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