Food Again

Tom Yam






Curry Chicken (My favorite) ^_^




Last night I decided to cook curry chicken for Teda and Ily. Teda says my cooking skills improve again.Haahaa....I like the curry so much. Even though I spend quite a lot of time in cooking in but I feel so happy when I found out that it actually turned out to be so delicious and my friends loves so much!!!^_^



Brownies

A tear of me

Don't ask me the reason behind this tear because it will bring another tears to me.

Yummy!!!!- All the food that I cooked recently

Steamed Fish






Pot Stickers(Fried Dumplings)





Chicken Soup (Good for preventing flu according to the recipe)



Kimchi Fried Rice

我踏出了第一步…但

说真的，我从来也未因身边的朋友太少而积极地去认识更多朋友。或许，是因为我太幸运了，打从小学开始已经认识了一个难得的知己，而且转眼间便与她同窗六年。我想到目前为止，我生命中最快乐的日子莫过于中学时与她相处的时候了。我们几乎拥有相同的梦想，相同的兴趣，甚至拥有相同的思想。但，为了我的前途，我们却被迫分开了。我记得她知道我得到奖学金的那一刻是悲伤的，她当然不是不替我高兴，而是为我们的分离感到不舍。我曾经以为朋友不在乎多或少，只要是知心朋友，那就足够了。但，近来我发觉自己总是坐在课室的一个小小的的角落，静静地听课，很少与身边的人交谈。每当我的教授要求我们与身边的朋友交换意见时，我的孤独变得更加明显了，甚至有一次我的教授必须走到我面前说服我去找其他同学讨论当天的课题，我只好硬着头皮照办了。今晚的我终于提起勇气，主动参与一个晚会，希望能结交更多与我同样课系的朋友。可是，当我到达晚会的餐厅时，我却感到失望透了。当我正为不知该坐那儿的问题而苦恼时，我看见了刚才与我一同搭巴士的女子。我犹豫了一会儿，好不容易才鼓起勇气，开口问她是否能与她同座，但却被她拒绝了。过后，我只好默默地离开晚会的现场。当我独自走在那无人的道路时，我只能告诉自己至少我勇敢地踏出了第一步。我想我再也没有勇气主动去结交新朋友了。

郁金香

郁金香是我的最爱。上个星期我心血来潮，为自己买了一束浅紫色的郁金香，希望为我那沉闷的房间带来生气。每天早上起来后，我总会望一望那一朵朵美丽的郁金香，它们的吸引力足以让我不知不觉地靠近它们。那淡淡的花香唤醒了我，告诉我这又是新的一天的开始，让我开始像它们一样，期待着那温暖的阳光。你知道我为什么对郁金香情有独钟吗？对我而言，玫瑰太妖艳了，即使为玫瑰换上浅色的衣裳，它还是藏不住它那扭曲且凹凸的花瓣，而郁金香虽平凡但却散发出那简单的美玫瑰也太脆弱了，总是很容易凋谢，而郁金香那厚厚的花瓣让它看起来总是那么的坚强，即使知道它那短暂的生命即将结束，依然维持不变，几乎拥有无穷的生命力。其实，郁金香最大的特色在于它那似真似假的外表。有人说人生如梦，郁金香就像复杂的人生一样，似真似假，有时候连我也分不清真与假。花儿的盛开不为人们的赞许，而是为了延续它那宝贵的生命。其实，人人都有机会观赏花儿的美，但人们往往只会称赞美丽的花儿，只有懂得欣赏它的人才会懂得珍惜它那潜有的美。

Egg tarts

The first tray of egg tarts (It may not look very nice but it is actually delicious)


I found out that using the muffin pan actually makes the egg tarts look ugly. This is the second tray(I didn't use the muffin pan this time).

After that, the tarts look even better.


The whole process of making the egg tarts took me more than 4 hours because rolling the dough for the crust is really a painful task. However, it smells so nice when I am baking it. The tarts really taste nice but I doubt I would ever make it again because it is really a tiring job.

My Valentine

My gifts



Tulips that I loved so much

Happy Valentine's Day!!! ^_^

I thought there is no point celebrating Valentine's Day when I am single but I get more I have ever expected. Ily woke me up early this morning to wish me Happy Valentine's Day but I was half asleep and can't even open my eyes. The next thing I realized was that she even brought a cute pink roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolate for me. I think this is the first time I received chocolate for Valentine's Day. Oh....she is so sweet and thoughtful. Then, when I check my email today, I received an e-card from my mum wishing me "Happy Hearts Day". I realized that today is not only a day for a lover to express his or her feelings towards the significant other but also a special day to show your love towards your friends and family. Valentine's Day is a celebration of love. I feel so ashamed that I always complain that I am too far away from love but I realized that love is actually by my side all this while.

To my friends who are having exams on this special day including me, "Good luck for your exams".
To all my beloved friends, "I love you and thanks for your love!!!!!!Happy Valentine's Day!!!!"

最真挚的感动

很多时候人总会在人群中感到迷茫。我承认我是一个没有主见的跟随者，总爱跟着别人的脚步走，往往忽略了自己的需要。 也因为这样我迷失了自己，也遗忘了当初的梦想。但最近观看了恶作剧2吻之后，我几乎有所启发。我所盼望的不是荣华富贵，而是助人所带来的快乐。就像之前的我一直想要有一个 难忘又特别的生日，但最后我还是选择了跟几个亲密的朋友一起庆祝。我亲自动手做了一个蛋糕并煮了我最拿手的椰浆饭，希望他们能与我分享我踏入二十一岁的那一天。虽然我知道这样的庆祝方式有点太简单了，但我却觉得很幸福。我亲爱的家人，你们知道吗？我的愿望其实只不过是希望能亲自为你们下厨准备一顿丰富的晚餐，然后看着你们吃的开开心心的样子我就已经心满意足了。我发觉幸福真的可以很简单，只要有一颗知足的心，幸福就会在你左右。

A tiring day-Changing carpet

I slept around 6am today then somebody from the Ramshaw real estate came into my bedroom and wake me up 8am telling me to move all my stuffs away from the floor. I had to drag myself up and start moving things around. Before I am able to get up from the bed, the girl who wakes me up left already.Then,another person from the company called to inform me that I had to be in the house for the whole day to monitor the whole carpet-changing process. When I am worrying about not being able to attend classes for today, my neighbor volunteered to stay at the house for me so I have to run to class. When I came back from class, I was speechless once I stepped into my apartment. All the things including the furnitures in the apartment are thrown in a messy way in the living room. Moreover, some leftover food and rubbish also serve as decorations to the living room. All the carpets on the floor of every single room are being pulled out. I stared blankly to my living room for a while.I feel so dizzy and helpless. I feel like crying aloud. Is it really my apartment?Is it really a place for human being to live in? I know that it is good that the company is willing to change the carpets in the whole apartment for free but is it necessary to throw my stuffs everywhere and mess up all the things? I can't imagine how much time it takes to get things organized again. I guess I am not going to have a nice sleep tonight again.

Flood

Before






After

My Apartment is FLOODED.....I am HOMELESS

I was talking happily to Ily before stepping into my house just now. The next thing I realized is that water is coming into the living room through the sliding door. My mind went blank and all I did is just going to the next door and called for help.It was raining heavily outside and nothing seems to be able to stop the water from coming in. Teda tried to block the water from coming in through the door with my hello kitty toilet carpet and some plastic bags but it is useless. The water keeps spreading until it get into our bedroom. The whole toilet and the small little kitchen are all flooded. I try calling my landlord but they say there are many other apartments in the town that are flooded too so I have to wait for them to come. When the maintenance guy finally came, the water had gone to almost 3 inches high. Then the guy told us that our case is the worst among others for tonight. I feel like crying but at the same time I feel so helpless. I look at the water, staring blankly at my beloved bedroom but I can't do anything now. I know that I can't stay at the apartment for tonight so I am basically homeless for tonight. Even though the guys told us that we can go and stay at the hotel for tonight and the landlord is going to pay for the accommodation later but nobody wants to stay at the hotel tonight except for me since I am too tired to clean up anything.So, now, I end up staying in my friend's apartment which is in the same building.....Sigh.....What an extraordinary experience!

眼泪是残酷的事实

不知为什么，每次与马来西亚朋友的集会回来时总会有少许的落寞。心里明明知道自己很少与其他华人交谈，但却被逼与他们同桌吃饭。 坐在我身旁的女生几乎看透了我的心，开口问我为什么一直保持沉默。我只好对她说也许我太累了。其实，这几天我一直没有睡好，有好几晚我都是躺在电脑前睡着的。 你是否曾经身在人群中但却觉得更寂寞呢？这种感觉就像是不论你拥有多少个朋友但却没有一个能真正地了解你一样。我知道我的眼泪不能一直流，但我发觉眼泪对我来说是残酷的事实。刚刚我问过我自己到底我还需要流多少的眼泪才能顺利地迈向成功之路？我想我的眼泪是不会流干的，因为我所流过的每一滴眼泪都不停地在唤醒我要继续坚持下去，因为我的眼泪告诉我无论我多么希望能有人在乎我所流过的泪但最后的我依然必须独自行走前面的路。

My 21st Birthday

Take a first look at my cake!


Then,put some mashimaro and caramel on top.

My teacher who taught me how to bake my first birthday cake.

Take a close look of my very first birthday cake!!!

My cake with the cute candle on it




I am blowing off the candle.

My cake and a present from Teda and Ily (Guess what is inside the box?)


A box of tissue!!!! (Does it imply that I cry too much?)


All the gifts I received

A moody day

The sky is so gloomy today so is my mood. I haven't actually had a real smile on my face today. I feel so tired mentally and physically. I really have to admit that I am not good at programming at all but I have to do 3 programming assignment every single week. Two of them are for my computer science class which involve writing in C and assembly language MIPS while another one is for my work as an undergraduate assistant which involving using Visual Basic in Excel. I am too overwhelmed with the programming assignments that we have to do.Even though I have two partners working together for the two mps, I still feel very stressful since I don't want to be the useless one in the group but I have admit that I am slow in understanding difficult concepts. Imagine having to meet your lab partners more than twice a week and at the end of each meeting, one of my partners will ask the same question :"When are we going to meet for the next mp?" I have been thinking of going swimming for relaxing since I miss swimming in the Aquatics Center without having to worry about completing my mp. I know that there are much more important things in the world than programming but this is my life and I have to live with it even if it numbs my feelings. The worst part is that since one of my mp is due on Friday, I am going to celebrate my birthday by doing programming with my lab partners.It is not that I don't want to tell my partners that I need a break for my birthday but it is just that even if I am free on the day, I don't have anything in mind to do since most of my friends are busy on that day.

My very first Illini hockey Game

Illinois vs Ohio


The players are so aggressive and serious.




A performance on the ice during a short break


A bunch of cute kids who are hilarious since they can barely balance themselves on the ice and yet their sport spirits are high.



Two weeks ago, I get email from the university's recreation department telling me that I have won two illini hockey tickets in their lucky draw so I invited Teda to come with me for the game. Even though Teda and I doesn't know anything about ice hockey but we feel like we should grab this chance to explore more about hockey game. The game that day is between Illinois and Ohio. It turns out that it was more than an ordinary hockey game. Every time when the players make a mistake or have a scary fight, some rock music will be played and the audience will start singing and dancing together. Sometimes the players are too obsess with the game that they just keep scoping on ice in the hope of getting the ball and there are a few times where the ball actually fly out from the court to the audiences who sat beside us. It is funny that when the players starts fighting for the ball that the little kids start screaming excitedly, encouraging them to have continue fighting. Then there are dance performance on the ice by a group of girls. I was amazed by how gracefully they dance on the ice. Moreover, a bunch of kids who barely know how to skate are competing against each other during one of the breaks. Even though in the beginning of the game,a few of them fell down several times but they still didn't give up. I am impressed with their high spirits in the game. At last, Illinois won the game by 4 to 0 so it is a big victory for us and the poor Ohio players had to bear with our supporters shouting "Hey,you sucks!!!!" throughout the game. Overall, it is quite an experience for me and I would like to go for another hockey game if possible.

An unexpected gathering

That day Shamini and I bought the food from our favorite Indian shop even though we just had our lunch in a chinese restaurant. Then Teda came and knocked the door and I asked her to join us for the yummy dinner. I always like the rice in the indian shop since it tastes like nasi briyani and i miss the fragrant curry which has a very nice smell that can wafts through the air and makes me feel hungry. So, when we are having that dinner, I suggested taking photographs because I guess it may be the last gathering for her over here. I really miss every single moment with you........

她回去了

今天，我送走了她。在那前往飞机场的路途中，我看着窗外的风景，不时地转过头望一望坐在我身旁的她，我想她大概只一心想着要尽快回到那个属于她的家吧。一路上我一直保持沉默，一方面是因为昨晚我只睡了大约三个小时，另一方面是因为我在静静思考着。我记得我对她埋怨过即使我考到了理想的成绩，我很清楚地知道我并不快乐。她告诉我这是我的选择，我选择了学业，而她却选择了亲情与友情，既然我决定了我的选择，我就只能默默地祈祷，希望我的选择能为我带来我要的幸福。其实，她说得对，即使我在这里不见得活得快乐，但在那前往飞机场的路途中，我发觉现在的我并不想回去，因为我答应了自己无论情况变得多么恶劣，我必须坚强地撑下去，因为我到美国的目的是为了要实现我的梦，所以在我尚未完成我的任务之前我是不会回去的。可是，这并不代表我选择放弃我的家人，因为在我心目中家人的地位是十分重要的，我甚至觉得我在乎他们多过我自己。其实，我一直觉得自己很没有用，什么都不会，学任何东西都比别人慢，又不善于表达我的想法，所以我只有不断地努力。但，世界上有太多的东西并不是光靠努力就能得到的，例如友情与爱情，曾经答应过会爱你一辈子的人可以变成一个让你恨之入骨的人，交来的知心朋友即使希望留在你身边但却还是要回到那个属于她的地方。也许她说得对，现在的我变了，在那灿烂笑容的背后多了些悲酸，难道这就是成长所要付出的代价吗？

Michelle,I miss you

I received a sms from my ex-roommate today. I can still remember the day when she left without bother to say goodbye to me or even leave a note for me. It was the last day of my final exams but I have to sit for my last paper until 9 o'clock in the evening. When I open the door of my dorm, I was stunned when I realized that half of my room became empty already.I was speechless and rooted to the spot and the next thing I know is that a tear dropped down my face. All the while I thought that I have actually able to find a true friend in this foreign land but the fact that she left without saying goodbye made me wonder if she thought that I am nothing more than an ordinary roommate for her. I tried to call her a few times after she left but she didn't pick up her phone and I tried contacting her through facebook but I end up finding people who share the same name as her. I would have to admit that my second semester over here will be a disaster if she is not with me. She taught to speak up for myself and she encourage me to chase for my own happiness. She also used to have a cute boyfriend who always like to scare me by looking fiercely at me while telling me that "I am going to break you!!!!" but before the semester ends, my roommate actually taught me to crush a tin in front of him and tell him the same sentence :"I am going to break you!!". It is so funny that my roommate laugh so hard. Now,once in a while, I will come across the guy and he reminds me of her every time I meet him but he never bother to say hi to me and pretend that he didn't know me. However, after more than 6 months since she left, she sends a message to me just to ask how am I recently. I thought she must have forgotten all about me after such a long time but her sms proves me wrong and I am touched. Michelle, I just want to tell you that I miss you so much!

A good souvenir that I bought from disneyland

Those who went together with me for the California trip may still remember that I actually bought a mickey-shaped egg shapers from Disneyland.I gave one of the egg shaper to Huey Shann so I wonder if she start using it.So far,I only use it twice-one to cook for Alicia and another for Shamini(I actually haven't eaten my "special shaped" egg until now).Some may think that the egg shaper is redundant but I find it cute and it brighten my days by frying the cute egg.

寂寞

当寂寞的铃声响起，我又想起了他，一个让我又爱又恨的人。我付出了我的真心，但换来的却是他的绝情。好不容易才交上的好友也将要离我而去。为什么几乎每个学期的开始我都会独自落泪？我已经尽量避免一个人走在那无人且漆黑的街上，但我还是逃不了独自在那空虚的房间哭泣的命运。为什么我每次都要从零开始？为什么我总要带着满满的希望去寻找那个懂得我的人然后又无奈地看着他悄悄地离去？难道我真的注定了必须一个人度过我在这里的日子吗？我真的能继续撑下去吗？难道那个愿意给我依靠的肩膀真的不可能出现吗？

A Happy Day

Today, Shamini accompanied me to the Aquatics Center to swimming.Even though I have come to this university for more than 1 and 1/2 year,I have never stepped into the Aquatics Center in the Campus Recreation Center before. The Aquatics Center is actually a very cool place to swim and have fun.There are a small jacuzzi area, water slide and even a water volleyball court. There are a lot of people in the swimming pool.Most parents like to bring their kids to the swimming pool and they splash water all over the place. I like the place a lot and I plan to visit the place more often once the school starts. After swimming for almost an hour,we walk to Flat Top for lunch.The food is quite nice especially the dessert. The dessert is called "Triple Chocolate Storm" and it is really yummy!!!Shamini, thank you so much for such a nice treat!!!


Aquatics Center



Our Mix-and-Match meal



Our dessert-Triple Chocolate Storm



Me and my yummy dessert

I JUST WANNA BRUSH MY TEETH

I was still sleeping on my comfortable bed before Shamini wake me up this morning. She told me water is coming out from the toilet bowl so much so that the whole bathroom is flooded and the water even start coming out to my bedroom!!Then I had to get out from my bed and call the maintenance people to come over and fixed the toilet.When I try to open the door for the maintenance guy,I realized that even my kitchen is flooded but the weird thing is no water coming out from any part of the kitchen(not even from the sink). The guy told me that something is stuck in the toilet but even he had no idea about the water on the kitchen.However, he told me that somebody will come over later and extract all the water out for me. He also told me that I will not be responsible for paying for the mess since I had no idea that pushing a button behind the toilet bowl will have stop the water from flooding the place. This is the second time in US that my place is flooded.Even though the first time happened when I was back in a temporary dorm,I am very upset now.Sigh.......All I want is just to brush my teeth.....why?????

Am I meant to be alone?

Am I meant to be alone all the time when I study in US? Looking back at all the things that I have done in US,I realized that I have been spending too much time on my studies. I really didn't make that many new friends.I seldom take the initiative to talk to new people.All I did was just staying within the same circle of friends and treat them as good as possible or calling friends whom I meet in INTEC and talk to them for hours whenever I feel lonely. I used to be to dependent on my friends because they are the only support I get when I am here. But,now, who should I depend on? I don't want the same dull life again. I don't want to live like a machine created just to study and get good results. But, what else can I do?Those who claim to love me left me when I need them the most while those who really do love me end up leaving me too. It seems to me that nobody wants to be besides me no matter how hard I tried. Am I that bad? What have I done to deserve all these?