I speak in British English? Lol!

A rather boring day with some amusement before dinner.

Went to look for Prof. Wu to discuss about my project and at the end, he said something that made me amused. He started by asking me about last Sat's Hong Kong Chemistry PG Symposium. Then he asked me about one of the lab senior's oral presentation etc. Following that, he said that if I have some interesting results, he'll consider asking me to represent HKUST in oral presentation next year!! Gosh. That's not the most amusing thing lor. The latter part is even more amusing:

Prof Wu: When you presented previously during the group meeting, you spoke too fast; it makes people hard to catch and understand the content.

Me: .... ok (actual feeling: yah I know; you are not the first person saying that...)

Prof. Wu: ...and I realize that you speak in British English; HK and mainland students may find it hard to catch British English ..."

Me: Oh.... (stunned beyond words; I never knew I spoke in British English....more of Singlish??? Lol)

Prof. Wu: ... so next time, maybe you can slow down and speak a little slower.

Me: ... ok.

Ha, I didn't know I speak British English. That's really a news to me.

Pissed!

Super pissed today lor. Boss argued with me for no reason. It all started with the below equation:My junior Joawen asked me a Q on Friday on what can a chemist do in order to obtain most of the product in the enol form. From chemistry, H-bonding with a substituent at the ortho position should be able to stabilize it. -NH2 or -NO2 will be good but not sure which is better since both of them have very different nature. I told Joawen that I'll do some calculations to confirm and my calculations showed that NO2 will stabilize the enol by 4 kcal/mol and NH2 will destabilize it by 4.8 kcal/mol. I thought this is a rather interesting problem and I went on to do calculation for substituents such as Me, CF3 and Cl. All of them showed that keto is more stable and therefore, the NO2 should stabilize it by H-bonding (and maybe something else).

Then today, I told my boss and he asked me to check literature to see if anyone has done it as he is sure that someone has already done something similar. I have already checked and the result is negative. Later on, he came to the lab and dicussed with my other seniors on their project. When I told him about it, he told me that since a prof set this Q, surely he must have some supporting data (most likely literature). But no lor, I told him there is something call hypothetical Q or open-ended Q. Then he rebuked me and say if the prof himself also don't know the answer, how to set Q? Then I told him that as long as the students' answer are reasonable, why not? Then he don't believe lor. He "challenged" me and said if you didn't do calculation, will you know the answer? I told him that I did calculation to verify my chemistry. He went on further by drawing nitrobenzene and aniline and asked me, from my chemistry, which will have a lower hydrogenation energy? I told him use nitrobenzene as EWG made it more stable and etc etc. Then he said very hard to say lor and then said may involve aromaticity as well etc. Ahhh. Crab lor.

Pissed.

Ngong Ping Charity Walk 2007

I completed Ngong Ping Charity Walk 2007 in 5 hours 49 minutes. Lol.

But it is not a "normal" walk lor. It is an arduous 26km hike in one of the toughest hiking terrain in HK. I was so glad that I survived it and completed it in less than 6 hours. My aim was around 6 hours since I completed sections 1 and 2 of Sai Kung (24.1km) in around 6 hours during my exchange. This hike however, is more challenging than Sai Kung and it's really an eye opener. The hiking route is as follow:

The journey to CP1 is ordinary, consisting of flat roads. So nothing very special about it.

The journey to CP2 consist of an upward climb till around 200m above sea level. It is pretty steep but still bearable.

The journey to CP3 continued the climb till around 380m above sea level. It is quite tough. Haha.

The journey to CP4 was one that I will not forget for life. Hardcore! However, it is not as difficult as the Sharp Peak in Sai Kung. For the Sharp Peak in Sai Kung, you literally have to use your hands and climb up. For this route to Lantau Peak (934m above sea level), you just have to walk carefully as there are steps along the way. But it's kinda dangerous as it is very misty and there are very strong wind blowing at you. Quite a lot of people slowed down here and I overtook them. Lol. The descend from Lantau Peak to CP4 was a killer as it's a little steep. Descending has always been pretty bad for me as my leg is not so accustom to going down.

So up till this point, since I've overcame Lantau Peak, the rest should be easy right? No lor. The guidebook stated that from CP4 onwards, it's mostly flatland. Not true!!! So misleading. CP4 to CP5 involves some climbing again at the later half, but it is still bearable. It is CP5 to CP6 that "killed" me in a way. It should be mostly going down but the journey turned out to be down, up, down, up, down ...etc. I walked until my legs were cramped. Lol. But then again, it is worth the walk as the scenary was very good. No strong wind and mist here and so I can see the cable cars and the airport pretty clearly.

The journey to the end point from CP6 is flatland and so it's fine. Had Mac for lunch and bought haf a roast duck for dinner! I slept from 7.45pm till 8.45am this morning. The hike was pretty exhausting. On the whole, it's a good experience, coupled with new challenges.

"If you believe, your dreams will come true." Lol.

Touching Comments & Slacking

A touching email reply from Dr. Li, the Molecular Characterization lab instructor:

"Dear Chorng Shin,

I am so happy and touched to hear that and really hope all of the TAs and teachers in Hong Kong, at very school, have the spirits like yours.

Many thanks,
Hungwing"

Actually I didn't do much. I just suggested somethings and told her that I will be willing to offer my experience if required. As I am part of HKUST now, I certainly hope for the best for the undergraduates. This is more so as I will be a teacher in the future. As a teacher, I want to inculcate a passion in learning in the students so that they will move on with life, exceling in whatever areas they want to go into. With passion, they can pick up materials and absorb new knowledge themselves. With passion, they will still move on despite failures. With passion, dreams will come and since everything starts with a dream at certain point, they will have the desire to move on. And with passion, they can influence their peers and spread this passion.

I slacked the whole day today actually. Sigh. I just did some calculation, read a paper and marked 3 reports. I have more important tasks at hand and countless more. Most importantly, I need to define my research direction. I have only 2 years (1.7 years now) and I don't wanna waste it. I also have Dr. Tan's asymmetric synthesis notes to improve on, something which I promised him to be completed by summer. Most importantly, I have a paper to write. If I don't write now, it'll never be completed. :(

Lowest for Bioanalytical Chemistry

Enrique, my UROPS student told me that I got the lowest for CHEM541 Bioanalytical Chemistry mid-term; the results are pasted outside the prof's office. *lol* I don't really care about this module though as it's trashy. Haha.

Refrying the Fried Rice

Returned from advanced organic chemistry presentation. Had group meeting presentation yesterday and basically, I am using the same material. *lol* This is the so called refrying the fried rice.

Prof. Dai put my presentation at the last and I have to endure 7 presentations (a whooping 3.5 hours) before mine. Basically, I feel that most of them presented just for the sake of presenting. The materials were not thorough and the presentations were not clear. When they talked about asymmetric synthesis reactions, they just talked through it as-a-matter-of-fact without models and explanations to how asymmetry is achieved. Crab lor. It was only then that I realized the CM4223 presentations that I listened to were actually pretty decent. My juniors made an effort to use models, diagrams and look up references to explain the asymmetry.

Anyway my presentation also not so fantastic lah. Usual comments like too fast and info-packed were told to me by my lab colleagues. Well well. Prof. Dai commented at the end that I talked like Erik Sorensen. *lol*. Also, I prepared presentation slides like the way he does. Hmm nice compliment from him but I'll not be Erik Sorensen as I'm not going towards total synthesis. I like to read them and teach them to others though. That's why I am thinking about writing a book on Q pertaining to total synthesis. Such book exists though but not good enough in my opinion. Anyone interested in joining me?

Inner Mongolia cum Beijing Trip

Finally back from my one week Spring break; travelled more than 5000km for the past one week or so. There is some delay though and I am only back in campus at around 1.15pm yesterday. There are many people to thank for the success of this trip and I am especially grateful to Felix, my travel partner for the fun sessions and being there when we met up with "mishap"; Shu Chen and his mom, for providing us with accomodation in Shenzhen the night before we departed; Lan Yu and wife, for providing us with accomodations and spent time keeping us company in Beijing; Wong Cang and Neng Jie, for bringing us around the Great Wall and Peking University; Xiong Hao's parents, for being so friendly and took care of me during my less-than-3-hours stay in Chang Sha; those who prayed for our safety during the time we were away.

So on the whole, is this a great trip? Well, mixed feelings. We had our fair share of unhappiness and fun moments. I guess that is the price one has to pay if you want to see the world. After this trip, both of us have grown and become wiser (hopefully).

Inner Mongolia gave us the "best" memories. We were like open targets for people to cheat us from day 1. Sick man! It started with the boss of the travel agency scooping us RMB$1380 on the first day. That was the cost for the whole trip including food, accomodation, driver, entrance fees to some attractions etc. However, it excludes all the fees we have to pay inside the attractions lor. In addition, the food and accomodation we got isn't that fantastic. Our driver told us that he doesn't have enough budget to bring us for BBQ lamb! Crab lor. Darn boss.

Following that, we have to bargain throughout the tour lor! we bargained in the grassland for the horse ride from RMB$560 to RMB$400; bargained for the desert from RMB$300 to RMB$240. We bargained till our throat dried up. In addition, I caught the flu bug from day 1 of the trip. Luckily, our driver brought me to see the doctor and I got better throughout the holiday. Those people were so mean man.

The worst has yet to come. The final day in Inner Mongolia was the worst! We visited the Genghis Khan Mausoleum and when we were there, something really nasty happened. The Mongolian guards in the museum suspected that we took photos in the museum and confiscated the SD card in the camera. We tried to reason out with them but they don't listen. They said that we are Han people and pretend not to know mandarin. Crab lor. Felix doesn't know mandarin as he is a CBC. For me, when I started speaking to them, they told me that I pretended not to know from the start. Ahhh. Argued for quite some time and nearly fought. Following that, I went to get our driver in to settle the dispute but nothing good came out of it. The darn guards made us walked in circles and made the driver drove us round in circles to locate the guy who took the SD card. In the end, when we found him, he told us that they have investigated and found photos taken in the museum. I was pissed lor. When we put the SD card in the camera and showed him the photos, no pictures were taken inside the museum lor. However, he insisted that we took it!!! Pissed........

I mean, if he wanna frame us, at least be smarter. He could at least use another camera and take some shots in the museum and use it to frame us. Instead, he just insisted verbally that we took it. Crazy man. In the end, he said he'll fine us RMB$100 each and let the matter rest. If not, we can go with him to the police and investigate. He suspected that we are not tourists and were spies instead. Crab man. Us spies?? Duhhhh! I would have gone with him to the police if not for the fact that we are catching the 9pm train to Beijing and we were like 400km from Hohhot! In the end, I reluctantly parted with my RMB$100 bill and gave him another S$10 plastic bill. Ahhh, my precious plastic S$10 bill. *sad*

Anyway, photos of Inner Mongolia below. Enjoy.

Outside a restaurant that is built like the Mongolian Bao.

In the barren grassland (the season isn't right; by right, it should be filled with green grass. *sad)

Barren grassland.

Frozen river!!! First time I saw such things in my life.

Felix on the horse.

At the desert, with our dear driver.

On the camel.

Extremely tasty Mongolian milk! I'll go over to SZ to buy more when I have the time.

Our next stop was Beijing and Lan Yu was kind enough to came over to the train station to fetch us. We stayed at his place for the next 3 days and he took us around Beijing most of the time. The trip to Beijing was good and I finally get to see the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and Imperial Palace. Nothing much to complain about Beijing, except for the fact that the road is as lawless as any other chinese cities. People still spit on the ground. Oh yah, Peking duck isn't as good as I thought. Cantonese dishes rule! *lol*

Photos of Beijing:

Felix and I at the Great Wall.

Group photos with Lan Yu and wife, Neng Jie and Wong Cang.

The Majestic Greal Wall of China.

Outside Tiananmen.

Imperial Palace.

Peking Duck.

At Peking University.

Summer Palace.

Overall, pretty decent trip. Now it's time to concentrate on research and prepare for exams.

Preparation for Inner Mongolia Trip

Yesterday, I had my final polymer chemistry lecture in campus. The next 2 lectures (scheduled 14th and 21st April) will be in HKU. As usual, the lecture ended with a quiz and most students struggled. I am done in 5mins and my conclusion is, if you have a strong organic background, it doesn't take long to figure out the monomer units and how to join them up in 2 steps.

Went to yum cha with Kelvin (a lab student) at Kowloon Bay today. He brought me to this restaurant opposite Telford Plaza (where he lives) and this is the first time I am having tea in a resdential area. However, it's not as good as I thought. Maybe my standard for yum cha is too high? Hmm can't help it ah coz I have tasted some the best in the region. ;)

Time flies. I am going to Inner Mongolia 2 days later. I have yet to pack!!! Sent Felix (the Canadian guy that I am going with) a rough itinerary and now, I am thinking of what to bring. Though it's just a short 7 days, the weather there is extreme and thus need to be more careful. I read from the news that northern China is experiencing sandstorm now :( Hope that it'll be over by the time we are there. The latest forecast of the temperature in Hohhot (capital of Inner Mongolia) is -3 degrees celsius (-8 degrees celsius including wind chill)!!! Wah, first time I am going to a place that is below 0 degrees celsius - how exciting. And then, I realized today that this is not the best time to visit the grassland as the grass will not be green during Spring. Duh!

Anyway, my journey is as follow (green arrow indicates trip by flight and blue arrow by train):


4th Apr 0835 flight to Hohhort, stopover at Wuhan.
7th Apr midnight train to Beijing.
10th Apr 1710 flight to Changsha and overnight train back to Shenzhen.

Anyway, this is the super heavy Titanium series Columbia jacket that I bought with a really good price (I own't divulge it!):

It is really heavy lor. When I wore it now, I feel really hot. It's wind-proof, water-proof and covers right up to the neck, with a head cover as well. In addition, it is double layer. Heard that it can protect you from -10 degree celsius. I'll see if it's true. :p

A no. of "first" in this trip:

1. First time experiencing sub-zero degree celsius
2. First time exceeding a latitude of 23 degress North (Guangzhou is the furthest North I have been to).
3. First time visiting the grassland
4. First time viisting the desert
5. First time visiting Beijing (and hence the Forbidden Palace, Great Wall etc.)
6. First time I am going somewhere that I have not much idea about (most, if not all along, I am bringing people to places that I have been to once upon a time).
7. More first time to come ...

It's so exciting. The exciting part is the unknown awaiting ahead of me. Felix once asked me why go to Inner Mongolia. I told him it's because I don't know much about the place.