NYC

New York City!! I am in New York City!! How lucky I am! =)

The first thing everyone who took the plane to NYC will experience is the cab, those yellow cab. Once you have seen that, it will create a bad impression of NYC, especially people from Des Moines. Honking and shouting and speeding is a norm for all those cabs. Slow and you get honked; traffic? Not a problem for them! They will just zig zag across the traffic as if there weren't there.

Anyway, I made it safely to my destination, Rachel's uncle's apartment. Unpack all those stuffs and then had dinner. Guess what I had for dinner? Nasi Lemak!! It is so easy to get Malaysian food here! Chinatown have every food you Malaysian will want to have after being deprieve of Malaysian food for some time! =p

We spent Christmas eve eating steamboat at a restaurant. It wasn't bad, but it could be a tad better I think. We didn't have the chance to eat dim sum during Christmas in some big @$$ restaurant which the queue spill out of their main door, so ended up having lunch during the scheduled karaoke session. Karaoke isn't my cup of tea, so I only sang a little as respect to the others. We had steamboat again in uncle's house for Christmas dinner. This time it was great! Add the home made chilli and you get some perfect steamboat dinner!

We went shopping on Boxing day, and I spent some dough on an American Eagle sweater, which is very warm. =p My dear elder brother bought me perfume as Christmas present, and my sister gave me a sweet card. She's looking for a Christmas present for me too! Gosh, I am so spoilt ain't it? But I love it and I love them! Hahaa...

We spent yesterday walking around Wall Street, took some pictures and stuff like that. Due to some complications I couldn't get a pair of shoes for my brother. Fate, that's what he said. Maybe it just wasn't meant for him, and maybe today we will get something better.

Alright, I guess that's all. Let me continue enjoying my pampered NYC trip! Adioz.

Cold with boredom, heated with excitement!

It's kind of boring the past two weeks I must say. There's nothing but assignments and tests. Yes, I am sick of it, but to choose between those two, I must say I enjoy assignments more than tests, way more! You want a comparison? Well, I have done my IS 44 finals project which is due on Thursday, but I have yet to start studying for my ACTS 140 finals on Thursday. Better yet, my IS 44 assignment is due at 9pm, while ACTS 140 test is at 4pm. Yes, that is how I disregard tests.

But, assignments also have its limits. Too many assignments at one time is very bad and stressful. Very stressful. I actually have one assignment due this morning, one more this evening, another one tomorrow, and two more on Thursday! That is CRAZY!! And to make matter worse, I am a PROcrastinator! Gosh!

Whether lady luck is on my side or the weather decided to help me, a snow storm happened today in the wee hours. It was predicted that the snow storm will start at 6pm yesterday and end at 6pm today, a 24 hour storm! Imagine that! But then the storm only happened after 2am. And guess what? Drake University actually close and cancel all classes due to the severe weather! All assignments due today are pushed back one day, and few other assignments' due date are pushed back a day as well! Lucky procrastinator I must say!

How bad is the weather you asked? Well, the pine trees in front of my window has ice on its branches and leaves, snow scattered everywhere, skies gloomy and threatening to dump more snow and sleet and freezing rain, and the temperature is freezing! Walkway everywhere is very slippery, the same applies to the roads. I heard Chicago, which is also suffering from the same snow storm, had 15 deaths due to the snow storm! Imagine icicles causing damage and loss of lives!

Anyway, now that I have a whole day to finish up assignments and study for my test, I really should put it to good use. But being me, I went back to sleep after waking up to class cancellations, continued sleeping after being awaken by my 'brother', slept some more after calling my friend to announce the good news, and finally woke up for lunch due to my grumbling stomach. Played some pool after lunch, came back and tried to study, but the mood just wasn't right, and I end up playing games, listening to songs, and ranting here. Guess what? That's not the end yet. I have an appointment with Mr. Basketball at 5pm, add dinner to the equation, with shower and a little time wasting formula, I think I will only start to study or complete my assignments at 9pm! And if my mum calls, I don't think studying will ever happen today! Lolz.

Yes, if you want to slap me up down left right center for not using time wisely, you can. Oh wait, not everyone. Yes, there's the catch! You must be a close friend of mine, a very close friend. Only a few qualified for that! So I won't have bruises on my face till my mum can't recognize me! Duhhh... And don't you dare come slap me without permission! You may end up with bruises from my counter attack! Bwahahahaha...

I can't wait for finals to be over. Just another week, another week!! One more week and we will be off to holiday, riding on plane or bus or car or whatever transportation, off go the stressful education for a month! Yet, everything comes with a sacrifice. I don't get to meet my close friends for a month, no more those jokes and talks and craziness for a month! But then again, what gain is there without sacrifice? Finals, here I come! After that, NEW YORK CITY, my destination, my freedom for a month, my joy for a month, my carefree attitude for a month! Here I come!

Just ranting...

I am bored, and laden with assignments. How unfortunate. Finals is another 3 weeks or less away, and my studies isn't going as well as I thought it would be, especially my Stats 2!! Even though I am laden with all these assignments, I still prefer it over examinations, and I do take time to do it nicely and take time off to relax my mind.

Friends gathering is a great way to relax from all these hectic and crazy work. I just had one yesterday night, and I would like to shout aloud a great big THANK YOU to Randy and Rachel. They cooked some wonderful dinner, and we had some games together, which where most of the fun came from.

I once heard that to know someone truly, give him/her alcohol or cards. Well, I think it still stand true and will stand true forever. No no, don't get me wrong, no one in the gathering yesterday gave me a bad impression. It's quite the opposite actually. I got to know someone who is very smart, intelligent, and wonderful. Well, I did know before hand that she's very smart, and very alert to everything that's happening around, but it is still amazing how she can do it in such a pretty way. Schweet!

Anyway, we did tiramisu after some booze. The effect of the alcohol cleared off, and we had fun doing tiramisu, learning from someone who have actually done it before and done it perfectly. Hey hey, this boy here actually know how to make tiramisu already! I am eating it now, and it taste very good. Well, I didn't actually do much of it, but I was there to witness the process, and helped out a little. So I guess it's all of the pretty chef's work! Brilliant!

After being here for two months or more, I get to know people more in depth, or that's how I feel. Some times there are just people whom I can't tolerate; and some times there are people who are just so wonderful. I guess different upbringing does have effect on everyone.

I also get to know myself a little better. Guess what? I am a big spender. No no, don't say you are too. I spend 60 usd on a pair of wonderful headphones, 80 usd on an external hard drive, and tonnes of dollars on vacations and clothes and snacks and food. I even chose to buy something that is not on discount instead of the discounted item! That's how crazy I am. And I have this thought behind my head which tells me, if I have the money, I would have a walk in wardrobe just for shoes, and another one on jeans. Well, maybe I can join the two wardrobes, but I really hope I can have shoes that match my outfit whenever I want. =p And I am still looking for a pair of WHITE jeans. Yes, pure white. =p

Alright, enough of crap on this cold and wet day. Maybe I should continue enjoying the tiramisu she made, and get some sleep as a reward of finishing two assignment in one afternoon! Adioz... ;-)

Kansas City

Thanksgiving is here! That also means that the long awaited break from studies is here! For this ever so lucky boy here, he managed to jump on a ride to Kansas City for a one day trip, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving break even started!

We first headed to Kansas City's Historic City Market. This place just give me, or rather us, the feeling that we are in Europe. There were Italian shops, Arabic shops, and many other fresh farm products stalls.

We got our tastebuds to work with a cheese burger when we reached there, mostly because the atmosphere there tempted us to try the burger. Turkey leg was also offered, but we just settled for cheese burger. It was quite normal, but I guess the 'feeling' when eating it made the difference.

We happened to spot a wine shop while eating the burger, and we got even more lucky when we actually were right on time for wine tasting! We didn't plan anything for wine, but ended up tasting different wine, ranging from French wine to champagne to dessert wine! Maybe wine tasting is a marketing strategy as it attracted many like minded people to the shop, making it quite crowded! Luckily we were early, and we get to taste the wine before the crowd came in. Call it marketing strategy, it sure works well! The four of us ended up with a bottle of wine each.

We wandered around the area, entered the Steamboat of Arabia, Chinatown which actually is similar to asian market here in Des Moines, and lastly went lunch at Bo Ling's. According to the website, lunch was supposed to be great. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out what it was expected to be. The food we ordered were too salty, or too much MSG.

Anyway, we headed over to Country Club Plaza after taking some time to find the place. It was well worth getting lost in downtown as we didn't plan anything for downtown. Lucky charm was with us again, allowing us to catch glimpse of the city, from building decorated to look like a row of books to statues and fountains to beautiful buildings.

After a little exploration and photo shooting, we found a parking spot at Country Club Plaza. This area is impressive. All sorts of shops and brands appear to be here! We found Apple, Coach, Sony, Lucky Brand Jeans, American Eagles Outfitters, etc. We spend almost 4 hours there, had dinner, and then figure out the way to head back to Des Moines.

I must say Country Club Plaza is quite a posh area. Branded fashion clothings and fine dining and branded fashionable jewellery can all be found here. If you have loads of money to splash and want an upgrade from the current lifestyle, I would say hire a fashionista and get all the stuffs from Country Club Plaza!

Time always fly when we are enjoying ourselves. When the sky gets dark and the time wandered off, it's time for us to head home. We also have to make it for a birthday bash back home. I must say this is a very nice trip for me, and I will go back to Kansas City again to visit what I've missed. Schweet!

ISA Night

Alright, I know this post is a little late, but better late than never I guess.

We had International Student Association (ISA) Night on Friday, and it was a big hit. Guess what, this lazy boy here actually took the effort to train and rehearse to put together a performance! The best part, we only use 2 days to choreograph and think of what moves to use! In the end, we put together a piece of martial art show, titled don't cry over spilled milk.



Anyway, let that be the last of this post. I shall introduce and give my comments to every performance of the night. Pictures, here they come!



First up, the opening show -- lion dance performance!! Quite nice and simple, though it would be great if there were poles and strings for higher altitude performance. But it was great anyhow.







Next, indian dance. She really know how to dance, but, yes, a big huge BUT, she danced too long. It got boring in the end, maybe it is because I don't know how to appreciate it. But 5 minutes of solo dance? Hmm...




Next, a Malaysian in Malay suit singing a Swedish song in English using a Hawaiian guitar, ukulele. His name, Gan Jia Hao. I must say, he is a talent! Great job!




Sleeping already? Come over here, let me slap you with my thousand hands! The next performance is Qian Shou Guan Yin, or thousand hands goddess of mercy. Not too bad, but I heard complains that they were actually counting the moves till it was audible to the spectators. I guess it was way too hard to perfectly choreograph it without counting!


Anyway, this performance reminds me of my religion class I took in INTI. My group did a presentation about the Goddess of Mercy as well, and we finished off the presentation with a similiar show -- the thousand hands. Aaron was the front man, and he finished it off with a power line -- what are you laughing at? You want me to slap you with my thousand hands? Ahh... Those good old times.




Since you are awake, I present you an Indonesian dance. The organizers try to make the shows consistent in time, so most performance is around 5 minutes, which, I must say, doesn't work well for dances! Same as the first dance, this is way too long even though she can dance really well.



Ah, I see your head drooping. Let me set you to dreamland by playing my flute. There you go, off to see zhou gong.






Oh you naughty kid, sleep and dream of girls dancing?! The power of subconscious mind, naughty you!





Oh, feeling shy? Off to Bollywood? Hold on a minute, you are thinking of stripping a girl while she's dancing?! OMG! It's a guy?! My my, that was freakey!

Come here and allow me to wake you up buy spilling milk on you! Let's fight!

It's kinda troublesome to upload the video, so I guess if you want the video then come and get it from me. =)

lright, peace out. Time for dancing again. Not bad, quite nicely choreographed.

Since there's a good dance, let's keep the ball rolling with another dancing performance!

Alright, enough of dancing. Let's get some martial art again. This time, wushu by Jeremy! Have you seen someone actually performing wushu live? Well, I have! It was great!

Same thing, get the video from me if you want.

Hey hey, all fighting and dancing? Don't you guys know how to read? Let me present you with a poem... Too bad, all I heard really was just some mumbling from a piece of paper, not convincing enough. Good try though.





Alright, enough of literacy, after all, we are here to escape from studies, right? Let the locals strutt their stuffs! Same thing, too long. This time, the girl was a little tired in the end as well. Not bad though.





Ok, let's take a breather and listen to some soothing music. Performed by Sam from Thailand, I must say it was really soothing, and it does sound like Buddhist temple music! Great, but too long as well. =(





Alright, let's see some dancing again. Enjoyed?


Didn't? No no, you are lying. These emcees are doing a great job!! Don't you think so?





Alright, time to end. Let's close the night and head for dinner with a fashion show! Hip hip hoorah!

Sorry, a little potong stim, but get the video from me if you want. =)

Oh Crap!

Finally I have sat for my first ever professional paper, the first step to embark on a journey, to set sail my career. Unfortunately, it was way tougher than I have expected. I don't think anyone expect it to be this tough as well. Anyway, there's no turning back, so let's just wait for the result and see how it goes from there.

The word busy seems to hang on me these days! I guess that explains my absence here. I am supposed to study for my finance test tomorrow, yes yes, the day right after my professional paper, how unfortunate. Still, I am too drained out and lazy to study for it now, that's why I am here ranting.

You think one test is not enough? Add my IS44 assignment due tomorrow to the equation! Gosh! I really should start on all those procrastinated work! But but, can't I just relax a little after draining my brain juice?

Fall is here, and I have yet to take any pictures of mother nature's beauty. Yes, blame it on the paper and the work. Sigh.

Alright, time to rest and replenish my brain juice now. Ciaoz...

Thai food anyone?

I have the opportunity to taste good food yet again. Where? Right here in Des Moines. At a restaurant named Cool Basil.

Tom yam soup!

It serves Thai food, and you can choose your level of spicy-ness. There's one star to five star, with five stars as the hottest. Well, compared to the real Thai food's spice, it has been mellow down. But don't be fooled, it's quite hot as well!

The food was good actually. Well, maybe you can say that I am a little bias and not so picky in food as before, due to the food quality here in Drake's Hubbell, but then again, it's good. =p Try it for yourself and you will know where am I in the food critique level. =D

To me, good food and good company over a meal is a must; the food won't taste good without a good company!

Well, you've guessed it, I have got some good friends to bring me for good food, a great meal indeed! Thank you everyone! =)

They even have some cute, small sized pepper and salt shaker!

How cute, right? That's a quarter, so you should be able to know what's the size! =p

Happy Birthday!

Wow, what a coincidence! My 101th post is on my birthday! Wonderful. =p

I know I should be studying for FM, my professional paper, which is on November 7th. But, I just don't have the mood to study now! Reason? Well, maybe it's because of my mind set. Today is my birthday and I don't want to study on my birthday. It makes me think that I am so miserable! But then again, maybe not. Maybe it's because I didn't get my dose of Caramel Macchiato this morning. I couldn't make it on time to get my favorite barista this morning! Erh... Close to afternoon, or rather exactly at noon at that time. Yes, I woke up at 11.30am this morning. Don't blame me! I slept at 2am. =p

I had a long chat with my mum yesterday night, or rather this morning. I realized how much I miss her. I miss those morning where we sit at the dining table and have breakfast; miss those times where we hang the clothes out and rush to collect it when the rain starts to come down; miss those jokes and those times we laughed at each other's mistakes; and, well, it sounds old-fashioned, but I do miss those naggings!

Well, nothing much I can do now, except chat online and look at her through the webcam. Really, technology do bring us closer, in terms of distance and age gap. Not many parents know or are willing to go online to chat and use the webcam; they prefer long distance call, even though online is free! That's the barrier of age gap when we are in the technology age I guess.

Anyway, enough of rantings, let's see what have I done the past week.

I had the opportunity to visit a pumpkin patch, corn farm, etc... It's all in a big huge land, owned by someone who named the place Howell's. It's an eye opener for me I guess. I get to see goats and rabbits and pigs up close; get to feed the goats, who get quite selfish when it gets to food! I also get to see pumpkin patch; get into a corn maze; and for the first time I saw a wild snake! Well, it's a garden snake, a teeny weeny snake, but still it's a nice experience.

Hissssssed!! Come nearer and you are DEAD!

I also get to carve a pumpkin, as Halloween is round the corner. I carved the simplest, most common pumpkin pattern: an angry face. It was fun!

What are you looking at? Wanna fight? *grrrrrr...*

Something else worth mentioning is I finally get to go to the Cheesecake Factory. It's a restaurant, just in case you were wondering why on earth would I want to enter a factory so much. I love cheese; and I have an uncanny craving for chocolate since I came to the States. Guess what? They actually mixed these two together, and come up with the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. I didn't try that cheesecake, though I did get a bite of their original cheesecake. It's by far the best cheese I have ever tasted. So much for a cheese fanatic eh? But it was really good, trust me. =p I got myself a 4 cheese pasta as well, which also taste pretty good. I couldn't finish it, so end up heating it up this morning for my lunch. =p

Alright, that's pretty much all I have done, except for sleeping, eating, stoning, chilling, and some 9-ball pool. Happy Birthday to myself I guess.

Anyone gonna feed him? *mehhh meeehhh*

Study? Huh? What's study? Oh! The one where I learn stuffs from books? Where I learn stuffs from other people's reasoning? Yeah yeah, I remember now. Oh, you want me to study? Some time later I guess...

Sushi at Des Moines!

I am very lucky, I must admit. Lucky in the sense that I get to know all these wonderful people who took me around during the fall break. This time, I get to eat sushi, right in Des Moines, Iowa. The name of the place, Aparre Japanese Steakhouse.

I must say, the sushi are very fresh. Considered the fact that we don't actually get really fresh seafood here in Des Moines, the freshness of the sushi is amazing.

I am not a very very big fan of sushi, but I must say I like udon mee. And guess what? This restaurant actually serve great seafood udon. Amazing I should say. Feeling how tangy the mee is in my mouth couple with the tasty soup, it's a must try for everyone.


Nice wine and pretty girls, what more can you say? Umm... Don't get me wrong, she was our waitress only. =p

When it came to drinks, we ordered plum sakae. We actually had two testers before we made the order. Pear sakae is quite strong, and plum sakae taste milder and sweeter, so we went with plum sakae. Having nice sakae with lovely sushi is really an enjoyment!

The best part is when you get so many people together for a meal. We ordered a party tray, and there were so many sushi in it. That was my first time ever seeing so many sushi in a single tray. And every sushi taste great!

I must say I love oyster, and I couldn't resist the temptation to order kaki fried. Well, not fried legs, that is in bahasa malaysia. But it is fried oyster. Those succulent oyster fried to perfection, dipped with sauce and no fishy smell, it made us order another two portions! Yes, it was superb.

Then came the spider sushi. It is a soft shell crab sushi. This was also amazing.

After all the satisfying, amazingly delicious main course, we had to make room for more! Yes, dessert. We ordered mochi, as recommended by Rachel. It's ice cream wrapped with a skin to make it look like pau. Needless to say, it was amazing as well. L O V E L Y

All in all, this was one amazing dinner I have had. I must say, without regrets, that I live to eat!

M & M: Part 5, Malaysian Food!

We got a dose of Malaysian food at Minnesota as well! The restaurant name is called Peninsula.



This is Pasembur, also known as Indian Rojak. Well, not as nice as SS15's, but still edible.

Cendol! A little too much coconut milk I guess. But still taste good after missing out on it for so long.

I told you she was our model for the trip. Here she is promoting Nasi Lemak.

All the dishes we ordered: Hokkien Mee, Pasembur, Curry Laksa, Asam Laksa, Prawn Mee, Wat Tan Hor, Curry Mutton (they used lamb).

Teh tarik! Oh no! I miss mamak!

That's all for the Minnesota trip I guess. It was a really nice trip, and a very rewarding one too! Once again, thank you to all those people who made this trip possible for me. Love it!