Determination

只要有決心, 目標一定可以達到.
Was walking by the river when I saw this turtle trying to climb up to the 'shore'. It took almost 15 minutes to finally get up there. The waves (even though seems like nothing to us), kept pushing it back into the water. But it was determined enough to want to get on land so it made it!

Grand Haven City Beach

Yesterday was one of the hottest day of the year (at least up to now lah) so we decided to go to the beach. Actually, Saturday was a better day for the beach since the sky was clear but the weather forecast had said it will be cloudy and scattered thunderstorm on Saturday so we planned for Sunday instead. But turned out that the rain only happened on Saturday night.

We went out for dinner on Saturday night to make plans for the next day. Hehe...they read my mind - Japanese food!! We went to Sushiya, a Japanese restaurant with mostly sushi dishes that is just across the road from the north side of campus. Pei and I went to try their lunch specials when they first opened sometime last year and we liked it. But there are so many other stuff to eat around campus that we never did go back there even though we did talk about going back for sushi.

I got a Black Dragon sushi while ahdik got chicken teriyaki. The chicken teriyaki was served with a variety of sides like sushi, seaweed salad (yummy!), popiah, and stir-fry vege. As for the sushi, instead of serving on individual plates, they served all of it on a 'boat'. While it looks interesting and pretty, it will be quite inconvenient if there is a large group of people. It was a good thing that we had planned to share all the different types of sushi in the first place. They also served 'pisang goreng' for dessert - slightly different from the regular pisang goreng in M'sia because they use the tempura breading instead of the don't-know-call-what breading. The pisang goreng was also served with chocolate drizzle, makes it taste even better!! Hehe...anything with chocolate will never go wrong!

The next morning, woke up early to make egg sandwich so that we can picnic by the beach.
...and off we go to the beach.
Grand Haven City beach is about 2 hours west of Lansing. It is by Lake Michigan, hence a fresh water '海邊'. Surprisingly, the beach was not as crowded as we expected because there was lots of places to set up our 'picnic area'. While the guys played some sort of volleyball, the girls lied down and chit-chat.

I also get to play the cow-kite that tai lou brought!! We made it go so high that all the string was used up! The only other time I played kite was when dad taught us how to make them back in primary school.
Hopefully there are more nice days like these to be having fun outdoors!!

The sweet little things...

Got a nice card from ahdik with his way much better writing!
Even with all the arguments that we have, it is nice to have him here, especially when everyone else is leaving. 至少覺得寂寞孤單的時候, 回到家, 還是有個人可以一起吃飯,一起聊天, 一起出去玩.

Also got a cute squirrel from John. Hehe...not a real squirrel lah. But we saw the squirrel before!
Have always wanted to get a photo of animals in nature or of mountain or beach scenery but kept telling myself to wait until I get my own place first. Hehe..got my first one d! 最特別的是, how many people have a photo decor that they know the photographer and have actually seen the animal/scene of the photo? Pretty rare leh...plus, it is of my favorite terrestrial animal!!

A surprise...

去年的生日是個好玩的驚喜, 今年的生日讓我很感動. :)

Didn't make any special plans for the birthday except maybe to hang out with John or the girls. As dad suggested,

"Take a break. Celebrate.
It need not be an elaborate celebration.
A moment of silence; a sip of your favourite drink; a lick of an ice cream; a walk in the Park...
anything that rewards YOU with God given moment."

Then ahdik suggested that he was going to cook me dinner...hmm...that is a surprise already, considering how much he cooks at home. So planned to go home early to hang out with him at home. Was looking forward to it too since he was all secretive about what he was going to cook!

Come lunch time on the day itself, he called to say he won't be able to make it home in time because he needs to work on his car. Blah! Was annoyed (even though was trying not to make a big deal out of it :P) so I was like, whatever lah. Was at MSU Union with John at that time (we went to get Union Pizzeria for lunch - nothing special, still prefers Georgio's Pizza) and he was there when I took the call. He suggested that we go over to his place to watch a movie. Well, since the evening plan is now cancelled, why not.

Just before we left, called the girls to see if they wanted to get dinner but all I got was ambiguous answers like am not sure what time will be done, give me a call later, etc and even John didn't want to go for dinner! At that time, it sure felt like one of those times when you have your own expectations of how things will turn out and then none of it happened - ouch! So we just went back to watch Meet the Fockers. That kept my mind off the disappointment for a bit (but still like the first one - Meet the Parents - better) but my tummy was grumbling towards the end. So I thought maybe by then, John would probably be hungry enough to go get a decent dinner too. But guess what, no, he didn't want to go get dinner. Grrrr....fine! I sure felt like maybe I should have just gone home and cuddle up with a nice book and a tub of ice-cream! That would have been a nicer evening than having all my expectations being turned down (even Jo didn't call me back or answer my phone)!! (Yes, yes, I know I shouldn't make any expectations but I was really hoping we could go somewhere for a nice dinner mer!) We did end up going for ice-cream and went for a short walk at the park.

While all this is going on, the gang was busy cooking and preparing to give me a surprise when I get home!! Ahdik actually planned this since Sunday and I have no clue about it!! So all evening, John was trying to keep me from going home too early and going out to eat because we'll be eating at the party!!! Jo and ahdik purposely avoided any plans that requires me to go home early!! Haha...poor ah Pei had to hear me complain about no one picking up my phone. She didn't tell me anything either and she knew all about it!!

Check out all the food we have...
Hehe...the corn was a weird combination with all the pasta and noodles we had but who cares, we love jagung!! Alan and Tai Lou also bought fried chicken from Popeye's. They are definitely way better than KFC (which unfortunately does not taste good at all in US)!

They also decorated the apartment with balloons and lights. Steph, the lights are actually from you! Remember when you gave me a surprise welcome back from Woods Hole? I miss those times!!
Brian made the 'birthday' cake - tiramisu cake with mild coffee taste! Yummy! I actually didn't get to really eat it because it was smashed into my face twice!!! First was by ahdik, which I dare bet that he had always wanted to do it!! Second was by Jo, apparently for ah Pei (Pei!!! you were not there to 保護 me!!). Even with all the birthday celebrations that I have seen where people get smashed with their cake, this is actually the first time Ping experienced it. They were both pretty smooth too because I had no idea that was coming!!
Ahdik also made chocolate cupcake with ice-cream for dessert. Since I was too excited to be taking any photos that night, didn't get a whole lot of photos or clear photos since all the photos taken with my camera is blur!!!

Thanks a bunch to everyone who contributed to the party!!

對好多人來說, 這樣的party 可能是很普通, 但對我, 這個party讓我很感動. 這一班的朋友是從ah pei 認識的. 以為ah pei 離開之後, 可能會越來越少跟他們聯絡, 也不知道會不會很尷尬因為每次我們出去玩, 都是有ah pei 來'bring us together'. 真的沒想到他們竟然會幫我主辦了一個生日party!! Tai lou也有來喔!! 雖然這全部都是來自弟弟的意思, 但有他們全部自願的出席, 真的讓我感到幸福!! 原來對他們來說, 我還是我, 不是ah pei 的朋友. 有些人可能會覺得我這樣說很奇怪, 但因為我很少真真的認識朋友, 所以當有人對我好的時候, 我總會覺得很感動. It is the small things that touch the heart. 小小的心意比大動作有意思.

另外一間事, 更沒想到John也會配合他們. 雖然我們只認識短短的時, 他是第一個男性的朋友跟我有哪麼好的默契. 覺得自己好幸運, 有機會認識他, 也和他學了好多. 讓我提醒自己, 在這世界上還有好多的好人, 不必因為還沒見到, 去犧牲我夢想中的伴侶條件. Haha, but on the other side, 他也在我的'list of requirements' 上加了幾個需求.

The sweetest gift from mum and dad...

It all started yesterday morning when I woke up and check my email - a bunch of emails from dad! Daddy scanned the photos of my birthday celebration when I was just a little kid, still 'paut paut pui pui'.

This morning came more emails and the most recent one is this...they even put a little elephant there too!!! Sure had me trying not to cry at work all morning...It is made of the little beads mum used for the beaded shoes she make.

Thanks mummy and daddy!!! Love you both lots!! Wish I could be home with everyone but I'm definitely there in spirit!! At least nobody to 'chiao' the 'kor liam' durian with daddy and ahmah...wait, how did they even finish all the 4 biji? Hehe...okaylah, at least you don't have to buy even more durian.

Hugs and kisses!!

Weekend in Carmel, Indiana

This trip was planned a few weeks back, thinking that it will be a good time to visit as it is Jayden's birthday and it will be after my trip to KBS. Turns out that the timing couldn't have been better because I was starting to feel homesick!

Indiana-Michigan border is only about an hour away but Carmel, IN, which is pretty close to the capital of Indiana - Indianapolis, is a little more than 3 hours away from Lansing. It was a pretty easy drive there as highway I-69 connects directly from Lansing all the way to Carmel. Wanted to leave shortly after lunch but the department had a poster session so end up leaving after work. Thanks to Jo, we had broccoli pasta for dinner on the way there! We did not arrive until past 9pm. The kids were already put to bed but they came down to greet us! As Chloe said, she wanted to see us before they go to bed. How sweet is that!

Although it was late, Gylin was nice enough to prepare supper for us - a Korean appetizer: GolBaengi MuChim. It is like a salad type of dish made with cucumbers, onions, squid and seasnail. It is eaten with noodle. It was the first time I had seasnail and it is yummy! Found a recipe online that I might try someday!
After supper, we played a dice game known as Farkle. Hehe...if Pei is here, it would definitely be having a more 熱鬧 time. It is a pretty easy game as all you have to do is throw 6 dice and decides to play it risky or play it safe. A lot of luck involved. Haha...maybe have to 'khua jit chi' before you decide to play :P. However, the name of the game is just weird. Oh Crap! or Squelch (from Wiki) sounds better. Hehe.. Oh, it was definitely my lucky night that night! Keke...

On Saturday, we spent most of the day at the Connor Prairie. It is an outdoor museum where they replicate the lifestyle during the late 19th century when Indiana was still a prairie. They make you feel like you are in the 19th century too because they have people who dress up and talk like they were from that time zone. When you walk through the town, there are people who are shopping, exchanging conversations, cooking, etc. just like in the 19th century. We were confused initially because we thought that these people really live there as they were quite convincing!

Here's a little girl (she was not dressed up) who was making a table leg using a 古代 version of 抹刀 (is this what we call bua to? hehe.... ).

They also have their own farm, herbs and vege garden, which provides them the food and transportation they need during the century (but of course, now is just to support their daily 'acts').

This is the largest piggy that I have seen!!
Mean looking chicks.
An old style heater.
Their school subjects look...boring...hehe.
There was also a young animals petting area where we saw two 4 days old lamb (they can walk within 2 hours after birth!!! Isn't that amazing??), a kid, a calf, a bunch of rabbits, and two cute little chicks!!
They let Chloe hold one of them and she was so excited. Jayden tried to hold one but he is still too little to control the amount of strength he needs to put on the little chick that the poor chick kept chirping.

Poor little Jayden wanted to stay around and play the trains (he loves trains and is a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine) but it was pretty late and we have yet to get some lunch. Lunch was dim sum!! Oh yeah, they have a place - Great Garden - that serves dim sum way past breakfast time. Since we got there way past lunch time, there was no dim sum on the carts, but we still got fresh and warm dim sum! Yummy!!

The Great Garden was next to an Asian market - Saraga International Grocery - so we walked over to 逛街. While most Asian marts tend to have similar stuff, this is one that has lots of weird vegetable selections...
Have you seen any of these? They look so...green.
This is the weirdest! It does not look like there is any beans in the inside at all! But when you look up online, it is a type of beans commonly used in Mexican food for dips or meat topping. Hmmm...doesn't this looks like those stuff that falls on the ground from trees that they typically grow near schools back in M'sia? Haha...a potential 'mimasak' type of 'chai'. :P

Later in the afternoon, Boon and Gylin gave us a tour of downtown Indianapolis and downtown Carmel. Downtown Carmel reminds me of downtown Falmouth at Boston, but more classy. Seeing all these stuff definitely makes one wants to get out of Michigan..hehe. There definitely seems to be more stuff to do and see at Indiana but this is not entirely surprising since Indianapolis is a much larger city than any city in Michigan. Like the old saying, 這山望著那山高 (the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence)...am sure Pei would prefer Michigan to being in PD, right Pei? So Ping will enjoy all the stuff in MI before the next destination is determined. Hehe.

For dinner, Gylin made us nasi lemak with curry chicken AND the best part - assam hae!!! Hehe...that is Ping's all time favorite and it has been a year and a half since I last had it!!!
After dinner, when the kids were put to bed, we stayed up and played Risk board game. It is a game of both strategy and luck. The strategy part is picking the territory to conquer in the first few rounds and when, where and how long to attack throughout the game. The luck part is the dice rolling during attacks. It was confusing initially but after we got the hang of it, it is actually pretty 刺激性 (err...thrilling? haha)!

Here is how much I conquered..I have the grey army.
Look at Jo's black army...she is seriously building her own 滿城盡帶'黑鐵甲'.

On Sunday, we were just spending time with the Chui family since we were leaving later in the afternoon. We didn't do much besides going to church in the late morning, had Szechuan food for lunch, toured the Carmel library and went to Costco (the same concept as Makro in M'sia) to kia-kia.

It was definitely a fun weekend! It settles the homesick feeling for a bit...

一條很長的路.

突然覺得我再走者的一條路, 真的很長. 最近一直聽到朋友們回去拜訪爸媽, 或者於爸媽一起去旅行 (美國的朋友, 當想念爸媽時, 隨時都可以回家, Pei 又剛剛回到爸媽身邊). 這些消息讓我覺得我正在走的路真的好寂寞. 雖然有時候很喜歡一個人的感覺, 卻有時候還是會想要有人陪的感覺. 我的未來, 到底是在那裡呢? 我的孤單, 到底有誰能帶走呢?

只想要一個緊緊的擁抱.

Softball!

This is going to be a surprise to all Ping's family members - I am in a softball team!! Hehe...that is 100% reality. No hidden meaning!

Ping has never played any games that involves ball/shuttlecock...wait, actually Ping have never participated in ANY sports at all! During Pendidikan Jasmani (Physical Education), Ping would always try to find a reason not to be participate unless it is 100 m run or passing baton run or 'gotong-royong' (group clean up) sessions. Of course, Ping can't always get away so Ping actually did try to play volleyball and netball but didn't get good enough to be excited about the game.

When Tom annouced that we will have a softball team this summer, Ping's first reaction - can I not play? But because they required females to play, Ping did end up playing in the first game, which unfortunately we lost. That was the single elimination game (meaning that if your team lose, it is out). Since there are enough people who wants to play, we end up joining the intramural league. Ping did try to get out of it initially (I had a good reason - I was at KBS!) but end up playing her first game on Monday. Not knowing what is going on or how to play, Ping did really bad at batting. When we played the field, Ping gets to be the catcher so it wasn't that bad but wished that I knew what was going on.

Ping finally learned how the whole gameplay is about and today, during Ping's second game, softball is actually fun! This is definitely the first game that makes Ping excited enough to want to play again next week! The best is, Ping finally made contact with the ball!!! Twice too!! Yippee!!! 好興奮!!! Now the next goal is to actually get to run up to first base!!! Hehee...真得隴望蜀.