Thank you Delta... See you next time Iceland...

As I'm typing this, we would have been in Iceland and probably enjoying the Northern Lights. But instead, I'm typing this from my hotel room in Atlanta, getting ready for my 3rd work week here, and continue to run my busy season marathon that started since January. Since I have no vacation to blog about for awhile, I shall blog about this planned 'vacation' that ended up being cancelled. Here's a chronological recap of what happened:

Thanks to the Delta Amex sign-up bonus and some work travels over the last 2 years, I accumulated a good bit of Delta Skymiles. And when my Skymiles balance hit 6 digits, I can't help but to start looking for good options to use my miles to travel somewhere. Iceland has been on our bucket list and when I found flights for 60K Delta miles + $51.46 taxes per person for a round trip from Nashville to Iceland, I went ahead and booked the flights for March 2017 (still in time for Northern Lights). Considering that Delta's miles aren't the best/easiest to use, 60K to Iceland is actually quite decent.

Right after completing the booking, I realized mistake #1 that I made. I accidentally used the corporate credit card that was stored on Delta's website, instead of my personal Delta Amex. I was 100% sure that I typed in my personal CC's expiry date and CVV number, but somehow the transaction still went through even though the card number didn't match. =.= Lesson learnt, don't store any cc details online! Mistake #2, I could have just cancelled the booking without any fees within 24 hours and rebook the same tickets using the correct cc, but instead, I called Delta asking if they could change the cc details and they said I have to call the Amex to do it. I called Amex to explain the situation, and it took about 4 months and several phone calls before the charges finally got switched to my personal cc. And this brings me to mistake #3, I could have gotten a $50 credit for using my Delta Amex for eligible Delta purchases within 3 months, but since it wrongly charged my corporate card, I didn't get the credit. =(

Mistake #4 happened 1 week after I booked the flights. Delta had a Europe award deal that brought the miles required for the same flight down to only 49K per person. Seriously?!?! The difference of 22K miles is equal to a roundtrip domestic ticket!! =.=

So I decided to call Delta and ask if they could do anything to help. I explained my situation and was lucky to have a super helpful rep that helped redeposit the miles difference!!

After finally sorting out the flight situation, we started planning for the trip. Our plan was to rent a campervan and drive around the entire island in 5 days. I even mapped out our routes and made an itinerary for the entire trip. But fortunately, we hadn't made any reservation for the campervan or accommodations.

Then 2017 came, Delta made some changes to the timing to our departing flight and hubby switched job, so we had to cancel this trip. I called Delta and was assisted by yet another helpful rep, and was able to cancel our flights without any fees (would have costed $150/pax to redeposit the miles). 

Looking back at all the mistakes/changes I had to make while booking our flights, this trip was probably not meant to happen anyway. Even though this trip didn't work out, I should give full credit to Delta's customer reps for being absolutely awesome!! Hope that I'll get to use these miles for another trip with Delta in the near future. =)

Gardening Season is Here!

Weather has been warming up and that means gardening season is here again! We learnt our lesson for being over-ambitious last year. We still haven't depleted all the tomatoes juice and pickles that we canned last Summer, so we decided to tone-down this year and focus mainly on broccoli. I also experimented growing lettuce and spinach indoor, but it hasn't really turned out the way I'd like it to be. Anyway, here's a quick update of our progress so far.

New experiment...planting lettuce entirely indoor using recycled milk jugs. Even though we didn't really get much considering the amount of time we spent planting them, I consider this experiment a success. =) 

Bought quite a lot of bok choy from the Asian grocer for our CNY meal and decided to do another experiment of regrowing bok choy with its base. It didn't take long to regrow but started flowering after 3 weeks. So I got rid of them after cutting all the leaves for a meal. 

Our indoor 'garden' setup. Notice my efficient use of recycled items - egg cartons, egg shells, milk jugs, soy sauce bottle (for watering) and carton boxes. =P

Growth progress as of March 26, 2017. About time to transplant them in the garden.

Busy Season Continues...Part 2

Part 2 of busy season rolled in right after part 1 ended with no break at all. Was booked on another job to travel to Texas and Ohio back to back for one week each. Somehow March has been my 'Travel-To-Texas' month, coz this is the 3rd consecutive year that I've traveled to Texas during March. 2015 was Houston/Austin, 2016 was Dallas/Plano, and 2017 was Tyler/Austin. :P

Feb 26 (Sun) - Mar 3 (Fri): Tyler, Texas

Compared to all the places that I've had the opportunity to travel to for work over the past 2 years, this trip was definitely different in the sense that it wasn't a big city. In fact, both places we went were 'sangkala' small town. The top photo was the Tyler airport, an airport with only 1 boarding gate. :P Stayed in Hampton Inn Lindale, and we were invited to visit the foundry, which explains my 'cute' outfit...hahaha!

Unhealthy vs. healthier meals...not a big fan of salad but that's pretty much the only option to eat more veggie. =.=

Mar 3-5: Weekend in Austin

Instead of traveling home for the super short weekend (basically weekend = Saturday only after excluding traveling time), I decided to travel to Austin instead to visit the buddy. She was my first guest from home when I first moved here, and now I'm her first guest from home since she moved here. =) 

A yummy taste of home thanks to chef Lee. Watercress soup 西洋菜汤，stir-fried portobello mushrooms, scrambled egg with glass noodles 粉丝炒蛋, roasted brussel sprouts, and roasted chicken wings. Yumssss!!! Had too much fun playing mamasak until we set the smoke detector alarm off...lol!!

 

Good company, good food, good conversation, and of course good beer!! Even though it was just a short visit, I'm glad we were able to make this happen despite the busy season!

Mar 5-10 (Sun-Fri): Coshocton, Ohio

This place was even more 'sangkala' than the previous one, the closest airport was more than an hour away, and the closest 'chain' hotel was 25 minutes away. Stayed at Doubletree Newark Ohio and Hampton Inn Newcomerstown.

Not the biggest fan of Hilton points but Hampton Inn's service and amenities are great!

We were glad to find Beuhler's Fresh Foods restaurant and had most our meals there.

My turn to drive the rental car this week. Luckily the roads were pretty deserted.

Just as I thought I won't see any snow this winter, woke up to winter wonderland this morning on my last day in Ohio!

7th Busy Season

It's already March and I'm only updating my first post in 2017, shows how busy this busy season had been for me. =.= As usual, same old routine of eat, work, sleep every busy season. This year's busy season will go on till end of April for me, definitely a long marathon but at least the 1st half is over. Here's a quick update before things get crazy again.

Overtime dinners...how not to gain weight during busy season? :P

Before and after filing. Spent some time cleaning out our office as we'll be moving out of this room after this busy season. 3 busy seasons in this office flew by just like that!

Homemade 'turkutteh', jajangmyun and teriyaki chicken. :)

Jan 27 (Fri): 'Joined' the family for CNY reunion dinner virtually again this year. 

Decided to cook something different for our own CNY dinner. Pineapple fried rice, seafood tomyum soup, and garlic mushroom bok choy. 

Goodbye 2016...Hello 2017

Here we go again, wrapping up another great year as we welcome 2017. This year had been quite a smooth-sailing one, pretty much similar to the last year but certainly proud of myself for accomplishing some goals. :) Personally, this had been a busy 'work' year for me, especially the last 3 months and I'm starting to lose track of some of the things that we've done and places we've traveled to this year, coz it's been quite awhile since I had a break. Yes, I'm a millennial who can't function with all work and no play. :P Anyway, here's a quick recap of our 2016:

Travel

Started the year in Europe (Prague), Summer getaway to Central America (Cancun & Guatemala) in June, and revisited Asia (Hong Kong, M'sia, South Korea) during our home trip in September. Was able to lower our travel cost this year by using points and miles for the first time to fund our entire Central America trip. :)

Kicked-off the New Year traveling from Vienna to Prague. 

Cancun, Guatemala, HK, South Korea

This year was also siblings wedding year...back-to-back weddings for SIL in Huntsville followed by twin bro's in Penang. Happy to see the fambam again after 8 months! :)

Summary of my travels for 2016 (work+leisure):

• Number of hotel nights - 75 nights (SPG-53; Marriott-13; Hilton-6; Hyatt-3)
• Number of hotels - 17 hotels (SPG-10; Marriott-3; Hilton-2; Hyatt-2) 
• Number of flights - 14 roundtrips (10 Delta + 2 AA + 2 United)
• Number of airlines - 9 airlines (Delta, United, AA, Copa, Cathay Pacific, Korean Airlines, SIA, MAS, Southwest)

Work

As I mentioned above, this year had been a busy year at work. Even though my 2nd work year here was more hectic than the 1st year, I'm grateful for all the new opportunities and thankful to be able to stay in town for majority of the year. I've had the opportunity to travel a pretty good bit for work this year and certainly enjoyed the perks that came with it. :P 

• March - Dallas
• May - Dallas
• June - Raleigh, Nashville
• August - Orlando
• November - Auburn
• December - Minneapolis

One of the perks for work travel. :P 'Achievement unlocked'...highest status for 4 major hotel chains...hahaha! :P Well, I actually killed 4 birds with 1 stone thanks to the SPG-Marriott merger. :P

Living

We decided to continue with our weekend/part-time job as gardeners again this year, which kept us busy from March till July. We got a lil' too ambitious and greedy this year, and ended up being overwhelmed by the amount of work we had to do during harvest. =.= Lesson learnt, we are scaling down next year. :P

Canned tomatoes, pickles, frozen zucchini noodles, and corns, which should last us for a year...lol!!

Study

After having to study for exams non-stop for the past 9 months, I was so glad and relieved to finally complete all 4 papers for the CPA exams without failing in June!! Officially a 'licensed' CPA here in the States...oh yeahhhh!! =)

Oh all the troubles and efforts that I had to go through to finally get this card!

Thankful for a great 2016. I don't usually have New Year's resolutions but I do have some goals and several things on my to-do list that I would like to accomplish. Not quite sure what's in store for us in 2017 but looking forward to more success (especially at work) and adventures with hubby!! 2017 is gonna be a special year...10th year of blogging and I'm turning 30!! :P

三周年‘特辑'...《我们的故事》

虽然过去几年来一直都在这里分享我生活的点滴，可关于我俩的事，除了那难得几次的见面和结婚影片之外，其实并没啥提及到。如今结婚三周年，并在一起生活了两年，想把我们这段六年远距离恋爱的故事整理整理并做个记录。

老实说，08年到美国游学之前完全没想过会在异地认识到能交往的对象(更别说是老外)，毕竟短短的九个月后就得回到原来的生活。可人生往往就是这样，很多事都沒辦法预测，只有一连串的意外和偶遇，也不知道什么时候不小心就会和某个人某件事产生连结。缘分这东西，真的很玄，好来不来，偏偏等到我跑到这大老远的地方才来。

我们之所以相识是因为他是我室友的哥哥。还记得那时候才刚般进宿舍没几天，他妹妹就告诉我说她哥哥喜欢亚洲女孩。当初我还真的不以为意，觉得她纯粹想找话题谈而已。殊不知还不到一个月，他就借用探望妹妹为由跑到我们宿舍来，撮合了我们的初次见面。（交往后偶然发现他竟然有卧虎长龙的DVD，而且他的理想型是杨紫琼）。我们之所以这么快就开始交往，主要是因为我俩对彼此都有好感，也多亏他积极的追求。重点是他的审美眼光跟大部分亚洲男不一样，很多我自认为在亚洲标准上的不足，和所谓的强势，对他来说却是值得欣赏的优点。

当初决定交往前我最大的顾虑就是这段感情很有可能在我回国后就会结束，毕竟分隔两地后会发生什么事，谁也没办法预测。从一开始就知道未来很渺茫的感情，为何我们还决定开始呢？与其说是被爱情冲昏头，不如说是想活在当下，把握眼前的缘分。即便有太多的未知数，我俩还是决定把握那短短几个月的时间，给彼此机会多了解对方。

老实说，当初我真的不觉得这段感情能持久，也不确定他到底有多认真。刚开始交往时，我俩常常都意见不合，尤其当我们谈及文化或两地之间的差异，大部分时候都是冷战收场。这时候我就会反问自己，一个人千里迢迢来到美国虽然说是为了文化交流，可为何要自讨苦吃，谈什么异国恋搞得自己不开心。说实话，文化和想法的差异是改变不了的事实，尽管我们都尽量解释各自的立场和观点，可是文化差异这东西很复杂，也很难说到底是西方文化或东方文化比较好。从这些争执中我们渐渐学会了接受彼此文化和想法的差异，就算我们未必赞同对方的想法，至少我们开始学会避开这些‘地雷’。经过了8年的磨合，如今我们基本都不再因为文化差异而争执，反而价值观和生活模式都越来越融洽。

话说回来，真的让我感动并感受到他对这一份感情的认真，是当他开了十多小时的车北上到纽约，就为了跟我一起倒数跨年，也算是第一次短暂地见了我父母。然后那年的圣诞节他也花了一番心思准备了我的圣诞礼物，而我过后才从他妹妹那里听说他拜托他母亲和妹妹跟他一起去买我的项链。可能我单纯，不过我觉得如果他不是100%认真的话，肯定不会去探寻家人的意见买我的礼物。不过认真归认真，有一次因为他太白目，在我遇到一些事，最需要安慰的时候说了些不该说的话，让我觉得很受委屈。当时我真的有考虑结束这段感情，反正一两个月后我就得离开，短痛不如长痛。我忘了我们最终怎么解决这个困境，不过我们总算逃过了第一个分手危机。

09年5月终于到了说再见的日子，那天早上在机场道别时心情特别沉重、特别失落，主要是因为这次道别后我们都不知道是否会有机会再见。即使有机会再见面，又会是多久以后呢？说实话，我们也没把握能经营好远距离恋爱。当时我们也写了信给对方，纵使我俩都知道我们的故事很可能就这样结束，不过我们都抱着感恩的心，感谢这份缘分让我们有机会在短短的几个月里给彼此制造了许多美好的回忆。我们也达成共识，要是任何一方遇到适合的对象，我们都会尊重对方的决定。毕竟我们还是得面对现实，就算少了对方在身边，我们还是得过我们该过的生活。

接下来的一年半我们每天都通过网络聊天。对很多人来说，这么长的时间没见面还算是谈恋爱吗？而这样分隔两地又有时差难道我们都不担心第三者的存在吗？我还真的从来都不担心这点，除了道别时达成的共识之外，我俩的生活习惯都很规律，除了上班上课之外，大部分时间都是宅在家上网或玩电动。每天上网聊天渐渐变成了习惯，久而久之也建立了对彼此的信任。然后10年12月，他买了人生中的第一张出国机票到大马找我，也算是正式见家长。

那段旅程结束不久后，他就提出要结婚的念头。当我告诉父母关于结婚这件事时，他们非常反对，而我也被训了一顿。我完全可以理解他们的立场，因为我也觉得自己还年轻，没必要这么急着结婚。再加上我俩真正在一起相处的时间不多，要这么快做出人生重大的决定嫁到美国去确实有点太快了。另一方面我也完全能感受到他是因为真的很爱很珍惜我，所以才想要我们可以快点在一起。当时真的很懊恼，一方面的我当然想继续维持我们的感情，可我却还没做好心理准备步入人生的另一阶段 ，所以很自私地要求他给我多几年的时间。那时侯因为移民和结婚的问题，我们再次面临分手的危机。其实像我们这样的远距离恋爱要分开是很容易的，不过或许是因为我俩都太在乎太珍惜彼此，不想就这样结束这段感情，所以最终还是决定维持现状。

很快的一年半又过去了，这次轮到我飞到美国找他，顺便跟他家人一起旅行。后来我才从他那里听说原来我那一趟探访，让他和他家人看到我也是认真想继续维持我们的感情，也让他更确定想要和我一起过下半辈子。然后半年后他带着母亲一起来到大马，我也大概猜到他那一趟旅程的目的就是要求婚。当时我们算是已经交往了4年，而阔别第一次提出结婚也已经过了超过一年半的时间，我父母也看到他在过去3年里认真努力地维持我们这段远距离的爱情，所以当时他们也不再反对，选择尊重我的决定。对我来说，即便我还是没做好心理准备离开家人，不过我知道我当时的选择将决定我们到底是在一起或者就这样结束一切。毕竟他也多等了整两年的时间，我也不能这么自私不想放手却要他一直痴痴地等。

所以我们在12年年尾终于订婚，然后接下来的一年就忙着策划在大马的婚礼和婚宴。由于我们还是分隔两地，所以很多事都必须由我处理，庆幸这个过程中有家人的帮忙。说到结婚，外国人不了解聘金这东西，而美国人的婚礼费用大部分是由女方承担。这个完全相反的文化真的让我头大，所以我们的婚礼没有聘金，而‘聘金’就用婚宴来代替。在大马办婚礼比美国便宜很多，而且他也知道我很实际不想要奢华的婚礼，所以在费用这方面也不怎么计较。

结婚后他回到美国开始办移民手续，所以我们依然分隔两地。原本打算等办好婚姻移民签证后才搬过去，不过因为上司帮忙联系美国那边的人事部，让我能够转到美国的公司继续上班，而公司还帮忙办了工作签证，所以我是蛮自豪自己是靠着实力来到这边工作。

时间过得很快，不知不觉来到这里已经两年了。分隔两地的六年说长不长，说短不短，可是因为过去六年里聚少离多，让我们更珍惜能够在一起的日子。我们这段远距离恋爱的长跑，虽然一路上有一些波折，也曾经不被看好。如今终于修成正果，全靠对彼此的信任、耐心、和多年来用心的经营。结婚三周年不用什么特别庆祝，最重要的是我们依然很恩爱很幸福很知足，感恩每天都有对方的陪伴。<3

P.S. 这篇文章从两年前就开始草稿，很高兴这个假期终于把它完成了！！