wombie's burrow...

Would someone be so kind and take the spatula to flip me over?

Gracias :)

Labels: Crazy MN Weather

Dear Karma God,

It has been a rough week. I'm feeling down in the dumps. Please don't make my brown eyes blue (Sorry, I just couldn't resist that. Got that cheesy song stuck in my head!)

You know I've always been good to you. I make constant good deed deposits in the good karma mileage bank. Can you cut me some slack and send some good vibes my way?

I would be eternally grateful.

Your loyal servant,

wombie

Labels: Feeling Blue, Feeling Sicky, Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts

Since I'm too lazy busy to update my blog, here's my niece to entertain you for the time being.

Labels: niece, videos

all I wanna do is hide under the covers.

Please make it go away :(

.

.

Labels: Feeling Blue, Life in MN

Happy New Year, my dearest readers. Hope everyone had a restful break. Me? After finals week, I was in Sonoma/Petaluma/San Francisco for about 2 weeks and then spent the last weekend at Chicago. There were lots of family drama, abundance of good food, poor impulse control that caused me to suffer from tight pants syndrome, crappy weather, oh yeah, and I left my heart in San Francisco (LOL, just had to say it!). I didn't get as much rest as I would like but there's always this weekend. The bitterly cold weather outside will help. Apparently, this week is suppose to be the coldest week this year...-40 F wind chill! Yikes!

Yesterday was the first day of spring semester. I had a decent day. Managed to squeeze in some time for cardio class (Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my pants! HA!) Anyway, I taught my first class this morning. It went well. No students running out of the room screaming a la Home Alone style.

So yeah, I'm soooooo done with 2008. What's in store for 2009? Well, I'm looking forward to graduating (not so much with job prospects though*gulp*). I enjoy working at the university level and I hope my transition to working in the K-12 grades will go smoothly. I vowed not to have any new year resolution this year because I always break them the very next minute after I make them anyway. I know what I need work on and WILL work on them without annoucing it to the whole world. So, if it comes true, I can 'surprise' myself. If it doesn't, oh well, there's always next year, LOL

Ooops....gotta scoot for orchestra rehearsal. Bundle up and keep warm, everyone :)

Brrrr......

My apologies for the long hiatus. Been caught up with school, work, internship, and performances. I'm pretty much done with finals except for a paper I have to submit this weekend, performing for commencement, and teaching my last class for the semester. Then, I can finally get some REAL sleep and do some Christmas shopping for my aunt's family when I head to CA next week. Will try to blog more then.

Labels: Crazy MN Weather, Life in MN

A magnificent view of Napa Valley, a hard day of cycling and a meal I've been waiting for since March.

I'm in nirvana...

Oh, Monterverdi, Strozzi, Caccini, Schütz and dang Artusi!

You're the reason why I'm still at 2:36am on a Friday morning!

I have a listening quiz today and as usual, I'm freaking out! Couldn't sleep. So, I might as well study. This has been a weird schedule week. The prof canceled two classes in a row and now we're squeezing two week's worth of classes into one week. That means, with the seminar presentations and homework, we have less time to study and prepare for the quiz. I still piles of papers to grade, papers to write, and emails to reply. I have to TA on Saturday as well as stage manage for a friend's recital on Sunday. There goes my weekend. Now, to those of you who envy the 'jetset' lifestyle of a underpaid indentured monkey wombat of a music teaching assistant, this is the reality of my life!

On top of school and work, I'm in a lot of physical pain now. It's my fault, really. I asked for it. Yesterday, I thought I'd go to a pilates class after my step aerobics class. Little did I know, the pilates instructor gave us a hardcore workout and I had to sit through a long orchestra rehearsal today. At least, it wasn't as bad as the cardiokick class, where I swear my female instructor looked like a man and I was partnered up with a Russian woman who has a lot of vent up anger issues.

Well, I've moved my work space to the kitchen table. The bed is just too tempting and I'll probably end up falling asleep while studying. Well....not that studying in the kitchen, near a fridge, is any better. But then again, my fridge is quite bare, except for jars of condiments, frozen shrimp, green tea ice-cream, a can of coke zero and tofu. I'm chuckling to myself now because this reminds me of a segment Stump The Cook in my favorite radio show - The Splendid Table by Lynn Rossetto Kasper (I love you, Lynn! I have all her podcasts on my ipod when I workout in the gym. Listening to a food show while working out? I know, I'm sick! LOL!).

Ok, back to the grindstone. Buona Notte!

Labels: Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts

Tina Faye rawks!!!

Labels: Funny, Shits and Giggles

Labels: Funny, Shits and Giggles

Happy Sunday, everyone! Life has been so much better since I found my beloved remote. Ahh...the joys of channel surfing and not having to remember which show is on which channel......

Armed with my bowl of cereal, mug of caffeine, and trusty remote, I've finally decided on an old favorite - The King and I (I'm such a sucker for musicals). I recall watching this since I was very young...I'm guessing sometime between kindergarten and first grade. I grew up with my cousins (there were about 10 of us total, including my siblings and I), who were very musical themselves. In fact, I think all of us at some point took piano lessons. My cousin, Hong, was the only one who played the flute. He and eldest cousin, Eng, played important roles in my early musical upbringing. I was introduced to South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Les Miserables, Phantom of The Opera, My Fair Lady, and the King and I even before I watched them on video or in the theater.

This is bringing back lots of wonderful memories of my family. We all lived in a cramped up house with around 20 other people, 3 ferocious dogs and Birdie, the cat. Space was tight but we always enjoyed each others company. We didn't live in luxury nor did we have fancy things but we lived a comfortable life. The best part of this was that I got to know my grandparents, ah kong and ah mah, and my great-grandmother, ah tai. I remember waking up every morning to have tea and glutinous rice cakes with my ah kong. Then, he'd get ready for work. I'd sit beside him on the curb while he puts on his socks and shoes. I'd put on mine too...wanting to go to work with him. He'd let me go on the ride with him but I have to come home after dropping him off at the office. My dad and I would go pick him up from the office later in the afternoon and three of us would go for a secret foodie adventure...sometimes durian and mangosteens (if they're in season), Hainanese chicken rice, pisang goreng (banana fritters) or delicious roast duck from a street vendor.....Mmmmm....duck!

Later in the evening, all of us would gather in the kitchen and help my ah mah and tua mm (eldest aunt) prepare dinner. All the kids helped....from wrapping dumplings to cutting vegetables. After setting the table, we would go get my ah kong and parents. It was a custom in our home to 'call' our elders to eat first. It took forever to call everyone because there were so many of us! It was a funny sight...everyone calling each other to eat before the food gets cold....my sis was the youngest one, she had the most to call! LOL! Now, we were not allowed to have drinks on the table. My ah kong would proclaim, "Your ah mah slaved all day in the kitchen to make the wonderful lotus root soup and you want to insult her by drinking something else?" My grandma did make the best soup in the whole wide world. So, we obdiently drank the soup till the very last drop and praised her for her hard work. We were always hungry so there were never any leftovers, LOL!

Later in the evening, while we're doing our homework, my ah kong would come visit us in our rooms and bring us fruits. "Eat fruits! They're good for you!" he would proclaim. We would take a piece and he would insisted that we take a few more. Sometimes, my cousin, Eng, would peel oranges for us. I remember all of us cousins gathering around her..waiting for our turn for that tiny delicious morsel of orange....."That's love when someone peels oranges for you," my cousin would say. Whenever I go home, my parents love it when I peel oranges for them (that was the only way to get my mom to eat more fiber, LOL!). We're not the lovey dovey physical hug type of family but we show each other that we love each other through food!!! I'll tell you one thing for sure, our fridge was always full!

Even though it has been years since my grandparents and great-grandmother have passed away, we still carry on a lot of family traditions and find every excuse to eat together whenever we can. Going home every summer is always interesting. While most people bring t-shirts or small souveniers, 90% of my suitcases are always filled with yummies and goodies for everyone. Yeah, I know...I'm weird, LOL! Even when I travel with my family, we end up buying more food than anything else.

Ahh....I love my family. They drive me nuts but I still wouldn't trade them for the world :)

Labels: Family, Feelin' Good, Thoughts

I'll definitely sleep better tonight.

Why?

I just found the remote.

Try watching TV without a remote for 3 weeks. It's hell, I tell ya! LOL! I finally found it under a pile of books. How it got there? I have no idea. I'm just so happy to be reunited with my beloved remote.....

Labels: Life in MN, Shits and Giggles

I'll be performing with my university orchestra tomorrow evening. It's our first official performance for the semester. I'm still principal flutist and section leader (I like the sound of the titles....makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, LOL)!

This semester, my solos are not as difficult as the ones for the Europe tour or last spring's concert (we did some 20th/21st century stuff by Ives and Stravinsky) but they're somewhat challenging. I'm a little nervous. Will definitely be practicing like mad before the concert.

Program: We're performing Bach’s Fugue in g minor, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, and Verdi’s Nabucco Overture. If I'm not mistaken, the string section is playing something by Corelli with the harpsichord.

HA, I know it's late. I'm up studying for a quiz. Wish me luck!

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, music

Can't get that darn Annie tune out of my head! LOL!

Being a TA ain't all that glamorous, I tell ya. Although, I'd have to admit, we're the best dressed people in the building, HA! If you walk around the performing arts center, you can tell who are the undergrads (usually in uni logo hoodies, comfy jeans, and sometimes even PJs!), professors and graduate students. Theater majors? That's another story.

It's about 2:20am on a Tuesday morning. I've just finished preparing for a class that I'll be teaching tomorrow today and still nursing a gigantic cup of espresso. Still have a quiz to study for, a seminar I have to prepare for Friday, theory pedagogy class's chord analysis and a couple of reaction papers to write...all that fun stuff.

Well, good news is - we're one day away from October. What's up in October? Mid-term break VACATION!!!! Further more, October brings me 8 months closer to commencement! I'm looking forward to be done with school but not too sure about job hunting part though! LOL!

Labels: Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts, Work

Labels: Celebrations, Friends

Going to group fitness class can be a little intimidating, especially if you're a newbie like me. Lots of good looking people in their skimpy tight workout apparel. Yes, even men as well, LOL. Hmmm....I'm not sure if men wearing bright colored spandex seems/hotpants shorts, makeup, and a sweat band is a good idea...maybe a little disturbing (think Will Ferrell in Semi Pro or Richard Simmons).

Yes folk, going to group fitness class can be an interesting people watching experience. You learn something new everyday. For example: Today, I noticed someone in my class with heavy smokey eyes makeup. Now, it's a good look if you're going for a glam look. But after one hour of sweating it out, it's not at all glam. The look is what I'd call wet raccoon or panda look, LOL.

Labels: Life in MN, Shits and Giggles, Thoughts

Give some very excited flutists some flutes and a camera and they'll gladly camwhore pose for you! LOL! The photos turned out kinda blurry because my friend's camera kept fogging up. But still, I like the pics!

Flute section of OCEAN

Think performance note 2.....

Labels: Feelin' Good, music, Music/Concerts

Labels: music

Our performance was featured on MPR today!!! Everyone in the music department is talking about it. I feel so honored to be a part of this amazing production. 

It has been raining all day. The sky is slowly clearing. I hope tonight's performance won't be canceled. It's our opening night. 

ps. Check out the slideshow, see if you can spot me in the group pic! :) 

Labels: Life in MN, music, Music/Concerts

When you're blogging from a quarry!!!LOL!!

I'm at the Merce on the Rocks dress rehearsal. The dancers and musicians are warming up. The sun is setting..there's a gentle breeze. The view is amazing!!!

Labels: Life in MN, music, Music/Concerts, Shits and Giggles

My roommate had a good chuckle today when she saw me trying to open our front door with my office key. This has happened sooooo many times the past two weeks. I caught myself trying to use my office keys to open the apartment door, the car's keyless entry remote to open my office door, and sometimes different combinations with my other 5 music building keys! LOL! I need help!

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Shits and Giggles

I'm in the office so often that people I swear I live here. I got done with classes 2 hours ago and have been trying desperately to leave since then. It's hard, ya know? Work, assignments, lesson plans, professors stopping by, wanting to discuss something. Just as I want to leave, something pops up.

Well, I've got a lot accomplished today *pats my own back* Gonna head out out of here in a minute. It would be nice to actually be back in the apartment before sunset. Don't worry, I won't turn into a pumpkin or a fuzzy bunny. Although...I don't mind being an adorable fuzzy bunny! LOL!

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

Woohoo!!! I'm done with classes for the week. I intend to leave my office soon. Gonna hit the gym hard and then rush back to watch live broadcast of the Democratic National Convention. I'm looking forward to hear Al Gore, Rev. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III (children of the late Dr. King), and Barack Obama speak. The music performance lineup is pretty sweet as well...Jennifer Hudson singing the national anthem, Sheryl Crowe, Stevie Wonder and many more artists!! You can view the schedule here.

Ok, gotta scoot. Laters!

Labels: Life in MN

It's 9:30pm. I'm tired. I'm sore. I survived day one of school. Well, technically, school officially begins tomorrow for me. Today, it was mostly attending meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings and TA-ing for a professor. I met my new colleagues. Hooked them up with campus email accounts and parking passes, gave a tour of the facilities, and banked some karma miles, LOL! It was nice playing tour guide to the newbies. They're nice people.

We attended a meeting with the department chair and graduate assistant co-coordinator and our own little meeting. Turns out, 5 of us (not including the choir managers, about 2 of them) have to share the office. I knew it wasn't going to work. It was a struggle last semester when there was 3 of us. Well, this turned out to be a good thing because my boss upgraded me to a bigger office! The professor who occupied that office last semester has left and I'll be sharing the space with a adjunct faculty who'll be commuting to campus a few hours a week. I can live without.

Well, the room came with a price...or rather, a HUGE MESS. I spent at least 2 hours cleaning, reorganizing the room and throwing out lots of junk. I'm still sore from moving the file cabinets, piano and desk. I can forget about hitting the gym tonight.

Anyway, I'm back in my burrow now. Had a light dinner, waiting on laundry, doing some work, and watching live broadcast of the National Democratic Convention. Tomorrow will be my super long day. I have to teach a morning class, practice my flute, audition for orchestra, attend evening class and a meeting. On top of this, I'm still slightly jetlagged, LOL! I can relax on Wednesday as I don't have to attend class or teach. I might drop by to finish cleaning up my office. I only have one more class to teach on Thursday morning and then I'm done for the week. I think it'll be a good week.

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

Oh poo! Summer is officially over. I'm getting ready for bed soon. I'm TA-ing for a class tomorrow. I'm just so exhausted from today...and the entire summer. I had a good time with my family. They spoiled me rotten. Now, I have to get back to the grindstone.

I arrived back in MN on Thursday. I spent almost half my Friday on campus getting stuff done. Lots to get ready before school starts. I crashed early that evening and woke up freakin' 4am in the morning...bright eyed and bushy tailed, LOL!

After a fun weekend with Dawn, DB and their doggies, I'm back in my burrow. I could use another week to recoup from the jetlag. This has been a whirlwind summer....and also a very meaningful one. Once I've settled down to a regular schedule, I'll find time to upload pics from my China trip and home.

Take care, y'all! take it easy

Labels: Feeling Blue, Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

Three weeks have passed by so quickly. It's that time again....time for me to leave :( This time tomorrow, I'll be in Singapore in transit to Tokyo and then to Minneapolis. There's so much to do before my flight and I haven't even started packing yet.

Today, I spent the entire day with my family- running errands, lunch, shopping, and dinner at my fav Japanese restaurant. It was a very good day. My dad (the foodie) stocked me up with food stuff, snacks, coffee beans and tons of Chinese tea, my mom gave me a bunch of kitchen tools and Tupperware (she's obsessed with it and anything plastic), and my sis (she's the family techie) helped upgrade my laptop and loaded me with a lots of cool games and computer gadgets. When I told a friend what my family did for me, he said, it's "hou chi hei da jeong" (Cantonese phrase for like going to battle/war), LOL! I won't see my family for a year. I know they care dearly about me and try to provide all these things so it can be of some comfort to me when I'm alone over there and remind me of my family and home.

This has been the best trip home. I don't feel like going back yet. I'm still at home but I'm feeling homesick already. I have to go back, finish grad school, find a job, and start earning a living. I have the opportunity to make something of myself. I want my family to be proud of me like I am of them.

I have been very blessed with such a wonderful family. They love me unconditionally despite my flaws and supported me throughout my life here and in the States. They are not perfect but I will never ever ever ever trade them for another because they are mine and I love them very much.

This year, we're all together except my brother who is in the UK finishing up his dissertation. Next year, hopefully, we can all be together again. I look forward to that day.

Labels: Family, Feelin' Good, Feeling Blue, Life in Malaysia, Thoughts

It's about 5pm here on a Saturday and I'm home alone. Help! My family is so happening! My parents are going out to the 16th anniversary of the Malaysia New Zealand Business Council Annual Dinner and Dance tonight. Mom is out getting her hair done. Dad is playing driver. My sis out with her other half. Me? I'm in my room working on a paper and also catching my breath from running outside to grab clothes off the clothesline as it just started raining. Even jetset lifestyle music grad student(yeah, right!) has to be the laundry elf and do her part to save the world! LOL!

Don't worry. I'm not all that boring. I was supposed to have dinner with my best friend, WH, tonight but we postponed it to tomorrow since he has to work late tonight. Instead, he and his gf Karen join me and another best friend of mine, Kevin, for drinks and dinner at Bangsar tomorrow. Less of a hassle for me since I'll only be making one trip and meeting two best friends at once. Ha! Driving to KL is a pain the rear, I tell ya. So far, I've only driven three times since I got back and I haven't been honked at! Not bad.

Ok, back to work for me. Laters!

Labels: Grad School, Life in Malaysia, Thoughts, Travel

Yes, yes. I'm still alive. My parents have fed me very well. I've just returned from Bangcock Bangkok a couple of days ago. I was in seafood heaven!!! Don't worry, I didn't miss the opening ceremony of the Olympic games.

What's new? Nothing much. This trip home is probably the most low keyed of all of my trips. I've been spending time with my family, feeding them, studying, swimming (almost everyday) and going to the gym. I tell ya, it's hard fitting into clothes when you're on visit-the-parents diet! On our way for a meal, they're already discussing what to eat for the next few days!! They have my food itinerary all planned out!!! LOL! Their excuse is that it's difficult for them to order food at a restaurant when it's just the two of them...but with me around, they can order more dishes or indulge in food that's too sinful for them! Ha, I'm the enabler!!!

Anyway, I'm a little sad that I'll be leaving next week. Lots of catching up to do with people I've yet to meet up with. Classes will begin the following week. I'm not looking forward to that yet. I can't believe summer is almost over. Three months went by so quickly! :(

Well, my entire summer wasn't totally wasted. I did a lot - toured Europe with my orchestra, attended two sessions of summer classes, attended and taught a music workshop in China, made many friends, visited my family, reconnected with relatives, and the visit to Thailand. I have lots to deal with when I get back - papers due, meetings to attend, syllabus/lesson plan review, register for classes/music lessons, and start working on my thesis. I'll get a mid-term break in October and will be heading to California for a short holiday to visit my relatives and a good friend. In December, I'll be heading to Chicago for a workshop. I'm very excited about both trips!!!

Oh yeah, before I forget, I've been invited to perform with our area's symphony orchestra. My friend and former housemate, Michelle won't be able to perform. So, I'll be subbing for her. Here's what I know so far. The orchestra is collaborating with the Benedicta Arts Center, the Walker Art Center (this place ) and Merce Cunningham Dance Company. The work is by John Cage and his protégé David Tudor. The performance will be held outdoors in Quarry Park during the evening (we'll be performing in the dark but we'll have lights on our stands), there's no conductor but instead there'll be timers located on the stage.

This may come across as unconventional to some but after having studied John Cage two semesters ago, this doesn't come as surprise to me. A colleague of mine did a presentation on him. I did my presentation on John Cage's teacher, Arnold Schoenberg, experimental music and electronic music. I won't bore with the details. Anyway, this is a great opportunity to be involved in such a project. I haven't given them a reply yet. I'll have to take a lot at my part first. Click here or here if you'd like to know more about the performance.

I just checked about purchasing tickets but I just found out on the Walker's website that ALL 3000 tickets have been sold out!!! Holy moly cow!!! I really have to take a look at the music when I return next week.

Ttttttthat's all for now!

Labels: Family, Feelin' Good, Feeling Blue, Food, Grad School, Life in Malaysia, music, Music/Concerts, Thoughts, Travel, Work

I have to start packing

I have to start packing

I have to start packing

Labels: I'm Going Crazy, Life in Malaysia, Thoughts, Travel

Once upon a time, deep in the forest, lived two little children named Hansel and Gretel. Their father was a poor woodcutter who lost his job at the lumber mill because the company decided to hire foreign workers who will eagerly work for less than minimum wage and without any health plan. Their mom was stricken by a mysterious illness and they couldn't afford treatment without health insurance. They were barely surviving on their father's unemployment checks. Their poor mother passed away and their father remarried not long after that. Their not-so-nice stepmother hated the two little brats and managed to convince her husband to leave them in the forest because of food shortage and crazy rise in gas prices (over $4 a gallon, who could blame her?).

On the way to the forest, Hansel left a trail of breadcrumb so that they can find their way home. Of course, those dang birds ate the crumbs and they woke up alone in the forest after their nap. They wandered around the forest and came upon this lovely gingerbread house. The poor little dears were so hungry that they started chomping on the gingerbread house. Now, if you're an evil, diabetic, carnivorous witch napping inside the house, you'll be ****ing pissed off at those two little brats noisily eating away your house that you painstakingly decorated for the county's baking fair....Worst of all, the icing haven't even set yet!!!

So, the old witch locks Hansel up. She is hungry for boy stew but she needs to fatten him up first. Gretel? She's turns her into her personal Cinderella. After living alone for so long (the arthritis ain't gettin' any better, ya know?), the witch needs someone to sweep/scrub the floors, clean the chimney, dust her antique teapots and all those hard to reach places. She also entrusted Gretel to feeding her skinny anorexic-looking brother. Little did the wicked witch know, the young blond lassie wasn't as dumb as she looked. For days, she plotted up malicious schemes on how to kill the witch. One day fine, she tricked the old hag into looking into the oven and then....shoved her in.

Ding Dong! The witch is dead!

Sorry, that jingle has been stuck in my head all day. Ha, you know me....love my musicals.

Ok, back to the story. The wicked witch is finally dead. Hansen and Gretel are free!!! Hoooray!!!

Being a curious and nosy little girl, Gretel couldn't resist to find out what's inside the vault located in the basement of the gingerbread house. There, she found the piles and piles precious gold, jewelries and a couple of beauty pageant tiaras that the old hag won in beauty contest in her youthful days. They grabbed all of that and a block of gingerbread to a snack on their way home. Blah blah blah...yadda yadda yadda, they found their way home, sold the jewelries, paid off the cut throat adjusted rate mortgage on the crummy wooden cottage, updated it with top of the line Viking Range stainless steel appliances, blue/green granite counter tops, furniture from Room & Board and Restoration Hardware (non of that cheap DIY stuff from IKEA), sent their stepmother to the Aveda spa and a shopping spree at Banana Republic. They're smart little kiddies. Upon consulting their personal financial constultant, CPA and tax attorney, they listened to their bankers, financial consultants, CPAs, and tax attorneys, they bought a bunch of wind turbines and started a wind farm in North Dakota and invested the rest of their moolah in a Roth IRA.

The End.

Labels: Bedtime Stories, Shits and Giggles, Thoughts

I got the sniffles

I got the cough

Body is feeling achy all over

Slight headache

Labels: Crazy Malaysian Weather, Feeling Blue, Feeling Sicky, Life in Malaysia, Travel

Meet my niece, Sabine. Awwww....ain't she precious?

In sweet slumber...

She's such an adorable little sweetiepie!!!

Labels: Cute, Feelin' Good, kiddies

My first day home went well. Ate lots of good food and kept my folks company. I arrived back in KL early yesterday morning. We headed straight to the temple to pay respects to my grandparents and then proceeded to an Indian restaurant for a roti canai breakfast. Don't bother asking me for a pic of the roti as I gobbled it down so fast before I remember to take a pic of it, lol.

When we arrived home, I got to see my newly renovated room. Nice....wood floors, plastered ceiling, new closets, and a new bed! After unpacking, I headed straight to the pool for a swim. We went out for lunch in the city. Came back, had a short nap. Parents didn't bug me for awhile as they had the loot, that I got for them, to keep them amused for awhile. We went out for a vegetarian dinner in the evening. Before we could finish dinner, the parents were already asking what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next day. LOL!

So, I'll be cooking dinner tonight. We went to the market this morning to pick up some produce. Here are some pics I took this morning.

Fruit stalls at the market.

My favorite cherries in the whole wide world

Mangosteens

I'll update more soon. I'm going for a swim. Laters!!!

Labels: Food, Life in Malaysia, Malaysia, Travel

I'll be back in KL!!! I'm so psyched to see my family and of course to my first proper Malaysian breakfast of roti canai at Raju's!!!

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Labels: Family, Feelin' Good, Food, Malaysia, Thoughts, Travel

I think I'm coming down with a bug or something. Earlier, I threw up, started getting the chills and felt achy all over. Maybe the stress from the past weeks is catching up to me. Sigh...

I still have a lot to do but feel so tired. %!*&^$#@ Arrghhh...I need to stop thinking and get some sleep.

Sigh...

Labels: Feeling Blue, Feeling Sicky, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts

I got my paper submitted this afternoon. Yay! However, my meeting with the prof was postphone. I'll have to go back to campus tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to leave for Minneapolis tomorrow. I've barely started packing and only managed to get half the stuff on the parents' shopping list. Lots to do. Fun, fun fun.

I've been on good lately. Hopefully, the karma gods will be kind. Last year, I was rewarded with an upgraded from seat 11 to seat 1, paid 2 nights stay at Tokyo, and a generous amount of flight vouchers. That was a fluke for sure. Let's see how lucky I'll be this year.

Meanwhile, it doesn't hurt if everyone hold hands and help me chant "Karma Gods...you are great. Karma Gods...you are kind. "

LOL!

Labels: Funny, Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts, Travel

I'm taking a short break from working on my paper. It certainly feels good now that my brain working again, LOL!!!

The TV has been off since the 5.30pm news. I'm NOT on facebook although I am logged on to gmail.

It's almost midnight here. It's nice and quiet. I love nights like this! I feel motivated!

Labels: Feelin' Good, Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

What I would give to be in Köln right now....

I'd be sipping ice cold Kölsch on a lazy river cruise down The Rhein...

and savoring every drop of the magnificent view...

Bliss...

Labels: Europe, Thoughts, Travel

I grew up in the tropics. I thought I'd seen thunderstorms but boy was I wrong. When you live in MN, you have to check the weather everyday. I knew it was going to rain so I ran all my errands in the morning. By the time I got back to the apartment, it started pouring.

All of a sudden, the sky turned dark. I thought I'd turn on the weather channel so see what's up with the weather. Well, apparently, three tornadoes already touched down in MN and there's another one about to form near a town 30 minutes away from here. I looked out the window and I could see the clouds lining up and heading eastward.

The wind was blowing really hard and I could hear sirens going off all over town. Within a few minutes, it started pouring.

About 5 minutes after it started raining, I lost power in my apartment. I'm sure all the units in my area also lost power too.

Within 15 minutes, the entire ordeal was over *phew* That's Minnesota summer weather for ya!

Labels: Crazy MN Weather

Getting the new iPhone is like lining up for a ride at an amusement park. Most important thing to remember is - be early. Now, you don't want be too early because you don't want to look too desperate (like those nutty people camping in subzero temperature for Police tickets) but then you don't want to be too late because then what's the point of lining up, right? You know the feeling of dissapointment. Remember last year's Black Friday? Yes, point taken.

Because you know the line is going to be long, you arm yourself with some reading material (to pass time) and a thermos of highly caffeinated beverage (similar to one shown below or a paper cup version with a logo of a moose-like creature or a huge green logo). Because you're a decent human being (and of course noticed there's a security personnel standing by the entrance), you obediently find a spot at the end of the line. Ah, out of the blue, a cheerful customer service rep approaches you with a neon colored paper wristband, offers you some brochures and kindly offers to answers all of your questions if you had any. You nod. You may mumble or grunt a little as it's too early for any civilized conversation (not as least till you've had a few more swigs of your beverage).

While standing in line, you're fighting hard to stay awake. You mind your own business but people around you try to chat you up. You engaged on polite banter and try not to lose your spot in line. The line hardly move but you remain patient as you know the reward is oh-so-sweet when you reach the end of the line.

Ho hum..you wait at least a good hour before it's your turn...finally!!! Huzzah!!! Huzzah!!! Within a few minutes, the process is all over. You have made your purchase and the the customer service rep thanks you for coming and sends you on your merry way.

tra-la-la-la-la....

Labels: gadgets, Shits and Giggles

My flight from Shanghai was arrived at Chicago on time but the flight from there to Minneapolis was delayed. I wasn't even paying attention to the time until I arrived back at STC. I think it was around 1am or so. I stopped by the office to catch up on emails and work. By the time I went to bed, it was probably around 4am.

When I woke up today, I thought it was 12 noon. I've showered and was ready to go out to run some errands. I gave my friend a call thinking that we could meet up for lunch. Then, I realized that it was 7pm!!! Yikes!!! I guess I so tired that I slept through most of the day.

So, yeah...I just got back from China yesterday...no wait...early this morning...no....yesterday...oh never mind! I'm suffering from a severe case of jet lag that I don't know what day it is! LOL!

My China trip wasn't exactly what you'd call a vacation. My friend Gigi was kinda sneaky and took this pic of me working on my laptop while waiting for Bruce and Dee at the hotel lobby...

I did have some fun...visited some cool places (Tian'anmen Square, The Forbidden City and The Great wall), ate some 'interesting' food, and made many wonderful friends. I'll try to post some pics up later this week.

Labels: China, music, Thoughts, Travel, Work

Da jia hao!!! We flew from Shanghai to Beijing today. Beijing is smoggier than I expected. Nonetheless, I'm very excited to be here but still slightly jetlagged. Sorry for the short post. Will try to do a longer one later. Take care!!!

We've arrived at Shanghai!!!

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What we had for lunch today

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*cough*cough*cough*

Labels: Travel

I just realized something - I spend more time in the office (and in the performing arts center) than at the apartment....as if that was a surprise, hah!

My weekend went well. I got to hangout with Dawn, DB, and the boys. Yes, I accomplished my "mission". It turned out better than I thought - renewed friendships and reaffirmation on some thoughts I've been having. On top of that, I had great Japanese food dinner and ice-cream at my favorite haunt for dessert.

I slept in a little today. I left slightly before noon and headed to the farmer's market before the drive back. I ran some errands around town before heading to the office. So, yeah, here I am and 24 more pages of articles to read, lol

Labels: Feelin' Good, Friends, Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

It's a little past midnight here. No need to guess where I am. I'll be honest and tell you that I'm in the office. I have found that I prefer working here than from home. It's nice to get away from the evil beckons of the TV and bed, lol. Besides, I like the peace and quiet here. Sometimes, I can hear people practicing in the practice rooms down the hallway or the janitor yakking away on her cellphone. Sometimes, friends or professors would stop by to say hi. It's even better when I receive a surprise phone call.

I think I've got a decent study session in today. I'm going to head back to the apartment for more studying before I bedtime. I'm slowly winding down from the Europe trip and move (I got the last of my stuffed out from my old place yesterday). I'm doing something this weekend that will mark a milestone in my personal life. I feel pretty good about it.

Smile! You know who you are :)

Labels: Feelin' Good, Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

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Gosh darnit, I feel like slathering nutella all over that man and eat him! LOL!

Labels: Feelin' Good, I love youtube, music, videos

I'm such a clutter brain, I tell ya. Last night, I was trying to log on to my auto insurance website to check on payment due date when I was realized that I forgot my user name. Sigh. This is not the first time it happened. I recall receiving an email from the company so I dug through gmail to see if I could retrieve that email. Somehow, that search yielded some emails that have been sitting on the back burner.

Sigh.

I read through a few. Cried a little. Told myself it was ok. Gathered myself together. Cleaned up, showered, and went to bed.

I slept like a rock. Woke up around 6.30am this morning and decided not to sleep in. I'm in the process of cleaning up the room and will be heading out soon. It has been a little frustrating the past few days dealing with the living situation. I feel like I'm living in a freankin' museum! Can't do much as we have to keep the house in pristine condition as the realtor could call any moment to schedule a showing. We got a call last night and have to leave the house for a couple of hours today. Hopefully, the issue with my new place will be sorted out soon.

Labels: Life in MN, Thoughts

WCCO liked the pics I sent them and used them on their website!! Woohoo!!!

Looky here!

Labels: Feelin' Good, Life in MN

Hey folks, I'm back in MN. I was really tired after the flight. Oh yeah, there's that accident. No worries, everyone was safe.

Dawn came to pick up me up and took me back to her place, where I was greeted by DB and their 2 + 1 crazy dogs!! LOL! That +1 is Chase, the puppy, who's just staying over for a few days because their owners just had a baby.

Snack time!!!

The boys waiting for their grub. I like that look on Ranger's face....he's the one on the left

Here's one of all 3 of them chillin'

Chase hanging out with me while I unpack

Please pet me, love me, play with me, feed me.....and I will lick your toes. Chase is such a chick magnet and he doesn't even have to try

Labels: Cute, Life in MN

It's barely a few hours since my flight arrived at MSP and we're on the evening news!!! What an interesting ending to my Europe trip! LOL!

WCCO

KARE 11

Here are some photos that I took while waiting on the plane. Window seats rock, I tell ya!!!

Labels: Travel, wtf

I'm at Amsterdam Schipol Airport and will soon be boarding the plane back to Minneapolis. I can't believe it's the end of my Europe trip. Although I am a little tired from hectic schedule, walking, and bountiful of bread and cheese here, I really don't feel like leaving. I'm still in Europe but yet I'm missing it already.

Well, I do have photos to look at...more than 2,000 of them! I'm looking forward to seeing the friends I've made during this trip. Walking down the hallway in the music department WILL definitely be different.

Oh yes, I have little treats and goodies purchased throughout this trip that'll hopefully provide temporary relief for my Europe fixes, lol.

I've had fun sharing my European adventures with all of you. I'll post more pics and videos once I'm settled down at my new place. Sorry I didn't get to meet up with everyone when I was in UK. My time there was just too short. Hopefully, we'll have time to meet up during my next trip there.

Labels: Feeling Blue, Friends, Thoughts, Travel

Here's our choir singing at the Cologne Cathedral. I was wandering around and suddenly heard singing. I grabbed my camera and ran towards the crowd. Too bad I didn't get to record the entire thing.

Please be patient while it loads, danke!

By the way, I've created a blog for the Europe tour. If you want to view more of the videos, go here or click on europe tour on the top right corner of my blog.

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

Thanks for the emails, folks. I've safely arrived on English soil yesterday afternoon. My brother was there to pick me up. His place was just a short train ride away. We dropped off my stuff and headed straight to Chinatown for some dim sum. I stayed in town while he headed home to do some work. He's in the final phase of completing his dissertation. I was just happy to comply by occupying myself with exploring the city.

It has been over 1 1/2 year since my last visit to the UK. I missed being here. The weather was a nice change. It was sunny when I arrived yesterday and also a lot cooler too. The people are definitely more pleasant (than the French, lol). Oh yes, the shopping and food!!! I can't wait to have a cup of tea with yummy scones and clotted cream. I think that will probably be the highlight of my trip, unless my brother decides to take me to the Fat Duck, the three Michelin star restaurant by chef Heston Blumenthal. Because my trip to the UK is so short, I doubt we'll have time to go there, let alone get a reservation.

Anyway, I'm happy that I get to spend some time with my brother. He and my dad are the foodies of the family. I know I will eat well here. I can't believe I'm saying this but I am getting a little tired of eating bread and cheese during the tour with the orchestra. Don't get me wrong, the food was good. I had really kick ass strawberries and spargel (German for white asparagus). Soooo sweet and tender...pardon me while I drool!! lol!

Speaking of food, my brother is making me lunch. I'm so hungry. I didn't eat dinner yesterday and breakfast this morning. After I was done shopping yesterday afternoon, I crashed so hard and slept till this morning. I only had 1/2 an hour sleep on the bus to Frankfurt and an hour on the plane. Finally, some peace and quiet, lol.

Alrighty then, let me have my lunch here and will try to blog more tonight. Oh yeah, to my friends in the UK, I'll try to remember to give you guys a call later. Just a heads up, I'll be in London tomorrow.

Labels: Family, Friends, Travel

I didn't think that Holly, our videographer, would have the video clips up so early. Wow!

I know quite a few people were interviewed but I didn't think they would pick mine for the main clip....and they used my flute solo as the background music too. How cool is that??!!!!

Click here:

http://media1.stcloudstate.edu/slideshows/videos/index.html

Click on oratorio (on the right)

Click on oratorio dream

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

A quaint little German village...

It was a foggy day but what a view!!!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair...

A yummy bag of cherries for snacking

Some members of our choir singing while waiting for the bus...they're good!

Here's my new friend, Melissa, who I met at Düsseldorf. She's really nice. On my last day there, I paid her a visit at the end of her shift. I'll miss her :(

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

sorry to gross you all out, heh. It doesn't look that bad but trust me, it hurt like &%§!^ This pic was taken after I've clean the wound. It's healed up now.

Labels: Music/Concerts, Thoughts, Travel

SC Times 6/1 - I got interviewed for this article! Woohhoooooo!!!

SC Times 6/2 - Fresh off the press. This article is about today's visit to Jewish cemetary and a synagogue that was destroyed during WWII

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

A nice sunny day in Dusseldorf.

Our concert poster in German

Guess how I got to orchestra rehearsal?LOL!

I rewarded myself with a gelato after the rehearsal

Cycling around Dusseldorf...

The Following Day - Cologne

Wow!!!

This place is HUGE! Construction began in the 1200s and the cathedral was completed during the 1800s.

I still can't get over it.......

Look Ma, I can touch the top of the cathedral

How cool is that? Can you spot the organ? heh

There were graffiti everywhere!!! Inconsiderate idiots!

Steep, narrow, and dark stairwell. My poor jello legs!!! HA!

Here's proof that I've reached the top of the cathedral...

View of the top of the tower

Ahhh....the sweet view after a long climb up

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

Here's the latest news article on the final major performance - SC Times 5/30

Patience.....photos and videos are on the way

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

SC Times 5/28 - first performance of the oratorio

SC Times 5/29 - our visit to the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

Last night's concert

Mmmm....breakfast!!!

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

I love how there are flowers all over the front of the house....kinda reminds me of the fairy tales I read when I was young

This is the road I take on my way to rehearsal and the cafe

close up shot of a rose

another closeup...how pretty

taken during one of my walks...not the pretties view with the power plant at the background :(

Labels: Travel

Bonsoir from France...

We arrived this evening. The drive from Germany was long and horrendous. Try being in a bus full of smelly and grumpy undergrads....no fun. It was quiet for the first half the journey as everyone was sleeping. After lunch, everyone was more awake and started getting a little edgy after being in a confined space for a long time. This time, I was smarter. Michelle and I sat FAR FAR away from smelly guy. Unfortunately, we sat in front of two super geek nerds who were talking about some RPG game and was babbling a bunch of nonsense about how they would love to have webbed feet. Uh yeah, fun. Thank goodness for ear plugs!!!

Well, we've been in Europe for a week now. We're about halfway through our tour. Tomorrow morning, we'll be heading to the concentration camp for the official tour during the morning and then we'll be rehearsing till the evening. The following day, we'll be performing our joint concert (the holocaust memorial oratorio) and a smaller concert the following day. So far, we've performed at several locations and we're all in performing mode, which is a very good thing. Also, the visit to the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), a couple other cathedrals and synagogues, has further fueled my interest in the music that was written for this performance. I'm really excited about tomorrow's concert....

Labels: Travel

Photos are taking forever to load. But here's one to keep you entertained. My friend thought it would be fun to take a pic of me sleeping on a park bench, LOL!

Labels: Travel

Hey all, sorry didn't get to update you all on my trip yesterday. I was so tired Saturday night after the concert. Will post pics later. No drunk pics, I assure you!

Yesterday (Sunday) was a super busy day. The choirs performed at St Antonius's family and high mass. Orchestra had the day off. I decided not to sleep in. I wanted to be at both masses when the choirs performed. Besides that, I've never attended mass before. Don't worry, I haven't converted yet! lol! I've studied some aspects of the Catholic Mass in my music history class and I thought it would be beneficial to actually attend one to see. Besides, the priest welcomed all of us (even non-Catholics) to the services. Rabbi Edelheit, who traveled with us during this trip, attended high mass with his family. Both services were very interesting. I enjoyed the sermon. The second priest spoke German and had one of our choir members translate. The congregation laughed during one part of the sermon....I sort of guessed what he said. Here's rough translation - Politicians.....they are human too!!! (Congregation broke into laughter) They talk about peace all the time. Not much has been accomplished. It is up to us to make the change and make peace with each other." How true!

As I exited the church, I felt very emotionally charged for our next performance at the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Further more, we were told that the French Government spent €40,000 (approximately US$63,000) on building the stage for us. Wow!

I think I have one more performance with the orchestra before that concert. The choirs have a few more.

Alrighty, I have to run. Will try to post some pics tonight after rehearsal.

Labels: tr

Guten Morgen!

It's a bright and beautiful day. I got up early today and hit the showers before my roomies. Had some yogurt and fruit at the hostel. Michelle and I cycled through a very nice neighborhood and we're now at a cafe near the church. So far, we've only seen 3 (out of 200+ people) walking to the church. I have a feeling that rehearsal is going to run a little late.

Yesterday, after we got back to the hostel, I was going to get some laundry done. The front desk was packed with people asking questions. While waiting, I chatted up with our tour photographer. Well, turns out he's not really a photographer but he's actually a communication professor (from my uni) who's deeply interested in Jewish and Holocaust studies. We started talking about our experiences with the Germans. Well, apparently, he and a couple of students from the tour encountered Germans who showed us some kindness. I told him about the barista I met yesterday who refused to charge me for my drinks and so kindly gave me a huge bagful of muffins free of charge.

I've heard of many stories of people saying that Germans are cold and not very friendly people. Oh, how wrong they are! Not all Germans are like that. Before this trip, I told myself that I'm going to make the effort to approach people rather than wait for them to come talk to me. Wow, what a difference it made!

Ok. I see more people walking to the church now. Will continue this post later. Oh yeah, here's a pic of the front of the church we're rehearsing and performing at.

Continuation (part zwei) - It's about 4 something pm here. Help! I'm hiding from my friends, lol. Actually, I told them I need some alone time by myself this beautiful afternoon. I'm tired from this morning's grueling rehearsal, biking, and playing tour guide to my friends. I think they somehow unofficially made me their tour guide and they're following me wherever I go (even to the bathroom. No, not the same stall! LOL!). I feel honored that they enjoy hanging out with me but I can't cover as much ground with so many people tagging along. It's hard to please everyone.

Oh well. I'm glad I'm getting this down time before the concert tonight. Like I've mentioned earlier, the rehearsal this morning was extremely grueling. I thought overall, we did a good job with balance and intonation. When the choir sang my favorite chorale, I cried. As we wrapped up the rehearsal, each of the directors took turn giving their pep talk. Rabbi Edelheit's speech touched me the most. This is the moment we've been waiting for. Although, we still have our final performance at the Natzweiler concentration camp next week, the concert tonight is equally as important.

A couple of local cafes and bars have been giving us drinks on the house. They've heard about our concert. When I met Melissa, the barista, yesterday, I was trying to explain to her about the oratorio that we're performing. She didn't know what it was, but when I said it's about the holocaust, she stopped for a moment and said, "Yes, we need to learn more about it."

WOW! What a profound thing for her, as a young German, to say. Unfortunately, she has to work tonight but said she might pop by the church for awhile during her break.

I feel very lucky to have met some nice people (from the orchestra, choir and also the nice German folks I've met) during this trip. I can't believe it's already day 4 and the day of our first concert. I'm stoked. I hope the choir and ensemble (myself include) will be able to reach out and touched the audience with our music. I'm looking forward to the reception following the concert. It'd be interesting to hear comments from the audience.

Labels: Travel

It has been another busy day. Woke up really early and had breakfast with faculty. The students only started coming down for breakfast about 1/2 hour before the buses were due to arrive. A lot of the college students got a good lecture from the faculty.

What did we do today? We visited Martin Buber Synagogue earlier this morning. Then, we walked to St Antonius Church for the rehearsal. The space is amazing but a little fit for all 200 of us. We had to move some of the pews to the side. During the rehearsal, I noticed some people sitting in the congregation. Didn't rezognize any of them. Later, our dept chair told us that people from outside heard our music and was curious. So, they came in to listen to us. How nice!

On my way back to the hostel, Michelle and I dropped by the bike shop and rented a bike! Woohoo! It's soooo much fun. We dropped by a cafe and made friends with the barista. Sweet....I have a German friend!!!

Ok, we're heading to a park by the river to enjoy our picnic dinner. Later people!!

Labels: Travel

I had this really bad headache and coughing spell yesterday. Ended up sleeping earlier than usual. Rehearsal didn't go as well as I wanted (as most of the orchestra members had to sight read new music and bad acoutics in a room without windows, and had to deal with people unhappywith seating placements - won't go into details with this one as it really pissed me off. All I can say is, the prof decided the parts seatings, not me. If you're not happy playing a lesser part, talk to him. I am NOT your punching bag! ).

Anyway, I managed to get some shuteye until roommates started trickling in one after another around midnight, 2am and 4am. Then, everyone started snoring really loud. It's about 4:45am here and I've discovered some interesting things. Apparently, there's still a lot of people awake...drinking, chatting, smoking, oh yeah, I accidently bumped into a couple making out in the hallwaywhen I was on my way downstairs. Aside from make out couple, we are going to have a bunch of unhappy campers during the field trip that will depart in 2 hours. We have our pre-concert rehearsal following that. It'll be an interesting day for sure...

Labels: Travel

at the airport...

the Düsseldorf from the other side of the Rhine River...

very thirsty people searching for a pub, heh

outside a pub

pretending to look really hardworking...LOL!Actually, I was journaling from my bunk

Labels: Travel

Guten Morgen! Wie Geht es Ihnen? (How are you?)

Wow! I crashed so hard last night. I did go to a German pub last night but it was extremely smoky and Manchester United was playing against Chelsea...interesting game but things got little rowdy. So, we left. My friends and I decided to pick up some groceries and end up hanging out by the Rhine River. I won't go in detail of what we did...LOL...but I'll tell you that I had a dinner of smoked salmon with some really awesome rye bread. Oh yeah, strawberries with yogurt for dessert. While everyone else had their 'drinks', they tried some of my food as I couldn't finish everything by myself. Apparently, we're not allowed to bring food into our hostel rooms and there are 'quiet hours'. Guess it's better that way...if not those underage kids are going to end up partying all night.

That's all for now....danke

Labels: Travel

Greetings from the land of schitnzels and beer! I arrived at Düsseldorf around noon. Lovely weather...aroundthe 70s.Dropped off my luggage and walked across the bridge over the RhineRiver to town. I played tourguide to a group of girls from the orchestra. They all wanted to eat at a sit down restaurant to eat.......PIZZA!!!! Sheesh....in Germany??? I told them I'm going to walk down the street to check things out. I found a bakery and a grocery store. I picked up some pastry, juice and some water. When I went back to the pizzaria and they were gone. Bah! Anyway, I wandered around on my own and then headed back to check in and shower.

Yeah, I feel so good after the shower....not to mention..smell nicer too!LOL! I've unpacked and hooked up with my orchestra members. We're gonna take it easy for now. We'll be having a group meeting soon. Not sure they can fit 200+ people in the lobby, heh.

I took some pics earlier today but won't able to upload them till I get to my bro's on the 4th. Believe it or not, there's no wifi here.You know me...I'm an internet junkie...need myfix!LOL! Anyway, I found an internet terminal with a crappy keyboard. The Z and Y key are switched around.No idea why. Oh yeah...there are aditional keys for § ß ä ö ü....neat! Wished I had them when I was working on a couple of music history papers on German composers.

Well...that's allfor now, folks.Will try to keep you all posted on what's happening here. Meanwhile, take care and have a good week!

Labels: Travel

Here's the most recent article on the tour. If you scroll down the bottom, you'll see a couple video clips of our performances and rehearsal sessions curtesy of SC Times. The narrator, Stephen Paulus, is the composer of the oratorio. He does a very good at explaining the meaning behind the music.

There's also an interactive map that you can click to see where we''ll be during the tour. We're arriving at Germany on May 21. We'll have a day or two to rest up before rehearsals for the concert.

It's about 2:30am now. I'm gonna finish packing up and try to get a couple hours of shuteye. It's going to be a longggg day tomorrow today!!!

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

So, it's the day before my flight. Although I have some stuff packed for the move, I'm hardly packed for the trip. I do have my flute and music folder ready to go....some toiletries and t-shirts laid out. That's about it. My housemate is out shopping for clothes and there are people painting the house. Yeah, memang kelam kabut.

I'm gonna stay in and get some work done here. Then, I'll load my stuff into the car and head to campus for the interview. After that, I'll be taking a nice slow drive to Minneapolis. My flight doesn't leave till 4pm tomorrow. But because with 200-300 people going on this trip on 3 separate flights, we all have to be there by noon in order for the first group to make their flight.

It's going to be a crazeehhhh day tomorrow!

Labels: Music/Concerts, Travel

Here's the LINK to the tour. There'll be a reporter traveling with us. So, you'll be able to know what's up with us during the tour. Here are some of the places we'll be visiting. On the last day, the group will leave Frankfurt for home but I'll be staying a little longer to visit my brother in UK. I haven't seen him in 1 1/2 years.

Minneapolis - Dusseldorf, Germany - Bunkerkirche- Dusseldorf (concert and Sunday Mass) - Cologne - Bochum - Colmar - Alsace, France - Natzweiler-Struthof (rehearsal)- Colmar - Freiburg - Natweiler-Struthof (concert) - Freiburg - Strasbourg (EU Parliment) - Kaiserstuhl, Switzerland (winery tour!) - Ihringen, Germany- Breisach, Germany- Basel, Switzerland - Freiburg, Germany - Frankfurt, Germany - Amsterdam - Manchester, UK - London, UK - Minneapolis

Labels: Music/Concerts

It's nice and peaceful at our neighborhood...

We advertised that the garage sale would start at 8am. By 7:45, there were people waiting in their cars. According to my housemates, the people here take garage sales quite seriously. Last year, they started about 5 minutes later than the advertised time, there were angry people pounding on the garage door!

Our first customer of the day, this lady came in and only wanted to buy toddler t-shirts. She came, paid 20 cents for each shirt. Paid. Drove off the other garage sales in the neighborhood. Yeah, that's the secret to garage sale. You NEED to know what you're looking for or you'll end up buying a bunch of crap. Speaking of buying, I made my first purchase this morning before the garage sale. My housemates had really lovely crochet coasters that their grandmas made. I bought 2 to put my tea pots on and a few for my friend, Eleanore. Yes, another fellow tea drinker! LOL!

I've been up since 7:30. I gotta hit the shower, run some errands, laundry, pack for my trip, and get some work done. Lots to do. Can't believe I'm leaving in 4 days!!! Will try to update later.

Labels: Life in MN

Here are a couple of pics I took during our spring commencement and hooding ceremony

A cold and rainy morning...

The view from my seat.

Congratulations, Michelle!

Labels: Friends, Life in MN, Music/Concerts

Hah! I got another paper done today! Roommates have been checking up on me to make sure I'm still 'alive'. Yesterday was brutal. My brain was fried. I submitted 4 assignments/papers.

Earlier, I had to go to my car to find a jazz book for reference. By the way, my car is a mess now because I packed all my office stuff so I could work from home. Anyway, while searching for that book, guess what I found??? I found my secret stash of girl scout cookies! Thin mints - Ooooh. my fav! I was munching away while writing my jazz paper and when I was done, oh no, there were only a few left! I guess I deserve it after all that hard work!LOL!

I'll still be working on organizing my jazz handbook tonight and I have a bunch of papers to grade (for the undergrad class I taught). Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I'll have to stop by campus to see my boss, hand in my handbook, and wish her goodbye (she got a job at another uni and will be moving), run errands, make a couple of phone calls and look at an apartment.

8 more days! I'm stoked for my trip to Europe!!!!

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

4 assignments/papers submitted, 98098345927192712 more to go!

So what if the semester has ended and all of the commencement ceremonies are over? That doesn't mean a thing to a graduate student. Our semester doesn't stop during summer...uh no. It's only done when our thesis is submitted and approved by the committee. I can't wait for that day so I can finally get a good nights rest!

Labels: Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts

Guess what? I'm blogging live from the 2008 undergraduate commencement ceremony!!! Here's the live feed if you're interested. You'll only get to see the live feed during the actual commencement time.

There are two sessions. We're currently in the middle of the first session. We'll start performing during the prelude at 1:3opm Central time. Do listen out for a couple of my solos *hi mom!* ;)

Labels: Life in MN, Music/Concerts

This is so gosh darn cute!

I know how you feel, kiddo. Sometimes, I have days like that too! LOL!

Labels: I love youtube

******************

During last night's rehearsal, I was informed that our campus TV and radio station *might* be covering the event live online. So, those who can't make it to the concert tonight can try tuning in online. The concert begins at 7:30pm.

I'll be playing the first flute. Hopefully, you'll be able to hear me. See if you can spot me if there's live broadcast. I'm second from the left on the woodwind row, by 2nd violins.

*Hi Mom!*waves*

Before I forget, it's been raining all day here. To the folks who are making the drive up here, thank you, drive safe, and see you at the reception!

UTVS - (scroll to the bottom and click watch live)

KVSC - (select high or low bandwidth)

Info/Media Coverage on the concert:

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Music/Concerts

Just as I thought winter was over and it was safe to plant my lilies!!! I was soooo wrong!!! On my way home, I heard on MPR that there's going to be a winter storm warning starting tomorrow afternoon till Saturday morning. We're expecting a heavy snowfall of between 6-12 inches!!!

Once I reached home, the first thing I did was to check on my lilies and move them into the garage. I know, I know, it's not the best place for plants but it's better than to leave them outside in a few feet of snow. My day starts really early tomorrow and doesn't end till after 9pm. By then, it'll be too late to move them then.

Most of the bulbs that I planted this year were store bought. There were quite a few bulbs that I saved from last year but only 3 baby ones survived. I'm not sure which kinds are they because I forgot to label them :P All the store bought ones are oriental lilies. They're extremely fragrant. I can't wait for winter to be over. I'm looking forward to seeing and smelling all the lilies!!!

Labels: Crazy MN Weather, Life in MN, Thoughts

Schwweeeeet!!!

Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, Wilco, The Raconteurs, Louis XIV, Love and Rockets, Gnarls Barkley, Bloc Party, The Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Lupe Fiasco, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Cat Power, The National, G. Love & Special Sauce, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Explosions in the Sky, Brand New, Gogol Bordello, Stephen, Malkmus & The Jicks, Dierks Bentley, Okkervil River, Amadou & MariamBlues Traveler, John, Butler Trio, Girl Talk, Your Vegas, CSS, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves, Battles, Steel Train, Jamie Lidell, Bang Camaro, Butch Walker, The Blakes, Mates of State, Tally Hall, Spank, Rock, White Lies, Brazilian Girls, Magic Wands, Chromeo, Electric Touch, Duffy, Innerpartysystem, The Kills, The Postelles, Rogue Wave, The Parlor Mob, The Go! Team, Bald, Eagle, Mason Jennings, Krista, The Gutter Twins, Ha Ha Tonka, Yeasayer, Witchcraft, Grizzly Bear, We Go To 11, MGMT, Sofia Talvik, The Weakerthans, Booka Shade, Santogold, Black Kids, Black Lips, Dr. Dog, Nicole Atkins & the Sea, The Ting Tings, Kid Sister, Office, The Cool Kids, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, The Whigs, Manchester Orchestra, Foals, Uffie, The Octopus Project, Cadence Weapon, Ferras, De Novo Dahl, Noah and the Whale Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, K'NAAN, Serena Ryder, Newton Faulkner

Labels: Music/Concerts

Kraftwerk is coming to Minneapolis! They'll be performing at the Myth on Saturday, April 19. It's the day after I'm done with my recital. Woohoo!!! The reason why I'm excited about their performance is because I presented them as part of my electronic music unit in my20th/21st century music history class. Here are some interesting FYI- they were established around 70s. Pretty revolutionary for its time for sure. They're from Düsseldorf, Germany. That's one of the towns that I'll be at during my European tour. They released an album, Tour de France for the 100th anniversary of the first Tour de France race.

I'm going for sure!!! Anyone interested? It's on a Saturday night!!!

Labels: Life in MN, Music/Concerts

Yesterday, I wrote a longgggg ranting post. Cerita panjang! I saved the draft. I thought about it later and decided not to publish that post but deleted it instead. I feel much better about it now. All I can say is this...when you are a dar gung jai, you have to put up with all the 5354 bullsh*t nonsense that comes with it. It's a package deal. I only have about 5 more weeks of school and then I'm off to Europe!

In order to have a stress-free trip, I'm trying to tie up all lose ends with all of my classes. Lots of meetings with professors, grading papers, and of course, studying and completing all my papers. I told myself that I will not procrastinate this semester. I will be good :D

As you guys know, I've been under the weather lately. I'm not quite at 100% yet but I'm close. I'm keeping myself busy with work and trying to occupy myself with musical activities. I'm going to conduct a high school jazz band at a function tonight. I'm also going to perform in my friend's graduate recital next Thursday, playing saxophone in a band concert the following Thursday, and then at both stateside performances of the European tour on campus on April 25th and St. John's University the following day. I'm so psyched about all the performing opportunities! I feel so alive! Funny note - Rescue Me by Fontella Bass was playing on my iTunes when I had that 'incident' yesterday and Relax Max by Dinah Washington this morning. Those two tunes have been stuck in my mind. I can't help but smile!

Have a good rest of the week, folks!

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts, Work, wtf

Man, it has been another crazy week! Despite the craziness, I got to meet up with Dawn in Minneapolis on Friday. I was there to pick up a piccolo and to get my flute looked at by the technician. I can't afford to have it break down during my concert the following day. I was just going to meet her for a quick drink and then cabut. However, we end up hanging out for almost 5 hours! Time flies by when you're having fun.

I didn't get back to St Cloud till 10ish. I was getting a little worried because I had to have a bunch of cupcakes ready for the orchestra fund raiser the following day. I had everything pre-measured that night and was in a baking frenzy in the morning. I was so proud of myself. I think I made more than 6 dozen cupcakes within 2 hours. hahahah!!! After that, I had to shower, have my concert attire, flute/music packed, cupcakes cooled down and packed, and pick up a cake for the reception for my friend.

The concert went well. There were a lot of baked goods leftover. I have a feeling the music office staff will have a sugar high on Monday! I was very good. I only had one two cupcakes and an oatmeal cookie :P

Those are my chocolate banana cupcakes made from scratch!!! Please pong-chan and put some money into the box:P

I overslept a little this morning. I just couldn't wake up. My body was sore. Probably from baking, carrying stuff, and performing. I had a quick shower and was on my way up to Bemidji. I had to pick up the rest of my crap from storage in Bemidji. Leena dropped by to help me load the stuff into my car. After that, we had lunch and hung out for awhile. As usual, we got carried away with chatting and forgot about the time.

So now I'm back home. I've unloaded the stuff, had dinner, showered, and waiting on laundry. I still can't get over how fast the week passes. It's going to be another loooooong week. Have a good one, everyone!

fever = 2

times I threw up = 7

times I coughed out blood in phlegm = 2

doctor visit = 1

sh*t to deal with at work = 1

unreasonable people I had to deal with who won't even care to listen to my side of the story = more than 6

times those unreasonable people made me cry = 4

long conference with prof = 2 (another one on Monday)

feeling blue = 5

times another person made me cry = 3

weight lost = 8-10lbs (about one dress size, prob due to all the throwing up)

days I got less than 3 hours sleep = 3

assignments due = infinity

For the worst week ever = priceless

Despite the worst week ever, I receive a lot of support from my dearest friends. Thank you for listening. I don't know what I'd do without you all! Hopefully, my week will be a little better next week.

Labels: Feeling Blue, Feeling Sicky, Life in MN, Thoughts

Saw the doctor this morning. Was dreading it last night and this morning but it turned out ok. The doc said the coughing caused some irritation to my throat and caused the blood vessels to er....break. Sounds pretty serious but she said it's healing up well and the bleeding has stopped. I was prescribed some antibiotic and some super strength cough meds. I picked up a humidifier. That's helping a lot. I picked up some groceries and have some soup simmering on the stove. Soup made from scratch. I know I will sleep well tonight.

I'm feeling so much better. Thanks to my dear friends Dawn and Leena for taking some time out of their busy schedule to check up on me. I don't know what I'd do without you!!!*hugs* Thank you thank you thank you!

Labels: Feeling Blue, Feeling Sicky, Friends, Life in MN, Thoughts

I just got off the 24 hour Nurse hotline. I've been coughing like mad for the past 3 weeks+. Last night was the worst. I could not sleep at all. The longest I've been sick was 2 weeks last year when I had the cold+flu. Besides, it's flu season. Everyone in school is sick. I didn't think much of it until this morning, I noticed some speckles of blood in the phlegm I coughed out. I did some research online and decided to call the local hospital ER hotline. They said they can't give me medical advice and told me to come in if it's a life threatening situation. ER visits here costs a bomb and I was told at the new student orientation to NOT go to the ER unless it's life threatening.

So anyway, I called the nurse hotline and was given some advice. At the rate I'm coughing, I went ahead and canceled my lessons for Monday. It's not a biggie since it's a private lesson with the professor. The RN (registered nurse) gave me some suggestions on home remedy and told me to seek urgent care within the next 24 hours. She said that if I can't get a appointment with ANY doctor tomorrow, I have to go to the ER. I was instructed call the hotline or 911 if I cough out more blood anytime from now till the time I see a doctor.

That phone call got me worried. So, I made a list of family emergency contact numbers for my house mates to call in case anything happens to me. I'm hoping that won't ever happen. I'd hate to cancel more classes! Haha!!! My professors have been accommodating in the past. I'm only concerned about the class that I have to teach.

I'm not feeling my best now. I'm feeling all blue and I'm also recovering from the bout of food poisoning that started last night. Threw up 4 times middle of the night and twice this morning. I tell ya, I just have the worst luck with my health. The only consolation right now is that I've managed to complete a couple of assignments. With some of that out of the way, I can rest better.

Labels: Feeling Blue, Feeling Sicky, Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN, Thoughts, Work

I stumbled upon this at Julian's blog. I like this one!! Funny stuff. You sort of need to know a little BM to understand this. BTW, ubah gaya hidup means change your lifestyle.

Labels: I love youtube

Ladies and Gentlemen, The New York Philharmonic made history today. This is one of the most beautiful arrangement of Arirang that I've ever heard. Tears were rolling down my face as I listened to it.

I'm at a loss for words....

Labels: Music/Concerts, Thoughts

I got to sleep in today as I didn't have class. I felt horrible when I woke up. I kept coughing throughout the day. I also got the sniffles. I decided to stay in. Took a hot shower. That helped a little...but not for long. I felt congested again.

I usually don't like taking medicine when I'm sick. I usually weather through it. As I'll be working with students tomorrow and will be performing in a concert on Saturday, I can't risk letting my condition get worse. I drove out in the bbbrrrrrrr -17F cold and got some honey, lozenges, juice and medicine. I got some Vicks vapor rub too. It reminded me of my mom who always applied it on me when I got sick. Great...now I'm homesick too!!!

Labels: Crazy MN Weather, Life in MN, Thoughts

Had a blast in Minneapolis meeting up with old friends and new friends. Thanks to everyone who showed up. Super duper thanks to Dawn and DB for putting me up at their homes.

I just got home awhile ago. Still have homework, a tone of reading, laundry, dishes, lesson to plan, and more homework!!!! It's gonna be one heck of a week!!! Despite the President's Day 'holiday' tomorrow, I still have to attend classes. Arghhh......

Enough of whining here, will get back to work immediately!

ps. Leena and Dawn, please send me the photos when you have time! Thanks!

Labels: Feeling Blue, Friends, Grad School, I'm Going Crazy, Life in MN

Labels: Celebrations

I'm officially done with classes for 2007. So tired. Only had 2 hours of sleep last night. Will definitely sleep better tonight.

I can't believe there's less than 2 weeks left in 2007. I remember what I was doing this time last year. We had just got done with our annual holiday concert and I was busy packing for my trip to UK. A lot happened. Wow! What a year. I can't believe time passed so quickly. It's funny how when you want time to pass quicker, but it just feels so darn long. When you least expect it, time just flies.

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Thoughts

I was told by my professor that I'm the recipient of a fellowship/scholarship thingamajig. Apparently, I found it out by accident. Another professor unknowingly announced it to me and congratulated me. I had no idea what he was talking about. I was on my way to see the dept head regarding another project and asked him what was about. He said that the department would formally announce it once the paperwork is processed. So basically, I wasn't suppose to know about it. Oh well. What done is done.

As happy and excited I am about it, I am more concerned about performing well in my finals this semester. It'll be over by next Wednesday.

Labels: Grad School, Thoughts

This always cracks me up! Hilarious stuff!!!

Labels: I love youtube

It hasn't stopped snowing since this morning. I left Minneapolis around 8am. It's about 3pm now. It's still going. According to the weather forecast, it'll only stop snowing around midnight.

Unlucky me. I have two evening classes and an appointment to see the professor (who canceled on me yesterday). Whoopdeedoo!

Labels: Crazy MN Weather

I just got home from an extremely loooooong drive from St Cloud. The journey took more than 2 hours. Everyone was doing 20-30mph on I-94 (a major highway). I had a super busy day yesterday. Performed in two recital. One at noon and one later in the evening. On Thursday night, I heard on the radio that we were going to be hit hard with snow on Friday. I brought an overnight bag in case I had to stay in St Cloud after the recital. My good friend Michelle offered to let me stay at her place to save money. I was planning on getting a room for the night. Anyway, woke up this morning. She had breakfast ready for me. So nice of her!! We drove to campus and started practicing. Ops, I forgot to mention that I had an audition this morning. Yeah, our orchestra is heading to Europe this summer and I was asked to audition. It was a blind/screened audition. The judges won't know our identity till after the audition. There was someone who kept track of our names and turns.

The professor mentioned that we have to wait for his email to know the results. I stayed back in my office to do some work. About 45 mins later, Michelle ran to my office and hugged me. She told me that the professor had already emailed the results to us (funny, cos his office is next to mine!LOL!). She told me I got in. I checked my email.......*DRUM ROLL* I now officially principal flute or 1st chair of my uni's orchestra. My friend Michelle got 2nd chair. WE'RE GOING TO EUROPE!!!!! Well, I shouldn't get too excited. We have to pay for our own airfare. But still....EUROPE!!! I've traveled to some parts before but never with an orchestra. It'll be soooo awesome!!!

I have some news I want to share....but it's still sort of pending. The head of the music dept. called me into his office the other day. I thought it was for a graduate assistant performance review. Eeek!!! But no, nothing to worry about. It was some news he wanted to share with me. Well, I won't say what it is until I know for sure. oOoooooh....so excited!!!!

Labels: Crazy MN Weather, Grad School, Life in MN, Music/Concerts

Since yesterday, I've been lounging around the apartment in my PJs. I munched on a few gobbled down a bunch of Ferrero Rocher chocolates that I found in the freezer (Forrest's stash). I will replace them before he comes home :P

There's a batch of double chocolate milano cookies and a pint of B&J's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch in the freezer too. Should I?

On second thoughts, nah!

I can't eat as much junk food as I used too. Too much milk will make me sick (I'm slightly lactose intolerant). Besides, the chocolates I had should last me for awhile.

It's only 8:30pm. I still have a couple of hours left in my weekend. I didn't get much done today. I need to sort through all the boxes of stuff sitting in our living room and hopefully have some time to do some research for my papers. I don't have any classes tomorrow (thank goodness) but I do have to go to campus to meet with a few ensembles.

Now that I'm charged up with chocolaty goodness, I'm ready to get some work done.

Labels: Food, Life in MN, Thoughts

Labels: Shits and Giggles

I survived the first week of grad school. I taught two undergraduate classes. That was fun. Profs said I did very well and had lots of good insights. They're giving me more to do next week.

I probably mentioned that I have an office, which I have to share with 3 other grad assistants. Space is tight. Lots of people walking in and out. Kinda hard to get things done. My profs gave me keys to their offices and told me to use their offices whenever I want. So far, I'm coping. I'm doing most of my work at home because of the commute. I'm so worn out by the end of the day that I just want to go home and lie down.

Assignments are piling up. I hope I'll do well this semester. I'm a little worried about my Intro to Research class that I'm taking through another department. My GPA has to be 3.0 or above. Anything below that, I'm screwed.

I don't have any classes today. So, I'm going to take it easy. I'll probably have to look through all the boxes of crap that's laying around the apartment. When I packed my stuff, I didn't really organize everything. There are stuff that needs to be thrown out or donated.

Gotta get motivated.

Labels: Grad School, Life in MN, Work

Labels: Family

Went I went home over the summer, I had the opportunity to see all my nieces and nephew all together at the same time. Man, these kids were so squirrelly that it was so difficult to get them to sit down at the same time. I swear they had ants in their pants!! LOL!! They just can't keep still. This is probably the nicest pic of them together except cheeky little Lauren there sticking her finger up her nose. Man, they grow up so fast!

Labels: Life in Malaysia

I thought what the heck and signed myself up for 2 nights in Tokyo. Yups. 1500 buckeroos in Northwest travel vouchers. Hotel is paid for. Got checked in a couple of hours ago. Had dinner. Exchanged notes with a couple of people I met on the bus.

The hotel we're staying at is near Disneyland. The nearest train station is by taxi. I'm sharing a ride there tomorrow and then head to Shinjuku. It has been years since I've been in Tokyo. I was here in '97 for a music festival and stayed with a host family in Fujinomiya.

I'm excited about tomorrow. Only thing I'm concerned about is how to fit stuff I'm going to buy into my carry on. Hmmmm....I'm going to think about it as I soak in the tub and sip on some Asahi.

Labels: Travel

While in transit in Changi, I was told that my flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis has been overbooked and that they're looking for volunteers. I was told to see an agent at the get once I arrive.

Got that all done. I'm waiting for the agent to help other bumped passengers. I think I got a pretty sweet deal. In Singapore, I was told I had a choice of a USD$500 Northwest travel voucher, a round trip ticket within the US (48 States only) or a round trip ticket within Asia. I was thinking about the US deal but then the agent told me that they upped it to USD$750!!!! How could I refuse?

There are about 50 passengers in my situtation. You can do that. All the Northwest flights to US are overbooked. Yeah, they're THAT overbooked. Some chose to stay 2 days. As I'm typing this now, they're announcing offering a USD$1000 travel voucher to volunteers for Detroit bound flight. Goodness!!! I thought about taking my flight 2 days laters but.........I don't know. Should I pull the trigger. I should be jumping for joy for the free travel vouchers but I'm not. I'm just feeling tired and a little blue.

It has been almost 2 hours since I've been at the airport. Still waiting....waiting.....I could eat some soba now. I guess by the time the agent is ready to take 50 of us through immigration and to the hotel, I don't think I'd have much time to wander around Tokyo. They'll probably put us up at the airport hotel.

Waiting......waiting......

Alrighty. Gotta go grab a bite. Will update more later.

Labels: Family, Feeling Blue, Malaysia, Thoughts

Just got back from dinner with Wens at 1U. Man, it's always great to meet up old friends. Managed to squeeze in a retail therapy session, heh. I feel a lot better overall (from being sick the past week) but I can't say the same for the wallet.

Ok, here's my itenerary for the week.

• heading to Bang cock Bangkok tomorrow, Aug 2. Back on Mon, Aug 6.
• Family gathering on Wed, Aug 8.
• Leaving back to the States on Fri, Aug 10.
• Dinner with SCSU friends either Tues or Thurs.

Labels: Life in Malaysia, Travel

Labels: Thoughts

It has been raining everyday

from the garden: bunga raya (hibiscus)

Yes. We even have banana trees in our garden

from the garden: custard apple

from the garden: aloe vera plant

breakfast at Raju's.

Labels: Life in Malaysia, Travel

I have just finished reading the final Harry Potter novel – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. You guys probably heard about the ugly price war by now. We were planning to go to Tesco or Giant to pick up a copy but was told that Czip Lee at (at Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar) was also selling it at the same price as them (and yes, lots of copies left).

Believe it or not, there was a security guard watching over the HP7 books!!!! Heh!!! While browsing around, I noticed there were a few other customers there too but none of them purchased any Harry Potter books.

a copy of the book and a goodie bag of notepad/stationeries. Not bad lah!

• According to The Star, Four major bookstores – MPH, Times, Popular and Harris – which had boycotted the sale of the book since its release on Saturday, put it back on the shelves yesterday, at a discount of 20% to 25%.
• Popular Bookstore members will get Harry Potter t-shirt with their HP7 purchase.
• Bloomsbury Publishing has no plans to re-print

*Yawn* Well, it's way past my bed time. Time for much needed sleep. Good night, folks! Happy hunting!

Labels: Life in Malaysia, Thoughts, Travel

Ugh! Don't you just hate that feeling?

Sigh. I miss my bunny.

Please excuse me while I go throw up.

Labels: Feeling Blue

I'm having a serious case of jet lag. Woke up at freakin' 4am this morning. Got some unpacking done. Emailed some people.

It's 6.15am now. Still too early to wake my mom. Too early to go for a swim.

Damn, I'm hungry for some roti canai. Raju's, anyone?

Ok, so I was monkeying on youtube and I actually found video recordings of my secondary school (Taman Petaling Girls' Secondary School) band. Here's a recent clip from their recent concert. I'm so proud of you girls but for pete's sake, E natural!! E natural!!! Not E flat!!! Sorry, can't help myself!! LOL!!!

Here's a clip of the encore piece. A little noisy and shaky. Man, I love the TP Band spirit!!! Mr. Chan, you rock!!

Getaran Jiwa!!!!!!!!! Here's a clip from the Selangor Marching Band Competition 2005. Wow! We've come a long way (I was class of '96. Back then, we were still using the British marching style and drums). Love the new uniform (esp the hats) and the trumpet solos. So groovy, girls!!! Keep it up!!!

Labels: Life in Malaysia, Music/Concerts

ayam

kambing

beg

still don't get it? Say it really really fast

Date: July 9, 2007

Labels: Malaysia, Shits and Giggles

We just got hit by the first wave of the snow storm late last night and earlier today. We've got another one coming tonight and tomorrow morning. It's going to be a helluva commute tomorrow! So not looking forward to it. It's not so bad at my area compared to Minneapolis. They just declared snow emergency. I read that a lot of businesses and schools were closed today. Several major highways were closed as well. Our governor had to mobilize the National Guard to help out. 400 flights from Minneapolis/St Paul airport was canceled. WOW!! I hope things will improve tomorrow. Here's the article about it on the Star Tribune.

Well, school ended early today because of the severe weather. The drive back to town was horrible. Putting up with the snow, wind and poor visibility is one thing but I just dread driving behind idiots. Once I got back to my place, it didn't seem that bad.

Earlier, I headed out to the gym and to get some groceries. It had started snowing again. All my colleagues are on standby in case there's a late start for school tomorrow. Although, a snow day sounds fun but then we'd have to make it up on the Friday of our spring break! That would suck so bad!!!

So, let us all hold hands and chant in unison.....

Please no snow day tomorrow!

Please no snow day tomorrow!

Please no snow day tomorrow!

Labels: Crazy MN Weather, Life in MN, Work

Can you see the cars?

Help! I can't see my feet! I had snow up to my knees!

See the amount of snow plowed to the side of the road?

Try digging your way out of this!

Despite all that shoveling, I still couldn't get out from my parking spot. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to dig my way out. Some kind samaritans stopped to help me. Thank you!

The road has been plowed but don't be deceived. There's still lots of slush on the ground that makes it difficult to drive on

The road condition improves once you get on the highway.

Labels: Crazy MN Weather

Labels: Celebrations, Food, Friends, Life in MN

Need....rest....

ttyl

Labels: Life in MN, Work

Labels: Crazy MN Weather

Labels: Thoughts

I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and gay
And I pity any girl who isn't me today
(la la la la la la la la la la)

From West Side Story

I love this scene. Cracks me up every time I watch it!!!

Labels: Work

Firework display at the Riverfront District

Labels: Thoughts

Merry Christmas. Happy Festivus, ya' all! *hugs*

I hope are with friends and family this holiday season.

If you are alone or far away from home (I know the feeling), please know that you are in my thoughts.

I wish you all comfort, joy, peace and happiness.

Merry Christmas and Happy Festivus! See you all next year!

????

LOL!!!!!

I learned something new.

1) the are more than one kind of lightsaber

2) prices of lightsabers

3) I kinda like the Obi-Wan Kenobi Lightsaber and Rebel Blaster. Sleek. Very sexy!!! Hmmmm....I wonder if they'll fit in my handbag? LOL!

"Is that a lightsaber in my handbag, babeh? Or am I just happy to see ya??"

I'm soooooo lame!!!!

I feel sad that I did not get to meet up with a lot of friends but I'm sure our paths will cross again soon.

*sigh* Less than an hour till my flight. I really don't feel like leaving but I have to.

This has been my best trip home but the hardest as well. My father just turned 50. Mom's 50th birthday is also coming up soon. Dad has more white hair and mom is more frail. Dad does a pretty good job taking care of himself but I'm more worried about mom. It pains me to see my parents grow old but I can't prevent nature from taking its course.Sigh.

I really miss my family. I feel like crying :~(

I've been home over a month and I am seriously stressed. I can almost feel my blood pressure go up. I feel like a red, pus-filled boil that's about to explode! It's really sad and upsetting seeing all these inconsiderate people drive like that It's almost as if they don't care about their own, their family's, or other people's safety.

"Aiya, you lived overseas so long...sed to traffic there. Cannot compare us to the gwailos, ok?" C'mon, don't tell me you REALLY look forward and LOVE to drive on PJ/KL roads everyday? "Oh, it's a bright and beautiful Monday morning. I think I'll take a leisure 2 hour drive to work in KL today."

Do this for me. The next time you're on the road, really pay attention to drivers around you. Try counting how many people who:

1. double parked - cos I cannot find parking. Or, got parking but I dowan to walk so far. Or, 5 minutes only mah (which turns out much long and you can see that person walking out from the kopitiam after a yumcha session with his/her friends. I actually saw this in SS2 this afternoon)
2. parked at a no parking zone - Cannot find parking ah? No, I just want to save RM1. And, same reasons as #1
3. speed unneccessarily (refer to #4) - cos your car lauyah and you drive like a grandma
4. impatiently overtake your vehicle (refer to #3) - Note: you usually see them at the next set of traffic lights. What's the rush? Speed limit only 50kmph. Eh, check out my 17 inch rims, leng mou?
5. take illegal U turns - Everybody oso do mah, so I follow. Or, save gas mah so I dun need to drive one big round. Gas price go up. You duno meh?
6. run the red light even though it has been red for about half a minute - My kap chai (motorbike) is fast and powderful like harry davidsen. Dun pray pray, ok? I berieve I can fryyyyyyyyy
7. SMS/talk on cellphone/eating/smoking while driving - Why? Cos SMS cheaper mah; talk on cellphone cos lazy to use or don't have hands free kit mah; eating cos hungry lor; smoking cos stress from work.
8. let children stand between them and the steering wheel - cos my kid wants to pretend to drive like his/her daddy...cute mah. These parents don't understand how dangerous this can be if an accident occured. They might be so occupied talking and 'playing' with their child that they are not paying 100% attention to the road and other drivers around them. Because a child's body is more fragile to compared to an adult's, he or she might suffer more severe bodily injuries from the impact of the steering wheel, glass from windows and windscreen, objects moving about in the car (water bottles, handbag, cellphone etc) and even the weight from his dad or mom who's driving the car. Kids should be sitting at the back and buckled up!

When I tell my friends how I can't tolerate Malaysians' driving in general (not talking any particular person here. So, don't come and simply hantam me, ok?) and the tidak-apa (whatever) attitude, I always get the "Aiya, don't you know? Malaysia Boleh mah!" or "Ya lor. But what to do? Just tahan (tolerate) lor."

Let's try this: The next time you miss a turn and attempt to make an illegal U-turn, don't. Just take an alternative route. Or, when you receive a phonecall or text message while you're driving, just ignore it (or even better, put it on mute before you start driving) and only check it after you have safely reached your destination. Or, when you think you can make it before the traffic lights turn red, DON'T DO IT! Think about your loved ones. Think about your own safety. The next time someone tries to overtake or 'cuts' in your road, just give way. Don't try to 'teach them a lesson' by being as rude and inconsiderate as them.

I'm not saying that doing all these will solve all of our traffic problems lah. It doesn't hurt to if we all put in some effort and be a little more considerate, driving will be less stressful for us and traffic will improve. C'mon do we really want to be known as one of the rudest cities in the world? Of course I know there are some nice and curteous Malaysians out there but I think we still have A LOT to improve on. Myself as well.

Here's why

One day, Miss K announced, "Listen children. Today, you are going to make a special book for your mother. Please color the pictures and write your name on the bottom. When you are done, you can take it home to give to your mother."

"Yes. Miss K."

That was my earliest memory of my first Mother's Day gift to my mother.

Years later, as I was sorting through old books, I came across this gift. Guess what? I gave my mom a cookbook!!!! On the cover were my drawings of stick people holding hands outside a house. Inside were photocopies of recipes of local fare. I was a cute little kid back then so I'm sure my mother loved whatever I gave her! LOL!

. . . . . . . . .

So, I've been away from home since August 1999. Although I do come home for visits almost every year, it's usually during the summer. I was never around for Mother's Day or my mom's birthday. This trip home, I got her some Kitchenaid utensils. Mom picked up a new hobby, baking, while I was away. Poor dad, he had to eat help eat all the bread! LOL!

Since my brother and I are living abroad, my mom doesn't cook as often as she used to. So, when I come home, I find lots of expired food stuff in the house. Mom isn't really bother by it unless the food turned greenish blue, has fungus and spots all over, smells funky like last week's dirty socks, and if the milk doesn't curdle up like tau fu fah, she'll say, "Looks ok what. Still eat wan lah. Why waste? If cannot, then give Lulu." By the way, Lulu is sort of our pet. She's a stray who wandered into our house one day and never left. (Ps. To our animal loving friends at PAWS, Lulu is still very much alive and healthy. Eh, we don't really give Lulu expired food, ok?)

Anyway, back to the original topic. I know there's a lot of people out there who don't give a rip about expired food. One time, I tried to return a bottle of expired soy milk. The shopkeeper refused. He said, "Only expired a few months. Still can drink wan. You won't die. None of my customers died." Eh hello, it was expired since last year. If they die, how they complain lah, right???? Geez!

So, since I have nothing better to do, I decided to relabel the expiry date so that it'll be more visible for my mom to see. Here's what I did:

1. Clear the house of any expired food stuff - canned food, sauces, oil etc. Don't forget to check the fridge and freezer!!! - milk, leftovers, sauces, salad dressings, ice-cream etc

2. Get a permanent marker. Best if you have a few other colors handy. Some food might have dark colored wrappers or fancier design which might make the writing less visible.

3. Check for expiry date. Be wary. Most Asian countries tend to label Date, Month, Year. In the U.S., it's Month, Date, Year.

4. Write expiry date on top or most visible point on the can or packaging.

Mom quite like the idea and have been telling her friends about it. I know some people might think I'm making a big fuss but I do worry about my parents accidently eating expired food especially since they have sensitive stomachs.

So, what did we learn today?

Lesson number1 - Remember kids, purging from both ends is NOT FUN!

Lesson number 2 - It's the little things that you do that counts.

The waiting area did smell a little funny. I wonder if it had anything to do with those people taking off their shoes. Hmmmm.....

Fine! Pen, ok?

No. I have lots of pens in my office he would say. Ahah! Dad plays golf. I know! I'll buy him some golf stuff. Unfortunately for me, my dad has expensive tastes when it comes to golf clubs. I could barely afford anything on my few ringgit allowance. I managed to saved up some moolah and end up buying him a golf club cleaning kit. If I couldn't afford to buy him shiny new golf clubs, I could at least make sure that his golf clubs are shiny like new.

Aiya! So mafan. You clean for me lah!! I cleaned dad's golf clubs for a couple of months and one fine day, the cleaning kit mysteriously dissapeared. Years gone by and loads of golf paraphernalisa later, I still couldn't find a decent gift for my dad. His birthday also falls on the same month as father's day (how convenient, hor?). So, I still had to get him something. I know, I know. Father's/Mothers days are overrated. We should show our parents how much we appreciate them everyday instead of once a year. But you know, I think my parents secretly wants something from me and my siblings, even if it's an e-card.

So, this year, I arrived home one day after father's day. I was armed and ready. I sent dad an e-card. He loved it. I got him a RL polo shirt which looked great on him. Nice or not? He kept asking us. He was pleased that I got him the right size too because he lost some weight recently.

And *drumroll*, I also got him an iPod nano complete with RoadTrip. I remembered how he much he liked my iPod and iTrip when he came to visit me that I thought this would be the perfect gift. I was right. He loved the nano!!! Unfortunately, we couldn't quite get the RoadTrip to work. Hmmm. I'll have to look at the manual again. If not, I'll return it and get the iTrip or a similar FM transmitter with car charger.

Everyone is pleased with my gift because now we don't have to put up with dad's singing when the radio is playing his favorite song! Dad thinks he's cool (because his daughter got him an ipod and he actually knows how to use it!). Heck, his friends think he's cool and 'happening'! LOL! My work here is done.