Last Saturday
Was back in JB to attend DarDar's distant relative's wedding banquet at Tangkak
I've no idea where that is, when it was spoken in Mandarin
Neither do I know where that is when it's spoken in English
Just a summary
It's somewhere near Melaka

I cant even find a map to show where Tangkak is

So anyway
It was said to be within Johor
But near Melaka
I was sitting in the car with DarDar's family
& all I knew was
The place never seem to reach!!
I was impatient on a road trip for the first time
Because, first of all
I thought it's still in Johor
& didnt know that Johor can be this big
& it took us 2 hours to reach!

Finally we reached

The houses there are very cute
They have super tall antennae to capture Mediacorp's frequency!!!
YESSS~ They can watch Channel 8!
Amazing, isnt it?
So can I have a super super super super tall antenna too to watch TVB?

Tangkak is also where Mt Ophir (Gunung Ledang) is located
I'm so gonna return to climb that mountain one day

Visiting the relatives
=) Acting innocent & busy cam-whoring when the elderly were asking DarDar's dad when is our wedding...
Lalalalala~

We went to shop for a while
For local pastries

DarDar's family said that there's this famous beef noodle store (東甲牛腩面) that is super delicious there
But unfortunately
It was not opened

The venue for the banquet
A happy occasion ended after 2 hours

We drove back JB
Another 2 hours
Concussed after the extremely full meal

Frankly speaking
Malaysia is full of surprises
You are surrounding by plantations of palm trees for 200km along the highway
& suddenly
BOOMZ (opps, did I reminded you of someone?)
You reach a town full of nice food & places to visit

I'm loving it

My class of 70 students looking at specimens for Animal Diversity module
1.5hrs more to go!

I just feel very irritated by how someone who is super close to me
& is not taking things seriously enough
Dragging issues for months & years
With no fucking bloody results at all!

Always give me the same old reasons
Which are just excuses

Given me
I'd have shown 101% better results
Because I grab every fucking opportunity & strive
& make sure things go my way no matter what

To live or to die
It's not just a simple ecological phrase representing 'survival of the fitness'
When there's a will, there's way
It's not just another mouth-hanging sentence as well

If you will, you can do it
If you grab the chance, you can
When you can, you live

I am just so fucking pissed!
Someone who doesnt fight for himself
& I have to always do the talking

Of course I can
But I chose not to
Because if I do
I'll be very biased with my choice of words since I'm already fucking pissed!

I am really very sick of this
I donno what will happen if this carries on
Whenever I thought of it
It just made me cry

I'm so sick of this
Seriously

Weeeeee~
I bought a watch!

It's been long I wore a timepiece on me
Had been heavily relying on the mobile phone to tell time since I got my first Nokia
& I cant recall how long I'd wore one
Only some vague memories of me wearing those kids cartoon watch during my really young days
& my 1st Baby-G bought using my hard-saved pocket money during my secondary school days
whose glamour only lasted for 3 years on my wrist after the trend died

Lately
After I'd gotten my Softbank
I'd stopped checking the time from it because I didnt want to scratch it from the constant withdrawals from pockets
& most of the time
I'm telling time from my EEEpc

When I'm on the go
I tell time from people's watches
& any time-telling device found on bus, taxi, cars, MRT stations, wherever

Not bad huh?

But I think it's better to get a timepiece
since one can just tell time by rotating their wrist anytime, anywhere
& I can better plan my day while working in a laboratory full of dead specimens but with NO CLOCK!

I thought of Casio immediately
Why?
I donno
Probably coz I know where to get cheap & good watches? Or that I still love Baby-G?

I headed to Bencoolen Centre
The wholesale centre for Casio watches

My budget is below $50
In fact, the cheaper the better
I targeted the futurist models
Selected a few colours
& finally chose this
I like the mirror-reflect display
Can see my camera? =)

Best of all
I love the pink digits when the watch is viewed at another angle!
Best of all (of all!)
It only costs me $31

*chip chip chip chip chip*

I'm so excited to wear it to JB tomorrow
Heeheehee

I had a dinner with my Coyotes on Wednesday night
To celebrate Ling's birthday

We had our dinner at Phin's Steakhouse along Liang Seah Street
& I didnt know its existence until now
The shop is petit but with nice decoration
Photos of the food hung on the wall makes one salivate
We had this shrimp fruit salad & buffalo wings for appetizers

Both are yummy & already filled half of our stomachs before the main course arrived

Jas & Ling had steaks with sambal sauce
Wah
Their fragrance of their sambal sauce on grill made all of us choked with tears!

I didnt take photos of Ash's dish coz I think she was already eating half-way
In fact I was the last to start on my main dish

As usual

I had a grilled chicken combo
Not bad

I had hesitation whether I should order fish
But I chose chicken instead
Now that I thought of it
I could have asked them where did they get their fish from - wild or aquaculture?
Then again
The fish is catfish
Nice but ugly
Abit turns me off when I think of its appearance

The night was great
We caught up with one another during our 2 hours meals
Had laughter filled in the shop *opps,probably too loud then*
Had good food
& of course
Great friends

=)

My schools' people are very bad
They accused me of something that I didnt do
Simply because I dont belong to their faculty
Assuming that I do not know how to handle their machines

But hey!
I'd successfully completed the procedures
So it couldnt be me!

The machine is known to be faulty at times due to its old age
So cant it be just another technical failure, rather than pointing finger at me claiming human error?

What the hell

I thought interdisciplinary collaborations should be friendly & understanding
But reality bites

Shame to expanding science

Good bye Gerald
Will miss diving with you

One of the newspaper article in Sin Min Ri Bao left me in suspicion
A 21-year-old commercial diver went missing during his ascend
& he was suspected to be swept away by strong currents
Rescue divers had been searching for him for over 56 hours

I looked at the photo for long
I SMS-ed Edwin & asked
I felt that it's someone I knew

The newspaper article mentioned about Facebook
I did a search

It's confirmed
It's the Gerald Chia I know

Fuck!
My heart wrenched

I didnt really know him
But we had fun together during our dives at P. Dayang this March
He expressed his interest in working as a commercial diver during our chat
Despite us telling him how bad the underwater conditions are while working for shipyards, etc

So he really went to become one

He had his dream

Little is expected from most of his friends & family members

It's known that without oxygen for >4 minutes leads to fatality
Gerald is missing for more than 56 hours

If he's lucky to have surfaced elsewhere
God had truly blessed him

& all of us hope this to be true

Although all of us are trying not to believe the bad news & with fingers tightly crossed

Yet another rainy day
But I had fun, sort of

Brought my students to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve this late afternoon
Only 8 of them
The smallest group I'd brought so far
All of them are pretty fun to talk to
& they're quite enthusiastic about what they learn

DarDar went with me
But he ventured to the other side of the park
& took photographs
He saw a crocodile!!

My students & I couldnt see it
Coz we donno where it is
& it's highly camouflaged in the water near the shore
But DarDar brought me to the site again
& I saw it
Finally!

Weeee~

After the fieldtrip
We walked out to the busstop
& along the way
We heard yaps from the side of the road
I suspected it's a puppy in the canal
& I sent DarDar to check it out

I was right
A black puppy had fallen into the canal

DarDar descended to grab it up
But it kept yapping non-stop

Then among the bushes
An adult dog was barking
It's Dog Mama

DarDar climbed out of the canal for safety reason
In case of sudden attack from the bitch

Luckily a Thai wworker passed by
& he helped us to get the puppy up

The puppy was yapping loudly in fear
& the bitch ran out
I scared it away while they rescued the puppy

After a while
The puppy was up
& back to its Mama

Happy ending

I woke up seeing the sky looking gloomy
Now that I've awaken
The sky is still gloomy

So is my mood

Plus the irritating sound of drills from the renovation
I didnt have the mood to start anything today

But I have to start
Because there're millions of things I need to do!

My research work + academic work are clashing each other's way
That I dont know how to start
I want to do my research but I cant, because resources are not available
I want to do my academic work but I cant, because I'm worried about my research work

I feel I cant breathe, at times

In 2 weeks time
I'm heading to Phuket for 6 days
Hope I dont get carried away from the trip

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh

No mood

Today is an interesting day
To me, at least

I had my SEM session at school in the morning
It was my first time handling the equipment alone
So I was extremely careful with everything I touched
But at times, I couldnt figure if I was doing it right as the manual didnt speak about that step
& I asked the technicians outside the room

One is quite friendly
He helped me
Another one
TMD KNN
He frowned at me when I asked him my 1st question
& said that I should do it with someone who knows how it works

HELLO!?
SCHOOL PAYS YOU TO SIT THERE SURF NET & NOT ASSIST?
I was kinda pissed
By saying that, he was not helping me at all
So I had to figure everything out myself

Finally
When I got my sample loaded
I couldnt get my highly-magnified image
SOOOOOOOO frustrating
I spent 1 hour on the sample
Half hour on the imaging
Fucked up

Amidst my session
One student want to use the machine
But as I'd booked my session
It's my time!
& at the same time since he's there & knows how to use the machine
I asked if this is the correct way of doing it
He replied 'which department are you from? If you're not sure, ask the technicians outside'

NNB
Asked liao lor
What kinda attitude he gave me?
& what's wrong with a biologist working on a physics?

I gave up at 1130am

Returned home for lunch
& out for my hair-modeling session

I'm glad that I'm invited to this session
Because the workshop is conducted by the creative director of Le Salon (branch of Kim Robinson)
Heard from my studio's staff
One haircut by him cost $1200!!!!!!!!

WAHHHHHHHHH!

I was highly wanted by most hairdressers
because I'm the only model with short hair
& they wanted me because short hair cut takes very short time
They were to draw lots to pick their models
& this Australian hairdresser picked me
I said I wanted Pink's new hairstyle in her 'So-What' MTV
She communicated with the director
& HE, instead, started to cut on my hair!
He showed her the cutting techniques
But because my hair was short
It took him a few cuts to finish the haircut
& leaving her few patch of hair to play with

As a whole
My haircut cost $1000 today
Coz 80% of my hair was cut by him
HA!
Super dan-dio!

I love my hair soooooooooooooooooooooo much now


Just need to grow my fringe longer

DarDar was speechless when he saw my hair
I bet he thinks I will not go for haircut this short

He's wrong!
Damn
Should have bet $50 with him

After the hair modeling session
I returned home again for early dinner
& went back school again for my night class

Wow
I counted that I'd took 14 bus rides today!
Life record!

On top of these
I noticed that today is also unusual
There were 4 accidents along the route I passed by
1 just behind my house
LTA news said that there is accident on lane 3 of BKE
& the jam ends at Bt Panjang exit
Another one was just outside my school
4 cars lankan-ed together
BRAVO!
The results of over-taking on a one-way lane

Air smells smokey
Probably this is what made today interesting

Haven been to town for many months
But I didnt feel like loitering in town once I reached there
Weird

Was out for the screening of 'End of the line' at Singapore Botanical Garden
It is a good film
To others who might not be too familiar with what is happening currently
This is a good time for you to sit down & watch & start thinking about fish
To me
It's repeating & repeating the point
That the message is strong enough to make me change my eating habit now

Here's the trailer once again


After the movie
We took a short stroll in the park before we headed for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe =)




My all-time favourite Jumbo Combo!


We had a walk back to ION Orchard
& checked out the place
It is soooooooooo big that I'd lost my interest walking around
I stayed only on B4 & that's it
It's full of Japanese stores which I kinda grew sick of it
I'd expect something more diverse?
So anyway
Gave up loitering ION Orchard
Crossed the road back onto the path in our direction
DarDar had a Himalayan Tea Latte at McCafe, which tasted Indian *eeeks*
& looked at people on the streets

I realised that Orchard Road looks gloomy
Probably coz ION Orchard is so bright, with millions of lightbulbs shining non-stop
That the buildings around it need not switch on their spotlight anymore
Which I think is abit sad
CK Tangs stood there for many years
Had itself recognised for its unique oriental architectural design
Now it is totally replaced by a building that is designed out of a scientific ionic model
It seems it had lost its glamour
Looking dull & outdated

Weird though
I dont really like ION Orchard
It gave me a feeling that it is as if Langham Place in Mongkok, Hong Kong
But is suited to high-end Singaporean shopping
It is even damn weird to see China brand in such a grand shopping mall!!!
But Kudos to that
You've successfully marked a place in Singapore

Seems like Singapore is no longer fun to me
Desperately wanting to go KL for shopping for 2D1N
Price is always half of Singapore's
I'm starting to love Malaysia more & more

=)

Suddenly feels like going for a road trip
at this instance

Am I impulsive & crazy enough?

I wonder if anyone is reading this

I'm feeling very low suddenly
My heart feels very cramped
With anxiety & anger & disappointment

It seems that this 2nd semester is not very smooth
Particularly on my research
Firstly
My research permit on sample collection is on halt
The authorities insist on getting my report
Which my school refuses to give at this point of tie
Secondly
The tides are bad
Cant go out to collect samples
Which boils down to the 1st point if I'm allowed to go on better tides
I still cant collect samples
Thirdly
I can actually start if I dare to secretly sneak in to grab some
But my equipments are not ready!
I just need a electrical cord to hold my spotlight
Which I regretted for not getting an extra piece for my trial run
Now I cant find it anymore & have to fix it myself
I too have other equipments pending & coming in
Then again
If I'd gotten the equipments ready
I cant start still because it boils down to my 2nd point & 1st point

I JUST CANT START MY EXPERIMENT!!!

I'm sitting in my lab with depression
Wanting to do but cant do
I'm feeling very anxious as well
Time is passing by very fast
I have 4 more experiments to do
Hopefully within these 4 months
& I have to start writing my thesis next year
Which half of the year will be doing another research overseas!!

I planned to finish smoothly within 3 years (i.e. by 2010)

Talking about smoothness here
I wonder

I've never been such an idiot before

I was clearing my desktop
Coz it's looking pretty messy
& taking up my memory space

There's this folder on my desktop
& another one in my D:\ Drive
So I assumed they're the same folder that I'd shifted very long time ago

I also have a habit of not removing whatever is left on the desktop after I'd shifted into the drive

Today
Me being a total idiot
I deleted the folder on the desktop
& then checked if it's the same in the drive

TO MY FUCKING SURPRISE
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried to dig it out from my Trash Bin
Which is already accumulated with thousands of files
THE FOLDER ISNT THEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK~~~~~~~~~~

I cant stop reprimanding myself in my heart
What an idiot

Obviously one will check the contents first before deleting
But me
I skipped this pre-cautionary procedure
Assuming I can restore it afterall

Sigh
I'm so to be blamed
Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch

Worst of all
I dont even know if there're any important things in it
I do hope it's mostly photos

*cross fingers*

I've been working on my baboons the whole day
Headache
The data analysis had drained my brain juice to bits

I'm gonna pamper myself by shopping tomorrow
Ha!
I've yet visited ION Orchard
Shame on me

I hate it when people expects super high expectations of me
Just because I'm a PhD candidate
But that doesnt mean I'm a super genius who knows all kinds of things

Candidate means one is in the learning progress

When I have been working too hard on a certain topic
& brains arent functioning well with severe mental block
I'd appreciate some help that can enable me to think properly
At least just talk to me, solving it together
Or chat about other things
Rather than drilling me with some more questions which I'm already stuck
& then said I'm wasting his/her time

I'm so pissed
Because first of all
Help came in voluntarily
& in the end
I was being implied me that I'm not fit to do PhD

Whatever

I just abandoned my brain-whacking task
Watched TV for 30mins
& I solved the problem

This is the help I'd want
A hit on the 'Refresh' button for the mind-screen
A hit on the 'Restart' button for the brain engine

Thanks for helping anyway
I will solve everything by myself with TV the next time

Was out with the students to the Singapore Botanical Garden today
Looks like a pretty good morning to start with
Until we were drenched by the sudden downpour
Weird are those students
No umbrellas at all
Didnt they know that Singapore's so prone to rain now?

I didnt have much chance to talk about the plants
Only briefly spoke about how to differentiate between mosses & liverworts
Ah!
I was worse last year
Didnt even know what they are
But I did my homework this year

Dr L asked if I'd wanna be a lecturer
I shrugged my shoulders
He added I will be a good one

Ha!

No comment

Meanwhile
I've loads of work to clear over the weekend
DarDar is off Rompin for his sailfish fishing
Time for me to do my work peacefully without any distraction of watching online TV


YES! Online TV is super addictive!
Gawd

I just returned from the movies - The Cove
It is a documentary film on fisheries in Japan
Particularly at this small town in Japan
& particularly fishery in a certain cetacean

I'd said it's a good one
Good enough to have spark everyone in the world
The urban Japanese did not know about this
Now they know

I knew about this from the Sea Shepherd prior to the screening of this movie
I know somewhere in Japan does this
& I'm glad that Ocean Preservation Society had made this issue bigger

Some of the audience cried during the show
I just watched nonchalantly
I'd seen this kinda thing many times before

Throughout the show
Several thoughts floated in my mind:
Do they cry because they are the adorable cetaceans that are being killed?
Would they still do so if it's a documentary film on poultry slaughtering?
Why do cetacean fishery exist in the first place?
Where's the demand anyway?
How more cunning can the Japanese be in recruiting developing countries to support their fishery actions & at the same time giving them funds to the country?
Blah blah blah & so many more

I wish to see more of such movies
Make all people think
Make all people turn vegetarian
Make all people know what the hell we are doing that is causing the extinction of almost all animals

Click here after you've watched the trailer below



In addition
Since we're on the topic of fishery
Please watch 'End of the Line' too

WWF SG & Nparks are the supporters for the screening of this film
It will be screened on 13 Sept 4pm at Botanical Gardens
If you're interested
Kindly email rsvp@wwf.sg with your name, contact number for the tickets

Peace with all of you

I finally have the time to sit down
& read my lecture notes
& research on my assignment topics
& key in research data
& read reference book for Friday's field trip
& doing other things that are related to academic purposes

Wednesday seems good today

So angry this afternoon

Returned to school for a lab session
& then headed to the library to search for some reference books
Got them
Wanted to just photocopy a chapter
Went to the photocopying service centre
The place was crowded but they are not heading for photocopy service
They were only buying booklets

I saw 2 photocopier machines
One is being used
Another is available
I walked in, heading to the available one

The staff in charge of the photocopying service stopped me
& pushed me away
Not allowed me to go closer
I told her I'm using that copier
She said it's out of order
Told me to queue

Fine
I queued

After 5 minutes
She told me to use the machines at the upper storey

Fine again
I went up

There are 6 machines in the room
3 are out of order
3 are in use
I waited again

After 10 mins
It's my turn
I tried to make photocopies
But it couldnt get to the size I wanted
I do not know how to operate

In anger
I slammed the book close
& walked off

A student said 'Thank you' to me

She's welcome

But I was still very pissed

I needed help
But I was rejected physically
I wanted to try on my own
But I didnt want to waste money & papers doing trial & error

Why do they think that everyone has the knowledge to operate a photocopier?
& why do they have to sell booklets in that room?
Shouldnt it be done in the bookstore?

I just hate the school library
Given a choice
I will avoid it as far as possible