A midweek celebration for Dijana's arrival

This feast was arranged by Vladimir in honor of his newly wedded bride, Dijana who joined him two months ago.

The initial plan was to celebrate at Tom's home but the venue was changed to the lab at the eleventh hour due to 'imminent bad weather'.

Everyone in the lab chipped in at least one dish and we got ourselves a wide spread of food (the food multiplied when we shared). There were sushi, Zha Jiang noodle, rotisserie chicken, salad, beef stew (mine), apple pie, cakes and Serbian dishes (which I did not get the names). Dijana's dishes were pleasing to the eyes and delicious for the palate. I must ask her for the banana wrap and tuna-egg roll recipes.

We had so much left over that we consumed them for lunch today. I took 15 pictures for this event and only three had people in it. The rest were displayed here. My focus was on the food as I was hungry. Hope you do not salivate from seeing.

Les Misérable

Surrounded by people, yet I felt alone.
Life was going well, yet I felt frustrated.

To see the source, I reflected inwardly.
Longing for home, broken relationships faded by distance and time.

My heart yearned for the good old times,
When I lived with loved ones close by.

Alas, time runs ahead, never turning back.
Leaving me to cherish sweet memories of my good old times.

Awaiting for my goodies from Singapore

Recently, my sister, Donna came over to USA on a business trip for one week. The world is getting smaller when a nursery principal has to travel half the world. I did not met up with her since she was flying to three places within a week. Most of her time was spent waiting at airports.

Anyway, she became the courier for me to get some of the food that I could not find here e.g. the chicken rice paste, some type of fungus for 'cooling' the body and rock sugar.

My neck is stretched long from waiting for the parcel since she sent it on last Wednesday by DHL from Michigan.

Running against time!

In the blink of an eye, five months of 2007 have gone by and I have not fulfilled one of my resolution to visit as many states as possible.

Many factors are hindering me. First and foremost, my experiments have just started and many things need to be worked out. I also need to familiarize new experimental techniques.

Second, the weather is just starting to warm up.

Third, money for travelling.

Acting like a tour guide at DC

Eduardo and family, Kuen OK and I met around 7am on April 22, 2007 (Sunday) to head towards DC to get the White House Garden Tour tickets, which would be distributed at 8am on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Instead of driving all the way to DC, we tried out the route suggested by BJ since parking would be a problem at DC. We drove along I-95 south to the New Carrollton Metro Station and took the subway to DC.

Since I had taken the metro before, I had to lead them regarding which line to take and at which station to alight. After collecting the tickets from the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, we decided to go to the National Zoo by metro again. You can say that we used the metro a lot for that day where we got ourselves day passes ($6.50).

At the zoo, I saw three panda bears face to face for the first time (instead of on the tv). Surprisingly, they had brownish fur instead of white (wonder why). Most of the exhibits were empty with placards apologizing that they were under construction. Friends who had visited the zoo a few years ago commented that the placards were also there then. After covering half the attractions, we were hungry and had picnic at a resting place where I supplied macaroons, Snickers and Chocolate Chip-A-hoy cookies. Kuen OK prepared the most with sushi, noodle and cucumber kimchi.

After filling our tummies, we toured a bit more before heading back to the White House. As food was not allowed on the tour, Eduardo and Greta decided that they would wait for us with the leftover food at the Washington Monument.

There was a sea of people visiting the White House that day. However, we could only walked on the bitumen road and not even on the lawn. Needless to say, entry into any building was prohibited! At least Eduardo and Greta did not missed much since they could see the building from the fence too.

After our tour, Kuen OK and I met up at the meeting point with Eduardo and his family. Since they had not been to the Lincoln Memorial, I suggested to go in that direction. We rested on the Reflection Pool where Mathias tried to jump in. Luckily, I was holding on to him else he would be drenched. I had a good laugh because he was so spontaneous. Coming to two-year old on May 26, he would not know what is danger.

From Lincoln Memorial, we proceeded to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson Memorials along the Tidal Basin. There, I posed with the brass sculptures, waiting in-line. By the time we reached Jefferson Memorial, we were tired after so much walking and tanned from the relentless sun.

Link to my pictures on that day. Below is a portrait of a soldier engraved onto a marble wall at the Korean War Memorial.

Call me, "Tanned Tan."

After three long months of cold harsh winter, I now understand why people living in the temperate countries love the sun.

From a tropical country perspective, you would not see locals sun bathing on grass field during midday. Nope, you would see sun bathers at the beach or pool only. Here, in USA and Australia, I had seen people lying on the lawn and "getting bake".

For myself, I had bought a beach towel during the winter sales and I used it for the first time yesterday where I lied on the field opposite to my apartment. The sun was warm but not humid. It was so soothing that I dozed off while reading Intuition. I was wearing sleeveless and Bermudas, blending in with the culture here.

Contrary to what is portray on tv, daily Americans are not that liberal when it comes to showing off their skin. Guys would wear board shorts instead of swimming trunks at beaches and pools (they called trunks, "Speedo" though it is a brand name). Gals wear one-piece suit instead of bikinis (I think for the gals, it depends on the location).

Lungs burnt!

After a long cold winter season, I went for a run this evening, thinking it was pleasant. I was in my tees and shorts only. While waiting for Vladimir to join me for the run, I felt the cold air (around 15 degree Celsius). I made a mental note that it would be alright after I started running.

Initially, the cold air felt refreshing. But after a short distance, the cold air just stunk my oxygen-deprived lungs and my skin pores contracted against the cold wind.

Next time, I would run on the treadmill or wait till the temperature climbs further up.

30 chocolate bars for snack

Yes, you got the number right, 30! I bought them as a variety pack consisting of 10 Snickers, 8 Twix (I love this so far), 3 Snickers Almond, 6 Milky Way and 3 Musteteers at Sam's Club where it sells items at wholesale quantity and price. The down side is that it does not carry much varieties.

Friends who had been to Europe and USA had told me that the chocolate and pastry taste different from that in Singapore. So, I am trying them out now. After finishing this pack, next on the list will be Hershey's brand of chocolate.

Too bad that Sam's Club stop carrying Goldiva chocolate ice cream, else I would be indulging in them. I am not really a fan of Häagen-Dazs. By the way, I am still stuck with two tubs of Edy's ice cream. Think they will stay in the freezer for a long time.

Home cooked dinner when I reached back

For the whole of this week, I get free home cooked dinner after the end of a hard day. Where do I get such a good deal, you would ask me?

My landlord's parents are here for a visit. His mum is doing all the cooking and I have a share of it. Nice not to be cooking your own dinner for a while. Besides, she cooks Chinese dishes such as steamed fish (which I have not eaten since I left Singapore), lotus root soup (detoxifying and 'cooling' for the body) and stir-fried leafy vegetables, etc.

Enjoying the bliss now.

Possibility of commuting between USA and Singapore

My boss, Prof. Thomas August is applying for a grant in Singapore. If he got it approved, I might be selected among his post-docs to travel to and fro between Baltimore and Singapore.

Of course I am hoping that the grant be approved and that I am chosen since I can see my family and friends more often in a year.

The down side is the 27hr-flight and adjusting to 12-hour difference. A small price to pay. For now, let me day dream till the verdict is out.

Ligation - Perserverance strikes back

After one month of ligation experiments, two out of three constructs were successfully subcloned into our lab's vector. For the last construct, I am using Vladimir's clone to save time.

This period had been frustrating and trying where after repeating so many experiments, the inserts were not ligated to the vector. I had tried different T4 DNA ligases from Roche, Promega and New England Biolabs. The ligation reaction mixtures had been incubated at room temperature, 16 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius. Incubation time tried were as short as 5 minutes to overnight.

Nearing the end of one month, I was feeling down and self-doubt set in. Many thanks to my friend, TuanLeng who encouraged me and discussed with me the possible mistakes in ligation. I perservered and for the last ligation experiment, I finally determined the vector and insert concentrations and calculated the volumes to react for giving a molar ratio of 1 (vector) : 3 (insert). Background and negative controls were set up. The background control was the vector without any insert while the negative control had insert only without the vector. Colonies from the background control helped to gauge the ligation efficiency. No growth should be observed on the negative control plate.

Lo and behold, when I saw the gel, I was happy that there were bands corrresponding to the sizes of my inserts. Their identities were confirmed from DNA sequencing.

These are the possible mistakes for failure in ligation experiment.
1. Ligase is usually dissolved in glycerol. Presence of >10% glycerol in the reaction mixture may inhibit ligase. In 10 ul of reaction mixture, 0.9ul was added instead of 1ul and the pipette tip was drained off excess ligase that might be adhering outside the tip.

2. Make sure the ligation buffer is new or used one is always kept on ice and stored at -20 degree celsius immediately after use since ligase requires ATP for ligating.

3. Vector and insert must be rid of ethanol since ethanol inhibits ligase too.

4. Calculate the molar ratio according to product information sheet. My mistake was that I followed others' recipes blindly. Alternatively, look at the formula below by Cranenburgh (2004) for calculating the volumetric ratios required in a ligation reaction. The T volume (represents the combined volume of vector and insert solutions e.g. T is 8ul in a 10ul reaction with 1 ul each of ligase and 10x buffer) can be scaled up accordingly.











Reference
Cranenburg R.M. (2004) An equation for calculating the volumetric ratios required in a ligation reaction. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 65, 200-202.

Too many distractions at night

Now that I have cable tv, my nights have been spent watching shows from the time I got back to the apartment till 11pm latest, unless it was the weekend which would be 1am.

Further, I have five books on hand. I am almost done with The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography where the famous black actor, Sidney Poitier shared about his life growing up in the Bahamas to surviving as a black actor under the prejudices against colored people at that time in Hollywood till the present. It was written addressing to the reader, so I could relate to what he was conveying.

I am also reading On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story by Richard Jadick with Thomas Hayden. No point for guessing it right about the content of the book from its title.

The other three are Everyman's Library Pocket Poets by Robert Frost (a gift from Tom) who epitomized an American poet, Canaan by Donald McCaig and lastly Intuition which touches on the world of labs and researchers (on loan from my landlord).

In between restless nights, I would solve two Soduku puzzles to make my mind tired so I can sleep.

These past two days, I suffered from a bad stiff neck. It started with the right side yesterday. But today, the pain had spread to both sides. I am not moving my neck much. You can imagine how funny I am when I had to turn my whole body instead of just my neck to look at something. Sigh, hope it will go away quickly. I am sticking the medical patch to relief the pain. Vladimir suggested that I used a hair dryer to blow on the affected part.

Happy and blessed Easter!

After 40 days of observance and reflection (Lent season) beginning from Ash Wednesday which I did not practised religiously, it culminated in today's celebration of Jesus' living again.

His resurrection symbolises light in the darkness, hope for the despair, life after death. Easter happened 2000 years ago but is still happening in our daily lives when we love one another as He commanded.

Cherry blossom at DC (Episode 2)

Last year around this time, I went to see the cherry blossom with Greg at Washington D.C. but most of the thousand-odd trees had shed their beautiful blossoms.

This year, I am determined to see the Tidal Basin in full bloom. The peak bloom forecast for 2007 was Apr 3 - 5 from the Official Website of The National Cherry Blossom Festival. After my experience last year with bad weather and mistiming, I consulted with the weather forecast and decided Apr 3 (Tue) was the best day to go since it was sunny and temperature hovering around 70 Fahrenheit.

It was a good decision since it rained today (Apr 4). Greg initially planned to go today but I did not want to be caught in the rain. Also, the rain would cause the blossoms to fall.

On Apr 2, which was Greg's birthday, he invited us over to his home to watch the final in national college basketball between University of Florida and Ohio State University. Thereafter, Greg and I decided to drive to DC at 12 midnight to avoid the 4am rush towards DC.

We reached DC around 2am, Apr 3 and spent a good deal of time searching for free or all-day-long parking as all the parking lots had 2hr limit. Eventually, we found one but it was closed and we just parked right outside a bank at the intersection of 11th and E streets. (I was thinking what would happen if there was a bank robbery and we would be suspected as accomplices.) Greg brought along pillows and throw overs. This was the first time I slept in a car in USA. I was tired but woke up on every little sound. My survival instinct kicked in to check there was no danger before dozing off again. I suggested to Greg that we should sleep under starlit night at camp site instead of street lamps along a road.

Around 6am, the garage was opened and we parked the car. Morning was cold and we were not dressed warmly. Anyway, we reached the Tidal Basin and this time round, our effort was not in vain. The whole lake was surrounded by blooming cherry blossoms. What a magnificent sight to behold. Some of the trees were already shedding their blossoms which looked like snow flakes. The petals formed an interesting abstract art piece on the water too.

With 1 gb CF card, I was shooting away till I ended up with 161 photos. Taking good pictures at dawn was challenging with the low light intensity.

Anyway, I went back to work in the afternoon, feeling tired but satisfied!

Specially selected cherry blossom photos are available here.

Historic Ellicott City, Maryland

Located to the west of Baltimore City in Howard County, Historic Ellicott City offers a rustic and relaxed respite from city life.

It has many antique and specialty shops along The Main Street where you can spend the whole day hunting for that something special that catches your eyes among the many interesting items such as furniture, toys, china etc.

Meandering through this hilly region is Patapsco River which flows into The Chesapeake Bay. As part of Maryland catchment area, Historic Ellicott City is prone to floods, the highest flood level recorded thus far was 14.5 ft (4.4 m) in 1972 (see the album below for the different levels).

Along this river, there sits The Ellicott's Lower Mills and The Ellicott B&O Railroad Station which helped create one of the greatest milling and manufacturing towns in the east of bygone era.

In contrast to this laid back charm, there was this cool, black car that was shaped like Darth Vader's helmet. Also, you can see riders in leather gears riding expensive Harleys, cruising along the idyllic streets.

Historic Ellicott City pictures are available here.

Postdoctoral fellow is considered a student in USA

I felt discriminated recently when I tried to register for some enrichment courses provided by The Career Management Program. I am considered a student and thus not eligible.

In Singapore, I would be considered a full-time staff.

This is life where things are not revolve around you. You are part of a big picture.

Enlighten about poems

A few people had commented that my writings are poetic, flowery etc. Well, I cannot help it since I am interested in poems.

My exposure to poems began with nursery rhymes at nursery and in literature classes at secondary (USA: high) school.

My notion of poems was that they were romantic and rhymed. This notion was shattered when I read the introduction by Garrison Keillor on 'Good Poems for Hard Times'. Let me quote him, "The meaning of poetry is to give courage. A poem is not a puzzle ... to solve. It is meant to poke you, get you buck up, pay attention, rise and shine, look alive, get a grip, pull up your socks, wake up and die right. What really matters about poetry ... is the miracle of incantation in rendering the gravity and grace and beauty of the ordinary world and thereby lending courage to strangers."

What a difference and noble idealism when compared to my initial notion!

These are some of the poems I liked from Garrison's selection:


To David, About His Education by Howard Nemerov

The world is full of mostly invisible things,
And there is no way but putting the mind's eye,
Or its nose, in a book, to find them out,
Things like the square root of Everest
Or how many times Byron goes into Texas,
Or whether the law of the excluded middle
Applies west of the Rockies. For these
And the like reasons, you have to go to school
And study books and listen to what you are told.
And sometimes try to remember. Though I don't know
What you will do with the mean annual rainfall
On Plato's Republic, or the calorie content
Of the Diet of Worms, such things are said to be
Good for you, and you will have to learn them
In order to become one of the grown-ups
Who sees invisible things neither steadily nor whole,
But keeps gravely the grand confusion of the world
Under his hat, which is where it belongs,
And teaches small children to do this in their turn.


Carnation Milk (Anonymous)

Carnation Milk is the best in the land,
Here I sit with a can in my hand--
No tits to pull, no hay to pitch,
You just punch a hole in the son of a bitch


the con job by Charles Bukowski

the ground war began today
at dawn
in a desert land
far from here.
the U.S. ground troops were
largely
made up of
Blacks, Mexicans and poor
whites
most of whom had joined
the military
because it was the only job
they could find.

the ground war began today
at dawn
in a desert land
far from here
and the Blacks, Mexicans
and poor whites
were sent there
to fight and win
as on tv
and on the radio
the fat white rich newscasters
first told us all about
it
and then the fat rich white
analysts
told us
why
again
and again
and again
on almost every minute
day and night
because
the Blacks, Mexicans
and poor whites
were sent there
to fight and win
at dawn
in a desert land
far enough away from
here.


Things by Lisel Mueller

What happened is, we grew lonely
living among the things,
so we gave the clock a face,
the chair a back,
the table four stout legs
which will never suffer fatigue.

We fitted our shoes with tongues
as smooth as our own
and hung tongues inside bells
so we could listen
to their emotional language,

and because we loved graceful profiles
the pitcher received a lip,
the bottle a long, slender neck.

Even what was beyond us
was recast in our image;
we gave the country a heart,
the storm an eye,
the cave a mouth
so we could pass into safety.


Any prince to any princess by Adrain Henri

August is coming
and the goose, I'm afraid,
is getting fat.
There have been
no golden eggs for some months now.
Straw has fallen well below market price
despite my frantic spinning
and the sedge is,
as you rightly point out,
withered.

I can't imagine how the pea
got under your mattress. I apologize
humbly. The chambermaid has, of course,
been sacked. As has the frog footman.
I understand that, during my recent fact-finding tour of the
Golden River,
despite your nightly unavailing efforts,
he remained obstinately
froggish.

I hope that the Three Wishes granted by the General
Assembly
will go some way towards redressing
this unfortunate recent sequence of events.
The fall in output from the shoe-factory, for example:
no one could have foreseen the work-to-rule
by the National Union of Elves. Not to mention the fact
that the court has been fast asleep
for the last six and a half years.

The matter of the poisoned apple has been taken up
by the Board of Trade: I think I can assure you
the incident will not be
repeated.

I can quite understand, in the circumstances,
your reluctance to let down
your golden tresses. However,
I feel I must point out
that the weather isn't getting any better
and I already have a nasty chill
from waiting at the base
of the White Tower. You must see the absurdity of the
situation.
Some of the courtiers are beginning to talk,
not to mention the humble villagers.
It's been three weeks now, and not even
a word.

Princess,
a cold, black wind
howls through our empty palace.
Dead leaves litter the bedchamber;
the mirror on the wall hasn't said a thing
since you left. I can only ask,
bearing all this in mind,
that you think again,

let down your hair,

reconsider.

Cool technology: Skype

Disclaimer: Skype did not pay me to promote this post.

I have been using Skype to chat with my family on their landlines with Skype credit. For friends who have Skype accounts, I can chat with them for free. Before I came back to USA from Singapore, I brought along a webcam so that I could let my loved ones see me. Skype also allows conferencing.

The recent add-ons that I found it very useful was Sketch pad. It allows you to see what the other party is drawing in real time. This was helpful in my discussion with Saimun in my previous post where we could see each other's drawing instead of abstract visualization.

Failed experiments but undefeated

What seems to be straightforward in theory turned out to be full of obstacles in practice.

Theoretically, ligation sounds simple where you simply add a vector (a carrier), an insert (your gene of interest) and a DNA ligase (an enzyme molecule which join two pieces of DNA together) in a buffer mixture, and incubate at certain temperature for a period of time.

With this mentality, I performed two ligation experiments but they did not gave result. I was frustrated because I preconceived that it should work for a simple experiment and I am under time constraint. I was determined to get it right!

Coincidentally, a visiting professor told me that some labs were having problems ligating and after discussing with my friend, Saimun over Skype, he corroborated the difficulties involved to optimize many parameters for a successful ligation. He also suggested his ligation recipe. These helped to alleviate my frustration where I thought I was bad at ligation.

With each experiment, I learnt more about ligation and thank God for giving me a sharp observation, I troubleshot the possible mistakes which I committed. The two main causes could be low concentrations of my inserts and short incubation time.

At the third attempt, there were results which needed to be verified next week. For now, I am partially satisfied till I get the verification. I do not like to count my chicken before they are hatched.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lessons learnt from this mini-episode.

Mistakes are meant to be made because we are not perfect and we can learn more through mistakes than success.

Failure is a state of the mind; When you succumb to it, you are defeated.

Shortcuts end up being nowhere.

Be humble to seek help.

Learn from the experienced and adapt their advice to your situation since you are walking it, not them.

100th Post

I should celebrate for my 100th post, thanks to all my friends and readers who had read and contributed to my blog which had kept me going!

While swimming at the small indoor pool with Greg today, I realised something. As the length was only 25 yards, I could not get as much work out as I like since I glided half the way. So, I began to swim along the peripheral of the pool instead of tumble-turn. It hit on me that I was like a fish in an aquarium, swimming around in an enclosed tank towards a set direction. This behavior was also observed in animals enclosed in confined spaces in zoos where you could see worn out paths.

Like animals, we also tend to create routines in our lives, performing the tasks in a certain manner till something forces us to change to adapt to the new environment.

Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe

I had a taste of home when I cooked this dish. I can eat this for many days.

Ingredients:
Chicken (depends on which part you like)
Sliced old ginger
Pounded garlic
Pounded shallot
Pounded lemon grass
Pandan leaves or essence
Salt
Sesame oil
Light soya sauce
Coriander and cucumber (as garnishes)

Protocol:
1. Brew chicken stock or add chicken cube to water.

2. Fry pounded garlic, shallot and lemon grass till slightly brown.

3. Cook rice with brewed chicken stock, pandan leaves/essence, old ginger, fried pounded garlic, shallot and lemon grass. Add salt to taste.

4. Poach the chicken part in boiling water under low temperature for 20-30 minutes (depending on how big is the chicken). For flavoring, add salt to taste and ginger to get rid of smell.

5. Soak the poached chicken in cold water for 10 minutes. Chop to small pieces.

6. Serve cooked rice with chopped chicken decorated with coriander and cucumber. Add light soya sauce and sesame oil before serving.

A picture of tropical pandan shrub. Picture taken from here.

More confident second time round

This morning, I slept till 9.30am (a luxury since I had been waking up by 7.30am, regardless of weekends or weekdays) and my driving lesson started at 11am.

This time, I drove us to Clifton High School under the instructor's guidance. I was more confident and actually cruised at 40 miles per hour compared to less than 20 miles per hour on my first day.

Today, I got to do turnabout and parallel parking where there was a three-minute period for you to complete each task during the driving test.

Let's helped me remember the process by committing it to writing:

The first is turnabout in a tight space (there are four turns; drive, reverse, drive, reverse, drive).

1. Signal right 30 feet before the cone while doing all the mirror checking and head checks.

2. Once the driver seat passes the cone, turn right immediately and stop the vehicle where you can still see the kerb. If the hood (British: bonnet) covered the kerb, the vehicle is too close to the kerb for maneuvers.

3. Check rear view mirror, left side mirror and do a left head check.

4. Turn wheel to the left fully and move till the vehicle is close to the kerb.

5. Reverse and turn wheel fully to the right till the vehicle is close to the opposite kerb.

6. Shift to drive and turn wheel fully to the left, careful not to go out of the junction.

7. Reverse and turn wheel fully to right.

8. Shift to drive and straighten wheels.


Second station is parallel parking
1. Keep signalling right and position vehicle two to three feet from front poles.

2. Reverse till the front poles are at the middle of the rear passenger window. You should be able to see three back poles in the rear view mirror at the right.

3. Turn right fully and reverse till the three back poles move across to the left and stop when the last pole disappear from view in the rear view mirror.

4. Turn left fully and reverse till rear wheel touches the kerb.

5. Shift to drive and turn right fully, counting from one to three. Stop at three.

6. Reverse and turn left fully till right front wheel touches the kerb.

7. Move vehicle forward by one count and straighten wheels.

8. Secure vehicle by pulling hand brake, shift to park.

Two books read

Yesterday, I was shocked when I returned two of four novels which I borrowed from The Eisenhower Library at Homewood Campus. The librarian informed me that I owed $10 for each of the four overdue books. I was puzzled since I distinctively remembered that the due date was Mar 14.

Anyway, I returned the books and went back to my apartment to get the other two to clear up this misunderstanding. On hindsight, I remembered when I borrowed the four books that a librarian told me that my library membership needed to be renewed by Mar 3 since it was valid for only one year. Thus, the due date was Mar 3. I presumed that the computer system did not update the due dates on my book loans and thus this misunderstanding.

After showing the librarian the due dates on my books, he agreed to waive the fee. I felt vindicated since I have never pay a late fee for overdue book. I like to maintain an unblemished record!

Let's get back to the main topic of sharing with you what I had read:

First was "Mendel's Daughter. A Memoir" by Martin Lemelman which is a tribute to his mother's bravery and perseverance during the Nazi persecution. This is a sad episode of human history which should never be repeated!

"Christ The Lord. Out of Egypt" by Anne Rice is an interesting novel on the hidden years of Jesus Christ. It projected him as very human where he was discovering his identity as God-Man.

Anne was also the author of numerous vampire books where one was made into a film starring Bratt Pitt as Louis in "Interview with the Vampire".

A mental note for myself that I should read more research papers and Immunology textbook instead of fiction and non-fiction.

My first drive in USA

After I had scheduled for my driving lessons one month ago, my first lesson was changed from Feb 6 (Tue) to today since my instructor got a new car.

On Feb 5, I called to remind him and that was when he said he had to postpone them. I was indignant as I had to re-scheduled my experiments and he should at least had called me instead of the other way round.

Anyway, we went to Clifton High School which had a huge car park with no parked car. My instructor explained how I should check the exterior of the car as one of the driving test requirements. Things to look out for include inflated tires, sharp debris that could puncture the tires, obstacles that could blocked the tires, all headlights were not broken, no leak under the engine etc.

After checking the exterior, upon entering the car, I had to lock the doors first, before inserting the key. Next, I made adjustments to the seat and mirrors. I had a briefings on all the buttons available on the dashboard.

I practised left and right turns, going forward and backing up before going on the road. Thank God the traffic was not heavy then. I was more relaxed and aware of what I was doing compared to driving in Singapore! The ease was partially because I was driving an automatic car. I just had to step on the accelerator or the brake. Surprisingly, left-hand drive was not as bad as I had been brought up on right-hand drive. Finally, maturity accounted for the rest since I am calmer nowadays and learnt to take things at an easy pace. I was a "gan jiong" king (Singlish for a nervous wreck) in my younger days.

A funny thing was I drove like a tortoise (less than 20 miles per hour) since this was my first time. The speed limit was 25. This Wednesday, I hope to keep to the speed limit as slow driving can cause accident too!

After completing six hours of driving, I have to practise at least 60 hours of driving with different conditions (dusk, dawn, highway, 3-point turn etc). Delores had volunteered to take me to the highway today after I told her about my driving. I jokingly said she had to make peace with God first, then we could go ahead.

The last post took me one week to post

Charles, I was not playing Sudoku till I abandon my blog (smile). I was busy at work and I could not get the nine time table to display the way I wanted it.

First, I tried to use table where Blogspot introduced so many empty rows that readers would assume there was nothing there.

Try pasting the code and see (you have to add '<' at the beginning of all HTML codes since I had removed it for Blogspot not to recognize them as codes):

table border="1">
tr>
td>1 x 9 = 09/td>
td>0 + 9 = 9/td>
/tr>
tr>
td>2 x 9 = 18/td>
td>1 + 8 = 9/td>
/tr>
/table>

The result in Blogspot is:

1 x 9 = 09	0 + 9 = 9
2 x 9 = 18	1 + 8 = 9

Then, I tried to do bulleted list with two levels but Blogspot just gave me one level!

ul>
li>1 x 9 = 09/li>
ul>li>0 + 9 = 9
/li>/ul>
li>2 x 9 = 18
/li>
/ul>

• 1 x 9 = 09
• 0 + 9 = 9
  
• 2 x 9 = 18
  

Finally, I just used the suggestion by Tom to attach a picture of the table which I created.

It is hard to display the style you want on Blogspot!

The beauty of nine time table

Pardon me if my writing is confusing since I am not a Mathematician.

Every child would have to memorize multiplication time tables in Mathematics lessons. Digits 6 and above were a challenge to commit to memory.

Now, I share with you the beauty of nine time table. The left column is nine time table and the right column lists the sum of digits for each multiplication.

When you represent the multiplication of nine time table as two- or three-digit forms, the sum of the digits will always add up to nine except those of multiplications by 11, 21, 22, 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, 43, 44 etc. which give 18.

Interestingly, if you observe a pattern, what is the summation of the digits when you multiply 9 by 55? The answer is 18 i.e. a ten-fold increased will give one multiplication where the digits add up to 18, a twenty-fold increased will give two multiplications with digits adding to 18 etc.

Another pattern for multiplications from one to ten is that the digits are completely opposite when you use an imaginary line to divide at multiplications of five (45) and six (54), four (36) and seven (63), etc.

My last observation for multiplications of nine from one to ten is the first digit is one less than the number you multiply. For example, for multiplication of nine by two, the first digit of the multiplication is 2 - 1 = 1. Since it always add up to nine, the second digit is 9 - 1 = 8.

I know it is a long way to do multiplication by nine, but this is just another way of looking at it instead of memorizing.

Mad about Sudoku

What is Soduku? It is a puzzle of placing numbers in a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes contains the digits from 1 to 9. There is only an unique answer to each puzzle. This basic 9x9 grid has evolved to other forms such as 12x12 with letters and Samurai Sudoku.

My first brush with Soduku was when I noticed my friend, Judice started playing Sudoku in 2005 but I was uninterested then. Recently, Eduardo let me played one such puzzle on his hand-held palm while on our way to Washington DC. After that, I am a fan of Sudoku because it is mentally challenging and helps to improve one's analytic skill.

The human body has an efficient way to cope with changes. A person who works out correctly at the gym will often accumulate muscle mass with a proper diet. However, if he stopped pumping, the muscle mass will decrease, since the body does not need to maintain a muscular physique to survive. Similarly, if a person does not use his brain much (e.g. watching TV), the mental capability will deteriorate. What you do not use, the body will not maintain it. That is why I am playing at least one Sudoku puzzle each day.

Settling slowly at my new place

I shifted into my new place on Monday (Feb 26) with the kind permission by Edwin, my landlord/housemate. I could not sleep for the first night as I 'downgraded' from a queen- to twin-sized bed. For the second night, I brought along two of my pillows from my old place and was able to sleep till 6am.

Now, it seemed that my biological clock is set to wake up at 6am no matter how late I sleep. I am physically exhausted from the shifting and disturbed sleep. I still have my belongings at Vladimir's and Eduardo's apartments since I would be charged USD$75 for moving in with boxes or bulky items. The plan is to bring my stuff in grocery bags over several trips. It is more troublesome but I save $75 (this rate is exorbitant or cut-throat for using the lift)!

Living at the tenth floor and facing the east has one tremendous advantage. I get to admire sun rise every morning. The red orange glow of dawn illuminates my room as the fiery ball climbs the sky.

I promise to post pictures of my new place once I am settled down. Till then, I am enjoying the 185 channels on TV and surfing the internet.

My first anniversary in USA

How time flies in the blink of an eye, one year had passed by since I arrived on Feb 24 2006!

During this period, I would like to thank my colleagues/friends who had helped to make life easier here. To BJ for her great help at work. Delores who keeps asking me to 'hit the button' for the coffee maker because she knows I am a coffee addict. Vladimir for the many talks, walks and dinners. My swimming buddy, Greg. Eduardo, Greta and cute Mathias for the many road trips to Sam's club, Washington DC, etc. To Fero, my fellow Catholic companion at mass. Ernesto and Tom for their guidance and valuble inputs for my work.

My apartment is almost back to its original state when I first moved in one year ago. I had shifted most of my stuffs but I still need to clean up. Now I am sleeping in my sleeping bag. My kind landlord had offered me to shift in earlier. Have to gather my act and get this done and over with!

Had enough of winter, looking forward to spring

There were only two snow falls in this winter season but I had enough of it. Coming from a tropical country, experiencing snow was exhilarating initially. However, as snow froze to ice or became too thick to walk and wind chill brought already freezing temperature further south, the harsh cold reality set in. Slippery roads and power outages from fallen trees/branches or heavy frozen power lines were some of the inconveniences experienced. Worst, some people even died from the cold!

Spring, O Lively Spring, come quickly to break your sister, Deadly Winter's cold spell to bring forth live from the frozen soil.

Happy Lunar Pig Year

This is my first Chinese New Year (CNY) spent away from home! Usually, I could feel the festive spirit two weeks prior to CNY when my family was busy stocking up goodies and cleaning the house. In Baltimore, it just felt like normal working days.

CNY eve was especially important to me since my family would gather to thank God for the blessings He had showered on us for the past year and shared a steamboat feast. Abalone, braised duck, fried chicken wings, etc. Thinking of them made me drooled. Chinese reunion dinner on CNY's eve is akin to Western culture of Thanksgiving (occurring on the fourth Thursday of November).

I spent CNY eve by calling home in the morning (since Singapore is 13 hours ahead) to wish my family health and peace. Then, I went to Sam's Club with Eduardo and his family to buy grocery. I bought a snow sled since it was on sales and spent the afternoon sledding away. I could not imagine sledding as being tiring but it was. My new kind landlord, Edwin invited me to join his friends and colleagues for dinner. I was so filled up by the food on the table and I drank two bottles of Singapore's own brew, Tiger!

Wishing all my readers a happy, healthy and peaceful piggy year!

My 'repeating' song on Valentine's Day

Always on your side by Sheryl Crow and Sting

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away
Every now and then you come to mind
'Cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game
But when your name was called, you found a place to hide
When you knew that I was always on your side

Well everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent
But my demons and my angels reappeared
Leavin' only traces of the man you thought I'd be
Too afraid to hear the words I'd always feared
Leavin' you with only questions all these years

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are you left to wonder, all alone, eternally
This isn't how it's really meant to be
No it isn't how it's really meant to be

Well they say that love is in the air, never is it clear,
Try to pull it close and make it stay
Butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away
And I'm left to carry on and wonder why
Even through it all, I'm always on your side

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are you left to wonder, all alone, eternally
When this isn't how it's really meant to be
No it isn't how it's really meant to be

Well they say that love is in the air, never is it clear
How to pull it close and make it stay
Butterflies are free to fly, why do they fly away
Leavin' me to carry on and wonder why
Was it you that kept me wandering through this life
When you know that I was always on your side

Frustrated at not getting my hair cut!

Majority of hair saloons require making an appointment and they closed by 6pm. I had attempted twice to get my hair cut at separate saloons but failed because I was late. I had booked the latest so that I had more time to work.

I can understand the business sense of filling up the working hours by requesting appointments but what about the customer who need to work normal hours too? Do we have to take leave just to cut our hair?!

My first snow angel

Woke up this morning to a snow-covered day. On my way to work, I took time to take these pictures.

Indeed, each season has its own beauty for us to marvel and contemplate.

When I reached the lab, I could not resist the pristine snow-covered field beckoning me to make a snow angel. I wore my lab coat and gloves to prevent me from getting wet. Eduardo was there to take pictures of me in action. Some said my snow angel looked like a butterfly or a ribbon. I was freezing when I completed the snow angel. My first snowman will have to wait since the snow was flaky (not sticky).

Down at the Inner Harbor, the stagnant water was frozen near the pier, considering the harsh temperature (average -6 degree Celsius). Even cars had icicles forming. Ice cream anyone?

Test your captioning skill

My captions for these pictures: "There are U-turns in life", "Half coverage" and "Car catches cold too"

Do leave your interesting captions behind.

Thank you.

Thank you, Guardian angel

Yesterday, I helped Fero to move to his new place. There were two incidents of accident but I scraped through without injury.

First, we were shifting a heavy metal cabinet onto a truck when one of us lost grip and the metal cabinet slammed against a dolly. My right palm could feel the impact. Any inch closer, my hand would be crushed between the cabinet and the dolly.

Second, I was carrying a sofa up a narrow, dimly lit flight of stairs when I felt a sharp pain across my right shoulder blade. I knew there must be a nail. On my way down, I saw two nails jutting out. Wonder who was that careless and unsafe! My skin was not cut. I would have to go for a tetanus jab if there was a wound.

Thank God for sending his angel, my Guardian Angel, to watch and protect over me!

Angel of God,
My guardian dear,
To whom his love,
Commits me here,
Ever this day and night,
Be at my side,
To light and guard,
To rule and guide.
Amen.

Towards driving and an identity

Two days ago, I went to Motor Vehicle Administration to apply for a learner's permit at Mondawmin Mall. The customer officer rejected one of my two proofs of Maryland residency. I was fuming for making a wasted trip!

Yesterday, I went back to apply again. I hit jackpot when the same person served me (it would have been better if this was a lottery). This time I brought along my lease document. My friend who brought hers went through smoothly and I verified the lease document was included in the official list of sources of proof. He said that they do not accept this as a proof but without conviction. That was when I knew he was just being nasty and making things difficult for me!

Next, things went smoothly where I was complimented by the administrative officer. She said, "It's a pleasure processing your application for coming prepared without all the nonsense." The reason being I had already attended the 30 hour of theory lesson, where I had to sit in a 3-hour class every weeknight for two weeks in winter!

The vision test was interesting. Other than reading off the smallest alphabets, it included testing your peripheral vision where you need to identify which side had orange flashes from the corner of your eyes. I was expecting the flashes upfront.

After this station, I was sent to take my Law Test, consisting of 20 multiple choice questions. The passing grade was 17 (85%) within 15 minutes. I skipped three questions with the intention to answer them at the end. To my surprise, after the last question, there was a message stating that I had passed.

For the final stage, I had to wait for an hour to pay a $50 application fee. I was expecting to receive my card immediately but was disappointed when it would be mailed to me within 30 days.

Anyway, I am glad that I will have the learner's permit which serves as an official identification card (ID). I had been asked to show my ID at pub entrances, student hostel and shopping counters when using my credit card. As I do not like to carry my passport around, I was refused at times or some would accept my Johns Hopkins ID card.

Now, I just have to wait till July to take my driving test and meanwhile, I have to log 60 hours of driving.

A season behind

I had been procrastinating till now. I finally uploaded my fall pictures taken in Baltimore county. I did not expect Maryland to be this scenic. Stretches of fenced up pastures reminded me of pictures in calendars of childhood days.

I am realising my dreams when young Paul wished he was there to ponder on the beauty of falls firsthand!

The pictures are available here.

No sign of snow yet

This winter has been a mild one. In fact, the temperature for one Saturday was 70 degree F (21 degree C). Highly unusual in winter. I was expecting snow by the time I got back from Singapore.

The weather forecast for this week is that there will be snow. My first in my entire life where I will upload pictures of snow-covered Baltimore.

Meanwhile, I am nursing myself to health from the flu bug, the common seasonal pest that comes with each winter.

Sneezing off

Baltimore City is like Gotham City

I had noticed choppers with spotlight flying around my area at night. They hovered way down low and the noise they created was annoying. I wondered what they were doing.

I got my answer on last Monday. Vladimir and I were taking a stroll at JHU Homewood Campus after a hearty dinner. When we parted, I first saw a black man running fast (definitely not in running gear but in polo t-shirt and jeans), followed by an officer chasing after him. I thought of helping the officer but I was thinking that was not a good idea. What if the suspect had a gun. I was not going to risk my life. As I reached the campus entrance, an empty patrol car was parked beside a bicycle which I suspected belonged to the suspect.

Moments later, a helicopter appeared and started flying around the vicinity. The helicopter served as an aerial surveillance of spotting the suspect. So like in Batman comics where they flashed the Batman sign when there was trouble, the choppers would be there to find crooks roaming the streets of Baltimore City.

Shifting out soon

My current lease with Broadview will end by 28 Feb 2007. They are raising the rent to $705 from $670, including only water and gas. Let me quote you a sentence which I found amusing "Management strives to keep costs at a minimum, but in order to maintain the high standard of living and service to which you've become accustomed, we find it necessary to increase rents at certain intervals". What nonsense! I am not buying this, so I am shifting out.

For the past two weeks, I had been looking for a place to rent for another year. I began sending out advertisement to the Chinese Association mailing list, asking around and searching the internet. A good website was http://baltimore.craigslist.org/ where I found several places. Some were located in an unsafe neighbourhood or the common area was messy where you had to share with five strangers for cheaper rents. Other considerations were the timing of shifting in, the number of housemates, duration of lease, proximity to workplace.

After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to rent a room from a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo unit at $650/mth which includes electricity, water, gas, cable TV, internet, local phone and private laundry. I have my own bathroom. My room looks out into the greenery and it has sunshine coming in. I cannot stand living in the basement where I cannot see the sun. As the landlord just bought the unit last July, everything is new. All I have to do is to bring my luggage and cooking items. The condo has tight security, a rooftop pool and gym facilities. Also, I will be a stone throw away from the shuttle stop where I go to work.

To conclude, I will give up my 'freedom' to share with someone whom I hope we can be great friends (instead of coming back to an empty apartment) and paying lower rent to maintain the high standard of living and service to which I've become accustomed.

PS: Those who want to bet on 4-digit system, try 1011 which is my new unit number.

A well written work on a taboo subject

Finished reading a book that is simply controversial. It sets the reader thinking what he would do regarding to his own body upon death (normal persons would have been buried or cremated).

Entitled "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach who had done an excellent job detailing how to use the human corpse for worthy purposes other than rotting in the grave or be burnt at high temperature. Dead bodies have been used for practising surgery, targets of guns and ammunitions for developing body armour, and even medicinal uses?! To set the record straight, I do not mind donating my organs to save the lives of others but I am not willing to be experimented over my dead body.

I am reading two books simultaneously since one needs reflection and the other is a fiction. One of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho shared his thoughts and reflections of life in "Like The Flowing River". This was a gift from Huibin who thought I might be bored at night and weekends with no good book to read. The other is "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown borrowed from the mini library at Broadview basement.

I Believe

On Jan 4, 2007, I received a happy news which I had been anticipating since I started my graduate studies on Jan 7, 2002. Thank you, Abba Father and all glories are yours! I could change my salutation title to Dr. from Mr. It was like a fairy tale came true.

From young, my nickname in Teochew was "Ah gong" (English translation would be stupid or slow). I had been teased for doing foolish things or be the butt of the jokes. Who could have thought that this ‘fool’ had climbed to the pinnacle of education and succeeded!

Embarking on this path had its ups and downs. The perks included acceptance of papers, paid oversea trips to conferences (which were dependent on supervisor’s fund) and one was paid to study as the term ‘professional student’ so aptly described. There were periods of self-doubts, frustration at failed experiments after repeating umpteen times, many nights spent at laboratory, rushing for publications and their revisions, etc.

This journey had taught me much, from perseverance to self-confidence. I thought organizing and writing a 40,000-word dissertation was impossible. I often experienced a writer’s block where I could stare at my laptop screen without writing or editing. It took me four years to submit my dissertation (22 Dec 2005) and another year to get conferred.

The usual thesis examination period was five months but mine took 11 months. I was unlucky to have chosen an irresponsible examiner who claimed after the grace period was over that he/she could submit a report two months later. During last year, I was working at Johns Hopkins University which requested for my Ph.D. degree where failure to produce the certificate could result in my termination after one year contract. Anger and anguish accompanied me through this dark period. My patience was severely tested. I requested for a change to a new examiner in mid August where I am grateful to him/her for submitting the report within two months!

D-day was on 3 Nov 2006 when I had to present my work to the public. Next, was the ‘grilling’ session where the examiners would ask questions pertaining to my work. I felt my brain was squeezed dry for 45 minutes. After the whole session was over, I was congratulated for passing the examination.

I dedicate my success to my beloved mum who had set an example for me to follow. Though she was illiterate, she worked hard through her hands to get me to where I am today. When I finally got my conferment letter, I can truly say, ‘I believe’ as in the song by Fantasia Barrino.

Have you ever reached a rainbow's end
And did you find your pot of gold
Ever catch a shooting star
And tell me how high did you soar
Ever felt like you were dreaming
Just to find that you're awake
And the magic that surrounds you
Can lift you up and guide you on your way

[Chorus:]
I can see it in the stars across the sky
Dreamt a hundred thousand dreams before
Now I finally realize
You see I've waited all my life for this moment to arrive
And finally, I believe

When you look out in the distance
You see it never was that far
Heaven knows your existence
And leads you to be everything you are
There's a time for every soul to fly
It's in the eyes of every child
It's the hope, the love that saves the world
And, oh, we should never let it go

[Chorus]

I believe in the impossible
If I reach deep within my heart
Overcome any obstacle
Won't let this dream fall apart
See I strive to be the very best
Shine my light for all to see
Cause anything is possible
When you believe yeah.

Finally, I like to share with you two quotes which had kept me going while writing my thesis:

‘Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.’
Thomas Edison

‘Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.’

Sri da Avabhas (Adi Da Samraj)

Happy 2007 to one and all!

After two months back home in Singapore, I flew back to USA on Dec 28, 2355hr on flight SQ026 via Frankfurt, Germany to John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY. A total of 24 flight hours. The stopover at Frankfurt allowed me to step foot on Europe continent for the first time. (I have a German friend who had been inviting me to visit him since 2002 but have not done that. I had made a mental note to visit him when I fly back home next time.) The waiting area was dull and cold as compared to the posh, carpeted and well-planned transit area of Changi Airport. There was only one gents room available for the big waiting area. So, better hold your bladder while waiting.

I entertained myself through the arduous journey watching five on-demand movies from over 70 channels and was well-hydrated from the frequent serving of fluids from the flight stewardesses. Food was good but I avoided alcohol since I lack alcohol dehydrogenase. Overall, the service was better than United Airlines which I took on my first trip to USA.

Upon touched down at 1000hr Dec 29, I decided to travel back to Baltimore instead of spending a few days sight-seeing New York City and counting down at Times Square. I had four luggage which contained mostly Singapore local pastes such as laska, mee rebus, mee siam, etc and souvenirs for colleagues and friends. Getting to the actual train station was a challenge since I only had a bit of information from a friend who suggested this route.

I travelled on the Manhattan Express to The Grand Central Terminal which unfortunately was not the station departing for Baltimore. It did looked like a grand dame and was packed with tourists and passengers. I had to navigate myself through the crowd with four heavy luggage, carrying them up and down staircases. This was the worse part of my mini-adventure for doing things last minute as was contrary to my usual "plan ahead mentality". After two transfers of the NY subway, I arrived at Penn Station, NY and bought a train ticket (USD$114) leaving in 15 minutes time. Since it was the holiday season, the price was high compared to the usual $60 range.

There was little time for me to get lunch and go to the restroom with my heavy luggage. So, I opted to go hungry not knowing that food was available on Amtrak train. After settling myself comfortably, I noticed commuters heading towards the front carriage and back with food and drinks. I bought a pizza (the first typical American food after a two-month period) and a can of root beer. I had to fight against the sleeping 'monster' in order not to miss my stop at Penn Station, Baltimore (FYI: there are lots of Penn Stations in USA, so better ask which state before you buy your ticket). Fero was kind to pick me up at the station and sent me to my apartment.

I knocked out at 7pm after 31 hours of travel and got up the next day adjusting to the 13-hour difference.

For this new year, my resolutions include getting back into shape, learning how to bake, getting my US driving license, travel as many states as possible, and publishing first and co-author papers.

Signing off with a new start.