Reminiscing my past in Singapore...

Can't believe I have lived in Singapore for close to 12 years now...
I have to say it's been filled with adventure, fun, learning...and everything!!! Even though there are ups and downs along the way...I dun think I would change anything at all!!

HOW IT ALL STARTED...

On 7 Jan 1998...the long-awaited letter of acceptance for the ASEAN pre-university scholarship finally arrived at my house in Penang...
Two days later...I arrived in Singapore for wat's gg to be the beginning of my 12-year Singapore tax-payer funded education journey...yes officially I'm still a part-time graduate student at NUS...although since Aug 2009, I'm no longer funded by tax payers :P
Just for the fun of it...I do hope I can graduate by 9 Jan 2010 to mark the 12th year anniversary :D

PRE-UNIVERSITY @ NJC

My first "home-away-from-home" (as our most "affectionate" SML put it) was CJC hostel...
Since I had been actively participating in out-of-town or overseas competition since a tender age of 11 years (I think)...living away from my parents was nothing new...but 1998 was still the first time I'll be away for more than weeks!
Fortunately, there's nothing to fear here...from the very first day we reach S'pore, we were very well taken care of by our seniors...even though just a year older...and the hostel managements...no wonder so many parents like to send their children to study in S'pore!! From school stuff to shopping, entertainment etc...our seniors were always there for us :) In fact, we were always there for each other too...til now...

I had always lead a life full of activities...so JC life was perfect for me...
There was classes and compulsory extra-curricular activities in school...where I took triple science in A levels which gives me the most hours in my time table as all 3 science subject has additional lab sessions...and on top of that...I was in multiple ECAs such as the more exciting sport teams such as tennis, swimming, track and x-country...and the more brainy societies such as a biology society and malay society (haha..that was compulsory for all of us taking malay as second language)...

Meanwhile, in the hostel we also frequently had our own social activities (with the MnB United gang...hehe), besides activities among all the ASEAN scholars which includes a mixture of crazy orientation-like activities and the more serious merdeka day activities involving principals of our JCs...

It was just filled with activities!!

AFTER JC @ PENANG

So the 2 years past rather quickly and soon I found myself back in Penang...while waiting for entrance to a university...

Fortunately, at that point it was time to train for the 2000 Malaysian Games which was held in Penang...but b4 I went full swing into that...our family traveled to US for dad's biz trip in California...and at the same time attend my bro's graduation in Chicago...and further holiday towards the North Eastern part of US...

After we the trip...for 6 months while I was back in Penang...I was spending all my time at the tennis courts...haha...sounds like some professional tennis player hor...but trust me...I'm NOT!
In fact, I managed to do the stupidest thing of running into the drain and giving myself a nice hairline crack near my knee during the first few days of the Games itself...haha...

UNVERSITY @ NUS

Timing had been so perfect hor? After the Games which was held in June, it was time for me to head back to Singapore...attended some orientation activities...b4 university classes starts mid July...

University life had been just as colorful...with 3 main groups...(1) my pharmacy classmates, seniors and juniors, (2) all my fellow Kent Ridgean, and (3) the NUS tennis team...
At some point...u can say I majored in hall activities and minored in pharmacy...wahaha...but life has been wonderful and exciting with all 3 groups...

....to be continued....

Out-of-control work magnet

Haha...the title says it all...I must have recently entered a really strong magnetic field...when I came out started attracting all forms of work...

B4 I started attracting any work...I already had plenty to juggle with...let's just look at those related to my PhD...since I'm trying to get that out of the way ASAP!!
Firstly, I have a biology paper which I have just submitted to one of my bosses...then I was starting to write my medicinal chemistry paper...and then I shld prepare for my presentation for lab meeting on 18 Mar...and of course the most important thesis which I plan to submit b4 I head off for my conference in US on 17 Apr!

Arghhh....so much writing...and I just hate writing...it's just eating up my mental energy...I need more physically demanding work!!

Anyway, apparently that's not enough! Haha...I had to attract more work...yippee!!
Firstly, I started attracting a lot of customers at the various pharmacies I'm working part-time at...that was great for the resident pharmacists there since I've "unconsciously" boost their sales...haha...but I'm supposed to be writing my thesis there!! Not so good for me huh? oh well...

Meanwhile, while I'm busy with all this writing and working, my bosses (the research ones) had a meeting on technology disclosure aka patent application we submitted many moons ago...and guess wat the outcome of the meeting??!! Yes...I have more work to do!! Darn...why do u guys need so much information...
So I had more paper work...and thankfully some lab work...
Hmm...but now I realize the lab work is more tedious than I projected...
So many cell lines...growing at different rates...of different sizes...thankfully in the same medium...and so many drugs to test...
Actually it would have been fun to do all this if I din have so much work already...

Then...next I had a meeting with my boss on the biology paper...haha...wat's new...more work!! So now I have to edit my biology paper, continue to write my med chem paper, prepare for my presentation and finally my thesis...exciting hor...

That all happened in the past 5 days...I'm totally overwhelm now...wahahaha...help me!! or just kill me!!

Marathon Charity Swim

Just decide to post an email I sent out regarding my charity swim....

Hi all

The swim is over!
It must have been the most exciting swim I had in a while...especially when I started swimming at the same spot for more than an hour!! Feels like swimming on a threadmill!! hehe

Anyway, it's all my fault..haha...I was way to slack to start off...
During the briefing that morning, we were told the current will push us to the 5km mark and it'll turn ard at 12 noon...so reach the 5km mark by noon or u r doom!! haha...the latter was wat happened to me...wahahah

We were first matched to our kayaker, randomly...the kayakers were there for safety and also to carry our own goodies :D Mine was Verna, a very nice gal...who was unfortunately stuck out in the sea for quite a while with me...hahaha...

Well...it all started with a really slow and relaxing swim...took 36 min to complete 1km...and that shld be with current assisting...I call that atrocious timing...wahah...at least the next 1.5km was faster...36min (so abt 24min/km)...hmm...but that makes its abt 1145am already...it's too late!! the current is gg to turn ard soon!!

so i took another 24 min complete the next 0.5km...and...hehe...the next 1km was indefinite...i was swimming real hard but not moving at all for more than an hour...b4 i found out that the current is gg to be that way for 6hrs!! heh...that's when the speedboat came by to pick me and so that i could re-assess the situation...we found ourselves drifting at least 50 meters back towards the starting pt within a minute!! no wonder i'm not moving at all no matter how hard i swim...

I was dropped at the 4km mark and swam back from there...
I swam in extreme slow motion...heh..my arms were pretty tired from fighting the current..but...i still completed the first km in 15mins...the next 0.5km in 8mins...the next 1.5km in 18mins...and the final km in abt 12 mins...wahaha...that's less than an hour for the last 4km...versus 3 1/2 for the first 4km...
so it was sort of a 8km distance if u observe from land...but it felt more like 11-12km of swimming...hehe...exciting?

Well I'm still alive and kicking..in fact...i could still go back to work after that..and u prob couldn't tell i just swam if not for the "permanently" tattooed swimming cap on my forehead...hehe..

In conclusion...I had a real interested and fun weekend :D
I shld attempt more of such swims...maybe the English channel in the future :D

Thanks again to everyone for ur well wishes and support!!

2008 is more than halfway through!

Oh man...how infrequent can my postings get!!
Had some inspiration to write somethings previously but never really found the time to do it...hehe...anyway...

More than half the year has gone pass...what have I achieved so far?
Wow...I shld really have asked myself this question earlier!!

Din seem to have done as much as I would have thought man!

I only managed to get quite a fair bit out in the lab...

I'm finally done with synthetic work...got a nice post-doc to help me do any additional synthesis now...hehe...so cool...

I can finally concentrate on biological work! Doing enzyme assays, antiproliferative asays, western blots...growing cells, killing cells...blah blah blah...hehe...it can be a lot of fun...even though enzymes and cells are not easy to handle though...currently stuck with a bunch of less active enzymes which is preventing me from reproducing results from the US...BUT..I have good news today...seems like a new batch of active enzymes has finally been made...after I'm not too sure how many months of wait...hehe...now just gotta wait for reconfirmation and shipment over...hopefully the enzymes can withstand the trip well :D Shall keep my fingers crossed...otherwise it might mean heading to US just to get the assay done!!
I also love my current lab...no need to wash glassware, fill pipette tips, autoclave, order chemicals/biologicals...someone else does all this things...our time is really valued here...so we can really spend more of our effort in research...and more imptly for me...other personal stuff...hehe...

Now that I know I have not achieved enough...time to buck up!!
5 months to go b4 2008 is over...

Gotta start getting down to effective planning! Just learnt that in a full day leadership training seminar I attended today...now it's time to put wat I have learnt into action!

Hmm...first step gotta learn to differentiate efficiency vs effectiveness...
I guess it all starts with a clear goal in life...

Ok time to get my goals clarified and come up with an action plan...

Till I feel like writing again...adios!!

2nd post of 2008!

Wow...we are almost halfway through 2008...and i only have one post for the year!
Haha...i'm just too busy man...having plenty of fun though :P

Anyway, let's see wat's up this year...

I'm attending plenty of weddings...and there's also plenty of frens who're now pregnant...hmm..the rat year must be a good year :D

I've been out of the country so frequently...I feel like I'm now a frequent flyer...wahahaha...except that I dun always fly :P
Within the past 6 months or so, I've been to US, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, HK...and of course Malaysia! Wow...

I've also helped plenty more ppl improve their health...especially among my relatives and friends...I'm indeed fulfilling my role as a legal drug peddler :P

I'm doing a lot of biological work instead of chemistry work now...a biological lab is a much more pleasant place to be in...but that means I'm more of a mad biologist now than a mad chemist...mad chemist sounds nicer!!

Anyway, I think this post is getting very messy...just putting watever that comes to my mind...scatter brain...time to stop writing...wahaha...til I feel like writing again...ADIOS!

First post of 2008

Wow! I'm getting really irregular here...hehe

It's almost the end of Jan and this is just my first post of the year :P

Anyway, life's been hectic...which is actually very good for me :D
I'm planning to be a rich PhD graduate by next year 2009...the progress is gg very well so far...just keeping me really busy...haha...

In memory of Picant

It's been quite a while since I last posted...been crazy travelling ard...
Anyway, this time round I dedicating this post in memory of a fren I had the honour to cross path with during my days in Kent Ridge Hall...

It was totally a shock to have received the news of the passing of picant...especially from a fellow Kentridgean I just happened to bump into at the mrt station!!

Just the day b4 I received an odd sms from silverfrye abt a gathering in hall where the details is posted in a blog...which at that point kinda made me wonder y they used such an odd name for the blog...inmemoryofpicant.blogspot.com...y would picant have such a weird sounding blog...he can't be dead...he's abt my age!!

Well I was really busy then since I just touched down from US abt 24hrs b4...and was busy getting prepared for my trip back to penang in abt 48 hrs time...frequent flyer huh? so I kinda forgotten abt the sms...until fortunately, I bumped into Li Peng at the mrt on my way to a business talk at raffles place...just a quick 5 mins chat and I found out that the gathering silverfrye mentioned was this sun and it's a memorial for picant...I could feel the chill down my spine then as I heard abt his passing...how could someone so young that I know passed away so suddenly...he's just abt my age!!

However, as I was at the talk, I was quickly cheered up as everyone ard was happily and attentively listening to the speaker...
The news of picant's passing never really sank in..although it stayed at the back of mind throughout the talk...

That night when I got back...I decided to check out the blog silverfrye sent...it was really touching to read the words left by so many of his frens...I left my piece...and I was so tired I went to sleep after...it still haven't really sank in...

Until this morning when I got into the lab and started doing the mundane work of "washing" the beads in my assay tubes...I switched on my computer halfway through and saw the news on picant's passing...it finally sank in...

I started really pondering abt 2 points...

Firstly, even though I had known and stayed in the same hall as picant for 2 years...I never really got to known him very well...I knew he was a nice guy...but we never really worked on the same stuff...I'm more of a sports person..he was more in drama and rag...so he was more of just a hi/bye fren...
It really made me wonder how many more of such wonderful ppl that I have had the fortune to cross path with...that I did not really got to know better...

Secondly, even though picant was only 26 years old...he has accomplished so much in life...his life might have been short...but he has positively affected so many ppl in this short 26 years...I really feel so honoured to have known such an amazing person!!
At the same time, this made me wonder abt myself...can I say the same abt wat I have accomplished so far...have I made a difference? I'm in fact a year older than him...

Picant has indeed touched so many this past 26 years...he'll forever be in the hearts of all who had the fortune to know him...we'll always remember 18 of Nov...

P.S. On a lighter note...I would like to thank my many frens from 642...for their influence...which made me think so profoundly of this event...
Thanks to WL, ML, YY, XR, KS and last but not least, Mr and Mrs Wang!!

2 months have passed!!

Wow...amazing...I forgot to write something last month...and this month is almost over too!!
Time really flies!!

Firstly let me congratulate the "boss" aka Oyster..and his Pearl on their wedding!! Just attended their wedding 2 days ago :D
So IWA is not solely work...even our boss has time for social life :D
So Vorlacks...when's ur turn...hehe :P

Anyway, life has been crazy recently...fun but crazy...

Went to Salt Lake City, Utah last month...which part explains my disappearance from the internet world...the other part is my cranky computer that has been in and out of the "hospital"...now I have finally gotten it reformated...but need somemore time to put all the necessary programs back in ;)

Anyway, back to Salt Lake City....the trip was superb...attended a convention there and had loads and loads of fun...so much fun I've so many photos...I haven't really uploaded them :P

...and even b4 I have time to settle down...I'm gg to Korea this Thur!! That's after a couple of trip back to M'sia...once to KL, once to Penang...after my US trip...I feel so IWA!!!

Korea is more of a fun vacation trip...so I'll probably nua for once...stay out of IWA for that few days...hehe

Then a few days after I touch down from Korea...I'm off to US again...this time to Duke University at Durham, North Carolina...woohoo...another working trip...so exciting!!

So do look out for photos from me...or more likely...u shld come look for me in person...I'll probably take a few months to put up those photos on the internet :P

Till I come back from US...
Adios!!

August is almost over!!

August is almost over!!
...which means another month has passed since I last posted something...
time really flies man!!

As usual...I'm just busy most of the time :P

Well...rem I mentioned abt all those safety audit thingy?
My boss has prepared a safety dossier...and she's indeed humourous...wahaha...let me quote one section...on appropriate attire...

"(v) Gloves, when worn for an experiment, must be removed before leaving the laboratory. Do not touch the telephone, a door handle or a computer keyboard whilst wearing gloves. One more word about gloves (and other “take and throw” items): spare a thought for the environment and your PI’s budget. If you are one of those of reach out for a new pair of gloves every hour (10 pairs a day !), it is time to change or the PI will change /exchange you."

That's my boss...very environmentally friendly :D

Well besides this safety audit that's keeping everyone busy for the rest of their life in NUS...there was also that hole digging from the lab upstairs...heard our lab was really dusty and inaccesible then...hehe...I was conveniently away in KL then...perfect timing huh?

Talking abt KL...I went for this interesting talk by a well known oncologist from Taiwan, Dr David Chung...he's really cute for his age...hehe...
Here's a summary of some points mentioned...

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion.When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental,food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains,seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts)and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine.Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (reishi, green tea extract, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, fish oil etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

Wat else can I say...

Oh ya...oyster and pearl's wedding will be on 28 Oct!!
If u guys still read my blog...congratulations!!! Looking forward to seeing u at the wedding!!

It's july!!

Almost another month has past since I last blog!!
Time really flies man!!

As usual...I've been busy busy busy...

Interestingly I was looking at my previous post abt the little explosion I created in the lab last month...and this month...we r doing a lot of preparation work for safety audit...where we as grad students have to do a lot of SOP and risk assessment write ups...
Somehow I have been asked to write an SOP for the procedure of a hydride reduction reaction...haha...that's the one that caused the little explosion which nobody in the lab knew abt...wahaha...interesting coincidence!!

Anyway, that's the only more "interesting" thing that happened this month...haha

Oh ya...another thing is I have finally got quite a no of compounds synthesized till their final step...now the only problem is that they r not all that clean after purification once...so gotta do a lot of column chromatography next week...that means...a lot of solvent wasting, solvent inhaling and test tube washing for me :P

Anyway, time to write some SOP now :P

June update

It's been more than a month since I last posted something...time really flies man!!

Oh well I'm always busy...hehe...been catching up with sooooo many ppl...

So wat r the "interesting" things I have noticed ard me recently....

Quite a number of weddings among my frens!! to be exact...it's 3 within a period of abt 30 days...well..tat's pretty much wat happens to ppl of my age i guess...haha...soon I'll be attending weddings with my fren's bringing their children along!! That's gg to be scary!!

Quite a number of frens back from overseas...like sylvia back from canada and headed to australia next, oyster's pearl back from the hague, my cousin is back in Penang from Russia, eng hui back from sweden for hols, huiwen back from KL for hols...

Quite a number of frens has gone overseas too..haha..like my housemate is in Japan for hols, my dad is in shenzhen/HK for work, my mum is in S'pore to visit a fren..haha..audrey gg to Australia to study, many fellow postgrad, lecturers are in shanghai for a conference, some of the nus tennis players are in HK for a competition...sighz..i never train so cannot go :(

Hmm...and quite a number of ppl I know are not well or hospitalized...such as cancer, cyst, some growth, stroke, immobility due to nerve problems...and the list goes on...half of them happening to ppl who r just abt 30 years old...such as the cyst, stroke and benigh growth!! sounds so scary...and extremely expensive!! that's y better take care of ur body when u have a choice while u r young and healthy!! dun wait til something happens man...u've no choice then...and u'll still be suffering!!
So how to take care of ur body...hmm..that'll take another whole post to cover it comprehensively man :P

Ok..better get back to my work now...
Hmm..talking abt work...I just created a minor explosion in the lab yesterday...which I believe no one in the lab knew abt...but got me rather "stoned" that whole day...oops
Well now I learn...LiAlH4 shld be added in small portion for very good reasons...it's not to be added in a whole chunk...it'll go *poof* and u'll see fire!!

Tom I'll be attempting that reaction again...since the reaction did not go into completion when I carried it out yesterday...got a whole load of un-reduced acid :P
At least some reactions are working now...after months of dead ends working on some of the amines and amides...so damn demoralizing...
The good thing abt all these failures is...things can't get any worse...haha...yippee!!!

NBTY Shark Cartilage Capsules Recalled

MedWatch - The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program

NBTY and FDA informed consumers and healthcare professionals of a nationwide recall of 3 lots of Shark Cartilage Capsules the company manufactured in 2004 and distributed to consumers through mail and internet orders, and retail stores throughout the United States. The product was recalled because of possible contamination with Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis and arthritis. Customers can return the product back to the place of purchase for a full refund. Read the press release for specific names and lot numbers of the recalled product.

More on this issue here

Hmm...this thing is manufactured in 2004...and recalled in 2007...I wonder how many has ended inside the consumers already...
Looks like there shld be a cautionery label stating "Take at your own risk" for such supplements that do not go thru screening for contamination prior to ending up on the shelves...esp since supplements like those from deep sea source are highly prone to contamination!!

Moral of story: "Understand thoroughly the company which u take ur supplements from!! Get a chance to visit their facilities if necessary :P"

Interesting household tips

Saw some of these interesting household tips that came along with my electricity bill...

Tip 2:
You can remove ink from your clothes by spraying any kind of hair spray on your ink-stained clothes. Dry the sprayed area with a tissue and wash your clothes as soon as possible.

Comments:
Sounds like u r using some kinda hair spray with some ethanol inside...I doubt an alcohol free hair spray would have the same effect :P
Ethanol is a very good solvent which is miscible with water...it sure would dissolve the ink and carry it away :P
At the same time...if u use hair spray containing ethanol, it'll dehydrate ur scalp as it carries water along with it when it evaporates!! So dun blame hair loss on genes if u r using the wrong hair product :P
Not to mention ethanol is flammable...make sure nobody smokes ard u when u r using the hair spray :P

Tip 3:
Want to remove stubborn stains such as chilli sauce, blood, and soya sauce on the collars of shirts, blouses, skirts and kids' uniforms? A bar of bathing soap should do the trick. Apply the bar of soap on the stained area and scrub it before soaking it in a pail of soapy water (powder form). Your stained garment will soon be spotless again. Try it out, it works.

Comments:
Wah...soap can remove stubborn stains...that sounds pretty harsh!! Are u sure u wanna use such harsh soap on ur skin!! I'm sure the soap I'm using won't be so effective in removing stubborn stains...
If u try testing the pH of ur soap...it's probably pH 10 or higher...very alkaline...which is very good for removing stubborn stains...just like how we use sodium hydroxide to clean the stubborn stains off our glassware in the lab...but err...r u really all that dirty...and have u tried testing the pH of ur skin? (wet a piece of pH paper and put it on ur skin...see wat color it turns into and match the color to its pH)
I think it's time to change ur soap...and just use that bar of soap for stubborn stains on clothes!!
Alkaline soaps can dehydrate ur skin too...as it removes the acidic protective layer of our skin!!
So next time if u find ur skin very dry...maybe u shld change ur soap besides using a moisturizer...no point destroying ur natural moisture protective layer and use a synthetic one over it which may not be as effective :P

So if u happen to use hair spray that can remove ink stain OR soaps that can remove stubborn stains...it's time to use them just for stains...and get some new hair spray and soap for ur hair and body ;)

Chemical glassware on Ebay?

Wow...I din know u can purchase chemical glasswares on Ebay too!!

I was searching for companies where I can get quotation for this particular glassware used in distillation...which now I know is called Vigreux distilling column...

Besides Sigma-Aldrich...I noticed is sold on ebay too!! No wonder ppl can have their own mini chemistry labs in their basement...doing funny things like small scale counterfeit drugs? Oh man...it's really scary!!

Back in S'pore!!

I'm finally back in S'pore!!
...being hardworking and all...I'm now at work on Labour Day!!
Unfortunately, for once, the construction site just outside my room is all quiet!! I shld have stayed home and sleep...zzzzz :P Oh well...

Anyway, the flight back from Amsterdam was quite good...din sleep much though...was watching a few movies in the dark instead ;)
Let's see wat I have watched over this couple of weeks....

On the flight to Amsterdam...
First I watched Casino Royale...
Then..Freedom Writers...based on a true story abt how a teacher made a difference to a group of teenagers of various minority races in the US...facing hopeless life of poverty and crime...I think it's really good educational movie...
Slept the rest of the way..

On the flight back...I watched Coming to America, The Guardian and Beat the Drum...and part of Beverly Hill Cops and Night at the Museum...hehe...I slept less on the way back :P
Anyway, I think the best movie was Beat the Drum...another good educational movie abt AIDS in Africa...a very true depiction of the understanding of HIV/AIDS in many rural villages in many developing countries...even at this very moment...resulting in millions of orphan kids each year...
The result of ignorance can be very scary hor??

Check out the webiste on Beat the Drum movement...