EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER.

HAPPY 2012!!!

2012-01-08T21:20:00.004-07:00

2012 is finally here! This is the year I will be a 'quarter of a century' years old! Started this year feeling nostalgic and reflected upon many ups and downs in life this past year. Time to start anew and let go of the past. Thanks be to God for all the wonderful blessings and praying that He will continue to grant us love, peace, joy and mercy all the days of our lives!

"Another fresh new year is here...
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest...
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!"
~William Arthur Ward~

Inspirational Quotes

2009-04-02T09:14:00.002-07:00

If not us, who? If not now, when?
Kennedy, John F.

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.
Henry Ford (1863-1947)

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), on his failed attempts to invent the electric bulb.

If a man does his best, what else is there?
General George S. Patton (1885-1945)

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.
Emile Zola (1840-1902)

Thanks to: http://inspirationalquote.blogspot.com/. Check it out for more quotes...

Shopping Spree!

2009-01-09T18:43:00.004-07:00

Malaysia is famous for being a shopper's paradise and I never really did take that phrase seriously until I came back from the States. Since I came home, I have gone out shopping every single week. I have gone crazy shopping here at most of the shopping malls here and I still can't get enough of it! lol! (So far, I have purchased a collection of footwear from casual to work and formal footwear. Please don't ask how many pairs because I have lost count already!) Some of the stuff are cheaper here compared to the States, and vice versa. I also get very excited going "jalan-jalan" and shopping at the morning and night markets since I can't do that in the States. Here's some pictures from some of my shopping trips!

What a great way to start the day with a walk around the morning market!

1 Utama

Sunway Pyramid

The green trio! We wore green to go Christmas caroling earlier that day. Then we headed to the Times Square Shopping Mall!

Midvalley Megamall

Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Ikano

I have also visited The Gardens Mall, The Curve, Sungai Wang Plaza, Low Yat Plaza, Bukit Bintang Plaza, and AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre (unfortunately I didn't get pictures of these places). That's a total of 12 shopping malls conquered within 4 weeks!!! A big thank you to my family and friends for their willingness to accompany me on my bargain hunts and window shopping! This has been a splendid shopping experience for me!

Precious moments in life!

2009-01-04T07:40:00.018-07:00

After being away from home for almost 3.5 years, I finally decided to return for a visit during the winter break. It's been hard being away for so long and I missed everyone back in Malaysia. I'm very glad I was able to spend good quality time with my family and catch up with friends back home. Here's some precious moments captured so far!

My beloved family: Hoong Jyn (youngest bro), Hoong Lyn (younger sis), mom, dad and myself on Christmas Day at church.

My bro, grandma, and myself at a Christmas party with the extended family.

The wonderful dim sum breakfast! yummy!!! one of my all time favorites!

Mamak time!!!

Christmas Caroling

Group picture of a bunch of us from church (Courtesy of Eugene!)

Breathtaking view of the lake by my sister's Univ.! (Photo taken by my sis)

At the beach!

My wonderful sis-in-Christ, che che Angeline and myself! Thanks again for the meal:)

Late night dessert time (after the BBQ dinner) with che che Angeline. That was the delicious tiramisu, specialty cappuccino and caramel milk. We had a nice long chat catching up with one another!

Michelle (another great friend and sis-in-Christ) and myself at the Masquerade Party at church

A lot has changed since I left home. In my 3.5 years living in the States, I have learned to embrace the changes in life and adapt to the Western culture and way of life. Now that I'm back, I'm surprised I could switch mode easily and adapt back to the way of life here and keep up with all the changes. Thank God for providing me with the strength, guidance, and protection when I was living away from home.

Another thing that always amuses me is how we can change the way we speak when we are in placed in different locations or situations. I have my Malaysian accent here but when I'm in the States, I don't use the slang and "lah"... Or else, they might not understand what I'm trying to say :D

I shall enjoy the remaining days back home and continue to capture and treasure these precious moments in life that are truly God's blessings.

Home Sweet Home!!!! Finally!

2008-12-18T17:35:00.002-07:00

I just came back home to Malaysia yesterday afternoon. It was a pleasant trip and everything was great! (except for the flight delay...) A lot has changed here since I was gone in 2005. Nonetheless, I'm glad to be back with my family and friends and spend the Christmas holidays here.

I have to admit the first thing that got to me is the humidity!!! I've gotten used to the dry weather in El Paso, and now that I'm back home, it's pretty humid but I''ll get used to it.

That's all for now! I hope to keep in touch and meet up with some friends here. So call me or email me to go out for mamak!! lol! For the record, I haven't gone to a mamak place since 2005!!! lol!

Friday Night Out!!!

2008-10-17T23:06:00.003-07:00

What a night! Don't worry, I'm not going wild! Some of us at work decided to go shopping and then to a nice dinner after work at 5pm. Coincidentally, it's our co-worker's birthday! So it's a birthday celebration for Karen! Lots of restaurants had waiting lines up to an hour, but thankfully, we managed to get a table at Applebee's. Oh, I did have lots of fun shopping with the girlies at work, Liz and Dorji! We each bought a dress and a pair of shoes to match the outfit! It's really cool! I wore my new shoes but not my new dress because I'm saving it for a special occasion! Enjoy the pictures!

Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner

2008-10-10T22:04:00.003-07:00

Tonight, I was invited to a dinner at UTEP as I was chosen among my peers at work to attend this function. It was a humbling honor to represent the University Career Center at such a prestigious event. I found out that my dinner tonight would've cost me $100, if not for the department's generous invitation. At the dinner, the distinguished alumni shared their experiences and their achievements. All of their speeches were really inspiring and motivational.

One of them gave some really good advice to all of us... He graduated from UTEP in 1908 and is one of the finest lawyers in the country and owns his own law firm. He advised us not to forget our heritage and where we came from. He told us about a globe that his grandfather passed on to him and has this globe in his office as a daily reminder of his family heritage from Mexico and also a wall full of family pictures in his office. He said that family was very important to him and ends by saying that whatever success he's had is because God has blessed him with it. I truly believe in that and his humbleness is one lesson in life that I will learn to cherish and remember all the days of my life.

Catie and me (She's the Assistant Vice President for Student Life and Associate Dean of Students at UTEP)

Group picture of the top student leaders that were chosen to represent each department at UTEP.

UTEP President, Dr. Diana Natalicio giving a speech at the dinner. We even had the pleasure of introducing ourselves and meeting her personally before dinner was being served.

The floral arrangement/table centerpiece at the dinner.

Group picture.

UTEP vs. UT Austin Football Game

2008-10-06T20:33:00.011-07:00

There's always a first time for everything right??? Well, it was my first time going to the annual pep-rally at school called Minerpalooza. This was a month ago on Sept. 5 to get everyone hyped up for the big football game the following day: UTEP vs. UT Austin. The next day, I went for the tailgate party before the game and met with buddies of mine, and surprisingly some of my friends that graduated (UTEP alumni) from electrical engineering (EE). I really salute those who flew in from all parts of the US just to come back to their home university to support the UTEP team and watch the big game. Unfortunately, UTEP lost :(

Here's some pictures from Minerpalooza, the tailgate party, and the football game at the UTEP Sunbowl Stadium!

From L-R: me, Edna, Sarai, Oscar, Dorji, and Liz. (They're all my co-workers at the University Career Center and we signed up to volunteer at Minerpalooza. Hence the free volunteer shirts that we were wearing!)

The big water slide at Minerpalooza! (No, I didn't go on it! Note: we're supposed to be working as volunteers!)

Another group picture with my co-workers. From L-R: Edna, me, Rachel, Dorji, Sarai, and Fred.

One of the trucks filled with UTEP pride and the school spirit!

Our chef of the day, Ralph with his famous hamburgers and BBQ skills! It was simply delicious!

IEEE Officers: Ivan (ex-President of IEEE in Spring 2008), Carlos (ex-President of IEEE in Fall 2007) & me (current President of IEEE this Fall 2008). What a coincidence that we're all in this same picture! LoL!

From L-R: Lili (another IEEE officer), me, Juanita & Devon.

From L-R: Aaron (UTEP Alumni in EE), Monica (ex-IEEE officer) & me.

The beautiful sunset! (FYI, UTEP is the only campus in Texas that is surrounded by the rocky mountains!)

The team's getting warmed up!

The UTEP marching band performing!

I like this picture! The band formed a star & it represents Texas a.k.a the Lone Star State!

Sorry I didn't have anymore pictures of the game because my camera's battery died:( But I'm glad I did capture some pictures from that memorable weekend. I've never done the whole school spirit thing to this extent before. I guess this is what it's all about... it's not just about supporting the football games and having a good time with friends but it's keeping the school spirit alive and making the best out of our college lives! I'm so proud to go to school at UTEP! GO MINERS!!!

Ten Current & Former Miner Athletes in the Olympics!

2008-08-22T18:57:00.003-07:00

This is cool! I didn't know we had so many ppl from my university that are actually competing in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing! Below is a newsletter sent to all UTEP students:

UTEP Miner e-notes banner
August 22nd, 2008

More from: Horizons Online News

UTEP Home

UTEP Olympians Perform, Medal

Ten current and former Miner athletes are performing – and excelling – on the world’s biggest sports stage this month: The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

“We are very excited that these young people represent UTEP and their respective countries at the highest level of athletics,” UTEP track and field head coach Bob Kitchens said.

Among the Miner Olympians is Blessing Okagbare, who won a bronze in the women’s long jump with a personal best leap of 6.91 meters. The Nigerian athlete originally had not qualified for the event final, but was allowed to compete when another jumper was disqualified after a failed doping test.

Miner athlete Blessing Okagbare competes for UTEPOkagbare’s medal marks only the second time a current athlete has won a medal while competing at UTEP. The other was high-jumper Greg Joy in 1976.

Okagbare recently completed a spectacular first year at UTEP by earning three All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The sophomore who’s majoring in general studies was second in the triple jump, third in the long jump and ran the final leg on the Miners' sixth-place 4x100 meter relay. Okagbare was a five-time All-American this season, with two additional indoor accolades.

Two former Miners athletes, Osayomi Oludamola and Halimat Ismaila, will also take home bronze medals for Nigeria. The pair ran the second half of the women’s 4 x 100 meter to post a season best time of 43.04 seconds.

Oludamola attended UTEP in 2006 and 2007. Ismaila started at UTEP in 2006 and will continue her studies in Health Promotion this fall.

Another UTEP athlete, Churandy Martina, won a silver medal in the men’s 200-meter final this week, but later lost it on a technicality. Martina, who represented the Netherlands-Antilles, ran a 19.82. That would have beaten his national record of 20.11, which he set in the second heat to get to the final. A Jury of Appeal, however, ruled that he had a “lane infringement” violation. A senior majoring in multidisciplinary studies at UTEP, Martina is the university's 100-meter record holder. This is the second Olympics for the sprinter from Willemstad, Curacao.

Other UTEP athletes competing in Beijing include:

• Ronalds Arajs of Latvia, men’s 200m
• Caimin Douglas of Netherlands, men’s 4x100m relay
• Erma-Gene Evans of Saint Lucia, women’s javelin
• Mickael Hanany of France, men’s high jump
• Alexandros Papadimitriou of Greece, men’s hammer
• Nonila Wharemate of New Zealand, women’s basketball
• Fatimoh Muhammed, who runs and throws the javelin for Liberia, and Henderson Dottin, who competes in the high jump for Barbados, were part of their national teams, but did not compete in the games.

“The UTEP family is very proud of and excited for them,” said Kitchens.

THE GRAND CANYON!

2008-08-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

This summer, we visited one of the seven natural wonders of the world! The Grand Canyon in Arizona is yet another reminder of one of God's Mighty Handiworks! I was in awe and just amazed at how majestic the view was! It's still vivid in my mind and I shall never forget that memorable experience of a lifetime. Enough said, now let the pictures speak for itself!

Mummy Dearest...

2008-05-10T22:32:00.002-07:00

I said a Mother's Day prayer for you
to thank the Lord above
for blessing me with a lifetime
of your tenderhearted love.

I thanked God for the caring
you've shown me through the years,
for the closeness we've enjoyed
in time of laughter and of tears.

And so, I thank you from the heart
for all you've done for me
and I bless the Lord for giving me
the best mother there could be!

- Author Unknown.

BLESSED MOTHER'S DAY! I love you very much!

Choices...

2008-04-29T11:25:00.006-07:00

Agenda for May 6th:

Option 1:
Carrie Underwood Concert

Option 2:
Stay home and study (unfortunately, it's finals week)...

Option 3:
Enjoy my birthday

Needless to say, I think the wisest choice would be to Option 2... sigh... It's not much fun when you have exams on your birthday... Can't wait till I graduate and not have exams on my birthday anymore!

GONG HEE FATT CHOY!

2008-02-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

To everyone celebrating Chinese New Year in Malaysia!!! Hope ya'll collect banyak angpow (and maybe share some with me? hehe!) Have a great time with your family and friends!

As for me, unfortunately we don't get a holiday here in the US :( But we are planning to have a CNY party this Saturday. We're inviting some church friends over to our house and we'll be cooking some Chinese dishes! Yay! I'm really looking forward to that!

HORSEBACK RIDING = AWESOME!!!!!!!!

2008-02-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Just so you know I'm still alive and well here in the United States, here's a couple of latest pictures I took while I was at a Youth Camp in Prude Ranch located in Fort Davis, Texas. Sadly, I am no longer considered a youth anymore. So I went there as an adult sponsor for the youth (kinda like their guardian, I guess...). But I really had a blast as it was my first time horseback riding. We went up on the mountain trail for an hour even though it was my first time horseback riding. I had to handle the horse by myself, ok? They just gave us some instructions and showed us how to hold the rein, stop the horse and other simple steps. It was a great experience and I would love to do it again!

All the horses at Prude Ranch

Me and my horse, Brown Jug!

I've also gone to other places during the past 3 months I disappeared from the "blogging world". I've just been so busy, man! Will try to update more often, if possible :) That's all for now!

BSM Fall Retreat 2007 at Glorieta, NM

2007-11-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I made a last-minute decision to go for the fall retreat at Glorieta, New Mexico. We stayed in the cabin owned by First Baptist Church, El Paso. They were real nice because they allowed us to use for free! It was a really good trip because I got to spend some time away from school and all... It's been a stressful semester and it's time for a short break! We had so much fun together and most importantly, I got to spend some quality time focusing on God. Enough said, here's some pictures from the trip!!!

There were 4 bedrooms with bunk beds (bathrooms in each room), a kitchen and a living room in the cabin.

Majestic view in front of the cabin! Isn't it gorgeous???

The fall colored trees...

More trees...

The Glorieta Conference Center and the beautiful pond!

A short visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico. That's Jonya and her husband, Chris (who is the BSM director).

Jonya and I inside one of the malls in Santa Fe... (Don't worry, I only bought some cold medicine there...didn't shop for clothes and other stuff...)

Jonya and I under this lovely tree in Santa Fe! Ain't it pretty???

A group picture of all of us who went for the retreat!

NASA Design Challenge

2007-10-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Besides studying and having fun (as mentioned in the previous blog posts), I've been involved in the NASA Design Challenge with 6 other teammates from UTEP. We started this semester and we our team is called Inhumans.

Here's a group picture of our team:

L-R: Robert, me, Mayra, Lauralee, Dr. Starks (our professor that's helping us out), Cassandra, Amber, and Raul

Our design challenge is to design an "Initial Exploration Village on the Moon". It's pretty cool but hectic at the same time. We have to submit weekly reports, proposals, and prepare a Power Point presentation and our final proposal for our showcase in Houston, TX on Nov 19. There's 11 other teams from the universities in Texas that are competing in this challenge. The genius in our team, Robert designed a website for our team and I thought I'd share our team's website with you guys!

http://inhumans.cs.utep.edu/~rsoto4/

I think that's enough of blogging for one day. I've never done 3 blog posts in 2 hours on the same day! Well, I hope ya'll enjoy the blog posts, and have a great week :)

I'm back from MIA!!!

2007-10-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

I know I've been MIA (missing in action) from blogging for awhile now...I've just been so busy with school and all. So here's some pictures of what I've been up to besides hitting the books ;-)

The International Students/Freshmen Ladies Bible Study group session at Kinley's Coffee Shop, just behind the Baptist Student Union Building. The owner of the coffee shop, Kin Ley is a Christian from Hong Kong! so we spoke Cantonese! hehe! what a small world!

'Pearls of Wisdom' Ladies Bible Study (also from the BSM) Picnic Day at Memorial Park!

Group outing with the BSM to the LaUnion Maze in El Paso..Yes, we got lost in the corn maze for an hour and it was pitch black in the maze because we went at night! scary, man! But thank God they have Corn Cops (funny, right?) to help out the really sesat (lost) ppl...hehe! Needless to say, our group was one of the sesat ppl! But we had so much fun! lolz!

At the LaUnion Maze. (L-R: Jonya (BSM director's wife), Karen, me, Noemi, and David)

October Birthday Party at my aunt's house since it was my uncle's birthday and some other friends. Since it's Halloween Day this Wednesday (Oct. 31), my uncle carved the pumpkin and my aunt painted the "Welcome" pumpkin :-)

The chocolate chip ice-cream cake for Uncle Russell from Baskin Robbins

Last but not least, here's a picture that never fails to make my day!!! This is a picture of my cute cousin, Joshua after he finished his chocolate pudding ;-)

University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)

2007-10-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

College of Engineering Building

Classroom Building (attached to the Engineering Building and also the Physical Science Building)

Advising Building

Administration Building

The Fox Fine Arts Building is behind that ATM machine

The Geology Building is just behind the Geology Lawn

Liberal Arts Building

The Union Building (this is where the bookstore, International Programs Office, mini post office, the UTEP cinema, offices, and most importantly where the food is at!!! We have Pizza Hut, Chopsticks (Chinese food), Chick-Fil-A (fast food), Starbucks, Quiznos Sub, Pete's Pizza, Mexican Express, etc.)

Education Building

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel (this hotel just opened in Dec 2006, and it's right next to UTEP)

Baptist Student Union (this is where I serve and hang out most of the time with my Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) buddies...we serve FREE LUNCH for students on Wednesdays, bible study sessions, praise & worship called 'Monday Night Lights', retreats, tailgating parties, etc.)

FOCUS Conference 2007

2007-09-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

I went along with the Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) to the annual FOCUS Conference in Arlington, Texas. It was held from Sept 7-9, 2007 and 35 of us from the BSM went on this road trip. Even though Arlington is also in Texas, it's about 10 hours away from El Paso. We chartered a bus and we were supposed to start our long journey at 4:00a.m. On Thursday night, we had a lock-in at the BSM building so that we would all be able to get up at 4:00a.m. Well, the bus arrived at 3:00a.m., so we rushed like crazy to get in the bus and left around 3:45a.m.

It was a jam-packed conference and I learned a lot from the speaker, Mike Stroupe. On the 2nd night, he spoke about missions and how we could all "give so others can go". That night itself, about 600 of us at the conference donated willingly and the next day, they reported that we collected $12383.60!!! The entire amount will go towards missions. Isn't it amazing???

Enough said, now let the pictures speak for itself:

Eliana, Laura, Noemi, Christina, and Me!

The band performing during the worship session.

That's our BSM flag on center stage.

The keyboard player, lead singer (Charlie Hall), and cool drummer!

Group pic of the gals!

The pictures below were taken at the end of the conference. We were able to take pictures in person with each of the band member! By the way, they're an awesome band! They played at the worship sessions for 3 days and our group managed to get the first two rows right in front of the stage!!! I really had a blast!!! Woohoo!!!

The Drummer

The Guitarist

Alejandra, Charlie Hall, and Me.

The Keyboard Player

The Bass Guitar Player

Blessed Birthday, Papa!

2007-09-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Best Dad

Happy birthday to the best dad I know,

A father I love and respect,

A dad who fulfills all his duties

To teach, to guide, to protect.

If everyone had such a father,

A really good dad like mine,

The world would be so much better,

It would look like God’s own design.

By Joanna Fuchs

www.poemsource.com

With Lots and Lots of Love from,

Yan, Lyn and Jyn.

Leadership Retreat & Diana's 25th Birthday Bash!

2007-08-20T18:21:00.001-07:00

We had a Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) Leadership Retreat last Saturday. The BSM director's wife, Jonya made the super yummy cinnamon rolls and sausage and cheese balls from scratch! She's really a great cook! It was really nice discussing and planning activities for the upcoming semester. The BSM director, Chris reminded us of the importance of servanthood in our lives.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. " (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)

Among the activities planned are helping the freshmen and students move in to their dorms this week before college starts, the FOCUS conference that we will be going to from Sept. 7-9, mission projects at the Rescue Mission (a place for the homeless), the free lunch given to all students on Wednesdays, etc... After that, we went out for lunch at San Francisco Oven (BSM gave us a treat! hehehe!).

Group photo of all the ladies! (Yes, we outnumbered the guys!!!)

My lunch... Coastline BBQ Chicken Panini with pasta as a side order... simply deliciousssss!

Back to the leadership retreat... At the end of the one-day retreat, we went around the UTEP campus in pairs and just prayed as we walked around (they called it Prayer Walk). We walked and prayed for the school, students, professors, and almost everything in our 30 minutes walk. It was really neat because we were the only ones on campus that time (remember, it's still summer vacation and it's a Saturday!). It was a peaceful feeling knowing that God is walking with us and all we have to do is just commit everything into His hands... Trust and have faith in Him.

After the leadership retreat, I went back with Eliana and Noemi to Eliana's house because we had 2 hours before Diana's party. Eliana straightened our hair for us! She's really a pro! (p/s: it's my 1st time straightening my hair! hehe!)

Left to right: Eliana, Me, Noemi

The pictures below were taken at the party:

Left to right: Noemi, Me, Diana (the birthday gal!)

Left to right: Christina, Me, Justin (they're a cute couple!)

Top row from left to right: Noemi, Paloma
Bottom row from left to right: Eliana, Me

Top row from left to right: Josh, Noemi, Steven
Bottom row from left to right: Eliana, Me

There's more of us in the BSM but I didn't get a chance to take all of their pictures. Maybe next time!

Tucson, AZ: Part 1

2007-08-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is a short summary on my last vacation to Tucson, Arizona.

Day 1:

It took us 5 hours to go from El Paso, TX to Tucson, AZ. We crossed the New Mexico state on our way. We took the Interstate-10 highway all the way. Thank God they don't have toll booths along this highway. Here's a picture taken at one of the rest area:

We arrived at Tucson in Mark's apartment around noon. He gave us a brief tour around his place and after settling our stuff, he suggested that we go for lunch at this Chinese restaurant. Coincidentally, they serve dim sum during the weekends. So we're in luck! hehe! I have to say that the highlight of the trip was having DIM SUM for lunch! That was really the best treat ever! I've been deprived of 'char siew pao', 'har gao', 'siew mai', 'chee cheong fun', and 'tau fu fa' (sweet soybean curd) for two years and finally, my dream came true! hehe!

After that, we went to Tempe which was about an hour away from Tucson. IKEA was the first shopping place we visited. I haven't been to IKEA for two years. The IKEA here was similar to the one in Damansara in terms of items sold and the floor plan. However, the main difference was that we paid in terms of US dollars instead of Malaysian Ringgit lar...lol! Next, we went to Lee Lee Supermarket (also in Tempe). It's a huge oriental store and they had a small jewelry shop (like Poh Kong), roast duck, roast pork and I even saw cendol there...was tempted to get it but I didn't...sigh... Well, one can't have everything in the world right? After all, I already got the dim sum treat! hehe!

We went for dinner at Chandler (one of the major suburbs of Phoenix) after shopping at the oriental supermarket. Unfortunately, Olive Garden had a long waiting list before we could get a seat for dinner. So we went across the street to Chili's.

Day 2:

Mount Lemmon was our first destination for the day. It was an hour drive and the view was simply magnificent! Here are some pictures of Mt. Lemmon:

Here's a bird's eye view of Tucson city from Mt. Lemmon.

There were many cyclists that cycled all the way up to Mt. Lemmon like this guy in the pic.

See the black patch? That's the spot where there was a fire a few years ago.

There's a skyride as we approached the peak of Mt. Lemmon but it costs $9 for an adult. We all agreed that's it not worth it.

All of us felt dizzy going up and down Mt. Lemmon because the road was winding but I think it was worth it in the end. We also enjoyed the cool breeze at the peak of Mt. Lemmon.

We headed for lunch after that. Too bad the Japanese restaurant was closed on Sunday. So we decided to go back to the Chinese restaurant again...hehe! This time, we had the dishes and rice. It was so good!!!

We went back to Mark's apartment for awhile and then, we went to the Foothills Mall. This mall was just a block away from his apartment and it is an outlet mall. They sell branded stuff for less. After that, we went home to cook Nasi Lemak and Sambal Udang!!! yay! we managed to get some ingredients from the oriental supermarket but they didn't have ikan bilis. In a way, it was a blessing because it would have smelt very fishy in his apartment....After dinner, we went back to the mall because they had a cinema there.

We watched Rush Hour 3. It was a great movie but a tad too short for me...only 1.5 hours. It was also more expensive in that cinema. Mark mentioned that they give students a discount in all the cinemas throughout The States ( I wish I knew that before...). I showed my student ID and it was $8 for me and $9 for the rest of them. I don't even want to convert this amount to RM...

To be continued...

My Last Vacation

2007-08-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

Destination: Tucson, Arizona
Duration: August 11-14, 2007

Yes, this will be my last vacation during the summer vacation before the Fall semester starts on August 27th...sigh... Well, I can't wait to go there because it'll be my first time in Arizona a.k.a. The Grand Canyon State! We will also visit Mount Lemmon in Tucson.

That's all for now! I'll definitely come back with dozens of pictures! Y'all have a great weekend!

The Magical Theraflu!!!

2007-07-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well, my last post was about getting sick but in this post, I'm happy to announce that I'm well again after taking a friend's advise! Mark recommended Theraflu and it helped to cure my flu and fever with just one dose of it! It's a packet of the medication mixed with natural apple cinnamon flavor. Just add a cup of hot water to it and drink it. But this flavor didn't taste very good.

Tomorrow, I've got to attend a Guest Services Training for my part time job at 2:00pm. Oh, for those who don't know, they raised the minimum wage throughout the United States from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour! woohoo! but I actually get paid a little more than that. So hopefully at the training, they'll let us know how much pay raise we'll be getting! hehehe!

After that at 4:00pm, I have another gathering at the Baptist Student Ministry (BSM). We have a new BSM director and he wants to meet all of us and we'll have fellowship and dinner together. His name is Chris and he's an American missionary who went to serve in Turkey. But they got him to come back the United States to help out at our BSM. So tomorrow, we'll be meeting him and his wife. It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow and it's a good thing I'm not sick anymore...thank God!

I hope ya'll have a great weekend too! Cheerios!

Ah-choo!

2007-07-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Oh great! I fell sick during my finals exam because it was freezing cold in the classroom and I was in there for 2 hours and 45 minutes! So today's the first day of my holidays (finally!!!) but I'm stuck with a cold and flu...sigh... Hopefully I'll get better soon so I can enjoy my well-deserved holidays!

Not in the mood to blog now because I'm feeling feverish...one sickness after another...sigh...

Sizzling HOT Summer!

2007-07-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

It is currently 102°F (39°C) right now. Even with the air-conditioner turned on, it’s still hot, hot, hot!!! Thank God it’s not humid here though… Just the heat…

On a brighter note, it’s 4th of July tomorrow in the States and it’s the American Independence Day! So we get a day off from school! Yippie! Today felt like a Friday in school because of the day off tomorrow. Our group study session ended early today because people were in the mood to celebrate and go party. Not me because I have two exams coming up:

July 6th: CLEP History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present
(CLEP: College-Level Examination Program… this is a self-study program so that we need not go for lectures and all. It’s a shortcut and a much cheaper way to get credit for a class.)

July 9th: Electromagnetic Field Theory (2nd Exam)

Best of luck to all those having exams too! God bless and Happy 4th of July!

White Sands: Part 2

2007-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Continuation....

After sand duning and simply enjoying the gorgeous view from sunset till nightfall at White Sands, we had to leave at around 9:30pm because the Security Patrol Officers came around and said they were gonna close the gates at 10:00pm. Then we headed to look for supper (p/s: we didn't eat since the small snack time during out trip and all that was burned out when we went sand duning downhill and climbing back uphill... up and down and up and down...I think you get it right?). It took us 45 minutes to get to a small local town called Alamogordo, New Mexico. Thank God some of the fast food chains opened until midnight and some even opened for 24 hours. So we stopped at Wendy's (it's similar to McDonalds) and got some food.

Oh, we also used their restrooms because the ones at White Sands National Park were horrible! It was one of those portable cubicles with NO FLUSH, NO T.P., NO LIGHTING and boy, it was soooooo STINKY!!! You can call us spoiled city brats but I feel that since it's a tourist attraction and a national park, the least they can do is have some lighting there! But thank God we brought our flashlights. Phew!

Once our appetites were satisfied, we went to look for another camp site called the Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. That was when we noticed the flashes of lightning! Instead of changing plans to stay at a hotel or whatever, we prayed and prayed and prayed, hoping that it would not rain. Or else, we might be soaking wet. We arrived at our camping site at about 11:45pm and that place was pitch dark with all the crickets and animals sound...mother nature...

In a way, thank God for the flashes of lightning because that provided us with some lighting so that we could pitch our tents. One of the youth brought a lantern (it was battery operated) and with that, we pitched two tents: one for the guys and another for the girls. At first, us girls were a little slow with putting up our tent, but nonetheless we figured it out. We couldn't see at first but the poles for the tents were color-coded and all we had to do is slide them through the tents and tie knots. And there we have it! YAY!! What a great accomplishment! hehe! I think by now you get the picture that I'm not really an outdoor person... But I'm beginning to get the hang of camping!

Picture of Israel and David (father & son) as they were the macho men who set up their tent the fastest!

Now, the most wonderful part of this camping trip is that IT DIDN'T RAIN!!! Hallelujah!! But in the girls camp, we had some issues because some of the girls had to go to the restroom and we didn't see any on this camping site. But one girl brought those wipes (kinda like the baby wipe) to use as t.p. So off they went behind the big cactus bush....it was pitch dark anyway. No one could really see them...I think...Well, we're on a camping trip and we're out in the wilderness. So it's just us and mother nature! Just in case you're curious, "NO, I did not go with them behind the cactus bush!"

Before dozing off, we saw the twinkling stars and it's breathtaking! All of God's wonderful creations on this planet... We finally slept at around 2:00am and woke up at 5:30am. It was getting bright and we eagerly waited to see the sunrise! It's magnificent! Oh, and since we had plenty of sunlight now, we spotted a restroom just downhill and we rushed there! Thank God this restroom has t.p.! I mean, sometimes we take small things like toilet paper for granted, don't we? (Reminder to self: Next camping trip, bringing t.p. is a MUST!)

See that small hut? That's the restroom downhill that I was talking about...

Oh, and Jennifer noticed this old faucet right in front of our campsite.

It's a miracle! woohoo! we got to brush our teeth, wash our faces and freshen up!

Here's a couple of pictures of the mountain view from our campsite:

Ain't it pretty?

We had breakfast and then it was time to pack up the tents and head out. Guess where did we go next???

Yes, we went back to White Sands again because we wanted to have more fun sand duning!!! Anyway, since the $3 entrance fee was valid for 7 days, we might as well make use of it. We went for more sand duning and this time, I did something that I never did in my life before! I let them bury me alive! CHOI (as the Cantonese people say)! Well, they buried me in the white sand and those who got buried agreed unanimously that it's actually very therapeutic! Since it's summer, the weather was actually very hot that day. But being buried under the white sand was so soothing and cooling because out bodies were beneath the sand and we didn't get sunburned! lolz!

Check this out! We went to the gift shop at White Sands and something caught my attention. It's a Pressed Penny Souvenir machine! We put in a penny and another 50 cents for the process of making this pressed penny. Then the machine will press that penny and mold it to become an oval shaped penny with some engravings! It was really neat! hehe!

When it got too hot at White Sands, we left to go to Holloman A.F.B. At the entrance before we entered the A.F.B. they checked our ID's (that's a security measure that they do in all army and A.F.B. gates). Since most of the youth and their parents had military ID, and I was the odd one who didn't, they didn't allow us (or rather, ME) to enter without a visitor's pass. So we had to turn around and go to the A.F.B. office to get a pass! It's actually very troublesome but I understand it's for everyone's safety. They can't just let anyone without proper identification to enter their military grounds right?

Finally when we managed to get inside the A.F.B., we headed to the swimming pool! While swimming, the lifeguard on duty shouted out that it was time for Adults Swim only. So the younger ones under 18 had to leave the pool and I stayed behind to swim with one of the parents. After a few laps, we took a break and talked at the side of the pool. Then the lifeguard approached us and and I got a shock when he asked me, "Are you under 18?" I was so stunned!!! I was thinking in my head, "You've got to be kidding me!" Of course, I told him I'm 20 and I even asked him if he wanted to check my ID, and he declined. I've been stopped and questioned by so many people during this weekend camping trip that it's not funny anymore! Give me a break, man! Gosh!

A group picture of the youth and their parents

The water slide that I enjoyed very much at the pool! haha!

All in all, I have to say that I had a blast during this camping trip even though there were some glitches along the way... like the ones below:

Thank God for His safe journey mercies and protection throughout the entire trip.

The End.

(Sorry if I was long-winded in this post but I just wanted to jot down all the wonderful memories that I've been blessed with... even the not-so-good memories)

White Sands: Part 1

2007-06-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I had the adventure of my life! Seriously, it was the most adventurous trip I've ever taken. I think I have seen it all in this trip with my encounters with the U.S. Border Patrol & Customs, the Holloman A.F.B. (Air Force Base) officers, and even the lifeguards in the swimming pool inside Holloman A.F.B. (no, I didn't drown or anything...).

Let's start with a youth group from church planning a camping trip in White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Okay, so we departed in two SUV's and were happily on our way to our destination. It was supposed to take only 1 hour and 35 minutes to reach our destination. But we ended up reaching there after 3 hours and 15 minutes!! It wasn't the restroom break that prolonged our trip...it was ME (or should I say the U.S. Border Patrol)!!! At the checkpoint where we were crossing the New Mexico state border, they decided to do a thorough background check on me since I'm an international student. They took my passport and Texas ID to check on me.

So we waited and waited and waited... I felt bad because the whole group had to wait for me. But the group sure knew how to spend their time wisely...check out the pictures:

The girls stood at the junction of the road and got some vehicles to honk as they passed by.

Dancing the Cha-Cha dance.

Some were playing volleyball at an open area at the check point, playing cards, etc... Basically they were having a lot of fun.

Oh, did I mention that we even witnessed a vehicle being inspected thoroughly (we think they suspected that the young drivers had drugs hidden in the SUV or something). The officers even got a small camera that slid in the gas tank to see if they stuffed it in there. Then they checked the engine, air filter, underneath the tires, inside the trunk, and all. But in the end, they found nothing. Here's some pictures as proof:

(We purposely posed at this angle so ya'll can see how they were checking the SUV and all...)

After waiting for over an hour, an officer came by and told me that they've checked on me and I was okay. But they were still waiting for a call back from the FBI to verify my status here!!! OMG!!! So you see, the youth were having fun there but I was almost suffering from a heart attack. Seriously, even when I first came to the U.S. at the US Customs in the LAX Airport, they didn't give me a hard time at all. It took about 15 minutes and I was done. But this time, it took me 1 hour and 40 minutes at this check point. But thank God, I made it and we went on our way to White Sands.

Since we arrived late at White Sands, we couldn't camp at their grounds because we had to set up our tents before 7pm...so we had to look for another camping spot. Before leaving, we did go in and visit for awhile. I must say, White Sands is spectacular! It's definitely one of God's most beautiful and marvelous creation! As the name of the place suggest, it's all about the white sands in there! (Don't you think it looks like snow? But of course, it can't be winter in the midst of summer, right?) We also took the opportunity and went sand duning. It was really fun! My very first time! Scary, at first but later on, I had a blast! It feels good to be young..lolz!

Picture taken as we approached White Sands

Nora and I sitting and enjoying the sunset

The girls trying out different stunts!

I was trying out sand duning for the very first time! hehe!

To be continued...

Updates!

2007-05-26T07:19:00.001-07:00

February: My friends, Yu Chen & Jonathan's baby shower

March 14: Arrival of baby boy, Asher Hao-En Boggs

March 17: My little cousin, Joshua's 3rd Birthday Party (actual birthday was March 15)

May 4: Electrical Engineering Seniors Banquet

May 5: UTEP's Baptist Student Ministry Leadership Retreat

May 22: Melissa & Danny's Wedding

Goodbye finals!!!

2007-05-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

HALLELUJAH!! I'M DONE WITH MY FINAL EXAMS!!! YAY!

Coming up... things to blog about:
- Joshua's 3rd birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza
- First Presbyterian Church 125th Anniversary
- UTEP Electrical Engineering Senior's Banquet
- Celebration after final exams cum farewell luncheon for graduating seniors

To do list:
- BLOG!!!!
- Catch up on LOST Season 1 & 2 dvd's
- Clean my room
- Prepare for summer school (not looking forward to that...sigh...)
- Sleep & wake up late!!! lol!
- Enjoy my holidays to the fullest!!!!

When Tragedy Strikes...

2007-04-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

My deeepest condolences goes out to all the family members, friends, students, and faculty staff at Virginia Tech. May they find God's peace and comfort as they deal with this tragic incident. Even though I have a test tomorrow, but I can't help but to blog about the latest tragedy here in the States. It's the deadliest U.S. shooting massacre in history. We are all shocked and saddened by this incident. Even the security at our campus here has been tightened, and the police cars have been patrolling around our campus since yesterday.

Personally, I cannot understand why on earth would someone do such a terrible thing to their peers and professors. As a Uni student myself, I know how stressful life is but killing dozens of people is totally insane and outrageous! I'm also dissapointed that the school officials only sent out emails to warn students when the first shooting took place intead of evacuating the Uni. Can you imagine classes continued as usual in the morning when something major like that happened? Two hours later, the second attack took the lives of more people shot by the cold-blooded gunman. This incident is a reminder that Satan is indeed at work!

When tragedy strikes, we need to stay strong and remain faithful in God. We also need to pray daily for God's protection and grace. Nobody is safe anywhere nowadays, not even in schools, Uni, etc... May God bless us all especially those who are mourning the lost of their loved ones, and may the innocent lives that were lost in this tragedy rest in peace.

Time out...

2007-01-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, guys (and gurls), but I won't be blogging for awhile after this last post because I'm just swamped with so much homework assignments even though it's just the first two days of school...So i'm giving myself a time out from blogging until I can manage my time better...sigh...

Thanks to all my fellow blog readers and blogger friends that have faithfully dropped by my blog to take a peek... I'll miss you guys...

Take care & God bless ya! Adios, amigos!

Haircut

2007-01-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

After seventeen and a half months, I've finally had a haircut!! It's my first haircut here in the States! LoL! The last time I had a haircut was in Malaysia before I came here...hehe! I've always preferred having long hair instead of short hair, so it was hard to depart with it..sigh... That's why I was hesitant to cut my hair for a very long time until I couldn't stand the split ends...(only women will understand what I mean lar...lol! I don't think men will have this problem since their hair's short.)

Nonetheless, my aunt volunteered to cut my hair since she had some experience cutting my cousin & uncle's hair..hehe! And I must say that she did a great job with my hair! She cut off about two inches of my hair and then, layered my hair (I always layered my hair coz my hair is thick...hehe!). I haven't had a chance to take a picture of my new haircut yet. Maybe later...

Oh yeah, this coming Friday and Saturday, our church youth group is having a Lock-In. So we'll stay up the whole night at church doing stuff, watching movies, playing games, planning activities for year 2007, etc. I'm really looking forward to it! It's gonna be so much fun! I'll definitely bring my camera to snap tonnes of pictures! So stay tuned, peeps!

Have a great week!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

2007-01-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

I have always dreamed of a White Christmas, but it never came true. Instead, God granted me with a White New Year to usher in the New Year 2007! Yippie! We went to Ruidoso for a vacation on New Year's Eve and we came back on Jan 2. It snowed there the day before we went, so the ground was covered with snow. We stayed in one of Casey's Cabin. The cabin is just minutes away from restaurants and shops. We didn't need to drive around since the cabin was conveniently located in the heart of the town in Lincoln County, Ruidoso. We couldn't go skiing because of the two little kids. Therefore, most of the time, we indulged ourselves in retail therapy a.k.a. SHOPPING!!! I got some great deals with the After-Christmas sales. Other than shopping, we just stayed warm in the cabin and enjoyed each other's company. Overall, it was a very fun and relaxing trip.

On the way home from Ruidoso, we were shocked when we saw some snow on the rocky mountains in El Paso. Usually it doesn't snow in El Paso where I live. I was so esctatic to see it snow here because according to my uncle, the last time it snowed here was in 2002. Even though the temperature is below the freezing point now, I'm really loving the snow here! It's a winter wonderland for me! No words can express how happy I am now! So I shall let the pictures speak for itself!

The snowy mountain in Ruidoso...Ski Apache is located on top of it and it's a famous spot for skiers.

Top view of our cabin

Mini kitchen in the cabin

The cabin is also equipped with some modern kitchen appliances

My little cousin, Joshua and I outside the cabin

My very first snowman!!!

Group picture outside one of the shops

A New Year's display at one of the shops. Notice the crystal ball on top of Times Square in the display...the ball was slowly sliding down when they had the countdown in New York. It was so neat! We watched it live on TV. There were more than a million people gathered there.

Night lights at one of the shops. Ain't that pretty?

Someone mentioned that I always include food in my posts...so here's some food to satisfy ur "appetite"! lol! American breakfast! Yum Yum!

A picture of the rocky mountains covered with snow in El Paso taken on the way home from Ruidoso

Snow at home

Here's a beautiful mountain view picture taken right in front of the house

It's been a jolly good New Year's Day for me filled with a wonderful surprise! Thank God for the snow! Hopefully ya'll had a great time ushering in the New Year as well! All the very best for Year 2007! Feliz Ano Nuevo!!!

Jolly Good Christmas!

2006-12-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

It's my 2nd Christmas here in The States. I know it's a tad too late to wish people "Merry Christmas" since it's already Dec 27...LOL! So I shall wish all of you a "Blessed Belated Christmas!" I was really wrapped up with the hustle and bustle of getting last-minute Christmas gifts, wrapping them up, baking fruitcake and pecan cookies, and also pineapple tarts with my aunt for family, friends, and neighbors.

We had a Christmas Musical performed by the kids but we weren't allowed to take pictures because it might be a disturbance to the kids performing and also other people. But the kids were sooooo adorable with their cute outfits! Some forgot their lines, but nonetheless, it was a great performance after all! Kudos to Miss Amber Ferguson for organizing and directing this musical! She really did a superb job!

Here are some pictures taken at church during this Advent season:

On Christmas morning, my family called me to wish me Merry Christmas. That was one of the best gifts, I must say. It's really great talking to them and realizing how much I miss them and everyone in Malaysia. For lunch, we were invited to a friend's house. She collects antiques and here's a picture of an antique Christmas tree that she has! Below that picture is her 'modern day' Christmas tree...notice that most of the ornaments are pink in color. Well, for those who do not know, pink symbolizes breast cancer awareness here. Yes, she's a breat cancer survivor. This explains the reason for the pinkish Christmas tree. She's a very nice lady and I thank God for the opportunity to have a friend like her.

After lunch, we came home to prepare our Asian feast for some close friends. Since we already had American food for lunch (turkey, smoked ham, mashed potato, sweet potato salad, green beans, dinner rolls, and lots of pies!), we decided to have an Asian delight for dinner. Coincidentally, we were inviting some Asian friends as well. One is from Thailand and another friend is from Taiwan (I've mentioned her name on this blog before...her name is Yu Chen and she's my clsoe friend here). So we ate white rice, Mee Siam, sushi, mixed vegetables, fried eggs, char siu (BBQ pork...chinese style), fried seafood wantons, and more pies! Gosh, we were really stuffed on Christmas day!

After that, we exchanged presents among ourselves... Then Yu Chen asked me to check the showtime for Eragon at one of the cinemas. She gave me a movie treat and we went to watch Eragon at 9:30pm with her hubby, Jonathan. the movie was great and exciting and the main character, Eragon (the dragon rider in the movie) is so good-looking! *ahem*ahem* However, we thought that it was kinda short... oh well, I'm looking forward for the next sequel. You guys should watch it if you get a chance. It's something like Lord of The Rings... By the time I got home, it was already midnight.

Overall, it's been a jolly good Christmas for me. Let us not forget that the 'Reason for the Season' is God's precious gift to us, His one and only Son, Jesus. I was browsing through some Christmas e-cards as I saw this Christmas message:

"May the gifts we share this season be a reminder of God's precious gift to us. May your Christmas be filled with His love."

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007 to everyone!!!

With God, All Things are Possible!

2006-12-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

As I was reading other people's blogs, I came across Jason's blog and I found this story. This is a very inspirational and awakening story. It's a daily reminder that we all need.

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. "Great", she thought, "here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the Bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Without God, I'm nothing, but with Him... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

A sigh of relief!

2006-11-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

PHEW!!! I love the feeling of satisfaction after exams!!! (especially since I did pretty well...keke!) Woohoo! I've got one more Calculus exam to go, then FINALS! After that....the long-awaited HOLIDAYSSSSS!!!! Yippie!

Oh and my close friend from Taiwan is coming back to the States tomorrow!!! Hurray!!! we get to go hang out, chill, and have sleepovers in her apartment! YAY!!! We would talk & talk & talk till dawn (our record was talking from 10pm when we went to bed till 4am the next day!!!)....You must be thinking, "What on earth were we chating about for about 6 hours??" Well, we talk about tonnes of stuff and that's our little secrets!!! so I can't tell you guys! hehe! 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!' (well, in this case, what we talk about in her bedroom stays there!) She has a car, so she would take me out shopping in the mall, catch a movie, grab a bite, cook together, and go do stuff together lar... LOL! I can't wait for her to come back!!! And the most important thing is that she's my Mandarin sifu/teacher! I get to practice my rotten Mandarin with her....it's really cool! Who would've thought that I would be speaking Mandarin here??? Maybe I should start learning how to read and write in Mandarin, too!

That's all for now! Y'all have a great day! Adios!

No excuse!

2006-11-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

So SORRY to those who still drop by my blog and take a peek to see if I've updated....Busy life ain't an excuse for not updating for so long!!! But a lot of stuff have been happening and I hardly have time to breath, let alone update my blog!

Just a summary of wat's been goin' on with my 'busy life'...lolz!

~ TESTS!! one after another... This past week was chemistry (not doing too good in this class since I have the most strict and grumpy and demanding teacher... He doesn't allow us to bring formulas for chemistry... So we've gotta depend on our brains to memorize almost every fact and tiny detail in chemistry). Next week is Calculus! Imagine lar...In high school we only had about 4 exams in total (including finals, midterms, etc) and that's for the whole year. But this Calculus teacher is giving us 5 tests and also a Finals... So the total would be 6 exams in just 5 months (1 semester)! This upcoming one is Test 4. So we have one more test to go after this, and then the FINALS! Finally!!!

~ An October b'day party at a friend's house... We celebrated with 8 birthday boys and gals!!!

~ Worked at the Rolling Stones concert, 3 college football games, and 1 basketball game! Rolling Stones was okay to me since I'm not really a fan of theirs...But it was a full house! 42,000 tickets ranging from $60 to $300 were sold out! I did 'Pat Down' that day, meaning I had to search ppl's bags, pockets, and check to see if they're trying to sneak in prohibited stuff. Among the things I had to confiscate were the usual food and drinks, alcohol, weed/drugs (yes, this teenager was trying to bring in that too!), frisbies, banners, etc... For the other games, I did ushering.

~ Went for advising, and then registered for classes for the upcoming Spring semester. I'll be taking a full load again next semester. This time with more engineering classes, and two higher level math classes! Hopefully I'll survive it!

~ Lots of homework, lab reports, learning how to use MATLAB for engineering, and also a finals project for my EE class!!!

Events that I'm looking forward to:

1. Thanksgiving! We're invited to two close friends homes for lunch and dinner! Menu: Roasted Turkey (of course!), cranberry stuffing in the turkey, and others... For dessert: pumpkin, chocolate, apple, and peach pies! I know...That's a lot of pies! I'll have a small slice of 2 of 'em only lar... Hmm...which one should I eat eh??? lol!! Besides the glorious meals, the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving is to be thankful and eternally grateful to our Provider for all His blessings. We also thank God for our wonderful church, families and friends. (Did I mention that I'll get two days off because of Thanksgiving? hehe! That's another thing I'm very thankful for!)

2. In less than two months, we'll be celebrating Christmas! HoHoHo!!! And I'll be having my winter hols from Dec 9 to Jan 14!!! Hurray!!! Oh talking about Christmas, our Uni is having a Secret Santa Program whereby students and staff will get Christmas gifts for under privileged kids. The kids already requested their wish list and sent it to "Santa"! On Nov 28, we'll have a gift wrapping party at the Uni to wrap all the prezzies!! So all of us are "Santa"! Indeed, it's better to give than to receive!

One thing that I'm NOT really looking forward to is:

1. Final exams from Dec 1 to Dec 8! But I know I'll be really glad once it's OVER!!

Updates!

2006-09-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

It has been exactly 3 weeks since the last time I blogged!!! As usual, I've been busy with stuff that keeps on piling up, mainly HOMEWORK (I can't seem to get rid of it...urrgh!)!

Here are the updates of things that had been going on during these 3 weeks:

1. UTEP lost in the first football game that I went to :( it was 35 vs. 38...so close, man! they even played OT but they still lost! During intermission, the UTEP Band performed and did a formation! It was so cool!! Brings back old memories of the times I used to be in the MGS band...hehe! But their band is definitely da BOMB! The have so many members and they even had some performers doing some tricks while waving the flags on the field... I'm thinking of joining their band...we'll see!

2. I went for a Career Expo at the uni...it was so cool coz we had to dress up professionally and bring tonnes of resumes. (My career counselor told me to bring 20 copies but I wasn't so kiasu lar...i brought 15 copies...lolZ). Anyway, I gave away 9 copies of my resume to potential employers... It was so exciting, man! The rep. from major companies like General Motors, Applied Materials, etc conducted a short interview with us on the spot! My goal is to get an internship/co-op... basically good working experience!

3. Finally, I got a part-time job on campus!!!! woohoo! they're paying me quite well..the minimum wage here in the US is $5.15 per hour, but this job is offering me $6.75 per hour! If I convert to RM, it'll be RM24.98!!! lol! But, that's excluding the other tax that they'll deduct from my paycheck lar... But it's cool! I'm so glad that I got a JOB! I'm working for the Special Events Dept on campus. So basically, i can no longer watch those football matches liao...Instead, I'll be working! Oh the surprise is that since I'm working for special events rite, I'll also be working during the Rolling Stones Concert in Oct too! It's gonna be held in our uni's stadium. The cheapest ticket is $60 but I get to go for free, but of course, I'll be busy working most of the time lar!

4. I'll be going for Michael W. Smith's Concert on Oct 5 at the Plaza Theater. Since it's a Christian singer, our church youth committee is sponsoring the youth and they'll be paying for the tickets! So I save $32!! Yippie!

5. I joined the UTEP PRAXIS. They are funded by the Wesley Foundation and their task is to help students to find agencies to volunteer in and then, they'll inform our professors once we've completed our 20 hours of volunteer work. So I chose to volunteer for UTEP Women's Resource Center. And my first project was the Clothesline Program. We hung T-shirts with different colors representing various kinds of victim abuse. Majority of the T-shirts we hung were white ones and they represented the victims that died because of the abuse they suffered. It was so touching and yet so sad to read what the family members of the victims wrote and drew on the T-shirts. Most of them mentioned the names of the victims and one even had a name of a woman together with the words "unborn child", meaning two lives were brutally murdered during the abuse. Why do we live in such an abusive world?? And some of the victims were very young children...sigh... Anyway, last Wednesday, we had "Take Back the Night" Rally, in conjunction with the Clothesline Program. Some of the victims of abuse came and testified about their horrid experiences as well as to encourage all of us to stand up and report any abuse acts. Most of us cried when we heard how their husbands/boyfriends abused them...But they are courageous and brave women! Some managed to escape from the abusers and got help from the authorities. One particular lady even spoke about her sister being shot by her sister's husband and she regretted not doing anything before that to prevent her sister from being killed.

6. Okay lar...I think it's getting rather depressing, talking about abuse, death and all...I better stop now before I ruin your day! Besides, I still have my pile of homework staring at me right now, as I'm blogging!!! Guess I gotta get back to my never-ending homework!!!

Have a great week, peeps!!! Ciao!

Here are some pictures I took at the football game and some from the "Take Back the Night" Rally:

Me? Camping in the Wilderness???

2006-09-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hey people! Sorry for not updating the blog for more than 2 weeks but I've been really, really busy with university life and also the camping trip last weekend! Yupyup! I went for a camping trip with the church group and it was F.O.C.!!! (free of charge la...) lol! they had excess funds in church, so everything was paid for! Ain't that cool? I mean, this was the very first church camp where I don't have to pay a single penny...hahaha!

First things first, uni is huge compared to college but I'm getting used to it...got lost a couple of times in the uni but now, I bring along a map of the uni with me! kakakaka! uni life is pretty cool but rather torturing to me since I have an engineering class at 7.30am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays! Since I take the public bus, I have to get up at 5am, and catch the bus at 6am (I have to take two buses to get to the uni)! To make matters worse, the time of my classes are scattered around, and so, my last class only ends at 5.50pm on those particular days! So I only get back home around 7pm...sigh...I'm dreading it and I can hardly wait for this semester to be over!! But on Tues and Thurs, life is more relaxing since I only have a Matrix Algebra class at 1.30pm to 2.50pm...then, I head home! hurray! I love those two days!!!

Okay...enough of me whining and complaining...now, on a better note, I can't wait to go to my very first football game this Saturday at my uni....it's us, UTEP vs. Texas Tech Uni...And it's the first game of the season! I'll be going with my classmates and once again, I got the free tickets to the game! yay! I'm looking forward to it! I'll post pictures of the game next week!

Now, a report on the camping trip. We went to Camp Chimney in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Well, we actually went for a "modern" style of camping la...the 21st century kind..hehe! no tents and mosquito bites! We camped in cabins, fully equipped with all the basic necessities such as an air-condition, a fridge, a microwave, a stove with oven, a toaster, a coffee maker, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, a sink, a bathtub, and a toilet with flush and all lar!! woohoo! the beds even had comforters, man!

We brought food along and we cooked there since they have everything! We had sandwiches and chips for lunch. The weather was just great! It was very cooling, even cooler than Cameron Highlands! Shortly after lunch, we went hiking! unfortunately, it rained the night before, so it was muddy but nothing was gonna stop us! I just regretted bringing my new pair of shoes! it was white but became all muddy and brown! I had to wash my shoes there... Lesson #1: don't bring new shoes especially white ones for camping! But we did have fun hiking until it started to pour again! So, we had to hurry back to the cabins and for the next few hours, we were quarantined in our cabins...boring!

Anyway, then it was time for the children's program and we, ladies started cooking a storm! Boy, we had a feast fit for a king that night! We had Italian sausages, beef brisket, salad, toasted garlic bread, baked beans, and watermelon for dinner! It was delicious! After dinner, the adults lingered at the table to talk and have fellowship while the kids were up to something! They quietly sneaked out fo their parents watchful eyes and low and behold, one of the boys found a mud trail near the cabin. Before we knew it, all the kids were in the muddy trail, playing with mud and getting themselves all muddy! Yuck! But they had a jolly good time! Very adventurous, I must say. Later in the evening, we had a campfire, sang some songs and had devotional time. The kids toasted marshmallows and they enjoyed themselves.

One thing about the American culture is that they train their children to sleep early, so at 8pm, we went back to our respective cabins, and lights were out by 9pm! The next day, we had milk, hot chocolate, orange juice, yogurt, cereal, pancakes and bacons for breakfast. After that, we packed our stuff, checked out, and headed to town. We went to the United Methodist Church at Cloudcroft for Sunday Worship. Coincidentally, they were commemorating their members (about 28 couples) who were celebrating their 50 and more golden years together! Can you believe it? And the icing on the cake had to be these two couples who were celebrating their 65 years together! Wow! The ironic thing was that the pastor was preaching about divorces that day. Oh well, I guess these 28 couples are living examples that if they can stay married for such a long time, so can all the other married couples!

I think you guys had enough of me rambling on and on... Now, you guys can FINALLY feast your eyes on the more photos...lol!

Glorioussss foooood!!!

Swimming in the mud pool???

"Who's the muddiest kid?" Competition!

I believe we have a winner for the muddiest kid!! Way to go, gurl!

Campfire and fellowship time!

Our cabins

The magnificient view from our cabins

Goodbye, Camp Chimney! (Snapshots taken on the way downhill)

We reached downtown and here's a picture of a restaurant called Texas Pit Barbeque (even though it's not in Texas)

A cabin-style grocery downtown!

A picture of some of the couples who were celebrating their golden years at church

Bank Deposit

2006-08-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is a forwarded message I got and I'm passing it on to y'all!

I HAVE JUST DEPOSITED
LOVE AND BLESSINGS
INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

AND THE BEST PART IS THAT
IT WILL COST YOU NOTHING

I ASK THAT YOU JUST USE IT IN ABUNDANCE

YOUR PIN NUMBER IS: J-E-S-U-S

**IMPORTANT NOTICE**
IF YOU LOSE YOUR PIN, YOU LOSE EVERYTHING

MAKE A DEPOSIT IN SOMEONE ELSE'S ACCOUNT TODAY!!

Humble Pie, Anyone?

2006-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday during Sunday School, our class teacher, Miss Georgette brought some cleaning tools and our task was to clean up our classroom. After all, we're in God's house. So we drew lots and some got to sweep, vacuum and pick-up/tidy stuff while I did the dusting...Anyway, after we were done, she brought out some towels and a basin filled with water and bubble bath...weird isn't it? She told us to read the Scriptures about Jesus washing his disciples' feet and guess what was our next acitvity???

We were to clean each others feet, just like our Lord Jesus Christ had done. And when she said clean each others feet, she really meant it (not just dipping our feet in the basin as a symbol). Our teacher started first by cleaning David's feet (as shown in the picture)...She scrubbed his feet thoroughly, in between the toes, the heels, and finally, wiping his feet dry. Then, we went around cleaning each others feet....humbleness? servanthood? I really don't know how I can possibly describe the feeling to you. All of us did it willingly, no questions asked and no complaining!

It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and indeed, it was the greatest lesson in my entire life! Learning to be as humble as Jesus. I was so touched when one of them cleaned my feet. Really, you have gotta experience it to know how it feels like! It was as if Jesus was cleaning mine. When it was my turn to clean another person's feet, all I can say is that I felt so honored and oh, I just can't think of the right words to describe it!

What an unforgettable and humbling experience!

P/S: Humble pie has nothing to do with this...lol. Just the word 'Humble'!

Flash flood

2006-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

For the first time in history, we had to evacuate the college because of the flash flood warnings! Even though it's summer time, it rained non-stop since midnight yesterday. So the highways are all flooded and there's mudslides and rocks crumbling down from the mountains...it's really bad this time...Even the universities and the colleges nearby shut down!

Thank God I got a ride from a friend to send me home because the buses were out of service too! Or else, I would have been stranded in college. According to my friend's aunt who works at the college, this is the first time ever that the college closed because of a flood. Usually they would only close the college if it's snowing heavily and during holidays, of course...

Anyway, they told us that the college might be closed tomorrow as well, depending on the weather...sigh..it's kinda like mixed blessings because for us students, we might not have class (and final exams!) but I really sympathize with those who had to evacuate their homes and some who had accidents on the road while driving through the flood water. On the news, the firemen were canoeing boats on the highway to help those who are stuck in their vehicles in the middle of nowhere! I just hope that there is no fatality caused by this disastrous weather.

The El Paso City is also working to declare the 'state of emergency' as shelters are opening for those who were forced to evacuate their homes.. Right now, I'm so grateful because we're not affected because my aunt's house is sort of uphill. I just thank God that I came back home safely...I'll continue praying for those victims who are affected by this flood...Hope everything will be alrite! No matter what, I know that God always sends a rainbow after the rain!

Rainbow in the spray and mist of the waterfall at Takakkaw Falls, Canada from the wikipedia website

My First Year Anniversary!

2006-07-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

I know what you guys are thinking about... Nope, it ain't my first year anniversary with a boyfriend or spouse la...sorry to disappoint you! Well, July 25 is the official date that I first came to the States!! hehehe!!!

I can't believe that a year has whizzed by so quickly! And next month, I'm gonna start another chapter of my life as a Sophomore at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)!!! Yippie! I'm no longer a Freshman! I hope it will be more a better environment there and I'm looking forward to expand my horizons and meet more new frenz there!

Besides that, I'm hoping to catch more games, plays, concerts, etc. at the university because it will be free of charge for UTEP students!! hahahah! FYI, it is not cheap going for those concerts and basketball games here! So thank God we get to watch and support our uni. team for free! Go Miners!!

Scavenger Hunt!!!

2006-07-24T20:36:00.003-07:00

On Friday, I competed in a Scavenger Hunt at college. It was pretty fun running around the campus like a lunatic, trying to figure out the answers to the questions in a booklet ASAP!!! I learnt quite a bit with this experience too! All in all, I would like to sum it up with this verse:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." ~ 2 Timothy 4:7.

Guess what??? I won first prize!!! hehehehehe!!! I finished the rat race in 40 minutes, k? Do you see the clock in the picture below? We started at 10:00am and I finished at 10:40am. Then, we took the picture at 10:41am! The prize was a $25 Applebee's gift card! (Applebee's a restaurant here...it's equilvalent to Chilli's or TGI Friday's) Here, gift cards are very common gifts... I was really happy, man! Too bad you guys are not here, if not I'll bring you along for a meal! LOL!!!

Davette (the organizer of this event) and me after I won first prize! Don't you think that Davette's a cool name?? She happens to be a cool person too!

Chico's Tacos!

2006-07-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure y'all haven't heard about this makan place before. Well, they only have it in El Paso, Texas where I'm at...hehe! There's one just around the corner of the street near where I live but I've never tried the food there even though I've been here for a year already. Two days ago, my classmates suggested that place for supper after our night class (that's their version of mamak lar...). What can I say? We were starving!!!

Well, their specialty were tacos, of course! Since it was my first time there, I decided to just try a single order of tacos (that's 3 tacos). That's what all the gurls in the group ordered. However, one guy had to act macho and order a single and a double serving of tacos! FYI, the double serving had 6 tacos! So altogether, we watched him sapu 9 tacos! We, gurls were stuffed with that single order but he managed to eat so much! And mind you, he's a slim lad! How can people eat so much and yet, look so good?? Yeah, I know...that's a stupid question..high metabolism rate and exercise will make anyone look great! By the way, he plays basketball for college. That's where he gets his daily dose of exercise...

I'm starting to love Mexican food as I indulge in it! Their salsa (I love the homemade ones with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, green bell peppers, and other stuff) and the chile con queso (that's melted cheese with salsa mixed in it) are superb! We dip the colorful corn chips into those dips...(I didn't know that blue and red corn existed until I saw those chips...not artificial coloring, ok? I've even seen the corn fields and there are blue and read corns growing!!)

Oh and I think I better not get started with other Mexican cuisine such as the enchiladas, menudo soup, chiles rellenos, mexican rice, tamales, and tortillas!!! Yummy! However, nothing beats my mom's home-cooked Chinese dishes la! That's #1!!! hehehe!!!

USA Independence Day!

2006-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July, 2006, the US celebrated their 230 years of independence from the British...Now, I wonder why it took Malaysia 181 years later after US got their independence for us to be Merdeka??? Anyway, this year was the first time I'm celebrating their Independence Day! We were invited to a friend's house for BBQ. But I only remembered to take out my camera during dessert time...Ooops!! hehehe... so here's the only picture I got!

My uncle baked the chocolate cake while my aunt & I decorated it..it's so easy, guys! Some blueberries, strawberries, and vanilla frosting were all we needed to decorate it! Cool eh? Maybe you can try decorating a Malaysian flag, if you're patriotic enough...hahahah!!!!

Asian/Pacific Islander Extravaganza!

2006-07-08T15:45:00.001-07:00

On June 28 2006, a bunch of us (students, teachers and faculty members) organized an Asian/Pacific Islander Extravaganza. It's the first time our college was having this extravaganza. Needless to say, I was in the committee and I chose to help out with the others in my group to bring a little piece of China's history, culture, and food to our college! After all, I am a Chinese right? After two whole months of careful planning and weekly meetings, we managed to come up with the menu, powerpoint presentation, showrooms, facts, etc. Altogether, we exhibited 6 Asian/Pacific Islander countries in this extravaganza. Enough said for the time being...Now, let me present you with some snapshots from this event:

Our showroom!

Tibet corner...

Our Chinese group...FYI, through this event, I met this bunch of people here! Some are from China, Taiwan, and I'm the only odd one from Malaysia...hahaha... It's amazing how one event like this can unite all of us. Now, I can practice my rotten Mandarin here as I can have more conversations with them! I'm telling you, they are so fluent in it, man! Oh, one of them even brought her laptop that has a Chinese software. With her laptop, they helped to translate the visitors names into Mandarin (obviously I can't do that since I can't read those chinese characters...). Then, I printed out the names and gave it as souvenirs to the visitors. One of the visitors was going to use the Chinese name printed out to make a tattoo on her arm! How cool is that??

Now, you maybe wondering why I'm posting this picture right? Well, it's not because I'm taking a picture of this guy sitting in the field (who happens to be cute but my friend's boyfriend!)... see the pile of dirt covered with a few palm leaves? At 12pm, they dug out that pile of dirt...guess what's beneath it???

The soldiers and some volunteers just finished digging out *something* from the pit hole...

It's the Kahlua Pig!!! It's one of the traditions of a Polynesian Island....It was my very first time witnessing the outcome of a 300lb pig being cooked in the ground for 24 hours! A chef hired by the school and some guys from the U.S. Army Reserve came to jaga the pig overnight just in case some stray dogs might wanna dig up the hole and have a bite of our main course...hehehe...

So there you have it! Cool eh? Oh, and the pig tasted so good!! It was cooked just right..succulent and tender! Yummy! We also had other dishes for the hungry crowd..the Mongolian Beef, Chinese fried rice, Chicken Adobo from Phillipines, Kimchi from South Korea, Sushi from Japan, some kind of soup from Vietnam, coconut pudding, and pineapple from the Polynesian Islands...

We were also entertained by a couple of performances and here are some random picture of it!

Lots of students, teachers, faculty staff, and their family members came to this event. All in all, I would say that this extravaganza was extravagant!!! I'm looking forward to the next one! Till then!

Four more days....

2006-06-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm counting down as my finals for this Summer course appproaches! Yippie! exactly 4 more days! I can hardly wait! I even made plans to go out on Friday itself! Phew! It'll be great to load off this heavy burden, not to mention the heavy textbooks that I have to carry to school every single day! It's a miracle taht it rained here today! Boy, it reminded me of the times in Malaysia where it would rain like cats and dogs, and the smell of the rain water is just breathtaking and so refreshing!!! I love it! What a drastic change from the triple digit heat to 82 F like today.

Summer Vacation

2006-06-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited three months break is here. Sounds good? Not to me! Instead of enjoying that well deserved break, I chose to go back for summer classes. As if that's not bad enough, I enrolled for 4 classes (trying to be a heroine)!! It's killing me and I'm dreading every single minute of it but I have 6 more weeks to go! Then, I'm done!

To make matters worse, I got the worst teachers this time! One of them is Dr. X...She's my physics teacher and her English is so rotten because she's from Mexico... In fact, on the first day of class, she even gave up trying to speak English and she wanted to teach in Spanish instead. But of course me & another guy (african american) objected coz we don't speak Spanish! After all, our textbook is in English! How can she even think of teaching it in Spanish??? Here's some examples of her errors:

Smoot=smooth (she still doesn't realize that...)

Laws but she pronounce it as Laos...i'm serious!

Busy as bus-sie....

There's also my philosophy teacher, Ms. I-Know-It-All!!! Also originated from Mexico... Just because she's been to some countries, she assumes that she knows it all! This is one of the mistakes that she did:

"All MAN are dogs." It's supposed to be MEN but when we tell her, she kept on saying that we're all wrong. She claimed that she has seen it in books and heard it being said and written as that. Some people just live in denial. I guess she was too proud to admit her mistake...

Oh well, like I said earlier on, I have 6 more dreadful weeks for this course...Then I can put an end to this misery! hahahaha!