This might not be funny

The past few days have been a nightmare. In a span of a mere 3 days, I have had enough encounter with danger that could have possibly irreversibly changed my perception of the human race. I hope I'm wrong (I am short sighted and tend to have an over-active imagination) but if I'm right, I might have been a target in 2 occasions and a witness in another. I will not relate what happened. And although it is probable that this is all a mistake, my gut feeling is telling me that something is going on around in the park. And that is why I am writing this. To serve as a form of documentation I suppose. Maybe I'll look back and laugh at all these in the next months or so. But not now. Now I am paranoid, suspicious of everyone I see, and taking every precaution to be with one other person when I walk through that park. I hope I'm wrong.

Story of my life

There are two things which makes for a good story. It's remarkable resemblance to our everyday lives, and the means to which it is being told. When we're watching a movie or reading a novel, we would tend to, unknown to most of us, draw reference from past experiences to associate ourselves more with the characters and to empathise with their (usually dreadful) situations. It is hard to observe indifferently as the lives of others unfold before you, be it an accurate account or a fragment of one's imagination. And I pity those who can. I do.


But if the feelings of detachment towards a story was due to ill exposure to life, then I guess I could understand for it takes one to know another. Hence the need for the story to be close enough to life, literally or metaphorically, for appropriate parallels to be drawn. We do not need to lose a child to cancer to understand the pain and agony, we've lost a grandparent before.


I guess one could argue that a better story would be one which is able to immerse its audiences into another state of life, one which was never experienced before. Like movies involving wizards, or pirates, or vampires, or (the most recent) a blue alien body. But the short-lived fantasy would dissolve once the mind clears and reality sets in. The story which makes the most impact would more often be one which we best associate our lives with.


That said, a good story must also have the ability to amplify feelings. To be able to describe most precisely the emotions of the characters requires not only a strong grasp for the language but also an in tune sense towards life. Make known to the audience, his/her feelings and that creates the bond. Let the play of words do the fine tuning of emotions.

It has not slipped my attention that some stories are harder a deal to be made impressive than others. Its only fault lies in its lack of understanding listeners. And so, from a different perspective I guess one could say that having a good story-teller is equally important to making a great story as it is to have in one's company, one's right audience.

Calling bluff

We are all guilty of it. Be it before, at present or in the future, in which case, we will be guilty of it. People usually do it to get themselves out of trouble, make others happy, to appear "bigger" or just for fun. It might look as though children have a greater tendency to indulge in it than adults but we all know that that's just bull. The mortal sin which have tempted man for years, which have caused war between brothers, which murdered the purity of the soul was created when man learnt the art of lying.

Its undeniable. No matter how hard we try, no matter the amount of self righteousness we have in us, there is no way we could have lived a life without some make believe, or some false self-flattering remarks, or some feigning of innocence, or whatever you choose to call it. To say that one has never lied before is, itself a lie.

But sometimes, we cannot help it. The situation calls for some bluffing. Sometimes, lying just makes things a lot simpler. (At this moment, you would be recalling a recent lying episode which had a happy ending.) And so, although I was taught otherwise, I think lying is not all that bad. And if telling lies emboss on us a one-way ticket to hell, I believe we'll all be seeing each other there some day.

L for....

Introduction:
When it comes to the affairs of the heart, I am really the last person you should come for advice. Cos more often than not, I would not be able to understand the pain and struggle one places himself under in the name of love. The lack of empathy might be attributed to the lack of experience or my narcissistic nature (or both).

Results and experiment:
When a girl friend relates her relationship problems to me, I will dissect the situation like a Math problem. But 1+1 is not 2. Not in this case. Cos MAybe 1 isn't 1, like he said it is. Maybe 1 is 2 and 1+2 gives 3 and 3's a crowd. And since he lied about 2 being 1, I can lie about my half of the equation and have my 1 be 2 or 3 or 4. You know what I mean?

Conclusion:
It's complicated.

Lessons taken to a whole new level

I had the most interesting tutorial today. We, the biochemist to be, were told to meet in a different location for our tutorial this week. I went to the location and was surprised to see that the doorway leading to the lecture room was draped with long, dark curtains, like those you would find in a cinema. The room was like a mini-theater. The seats are those cushioned types and you have to pull it down before you can sit on it. The 3D glasses were located below the seats. Yes, you saw it right. We were in a virtual reality classroom.

We were learning about protein-protein interaction and our tutor, Grant, thought it would be best if we could see those proteins in real life. And omg we love that guy! Once we put on our 3D glasses, he took us through many different types of proteins. Most of which we have heard of in his lectures. And we saw more than the 3D conformation. Grant rotated the molecules, zoomed in, zoomed out, removed their residues, added side chains, I felt almost like I was in the magic school bus!

I now see the wonders of my university. I am not in some ancient and forgotten building. Hidden behind those brick-red walls, are great facilities which can enhance teaching and learning. The uni of adelaide, I see you in a different light. But are there more of you which I don't see?

Missing

Dear Key

I am sorry for not treating you well enough. For always placing you with other not-so-important keys together in a key ring when you're the only one I need. For throwing you on my table every time I am tired. For taking you for granted every time you open the door for me.

I am sorry I didn't tell you how important you are in my life. And always placing you in weird places and will only search for you when I am about to leave the house. I am sorry I didn't cherish our time together more.

Please come back to me. I promise to treat you better. I'll give you your own key ring and place you in a special pocket in my bag. I'll thank you everyday for opening the door for me. Forgive me and come back.

I love you always and forever.










Unless I move house.

Your owner

Happy Birthday Mama!

Happy Birthday Mama!

I wish you good health, good fortune and good luck! May you have whatever you wish for.

Although I cannot be there to celebrate this day with you, know that I miss and love you dearly.

Please be well and safe back home.

Don't worry, I'll be by your side soon.

Your daughter
Ling