0 The Culmination

I'm kind of excited and happy and relieved to finally submit my thesis. After 10 months, I have learnt so much and killed so much. 3 days more but I have et to write my discussion section.

Anyhow, the more important thing is that the most massive haul of online grocery shopping has finally arrived at the doorstep! Well not exactly because I had to personally collect it from the post-office. Loving ALL the stuff. From the vanilla COCONUT macaroons to the "cheezy" kale krunch chips to the spirulina granola which I thought would be like oat bran kind porridge, but nevermind, it's darn tasty. The JEM almond butter was kind of below my expectations though. It tasted between a cross of gula melaka and kaya, a bit of almond flavour but not really there. I think I'll stick to the traditional almond butters like Woodstock or Artisana but it makes a nice drizzly topping nonetheless. Have yet to open the macadamia nut butter and raw cacao butter and cacao nibs!

Oh yes, the most awesome sammich for lunch: Gardenia bread with pesto, salmon + barely there wiggly sunny side-up egg whites, cherry tomatoes and sprinkles of KALE KRUNCH. Made complete with a whole october sun plum and a guilty indulgence of a crumble of vanilla almond macaroon.

0 1000 words a day

What a major load off the back! Poster session is finally over and done with. While one examiner asked plenty of questions, the other was barely listening and did not appear very much interested. Anyway, I'm so glad and happy it's over. Now I just have to write ~1000 words a day to the final thesis submission on 11 Apr. Okay, ideally I should write for one week and revise for another week so that makes it 2000 words a day.

Power breakfast to start the day: 33g oat bran (necessary for the time-being instead of steel cutters due to time constraints in the morning), 25g frozen nana, 11 blueberries, 1 strawberry, innards of one durian cream puff, chia seeds, sesame/flax/pumpkinseed powder, homemade almond/sesame/peanut butter, 2 raisins and topped with more sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Needless to say, the treasure in this bowl was the dollop of D24 durian cream strategically hidden in the centre of the bowl.

Let's get the ball rolling towards the goal of 2000 words a day! >>>

Nearly a year's worth of hard work summarized into 36x40 inches. In less than 48 hours time.

Within the hour's wait for printing, I spawned an ingenuous idea to hop over to Kith cafe for dinner. Torned between the choice of pasta or sandwich, I choose the latter - Grilled eggplant sandwich with spinach, brie, white truffle oil on multigrain bread. While I enjoyed the sandwich at that moment, on hindsight I now think it was a seriously overpriced and underwhelming sandwich. giant steaks of eggplant had so much potential; unfortunately it was undergrilled and tough. One of my two slices of bread was beyond toasted and thus dry. They could be more generous with the spinach and tomato slices too, although they were generous with chunks of creamy brie. This is the reason why I seldom eat out. Maybe I should have stuck with the king prawn linguine and be less angsty about the less than worthy meal.

0 The days are numbered

Never had I thought FYP could amount to such a tremendous amount of time, pain, blood and effort. The days are numbered, and I'm not even 10 percent through my poster and thesis :(

Ten days later and my second bowl of creamy, fluffy, eggy (white) oats, again bananafied with broiled and caramelized bananas. The twist this time was sesame/pumpkin/flax powder and passionfruit, and needless to say, the mandatory salty [and now chocolately] sunbutter. Amazeballs texture and taste! My appetite these days have been ravenous and my digestion speed may amount to a high speed train; despite the (expected) high protein content of this breakfast, it barely tided over two hours, but I decided to hold the hunger in anticipation of: Farewell lunch later with the lab members for HM and I at Star Vista!

0 Afflicted

Hacking cough, pounding migraine, intermittent fever, sleepless nights, night sweats, broken sleep, back, shoulder and neck ache, sore ribcage, vertigo, impending diarrhea, pineapple mouth syndrome (I will never eat pineapple when coughing again, ever!).

I feel so down in the dumps that I actually went to check out how to apply for leave of absence for the semester. I mean it's not just this bout of sickness; given the physical state of my body, I could always claim that immediate recovery is paramount and I'm sure no doctor could refuse? Sigh, but the thought of delaying by one sem is off-putting. On the other hand, why do I feel like I'm going to flunk my fyp?

It's the end of week 1/17 - scary...

0 2012>2013

I ushered in the new year... by not ushering it in; I was in deep slumber, knocked out and unconscious. Initially I even contemplated going for watchnight service. But as I crawled into bed at 9 PM (just after dinner and newspaper reading), I knew I was a goner. What an eventful start to the new year, ha.

2012 was a year of turbulence and self-discovery. It started off with re-adapting to the intensity of NUS's curriculum, after spending a relaxing semester at KCL, which may even be considered a semi-holiday. Of course, there was much nostalgia and pining for the days of yore. Politics of Heritage was also one of the most challenging, stressful but rewarding modules I'd taken so far. Of course, the highlight was the trip to Cambodia which really opened my eyes to the less fortunate and atrocities of mankind; my previous travels were largely limited to the first world countries. Starting lab was another turning point. I'd never imagine it could get so intense, or maybe it was the nature of my project. Even before commencing the project, finding the right professor proved a challenge as a faced many rejections.

Spiritually, I think I can say I've grown a teeny weeny bit. At least I try to devote the best part of the day (mornings) to reading the Bible and learning God's word. I hope to continue this practice in 2013, as well as to do more prayer and read deeper into the Word, and not just read for reading's sake. I would love to join a small group in church, but I'm so afraid of commitments, especially when my schedule is so unpredictable. I know this is an unexcusable excuse, for nothing should override God as priority. But still...

It has also been a lot of fun on the gastronomy side. Although I still like dining out, I now much prefer home-cooked food and experimenting with ingredients. This (oops, I mean last) year many new creations were replicated or developed, from breads from scratch to curries and protein powders. The tradition of oatmeal continues unabated, but with more flourishes and toppings. I also overcame my fear of coconut in 2012; now I enjoy coconut butter in appreciable amounts, use coconut meat without second thought in smoothies and drink coconut juice with gusto. The top few dining highlights in 2012 were (in no particular order): Pollen at GBTB, Waterfall Cafe at Shangri La, Wah Lok at Carlton Hotel, Wild Honey at Scotts and the sweet potato curry from Palm Sugar (?) restaurant in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Actually I loved all the food in Cambodia. Unfortunately, I lost even more weight, and am at my lowest physical point ever, if that is even possible. :(

In 2013, I hope to gain weight (drink supplements consistently and treat it like it's medicine); grow stronger spiritually and have a deeper relationship with God, and hopefully discover God's purpose for my life; learn to live and let loose; learn to treasure friendship, family ties, and not be so insular.

Today the new year gave an impetus to try out a new breakfast: buckwheat groats porridge. Previously I had only tried buckwheat flakes before which has a very earthy taste and definitely would benefit from some (natural) sugars. As a fail-safe strategy, I did a cream-of-banana-cinnamon-vanilla with buckwheat groats, cooked in water/soy in 1:2 ratio. The groats were much less absorbent than oatmeal, and did not get creamy at all. Although according to instructions, the groats would be cooked within 10 minutes, I doubled the cooking time as I did not want to be biting into stones for breakfast. It was topped with the usual tahini, protein nut mix and a special (last) chocolate-covered raisin. The result? Either the groats were tasteless or the banana-cinnamon-vanilla spice completely overwhelmed the expected earthy taste of buckwheat. I may reduce the cooking time to 10-15 minutes for some chew; this time it was quite soft although the groats still retained their individual shape. Overall it was not a bad experience. I am also looking forward to experimenting it in salads and savoury dishes like pesto buckwheat.

For lunch I also prepared an artichoke - a first experience. Another post will be dedicated to this!

Seeing prof for ISM arrangement tmr morning :( My last ISM. A tinge of regret that I procrastinated last sem and shifted it to this sem.

Bible verse to tide through the year (or at least the month or week)- Joshua 1:6-9

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

0 Doughy, carby, chocolatey

Things have been busy lately, but it's the repetitive-kind-of-busy, which means not much progress made on the lab front. At least I've managed to clear 90% of confocal imaging, which was my target set for 31-12-12. I'm really quite sick of lab now; what's keeping me sane is knowing that it'll all be over in a matter of months time. It's so near yet so far. I know all this will pass in a whiz, yet during this period of time there's still the data to process, thesis to write, poster presentation. These very thoughts scare me.

On the food front, things could not have been better. I take every meal, especially breakfasts and Sunday dinners, as an opportunity to exercise creativity. From Christmassy oatmeal themes featuring s'nog (soy nogs) and homemade cranberry sauce (above) to pools of hot mole chocolate made with good quality dark chocolate like Godiva and Fauchon (below).

Today's breakfast theme - triple chocolate & banana (from bottom up): seared 'nana coins; Rude Health The Oatmeal cooked in water with a nugget of Justin's chocolate almond butter stuck in the core; topped with hot chocolate mole sauce made with soy milk, protein powder, square of Fauchon 65% coffee chocolate noir, chocolate mole powder and extra coffee granules.

This week I also bought Rudi's cinnamon raisin bagels which I had for a quick lunch today before going off to Middle Earth. Mouthfuls of doughy carbs paired with mushy avocado and flakey salmon = pure satisfaction.

Dinner was aloo matar gajar, basic indian curry with potatoes, peas and carrots (translated in that order). I added carrots for extra bulk. Alongside I had a hunk of Curry Times' curry bun, which was filled with even more potatoey goodness, and I must admit, their filling was much tastier than mine. I loved the soft sweet white bread bun. Doughy carbs again!

It's yet another eventful year gone by. I'll be ruminating on the changes and challenges I'll like to take on for 2013 as I reflect on events of 2012. Maybe a dedicated post tomorrow, if I can fit the time in.

0 God is with us

Have yourself a very Merry Christmas. Amidst the bubbly and champagne, lets keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts; the message of love. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. Emmanuel, God is with us.

Slogged out in school the past few days, just so I can have a peaceful Christmas day (break from lab!) Looking forward to church service, carols, Les Miserables and followed by dinner with the extended family tomorrow!

0 The 'P' word

I'm doing it again. Blog hopping, being privy and aimlessly reading about the ongoings of others' lives. Voyeuristic pleasure. Normally I wouldn't feel so guilty since it's the holidays, but this holiday is not a regular one but an 'opportunity-for-intense-fyp,' and so I'm supposed to be working doubly, triply, quadruply hard and start classifying my thousands of confocal stack images and writing that 15,000 thesis paper. But no, I spent two plus hours of doing nothing, clicking from webpage to webpage. Maybe that's why I should stay in lab and work longer hours because at least I'm doing something productive.

Procrastination vs being productive. Oh the paradox!

0 On a yogurt roll

Unexpected surprises evoke the most pleasure. Pulling off the cover of Rachel's ginger greek yogurt revealed a thick, creamy, off-yellow pudding-like yogurt that tastes as sublime as it looked, or even better yet. This yogurt is laced with bits of crystallized ginger which makes for an interesting warm flavour and texture. The ginger wasn't as kick-ass as I would have liked, but the highlight, as I stress again, is the gloriously thick and creamy mouthfeel that the non-fat Fage 0% cannot give. The power of fat, cream and sugar is manifest. I felt so indulgent, digging into the pot. But it sure did make for a good post-lunch dessert, and because it was so rich, I was easily satisfied with two (heaping) tablespoons.

Yogurt was featured in this morn's breakfast too as part of a yogurt mess: Last of Fage 0% + 1/3 crumbled [commercial] muffin + buckwheat flakes + coconut shreds + R2E2 (or KP) mango - the best, non-fibrous, super creamy and smooth mango I'd had ever!! It's a mango from Australia.

For mum's birthday yesterday, I did a handmade card and whipped up some orange zesty french toast using the slightly stale rye sourdough baguette she bought from Bread Society. The french toast wasn't sweet at all (likely attributed to the small amount - 1 tsp - of brown sugar in the egg mix), but with the zesty orange flavour, seared caramelized bananas and yellow nectarine slices, there wasn't and shouldn't be much need for sugar in the first place. My only regret was that I wolfed down my share too fast that I did not have time to analyze the areas for improvements. And also I got serious bloatedness after that and its effects is still manifest till today (slightly).

The family's going out for a Chinese lunch/dinner tomorrow as a continuation of the big 55 celebration. Venue's not confirmed, but I'm game for anything :)

After my final paper next Wednesday, I cannot wait to (i)watch Life of Pi; (ii)watch Rise of the Guardians; (iii)Christmas-related activities; (iv)bake/cook; (v)FYP-related stuff. Yesterday the PI reminded me of the PhD application deadline, indirectly insinuating that I should apply. I guess he's hoping I stay on to continue on the research; I, on the other hand, am not too keen of another four years of studying. At least I should be glad I have an offer to stay on.

0 21+1

Why does time seem to accelerate after you cross the 20 mark? An unexpected birthday surprise from the lab mates, dinner with old school friends and numerous FB msgs made me feel all warm, loved and happy. I realized I haven't felt happy in a long time. And for all these small things in life, to be remembered, I am so thankful and grateful. Photos will be uploaded soon, in lieu of my unstudied test tomorrow.

The quote above is just something I came across. I was nodding the whole time I read the quote. To live in the moment is an art in itself, especially in the hectic, neverending Singapore student life.

5 Gifts and thanks

Thank you for the wonderful time at Venus Transit, the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and learn new information about the wondrous world. Above all, praise to the glorious magical universe of His divine design, His creation.

We helped to set up those ground sheets. No joke considering the humid weather of late. On a side note, isn't UTown so pretty?

Thank you for the watching over the safe delivery of the iHerb order.

I was beginning to wonder if my order of SunWarrior protein powder and Nuttzo seven nut butter, made without tracking (save $), was ever going to make it to my address. Given that this is my first online purchase, I was all the more worried. But it finally did arrive, two-three weeks later, and with freebies inside to boot! So freakin' excited to try out the stuff in tomorrow's breakfast. Even Batman's excited too! Stay tuned for the review.

Thank you for blessing the world with wondrous fruits and foods.

If Eve was tempted by the apple, durian would be my forbidden fruit. Baked Mao Shan durian steel cutters with Cashew Coconut Dream was a tropical paradise and provided good fuel for lab work later. It's NOT a weird combination; tastes just like a warm version of durian chendol :D

For my first lab session, I learnt how to distinguish between male and female flies, and virgin from old flies. Post-lunch I did CNS dissection of third instar larvae. I must have gruesomely killed about 50 would-be flies today alone, in the name of Science. Every time I close my eyes now I see abdomen stripes, guts and bug eyes staring back at me, demanding for their souls back.

0 Fly brains

Success of the week: finally secured an Honours project! This is almost as tough is seeking out a job. For the next year or so, I will be making lots of mutant flies, dissecting fly brains and taking beautiful confocal images of fly brains. I'll be working on the regulation of Notch signaling pathway in Drosophila neuroblasts, which at this stage the research is still very preliminary. I expect a very challenging task ahead, considering that genetics has never been my forte (urgh, genetic crosses!).But you gotta do what you gotta do, so I shall and will have to work doubly hard to understand all those Mendelian stuff, which I usually skim through in the past.

Apart from Honours, I have been going back to school for another reason - free money! I signed up for an experiment in behavioral economics where you just had to answer some math questions and you get rewarded based on the number of questions you got correct. The first round, I earned $15 in just 1 hour. Then I got called back for round two (today). The experiment was conducted in a different format (I won't go into the details) but I walked away with $7.50 only. I shouldn't become too greedy eh.

Aaaannd, I made my first ever yeasted (100% wholemeal spelt) bread today, based on Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads! Spelt is lower in gluten than normal wheat so naturally there was some difficulty with the dough texture. It often felt too slippery and weak. Moreover, Singapore's humidity (is it's been extra humid these few days) makes it even more difficult to control the yeast activity. The final texture ended up a bit gummy, which is typical of low gluten/gluten-free breads. Moreover, the crumbs were not evenly distributed, being denser near the bottom but airier at the top. I shall do a separate post on bread making with a more detailed analysis and troubleshooting guide, tomorrow perhaps?