take time to think.. you need to know it..

but thing is, i don't know.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

i had a spontaneous need for grey's last night,
and it was heartbreaking to re-watch season 3's last episode.

----------------------------

rebecca/ava: i've every reason to go, because medically, there's no need for me to stay. medically.

alex: mm, yeah, ok well i'll just check the chart.. and umm..

rebecca/ava: dammit!

alex: what?

rebecca/ava: are you.. do i.. do i have to spell out everything for you? di.. did you.. sniff too much glue as a child? i'm asking you something here.

alex: what do you want from me?

rebecca/ava: i want you to give me a reason to stay. a real reason. jeff.. jeff's a decent guy, a good decent guy. but to him, i'm rebecca, and i don't know if i am rebecca anymore.. i.. you know me. you knew even when i couldn't speak who i was. you.. you named me ava, and i was more me as ava, than i'll ever be as rebecca. look.. i've every reason to go back to my life, and i will.. unless.. you.. alex, i'm askng you to give me a reason to stay here. a reason from you.

alex: jeff loves you. he's a.. he's a decent guy.

rebecca/ava: alex, give me a reason.

alex: i think you should stick with the decent guy.

---------------------------

meredith: if you want to break up with me, so you can see other women, just do it. don't tell me you met another woman. just end it, if that's what you want.

derek/mcdreamy: i can't.

meredith: i'm sure you can. here's how it goes - meredith, i don't wanna see you anymore. meredith, i don't love you anymore.

derek/mcdreamy: meredith, i do love you. don't you see. you're the love of my life. i can't leave you. but you're constantly leaving me. you walk away when you want, you come back when you want. not everybody. not your friends. but you leave me. so i'm asking you, if you don't see a future for us, if you're not in this, please, please just end it. 'cos i can't, i'm in it. put me out of my misery.

meredith: i.. i can't.. christina's getting married. i have to go and make sure she gets married.

derek/mcdreamy: meredith..

meredith: i really need to make sure she gets down that aisle.

derek/mcdreamy: let's go, we're running late.

----------------------------

addison: this is confusing. if you know both the bride and the groom, whose side do you sit on?

alex: i'll just look for the hottest chick in the room, and sit next to her.

addison: stop.

alex: want to skip the reception, grab a drink and start..

addison: stop. stop it. you don't want me.

alex: maybe i do.

addison: no you don't. you want ava.

alex: she's not ava anymore, she's rebecca now. and i barely know her.

addison: look at me. look, at me. you suck. to me, you suck, and i kinda hate you. but alex, we do not get unlimited chances to have the things we want. and this, i know. nothing is worse than missing an opportunity that could have changed her life. and no matter what her name is, she'll always be ava to you.

--------------------------

christina: he's gone.

meredith: i.. i.. i don't think he's gone. his stuff is still here.

christina: no, his trumpet was here. his entire eugene book collection, bios and cds. his grandmother's picture.. was by the bed. his luckiest scrub cap was hanging on the door. he's gone.. i'm free. dammit.. dammit.. dammit..

---------------------------

haha not meaning to sound so crude,
but season 4 had better be damnrightgood!

i need it to be good.

rainforests

2008-03-05T10:02:00.004-05:00

once again, i am completely blown away by planet earth.
a one hour dose is more than enough to get me all excited again about biology!
wait, i am studying a biology major. what is nus doing??

okay, i admit - LSM3251 ecology and LSM3261 life form and function did come in handy for the following topics discussed throughout the video:
- pitcher plant ecology (crab spider!)
- figs as the keystone species in rainforests
- the rainforest tree cycle (pioneers, tree fall, etc.)
- buttress roots

but in terms of getting students all fired up about real-world biology,
nus ought to be slightly ashamed. world-class university? right.
i'm sure selina will agree with me. don't get me wrong here, i'm not anti-nus.
i could launch into a why-i-don't-hate-nus-but-am-not-its-biggest-fan, but i shan't. i'm far more excited to share with you something that merits mention.

-------------------------------------------------------

in this week's episode, rainforests are the stars.
they may only fill 3% of the earth's surface (think amazon, african continent and southeast asia), but they house more than half of the world's recorded species. they are literally hot houses, experiencing a summer-like climate all year. yet, they are also subjected to high amounts of rainfall, which consequently leaches out most of the nutrients in the soil. to make up for the poor soil fertility, the combination of humidity and presence of many detritivores catalyses the decomposition and nutrient recylcing rates [thanks to siva and zeehan (my TA)]. did you know that most of the largest waterfalls in the world are found in tropical rainforests!

the one organism which impressed me the most tonight is a rather unlikely candidate - the cordycep fungi. according to wikipedia, all cordycep species are parasitic on insects and some on other fungi. doesn't sound like anything spectacular? here's the thing - they literally grow from the dead.

once a cordycep species has infected its host, the mycelium will invade and replace the host internal tissues, and this affects the host's behaviour. gosh, it's like being eaten alive. planet earth captured a video showing a bunch of scary-looking big ants with white spots all over - they had been infected. some were seen scratching their bodies, others looked delusional as they attempted to pull their weakened bodies up a stem using their mouthparts. sir attenborough, the commentator of this brilliant series, went on to describe how patrol ants will carry and dispose such infected individualsat a "dumping site" - all in the name of disease control. i felt so sorry for these dumped and dying insects, but like attenborough explained, it's all about balance.

in nature, this balancing act is maintained by relatively equal birth and mortality rates. when a population booms, there will be increased competition for resources, and eventually, some will die off and the population size returns to normal. in the case of insects, the parasitic (and often, fatal) nature of cordyceps is like a natural strategy to control populations which have excess population booms. in simplistic terms: too many ants, higher chance of getting infected by cordycep fungi, mortality rates exceed birth rates, population size is controlled - mission accomplished, yay!

now for the gross part - how the parasitic cordycep propagates.
when the host has succumbed to the invasive parasite, the stroma (fruiting body) will elongate and sprouts out of the decomposing flesh! it changes my perception about rising from the dead for sure. planet earth showed numerous shots of dead insect bodies with stromas that have emerged from the heads/abdomens in full glory - spore sacs included. i have never ever seen anything like that before - so imagine my disgust-fascination as a biology student! at the right time, the sacs will then burst open with a spectacular explosion of vegetative spores! haha okay, i think i just glamourized fungi asexual reproduction. i better stop here.

-------------------------------------------------------

isn't nature so absolutely mind-blowing?
yesterday, as i looked around amy's developmental biology lab, i came across a poster of a sunset hung up above the exit. it said: how can anyone watch a sunset, and not believe in God?

as a biology student, and a christian, i'd say: how can anyone watch nature, from the simple seedling sprouting from beneath the leaf litter to the astounding complexities of the human body, and believe that everything on earth just.. appeared by themselves?

missing

2008-03-04T11:05:00.002-05:00

i somehow don't completely feel myself this semester.
it's like something's missing.

i'm pretty intrigued by psyche and singapore studies,
while evolution has been rather challenging - like mental gymnastics.
animal physiology, strangely, feels both informative but empty.
i don't need to say much for bioinformatics - it's an obligation.

i'm freakin missing passion!
siva-inspired style passion!
urrrghhh.

quelquefois?

2008-02-29T09:30:00.003-05:00

i can be so painfully stubborn at times;
it amazes me.

get well soon

2008-02-27T08:57:00.011-05:00

poor limjiajia.

i'll pray for your hairline fracture to heal well quickly :)

i googled some get well soon cards for you:

even though i'm not the biggest fan of mice, these babies look pretty cute!

hahaha.. mr. bacteria reading up!

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and jia, i also googled tasmanian animals.
i've to say, if i were you, i'd be over-the-top excited!
tasmania is home to 33 native terrestrial and 41 marine mamals!

besides the infamous tasmanian devil,
the island's wildlife includes southern right whales, humpbacks, fur seals, seadragons, sugar gliders (remember i wanted a baby one for a pet after seeing a photo of it?), possums, spotted-tailed quolls, wombats (highly adorable things!), platypuses (i saw one pee in the water at montreal's biodome!), penguins, etc.

http://www.discovertasmania.com/about_tasmania/animals__and__plants

of oscars and virgin births

2008-02-25T10:19:00.002-05:00

one reason to thank God it's the mid-term break now (even though it's not so obviously a break): i get to watch the oscars live!

if i don't remember wrongly, this is my first time catching the show as it streams in live from the Kodak Theatre. previous years of oscars for me have always been either the shortened encore version at night or a tiny portion of live broadcast - all thanks to school. secondary school, junior college, and university.

i'm happy for marion cotillard and daniel day-lewis.
both of them deserve the best actress and actor awards. marion was very impressive and endearing in la vie en rose, a biography of edith piaf, which i watched with my cousin and his friend last year. with all that make-up to portray the aging edith in the film, i couldn't even recognize marion in the film premiere photos. i haven't caught daniel in there will be blood yet, but from the reviews and previews, you can tell the film has substance.

no country for old men bagged the biggest awards!
slightly surprising, given all the hype about atonement, but that makes one more addition to my list of i-want-to-watch-but-haven't-found-the-time-to films.

----------------------------------------------------------

biology trivia.

today's straits times featured an article on dragons and virgin births. at kansas' wichita zoo, a female komodo dragon gave birth to two babies without being fertilized by a male. surprising? actually, records of such virgin births have been made before in some lizard and fish species, but these seemingly miraculous feats are still considered a novelty. thing is, this form of natural biological cloning has probably been around for who knows how long. however, no systematic study on this natural phenomenon has been done yet, so our encounters with animal virgin births have been limited to within zoos.

in fact, biological cloning is not the only unique reproductive strategy used by many fish, reptiles and amphibians. other mechanism employed to survive in rapidly changing environments include temperature-dependent sex determination during embryonic development in some reptiles, and the switching of sexes based on behavioural cues.

if you are now wondering "if females can give birth to their own young without males, why the need for males in the first place?", think variation. this is one of the topics i'm currently studying in evolution class. okay imagine if all the males of the komodo dragon species were wiped out, and the remaining females continue to reproduce asexually via natural cloning. you will literally end up with a population of clones, all with identical genetic make-up as their mothers. sounds fine? absolutely not. though it may be growing in number, the gene pool variability of this clone population will decline, up to a point where individuals are insufficiently adapted to respond to rapid environmental changes.

quoting the author:
virgin birth, then, is a great stop-gap measure to ensure the surivival of species., but works against it in the long haul. biology is about variation. without it ... species would gradually disappear as they failed to meet challenges such as changing climates and environments. so as we continue our very necessary debates over ethical issues, let's bear in mind that morality is a concept limited to our species. the natural world is a fuzzy place that doesn't always accomodate our decidedly human need to find cut-and-dried categories.

je suis d'accord avec le dernier phrase!

because He first loved us

2008-02-24T07:09:00.007-05:00

isn't it strange when you ask someone "how's it going!",
and the person goes "??".

------------------------------------------------------

random things that make me happy
(because i haven't been truly, heartfully happy for awhile):

walking outside on cloudy days
with the breeze almost talking to you.

watching this tiny girl reach out for her dad's left hand,
then for her mum' right hand, as they stroll on together.

setting our in-house pet spider, jamie, free
- back into the wild, where he belongs.

friends who tell me they'll be going for an exchange.
i am so very excited for all of you :)

cedele.
all four in my family have fallen madly in love with cedele cakes
- they are all so yummyliciously good.

drinking warm chamomile tea
- with just a teaspoon of brown sugar.

waking up and greeting Him good morning everyday
- it's a whole new day again!

emily, nicholas, natasha, auntie junnie and uncle allan
- one of my most favouritest young families at church.
just the sight of little emily sharing intimate moments with her mum melts me.

------------------------------------------------------

one reason why i lovelovelove being around children
[yes, they make me melt inside like a roasted marshmallow]
is because they are just themselves.

watching children and their parents always teaches me something.
but the one big lesson is about our Father up in heaven.
if you have seen the love a father/mum has for his/her child,
imagine how much greater love God has for us.
every joyful smile, every tearful frown - they are all as precious to Him.

-------------------------------------------------------

we love, because He first loved us.
1 John 4: 19

------------------------------------------------------

on another note, i kinda hate to see how the monster called busyness eats up virtually everyone once the semester starts.

i find myself spending more time in front of the laptop writing up homework than catching my favourite channels like animal planet, travel and living, discovery channel, and national geographic. the only tv i watch nowadays are grey's anatomy (season 3 just ended) and central's planet earth. i haven't even had time to watch the oscar listers for 2008: away from her, sweeney todd, there will be blood, elizabeth.

okay, i should stop complaining, and start doing something.
central's airing The Queen tonight at 10pm. how brilliant! channel 5 should be utterly ashamed of its back-dated re-runs.

for those who are interested,
planet earth (central, wednesday 10pm) this week will be showcasing one of the most stunning videos captured of wildlife - a pack of lionesses attacking an elephant! this is a behaviour that has not been observed by biologies before, and is definitely worth watching! [credit to my favourite lecturer, mr siva, for sharing about this last semester during LSM3261 Life Form and Function]

pretty ankle scab!

2008-02-17T07:50:00.006-05:00

my very pretty ankle scab!

no, seriously, it's nasty looking - worse that i'd expected when kelly and i pulled off the waterproof plaster. but uncle/dr. barnabas assured me that there's no infection, and i can shower as per normal (in other words, without a ntuc plastic bag taped around my lower right leg).

tomorrow will be the scab's first outing into sunlight!

les yeux

2008-02-16T11:28:00.005-05:00

hello, gorgeous.

i thought my sister was kidding when she gushed about how this french guy called gespard is so hot. but when i saw this photo on her blog, i caught myself going - wow, those eyes.

yes, if you didn't already know, i'm all about eyes.
it could be the most handsomest knight in shining whatever, but if his eyes don't tell me anything, i'll be as immune as a clownfish is to the sea anemone. and that's why i love johnny depp.

plus de neuf mois

2008-02-15T22:37:00.004-05:00

nine more months!

hate-love

2008-02-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

i hate grey's anatomy.
hate-love.

everything's falling apart!

---------------------------------------------------

i don't know what i want.

ssa2211

2008-02-12T02:05:00.000-05:00

i think, to good effect, SSA2211 Evolution of a Global City-State is re-writing my unmistakably limited knowledge of singapore's history.

from primary school all the way up to secondary school, i remember being taught these simple facts: sang nila utama saw a lion in singapore and named it temasek, and then raffles founded singapore in 1819 because of her strategic location. i am ashamed to have happily accepted my birth country's history as that, without questioning, for the most of my 21 years. talk about effective propaganda.

it's easy to take our history as that - an almost romanticized version of how singapore was founded. having sat through 4 lectures of SSA2211, i've begun to realise that it goes way deeper than what has been drilled into us throughout our academic years. it wasn't exactly singapore's physical land which garnered her the title of "strategically located asset"; it was the history behind the water ways of singapore - which goes a long way back to the 13th century when sang nila utama/paramesvara/sri tri buana settled in temasek after he fled from the indonesian empire of srivijaya! between then and 19th century, there seemed to be gap in singapore's history, which can only be filled when this issue is examined on a wider context of the happenings in the Malay world. think politics and colonial expansion by the dutch/english/portuguese. okay, and that's roughly where we stopped at lecture 4.

in other words, the founding of singapore wasn't plainly a consequence of raffles sailing by and chancing up this geographically significant piece of island! it was really the combination of events that were happenings and history of the Riau archipelago that culminated in raffles' strong argument to establish a settlement on singapore. having had the prof explain the details and evidences, i personally find the history of southeast asia pretty fascinating. if you asked me before this semester started, i'd have flatly objected to studying about seasian history - i honestly thought it would be boring, compared to european history. but this perception is beginning to change, thanks to SSA2211!

cheerios to my prof for encouraging us to think about history in a refreshing way!

still

2008-02-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

hide me now, under your wings,
cover me, within your mighty hand.

when the oceans rise and thunders roar,
i will soar with You above the storm,
Father, You are king over the flood,
and i will be still, and know You are God.

find rest, my soul, in Christ along,
know His power, in quietness and trust.

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who else can provide that peace to calm the mini storms.

re-learning chinese new year

2008-02-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

weird dreams have been swirling in my head recently.
when i say weird, i don't mean monsters chasing after me up and down a hdb flat.

you know how there are some dreams which you remember so vivdly after waking up, and how there are some dreams which you can't even put a finger on after waking up? don't you find it fascinating that the brain is so uncomprehensibly complex? even as i'm typing this, i can remember very clearly the weird dream i had last night - who i was dreaming of in particular.

in my classification of dreams, i have four categories.

1. dreams of random people i'd thought about, even for the briefest split second, during the day
2. dreams of people i love/like - relatives, best girls, serious likes
3. random dreams
4. deja-vu dreams, and i've-dreamt-about-this-before dreams

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i think i know why most chinese people are so into celebrating chinese new year.
okay maybe you guys know very well the traditions and meanings behind it, but for me, this cny is almost like a re-discovering of what makes chinese new year.. well, chinese new year. maybe it doesn't make alot of sense, but this is the first year i found myself completely neutral about the most important festive occasion on the lunar calendar. perhaps, it stems from celebrating my first cny away from home last year during my exchange. who knows.

to me, chinese new year always heralds shameless bai nian-ing for hong baos to top-up the bank account, and endless feastings on ridiculous heaps of cny goodies. it also means shopping for new clothes (read: parents' money), and memorizing cheng yus to greet anyone older than you as you present them with two mandarin oranges. oh, and of course, mandatory gambling with the relatives (read: more money!).

maybe that's why i never really felt cny.
it was just another holiday on the calendar to beef up my anorexic bank account, as well as enjoy sumptious food spreads. and make everyone feel guilty for digging into that bowl of shark's fin soup (are you guilty too?). down with killing sharks already! mm, maybe that's why!

over the past two days, i think i've re-learnt the meaning behind cny.
it really is a time to re-affirm traditional chinese traditions, especially for the younger generation, and spend time with relatives in the company of sinfully rich but yummy foods. simply put, the festivity of celebrating chinese new year brings chinese people together. haha i know, it seems like such a duh! kind of answer. but hey, this is for me, the kantang! :)

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it's lovely to spend a breezy, overcast afternoon next to a swimming pool.
even lovelier when you've having a heart-to-heart with one of your best girls.

thank you for yesterday, my dear val :)
pahm cookie dough hug with champagne sugar and baby violet star sprinkles!

cny

2008-02-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

the new friends i make almost always come to the same conclusion.
that i'm a kantang.

----------------------------------------------------

A conversation last night that started out with a mini debate on
the white tiger vs. water tiger.

immanuel: u eat potato one right? dunno about chinese culture

...blahblah...

me: since when is it GOLD rat?

immanuel: LOL grrr it's chinese tradition!!!

me: why would a rat be gold? it doesn't make sense.

immanuel: sigh don't ask why!!!

me: but fire rat would be worse. it should be soil rat.

...blahblah...

immanuel: wah you really eat potato

...blahblah...

immanuel: u potato eater!

...blahblah...

me: haha i guess i'm really not into traditions. i don't even want to do the tea ceremony, if i ever marry a chinese guy. my mother-in-law will hate me hahaaa

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you know how some people say that you'll dream of the last thing you think about?
for me, it happens sometimes. and it happened last night.

i dreamt that my church members were all getting ready for my wedding. and the whole time, i had this sinking feeling because i didn't want to get married. or rather, i didn't know if i wanted to marry the guy in my dream. it was a terrible knot-in-your-stomach-twisted-ten-times-over kind of feeling, especially because everyone around me was in a joyful mood and helping with the preparations. in the last scene, we were all gathered inside the courtyard of a very dilapidated castle in ruins.

i woke up wondering what in the world was that!

-------------------------------------------------------

even though i'm not as enthusiastic about chinese new year, as i'm supposed to be, here's wishing everyone xing nian kuai le, shen ti jian kang and nian nian you yu! have a blessed lunar new year!

super tuesday

2008-02-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

ian [seeing the last empty seat on the bus]: do you want to sit down?
ian also holds doors, and walks down staircases as slow as me.

spinelli guy: does it still hurt?

simple gestures are all it takes.
yes, my wound isn't exactly the most newsworthy or life threatening,
but i still like to be indulged with lots of double Cs. who doesn't, especially when you are still limping slightly, can't stroll as fast as everyone else, and have strangers staring at you like you're some oddball who can't walk properly. it's funny because acquaintances seem to shower more double Cs, and watch out more for me.

--------------------------------------------------

shuttle bus rides can be quite interesting.

me: you're ryan's friend right?
ak: yeah.. you're ryan's friend also right?
ak: orrhh, i know, you're his classmate. pamela right?

haha! ak knows my name. i never knew that.

--------------------------------------------------

this is not good. i'm not liking grey's now.
everything's so choppy, and the people are all not themselves.
and then icansoguesswhatyou'regoingtofreakinmessup lexie grey appears.
i don't like you already.

izzie: you're the glue. you're george.

haha i just think the line's funny.

---------------------------------------------------

something from SSA2211 (Evolution of a global city state) tutorial to ponder on.

what's the past? what's history? are they different?

when i bidded for SSA2211, it was almost out of necessity because i didn't have any other singapore studies choices. i never expected it to have that spark - you know, the spark that triggers this child-like sense of interest/curiosity. and yet, this module suprises me. it's actually not propaganda! -gasp- what i appreciate about SSA2211 is how it challenges us to re-think our perspectives on history and the implications of history. i've always assumed history to be mainly a theoretically subjective representation of past events (apparently, this brunch of history called chronicles has faded into the backdrop over time); i never quite saw (or gave considerable thought about) it as coloured versions of our attempts at reconstructing the past. the keyword here is reconstructing. if you think about it a little more, the history we have recorded is based largely on physical evidences (textual, archaeological, etc.) - fragments of evidences, to be more accurate. this obviously leaves room for erroneous interpretations of the limited data, and emphasizes the difficulty in sustaining pure objectivity for history reconstruction. secondly, what we assume to be the "right" version of how the past was like, may completely differ from the actual version experienced by the people of that particular day and age. thing is, we will never know all of that for sure, and i guess hence, the "eternal search for the truth".

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today's super tuesday,
which is supposedly the most important day before the us presidential election in november. although i like mr oozingofcharisma obama, i think at the end of the day, ms hilary's experience in the office holds more solid ground and is most likely what the us of a is in critical need of at this point in time. i hope the voters vote wisely.

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i'm all neutral about chinese new year.
it's not that i don't like snacking on goodies like pineapple tarts or love letters.
it's not that i don't want to receive hong baos and pig out.
it's not that i'm not looking forward to a 4 day long weekend.
but i'd just rather christmas anytime.

l'aide

2008-02-01T07:25:00.000-05:00

being injured has its perks and shiats.
as with life, there will always be nice people, and not so nice people.

elvin was shoulder support the whole of monday, and nags me to be careful.
hui zhen was arm support on monday night.
jac bought me chocolate comfort food, ordered my bk lunch, and walks me to places.
selina walks slowly with me to the bus stop, and we talk social theories.
immanuel: take care princess cinderella, be a strong girl, you'll recover soon!
kok sheng scanned the practical handout for me.
eugene, cedric and another guy walked slowly with me to the lab.
cedric folded my umbrella, pestered eugene to carry me, and offered to hold my bag.
xue yuan and boyfriend offered me a taxi ride.
this random guy, whom i unknowingly slowed down on the stairs, offered help in the rain.
the 95 bus uncle assured me to take my time to board, like a protective dad.
two ladies on the mrt offered their seats for me.

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the moment me and selina stepped into the lab,

lab auntie: orh-hor, you never wear covered toe shoes!
[looks at me limping] orrhh, you are injured ah?

me: stitches..

lab auntie: orrhh, it's okay.. [big, understanding smile]

-----------------------------------------------------

then there are the not so nice people.
like the young couple who dashed to get the mrt seats i was half a metre away from.
the people who immediately fall asleep/look away when hui zhen and i boarded the train.
the people who stare at me walking at snail's pace as if they have never ever seen an injured, limping person before.

seriously.

a wreck in search of the rainbow

2008-01-31T07:01:00.000-05:00

i'm a wreck.
i've absolutely no ideas for my honours project.

the animals i'd love to work with (whales, seals, otters, penguins, turtles) are either non-existent in singapore, or are too few in numbers to conduct an experimental study on. disappointment would be an understatement. i had a little chat with prof todd yesterday afternoon - he's really encouraging and open to any ideas i might have. which is the problem. he gives me the freedom to think of something i'd like to work with, but i don't even know where to start.

reasons why i feel like a sinking wreck:

1. this is embarrassing, but i am barely even familiar with the marine life that exists in singapore! without a clue about the marine diversity in our waters/intertidal regions, there is no way i can even come up with a list of organisms i might be interested working with. i might as well be searching for a needle in the dark. i need to talk more with kok sheng.

2. i googled "honours projects" last night and came across the university of cape town's applied marine science webpage, which has little summaries about their masters students. these people have actually done thesis papers researching on pilot whale communication, cape fur seal diet, ragged tooth shark distribution, and african penguins ecology! oh, my, gosh. it sounds exactly like my research dream. you cannot even begin to imagine how absolutely insanely jealous i am of them. it is times like these you can't help but want to ask the Big Guy up there this tiny, insignifcant question: am i on the wrong continent??

okay don't get me wrong. i don't doubt His plans because only He knows what is best for us. i have absolute trust in that. it's just there are moments when humans see the right-here-right-now challenges/failures and forget that He sees the rainbow at the end of the road. maybe this is one of those moments - one of those wish-i-were-somewhere-else-anywhere-else-but-here moments (haha okay, actually i have those moments everytime i think about montreal, which is everyday). but this one's at a level which seems to determine my next academic chapter. i just have to hold on in faith, even it seems gloomy for now, that this right-here-right-now challenge is exactly what God has in mind for me. and that i have to draw strength from Him, and sail through the storm, because there is a rainbow at the other end.

again, i want back!

2008-01-29T11:27:00.000-05:00

is not liking the way season 3 is ending!
now i know why mcdreamy said in an interview that he didn't really like how the writers were developing his character. he said it wasn't how he would want his character to develop.

i want back medical cases.
i want back i-am-the-best christina.
i want back best friends george and izzie.
i seriously want back old school grey's.

------------------------------------------------------

sometimes, i think i know what i want,
and sometimes, i really at a lost.

sometimes, i think i've delayed emotional baggage.

maybe the stitches were a good thing.
they have slowed me down dramatically (and been a real exhausting inconvenience), and reminded me that i've been busying myself past God recently. i've been trying to handle everything by myself - friends, feelings, change. truth is, doing that doesn't solve anything, but most of us learn it the hard way.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- Phil 4: 6-7

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i need You, i know i do.

3 stitches and a tetanus jab

2008-01-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

talk about watching too much grey's.
i lived the life of one of the patients who needed suturing in the pits for 15 mins.

i had a mini bicycle accident yesterday at east coast park.
a stopover for photos and a chit-chat turned out to be my first mishap of the year. i was leaning on my stationary bike when it fell backwards away from me into the bougainvilla shrubs. before i knew it, i was bleeding on my right ankle. the metal chain (probably a little rusty) had scrapped a rather deep, vertical wound behind my right ankle ball!

everyone sorta panicked as we were a distance from the rental shop and car park. at this point, i started my uncontrollable laughing fit. it was my first natural response to the whole accident! [i guess i laugh when i'm scared, as odd as it sounds] jia and wei went to the nearby cafe to borrow a first aid kit, but none of us really knew the steps to cleaning a wound proper. yishan helped cleaned my wound with wet tissues, and we wrapped it with more wet tissue and gauze. and guess what? i actually cycled back to the rental shop in this temporary wound dressing!

when the doctor told me i'd need sutures and a tetanus jab, i wanted to flee from the clinic as fast as my legs could carry me - but of course, i couldn't. as i laid on the table, i started my uncontrollable laughing (with some tearing) again! if you didn't know what happened, you would have thought i was a slightly hysterical girl. i couldn't help it - i've a serious fear of injections! i couldn't bear to watch the anaesthesia injection and suturing so i turned away, laughing and squeezing wei's arm at the same time. apparently, the second local anaesthesia was injected directly into my gaping wound - no wonder it hurt so bad! the irony of anaesthesias. all in all, there were 3 stitches to close up my 4 cm wound! my very first stitches ever! thank goodness i didn't feel a thing, but i think the three of them were very brave to watch the live sitching! :)

next up was the tetanus jab.
i turned away again, squeezing jia's arm and willing the girls to distract me with talking. the injection felt like a long red ant's bite. when all was done, the doctor said that she'd used the baby needle for me (she must have been very amused that i laughed my way through the suturing)! how cute is that! a baby needle :)

the wound doesn't hurt right now, but i can't walk properly or much.
the wound is located in an odd, vulnerable spot so i try to limp and hop around the house - but my favourite is lounging with my right leg propped up to reduce any swelling. i know leg wound don't heal as fast with all the pressure from walking and standing, but i sure hope it heals well. i've to walk alot on campus during the week!

my arm aches from the tetanus jab! :/

i remember the doctor asking me a few questions to help distract me from the local anaesthesia injection, and one of them was: what do you like to watch?

me: grey's anatomy!

planet earth

2008-01-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

planet earth is absolutely astounding.

it is an 11 part mini-series, currently on re-run on central (wednesdays, 10pm), that brings you to nature like you've never seen it before. breathtakingly perfect kodak scenes, and priceless moments of raw nature, planet earth reminds us of much of the beauty here on earth we have yet to discover.

the intimate footages of rare animals seen in the wild are really special:
- a snow leopard and her 1 year old cub
- a polar bear and her two young cubs emerging from their hibernation under the snow
- a grizzly and her two young cubs emerging from their mountain den

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if i could, i'd like to adopt a baby grizzly or polar bear or panda.

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random trivia (that blogspot ate up!):

did you know beached whales don't die because they can't breathe on land, but because their soft bones (the weight usually supported by the water) crush and damage their internal organs.

did you know mudskippers can roll on their backs, as well as blink their eyes?

did you know scientists have found active volcanos under the arctic ice?
[one of the latest articles in the highly revered journal, nature]

did you know pandas are born blind, and their eyes only open at 3 months?

did you know horseshoe crab blood is blue in colour, and used in the biomedical field to test for contamination?

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science is never asleep, it seems.

bloody pissed off

2008-01-23T06:35:00.000-05:00

oh. my. gosh.
my entire super-passionate post about sungei buloh wetlands reserve, lsm3252 evolution and comparative genomics, pl1101e introduction to psychology, ssa2211 evolution of a global city state and random trivia has been freakin' bloody eaten up by blogspot! it usually saves automatically as you type, so what the hell happened today! i spent the past hour typing out my thoughts and feelings! i'm so freakin' pissed off!!!

i want back

2008-01-22T11:28:00.000-05:00

the grey's characters are so freakin' messed up now, i can't bear to watch how the next few episodes will end up.

it's sad, the state betweeen..
george and izzie,
addison and herself,
mcsteamy and himself.

-----------------------------------------------

i want back the oddball medical cases,
i want back the intertwining of themes in the patients' and interns' lives,
i want back the old school grey's.
when everything was alright. well, relatively.

a few things

2008-01-21T10:31:00.000-05:00

there are a few things i look forward to:

meeting khim sometime soon.

getting to know gaby, the french girl, from evolution class more. haha, it all started out with both of us smiling to each other, and me asking where she's from.

getting to know the oh-so-boyish canadian born chinese from animal physiology class more. he's been here for a year-long exchange since last semester. i spotted him in ecology class last term 'cos of his canadian flag iron-on on his bag, but never quite got the chance to talk.

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since my exchange, i've made it a point to get to know at least one exchange student if there are any in the classes i take.

last semester, i made friends with zac - a jewish american whose grandfather was a holocaust survivor! one thing i liked about zac was his passion for research - he'd turn ordinary hangers and strings into pseudo webs to trap insects for his urops project on spiders. he was quite admirable; even though he was an exchange student, he made serious effort in his studies, which puts me to shame haha. right now, he's in new zealand doing his masters. how amazing.

last semester, i also randomly talked to strangers.
i struck up conversations with an italian political science[masters] student who was sitting next o me on 95, and this german exchange girl on the shuttle bus.

even if for 10 minutes, it can be pretty fascinating!
everyone should try it!

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i absolutely like sitting outside university hall's spinelli, enjoying the [sometimes too violent] breeze. for a moment, it always feels like i'm somewhere else. not in singapore.

i like carrying my backpack. and this only started when i started school at mcgill. it makes school feel like school, not some formal function or clubbing arena just look at what singapore university students are carrying to school. i'm not saying everyone should carry a backback; i like carrying going-out bags to school sometimes. maybe it's just me and aching everything to feel like mcgill/montreal.

feathers

2008-01-19T07:05:00.000-05:00

a day at the jurong bird park is worth all the sun, cawings and poop.

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hill mynahs seem to have a camouflage mechanism similar to the
false eyesspots of the butterflyfish!

cuckatoos can mimic human voice pretty well!

the wingspan of the largest eagle species is roughly 2.4m.

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the magnificent lory loft,
where you can pay for a cup of honey water and nutrients to feed the lories.

macbook air

2008-01-16T08:02:00.000-05:00

wonders never cease.

say hellooo to a new orgas experience:
the macbook air.

it can slide into a [freakin'] mailing envelop.

and i thought the mac os x and iphone were cool.

to believe

2008-01-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

bailey:
i need something to hold on to. i need a reason to believe that medicine can do more than stitch you up and send you away. i need to believe that medicine can not only save lives, but change lives. i need to believe in something, the way i used to believe in you all.

------------------------------------------------------------------

i need to believe that i am myself.

little angels

2008-01-06T00:49:00.000-05:00

as i sat in one of those tiny kids chairs and looked around,
i realised the kids in church have grown up.

taller. rowdier. chattier.
haha okay, i know the last one's not a proper word.

----------------------------------------------------

me: aren't you tired from carrying her [emily]?
aunty junnie: my arms are numb!

i can't help but marvel at how mummies (excluding those who cheat a little by using the sling wrap) can hand-carry their babies for hours on end! it's simply amazing. whenever i carry babies for more than 10 minutes, i'd feel lactic acid slowly accumulating and burning my arm muscles! my arms would ache for the next few days! i thought to myself, oh dear, i better start training my bi/triceps now.

but i think aunty junnie, a mother of three whom i admire, said it all.
your arms get numb, but no choice, it's your precious one you're holding.

--------------------------------------------------

children are absolutely fascinating.
naughty sometimes, but always God's little angels.

remember the days when you'd quarrel with your bestest best friend, and then turn to him/her and pout: i don't friend you anymore!

----------------------------------------------------

i watched a similar scene unfold today between daphne and chloe..

chloe [crying her heart out to grandmother]: she don't want to talk to me!

grandmother [to daphne]: what happened?

daphne: chloe hold my hand and don't want to let go.

grandmother: come daphne, say sorry..

daphne [gently]: sorry..

grandmother puts chloe down, and chloe tries to talk to daphne to not much avail. but within the next minute, i see the two best girl friends holding hands again and running across the hall, getting all excited about the adults opening up the foldable tables.

haha, talk about forgive and forget. more often than not, children exemplify what we ought to be like. as adults, we have much to un-learn and re-learn.

passive agressiva

2008-01-04T09:04:00.000-05:00

derek [to addison]:
there's a land called passive agressiva, and you are their queen.

that's too hilarious!

dammit

2008-01-04T04:19:00.000-05:00

pardon me,
but i'm in a dammit mood.

dammit, derek.
dammit, cors.
dammit, cookies.

cut. suture. close.

2008-01-02T10:55:00.000-05:00

cut. suture. close.

neutral and clinical - should do the trick.

happy new year

2007-12-31T04:21:00.000-05:00

wow, and before you can say let's toast, it's already the last day of 2007.

in my twenty one years,
2007 marks my happiest and saddest moments.
it may have been one helluva rollercoaster ride in the front seat,

but i can say i survived because of the one sitting right next to me all this while
- my bestest best friend, Jesus.

i don't know what 2008 holds, and neither do i know whether it'll be better/worse than 2007. but i rest in full assurance that every single thing, from the smallest to the biggest, is under God's care :)

happy new year/bonne année, my dear friends.

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the theme for tonight's countdown party at uncle long wee's house: rock 'n' roll.

i told my mum how are we (the children) supposed to know what kind of dressing that is - we weren't even born during the rock 'n' roll period!

which reminds me of a trivia i'd learnt about in canada (i think from aunty anne).

do you know the original meaning behind the term rock 'n' roll?
haha, well let's just say it's not about music.

a moment

2007-12-29T05:02:00.000-05:00

have you ever had moments -
moments when you are somewhere, but somewhere else?

this morning, as i walked towards the cafe for my morning shift and qi li xiang played in my ears, i had a moment - a moment of walking through complexe des jardins, level 2, past the deli and boutiques, in the direction of the exit facing st. catherine.

in other words, it's like living a flashback.

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once in awhile, when i'm on the mrt and facing the doors, i'll have a moment - a moment of facing the blue carriage doors of the metro, with the vertical metal hand bars on either side, and a voice overhead announces "la prochaine station... ".

---------------------------------------------

once in awhile, when i'm walking the stretch of road between my house and ttsh, i'll have a moment - a moment of walking the two grey concrete sidewalks along st. catherine, with the all-too-familiar shops and eateries.

walking home, i take the sidewalk on the north side of st. catherine: from the upriding escalators of st. laurent metro, past a weird costume boutique/grungy bar, turning at the junction of st. laurent where la belle province is, passing by subway/souvenir shop/lace shop/hotel-de-ville hotel/concert venue/grungy rock bar/sunglass shop/vietnam restaurant/asian cuisine restaurant whose spring rolls never seem to sell/carpark with cool graffiti-fied walls/convenience store/hat boutique, crossing the traffic light towards venus and mars restaurant and back at 1245 hotel-de-ville.

walking to st. laurent metro, i take the sidewalk on the south side of st. catherine: from 1245 hotel-de-ville, round the corner with the big guy on the wheelchair holding a van houtens cup in his hand, past the bookshop/eglise/le 281 (high class guy strip club)/souvenir shop/carpark/ice cream shop/grungy boutique/xxx place with bright signage and that fake stripper dancing shadow, and crossing at the junction of st. catherine and st. laurent to reach la belle province. in the day time, i'll take a shortcut by jaywalking across st. catherine and walk through the alley between subway and the lace shope to reach the back end of the st. laurent metro entrance. khim advised me to use that 100m shortcut only in the daytime.

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once in awhile, as i stare at my heart-shaped photo collage on my bedroom wall, i'll have moments - moments of random exchange memories.

sometimes, it's me and cindy sitting on that greengreen field in front of james abbott cegep, and having a skipping stones competition at the river nearby. sometimes, it's me and the exchange people over-cooking for our tuan yuan fan. sometimes, it's me and janine having our regular breakfast at our favouritest mcgill architecture cafe after our 8.30am soci210 sociological perspectives lectures - her coffee and my huge $1 chocolate chip and banana muffin. sometimes, it's me and maude having dinner at cafe kafka at longueil (i must have attempted its ponunciation at least 15 times before i got it right, thanks to the ever so patient maude) which is just outside of montréal island. sometimes, it's me and cindy watching prison break season 1 in her room and drooling over wenthworth miller. sometimes, it's the nyc and washington dc trip which both hold many special memories. sometimes, it's our adrenaline-filled snowboarding experience on st. bruno and the yummylicious maple syrup buffet at a cabane à sucre. sometimes, it's my most embarrassing bargaining/conversation with a quebecois taxi driver - in french. sometimes, it's about how absofreakinlutely butt freezing cold it was at montmorency falls and walking though old quebec city in search of dinner - imagine - 30 degrees celcius with wind chill. sometimes, it's me getting drunk on one beer and two shots, and cindy having a real good time laughing at me getting high - she let me stay over 'cos she wasn't sure i'd made it back home in one piece. sometimes, it's going all the way out to jean talon marché or zellers at atwater metro just to get cheaper groceries (and that one afternoon when i requested for my groceries in brown paper bags, just like in the movies). sometimes, it's that evening sitting on the concrete wall of the small park facing the canadian centre for architecture and watching the sun set on the surburbs. the "sometimes, it's about.. " list can go on.

------------------------------------------------

the 28th of december 2006 marked my very first night in montréal at 1245 hotel-de-ville (my very first day trip to the city was in spring 2005). it was also my very first night away from relatives (uncle sam, aunty anne, and ryan were staying at a hotel 100m away). being homesick (haha that was the only time throughout my exchange) in a stranger's house didn't help, and i remember crying uncontrollably - the fear of having to fend for myself finally set in, plus it felt lonely up on the third level since elis hadn't arrived yet. thankfully, the soos came over to check on me before we all headed out for dinner with khim and kent.

it's funny looking back, and realising how God had it all planned out right from the beginning - for me to spend 4 months studying at mcgill unversity in montréal, and learn pretty big lessons. if He didn't, i'd have ended up at some unknown parisian university, struggling to write my assignments and exams purely in french.

oh, my montréal, i miss you.
but you know that already right.
i left half my heart (earring) behind on my 21st birthday.

top notch

2007-12-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

i am legend.

scarier than i expected. i was covering my eyes 70% of the time! but then again, i am very easily scared. imagine a whole army of the infected hunting you down like you were game prize. it really isn't funny.

will smith's acting was absolutely top notch. i totally felt him throughout the film. such intense, raw fear. i hated the part when he followed sam, his german sheperd, into the darkness. every inch of me was willing him to just run back out into the sunlight, and i could barely look at the screen as he searched in the pitch black.

having stood in the middle of times square before, it was pretty awesome to see it digitally transformed into a deserted mess with an eerie silence. almost inconceivable. this whole idea of genetically modified entities infecting and killing millions/billions of people is not new. from the time scientists have attempted to play God by playing around with genes, there has been heated debates questioning the long term effects of genetic manipulations and potential mutations. also, in light of 9/11, the scientific and political worlds have expressed deep concerns about terrorists employing airborne viruses to wipe out populations.

although most sci-fi movies are exaggerated, the potential of genetically modified stuff back-firing on us is real.

-------------------------------------------------------

in the valley of elah.

if i could choose a film that everyone has to watch this week, it'd be this.
it might seem like just another iraq war-bashing film, but there's something about in the valley of elah that is very real. based on numerous true accounts, it tells of a father's fierce determination to find out how and why his son mike (a us soldier who'd served in iraq) was so brutally murdered.

tommy lee jones' acting was absolutely top notch too.

i've alot to say about the film, but i just can't seem to find the right words at this point in time. i think the ending scene said it all. a soiled and worn out american flag flying upside down - a signal for distress.

expectations

2007-12-26T09:27:00.000-05:00

there's been a little something nagging at the back of my mind for a few days now. i tried to ignore it, because i know what lies at the end of that train of thought, and it's not something i want to dwell on. at the end of the day, it's all about expectations huh.

i think, sometimes, we hold on so tightly to something we believe to be so real that you don't know how to react when it fails you. and inside, you go: whaaattt. but i thought..

then yesterday, as i pondered on friendship, i came to the same conclusion as my favourite christian song (jesus, lover of my soul): jesus is our bestest of best friends. He is the only one who never disappoints.

and i find comfort in that.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

now that i finally have in my very own possession (finally!) grey's anatomy dvds from seasons 1 to 3, i am very tempted to abandon my channel 5 tradition. but something tells me to stick to it. so i shall just start from the very beginning.

top christmas picks

2007-12-25T05:02:00.001-05:00

my top four favourite presents!

fuschia pink clock (shared with my sister) from aunty michelle:
i absolutely adore the giraffe and fuschia. look at those lovely lashes!

animal alley dog from my a.man.da:
my sister thinks it's lame, but i named my doggie christmas :) i introduced her to my bedside canadian soft toy gang - darly, baby eeyore, royal candian mounted police moose, quebecois moose, and turtle jack's seal. christmas is as soft as my darly, the pink hippo elis gave me after our midnight blackout.

pink/grey nike bottle from my cousin eric's girlfriend, clara:
i love the colour!

heart shaped earrings from veronica:
very sweet!

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the past three days have been..
turkey. ham. turkey. ham. turkey. ham. turkey. ham.

haha i'm kidding. there were many other delectable food choices.
last night's countdown at aunty michelle's was special
- bubbly (champagne) with chocz chocolate. mmm.

i always flush a whole lot everytime i down alcohol - red, white, bubbly, choya, ice wine. so my trick to savour these treats without turning as red as the ponsietta leaves:
sipping between alcohol and water :)

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despite the amazing food spreads and constant flow of booze, you'll realise that christmas time is really, actually, family time.

my christmas night top film pick:
love actually.

joyeux noël

2007-12-24T21:07:00.000-05:00

God has given us eternal life, and this life in in his Son.

- 1 John 5:11
(haha i just read it off ieatishootipost.blogspot)

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in the midst of the crazy shopping sprees and turkey feasts,
may we be reminded of the true meaning behind noël:
the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the joy of giving!

joyeux noël à tous :)

les cadeaux

2007-12-23T04:41:00.000-05:00

loveslovesloves getting presents :)
from the tiniest to the furthest.

i.i.relate

2007-12-18T10:48:00.000-05:00

mcsteamy: i'm that good.

-----------------------------------------------------

sometimes, exactly what you want, is exactly what you need.
but sometimes, what we need isn't planned.

- meredith

----------------------------------------------------

remember the post about how more often than not, i find myself relating to the issues the characters face at that very particular point in time of a particular episode? this week, grey's is a little unnervingly close to heart.

a newflash on the bottom of the tv screen:
catch the next episode of grey's anatomy three weeks later on tuesday 11.30pm.
i almost froze for a moment there. oh dear. i can't do without my weekly dose.
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhelp!

enchanted part 2

2007-12-16T01:43:00.000-05:00

...A life goes by

Romantic dreams will stop
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting, waiting here with you...

...So close to reaching that famous happy ending
Almost believing this was not pretend...

---------------------------------------------

currently on repeat on april: so close (don mclaughlin).
i've a weakness for songs i like. i put them on repeat until another one comes by. it can drive people around me nuts. haha, i can't help it!

so close is from the enchanted soundtrack :)
if you are a disney fan, you'd realise it's pretty similar to one of the hercules/toy story songs. or rather, it has a very classic disney feel to it. the typical of song disney films will play when the two characters are torn apart for a myriad of reasons (of course, they get back together in the end for the happily ever after ending) - half dreamy, half sad.

the other song i currently like: ever, ever after (carrie underwood).
also from the enchanted sountrack, which i am eagerly waiting to buy, along with the enchanted vcd. but i haven't gotten the mp3 for it (jia's my source, haha!), so i've to settle with listening to it on youtube. as cheesy as the lyrics may be, and make you want to get on your feet and prance around feeling like you're in a fairytale.

yes, yes, very dreamy and idealistic.
even though the world may tell you it's not smart,
you gotta indulge a girl some fairytale magic.

100

2007-12-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

i wanted to wait for something special for my 100th post,
and i was thinking i'll probably have to wait.
then i was unsuspectingly surfing the midnight poutine l montreal blog to check for updates, and, oh my. i saw the photo above - of a horse carriage, at mont royal i'd say - and i just melted.

i thought, what could be more perfect than writing about my love - montréal.
better yet, montréal in winter.

you can't even begin to imagine how much i'd love to be there right this moment - standing in knee-deep snow, and breathing in that chilly air with my eyes closed. or, falling back to make snow angels. or, smacking friends with snow balls, even though i'm pretty bad at snow ball fights. i always get targeted at 'cos i aim horrendously and i tend to run slowly/slip in snow! or, just lying down to watch the millions of snow flakes fall onto your face. priceless.

even though i'm not there to enjoy this winter,
i guess memories are the next best thing for now :)

dammit, izzie stevens!

2007-12-11T11:44:00.000-05:00

izzie: maybe it’s time to move on. it’s not too late to let it go, and start over

meredith: i hate people

derek [to meredith's father]: .. she's worth the effort

---------------------------------------------

...new wounds which are so horribly painful,
or old wounds that should have healed long time ago but never did.

...maybe our old wounds teach us something...

...but some things we just have to learn over and over again.

- meredith

-------------------------------------------------

there was an episode in season 2 about wounds too,
and i remember it was so close to heart.
meredith and george had a fall-out,
and i had my own too.

------------------------------------------------

11th december mrt tidbit:
(don't mind the horrible han yu ping yin!)

fresh out of o levels NUM assistant: wo de nu peng you zai han guo leh..

he went on to tell his friend about how they quarrelled hours before she flew off,
and how he regretted it.

his friend: ni qu han guo la..
NUM guy: ya, qu na bien chang ge la.. [singing] sarang in gayo..

...a moment later...

NUM guy [sheepishly]: wo hui xiang ta leh..
his friend: ta she me shi ho hui lai?
NUM guy: sunday
his friend: aiyah, hen kuai de la
NUM guy: zhen de meh.. jing tian shi..
his friend: tuesday
NUM guy: huh, zhi shi tuesday.. *hokkien expletive*

i had to stop myself from smiling (if not they'd know i was eavesdropping, haha)! it was so.. teenager-ish. i adored the part when he started singing part of the goong song - gong's my favourite korean drama serial! his girlfriend had obviously made him accompany her to sit and cry through the 20 episodes. either that, or she has that song as her ring tone. so cute.

who am i?

2007-12-11T01:19:00.000-05:00

who am i? - casting crowns

who am i?
that the Lord of all the earth,
would care to know my name,
would care to feel my hurt.

who am i?
that the bright and morning star,
would choose the light the way,
for my ever wondering heart.

---------------------------

not because of who i am,
but because of what you've done,
not because of what i've done,
but because of who you are.

i am a flower quickly fading,
here today and gone tomorrow,
a wave tossed in the ocean,
a vapour in the wind,
still you, hear me when i'm calling,
Lord you catch me when i'm falling,
and you told me who i am,
i am Yours.

---------------------------

who am i?
that the eyes that see my sin,
would look on me with love,
and watch me rise again.

who am i?
that the voice that calm the sea,
would call out through the rain,
and calm the storm in me.

------------------------------------------------------

my current favourite song.
i really like the lyrics 'cos i feel them;
i think everyone can relate in their own personal way.

tillandsia

2007-12-08T08:46:00.000-05:00

i've a new pet: a tillandsia.
haha, it's an airplant from south america.

no, i didn't buy it. uncle mark and aunty karen invited the young adults class over to their place for an early christmas dinner, and we played the present game - the one where everyone gets a random number and, in asceding order, picks any present under the christmas tree or steals someone els'e opened present. i was number one, and so i got to go first. it was a tough choice! but in the end, i picked the biggest odd-shaped present because i knew it was going to be something odd too. as i pried open the wrapper to reveal a creative bag, i wondered what in the world is inside. when i looked in, i found this tiny herbaceous plant with narrow leaves sitting on a grey stone staring back at me. before yesterday, i'd never heard of an airplant. i've learnt of aerial roots and epiphytes in biology classes, so this sparked some interest. it doesn't need soil to grow because the trichomes on the leaves can absorb water! pretty cool eh :) it was temporarily stolen by tab when it reached her turn to choose, and the bargaining was hilarious! so i then ganged up with my sister: i stole her play-doh, and she stole back the airplant for me. haha, sorry la, biology student here!

i'm tempted to name it: baby tilly.
does it sound too cheesy?

-------------------------------------------------------------

recently, i've been thinking of getting myself a pet fishy. a marine fishy, to be exact. but given now that i'm more familiar with aquariums, and have researched on fish welfare, i'll be putting myself up for a mini heartbreak if my fish die. i used to keep some freshwater fish when i was younger and had no clue what i was adding to the water - i just mechanically followed the pet shop owner's instructions. admittedly, all i cared for at that time was watching the fish swim in the tank. i had a few goldfish (from fun fairs) and other species, but none of them made it very long. i know it's not easy to maintain a fish tank; it requires serious commitment and effort to keep it clean and optimal for the fish. but having researched so much on their welfare, i have this urge to set up a marine one.
mm, should i or should i not?

je suis fatigué

2007-12-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

i think i'm unknowingly drained from the past few months.

miracles

2007-12-06T08:41:00.000-05:00

[part 1]

meredith: i don't talk either when i'm scared, when bad things happen

yang: are we supposed to act tense?

mcdreamy/derek: i am your knight in shining whatever

yang: it just seems so quiet you know

[part 2]

yang: she's my person.

[part 3]

danny [to meredith]: are u ready to talk about this now, or you want to wait somemore?

danny [to meredith]: that’s all you get – moments. and then, they move on, and you want them to move on.

chief [beside elis grey's cold body]: i miss the sound of your voice, i miss talking to you, i miss you... i dyed my hair for the ladies.

-----------------------------------------------------------

things happen - we can't explain them, we can't control them, but they happen.

miracles do happen in medicine; miracles do happen everyday.

we take our miracles where we find them, and we bridge the gap.

against all odds, against all logic, we touch

- meredith

----------------------------------------------------------

one reason why i love grey's anatomy is because week after week, it will somehow evoke this sense of "me too".

i know, you must be thinking - huh, you see yourself as those medical interns who can't seem to get enough of making out (well at least that's what alot of people are mistaken about grey's)? no, grey's holds more meaning to me than that. i guess in a way, that's why i don't choose to download the entire season to watch it in one shot (don't get me wrong, there's perfectly nothing wrong with doing so, haha it's just me la). it is very tempting, but from day one till now, i've stuck to catching the weekly broadcast on channel 5. how to explain. i feel that the characters have grown on me at a more personal level, because there are many times when their issues parallel mine at that particular point in time.

all three episodes for [miracles] spanned over two weeks from my grandfather's passing. watching the families of those hurt or killed in the ferry accident griping with reality, i found myself relating to them. before this, whenever i watched death onscreen or attended a wake, i'd think - yeah can imagine, it must be tough. but truth is, if you haven't experienced death in your personal circle, you can't really say you can imagine what it is like. so when mcjay said hmmm.. i understand how it feels like, i believe him. okay, my point isn't about death - Jesus conquered it, so we shall have no fear of it :). my point is, i find comfort in knowing that sometimes, what i'm going through isn't only happening to me. but of course, we've got to take everything with a pinch of salt - this is a television series, and dramatization is expected. what's tv without it eh.

enchanted

2007-12-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

oooh, i'm completely enchanted by disney's enchanted!

[disclaimer: spoilers ahead. if you haven't watched it and are a disney fan, seriously, what are you waiting for?? don't read below until you've caught it.]

i've always been a old school disney girl.
aladdin, beauty and the beast, the lion king, the little mermaid, snow white and the seven dwarfs (the first animated feature produced by walt disney, and that's why giselle's character was based mainly on snow white), sleeping beauty, cinderella, pocahontas, hercules, the hunchback of notre dame, pinocchio, bambi, peter pan, tarzan, mulan, the swan princess - true disney classics i grew up with.

i don't know why, but the disney films after that period just didn't feel the same. yes, monsters inc. was cool, brother bear was sweet, and the incredibles was funny. yet, they lacked the disney classic element. in my opinion, finding nemo (and possibly, ratatouille) is the only modern disney animated film which deserve to join the ranks of disney classics. maybe it was the bad of technology. maybe in the midst of catching onto the trend of producing super-realistic, super-modern animated characters, disney films nowadays have somewhat lost that touch of old school magic.

to my own surprise, i lovelove enchanted!
it has very skillfully mastered the art of blending old school with new school. when i first saw the preview, i thought, wow that's a pretty new idea - bringing a disney character into real life. and of course, the moment i realised that mcdreamy was starring in that film, my heart skipped a beat: mcdreamy in a disney happily-ever-after film - the perfect choice!

the moment julie andrews began the narrative with scenes out of the shrek-like storybook filled with pop-ups, i had a good feeling about enchanted. the lovely pastels of old school two-dimensional characters/scenery brought back many memories. from the "in a far, far away land" theme to singing with the absolutely adorable forest animals, the first part of the story was like a prettier and sweeter version of snow white. giselle's animated character was so ethereally feminine, dressed in something little girls (haha, actually, me too!) would day-dream about :)

the transition from old school far, far away land to the reality of downtown times square (ooh, there were so many scenes that reminded me of our nyc trip) was initially a little odd, probably because it's not a very common script idea. yet overall, i'd say disney did a fantastic job at bridging the gap. giselle's slightly awkward/free-flowing gestures translated from typical disney princessy behaviour in animated films really grows on you, while prince edward's ignorance of the locals/reality was hilarious. pip, the chipmunk (again, it reminded me of my 2005 canada trip - i got to hold and feed wild chipmunks!) also held his own with entertaining charade acts and escapes.

haha although some of the songs were cheesy-ish, the "i've been dreaming.. " one keeps ringing in my head. and sometimes, i'd end up smiling to myself when i think about prince edward and how he was run over by those cyclist while singing it after he saw gisele in central park (which brings to mind our barely 10 mins walk into central park before deciding to talk to shorter, straighter sidewalk path to the natual history museum).

i'd read two reviews about enchanted before watching it today. both gave surprisingly good reviews for a disney show, and also said to expect a typical happily ever after ending. i thought okay, that should mean.. haha before i spill more beans about the storyline, i'd just say, it was good that i'd made the wrong assumption. it made the ending even better for me.

the theme of "happily ever ever" versus "it just doesn't happen in reality" is not new, but i felt that this was taken to another level by bringing disney old school into reality. it does make you question your own take on true love. i've always been an idealist at heart. but along with time, it has definitely been slightly watered down. a little like mcdreamy's character in the film (and in grey's). and at this particular point in time, for a reason only some understand, i doubt i can do any liking.

and, the one who made my day - mcdreamy.
oh. my. word.
he's so undeniably sexy, and, a family man - both on screen, and off screen.

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patrick galen dempsey trivia: same birthday as dennis/first marriage at 21 years old was to a 48 year old woman (okay, that's just weird)/has a daughter named tallulah and twins/passionate about car racing!

a side note: somehow, giselle/amy adams reminds me of meredith. and for a moment, it felt like grey's anatomy. which reminds me, last night concluded the last of the three-part episode of the ferry incident. i'll post my favourite quotes of the episode next time.

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in other words, enchanted has charmed it way into a modern disney classic :)

oh, this is too funny!

2007-12-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

ooh, my cousin ryan knows me best (kristen did the same a few months back!):

Hello Miss Montreal,
What's up? How did that fish project go? I was surfing the net and found this article. I just had to show you! Enjoy!
Ryan

Winter joy in Montréal

For the traveller on your list,
a long weekend in Montréal could make the perfect gift. If you're searching for the gift that keeps on giving, a trip can be just the thing. The gift of a winter getaway will create cherished memories – and if you head to Montréal, it's a romantic way to warm up a long winter weekend.

Montréal – recently declared a 'perfect proxy' for Paris by the popular travel website Fodors.com – offers not only the old-world charm of cobblestone streets and candlelit cafes, but a vibrant cosmopolitan centre where by day you can bask in the rich cultural life, indulge in all manner of gourmet delights, recharge at a luxurious spa and then dance the night away in a club. (Check out Fodor's top picks for where to stay, eat and have fun in Montréal.)

How sweet it is

And if you want to stay a little longer, Tourisme Montréal is once again offering what it calls its Sweet Deal, which gives visitors a second night at half price in participating hotels."The popularity of the Sweet Deal is going strong," said Charles Lapointe, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. "We're proud to have been one of the first cities in the country to offer a package deal that lets visitors stay longer at a very affordable price, especially because we have participating hotels to suit pretty well every visitor profile." Visitors can choose from about 20 three-to-five star hotels with prices for the first night starting at $127. The Sweet Deal package includes a gift from Fruits & Passion and two Passeport Privilèges from the Casino de Montréal (value of up to $40). Some hotels also add perks like a buffet breakfast, high-speed Internet access, free parking or upgrades to business suites, according to the Tourisme Montréal website.

A foodie's delight

Looking to master Montréal's fine dining savoir-faire? Cooking courses are offered in French at the Académie culinaire and in English at Bon Appétit.For the foodie who simply wants to sit down and enjoy, the city's kitchens offer a huge range of cultural and ethnic diversity. Sample world cuisine from Montréal's 5,000+ bistros and restaurants offering specialties from over 80 countries.And of course, you won't want to miss out on the local specialties – smoked meat, barbecued chicken and soggy stimés (steamed hot dogs).

Not to-be-missed sites

Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Montréal. This awe-inspiring church, which opened in 1829, features 228-foot twin towers and tens of thousands of 24-karat gold stars that stud the soaring blue ceiling. Its 12-ton bass bell is the largest in North America.Jardin Botanique. No matter how brutal the weather, it's always summer in one corner of the city. One of the world's great botanical gardens, Jardin Botanique has 181 acres of plantings in summer and 10 greenhouses open all year. It is the second-largest attraction of its kind in the world (after England's Kew Gardens) with more than 26,000 species of plants. Musée d'Archéologie et d'Histoire Pointe-à-Callière. Take a romp through Montréal's history from the Ice Age to the present. An elevator ride takes you down to the 17th century and the very foundations of the city, starting with the banks of the long-vanished Rivière St-Pierre, where original settlers built their homes and traded with the Native American inhabitants. From there you travel all the way back to present day multicultural Montréal. For a spectacular view of the Vieux-Port, the river, and the islands, take the elevator to the top of the tower.Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal. Canada's oldest museum has been accumulating art from all over the world since 1860. Its permanent collection includes artists from Rembrandt to Renoir, and one of the best assemblies of Canadian art anywhere, with works by Paul Kane, the Group of Seven, and Paul-Émile Borduas. Parc Jean-Drapeau. The park, located on Île Ste-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame, is the home of an amusement park, flower gardens, a beach with filtered water, and the Casino de Montréal. For history buffs there's the Old Fort, where soldiers in colonial uniforms exhibit military methods used in ancient wars. During winter months you can skate on the old Olympic rowing basin or slide down iced trails on an inner tube.

Winter highlights

The Montreal High Lights Festival will be held from February 21 to March 2, 2008. This year the annual event, which hosts five-star chefs from around the world, will feature Toronto chefs. And from January 31 to June 8, 2008, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will present the exhibit !Cuba! Art and History from 1868 to Today. It is the first-ever exhibit about art on this Caribbean island, which Christopher Columbus declared "the most beautiful island the human eye has ever seen." Cross-country skiers and snow-shoe enthusiasts may want to head to the Parc du Mont Tremblant. Covering a total expanse of 1,510 square kilometres of unspoiled wilderness, the Parc du Mont Tremblant is the largest natural park in the province.For more on winter cultural and recreation events in Montréal, visit www.tourisme-montreal.org.

see, i'm not crazy!
Montréal is the city!

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when i opened up my nus account, and clicked on this seemingly odd email, it read:

hey hello, this is [name]. is this pamela? the girl who was cinderella and had to rush home after the life form and functions paper?

22 jours avant le Noël

2007-12-03T07:24:00.000-05:00

sunrise on mont-royal after a night of wet snow - it was so unbelieveably gorgeous,
i almost felt like i'd melted that morning.

--------------------------------------------------------

22 days to christmas.
and yet, it doesn't feel that long ago when my msn personal message was "40 days to my favouritest time of the year". charmian flew off for the big apple yesterday, weister's leaving on friday for new york, and elis will be heading to montréal later in the month. i've been trying to convince elis to pack me into her suitcase, but seeing that the maximum baggage weight is 32kg, i'd either have to starve or split myself into two suitcases. so i guess i'll have to make do with rainy mornings (hopefully!), and my april - jay always does the trick. it's so ironic eh. but yeah, jian dan ai brings me back to st. catherine between st. laurent and hôtel-de-ville (round the corner of la belle province, past subway and the goth/rock club with the giant spider, across le 281 and l'église, up until the mars and venus restaurant), while kai bu liao kou reminds me of the st. urbain area (mm those fresh bagels!). the ultimate one is, of course, qi li xiang - it was on repeat as the train pulled out from la gare centrale, and the tears just flowed.

can you fall in love with a city?
pour moi, ouai, je crois ça.