I'm moving my blog...Click
here.
I think it's so cool that you can click there and you get redirected! The wonders of technology... I think I'm amazed too easily. Ha ha!
Anyway, I'm flying home TOMORROW. Finally.
WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! :):):):):):) I'll see you at the new blog. Thanks to everyone who has been faithfully reading my blog and commenting.
And one more thing- this blog is sort of a semi-private blog. So I would really appreciate it if you ran it through me who you would like to share this blog with. For example, if a certain Mr N. Wxx read this blog, he would be horrified. Kinda don't want this type of thing to happen, hence a bit of discretion and privacy ok? Thanks!
My Mission Papers...ARE FINALLY IN!!!And I'm just ecstatic!
After all the impediments and frustration, they are done and submitted in.
Hooray!
Okay people, get ready to hear some exciting news in maybe, a month or so?! Hopefully! Will keep you guys updated.
Meanwhile, I'm dying from being so busy. Finals, packing, farewell dinners, more packing, more farewell dinners... And I need to squeeze in time to watch "Goong" one more time too before I head home... URGH! But it's worth it... just
4 more days!
Labels: Missionary Preparation
A sad weekend... :(It's almost time to say goodbye to so many people, and
I HATE IT.
Mavis came back to visit for a few days and it was just wonderful to see her again! She looked even more gorgeous
(if that is even possible... she was already very pretty when she left) and was so sweet and generous. I LOVE THAT GIRL! I wish I had photos but I'm waiting for my friends to tag me on Facebook
(what would I do without it?!)- hee hee!
And then there's saying goodbye to
Joyce and Justin. Our late nights hanging out at their place, the potluck dinners, the rides, comparing Korean dramas, Cougareat gossip... I MISS THEM ALREADY!
Eric and Sharn- My Colorado trip with them was one of the most fun times I had in the States! Then there was Eric's surprise b-day party
(sorry lah, couldn't go for Sharn's...). I can stil remember his LOOK. Ha ha!
We went to Macaroni Grill for dinner last night as a farewell party for Sharn and I. Then we headed over to Bridal Veil Falls and had a
peaceful time taking pictures there. Went to
onni and
oppa's afterwards one last time to play a few games. After 2 rounds of Jenga and
13 rounds of dominoes, we ended up playing Guitar Hero and NOW I FREAKING LOVE THAT GAME! "Sweet child o' mine...red, yellow, greeeeeeeeeeeen" Ha ha! So fun!
Anyway, I'm so sad that people are leaving and that I'm leaving. When I return, the same group is going to be gone. In fact, I'll be the old one. *gulp* Well, that's life huh? And life just sucks sometimes.
I was in for a rude shock at church todayI went to my meeting with the Stake clerk this morning before church and I had a rude shock. He told me that everything about my misson papers was fine.
Except for one tiny little detail.
The doctor had not ordered a TB test for me. I took one in 2005 before I came to BYU. Therefore, during my medical check-up in May, the nurse only ordered a chest x-ray for me, in which the medical report came back clean.
However, apparently the doctor was suppose to have ordered
another TB test because it had to be done within the last 6 months. Therefore, the Stake clerk could not put in the millimeter induration. And that was the only detail stopping my entire application from being processed- one digit/ figure/ number stating my induration, and one that I did not have because the nurse had not ordered it. I don't blame anyone, but I know that the problem had certainly not been mine because I had no idea whether I neded one or not- I just followed instructions.
I held my head up after he told me the bad news, put my bag down in the chapel, went to the bathroom, l0cked myself in a cubicle and started bawling.
To have come 95% of the way and discover that there was yet again another hitch. I had never felt so disappointed in my life. It was the disappointment and frustration that just got to me. My interview with my bishop had gone smoothly, and all that stood in the way was my interview with my Stake President, which was suppose to be this Tuesday. Now, I couldn't have the interview because the computer refused to approve it without that darn figure.
I cried throughout the opening exercise and partaking of the sacrament. It was horrible. And I don't cry in public. After partaking of the sacrament, I went to the bathroom, cried a bit more, wiped my tears and pulled myself together.
And then REDEMPTION came!After sacrament, I went to see the Stake clerk again, and he told me to go home and get the record of my 2005 TB test, which I did. I ran (well, I was in a skirt so more like, walked quickly) home to get it. We ended up "cheating" the system in a legal way (?). According to my record, my 2005 induration was 15mm. He typed it in and the stupid computer read it as too large and that I was too sick. WHAT?!
So he promptly typed in "14mm" and then at the bottom where you could write notes, he wrote that the actual results was 15mm but the chest x-ray had shown that I was clean and not sick at all.
And they were in!
YEAH!
So now, I only have my Stake President's Interview this Tuesday and they'll be IN!!! HOORAY!!!
Labels: Missionary Preparation
Random Thoughts about (My) Cycling...Doesn' t apply to anyone else
- Cycling next to cars is one of the scariest things in the world
- Why is that I can cycle in a straight line when the road is wide, but once I cycle on a narrow path, I loose my balance? Hmm... one of the most puzzling mysteries in the world
- Uphills are the bane of my existence- even walking uphill takes effort, much less cycling
- It feels EXHILARATING when you can cycle!
- I love my bike! It's pink (so me huh?! Tim and Nancy chose well. They said that it matched my glasses- hee hee!).
- Turns are still a bit of a torture but I'm getting there. I can at least cycle in circles (if the space is wide enough) and not stop
- Cycling on rough terrain is frightening but really fun (IF the terrain isn't too rough that is)
- Practice, practice, practice...
- Lastly, I just realized/ learnt today that if you want to balance- look straight ahead, sit back, relax and paddle! What a paradox! And I think that's the hardest thing to do when you are a new cyclist.
What a weekend!I always seem to say that, but it's so true! And weekends during the Spring and Summer seem to be particularly fun because 1) the weather is so much nicer and 2) peopel are somehow more relaxed.
Fri night:
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown!Sharn, Ashley, Justin, Thomas and I went to watch onni's play (Joyce was production stage manager) and it was SO FUNNY! The whole concept was so creative, with the kiddy over-sized costumes, the silver lego blocks, etc. And it was so funny! My favorite songs were MArry A Musician, the one paying tribute to Beethovan and Lucy's Philosophy. The one that Snnopy sang at the end was also funny, and the Peter Rabbit song was quite entertaining. I really like this play a lot.
Then supper @ Denny's! Can I say that the brownie-&-ice-cream I ordered tasted great but after 5 bites, the sweetness became too much for me.
Sat:Morning-
Tyla's Bridal Shower!My room-mates (Jenny Dunn and Rachel Smith) and I threw a shower for Tyla. We decorated and made crepes for food. Even though only 4 other people showed up, it was still fun. We played 2 games and of course, the main highlight which was the video game. Tyla only answered 3 out of the 9 questions wrong- way to go girl~!
My happiest thing was that Kim came down for the shower- I WAS ECSTATIC! I love Kim! We updated each other and after the shower, Tyla, Kim and I ended up talking about
the wedding night (that's what room-mates are for right? ;) ), and let's just say I had quite an enlightening sex education.
Afternoon- Went to THE LIBRARY to do some research for my 2 anthropology papers.
Evening-
Went to dinner with 2 of my freshman ward sisters- Irene Stewart and Kim Skidmore. They were so fun! We went to the Pita Pit for dinner (yummy!), then to Baskin N Robbins for ice-cream afterwards. I had a great time and it was so nice to catch up with them.
Sunday:Normal, went to Church then did my visiting teaching.
Then cooked curry and went to
Joyce and Justin's house for potluck. I LOVE THESE SINGAPOREAN POTLUCK DINNERS! SO FUN! Well, except for the "Wise and Otherwise" part... I really don't like that game. Probably because I suck at it. Ha ha! I love
Apples-to-Apples and when I go home, I'm organizing an Apples-to-Apples game session for my friends in Singapore.
Anyway, the FOOD was so good as usual. I believe that it's because of these potluck dinners that I don't go insane from craving for Singapore food.
There goes another weekend... but a fun one!
12 MORE DAYS TILL I GO HOME!!!
An Ode to My 3 Wondrous Wisdom Teethby the magnificent
Keshia LaiYou grew but didn't give me pain
But I'm sorry, the mission was beckoning me
Reluctant and terrified, I set up an appointment
At the cheap(per) place
Wisdom Teeth Only.
Dr Bluth, such a nice old kind man
A specialist in wisdom teeth dentistry
I liked him a lot and trusted his words,
"We should only take out those three.
The last one's too near to the nerve
Too risky to pull it, leave it alone!"
I was so amused that he was trying so hard
To convince me to leave it alone
Heck yes- what luck!- I would not touch it!
Saves me money, and there's less pain.Still, sadly consenting, my heart breaking
I sang, my tears (not really) falling like rain,
"Goodbye my 3 Wondrous Wisdom Teeth
Leave your 1 lonely sister behind
I'll take care of her, I promise I'll try
Under my care she'll be fine."My vein at my elbow was too small
So they gave me the IV at the hand.
I almost fainted when they did that
But it really wasn't too bad.
Interlude: This ode shall cease rhyming
And convert to a modern-day one
Where the lines don't need to rhyme
(Rhyming consumes too many brain cells and too much time!)
The dentist inclined the chair far back
Then asked me if I felt light headed
And tasted some metal in my mouth
I answered "yes" and closed my eyes
And promptly fell into blissful sleep
Blissful Sleep, O Blissful Sleep!
The dentists promptly went to work
Thank goodness for my blissful sleep! "Goodbye my 3 Wondrous Wisdom Teeth
Leave your 1 lonely sister behind
I'll take care of her, I promise I'll try
Under my care she'll be fine."
My next contact with consciousness
Was such a whirl, I can't be sure
That two nurses helped poor me
Into a wheelchair and wheeled me to the car
I don't know how (maybe I'm super :p)
I managed a "thanks" and climbed into the car
Of dear Havalah and Brigg
Who had generously sent me there and back
We stopped by Shopko to buy my prescription
And wow! I was alive enough to pay for it myself
Although I gave the cashier 14 dollars
When it was only ten-forty ($10.40, not $14.00- got it?)
Groggy, on drugs (in the wrong way
I didn't get high in any way
If anything, I was at an all time low
And feeling downright miserable)
To make matters worse,
My gum was sore from biting on the disgusting
Blood-soaked, stinky-smelling gauze
(Yes it stunk so bad I smelt it in my mouth!)
And the pain- Oh the sly conniving pain!
I'm quite convinced my painkillers were really placebos
Since their claim to make me less pained and drowsy were false
Sadly, Ibuprofen worked better I discovered
"Goodbye my 3 Wondrous Wisdom Teeth
Leave your 1 lonely sister behind
I'll take care of her, I promise
Under my care she'll be fine."
Sleeping my entire weekend away
I dragged myself to Eric's farewell party
And even watched a 3 hour long movie
That wasn't even worth the pain I endured
Since the above events I've discovered
That Super Woman I AM NOT!
I almost vomitted from eating ice-cream
And almost collapsed from pushing my body too much
But Super Chipmunck- ah! That's me!
The horror I felt just looking at me!
I looked so bad I'm going to skip this part
Because the nightmare is just too hard to recall!
I survived on, not eating, but drinking and slurping
Jell-O and soup and porridge and mash potatoes
If there's one lesson I've learnt from this whole thing
Is that you can slurp anything, even potatoes.
It's been a week since this traumatic experience
I still can't completely open my mouth
There's 2 bruises on the side of my face
But oh how the swelling and pain has decreased!
So was it worth it, the cost and the pain?
YES! Because Dr Bluth signed my mission paper
Very soon one day I will WIDELY open my mouth
And chomp down that hamburger I crave!
"Goodbye my 3 Wondrous Wisdom Teeth
Leave your 1 lonely sister behind
I'll take care of her, I promise I'll try
Under my care she'll be fine."
Here ends my *cough cough* magnificent ode
About my experience getting out
My 3 Wondrous Wisdom Teeth
Although I think the best line of all
That has relation to my experience
Was something I said to Nancy
Who thought it a most hilarious and random line
Though why I can't tell
"I don't want to get pregnant!"Labels: Missionary Preparation
Why is it...That when I have all my teeth intact, I only want to eat Singaporean food
But the minute I pluck out my 3 Wondrous Wisdom teeth and can't open my mouth, I crave
A PAULA DEEN BUTTER BURGER PATTY???!!!That has got to be one of the most annoying things of your body.
I blame it on Bobby Chan (yes, that poor innocent guy got implicated), because I remember him saying this very distinctly. This was when dear Rae had just gotten her 3 wisdom teeth out, and we had gone to pick her up on Sunday for the potluck at
onni and
oppa's. I had just voiced my concern that I would puff up like her
(which I did) and not be able to eat
(that too...) and Bobby said
"Oh don't worry. When I went to pluck out my wisdom teeth, I ate a hamburger the very next day."WAH LAU EH!!! I bet that's why I crave a burger like no other now, and I'm even more irritated that my body is not recovering as fast as his did. It's the 5th day since I got them out and I still can't open my mouth completely. Sigh... I'm too ambitious.
Actually, I have to say that I have been blessed with quite a tough body because so far, I have not thrown up once, and while I can't open my mouth completely, as of yesterday, I could eat solid food once again (
HALLELUJAH!) albeit chopped into teeny itsy pieces.
My medication is doing weird things to my body but I'm slowly and finally getting off my pain killers. There is still this tiny constant irritating pain on my lower jaws but I think it's because of dry sockets. I just have to be patient and let it wear off
(hmm.. my anti-biotics are taking a while to kick in...).
And be patient that one day in the very near future
(hopefully VERY near future before I'm driven crazy) I will be able to eat my hamburger.
One more thing:
I still like Jell-O and chocolate pudding But I am NOT touching those for a very very very long time. Labels: Missionary Preparation
Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World's EndWas a disaster.If part 2 was bad, part 3 was even worse. I was really looking forward to watching it, and I even sacrificed my much-needed rest and bore tremendous pain to go watch it.
Only to discover that my sacrifice was in vain.
I was sorely disappointed.
(WARNING: Spoilers ahead, so if you intend to watch it, STOP right HERE.)
The CGI effects were AWESOME (probably the only saving grace of the movie).
The rest of the movie was so bad that the only casts worth mentioning are Jack Sparrow
(duh!) and Captain Barbossa (acted out by the
excellent Geoffrey Rush), and even then, Jack Sparrow was a tad bit disappointing because the writers did not give him enough screen time!
Plus, the only funny and part worth watching was the scene where Captain Barbossa marries Will and Elizabeth amidst all the fighting. That was the only truly hilarious and good scene.
The rest of the movie was a mess. - Calypso- HUH??? Somebody please tell me what was the purpose of her character.
- The love story between Calpyso and Davy Jones- what the heck?! No satisfactory ending. Actually, there was NO ending to it.
- Singapore- even more ghastly portrayal than in Part 1 & 2. They made it look like some infested swamp. Hello?! The British came and colonized it- if Singpaore was an infested swamp with the British, doesn't speak much for British colonization you know...
- James Norrington- First he was good, then very bad (he stole the heart and created all this trouble, remember?), and now he's GOOD once again. Writers, please make up your mind.
- The exchange of prisoners between Will Turner and Jack Sparrow- this was REALLY confusing because Will was "bad" (in some sense) and then after the exchange, he suddenly became good again,. And Jack, well, he didn't seem to care. I did not get it.
- Elizabeth Swan- from an aristocratic girl to the King of the Pirates? Again, HUH??? What type of plot development was that?
- Why didn't Davy Jones kill the stupid East India Co. people? So what- kill the 2 soldiers guarding his heart too lor. Which brings me to the pity of...
- Poor Davy Jones being reduced to this creature under Lord Beckett's control. Uh, I personally felt that this was again not a very good plot development. In Pirates 2 he, wait, it was a terrifying creature and had so much power. I thought Davy Jones was such a good villain, and to reduce it to this pathetic state (loss of ship control, loss of lover...) was stupid. In fact, if you think about it, Davy Jones doesn't really seem terrifying at all in Part 3 since the humans appartnely seem to think it's an everyday occurance to talk to ugly, mutated creatures. Now if there's one thing I couldn't figure out was how come no one seemed to fear these creatures!
- The death of Lord Beckett- WHAT THE CRAP???!!! I mean yes he deserved to die. But the way he died was SO SO RIDICULOUS.
- The numerous plot twists that got so confusing, it ruined the plot. Or should I say, plots. I gave up trying to figure out the storyline after a while.
- Lastly, HOW CAN THE DARN LOVERS BE SEPARATED? This is Disney for goodness sake! Even if it wasn't Disney, the fact that Elizabeth and Will aren't together in the end is a disappointment in itself. Pirates is NOT a tragedy, so why aren't the lovers together? What type of storyline is that?
Go watch it, but don't expect much. Star Wars 3 is by far the worse movie I've seen, and Pirates 3 is still 10x better. However, Pirates 1 is still the best of the trilogy.
And there's a brief scene after the credits so make sure you stay. Although the scene really doesn't make sense and doesn't make you feel any better.
What a WONDERFUL and FUN and STUPENDOUS Memorial Day Weekend 2007!!!I had SO MUCH FUN.
Can I just say though that I do not want to live in Colorado for life? But going there for a few days was just right and simply HEAVENLY.
Just as Eric and Sharn predicted (on their blog), I DO have more things to say and elaborate. But they did a pretty darn good and funny jobgicing a brief summary.
Having said that, here's a warning that the next few posts are going to be on the trip and super long, so you don't have to read them.
It all started on...
Thurday night/ Friday early morning (and I mean early):
Cleaning chores
(clean the bathroom, the fridge and freezer, and my bedroom), a mid-term essay draft
(which thank goodness I held on and did it that night because I was too exhausted to do it this morning!) and a successful prank on Tim Ipson... Even though it was before the trip, it was in itself quite an eventful night!
And I have to boast to everyone what prank I played on Tim because it was very successful. I decorated his door with signs that said "Happy Birthday Tim" and I even bought balloons. Then I put up 3 signs around the apartment complex that said, "It's Tim Ipson's birthday today- Go to #30 and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" And my
crowning jewel- a chocolate birthday cake with 3 TABLEspoons of salt and MORE. I even covered it with delicious icing
(I love this particular easy icing recipe- no need for a blender).
So what's the prank
(other than the salty cake?): It's NOT his birthday.
How did I know the prank was successful?
A mutual friend told me that he called her up and asked her if she was involved.
And then he told her that he had a hard time convincing others that it wasn't his birthday. SCORE!
But Tim isn't the smartest person. In fact, he's completely clueless.
1) He said that he couldn't find all the signs. Huh? So blur?! There were only 3 signs
leh!
2) I wrote a big obvious clue on the bottom of the plate that I put the cake on, and he still thought it was our mutual friend who was the mastermind. *roll my eyes*
25 May 2007, Friday!!!We left about 7.30am
(not too bad... we were aiming for 7am and we actually left only 1/2 an hour late!). Poor Sharn- she drove all the way through the boring Utah landscape all the way to
Grand Junction (about 3.5 hours away) while the 3 of us slept... that's power! And my favourite part of the loooooonnnnnnnggggggggg 8 hour drive? Stopping at
STARBUCKS to
smell the coffee
(I don't like the smell but I miss it... weird huh? I think because it reminds me of the smell of the malls at home) and buy a
strawberry & creme blend. Yummy!
And please clap for Ashley Soh because she practically slept the entire time there- while the rest of us were trying to keep each other awake and find our way there. And please clap for her again because she had no idea where even the general direction of the Denver Temple was, although she has been to Denver "4 more times than we have" (quoting Sharn). *sigh sigh* We still love having Ashley there, right?! 
Denver- larger than Salt Lake City
(thank goodness! I desperately wanted to go to a city again), but just as "White". Hmm... We reached Denver about 3.30, and started walking along
16th Street and randomly stopped at shops to buy stuff
(e.g. I stopped at Walgreen to buy iron pills- how random can you get?!). And let's clap for Ashley once again because she stopped at
Anne Taylor Loft and bought a gorgeous dress
(i.e. did some serious shopping) while the rest of us waited for her to be done. At least our efforts weren't in vain because she did buy a dress which looked really good on her.
By the time Ashley got done shopping, I was STARVING. Walking around, trying to find an affordable place to eat and getting desperate, we randomly picked this ghetto-looking cheap Italian place called
Buca di Beppo to eat.
OH
BOY!
Were we so so so wrong. The outside was so deceiving. It hid a huge interior filled a large kitchen and a HUGE basement that easily holds a hundred people.
And the food- OH MY WORD!1) Authentic and delicious Italian food- 'nuff said.
2) Healthy- EVOO!
3) The portions was unashamedly gigantic- the waitress told us that
the "small" was meant for 2-3 people. *fainz*
We ordered the
Bruschetta for appetizers, and the
Shrimp & Scallops Fra Diavolo and
Quattro Al Forno for our main course. I'm so glad Ashley doesn't eat seafood, because the Shrimp & Scallop dish was just
melt-in-your-mouth (so more to eat between the remaining 3 of us). And the Bruschetta- it was my 1st time trying it and I am a BIG fan now. And because the plates were meant to be shared, the cost didn't come up to much. So now I can say I ate good food at Denver for only $10!!! Ha ha ha!
Then we drove to Colorado Springs where
Amy (Ashley's sister) lives with her husband
Ellory and their 3
cute cute cute children!!! :):):)
Alora (6), Jarom (4) and Lleyton (2). I MISS THEM!!! Aunty Lily was also there because she was helping Amy take care of the other 3 while waiting for the 4th child to come.
We relaxed at their house and the other 3 somehow dug up some brain power to play
Settlers of Katon, which Ashley promptly won
(I think she was the only one with enough brain power left, having slept in the car most of the ride here...).
Then off to a GOOD night's sleep- it was so great! I have not slept for so many hours for a long time.
26 May 2007, Saturday!!! Part 1Ashley wanted to go shopping, to which the rest of us were like, HUH?! Well, can't blame her because she's been to Colorado so many times and seen everything already.
So the 3 of us just set off by ourselves.
First stop, the famous
Royal Gorge where the Arkansas river flows through.
But of course, what's an unforgettable vacation without
something going wrong right?
We got "lost"- sort off.Blame it on the stupid deceiving signs.
Instead of driving to the Royal Gorge itself, we saw a sign telling us to turn into XXX street to get there. And there was even another sign a few streets past street XXX telling us that we had gone too far and needed to turn back. So we turned in and all we saw was a train and a park. But no gorge anywhere. Hmm... We called Amy and she said "just walk through the gate". Hmm, no gate leh... And there was suppose to be this train ride, which we thought was this train ride, but Amy was referring to the kiddy train ride outside of the real place.
Well we asked around and found out that the place was only for people who wanted to take a 3 hour ride to the Royal Gorge on the train, and that the real Royal Gorge was 8 more miles down the road. Cheh! Anyway, after the slight delay and 8 more miles of driving, we finally found the real place
(and "the gate"). It was so fun! We rode
the World's most incline train (45 degree incline) to the bottom of the gorge and back.
The Gorge was gigantic and very majestic. I felt so insignificant.
Then we rode
the aerial tram over the gorge
(quite scary. After this, Singapore cable car doesn't seem that scary anymore), and walked around a bit.
Ate a delicious Fluff Cake
(er, I think that's the name), watched a film about how the tourists attractions came to be, and took pictures with
non- hunted-and-stuffed elks, bisons and deer.
Yes, that's the rear end of a buffalo (I think it's a buffalo). I cuold not resist taking it!
Then we bravely walked across
the World's Highest Suspended Bridge. And can I say it was SCARY! Especially because the wind was blowing very strongly and you could feel the bridge shake slightly with every gust.
Urgh!
But we made it- YEAH!
26 May 2007, Saturday!!! Part 2Now we come to the really
pretty part of the trip.
We went to the
Air Force Academy (AFA) and made it just in the nick of time. We arrived at the Visitor's Center just a mere 1/2 hour before closing.
Phew! AND I WAS COMPLETELY BOWLED OVER. IT'S FREAKING GORGEOUS! 
Can I help the AFA boast about their grounds/ campus?It's GIGANTIC.
I mean, there's a building specially for visitors with aeroplane exhibits, a 14 minute film about the AFA and a large souvenir selection.
Driving round the campus, we drove and drove and drove some-more.
Wah lau eh, like never ending.
There are 2 entrances- the South and the North. According to the map, it's
4 miles from the North Gate to the Visitor's Center and
8 miles from the Visitor's Center to the South gate.
BYU is only 2 miles round. BYU is tiny compared to the AFA! The campus is ON the mountain itself, and Colorado mountains in
this area are just beautiful. The
ROCKIES are taller,
greener and lusher than the mountains here in Utah, and can you imagine if your school was on such a mountain? How I wish BYU was situated similarly, instead of being in the valley.
The guys there
(or at least the 2 we drove by) were rather cute... :p
The picture on the right is half the campus by the way. Isn't it simply gorgeous?!
Can you blame me if I support the AFA?
Ha ha!
No, I will support BYU when the time comes to play against AFA (duh!). Go Cougars! Eat up the Falcons! (hmm.. about mean huh?) Plus I'm very pround to say that our LaVell Edwards Stadium is so much nicer and bigger than the Falcon Stadium- yeah yeah! 
But I'm such a big fan of the AFA now that I pleaded to come back on Monday to buy a t-shirt.
P.S. Being at the AFA reminded me of Ben (for obvious reasons). But nothing about the past. Instead, it reminded me of how he and Zach were at Westpoint and training for the Army. Now I want to visit the Navy Academy and Westpoint SO BADLY now. If the AFA is so pretty and huge, I can't imagine how Westpoint (the original) one must be like...
26 May 2007, Saturday!!! Part 3!Yah, we had a very long day.
But it was very fulfilling, because to end off this fun day, they took us to this
Ultimate Buffet.
BUTTER CRAB, STEAMED FISH, SUSHI, BUTTER CRAB, MANGO CAKE, STEAMED FISH, CREAM PUFFS, BUTTER CRAB, LONGAN... and so many other Asian and Western dishes.
Oooooohhhhh!!!
I was sooooo happy to eat here, especially the CRAB and the FISH!!!
Now I can't wait to go back home and eat, eat, eat!
27 May 2007, Sunday!!!More Rock formations! Yeah.
That was suppose to be sarcastic.
But really, the
Garden of the Gods were pretty interesting. I especially liked the Balanced Rock
(although according to Sharn, the Balance rock at Moab is even more amazing).
And no, there were no real kissing camals
lah! The Kissing Camals is this rock formation at the top of this rock
(don't know which one... too many) that looks dead on like, what else? 2 Kissing Camals! Do you see it?! Interesting, huh?
There were A TON of people there though. Mades me remember that we weren't in UT anymore where everyone is Holy on the Sabbath. :p
It's a bit too bad that we didn't have time to hike a bit, but that's ok. It was way hot...
We drove back on time for Church and atteneded Amy's family ward. And
dang! The children crying, the noise... I'm so dead. I love children and I adore them, but I am SO NOT ready for my own now. Plus, I thought it was hilarious that Eric was the youngest guy in Priesthood, while Ashley, Sharn and I were the youngest ladies in RS.
Then after church came my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE PART OF THE ENTIRE TRIP!!!
SUNDAY DINNER.
Aunty Lily and Amy cooked dinner and can I say it was
simply
Heavenly.
Heavenly.Chicken curry, steamed fish with tofu, minced pork with veggies, roti prata, green beans fried with hae bee hiangHELLO?! The trip was so worth it! I ate until I almost wanted to explode. Sooooo good!
And to top it off, we had
soursop juice for "supper", complete with pieces of soursop.
Perfecto!
Unfortunately, the food just made me miss my mommy's cooking even more. :( I can't wait to go home and eat.
28 May 2007, Monday!!!
Finally the last day of the trip. And it was
Memorial Day. How appropriate to visit the AFA today.
But before that...
I could not bear to say goodbye to everyone, especially to the children. It was so hard to leave.
And we younger generation YSA declare ourselves"
shi bai"
(defeated). We tried to pay Aunty Lily back
(she "subsidised" our trip to the Royal Gorge and for the buffet too), and before I could even put the money in her hand, she guessed what was going on and literary ran away. Sigh... Where can you find any nicer people?
Before heading home, we stopped over at Safeway and bought some of the sweetest cherries ever from Safeway. And they were so darn cheap- only $2/lb! Can't get such good quality cherries for such a cheap price anywhere else
(well, except at an Orchard but don't foresee myself going to one soon).
And then off to the AFA to buy my shirt. To which the cashier asked me if I was there for graduation (that explains the TON of people there).
"Er, yes..."
And I got a 10% discount! Hmm... so is lying in this case alright?! Food for thought...
Anyway, we then took a short walk to the architecturally-unusual Cadet Chapel. Catholics, Protestants and Jews share the same building, but they have 3 separate
(duh!) chapels. I was completely impressed. The insides were just gorgeous and eye-opening. I really like them (although the LDS temples are gorgeous too).
Then we started our drive home.. finally.
But not before stopping at the Denver Temple first! Yeah, Eric and Sharn found the place without Ashley's help. :p
I think we were blessed and lucky that the Temple was closed for Memorial Day, but the gate was open. So we drove in and took a few pictures there.
By then, I was getting slightly hungry. But nothing looked appetizing.
So Eric proposed that we just keep drive and then stop to eat at the 1st place we see after 10 minutes. Yeah, we had no idea what was out there after 10 minutes, but hey! That's part of the fun right?! After driving for
20 minutes, we drove into some resort town to eat, and found everything close due to Memorial Day. Urgh! So more driving.
Finally, we stopped at this decent town (I think it was Idaho Springs) and went to this decent restaurant to eat.
And this place served as American food as you can get. Steaks, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, etc.
Well, if you couldn't tell already, I'm not a big fan of American food. However, my starvation coupled with good upbringing not to waste any food on the plate (:p) and pretty darn good meatloaf, I proceeded to "cleaned off" (quote Eric) my plate, even if the portions were GIGANTIC.
Then the drive back to Utah. I was SO SAD. Because the further we drove from Denver, the shorter, stumpier and brown-er the mountains got. And when we hit the Utah border, the road was seriously a
never-ending straight road for almost 2 hours. After an hour of driving on this straight road, I asked, "How come the scenery is the same one?"
And we stopped at a gas station (Yours Truly doesn't have a very strong bladder), and there was this guy smoking AND CHECKING HIS CAR AT THE SAME TIME.
Wah lau eh! Is he freaking crazy or something? Can't he read? I mean, it's already illegal to smoke within 25ft of a gas station (for obvious explosive reasons), and there he was smoking while CHECKING HIS CAR. We were like, let's get out of here NOW! Sharn was so scared she refused to even let me take my rubbish out of the car to throw away- hee hee! She wanted to get out of there IMMEDIATELY.
By the time we got to Price, it was already dark, and driving through the mountains at this time was terrifying, but Eric did a great job. Good job Eric! And Sharn's music kept us entertained. I can't believe I'm saying this but the Singapore NDP songs were soooo fun to sing to. BIG sign I've been away from home for too long...
We reached home at about 10:45pm, and greeted Provo with mixed feelings.
We were relieved and happy to finally see the end of the drive and to be home.
But we were also a bit depressed because it meant vacation was over and it was back to reality.
:(
:)
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:)
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:)
A little here and there about my student ward in Spring 07... You know you have good home teachers when... - They smile and genuinely seem please to be able to visit
- They bake cookies for your apartment, not the other way round
- They go the extra mile to get their butts off the couch, open your cupboard and fridge to get cups and milk respectively so that you and your room-mates can dip the cookies in
- They put the milk back in the fridge
- They check the time and make sure they don't go over 45mins
- They ask each girl what they like to do/ hobbies/ interests
- They look up the ward directory and MEMORIZE where you and your room-mates are from and your majors
The 3rd and last one are SUPER IMPRESSIVE. Heck I don't do that for my visiting teachees
(probably because asking them what their major is is a conversation starter...) and these guys took the effort to memorize all of ours.
I think this set of home teachers (Troy Richey & Garret Poppitz) is going to be GREAT!
You know there is some serious gender ratio imbalance when...There are literally only 27 males to the 61 females in the ward
You know it couldn't have been planned when...You're FHE mom is your room-mate
(Tyla), and your FHE dad
happens to be her fiance
(Joey).
Plus there is
another engaged couple in your family
(gee wow! They put them in the same family?). But I love my FHE family and I'm so glad that Tyla and Joey are my "parents".
You know you've had a great time being in a student ward...When you think about going home and have very mixed feelings about going back to a family ward. I can't wait to see and play with the kids again, but I shudder at the thought of hearing crying babies and playing children noises during sacrament meetings again...
Labels: BYU Student Wards experience
