Lousy Day

Don't know why, woke up today with a heavy heart. Suddenly felt depressed and don't feel like doing anything. Forced myself to have breakfast and dragged myself to the lab. The feeling was similar to when I first arrived here. Spent the whole day installing software into my new computer. The consumable funds had large excess and my seniors decided to get a new desktop for me. It was a sefl-configure one and consists of really good parts. It ran on the legendary Windows Vista and yes, I have to admit that it's extremely visual pleasing. I especially like the translucent and the Windows "AERO" effect.

I finally saw our book and felt it last Friday evening, all thanks to my junior, Shuhui for agreeing to bring 4 copies over from Singapore while coming to HK for holiday with his parents. The printing was a little disappointing, especially the first page. Other than that, it was ok.

I brought Shuhui around on Sunday - yum cha in the morning at Federal Restaurant followed by TST, shopping at Harbour City, Victoria Peak (too bad it rained), Italian food at Fat Angelo's at SOHO, shopping at Ladies' Street and Mongkok and Symphony of Light at TST in the evening. Since Shuhui like to "act cute", she (we) took quite a no. of candid shots:

Bumped into Philip in UST!

Lol. There's so much coincidence in this world. I actually bumped into Philip in campus, a fellow exchange friend of mine when I was here on exchange back in Fall 2005. I was on my way to dinner after 3 hours of marking the analytical chemistry exam scripts. And then, I saw a familiar face and he waved at me. Gosh it was Philip. Lol

Philip's from University of Pennsylvannia and we were first introduced to one another by Emily. I remembered the first time I met him, I was having some attitude problem as I wasn't in a bad mood back then. I was being sarcastic and high and mighty while talking to him. I remembered him saying something like "Oh I took freshmen organic chemistry during freshmen years and it was really difficult." I replied by saying that "if chemistry was easy, then I wouldn't be taking it." Lol. Hiah, realized my mistake now.

Though Philip didn't go travelling to China with me, we had our fair share of fun in the hike at Lantau, Ocean Park, dinner at Ngau Tau Kok, roasted delicacies back in Don's hall etc. He's now on an Asian backpacking tour after his Senior year and he will be starting work this coming August. I'll wish him all the best for his future endeavours.

Project X is out!

Finally, Project X is published (thanks Eugene for informing me). But what is Project X? Project X = Thinking Straight About Pharmaceutical Chemistry for H3 Students, a book written by my talented friends and I last year.

Once again, I will like to thank my brilliant team of co-authors - Eugene, Alice, Tian Xin and Justin; without them, this book will not be possible.

5 years ago, I entered NUS with a dream, a dream to write a book on organic chemistry to help students. In May 2006, I came closer to this dream when I gathered my co-authors and started writing the book. May 2007 marked a milestone as the book is published. It's not the end of the dream though; it only marks the beginning of similar dreams, and perhaps greater dreams.

Invigilating CHEM244 Analytical Chemistry II

Just came back from invigilating the Analytical Chemistry module. Lol. This is not the first time I am invigilating. Last year, I invigilated for SCHO as well (well, I set the organic Q, that's why).

Anyway, this was the first time I saw those act-cute students having such a serious look on their face. Must be stress out from exams. Ha. When I saw the exam papers, I was stunned! It was quite easy lor. I am no expert in Analytical Chemistry but when I looked through the questions, I can do at least half of them lor. Lol. I think if TX, Eugene or Wu Jiang do, 1 hour can finish already. The questions are straightforward lor - section 1: MCQ, section 2: short answers and section 3: calculations. *faint* NUS analytical chemistry exam is comparatively tougher lor.

Ha come to think of it, NUS's exams standard is not that bad afterall. Last time, Zhijie and I always complain but on the whole, it is better and more organized compared to those in HK. I like those questions by Prof. Hor, Dr. John Yip, Prof. Lai, etc. The most memorable one being Prof. Hor CM3212's section A (50 marks):

Examine the validity of the following statements. By using suitable illustrations wherever applicable, explain concisely (in fewer than 80 words) the problem(s), if any, in each of these statements.

a. Synthesis of cis-PtCl2(NH3)2 (cis-platin) is best carried out through oxidation of Pt(NH3)4 by Cl2, although it can also be prepared from reduction of PtCl4 in aq. NH3.

b. Since trans-influence is a thermodynamic perturbation, it may have very little bearing on the labilizing effect of a departing ligand, which is governed by a kinetic phenomenon, called trans-effect. This is particularly true in substitution reactions that are driven by an associative mechanism.

c. [Rh2(miu-S)2(CO)2(miu-dppm)2] (dppm = Ph2PCH2PPh2) is a good example of an "A-frame" complex. The Rh-Rh bond can be easily cleaved to accomodate an incoming small molecule, such as SO2, without disturbing the 16-electrons state.

d. Dimerization of [Re(O)Cl4] should be facile, since it can generate a dinuclear species [Cl4Re-O-O-ReCl4] with octahedral geometry at the metal. The {Re2O2} core should be a stable entity since similar {M2O2} configuration has been established elsewhere, e.g. in [Co2(O2)(CN)10]6-.

e. Ln3+ is a labile metal ion. Transfer of ligand from Ln3+ to other metals ions (such as Cu2+) is necessarily quick and hence the rate constant k is inevitably very high.

Lol. 50 marks for section A. Section B requires us to read a paper and then answer 10 MCQ. Sounds simple? Not really. The above is a killer. It wiped out all except 2 in the exam. I remembered Zhijie writing only 2 pages for the above 5 Q as he thought the above 5 Q adds up to only 10 marks. Lol. In the end, he got an A. Wow.

Maybe I should just focus on hydrosilylation

Sick for the past few days. Flu followed by diarrhoea. Though not very serious but it is certainly irritating. :(

Went on a short trip to China last weekend for yum cha and to purchase my favourite Mongolian yohurt milk. Lol. Went there with Stella, a fellow schoolmate working on polymers. I was quite pissed with her friend though as she wasn't at all appreciative of Stella helping her to purchase a Nokia phone all the way from HK.

Gotta know my commencement date from the web last Friday. It was on 4th July 8pm. Not a very good time though as day photos will not be possible then. From another angle, it is also good that it is held at 8pm; that will mean that I will be able to return to ACJC to give a talk to the teachers on Chemistry Olympiad Preparation. Lol. 4th July happens to be on Wed and so they are free after 1.30pm. I will feel weird "teaching" the teachers though as some of them were my former teachers.

Sigh, maybe I should just focus on hydrosilylation. For the project that I found on my own, I kept getting TS of more than 40 kcal/mol. That's really bad. A bit low morale now. For a moment, I thought I found the perfect method to do it (B2PLYP) but it conflicts with frequency calculations. Last week, I tried HF (a not so good method) and it gives very good geometry. But alas, the TS energies are too high. Maybe I should just focus on hydrosilylation for now and think about other things in the future.

We always have a choice

Feeling exhausted, both mentally and physically... ...

Recalling a quote from Parker:

"No matter what comes our way. No matter what battle we have raging inside of us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be that best of himself. Our choices are what makes us who we are. And we always have the choice to do what's right."

How veracious! Don't you think so?

Polymer exam & Spiderman III

Ha, weird title; the only relation that both has is that I did both on the same day. Lol.

Polymer exam, crab lor. The course was taught by 3 profs in 3 campuses, namely HKU, HKUST abd CUHK. Therefore, there are 3 parts to the exams. CUHK's part, was a bit crab. 2 Q don't know what he wants. Lol. So I just wrote some stuff that I think is the answer. HKUST's part, so-so. 1 Q also don't know what he wants. HKU even worse. The Q he asked, I think I can answer them without taking this module lor. Sigh. Not much challenge on the whole. A bit disappointing. I missed those exams in NUS, especially those of Prof. Hor's, Lai's, John Yip's, Martin's, de' Cruz's etc.

Following that, I went to catch a movie at diamond hill. I should have watch Spiderman III with my 2 best friends but since I am in HK, then gotta watch alone. I was a spiderman fan since I was 8 years old and I am glad that they brought the story to the movie. However, the storyline seems to have change to an almost unrecognizable state. Hmm people who don't read the comics feel that it's nice, good graphics, action packed, etc. Yah I agree. It's very realistic and many a times, the sound and visual effects made me jump a little. Ha. But I guess for all comics fan, deep down in their heart, they prefer to see the original version up on the screen.

Anyway, disregard all the above, the story on the whole was pretty touching, especially the last part when Norman Osborn came to help Parker. Also, the citizens of NY clapping their hands away, cheering was also a touching moment. Also, the part when Parker forgave sandman; hmm I think it takes a lot of courage and strength to say, "I forgive you". The ending was not good for Osborn died while saving Parker. :( I think Osborn did a noble thing, though I don't really like him in the comics (and the earlier 2 movies). Venom (Eddie Brock) was not too bad. The effects were beyond my expectations.

Whatever the case is, I am sure there will be a part IV coming. And be sure that part IV will feature a villain known as CARNAGE.PS: The actually storyline, in brief, should be something like this:-

Sometime in 1980s, Spiderman went to a distant planet with a group of superheros to fight the "Secret Wars". That was when he met the symbiote and subsequently, merged to gave the "black" spiderman. Following that, he discovered that the symbiote was trying to take over his mind and soul and decided to abandon it. He had a hard time taking it out and it was only with the help of Fantastic Four that he managed to get rid of it. That was when he discovered its weakness - intense sonics and heat. The symbiote hated Parker and found another host - Eddie Brock. Eddie also hated Parker for making him lose his job and since both of them shared this intense hatred, they combined to form Venom, which subsequently became one of Spiderman's greatest arch enemy.

Venom was "created" by cartoonist Todd MacFarlane and it appeared in Amazing Spiderman #299. He initially wanted to end it somewhere in #400 but everyone seem to love Venom a lot. So he thought, since I can't end it, why not "create" another one? That was when Carnage appears. Cletus Kasady shared the same prison as Eddie Brock in one occasion. When the symbiote came to save Eddie, it left an offspring in the cell and it binded to Kasady and gave Carnage! Carnage was very powerful, more powerful than both Spiderman and Venom combined. Both of them eventually put aside all unhappiness and join forces against Carnage. Venom is good by nature and he only attacks Spiderman. Carnage on the other hand, is a serial killer who kills for the fun of it. His famous saying is "I am killing you because I can.".

Blair is leaving office

Read at the front page of South China Morning Post after lunch today that British PM Tony Blair is stepping down on 27th June. I (plus Teck Loon, probably) remember this speech of his most strikingly:

"Can we be sure that terrorism and weapons of mass destruction will join together? Let us say one thing. If we are wrong we will have destroyed a threat that, at its least, is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering. That is something I am confident history will forgive. If our critics are wrong, if we are right as I believe with every fibre of instinct and conviction I have that we are, and we do not act, then we will have hesitated in the face of this menace when we should have given leadership; that is something history will not forgive."

He spoke the above on 17 July 2003, at an address to the US congress in defence for his (and Bush's) "war against terrorism".

The report ended by saying that the world will miss him for his leadership and determination; we will miss him too, for his brilliant rhetorical speeches.

The above speech can be modified and be used in an argument in a "creative" manner. For example, if I want to argue with NUS Chemistry department to revamp the organic syllabus, then something along this line will be great:

"Can we be sure that current organic syllabus will benefit the students and give them a wholesome education? Let me say one thing. If I am wrong I will have remove an outdated and poorly-planned syllabus that, at its least, is responsible for the lost of interest of some students and the lack of academic rigour. That is something I am confident history will forgive. If my critics are wrong, if I am right as I believe with every fibre of instinct and conviction I have that I am, and I do not act, then I will have hesitated in the face of this debate when I am given the opportunity; that is something history will not forgive."

Lol. Sounds cheesy. Ha.

Too stubborn?

Went to lab this morning at around 0930. That was kinda late for me as I usually reached there at 0900 or before. Was washing clothes this morning and that explains why.

My senior Xin Hao then casually told me that if I am to continue with my Si cyclobutene analogues, I should not be expecting too much even if I get good computational results as boss might not be very interested in this topic. That was when I recalled him saying something to be over dinner yesterday along this line: "...为你的梦想去奋斗..." and also a couple of weeks ago when he was wondering why I am kinda persist over this project.

Looking back (and forward), am I being too stubborn? Hmm not sure myself also. Maybe coz this is the first project idea that I came out with myself and it is a potential new field (and my favourite as well). Although I met up with quite a lot of problems along the way, I will like to persevere on to see if my idea (intuition) is right.

Following that, I recalled what my junior said: "只要相信，期待就会成真". Ha, hope I am looking forward to something interesting.

Prof. Hor once said, "What is nobel/world class research? It is to create a new field for people to come into." For example, ever since Sharpless developed Click Chemistry in 2002, many people has been using it for all sort of areas that you can think of: polymer, molecular machines, nanotechnology, drug discoveries, supramolecular chemistry etc. I guess given my situation (and ability), creating a new field will not be possible. However, I will at least wanna work in a mechanism that I really like.

Since I can't create a new field, I will at least want to bring Singapore's education to a new height when I return to the teaching service. This will be done through my beliefs and teaching philosophies. One of my dream is to see the Singapore Chemistry Olympiad team getting 4 gold medals (Singapore's best performance was in 1998, with 2 gold and 2 silver).

We are always talking about "dreams" here. But what sets individuals apart is when you START to work towards your dream in a systematic way.

Doubtful, doubtful...

Gosh, just realized that I'll be having my first paper this Sat on Polymer Chemistry. Have yet to start revising. :( Gotta start soon though. Actually I am not so worried about this course; should be able to pass with a decent grade. My next exam will be on 31st May and that is on Bioanalytical Chemistry. Ha, kinda worried about that as I didn't do well in the mid-term. The module on Advanced Organic Chemistry II is non-examinable and I've gotta submit an essay. Whatever the case is, I guess I have live past the "grades chasing" stage. I guess I have lived past that ever since I returned from exchange in 2006. Lol.

Met up with problems in my research. It seems that computational chemistry some times gave us result that we doubted. The highly popular "B3LYP" method seems to be popular just because it is convenient and apparently, if things agree with the experiment, then it's publishable. If not, then gotta try another method or just dump it until a better method comes along. Sometimes, we will doubt whether the things we are doing are right.

I started working on this Si cyclobutene analogues and B3LYP gave not-so-accurate geometries and energies. I "dumped" it aside for a while when Prof. Wu gave me this hydrosilylation project. Yesterday, I read on a new method call "B2-PLYP" and it seems to give better results, as shown by several publications. I tried it on Gaussian 03 and it works!! It gave the correct geometries and most importantly, more reasonable energies. However, it can't calculate frequencies as it sort of clashes with the Gaussian system. I emailed the prof who developed this method and he told me to use another software call OSCA. I went to take a look and OSCA seems to be difficult to use. Also, Gaussian based software cannot open its file. :( Sigh. Then how? Lol. I emailed Gaussian too; waiting for their reply. Hope they will be able to solve the problem and allow B2-PLYP to be used in Gaussian. All these softwares... dont' know lah. I am not a computer geek. Gave me headache whenever I am reading the manual.

Learning computational chemistry has certainly made me more critical. Nowadays, I feel that a lot of research are blown up and they are not as glamarous as they seem.

Ha, sometimes I feel that when profs (and students as well) like to ask a question and then solve the question themselves. It's like "creating a problem that does not exist and solves it". A series of exchanges at a group meeting:

A: Have you considered solubility? From experience, I think solubility of the catalyst will affect the reaction.

B: Not really...

C: etc etc etc. Yah, just like what A said, the solubility will affect. Maybe you can rethink about the whole thing and come out with a better way of solving the problem ...

A: (realizing that actually it's not an issue) Come to think of it, solubility is not that important as the thingy is afterall a catalyst. As long as it has some solubility, maybe one molecule per 10000 substrate, it is good enough.

C: (realizing it but maybe coz of pride, wanna defend his last statement) Yah, but it does affect as well. It's still an issue as we never know how much is enough?

A: ... ...

Lol.

Revamp of Organic Syllabus in NUS Chemistry

Ha, looks like NUS Chemistry is kinda serious this time round in revamping the organic syllabus in NUS. It seems that none of the current batch of honours students bother to reply Dr. Zeng (the prof in charge of the revamp). Upon my junior, Suling's help, I drafted an email to Dr. Zeng:

...CM1121 was taught by Prof. Lai, my former Honours supervisor. He was by far the best teacher in organic chemistry that I have encountered and I am sure few will disagree with me in this. He managed to covered all the essential basic grounding in organic chemistry for us, with an emphasis on (SN1, SN2, E1, E2), nucleophilic acyl substitution etc. I believed whatever he has taught us gave my batch a solid foundation to tackle CM2121 and above. I have a bold suggestion for CM1121 though: it will be good if we can have something like CM1121S, which is worth 5MC. This is meant for those who are extremely passionate about organic chemistry and will like to learn more. The Math department has similar modules with a "S" code in their freshmen and sophomore courses (http://ww1.math.nus.edu.sg/undergrad.aspx?file=stu-modules#MODULES_OFFERED)

For CM2121, like I mentioned below, it will be good to maintain the teaching of retrosynthesis. I recalled the days when Zhijie and I had loads of fun discussing and debating about making a molecule. We even came out with weird looking molecules on our own to make; now of course we know that our routes were not ideal but it is the learning process that matters. The spirit of learning and exploring should be emphasize here. However, one thing we found lacking was that in most cases, only the conventional 1,2 1,3 ... 1,6 disconnections were emphasized in great details. This might lead students to think that retro is all about carbonyl disconnection, which is incorrect. Therefore, it might be good to "go beyond carbonyl disconnection" to introduce more strategies to the students. Of course at least level, we should maintain a "non-asymmetric" approach. Also, simple examples of total synthesis from the literature can be introduced to allow students to appreciate this subject better. I do read of some total synthesis who are relatively straightforward. I also believed that CM2121 has undergone some revision when it was taught by Dr. Lear (he did include additional stuff beyond the usual carbony disconnections) and I applaud him for that.

For CM3221, I really think that it was totally trashy (sorry for being harsh). During my time (and I believed it is still like this now, in fact worse), it was basically a repeat of what we learnt in CM1121 and CM2121, except for some additional topics in reduction and oxidation, which can be easily covered in 4 lectures. My personal belief for a level III organic module is that it should, at the very minimum, include the following:

1. Simple asymmetric synthesis concepts - stereochemistry, substrate control, asym aldol, chiral auxillary etc.
2. [O], [R], possibly asymmetric version
3. Advanced spectroscopic techniques like 2D NMR, CD etc.
4. Pericyclic reactions (Frontier orbitals vs. correlation diagrams vs. transition state aromaticity model and their interconnections)

CM3222 is more of "touched and go" in my opinion. I feel that we should focus more on in-depth understanding and introduce the students to stereoelectronic effects, MOT, principles of stereoselectivities and some other fundamental concepts in physical organic chemistry.

For CM3225, we can consider adding some topics in bioorganic chemistry; this is more so since the current year 1 have already learnt biochemistry in their freshmen year.

For CM3291, the whole lab manual should change to include a greater variety of experiments. At least, in my current institution (HKUST), their synthetic lab experiments are really good and thorough. I'll be happy to share if required.

CM4222: I don't have the opportunity to take it when I was in NUS :( But as conpensation, I took CM5121, CM5221 and CM5222.

CM4223: Asymmetric Syntheses' content is generally okay. I am currently helping Dr. Tan to revise his notes and the new set of notes will include some of my ideals. It will have more topics in organocatalysis, strategies in total synthesis, contemporary topics such as Memory of Chirality and Non-linear Effect etc. Maybe can introduce Green Chemistry as well.

Oh yah, I realized that the curriculum time for level IV courses are reduced by half (cf. level I, II and III; in short 1 lecture per week compared to 2 lectures per week) I think this is not good as students get shortchanged. In NUS Physics department, Honours year students get 2 lectures per week as well, similar to their first 3 years. Therefore I don't see why students in Chemistry should get less.

Finally, I think it will be a good idea if the department can gather the strength of its staff (and students as well) to come out with a set of teaching materials for organic chemistry (and possibly publish a book on that). It will be good if it comes in small A4 handy booklets for each of the 8 modules and it gets constant revision throughout the years. I feel that when it is accomplished, then all further improvement can be easily made from there. Everything starts with a dream and I hope the department will consider this proposal....

Hope that this time round, they will seriouly do something about it. I must applaud NUS chemistry for taking this initiative. It was one of Zhijie and my dream back then to change the syllabus.

A New Yum Cha Place

Received an important email this morning. After reading it, I decided to go for yum cha to take a break.

Finally, I went to HK island for yum cha. I have been having dim sum in Kowloon all the time and have yet to try those "legendary" places in HK island. Lol. I went to this Superstar Restaurant in Times Square in Causeway Bay. It looked really grand and the standard of the food speaks for itself. The dishes looked really nice, clearly showcased the epitome of cantonese cuisine; the price speaks for itself too :(. Here are some of the dishes:

鳳尾蝦春卷(HK$32.80)

蟹粉小龍包(HK$18.00)

蛋煎糯米雞(HK$24.80)

純鮮蝦餃皇(HK$32.80)

鳳凰燒賣(HK$24.80)

石頭魚餃(HK$32.80)

蓮蓉西米焗布甸(HK$12.80)

蛋黃千層糕(HK$18.80)

Walked around for a while and then went to buy a tortoise in Mongkok. It's called "snake-head" tortoise as it's neck is very long and moves like a snake. So cuttteee. Lol.

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.