one PhD, 3 MScs, 2 PhD candidates, 1 MSc candidate....or 3 Physicists, 2 Mathematicians, 2 Biologists, 1 Statistician & 1 Musician-cum-'rice cooker' (poor Kuan, as usual Chemists are underrepresented), however you see it....but seriously, who could tell from looking? e cat is grateful for e company of & chance to learn from humble, unassuming fine minds =)
one by one each was made to update all on their current field of study/work in LAYMAN terms....non-biologists guessing what MALDI-TOF stands for, teratomas, e correct pronounciation of 'gamelan', e silly reason behind e 'lah' in quantumlah, Physics guy thinking that cytoskeleton refers to e 'internal counterpart'/'opposite' of exoskeleton =P talk about 'M.I.C.s', this is probably one of e ultimate! & which led to LKY floating e idea of organising a symposium for SPS alumni to share with one another their research....
& e usual tales - of e missing glass panel & handles of e mentors' room door, e white ghost with e vacuum cleaner, e utility room door, e 'you have been hacked' print job sent to owner-of-3-fat-cats' home computer & printer by Indonesian penguin from campus, etc - were told & retold....a lot of jokes & laughter & memories later, we parted ways at half past midnight.
[210606] ST Life! ran a feature on Singaporean poet Arthur Yap, who passed away a few days ago on 190606. like e cat, he was averse to e use of capital letters. one of his poems:
a scroll painting
e mountains are hazy with timeless passivity
sprawling monotonously in e left-hand corner
while clouds diffuse & fill e entire top half
before bumping daintily into a bright red parakeet
perched suicide-like on a beautiful gnarled branch
arched by e weight of fruit & one ripe peach
hung a motionless inch from e gaping beak
here is transient beauty
caught in permanence
but of what avail is such perpetual unattainment?
i know e stupid bird can never eat e stupid peach
- Arthur Yap (1943-2006)
think fangus will appreciate this ;)
[220606] from e Dhammapada:
What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.
from 'Taking Good Care of Our Habit Energies' in All in One, One in All by Thich Nhat Hanh:
...e wonders of life are everywhere, within us & around us. cultivating e habit of recognising them, touching them is very important. e sky may be very blue, very clear, & very beautiful, but if you are caught in your sorrow, caught in your anger, you cannot touch e blue sky....
....a pebble, a cloud, a flower, all are wonderful, all are mysteries. it would be a pity if we cannot be with a leaf, with a flower, with a cloud, with a stream of water, only imprison ourselves in our sorrow & fear....
....there is only one moment when life is available: that is e present moment. your appointment with life is in e present moment. if you are not able to touch e present moment, you miss your appointment with life....
....learning how to go back to e present moment & to live deeply in that moment....
[ filed under: 9_lives_2006 + thewonderingstraycat + art1 ]
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