Grey Thoughts, Blue Memories

2006-07-20T15:04:00.000+08:00

Grey Thoughts, Blue Memories v 2.0 Well, time to wave a wand and do a specialis revelio - I've finally replaced this old, old, old blog template of mine, but at a totally different URL. I'm not going to ship anything anywhere, for this blog had precious memories and I want it to stay the way it always had been. A catalog of preferences over the years, if you like.That being said, then again I *

2006-07-16T23:02:00.000+08:00

Ah, loads of fun today. And some not-so-fun things, such as #1:Headline #1 - Neighbours Turned On By Vegetable PenisThe usual story. Sunday morning is PERSONAL TIME. The only time in the week when I can really do my own plants some justice, and these irritating prats had to come round talking to me again! This time, it was worse - I was 6 ladder rungs off the ground (It's a fucking big deal to me

2006-07-15T20:26:00.000+08:00

Was at Millenia Institute from 12 till 6pm today. There I was, thinking (and dreading it, mind) that I had to interact with a bunch of kids. Woo hoo! Turned out I was needed to man the sound system and lighting, so yay! Pics coming soon.Spent the evening with both my club members and those from Lindy Hop ensemble, so nice of LHE to treat us to dinner! But hmmm .. in the process, they managed to

2006-07-15T09:41:00.000+08:00

Last night's post was odd. I'm feeling better now (must be the weekend, that's why), and did a little bit of plant propagation this morning. I've ended myself up with a frightful number of flytraps!

2006-07-14T23:19:00.000+08:00

After reading a couple of friends' blogs - I guess I'm not the only cranky one right now. This week had been stormy.Reflections.Self-doubt.Self-reasoning.Resolutions.Escapism.Maladaptation.Hope everyone else is alright by now. We each have our own little troubles - and perhaps some not-so-little ones. Let's just be kind to each other. We, the poor souls who have suffered injustice, self-inflicted

2006-07-11T13:07:00.000+08:00

Diet Day 1Don't ask. I've explained before.Had a really great post-lunch gossip with my ex-groupies yesterday, makes it a hundred times worse when I remember being stuck in this new group. Ended up flipping through Sadock & Sadock's monstrousity of a psychiatric textbook, and I think I've hit the root of the problem.Adjustment disorder.I honestly don't need this shit in my final year. Dean's

2006-07-10T23:50:00.000+08:00

Made chili con carne tonight on a whim, was cooking up something nice for the little boy (livers and luncheon meat in butter - he became a little skinner since I left.) It was OOOOOH. Hahahaha. Quite a surprise actually, given how my last made-up recipe for cajun sauce ended up in disaster. It's probably a 9 out of 10 for this one - 0.5 off for not having rice to go with it right now, and another

2006-07-09T23:01:00.000+08:00

Just did a tiny bit of cooking today, in place of the originally-planned skating since the weather was so nasty. Going to try a dessert sometime this week, I'm thinking of Crème brûlée but I'll need to get hold of a hand-held torch - no nasty broiling for me! Also vaguely thinking of doing up a chili con carne, just to use up the ground beef I've got sitting in the freezer. It's either that or

2006-07-08T14:48:00.000+08:00

Argh, stupidity!I decided to work on my skates today, it hasn't been decently-cleaned for months, and thoroughly-cleaned since I bought it more than a year ago. Well, YX and I both decided to pamper our skates (ourselves, more like) and bought 16 titanium bearings each, and I got a new set of wheels to boot! Blue wheels look really good on mine, haha. Anyway, I got all my old Salomon wheels and

2006-07-06T23:28:00.000+08:00

DSM-IV Criteria for Major Depressive Episode - again.(1) depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day (2) markedly diminished interest or pleasure nearly every day(3) significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. (4) insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day (5) psychomotor

Tillandsia bulbosa

2006-07-06T00:30:00.000+08:00

HPIM0985 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. Hanging upside down ..

Tillandsia streptophylla

2006-07-06T00:29:00.000+08:00

HPIM0981 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. "Mom's Hair Plant" - as yx pointed out that my mom's perms are exactly like these leaves

S. x umlauftiana

2006-07-06T00:28:00.000+08:00

HPIM0963 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. Pitcher of S. x umlauftiana

Sarracenia flower bud

2006-07-06T00:27:00.001+08:00

HPIM0964 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. Spring is here?!? Emerging flower bud of Sarracenia x umlauftiana

Gourds

2006-07-06T00:27:00.000+08:00

HPIM0988 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. My parents' precious gourd. Just sprayed Provado on them tonight, and praying that the plant doesn't die. I'll be skinned alive if anything happens to it.

Future cactus corner

2006-07-06T00:25:00.001+08:00

HPIM0980 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP.

Pretty!

2006-07-06T00:25:00.000+08:00

HPIM0977 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. The new vine I bought. The flowers look like Ipomea (morning glories), but are much smaller and of a different genus.

Polyacrylamide gel

2006-07-06T00:24:00.000+08:00

HPIM0961 (Large) Originally uploaded by Ryan CP. Using these between my pots right now to prevent the horrid mosquitoes from laying eggs. Still under review right now, I have a feeling this breaks down in sunlight to form a sticky mess.

2006-07-04T23:49:00.000+08:00

OMG. Just ended a really tiring day. 8-3.30 of clinics, then lecture till 5. To top it all, I was really toxic today. Might have been a viral gastritis or bacteraemia originating from the sore tooth (which thankfully stopped). So yeah .. myalgia, LOA, arthralgia, malaise, fever, chills. Still having it right now, and went home to wrap myself up in blankets. (I KNOW. I'm not supposed to do that

2006-07-04T06:42:00.000+08:00

Yikes, a visit to the dentist is in order. Had an ache at the last tooth of the right side of the upper jaw, and it bled when I brushed it last night. I'm trying to put this off though - an extraction is inevitable, as is the barrage of ridiculous questions that dentists love to ask.Going to embark on the cactus corner sometime this weekend, shall take before and after photos and do it as a log!

2006-07-02T23:10:00.000+08:00

Back againAh, following the prime example set by Dopey, I shall tread once more the path of the insane blogger. It's actually more of pure laziness that's keeping this blog unattended to for the last couple of weeks - that, and TONNES of back-logged stuff waiting to be settled (and mostly settled, thankfully!!)1) Update D/O on electives2) Elective report (still to be done)3) Photo albums - and

2006-06-20T00:10:00.000+08:00

Right, ready to start blabbering about the trip. I'm not putting these up in the Scotland blog, since someone (*cough* Dopey!! *cough*) apparently missed my tiny announcement that I'm starting on a new blog.DAY 1Checked into Euro Hostel in the morning before taking a coach to receive them at the airport. Took the city tour bus to go round most of Glasgow's touristy areas - both the Old Town and

2006-06-19T02:50:00.000+08:00

Back Home!Still trying to sort through some 4 gigs of photos taken over the last 5 weeks, but here are just a couple taken in Scotland that I've managed to sift through tonight. Body's still running on GMT, so I'm quite up and about right now. Had a really fun time with Brownie, he's now mortally paranoid that I'll run off again. =Going to try getting to bed soon, more photos coming up.

Ben Nevis

2006-06-19T02:45:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } HPIM0744, originally uploaded by Hongyee.Britain's tallest mountain as seen at the village of Corpach, just a little off Fort William. I was standing off the last lock of Neptune's Staircase while taking this picture, which is a

ilean donan castle

2006-06-19T02:43:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Eilean donan, originally uploaded by Hongyee.Eilean Donan Castle sitting on Loch Long, another saltwater loch. The little bits of gross-looking stuff on the water are seaweed. In the far, far, far background are some of the

2006-06-03T06:04:00.000+08:00

You Are CyclopsDedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause.You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them.Power: force beams from your eyesWhich of the X-Men Are You?Right, thanks to Dopey's links ... she must be really bored to come up with all this stuff. Hah .. I like Cyclops the best in the movie anyway, but the quiz is still

2006-05-11T11:36:00.000+08:00

A new start My new blog for the Scotland trip

2006-05-07T01:53:00.000+08:00

The results! It was most satisfactory, if I may say so! (Has the "persistently political blogging" ban been lifted yet?) Now don't get me wrong here. I'm sure the more discerning would have seen past the mere wins and losses - just look at the popularity trends and at the brags of astounding wins (and failing miserably in fulfilling them). What a kick in the head. And the last 9 days most

2006-05-06T08:53:00.000+08:00

Where's everything?! Frantic packing, hah. Although I do have a few more days left, but I *know* I'm going to start rushing at the end. Forget this, forget that. Forget plane ticket, forget passport, forget socks. That kind of thing. And loads of domestic affairs to settle too (pets and plants). Now, about the bowling. It's been like .. 6 years at least since I last tried? So, I told M. that I'm

2006-05-06T01:33:00.000+08:00

Oh, the horror! Just spent 5 very alarming hours together with yx's prof, M. Which included 2 hours of bowling and 3 hours at dinner, with plenty of small talk regarding the evils of LASIK and the inadequacies of medical education here (M's an MBBS as well). But more on the frightful bowling later. So, horror #1. Managed to find campus accommodation today, called the hall up. Wolfson hall,

2006-05-04T05:56:00.000+08:00

Angeli nel blu Sleep dysfunction again. Complete with what feels like a C3-4 cervical radiculopathy and L4-5 PID - PERFECT.Anyway, pics of the little bubble tips!First pic, I really can't count how many anemones there are now. The brown waving tentacles near the middle are the torch corals (Euphillia ancora) and a large blue-tipped sand anemone sitting on the sand, on the left. The white fish

2006-05-03T13:43:00.000+08:00

The divorce of love and lust Ignore the title, it's just something that popped into my mind. Watched The Family Stone in VCD yesterday, it was a bad disappointment. The problems with the show:Too many good ideas, but lacking a central theme;Too many (potentially) interesting characters, but lacking development; Abrupt, patched-together kind of ending; and (worst of all) a very bad soundtrack

2006-05-02T07:23:00.000+08:00

Gross reports Hmm .. my writeup is turning out to be frightfully long. Somehow, I don't think that's what the prof had in mind. But how would I know? It's so vague. Took pics of the tank, shall post them when I have the time. Now to type one last email, just to get it off my back. And choices - B&B with shared bathroom, but excellent breakfast. B&B with amazing en-suite room, but average

2006-05-01T06:56:00.001+08:00

Paging for weekend Enough about the weekend that mysteriously fleeted past. Still have the final touches of elective project to finish up by today, return the silly VCD, skate in the morning, and perhaps making a trip to somewhere, that I had been procrastinating for 2 weeks but really need to get done. On seconds thoughts, I think I'll go next weekend instead. Please forgive me. Rapidly going

2006-05-01T06:56:00.000+08:00

2006-04-29T06:30:00.000+08:00

Arch of the Heavens Song keeps ringing in my head. Shame, I lost the original registration disk for this piece; setting my own voices for it was good, but nonetheless I still miss the tastefully-placed cymbals and fade effects that the original author used. Better yet, the book is out of print. Woke early cause of a timing clash. Supposed to meet someone at 10.30am, yet forgot about going to

2006-04-28T02:03:00.000+08:00

Buzzing in the head Right. Bed at 2? Been busy together with yx finalising the trip's details, and even then it's not done. Got my place at castle, shall have to be so mean and tell B&B I'm not going (going to spin a tall tale of some sort, don't want them to feel hurt that I'm staying somewhere else. If I had 2 days to spare I would DEFINITELY stay there, lovely folks.) Now feeling slightly

2006-04-27T07:10:00.000+08:00

Discombobulation Oh cripes, made a really horrid mistake! Just realised that Tulloch Castle is in Inverness, not Stirling - OMG, how could I have been so idiotic? What's more, I've already arranged with a B&B in Inverness yesterday, and the lady was SO friendly and welcoming. No deposit needed since they can't take credit, and said they'll be happy to reserve the room on my word. Any

2006-04-26T23:15:00.000+08:00

The Glasses, Part III Got my glasses today! Hmmm. Oh fack it, it just didn't turn out as good as I hoped, but at least it isn't hideous. Looks pretty cool actually, once I get over the shock of wearing something slightly younger. The bloody lenses were THICK though, really THICK. Got irritated by people once more, but that's their problem. HA. I'm hoping to get some lovely plants during the trip

2006-04-26T18:53:00.000+08:00

Memories Somehow I was lying in bed this evening, when all of a sudden I recalled a certain day, some 8 years ago. The first ever major loss in my life, and one which after all these years, I still know I haven't done enough to prevent. And it rapidly got bad. I kept that episode in my only surviving diary, and read it. Don't ever read diaries - not even your own.

2006-04-25T23:22:00.000+08:00

Coffee in the night Just a little treat made by yx, been feeling generally moody these few days. Dreading going to school and having to take the place of the silly HO during the ward rounds. It's just murder, every single day. Some are just worse than others. Doesn't help that our peace will now be disrupted by an addition to our duo, i.e. less flexibility and more accountability. To top it all

2006-04-24T00:14:00.000+08:00

Almost there, and some things had to go Firstly, I'm probably out of the running for writing the essay this week. It's just so hopeless. So hopeless. I simply can't finish it up, and the weekend just flashed past in a second. Brownie had an awful time last evening and today, with quite a severe diarrhoea. No idea what may have caused it; might have been the nasty sprays I used in the garden (

2006-04-21T07:07:00.000+08:00

Oh no no no .. I look like a complete prat right now. Huge eyebags, periorbital oedema and partial ptosis. This comes from trying to read Kumar & Clarke last night and waking early today to finish it up, and there're 2 essays to complete too. I am so f*cked. Praying that today will be a little nicer than yesterday. 2 cases to present. Castle, or no castle - that is the question. No castle = £60

2006-04-21T00:01:00.000+08:00

Having one of those irritable moods today. Sudden dispair, and thinking about places. Where patients do as they are told, where there are no phoney made-up political titles, where people are not told that they owe a debt to the country (I pay my goddamn fucking taxes and tuition, thank you very much! And people with XX chromosomes don't, just because they produce children? What, have we turned

2006-04-19T23:54:00.000+08:00

Hee, just had a set of T5s delivered as a present for myself! OK, actually I want it, but making it a present takes off some of the squeeze. These are 6500K lamps, and will be tentatively installed in my room as a plant-shipment holder. I get my plants sent back, someone unpacks at home and puts under the lights, with a soil-less medium that I experimented with a few months ago. I'll pot them up

2006-04-19T00:01:00.000+08:00

I need psychiatric referral.

2006-04-18T07:03:00.000+08:00

Gasp!! An affordable sulphur denitrator at last!! OMG. Reef Depot is selling units of Deltec's NF-509 denitrators, and it really is going at half the price I expected! Gasp!! Oh dear. Oh dear. I need the $. Totally dared not measure the NO3 levels in the tank, the water's been running entirely off no changes, no additives and minimal skimming for the last 2 months during the exams. Definitely

2006-04-18T06:56:00.000+08:00

Why you should never throw away a dead coral - remember the dear piece of Dendrophyllia which won me the photo competition? And how it got stung to death by the neighbouring rose bubble tip anemone? I left the skeleton in an area behind the rocks, and it actually regenerated! Now there are some 7 babies growing out from the skeleton. Gave they were surviving really well without me noticing, and

2006-04-17T23:31:00.000+08:00

The GlassesAs continued from the grousing about my broken glasses ... Yx managed to get my ass down to get a new pair made, and it was such a totally caustic experience. I went to a different branch, since my favourite optician wasn't working at the usual one anymore and this particular branch made a most marvellous impression the last time (involving a very sloppy person running out of contact

2006-04-13T07:17:00.000+08:00

This is really bad. Slept at 3am, woke at 6am. And ward rounds today.I actually went to bed at 12 or so, which is respectable. However, had a very odd case of sleep apnoea - I suppose we could call it obstructive sleep apnoea too in this case? Bilateral nasal congestion (ran out of anti-histamines - and anyway if I took them, not sure if I'll wake in time today), so I had to breathe through the

2006-04-12T19:38:00.000+08:00

Feeling extremely disgruntled right now. Started off with just a touch of sore throat on Monday, which quickly and alarmingly escalated into a fever and retro-orbital aches last night. Alas, that was just the prodrome. Now down with a flu. Aches, chills, dripping nose and very puffy eyes. And great, we're supposed to present for the ward round tomorrow. To top things off, my stuff are actually

2006-04-10T01:23:00.000+08:00

GREAT. Damaged by glasses, need to get a new pair. "Damage" would be understating it - the entire earpiece on the left has been disembodied. This comes from falling asleep with them on, and later squashing it to a pulp. Hell, even the lens fell out after I spent 10 whole minutes groping to find the specs - hate being totally blind without glasses. Time for Lasik. Still having that feeling I SMSed

2006-04-08T10:00:00.000+08:00

OOOOOOOOOOH!! Just received my Genlisea margaretae seeds by post! I am absolutely thrilled. This Madagascan species has just been fairly recently introduced to cultivation, and if it germinates, it'll be one of the first (if not the first) to be available in asia. Sigh, I really hate salsa (no offence, Nick). I'm only going for lessons cos yx wants to learn it. I really hate it. It doesn't give

2006-04-07T00:14:00.000+08:00

Yx thinks I have social phobia. Oh yes - at the Saturday dance lesson, one of the men, 50+ y/o, had SEVERELY clubbed fingers!! At least a Grade IV. No jaundice, obviously not heart conditions (he wouldn't be dancing otherwise), but he appeared very dark - not tanned, it's really DARK - and with just a tinge of cyanosis. Any differentials? Had a totally nasty day. BO 2x today, and tenasmus! And

2006-04-03T23:23:00.000+08:00

Finally over.Now for the planning stage, in earnest. My supervisor isn't too spontaneous, so that's one thing to do tomorrow - email him AGAIN and tell him my learning objectives and ask for a program of sorts. And email the bloody UCLA woman and tell her - forget it, just send my cheque back. I'll be able to pay for a castle stay, at least. And start on reading some papers. Gosh. Was there

2006-03-29T13:57:00.000+08:00

OMG that MCQ was WICKED.I really only just want to pass. Just a pass.Aaron, hope your trip's starting to shape up? Don't let the weather and flights get to you!

2006-03-27T22:40:00.000+08:00

OK, this always happens. I only *just* realised that there's a whole hoard of information that I've forgotten to go through - part of the stuff on surviva.org. Pots and all. So .. GREAT.I'm now in a real fix, and having a major freak-out. Totally scared about the whole thing tomorrow, which really really shouldn't be - come on, it's histology!!Praying really hard, working really hard, trying to

2006-03-17T07:26:00.000+08:00

IV caffeine slow infusion - it has happened. 16 Mar7.30am - Double shot, my usual of one sweetened and one unsweetened.2.00pm - Another shot. Still ended up falling asleep halfway through the adrenals.17 Mar12.30am - A final bid to stay awake and complete the schedule chapters. Ended up feasting on instant porridge, doing a few pages, and slumping very unceremoniously over the bed from fatigue

2006-03-15T23:10:00.000+08:00

Quickly collapsing under an avalanche of information.And the world's actually quite full of idiots. Just met 2 of them today.

2006-03-07T07:05:00.000+08:00

Feeling slightly upset today. I know there are 3 weeks ahead, but I'm having a major freak-out already. No notes, no slides - why don't you just thrust me a copy of Trauma by Matton and ask to test me 4 weeks later? Ploughing through books. Getting freaked out. Puffy eyes yet again. Then feeling tired and flinging the books away. Pick it back up. Plough through it. Get freaked out. Puffy eyes.

New home

2006-03-02T23:46:00.001+08:00

Nepenthes campanulata

2006-03-02T23:46:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } PICT0035 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. Very sad-looking, tiny plant. The pitcher on the right is smaller than my pinkie nail. N.campanulata's been thought to be extinct in the wild due to

Nepenthes truncata

2006-03-02T23:44:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } PICT0032 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. One of the largest in the genus. It's got characteristic heart-shaped, or truncated leaves that are really pretty. The only other species that has a

Oh dear, a jungle ..

2006-03-02T23:43:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } PICT0028 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. All 56 Nepenthes plants. OK, why did I get so many?

Little greenhouses

2006-03-02T23:42:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } PICT0025 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. Pretty, but a PITA to undo the packaging. Very clever way to ship plants though.

It's here!!

2006-03-02T23:41:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } PICT0024 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. Finally. It's been 3 months since I placed my order, need I say more? I am impressed by their packing skills, however. And the CITES papers were absolutely

Banana split who?

2006-03-02T23:40:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } pict0023 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. Odd sort of banana split made by yx, with vanilla and Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream.

Hammies

2006-03-02T23:39:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } PICT0017 (Medium), originally uploaded by Hongyee. My sister's horde of hamsters, during a cage clean-up. They look cute, but I still don't like them. Hamsters smell.

2006-03-01T01:14:00.000+08:00

Gasp!Blackpool's on from 26 May to 2 June!!OK, once I finalise my schedule I am SO going to apply for the tickets. Alas, it's on weekdays. Hmm. Not that perfect eh. Perfect would be after 2 June, haha - but that's too much to ask for.

2006-03-01T01:04:00.000+08:00

Heehee! Parents gave the go-ahead for me to TOTALLY splurge on some dance videos. Partially because they want it themselves too, hmmm. The Blackpool ones are eye-poppingly expensive (the burned set I own actually cost 125 GBP ...) so I'll just have to settle on only the Samba ones. Just so totally dissed that the Samba lessons didn't continue past beginner's. Yx and I ran the Blackpool Convention

2006-02-28T23:14:00.000+08:00

Non-academic context - what I have learnt. (After getting my primitive, innate competitive nature drawn out to the frontline by an extremely irritating person.)Be original.Be the best.Stand out from the rest.Have something up your sleeve that only you alone can offer.And often, that something constitutes hard work on your part.And we know that for some things, there's nothing to it but hard

2006-02-28T08:54:00.000+08:00

OK, you know what. I'm QUITE DONE with UCLA.Finally got through to the lady, only to be told that Kern only accepts students from affiliated institutions (which BTW was NOT mentioned in the elective handbook), but she passed my package to yet another woman, who's on leave today. By the time I finish tracking down where the fuck my USD350 went to, I'm already too late to get tickets and

2006-02-27T01:23:00.000+08:00

Had a very strange and nasty bout of paroxysmal coughing last evening around 3am .. Couldn't breathe, just sat up in bed and had spasms of coughing. I did EVERYTHING I could to make it stop, including Robitussen (usually extremely effective) and warm water and chocolates, but nothing helped. Didn't cross my mind to drink some coffee just to see.Probably going to die soon, I think.Will blog again

2006-02-18T08:49:00.000+08:00

UTTERLY irritated by the UCLA admin. Woman in-charge wasn't around the whole day, I've been calling since 3am and hardly slept for 4 hours before calling again. Central coordinator hasn't heard from woman-in-charge at the hospital I applied to (which, incidentally, is a 1-hour drive away from LA). And now here I am, unbelievably tired and irked and disgusted. The woman-in-charge sounded

2006-02-17T07:41:00.000+08:00

I went to bed last night hating the world.Not for any injustice it has ever done to me, but for how very awful it is for people around me.Overheard Dewi (new help) sobbing her heart out while talking to her pre-school son on the phone yesterday, asking if he's been a good boy. I quietly got my juice and fled the kitchen, but that heartbreak lingered. And suddenly I remembered that look on her

2006-02-13T23:27:00.000+08:00

Down with full-blown something. Influenza or viral gastritis. Started off with epigastric colicky pain this morning and abdominal distension, no diarrhoea, no nausea/vomitting. Afebrile. Had chills (no rigors) later on, then stuffy nose at night. Entire episode was accompanied by malaise, watery eyes and a headache aura. Any ideas?Just want to hop into bed and have a really good rest, but alas.

2006-02-13T07:09:00.000+08:00

Having sleep problems too. Slept at 1, woke at 5, and now I'm feeling weak, ill, febrile and definitely feeling the prognostics of a nasty headache. Also listening to DCFC right now - it's not really my type of music. Loads of synth? But Transatlanticism isn't bad. I couldn't take Title and Registration .. maybe it's the lack of sleep, but the song seemed to be droning on.OK, shall try to get a

2006-02-12T23:01:00.000+08:00

Another round of skating tonight, and it just keeps feeling better. I think the endorphins really help. Or, at least, you know you're doing something good for yourself. Also visited a skate shop today, it's crazy - they're having a buy-1-get-1-free offer for their skates! AWW. Too bad it's K2 - I'm a Salomon fan. =D Even considered buying its terrain-jogging shoes today, but sigh... $$$.Ooooh,

2006-02-12T09:49:00.000+08:00

I suspect that bout of odd disjointed thoughts was under the influence of an oyster shooter I took that night. Then again .. I only had 1. Felt much better after some good skating last night, it's been such a long time! But yikes - time to buy new wheels, and they ain't cheap.I SWEAR I'm never buying anything from West Malaysia ever again. It's still not here. Been like ages?? And why am I not

2006-02-09T22:23:00.000+08:00

Perpetual summeryet I am sadThe rare free night that I getAll the more time for reflectionThey spend spend it in front of the TVwhile I wallow in self-pityNot quite thatmore of being plainly .. sadIs it the madness of it all?Is it just the inertia carrying me through?Or perhapsjust the true ugliness shining throughIt's so lousy to be a sad person.Do people smile when they're at home?What happened

2006-02-06T08:55:00.000+08:00

Down with a very bad bout of laryngitis. Hopefully I won't have to present anything during tutorials today, as I'll probably sound like Carlotta's famous croack from the Phantom of the Opera. Just borrowed Leroux's translated book from my sis, and the written is certainly so much more complex than the movie adaptation. Difficult to read, though. Awfully long sentences, and odd expressions. The

2006-02-05T21:58:00.000+08:00

<*/Sentosa Flowers 2006>Yep, finally - it's over!!We spent 1 hour packing up and transporting stuff home, and another 90 minutes preventing the garden from cluttering up with all the stuff. The 2 trolleys of plants was quite a sight actually ... when they're all put together like that, I don't recall having so many carnivorous plants. It's back-breaking work. Will need another day or two to

For Mr. Ye

2006-02-04T19:28:00.000+08:00

Caricature of my exhibit?

2006-02-04T19:25:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 067, originally uploaded by Hongyee. I think Sentosa was trying to be funny ... didn't tickle me at all - NO WONDER I had people asking me why the flytraps are so small.

Today's talk

2006-02-04T19:24:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 001, originally uploaded by Hongyee. Oh dear. Plenty of people at today's talk, and met up with a large local retail nursery after the talk. This is blowing out of proportion, I'm officially going

2006-01-29T22:51:00.000+08:00

That pretty much sums up my entire day - talk was alright, I'm surprised they did get a large TV in the end, which served its function well indeed. Thank goodness the crowd was sparse so early in the morning (mine's the first talk) and thankfully no press around. The audience was receptive, although I did make some crude remarks about the origins of venus' flytraps' botanical name (Dionaea

Most-photographed booth

2006-01-29T22:46:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 031, originally uploaded by Hongyee. One redeeming point about this whole thing - minimal talking on my part, and people just flock round taking tonnes of photos. They should hand out an award. On

Air Plants

2006-01-29T22:39:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 015, originally uploaded by Hongyee. The stall next door, Tillandsia Biotope. Guy in orange and his wife are both doing this as a semi-hobby, semi-business (not their full-time job), and they're

Yakkety-Yak

2006-01-29T22:37:00.000+08:00

Closeups - flytraps

2006-01-29T22:35:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 029, originally uploaded by Hongyee. Not at their best, I'm afraid - it's the prostrate winter leaves.

Right side

2006-01-29T22:33:00.001+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 007, originally uploaded by Hongyee. Top, Nepenthes hybrid - possibly N. x rokko or N. x mixta. In foreground, N.ampullaria "all green".

Closeup - Sarracenia

2006-01-29T22:33:00.000+08:00

Left side

2006-01-29T22:31:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Picture 003, originally uploaded by Hongyee. In background, trumpet pitchers (Sarracenia x stevensii and S. x catesbaei). Distinctly spitoon-shaped basal rosette of Nepenthes ampullaria "spotted" in

Pre-opening .. what's everyone looking at?

2006-01-29T22:30:00.000+08:00

This!

2006-01-29T22:29:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } bear, originally uploaded by Hongyee. Meet Bear-bear, the latest addition to this zoo of a house. Sis found a litter of abandoned pups (sweeper said the mother died) at 2 weeks old, and she and her friends

Welcome to The Little Garden of Horrors

2006-01-29T21:40:00.000+08:00

2006-01-29T00:05:00.000+08:00

Packed 1 van-full of stuff already, and 1 more car to go. This is odd .. how come so many things? I suppose it's cos they can't be stacked up? Hmmm. Wondering if I *should* go before the official opening tomorrow to set up the booth .. I seem to be the only one taking it seriously, hah. As of tonight, only 2 booths were completed (mine's not - it's just the backbone). Still at a total loss as to

2006-01-27T07:05:00.000+08:00

Feeling awfully harrassed right now.

2006-01-26T23:09:00.000+08:00

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH

2006-01-24T07:57:00.000+08:00

Had a shitty dinner with some people last night ... I wonder how some people can be so boring. Probably a clash in character. Want to just stay home and SLEEP ... but alas, tutorials today. Quite a chunk to do in school.Hmmm. Perhaps I'll blog properly in a couple of weeks' time when everything's settled down, my hands are full right now. Was all feverish last evening, but it's improved after a