Shouldn't we have a World PhD Day to celebrate the resilience of PhD students?

Yes. Why not? After about 17 years of education which includes 6 years primary, 4 years secondary, 3 years diploma, and 4 years undergraduate studies, I am very much still a student! A PhD student in fact. One as the very name suggest, with Permanent Head Damage. Alright, not really permanent yet, but almost. From all the stress generated from failed experiments, demanding and un-understanding supervisors (luckily mine is still passable), having to constantly worry about thesis deadlines, more failed experiments, not having enough stipend coverage especially for those overseas PhD students, and some more of those experiments that just doesn't seems to work and your very thesis depends on it!

Tell me, how can anyone cope under such duress? Physical torture? None at all. But mental torture? Loads of it. PhD student still manage to graduate at the end of the day, and 'live happily ever after'. Either they are damn lucky to have issues/experiments etc that work for them, or they just endure every bits of failure?!

Resilience, I say. Passion? Passion erodes away exponentially with every failure you 'achieved', and failure in PhD studies are dime a dozen. Commitment? Maybe, but that would mean forcing yourself to go through the whole aching 4 years and enduring every bits of it. Isn't this resilience then? PhD students all over the world has their share of failures, but somehow managed to pick themselves up again. Yet, they fall and tumble, and they pick themselves up again! Break their legs, and you see them crawling their way to finish up their PhD even if it takes them a decade. Resilience...

Shouldn't then there ought to be a day in this calendar of ours, to celebrate the resilience of these PhD students? It is through this very period of their education that their mentality truly matures and strengthened. A coming of age of the mind, through the failures, stress, and unhappiness, and all these wouldn't be possible without resilience. And so I say, lets all celebrate! A toast to all the PhD students out there in the world, a toast on your resilience of being a PhD student braving not only the toxic chemicals but extreme and constant mental duress, and lets all hope we will still be sane enough to graduate at the end of the day.

And so, why shouldn't there be a world PhD day?

2 more kg to go...

Well.. I wanted to blog about the Syd-Melb trip that Limin and I took about a month ago... but just feel pretty slack and don't feel like doing anything at all. Prolly I've come to a stage where I grown tired of blogging? hmmm...

Anyway, Congrats to the Penang community as their voice have finally been heard - the opposition (DAP) won the state of Penang from the MCA in the election that was held yesterday (or still today by Malaysia's time zone). So, lets hope this change will bring better life to the folks up there.

On another note, I lost 3kg in two weeks!! Woohoo! Yeah... I'm so happy! I was around 65kg just before I left for Singapore, and when I came back to Sydney two weeks ago I weight 70kg! A whooping 5kg net gain while in Singapore! What to do? I was eating alot while I was in Singapore! LOL... And now, I'm around 67kg... two more kilograms to shed till my ideal weight of 65kg... =)

Classy Ritz-Carlton advert

I chanced upon this approximately 10 minute video advertisement by Ritz-Carlton, and I must say, it is very well produced and classy. Briefly, Sylvie has had a very bad week - break ups, lost luggage, delay flights etc, and at her lowest point, the staffs of Ritz-Carlton went out of their way to make her day brighter. Makes me wanna choose/consider Ritz-Carlton for my solemnization ceremony! See!? Their advertising strategy works!

And oh! Yup... Limin and I will be holding our solemnization ceremony in Sept 09! Yeah.. Can't wait...Any great venue to recommend? =P

Day 2 of the Great Walkabout - Sublime point, Kiama Blowhole & Jervis Bay

And so, let me relive the days when Limin and I were enjoying ourselves in the second day of the Great Walkabout! Hmm... our plan for that day was to use the hotel pickup provided by APT in Gemini Hotel (which is just opposite our home)at 6.45am. And oh gosh, it was so freaking early but somehow we managed to wake up early and made it to the hotel entrance on time. And guess what? We waited till 6.55am and no coach was in sight! argh... A call to the APT office revealed that the bus had somewhat arrived earlier than expected. Seeing that no one was waiting, the driver drove off after 5 minutes! argh... So, not much of a choice left - we had to take a taxi to the APT office/bus terminal in the Star City to catch our tour coach. Oh well, luckily the tour coach was scheduled to start the tour at 8.30am, leaving us ample time to travel from Randwick to Star City, and have Subway breakkie in Star City... but still.. how can the drive came early and just drove off? We were not even late! Oh well...

Oh just to back track abit, we were on this APT tour (S36) where the highlight of the day was the Jervis Bay Dolphins and the Southern Highlands. So, and there we go - first stop was the Sublime point which is like 415m above sea level. So from there we can see the whole city far away and far beyond the horizon. It's quite a cool and pretty sight, but the longer you look at it, the awe disappears too. LOL... But it feels great to have most of the houses/town under your feet.

Next stop - Kiama blowhole. Well... one word - disappointing. We are expecting it to spray plumes of water high up into the air, but all we see were water that barely made it out of the blowhole! LOL... and if I didn't remember wrongly, the driver cum guide was telling us that the fish & chip in Kiama is one of the best in Sydney! Too bad we couldn't try it then... But we did try some billy tea and ANZAC biscuits though, compliment of APT! And it's so cool to see the driver swirl the whole tin of tea (without lids)! LOL...

And so we proceeded onto our next stop - Jervis Bay for our dolphins! And so we eagerly boarded Tekin III with our lunch coupons to see dolphins!! Lunch which was served on board was great, especially the cheese... yum yum... and so after lunch, we quickly head to the front of the ship hoping to catch a glimpse of the wild Jervis Bay dolphins. 15 minutes past. 30 minutes past. An hour past. Finally we have to head back to the pier, and we didn't even see a single dolphin! It was really disappointing... and as we head our way back, the engine of the ship broke down! Argh... The crew tried to rectify it, but to no avail. And so we (the passengers) waited and waited for it to be fix - and we must have waited for at least 2 hours I reckoned! And ironically, it was during this period of waiting that we saw a couple of dolphins jumping out of the water! Yeah! Finally dolphins at last! LOL... But it sure made us wait for what it felt like eternity!

Eventually, the boat has to inch its way towards the nearest beach and let us off the boat so that we wouldn't be kept behind on whatever schedule that we have for the day. And so, we walked down the metal stairs (it was so painful walking down the stairs!) into the clear pristine water and the sand are so soft and fine! It's definitely unlike anything you see in Singapore or Sentosa!! Sadly, by the time the boat let us alight, it was close to 5pm. It was impossible for the tour to continue as it was supposed to be a day tour. Oh well... it wasn't the driver's or APT's fault... just plain unlucky. Oh well... but it is such unexpected twist of event that make a trip so memorable, isn't it? =)

Jus another entry

well.. first of all, thanks to those fellow bloggers who left a comment on my previous entry. I'm getting used to living alone in Sydney again - the marvel of time as the perfect medicine to wash away sadness, or for that matter any emotions be it good or bad.

And also, thanks bokjae for the award! I'm totally awesome?! Hahaha.. I really beg to differ. My flaws are way too un-awesome! LOL... but anyway, thanks for the award!

Hmm.. it seems that my blog has reverted back to a PR status of zero! It used to be 4 though. Oh well, guess it's quite expected isn't it? Since there isn't any activity for the pass month. I don't mind having a PR0 blog, just that the amount of PPP opps that I can do is very much limited then. Oh well, these are just bonus cash anyway. I should be happy as long as I get opps anyway. It's not as though I'm relying on PPP for a living!

Hmm.. now, let me see... shall I continue my Great walkabout pictures and commentary? Hmm... maybe in the next post, so stay tune for that.

But now, I shall blog about my dinner today. Yup, hasn't been blogging about the food I ate for dinner for a long long time - which is precisely why my fiancee's grandma commented about when I went back Singapore. So for dinner, I cooked dark sauce marinated pork stirred fried with bean sprouts. LOL.. such a long name yah... but at least it's as tasty as it sounds. And I put the whole dish on top of my rice, to make it look those you get from the 'chi chao' stalls! Haha... and add a big piece of fish cake on it - there you go - $5 please. As if anyone will wanna buy it for $5!

Anyway, saw a rainbow from my place today... let's hope all those who sees it, or this picture will have good luck in the weeks to come! =)

Back in Australia, Sydney with a heavy heart

Finally after a long hiatus on my blog.. it is going to be reactived in days to come.

I'm back in Sydney, Australia once again. Touched down in the Sydney Airport like 3 hours ago. And I'm feeling terrible the moment I reached home (my Sydney home). Seeing those softtoys left behind by my darling Limin when she came over for holidays a month ago - a catalyst to rows of tears. I really miss her. It's so different without her around. And I guess, me coming over to Australia for my studies is a good thing - made me realise lots, e.g. what's important to me, and helped me grow mentally as well.

Whatever it is, my nose is still feeling sour once in a while, even as I typed this email. Prolly I need to sleep through it to get pass this stage of sadness, and move on...

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Back in Singapore!

Back in Singapore for a week already! Been quite lazy to do my blog... lol.. Just feel like slacking away and doing nothing.. nothing at all! Furthermore, I have recently gotten myself a PSP lite, and been playing the game - much more reluctant to write my blog..=P

Arghhh! Very lazy.. oh well,.. here are some pictures taken during the first day of our (Limin & I) Great Walkabout in Sydney-Melbourne. Limin arrived on the 9th Jan, where I had plans to bring her to UNSW to take a look at my uni. But...ended up didn't managed to do so due to the lack of time. So, we went ahead to Chinatown and bought some yummy egg tarts, Central Station to look at the trains, Darling Harbor to feed the seagulls, Circular Quay to admire the cruise and Opera House, Sydney Aquarium to awe at the wonders of marine life, and finally to Wagamama for dinner. Overall, quite an enjoyable day... and I finally get to see my Limin once again after so many months!! Yeah!

8 more hours to see my dear!!

Yeah!!! In another 8 hours, Limin will arrive in Sydney! Yeah!! Finally, I will be able to see her again after so long. We will then tour around Sydney and Melbourne for about 10 days, and thereafter go back to Singapore together! Yeah!! After a year of waiting, this day has finally arrived!!

But lurking behind at the back of my mind is still my experiments etc... 'cos when I comes back to Sydney in late Feb 08, it is going to be a hella of a busy months to follow. Protein purification, crystalisation, characterisation etc etc... lotsa things waiting for me to do... but.. argh.. don't think about it! Let me enjoy my break first!

Spent the past few days watching and finishing 我和疆尸有个约会2. And guess what? I realise that in one of the episodes, Fu Sheng was wearing a shirt with a picture of a dog that looks so much like Bubbles! LOL... never knew bubbles was a star way before she was born! LOL...

Argh.. I'm too excited to do anything else! lol... kept on checking the changi airport website to see if boarding has commenced, or if the plane has taken off etc. And later, I'm gonna check the Sydney airport website to see how long more till the plane touch down etc etc... lol... I'm going crazy!!

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First post of 2008

First post in 2008! And as of now, 5 more days till my dearly Limin arrives in Sydney! Yeahhh!! Argh.. how I wish time flies for now, and crawl when she's here! lol...

Spent my New Year eve and the last couple of days watching a very ancient, classic, but very nice show - 我和疆尸有个约会 (My date with a vampire). Yeah! I saw it when it was first showed in TCS like.. a decade ago?! LOL... and I simply fell in love with it! And now after watching it again after so many years, I can conclusively say that this is one of my favourite HK drama, if not the best!! Just finished the whole 35 episodes in like 3 days, and now I'm moving on to the 2nd installment of the show... whoo hoo! And oh my, I have to say this - Fu Sheng was so cute and adorable in the first installment! lol...

Anyway, due to the super long Xmas/New year holiday, I'm feeling super duper slack to do my lab work! Couple with the fact that I'm going to take my long vacation soon, the inertia is even greater! What can be done in a day or two, I have dragged it till 3-4 days to finish my work..lol... oh well, I must endure for a while longer... and I will be off for my holidays!

Oh! you know what? I emailed Four Seasons Hotel (Sydney) to ask them about the New Year eve package for 2008, and got a hell of a shock when they replied! A decent room would cost like $AUD650 per night which is quite reasonable I guess, given the time of the year. But, the shocker came in that there is a minimum required stay of 4 nights! That will sum up to a total of AUD$2600!!! That's like crazy!!! Argh... yeah, I know Four Seasons is a 5 star hotel.. but AUD$2600 for fireworks over harbour bridge is crazy!!! Should I even be crazy enough to contemplate booking it??

Xmas 2007 celebrations part 3 + last post of the 2007

Time really flies... It seems just like yesterday that I left Singapore and went on a uncertain journey to Australia, Sydney for my postgraduate studies. It seems like yesterday when I withheld my tears when I called my beloved Limin inside Changi Airport, while waiting for the departure gate to open. It seems just like hours ago when I felt so depressed that my experiments were failing like avalanches. When the the burden seems so heavy that thoughts of giving up my postgraduate studies were contemplated. And now, nearly a year on, experiments were moving onwards and rays of light could be seen, though I shan't hope or even expect, as Murphy's law always strike when we think or expect things to go smoothly. One year on, and it's the last day of 2007. And so, I'll be taking a 6 weeks break, and going back to Singapore to spend the Chinese New Year. Time really flies... and 4 more months to go and I will be 28... =(

Well.. back to the last of the Xmas 2007 celebrations. This is back dated to the day of Christmas itself. JM and I went over to Adrian's place, which is just opposite our block to have Christmas dinner. Cynthia (Adrian's gf, hope I didn't get the name wrong!) is a real lucky gal, as Adrian is really a great cook!! Been to his place several times for meals liao, and his cooking never fail to impress me! LOL... And so, for Xmas dinner, he prepared Teochew braised duck which is his first attempt! And oh gosh, it's really nice and this is his FIRST attempt!! argh.. I think I will just made a mess of everything if I were to cook it. Had a Xmas log cake as well which is not bad. After that we just sat there and chat for while, as well as Adrian showed us his travel pictures when they went over to New Zealand for like 20 days! Wow... New Zealand are so so nice!! And come to think of it, prolly should use the chance while I'm in Australia to go New Zealand, as the air fare will def be cheaper from here to NZ than from Sg to NZ. I wan to go New Zealand!!! LOL

Well.. finally.. wish all of you a very wonderful and fruitful 2008!! And especially for those 'scientist' like me, loads of luck and may our experiments always work!!!

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Xmas 2007 celebrations part 2

Spent the last 3 days finishing all the 30 episodes of the TVB drama, 楚漢驕雄 ... whoo... never know that I can be this crazy. Anyway, it's quite a ok show, talking about the Chu-Han contention back in the ancient days in China.

Anyway, let me continue my entry on Xmas 2007 celebrations... hmm... so after the Xmas party in Cat's den I was feeling pretty bored with just a tint of emo. After all, it was Xmas eve, and there I was doing nothing and just surfing aimlessly online. Luckily both Cat and Weisheng were online as well, and we ended deciding to go over to Weisheng's place after about 1 hours of discussing on what to do and where to go! Best of it all, Weisheng has a car, and so he drove us to his place which was in the city. Whoo hoo! Never expected his car to be a sport car - not a fanciful one, but nevertheless still a sport car.

So, we reached his place at around 9.30pm. And oh gosh was I hungry - hadn't eaten for the whole day! And so we proceeded on to cook our Moroccan eggplant. The eggplant was meant to be for the Xmas party the night before, but there wasn't enough time to cook it. Which was just as well, since now I can eat 1/3 of the eggplants instead of having to share with so many of them in the party! yeah.. I love eggplants/brinjal!! yum yum... Cat and Weisheng got the recipe off a Xmas cookbook from Coles, and I helped them out in coating the eggplant with flour and bread crumbs etc... quite fun..., while Weisheng was in-charge of doing the frying, and Cat was helping out with whatever she could... as well as constantly nagging at Weisheng for completing her PS game without her when it was supposed to be their game! LOL... poor Weisheng.. LOL...

Our dinner was great - Moroccan eggplant, ham, Weisheng's Shepherd pie, and rounded it off with wine... was pretty full by the end of the day...Kuan called while we were having our dinner, and complained to us that he was very bored as well! LOL... and wanted us to go over to his place with the liquor/wine etc... in the end, Weisheng ended up fetching Kuan and William back to his place. LOL... yeah.. spending Xmas alone is pretty sad, and it's always nice to have a bunch of friends together during festive season.

While Weisheng was fetching them to his place, Cat and I engrossed ourselves with Weisheng's playstation... yeah.. whoo hoo.. if only I have a PlayStation as well... oh well, I can't. I can't afford to waste my money on such stuffs... haiz.. Anyway, 'Need for Speed' was quite a nice game initially, but it was so damn difficult to control the car! Prolly 'cos we started with very powerful cars right from the start without getting familiarized on how to control it... It was quite fun and exciting, initially! 'Burnout' which we subsequently played, was so much more fun and exciting than 'Need for Speed'! Best of all, we don't get sick of the racing game as fast as 'Need for Speed'. What I personally like most about 'burnout' is the cinematographic of car crashes, be it with another car or a building etc... it's so cool!

And guess what? I had both my thumbs injured (and I mean bleeding!)while playing Tekken5! LOL... Tekken5 is those fighting games where 2 players fight as against each other. And I was happily just pressing the buttons on the controller like mad, and only when the game ended did I feel the pain. Then I look down and saw both my thumbs have been cut by the buttons and starting to bleed! LOL... Never know that playing PlayStation, or rather Tekken5 can be so hazardous! lol...tsk tsk tsk...

So basically, the five of us played games throughout the night and only went back home around 7-8am! - what a way to welcome Xmas! And Kuan was so funny on the way back, kept on asking us if he should follow Cat and Weisheng to Melbourne! LOL... in the end, he went along with them. I would've follow them too, if they are going some other place other than Melbourne... as I'll be going to Melbourne with my Limin in about 2 weeks' time! yeah !!!

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