SCHOOL'S OUT!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lobster and Artichoke Seafood Dip ($8.99)

Baked Dip!

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

Customized Shrimp Feast ($17.99)

Shrimp Campi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Penthouse-inspired sun room.

Molly's workspace.

Really love the color for the walls.

Sofa set.

Stairs to level 2

Model to scale's a bitch to do!

Thanks to dad who got me to watch this show.

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

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

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

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

El Gordo Crepes ($7.99), Cafe Brazil

Morning Treat! $1 at Krogers

Even being sick is an experience afterall.

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

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

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

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

Apple cider tab at Dutch's, so creative!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bagel Indulgence.

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

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

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

Grilled Chicken and Tomato Soup, perfect for the sick.

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

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

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

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

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

Days when the weather just describes your mood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOL!

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

Pure Classic: The Lion King

 The Lion King, MBS (2011)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, they really loved the Timon plush.

Pre-show

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

Excites!

 

The stage

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

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

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

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

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

A first: Le Enfants Terrible; Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Terrible Infants, Esplanade Theaters (2010)

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

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

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

 

Excited!

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

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

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

After the show.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dad & I

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

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

ALW, we love your music!

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.