Found something good about the long nights that have descended upon manchester. Makes you study. Perhaps its just me, but the darkening of the sky serves to remind me that the day is almost over - and since I've not got anything productive (academically) during daylight I have to endeavour to deliver some knowledge into my brain before the next day arrives.
Interesting (grim) fact of the day : 1 in 30 newborn babies will suffer from some serious defect, physical or otherwise, in their lives.
Yes that includes that inability to get sexually stimulated by women prancing about in semi-naked suits and doing assorted odd activities. Like me. Or perhaps its just because I've been learning too much about the reproductive system in men and women.
Oh. Just had dissection lesson again today. Saw the contents of some disembowelled guy's abdomen. Well actually the bowel was still there. So were the intestines and assorted viscera. Their ligaments, surface covering and all were removed though, so we could like study them. And perhaps touch them, to better understand the human body.
Not that anyone wanted to touch them though. There was faeces still stuck in the rectum/sigmoid colon (part of the colon just before the rectum).
Demonstrator told us its natural, 'cause well, you don't plan when you want to die.
Shit happens. Puns intended.
Yes those are my own words.

Having MSN on while you are online is no good.
Especially when you have friends in different timezones.
One goes offline, another comes on.
You don't get any studying done.
All I remember of the 4 hours I've tried to study is the particularly disgusting fact that your respiratory duct has cells that 'sweep' mucus up from your throat - vis bacteria, the slime they produce and other assorted eeky stuff - into your oesphagus.
So basically you're constantly swallowing the various mucky stuff you breathe in.
Yucks. Horrible thought isn't it.

Yes its the weather. Or sky. Its 5:45pm now and it looks like its 8.
Finally I understand why they say its depressing.
No I'm not depressed - just more pensive than usual.

Last night, more people got drunk. Sing-soc party.
I think they've realised I really don't drink much. All they forced me to drink was a cup of white wine. Which was not bad, actually.
Getting less and less interested in parties. Even the singsoc ones seem to degenerate into getting people drunk.
Or maybe its just 'cause I don't believe in socialising under the influence of alcohol. If you have to rely on alcohol to willingly reveal your true self, your innermost thoughts, its quite sad, really.
And the thing is, you willingly dispense with bits of yourself to people you've just met.
Perhaps I'm too uptight - I don't want to be naked (metaphorically and literally) in front of others, even after a few pints (or shots). Or maybe its 'cause I know I will scare people off if I show my ugly side.

Its interesting how the syllabus is planned.
Had a lecture by this philosopher today on abortion, cloning and stuff. Philosophical side of it. Like when we should treat embryos as human beings, potentiality and stuff.
Ended up in a Socratic dialogue - basically he tried to question our (students') beliefs by twisting and turning them around.
Innovative use of Kant and some other philosophical techniques, you know the stretching of certain 'truths' such that they become absurd. For example, if we treat embryos as human beings since they do have the potential to be like you and me, we should all be busy procreating, every single moment of our lives, as otherwise our gametes will be attrited and innocent lives will be lost.
Maybe because I do have some rudimentary knowledge of philosophy, I knew what he was doing right after he deflected a question this naive member of the audience¹ posed.
Anyway, point is, his Socratic dialogue did, in a way, provoke some thought. There was this question he posed - since letting embryos die² was 'natural', so were diseases, why were we studying to become doctors then? Defying the natural order of things, were we not?³
Maybe its my aries character, supporting the underdog and all, but I like the sound of that.

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¹ Who was angered, presumably, by his provocative statements.
² By not using them, from the previous question.
³ Paraphased - I like the sound of this more ;)

Interesting fact of the day : My "Coffee" mug has a volume of 500ml. Jus poured a whole bottle of water in it and it fits real nicely.
Hmm. 7oz (approx 210ml) of coffee contains 95-150mg of caffeine. So I can theoretically consume 350mg of caffeine in one sitting.

Hmm.

Don't know if you can get this in Singapore, but Yeo's Chilli Sauce with Garlic is damn nice. Its like hainanese chicken rice's chilli, but thicker, and more savoury. You can use it as a marinade - my chilli chicken - or use it as, well, chilli sauce. Goes damn well with cross lettuce. Yep tried eating cross lettuce today, raw, with just chilli sauce. To neutralise a little funny taste the leaves have. The stems are just.. crunchy. Yeah, just crunchy, and with that subtle sweetness a herbivore would understand and appreciate. Well, omnivores who know their veggies, too.
Oh I baked a cottage pie today!!! Mashed potato layer lacked a little taste 'cause I used skimmed milk (I only buy skimmed milk here) but yeah. Mince beef layer was good.
Shared the pie with two other lucky flatmates who happened to be watching tv in the kitchen.
Hence the need for fibre now.

Went to London on friday evening, met up with Deb and friends yesterday. Really good trip. Really enjoyed myself. Shopping, well, trying to shop, and just.. hanging out, really.
I guess... it just feels different, hanging out with people of my age. Like, similar background, jc experience and all. Plus, they're really nice people too.
I guess once in a while, you just have to... get in touch with different people. People you knew back in primary and secondary school; jc; army... See life from various perspectives. Reminisce, maybe - you just have to have that common bond, or link, between you, and feel it.
I guess when you're overseas, you really start to appreciate your friends and family. Much more.

I'm reading up on sex today. Yes sex, the actual process of 'doing it', not just the reproductive systems of man and woman. This book, particularly, Human Reproductive Biology, by Richard E. Jones.
He's a really funny guy. Seriously, you should read the chapter on "The Human Sexual Response". Chapter 15. Its interesting enough for an arts student who has absolutely no interest in the medical side of sex, I tell you.
Since I am not allowed to breach copyright laws and copy everything wholesale from his book, I shall let you read it for yourself. Seriously, its worth reading. I mean, how often do you get to read about sex and say its for educational purposes? ;)
Oh there's this later chapter though which I feel is quite true. I'm gonna paraphrase here. Didn't paraphrase the chapter above 'cause they jus don't seem so funny if rephrased ;) ]
Anyways its about 'romantic love'. There are several stages of 'romantic love' - infatuation, attachment, then detachment (naturally). Detachment happens if after 'romantic love', or the intense high u get from being in a relationship with a person you're sexually attracted to, is not supported by other factors of attraction like, well, personalities and stuff. This results in a peak in divorce at about 2-4 years, biological explanation being that's the time our ancestors needed to get pregnant, raise a child, and wean him/her off breastmilk.
How do we avoid this? Well let us first discuss some ancient Greek terms.
Greeks had many words to describe love. Eros - sexual love; Agape - giving, self-sacrificing love; Philia - friendship; Storge - affection.
If we fail to make the transition from eros to development of agape, philia and storge - intimacy, companionship and commitment - separation ensues.
Simple stuff, really.
Is it?

I've found this spot I particularly like in the University. Its this bench in the courtyard of whitworth hall, the main building in the university. You can just sit there, cup of hot (but not too hot) coffee in hand, and enjoy the cool (and sometimes cold) wind blow fallen leaves on the ground. Sorta reminds me of American Beauty come to think of it. The video of the plastic bag luxuriating in the wind. Yes. Luxuriating. :P
You can choose to read, revise, chat, or just watch the world go by. Well, people and cars of assorted shapes and sizes, rather.
But its good.
Shall upload a picture of it one day.

What is it that you seek in a partner? Does he/she have to understand you totally? Or do you not want him/her to understand you entirely, 'cause it'll be too dangerous to know a person that well?
Do you want to share everything with her? Your innermost fears, ambitions, emotions - all that you have?
Is having a partner all about companionship - having a best friend who is more than your 'best-est' friend, (a bosom buddy, if u may, pun intended) - or is it all about committment?
Yes I know that not all things can be be as clear as black and white.
But what shades of grey are you willing to accept? What blend of colours, if you will, do you want in a relationship, a commitment, a life-long promise you just have to keep?
Its interesting, isn't it, all these... chemicals swirling around in your head. How they interact, how they form such curious bonds, and persist in their set ways at the trigger of an event.
Yes I am still the cynical single man who believes that love can happen between almost any 2 people in the world, and can be controlled by the mind.
Its all in the mind, as they say.
Well, or the brain.

You know, walking in the pouring rain, hood on, is an experience in itself. Yeah it makes you think. But thinking aside, its just this... me against the world kinda feeling I guess. You're walking on, plodding on, against the obstacles nature has put in your path. (Like the puddle in front of you, you know your shoes will get wet, very wet - yet, you go ahead and step on it anyways.)
Maybe its just me, but I just love walking in the rain.
Raindrops keep falling on my head....

I really can't dance to R & B music.

I'm really amazed at how much time I've spent studying today, and shocked at how little I've actually covered.
Well I'm actually much more amazed at the former. I've never studied so much on a normal school day before!
And I actually enjoyed my time in the library, didnt know I'd spent so much time there until I got back to prepare for dinner (2 + 2 hours).
Wow.
(No I'm not thinking about the latter. Just yet.)

There's this dilemma - you want to talk to your family because u're in another country and will be so for quite a few more months.
You want to see their faces. Thus you have a web-cam conversation with them.
Do you want to, actually?
Would you want to see their faces, be reminded of the vast distance that separates you from them, be reminded that you're that far away from home?
Had a web-cam conversation with my family yesterday.
You know, I've been telling people I've not been homesick yet, and I'm actually enjoying my life here right now.
I havent been (homesick), and am enjoying my life here in Manchester.
I miss my room now. With all the CDs I have. My trips to Cineleisure (oddly enough, I keep remembering the view you have when you go down the 3rd floor escalator - outside, people strutting their stuff, well, pretending to run, actually; inside, Sembawang Music Store in front of you, and the gangly teenagers surronding you) and driving around in my Grandma's Toyota, taking in the sights all around Singapore....
And yes of course I miss my family now. Seeing them in the study room... it just seems so surreal.

Friend's Birthday celebration on tuesday. Watched My Fair Lady on wednesday, had Mark visit me from fri evening to this (sun) afternoon.
Great week, really.
Now, back to studying the pelvis and reproductive system.
Sigh.

This is my 200th post already. Wow.
In my 200 posts I have covered topics as diverse as man's primal needs (food and sex - well incessant craving for sex) and intellectual wants, emotions, thoughts and all.
I guess if you've read through all 200 posts you'll have gained a pretty good insight into the workings of my mind. How I am like as a person; how emotionally (un-)stable I am.
Perhaps I've revealed too much. Perhaps I've said things I shouldn't have and might be used against me in the future.
But I firmly believe that we should let excreted words remain as they are - outside the body. (Yes I'm studying the pelvis now)
I also believe that all the views I've expressed truly reflect what I've felt at a particular point of time. No use denying what was true at a certain point of time.

You may have noticed a subtle change in my posts - a change in my thinking, perhaps you might feel. Maturing as person, you might infer I am. Or the converse.
Yeah I now post (mostly) about inconsequential things - my squirt®, culinary skills (or lack of) and experiences in the pool next door.
I'm sure you don't want to know about my thoughts on, say, efforts to conserve the habitat of the distant cousin of the opossum, would you?
(For the record, I couldn't care less.)
But then again, why would you want to know if my latest culinary experiment succeeded.
Hmm.
Which reminds me. Remember Sophie's World? The pulling of rabbits out of the hat?
Perhaps we should all do that once in a while. Reflect, and not get too caught up with our daily lives to blindly plough through our days without reaping anything from it.

Thought of the day? ;)

Physical exercise is always good. Went swimming at last, after taking furtive glances at the aquatic centre every day, two times a day. Its just outside my hall, lah.
Swimming was good - they actually have like 'slow', 'medium' and 'fast' lanes where u hafta swim in a specific direction. 2 lanes each, basically.
Yes I swam in the slow lane. 'cause erm. was swimming with a girl lah. who, according to her, couldnt swim well. oh well basically was swimming in front of her. and more often than not stopping in the middle of the pool (1.2m) because of someone who was swimming real slow.
And oh swimming here is good 'cause once u rest/laze in the water for a certain amount of time, you start to feel cold. Really cold. And you really hafta start moving again to warm yourself up.
So yeah.
Physical exercise is good.
Kickboxing lesson tomorrow.

Bought some 'lean mince beef' from sainsburys. Made pasta with bolognese sauce last night, so decided to try my hand at making a burger.
;)