Flabbergasted!

Pamela left me flabbergasted for two days in a row. . .

Yesterday morning, we felt like pinching ourselves. Steve and I woke up at six in the morning, and our early bird, Miss Pamela, was already out of her nest. Steve ran, and she did not melt down! He headed to an appointment at 8:30 before work and left the laptop at home, and no drama. Then, he drove to the office at about nine in the morning, which was late for him. We were too stunned to spotlight any of these moments.

What do I mean by spotlight? I have not clearly explained my understanding of this technique before, so here goes! The book My Baby Can Dance describes spotlighting, or "the art of communicating to effectively encode an episodic memory," in the following way:

Spotlighting is achieved by any type of contrast or noticeable change in an established rhythm. The adult guide creates clear boundaries around a critical moment in an activity, causing that moment to stand out from its temporal neighbors. Spotlighting is critical for development of episodic memories. Spotlighting is all about contrast. Spotlighting involves making sure that some piece of information stands out from the rest.

What do I mean by episodic memory? I find it easier to understand by contrasting it with procedural memory. Many autistic children excel at storing procedural memory, such as Pamela's recall of the day of the week given any date (future or past). Procedural memory "encodes details leading to specific goals" like a script or sequence of events. It activates a separate neural pathway from episodic memory, which selects meaningful details that fit into the big picture and encodes the emotional context with them as episodes falling into different categories. Episodic memory guides people in making decisions in future episodes.

Since I was not sure how well Pamela encoded the memory of being calm about Steve's early morning run and weird schedule, I exerted a special effort at lunch to spotlight those critical moments. First, I thought about the critical moments in which Pamela usually meltsdown but did not: before the run and leaving for the office without his briefcase. Then, I spotlighted those moments in our conversation and focused on the emotion she felt, "Dad went running, and you were so calm" (I smiled and gave her a thumbs up). "He went to an appointment and left for work late, but you were calm and brave." She beamed at me and said, "Not like the crazy lady." (Pamela thinks the Chinese lady melting down at the airport is hilarious.)

Since Steve's schedule vexes Pamela so much, I spotlighted it again later in the day and even filmed it for our consultant. My favorite moment is when I asked Pamela why she was so calm. Pamela started off with her knee-jerk response, "Because I s----," stopped herself, thought for a moment, and said, "Because Dad's going to work today."


Tonight, when Steve came home, he told Pamela his plans to run at 7:30 in the morning and leave for work by 8:30. Unlike yesterday morning, Pamela began to sputter, fuss, and cry; we stayed calm and neutral. This time her reaction was very mild: point five out of ten on the lady-at-the-airport scale. Steve left the room, and I stopped talking and comforted Pamela. I told her that I understood she was upset and rubbed her back. She said, "I'm crying." I replied, "That's okay. You're being brave."

At this point, Pamela must have associated her feeling with that of the lady at the airport. Suddenly, she started laughing and crying at the same time, alternating between thinking about that silly you-tube video and Steve's plans for tomorrow. She giggled so much her tears dried up. I'm not sure Charlotte Mason had this in mind when she talked about changing your thoughts, but it works for me!

Off-Topic Pictures of My Birds Taking Baths or Considering It:

Meeting Dr. Rui (brain specialist and surgeon)

There are things that have been bothering me since my elder brothers death. According to the doctors in Malaysia, he passed away because "his heart stopped beating for 6 minutes at that time". Somehow, I still find that sentence confusing because I remember my brother's body reflexes were still moving when we spoke to him verbally, or perhaps touching his body. So how can his brain be entirely dead? Probably due to the stress from work and studies, I hardly have a good sleep every night, and even if I do, i will start having nightmares, etc. I will sometimes even sleep at my desk in the office :(

One day, a new PhD student came to me and asked me about student visa's and we spend a few hours chatting. He is an extremely nice person to me, seriously. From my observation (my observation is usually accurate, lol), he should be a very caring and concerned person. Once I am extremely busy with printing handout for students, he approached and offered me some help with stapling those printed documents.

Speaking to him for hours, or days, and I realized he is a real doctor from Beijing! Excuse me? A medical doctor studying PhD? He must be extremely smart. So i asked him some stupid questions like "How many years have you been studying to be a doctor" and he explained that it takes him more than 10 years?! He *Grins* and explained to me very slowly. Now i know he is not only a normal medical doctor. He is also a brain specialist and surgeon who had worked in a hospital in Beijing, and has operated more than 100 patients' head! By the way, he is just 31 this year.


Caption : Dr. Rui and I

I asked him many questions related to my brother, since he is a brain specialist. He told me that brain cells will start dying when a person's heart stops beating for 8 mins, and completely dead (in the central brain) in approximately 20 mins. But why my brother was pronounced as brain dead when his heart stopped beating for 6 minutes? He said "maybe your brother should go to the hospital immediately when he starts feeling unconcious". He is right. My brother started to feel unconcious for 4 hours before going to the hospital (also thanks to his gf). If he is right, my brother passed away with just 2% brain cells left in his brain. That is the part of the brain that controls the nerves and reflexes system. When brain cells are dead in the central executive (brain), it will never regenerate again. That is why some people who had serious brain injuries can only open their eyes, or perhaps just blinking their eyes for the rest of his life.


Caption: This book is interesting, entitled "The Human Brain"

Basically, I spend about 6 hours sitting in the office, listening to him about the stories of "Human brain". I am a cognitive psychologist myself and I still find the story of a person's brain very interesting. Studying neuro sciences are definitely worth it. I also asked him how the cancer disease spread in a person's body, i.e. a tumor found in a person's intestine and he really explained it very thoroughly.


Caption: (a) stomach, (b) large intestine, (c) small intestine, (d) rectum, (e) anus, (f) appendix, and (g) cecum

Let's ignore (d), (f), and (g) lol. I will make it very briefly, since i do not like to explain something for the next six hours lol. If a person is having tumor somewhere in (b), the large intestine and discovered it at the early stage, then the doctor 'should' be able to control that tumor from spreading all over your body (that is when you will die) by asking you to take some medicines or if necessary, cutting certain section (let says 5 cm) of your large intestine and combine the edge of the left over intestines. This goes the same if a tumor found in the (c) small intestine. However, if a tumor found in the (e) anus, then you will have trouble. According to Dr. Rui, if the doctor think you should cut a section in the anus and if the measurement of the anus to be removed is greater than 6 cm, then they will say 'no' to remove that tumor. They can only remove the tumor from the anus if it is lesser than 6 cm. Very risky isn't it? Sometimes the doctor will not be able to cut every section of an intestine, especially when the tumor grow somewhere between the intestine and (example) kidney. He can help you to cut your intestine that contained the tumor but not the kidney. So when you realized a tumor in your body, then you will be in great danger.

Pamela's Brain Waking Up OR Terrible Twos? Part III

The reason why I have had more time to blog than usual is that David, Pamela, and I all have head colds. While David and I are more resilient and can press through conjugating denominators with the sums including imaginary numbers or radicals and conjugating Latin verbs, Pamela cannot. On Monday, she bundled herself up in her red "towel robe" and spent a good part of her day in bed. And, notice that after all the excitement of opening Baby Alive's gift, she can now tolerate having Loonette and Molly by her side.

Pamela has been making wonderful strides lately and has also been seeking greater control over her dad. We are also seeing a couple of habits making me reflect on their greater meaning:

• Pamela started this high-pitched screech on Monday (of last week), the painful day we decided to leave our church, making me wonder if my mood affected hers. The frequency of screeching has diminished since then.
• If we do not respond to her stim or question fast enough, Pamela says in a high-pitched, whiny voice, "Answer me!" I am slowing down that moment, waiting for her to reference me, and then take action. Sometimes, I make a declarative, neutral comment: "I was thinking about what I was going to say and you did not give me enough time" or "I am sorry. I didn't hear you. What did you say?" If someone else didn't hear her, I tell the person Pamela is talking to them. If I was ignoring her stimming, I try to change the conversation.
• When Pamela used to meltdown, they seemed "intrasubjective" because Pamela was reacting, not acting. Her emotions boiled over and spilled out, but she paid no attention to how they affected other people. One benefit of recording is mining an interaction frame by frame. I noticed in the video of the meltdown how Pamela's meltdowns are more intersubjective. Pamela covered her ear, closed her eyes, and screamed. She yelled at me for six seconds. Then, she balled her hand into a fist and pounded on her leg. Within one second, she stopped and assessed my reaction.

While many parents might be frustrated at this turn of events and regretting starting RDI, I am ECSTATIC! Kyra, another RDI mom, witnessed this same change in behavior in her son Fluffy and asked Dr. Gutstein about it. She wrote, "I was greatly relieved to hear him say Fluffy’s behavior is actually good news. Many ASD kids never go through this stage and they need it to develop true mindfulness. He says it’s the brain waking up."

Hurray, Pamela's brain is waking up! Her dynamic thinking is like that of a two-year-old after all of these years! Everything points to it: her interest in dolls and real babies, her ability to converse briefly converse with people unaided, why and how come questions, etc. That means she is hitting her "terrible twos" without all the excess baggage of limited language, potty training mastery, gross motor frustrations, bratty siblings, sibling rivalry, etc. Plus, Pamela has high level static skills we can tap into in helping her tap into this period of dysregulation, that is part of the development of every child.

I was reading Nicole Beurkens' blogpost on her typical daughter's development and dysregulation and it described Pamela's personality, "a very easy [child] – content to hang out with us and do whatever." When her daughter started mastering a new developmental milestone, she noticed her daughter getting mad about everything preventing her from fully exploiting her newfound mobility. Then, Nicole reflected that all of her boys went through this pattern of dysregulation prior to a developmental leap forward. She concluded, "Now I'm able to ride it out knowing that they all go through periods of time like this and it will end."

I cannot tell you how many parents of autistic children, especially homeschoolers who spend 24/7 with their kids, have noticed this exact same phenomenon. Many people I know completely agree with what Nicole observed because they have witnessed it time and time again:

Sometimes parents will call or email to say that their child is suddenly going through a very dysregulated time period – and when we look closer they have either just developed a new skill/way of thinking about things, or they are about to go through a developmental spurt. It seems to be the brain’s way of reorganizing itself - which can be a dysregulating process. Obviously not all dysregulation in children can be attributed to cognitive reorganization/developmental growth spurts, but it is something worth considering if you see it happening with your child. Considering it from this perspective allows us as parents to slow down and wait to see what happens without immediately worrying that our child has regressed or become permanently dysregulated. Sometimes in development we take a step back to take a few steps forward – good to remember for all kids!

Last week I received cards from friends, and they are great reminders to those of us mired in the terrible twos!

Pamela's Brain Waking Up OR Terrible Twos? Part II

One reason why I enjoy watching birds is because every day unveils something different. Yesterday, I saw another first: robins drinking from our bird bath, as many as four at one time! Robins are everywhere, a welcome sign of spring, especially since the kids and I are down with head colds. Today, Steve and I saw bluejays for the first time ever, three eating seeds strewn on the brick walkway.

Many people with autism prefer things to stay the same, but Pamela had never expressed this to me until last Friday. I debated whether or not to post the video of her mild meltdown and decided against it. Have you seen fodder on You-Tube, like the Chinese woman who missed her flight?

Steve had face time with the dentist, who is half an hour north of us, before going to work, which is seventy-five minutes south of us. After he left the dentist, he realized he would not have time to make it to his office for an important phone call set for eleven o'clock. He decided to call from home and gave me a heads-up on his imminent arrival. We expected Pamela to have a meltdown, and she did not disappoint us! Steve's routine had been predictable for several days in a row, lulling Pamela into a false sense of schedule security.

I experimented with many strategies to keep her cool. Her meltdown was about a three on the Chinese-woman-at-the-airport scale. I told Pamela while she was playing GameBoy and watching television, hoping distraction would prevent meltdown. I answered her questions indirectly, hoping she would slow down and think. When she began to balk, I closed the distance between us to increase her opportunity for referencing, and I stayed calm in neutral when the fur started flying. I avoided matching her drama with my drama, remaining cool and collected in Mr. Roger's tone of voice. I even gave her a bump out of the outburst by sharing some good news: her Netflix DVD had arrived and you can see how quickly she recovered from round one.


Based on feedback from our consultant, I will be adding more strategies to my parenting tool bag. I plan to cut back on my talking even more and rely on nonverbal broadband channels for comfort, label her feelings in a neutral way, let her know I am there to help her work through those feelings, remind her of previous memories of overcoming angst,and bump her into a positively distracting activity.

After Steve arrived, she melted down in the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom, the intensity increasing to a five on the Chinese-woman-at-the-airport scale. She was upset off and on for about 20 minutes and did things like screech, plop herself on the floor, berate me verbally, and grit her teeth. We had a moment of clarity during one of the bedroom meltdowns. Pamela said, "I want the same! I don't like different." Pamela has NEVER been able to express WHY she gets upset so articulately. She gave me insight into what caused her distress, and I have been reflecting on that morsel it all weekend because what she said is highly puzzling!

• Her anxiety over broken things is diminishing, so our lessons on uncertainty may not be the real mole we need to whack!
• Our flexible schedule does not upset Pamela. We never wake up at the same time, go to bed at the same time, eat meals at the same time, do school at the same time. Our days flow. Some days I work with her first; other days David is first. Every day is different.
• Pamela fixates on Steve's schedule, which has nothing to do with her schedule. He has always had unpredictable hours, but this obsession started last month.

I developed a hypothesis about Pamela's behavior. In January, Steve became more mindful about changing his communication style and working off the same plan as I do in reacting to her outbursts. I suspect Pamela, who perceives way more than she can express, recognizes Steve's change of parenting style. Instead of caving to her will, he now remains calm and neutral and sticks to his plan. She senses losing control of him, even though they still run errands together on weekends when he does indulge some of her more reasonable whims.

I tested this hypothesis in a couple of ways over the weekend. We recently decided to find a new church, so I broke the news to Pamela on Friday. This is a huge change for us since we attended our last church for almost four years. When we went to Wally World after Pamela calmed down, I told her about the new church on the way home. We decided to drive by it and take a peek. She was cool as a cucumber because the difference is not about Steve.

Saturday, Steve followed his weekend ritual: he made a to-do-list that would make Martha Stewart cry. He noticed Pamela bubbled watching him clean the stove, refrigerator, and counters with a special cleaner. She giggled as they headed off to Hardees to pick up breakfast because he was behaving like the same old dad. Later, she discovered his plan to go to Lowe's and asked to join him. Steve had run sevens miles in the morning and told her he needed a siesta before going. Pamela tried to bully him out of it. They were discussing it in the kitchen and Steve said, "See. I'm writing it on my list. 'Take a nap.'" Without missing a beat, Pamela grabbed his pen and scratched it off! Steve did take a catnap, and Pamela did wait patiently with some guiding from me before they left. Then, they went to Lowe's, and Pamela talked Steve into window shopping at Blockbusters on the way home. Before she went to bed, she brought Baby Alive to Steve and told him that her doll was going to watch television with him.

Clearly, Pamela loves bossing her daddy around and I do think controlling his schedule is another way to manipulate him. And that brings us to my theory on the terrible twos, which I will cover in my next post.

How to recycle light bulb in hanging vase

Do you have "burned" light bulbs?You replaced your light bulbs for eco-friendly CFLs?Do you want Recycle Light Bulbs?See this idea:How to "Recycle" Light Bulb in Hanging VasesThese hanging vases are very easy to make.How to do in 3 steps:1: Gently saw the bottom of light bulb (use fine-tooth metal saw) and pull out the filaments. 2: Using a hand held, drill place metal against some scrap wood

new publication

I am almost ready to submit one of my writting to a journal publication, but then my supervisor gave me two choices, (1) Springer and (2) BCS HCI 2009, and asked me to choose one of the publication as a journal. I asked a few people around me, some of them said publishing a journal to Springer is alot more beneficial, but some said differently. I am so confused, and asked some of those experience PhD students who are familiar with this and one of them said, "Why not submitting your paper to a few publications and wait for their reply? In case one reject you, you still have another as a backup". It sounded okay to me, so I asked again "What if both of them accept that journal? How would I respond to them in that case?" and he goes "Simple, simply choose one and reject the other one (that i plan to forego) with a personal reason" :S Then, I went to my supervisor and asked him the consequences, and he said that I might be blacklisted if they found out. What should I do then? Any suggestions? :(

I have updated the poll (on the right side of this blog), and hopefully you can help me to decide a little.

You have been tagged!

I have been tagged by Mel, and planning to fill this questions up as soon as I am free this week. Finally, i have completed the questions. Here it is:

1. Who tagged you?
Mel

2. Do you like tags?
Well, it depends on my current mood

3. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
Striking on a £17.5 mil lotto ticket, although i don't gamble, really.

4. What is your current mood?
Tired and exhausted :(

5. What will you do if your crush says he/she adores you too?
Nothing, used to it (joking lol). Maybe i will keep reminding her that i really treasure the friendship if i have no feelings for her.

6. Will you fall in love with your bestfriend?
It depends, mostly not.

7. Which will you prefer, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Loving someone.

8. What is your favourite food?
Chinese, and perhaps indian cuisine lol.

9. If the person you dislike is right in front of you, what will you do?
I will probably just give a smile :) to the person that i dislike instead of ignoring.

10. What do you pray each day for your loved ones?
Happiness and always stay healthy.

11. What takes you down the fastest?
Quarrel and arguments.

12. How would you see yourself in ten years time?
Probably becoming smarter? lol.

13. What is the reason that could make you so tensed up?
What i can't find a solution for something.

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
I should be able to tell when we hang out more.

15. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Single and rich, as always.

16. Would you sacrifice for your loved ones?
I think i will.

17. What's the character must have in your partner?
A soft lady who is understanding, romantic, passionate, and a challenging mindset.

18. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you like to pick?
Either choosing both, or ignore them both! Joking lol, i will see who is more compatible to me.

19. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that someone has done?
My heart is soft, no matter how mean a person treats me, i will still forgive.

20. Do you prefer being single or having a relationship?
Single, as always.

21. What kind of music do you like?
Classical, romantic and R&B.

22. Who are the 5 person that you would like to tag?
1) AGG
2) Yee yee
3) The muffin sis
4) Daryl
5) Etc.

Change Ruts - Adopt Life-Changing Habitudes

If you approach teaching and learning more as a detective, what would happen? Angela Maiers explores clues and possibilities in her innovative 21st century approach to Classroom Habitudes. Through detective work, Angela shares collected tools to stir imagination, curiosity, perseverance, self awareness, courage and adaptability, -- the six habitudes.

Twenty-first century students, well-rehearsed in fast-paced video games, can out-maneuver me any day with their dexterity and skill. Sound familiar? They think differently because historically, they're oriented to the world through more visual approaches. In fact teens read less than they did in past. Angela Maiers tosses out practical approaches for teachers craving a lifeline to connect to digitally oriented students.

Intriguingly, Angela's new book, Classroom Habitudes, pitches questions, problem-solving, creating, inventing and collaboration as desired skills of today's and tomorrow's businesses. Students do not obtain such skills by completing worksheets or day after monotonous day. Many teachers today are looking for helps past this disconnect because old methods don't work and actually prevent students from tapping their brains. Here're several disconnects...

Student

bored by worksheet - Bombarding students with information can actually shut down learning. To escape, some children daydream. Getting students to "play with ideas" at any age activates the brain for doing rather than passivity.

turned off by teacher talk with no opportunity to respond - Remember lectures that bored you? No wonder brainpower dies daily in our schools. Move Brainpower into Reconfigured Learning.

cringes and shrinks inside when teacher names him/her to gain attentiveness - Yelling or reprimands can trigger cortisol in a student's brain. Angela provides teachers with several "Anchor Lessons" to provide stimulating classroom conversations that engage students so that students are attentive. This leads serotonin, a brain hormone of well-being to flow in learners' brains.

has no opportunity to use multiple gifts and talents - Angela questions tired practice that shuts down many learners... "Couldn't there be an assignment in addition to coloring shapes that maybe included handing them blank sheets of paper and asking them to invent and name a shape that no one has ever hear of before...?"

To zero in on Courage Angela, takes a closer view - with students. She models strategies teachers can use in classes right away by providing lessons and suggested teacher prompts she uses with students. The five lessons:

Looking Fear in the Face
Taking Action
Get Uncomfortable
Courageous Conversation
Everyday Heroes

Maiers challenges, "As learners, you put yourself at risk of falling into learning traps when you do not expose yourself to challenge and discomfort." As I read this, I asked, "Do teachers also need courage to expose themselves to discomfort as they begin to use 21st century methods by giving up the comfort of worksheets, teacher talk, and pointing out a student to gain attention?" What do you think? Here's a list of brainstormed possibilities Angela shares:

• Talk to someone new today
• Ask a question [maybe several throughout the day]
• Challenge something [respectfully] a teacher or person in authority says
• Try a new genre
• Teach a classmate [colleague] how to do something
• Speak publicly - Teach something to a group
• Learn a new skill or strategy
• Draw something to capture idea
• Become a character

You build your courage muscle like any other in your body-the more you stretch it, the more you work it out, the stronger it becomes. Muscle and brain work require lifelong maintenance. Just because you lifted weights once--does not give you strength for life. Stretching and building your courage is a daily, lifelong workout! Happy lifting!... Angela Maiers

Angela, as you challenge others and me to change past practice, you actually encourage us to give our working memory a workout to override ruts. That can be very discomforting. But, as you point out the more you practice doing different activities, the less discomfort you experience. Good news is that the brain's plasticity enables us to change those tired routines that no longer work well in 21st century schools. Students might also benefit from specific software programs as Resources for Teachers and Students in addition to the excellent selected readings.

Thanks for forging ahead to publish Classroom Habitudes. What a huge leap! You model courage, perseverence, imagination and adaptability. Keep up your excellent work.

Obtain your copy at LuLu.

Walking around oxford street with my brother

A very hectic day in oxford street today, probably its saturday. My brother woke me up in the middle of my sleep, and asked me to walk around the oxford street. Did not do much over there, we mainly focus our shopping in selfidges, the second largest shop (first should be harrods) in the UK. I have captured some pictures to give some friends some in sight of how selfridges actually looks.


Caption: louis vuitton

I started to ask my brother to capture images from the entrance of selfridges, louis vuitton (a $450 billion business). I said to him, "what is so big deal about lv bags, purse, etc. when my aunt can get a Rm50 lv handbags in the pasar malam (night market) in malaysia?) and he goes "wow huge difference, etc". I don't mean to provoke him since he has one of the lv purse, but maybe he is right, after doing 'some' research and observations, i finally came out with some of my own conclusion by comparing a real and fake lv bags.


Caption: real VS fake lv bags

I even spend some time reading from different websites just for this lol. Although i do not really bother about lv products since im not an lv fan, but from my observation, it is not difficult to detect and contrast a real and fake lv bags. Usually lv bags will have those logo's everywhere the bag and those buttons or pins will usually not block the lv logo in the bag. The lv logo should be crooket so if u see any straight lv logo in the bag means that thing is fake (this is what a style expert Jess Zaino says) and I wonder what happens if I say that to those fake lv sellers in malaysia? Anyway, it says a fake lv bag will have a very unique design, where everything found in the bag is not going to be even, i.e. the bag straps, etc. and finally the monograms should have shallow and not obvious printed words on it. Tell me if these are true?

See what this expert says about the comparisons between a fake and a real lv bag:

♥ *waiquan* says:
- actually, the best way to differentiate fake and real LV bags is the lining
- the real LV bag, the workmanship at the handles and zips is very intricate and exquisite
- plus when u first buy the bag, the straps or handles may be of a lighter color
- and after u used for a while, it will turn dark

Somehow, she ended the conversation with:

♥ *waiquan* says:
- im not pro lah
- my most expensive bag is not even a luxury bag

LOL! She is really an expert in this area to me.


Caption: Gucci

Another thing i really wanted to know, is that the comparison of gucci and chanel. Which of the 2 brands (overall comparisons) are more branded? Some told me chanel, and some telling me gucci. I am confused and hope someone will actually point out the differences and then tell me which of these 2 brands are more famous :)


Caption: chanel

Wondering around selfridges, we finally found godiva. People telling that godiva is a very luxury shop where you may find very nice chocolates. This is also a reason for me to pay a visit here today. Probably we have not ran out of luck yet, we actually get to test out the chocolates and truffles there. To be frank, very yummy! Although the price is a little too costly compared to other chocolates, but I still think it is worth buying, especially for some really good friends.


Caption: godiva

Theres also this thing that i found it very humorous yet complicated, there are some friends on msn, keep asking me to not be naughty (there are few of them saying that to me so far). I wonder what they mean by some sentences like:

*name and title censored*
lol
what u always do online
why can everyday stay up until so late

*name and title are censored*
- dont be naughty ok?
- i duuno why like to ask u not to be naughty
- u tell me
- lol

Firstly, I have no choice to stay up that late, mainly for education purpose, lol. If possible, i wanted to have some really good sleep everyday, but no lol. Secondly, I am not naughty, do not feel like being naughty and no future plans to be naughty. Also please define naughty. I do not go SOHO (an entertainment street at central london where you may find arcade centres, restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars, prostitution centres, etc.) for entertainments so how can I be naughty? Unless you think flirting around with girls on MSN are considered as naughty, then fine, lol.

Pamela's Brain Waking Up OR Terrible Twos? Part I

Pamela has been doing some amazing things lately. Last Saturday, she did not really feel like watching birds with me, requiring me to be extra patient and encouraging in guiding her. Since all our men were out of town on a ski trip for Valentine's Day (which I never celebrate anyway because it reeks of commercialism), a friend, Pamela, and I attended The Whole Megillah. This Purim ballet set in Ancient Persia tells story of Esther through brilliant costumes with a contemporary dance twist. We bought wooden graggers for only three dollars for the dramatic climax at end of the program. Unfortunately, Pamela lasted through intermission after an hour of dance supported by minimal dialog and narration. Talk about broadband communication overload!


We are so glad to see Pamela becoming more assertive and interested in experience sharing. Sunday morning, she infused her gragger with new purpose: she wanted to sit where the gluten-free, casein-free dog was sitting. She whirled the noisemaker and said to Loa, "Wake up!" Then, Pamela grabbed her by the collar and hauled her off the chair. I have even seen Pamela try to carry the dog of Flubber in her arms like a baby. She has even mustered the courage to grab the leash of the brat dog (the Arwenator) and bring her to me for safe-keeping.

Canine aside, there are other neat developments. The other day Pamela asked me, "What is half past seven?" After I explained it meant 7:30, she quickly caught on as we verbally explored other half-pasts. When I use the N-word (no), she asks, "Why?" or "How come?"--which I have been waiting sixteen years to hear her say (as annoying as it is). She not only loves her babies, she now brakes for real babies in restaurants and at David's co-op class. Pamela tells me when she feels proud of herself, "I did it," and tells me exactly what she did. When I smother her with scaffolding, she announces "I'll do it myself!" like any huffy toddler. When the electric toothbrush ran out of power, Pamela squealed and I told her that all it needed was a good recharge. She danced and said, "Just like the computer!"

Last Sunday, she and I dined at the Chinese restaurant. Picking out food from the buffet gave her more practice with guiding me verbally and physically--this girl LOVES sushi! While we were seated, the waitress asked Pamela if she wanted more Coke. Pamela looked at her and said "No!" Later, the waitress came back again and asked the same thing. This time Pamela handed her the glass and said, "Get rid of it." The waitress put it on the table and tried to pour more. So, Pamela then said, "Get rid of it," and carefully used her palm to push it back to the waitress and shook her head. The waitress, who like Pamela seems to be learning English, finally realized what Pamela wanted and whisked away the glass. When the waitress came back to retrieve Pamela's plate, my reflexes were not fast enough to stop Pamela from licking it first . . . sigh.

What we are seeing is more evidence of intersubjectivity, or "the developmental process of linking mental states between people." Through RDI, Pamela moved past primary intersubjectivity, "the way that infants, in their first year of life relate directly to others through emotion sharing and coordinated movement" and into secondary intersubjectivity as described in My Baby Can Dance:

Secondary intersubjectivity, which begins to be observed towards the close of the first year, involves a "triangulating" relationship between two persons and an external stimulus. The experience of triangulation opens the door to understanding other's minds, relative thinking, and the development of a conscious self, as the young child experiences the distinction between their unique perceptual stance towards a stimulus and that of their partner.

She is becoming almost too intersubjective. I am sitting at the desk while I type this blog with my back to Pamela (on my left) and the television (on my right). I turn my head to see what Pamela is watching and she chides, "Stop looking!" I reply neutrally, "I'm just peeking!" After a minute, I repeat the head-turning and she responds more mildly. I will blog more about the consequences of greater intersubjectivity in my next post!

A tiring but relaxing day

Once again, slept at around 5:00 AM and waking up at around 9+ AM. My sleeping time is completely messed. I think if MSN don't exist, i should be able to get 8 hours of sleep per day!

Today is a tiring day, yet relaxing. Mainly because most students do not attend labs often on friday. So, tutors would have much more time to relax. A buddy of mine paid her very first visit to the Hendon Campus today, so I brought her around the campus, snapping pictures everywhere. Coincidently, we met one of my PhD supervisor wondering around the campus doing nothing. One compliment, or probably a disadvantage for most students, that is, this senior lecturer can speak with a student for hours, to ensure that the student can really understand anything that they ask thoroughly. The three of us speaks simultaneously as if no one else is around us until late night lol, let say, from 3:30 PM to 8:00 PM? Lol.


Caption: Me, Carl, and Ting


Caption: Carl and I


Caption: Ting and I

Oh yah, i think i should start posting my school lab, a new building (it is included as a part of the £17.5 mil spent in the past two years) called the 'Hatchcroft'. There are massive amount of labs contained in this very building, very high tech building. I predicted around 200 or more PCs and Apple Macs could be found in this building.


Caption: An example of a lab (only managed to capture half of the lab)

Carl is an electronic synthesizer lover. Once he showed me his collection of synthesizers at his home, about 35 of them, ranging from £100 to £4, 000. He also persuaded the university to get one of the best synthesizer in the world. Ting played a few songs using the electronic synthesizer and both of us really enjoyed the music that she played. How I wish I am a music student, or at least a very talented person with musical instruments :( By the way, this electronic synthesizer is probably one of the most expensive synthesizer in the world. It cost around £6, 500 (at a discounted rate for academic purpose). I do not really believe at first, until i saw the receipt from the technician lol. He also showed us his new toy, a synthesizer worth £100. According to him, this synthesizer is cheap as it do not contain any memory in it. You may record some songs that you compose with this yellow thingy, but the data's will be erased when you turn it off. A very cool gadget.


Caption: A £6,500+ worth synthesizer


Caption: A £100 personal synthesizer with the size of a human palm

Using this device is simple, just place your finger on the black keypad and move around, and, OMG, i sounded like Carl lol! We then went to a nearby korean restaurant, namely 'Kim Chee'. People has been telling me that this restaurant offer really nice korean foods. Consider that the portion of the foods that they offer in this restaurant is quite little compared to other restaurants, but I am a type of person who prefers quality more than quantity. Not only that the foods are really delicious, the staffs working there are providing good services too, and they always speaks to their customers with a smile :)


Caption: 'Kim Chee', a korean restaurant at Golders Green


Caption: Korean soup (not sure the name of the soup), a korean staff working at that restaurant, a korean bowl of rice (forgotten the name lol)

Broadband Communication

Pamela is near the end of Stage 2 of RDI, which means that Pamela is starting to enter her terrible two's in her dynamic thinking (and we are seeing signs of it, but that is fodder for another day). I know it sounds odd: a nineteen-year-old--who can perform all operations on decimals, read upper elementary level books, drives down the highway on Google Earth, and can tell you the day of the week you were born if given the date--is, in some ways, a toddler. I know it's trite, but it is what it is.

A recent article on gestures and vocabulary development in toddlers points out the importance of broadband communication for young children. (So, why do speech therapists sometimes ignore this vital component of language development, I ask?) Just as scientists have discovered in typical children, I am finding that nonverbal forms of communication seem to be preceding expanded phrases and sentences for Pamela:

Don't just talk to your toddler--gesture, too. Pointing, waving bye-bye and other natural gestures seem to boost a budding vocabulary. Scientists found those tots who could convey more meaning with gestures at age 14 months went on to have a richer vocabulary as they prepared to start kindergarten. And intriguingly, whether a family is poor or middle class plays a role, the researchers report Friday.

Through co-op classes, Pamela learned many ASL signs, but she never connected it to real life as a form of communication. I had hoped it would be the key for her, but it was not. She thought of signs as fun but because she was not actively reading and using broadband communication. It was a game to her, much like finger-spelling was a game to Helen Keller before the water pump moment. The study explained,

This is not baby sign-language; parents weren't formally training their tots. Instead, they used everyday gestures to point something out or illustrate a concept. A child points to a dog and mom says, "Yes, that's a dog." Or dad flaps his arms to mimic flying. Or pointing illustrates less concrete concepts like "up" or "down" or "big."

Today, I filmed Pamela while we shopped at Wally World. The objective was to allow Pamela to guide and direct me more both verbally and physically. I act like a bit of a blockhead, doing and saying the wrong thing, to give Pamela the chance to give me more specific feedback. I look the wrong way and stumble for words. I say the wrong place or thing, or I accidentally skip an aisle. If she could, Pamela would probably say "Over there" for ever! My cluelessness requires her to be more specific and explicit. Notice how well she uses gestures, facial expressions, and words!

GBBC Day Two

Pamela and I spent another half hour counting birds on Saturday but bagged it Sunday and Monday (I was emotionally spent due other things going on in life). I issued Pamela the certificate above for spending an hour of birdwatching. I thought you might be interested in seeing the sheets we used to scaffold her identifying birds:



Saturday's highlight for me was photographing the tufted titmouse. Titmice, like chickadees, usually snatch sunflower seeds from the feeder in a hit-and-run and fly to a hiding spot in the tree to open it and eat the nugget. I find them hard to shoot for that reason. These are not the greatest pictures, but they leave no doubt that we have at least one titmouse visiting the feeder. They are so cute with their black button eyes and fan tails.


As of Saturday, ours were the only two observations from our town. I just checked the results submitted as of today, and I am delighted to know many other bird watchers in my town posted what they saw, too!



Here is what we reported last Friday:

1 Mourning Dove
1 Carolina Wren
1 American Robin
5 Chipping Sparrows
2 Northern Cardinals
2 Common Grackles
2 House Finches
1 American Goldfinches15 Total

Here is what we reported last Saturday:

1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Tufted Titmouse
1 Carolina Wren
1 Northern Mockingbird
7 Chipping Sparrows
1 Northern Cardinal
3 House Finches15 Total

Here are two videos of us watching the birds real-time and reviewing pictures after the count:




Yesterday, I took a cool picture. During the count over the weekend, I noticed that my neighbor's camellias had visitors, but I did not get a good shot of them. I snapped one of an American goldfinch hanging out in these gorgeous pink flowers. God made blooming flowers and colorful, melodious birds to cheer our hearts even in the dead of winter.

And as I stood, and cast aside mine eye,
I was ware of the fairest medlar tree
That ever yet in all my life I seye,
As full of blossoms as it mighte be;
Therein a goldfinch leaping prettily
From bough to bough; and as him list he eat
Here and there of the buds and flowers sweet.

By Geoffrey Chaucer

Happy Birthday CY and stories of impressive music students

Firstly, Happy Birthday to Yee Yee. I just know her birthday from Mel today morning (when i am not even awake) lol. Glad i gave her a 'special Bday present' without noticing her bday yesterday :O

I have been discussing this issue with one of my supervisor yesterday night. Sometimes, we may think music students may not know anything besides playing songs, but it also can be true that they knows how to express 'something' by performing a song to us with different musical instruments. Probably my supervisor and i were both really a person who knows how to enjoy musics. I have a very good friend name yoong-yoong and in year 2002 when i am doing my degree (forgotten which year of degree), i have to compose a music for the digital media module. I asked her to help me to compose a song, and she composed one immediately for me in within 15 minutes, and i got a first class for that coursework. Impressive.

Once i paid a visit to Trentpark (my previous campus) and met this friend in one of the piano rooms. Coincidently, i have my mp3 player with me. We discussed very little about my knowledged of music, and she said she can of play some easy songs immediately through the play-by-ear concept. How true is that? Either that sounded like a genius or i do not really trust her by the skills she is refering to me, so I have decided to test her skills by letting her to listen to a song randomly for two times or so, and asked her to show me to play me the song.


Picture: A picture that i snapped from the video

Here is the actual video link

Impressive for a person who listened to the song for a few times and playing it by ear immediately after a minute (without practices). I will post something similar more if i am able to capture any other videos related to this, secretly of course :) lol.

Big lectures : a disaster

I slept around 5am, and woke up at around 9am today, restless preparing for the upcoming lecture for a day now. For the first time, i have to attend to teach a group of students alone in a lecture, it is really tiring. Met one of my buddy, my Yee Yee (sorry CY) lol. Guess what, i know her from friendster (through other friends) since, 2007? and i met her in real life after a year and a half later. She is an extremely funny and humorous person to me. She can joke, she can laugh, she can be wild, she can be ... forget about it, lol. Thanks to her for spending few hours with me today. Also thanks to Yonal (my PhD collegue) for taking this picture for us, finally managed to snap a pic with her lol.


Picture: Yee yee and I

For the very first time, I am have to handle such big lecture of approximately 62 students. Wait, not normal student's, a bunch of barbarians instead :S Usually i will go into lectures with my supervisors and not alone to lectures that has more than 60 students. I can't believe i have to teach a bunch of barbarians today and it is really not an easy task. At first, 12 students appeared and twenty minutes later, a dozen appeared. About fifteen minutes later, about 30 +appeared and started to make funny but weird noises. They are irritating seriously! So what happen is, many started to ask silly questions like "Sir, why is this coursework important?" and "Why do we need to do this coursework?" Well, it is a coursework, so just do it, why ask so much? lol. Somehow, I do admit that some were really good students though where they really pay much attention to what i demanded. Thank god. I started to feel pity for my supervisors to have to teach such students for one whole semester!


Picture: Lecture hall

I will never say 'okay' to my supervisor anymore if he ask me to personally handle another lecture session like this.

My daily activity (mainly at around 1:00 AM onwards)

A picture of my daily entertainment with my buddy, Ting-ting.


Game: Yahoo Pool

I seriously enjoy playing the game with her almost every night, mainly for some "major" reasons. Firstly, I always win her by alot of points, at least 20 games per day and she only win me like, 1 or 2 games? Secondly, after playing the game with her, i can do this to her:



LOL! Okay, i am just joking. I consider her to be an expert in Yahoo!pool because most of the time either she will win me in the games or a tie i suppose (when I am watching movies and at the same time playing, etc.). Besides faking with the points, the rest (i.e. booting someone from the table) is not fake LOL. Sorry Ting.

A free ticket to kings place

I am really happy to get a free ticket from Middlesex University's director of music, Dr. Peter Fribbins :) , to attend a string quartet concert at King's place. Do you know how much the free ticket mean to me? I seriously think that paying for a concert will not be as happy as getting a free ticket for concert and yet, that this is the first (and hopefully not the last) ever string quartet concert i have ever been, and yes, for free lol.




King's Place, located somewhere near to the king's cross station, in york way

I am seriously impressed by this group of string instrument users, bla, maybe i am not a music student myself, but their 2 hours playing really makes me feel that string instruments can really replace other famous musical instruments, such as piano! I did tried snapping a few pictures of the three string players with my mobile, but i am afraid you will not be able to look clearly of what is in this picture, so i have to "define" it one by one for you in the picture below :)


Picture above: three string instrument users (violin: Nadio Wijzenbeek, viola: Ylvali Zilliacus, and cello: Marie Macleod)

They are really excellent players. In 2 hours, this string trio team played three different pieces (including different movements for each song). The three pieces are (1) Divertimento in C major by Michael Haydn, (2) String trio by James Francis Brown and (3) String trio in E Flat Major Op 3 by Ludwig Van Beethoven. Overall, i still prefer the pieces composed by Beethoven. However, I whitnessed some of my friends (i think most of them) fall asleep when they played the last piece (sadly i did not snap any photo's as photo taking is prohibited in the hall).