Pinkeye: 1 month+ and still counting...

Darn. I've never had an eye infection before. At least I don't recall any while growing up. This pinkeye just refuse to go away. thank god that the swellings have totally disappeared, but I still wake up with both my eyes closed shut these days, prompting me to immediately go to the bathroom to wash my eyes straightaway.
To the normal eye, my eye looks normal and you can see only a hint of redness until I start looking under my eyelids, it's really really red!

So, long story short. I have learnt my lesson well. It's true what they say. Don't simply touch the handrails or anything in public. And if you do, wash your hands straightaway before you touch anything else like your food, eye (perhaps in my case).

Pinkeye

I have turned into one of those people who wears sunglasses even in the house, thanks to conjunctivitis.
I'm still not too sure how I got it. All I know it was either from the plane from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong, or when I was in the subway (or what they call as MTR here in Hong Kong) on the way to work.

First 1-2 days, when I realised my left eyelid was a bit puffy, I thought nothing about it and just ignored it, thinking i'm over reacting. by the 3rd day, it just seems to get worse and worse. Went to the doctor and found out I have conjunctivitis. Great. Just Great.

So now, on the 5th day, I'm still having the pinkeye problem but I'm done acting like the sick patient and am gonna try to be more productive. Starting with, playing with the Lego NXT (drool.....) and then get some work done.


Oh, and despite putting on the ointment everday, my eye is still turning more and more pink and puffy everyday. Hope it clears up latest by end of next week. Life's too short to waste on getting sick :P

Back from China but still So Busy

It's been nearly 6 months since I last blog, perhaps more than that. Through no fault of mine, I'm not allowed to blog and neither am I allowed to access other people's blog when I was in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin & HongKong).
I'm so glad that I can finally access my blog. However, I'm still so busy. So please, bear with me till I manage to copy and paste some of my old emails to family and friends about my travels. For now, I'll just give a little bit of a synopsis. ;)

Difference in China (quick guide)
please take note that this is according to my observation only. So there's a possibility that it might not be the general population, but just within the bubble that I was surrounded with. I still love my experience in China and I wouldn't hesitate to travel in China back again. :)

1. HongKong is part of China.
People in HongKong don't think so. :P

2. Old Men(more than old women) still spit everywhere they go in China
I still have a phobia as I really hate the sound of them clearing up their throat before they start spitting. Urgh. and this, despite the Govt's effort to fine them if they are caught spitting! :(

3. Ladies (and I'm sure even the Men) in China don't shave their armpits
To see this in action, you have to see during other seasons apart from Winter. I only realize about this when they started using sleeveless shirts/blouse.

4. They don't sell Deodorants, Clear Facial Wash (not the milky type) & Face Moisturizers
i couldn't even get them in Watsons. Thank god I had some extras left and it was in the middle of winter when I left.

5. Beijing doesn't have an English bookstore.
But they do have a foreign language bookstore which is way cooler in my opinion. You can get books in different languages; English, French, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian...etc.

6. If you're an aspiring artist, go to 798 road!
It's a must and I highly recommend it. It's also known as the art district/road in Beijing. The exhibitions are not only from China but from all over the world.

7. The Chinese is not biased.
Although of course, it's *ahem* illegal, you can get pirated stuff from foreign films/songs to even their own local products. Which, when I think about it, even I wouldn't want to pay RMB80 (that's about USD11 or RM40 more at this time of writing) for a cinema ticket. Come on, if you're earning in RMB, would you really spend so much for a cinema ticket when you can buy more than 8 meals with that kind of money? Perhaps when the entertainment industry lowers their rate, then people would appreciate it better.

8. The blonder you are, the more the locals wanna take pictures with you.
More of the local tourists actually. Don't ask me why. But they just love it. Perhaps it is true. Blonds have more fun?

9. If you don't speak Mandarin/Chinese, go get a guide.
This is true for at least Beijing and Tianjin. However, I do believe that you only need to give China a few more years. Perhaps 5 years or 10 years, the locals in China (or at least Beijing, with some of the specific Foreign Language Universities that they have) will be able to converse with you in your native tongue!

Hello China. Here I come!

Gosh! I've just realized I haven't made any new entries for more than a month!
Well, nothing new. I've just graduated. Left Boston for good, although I will miss Boston, and hope to visit the city again some day.
I'm happy and glad that I did manage to squeeze in some time for parties, outdoor activities (camping, etc...) and traveling after my last and final class, and before leaving US though.

Funny how I know I'm now a masters student, but i still don't feel any difference.
Will be going to Beijing next for the next "adventure". I had to explain myself to so many people why the "sudden" decision to study mandarin in Beijing so soon after just graduating from US. I'm getting tired of the questions already actually.

Easiest way to explain without a headache is to day say "I'm still trying to run away from the reality of life as long as i can -working!"

Have to get some shut eye soon. flight will be early tomorrow morning. make that early today :)

The Temptation between to Toil & to Reward

The temptation to reward first before completing work.
Can't!
Not yet. I can't.
Even so, the temptation to just give up from toiling for nearly a year, with lack of sleep and lack of even a simple weekend break, is so strong.
Study/Work Hard, Play Hard.
Is it worth it?
The temptation to simply take 'rewards' without even bother to toil for it first is so great.
Constant fight. Between the balance of the two.
Right now. No. not really. Constantly throughout our lives.
If we were to take our rewards so easily, too frequently, we always be ordinary. Never able to achieve more than what we can do/be.
If we were to toil forever, too frequently, we will be 'great'. But we will end up loosing the other part of us that makes life worth cherished.

So which is it to be?
Sometimes, I grow sick and tired of this 'little' game. Sometimes, it's just not worth it. And yet sometimes, I can't. It means too much. It means almost like giving up on life itself.

San Francisco... We meet again, ol' friend

Went to San Francisco about 2 weeks ago. Gosh! I didn't realise I haven't updated my blog for weeks! I've been so busy I hardly had time to sleep at all for the past few weeks. Even on weekends.
I'm nearly burnt out from all the studying and projects in school. It's to the point where I don't really care what's my result anymore. I love the school, but when you've been stuck in the pressure pot for too long, you just feel like you need to get out and go crazy before feeling guilty (for leaving the pressure pot) and going back (into the pressure pot).
Hence, back to the subject of San Francisco, met my uni' senior and his wife there for the 4th of July (US independence day) holiday. It also felt so good to hangout with people who knows you so well, that you don't have to worry about just being yourself and not to worry if you might have accidentally offend a person when you show your 'bad' (grumpy/sarcastic, etc) side. I forgot how much I love San Francisco. Most of the seals have left the docks. Perhaps because it's summer.


After all these years, I still remember this one tiny shop in Pier 39 that I love so much. What can I say? I love earrings. Harry Mason's earrings are just very unique and gorgeous. They are the reason why I picked up the wire craft as a hobby anyway. So that I can make my own earrings once in awhile.

I saw the Alcatraz (finally manage to get into Alcatraz this time, it's soo worth it) , museum of fine arts and castro street. Museum of Fine Arts, just the building and the surroundings itself makes you think as if you are not in US at all but probably somewhere in Europe. Castro St was interesting, with all its rainbow flags to support the gays.
I guess I'm having a writer's block at the moment as I really can't figure out what else i wanna say in this blog. Tasks and errands that I have to do are also running in my mind at the moment. Tomorrow's gonna be long day again, with 9am-5pm team activities, projects and packing (yes, I have to start packing some of my stuff in boxes already).

You Only Miss It When It's Not There

I LOVE JALAPENOS IN MY SANDWICH! :D
I can just imagine my parents saying...
"that's our daughter. She has to be different compare to the rest!" shake heard

I seem to be a very late 'bloomer' when it comes to picking up a certain thing from a culture. I still find it a weird phenomenon within myself.

For example:

1. I couldn't speak Sabah Malay for more than 3 minutes with my friends until I unconsciously start talking in English back again when I was a kid living in Sabah. Weirdest thing was, the first thing that came out of my mouth when I tried to speak in Malay when I moved to Semenanjung (Peninsular) Malaysia, my sabahan accent and slang came out naturally.

2. I could only speak in Sabah Malay when I was in KL and Johor, but after awhile, I started to talk in malay, in KL accent only once after I left KL and lived in Johor.

3. Everybody close to me knows I hate eating chillies as I don't believe in spoiling the taste of the food with too much spice to the point that you can't taste your food properly. The point is, I used to take only (which is very mild) maggie brand chilli sauce. It is so mild that I believe even a 6 year old can take it. I refused to take anything spicier than that. Now that I'm overseas, tis funny how I have recently been craving for something spicy. I can't get the maggie brand for chillie sauce, so I have been eating the Lingham's brand instead.

Currently, I Love jalapeno in my sandwich. Just the thought of it makes me salivate. Haha. The best sandwich with jalapeno that I've tried so far is from Quiznos, which is just below my apartment. Nyum Nyum! :D

Darn! it's already 11pm at night and just the thought of it is making me hungry all over again.