Wish list 1
Be careful what you wish for.
Fulfilment of Wish List... only 1 item Yes, I am now employed.
I guess this paves the way for the rest of my wishes.
I miss the feeling of having nothing to do. Yet I am already beginning to lose sleep over work. Learning. Learning the techniques shouldn't be tough. Its just following. But as usual, I am the idiot. I want to understand what is happening. I want to see the big picture. I am not satisfied with just doing without knowing. And this is what makes life so difficult sometimes. You try so hard to understand, and later you wonder why. Is it worth it? Compared to someone who doesn't understand, there is essentially no difference superficially since the work gets done.
Talk about lab safety. After having been in my ultra-paranoid lab for a year, I have to admit that some of it rubbed off. Today, I saw a girl open hold the door handle with gloves on (she was trying to keep it open), and a guy holding a piece of paper with golves -- paper which we bring out of the lab. According to my paranoid lab mates -- that paper is contaminated. I can't help feeling that even my desk in the lab, which should not be used for lab work, has been contaminated. I bring my bag in -- its contaminated too. I can go on... i can't believe i sound like this! And the way some of the people freely touch the bench surfaces without gloves, lean on the bench etc etc.. argh! A part of me simply cringe whenever I see that. Its the yunshi-effect. I
am so serious.
I need sleep. dAys are long with much standing.
The Showerhead
J was telling me about this book called The Showerhead or something like that. While googling for "The shower head", guess what I
found? =)
Empty rain
Yesterday, I finally met up with J after he disappeared for over a month.
J: You can't listen to Coldplay for long. Its too depressing. If u have girlfriend, you will break up.
Me: Its just melancholic.
J: Seriously, you can't listen to them for long.
J: I know many people who go into medicine because they want to do good, save people...
me: Good, is such a dodgey concept.
J: That aside, seriously, I am doing medicine because I am interested in the science and its something I can make a living with. I hate it when people talk about saving lives, saving people. Its all crap.
me: girls can be real bitches.
J: Yeah, tell me about it. u know some gals like K knows that she's bitch so she doesn't try to hide it. what i really hate are those goody-2-shoes who preach good especially under the banner of Christianity when they can be such bitches. Especially when under the banner of christianity!
me: I just found out that a close friend of mine is gay. After all these years and I didn't know! I figured that all my close male friends are in the closet. Theres even one who is still confused with his inclinations. So...
J: Forget it, don't go on.
J: You seem to be attracting all the wrong sort of things except a job.
me: thanks!
On Thirteen Senses..
"They are probably a one-album-band"
I met up with a prof to ask about research opportunties. The last thing he said was
"If you 'll badger me often enough, I might be able to do something..."
J: that sounds extremely dodgey!
view on love
I've been in love before
Its like a narcotic.
At first it brings the euphoria of complete surrender.
The next day you want more.
You are not addicted yet, but you like the sensation,
and you think you can still control things.
You think about the person you love for two minutes,
and forget them for three hours.
But then you get used to that person,
and you begin to be completely dependent on them.
Now you think about him for three hours
and forget him for two minutes.
If he's not there, you feel like an addict who can't get a fix.
And just as addicts steal and humiliate themselves
to get what they need,
you're willing to anything for love.
-- By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Paolo Coelho
"Love is a prison.
Its unrealistic to suppose its not.
Everybody's possibilities solidify round them
and become limitations.
Its common. "
-- The Game, A.S Byatt
Wish List
Not world peace...
iPOD
This is the "I-age". Apple has amazingly, created a brand name that I think is extremely powerful. The uber-futuristic white of their Macs and iBooks, top with the iPOD -- this is THE thing to have. When I was in NY, i noticed iPODs everywhere I go. In the subway, in almost every compartment, someone was using either and iPOD or the mini. I distinctly remembered the advertisement. Those black figures set against a neon color background. The whites of the iPOD earphones moving in sync. This, was the ad which I believed, really made Jet
famous here. This is the i-age. Even OSIM has an "i-Desire" now (too bad, they lack the cool factor, but than, those massage chairs are not to appeal to young dancing people).
An iPOD is useful for long trips too. When I travelled to Perhentian, i actually brought my 6 yr old discman along, with 3 CDs... if only ihad an iPOD...
A new desktop PC -- LCD, CD-RW, wonderful speakers, huge HD, unlimited ADSL
(i'm not asking for much, really..)
After using my GAteway Solo for 5 years, i believe its almost time for its retirement. Its still in good working condition, although it looks sorry. The peripherals are also almost gone. Just like when someone ages, its your peripherals which usually goes first. Your hearing is diminished, your sight, maybe your taste, your senses are dulled. But your heart may still work fine, your internals are ok... just like my Solo. Used with an external keyboard, probably need an external screen soon... its 'core' is still going ok.
Samsung E530
Its a pretty phone. It has a camera. I want a camera phone! Although i have no complains about my current phone.
Camera
A new digital camera! Have yet to decide on which one i should be wishing for.
External Hard disk
Actually, this should be the 1st on the list, since its the most feasible one. Should get an external HD to back up my stuff just in case Solo gives up.
Yes, we live in a material world. Gone are the days when girls want chocolates and flowers. ST came up with an article on what girls wantmost today and its mostly tech stuff.
First, I will need a job....
While I am downloading..
While downloading something, I will blog...
Have been feeling preoccupied lately. All thanks to the jigsaw. My sis bought me a jigsaw a while ago, its one of those that comes already fixed. She left it in the boot of her car... we met on Sundayfor dinner and when she passed me the jigsaw.. she went like "Oh no.." Apparently the entire jigsaw has been scrambled up. I've been trying to piece them together since last night. And since I have almost no idea what the picture is like.. it was honestly quite a challenge. And
considering that this is my first jigsaw.. 1000 pieces.. etc etc..
Its ok. So far so good. Almost done. Thank goodness it isn't the sort with gradual color changes, or lots of green and scenary.. it was acartoon.. bright happy shades.
Why do people do jigsaws? If I wasn't jobless, I don't think I will ever do them.
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My calves have been aching since Saturday. They haven't hurt like this for quite some time. I don't know if I was just feeling very tense during Sat's lessons or that i put in a lot of effort in my exercises. Pointe wasn't tiring last week... so I have totally no idea why i am
having such musle aches now. Still in a masochistic way, it does feel good -- the pain. Knowing that i actually did work out something!
____________________________
Clar is wierd. In a funny way. According to sis, Clar will sometimes just say "hello" to total strangers.
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Went for my junior's camp on Saturday. Its wierd. I feel old. And I was actually one of the oldest there!!! Time catches up, somehow, weslow down. Aw.. its relative, really.
People honestly have to stop asking me about what I am doing.
Even my 9 yr old niece asks me that. And she looks at me with such a wierd expression when I told her that I am not working. And she so innocently asked "So how do you spend your day? What do you do?" (She must be thinkg why I'm not bored to death, cos she definitely will be.
I have seen her sitting on her bed telling me "I don't have anything to do now, I really don't know what to do")
quotes quotes quotes!
"She warned women against using children as marriage insurance and competing to produce children for the man as this way they
lose flavour, shape and age fast forcing the man to get young ones."
"98% of women in Djibouti undergo female genital mutilation, despite the fact that the practice has been outlawed since 1994 ... The operation, which is
performed on girls as young as one week old, involves cutting away the inner labia and clitoris ... As a result of this operation, women suffer infections, continuous pain and difficulty in passing urine and blood..."
"As oil becomes scarce, uranium will have more pressure as a resource. By 2020, there will be a uranium shortage and that's assuming that uranium deposits can be doubled in the coming decade."
Global demand for water has tripled since the 1950s, but the supply of fresh drinking water has been declining because of over-pumping and contamination
http://www.overpopulation.org/
On Population & Reproduction...
I use to debate quite a bit with WS about why do people have kids. He feels that the world is over populated. There is only so much earth can support. And that we have already hit pass the 6 billion mark, its time we do something about it.
However, with an aging population and shrinking birth rates, we can see where this will lead to in the long run. Already, some of the developed countries are being to feel the strain. My German friend was just telling me about this last year when I visited.
Then again, we can't just simply let the human population explode. Think about the article I read on World Watch -- that we will soon run out of grains to feed ourselves, think of how we are constantly polluting our environment, just think of how bleak the future earth can be, do u seriously want to leave progenies behind? Not that I really care.
On population, in a micro-view way, Singapore's population growth has hit an all time low till the government decided to implement baby-bonus scheme. All of a sudden, there were local dramas on having babies, there were a few documentary/talk shows on that too. Think just recently there is a chinese drama with a similar theme. What next? Singapore is not the only developed country facing these problems. Europe has been experiencing it for quite some time. And from what a friend told me, medical expense incurred during childbirth is free. Also, he gets something like paternity leave too! haha
On population and reproduction, I have read conflicting articles on these issues. The purpose of this entry is just to link
this. As usual, I ended up going on more than I planned.
On Singapore's baby bonus, it was really funny how the entire thing came about. OK it wasn't that funny, it was typical Singaporean fashion. First someone declares that our birthrate is falling. This could have deep impact on our future economy. Next, the government jumps into action (once they hear that our country's economy will be affected). The first thing they always do is to:
Form a committe to study/understand why and how we can prevent/overcome it.
Of course, the results were so laughable. I can't exactly remember what their findings were, but trust me, its something we all already know. (remember the cut-cost committee?)
Was just doing some search on my own, and hey, we have out own
baby-bonus site!
Labels: geek
On LTP
much of the present focus on LTP reflects a preconception that LTP is a learning mechanism, although the empirical evidence often suggests that LTP is unsuitable for such a role.
Nevertheless, they conclude that "most evidence firmly supports a role for LTP in learning and memory" (also see Eichenbaum & Otto 1993). This conclusion is based, in part, on a commonly echoed assertion that although no direct evidence links LTP to memory, no better mechanism has been postulated.
it cannot be said with certainty that LTP can not be induced in a particular brain region, but it is safe to say that phenomena fitting the general description of LTP occur ubiquitously throughout the nervous system.
even in tasks dependent on the hippocampus for acquisition, the structure is typically not required for later retrieval.
As operationally defined by Bliss and Lomo (1973), LTP is a persistent (hours) enhancement of an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) following brief high-frequency (tetanic) stimulation of afferent pathways
If enhanced synaptic efficacy is, in fact, the mechanism underlying memory formation (a topic that we cannot fully address here), and all forms of enhanced synaptic efficacy are deemed to be LTP, the hypothesis that LTP underlies memory formation cannot be disproved and serves no heuristic value. In the end, the term "LTP" becomes no more than a synonym for memory formation .
The point is that one should not assume that a single mechanism is shared by all; rather, the length and breadth of the list of modulators suggests that they could not impinge on a single mechanism or even a single class of mechanisms
One defining feature of LTP is its dependence on high levels of postsynaptic calcium, a common feature of most learning-induced neuronal modifications. In and of itself, a definition which includes "calcium dependence" provides little insight since a wide range of cellular functions require calcium and still more are dependent on elevations of intracellular Ca2+ above basal levels
"Hebb's Rule", closely resembles the operational definition of LTP and is frequently offered as a theoretical foundation for the presumed role of LTP in learning.
________________________________
I will elaborate more about that tomorrow. I'm too tired now. Anyway, those sentences above were lifted from a paper I was reading. Will reference it later.
Labels: geek
Stages in Life
According to the primary definition, Life Cycle is the different stages in life a living thing goes through.
So much for that. Psychologically, we go through phases too.
When I was kid, i wanted to grow up quick. Being an adult seems to be so cool. You could stay up late, you could stay out late, and you don't have to listen to anyone. I thought.
Many people always talk about the biological clock ticking. Especially in the female context. When a woman in her late 20s starts to look adoringly at a baby, we say that her biological clock is ticking and she yearns to have her own child too.
In my late teens, i was dying to do see the world. Do all the travelling, backpack to the most exotic places and pull through the worse budget hostels. I didn't exactly do that but I did do some fair bit of travelling. Is that some innate subconscious phase one goes through too? Know that in herds, males usually leave their group to find mates from other groups. they have the tendency to leave. (think i wrote about this before...)
I know guys who have this get-married-settle-down-have-kids mentality too. Is that another biological clock ticking? Another innate thing in us?
I mean 1st of all, why get married? The process of getting married is extremely tiring. Well at least here.. there is the fanciful ceremony to go through, have to choose some auspicious date, have to get the gown, the dinner, the invitations...... such a chore.
Next, why have kids? Because the government is freaking out over falling birth rates? But with prices rising, it gets increasingly more difficult to raise a kid unless you have reached a certain level of wealth. Kids are a luxury item these days.
Of course, there are those fuzzy wuzzy feelings associated with holding your baby in your arms, seeing how cute it is and all that -- trust it, its only temporary. In the old old days, having more kids was considered good. you get free labour in a way. I think now, they just leech off you. I know, cos i am one of them.
oh but guess what? our pro-baby incentives are paying off! Apparently 3% increase in birht rates this quarter!
He's not a Salesman...
There was a knock on my door.
Xenophobic mother told me that I should ignore it.
Knocking continues…
Unable to ignore it anymore, but too comfortable to reach for the door, I called out
“Who’s that?”
“Err… hello”
It was a male’s voice. The knocking persisted. I was increasingly irritated. Again, I asked,
“Who’s that?”
“Is anybody home?”
(“Duh! What a stupid thing to ask! Of course somebody is home!”)
But all I said again was
“Who’s that?”
“Err… can you open the door please?”
(My mum taught me never to open the door to strangers, so did Mr Policeman)
“No, I can’t. Who’s that?”
I was really getting pissed. Why can’t you just tell me who you are? I’ve heard “This is so-so from so-so, I would like to..” before. No, this guy just wants me to open the door.
Coupled with that persistent knocking, there was no way I was going to do that unless he tells me who he is.
After that “No, I can’t”, Mr Secretive gives up…
“Never mind, its ok.”
Shuffling feet, some rustle and he was gone.
On second thoughts, he really must not have been a salesman.
Now I wonder, what did he want?
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Can’t believe its Robocop 3 on TV today! Can’t they think of anything more decent than that?
Up next on the bitch-list, they really don’t have that many things to publicize about do they? I’ve had enough of seeing excerpts of Night Shaymalan’s “Signs” for over 2 whole weeks. I’m sick of that little girl talking about that crying scene, sick of that interview with Shaymalan going on about belief and what his staff has got to say about the very “Hitchcock” factor.
I’m so glad that August 14 has passed. I no longer have to see The making of Signs. I wonder what’s next. Oh, its back to LOST. And how its sooo great that is brought to us by our favorite Channel 5. “LOST on 5” yeah…
Also, I am so glad August 9 has passed too. I was getting really tired of all that publicity for “Stars, starting on the 9th of August, after the National Day parade”. That and “Full Circle, starting on the 9th of August, after the National Day parade”.
I usually like Arts Central. They show pretty good stuff sometimes. And the advertisement breaks are, I feel shorter. But today, I was getting just tired of it. I have seen the advertisements repeat themselves during every break. There was the Singapore film thing at The Arts House, I know that Stacy Kent will be here, I have seen enough of our Clare (what’s her surname?). Its an interesting thing to note that when the adult audience were interviewed about Clare’s performance, they never refer to her by name. 3 people were interviewed, all 3 referred to her as “The pianist… very dedicated to her craft” “She was very good” or “She has very great stamina … long opening piece” There were advertisements on the DimSum Dollies, oh that broadway thing too, there’s Stomp!, some jazz thing, and what else? That Dance by SDT. Actually, these were ok. Just that Stacy Kent is getting to me a little bit more. But really, at the rate that I am eating all these advertisements, I might just “Call sistic now to book tickets”!!
I’m going to catch ER now. ER is a decent show which Channel 5 chooses to air at an indecent hour of 2am.
By now, you would have guessed that I spend way too much time on TV. I wish I have Cable tv, but then again, I really won’t get a life if I do. I mean, one huge motivating factor for going out, is just that TV can really suck big time!
How I spend today...
I woke up at a pretty decent hour today, well theoretically of course.
At about 1030, I opened my eyes and realised that it was another day.
But somehow, my limbs won't move. Intuitively, i
know that getting out of bed is going to require much more effort, thus tiring me out, and therefore, I should just remain in bed.
Its not my fault really. Blame it on those pink tablets i took before bedtime last night. Its the kind of medicine that cures your flu but leaves you totally helpless the next morning.
It took a lot of will power to finally roll out of bed much later. I won't say how late.
Had my breakfast -- Ritz Apple strudel with earl grey. About the strudel. I use to tell WS that I would, if i could, finish the entire full size log of strudel myself. So yesterday, unbeknownst to me, he bought just that! I mean, if I was 5 years younger, I guess i could. But now, with age my appetite has somehow gone down, and i could only eat half of it (which is still quite a lot.. about 3 slices) The the remainder was for today's breakfast.
Gone were the days when I could go on eating without a break. There were those Saturdays, after Judo training, where we will head off to some place for food. That would be around 4pm. We usually eat till about 6pm, amidst conversation and laughter... then i will head home, shower and have dinner at around 7pm. I will even finish up ALL the leftovers! My granny simply piles them up in my plate. With all that food intake, i was still a petit, underweight girl! No kidding.
Geez.. I wanted to talk about how i've been spending my afternoon...
OK back to that, I was searching on Google for neuroscience and LTP and I trust me, usually when u are looking for something, you end up finding other useful things instead of that something.
I found
this which was like some online groups thing especially for people who reads papers. You could bookmark the stuff u read, it will wind up in your library, you could create groups and share articles you've read... labs could use it, course group too... and you could search for articles/tags put up by others.
Then I found a blog by
Ryohei.. entitled neuroscience notes.. haha.. that was in a way interesting. I mean why blog stuff like that? But on retrospect, it does help lay out thuoghts you have, things you could have been musing about. That would have helped me digest stuff i learned too. Then again, where would I find the time for that during my 4th year?
My mum just gave me something called "Cookies & M&Ms" bar yesterday. Its a "Crunchy cookie bar with M&Ms Chocolate Candies topping". Looks abit that those bars I saw on The Apprentice, the episode when Ivana took off her skirt except that this is a cookie bar embedded with M&Ms. Its overwhelmingly sweet, not something I can eat a lot of although I am sure kids will love it.
About graduate programme.. there are so many freaking universities in the world. I am sure I can get into at least one.
Childhood
I just found some really old pictures which I had scanned into my brother's PC -- I probably did this many years ago.
All kids are cute. Seriously, if u think about it, it makes sense. Because if kids aren't cute, we would have killed alot of them out of frustration! There goes the end of the
homo Sapiens.
Once read a very interesting book on beauty. Survival of the Prettiest -- i think thats what its called. The role of beauty in society, what constitutes beauty, what is cute, what appeals to us, and why "cuteness" appeal more to females than males.
According to my sister, I had this thing for the phone when i was a kid. I will spend a long time, having make-believe conversations on the phone, even when I can't talk. As in, I spoke gibberish. That caused plenty of incovenience for my folks especially when they were expecting phone calls.
Apparently, I loved to dance too. I will bob about and look really happy after that. This picture was taken just after one of those session. I remember having one of me 'dancing' (trying to) but don't know where it is now...
I honestly think that I look nothing like that now. My friends usually wonder out loud "What happened to you?" Yeah.. tell me about it. Years of living on this polluted planet, eating junk food, spending your early twenties dependent on caffeine... yeah, things happen. Sadly
Although, my cousin, who I haven't seen for over 18years till recently, tells me that I still have the same smile! Well thats something which no one can falsify anyway. Whatever.
Perhentian
Hey! I did make it to Perhentian!!
It was totally unexpected how we ended up going..
Initially we had 8 people who were supposed to go and as the date drew closer, we were left with only 2 and therefore cancelled. I got a kind of depressed for a while.
Over lunch one day, sitting next to this colleague who I barely know. Wanted to strike a conversation. One of those stupid questions I ask…
“Can you swim?”
“Yes”
“Do you scuba dive?”
“Yes”
“Wanna go Perhentian?”
He did.
After some phone calls and arrangement, we were set to go. 4 of us.
It turned out to be a really interesting trip. We witnessed the wonderful marine life, the great dives, professional instructors… I was very happy with the turtles we saw. Think I sighted turtles once last year but the visibility was low and we couldn’t make out much other than the outline.
Oh it was 2 whole days of sun, sand and sea. I loved my new bikini too! Hahaha!!
(And another 2 nights of traveling, but the coach we had was excellent)
I have a friend, who has been scuba diving since a rather young age… she tells me that she loves the boat ride more than the diving. And at times, when we are on the boat, making our way to the dive site, I can totally understand what she means. It was a little boat we had, rather bumpy, but with the wind and the occasional sea spray, there is this sense of peace that pervades you. Absolutely no cares, not concerns, just being happy for that moment, you feel suspended in time while in the middle of some big sea with only blue all around you.
This is the first time my dives did not require me to use the giant leap for entry. I really hate doing that leap thing cos its tiring to make your way to the back of the boat, fully geared up… and since those boats tend to be bigger, more divers, we usually have to wait too. Having to wait with a tank on your back, or just trudging with that tank to leap off, is like super tiring. Its like, before we actually start the dive, I am tired. Ok, I’m pathetic. Anyway, let me extol the virtues of a back-roll. The most tiring part of it is simply to shift your ass to the edge of the boat. You don’t even need to stand! To enter the water, just lean back and fall over! Since your tank is already that heavy, rolling back is not an issue at all.
Trigger fish! There were countless of them at Perhentian. And they look so pretty you will never think there could in any way be menacing! I have often heard about how vicious trigger fishes can be, but seriously, during one dive, I was so beguiled by the nice patterns on its body (Titan trigger) that I failed to recognize it as a trigger! It was quite exciting to realize that something was wrong when the fish charges at you, and despite its beauty, you immediately sense that something isn’t right. And then you look around and everyone is behind you and your instructor is poised with a dive knife in his hand!
Don’t think I ever turned around that quickly before, but I fled. Later Pete was like “What the fuck were you doing??” Sheepish grin.. oh I really didn’t see that, nor your hand signal for ‘danger’. Sighs… sometimes, its little encounters like this which makes your dive more memorable. Though I seriously don’t want something to be memorable at the cost of chunk of flesh taken out of me. ow can anyone not stare at these fishes in fascination? (ok when I get the image from Melvin, I'll upload it)
I am a lazy diver. I hate currents unless it’s a drift dive. Most of the time, I let the current carry me along. There were some dives with currents so it got kind of tiring. Its frustrating when you seem to be fining so much but yet not move! Argh, anyway wreck dive was rather challenging too, well not that bad really, just hated the descend. Anyway, I just let the current sweep me towards the wreck, too close to the urchins and such before I attempt to fin away… I was probably moving in some bizarre zigzag pattern. Pity, no penetration. Thought there would be, cos the dive briefing was like “you have to really maintain your buoyancy well, try not fin up the sand…” bla blab
Its been quite a while since I had such a great dive trip. The last time I was so happy with my dive trip was 3 years ago.. or was it 4, at Tioman where I did my open water.
Labels: travels
When you have nothing to do, you..
Just met up with some friends last week. We started having a discussion of things you could do when unemployed.
There were 4 of us. One just came back from a long trip travelling from err... thailand(?) through China to Mongolia. The other just got the sack not long ago. I just came back from Perhentian with sunburned back and in my opinion, a healthy tan. The 4th friend, is currently employed and thus was being sympathetic...
Some of the things we do...
"I wake up at 11am cos my mum is nagging at me to take my breakfast(!!), after which I sit in front of the TV... nothing interesting, I go back to bed at 1pm. Wake at 6pm, have my dinner, and do that TV thing again."
"Oh you know, you reach a point when you watch your computer defrag! Its interesting to note that the blue tends to go this way.. and the ......"
"Hey!! I do that too!! Just the other day I found myself staring..."
"I stared at my comp for about 3hrs"
"What??? I did only 15mins and my friend made me step away from the computer..."
"I wake up and turn on my computer, read a whole lot of blogs"
"Have you been reading?"
"Not really, my attention span does not last beyond a page, I read comics these days"
"Cartoons are the best thing to watch. They last only 30mins, so its not too tiring"
"I have friends who reach a point where they can't sit thru any films."
"I can spend the entire day just channel surfing"
"I can sit through the crappiest thing they show on TV, and not bother to reach for the remote control just in front of me"
"I just watch anything on TV. Its amazing how I do it, but i just sit and stare. It feels therapeutic after some time"
I sleep so much these days. Its really nice in a way. After all those sleepless nights during undergraduate days of slogging in labs and rushing our assignments, where getting 5hrs of sleep is a luxury... I deserve my 15hr sleep per day now. My complexion has greatly improved ever since too! No stress, no highly strung nerves from caffeine overdose..
Bf just bought me the Greenday album. This is my first Greenday album, and i like it!!
I don't think I am in any way capable of blogging coherently. Just string of thoughts.
Damn! I suddenly feel like taking a trip to Italy again. When you are there, sometimes it seems like one of the dirtiest places in Europe. Shady place, shady people. But when you are not there, you just miss it so much. Cheap coffee, oh cheap and good coffee... the rolling Italian language..
Damn it! I miss California too...
