Happy Snowed-In

It has been a enjoyable long weekend for me. The freezing rain hit OK on monday morning and left the roads in such bad conditions that OUP was closed by noon.

Later, an announcement was made. OK is in a state of emergency. Campus closed Tuesday. Great, I thought. Another day of holiday. Judging from all the accidents and sidewalk falls, it was expected.

Come tuesday and another announcement was made. Campus closed on Wednesday. Well, this is swell indeed, I thought, being stuck at home for three days in a row. I went out Tuesday for dinner and the roads were empty and piled with inches of snow. A few cars got stuck in the snow. Nothing serious in the student town of Norman. Five of us piled up in the car and my friend gave us a free drifting experience. Some resturants were closed. Others closed early.

Being stuck at home all day had made me realized what I was missing out. The shiver and excitment of being out in the refreshing cold. I forgot how nice it is to feel the cold on your cheeks, even though my hands were freezing as I scraped ice off the car. It was wonderful, especially when your belly is bursting, and you tip toe and reach across the back window to dust away the snow. The cool air brushes the belly and gives a nice relieve.

Ah, snow days. It is beautiful indeed. Especially when campus is closed.

Taking up japanese again

Dear Mama and Papa, I have been a very good girl. I am studying japanese on my own. I cannot remember how it all began. There has always been times when I think of studying, but never gotten around to it. One day, I decided to review my japanese. I surfed the net, played some games, found out useful sites, and the whole process gamerolled. I got onto iknow.co.jp and I found it so interesting that I decided to make it my focus of learning japanese for now. When I first read about it through tofugu.com, I decided to make iknow my world. Today is the second day using it. We'll see how well my japanese improves and one day, you wont be able to read this at all because it will all be in japanese.

Hahahaha.

Next:
I thought of something I wanted to create: Tiny Tales for A Curious Mind

Let's see where it all goes. For now, my world is japanese.

The Grandma Lifestyle

I just finished watching The Last Samurai. A little depressing to watch seeing fellow country man fighting against one another. Makes me thinks of the Water, especially when I saw the Emperor's eyes. Somehow, I gathered that what makes them stand out most is their eyes. So different and beautiful.

I need to learn more about the Samurai. Apparently, my friend said it is a good movie, but all the historical facts are wrong. So yup, my goal is ... more reading.

I have been rather happy with myself this few days because I managed to read four books in three days. Yup. Extremely pleased. Havent managed that feat since pri/sec school. The internet is too distracting.

I want to learn how to make granola bars since I am running low on cereal bar. I always bring them to work, but I want to learn how to make it now... and sweet sesame soup too!

I have been having the munchies, but it wasnt that bad as in summer, so I'm glad.

I also did my laundry yesterday! Had to do three loads yesterday and one load today. Damn but I am good! Now my room looks clean and organized. Had to wash all the bedsheets, pillowcases and comforters for two beds since my friend is no longer staying with me. She's gone the entire holiday, and this weekend, I finally decided that I have enough dirty clothes for my laundry. So it is as always, the entire haul of washables goes into the laundry. I am so happy. Managed to put on a new bedsheet for the second bed and got rid of two blankets and pillow so that my room is less messy!

Yar, I am really boring. The only interesting thing in life is laundry, washing dishing, buying food and thinking about cooking food. Very grandma. That's me.

Leaving

I would like to leave. There is no road ahead of me here. If there is, then it is being hidden really well.

Just a push from my parents, and I would pack my bags joyfully. In the mean time, I will continue on till my work is done. I'm in the finishing stages, but already, the time is ticking slowly but surely.

Resolution 2009.

I came up with my resolution for 2009. Or rather, another list of things I would like to do and accomplish.

Japanese, Korean, Constellations, World and U.S. map, history, writing, photoshop, web site, reading, running, ice skating, ballroom dancing, God, yes.

~~~

I dont know where I will go six months from now. But I do know it is easier for me to leave. There are less strings holding me back.

~~~

I realized how limited my mind thinks. I forgot my goals of the sixteen year old. To get a job. Any job regardless of my degree. I realized that this is extremely easy when I return! Until now, I never realized how U.S. has been holding me back, job-wise.

~~~

My friends, I miss them. Most of all, I miss the water from the land of the rising sun. I realized how important foundations are - true foundations that can withstand all kinds of pain and broken trust. How can I return to the starting point when it is build on air? Perhaps I am still in denial. When you accept the fact, life is much more peaceful.

~~~

Road Trip to Miami

Happy New Year 2009! It has been festive, somewhat for my part. My friends and I spent the new year at Bayside Marketplace in Miami, Florida! Yup, it was a sudden decision and quick plan to the land of sunshine.

Unfortunately, two friends got into a "silly" row and thus, someone had to spend his new year only, while the three girls were together. It was a huge drama starting when we were still driving to Florida. First, it was the car seat, second, it was the photograph, third, it was at a pizza place...where they argued again and finally, they compromised after my cousin stepped in. I was just eating pizza. I cant believe all the drama that issued on the way. Seriously, someone even wanted to fly back home on the second day itself. Argh.

But afterwards, it was all nice and calm. Lucky.

We stopped by New Orleans and Houston on our way back. Eat french doughnuts and drank coffee at a famous resturants and eat M'sian food in Houston, with a bit of shopping at a chinese supermarket for snacks. I got baked soybeans, pineapple and green tea cakes, and sesame mochi!

Well, all I want to say is, I love my trip despite all that has happened. It was a fun trip and I have not made any resolution. I dont think I have that habit or even the will to carry out what I say. The best I can do is hopefully, I pray and hope everything turns out well.

PLS: I saw three falling stars on my trip. One on the way there and two on the way home.
PLS: I drove for my first time in a road trip. I nearly killed everyone when a deer popped its baby head on the road. I got caught by a police for speeding and got off with a warning.

Updates before the New Year!

It's been a long while since I've written something here.

1) My computer got infected by a virus and I have been trying to get rid of it. No results.

2) My ebay adapter is dying on me. When I first bought it, it wont charge my battery. Six months later, the power starts to flicker. And you know that is NOT GOOD when the power stops for a second. My computer dies.

3) I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons. It is 3 hours long. With advertisments. But worst part is, the girl behind keeps kicking my chair!!! I was so pissed off, I didnt enjoy the movie at all. Plus, I thought it was rather boring. There wasnt much conflict. I couldnt wait for the movie to end.

4) I cleaned, cleared and organized my drawer and table. I am all ready for the new year.

5) Ballroom dancing. My friend took me there twice. First lesson, salsa. Second is swing. Then I went for their Winter Ball. And now, I know roughly eight dances all in three practices. Hahaha. Since I didnt pay for the lessons, I sat down and watched the people practice. After the practice, there was a group dance practice where different types of music were played and you dance with other people. Well, my friend enters for free since the studio was in need of guys, and he is considered their special guest. Each time the music changes, he taught me different dances. After being in their studio for three times, I have learned a lot.

6) The roommates opened up our christmas presents today night. I got a big bottle of lotion, a cloth slipper for home + a hand lotion, chocolates from france, another bottle of lotion + perfume, and a home fragrance.

7) Planning a road trip to either Miami or San Antonio. Frankly, I dont like beaches. So Miami... hmm, I guess it would be okay as long as the trip is under 500.

Yogurt-fruit mix

One of my favorite creations to date is the yogurt-fruits mix. I got the idea from Yogurtland, but mine is all about the fruits while the yogurt is the sauce. Cant have too much yogurt, or I might as well be drinking a cup full.

Grapes, blueberries, cranberries, chex (wheat cereal), few spoons of yogurt, top with brown suger and cinnamon.

Yummy.

^^

Best part is that it fills you up pretty fast. Imagine eating a bowl of grapes just by itself. That's pretty filling. My creation came about when I went to dallas, bought 2 small packet of blueberries and realized they cannot last long! After a week, I placed them in the freezer to prevent more mold from growing. Since I had so many blueberries and grapes, I decided to mix them with yogurt and pour some chex mix into it ( I love the crunch! Too bad I didnt have nuts.). Plus, this is a good motivation for me to eat more fruits, so I am happy.

GRE

My brain is going haywire! I have been studying, with lots of breaks in-between, the entire day!

And I cant seem to remember words. I check the dictionary repeatedly for the same words which I know I have checked before. Why cant my memory retain information!? What happened to it!!!! I am, at this point, rather pissed that my range of vocabulary is so low! Grrr.

I need a break but I dont know what to do? I have been staying in my room the entire day and I want to go out! I want to walk, breathe in fresh air, just be outside, but I darent call my friend coz he has a final tomorrow and besides, we dont make good study partners coz we always want to play. Grrr. I have to find motivation by myself. Where's the fun in that?

I dont know what colleges to apply to for my master's degree. I am thinking ... somewhere out of this desolate land. But my choices are rather limited. Grr.....

I have been thinking, I ought to make a list of vocab to refer to...

I want to get this exam and applications over with... I want to start on something else, like learn japanese or korean.

And I need coffee. Tons of it.

Antisocial

I think I am getting comfortable with being antisocial. The thought of talking to people gives me a funny feeling, like hi, leave me alone with the food please. Or maybe it is because I am more interested in the food than in people. Being around people sap the strength out of me. I feel so tired by the time I am home that I dont even want to join next time, unless it is a bunch of friends I am well-acquainted with.

I wonder how you can hundreds of friends while in college and then after that, it just dwindle to less than five after you graduate. Isnt graduation a celebration? Have a job, makes new friends, earn money, dream of being rich, party and drink? Somehow, graduation is fun, but the aftermath of it is losing friends. It is hard to stay in touch if you have a different lifestyle from everyone in college. And now, I dont even bother to stay in touch coz I just want a nice, quiet life away from the parties.


I think I am entering the grandma stage. Stay home, read some book, maybe watch a movie, clean the house, and eat.

And fyi, I clean my room today. Reorganized some boxes, threw away rubbish, recycled paper, sell some textbooks. Now that I have no exams, life is definitely much simpler.

In love

Christmas decorations are up and I am in love.

I am in love because life is wonderful. I have great roommates, no exams, no test, no mounting fear or anxiety in my mind. I love the feeling of freedom and peace and so, I am in love. With life.

I never knew you could love life so deeply and love it truly. That I actually have something to look forward to without the dreaded feeling inside you - like presentations, test, papers, grades, interviews, professors, the forced speak-your-mind during class.

And now, it is time for GRE and Master degree and college again. But life is good.

I am still in love, and I wish it could last forever.

Korea Town

I am in love with Yogurtland! I was down in dallas on Saturday to pick up a friend and we stop by the new Korean town to buy some groceries. K town is like a square plaza with H-Mart and other resturants and shops. I have to say, I am most impressed by Yogurtland. They have tons (ten, maybe) of yogurt-ice cream flavor available and it is all self-checked out. It is only thirty cents an ounce and you choose any many toppings you like! And there were so many toppings! I had blueberries, strawberries, granolas, almond, walnuts and I forgot. Oh, and I had blueberry, pistachos, and three other flavors I cant remember in a huge cup all for $3.19! Most impressed am I!

A similar shop in Norman, OK, is called PassionBerry. At first, I thought it was amazing, but rather expensive. After I tried Yogurtland, damn, but PassionBerry is definitely un-comparable. They only had three flavors and you can only choose a topping. Plus, the cups were S,M, or L. I realized that this is common in most ice-cream shops, that is why Yogurtland is AMAZING!

I love Mozart Bakery in K Town too. They have the most fantastic pastries that are not too sweet and the taste is heavenly. Plus, the price is reasonable. The mochi pastry is amazing. It is bread outside and sticky flour with red bean inside. I bought others but they were so-so compared to the Mochi pastry. Mozart also have great lima beans cookies and other cake/bread stuff that makes my mouth water with delight everytime I enter the store. It is like going into a frenzy.

(A month or so ago) Ah, and if that isnt enough, Omi resturant have a great Korean BBQ for only 19.99. You grill the meat in a small round griller in the middle of the table. There are like five different kinds of meat - unmarinated and unmarinted and coz it is korean, there are all kinds of side dishes for free and rice. Yes. The rice is so soft and slightly sticky. I cant but finish the whole bowl. Once you have finished a set of meat, you can always ask for more, since it is technically a buffet. But no one really does, I suppose. However, since it is a trip for us, we asked for tons more. And surprisingly, we ate it up. Well, I tried. My friend did the rest. In order not to waste food, you have to eat everything or pay a charge, which was why the waitress was shocked at four girls (three skinny) asking for more meat! I believe we were one of the last few to leave during lunch hour. Hahaha.

K Town is amazing. We can spend the whole day there, eating and buying groceries and that is good enough for us. Ah, the simple pleasures of food.

Bruise

I am scared. Apparently, a year and a half ago, I went on a canoe trip and my knee got caught in a thick tree branch. Two canoes slammed behind me and it took a long while for the canoes to row away because of the swirl of tide. I had a few huge bruises on my leg after the trip and it took a long time for it to heal.

I was telling my roommates about the canoeing bruise today, (coz I got a new bruise on my fourth finger from waitressing) and I told her that they could still spot the canoeing bruise because some area of the skin is of a darker color.

She immediately told me that SOMETHING is still wrong with it. Bruises fade completely. If my skin is still discolored, it means it has not healed! But it happened 1.5 years ago! I was terrified!

So my roommate immediately launch a rescue-mission-google-the-bruise and finally, after much harrowing heart attacks, the reason for the discolored skin tone may be of a extremely slow healing time. Well, that reason was the most "safest" answer. There were other reasons online which spelled deep trouble but I will pretend for now my world is okay.

Halloween

This is the first time I dont have enough money to pay RENT.

Wow.

Amazing.

~~~

The theme for my housemates was Batman.

L.L was Joker, CI was two-faced, J.C was penguin and I was designated catwoman. Ah, it is nice to be catwoman, but I wanted something more ... unique. I wore almost the same clothes as last year and J.C. made me a mask because I didnt have one, and I didnt want to buy one. Good thing I didnt buy one coz erm, yea, broke.

Even after graduation, I am still as poor, if not poorer than a student. This is incredibily stupid.

Losing weight

I believe I am one of those person that some people will hate. Especially those who consider themselves fat/overweight/obese.

Because I believe I have to lose a few pounds - five, in particular.

Why, you ask. Am I fat? Do I want to look like a skinny ass model? Is it for health sake?

No and yes.

I have been eating cookies and cakes for a month plus, everyday. And all those have been accumulating somewhere on my tummy and thighs. Truth be told, I still look normal, even if I have gained ten %^#%$@* pounds over the summer. And yes, it would be nice to look like a skinny ass model, although I am not used to it.

So now, I want to lose weight because I want to be healthier- no more cookies and cakes until I shed those pounds.

I want to fit into my pants, and have a little room to shift my leg while sitting down.

I want to look fit. Tone.

I want to have a flat tummy. I am sorry, but this hugh baby bump is way long overdue.

I want to look good in tights, for my halloween costume, which is three days away.

Ah, time is ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Five pounds in three days?

Dream on.

FICA taxes

I am pleased my research on taxes paid off!

Last friday, I checked my banking account and realised that I was paid lower than before! What the... !!!

I was so pissed that I set off on a rampage throughout the net to figure out what those extra taxes on my pay stub was. I spent the entire day at work reading up on taxes, printing relevant information, and making sure the information were from gov. sources. I was planning to pay a visit to the pay roll office when I figured out that my next pay check will be submitted really soon and I was worried I didnt have enough time to visit the pay roll office to be exempted from the FICA taxes.

So I quickly shoot them an email, informing them, really "nicely" about my dilemma. In fact, it was a more... "I tell you I am right, and I order you to please, please take those extra taxes out of my pay stub!"

Well, ha!

This is what they said.

"We have changed your status to FICA exempt."

That's it. A one liner. No sorries, no nothing.

Whatever. I win! I get my money back!

I feel awesome!

Pls: I wonder why my other friends who started working never questioned their taxes! But they earn so much, it probably wont matter anyway! I still get paid the student rate and with more money deducted, I was infuriated...so yea. Damn, I am not going to take that lying down!

The Diet

The diet is not so much as a diet than avoiding cakes, cookies, and cupcakes everyday.

Frankly, that's all I have been doing ever since the summer started.

All I have to do is cut the cakes and cookies out of my life and I will be OKAY.

I swear, I am going to avoid every last bit of sugery processed food from today onwards, until at least Halloween.

Hehehe.

And perhaps, I am going to run a mile under ten minutes. How's that for a goal?

Wish me luck.

All for one's own.

Many times in life, I feel like I am trapped behind a pane of glass. I am there, but I am not. I am a shadow, a trailing yarn on the floor. I want to jump in, feel the different colors, be involved. Yet, when I try, I feel silly and occasionally, there is a feeling of confusion, dread, fear. And I want to stay out again.

So one day, I decided to jump. The water was hot, and beautiful. But it was just a dip. The deeper I went, the colder it got. The freezing wind, the frantic despair, the endless struggle up to the warm sun.

The weather is getting colder again. The winds are shifting. The cold front is here, and it brought the fog.

I lay in bed, thinking of the past year, where I jumped. The seasons changing, and is still changes. But everything's different. The people around me, the buzzing excitment, the shouts of joys, the feeling of hope, peace, and everything warm and fuzzy.

I have surfaced and have been floating in the warm water for some time. It took some time to recognize it. Even now, I am still thawing. A little raw in edges that perhaps are scars etched in the skin. But I am back behind the pane of glass and I am looking out at life, and the intense emotion that I wanted to experience.

Truth is, it aint pretty out there. The grass is not always greener on the other side. I am happy in my place. I am happy being the wallflower, the shadow, the passive follower. Sometimes, you just have to be happy with what you have. Do not covet your neighbors. Life is beautiful. You just have to make it happen. Choose wisely.

OU-Texas Weekend - Wichita and Meers!

Today was AWESOME! It was sort of a long weekend coz of the annual OU-Texas football game. So my roommates and friends decided to go hiking and eat at one of the best burger joint in US!

I hiked at Wichita Mountains, following the longhorn trail until we deviated into the eagle trail and the buffalo trail? Hahaha. I also remember something called the Dog Run Hollow.

Anyway, the hike was wonderfully beautiful. The day was chilly in the morning and it got hot in the afternoon. Not super hot but mild warm and cool. All but one wore shorts. Bad idea. The grass was ankle or knee high. For most of our trip, we brushed through the greenery with the stems scratching and slapping our legs. Some of it would stick to our socks and poke our feets. Ow. We also climbed huge steep boulders that overlook other "mountains", cross shallow rivers, and travel paths unknown. Aka, get lost. Too bad we didnt see any wildlife while hiking!

We found a nice but rather sunny spot to rest. It overlooked a river and we played Big Two there. My roommate decided to climb down to the river to swim. She found a nice, not-too-steep trail and proceeded. No one followed. Hahaha. She did her bit of exploring, climbed up looking rather damp and told her she dipped in the river with her phone in her pocket. Nice. We gave her our leftover grapes and decided to finish the trails. That is when interesting things happen. We left our trail to another trail, thinking it was a shortcut. We got to the parking lot only to find out we were at the wrong end! So we had to track back. All in all , we spent 4 hours walking and 1 hour of rest.

After that, we ate at Meers Burger, one of the famous burger joint in the whole of US, which none of us knew about unless my cousin saw it on the Food Network. It was in the top 3 rank. Ha! Go Oklahoma! The meat was family farmed, or wild farm, (whatever you called it) and it was 97% lean meat. It was rather chewy and it was a big portion coz I thought since I was here, I might as well order the biggest - 11oz. Haha. I ate 1/4 and brought the rest back home. I hope it will be good the next day. My tummy was soo tight it could burst.

That is the end to a very productive day. I think I like day trips like this. I want to travel and find out more new places! Oh, it was all very exciting!

pls: We didnt watch the game (Ha! How supportive we are!) but our college team lost. Rawr! I dont really follow any football game, but we were no 1. until ... today. RAWR! Why!

Knitting

I learned how to knit on Tues, (I think) but I only started getting the hang of it on Thursday night..

Thurs - Green and Blue
Friday - Blue
Sat - Blue, Orange and Yellow

At least with knitting, it keeps me from snacking every hour.

I think what's wrong with me is the lack of vitamins, which makes me hungry...