My Blog Lahh..: January 2008

Exams are usually an excuse for me not to update my blog, so now here I am after my very first Animal Physiology exam, writing a new post. I took the exam on Friday morning and the scores were out that very evening. Apart from being taken aback by the efficiency of them posting the results, I was quite happy with my results. I think this is the first time I say that I am happy with the scores of any one exam since I came to UofM. =p

Sorry about the previous post, which was extremely depressing and sad. But I am okay now, for those who are concerned. Heheh. Nothing much happened really between the time I wrote the post until now, apart from playing laser tag with a bunch of friends and my sister. Sorry to say that I did not like the game, just because I got last in all three games. I think it would be more fun if people don't kill me that much. :D

I have been down, moody and sad for the past week, mainly during the time I wrote that post. But after reading an article on the New York Times about people with rare genetic mutations, I started to realize that I have been taking life for granted. I nearly cried while reading that article.

These two girls may seem like normal children we see everyday, but in actual fact, they share a same chromosomal mutation called 16p11.2. This means that their chromosome number 16 on the top arm, which is p arm, has a deletion at the locus 11.2. This may just be a micro-deletion, as the article puts it, but the effect is drastic. These two girls are not related at all, but they were united as they both suffer from the same rare disease. The symptoms were somehow like autism, but it is actually not that. The girl on the left, whom is 14 this year, wears slip-on shoes, because she cannot ties the laces. She doesn't know her ABC's and have trouble recognizing colors. She has been diagnosed with mental retardation. The younger girl is 4. But she has been undergoing physical therapy since she was 9 months old, so she can count and knows her ABC's. Both of the girls don't cry when they are hurt, and it makes me wonder that is it because they won't feel the pain or what?

Then there's another girl with a different chromosome mutation called 22q13, which affects the lower arm of the chromosome, which is the q arm. She is 4 years old this year, but she doesn't speak. All she does is making a guttural growl hovering on the edge of language. That made me feel so sad.

All it took was a small, minor deletion of a single chromosome arm. How fortunate I am to be here, with a complete set of chromosome, functioning normally and being able to sleep, eat and talk like normal. But I have been taking these blessings for granted, as I kept complaining about life, saying life is depressing, making myself so moody and all. Furthermore, I should use these blessings to help those who don't have them, instead of complaining, whining and gossiping all day. How I wish I could help these unfortunate people out there, but it will be another ten years of accumulating knowledge and experience will I be able to make such contributions to the society.

After a gazillion excuses to not update my blog, I finally managed to dig out some time and mood to write something about the trip, thanks to the never ending pestering by Mr. Yeoh. I spent my Christmas break from Dec 20th to Dec 30th in dear Los Angeles, California. It wasn't as enjoyable as I expected, nevertheless, it was fun overall.

Day 1 Dec 20th Thursday
Woke up at 5 something a.m. because we had to catch a bus to go to the airport at 6.15 in the morning. We, as in me, Huey Shann and Pei Ying. Wasn't able to finish my bowl of cereal, dumped the contents away, and left the bowl in the kitchen sink. Everything went on fine, until when we boarded our plane at Chicago's O'Hare airport. I was too sleepy that time so i fell asleep straightaway after I sat down. After quite a long time, I woke up. The plane was still parked at the gate. Apparently, it had some problems so our flight delayed by an hour, with us sitting in the plane.
Reached LAX around 2 p.m., went straight to the hotel called Cecil Hotel in downtown LA. WARNING: DO NOT stay at downtown LA's hotels anymore, even though the prices are really cheap, they are illusions to lure you into traps! Our hotel costs only $40 per night, which made us book it without thinking twice. After checking in, we came down to the bus stop right in front of the hotel, hoping to catch a bus to Chinatown for dinner. Suddenly, a guy came screaming down the street, running while uprooting small bushes planted at the sidewalk for decoration. I think he was either high on drugs or he had a mental problem. Two cops came chasing down behind him and brought him to the ground while handcuffing him. We were in utter shock and disbelief. The hotel room was small and the bathroom was tiny. Seven of us had to squeeze into that room. At night, it was FREEZING. I don't understand why there wasn't heating available.

Day 2 Dec 21 Friday
Everybody woke up early this day, and were ready by 7.30 am. How efficient. :) The main reason was downtown LA was too dangerous to be at during nighttime, so we all went to bed early. We went to Chinatown again. It was so deserted. Nobody starts business early in Chinatown, LA, and they start to close their shops around 6pm. Wonder how much business they can do a day. The only thing that was open at 8.30 am was a Chinese temple. Went to pray a bit and took some pictures, I mean those who had cameras. Then we found our way to a restaurant Sue Yen's friend recommended for dim sum. The food and price was not bad, but the workers are crappy. After eating, we decided to visit University of Southern California, but nobody was sure where that place was. So I suggested walking down the street that leads to the place, see if we can get a bus that goes there. So after walking aimlessly for almost an hour, I needed to go to the toilet. So we stopped at a random Marriot Hotel to borrow the bathroom and to ask for directions. I feel cheated for having to walk so long, only to find the bus stop leading to USC is just outside the hotel. -_-||
We reached USC, took tons of pictures at the engineering campus, with the three engineers, i.e. Huey Shann, Shin Hwei and Alicia posing before signs that say "Engineering Campus". I got excited when we visit the bookstore, where I got to buy a pennant for my miserable pennant collection back at my apartment. Visited the Rose Garden opposite of the university and also went to the California Science Center, also just a five minute walk away. The science center was a cool place, but it's meant for middle school kids. Nevertheless, it's a really informative place and I kind of like it. We also watched an iMax movie at the science center, with Pei Ying totally freaked out. She's afraid of 3-D stuff that comes popping out from the screen.
At night, we took the 25cents bus to Little Tokyo, just to find that the place is even worse than Chinatown. I don't understand the fact that California is suppose to house the most Asian immigrants in the whole United States, but why Chinatown and Little Tokyo are so crappy. I miss New York's Chinatown all of a sudden. Ate some totally not nice sushi and teriyaki chicken for dinner, then we went back to the hotel to pack.

Day 3 Dec 22 Saturday
Headed off to the happiest place on earth, and indeed, everyone was happy and excited. Took an express bus that departs from Downtown LA to Disneyland, which took a whopping 2 hours. As expected, we slept all the way on the bus. When we reached Anaheim, we went straight to the hotel to store our luggage and stuff in the storage place because it was only 10am at that time. We decided to come back to check in later in the afternoon. We didn't need to queue to buy tickets, but the queue for the guys to check our bags was really long. We spent the first hour or two taking pictures with Snow White and other inanimate objects. Then, I forgot whose idea it was to go for a ride on the Hollywood Tower of Terror. The effects they made was nice, and it will take me three more days to post this blog up if I were to elaborate it. So, in summary, it was an elevator with seats that brings you up to the top floor, and then the whole thing will free-fall down, apparently to the twilight zone. I screamed until my tears came out. And the next thing we did was probably the highlight of the whole trip, Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular. It was wonderful. It basically summarizes the whole Aladdin story in a 30 minute musical. Mr. Yeoh, this is the thing that you should be waiting for. :) No fireworks that night, because the wind was too strong.

Day 4,5 &6 Dec 23-25 Sunday - Tuesday
The rest of the days were filled with queues and rides, queues and rides again. Food was horrible. Not that it was not tasty, just that having chicken strips and french fries for four days straight wasn't good at all. The best of the whole four days are the fireworks, which we waited for three days before they can actually put it up, the Fantasmic show, which is a fountain-cum-laser light show, and that Aladdin show I talked about. There were too many rides and things for me to talk about, so the best way is to experience it yourself, eh Mr. Yeoh. =p Oh ya, I climbed a tree at Tom Sawyer Island, I mean, illegally, which made one of the workers made me come down. :D The worst part is probably my feet, which hurt like hell everyday. I wish they could supply everyone with a pair of rollerblades.

Day 7 a.k.a Do Nothing Day Dec 26 Wednesday
We woke up late that day. Mind you, we, as in those who decided not to go Downtown Disneyland for last minute shopping people. Heheh. Then after that, we repeated the same steps, took the bus back to the same Cecil Hotel and checked in. We went to Chinatown again only to discover a Vietnamese Restaurant, which was recommended by the beloved bakery aunty. The restaurant has wonton noodles!!! Everybody had a great time eating the great food, after being tortured by chicken strips and fries. We took the bus to Macy's at 7th street after that, where I bought a long-sleeve T-shirt. To our utter disappointment, the shops close at 6pm. 0_0 Don't understand why they have to close so early.

Day 8 Dec 27 Thursday
Universal Studios day. It was a cold cold day. Universal Studios was nothing compared to Disneyland, but the only thing that stood out were the special effects that they were famous for. They had a few shows which had fire special effects which looked so cool. The Return of the Mummy ride wasn't disappointing at all, thanks to my big sister for recommending. The House of Horrors was too scary, applause for them for reaching their goal in scaring the guests. They had real people inside dressed as ghosts and corpses which can jump out from coffins to grab your hands. Gross. Bought only a spongebob keychain and that's it. It was kind of a "cincai" trip.

Day 9 Dec 28 Friday
Went to Santa Monica beach, where they used to film Baywatch. Not sure whether they still have the filming going on. It was too cold a day for visiting a beach. Some of us took off our shoes to wade the shallow parts of the water, only to find our toes turning purple because the water was freezing cold. Rented a bike each and cycled along the coastline. It was kind of fun, as that was my first time cycling by the beach and I hadn't ride on a bicycle after I got my driver's license. Visited a really tiny shop which was modified to become an aquarium, keeping fish and sea animals for visitors to see. The main aim of them was to create awareness to the public, hoping people will save the oceans from pollution. When we were about to go back, we discovered a stretch of street near the beach which is actually a shopping area. With Adidas, Gap, Forever 21 etc. Everybody, well, most of us, were so happy and started to buy stuff. We had Thai food for dinner that night and went back at about 9, if I remembered correctly. On our way back on the bus, Huey Shann suddenly felt sick and nauseated. She suddenly wanted to go to the toilet, so me and her had to get off the bus at some random place and borrowed the bathroom at Taco Bell.

Day 10 a.k.a Most Boring Day Dec 29 Saturday
This day was by far the most boring day ever. We went to Hollywood. Tried to take a picture of the Hollywood sign through the telescope but failed. Went on a two-hour Movie Stars Home Tour. The driver showed us a few movie stars' houses, but I don't really know these people, except for Jackie Chan and Ben Stiller. He also showed us the house that belongs to the Marciano family, owner of the Guess company. They had ten Ferarris lining up in their front porch, furthermore, they never drive the cars, they are just up for display. We also went by Rodeo Drive, the place where most celebrities do their shopping. We saw a shop that had a yellow Ferarri parked outside. The driver told us that this shop only takes customers with appointments, and the owner only takes ten customers per day. And, if you are a first-time customer, you have to spend at least $10,000 during your first visit. The shop actually sells men's suits and stuff. This is a perfect example of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, comparing Hollywood to the homeless in Downtown LA, sad isn't it? The Guinness World Record Museum was the crappiest museum ever. It's even worse than Muzuim Alor Star. We went back at around 4pm, went back to Chinatown to "da bao" food from the Vietnamese shop again. This time, we actually saw the bakery aunty helping the owner of the shop. Now only we understand why she recommended it to us.

Day 11 Dec 30 Sunday
Last day at Los Angeles. Nobody knew where to go, so we decided to go visit University of California Los Angeles. Took a bus there that took forever to reach. When we reach there, everyone was searching frantically for a bathroom, only to find that every single building there was closed, either for the holiday or for the weekend. Even the bookstore was closed. So sad. Didn't get to buy a pennant from UCLA. We found the only building that was opened on campus, which was the gym. Luckily the guy at the door was kind enough to let us in without signing in. We visited the museum there for a while before we head back to Cecil Hotel again to collect our luggage. Took a bus from Union Station to the airport and that is all for our California trip. :) Thank you everyone who made this trip a success. :) Oh ya, about the cereal bowl that I left in the sink before I went off the trip, it has molds and bacteria colonies growing on it when I came back. I couldn't scrape off the stuff, so I had to throw the bowl away.

p.s. Pictures will be posted afterwards, as soon as I am able to steal them from somebody's camera.

My Blog Lahh..

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