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!

Belated: Mary Poppins in Sydney

So, I was browsing other blogs, and I noticed this function which I never used- Labels. Its extremely useful to narrow down the many posts into categories. So I've come up with several labels, and I noticed my musical lovin' was rather empty. Given my love for musicals, its unjustified to have only blogged about the few musicals that I've been to. 

So I've dug up musicals which I have attended that I've failed to blog. Better late than never, at least years down the road, I'll be able to read em and recall how magical that feeling was once more. 

Mary Poppins, Sydney Capitol Theater

Weeks before my holiday to Sydney, K informed me that Mary Poppins was coming to Sydney!! Mary Poppins is a childhood classic for me, the countless of times I was so proud of being able to pronounce supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and having my name appear in the song, Jolly Holiday. Besides, who doesn't love Julie Andrews?

Practically perfect in every way indeed.

Chim Chimney, one of my absolute favorite number!

 

 

Fabulous seats from a comfortable distance

Pre-show excitement!

 

 

No photos, but managed to sneakily capture a shot of the theater. Pretty!

When the first musical note rang through the theater, I could feel all the memories flooding back in. Its like a trigger mechanism, hearing certain songs just brings you back to the time period when you loved that song so much! I was probably 11 then, and I haven't seen the movie in years! Yet, I could still recall all the songs from it, cept' for the 2 songs that wasn't featured in the movie.

There is something I enjoy dearly about attending a musical and knowing all the songs. There is a greater degree of enjoyment, tried and tested. Rocky horror show was great, but I only knew one of the song, and although I enjoyed the energy and musical numbers, it was different from say, The Lion King, where I could appreciate the finer details of the costumes, stage design, and the overall cast performance. 

The cast for Mary Poppins was beyond fantastic! The songs were better than I remembered, the cast was incredible, voices were amazing, not a single flaw about the entire musical.

My favorite bits in the musical was when Mary 'flew' above the audience right across the theater, and when Bert went upside down and continued singing. The tap dancing was fab fab fab! The coordination and energy was beautiful.

It is no wonder Mary Poppins is one of the more popular shows on Broadway, it is really deserving of that status. Was absolutely blown away by the end of the musical. 

Loving the decorations- the ceiling was lined with Mary Poppins' umbrella with the parrot head

When the musical ended, its a bittersweet feeling, as always. Something that I've anticipated for so long, had a thoroughly good time, but it has to come to an end. The most amazing part was the euphoric high during the entire musical- but that feeling nosedives at the end of the musical, and its like 'awh why did it have to end so soon??' and 'when's the next time?'

Mary Poppins is a definite must-see for all fans, or at least those who grew up watching Mary Poppins! I'm easy to please so I'm definitely giving this a 9/10, but I believe it is one of the better musicals for it to last so long as a top-seller on Broadway. Didn't check who the cast is, but I'm pretty sure it was a Broadway cast from what I remembered. 

Amazing!

If you were an ice cream flavor, you would be my favorite one.

Its my second last Thursday afternoon in TCU, what am I doing? papers, papers and more papers!

Working my way through the last one, but I soon got distracted by so many things.

Got introduced to a really cool app by K today, it lets your mind creatively transform inanimate objects into the cutest things! Been having so much fun the whole afternoon! 

 

Don't eat me, please!

So I brought my pack of raspberry yogurt pretzels to 'life'.
These snacks are seriously the yummiest I've ever tasted, gonna ship home tonnes of this, or maybe they do have them back home, just that I never bothered looking for them before. Anyhow, just to be safe imma ship them back still!

Shipping is so darn expensive here, and all I'm shipping back are my winter clothes and some bulky items which I do not want to haul around on my 3-week vacation. The cheapest I could find was by seven seas shipping international. Still, it costs USD158 for 30kg, by sea freight as well. This is the first time I will be trying out their service as well, so I hope they're reliable.


Moving on to happier news, I just got the confirmation date this morning for my trip to Bangkok, on the 5th-8th July. That week coincides with SY's graduation week, I'm really hoping and praying that her graduation is before the 5th, because I really wanna attend real bad, but I have to travel within those dates because its no longer just two of us traveling, but 6 of us.
Note to self: shop less here, shop more there.

Skyped with mom&dad this morning, collecting all last-minute orders from Amazon, I am really going to miss my amazon prime! But all wonderful things thrown together here, I still miss home dearly, and it seems so surreal that I've been away from home for 4 months now. As much as I love it here, I miss my family, friends and food back home. The three big Fs of my life.

Back to writing more papers.. Hopefully I will be able to complete it before midnight and have some time to spare for a movie later on. 

9GAG Y U SO ADDICTIVE?!

Why I love Groupon.

Been obsessively shopping on groupon recently. So many good deals and we've even picked up a recent deal to This Texas scottish festival next friday! Although I do have an exam the following day, i believe experiencing this scottish festival is higher up on my priority list! Its a semi beer fest as well. Nothing like ice cold beer on a warm summer's afternoon!

I have this crazy urge to just open myself up to experiencing anything and everything new suddenly. Its like this exchange brought about this sudden burst of wanting to explore new places, talk to people from differnet walks of life, peek into the culturally-rich societies that have not been tainted by modernism. I am to a very large extent, spoilt, in some sense. I hate traveling to places where I can't get a decent shower, i am paranoid over streetside food, i hate muck and dirt. And yet, i suddenly feel the need to embrace all of these, that genuine immersion and understanding of suh places can allow me to experience something i have never experienced before. Hmm. Weird realization just before I end my long wednesday.

Bangkok in July!

I think I have overplanned my summer holidays. There are so many things that I want to do, so little time, running low on the financial end as well. This always happens, and summer holidays are the best time to replenish my bank accounts which will have to last me for often an entire year. 

Just this morning, I saw a really good deal. 4D3N to Bangkok via SQ for $399! After much consideration and toggling between a holiday to Taiwan, Hong Kong or Bangkok, it was finally decided! Its just me and style going for this one, finally my first holiday with her! :D We've been talking about having a holiday since my first year in college, but it has never been fulfilled until now! The tickets and packages are all paid for, and we're going to be leaving sometime in July! :D

Bangkok here I come!

Then I wandered over to the deals corner for Groupon, and found many other good deals! However, time and financial constraints are holding me back. There are just too many places that I yearn to visit, and right now I'm already researching on places to go in Bangkok. Will I love this city? I'm pretty darn sure I will. I have heard nothing but good reviews on the culture, food and shopping! however, its just going to be us two traveling alone, and I'm pretty sure the word safe does not apply to this city. We just gotta be extra careful, and it will ultimately still be an experience for the both of us I'm sure. Can't wait to see if the culture is really as awesome as they say. & the food, thai cuisine~ I simply cannot wait! 

Note to self: no more trips should be added to this upcoming summer holidays.

Today's my long day, was working on my papers when I fell asleep halfway thru, going to continue working on them tonight! I really do hope Intercultural ends early today. Not in the mood to sit through all the way until 8.30pm. I can't believe this week is the one Friday I have to spend working on a paper. My Fridays are often considered my weekends already, argh. Big submission due next Wednesday as well. While others have spent the last 4 weeks working on slowly building up a project notebook, I'm going to attempt the impossible by condensing 4 weeks worth of development and exploration of ideas into 3 days. Seriously, exchange students are at a disadvantage here, do they not realize that. We have to build a model, where am I supposed to get my supplies for building a model? I do not drive, and public transportation here sucks. PLUS I do not want to waste my money on buying supplies for this model at all. If only we could have done a ten-page paper instead of this submission, I would gladly trade in any day. 

No sleep tonight!

Today's been the most unproductive day ever, as are most Tuesdays. 

Lazed around after lunch, and fell into a deep sleep until 7pm, funny thing about summer, 7pm is still as bright and sunny as 3pm. Rolled around in bed because my mind was fooled by how bright it was. Eventually pulled myself out of bed to head to the gym, needed to clear my mind for the night. 

Decided that I am going to finish what I have set out to do for today, even if it takes me until tomorrow morning. At least I'll end my long day tomorrow knowing that I have the rest of the week off! :) Its a good thought. 

I wish I had the chance to travel more while I was here, but traveling is expensive. I wish I had visited other states as well, but there's always a chance for that in the future. Its just the most amazing feeling to first lay eyes on a new place. I think the shutterbug has gotten to me whilst I am here as well. Photography used to be more of a recording mechanism for me, to help me remember where I've been. But recently, I've learned how to appreciate what gets captured within the frame. It is not just incessant snapping away at whatever catches your attention, there is so much more to it. Of course, it may also have been that I am influenced by friends around me, what with all the pretty photos that are surfacing on facebook or flickr, and this may soon die off, as did my short-lived interest in so many other things. 

Road trip home from Austin.

The best people I can ever find!

During the few months that I've been here, I haven't added much photos, and quite honestly, even though blogger has improved their image uploading interface, nothing's easier than Facebook & I'm not about to replicate another upload. These are just the few that encapsulates the awesome people that I've met while in TCU.

Susan and Malu. Canoeing in Austin.

Barton Lake, Austin. Best memory of Spring Break.

That odd little German restaurant, Schilo's, in San Antonio which had the best mustard & home-made root beer.

Our most recent trip to FW zoo! Beautiful day out.

I had only wished I had the time to record down every single one of those events, but I haven't, I will try to do so from now on, it is a promise to myself as well.

Its funny how I still yearn for my summer holidays as much as I don't want my school term to end. This is the first time I'm kinda dreading the end of the semester because I know it marks the end of my exchange in TCU. There are so many things left undone, so many more people that I want to meet, so many goodbyes I refuse to face.

But most importantly, I have to live in the moment, live for what each remaining day here has to carry. Every night I go to bed, I glance around my room, and I dread to think of the day when I have to move out. This exchange has also helped me become more independent. When I used to think I could never survive living alone in my own room, I did. In fact, it gave me the space to do my own thinking as well. I often find peace and comfort in that quietness, and I will miss having that, and I surprise myself by growing to like it. Guess I am a level up on the introvert scale. Enjoys highly personal space. Check.

Right now I've still got 3 more papers, and a heck load of deadlines due, even back home. There are so many commitments I have gotten myself tangled up in, and I have no way of keeping up. Its inefficient, but I couldn't care less at times. The way of life here has definitely reshuffled my priorities, not sure if it is a good survival skill to take back home, or perhaps this is just a temporary phase, its like how holidays always come to an end, and reality slaps you hard in the face again.

I am glad to say though, that I have been seeing vast improvements in my stamina and strength. Those weekly sessions to the gym has definitely paid off. I used to pant and wheeze after 15 minutes on the treadmill, but now I breeze by 15 minutes easily. Glad to know that friends back home are also gaining interest in keeping fit. I look forward to participating in event runs or marathons with them when I get home. But more than just the physical aspect of it, running helps me think. If I'm lucky, my brain will permit me to mentally work on any essays that I have due, but I mostly think of random thoughts, and then delve deeply into it for the entire session. Often, these thoughts lead to motivational action, perhaps it is something that I have neglected, or something I have failed to consider before. So I act upon those actions, which is why I love these sessions so much. Its fruitful in so many ways, plus, I get to rid my body of all the extra calories and fats that have piled on because there is no way I can resist a good, sinfully cooked meal.

If only my papers were this easy to work on, I would have gotten them done ages ago.

that single peeve.

Have you ever had days when you realized that there is just that one thing in your life that's imperfect? Its something you have no control over, try as you may to avoid, it just keeps intertwining with your path. Its like an oil spill in the middle of the road, you never ever wanna encounter one and there it is. And at the end of the day, you question yourself, why are you the one that has to chance upon it, how on earth did it end up there in the first place.

Sometimes I do think it is a test, to understand yourself better. These things bring out the worst in you, a side of you that you never knew existed. It pushes your patience to the limit, and you cannot understand why such an ugly thing would be allowed to manifest the face of the earth. There is no beauty in it- try as hard as I might, I cannot find that silver lining.

This thing, it haunts me. The further away I pull from it, it somehow finds a way to re-emerge back into my life. I hate it so, sometimes I wish that incessant nagging would just stop, but it never does. I do not see a point, how it finds joy in taunting me, and making me feel this way. What creature derives joy from another's bitterness and hatred? Then I take a step back, and chide myself for thinking such thoughts, and I realize, without the existence of it, I would not have such thoughts in the first place.

When faced with such a thorn in the neck, what am I to do? Run away from it? Hide? I have tried countless of times, it still creeps and crawls its way back into my life, like a mean termite infestation that never goes away. I have no answer for this problem that I face, but my only solace is staying as far away from it as I can, to distance myself, to treat it like none of this ever exist. Perhaps this is a sign, a lesson to be learnt, that some part of me isn't that perfect. That ugly human trait reinforced by hatred, it grows and it grows, and its trying to find a way out. It makes me miserable, but what does it care? Maybe this is my chance, to deal with it once and for all, to understand and learn that this is a weakness in me which I someday have to face, this ugly monster that is drawn out by that which plagues my life. I see no joy in being in its presence, I only see darkness and loneliness. Miserable is what I feel.


Then, there comes a gift from God, the antibody, the medicine to that plague. It arrives in the most unlikely of forms, but it is still a gift nonetheless. Suddenly, the dark clouds are gone, streaming rays of the morning sun bursts through the clouds. The ice melts, flowers bloom, birds sing and the stream flows to that melodic tune once more. This gift allows me to appreciate the finer beauties of life, the simple and sweet joy that I find in everyday things that surround me, of which I was unaware of. It drives that darkness away, it squishes it under its radiance, and my life is perfect once more.

I hope never to meet that darkness again, I know sooner or later, it will emerge someday, sometime. I can only hope to stay as far away from it as possible, and immerse myself in the many gifts instead. I have so much to be thankful for, so many joys that I could share with others as well. I will not let that darkness destroy it.

This entry definitely has a deeper meaning to it, one which I am sure not many would be able to easily decipher. But it has certainly provided me a channel to vent out my anger and frustration, without hurting anything in the process. Read into it if you must, but consider your own darkness as well. Everyone has one, its just a matter of time and place in which it will creep into your life unknowingly, leaving you to deal with the aftereffects when it has passed.

America, FUCK YEAH!

I have nearly forgotten and given up on this blog for my entire exchange, I am feeling so guilty now. I promised I would write and document my entire exchange here, but seems like I've been too preoccupied with really immersing myself in the whole exchange experience. Still, it is not too late to begin.

My previous blog post just made me realize how wonderful trey parker and matt stone are! They have serious music talent, albeit the crude lyrics, but its still funny! Its not a scary-movie dumb kinda funny, I genuinely laugh when I listen to their songs. Today, I watched Team America, a movie created by both of them again. All my life, I have been studying this particular sex scene using dolls, and it is only today that I realized it is from this movie. How slow.

But apart from the crude humor, the set design is AMAZING! Imagine creating all of that from scratch! The main cities they replicated were Paris, North Korea, Cairo, Team Base and Panama. My favorite was Paris- fun fact: they decided to combine ALL the major city attractions within a small space, and their set design was based on an American viewpoint of what Paris would be like.The details that went into the planning was amazing, and recently, my lighting and design professor has been showing us many movies relating to the set design. My personal fav, and will always be, pirates of the caribbean. But i digress.

Team America's set design for Team Base, which is this awesome penthouse-clubhouse area where the team stays, was also so pretty! And its amazing that they actually make miniatures of actual furniture that were popular during that period of time. The room they spent the most effort on was Lisa's room, which sadly went unnoticed because of the puppet sex. But because they had pointed that out, I spaced out during the sex scene to pay attention to the details of the room, it was really well done to create the right mood, and certainly captured the essence of Lisa in that living space. But when it came to the whole shitting-on-the-face part, my attention was completely drawn back to the puppet sex. Parker and Stone certainly know how which buttons to push to rile the MPAA, for it is deemed obscene for any excretory activity to be portrayed.

I really love their portrayal of Kim Jong Ill as well, and I really wonder if he did watch this movie. His palace in North Korea was so accurately detailed that it is scary. I wonder who did his voiceover, but it sure sounds like that chinese dood from The Hangover, he has this annoying undertone in his voice. I especially loved his 'shark' tank and pet 'leopards' which were actually catfishes and black cats. Wonder how they trained the animals to attack the puppets though, I'm suspecting they hid food in the puppets.

One part I didn't get was the Matt Damon scene, he seemed all retarded in the movie, I tried googling it but all I could find was his anti-war stance or something like that. Matt Damon's an awesome actor, he's nothing as retarded as they portrayed him to be. Still, I read that Damon loved his spoof in Team America.


Its finally down to these last two weeks here in TCU. Time really flies, it wasn't long ago when I first arrived in TCU, all ready to begin a whole semester. Many things have happened in this semester, I've met many awesome people, forged true friendships which I am sure will last even though we're on completely different continents/ends of the world. These people whom I've met here are so awesome, and they've given me so much more than I can ask for. I have been told many times that I often live under a rock, there are so many things in the world that I haven't tried, and these dear friends of mine are always saying 'You have to try this before you go!' I'm so grateful to have met them, and they're truly the reason behind my awesome exchange experience.

It really brings tears to my eyes when I know I have to leave this life behind. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself these past 4 months. I go to school, I enjoy all my classes, I have spare time to catch up on all the movies on my watchlist, which is a habit that I intend to continue even when I return home, I have the time to go to the gym at least thrice a week. On weekends, I sometimes stay over at S, and its wonderful, its like sleepovers all over again. I marathon kdramas with K! I'm gonna miss it so much, we're still in the midst of dream high 2, and I had forgotten what its like to be a fangirl with another fangirl and go crazy over all the sweet bits in the drama! I thought I'd left that all behind years ago, but that part of me still exist.

M was the first friend I met here, she is the sweetest, she invited me over to her place and cooked me dinner twice within the week. I missed chinese food so much that when I had the first bite of her cooking, I honestly felt so homesick and my insides warmed right up. These dear friends of mine have really provided me a home away from home, they were the company that I look forward to every weekend, and I have forged so many memories with them here, its gonna be really really hard to say goodbye.

There are of course others, like E, who has never failed to brighten up my day. He gives the best hugs in the world, and everyone's a friend to him. He just brings the energy wherever he goes, and its so hard not to feel energetic and alive in his presence. Ks is always the funny guy with the funny laugh, and is always generous with his time.


During spring break, I got acquainted with new friends again. M&C are the sweetest couple I have ever seen. They're both so unique and awesome that its almost like they're a match made in heaven. I know it sounds ridiculous to say this, but speaking from a completely objective POV, you can just feel it when you know two people are meant for each other. M always brings out the fun side in you, she has this quality that makes you want to open up to her, and just go crazy with her. While in Austin, we stayed at A's place. Her home is amazing, and that was another home away from home. her family showed such profound hospitality that words couldn't express my gratitude when we left. Austin was one of the most beautiful memories I had forged during my time here, and I will always carry that with me.
Some of the places we explored in Austin were the SXSW festival, Barton Springs, the food trucks, Trudy's, and I also remember the night we spent watching Adventure Time! One of the best cartoons ever! I miss Shamaus very much too, its their bunny cat, and he's soooo fluffy!
 We also headed to San Antonio which was a beautiful beautiful city. I will never forget the city walks, and that dinner we had in Schilo's, and that one night at D's in San Antonio.


After spring break, it was a mad rush in school again. Having spent the week at S, I was completely drawn away from all the work due that very week. As a result, I had to rush many of my assignment through the nights, that was a baaaad week, but for all those memories in Austin & San Antonio, I would have done it all over again if were given the choice. Its still amazing how I was able to recover and be ahead of my deadlines again in 2 weeks. Back home it takes me an entire sem, and having to forgo so many outings and weekend meetings. I made myself promise that weekdays were reserved for work only, and starting from Friday, my weekends would be prioritized to hanging out with friends! It is sometimes difficult to let go of the mentality that I need not do well for my modules here, I still have that nagging feeling deep down inside me. Through my exchange here, I have learnt to let that go and know that I have so much more to appreciate in life rather than just my studies alone. It is a beautiful lesson that I have learnt.

The weeks zoomed by, weekends, weekdays, a blur of assignments, lessons, movies and more movies, and before I know it, I'm down to my second last week here in TCU. :( The weekend before, I went to awakening as well, it was a spiritual retreat, and I got to meet some really great people there! It was well worth it, and just last weekend, I headed down to the ZOO! FINALLY! :D I have been rushing to visit everything in this area before I have to leave, and its so sad that I have to say goodbye to this beautiful place. I really wish I could have been here for another semester, just one more semester. I miss home, don't get me wrong, but the life here is too amazinggggg. Although I am envious of friends that have gone to Europe for their exchange, given the same choice once again, I wouldn't have forgo this chance to come to TCU!


so right now its down to this point, 23rd April 2012, I have 3 assignments due this week but I am more bummed out that school's ending. Was working on a law&ethics 10-page paper, and got the best email informing us that the deadline is only on Thursday. Life is good with such simple joys. I am almost tempted to watch a movie tonight and continue working on it tomorrow. HEEHEE!

Sad as I am to leave fort worth, I am excited for my san fran trip, as well as my 3-week holiday with my babyboy. Its all planned out and set to go! :D This is the first time we're gonna be traveling so far away from home, and its just the two of us. I know how lucky we are to have this opportunity, and I'm going to make the best of it!