the working chapter

i finally understood what Monday blues feels like. it's not dreading for work, more like pulling yourself together to function responsibly after a weekend of letting loose. and the weekends are that good. that worth to sleep a little less to have that lil' bit more fun. work a little harder during weekdays to party a little harder on weekends. ahh, my blissful weekend was filled with everything else but work. breaking the rules of being Cinderella. being back in rangers once again, seeing them grow to become such a noisy cute bunch. caught two movies on the big screen. overspent on shopping. dim sum breakfast, har gao!. beers and wine. football. spending quality time with people in general. working life isn't that bad after all, although i badly miss the freedom of being a student, especially when half your friends are still enjoying that particular freedom. oh well, strength to persevere.

but the best cure to Monday blues is when a certain someone decides to have lunch with you, even though it's a 1 hour short lunch. with goodies. (: definitely made my day a better one.



pop me a little happiness wouldn't you?

and so i will.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain -

life in US part II

winter, in florida,was delightfully cooling. it took awhile to accustomed ourselves to the chilly weather, but eventually it felt nice getting around in that weather. sips of hot chocolate warms up the body on cold winter nights, and palm-hugging the mug transferred some warmth to frozen fingers. the apartment's heater was constantly turned on for a warm toasty bed to snuggle in. dressing up in layers was one of the fun part, especially putting on scarfs! occasionally the sun decides to quit the hide and seek game, revealing its full glory for a nice beautiful day. grocery shopping, if i hadn't mentioned before, was a delight. frozen pizza going for a dollar, cakes so sinfully good... i could just walk in a grocery store to turn a sad face to a gleaming one. really.

so yes, although we worked our butt off, we had our fair share of fun. pictures::

#1 our make-shift chinese new year celebration. there were hardly any asians in town so we barely had chinese. Sold my soul to work on cny eve, but came back in time to join a gathering with loads of home-cook chinese dishes. i can still remember how good those pork ribs made by Nina, this girl from China. so. goood.

#2 in search of chinese food again. decided to visit asia fest. the char siew pau tasted so weird. and americanized asian food is heavily modified. but they had some taekwando performances and this golden buddha statue in the middle of the fest. that lil' bit of asian culture i guess.

#3 AWESOME FOOD!! omg looking at this picture itself is making me drool.
care to make an all american breakfast for me?

#4 FREE PANCAKE DAY. ok it wasn't all that awesome. but still it was free. totally drenched the pancakes in heavy doses of maple syrup i'm pretty sure it's diabetic.

#5 Matt.

#6 bowling! (:
i can't bowl for nuts, but at the very least i didn't get last place so hurrah.


#7 pizza buffet at Cici's. $3.99 for unlimited pizzas. awesome deal. their cinnamon rolls. are to die for. like seriously.


#8 americanizing ourselves. had tons of american breakfasts.


#9 baked chocolate chip muffins. ok i cheated all i did was buy Betty Crocker Muffin Mix, add water and egg, put it in the oven and tadaaa!


#10 British Pub. i loved the interior design. and how cozy bars in US can be.


#11 had one two many strawberry shortcakes. lots of strawberries, lots of whipped cream.. not to mention at a fraction of the price compared to here.


#12 St. Paddy's Day!!
all things green and irish beer. ;p
all so jolly and happy.


#13 Hector! at Dolly's for the last breakfast together.
i hate farewells.


#14 more crazy parties. (:


#15 share the loveeeeeee.


#16 Easter Sunday.
Perks of working in Publix. We're allowed to grab leftovers from the bakery!
we had cheese danishes, chocolate chip cookies, apple pies, all sorts of bread, biscuits, cheesecakes... i think we went a lil' too crazy.
totally couldn't finish more than half the food.


#17 Shopping at the outlet mall.
Joy joy joy! ;p


#18 spent easter evening watching sunset by the beach.
I <3> off days.

#19 sneak peek of my room.
it was pretty nice. (;


#20 walk in closet.


#21 ladies night! open barrrr.
mm cran-vodka.


#22 Kat's bday celebration.


#23 sesame chicken with pork fried rice and egg roll.


#24 blissful me.

ok updates on hold.

***

summer, in malaysia, on the other hand, is dreadfully hot. nothing has really changed. except for the fact my room is really pink now. and i no longer share it with my sis. change of status from a student to a working adult. oh, the most drastic change being the change from within. as for now, i'm glad for mamak sessions, and random salsa classes. cinnabon being the cherry of the icing. ;p

things I miss, and crave

I think I need some now.

life in US part I

so, my updates are a lil' outdated. but i've finally stopped procrastinating, sharing experiences on US because right now I'm missing it. Life in US. It's like having a taste of a forbidden big juicy apple in comparison with that normal apple you have in hand. living the American dream for that little bit. or maybe just escaping reality for a short moment. no matter how you put it in words, it was one of the best escapades of my life. Bonita Springs, was the opposite of all I imagined. a quaint lil' town filled with retired community, with no proper public transportation system, it wasn't the best option ever. adaptation did it's job, and having the beach 5 minutes drive away from your apartment isn't all that bad really.

#1 Starting out was never easy. But we managed. We pulled through. and Bonita Beach Road is where our apartment was. The heart of Bonita Springs.

#2 starting our 9km journey of walking to Walmart. yes we were pretty insane, but we made it. and it was a big accomplishment.

#3 Shopping! and dressing up in layers for winter cuz it was so coldd. now that I'm back it's so hot here.

#4 home, for three months. living independently honestly ain't that bad. apart from the house chores, i actually embrace the idea of living as a bachelorette.


#5 Mode of transportation. Never in my life have I biked this much within the short span of three months. Insane.

#6 Shopping at my workplace. Whee.

#7 Never in my life I've cooked so much too. But I have secretly started to like cooking, and grocery shopping, and all things related. Being domesticated isn't all that bad, after all the infamous quote goes the way to a man's heart is through his tummy, ain't it?

#8 clad up in winter attires visiting the beach. it was freezing cold!


#9 Movie and Ice cream nights. having ice cream straight from the tub on bed can be pretty pampering. ;p


#10 cheap beers. chill out sessions.
I love Budweiser, esp when it cost less than 1 buck. ;p


#11 Night lights from the pier.perhaps one of the things I miss the most of Bonita is the sea breeze, and the sound of waves crashing up.


#12 Bonding with J1s over beer. My colleagues! it was funny how we had trouble communicating due to language barrier, all of them speak spanish as their first language. i do miss them though. we did have fun times despite the barrier we had.


#13 most of the J1s. (:

three months of living a bachelorette's life. of attending parties having to hide in the closet at the end when the police came, to cycling, to meeting new friends, and experiencing a totally different culture... i'm glad I signed up for the program.

more snail (wail) updates on US coming!