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!

The Book of Mormon- controversial or simply entertainment

Just finished listening to the whole soundtrack of The Book of Mormon. Gotta say its really well-written, i enjoyed all the musical numbers thoroughly. I wonder if it is going against my faith to watch it tho. My favorite song in the whole musical is Hasa Diga Eabowai, which simply is something completely and utterly inappropriate! But if I fine-tune the lyrics out, its beautifully composed.
I guess this is pretty much like Jesus Christ, Superstar, one of the most controversial musicals in the history of Christianity, yet so many people stream in to enjoy this classical creation of Andrew Llyod.
Perhaps it is all in the mind, and to appreciate such degree of compositional creativity, I guess its just drawing the line between what is truly going against one's faith vs. hedonism in such 'trashy' musicals as some may say.

The week is coming to a close, and I love everyday after Wednesday! :D My kindle arrived today, its lovely & I'm bubbling with excitement BUT the kindle doesn't allow me to connect to the school wifi which sucks. Gotta find somewhere else with wifi. :(
My virgin book on my kindle's gonna be The hunger games for sure!
Watched my first episode of Homeland, an amazing show! Can't wait to watch another episode today. Biz media has gotta be my favorite module this semester! everything to do with TV and movies, what more can students ask for?
Our first assignment is a paper on 1 out of 5 choices. I've picked Alcatraz, but fell asleep when watching the pilot for it last night, but perhaps that was because it was 3am in the morning rather than the show was boring.

If there's one reason to hate the cold, it gives me the worst cramps. Been suffering since yesterday, to the extent that I can barely concentrate during lessons. Skipped breakfast because my cramps were working up again at 8AM THIS MORNING. grrr...
TGIF tomorrow, but it will be a mad rush trying to complete all the assignments so my weekends will be free. Its difficult to manage studies here because it is more time-consuming than anything else.

Everyday I'm studying

OMGGG people here are maddd hardworking. Spent my weekends doing readings, never used to do that in Singapore unless its near exam period. I guess that's the difference between the systems here and back home. Quite honestly, I prefer the ones back home. But then its all up to one's discipline to stay on track, here the systems force you to stay on track with weekly quizzes and papers that accumulate up to half your grades! The final exam here ain't important, but back home skip everything BUT the mid terms and final exams.

I'm just glad my timetable gives me lots of free time to read up before the lessons cos of the quiz. If there's one skill that I've perfected over the years, its procrastination. Perhaps its the thrill of completing an objective within such a short span of time! Hmm..

I'm still feeling sore over the fact that I'm missing CNY back home. I miss my grandmama's cooking. Its the one thing I look forward to every year, and within that lunch, I can spam myself with soooooo much foood because it is beyond delicious! I can't wait for CNY next year in that case. Many thanks to the ones who have been cheering me up while I'm so down and out about missing out, really means so much to me when I'm away from home!

Weather's here been pretty odd. Alternates between warm and cold, can't say I appreciate it being TOO cold, I like my weather just nice. :) I'm still hoping for snow this year although I know how highly unlikely that is. No matter, just don't rain this Saturday because I'm going to the carnival, the carnival! We never have such large-scale ones back home, pasar malam doesn't count. Its been twice that I've been watching from the outside of the gates, and finally we've got tickets to the rodeos which means a full day down at the carnival!
They have funnel cakes, hotdogs on a stick, all sorts of snacks, game stores piled high with prizes, everything! OH and even a petting zoo! I heard that there's a llama there, I've never petted a llama before, but ever since I've watched The Emperor's New Groove, they've always appeared adorable to me!

I can't wait to travel out of Dallas, school mood has set in all right, with all the deadlines and everything..grrr..

One short day in downtown Fort Worth.

Headed down to watch the stockyard parades happening in downtown FW! Beautiful day to be out! Got really hot during the midday.

Everybody getting excited for the parades to start! It kicked off with the TCU band! YAY go tcu! and it was a whole long string of horse-drawn carriages, side-saddle riders, wagons and plenty of rodeos.
Never seen so many people in Fort Worth, and so much horse poop! Got really excited, but an hour into the three-hour long parade, we kinda got bored of it and the sun was scorching, so we took a walk down to sundance square.



Headed to a small little cafe where we could watch the parades from the windows. Had the yummiest carbonara with a ceasar salad side. The parade ended halfway during lunch and there were these big trucks that cleared all the poop on the ground but made the whole place soooo dusty!


Walked around after lunch but there was nothing much around, decided to head back to the main station where we decided to take a bus down to Hulen mall, which was a bigggg mistake because it took us 1.5hours before we arrive. Its soooo bad and I got so bus-sick.
Finally got off the bus and managed to take a quick tour of the mall, stopped at F21 where I finally found a pretty top! however, we were running soooo late that we literally had to run for the bus! I gave up running halfway when my knee started hurting so bad!
Managed to catch the bus back home, but definitely going back there again soon!

Finally the market square is open! And apart from having all my meals covered, there's also a $200 campus cash we could use for other restaurants around campus, including STARBUCKSSSS!
Breakfasts in the mornings are usually eggs and potatoes, with the occasional customized omelettes and WAFFLES!!

Loving the TCU logo across my waffles!

Headed down to Barnes & Noble after class today, and I spotted the most adorable plushies ever!!! Wanted to get the dendrite plushie but it was too pricey. :(

Dendrite plushie- there's a whole bunch of these geekish microbes which are super awesome!


This one's the black death virus. Its actually the cutest one of the lot!

& this one's the red blood cell! :D
Kids need these to make biology awesome to study!

And this concludes the first week at school! I'm in for full weeks of crazy reading assignment schedules and papers due, but its all new to me & i'm loving the whole experience of it all!


CNY weekend back in Singapore, so sad I have to miss the family trip to Genting. I know it sounds boring that we do the same thing every year, but I soooo look forward to the getaway everytime. Even though the theme park rides get a little crappy after awhile, even though I don't ever go to the indoor theme parks anymore, even though the shopping there is not the most fantastic, I just love it because I see the beautiful side of it.
Like my delicious, greasy plate of char kway teow, the BEST i've ever tasted before even though its madly overpriced. The fireworks and firecrackers that are displayed in FULL GLORY right above my head, the weather, and the reunion dinner. :)

if only supermarts back home were like this..

Time flies! its been a week since I've moved into TCU and I can't wait for classes to start. What started out as a bad Tuesday because I couldn't get any classes that I wanted, turned out to be a blessed Wednesday as I've gotten nearly all the classes that I can foresee myself enjoying!
Apart from that, the week has been spent shopping and furbishing my room. Its worth it because I am going to be here for 6 months, and its nice to end a long hectic day with a room to look forward to!

Wednesday was heading down to supertarget again, changed the bedsheets to red (& the correct size), bought a whole lot of junk including a coffee machine ($10) because a water boiler was simply too expensive, table lamp, magnetic board, full length mirror and snacks to survive those late night hunger pangs!
Thursday was mostly just shopping at Krogers, and having take-out for dinners. Took a walk down the street to see if there was anything, but chose the worst day to have a stroll outdoors. Weather reports -4deg and the winds were painfully chilling!
Krogers is awesome to have near the school, its just across 2 roads, about a 10 minute walk.

I love how big their supermarts are and how they have take-out lunch and dinners that are actually non-microwavable food for once. US is truly a frozen food country, the aisle for frozen foods can stretch on and on and on. truly amazing.

Found a snack that must have been banished from Singapore's supermarts a long time ago because they're fats in a pack. But it still remains my all-time favs! Buying a huge bunch of these before I leave for home!

And check this out....

Is it a peanut dispenser? Is it a peanut grinder? NO.
It is a peanut BUTTER dispenser. They grind it up for you right on the spot, albeit crunchy-type peanut butter. I prefer mine smoooth & creamy. Still! its a cool machine, I wonder how good the peanut butter would taste like! at least it proves to be a healthier option with zero additives or preservatives!

Also found this treasure...

Combos are like the best midnight snack ever!! But I only see the cheddar cheese ones back home, here they have buffalo BLUE CHEESE!! *what up!*(Barney Stinson style)
I'm am gonna savor these babies so much, they'll never feel more loved in their entire lifetime!

Bought take-home lunch, potato salad!
Nothing like the ones back home, and they only cost $1.45 for 1-pound pack! Yummers!


Shopped for other stuffs like B&J Late Night Snack flavor, & mac&cheese boxes. Its awesome, i'm so gonna grow fat here.

The market square starts today, had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and potato cubes, with a burrito! Awesome stuff.
Headed down for international orientation where I was almost put to sleep. They introduced the US school system as being participatory. that's where I'm gonna suffer like mad. If there's one thing I hate, I hate participating in classes. However, here that accounts for 20% of your grade, and goes to show how passionate you are about the class. Since I email-begged most of the professors to allow me into their classes, I am going to have to participate.. grrr... Gone were the days when you can just sit there for hours just listening, but never having to stress yourself out about speaking up in class.

heading out for dinner again at the market square, & a long weekend before school officially begins. Plans for the weekends so far: C's friends are visiting, so headed down to downtown Dallas. & that's all we've got so far!
Dallas is pretty much a quiet place to truly get away from the city, can't say I'm not enjoying this peace and laid-back pace of life!

TCU-home of the horned frogs

I think horned frogs are kinda adorable, especially those that they used for the mascots, but more than that, I love the theme color here- purple!
Checked out of the hotel at 9.30am, and it was such a rainy day. Its shocking how much the temperature could have fallen by when it rains! It was painful to even step outside.
Still, we managed to carry all our luggages to check into our rooms!


First glance at TCU while we waited 30mins in the cold wind cos the assistant took soooo long to come. I tried out my heat pack, it really works although I can't seem to figure out how. Its powdery granules on the inside, and the first hour, it wouldn't heat up but once you leave it alone, it gradually gets hotter and hotter, and when you use it, it loses heat. Leave it alone and it gains heat. Very interesting indeed.

Had orientation but we skipped most of it, too sleepy and lazy to move around in the rain. Visited the TCU spirit shop after lunch, plenty of pretty things but nothing that I need now.


Headed back to my room and I realized what a COMPLETE WRECK that place was. It looked like the aftermath of a crazy and wild new year's party. At least it was out along the corridors, or so I thought, upon entering my room, dust balls were everywhere on the floor and the shelves were coated with dust. Didn't get any cleaning wipes the day before at Target so I spent the night at C's. The bed is huge but horribly uncomfortable because my legs practically dangled out along the sides. Its meant for one, not two but she was nice to share it with me given the state of my room!

Headed back to get changed in the morning and I walked past the fountain. Pretty in the morning, plus the rain had subsided! Really refreshing to be up in the morning and despite the cold, I still love it!


Skyping A when suddenly I saw a squirrel just right outside C's window! awwww the cute things!
If it were my room, I would have let one in already.


Today was day2 of orientation, but a more important one because its for academics. Spent the whole afternoon getting transferred between peoples because nobody could find our records.
Met really really nice coordinators that made us feel soooo welcomed! everyone is so friendly here I am so loving it. Something you can never find back home.
Managed to clinch 401 & 402, most important. But the rest of the courses are not the ones that I want. The jetlag must be getting to me because I sent a single professor 3 wrong emails asking to be in his class.. why do i feel pessimistic about my chances of getting in right now. However, the people here are really nice, and professors likewise. Surprise me please!!
I have until Monday before all my courses are confirmed so please let me take the courses that I will enjoy taking!

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you "
God has blessed me with getting the modules that I have always eyed for, and for granting me good grades, I pray once more to get these modules that I reallyreallyreallyreallyreally wanna take while I am here!

Heading out for dinner later with a couple of new friends which we will officially meet today after contacting via fb for the past 2 months! CHINESE FOOD!!!
I cannot tell you how much I miss chinese food, mommy i was wrong when I said I could survive everyday on burgers and pizzas. I do miss chinese food, and was craving so badly for something chinese last night, but my only option was McDonalds.
McD here serves really good breakfast burrito though, and it goes for only a buck. It comes with this tangy, spicy sauce that was love at first bite!
Cold cold day again today, and we didn't manage to get to Target in time so no cleaning wipes to wipe down my room. May have to bunk in with C again, I feel so bad tho, may just risk sleeping on my own bed tonight!
Till next time.

To Moscow then Houston, finally Fort Worth!

Goodbye Singapore!


AND HELLO DALLAS!

Val got me a farewell gift on the night we left! Although I'm not a fan of winnie the pooh, its yellow and its a gift FROM HER, and that's saying something.
A came all the way to send me off too, and she got this whole bag of gifts! Sadly I couldn't bring the whole big book of Christmas Story, but she made me a beautiful diary with the most touching work of art I've ever seen! :) Love you A!

First stop was Moscow, prettiest first impression I've ever seen! Snow-topped cottages, yeah COTTAGES! or maybe that's what it looks like from the plane, and snow everywhere!!! Got so excited and wanted to snap a few photos but transit was very rushy, the luggage check was kinda intense- opening my bags up and examining my stuffs.
I had leftover water in my bottle and the Russian lady gave me this death stare and shook a single 'no-no' finger at me. Saw a really cool vending machine that dispenses freshly-squeezed orange juice, where it literally de-
juiced the orange in front of you! awesome stuff!

2nd half of the flight was plenty of turbulence, caught two great movies, Moneyball and What's your number! Enjoyed both very much! The first sight of Houston greeted me at 2pm local time, and its funny travelling alone because its DIY for everything. Didn't realize that I had to call the hotel for a shuttle, and spent 15 minutes dumbly waiting outside.
Comfort suites is a great place for a night's stay, I must have been a very troublesome guest though, kept ringing the operator because I didn't know how to turn on the AC and the showers! Then I came to realize that in the US, I had to use double to strength for everything! AC would only turn on if I JAM the button really hard. Showers were the same theory.
Had cup noodles for dinner because it was pitch black outside and the nearest food stop was kinda isolated, and went straight to bed!

Breakfast the next day was amazinggg! :D I just love the scrambled eggs and the waffle machine, although i burnt both my toast and waffle! :(( still getting the hang of it.
Internal flight was faster than I thought, it only took 45 minutes compared to the 1hr15mins estimated time, and I finally landed in Dallas!
C had a luggage problem because they sent hers for rechecking and we ended up waiting till 7pm at the airport, entertained myself by watching Underworld in preparation for the upcoming one!
Arrived at Residence Inn, 2km from TCU and we're happily settled!

Woke up to this at 8am this morning, looks even better in real.

Got awesome hotel room cards!!
It seems the whole community along S. University Drive is a huge fan of TCU, there's TCU flags flying from random stores, even in Target, they had TCU mascots and jackets!


Amazing Sunday morning! Took a long walk to the nearest target to shop for back-to-school stuffs! C & I seriously budget-shop all the way, cutting down to only the bare necessities, but my bill still amounted to USD68! ARGH! Saw the prettiest faux fur throw going at $18, but i can't bring it home anyways. :((

The walk along the park was such an eye-opener. Trees were bare due to winter season, and I kept spotting squirrels all over! awww the cute furry things! I love the way they run and their bushy tails fluff around behind them. Haven't had a chance to get up close to one yet though, and there are many dog people around here! All bringing their dogs for morning walks!
Saw a bunch of people urban fishing as well, signboard states 'Maximum 5 rainbow trouts per person." hahaha, it was freezing this morning, had on gloves & scarf & i was still cold!


Went GAGA over the B&J display! I wanna try so many different flavors but its all about the FATSFATSFATS!


Loot of the day.

& we have a FIREPLACE in the hotel! How awesome is that? But we never got to setting it up. Can't even handle a toaster, I am not going near a fireplace.
Occasionally we can hear the Trinity train through the fireplace, gave me a shock on the first night, but I've grown to like the cute choo-choo sound it makes!


Moving in to school tomorrow and then there's orientation! Hope the people are nice! :)
Goodnight!