Celebrating 25 years

Dear jumjum...

  It's hard to believe that I am now a quarter of a century old! Back when I was in primary school, I used to draw all the time and I would always draw girls. I loved depicting them from infancy, school years, getting married, having children, right up to them in their old age. It was also very important to me that I tagged each drawing with their ages. For whatever reason, the girls I drew always got married at 25! And so it was a little disappointing for the little Jacq in me that I am still nowhere near being married.

  As always, I planned my own birthday celebration and it was just a quiet lunch on the day itself- but somehow I was lucky enough to have my birthday festivities stretch out over 4 days. The first day was the day before, on Friday, where I celebrated with my lab mates and finally got an ice cream cake after hankering after one since I was 11 ;)

                  

  Lunch on my birthday was at a Mongolian buffet place where you pick out raw ingredients and the chefs fry it up for you. It was really nice to get almost all of my close friends together and Rika made a surprise appearance, having happened to be in HK for the weekend. I had an interesting bouquet of broccoli from Julie and her husband, and they stuffed fish maw as the flower "stems".

                  

  I was supposed to have dinner with hall tutors that night but it got cancelled, and to be honest I was already feeling tired and enjoyed nothing more than tapao-ing some KFC and mini cakes to eat in my room, and I was happily in bed by 9pm!

 

  On the next day we had a full day of inter-university futsal matches, *** during which I was sadly informed would be my last USF futsal match since the age limit is 25. We had more cake after though. Then we had more cake when Mika returned from...wherever she returned from.

***Due to the gross negligence on the part of the owner, this blog post (written over a year ago) has been sitting piteously in my drafts while I eventually turned 26. The previous paragraph has been finished off to the best of my memory. Anyway, here are pictures from my 26th birthday with a self-baked cake!

*atm*

Enter: The scary world of Fasting

Dear jumjum...

  Early last year I came across a wave of Youtube videos of people trying intermittent fasting, and it really intrigued me, especially when they talk about the science behind it (disclaimer: although I am a scientist-in-training, I've never actually read the papers on intermittent fasting, just the highlights). I found that it logically made sense to me and so in an impulsive instant, I decided to try it myself.

  People who know me would be very surprised at my decision.  I remember fasting (2 half meals, 1 full meal) for Ash Wednesday 2018 and talking to my mum on the phone after, complaining about how hungry I was and how I would never be able to fast! As someone who used to be proud of never ever skipping breakfast- no matter how early she had to start her day, and as a strong advocate of not "putting your body into starvation mode", I had long and hard battles at the lab when my labmates found out. The only support I had was from my dad, who, as a fellow (and quite recent) Youtube addict, was also convinced that it might be a good way to lose weight. I also found out that my professor was also practicing fasting.

  I started out with the 16:8 method, choosing to eat between 12 noon and 8pm daily. The first week was quite uncomfortable, dealing with a stomach growling in protest- but after the first few days I started to relish at the feeling of being hungry (which I hardly ever felt before), and being grateful that I was fortunate to break my fast in just a few more hours. When I got used to 16:8, I decided to switch to one meal a day, which was so brutal that I decided to quit after a month. The main problem for me was getting enough calories in one meal (therefore feeling fatigued everyday) and having to decide between lunch or dinner. Lunch is like a social event for me- hanging out with my labmates; but dinner is when I am at leisure to eat more and longer, and having the option to eat outside of campus with friends. 

  I did start to lose some weight slowly, but after some drama last summer and a long period of getting sick, I went back to my old eating habits and also started to eat much more, gaining it all back. This year, I've been trying to get back into it, especially after the inevitable Chinese New Year indulgences.

  My first intention with this post was to blog about my experience with yet another fasting method- the water fast, where you consume nothing but water for X days for a ton of benefits in addition to weight loss, such as reducing bloating, reducing inflammation, cell regeneration etc. Lately, I have been plateauing with my weight loss and feeling very restless in general, so I thought I'd give it a try. Some people do a 5 or 7 day fast, and some overweight folks try 30 days to a few months, but it was so daunting that I decided to just do a 3 day fast. 

  I initially started on Tuesday this week, and was doing fine until my labmate tried to get me to join her for dinner. I was doing great and wasn't hungry at all, but I was just so bored. I realise that eating, for me, is a break. No matter how busy I am, my feeding time is when I forget about everything and just wind down. And so I caved. I started again on Wednesday, which was actually Ash Wednesday, so I wasn't really tempted to cheat at all and even worked out for an hour with no problems. Unfortunately, HK couldn't decide between reverting back to winter weather and moving forward into summer, so it was both cold but super rainy that night. Fasting made me feel so cold I had to put socks on to sleep. I had the weirdest dream of eating strawberries in my bed! This morning I woke up feeling great, and I had a shot of salt water (to replenish electrolytes). In the afternoon however, everything went downhill. I was distracted by thoughts of food and how delightful good food is throughout my labmate's presentation. To make things worse, my labmate's mom made some incredible-smelling herbal egg dish for us to share and I couldn't partake in any of it- although my labmates tried their best to persuade me. Many people who try fasting sing praises about how productive and focussed they were, but by late afternoon, my constant thoughts of food interfered with my ability to work! I also broke out into a cold sweat and started to feel dizzy. I felt physically exhausted, like I had to force my body to do simple things like walking to the toilet. The thought of having to go to football practice tonight seemed almost impossible. And so I called it quits at 46 hours.

  As per internet advice, I broke my fast carefully, starting with some chicken soup. I felt perfectly normal so I went on to eat (maybe too much) mixed nuts and some Greek yoghurt and berries. I thought it would be fine, since most people feel nauseous just moments after eating. Boy was I wrong. An hour into football practice, all the running made me feel like throwing up! I didn't want to go to sleep yet in case I really needed to throw up, but by the end of typing this post I think I feel much better. 

  And so, I really don't think extended fasts are my thing. I really don't know how other people do it, and right now, I have no intention of ever doing it again! On the bright side, it has increased my appreciation and enjoyment of good food. Imma stick with 16:8 though. 

*jnatm*

Jumjum returns!

Dear jumjum...

  While waiting for 10 mins incubation to go by for an experiment, I had a conversation with David today about what we do in our free time. He brought up sports, I talked about reading and guitar and then we both talked about the Youtube genres that are our weaknesses. After finally submitting something I put off for awhile, I was mulling over whether to start a new book tonight since I did not feel like working anymore but it is a bit too early for bed. Then it suddenly occurred to me that blogging never crossed my mind during our chat this afternoon- and for good reasons.

  Before university, writing was always at the back of my mind. I'd have a fleeting thought or an interesting moment and I would immediately go, 'oh I should write that down'. It certainly isn't like that anymore and I actually feel demotivated to write: I have a ton of half-written posts floating around in draft-space, possibly forever!

  It also occurred to me tonight that if this blog was my child, it would be 10 this year and attending primary 4! I am aware that that is a crazy metric for how long a virtual thing has existed, but it still blows my mind. I also remember the joy that reading these blog posts bring me and so I am determined to write and not let this child die!

  Perhaps we should start with David. David is the second undergraduate student that I guide in the lab. Crazy, right?! The first was Sarah, a final year student. When she showed me her FYP poster for my feedback it felt funny. Funny because it was only last year that I was preparing my FYP poster and yet, I didn't feel totally unqualified to comment on hers. It is the 5th year that I have been in HK, yet it doesn't feel like so long ago when we were freshmen. I must agree, however, that I have changed, most significantly in the past year. 

  The first year of MPhil has been...uncomfortable. I am still adjusting to not having concrete deadlines for most of my work, and I am finding out that I am quite the procrastinator when left to my own devices. For the first few months, surrounded by bright minds and hardworking bodies, I questioned if I was good enough for this. It is also hard to be here without the familiar faces of my gang, and all those Chinese 名句s we learnt about the sorrows of 物是人非 comes back in waves. 

  Being a hall tutor has definitely made its mark on my character. Since socialising is now my job, it is less daunting than it used to be. I also learned to relax when hosting floor events because the stress oozes out of you like a bad smell. It is kinda nice to hang around the young undergraduate folks who worry over midterms and projects- they remind me of a young me and I like to call them 'the kids' (although people have repeatedly reminded me that I was a 'kid' just last year and one or two of those 'kids' are actually the same age as me ;) ). Hall tutor perks aside, I'm glad that I convinced myself to try for the position, because I knew that it would help me grow. 

  Here's to the postgrad life ahead and (hopefully) blogging on the regular!

*jnatm*

Opening the 'Letter to the Future Me'

Dear jumjum...

  Four years ago at the start of our first semester of uni- when our uni life was stretched out before us and graduation seemed so far away, my friends and I decided to write a letter to ourselves to be read upon graduation. 

http://jumjumjump.blogspot.hk/2013/09/letter-to-future-you.html

  My graduation ceremony was almost 2 weeks ago, but I only remembered to open it tonight. 

  You know how I always set up high expectations for events in my life? This was both a case of future- and retro-expectation. Four years ago, I was expecting myself to be a well-adjusted, confident (and thin!) woman with a clear path in life. Tonight, I was expecting the letter from young Jacq to be insightful, inspiring and well-written. Both Jacqs were disappointed! The letter sounded to me like it was written by a baby! Bleh. It still did make me cry though...but what else is new? ;)

"...yes I am"

I still question myself every single day!

*atm*

Taiwan trip 2017

  Dear jumjum...

  As the destination everyone seems to have visited and loved, and as YP's preferred place to relocate to, Taiwan has been on my to-go list for a few years now. I finally made it happen a month into my summer holiday with three of the iGEM fossils. I am so grateful for all the thought and planning Chloe did, as I was rotting away in extensive holiday laziness. She was also the most prepared person on the trip, with extra cash, plastic bags, and power socket converters to save the day. We were there for seven days and seven nights. My phone's camera decided to go on strike right before the trip, so I brought my brother's DSLR and attempted (and failed, most of the time) to take nice pictures. Please do not comment on the pictures with varying degrees of brightness :) As the trip went on, I also took less and less pictures :)

  On our first day we took the train to 青桐、平溪、十份、九份。The sights were beautiful, especially at 十份 and 九份 。I got to release my first sky lantern amidst throngs of people doing the same. It was late evening when we arrived at 九份, and most shops were closed. It was a fascinating place with little alleys and lanterns aplenty, and if I ever had the chance, I would definitely return to 九份 for a thorough visit.

It took me several tries to take the name of this place, as it was flashing. So cute!

 The nice bike paths along the river reminded me so much of biking last summer in NY along the island banks.

淡水

Interesting dessert place in Ximen which had scrawls over every available surface, including the ceilings.

  For our one night in Yilan, we home-stayed with this couple who had a frog obsession. The only frogs they didn't have were live frogs! The hostess was super friendly and talkative, she had maps of Yilan on her wall and gave us a 20 minute lecture on what there was to eat and see. 

 There are many beautiful parks to visit around Yilan, but we only managed two. We also visited a whiskey distillery, which was what Eric was looking forward to the most ;)

Edward and his modelling

  On our way from the first park to the second, I thought we would walk to the main road and hail a taxi. It quickly became clear that this was impossible, as the "main road" was a mini highway running through plantation fields lined with large houses and farms. We were forced to walk to the second park which was half an hour away. Although I enjoyed the view and the breeze and was quite amused by our detour, I think my friends and their tired legs were prepared to murder me. 

  We visited three night markets throughout the trip, and my favourite has to be the one in Luodong, because of its food variety and liveliness. I was looking forward to Shilin but it was raining that night, and the range of food seemed limited.

  My favourite food in Taiwan is, hands down, 卤肉饭。Needless to mention, the milk teas I had there were the best. I was also obsessed with this traditional dessert at a franchise called 小南门. I made this serendipitous discovery on the 6th day, while shopping around Xinyi area. I was lunching late at a food court, when the cashier recommended that I add on dessert for a few more bucks. It was glorious. The tauhu had perfect consistency and taste, with soft boiled peanuts and two other chewy things I cannot identify. I returned to take out round two that same night, and returned the next day for tea. 

  One of the best parts of the trip was the companionship and the unfiltered camaraderie. We played the most epic game of guessing movies using a single phrase which does not include any words from the movie title, which lasted several hours. We spent our nights playing cards and endless rounds of Fun Run 2 (thanks Zac) in the hostel room. The alcoholics ensured we had drinks every other night, and we also tried to be fancy and had wine and cheese once. On the last night, everyone was reluctant to go to bed and we were up until 4am, learning to play German bridge. I had to set 10 alarms to make sure that I could get up at 7am for church before my flight the next day. 

  The only downside to the trip was the weather. It was either too hot or pouring rain, and we returned to the hostel with shoes soaked through with rainwater one too many times. I also felt like I was back in HK, with my three HK companions and countless other Hongkongers speaking in Cantonese around me. Hoping to return soon with my family, preferably not in the summertime!

*atm*