A Very Special Gift

t'was a few years ago -- maybe 5 or 4 -- when I felt like a statistic. just part of the flow. all my life, i wanted to be an outlier. someone that stands above the crowd. Reality check, I was just a nameless face in the crowd. heading nowhere. ambitions unaccomplished. POtentials unrealized. Twas that time I was caught in a tumultous mixture of emotional turmoil and frustrations like a potent chemical cocktail waiting to explode and implode at the same time. as i was trying to steer the oars of my drifting existence -- i met the person whom I would later found out --- give me the greatest gift. With her caring touch and kind words -- she helped me become whole once again. i was back in no time at all. i smiled and said thanks that my prayers were answered. the person i was looking for came into my life when i felt like there was no one waiting me on this  One Way Street. i declare -- she was and still is my greatest gift. the smile that illuminates my soul, the words that soothe my aches, the present that made me dream once more. made me care deeply. prodded me to love like there was no tomorrow. i can only hope that i am also a special gift to her.

Apathy on Main Street

Our city is nice. NO typhoons at all. Traffic lights are installed in every major street. Police and Traffic guys are manning the big nooks and corners of the city. In short, you feel safe from the big, bad wolf that's common in every other big city. HOwever, a sight that disappoints on a regular basis is the apathy on Main Street. The big hospital where I work is in Main Street. Now, what disappoints me are some people who don't couldn't care less. They are the jaded pedestrians who cross the Main Street on a No-Crossing ZOne.  The pedestrian lane is just about 50 feet away from the No-Cross zone. And What Disappoints me Really is that the even with Traffic guys Barking on the megaphones on these violators, they dare cross the street as if they hear nothin at all. They don't really care at all. They don't feel embarassed or affected. Nothing, no feeling.. Dead. Zombies aimlessly roaming. Not thinking at all. Gray matter activity - nil. From these simple neglect, it will turn to bigger violations. If they couldn't care much less, how could they be expected to follow more. If these zombies mulitply, the undead wil roam.

Heck Reaction (Thanks for Skelan..)

Does two bads equate to one good? Apparently it does. Mathematically, a negative number multiplied with another negative number becomes positive.. In chemistry, a poisonous pale, yellow-green gas Chlorine extensively used during the wars combined with metal that reacts spontaneously in air, Sodium, becomes what else, but Table Salt. And that is what we call Chemistry, mes lamies.

A week ago, chemists with fervid, lucid dreams of winning the chemistry's biggest lottery were having lottery fever. Betting their life's earnings to win the jackpot, many are called but only few will be chosen by the demigods in Sweden. This year the lucky ones were Messieurs Heck, Negishi and Suzuki. Congratulations sir! The world is a better place despite with despots, tyrants, heavy traffic and hot, humid weather...

Monsieur Heck discovered a beautiful law of nature. A glimpse of a mathematical expression by God himself. Uncovering a way of producing longer molecules. This paved the way for organic chemists to develop new compounds that improve public health. An example would be Skelan (Naproxen Sodium) used in pain relief, rheumatoid arthritis and acute gout. Naproxen is produced via the Heck reaction.     

It made me think what would be my Heck Reaction. What could be my defining moment in life. Somehow, somewhere, it will just come. As I was preparing my speech to the Nobel Committee, I felt the urgent need to review my lessons for french class tomorrow.  A la prochaine!