Quidditch in our world HA!

Inspired by Yale Band's Harry Potter skit (in an attempt to slam Harvard) at Yale-Harvard Game today, I stumbled upon the game of quidditch played in real life without magic. And believe it or not, it seems to be here to stay!!  I read about it last winter, and my jaw dropped... LOLX

http://www.worldcupquidditch.com/about.php

2011 marked the fifth edition of the IQA (International Quidditch Association) World Cup. According to IQA:

"Quidditch was adapted from the Harry Potter novels in 2005, at Middlebury College in Vermont, by Xander Manshel, a freshman looking to change up his dorm’s tradition of Sunday bocce. That first group wore towels for capes and came with an assortment of broom-like implements, including a Swiffer mop and even a lamp. One kid wore his graduation robes. The game was an immediate hit on campus and was played on an intramural level until 2007, when Alex Benepe founded the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association after the first intercollegiate match between Middlebury and Vassar College. Since then the sport has really taken off (figuratively if not literally): students from more than 1,000 colleges and high schools from a dozen countries have contacted the IQA looking to start their own teams, and over 300 are actively playing in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Britain, and Brazil...The game has been described as a cross between rugby, dodge ball, and tag, which is a good approximation."

I am amazed haha. Probably should catch one of these games in action! You can get the rule book for free here, complete with chasers, beaters, keeper, seeker and the snitch!

Check out a write up on Wikipedia for Muggle Quidditch!

And a cool documentary:

Christmas in New Haven

No snow. No white christmas. Just the cold, the wind and... More wind...

Indeed, a good addition to the whole Xmas affair is a christmas tree. Somehow, though, this particular one in the middle of the Green just depicted how New Haven is now - empty. And cold. The colors of the lights are just wrong... Plus there was nobody around. The solitariness of a badly-lit tree in the dark (the American flag can be barely seen)... It's just not the way I expected... Never mind...

But my neighbors have a terrific taste for lights and deco! This, guys, is what I would call a cosy, warm Christmas-y lit-up house, which Santa Claus will grace his presence. It brings warmth, just by looking at it, doesn't it? =)

Spicing up my life in empty New Haven

Think the last of the people going back to their states will be heading out this Friday (M's leaving this Friday)... So I have resorted a number of activities to keep myself sanely and enrichingly occupied throughout this holiday season.

Ever since I got here, I haven't visited much of New Haven's places of interest. So I made my first trip down to the renowned Peabody Museum. It reminded me (totally) of a mesh between a nature discovery center and Singapore Science Centre, housed in a single gothic building. I think Singapore Science Center housed more science exhibits LOLX. BUT what made it stood out were the real specimens of animals, dinosaurs (T-Rex, Stegosaurus and Bronotosaurus-Apatosaurus) and minerals and current research (astronomy in particular). It took me just about 2 hours to get through the entire museum... I did learnt some trivial stuff from this tour though haha. Like Brontosaurus is actually also Apatosaurus due to naming chronology etc. etc.

And I have gotten hooked to Grey's Anatomy again. Haha. BUT, IT'S SO DAMN GOOD! The superb acting, the quote-ridden script, the themes, the human nature, the dramatic stories... Applause to the director, actors and scriptwriters! Thanks G and M for letting me use their Netflix!

It hasn't snowed yet. Frankly, I am a little disappointed... I mean, my first US white christmas, apparently is not really coming...

I am revising MATLAB, reading up on Systems Theory... See how much I can go in reading all these engineering stuff... I am picking up squash and gym again. I am resuming Guild Wars and some Dota too....

Most importantly, I am doing able to concentrate on some research. Though not going as smoothly as I expected, I do hope it leads somewhere.

Maybe I should start making New Year resolutions too... It's not habitual for me to do that but well, worth considering.

So I am filling up my life with fragments of things to do, maybe you can even call it stuffing. But I would prefer 'spicing' - it's not essential but with them, you add more color, smell and taste.

Studying at Yale

It's been more than a month. Studying at Yale has gotten more or less in into a routine of some sort.

Everyday, I will pass by some streets. This is nearing end of summer, where the trees are green and lush. Now it's redder, and the ground littered with dead leaves. But if weather and time permits, you can get your spirits up really by just walking down these picturesque streets... 

Physics undergraduate lounge is one of my favorite haunts now. Physics, the bane of my life, is what I mean partly studying now - what an irony huh. Well the lounge when I first saw it, makes me wonder how come I wasn't really attracted to those lounges in NUS... LOLX... They weren't that bad la, but this was different. You have a lounge that overlooks the city, coffeemaker (not free), blackboard and armchairs for relaxing and intellectual discussions on homework and assignments (many people use them really), FREE textbooks to browse through (they probably won't survive the onslaught of NUS students)

Then there's the physics graduate lounge. I kindda like the idea of having blackboards for discussions. 

This is one of the chemistry buildings with interesting plaques, with the elements such as Ag, Hg, Au etc engraved on them.

My lunch carts. I couldn't survive without them! Great source of food.

One of my favorite haunts: the medical library. Though it's pretty far off, it's one of the most splendid places to study in. It's like studying in a museum, exhilarating feeling at first, but wears off after you found out you still can't solve that bloody assignment problem. They even have exhibits on display... On retrospect, it kindda looks like the library I saw in Prague.

This is my housemate, M. A nurse-in-training at Yale's nursing school. There's also C, an architect, who is so busy I can't get him to take a photo. But we often have fervent discussions, from pharmocology, clinical talks, genomics, biology to architecture and American politics or just about food LOLX. The picture on the right, is my neighbor's cat. She has these piercing eyes, that follow you wherever you go, clearing the rubbish, walking or stoning or also staring at her. It looked like she is going to scratch you to bits anytime...

Miya's

It's mid-autumn festival. The moon is still round on the other side of the globe...

Last Saturday, I met up with a postdoc from AP's lab (a structural biology lab), DH. He is from China but he studied at NTU in Singapore, and before I came over Yale, he willingly helped me with some questions. Extremely helpful and friendly =). He even picked the tab for my lunch that day!! Thank you so much!! It was then I also realised he just arrived in May this year too!! Hmmm, I do not know what you guys think, doesn't DH look like a Japanese?

So, having not tried the famed Miya's restaurant, we decided to hop on down there for lunch. Miya's restaurant is a fusion sushi restaurant, that is supposedly the best in Connecticut and the third best in the whole of USA. But alas, I have come to doubt the subjectivity of the American taste in the face of Asian cuisine, so I have decided to try it myself, dragging DH along with me...

Miya's is located on Howe's Street in New Haven, sequestered away in a quiet neighborhood, just a stone's throw from Broadway. Fortunately, we came early for lunch, there was no queue. One side of the restaurant seemed to be booked for photoshoot though! Anyway, the waiters were all very nice and helpful and that particular one (in the pic) who served us had a good grasp of all the ingredients of the sushi. I was impressed indeed, because all the sushi, are fusion, and definitely not made up of minimal or the normal ingredients, like the ones in Singapore, or those authentic from Japan (which I haven't tried).


Pumpkin soup on the house

We couldn't make up our mind, so we ordered each a palette of sushis that showcase the different array of sushis they have: funkily called "a very hungry inch worm" and "bleu plate especial". BTW, they all have funky names which I couldn't remember LOLX. Taste-wise, not all tinkled my tastebuds the right way: there was the chocolate one which I thought should taste better without the soya-sauce-taste (I am not a big fan). I have tried the sweet potato one, which just isn't my cup of tea. But I am thrilled over the sushi with a tart crust surrounding the rice. It's not like the sushi is sitting in it, but the crust is part of the sushi. That tasted exquisite and exotic, for a sushi lover like me. One common thing I observed, was that they stuffed lots of things into each sushi; at least 3 or 4 ingredients in one single sushi, which is definitely something rare or even unheard of in Singapore. So the next time you guys come over to New Haven, and are looking for some taste-bud adventure, try Miya's sushi delight. You would be in for both surprises and disappointments, but that's how adventures work, isn't it?

Regan Lab & the New Haven Race

,

http://expasy.org/prosite/PDOC50005 From PDB

As I try to do the balancing act of course-taking, lab rotation, my-own-time and XL-family-time, just thought it would be nice to update nice once in a while. Blogging kindda sets things in perspective I guess. So I have finally found myself a lab in my first rotation: Lynne Regan's lab. Prof Regan has some awesome projects, but most notably and what her lab is known for, is TPRs: tetratri-copeptide (short description); it's such a niche area of research that I can't even find it on Wikipedia!! LOLX.. landmark paper here...

Main et. al. (2003). (c) and (d) are TPR repeat proteins.



If you look at the diagram (number c), you can imagine each TPR as one module of the same color (red, yellow, blue). So you have there 3 and half (the green segment) stacked in a spiral manner. Each of these 3 TPRs are similar in length and sequence; so you can imagine LEGOs of similar size stacked up. The minimum binding unit is apparently a combination of 3 TPRs in tandem. So the Regan Lab has done much on TPRs: elucidating their structure, consensus sequence, their binding specificities and partners, functions and implications in certain diseases. One of the things they are moving into now is the applications of these TPRs.

As you can imagine, one of the most obvious applications, by virtue of the LEGO-like repeated motifs, is the synthesis of artificial peptides. Unlike most other proteins, which are globular, where you cannot easily just stack up parts of the proteins to form a larger one, TPRs can be synthetically engineered to have competitive functions to naturally occurring peptides, particularly antibodies, to aid in inhibiting pathways that lead to diseases, say HIV in AIDS or using the TPRs design as anticancer drugs. This could be my small step into the realm of synthetic biology that I am really trying to get a handle on...

So that's my life as of now, other than MATLAB, biological physics and biomedical informatics, taking up the bulk of my life...

But anyway, just to catch up on events. On Labor Day (US it's on Sept 6th), there was Stratton Faxon New Haven Race. Apparently, it's in its 31st year. Just 3 weeks here, and I embarked on my first ever running event at New Haven. Sweet =)

Prof Regan "invited" me to run (I had to pay on that day -_-|||, which is more expensive btw), but I got this great T-shirt that she made for her lab!! Thanks! And of course, I enjoyed the run very much. I ran 5km in 28 min. Think that's pretty decent =) And seriously, the weather was good, sunny yet cooling. It was pretty well-organized for its scale (not very big compared to those in Singapore). So I would say I would enter again next year. Just to keep myself in the keeping-fit mode. Photos as usual, on facebook =) A pity though, G and M didn't get to take pictures with us.

DMV = pain in the a**

Second time I was turned away from DMV but the three and a half times I have been. Please do not ask me about the half time.

Just for record purposes, and for those of you intending to come to US for studies or work or are here but haven't tasted DMV yet, the following documents are required at DMV:

Primary ID documents (more like a package)
1) Passport with correct VISA
2) with I94
(one of THE most important things to identify you as a LEGAL resident in the US, an entry card from the Homeland Security, you must write this when you are on the plane flying here...)

3) I20
(official University acceptance, issued by the International Office)

4) University International Office letter, preferably with an embossed seal, or any form of identification that you are working/studying here and signed in a color other than black (haha, this is from G. She had this incident when she was sent back because the letter was signed in black and the DMV person thought it was photocopied *faint* and she had L signed in RED LOLX)

5)  Social security denial letter, evidently from the Social Security Office, stating that even though you were denied number, it does not mean you are ineligible for it; the SSO people also lambasted DMV...

6) A letter postmarked, meaning it has to be from the US post office; the letter that was sent to your place by the bank with your debit/credit card doesn't count but surprisingly, the bank statements count. And the DMV peeps actually found that sending postcards/letters to yourself seemed more credible than a mail sent from the bank with your debit/credit card in it.

Secondary form of ID (to further verify you are REALLY you *pinch yourself*)
7) Transcript. Since you will probably just arrive in US, the school will not have a transcript for you or if you are working, you won't have one anyway. I didn't bring mine from NUS. But thankfully it will be in English anyway, otherwise, you would need a LOCAL VERIFIED US translator (UK, where English originated from or Australian not allowed apparently) to convert the transcript language to English.

So, well please be prepared to be sent back a few times.

And to complete this record, something not related to DMV, but the US immigration has imposed a new ruling when I flew from Singapore. Some online electronic system for travel authorization. Even for countries like Singapore, under the Visa Waiver Program. Now even when you travel to the US for a short period of time, you will still need this since it will give you a number that they will verify. A Very trivial, but sure scared the shit out of me when I was at T3. Nobody told me anything about that until this.

I thought German bureacracy was bad....

Matriculation Ceremony

Matriculation at Yale was simply splendid. It started off with a breakfast at HGS courtyard, where the chance to mingle was presented (always the case). So, I got to meet up with Roy and Ra, know a couple of more people, notably CT, another fellow Singaporean, from Oxford, studying East Asian studies. Apparently, he is also XL's teacher/sis friend. Talk about coincidence =) Then we proceeded to Sprague Hall at the School of Music, named after Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, supposedly one of the best music halls in North America. In any case, we were welcomed by a live band playing in the background, followed by the professors, deans coming in and giving a speech. President Levin gave a speech. Our new Graduate School dean is instated today as well: Sterling Professor Thomas D. Pollard, also a Biological and Biomedical Sciences professor. A graduate a capella group - The Citations - performed for us, showing the all-rounded development of Yale graduate students; they come from an ecletic range of faculties and concentrations. They sing really well. M says Yale has some of the best a capella groups in North America, and especially the undergraduate ones; forgot which. But the graduate one seemed good already. Then we had a tea reception at President Levin's non-residential house, more for important social events. They have a huge courtyard as well, and his wife and him and Prof Pollard and his wife were also there to shake our hands. The tea reception was in conjunction with the signing of a book, supposedly a tradition from the ancient days (150 years ago), ever since Yale conferred the first ever phD in North America... That is the original book, with the names of those that had already "gone down in history". Just one week in New Haven, I have come to realize that Yale holds very strong traditional and cultural values. While she prides herself as one of the most prestigious universities in the modern world, she anchors herself with these traditions to keep her feet on the ground. However, while I do like the geniality of the people at Yale and New Haven and their willingness to help and the extensive measures Yale have put in place for their students, faculties and employees, I do have reservations for the crime rate, bureacracy and inefficiency that seemed to plague here, and, I have heard, also to a lot of places in the US. Hailing from Singapore, where organization, security, efficiency and convenience are of the essence, I have a lot to adapt indeed...

International student orientation

Ok, I guess I haven't been up-to-date again. But I was so tired yesterday (probably due to jetlag), I wanted to take a nap at 7pm, but ended up sleeping till 6am in the morning. Right, the past few days have been a series of orientations. Let's start off with Wednesday - the international student orientation.

But I think the exhaustion is also contributed by the series of unfortunate events...

The day started off with the international student orientation at SSS Hall (Sterling Sheffield Strathcona), which was rather uplifting I guess. We actually did a Yale Fight Song (we did the "Bulldogs"), which was fun but kind of over our age, given that all of us are graduate students. Something, though, I felt was that they made me feel at ease and that they are really keen on helping us. This, IMO, is extremely appreciated and something definitely required by international students. The actual song with the band and cheers and craziness, that they let us watch was this; I think we were about 3/10 if this is 10/10 LOLX:

Ra, W and I decided to head down to the "Cityseed Farmers' Market" outside City Hall at Downtown to take a look at the groceries that they have. The tomatoes are huge!! Ra decided to buy some, although later he commented they are rather tasteless. Looks are deceiving indeed! That's when I realise HGS rooms do not have fridge and a common kitchen seems nonexistent too. Then we went for lunch at Au Bon Pain. There, we were joined with Elizabeth, an exchange doctoral student from UK (I think from one of Oxbridge), who will be with Yale until end of the year. I then left the company for an appointment at the Tax Office, who told me that I do not need to be there actually; the documents just arrived, showing that I do not need to be there... The lady was nice enough to explain to me that I need to pay 14% tax (federal and state taxes), of which part of it might be returned to me when I file for tax next year... Then I walked again, down to the Green to try to take a bus M3/M4 to DMV for my state ID... I waited ONE hour, and ended up not going because DMV would have closed by the time I reached there...

Take home message: inefficient transportation and bureacracy are both something I have to get used to...

Something perked me up though, just because it reminded me of XL:

the start of something new

The HSM song is broadcasting in my new Creative Inspire T3030 speakers =) Well, actually, technically, it's a second-hand used product. But still in very good condition. I got a new wireless printer (it's new because the person who gave me has never used it before) and a rice cooker (second hand). Hoping to really cook something one of these days. Am malnourished I think, haha. But that happens when I get alot of things to do... It's something I cannot break out of haha.

Well, today went to another part of the campus - School of Medicine and the School of Public Health - which is a distance away from the downtown area, for safety training courses. This got me pretty excited because I haven't explored that part of town yet. So I took the Yale shuttle for the Red Line, which is just around the corner of my apartment, and brings me directly to the medical school. I missed the first bus, which usually is ok, but today, the temperature is 17 degree celsius and SUPER SUPER windy (I seriously felt an additional bounce when walking with my bag, which is filled with things), making it not a good weather to read newspapers or any materials or any form of waiting for that matter =( Anyway, I got through the training, which I thought was done pretty rushed, and weird, for my first EVER class at Yale. But lunch was amazing. They have these food carts that line the entire street to beyond! Hahah, got Thai food from this lady who thought I needed more food (i.e. skinny) so she gave me extras FOC =) The serving is humongous. That's when I realised, the sparrows are pretty huge here too HAHA. And eating out on a windy afternoon, with overcast sky (not raining) and great greenery, and amongst pre-med, med students, doctors, nurses and medicine-related personnel aren't such a bad thing haha. Sometimes, a change of scene is extremely refreshing and uplifting.I then headed down to HGS (I walked, for about 20 minutes, because I missed the bus again) for the New Haven Info Fair, which was a blast. Totally. There were so many discount deals and so many new things to discover: from zipcars just parked around my apartment (and the lady said nobody ever used those from that area), phone deals (cross my fingers), to theatre, books, travel, libraries, recycling, food and discount coupons. Expectedly, LOTS of people turned up. Who would miss such good deals? Only those that didn't know them in the first place I guess...

OISS organised a discussion group for "Winning strategies in studying" or something along that line LOLX. I met W there again (we met at the Info Fair too) and caught up a little. We actually started talking about pizzas and sushi. I got to know 2 more friends (hurray!), R, from Israel and doing phD in Applied Math and R, from France and doing phD in Applied Physics and is in the same PEB program as I am (double hurray!). We got into a really enjoyable discussion on our fields and academic lives thus far before we exchanged contacts and parted. Will catch up with you guys again!! =) And there are also 3 Taiwanese there. Probably because of XL, I got this fuzzy attachment to Taiwanese LOLX. Inexplicable indeed.

That marks the beginning of a series of orientation this week... Stay tune =)