What are you thankful for?

It's turkey time! Thanksgiving is one my favorite break because 1) I get a long holiday 2) It's time to travel and visit friends 3) Black shopping is simply a must!

Marcus and I had initially planned for a roadtrip, but honestly, a roadtrip with only 2 of us during thanksgiving is a roadkiller because the traffic is gonna be mad crazy! So we decided to go to NY instead. Marcus rented a car from Virginia and he drove 6 hrs up to my place and stayed the night before we headed to NY. On Wednesday morning itself, enroute to drop off the rental car, Mong suddenly remembered that he needed to put in gas, so we drove aimlessly in search for a gas station and ended up lost in New Jersey. Manz, I was panicking, since we had to rush back to catch the bus to NY, but Marcus managed to remain ultra calm. Thank goodness I wasn't the one driving (despite me insisting that I should, since I knew the way around Philly). Anyhow, we made it back just in time and only then, I heaved a sigh of relief!

Day 1 - Malaysian food at New York.

When we got to Chinatown at New York, we met up with Guang Hao, Lyod and Dwayne at Nyonya Restaurant for Malaysian food. Lyod came all the way from Rhode Island :) Prior to this trip, I didn't know Dwayne and I only knew of Lyod, but a few days at NY with them, and we're friends now :)

We went to Max Brennan for chocolate at our tea-time. Max Brennan has expensive chocolate, but it was so good! The place was fancy and it was factory-like with a big pot of melting chocolate at the entrance. GuangHao, Lyod, Dwayne and Marcus had a heated debate about the chocolate - is it real? It was 2 against 2. In the end, Lyod went up to the staff at the counter and ascertained the answer. Boooooooo, fake chocolates are not cool.
Closer to 7pm, we went to this really good Udon place to have Udon. Both GuangHao and Dwayne gave it a thumbs up and according to Dwayne, it's even better than those you get from Japan. Now, that kinda set my expectations real high. We had a reservation for 8 people, but even when we showed up at the allocated time, we had to wait 1 hour just for a table. The crowd is just crazy. Can you imagine waiting without a reservation?
My "exploding tofu" that cost US9. Double thumbs up!
Why am I not surprised that I was the only girl there?
When we went back to Guang Hao's place, Mong knocked out immediately. This boy can sleep anywhere, anytime. Well actually this picture was taken the following day in the morning when we were all awake except for this silly boy. He actually gamed on Nicholas' laptop from 1am-7am and then refused to go sightseeing with us the next day. What the hell were you thinking Mong? Sleeping in New York City!??!

Day 2 - French fine-dining for Brunch at Le Monde.

This is what Marcus missed out on. I had Creme Boule, Turkey, Mashed Pumpkin and a Pumpkin Pie. New York is a food heaven!

Afterwards, we went to do a little bit of sightseeing. I tagged along even though this isn't my first time at NY. It's so funny how the boys haven't been to places despite being in NY for more than 3 months already.
With my gracious host, Guang Hao, at Ground Zero.
Along Hudson River...
It's so gorgeous even though it's close to winter time.
Next stop - Time Square. I heart this place! The rush is simply exhilirating, and that confirms my dream of working at NYC in the future, even though I know I might crumble under the working pressure in this bustling city.
I can't help but make the comparison... In Singapore, everything is so orderly. In NYC, there are no rules. Anything is possible and that makes it a marvelous place to live in! :) This lady here is promoting a tissue paper brand btw - Charmin.

Oh so charming Lyod.
Later at night, when we were back at the boys place, we just talked and talked all night. Talking to guys is so different from talking to girls. Also talking to Asian friends is so different from talking to American friends. I wanna say that I'm more comfortable with the later :) I'm still Asian at heart after all...Guang Hao and Nick checking out the Black Friday deals online. I didn't know that boys can be so intense when it comes to sale.

Did I also mention that the boys actually didn't sleep the entire night and went to line up outside the Best Buy store at 3am. At 6am, both Marcus and GuangHao came back EMTPY-HANDED! What the hell... they went for nothing -_- Not gonna lie though, the deals this year weren't that great. Burberry store didn't have any sale, but there was a long line outside the store. For what, people? I have no idea.
Since it was Black Friday, the liquor store had a sale as well. Guang Hao decided to get a bottle of wine just to chill and it took 2 guys to remove the stupid cork. Haha.

On the other hand, I bought a pair of new boots, 3 nice tops, 2 undershirts for the winter and 1 hat...
After shopping for the entire day, both Mong and I went back to Times Square for the umpteenth time. I can't get enough of that place, and even though I hate crowds, I like being there, just to soak in the atmosphere :)

M&Ms
Day 3 - Dinner at Japanese restaurant. There were only 2 of us, but we ordered enough to feed 4 people. The bill came up to only US30 and we had so much to eat!
My fried Udon :)

Highlight of my thanksgiving trip to NY was actually the food. I love NYC, simply because they have awesome food no matter where you go. You don't have to have a restaurant in mind. Just walk and you will stumble upon great food at NYC. The last day before my departure, we went to Chinatown for Dim Sum. My goodness, the restaurant is huge and it reminds me of Hong Kong because of the pushing carts, Canto-speaking staff, and cheap, delicious food. There were about 11 of us who ate together and we ordered so much. Guanghao, Marcus, Nick and I sat there from 1140am to 2pm, and the bill only came up to US14 per person. That was the cheapest Dim Sum lunch I've ever had in the US, especially when I ate enough to last me till tomorrow without eating dinner. As I am typing now, it's 1117pm and I haven't eaten anything since 2pm! :)

The power of Dim Sum. It makes me super happy!

The end and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Good food + great friends + holiday are things that I am thankful for...

I need my thanksgiving break like pronto! All the exams and projects and interviews are driving me crazy.


p/s: 2 more days to New York and 4 more days to Black Friday shopping! Guang Hao said that he wants to sleep overnight outside the store so he can rush into the store when it opens and both Marcus and I are supposed to follow him? I might get trampled on o_o

Dinner with Jee Yung at the Chinese restaurant was fun and yummy!

The waitress is from KL and she recognized me from my last visit 1 year ago. Manz, she has a superb memory! She gave me a 10% discount just because we are both Malaysians and I spoke Cantonese with her. hehe.

Awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I feel like a new person!

I finally passed my driving test and I am so freaking excited now!

That means a lot to me, u know? Say if I travel domestically, or if I need a glass of wine at restaurants, I don't have to bring my passport anymore! :D And if anyone comes to Philly and visit me, I can finally drive a car to pick them up!

How awesome is that?

p/s: I am not an organ donor, nor am I registered to vote in PA =p

The ups and downs

I think my life is like an economic cycle. It fluctuatues and it shifts over periods of relative boom or contraction.

I want to say, my life is currently at the recovery stage.

3 weeks ago, I took my driving exams. I hate to say this, but I manage to fail it THREE times! First time, I was speeding at the parking lot, second time I think it was the rolling stop, and third time I banged into the cones. I felt so frustrated back then, and I felt like my life was coming apart. But now, looking back in retrospect, I laugh whenever I think about my mistakes. My friends have a running joke about me right now: Don't let Vi go behind the wheels! Blah.

Chanting helped me regain a sense of balance in my life btw :)

I think life works mysteriously in its own ways, in wonders actually. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, especially during my finance class, since I had to distract myself with something to keep myself awake.

Primary-school me was really uptight about everything. Head school girl, perfect tests score and I had an image to upkeep in school, just in case some boy likes me, u know.

Secondary-school me was worse. I had to be independent, and I thought being a scholar was everything that matters in this world. Grades meant everything to me back then; I made sure I went to every single class even though I was sick. I stopped taking on leadership roles in school and I cringed when my mum told me to skip classes to travel to Europe with her and dad (how stupid!) I was socially awkward outside school and was extremely shy in school.

JC-me was totally different. I changed. Too much. In a way, RJC was an outlet for me to start afresh, since not many NY girls went to RJ, so I broke out of my shell and stepped out of my comfort zone. I was active again outside class. This time, I was slightly mature. I played too much and was so busy being (what my mum calls) a Kepo. I left no time for myself to rest, and I was always out of my room before the sun rose, and only went back after the sun set. I still remember during those rare Sundays when I was in my room during the day, I felt as if it was my first time seeing the day view out of my window! =p My roomate situation was better, since Lim Shy Min became my roomie (out of horror at first since we used to kill each other as roomies during secondary 1 and 2. heh) but that turned out perfect eventually since we were both adults already. Shy Min, I miss those days when we used to stay up late just to watch Gong, the Korean Drama, and how we used to cry over it. How silly!

Now, College-me has been the best so far I think! Even though I don't really care that much for my grades anymore, I still make sure I do well enough to keep my scholarship and be on the Dean's List. I don't care about popularity in school anymore. In fact, I hate making superficial friends and I don't add strangers onto my facebook list anymore. I don't compare grades with friends, and I don't even think about the exams whenever I'm done taking it (which is a vast improvement since I worry so much about them in the past!). I still prefer structure in my life, but I tend to plan less now and just let things go with the flow. My priorities have shifted. I don't want to be JUST succesful in life. I want lasting friends in my life whom I can share my goals and aspirations with. I don't want fleeting friends. I start to be responsible for my own life by paying my own bills. I work part-time, take on as many leadership roles as possible, socialize more and challenge myself to the max. My only regret is a small hiccup in relationships. That aside, I live my life to the max and I try to happy in life! I like to travel and I am willing to skip classes (Younger-me would GASP!) just to experience a different city! I heart, heart, heart my life now! :)

Anyway, this is just one of those short little rants I like to write about once in a while. Not to be emo or anything, but I think it's nice to reflect on your life occasionally, and see what you did right and did wrong. Most important thing is to learn your lessons in life and never to repeat them again =)

The Perfect Getaway

I love my life and I love my friends :)

My friends and I had planned to go to Lisa's beach house at Ocean City, New Jersey, this past weekend and we were so worried that we couldn't make it because of a few hiccups. Some drivers backed out at the last minute, and then Mother Nature decided to bestow Ocean City with a hurricane. Thank goodness Lisa scrambled to put everything together eventually. So 18 of us packed into 3 cars and off we went on our mini roadtrip to Lisa's summer residence :)

Lisa's beach house. It has 3 floors, 10 rooms with a bathroom attached to each room, 1 elevator, 1 theater room, 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, 2 garages, 1 ping-pong room, 4 washers/dryer room, 2 kayaks, 10 bikes, tennis etc etc... After seeing Lisa's real house 3 weeks ago, this is literally nothing in comparision to her humble adobe back in PA.

This sign got me a little excited because every corner of her house is a surprise. I thought there were boats hiding in a corner. False alarm! lol.

View of the beach from the balcony :)

So when we arrived at the beach house, it was too early for the party to begin. Alyssa, Lisa and Alexis went out to do grocery shopping for all of us while Migs and I stayed behind and waited for the rest to arrive. Matt had dished out his XBox earlier, so Migs decided to entertain himself with it. He looks so intellectual with his glasses on :)

I do not consider myself a pro in XBox games, so I found myself doing something useful instead. I labelled the cups, just so everyone reused their cups and not kill Mother Earth by wasting them =p

Now this is one of the 10 bedrooms. Our car arrived first, so I called fives on this room and had a queen bed entirely to myself! It was Emily's room (Lisa's younger sibling), so I had many cute dolls to myself for that night. The bed was so comfortable and I liked having 6 pillows all to myself. Muahahaha! Two on each side, two to lie on, and finally two pillows on my stomach. Not gonna lie, I'm like a typical baby. I need to have pillows on my belly to put me to sleep =p

Ok so when the grocery gang came back, they went straight into the kitchen and started cooking. This is Alexis who was the masterchef for the night. Manz, she makes the best Asian dishes of all times. We had the industrial-size pot, so there was definitely sufficient food to go around :) Food for the night was Bak Ku Teh and Curry! Yum yum.

Sean Gordon and I. It was his bday!

Vi: Seanie love, happy 20th!

Sean: Is that even English?

Vi: You hurt my feelings. I'm not gonna give you any bday hugs tonight. Bleh.

As the party began, a few of us tried out hands on Jenga - the ultimate game for the night!

Alexis, getting a little too serious there, aren't u? Only crazy people play Jenga this way.

Then I tried playing XBox - DIRT. Racing has never been so difficult. I blame it on the controls. Then when I tried to kill my targets on one of those violent games, the machine told me that I'm too slow in shooting! HOW DARE IT TELL ME THAT?!
Not gonna lie, there was alcohol involved... Honestly, I still don't know my own tolerance for alcohol because I haven't gotten totally drunk before and I do not intend to test it out because 1)drinking is bad 2) it sucks having to go through that entire drunk process.

Matt was sick, so he had his very own special shot - Strawberry shot. lol, more like medication la.

Guess who came all the way from Virginia!?? Christopher Farrales!
Surprise bday cupcakes for Sean! When Lisa told him to come to the kitchen, he thought he was gonna be reprimanded for making too much noise. So the cupcakes were a pleasant surprise for him actually!

The next day, I woke up early, as usual. My body is like an automatic alarm clock. Whenever the sun rises, I rise together with it, which is bad because I can't go back to bed after that even though I've had a rough or late night. A couple of them woke up after I did, so we decided to take Lisa's bike out and enjoy the warm weather (FOR ONCE!) :)

I picked my bike and it turned out to be a kiddy's, pink and had a cute little basket that I attached to it afterwards. How perfect, since this is the only bike that allowed me to place both my feet on the ground comfortably!

A group picture of the entire biking entourage, with imaginary Lisa in the picture. haha.

Now it's perfect with everyone in it!

We proceeded to line up our bikes at one side of the boardwalk when we reached the end. We locked the bikes and took off our shoes in preparation for our walk on the beach! But before we did that, both Migs and I attempted to take a jumping picture on the boardwalk. It was an epic failure for me since no one could capture my jumping moment even after 5 takes. Sigh.

Our beautiful feet on the sand! Thank god no one could see my chipped nail. hehe.

Ready, get set, go!

Run forest, run!

Manz, I love these two boys. They crack me up!

Finally, a group picture with a few missing people.

The final entourage who left the house the latest because we helped cleaned up the entire house :)