One cannot say you fired up the computer anymore. Macs now are so fast that the moment you lift the lid, the screen is there waiting for you, with all the apps you last opened still there. Gone where the days where you sit down and ponder about life while waiting for the progress bar to finish loading and you can still hear the hum and the click of the CPU in the background; and get worried when the clicking gets loud.

I was reading George Clooney’s interview on Equire, one of the preview articles you get for free on the iPad. You really consume a lot of information nowadays from everyone. While I was reading the article, I was thinking to myself, I liked how the words seemed to flow so nicely and how neatly they are arranged. You can almost hear him utter these words in front of you. That is when I realised I should start writing the blog post I have been putting aside for months. Otterman and Adrian has been hitting the lethal combination of Marsedit and Flickr and I better get started before the inertia gets larger.

Notable things to talk about and mention for 2011.

1. My mother: Hope you had gone to some place better and thank you for all you have done. Things will be different but will learn to adjust.

2. Sungei Buloh Anniversary Walk: Finally had the chance to join the group, and it was really fun to share the beauty of the place with an appreciative audience. The usual suspects were spotted, mudskipper, crab, dog faced water snake and crocodile!

3. Penang and Durian Coffee: Finally found time to squeeze a short trip. It was great just to walk around and soak in the sights and taste the great food.

4. The intern: Not mine but was glad how things will turn out.

5. Overseas Service-Learning Trip to Cebu: As with all trips, I learnt again abit of myself and was humbled by the amazing people who dedicated their lives making the lives of others better.

6. The full lunar eclipse: beautiful and magnificent sight.

7. Greeting cards from overseas: simple gesture but touching and brings a smile always.

8. I actually won a photo competition!

9. Books I read: Life Ascending, the ideas suggested makes me want to rewrite all the notes I did for the students.

10. Movies worth mentioning. Invictus.

11. Coffee Mugs – I broke 2 bodum coffee mugs and got back 2

Ok shall post this before I go for the wedding photo assignment. Shall come back with photos and more stuff.

The next one will be in 2014.

Was glad of the good location (kitchen window) and handy tripod.

That made my day.

Thank you!

My mind kept coming back to the blog and what I am going to do with it.

The things I have been putting most of my energy and time in the past 2 years has finally come to a conclusion this Sept. It’s time to find a new focus and direction for this blog.

So things to start writing about.
1. My own Mac experience. Just to seal it
2. Research projects I am involved in.
3. My overseas service-learning project in Cebu
4. Photography
5. Books I enjoyed reading

That should keep me occupied for a while.

1. Overseas Service Learning trip to Cebu – Nov.
2. Possible book with lekowala
3. More field trips for the draco and bat project
4. 2 presentations to settle for 2 conferences on education
5. Cafe Scientifique in 2 weeks time

Wish me luck.

Was very touched by the concern and well wishes from friends, colleagues, and even neighbors who happened to walk by. The 5 days passed so quickly and before one knows it, one is back to work.

The human mind is pretty resilient and thankfully I can kind of get back into the new routine without much difficulty.

Steve Jobs passed away on 5 Oct 2011. Another life taken away by cancer.

Should mean good luck I hope.

My readership has stabilized to about 4 hits a day. Nice number as this was primarily an online journal. My stuff on biology and science is mainly in rbiology.wordpress.com and my twitter.

Guess it is as good a time as any to pen down the thing that has been occupying my thoughts for the past few months. My mother.

Her cancer has undergone metastasis and moved to the lung. The first signs were her persistent cough and gradual loss of voice. When she consented to an x-ray, a dreaded shadow loomed at the center of the lung.

That was the explanation for all her symptoms, the shortness of breath, fatigue, and persistent cough. She was admitted for a CT scan and a biopsy. My buddy at SGH showed me the CT film and it was more cancer than lung, with secondary growth.

Could still remember that moment, I was sitting down beside the computer, looking at the screen and felt all the strength leave me.

So now its been about a month since the news. Mother was discharged and the family went back to the routine of spending more time back home.

Me? I now try to finish work early, take leave during chemo sessions to be with her, and try my very best to focus on my new portfolio.

A word on my new portfolio, I now have to set up the service-learning programme for the school, both local and overseas, largely by myself.

So how will things turn out? I am not sure really but things like this really surface things which we know is important and now is more immediate and urgent. Considered taking leave, yet you know you cannot really leave things undone and trouble others to pick up pieces after you.

She is, like all mothers, someone very dear and important to me. She is the reason I could have an education, working long hours in a factory to make sure my fees are paid and I could just focus on learning. I managed to even get a Masters and now a nice job.

So now you do what you can, count each day past as a great blessing and show your gratitude and try to make things better.

Like what Randy Pausch did: http://www.thelastlecture.com/index.htm