Service from Heart

Postcards from our first desert safari in UAE

2015-05-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

It was my second time visiting the desert and our first desert safari. The early spring weather was good, and I highly recommend you to experience a desert safari at least once in a lifetime. I hope our future generations will be able to see almost extinct Arabian Oryx. "The next time that boy pursues you, he better do it like a dying man looking for water in a

Postcards from St Andrew's Church, Abu Dhabi

2014-12-08T00:21:00.000-08:00

At St Andrew's Church in Abu Dhabi, I met and entertained many children. I feel that "the sky lovingly smiles on the earth and her children," quoting Sir Henry Morton Stanley. The present St Andrew's Church was built in 1984 on a land generously donated by the Late H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of the Al Nahyan ruling family. The area is known as the Churches area in Abu Dhabi.

Losing everything is not the end

2014-12-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

In the early December 2014, one of my best friends shared with me about her worry. She learned that her parents are likely to lose a major proportion of their savings due to unfavorable investment. She asked me to pray for her parents, I will be praying everyday! My prayer list is getting very long, but as I have lived longer, I have witnessed that some of my prayers have been answered

You are always a valuable human being

2014-11-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

Do you like to take note when you study, travel, attend an event (talk / conference / party) or after meeting people? Bill Clinton is known to note down the details of his classmates, professors, political organizers and other acquaintances in index cards, so that he could revise them in the years to come. The index cards contain important interchanges Clinton had had with the person. His

Postcards from Chinese Heritage Centre and the inspiring stories of the Yunnan Garden campus

2014-11-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

Every graduate (and even dropout) feels something special about his/her alma mater. It is where one spent his/her youth, formed lifelong friends, and undertook intellectual challenges to prepare oneself for serving the society. Herein, I write about Chinese Heritage Centre at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where I pursued my undergraduate study. Schools and universities, especially

Postcards from Dubai Mall, United Arab Emirates

2014-11-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Americans who love superlatives, I am grateful for a visit to the Dubai Mall (迪拜购物中心) of UAE - the world's largest shopping mall (based on total area). Dubai Mall was developed by Emaar Properties, that also own Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world as of today). Visiting Dubai Mall on almost on her sixth anniversary (it first opened on 20081104) was

Postcards from Abu Dhabi with some tips from Ask Ali

2014-10-26T12:21:00.001-07:00

Saying Marhaba (Hello) or As salamu alyakum is a way to greet local people here, so please allow me to greet you with a Marhaba! This is the first post from our adventures in Middle East, starting from United Arab Emirates (UAE) where we arrived in the scorching and highly humid summer 2014. Our first summer in Abu Dhabi: admiring 123-m flagpole on Marina Island across from Marina Mall.&

Explaining mind-body interactions through the inter-signaling between brain and immune system [#readxp + #mindmap]

2014-10-14T22:46:00.001-07:00

Recently, I read an article entitled "The Mind-Body Interaction in Disease" written by Esther M. Sternberg (a professor in University of Arizona and a product of McGill University) and Philip W. Gold (a product of Duke University, Harvard Medical School, NIH). They aim to explain that our brain and immune system continuously communicate with each other, often along the same pathways, hence

Be super present: a lesson I learned from Joi Ito's @TEDTalk on innovation

2014-07-24T03:28:00.001-07:00

In the evening after attending an inspiring talk by Dr Stephen Turner, a physicist-turned-DNA sequencer, who highlighted that the toughest decision (that he has to make over and over again) is just keep going, I am blessed with an opportunity to learn from Joi Ito through his inspiring TED talk.

How to quickly share multiple files in Google Drive to your collaborators?

2014-07-16T00:26:00.001-07:00

METHOD 1 1. Go to drive.google.com 2. Select My Drive 3. Select All Ctrl+A 4. Click Share icon 5. Add collaborators' emails or change visibility to public or those with links METHOD 2 1. Create a folder 2. Right Click to change the Sharing options and each newly created item will have the same sharing permissions as the selected folder Good Luck! Last updated 20140716

Just keep shipping ~ a secret of creative and productive people

2014-06-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

"The reason I've managed a modicum of success is because I just keep shipping." ~ Seth Godin in 99% Conference, 200804 In a broader context, "shipping" here means creating and sending stuff out. You "ship" when you deliver something. The definition includes when you: transform your consumption of knowledge into productions of designs, prototypes and masterpieces file patents deliver a talk

Interview: Professor Athene Donald on connecting people and interdisciplinary scientific fields

2014-06-21T01:47:00.001-07:00

In 2009, I helped a student-run publication to interview and photograph Professor Dame Athene Donald. When I embark on a (lifelong) project to learn about being creative and transforming our creativity into a reality, I strongly feel that her story of connecting her body of work is inspiring courage and creativity in others. In her office at the legendary Cavendish Laboratory in West Cambridge,

Overcome the shame of imperfection

2014-06-17T03:49:00.000-07:00

Have anyone said "shame on you" to you before? It does not feel good being reproved, even if you have done something wrong. When we were younger, that someone can be a person of authority, such as parents, teachers, religious leaders or peers. Their words might made a permanent imprint in our mind. As a grown-up, that someone can also be your inner judge, whom you may NOT aware well. The judge

Thank you post to Jen

2014-06-06T01:16:00.001-07:00

Dear Jen I hope you are doing very well. This week, I attended a talk by a charming professor from Korea, who looks like a slender Korean pop star. She is 45 years old but appears as youthful as 30s. Professor Ham immediately reminded me on you, Jen! Both Professor Ham and you are highly enthusiastic, confident and knowledgeable. I would also not forget how Sir went an extra mile to dim

chocolate milk agar pudding with Cheerios

2014-06-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

In the early spring 2014, I received a request to prepare two types of desserts for a friend's birthday. The first one is for adults only: Irish cream Baileys tiramisu (an easy recipe here). The second one is for little guests, so it must be children-friendly. After a brief brainstorming on a MRT train ride, I designed a dessert of chocolate milk agar pudding with Cheerios. *** Agar has

Postcards from Singapore Central Fire Station

2014-05-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

We respect firemen and female firefighters. The latter are a minority in the male and macho dominated profession. They risk their precious lives putting off fire and rescuing people. To help my little man appreciates firefighters and their contributions to our society, I brought him to the open house of Central Fire Station Singapore (新加坡中央消防局). While many pictorial children books still refer

Easy drink recipes of dragon fruits

2014-05-19T03:39:00.002-07:00

In 2011, an entrepreneurial and creative girlfriend who grew up in Shenzhen, China and did her graduate study in Cambridge, England came to live in Singapore for half a year. Having neither seen nor tasted dragon fruits before, she was fascinated by and loved eating them very much. You tend to grow loving things and people whom your inspiring friends - your influencers - also love. Since then,

Postcards from Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

2014-05-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to MRT Downtown Line (coded in blue), the first visit of baby Ren to Marina Bay Sands (MBS / 滨海湾金沙) was a realization. Except for the transport fare, the visit to The Shoppes (shopping mall) in MBS - the world's most expensive building at US$ 5.5 - 5.7 billion (as of 2010) - is free. “Everyday is a journey in our lives, and an MRT ride can be an interesting journey.” 每天是一个旅程;乘坐地铁可以是一个有趣的

very easy clear apple beetroot carrot (ABC) soup (vegetarian)

2014-05-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

This soup has been inspired from the apple beetroot carrot juice which has been promoted in relation to the "treatment of lung cancer and several other diseases." While it is best to consult experts (e.g. medical practitioners, doctors, specialists), we can also do our parts by improving our diets to stay healthy and get better in our health. Since I am going to serve the delicious apple,

comforting rice porridge (spring 2014)

2014-05-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

Porridge, also known as congee / Okayu お粥 / bubur, is comforting food for breakfast, lunch, or supper. It is easy to prepare yet generously fueling our days with energy and nutrients. Baby Ren loves thick but not thin porridge, so I use a ratio of 1:5 or 1:6 of rice grain:water. Hot, nutritious and comforting porridge is a happy choice of our breakfast this spring. Sometimes, I use slow

Z for zucchini for #AtoZChallenge: zucchini bok choy stir-fry recipe

2014-04-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

Zucchini, also known as courgette / 夏南瓜, is a summer squash. A funny poem about zucchini and summer entitled Attack of the Squash People by Marge Piercy goes: "And thus the people every year in the valley of humid July did sacrifice themselves to the long green phallic god and eat and eat and eat. They're coming, they're on us, the long striped gourds, the silky babies, the hairy

Y for yogurt for #AtoZChallenge: classic yogurt salad recipe

2014-04-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

Friends and people in Turkey, Greek, Eastern Europe, India have commonly enjoyed classic yogurt salad. I have to acknowledge Rani, an Indian stall, for inspiring me to include the classic salad as a frequent dish item in our family meals, starting in late 2013. Baby Ren's Daddy loves it a lot. Hard-working students, ambitious career professionals, and multi-tasking mothers love how very fast

X for XO for #AtoZChallenge: easy XO fried rice recipe

2014-04-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

XO stands for eXtra Old for cognac - a variety of brandy liquor - that has been stored for a minimum of 6 years (from 2016 onward, a minimum of 10 years). Cognac, named after the town Cognac in France, must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in Limousin or Tronçais oak barrels. Since brandy has been used for: ♥ cake & pie toppings ♥ steak sauces ♥ soups

W for wolfberry for #AtoZChallenge: easy spinach soup with wolfberries recipe

2014-04-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

Wolfberry is also known as goji berry (枸杞), desert thorn, or matrimony vine. When my eyes feel tired from staring too much into laptop, I remember Mom's advice to have some wolfberries. They are versatile ingredients for tonic soups, porridge or congee, or herbal tea. Wolfberries go well with a variety of dishes, simple ones include spinach soup. In Southeast Asia, we often have spinach soup

V for vegetables for #AtoZChallenge: homemade vegetable & fruit soak for washing

2014-04-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

Do you grow your own fruits & vegetables? If yes, I am really envious of you. For many of us who rely on commercially produced fruits & vegetables, there are concerns of pesticide residues found on the skins of many fruits & vegetables. The Dirty Dozen chart put out by the EWG (US-based Environmental Working Group) lists the fruits and vegetables most impacted by chemical