Thirteen Senses
Recently, I walked into a music store. I heard this music being played. Haunting seductive.. i bought the album. Thirteen Senses. Another group from UK. Another fabulous album. Luv it!
the purpose of this entry? Just to rave about Thirteen Senses.
Its really really good. The Invitation.
gooey stew..
Yesterday, I was helping my brother with the kids at his center. They were quite a handful. Its really irritating when they don't show any respect for u and just monkey around the whole time. That was when I got so flustered that I yelled at 2 of them.
Imagine this, I was towering over this skinny, short boy, and i shouted, totally pissed. He recoiled back in shock and there was fear in his eyes... I felt pretty good about that show of power.. hahaha! It was hilarious when i think about it. At least he behaved today.
I cooked today. Had to add some starch to thicken the soup. But I don't know really how much of that to add. I have never used starch to thicken soup before so i was rather clueless. Then I remembered my brother's advise -- that since i am cooking in such huge quantities, I have to add more of everything. Yeah, I used up almost half the pack of starch and that soup is a gooey stew now.
Some of the kids loved it. They asked for more. There are of course the different ones who thought my 'soup' was wierd.
Anyhow I was proud of my soup...
Labels: food
Extreme Makeover
i realised that almost every woman who goes on Extreme makeover gets a boob job! Most increase theirs to a C-cup. Are boob jobs very common these days? Should i get one too?
Just a few days ago, I decided to go get a new bikini. The bikini was really nice, but i look really flat in it. It does not make me feel any better when the changing room was plastered all over with pictures of busty and scantily clad ladies from FHM etc etc. Women with unrealistic bodies!
Argh, its depressing to even think about it!
Just received a mesg from my cousin.. she is hmm.. i can't even remember her age, but think she is 16 this year. Anyway she was talking about studying and she wondered how I use to score so well (thats like a relative thing...) And i was thinking, ironically, it doesn't really matter how well u use to score when u are kind of jobless now...
I am not that upset about being jobless. rather, i am upset about being aimless. they are different things.
A shake, a nod and a circle
This is like really funny. Its so one of those typical scenarios we can have in I-house, those cultural understanding stuff.
My company is having its audit, so we get quite a few of these auditors coming round, asking us questions, trying to understand how we do some of the stuff. Suddenly, I began to feel important... so just now, this guy came to ask me something concerning pricing and margins. And as i explained it to him, i'll look at him to ensure that he understands. And he just keeps shaking his head when i am nodding mine. In the midst of all those price talk, i suddenly remembered hearing that the greeks shake their heads for a yes... maybe Indians do that too. It gets a little hilarious after some time because he tried to nod but instinctively wants to shake his head, so he winds up moving his head in a circle!
Which, at least, meant to me -- I understand it ALL!
On research.
I don't know if its years of brainwashing that got me so interested, so damn keen on spending the rest of my life in a lab coat. Maybe it is.
I know graduate students who have spent years of their youth on research. They are brillant and commited people, who in other words, don't have much of a life outside of lab. When I meet them, I ask them one thing -- "If you could choose all over again, will you still have gone for graduate studies?"
I never had a firm "yes, its still grad work for me"
Its the kind of answer that wavers, hesitant. Something like, "maybe not"
Then the sigh of resignation that its no point making such statements now anyway.
Then, I posed the same question to my supervisor. He didn't exactly give me an answer.
Just now, during an interview, I was asked why research? And when I said I liked it, my interviewer laughed! He must be thinking that I'm masochistic!
The really brillant ones rarely choose research as a career choice. Think about it objectively... you spend an additional 5 years to get a Phd, another 2 years on post-doc. Thats 7 years. Assuming you start when you are 24, by the time you are done, do the sums yourself... Considering that you spend so much of your time worrying over your bacteria etc etc... you don't really have much time for anything else. Anyway, after you have completed all the academic requirements, you start looking for your first job at the age of 32!
Life is certainly not easy in research.
Then, our wonderful politicians paint such a fanciful picture of it. Even the polytechnic's poster for Life Science course was something like... take this course and you could cure cancer... kids have no idea that with a diploma, it gets you only as far as technician... they call it technologist I think.
Labels: geek
*verbal diarrhea*
I know.. I have sporadic burst of verbal diarrhea.
No one leaves comments here, I think I am going to start being a pseudo-visitor and leave some.. ...
The stuff which irks me
The stuff which irks me:
The huge Life science propaganda.
Youths of today are brain washed to view THE Life Sciences in awe.
Impressionable young minds.
Just within a few months of incessant rave about how wonder the lie.. oops life sciences can be, intake for NUS biology course tripled.
Doesn't matter that we don't have support for that.
Doesn't matter that labs are staggered into the night.
Doesn't matter when our lecture theatres are not big enough.
Now, Life Sciences is the IN thing. Even an article.. or some kind of interview of Philip Yeo was in the ST... and even he was reading a bio text! A few years ago, it was IT, and before that, if my memory serves me right, I must have been really young then, it was Engineering (my mother still lives in that era and thinks the world of engineers).
Life sciences is mostly about genomics, proteins, biochemistry. Gone is our classical biology where students learn about ecology, plants, animals. My teacher back in Junior college was one of those who believed that as biologist, we should at least know something about the nature, about evolution, about our flora and fauna even if its probably something the gahmen thinks won't help the economy. Some of the most interesting stuff I did in biology was Homosexuality in Animals...
I remembered hearing this speech made by an MP a few years ago...
its goes something like:
The purpose of education is to help the economy.
An idealist can't survive in this pragmatic environment. We don't learn because we like and enjoy it, but because it serves a greater good.
I am going so out of point. The point is, I am a graduate in the life sciences and if u flip through the papers, u realise that there really isn't a demand for people like us! And I belong to the cohort of people before intake tripled! If its that tough for me, it won't be any easier for those undergraduates slogging away not knowing that test-tube washing/data entry awaits their bleak future. And its not like I had awful results or something. I am at the very least average -- and i think i am being modest here.
And then, the gahmen tells us that we are fussy about jobs. Its not us who's fussy, its them! Flip the papers again and you see how many companies simply wants to have experienced staff. Its too much trouble to train fresh grads, even if they are "willing to learn" which i am very sure ALL fresh grads pledge to be. And sometimes, I think I am over qualified. Many of the ads require only a diploma (and pay only a diploma's worth). Yes, I am being fussy about salary. I have a right to be when I need to pay off tuition loans and I am already 24! Do the sums... 4 years of education, 6k a year, 24k in all, lets not even talk about interest rates. Assume I earn 2k a month, after CPF, take home pay is only 1.6k. Daily required expenses, some money to parents, savings -- I don't know what i have left. And with GST at 5% (we are only 3% less than CA and i think NY), transports cost increasing... how is one to survive? I don't even have insurance 'cept for Medisave/shield which can't cover that much unless i die soon or something.
And perhaps I should stop whining but do something about my situation. I am. I send out 1 resume a week -- since there is usually only one that is relevant. Meanwhile, I do data entry in the marketing department. Sounds nice, but seriously, its as simple as resale - cost = profit. Is it at a positive margin? If not, drop an email to so and so...
And people ask me, what kind of job are u looking for?
I would like to do something in the life sciences, because I really like it even without gahmen propaganda. But its really hard finding something like that.
*silence* *gasp* Finally, they say,
I thought the life science sector is opening up? I thought there are many job openings?
Thats not true, look at the papers and u will know. There are perhaps many job openings for marketing, business development, strategic planning, accounts, IT, human resource, administration -- ALL these in the LIfe sciences which really has nothing to do with life sciences.
Oh and you know what we really need too? Nurses.
We have quite a lot of them from China and Philippines.
I should have gone to nursing, except that I really lack patience and feel no compassion.
Actually, I said that Life Science is the IN thing now... but I take that back. I forgot, its the Integrated Resort!
Devastation//
I am devastated.
Was so looking forward to the scuba diving trip to Perhentian, but now its cancelled.
Those fickle-minded earthlings!
Its the summer hols -- actually, we simply call it the June hols, which we associate with travelling!
I wanna go somewhere. Anywhere but don't suggest Sentosa.
Checked up prices for tix to Ho Chi Minh city. Vietnam is not such a bad place to go except of course for their sporadic outbreak of birdflu. Tickets aren't that cheap considering that its really near.. probably just an hour's flight.
Digress... read an article not long ago in ST. Apparently, Singaporean's standard of living has improved. One of the indicators used was -- we travel more. Meaning, we can afford to fly more. Did they take into account budget carriers? Let me emphasize, budget. Where sometimes, it cost as little as 9.90 to leave Singapore. In fact, once, it was only $2! Totally puts our local buses to shame where journeys can cost up to $1.9. Anyway, from what I hear from my colleagues and read in Cleo, Singaporeans go over to Hatyai/Bangkok to shop. Yes.. its too expensive here, we rather do it in Bangkok. One colleague actually bought stuff like Listerine mouth wash (2 huge bottles) and toilet rolls (2)! (she had to give away the toilet rolls as they couldn't fit into her luggage -- blame the miserly check-in allowance but for that kind of ticket price, lets not bitch about it). The article in Cleo said that it was cheaper to go bangkok once in a while to mass buy toiletries such as sanitary pads. And that some of these frequent shoppers have their personal tuk-tuk chauffers too.
Anyway, I want to travel. I think I am such a bum. All I did was go Italy for 2 mths, come back, bummed around, went NY for a week, come back, worked for 3mths and now i have the itch to travel again. Is there a name for this sort of syndrome?
Sometimes, I just feel like packing my bag and leaving. I wonder if John will have me in Sabah, I am sure I can help him with his primate research. What was that he's into? Probocis? Can't remember.
But craps, I have 2 interviews later this week. I don't even feel like I want to go for them. Such a waste of time. Interviews can be fun. I just hate the dressing up for it part. How I have to tame my rowdy hair -- thats tough. Since its for lab related job, I have to look drab enough too.
"Taschentuecher"
I just finished the last piece of tissue paper from a pack from Germany.
I just happen to find it and need it.
Its really good for the nose.
like soft yet absorbent.
Its called "Kokett"
its what we call 4 ply, but here it says "4lagig"
I think its chlorine free, its "100% Chlorfrei"
and i gathered that tissue paper in Deutsch is called
"Taschentuecher"
Recall... in Dec 2004, I was in Darmstadt with such a bad cold.
I was sick, coughing, sore throat, runny nose and perpetually sleepy.
I think I spent most the time sleeping. Courtesy of my wonderful host =)
I guess u can say that I am wonderfully bored when I brood over a packet of tissue paper.
