Mini-Las Vegas in Atlantic City, New Jersey

I had never heard of Atlantic City in New Jersey until Charlene suggested that we went there for a weekend getaway. After work on Friday evening (Apr 25), we decided to take our dinner before driving to Atlantic City. It was a good decision because we took about 3 hours to reach there around 11pm.

We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel which was located at Miss America Way. We found the street name hilarious till we researched the history of it.

The street got its name from holding The Miss America contest since 1921. Inside the hotel, there were displays of dazzling tiaras, splendid capes and beautiful gowns worn by past winners.

After putting our bags, we headed straight to the casinos. We went to Caesars, Bally's and Trump Plaza. Compared to Las Vegas, the resorts here were less lavished in their designs and glamor. We also checked out the prices of breakfast and lunch buffets which were over $15.

I tried on the slot machines and lost one-eighty. People taught it was one hundred and eighty dollars but it was just cents since I played on the five-cent slot machine. Charlene played the electronic roulette and actually won $5.75. Her strategic was to double the bet upon losing since the chances of winning was 50% each time.

We headed back to our rooms around 2am. I intended to run on the boardwalk early in the morning but skipped it since I had a headache. Instead, I slept in till 9am when we went for breakfast at our hotel.

After being fed, we proceeded to shop at The Atlantic City Mall where I 'lost' $200 to shopping. Then, we went to the boardwalk towards Trump Taj Mahal Casino. There were dilapidated buildings and empty plots along the way which reminded one of its glorious days. We did not stayed long on the boardwalk because the weather was gusty and chilling.

We had late lunch at a Greek restaurant where the walls and every surface conceivable like a football, ceiling fans etc were covered with one dollar bills with messages written on them. We wanted to paste a Singapore $2 bill but the owner said the fire department discouraged them as it could be a fire hazard.

We ended our trip by sitting in the car and sight-see the other end of the boardwalk around the Tropicana Casino before en routing to Baltimore.

More Atlantic City pictures.

White water kayaking along Antietam Creek

Twice in a roll, I had to kayak on raining days. This time, we were on Antietam Creek.

However, the weather did not spoiled my mood since I was confident and relaxed after mastering rolling on Friday.

The drive towards west of Baltimore took about 1.5 hours. Upon reaching our destination, there was no potty except the wilderness.

We did not practiced rolling since that section of the river was shallow. I would not want to roll too as it was muddy and smelly.

Along the two-hour journey towards Potomac River, there was only a section of rapid and a two-foot drop.

I felt a rush of adrenaline going through the rapid. With prior experience, I paddled harder to prevent myself from swirling and take control of my kayak.

Between this rapid and the two-foot drop was a long stretch of calm river. I commented to Rob, one of the instructors, that this was liked a dream come true, kayaking down a river and drinking in the sights.

We passed under the infamous Burnside's Bridge which was the focal point of the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. This was the bloodiest single-day battle with the highest casualties (about 23,000) in the American Civil War. The rain added a more solemn mood to The Antietam National Battlefield.

Going down the two-foot drop was exhilarating and not as scary as it looked. However, ferrying across the rapid was challenging. I flipped and did a wet exit since I could not roll over. I could feel the rocks under my bum and the current was strong.

I succeeded on my second attempt, keeping my kayak tilted downstream. On the opposite bank, I learned to surf on the rapid where my kayak remained 'stationary'. I just had to control the direction.

Our trip was cut short because of lightning. We had to exit from the river quickly.

I am definitely hooked on white water kayaking and will enroll for more trips.

Rolling comes at a"bodily harm" price

To prepare for another white water kayaking trip on this Sunday, I practiced my rolling on Apr 17 and 18.

After the first day, I had a big bruise on my right knee and some on my hip too. The old wound on my left thumb slightly reopened. Still, I was not able to roll over upon capsizing.

Yesterday, while recovering from a sore hip, I reached the pool one hour later because I was very tired from only 4 hours of sleep. There was only one kayak left. So, I got into the Pop kayak. It was comfortable with roomy leg space. I did some hipsnap at the side of the pool for warm up. Then, I teamed up with another to roll, just in case I needed a T-rescue.

I was surprised and elated that I could roll upon my first attempt! Thinking it was luck, I tried many more and was successful at rolling every time. I definitely felt prepared for this trip compared to my first, where I was more worried and scared that I could not roll.

When it was time to choose the kayak we wanted for the trip, I was disappointed that someone had reserved Pop already. I associated me being able to roll with the type of kayak since I tried Riot on the previous day.

Well, I just had to practice my roll on the river in the Pyranha which had a similar look to the Pop. It would be a different location from the previous trip. I am all excited for tomorrow.

Help needed for ELISpot assay

One of my experiments involves performing quality check of the spots developed on a 96-well plate for an ELISpot assay. Akin to spotting the differences between two pictures.

Can anyone share their experience of how to get rid of the debris that was seen on the plate? I did filtering of the dilution and washing buffers. So, I am wondering what could attribute to it and at which step of the 3-day experiment?

White water kayaking at Violet's Lock

Prior to the trip on Sunday April 6, all participants were required to attend a pre-trip meeting where we submitted our medical and waiver forms. We were also briefed on safety issues and theory about river flow, eddy-in, eddy-out, terminology etc.

We met on Saturday to draw equipments and load them into a van. I chose an Ace kayak which was comfortable for my legs, not knowing what I was getting into. I had difficulties squeezing my long legs in.

I woke up at 7am to a drizzling Sunday to prepare lunch (two smoked turkey breast sandwich) and snacks consisting of six bars of Twix, four Japanese rice cakes and a banana. I wore three layers, a wicking sweater followed by a fleece sweater and a winter jacket. I reached the meeting place at 8am and we headed for Violet's Lock, about 1.5 hour drive.

At our destination, we had to put on more layers as the water was cold. We were 'bulked up' by a wet suit, a splash jacket, a spray skirt and a personal floating device. On top of that, we wore helmet and booties.

I got to know fellow participants when we had to introduce ourselves in a circle for warm up and describing one cool fact about ourselves.

Thereafter, we proceeded into the river where we practiced paddling, bracing and rolling. I was not confident of rolling upon capsizing. Next, we had to paddle one mile across where I had a hard time paddling straight. I was going left and right except straight.

The river was swelling from yesterday's rain and the river current was fast. After exerting much strength, I got my swinging kayak to the opposite bank.

There, white river kayaking began. Going over fast flowing water was exhilarating and scary. I was at the mercy of the river current. Our instructors kept telling us to paddle hard to gain control. Being a novice, I could not tell where to avoid submerged boulders. Before I saw them, I could feel them under my butt.

I was concentrating more on not tipping over then enjoying the thrill. It put me in my place to respect one of the forces of nature.

After the trip, I intended to go for another trip on April 20 but this time round, I wanted to be able to roll over.