acclimatization

i've been back in singapore for 2 days; barely unpacked, but im packing again for our family trip to europe tmr. i'm still rly jetlagged, living on US time - it might make the transition to europe time a little easier.

it's great to be home; being surrounded by familiar faces, sights & sounds once again. there were major adjustments made, and to be made - most obvious of them all is the driving. i almost drove into the wrong lane, and have to concentrate alot harder now to drive on the right side of the road. no more tipping in restaurants is a huge relief, but the humid (suffocating) weather isnt.

in the 2 days i've been home, i managed to meet up with brandon for tea@dempsey and gelare@greenwood today - same person different country. twas nice catching up with a brother whom i've become really close to, and spent the last 4 months almost togehter with every single day. sigh, i do miss ucla so. i also managed to squeeze in a trip to marina barrage with abel, lide, melody & mac for an evening picnic. really pretty place (:

christmas 2008 was pretty low-key and simple. the standard christmas lunch @ aunt susan's with the entire extended family, and then christmas dinner at pz's place with their extended family.

ok jetlagging, sleepy, gdnight

holding on and never letting go

im sitting at the penthouse (yay 9th floor) study lounge studying for my last final tmr. i honestly cant wait to be done with my exams wholeheartedly, but at the same time its a bittersweet feeling; a whole rush of mixed emotions that i feel, knowing at the end of finals tmr it'll be officially the end of my exchange here; yet another closed chapter of my life that i hold longingly dear to me and dont want to let go.

i think it's actually harder getting TO the part where we leave; because right now, at this moment, surrounded by all these beautiful people whom i've come to call my family; these beautiful buildings that house so many memories of laughter, enjoyment, companionship and utmost comfort; knowing i have to leave all these behind me as i check out for good; it's just really hard. so hard.

maybe tmr, when i actually do leave, it'll just become yet another wonderful dream that i can always look back and smile on; another few pages of my life that i can turn to whenever im feeling sad, and be cheered by the memories of what was good. maybe then, it wouldnt be so hard.

green-eyed girl

i always have stuff on at the most untimely of times.
while i was slouched over, running accounting numbers thru my sleepy head this evening, my roommate cara was out at Brad Pitt's movie premiere @ westwood (just fricking 5 min walk from ucla) - the curious case of benjamin button
and she's got pictuers to prove it






i havent been particularly bothered about all the movie premieres in westwood
cuz there hasnt been any celebrity i really wanted to see specifically
(other than the couple that went adoption crazy)

jennifer aniston & owen wilson are coming this thurs to westwood for their premiere of "marley and me" - i have to go for thattt (:

back at riverside dr

it's been a rly exciting journey in US thus far, and it rly stinks that i only have 2 more weeks of school @ ucla left before this all becomes part of my memories.
there's so much i'm going to miss over here, yet at the same time i'm also missing home and the people i've left behind - it's kinda conflicting, those two. if only i could bring home to here, or bring here to home.

anyhow, i'm back at aunt jeanne's again, this time for thanksgiving - my first ever.
deb's parents picked all of us up from school today to go to her hometown, arcadia; where deb and i chilled and drove around for our haircuts, boba loca, and grocery shopping @ ranch 99 (asian market!)

this was from last weekend, when sharon came to visit deb! (:
we drove around santa monica & rodeo drive, and chilled @ chris' room to watch "the fountain" (which is a rly gd show omg hugh jackman awesome)


@ santa monica

i did las vegas the weekend before that too with candice, natalie and maryanne, an impromptu trip that began with a midnight text msg about getting a free suite @ vegas, which unraveled into immediate car rental, packing, and then leaving the next day (wed), conveniently ditching whatever classes we had for the rest of the week


but i can safely say, it was all worth it. it was a trip of many firsts, both goods and bads, but an experience nonetheless



in other news, i finally met up with isabel & iris too!

we hit up a bar that isabel wanted to check out @ santa monica, and although i havent seen them in YEARS it certainly didnt feel like the time gap had done any damage.

ok my shows are starting, so random pictures to end off this post


banana phone

guess whose hairy feeet

updates

i just cleared my accounting midterm today, and it was relatively easy as compared to the horror i was expecting, considering i have been to probably 50% of the classes, and actually paid attention in less than 50% of the time i was in class.
however, this had entailed 4-am nights at rieber study lounge, late night supper & coffee at bruin cafe, the discovery of crazy antics of sleep-deprived people and how easily people get distracted, esp by the evil monopolization of time by facebook.
found - GUILTY.

but ytd was nice. it was our usual study group again, minus miles, who was gyming with the gym-buff boys. the people whom i've grown to become veryvery(very) fond of; they are my family here. other than doing retarded things like handstands, pilates @ 3am, howling at the top of our lungs to disney/retro songs when the lounge finally vacates, and dancing to boogie music, we are pretty normal people; just your average joes (: our december roadtrip together is going to be fanta-frickin-tastic; i kno it.

other than the people, there are alotta other things that i love about this place.
many of which, is HALLOWEEN!


altho i had a human-evolution midterm on halloween morning, which extinguished any pre-halloween parties for me, i did sit next to darth vader during my midterm.
i, on the other hand, was a.... WITCH

this is the best full body shot of my costume i could find; sadly it didn't occur to me to take a full body costume shot till the day after the day after halloween.

halloween is, however, a really fun experience for me - everyone was dressed up in their own thing, getting into character, and just partying like there was no tmr.





after some liquid courage


deborah and i @ audrey's party, after we party-hopped by the frat rows; which were relatively disappointing because they didnt let any of the guys with us get into the parties, and there were just too many drunken people barfing by the sidewalk (and sometimes within the houses) for any of us to be appealed.

i recently went for InterVarsity's FallConference @ Catalina island as well; somewhere close to long beach apparently
it was just an hour+ of ferry ride from the hustle and bustle of city life, but yet it made all the difference - the island was quiet, quaint, and very picturesque


we had worship & talks each day, and small group time where we shared and prayed for one another by the sea, and studied the bible amidst God's wonderful creations
there were free time, where we could do almost anything we wanted (snorkeling, kayaking, hiking) for free; the entire island was booked for our conference (:
most of us picked up kayaking, and besides the beautiful waters and crazy splash-fights we had, we were delighted by families of seals that swam close to shore and surfaced every now and then with their tiny little whiskered noses next to our kayaks; OH-SO-CUTE!



we also had a bonfire going on each night by the sea, as people gathered to chill with hot cocoa or tea provided by the crew on island. "bed" was bunk beds within wooden cabins, and although we had to navigate our way everywhere with flashlights (there wasnt any electricity other than a few places like the bathrooms), the lack of phones, internet and any sort of modern communication really bonded the group together, as we resorted to late-night hiking up the trail (to this cliff that overlooked the sea), midnight mafia games, and just company-fun. really refreshing.

lastly, to end off this insanely unintentionally long post, tonight's the official faceoff between obama and mccain finally. everyone's really hyped up bout voting; the weeks leading up to today have been filled with americans trying to register their fellow citizens to vote, and to get them to take a stand in tonight's elections. exciting!

cant contain it

i know for sure that this week is NOT my week; screw all those fortune cookies that come with the chinese food takeouts at rendezvous cafe (just below my dorm)
maybe i'm just really tired but i keep getting myself into situations that are not-so-near from delightful.
right now as i'm typing this, my busted knuckles and bruised hands stare pitifully back at me; war injuries from ytd's game of "hot hands" with Miles - it's a children's slapping game of speed and reflexes, something i'm devoid of at 3am in the morning after a few hours of studying.
hot hands, no more.

Rieber Terrace penthouse study lounge (right next to my room!) has become our popular study enclave - ytd we made our nest and marked our territory by the couch with loads of snack, coffee/hot chocolate from Bruin Cafe, laptops, drinks, and our big fat selves

our game of hot hands while deb tried to take a pitiful pic on her mac

other than the bruised hands, i accidentally spilled soda on my room carpet, and had to resort to pressing coupla sanitary napkins to the carpet in hopes of utilizing 'high absorption rates' of the power-tissues. how yucky. and then, i lost the car keys to our weekend car, and had to fork out $50 to get the locksmith to rescue me from my dead-end hurdle.

the only saving grace of this week was the memories of San Diego trip from last weekend. it was a pretty awesome trip; planned in time so we could attend Romita's 21st birthday, altho we stayed too long at Miles' place to make it to the party; but we did honor her bday with a post-party @ enru's apartment to make up for it!
we picked up rohai from irvine on the way to san diego, and here's all of us at post-party




i heart this picture too

then we drove around san diego the next day; balboa park, coronado, downtown SD, and the beach!
we had a picnic at balboa park



and some jumpshot fun at coronado beach


damien found some love lying on the coast


i also had dinner with the Singapore Students Association (SSA) of ucla on sunday @ this italian restaurant on santa monica. it was pretty cool to be with soo many singaporeans again; i even met a couple of AC peeps and NY friends who were alr part of the SSA. we had drinks at W hotel after (Rose champagne!!) too

anw my only class (principles of accounting) got canceled today cuz my professor's home had to be evacuated due to the forest fires down in San Fernando valley; spurred on by the northern winds which are getting really strong. i walked all the way down to anderson's, and then walked back up to rieber to have lunch with deb. looking forward to sushi dinner tonight! (:

lalaland

living in UCLA is similar to when i was living in new york - there's always something going on; never a dull moment, everyone's constantly on-the-go, there's always something to do; and most importantly, HEAPS of fun.
because of that, time seems to stand still, and it was only ytd night when i was on the phone with mac that i realized that i've alr been in the States for more than a month, because it definitely didnt feel that long.

i think i've grown quite alot in this journey thus far; learning to be independent and to literally stand on my own two feet (there's alot of walking to do in UCLA) is but a handful of the things i've learnt. most definitely, the life in ucla (or in any college for that matter) is crafted by what you perceive it to be, and what you make it to be; and by the grace of God, i've went thru many happy memories and close friendships, and things look to be on the uphill (:

i'm taking a public policy course this quarter in ucla, which inevitably forces me to keep track of events occuring in the political realm; one that i've deeply neglected and held a generally apathetic attitude towards while in singapore. it is definitely a challenge; the americans take pride in their country's history and politics - there were few hands that were not raised when my professor inquired about the no of people who watched the presidential debate btwn palin and biden. i, unfortunately, did not raise my hand, but it is my endeavor to youtube the debates tonight. i promise. alternatively, i could join the loyal gathered group at joey's room next thursday to watch the next presidential debate.

in other news, there've been quite some crazy activities going on every single day, that it's rly hard to choose which to go for and which to forgo.
among some of the stuff that i've attended:

Dinner @ Roscoe's chicken + Partying out in Hollywood!
that was sparked off when i received two VIP passes for the club, and KJ got really interested in partying out & drinking. we carpooled for dinner with the intervarsity people to Roscoe's chicken (which is by far the BEST chicken+waffles i've ever had!)



one of the cars actually met with a collision-accident on the way there, which totally busted the bumper (the white foam thing was out, and the casing was dangling), which was a damper on the spirits but thankfully for insurance was settled quickly. after dinner we journeyed to Hollywood Club DV8, my first time in Hollywood!




and then back to KJ's for jim beam before we all crashed out at KJ's


its the hamburger

DICOP Picnic @ Sunset canyon
a get-together with the international students for free food


eight pecs?

Universal studios halloween night
we rented a car from enterprise, and got bumped up (at almost the same rate) to get a merc c300 for two whole days (: it had less than 30 miles on it, absolutely brand new!


thea and i on our sweet, sweet ride

and then universal studios!!


it was kinda like a mini sausage-fest - with 2 girls and 8(?!) guys. thea wanted to come but there were only two cars :(
the halloween set-up and scares were rly startling, but the rides were just average. there were couple of mazes as well that were simply scare-fests (texas chainsaw massacre, where there were reproduction of blood stenches YUCK). towards the end of most of them, my eyes were just closed and i merely followed miles around.

the rest of the activities shall come later when i have the time.
gotta catch a nap before going for a show at the planetarium tonight where we're supposed to be able to stargaze and moonbathe with telescopes (:

saturday night feverrr

school has finally started officially for UCLA, and although i've only had two classes so far, i'm really liking my classes (for now). the classes here are conducted with rather primitive technology; no powerpoint, proper mikes, projectors.. just the trusty old whiteboard and a marker pen to impart deep knowledge and wisdom. as a result, things are a little more slow-paced, relative to the racing speedometers in NUS lecture halls; alot more is required of students to pay attention and ask questions because of the lack of spoonfeeding materials, which may actually be a gd thing!

academics aside, home life @ Rieber Terrace has been pretty awesome. despite my room being one of the barest of the floor (because both my roommate and i are exchange students so we didnt bother to buy a radio, TV, or any durables), activities have greatly made up for the lack of room entertainment.

a) Party @ Daniel's last weekend: was a rather mild party with whisky shots and stupid party games, which attendees blew outta proportion for a short while because one person told another person about the party, and that person told yet another, and so on. caleb drove me to malibu beach at night to check it out, and it was beautiful even at night; the sand was super cold and the waves super strong.

b) Party @ Coop on friday: we had bible study + dinner at ingrid's place on landfair ave right before the party; the irony. but anyway, dinner was REALLY awesome because melanie cooked us curry and rice; GOOD curry rice, not like the crappy american rice they serve in dining halls. i was so pleased for the rest of the night. then it was back to chris' for drinking and horror movies



c) Dance party @ sproul + drinking games at tiverton: it was a superr fun night; sproul had their own dance party in the middle of the courtyard, and it was sorta like an outdoor dance party. the fog came in too so it was really cold, which rly worked out cuz you didnt feel that hot in the dancing crowd.



then we decided to get a drink, and went to ralph's to buy alcohol, and then to johnathan's apartment at tiverton to play drinking games (which were hilarious btw thanks to miles' drama games)




funny enough, it was the guys who couldnt hold their liquor, and did really stupid (but hilarious) things like climbing on top of the bruin bear at like 2am for a photo (the bruin bear is not easy to scale - i tried)

more drinking occured back at brandon's room, where we opened a bottle of wine and watched "silence of the lambs". i ended up crashing out on the floor for tt night; thank god for carpets!

today i went shopping at westside pavillion, this mall about 3 miles down from ucla. and then met the singaporeans in ucla for dinner, before crashing deb's for movie night (spaceballs, which i totally do not get but its funny anw)

crashing out for tonight school officially starts tmr! :D

LA week 2

"Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on"

i've been feeling pretty homesick these few days, esp after DICOP activities died down. thankfully, the move-in to Rieber Terrace was pretty smooth, and chris helped me trendously with the three-part move in. a couple of us drove down to Target to get our dorm supplies; i ended up getting alotta stuff that i prolly didnt need because there were so many nice things at target at affordable prices i couldnt help it. i've got nice new pink sheets now; its finally starting to feel like home.

pictures: we had a DICOP beach activity to santa monica beach






abrupt ending cuz i gotta go off now