Historic Annapolis, capital of Maryland

I have long heard of Annapolis as a beautify capital but did not witness it until I visited on Oct 23. I went with Vladimir, Greg and Stacy where Greg was our driver.

Our first stop was the visitor center where we got our map and directions. Having a 1 Gig compact flash card was a big advantage where I simply took pictures of signboards instead of reading on the spot for historical information. We walked along Main Street which was lined with restaurants and shops on both sides. Red bricks paved the roads instead of tar and bitumen, adding to the rustic charm. Lamp posts had baskets of hanging petunia and other flowering plants. There were lots of big houses lining the waterfront and yachts sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.

A visit to Annapolis is not complete unless you visit the prestigious US Naval Academy which was established in 1845 where young men and women are trained to be future leaders. The buildings in the academy gave me a feeling that I was in Europe. We went for a guided tour of the academy where we saw their sports complex, dormitories, chapel and naval museum. The length of the swimming pool was 100 metres, a rare sight in Baltimore. There was a chapel which was shared by Catholics, Protestants and other faiths, a true representation of inter-faith harmony.

Coincidentally, there was a football game where the academy was taking part. We witnessed a spirited marching parade by the whole contingent of midshipmen towards the stadium for the show down. There were marching bands, a tiger mascot, a pirate and a ship float.

I had a whale of a time at Annapolis. I strongly recommend a visit to there.

Pictures taken at Annapolis.

Recounting back in time

It has been almost one month since I posted. During this period, I was extremely busy with experiments and preparing slides for update of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant project, and culturing cells.

As my project involves screening different viral peptides for the entire lab, I had screened more than 600 peptides for binding to Major Histocompatibility Complex molecules (with help from fellow colleagues) in this short six months. The large data generated had to be processed and presented with results from prediction models.

Before the presentation on Oct 20, 2006, the atmosphere in the lab was tense. We (Yang Kun, Milton, Eduardo and I) were busy preparing slides. Dry runs were performed to improve our slides.

A farewell party at the Johns Hopkins Faculty Club was organized for Yang Kun, who would be going back to China on Oct 30. I will miss a good colleague and friend whom I had come to cherish in this short time. We also celebrated Tom's birthday on Oct 19 where he turned 79. I admire him for being so alert and active at his age!

On 'D-Day', I was the first to present where my voice quivered at the beginning. Eventually, I got over it as Linda (from NIH) was pleasant. Lunch that day was exorbitant and delicious, consisting of sandwiches, cheese and salad. We even had a lot left over for the next day.

Life on Oct 21 was back to normalcy of conducting experiments.

How to tie a Windsor knot as you see it (not mirror images)

Most instructions for tying a full Windsor knot have you facing the mirror. It can be difficult to follow when you have to visualise your left from right. Thus, I have created a set of instructions whereby you are tying a Windsor knot as you see it, from head down.

Don't worry about the length of the wide end of the tie as our body shapes and sizes are different. Some have big chest or belly, short or long torso, narrow or broad neck etc. There are some who have ties reaching way below their belts or hanging high above. The ideal length of a tie is when the tip of the wide end touches above the belt or covering it, but not exceeding beyond the belt when you are standing straight. Practise allows you to judge how much slack to give for the wide end.

The Windsor knot projects confidence. Tie this knot during important occasions such as job interviews, presentations etc.

For easy visualization of tying the Windsor knot, the top is striped green and the underside is blue.

1. Place the narrow end of a tie on your left and the wide end on your right. (Tying the knot involves the wide end going around the narrow end i.e. the narrow end is fixed.)

2. Pinch the narrow end of the tie where you want the wide end to cross over and flip the wide end under the loop and bring it up to your left.

3. Pull the wide end to the right, behind the loop and go over the loop again. You should see a triangular knot upon tightening.

4. Bring the wide end to the left over the triangular knot, go under the loop and bring it up. Pass the wide end through the knot in front.

5. Adjust the size of the knot with both hands by tightening the knot.

6. Draw up the tie with one hand holding the knot while the other pulls the narrow end down.

7. For quick release of the Windsor knot, pull at the left loop above the knot.

Taking care of myself

Being sick is bad but to be sick in a foreign place is worse. You have to perform daily chores such aspreparing your meals even though you are tired and feeling unwell.

It started with throat irritation on Wednesday. Sucking lozenges did not help, so I prepared sour plum with honey. My sored throat recovered but I started to cough.

After self medicating by buying cough syrup from the pharmacy, I was able to control my coughing. But with the bad weather due to Hurricane Ernesto, my nose started to run and now I have blocked nose.

A good thing this Monday is Labor Day in USA. An extra day of rest for me to recuperate and recover.

Jiao Zi Recipe (Chinese dumplings)

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour
• Chive
• Minced pork
• Salt
• Sugar
• Sesame oil
• Cooking oil (or olive oil)
• Chinese cooking wine
• Five spices powder
• Szechuan pepper
• Cut ginger
• Cut spring onion
• Light soya sauce
• Black vinegar
  

Procedure:
Knead flour into dough and place the dough into a covered pot. Let it set for at least 30 minutes to 'strengthen' the dough.

Meanwhile, cut chive into 0.5cm pieces and add cooking oil to prevent water from oozing out.Add water to minced pork, stirring in one direction only.

Add salt, sugar, Chinese cooking wine, light soya sauce, oil, sesame oil, cut ginger and spring onion, five spices powder and Szechuan pepper to taste. Stir in one direction.

Add cut chive to meat (1:1 volume). Meat texture should be gluey.

Knead the dough into a two-finger width rod and snap into phalanx-long dough. Roll the dough into balls. Squash the balls and flatten them with a rolling pin such that the center is thicker than the edges.

Wrap the meat filling with the flatten 'skin'. Sprinkle some flour on the dumplings so that they do not stick to one another.

Add the dumplings to boiling water. Cover the pot. Add two ladles of tap water once it has started boiling. Repeat the process of adding tap water for at least four times.

Drain the cooked Jiao Zi and let them cool down.

Serve with equal volumes of black vinegar and light soya sauce diluted with water (so that the sauce does not mask the taste of Jiao Zi). Chilli oil can be added for those who like spicy food.

For those who like Guo Tie (Pan Fried Dumplings):
Fry the cooked Jiao Zi in a wok till golden brown. Add a teaspoon of water to prevent the skin from becoming too dry and cover the wok. Serve on plate.

Caution: Do not add a lot of water to hot oil. It will splash!

Mission Code Name "Capture Mousey"

Finally, after the fourth time, I saw a small black mouse this evening when I just got back to my apartment. It was squeaking and making noise at the air vent near the air-con which caught my attention. To my surprise, it jumped out of the small hole and was in full sight for a split second before I reacted. I cannot imagine that a mouse could squeeze through such small holes (it must have taken some kind of contortionist lessons).

Previously, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw a black shadow moving from the central air vent and creeping through my kitchen door. After the third time, I was confident that it was a mouse. I asked YangKun, who had lived in Broadview for more than a year, if she had seen a mouse before.

I thought that by informing the Broadview front desk, they would send a pest terminator to get rid of the mouse. Instead, the front desk personnel passed me a box of mouse traps. I tried one trap but the mouse did not fall into it. I need to use some kind of bait. Any good suggestions?

Generating experimental data is hard, processing them is harder!

Three weeks of large-scale screening of peptide binding assay had generated lots of data to be processed. I was exhausted at the end of last week. This week, I was recuperating from the exhaustion by asking quotations for liquid handling robots, prices for culturing cell lines and processing the data using an unfamiliar software.

When you are new to the field, there is a steep learning curve. I had to process the same data five times just to represent them scientifically but with improvement at each time. Tomorrow, all I have to do is to process five other data sets in the same approach. The challenge is to let the data 'speak' for themselves by representing them in a logical and theoretically correct manner. The reward is the satisfaction of gaining knowledge from interpreting information from the processed raw data!

Happy 41st birthday, Singapore!

This is my first time spent away from celebrating Singapore's independence day. I would usually catch the 'live' telecast of the National Parade on TV. I miss the fireworks and mass displays.

Singaporeans residing in USA were invited for a dinner on Aug 10 by the Singapore Embassy in Washington DC. However, since I have no transportation of my own, I missed the chance to meet up with fellow Singaporeans and celebrate our nation's 41st year of independence.

A toast to you, Singapore, my homeland!

Trying my hands to be a barber

At the blink of an eye, I have been here for six months. During this period, I had my hair cut once by a Korean barber. The hairstyle turned out alright but not as good as back home. My hair grow long pretty fast and it has started curling.

My colleague, Greg, has curly hair too. He trimmed the curls whenever they appear. Last week, I thought why not try his approach and cut my hair for the first time. Instead of trimming the curls, I was cutting off about 2 - 3 cm from my fringe, top and sides with a small pair of scissors. It turned out alright without any bad comment from my colleagues. Yesterday, I bought a bigger pair of scissors and this time round, I will cut even shorter. It is difficult to cut the sides whereby I often would miss my hair and 'snip air'. I have to coordinate my movements to my reflection on a mirror. I am slowly getting the hang of it. For the back, I may just have to leave it long or I will visit a barber for a crew cut.

I always feel relief and relaxed after a hair cut. This time round is no difference. The downside is I have to clean up the hair.


Epilogue to "To cut or not to cut"
If you read my previous post in April about me trying to keep my hair long just for the fun of it, I had this thought 'cut' away. My colleagues and friend were explicitly and implicitly hinting that I should have my hair cut. Comments were 'it is ugly' or 'you look tired'. Too bad I could not grow it to shoulder length and take a picture for memento. Debbie, your 'Paulilock' did not come true. Haha...

Turning into a fiddler crab

The distinguish characteristic of a male fiddler crab is its lopsided pair of front claws. Females and young have two equal-sized small claws.

The dry spell from my blog was because I was busy with large-scale screening of virus peptides that bind to molecules involved in the immune system. This screening included a lot of liquid handling where I had to transfer from one container to another using a tool called a multi-channel pipettor. The number of times I spent pipetting into 96-well containers during this short period was more than what I did in my entire undergraduate days. You can say that my right hand now is overused and aches from dispensing. To prevent myself from turning into a fiddler crab, I am using my left hand to dispense too (although I am using an automatic pipettor in this case). I still have to use my right hand for accurate dispensing. It would be good if I were ambidextrous.

The only hope for me now is to get three quotations for a robot that can dispense liquid accurately.

The fiddler crab picture was taken from www.ryanphotographic.com

Animals aplenty

Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus has plenty of animals especially squirrels and rabbits. There was even a mother duck incubating her eggs during winter. The area was cordoned off and a sign was put up. It was termed the maternity ward and a make-shift shelter was placed over the duck. I wondered what happened to the duck and its eggs. Did they hatched into ducklings?

I thought of feeding the squirrels but they are constantly on their guard that I have not fed them yet. Anyway, they have been surviving without human intervention. Therefore, I should admire them from afar. I noticed that some squirrels had less bushy tails than others. I was told that these were the juveniles. Is it right, anyone?

Caught this inexperienced cute little bunny chewing grass while I was about two meters away from it. It did not have the instinct to run away as the older rabbits did. Alternatively, it might think it was too fast for me to catch it.


This bug was facing up when I took a picture of it. From dust you came, to dust you return.

Therapeutics

My university friend, Chuntian a.k.a Sister, once said that washing dirty dishes can be therapeutic. I got that therapeutic feeling today.

I had procrastinated long enough for reddish-brown mildews to grow on my toilet sink and bathtub. The kitchen floor had not been scrub for almost two months from my weekend cooking. I had to wear slippers to prevent my soles from sticking to the floor. OK, I exaggerated. But I seriously hate the sticky feeling.

So, with a lot of mental determination, I got to clean my whole apartment while cooking simultaneously. After cleaning up, I felt good to see the shining tiles again and the carpet was rid of dust. On top of that, I went for a hike in the afternoon, exercised at the gym and cooked five dishes for the week. Fried chicken wings, pork chop, celery with prawns, minced beef for Mexican tacos and fried rice. Mission accomplished for this week.

What do you call a dish of fried rice prepared by a Singaporean?

Singapore Fried Rice (Haha… lame, right?) I must do some activities else my jokes are getting cheesy.

Running trails to trim down my pot belly

I live in Baltimore city with lots of buildings and roads. Recently, I discovered two running trails that ran along streams, lined by trees on both sides. The sound of running water helped to soothe my weary spirit and the fresh air refreshed my whole being. One headed north towards Roland Avenue while the other led westward to Druid Hill Park. I dislike running along roads where I have to breathe in car exhaust.

When I weighed myself two weeks ago, I had lost 4 kg due to lack of sleep, irregular meals and work stress. Ever since, I have been trying to put on weight and eating more meat. I am eating a stick of sinful Godiva chocolate ice cream and every other night while writing this post. Going to the gym helps as I tend to shrink to my gangly form whenever I stop exercising. There are lots of people here who want to lose weight but I am trying very hard to do the opposite. As I have not run or swim for a long time, my abdominal is developing into a small pot belly.

The trails and a pair of new running shoes are waiting for me to tread on them as I struggle mentally to get myself running again.

Sleepless tonite

Upset my sleep pattern by sleeping from 5pm to 7.30pm after coming back from work. Now, suffering the after effect.

At 11pm, I went to a pub nearby for my dinner and a beer. Service was bad. I had to wait for 45 minutes before I got my food and the french fries were half-cooked. Bad service equals to no tip. This would be the last time I step into that pub again.

Updates

I apologies for the long absence whereby I could not write my blog.

My paternal granny passed away on 2 July. I felt ambivalent about her death. As her grandson, I do not want her to go but because she was suffering due to old age, it was better for her to depart. My attempts to communicate with her recently were in vain as she was partially deaf and was semi-conscious most of the time.

My heart broke when my uncles and aunts assured her, saying 'You had suffered long enough, don't worry about any matters.' She could not reply back as she was breathless but tears were streaming down her cheeks. She understood the message.

As days passed by, her aged body started to give up. She was put on respirator and feeding tubes. Family members gathered round to see a last glimpse of the grand matriarch of the Tan family. She passed away peacefully with her son by her side at the ripe age of 93.

Before I left for USA, it was a great blessing that my brother brought me to see her. She herself knew that I may not see her again with my one-year stint in USA. It was a sad departure for me to see her crying but I know she is proud of me for being her first grandson to pursue Ph.D. and working at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I was given a farewell red packet as a form of blessing for my journey. The red packet has been pasted on my wall since I arrived here.

History seemed to repeat itself. Many years back in 1993, when I was also in USA for a two-month industrial attachment, my maternal granny passed away. My heart grieved for not attending her funeral. The same thing happened again now.....

I can only express my feelings in this song, 'To where you are' by Josh Groban.

Who can say for certain
Maybe you a’re still here
I feel you all around me
Your memories so clear

Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You a’re still an inspiration
Can it be
That you are mine
Forever love
And you are watching over me from up above

Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile to know you a’re there
A breath away i’s not far
To where you are

Are you gently sleeping
Here inside my dream
And isn'’t faith believing
All power can't be seen

As my heart holds you
Just one beat away
I cherish all you gave me everyday
Cause you are mine
Forever love
Watching me from up above

And I believe
That angels breathe
And that love will live on and never leave

Fly me up
To where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile
To know you'’re there
A breath away's not far
To where you are

I know you'’re there
A breath away'’s not far
To where you are

Read a mystery book with recipes

This was the first time I came across a mystery fiction which include recipes. What an interesting idea! The main character, Hannah Swensen (in 'Peach Cobbler Murder' by Joanne Fluke), owned a bakery business. Things started to heat up when a rival store opened opposite to hers. She was suspected of killing the rival store owner, who was also her rival in love.

One afterthought after reading was that female writers write differently from male writers. The plot for the former tend to include more on romance. This is one interesting topic for me to research on since I have a lot of free time to read at night. For this, I would need to read mystery stories written by both sexes.

Currently, I am reading 'The Survivor: Bill Clinton in The Whiter House' by John F. Harris. It revealed the inner workings of the Clinton White House and will provide me a glimpse to the political system of my host country.

A signpost that appeals to your heart

Saw this interesting signpost while sightseeing in Washngton DC. It has two children holding hands and the message, "My daddy works here. Slow down please."

Instead of putting the usual signpost with the word "SLOW" which a driver can ignore, this message actually reminds the driver that the construction workers have families to take care off.

More of this kind of signposts should be put up!

Things happened when the previous person left

At work, I was asked to take over another project about two months ago. During this short period, I had to condense and pick up what he had been doing for two years. Things had to be learnt fast which is not my usual strategy of slow and steady wins the race (the hare and tortoise story). In today's situation, there is a need to balance between the fast pace of producing results and the mental capability to learn new things.

Recently, I am having difficulties sleeping because my mind is thinking about work subconsciously. The machine which was used to purify proteins started giving me problems. It had to 'complain' just when I was all alone and not when my colleague was present.

However, problems are not all bad. It depends on how you look at them. For me, it forced me to read the machine manual so that I could troubleshoot and solve the problems. They are opportunities to test the boundaries of your comfort zone. By solving them, it helps you to understand what you are doing instead of fretting over what to do. A vital virtue in research is to never give up in times of adversities and failures. That's what makes research interesting. It's all about discovery and learning new things.

Baltimore Pennsylvania Station

The main train station of Baltimore, commonly referred to as Baltimore Penn Station was constructed in 1911. Penn Station is served by three transportation companies, Amtrak, MARC and Maryland Transit Adminstration's Baltimore Light Rail system.

Train tickets to Washington DC cost USD$7 per trip from Monday to Friday. Weekend prices are costlier.

I am drawn to the Beaux-Arts architecture among the modern buildings surrounding it. Intricate designs can be observed from the facade. Right in front of the station is an aluminum sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky which stands at 51 feet (15.5 meters). The interesting concept to this sculpture is that of two figures, one male and the other female, intersecting at right angle. They share one heart with alternating blue-and-pink glow. A perfect symbol to represent union between man and woman.

Six Flags America

I went with Fero to a theme park called Six Flags America on June 10 (Saturday). First, a brief background of the theme park company. It has been operating for 45 years and has 29 parks in North America. It is a great place for friends and family members to hang out and have fun. I felt like I was a tourist again the moment I stepped into the park after staying in Baltimore, Maryland for three months.

As Fero had not been on any thrilling rides before, we started with some mild ones such as The High Seas, a swinging pirate ship which moves in a pendulum motion. After being 'initiated', we went for fast and thrilling rides.

I liked The Wild One, which is a classic wooden coasters. It may looked mild but when you are riding on it, the ups and downs, twists and turns can churn your stomach inside out. The other is Superman-Ride of Steel that sent my adrenaline rushing when it plunged at a height of 200 feet (61 metre) at 70 mph (112 kph). It was simply exhilarating! Along the ride, I raised up my hands (not advisable) and felt as though I was flying. My long hair was messy after the ride (yes, I am still keeping my hair).

On the whole, I had a whale of a time at Six Flags America and am looking forward to go there again. Photos are available here.

Happy 70th Birthday, Ed Henson

I was invited to attend a very warm person's birthday today, Ed Henson. It was celebrated today since his actual date is June 6 (Tuesday). When I was a stranger in this foreign land, he welcomed me. His wife, Delores, is my colleague who gave me the lamp during the initial furnishing of the former empty apartment.

Lots of family members and friends gathered at his home for a BBQ session. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, salad, pasta, cakes, drinks, chips etc. Since Ed likes reading, I bought for him "Tuesday with Morrie" by Mitch Albom, which I love very much. This book touches on what you really want in your life. Hope the good Lord uses Ed just like what Morrie did to Mitch.

Many blessings rest on Ed and many more years to come!

Any recommendation for free online photo upload?

The one that I am currently using (Webshots) allows me to upload one picture at a time. Once uploaded, my pictures are artificially darken.

Need to upload tons of pictures.

Thank you in advance.

Please leave your name

Instructions for leaving your name when you comment on my blog:

1. After writing your comments, select 'Other' instead of 'Anonymous'.

2. Fill up your name and click on the button 'Publish your comment'.

Creativity

If you are creative and have a good product, you can laugh your way to the bank. Just look at the number of products advertise and sold on a channel dedicated to selling innovative products.
For example, as my colleague does not know that I am keeping my hair long, she suggested this product called Trim-a-cut whereby you cut your hair while combing it.

Another was the swimwear dryer. Swimmers usually have to bring bags or wrap the wet swimwear in a towel after swimming. At Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus, the swimming pool has this gadget whereby you get dried swimwear after placing in it for 10 seconds. The reason being someone identified the problem and devised a method or tool to solve it.

Sometimes, it takes the right person with the right attitude to be at the right place and right time for new ideas to flow. So, let not any opportunities slip you by. Grab them and make a difference in the world right now.

Commendable aspect of Maryland's transportation

The public transport in USA is equipped to help the physically challenged to move around.

There are bus services dedicated for those in wheel chairs. Boarding onto the bus is easy for them as buses were designed with them in mind. By a flick of the switch, the flight of steps becomes a lift and once onboard, designated seats are foldable where they can park their wheel chairs.

Special laws are passed where abled persons are required to give up their seats to them.

All these provide the physically challenged to go as they wish.

Patapsco Valley State Park

Saturday May 21, 2006
I visited Patapsco Valley State Park located south of Baltimore city. It extends along the Patapsco river where I presumed it got its name, encompassing 14,000 acres or 56.66 square kilometers. There were many trails available for hiking, cross-terrain biking and horse riding (I did not see anyone on a horse but I saw horse poop). The markings for the trails were conspicuous. There was no need to worry about getting lost.

This was also the first time that I experienced some sort of allergy in my life when I walked passed certain part of the park. My throat started to be irritated and I started coughing. Other than this slight discomfort, the hike was relaxing.

The flora and fauna were not as diverse as those of tropical rainforests. There was no thick undergrowth. However, two great things about hiking in a temperate forest were there was no pesty mosquito and the air was not humid.

It is good to get away from the buzz of city life and embrace fresh air from time to time. Watching waterfall and listening to the trickle of flowing water is therapeutic. It serves well for the brain and spirit to re-create.

Drinking oil?

This was a first for me to buy such a large volume of cooking oil (9.46 litres/2.5 gallons). Previously, the most I bought was only 5 litres and that was used for the whole family. I will have more than enough cooking oil to last through my stay here. To prevent rancidity and for easy pouring, I would aliquot into smaller volumes.

This is one thing I like about US culture where things are sold in bulk at warehouse prices. I also discovered my favorite brand of ice cream, Godiva dark chocolate bar at Sam's Club. The chocolate ice cream is encrusted by a layer of dark chocolate crust. It looks tempting just by looking at it. The crust would break when you sink your teeth into the bar. Next, the rich aroma of dark chocolate permeates your taste buds. Heavenly....

Improvisation II

No iron board? Use a bathing towel and lay it on a table. Personally, I find it is better than an iron board because the table has a wider surface area.

A large cooking pot can be used for washing vegetables or meat, brewing soup or steaming food. I had used it to smash white pepper balls between clean cloths since I do not have a set of pestle and motar.

No broom? Use moist paper towels. They pick up dust and strands of hair better than broom. A big plus is that the dust does not fly about compared to sweeping with a broom. Use this method only when you have a small area to clean else you would have backache.

Pork Chop recipe

Ingredients
Pork slices
Bread or biscuit crumbs
Egg white
Meat tenderizer or corn starch works too
Meat marinating sauce (up to you)

Alternatively, you can marinate using light soya sauce, white pepper powder and sesame oil

If you like wine, you can add Chinese cooking wine or red wine

Method
Marinate pork slices using the sauce or the alternate ingredients for at least two hours.

Add egg white to the pork after marinating. It acts as a glue for the bread or biscuit crumbs to stick to the meat.

Place marinated pork slices onto a plate of crumbs, dip both sides.

Fry over low to medium flame till golden brown.

Serve with vegetables.

A tribute to MOTHERS

Mother, mama, mommy, mum, 母 (Chinese, Japanese), mère (French), madre (Spanish, Italian), mutter (German), mãe (Portuguese), 어머니 (Korean) and Ibu (Malay). I find it fascinating that majority of these words in different languages has the alphabet ‘m’ and regardless of how they may sound, the virtues of love, tenderness, wisdom, courage and strength are found in the person whom we utter these words.

For nine months, you carried me in your womb, protecting the tiny me from harm. In giving birth to me, you endured pain beyond description. During my infant days, you tirelessly fed me with milk and love. In sickness, your constant care nursed me back to health. Your quiet sacrifices are not unnoticed, for you have taught me how to love. In my growing years, your compassion and wisdom taught me charity and guidance to find my dreams. Thank you for believing in all my dreams. I am what I am today and I owe it all to you, Mama.

Madam Soong's son

Children see, children do

I had replaced 'monkey' to 'children' in the phrase "Monkey see, monkey do" from a personal experience. We adults are being watched by young impressionable children.

While eating his meal, my 3-year nephew started to shake his leg. In Chinese culture, it is considered rude to shake the leg or for the more superstitious, luck will be shaken away. My mum reproached him but he replied, 'Uncle Paul shakes his leg too.' I laughed hard when my mum recounted this incident to me.

If you want your kids to grow up in a certain way, do not just tell them because they usually do not listen. Instead, lead the way by showing an example to them. If you don't want your children to swear, don't swear. If you want your children to respect you, respect your parents. The list goes on. You get the idea!

Lesson from T-shirts

I used to wear medium-sized (M) T-shirts. But now, they are small-sized T-shirts. Something was amiss when I woke up every morning to find that my T-shirt hems barely covered my navel.

Lately, did I pieced the clues together. I set the washer to 'high temperature' instead of 'perm pressed', thinking that it would be cleaner. The dryer was set to high temperature too. My T-shirts are made of 100% cotton. Eureka, my T-shirts shrunk because of the heat.

Luckily, these T-shirts are meant for sleeping only. Imagine me walking around with the shrunken T-shirts. (Puking.....) Think this fashion is more suitable for females.

Lesson to learn: Always read and follow the washing instructions on whatever you want to wash.

A week in Paul's world

Sunday
Wake up to the morning sun to do laundry, then attend 11.30am mass.

Cook lunch for a week's supply in the afternoon.

Buy grocery in the evening.

Tired at night after cooking and cleaning up apartment.

Monday - Friday
Work and work.

Dinner will either be ready-to-eat food such as pizza and pizza and pizza....... or noodle in whatever soup that I brewed.

Saturday
Explore new places by bus or stay at apartment to rest.

Invitation to the Refuge Way of the Cross Church

I was invited by Delores to attend a Sunday service at her church today. Knowing that the congregation will be dressed in their Sunday's best, I put on long sleeve, pants and leather shoes instead of T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. This is a great attitude for me to learn because I am too complacent in my dressings when I attend mass.

The church was located just one street from where I attend my usual Sunday mass at Blessed Sacrament Church (Old York Road). When I entered through the main entrance, I was hit by waves of loud praising. The most often heard words were ‘alleluia’, ‘amen’, and Jesus.

The service was conducted in a dynamic and vibrant manner where the pastor will preach and anyone could stand up and praise the Lord. There would be spontaneous clapping, singing and dancing. The church was very much alive and spirit-filled.

After about two and half hours of worship, we adjourned from the main hall to the canteen below. As they celebrated Women’s Day today, all the men waited and served the ladies. I was spared the task because I was their guest. The community was very warm towards me.

Lunch began with a bowl of vegetable soup, a cup of cut fruits, followed by entrée consisting of rice, baked chicken and vegetables. I was too full for a slice of cake for dessert.

This was really an experience to see how Christians worship in USA.

Paul's Gong Bao Ji Ting (chicken) recipe

Let me share my Gong Bao chicken recipe. My cooking style is based on estimation of the amount of each ingredient needed.

Ingredients:
Chicken breast meat
Dried chilli
Cashew nuts
Ginger
Garlic
Onion
Capsicum
Light soya sauce
Sugar
Sesame oil
Corn starch
White pepper powder


Method:
Cut the chicken breast to small chunks.

Marinate the meat with light soya sauce, white pepper powder, sesame oil and corn starch for two hours. Do not put too much sesame oil and corn starch because the former will impart a bitter taste if added in large quantity while the latter will give a starchy texture. Corn starch serves to tenderise the meat.

Chop garlic, slice ginger and oinion, cut capsicum to bite-sized.

Warm cooking oil and stir fry cashew nuts till golden brown.

Fry dried chilli, chopped garlic, sliced ginger and onion sequentially when each has given off its fragrant.

Add marinated meat and stir fry till cook. Add light soya sauce and sugar to taste.

Fry capsicum quickly (since it can be eaten raw) and serve.

Bon appetit.

A prayer for strength

Lord, grant me patience to deal with life situations as they come.

Teach me to forgive and forget with a generous heart when hurts and insults befall me.

In my afflictions, mould me into the person that You see in me.

Above all, I seek Your wisdom to navigate through this life's journey!

Amen.

F & F cravings

Two months without local food and fruits! My cravings for them are building up to a climax as though I am suffering from withdrawal symptom. I am even eating pickled chilli (or what they called here as ‘pepper’) as a dish.

Tropical fruits such as banana, watermelon and mango are expensive here and do not taste as sweet.

Beef noodles, dry wanton mee, Hainanese chicken rice, fried kway tiao, rojak, mee siam, durain, rambutan, papaya etc. The list is endless. I want them all!

Prior to my US trip, I actually began to crave for local delights. Whatever dish I thought of, I would ‘hunt’ it down and relish its taste and flavour. A meal could mean a few dishes instead of my usual one dish and a drink. Debbie brought me to the Red Hill Hawker Centre once where she recommended famous stalls. We went from alley to alley, ordering up to seven dishes at the end of the gastronomic adventure. Without saying, we were bloated but I had a great time satisfying my cravings.

I will do this again when I am back soon.

Face off at Homewood Field

I finally got to witness a match of lacrosse on Saturday which is the oldest sports in North America. It began centuries ago where the Native Americans played to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, develop strong and virile men as well as to prepare for war. To Native Americans, lacrosse is still referred to as "The Creator's Game."

The match took place at Homewood field, between Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays and Townson University Tigers. Each team has a goalie, three defenders, three midfielders and three attackers. The aim is to shoot as many balls into the opponent's goal. The team with the most goals wins.

The game began with a parachutist bringing the balls for the match. What a great way to start a game! The referee’s whistle blew off and the competition started with the Blue Jays leading against Townson Tigers. I sat among fans of the Blue Jays where I spotted a guy with an interesting cap. In support of his favorite team, he had three blue jay look-alikes attached to his cap. The Hopkins cheerleading team and pep band were there to hype up the game with chants, dances and songs. Everytime the Blue Jays scores a goal, the pep band will played the fight song, 'To Win', where fans would join at the end, by counting the number of goals scored by the Blue Jays and chanting 'We want more!'

Competition was fierce between both teams. Players had to wear protective gears as they can use the lacrosse stick called the crosse to hit the opponents. Their scores were neck and neck with the Blue Jays leading by two or three points. The face off ended at the fourth quarter with the Blue Jays beating the Tigers 11-10.

Congratulations to both teams for a game well played. I had a good tan sitting at the spectator stand for one and half hour after two months here.