Off to somewhere warm

No, I don't mean my insectary. Though it is warm and humid.

I'll be flying tomorrow to somewhere warm
(and sunny?) for a break! Yay! Finally, I'm getting a holiday.

Have a Good Xmas and New Year everyone!

It's so cold in this house- really!

It's so cold in my new house. My housemate has monitored that her bedroom could be as cold as 13ºC. But tonight, it's so cold that my fingers are having difficulty typing as they are cold stiff. Problem is that our house had only electrical heating that is super expensive. Also, our house has only single-glazed windows.

The weather outside is sleeting I think... the windows are too fogged up to see outside... I think it's about 10ºC in my room now... I'm yet to turn on the heating... gonna duck under the duvet with a hot water bottle to save electricity!

brrrrrrr....

In memory

To a friend who was gone three years ago at the age of 22. How his life took a turn for the worst is something I will always wonder, that why there was no one to help when he needed it. When I first heard this song, I thought that maybe this is how he felt.


Walking in the countryside
It seems that the winds have stopped
I took down the posters from my wall
Left letters for you all

I remember moments of happiness
Endless summer, acoustic guitars
Being a man made me coarse
When I wanted to be delicate

I called up Eugene
Told him I was drowning

Like a castaway on a warm ocean
Waiting for a purpose to rise
They say it's not becoming
For a boy my age

If you want to know what makes me sad
Well it's hope, the endurance of faith
A battle that lasts a lifetime
A fight that never ends

Walking in the countryside
It seems that the winds have stopped
Tell my mother I am sorry
And I loved her

- SRXT, by Bloc Party

Old leaf

Looking at all the new students arriving, fresh and wide-eyed. All their idealistic dreams they have for starting a new part of life in Oxford.
I went to the freshers events at college. And I was ready to go home and put on my PJs and sip hot tea after a couple of hours. I think my time for this sort of thing is over. All of my friends are still out at parties, but my rendition of a good time is sit around drinking wine, while listening to some music. Is that odd?


Man, I feel old.

Stalled

The world waits for no one. It keeps going even if your time seemed to have stopped.
So how do you find that strength to get up everyday and go about your life, knowing that the things you do could just be a bloody waste of time?

I guess I don't. All I can do is hope for the best and fear the worst. It's too hard to keep having high expectations of myself. Why do I want a career in this field so badly? The passion I once had seemed to have been blown away with the wind, and all that's left is the belief that what you do is worth something and will make a change in the world. Is it really such a noble cause or just an egoistic thinking of wanting to be something big? The desire for self-importance/greatness causes so much suffering that I sometime wonder if this is even worth it. This weight I carry sometimes feels so heavy that I can't breathe. Question is: is this baggage even worth holding onto?

"I noticed tonight that the world has been turning
While I've been stuck here withering away
Though I know I said I wouldn't leave you behind
But I have to go, it breaks my heart to say

That I can't stop now
I've got troubles of my own
Cause I'm short on time
I'm lonely
And I'm too tired to talk

To no one back home
I've got troubles of my own
And I can't slow down
For no one in town
And I can't stop now"

-Keane - Can't Stop Now



And along this path I have taken I have forgotten how to smile.

In memory of a tenor

Il principe ignoto:
Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o Principessa,
nella tua fredda stanza
guardi le stelle
che tremano d'amore e di speranza...
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me,
il nome mio nessun saprà!
No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò,
quando la luce splenderà!
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio
che ti fa mia.

Voci di donne:
Il nome suo nessun saprà...
E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir!
Il principe ignoto
Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle!
Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò!
Vincerò! Vincerò!

Lost summer and brain

I'm convinced now. Summer forgot a visit to the British Isles. It was Spring in April... cherry blossoms etc. and then it was Autumn. The leaves have already started to turn. Rain is ruining the annual festivals and maybe that's why Pete Doherty is arrested again.

Anyways, thanks to pages of writings and 15 degree wet gloomy surroundings, my water logged brain is barely keeping up... I've just tried to photocopy a pack of ham I've bought from the supermarket instead of the intended papers! X_X.

In Between Experiments 5

The sun has finally decided to come out of hiding. It's been raining for the past month or so... and those who read the news might have saw what happened to all that water in Oxfordshire. I have already lost count how many times I've been drenched whilst biking to work, but luckily didn't have to wade through any flooded areas. Anyway, BBQ season is surely gonna start!

My lab will be shut down tomorrow for servicing of certain equipments, so that means I'm on hold on the experimental side... which suits me fine, really. I'm getting quite worn down now and tomorrow's absent from lab means I can have more time working on my paper. Oh woop de doo.

I need a holiday...:(

On another note, saw on BBC news that Malaysian blogger Raja Petra is in a bit of trouble... for sedition (?). Somehow, this reminds me of the Muse song Take a Bow.


Corrupt, you corrupt,
Bring corruption to all that you touch.

Hold, you’ll behold,
And beholden for all that you’ve done.

And Spell, cast a spell,
Cast a spell on the country you run.

And risk, you will risk,
You will risk all their lives and their souls.

And burn, you will burn,
You will burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell.
You’ll burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell for your sins.

Ooohhh.
Our freedom's consuming itself,
What we've become is contrary to what we want

Take a bow.

Death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch.

Pay, you must pay
You must pay for your crimes against the earth.

Hex, feed the hex
Feed the hex on the country you love

Beg, you will beg
You will beg for their lives and their souls.

Yeah,
Burn, you will burn,
You will burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell,
You’ll burn in hell, yeah you’ll in hell,
Burn in hell, yeah you'll burn in hell for your sins.

Dream or reality

"I'd never thought my nightmare could almost come true." C said to me.
I asked what had happened. C, T, and K had just come back from a trip with their boss, L. L had offered to drive them to the meeting in his car, little did they know that he also had a vision of a bat. T continued the story, as C was a little shaken up by their experience. Halfway through the journey, L turned out of the motorway, for reasons unknown and two minutes later tried to go back on the the motorway. "The sign clearly showed the road's direction. And of course if you are british on british road with years of driving experience, you should know which side of the road you drive on. But for some reason, he didn't." T said.
I tried not to laugh for they did nearly die on the motorway. But I couldn't help it when I imagined them in L's tiny little car, driving on the opposite side of the road, with L oblivious to the oncoming traffic.
"The worst thing for me is that I had a dream about this trip last night." C said, "I dreamt that K was the one driving us to the meeting and was on the wrong side of the road because he unfamiliar with the UK road."
K, who is from the continent, shook his head "Didn't need me to turn your dream to reality, isn't it? I shall never forget that angry trucker's face!"


Memo to self: Never sit in car with L as driver.

It's so cold in this house

Warning: Incoming gripe


It is 13ºC outside and my room is not much warmer. Heating is off because it's supposed to be summer, but here I am freezing my fingers off. There hasn't been a day without heavy rain... roads are jammed with traffic and there is a general feeling of gloominess to match the weather... and it's much worse up north as some of you might have read in the news.

And what's the weather forecast for the rest of the week? Yep, RAIN!

:(

Some people hate to be wrong

I know an American (called him W here) who hates to be wrong. Yesterday, he yet again proved this.

At a buffet table:
W: (looking at scones, like the ones in the picture) those look good.
Me: Yeah, those scones do look good.
W: No, they are crumpets (grabs one and leaves).

>_<

Wintertime again?

Right, in April we saw one of UK most hottest weekend of 26 celcius. Now, at the end of May, guess what's the temperature?

4!!! (highest of 7 during the day)

In Siberia, the average temperature was reported as 20.

Can anyone say climate change?

Feeling like the song Running Up That Hill

I think I need a break... meanwhile, this song by Kate Bush is stuck in my head and it fits my mood.

It doesn't hurt me.
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
You, it's you and me.

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
Say, If I only could, oh...

You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware I'm tearing you asunder.
Ooh, there is thunder in our hearts.

Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
You, it's you and me.
It's you and me won't be unhappy.

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,
Say, if I only could, oh...

You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me won't be unhappy.

"C'mon, baby, c'mon darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let's exchange the experience, oh..."

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

say if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

So if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

So if I only could
Be running up that hill
With no problems...

"If I only could, I'd be running up that hill.
If I only could, I'd be running up that hill."

Still feeling cold...

A couple of sunny days, then its hail and snow again. And I thought February was cold...

Sick of being sick

I was really ill about 3 weeks ago,. And then after I recovered (which took me nearly two weeks), I got another flu the next week. I'm so sick of this! Why do I keep getting sick? I eat properly, I do regular exercise...

Luckily though, it has been sunny for the past three days.And that makes me feel better already. Let's hope the good weather stays.

Rain rain go away

Rain! there's so much of it! The river is high and so it looks like Torpids might be cancelled. So much for the team that has been training so hard for the event.
As for me, I hate cycling in the rain!
Also, this weather is helping flu spread around... in fact, I've just recovered from it... not before giving it to three other people!

More snowy pictures

Here are some photos from Thursday.


Picturesque.


Branches of a tree covered with snow provides a cool pattern... until a lump of the snow dropped on me.


A Wood pidgeon feeling the cold in a berry tree. Brrr!


A fountain with icicles, but still sprouting water!


Snowman sitting under a tree.


Underneath there be housemate's car!


My house after the snow had started to melt.

White powder

I woke up this morning and lo! What a sight that greeted me!



That's my back garden! I just love how the pear tree look with all that snow. Today, widespread snowfall in the country has disrupted traffic and forced schools to close. For a lot of the people though, it was a good time to play! I still had to go to work, but left early after having to trudge and glide around ankle deep in this white stuff.

More snowy pictures soon.

Bird flu is finally here?

I know that bird flu cases had already appear during the last year in the UK, but it didn't seem to have spread. But now, front page news is that some turkeys in Norfolk had been affected by the H5N1 strain. Will DEFRA be able to contain this outbreak in time? We'll see.

Meanwhile, I think my old lecturer, Prof. John Oxford must be more busy than usual. I was just reading his Q and As on the BBC website...

Anyway, now it is a good time to buy chicken. I had just been to Tesco's and the poultry prices have dropped significantly. I guess lots of consumers are scared by the news. Heh.

Burns night

Okay, it's a little bit out of date, but last week was Burns Night (25th Jan). Did you celebrate?

Over here in my college we had a Burns Supper (the good ol' haggis, neeps and tatties!) and Ceilidh dancing! It was most fun and educating! The only downside for me is that I don't like Scottish Whisky.

"Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit."

Strong Winds and A4s

It's been very windy this week. And if you had been reading the news, there were several deaths around the country due to this strong winds.
Today was especially windy... so much so that the boardings at the animal lab construction site blew off and got several protesters hurt.
Speaking of protesters, somebody sent a LETTER BOMB to a company in Abingdon causing some injury to the opener. The letter was an A4 and the sender stated was a Dr. Barry Horne (a dead animal activist).
What is the world coming to?

Recap 2006

Hmm, can't believe it! already another year has passed. I feel like I'm stuck at this stage in life, I don't feel like I've grown much at all... like a... LARVAE AT 4TH INSTAR STAGE BUT CAN'T PUPATE!!!


Ahem, well there are things that did happened during 2006 of course. Im gonna try and re-cap and see if any of the "highlights" are of any real importance.

1. Learning to live as an Oxonian. Um, well at least I saw Thom Yorke.
2. Being on the college student committee and the bar manager. Hair-raising experience.
3. Trying to become a bona fide researcher. I'm still trying really hard :_(
4. Friends. Yes at least I've made some cool friends here.
5. Karate. Yay, I'm back to practicing karate. Shotokan Style.
6. Old Friends. Got to meet with some old friends of mine.

I guess I'm just a tad more wiser (and definitely older). I guess the little steps in life do make a difference afterall. But I do hope 2007 will be a more fulfilling year.