Today's Chem paper had a section on proteins. I bet all the Bio students silently cheered. I know I did.

First, they asked: why does raw papaya juice have the ability to tenderise meat while boiled papaya juice does not?- Yay, regurgitate enzyme answer. After the paper, Yuhui kept bitching about how enzymes weren't in the notes, and Jem had a sudden thought: "What if... the Physics students don't know that enzymes are proteins?" The 9 of us with him were silent for awhile, and then all started cackling away.

Next, according to the paper, the toughness of meat is due to the increased number of cross-links in collagen fibres with age. And they asked for another method, apart from raw papaya juice, to tenderise meat for cooking. Well, cross links are basically covalent (disulfide) bonds, and the only way to break disulfide bonds is to use heavy metal ions, like Hg2+.

"Rub the meat with Hg2+," I cheerfully wrote down, then paused, because I'd realised they'd stated "...for cooking". I don't cook China style, so heavy metal ions are not easily found in my kitchen. Yeah, mercury-flavoured meat; I am a regular domestic goddess. In the end I crapped out some answer, like "add vinegar", though Deenie says vinegar and meat tastes terrible. Better than Jem; he said to cook the meat, and Yuhui the housewife snapped: "Cook the meat to prepare it for COOKING? Are you retarded?"

Sigh. Life must be so tough for all those poor people who can't afford to eat black pigs fed on malt barley airflown from Australia daily. *wipes tear from eye*

By the way, I'm kidding. After school a group of people and I went to eat Carnivore at MBS, because of the 1-for-1 promotion. We got there an hour after our reservation, so we re-reserved a table at 1:30pm, and spent a while cavorting around the atas shops, while marvelling how poor we were in comparison. But someday I shall be able to shop at MBS. Just wait.

At Carnivore, there was this particularly amusing server, who came over with calls of "P FOR PINEAPPLE! P FOR PINEAPPLE!", and "Beefbeefbeefbeefbeefbeefbeef". Carnivore has awesome fish and awesome chicken, but the pork could do with a little bit of raw papaya juice teehee.

After that, we felt so fat and full that we decided to walk around for a bit. We walked all the way to this giant water feature, which was constructed such that you can hear the person standing at the opposite end of the water feature as clearly as though they were standing next to you! It's some Physics shit, maybe refraction of sound or rainbows or something. Who knows. But we spread ourselves out around the giant circle, and sang the batch song together! It actually sounded pretty good :D But then again I was next to my Jie and Yang Terng was opposite, so I guess I had the best listening point. At the end we all clapped, and some tourists clapped as well- not sure if they were just following for the sake of it, or because they actually appreciated our noob singing, but whateverrrr hahahah.

I think I've posted about the liberal use of words starting with F near CTs previously, but this is so fantastic I just had to.

Now, we all know that "fluff" has a very flexible range of applications- noun, adverb, proposition, whatever. Same old same old. These two guys, however, probably win a prize for innovative use of "fluff":

Guy 1: "Eh, fluff."
Guy 2: (in the tone of voice in which you would say " 'sup") "Fluff. Whassup bro?"
Guy 1: "The fluffing math paper... etc"

"Fluff" is now usable in place of a greeting!!!! That absolutely blew my mind.

Also, more words starting with F:


Last night, I went on an Anderson Roe video spree. In one, Anderson and Roe mock comments on YouTube videos of Moonlight Sonata, and in one particular dramatization of a comment, Anderson acts like, well, a fabulous gay guy! Well ok he isn't actually particularly straight or anything, but still. His gay guy impression is absolutely fabulous.

Sigh now a legitimate excuse for me to use "fluff": it seems that I am allergic to the surgical tape- which  I used to tape gauze over my allergies to prevent them from worsening. HELLO? IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?

Okay this has officially replaced Beethoven's Spring Sonata as the top of my to-do list if I ever get a musical boyfriend, because this just pushes amazing chemistry and dueting to the LIMITTTT. Excuse me while I hyperventilate and squeal loudly in a corner to myself.

Look at their intense smouldering gazes ahmygaaaawd. Who knew you could smoulder while playing the piano?! If I get a musical boyfriend, I will perfect this move- okay fine so maybe I can't play as well as the girl can, but I can stand by the side and SMOULDER.

There is a video (Blue Danube Fantasy) which shows a small snippet of them playing in this costume, and she is sitting on his lap omg too cute! This totally redefines duets- most duets try to keep you as far away from each other as possible so that you don't confuse each other, but if you think about it, their way makes so much more sense; you cross hands and play into each other's ranges because that's what you do as a couple! Except they have kind of transcended couple-hood, and their hands have molded into a single organic entity so that he knows how to get out of the way when she's playing. But now I have made them sound like some freak half-octopus. (4 hands, haha)

But guess what: they are not even a couple. He is married... to ANOTHER MAN. Makes the chemistry even more awesome.

Mm nerves and exams and complexes do not mix well ): Looking at some of the stuff I've written, I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret. It hurtsss but I guess this is all part of living life. In another life I could have been so many different other things but this is what I've chosen or been moulded into and I don't understand a thing now, but my favourite philosopher Hayden White says things can only be re-emplotted backwards and you can only understand history retroactively so I'll just shut my eyes and trust that someday this will all make sense and I will look back and it will not pierce my heart and I'll take a leap

...I actually did this once.

Not so that no one would be able to copy it, but just for the kicks. Do I get extra Asian credit?

Nah, I kid. I was supposed to be taking notes for Denise when she was absent one Physics lesson, and I was bored with copying my own notes so I translated them into Chinese and did her entire worksheet in Chinese for her. She nearly had a stroke when she saw it. Ahh good times.

Kinnari Sahita:
BANGSA MALAYSIA!
MALAYSIA BOLEH :)
Me:
Majulah singapura!!
Kinnari Sahita:
That's not the Malaysian national anthem LOL
It's slogans for Malaysian national unity!!
Me:
Ermm well same! Kinda!
Xinyuan Huang:
Malaysian anthem is negara ku
Kinnari Sahita:
RUKUNEGARA
Xinyuan Huang:
Oh fine whatever
Kinnari Sahita:
That was a failed attempt at Malaysian national ideology
IDK what the national anthem is
Xinyuan Huang:
...
Gotong royong
You'll need it
Kinnari Sahita:
PANCASILA :))
Ya we learnt about it!!
 It's Indonesian :)
PERTAMINA!
Me:
THAT'S THE PETROL KIOSK
Right right right right right
Kinnari Sahita:
NO FOOL
IT'S THE INDONESIAN OIL MONOPOLY
Set up by Suharto
Me:
Yah therefore petrol kiosk
Kinnari Sahita:
Ok another test: BOGASARI.

--

As mentioned in previous posts, my Indon vocab extends to food... and yeah, food. I can order pempek quite convincingly, but I had no freaking idea what Bogasari was. So I appealed to James.

Me:
What's a bogasari?
James Alexander:
It's a dragon

Now back to the first whatsapp convo:

Me:
IT'S A DRAGON!
Kinnari Sahita:
Wtf
Me:
...no?
But my Indon friend told me that!!
Kinnari Sahita:
It's the Indonesia rice mill monopoly owned by Liem Sioe Liong who recently passed away in Singapore and who was Suharto's crony though the papers conveniently didn't mention that.
HAHAHA
Your Indon friend fails
Either that or you're too gullible

--

At this point in time, James was sitting opposite me, and the convo went something like this:

Me:
YOU BITCH IT'S NOT A DRAGON
James:
Omg can't believe you fell for that
Bogasari is a dragon hahahahahahhahahahahahaha
It's not lah it's a flower mill. My grandpa works there.

Back to the Whatsapp.

Me:
NO IT'S NOT IT'S A FLOWER MILL
Xinyuan Huang:
Or maybe it is also a dragon
...
Vic has many Indon friends : D
Kinnari Sahita:
IT'S A FLOUR MILL FOOLS
and rice too.

Now back to real life.

Me:
Wait, flower as in, like, pretty flowers in full bloom, or flour, as in like, CAKES?
James: (with the most disdainful oh-my-god-I'm-talking-to-a-blonde expression I've ever seen)
Cakes.

Final act on whatsapp-

Me:
Okokok I misheard
Whatever
Kinnari Sahita:
Dear lord
You thought it was a FLOWER mill?!?!?!!
SCIENCE STUDENTS
Me:
... Indonesia raya!!

I am very useless when it comes to cold; temperatures in the lower reaches of the 20s have me in three layers and a coat. My school jacket is a woolly affair I bought from Japan in winter.

This aspect of my wardrobe, coupled with my penchant for dresses, makes for some very awkward outfits, especially when my jacket is longer than my dress. Heh.

Note to self: don't leave the house with a skirt that can't be seen below the hem of your jacket. People stare because they think you aren't wearing bottoms. Fml.

My friend sent me a picture of a book titled "The Great Singapore... Panic" (I will not fill in the dots here, you can Google it. Unless you are under 13. Then go away.)

And I laughed. Like really hard.

Oh my god I have a guy brain I am going to die foreveralone because no one wants a girl with a guy brain.

Also I have been reading Bros on failblog. And I think it's hilarious.

Oh my god I have a guy brain I am going to die foreveralone because no one wants a girl with a guy brain.

BUT DUDE, A BOOK TITLED "The Great Singapore ... Panic"???? HOW CAN YOU NOT LAUGH AT THAT?

... sigh I really am going to die alone. BUT AT LEAST I WILL HAVE LAUGHED AND MADE MERRY.

If you've missed me, I'm back!! Chances are, you haven't, because you probably haven't realised that I've been away. Which was the whole point, really- my parents and I decided that we couldn't really afford the time to go holidaying and all that, what with work and CTs (though this morning, mum: "You're having CTs NEXT WEEK? Oh my, I thought you were just studying for fun!") so we went to Batam for the weekend; departed Singapore Saturday afternoon and returned Sunday afternoon. 

Lately I've been testing how long it is humanly possible to nurse a tall green tea latte/soy strawberries and cream frappucino at Starbucks before I 1. Get unceremoniously swept off the premises with a broom, or 2. Escort myself out in shame. I need to study, but my condo is being renovated, and the power drills sing me the song of their people every morning.

So far I've made it up to 4 hours. I have no idea how that compares to veterans (some people I see at Starbucks have been there since, the beginning of time, probably, and have amassed a fort of plastic beverage cups) but it's not bad for me. I feel my skin thickening- I no longer feel the need to slink out by the back door, avoiding the stares of the baristas, after a marathon study session. Lol I guess this is what they mean by the confidence of youth. ^^

People queue up to buy concert tickets; I queue up for entry into the Study Lounge at NLB to get good seats at 8:45 in the morning. I study for about 4 hours, get lunch, go home, and practice violin for 2 hours, and then piano for 1 more hour. Tiger mom would be proud of me. Such is life.

I don't get why couples in school come back to school to study during the June hols- why don't they go to, I dunno, Clarke Quay to make out or something??

I went to Raja block to finish reading Silence of the Lambs in the morning (bad idea to start it at 11pm- couldn't sleep at all) and by about 9am I had to move because the place was steadily filling up with couples that would spread their notes out in front of them but actually just gaze at each other with repressed sexual frustration.

Hah, I said it. REPRESSED SEXUAL FRUSTRATION. My god I don't think I've used that phrase since Hedda Gabler in Sec 4.

But yeah. This is totally killing my spirit because the June hols should be a time for sad foreveralone mugging for CT2s because if you can't be popular you might as well have good grades right. Going out to forage for food alone is depressing though.

When I showed these to Mum, she paused pensievely for awhile. "The sasuwataris are cute, but I think your chibi totoro is the wrong shape." Then she grabbed my rough working pad and drew this:

Mum: "Can you show me how to access this music website? I want to be cool like the young colleagues." -pulls out a pair of my earphones which I'd thought I lost a whole ago-
Me: "Uh don't go to that website, use YouTube instead. It has more songs."

And then I taught my mum how to use YouTube. But later,

Me: "Mum, do public servants pay tax? Why do my Econs notes say taxation is a transfer of money from the private sector to the government?"
Mum: "Your notes are wrong. Go away I'm listening to music don't disturb me!"

Sigh.

Also my dad, upon discovering that my Indon friends have gone back home, is regaling me with tales about his life in Indonesia, which I can't really understand because he's laughing too hard to tell the stories properly.

So far all I've gotten is, if you are rich enough, you can do anything, like pause a plane on the runway and climb up a ladder to reach it...? (???!!!!?!!?!??!?)

Crystal told me that someone'd once remarked that reading "Kafka on the Shore" was like "swallowing seawater*".  Since at that time we'd neither read Kafka on the Shore nor swallowed seawater, we couldn't make head or tail of the analogy. We didn't know what Kafka on the Shore was like, because we didn't know what swallowing seawater was like; at the same time, we didn't know what swallowing seawater was like because we'd never read Kafka on the Shore. And we were very curious to find out what both of these experiences were like.

Now one of these problems was very easily remediable. Assuming the analogy was a good one, we could read Kafka on the Shore, and find out what swallowing seawater was like! (Why not swallow seawater? Because seawater isn't really seawater. See the * below)

Anyway I finally got hold of Kafka, and read it. I still have no idea what swallowing seawater is like. As far as feelings go, I felt more strongly about 1Q84 than I did Kafka; and even then it was just like "Whaaa-?" followed by a conviction that Murakami probably writes while on LSD or something. Or has some really weird imagination.

Kafka feels like a prototype of 1Q84 though. Parallel universe, evil beings that crawl through portals, Weird Sex... As an aside, I don't get what's up with Murakami and absent sex- like when one party is human and the party is a ghost or a spirit or, ugh, a concept. ?!!??!!!?!?!?!?!

But yeah. Kafka had a number of talking cats. One was named Toro after the tasty part of the tuna. I was much amused. And even though I am, in principle, opposed to cats, I think the cat dialogues were the cutest parts of the story. Yay.

*It wasn't actually seawater, but something rather unsavoury (not literally) and quite NC16. Because I don't think I'll be able to write this without blushing I shall just substitute a PG term instead.

Behold- the Janus Kinase (JAK) : it is a Receptor Tyrosine Kinase that exists as 2 separate subunits and dimerises in the presence of a signal molecule floating around your blood, like insulin or growth factor etc.

Mdm Cross told us a pretty cute story about JAK; it was named for Janus, the two faced god of doorways. Uh, two-faced, not as in "damn, that bitch told the whole world about my boyfriend", but two-faced as in... literally having two faces. One face looks into the future, and the other looks into the past. (And therefore doorways, because it's like a transition from one room to another, and if you imagine hard enough with enough alcohol, yeah, it's kind of like a transition from the past to the future whooooa)

But it wasn't always named so grandly. Before it became godly, it was just another kinase- yes, Just Another Kinase: JAK. ): Disenchanted scientists for the win!

Anyway the whole point of this tiny Bio lesson is because I'm quite amused by Gotye's Somebody that I used to Know, and the entire series of memes that it's spawned, and because I just wanted to say this one more time:

NOW YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER KINASE THAT I USED TO KNOWWWWWW

Everytime I tell James that he gives me this O_o face and asks me if I'm high.

After Brain Bee results, James and I went to Vivo's Sushi Tei to eat dinner to celebrate his being national champion and getting to go to South Africa!!!! Whoooo confetti and glitter please!

I said I'd treat him, for all the PW help and bets I owed him as well as congratulations for being godly rolled into one. He claimed he wasn't hungry and only ordered one helping of ootoro, or tuna belly sashimi. It cost $28 but the picture in the menu was huge so it looked quite worth it.

But when the sashimi came, I was literally stunned silent because it was in a small dish no bigger than my hand, and five pretty small slices of fish- we calculated the price of each tiny slab to be $5.60. MADE OF GOLD. I think I might have fainted internally for a bit.

James offered me a piece of the $5.60 fish, and I agreed to try half in exchange for my mango prawn sushi, because I don't particularly like raw fish- but as soon as I tried the ootoro I totally understood why it was $5.60!

Ootoro is basically like super fat tuna belly, which sounds damn gross except that it melts in your mouth with very little of the fishy taste you get from cheapo salmon sashimi elsewhere. I think the closest substitute there is would be the fatty meat of the braised pork belly you get sometimes in very skillfully cooked black sauce pork, but without the slightly gagworthy bite of the fat at the end. It is creamy, smooth, and sooooo gooooood.

If I could eat ootoro for life I would be much pleased :3 Couldn't do anything except flap my hands around excitedly, eyes wide, while it literally melted on my tongue.

Majorly screwed up the Brain Bee final round- went in shaking and with freezing fingers and even ended up tearing when the interviewer asked me about future careers, and had to be prompted like 3494928382 times in the most guided questions ever (I think they totally took pity on me)

But it's ok because ultimately, i think I've achieved my aim. I don't have to win in order to be happy- I now know enough to understand and hopefully be useful. And that, at the end of the day, is all I want.

Thank you.

Yesterday night, I got my mum to pretend to be an eminent neuroscientist and quiz me on stuff for Brain Bee. We never got around to much quizzing or revision; my mum was never the type to be really concerned with my studies, unless I -gasp- dropped to 98/100 for Math exams. Then she'd rage and drill me with stuff that wasn't even in the syllabus, like area of triangles. Well, at least back in P2. Now she's like "ew go get a life please".

But in any case, I discovered where my inner bimboness manifested itself from- I quite literally got it from my momma.

Mum: "Which is the most sensuous area of the body?"
Me: "Umm, lips? Or fingertips."
Mum: "WRONG!!! It's the brain!"
Me: "What are you talking about??? The brain doesn't have sensory neurons of its own! Is that in the book? Let me see it -grabs for book-"
Mum: "No, it's GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. Some people think it's your boobs or whatever, but it's actually the brain that gets most aroused during-"
Me: "NO MUM WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS NOW!!!!!"
Mum: "You'll thank me when the neuroscientists ask you this question on Monday!"
Me: "Neuroscientists won't ask this sort of thing! They're not sexy people."
Mum: "YOU'LL THANK ME."

Mum: -squeal- "LOOK! A sotong!" -points to picture of giant squid-
Me: "Yeah, they used the giant squid axon to figure out how action pote-"
Mum: "-why is this sotong so transparent? The ones I buy from the market are white."
Me: "Erm, I think that's after you cook them."
Mum: "No, they're white before I cook them. This sotong is wrong. Do sotongs lay eggs?"
Me: "Yeah, they have an egg sac-"
Mum: "I've never seen the egg sac before!"
Me : "It's next to the ink sac in female sotongs, but can you get back to quizzing me?!"
Mum: "Tomorrow I'll buy a sotong at the market and you can show me."

Mum: "Eh it says in the book that pain makes you rest, which allows the injured body part to heal! Isn't that so cute? So cute right!!!"
Me: "MUM QUIZ ME STOP READING THE BOOK!!!"
Mum: "K I've learnt a lot tonight. That's enough for one night GOODNIGHT~"

Sigh someday in the future when my daughter asks me to quiz her on Advanced Particle Physics or multidimensional geometry I will probably react the same way. Love you mummy.