..Rêve Sans Frayeur..
"we are not defined by our gifts or abilities, but by the choices we make"
- unknown
1. The Transgender Child
2. Sex, Ethics and the Kinsey Reports
3. Why We Teach
4. Comet in Our Sky
5. Who Will Teach?
6. Human Sex Change and Sex Reversal
7. The Meanings of Teaching
8. True Selves
1. To publish a paper
2. To write a thesis
3. To grow Audible Hearts
4. To be true to myself
5. To get a teaching license
6. To get Kayaking 3-Star
7. Tour Europe
8. To play Squash Graded
9. To become fluent in french
10. To find true love
The picture that made the world weep. 1994 Pulitzer Prize - Kevin Carter
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audible hearts
quincy house
o'shea lab
harvard siama
blood-the river of life
03s71's blog
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keep no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Today was such a crazy day! I feel like it's one of those "typical days" that you so often see in a college prospectus or high school prospectus. Every time I read one of those, I'm like, right, so they do 35325235 things in 1 day and that's considered typical? hahaa. Crazy crazy schedule today...
9.30-11am: Physical Sciences 2
11.30am-1pm: French 31
1-2pm: Lunch with friends
2-5pm: Physics Lab
6-8pm: Dinner at the Institute of Politics (Careers in Public Service)
8-9pm: Physics Section
9-10pm: SIAMA and Harvard Philippine Forum planning meeting
I was originally supposed to have another meeting at 10pm to discuss CODA volunteer training for tomorrow, but thankfully that got canceled. Couple of interesting things happened. The dinner tonight was quite amazing actually. It was hosted by the Institute of Politics, the Center for Public Interest Careers, and the Office of Career Services, basically inviting leaders in the public sector to have dinner with students. It was kinda cool really, to be able to talk to all these high-power people. My table of 5 had Dr Elaine Kuory who has amongst many things founded boston youth theater, been a school principal and is the new K-12 Curriculum Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts for the Cambridge Public Schools. She had such an interesting life story! She made me seriously consider whether or not I should teach before going into education policy. I guess at this point a lot weighs on what happens over the next few months and then with the HBS application.
On a separate note, I got selected to be a plenary speaker for the Harvard Undergrad Research Symposium! =) I was quite happy that they picked me actually, and I'm quite excited to be able to present some real work and not just some hotch-poch of inferences based on sub-standard data and dubious experimental techniques that I was doing last year. I was asked to submit a short biograph of myself for inclusion in the programme, so I flipped through last year's book to see examples of what I had to write. Then it dawned on me that I was probably like the only person who was presenting who had no grad school plans or med school plans. hahaa, I mean, seriously!
Lab this week is just a lot of prep work. I'm programming our robot/liquid handler to sample a time course for me as I plan for my temperature step experiments. 12x48 wells, that's nearly 600 data points! No way I'm doing that by hand man.
defining himself: Shawn
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you don't dare to hope because you know how much it'll hurt to be disappointed? Have you ever felt like you could give up everything for just one person? How can expectations not exist when love already has? It feels right, it thinks right. It's not often that the mind and heart can have a single yearning, albeit perhaps for something so true. For a haven where there are no lies or pretences and few secrets. For an emotion so strong that it flows through every sense. For a bond so close that one is incomplete without the other.
defining himself: Shawn
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Nobel Prizes were all recently awarded. This year's peace prize in particular generated lots of controversy because many felt that President Obama had not done enough to merit the award. But I think as Obama himself pointed out, the peace prize has traditionally not just been awarded to recognize significant contributions to humankind, but also been used to lend momentum for movements and social change.
This was true in 1935, when it was awarded to a journalist Instead the peace prize could have a more practical purpose as well by lending momentum to create lasting social change that will truly live up to the name of the the Nobel that it was awarded for.
On a somewhat separate note, the Nobel prize in physiology/medicine went to the discovery of telomerase, in chemistry it went to ribosome structure and in physics it went to the discovery of fiber optics and digital imaging. The prize in physiology and chemistry struck me in particular because of its relevance to a discussion that I had with a professor that day. As someone who's doing basic research trying to uncover the science behind temperature compensation in circadian rhythms, I often get asked what the relevance of my work is. And somewhat unsurprisingly, most of these people are Singaporeans. So that day when I was meeting a professor to discuss my findings with him, I chanced on the opportunity to ask him the exact same question. Prof Woody Hastings is one of the pioneers in the field of circadian biology and I was certain that he got that question a lot too.
His answer was particular illuminating, which I would summarize neatly in a sentence that he said at the end of our nearly 2hr long conversation, "there is no such thing as useless knowledge, just knowledge that we do not yet know how to use". Basic research is important because it expands human understanding and knowledge is always good. Copernicus never knew in the early days that his findings that the planets rotate around the sun would ever matter, though clearly they eventually did in the field of space exploration several centuries later. More recently, green fluorescent protein which is almost ubiquitous in its use in molecular biology today as a molecular marker arose out of basic research with jellyfish. This year's Nobel prize discovery of telomerase came out of basic research with yeast. Without basic research, we will still be trying to make better and better spears. If you look at the Nobel prizes in medicine and chemistry, you will notice that most of the awards have been made in basic research, though eventually brought to fruition through application. Basic research is important, as is applied research, one cannot exist without the other.
defining himself: Shawn
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Out of My League
It's her hair and her eyes today
that just simply take me away
and the feeling that I'm falling further in love
makes me shiver but in a good way
All the times I have sat and stared
as she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
as she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays,
with me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say
'cause I love her with all that i am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
cause she's all that I see and shes all that I need
and I'm out of my league once again
It's a masterful melody when she calls out my name to me
as the world spins around her she laughs,
rolls her eyes and I feel like I'm falling
but it's no surprise
'cause I love her with all that I am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
'cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
but I'd rather be here than on land
yes she's all that I see and she's all that I need
and I'm out of my league once again.
defining himself: Shawn
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I've recently had the privilege of listening to two heads of state speak at the JFK Forum. One was Alvaro Uribe, the president of Columbia and the other, Dr. Yudhoyono, the president of the Republic of Indonesia. These forums, held nearly on a weekly basis during the term, are usually lively events and attended by faculty and students alike all across the Harvard community. Listening to them speak about issues confronting their countries, their government's legacy and their outlook on the future has got me wondering about everything from politics, to the role of the constitution to how the 21st century will be seen in the eyes of future historians.
Walking to attend Uribe's speech on Friday, I was met with two separate groups of picketers whom I later found out where protesting Uribe's decision to run for a third presidential term, something which is explicitly prohibited by the constitution. Apparently, the Colombian students at Harvard had even drafted a petition that they submitted to him asking him to reconsider the role of the constitution and the rule of law. I discussed this with my blockmates over lunch the next day, and both of them felt rather strongly against his decision. In particular, Sonia who's from Venezuela, has seen a similar thing happen there, with disastrous outcomes. In general, I also believe that it's not a great decision, but I do think that there are some circumstances that might warrant such drastic measures. Constitutions are written by people and it should not be merely up to the whim of one man to change it. However, that said, possibly one of the most important elements in development for many countries has been stability. This is particularly true in the case of developing countries where consistent and long term economic policies can really make all the difference. Good leaders are hard to come by. Singapore's probably a really good example of this.
SBY's speech was really inspiring to say the least. He pitched it as being the response of Muslim leader to the speech that Obama gave at Cairo University not too long ago. I don't think the coincidence of venues went un-noticed, though it probably wasn't coincidence to begin with. Indonesia has had its ups and downs immediately following the 97 AFC, with 5 presidents in nearly as many years. However, I think SBY's track record speaks for itself. He has really been able to win the confidence of the Indonesian populous and has succeeded where his predecessors have failed - in negotiating peace in Aceh and Timor Leste, rebuilding the economy and winning a re-election earlier this year.
In his speech, he outlined the importance of 'soft power' in the 21st century, building a global consciousness and restructing global institutions to better represent the balance of power today. He emphasized the need for increased reliance on groupings such as the G20 and less on those that still based their system on a post WWII view of the world. Most importantly, he gave his take on how we can root out fundamentalism in an increasingly religious world. Islam is a major world religion and by some estimates will become the largest religion by number of adherents in 2025. Already, it is one of the fastest growing religions within the United States and around the world. How this trend will continue to shape geo-political discourse and the balance of power in time to come is something that we all need to consider carefully.
I really liked his speech! I guess partly because he was a good orator, but mostly because I think a lot of what he said made a lot of sense. He seems like a pragmatic person, and has in the past through his actions, shown himself to be someone who lives with integrity and who believes firmly in the rule of law and good governance. For most of my life, Indonesia has always been under-performing, and I'm glad that someone like that has come into power and will hopefully lead the Indonesians towards many brighter days ahead.
defining himself: Shawn
Sunday, August 30, 2009
I'm leaving Singapore again - more wistful than ever. The past 10 days have certainly been like a dream. As usual, it was great to catch up with good friends and see how everyone's doing. But this trip back was really important to me for another reason. This time I'm leaving behind a part of me, a part that holds my love, dreams, aspirations and hopes. Honestly, I would much rather that I weren't leaving.
It would be selfish of me to expect and audacious to hope. I am fully aware of how much I am asking, and I cannot be more sorry for that. Being patient is definitely not one of my virtues. As I watch the planes take off now, my heart is heavy with worries and hopes. An uneasy state of disequilibrium.
defining himself: Shawn
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
This is probably the longest I've gone without returning back to Singapore. And now that I'm back, so much has changed. I'm suddenly more conscious about my accent. I'm noting buildings that never used to be there. A new multifunctional contactless card by EZlink. The new coat of paint that coats my 5-room HDB flat. A new formula one racetrack and the Singapore flyer. New MRT stations and roads. Cambridge almost seems stagnant by comparison.Of course, I'm different too. Suddenly, the familiar has become foreign. I think I know it, but then again, I really might not.
defining himself: Shawn