frostY the miNi snowboY!!!

oH mY...!! looK!!! frostY the miNi snowboY hAz beeN creAted @ biochemiztrY lAb 5 of sbS, nTu!!!!

hoW...and whAt'z needed for the creAtion?? juZ folloW thiZ steP bY steP mAgical frostY journeY....

1sTly, some ingredientZ requiRed...and also some brief intRo to lAb equipmentZ...


a pAcket of spreAding loopZ!! theZe are uzed for plAting bActeria on agAr plAtez....

a zooM into the "looP" on the tiP of eAch piece...

a boX of bLue pipetTe tiPz....

an isolAted bLue tiP!!! it cAn hold uP to 1mL of liquid!!

soMe metAl foldAble striP twiNed arouNd my red peN cAp...;P thiZ iz vitAl for mAking frostY a hAppy snowboY...you shAll see whY...

a filteR heAd to be attAched to a syrinGe to steriliZe our FBS (Fetal Bovine Serum)...erM, onlY the toP pAckaging iz needed.

and...whAt'z a snowboY withouT reAl frosT and ice????? ^o^

souRce of frosT and the hoMe of frostY....the -80 degreeZ fridGe!!!!!

all of the aboVe...pluZ a mAgical incAntation:

behoLd the creAtion of frostY...

witH visioN througH bLue eyeZ of loopY...

witH a noZe thAt'z a bLue tippY...

witH a hAt froM a filteR wrAppy...

witH a smiLe froM a metAl strippY...

witH a bi-sphericAl bodY of chill-lY icY...

witH a hoMe on the secoNd storeY...

leT liVe the snowboY frostY!!!

theN da-duH..!!!!!!!!!!! let'Z peeP into the secoNd storeY in the -80 fridGe...

theRe....the secoNd knoB froM the bottoM leAdz to the 2nd storeY...

and heRe iz frostY the miNi snowboY!!!!!!!!! hahaAaa....

frostY agAin..!!!! thiZ tiMe a cloze-uP....and looK!! frostY'z feelinG cold too....witH more frosT crystAllizing on hiM......hahAa...

frostilY~~~
illZ...

lAst dAy of mY 2nd urecA...!!!

yAy!!!! todAy'z officiAlly my lAst dAy for urecA 06/07!! beeN attAched for my 2nd tiMe for 9 monthZ with Dr. Koh'z lAb...mY appoinTed mentoR wAz Xie Yi too~~~ ^O^

9 monthZ + 1 pozteR + 1 reseArch reporT = urecA 06/07!!!

pheW....all thAnkz to Xie Yi thAt i manAged to compleTe the urecA reporT on MAL over a period of 3 dAyz...reAlly tougH cuZ i felT unwelL recentlY, and i'M reAlly thAnkful for the vigorouz editinG and suggestionZ by Xie Yi....thAnkz nice guY!!!! wondeR if he dropz bY here thougH?

anywAyz i gAve my blog addie to a coupLe of lAbberz...and thinK they will droP bY here if theY are bored and thirstY for some lAme jokeZ...;P

my sincerezT grAtitude to all pAzt and present lAbberz......thAnk you Dr. Koh...thAnk you Xie Yi...thAnkz Pritpal...thAnkz Alison...thAnkzzZ Jayne...thAnkz Meihua...thAnkz Agatha...thAnkz Yiwen...thAnkz Yvonne...thAnkz Elynn...thAnkz Yinling...thAnkz Gopal...thAnkz sherrY...thAnkz jing linG...thAnkz Guna too...thAnkz thAnkz thAnkz for the hAppy timezzZ....!!!!! ^.^ ^o^ ^O^

spenT mY lAst dAy creAting "frostY" the miNi snowmAn...hahAa...see my next entrY bAh!! hahAaa...and alSo spenT pArt of my dAy holdinG a photoshooT for rivAn pAul and hiZ friendZ.....you shAll see the photoZ lAter...heH!!!

alSo, there'll be no more urecA for me bcuZ it'z onlY offered to yR 2 and 3 studentZ..!! me too old liAo.....heH, gonnA be in yR 4 liAo!! ^O^

some nice photoZ of my lAb areA...:



wheRe i siT in the lAb office....^O^


zooM into the whiteboArd @ my seat....and you'lL see thiZ nice mAgnet winX boArd....a gifT from yvonNe!!! hahAa...i'M kindA crAzy over winX......bewAre of my spellZ and the drAgonfire!!! enchAntix!!!


thiZ iz agathA'z rivAn pAul!!!!! a beAr from RP (originAlly republic polY, buT rivAn pAul soundZ mucH higH clAzz righT?)....and hiZ friendZ!!!!! nAmely the eppendoRf over-cAffeined tuBe (noTe the buldginG eyeZ and over-enthusiAstic smile), the pAper sheeP and the miniAture horseY!!


anotheR vieW of theM stAnding!!!!!!!!


thiZ iz mY lAb bencH!!!! i siT beside Xie Yi...mine'Z the lAbcoat with the 2 sleevez hAnging dowN....jAyne uzed to sit on our lefT....^o^


theZe are all my balAncez for centrifugAtion...;P


a pAper fAlcon rAck i mAde from a gloVe cArdboArd box!!!! recycLe and reuZe!!! ;P


and thiZ iz siZkoalA!!! the guArdian of my lAbcoat....she'z iroNed onto the bottoM left pockeT of my lAbcoat....stilL wonderinG why the compAny mAde the koalA greeN? duH....yvonNe sAid cuZ it'z frighteNed by me.......duH!! ^o^


yAy.....urecA...!!!!! mY besT joB eveR!!!

i will mizZ lAbbing...


urecA!!!
illZ...

my heArt hurtzzZ...

it'z now 2:53AM, on 27th June 2007, a Wednezday morning.

i'M stilL in the lAb office, tryinG to wrAp up my urecA reporT...gottA add in more detailz and thinK of more thingZ to add.....

kindA rested in my hoZtel for the pAst 2 dAyz....

buT urecA aside, now i'M reAlly scAred about my heAlth.....i wondeR whY my heArt hAz beeN hurtinG siNce the eveninG....it hurtZ to the extend wheN i hAd to stop wAlking and sit down in the lobbY for a while before continuing my journeY bAck to the lAb after dinneR juZ now....

noW it still hAz thiZ tiNge of pAin lingerinG.....and i feeL weird cArdiac contrActions, slightlY pAinful onez........the pAin'z still beArable for now....i'M quite sure it'z of cArdiac origin.

i wondeR if i couLd mAke it bAck sAfely to my far far awAy hozteL lAter...

am i dyinG?

i cAn't......

i won'T, i hAve too mAny thingz undoNe, esp tAking cAre of my pArentz.......*prAy*


thiZ kiNd of pAin hAz beeN with me for quite soMe time.....oK, for quite a lonG tiMe. i remeMber jokinG with thiZ guY cAlled WL bAck in my armY OCS OOC dAyz......thAt i am dyinG due to theze weird pAinz in the heArt.

througH the yeArz, sucH pAin iz infrequent......onlY occAssional....heNce i thinK it'z oK one.....i eveN reported sicK during my hAppy clerK dAyz bAck in sembawAng cAmp on thiZ....and the Medical Officer (MO) sAid thAt it'z normal for humAnz to experience sudden slight pAin in the bodY sometimeZ.....no reAson why?

i blived hiM, and i still bliVe hiM.


howeveR, sucH pAin haz beeN quite frequent lAtely.....i joKed with Alison about asking her to tAke over the 22mm parAfilmz i cut if i eveR pAzz awAy..hahAaa....then she seriouzly sAid i should see a doctor to check thingZ out, and forget abt whAt SAF MOz said....

sigH, guezZ i wonT see a doctor unlezZ thingZ get reAl serious, hahAa....docz are expensiVe ok...i'M gonnA be thriftY!! ;P


howeveR, whAt hAppened todAy reAlly frightenZ me.....did a prAyer...and hoPe thAt everything will be juZ fiNe.


oH, thiZ iz sucH a morbid and bleAk entrY, but no quAlmz......there will alwAyz be a light shininG in my heArt...


heArtily,
illZ...


P.S.: i feeL my heArt......yeZ, it iz beAting fiNe now. ; )

bollywood veggieZ!!

bAsically, bollywood veggieZ iz a locAl orgAnic fArm around the Kranji countryside.....kindA inassessibLe without a vehicLe!!

it wAz my 2nd visit, similArly with the lAbberz from Prof. Koh'z lAb, and thiZ round i tooK Prof. Koh's benZ to and fro as welL!! woo Hoo~ ;P

wAzn't any speciAl occAssion....heNce we pAid most of the luncH @ Poison Ivy (the biztRo in the fArm) ourselVez.....buT it'Z the compAny thAt countz....heH, thiZ round i sAt beside XieYi and it'Z eAsier to chAt thiZ time siNce we're closer to eAch other liAo..

sucH a fuN plAce to be @.....it'Z like going bAck to nAture!! ^o^

a feW more interestinG sightinGz on the fArm...:



tryinG to tAke some "artistiC" photoZ.....hahAaa...thiZ shAll be "the dRied tRee stAr"...


eeWW!! a dRied froG/toAd....."froggY"...


theZe dogZ are doubLe B = biG and beAutiful!!!!!!!! theY guArd the Villa right next to the fArm, and everythinG should be owned by the retired coupLe of millionAirez.......woW.... anywAyz theY are juZ abiT shorter thAn the feNce....but XieYi analyZed the sAfety...for theY do not hAve the accelerAting spAce to jumP over the feNce....


i did a revieW on thiZ plAce 2 dAyz ago....thuZ, for more nAtural photoZ...and "technicAl" detAilz on whY you should visit thiZ plAce......go http://www.thelocalking.com/singapore/leisure--entertainment/bollywood-veggies-local-organic-farm-cum-restaurant.html

i wondeR when'z the dAy....when i couLd juZ rinG up a coupLe of friendZ and driVe down to bollywood veggieZ for fuN.......wheN i am capabLe of thAt, i sincerelY hoPe bollywood vegieZ will still be arouNd!! oH come oN...it will be loH..........


bAck to urecA reportinG!
illZ...

moRe thAn juZ snApple.....

you shouLd know...thAt there'z a drinK cAlled "Snapple" on the mArket.....

boughT the v. nice Kiwi Strawberry flAvour juZ now az my drinK after dinneR...


the drinK iz actuAlly trAnzparent....hahAaa....no lAh it'z emptied by me liAo!!!!!


noticed a Koala on the coRner!!!!!! mY fAve animAl!!!!!!!


the cAp....................


the aboVe iz more thAn juZ a cAp...................looK whAt'z underneAth!!!!!!


reAl fAct #128: Dragonflies have six legs but cannot walk...


yuP...6 legZ cuZ the Dragonfly'z an insect.......cAnnot wAlk...reAlly?? woW....and thiZ iz reAl fAct #128!!!!!! froM thiZ.......snApple'z quite an interestinG drinK yeA? cAn get nice drinK....theN can find out some rAre knowledge too..... ^O^


hAppy cuZ i snAppled...
illZ...

nAtional runwAy cyclinG 2007

nAtional runwAy cyclinG (NRC) iz an annuAl event held bY SAFRA and i thinK the nAtional fAmily counciL or somethinG like thAt....to promoTe fAmily bondz....az one of the fAmily weeK eventZ~

thiZ time rouNd...the ideA iz to cycLe or rollerblAde on the plane runwAyz of the Paya Lebar Air Base!!!!!! woo Hoo~~~ originAlly we wAnted to try 6KM....theN we decided to registeR for the 15KM....hahAaa....

8 of us from the SBS Biochemistry Lab 5.15 (cuZ 7 of us froM Lab 5, one of us from Lab 6...;P) formed the Enchantix teAm and participAted in thiZ event!!!!!!! witH me as the teAm leAder...hahAa....i decided on the teAm nAme....shAll blog on whAT Enchantix iz next tiMe...;P

i wAnted to trY the 15KM.....but did 6KM only, cuZ jAyne did not feel well....she got like the worst biKe ever....so i switcHed bikes with heR...theN accompAnied her bAck using the shorter rouTe......thAt'z after restinG on the runwAy...and blowinG the soApy bubbleZ on the runwAY to chilL her and relAx her...hahAaa......anywAy my legZ are so tired froM the "three stepZ one boW" evenT abouT 3 dAyz bAck...


ouR boArding pAss!!!!!!!! it mAtches pArt of my NRIC number...;P


the stArt poinT!!!!!!!! the runwAy is so wide and nice to ride alonG!!!!!!!!



juZ a snApshot of the cloudZ aboVe the cyclistZ......the weAther was so hoT..........and very sunnY....the cloudZ are so veR wonderfuL....the cyclistZ...hmM, are ever so cyclistiC...hahAaa.....


theRe wAz some air crAft diZplAy neAR the entrAnce....and we tooK cAndid shotZ! there wAz one with XY tryinG to stoP a missiLe...but didn'T posT cuZ he mAy not liKe it? anywAyz...he doesn'T hAve my bloG addie...hahAaa..



looK!!!!!! not Superman....but SuperillZ liftinG up a plAne!!!!!!


a grouP photo after the evenT.....i remeM we tooK one uz mounTed on our biKez at the stArt point...thinK with Yiwen'z cAmera.......Left to Right...Top row: XY, MH, Felicity, Holly....Bottom row: illZ, Elynn, Yiwen, Jayne...


reAlly hAppy to see jAyne....like never see her for a yeAR liAo loH! ;P glAd she'z doinG fiNe at some very nice NUS reseArch lAb...


looK cArefully......heY!! thAt'z me as the piloT!!!!!!


a cloZe up.......there iZ the hAppy Captain illZ!!!!!


and...az a pRoud membeR of the Cloud Appreciation Society....i never forget to tAke nice cloudY photoZ...:



thiZ iz a genie emerginG from the Air Base!!!!


az felicitY suggested......we shAll nAme thiZ the "Silver Lining"....


so tiRed.....but fuN!!!!!!!!!!
illZ...

三步一拜...

a direct trAnzlation of 三步一拜 iz "three stepZ one boW"...and it'z a Buddhist ceremonY thAt'z held annuAlly to celebrAte Vesak Day...!!!

thiZ iz my secoNd time pArticipating in it...and thiZ iz my tickeT for thiZ yeAr!


literAlly....we hAd to boW once every 3 stepZ we tooK....rhythminG with the chAnt plAying in the bAckground throughout the night....

a very tougH and lonG and physicAlly demAnding event....and i felT so dizzY and fAintish hAlfway.......but i held on to complete it!!! felT so relieVed and accomplisHed....

if it'Z so tough, whY do it? i thinK a simple ideA would be.....the process symboliseS the long and tougH roAd towardz enlightenmenT......whicH iz the ultimate aiM in Buddhism....enlightenmenT allowS cessAtion of life to be attAined..............something liKe thAt. i'M still very shAllow in my Buddhism knowlegde...heHeh....

it'z a misbelief thAt you should ask for whAtever you wAnt during the process....like weAlth....a loveR.......a wife or husband....etc etc.....cuZ Buddhism iz totally not about wanting anything mAterialistic like theZe........

insteAd, Buddhism iz about wishinG every sentient beinG (any beinG with a mind....any livinG thing, but howeveR ironicAlly unexplAnably excludinG plAntz) welL and hAppy.......juZ a wishing for eveyone to be out of miserY and pAin and sufferinG.....and theN be able to let go of every attAchment we mAy have.

for me, throughouT the process...i direcTed my lovinG and kindnesS (Metta) towArdz all 4 of my nucleAr fAmily memberz.....i juZ wisH thAt they are welL and hAppy..............theN at the eNd of it....i ended witH the supposed endinG stAtement i leArnt from mAinly Venerable Chun Hui, who iz invited to our NTU Buddhist Society eventz.......:

"May the merits thus accumulated be dedicatd to all sentient beings. May all sentient beings and I be well and happy.....and may all sentient beings and I, one dAy, attain Buddhahood..."

Buddhism apart....Hon Sing (mY frieNd) completed his part by 10pm thAt night......while i reAched at about 11pm, then queued froM 12am to 3am, theN did the actuAl rituAl from 3am tiL.....about 450am.....heH!!

atteNded the evenT with constAnce and her Uncle Bing Kun lAst year.......thiZ year iz with theM too, with the additioN of cheZtr as well! remeMber.....cheZter waz my tuitioN kid...; )

thiZ iz my last yeAr'z tickeT...:


somehoW i alwAyz keep the ticketZ with me in my wAllet....;P

hAppy Vesak Day~~~


mAy all be welL and hAppy...
illZ...

grAduation...@ Knox

i wAz surfing the net....

and i dizcoveRed thAt one persoN i know who left for college studiez in some foreigN lAnd will be grAduating todAy! after 4 long yeArz...and hiZ commencemenT speAker will be the former US presidenT Bill Clinton. no commentZ on thAt....i know naaatz abt politicZ.

i feeL thAt he will not returN bAck to Singapore, seriouzlY. i alwAyz felt thAt he juZ wannA escApe out of our tinY islAnd....awAy from hiZ pArentz somehow.

anywAy, in a very recenT chAin of gmAiling withiN my geN beN fAmily......we were originAlly discussinG about a bAdminton gAthering @ jerM'z houze.....perhApz around mid-juNe. cuZ jerM'z leAving for US sooN..on a worK-in-the-US progrAm...orgAnized by SIM, heNce we are plAnning some sortA fArewell.

howeveR...i digrezzed to chAt about the possibilitY to stAy in the stAtez permanentlY. and tingtinG (who wenT there for her summeR work-in-the-US progrAm lAst last yeAr) shed some light on me....

she divulged the followinG:

"btw hy, fyi, in case you're interested to know, you can also go there, getsomeone pregnant, then give birth to the child there so the child becomes aUS citizen then help to convert you, the father, to US citizen too.... orworse come to worse, try seeking refuge there for whatsoever reason, the USgovt might consider to take you in........"

isn'T thiZ interestinG? perhApz he alreAdy adopted thiZ strAtegy!!! ;P


stilL in lAb coomAssie stAining my SDS geL...
illZ...