Life Story

i'm sure these questions have popped up in your head in some time or another.

what do i want in life? if i were to die today, will i die with no regret? why in the world am i here?

on and off, these questions do come up for me and you know what, i think i have an answer for the second question. and actually for the first and last question too..woo hoo.. if i were to die today, no regrets dude because

1) when i want to hug my friends or family, i'll just hug. you know being asians, most of us tend to be more shy and find it hard to display our feelings publicly. i so thank God that I got the chance to come to the united states. here, i learned how to display my affections and not try to hide it. i just really dont want to wait till when that somebody is gone then i start asking myself, why didn't i give this person a hug at that time when i really want to? remember, you only get to live once. you won't get to see the person again in your lifetime once he/she dies(well.. unless he or she is a believer)

2) to me now, though i might have pre-conceived notion that i might not enjoy a certain sport or a certain type of food, i'm GONNA try it. hey serious man, what harm can it cause? the most you either get a serious bruise or get a real bad stomache. no worries man! life's short. try it, if you dont like it, the most dont do it again.

3) i have a wonderful and supportive family. when they need me, i'm definitely there. when i'm in singapore, i spend tonnes of my time with them so... i think i have done relatively well as a daughter, grand-daughter and niece. i've taken my responsiblities well. have you?

4) everything's well. in my 25 years on earth, i get to come here to the united states to study (which i'm ever so grateful to my parents for), i have met some incredible and solid friends (here's the list ------ evelyn chng, yanny, joyce, allan, mark tang, valent, vincent, jon heine, bill, donna, sharon and jon lew, feng yi, peter, stanley, hualun, edwin, patrick chin, patrick, andy, e-lin, hui hui, bixia, richard, clifton, wenyang, louanne, brook etc.. the list goes on) i know that when i need BIG help, there guys will be there.

also, i get to travel to places such as perth, indonesia, thailand, new york city, boston, los angeles, san francisco, yosemite national park, grand canyon etc. i get to go skiling, hiking, looking at a sky seriously full of stars and trying all different sorts of food. life is just beautiful.

i am so thankful for all these things. so i have no regrets for whatever may come. as for purpose in life ---- just being able to wake up everyday is something that we all tend to take for granted.

for me, every single day, 1) i just do the best i can in everything. even if i screw up, i'm like, i did the best dude! no sweat! 2) keep regular contacts with my friends and family. 3) take things easy, don't think so much and try to complicate stuff. 4) last but not least, at the end of the day, reward yourself with a glass of wine or beer. cheers everyone!!!

seriously.. at the end of the day, the person up there, my lord, is in charge so..... everything's in control.

when everything's in control.. it means everything's cool!
(even if something doesn't turn out well, i will not worry too much because i know he will provide me a way out)

Daylight saving is not healthy

oh shit, i'm going to be in big trouble when daylight saving starts this sunday.

that means i will lose an hour of sleep (though i will get off work an hour earlier).

for those of you folks who don't know what daylight saving is. here's the explaination.

my body clock is going to be pretty screw up the next few days. i'm going to be in connecticut on monday and they are 3 hours ahead and then when i get back here on saturday, i technically will have to wake up at 5am because i will lose an hour due to daylight saving.

oh well, oh well. life still goes on regardless.

emm.. should i go to serendipity when i go to new york?

Remember the days when you were still a kid?

my trip to disneyland was so much fun. i had a really great time with the kids. the thing about me is that i love being around kids but i just don't like to take care of them full-time. it is a very tiring job with no pay.

anyhow, i'm going back there - sometime soon. when i was there, i really feel like buying the whole shop. everything is just so adorable but thank God that because i need to take care of the kids, i didn't have much time to shop around. haha but no worries disney has this promotion going on because of their 50th anniversary --- as long as i keep my ticket, i get to go back there a second time within a month. my friends already asked me if i can call in sick on one of the weekdays. i'm like i guess so, hopefully i don't see anyone from the office on that day.

i got invited by my co-worker for her daughter's birthday. i can't wait to go shopping to get her a nice little dress. emm.. i don't know why am i surrounded by kids these days? i guess God is training my patience up. anyhow, when i'm with them, i jaz feel so carefree again.

winnie the pool. the haunted house. indiana jones. this is way way way much cooler than universal studio. 

i love this. this is so true. we, humans always take things so seriously. we really need to slow down and learn to laugh and take joy in small little things in life. may this phrase remain in all you guys' heart. 

 

very cool. 

the good old days. black & white

to me, i love the 80's. i grew up in that era where my grandparents, parents, uncles and aunt were still young. i used to stay over at my grandparents' place alot and were (and still are) very close to my uncles and aunt. i love watching smurf, mickey, and the rest. i still remember the yaohan in the 80's and the amusement park at parkway parade then.

i miss those days. 

Spring Break 2006

Greetings!!! i realised that I heven posted any pictures of myself for a while. there you go... 

Night market 

the LONG.................................................................... thing which was so good. 

yah yah you see alot of food postings here but sorry, being typical singaporean, i just have to. food is PART of our life. [for example, clifton works out so that HE CAN EAT MORE].

so.... anyway, last thursday, mark and i went to the night market near my place, it was pretty fun. for dinner, we had some jamaica food which was damn solid spicy. shiok sia.. and a frickin long polish hotdog.

i like my area. not too big and there is a strong sense of community over here.
 

Los Angeles Downtown

mark and i went to try this place called the Griddle Cafe. it was recommended by Rachael Ray. being typical singapore.. food wow, comfirm must go try.

their breakfast is so darn good. we waited for 40 mins to get into the place and another 30 mins for the food to come but it was worth it. my pancake is HUGE beyond HUGE. seriously can eat till you puke and swore not to have pancake again.. but it is really good stuff.

Close up dude! [are you feeling hungry?] 

My Weekend to Come!

woo hoo..! can't wait for the weekend.

i'm going to disneyland. heven been there before so really looking forward to it.

i'm going with a bunch of kids from church and my responsibility is to take care of them. hem... i'm kinda worried about my huge task because i'm scared that i will lose them when i get too excited with shops and fun. how ah?

anyhow, it is good to feel like a kid again. we always try to act like adults by worrying too much, being too serious with everything that we forget the simpler things in life.

i remember when i was younger, $20 is a huge deal but now haha you give me ten of thousands also might not be enough. we want too much that we forget to be contented.

i hate it when we humans keep on chasing after things. isn't it tiring? well. i know this is life and is human nature to do so but then the question back is do you want to control life or let life control you?

it is up to you!

Tucson

i miss tucson.

i miss the slower pace of life and the peacefulness.

this is so hilarious. i actually miss tucson more than i miss singapore.

there are so many memories back there. oh.. i can't wait for May to come.



This is what you get. No photoshop involved!


The road ahead.

Santa Monica Beach

i want one of these houses. 

i love the ocean :) very calming.
more sand and water and less mountains.

ah.... santa monica. those carefree days 

when mark came here the first night, i decided to roast a chicken and cook some couscous for him but because my oven is not tunned properly, it took me 2 hours to get that bird cooked. from then on, it is eating out everyday. cooking is too tiring and it is not a good way to spend quality time. as we are not as big eaters as wenyang and clifton, thus you see alot of leftover boxes left in the fridge. cook also problem, don't cook also a problem.

The Corporate world

today is my 1 month anniversary at work. so far, things have been going pretty well. i'm learning alot and most importantly, i do enjoy what i do [most of the time].

i do have a phobia though. i'm afraid that i will turn into a workaholic. i actually like working. i feel that i'm making my life useful when i work whereas when it comes to studying, my brain is half retarded cause i don't feel the urge to push myself or should i say there's not much pressure involved (your professor won't kick your ass if you don't do well and also even if you get an A, that doesn't mean your parents would increase your allowance:(

however, one thing i do realise is that the corporate world is very far from God's world. there is NO INTERSECTION at all in this venn diagram.

this question has been popping up in my head for some time. after a while, is it that worth it to chase after prestige and money? i'm not a very big fan of the two things mentioned but i DO like to work [when i do things that i enjoy, i not only want to do my best, i like to exceed expectation], and i'm really afraid that work will one day drain the hell out of me if i keep on pushing for the best.

carol needs to slow down and chill out!

hmm... at the end of the day, i don't think i will be a very contented and happy person without God and Mark and my family in my life.

Sin

I HAVE TO CONFESS...................

actually the reason why i want to go to new york city AGAIN is to...............................................

GO TO H&M

i LOVE this place to death. the clothes are reasonably priced and very my style.

the last time i went there, i went in to the shop at least 5 times till mark is super allergic to that place. keekee.

but.. but... of course the other main reason is to hang out with my dear friend, levynn.

anyhow.. to think that i'm officially done with studying and no more test... i'm so darn wrong. i'm now studying for my theory test AGAIN. in order to renew my license in california, i need to retake my theory test. THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS.

i miss my best friend. she is in Newcastle, aust right now. i heven seen her for the past 1.5 yrs and she is gonna be there for 4 yrs.


stan, eve (the middle) and song...ops i can't remember the two girls' name.



and i also kind of miss the food that she is eating.. darn.. looks so delicious

emm.. mark is gonna kill me cause why am i missing her and not him.. :(

i miss him too and i'm gonna see him in a few days time.. yeppy!!

New York, here i come again!!

oh by the way, i'm whizzing to New York city in april. gonna be there to visit my "foreign" friend levynn.

levynn is actually a singaporean but because he has been in NY for so darn long... his friends all call him a foreigner when he's back in singapore. he actually likes subway more than char kway tiao... hai.... disappointed in him. [don't worry guys, i'm still a big fan of char kway tiao and a true blue singaporean] .

other than that, he is a really nice person ---- used to work for JP Morgan but now he is in princeton university. since i'm gonna be in connecticut for my orientation, i'm thinking why not pop over to NY (which is an hour away) to pay him a visit.

i jaz called him up and he is free for that week. that boy has got a big mission ---- he has to change my impression of new york city. see, when i went to that place a yr ago, i didn't like it there but then he kept on insisting that i'm looking at this city from a tourist's angle. he told both me and mark that we should let him be the tour guide when we went there the last time. so.......... let's wait and see.

yahoo... can't wait to see him.

Mind Blowing

phew.. the week is finally over.

this week at work is particularly stressful. the president of my company flew in and we all had a BIG presentation/meeting with our client on thursday afternoon @ the Hilton.

i was in a room with 26 men (YES!!! white shirt and tie... ALL OF THEM) and 4 ladies (including myself). oh boy.... this really opens up my eyes about corporate america.

i was thankful for the fact that my boss had asked me to go with the rest of the business managers to this meeting because why should he even bother asking me? i had only joined the company for 3 weeks and i'm not even in the management position. anyhow, i did learn alot during the 4.5 hours in that room and my poor ass.... [never in my life have i sat thru a presentation for 4.5 hours and with full attention on it] by the end of it, my brain was totally fried.

sorry guys... i can't divulge alot.. all i can say is that at times, the "heat" in the room can really kill you.

after the presentation, one of the senior business managers invited us to go to his place for a chill out session.. oh man, i was so glad that i went. it was so bloody fun. we had wine, beer, fajitas for dinner. we did nothing much, jaz eat and talk crap --- a much much needed break after a whole day of hard work.

Men, Men and more men

we had a meeting today and then......................... it suddenly dawned on me that i'm only one of the 2 girls in the sea of men --- the other lady being the business manager and that is pretty much it.

hmm... but i felt pretty comfortable surrounded by 9 men in white shirt and tie. i guess during the few weeks here, i have gotten to know that most of them are pretty darn funny (when they are not stress out) and that helps to lessen the tension.

tomorrow, the CEO and a few guys are coming from the corporate office and a bunch of us will be meeting with them and also our client (which i heard are also very conservative men).

hah!!! talking about surrounded by men... i'm going to meet a tonne of them tomorrow.

*i hope i survive through*

anyhow, i do prefer to work with guys more than women. working with the opposite sex just tend to in a way, lessen the politics in the office...

generally, guys have a bigger heart,

crack funnier jokes,

and bitch less.

Job and Food

oh my.. i have not even been in my job for a month and boy.... here comes the politics.

apparently my mentor feels that the business managers are giving me too short of a lead time to accomplish their requests and he wants to talk to our boss about it.

personally for me, i'm fine with the short notice cause i can still manage things pretty well but he feels that it will not be good for me in the long run.

on a happier note. about an hour drive from here, there is this place called san gabriel square and according to their website ---- it is the only Asian shopping area big enough to make you forget that you're actually in America AND.... they have a ranch 99 there as well ++++ Boutiques, herbal medicine shops, professional offices and over a dozen restaurants and cafes fill the four levels, with the gigantic Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant occupying the top level.

woo hoo... carol is a happy girl after all. gonna check out that place soon.

Hallo y'all

okay guys, first of all, i want to apologize for the lack of updates.

laziness is one of the factors, however, there is another big main reason behind it - i DO NOT yet have a chair for the desk and it is very hard to navigate around the laptop while lying on my matteress.

but... i feel really bad for not blogging much.. so this one is gonna be a long post, filled with pictures.

just to let everyone know that i am settling quite well over here. i am contented and happy though there are some stuff which really get on my nerves such as............................................

1) THEY DO NOT HAVE A DECENT ORIENTAL MARKET HERE. what is wrong???

yesterday, i wanted to cook braise pork with tau kua and egg and i NEED black soy sauce. i went round the city and i couldn't even find one oriental market (except the small pathetic one outside my place).

THE CONCLUSION----if i really need chinese sauces, i need to drive about 50 mins towards los angeles downtown to go get them. argh!!!!

hmm... but since mark is coming over in 2 weeks' time, i have already asked him to get me some chinese pepper, dried noodles and some sauces.. i think i'm good till everytime runs out.

2) because my driver's license has expired. i need to go renew it and......... i NEED to retake my theory. this really drives me nut. united states is so bloody big and different states have got different rules... why can't they make everything simpler and just let my arizona license get transferred over????

and a friking smog test costs $58 USD over here whereas it costs only $13 in tucson. :(

other than the above whinnings, i am happy and .........HAPPY. God has blessed me tonnes.

it is so good to have a fellow malaysian as a co-worker, i have met some really cool and witty believers over here (though i'm not a big fan of the type of church that they go to). i think i still like baptist church and yay.. i will get a chance to travel to the east coast for the company orientation in april..

everything's cool!!! life is not perfect but i'm contented.

ah.... my favourite shop. this is where i do most of my grocery shopping. they have good varieties of stuff and their food tastes good.

actually the area that i'm in, everything is pretty convenient. we have big grocery chains round the corner, pubs and restaurants are all nearby and every thursday night, they have night market with farm produces and stuff. i have yet to check that out and i'm gonna do that when mark comes.

my apartment. i love the place cause it has lots of green and is peaceful. 

the property 

haha... but i would say that the most unminimalist place in the house is the kitchen. what the heck! i have not even been here for a month but my cupboard and kitchen are stuff with food. partially because when my aunt came, she bought a gazillion of stuff for me. YAY! 

my kitchen, living room and bedroom. very minimalist. i like things simple but i would like to decorate my place more bits by bits cause furnitures are not cheap 

this is taken right outside my balcony. i love the mountains. though there are just mountains, there are very different from those in tucson. i would say that these ones are really nice, especially when they have snow on them.