The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee shop #30

The young lady looked at him, "Explain how unusual is it?"

The young boy looked at her hesitantly. He threw his eyes over the window.

"My father is very quiet. He doesn't talk much and walk like... a ghost, perhaps? Nearly no sound. Well, and I never expect he would go to the city and even delivered something to the shop."

"Hem," the young lady touched her chin, tapped it several times, "indeed, he didn't talk much. But it seemed like granny favours him."

"He was helped quite a lot before. I think my mother said that my father is like a brother to uncle Ted." The young boy started to dig in the pie.

"Uncle Ted? Even you refuse to call granny Lisda as grandma or else, but you call uncle Ted with uncle?"

He looked at her with innocent face, "Is it wrong?"

She scratched her head which wasn't actually itchy, "Hahaha, no, nothing is wrong. I am just still not used to your logic."

He immediately ignored her and started digging into the onion soup.

"So, what did you actually come here for? You can actually ask my father to give this to me instead."

The young lady took a short glance at him, "Sharp, aren't you?"

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #29

The young boy wasn't as energetic as usual. He had been bed-resting for the last 3 days due to a cold. His face was red and feverish. However, he couldn't stand it no more. He was agitated. He needed to get up and do something. 

This is not right, he thought. I have to do something before I root in my bed.

He spread his view across his room. Across his bed, He could see his window in the middle of the wall and a bookshelf beside it, and a small single-sofa on the other side of the window. He closed his eyes and touched his bed-side drawer by his left hand. He leaned his moved sideways to the left and felt the coldness of the wall by his back. He faced his drawer and suddenly saw something was tucked behind it. He got out of his bed and crawled down, trying to get the thing. 

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed, like a sick person usually do?" A sudden female voice surprised the young boy and he bumped his head. His body was under the drawer from head to waist. That female voice chuckled with the oddity in front of her.

"Can you get out from there? Or do you want me to pull you out?"

"It's OK, I can get out by my self." He crawled back and out. "Oh, it's you Lynn."

"Can't you recognise it just from my voice?"

"Oh, well. I am still dizzy. Ever single sound is like an explosion in my ears." 

"That's why you should be in your bed, just like a good sick person." She pulled his hands and carried him in difficulty. A 10-year-old boy was definitely not light anymore. 

"Here, I brought an onion soup and spinach pie from Granny Lisda. She was worried if something happened before your father came and brought some blueberries to us."

"My father came to the shop?"

The young lady nodded her hear while preparing the soup and pie.

"That's... unusual."

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #28

"Let's play a guessing," the old lady smiled at the young boy. Even the young lady and the middle-aged man looked at her in a quizzical expression.

"I like playing game!" The young boy was enthusiastic and nearly jumped off his chair.

"If you have to give some value of things, how will you put the order from the highest to the lowest amongst cheese, milk, and egg?" 

The boy scrubbed his chin lightly, "I think cheese will be the highest, but... I am not sure with the milk and egg. Probably nearly the same?" 

The old lady smiled. The two other were interested and listened closer. "Now, how about amongst sweater, gold, and tomato?"

The young lady folded her arms across her chest, she was interested on how her granny communicated with the young boy. This is something I've never tried before, she thought.

"Isn't gold, sweater, and tomato?" The young boy answered without confident.

"Why do you think that's a good order?" The middle-aged man asked, he seemed to understand the flow.

"Because, gold is very rare, it's difficult to find and even if you find it, you still have to shape it to make it more usable. Sweater is from wool, and wool is from sheep. We cannot take the wool anytime, well, compare to tomato, I think."

"Great!" The old lady looked satisfied. "Now, in summer, which one will be more valuable, summer shirt or coat?"

"Summer shirt of course, who would even wear a coat in summer? Ah," the young boy left his words hanging for a while, he crossed his fingers behind and put his arms behind his head, "I think I start to understand it. Thanks a lot." He smiled to the old lady.

The middle-aged man sipped his last gulp of black coffee. "Come on, Boy! Let's go to my place, we still have a business to deal with."

They pushed the door and narrowed their eyes. Seemed like the cloud had went away, letting the sunlight passed through the sky. Indeed, the day was just about to start.

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #27

"Hem, I am not so sure boy. But I think sometimes it easier to buy it with money instead of exchanging them. Because the value will be easier to be determined." The middle-aged man started eating his bacon pie.

"Like this pie. I  don't actually know, how many pizza should I give in exchange."

The boy looked at his own plate, "Yeah, me neither, I guess. If I pay it with yogurt. How may jars should I give?"

"That's why, since human needs are getting more and more, determining a value of things to another things is getting more difficult." The middle-aged man chomped another bite of the pie.

"Then, How many sugar will you give me in exchange to the tomatoes, pizza owner?" The young boy started eating his toast.

"Well, maybe this is the advantage of money. Let's see," The middle-aged man pointed his fork on his chin, tapped it for several times while thinking, "With that kind of quality and quantity, it will be around 25 pennies. Then I'll give you the sugar as much as the same cost. Fair isn't it?" He pointed his fork to the boy.

"Hmm..., maybe..." The boy sounded unsure. "But, then.., how do people determine the value of things and convert it into price?"

In the end, the day wasn't over yet.    

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #26

"You are a sharp as ever, weird boy!!" The middle-aged man laughed in a thundering voice again. He ruffled the young boy's head even rougher than before. The boy was shaken hard, he hugged the basket tighter so it wouldn't fall from his lap.

"Indeed, when did the money start being used?" The middle-aged man rubbed his rough chin with his thick fingers. 

"Does it mean, before now, people didn't use money to buy things?" The young boy asked in excitement.

"Well, probably. That's what I heard from some clever guys. Long long ago, people didn't use money to pay things. They did barter instead." That middle-aged man put the young boy on another chair beside him, and he took his cup of black coffee. 

   

"What is barter?"

"It's a way of exchanging things based on our needs boy," the young lady entered the shop with 2 plates on her hands. "Here uncle Harold, your bacon pie." She put the plate in front of the middle-aged man. 

"Is a rusk toast with butter and ham OK for you, boy? We still have some leftover bread, but I don't want to throw it. And you also brought a lot of butter." The boy just nodded. She put the plate and a cup of chocolate milk in front of the young boy, "Ah, I didn't put sugar in it so it's OK."

The boy stared on the unrequested set of meal. The old lady giggled softly.

"She already memorised your taste, I see." 

The young boy flustered. He took the cup and drink it with rose cheeks. "So, what me and pizza owner did of exchanging tomatoes and sugar is something could be called barter?" 

"Yup! It's fun, isn't it?" The middle-aged man grinned at him like a little kid.

"So, if it is so easy to do, why did people start using money?"

BDC #16 - Desynchronosis: a fancy name for a common thing

Have you ever heard desynchronosis? Sounds like a difficult thing, right? Desynchronosis is a a chronobiological problem, occurs due to a sudden change of daylight and darkness exposure to the body which is in the opposite to the body rhythms. Sounds familiar now? YES!! It's a fancy name of Jet Lag. The common term of jet lag is easier to use, since it's associated with the arrival of the personnel by using jet aircraft. 

Jet lag is basically happened because a sudden change of time of daylight and darkness exposure which the body used to. The body is naturally upset since the circadian time of the body which regulates nearly every thing of the body pattern is not match with the environment time. The common symptoms is disturbance in sleeping cycle, leads to fatigue, headache, irritability, and losing appetite. 

Jet lag could occur if we travel at least to a 3-hour-different area, though some sensitive people could experience jet lag even with a 1-hour-different time. Jet lag will become a problem especially for a regular travelers and athletes, since their performance is highly related to concentration, while jet lag is practically reducing it.

In general, our body could adjust with the new time after two and a half day, but again, it depends on the person. People say that the key point is forcing the body the experience the new day-night cycle. So if it's a day, better to walk outside the house, showered by the sunshine. Especially, light is well-known to forcefully open our eyes. When it turns to night, stay in the dark room and try to sleep. Caffeine and sleeping pills some times become the aids. 

According to some researches results by the University of Virginia, a key point to enhance the speed of body adjustment lays on a neurotransmitter named gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This GABA is responsible to pull off the body and environment clock to synchronize again. This neurotransmitter might be a new treatment target in future, which will be a big help. 

   picture source: University of Virginia (click the picture for link)

   

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #25

The young boy arrived at the back door of the coffee shop, and he tied his bicycle to the pole near the back door. He pushed the back door with his back heavily, but he nearly fell from a sudden pull from behind the door.

"Ops, sorry boy, I didn't know you were there," the young lady was holding the door half opened, "come in, I would like to throw the garbage first. Anyway, granny is inside, you can give it to her directly," she pointed the baskets on his hands.

The boy nodded once and entered the kitchen. He put the basket filled with butter and yogurt on one of the tables, and entered the shop.

"Hello, little boy. You came from the back door today," the old lady just poured a black coffee on the cup and served it to a middle-aged man sitting on the bar.

"Hello weird boy!!!" a heavy sound jarring when the eyes landed on the young boy.

"Pizza owner!!!" the young boy rushed and jumped to that middle-aged man.

"You don't have to shout, Harold. What if you gave me a heart attack," the old lady sighed and smiled. Those two always act like chimps, she thought.

"Oh, come on Lisdelle. It's been ages since the last time we met, right weird boy?" he ruffled the boy's roughly with his big hand. The boy closed his eyes, enjoying the heavy rub on his head. 

"What is this?" The middle-aged man took a peek inside the basket on the young boy's lap.

"Oh, my mom asked me to sell these tomatoes in the market and use the money to buy some sugar." 

"Oh, it's from garden? Let me buy it. Your mother always gives rise to the best vegetables. I can give you some sugar in exchange," he smiled gently.

"You all are the same. What's the use of money then, if we can just exchange things easily?"

The old lady and the middle-aged man looked at each other, and suddenly burst in to laughters. 

Indeed, this boy never got them tired.  

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #24

It was a new day in the little family-run farm. The sounds of the cattle and chickens toned up the life in that house.

"Charlie, if you are going to Granny Lisda's place again, bring this," the young boy's mother held a basket filled with blocks of butter and 2 jars of fresh yogurt. "Give it to her as a thanks for the last time's pies and breads."

"But the owner said it's a payment for the eggs and milk." The young boy received the basket with hesitation. 

"What are you talking about? Those were simply an over payment. We have to return the favour."

The boy smiled, he understood that was how his mother showed her attention to him, and also to the old lady.

"Oh, don't forget to sell these tomatoes in the market and go buy some sugar." She pushed another basket to the boy's little hand.

"How am I supposed to bring these baskets?" He pouted.

"You can use the bicycle, little boy," his mother ruffled his hair lightly, "but be sure to not lose it. Park your bicycle at Granny Lisda's place. The market isn't that far for walking right?" She turned back and walked to the kitchen.

"Are you sure I can take the bike to the city?" He was excited. His voice was risen to high notes.

"Yeah, I am sure. Just be careful, right on the side of the street, and don't rush." But the boy couldn't listen to it, he already dashed outside the house and rode his bicycle, whistling.

  

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #23

The old lady finished washing the dishes and came back to the chair. She could she a glimpse of confusion in her lovely grand-niece. 

"Why don't you go to the kitchen and help me preparing the meal, Lynn? It's soon the lunch time," she smiled at the young lady. 

"But granny...," she let her words hung. She hadn't admit defeat yet. But the old lady in front of her smiled as if saying to her, let me handle this. She gave up and stood, walked slowly and quietly to the kitchen.

"You are helping her, owner. I thought she will be my teacher today."

"She is not ready yet, let me help her to become a better teacher for you."

"What is that, you are not fair, owner." He pouted and puffed out his cheeks. He really looked like a little kid. Nobody would realize he just defeated a young lady almost twice his age.

"Because that's how my logic works." 

The boy stopped pouting. He was interested by her answer. His eyes widened in excitement, he could feel it, he would get his answer from the old lady sitting in front of him.

"Logic doesn't always fit in to the common sense, little boy. Because everybody has their own logic. Some time it could fit with some other, which make it a general things. That's when the logic becomes common. But still, you don't have to force the common sense to be yours, or vice versa." 

The young lady overheard it, but she couldn't understand it at all. She took a peek to the shop, and she saw sparks of understanding from the boy's smile.

"I was defeated, huh? So that's how she teaches him?" She smiled and turned on the oven.

  

BDC #15 - Fight the 'Natsubate' !!

I believe for those who has ever lived / been living in Japan, is familiar with 夏ばて(natsubate). It's ferived from 夏 (natsu) means summer; and　果てる　(hateru) means to be exhausted. In direct translation into English, it means 'Summer Fatigue'.

Now is June, and it's actually the time for rainy season (梅雨), however some people already start loosing their appetite. Loosing appetite under the summer heat is commonly assossiated with natsubate. 

I don't know how to actually saying it, BUT after my first winter, I might be not a tropical human anymore. I even say that 26 centigrade is HOT!!! And I also start to complain how humid Japan is. Come to think of it, my original country is SUMMER ALL YEAR LONG. It's always over 30 centigrade with humidity over 70% (even over 90% in monson season). How scary human perception is.... 

Well, I am not saying I got a natsubate (yet), and definitely not loosing any appetite (I am such a big eater), but let's summarized some tips of how to FIGHT the natsubate.

1. Avoid a sudden and large temperature changes

Sudden temperature changes will tire our body since the body has to adjust quickly. Staying in an over-chilled air-conditioned room in a long time will just make you strike by a sudden heat stroke once you step out the room. I think, this is the main reason why they are so stingy to keep the AC at 28 centigrade no matter how hot the outside weather. 

2. Keep hydrated!! 

The heat and humidity will suck our sweat dry out of the body. So never forget to keep on drinking. Water is the best option, keep taking it at least 2 L a day (trust me, you will be able to drink 2 L like nothing). But if water is just too plain to make you motivated, you could try some sport drink (which also add some more ion in your system). But, I like drinking 'Mugi-cha' (Japanese barley tea) better, since it's no calorie. 

3. Keep Eating!!

Don't lose to your self. We have to keep on nourishing our body. We just need to change our diet into more appetizing food. Here are some suggestions:

- Pickled Plums (umeboshi) : the sour taste will help you increase your appetite, and the citric acid with help you absorb more energy from your food.

- Bitter melon (goya) : in my country, it's called 'paria/pare'. The bitter taste might be undesirable, but it's unexpectedly suppresses the nausea feeling (which usually makes us less excited towards food).

-Soba and Soumen : Soba is a buckwheat noodle and soumen is a wheat thin-noodle. Both are really good to be eaten with cold 'mentsuyu' (麺つゆ), a Japanese based soup. You might think that it's weird to eat cold noodle, but trust me...it taste really good, light, and fulfilling. I don't favour heavy ramen under the thick weather. 

- Eel (unagi) :  OH YEAH!! Summer is the season of eel!! It taste heavenly good, light, and super nutritious. 

- Watermelon : who doesn't like chilled watermelon?

4. Protect your head 

I am not a fanatic of white--fair-fragile skin. I enjoy getting sun tan, BUT I don't like the dizzy feeling under the heavy sunlight. But I also don't like bringing umbrella to everywhere I go. So, at least, try to use a hat or cap. Direct sunlight will literary boil the blood veins in your head and you will easily get a nosebleed. 

So... Happy Summer everybody!!!

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #22

"How do those two connect? I still don't get it, to tell you honestly," the young boy still insisted.

The young lady chuckled softly, " You are indeed, clever but dense."

"Dense? What does it mean?"

"Wow, easy little boy, easy. Don't ask too much at once. You will get more confuse than now. I really do have to choose my words carefully, talking with you. OK, let's review it. Common means general, right?" The boy nodded as an answer. "And sense is more like... feeling, isn't it?"

He nodded again, slowly and uncertainly.

"Now, how will it be, if we combine it?" She smirked faintly, felt satisfied before hand.

"Er.., general... feelings...?" He answered doubtfully.

"Exactly!" She nearly jumped from her chair. The old lady smiled behind the bar, she is no different with him, she thought.

"Common sense is... what people generally think, or do, or fell, as a reaction or response upon something. Is it simpler than before?"

The young boy touched his chin, stared emptily to his half-filled cup of coffee milk, thinking. There is something which does not fit, something is missing, he thought.

"If it is so, then," he paused and scratched his chin which wasn't actually itchy.

"What's the difference with something your so called logic?"

And the smile from the young lady faded.   

BDC #14 - Prosopagnosia: Have you ever heard it before?

I was surfing in the internet for some news about my country, and I bumped with a very interesting article. 

Have you ever heard Prosopagnosia before? Uhuh, me neither, well at least, until today. Now, what is it actually?

Prosopagnosia came from Greek, consists of prosopon (πρόσωπον) means face; and agnosia (αγνωσία) means not knowing. It is a brain disorder of face perception where the ability recognize face is impaired, while the other aspects of visual processing and intellectual processing remain intact. In short, it means the disability to recognize faces, or face blindness.   

The term prosopagnosia was first used in 1947 by Joachim Bodamer, a German neurologist. He described three cases, including a 24-year-old man who suffered a bullet wound to the head and lost his ability to recognize his friends, family, and even his own face. However, he was able to recognize and identify them through other sensory modalities such as auditory, tactile, and even other visual stimuli patterns. 

Up to know; there are at least 3 types of prosopagnosia:

1. Apperceptive

People with this disorder cannot make any sense of faces and are unable to make same-different judgments when they are presented with pictures of different faces. In other words, they couldn't recognize both familiar and unfamiliar faces. However, they may be able to recognize people based on non-face clues such as their clothing, hairstyle or voice.

2. Associative

People with this disorder might be able to say whether photos of people's faces are the same or different and derive the age and sex from a face, which suggests that at least they can extract some information and distinguish some features on the faces. However, they may not be able to subsequently identify the person or provide any information about them; such as their name, occupation, or when they were last encountered.

 

3. Developmental 

is a face-recognition deficit that is lifelong, manifesting in early childhood, and that cannot be attributed to acquired brain damage. It is suspected as a “hereditary prosopagnosia”. Developmental prosopagnosia can be a difficult thing for a child to both understand and cope with. They may have a hard time making friends, as they might not be able to actually recognize their classmates' faces and often make friends with other children with other distinguishing features.

If you are interested to find out more, try this link. Or if you would like to read some true stories? OR want to test your own self? 

Anyway, don't stop learning something new!!! ^^

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #21

"Yes it is. She doesn't want to lose to you," the old lady teased the young lady whom she already thought as her own grand daughter, "Don't you?" She looked at her mischievously.

The young lady pouted, "Yes I am. My pride got hurt by a boy. I am not wise enough, then."

"Instead of being hurt, why don't you try to explain it again? I am deeply curious." He looked earnestly curious, indeed.

The young lady looked at him silently and suddenly burst in laughter.

"Hey, I am serious here."

"OK, OK," She wiped some tears on her eyes, "let's try it one more time." She held her breath, thought seriously, trying to find the simplest example, which was not easy at all. 1 minute passed, with every body waiting for her.

"What is common, in your point of view?" She asked him back finally.

"Common? Isn't it something general, something which is mostly?" He replied uncertainly.

"And how about sense?" She smiled, knowing how to make this right.

"Sense is... feeling. I mean, not in the mood feeling, but maybe... maybe like when you are touching something, smelling something. Isn't it?" He replied in a higher uncertainty

"How about danger? Don't we also 'sense' danger?" The old lady chimed in, smiled faintly.

"I think so... too?"

"Then you are getting closer, little boy." The old lady stood and came closer, rubbed the young boy's head.

She touched the young lady's shoulder and whispered, "Just a bit more."

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #20

The young lady was really ashamed, being told like that by a little boy, almost half her age. Her face redden from ear to ear, she felt like digging a hole deep down the earth.

"Don't be discouraged by a brat's words. I even said 'yet' at the end, right? Don't you understand what does it mean?" The young boy took his cup and went to the kitchen to take a second serving by his own.

Is his mind more mature than his age? She thought. She looked at her grandaunt to find an answer.

"He means that even if your explanation is too complicated for him now, you will be able to explain it better and more understandable, someday. That means, there is always a room to grow," the old lady ended up the pie on her plate and started indulging her usual black coffee.

"I know what he means, but being told by a kid something that I've already known feels so.... well, shameful?"

"Then, you are still at the border of common sense, your pride was hurt, right? Then, you are not lacking common sense as much as you thought before, Lynn." She smiled to her grand-niece. 

The young boy came and put his cup on the table, "So, that thing is included as pride, huh?"  

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #19

"Granny, is you breakfast always bugged by this type of questions?" the young lady was nearly choked by her chuckles. The old lady just smiled at her as the answer.

"Is this what you called school? By asking critical questions?" she turned her question to the boy.

"Well, you also do the same thing to me though," he just shrugged her with innocent face.

The old lady burst in laughter, "Come on, Lynn. You won't ever win, arguing with him. He is a very smart one. Instead, why don't you try to help him this time?" the old lady took a mouthful of the crispy pie in front her and chewed it delightfully, "Hem... You have mastered our family's recipe. I can relax now." 

The young lady pouted. He is being favourite, she thought. 

"So basically, common sense is a general frame of thinking which most people will agree with. It is a limitation to a certain degree where people think that things should be in place," she explained proudly.

The boy looked at her blankly, but she didn't realise it. She took a mouthful piece of pie in satisfaction, thinking she had gave the most splendid explanation ever.

"Lynn."

"Yes, granny?"

"If common sense is a general frame of thinking like you said," the old lady stopped, took a breath, "then, you definitely have nothing in common with him. The young lady looked at her grandaunt with question mark on her face. The old lady answered her with a slight gaze to the boy, and the young lady responded by turning her face to the boy.

"I think, you are not a good teacher...," the young boy hung his words.

"Yet."

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #18

"Wow, I didn't think you two could be friends this fast," the old lady entered the coffee shop with a paper bag on one hand.

"He is helping with the dishes. Such a nice boy, isn't he?" the young lady stopped her work and came closer to the old lady, took over the paper bag.

The boy had already finished wiping the saucers and continued wiping the leftover cups. The old lady walked to behind the bar and came closer to him.

"She is not a bad girl, right? She didn't bother you?" the old lady smiled at him gently.

"Oh come on, Granny. I am not that bad," the young lady shouted from the kitchen.

"Of course you are not. But, sometimes you over do it, Lynn. Remember what did happen every time you teased James?" the old lady moved to the other side of the bar, started preparing some roasted coffee.

"Ow, he was just a cry baby. I didn't over do it. I am just...," the young lady stopped in the middle, letting her words hanging in the air.

"Hmm..?"

"Well, indeed I might be a little crude, and lack some common senses.... sometimes," She walked out the kitchen, bringing out 3 plates of spinach pie.

"Breakfast? Tea, coffee milk, or chocolate milk?" The young lady asked the boy.

He finished his work and took over the tray from her, "Coffee milk, please. No sugar." He left her and walked to the nearest table, followed by the old lady behind him.

Once they all three sat to each other, the boy suddenly asked, "Hey..., what is common sense?"

Indeed, a new day had started.  

BDC #13 - Food Craving: Why does it exist?

This is the 4th week of my eating problem. After a cruel 3 and a half consecutive weeks of losing my appetite and not being able to eat due to ulcer, this last 2 days has become another cruel set of heavy craving. I deeply desire to eat anything extremely sweets, despised being a sweet allergic. But oddly enough, this sudden appetite will heavily drop after 4 pm, I feel like I could throw up anytime and end up not having any other food until the next day. (Yup, I have an unhealthy eating habit)

Now, how could this crazy craving happen actually?

One of the famous statements is "It's all in your head!" Well, indeed, the sudden burst of desire is actually always coming from your head. You are working at your project for non-stop weeks, and suddenly your head explode, your desire rise to the peak in milliseconds. You have to eat something NOW!! As Drewnowski, a well-known researcher on taste and food preferences, says "Food cravings arise to satisfy emotional needs, such as calming stress and reducing anxiety."

BUT, have you ever thought why does it (nearly) has to be sweets (mostly chocolate)? Foods with high levels of sugar (glucose), such as chocolate, because when glucose interacts with opioid system in the brain an addictive triggering effect occurs. Opioid system is basically a system to kill the pain. The analgesic (painkiller) effects of opioids are due to decreased perception of pain, decreased reaction to pain as well as increased pain tolerance. The side effects of opioids include sedation, respiratory depression, and a strong sense of euphoria. In consequence, if we eat sugary food while we are under stress (either physically or in mind), we will feel more relax and calmer. However if keep this eating habit in a few repetitive action, consuming sugar will make us feel the urge to consume more glucose because the brain has become conditioned to release "happy hormones" every time glucose is present.   

The other common reason is because the heavy restriction. Are you on diet? Are you restricting your self with sudden change of eating habit? If yes is the answer, then the food craving is the sign that your diet is imbalance and too cruel for your body. A sudden cut to what you usually eat will make your body strike back at you. It makes a heavy chemical change in your body which instead of getting you slimmer as you wish, it is killing you with repetitive unbearable crave.

So, the answer of food craving (in my opinion of course) is association. Once you are under stress, your body will immediately associate it with food as the solution. It can be chocolate, cake, coffee.... ANYTHING (of course including alcohol and smoke). Therefore, to break this devilish chain, we should try to preoccupied our mind with something else. So, if you are under stress due to your research or work or study, instead of running away to food, why don't you do something else as a stress relieve? We can so some work out like a short jogging, or read some books, or anything else.

Well, actually this is what I am trying to do... (FINALLY!!! I open my card, why I suddenly start writing a blog with daily post). Instead of running to food, I am trying to write any bizarre things across my mind when I get stress to my graduate studies. It might be not 100% successful, since I have been eating trash for these 2 days, but it helps me reduce my snacking to a certain point. 

So... well, you know what I mean.Let's do our best!!!

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #17

It was a new bright day. The summer was approaching fast, though sometimes there was some rain. But every thing was definitely getting warmer, included the boy's feeling. He pushed the door of his favourite shop, whistling. Once he entered, he found his favourite old lady wasn't there, instead, there was the new part-timer whom he didn't really like, wiping some freshly washed cups.

"Ow, Good Morning, boy. Oops, may I just call you boy?" He just raised his shoulders nonchalantly as an agreement.

"Like I said before, you can also call me Lynn." She continued wiping some cups. 

The boy looked at the stack of cup saucers beside her. Without being asked, he walked inside, behind the bar, and started wiping the wet saucers. The young lady just smiled thinly over the boy's kindness. 

"How old are you actually? You look a lot older than me. Isn't it impolite to call you with just your name?" 

The young lady startled a little bit by the sudden question, then chuckled.

"It's OK. I want to be your friend, an equal one. So it's OK. Besides, I don't like being called 'part-timer'," She chuckled again. "And actually, instead of being called just by my name... Don't you know that it's a lot more rude to ask a lady's age?"

The boy was speechless, he suddenly felt really bad for his behaviour.

"Hahaha, it's OK. It's just a joke, but put it in mind when you meet another lady, boy. Hem, let's see...," she touched her chin lightly, thinking. "I think..., I am 2 years older than James."

"You know big brother James?" the boy's eyes widen with excitement.

"Well, of course. We are cousins."

"But I thought he is the only grandchild?"

"Erm.., we are not directly related though. Granny Lisda and my grandma are sisters. So, well... we are still blood related. Granny Lisda is my grandaunt, and James is my second cousin to accurately say."

"That's why you call the owner so sweetly."

The young lady burst in laughter, "Well, that's one of the reason." She wiped tear drops from her eyes.  

 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #16

The young lady laughed in embarrassment. Indeed, this boy is very interesting. I wonder how will he be in the future, she thought.

"I will explain it to you, since you are very curious about my your-so-called-logic. But, only once! I will not explain more or less than I say. Deal?" The young lady just nodded her head once.

"Every thing in this world is already in an order. For me, name is one of it. Name reflects your position or rank. It's also happened in family, right? The higher your position or rank is, the freer for you to call somebody's name. Let's say my grandpa. He is higher not only from me, but also from my parents. Therefore, he is free to call my parents' name, not just mine or my sister's. But for me, because he is higher than me, then I have to call him with a title, like grandpa."

"My younger sister. I am higher than her, so I could call her name. But because she is lower than me, she can't call my name freely, she has to put a title on my name, like big bro, or just brother."

She looked at him deeply as she followed his explanation.

"If it's between friends. Well, there is also an order in friendship, actually. Some people are still actually higher or lower, even in friendship. That's why, I don't want to call the owner with any title."

Now, there was a huge question mark on the young lady expression.

"I love the owner very much. She is my closest friend. And because of that, I want to be equal with her, though there is a huge gap between our age. By not giving a title or calling the name, it gives me a sense of equality."

"Aren't owner and little boy also titles?" She asked.

"No, it's different. Those are facts, not titles. In fact, I am just a little boy, and she is the owner of this coffee shop."

The young lady mesmerised by his explanation.

"Indeed, what is logic actually?" She ended the conversation and brought the peeled oranges to the kitchen, smiling. 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #15

"Did he give a hard time, Lynn?" The old lady put off her scarf and coat.

"Not really. I've just happened to never meet this type of kid before," that young lady smiled thinly, took the coat and scarf from the old lady and hung it.

"She was the one who gave me a hard time," the boy got out from the kitchen, pouted.

"And why is that, little boy?"

"Because of the way I address you, owner. Hey, is it really weird to call you owner instead of granny or something similar?" He climbed the high chair in front of the bar.

"No, of course not," the old lady patted his head, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Bitter chocolate milk."

"You don't like sweet?" The young lady asked him again.

"Are you taking a liking with me? You really ask a lot." The old lady chuckled while walking to the kitchen. The young lady just smiled thinly and kept on peeling the oranges behind the bar.

"I just want to, for today. Don't feel like something sweet." He gave up.

"If you say that you call Granny Lisda as owner because you are friend, how do you call the other kids? You do have some kids as friends, right?"

"I call them their name, of course."

"Then, why don't you just call her Lisda, just her name?"

The boy glared at the young lady, Is she stupid or what? He shouted at heart.

"Isn't it obvious that it's impolite for a little boy like me to call her just by her name?"

"Ah... I see. Indeed, you have a unique logic."

"What is logic, anyway?" He said indifferently. 

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #14

He was about to burst in annoyance but he held it well. "How I address her is my business. Why does it matter to you. Anyway, you are just a new comer."

"Well, because I am new, I want to know that. It would help me to know how to address everybody here, including you." The boy reacted with a slight glance on his eyes. "You didn't like it when I called your name."

Ah, so she noticed, the boy thought.

"But anyway, I want you to call me Lynn. Now, answer me." She moved closer, made them sat face-to-face, just separated by the bar between them. 

"Well," that boy moved his eyes to another corner, avoiding the straight eyes from the young lady sitting in front of him. "It's because we are friend. She is not my grandmother, so there is no necessity to call her granny or something like that. I just call her owner."

"That's....an unusual way of thinking." That young lady managed to choose her words carefully.

"You mean weird, right? I get used to it." He raised his shoulders, tensed.

"Well, everybody has their own way of thinking, I guess. And...may I know how does she call you?"

"I just call him little boy," suddenly the old lady entered the cafe with two huge paper bags full of oranges, "Right, little boy?"

"Owner!" The boy dashed to the door and took the paper bags from her without being asked, and went to the kitchen.  

The Tale of a Boy in a Coffee Shop #13

"I am sorry, but I am new here, so I don't know where Granny put the money to pay you," that young lady said in an apologetic tone.

"It's OK, I can wait until the owner comes." The boy just sat on the chair in front of him, just in front of the bar.

"So, Charlie." The boy just glanced his eyes to the right corner without turning his head as a reaction. The young lady sensed a feeling of dislike from the boy's reaction. "It's your name, right? May I call you that? You can call me Lynn too," she said. The boy just nodded his head.

"You don't go to school today? It's Wednesday."

The boy looked at her with an amazed gaze. "It doesn't mean I don't want to."

It was the young lady turn to look amazed, "So..., you can't?"

"Well, what do you expect from this time? It's not like school is free. But, it's OK. My school is here," He spoke nonchalantly. "Hey, Did the owner say where is she going to?"

"You are not like any other kid I've ever seen. Why do you call her owner, instead of Granny like any other kids?"

"You are definitely not answering my question, here."

"Well, she said she is going to buy some oranges for today's cake. Now, answer me."

 

BDC #12 - Quiescence: What is that?

I am not a linguistic student, nor a native English speaker (yeah, you could realize it from my shabby writing skill). Thus, while I was reading this week home work journal, I bumped to an unfamiliar word: quiescence. OK, what is this word? Well, the paper did explain it, but only in stem cell-related term. I need it in a more common meaning.

I looked in some dictionary and it turns out that  quiescence (noun) is a state or condition of being a quiescent (adjective), rest, quiet, inactive, or motionless. However, it doesn't actually mean being a sleep. The meaning is more closely to being dormant or latent.

Oh...how words could be really confusing!

In cell biology, it refers to that period when a cell is not dividing. E.g., if a neuron is not firing, or a muscle cell is not contracting, these cells are in a quiescent state. Quiescence cells don't mean they are dead. Well, some researches consider quiescent cells can undergo cell death or reenter cell cycle depending on the stimulating signal. They commonly associate quiescence with G0 not G1 phase. To describe quiescence as the cells whose fate is death is not completely accurate because even if quiescence applies also to terminally-differentiated cells, some of those cells still can de-differentiate to reenter the cell cycle.  

In Stem Cell Biology, the meaning (again) slightly differ. Quiescence in is when the stem cells' property are conserved by the niche and not at the time to undergo repeated cell cycles, but still might be stimulated so to do later. For example: the satellite cells in the skeletal muscles of mammals that are quiescent myoblasts, which will proliferate where there is muscle injury or wounding; and will give rise to more muscle cells by fusion (YAP!!! of course it's related to the post #10!!!! You remember it!!!). 

FIUH!!! I am satisfied now after finding the meaning ^^

 

BDC #11 - Say Hello!! In Romanian

I am in the midst of getting crazy due to the whole mess in my mind.  I  have been a procrastinater-but-also-multi-tasker for nearly my whole life which makes me never stop thinking, even while sleeping. It's nearly summer here in Japan and the day is getting longer. As the consequence, I am lack of sleep. 4 hours a day is definitely not enough for a heavy sleeper like me. The "hibernating-bear" - effect (that's the name of the always-sleepy-during-winter condition I gave on my first winter) is getting away from my body and mind. Now, I can't really focus on which one to finish first. URGH!!!!

So, as another break out, I am not going to discuss anything scientific today. I did a skype with my good friend (who is also my Romanian teacher). And I think I will just post some introduction about Romanian language.

Romanian (limba română) is a Romance language officially spoken by around 24 million people as a native language, especially in Romania and Moldova; and by another approximately 4 million people as a second language, mostly at the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia and in the autonomous Mount Athos in Greece

Romanian is a Romance language, belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family, having much in common with languages such as French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Romanian has obvious grammatical and  lexical similarity of Romanian with Italian which has been estimated at 77%, followed by French at 75%, Sardinian 74%, Catalan 73%, Spanish 71%, Portuguese 72%.

However, the languages closest to Romanian are the actually other Eastern Romance languages, spoken south of Danube, which are: Aromanian/Macedo-Romanian, Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian, which are frequently classified as dialects of Romanian. Therefore, an alternative name for referring the Romanian-romanian used by linguists to disambiguate with the other Eastern Romance languages is "Daco-Romanian", referring to the area where it is spoken (which corresponds roughly to the onetime Roman province of Dacia).

Some linguists consider Romanian as the closest living language to Latin due to the structure. However, other studies have disputed these claims, showing that Romanian has had a greater share of foreign influence than some other Romance languages such as Italian in terms of vocabulary and other aspects. During the Middle Ages, Romanian was also became heavily influenced by the Slavic languages and to some degree by Greek. 

OK, enough with the short introduction. Let's end this post with some greetings in Romanian ^^

·      Bună Dimineaţa    = Good morning

·      Bună Ziua            = Good day / Good afternoon

·      Bună Seara         = Good evening

·      Noapte Bună        = Good night

·      Bine Ai Vinit        = Welcome

·      Ce faci?              = How are you?

·      Sunt bine             = I am good

·      Nu sunt bine         = I am not good (I am not OK)

·      Aşa şi aşa            = (Just) So so...

·      Mulţusmesc          = Thank you

·      La revedere          = Good bye (Until we meet again / See you again)

·      Pa, pa!                 = bye, bye!

OK, pa pa!!