Musings of a barefoot traveller

Okay, I can't take credit for that corny phrase. Came across an ad in the Sierra magazine (yeah yeah, I'm a Sierra Club member, make of that what you will) for another auto membership club offering roadside assistance. And I always thought that AAA ran the whole show. Anyway, checked out the Better World Club , and it's pretty neat, actually offering bicycle roadside assistance (will even change your flat tire! Though I could probably do it faster on my own than wait for the help), and assisting any car their member is in instead of the member's personal vehicle only. It doesn't hurt that 1% of their revenue goes to environmental cleanup and advocacy efforts. Plus the recognition of same-sex domestic partners and an offer of a free membership to all couples (no discrimination against heterosexual marriages) getting married this summer. Cute! Well, it's starting to sound like I'm running a free advert for them. But came across a nifty link on their website fo...

I've been on the move a lot the last month or so, and was anticipating a return to the daily grind of graduate life, but an offer came up yesterday that was hard to turn down! And so I decided not to run my PCRs yesterday and go for a field trip to the New River instead, to help a student with coring sediment samples from the seagrass beds and sieving them for molluscs. Turned out to be just what I needed, plus Troy decided that it was a good time to start my boat driving instruction! No, I did not hit anyone or any pilings, and I even backed the van with the boat trailer back into the parking lot. With lots of step by step advice of course, hehe. Got myself immersed in muddy water, was terrorized by a frisky scallop, and it almost felt like a vacation. Next week I try docking a boat in strong currents next to a bridge with pillars. Sounds like fun :P. Okay, back to writing...

Biked a truncated version of Blue Clay on Sunday (was trying out a Trek Fuel, hehehehehe), and as we started packing up, raindrops descended on our heads. In the hurry to leave before we got too wet, I must have left my less than a year-old helmet and biking gloves on top of Wendy's car. Sighs. Went back to next day but no sign of either, not even crushed silver powder on the roads. Am severely bummed out!! Seem to be deep in a flurry of bike-related purchases. Starting with....my new baby!! That's right, I decided I wasn't going to bother with cheapo steel tanks or mess around with other people's bikes and just get the shiniest new bike that sets my heart a-flutter. And so...it was with some trembling that I handed my credit card over at the bike shop on Friday and got myself a Cannondale Synapse (alloy, not carbon, I still want to afford to eat...)! Yay!!! Pretty new bike!! Some might think that I've betrayed my first roadie by getting this one, but sweetie, you l...

So I have unofficial confirmation that I'm accepted into UNCW's PhD program in Marine Biology, and just received an email from the Director of International Student and Scholar Services congratulating me on my acceptance and asking about the change in my I-20. So I suppose...em...Woohoo? Sorry if I seem a little understated right now, I think I'll get more excited once the official letters come in and the news sinks in. :)

After the exhilaration of obtaining positive results on the cruise, I'm back to Wilmington and back to reality. 6 months in, and I'm still struggling to optimise a reaction to amplify and sequence a gene of interest from the Mycale genus of sponges. It doesn't help that learning all these protocols and their steps require constant repetition and I'm always away this summer. Was happy to have amplified the ITS gene before Key Largo, but the cloning got stymied by a bum cloning kit. The next two attempts didn't succeed, and today, I couldn't even get the PCR reaction working, although I tried twice. What frustrates me is that unlike in ecological research, I don't really know how to proceed to troubleshoot all these problems. The protocol is like a giant black box, and when there's a negative result, I don't know if it's due to my error, insufficient DNA, annealing temperatures and what have you. Just got reminded not too gently that I should star...

So, first day of diving in the Bahamas. We didn't even reach Freeport yet when I realised I had left something pretty important behind. To Mumsy's credit I didn't flip out and have a total meltdown in the galley, not even a slight foaming at the mouth. Huh. Who knew I could be this calm about my f***-ups. Anyway, things to solve the problem are in progress, and I await the resolution to the whole matter in the meantime. Woke up to good weather, and splashed in around 2pm, back to the old place we got to know so well at 4am last year. Supposed to catch a whole bunch of fish to run tank feeding assays with, but I must say the overall haul of the day was pretty abysmal. As for me, I caught 1 fish in 2 dives. Ah, how I have fallen from the goby catching days of yore. Nothing to do but console ourselves that the fish were satiated by late afternoon and not interested in the food bait. Will try again tomorrow first thing in the morning. This is why I kinda like working on sessile...

I dearly miss my colourful reef nudists here in the Caribbean. But what a wonderful gallery from National Geographic!

Back to texting with one hand, dammit! Re-injured my left thumb two weeks ago by jamming it against Sensei Keith's fist twice in aikido class, and my first thought was "Oh %#@%, I gotta dive next week..." Somehow managed to scrape through mountain biking shifting with the fleshy part of my palm and playing volleyball mostly with my right arm, and was just wondering to myself when it would stop hurting when I landed a hammer on my left thumbnail today. Hard. Resulted in 5min of tearing underwater, gripping my left hand between my knees and swearing silently but profusely. And did it again 10min later. Hurts like hell. Going to bed now so I don't hit anymore sensitive body parts with hard and heavy objects...

A good friend set off for his new life yesterday, by driving towards Minneapolis. After the hustle of packing, loading, farewell gatherings, last-minute item finding and him finally leaving, there was an unsettling solitude that blanketed my state of mind. It's different, sending someone off, who's going overseas to study, or on work placement. There's a sense that they'll be back after their course is done, or least visit home ever so often. But when someone uproots completely and is actually moving away, there's really no future planning. No 'I'll see you when you come back over Christmas then!', and promises to visit are tenuous at best. So I found myself sitting on the porch late yesterday afternoon, watching long fingers of sunrays stretch over the plants. Those who know me know this is my favourite time and light of the day. Everything's aglow, backlit with this soft-focus light. Cool breezes dull the harshness of the afternoon sun, yet there...

Passport gods, please allow for the safe and speedy return of my passport...

...life throws another curve ball at you, and then sticks a rusty knife in your ribs while you lie winded on the ground. I love being Malaysian and all, but this passport and visa business is making me sooooooo.....frustrated. Some might remember the big hoo-ha last year, and the hoops I had to jump through to get a visa to enter Panama to take the Smithsonian sponge course. Next year, I vowed to myself then, next year would be different. Fast forward to this year, with me feeling pretty confident, having submitted my visa application in February, giving the consulate 3 months to approve my visa this time. Was overjoyed to see my return envelope sitting in my mailbox yesterday, and gleefully ripped it open, extracted my passport and flipped to the visa page. Was thoroughly deflated to find that my approval dates run from April 9th to July 9th! WTF! It's already April 18th, and besides the point, my fieldtrip is in August. To add insult to injury, my gender is listed as 'M'...

Was trying to work with high-resolution photos in Photoshop on Sunday, and it's very frustrating, because my (kinda old) laptop kept freezing, and it took FOREVER to force quit the programme and try again. Finally got so irritated with the whole process that I went to make steamed tau sar pau instead. And got 20+ paus out of the whole process (yum!). For some reason, people think that it's a very weird reaction to have to a computer problem... No photos 'cos I ate most of them before my batteries could charge up :P

People frequently ask me here if I miss the food at home, and of course I do, but I think it goes deeper than that. Even if we find an authentic restaurant here that serves great laksa, there's still something missing. There's something about going to the corner Malaysian coffeeshop dressed in my faded t-shirt, comfy but crummy shorts and RM3 flip-flops, especially after a whole day of fieldwork, when I have just showered and my hair is slightly damp, and ordering a bowl of piping hot noodles, then sitting down on the plastic chair by the vinyl covered table, taking in the bustling noises of the various hawkers in the coffee shop, the attendant smells, and sounds of life passing by outside. I really miss that...

It's been eventful, to say the least. Never thought an Easter weekend could be so packed. Went for my second critical mass ride on Good Friday, and met the person who sold me my bike again. He seemed rather surprised that I was still riding it, causing me a small measure of concern for a brief moment...Also the day I got knighted, as my rear tire went completely flat on the return leg to the Mellow Mushroom (thus, Sir Rides-a-Flat). Had to walk the last three blocks back- told Wai to order pizza for me while waiting :P. But at least I had company, in the form of a fellow rider who had detoured into the fairground to get funnel cake. After wolfing down a medium pizza, headed over to the dance studio to learn some swing! After doing all the stately tango, salsa and whatnot, was a little hard to start bouncing around the floor like a battery-operated bunny, but had a pretty good workout. Since my mega-night ride was foiled by the flat, had to make up for it by riding to campus on Satu...

Not because I feel science and reason is under attack and the foundations are crumbling, but to see such blind faith in spite of reason, logic and evidence. http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7090861&ch=4226713&src=news

Kena soundly thrashed two nights ago in pool, and even though I'm not a good player, that really stings. That will teach me to play 'just for fun' with yet another person who claims to be a 'bad player'. But at least I didn't play for cash :P. Still, having all my balls on the table with only the 8 ball left for the other side is terrible!! It stung so much that I briefly considered getting some secret training in, and probably would have today if my oxygen administration course didn't run so long. Not that I hate the thought of losing that much (yes yes, even if I'm very competitive by nature). I can stand to lose, just not in such a lau kui fashion.

I guess I literally ran myself into the ground last night. And now I have two small marks under my left eye to show for it. We were at Mike's house watching George Carlin, and thereafter he was showing us around. I remember the dizziness started as I looked out of the guest room window. Mike was telling me that was where he used to put the study table but the words seemed to be flowing through a fog of treacle. Felt really puzzled as all I had was a glass of wine, and I had eaten dinner beforehand. Blood was pounding through my head so hard it was all I could hear, and I could feel the veins in my neck pulsing with every erratic beat. Weird. Was about to find a place to sit down, and the next thing I knew, found myself on the floor, with the distinct impression of carpet imprinted on my left cheek. Apparently the first words out of my mouth were,"Did I just faint?". They said I was out for 2-3seconds, and of course got everyone really worried. Sighs. Felt really cold even...

It's nice to see initiatives to promote green (and natural) spaces within cities, showing that nature has a part to play even in urban areas. So I was pretty stoked to read about the Jakarta Green Monster program in Jakarta, one of the biggest and most sprawling megacities I've been to. That the program was initiated by a friend, Frank Momberg from Fauna and Flora International, makes these reports all the more sweeter. Well done guys! http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/02/jakarta-green-monster-protects-wetlands.html Project website: www.jakartagreenmonster.com