RIP Grandma

Hope you are in a better place now. Although we didn't know each other well, you were the only grandparent I've had, and I want to thank you for what you have done to raise your family. RIP.

New camera!

My faithful Canon A85 finally succumbed to old age (~4 years), and I was actually amazed by how it managed to last this long. 3 years ago it suffered a dramatic fall from the top of a full size fridge (in some Mr Jones' house back when I was in North Carolina), and it went hay-wired for a while before working normally again as if nothing had happened. Lately though, noticeable bands started to appear in the photos it captured, and that's when I decided I need a new camera.

I should thank my dear girlfriend for giving me this wonderful present. It's Canon PowerShot A2000 IS, a model came out as recently as September (yup this month). Let's look at a self portrait:

 

Wanting to do some testing, I took it out to a park across from my apartment and a small lake nearby to take some pictures. I didn't really try out the features, just taking random shots instead. I wonder when I will actually get the chance to use the various functions packed in it, to name a few the fireworks mode and the aquarium mode.

Here are some of the pictures I took:

Meadowland Park not far from my apartment

Small bridge that connects the park and path to lake

Looks like a resort huh?

The lake I mentioned...it beats Yosemite's mirror lake (haha at least in this picture compared to what we saw in winter)

Another view..

Trying out the micro function.

Yesterday also we had a potluck (8 people in total), and I prepared my favorite Malaysian food - Bat Kut Teh!!

The main ingredients

 

End product

Also, when I was done with jogging at Monon Trail today, my neighbor (an Indonesian, but his wife's a Chinese) invited me to his apartment and we chatted for quite a while. Then his wife suggested that we have dinner together, which I did not reject :P. I found out that he has the same surname as me (I do not have a common one), and also discovered that the very first guy I met in the chinese church for badminton is actually his uncle!!! What a small world it is!

In Shapiro Library

I'm currently writing this in UGLI using my laptop which is connected to the UM wireless network. Glad to know that I can still login to the university network using my umich name and password...or should I be worried??

Sports

Recently I have been playing quite some sports. In fact, for the past few days, I managed to play (just to be clear, I am not talking about wii sports here :P ):

Sat - Tennis

Sun - Bowling

Mon - Badminton

Tues - Golf

Wed - Tennis

Fri - Volleyball in AA??

Had my first golf experience 2 days ago, wasn't too bad. I stole some balls from Ken and Jill to practice some swings. Personally I think that driving wasn't too hard, as long as you practice to the point of being able to swing consistently (well that's the key to most sports). We also played some putting on the green. I ended up treating both of them Coldstone because I foolhardily challenged them to a putting game...(gosh)

For sports listed above, other than badminton I'd say I'm playing at beginner's level. Hope as time passes by I will get better in those games...and be a sporty actuary! (as Kai said, insert evil laugh here)

Labor Day

Let me start with an interesting discovery (pardon my ignorance):

"Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer."

                                               -Wikipedia

So I guess fall has officially taken over. For the labor day weekend, I drove back to Ann Arbor to meet up with py and friends. It was another great weekend yet, and as usual enjoyable time flies by. I'm really glad that the Umich Malaysian kampung now has two more members of my age: Wei Ping and Billy. Welcome to the big family!!

On Saturday afternoon, py and I finally got the chance to watch Wall-E. The show had been running for quite a while, and I was quite surprise that they still showed it in Showcase. We enjoyed the movie a lot, and I was again awed by the creativity of and originality of Pixar production. Before the show I had read a lot of great reviews about it, but the movie still topped my expectations, unlike the Dark Knight which disappointed me due to me having high expectations. I personally think this is the best movie of Pixar, even better than my old favorite, Monsters Inc. I'd really like to see this movie get at least a best picture nomination in Oscar...

Speaking of which, I'm actually upset that Pixar is making Cars II. It is understandable why they want to do Toy Story III, but Cars??? I thought it was the lesser one of Pixar's production. There should be a Monsters Inc II....

Back to topic. During my stay in AA, I managed to attend a "Merdeka" bbq organized by UMIMSA. The food was...hmm did I even eat? (lol), and there wasn't much activity going on except chatting. This year the park was pretty crowded, compared to the previous few years. It's sad to say that now I'm already among the oldest in the community...

Also, this time I managed to play some real tennis in daylight. Jason must be pretty impatient seeing my bad strokes, but I learnt a lot amidst the chaotic flights of balls. Now I start to realize that tennis isn't as easy as it first appeared... Well, I'm still learning and hopefully this weekend Ken will be able to give me more tips.

I shall revisit this lovely college town (and lovely person living in it)soon.

Google Chrome

In no time after the existence of Chrome was made known, geeks all over the world have been rushing to download this latest product of Google, unalike to how those Ah Lian-s change their wardrobes once the latest trend in fashion is revealed on Vogue. And yes, geeks and Ah Lian-s alike, they do not forget to flaunt it.

So just let me finish by saying that I'm one of the geeks (nerd might be more appropriate) before they start taking it personally and clamor...

New York trip

Purpose of trip: renew my passport and also you know what :P

Date: 8/21 - 8/24

Since 8/21 was a Thursday, I took my first personal day for this trip. A friend fetch me to the Indianapolis airport after work, and basically the check in was my most pleasant one ever. There was virtually no line throughout, I guess due to the fact that it was a Thursday and Indianapolis was not a popular airport. In a mere two hours I was already in the Big Apple (factually incorrect since my destination airport was Newark International).

When the moment I had been waiting for ages come, there was no explosive/emotional reunion, because somebody was very shy :P. Luckily the shyness and hint of foreignness didn't stay long; soon enough my PY was back to her cute self. Hugggss (finally).

During my stay in New York, I managed to get my passport renew in one day (for once let's cheer for the efficiency of Msian officers). Other than that, basically we spent most of our time walking around in the city, with me savoring every moment of it.

Unique way to park your car

Rockefeller center

ToysR'Us in Times square

Times Square

New York Public Library (didn't get the chance to go in during my freshmen year)

We tried to visit the St Paul Cathedral too, but we ended up in another St Paul near the Columbus circle. Guess we shall visit it some other time.

On Friday night, we watched Phantom of the Opera (again....my 3rd time!!). To obtain the tickets, we lined up for a good one hour + to get the tkts discounted tickets! The tickets were really cheap though, only 51 USD per person, which was about the same as what I got 4 years ago. I recalled how awe-struck I was when I first watched this broadway show, and how I secretly vowed to bring my love one to watch this show again. There I was in the Majestic Theatre, finally fulfilling my wish. PY said it was rather boring in some parts though :S, but I'm glad that she loved the 2nd act.

 

Look at the size of crowd the show still gets after years of running..

Of course, I also managed to meet up a bunch of friends (mostly Michigan folks). We chatted for a while, and it was great to meet May Ying again after so long...

In Melissa's apartment (888 8th Avenue!!!)

What's a trip to New York without excursions to Malaysian restaurants? We went to Nyonya and New Malaysia, and I finally got my cravings satisfied.

Char Kuey Teow in Nyonya, absolutely delectable!

The Wan Ton Mee was actually bad...not recommended (Nyonya)

 

The dish that I had been thinking day and night....kai si hor fun!!! (New Malaysia)

Laksa. Good recommendation by Eric (New Malaysia)

Last but not least, I should thank Kai Li, Guang Hui, Kai Yuan and Jian for their hospitality and company. In a nutshell, it has been a great weekend!!

Random

When I first entered my apartment building, I realized something was wrong. It didn't take me long to find out that the lights in the hallway were not turned on. Upon entering my apartment, a quick investigation confirmed my fear: there was a power outage.

Straightaway I called the office to ask what's going on. Apparently the whole neighborhood was facing the same problem, and I was promised that the power would be back on around 6pm. Thinking that it wasn't a big deal since the day was still bright, I tried to cook, but to my dismay discovered that the stove won't work without electricity. Hence I did some marinating and decided that I could use my laptop powered by battery to do some surfing online. Maybe not. Modem needs electricity no?

Wanting to kill some time, I did some exercise and finally dragged myself out to Monon Trail to jog after much debate. Still no electricity when I came back. Starting to get frustrated, I rested for a while before taking an early shower. Same thing after shower; no electricity. It was then I started to get worried. If that persisted I would need to dine out and go to bed straight after dinner unless I manage to find a hangout place.

I started calling my friends in my neighborhood and asked if they still have the same problem. One friend said he got power a few minutes ago, and right after I hanged up the lights finally went on.

My purpose of delineating such a mundane occurrence was to express my realization of how we have to lose something to realize its real meaning to us. Things as simple as electricity can truly make a difference in our lives, yet when it is available in abundance we fail to see its value. I guess this incident serves as a reminder that I should not take things for granted and start being grateful for everything I have.

Finally...

This got to be the longest wait ever...and now the end is near. Can't wait can't wait!!! :):)

An Olympic of World Records and Historic moments

Just witnessed Phelps securing his place as the most successful Olympian in the history of modern Olympics. 8 for 8!!

But I have to say the most memorable moment of today (US time) was the 100m men's finals on track. I missed seeing it live this morning (I thought it would be broadcast at night time), but managed to catch it on NBC later. Usian Bolt, the Jamaican who won the event, broke the world record in the most relaxing manner ever. And it was almost hilarious the way he looked right and looked left while running, and was already celebrating when he had not even finished the race!!

Bear in mind we are not talking about marathon, in which you have plenty of time to do all sorts of celebration you want if you have a clear advantage; it's 100m race which normally finishes in 10 seconds!!! And there he was, palms up, slapping his chest before even completing his race. And still managed to smash his old world record...

Oh, did I mention that he ran with his shoe lace not properly tied?

Unbelievable!!!!

Just saw how Michael Phelps got his 7th gold...one word: UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Phelps was like one body length behind the leader during the 50m turn (it's 100m butterfly race btw)...but he never gave up and kept giving his best!! Towards the very end the guy next to him (earlier leader who still led) was already stretching his hands for the wall, and although Phelps himself was also close enough to reach for the wall, he did an additional butterfly stroke....and VOILA!! Phelps did it and won the race by a MERE 0.01 SECOND!!!!

Gosh...what a great race....although it's not a world record, it's an Olympic record still. And great great moment in the history of swimming!!

(and really, every one should see how Phelps mother reacted...she was stunned for a few good seconds, then collapsed with relieve..)

Morse Park Bbq

My weekends were usually uneventful, as I'm gradually becoming more and more like a 宅男 (guy who stays in home all the time) as Jill noted. Well, other than the fact that doing nothing at home is the most economical way of spending the weekend, I do really enjoy being with myself and just take things easy over the weekend.

I don't really fit in the mold of 宅男either though, as I don't really eat instant noodles while staying up late watching anime (that's my idea of the term). My typical weekend boils down to surfing the Internet, doing groceries, doing laundries, jogging on Monon trail, exercising with Wii (:P) and nowadays studying. Some Sundays I did go out for bowling (now I have my own pair of bowling shoes), and catch movies in cinema, but pretty much that's it.

Last weekend however Ken organized a bbq in Morse park, and finally I ended my streak of not venturing out from my home for more than 10 miles since July 4th. The location was ok, and the food was good. The only downside of the bbq was that no one brought anything other than food; no football, no frisbee, no cards. Hence all we did was just eating and chatting...I'd prefer if I could sweat a bit...

Lake by the park

Fishing for food?

A portable grill that we bought (not the rusty one, the one obstructed by guy in green)

 

And guess what I did after stuffing my stomach with food? I went back, rested for a while, and went to office at night to do some studying and finish off some work...great way to spend a Saturday night huh?

(Time to watch Phelps chasing his 6th gold)

Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

 

                    

Just watched the opening ceremony on NBC last night. Didn't like how they cut into commercials even when the show and fireworks were taking place. I liked all the performances very much, especially the part where they put up a show using moving printing blocks. I was watching in disbelief when it was revealed that the blocks were actually manipulated manually by humans, because I just concluded earlier that there was no way that such precision and coordination could be done without exact execution from computers. Truly awe-inspiring indeed what teamwork can achieve..

Now that I've seen this, I am hoping that I will be able to attend the London 2012 one...

July 4th

The past independence day was my first holiday since I started working. Naturally, I was anticipating the coming of that day. The fact that it fell on a Friday meant that I would have a long weekend, hence I decided to go back to Ann Arbor and have some good time there.

When I was driving into Ann Arbor, I was suddenly reminded of how I felt when I went back home for the first time after studying for a while in UiTM Shah Alam. It felt great....to be home, and Ann Arbor is like my home in the States. And boy I realized how much I missed my college town...

My time in Ann Arbor was basically a relaxing and enjoyable one. On Friday (July 4th), Siew Gee, Wei Chieh and I went to Novi just to find out that Ajishin, a Japanese restaurant that we planned to go was close on that day. We went for dimsum in Great Lakes instead, and caught 2 movies (Wanted and Hancock) after lunch. I thought Wanted would be a great movie, but other than the amazing visual effects and action scenes that got old after a while, the plot was absurd and laughable. Well I guess it's hard to find a movie that can surpassed "the Matrix" in novelty, excitement, and depth.

Wei Chieh and I played some tennis in the evening. It was my first time playing tennis, and thanks to our assumption that the tennis court would be well lit at night, we went there at 9 something only to find out that it was in fact not lit at all. We played still, and honestly it was not quite fun chasing balls in dark...

The next morning, we went to Novi again, this time having our desires fulfilled. The food in Ajishin was unquestionably good...I don't know how authentic it was, but it certainly was delicious. It reminded me of the taste of hawkers style food in Malaysia...

 

Sushi master in Ajishin...actually two of his assistants were Hispanic...that I'm pretty sure.

That triangular delight was real good!

Sheer ambrosia...

Wei Chieh holding back tears of regret because he ordered the cold noodles...

Siew Gee's noodle actually tasted like "loh mee" in northern Malaysia.

For the afternoon, we went to Gallup Park to do some kayaking. Wei Chieh and I shared a kayak, and for us the main agenda of the day was to run into Siew Gee's kayak. It might have sounded easy since we were two against one, but in truth we had to summon every ounce of our energy and brainpower (lol) before we could actually do that.

Colorful kayaks

Excellent day for kayaking...

Trying her best to keep up with our insane speed (haha in reality that's so not true...)

Wei Chieh and I was ready to go back for a good dinner, only to be shocked by an unforeseen occurrence (we should have known better). In the end we dined in Asian Legend, which was not bad actually.

So that was my only visit to Ann Arbor up till now. I'm guessing I'll be back in this lovely town during Labor Day...till then so long AA!

To everyone especially Gu Long fans: Must read!!!

I stumbled upon this essay on Chow Yee Hoong's blog, and it is absolutely hilarious....if this was indeed written during exam period, you got to admire the author's courage and incredible sense of humor...

 

[爆笑]北京高考零分作文
题目:“细雨湿衣看不见，闲花落地听无声”是唐朝诗人刘长卿在《别严士元》中的诗句。曾经有人这样理解这句诗：1、这是歌颂春天的美好意境。2、闲花、细雨表达了不为人知的寂寞。3、看不见、听不见不等于无所作为，是一种恬淡的处世之道。4、这种意境已经不适合当今的世界……根据你的看法写一篇作文。题目自拟，体裁不限。字数800以上。

盛夏，夜，深夜。

景山山颠。

山上有人，两个人，一男一女。

这两人就是当今武林名声最响的两位杀手，男的名秋细雨，女的叫叶闲花，江湖人称“细雨闲花”。

诗人刘长卿曾用“细雨湿衣看不见，闲花落地听无声”来描述这两个可怕的杀手。细雨湿衣，湿衣的是鲜血；闲花落地，落地的是人头。这两人杀人来无影去无踪，如果他们想杀你，当你还没看到他们人影没听到他们声音的时候，你就已经死了。

秋细雨三天前接到一份帖子，指名要杀叶闲花。事成之后，不但有三百万两冥币，更可以让他在“红楼梦中人”选秀节目中担任曹雪芹的角色！

但是杀死叶闲花比杀死比尔还要困难得多。

江湖中没有一个人清楚叶闲花的武功来历，性格脾气，但是每个人都知道叶闲花的故事。

叶闲花有一双迷人的大眼睛，据说她曾一动不动地瞪死过赵薇和高圆圆，而那一年她才十七岁。

叶闲花声音有如黄莺般幽婉醉人，传说听过她说话后林志玲身体酥麻了整整一年，你说要不要命？

叶闲花轻功独步武林，踏雪无痕，落地无声，号称超过当年青翼蝠王韦一笑。有人见她上星期在高速公路上偷了刘翔奥运会入场证，刘翔追出一万公里最后被活活累倒。

一般人听到叶闲花的故事早就吓得去买尿不湿了，但是秋细雨没有去买。

秋细雨不是一般人。

他知道，杀人不但要靠技术，还要拼人品！

秋细雨很镇定，他正用一把指甲刀修整着手指甲，他的手指修长有力。

他要等待，等待对方先沉不住气。高手相争，不允许一丝一毫的失误，先沉不住气的人就会露出破绽。

致命的破绽！

因此秋细雨一言不发，只是静静地玩弄着指甲刀。

没想到叶闲花更是好整以暇，自己悠然自得地涂口红，喷香水。

秋细雨只好先发制人，道：“你知道我找你出来是为什么。”

叶闲花温柔道：“在我们动手之前，不能先谈谈么？”

秋细雨道：“我是来杀人的，不是来聊天的。”

叶闲花道：“你有把握杀我？”

秋细雨道：“我从不做没有把握的事情。”

叶闲花道：“我要提醒你一件事。”

秋细雨道：“你说。”

叶闲花道：“百晓生作杀手谱，小女子是杀手榜排名第一，阁下区区第二，你真能杀得了我么？”

秋细雨道：“我也要提醒你一件事。”

叶闲花道：“你说。”

秋细雨道：“论杀手实力，我本在你之前，只是那次排名百晓生采用了短信投票系统，中国‘花痴’人数过于庞大才让你得了第一。”

叶闲花的脸色一变，道：“我更要提醒你，我的粉丝团叫‘花粉’，不叫‘花痴’！”

秋细雨道：“我最后要提醒你，你的那些‘花粉’全都是花痴。还有，我们已经跑题了。”

叶闲花道：“我们这样拼命厮杀，你难道不怕麻烦么？”

秋细雨道：“你以后再也不用怕麻烦了，天下只有一种人永远不怕麻烦，死人！”

叶闲花道：“这么说你非逼我出手不可？”

秋细雨没有回答，他已不用回答。

秋细雨道：“亮兵器！”

叶闲花道：“我用刀。”

秋细雨道：“你用刀？刀在何处？”

叶闲花道：“我就是刀！”

叶闲花露出甜甜的笑容，忽然间褪下了自己的衣服，全身上下只剩下蕾丝比基尼和黑色丝袜。

叶闲花的脸美得让人窒息，再配上这样的身材，这样的服饰，充满了一种原始的诱惑力。

她的眼睛会说话，她的媚笑会说话，她的手，她的胸膛，她的腿……她身上每分每寸都会说话。

她知道，只要是个不瞎的男人，现在肯定会被她迷得神魂颠倒。

秋细雨是个男人，而且是个不瞎的男人。

可他现在却偏偏好像瞎了一样，完全无动于衷。

他知道，美丽的女人是一把刀，当你沉醉的时候，刀就会切进你的胸口。

秋细雨沉吟道：“我只想问你一件事。”

叶闲花娇笑着：“请讲。”

秋细雨道：“大夏天的，穿这么少你丫不怕蚊子叮啊？”

叶闲花沉默了半晌，幽幽地道：“你一定以为刚才我在喷香水，是不是？我告诉你，我喷的是六神花露水！”

叶闲花又道：“不过这不是普通的六神，是我特别提炼的药水，无色无味无毒，不过却会慢慢扩散在空气中，闻到它的人会四肢麻痹不能动弹。”

秋细雨一惊，忽然觉得身体已经麻木不听使唤，不由得一身冷汗。

叶闲花又道：“你以为我和你扯淡是因为我害怕，以为我脱掉衣服是想色诱你，其实这都是为了拖延时间让药水能扩散到你周围。”

秋细雨面上不动声色，道：“难道你自己不怕药水的厉害？”

叶闲花得意地道：“一开始我涂的口红就是解药，所以我仍然可以自由行动。”

叶闲花逼视着秋细雨，问道：“现在你还认为你能杀了我么？”

秋细雨道：“我能。”

叶闲花道：“你不能动而我能动，你却能杀了我，这不是很好笑么？”

秋细雨道：“是很好笑，但是你一定会被我杀死。”

叶闲花道：“为什么我会被你杀死？”

秋细雨忽然反问道：“飞刀能不能杀人？”

叶闲花道：“好像能。”

秋细雨道：“我有没有手？”

叶闲花道：“的确有。”

秋细雨道：“我手上有没有刀？”

叶闲花道：“你手上好像只有指甲刀。”

秋细雨道：“足够了。”

叶闲花道：“足够了？”

秋细雨道：“我有手有刀，就能置人死地。”

叶闲花道：“指甲刀也能杀人？实在可笑！”

秋细雨道：“以前江湖中有七十三个人觉得我这把指甲刀很可笑。”

叶闲花道：“现在呢？”

秋细雨道：“现在人都已死了，死在这把刀下。”

叶闲花道：“你的手还能动？”

秋细雨道：“你要不要试试？”

叶闲花脸上的笑容渐渐凝固，忽然间，她已出手！

一招“冒牌九阴白骨爪”直逼秋细雨天灵盖，这一招她已练过七年四个月零二十九天，她完全有把握相信没有任何人可以抵挡得了这一招。

可这一次她错了。

刀光一闪，“盗版小李飞刀”已插入她的咽喉。

她到死也不相信，一把指甲刀可以要了她的命！

闲花终于落地！

三个时辰后，药水的药效渐渐淡去，秋细雨终于可以动弹了。

望着叶闲花的尸体，秋细雨道：“虽然你已经死了，但是我还要告诉你两件事。第一，我一直用甲刀修整着手指甲是为了调整手和刀之间的同步率，说白了就是找手感。第二，我杀你的真正目的不是为了钱或者名利。”

一边说，秋细雨一边从叶闲花衣服的口袋里搜出了刘翔的奥运会入场证。

秋细雨坚定地说：“我爱北京，我要看奥运！”

New place, new life

When I first started my job, I kept on whining about almost everything when I really should not. I think I was mainly terrified by the idea that I was already a perceived grown up and should start acting like one. I also did not like the idea that I was about to enter the "working" part of my life...no more long vacations, no more spring breaks, more commitments, more responsibilities etc. But one month after, I've kind of found my center and start to appreciate things more. Life is actually not that bad, and I hope things won't take a sudden downturn when I am starting to enjoy it. Right now, I am seeing this period as a time when I build my foundations for a better and more exciting future...

So let me start by describing my new apartment (ok, maybe I should not sound like I own it). It is called the Stonegate apartments, and I just love it for its convenient location. It is less than 10 minutes from my workplace, and it has everything you need within 5 miles radius (Walmart, Meijier, Kroger, cinemas, banks, post office etc). The Monon Trail, a nice jogging trail that goes as far as to downtown Indianapolis runs right through it, and there's a lake not far from my apartment. The Arts and Design District of Carmel is also within walking distance. In a nutshell, excellent location.

The apartment itself is not so new, but I got a remodeled unit. Hence, the microwave and oven are new, and next week they are going to do some work on the windows. The only downside of it is that there is no washing machine in the unit, so I have to go out of my room to do my laundry, and it's coin laundry. But well, the laundry room is literally like 5 steps away from my unit, so no complaints.

As for the community, I think Stonegate is more like an area for people who just started working or families with lower incomes. I see a lot of Hispanics around (most of my neighbors are Hispanics), some Indian families, and not to mention Chinese families. I think my next door neighbor is a Chinese, but we did not really talk as we rarely bump into each other. From what I have seen thus far, the people here are decent folks. No loud music on weekend nights, no crazy activities around. This should be a good place for me to study...

Due to my limited funds, I took the minimalist approach in furnishing my apartment (haha). Let the pictures do the talking: 

 

Living room...Yup the weird thing is a video bean bag...can't afford a futon yet :P

My computer desk at the corner. It took me more than half a day to assemble that monster...

My entertainment center!!! A pathetic 22-inch flat screen TV (two of my colleagues who were also just newly hired bought 40-inch!!) and of course, my wii :)

 

Dining table and kitchen.

Kitchen with microwave and oven (sinks are across the aisle)

My full-size bed...

Basically it's a nice apartment with a nice price (<600 per mo). Will blog more about the surroundings next time!

Winter fun

Found out this video when I was trying to upload my photos to Snapfish. It was taken during our freshmen year (judging by the fact that Qun Feng was still there). Although that is probably like 3-4 years ago, it almost felt like centuries ago...



How I miss those days...we seemed so carefree and innocent!! (and kinda stupid and wuliao not to mention..)

Moving out of Ann Arbor

After just a mere month of resting, I had to move on with life; my next stop would be Carmel, a town about half an hour away from Indianapolis, Indiana. The good thing about this place is that it is 4 hours away from Ann Arbor, and this means that I can practically go back to my college town during the weekends, whenever I wish to.

The packing and moving was not that bad, due to the fact that I did not unpack most of my belonging when I moved to U-Towers. Coincidentally, Ren Jie would be leaving the states the very same day I moved out from Ann Arbor. Hence, we had a small gathering and dined in Yamato, a Japanese restaurant in Kerrytown the night before our departures.

Group photo

The food was ok, but the AC wasn't working that day, and it was a hot day. After dinner, I packed all my stuff into my car with the help of Wei Chieh and Ren Jie (thanks!), and had some card games before calling it a day.

Our messy room in U-Towers right before moving..

The bathroom and pathetically small kitchen

Wei Chieh being himself

Ren Jie was like: "What??!! Haven't seen leng chai before ar??"

Soon after, I would be bidding Ann Arbor goodbye and embark on a new journey!!! Well, right now I have already known that it is not a particularly exciting one, but let me blog about that later...I'm catching up!!!

Midwest Games 2008

Midwest Games is an event organized by MSD annually to allow Malaysian students from the region to participate in various sports competitions. The venue changes each year, and this year it took place in Carbondale, Illinois. Throughout my four years in the States, I have never participated in Midwest Games before, but I wasn't going to miss this one. It was my last chance to participate as an undergraduate (technically speaking).

I signed up for volleyball and badminton mixed doubles. Practice we did (lol) before the game, especially for volleyball. The Michigan gang went there in 3 cars, and I was one of the drivers. It took us 8 hours to reach our destination. Carbondale wasn't a big place, but it had everything in my opinion. For the night (and the following ones), we stayed at Motel 6.

Student Recreation Center of Southern Illinois University Carbondale

The results did not turn out well for us; we managed to win only one game in the volleyball (not counting the walkover), and we (Pei Ying and I) lost in our first mixed doubles game. Pei Ying did win 2nd place in women's double though. Despite the losses, I did have a great time there just playing sports. And I should not fail to mention that something happened while we played volleyball; let's just say that thanks to Wei Chieh (:P), I had to reset my "focus".

I seemed to be distracted by something when everybody's focusing...

The volleyball team (with our "babysitter" - RJ)

Group photo with Wichita key player - StarryNight

On the night before we departed, there was a tornado warning. The city siren went off for a few minutes, and when we turned on the television, the local channels kept repeating warnings about the impending storm. The tone they projected was grave and we were advised to head to underground shelters to take cover. As it was our first time, we took heed seriously, and was even considering hiding into the bathroom if things got really bad and debris started shooting everywhere. Well, it appeared all our worries were unnecessary; the storm when it finally reached was pretty anti-climatic. I have definitely seen far worse ones in Malaysia.

Ominous clouds

So after another 8 hours of drive (we managed to stop by in Indianapolis for lunch), we got back to AA safely. All in all, this was yet another fun trip during my post-grad pre-work period.