Spanish is killing me slowly.

Down to the final 2 exams, well one, considering I s/u-ed the last one. I thought five full days would be sufficient time to study for this spanish finals, but no. omg no. all the words look the same to me, and I still cannot do without my beloved Google Translate.

The exam is in 6 hours, and I haven't finished revising. URGH URGH URGH! can't wait for it to be over!!! :(

*Note to self: DO NOT take up any more languages again!

Its.. year 3 sem 1. WHAAAAT???!

In a blink of an eye, I'm back in NTU, starting a new semester ahead. 

Things have been such a blur since I returned from BKK. Left on another mini trip to Genting a few weeks after, love traveling with the parents. Brought our baby piano there and got some awesome polaroids! The food was still as awesome, but the unique thing about heading up to Genting this time of the year is the durian festival! Nobody can resist a durian buffet. 

Also, we stayed at the Highland Hotel this time around, and had a room with a beautiful sight overlooking the cable cars. Lovely to wake up to the misty mountains! Didn't hit any of the theme parks this time, so this freed up more time for the casino, food, and photo-taking. The best meal of this trip was in New Orleans restaurant, located deep in the heart of the casino i.e. Only 21 and above. It was a western cuisine, but the best part was that it was located in an outdoor-sort-of coffee house, and what I presumed were large glass panes were in fact non-existent. It was an open air concept, overlooking the theme park. Ideal as well because the restaurant serves up grilled/barbequed meats, and my clothes didn't smell as bad as it would if it were to be in an enclosed area. 

On our last day, we headed down to KL Damansara for a shopping trip, didn't get much stuff but got lost plenty of times due to all the clonfusing North Wing, South Wing. That very shopping mall houses a really good peranakan eatery, that serves up one of the best char kway teow & tom yum fried rice! A good thing we traveled by plane this time, so it was a mere 45-minute flight home instead of the usual 6-hour drive. 

Anyways, the first week of school has just begun, hardly considered a first week. I managed to get a 4-day week after all, anything to save even one day from having to travel down. Its a real pain, and it takes about 2 hours both ways. An awful waste of time, but nothing can be helped when there's so limited hall spaces. Plus, the new halls aren't gonna be up until 2014, I would have been long gone by then. 

Taking a few interesting modules this sem, forensic science is one of them. Been waiting ages to take this module and the first lecture lived up to my expectations. That is until the boring bit comes along, which is all the sciency parts. :[

And I've finally plucked up the courage to do a language module, Spanish! Inspired by my semester in TCU, I decided to relive that little bit of exchange through this mod. A good thing this is in alphabets, I nearly died learning Japanese because it was characters! 

The third mod is something which I applied for during my semester in TCU, not expecting to get it due to my lacking in journalism background, is SOJOURN. It will be based in Sabah this year, and the theme: conservation. The itinerary looks awesome, but I still draw a blank on my story ideas. Sure, I want to cover certain aspects of conservation, but that's just going to be plain boring to read. This is why I am not in the journalism field, but the whole idea of conservation in Sabah just drew me in so strongly. 

As a result of my decision to take SOJOURN, I am now registered under COM221, the most talked about module of last year. I've heard stories but it is not until you are seated in the first three rows of LFLT as a registered student that you question your sanity. Nevertheless, I found the lecture to be thought-proving, stimulating even. It is going to be my most interesting module yet, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. I do believe there is much to gain from this module, simply because of the teaching style and the degree of challenge it presents. 

As much as I would love to write about my 3-week trip to NY and Orlando, I have yet to finish editing 1/3 of the pictures. Its so time-consuming, and I'll probably just postpone it till the next holiday. Another semester begins, and this is going to be the most diverse semester of them all. Previously, I've concentrated mostly on modules within my concentration, and the only divergence are my GERPEs, which I suppose are their main functions.  No psychology modules this semester because it clashes with everything else! :( 

Long weekend ahead! Oh how I love public holidays.

Work work work.

That's the sad fate for one who has overspent and burnt through years of savings for that 3-week long holidays in the states. Its been so much fun, no doubt, every single cent was well spent! But upon returning home, reality slaps you hard! I'm broke.

Well, that's not all true, I have $600 worth of THB waiting to be spent in the next 4 days, then I'm really broke. Real grateful to have found a holidy job that wants me even for a month, at least I won't be so dirt poor for the rest of the semester! Plus, its an awesome experience when I get to travel and work in the same company as style! :)i wish the holidays would never end!

Or, there is another alternative. Months ago, mommy booked a short trip to Genting on end July. Sure, its Genting again, but i missed going there for the new year, and i'm officially 21 this time round. Although our main objective is the durian fest (yum!), I'm sure there may be a chance that I am endowed with truckets of beginner's luck and strike my first jackpot whilst I'm there. Oh, I won't ask for much, perhaps a few hundreds of thousands, or that bright gleaming car sitting right smack in the middle of the casino. :D

Short getaway tomorrow with the one & only! :) first time there, excited!

To the Big Apple!

Been waiting my whole life to finally write a post like that, and the day has finally arrived when I'm going to NYC! :D 

The past few weeks have been a mad flurry of emotions. From visiting one of the prettiest city in the world, San Francisco, to returning back to fort worth and settling all that last minute packing, to flying off to Houston to meet up with babyboy, to finally spending the night in Houston awaiting that flight that will bring me to that city which I've always dreamed of visiting. 

Had a 12pm flight to Houston this morning, and got a lift to the airport from karen, not forgetting malu who had woken up bright and early just so we could have breakfast! :) Went to the corner bakery cafe, and had ourselves some panini. Awesome breakfast food to start the day! By the time we were done with breakfast, we just had enough time to wander around the area and then it was time for me to leave for the airport. 

We hugged and said our goodbyes, and it wasn't until I was on the plane that all my emotions started spurting out. I had to be that retarded tourist that wears sunglasses on board the plane because I didn't want anyone to see my puffy eyes. It was a really sad goodbye, because looking out the window as my plane took off, all I could think of was 5 months before, when I first landed here. Fort worth was a foreign city, it didn't take my breath away the first time, unlike cities like San Fran, but I grew to love it so much over the past 5 months. And its more than just the city, but the friends that I've met here. They have helped forged some of the most unforgettable memories in my college life, and for once in my life, i truly felt what it is like to enjoy my college life. There was a healthy balance, something which I could have never achieved back home. Then I started thinking of all the awesome people that I've met here, and how they've all been so welcoming and friendly, and it wasn't easy at all, having to say goodbye to all of that, that life which I enjoy so much and would give anything to turn the clock back again. 

Years ago, when I had first started studying hard for A levels, I remembered the very reason why I studied so hard, and exchange was one of my goals in life, to have this overseas experience, and I can say I'm truly blessed for I do not believe that I would have gotten a better exchange had I chosen anywhere else but TCU. Sometimes, our choices in life may not seem the best at the moment, but they all happen for a reason, and had I not been guided to selecting TCU as my exchange choice, I would have never met these fantastic friends today, and that, that would have been my greatest regret. 

As fort worth slowly loomed into the distance, I fell asleep to the whirring of the plane engine, and 15 minutes later, the captain announced our arrival into Houston. I immediately headed for the restroom upon landing to freshen up. babyboy's plane had already landed by the time I arrived, and it took him a full hour to get through international immigration. When he walked through those gates, all I could think of was how much I missed him. Emotionally overwhelmed again, I haven't seen him in 5 months, and for those who think skype counts, it doesn't. Its a completely different feeling. He has slimmed down so much over the past 5 months, and different as he looks (in a fnatastically awesome way), he was still the same as I remembered. :) 

The shuttle took us to our hotel, and we had chinese takeout. Pretty big portions but yummy nonetheless. I missed having these simple meals with him so much, I was all smiles tonight. The 25-hour plane ride zapped all that energy outta him, and he fell into a deep sleep straight after dinner. I, on the other hand, just enjoy the presence of him beside me once again, haven't had this in 5 months, and oh how much I miss it. So I got down to editing photos for SF, and as much as I really wanted to do a long entry on SF (which I eventually will when I get back home), a grand total of 4 hours later, I'm only done editing 1/4 of the pictures.

Golden Gates at the Golden Hour.

SF definitely deserves more than just a single picture, with a few liners. Its a beautiful city, and it allowed me to learn so much about myself as well. While this trip may have been a part of my desire to travel to every single state in the USA, it was also a trip of self-discovery, and its amazing what one can derive from such travels. Its truly opened my eyes to so many things, and all the experiences which I come across are the best souvenirs that I could bring home from my time spent here in the USA. Its been a fun ride, but it doesn't end here. 

I'm guessing I wouldn't have much time to blog for the next 3 weeks, but oh boy, will I have many pictures and stories to share upon getting home. I have no intention of neglecting this space again, which I have done so repeatedly. Its a great way to remember all these tiny details that helped forge so many beautiful memories, and there is no way I'm going to let those go, not without some form of record to help me relieve these moments years down the road. 

HOLIDAYS FOOO!!

FYEAH!

YESYESYES! :D Woke up bright and early to print out my cheat sheet and do some final revision, and before I know it, I'm sitting for my second last paper. Had a 25m question, no idea how some managed to finish it under an hour! Very good summarizing skills I guess, takes me forever to get to the point. :( Only left after 2 hours, which left me 1.5 hour to revise for lighting. 

Lighting exam was the one I was least prepared for, because there wasn't any guidelines, hell, we didn't even know if it was going to be multiple choice or written. But, turns out to be 30 multiple choices, which is kinda unfair, given that we were told to study so much! :( The questions were all vague, and hardly went in depth too. 

But the icing on top of the cake came after I was done with the exam. Went to pick up my model. got an A! :D 

This was the very model I was bitching about, and nearly considered giving up the 30m, and earning it back during my finals. Not a very wise choice, now that I think about it. My efforts paid off! That two sleepless nights was so worth it! The only sad thing is that I will not be able to bring my model home, so I'm thinking of 'donating' it for future references for this module. Spent so much time on it, it'll be so painful to throw it away. 

Getting psyched for the awesome weekend ahead and SF on Monday! :D 

In 8 hours..

Down to the last final hours, in 8 hours, I will start with my 2nd last paper, and two hours later, my final paper! WHY MUST MY FINALS BE ON THE LAST DAY??!

Had an extremely long dinner, an extremely long shower, all in the hope of delaying as much time as I can! Not to mention my mind's preoccupied with planning on the places I wanna see! Now I really wish I had taken the chance to travel more, yet I enjoyed every single one of my weekends here in FW.

I came here to fully experience the education system, and having to go for classes, and being a perfectly normal student, instead of the typical skip-classes-to-travel exchange student. Of course I have skipped the occasional classes here and there, missed a few quizzes, but that's about it. Perhaps what I want is a longer summer holiday here to travel to more places. :( Maybe that can wait until grad trip. 

It is decided. Avengers 3D tomorrow, followed by Dark Shadows! Too many things to squeeze into the weekend, I really wish I had more time here. :( 

 

truly brain dead.

I cannot understand why I feel so mentally exhausted after my papers today, I have had to survive 3 papers in a single day, each with easily 10x more content than the exam I've had to take today. So, I have arrived at the conclusion that over the past 4 months, my brain has truly gone on a holiday. It has not been worked, not to say that the syllabus here isn't challenging, but it has not been pushed to its maximum capabilities like back home. Lazy brain!

But yeah, two papers down! Only started on my sex&violence exam this morning, and worked through all the way till the very last 15 minutes. I'm going to miss this course a lot, its been a really fun module, not to mention the amount of movies we have watched. Not only films, but TV series as well, and considered them from an intellectual viewpoint. Its like asian horror all over again, taking something so commercialized and entertaining, and applying theories/concepts to them. I like! 

As usual, I was the last one to submit my exam. Students here complete their exams as if they only have an half hour timespan. Before I have even begun shading on my scantron, zoom, first student leaves his/her seat, and is out the door. It is either I am just extremely slow when it comes to these sort of things, or I just wanna appreciate having spare time to leisurely check through my answers. This is a privilege that I have not savored since I graduated from primary school. It is only in those rare exams that I have spare time. Often, I am rushing against the clock, writing until my hands are so cramped up I cannot even release my pen after the time is up. 

But being the last student today was good too, cos I had a little time to talk with the professor. He asked if I enjoyed the class, and did I learn much. Is he joking? I adored his class, and I am still so grateful to 4 months ago, when I sent him that email, pleading him to let me join his class, and he agreed. This was a module I would not have missed for the world! I also enjoy his teaching style a lot, he brings in many relevant examples, and always has supporting videos to reinforce his points. He also has a quirky sense of humor, and I can safely say I looked forward to every Wednesday's lesson, even though I know how much I hate afternoon classes. 

Headed back to the library after, and I had 2 hours before my next paper. Never felt more brain dead in my life. I stared and stared at my notes, but my eyes just seem to glaze past them. My brain was refusing all that information, and then I realized why. Low on energy. Ran over to the cafe to grab sugared tea and then my brain cooperated a little better after. 

Intercultural communications started off great! Jeff (Papa Smurf, as he likes us to call him) was awesome, but he fell sick halfway through. :( It was real sad that he couldn't continue taking our class, but we got another equally qualified professor. It was a fun class, but night classes were never my thing. Given that Wednesdays were always my longest days, a 6.30pm class was no fun at all, I was often exhausted and cranky after a long day. 

This is also the class that I had worked on 2 papers, only to be told that we would just be given As. Not that As are not awesome, but if I had known, I wouldn't have invested so much time and effort into it. Perhaps that time could have been spent otherwise. So, I concluded, I only like an easy A if I were given feedback or validation for my efforts. 

I had expected between 60-75 questions for the exams, but was shocked to realized it was a 100-question exam. OMG. No joke sitting through 100 question. By 50, all the words were mushed together, I couldn't make sense of the sentences, and all the theories were just swirling around in my mind. It was painful, and I felt myself zoning out so many times. Finally completed them, and I was the 2nd last one to leave this time. I thanked him for taking our class, and he also wished me all the best. Although I do not know him well, he's still a part of my TCU memory, and I felt sad to say goodbye. 

On the way out, a classmate of mine whom I've never spoken before randomly asked me how the exam went. It was his last paper, and I felt happy for that random stranger. Then I felt sad again, for he was sucha nice guy, yet I never took the time to really get to know him, or any of my classmates. There is this girl I always smile to, and right before she left, we exchanged smiles (because it was under exam conditions) and I guess that is sorta our goodbye to each other as well. So many goodbyes, I'm not liking this feeling.. 

 Met S for dinner, market square, my second last dinner at market square, yet another goodbye. This is more painful than I thought. Headed back to her place, and then to the library again but I didn't last long. My power nap was useless, and so here I am, trying to release all that stress and tension today to get ready for my final studying day tomorrow. In a way, I'm glad my Friday paper's in the morning, so I get the afternoon off! MOVIES~ 

Watched trailers while waiting for S, and there are so many great movies coming up I can't wait:

1. MIB 3

2. Ted

3. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

4. The Dark Knight Rises

5. Snow White and the Huntsman (this one I'm really looking forward to it) 

And.... off to bed!

chhhhhyeah!

Disappointed.

Gahhh, first grade of the semester is out and its so demoralizing. Maybe this is a sign I should study harder for my other papers. Don't understand why I did so badly, exams are supposed to pull my final grade up, not drag it down! :(

I only wish there were some miracle and more points can be added. But otherwise, this is a good wake up call!

P.S: I will not check anymore grades until all my exams have ended.

insomnia!

My favorite kitty with my pet peeve.

Couldn't even sleep until about 1am. Its so normal, this happens all the time, but its a bad habit. Maybe I should take to workout out the evening before my first paper.

The rest of the week is gonna be long.. two papers tomorrow, two papers on Friday. Just realized I could have taken Intercultural on Saturday so I won't have two papers tomorrow. But I remember my Saturday being so tired from the night before. I wouldn't have been able to pass if I had taken it then anyways. :( 

4 days more!

Everyone's starting to pack up and move out, these lucky people are prolly seniors or they are done with their finals. grrr.. not that I wanna pack up and leave this place. Last night, I took a good look at my room in the dark and realized I've been living here for the past 4 months, and I'm gonna miss how it looks like. In another 5 days, I will leave and probably never see this room ever again. :( 

I DON'T WANNA LEAVE TCU!!!!

First exam tomorrow, XCITES!

Okay... no idea why I went through that drama mama thing back there.

Now its finally the finals week, last week of the semester. EXAMS! My very first paper is tomorrow, 8am. I CANNOT COMPREHEND WHY ON EARTH THEY WOULD WANNA SET THE FIRST PAPER TO BE 8AM?! brains are not awake yet.. So used to the first paper being at 9am at least. 

Its my law paper tomorrow, much revision to do in the morning, but going to have an early night so that I can get my 7 hours of sleep for my brain to be fully functional. And of course, as always, my paper ends on the last day. But I cannot wait for Friday to come. Avengers & Dark Shadows! Johnny Depp my love, haven't seen you in a new film for the longest time! So excited for it! :D 

This weekend's going to be mad hectic, and a sad one too. I really wish I hadn't chose to leave for SF so early.. Cos S is flying off just when I'm arriving. no time no time. We've still got so many things to do. Called AA to check if I can change my flight, but the fantastic thing about budget airlines is that I gotta pay another $150 just to push the dates back. Perfect. 

Getting reaaaally excited for the summer holidays. Babyboy's flying in to Houston in exactly 15 more days! :D Its gonna be an awesome trip! We're only heading to two places, but spending 1.5 weeks at each place. These type of holidays are the best, no rush, and we get to explore the places in depth. I honestly don't think there's enough time in NY, but lodging is so expensive we can't afford to stay any more than we already have planned. 

The countdown begins! Time will fly by once my first exam begins, it always does! 

 

As if one black hole in my life isn't enough.

Now I have two! JOY!

So mad at everything right now. Why, oh why, can't this damn weed ever be removed. Try as hard as I can, this one's worse to ignore. Because its affecting the people around me, so yes! it affects me! 

I really hope there isn't a day when I will choose to cut off that pretty flower that the weed's been attacking for years. Because quite honestly, I'm so sick and tired of de-weeding. its been years but its still there. STILL THERE! 

I don't care if I sound like a bitch right now, but this is the worst time for this situation to appear in my life. I'm stuck with 5 finals, stressed out as it is that I am really running out of time to study. Tried to source for my inspiration, and guess what. Inspiration's tarnished. 

Left with zero motivation on my end, smeared inspiration, and now I have to try and go to sleep, all furious and upset. great. perfect. ending.

SCHOOL'S OUT!

Wednesday was the last and final day of school! But I spent the night before rushing for the impossible task of completing a production book + model that should have been spanned across 6 weeks in a single night! 

Had plenty of help from K, headed to Hobby Lobby after law class to shop for the materials! Hobby Lobby is an arts&crafts person's wet dream. It is HUGE, and stocked up high with anything to do with crafts. Aisles of different types of papers, woods, paints, stickers, omg stickers! 3 whole aisle dedicated to stickers of all sorts! 

Managed to grab most of what I needed from Hobby Lobby after 5 hours there, from fabrics to wood stains. And my bill amounted to a grand total of $25! Awesome! Got so much things at that amount, totally worth it! nothing like the sad crafts-of-a-store we have back home. :( 

Big mistake to head to Hobby Lobby before lunch, headed to Red Lobster on Hulen for a well-deserved feast. Interesting fact about this particular outlet, its kitchen is haunted by a ghost. It all began on Sunday night when we were watching The Others at S', and got to searching for haunted areas in DFW! Plenty of hauntings at the Stockyards which plan to check out after finals. Shivers~

Both of us were starving by the time we got seated, and attacked the bread bowl almost immediately that our poor waiter had to come back with a second serving!The biscuits were the yummiest I have ever had. Topped with cheese and garlic and smothered in butter, these biscuits were 'heart attacks' according to K, but so so yummy. When offered to our empty stomachs, it should come as no surprise as to how we polished off them biscuits. 

Our appetizer arrived first, awesome recommendation by our waiter, Lobster-Artichoke-and-Seafood Dip ($8.99) Surprised that it was a baked dip when it first arrived, but the bubbling goodness didn't sit there for long.It was a three-cheese blend with Maine and langostino lobster, peppered with chunks of artichoke. It was my very first time having lobster, and its a good thing it was all chunks in a dip, hurrah! Lobster tasted stringy (Is that how its supposed to taste like?), I loved the dip so much that the lobster was like icing on top! Definitely one appetizer I would order again.

Lobster and Artichoke Seafood Dip ($8.99)

Baked Dip!

Our mains arrived shortly after. I ordered a Customized Shrimp Feast ($17.99) which was part of the Festival of Shrimps menu. Shrimps must have been in season now, because mine were really fresh, albeit being a tad small. I was given three choices of cooking style for my shrimps. My first was the usual Cajun Shrimp, which was nothing special, just the craving of Cajun-style shrimps. The second was Wood-Grilled Shrimp with BBQ Glaze. Apart from the BBQ sauce, there was nothing wood grilled about it, and in fact, the heat must have shrunk the shrimp further. Wasn't too impressed with this one either, but the BBQ sauce was yummy. 

Customized Shrimp Feast ($17.99)

Shrimp Campi

The third left me the most impressed. Shrimp Scampi was a broiled dish, with a butter&garlic base. Shrimps were a tad tiny, but the broth was sinfully buttery and smooth, and served as a good dip for the biscuits as well.

K had ordered Snow Crabs! It was the funniest thing, because of my phobia for seafood in their original form, she couldn't comprehend how I couldn't take a bite out of her crab leg. She cracked open the shell, leaving a juicy chunk of meat exposed, and held it out for me to take a bite, and there I was, refusing it and it left both of us in bouts of laughter. She eventually skewered off a chunk of meat onto my plate and I tried it for the first time. Can't say I really like it that much, but I could taste the saltiness of the meat, even when it had no seasoning. According to K, its because they were deep-sea crabs, so the saltiness retains in their meat, even after it is cooked.

We were food-coma-ed after our satisfying meal, headed over to grab coffee from Starbucks, and I was introduced to DSW, which is shoe haven. The whole store was filled with so many shoes, I was truly spoilt for choices! Wandered around for abit, but the food was taking its toll on us, coffee hardly helped our sleepy states. 

Eventually, we left for Sprouts, which is somewhat like a fresh produce supermarket. The produces were fresher than Krogers, and cheaper as well. Its fun just to wander around, I really wish I had a kitchen here. :( K picked up some veggies, and we both picked up Almond Butter, which is an alternate form of peanut butter. Have yet to tried it but I sneaked a few slices of bread from MS, so will be having that for breakfast or late night snacks pretty soon!

I only arrived back at 9pm that night, and began to work on my model at once. It took longer than I had expected, and I was surprised I lasted the night without any coffee. The model had to be built to scale, and so each wall had to be cut to the correct dimensions, even the furnitures had to be printed to the correct dimensions. I never did so much math in a single night! It was tedious and long. :(

Worked through the night, and eventually headed for FrogPrints to print out my production notes, which had to be in color. So bloody expensive, 9 pages costs me $9!! Argh. the production notes itself costs more than all my materials because I had to get a huge ring file, and high quality clear protection sheets for each page. 

At 9am, I dragged myself to my very last biz media class. I tried my best to stay away, even had 2 cups of coffee before, but my eyes simply refused to stay open. Good thing I chose to wear my cap to class, cos I dozed off for most of the class, but my hands were still typing gibberish on my notes and my eyes were closed throughout. Headed back after that painful 50 minutes, to finish up on my model. Finally, at 1pm, it was done. 

Penthouse-inspired sun room.

Molly's workspace.

Really love the color for the walls.

Sofa set.

Stairs to level 2

Model to scale's a bitch to do!

Thanks to dad who got me to watch this show.

Production notes. Every piece of furniture had to be represented with the right material.

To celebrate our last day of school, met up with S for lunch at Cafe Brazil again. We've been going there so often its becoming habit. But food's good and environment's perfectly chill. 

We were craving their chili bowl, but was disappointed when it was a far cry from what we had the first time! What we were served was a watery mush of beans, grounded meat and peppers. It was BLEAH! Not worth what we paid at all. The chili we had the last time was a thick stew of beefy goodness. 

Tried their El Gordo Crepes, consisting of Chorizo, onions, peppers and cheese, with their signature spicy cream sauce. Its really the sauce that makes the whole crepe so awesome. Biscuit was normal, and potatoes were overly dry! Would still recommend their Hashbrown Casserole as a side.

El Gordo Crepes ($7.99), Cafe Brazil

Morning Treat! $1 at Krogers

Even being sick is an experience afterall.

For months, I have ensured that I have my daily dose of fruits & water, throwing in the occasional salad once in a while, gone to the gym regularly, ALL so that I do not have to experience this today. But it failed, my immunity couldn't withstand the last few weeks of school. 

Then again, I'm beginning to suspect if its the one drink that I had yesterday.. 

So, we headed to Dutch's, which is awesome for their burgers, especially their half-priced burgers on Tuesdays. My first time there, I had a Bacon Bleu Cheese ($3.40 on half-priced Tuesdays), it was crazy yummy! The patty was grilled and slightly charred to perfection, it was juicy and the bacon complemented the beef perfectly, with generous servings of bleu cheese. The buns were slightly toasted, with a sleek layer of butter on its underside. Only improvement that could have made it the perfect burger was sauteed portobello.

Yesterday, we headed to Dutch's for another reason other than their burgers, their frozen margaritas. For a pitcher that would serve 4, it costs $8.50, which amounts to $2 per person. But the margaritas were drawn from a machine, so perhaps it was the lower quality types.

Apple cider tab at Dutch's, so creative!

 We got our drinks and headed up to the rooftop patio to enjoy the evening breeze. The margaritas were purple; TCU-themed, given that Dutch's was within TCU compounds literally. At first sip, the drink wasn't strong at all, and we've begun to accept the fact that we pay for what we get. $2 probably doesn't give us much reason to expect a decent frozen margarita.

TCU Frozen Margarita. ($8.50 for a pitcher, Not worth it!)

An hour later, we were all feeling it in our heads! S had mixed her margarita with the apple cider, and was taking the hit a lot worse than us! For myself, I only managed 2/3 of it, and my head was buzzing from it! It was soooo weird. We had a movie night planned, so we left for E's soon after. 

Watched Night Wolf, which is some independent horror flick by Lionsgate, followed by Johnny English! I remember the first time I watched Johnny English, I laughed so hard at so many bits! But it wasn't that funny yesterday, plus I fell asleep halfway from a headache (FROM THAT QUESTIONABLE MARGARITA!)

We left after the movie, and I headed back to S' for the night. My head was still throbbing before I went to bed, and its amazing I managed to fall asleep without having to take any medicine.
Woke up bright and early the next day, because we both had assignments due. Left for the library at 11am to begin our day's muggin'

I am going to miss having weekend sleepovers at S! Its nice to be in a place where you wake up to people you know, like at home. Although I live in a quad with 2 other girls, we hardly see each other when we wake up. Its pretty much like having my own room here. 

S's Air Matress! Best Invention! Just one flick of the switch and the whole thing blows up! Super comfy as well.

Contemplated many places for breakfast, and finally decided on Einstein Bros Bagels. My favorite bagels thus far! Probably because I haven't had any other places that have such yummy shmears! Usually, I just pick up an Everything Bagel Thin ($1.15) which is a thinner, crunchier form of the traditional bagel, plus my Jalapeno Salsa Schmear.

Was feeling ravenous this morning, so I picked up two specialty bagels: Asiago Cheese with Smoked Salmon Schmear and Poppy Seeds with Jalapeno Salas ($2.85 each). 

Poppy seed bagel was really interesting, had a salty aftertaste to it, felt like eating crushed peppercorn without the peppery aftertaste. I love poppy seeds! The Poppy seed Kolaches at Little Czech Bakery on the way to Austin were to die for!

Both bagels and my huge cup of dark roast was so filling that I didn't need lunch after! It was bagels for brunch. Surprised though, because I never expected them to be so filling! 

Bagel Indulgence.

So the day goes on, spent my afternoon finishing up my paper which took me till 3pm. But halfway through, this feverish feeling began to creep in. It was so bad, because I recognize the precursors before I fall sick. By 2pm, I was running a fever but kept working on my paper. Finally finished and turned it in around 4, and headed back to my dorm, dosed myself and headed straight to bed. 

Missed dinner with S as a result, and I'm so bummed on missing what is possibly my 2nd last party here in TCU. :( It was a beach-themed party, and I was really looking forward to it. S & K were very sweet about it, and I appreciate their concern for my falling sick. :) Its nice to have concern from people around you when you're sick, you feel all loved and it actually helps with the recovery process, I believe. 

So here I am, stuck in bed, all bundled up because I think my fever's working up again. All I had was soup and an overdose of fruits and yoghurt to flush the toxins out of my body. My stomach's feeling all empty again, so glad I restocked at Krogers for the exam period. I now have instant cream of chicken soup! SCORE! 

Grilled Chicken and Tomato Soup, perfect for the sick.

TCU Market Square has such limited variety of fruits. Been eating this for the past 4 months, glad I'm not sick of it yet.

Tomorrow's going to be a long long day, because I have a huge submission due on Wednesday. Heading to the library with S again, I hope this whole sickish feeling would be gone by the time I wake up tomorrow!

Received such a shocking email yesterday from booking.com, informing me that my New York hostel booking for Jazz on Amsterdam has been canceled as the hostel is closing down their 4 & 6-room dorms. I had booked this months ago JUST SO I do not have to deal with the last-minute mark up of prices on hostels and the limited availability. 

So when I received the email saying my hostel booking has been canceled, and they are sorry about the inconvenience, I was soooo mad! I ran an immediate search on the available hostels, and they costs about $55 per bed in a 10-bed dorm. WHY IS LODGING IN NEW YORK SO EXPENSIVE?! The most maddening part was that I had sent an email to booking.com requesting that they assist me in searching for an alternative hostel that isn't so bloody expensive, but zero response from them. 

So glad that I decided to email Jazz on Amsterdam to inform them of this situation, and they are WONDERFUL! Not only did they agree to assist me in finding lodging at their alternate branch, Jazz in the Park, they also responded to my email within hours! So pleased with their customer service and the way they handled the whole situation. If my stay is pleasant, I'm definitely going to be writing a good review for them. 

Days when the weather just describes your mood.

It is such an egocentric way of thinking, really. It well may be pure coincidence, but it does accurately shape my morning mojo. Over years, I've developed the mindset that sleeping is the cure to anything and everything. So if some friends have problems or worries that are bugging them late at night, I would just advice them: Go to bed early, and all will be well tomorrow! 

It has always worked for me, especially if I'm bugged down by some worrisome issue or pessimistic thoughts during the day. Its like my mind starts on a clean slate every single morning. Granted, it is a very self-centered way of thinking, because the bullshit is still there, but it makes me happier knowing that I can deal with a problem better in the morning after a good night's sleep! 

Still, I went to bed feeling really lousy yesterday. Just the sudden onset of moodiness hit me close to midnight, which left me more annoyed than ever. Perhaps there is a biological aspect attached to it, but these thoughts reinforced one another, and my mind didn't have the ability to will my optimism level up. i wonder if this is how depressed people feel like, to be stuck at this stage and never be able to pull themselves out of it. 

Its nights like these that I have the most trouble sleeping, it would just be hours of tossing and turning because I cannot get my mind to shut off. 3 soundtracks later, I finally fell asleep. Woke up to the thought that my Friday was gonna be glorious, but there was no sun streaming through the shutters this morning. Its all cloudy and gloomy outside, plus I know I will have to spend the afternoon finishing my last paper for the week. I'm just so glad I have movie night to look forward to tonight, because there's nothing better than chilling with your friends over a good movie, after a long and arduous week at school. 

Still, I'm super bummed that I have to spend my Sunday working on that lighting project. I really wish I hadn't cared so much about wanting to learn about lighting because that is honestly the course that I enjoyed the least. While I can say I have taken away important learning points in my other classes, this is one class that I still have no idea what I'm supposed to be learning. I should have obviously taken A History to Broadcast back then.  Its not like I can clear this for a PE, its only getting transferred as an elective. I would have rather taken Ranching or some other course, but I was too influenced by having to 'maximize my education' by supplementing it such courses. The course would have been great, but I just can't seem to define any clear learning outcomes from it.

Ah well, nothing can't be solved with a dose of laughter .

LOL!

A big factor that was contributing to my moodiness is the fact that some people really choose to believe, or they actually believe, that everyone is that gullible and naive. These are the moments when I feel like telling them: I may not be genius, but I'm not THAT STUPID! 
And said people expect us to lap up every bullshit that comes our way. Honestly?

Pure Classic: The Lion King

 The Lion King, MBS (2011)

The family and I have decided to finally catch a musical together, this was our very first, and a fine fine choice indeed. We all loved The Lion King, it was (according to dad) the very first movie we watched in the really old Cathay cinema as a family too. 

Bought really last-minute tickets because we had to decide on a single date when everyone was free, so our seats weren't fantastic. But still, all those ebbed away when the musical began. This musical is probably the most well-known musical because 9 out of 10 people have watched the actual cartoon. (I'm bullshitting here, but that's my best guess) The songs are catchy, Hans Zimmer is pure genius, he composed many of the tunes for this musical, and it somehow manages to evoke that intrinsic feeling that connects the story with the audience. 

Prior to the performance, we had dinner and strolled around a bit. It was nice family time before the show~ Also, I remember this being one day right after my final exam, so the feeling was soooo awesome! I crashed right after my exam, fell into a deep sleep, woke up the next day thinking to myself: Today is the day I'm finally going to watch Lion King!!!!!

Often, I know about the musicals months in advance, so all that suspense and excitement was built-up from months before, same thing with Wicked. I remember my very first time seeing the captions Wicked, coming soon to Singapore, I literally yelped, YELPED in the MRT.

So the actual day of the performance, I get very excited over the whole show, its one of the best feeelings in the world!

Zazu and Simba (I love it how the Simba plush is not the cartoon one, but based on the actual costume)

Yes, they really loved the Timon plush.

Pre-show

Its like tradition to take with the main centerpiece which changes with each musical.

Excites!

 

The stage

My absolute favorite part of the musical is the very first opening line. It resonates sooooo deeply within me that I teared upon hearing it. The very first music number was my favorite, I remember so vividly the details, and with each passing sentence, more and more 'animals' took the stage until it became a flurry of actors re-creating the savannah-like kingdom of Simba. 

When the rhinos waltz right down the aisle, it was so beautiful that I remember literally bobbing up and down in my seat like I was sitting on a whole mountain of jumping beans! The whole experience was that exciting. 

The songs were all so moving, and every piece was just pure molten joy to my ears. I was so upset when they announced the intermission, because I really didn't want it to stop. I loved the way they re-created the wild beast scene, and my heart was thumping so hard that at some point, it was even louder than the music. That's how amazing the musical was, it really immersed me in it. 

This musical, I would truly rate it 10/10. Perhaps it is my love for the actual Lion King movie, the soundtrack and all things, but the stage design, casts and everything just intertwined so perfectly with each other that this really is a masterpiece.   Someday, I hope to catch this in London where it is permanently based, I remember wanting to watch this years back when we were there, but the tickets were soooo costly! 

This is definitely one which I can watch over and over again without ever being sick of it. I remember turning to babyboy immediately after the finale, saying 'I need to watch this again, when can I watch this again?' I'm sure I will have my chance to catch it again in the near future, but the lion king is truly the top of my list.

A first: Le Enfants Terrible; Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Terrible Infants, Esplanade Theaters (2010)

This was babyboy's and my very first musical together. Found out about this while browsing for Things to do in Singapore. Its title instantly caught my attention, and I had been a huge fan of Burton's The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and other stories, so terrible infants sounds like some sad stories of kids who have issues and are ousted by society. 

I nailed it head-on! After watching a youtube video on them, it was exactly as I had assumed, children who often do not listen to their parents, and something bad happens to them, or children who are too proud, too full of themselves, get into trouble. The typical musical that would scare any child into being the perfect angel at home, basically. 

I bought the tickets right after viewing the video, and begun searching for the various musical numbers. It was difficult to find as they were a moving theater. I only managed to find 2-3 videos of them. Still, they were fantastic even though I didn't know most of their songs.

 

Excited!

It was free seating, and the audiences were mostly expats/foreigners. I only saw a handful of locals but lots of kids. How do kids watch this and not get scared? I am fascinated by these type of dark fairytales, but I never expected there to be an actual market for it. Well there has to be, just perhaps not in Singapore. The kids were mostly white, and they were all jittery and excited, couldn't stay in their seats when finally the music came on, and this odd man crawled out of a box, dressed all mime-like. This definitely shushed the kids and they were all wide-eyed and captivated.. and so was I!

It was a compilation of different songs and stories, often with extremely catchy tunes! I only wish they had offered the soundtrack for sale after the show, but they didn't. :( Babyboy went with me, not knowing what to expect of this, but after the show, he was all excited about it, telling me how it was so so good. I agreed fervently. 

This musical I would rate 8/10, because it is small-scale and really targeted more for kids! But I loved it! (it was way better than James and the Giant Peach, I rate it 5/10) The music, the acting, the cast-audience interaction, fantastic! Even though it was a small production, they fully made use of the space given to them, all the props had multiple uses and it was all so fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed myself in this one, and should I ever have the chance to come across them again, I would definitely go for a round two!

After the show.

I remember wanting to wear orange to match their poster theme, hence the out-of-place orange skirt.

The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, MBS. (2011)  

I bought tickets for this to the one person whom I grew up listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber with; my dad.  There was no one else whom I know who enjoys his music as much. But this wasn't our first time watching a piece by ALW, our first was in London way back in 2004, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, when we were there for daddy's graduation.

In retrospect, my love for musicals began at a young age because daddy enjoyed musicals so much. He has nearly all the DVDs for the various musicals, and would always introduce me to them, his favorite being Jesus Christ, Superstar, which he claims, and I quote, 'If one day Jesus Christ, Superstar ever comes to Singapore, I'll pay for the ticket no matter how expensive it costs, because it will be so worth it!" 

My very first musical with daddy was this play called Chang and Eng, about conjoined brothers. I loved it and was so enthralled by it, even though it had such a sad ending and I remember hating the ending because it was sooo sad!

So, when ALW came to MBS, I knew we had to go! Even though there wasn't anyone famous, because it was a compilation of all his best hits, the tickets still costs S$60, which I felt was too overpriced.

Dad & I

The backdrops were all generic with the cast just standing in front of them, singing.

Of all the songs, we only recognized 2/3 of them. Especially for his newer compositions, which we were unfamiliar with. It was enjoyable because you know how sometimes, you only like this particular one or two songs in a musical, and this was basically a combination of all the top hits from ALW.  My two favorites were cats and phantom. He had plenty of others which I can't really recall but I would rate this a 7/10, simply because the cast was mostly standing there singing, hardly any elaborate stages or props used, mostly just dressed in really nice evening wear and belting out on the stage.

ALW, we love your music!