It's Halloween Day...

Hey guys.... It's Halloween....

And finally, i did it for the very first time............ carving a pumpkin...

it's really fun to carve a pumpkin... the only con is that u have to deal with the smelly pumpkin stench... and after carving it, u have to really wash ur hands thoroughly in order to get rid of the smell...

other than that, the experience of carving a pumpkin is really great... although i didn't win anything... (it's a competition) but, i'm happy with my end-result... being a first timer, it is really great to see my pumpkin.... especially when i put in under my table lamp in the dark... it looks spooky... no joke...

haih... anyway, do u know that it is really bad to be late... becoz of my lateness for the Halloween party... i missed the opportunity of winning an Ipod Mini.... shit shit shit....

now, i'm really considering of getting one.... bloody promotion, becoz of Apple Student's promotion, i can get a $30 discount... and free laser engraving..... this is way too tempting.... AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

To buy or not to buy... that's the question......

Happy Halloween.....!!!!!

few words for those Nerdy Malaysians :P
All study no play makes Jack a dull boy....

Guess What... I met Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Heinz and Allison Munz...

yar... i met them, in person, they stood like less than 5 feet away from me... wow, is cool... is great...

so, who are they... ok, i'll introduce them one by one... Jake Gyllenhaal is the "young, smart and cute-looking guy" (quoted from some of my friends) in the blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow.... yar, it's him.... don't scream, don't panic... he is just as real in person as he is in the movie...

the second one... is Chris Heinz, stepson of Senator ( currently, hopefully, will become president ) John Kerry... he is charismatic man, by listening to his speech and all.

the third one is Allison Munz, she's an actress in 'What I like About You' series.... she's hot... and she looks really young for her age...

this is really great.... too bad, Kirsten Dunst didn't come... if not, wow, it will really be the day of my....

so, why did they come??? oh, they are rallying for ,who else, JOHN KERRY... and great... I do support Kerry... but too bad, i can't vote, but, hey, i can express my viewpoints rite... i do think that it is really important for students, not only local, but also international students to get to know the government policies, the proposals and all... I don't think that Proposal 2 will make a better tomorrow (a society with less hate, more unity and love)...

so, Vote on Nov 2... and vote No on 2....

We need daylight savings....oh anyway...

Hey there... how you doing???

this morning, i woke up at 7.50am again.... and was five minutes late for my 8.00am class... but i just can't help it.... the sky was so dark at that time... that i just dun have the mood to get out of my bed... can u imagine that the sky is as dark as 6am and it is misty, foggy becoz of the cold weather... and it's drizzling... all these incidences sum up to a lot of reasons to convince myself to stay on bed for a little longer, a little longer and a little longer.... 5 minutes, 5 minutes and another 5 minutes... and that's why it is 7.50am, instead of 7.15am.... ahahaha that's me.... at least for the past 2 weeks....

it's not my fault... not all my fault... I need daylight savings.... which will be introduced this weekend... so, our clock will be shifted back by an hour... means one extra hour of sleep... but be careful with the day... better switch the clock and watch on the right day... if not, it will really mess up ur timetable... u dun wanna be an hour late or early for a date rite???

so, if i'm still late for my 8am classes, then, too bad... i'll have to find another reason to blame, another person to wake me up and another alarm clock maybe...

the moral of the story, dun sign up for 8am classes.... it is bad for health... at least for my health...
furthermore, it is gonna be winter when next semester starts.... so, better make all my classes as late as possible.... as, the sky will be darker, the weather will be colder(imagining walking on 2 ft of snow everyday to class... standing at the busstop well below freezing point waiting for a bus, damn, this is the cold version of hell), and i'll be definitely more lazy... and i will be more a sleepy-head.... and i dunno wanna screw my course by being late for class every single time...

so, wish me luck....and take care....

anyway, Kirsten Dunst will be coming to campus today... so, i'll be seeing her in person... SPIDEY GIRL... wait for me.....

Look at that Bloody Moon...

Yar.... look at that Bloody Moon... It's really bloody red.... WOW....

there's an Total Lunar Eclipse tonight..... and i watched almost the entire process... spent like 2 hours standing in the cold.... heads up looking at the sky.... at the far far away moon... it's really surprising to see so many ppl, about 100 of us, standing in the cold night, watching this wonderful event... Nature is full of beautiful stuff...

there are few telescopes, which the Student Astronomy Society set up... and cool... the moon look right in front of u when u look into the telescope... GREAT...

I tried to catch some shots with my amatuer digicam... but, nothing really amazing... just some blurry images.... or something that looks like a crescent moon... and that's about it....

Woah...time flies... it's already 2 months now...

Wo Wo Wo.... time does fly.... it's already 2 months now since the first day i step on Ann Arbor... Great....

SEA GAMES
So, i participated in the SEA Games today.... this is not the South East Asia Games which is held biannually...where all the members of the South East Asia Country compete in numerous sports events and to enhance and maintain their close-knitted relationship.... and ties... this is just a sports day for the 4 south east asia students association(Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thailand) at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor...

so, the outcome, better not to mention it here.... hahaha.. but it seems that there's an ally of 3 countries against the other one... try to figure it out...

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oh yar.... just discovered a way to earn some quick bucks... although it is not much, it is good enuff as it is easy, hassle free and no strings attached... it is answering SURVEY....
wahaha... i made 8 bucks last friday... for just spending 30 minutes on the survey question... i'm going to make another 10 bucks for another survey held next week.... hahaha... great... if there's such thing every week, i can collect all these earnings + some of my savings, then, i can get an ipod by the end of the year... yeeha..

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after the trip to Chicago.... the great trip, i'm now getting back to my studies... have an Astronomy midterm next monday... so, gotta start reading.... and there are 2 essays on my to-do list... and a Maple project... and all these sum up to a hectic week ahead...

hope to hear from any of u soon.... anybody out there still visiting my blog????

Second Day, Night and 3rd Day and back at Ann Arbor...

luckily this morning, i was able to wake up by myself at about 7.25 am.... forgot about the alarm clock... so, we packed and bid goodbye to Nizar... and both of us walked to the Foster Walker housing complex (the place where Teng stays) to meet Yee Chin and she brought us to had coffee, and then to the beach...and then to take a train to downtown....from Evanston..(Davis Stop) (am i repeating my previous blog??) yar, did this on purpose so that it serves as a reminder for ppl with short term memory...


so, at University of CHicago, Keng Yang and I met all of the Malaysian freshies (JPA sponsored 4) May Ying, Hsin Yi, Ting Ann and Yee Fay... the night before, we were so lucky to make it here on time and be able to try the dorm food at University of Chicago.... about the same basically, small cups, same food.. the only different thing is that u can take the Entree urself too... unlike at Michigan, where u have to ask the server how much u want, and tell him which part u like.... troublesome...

ok... first we went to the Aquarium.... it is HUGE>... BESAR.... MANYAK BESAR.... the aquarium is well-maintained and the dolphins, the penguins, the otters.... ok.. and all those fishes and stuffs.... that's all.....

then, we went to the field MUSEUM...

the field musuem is even bigger... much bigger... we strolled and glanced and it tooked us more than 2 hours , and we can barely walked after that....at the field Museum... we can see the world's most complete T-rex skeleton... named SUE..... it is huge... and there we can see lots of everything... the house of Jade is nice... and then there's also a house of Gems.. and a lot of stuffs... the archives are so complete and it really takes more than a day if u want to scrutinize every bits and pieces here...

so, we continued to walk on..... from there, the field museum... both of us walked to John Hancock observatory tower.... WoW... it is FAR...on the way there, we saw a lot of ppl (from a football match which just ended)... the crowd was KRAY-ZZZ...

THE BEAN

we stopped at the Millenium Park too.. the stage at the park is kinda futuristic, but ugly.... eww...
but the BOMB is the BEAN>... "THE BEAN"... not Mr. Bean... but this bean is a structure of bean-shaped reflective mirror and u can see magnificent reflections on the bean... and i can't resist to snap so many photos , basically, i just take a photo while circling the bean lar... and if u have the patient and zoom in on the bean, u might be able to find my reflection .... have fun looking....

then, we continued our journey to the Hancock Tower..."voted the best view at Chicago." Although not the tallest building.... the tallest building at Chicago is Sears Tower)

HANCOCK TOWER
ok, we reached here at about 4.30pm.... and we just presented the Citypass and we can cut through the line and up up up we go..... the elevator is supre fast... the ascend 94 floors... all it takes is just a mere 40 seconds.... and when the door of the elevator opened, we were welcomed by B.E.A.U. tiful sceneries of the Chicago town and Lake Michigan... we walked around it the observatory deck, and went to the souvenir shop to buy some gifts..... and continued walking and admiring the views... and waiting for the sun to set at the mean time.... at about 6.00pm... the sun is just at the horizon, and i started to snap photos like no tomorrow.... and i tooked a lot of shots until 6.15pm where the Sun dipped under the horizon completely....

and then, we hurried to University of Chicago for our dinner.. meeting our friends there... we need to hurry because the dining hall there closes at 8pm.... and the journey to their campus from downtown Chicago takes more than an hour....

WAT a DAY..... GREAT DAY.....!!!


THIRD DAY - 10/18/2004 Monday

wah..... woked up by Ting Ann this morning at about 7.15am.... he needs to go to class, so i dun blame him... how can i blame him when i'm the one who bothered him... whahah.. THAnkx Ting Ann!!! for the night and for the place to stay and for the accompany....
at, back to today (10/18/2004 - mm/dd/yyyy),Monday, so, we met May Ying at about 8am at the library... we walked and ....visited the Uni.. and snapped some pictures.. as usual.... and at about 9am.... we went to meet Yee Fay at the dining hall... and at there we had our breakfast, and everything is on Yee Fay... Thankx Fay jie... and chatted for a while... and KY and I said said goodbye to MayYing and Yee Fay.... and both of us continued our journey....

from the University of Chicago, we walked to the Museum of Science and Industry... and the Museum is nice... all the museums are nice and really huge... and that's all i have to say about Museum, kinda sick of it now... :P

then, we took a bus and trasfered to an Elevated Train (E.L- dunno why not called E.T. instead) and went to CHINATOWN....
the food at Penang is another BOMB.... Keng Yang and I had Char Keuh Teow (KY), Nasi Lemak (mine) and Hainanese Chicken Rice (shared)... and we had Chinese Tea as drink.... and the aroma of Malaysian food and the taste of the food is so so so .......indescribable....we took pictures of the food to taunt the Malaysians back in Ann Arbor... especially Chia Chye and Kai Kiat for FFK us ....

after feeling our tummy up to the brim, we walked around the Chinatown.... just a street actually... and bought some food from the bakery.... as souvenirs...

then, we went to the Adler Planetarium.... we were slightly late for the show... (just a few minutes) and damn... we kinda like missed the best part of the planetarium... but, we still had fun...

and in order to look at the heart of Chicago, to feel the hustle and bustle of a CITY at after office hour, we walked to the Amtrak Union Station .... at about 4.45pm....

we walked and walked and admired the crowded street...and managed to took some shots... especially the one in front of Sears tower.... and reached the Union Station at about 5.35pm....

we boarded the train at about 5.50pm and the train departed Chicago for Ann Arbor at 6pm sharp...


ON the way BACK to ANN ARBOR

we slept on the train for most of the time.... and it is great... to rest after 3 days of long and tiring of touring... walking.... and sight-seeing... and the bed aren't really that comfortable...
"EAST OR WEST, HOME IS BEST!!!" although my room is not my home, it is the closest thing to home for the next "dunno how long"... we reached Ann Arbor at about 11.30pm... darn , the train system is so ON TIME.... and we walked to a bus stop nearby, which is like 10 minutes walk away.. and waited for a bus... dun really have to wait long... and caught a bus back to our room... reached our respective room at about 12 midnight.... and GREAT....

the entire trip felt like flying to the moon and back.... a City like Chicago really jolted me.... the pulse of the City life is so strong that i can still feel it in my veins... whaha ... wow, i can't believed that i wrote the last sentence....whahaha

this trip is really a great eye-opener to me.... and thankx to everybody for making this trip possible...

remember, u can view all the photos at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/voonsengatchicago2004/

First Night and a bit of second day at Chicago...

So.... we took the Amtrak train, from Michigan Ann Arbor to Chicago Union Station.... (Chicago union station ) from there, we walked to Quincy... a stop in the famous loop, and took a elevated train to Adam/Walbash on brown line.... Change to red line and travel to Howard, and then again, change to Purple Line to get to Noyes... the whole journey from Michigan Ann Arbor to Chicago Union Station took 4 hrs and 45 minutes, while the journey from the Union Station to Northwestern took slightly more than 2 hours.... because of some renovation works at some of the line...

We we supposed to meet Nizar at his dorm at Northwestern University... but then, becoz of some delay here and there, and we it was too late for Buka Puasa (Break Fast)... so, he went to the Pengarah's (Director's) house without us... too much... luckily, he left us a note and gave us a lot of information, about Teng's, Hung Wei's and Xian Mei's phone no....

and fortunately, we were able to contact Teng Da Man... and he brought us to had Burger King for dinner.... Augus Cheese & Bacon is nice.... really nice... maybe becoz i skipped my lunch, that's why i had super huge appetite... and everything taste better when u are hungry... and i was darn fucking hungry... so...

after dinner, we took a walk around... we walked to the "beach"of lake Michigan.... and f**k me, the wind was ultra huge and the temperature was super low ,the wind was blowing at 30 miles an hour... however, being an avid photographer(although i only own a Canon Powershot A70 amatuer-semi digicam....) i endangered myself to the freezing wind, and get some wonderful shots with my numb fingers.. the weather was so bad that all u need is a good 30 seconds and u will start to feel the numb in all ur fingers, forcing u to stuck ur hands back into ur pocket... and i really regretted for not bringing my gloves....

the Michigan Lake is really huge.. it is so huge that u can put the entire Malaysia Peninsular into the lake.... so... we walked around Northwestern University and basically, just walking.... Chatted with She Ting and He Teng... so nice... Northwestern is quite cozy and nice...

at about 9.30pm, Nizar was back from the Director's home...both of us(KY and I) went to his room and crashed there for the night... and watched some stupid shows like Jerry Springer and ... we did nothing much, accept discussed with Ting Ann, HsinYi, May Ying about our plans at downtown Chicago on the following day... in the end, i decided to go to downtown chicago first, to visit a few tourist spots before meeting them at University of Chicago... becoz by doing so, we can safe time on unnecessary travelling....

so , we woke up at 7.30am the next morning... after bidding goodbye to Nizar, we went to meet KengYang's senior (at Northwestern), Yee Chin, and she brought us to had coffee, and then to the beach...vand then to take a train to downtown....from Evanston..(Davis Stop)

from there, we travelled to downtown Chicago, went to the Aquarium...tbc....

look at all the photos at :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/voonsengatchicago2004/

Chicago... Here I Come...

wahaha.... the title says it all....

alas, i can see the rainbow after the rain... after a torturous week of study and tests, it is time for me to take a break... take a kit kat.... wahaha... commercial break... LAME...

but, this break really comes at the best time possible.... with two days of study break on next Monday and Tuesday,(although most of my midterms are done) making this weekend a really long one... wahaha...

so, Chicago.... at first, they are four of us.... but, because of some complications, two of them decided to opt out.... so, now, left with 2 brave souls, are going on a mission.... to make this trip a unforgettable one... we will definitely have the time of our life....

although our poor friends at University of Chicago and Northwestern University have to sit for their midterms and cannot really spend time with us (i think so, dun feel like bothering them also lar, i'm afraid that i will feel guilty if they didn't perform in their test)... but this has not dampen our spirit...

both of us(Keng Yang & I) are still looking forward to the trip.... very MUCH.....

and this is the list of places that we want to go.... and we are definitely going to the top six places...

1)Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum entry and admission to the Sky Theater
2)The Art Institute of Chicago entry
3)The Field Museum entry
4)Museum of Science and Industry entry
5)Shedd Aquarium entry
6)Hancock Observatory and Sky Tour
+
7)Savings certificate from Chicago's historic retailer, Marshall Field's
(got the first seven items from a CityPass package for $49 per head)
+
8)Sears (if we got the money and time to spend), most probably not since we are going to the Hancock....
+
9 & 10)NU and U of Chicago....
+
11)MSD office
+
12)Chinatown

in three days... less than 72 hours...

and thankx for our generous Malaysian Student Department Officer, Ustaz Khalid offer, we will be bunking at his place for 2 nights and this is going to save us hell lot of Money....$$$ Ka...ching.. hmm wonder those money saved from free accomodation will be enuff for me to spend shopping at Michigan Avenue.....

that's all for now.... i will definitely take a lot of pictures.... hopefully my 2 128mb CF cards will be sufficient.... and i'll bring my battery charger along too.....

so long... and take care.....

Headache...

ouch.... me head.... headache, is a pain in the ass... i mean the head....

it is like more painful after the Calculus Class.... Directional Derivatives.... Whew.... wat's that.... I DUNNO.... i'm so confused and blurred in the class.... i got all the notes down without understanding a single thing i'm writing.... and it is like 4 pages long.... my headache has worsen because of the class... wat the heck.... why a headache on a nice Friday morning.... Ruining my weekend...

nvm.... life goes on.....

so, this weekend is not going to be a good one, i suppose.... How can studying for the entire weekend be good (planning, tentatively, product may varies)?? 2 quizzes next week.... Econs and Calculus..... Darn.... i'm doomed....

one more thing , the weather is really dry... and they are turning on the heater...... my skin on my hand (my palm actually) is peeling.... and it's kinda bothering my.... it's a bit itchy... and the feeling is wierd .... the skin is like not stretchable... but still ..... weird....

tsk tsk tsk.... wat to do..... headache..... headache.... headache...

Another week...A cold one though

wow... it's really freaking cold outside... how cold... it is Michigan cold.... wat the heck is Michigan cold... it is below freezing point during the night and it is only Autumn....

and so how excited we are??? being in such a cold weather for the first time, after staying in a tropical country with all the sunshine of the world for 19 years....

we are so excited that we went outdoor to take a stroll at 1.30am ... my suitemate and I walked to wake others up and joined our 'Jakun' mentality..... jakun = kampung, or got excited (over excited)over small incident... it felt so good becoz i wore double layer clothes(a t-shirt and a windbreaker, which is kinda insufficient) and a pair of trackpants and a pair of sandals...

after about 30 minutes of walking, i can feel that my toes are getting some frostbite(i think so)... as they seems to be numb... and i have to keep my hands in my pockets becoz it is definitely too cold for them to stand the wind... and so, a bunch of insane people just walk around for nothing but the pure michigan coldness and went back to our respective rooms... L.A.M.E..... awhahaha

(aren't u starting to wonder why the Malaysian Government are sponsoring a bunch of crazy ppl to the States???)


that's not that bad... that was Sunday morning... and on Sunday afternoon, it was a productive day for me.... i completed most of my hw and had a hell lot of 'fun'..... sitting at my study table for more than 12 hours a day is very unhealthy... and do not try this at home... as the abovementioned 'stunt' is performed under the supervision of crazy person who can play hard and study hard....

and the most enjoying part was reading all the reviews for my essay and improving on the essay... the whole process took me more than 6 hours and counting.... DIE....

and then, the most awaited moment of the week finally arrived.... it was SUNDAY DINNER TIME....
so, a bunch of us, the usual four(Putt, Chia Chye, Li Li and I) + Kai + Shi Ting went to this Noodle and Company for dinner... the price is not bad, the food is above average.. (at least the spicy food here is kinda spicy), unlike anywhere else, where the spicy food is sweeter than the dal back home... During the dinner, we chatted on a forbidden topic....MALAYSIAN FOOD.... and everybody goes :"AWWWWWW..... Char Kueh Teow, Milo Ais, Crabs, Steam Fish, Bak Kut Teh, Roti Canai, Ipoh Chicken Rice, Hong Kong Chee Cheung Fun, Nasi Lemak, Satay.... ouch ouch ouch.... so mich for naming all of them....

and wat's the moral of the story.... dun compare local food with Malaysian Food, and dun start the topic of Malaysian Food... it backfires and hurts....

that's all for now.....seeya and take care