Graduation and stuff..

Back from hibernation and procrastination, I've decided to give my blog a new look, a new sound and now, of course, a new post as the first step to a new chapter in my life. After 4 years in this tiny town, I've finally got my degree. Although these 4 years had it's awkward moments and bad experiences, I've learned and grown so much..and not forgetting, I've enjoyed most of those 4 years. Travels, friends and fun random spontaneousness definitely made things interesting. During graduation week, families started pouring into this small town. Honestly, it did made me a little jealous because my family were not able to make it. Everyone else had someone, and I didn't.. even my sister wasn't here..hmm...but oh well, like I said, graduating with my friends and celebrating with their families were fun. Different, but fun nonetheless. And since my parents could not make it, they sent me 2 dozens of roses! Coming home from an award ceremony one evening and I found a box of roses for me! That made my day and definitely put a smile on my face. The roses bloomed beautifully and waking up to the smell of roses was refreshing.

During graduation, I was awake since 5.30am to prepare for the student leaders awards and breakfast..I was so tired that my makeup was pretty lousy..haha..even my mom said she can't tell if i actually had make up or not...lol..anyways, yawning throughout the day wasn't the best thing either. haha..After the breakfast, I went home to try to get ready and fix my hair a little better. Then, it was picking up my friends who needed a ride and heading towards the arena..and of course, I got the wrong location..haha..luckily, we decided it was odd that we were walking in an opposite direction from everyone else, and followed someone else instead..imagine what it would be like to show up at the wrong place! lol..I know, this is the sort of thing I always do..but we made it on time and got to our different majors. In Finance, I realized that most of my classmates were guys..I wondered what happened to the rest of the girls who were in my class...hmm....anyways, I lost my tassel when a guy bumped into me (I am not that short ok? I just don't understand why these guys keep bumping into me... ^_^"") ..I was frustrated because I was the only one in my row without a tassel. After speeches and stuff, we were finally getting our diploma folder. I was too tired to smile and be excited, not to add that Norwood had difficulty with my name despite the fact that 3/4 were actually made up of english names..I walked across the stage with a frown..it was pretty funny because Dr Liu, our department chair, actually asked why I was so sad and that I should smile..haha..in actuality, I was too tired and confused by many thoughts in my head.. After walking back to my seat, it was another long wait. I think most people in my row almost few asleep while waiting..The entire ceremony was almost 3 hours!

Anyways, after the ceremony, it was a game of hide and seek, trying to locate my bag and stuff..not to mention, to look for my friends who were there to see me and also those who needed me to give them a ride back. It was chaotic and exhausting. Walk, Walk, snap picture, walk, phone call, walk back, pose for picture, walk somemore....at the end of the day, I had blisters on my feet from walking in the wrong directions in everything all day! *sigh* Anyways, the bottom line is I graduated and I found all my stuff, including my tassel! haha..I got calla lilies a card from Monica and ice cream from Stefan! haha..those cheered me up from my blister and exhaustion. After that, I went to the engineering ceremony since most of my friends are graduating too.. (I managed to sneak in at the last 15min due to the ice cream stop..haha)

Anyways, here are some pictures! Enjoy~

Aren't they pretty?

Leadership Walton! with Sara and Renee

Stefan!

Diego!

(Can't believe he wasn't gonna come for the ceremony.. )

***

Stefan & Diego, I'm gonna miss you both!!!!! Can't believe it's been 4 years since we first met at the lobby in Yocum! And you guys took care of me and all those study groups in the middle of the night, late night snacks, and of course, our weekly movie nights..Hope we'll keep in touch wherever we all end up at! Call me when you come to the east coast!

***

Richard!!!

Old main

more old main

I'm tired..

Getting late

I just needed another picture..haha

***

Now that I've graduated, I wish the paperwork from my new school would come so I can go home..hmm..I'm craving so many Malaysian food already..

Rill, we're going to eat to our heart content when I come back! =p

Oh yes, I got into grad school~~~

One of the best CNY abroad

Like everyone back in Malaysia, I had a great CNY dinner.One of the best CNY I'd ever have abroad.. after 4 years, finally a Malaysian style CNY gathering dinner...there were 22-23 of us, with only 5 non-Malaysians.

Starting off the evening was yee sang prepared by Lili and then steamboat! I helped made the meatballs! hehe...I arrived early that day to help entertain lil' Jon Jon and to make meat balls..hehe..funny of Jon Jon to be so entertained by me all the time. Apparently, he's quiet and well behaved when he sees me, so he's happy to see me. Guess all babies like me? haha..anyways, it was great to meet all the Malaysians and have a great time together. Chatting, catching up with each other, watching their kids grow..it feels funny to be one of the youngest among them, and not being someone else's kid there..the youngest adults..felt strange for once, but fun..

Here are the pics:

Poor Dash was banished to the yard..no space for the big Dash

Preparing for yee sang~

Everyone getting ready to "lou sang"

Eating

They were trying to make me feel guilty for having to leave a pot "mushroom-less"..haha..

White Chinese New Year 2011!

Most people have White Christmases, but I have White Chinese New Year! =D

This year, we had about 8inches of snow the first week, with extremely low temperatures. The university refused to close until 9.30am on Thursday as the transit bus could no longer run safely. I was in class when I received the text message, stating that the university will close and the last bus will be in 10minutes! You can imagine how all of us ran out of class and towards the bus stop, all cramming into the bus like a can of sardine. Anyway, the snow did not stop for the weekend either..which means sledding and making snowmen...luckily I had groceries stocked up just in case of emergency.. =D

Later the next week, we had more snow! 25inch of thick, white, fluffy snow and -23'F temperature made Fayetteville colder than Alaska! haha..pipes froze up, people snowed in, stores closed and well, you get the picture. No one was crazy enough to brave the weather and head out like me..hehe..i drove around town, in search of delicious soup to go with the cold weather. I had delicious butternut squash soup at Atlanta Bread one day and instead of more soups, I had 2 nights of warm steamboat with friends. Since Arkansas is not equipped to deal with such severe weather, schools were closed for the entire week, cars drifted, people stranded, pipes burst everywhere, heaters on fire, roads unploughed and I had NO shovel! So, being creative, I used my sled and legs as alternatives..hehe..All in all, I had a great Chinese New Year with ample snow~~ School finally resumed today and there's so much catching up to do since we had been out for 2 weeks.

Pictures time:

Snowmen

Poultry Science Lawn where I sled and others broke their arms and legs doing so! =p

Sled

With 8-10inch of snow:

With 25inch of snow, +1-2inch every hour:

This is what I woke up to

Can you spot my car?

6inch of snow on my windshield..

Got buried while cleaning...imagine how much snow there is!

Around town:

(Can you spot the stranded car?)

Where's the railroad track???

Winter Getaway 2010

Like every other year, I take a trip, a getaway if you will.. This time, it was nearer to home..Houston, TX! Our 10 hours drive started at 6am. It was pleasant drive there at first, since I only drove 2 1/2 hours of it..haha..however, our drive was longer than 12 hours! haha..guess what happens? Like every time, something interesting has to happen..this time, another flat tire! hehe..I was sound asleep when he pulled the car by the busy highway and woke me up, and the first thing he said "I think we got another flat tire *grins*".. For some mysterious reason, every trip I take, something like that is bound to happen. The day before we left, he had gotten a flat tire and changed it out. 2 weeks before that, we changed another flat tire during our Thanksgiving day trip. Anyways, we pulled over by the highway, tried to get change the flat tire out with our new gadgets! hehe..he must be thankful that I made him bought the new gadgets, since the last time we did it with the pathetic small gadgets that came with the car, we couldn't even get the car above ground level..anyways, a man pulled up by the highway and started reversing towards us. He was friendly enough to offer us help and directions to the nearest body shop.

Ok, after changing out the tire in the midst of heavy traffic, we started heading towards the body shop the man had told us to. First body shop -NO such tires in stock. Second body shop: NO tires in that size either..Well, they gave us another body shop to go to, and this time, it was starting to get dark and traffic was picking up..we stopped by a gas station to refill gas and reconfirm our directions. Guess what? The guy gave us a body shop which was 2 hours away.. ^_^"" How were we gonna get there with the small spare tire? So, the guy at the gas station gave us a couple of nearby body shops addresses. At the gas station, we meet some Chinese guys who kept staring at our car and us..then, after 20min, 3 of them came and ask if we were from UA and apparently, they know who he is and have seen us on campus... ^_^""" (i guess that's what being president is like huh? many know who u are, but u may not..haha)

Ok, Houston..we spent the first 2 days getting his passport renew and the car fixed. So, I was either sitting around in Starbucks with my book or walking around the area by myself while he's busy somewhere else..We also got to go to Galleria Houston, the 4th largest mall in the US..it was lovely..we went there almost every other day.. =p

Anyway, this trip, we got to eat a lot of good chinese food..we stumble upon this first place in downtown Galleria and they were pretty good..i was a happy camper..we came here for the first 2 nights in a row.. the dim sum and food service were excellent! We also went to Cheesecake Factory for my favorite meal and cheesecake..on Christmas Eve, we went ahead and got me my tiramisu cheeesecake for Christmas breakfast..hehe..ok, so, we had lots of good chinese food to eat! Even "ta pao" home duck rice for my next day's lunch on our way home from Houston...

Oh, we also went to visit NASA center. The place was really cool, you can actually see what they do and get a tram tour around the facility..you can't imagine how big and yet cramp a rocket really is..the way they eat, cook, shower and even go to the restroom is interesting..hehe..there were several games to play with, several performances and of course, LEGO showcase at the same time! =D

Overall, my trip was shopping, sightseeing, eat, eat and more eating..it was a blast! =D

*Pics time!*

yummy char siew and dim sum!
he was excited for pickled appetizers..
Part of a rocket @ NASA

LEGO!!!!

Beautiful sunset at Galveston Island

this last pics was just for fun..he was irritated by me snapping pics.. =p

Thanksgiving Week

This year's Thanksgiving is different than every other year..no house hopping, no big-time entertaining, just simple and fun. Johnny brought a turkey from his company and I cooked it. And some dishes. =) I'm splendidly surprise of my cooking skills..really...it's my first time cooking a turkey, well, cleaning a poultry that is not already fillet, cleaned, packed and ready to cook..it had everything intact..it was an interesting experience that I hope not to do again..haha..i mean the cleaning part. Anyways, turkey turned out great. Stuffing was ok, gravy was perfect..after an entire day of toil and labor, we had our delicious Thanksgiving dinner..

Black Friday was fun too. We went to Tulsa, OK to shop..hehe..and well, there were couple of good deals..bought couple of stuff and Christmas presents. All were fine and well, happy as can be, we headed back. But then, of course, something has to happen..as always! =p Flat tire! We pulled over, tried to remove the nuts but they were screwed in too tight..both of us were not able to get them loose..so, we decided to pull over on a flatter road..Thank God for the kind and helpful people out in the nowhere..an old man saw us pull over near his place and immediately came out to help. He jacked the car, and helped us change the tire..and he even told us where to get new tire which was just 2 min away. All is well, we got the tire changed for low price and we were set to go..eventful huh?

anyways, GRE on Monday..pray for me and wish me luck! =)

Day Trip to Praire Grove

Today was different..I spent my day at a couple's new house today. Jaci and Michael were building their house from scratch, every plank cut and trim, every dirt poured, every single detail were personally done by the couple. It was amazing, how much effort and details went into the planning. When we got there, we were greeted by the dogs (surprise, surprise...more dogs...) I'm just not a big fan of overly excited/hyper dogs.. Anyways, they were so hospitable and friendly..i enjoyed my time. I learnt so much about animals, building a house, designing your house, nature and a bit of nature stuff..i hate never got so close to nature and animals as i did today. =)

I got to see 100s of hummingbirds up close. Did you know they hum and make sounds as they eat from the feeder..and they can fly backwards or stay at the same spot for some time? They fly at more than 34 mph..fast huh? I was enjoying the sight until one of it flew right into the glass door and fainted..it was so scary! I thought it broke its neck and died..luckily, it was alright. Jaci took it inside the house and it started gaining consciousness again..she brought it out for us to look up close and said it would come around in couple minutes..so i thought it'll be a great idea to lean in and admire the bird up close and personal..but that little thing flew right at my face and went back out to the feeder..i was so surprised when that happened that I flinched and spilled my drink all over me.. ^_^" (anyone who knows me knows this is NOT highly unusual..haha..) i felt so bad..oh, and they put away the dogs for me too..they brought them out one by one, well, not the big ones to say hi to us..Lucky impressed me the most. It's the sweetest thing ever..

We had a tour of the house and property..found lots of interesting stuff during our short hike..i got hit in the face by a grasshopper which was jumping way too high..didn't get to ride horses though, which was what i was looking forward to but it's ok..basically, i got to be out in nature, without getting allergies..it's an awesome feeling! At least for someone who grew up without animals and much nature..haha..oh, later, we cooked Bak Kut Teh, scramble eggs with tomatoes, stir-fry spicy chicken and rice for dinner for them. It was our treat, of course..I was afraid they would hate the food, but to my surprise, they loved it! =D I was so excited..hehe..after dinner, we played mahjong. Jaci bought the mahjong set from China, so we were learning it..they are really fast-learner and strategist..hehe..shows how much more i need to learn in reading people during the game. All said and done, I had an awesome time. I really appreciate them having me over today..it was quite an experience..although they probably think i'm weird because i never bother about animals or nature much before..haha..

BTW, their house is pretty awesome!!! esp, the kitchen. It's huge and oh, the recess lightings are amazing..and the large island..it's not quite done yet but i love the layout! =D

Summer fun

I spent the last few days hanging out with my friends, catching up with friends here and everywhere else, studying GMAT, baking and other fun stuff..hehe. So far, we had steamboat/ hot pot (yes, we ate it during this horribly hot weather! XD ) and bak kut teh..what's next? haha..I have one more week of freedom before I move into the dorm again for work. Staying in the dorm would have its perks: free food, free lodging, TV cable. Bad is less freedom to hang out, less flexibility to yam cha or do things the way I'm accustomed to, more rules to follow, and less hygienic (based on my standards)..anyways, here are some of my all time favorite "Famous Amos" style chocolate chip cookies, it's so delicious!!! (sorry pics are a bit blur)