*800 - winter wonderland

Christmas eve, and I'm back in Rochester, getting excited for a magical Christmas. I haven't been happier in a long, long time :)





Christmas cookies; and spot Cassie (doggie who does not show up in pictures unless she is against a bright background).

*799 - snowstorm

Hopping on the bandwagon since all the FB statuses of fellow Ithacans are some variation of "SNOWSTORM":

Snowstorm = car slips and slides across flat road = car does not make it up even 1/8 of the slope = WHY DO I LIVE AT THE BOTTOM OF A GIANT HILL = car illegally parked and a frigid, slippery, nose-drippy (but exciting!) hike up the slope at 1 am

Today would be a fantastic day to go snowboarding, if I weren't having my (second-last) final in 3 hours!

*798 - three to go

Three more finals (and one more extra credit paper) to go!! Then let the no-guilt, full-fledged bumming begin :D

Life has been ridiculous in an awesome way as of late, with midnight Wegmans-in-a-motorized-ADA-compliant-cart(-that-goes-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-in-reverse) runs, Sunday brunches with dimsum and spooky fortune cookies, pomegranates and steak and broccoli, torta de tres leches and birthday boy in nightcap, 4 am runway displays that leave A crying (laughing) on the floor, salsa party, Land Before Time and Mary Poppins and Alice In Wonderland, ...

Looking at what I've been doing over the past week or so, one wonders how study-for-finals time fits in between all that ...

My first Hispanic cake. Verdict: EXCELLENT.


Cross-eyed and gleeful with cake.


Wegman's children's cart.


Wegman's ADA cart. Most inappropriate, but we didn't get scolded until the very end.


RPCC brunch memories!


And those lovely make-your-own-waffle memories.

*797 - to snookums

I'm sorry (again)

(You know, in general)

*796 - i would like to believe

that I get a little better each time--
I know a little more about
what I want and what I don't,
what I feel and how I react,
how I love and how I hurt.

Sometimes I contemplate pressing "rewind" and tossing out the shameful bits along the way, but then all those awful things are really pieces of what is paving my little meandering way now

to
you.

*795 - turkey day

I know each break I have, I say "best break ever"--same goes for this one: best Thanksgiving break ever. Being the first Asian girl to set foot in the house (filled with a gazillion Spanish-chattering Latinos on Thanksgiving) wasn't even awkward as one might have imagined.



In addition to good food, also overdosed on Miyazaki movies, cuddly pets, 4 am nights and 2 pm mornings, relatively gorgeous weather (besides the hail on Friday), classical opera (loud) in sports car, feeling right at home, feeling oddly happy.

Amongst other things, this is what I've learned: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez. Up to thirty.

*794 - i know i am easier to like than to love

When will I ever stop being superficial?

The trail I've left behind me is not something I am proud of.

*793 - i think i know

what the best defense is
:)

*792 - tippy toes

I love days where I spring out of bed early before my alarm goes off, with all manner of fabulousity in my eyes and God's love charging through in my veins, with time for a white-chocolate-chip-pancake-and-maple-syrup breakfast, with the strength to stand on my tippy toes and just be happy.

*791 - watercolor skies

Huh?? How can skies be so beautiful?? Beautiful creator :)

Last picture = backside of my ugly little apartment, but I love it, and I love how the windows are reflecting a completely different (orange) sky than the one in the picture (blue).

I noticed the gorgeous sunset as I was walking home one day. Which made me break into an anxious trot down College Avenue, camera in hand, eyes to the sky, so that I could get to my backyard for an unobstructed foresty view before the sun finished setting.

Aww :)

Tried to capture the huge flocks of birds that were swooping from botak tree to botak tree, but I guess swarming black dots that are actually moving in real life are a lot more noticeable (and pretty to watch) than swarming black dots that blend right into the branches in a still shot, and taken with a dinky digicam. Haha.

But oh no. Botak trees are a premonition of colder days to come. Dum dum dum dummmm.

*789 - i can feel your halo halo halo

My first (tipsy) Halo 3 experience was harrowing. Anyone who has seen me attempt to play any computer/video game can attest to the fact that I more often than not end up screaming on the floor in fear (when trying to play guitar hero, for instance). It was so bad that the boys started shouting at me to just stay quietly in the corner because I was doing more harm than good by spinning happy circles in the midst of the enemy and taking wild shots at my own team.

*788 - halloween party

The Roomie Photoshoot, which seems to be a prerequisite to creating facebook events for our parties, because we're cool like that.


The fruit of our labor: toilet papered living room and Christmas lights.


Castarina (knew my dance costume would someday come in handy) and Baby (in foetal position on the couch)


FREAKIEST HALLOWEEN PICTURE EVER. WHERE IS CHARMANDER(Earl)'S HEAD?! OMG?! WHY IS IT IN THE REFLECTION IN THE WINDOW BUT NOT ON HIS NECK?! OMGOMG?!


Chugging alcohol out of baby bottles. Hmhmhm sacrilegious, really.


Daddy rocks and Mummy rocks. As do baby bottles, pacifiers, and real diapers (which bulged in such a way that made us look like, um, men).


A night to remember. The hilarity of dressing up, living room and kitchen and corridors filled to the brim of insanely costumed people, running dry on alcohol eventually (when we thought we had bought way too much), dancing up College Avenue in diapers, winding down to a four-hour conversation on the sofa (of which nothing much was remembered because Mr Sombrero was in the midst of a blackout), only about five stains on the carpet to clean up the next day and a severe hangover during dance practice. Perfect.

*787 - pre halloween

Sneak preview of my Halloween costume:







The roomies could not resist trying them on with me. Obviously, this got me rolling on the floor, screeching with laughter, almost peeing my pants (diapers).

Best Halloween ever, for sure.

*786 - I'm okay

Evelyn? Crying?? Over non-boy-related issues??? Wow. It's been a while.

Thank God for lovely friends like J and J (haha) who convince me that I'm okay, that I'm not all that bad, that I'm possibly pretty awesome, sometimes, and that it's enough to be awesome to the people who matter and not to everybody.

*785 - ghostly cookies

Pumpkin spice sugar cookies with spooky frosting. All gobbled up during the party, even the one that I iced my own name onto haha, so I'm happy :) The best part about baking is knowing that you put a little bit of happy into someone's tummy.

That said, I know it's all rather amateurish-looking (smudgy, blobby, untidy, etc) and unprofessionally done with handmade piping bags and chopsticks (no toothpicks to be found in my house). Maybe I should search for instructional videos on how to frost cookies or enroll myself in baking classes instead of making it up haphazardly. Anyone care to be my frosting tutor? :)

*784 - some oldies (living for the weekends)

C: ROOOOOOMIE!!!
E: Is your belly red??
C & E: (Check bellies)


-camera flash-
A: I almost just fell off this step and died. I ALMOST DIED.
E: Really? You don't look it in this photo.


I: Orange vodka! Grinz.
E: Get out of my photo plz?

*783 - reds and yellows

Fall brings rain and cold and smelly socks, but fall is impossibly, undeniably, marvelously beautiful. It surprises me every day to look out of my window to see the scarlet leaves on the trees outside. Mmm. Pictures furtively taken from right outside my door (did not want to appear like a camera-wielding tourist in my own apartment):

*782 - groups

I am peeved at the irresponsibility of group members. However, this semester has been relatively smooth-sailing due to the absence of group projects in general (only heavily present in one class and as final submissions in a few others). Especially for someone with an internal locus of control, where everything that goes wrong lies on my shoulders, dealing with group-mates who could care less is very burdensome. Asdfjlk;aglih.

What does not help is that I dragged myself out of bed for a group discussion, while hungover, only to discover that two of us, out of six, were present. What also does not help is the knowledge that I have an enormous amount of laundry to do now. Yucky.

*781 - soberly drunk

I like being on the ;ine between sober and drunk. Some things matter more and somet hings matter less. Typing, for instance, does not matter. Other things, like laughing and being joyful and appreciating happy things, for instance, do.

Today has been a good day. Friday is a good invention. Having one class on Friday is better. Having that one class be a dance class is the best. Having dance rehearsal after that dance class is pretty good too. Hot (yes hot_ bubble tea after dancing is good on a rainy day. But it was not cold, so that was great. Dinner at a new restaurant was good, having sashimi and intensely pretty sushi was better, having good company was the best, nearly exploding from too much food was not though. And then having a very intellectual debate about free improvisation and laughing fits over unknown beers was rather enjoyable as well.

So now it is time to thank people for making me laugh and then it is time to sleep.

*780 - bios

In a fit of rebellion against having to write personal bios for a particular society we just got inducted into, Jenny and I decided to write each other's bios:

"Jenny is a junior in the Hotel School. She goes by "Superwoman" and does not study until the day before, often with Evelyn at Stella's cafe. She makes a mean gyoza and enjoys making lotus mooncakes from scratch. Her main talent lies in eating quickly without chewing."

"Evelyn is a senior at the Hotel School by day, Wonderwoman by night. Her talents include choreographing "my foot is asleep" dances. She can make anything out of matcha. You will often find her in the student lounge trying to learn how to swallow without chewing."

One day I will regret not submitting these bios.

*779 - introspection

I'm a dancer. For goodness' sake, what's my problem?

*778 - (make-your-own) mooncake festival

What Jenny and I initially thought would be a cosy little mooncake-making session with a couple of people exploded into a living-room-ful of Singaporeans making 124908696184 mooncakes.

Step 1: Select skin flavor (plain, green tea)
Step 2: Select skin color (pink, green, white, swirly, anything really)
Step 3: Select filling (lotus, red bean, ice cream)
Step 4: Select shape & design (round, square, with a variety of floral patterns)
Step 5: Make your own mooncake!

Number of times Jenny has been exposed to large numbers of Singaporeans = 2.
Number of times Jenny has been exposed to one Singaporean (ie. me) = everyday.
I think I will need to make her a quasi-Singaporean soon :)

*777 - red leaves through my (open) windown

The problem with opening your windows to let some fresh air in is that the air, while certainly very fresh, is also very cold.

*776 - my latest obsession:

Crudites with hummus :)

*775 - where there's sunshine

Outside on the patio, watching the worst movie in history (Taxi, please don't give it a shot). Well, it was only a dollar.



Ocean's 11 greaseman at work! The perks of being small: ability to fit into tiny spaces.



It was oddly reminiscent of those Raffles Rugby Girlfriend Club days (or whatever we called it back then). Except that this time it was "friend", "friend", and "sister". Haha. There must have been some kind of discrimination going on because the true girlfriends were sitting in a clump some distance from the three of us ;)



Whee! Poor boy got so beat up though. In all my years of seeing him at matches, I don't think I've ever seen him get so many wounds in one game ...



French toast mornings.



And quiche dinners.



And Chinese stir fry, which included chicken heart, yum!

*774 - winter

My "IT'S FALL" revelation lasted for a grand total of ... one day. Because it officially snowed today = first sign of WINTER. It's mid-bloody-October!!

*773 - liver, hummus, and pickle

Fall break!

Began with a good chat and then traipsing the streets of Soho, NYC. Forbade the boys to join me so that I could enjoy my shopping alone, because I am the Solitary Shopper.



Lunch with the boys at an atas-looking restaurant across the street from an even-more-atas-looking restaurant that was our first intention but we were too humbled by our non-atas-ness to enter.

We go way back to the primary school days, so catching up was lovely. Five years of past history dug up and forgiveness assured. Hahaha. Thinking back, we were so young then, and so foolish! At least we've grown up now. Gotta go back to hang out again some time :)



Horrible flight but made it in one piece to San Diego! Wandered off to the nude beach, heh, but only looked at it from afar, atop a cliff. It was really beautiful.









Happy with flower in hair.



How are we not cute? Oh man. Hahaha.



A very privileged sandwich: how many sandwiches get to have a photoshoot and be part of a picnic on a cliff looking over a nude beach? Not many, I expect.





(Observe: half-nude man behind us making his way down to the beach.)



We go way back too, from when we were ten. Ten! We've known each other for more years than we haven't. And how we've changed. But how we haven't. Best fall break ever, I would say, because of you :)