anchored; real

It is expected for the community to be amebic. The ache for a new familiarity has never been so strong. After a hard day, who do you go to for a hug? A shoulder? A comforting word or two?
I ended up an hour late with an (untouched) Chinese takeout dinner in the Chi Alpha meeting on the floor, humbled and revered by God's presence.

I speculate about my current commitments and by the way, Wilsdorf Cafe is officially my new chilling out spot.

***

I love mustard. It is overwhelming.
We test for validity; just pretend the premises are true.

But I really do love mustard.

***

Omg my philosophy professor looks exactly like Robin Williams, except with piercing blue eyes. Which makes everything even more intimidating than it already is. (Y)
I blame the malaysian education for the lack of the non-technical wirings of my train of thought.

Poetry writing, anyone?

p.s. And my engineering lecturer looks like a shorter, friendlier, rounder version of Bruce Willis.

Happy 87th!

Carrot pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting.

Happy birthday Dad!

Happy birthday Albert!

:)

Baked the cake, and Rachel was piping the dark chocolate icing, when she ushered me over to tell me her latest blight: her "happy bday" was too titanic. Suggested to draw large arrows and then strategically seat the birthday boys (hahahaha) but yeah, this is more aesthetic, albeit less funny.

Hee hee. 

Pile of assorted steaks. Dibs on the hanger.

Who wants to eat in restaurants when you can do it better for a cheaper price? With labour being so expensive, finally here in America, cooking is an incentive. :)

Engineering professor gave us chocolate

Diffusion through the air,
A science; induced.
Tomatoes and peppers,
Spices and rain.
She wears a flower on her hand,
Solitary motion? Mere words?
Are you teaching ways to inspire?
A gold goodbar; let the rain go.

A fight between patience and the irreversible nature of time.

"I don't know where I got this from, but I must say you're a picky eater."

Baked a lemon meringue pie with Rachel today! :)

"I'm protecting my balls, sir."

Yesterday's hypnotist show was NUTS. I have videos of a boy yes, befriending apples (Johnny Apple-seed and his apple girlfriend), people believing they were in a modeling competition, a girl speaking 'martian' language, a boy taking off his pants because he really though he was (already) naked on stage...

The crowd who turned up.

Yes, OYFA managed to send two people up as volunteers. I went to say hi to Daddy Mikey. :3 Students, especially fourth-years, were throwing themselves at Tom DeLuca (and subsequently to the devil, lol) decked out in the gaudiest, brightest outfits imaginable. They were sitting on each other's shoulders waving umbrellas, banners, lacrosse sticks, etc yelling PICKKK MEEEEE!!!!! Pretty scary, this whole hypnotist idea. It shows the negative powers of meditation, if you look past the fun and entertainment. The ease of it all; humans are so easily possessed when they let go of their minds. Is it always a conscious thing; do we ever realize the frequency of this possession?

Sexy Merrick ended up topless after "putting on bodybuilding lotion."

Garrett Hall in the setting sun. :)

The world is messed up, but the Tom DeLuca show was nice to witness; it really was entertaining. 

Fourth day of classes!

Having Runk so near my dorm is awesome-sauce.

In case you're Malaysian (my readers, if I still have any, most probably are, unless you're the random blog-hopper from Russia wth?) Runk is supposedly the best dining hall there is in UVa.

What is not so awesome is that Runk is SO bloody near my dorm. (!?)

There's too much food in America!

Bought with my Plus Dollars! :3

Skinny cow is SUCH a savior; yes I bought the flavor just to spite Jeremy. (Y) I actually wanted to try Dulce de leche. :)

My Friday's pretty free, cuz Chem labs don't start until the second week of September (what upp!!) and I've still got some settling in to do anyway. My room lacks storage boxes, bluetack and all those tools to fix my aesthetic ornaments; it's lacking a homely vibe, other than my bright blue/purple batik I brought off the beautiful shores of Perhentian Island.

Been walking a lot, I've been timing myself! With a relatively fast pace (for my standards), it takes about 10 minutes to get to AFC (which is the most central gym on grounds), about 15 minutes to get to the Chemistry Building, 20 minutes to get to the engineering blocks/Olsson Hall, half an hour to get to Old Cabell Hall, 35 minutes to get to the Corner (a narrow strip of shops and local restaurants), and one grandddd hour to get to the John Paul Jones Arena, in which We The Kings graced us last Saturday with the sole purpose of rupturing the tender eardrums (and subsequently, bright futures) of young, vibrant teenagers.

Yeah, I left before they came, it was way too loud. The next time I attend a concert, I'll bring my Bose. In case you didn't know, Bose is an excellent brand for noise-canceling earphones. Perfect.

There are buses and shuttles around, but I prefer to walk. I've always enjoyed walking, although it's so time consuming.

I've befriended this crazy Korean (the type who's in denial about his own race) named John. I think he's funny, but what I've learned is that you shouldn't tell the people who are funny, that they are... well... funny.
Unless they're really, really, not.. funny... Okay I'm not making much sense am I? Strike all of that.

The Virginian Silhouettes, an all-female a-capella group, so talented!

Orientation week is almost ending! My summer and fall orientation was combined since I'm (rather) international, so I moved in a little earlier than my suitemates. :) There are seven of us, and we've constructed an extremely organized showering schedule. :) They are nice people, all of them Virginians, except Andi, who's from China. I've skyped with her parents, believe it or not. They thought I couldn't understand Mandarin. :)

It started with a carnival, in the Student Activities Building. Loud music, inflatables, funnel cakes, caramel apples, sno-cones and tie-dye shirts!

Tie-dye shirts!!

Turned out I didn't squeeze enough dye, and the shirt is painfully oversized so I'll see what I can do with it. :) My sister has a new sewing machine anyway. :)

Airbrush tattoos!

Yes, it's a dragon, and I regret choosing that.

There's a hypnotist show later (Tom DeLuca) which is apparently the highlight of the week (last year he had extremely willing volunteers befriending apples and mimicking chickens). I suppose so, because my new father (MICHAEL LAPUZ <3) was up since 4 a.m. with OYFA (the Filipino Club) to book seats right in front of the Amphitheatre. Crazy right? :) Sounds pretty sketchy though, is it like black magic? Lord Jesus, show me the way.

Yes, you all probably would know now, Hurricane Irene shook up Charlottesville quite a bit. There were two aftershocks as well, one of them was at 1 a.m. and I was in bed; it lasted 20 seconds, I counted. Just to let you sweet wonderful caring people know, I'm all right, everyone here's safe and sound; the first one went off when I was lost, trying to find my way to ENGR1620 (my engineering class). Funny, just an hour before that I had lunch with Albert, a really kind third-year, where he casually asked if I had heard about a hurricane that was about to pass Cville.

Me: O.O EXCUSE ME????!?!

Yeah, an hour later it struck; I got pretty excited and saw the windows of the engineering building SWAY like crazy so I rushed outside to get a closer look. HARDLY the correct behavior/attitude for a (mini)pandemic but well, what a way to start out college eh?

The Rotunda.

I had an earthquake on my first day of school. :)

The smiley is inappropriate isn't it? Gosh how I'm taking things lightly.
Lord, teach me not to take things for granted.

dr burke

Unrelenting attention that was never craved for; what does that turn out to be? Suppression of the bubbles; a low fat cupcake, nevertheless a cupcake wrapped in a purple ribbon.

***

Coral-tainted innocence versus a constant poker-face? Detester of general portrayals that are negatively skewed; why be classified as a whole generation itself? Could you help being born at that era? The surroundings influence a great many, for all the self-love and instant gratification, of which were ignited by the voices of disdain themselves. But pardon me, of the ironic condescension.

I once heard of a passing thought, of a girl who was too afraid of liking something just because it was considered mainstream. The configuration of personalities based on idealized concepts, versus childish, carefree preferences. A purposeful resolution to the contrary; I am neutral for at least the passionate: they think.

Maybe that is why I sometimes am afraid of liking Glee.

catch up

Dude, ketchup originated from China. They brought a concoction made out of fish brine and salt, called it 'ke-tsiap,' brought it over to Malaya (which became 'kechop'), and the English people tried to copy it, but obviously, being all squeamish about the "fishy smell" (plus the lack of ingredients) replaced some ingredients with mushrooms, tomatoes and sugar, made 'ketchup.'

Ketchup? Ew. Marinara sauce all the way. :)

***

I like talking, one-on-one.

it's cold outside

What am I wearing? A tank top? In canadian weather?

It's crazyyy cold here. Packed insufficiently; I plan on stealing my sister's clothes. The bed in Hampton's Inn is SO COMFORTABLE. They even gave a "selection of hard and soft pillows" to suit your preferences at different hours of the night (lol, um, yeah...).

May I have something like this in my future room, please? Something as maddeningly soft and bouncy?

The contents of my backpack now reeks of chicken/cheese. More so cheese. Shouldn't have been so kiasu and tapau all those complimentary sandwiches from the airlines. But honestly, (not to sound like a cheap miser) food here (canada/US) is expensive unless you make your own.

Costco later! :)

***

During my leg from Bangkok to Hong Kong, I saw this woman wearing a lovely moss-green shirt saying, "I AM VERY UNHAPPY."

I took double, no triple takes.

O.o

***

Got sandwiched between two men on my longest flight here. Would have been downright pissed off in normal situations (SO hard to sleep nowhere to put my head man), but I was pretty amazed.

It's true.

:')

Thank you Jesus, for your guardian angels. :)

"as sweet as life itself"

♥ My farewell. Thank you! :')

pork ball noodles

Happy, Kuan Ming? I ate pork. Last lunch in Malaysia.

Pork ball noodles

Chun Leong Kopitiam, @Desa Hartamas

Dutifully dumped the sausages to my mom. :)

Went to Nana's church in PJ after for a prayer service. Unfortunately she didn't tell me it was for a Chinese congregation, so it was a pity I couldn't understand like 80% of what was happening, but I'm really glad I went.

Prayer is always, always good. :)

Lol so cute. Found this above a garbage bin outside the toilet.

1 Corinthians 14:1

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14:3-4

Everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

***

So, this one's from Bangsar.

Sun Huat Kee kopitiam

Lucky Garden, @Bangsar

It's the first stall, at the front. The staff wears bright orange shirts.

Yeah, after taking pictures of the place and the food, I slowly quickly became aware that the waiter (waiter??) started to, well, make fun of me.

WELL.

They dropped it after a while though.

Try both! I think the Bangsar one's the best though. :) They have many branches; I know another that's at SS17, but you know, branches never quite taste the same. :)

Satisfied, KM?

From the redang high :)

HI THERE HONEY HOW YOU DOING?

ice kacang

"You always say...

I'm unromantic.

Don't know ways to make a girl tick."

This ice kacang is the BEST EVER. It looks incredibly modest and under the radar but it's REALLY really good!

The secret to great ice kacang is the gula melaka. With that set, and some good syrup and evaporated/condensed milk, and thinly shaved ice... it's allll gooood.

It's so filling it could be dinner itself.

Found this in SS2's glutton square, the first stall on your right if you enter through the end with the fruit stall. :3

I must say you're right about this, for I am truly unpoetic.

A cave of syrupy, blood-sugar-spiking madness.

But I am not done.... la-la-la-la-la lalala.

***

This one was found in Penang, at the same stall as the best cendol on the face of the planet.

Now this one looks way over the top, the filling displayed not unlike the blown-up carcass of a road accident victim. So tempting isn't it?

Yeah, it sucked. Just go for the cendol and ignore the aesthetics. They don't always play the most important factor.

So I didn't sleep, used my little wit to write this little bit.

You're my ice kacang.

cendol

CENDOL. HONESTLY. SO FATTENING.

Spot PCK Pte Ltd. Don't play play. Share your cendol. 600 calories per slap.

Either that, or do strenuous exercise after consumption. DON'T sit on your butt for the next five hours like I did (sigh, the trip back to KL)...

BUT OMG SO GOOD.

SO GOOD.

SWEET. GULA MELAKA. RICH. CREAMY. SANTAN. COCONUT MILK. RED BEANS. Stupid green slugs.

"Uncle, one cendol, but I don't want the green thing."

"Har?"

"One cendol without cendol. HAHAHA. Thank you uncle."

"Wah. Like that very hard wor."

They get in the way! What's the point of their existence? Aesthetics?

That failed. My grandma won't touch cendol BECAUSE of the well... the cendol (green jelly).

Had the FAMOUS (no joke) Penang cendol beside the BEST (not kidding) assam laksa in the planet. Still as good as always. Best. BEST.

Mmmmmmm~ ^^

or chien

Or Chien. Reminds me of Taiwan. #personalstuff

@Macalister road, Penang

SO GOOD. Oh, so good. What could be better than oysters, egg and starch, fried together, probably with pig lard?

Well, that would be less starch stuffed into the fried concoction and more oysters...

Undeniably my weak spot. This is the only time I'll eat fried eggs. 

Or Chien @Pangkor Island (Chanelle on my right :) )

This sparked off my craving. I ate like three quarters of that thing.

Weng Sum: Eh Grace can host Ho Chiak with that expression.

Me: *merajuk kena terbuli*

I'll buy canned oysters and make my own. SOON. :)

"excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom."

Huge oriental dumpling! :) Ordered it solely because you get to eat it using a straw.

A straw!!!

@Dragon-i, One Utama

Math class reunion!

AS USUAL, most of the class was an hour late. 

Cannot believe the number of people who FFK-ed. 

Not unlike our lessons back in HELP.

Thank you so much Miss Lillian! :)

We'll miss you!!!

And we'll run away from you and hide our faces when our results are released.

Noisy hor fun

The staff here, dude, they have issues. Their concept was probably the noisier the better. It's dim, dark and dingy in the shop-lot, and their shrill voices bounce off the walls not unlike the ways tennis balls hit racquets.

@Sea Park.

YUMMMM. COME EAT HERE OMG.

Silky smooth Ipoh Hor Fun with a wonderful salty chicken broth, but honestly who cares about the noodles when you have a side dish consisting of velvety protein chunks swaddled in blankets of brown savory sauce.

:D :D :D

Oyster sauce chicken, go on, pee in your pants at such a delight. *.*

A decent side of wan tans; they sell wan tan min too, but honestly who cares. This can't compare to that oyster-poultry marriage as per seen above.

By the way! Updating the food list when you're in America (trying to fall asleep due to jet lag) sucks. :(