AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

My building's fire alarm went off!!! And it's this really high pitched shrill irritating DI di DI di DI sound!! So we all evacuated Cobb and guess what... it was raining!!!!!! So we made our way tot he carpark across... Stood there for about 10-15mins till they said we could go back in...

Now I'm in the room and the alarm is still sounding..................... ARGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

God you are good. Pleeeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeee make it stop!!! Thank you!!!!

6 by Wednesday!!!

So the weekend's over and it was.... fantastic!! Summit Church was great!! Hopefully if I can get a permanent ride there then I'll want to stay there. If not I'll go to one with a shuttle service. Can go check out their webbie: www.summitchurch.cc

The Senior Pastor, J.D. touched on 1 Corinthians 13 "Love is patient, love is kind..." about the spirit of love. Word was really clear and concise which was great! Though I'd like to go back to Summit for the end of the 1 Cor series, I'm thinking of taking the shuttle to Chapel Hill Bible Church this Sunday.

After Summit, our dear transport provider, Emily, took us to At The Border for Mexican which was Delish! had a good time of food and fellowship before going back and chilling @ Matt's place.



Finally found my laundry room and spent an hour or so washing/drying my clothes with compliments of a cup of detergent from Matt. Haha! Manage to catch up on my readings for today's unit as well so yup.

Dinner was @ Jimmy John's (if I didn't get the name wrong). A nice little quiet cosy place further down along Franklin that sells 8" to footlong subs and sandwiches! It was good though the walking was long...

Just realised...

that I've got an assignment due tommorrow consisting a one-page paper explaining the essence of account planning from my readings (not too bad for a first assignment... i think...) and

that I have 6 meals in my meal plan to finish by this Wednesday!! So yup had lunch @ Lenoir dining hall and dinner tonight @ Rams dining plus I'll be treating Weichang to a meal haha! Looks like I can take @ least another person out for a meal by then.

Go Bulls Go!

Friday:
Attended this spaghetti dinner organized by the International Students small group under Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IV). The food was great and the fellowship was better! The group was pretty small comprising us (Steph, Weichang, Matt, me) being the international part of the group haha! The rest were local or from America so yup! The night started out slow but progressed as we were invited to go bowling @ student union then to ice-cream @ Coldstone in Franklin St! Never knew Student union had a bowling alley... though not one of the best but yea. Haha! It's like really old and we had to keep our own score (as in paper/pencil) plus the lanes weren't lighted so it was pretty interesting! They were some really gd bowlers there but the whole experience was the atmosphere and team spirit - in that sense.






Fellowshipped with another group of IV people @ Coldstone and the ice-cream was great! Though by the end of the day I was beat.



Today:
The arvo was spent sleeping. I know... I had a late night ok and it was really hot and I was so tired. The plan for the day was to go for an appointment out of campus (which required a 10min bus ride to and fro, the whole package comes with the heat of noonday sun... reckon I'm significantly darker now then ever!! Anyway!) then go back to do laundry (finally found the room haha! It's a really nice area set aside in the basement and there's like a louge room for you to wait while your clothes get clean) then meet @ steph's dorm before meeting the rest of the IV people for transport to Durham stadium for a baseball game!!

Bottomline, I followed the plan relatively well... only thing is instead of coming back to my dorm for laundry I chilled @ steph's dorm and soon fell asleep. The baseball game was great!! What an experience!! The Durham Bulls were playing the Charlotte Knights and the hometeam - Bulls - won!! Yay! But yea had a blast of a time there and got to take pictures and make a number of friends! Was talking with this guy who was explaining to us the different sports they have, including underwater hockey and frisby-golf!?!? (I know right!!) He'll be inviting us for a game so we'll see how it's played haha!

Tml:
Going to Summit church, 30mins towards Durham! Manage to get transport thx to Weichang so yea! Praying it'll be D church but yea we'll see...

Alright I know I've said lots tt I'll post up pictures... but yea... most of the outings I didn't have my camera so I'm basically dependant on grabbing other people's photos so please bear with me k? =P Have a great week!!

Yes and Amen!

Just got an email from the Graphics Design lecturer and.... I got in!!! Praise God that I've finally got 5 courses to fulfill Murdoch accreditation requirements!!! Been so worried about it and frantically searching for back-up courses in case I didn't get it but yea... God is good, All the time! All the time, God is good! Yay! Oh and He definitely definitely answers prayers and does the impossible! Haha! Ok I'm sooooo happy right now!

So here's my updated, fixed time schedule this semester...

Monday + Wed
0900-0950 Ad Media

Tuesday + Thursday
0930-1045 Intro to Media Pdtn
1100-1215 Sales Mgt
1230-0145 Account Planning
1530-1720 Graphics Design

Friday
0900-0950 Ad Media
1100-1150 Intro to Media Pdtn Lab

Classes begin

Went to South Point Mall the day before yesterday (a Tues). The mall's really huge length-wise and gives you that 'small-village town' feel. Walked most of the shops with a new found friend, Satya. She's from Uni of Sydney so tt's kinda closer to my second home haha!

Really trying to get use to all the walking, waiting, riding, walking... Reckon if I don't take full advantage of my meal plan I'd grow to skin and bones with the over-exercise I'm getting haha! Oh did I mention my meal plan was a 10 meals per week @ approx. US$5.60 per meal and it's All-U-Can-Eat! Like the in-charge will just swipe your UNC One Card (similar to our student ID card but acts like a cash card as well for almost everything bought on campus) and you go in and be very Marche-ish only without having to present your card everytime you want to eat something.



So happen to meet a few other SG's @ the student store and decided to join them for dinner so yup! Had a good time of chatting and fellowshipping!

First day of class was hmm... normal? I reckon it's coz I think it's somewhat similar to the Aussie style of learning. Very open (though quite a small class like 10 + me), very interactive. Was quite interesting considering I'm the only Asian aka exchange student in the class and the rest where like mostly seniors (final yr students) and juniors (3rd yr students) with some job experience in the Advertising/Marketing field... Looks like I've gotta get with the program haha! But it'll be an excellent experience of cross-learning and I'm looking forward to it! Only had one class and that was Ad Media but decided to crash this higher Linguistics Phonetics class (just as a backup plan in case my graphic design doesn't fall through but praying it will...) and it was hmm... made a 'grand' entrance to class, firstly coz I was 5 mins late (and they start like super on time), second, I wasn't sure of the room number so walked right in then backtracked to see if I got the class room right (I know right!??!)

Plus I kept asking the girl beside me what the lecturer was saying coz he spoke soooooo softly... sidetracking to the classroom, it's your typical American classroom that you see on TV with the individual chair-tables lined in rows with a blackboard. Oh another sidetrack, speaking of blackboard, my roommate taught me yesterday morning about the system. It's like Web CT basically... I was like "Oh so it's like Web Ct ya?" "Erm... what's Web Ct?" Anyway!

Who would have known during the hot 1 hour in the linguistics class I'd be re-living sec 3 physics lessons. The guy was talking about sound waves people?! Resonance, frequency, period, wavelength?!? Sooo not for me. Could have left but decided to stay and listen in, in case it was a first day only physics lesson but ya... plenty physics calculations down the road - definite no no...

In b/w waiting for this 3:30 Ling class, had to go to see the Campus Health Service coz I had to take a TB skin test (they don't acknowledge any SG injections) and past 2 days from a tiny red dot it swelled to a big red patch. Was kinda worried coz during dinner with the SG gals one of them said it was definitely positive for TB (scared me to bits!!) but she said they'll just do like a free x-ray (as if free was an incentive.. but anyway) went and guess what... it was negative! Apparently they look for the bump and not the physical appearance of it PHEW!

Then, Ms Smarty Pants decided to try walking to the business school... just to try out my harrowing journey today (I've gotta go back and forth literally North to South and back to North for 3 classes) and get myself orientated to the place. It was hmm... tiring!!!! That was my 2.4, 4.6, 5.8, 6.10km right there la!! I thought it was alright coz on the map a straight line plot looked quite easy... who wld have guessed that I had like a million steps to climb down, up, down, up, down!!! It's like I had to go down this steep slope (ok before you say easy la!) then I had to walk across this huge carpark then climb up 3 storeys, and another 2 storeys before reaching the entrance of the business school (it's like located on a mega huge hill). By the time I was there I had to sit down and catch my breath... my time? 30mins. Time I have to get from class to class? 15mins. Crazay!!!



But alright, Steph and I figured out bus routes (though they come every 15mins which means if I end class 1 min late I'll miss the bus and therefore be 15mins late for my other class) and ya the brackets explain everything. Well at least I don't have to walk the whole way... Ok maybe slightly less walking... why can't the bus stop be right outside the business school!??!

So yup. Oh had dinner last night with my roommate, her hometown friend and her bro and a whole lot of singaporeans and steph at Franklin St Pizza and Pasta! It was alright though pricing could have been better... but dessert after was delish! Had yoghurt ice-cream (no yuqing, don't jump for joy...). It's like fattening yoghurt ice-cream haha! Like you have 2 toppings in b/w your yoghurt like ice-cream sundae kinda thing. I asked the punky teenager to choose and she did a fabulous job! Granola and white chocolate with Strawberry/Vanilla swirl =)





Cheers!

Blessed Birthday Shirls!

Happy birthday to Shirley! Happy birthday to Shirley! Happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday to you!! God is blessing you now! God is blessing you now! God is blessing you noooowww.... God is blessing you now! =)

May God's favour and joy continue with you as another year comes dearie! Take care and enjoy this wonderful day!

Love and hugs! =)

Tear.

My parents are leaving tomorrow morning and I won't be able to see them off. Sobs... Thought I wouldn't cry but I burst out after seeing my mum tear... It's hard when reality hits and you find your loved ones finally leaving you to be on your own. Not that I haven't experienced it before in lesser time spans but yea... the thought of 5 mths being physically apart, I feel the tug of my heart-strings. Especially hearing my parents' "parting" words. Really wish I could go see them off at RDU but they insisted I stay coz of transportation back to Chapel Hill.

Anyway, Pa, Ma, I'll miss both of you so much... Past few days have been tiring. Loads of activities. I mean it was fun and quite an experience but it was tiring. Sunday we visited a Methodist church at Franklin Street. The church was beautiful with it's steeple standing tall and magnificent. The architecture was very colonial with 4 big columns welcoming you into the church's main entrance.

Service was really traditional. Sang hymns and doxologys and Word was alright. Though the only main point I got from it was 'Bread for the Journey' requires wisdom. It was a good experience anyhow but I'm still praying for the right church to go to. Sunday was also the day my roommate moved in!

She's really great and a presby who's a member of the UNC's Intervarsity Christian Fellowship! Thank God for her coz she's really made our room feel like home with all her decorations and all. Went for a movie - Snakes on the plane - which was really silly and honestly not that worth US$7 but it was a good time to meet Caroline's friends and brother. Fall fest was after.

Fall fest is this annual event that they have here at UNC where they close up a whole street and societies and clubs organize booths along the enclosed area to attract potential members! The whole thing started at 9pm but heard it was really packed (like the whole uni was there) before that. Reminded me of the Taka stretch on Orchard Road in the weekends haha! There were so many Christian organizations but signed up for the Intervaristy one and Agape Campus Christian Fellowship. So yup. That's my weekend for you! Will post up pictures as soon as I get them uploaded =)

To date, had my TB skin test today. Praying it'll be fine so that I won't have to go through the trouble of going south of campus to take monthly jabs. Also, I've got my internet up and running in my dorm! Plus new bed arrangements and all! Again, will post up pictures when I get them k! Meantime, take care people and have a good week ahead!

It's settled then.

Day 1 upon arrival into NC in the morning (about 1030am), we drove from Budget (Durham, pronounced 'Dur-ram') to the Holiday Inn Express along Farrington Rd and Route 54. The roads here remind me so of Australia. Check-in was between 1-2pm so with time on our hands and a far from all-inclusive map below, we managed to reach my dorm. Cobb residence! It was just a look-see before I move in to get our bearings and all right.

Realise one thing about NC and that is they're really proud to be a N.Carolinian, especially being part of the UNC community.



Many people had the signature baby blue tees/caps/shorts/jackets and NC logo prints like this:


The ramshead is UNC's mascot and looks like this:


N.Carolinians also love to call themselves 'tar heels' and logos of a foot with a tar patch on the heel is displayed almost everywhere.
The story goes that during the American Civil War, in a battle in Virginia, the North Carolinian troops held their ground while supporting troops retreated. After the battle, supporting troops asked the victorious North Carolinians: "Any more tar down in the Old North State, boys?" and they replied: "No, not a bit; old Jeff's bought it all up." The supporting troops continued: "Is that so? What is he going to do with it?" The North Carolinian troops' response: "He is going to put it on your heels to make you stick better in the next fight."

UNC's very proud of their top-notch athletes and teams in many fields! This is especially so for basketball, hockey, football, volleyball!






Back to the day's affairs... Checking in was quite similar to renting a place in Perth. Without the initial viewing choice of course. So got there, signed in, filled out forms, received my room key, then a checklist for any defects in the room. After checking and writing down paint chips bottom left door, scratches top right wall, floor dents left door center left wall etc., went back down and got my general access key which is like a mini mobiliser! Basically, we wave it in front of an A6 size black magnetic reading plate at the main door and it'll unlock it for your to enter.



The whole of Cobb is a auto-lock building so note to self - Sarah-Jane, don't forget your keys. The room's really nice! I'm on 2nd floor though I've got views of the on-going construction happening in many places throughout campus and my adjacent neighbour. My parents were really happy with it considering I'm a door away from the stairs down to the East entry and the bathrooms are 3 doors away.

Here's the Main Entrance


Corridor from staircase entrance


My Dorm!


Each Residence hall has a theme and mine was everything about the sea


After necessary paper work, deposited my baggage and got up and out to do all the admin stuff. Bank account, Student card, check-in with Study Abroad, fees payment, all of which are scattered all around campus. Finally, met Steph @ Bank of America and was it great to see her! After mega big hugs and grins, our families caught up over lunch!

Had to go to Wal-Mart to get beddings and a pillow so car trailed each other there. The highlight of Day 1 apart from finally seeing Steph, was that we met the whole lot of NUS exchange students at an impromtu stop at Cingular to arrange Steph's phone! Truly it was divine appointment! After Cingular and Wal-Mart, went straight back to Cobb to arrange and unpack everything in. Took about 45mins and it was a wrap!!

============================================================================

Day 2 found us waking up to orientation @ 10am. Got dropped off @ Cobb for me to deposit the rest of my barang from Holiday Inn and change out. Met Steph and went for O! According to statistics, there are about 13,000 international student at UNC, from 105 countries! O was the usual, briefings and all - reliving Murdoch's orientation, only American style!

Lunch break was very welcomed and we had it at one of the main dining halls - Lenoir (sounds so french doesn't it? Haha) Then proceeded to Carroll Hall (one of the buildings I'll be seeing very often for my JOMC units.) for another round of talks from 1-5pm. The whole environment of UNC feels very colonial. Sort of takes you back in time and really is an established academic institution.

At the end of the day, I was really thankful for the proximity of my dorm to everything. Already walking back to the dorm, gave me a good workout. Can't imagine if I were staying further away... gosh! My papa picked me up from Cobb to meet Matt and his mum for dinner @ a Jap restaurant owned by a Shanghainese. Food was good! Though, it wld take some time before we get over the extra 'salt flavouring' made for the locals.

I've been staying with my parents past few nights. Spending time with them before they fly off for good. Tml's (Sat) my mum's 55th birthday! My dad bought her a beautiful pearl cross for the very first time he buys jewelry! Ok other than the wedding ring but ya haha! Am glad that my parents decided to stay on so that we'll get to celebrate her birthday as a family! So to you mama, I love you and pray that God's great favour and love will continue to keep you in health and joy and strength for each day!

Tagboard added...

Ok hands down tagboard wins...!! Self-explanatory, tag away! =)

What a week!

Alright so made it finally to NC Chapel Hill. Beautiful place! Really countryside. But before I go into the current, let me backdate this to NY Day 4 - Sunday.



Got ourselves into this NY City Tour. Boarded this cute little mini bus which could hardly fit my father in and departed the hotel @ 10am. Our fantastic bus driver/tour guide was Anthony - Jamaican migrated to NY. Plenty of them here actually.



Very personal and really friendly and a Methodist! My mum had a good time chatting with him about evangelism throughout the stops where she didn't want to get out and walk around. Papa and yours truly did most of the touring on foot. Basically covered several main NY highlights...

First stop, United Nations. Pity the flags weren't up coz' they only display them only on sunny days, 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri. It was Sunday. Went through the security check which took 10mins. *American accent* Put your bag in the box. Take out your shoes and belt, watches, cash. No liquids... body search. All that for 20mins in the building. I mean it was cool being in the UN but there wasn't much to see. In fact more action happened outside the UN.



An 80+ old French guy was silent protesting with a big white signboard saying the UN has had enough of NY and should be moved to Paris. He claims it's too far from the rest of the world where world issues are. I say, if that's the case they should move it to Afghanistan or Asia at the very heart of the issue but who listens to me right? Ha...

Passed by Bill Gates and Harrison Ford's NY apartment @ The Trump World Towers and Saks Fifth Avenue aka Billionaire's Mall. Second stop, Empire State Building. Looking back, think the 45min queuing, security check and the 20min queuing to get down was quite uncalled for for the 15min time @ the top... But boy was the view spectacular!





Stopped by NBC's studio store for a walk along Manhattan streets and glimpsed St Patrick's Cathedral, NY's largest Catholic church. Took pictures with security guards and police officers - don't ask. Haha! Got a few hotdogs from street vendors. Everything US$2. So we bought 2 hotdogs and a huge pretzel for 6 bucks. The hotdogs were aiight. Reckon IKEA's hotdog in SG tasted better. The pretzel? Could have cost lesser. =P





Then, drove past Wall St and the Bull to catch the ferry to Liberty. You see her in the movies, you see her on the tele, it's nothing like seeing her in person. The ferry was fantastic and really scenic! On the boat, you see all sorts of people, hear all sorts of things.

Then came Ground Zero. Looking at the deep hole in place of where the twin towers once stood, realization of how devastating and terrifying it must have been on 9/11. This reminds us of the assurance and comfort we have in Jesus, that even in times of desperation, we can come to Him at the foot of the Cross.



Our last stop - China Town and for the first time in 4 days we ate 'sior-bak'! You can really get good deals in Chinatown. It's just like bargaining at a pasar malam in SG! By the time we all got back to the hotel, we were dozing off on the bus and arrived around 9pm.

Day 5 - Monday

Got out of the hotel in the arvo and hopped into a cab to Macy's @ 34th St and Broadway! A full 10 storey in vogue shopping mall! They were supposedly having a sale on and me and mum supposedly fell for it haha! Bought a couple of stuff... and my winter jacket for touring. Gosh can't believe I'm thinking of the holidays before school even begins! Anyway, spent the whole time there before ending up in Time Square in the evening to meet my dad's friend's sons (I know!), who have all gone there for work and are either happily married with kids or about to marry and have kids.





We went to Korea for dinner. Great place! Good food! Then caught the yellow cab back to the hotel. Packing was madness when we got back coz we had to catch the airport shuttle at 6:30am. So!

Morning of 15th. 5:30am alarms rings. 6am all of us are scurrying about. Pack this in check-in!! No! Pack that! Remember to pack the liquids in check-in! No gels, no water!! Finally made it half asleep to the domestic airport and boy was that a mess. The queues were unforgivably long inside and outside and it was chaotic! People were just standing there, lost. Looking lost, feeling lost. I was lost. Thing was, my ticket wasn't purchased yet. It was reserved but not purchased. Why? Apparently, my credit card didn't go through due to my foreign address and phone number (Singapore... hello!? Of course foreign!?!) So yea... I went up and down n up and down the aisle asking around went up and down up and down again. Finally my dad who checked in our luggage outside (the price was $2 per bag not including tips) Checking in inside the terminal was free but of course you had to brave the queues and chaos.

So my flight departs at 8:30am, I finally got my ticket at 8am. Past security quickly, which they confiscated BOTH my lipbalms!!! and ran all the way to the gate. Harrowing I know.

All in all, NY's really a melting pot of races and cultures. Being there, the whole city doesn't come off as a "white people" place but like an international meeting point where people of every race, start off their ambitions and dreams. I reckon it'll take me a while to learn to appreciate NY in its "raw-form". We'll just have to see on my nxt trip there this Christmas I guess. Long long post. I'll leave you with photos of Manhatten Times Square and Lady Liberty.

This just in...

http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/threat-change-passenger_guidance.shtm

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/224307/1/.html

In light of this, Praise God that we came one day early! Can't imagine the hassle if we were caught in this restriction at the airport... So! I've landed in NY and right now, in the Hampton Inn @ Queens blogging in my hotel room while my parents are getting over jetlag. Weather here's great! Cooler version of SG. Went down for a complimentary brekkie just now and found myself sitting with this middle aged african-american lady. We'll just use "AA" for short. Apparently, they're at Hampton hosting a Pentacostal Conference till Sun! (Who wld have guessed right! Haha!). So yup, ratio of AAs to whites, 5:1. Saw 1 asian which makes my family no.2.

First encounter with America and I spent the 10min breakfast conversation explaining that SG's an independant nation, neighbouring M'sia, Indo'sia, definitely not part of China. Anyway!

The flight was hmm... physically challenging I must say (it's been sometime since I've sat for 20 over hours in a middle window seat). Now I really appreciated the flight from SG-HK! Had the aisle seat with my parents, plenty of leg-room, watched "She's the Man". Total 3 1/2 hrs. HK, transfer - 40mins.

Spent the time roaming HK airport (really bustling place) and boarded CX888 to Vancouver - 11 1/2hrs. Gruelling flight sitting away from mama papa, sandwiched in b/w a China woman and a New Yorker lady by the window. Somehow the passengers around us were mostly asian (Hkongers or China-nese) and travelling in family groups. No offense but they had a lot to say in Canto. First 2 hours were spent on land, some delay due to something. So I got aquainted with my seat people. From take off, the first 5 hours were alright, watched like one movie after another to while away time (MI3, Take the Lead, Ice Age 2...). Next few hours the children started wailing and Ms New York on my right got really irritated.

No hoo-haas or anything but she kept 'tsking' away, glaring, and finally asked for ear plugs haha! Anyway, by the time we arrived in Vancouver at 1240pm, I was aching from head to toe. Neck ache la, headache la, back ache la, leg ache la... Blame it on my height but ya... the seats in Cathay aren't exactly "long-legs friendly". A good note to take when I'm flying back to SG.

Dear papa gave me a gd "sor ka jiak" while in transit @ Vancouver. Vancouver to NY - 8hrs. The flight got really turbulent towards the end... quite scary, had that 'this is it' feeling and people were throwing up all around! Didn't stomach much more of food from then on haha just to keep the rest of the food I've already consumed down where it belongs.

Traffic jam started on the plane upon safe landing in NY and didn't ended in our hotel. Waited for like 30mins before we cld get up and get out to customs. Customs - 20mins - fingerprints, photo I.D., questions questions, baggage collection - 30 mins, taxi - 10mins. By the time we arrived @ Hampton Inn it was 1am and boy were we tired. All of us crashed on the bed.

Reckon today will be spent re-packing in view of the new regulations for our flight on the 15th. Tomorrow, I suppose, touring will begin... =)

Goodbye Singapore...

This is it. 48 days in SG, 48 days of unpacking, packing, more packing, makan meet-ups, catch-ups, it all ends today. Was watching the NDP and never realised how much I missed it. The whole atmosphere of brief patriotism, enduring belonging-ness. Thought this year's NDP song was nice, though Home by Kit Chan was better haha! The chorus in particular brought a thought to mind.

"And I will sing
A song of home
A land of peace
Where dreams are born everyday
My home
Wherever I may be
I believe
You will always be a part of me "

"My home, wherever I may be; I believe, you will always be a part of me". Somehow I relate to this line very much. Wherever I may be, Singapore will always be home. Also reminded me that while I'm here on earth, wherever I may be, God placed eternity in my heart and it will always be a part of me. The desire to live for Him, looking heaven-wards.

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." - C.S Lewis

Just a thought.

Anyway, am done with my packing. After hours of undecided packing, I'm down to this...



packed in these...



Of course there's more and surprisingly both my check-ins are like about 15-20kg each (max 32kg per luggage) so yup kinda proud of myself for restraining from carrying too much haha! I've practically dedicated the red-white duffel to my clothes & shoes (Total: 20kg) and blackie to other necessities & txtbooks (total: 17kg). The green duffel will be my carry in though it has passed it's weight limit of 7kg at 10kg due to my laptop & hmm wires?! Anyway, alls gd!

Mama's still busy packing... as usual she hopes to bring half her wardrobe, in vain. Pack... weigh, overweight. Re-pack... weigh, overweight. You get the picture. Thankfully she's almost packed. Papa was done in half an hour haha!

Well, Au Revoir Singapore. I'll miss the familiarity of you. And au revoir to all in Perth as well. With the different time zones, I guess chatting over msn would be quite difficult but hey there's always this so take good care and God's blessings to all.

Love and hugs all around.

Goodnight, Singapore.

Welcome note

Welcome All to my new blog! It's really much much simpler than the previous one but I figured classic's the way to go so voila! (ok bear with me till I have pictures to put up...) As the main heading "Traveling Light" suggests, this blog will mainly be a legible logbook of my travels as I journey the next chapter of 2006/Jan'07.

Something to note, to your right, 'At A Glance' gives quick background info of the country/state I'm currently at and will be updated as I travel (I promise!). Will try my bestest to blog frequently but in the event where Internet access is unavailable or in time constraints, your patience will be very much appreciated!

Finally, as you may have noticed, I don't have a tagboard. Basically 'cause I think the 'comments' function would do just fine so please feel free to use it as a shoutout!

Alright, now that necessities have been said and done, it's 1 day to my departure tml. How am I feeling? Honestly, quite jaded. A little panicky. Blame it on all the previous hassles of settling airtickets, accomodations, enrolments, packing or rather the lack of it, bills, payments, the list goes on... But not to worry, I reckon the euphoria will come once my feet steps on American soil.

Through it all, God's hand has been so evident. He has opened doors, introduced people, wash away fears and doubts. God is so good and He's been amazing to me! Finally decided to initiate an email to my roommate, Caroline Smith, few weeks back. Got a pleasant surprise when she said she just came back from her exchange program in guess where... NUS, Singapore!! for the summer. So yup, been exchanging emails with her and found out we have quite a lot in common!

Am really thankful that she's nice and friendly and helpful... expecting it to be great while we're rooming together! News like that somehow relieves the unconcious concern of getting through the unfamiliarity and awkward pauses in first mtgs and having to educate people that SG's not part of China. Haha! Unfamiliarity lessens with the fact that I'll see my churh's former Vicar's son! @ least I know there's someone who'll know a good church we can go to while I'm there. Praise God! =)

Lately has been a mad rush to stock up on the necessary things. Got my textbooks settled. Here's a look @ my schedule...

MONDAY
09:00AM-09:50AM = JOMC272(001) Ad Media

TUESDAY
09:30AM-10:45AM = COMM130(001) Intro to Media Production

11:00AM-12:15PM = BUSI561 Sales Management

12:30PM-01:45PM = JOMC670(001+002) Special Topics in Advertising

03:30PM-04:45PM = JOMC185 Graphics Design

WEDNESDAY
09:00AM-09:50AM = JOMC272(001) Ad Media

THURSDAY
09:30AM-10:45AM = COMM130(001) Intro to Media Production

11:00AM-12:15PM = BUSI561 Sales Management

12:30PM-01:45PM = JOMC670(001+002) Special Topics in Advertising

03:30PM-04:45PM = JOMC185 Graphics Design

FRIDAY
09:00AM-09:50AM = JOMC272(001) Ad Media

11:00AM-11:50AM = COMM130(403) Lab

Tues and Thurs are long days. Initially 4 units would have been fine but thx to Murdoch points accreditation, 5 units are required for me to graduate when I come back.

Concerning my accomodation for 4 mths, have a look @ the map below.



Room Info:
Building - Cobb
Room Number - 0211
Room Type - Double occupancy
Visitation - Open
Air Conditioned

Yup alright gotta get back to packing. So many things to do, so little time!! Oh and to all Singaporeans, Happy National Day!!