GEEZ... THEY'RE ALL THE SAME, AFTER ALL.


I've always thought that mathematicians are just an irritating bunch of geniuses (all of whom are, undeniably, blessed with a systematic and analytical good old brain cells) which, having way too much free time on their hands, has absolutely nothing better to do than to crank their much-coveted brain and come up with those bombastic mathematical equations and funny-looking symbols which simply just frustrate everyone to their grave prematurely.

Apparently, now I think chemists fit into the description just as aptly.


Who's that pesky airhead of a chemist who initiated coupling Molecular Orbital Theory with Symmetry??!!


Somebody, please, throw me another knife. (!!!)

Geez...

Hilarious Teaching Feedback Survey - NTU Lecturer


If any of you guys are wondering why are there increasingly YouTube videos posted up of late, it's mainly because:

1) My life is getting kind of mundane and routine, and this is largely due to:

2) Age's catching up with me, that's why (Hurhur!).

3) I'm kind of busy of late to post up a real entry. [=)]

Anyway, here's yet another YouTube video. But it's bound to tickle your ribs. You'll be in for a good laugh, I promise.

Gosh, students these days are sooo witty.

And I honestly adore and admire that lecturer. If you ask me, THAT'S one of the numerous ways which teachers should build rapport with students. Educators should NOT just perform their mere duty and fulfill the basic requirement (namely: teach, teach, and teach from the text only.), but should go the extra mile and get into as many of the student's life as possible. A good educator is not he who just teaches and imparts rote knowledge, but one who sincerely cares and impacts students positively.

It's one thing to teach; but it is absolutely another to change a person's life, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Never underestimate small beginnings. You can never be too sure about how far a small gesture, a kind word, a listening ear, a sincere encouragement, a casual smile, or even a light pat on the back, can travel; as well as the effects it can bring about.

PERSONALITY TEST


Ok, this has got to be the most accurate test among all that I've ever taken for the past 20 years of my life - it's so spot-on that I nearly fell off my chair even while scanning through the results! [and Duh! NO, I didn't fall, you dumbo; I'm just exaggerating again. =)]


GET TO KNOW YOURSELF BETTER:

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.
(yes, I've always feel that I'm a very diplomatic person. Don't show me your actions; I'm more interested in the reasons. One of my favourite adage that's perpetually stuck to my brain is, "To each his own.")

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.
(I think so too. I'm a hopeless romantic whose favourite pastime is to float around idyllically somewhere in FantasyLand. Geez.)

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.
(yes, I'll know Mr. Right when I meet him - I'll just know it; it'll just happen. Don't ask me how. It is somehow; it is automatic; it is intuition; it is magic. Yes, naviety, I know.)

The seriousness of your love:
You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.
[yes, one of the greatest mystery on Earth that has, till now, yielded jaw-dropping success in keeping me baffled is how some individuals can have a long history of BGRs. Isn't it plain ridiculous to invest your time and efforts on BGR relationships with people whom you don't even really like? It's just simply GROSS, okay? (Don't give me the crap about love is capable of being nurtured over time. Unless it's by divine will that two specific individual should be together as a couple, why should you shortchange yourself and settle for less when there might be a more fitting candidate just one month down the road?) And I personally feel that it's downright dumb to invest in relationships which you just know are not going to work out, and that he/she is not THE significant other. Come on, don't waste each others' time.]

Your views on education:
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.
(Learning is a life-long process, that's all I can say. You can only move forward or fall backward; there's no staying put.)

The right job for you:
You have many goals and want to achieve as much as you can. The jobs you enjoy are those that let you burn off your considerable excess energy.
[Haha, yep. I prefer not being in a 9-to-5 job which I'll spend the entire 7 hours (minus lunch break, that is) facing a square box.]

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.
(yes, I expect to be successful at not only my first attempt, but at my EVERY attempt. I'll think twice - and perhaps even thrice or more - before attempting something which success I'm not so confident of. I hate, or rather, loathe to flop.)

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.
(yes, I mind what, and how, others deem or think of me.)

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.


CLICK HERE FOR THE PERSONALITY TEST


WHAT'S YOUR PERSONALITY LOVE STYLE?

Here is the analysis:
You desire a love that will last forever. You are quite serious about finding this type of love, and that's why you think carefully about the men that you meet before deciding whether you could really love them.
You don't just develop a crush on someone overnight: you look at a person's personality and other aspects of their life before deciding to form an attachment.
If a guy doesn't meet your expectations, you would rather be alone. Your love has to be perfect. Be careful though, you could be missing out on some worthy relationships because your standards are so high.
(That's true. I've always believe that love is not just merely an emotion. Love is a choice. And I do carefully evaluate, scruntinize, and consider carefully about the man and decides whether he makes the cut. I don't advocate wasting time in futile relationships.)

CLICK HERE FOR THE TEST


WHAT KIND OF PERSONALITY DO YOU HAVE?

Here is the analysis:
Kind and Gentle
Your kindness is your charm - you are also gentle and sweet. Everybody likes to be around people with your personality. Like a psychologist, people like to talk to you to discuss their problems because you are proper and discrete, as well as confident. You look mature and people respect you. People with this kind of character are few and far between.
(Ehhh... I don't think I've heard anyone describing me as kind and gentle, leh...)

CLICK HERE FOR THE TEST

Josh Groban - Your Raise Me Up



YOU RAISE ME UP
JOSH GROBAN

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

HOW UGLY THE WORLD


Isn't it amazing at how the world is now gushing over London Fashion Week's "Size Zero" operation to boycott size zero models (read: models who are stick-thin and look near anorexic), while not much attention was given to what caused and sparked off this upheaval?

Does anyone know that someone died before due attention was given to the way how modelling industry works?


Luisel Ramos was just a 22-years-old lady with her whole life, and an entire future, laying ahead of her. (for goodness sake, I'm only 2 years younger than she!) But yet, a young life is cut off so abruptly without living to its fullest potential.


Must it always be the case, that actions are taken only when something bad has happened?

Must alarm bells sound only when something unfortunate has occured?

Couldn't anyone have done more??

BITTERSWEET


By Sara Kugler
ASSOCIATED PRESS
6:18 p.m. September 8, 2006

NEW YORK - Four-year-old Gabriel Jacobs inherited his dad's sandy hair, long nose and blue eyes. The day they buried what was left of his father - a piece of rib, part of a thigh bone, a bit of one arm - the boy released a balloon into the air, then turned that familiar face skyward to make sure his daddy caught it.

This is how a son reaches out to the father he never met. Ariel Jacobs died in the World Trade Center attack six days before his only child was born.

"When he sends a balloon up to the sky and he finally sees the tiny dot of the balloon go through the clouds, he says, 'OK, the balloon found the doorway to heaven, I think he has it now,'" says Gabi's mother, Jenna Jacobs-Dick.

There are dozens of children like Gabi Jacobs, born to Sept. 11 widows in the months after the attacks. Five years later, as they approach kindergarten, they are just beginning to grasp the stories of their fathers and of the day that changed their lives forever.

The first baby arrived just hours after the disaster, and the last nine months later. Some mothers only discovered they were pregnant after the dads were gone - including Rudolph Giuliani's longtime aide, who was married to fire Capt. Terence Hatton. The firefighter's daughter was born the next spring, and her mother named her Terri.

Their fathers were rescue workers, cops, restaurant waiters and stockbrokers. Their mothers, pregnant and alone when the dust of the towers settled, worried about the stress on their unborn children from the agony and shock. Some miscarried. One went into labor during her husband's memorial service.

Many moms broke down in the delivery room, where they tried to fill that empty space with photos, a police badge, a piece of clothing. Friends, sisters and in-laws with cameras and brave faces stood in for all those lost dads.

Each delivery was, all at once, wonderful and awful.

Julie McMahon remembers her son's birth in early 2002 as a day of jangled nerves. "It wasn't supposed to be this way," she thought.

She delivered baby Patrick while her husband, Bobby, a firefighter with natural athleticism and a love of photography, looked on from a picture on the bedside table. The photo captured a moment of pure happiness - Bobby, wearing a cap and a giant grin, leans over their first son Matthew, clutching a massive tuft of cotton candy.

Patrick arrived with Bobby's curly hair and lanky body, and has sprouted into a miniature version of his daredevil dad. The child took his mother's breath away recently when he bounded by, swinging his arms and moving his head just so – it was Bobby's carefree strut.

When James Patrick's son was born, everyone agreed it was like looking at his father - the same fair skin, blue eyes and brown hair, that certain way he moved his mouth. The Cantor Fitzgerald bond broker, ecstatic about starting a family, died seven weeks before Jack entered the world.

The boy is also playful and silly like his dad. His mother, Terilyn Esse, like many of the other 9/11 moms, cannot explain how the children acquired their fathers' personalities - the social grace, the twinkling eyes, a love of words or music.
But there is a word they all use to describe it.

"It's bittersweet," says Jacobs-Dick, whose husband was attending a conference at the World Trade Center. "He's a reminder of Ari, not just the fact that he existed, but of who he was because they're so similar, and I can appreciate Ari in the present through him."

She is careful, though, that Gabi doesn't grow up with the sense that he is here to take the place of his father, who wept at the doctor's office when he learned that the blur on the ultrasound was a boy.

It is an unfair burden for any child who has lost a parent, says Marylene Cloitre, director of the Institute for Trauma and Stress at the New York University Child Study Center. And because of the public tragedy, children of 9/11 victims might always feel pressure to represent something even larger.

"Which is very hard to do when you're 17 and you hardly know what you feel and think yourself," Cloitre said. "Like 'Oh, my father's a hero so I have to carry the heroic memory,' when they don't even know what that is or how to do that."

Cloitre is tracking 700 children who lost parents in the 2001 attack, each a study in grief and hardship.

But the 4-year-olds are unique: They are building images of their fathers from the wisps of other people's memories and photographs, without even the subconscious sense of long ago cuddles or kisses on the forehead.

As each child discovers a lost father's life, along come questions: How did Daddy die? Who are the bad guys? Where did the buildings go? When they cleaned up the buildings, did they clean up Daddy, too?

Cloitre says the conversation will change as they grow up. In a few years they will probably want to know whether their fathers would have loved them. As teens, they may wonder about identity - how am I like him?

"It sort of exhausts people - they wish it could be over, that they could just say one thing, but really, what to say today pales in the face of the real challenge, which is a lifelong dialogue with their child about who this person was," she said.
Already, some of these children can tell you Daddy died when bad guys took control of some airplanes, and then flew them into the towers. Others haven't even heard the word "terrorist" and don't know there was anything more than a big fire.

"There are always questions and things that come up, and sometimes I'm thinking, 'oh my gosh' - you try to buy time so you can come up with an answer and do the best you can," says Kimberly Statkevicus, whose second son was born four months after husband Derek died.

Their child, named after his father, turns 5 in January. He knows that a piece of bone was recovered from his father's right hand, and is matter-of-fact about what happened. "My daddy went to work one day and some bad guys came and knocked the buildings down and crushed him like a pancake," he explains.
He wonders why there are no photographs of him and his father, like his brother has. Sometimes, it upsets him.

Some of the questions of these fatherless children are easy: Did Daddy like mayonnaise or mustard? When he played baseball, did he strike people out?
Other times, they're more spiritual: Does he see me when I ride my bike?

For those answers, Terilyn Esse has taught Jack Patrick there is a special thing he can do.
"When he started to talk, I would ask him, 'Where does Daddy live?' And he would say 'In heaven,' and I would say, 'Who does he live with?'" she said. "And he would say 'With God and the angels,' and I would say 'If you want to talk to Daddy what do you do?'

"And he would say 'I close my eyes and look inside my heart.'"

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/sept11/20060908-1818-sept11-turning5.html



After reading this news article, I can't help experiencing a twinge of bittersweet tugging at my heartstrings.

Really ought to examine our life and prioritize who - or what - deserves more of our time and attention.