Candia

Earlier today, I saw an online advertisement for Candia milk and unfortunately the first thing that popped into my mind was Candida yeast. Hmm... either I have a weird mind, or this isn't a very well-named product. Out of curiosity, I randomly decided to do a Google search for Candia and see what came up.

I was a little surprised to find that not only was there a Candia Milk, UK, company, but Wikipedia also says that there are French and Italian milk manufacturers also called Candia. In addition, it is also the old Venetian name for both the island of Crete and its capital city. So maybe it's not such an unfortunate name after all.

In any case, it's not as unfortunate as Lesbos Island. I wonder, did one of the biologists or sociologists who worked on sexuality studies have something against Greek islands?

weighed down by family ties

These last few weeks have been even more busy than usual for me. My experimental load is increasing all the time, especially since I'm now moving into my last few months in the lab. I don't imagine that I'll be able to do all the loose ends up in time, but at the very least I'm trying to identify which are the structural threads of my project and finish the framework for a model. Add to that presentations that need writing, and experiments that have to jump the priority list queue for impending papers. Add to that lots of lion-dancing again, moving house, and various weddings and celebrations that need to be slotted into my schedule.

So I'm very thankful that my friends and family have been so understanding about the way I've been neglecting them lately. It's been several weeks since I've rung my parents in Hong Kong. Every two weeks my poor mother gets three lines of e-mail telling her that her only daughter is too busy to ring her and that she'll try and do it NEXT weekend instead. Having said that, my parents were supposed to come back to the UK at the end of July. They're now contemplating a holiday to Korea and so may not be back til the end of August. Suddenly I've become our family's 'official representative', as my brother puts it, at various family weddings this summer.

But when you're working to deadlines and have a long list of things to do, it's a massive relief not to have to worry about other people as well. In that respect, I feel very very lucky. Last weekend, one of my friends came very close to breaking down. She's also a final-year PhD student with similar deadlines to mine to meet, so I know how stressful the workload is. But in addition, at the moment her mother and family are going through a rough time and she's holding her mother together both financially and emotionally. She and I both want to continue in academia, but whereas I have the freedom to look for a research job in the country of my choice, she will be unable to do that. She can't afford the uncertainty of being on a three-year contract with no guarantee of a job after that, especially with the low salaries that post-doctoral researchers get. But whilst she's holding her mother together, who's holding HER together?

Over the last few years, several of my friends have essentially had to give up their freedom and independence either to look after their families or in deference to family pressure, or both. It makes me very sad to see them have to put their dreams and hopes on hold, maybe giving them up completely. Perhaps that's why I've become increasingly impatient and less sympathetic with friends who have drifted along for a long time, with no apparent pressing commitments. Although I understand how easy it is to lose direction, I find it hard to offer as much support and sympathy as they seem to ask of me.

Oddly, or so it seems, the friends who are most supportive and considerate to me are those who have the most on their plate. Or maybe it just feels that way. But I'm very thankful that I don't have to feel weighed down by my responsibilities anymore, as they've been lifted off me one by one over the past year. In fact, I feel obliged to spread my wings and aim as high as I can, because there's nothing stopping me from trying. Maybe that is also a burden, but at the moment it's a very light pack to carry.

Round 2: Democrats vs Republicans

So the Democratic Party have finally got their presidental election candidate, and Clinton is finally out of the race. They took their time about it! Now the Democratic party can start concentrating on the general elections instead of fighting it out between themselves.

I'm curious as to how supporters of Hillary Clinton will vote in the autumn. How much damage have the Democratic campaigns done to voters' confidence in their party and/or their confidence in Obama? Whilst Clinton and Obama have been 'battling it out', the Republicans have had the advantage of campaigning as an unified force, and preparing themselves. Whist the Democratic candidates have been telling people why NOT to vote for their opponent and casting doubts onto the other's ability to govern, McCain has been telling them why he will make a good President.

Over the last few decades, the issues that people and governments have had to worry about have been of an increasingly global scale. Gone are the days when 'strong' countries ignored everyone else and felt secure in their own insular environment. For one thing, it is less clear which are the 'strong' countries and which are the 'weak'. The balances of power are more evenly distributed now. People are in general also more aware of what is going on in the wider world, and more concerned. Global warming, substainable resources, epidemics, world poverty, terrorism, these are being flagged up more and more.

In times like these, it's hard to say which way the scales will tip for Obama. He's young, has idealistic views, and can be said to represent a new direction for America. Things are changing in the world and as such, flexibility and a fresh outlook can be a major advantage. On the other hand, in times of change, people also look for stability and experience. Will Obama be able to convince people that he has the necessary strength and leadership skills?

The next few months will show us how well the Democratic party can work together and forget their differences as they support their chosen leader. Otherwise, it's hello to another four years of a Republican US government.

something to learn every day

Things I learnt today, in the 9th month of my 24th year on this earth.

1) Pots that have been used to boil soup on the stove tend to be quite hot. Use oven gloves or a thick tea towel.
2) Do not keep your fingers on the narrow edge of a closing door. Otherwise it WILL hurt.
3) Driving and steering is more difficult if your fingers have just been trapped in a door ten minutes beforehand.
4) Remember that you need your purse or some sort of currency to pay for items you want to buy in a supermarket. Try and realise this BEFORE you get to the checkout if you want to minimise embarrassment for yourself and inconvenience for other people.
5) Nothing ever works in science. Don't even bother to get too excited about anything until it's all but set in stone. And even then, make sure it's not sandstone.

I don't mind learning new things. But I wish I didn't have to RElearn the same lessons all the time.

"The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarrassment he can tolerate." - Douglas Engelbart

In which case, I have the potential to be VERY mature.

words for love

I love you.
愛してる.
Ti amo.
Saya cinta mu.
Je t'adore.
Saranghaeyo.
我爱你
Ja Tebe Kokhaju.

funny, how such simple phrases have the ability to make you feel so happy, or cause your heart to ache.

I need to think less and sleep more.