My Bed is Here!

The title says it all!

So, long story short, the people screwed up my shipping the first time. I got 2 expensive pillows as a result, and I love my bed!

Goodnite! ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

A random fact about me...

So, to accommodate the huge bed that will be here later today, I had to put away my clothes and stuff away. And, I was bored enough to count how many polo, t-shirt and dress shirt.

T-shirt: 50+
Polo: 27
Shirt: 23

Making a total of more than 100. Not something to be proud of, or is it?
Fortunately, I have plenty of closet space. Need another dresser/rack for all my t-shirts and my closet will be PERFECT. Of course, there's still plenty of room for polos and shirts.

And, mind me, there's another closet in guest bedroom. And the coat closet by the living room.

Also, as I'm still procrastinating on getting a futon/sofa bed/couch, and also coffee table, my living room will be pretty bare. Thus, I'll have pictures of my purchases instead.

The "damages" from Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.
My "work" station. Too cluttered. Which reminds me of the quote: a cluttered desk implies a cluttered mind; If that's the case, what's the significance of an empty desk?
New addition to the kitchen: A microwave oven, and a toaster oven.
Also, bought a tv-stand.
Dining table + chairs.
And to show you how bare my living room is.

And it's good to have my own place. Here's a good Bak Kut Teh meal.

Suddenly, I remember-

this quote by my cousin Tomas - (not an exact quote, but the meaning is still there)

(Situation - while watching a tv commercial of artificial-lime-flavored beer)
"[The world has gone crazy], we put artificial lime flavoring into something we consume, while we put real lime juice into dish detergent we use."

Just want to put this out there.

Also, my apartment is coming along rather well. Now, it's still missing a bed (still sleeping on an air-bed), a coffee table, and a couch/sofa. Went to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets Center this morning to buy some work clothes and presents for bros and mom. Mission accomplished, but I ended buying some 'presents' for myself too. My wallet took a huge damage.

Will head out to hunt for a bed tomorrow. Then, need to break down the boxes in my living room and stuff. Will be going to NYC with daddy on Tues - Thur. Cable guy will be coming Friday to install a HD-DVR box and internet (piggyback on neighbors' now). Then, once that, pictures of my apartment will be up. Also, will be transferring to MA license next Friday afternoon. Then, the following Monday -> first day of work, but well, it's just gonna be orientation and stuff.

If by Rudyard Kipling

On top of all those other stuff, for my graduation, I got a card from Jessica. It's a really simple card, with the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling. I'm pretty sure all Malaysians, who took SPM after 2001, remember this poem well. It's one of my favorite poems. So meaningful.

[IF]

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

An update since graduation... for real

I didn't publish many posts since late April, but that doesn't mean that I didn't write many posts. Most of those posts (half-written) are saved as drafts and most likely will remain as draft forever, lost in wasted memory space, stored as 0's and 1's, never to be read (at least that's what I hope). One thing about blogging is, it's rather a spur-of-the-moment thing, if you don't blog about it now, eventually, you will tend to forget a little, and then, you don't feel like publishing it after you wrote it half-heartedly.

So, here I am, late at night, typing this post. A real (in my opinion) post. The reason I'm still up late at this hour is because I had a headache earlier today, took some aspirin and had a nap in the afternoon -> won't fall asleep til much later in the wee hours. So, what's better to do than to update my blog when the air is cold (it's less than 50 degrees outside, and it's late May) and the surrounding is quiet?

About the headache. I think I'd been rather stressed out recently. Well, I always think that I handle my stress well, that's just because I don't show it, and manage to let go of it (at least that's what I think) with a chuckle, a deep breathe and a smile. But, come to think about it, do I really handle my stress well, or I'm just good at hiding it? Come to think about it, maybe it's a good combination/mixture of both. So, back to headache and stress. So, since graduation, I'd been trying to study as much as I could for the exam. Even with all the support and understandings from Jessica, Tomas and my dad, I still couldn't concentrate, partly because I feel bad for them, and I still think it was kinda selfish for me to write the exam, with my dad flying across the globe to come to the states and all. And now, knowing rather well that I didn't do well enough to pass the exam is really adding salt to wound. Ouch!

So, other than a 3-day vacation to Harrisonburg, VA and Charlottesville, VA, I hadn't been enjoying much of my 'freedom' of a fresh graduate. In addition, there's the apartment hunting, and still staying under other's roof stress that I'm feeling. Because of preparing and taking the exam, I didn't have much time to hunt for apartment in Worcester, MA. Fortunately, my colleagues help me on that. Now, I've the furniture hunting stress too.

Living off suitcases and with your car-trunk loaded is no fun too. And, the worse of all is, eating out! Try eating out 80% of the time for close to a month now. There's only that many restaurant and fast-food that one can have before you get sick and tired of them all. To me, eating out is only good once in awhile. Regardless how good is the premium burger, or the panini, or the pho, or the sandwich taste, it's not as good as a simple home-cooked food like simple celery hearts stir-fry, oyster-sauce chicken with potatoes and a simple omelet, all to go with rice.

So, thanks to my colleagues, I found a 2-bedroom apartment for myself. Why a 2 bedroom? Because this apartment doesn't have any of the extraneous amenities like gym, dvd library, tennis court, pool and whatnot, and for that reason, it's cheaper and bigger and more practical that all the 1-bedroom apartment that I found. So, if you need a place to crash if you are in town, once it's furnished (not sure when), just let me know in advance. I'll be moving into the apartment this Wed or Thurs. As much as a planner I am (aka a worry-freak), I started looking for furnitures since Sunday, actually, since 2-3 weeks ago on Craigslist, but didn't find much. So, I've been to Lowe's, the Home Depot, furniture outlet stores, Bed Bath & Beyond, Linen N Things, too many websites to remember, Pier 1 import, Sleepy's, Mattress Giant, BJ's wholesale club (which I'm now a member), Target, Staples, Office Depot and you-name-it. Furniture hunting's been not bad, especially for today, it's rather fruitful as I have quite some KIVs at Pier 1 and bought a set of cookware.

So, that's all the stress. People were telling me furniture hunting is fun, maybe, if you have the money to spend and also don't have a deadline to meet. Deadline being having no real bed to sleep on, and no chairs to sit on, and no table/desk to use.

Also, I can't mention enough how grateful I am to all the people that have helped me over my pre-university and undergraduate life. Also, worth another mentioning, is to Jessica and Tomas for helping me transitioning from graduating to starting my new job. THANK YOU!

So, guess, pictures next! A picture a day, and I'll try to elaborate on that day...
04/25/08 -- Right after Econ commencement. With my dad. In front of the Rackham Graduate School. Bell tower as background!

04/26/08 -- Right after the Actuarial Math Commencement, which was after the Spring Commencement. Congratulations, Class of 2008!


04/27/2008 -- Because of the dinner and then a party last night, I didn't finished packing and didn't start loading the car yesterday night. So, with all the cleaning and packing and loading to do, my dad and I only started our journey to Richmond, VA at 11am, 2 hours later than we initially planned. Here's how my bedroom look after all the cleaning up and stuff. Goodbye Ann Arbor. You'll be missed.

04/28/2008 -- Arrived at my Tomas' and Jessica's, Richmond, VA at about 10.45pm last night. Other than a 25-minute delay, before I decided to turn around and took a different route, because part of I-70 being closed for hazmat cleaning up after a spill, it was a great smooth drive. After a good night sleep, I did some unloading today and getting comfortable in this great house which I'll call home for the next 3 weeks.


04/29/2008 -- A big bird (related to hawk) perched on the very top of the tree beside the house, and shows how bored my dad was. (He took this pic.) LOL!


05/03/2008 -- Weather was great. Went to the park, Deep Run Park. Look at those cute goslings. Then, we went to downtown Richmond, and took the James River boat tour. Pretty interesting and informative.


05/04/2008 -- Cousin threw me a party. THANKS! Beef was great! Beer was better! Then, Jose took us back to his place at Harrisonburg, VA. Where we spent 2 nights there! First night, we tried some really authentic Mexican food for dinner. Also, my dad and I sampled 3 tequilas -> 3 shots each supposedly, but my dad gave me some of his, sangria, wine, and more!

05/05/2008 -- Visited the Luray Caverns. Nice and not smelly like Mulu Cave I visited. No bats!

05/06/2008 -- On the way back to Richmond from Harrisonburg, we stopped by Charlottesville to visit University of Virginia. Of course, I took the opportunity to visit Wooi Yang. Back to Richmond, VA! About 1 week to study for my exam! Yippee!


05/08/2008 -- A doe? Well... it's eating some flowers at my cousin's backyard.

05/11/2008 -- A squirrel got onto the bird-feeder! I was bored! And studying for the exam, and saw this. :)

Just in case...

Just in case if you are wondering, I'm alive and well. Really well... other than burying myself in tons of papers and accompanying myself with 2 calculators, I'm in great shape! :)

Trying to study as much as I can for the next 6 days, I'll be free again after the 14th of May! Then, I'll be very well on my way to go to and settle in Worcester, MA (as soon as my colleagues find me and apartment! Thanks a bunch guys - don't think any of you will be reading this).

So, yeah, need to go back to my study manual. I'm only online once every few days to check my mails and all. My laptop's been sitting in my backpack for about 2 weeks now, it must be hard for it to be in there for such a long time, after being on virtually 24-7 for about 3 years.

I'll keep you guys posted, with many pictures and fireworks as soon as I got my internet and stuff at my new apartment in MA.

Ciao and good luck to all who will be taking exams and congrats to all who have recently graduated and will be graduating!