Unexpected Expectations

A new life

2011-09-08T14:17:00.000-04:00

As how i started my blog when i started a new life in America as a transfer student, i'm about to start a new life in America as a working adult.

Love having my own desk.
Love having my own co-workers.
Love having my own stationary set with chops and file organizers.

But what I love the most is for having this job that God pointed me to and for me to be less of a burden to my sister and family. For once I can now probably provide for my family. Staying strong for the first month of training will be my only goal and then i'll have my official title. =)

Thank you my dear friends.

2011-05-03T19:42:00.002-04:00

It is not when but it is where is it from. And from your hearts is what I felt these were from.

Love you both to bits. Gonna miss you guys when I leave. =(

I'm all excited

2011-05-02T19:42:00.000-04:00

For graduation. Nah not really that excited but I got this to be excited about yesterday.
Just a color award for being good in academic standard in SUNY Albany, which is not very challenging anyway.
Still excited because it's my first framed received award. Yay!! =D

Bieber fever? Nah just a small chill..

2011-04-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

Not bad. Better than Baby baby babyyyyy...;p

Random

2011-04-25T10:15:00.000-04:00

This is what you get when u deliver food to the hospital. Joke.

Preview of Lake George.

2011-04-24T10:17:00.000-04:00

Bed

Bathroom

Mirror.

The Chang Sha girls.

The group.

Spring break part ??

2011-04-23T10:15:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna be skipping the lake trip because it's too awesome to blog about...nah not really but pictures are still in the process of delivery to my computer.

On the other hand, the day trip to NYC with Helen is all in my phone.

Well not many pictures because we are not the VAIN PHOTO TAKING Chicks..

But there are still some..

Fu Jian-ese food for your eyes to feast on. Helen brought me there in Chinatown NYC, kinda secluded underground but good food!!

Peanut noodle. OMG. Peanut sauce. My fav. Noodle. My fav. Together. Ultimate fav!!

Wonton soup. So-So. It's a combo thing with the noodle.

Fried peanut snack and yam snack? Yummy!! All these for $7. I was shocked!!

Then we went to get our hair cut. Just $12 because the auntie was Malaysian!! =) but dummy me gave like $5 tips because i didn't know how much to give and Helen was on the phone. =( I thought 20% tips only applied to food service, owh well, it was a nice place. Will be back there for cheap hair cut next time.

After that, we went for some window shopping by SoHo.

Small obsession with hats. LOL

First picture of Helen on the blog I think. haha

Farmer's hat!! =p

Then we headed to Flushings to have some curry noodle. Malaysian curry noodle. Not as good as I thought it was the first time we when with Fi, C, A, Andrew and Fi's uncle. Probably because I don't crave Msian food as much now. Grab kaya from Malay Restaurant and some snacks from Flushings mall.

Mamee snack!! OMG!! miss eating it since primary school. LOL Auntie at the mall even gave free 2 old town coffee and milk tea samples. Rocks to be Malaysian on this trip.

Then we went for food again, already close in getting into a food coma, we just had to finish our trip with Korean food. Took quite a long walk but it was worth it. Look at how much side dishes they gave!!

We ordered bulgogi beef and a fish jigae(soup). Didnt take pics because my phone was dying. =(

But this I must take, cute pineapple dessert. I like how they cut it that it was so convenient to eat.

Then, no more space in our tummy but we got a bag full of mangoes and roast duck back. =D

So happy!! Best day trip to NYC!! We're gonna go again before we graduate I hope.

Washer and Dryer and it's still alive.

2011-04-17T18:26:00.001-04:00

I wanna just say i'm proud of my ipod nano!!
Left in my winter jacket which I put in for a last wash before it is kept for the next winter.
Only realized it's location when I was packing the jacket in the suitcase.
Freaked out and straight away tried to charge it.
*An apple appear!! Was like so shocked because my mind i thought it should be gone already.
Imma take a better care of it now. Thank God.

So yeap it's a delayed Spring break but at least its a break..

2011-04-16T20:48:00.000-04:00

So technically this is going to be my last official break as a student. Yea like really last break. I feel so sad now that my days of having long school breaks, outings to go to the beach or somewhere with bunch of friends will have to be restricted to the amount of leave days given by the company.

But not to sulk on that, I'm gonna enjoy my break. First heading to Lake George on Monday with 4 other friends for supposedly a camping trip but looking at the unpredictable weather in Albany, we reckon we should just book a hotel and have fun during the day. =) Probably gonna barbeque, head to a tubing park because we got an offer for $10 all day pass rides, Sweet deal and relax by the lake. So by then time will fly by till Wednesday when we get back and i need to get ready for a day trip to NYC.

Yes NYC again but with a different friend of course. I'll probably never get bored of NYC but will get tired of the hustle bustle that never ends there. Helen is gonna bring me to eat peanut sauce noodle, OMG cant wait. Wanted to bring her to eat curry noodle but dont think we will make it in time. =( then trim our long hair, do some shopping and lastly head for korean dinner.

Maybe the next weekend we gonna have a barbeque too nearby if the sun shines of course. It's gonna be relaxing. Me like.

=D

2011-04-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

Love everybit of the song, the transition, the voice, the tempo.

Another Duet..

2011-04-12T21:41:00.000-04:00

Taylor Swift - Last Kiss (Boyce Avenue and Megan & Liz acoustic cover)

I actually ~~hated~~(too strong of a word) dislike Megan and Liz last time when i compared them to Janice and Sonia from Australia but this duet gave me a second thought. They not bad afterall. =)

Life in the April

2011-04-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

So what has life's path have I been taking so far?
Nothing but the mundane schedule that started off last week.
Morning classes, afternoon till night at work and occasional workout sessions.
Besides swimming now we play badminton which gives me an extra practice for Midwest Games.
Which would then bring me to the subject of MidwestGames. Yes I think I'm going.
A month ago I swore that I said I will be sitting this year's games out because of moving to Boston and basically no money to travel.
But last week I've started working again. Well not much money actually but when money is coming in, thoughts of letting the money go out is so exciting!!
Planning the trip to Wisconsin Madison again...well I miss my peeps there so what can I do? haha then off to Champaign to hang out with Andrew and gang and then head back to Boston with EeVon my crazy buddy!!
Which would then bring me to the subject of EeVon!!
She's gonna be spending the summer in Boston!! Like for real yo!! I know last year that was the plan too but this year I think it is really coming into action. Already gearing up to buy the tickets..what more can I say...I'm gonna love my summer to come. I can't imagine how much fun we're gonna have. Limitless!! Like Bradley Cooper yo!!
Alright hope everything will come to place and I think I'm gonna miss Albany..small parts of it at least I think..

Just a thought

2011-04-10T13:59:00.000-04:00

You know when you should and when you should not trust a certain ambulance company when you see this happenning.

An ambulance rushing through with the siren whining and a driver with 1 hand outside holding a cigarette.

Just a thought as I stood day dreaming by the bus stop and an ambulance came swooping down the road.

Collaborations, Duets makes the best out of a song.

2011-04-08T23:36:00.000-04:00

Loved their first duet and now loving their second.

So let's roll the dice, one more time,

take a chance on love again tonight,

risk it all, play it all on the line,

let the skeletons fight for life, tonight,

we'll hold on tight, as we collide.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &lt;/p&gt;

Foreigners.

2011-04-07T23:30:00.000-04:00

When you work with a Chinese family, they always comment that their people will tip you very little because they are cheap. Being Chinese I understand.

When you work with a Pakistani family, they also always comment that their people will tip you very little because they are like that *shakes head. Being Chinese, I'm just gonna stereotype foreigners tips very little.

End of story.

Me love apples.

2011-04-06T09:48:00.002-04:00

phocks.org

Girls are like

apples on trees. The best

ones are at the top of the tree.

The boys don't want to reach for

the good ones because they are afraid

of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they

just get the rotten apples from the ground

that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples

at the top think something is wrong with

them, when in reality, they're amazing.

They just have to wait for the right

boy to come along, the one

who's brave enough

to climb

all the way

to the top

of the tree.

borrowed from megan

It's that time again

2011-03-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

The time when u gain a good friend and you have to see them go away from your side.

Go to a land where only planes take you.

I hate the feeling of saying Goodbye when it really means Goodbye for real.

And when you know that seeing that person or even keeping in touch would be hard,

it's even harder to say Goodbye.

Well of course I wish her Good Luck in the future and maybe I'll visit her in China. lol

But as for now, I'm gonna lose a good friend at sight and I do pray that I'm not gonna lose a good friend forever.

I pray that you have a safe trip back to Nanjing.

And definitely see you whenever our life's path meet.

3 letters

2011-03-27T16:30:00.001-04:00

This whole week can be sum up into three letters.

FML.

Maybe EeVon is right, karma is getting back at me.
Mom thanks for calling in the morning..<3
but after that Sunday just went down the drain.
Math midterm tomorrow. Hope I make it through.

Great music to hear while you're chillin'

2011-03-25T21:42:00.000-04:00

Sudden urge..

2011-03-24T09:07:00.000-04:00

Yes I got a sudden urge to party!!

Well it's Thursday morning here, meaning Thursday night there.

So yea it's the right time to feel the need party yo!!

Why sudden urge?

Because of the horrible long day yesterday.

Results + Gym + Computer programming should never come together in one day. NEVER.

Well it's a new day with a test coming up, so cheer up Alyssa.

Maybe some turkey burgers tonight. Yes!!

SUNY Albany = crazy students

2011-03-22T00:15:00.003-04:00

But fear not...i'm not one of them!! =) hahahha

My very own plate..=)

2011-03-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

Thank you Crystal Ng Fui Wern. =D

Yay DIY nasi lemak..

2011-03-20T17:17:00.000-04:00

With the sambal I made last time i added a little sugar.

Fried some anchovies.

Cook some potatoes and chicken together.

Add salt, coconut milk and pandan leaf(screwpine leaf) in the rice

TA DA!!

Yum again on a Sunday.

Energy wasted

2011-03-17T19:41:00.000-04:00

I officially hate my 3 hour Africa class.

How can a professor make a small mistake on posting up a wrong review sheet and a new one hours away from the exam?

Well if thats not bad, try studying mad hard before the exam to learn that he is postponing the exam next week!

Can't you just send a note together with the review so that we dont waste time studying?

arrgghhh!!!

Day dream.

2011-03-16T21:27:00.000-04:00

Oh can’t nobody do it like you
Said every little thing you do
Hey baby say it stays on my mind
And I, I’m officially

All I do is lay around

Four years without wordsFrom looking at your face on the wall
Just a week ago you were my baby
Now I don’t even know you at all
I don’t know you at all
Well I wish that you would call me right now
So that I could get through to you somehow
But I guess it’s safe to say baby safe to say
That I’m officially missing you

Well I thought I could just get over you baby
But I see that’s something I just can’t do
From the way you would hold me
To the sweet things you told me
I just can’t find a way
To let go of you.

Officially missing you - Tamia-

Boom Bam Skiddddd...

2011-03-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

Yeap exactly how it sounded like in the car accident yesterday or should I say 430am this morning.
In a Mazda 4 wheel drive with a passenger and me behind the driver,turning on the main street on the drive back to my apartment, it happened.
Just went a little over the double yellow line after the traffic light turn and a cab was coming by.
So yeap, boom bam skidddd and bumped into a park car with a small dent by the headlamp.
Everybody got out the car safely and then the cold shivering wait for the police and tow trucks starts.
Yeap it was that bad we needed tow trucks for both cars.
Basically it was a tire to tire head on hit so both cars had critical damage on it.
Nobody went all crazy on nobody so in the end we waited for police report until about 530am and chao.
No moral of the story because it was really a accidental accident.
Maybe moral of the story is to have faster and better steering wheel reflexes..haha

A weird day to declare

2011-03-12T23:01:00.000-05:00

Pi Day

Like seriously?

3.1415926 Day?

Life can be lifeless like this I guess when u're in SUNY Albany.

Good Job Associate Professor of Mathematics Cristian Lenart

Hahaha

See for your self.

http://www.albany.edu/news/12316.php

Dedicated to Ho Lee Ching (my "twin" in Malaysia)

2011-03-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

HoLeeChing

Tourette Syndrome has never got the best out of Ching.

We played ball together, took tuition classes together and slept together too(sleepovers only..)

Nothing stop that girl in doing anything and now she is in plays and all.

Not forgetting the endless blue-blacks she gave me by hitting or pinching...

the endless spit(HoLee Water we call it)..

and of course late night hours we play PS2 in Xian's house. LOL

This movie reminded me of you and how much i've miss having your company since i've been to America..

I miss the four of us. Eventhough I'm the sampat out-of-nowhere one..=P

Hope distance and time doesnt make it different when we are reunited...

Sambal in the making

2011-03-10T19:08:00.000-05:00

Get rid of the chili seed..

Soak or cook them in hot water for 8-10 minutes.

Blend about 10 shallots, 10 garlic and three quarters - one onion.

Blend the dried, now soaked chili with a little water and cook in on low flame till slightly dry.

Add in a cup - two cup of oil. Less oil better for the heart..=P

Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.

Add in garlic, shallots, onion mixture and cook for about 30-45 minutes. Or till it looks decent.

Mine was a little burnt but looks and tasted spicy despite the picture.

This is like raw chili sambal so when u cook it be sure to add sugar, salt, spices to your liking.

Gonna have this batch with ikan bilis maybe during the weekend..=D

Owh btw, as long as you cool it to room temperature and freeze it, you can use it till forever..

Sweet deal ain't it?

Just scoop what u need and heat up.

Credits to NasiLemakLover blog.

Happy Birthday Sampat Poh...=D

2011-03-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

Huh? Who's birthday again?

Owh right it's me...March 9th..

Ee...Yes Me...EeVon..

I've got you a big bear HUG(claim it in Boston if you can..=D)..

and yes you received my birthday butterfly present in the zoo already...=P

Happy birthday again!! Miss ya..

How can I not listen to you...

2011-03-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

Good life story. God bless them..

How can i not by Jayesslee.

My favorite praise song at the moment.

Art.

2011-03-07T19:07:00.000-05:00

The only beauty of winter that i appreciate other than the first sight of snow.

With the blue sky complimenting the build up ice on branches that freezes gravitationally.

Frozen up fruits

No more snow please I beg of you.

Inspiration provides motive to achieve satifaction

2011-03-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

Inspiration from Uncle Seng SS15.

Curry chicken and noodles provided a motive to improvise my leftover curry chicken.

Satisfaction on a Sunday morning.

I made myself happy!!

2011-03-05T20:54:00.001-05:00

Went swimming this morning with Helen and was satisfied that i could still swim underwater for half a pool.

Taught Helen how to swim a little..I don't know if i helped her at all because she's still using a float..?

Dad, how did u taught me and kaka(sister) to swim??

I feel like a noob instructor..well hope next time it will be better..

Well at least I was satisfied a little with myself so I came back and made myself even more satisfied!!

Curry Chicken ftw!!

With potatoes and shitake mushrooms

(weird but tasted great..just an extra ingredient..extra absorption to the curry sauce..=P)

Happy day indeed!!

I just burned brain cells and precious TV watching time...

2011-03-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

To do what??
Computer Science assignment.
Now I truly fully understand the part of the movie "The Social Network" when they say he is link in and you should not disturb him...
Coding is not a fun hobby!!
I freaking wasted almost 7 hours of my Friday evening trying to debug my codes to make it perfect.
I bet my eyesight power increased as well...
Well what can you do when it is required in your major to graduate...arrghhh
Serious meltdown case of both human and device...

Gonna make curry chicken for the weekend to cheer me up..=)

Somebody was in town

2011-03-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

Somebody was in campus and I didnt get to go to gym. =(
Who would be that powerful?
Is Bill Clinton powerful enough?

Yes I guess because I really couldnt go for my gym routine!! Like really!! Shoot me in the head!!
So much for losing weight when we cant even get the schedule right?
Happened twice already...
Hopefully this Saturday, swimming will go as plan.
Speaking about plan, I might be getting a part time job again..=) Might...

First Canto song addiction that I looked for

2011-03-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Well it's because I watch the drama The Rippling Blossom.
Thanks to Helen Ni I got much more addicted to sushi..=P

Dramas always gets me addicted to it's song.

Let it be Korean, Japanese or Cantonese.

But English shows not really.
Because it only plays as background music there are no starting songs usually..

Remix of movies..LOL

2011-02-28T19:21:00.001-05:00

Amazing effort.

2011-02-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

With 4 math assignments 1 economic assignment and 1 computer program due this week.
I amazed myself with how much I got done in a day.
Not to be boasting and all but i like to say that this is a big achievement for being the lazy self i've been for this semester.
4 math assignments and 1 economic assignment done by Sunday evening.
3/4 of a computer program done by Sunday night. yippee yay!!
But Monday class was dreadful with a 24hour deadline on a lab assignment for computer programming to create a card game with java together in a team. Is that even possible? Working in teams in computer programming is like getting kids to build a chair...Highly impossible.
Hope my laziness doesnt kick in and may the programming begin!!

TheSecondSurprise

2011-02-26T12:39:00.000-05:00

Lack of pictures required me to use an older birthday party group pic..LOL

So 4 of us went over to Sara's place.

Yeap That's Sara!! Love the rings and my birthday sign..=P

After dinner we headed out for a surprise activity...

LASER TAG!!

Ok it might seem childish and all but its new to me and its so fun!!!

If you're scared of the dark, I suggest not then..

First game we had alot of players, my team lost because i was super noob and the other team was super pro..

Second game was just 4 of us girls.

Much more running to do but we had fun!!

I was 2nd place..proud giler!! =P

Then we went back to Sara's place for some cake..and some House Hunting TV show..

The show was so funny and ridiculous..lol

Thank you girls again..

TheFirstSurprise

2011-02-25T12:28:00.000-05:00

Don't I look surprised?? =P

The Boston University crew.

The Beloved Sister.

I miss Boston the second I stepped out of my sister's apartment. =(

Thank you & Love you all!!

Curry Laksa

2011-02-24T15:56:00.000-05:00

Malaysian meal #3

Curry laksa from Malaysia..

Chicken, Squid, bean sprouts,egg, mushroom and tofu...
Delishhhhh!!!

Pan mee soup

2011-02-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

Malaysian Meal #2

Pan Mee

Soup out of chicken and anchovies stock

With meat sauce with mushroom and crispy anchovies and vegetable.

Yummm #2

Cantonese fried noodles

2011-02-22T15:46:00.000-05:00

Malaysian meal #1

Wat Tan Hor!!

Squid, Chicken, Tofu, Veg and Egg..

Yummm

Pinkberry

2011-02-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

Pinkberry Fro - Yo!!

Frozen Yogurt in the winter FTW!!

Mango and Pomegranate with mochi strawberries and brownie..

When MTV was my favourite pass time, country songs were interesting

2011-02-17T23:21:00.001-05:00

Somehow not a fan of Carrie Underwood or Taylor swift..I'm into oldies..hahahah
Maybe just Miranda Lambert. House that built me is so good.

Sushi fest..my valentine weekend meal..lol

2011-02-16T11:44:00.000-05:00

Prep stuff..Clockwise: From the top rolled egg, Baked spicy mayo shrimp, honey chicken, sushi rice, bamboo mat, seaweed.

Ignore the gap but the the rolled egg tasted pretty nice.

Easy actually, recipe at the bottom.

First maki roll, Spicy mayo at the bottom, egg and chicken.

First hand roll, the baked spicy mayo shrimp and egg.

The combo.

CREAMY SPICY SEAFOOD FILLING

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz shelled baby shrimps
4 oz bay scallops (I skipped)
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lime juice (I skipped)
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce(hot sauce)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon masago (I skipped)

Method - Preheat oven to 400 F. Make the spread by mixing mayo, sriracha sauce sugar and sprinkle some water(lime juice if you have it) for liquid. Mix the scallops(if you have them) and shrimp with the spread and place it in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes but i go with instincts which is when the shrimp looks red and shrunken...=)

Rolled egg

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
a little salt
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon sake (I skipped)
a little salad oil

Method is pretty simple - Mix all ingredient together except oil of course. Drip some salad oil on a napkin so u can rub it on the pan. Then make a thin layer of egg on the pan, fold it into two then again and again. Push it aside then make another thin layer and lift up the fried egg to have some coating underneath. Then roll it over the new layer. Repeat till u think its thick enough i guess..

Julia and Clive - Great chemistry..

2011-02-15T18:59:00.000-05:00

Delish Easy Korean dish

2011-02-14T13:49:00.002-05:00

Woops it's all in my tummy before i remembered to snap a picture. =P

But here is a recipe from Rasa Malysia website.

The bulgogi marinate(I used it for lamb but any meat is fine)

BULGOGI SIMPLE MARINADE
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 pear or apple pureed
1 Tbsp Mirin or rice wine
1 garlic chopped
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Bibimbap sauce

(I used water & rice vinegar, i prefer spicy than sweet so without the apple juice works for me).

TANGY RED PEPPER DRESSING

2 tablespoons Korean red pepper paste (available at Korean grocery)
1 tablespoon rice or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon apple juice or water
2 teaspoons sesame oil

I was out of vegetables but it's probably healthier to add some vegetables...haahha
Sushi with Tamago, crabstick, creamy spicy seafood filling and honey chicken, my next food adventure or maybe fried tanghoon...
Undecided!!

Secret.

2011-02-13T19:49:00.009-05:00

So Frank Warren came to University at Albany for a talk on secrets.

Who's Frank Warren you might ask? Go to www.postsecret.com. and find out.

Small hint, Dirty Little Secret music video by All American Regrets.

Well I wasn't there for the speech but I went for his post secret exhibition and it put a lot of thoughts in my head.

Not nasty thoughts but thoughts that was worth giving a thought about.

Secrets that I haven't come into terms with my friends, family and yes even myself.

Well i'm not gonna spill my secrets to this blog because it would mean spilling it out to the world and not exactly my friends and family.

Just 1 secret.

Apologizing and forgetting the past is my weakest quality.

And I'm working on it. And speaking of secrets, Pretty Little Liars is my current secret show(well not anymore...) carrying all those secrets around is so secretive.

Malaysia's politics disgust me!

2011-02-12T11:08:00.001-05:00

I guess it serves them right that over 500000 talented skillful workers mainly indians and chinese have left the country to find better jobs and future careers for both themselves and their family.

Seriously, banning Valentines's Day because its some sinful day, activities that are against Islam religion is such a lame excuse to enforce the law on citizens. Maybe I'm being bias as a Christian but seriously it's absurd to put the blame on such information when your own people are those that are involve on those unmoral activities not out of influence but by their own will..No intention of being racist just mad at the government..

It's just unbelievable.

First movie of Zac Efron I fell in love with...

2011-02-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

Like really, FELL DEEPLY IN LOVE.

It's a little late for me to watch this,

but PPS is one hell of a program that just keep dragging me behind work..

The plot was really well played, I never would have thought that he was delusional..

And yes I can totally agree with the world he has the most mesmerizing eyes.

Light blue.

Deep set.

Full of emotion eyes.

Yummy body too but lets not pollute the post with those abs.

Just his eyes that i cant take my eyes off...

Hotels by priceline..awesome deals..

2011-02-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

First one!! Milwaukee

DoubleTree Hotel

Love the facilities and stuff(it's a long list, thumbs up!!). Free WiFi in room.

Rank #2

Inn of Chicago

Ignore the models in the pictures because we didnt snap a clean picture of just the room.

Very tight and small. Free WiFi in lobby.

Rank #4

Toilet behind us.

Hyatt Hotel in St. Louis

(Under Priceline for $45/night i think)

Love the bathroom and room's interior. Free WiFi in lobby.

Rank #3

Crowne Plaza Hotel In Kansas City

(Under Priceline for $40/night i think)

Biggest room among all.

Our own living room, kitchen, working desk and bedroom of course. Free WiFi in room

Only downside, ridiculously small bathroom.

Rank#1

Hilton hotel in Omaha.

(Under Priceline for $50/night i think)

Sorry no pictures at all but it has a tv as you can see behind C.

Spacious bathroom, 2 full size beds but no WiFi even in the lobby.

Rank #5

Bus rides

2011-02-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

Perks of having a two way bus stop in front of campus is that you just wait at 1 place.
Downside of having a two way bus stop is that you take the opposite direction bus to the mall instead of home.
Thank God I'm no shopaholic!!

Minneapolis - Land of Ken Ling without Ken Ling himself. LOL

2011-02-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

Stop#7 Minneapolis, Minnessota

Final stop of the trip...the coldest of them all!!

Looks who's the one in the technology world?? =P

Reach Ken Ling's apt by 6+ and headed out for dinner.

I look like im in hell already with a dislocated neck? LOL

Chandelier of knives..Real knives btw..

Then headed off for dessert at melting pot!!

Promoter fail..Why so sad, C.? hahha

A happy chick with her marshmallow in Chocolate fondue..Yum!!

Next day, Mall of America!! Big Spongebob!!

Lego!!Spot the peeping dragon!! ahhaha

Woody suppose to be a small toy!!

Why you bigger than me one??

Headed off to Ikea for lunch...because Fi wanted meatballs so badly!! hahaha

And came back with a bag full of a pan, utensils divider and random stuff...

Back in Mall of America with shoe trying..

The pocket spender of the day!! *Obscene picture ahead...LOL!!

Fi says * I got some nice round ass eh??

Potential buyer trying out the product. Kinda disappointed..

Might be heading back to Wii

Guess who's back there?

All 3 of us got a $5 heel!!

Charlotte Roose You rock!!

Anticipated dinner!! Famous Dave's family platter!!

Ribs, Chicken, Fries, Pulled pork, Corn muffin, Coleslaw, Mashed sweet potato!!

Walk back home with tremendous snow...

Fi's adventure to the 2 feet snow..=P

Third day to the CHERRY!!

Started off with some awesome msian lunch and walked by the bridge and tree of shoes!!.

Some artsy musuem!!

Walked along some pretty houses that we imagined would be ours in the future..

Yes that's our house...Can you see? hahahhah

Us with the city's view..

Yes the infamous cherry...

C with C

Our super long day then ended with tubing in Winter Wirth Recreation Center..

Below 0 farenheit babey!!! Cold until can die!!

Thank God we didnt lost any fingers or toes!!

Owh this is how we actually ended our long day!! Mr. Sepet SnowMan!!

Yay!!

Gossip.

2011-02-06T15:47:00.006-05:00

Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. In SUNY Albany, it's about the relationships of international chinese students. It's pretty scandalous from what I have heard but have not seen because i'm not entirely in the China chinese circle. (And when i say scandalous I really meant scandalous...LOL) Knowing a person that I thought would never have a partner suddenly has one before my very eyes, is pretty depressing. Jeezz. Miss having good times in Malaysia and sometimes meeting strangers along the journey of life but being mature is part of life and I think that's why single-hood has stuck with me for a long time. Good and bad but that's life and I accept it. As long you know there are friends you can count on when times are tough is better than having just 1 partner to endure with you. Bull shit talk to make myself live in contentment with what I have but it's somewhat the truth where friends come first in my life. OK i feel better now. Full Stop. No more Babble. LaLaLaLa...

Des Moines - The old reunion!!

2011-02-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

Stop #6 Des Moine, Iowa

Main attraction = Drake University, Asila's house, Xiu Yu's house and Fang Kai's house.

That's it. LOL

The only dining hall in the campus. And I thought my campus was small.

Some frats & sorority paintings on the road.

Don't remember the official name of the road..woopsie daisy..

Sorry Aishah our tour guide for not embedding the name in my brain. haha

The mascot of Drake (fatty bulldog!!)

But turn point of the stop, was the home cooked meal from Asila!!

Her mom's chicken rice recipe. Malay style of course. But still good stuff.

Well roasted chicken.

Chilli sauce.

Flavored rice.

Then we headed to Xiu Yu's place to chat for a bit and met up with Wen Jiet my form 1-3 class head.

Wen Jiet, Asila and me. 1,2,3 Gamma ex-classmates!!

Love the pranks the random ponteng sessions...

And look at us now, all PTS and all Actuaries wanna-be. =D

Taylor-ians.

Fi. Xiu Yu. C. A.

Fi and her lost but found prince from BUD4.

Fang Kai.

They feng kai(broke up) for a bit but now reunited.

Look at their eyes, so similar like they were meant to be together...

Awwww...

Fi.'s very own Mountain Dew Superman. LOL

Blue screen - from Omaha Zoo...

2011-02-04T23:15:00.000-05:00

We were cold. We were crazy. And we were bored.

So we had a camwhore session with any possible expressions that could be caught on camera. =)

Super fun times.

Help us!! The wind is too brutal!!

We are happy twins. =)

Forced smile turns into colgate ad..=P

Happy constipated girl...=S

I'm seriously utterly lost and hungry face...

So lost one picks a fight with the constipated one. One helluva fight!!

Aikes..victory to lost one...with a victory dance..lol

But because we are 1 happy family we DIY our family potrait in a unique way.

To the right.

To the left

Up or down? Fi. lost again...with her two fingers...

Embarrassing but funnaaay!!! My hair was totally retarded as always with such windy conditions.

Well...enjoy....=D

1st CNY dinner 2011 - Not readable if you dont know the whole situation.-

2011-02-03T22:50:00.001-05:00

I just needed to blurt out anger so this is how it is going to go...
You wanna cook for your church and you accidentally chose Hainan chicken rice and thought it was easy. Well chicken and rice, how hard can it be right? well if you haven't tried it and haven't made it, you are in hell...but you insisted on trying it. I admire that courage. You had the whole week to buy the ingredients and prepare but you chose to do it at the very last minute, plus it's not like you stay near the Asian market for you to conveniently walk to buy, you chose the very last night to buy stuff when we had our so-called dinner. Worst is that you drag us all into your misery and whining on it being so hard to make and you not gonna have enough time after class. Then cook it earlier or choose a different dish? So what if it takes you to walk 4 blocks and a bus to the market? It's your fault for being so stupid not to prepare earlier? Nobody's expecting you to go all out but you had to insist you wanna try to make it and because somebody really wants to eat so you wanna make them happy. And you bought 2 tiny chicken to serve in a potluck? Are you kidding me? You just make me sick and out of the happy chinese new year mood!! Just a cranky pissed off friend that fakes her smile for the your freaking lazy total bullshit face & character!! And yea you dont like sushi and Japanese food, but tempura has nothing to do with raw fish or Japanese wasabi? It's chicken that you ordered for God's sake. Just chew and keep your mouth shut for heaven's sake. If you talk like an ass as a sane person I wonder what you would blurt out when you're drunk. Sometimes I just wanna shout this out to your flat fake face but it's probably not worth it because you don't listen either. Arrghh... Ok lets hope my cny gets better than this soon..

Happy CNY!!

2011-02-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

Yes bunny found some money, (kam)gold to be precise in my room's calender!!

Meaning I'm gonna find some money too!!

Have a prosperous and a very happy Chinese New Year to all!!

Whether you're in Malaysia, US or around the world, new years should always be celebrated by all!!

Miss you all!!

Omaha Zoo...Monkeys out loose!!

2011-02-02T23:13:00.000-05:00

Omaha Zoo. Pretty self explanatory. =)

First animal we saw. Elegant giraffes. Such a beauty!!

Insect planet. Butterfly exhibition. The release of newly born butterflies.

One happy girl up there..=)

Insect feeding. Pampered much?

Underwater world next.

Penguins!!!

Such a show off? =P

Yes, first timer there!! First zoo visit for me!! Excited giler!!

This is somewhat familiar to me as I'm a diver but still it's cool..

EeVon goes with the flow, literally...LOL

Turtle. Old one but still very poise...

Rainforest next.

Malaysian tapir!! Yay animal from my country...LOL..

Faber Caster parrot!!

What's a rainforest without a bridge, a fountain and 4 girls? LOL

Hippo!! So huggable...LOL

Me with a man made vine for monkeys to sit on..LOL

Desert tomb next.

Pretty deer. Very stiff tho.

Deer : **Stare - don't steal the crowd's attention from me...

Desert posers...

Creepiest place i've ever been to!! Literally clung onto EeVon's hand the whole time like chick to mama hen. It was pitch black and they had these crocodiles laying around near the hanging bridge we had to walk on.

Who doesn't get the creeps on with that?? Jeezz

Bear world next.

Yes, the old familiar monkey..Orang Utan.

He loves to flaunt that big asset at us. =)

Gorilla that scared the life out of me and EeVon when it pounced on the glass panel.

I guess we were too close?

Kid Gorilla

Mama Gorilla

Huge Papa gorilla

Barn next.

Closed because of winter but we got to see a llama..Good enough?

Cat world next.

Cold but pretty leopard.

A very hungry tiger I presume. Pacing back and forth at the gate.

Lazy sleepy white tiger.

Dozed off black panther.

Outdoor time.

Seal's pond. No demo...=(

Some of the poloroid we had.

Preview of the madness by the blue screen. Seems to be pretty civilized here...

Omaha, Land of Cheong EeVon!! =)

2011-02-01T21:55:00.000-05:00

Stop #5 Omaha, Nebraska

Left early morning, 7am from Kansas city.

Sun also haven't wake up yo!!

Checked in Hilton Omaha. Ms. F. the boss.

Attration near our hotel, The Old market..

Some cool boutique and antique shops and restaurants.

Some art of course..

Had indian food for lunch.

Really good for a change from american food!!

Me and C.

F. and her beloved rice!!

Me in an antique, retro toys shop..wanna a kiss? LOL

Hippo got me good, eh?

Found a big pond with hundreds..maybe thousands of ducks and geese...

Left, right, left right!!

Double mushroom heads and me...

Headed for dinner after that..Looked like we had meals in a short span of time which is actually true because C & F bought some black disc as in those big ones (vinyl disc i think...) and it was pretty heavy to carry around i guess..

Spagetti Works for dinner that served bottomless pasta but we only had 1 bowl!!
Yay for us for not being greddy and fat!!

Next day all the way from Bahamas came the UNL(University of Nebraska-Lincoln) gang arrived in Omaha!!

Had Persian food with them and learn a little canto from the Hong Kong girl with Hong Kee there.

2 Hong Kee's in 1 table..if you get the joke..lol

Then Ms. EeVon put her bag at our hotel and when for our adventure.

First stop, Hot Shops art center. Project Runaway wannabe model >>

Ghost wannabe!! LOL

The black crew..BSB wannabe with 3 girl members..hahahha

Being jakun and all, we ask for a glass blowing demo..=)

Our first demo, a supposedly vase that was going on so nicely but folded at the very end..so he broke it and recycled the glass..=(

Poor man had to do another one. His hands were trembling the whole time but the products came out pretty nice at the end..

2nd demo - a glass with colored cold ice as a design.

End product..

A glass that I bought for Asila, with the maker...blow-er to be precise..

his breath is in the glass yo!! hahahha

Then we were off to a mall on the other side of town. The busses were very not frequent!!

Me and Eevon. =)

C. with her taro mochi..LOL

Omaha zoo post coming up...

Kansas city is our Jazz city for the trip...++ $10 Sushi buffet!!

2011-01-31T21:53:00.000-05:00

Stop #4 Kansas city.

The only train ride for the whole trip and it was a hint fresh air after some crampy bus rides.

Journey seemed dull and gloomy..

But we ended up in bright and sunny Kansas!! Roarrrr!!!

Our ritual walk to our hotels...After checking in around like 4pm, we were famished and went hunting for whatever food was served at that odd hour.

Found a place with a small arcade inside...our ms guitar hero!! whom failed horribly..lol

Had pizza, fried 3 cheese ravioli and wingzz...and then off we went for a walk...

Kansas city is kinda famous for baseball I guess, Black baseball players to be specific..

And jazz of course...

The streets there were pretty nice, it's a nice city with no black bags of trash outside like NYC and outrageous honking of taxis in Chicago.

Lots of bars and fancy restaurants around, for those of age 25++...The working adulhood...

One bar we went that night was The Phoenix. A live jazz club with some pretty talented lads. They just come and bring their own instrument and join along..How cool is that!! That was day 1 in Kansas city...

Day 2 started with our minds looking forward to sushi buffet for lunch but we headed off to a musuem first. Sadly after a long bus ride to the middle of nowhere, ms F. sprained her ankle and we found out a the musuem was already closed for 3 years and was under renovation for another 5 years. How ridiculous is that? Damn!! Don't you have the courtesy to state that on your website?

Well screw them, we head back for a very filling meal.

$10 sushi buffet!!

Not the freshest salmon or tuna but for $10 I'll take anything that has a hint of raw salmon!!

Stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving, we headed for the FED.

And once again, denied entrance because no passport identification. =(

So we went to an art gallery that was sure to be opened!!

At least a hint of smile on F.'s face..hahhaa

Kansas city sculpture park!!

HUGE shuttlecocks..there were 10 of them with different angles on the land..

Fascinating headless sculptures!!

F. and A. with the empty fountain due to unfortunate freezing weather??

**Story behind this picture**

The weird gothic black teared eye guy who approached us with a cup of coffee.

Coffee = sane/awake. However Coffee with gothic man = creepy and dangerous!!

C. and A. in Kansas City Power Light District. I think...

Lights up!!

Starry starry ~~night~~ city...So we went into some boutique there and watched Tron legacy for $4 since everybody said it was bad so for $4..why not?

Turned out to be pretty cool I felt...Then we went to Crown Plaza mall...

Pretty...but closes at 6!! =(

We reached at 8 pulak..lol

At least 1 shop was still open and we had pretty good burgers..

and tried cottage cheese as jakuns..hahahah

Some of the success & fail poloroids...

Last but not least a picture of us 3!!

=) Colgate smiles!! =)

St. Louis that looked fine after the tornado..=S

2011-01-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

Stop #3 St. Louis

The land of the dead except the ARC.

Millennium arc to be exact.

Early morning picture with IT.

Spot the Polaroid? Yes we woke up to take a picture with IT!!

Gung-ho babey!!

Day picture with IT.

Evening picture with IT

Night picture of IT

The coolio musketeers with IT was a must!! =)

State capitol + IT. Pretty symmetrical I would say!!

St. Louis trip summary is that nothing much was around the place to see except IT which is like right in front of the hotel. Credits to Priceline.com for providing us to the cheapest $40 a night super near an attraction hotel room ever!! But as you see below,

Ms. C. is frowning to find for a place to eat. If she frowns means it's bad news because the queen of frowning has always been Ms. F. Anyway, we had restaurants around the hotel and we chose some Italian pasta place and TGI Fridays for dinners and a Vietnamese place across the river for lunch because *the recommended place for ribs turned out to be closed for winter break - annoying because we walked at least an hour to the place to be heartbroken and starved!!*

So screw that but we had some fun there too. Some static fight to be specific. 2 preview pictures.

Yes in the elevator.

Credits to Ms. C.? LoL

The boo by the corner should have been in. hahahahha

For a funnier post and the trip feel free to visit http://areyoupathetic.blogspot.com/

Chicago the midwest NYC

2011-01-28T17:14:00.000-05:00

Stop #3 Chicago

A little hint of New York in a colder region of US.

You know you're in Chicago not New York, when you see such a pretty subway station.

Compare it to NYC, it's way prettier.

The awesome bean of course.

Where's your hat C.? Potong steamer!! =P

Skyline of Chicago.

Lighted up trees are always pleasant looking compared to bald naked trees...

Chinatown!!

The place we started our day with late lunch dim sum and ended our day with Szehuan dishes.

Satisfied our chinese tongue for the midwest trip till our very last stop

C. and F. with *blank blank blank blank* entrance

Final guilty pleasure food for the night. Garrett's popcorn!!

Then came the last day of 2010. Being the pretty pigs, we slept and woke up to dress up for our *konon fine dining lunch on the 95th floor of the John Hancock's Observatory Tower.

A nice candid picture of *The stare and *The missing eyes..

lol!!

Owh..the restaurant name was The Signature Room.

Head back to the hotel to have some wtv time and we decided to spam the camera.

You roll on me?

I roll on you too!! C having a certain teeth constipation..

Dinner at Giordano's. One of the most successful Polaroid picture.

And off we went Navy Pier for our awesome unforgettable laugh-able new years countdown!!

Waited in line and had a small malay, mandarin, hokkien bitching session on some line cutters...

But totally worth the wait because....

We saw fireworks while we were on the top of the ferris wheel...

Yes fireworks!!

Ignore my closed eye but fireworks were pretty nice.

At least more visible than NYC's one. Haha

Before we left the scene we met up with Amanda's apartment + Rachel.

Which just leaves Whit Ni unmentioned.

We 3 were super hyper, while 3 of them were pretty emo or maybe just not so hyper compared to us!!

But it was fun nevertheless...=)

Hotel's rooftop balcony shot by a stranger.

Some how I kinda like the effect? Focused Us and blurred background.

The best funniest video Foreva'SSSS

probably just for us three..LoL

Madison madness I video

2011-01-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

Junn Lim playing and singing.

Fiona playing and singing

Fiona singing again...you got fans...=P

Junn Lim and EuJin singing?

Punishment #1 because they lost to us girls in charades..

We Rock la so they didnt have much chance..hahahah

Punishment#2

Last but not least, the tipsy C. and hiao A. hahaha

Well spent christmas!! =)

Milwaukee froze up weather!!

2011-01-26T21:46:00.000-05:00

Stop #2 Milwaukee

Sunny but cold like you're stuck in a walk-in freezer!!

We made use of the sun at least...

We checked in DoubleTree Hotel and headed out to hunt for food.

We basketball-ers, once a baller forever a baller...

C.*(forevaaa'ssss) lol

Then while walking, we met a tourist named Fiona Wong.

With camera and all, typical tourist look, we politely took her a picture. =P

And then we found our food. No war here but there were some bombs flying...

These bombs held nuts and were pushed to a target.

And bombs away nuts to the customers..Pretty awesome concept. But messy messy place.

No advisable for major cleanliness OCD ppl!!

Spot us on twitter on tv!!

Then we had more walking to do to reach a artsy bridge.

Ironically we ate at Rock Bottom that night.

And after some brutal wind blowing and road crossing, we found it.

Take #1 (Squat)

Take #2 (Constipate?)

Take #3 (Decent at last)

And of coz, the bridge it self without our faces..;p

Some artsy stuff in there too!! These are hard to make!!

Glass making coming soon...

Major dining table, even fei fei Fi looks small here yo!!

Don't go all dirty on this but it reminds me of durian. Don't know why..

Artsy stuff from tires. Rubber tires.

Super out of topic but here goes.

*Rubber got me remembering what my African lecturer on Thursday.

He asked everyone their name and origin, which about 97% were from US.

When my China friend answered, he asked how do you say thank you in your language?

When an Egypt guy answered, he asked the same question.

When I answered, he went owh..Malaysia..you have alot of rubber am I right?

Super WTF?

*End of story.

Awesome jumping picture.

Fi playing transparent guitar and C. *I'm sick of hearing Imma kick your ass!!

hahahha

Me being a star? Thank God my pants didnt tear?

End of day 1! Start of day 2! Old market first stop for lunch.

And yes, we are super relax travellers, waking up in time for lunch then go touring.

How awesome is that. Well mainly Milwaukee has not much to tour about.

Big difference with Malaysia's market!! Got to love America for this aye?

And we went back to bridge area for a poloroid.

Then we stop by for some guilty cupcakes!!

We dig christmas tree!! Almost 1 in every city if we bump into them.

This is in BayShore Mall, comparable to some mall in Massachusetts.

Fi playing pixelated on my phone, C. camwhoring and me playing the ultimate game of the winter break, Vegetable Samurai!! While waiting to be seated in a Italian restaurant.

We totally act like our age, because everybody there were old and with decent behaviour or at least with family and needed to behave.

Random rant

2011-01-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

I probably shouldn't put it as random but it's definitely a rant!!
Last semester and I need to do a pre-requisite exam to take the course?
Totally flunk it because I took the pre-requisite class 2 semesters ago. (hence the rant...)
What am I gonna do? Goddamn it!!
Add and drop will totally mess up my perfect timetable and books that I already ordered..
2011 doesn't seem like it's gonna be a good year for me...=(

Graduation

2011-01-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

I just applied for graduation a minute ago.

In 4 months and 22 days, I'll be a graduate student!!

Yippppy!!

Madison madness I

2011-01-24T09:52:00.000-05:00

Stop #1

The most touching pick up??

But please..Spare me the alcohol next time, bad image tau?

After a good clean shower and a very satisfying chinese lunch at FuGu, we headed for a campus tour.

Snow from down to up!! =P

Darlie's best smiles!! But hair mess..=S

Yea man I dance on snow.

THE Basom hall and hill that signifies THE CLIMB?

(and the fall of Amanda Leong...hahahhaha)

So we headed back to Apt # 803 and had a curry night!!

The two awesome possom red chefs.

And the two curry, of cause we made Malaysian curry our main priority dish.

And because we are Malaysians, this was our Christmas dinner. lol

Looking at the camera flipped screen signifies vain ppl.

Oops thats me.

Our christmas dinner was then crashed by 4 guys whom helped us to open the wine bottle. And mad events happen. Loads of singing and guitar playing. Videos will be posted in the near future.

Next day was mall day and we had Dotty's for lunch.

Yes burger as you can see. And we didnt camwhore in the mall so that was it.

Next day was State capitol day, lunch at some Mexican restauran.

Madison's state capitol beats Albany's state capitol flat!!

Even got blood donation. Lol

Beware : emerging big face below!! =P

At night we had tom yam steamboat and sushi.

Tom yam rocks on a winter night!!

Look at our happy jolly faces. Christine is the vain one here!! =P

Honey chicken, mayo, egg, cucumber maki roll!!

Boston again?

2011-01-23T09:45:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's Boston again and I'm going to see loads of it in the near future. So these are some of the random pictures. Nothing to brag about for this short trip.

So it's the 2 crazy ex-Inti, JPA, BU ladies.

Huge cappucino cannoli from Mike's Pastry.

Fading sun, emerging purple.

(macam Crouching tiger, hidden dragon..lol)

Owh yes, the remarkable me skating!!

Two Apt #804 girls tired after a long Boston tour

Yummy sushi with yummy price..

Lindt truffles for christmas pressies!!

Last Boston meal before the midwest, Upper Crust meat lover pizza.

Midwest during the winter.

2011-01-04T10:32:00.001-05:00

Preview of some of the events during the break...

1st stop - Boston ( Tour guide to Crystal and Winnie. Ate like a starved child and reunion of the 3 crazy BU msians..Wei Yiing, Shervin and Yin Yiing..)

2nd stop - Madison ( Reunion of Fiona Christine and Amanda and Me.. Big smiles!!)

3rd stop - Milwaukee ( Dead-est city but thumbs up for Double tree hotel)

4th stop - Chicago ( Warmest weather for winter!! Awesome new year evecelebration!!)

5th stop - St. Louis ( Arrived the day after the tornado..)
Didn't get to see falling birds and cow tho..sad..=(
End up with Goi cuon(summer roll) pictures..Lol..

The roadtrip has started

2011-01-03T10:22:00.001-05:00

9 states 10 cities in a month.
20th Dec - Boston, Massachussets
25th Dec- Madison, Wisconsin
28th Dec- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
30th Dec- Chicago, Illinois
1st Jan- St. Louis, Missouri
3rd - Kansas city, Missouri and Kansas
5th - Omaha, Nebraska
7th - Des Moines, Iowa
9th - Minneapolis, Minnessota
12th - Madison, Wisconsin
13th - Boston, Massachussets
14th - New York City, New York
17th - Albany, New York

airport camp

2010-12-25T04:15:00.000-05:00

so this is what I look like after camping 8 hours in the airport..

feeling stinky and just wanna get on the plane!!

so ive been surviving on my phone and have not had time to share my random stories, but once i land in the cold lake and state of wisconsin..

my words will pour out like water..i hope so.. haha

btw..merry christmas!!

Christmas is near!! I feel it in my bones!!!

2010-12-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

The feeling is back...

2010-12-16T21:25:00.000-05:00

Which feeling you may ask?
It's the feeling when you're about to leave a place where you have seen, lived and build memories.
Not that there is much to fall back on as Albany has not that much to offer.
But all the wanting to leave the place on those early cold miserable days seems to be all faded and static to my all so happy memory of the current Albany.

Why you might ask?
It's the bonds. The dinners. The lunches. The workplace. The paper passing in class. The hours in library. And yes the unbelievable tragic weather as well.
As I am about to leave in 4 days to Boston, the land that I hope to live on after graduation, I just feel like I should/want to spend some holiday time with my Albany friends. Having lunch after a math final with a close friend that I came to appreciate, Helen just made me think so far into the future where all seems so distant in life but yet so near in time.

I don't want to have to keep tabs on friends through msn or email or skype. I want real, close, face to face friends. It's hard to accept the fact that it's all gonna be gone in a few months and what I wanna do is just to establish better relationships. As everybody says, friends are always easy to find but definitely hard to keep.

p/s : Just thoughts stuck in my mind while studying financial economics and ancient greek history..How odd...

Anticipated schedule for the week

2010-12-15T10:03:00.000-05:00

Wednesday
Business Finance final

Thursday
Regression math final
Dinner with Helen and the rest

Friday
Double date with Financial Economics final and Ancient Greek History final
Last day at work with the trio Phil Riya and me on Friday night.
Possibly a small celebration?

Saturday
Whole day at work while dreaming about the holiday ahead

Sunday
Whole morning dedicated into packing and getting room all straighten out.
Grocery shopping for hotpot in the afternoon with Ginger and Rebecca.
Dinner at Sara's place. Maybe a hot swim in the snow? Haha.
Then a girl's sleepover!! Can't wait for my first American sleepover!! yay!!

Monday
A bus ride to Boston with Crystal and Winnie
Meet up with Wei Yiing, Shervin and Yin Yiing and head off to Harvard and dinner.

Tuesday onwards is to be planned soon.
Damn..that is one heck of a schedule!! Wait till you see the winter break in the midwest..
Totally a big distraction for me during the finals week!!

Pan Mee

2010-12-14T20:15:00.000-05:00

And yes homemade pan mee!! Dry pan mee infact!!

Had some leftover anchovies and knows that my sister is going to bring back more for me..

so i decided to use them all!!

Didnt have pork but made use of my minced beef.(Pork way better I think)

First:

Fry the anchovies till crispy and leave some there for the stock, or you can use anchovies cubes to cut short cooking time.

While you boil the stock to make it yummy and well yummy is the only word for it, mix sauce for the meat.

1 tablespoon(tbs) of rice wine(chinese rice wine) makes everything taste so much yummier!!

1tbs of oyster sauce

1tbs of dark soy sauce

1 tbs of light soy sauce

mix it together with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.

Season the meat with some salt and pepper, always essential and give it a quick fry.

Add in the sauce and cook it till it's well....cooked...

Second: (maybe more than second)

make the meeeeee!! easy as 1 2 3!! take 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Add a little oil for smooth texture. Not too much or it will become lumpy..

Mix it all up and Waaalaa...you have a dough to peel into your pot of anchovie soup.

As I hated the vege they put into my bowl of pan mee, i neglected the step of cooking them but feel free to do it..

Third:

Let the dough sit for about 20 minutes with wet cloth on top. then you can start peeling after that. Prepare a cold bowl of water on the side and dip your hand and fingers occasionally to make it easier to peel thin noodles out. Cook till it's all bubbly and white and drain them. Mix them with your cooked meat and add the fried anchovies and you're good to go...into my tummy I meant!! hahahahha

p.s: if you're JUST having dry pan mee then there is no need to make anchovie soup, just use boiling water to cook your mee. =D

Hana outing

2010-12-11T19:41:00.001-05:00

Hana is a Japanese restaurant on Western Ave, Albany and it is a good one!!

My friend Helen works there so I thought i brought some friends over to try it out, since everybody loves sushi, right??

So here are some of their specials. First day of spring on the right and Fantastic.

And this is the bomb, whenever it is made, it's still good. Dynamite

Udon Noodle soup.

Close up of the fantastic!!

Shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, yellowtail, eel and spicy mayo kabayakis.

Crystal(Malaysia), Winnie(Taiwan), Icey and Grant(Changsha,Hunan) Alyssa!! Bad angle!!

Our pweeety driver for the night!! =D

Hoagie

2010-12-09T19:36:00.000-05:00

Compliments of wikipedia : The term hoagie originated in the Philadelphia area. Domenic Vitiello, professor of Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania asserts that Italians working at the World War I era shipyard in Philadelphia, known as Hog Island where emergency shipping was produced for the war effort, introduced the sandwich, by putting various meats, cheeses, and lettuce between two slices of bread. This became known as the "Hog Island" sandwich; hence, the "hoagie".^[9]

So it was Bobby Kendall's birthday at my place..Well Bobby is Brittany(aka my housemate)'s boyfriend..LOL

So it was his 28th birthday on the 29th November 2010. And she got a 5foot long hoagie!!

And yes by the description above, it's a sandwich yo!!

Look at the size of that!! So his family came over and we had a small nice family party with me as an outside of course!! Ate only half of the delicious pastrami, mayo, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and onion humongous hoagie and had to pack it up for tomorrow's lunch snack.

We played some games and the Kendall's had a long drive back home to Jefferson so we ended it short.

Good night with good people!!

Sara's birthday

2010-12-07T19:35:00.001-05:00

So it was Sara Patterson's birthday on the Novermber 24th 2010. But a celebration among the girls happened on a Sunday afternoon by a bowling alley and Rebecca Calhoun's house!! Yay!!

So here's the birthday girl all happy and smiley with a lot of surprised expressions to see how Rebecca decorated her house for this. I myself was surprised myself!!

The 3 of them. Ginger Sara and Rebecca!!

And yes we played ping pong in the cold garage but it was still darn cool!!

Out of boredom

2010-12-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

I clean bathroom...
Well only 1 small bathroom in my apartmemt so, what the heck the cleaner the bathroom the cleaner you feel after a shower, a facial wash and poop.

So I use the one and only KaBOOM!!

And it really does kaboom the away the scum and dirt!!

Toilet clean is now clean as it can ever be in just a quick 15 minutes without hard scrubbing.

Just spray, wait, soft scrub a little and rinse off!!
Superbly random but well if it helps, why not share the info eh? =D

Feeling the need for laughter...

2010-12-02T21:30:00.000-05:00

Don't wait no more...
And Don't be dumb no more...

Cheers...

Thanksgiving in Rebecca's grandparents place

2010-12-01T16:03:00.000-05:00

Updated with family potrait? LoL

Backyard

In the house

So I spent my thanksgiving in a lovely home across the Hudson river in Sand Lake city.

15 people came over for the meal.

It started off with some succotash soup and munchies...

One of the table setting..For the kids mainly..

Cute couple. Rebecca's grandparents.

Had a small devotional gathering before feasting.

Started off with Rebecca's grandmother's favorite turkey thanksgiving song..

Some hyms, a brief introduction to thanksgiving and a prayer before food.

Some random deco.

The main dishes. Bun. Turkey & Gravy. Turnip squash. Pumpkin squash. Mashed potato. Green apple salad. Green bean casserole. Stuffing. So little of eash but it's mad filling.

Me. Ginger. Rebecca.

Had some games after the meal. Foosball and Pool. Then desserts.

Chocolate fudge.

Mint chocolates.

Had pumpkin bread. Raisin nut pumpkin bread. Apple pie. Pumpkin walnut pie. Grapes & Tangerines.

Super duper warm fire place. Me likey. =D

My new vocabulary of late

2010-11-30T21:04:00.000-05:00

Vietnamese food names.

Pho Dac Biet - Beef noodle soup
Pho Ga - Chicken noodle soup
Pho Do Bien - Seafood noodle soup
(btw it's pheaaa..not phooo...) LOL Video will clarify that pronounciation...=D

Goi Cuon - Regular summer roll with shrimp
Goi Cuon Nem Nuong - Summer roll with pork
Goi Cuon Chay - Summer roll with chai(vegetable of course..)
Cha Gio - Crispy roll (its yio not gio btw...)
Bo Luc Lac - Shaking beef..LoL..it's basically a rice dish with marinated beef that is cooked on the outside for crisp but tender inside...
Bun Thit Nuong Tom Cha Gio - Yes, something with cha gio...Bun = rice noodle Thit = shrimp? Nuong = pork? Well basically it's rice noodle served with bbq pork, shrimp and crispy roll..
Bun Bo Hue - Spicy pork noodle with pork blood, pork leg and meat...

THE Indonesian songs of my time(maid influence?)!!

2010-11-28T20:55:00.001-05:00

3eb

2010-11-25T14:45:00.015-05:00

Crystal and Icey and Icey's friend(totally forgot her name...I don't get chinese names...sorry)

Love this...eventhough its just part of me...

Mirk..one of the openers.

He has awesome hair and he TOTALLY knows how to fling it around...He flings his hips alot too...LOL

Well my phone ran out of battery after that sadly...no 3eb pictures..but they were great...

Alot of marijuana talking tho..which got the crowd excited..odd?

I don't know but what can you expect from Semi Charmed lives of UAlbany students which are all total party students from New York state...

The crowd was mad...they had so many people thrown out because there were too much pushing and floating above the crowd...I even got my head hit by some lady's boots..Dang it~

All in all..great show for $10!! =D

Bad luck results to bad day!!

2010-11-24T18:44:00.000-05:00

The day before thanksgiving should not be thank for? It is because when bad luck strikes once, it will strike multiple times a day and I can assure you that. Some events where you will see signs of bad luck...

Your friend baked a cake in the bathroom and got the toilet stuck with spicy Vietnamese soup she had last night. Awful smell, color and no toilet to use till she gets back from home...

You do your laundry and realized somebody took the dryer before you and you have to wait an hour...

You take the bus downtown to have lunch and got a wrong order..eventhough it's the restaurant work at..

You then take the bus to the mall to get some gifts and when you're done, you missed the bus to go back by a split second and end up splurging money in the nearby boutique to kill time.

Then you reach back home and weight yourself to notice you have just gained back the lost weight after your diet.

Aiyaya...what more can I do? I hope studying won't result into something unlucky. Just hope that it gets into this tired brain of mine.

A penny for my thought?

2010-11-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

On a hazy day in Albany, it reminds me of days when black soot/smoke from Indonesia travels up north to Malaysia..where we stayed indoors, wore masks and just drank water to reduce chances of getting sick.

On this kind of day, we all should dream of being far away from the polluted air but for me, I just wanna be back. Wanna be in the comfort zone. Wanna feel like a kid again or maybe for once be a kid without having to live up to an older generation. Wanna be away from the worries and pressure of the future.

On this kind of day, I feel the need to sleep in my double decker bed. Hugging my skinny bolster that has lived with me through the nights of tears of heartbreak, fights, joy, happinessand laughter. And talking on the phone to sleep.

But what I fear most when I step foot into my home country is the change. The change in family. The change in friends. The change in what I remembered as my home country as the one place I could feel home but it became a planet distant from my reach. Is it hard to accept change? Maybe I never understood how to accept change from the start. I don't know.

Lesson to learn urgently would be to accept change, understand change, live life for the changes and never regret on those changes.

=D

American high class hotpot??

2010-11-22T20:17:00.000-05:00

Only at The Melting Pot. Crossgates Albany.

Table setting

The four dipping sauces.

House platter of raw beef, marinated beef, salmon, shrimp, and chicken.

Soup with wine mixture. Awesome broth!!

Dessert...dippings...in chocolate fondue!! Yuummm

Doesn't look that yum but it is yum...

Didn't try the cheese fondue but will try one day.

Just hope I don't need the restroom before I finish the whole dinner...=D

Thankful for Thanksgiving...

2010-11-20T17:42:00.000-05:00

Super sweet of Rebecca's mom to write me an invitation card to go for their thanksgiving dinner...

I'm truly touched and wouldn't miss it for the world...

Hope a big turkey gets slaughtered and be roasted on the table..LOL

Thankful already to have friends like these..=D

First concert in my life...in America...=D

2010-11-17T17:46:00.000-05:00

May not be a big band but at least I know a few of the songs and it's only $10..

Need to enjoy life a little at least..

With a thanksgiving dorm dinner with my buddies Crystal and Icey and then the concert..

Thursday night can't be any better..=D

Food inspiration

2010-11-16T19:41:00.000-05:00

What do you do on a diet?
You look at food online that you can't eat...
Then you feel like you really want to eat it so badly, you start crying...(exaggerate abit..=D)
So I decided to look on my all time favourite claypot dish..
Claypot Lou Shu Fan.
Totally gonna try to cook it in 1 week time...

Claypot Loh Shu Fun Recipe

200g loh shu fun
100g minced meat (pork or chicken)
few pieces of prawn (optional)
1/4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornflour
pepper and sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small red onion, sliced

1/4 tsp cornflour + 1 tsp water
1 lap cheong (Chinese Sausage)
1 egg
1 bunch choy sum (chinese mustard leaves)

Seasoning
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
dash of pepper

Method
1. Wash and drain loh shu fun, set aside. Marinate minced meat with soy sauce, cornflour, pepper and sesame oil
2. Heat pan with some oil and add in garlic and red onion. Stir till fragrant.
3. Toss in marinated minced meat, prawns and cook for a few minutes. Remove from pan.
4. Heat up claypot and add in 1 tsp of oil. Add in loh shu fan and seasoning. Stir, then add in choy sum and cooked minced meat. Close the lid of claypot and let it bubble for a few minutes.
5. Add in lap cheong and cook further. Dilute some cornflour with water and add into loh shu fun.
6. Turn off heat and crack an egg on top. The egg’s suppose to be still wobbly and 1/2 cooked.
Serve immediately!

Hopefully I get to find some lou shu fan(rat tail noodle) in the asian market...=)

On the eve of a detox diet plan

2010-11-15T00:28:00.000-05:00

What do you do?
You stuff yourself with the best unhealthy food possible and then be satisfied...
After that you feel guilty and decides that Yes, it is the RIGHT time to start the diet...
So what do I consider as unhealthy food??
Today Riya and I went for grocery shopping and saw some frozen curly fries...Yuummm...Take...
Opposite that freezer there's some frozen pizzas...What goes well with fries in America other than burgers??
Pizza!! Take...
Then we went by the Asian market and realized that I haven't made my long ago plan "Curry Laksa noodles"
Got some Tou ya "bean sprouts" Kam Zham Ku "golden mushroom" and Coconut Milk....
Together with that, we had like $30 worth of fruits as well to fulfill our detox diet plan of course...

So I had my Curry Laksa dinner and Pizza & Curly Fries lunch, and I'm off to the detox journey!!
Melon in the morning, tangerine in the afternoon, apple in the evening, and banana at night.
Gonna last for a week and see if I will feel healthier or just feel super tired and lack of energy...

Can't resist the cuteness and the funny-ness

2010-11-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

YouTube comment "this is how koreans relieve stress asides getting angry" LOL

Loving hats and BB?

2010-11-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

Apparently peace signs are SO 90's(People from 1990 decade...)

Are hats for me?? Kinda stuffy no??

Tea and Bak Kut Teh...

2010-11-11T22:25:00.000-05:00

One of the above item is missing and I'm missing it pretty badly now...
You can definitely buy the meat, boil the packet soup from the Asian market and have your very own BKT but it is never the same from the best SS14 BKT!!
I miss the soup, mushrooms, tau foo pok, 3 layer pork that is just so juicy and not too tough or too brittle either...
Besides that, I miss my daddy's skills in making the best tea in the world before eating BKT!!!
Wash the teapot, cups the tea dispenser then put the remaining water to clean the forks and spoons.
Warm up the teapot with hot water, then put the tea leaves in and water.
Then the first round of tea is used to double rinse the tea cups and dispenser.
Then we start enjoying tea for many many rounds.
When I come back, I'll make sure I'll do it to show you how much I appreciate your effort every time you brew tea for us. I miss you Dad...

Why all the sudden with tea?? I'm going to get sick real soon and am trying to keep myself warm with hot drinks. Yesterday had hot chocolate and today I found the green tea packets of tea from Dad's China relatives farm and I decided to try to brew. Not bad I would say even without proper stuff. =D But I still miss the comfort of having somebody else to pour it for me. Hope to be back soon...

Outrageous!!

2010-11-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

Super duper cold but it was an easy dare..=)

He is SUCH AN ACTOR!! hahhahha

Aww..sweet!!

Overdue Halloween 2010 review

2010-11-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

~Halloween 2010~

Icey and me before dress up..=D

Icey and I after dress up!! Army girl with Happy Japenese ghost? hahaha

Grant the Legit chef and Icey...sweet couple...

Yee Hui the Can Can dancer...Sexaayy

Crystal and Winnie the crying heart reaping twins...LoL

Sharon the Hippy of the 70's??

Zhao Ran the cat...Meow!!

You Liang the video game character...errkk..

Kenny the Zombie mask...

Tequila sunrise...Pretty drink of the night..

Hot Pot ingredients...

Don't wake me up or Else....I'll come to find Yooouuu!!

Our very own Samara!! Ahahahaha

Group happy picture...=)

Group role play picture? LoL

WooOOoo...Halloween spirit!!

Videos coming soon...High people can do all sort of stuff!!

Out of the blue

2010-11-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

1 Malaysia!!

different colors and ethnic but all stem out from the same branch...

venthough we all over the world, we will always relate back to one thing!!

Once Malaysian, forever Malaysian..

Random patriotism..inspired by this plant..haha