the road less travelled

This HAS got to be a record... 3 posts in a day!!! Dun think i haf ever done this but.... *deep breath* Here goes...

I used to think that I wld choose a less travelled path in the name of adventure, spontaneity, and to put it in a very Singaporean way, "garang-ness". How idealistic that sounds to me now.... basically, I'm not a terribly adventurous person, and neither am I a risk-taker. Oh no, in fact, I just love familiarity and making myself at home in my little cottony comfort zone, making me a loner of sorts. Don't ge tme wrong tho', I am by no means a social recluse or hermit, and I DO enjoy the company of friends & loved ones. Yet at the same time, I doubt I can truly confide in anybody (incl myself). Well, in terms of pooring out my woes and stuff, at the moment Mom is prob the closet person, God the closest being, & my diary (that includes portions of this blog) the closest thing...

So why wld I take the road less travelled? Not for adventure, not for discovery, but for the sweet solace that is so hard to come nowadays in the busy-ness of the world we live in. ちょっと寂しいし、つまらないし．．．でも、あたしはここにいることよかったね。この世界は忙しくなったり、にぎやかになったりするそうから、自分の空間 を持つたいん．．．今、本当にいる所はどこか、ちょっと分からない。 Amidst all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, there is just this yearning for my own niche, a personal space for me to retreat into, so that I can relax & un-wind. One can really get claustrophobic in this busy-ness of life.... 命の忙しさは怖いね！Call me an escapist or any other name you want but I relly love getting away from crowds & all (with the occasional human contact, of course! ^^)

And this "contemplation" and self-reflection began all thanks to the busride(s) home today... Trying to take 96 from arts at 1800h is near to utter madness. Crammed in like sardines in a can, pespiring in a non-aircon bus.... And to top it all off, a pretty bad jam when the bus hit Clementi *sigh* With like 6, 7 buses in a row, and the crazy jam, I WAS feeling pretty squished up and irritated, thus I joined like half of the NUS students on board when they got off 2 stops from the interchange. If I wasn't so irritated, I prob wld haf been thoroughly amused (ok, so I am now, on hindsight that is...) at the NUS "exodus" to the interchange/MRT station... Somehow, the bunch of us who got off earlier actually managed to beat the bus to the interchange... on foot too! ^^ Still, for that to take 40 min is just way too long... (えっ！４０分もかかるんか！) Since the MRT wld haf been real crowded too, Juan here hopped onto yet another bus... And in between feeling irritated and stuff, "road less travelled" just came to mind.... Oh well, guess I shall just have dinner in sch on the days my lessons end at 6pm.... さあ、仕方がない．．．

Click for the rambling...

cyborg name generator

Saw this @ Boon's blog ^^ pretty amusing too! Feel free to call me by my cyborg name.... If u can remember it that is!!

Or if any of my online pals wanna call me by this...

Though it does seem that wateva I am known by, my name seems to inspire/suggest violence and distruction...

Click for the rambling...

the other side of the coin....

Just a quick post before I dash over to arts for Japanese class.... This morning's evo lecture on Darwinism and the problems of "natural theology" really has gotten me thinking. Been so set on creationism and how some of the classic textbook cases for evolution are not as sound as they seem, that it seems weird to haf the same thing done to the older form of creationism (aka natural theology) But then again, this would bring up the point on pple seeing wat they wanna see and how things that are not as well established are either ignored or some how "adapted" into the theory.... In a way, it IS refreshing to learn the pros and cons of both theories, and other than my personal belief in God and the Bible, it would appear that Darwin and evolution seems to be making more quantifiable sense..... Plus the way that Prof Meier does his lectures is more of teaching us ABOUT science rather than just what has been found etc. it really does make science more dynamic to me at least. In a way, it's like an evolution-focused interactive session of its own!! *lol* Reminding me of last night's lengthy discussion ^^ Haha... the perennial SPS question of "What is science?" all over again.... STILL haf yet to find a satisfactory answer since it was first given to us in Year 1.....

Oh wellz... Gotta scram.... Mata ne~

Click for the rambling...

焼けた指

Feel like branded cattle at the moment... Managed to burn myself like 1 hour into today's microbio prac... Against the tripod stand some more.... Has definitely got to do w the 20-odd plates and 20-odd tubes that were on the bench for inoculation.... Ok lar, dun wanna make a mountain out of a molehill, tho' my left index finger looks a little weirdly colored at the moment... Thank goodness it was only a small burn. Managed to whack my finger against the tripod stand when flaming one of the inoculation tubes, so just ran water over it for a while. Finger was numb for a couple of minutes then started stinging, so turned to TA for help in getting some antiseptic or wateva... Got some antiseptic cream dumped on, and a plaster over it... 15 min later, still hurt (throbbingly), and one of the other lab techs came over to get details to fill in for the injuries record. More questions on on condition of finger while attempting (not very successfully) to label stuff while having restricted mobility of left hand, and this lab tech sez that he wld try get some aloe vera to soothe the abused finger.... Juan here thot he was referring to aloe vera cream, like the kind that u use on sun burns and stuff, but lo and behold, he appeared again w like 3 other lab techs in tow (prob wanting to see wat the "excitement" was abt) and a piece of aloe vera leaf!!! *gasp* U prob wld wonder why a microbio lab wld haf a piece of aloe leaf on hand just like that.... More instructions abt using the aloe (from YET another lab tech), and after struggling w a nice sticky, gooey mess of aloe and leaf on left hand, a plaster was slapped on, so that the inoculating frenzy cld carry on....

Seriously, I think I more-or-less singlehandedly provided the lab techs w their day's dose of amusement, esp knowing how monotonous microbio labs can get.... The were really nice and stuff but I do think they fussed over it a little too much. However, it is probably because of all that fussing that my finger feels absolutely fine now (seeing that I can type at my normal speed w no prob at all ^^) Doesn't look like it wld blister, just the weird purplish coloration and the flattened, slightly-wrinkled skin over the burned area. Just real glad that the burn was real minimal, as well as the prompt first aid... Guess I had better get to bed soon.... Do need a good nite's rest, esp after the long lab and LM immediately after. (Wonder if this post is actually coherent enough to make any sense)

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夏祭り @ Changi

Crummy day it has been so far.... Plus I am actually typing this all out for the second time, all thanks to blogger dying out on me yesterday after I typed everything out nicely... Plus, it is raining (and the only thing I like abt rainy days is that it's so nice to sleep in...) and I cldn't find the Evo classroom... *bleah* This post is gonna take super long, since I am gonna "save as draft" every para or so, just in case blogger decides to be unfriendly again....

Anyways, on the proper posting abt the Japanese Summer Festival on Saturday ^^ Met up w Kemin to go dn to the Japanese Primary School @ Upper Changi Road. Pity the yukata rental service was over by the time we got our tix and coupons... And thus begins the photo-show ^^

This was the view that greeted us when we went past the ticketing counter.... So many pple, and many of them were in yukatas!!! Pretty amazing that a pri sch actually has it's own track and such a large space surrounding it as well! Anyhow, since Mingxian was there w some other friends, we decided to meet up w the bunch of them too ^^ So into the crowd we went....

Oh wellz, while heading over to the goldfish catching stall, the performance on the oh-not-so-center stage was drumming.... Really love the rhythmic sound ^^

So... onward to catch goldfishies!!! It was in front of this stall that we met up w Mingxian and his two friends, so now Kemin and I have 2 new friends too ^^ Ohe, notice how there were also SIA -print yukatas ard too!

Kemin and I may not haf been in yutakas, but Ngwei, Shumin and Mingxian were definitely in traditional Japanese garb! Really love the cute fans that they got.... Mine is an all out Asahi advert *sigh* And Asahi beer is actually wuite nice too ^^ heehee....

YANG GUO & XIAO LONG NUOkies.... Decided to be nice and not blatantly post this photo up ^^ Click at ur own discretion.... heehee... But I definitely wanna give my friends a chance to look at the nice posing the two of them did ^^ After this was taken, they were dubbed as the above link sez Pls dun ask who is supposed to be who... That I ain't gonna tell...

Last but not least, a photo of the really cute kids in traditional garb ^^ Pple were taking turns w the bon-odori onstage, and when it was the kiddies' turn, it was like "awwww...." They really are cute, aren't they? Well, w most of the coupon stalls out of games and food, everyone was just congregating ard the stage in large circles and dancing to the dulcet sounds of japanese songs, as well as the more familiar strains of Chan Mali Chan and Rasa Sayang. Of course, we just had to join in as well ^^ What a way to end the evening!! Then it was off to the MRT and the long ride home (thank goodness Ngwei was also heading west ^^ or else the ride wld haf felt longer....)

Click for the rambling...

badminton... and more CORS woes....

Just got back from playing badminton w Wai, Immanuel and his fren ^^ *lol* First time that I actually step foot inside the NUS badminton hall! Feels good playing *some* kind of sport after goodness knows how long of slacking.... Plus, I realise that I really suck! Nicely hot and humid inside the hall since neither the fans nor the air-con cld be switched one but it was still really enjoyable all the same ^^ Wai and I still haf a fieldtrip dn to Sungei Buloh at 2... Prob wld fall asleep on the bus *grin*

Stupid CORS is acting up *again* It sure din give me this much trouble in any of the previous semesters... Tutorial registration at the moment and I REALLY need to register for my Jap modules... Can only make it for very limited slots, and I wld be away on my fieldtrip later, and by the time we are gonna get back to NUS, the registration wld haf ended and the next round wld haf very limited number of tutorial slots *cries* In the mean time, I need to get lunch....

Click for the rambling...

jap-ness!!!

Finally went for my first Jap lecture... Changed sensei, no more Chiba-sensei or Tomiko-sensei *sobz* Now it's Morita-sensei and Okada-sensei.... Oh well, need to get used to another set of teachers all over again. It was great seeing so many familiar faces again in Jap class ^^ However, one thing that really struck me was that the whole bunch of us were really pampered by Chiba-sensei's teaching style..... She really is a nice sensei, TOO nice in fact, so now we are all gonna haf to learn how to cope w a sudden increase in Jap workload....

Also got my 2nd Kino no Tabi visuak book today (courtesy of May Yi) Really happy ^^ Speaking of which, my Kino translations are *still* kinda stuck at the moment thanks to schoolwork and various other random stuff..... Managed to rope May Yi into this "mini-project" of mine, but both of us are still kinda busy, so nothing's gonna be up for a while... Okies, need to go home now, esp since I need to do some revision AND I do haf a fieldtrip tmr as well.... Minna-san, mata ne~~

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boy! wat a day!!

first of all, whoppee!!! finally completed my blog layout yesterday ^^ *Juan pats herself on the back* prob won't change it for *quite*a while.... onward to a rant abt today....

Term has started, wat a bummer..... Hardly did anything for my UROPS *bleah* Today was super packed.... Been doing stuff non-stop since 10am, and sneaking in lunch and dinner in between activities.... Day started off w heading dn to the Strutural Engineering workshop to make some cement-rubble/coralline algae tiles w Jani and Wai. Really interesting how a simple eco proj can lead u to do stuff ranging from field work to lab work to using construction tools..... Wat other major or concentration can give u such ranging things to do? Kinda glad that I can take general physio this sem and make the swap to doing a pure bio concentration *beams* Dn side was that my left shoe has cement stains... Thanks gdness it's my old joggers *whew*

Next up was LM mtg while lunching on sandwiches.... *munch munch* Then off to microbio lab.... 4 hours of doing stuff that was covered either during Yr 01 or during JC days... Pretty gd for a quick re-cap to prep us for *more* streaking, staining and inoculation.... And after that, bought dinner and rushed off for a mtg a Dr K for [potential] junior mentors... And had dinner after finishing that... Phew... And now here I am updating my blog and chatting on MSN ^^ Gotta go home soon tho....

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Happy National Day!!!

Just a post to say Happy Birthday Singapore!!!

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little joys in life

Well, term's starting real soon, getting busy w LM stuff, yet at the same time, missing the company of the UNSW students like Penny, Rachael and Jenny. But still, there are still little things to be thankful for, and made happy by...

<1> GHIBLI museum
Being the huge Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki Hayao fan that I am, I managed to get my hands on a video documentary-tour of the Ghibli museum situated 15 miles from Tokyo. ^^ 嬉しいね！Really enjoyed watching it.... Seems like I was transported into a real life Miyazaki world!! Miyazaki-sensei is such a spatial genius! He was involved in the designing of the museum, so the ENTIRE museum is like an exhibit by itself too.... Wonderful just seeing elements from Miyazaki's anime world being brought to life, it's just like 'Woh!' ^^ Miyazaki's fellow Studio Ghibli director, Takahata, describes his favorite parts of the museum for us, and it is pretty obvious that even HE is in awe of Miyazaki's ideas!

I really love finding out abt the influences behind my fave authors and shows ^^ so finding out abt how little hilltop towns in Italy have had a large influence on how Miyazaki creates the detailed worlds that his stories are set in.. Even more inclined to go Tokyo now!! Really wonder if I can get Miyazaki-sensei to design a hse for me as well ^^ Wld really love waking up into a Ghibli world every morning!!

<2> shopping for slippers
Kinda seriously need a new pair of slippers (or "thongs" as the Aussie students like to call them) Have already went out twice to see if I cld get a suitable pair for a decent price but.... Some how, I managed to end up buying things other than slippers *LOL* The first time, I ended up getting not one but THREE pairs of shoes from a closing down Bata shop (one Adidas, two Skechers) Oh well... No harm in trying again rite? So off Juan sets off to IMM in search of those elusive pair of slippers.... But lo and behold, Juan ends up getting a nice humongous Vertikal slingbag instead... The good thing is that I am actually able to dump my lappie in w a number of other things as well (plus I do like carrying slingbags more than bagpacks ^^) Anyone wanna help me in my search for a good pair of slippers? Really do want a pair of Teva's...

<3> Festival of Praise 2005
Hillsongs and Delirious? were here in Singapore for our annual FoP from 05-07 Aug. Went yesterday w Eda and Wing Yee. Some how, it semmed a lot more concert-ish compared to last year... Nevertheless, it was great to see so many Singaporeans and fellow Christians gathered there to worship and praise ^^ Wld haf liked it better if the music wasn't so loud, and I actually had time to hear myself think during the time of worship.... Still, the time spent in the Indoor Stadium was refreshing and encouraging ^^

Click for the rambling...

Wat a morning!!!

Boy oh boy..... it's been such a crummy morning that the day can ONLY get better.... Somehow managed to beat the rain when I left home, but lo and behold, 198 had to have a break dn along the Jurong West stretch, so the whole busload of us were off loaded onto the bus stop.... By then, it was pouring not just cats and dogs, but elephants too!! Aargh... din help that the bus stop had a leaky roof.... So the next 198 came along, but since the broken dn one was still blocking the area just in front of the bus stop, it was like a quick dash in the downpour and into the bus.... Rain din let up went the bus got to NUS, but one wld have thot that the nice covered walkway wld be more than adequate to shelter pple over.... That was SO not the case... *bleah* Not w the strong wind blowing.... Ended up w my right arm all wet, and the right side of BOTH legs of my berms wet.... Wld be quite hilarious if I weren't cold... Oh well, at least I am in a dry place now ^^ Really shld start keeping a spare change of clothes in school, along w a towel.....

Okies, enough ranting and complains..... Time to GLOAT ^^ Just can't help it since I actually got Japanese 04 for ONE POINT!!!! Finally, I dun half to use a whole bunch of points to get Jap ^^ *does a little jig* Now I actually haf points to spare on other breadths that I am interested in ^^

Click for the rambling...