This is me and how I feel right now....
Check out her blog, http://freestylecookin.tumblr.com/
Anyway, it was amazing to catch up with her and spend some quality time with her.
Basically, just trying to juggle everything and stay afloat and thrive! :)
I know the last time I updated my blog post was before Christmas so it's been close to 3 months since the last update. I still need to find out if I can blog on my iPad and that will make it a ton easier for me. :D
Anyways, here are a few pictures to pretty much summarize my life from then till now.
First, I headed out to Chicago to spend Christmas and New Years with my friend, Ming.
Ming is a Malaysian girl who graduated from Union and she is an amazing cook. While I am at it, my as well do a plug in for her. She just started a food blog and she calls it "Freestyle Cookin' ". I think its awesome because her blog focuses on using leftovers and those extra veggies and meat you have in the refrigerator that you have no idea what to do with. The way she cooks is pretty authentic style Malaysian and I can definitely vouch for taste on her dishes. They are YUMMEHH!!Check out her blog, http://freestylecookin.tumblr.com/
Anyway, it was amazing to catch up with her and spend some quality time with her.
It was definitely fun catching up and talking about life, just like old times!
This picture above was taken in a Mexican Restaurant in Chicago where they had amazing Mexican cuisines, which names I can barely pronounce, let alone remember. But this I can tell you, the smell and the sight of the food around us were delightfully enticing and satisfied us immensely.
I was never a fan of Mexican food, but this place was seriously good! :)
Chicago was magical at night as the Christmas lights lit up and street performers filled the streets with festive music, replacing the bustling noise of the city.
Lincoln Park Zoo was one of the places that celebrated this spirit of Christmas and took it a step further by lighting up the entire zoo with Christmas lights. They even had animal sculptures made of ice which was definitely a sight to behold, especially for Malaysians like us, who are more used to decorated malls and fake snow. :)
Ming and I left Chicago and flew to the East Coast right before Christmas, as if we didn't have enough of the cold!
But both of us were so excited since it's our first time visiting both Boston and the Big Apple that we decided to brave the cold nonetheless.
Our first stop was Boston and there was where we spent our Christmas. One of the highlights of the trip was our meeting with an old Malaysian couple who now resides in Boston and have called it home for more than 15 years now. We met them the very first day we arrived in Boston and our meeting was fated! This was how we coincidentally and miraculously connected:
I was craving some serious dim sum as we stepped out the plane in Boston so Ming and I thought we would venture out to Chinatown in search for a good and authentic dim sum restaurant. We managed to find our way to a small yet well-known place through "Yelp"(which has proved to be an amazing tool if you're travelling in the U.S. btw) and were famished and dying for some hot, good, authentic Dim Sum.
So we ordered a whole lot of food, and being food lovers, we began to discuss how good the dishes were and how each one is similar or otherwise to the Dim Sum back home.
This picture above was taken in a Mexican Restaurant in Chicago where they had amazing Mexican cuisines, which names I can barely pronounce, let alone remember. But this I can tell you, the smell and the sight of the food around us were delightfully enticing and satisfied us immensely.
I was never a fan of Mexican food, but this place was seriously good! :)
Chicago was magical at night as the Christmas lights lit up and street performers filled the streets with festive music, replacing the bustling noise of the city.
Lincoln Park Zoo was one of the places that celebrated this spirit of Christmas and took it a step further by lighting up the entire zoo with Christmas lights. They even had animal sculptures made of ice which was definitely a sight to behold, especially for Malaysians like us, who are more used to decorated malls and fake snow. :)
Ming and I left Chicago and flew to the East Coast right before Christmas, as if we didn't have enough of the cold!
But both of us were so excited since it's our first time visiting both Boston and the Big Apple that we decided to brave the cold nonetheless.
Our first stop was Boston and there was where we spent our Christmas. One of the highlights of the trip was our meeting with an old Malaysian couple who now resides in Boston and have called it home for more than 15 years now. We met them the very first day we arrived in Boston and our meeting was fated! This was how we coincidentally and miraculously connected:
I was craving some serious dim sum as we stepped out the plane in Boston so Ming and I thought we would venture out to Chinatown in search for a good and authentic dim sum restaurant. We managed to find our way to a small yet well-known place through "Yelp"(which has proved to be an amazing tool if you're travelling in the U.S. btw) and were famished and dying for some hot, good, authentic Dim Sum.
So we ordered a whole lot of food, and being food lovers, we began to discuss how good the dishes were and how each one is similar or otherwise to the Dim Sum back home.
 Being a Penangite, Ming decided to order a plate of Char Kuey Gak (which is called fried turnip cake in the U.S., not sure why because the name itself does not sound appetizing but I digress... ) |
ANYWAY, we noticed an old couple standing behind us and as we were talking about Char Kuey Gak and how good it was. The aunty, who we now know as Aunty Michele enquired about the taste of the dish and when she heard us referring it to "Char Kuey Gak" she immediately knew we were Malaysians and Ming and I were so excited to meet our fellow countrymen that we instantly "clicked" and began talking about our visit to Boston and our plans. Aunty Michele and Uncle Choo was kind enough to invite us to their house, even though we were complete strangers. So, Ming and I ended up spending an amazing Christmas eve with them and also Aunty Michele's sister and niece.  After spending a few days in Boston either shopping or visiting places in the city, we boarded a bus and headed to NEW YORK CITY, the city of dreams!!! or so they say... NEW YORK CITY has always intrigued me because of all the hype about it and how the media glamorizes it. However, I would have to say that while it was fun visiting the city and being able to see the sights for myself, I don't think I would ever move to New York or settle down there because of the hustle and bustle and the crowding of an overwhelmingly large amount of tourists. It certainly didn't help that Ming and I were in New York for New Years which is where everyone in the world wants to be in, to witness the AMAZING ball drop event. Ming and I were pretty hyped up about the event until we stood in the crowds on that bitter and chilly night with a limited amount of space to stand, let alone sit, people constantly shoving us around and not being able to see anything that was going on onstage. We later found that that people who really wanted to be upfront and near to the stage had probably been there a whole 20 hours or more before the event kicked-off. And mind you, it was in December with the cold nipping at you. We concluded, that it wasn't worth it to be in the crowds but it was definitely something you want to turn on the TV and enjoy at home with a hot cup of hot chocolate beside you, snuggled in with your cat or dog or whatever. :)  OUR VIEW FROM WAY WAY WAY FAR BEHIND. WE WERE NOT VERY HAPPY OR EXCITED AT ALL! TO SAY THE LEAST... but it was still an experience!  After New York, I headed back to Chicago and then back to Jackson, Tennessee for school. :/ And so my holidays ended as abruptly as this post is about to... haha.
** it feels kinda weird blogging about Christmas and New Years in March, but I am glad I got to include these memories in my blog and share them with whoever cares to read! :D
However, I do want to stay current and try to blog more from now on.
Till then, thank you so much for reading! :)
On another unrelated note, here is a picture of our Chinese New Year celebration event that we had in our school. :)
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