Bridge for Babel

Feelings
can be fragile, can be strong;

Words can go wrong,
Actions can go wrong,

All things vague lost in translation,

the kind of things life is mostly made up from.

But
with those same feelings

We forgive,
We learn.

---

You say you wanna move on and
You say I'm falling behind
Can you read my mind?

The good old days, the honest man;
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees;
A broken wrist and a big trapeze

Oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you go, can you read my mind?

It's funny how you just break down
Waitin' on some sign
Can you read my mind?

Slippin' in my faith until I fall
You never returned that call
Woman, open the door, don't let it sting
I wanna breathe that fire again

She said I don't mind, if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Put your back on me...

The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun
When you read my mind

-- The Killers, "Read My Mind"

Hot! Hot Hot!

Scalded my hand on some hot water two days ago -- wasn't so bad, and I attempted some home treatment with help from online info and several friends who happened to notice. Quite surprising that there is actually no consensus in the medical articles about what the proper treatment should be; and also that most of us (including me) are rather ignorant about it.

In short, I finally stopped by the campus health center this morning, just to find out for sure from a doctor =D and so I thought I'd share. I should first emphasize that I have no qualification to give medical advice here; please use your own discretion if you decide to believe me. ^^

Types

The type of burn I get is a second-degree burn -- the type that blisters, with clear fluid inside (or oozing, depends whether the skin is punctured). First-degree burns are the dry ones, the most popular being sunburn. Interestingly, third-degree burns (the worst type) are actually not painful, though it's nothing to be happy about because it stems from the fact that the nerves are damaged. Third-degree burns are usually surrounded by the exquisitely painful second-degree burns, anyway.

First Aid

All articles agree that the first thing to do for any kind of burn is to stop the burning (think "drop and roll" in fire accidents). In my case I ran tap water on it. In contrast, ice shouldn't be applied directly, because the extreme cold might shock the wounded area and damage the cells further.

Treatment

Common sense, wounded area should always be kept clean to avoid infection. (No such risk if the skin is intact.) But from here is where opinions differ: should we drain the fluid or leave it to dry by itself? remove the blister skin so it dries faster, or leave it as a protection layer?

I was confused by the contrasting suggestions until an article clarifies that there are indeed three schools of thought regarding this, and I quote:

"[1] One group contends that the blister should be left intact, as the top layer of the blister acts as a barrier to infection.

[2] Another group adopts the "middle-of-the-road" approach of aspirating blister fluid with a syringe (the fluid is thought to impair white blood cell activity), but leaving the blister covering intact.

[3] The third school of thought advocates complete removal of all blister fluid and the outer blister covering, due to concerns about impaired wound healing."

[3] is obviously painful as it exposes the nerve ends, but I've always thought it was necessary to allow the applied medicine to reach the relevant parts (the outer skin is mere dead cells by then). However I suppose this alternative requires proper dressing or some other means of avoiding infection -- something to note for people who, like me, are less meticulous about wound-caring.

Doctor Says

This person related that his doctor went for [3], so I initially thought that the professional care would be [3].

Differently, though, my doctor advised [1] for the protection reason. He said the blister would dry by itself in time (about a week), and I could leave the fluid (that was the plasma, he said) to ooze out naturally. In my case the blister skin is still intact (I've "put back" the peeled part) so there is no need to cover it, either.

He asked if I wanted pain-killer (not necessary) and if I wanted anti-tetanus injection (also very little necessity in the case of hot water scalding, which is unlikely to be non-steril). He then gave me some cream ("Bactroban ointment") to apply on it. Unless there are signs of infection (swelling redness) he told me not to worry.

Home Treatment

I asked the doctor if I should prevent contact with water, and he said there is no need, though I should dry it up as soon as possible. From experience, I think the concerns about getting the wound wet are basically these:

(1) In the early stage, the open wound will throb when water gets on it. But for me, I am more tolerable for this short-term pain than for the inconvenience of not using the wounded hand. =P

(2) In the healing stage, the forming scab/crust gets tender when it is wet for an extended period. Need to take care that it doesn't peel off, which will revert the process and prolong the healing.

My trip to the doctor is quite "dry" after all =D and indeed burns below the third degree should be able to be treated at home. General-purpose antiseptic like Betadine lists burns as one of the wound types it is applicable to, so I suppose it should suffice to help the wound dry out. I went for the "yellow medication liquid" (Hemisulphate lotion) which served the same purpose. This one leaves stains, not permanent on the skin, but not sure if on clothing.

Ah well. I hope the above is useful as some tips. Do apply with reasonable judgement. =)

Bloody Truth

We wanted Stardust, but it was still on those awkwardly-timed sneak previews, so I said, "Let's ogle Jake Gyllenhaal then," which Eka didn't mind (I don't think she's in the fan club though).

That mission kind of failed, maybe because I was kind of expecting the Donnie Darko of six years past. He didn't shine, but other parts of the movie unexpectedly made up for it.

(Warning for SPOILERS below, by the way.)

Rendition was heavier than I was prepared for. The generally available synopsis led me to think it would be mostly a drama of Reese Witherspoon searching for her disappearing husband (Reese did well on her climactic scene, which affected me quite a bit), plus bits of moral issues that were Jake's share. It didn't register to me that such a theme would of course warrant some disturbing torture scenes.

In retrospect, even if I'd been aware of that, I might have overestimated my capacity to stomach them, considering my past exposure to some gruesome dark manga. I hadn't felt compelled to blog about this movie since I saw it two days ago, until just now in the shower when I was promptly reminded of the waterboarding scene. Static ink on paper surely pales in comparison to live action with a real person.

Throughout the story, the audience was led to conclude that Anwar (the suspect) had been wrongly accused. Never mind the breach to the 'innocent till proven guilty' principle; I went by feelings more than principles, and I sympathized with him just because I knew he wasn't the bad guy.

However, when he finally caved in and confessed, I thought for a moment that he might actually be involved after all, and that the torture had indeed brought out the truth. After all, we couldn't help but acknowledge that Abasi (the 'torturer', another great performance) did operate on fair assumptions when he laid out their findings before Anwar and asked, "Tell me, what do you want us to think?" (Not the exact quote, which I wish I remembered.)

As should have been obvious, though, we did find out later on that Anwar had given a false confession only to avoid further torture, and it was like, fiuh, but still.

You know those Knights and Knaves logical puzzles -- wouldn't it be handy if there were a provable way of determining if someone speaks the truth without a precondition to know what that truth is?

Is it the essence of detective work, after all? Lie detectors have the desirable property (context-free) but not the desirable result (provable). I suspect that in this case we might find these two qualities contradicting each other.

At this point I'm rather tempted to discuss a thought from Tokyo Babylon: "In most cases, we only know the reality of what happened. Not the truth behind it." The original context is an emotional treatment of the issue of manifestation versus motivation; throw in the matters of perspective and interpretation, and it's a whole different topic. Hence, I'll refrain for now.

遠い旅をしている... 君は

A sad news five months late: Sakai Izumi (of Zard) has passed away on 27 May 2007. May her music remain with us for a long time to come.

If not for all the tribute videos on YouTube, who knows when I would find out about this..

She was one of the earliest singers (if not the earliest) that I noticed in my first foray into J-pop, and I remembered sampling all the Zard songs I could find and collecting the translation to all her lyrics.

A pencil drawing of Sakai Izumi that I did at the start of my obsession.
She was definitely more beautiful than this, though..

I haven't been a dedicated fan, as I only care for a very limited subset of her discography, but learning about her death shook me enough to write about it all the same.

Musical-wise, it was her self-written touching, down-to-earth lyrics that I admire; but it was more her quiet kind of beauty and intriguingly modest image that earned my sort-of idolization, as I believe they also did for her many fans.

While the heart-wrenching Eien (as my long-time favourite) might be more fitting for the occasion, here is instead, the song from her latest album in 2005 (not counting compilations) that relived my adoration of her after quite a few years -- the definition being, one that had me scrambling all over trying to find upon seen on TV.

遠い旅をしているみたいに
別々の道を このまま...
二人もう 会えないのかな
もうサヨナラだね
君とのふれあい

Just like a long journey
On separate roads like this
The two of us will never meet again, will we?
It's the end to everything
The reunion with you

Kanji lyrics quoted from: http://www.videouncovered.com/lyrics/4705/1190/zard/kimi-to-no-fureai.html

Translation is my own attempt with help from the clip subtitles; correction will be much appreciated.

Teman Seperjalanan

It was a long ride to Changi, and I didn't remember to bring something to read nor my mp3 player. Caught glimpses of Scar and Colonel Mustang on what a schoolboy standing beside me was reading, but from my position I couldn't tumpang read without being obvious, and it was a crowded train. Staring would be rude, wouldn't it?

But I started to think that perhaps some people actually wouldn't mind. If I were the one reading my favourite comic book in a public place, strangers would indeed be very welcome to preview. (We folks who aim for world domination are eager to share like that. To think other people need to pay to advertise, eh.)

Of course, as long as they don't invade my personal space lah. Otherwise can get quite scary.

As it was on my ride back, when I managed to get a seat. A guy sat down beside me with a bag on his lap, and proceeded to sleep. After a while there was a movement inside his bag, at the side that was facing me. It made a scratching sound as whatever it was came into contact with the fabric.

Somebody's phone happened to be ringing at that time, so at first I thought it was his cell phone vibrating, but then I saw more movements at another region, so that couldn't be it. The thing wriggled for a while, stopped for some time, then started again. I kept eyeing the bag every time that happened, while the guy continued to sleep.

Could there be an animal inside? Maybe he just returned from taking his puppy for a walk? Kaypo lah, I know, but somehow I felt quite intimidated mah.

Anyway, I finally alighted with relief and walked home. Another person caught up with me near the red light crossing, when his phone started ringing -- definitely was a ringtone this time, and whaddya know, I heard, "Di daun yang ikut... mengalir lembut..."

Ola, I know that song heh. I turned to look at him (this one without bothering to be discreet) but couldn't be sure if he was an Indonesian or not, and I didn't catch what he said into the phone. (Now that would surely be rude.)

Maybe I was overreacting ah? Many Indonesians here, what. And as we could see from the various local talent shows that I no longer take interest in, many non-Indonesians also know Indonesian songs, rite (this spoken -- or rather, written -- with rare nationalism).

Ah well. There wasn't really a point in my relating these encounters, just that it has been an amusing journey after all. ^__^

Orange Coffee

The taste of orange from the orange coffee
still resides below my throat
to jump up at the push of air
and spread the fragrance inside my mouth.

As it is with my attachment to you
that subsides in favor of many things else
yet far away from being forgotten
catches me indulging in these secret smiles.


Image source: indianetzone

Force of Nature

For all the means of connectivity in this age
there are so many broken channels between us
How far would I go for this friendship
when the distance gets more than physical?

It all comes down to the depth of concern
that should've been able to cross
more oceans than just this one

Yet days lost are days not shared
An empty chair is hardly a place in the heart
Not that circumstances are above us
Rather that we don't see the need to fight.

秋去夏來

Having escaped the chilly Beijing autumn, now back in hot, hot Singapore. =) Sore, dry throat is unfortunately carried over, but water and fruits should solve that soon.

First day in once-again unfamiliar SoC @ Law Link (nope, we didn't get the permission to change the road name), I kept turning my head at people who looked like any of my friends back there. Parting is such sweet sorrow, ah?

In some ways my time in China has made me more aware of my "roots" -- the social connectivity that my parents put a lot of emphasis in, really is a very important matter for Chinese. Most of our generation tend to put pragmatism first and favor low-maintenance relationships. It is convenient, it is pressure-free, and it is acceptable in our environment.

But having been in a stranger country and braced myself for the loneliness, yet didn't feel it for long... the warm friendliness of the people I just got to know really moved me. I could imagine myself in their shoes wouldn't have done so much.

Of course, as I realized in a recent conversation with dish, it also takes sincerity for that to work out. Still I think in most cases the connection first started with a sense of social duty: to get to know the ones you sit with, to take care of a junior -- before developing into a real friendship.

I guess in my awkwardness I didn't return their hospitality as much as I should have.. but I am quite resolved to pay better attention to the people around me, now. =) My roommates and I talked so much while I was there, that I found myself much more talkative these days.

Ah well, have lined up catching-up dinners and repeated stories throughout this week, while I'm still settling down for work. =D Next week, will have to dive into hard work again. ^^;