HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAREST MOMMY~~!!! :)

It's mom's birthday today!! Last year, mom & dad went to China during her birthday so we celebrated after she came back. This year, both of us are in the states so can't celebrate it with her. At least we can still use internet to send our wishes...hehe!! :)

I remember when I first came over, mom was worried that I don't have enough money to use here so she wanted to send me money even though I said that I had more than enough coz I don't really spend much. Of course, I stopped her from doing so. Whenever I tell my friend about this, they'll say that my parents are rich and I should just take it. Well, we're not rich...juz that mom would rather spend less on herself and spend it on us instead. It has always been this way since young. That's why I always try to achieve in everything I do so that I can make my them proud. And I'm glad that I can help them save money on my education by getting full scholarship for college and also getting this scholarship to come over here....haha!! :)

I was looking through the photos on my external and realized that I haven't posted anything about our Phuket trip since May! Here are some of our happy family photos...thanks mom & dad for giving us such a great family!! :) Looking forward to see y'all this winter break!!

I love my family!!!

(Aiya...big bro missing in these pics!)

Seafood dinner during dad's birthday few days before flying to US

Life's a journey with new experiences...

Yeah...I'm finally updating my blog again! :) The past 3 weekends had been busy & fun-filled...so lots to update all at once. I'm happy that everything has been going very well since I came here and I'm enjoyed every opportunity to learn & experience different things every day!!

This was my first time ever celebrating Halloween so it was definitely a brand new experience! It was fun to see how people celebrate it over here...decorating their houses with pumpkins & other 'scary' stuffs, carve pumpkins and most importantly dress up for Halloween parties!! My first Halloween experience was absolutely awesome coz I went to a pumpkin carving party and 2 Halloween parties...all in Birmingham! Haha...thanks to Daniel & Anna for being such good American hosts...at least I have the chance to hang out with more Americans...haha!! :p

Nice Halloween decorations!!!

25 Oct 2008 (Sat): Pumpkin Carving Party @ Erin's House

Anna, Sabina, Cristina and I went down to Birmingham for this pumpkin carving party. It was funny coz we spent bout 30 minutes driving around juz to buy 2 huge pumpkins...haha!! It was really fun carving the pumpkin with Anna & Daniel. I've never carved a pumpkin before so they had to explain to me step by step what we need to do. It wasn't hard...juz takes time...but I like craft...so it was really interesting for me!! And we had quite a complicated design...well...we 'ruined' it a bit...but overall it was very niceeee!!! Not bad for a first timer...hahaha!! :)

Our pumpkin was sooo AWESOME...luv it!!

31 Oct & 1 Nov 2008 (Fri & Sat): Halloween Parties @ Birmingham

Daniel invited me to their house party and also another party at his friend's house. It was very nice of him to come all the way here to fetch me to and fro Birmingham....really appreciate it!! I met lotsa new 'american' friends in both parties...most of them PHD students in UAB. Both parties were fun coz everyone was chatting, eating, drinking & playing games...definitely better than the loud music in the frat parties...haha!! :p

Halloween Party @ The 'Man-sion'

I dressed up as japanese school girl...haha...do i look like??

Wondering what it's like in american parties?

Eat, chat, watch football, play beer pong & flip cups and playing with kids (my favorite)...hahaha!!

Costumes...costumes...costumes!!!

6 Nov 2008 (Thurs): Homecoming Bonfire

7 Nov 2008 (Fri): TEA Conference @ Holiday Inn, Huntsville

The international office gave us the opportunity to help out in this event and claim our communitey service hours. But since I've already completed my 10 hours for this semester, I juz volunteered to help out coz I felt that it would be a good experience to get involved in something different. I was there from 7.30am till 5.30pm...helping whenever they need help...it was quite an easy task and I really enjoyed the experience being in the 'Blue Team'.

Glad to be part of the 'Blue Team'!!

We were the 'escorts' to the Early Works Museum

But we were busy taking pictures instead of escorting...oops!! :p

Finally some pictures of downtown Huntsville

The trees are soooo beautiful!!! I love Autumn!!

7 Nov 2008 (Fri): UAH Ice Hockey Game

We went to the Von Braun Center to watch the hockey game between UAH and Bemidji State. It was my first time watching an ice hockey game so I was very excited about it!! We were sitting near some fun supporters so it made the game even more interesting coz we were cheering for UAH all the time. We also saw Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn at the game coz they were there to cheer for their son. It was a good game and we won 4:2...woohoo!! Yea...blue and white are the colors for UAH...Go Chargers!!!

Go Chargers!!!

8 Nov 2008 (Sat): Chinese Lantern Festival @ Grissom High School

Well...mid-autumn festival is over for quite some time already...but this event was delayed till last weekend. I volunteered to help in this event coz I really wanted to attend since I didn't get to celebrate it back home. Everything was so familiar to me...people, language, food & performances...felt like back home!! I was also helping Uyanga as her 'assistant' coz she had 2 performances...and she won first prize for her Mongolian dance...congrats!!

The fall semester is coming to an end and I've finished all my tests...still have quiz & project due nex week. Then it's Thanksgiving break and final exam! So far, I'm doing good in all my classes...still getting A's...oh yeah!! ;)

Winter break is gonna be awesome coz bro & I will be travelling around. We'll start with ski trip at West Virginia...after that maybe Baltimore & Maryland....then join the 8 days' East Coast tour from 24th-31st Dec (New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Niagara Falls, Boston, Rhode Island & New Jersey)....will be spending Christmas & New Year in New York...woohoo!!! :) And the best thing is.....mum & dad will be coming over to join us for the 8 days' tour....AWESOME!!! :)

Busy or Lazy??

I know i know i know....."Chattanooga Weekend" have been 'resting' there for tooooo long already...haha...wondering why I took so long to update?? Ok ok...I'm sorry lo...I admit...this time itz my fault...oops! :p I have been free from tests for the past 3 weeks...so can't use 'busy' as excuse this time...hehe!! The only word I can use is....LAZY...hahahaha!!! Be prepared...this post is pretty long oo!!

I have been watching a lot of shows online lately...even more than what I watched back home!!! 篮球火，娱乐百分百，超级星光大道4, 康熙来了，女人我最大，学校学不到的事，Gossip Girl, The Hills...OMG!!! I'm really crazy...Chinese, English, Japanese...seems like too much huh!! My favorite is still Hot Shot...too bad only one episode per week...wait till neck long lar!! Even though WuChun doesn't appear much, it was still nice watching Jerry & Show cause they always make me laugh!! Speaking about WuChun....Fahrenheit went to Malaysia to promote their concert last Friday!!! Aarghhh...I missed it!!! If I was in Malaysia, I'll definitely try to call-in and win the chance to meet them in person....too bad!!! :(

Fahrenheit Concert Promo Tour in Malaysia...I wanna see WuChun in person!!

I'm chillin' too much probably because studying here is not as stressful as ACCA...like 'sky & land'...really!! Sorry har...my fellow coursemates in AFA 2...I don't mean to brag of show off...that's the truth!! I know...next year is my turn to stress...so by that time itz ur turn to 'show off'...hahaha!!! :p The system here makes studying easier mainly because we'll have few tests during the semester and whatever covered in the tests will not be asked again in the next tests or final exam...maybe that's the reason why I'm having short-term memory nowadays...hahaha!! Before coming here, I thought college exam was already good enough...just remember whatever learned during the semester then can forget after final exam....as compared to high school where we had to remember what we've studied for 2 or 3 years!! Besides, some classes allow students to request for tests to be pushed back...cool huh!! Try doing the same thing in TARC...the lecturers '睬你都傻'...haha!!

My daily routine here has been quite systematic: Wake up at about 8.30am...turn on computer...take shower...then sit in front of my laptop...open up few web pages (watch the stock market...check email & facebook)...chat or talk with family & friends...then go to cafeteria for lunch....come back continue online...eat dinner...then continue online again till I go to bed only shut down my computer. Of course, I always attend all my classes and also study for tests & quizzes...I still remember my priorities here...haha!! I've received my results for 2nd tests: Accounting-90; Japanese-122/125. I'm satisfied....so far so good!! ;)

The weather here is finally getting chilly for the past few days....about 22 degrees (celcius) during the day and 5 degrees at night. Everyone is starting to wear long sleeve and jacket. I like the cold weather but sometimes I'll feel too cold...guess I'm still not used to it yet. It is also getting dark earlier now...it starts getting dark at 6.30pm (like 8pm in M'sia)...gives me a false impression that it's already late. Our suite has been very quiet nowadays...mainly because Cristina is at her bf's place most of the time, Anna went home almost everyday last week & as usual Danielle not around most of the time....I'm home alone!!! Lonely lar....luckily still got someone to chat with me on messenger! :) Internet & messenger is awesome!!!

Alright...enough crap...time to share about some interesting things that I've been up to lately!!

16 Oct 2008 (Thurs): ISH Event

I heard about this community service opportunity from Dr. Ong, who is also chairing this event. She is in-charge of the NESA group so supposingly, I don't usually join them in their activities. But coz she is also Malaysian...so she asked if I would like to help out in that event (Malaysian 'take care' of each other ma)...hehe!! It sounded very interesting so I decided to join them and skipped one class. The event is called 'Culture of the Chamber' and is organized by the International Society of Huntsville. It was a social event where people from different countries get together for dinner and get to know each other.

All of us get to dress nice for this community service and our tasks were pretty simple. We helped to set up the venue, arranged the food, registered & welcomed the guests and after that get to eat and socialize with the guests....cool huh!! :) It was interesting to talk to people from different countries...including some locals...and I also met 2 Singaporean & Malaysian ladies...it was nice talking about things back home! I enjoyed this experience very much and got to know the others better...really appreciate this opportunity! Thanks Dr Ong!! :)

Everyone looked very nice!!

10-11 Oct 2008 (Fri & Sat): Gal's Weekend Getaway

We had 4-days' weekend for fall break. Anna was very nice and offered to bring us to her high school football game, overnight at her house then go to her grandpa's farm the next day. Anna used her mum's SUV to fetch Cristina, Sabina, Uyanga & me to her house on Friday evening. Their house is very nice and they have hugeeeee compound...almost the size of my primary school field..haha!! Her mum, Donna, prepared yummi-licious meatball spaghetti & 'burnt' bread for dinner....yum yum!!

We then went to Anna's high school (New Hope High School) to watch (American) football. It was my first time watching a football game live so I was quite excited about it. But since we don't really know much about how the game goes, we ended up focusing more on the talking, and watching the cheerleaders and band!! Anna was excited coz it was the 1st time going back to her high school after graduating...I felt the same when I went back to my high school for the 1st time! Watching the bands also brought back lotsa memories that I had when I was in the band during high school.

We went to her grandpa's farm the next day. It was a new experience for me coz I've never been to a farm before! I'm a city kid...haha!! Her grandpa had 2 big dogs, which kinda scares me coz they are almost as tall as I am! We saw horses, donkey, cows, chicken and lama. I felt like I was in the zoo...hehe!! I got to ride on the horse and it was awesome!!

It was indeed an interesting fall break for us....thanks Anna for the hospitality!! I'm really happy to have you as my roommate!!! ;)

I like this place....tranquil and relaxing!!

Nice house!! I realised that the mirror they had beside the door (left bottom pic) is exactly similar to the one in our house!!!! What a coincidence!!! America & Malaysia...same furniture...unbelievable!!!

New Hope High School football game

Scenery along the way and nice houses in Hampton Cove

Visiting the farm....very interesting!!

Enjoyed hanging out with ya'll...

9 Oct 2008 (Thurs): Community Service

It was fall break so I decided to spend some time doing some community service. We are supposed to complete 10 hours of community service per semester. It was my first time involving in a community service here in US. We went to the Huntsville Downtown Rescue Mission to help them coz they juz moved to a new place. Only 4 of us went that day so it was kinda boring. We spent most of the time moving donated items and organizing them. It wasn't an easy task so we were all worned out at the end of the day. But anyway, I have nothing to complain....coz after all we're doing community service...I'm happy as long as I can contribute some effort to help others live a better life!!! :)

Quote to share: "“Do good things whenever the opportunity comes. When the opportunity is gone, try as we may but it might be too late.”

First Community Service!

Chattanooga Weekend

In a few more days, it'll be my 3rd month being here in the US. That means...7 months more to go before leaving...arghh...i hate to think about that!! :( I was talking to Uyanga few days ago and realised that we've already been here for almost 2 months!! Gosh...that's way toooo fast!! I've been enjoying every experiences here so far and met many awesome people, all these will definitely make me feel sad when I'm leavin'. Juz put these thoughts aside first, I'm gonna enjoy myself to the fullest for the next few months!! ;)

I've been sharing a lot about different activities & different places that I've been to through my blog and facebook. My friends back in Malaysia said that I seem to be paid this scholarship to come here to experience the American culture & have fun instead of studying. Hehe...i'm indeed having fun but make it clear...I do put in a lot of effort in my studies too! Juz that I didn't mention much about it coz might bore ya'll...haha!! :p

So I'll juz briefly recap about my progress in studies so far. Advanced Financial Accounting...scored 90 for my first test and juz had my 2nd test laz Thurs. Investments...scored 98 for my first test and ranked 3rd in the StockTrak game now...not bad huh!! Biz Writing...got an A for my individual project (very happy coz the teacher told the class that even though i'm not from here...I did very well...coz i think only bout 5 ppl got A in our class). Japanese...scored at least 90 for quizzes & homework and juz had first test laz Wed. So...proved that itz not juz all play & no work yo!!

28 Sept 2008 (Sun): Chattanooga Trip

The international office brought us all for a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee last Sunday. It was the first time for all sponsored students to go on a trip together. We went to the Lookout Mountain and the Tennessee Aquarium. Overall, it was a pleasant trip and we enjoyed ourselves seeing the nice scenery at Lookout Mountain & visiting the aquarium. We were all busy snapping pictures & killing our cameras. I took quite a lot of pictures too so had to combine all of them together...juz click on the photos to see clearer ya! Hope that we'll have more chance to travel around together! :)

2 hours journey from UAH to Chattanooga...picturesque view along the way.

Yeah...finally i'm appearing in more pictures...woohoo!!

Picturesque view of 7 states from the Lookout Mountain

More pictures!!!!!! Ran out of memory at the aquarium...hehe!!

A small part of my 'findings' in the aquarium

26 Sept (Fri) - Hang out with Rachel & Friends

Rachel & I have been talking about meeting each other even before we came over since we're the nearest from each other. Finally, Rachel managed to come to Huntsville with her friends. It was nice seeing someone familiar so far away from home! We went to Bridge Street and itz nice to go to this special place again, I really like the place! We then went to Coleen's house for dinner and hang out with her friends for the rest of the night. It was nice meeting Rachel and her friends from UNA! ;)

Rachel & her friends from Uni of North Alabama

Nice view around Bridge Street especially during sunset

Gals' night at Coleen's house

"Happiness Is A Journey, Not A Destination..."

Pheww....I've finally found some time to update my blog!! Well...have been busy with never-ending tests and quizzes lately...and I'm kinda tired coz I've been staying up late every night!! This is the difference between the system in US & M'sia, I used to have only one mid-term test, one assignment & one final exam per semester...and of course...more emphasis is put on final exam. Whereas over here...there'll be tests throughout the entire semester and they are all almost equally weighted...so as long as you keep up with studies...it is actually quite easy to do well. I also know that my friends in AFA 2 have been stressed out with final exams for the past few days, so juz wait till ya'll finish exam only update my blog...haha!! :) Anyway, something nice have been goin on lately and I'm very happy...hehe!! :p

20-21 September 2008: Birmingham Trip

I had been hoping to go to Birmingham and I was glad when Cristina said that her host family in Birmingham will be comin' over to pick her up during the weekends. So I 'muka tebal' and ask if I can tag along...yeah!! Denver (Cristina's host dad) came to UAH on Saturday morning and it took us about 2 hours to arrive Birmingham. As compared to Huntsville, this is a bigger city and I finally saw some taller buildings over here...felt like I was back in KL...haha!! Daniel brought me for a tour around Birmingham...we went to the Vulcan Park, visited University of Alabama in Birmingham (coz Daniel is studying in UAB) and went for dinner and movie after that. Even though this trip was kinda short, I really had a great time and enjoyed it a lot...hehe!! :)

The Vulcan Park...world's largest cast iron statue!

Picturesque view of Birmingham from the top of the statue...very beautiful!!! :)

Birmingham's history is shown here too...

UAB campus is nice ler...how i wish TARC will be as nice....I muz be dreamin'....haha!!

Daniel, Kedar & I went to PF Chang's for dinner. 2 weeks in a row...last week was in Bridge Street...this week in Birmingham...haha!! Chinese food...yummy!!

 

15-19 September 2008: Week 6

I'm juz gonna recap some of the things that had been going on last week. I used 'cherish' as my title for my last blog and I'm still gonna be using this word this time. I was shocked when I heard that one of the student in UAH was killed in an accident while she was riding her bike to class last Monday. I am also riding my bike to class everyday and I feel so sorry for what happened to her. It just reminds me how short and unpredictable life is...so CHERISH what we have now, enjoy every moment of life to the fullest & never regret living any single day!! "Cherish it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one!!" -- WuChun 

The university had a memorial for Sarah and I attended it as well.

I am playing a stock simulation game for my investment class and last week...I realised that I was ranked last in the class...OMG...very 'sia sui' la...ruined my mood nia. And guess what happened next day...I jumped up to 5th then 4th and I'm now ranking 3rd....woohoo!!!

It was Friday night (party night) and I was 'asked' to go to the fraternity...haha!

13 September 2008: Company Picnic @ Monte Sano State Park

I've been following Anna to her 'family gathering' for 3 weekends continuously...haha!! She's really being a good american host...I really appreciate all that she has done to make us feel home over here!! Having her as my roommate is definitely one of the best thing...hehe!! 

Nice scenery of the valley

13 September 2008: Bridge Street

Daniel came over for the weekend and we went to Bridge Street on Saturday night. We went to P.F. Chang's chinese restaurant and it was my first time eating chinese food since I came here....yum yum!!! We went to Monaca Pictures for a movie after that...hehe!! Bridge Street is a very nice place...luv it!! 

Websites with my photos....hahaha!!! :)

Cherish!

So fast...I've been here for 1 month already!! Time really flies when we are enjoying ourselves! I can still remember clearly the moment when I received the call from US Embassy telling me that I've been selected for this scholarship...gosh...that was 5 months ago!! Looking back...from months of anticipation...till the moment I boarded the plane and started my UGRAD journey here in US...adapting to the new environment...meeting so many amazing friends...etc...Itz still kinda unbelievable that I'm actually here realising my dream of studying abroad!! I'm really thankful for all the blessings that I've got and I cherish everything that I have now.

Well, I updated my blog a bit late coz I had been spending time preparing for test and quiz last week. The next test will be on the following week so at least I still can relax a lil' this week.

5 Sept 2008 (Friday): Celebrity Party

Over here in US...Friday nite=Party nite...haha!! One of the fraternitites had a 'celebrity party' last week but I didn't go so juz took some photos with my friends since they dressed up so nice...haha!!

6 Sept 2008 (Saturday): Alabama Football Nite

We followed Anna to her grandma's house to watch Alabama football on Saturday nite. It's so nice of her to invite us over...appreciate it...thank you so much, Anna!!

This is how I usually study...see how I multitask...haha!! I'll study in the living room to prevent me from 'multitasking'.

My Japanese homework & quiz...not bad huh!! I got the highest score in class for the pop quiz...hehe!! As for accounting test, I scored 90...could have done better than that...have been relaxing too much.

12 Sept 2008 (Friday): Vietnamese Lunch, Asian Market, Mexican Dinner

Went for lunch with Albert, another Malaysian over here in UAH. Heard that there are only 3 Malaysians over here!! We went to a Vietnamese restaurant (forgot the name)...the food was good and I was eating noodles for the 1st time here...yummy!! :)

Followed Fiona & Michael to another Asian market this week...got some 'familiar' food for myself...yeah!!

Anna offered to bring us to a Mexican restaurant for dinner...she's really a nice roommate!! So 'got heart' layan 2 of us international students...haha!!

Casa Blanca restaurant

The yummi-licious food! O-yishi!!

Thank you Anna!!