Altar Boyz!!!!

Watch the Altar Boyz with Jennifer last night.......they were SOOOOOOO goood!!!!

Ok, I will admit, the lyrics to the songs were not overly smart, the musical itself was not that insanely funny, and there was bearly a storyline involved in the whole hour and a half. However, what made it truly exceptional was the fact that it was live music (I suppose you really don't need that much space for a drum, a guitar, and two keyboards) plus awesome singing and harmonies, AND completely amazing choreography! Everyone in the theatre gave them a standing ovation at the end of the performance and I thought it was very, very well deserved.


The fact that the musical poked fun at Christian bands made it feel all the at home. Finally something that's blatantly Christian (despite the fact that they are poking fun at us). True, almost everything was exaggerated and I can assure you no Christian bands ever do things like them (at least I certainly hope not), but I thought it was very funny how they blended in popular culture into all of it. And although some inside jokes would have been very funny, most of the humour was very publicly understandable.

So yes, I'm very glad I got a chance to see them. It's actually a performance I would consider going to see again, becuase, like I said, what you are watching for is the singing and the choreography, and not really the plot.

It was definitely worth the $33 (despite the fact that I didn't pay, and better yet, parking was free because it was after 7), and I might actually try convincing our fellowship to go. I know a couple of people who I'm certain would thoroughly enjoyed it.

They've extended their showing till August 29th!!

PS: Matthew looks like the Starfield lead XD

Mid-term Progress Report

So, July has finally decided to round the corner, and in the midst of constant barbecues (5 in a week) and slightly unbearable heat, my co-op term has past its midway point. What would I have to say about it at this point?

Well, the first thing is that things have definitely gotten a little ridiculously busy. With renewed fervour in collecting eggs and starting fresh cultures, my incubator has now accumulated close to 40 plates of cultures, all of them screaming and demanding some fresh media either every Monday and Thursday or every Tuesday and Friday. To make things all the more complicated, they are suspension cells and are thus not attached to the wells, preventing me from simply sucking out all the media with a vacuum and an evil laugh.

And of course, I am now one co-op student working on two separate and completely different projects. Not only am I now responsible for growing some honeybee cells, I will also be responsible for some bacterial assays. So yes, I do both cell cultures AND bacterial cultures.

However, on a brighter note my bee cultures have turned the corner and are now doing fairly well. After numerous tries and countless failed attempts, we were blessed with cultures that appeared like the following (I really hope I don't get sued for releasing these photos.......I don't recall signing anything that tells me I can't.....there were more photos, but they were all blurry and out of focus):

Culture 6 No Antibiotics, 200x Phase Contrast Microscope, with suspension embryonic cells and adherent fibroblasts

We have finally realized what has been screwing us over, and that is the antibiotics we have been using. We had it at such a ridiculously high concentration that none of our cells grew properly. But now that we've reduced the antibiotic concentration by almost 1000 fold, things are starting to look pretty. There was even this one clump of cell that was contracting periodically as if it was a heart. It was totally wicked XD definitely not something we were shown at school =P

So, looking at my lab related schedule for the next little while...
July 11 - Flying to Grande Prairie
July 15 - Expected Return Date
July 27 - Project Presentation
Once School Starts - Co-op Paper Due

Of Guitar Chords and Hebrew Alphabets

Today was definitely a day I would rather not repeat......I basically worked non-stop from 8:30 to 5, with a very rushed 15-minute lunch break at around 2:30......tho it was by all means just a typical farm day, where we head over to the UBC farm to pluck another doomed frame from the bee colonies and ransack it of all available eggs. Those unfortunate eggs are now crushed and basking in cell culture media at 32C. We all know full well that the eggs are now enjoying their final moments before they all succumb to inevitable death under my hands. Sigh......the path to immortality is indeed treacherous........

But back at home, I've had the luxury of time to sit and fiddle with my guitar for the second time, and I must say, I was surprised I remembered all the chords I learnt on Sunday =P...A.... E.... G.... D.... Em...... F#m......and I've also added C#m and G#m under my belt today.....tho i must say, the sharp minors don't sound very nice, and now my fingertips are sore XD



and i think it is now time to admit that my musical talents are much greater than my language ones......I'm been wrestling with Hebrew and all I've got down is probably just a handful of letters..........it is rather shameful that I can't even remember the first 10, considering the fact that I now have an actual Hebrew bible on my shelf and I'm really no closer to understanding it than before I started trying to learn Hebrew.......it looks just as foreign, if not more now that I have had a closer look.......



Next on the list of things to learn? French, Greek, and I have to take up piano again if I'm still going to buy my $90,000 Steinway Grand......my technique has actually gotten disgustingly rusty....=__="

New Word - Workaholism

You know, I'm starting to realize that I may be a workaholic.....

I've always thought the term applied to people who spend all their time at work. To me they were always those people who spend a ridiculous number of hours sitting at their desks in their office. To me the purpose was always to earn more money, and in the process they neglect their wives and their kids and are generally frowned upon....

but now, I'm thinking there's something deeper to it.....that maybe they are not working for the money or just to climb the corporate ladder......but maybe it's a cowardice of sorts, because I see it in myself

Maybe it's just like how people are addicted to alcohol and drugs. True there is a physiological side to all of it, but part of the reason (and I suppose here, coz I've never been addicted to those things) is that they see it as an escape from their problems. It's something they can immerse themselves in and not have to deal with their circumstances.

And more and more I'm thinking that's how I approach my schedule. I fill it up to the brim with things to do not because it's truly essential or because it's truly important, but it's an excuse for me to ignore all my actual problems. I have an excuse to shove them aside and say I have more pressing things to deal with, and I have an excuse to neglect things because I have more urgent things that demand my time.......

Cowardly? Yes, very much so..........

Becoming a Guitar Hero

Well, after the piano and the drums, I have decided that the guitar would be a good next step in my musical endeavour.

Driven partly by the fact that every youth pastor knows how to play the guitar (not that I am one, but there just might be a chance somewhere down the road), partly by the fact that I do have some extra funds stemming from co-op, and overwhelmingly by the fact that most of the songs that i know of sounds sooo sooo much better on the guitar, I have decided that I will venture into that unknown realm with not a single guitar chord in my belt (and maybe rudimentary strings knowledge from grade 6)

So, dropping by Long and McQuade the other day, the sales suggested this:


The Crafter GAE6/N......original $999, now on clearance for $399.......now, having absolutely no knowledge of guitars, I only had his words that it was a great deal.....I knew i was looking for an acoustic guitar that can also be plugged into an amp (just in case there ever was a need), but asides from that and having done some preliminary research online and finding one for $315, I really had no clue and was hesitant to dive directly into the deal.

So I placed it on hold, and asked Dot, our trusty choirmaster, to pull some strings with her musician friends and ask if it was worth it. After all, $399 after tax means $450, and it was more than my initial budget of around $350. But she got back to me and said it was a "fantastic deal", so I shall go ahead with the purchase.

However, there is one catch.........I do not know when I can actually get it.......They close at 6 Mon-Wed, and there's no way i can make it there after work. They close at 9 Thurs and Fri, and I'm busy both nights. They close at 6 on Sat, but then I'm busy all Saturday since it's the last day of Chinese School......and since they will only hold it for a week there really is no other time......I'll give them a call tomorrow to see if I can pay for it over the phone and Jenn can get it for me......either that, or I'll see if i can get them to hold it for another week........

Upped

It was actually quite the miracle I had time to go watch Up tonight, and I'm even more happy to say that I definitely was not disappointed =P True, Monsters vs. Aliens was not exactly bad, but when you compare it with Up there is not a doubt that Pixar really is the better animation studio =P


*Spoiler warning*

I actually found the beginning mini clip very cute =P....with the little animals and the pink clouds. But i thought the idea of that sad grey cloud who always make those unconventional babies very neat =P....I suppose the world needs those grey clouds, doing the necessary but not very popular things with the best of intentions.....in a way that's how i feel sometimes.....just maybe not with the same sort of innocence the cloud had with the alligators and the electric eels......

Onto the movie proper, it was definitely a very cute movie. But what really caught my attention was not so much the animation or even the story line, it was the turning point. I thought it was such an "awwww....." moment....with Carl on the verge of tears thinking he had brought the house to Paradise Falls (ironic name, ain't it?) in vain when he had failed to help Ellie realize her dream when she was still alive, and yet all along, Ellie had treasured every moment she spent with Carl and thought that to be the best adventure of her life.....

*Spoiler ends*


And really that got me thinking......as I stood up when the credits rolled and the house lights came on, and I stared at Jenn's back as we walked towards the aisle, I just couldn't help but think: God willing, I'll be spending the rest of my life with her......and it was at that moment, despite the fact that I was never much of a fan for adventures, I felt an inkling of excitement in me when i realized that it probably will be the best adventure of my life as well.

The Scarcest Commodity

I was wrong.

I thought co-op would have been a nice break from school. I thought it would give me a chance to see what I've learnt put into practice developing something completely brilliant and totally wicked. But the wrongest thing of all, was that I thought I would get more time.

There were great plans for this summer. To read. To play during the weekends. To swim. To bike. To polish my piano skills once again. But as the days turn into weeks and the weeks stretch into months, I've come to realize that most of these would not come to past.

I'd be lucky to get home by 6 in the evening, and with Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday nights occupied, along with the many meetings and engagements scattered over the weekends, I feel like I'm being more starved of time than I had been when school was still in session. There is Up to watch, along with various Bards.......and I really really REALLY want to swim. Maybe I should just randomly go one evening rather than waiting for the weekend. I miss doing laps and I hate how my shoulders have gotten so tight and hunched from bending over some computer or some honeybee frame all day....

Though I suppose this summer has had its purpose. It's making me rethink a lot of things.....that of course, is another post altogether (maybe even a couple of posts).......maybe I'll describe a couple of those things the next time I have the luxury of indulging in a little spare time