Fragile things

After a long wait, its finally in Singapore.
I want to savour every word written. Slowly. In small sips. Lingering and pausing, relishing every letter.

Just to share a small segment of it (hope Mr Gaiman won't mind).

... Stories, like people and butterflies and songbird eggs... are also fragile things, made up of nothing stronger or more lasting than twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks. Or they are words in the air, composed of sounds and ideas - abstract, invisible, gone once they've been spoken and what could be more frail than that? But some stories, small simple ones about setting out on adventures or people doing wonders, tales of miracles and monsters, have outlasted all the people who told them, and some of them have outlasted the lands in which they were created...

Completion

Had to take another cup of coffee prior to first block. But then things got better.
The day floated by with on very good lesson on GM food. Could feel everyone intent on finding out more, asking questions and considering all points of view of this sticky issue. Well hope to do a good round up tomorrow. If only every lesson is like this.

Then was the last minute frantic correction of the manuscript. Was so caught up in it that I actually heard the wrong bell and barged into the dance studio wondering where the team was. But managed to correct the last verse and also settle all other changes before the meeting though by then my mind is only 30% working. Of course had fun scaring the team during the vaccinations.

I now have inactivated typhoid, influenze and hep A swimming around in my blood. Both arms are sore. That means I might not be joining the interhouse closing activities.

Had a good walk in Orchard helping with the Horticulture options. Hmm shall try to have more classes like this.

Need more sleep. But then still some more stuff to clear. Maybe Sunday. After the guiding session at Lower Pierce this Sat. Hope to see the banded leaf monkey.

Now that will be great.

Completion

Had to take another cup of coffee prior to first block. But then things got better.
The day floated by with on very good lesson on GM food. Could feel everyone intent on finding out more, asking questions and considering all points of view of this sticky issue. Well hope to do a good round up tomorrow. If only every lesson is like this.

Then was the last minute frantic correction of the manuscript. Was so caught up in it that I actually heard the wrong bell and barged into the dance studio wondering where the team was. But managed to correct the last verse and also settle all other changes before the meeting though by then my mind is only 30% working. Of course had fun scaring the team during the vaccinations.

I now have inactivated typhoid, influenze and hep A swimming around in my blood. Both arms are sore. That means I might not be joining the interhouse closing activities.

Had a good walk in Orchard helping with the Horticulture options. Hmm shall try to have more classes like this.

Need more sleep. But then still some more stuff to clear. Maybe Sunday. After the guiding session at Lower Pierce this Sat. Hope to see the banded leaf monkey.

Now that will be great.

Doing for others

Got this quote off a show. By the author Albert Pines.

What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal

Wrong file

Spent the last 2 hours correcting my thesis on a wrong file. I need sleep seriously.

Monday

Today was exhausting. But the last 4 hours was worth it. Got interviewed by the people upstairs today too. One question is, what do you see yourself in a few years time?

I have no idea. This year is intense enough.

Thesis correction and submission due next Monday. Probably will hide in NUS to correct it tomorrow. Hope I have enough time.

Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

What am I doing in school on a Saturday? Hmm just don't ask.

Had a good time in the mangroves yesterday. 2 of the Avicennia seedlings planted by us 2 weeks ago germinated. They are now about 5cm tall and happily waving their cotyledons. It was fun truding about in the mud again. Shall consider taking a pay cut and just go work in the mangroves. Life will be much simpler then. Just let me hold this thought for a moment.

Have been reading "Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". An autobiography of one of my favorite author written by another of my favorite author. What more can one ask for?


There is a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game. Said to the fiedishly difficult to solve. Which is now available online. Took a look and wow. Old school stuff. Just a text interface where you type in commands and check your progress through responses by the computer. Brings back memories of hours of fun playing through DOS based games. Shall give this a try... after I clear my other stuff at hand first.

Leaf poem

l(a

le
af
fa
ll

s)
one
l

iness

By E E Cummings.

The Coup

A coup happened in Thailand. Not a single shot was fired. The king since then has endorsed this move by General Sonthi. All in a space of 24 hours. When the report came in this morning, was on the bus enroute to school. Then I realised dad is there. So had to pass the day with the gnawing anxiety chewing inside and had to be present enough to carry out meetings and lessons as per normal. How can one manage it is really a mystery.

Was glued to my macbook the whole time. Checking for updates to the situation. Could only find generic ones as I was very happy when otterman gave a summary of the situation and provided links with better updates. Such as 19sep.

Amazing how blogging has changed the way news spread.

Well still need to work tomorrow. Will see how things goes.

Snake hunting

Went to help out with snake sampling Thursday night. Signed up with the project at the beginning of the year but kept putting it off due to various committments. Until this email came down stating in plain terms that yes the permit was applied and when am I going to show up?
So I decided, against every protest coming from every inch of my sleep deprived body, to go down no matter what.

So I did. After an ardous day where I have only half an hour break, witnessing my first mental blank out in one of my favorite classes (they were kind enough not to chew me up) and changing into mangrove wear, grabbing an early lunch and rushing off to the reserve to meet up with the rest of the group.

Realised that I am sometimes quite a linear person. There is this track of thought which I move along in class, hard to adjust to any jumps in the thought process. Shall blame it to lack of sleep for the moment.

So I nodded off while talking to my friend lunchtime, nodded off on the train while standing and nodded off while waiting for the rest at Kranji station.

We started walking down to the sampling site at nightfall, with the sky overcast due to an earlier shower, all was wet and cold. Yet as I walked, I find myself getting more alert. The smells of the plants of mangrove and the act of shining my torch into the vegetation to look for interesting animals seemed to waken another self. A person not so long ago, trudging in mud, forest, senses awake, just being present in the moment.

Arrived at the hut after 20 minutes of walking and collecting a mass of cobwebs on the face. Went down the mud and after a short while, found the first snake, Cerberus rynchops, laying in a small puddle amidst the mud. Then the world became very simple, just youself, the beam from your headlamp illuminating the area in front and your senses looking for the next snake. Before long caught 12 of them, fewest catch in the group (we totalled 60 snakes amongst the 4 of us).But the experience was really good.

Miss this kind of activity alot. Where things are so much simpler. Well shall savor them when I have the chance.


What happens to all my posts here I wonder. I have about 200 plus of them now. Anyone knows how to retrieve and do a backup from blogger?

World Press Photo 06

World Press Photo. The oscar of photography.

Exhibition details:

8 - 28 September 10am - 9pm daily
National Library
Level 7 & 8 The Promenade
ADMISSION: FREE


Will go down one of the afternoons to admire the photos.

An inconvenient truth

A film all should watch.

Dissertation

Got back my dissertation corrections and was pleasantly surprised that my examiners had been kind and had favorable comments for my work.

So the past year of trying to sneak in every free moment to complete the report, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night just sweating over the possibility of not being able to meet deadlines has been worth it. Could still remember the many times where you just feel like throwing in the towel and get on with life. Well as I used to jokingly tell my friends,'Good things come to those who wait'.

Well can't see if it is really worth it. But then grateful for the experience and thankful for the patience many have shown in allowing me time and space to complete it. Ironically I long for this time and space now.

Oh well, another chapter soon completed. Time to move on. Things will get interesting again soon.

Predation and extinction

The day went relatively well. Though still groggy from 3 hours of sleep only but you somehow pick yourself up when you enter the class.

Lessons went well today. Various energy levels in each class but on the whole we moved along fairly well. Ecology is a pet subject, so I was not worried about lack of examples on a good day.

Of course your day is made with questions like this, "If you were an ecologist, and you know that is species is going to be extinct due to natural predation, would you take steps to save it?"

Truth to be said, I do not have a direct answer. This is an age long debate on whether how much meddling with nature is tolerated. Since it is a natural process, should we sit by and watch the extinction of a species?

But if you probe deeper, you will ask yourself, why is there an excess of predators to prey in the first place? What happened to upset this balance? Is it a natural cause or a man-made cause?

So this question may require at least 10 minutes of discussion. And can be answered at various levels, addressing proximal and ultimate causative factors.

I love lessons like this.

Term 4 Week 1

The day went relatively well. Though still groggy from 3 hours of sleep only but you somehow pick yourself up when you enter the class.

Lessons went well today. Various energy levels in each class but on the whole we moved along fairly well. Ecology is a pet subject, so I was not worried about lack of examples on a good day.

Of course your day is made with questions like this, "If you were an ecologist, and you know that is species is going to be extinct due to natural predation, would you take steps to save it?"

Truth to be said, I do not have a direct answer. This is an age long debate on whether how much meddling with nature is tolerated. Since it is a natural process, should we sit by and watch the extinction of a species?

But if you probe deeper, you will ask yourself, why is there an excess of predators to prey in the first place? What happened to upset this balance? Is it a natural cause or a man-made cause?

So this question may require at least 10 minutes of discussion. And can be answered at various levels, addressing proximal and ultimate causative factors.

I love lessons like this.

Back for the last lap

Back and now 10 more weeks.
Its sometimes scary to think that your life is compartmentalized into 10 week blocks.
This will be a interesting one. OSL is coming around the corner. Time to shift gears up another notch.
Missed ICCS this time round, but I think otterman et al did a splendid job. Well next time then.

A Million Pieces

Another good recommendation from the dear neighbour.

Newsboys \ Million Pieces

They all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissing your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A tickertape parade high
And now you're free to fly

Carryin' a millstone malaise
It's been pulling down your gaze
You pound the pavement
It don't give or care
This weight ain't yours to bear

Why you holdin' grudges in old jars?
Why you wanna show off all your scars?
What's it gonna take to lay a few burdens down?
It's a beautiful sound

When they all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissing your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A ticker tape parade high
And now you're free to fly

When that muffled sigh
Says you're barely getting by
Cut your burdens loose and just simplify
Simplify

This is not your floor
You're going higher than before
Drop the weight now
Wait for the lookout guide
Look outside

As they all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissing your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A ticker tape parade high
Now you're free to fly

You've gotta lay that burden down
You're gonna lay that burden down
It's time to leave your burdens in a pyre
Set a bonfire

'Cause when you lay your burdens down
When you lay your burdens down
When you drop them burdens
What a free-fall
What a thrill
Bury them all
In a landfill

A pleasant meal

Its interesting how so many of us went into education after taking Biology. For some, it means a switch from moving in the field, collecting specimens, making sense of data to moving into the classroom, trying to keep abreast of things and thinking of ways to maintain interest of students

So it was really a good session when we managed to get together, talk about work, about old times and find out how each is doing. Was in a semi concussed state after attending camp from Monday but found that as the discussion went along, all of us forgot our fatigue and just went on and on.

Time flies when we are having a good time. So we left, each back to our own schools, own reality.

Lets hope for another meetup soon.

To Steve Irwin

Here's to a passionate naturalist. Really a pity to see someone go like this.

Report from Chicago Times.

Obituary: Steve Irwin

Australia mourns 'colourful son'

Thank you

Got this in the email today. Heh a pleasant surprise. Thanks.

1st September

Actually slept for most of the day. Which I was really grateful for. Last week was so draining at times that it hurts. So it felt really good to just sleep the day in. Something which I had not done for a long time.

Went out for a while later in the day and found the paperpack version of Terry Pratchett's 'Thud'. Was waiting for the book for a year.

So good things come to those who wait.

That makes my reading list even longer but I get the feeling I might just finish Pratchett first before I leave for Phuket. That will mean "Zen and the art of motorcyle maintenance" over there.

Shall treasure this while it last.