Lyssa zampa - the third wave?
Has anybody noticed another sudden appearance of the
Lyssa zampa? I saw two at Bukit Batok yesterday, and a handsome one at the British Council today. It might be my luck, or it might be a new breakout.
And while I'm at it - I hate Molecular Biology. Just came back from a resit paper. I did pooh. No matter how hard I try to study, nothing goes in. Some things are just not meant for some people. Why else did I pick Eco?
Those clockwork crustaceans
I've reserved my packet of shrimp food for my future triops, so the Daphnia are now happily thriving on green algae. Gone are the reddish Daphnia! They wouldn't stay still; this is the best shot out of many. Sometimes, old, simple things still work best - this was taken using my (old) Nikon CoolPix 4500. None of my D70's lenses were suitable.
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Today while revising I heard a bird call which I couldn't identify. It was a single monotonous ascending note, repeated four or five times consecutively with a uniformed one or two seconds between them. I took a break and stayed by the window, scanning the tree branches through the scope, in the direction of the calls, but couldn't spot anything. I then proceeded through the entire CD of the
Bird Songs of Singapore, and still couldn't find that call among the 79 recorded species' calls. Grrr... annoying. I want to identify that bird!
Finally... after an application process which took a year and a half (I've no idea how those people work - they lost my forms a few times and my passport-sized photos too, and I just had to keep on sending in documents when I'm back in S'pore, only to be forced till the next time I returned to follow up)... I've received the letter from the S'pore Tourism Board:
"We are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded the Specialised Tourist Guide licence for the nature category..." Muacks, NParks, haha, I love them sometimes... this is thanks to them and the great people I've been 'working' with at Sungei Buloh. No need for assessment. Just a recommendation... and I haven't even met the age requirement! :)
Now that I've got the licence... I'm unsure of how to go about carrying out the next steps. I know I need to hook up with travel agencies and come up with attractive nature tour/ad hoc packages at attractive rates, promote them, liaise with transportation companies etc etc, and other than all those complicated-sounding processes, familiarise myself with the nature areas and know the routes extremely well. Not a problem for the places I frequent, but I would like to expand my range... and hunt around for more 'best spots'. If I weren't so tied up with driving lessons (and revision) nowadays I'd gladly focus all my energy into this, but too bad I haven't the time... yet.
Nature guiding is my hobby... it's what I enjoy doing. But like my mom says, I can't be a volunteer *all* the time. And if I do have to learn how to earn a few bucks (no matter how little, earning something's
something at least) during my hols, I want to do it in a meaningful way. I don't want to work as a waitress, or behind the cashier's counter, or as some clerical staff. I want to share this joy... the little wonders... and the rich biodiversity Singapore has that so many others fail to appreciate.
But before the action... there're lots of things I need to find out, research, and learn about.
I must admit I am quite proud of my sis, despite her misbehaviours (which unfortunately occur far too often) and my frequent yellings. One thing that's gotten me envious is her skills (hmm?) in wushu. Or rather, that she had the chance to start it at a young age. Now don't get me wrong, I was never really deprived (if you put it that way) of the opportunity to practise it when I was younger, that or any other martial artish art. I wanted to do Aikido. I wanted to learn some sort of combat/contact sport. But my mom, a firm believer in grooming her daughters (or at least me) into full-fledged gentlewomen, signed me up for ballet classes instead. At this point... lol... I can imagine the surprise of some of my friends if they knew that I once used to do ballet, including tap dancing, no less!
Chi Life Studios has always had its share of visiting celebs... among them Nancy Sit Kar-Yin (from the HK teleseries
A Kindred Spirit), Fiona Xie, and a few local channels/mags. Today, Zoe Tay decided to drop by with her crew. Managed to get a clear shot of her and Jane when Zoe wasn't being assaulted by the Chi kids. But among all the guests, my favourite has to be the one that goes by the name Doce (
dos-say) - Robin Leung's Jack Russell Terrier - it can do kung fu too! :)
Gecko graveyard
Once again I find myself apologising to blog readers who're less drawn to our reptilish friends.
This is the inside of a pathside lamp at the Lost Civilisation trail at Sentosa. Disgusting... and it's not just one lamp... it's all the lamps by the pathway. Some poor design, that - geckoes attracted to the light for some reason (to get to the insects perhaps?), they slip in, get trapped, and get toasted to a crisp. You'd think you'd only see this kind of sight at traditional Chinese medicine stores.
Monitor at Orchard
I'm not sure how long this juvenile Malayan water monitor has been residing under the concrete wall surrounding the back of the Orchard MRT station, but it's been there for quite a while, since March at least. It's always there, always on the alert, dashing back through the slits under the dome whenever anyone goes too near. But that's quite seldom, for people would usually 'detour' and go round this reptile, seemingly so out of place in such an area as downtown Orchard Rd. There was a larger monitor as well, but I've only seen it once.
Still, curiousity arises, and the questions pop up. Where did it come from, what does it feed on, where's the water source, etc etc.? I last saw it trying to rip apart a
Yeo's drink packet, but I'm quite sure
that's not what it survives on. I might be observing this little monitor for a while yet.
Back from Sojourn, back and tanned. I didn't join in the games, but hovered around with my camera, and opened the med kit an unusually large number times to hand out alcohol swipes. Rough boys and damp sand = abrasions. IMHO the organising comm did an extremely good job... their efforts well-paid off. A few of the seniors - now graduates - wondered at our (3rd-years') participation. I suppose... a few of us feel more attached to SingSoc than most, and can never really bear to slip back into the shadows.
If this weren't the peak of the seventh month (or so I learnt), what with all this widespread fear of seeing things up in the trees at night, I'd be shining my torch, like I'd do on Ubin. The urge to find snakes has never escaped me ever since the sighting of an Oriental whip during last year's Sojourn. What I did instead was to scan the patches of grass for nightjars (there're plenty of them on Sentosa...
if you can find them) and toads. Saw a few toads, slugs, loads of snails (two pairs were erm, copulating), cockroaches, and bats.
Anyway, the photos have been uploaded. They can be
found here.
Sojourn 2005 is here... my third and most probably my last Sojourn. I think my mom' happy that I am no longer playing a role in any committee... since all my life, my weekends and holidays have always been consumed by meetings and stuff.
The weather drains out any enthusiasm I have for Sojourn. My topmost concern would be keeping my camera dry. I dislike the beach... the sand... my enemies. My next concern would be keeping myself free from insect bites. I've got enough of those.
The freshers don't worry me in the least. It's now the year-2s' show... I'll have a little backseat. Not an OGL, not attached to any group or whatever. A free wanderer. Just there to snap away, and provide first aid if needed.
So slack... these hols... sigh, I'm beating myself in this bludging game, sitting my arse off. Even though I don't particularly like Sentosa, nor do I ever have any real interest in orientations and games and whatnot, I'm kinda looking forward to it.
3 days, 2 nights. 'Till then.
Though... the commercialised outdoors is
nothing like the natural outdoors.
I don't have a microscope, so I can't take pictures of my current obsession and show you what they're like. But you should know anyway. Does the name 'water fleas' ring a bell? Those tiny crustaceans that you might have heard about during your primary school days... they that live by the millions in the eco-garden pond. For the more scientifically-inclined, the term
Daphnia might be more accurate.
I now have a few small tubefuls of those creatures, plus a bigger 2L jar full of them. They started out as the 'unwanted bits' of my triops egg packet, but since the triops all died off, they were the only thing remaining. I kept a few - you could still count them then - and they've been multiplying. They've been laying eggs; I placed some debris and decaying organic material into a fresh, Daphnia-less tube, and after a few days little white clockwork specks appeared. It's kinda fun, rearing daphnias. In the two tubes which I left covered (almost airtight), the Daphnias appear much redder than the those in the uncovered containers - they synthesise more haemoglobin in an attempt to extract more oxygen from the water, hence the red coloration in their blood. Basic biology. Cool.
I remember that the beginning of last summer was spent watching
Naruto (there's no end to it, is there?)... it was no easy feat prying me away from my laptop during the 80+ episode tenure. Just ask my sis. My mom kept yelling at me to stop... it's bad for my eyes, etc etc.
Then it was back to FRIENDS.
Then it was the Gundam series.
During the Easter hols, it was World of Warcraft - though it's no anime, it's still bad enough.
And these couple of days... it's
Bleach. Bwahahahaa... that's thanks to Lu who screened the first esp on his laptop. I've finished watching the existing 44 episodes, and now I'm forced to stick to the one-week-one-episode routine. Too sloooowww...!
Funny how my mom didn't really reprimand me too much this time round. Prolly it's 'cos she herself addicted to 大长今. She stays up to two past midnight hooked on the series, and that's saying something! It'll be my turn soon. ;)
Postcards from Japan
Okies... here they are. They might load slow; there're lots of them, and if I had the choice and more space, I would have loved to upload more. Ain't gonna write a detailed report for the trip, for I can't be bothered to and even if I did, I doubt if anyone'll actually read it. :P
This is one of the biggest Lakes in Chitose (Hokkaido). Clear, clean, cool water, with the bottom of the lake made composed of pumice and solidified lava from the neighbouring now-inactive volcano.
Those swan paddle boats... we rented a few and went around the lake.
The biologist in me taking water samples :P
Approaching dusk... beautiful... simply beautiful
Stag beetle at the entrance of our hotel; invertebrate life at Chitose is extremely rich
A drooling cow at a farm. We milked the poor cow.
Copulating grasshoppers
Sunset at Otaru, a coastal Hokkaido town.
Japan - land of the rising sun... 'cept that this red sun was a setting sun.
The famous Otaru canal
The sun rises... and a passing boat is blessed with rays of glory
The view of the horizon from the hotel terrace
Furano (again, in Hokkaido) is famous for its flower fields and patchworks of agricultural crops
Furano's speciality - lavender
Red, ripe cherries. We went cherry picking... it was a whole lot of fun.
Family photo
Tokyo now - buildings of Roppongi Hills, where old tradition blends in with the new
Ginza, Tokyo's premier shopping district
The grey skies and landscape of Tokyo
Moving on... this is Mt Fuji
Mt Fuji lakeside
Horseriding with family and friends
Waterfalls
Border collie - doing tricks at Doggy Park
A sleeping retriever
A Shiba Inu... the pitiable dog looking forlorn
Fireworks in Tokyo
More fireworks; we just so happened to be stuck in a jam on the roads when the fireworks went off. The cars didn't move, so we enjoyed the whole 30 mins' worth of fireworks.
Fireworks
Did I speak too soon? The weather has been lovely but it's now lovely no longer. Thundery showers and all the drama... poo. Last night was so bad that my mom actually came to my room to ask me - in the middle of the night while I was in bed - if I had been frightened by the winds and the lightning. *grin* Don't you love it when parents do that? You'll forever be their little child. ;)
I thought my itchy troubles were over when for a couple of mornings, I didn't find any new bites on myself. But then... yesterday after watching
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with ZF (who also came over for dinner :) ), I thought a few places were itching where they shouldn't. Still no idea what they're caused by. Now on the subject of movies, mom suggested
Bewitched last Sunday, so that's what we did that afternoon. Now usually, I don't go watch films which cast my least favourite actors. There's quite a few of them on my list, and Will Ferrell happens to be on it. If not for Nicole Kidman, I wouldn't have gone to see it. Quite right. During the movie... Ferrell bugged me. Ick. And on the other hand, some good actors... well... I'd go watch films with good actors, no matter how gay (ahem - Depp *cough cough*) or odd they may look.
After a relatively long hiatus (it is, at least to me) from blogging, there're so many things to say... I don't know where to begin. Since returning from Japan I have been attacked by an onslaught of invisible biting creatures that roam about in the night. Every morning I wake up, I'd find a few bites, blisters and swollen areas on my arms, shoulders and face. It's nasty, and I don't know what they are. Bed bugs? Not mozzies... I'd recognise mozzie bites. Vacuumed my entire bed and bedsheets and pillow and surrounding areas, the curtains... the mat... everywhere... and looked for signs of bed bugs. Nada. Might be mites, then. Or fleas. Or... bah, I dunno. The bites are quite bad. Red and warm. When I went for the SingSoc freshers' pre-departure talk a few nights ago (sigh... I feel so old... I'm a final-year student now... offering words of advice -lol- to wide-eyed freshers) some friends asked if I've been out sleeping in the jungle. Sad to say, nope, this is an entirely domestic affair. Too lazy to visit the doc's. Just applied some dermatological cream and it seems to be working.
That aside, I must once again profess my obsession with swords. Today saw a bit of wushu training (yep, I know it's National Day, but the masters work and train hard :P)... and had my first session with the long sword. I loved it. The feeling of swooshing it around... haha... I must be mad. Right arm's aching a bit... no surprise... considering how my fencing weapons are now rusting away in some forgotten corner in London.
Watched the Nat'l Day Parade on TV for the first time in many years. Heard the Pledge and the Anthem for the first time, again in many years (not counting random anthems being played during Flat 2 Emperor's Gate's sudden fascination with national anthems a while back). My family's never had any luck in balloting for parade tickets; my sis has never attended a parade before. The fireworks lasted all but a little over five minutes, a far cry from the continuous 30-minute fireworks showdown we witnessed while in Tokyo. But... these were kinda cute... what with a few with a star inside a ring... and a few others, circles within circles.
The weather's been lovely, and when I'm not learning to drive, or training, or lazing, I shall try to make it to the outdoors.
Coming soon...
Trip report for
Hokkaido - Chitose > Sapporo > Otaru > Furano
Honshu - Tokyo > Mt Fuji
and lots and lots of photos. Took 1100 pics. Hokkaido's simply beautiful... it's good to visit the countryside for once, instead of always having to weave through the crowds at major cities.
It's back to quiet days in Singapore, since Xi and Wink have both returned to the UK, and Jane's school term will be starting soon.
Banjo's
* learnt how to say my name, and at the moment it's his favourite word. He's been repeating it day in and day out, and it's starting to irritate me a tad... lol. It's like replaying a recording of your name over and over again, and sometimes he puts some emotion into it like he's impatient (when I never show up) or something.
Bah. Silly bird.
*Our African grey parrot
