9 months and counting...

It's been awhile since last I dropped a message. It's really ironic that I updated my blog more often when I don't have my laptop with me. Really!

Since getting my new baby... a Dell® Inspiron 6000..., I haven't been updating my blog... look at those posts beginning of May til the 18th ... I managed to chuck in several post without my laptop... shame on me...

BUT, I have my reasons... my excuses, whatever u wanna call it. I've been preparing for my EXAMS... My first ever PROFESSIONAL examination in my life!!! WOW, my first time... and another midterm... first was my Course P (probability) Actuarial Exam... Hope that I can pass it... just wanna be the top 30+%... and for my Econs midterm, hopefully I didn't overead and overthink the questions...

For the Actuarial Paper... I won't be too disappointed even if i didn't make the cut... although that means the cutting off point would be quite high... but come to think about it... the effort I put in preparing for the exam is really limited... maybe the Introduction to Probability course I took under Prof. DiFranco helps a lot, but still, I think I spent less than 50 hours studying for the exam... which I don't think is enough...

Well, we'll see.... the results would be out sometime in July or Aug...

Let's not talk about exam... so, Liverpool is COOL... but still I just hate them lesser now... MU is still here to RULE... even though Arsenal got lucky and snatched the FA cup from them, anybody who watched the match know who's the dominant and who was dominated... and how Arsenal was outclassed by MU...

now, switching to NBA.... go PISTONS...

and then to American Idol 4... well, in the final¨¦, Carrie Underwood truly showed her powerful voice and dazzling smile to win my heart... she's pretty... and she can sing...just like an iPod... that's why she's the WINNER....

let's talk about the upcoming long-weekend now.... well... Memorial Day on Monday... doesn't really changes my schedule as i'm off on Monday... but, I'm going to UIUC for the Midwest Games 2005... it is an inter-collegiate sports meet among Malaysians... competitive sports included in the games are Soccer, Basketball, Table Tennis, Tennis, and Badminton... I think that's about it...

that's all for now... I'm bringing my baby there too... Hopefully, I can get connected at the hotel and kept u guys posted....

my new room at the Barrister...

good news... my laptop is coming in 3 days time.... yeah... Dell® Inspiron 6000...

and i moved to my new room (last room was a temporary room becoz my housemate, Eric needed his room til yesterday...

my new room is somewhat smaller than my previous temporary room, but it has 4 windows... and it is really bright... great.... i just love it...

well well, more about my housemates now... so, more ppl will be coming in... did i keep u guys updated with my new housemates who have moved in? they are Mimi, and Carrie, and Arthur... Mimi and Carrie are really friendly and nice Michiganians ... while Arthur, a Hongkonger, is very quiet, (maybe he is too busy) as he is never around... he runs at funny hours, i guess... cause i'm quite a late person, and he seems to be even later... or maybe he has a place elsewhere... who knows...

so, another girl, Emily is moving in tomorrow... and then, another girl, Leng Dei, will be moving in some time later.... so, 4 gals and 2 guys in the house... and i'm pretty sure i'm the youngest of all... dang...

another week has gone... 2 weeks out of the 8-week-long(more like short) Spring Semester... and wat am I going to do after this??? I really have no idea... I think I will be start working next month, and also the month of July, and go travelling in August... Destination? Tampa, Florida or Seattle, Washington....i guess...

and about working, where will i be working?? most probably, the dining hall... it will be tiring, but the pay is among the highest i can find... maybe i'll try Michigan telefund.. but i dun think i'm suit for that kinda work... i dun like talking over the phone...

that's all for now... i guess....
check back soon... take care... and have a great summer...

home alone... and which is the best choice??

well well... i want to be 21 sooner... I want to join my housemates going to bars... dang... but i'm still 10 months short of 21...

well well... that's the reason i've been home alone for several nights... well Adam and Ariana left yesterday...(for summer work and home), and Heather and Dan left today (going home and then to work too), and left with Eric... and me...(looking forward to meet my new housemates though...)

and what makes matter worse is my dead laptop...

that's the reason i've been reading, a lot ... read 2 books in 2 days... yeah... The Honeymoon by James Patterson© and The Last Juror by John Grisham©...

Good read though...

so, now another question is bothering me... what shld be replacing my dead laptop?? another laptop?? a mac mini?? or a desktop??

well... here comes the pros and cons...
Another Laptop: it will be a huge one...becoz of the outrageous deals from Dell®, i will have to go with the gigantic 17 inches laptop... which cost about 1.1k

A Mac Mini...: This will be my first Mac... it's a space saver... and it's cool... and powerful(i'm not playing games anymore...games as in those high-end games which require great graphics...FPS kinda game...) everything (with a lcd 17 flat panel) and mouse and keyboard will set me about 1k

A Desktop...: Again, another outrageous deal from Dell... it will be powerful(after configuring...), 1Gb Ram, 160 Gb HD, 128mb Vid..., those kinda thing... with a 17 lcd panel too... will get me back into my old gamer self... but i dun really wanna venture back into computer games... it's bad...

it will too set me about 1k...

so how now???

btw... this is my new mailing address... effective til end of Aug...

616 Monroe St.
Apartment A.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
United States of America

......

damn... damn... damn... stupid... stupid... stupid... i was typing halfway on my laptop... (updating my blog, this very blog), and then, suddenly... the BSOD came up and my laptop is currently in coma...

shit... my laptop just crashes... and it seems like my world is crashing down on my too... well... i was practically in pretty good mood five minutes ago... then, my laptop crashes... and shit... i'm worried now..

damn... having hard time rebooting my laptop currently... hopefully it is not too bad... hope that it will miraculously be able to boot up again after 5 or 10 minutes....

pls...

New York and Washington DC trip... condensed version...

Hi again.... Shld have wrote this piece 4 months ago... or izzit 5 months ago.... my bad... but i did keep my promise... so pls forgive me...
it's really funny to look back at those scribbling i did on my diary(daily planner)... luckily i did jot down wat i did over the NYC and Washington DC trip... and took lots of pictures... really great experiences I had there... and worth remembering... those pictures... those sceneries... thoes people... those feelings... just plain fun....
ENJOY...!!!!

23 Dec 2004
NY trip begins...

Took a flight from DTW to LGA airport. It was raining heavily there.

After checking into the hostel, grab a subway...(the sandwich) and later took a subway(the underground train like vehicle) to TimesSquare...

and WOAH!!!
It's beautiful... the lights, the colors, and the people...


24 Dec 2004

went to Chinatown to have breakfast... search for the dumpling store which sells hot and nice dumpling at $1 a plate... nice...nice...

then to Intrepid Sea Air Space Musuem

then met Putt and CC and Putt's friend at TimesSquare.

went to watch a movie - Blade:Trinity®

went to Chinatown again for really good dinner (Bak Kut Teh, Sesame Beef, PiPa Duck, Tofu and Asam Laksa, and i think Kangkung Belacan...)

Went to Rockefeller Park for the huge Christmas tree...

Great Day!!!




25 Dec 2004

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

went to Central Park for a morning walk... Central Park is HUGE...

then to Chinatown for lunch..

then to Wall Street(the trump place, Golden Bull, Bowling Green, NYSE)

then to Brooklyn Bridge

and to Chinatown again for dinner

and then back to hostel becoz of Poh Yi and Jin Ye wanted to wash their hair..

Then, back to TimesSquare... amazingly, it's such a small world after all, as Kai and I met Chiun Lin(Cornell), Michelle(MIT), Hung Wei(NU) and Wooi Yang(UVA)...


26 Dec 2004

went to Empire State Building...bought some souvenirs..

Had lunch at Wendy's®...

then to Rockefeller again

then to Penang for Dinner..

then went back to sleep..



27 Dec 2004

Went to 'the Battery' to get ticket for the ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty.

Wonderful.... Had lulnch at McD...

Went to Rush for broadway ticks... but too bad, the ticks for "Phantom of the Opera" was sold out...!

Then went to the Musuem of Modern Art (MoMA)... it is a wonderful musuem, should have spent more time there, but too bad, it was closing....

Went to my very first Boradway musical - Wonderful Town, starring Brooke Shields.... It was awesome....


28 Dec 2004

Went to the Circle Line Cruise which circles the Manhattan Islanf...(semi-circle actually)

Nice view of the Manhattan Skyline... took lotsa pics...

Then, went to the UN... Toured the 5 out of 6 division(chambers)....One is not at the same place....

Then to Guggenheim Musuem.... The exhibition is great... The architecture of the musuem itself is amazing...

then to Chinatown... u got it right, for dinner... Good food at cheap price...(cheaper than Ann Arbor..)

went back and started packing becoz have to wake up early for the next day... GOING TO WASHINGTON DC.....

29 Dec 2004

Went to Chinatown early for the DC trip...

first, we went to New Jersey

then to Pennsylvannia...(to have lunch) and to take some pics around at Philaedelphia...

then to Maryland....

then to Virginia... and alas...Washington DC....

Went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum...

Went to had dinner... NOT BAD....

A lot of sightseeing.... will definitely go to DC again... backpack maybe...

the hotel is not bad at all... for the price we pay... it is definitely worth more than the dollar...

WARNING: Busy day ahead!!!!!


30 Dec 2004

Went to Capitol Hill...

White House

then to Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam War Monument

Korean War

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

then to the Musuem of National History...

hurried all along... snaps thousands of pics....

had lunch, and then went on our way back to NY....

SO MUCH for a 2 days 1 night bus trip... reasonable and satisfied...


31 Dec 2004

went to Central Park again to look for the skating rink at the North of Central Park...

then to the Museum of Natural History... It was maginificent... HUGE... and grand...

then to 42nd street McD for Lunch....

Then to New York Public Library...

Then to Countdown at TimesSquare...damn, it may sound stupid, for millions of ppl standing in the cold for 6 and a half hours... that's about 400 minutes... but it was worth every second there... 10.. 9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1......HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Good bye 2004... Welcome 2005!!!!!


1 Jan 2005
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO.....2005...

Then to McD for dinner at 1am...

Didn't have a place to stay for the night... thought that the hostel was full.. but i dun think so...

Spent the night at the Grand Central Terminal... slept at the station... well... for about 4 hours...

A cop woke me up and asked me am I ok.. and whether everything was fine... yeah... I told him that I was waiting for the train at 6.30am... I lied... Thanks for your concern...

Then went to the South Side of Central Park for another skating rink...

Found the infamous Plaza Hotel...

the Bethesda Fountain...well but it is just like another fountain becoz it's dry... (it's winter)

Lunch at Chinatown... again...

Then to Musuem of Sex... yeah... nothing much... but it's famous...so, wat the heck...

then, back to Hostelling International to sleep....

Dinner at Chinatown... yet again... then back to HI and called it a day...

note: Rose Bowl result.... Michigan lost to Texas 36-37.... sad....


2 Jan 2005

Went to Century 21, a shopping complex beside WTC site for shopping...Great bargain...
got scarves, and shirt.... and stuffs... bought so much stuffs that i even bought a bag to carry them back to Ann Arbor...(figured that my backpack is already stuffed...)

Then to eat at Chinatown...

Then to SoHo to window shop...

Then to Bloomingdales'

Then to TimesSquare to buy souvernirs(u know those I 'HEART' NY t-shirts).... and got dinner at Sbarro®...

Then back to hostel early to pack...

Leaving NYC tomorrow...


3 Jan 2005

woke up this morning realizing i'm leaving NYC and going to start my 2nd semester...

took a subway to Colombia U... from there, took a bus back to the LGA airport... from there, a flight back to DTW airport... and from there, the airBus to Ann Arbor...

the flight was delayed for about an hour... bad....

reached ann arbor and my room at about 5pm.. around that time...
really tired and all.... wat a wonderful backpacking trip to NYC and Washington DC... seen so much and visited so many places in such a short break.... (10 days...)
spent about $1500.... ouch... my pocket hurts... and that's about it...

get ready... as a new semester looms ahead within the next 48 hours....

Another Last Day...

Hey peeps...
it's me again... and thank you for ur continuous support for reading these pieces of crap... haha

so, here it goes:
I've been working long hours for the past few days... and those hours were not as easy as the one before... where I used to have time to update my blog or to do my homework while getting paid... well, those were the days... for the past few days, i have to deal with tons of paperworks, and so much so that i have to work overtime... and lost my voice because of dealing with questions and answers for about 8 hours... yeah...EIGHT hours...

and on Sunday(yesterday), I have to wake up at 8am early in the cold spring morning to work til 12pm... and after that, went to McD to grab my lunch with my buddies, and after lunch, get back to my room, lovely little single room to grab my last baggages and went to my new bigger room in a LOVELY apartment with awesome housemates...

wait, if my memory serves me right, there are 5 of them (not including me in the apartment), they are : Adam, Eric, Daniel, Heather and Adrianne(or Arriane)... All of them(i think) are law students... great ppl...

too bad, dun have the time to really sit down to mingle with them as they are having their finals now...

Moving is really tiring, but then, still have unpacking and all to do. What’s worse is that the need to decide on what to eat for lunch and dinner. Not only that I need to satisfy my craving for good food, but also to meet the target of spending less than $10 a day.

So what’s the best way to save on food and yet be able to get good food? COOK your own food. Yeah… I’m cooking… wanna try?

so, i went to my friends' place to cook... We cooked... 3 dishes... first dish : Vegetables (chinese style), second dish: Simple Stir Fry Chicken...( i cooked this dish...), and Fried Egg...
the dinner was awesome... although the rice is a bit too moist, and a bit lesser than we appreciate, we did enjoy our own-cooked first dinner in Ann Arbor...

So, today, we did it again... but something bad happened since yesterday, something really bad, really depressing, and something really disturbing...

I didn't have my internet connection... that's devastating.. that's catastrophic... that's bad... awful...(sorry for my sounding like a thesaurus...)

i tried to connect to the wireless network connection available at my new apartment since yesterday night around 10pm, but WTF... it just couldn't connect... and worse stll it gave me false hope for several times when it said that i was connected, but data just ain't transfering...

so... i tried divert my attention to the cable tv at the living... surfing thru the 100+ channels.... and watched a bit of Super Millionaire... trying to act smart.. and i did get a few questions... with one of USD$100 000 question... about the name of the most distant object of the Solar System discovered last year...(something like that), and thanks to my Astronomy classes, i have the answer on my fingertips... it's Sedna...

so, after that, watched the NBA playoff... dun really follow NBA... but I watches it once in a while...really a while...

so, still couldn't get my internet connection... tried with virtually everything i can think of, til about 2 am, finally, i gave up and went to sleep...

and woke up this morning, early, at about 8.30am, and went to the fishbowl to use the computer there, and tried to google to resolve my internet problem... after googling thru forums, and downloaded hotfix, winsockxpfix, newer driver... and install it, but still, failed...

met up with my fren Joshua, and thanks to him, he managed to detect that even though i only enabled 1 firewall...SyXXXX firewall, it kinda messed up with the windows firewall... so, i deleted the SyXXXX, and allowed the Windows firewall...

and magically, it works... AWESOME... Joshua just make my day...

the feeling without internet was really bad... I never felt so empty before.. really, i'm like desperate, and aimless without my internet... i think internet is a huge part of my life... really... without internet, is worse than ... can't think of anything worse than that...

in the afternoon, it rained... with mixture of some snow... or izzit snow with mix rain... watever, the point is, u can still find snow in May ... in Ann Arbor, Michigan... wat's wrong with the world??? It's MAY... May and snow don't go together....

later in the afternoon, went to Meijer to get some groceries... and toothpaste...
got a gallon of milk... 2 boxes of cereals... Post Cereals...
:Honey Bunches of Oats
:Banana Nut Crunch.... awesome choice...

came back in the evening... went to my friends' place again to prepare and eat dinner...

awesome day...

so, take care and keep warm.... (just for a few more days according to the weather forecast...so let's hope so..)