New start of the semester

Today was my first day teaching in the BIOSCI 107 lab. When I stepped into the lab this morning and was preparing for my lecture, I was determined to ensure that the students learnt how to use the microscope proficiently and able to do proper scientific drawings at the end of this lab. During the last hour of the lab, I was walking around looking at the students as they worked their way through their microscope and draw the rat's skeletal muscle, I am glad to say - I managed to achieve my goal! This semester I will be teaching two labs - BIOSCI 101 and BIOSCI 107, both are basic freshmen labs. I am glad to be able to teach these labs because I often find second and even third year students are very weak in their foundation lab skills. I hope to be part of the freshmen's experience in making their foundation lab skills more proficient.

The beginning of this semester also bring Hannah and I good news in our diving career.After a long three-day-weekend of dive training, we managed to pass the Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) Fundamental courses. Hannah secured a Recreational diver pass and I secured a Technical diver pass. Eventually Hannah will be tested again in order to get a Tech pass. GUE ( http://www.globalunderwaterexplorers.org/) has the highest standard in terms of dive training. Luckily, we have a GUE instructor in New Zealand, which makes logistics so much easier. The course was not easy - we had moments where we doubt ourselves! There was Hannah unable to remove her mask, I unable to hold my 6-meter mark in the water while shooting a bag, a total flood failure in my drysuit and our teamwork was going haywire! Our course was ran immediately after another Fundamentals course, and together there were six students, and I am proud to say that only Hannah and I managed to secure a pass! The rest of the students got provisional passes, meaning they have six months to work on some issues and re-take their test. Before GUE, it was unheard of that you could actually fail a diving test! However, given diving is an aggressive sport since we are in a harsh environment, why shouldn't our skills be more proficient. So, what's next after Fundamentals? That I will leave it for some other time :)

Lastly, after weeks of paperwork, I am finally a provisional PhD student of University of Auckland. Provisional because there are things I need to do before I am a confirmed student - such as attending student orientation etc, submit a research proposal and defend my proposal, scouting of the research location etc. Now  I start on the 3-year long journey on this route!

Looking back at the resolutions I made at the beginning of 2012, I may have already achieved a few of them! :)

1. Finish and publish the two papers I have been working on for the past 3 months.
2. Portions of the PhD research to be done : location recce, collaborators negotiation, literature review, experimental design.
3. Publish at least one paper from my PhD research before end of 2012.
4. Pass our GUE fundamentals (ACHIEVED)and Rec 3 (Trimix).
5. Conduct at least one exploration dive on the Blue Creek resurgence with TechDive NZ.
6. Clock a total of at least 40 recreational dives and 10 technical dives. 
7. Teach 2 labs per week (this will help with the monthly finances as well :) ) (ACHIEVED)
8. Stick to a strict exercise regime ( I already have a regime, but sticking to it is another story :P)
9. Run the Auckland Marathon.
10. Call home (Singapore) at least once every fortnight.
11. Go home (Singapore) at least one time in year 2012 (not counting the wedding date!).
12. Go back to Iron Mountain.

Replacing drysuit seals

Hannah replacing the wrist seals, WHILE putting her
replaced neck seals on her head :)

Hannah ripped her drysuit neck seal about 3 months ago while we were diving the Lermontov. Quotes from dive shops on the replacement of her wrist and neck seals were averaging $180, including material and manpower. We were not very willing to part with that sort of money since we can buy two month's worth of food for that! However, we still need to repair the seals...

After careful consideration, we decided to do it ourselves. Considering that we are going to rip apart our drysuit seals, replace them with new ones and hope that we did a good job so that it doesn't leak, IT IS A CHALLENGE...

We spend three days, taking each step as carefully as possible. Finally, we did it! It wasn't beautiful - there are remnants of glue on the seals, but we saved a lot of money. We paid $100 for 2 pairs of wrist seals, 2 neck seals, sealing tape and a tin of cement. If we had asked the dive shops, we would have paid $350 for Hannah and my drysuit seals replacement.

Tomorrow, we are going to the lake to try it out! :)

Research in Taiwan coral reefs

Months of searching for the best suited PhD collaborators has finally come to a fruitful end. Besides my primary supervisor in University of Auckland, I will be working closely with Dr. Sen-Lin Tang of Academia Sinica, Taiwan.At the moment, I am working through the final stages of paperwork with the Graduate Student department in University of Auckland, but I am preparing for travel to Taiwan in mid-April for meeting, location recee as well as hands-on training in collecting, preserving and analyzing DNA samples of microbes in coral reef colonies.

Taiwan is probably not the first country mentioned when the conversation turns to the spectacular scuba diving that exists in Asia; but, as more people are discovering, diving in Taiwan is actually excellent. This is not too surprising considering that Taiwan is an island straddling the Tropic of Cancer, with many offshore islets scattered around it. But Taiwan remains a yet undiscovered gem in Asia's crown of dive locations such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In fact, Taiwan offers diving that rivals, and often exceeds, its more popular neighbors and is poised to enhance its image as a dive destination.


My research would probably be concentrated around these two region:
Kenting Marine Park
The scenery which makes the national park so spectacular extends below the water. The cliffs on the shore drop into extensive coral reefs thriving with life. Visibility is excellent, averaging 40 feet and soaring to 80 on a good day. All manner of marine life mingles in the coral canyons. This writer has encountered large hawksbill turtles, blue-spotted sting-rays, huge lobsters, and, of course, lots of interesting fish. The reefs provide an almost unlimited area for exploration and the diver will easily find caves and swim-throughs to explore which will satisfy that aching desire to discover.
Diving in Kenting Marine Park


Green Island
This island lying less than 50 kilometers off the coast near Taitung offers some of the best diving in Taiwan. Tapaisha (Big White Sand) Beach on the southern end of the island is the center for diving here. The remote location of this beach guarantees excellent visibility and the chance to see some exciting animals. 
Diving around Green Island

There are numerous reasons why I chose Taiwan when the Great Barrier Reef of Australia is just 4 hours  away, but these are to be discussed in the next blog. Until the next time, here is a short video of what could be expected in the underwater world of Taiwan.

F & F

F - Fawkes
After two long days, Fawkes finally got her first coat of paint. We did not have any budget for professional painters nor rental of spray paint. Therefore, after some research on the internet, we opted using paint rollers! There have been success stories of people using rollers to paint their cars as well... all it needs is patience and lots of arm power for sanding and painting. We have intended for the final color to be bright red but at the present moment, the color is a bit orange due to the white base. Hopefully, after another few more coats of paint and the red will show through.

Fawkes before

Fawkes after 1st coat of paint

F - FBI certificate
After nearly six months, Hannah finally received her police certificate in the mail today! Congratulations, there were no arrests. :)

Hannah with her FBI certificate

By the way, today is our sixth day being vegetarian and it is looking good! The Singapore belly is reducing at a satisfying speed.

Vegetarian for a month

In order to compensate for the rich food we ate, and to get rid of a couple of pounds we gained in Singapore, we decided to be vegetarian for a month. Since the day we came back to Auckland (Sunday), we just had pea soup, and vegetarian fired rice. And today, we cooked vegetarian Marsala curry. It's refreshing to be not eating meat for a while. At the same time, it is easier on the pocket :)

Oh nice, fat juicy beef steak, see you in a month.

Back in town

Collage of the wedding ..you can find more photos on Hannah's facebook page

Back in Auckland after spending 20 days in Singapore. Compared to Singapore, New Zealand's summer seems to be missing the heat this year! It was a great trip and leaving was a bit bittersweet. Mom was crying more as compared to the last few times when I left Singapore. My nephews were sad to see me leaving as well. I was sad to leave too, but I knew I have to complete what I set out to do in New Zealand. Hannah mentioned that she wouldn't mind living in Singapore for a few years... I am sure that good food and fabulous, cheap coffee helped her in making those decisions! :) Well, we shall see where destiny would bring us after the adventure in New Zealand.

Wedding was great...again, thanks to mom and Sir for enduring that long gruesome flight from US to give us their blessings. Nori for being the best and most dorky maid-of-honor. It also wouldn't be complete without my friends - Linda and Francis, Jeffrey, Alfred, Candy and Mun Chong and K'ley. Thanks to Candy for making Hannah looked beautiful and fresh all day, and K'ley for doing such a wonderful job with the photography. Special thanks to my sisters, dad and mom...for making both the wedding, the Chinese New Year and the stay in Singapore unforgettable.

This is the first time I spend Chinese New Year at home after 15 years! Reunion dinner was exactly how I remember it - tons of great food, noisy, and warm!. The difference this year were the new family members - Sir, mom, Hannah and Nori. They were surprised to experience the non-stop flowing of prawns and other food... yes, it is Chinese New Year, and we eat like there is no tomorrow!

I am happy to be able to show the official pastime of Singapore to Sir and mom. We tried coffee (kopi) take-away in a bag, rojak, laksa, fish head curry, satay, steam fish, durian, chilly crab, fried carrot cake, steamboat, frog leg, chicken rice, roti prata, mutakbak, and many more that I could not remember.

Oh... I already miss the kopi.