Summer 2015 Shenanigans

Dear jumjum,

Less than a week until classes begin! Since I will be juggling lab and lectures in the coming semesters, I decided that this summer, I had to make time to do most of the things I intended to, but have yet to do. OK, I'll admit most of the things had to do with eating, but I think it has been a pretty interesting summer so far.

• Cycling

Mel is crazy about cycling- she went about 6 times this summer, and I tagged along twice. It was in Shatin, along the way to the HK-Shenzhen border, so it's away from the skyscrapers and also less congested.

The first time I went cycling, it was all good until this dude decided to make a sudden U-turn on the tracks and I managed to brake but did not put my feet down in time. Scraped my elbow and my knee (yes, the one already with the famous Eye of Sauron scar, which I scraped again 3 years ago at Permai. It is now a scar-upon-a-scar-upon-a-scar). While I was still sitting in shock on the ground, these two middle-aged ladies popped out from nowhere, exclaiming in Cantonese and producing antiseptic wipes and bandages. Thank goodness I wore long pants, otherwise the wound would have been worse- I ended up with a hole in my pants.

Saw a stall selling 豆腐花 on the way and we couldn't resist.

• Meg and Mark made their annual visit. Mark had more fun than us girls at Lush, charming the salesgirl with his rabbitty smile! She actually dropped a whole 'bath bomb' worth 50 HKD into water just to demonstrate to him how it worked..

• My crazy roommate got me hooked on The Big Bang Theory and I devoured all 8 seasons while bundled up in bed. I blame the unproductivity on you, Nikita! Also, she takes the weirdest pictures of me and sends them to me when she's bored at work, like the paparazzi.

  

•  Kuching

Kuching is always all about the food. I was desperate for durian when I landed so Mum told me to go get some myself. I went with Zac, and freaked out with the price the man charged me. Well, at least the durian was reaaaally good. I refused to tell Mum the price I paid and I never will! However, my parents would be proud that I learnt some of their price haggling skills. On my last day there, Dad went and got me a whole variety of durian! It was awesome. =)

The main reason my whole family went back was because Zac had a play, The Tempest by Shakespeare. My parents were not particularly impressed, saying that we've been seeing Zac act since he was a kid. But we were all very entertained, and it was so weird but so intriguing seeing Zac act as a protective dad!

Val and I were also in town for the annual Kuching Food Festival, and Freda and I attempted to eat 5 of the most attractive ice creams we could find (we managed four)!

Reunited with Smiaozers and Fluffy!

 

We put the light sabers to good use.

With 2 of the cast members after the play, having supper.

My Evil Twin and I went to karaoke singing. There, I posted your favourite picture- happy now?

And we DIY-ed a T-shirt for Ele's 21st.

 

My parents' 25th anniversary is coming up in October, but since we were all home we celebrated it early.

• We finally made use of the barbeque site on campus.

• Went on an adventure way out of town with a fellow editor after delivering high school science magazines which we write for. Really enjoyed going around HK in a van instead of the underground MTR for once.

• Splurged on good food with good company.

  

•  Summer Project 2015

This summer I joined the calcium imaging lab, which owns a zebrafish facility. As well as doing experiments, another undergrad and I had fun catching fish, changing baby fish water, 'harvesting' brine shrimp, cleaning fish tanks etc. One downside to working with fish is that if there was any unfortunate incidents, I go home smelling like a fish monger...

My lab mates were really nice and helpful, and since they were all much older than me, they were watching out for the baby of the lab. I also liked how much of a community they all were, usually gathering everyone and leaving for lunch breaks together. My supervisor was also super meticulous, checking my report with incredible care.

  

In the confocal room with my good friend Mr 90i.

The hardest part for me was all the waiting. Waiting for incubations, in between washings and worst still, confocal imaging! On average, it took me about three times of removing the dish, re-orientating and refocusing the microscope before I could take a decent image of each embryo. And then I had to sit in the dark for 20 minutes for the microscope to do its thing. Usually during a particularly long waiting duration, I would run down to iGEM lab and annoy Erica and Edwardo. =)

 

This little guy was my bench mate.

• Drinking

For some reason, this summer was full of these sessions. All I can say is that it's funny to see your friends tipsy. I also have videos of blackmail-worthy material on my phone now heh heh! Watch out, guys.

• 5 years after learning to play classical guitar, I finally played (half) an acoustic song on my guitar while singing. However, the video will forever remain for immediate family's eyes (and ears) only!

*atm*

Sentimental?

Dear jumjum...

I recently started working on a summer project in a lab studying the zebrafish model, and I was jokingly asked if I 'communicate' with the fish. I answered that I will avoid 'befriending' the fish at all costs, lest at some point I need to kill them. I was then asked if I am i sentimental person.

Well.

I only answered with a simple yes, but it reminded me of an incident that made me realise for the first time how ridiculously sentimental I am.

When I was 4 or 5 years old, my dad brought my sister and I on a boat trip with his friends. My mum prepared a container of Jacob's biscuits for us in case we got hungry. I don't remember much about the trip, except what happened when we disembarked. It was nighttime, and my dad was telling me to watch my step while we got off the boat. In my concentration, I somehow let go of the food container in my hand- plop it went into the sea, and I frantically asked my dad to retrieve it. However, it was rapidly carried away by the currents, and I watched it float into the darkness. I still remember that it had a purple cover with a clear plastic bottom. I was inconsolable.

I felt sad because my mum had caringly prepared it for us, and I had so carelessly lost it. To me it was as if I let my mum's act of love go to waste. Yes, I am aware that it sounds ridiculous, as I was aware of it at the time, but I was still upset. Dad and his friend tried to comfort me by saying that some poor kampung boy in need of a container might find it and treasure it.

.....and that far-fetched idea actually did make me feel better! XD

*atm*

The iGEM Experience (part I)

Dear jumjum...

I have been starting every post with an apology lately. It has been a year since I joined iGEM- another cycle has since begun and I am still reluctant to blog about it. However, we had a general meeting last night and because they are actually starting lab work now, it reminded me so much of my own experience.

I heard about iGEM from Hojeong aka Crazy Cat, so we attended the introductory talk given by Prof. Chow. My first impression was that it was too incredible. Undergrad students manipulating DNA?! I had to give this a shot. The meetings and tutorials were...intimidating. Hojeong and I felt like two dumbasses in a room of smart kids. We were desperate to learn and terrified of being kicked out of the team (a totally baseless fear). I remember the two of us sitting in my room back to back, trying to come up with a project proposal. We came up with something to do with thirdhand smoke degradation but it went to a dead end. It was good though, I believe that was my first exposure to searching and reading research papers.

On the first day of lab training, we had plans for dinner with the other Jji jjis since the lab closes at 5.30pm. Our lab trainer, Cruellar; let us off early since there was not much we could do that day and scheduled a meeting late in the afternoon. While we were waiting in the learning commons, he informed us that he was being held up in the lab and that the meeting had to be delayed. And so we were forced to cancel our dinner plans. That was when I realised how our summer was going to be- and from then on I never dared to confirm any plans with anyone.

I surprised myself with my enthusiasm for lab work (where does that spirit go when I need to study??!). I never procrastinate if I have an experiment to do, and I can only wish the same can be said for the other areas of my life. It is way more satisfying to me to work on an actual project where you get physical results compared to studying for a test and getting a mere grade. I derive a weird sense of satisfaction working in the lab. Time seems to fly by and I finally understood how people could possibly skip meals for work. I believe that summer was the most enjoyable period for me since coming to HKUST. After the summer term, attending classes was so dull and such a pain, especially since we were running from the lab to lectures and vice versa.

The unfulfilled plan.

I was initially in Group 5, which was basically a redundant group because we were working on the lysis module, which we can never do experimentally in the lab due to biological safety concerns. Once we confirmed the proposal for that module, the group was disbanded and I was allocated to Group 1. By the end of summer we had to prioritize our time and so we were put into another group to help. And so there was this running joke that whichever group I joined would eventually be disbanded. =.=


The day before wiki freeze, most people were only just done with midterms so there was a lot of last-minute uploading, proofreading, tweaking... We pulled 16 hours in the library overnight and were smelly and so disorientated that morning. The last few of us who survived up to the deadline were freaking out so bad because I was proofreading the last last-minute page (which no one else thought was worth doing, which in hindsight, may have been true), and we were trying and failing to log onto the site for half an hour just before the deadline. I had the best sleep of my life that day- Melody said I was happily snoring away in broad daylight. 

As Chloe put it, 'The Six Survivors'

Our wiki:
http://2014.igem.org/Team:Hong_Kong_HKUST

iGEM took up a whole lot of time and a lot of sweat and some tears were shed over it; but it was the best experience for an inexperienced dumbdumb like me. To be able to work with peers semi-independently and with all the freedom in performing experiments made it worth it. Also, like I mentioned before, it was nice getting to know weirdos similar to oneself. After being cramped up together in the MBMS lab for months, you start to know your teammates much more than you ever want.... 

I miss all the chaos, the funky LB smell that greets you as you enter, the daily battle of booking machines and gel tanks, fighting with the Side Project Mafia, and yelling in different languages that is iGEM lab.

 

*atm*

Crap I'm 21.

Dear jumjum...

I've never had a birthday party, because I've been shy and wanted to avoid being the center of attention. However, as a young girl I've always envisioned celebrating my 21st with a grand birthday bash. I even had this red dress that I kept in my closet since I was 11 (I think it's a hand-me-down from my aunt), which I wanted to wear when I turn 21. It was a BIG deal to me.

It never occurred to me that my 21st would in fact be spent away from home, away from my family and the friends I grew up with. Anyway, I told my HK friends that I wanted to organise my own dinner (a party still does not seem to appeal to me), and that I wanted it to be fancier than usual. Booking a place turned out to be super stressful, because most restaurants have a 'minimum spending per head' rule if you want to reserve for a party over 10. And well, we're students- I know for a fact some of my friends will not be willing to spend so much on a dinner. And so we ended up in a place less classy than I wanted, but I had much more fun than I anticipated! =)

I did not wear the red dress. In hindsight, it actually looks too...matured on me. I wore this one which I bought in Thailand in 2012 but never had the guts to wear (never wore a strapless before). Ironically, it's from Forever 21.

With the kids

                                            The Jji jjis

                                               Malaysianssss


iGEMers


Ah yes, I neglected to mention that we had dinner the night before my birthday for convenience since it was a Sunday. I also told the girls not to get me anything because there really isn't anything I want/need. However I did get a box of assorted chocolates from Ele (with instructions that it is supposed to last me the whole semester; I am tempted everyday to finish the whole lot), chocolate cookies from my son Erica (more food!!), the daintiest little necklace and bracelet from the iGEMers, and a lavender-scent reed diffuser from the Malaysian guys (every time I walk into my dorm now it's like a whole new world...).

Oh and my sibwings also got me a necklace, delivered by my visiting aunt. So proud because Val told me that Zac actually gave his input and opinion in choosing it! (He is usually in his own world and is passive on such things)

I was lucky that computer lab was cancelled on my birthday, so I went out to spend some time by myself. I went to...Forever 21. Heh heh. Only because it is usually so packed and crazy busy, so Monday afternoon was a golden opportunity for stress-free shopping! As customary after F21, I crossed the street to have my frozen yoghurt and explored Causeway Bay.

Ele, HJ and I overdosed on sushi for dinner aaand we went for the weekly iGEM general meeting; because somehow Mondays just aren't complete without it!

Again, I am super grateful for the people and the blessings in my life, as I am every year and I really do mean it every year. I'm one lucky duck who had two birthday cakes and I know it =)

*atm*

Shanghai 2015

Dear jumjum...

In line with my dad's encouragement for me to travel while in uni, Patricia and I spent our last week of the winter holidays in Shanghai with our two Malaysians-living-in-Shanghai friends, Melody and YP.

YP was really the ultimate tour guide, asking us where we want to go and planning our itinerary a week before our arrival. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have been to half the places we went.

Upon arrival, I was supposed to take the MRT to Melody's place where YP was to meet me. The MRT ticket counter was closed, and the machines only accepted notes below 100 yuan, which was the smallest change I had. So I was trying to ask people to exchange my note for smaller change but most people ignored me. Then a youngster took pity on me and gave me 3 yuan in coins. 

While slotting the coins into the machine, I was stupidly still holding on to my 100 yuan note, which a man came up and took from me before I knew what was happening. He told me that he'll change it for small change but only gave me 70 yuan in return, then asked me if it was OK. I was like, "Of course not! If you don't have change then give me back my note." But he was like, "Oh, but your note disappeared! Let's just count it as me having a drink or taxi ride on you," with a cheeky grin, showing me the metal fillings in his teeth. I was furious but 1) I was in a foreign place, 2) He looked creepy 3) It was around RM15 and I felt it wasn't worth it; so I gave him a glare and stalked off to his delighted cries of 谢谢！

When I told YP what happened, she gave me a crash course on "How to Behave and What to Expect in China". I solemnly promised myself never to be scammed or tricked again for the duration of our stay (which I achieved! I am, at times, extremely blur).

There were stalls selling tea in milk bottles, so I firmly told Patricia that I was getting one for her on the condition that she lets me take a picture of her drinking it. Looked like she enjoyed it xD she even brought the bottle back! Anyway it started this thing that all 3 of us had to do a dare during our stay in Shanghai. Mine was to eat a whole chili (not sure what kind it was) while having dinner with YP's family. HOT DAM. It was an...enriching experience, though. YP's was to wear a garland of flowers around her head in public in Hangzhou (pic below) (which I also think she enjoyed, because she wore it all the way home!) 

Street foooooood.

Me love smelly tofu

 Yu gardens

Took a whole lot of pictures here...it was like a maze of old buildings and courtyards.

 Art museum

Hangzhou

We were walking along the West lake (couldn't see much due to the fog), and there were people selling bubble....makers? along the way. I though it'd be fun; so before we approached them we settled internally on a price (5 yuan). They started off with 20 yuan, and after some disgusted looks and pretending to walk away they settled at 5 hehe. Patricia and I each got one, and were making bubbles all along the bridge. Crazy amount of fun being the Bubble Ninjas! We also found an appreciative audience from a kid walking alongside us =)

It started to snow (my first properly-snowing-not-just-light snow!) and rain, so we abandoned our walk-around due to the cold. YP found a massive karaoke center which was also crazy cheap so we spent the rest of the afternoon yelling in there instead.

*atm*