Goodbye Austin...I'll miss you!

Last 2 days in Austin, Texas. Had a perfect bowling rally with my dearest WL - we were the last exchange students left (WK left Dec 8th, Justin on 12th, even KuokYuen too) - with average score of 101 out of 7 games, beat WL 3 out of 6 games and we ended on a draw of 110 points each. Well, at least i know now, if i've gained anything this semester it is to increase my average bowling score from 50 to 100! *Proud of myself* :)

Oh Austin, the things i'll miss about you when i'm gone..

1. Squirrels running about with bushy tails and sneaking away nuts
2. Crazy pigeons
3. Clock tower glowing Burnt Orange in victory after every Saturday football game
4. Colt McCoy Texas Football Quarterback superstar
5. Weather turning from 25 deg celcius in e day to 0 deg in the night
6. My first snow storm!
7. Great professors
8. Getting 90+/100 for exams and passing finance ;)
9. Enjoying every minute of class (sometimes)
10. Making friends from all over the world (Andy-Korean guy from Finance, Dolan-Beijing girl frm Leadership, David a.k.a Bradpitt, Allison, Muthu, Wei, Andrew, Morgan, Rebekah, Elizabeth from various project groups)
11. CVS, HEB, Target, Walmart
12. How public buses and campus shuttle will tilt to one side for easy boarding
13. Walking to UTC every day
14. Great Thai (Madam Mam's!) and Vietnam (Pho) food
15. Austin's Pizza (forced to kope internet frm there for 4 weeks)
16. The Co-Op (forced to do proj on this)
17. Tylers (also forced to do proj)
18. Bowling every Monday night!
19. Awe-inspiring monuments and statues on campus
20. Green, green grassy field where students just lie on in the summer
21. Real Aeroplane commercials where they fly a huge banner in the sky!
22. Good-looking people on campus (UT voted Top 4 in USA i think!)
23. Guadalupe Street a.k.a The Drag
24. 6th Street on Halloween Night
25. The SSA - Jan, Daphne, Gillian, Kim, Pammy, Grace, Dana, Zach, Meiyan, SuMay, J.Foo, Paul
26. Living with 3 crazy guys who all have different (clashing) personalities
27. Money Problems and Car disasters
28. Being chauffeured around by 2 great drivers on road trips
29. My first successful pot of pumpkin porridge!!!
30. My 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc, etc, successful pots of pumpkin porridge!
31. Happy roommates who love my porridge
32. Mastery of Baked Teriyaki Salmon, 7-up chicken, Western Chicken chop set with wedges, Stewed beef, Cream pasta, Herbal chicken, Mapo tofu, Curry chicken, Chowmein, Omelette with mushroom, cheese and ham, and cooking rice in a pot!!!
33. Getting to know my partner (for life) so much better - ups and downs and turnarounds..no better way to know a person than being stuck in outerspace for 4 months with that guy.

And so so, much more...

Yup..it's been a great semester. Couldn't have been better..(especially since Vegas, NYC, Disney is coming woOhOO~)

I love you, you up there above! Thanks for everything thus far, my life rockkkksssss!!!!

P.S. PLEASE (x 3 gazillion) LET WL GET A ROOM IN KR!!!!!!!! :(

F*** Finance!! BURN YOU BURN YOU!!! @#*$*!&^)!%*#$!

One good thing is - I'm glad i'm taking finance here.

Or else i'm like so dead..

1st midterm - 25%: 94/100 (thank god!) = 23.5
2nd midterm - 25%: 73.5/100 (still not bad!) = 18.375
6/8 Assignments - 10%: 100/100 = 10
Final exam - 40% = need to score at least 25 marks more!!!

I totally DID NOT study for this..especially after ponning the last 5 classes..whole 2nd half of sem gone liao..the prof still make this a COMPREHENSIVE test = 19 chapters of Finance = 600 pages of the textbook!!! seriously i'm actually scared i cant make 25 marks for the finals. Plsplspls have more MCQs!!!!

Obviously i'm not even bothering with the book..just copying the lectures into my cheatsheet..LUCKY got cheatsheet if not die man.

10 more hours to go to freedom!!! VEGAS, NYC DISNEYWORLD..here i come!!!!!

Last Day of Class at UT

The University of Texas at Austin.

Ahh..it has been good. Definitely a refreshing burst of something different; they say change is rejuvenating..it certainly is.

I especially enjoyed the last week of class, and no, it's not the usual last-week-of-school-look-forward-to-holidays reason but rather the lecturers were all in very light-hearted moods and were particularly jovial and reflective. Over here, the profs sincerely wish for you to be the best you can be; and for themselves, to acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses so they can make the next class better. They're really passionate about what they teach, you can tell when they come to class and their faces light up when they talk about their subject - ALL 5 of my modules - Leadership Issues, Org B, Brand Management, Finance and Consumer Behavior. I love that about this university!

I probably have said this a few times already, but I shall say it again - I LOVE THE MANAGEMENT COURSES over here!!! The last 2 classes from my MAN 337.9 (Leadership Issues) and MAN 336 (Organizational Behavior) classes left me feeling all tingly and inspired this week. Both Dr Kristie Loescher and Aroian Mihran are exceptional speakers and leaders in their own right. Maybe it's an American thing, the smooth-talk and ability to extract powerful words on cue; but it's something i really admire.

Here's a video we watched on the last day of my Leadership Issues class by Les Brown, super passionate guy:


"Courage is the judgement that what you want is more important than what you fear." - Les Brown

Yep, pull out my guts man. I'm afraid of so many things I shouldn't be afraid of; sometimes it helps to remind myself that the worse that can happen isn't as bad as it seems. And, the gains outweigh the losses most of the time.

ahh..bottomline is, I'm very glad I had the chance to come to UT. Hook 'em horns!

The Way I Am

Stuck in my head:

"If you were falling, then I would catch you.

You need a light, I'd find a match.

Cuz I love the way you say good morning.

And you take me the way I am.

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.

Your head is aching, I'll make it better.

Cuz I love the way you call me baby.

And you take me the way I am.

I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair.

Sew on patches to all your tear.

Cuz I love you more than I could ever promise.

And you take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am."

-Ingrid Michaelson

Awesome song for moods. Sadly the youtube is slightly scary..i don't like clowns.