Letter to Editor #4: Old School Mentality

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 at 8:48 pm | Uncategorized

The University of British Columbia proposed building a new hospice on campus. However, neighbours of this yet to be erected hospice greeted the news with protest and anger. These Chinese residents claim having terminally ill patients next door is bad luck and their children will have nightmares of dying people.

This old school chinese mentality is, of course, not shared by others within the community. I am chinese, well actually I’m canadian but when people look at me they see chinese, and I definately don’t share their views. Below is a letter I wrote to the editor of the Province Newspaper.

Re: Culture Clash: Angry residents planning protest

I am outraged that this community is so uncompassionate to those who need help the most. Chinese culture is heavily based on family values so what if one of their loved ones is placed in a hospice? Will they not visit because of the “yin and yang” effect? Chinese parents also want their children to become doctors, but aren’t doctors always around the ill? The hypocrisy of their protest is infuriating.

No Comments

Little Things Can Help One See the Light

Thursday, January 13th, 2011 at 9:49 pm | Grad Studies

All one needs is a good day to chase the evil psychological demons away.

Lately I’ve been feeling very depressed. I am starting my 4^th year of my PhD, I have no first author publications, I haven’t started studying for my comprehensives and I have no scholarship funding. Then self doubt starts settling in: I’m just not smart enough to finish this PhD, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, I am never going to graduate, and I’m never going to get a “real” job. Why can’t I just lie in bed all day and watch TV?

But today was a good day. My letter to the editor regarding Tiger Mom’s was published in the Globe and Mail (blog post January 12, 2011) and the moment that seemed to really uplift my spirits was fixing the lid on the New Brunswick shaking incubator.

One of my collegues said, “Sarah, what’s up with the shaking incubator?” I turned around looked at his worried face, and in his hand was the giant plastic lid of the shaking incubator. I laughed, and helped him reassemble to incubator. But for some reason it was harder to put back together than we thought. We tried angling the lid so the pins holding the lid would slide into the holes of the shaking incubator, but that didn’t work. So I examined the lid and realized I could unscrew the pins, put the pins into the holes and then reattach the lid. It worked like a charm. My collegue gleamed, “that was smart, thanks”. Then I thought, yes that was smart. Then I realized, yes I am smart. I can handle this PhD. I will pull through. I will graduate.

I’m not sure if it was my published letter, my collegue’s compliment, my creative problem solving skills, or I was just having a good day, but the little events that happened today gave a big boost to my confidence. I’ll just have to see how long this will last.

No Comments

Tiger Mom Letter: Published!

Thursday, January 13th, 2011 at 8:47 pm | Uncategorized

1 out of 3 ain’t bad! On January 13, 2011, my letter to the editor regarding an article called Confession of a Tiger Mom (blog post Jan 12, 2011) was published. It wasn’t my greatest piece of writing, but I am nonetheless proud of myself. I am ecstatic and will continue my journey to fame.

No Comments

Letter to Editor #3: Tiger Moms

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 at 10:48 am | Uncategorized

I commented on an article in the Globe and Mail regarding Amy Chua strict Chinese parenting skills.

Other Tiger mom letters were published, except mine. I think I could have done a better job writing my letter, because after I sent it, I thought of better ways to refine my piece. But this will not deter me, I will continue writing. My letter is below, as always, advice is welcome.

After Macleans racist article about universities becoming “Too Asian”, claiming Asian students are socially inapt babies relying on parents to complete their homework, it’s great to have Amy Chua, a Chinese mother, tell her story to uncover the true drive behind successful Asians.

My brother and I grew up in a household much like Amy Chua’s where every test, if not scored 100%, is met with my mom saying, “if you studied harder you could have got perfect”. Instead of sulking, it drove us to learn from our mistakes and strive, not for great, but the best.

Although my mom ruled with an iron first, her heart is soft as a kitten. She made my brother and I her number one priority and was heavily involved in our childhood and also in our present day lives. I am eternally grateful for her tough love and I only hope I can do the same for my children.

No Comments

Letter to Editor #2: Deadly CFLs

Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 11:07 pm | Science

With my fascination with digital editions of newspapers continuing, I have written another letter to the editor regarding an article revealing the dark side of CFLs.

British Columbia has decided to turn the light off on incandescent light bulbs replacing them with the more energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. However, CFLs contain mercury, a known neurotoxin, and if not properly disposed of, can release toxic vapours into our fresh West Coast air.

Below is my letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun. I think I’m getting better. Any writing advice will be welcomed. Will I get an e-mail if it’s published?

Mercury is a neurotoxin; therefore the green light to replace light bulbs with mercury-filled poisonous CFLs invites a new danger into the Canadian household. With complicated disposal procedures, CFLs will end up in landfills releasing toxic gases into our fresh West Coast air. Reminiscent of the thermometer, how long will it take to turn the light off on CFLs?

No Comments

Letter to the Editor #1: Girl Power

Saturday, January 8th, 2011 at 3:50 pm | Science

Since the discovery of free access to digital editions of international newspapers with my Vancouver Public Library card, I finally have the chance to read and write letters to the editor. An endeavour I’ve been meaning to do since the summer.

My first letter is a comment on article about an Ontario teacher who created an all girls computer science class to eliminate intimidation produced by an otherwise boy dominated class. Although it didn’t get published in the Globe and Mail, it was good practice.

My letter is below. I welcome tips for improvement.

Girl Power

Re: Girls-only computer class hits refresh on IT’s geeky-male image

I applaud Dan Harmer’s innovative teaching by turning his high school computer science class to an “all girls club”.

However, the lack of girls choosing a technology based career is not only due to the “all boys club” factor. At an early age, girls are brought up as nurturers with their dolls and easy bake ovens. These ideas are engrained in their minds, therefore, they tend to lean towards “traditional nurturing” careers such as medicine.

This is not to say engineers and computer scientists are not nurturers. Prosthetics and pacemakers designed and built by these professions are nurturing millions of people. The perception that technology is not “nurturing” career must be changed.

Schools need more science teachers like Dan Harmer who welcome new and creative ways of learning. His class could be the end of the “chubby guy with glasses” stereotype and the start to a more glamourous one.

No Comments

Why did you have to go there Macleans?

Sunday, December 12th, 2010 at 3:07 pm | Uncategorized

The Macleans “Too Asian” article grouped me, as a stereotypical Asian who studies all day, with parents who do my homework and pay for my education. I wish I could study all day, and have my parents do my homework and pay for school, what student wouldn’t want that? But my parents have chosen to teach me the value of money. I work part-time to pay for school and study when I can.

It all boils down to demographics, Maclean’s article fails to take this into account. Vancouver and Toronto are hot spots for the Asian population of the universities and schools are going to reflect that. Universities within the Prairie Provinces and on the east coast don’t have this “problem”.

Racially I’m Chinese but culturally I’m Canadian, and I want to be treated as a Canadian. So Macleans, I understand the article was meant to promote discussion, but to base it all on race is a low blow, I thought you were better than that. Thank you Henry Yu for stand up for us.

No Comments

Peaceful Weekends at the Lab

Sunday, November 7th, 2010 at 1:56 pm | Grad Studies

It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Vancouver, BC and I am currently in my lab working on my research. Before you start feeling bad for me, I have to tell you, I’m enjoying my time here.

On the weekends, the lab is free of undergrads constantly asking questions about their projects, complaining about how much work they have to do in their courses and mucking up the lab as per usual. (Not all undergrads are like this, I’ll write about that later) I don’t have lab mates complaining about the genre of music I’m listening to (yes I admit it, I LOVE pop music, BSB, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Christina Aquilera, I love them all!) There’s no commotion around me, it’s just me and at my lab bench. I have a chance to catch up on my reading, think about my project, strategize my next experimental move, and sing at the top of my lungs while pipetting.

I recommend anyone who needs a chance to get experiments done efficiently to come in on a weekend. Although it is still early in the day, and I may change my tune if my experiments don’t work out, in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the serenity of the lab and brace myself for the Monday blues.

No Comments

Fighting the Asian Glow

Saturday, November 6th, 2010 at 5:08 pm | Science

I’m not talking about how gorgeous we are, I’m talking about how many of our faces turn bright red the instant the alcohol hits our stomachs. Lucky for my mom and me, we don’t have that problem, but my brother and dad do, so there is no hiding from her when they drink. So why can’t they process alcohol? What are they missing?

When alcohol is consumed, the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase converts it into acetaldehyde. Thanks to mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), acetaldehyde is converted to acetate which is involved in metabolism. Unfortunately 40% of the Asian population have a point mutation in their ALDH2 that prevents the efficient breakdown of acetaldehyde. This leads to an accumulation of acetaldehyde in the bodies producing that Asian glow.

Fortunately, researchers at Stanford in collaboration with Indiana University discovered a molecule called Alda-1 that activates the mutant ALDH2 to function at full potential. They also crystallized ALDH2 along with Alda-1 and can now visualize these 2 molecules interacting with each other and determine the mechanism for which Alda-1 helps mutant ALDH2. To summarize the paper in a nutshell, Alda-1 stabilizes the mutant to carry out its job more efficiently. The mutant will eventually break down the acetaldehyde, but Alda-1 makes sure it gets done and fast.

There you have it my fellow asian folks, now you know what happens to you, now we just have to wait for the research to hit the shelves. It’ll probably be awhile, so until then, bottoms up!

No Comments

A 1920s Time Traveller?

Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at 12:08 pm | Uncategorized

Last night my dad showed me a clip from an old Charlie Chaplin movie where a woman walks across the screen holding what looks like a cellphone to her face, talking to someone. The commentator of the video claims that the woman is actually not a woman at all, it’s a man, in drag, who travelled back in time and is communicating with someone on a cellphone. But there were no cellphone towers in the 1920s. If it was a cellphone it wouldn’t work.

Another theory proposed through careful examination of the video, is the lady on the cellphone is actually a hologram because her shadow is lighter than the other man’s shadow, who’s talking on a communicator on a holodeck. That’s a little farfetched, don’t you think?

My dad’s theory is that she is an alien who is using a communicator to talk her mothership. Oh, I love my dad.

My theory, she’s scratching her face. I’m a scientist, I need more proof.

But after countless replays of the clip, I can only conclude with the following: she is holding something to her face, her fingers are not moving and she is talking.  So is she holding a cellphone? What is she doing, and why didn’t she share this technology with the world if it is a cellphone. What do you think? Click on the link.

1 Comment