Graduated but the pressure is greater than before

I've graduated. After all the shit that has happened, I wish I could just do some me time and think about my future. After the accident, I've been thinking that life is too short to do the things you don't want. I've always been told to dream big. So I should strive and make my dream, don't I? Yet, the irony is that then I've been told to do what everyone does and stop dreaming.

"If you truly expect to realise your dreams, abandon the need for blanket approval. If conforming to everyone's expectations is the number one goal, you have sacrificed your uniqueness, and therefore your excellence."

That is a quote of a friend who put it up on facebook. I agree, but I don't know if I have the strength to withstand the pressure of everyone's expectations. Especially when pressure comes from certain people. It's sad and frustrating.

Come to think of it, most of my life decision have always been only what I half-wanted. I say half because I always end up compromising my dream goals somehow to gain people's approval. Too late to regret now, but is it too late to stick to your guns?

Overheating

In Kuala Lumpur, the temperature is a steamy 32 celcius. I've gone for only a little while but already suffered from the heat.

Apart from that, the mossies are biting... grrr...

It's finally over!

I've done it! I've put this doorstop in the Examination School today!

What did I do to celebrate?

Made omurice for dinner >_<

Yes, I'm a bag of fun.

Mozzie News: Well, sort of...

The i5K initiative has just been in the news (ok, I'm a bit late but whatever). The plan is to sequence the genome of 5000 species of insects in the next 5 years. Of course, one of the species planned is none other than Aedes albopictus, the Asian Tiger mosquito. In case you don't know, this mosquito is medically important as it can transmit diseases such as dengue and filaria. It is also a species that has successfully colonised just about every continent on the globe, thanks to us humans unintentionally transporting them all over the world (think tyre trade). Hence, the need to curb Ae. albopictus population is important. Understanding the species (including their genome) will of course help us.

Hmmm, I did a bit of sequencing on that mosquito some 7 years ago and it was a pain since there was no genome database to reference for my project. But what's more a pain is that the sequences submitted was not in my name, but my ex-supervisor (uh huh, welcome to the science world where people are zealous when it comes to getting recognition). I digress...

So, hope this initiative will go as planned. 5000 species in 5 years is a lot of work! I wonder how many scientists are working on this? List of the main crew is on the website. For now though, the list of 5000 species to be sequenced is not yet completed. What insect would you like to see sequenced? Submit a request at the website!

Mos Cooks: Gooseberries

Argh, it is nearly 6 in the morning and I can't sleep. Maybe I should cut out on the green tea at night and get more exercise.

Anyway, bought some gooseberries because they were on sale in the supermarket. I had no idea they were going to be so tart. So I turned a whole lot of them into a crumble.

My first gooseberry crumble with vanilla cream. I don't think you can make crumble look very sexy in a picture. haha! My housemates thought it was good though.

I then took the rest and made a little gooseberry sauce to go with my haddock.

My dinner last night. A pseudo Japanese theme of rice, weak miso soup, and baked haddock with gooseberries and capers sauce. The sauce has a sweet and sour taste to it.

Have to say, the best thing about today was my purchase of beer. Erdinger wheat beer after dinner! yay!

World Oceans Day

Today is World Oceans Day. Is there anyone does not care about our oceans? They cover about 71% of our planet. They house hundred thousands of species... and that is only the ones we humans found. There are always new species to be found in the ocean. The ocean also provide us with (obviously) water, food source, and the oxygen that we need... of course, that is only the basic needs, but the ocean gives us much much more. So do think about the ocean today, and how we can preserve/improve it for our future.

Mos Cooks: Coffee Agar dessert - and my birthday.

Felt like making agar dessert today. So I opened that sachet of powder agar. It's the first time using this and I have to say the instruction of 10g per liter of liquid makes the jelly too firm for my liking. I think I'm going for 0.5% agar next time... it works for my electrophoresis gel, so should be ok for making jellies too, no?

So here is it my first coffee and cream agar dessert.

In big blocks...

In fingers...

It was my birthday a couple days back. Had a small gathering of friends in London for dinner. We had a good time chatting and enjoying the food and cracking lame jokes. My friend A baked me some whoopie pies to my surprise (okay, it was actually baked for a cookbook photoshoot, but it's the thought that counts). It's the first time I've ever had them.

A and R got a little sugary sign on one of the whoopies. Oh, the weather that day was superbly warm, but that was bad news for the whoopies...

Box number 2: more whoopie pies!

Sigh, another year older... good news thought that my thesis has finally got the OK!

Mos Bakes: Lemon sponge cake with vanilla whipped cream and strawberries

In between the thesis and job hunting and paper writing, the tendency to bake increases...
Summertime (although the weather has been really rubbish until recently) makes me feel like baking something light and with strawberries. So this is what I made!



A light and airy lemon sponge with vanilla infused whipped cream and fresh strawberries. You can see the black specks of vanilla seed in the cream. It is from the Balinese vanilla pod I picked up while on holiday there like 2 years ago. The vanilla pod was a bit stiff, but the fragrance is all there still.



A slice of the cake. Love it, although I think I should be more generous with the cream next time. :)

Mossie News: Smell you later!

So it was reported that a team has successfully isolated some chemicals that could be used to deter mosquito from biting, theBBC reported. This was a Nature paper, but too bad I don't have excess to free journals anymore so I can't read this article in full. The BBC has not a lot of info as well, but from what I can gather from Nature, 2,3-butandione is one of the "smelly chemicals" that can disrupt the mosquito's excellent carbon dioxide detection to locate a host.
Hmmm, a new type of deterrent? interesting! I wonder if these can be made into personal repellents?

Holiday in Italy

So did I do in May? I went to Italy, and visited a good friend that lives in Cosenza. There was plenty of fun.

My friend works at the University of Calabria. Check out this bridge that suspends five stories above and between buildings. There is a bus that moves on here to bring you from one end of the campus to the other.


Beautiful landscape of Maratea, Italy.


Deers in the woods of Sila National Park, Calabria, Italy.

After a brief tour of the South, I went on Tuscany.

Florence. Too many tourist.

Lied down on the lawn at Pisa. I was pretty exhausted that day.

Is this year going to be a year of travels? I hope so. :P

Oh, it's June already?

Ale is well

Well, almost. I'm still fixing a few more bugs in my dreaded thesis. Seriously, its so hard to please everyone and I feel like sometimes this thesis is not my own, but to write it as how other people want it. I'm not gonna argue too much now, because I'm really tired of correcting and re-correcting the corrections. I just hope that the re-re-corrections are something that all can agree on!

At least I got a break up in the Yorkshire Dales. Walking makes you really happy. Also, some lovely ales to cheer you up.

Settle Up. A local Yorkshire beer that is light in colour. Lovely fruity taste.


I love Innis and Gunns. Not local (made in Scotland). Is an IPA and I love it! lovely oaky taste makes it almost like chocolate.



The dark Moonraker ale. I think it was local... and tasted lighter than it looks.


A view of Yorkshire from Pen-Y-Ghent Mountain. Lovely!

Back where is oh so cold... freezing our butts off by the Thames.

From the tropical paradise like this...
Back to the cold crowded Boat Race.


After a relaxing holiday, I'm back in Londonium. Boo, didn't want the vacation to end. I had a good time diving with Ping and co. Had someone who actually looked at my shoulder problem and fixed it somewhat. I'm beginning to feel that perhaps if I were to work in Kuala Lumpur, it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Well, except for the traffic. I think I could have a heart attack if I were to drive there. No wonder everyone seemed so stressed on the road.

So back in London in time to witness the Oxbridge annual boat race in the freezing temperature by Putney Bridge. Can't believe the amount of people that turned up for this event. Damn I should have gone to the betting shop and put some money down for Oxford. Yeah, surprised that Oxford finally killed their losing streak. I did actually feel proud. Go Dark Blues!

Patience running out

GAH! How long does it take to type up a medical report????

The consultant I saw here promised me that the medical report will be ready before the 17th, yet I haven't received it. I called so many times and all I got was "Oh, it isn't ready yet. I'll remind the doctor..." IT HAS BEEN OVER A MONTH! HELLO???

How in the world do you get people to expedite your request... or more like keep their promises? I feel like being rude to them but I can't...

So far in 2011...

Having a big break in Kuala Lumpur staying with the Ping. Since medical care in general is cheaper here, I've done a consultation. Three MRIs and numerous X-rays later, I'm told that my rotator cuff is partially torn... my shoulder is so full of scar tissues it looks like streaky bacon. Good thing is my cervical spine is still ok and the wrist has minimal damage. Now if the consultant would just quickly send me that darn medical report...

So all that I'm back with physio, but their approach here isn't how physio were in the UK. My therapist said that in order for me to stretch out and build my muscles, I've got to break down all that scar tissues that keeps the muscles tightly bound. Also been seeing an osteopath recommended by the Ping who stomps on my shoulder and yanks my spine. So my days are just filled with treatments and surprisingly I'm left with little time to do anything else. Well, there is also the fact that I'm kinda exhausted too from the treatments and the heat.

So that's what's been happening for me in the year 2011 so far... a time for me to fix myself from the aftermath of a traffic collision and thesising. Then, we'll see what it is I'll be moving on to.