Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Here is an early greeting to everyone celebrating the holiday!

I just realized I haven't posted anything since 1 month and a half ago... I did write something but didn't feel posting it somestimes...

This is the 2nd week of my winter break. I spent my 1st week doing rotation. Now that I'm done, I just stay at home doing nothing. Well, I love break, but, this time, not anymore. It's just weird to have 3 weeks of holiday, when you know your peers are out there doing something for their livings and you're here doing nothing....

My 1st quarter was going ok so far. Courseworks were harder, but with the help of my fellow classmates, I still managed to pull everything together. But, research is not that good. I have been facing a lot of difficulties in finding the right research lab and professors. Well, I don't feel like talking about that here. But, I will still try my best next quarter and keep my fingers crossed. Hopefully, everything is fine, would be...

Happy holidays and see you all soon :)

好听!

JJ 编曲！S.H.E 演唱 :D

4 years of hardwork

For those 4 years of hardwork....

i know this came superlate, but still wanna share my joy :)

i just got it today bcoz the registrar office doesn't do international shipping. it somehow appearred in my mind last week, or else i might have totally forgotten about it... (p/s: kai li, if u haven't gotten yours, rmbr to get it!)

Hi there!

Hello!

So, I'm back after 4-month hiatus. Did u miss me?

I had a laidback holiday back home, chilling and relaxing for almost one third of a year. It would be my last long holiday in my study life, I considered. I went to Taiwan for Tzu Ching camp and sightseeing, visited Genting casinos, shopped at Bangkok Platinum Mall, had Ipoh taugeh chicken, visited relatives, played with my cousins, traveled around KL, watched a couple of TVB drama (actually, is a lot!) etc. etc...

So, I'm now stepping into another stage of my life --> graduate school.

I was back in the States 4 days ago. The first few days were terrible. You can't imagine how homesick u'll get after being home for so long and coming to a whole new environment with nothing, no one, no place you are familiar with... It's terribly daunting and scary!

But, I kinda settling down now after going to the grad school orientation and meeting new ppl. Knowing that there are people in the same boat as me definitely calmed me down. Besides, I ain't have nobody with me. There are friends in the States who is always be with me though we're far away. Afterall, a call to Malaysia is just a couple second away! So, I guess I better get myself out of this and be more prepared for whatever is coming for me for the next few years! I shall be resposible for decision I made whether it might or might not be the best for me and ppl around me, right? This is life, and I shall not keep poundering on the road not taken.

Till then.

:D

I know I just updated my blog yesterday. but, watever, i love writing :)

I just finished my presentation for my group project yesterday. I was so nervous before the presentation because the industry partner was there and I had a feeling that the professor didn't really like our group. But, when I thought about, it would the LAST/FINAL presentation for my undergraduate studies, so, I decided to let go all the unnecessary burden and give all out. And, I did it!! I think it would be one of the best presentation I had given :) *Floating in the air*

Really, 1 most class, and I shall be done with all my undergraduates. Whatever happened in the past 4 years -- sweet, sad, bitter, frustrating, there will be kept in memories that are stored in my heart forever! I don't know how future will treat me but studying in US definitely give me a different perspectives of world and life, and with I learned, that I am confident I can move on to the next stage :)

: )

Thesis checked
Thesis defense checked
Poster presentation checked
15-page geography paper checked
Paper n presenation for Problem solving class checked

Huhu!!!! My hell month almost reached the end! This also mean my undergraduate life almost ended too... After the presentation for my problem solving class tomorrow, I'll only have 1 lab report and a couple of exams. Can't wait, really can't wait. I'm thinking of going to New York City this Friday to get a hair cut and try the yummy pizza from the Pizza Suprema. Apparently, it got many good reviews!! Ermmm, should I go???

A thought

Yesterday, we had the NJ Tzu Chi 15th Anniversary Celebration. Coincidentally, it was also our group's turn to do the Saturday prayer. So, I decided to go to the office earlier since I haven't went to the morning prayer for a while, like 2 years :S

After the prayer, we listened to a clip by Master Cheng Yen. She said that we must keep in mind to do good each and every time. We must not take for granted that we are still young and we have the whole life to spend. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. And, when the time comes, we will be going to the other World on our owns and with what we have done. Another things she said that I found very thoughtful is that our life, 生命, is getting shorter each and other day, but our wisdom-life 慧命 will increase with the deeds we do. Not only will I keep this in my mind, and I will like to share it with the people around me. May your Wisdom-life grows each and every day! Amitabha.

..........................................................................................................................................................................

Last week was a busy week for me. I spend 3 days in California, visiting school. Decision was made, hopefully, everything will go smoothly. I also started working on my Earthquake paper, finished 9 out 15 pages so far. 40% more to go. I submitted my thesis last Friday. Though it was supposed to a rough draft, I don't think I'm going to continue on with my project. So, I would just say Good Bye to the thesis. I also printed my poster for next week symposium. Slides for next Tuesday presentation was 75% done. But, I didn't feel like working anymore today, just wanna relax and watch some Thai drama, whatsoever. Hopefully, I can wake up early tomorrow morning to work on the powerpoint.

U visit

I'm in California now, visiting my possible future school. Everything went well so far. I didn't meet any faculty yet, only had dinner with a couple of grad students. Life is great here according to them. The atmosphere was different here compared to Rutgers. It's more college town like here. The campus is expanding as I saw many construction going on. I guessed they didn't face much budget cut as in New Jersey.

One thing I really like about the school is the biking system here. Apparently, it's one of the pioneer in trying out baking system in US. Almost every student owns a bike. Many major roads in the school are closed for cars and are only accessible through walking and biking. I really like it coz as you know, I love to bike and I can't drive :P

Life was pretty hectic for the past few weeks. Attended 2 conferences which I think it's kinda waste of time. But, at least, they got me out from my crazy schedule. Thesis rough draft is due on the 16th. I'm almost 90% done with it coz my research was a complete failure and I didn't have much to say. The poster for poster presentation is 85% done coz again, I didn't have much to present. There is a 20-minute presentation on Thursday for food microbiology class. Thanks to my superb teammate, Lauren, who compiled all the slides, the rest of us didn't have to do anything but just to present for ~4 minutes each on Thursday. A quiz for Plant Gene Transfer is scheduled tomorrow, but since I was out of town, I requested to take it on Friday. But, my professor's response was that only 2 out of 3 quizzes would be counted into the final grade, and I did pretty well in the first 2, I could opt not to take the 3rd one. Love Dr. Chin, but I finished studying 3.5 out of 5 lecture notes on the plane :S (btw, Dr. Chin is my Malaysian professor who speaks with the familiar Malaysian accent :) ... Everything sorts of falling in place so far except for one thing.....

It's the 15-page Geography paper!! It's 0% done. I kinda take the course for fun, just to fill in some time and learn about other countries. But, the paper is kinda freaking me out. I've been proscratinating the paper since before spring break. Now, it's gonna due next week, I'm so freaked out! Seriously, I have never written any non scientific paper, let alone Earthquakes in Indonesia. Screw myself, seriously! (can someone motivates me to write it, please :'(

April

April is coming soon is like 3 days. March went by so fast, so fast that I didn't even remember what I have done except for the few days in Puerto Rico.

There is another month before final exams. Yet, I have some much on my plate. Besides preparing for exams, writing my paper, doing experiments and thesis, I have to start packing up, decide on my departure date, plan for my parents' trips, and make my decision on grad schools. With 2 conferences and 1 Tzu Chi performance in the coming 3 weeks, I don't think I can get any of my works done during the weekends. I seriously need to start N.O.W.

But, putting the work aside, I would like share some thoughts. So, we had our first Tzu Ching informal gathering tonight after so many years. In the gathering, a friend who just came back from Haiti relief effort shared his experience there. Someone once told him that the Haitians are living in the hell and people in US are like living in the heaven. But, when they're satisfied with just a bowl of hot food and when we're unsatisfied of everything we have, who is living in hell, who is living in heaven?

This really made me think a lot.

I have been joining Tzu Chi since my freshman year. Although at first I joined Tzu Chi to fill up my free time, TC has somehow changed my perception of life. A Tzu Ching alumni once told me that TC is different from other charity organization that our mission is not only to help others but Master Cheng Yen encourages us to learn and grow up by seeing others' sufferings, in other word is to 知苦惜福. In the past 2 years, I have been doing translation for Daai TV drama. I used to hate it because of the workload. But, after what the TC alumni said, I started to view the translation job as a lesson, a lesson that teaches me to embrace and cherish life by watching others' stories. It made me realize that I'm one of the most blessed people in the world who are never short of love, education and all the basic necessity. And so, I should try to do many good things as I can. I think doing good deeds is like saving -- saving "blessings". We might not need it now because we're in the good shape, but we never know we might need it in the later day. Life is too short, we should start doing good now. Doing good thing doesn't mean that we have to do fundraising for the poor every now and then, but it is to incorporate the good values in our daily life. For example, using less plastic bags, switching off the light when we don't need it, eating less meat, those are definitely the good thing we can do for the earth. They are still many things we can do, I think I'll share it next time coz it's kinda late now. This is just some of my thoughts to pass on the Great Love from Tzu Chi.

Stranded

I wasn't plan on writing this... but, anyway...

Yesterday could be one of the superbad days in my life.
So, I was on vacation to Puerto Rico 4 days ago. (I didn't inform many ppl coz kinda felt bad for traveling again after visiting Hawaii 2 months ago.)

About the bad bad experience....

We missed the flight back to NJ yesterday. It was just disastrous!

It wasn't anyone's fault. It's just the faith, I could say. Our departure time was 4.10pm. So after finished eating lunch at 2pm, we decided to return the rental car. Given that we just dropped off a friend in airport at 12.30pm, we're actually located very close to the San Juan Airport, less than 10min drive away. But, we had a serious trouble finding the rental office, which is located off the Highway 26. Eventhough we have the GPS, it failed to locate the address entered and brought us to a dead end. So, we tried to enter another rental car office's location and the situation just became worst when the GPS brought us further and further away from the airport and towards the heavy traffic. It's 3.30pm by then. So, we tried the last chance -- going back to the place we stayed and from there, drive towards the airport area, hoping to find the exit to the rental office. Yes, we did find the place after much trouble, but it's already 4.08pm, and the is no way that we would make it....

Still, we went to the airport, trying to figure out what we could do to catch the next flight. Many airlines had the last flight taken off by 4.30pm from San Juan, and staying another night seemed unavoidable. How about getting the next flight back to NJ. It's spring breaks for many university now and PR is always the hottest destination for college kids. So, most of the flights were fully overbooked, if not fully booked. On top of that, many airline counters were closed by 5pm, and we couldn't do any inquiries. In that moment, I felt like we're in the Amazing Race game. The goal was not to win any prize but just to go home. Finally, we found American Airlines had few free spaces for 8am-flight the next morning at the price of $370 one way. Reserving was the last thing we can do after trying so many ways. We're all tired, distressed, frustrated at the end.

On top of that, it's even more disappointing to find out that my grad school application has been rejected by a university after logging into my mailbox that night, and I had to re-plan my future after these years. I was lucky that I still managed to hold back that time.

Still, not giving up easily, we decided to try doing the standby, which was to wait for empty seat available from the Continental Airline so that we could avoid buying the new ticket. This required us to be at the check-in counter by 4.3oam. But, if it's one of way to get home and minimize losses, we would give it a try no matter what. To be honest, the 9 hours after making reservation and before 4.30am was so difficult, and I hardly get any sleep. We got up at 4am, got our "standby" boarding pass at the counter, and checked in by 5am. The first flight by Continental Airlines was 6am. Boarding started at 5.10am. It seemed that there wasn't that much passengers, but I dared not to keep my hope too high. By 5.30am everyone has pretty much boarded, and the workers started issuing boarding pass to the standby-er like us. There were like 5 standbys before us... When the lady handed 3 boarding passes freshly printed from the computer to us, I just couldn't describe how relieved I was. All the tension disappeared, and I knew my smile just reappeared. I thank God sincerely for helping us pass through this tough moment!

I might seem calm writing this. But, I know I didn't handle the situation well and maturely. Hurtful comments, unfriendly emotions and hostile feelings have been thrown out. Serious harm has been done to us all, and I don't know if I'll be forgiven for that. I just hope I could have behave calmly and not emotionally... I wish I have a way to repair the crack in the friendships.

GM

be out of town for 4 days.

in the mean time, enjoy the song by GM :)

GM

Love this song so much!! Wish I have an Ipod so I can listen to it all the time :)

take it slow...

So, it's been a week after the snowstorm. After the tranquil "snowday" weekend, I had like a frantic week with 2 midterms. But, everything is over now in 5 days, so I can kinda sit back and wait for my spring break. In the mean time, I also finished my 25-episode Thai drama in 6 days. Exam week usually speeds up the drama or Youtube consumption rate. My roommates and I both agreed with it. Now, I'm thinking of watching the part II....

Well, after almost 4 years of college, I'm gradually learning how to take things slow and also short cuts. Which I don't know whether it's good and bad.... So, I had a midterm on Thursday, and there was a thought lingering in my mind, "if 90% is an A why should I study 100%". On Wednesday night, I went out to celebrate my friend's b'day. Before the exam, I saw everyone was studying so hard for the midterm, I kinda felt guilty.... Well, a part of me actually like this kind of life with less kiasusism but it's so hard to escape from guiltiness...

There'll be another 75 days before my graduation. Yeah, fellow seniors, there are less than 80 days. Yet, there are so many activities on my calender book and unread emails in my mailbox ( I pretend they don't exist if they're still in bold) . I quit kendo so that I can enjoy my final semester n go to nyc everyweek (jk, will be so broke), but there are just so many activities from AZ and Tzu Ching. I felt so overwhelmed, but I know I can never run away from them. And then, I have only less than 1 month for my full-of-failure final year project. Oh gosh, I think my brain just gonna burst by thinking of this. Maybe, no sit back and relax time yet til May.

And then, I haven't even heard back one freaking grad school. Should I start looking for job now? Do I really wanna work right after graduation? Can take a year off and disappear from my life like what "guai lo" does?

Yeah, I should change the title to "How to take it slow"....
Well, you guys teach me.

Snowstorm

So, there was a snowstorm last night. And, for the second time, Rutgers canceled the classes whole day. First time in the history, I guess. Ah, the snowstorm did not come at the right time! First, I don't have any classes on Friday. Second, I'm working Friday. Third, the professor is treating us lunch today. Forth, I have a seminar this evening that provides dinner. Damn it, I can't work today and missed 2 free meals! Argggggggh!!!! And also, I am supposed to go to 2 events tomorrow - one is AZ events and another one is Tzu Chi steamboat dinner. Both of them got canceled because of the snow!!! I missed free food again! I want my free food!!!

Well, to be honest, this snow is getting annoying. Because of the horrible weather out there, I can't go anywhere (library, student centers are all close) besides sitting at home watching youtube. This is basically what I did in these 2 days. But, there are not many Taiwanese dramas that caught my interest besides Autumn's Concerto (last episode this weekend!). So, guess what I'm following now? It's Thai drama! The tiltle is called "Love Beyond Frontiers". The main characters are 2 brother singers called Golf & Mike. Apparently, they are very popular in Thailand. They dress up like Korean superstar in the show. But, to be honest, they're really really hot :-) If you have time to kill, join me and watch this cute drama. It's called "Ubut Rak Kham Kob Fah" in Thai. My favorite quote from episode 5 - "50% of the guys are gay, the other 50% are their husband!" So funny XD

And ya, I made tang yuan just now, in less than 30minutes. I figure out that I can cook really really fast these days --- practiced from cooking everyday. With my cooking speed nowadays, I bet I can beat Racheal Ray in no time :-) Tang yuan is yummy n delicious. You know what?

Snow day + Tang Yuan = Perferto!!!

Blizzards

Snowstorm comes again when I thought the spring is near. Damn it!
The trees and fields are all covered in snow, as if in the world of Narnia. Too bad I didn't have camera now. Maybe, I should get a new one. Maybe tonite.

Classes was canceled starting from the 6th period. But, my professor decided to cancel the 5th period class as the conditions are too bad out there. Seriously, the streets was all covered with slush and my sneakers are soaking wet. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the class was cancelled until I arrived at the empty classroom... thanks to the congested Rutgers Eden webmail that functioned "retardedly" the whole day.

I'm in library right now. I just don't feel like going home because I can only watch youtube, which I'm kinda sick of. Maybe I should go shopping and get a pair of boots :)

Sick of snow... When is spring or spring break coming??

...,

I wanna go New York. I wanna go New York. I wanna go New York.
HATE exams n quizzes.... I wanna go New York.

: -)

Tonite, I felt like eating Char Siu Pao. I know who the heck wanna eat Char Siu Pao on 2nd day of Chinese New Year.. But you think so easy to get Char Siu Pao here r! I miss the sweet and warm char siu filling with the soft fluffy bao.... So yummy!! Ah, I wanna eat Char Siu Pao! The last time I had it was from a 7 eleven store at Hawai'i. It would be great of they also sell Char Siu Pao in 7-11 here @@ Now, I am thinking of going to New York city this weekend to get it!! For the sake of Char siu pau, I'm so going to Chinatown :P Who wanna order?

新年快乐!

不到位

these few days kinda stress. Well, maybe I shouldn't use the "stress". just the feeling that nothing is going right. It's just that the people and things are not happening at the right time. Just the feeling that my life is going to fall apart g.r.a.d.u.a.l.l.y. 就是那种不管干嘛，心都有一种不到位的感觉．有时候，真的好想什么都不干，　当个逆来顺收的人，不去想，不去计划．．．反正什么都不会顺心如意的．我好累！　

whateva! 算了，想太多都没用的．　

最近还是很迷梁静茹，这首歌我还漫喜欢的．如果谁有它，请send给我哦，无限感激！


　

无聊

开学了, 第一个礼拜, 过得还蛮轻松的, 也还蛮衰的.

last friday after having dinner with and "visiting" my friend, only then I realized that I left my key on desk for rushing out that morning. and, it was already 11pm. usually, my hsemate is always at home (yes, believe me!) , but somehow that very weekend, he decided to visit a friend in Cali. and then, the other one went back to her parents' place. it's 11pm, and it's definitely unwise to call the building managing person to come. then, eileen asked me to stay in her place. it's so nice of her! so, this was the very 1st night I spent my day out because i forgot my key. Will definitely make sure this won;t happen again, or the guy won't really be happy with me.

so these days, i just spent my time doing grocery and watching youtube. kinda lame. but, it's 1st week of class, nth much to do (i'm say' that so that I can proscrastinate, wateva!) since i was so free, i went for fundraising with Tzu Chi again this morning. it's super cold today with a lil rain. Definitely one of the worst weather we can get here in NJ. But, at least I did sthg significant this weekend.

and ya, on friday, my prof just told me that i might not be able to finish my project on time if they couldn't find the solution for my problematic nanoparticles. Well, i have not much hope about the project anymore. will still try my best, but let's just see....

Tired...

1st day today, i had classes from 9.15am till 5.15pm NON STOP!!
i didn't realized that I wouldn't have any lunch break in between the 3 lectures and 1 lab until today -.-" really felt like skipping the last 2 classes and going home after my lab! I don't think I ever had more than 2 consecutive classes.. Luckily, I didn't register for the dance class that starts at 5.15pm *sweat* but, since I had most of the classes on Tuesday. I'll have my weds n friday off. But, I have to catch up of my research....

Today, I cooked! It's one of my resolution to not eat out as frequently as I did last sem. Luckily, all my classes end before 5.30pm. I guess I'll have time to cook my dinner and lunch then. I cooked okra with shrimp paste (sambal udang) and real shrimps. So spicy and yummy!! Thanks to the shrimp paste sauce I bought at Chinatown :D After that, I made "apple cider". It's just my way of getting rid of the bag of apples that I brought before final week last semester. I just boiled the apple in lotz of water, simmer it for a while, finally add some honey to sweeten it. It's so warm and sweet, just nice for this cold and gloomy winter day! :)

the LAST semester

Finally, we almost reach the end of our journeys in U.S. Tomorrow is the start of my last semester here in Rutgers. Well, time just went by so fast. Many have learned in the past 3 and a half year, both class and life lessons. hopefully, I'll be a well prepared for life by the time I get out from here.

Today, we sent off the last 2 seniors, super seniors. They were 1 "batch" older than we. They have been here since we stepped foot in Rutgers. To see the 2 seniors left, the feeling is kinda of indescribable. They have always been the sources I looked for if I have any questions about courses in the Biotechnology curriculum since we all major in the same field. Well, I believe that the friendship won't just end with "Good-Bye" at the airport. Who knows if we're going to work in the same place in the future after all we all gonna stay in the field. I hope so. Bon voyage!

I was on a vacation the past week -- the last trip in the States. Destination was Hawai'i. I'm not sure if I'm gonna write a post on it. Pictures won't be uploaded that fast because my memory chips got mixed up with Shin Hwei! Sorry, it's my fault, will send you the pics tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow is the 1st day. To be honest, I didn't feel excited, anxious like previous years. Maybe I got sicked of undergraduate classes after 7 bloody semesters. I've done my best in the past. Feel like taking everything slow this semester and enjoy my sem here in Rutgers. After all, we only go to college once in the lifetime, right?

I broke my camera during the trip, and I don't think I can fix it anymore. Maybe I should get a new one asap so that I can record all the final memories here... But, don't know which camera I should get.... Any suggestions?

To be honest, I really hope the winter break can just go on and on. I seriously didn't have much rest during the break. I have spent way too much time worrying about what I am gonna do after I graduate... Maybe, I should have relaxed and let things go it as it should. God always have something destined for me. After all, I don't think I'm that dumb that I won't get a job after graduate :) CHEER UP!

寒假正式开始!

leaving tomorrow for my short vacation!!
time difference from EST is 5hours late, for Malaysia is 18hours..
so long then!
Halo sea, sun, sand, and 26C!
Later, New Jersey!

Happy New Year!

It's 2010 now! Happy new year, you all!

A decade has gone by. Well, I has been spending the past ten years in the secondary school and college. It's all about studying and studying. This year, I'll be graduating from college. It might be the last year of my student life, or maybe not. Whether I'm continuing my studies or not, it's the time for me (and us) to step out of our comfort zone. I somehow have the feeling that we'll be pronounced as adults as soon as we step out from school. So many challenges are waiting ahead for us. It might be scary, but a part of me actually can't wait to go outside, experience new things, and be a free adult that can earn money by myself $$$ :D I wonder what will happen in the new decade. Hopefully, everything goes well and smooth!

This year, I didn't make any new year resolution. I think I have stopped making any new year resolution ever since I came to the States. Maybe it's because the semester system here starts from September, and December is kinda like a small break, and I didn't feel that I am going into a new year. Anyway, since it's the beginning of the whole new decade, I wish everyone who has been following my blog a happy and peaceful years ahead!

Peace,
HE