Wat do I have to do this week and next...
1) Prepare to present my QSAR findings to my supervisors...meeting on 2nd Nov
2) Write report for my 3rd and last lab rotation on MTT assay...due 5th Nov
3) Finish up my written review of my advanced organic synthesis assignment...due 7th Nov
4) Work, work, work, work, work, work...on 29 Oct (morning - HLC, afternoon - HBF), 30 Oct (MPR), 2 Nov (HLC), 4 Nov (ESP), 5 Nov (morning - WCC, night - MPR)...wow my boss so desperate...give me so many assignments!!!
5) Run, swim, cycle or play tennis...hmm...
Friday, October 28, 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
What's up lately?
What have I been doing lately...hmmm...
First day I got back from Sri Lanka...I just slept and attended a lecture...hehe *oink*
Then it was working, working and working....3 different type of work
Firstly, doing my lab rotation at Prof Go's lab...doing MTT assay...a bioassay to determine whether a drug is cytotoxic i.e. able to kill the cells or not...or even to determine whether the drug is antiproliferative i.e. able to stop cell growth...
Each assay needs 3 days to carry out...first day to seed the cells, second day to add the drug and third day to add MTT and analyse the result...I have done 3 so far...the last one definitely has horrible results...one plate shows exactly the oppposite result of the other...when both are supposed to be the same drug!!! oops...I suspect lousy seeding techniques...hehe
The other thing I have been busy with is the QSAR study of some potential anticancer drug...a isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (ICMT) inhibitor...sound chim huh? hehe...
Been sitting in front of the Linux OS comp a lot...trying to do ComFA and ComSIA...but first I have to understand all this QSAR thingy first...haha...we din get taught by Prof Go in our final year...otherwise she would have covered all this in the Med Chem module...damn...now have to read up myself...luckily got Kaizhen's note :D
Finally, my work as locum pharmacist...been working last Thur, Fri, Sat and this week Sat and Sun...worked at my usual places...HLC, HBF...and JRP..not exactly my usual :P
Next week working on Sat and Sun again...HLC and HBF on Sat...and a new place...MPR (Marine Parade)...on Sun...who's running at ECP next Sun?? I can go look for u b4 work...or u come look for me after ur run...hehe
Now, boss even ask me whether I can work on Christmas day...wat??!!! I know I dun usually celebrate Christmas lah...but so sad lah..work on Christmas day :P
Oh ya...and I have also been working on my assignment for the organic synthesis module...at least I'm doing something relevant to the ICMT inhibitor that I'm already working on :D
Just finished the slides few days ago...now preparing for the presentation on Tue...modifying the slides somemore :P
So it sounds like work, work, work and work only...no exercise?
Got lah...last Sat...after work at HLC, rushed down to S'pore Swimming Club for interclub doubles match...played under the hot sun for more than 2 hrs...see lah...go and win the first set, then lose second set...so have to play rubber set...and lose the match :P
All that sun, not good for my mosquito bitten skin man...but...oh well...
Then Tue...I went for tennis training again...
Yesterday, I went for Unity's nature walk at Bukit Batok Nature Park...
That's all the exercise I had since I came back from Sri Lanka...hehe :P
Dun think I'll be swimming yet...until I stop itching and scratching away...hehe...all the chlorine in the pool tend to make my skin dry and itchy...very bad!!!
Running leh...I lazy lah...cycling...hmm...no time....EXCUSES!! Haha :P
Last Sun, team Chelonia met up again....to consolidate photos and settle some stuff...hehe...we had lunch at Marche...Reef was there!! hehe...kept bringing us to see the tiger prawns and fish in the tank...he even said bye to the prawns and fish!! And one prawn jumped out of the tank...haha...gave him a shock...he was so cute...we just kept laughing and laughing!!!
Our meeting was at Wilson's bus...the double decker at the Youth Park...it suddenly rained heavily when we were walking to the bus...got wet a bit...luckily Jacq brought an umbrella :D
The bus is really cool...it's Wilson's home...he stays there most of the time...so anytime we r in Orchard...can go visit him...haha ;)
Oh ya...and Thur I went for reef walk training at Labrador Park...haven't been for reef walk for a long long time...always either working or participating in some race :P
Anyway, we saw a small octopus...so cute...a nudibranch...also so cute...a scorpion fish...besides plenty of crabs, snails, anemones, corals, seaweeds, seagrass....and heard lotsa snapping shrimps...din see many though...
That's all that happened since I came back from Sri Lanka...work, work, work, work...play tennis, meeting up with the team again, reef walk and nature walk are my highlights :D
First day I got back from Sri Lanka...I just slept and attended a lecture...hehe *oink*
Then it was working, working and working....3 different type of work
Firstly, doing my lab rotation at Prof Go's lab...doing MTT assay...a bioassay to determine whether a drug is cytotoxic i.e. able to kill the cells or not...or even to determine whether the drug is antiproliferative i.e. able to stop cell growth...
Each assay needs 3 days to carry out...first day to seed the cells, second day to add the drug and third day to add MTT and analyse the result...I have done 3 so far...the last one definitely has horrible results...one plate shows exactly the oppposite result of the other...when both are supposed to be the same drug!!! oops...I suspect lousy seeding techniques...hehe
The other thing I have been busy with is the QSAR study of some potential anticancer drug...a isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (ICMT) inhibitor...sound chim huh? hehe...
Been sitting in front of the Linux OS comp a lot...trying to do ComFA and ComSIA...but first I have to understand all this QSAR thingy first...haha...we din get taught by Prof Go in our final year...otherwise she would have covered all this in the Med Chem module...damn...now have to read up myself...luckily got Kaizhen's note :D
Finally, my work as locum pharmacist...been working last Thur, Fri, Sat and this week Sat and Sun...worked at my usual places...HLC, HBF...and JRP..not exactly my usual :P
Next week working on Sat and Sun again...HLC and HBF on Sat...and a new place...MPR (Marine Parade)...on Sun...who's running at ECP next Sun?? I can go look for u b4 work...or u come look for me after ur run...hehe
Now, boss even ask me whether I can work on Christmas day...wat??!!! I know I dun usually celebrate Christmas lah...but so sad lah..work on Christmas day :P
Oh ya...and I have also been working on my assignment for the organic synthesis module...at least I'm doing something relevant to the ICMT inhibitor that I'm already working on :D
Just finished the slides few days ago...now preparing for the presentation on Tue...modifying the slides somemore :P
So it sounds like work, work, work and work only...no exercise?
Got lah...last Sat...after work at HLC, rushed down to S'pore Swimming Club for interclub doubles match...played under the hot sun for more than 2 hrs...see lah...go and win the first set, then lose second set...so have to play rubber set...and lose the match :P
All that sun, not good for my mosquito bitten skin man...but...oh well...
Then Tue...I went for tennis training again...
Yesterday, I went for Unity's nature walk at Bukit Batok Nature Park...
That's all the exercise I had since I came back from Sri Lanka...hehe :P
Dun think I'll be swimming yet...until I stop itching and scratching away...hehe...all the chlorine in the pool tend to make my skin dry and itchy...very bad!!!
Running leh...I lazy lah...cycling...hmm...no time....EXCUSES!! Haha :P
Last Sun, team Chelonia met up again....to consolidate photos and settle some stuff...hehe...we had lunch at Marche...Reef was there!! hehe...kept bringing us to see the tiger prawns and fish in the tank...he even said bye to the prawns and fish!! And one prawn jumped out of the tank...haha...gave him a shock...he was so cute...we just kept laughing and laughing!!!
Our meeting was at Wilson's bus...the double decker at the Youth Park...it suddenly rained heavily when we were walking to the bus...got wet a bit...luckily Jacq brought an umbrella :D
The bus is really cool...it's Wilson's home...he stays there most of the time...so anytime we r in Orchard...can go visit him...haha ;)
Oh ya...and Thur I went for reef walk training at Labrador Park...haven't been for reef walk for a long long time...always either working or participating in some race :P
Anyway, we saw a small octopus...so cute...a nudibranch...also so cute...a scorpion fish...besides plenty of crabs, snails, anemones, corals, seaweeds, seagrass....and heard lotsa snapping shrimps...din see many though...
That's all that happened since I came back from Sri Lanka...work, work, work, work...play tennis, meeting up with the team again, reef walk and nature walk are my highlights :D
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Project Chelonia blog
Finally found the time to upload my blog from the PDA...but no time to add photos yet...too many to sieve through...think there are at least 1000 photos!!!
Shall choose and add another day ;P
Team Chelonia...taken at home
Team Chelonia...taken at the beach
...we r surrounding the nest of the turtle we just saw the night b4 :D
Jacq and Wilson are missing as they have left for Colombo :(
Shall choose and add another day ;P
Team Chelonia...taken at home
Team Chelonia...taken at the beach
...we r surrounding the nest of the turtle we just saw the night b4 :D
Jacq and Wilson are missing as they have left for Colombo :(
Chelonia - Day 1 (28 Sept) Arrival
Woke up early again at 6am after sleeping late the night b4... Siowfeei's fault lah... Decided to wear her dnd dress at midnight and parade ard... Haha ;p
Anyway, had to go to sch to do some work on the comp... used sybyl to work on the compounds I created yest... Then I also went down to the x-ray crystallography lab to search for crystal structures of my compounds... But guess wat I found? Nothing! There's not a single organic compound with phenyl bonded to indole! Oh man...
Anyway, I tried with other aromatic structures instead of indole... Took quite long to search... But still hardly any results...
Halfway through searching I went to collect my laptop... IBM thinkpad T43... Yay... So excited but no time to play with it :(
After collecting the laptop, went back to work... Discussed with prof go wat to do... Then it's time for me to leave! Otherwise i'm gg to be late to get to the airport!
Decided to take mrt 'cos it looked like it's gg to rain.. Not gg to make the same stupid mistake of getting stuck in a rainy day jam... Ended up getting lunch from harbourfront... Even went into sentosa to get my islander card.. Hehe ;p
Got home.. Shower, do laundry, eat lunch, check mail...alamak dr lear still haven't sent me my corrected lab report for the lab rotation at his lab...dun care liao...he said he'll make the necessary changes and help me hand it in ;p
Some last minute packing, hanged my laundry... Then it's time to go kovan to meet jacqueline...getting a ride from her fren, chris, to the airport :)
Got to the airport at almost 5 and met up with jasmine, ryal, siew kwan, san san, merey and little reef! Hang chong, swee yin, wilson and zul were late ;p
We took really long to check in man... we had so many things.. Even a fishing rod requested by a sri lankan...another one even requested for a fridge! WAT??!!! Siao ah.. Of course we din get the fridge lah ;p
After that, we went to ntuc to buy some food... Plenty of canned tuna and instant noodle... Hehe :D
Then it's time to go to the transit area... Mei2 waiting for me! we had a drink from coffeebean... Then it's almost time for me to board the plane... Bye, Mei2... Take care of tigger and frens, ya ;)
On the plane, we made so much noise... haha...always fun to travel in a grp... Reef was quite a good boy on the plane...hehe...apparently he's quite a frequent flyer for his age...
I sat with swee yin and siew kwan...wah..we damn funny...like collecting souvenirs on the plane...we took their disposable cups and utensils...haha...can use in sri lanka :p
On the plane I was watching this documentary on MRSA and antibiotic use..this guy went into pharmacies in Europe trying to buy antibiotic for a cold..sometimes he even specified it's viral and asked the pharmacist whether there's any pt to take antibiotic...yet the pharmacist sold the antibiotic, amoxicillin to him...that's in belgium and can't rem which other countries...xuanhao...wat can FIP do abt this?! Actually i'm not sure when was this filmed...
Anyway, there were some positive examples in Holland...must be 'cos FIP HQ is there..hehe...and Spain too..the pharmacist insisted on a prescription or they call it recipe...if I din hear wrongly ;p
And in an ER..I think holland...the nurse who attended this guy, spoke to some doc and adviced that guy to go home and rest first...and he shld get better..only if he doesn't get better, then he come back and maybe will be prescribed antibiotic :)
Anyway, we arrived at sri lanka at abt 9..had to take a shuttle bus to the arrival hall...went through custom etc...and found Eng Wan, Merey's husband who's based in Sri Lanka waiting for us ;D
Oh did I mentioned Reef suddenly fell asleep ard the time we landed...he was just wailing when we were landing! And he was totally unconscious after that!
We took a long van ride from the airport to our hotel in colombo..Hotel Juliana...
We stayed 3 gals/4 guys to a room...I stayed with Jasmine and Swee Yin ;)
My bag took sometime to come 'cos the ppl on the other van din unload all our bags :p and the driver went for a drink! At least he locked the door ;)
After some waiting, we the driver was finally back...but guess wat? My bag was not in the van...I din check lah..Jacq said she saw 3 bags mah...but one was Merey's bag meant to be left in the van ;p
In the end...guess where I found my bag? The guys room! Wah..they din even say anything abt an extra unidentified bag...looks like all those advert on calling the police when u see an unidentified bag...din work...heh :p
Some of us had supper at the chinese restaurant downstairs...and it's time for bed...zzzzz
Anyway, had to go to sch to do some work on the comp... used sybyl to work on the compounds I created yest... Then I also went down to the x-ray crystallography lab to search for crystal structures of my compounds... But guess wat I found? Nothing! There's not a single organic compound with phenyl bonded to indole! Oh man...
Anyway, I tried with other aromatic structures instead of indole... Took quite long to search... But still hardly any results...
Halfway through searching I went to collect my laptop... IBM thinkpad T43... Yay... So excited but no time to play with it :(
After collecting the laptop, went back to work... Discussed with prof go wat to do... Then it's time for me to leave! Otherwise i'm gg to be late to get to the airport!
Decided to take mrt 'cos it looked like it's gg to rain.. Not gg to make the same stupid mistake of getting stuck in a rainy day jam... Ended up getting lunch from harbourfront... Even went into sentosa to get my islander card.. Hehe ;p
Got home.. Shower, do laundry, eat lunch, check mail...alamak dr lear still haven't sent me my corrected lab report for the lab rotation at his lab...dun care liao...he said he'll make the necessary changes and help me hand it in ;p
Some last minute packing, hanged my laundry... Then it's time to go kovan to meet jacqueline...getting a ride from her fren, chris, to the airport :)
Got to the airport at almost 5 and met up with jasmine, ryal, siew kwan, san san, merey and little reef! Hang chong, swee yin, wilson and zul were late ;p
We took really long to check in man... we had so many things.. Even a fishing rod requested by a sri lankan...another one even requested for a fridge! WAT??!!! Siao ah.. Of course we din get the fridge lah ;p
After that, we went to ntuc to buy some food... Plenty of canned tuna and instant noodle... Hehe :D
Then it's time to go to the transit area... Mei2 waiting for me! we had a drink from coffeebean... Then it's almost time for me to board the plane... Bye, Mei2... Take care of tigger and frens, ya ;)
On the plane, we made so much noise... haha...always fun to travel in a grp... Reef was quite a good boy on the plane...hehe...apparently he's quite a frequent flyer for his age...
I sat with swee yin and siew kwan...wah..we damn funny...like collecting souvenirs on the plane...we took their disposable cups and utensils...haha...can use in sri lanka :p
On the plane...San San, Jas, Swee Yin, Siew Kwan and me!
Zul n Reef
On the plane I was watching this documentary on MRSA and antibiotic use..this guy went into pharmacies in Europe trying to buy antibiotic for a cold..sometimes he even specified it's viral and asked the pharmacist whether there's any pt to take antibiotic...yet the pharmacist sold the antibiotic, amoxicillin to him...that's in belgium and can't rem which other countries...xuanhao...wat can FIP do abt this?! Actually i'm not sure when was this filmed...
Anyway, there were some positive examples in Holland...must be 'cos FIP HQ is there..hehe...and Spain too..the pharmacist insisted on a prescription or they call it recipe...if I din hear wrongly ;p
And in an ER..I think holland...the nurse who attended this guy, spoke to some doc and adviced that guy to go home and rest first...and he shld get better..only if he doesn't get better, then he come back and maybe will be prescribed antibiotic :)
Anyway, we arrived at sri lanka at abt 9..had to take a shuttle bus to the arrival hall...went through custom etc...and found Eng Wan, Merey's husband who's based in Sri Lanka waiting for us ;D
Oh did I mentioned Reef suddenly fell asleep ard the time we landed...he was just wailing when we were landing! And he was totally unconscious after that!
At Colombo airport...
We took a long van ride from the airport to our hotel in colombo..Hotel Juliana...
We stayed 3 gals/4 guys to a room...I stayed with Jasmine and Swee Yin ;)
My bag took sometime to come 'cos the ppl on the other van din unload all our bags :p and the driver went for a drink! At least he locked the door ;)
After some waiting, we the driver was finally back...but guess wat? My bag was not in the van...I din check lah..Jacq said she saw 3 bags mah...but one was Merey's bag meant to be left in the van ;p
In the end...guess where I found my bag? The guys room! Wah..they din even say anything abt an extra unidentified bag...looks like all those advert on calling the police when u see an unidentified bag...din work...heh :p
Some snacks and toys we brought...hehe
Some of us had supper at the chinese restaurant downstairs...and it's time for bed...zzzzz
Chelonia - Day 2 (29 Sept) Transfer from Colombo to Kosgoda
Woke up at 7am in darkness..hehe..'cos our room had no window ;p
Oh ya...sri lanka is 2 hrs behind s'pore/m'sia...so that's 9am back home liao..first time I woke up so "late" since dunno when...
Had a shower, packed up, then we took the van out for bfast and grocery shopping...supposed to have bfast at KFC which is next to the supermarket...but KFC opens at 1030 :P
So we bought our approx 100 sing dollars worth of grocery which shld be enough for at least 2 days meals...and oh ya..we had a tub of Mars ice-cream for pre-bfast...haha
There's a little pharmacy there too...hehe...took a photo of it...just couldn't help it man...but the pharmacist there was rather reluctant to be included in the photo...hmm…wonder why…
From there we took a pretty long ride..abt 1 hr plus to our bfast place...most of us dozed off during the ride...hehe ;p
Our bfast consisted of an assortment of fried spicy stuff...hehe...must find out wat they r called...actually some of them can be found in our indian food stalls ;)
Then we continued our journey to kosgoda...we were along the beach most of the time...could see some ships stranded on the beach...most likely from the boxing day tsunami...
The house we r staying in is very nice..
We dump our stuff in the house...checked out wat we need to buy...then ryal, jacq, engwan, zul and I went out to buy the stuff...cooking utensils, pails and even a gas stove!
Meanwhile, the rest stayed back to clean up the place ;)
Today, we had our first fear factor challenge of trying the woodapple juice....eew...it's very sour...Reef seemed to enjoy it after the weird expression he gave after the first sip...hehe..so cute..
Later in the afternoon, we walked to the TCP (turtle conservation project) office...that's the only turtle grp that's officially recognised here...
We took more than half an hour to walk the 1km plus...hehe...'cos we kept stopping to take photos...tourist lah..haha ;p
We met Lal at the TCP office...who gave us a nice presentation on TCP...using his Toshiba laptop ;)
There have been quite a no. of green turtles laying eggs here recently...and next month we'll probably see a lot olive ridley turtles...woohoo!!!
The nest watchers...which r ppl who used to be poachers and are now trained to patrol the beach at night...works in 2 shifts...4pm to 12 midnight...and 12 to 8am...
We'll probably join them in the patrolling soon...not tonight lah ;p
We'll start with the library tomorrow...it's somewhere btw our house and TCP office...
After the mtg, we're all very hungry liao...last meal was like 8 hrs ago!
We still have to walk back home ;(
This time we walked back via the beach...wow...the beach is very very beautiful...and the wave's quite strong! There're a lot of nice seashells too ;D
We also saw a pretty big hermit crab...hehe...everyone suddenly crowded ard the crab to attempt to take a photo of it...haha..paparazzi attack!
When we finally reached home, we scrambled to cook...haha...hungry mah ;p
It was quite a mess in the kitchen...our chef were jasmine and ryal...who cooked us tomato n shallot omellete, sambal kangkong and spicy garlic eggplant...yummy...for dessert, merey whipped up a dish of papaya n avocado salad...yummy!!!
After dinner, we showered, played dai di, chilled out...then zzzzzz
Oh ya...sri lanka is 2 hrs behind s'pore/m'sia...so that's 9am back home liao..first time I woke up so "late" since dunno when...
Had a shower, packed up, then we took the van out for bfast and grocery shopping...supposed to have bfast at KFC which is next to the supermarket...but KFC opens at 1030 :P
So we bought our approx 100 sing dollars worth of grocery which shld be enough for at least 2 days meals...and oh ya..we had a tub of Mars ice-cream for pre-bfast...haha
There's a little pharmacy there too...hehe...took a photo of it...just couldn't help it man...but the pharmacist there was rather reluctant to be included in the photo...hmm…wonder why…
From there we took a pretty long ride..abt 1 hr plus to our bfast place...most of us dozed off during the ride...hehe ;p
Our bfast consisted of an assortment of fried spicy stuff...hehe...must find out wat they r called...actually some of them can be found in our indian food stalls ;)
Then we continued our journey to kosgoda...we were along the beach most of the time...could see some ships stranded on the beach...most likely from the boxing day tsunami...
The house we r staying in is very nice..
We dump our stuff in the house...checked out wat we need to buy...then ryal, jacq, engwan, zul and I went out to buy the stuff...cooking utensils, pails and even a gas stove!
Meanwhile, the rest stayed back to clean up the place ;)
Today, we had our first fear factor challenge of trying the woodapple juice....eew...it's very sour...Reef seemed to enjoy it after the weird expression he gave after the first sip...hehe..so cute..
Later in the afternoon, we walked to the TCP (turtle conservation project) office...that's the only turtle grp that's officially recognised here...
We took more than half an hour to walk the 1km plus...hehe...'cos we kept stopping to take photos...tourist lah..haha ;p
We met Lal at the TCP office...who gave us a nice presentation on TCP...using his Toshiba laptop ;)
There have been quite a no. of green turtles laying eggs here recently...and next month we'll probably see a lot olive ridley turtles...woohoo!!!
The nest watchers...which r ppl who used to be poachers and are now trained to patrol the beach at night...works in 2 shifts...4pm to 12 midnight...and 12 to 8am...
We'll probably join them in the patrolling soon...not tonight lah ;p
We'll start with the library tomorrow...it's somewhere btw our house and TCP office...
After the mtg, we're all very hungry liao...last meal was like 8 hrs ago!
We still have to walk back home ;(
This time we walked back via the beach...wow...the beach is very very beautiful...and the wave's quite strong! There're a lot of nice seashells too ;D
We also saw a pretty big hermit crab...hehe...everyone suddenly crowded ard the crab to attempt to take a photo of it...haha..paparazzi attack!
Photo of the hermit crab taken by one of the paparazzi...unfortunately i dun have photo of the paparazzi surrounding the poor little hermit crab
When we finally reached home, we scrambled to cook...haha...hungry mah ;p
It was quite a mess in the kitchen...our chef were jasmine and ryal...who cooked us tomato n shallot omellete, sambal kangkong and spicy garlic eggplant...yummy...for dessert, merey whipped up a dish of papaya n avocado salad...yummy!!!
After dinner, we showered, played dai di, chilled out...then zzzzzz
Chelonia - Day 3 (30 Sept) Library clean up and Turtle watch
Woke up at 7am...hmm...dunno why also...we r supposed to set off at 9am...wake up so early for wat? ;p
Had bread with tuna or cheese spread, peanut butter and nutella for bfast...yumyum...then we cleaned up...
Oh ya...our water ran out all of a sudden last nite...hmm...where does the water come from? Found out today that there's a pump to fill the tank we get our water from...haha...aunty kalyani, the landlord, was surprised we din asked abt the water earlier...hehe
After a short meeting to brief us on today and the next few days proposed activities...we set off to the telecommunications tower to meet Lal who'll bring us to the library...
The library is a pretty small but tidy building...it's very dusty though...haven't been used for more than a month...a lot of weeds outside too....
So our first task was to help them clean up the place...with the help of a couple of kids...
We displaced a lot of the ecosystem there...hehe...spiders, millipedes, snails etc...we removed a lot of weeds too!!! Suddenly it looks more bare ard the library ;)
After the cleanup, we had a rest in the library...then when we're abt to leave for TCP for lunch...our lunch arrived at the library...goodie ;D
The lunch was pretty good...but spicy!
After lunch, we headed back home via the beach rd...hehe...but b4 we headed towards the beach...we stopped by some coconut trees at a Capt Mendis's house while zul tried to climb the tree to pluck the coconut...haha...but failed...oops
Walked passed the train station on the way back...cool station...hehe
Can u see me in the phone booth?
We walked along the beach near the water until hang chong spotted a turtle nesting site...btw section 5 and 6...after that, we saw more nesting sites and some body pits from the false crawl...
Then suddenly, wilson noticed dark clouds over the horizon and...hmm...it seems to be raining there liao...SPEED UP! Could see the dark clouds moving towards us but it din reached us...hmm...wonder where it went...
Actually later I found out it did rain…’cos the guys that went to buy bottled water had to take shelter somewhere…but it rained for a very short while only…prob that’s y I din notice the rain :p
Back at home we just nua...trying to come up with the perfect arrangement for sleeping tonite...such that everyone gets the fan...hehe
After an afternoon's nap...we had dinner prepared by aunty kalyani ...curry chicken, long beans and mixed vege containing carrots, celery and shallots...eew...celery...yuck :p but dinner was good in general ;)
We added tomato omellete as the tomatoes were turning bad...hehe...
After dinner, we prepared to set off to the beach for turtle watch...
Before we go to the beach, we stopped by at Capt Mendis's house again..hmm..they r having some ceremony there...inviting the spirits over...it's for prosperity...
Anyway, after a cup of tea, we left for the beach...
Everyone dressed up in black..as adviced by Dr Diong previously..hehe...dun wanna scare away the turtles ;)
We headed to the central hut where the TCP nest watchers meet-up...where we were briefed on wat the nest watchers do each day...
Then we splitted into 2 grps...and followed the separate pair of nest watchers...
We walked to the end of the TCP area...then sat down and waited for more than an hour...occasionally, the nest watchers will go for a short patrol....
Then we met up again at the central hut...stoned, looked at stars, dozed off...then we went for another round of patrol in the opposite direction...both grps switched directions...
Din see any turtles today...but we saw this guy with a sack...catching crabs...we saw a very big one!! But it's been killed by that guy...how long can that crab last?
At almost 3am...we started heading home...in darkness...guided with our torch...hehe...
Some showered...I didn't..just tied my hammock, lighted the mosquito coil...then zzzzz...
Had bread with tuna or cheese spread, peanut butter and nutella for bfast...yumyum...then we cleaned up...
Oh ya...our water ran out all of a sudden last nite...hmm...where does the water come from? Found out today that there's a pump to fill the tank we get our water from...haha...aunty kalyani, the landlord, was surprised we din asked abt the water earlier...hehe
After a short meeting to brief us on today and the next few days proposed activities...we set off to the telecommunications tower to meet Lal who'll bring us to the library...
The library is a pretty small but tidy building...it's very dusty though...haven't been used for more than a month...a lot of weeds outside too....
So our first task was to help them clean up the place...with the help of a couple of kids...
We displaced a lot of the ecosystem there...hehe...spiders, millipedes, snails etc...we removed a lot of weeds too!!! Suddenly it looks more bare ard the library ;)
After the cleanup, we had a rest in the library...then when we're abt to leave for TCP for lunch...our lunch arrived at the library...goodie ;D
The lunch was pretty good...but spicy!
After lunch, we headed back home via the beach rd...hehe...but b4 we headed towards the beach...we stopped by some coconut trees at a Capt Mendis's house while zul tried to climb the tree to pluck the coconut...haha...but failed...oops
Walked passed the train station on the way back...cool station...hehe
Can u see me in the phone booth?
We walked along the beach near the water until hang chong spotted a turtle nesting site...btw section 5 and 6...after that, we saw more nesting sites and some body pits from the false crawl...
Then suddenly, wilson noticed dark clouds over the horizon and...hmm...it seems to be raining there liao...SPEED UP! Could see the dark clouds moving towards us but it din reached us...hmm...wonder where it went...
Actually later I found out it did rain…’cos the guys that went to buy bottled water had to take shelter somewhere…but it rained for a very short while only…prob that’s y I din notice the rain :p
Back at home we just nua...trying to come up with the perfect arrangement for sleeping tonite...such that everyone gets the fan...hehe
After an afternoon's nap...we had dinner prepared by aunty kalyani ...curry chicken, long beans and mixed vege containing carrots, celery and shallots...eew...celery...yuck :p but dinner was good in general ;)
We added tomato omellete as the tomatoes were turning bad...hehe...
After dinner, we prepared to set off to the beach for turtle watch...
Before we go to the beach, we stopped by at Capt Mendis's house again..hmm..they r having some ceremony there...inviting the spirits over...it's for prosperity...
Anyway, after a cup of tea, we left for the beach...
Everyone dressed up in black..as adviced by Dr Diong previously..hehe...dun wanna scare away the turtles ;)
We headed to the central hut where the TCP nest watchers meet-up...where we were briefed on wat the nest watchers do each day...
Then we splitted into 2 grps...and followed the separate pair of nest watchers...
We walked to the end of the TCP area...then sat down and waited for more than an hour...occasionally, the nest watchers will go for a short patrol....
Then we met up again at the central hut...stoned, looked at stars, dozed off...then we went for another round of patrol in the opposite direction...both grps switched directions...
Din see any turtles today...but we saw this guy with a sack...catching crabs...we saw a very big one!! But it's been killed by that guy...how long can that crab last?
At almost 3am...we started heading home...in darkness...guided with our torch...hehe...
Some showered...I didn't..just tied my hammock, lighted the mosquito coil...then zzzzz...
Chelonia - Day 4 (1 Oct) Tree planting and Mural painting
Started stirring after only abt 4 hrs sleep...not sure why...but woke up at 7.30 when Engwan was bringing Reef out for a walk...oh ya..yest Reef suddenly woke up and started crying when we reached home at abt 3...he's so cute...he must be wondering why everyone's still up at that time...hmm...
Anyway, I had a shower...then went back to sleep in the hammock...yawn...
When I woke up again, bfast was prepared...or was that lunch? We had fried rice and cheese omellete...yummy...but not much though :( Finished up the bananas which were turning bad...yummy!!
Merey also prepared curd with banana, oreo and milo...2nd fear factor challenge!! Only hang chong, ryal and merey like it...hehe ;p
At abt 10 plus, a van came by to pick us up for the replanting work by the beach...who's gg replanting, who' gg mural painting?
In the end I went replanting since many r gg mural painting liao ;p In my rush, I forgot to bring my shades...damn!!
Anyway, the replanting goes this way...the plants were brought from the nursery, one used a 'cangkul' to dig a small hole...one placed the plants in the hole..the another removed the plastic that keeps the soil ard the plant put back in the hole, cover it...and it's done ;)
The plant was very torny..ouch..kept poking myself! I have a lot of scratches now ;p But we learnt to get poke less after a while ;p
Replanting team
The guy that was teaching us wat to do, Wasana...hmm how to spell his name...was really talkative...he's quite a buaya too...hehe ;p
Anyway, the kosgoda ppl seem to like to bring us ard to travel...a boat ride up...er...I think..Madu river...where there r 64 islands??!! Yest we were offered the same thing when we're at Capt Mendis's place..
At ard 12 plus, after we had brought all the 1500 plants we're supposed to replant from the nursery...we took a break...by then we have replanted more than half lah ;p
Wasana climbed up a coconut tree and got us plenty of coconuts! Alrite...good thing I ended up with the replanting grp...hehe...but that’s kinda our lunch for the day….
We finished replanting at abt 3pm...got back to the house..but we had no keys...luckily Sham, driver from a previous YEP trip, came by to pick up the fishing rod he requested...so we took his van down to the library to get the keys from zul...
Wow the mural is very nice! Can't wait to see how it's like when it's finished painting..
Mural-painting team
We came back to nua til abt 6pm...then went for a walk ard our place...we met aunty Kalyani who suggested we go visit her daughter's house which was submerged during the tsunami...
Wow ¾ of the one storey house was submerged…but it was pretty lucky that their house was protected by another building...so it was still pretty intact ;)
On the way there we saw a cinnamon oil factory too...
Destruction caused by the tsunami
Cinammon oil factory
For dinner, we had macaroni with chicken, carrot n potato soup...plain but yummy ;D
After that, we had a meeting to brief each other on wat we did that day..
The mural painting grp will still have to go back to the library to touch up on the painting...
Then we had a briefing by Engwan on our new project...
We'll be doing the bed, shelf n milk project...with the tsunami victims who do not actually qualify to be considered IDP (internally displaced person)...as their houses/properties are partially destroyed...
So tom morning, we'll wake up at 7am, have bfast at the aunty Kalyani’s place...then go meet up with some monks to discuss on our bed, shelf project...no milk involved...
Then we'll probably start on our survey to determine how many familes will need the beds and/or shelves...
We had a discussion among our group after that...decided on how we want to conduct the survey...
In the end, we decided on a very simple one...just find out how many ppl in their household...and we'll probably give every household at least a bed and a shelf...maybe 2 sets if they really need them...make the rules simple...hopefully less complains ;)
After that...zzzzz
Anyway, I had a shower...then went back to sleep in the hammock...yawn...
When I woke up again, bfast was prepared...or was that lunch? We had fried rice and cheese omellete...yummy...but not much though :( Finished up the bananas which were turning bad...yummy!!
Merey also prepared curd with banana, oreo and milo...2nd fear factor challenge!! Only hang chong, ryal and merey like it...hehe ;p
At abt 10 plus, a van came by to pick us up for the replanting work by the beach...who's gg replanting, who' gg mural painting?
In the end I went replanting since many r gg mural painting liao ;p In my rush, I forgot to bring my shades...damn!!
Anyway, the replanting goes this way...the plants were brought from the nursery, one used a 'cangkul' to dig a small hole...one placed the plants in the hole..the another removed the plastic that keeps the soil ard the plant put back in the hole, cover it...and it's done ;)
The plant was very torny..ouch..kept poking myself! I have a lot of scratches now ;p But we learnt to get poke less after a while ;p
Replanting team
The guy that was teaching us wat to do, Wasana...hmm how to spell his name...was really talkative...he's quite a buaya too...hehe ;p
Anyway, the kosgoda ppl seem to like to bring us ard to travel...a boat ride up...er...I think..Madu river...where there r 64 islands??!! Yest we were offered the same thing when we're at Capt Mendis's place..
At ard 12 plus, after we had brought all the 1500 plants we're supposed to replant from the nursery...we took a break...by then we have replanted more than half lah ;p
Wasana climbed up a coconut tree and got us plenty of coconuts! Alrite...good thing I ended up with the replanting grp...hehe...but that’s kinda our lunch for the day….
We finished replanting at abt 3pm...got back to the house..but we had no keys...luckily Sham, driver from a previous YEP trip, came by to pick up the fishing rod he requested...so we took his van down to the library to get the keys from zul...
Wow the mural is very nice! Can't wait to see how it's like when it's finished painting..
Mural-painting team
We came back to nua til abt 6pm...then went for a walk ard our place...we met aunty Kalyani who suggested we go visit her daughter's house which was submerged during the tsunami...
Wow ¾ of the one storey house was submerged…but it was pretty lucky that their house was protected by another building...so it was still pretty intact ;)
On the way there we saw a cinnamon oil factory too...
Destruction caused by the tsunami
Cinammon oil factoryFor dinner, we had macaroni with chicken, carrot n potato soup...plain but yummy ;D
After that, we had a meeting to brief each other on wat we did that day..
The mural painting grp will still have to go back to the library to touch up on the painting...
Then we had a briefing by Engwan on our new project...
We'll be doing the bed, shelf n milk project...with the tsunami victims who do not actually qualify to be considered IDP (internally displaced person)...as their houses/properties are partially destroyed...
So tom morning, we'll wake up at 7am, have bfast at the aunty Kalyani’s place...then go meet up with some monks to discuss on our bed, shelf project...no milk involved...
Then we'll probably start on our survey to determine how many familes will need the beds and/or shelves...
We had a discussion among our group after that...decided on how we want to conduct the survey...
In the end, we decided on a very simple one...just find out how many ppl in their household...and we'll probably give every household at least a bed and a shelf...maybe 2 sets if they really need them...make the rules simple...hopefully less complains ;)
After that...zzzzz
Chelonia - Day 5 (2 Oct) Needs survey at Piyagama
I have been sleeping in the hammock the past 2 nights...there's always a symphony when i'm sleeping...insects, train, wilson moving in his hammock...haha...and finally my alarm..
We din go turtle watching last night...woke up at 7plus...and we went over to aunty kalyani's house for bfast..we had yummy string hoppers...which is similar to putu mayam but eaten with curry like roti jala...with chicken curry and potato curry...
Then we proceeded to the Amaramuni temple..abt 2.5km from our place...
We had a meeting with the chief monk with the help of a translator, Anura...then sweeyin and I went back home to get some papers, chop, collar pin etc for the needs survey we'll be conducting...while the rest stayed back for a briefing by jacq and wilson...
When we got back to the temple, we started our survey in 2 grps...with the help of 2 translators...Anura and his daughter, Dilupa...
The chief monk helped to direct us to the different homes...it's really difficult to identify which homes we have been to...or how rather how to be sure we have covered all the homes...
Survey in progress
Many villagers are still leaving in their destroyed houses or still in the process of rebuilding 9 months after the tsunami...because of the poverty..
...we still see some nicer, bigger houses in process of rebuilding...
Check out marking of the water level...
Anyway, the whole day was spent on the needs survey...only managed to cover abt 100 households...another abt 50 to go...one grp will do that tom...
In between the survey, we breaked for lunch...Anura brought us to this place called Daniel's pub...all of us had fried except zul...must have his omelette with rice...hehe...
I actually managed to finish one big pile of rice...followed by ice cream!!!
Coconut break b4 gg off for lunch
Lunch at Daniel's Pub
The survey after lunch was a slightly diff experience...the villagers know abt our survey liao...so they get more demanding...kept showing us their broken beds etc...some even asked for sewing machine etc!!! Oh well...
Dinner that night was pasta with tomato based pasta sauce containing sausage, mushroom n corned beef… We were too tired to go turtle watch…so at night just nua…then zzzzzzz
We din go turtle watching last night...woke up at 7plus...and we went over to aunty kalyani's house for bfast..we had yummy string hoppers...which is similar to putu mayam but eaten with curry like roti jala...with chicken curry and potato curry...
Then we proceeded to the Amaramuni temple..abt 2.5km from our place...
We had a meeting with the chief monk with the help of a translator, Anura...then sweeyin and I went back home to get some papers, chop, collar pin etc for the needs survey we'll be conducting...while the rest stayed back for a briefing by jacq and wilson...
When we got back to the temple, we started our survey in 2 grps...with the help of 2 translators...Anura and his daughter, Dilupa...
The chief monk helped to direct us to the different homes...it's really difficult to identify which homes we have been to...or how rather how to be sure we have covered all the homes...
Survey in progress
Many villagers are still leaving in their destroyed houses or still in the process of rebuilding 9 months after the tsunami...because of the poverty..
...we still see some nicer, bigger houses in process of rebuilding...
Check out marking of the water level...
Anyway, the whole day was spent on the needs survey...only managed to cover abt 100 households...another abt 50 to go...one grp will do that tom...
In between the survey, we breaked for lunch...Anura brought us to this place called Daniel's pub...all of us had fried except zul...must have his omelette with rice...hehe...
I actually managed to finish one big pile of rice...followed by ice cream!!!
Coconut break b4 gg off for lunch
Lunch at Daniel's Pub
The survey after lunch was a slightly diff experience...the villagers know abt our survey liao...so they get more demanding...kept showing us their broken beds etc...some even asked for sewing machine etc!!! Oh well...
Dinner that night was pasta with tomato based pasta sauce containing sausage, mushroom n corned beef… We were too tired to go turtle watch…so at night just nua…then zzzzzzz
Chelonia - Day 6 (3 Oct) Shelves building
After bfast which consist of omellette, corned beef, spreads n tuna with bread...we headed down to the temple...
Our first day of shelf building...Engwan showed us how to build one first...
Step 1...saw the timbers to the correct size...2 short, 1 long...for each shelving...we have 3 per shelves..so u do the math :p
Step 2...preparation of shelving...gotta put form a C shape with the timbers...then hammer a 2 by 1 foot plywood onto it....make sure the timbers are flushed in front..
Step 3...assembly...once 3 shelving has been made...cam start assemblying with one 2 by 2 plywood as backing and two 2 by 1 plywood at the side...flush at the bottom and back of the shelf...and make sure the shelves are parallel to the ground...if not sure...let it slant inwards a bit...so things won't drop out...very practical ;)
Step 4...sand-papering...sand of the rough parts and round of the corners so that the shelves are safer to use ;)
Step 5...applies only to 14 shelves that will be given to the temple...painting...the shelves were painted with 2 types of paint...one as the base...and the final layer...
Anura helped us to get lunch sent to the temple...we had fish, potatoes, long beans with rice...and yoghurt for dessert...bought by Engwan...since he went out to get extra lunch for the villagers who were helping us out..
After lunch, Anura was back...so one grp continued with the needs survey for the remainder households...while the rest of us went back to hammering...i'm getting deaf...haha ;p Managed to build abt 30 shelves today!!!
On the way back, Jasmine, Merey and I took photo of an on-coming train...I was actually standing on the track!!!
After a hard days work, we had dinner consisting of pumpkin, radish and tapioca by aunty and we prepared our own lemon chicken...yummy
Again to tired for turtle watch…more shelves to build tomorrow…so nua…then zzzzz
Our first day of shelf building...Engwan showed us how to build one first...
Step 1...saw the timbers to the correct size...2 short, 1 long...for each shelving...we have 3 per shelves..so u do the math :p
Step 2...preparation of shelving...gotta put form a C shape with the timbers...then hammer a 2 by 1 foot plywood onto it....make sure the timbers are flushed in front..
Step 3...assembly...once 3 shelving has been made...cam start assemblying with one 2 by 2 plywood as backing and two 2 by 1 plywood at the side...flush at the bottom and back of the shelf...and make sure the shelves are parallel to the ground...if not sure...let it slant inwards a bit...so things won't drop out...very practical ;)
Step 4...sand-papering...sand of the rough parts and round of the corners so that the shelves are safer to use ;)
Step 5...applies only to 14 shelves that will be given to the temple...painting...the shelves were painted with 2 types of paint...one as the base...and the final layer...
Anura helped us to get lunch sent to the temple...we had fish, potatoes, long beans with rice...and yoghurt for dessert...bought by Engwan...since he went out to get extra lunch for the villagers who were helping us out..
After lunch, Anura was back...so one grp continued with the needs survey for the remainder households...while the rest of us went back to hammering...i'm getting deaf...haha ;p Managed to build abt 30 shelves today!!!
On the way back, Jasmine, Merey and I took photo of an on-coming train...I was actually standing on the track!!!
After a hard days work, we had dinner consisting of pumpkin, radish and tapioca by aunty and we prepared our own lemon chicken...yummy
Again to tired for turtle watch…more shelves to build tomorrow…so nua…then zzzzz
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