Wednesday, January 28, 2009

How do you add value ... if you're already so independent.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I know I haven't updated for a very long time. Been very busy, trying to squeeze as much out of every minute as possible. Besides settling school stuff, which mostly have been accomplished, there's also alot going on at my university. Tons of socials, parties, activities. Have been trying to keep up with everything new and interesting. Gee, being an exchange student is a very intense affair haha. Maybe I'll just come up with a list of things done, since the last post (I think)



went for pre-rush. which is the fraternity/sorority parties on The Row. I live near the street where all the frat houses are. So there's like greek symbols on the front walls of all the houses. It's like their version of "hall life". And the 1st week of semester is a whole week of parties. Parties, in this case, comprises of beer, more beer, lots of boys and very well-dressed girls, more beer, and some frats have a "club" set-up for music and dancing. There were barbeques, catered food, free drinks, and there were djs playing some really good club music. There was even an In and Out burger stand. Some guys actually dumped sand on the lawn of a house and played beach volleyball right in front of a house.

other things I've done:

-gone to vegas [drove actually]
- ate a turkey sandwich and a french buffet at vegas. Vegas has some REALLY DAMN good food. You pay a price for it but its really good stuff. The buffets tend to be slightly less pricey, but the ala carte stuff is expensive. But whoa, best damn creme brulee and turkey sandwich EVER. Drinks rock too
-went to vegas nightclubs, really awesome. There is a ton of semi-nude dancers draped all over the club setting. DJ plays some damn nice music
-won some money, for a friend, who treated me to part of a meal and drinks
-watched Crazy Horse Paris in vegas [o.m.g]
-went to hoover dam
-went to red rock canyon for trekking [it's really awesome]
-went to the marina @ long beach, LA. There are really cool shops there and interesting architecture, beats the hell out of holland v. Apparently santa monica is even more beautiful. Whoa.
-went bowling with the asian frat boys, played beer pong for the first time as well
-ate vietnamese pho at some really nice korean restaurant.
-went to the cavernous costco [it's like a warehouse], the amount of food in the US is like.... *gaping mouth* And they all look so damn good to eat.
- played softball with the school team, they are very good. Apparently, they are not like 'first-class' teams, but I've never seen better throws. Whoa.
-went to the gay association meeting. Got information on a ton of events.
-signed up for trekking [i'm going to a hike in malibu this weekend]
-signed up for theatre [where they are screening the Vagina Monologues play, AND inviting the original playwright for a Q&A]
-went to a jap fushion restaurant in downtown LA, very nice
-tried to catch the US C vs UC LA bball game but couldn't get it cos the center was full and the line was humongous
-have been making really great-tasting sandwiches for meals, sometimes instant mee + egg, cereal and milk for breakfast. Damn I'm a good sandwich maker! Used to do that alot in singapore as well, roast vegetables sandwiches, stir-fried beef sandwiches etc etc. I put tons of tasty toppings and good sauces. Well, at least the kind of sauces that I like, such as honey dijon, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, olives etc. I could eat sandwich all the time and not get sick of it.
-cooked spaghetti and beef with a friend, plus chips and dips for appetizer, at his place last evening. It was good stuff.
-have actually been exercising more than I do in singapore. walking/biking around cos everything is so spread out, takes alot of energy. Plus I keep coming back to home after class, so that's more walking/biking.
-so far, all the food I've purchased outside [besides the shit-ass lousy fast food that can be commonly found anywhere e.g. burger king, wendy's, small chinese takeaways] has been damn rich, but damn nice.

I am planning to buy a car. And I'm going disneyland tomorrow.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I'm finally in LA. Everything is very new. Everything is super hectic, there's a whole lot of shit to do. I never had to do so much shit in such a short time before. And I'm getting malnourished cos the food here really sucks (i.e. the food around campus). It is oversized, overcarb-ed, and super unhealthy. Damn!

But, on the upside, the weather is awesome. Its like, daytime is bearable enough to jog around in shorts (which I will start doing when I'm settled cos the weather is seriously too awesome and the surroundings quite interesting: think multi-coloured leaves and trees of all types everywhere)

The university is wayyy beautiful by SMU standards. The girls are also WAYYYY beautiful even by SMU standards. You know the feeling when you see someone really attractive you feel this contraction in your chest. Well, I get chest pains all the time. Haha.

A few things true and some untruths discovered:

Truths
1. Los Angeles residents are VERY well-dressed. It's like SMU but cold weather style. So the fashion is even more varied and upmarket. Everyone wears sunglasses, and there is a real need. Because the sun is BLINDING here, and can get abit hot if you're in direct sunlight. In Singapore, the sun rarely hurts my eyes.

2. It is the land of all burgers and fries. Wells, at least at my area. There are many fast food outlets serving pretty substandard fastfood. There are few 'slow-food' outlets. But then again, it could be my area.

Untruths:
1. LA is not all white. Surprise, surprise, when you watch too much TV. Think OC, 1 Tree Hill, L word, 90210 etc etc, it looks like LA is full of white people. Yes it is true. But the funny thing is I see maybe like 30% white, and everyone else is a mixture of I don't know. Sometimes I don't even know the ethnicity of the person I"m talking to cos its so... mixed. It's really cool, I mean, I thought Singapore was cosmopolitan. Then I realised everywhere you go you see chinese chinese everywhere. Over here, I see all sorts of skin tones and hair colours.

New things:
1. People are very friendly. They are very willing and nice in helping you. People say hello to random strangers. Sales staff, are very very friendly. They will actually chat you up. I have conversations with sales staff. This, in Singapore, would be unthinkable. I exchange grunts with Singaporean sales staff.

I got a lot more to write.. about the people, the sights, my room (and its contents), the girls, the boys, the girls.. did I mention the girls? Haha this place makes me feel pubescent. Lol.