Friday 31st August 2007

acid etching

Here's an opportunity to show off some cool chemistry knowledge recently learnt and used. Kev has been dazzling me with all the different types of acids used for wet etching. Wet etching basically means putting a wafer sample in a small cup containing acid and waiting for a few seconds for the acid to etch away an epitaxial layer. HF + NH4F + H2O is for SiO2; HCl + H2O is for InP and H2SO4 + H2O2 + H2O is for InGaAs. hehe... Go ACID!

Although the whole thing is rather dry procedure wise and wet in that lots of water (H2O) and washing was involved, the thrill was in using the acid itself. Knowing dat a drop of those chemicals can actually burn through ur skin even before you know it heightens all ur senses and alertness and after everything is done, u r just glad dat u've safely played with fire. err.. in this case, acid.

Note: HF cannot be poured into glass beakers. Go plastic!

Thursday 30th August 2007

money really?

An offer fm my prof recently. If i'm willing to stay another year, he'll pass the 1 year scholarship 'coupon' he has to me. Well, here's hoping the 'coupon' has not expired yet. Have yet to hear anything else fm him. *sigh* *hope hope* *sigh again* Once again, my feelings are yo-yo-ing between resignation towards a scholarshipless year and possibility of some assistance. *fingers crossed, double crossed, triple crossed. Oops...all tangled up.*

Tuesday 28th August 2007

dinner @ chijmes

After weeks of postponing, we finally managed to settle on a day to have dinner together. We settled on Hog's Breath since most of us had not gone there before and the menu they provided online seems friendly enough. I realize how important a good website is to a restaurant at this day and age. One of the main reasons we selected the place out of the dozens listed was because of the detailed website giving us an idea of our budget and type of food and ambience to expect.

After everyone has arrived (Karen is predictably the last although still quite punctual; EL is unfortunately rather sick), we settled on ordering our main course which is mostly beef. I settled on some sort of chicken with mango sauce and rice. Pretty yummy. I love their mash patato. Smooth and buttery. Their dessert was not too impressive so after a bout of picture taking, we settled down at Ben and Jerry's for some ice-cream.

Unfortunately, LP & HL joined EL in the 'sick' department since, and we've heard many coughs and sneezes the weekend after. Hehe... speaking on behalf of the remaining healthy survivors, "good dinner, eh?"

Currently reading: Myrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh - About Wyl who was given a magical gift by Myrren because of the compassion he showed her before she was executed and burned as a witch. The gift is actually the exchange of his soul with the person who killed(kills?) him. So, in his new body, he then tries to escape and overthrow an evil king, win the heart of a neighbouring Queen and prevent the Mountain King from the north to invade them while at the same time trying to protect his sister whose husband was executed by the evil king. He is assisted by a skinny gong boy and a huge black dog called Knave. Quite a complicated adventure but McIntosh has done a very good job. Very nice tale so far.

Just finished reading: Children of the Shaman by Jessica Rydill - About a girl and her brother who goes to a border town with their shaman father to get to know their father better. The girl is also a shaman whereas the boy, who is a fews yeras older is not. He was abducted/lured into another universe by the Cold One and the girl, her dad, his good friend and wife journeyed there to bring him home. It sort of reminds me of the Snow Queen but everything else was quite different. A pretty good book.

Sunday 26th August 2007

WOMAD '07

Having heard much about the event, I went to this year's WOMAD event with one of its seasoned frequenter Cindz.

It was a pretty exciting experience, seeing everyone laid out on the grass with their mats and towels, some were with their coolers and bags and bags of food, others were busy guzzling their beer and wine bought from the booths nicely situated around the area (a weird couple or two even had their luggage trolley along. I wonder whether they came straight from the airport?), and others were so skimpily dressed I wonder where they put their wallet.

There was a main stage and a couple of smaller stages. There were a few workshops and the drums (dhol, dub, etc.) were the most attractive instruments being played and taught. The food was a nice variety of light (nachos) to heavy (barbeque & indian dishes). Free diet coke is passed around to quench non-alcoholic thirst. My only complain is the insufficient toilet booths. Gosh... the long line *shudder*

We bought the CD compilation and t-shirt. *happy* Regret not purchasing the CD by David D'Or. He was truly impressive. The violinist was very cool too. We also watched Oki Dub and the Senegal band of the 7 sec fame. Although Johhny Kalsi of The Dhol Foundation (TDF) held a workshop on the day we went, the place was so packed they refused anymore attendance. :(

Thursday 16th August 2007

himono-onna

It's time once again for new-phrases glimpsed fm tv. This one is from the Japanese drama series 'Hotaru no hikari'.

himono-onna (driedfish-woman): Women in their 20s who are extremely nice and capable at work but once they r home, they'd change into unsightful shorts, bunch up their fringes (hairband or anything else), grab a beer and start eating in unsightly manner. Said species also refuse to go out for socializing and tends to talk to their pets and answer the tv. They like to spend their weekends at home, eating and sleeping. And oh, they love hugging their pillows.

OMG. Except for the capable and beer part, it describes my life to a T. *lol* *groan?*

Tuesday 14th July 2007

brutality of reality

1) It's always easier to make great promises to ourselves than fulfilling 'em. (aka changes are hard.)

2) Guys would always age better than girls. A bachelor guy at 50 is still a good catch, but a woman of 35 is an old hag.

3) Dermatological stuff are and will always be more expensive than their worth

4) U can't look the way u look when u were 17 once u r pass 25. If u think u do, u may be in need of glasses

Thursday 5th July 2007

indian takeaway

Recently read that most bloggers simply waste their time blogging about 2 things. The first are blogs and pictures of food that they have either eaten or cooked. The second, who, when and why they last went out with their friends for a gathering of somesort. The writer went on to say that we are such bores.

Humph! miss x0lee0x here is quite offended. Err... maybe because he seemed to have hit the nail right on the head. *argh... the nail has struck my heart. *bleed* *

Note to said writer: What is wrong with noting down great food anyhow? We are all true food critics mind u. And where else can u tell others about wat great friends/family u hv if not on a blog, u saturnine old man?

Currently reading: The Coil by Gayle Lynds - It's a spy novel (the writer has written with Robert Ludlum b'4) and the review for the book is great, which is always a comfort. I still haven't gotten hooked yet though. Waiting to be enchanted.

Just finished reading: The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue - About a changeling (aka hobgoblin/faerie) who was once a german boy who switched lives with a boy called Henry Day. The book was written in such a way that the odd chapters depicted the story fm the changeling's point of view and the even chapters told of the tale how Henry Day became Aniday, a changeling. A rather muted work.

Monday 2nd August 2007

thank u

Thank u guys for all ur wonderful gifts. *dab dab tears*

Thanks too for all the well-wishes and birthday sms. *Tears roll down somemore* Very touched dat u guys remembered. *aw... * *grab tissue to wipe away some watery nose.*

Wednesday 1st August 2007

Farewell to CW

:( no more CW to bully in the future. So sad... *wail*

The last meal we milked out of our beloved friend...

Yummy vegetarian steamboat buffet with our choices of soup base. (Left: Yam soup base, right: Chinese Herb soup base.)

Aside fm the steamboat spread, there were many delicious tidbits and stuff, here were some of my selection. I love the purple coloured roll. I think the skin should be related to some yam stuff.

At around noon, all 6 of us squeezed into our boss's big SUV and CW gave the directions to the restaurant. The ride was super long but the food that awaited us was worth the long journey. Delicious and less sinful than usual, since it's vegetarian. haha...

S kept loading up on the fried stuff and L chided him saying that even though vege stuff is generally sliming, S somehow ends up picking the ones which are not. All in all, it was a great outing... *burp* *happy*

Currently reading: magazines, newspapers, journals

Just finished reading: magazines, newspapers, journals