Thanks Giving in Texas

Finally! Thank God!
I was burning out towards the last few days of class before our thankgsiving break. Not that I manage to catch up with sleep while I was in Texas, but I now feel more refreshed after a short breather away from school.

'Tis funny how I wasn't so sure what to expect about Austin, Texas. Growing up, I always associated cowboys, guns, horses, cactus and the desert as part of Texas. All I could think of apart of trying to complete knitting a very elegant scarf for my friend (who graciously welcomed me into her humble abode, heheheh) as "buah tangan" in the airplane, was how wonderfully warm the weather will be and I get to getaway from the cold autumn weather in Boston!

I like Austin. I nearly can say I love Austin. Only if I have a car that is. I couldn't find any convenient public transportation, but the place is so great because there's a lot of greeneries despite all the buildings around it. Or should I say a lot of trees around the buildings? I even saw a couple of tame wild deer 'loitering' about at my friend's housing area. How cool is that? Be it daytime or even night time. I didn't manage to get a nice good picture though.



Hey dad! Remember about the red eyes on the deer that you told me when I was a kid? These must be the good deer then since I only manage to get white eyes from the flash! :P

Since I was visiting a friend, I didn't manage to tour around Austin that much though. But us being typical Malaysians, we ate a lot from different restaurants. Hahahahah!
I also manage to get a taste of the cranberry sauce (yummy! drool... drool) and turkey for Thanksgiving at my friend's place.

The only tourisy thing I manage to do was visit the Inner Space Cavern. At least now I can 'proudly' say I've been into a cave once in my life even though I'm claustrophobic. Yay! :D

I was nearly reluctant to leave Austin, but study comes first. Once in school, I didn't realise how much i missed my close friends till I saw them once again.

Yes mam! Yes boss! I am I am concentrating in my studies.... that's the whole reason why I'm here in the first place. :)

When Autumn Leaves Starts to Fall...

Most of the leaves have fallen. All within one week's time (from the last time I took a picture)...

yes, that's my foot. while attempting to study on a saturday evening. It gets dark pretty early now. aroudn 4:30pm. Well mom, no worries about me waking up early in the morning anymore. I'm usually awake by 8:30am no matter what time I sleep! It's too bright. :) I guess it would have helped if my bedroom windows have curtains instead of blinds.

Yesterday, after exam, a few of us decided to hop to the bar/restaurant/cafeteria in our school building. As I sat there chatting with some of my classmates, it just striked me. Wow! How lucky can I get? Here I am, chatting with my friends who are all basically representatives of their own countries (max. student from 1 country is roughly 5, there's 110 of us). Never would I have thought I'll be in this situation unless it's something formal, like a UN meeting? or international/global meeting?

And people think I'll get an american accent? I think not! ;) probably a global accent by the end of the course! Hahahahahah!

I was talking to one of my seniors the other day, just congratulating her, the fact that they only have 30+ days left to graduation, and she said "Graduation? I'm really going to miss this place, studying here..."
I've just started, and yet, I know what she means by that. I will definitely miss it too. All the more for me to just enjoy and appreciate everything right now, no matter how tough the subjects and the competition is here.

Right. Back to Study for Exam!!!

The duck is learning to fly

Autumn leaves, so pretty, near my apartment.


I'm learning so much here. About studies, values, other people. But most importantly, about myself. Although I may stumble at times, but rest assured, I believe I will get my bearings, my footing by myself, just like the chicks when they're about to leave their nest and fly.

Confidence, Networking:-
Although still a bit shy, I'm finally able to 'socialize/network' during events. Lastest being the cyberposium held by Harvard Business School.

Redefining Values:-
The problem with values, there's no such thing as right or wrong. It's just different values. One of the thing that's stuck in my mind since I was a child was dad telling me, "Just because society thinks it's right, doesn't mean it's right". My values are nearly constantly tested here again and again, from all angles. When do I do something about something? What should I do about something?

Finding myself:-
Nope. I have yet to learn how to cook excellent meals. :) no time for that. But through the challenges that I'm going through in and out of school, interestingly, I'm finding myself, learning about myself and learning that I'm not alone.

Education:-
I'm really trying my best to get out of my 1010 mindset, but sometimes it's just so hard.
The other day, I asked a lecturer on weather he can give me a sample of a correct answer to a problem that he gave to the whole class. He told me, "I don't want to teach you how to get the right answer, because there's no such thing as a right answer in the real (working) world. You probably will never face this question again in the real world. I want to teach you how to think and how to stand by your argument. You have it in you currently, you just need to improve and refine it".
Either the lecturer is pretty good at 'slithering' out of extra work by giving us the answer, or he has a point there. :)
The best part that I enjoy and really value about my school so far, is that it's really 'value for money', where even the professors have the same belief system that I have, that all that they teach has to relate to the real world, not just theories.

Tis the season to be thankful...

i don't know why, but lately, my gadgets are starting to stop working (still refusing to say 'malfunctioned'). I'm blaming it on the cold weather. :)

so here's my list of people i would like to give my thanks to for making my day this week. :)

1.Tungau
Thanks s'yang. Somehow, my bracelet watch stopped working. So now, I'm really using the watch that you gave me everyday.
2.Dad
Thanks for the phone. I got myself the new blackberry pearl to replace my dead handphone. IT"S SO COOL!!!! :D
3.Mom
Thanks for the packets of briyani & rendang. Housemate and I cooked extra yesterday, and I manage to exchange a bit of it for some homemade raya cookies with my classmate. I can't believe it. It actually made me drool just thinking of eating chocolate almond cookies and pineapple tart.... drool drool.....
4. JB
Thanks for the 5 in 1 memory card reader. You shouldn't have. :) I'm really greatful for that.
5.Hakeem
KEeeem! I got your raya card just today. Am so happy. :) Thanks buddy!
6. Wai Seng
Thanks for giving me a call. It's so good to hear from you. I think I should be free during thanksgiving. Will definitely try to meet up with you before you go back.


Home is where the heart is. And my heart is with my clan.
Sincerely,
Me.