dinner was at the x-lounge, followed by partying at one of the two clubs in c'ville - club 216, a gay club. good food, good friends, good music. good times. i will miss all of this. can't believe it's time to graduate. =( *sniff*
i wish i were good at something. i'm a half-boiled medicre egg. jack of all trades, master of none. not even a jack of all trades. im not even a good person. =(
i found my primary school friend's blog today (http://www.mistersun.org/#songs). she writes, composes and sings her own songs and her voice is amazing. check it out.
things left to do for the semester: 12 prints 1 portfolio review 4 exhibit reviews 2 anthropology essays, 6 pages total 1 journal entry
it was a gorgeous day yesterday - sunshine and warmth after an odd bout of cold weather. put on our sundresses and had a picnic in one of the gardens on the lawn. the tulips had blossomed and they were pink and huge. the trees were iced with white flowers. there was a little garden set with rocking chairs and all. perfect! (we realised half way into the picnic that it was someone's private garden tho.. oops!)
i spent a couple of hours in the kitchen prior, and whipped up a lethal tiramisu (too much rum, whoops), potato and dill salad, petite sandwiches - cucumber and cream cheese, tuna and pineapple, and ice lemon tea. everyone brought something too - garlic bread and berry muffins, (french) chocolate cake, deviled eggs, succulent strawberries, gm brought caipirinha (alcoholic, of course), vietnamese spring rolls, soup and cheese, wine, durian cake (?!).. i hope i didnt forget anything. it was all de-li-cious. mmph.
i was buzzed by 6 o'clock in the evening. but wat the heck. the caipirinha was soo good. i took some gorgeous pictures, but of course since i was buzzed and not thinking straight, i had to screw it up by opening my camera without first rewinding the film.
happy happy day!
tulip garden
the food spread
clara and me under the tree
lethal poison
nata and jeannette
group shot (not everyone): cheryl, gm, russell, me, lee keong, ruyi, boonhow... check out my manly arms/shoulders *gasp*
it's really interesting when you see a cultural difference play out infront of you.
we had two comm468 alumni come speak to us in class the other day, and as a gesture of appreciation for the advice our professor had given them throughout their venture, they presented her with a gift at the end of their lecture. firstly, they handed it to her with one hand; secondly, she opened the gift in front of the class; and thirdly, it was a clock (no doubt a tiffany's one though).
*
the shooter turns out to be a south korean. and his dad and mum both tried to kill themselves upon hearing the news - dad died, while mum is in the hospital.
i didn't realise the extent of the shooting. 32 people dead. lined up against a wall and fired at. massacre. because the guy was looking for his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend.
this is incomprehensible. this is the sort of thing you watch in movies, read in the papers, and think its some crazy American thing that goes on half way across the world. but it is so much more reality when you know people from there, and where it occurred is not 2 hours away from you. i still don't fully understand the impact and gravity of the situation, i will admit. and maybe it is a blessing that i don't and hopefully never will.
in 10 days, i will be done with my major assignments. in 20 days, i will be taking my last class at McIntire and UVA. in 30 days, i will have completed my final undergraduate semester. in 40 days, i will be walking down the lawn in my cap and gown. in 50 days, i will be leaving the soils of America.
in 70 days, i will be touching down on home ground.
life is coming too fast at me. growing up is no fun.
many many years ago (gosh i am so old), Easter was the secret egg basket with blue and purple ribbons outside the classroom.
i knew what Easter was, but i never fully understood the significance of it.
Easter service today was beautiful. the hall was adorned with banners and bouquets of spring flowers. extra chairs were lined up in the spillover. there was an orchestra, not just a band - 5 violins, a french horn, an oboe, a guitar, drums and the works - and a full choir. everyone was dressed in their sunday best. little boys in vests and suits and little girls in smocked frocks and ribbons in their hair.
the worship and the scripture reading made me realise two things, that God is good and He is indeed worthy of our praise; and that because Jesus rose after the third day, the gospel is the truth and the truth has spread to the entire world.
i needed some cheering up yesterday (read: did really badly on the GRE), so i did a little shopping.
bought myself a bag
and a pair of sleeping shorts cos ive been wearing my tatty lime green ones all the time for the past month or so. with my lime green rj openhouse tee too. =(
went to wholefoods. bought strawberries and chocolate coated candied ginger. salmon salad and mushroom and jack cheese quesadilla. the guy behind the counter was trying to flirt with me so he gave me an extra quesadilla. mwhahaha. and lots of free samples. he even offered me a ride to wholefoods whenever i wanted, in exchange for my email add, which of course i didnt give. mwahahhaah. and bought a box of truffles for prof brown who lent me his car. they had some really cool flavours - caramel and lavendar, raspberry with pink peppercorn, pistachio and marzipan.
but what i really need was one thing. and no, i didn't get it.
cherie, shel, remember where we ordered our first (i think) alcoholic drinks?
father flanagan's at chijmes. strawberry daiquiris and mango margaritas. we were underaged too! =X i remember the waiter putting his finger to his mouth when he overheard us letting our secret out.
its closing down. they are having a 'drink the pub dry day' on april 21st.
we havent been there since.. i don't know when... but it certainly holds good memories. we had our 'meet-the-boy' sessions, chinese new year outing, random friday dinner outings there.
my timing wasn't fantastic, but im just proud of myself that i finished it without walking and under my target time.
the entire charlottesville was out to cheer us on. people came out from their homes and baked cookies and donuts for the runners (although who would eat such things while running?!), laid out paper cups of water. made banners to say 'no whining at wine (street)'. a li'l boy drummer took his set of drums out of his house and jammed as the runners passed by. ladies in pink feather boas and coats stood along the route to cheer. my favourite, was the student worship group who sang gospels - made me feel like God was cheering me on too.
my number tag is now proudly displayed on my door, next to my roommate's 2030 tag.
washington DC orlando
singapore
vancouver & seattle mississippi
paris shanghai huangshan hangzhou nanjing beijing xi'an chengdu
summersville, wv
nassau, bahamas
boston
new york city
new orleans
arizona
los angeles
london
madrid
barcelona
seville
southwest france
lyon
paris
the food spread
