On ending

In retrospect...

Freshman year was pretty good.

I feel like I should be in a reflective mood trying to sound insightful having walked past the first milestone of college…but I’m not. Truth is, after all the hectic days and restless nights, I just want to throw myself on a queen-size bed and knock out without setting an alarm. Free of pressing deadlines, inevitable dramas, and finally being able to enjoy the luxury known as time:

Of course, life wasn’t just class-eat-study-sleep for the past months. It’s just hard to describe those simple little happiness here and there, restaurant outings and ATL adventures, or even the countless nights spent procrastinating on Facebook and making QT runs. All the people I’ve met - friends, professors (though some were not personal favorites), nice elderly families from church…it wouldn’t have been the same without them. Moving in/moving out, sleeping over in Beta and spending the nights at Phi Gamma, having two memorable car accidents @.@, ordering mass amount of Chinese food for movie nights or motivation, visiting Walmart regularly to keep in touch with civilization, etc. These are the things that I’m going to miss.

That is…until next semester? >=)

On college

To compensate for the lack of updates recently, I leave you all something to ponder upon that sums up my/the college life truthfully:

Enough said.

On 18

As expected, break sped past like a transient breeze. Fortunately, however, due to recent "severe weather" in the South (aka ~3 inches of snow that iced the roads), the first three days of classes were canceled. Consequently, as an Emory student, we now have a six-day weekend immediately following our winter break. Of course, the extra week would've been much better spent at home but I'm not one to complain because:

My roommate & friends actually threw me a surprise party upon my return on Thursday. To be honest usually I can see these kind of things coming, but this time I was really surprised >.<. I'll let the pictures do the illustrating, but long story short, it's good to be back to my home away from home.

Few of the many pink balloons... and giant Cinnamoroll from friend :)

Some of the streamers...

...with which they proceeded to wrap my chair and laptop as gifts

The over-sized birthday ice cream cake (that still resides in our fridge) :D Although I soon fell victim to being caked...

The roomies! But also notably, our Birthday Bitch banner and The Situation poster (from another friend) that extols my Jersey pride

And lastly, the happy group picture :)

On a more serious note, being 18 is like walking past yet another milestone. The entrance to adulthood is a bittersweet one as it inevitably implies my departures from childhood and adolescence. Somehow I've always been in the middle of being young and old; amongst my classmates I've always been one of the youngest yet with everyone else I'm usually the "elderly." Regardless, although there are still mixed feelings with becoming 18, it definitely marks a turning point of unlocked possibilities.

And no guys, I don't mean clubbing -_-.

On homecoming

I had originally wished to update on coming home for Thanksgiving but for some reason simply couldn't summon the words to begin. There's just something about home and it's so indescribable. It gives the sort of warmth that would swell up your heart despite the coldness of the season.

Being back definitely allowed me to see things in a different light. To be honest I didn't really miss home the first few months I was in college. Perhaps it was partly due to the fact that it's so easy to be preoccupied - even when there isn't anything to do. On top of that, T-mobile's terrible network had given me excuses for unanswered and unreturned calls. I got to experience the renowned collegiate freedom (almost without consequences), and it was as if the world halted to my pleasure. Coming back though, I realized much has happened in my absence: the shift and addition of furnitures, the sudden passings of Mr Wong and Mr. Law, etc. But amidst all of that and regardless of my neglect, I was happy to find that I still have a place here that will always welcome me. Getting off from the airport by myself and seeing my parents looking for me outside the concourse, sitting inside the car with someone handing you a nice warm jacket, and going into my room to see it all tidy and clean - those are the things that I had taken for granted for way too long.

College is nice and I do enjoy it. But for those of you who are fidgeting to get out of your house for it, appreciate what you have now, too. Before your mother's nagging disappears from your ears, embrace the time that you still have with her. And before you hold another bitter grudge against your father for not letting you going out for the night, savor the fact that someone is doing his best to look out for you. Because once you are on your own, you will have none of that. And after all, home will always be where the heart is.

On stamina

Much to my dismay I've noted an overall decrease in my stamina throughout the years. While sleepy mornings have always plagued me, my status as the night owl has also been rusting in cyberspace the past few months. Each day consists of a string of sleepiness; I wake up sleepy, go to class sleepy (this would be eliminated on the days where I choose to skip instead), and come back to the room sleepy. Although this may be excusable for an excessively hardworking college student, it is definitely not good for a small fish within the collegiate pond where Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory is most cruel and evident.

But fortunately my research ability has not fled and fear not, I think my new finding (this hit the jackpot) might actually provide the proper cure for me and perhaps many others with similar symptoms:

Woohoo! +160 HP!

That's right, THE Health Energy Potions. Currently a featured product from Harcos Laboratories. As un-"legit" as it may appear, there are actually 160 mL of caffeine (imagine gulping down 4 cups of strong coffee!) contained in these 1.69 oz bottles - along with doses of elderberry, ginseng, and various vitamins of the B complex.

As an ex-ex-ex-RPG gamer, I can fully appreciate the encounter and usefulness of such an elixir in the computer graphics dimension. As for everyone else, forget that Red Bull crap unless you've gotten your promised wings. Instead, take your investment and capitalize it in these magical little things. Each of them offers an energy boost of 5-8 hours with just one chug and without an unpleasant energy crash later (no sugar added, but it comes with a sweet apple cinnamon twist!). A package of 12 is available for as low as $39.33.

That's all for now.

*proceeds to add items onto Wishlist*

On church

I suppose this post is mostly for my church family, as more or less an update on the continuation of my spiritual journey.

Prior to my departure for and even my acceptance to college, I was advised that my first task upon arrival was locating a church that I can attend every Sunday. I'm sure some were cynical about this actually happening given the obvious freedom in college. Well, contrary to popular skepticism I have been going to church since the first weekend of college - even during Orientation Week. Hard to believe, eh? Admittedly, I was surprised as well.

But I can't credit myself entirely as attending church off-campus would have been much harder without good company. Luckily, I had convinced my atheist friend into coming along the first month of college, and the number of company has alternated and grown since then.

The hurch rests about 5 - 10 minutes away from the dormitory building. Every Sunday (or almost) my friends and I have to wake up extra early (around 10:30) and wear our formal attires in accordance with church courtesy (the last part is somehow particularly difficult for my male attendees...).

In contrast to church back home, this one is a lot smaller in size and houses a much more elderly congregation. On a side note, my friends and I are probably the only Asians that attend regularly. But above all, the people are extremely welcoming and the pastor has yet to failed to deliver a meaningful and engaging sermon. They don't offer lunch like our church does @.@ (they did have homemade meals on a rare occasion, though) but no big deal.

Of course, the trip is not perfectly smooth and I mean that in both the physical sense and the spiritual. For instance, it gets hectic walking in Georgia heat in which a minute's worth of journey feels as long as that of an hour. And of course, it is almost impossible to search for that inner drive that's capable of waking and motivating the tiredest college students on a sleepy Sunday morning. Juggling the worldly goods against the intangible gifts is difficult especially at times when you can only taste the richness in the former. But I suppose everyone has those struggles, and sometimes all we need to do is - in light of Mitch Albom - have a little faith.

On B.o.B

Here's the update as promised.

Some of you may have already known that Emory held its annual Fall Band Party aka the B.o.B Concert two weeks ago, and if not, now you do! Being an Emory student, I only had to exercise my student rights (no cost & free food! By the way, this defines the prerequisites for 90% of all college events.) to seize this opportunity. News of the event spread like wildfire within the greater Atlanta community and beyond, especially since Bobby Ray himself actually hails from the ATL.

My friends and I were wise enough to arrive early and were therefore able to get an optimal location in front of the center stage. Those who weren't as wise piled behind us, and although they may justify their decision by talking about the physical discomfort of having no personal bubble, one must take into account the visual gratification rendered by standing just 10 feet in front of B.o.B, among other performers. Amidst the hype of everything, I managed to snap some poor quality (but nonetheless candid) pictures from the concert:

B.o.B and his crew :D

Trippy picture of the massive crowd

Of course, we were unaware of the fact that B.o.B himself wouldn't be appearing until around 10 (concert started a little past 7 with @.@). But such was no turn-off because not only was B.o.B awesome, there was also a surprise guest appearance that made the wait completely worthwhile. Now drumroll for the announcement...

*Drumroll*

T.I.!!!!!!!!!!

Normally I wouldn't be so excited about any celeb but this was an exception. Let me say emphasize that he was supposed to be in jail and didn't plan any concerts, and thus we were one the last people to see him perform before he returned to jail for his 11-month probation sentence. Double win. HECK YEAH!

So there you have it, not only an update on one of the highlighted collegial events here but also an incentive to come to Emory ;) Talk about two birds one stone.