Born to be different

Justification is not needed as long as you know it's absolutely fine to be different. I can't imagine otherwise. :)

let it snow.

I love the snow of December.

this year it's even more special. It's not only my first pre-Winter experience here in the states, it's the first time ever in 20 years (or more) that classes have been canceled in UW due to snowstorm. Now that's a big deal, I'm witnessing a historical event here. :)

So, cheers to the snow.

December

2010 in less than a month, like wow - time really flies. This calls for another round of reflection and chronological archive of what I've done for the past 12 months eh? Well, here goes:

January, 2009.
I've just gotten out of a relationship, it was really tough but thankfully it healed with passing of time.
My beloved lecturer, Dr. Renuka passed away in a freak accident. I still miss her.
I visited Penang for the very first time with Lils & her bf. It was for TOEFL but screw it, our main agenda was to eat.

February, 2009.
Got involved with AMAZING RACE.
First Chinese New Year celebration away from home. To be more specific, in KL. Dang, I wish I had more red packets tho!

March, 2009.
I was bridesmaid for my sister's wedding.
Went to MPO for the first time!

April, 2009.
Did an awesome video for Yunka's trial. It's our last collaborative project in Inti!
Since it's the last month in Inti, I started reminiscing. The cheap food, supper, DC++, irregular bedtime, exes, university applications, bro, the lecturers, my room, and the people.

May-July, 2009.
First internship in an audit firm. Met a lot of awesome people there, and we are still best of friends til now.

August, 2009.
End of internship, my colleagues threw a farewell party for me.

in the very same month, I packed up all my bags and head for the states. It was one of the toughest times, feeling excited, worried and confused at the same time but thankfully everything worked out smoothly.

Thought that Summer is a wonderful season, love Fall even more.
Participated in a partnership program called BRIDGE.
Classes are manageable and fun.
Got obsessed over online shopping.
Bought a guitar.
Bought a bunch of stuff.
Cook like a chef wannabe with my deco going crazy!
Went water skiing for the first time, as an observer.

September, 2009.
Met a street performer who made my presence in this strange environment felt.
Celebrated my 20th birthday with a blast, tonnes of food, good company, heartfelt wishes.
Blog has been slowly neglected.

October, 2009.
Decided to pick up blogging again. From only 5 posts in September to 18 posts in October. Tremendous improvement!
Went to devil's lake for Fall photo shooting, Ten Chimneys and Milwaukee with BRIDGE.
Shamelessly published my first original song online.
Ice-skating for the first time!

November, 2009.
Performed for Deepavali night.
Fished for the first time.
Found my niche in Madison.
Thanksgiving with Page. It was such a wonderful experience!

So I'm leaving the best of 2009, month of December for another post.

I wonder what it's gonna be like?

Goal

A goal is a dream with a dateline. Not when I'm on it.

Believe it or not, sometimes fortune cookies can be inspirational. Except maybe when you add 'in bed' after each statement. lol.

So, a goal eh? I guess I used to have a concrete goal way back when and even dedicate a blog exclusively to it. Looking back, I sort of missed that part of me - the dreamer, the planner. It's been a while since I've been passionate about something - and well, people don't count. Things have changed and I realized that we don't need to stick to just one goal in life, they change as we grow up, and sometimes it's not a bad thing to plan as we go. Honestly, everything is of blur right now. I can't tell you what I see myself in 3 years to come but I can definitely tell you that I will not look back and regret that I've made this choice instead of sticking to what I was rooting for after high school.

However, it is still sort of a tradition for me to wish those who're taking the ACCA exams, good luck and all the best. Go get em tiger!

NO WAY?!

Drama never ends. What the hell man.


I'm just glad how truth unfolds.

:)

It snowed today. :)

Hear me out

I'm so physically and mentally tired right now. This is not me. I don't give in to stress.

So like, I kinda really miss home right about now. :(


Oh well, it's just one of those dysfunctional moments. I'll be fine.

What a good way to end Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a huge celebration here in the states, it's like our Chinese New Year celebration - high time for family to get together, have hearty meals, meet up with old friends and making new ones. Some travel and explore new places, while some return to their respective hometown, catching up with memories or simply, to relax.

Albeit being far away from home, my Thanksgiving was a good one. The getaway with the Mieritz was awesome, and it ended with a blast this weekend - not to mention spontaneous one because this morning Yuen, Kit, WM, RenQ and me drove all the way to Chicago's Chinatown for a hearty feast. BOY IT WAS HEAVY ALRIGHT! We had 8 dishes I couldn't even move an inch after I'm done. Oh man, I must have put on a ton of weight this Thanksgiving. I'm a stuffed turkey, if I must say.

But you know what? I kinda like the country more now that I can compare and contrast both settings. I guess I know what I'm looking forward in life already :).

Since thanksgiving break is coming to an end (le sigh), I should write something to honor this awesome celebration. I'm thankful for the people whose made my life bearable, interesting & filled with love - parents, siblings, friends, and lovers. You guys totally rock ma socks! ♥

First Thanksgiving in the US of A.

This is going to be a rather long post, with both words and photos. Pardon me for the incoherence, for I'm still pretty psyched over the whole Thanksgiving break. It was awesome and I'm glad I made the final decision to stay longer than I'd initially planned.

On Wednesday, Page picked me up from my apartment, after picking up some books from the library and Ashton (Page's younger sis) from her place, we're finally on our way to Ridgeway! It's probably 40 minutes drive from Madison but I'm not too sure because we stopped by several places to get some errands done. Once we reach, I was greeted with a beautiful bungalow. According to them, it used to be a school house way back when. I like the simple designs, expansive indoors and tranquil surroundings. That's the kind of place I want to spend the rest of my retirement years in.

Page just got back from hunting, note that they have a hot tub too!

I didn't take any photos indoor because I don't want to be rude and intrusive, but I can tell you that it is a very family oriented and well-thought house. Basically it has 2 rooms for each of the daughters, 2 living areas, basement and a loft where her parents sleep. I love the way they decorate their house, there is a good amount of art work, plants, and memento-like items around the house, strategically placed in corners I wouldn't have expected. It doesn't take a genius interior designer to do the job, it takes a careful and observant eye to do so. It is truly inspirational :).

Did I mention that they have a cutie pie Golden Retriever called Cory?

She's such a honey. :) I miss her already!

Well, according to Page it's a tradition to go to the bars on the eve of Thanksgiving. So I joined her and few of her high school friends in Dodgeville and we were basically barhopping. I may have drank a few beers and cocktail, but I definitely danced a hell lot at Time Out, yup that's one of the last bars we went and stayed until it was closing time. The DJ was kind of rude cos he screamed, "Get the fuck out of here" even though it was only 1:20 a.m. Boo. And damn, I miss dancing so much! It's so relieving and relaxing. I mean, I've danced a couple of times in funk and stuff, but nothing compares with a little boost from loud music and alcohol. You just go crazy with your moves!

It was around 2 when we reached home, I showered and crashed almost immediately.

I woke up only at 12:33 the next day and missed hunting with Page! Oh dang, but I end up helping her mum, Sue with preparing Thanksgiving meals.

But before we serve dinner, Page took me out for a little tour around Ridgeway, to her dad's barn and to the Hyde Mill.

Mark's barn.

I'm the King of the HAY!Love the contrast. The greeny stuff are radishes. They only grow in cold streams.

Hyde Mill! More than 100 years worth of historical value.

Isn't it lovely?

so after the lovely little tour around Ridgeway, it's time to dig in! Page's grandma also joined us for....

Thanksgiving dinner!

Fresh from the oven. *free bird playing in the background*

Time to cut em up!

Perfect with fresh cranberry sauce

Fantastic artichoke spinach stuffings!

I helped made this. Sue calls me the Masher!
Ashton and her wickedly delicious croissants!

Dig in!

So after the heavy meal, I fell asleep almost immediately. It was a good sleep, considering I haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks. This is what I call a relaxing break.

The next day we went to Galena, Illinois! It's a small town located in the borders between Illinois and Wisconsin.

Some of the early Christmas decoration along the streets of Galena.

We went to Galena Cellars and tasted some wine. Taste 6 different types for only $3! Wines that I've tasted are: Sauvignon Blanc, Nouveau, White Zinfandel, Niagara, Cranberry Wine and Chocolate Port. Basically Sauvignon Blanc is too dry for my liking; Nouveau tasted good but I'm not a big fan of red wine; Zinfandel taste a lot like grape juice; Niagara too!; Cranberry Wine is like Cranberry Vodka while Chocolate Port has an interesting taste. It was nonetheless a tough choice to make but Sangria is my best choice, not to mention safest too!

Hey people, let's get together for some drink :)

Galena Cellars! Great place to get wine.

Lol, believe me or not, this is the first time I've ever made a wish to Santa Claus. I wished for a good grade for my finals, and he said that's up to me. Well, that's a calling for me to work super hard! By the way this is taken in Poopsies, it's a cute little shop selling variety of gifts and holiday items!

Some of the views from streets of Galena.

Some church up on the hills.

It's really hilly around here, houses follow the terrain so it's pretty cool.

Cutesy buildings.

Streets of Galena, a quaint peaceful little town with tonnes of shops selling arts and crafts, food produce, clothing and gifts! I love it :)

So something funny happened in one of the shops we went into. It sells like variety of sauces and jams. Then Page and me stumble upon this:
How hot can it be, right? So we both took a pretzel, dipped it in the pool of red spicy sauce and started munching away. THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT KIDDING. I just googled and found out that it is THE WORLD'S HOTTEST CHILE PEPPERS! OMG NO WONDER I FELT LIKE DYING.

Oh GOD, it was the most fiery hot thing I've ever put in my mouth. I was tearing up and my body was on fire! We felt like we almost died from the crazy hot sauce, and started to put every kind of jam we could in our mouth with hopes to cool off the spiciness. It didn't help much, but I sure had lotsa fun trying all sorts of sauces, the only problem is I couldn't taste them at all cos my tongue is literally on fire. LOL. That was really funny! We laugh about it the whole day.

Well, Imma lay off spicy stuff for a while now.

Anyway it was nearly evening so we decided to head back since we'll be heading out to the bars again later that night to celebrate Joey's birthday.

Yay! Group pic: Ashton, Sue, me and Page! Love you guys!

Well, Friday night was technically the last night I'm spending at Page's, and it was fun to go out together again and hit the bars in Ridgeway. I had a little bit too much to drink later that night with a combination of beer and Cranberry Vodka, considering the fact that I've had a couple of wine that afternoon during the wine tasting already! Gasps! But thankfully I danced a lot towards the end - and I went totally nuts when they play Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. It was an awesome night cos I've met some of Page's friend again from the eve of Thanksgiving and it was really fun to see familiar faces. Again, we only got home around 2 a.m., lol. Crazy I know!

However I managed to wake up to a text this morning, and we came back to campus by noon cos I'd just realized how much work is due next week but screw it anyway. Before that, Page drove me to some of the places of interest like Mt. Herob, Tyrol Basin, and a sneak peak at the Norwegian village. It's really exciting to know that there are so many things to do around here! My next goal is to ski during winter at Tyrol :). Long term goal? DRIVE!

Anyway it's been a really rewarding break for me. Before I go on to the serious stuff, the boys in Ridgeway & Dodgeville ARE SO MUCH HOTTER! And I'm probably the only Asian lurking around for the past three days. LOL. I digress.

I've grown closer to Page and her family, we talked about a ton of stuff which I never have expected to talk about. One morning I was having an intimate conversation with her mum, she told me that she really wishes for her daughters to live with her, for as long as they could because she misses that part of her life. I also realize how closely knit her family is, from the way they interact and joke with each other. I see another side of Page, which I've not seen here in Madison. I was furthermore exposed to what a true Midwest culture means and I'm glad to have enjoyed it.

Watching them makes me miss my own family so much. The casual banters and conversations, the time where all of us used to sit together in the dinner table, savoring mum's cooking while we talk about what's going on in our lives. It's been a while since we do that, and I truly miss that. I miss the time where we don't have computers at home, where all of us actually sit around the TV watching a common show while we talk about something irrelevant but it's nonetheless fun.

I'm just glad I was able to enjoy the warmth of a family while I'm miles and miles away from home. Thank you very very much, for winter isn't too chilly after all. :)

THANKSGIVING!

Folks, I'll be away for Thanksgiving and hopefully I'll come back with more stories to share :)

Enjoy and have a great holiday!

Attempt to blog #91827

I have the tendency to start a post without actually having the motivation to finish it. It gets really frustrating at times because I feel like I'm not doing my experiences justice. I want to write my feelings down because I'm afraid I might lose them with time. So here I am, trying very hard to put them together before memory fails me.

Here I am, enjoying my first ever proper breakfast in Madison. I'm sick of the cereal with milk combo even though I'd proudly proclaim that it was one of the best breakfast I'll ever have, sadly my preference changed and now I'm into heavy, oily, meaty breakfast. :) But if it wasn't for the all nighter that kept me awake til now, I wouldn't have had the motivation to cook something hearty to make myself feel better about not being able to sleep. le sigh.

Anyway, it's Thanksgiving this Thursday! I personally can't wait to join my friend and her family for a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner - it's bound to be a great experience. Other than that it would be a great time for me to relax and rest. It's been a while since I did that, seriously.

A lot has been going on in my life, some worth sharing, others well, I try to keep it low. I might talk about it the future, but certain things should be kept short and sweet. Literally. However, one of the greatest things I've discovered here in Madison is none other than..friends I've met. Remember how I always go on and on about meeting new people? Well, I guess my wishes eventually came true because I've met some awesome people here.

I guess Thanksgiving arrive just in time. :) I would like to thank my family, for being so supportive and believing in me. I also would love to thank all my friends, for being such awesome companions. To the haters, thanks for making me stronger.

Thank you.

Out of my mind?

Another all-nighter. Simply because I can't sleep, again.

Spacing out

Can't believe I missed all my class today. Epic FML.

Note to self: get a real alarm clock that makes annoying sounds. LOL