Just Her Present Self

Day 1 - Arrival @ Gold Coast, Australia ♥

2011-05-06T12:19:00.001+08:00

Day 1 - Arrival @ Gold Coast, Australia ♥, a set on Flickr.

Flickr

2011-05-06T12:01:00.001+08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

You see, I'm not a kid anymore~! ;)

2010-06-06T12:44:00.001+08:00

I decided to follow what's given to me. I have come to KMPP, Penang.

You might wonder if I will be able to survive here since I'm very dependant to my family. But now, being here, I can tell you that things aren't as I'd once predicted. I have gained strength to move on. To be stronger than before, and most importantly, to grow out of the shell that used to restrict me from moving to another ground, a ground with undiscovered knowledge and skills to be learned. And now, having to be here for a few weeks, approximate to a month, I felt content and happy for being able to adapt in the new and unexplored surrounding I've once reckoned. I see myself pretty much weather-borned. Regardless of being the minority here, I still stand tall.

Of course, the first day here was rather tough to go through as time seemed to past so slowly and you had to bear the pain of leaving your parents and family members behind. You felt as though everything in the world slowed down. Every second past seemed like an hour. I cried when my parents left, I cried when I see my mother walking away from my hostel room and towards my dad's car. I cried for this is the first time I leave my parents not 5 minutes of distance but 5 hours of ride. I told myself. Be strong and you can; for the sake of Chemistry, no matter how difficult this situation might be, never turn back and never ever think of giving up!

The first week was indeed torturing. I had to sleep late, wake up very early and walk almost the whole day with only 5-15 minutes to catch my meals. Seniors told us it was only 1/10 of the orientation we will be undergoing a year later in university. That was really a tiring week. The second week was when the lectures began.

In KMPP, I'd met some friends that I can cling with as we all shared the same feeling of leaving our beloved family behind. This is when our bond began to strengthen and we started to do everything together. We eat breakfast together, sing together, have lunch together, well, we practically do everything together. From KMPP is where I began to experience the quote people once said. 'At home, you depends on your family; In a new place where you are not living with your parents, you depends on your friends.'

We are still, Enrea~5.

Doubts ._.

2010-01-15T16:45:00.004+08:00

Did I resemble a doctor or a scientist from the above picture?

Having to talk to my secondary school teachers, I start to realise that not only one but many of my friends, family members, relatives and even teachers encouraged me to become part of the medical line, to become what many called life savers, to become a Doctor. No doubt from young I had once dreamed to become a doctor but it had later undergone transition. I started to dream of another path which till now I still had interest in, that is to become a scientist. Not ordinary scientist but someone that can incur a difference.

I dreamed to safe mother earth, giving a halt to her perishing. I dreamed of inventing a machine that can help safe the environment and still not deterring development of the country. I dreamed of discovering a new formula, a new way, a new system of how the things supposed to run. I dreamed of me becoming a noble prize receiver like Marie Curie in the branch of Chemistry. Merely imaginations that lack of ignition of strength. Merely ambition that my hands are still afar. Merely hope yet miracles would not support. Merely dreams when I am a child.

Some people reckon I had the potential to pursue in the branch of science. They often wondered why I never gave an opportunity to myself to believe that I can become a doctor. I claimed the opposite and gave the same reason to others over and over again till yesterday, I finally found out why.

I always thought the reason why I had a transition in my ambition was because I was afraid to risk others' life rather than mine. To become a doctor, I'll have to believe that I can cure them, the patients' life and death are all in my hands. A tiny error will result in the lost of a valuable life which I will not be able to bear for the rest of my life. However, if I become a scientist, the only thing I risk before my invention is certified and acknowledged to be user-friendly and effective is my own life. A minor fault will be able to take away my life but I am willing to, as long as I am not dealing with other's life. Even if I died as a result of the minor fault, I died in peace, with proud and honour.

But later had I realised that all that was just a small part of it. The main reason was because of me being over 'afraid', that barrier was the one that kept holding me back. I never knew the existence of such barrier.

Many of them said I had the potential to become a doctor, where the salary is set at minimum of a fortune, with fame and the chance to become internationally recognised. I shook my head and laughed when they said that. Seriously, I never thought that far for that particular field of study. What I thought of was to become a scientist, invent something, help people and enjoy working and studying.

This is what 'she' told me after teaching me for two years. Not long, but just enough to see me through. I am the type that prefers to be mentally and spiritually rich but not materialistic. I prefer indulging and exploring myself in the science noble values. I prefer doing a job or a work that can help others and obtain appreciation. I prefer to contribute. That's what she told me.

I thought about it since then. She was in fact, right about me.

I now had a dilemma about what to choose as my career but meanwhile, my heart beats hard on the career of scientist. Beats really hard in the field of Chemistry. That's what I'll follow no matter how impossible and how discouraging as others reckon it may be. As long as there's a will in my pursue in Chemisty, there's a way to reach there, and I'm sure of it :)

Dr Yvonne Choo - scientist :)

A Priceless Visit ;)

2010-01-14T15:47:00.003+08:00

Went back to visit SMKC :) All the teachers there and also the school building itself :)
I love the feeling of re-entering the school and the cozy surrounding it provides me with :)

Met Pn Roziana the minute I reached school :) We talked for one period then we went to the canteen together. Never had I entered the teachers' lounge in my whole life ;)

Later, when Pn Roziana had to attend her class, I went to see Pn Azura :)
We chatted for about a period then she had to attend class ;)

I went back to the teacher's room and there is where I met Pn Rozai and Pn Mazliana :)
I tagged along with Pn Rozai till 10.50 am. She had to attend class so I followed Pn Mazliana to the co-op. It was great fun following all the teachers around and chatted lots about my life and theirs. Miss them a lot :)

About 11.40 am, I went to the chemistry lab again :) We talked much about 5Sc1'09 lots of memorable and heartwarming memories :) Miss you guys a lot :)

About 12.30 pm, teacher in-charged of the clubs and society went to their respective classes to conduct the first meeting so I went down to the office :)

Met Pn Ng and Pn Fuziah, the head mistress of SMKC. We chatted for quite a while then ended with a picture :)

Later, I went around the school to take some pictures of the school. It was indeed memorable and it did evoke my past memories with my besties.

Before going home @ 2.00pm, I went to meet Pn Rozai again to take a picture. I did meet Pn Roziana and Pn Azura for picture but they weren't ready for it ;)

Wish I could stay longer :) Enjoy my day today, tomorrow shall be my routined day. It will be fun! :)

The pictures can be seen in facebook album :)

Thank you Pn Roziana, Pn Azura, Pn Rozai, Pn Mazliana, Pn Ng, Pn Fuziah, and many other teachers that kept me companied throughout my visit and let me felt close by sharing some thoughts and advices with me :)

Will never forget you :) I LOVE YOU!!!

Fun I had :)

2010-01-12T19:42:00.002+08:00

Today, I finally had the chance to enter the biology lab.....:)
Had so much fun today!!!
Wonder if tomorrow's lab will be as fun and interesting as today's........let's see tomorrow :)

How I wish I could share this moment with my secondary school teachers and friends :)

The Atoms that Made Up Me :)

2010-01-09T16:12:00.002+08:00

I watched a 3 hour documentary from BBC 4 today focusing about one of the fundamental object in the universe namely atom.

The documentary was recomended by my chemistry lecturer.

'The atoms that made up my body are identical to the atoms that made up rocks, trees, the air and even the stars and yet they come together to create a conscious being who can ask the question "what is an atom?" explaining all that is surely another challenge in science.'

~Atom Documentary~

'When it comes to atom, language can only be used as poetry.'
~Neil Bohr~

27-12-2009

2010-01-09T12:39:00.003+08:00

On sunday, we went for lunch at The Gardens, in a restaurant named as below.

The food there was very tasty and I just love the curry there :) Yummy!

Taken by my dad while we were waiting for the food to be served.

Taken by me after I ate my delicious and mouth watering lunch :)

The place was filled with mirrors....that explained the pictures ;)

We were the only one there.....it seems as though the whole restaurant was booked by us :)

Merely imagination :)

Yeah, I missed out the last picture taken during dinner at my neighbour's house during christmas day. We had a wonderful night there ;)

With one of our neighbour :)

Memories Worth Remembering - 24/25-12-2009

2010-01-09T12:21:00.004+08:00

It's Christmas eve and my parents brought us out for dinner :)
We went for Papa John for Pizza and it was tasty :)
After dinner we went outdoor of the sunway pyramid buiding to have a walk and also to countdown for Christmas :)
It was great!

I took a picture of my parents while waiting for the food to be served ;)

My mom & my dad :)

On Christmas itself, we went for lunch at Low Yat Plaza, in a restaurant named Sushi Zanmai :)

The sushi there were tasty indeed ;) Just love it!

Thanks to my parents for bringing us there :)

The conveyer belt filled with sushi :)

The Tuna Salad Handroll :)

Lobster Rice Burger ;)

And the best, Sashimi :)

It shows how full we were :)

It was the best christmas I'd ever had :)

Thanks dad, thanks mom!

A New Place I Belong :)

2010-01-05T18:46:00.006+08:00

Sorry for that long pause I had for this blog :( well, it's because I was busy preparing for my college life and too, busy attending the very useful orientation :)

ORIENTATION: A MUST! If you don't want to be lost on your first day of college :)

Date: 30 - 31 December 2009 , 2 January 2010
Venue: Sports Hall, INTI UC

Just a brief paragraph for the orientation I'd attended. It was great to be there to see some familiar faces (know them from the INTI Youth Empowerment Camp 2009).

The familiar....
- Facilitators: Sandheep, Steffi, Shirley, Kok Hoe, Arthur, Yeshey, Jodee, Les lee, Kay Pau, Karthik, Wai Quai, Justin, Yat Sin :)
- VIP: Dr Sia, Ms Noh, Ms Lynda :)
- INTI YEC friends: Thomas, Justin, Jacklyn, Chris, Yeoh, Dhannyaa :)

Well, in short, I finally found that sense of belonging I'd lost after SPM....I was afraid I would have lost my interest for not being engaged with any studies :) Now, I'm ASSURED.

What I basically learnt during the orientation was:
- to accept changes
- accept challenges and be ready for continuous failure as what you'll get just to rise from every fall is success :)
- NEVER GIVE UP!
- be sure to social and blend in
- ask if you don't get the message that the person is trying to convey
- ask if you need help
- and help if you knew :)
- most importantly, I learn how to not get lost in that very big campus by simply locate the class according to the time table (ask anyone, anytime, anywhere if you're still lost)

And now the practicals for that theory we had during orientation, I'd to put the advices and words into action :)

Date: 4th January 2010
Venue: INTI UC
Focus: First Day in COLLEGE :)

Since first week was lab-free, there's no need for me to attend the lab sessions. My morning was dawn with a bowl of noodle and a cup of MILO from a chinese stall nearby. At around 8.40 am, I reached the sports hall. Since my class starts at 10.00 am, I sat at the bench just outside CCC till 9.00 am. Hand in some documents and I'm off to go :) I brought myself all the way to the bridge and to the main buiding where all the lectures was held and finally brought myself to the library.

Embaressment 1: Went into the library, stood there near the entrance, held my ID card near the sensor and waited...no response. WHY? I tried again and again and finally, one of the library assistant guided me to the counter and told me my card was not updated. Goodness ! I totally forgotten about that. She updated the card and I smiled.

I scan through that book-filled library and plucked out one from the chemistry rack :) I was brought to Utopia :) When I looked at my watch, it was time to go to my very first class, MORAL EDUCATION. Thankfully, the lectural hall was just few steps away.

Subject: Moral Education

Class environment: Cozy but I'm not used to the pull out tables :(
Lecture: Not bad :)
Overall (per 5): It rates 4.0

Then, I had a 2 hours break before that statistic class. I went for lunch at the cafeteria right below sports hall. I met Sandheep and also Shirley there :) We had lunch together. I went back to my favourite venue so far.....the Library right after that delicious lunch. Once again, I glanced through some books ;) Just so I won't freak out before the class begins. I left 15 minutes before hand so I can walked slowly to the fourth floor to attend the class :)

Subject: Statistics I

Class environment: Great!
Lecture: Learnt much about how statistics can lie and fool the noobs
Overall (per 5): It rates 4.0
Personal View: I enjoyed :)

I went straightly to the next room to attend the Biology class. This is real fun :) Let me explain. We were all expecting to see Ms Choo Lee Shian but...

An indian women looking young came in with her laptop and a book, looking like a student. She put down her belongings on the table and went to turn on the lights and air-con. Then she said nothing and started to unpack her stuffs and started plugging in the wires to the LCD projector. Everyone in the class was shocked and was still in doubt. Most of us was thinking she might be in the wrong class or it might be the schedule for our class suddenly changed which we are not supposed to be in the class...... then 'she' started feeling odd and asked. 'You thought I'm a student?' We shooked our heads thought we at first thought she was. 'You are in my class right?' We paused and looked at her. We clarified the venue, date and time and finally. ' Then, I'm in the right class lar.' My friend quickly said sorry Ms Choo, sorry Ms Choo. The lecturer was stunned and began clarifying the case.

At last, 'she' , Ms Sulochana was our Biology lecturer and that she was assigned for our class, not Ms Choo. You might be asking why some of us had mistaken her as Ms Choo when the fact is, she obviously is an indian. Haven't you guys heard of One Malaysia concept? Mix marriages? That indians might possess chinese names?

That indirectly made us pay more attention to her :) The class was amazing ;)

Subject: Biology

Class environment: great!
Lecture: Funny and Interesting:)
Overall (per 5): 4.5
Personal view: Clarify first before you presume...miscommunication leads to.....you'll know.

Then, an end for a good start :)

Aim for day one achieved, that is:
- meet lots of friends
- try the locker near the library
- enjoy my day
- get to be in a room filled with lots and lots of books :)

Date: 5th January 2010
Venue: INTI UC

Second Day - Favourite-Subjects-filled Day

The class started at 8.00 am. It was a great morning :)

Subject: Physics

Class environment: great!
Lecture: Great!
Overall (per 5): It rates 4.0
Personal View: Learned lots about tables and graphs for the AS examination :)

It was great to learn new things!

We went next door for my favourite subject :)

Subject: Chemistry

Class environment: great!
Lecture: Great!
Overall (per 5): It rates 4.0
Personal View: Touched about atomic structures and also learned some new infomation about chemistry from the lecturer :)

Challenging and facinating...I shall say.

I had a long break till 4.00 pm to attend Pure Mathematics. So I had my lunch at the bakery and know what? I met Kelly, a friend from orientation. Then, we both went to the Inti book store to check out some stuffs. I went there to check the prices for the textbooks. Sadly, didn't manage to get the info but will try again tomorrow :)

We went straight to the library again :) On our way there, I asked her about what clubs that she will join for the semester... some clubs did poped up like the ultimate frisbee club, adventure club, etc. I think for the time being, I'd love to join either the life science club, Performing arts club or the Dance Academy club...it's merely thoughts, haven't really decided yet....I was formally a PRS (pembimbing rakan sebaya) so I kinda thought of joining the PSG (peer support group) too....but I'm definate that I will only choose the max 2-3 clubs only...not more than that, I can't really juggle between clubs and class. So, it's better to be save than sorry :)

Went to class at 4.00 pm.

Subject: Pure Mathematics

Class environment: great!
Lecture: great!
Overall (per 5): It rates 4.0
Personal View: I learned about surds :) Loved it!

Good things always ends fast, don't you think? When you enjoy doing something, time flies, but if you dislike doing something, it's just long and tough...ain't it?

Day two ended. Looking forward for tomorrow :) And of course, will be attending for the orientation @ the sports hall at 4.00 pm :)

The journey of a year and a half had just began with two days , know I can! :)

Conclusion: Enjoy your time in college and not forgetting the good memories we had in high school. (Though I still haven't got the chance to chat with lecturers like I always do in my high school) That day will come, just be patient.

Journey Towards The South

2009-12-17T14:44:00.004+08:00

Yup, I'm heading my way towards the south, to Johore to fetch my grandparents...Then I'll be moving towards the north, to Penang for my uncle's wedding :)

So I doubt that I have time to blog till 20th of December :(

Till then, take care guys :) I'll blog about the things and the dresses as soon as I come back :)

*Wondering what I'll be doing in the car for the 8 hours journey to the north... it's definitely gonna be tiring! ~^_^~

Enjoy life without me :)

Our Memories :)

Sisters Forever :)

2009-12-16T10:13:00.003+08:00

Dear Kak Aziela,

Happy Birthday! Hope you enjoy your life being 18 :)
Do smile always, and stay pretty :)

My door will always be open for you! Love you :)

She is my sister since form 1 in SMKPA. She helped me a lot, brought me out from all the 'artificial hitches' and she's always there when I needed her most :)

This is how we met and became sisters...

When I was a junior in the prefectorial board, I wasn't able to please every senior of my existance. I was suffering there silently bearing the pain. They tried their very best to bully me, for instance, they gave me extra work to bear, they even called me to handle other senior bullies (be real, I'm still a junior, so basically, I don't know what to do). Yeah, did I mention that I was complaint by other seniors just because I tied two pony tails (they said prefects can't look look like a kiddo). Even at times that I sincerely treat them with my heart, they have doubts on my actions, they thought I am desperately wanting to please them to get what I want from them :(

Thankfully, she came into my life. She wanted to be my elder sis, so I'd agreed. From that day onwards, she did what she could to help me out of those hard times. She assigned me to follow her as her junior, and it felt great to be with her. Instead of getting all the scoldings and torturings, she taught me all I should know with patience and kindness :) I'm glad that we are sisters till now and we'll always be!

Thanks for all the good memories you'd given to me, all the love, care and encouragement you gave kept me strong, all the chocolate you gave melted in my heart and of course, they are always sweet :)

I miss you, wanna just come and hug you, wanna be with you, hope you do too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAREST SIS!

Love,
Yvonne :)

Re-scheduled Hair Cut

2009-12-15T20:42:00.003+08:00

Seriously, I desperately needed a hair cut to re-shape my outdated hair style. I wouldn't dare to cut my hair since I was still having SPM, now that it's over forever, I gave my whole heart out :)

There were three surprises today,

1. Lalita replied my enquiries on microorganisms mainly bacteria. (very seldom people reply for my silly curiosities) I'm glad that she did :)

2. Pn Azura replied me as well. And I got to know that she likes one of the song I liked. Happy, I am! :)

3. Pn Roziana was online today, we chat as usual and she too, helped me with some of my doubts :)

Yeah, I couldn't stop myself from touching and using the camera. As usual, I snapped some pictures :)

This is my dog, his name is Woofy Collie. His cute and adorable to me :)

And, I thought of what I'll be in the near future, again ;)

Whatever that is, I want to be a scientist! Big ambition, I know..^_^

Cut my hair today, felt much better :)

Fun-filled Monday

2009-12-14T20:15:00.005+08:00

Today, I went to Pn Khuriati's house for our combined class party (aka Farewell Party). Pn Khuriati will be heading to the east, to Kuantan. Hope that she enjoys teaching there :) But definately, I'll miss her!

Wonder if Kuantan's seaside is as pretty as Sepang Gold Coast's... This is how it looks like :)

Yeah, that party was great! Had lots of fun there, got my hands busy with a guitar, strumming through few favourite songs of mine mainly falling for you, the climb, when you say nothing at all & butterfly fly away. Not forgetting, I'd sang Bubbly by colbie cailiat for the karaoke session :)

We enjoyed our time there...here are some pictures :)

We'd been there!

Gonna miss them all !

I had my time with the camera, can't resist looking at my reflection on one of the window near where I sat, so I did not hessitate and snapped :)

Before I forget, Lalita had sent me the picture for that swab I did on my skin.... I know, I can't believe after all the soaping session during bath time, bacteria can still be found on my skin :(

Disguisting but, great to know that they are happy to grow on us :) We should be glad because we managed to feed them well :)

The bacteria found on my skin :)

When I was searching for my past photos in my computer, I found this :)

I was such a kiddo when I was at Hong Kong... but I don't think I look much different compared to me in 2004 :)

Detest!

2009-12-13T12:04:00.008+08:00

Have you ever tried this?

1. Desperate to go online, internet server down?
2. Been longing to chat with someone, they are offline?
3. Clicked on their name in the chat box in facebook, by the time you start to type, they were offline?
4. Wanted to send an urgent mail to some people, when you hit the send button, a failure-notice mail came to your mailbox telling you the mail failed to send?
5. Trying to comment or return some messages online, the internet lags and the blank pages starts to flood your computer?

Internet well, it's great to have it, it's convenient but sometimes, things like that makes you wanna destroy the monitor or simply shout at it. It just lags, it suddenly stops working, it gives you unexpected problem like viruses and it gives you false hope.

That video reminds me of chemistry extra class and the school toilet ;)

Miss them all :(

Yeah, bout tomorrow's party at Pn Khuriati's house, I still have no clue of what to wear :(

But most probably, my heart tells me to wear a casual dress...let's hope I dream of what to wear tonight :)

Top 5, we ranked!

2009-12-12T14:18:00.000+08:00

I was surprised by the article posted on msn.com. Malaysia ranked 5 in the survey of the friendlist countries in the world, could you believe it? Proud I tell you.

Click here for full report

Click here for full list of the ranking

Malaysia in harmony, we played our part for the concept of '1 malaysia', have you?

SMK Cyberjaya 5 Sc1'09

Oddest Friday

2009-12-11T13:30:00.000+08:00

Well, basically, if today is a schooling day, we would still be in the classroom, munching our self-prepared lunch and waiting for that afternoon extra class that will be starting at 2.30pm.

It's just a few days after SPM and I can already feel some part of me missing, especially when it comes to schooling days... Miss it already!

So I'd watched Oprah Winfrey Show today, just to pack myself with activities, the issue discussed in the show was rather touching. It talked about a girl name Kristen, 14 years old committed suicide as she was sexually harrested (rape to be exact) by a 27 year old man from texas. Kristen was connected online with the male since she had a profile in a social network. Kristen, being over-depressed as she did not expect the male to use him. She fell for those sweet talks saying that she is pretty, and that the male love her very much..etc. On the first day of their meeting, in a motel, Kristen was raped. 5 weeks later, she died. Thankfully, in the 5 weeks, she coorporated with her mom and the FBI's to search for that inhumane man. He is currently serving 9 years of jail. Danielle, the mother to Kristen was hoping that the 27 year old man serve jail till his death. Can you imagine how big that impact is to her family?

*Lesson: Must not fall for sweet talks from others you don't really know. Retreat when it comes to some sensitive issues and know how to block or stop the connection between others. Always talk to your parents about things you encounter and be sure to protect yourself.

Seriously, the world, had changed much since I was born :) Not moving towards the better but deteriorating in terms of attitude, behaviour and conscience. Why can't human remain as the civilised ones?

I'm very bored, tired of doing nothing, sick of waiting for the time for me to resume my studies. I just want to keep myself occupied in something...

Anyhow, few more days till Pn Khuriati's farewell party :) Can't wait, been thinking of what to wear since before SPM...sadly, still no clue.

Dress or plain T? I hate choosing! :(

Yup, the last day of SPM!

Just posing to waste some camera memories :)

And acted as usual..:)

Even better, acted for black and white TV's :)

Did I mention, she was the one kept me companied all this while :)

Rockin Thursday

2009-12-10T21:21:00.001+08:00

Today is a really special day indeed. Lot’s of fun and hands-on activities and of course a very special day for my chemistry teacher, Pn Azura. (I’ll talk about it later)

I attended two workshops today mainly biotechnology and medical health sciences.

Venue: INTI University College Nilai
Time: 10.30-12.30/1.00-3.00
Dress Code: Casual
Price: Nought (priceless)

I attended the biotechnology first. I was lucky because there were no other participants except me so I had a great time with all the lecturers :)

Lalita, the lecturer for microbiology(if I'm not mistaken) taught me about microorganisms like bacterias. Iwas delighted as I was welcomed by 6 plates of nutrient agar containing cultured bacterias. Three of them that were swabbed beautifully caught my attention.

Yes indeed. It is much prettier and much more creative than plain banners. I was given a chance to culture a type of bacteria named escherichia coli (lived in the human intestine) by swabbing my name onto a sterilised nutrient agar (it needs at least 24 hours for the words to appear)...Lalita says she will send me the pictures later.

*Tips: Always sterilise the apparatus before using it. In this case, heat is needed. Also, make sure you dispose the apparatus used in the correct way. They have special pressure machine to treat the wastes before throwing them as usual dumps. Wrong disposal can harm lots of people.

Next, I was taught about bacteria living in all parts of our body. The armpit regions especially are filled with them...that’s what I saw on the petri dishes...revolting I know... Some other places such as the tongue, skin and nasal region also has lots of them. Lalita called me to leave a sample of my body swabs to either choose between the tongue or skin and of course...did you expect me to swab my tongue?

Yeah, Biology students! I’m sure that you guys knew about tissue culture as read in the textbook. Lalita taught me about it as well...I had a chance to culture that small piece of sterilised cauliflower. It has to be done in a sterilised chamber. Sterilised in this case meant to dip or clean with alcohol and then heated. For plants sterilisation, however, there’s a special procedure that we’ll have to follow.(click on the picture above to learn more)

These are some of the chemical used. The reason they sterilise is because they don’t want it to be contaminated and for your information, the nutrient agar and the cell are very nutritious.

See how pretty they are. The cultured plants need to be placed under a lamp and ambient temperature so that it will grow... leaves it away from the soil for the time being.

Mr Wong, a biochemistry lecturer taught me how to immobilise enzymes. I was pretty unclear at first but now I’d understand. The reason why they immobilise the enzymes is because in order to produce and to ensure a large amount of product formed from a constant number of substrate, enzyme has to be fixed into position so that all the substrate, by hook or by crook has to pass through the enzyme in order to move and when it passes through the enzyme they eventually becomes products. First, sodium alginate is mixed with enzyme (peroxide, I think) then it is filled in a syringe and is clamped 20cm above a beaker. The beaker is filled with calcium chloride (to seal the droplets) and it is then placed onto a magnetic stirrer. The mixed solution in the syringe is slowly pressed down drop by drop into the beaker and you’ll be able to see small balls like the ones you can see in an aquarium... it’s cute I tell you. The beads and the calcium chloride solution is filled into a bed column and it is filtered. When you pour substrate solution into the column, the solution flowing out of the end of the column will be reddish-pink, just like the colour of manganese ion, but if you pour calcium chloride again to wash, it will return to its original colour.

Nisha, the lecturer (sorry I forgotten what lecturer she was), taught me how to solve a crime using DNA fingerprinting.

Sponge Bob Square Pants was killed. Did you murder him?

I was supplied with hi-tech pipettes (unlike the school ones with a big bulb on). It’s great to learn how to use that apparatus :)

Not forgetting the DNA samples. The DNA samples are stored under low temperatures and it will be treated with restriction enzymes (cleves the DNA into smaller segments of different sizes) and a type of dye before it is taken to the next step. I’d to suck up each DNA samples and load them into respective wells in the gel. That gel is placed in between the buffer (consist of unknown recipe but mainly electrolyte) and is placed in between the electrodes of different terminals.

The perfect voltage is 90V and the duration is about 30-45 minutes. FYI, DNA are negatively charged so it has to be placed in wells near the negative electrode. When the switch is turned on, the lighter segments will move forward faster than the heavier ones towards the positive electrode. Then all you can see is this.

Now, by comparing the bands, can you tell me who killed sponge bob? (Make a guess, I’ll reveal it later, do make a guess at the cbox on your right).

That wrapped up my biotechnology workshop... well, it ended with photography session.

Lalita & I

Nisha & I

Mr Wong & I

Credits goes to my mom for bringing me there :)

Thanks :)

Aha, that handsom man over there actually atracted my attention during my first stop in the medical workshop later that afternoon. He has human texture, bones and gesture...I called him Romeo :) As what the lecturers said, Romeo has many fans from all over the campus, especially when it comes to X-raying him :) You gotta admit that he's FIT!

He just has that pleasant look, unlike the skeleton we have in our biology lab :)

This is X-ray film displayed on a X-ray box. Did you know that the pictures taken can be edited so that doctors can see the bone fractures or deformation clearly. There's a special software named NAOMI :) This was actually one branch of medicine named radio..(something that deals with X-ray, mamography and CT scan)

Yes, I had another hands-on. This time I did what a pharmacist can do...making calamine lotion. It was great fun but I hate that glove I was wearing...it reminds me of Chemistry SPM 2009 paper 1...ergh, that vulcanized rubber! :)

*Facts: Calamine lotion is made up of calamine powder, zinc oxide powder, bauxite powder, sodium citrate, glycerine and distilled water. Calamine powder for creamy, moisture and protection properties; zinc oxide and bauxite has sunscreen protection properties; glycerine for moisture and sodium citrate for maintaining the pH of the lotion.

The fun part was I got to bring the lotion that I did back home to use...nah, not gonna use it...do you think I wanna risk my life on it? :) I get to test the hardness of tablets and even better, to bring lactose tablets home as souveniours :) I had chance to see the liver cells of rats before and after it consumed panadol in excess. I also got to see how lab experties prepare the liver cells as slide under microscope.

Overall, it was the best exposure and I learnt a lot of things... At least now, I have a gist of what I'll be doing in the near future... I enjoyed my day...

Last but not least, I would like to wish my favourite chemistry teacher, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hope you enjoyed your day!

Thanks for teaching me and guided me through all this while... love you always :)

A Full Stop Says It All

2009-12-09T09:57:00.000+08:00

I'm glad it ended, what I meant was SPM. But when I come to think back about all the subjects that I'd sat for, they simply did obey the law that says ' How much effort you put in, that's how much you'd achieve'. I didn't believe at first but now, I do.

SPM began on the 18th of November 2009 (Wednesday). It started with the usual core subjects and ended with the electives. I consider the first few papers as warm ups and so I did rather badly :(

1. Bahasa Melayu
Date: 18 Nov 2009
- Frankly speaking it was quite OK. Consider 5 is the easiest and 1 is the hardest, I'd rate BM with a 3. The reason I said so it's because the topics that we covered during our group studies came out, was kinda lucky..I know.

* Tips: Always cover all topics not some and do not fall for 'spot questions', you'll die if you follow it. If it appeared in the exam, you're lucky but if it did not, then much apologies, you'd had to keep your fingers crossed, have false hope that you'll get good grades.

- The karangan session was not bad but the bad thing was I wasted 15 minutes to freeze. I was nervous and tensed because my mind was basically blank. Thank god, things were better when I started that introduction of mine...phew..

* Tips: Get yourself relaxed and clear your mind before you enter the examination hall. The more you are tensed or nervous, the more your brain is restricted to think.

2. English
Date: 19 Nov 2009
- I'd give English a 4. Essay part was disastrous. Wonder why? I did the same as BM essay, I 'freeze' once again. Then when I got to know that the time ticks faster as I freeze, I began to panic. Of course the essay produced will not be as good as usual. What I can do now is to hope for the best :)

* Tips: If you can't think of anything, just take a few deep breaths and DO NOT PANIC! (I regretted for doing so)

- English paper 2 was quite easy but can't really tell till the results are out.

* Tips: Always double and triple check your paper :)

3. Sejarah
Date: 18-19 Nov 2009
- I'd gave sejarah a 1.5 coz...haiz.. Don't blame others, blame yourself! Well, if I'd treated this history subject just the same as any science or maths subjects, it would be OK but sadly..it's now a HISTORY...:(

* Tips: Don't take things for granted, don't believe in spot topics, believe in yourself, work hard and consistent and you'll get it :) And yeah, don't do last minute work for this subject, it won't really help ;(

4. Mathematics
Date: 23 Nov 2009
- I'd give it a 4. (FYI, I will not give any subject a 5 unless the result says that I got A+ :) So, the maximum level that I'd give will be 4) It was not bad..just that all I can hope for is careless-free.

5. Pendidikan Moral
Date: 24 Nov 2009- I'd give it a 4. I'm glad I'd managed to remember the 36 nilai flawlessly. So it's just a matter of perception for some of the question asked..

6. Add Maths
Date: 25 Nov 2009
- Aha..that, I'd give it a 4 as well. It was rather OK. Giving the same comment as I will give for maths...just hopping for careless-free :)

7. Biology
Date: 30 Nov 2009
- Thank god those four days of Biology revision did pay off... I'd give it a 4. Was glad that nitrogen cycle came out...having to memorise those bacterias...nitrobacter sp. ha ..glad it's over..

8. Physics
Date: 3 Dec 2009
- I'd give it a 4. The papers were not as tough as the ones did in most past exercises...but I was glad I’d managed to ask teacher and brushed up on my weak areas in paper 2... But the results for paper 1 was the same as chemistry paper one :( (Was actually hoping for perfect 50, but can't cry over spilt milk)

* Tips: Try to do more on the parts that you are weak in and ask teachers for help on how to get more marks in that area. Nothing is impossible :)

9. Chemistry
Date: 8 Dec 2009
- 4, yup a four that is. Paper 1 :( but hopefully paper 2 will pull me up again. Paper 1, that miserable 1, I bet I’ll never forget the use of vulcanized rubber as surgerical hand gloves! Ergh..Anyhow, paper 2 structure was as expected. Alloy was the usual topic as well as group 1 (lithium). The pass year state trials, SPM papers and present year state trials were asking things that were almost identical. So it's nothing much to worry about if you've done lot's of exercises. Yes indeed, 'practice makes perfect'.

*Tips: Do remember the things that can help you score easily like for example definitions, chemical equations, half equations, how to count moles...etc...Don’t leave anything unwritten, if you don't know, at least write something related... :)

- Paper 3 was rather tricky but there's nothing much I can do right now...all that is left to do is hope for the best :)

A broad smile on my face merely sums up the whole SPM with bitter sweet memories..All that is left for me to do is pray and hope for things that might not comes true...you don't need to pay to dream of miracles :)

I can't turn back to alter my past, I can't grow younger to re-live my days, I can't sit here and not do a thing, because all I can do is create a brighter future so I would not regret later on...

I'm glad that all the teachers that taught me were very dedicated in their jobs, very patient in answering even my dumb enquiries, very motherly in treating me, very supportive, very...trully amazing! With the extra classes you made, the extra effort you gave in, I'm sure my results would not disappoint you... (hopefully) Just wanna say thank you and love you forever :)

Pn Roziana (My Class Teacher, Add Maths Teacher & Maths Teacher )

Pn Azura ( My Chemistry Teacher )

Pn Laila ( My Biology Teacher )

Pn Rozai ( My Physics Teacher )

Pn Khuriati ( My English Teacher )