L A C K I N G I N S A N I T Y

Another Year ....

2009-05-04T23:25:00.001+02:00

Another year older! Woo! It's kind of scary how fast time flies after you turn 20. I didn't have anything special planned for the day since we had two classes in the afternoon and didn't get out till 6:30, but it turned out really well. :) Went to my friend's afterwards, and they baked me a cake. awwww! It was good. I am forever grateful for the girls of the human sexuality program who've made life here so much easier and more fun (why isn't funner a word?).

Also for my sister and all my friends who wished me a happy birthday. It's good to feel loved and know when you're not forgotten. Thanks!! :D

Natural History Museum

2009-03-31T21:11:00.005+02:00

One of my classmates here really wanted to see dinosaur skeletons (as she hasn't seen any in real life), so when she found out there were some on exhibition at the Brussels Natural History Museum, we decided to pay it a visit. We walked through Leopold Park (I think that's what it's called) trying to find the entrance to the museum. On arrow pointed in one direction, but then another arrow pointed in another direction ... we were confused, but it was well worth the trip because the park is really pretty now that spring is here.

The museum is pretty big, bigger than I originally thought. The interior design of the museum is actually quite nice, especially the dinosaur exhibit, which is very impressive. It's got more of a modern and industrial feel when compared to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in D.C. Alas, I don't have a camera, so I usurped my friend's camera and took a bajillion pictures. But it's still on her camera, and she's heading off to London and Greece tomorrow, so it'll be after spring break before I can get the pictures. A sample, from the museum's website ~

They also had a mammal exhibit, evolution exhibit, and a north/south pole exhibit (and more, but I can't remember off the top of my head). It was very nice, and there were students (little and big) on field trips in there. We felt like little kids as well. There's just something really awe-inspiring when you're in the same room as those full-scale dinosaur skeletons. They also had a room full of whale skeletons, and that was pretty awesome as well. You feel tiny in comparison.

After the museum, it was still early, so we walked through the park and went to Paul bakery where we just drank some coffee, ate some bread, and talked about ... life. Then it was shopping time, so we went to the shopping street in Brussels (Rue Neuve) where I ended up getting allergies along with socks. Hah. So after that, we decided to head back to Leuven since two of us still had to pack for their trips tomorrow. They're skipping classes so they can go home earlier *gasp!* Hahaha. :P Their spring break has officially started ... mine, not so much. booo!

Overall it was a really nice day. The weather was totally cooperative as well. :D I love Belgium when it's sunny, blue skies, and warm. Good times! But super tiring. I am all pooped out right now. >.<

Oopsies.

2009-03-23T12:35:00.003+01:00

Neglected! I don't know. Lately it's been sunny and fantastic! Except, now that spring is here, so are flowers with pollen, which means allergies! This past weekend was especially bad to the point that I actually went to bed before 12 three days in a row. Holy! That hasn't happened in a long whiles, even with jet lag I try to sleep after 12. Ah well. Maybe it's a good thing. Today the nose is much better, and it's also not as sunny. Starting to see a sad correlation here. Nooooo ... I love sun and blue skies. Sigh.

Sad news, my aunt's doggie of 12 (?) years recently passed away. He was old and sick, but it's still sad. At least he should be suffering less, and as my sister and I put it, he's probably in perpetual humping heaven. :D He was always thwarted when he was with us. We'll miss you, little guy! Even your terror-dog ways, as was chronicled at the beginning of this blog.

Look at that angelic little face. How can he not be missed? Sigh. <3

On to happier news. After the loss of my beloved fujifilm, my dad's getting me a Nikon D40. Wahahaha. Well, the order's been placed, now just have to wait for it's arrival and for me to get to the States so I can play play play with it. So exciting!!! I hope I use it to it's full capability and not just use it as a point and shoot .... then that would be a waste of money.

Spring break's in about two weeks, and I'll be heading back to D.C. :D Cherry blossom? I hope I don't die of allergies there too. Aishhhhhh.

Mini-update on life so far. :)

Lost Camera - Namur

2009-03-10T12:21:00.008+01:00

Two weeks ago I went to Namur (capital of Wallonia) with a friend. On the train ride to Ottagnie, I was stupid and left my camera on the train. By the time I realized, the door of our train to Namur had closed and we were on our way. Haven't heard anything from the station since, so chances of recovery are null. :( Waaaah. I'm still beating myself up over it occasionally. I mean, it was a really nice camera, and I had it only for 6 months. Gaaaaah. Now I feel naked because I normally carry my camera everywhere. Sometimes I'm like, ooo, that would make a nice picture. But now they're just pictures in my mind. Which means I'll forget about them the next day. Sigh.

Anyway, no point in dwelling on that, I guess. Must move on.

Namur's a really beautiful city, especially on a sunny, warm day (shock! in Feburary?!). My friend and I just went without a map or tour book or anything. So when we stepped out of the station, we were like, uh, where do we go? What do we do? Which way's the city? Wandering around a bit, we found the citadel, which was pretty hard to miss once you get out of the building-filled area since it stood on a pretty tall hill. We made that our destination and had a nice hike up the huge hill and surrounding areas. Thankfully my friend had her camera with her.

Pre-citadel, city shots:

Churches, cathedrals can be found everywhere, and Namur was no different. When we were wandering around, we decided to head in directions of churches since that meant there was a square or market place near it. This church allowed us to see the citadel. :D

There's a river that runs through Namur, which makes the city even more scenic, especially with the citadel being on the other side.

View of the city from the citadel, but this was when we had only started to climb. Nowhere near the top, so you can't see as much yet. But the citadel itself was so peaceful and quiet. And even though it was a really nice Saturday, there weren't as many people as I would have expected. Later, when we wandered into the center of the town, we noticed that's where everyone went. Shopping time! :P

Views from the top. So pretty!

Old living quarters in the citadel.
Drawbridge!

Unfortunately, a lot of the pictures of the citadel itself didn't turn out as well. But! I bought some postcards while we were there, and this one is a pretty nice artist's rendition of the place. :)

(All pictures were taken by my friend, Mireya. Nice shots :P)

Pet Peeve

2009-02-23T20:37:00.002+01:00

I'm not a nerd, at least that's what I tell myself. Heh. But when I'm in class, I really can't stand it when other people around me are whispering, but not in the quiet-so-others-can't-hear-you way. The loud, obvious whispering that goes on in the relatively large classes here really pisses me off. It's hard enough trying to understand what the professor is saying without other distractions going on around you. It's kind of crazy how rude some of these people are to the professors. Even the people in the very first row are chit chatting as the professor's lecturing. Argh! But the professor doesn't say anything at all, not even a glare in their direction! Errrrrrrgh. So frustratingly annoying!

/rant

Carnival Weekend

2009-02-22T21:45:00.004+01:00

Yup, it's Carnival weekend here (and the rest of the world except Asia). I never knew there was such a thing until I came here and learned that it happens in other countries as well. Yaaaah, sheltered in Taiwan? Maybe just a tad. Or I just didn't pay much attention to my surroundings. But anyway, we were going to go to Aalst today because they apparently have a pretty big parade each year. Alas, it was not meant to be. It was a rainy, gloomy, wet day, and my friend and I decided that we didn't want to go out and get wet. So instead I stayed at home and organized and cleaned the room.

Yesterday while we wandered about Leuven, there was this small musical procession. So green! Reminded us of St. Patty's Day. But yah, the music was nice. :D

Room redecoration project! First up, the walls around my bottom bunk. When I first moved in, the sofa was on the bottom, so there was no wall space. But now that I'm using the bottom as my bed, plenty of space. Lots of pictures, but not enough. I actually wanted to cover all of that white wall, until I realized I did not have enough pictures. :( The rest are Nancy Drew Postcards.

Close up of the other wall. Two of the lines of pictures are held up by string, but then I ran out of pins to string up the rest, so I just taped them on. :P Ah, I cheated.

Nancy Drew postcards! Got these (30 total) when we went to the Spy Museum in D.C. I love Nancy Drew! I think this is when my fascination with mystery novels and tv shows got its beginnings. :P

What happens to a dream deferred?

2009-02-22T00:38:00.001+01:00

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

-Langston Hughes

I'm Alive!

2009-02-20T21:09:00.002+01:00

I sure am! Just barely. :P

It's been nearly a month since I last posted! What have I been doing, you ask? Well, um .... came back to Belgium and school started. Totally different from last semester in terms of number of classes (10!) and workload. Yup, I gots 10 classes this semester. Well, technically it's only 8, but because we have a class that's supposed to be taken in our second year plus a class we missed last semester due to some professor problems, we have 10 classes. Total. Oh. My. Yah, going to be a fun semester, I can tell already. Blah.

What classes, you ask? Well, let me list.

- Family Therapy
- Client-centered therapy
- Clinical Sexology
- Methods and Techniques in sex research
- Anthropology of Body (worst class thus far)
- Sex Education
- Culture Historical and Culture Philosophical Reflections on Sexuality
- Law of Gender, Sexuality and Reproduction
- Medical Sociology
- Sexual Psychology

In addition to all those, we need to be prepping for our master's thesis. Tien ah. So um, not sure how I'll survive this semester. :(

Frozen Fun

2009-01-30T00:28:00.003+01:00

Lately it's been snowing/sleeting in Maryland. Lately as in ... two days ago. It rained frozen rain yesterday, so all the snow has turned to ice. It's actually quite blinding with the sun shining down, like it was today. But it's also very pretty. Took pictures, but I have been kind of too lazy to upload them to the computer, much less internet. Sigh. Laziness is bad.

Anyway, so today we were walking to the bus stop to go to Montgomery (aka Westfield) Mall. There's this slope we have to walk down, and thankfully the sidewalk had be cleaned. But there was still some ice on it, just that it was really hard to tell since it all looked wet anyway. At some point, I slid, but managed to stay on my feet by holding onto my sister. But then ... my sister went down next to me. Thankfully I had stabilized myself before then, so I didn't go down with her. But yah, she thinks she may have hurt her ankle. Oh noes!

Frozen sidewalks are a terrible thing. >.< They look so innocuous, but in reality, not so much. Woosh, ahhhhhh, splat. Ouchie.

First Semester End ...

2009-01-23T01:09:00.003+01:00

Well, not quite. One more massive paper and then the semester ends. But at least I've pretty much finished it. Just need to do some touch ups. But at least final exams are over. Had my first oral exam today ever! So nerve wracking, I have issues talking to professors already. Can you imagine having to do an oral exam where you have to look at the professor and answer questions and he can ask followup questions and you can see how he's reacting to your answers?! ahhhhh!!! Talk about stressful. Well, that's what ran through my head before the exam.

Thankfully it wasn't that bad. We got time to prepare beforehand. He handed out the questions on paper and gave us time to write down what ideas we had. So basically we could just write out our answers and then read it to him (heh. Is what I did.). And also he just told us to go up to him whenever we were ready, one by one. So, there was plenty of time, although once people started going up to him, my concentration level went down. I really can't take exams when there's talking in the room. Although I can study with music on, I can't take exams with talking. Eh. So randomly weird. But yah. The most nerve-wracking part, besides having the prof stare at you while you talk, is that the other classmates are in the same room as well. So they can hear your answer (and you theirs, which is mind-boggling. Doesn't that make cheating too easy?) .... scary. >.<

But apparently this is the normal way of doing exams here, not our classical written exams. Ahhhhhh!!! So, I have to go through this again and again. Ugh. I'm going to develop an ulcer. Sigh.

So now I just finish that paper and stress about the results. Yay. Jk. I won't stress about it until probably the day before the results are due out (mid-Feb, I think). I'm going to enjoy my time in D.C.! Mmmhmmm ....

Oh! Before the exam, I thought I'd be a good student and show up there earlier to do some last minute cramming, so I left an hour earlier. But! At the bus stop, I thought all the buses that stopped there went to the hospital where my exam was taking place, so I just hopped on the first one that came without looking at the destination. Ugh. Not a smart thing to do. Ended up taking the wrong bus and got off as soon as I realized. But then I had to walk in the rain and strong wind to the nearest bus stop that would get me on the right bus. By this time, it was 1/2 an hour before exam time, and I was standing in the cold wet rain blowing all over me waiting for the damn bus, who took its own sweet time in getting there. I stood there for 15 minutes without a single bus going by and I started stressing. 15 minutes till exam time. Should I walk? Should I wait? It's raining! If I walk, the umbrella will be useless because the winds are too strong. I'll be soaking wet! But I can't be late! Ahhh!!! Thankfully the bus showed up, and I got to exam place with time to spare.

But it didn't make a difference! Why? Because our professor was late! He thought it was taking place in the building where we normally have exams (yah, he's very ... laid back :P). And then when he got to the right place, he realized that he'd forgotten the questions. So. Yah. Guess I wasn't the only disorganized one right before the exam. :)

Sigh. But it's over and done with, and I'm glad. Have to get used to finals season again, but at least there's no midterms season here. And finals season spreads out over a month rather than a week. I guess that's better? Well, not really considering how much I enjoy procrastinating. Doesn't make much of a difference. :P

Finals + living alone = trouble

2009-01-21T00:22:00.003+01:00

And I thought I had difficulty with keeping a neat room during regular school days.

My room is officially a mess. I have cans and bottles and coffee and soymilk cartons all over my desk. Papers everywhere. Clothes everywhere. Dishes are still in the sink. Bed's not made ... oh wait, it's never made. :P

At least I took out the trash! But that's because my bread went moldy :(

I can't be bothered to tidy up after myself. Just sit here and study or take a break and surf the internet. Prior to my endocrinology exam, I didn't step out of my room for like three days until I had to go and buy some groceries (or starve). Ah, become a total book worm (a little too late). Heh.

But! I'm studying for my last final, and then I get to go back to Amelica. Exciting. Just ... need ... to ... survive Thursday. It's an oral exam! Who does oral exams?! It's not like I can even slack off because it'd be embarrassing to have a crappy answer when the professor is right there. Ahhhhhh. Oral exam?! really?

Well, break's over. The cramming continues. :(

The World is Spinning

2009-01-18T15:52:00.002+01:00

This morning when I got up, I had the scariest sensation of being tilted to the right. Like when I tried to walk in a straight line, I couldn't. I'd just move towards the right and bump into everything. I can feel my body being slanted to the right even when I tried to stand straight. >.< So I decided to go back to sleep.

After I woke up again, no more slanting, but the room was spinning, making me want to throw up. I thought, maybe if I ate something it might make me feel better. Eh, no such luck. The only time when the room stops spinning is when I'm flat on my back and not moving, so I thought maybe sleeping some more would be a good idea.

Now, after the nap, the room is still spinning, but I can't sleep anymore. I still have 30 pages of notes to memorize, but it's kind of hard with my stomach on the verge of rebelling and the room non-stop spinning. Sigh. I don't know why this happens!! This isn't the first time, but it's the first time that the spinning has been this strong and non-stoppish. :( I don't know what to do. I have an exam on Tuesday and Thursday and no time to see a doctor if this problem persists.

Sigh. I'm kind of scared. >.< blaaaaah. I hope it goes away.

It's like an extreme hangover except without the alcohol the previous night. Arrrrrrrr.

Bikes Everywhere!

2009-01-13T19:21:00.003+01:00

I've nearly been run over by bicycles at least 3 times since I came back to Leuven. After three weeks in the States, I keep forgetting to look both ways even on one way streets. There are way too many bikes here!! >.<

Anyway. Finals season. :( I don't want to write a 10 page single spaced paper. :( SIGH. wish me luck!

Looking Back

2009-01-04T00:13:00.003+01:00

Think this post is three days too late, but eh, feel like I should still do some retrospection of 2008!

It was a year with its ups and downs, more so than usual. Let's see ...

- First Chinese New Year spent back in Chia-Yi after graduating from high school. First Chinese New Year as a working person rather than a student, but still got a decent amount of Red Bag money. :P

- Applying for school in Leuven and getting in ... Woo!

- Quitting work and all the agonizing and guilt-feeling that came with that. At the same time, a lot of relief after the deed was done and could enjoy summer once more.

- Going to Kenting with sister, Picker, and Dan. Hopefully the start of a yearly tradition. Will see how this summer goes.

- Finding out parents are getting transferred to Washington, D.C. during Kenting trip ... @#!@#$!@#%$#@$%

- Finding out our grandpa had lung cancer during the trip to Kenting as well. Then finding out grandpa passed away during our flight to Belgium. Sadness. But it's a good thing we spent quite a bit of time with him that summer as well. Especially with my mom coming back for relatively long periods of time.

- During registration for school, learning that my program had been canceled. Then having the program re-opened.

- Starting school in KU Leuven. Meeting the three other classmates in my program and realizing how much we had in common even though we were all from different countries and cultures. Also bonding over how inefficient and disorganized our program was. =.=

- Wandering around Leuven taking pictures of everything and anything.

- Going to Berlin to visit JC and eating Thanksgiving dinner (it's been a while!) and doing very little sightseeing. :P

- JC visiting Brussels with his parents.

- Visiting parents in Washington, D.C. and visiting the old schools, malls, etc. Trying to recall things from the childhood and failing more often than not. Sigh. Memory sucks!!!

- Seeing old elementary school friends. Oh how we've all grown. Good times.

I think those are the main highlights/lowlights of 2008. Hope 2009 will be even better! Happy New Year everyone!

Love is in the Air

2009-01-02T05:16:00.002+01:00

Not for me, of course. I wish.

However, first day of the new year, and I witnessed a proposal take place right in front of me. Generally I'm so unobservant that I don't notice these things. This time, though, we were at Jefferson Memorial in D.C., and this guy asks my dad to take some pictures of him and his girlfriend. My dad pushed that job to me, so while the guy was showing me how to use the camera, he said, "Be ready, I'm going to get down on my knees." At first I was confused, unsure what he meant. But then he took the ring box out of his jacket to check, and I was like, "oh shit! He's going to propose!" And that is what he did.

So I was just snapping away and watching the story unfold in front of my eyes. At first I was kind of worried about her saying no, then that would be awkward. But after some gasping, laughing, and hugging, it was clear she said yes.

Man, that was kind of scary, though. What if the pictures sucked?! I mean, this is like once in a lifetime (I hope, anyway) opportunity.

But anyway, best of luck to that happy couple and on the subject of engagements, to Wazi and John too. :D Congrats! <3

Habit Can be a Horrible Thing

2008-12-30T07:37:00.003+01:00

I was out with a college friend 2 nights ago at a restaurant/bar in Georgetown. My sister and I wanted to order some drinks (alcoholic, of course), but we had totally forgotten about one thing. They card here!!! We have this really bad habit of not carrying any ID when we go out with our parents, so the entire time I've been here, my wallet and passport have remained in a drawer. So when the waiter asked for ID, I stared at him in incomprehension also because I'm so used to the free flowing, un-carded alcoholic ways of the Belgians.

Why are the Americans so strict when it comes to alkie?!?!? Sigh. So we ended up drinking water while my friend and SOS enjoyed their alkies. Sadness!

Post-Christmas Sale

2008-12-27T00:56:00.003+01:00

I don't remember us ever going to an outlet day-after Christmas in the States. But then again that was 10 years ago, and there was no economic crisis. Today we went to Leesburg Premium Outlet and the discounts were insane! And by insane I mean, I've never seen things at these stores so cheap! I still haven't gone through the purchases to come up with the total amount spent on my items, but everything was already discounted and on top of that most of them had 50% off as well. Gee! So basically I bought like 25 dollar Fossil bag, 30 dollar Roxy jackets, 30 dollar Kenneth Cole shades, and many more. We headed out at like 9 am, had mcd's breakfast, shopped until 2 pm, had lunch, then continued shopping till 5 pm. I can say this is the first time I've ever spent a whole day shopping. And it wasn't as packed as I'd expected. There were some long lines, especially at PacSun and Coach, but it wasn't unbearably long.

I am now super pooped and all our purchases are still in their bags. We're all too tired to do anything but sit here in front of our computers. Poor mother still has to cook. :(

Je deteste le dentist ...

2008-12-22T23:32:00.003+01:00

Ah, my French sucks, still.

But yes, I went to the dentist today and got the news that two of my wisdom teeth have grown out, but the other two are struggling and failing to completely grow out. They're only halfway out, and that's why I keep getting infections there. Sigh. Which means I will have to schedule a dentist appointment some time in the future to get them pulled. I don't want to (WAAAAAAH), so I'll probably end up putting it off some more. :P Can't do it here because no available time slots, and also it's way pricey. Should probably get it done in Belgium, but I don't want to suffer the pain and figure out what to eat at the same time (aka, I want my mommy). Heh! So ... Will see.

But yes, I hate the dentist!!! >.< Ouchie.

Life Update

2008-12-16T04:02:00.007+01:00

Sign for sale at the Christmas Market (hah!)

I feel like recently I've been half-assing the entries here. Random posts from Flickr, little blurbs about random things, etc. I feel kind of bad, although I don't have that many readers. But still, for my own sake I feel bad as this is supposed to be a place where I record memories and such for posterity's sake. Especially when my memory fails (as it is slowly doing nowadays).

So why this lackluster, half-heartedness when it comes to blogging? Well, it's not just blogging, I've realized. I haven't drawn anything in the past month. I actually did start a Christmas-oriented one the day before I left for D.C., but it's sitting in my moleskin unfinished and untouched currently.

For a while, it was because I felt like my slacking off during the semester was catching up to me, with all these assignments due before the start of break. In between panicking and actually doing the work, there wasn't any mental energy left to do anything besides watch CSI or catch up on Numb3rs. :P Terrible, I know, but got to find some way to let the stress out, no?

Then we (classmates and I) realized that there actually wasn't that much, especially with one of our papers' deadline pushed to final examination time (phew!). So instead I asked the girls if they wanted to go into Brussels to check out the Christmas Market (since I heard about it last time JC was here, but didn't get the chance to go). More bonding with the girls these past few weeks thanks to the presentation meetings and coffee breaks between classes.

After realizing that all my classes for the last week were canceled since materials were all covered, and there was no reason to meet, I decided to, quite last minute, find a flight and fly out earlier to D.C. Why not right? My last assignment due Friday is turned in via e-mail, so no worries there. Although since landing here last night, I've felt no motivation to do anything but play with the new macbook and ipod touch, so that's not good. :P

So now I'm here. The last two days in Leuven before flying here, I was trying to finish all my perishables which made for very weird meals. My last dinner consisted of salami and fried egg sandwich (which is a really weird combination. Note to self, don't do that again) plus leftover ramen soup with corn and mushrooms. Then I OD'd on oranges. I also didn't get a chance to do laundry, so I brought all my dirty clothes here. Wahahaha. Plus a lot of chocolates and some Belgian waffle biscuits. For the mom.

The flight here was long with many delays. Having woken up at 5:45 am to get to the airport by 7:30 am (thankfully I had a ride), I was exhausted throughout the flight even though I couldn't really sleep well (I hate flying. Hate it.). My period also decided to grace me with its presence halfway through the flight (perfect timing as usual). But, my luggage and I got here in one piece, so all is well. ^^ I also raided the supermarket that very night (pancake mix and chocolate chips, POM juice, cheetos, Pepperidge Farm chocolate chip cookies ...). I am ready to EAT.

My first full day in D.C. was spent at Montgomery Mall (now known as Westfield Mall, but will always be Montgomery Mall in my heart) at the Mac store. I thought I would have to check in my laptop for like seven plus days for them to fix it. But after sitting at the Genius Bar for a bit while the Genius attempted various ways to get my keys to work (unsuccessfully), he checked to see if they had the part in stock (which they did, PHEW!), and after an hour, my macbook pro had a brand new keyboard with the fan not making funky exploding noises. I also had a brand new Aeropostale jacket (it's FURRY!) and Body Shop Shower Gel. Exciting!

Fixed computer (it's a laptop once again!), new jacket, new iPod Touch, new Macbook (although not for me, but I have made it my own - all the setup/configuring/softwares are pretty much identical to my MBP, just on a better computer than mine *tear*). Then there's the parents (and sister and cousin soon), Maryland (it's kind of like coming home after all these years - trying to re-orient myself and remembering bits and pieces), vacation time (although still have to do hw/study). What a perfect holiday season. :)

Typing that last sentence makes me scared because whenever I type something about how I'm happy or things are going well, things tend to go south. But. It is what it is, and I shall not spoiled my content entry with pessimistic thoughts, so I just want to wish everyone (anyone?) reading this, Happy Holidays! And a Happy New Year. Hopefully 2009 will be a much better, healthful, and happier year. :D

Last thing - new Stanley Huang album that's out (We All Lay Down in the End) is pretty friggin fantastic. I've had it on repeat all day long. Now I need to get my some Tyrone Wells and the Wong Fu DVD Picker got me, and I'll be an even happier/contented poo. ^^

Macbook Love

2008-12-15T15:45:00.002+01:00

Currently typing this on my sister's new macbook. Well, my sister's not here yet, so I have a week of fun times with this computer before she comes. MUAHAHAHA. Also because my mbp will be in repair soon, I will just be using this computer nonstop. <3

It's so PRETTY. I thought I wouldn't like this black on silver, but it's actually okay. I guess it does grow on you. The keyboard takes a little getting used to since I've been using the old keyboard on my old old mbp. Also the track pad is huge! And it takes some getting used to as well because I used to rest my thumb on the clicky part, but now I can't do that. Ah well. This is so cool!!!!

Sigh. I want one. :P

Christmas Market

2008-12-12T01:08:00.001+01:00

, originally uploaded by lisapoo.

:) I <3 Christmas Markets I've decided. I love how festive things are here around Christmas time. Definitely gives off a Christmas-y feel. I mean, they have markets where they sell spiced wine, warm beer, handmade crafts, food stuffs, Christmas decorations, etc. And then everywhere you go you see a decorated Christmas tree, maybe not with ornaments, but definitely with lights. All the stores and restaurants have Christmas decorations. It's just so festive. I swear, I overuse that word, but I can't think of a better one. It's awesome!

Ok, so the picture up there isn't a good representation of what a Christmas Market is, but there's always more pictures at flickr.com. :)

I love Christmas season in Belgium!

A Ghost Town?

2008-12-10T22:43:00.002+01:00

I like how some of my friends wonder if Leuven is a ghost town because in most of my pictures, there generally aren't any human beings in them.

It's not, a ghost town. Not really anyway. Just certain parts are devoid of people, especially during the weekends, which is normally when I go out and take pictures. I also tend to stay away from the people-populated areas, like the center where the shopping streets are. I always feel awkward shooting people or having people stare at me while I take pictures with my little point and shoot. I also tend to think people ruin the picture, especially if I'm taking scenic/architectural shots. Ah, might have to change my mentality a bit.

Maybe it's time for me to incorporate some humans into my pictures, so it doesn't seem like I live in an abandoned town. :P

Jason Mraz I'm Yours Covers

2008-12-06T20:34:00.004+01:00

Feeling guilty for lack updates for a while, so I shall massively update! Just kidding. But I thought I'd share these two Youtube artists that I've recently discovered who are both amazing. They both did covers for Jason Mraz's I'm Yours, and they're both good. Different feels though. Especially from the original version.

Sarm Hart

David Choi

Jason Mraz

Other videos to watch/listen:

David Choi - I Can Get Used to This (original)

Sam Hart - Atlantis (original)

Things I Love - Bread & Cheese & Salami

2008-12-06T15:43:00.004+01:00

Back in UCLA, after I moved out of the dorms, one of my staple foods was ham and cheese sandwich. Well, here in Leuven, my ham and cheese sandwich has got a definite upgrade. Their bread choices here are insane! So many, and they're all pretty damn good. Their ham selection is also intense. Not just ham, they have all these different kinds of salami (all are pretty tasty) and saucisson. Cheese. well, there's cheese all over the world, but their selection here is also enormous. When I first went to pick out cheese, I stood in front of the cheese section trying to figure out which one to try. Most I'd never heard of (probably because I don't know anything past cheddar and swiss cheese). So, I just grabbed a random one. The only issue I have with cheese is that it STINKS. My whole fridge currently smells of cheese, and it's a pretty nasty smell. Good thing it tastes way better than it smells.

So, currently I'm in love with these sandwiches. Easy to make, super tasty, and filling, especially with soup.

Yummy in my tummy.

(Pardon my picture of a half eaten sandwich. Was too excited chowing down :P)

Berlin, Germany

2008-12-05T00:25:00.003+01:00

I've been neglecting the blog, haven't I? Swore I'd update about Berlin, but I feel like I've told everyone who would possibly read my blog about it already that there's nothing to blog about. Well, I'll write anyway, just in case you're interested. :P

First, impressions of Berlin. It's huge! Maybe I'm just used to tight, packed cities, but Berlin was sprawling. I think that's a good word for it. It took a good amount of time to go to different areas, at least 30 to 40 minutes a trip were spent on the public transportation. Speaking of public transpo, there is a lot in Berlin. You have underground, overground, trains, trams, buses ... did I miss anything? And I thought Brussels had a lot already. Berlin is also COLD. I have to say, definitely colder than Belgium (specifically, Leuven and Brussels). It snowed the second day I was there, and we spent a decent amount of time outside during my time there. I was wearing four or five layers and still it was cold.

So what did we do?

First night I arrived, we went to a Christmas Market, which is an entirely new concept for me. Taiwanese people don't really put that much emphasis on Christmas, there was no such thing in the States (at least not where I was), and I don't ever remember hearing of it in the other countries I've lived in. So, JC took me, and it's awesome! So festive, so happy, so holiday-spirity. We had sausage with mustard and ketchup, SO GOOD. Then met up with JC's friends in a white tent. They had a little heating stove in the middle. After that we went and had some spiced wine. That was fantastic especially in the cold since it was a hot drink with alcohol. Definitely warmed my extremities up. After that, went our separate ways from his friends and since JC was still hungry, went to a Kebab place. So big, so much food, could not finish. Then we called it a night and I played with his iPod Touch (looooove it).

Did not get a good night's rest due to me being in a strange place. >.< I think I have problems with that. Sigh.

Woke up and headed to Bill's to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Well, they cooked, I just helped in some preparation. Honestly though, coffee and alcohol on an empty stomach is a bad idea. I was super jittery, I think mostly from the caffeine and had trouble focusing on anything and everything. Despite some stress outs during the cooking process, dinner turned out fantastic. Mashed potatoes, turkey, corn souffle, corn bread, sweet potato pie, spinach dip, and wine ... yum!!!! Now I really want to make some mashed potatoes. :P And if I had an oven, I'd make the corn souffle as well. The only potential problem with Thanksgiving dinner is the amount of butter and cream used. Man, too many meals like that will give you a coronary.

Anyway, after dinner, we went to a theater for a showing of Felix the Cat with live music accompaniment. It was actually pretty awesome. I've never seen shorts of Felix the Cat, mostly just see pictures of Felix the Cat. But the shorts were in black and white, pretty funny, and the music fit in pretty well with what was happening. Talented artists. Sigh. There was a reception afterwards with open bar. Chilled around for a little bit, and after some deliberation, we went to a gay Turkish club with a couple of JC's friends. It was an interesting experience. Nothing like Tiger Heat or Rage in LA. They played Turkish/Arabic music. Yup. :P

After that, it was late, we were all exhausted, so it was bed time.

Day three started late. People *ahem* were unable to get up until it was 1 pm. We rushed to eat all you can eat brunch that ended at 2 pm. Pretty yum. They have good bread there as well. :) Then we headed back to Bill's apartment to do some cleaning since we left all the dishes and such in the sink the night before. Oh! During brunch I asked JC if I was actually going to be able to see the sights in Berlin. So, after cleaning we headed out to do some night sightseeing. I wish I could remember all the places and buildings and locations, but right now my mind is drawing a blank. :P I just have pictures to prove that I was in Berlin. Also had my first Starbucks in a whiles (since my dad left Brussels, actually). It was fantastic. I don't know why I love Starbucks so much, but I do, and I'm still very sad they don't have any in Belgium (except at the airport, but who wants to go to the airport just to drink Starbucks?!). I also had a German dinner - we ate schnitzel! I got the mushroom cream schnitzel, and it was YUM! but so big that I couldn't finish it. They really don't skimp on their portions. After that, we all went back to our respective homes and just chilled around some more before bed.

Last day! Woke up somewhat early and headed to JC's language school for him to deal with some business. That didn't work out too well, so then we went to American Apparel. Yup, American Apparel in Berlin. Aieeeeeeee. And it's so much more expensive there than in the States (ripoff!). After buying some briefs for JC's friend, we went to Harrod's of Berlin (forgot the name), but yah, after milling around the lobby for a little bit, we left. I figured, after seeing Chanel, Dior, etc. that we couldn't afford anything there. There were also too many people in there just milling around as well. >.< Walked down the street to the memorial church. Inside, there are millions of square blue-hued stain glasses. It was so beautiful and magnificent and awesome. It gives a feeling of peace.

After that we went to an Apple Store (of course). I saw Guitar Hero for Mac there! I really want to get it. Hahahaha. It'd be so fun!!! I could neglect school work even more! Just kidding, of course. Then we went to Taiwanese restaurant to grab some beef noodles, pig ears, and dumplings. SO GOOD. Ahhhhhhhh. Seriously, any food not cooked by yourself tastes infinitely better. Sigh. Then we took a long train ride to the airport, and that concluded my Berlin trip.

As usual, more pictures are up on Flickr. :)

I Saw a Heffalump Today Piglet

2008-12-03T18:15:00.001+01:00

I Saw a Heffalump Today Piglet, originally uploaded by peacay.

Thanksgiving in Berlin

2008-12-02T01:34:00.001+01:00

, originally uploaded by lisapoo.

Had a lot of fun, will update, but for now, pictures are at Flickr ... :)

Walk Down Memory Lanes

2008-11-24T23:32:00.004+01:00

These definitely bring up some memories.

跳 Everbody 跳! TEEHEE. The clothes are fantastic as well.

Oh man. It's been so long. And listening to these songs again makes me wonder if I really liked these guys .... =.= HAHAHA

Sitting in the Cold

2008-11-23T00:52:00.002+01:00

Sitting in the Cold, originally uploaded by lisapoo.

I went to the botanical garden to take pictures of the snow. I figured it'd be one of the few places that the snow/slush would be relatively undisturbed. I was right! :) So prettyful.

More pictures at Flickr.

Another Weather Post

2008-11-22T12:56:00.003+01:00

It snowed for maybe 10 minutes with ominous looking clouds, and now all of the sudden it's sunny! with cloudy skies. Man, this weather is insane!

BUT IT SNOWED~!!!! And I was looking at the weather forecast for the rest of the week, not much snow, but some sleet. Although there's still chances for snow tomorrow. Snow! Snow! Snow! Exciting. But I hope it doesn't ever snow too much because I don't have the shoes for it. BUT SNOW!!!! (can you tell I'm excited? I am!)

Sun and snow! I think I will have to go out today. :D As long as it doesn't sleet or pour because it was pouring this morning before it turned to snow.

Ahh ... <3 snow!

Homemade Crepe

2008-11-19T23:37:00.002+01:00

Ok, so it's not really homemade because I didn't make the crepe skin (is that the right term?!) from scratch, bought it from the store. But! I did add some pork and mushrooms and cheese and eggs to it. SO GOOD. Although my crepe wouldn't close, and it kind of became a pancake with toppings, but hey, it tasted good! Then I did the old banana and nutella crepe with strawberry ice cream dessert thing. It was so good. You really can't go wrong with nutella and banana. Now if only strawberries were cheaper, but we'll stick with strawberry ice cream for now. Ahhhhh, I love crepes! Thank you Europe for having ready-made crepe skins. They also have batter/powder, but that's too much hassle. Mmmmm.

I was looking for pancake mix because I was craving chocolate chip pancakes, but I couldn't find any. So I might end up trying the crepe batter. Make it thicker and add in the chocolate chips. Wonder how that would taste.

I should've taken a picture, but I was too excited and just scarfed it down. They're also not very big because the skin is kind of small. Oh well. Yummy in my tummy.

Also! I got an external ISP, so not dependent on school's limited internet any longer. Wee! I am excited because I can watch youtube and stream tv shows without having to worry about limits. Oh my! It's fantastic. :) Although I heard there's potentially problems with Skype, so still have to try that out. But, I can always just revert back to school internet to do the webcam/internet telephone thing. I guess having options is good. :P

...

2008-11-18T17:23:00.002+01:00

I've been accident prone and stupid lately. What with falling flat on my hands and knees on the stairs or hitting my head against the upper bunk or oversleeping class, but I think today's takes the cake. It's so stupid and ... stupid that I don't even know what/how to title the entry.

Basically I was enjoying my hot ramen for lunch because it's a cold day here in Leuven. Mmm, warm, steamy, hot soup. Good stuff, right? Until I decide to share it with my laptop. Yup! I spilled my soup all over my desk, in the electronics area. Basically my laptop. My Mac. My baby!!! Ahhhhhh, I think I nearly had a heart attack and proceeded to have an emotional rollercoaster ride for the rest of the afternoon.

So as soon as it happened, I turned off the computer, unplugged everything and started wiping and cleaning. It was a mess because it was all over one side of the table, had to wipe my speakers, save my white printer paper, etc. and it was on the floor as well. I didn't realize it was on the floor, so I was tracking it everywhere in the room with my slippers. Well, long story short, it was a lot of cleaning and cursing and thinking, what the hell was I doing?! Even now when I try to think back to what happened, I can't remember how it happened. It didn't fall out of my hand or anything, it just tipped and spilled. But how did it tip? Why did it tip? I have no recollection. Sigh.

Anyway, so after that I called my sister to try and figure out what to do with the laptop because I had no one else to call (sigh). So after hearing that I should either air dry it or take it to an Apple service center, I decided to take it to a center just in case they had better advice. There's an Apple Reseller downtown near the train station, so I walk out in the cold (AND RAIN) to wait for the bus. I get to the Reseller, and the salesman tells me I have to take it to their service center, which is a 15 minute walk away. 15 min. Ok, not so bad, so I take his directions and head out into an area I have never been before. It was also where the Stella Artois and assorted other manufacturing companies were located. They even had a port-ish area with a canal and boats! I have to admit, I was a little sketched out and scared because it was kind of desserted and didn't look so ... um ... friendly and clean and happy like the rest of Leuven.

After wandering around a bit in the area (because salesman just told me how to get to the area, but not where the shop is actually located), IN THE RAIN, I finally find the service center. Turns out what they advise is pretty much the same thing, use a blow dryer to dry it for 30 minutes and hope it turns on. If it doesn't, then I take it back to them, pay 70 Euros for an inspection fee, and wait 5 to 7 days. Definitely not the alternative I wanted - expensive and long and no guarantee on how much more it'll cost to fix it (what if I had to replace the logic board?! AHHHHH). So, I trek back home and proceed to blow dry my laptop.

And pray pray pray that it would turn on. After 30 minutes of drying, I plug in my battery, cross my fingers, and hit the power button. Wow, hearing that startup chime has never been sweeter. Seeing the password screen has never made me happier. Then I tried to type my password. Nothing. Nothing came out. Well, technically not true. One or two keys actually worked, but everything else was dead. !@#$@#$!#$%! Ok, I told myself not to panic. It turns on, right? Just the keyboard's not working. I can go and get an external USB keyboard, plug it in, and all will be well (for now), right? So, I head out to my local computer store (which is pretty close by, thank God) and get the cheapest USB keyboard I can find. I come home, plug it in, turn on the computer, and type my password. IT WORKS! Yessssssss.

Then I realized I needed to plug in my ac adapter because I was using my crappy battery. *Plug* Why isn't the light coming on? WHY ISN'T THERE AN ORANGE LIGHT?! I unplug, replug, clean the plug area, plug, nothing. I couldn't believe it. By this point I was so frustrated at the computer, angry at myself, and all this negative shit, that I just couldn't take it anymore. It's like up and down, up and down, up and down, all in the matter of 2 hours. The soul cannot take it, at least not mine. So I call my sister and BAWL like no tomorrow because I'm just so mad and angry and UGH, and suddenly, mid-bawling, the light comes on. AHHHHHHH!!! I stare at it for a few seconds unsure if it was a fluke or me hallucinating or it really came on. And after it stayed on for a few minutes, I proceeded to bawl with relief.

Sigh. So right now basically all is well *crosses fingers* except the keyboard. And since it's my fault, it won't be covered under warranty. Since for now I can get by with an external keyboard, I think I may wait till I get to the States and hope it's cheaper there to get it fixed. But yah, that was my stupidity for the year, I hope. I am keeping liquid away from my computer from now on. Ahhhhhhh. SO STUPID. Why am I so CLUMSY?!

And of course this has to happen in a totally foreign country where I don't have the computer store and employees to help me out. Sigh. Just my luck. Woo.

To Do List

2008-11-16T20:50:00.002+01:00

Being sick always puts a damper on my study plans (heh heh heh). So, I actually have a bit of work I need to get done, but right now, I just want to cough up a lung. In order to pretend I'm doing something productive, I'll list down the things I need to get done and maybe this will spur me to do some actual work.

[x] Research for group presentation (meeting Mon.)
[ ] Read Ethics/questions/theses (Fri.)
[ ] Sexology Seminar paper (due ?)
[ ] Heath Prevention readings (Dec. 8)
[ ] Sexology Presentation (Dec. 10)
[ ] Biological Reproductions Questions (Dec. 15)

First two most important. Actually should have started on Ethics reading this weekend, but this cold it crazy! Worse than the last two considering how the tears and snot don't stop dripping out (ewwww, GROSS!!!).

Also need to grocery shop. Running low on stuff. Sigh.

And buy train tickets to Germany. I don't understand why I can't buy it online. GRRR.

Did I mention how much I hate being sick? MMHMMM. Sigh.

Third Time's the ... Charm?

2008-11-15T23:37:00.002+01:00

Yeeeeep, I have caught meself another cold. That's the third one in the three months I've been here. Averaging one a month so far, not a good sign. I don't even know why I got sick this time. It's not like I haven't been dressing warmly and none of my classmates have a cold. Oh wait. Except one. Ah .... mystery solved. Oh this sucks. CURSES.

But yah, this time around it's worse because I have stuffy and runny nose (that seems like an oxymoron until you realize one nostril is being runny and the other one stuffy. Ironic!) and sore throat and headaches once in a while. Blah.

I don't want to be sick. I don't like being sick especially when there's work to be done. My brain's all muddled and not wanting to do any hard thinking but will be forced to tomorrow. Sigh.

Woe. :( This is one sucky year. Need it to end .... like now. Sigh.

I Haz Allergies

2008-11-15T00:58:00.003+01:00

Oh my, blogger update as become sporadic! Mainly because I don't have anything interesting to say currently. Seems like school work is catching up and biting me in the butt! Well, not yet, but I'm starting to feel the same old sensation of deadlines approaching (not quickly just yet, but approaching nonetheless). How is it that in a little over a month it will be winter break and I'll be heading to D.C.? Where ... did the time go?!

I can't believe I've been in Belgium for ... three months only. What. Why did I feel like it's been way longer than that? Time is messing with me. Passing so fast, yet passing so slowly. I'm confused.

Speaking of time! Yup! I totally missed my class this morning due to oversleeping and bad alarm clock setting. Basically I set my alarm for 7:45 pm rather than am ... and since it was a morning class, and I've been having problems falling asleep, my body clock did not wake me until 12, which is an hour after class has already ended. I woke up, thought to myself, "my I feel good for five hours of sleep." *Looks at cell phone* OH SH!T. Aih. So stupid. So I frantically called my colleagues because we were supposed to stay after to talk about a presentation for another class. Thankfully they were still photocopying readings for next class, so I was saved to go and meet with them. Also thankfully they are super nice people and photocopied my readings too and didn't make fun of me too much for oversleeping. Although I was all over the place because I was still in shock at my stupidity ... aih. Anyway, so yah, that was my adventure for the morning, week, weekend, ever (I hope). Never again!!!!!!!

I don't know why I'm having problems falling asleep. It's not like I'm stressed or have much on my mind. I just end up tossing and turning though, no matter how early or late I go sleep. Ugh. This sucks. Any remedies for insomnia?!

[EDIT] It's 5:30 am and I'm awaaaaake. Talk about ridiculous. There's also a mosquito flying around and it bit me! three times!!!! AND IT WON'T STOP BUZZING IN MY EAR. ahhhh. and I can't find it!!!!!! and I can't cover my head with the comforter because it's hoooooot. sigh. Woe. But yah, why can't I sleeeeeeep? :(

Picture - Half a Courtyard

2008-11-11T17:18:00.002+01:00

Prettiness at the Botanical Garden. More pictures at Flickr. :D

Pretty Colorful Clips

2008-11-10T22:47:00.004+01:00

Did some more decorating and rearranging around the room. Went out and bought some of those really flimsy but pretty clips (as you can see in the above pictures\). Got the idea to decorate one of the less used cubbies with ribbon and pictures. =) Maybe I'll do that with two other cubbies as well, but still debating because not sure if I have enough ribbons.

I love doing these little decorating/artsy things! They're so fun and kills a lot of time.

Pros To Living Alone

2008-11-08T19:26:00.002+01:00

Don't want to just list and complain about all the bad things. Have to balance it out! So ... here goes.

- I get to run around naked without worrying someone will see me (as long as I keep the curtains closed). WAHAHAHA. Not that I do. Just that sometimes I'll forget something after I've de-robed for showering, and I can come back out and grab it. It's actually quite a free-ing feeling.

- Music can be blast as loud as I want! When my mom was staying with me, she'd always complain that my music was too loud and noisy and giving her a headache, when it really wasn't that loud! or noisy! Aish. But now I get to just play it at whatever volume, especially during the weekends because no one else is here. All the Belgians have gone home, and there aren't that many people around.

- I can be a slob and no one will know! Unless I blog about it. Hah! or if my classmate comes over suddenly. The other day due to some mix ups about class, we had an hour to kill before the prof showed up. We didn't realize this at the time because we hadn't checked our emails, so ended up coming back to my place since it was the closest. Thankfully we did that or we would've missed that class, but that's another story. Anyway, I felt so bad when she walked in because my room was kind of a mess, and I hadn't had time to do dishes before I had to go to class. Sigh. I was so flustered. But yah, I can be a total slob until I gross myself out.

Hmmm, that's all I can think of for now. :D

On another note, I found the public library today, and they have English novels! and movies! and CDs! Of course the selection is kind of small, but hey, better than nothing. And the membership fee is pretty cheap, 2.5 Euro, and I just have to pay .50 cents per cd or dvd. So, I'll have more to read after I finish all the books I brought/bought. Yay!

Another Thing about Living Alone ...

2008-11-06T23:53:00.003+01:00

Another crappy thing about living alone is you have to take care of your own bugs. :( I just had a pretty big insect (picture above) crawl up my lamp ... I sat there for a good three minutes before taking a picture while complaining and screaming at a friend via IM. Then finally went in search of a little plastic container to trap it in so I can release it later. But first I had to stand there for another good five minutes panicking and sweating and shaking. After it took like five circles around the lamp it finally decided to head back down. And that's how I caught it and shut the lid and dropped it outside on the balcony and prayed it wouldn't land on me and just hope no other bug would fly in through the open window. And it sucked. AHHHHHH. I hate bugs I hate insects I hate these .... THINGS!!! They look so gross ... antenna's all moving around and tiny little legs and .... eeeeek. I still get all shakey when I think about it. >.< Sigh. Someone save me from this phobia.

Obama Wins!

2008-11-05T19:33:00.002+01:00

But Prop 8 passes ... sigh.

Although not sure if Obama's good for Taiwan, but then again, our own gov't isn't so good for Taiwan either. And if our own gov't ain't so good, then does it matter whether the new president of the U.S. is good for Taiwan?

Speaking of Taiwan, there are pictures [Billy Pan @ Wretch] that illustrate the police response I blogged about yesterday. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? And I still can't put down my thoughts and feelings clearly, so these pictures will have to do for now.

But Obama won! And is it wrong that I teared up when I saw those pictures all over the net of people crying, hugging, cheering when Obama won and during his victory speech? There's so much hope for change! People are so excited about their new president!

Now if only Taiwan had something to hope for and be excited about as well.

When Did Displaying the Taiwanese Flag Become Grounds for Arrest?

2008-11-04T13:02:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I posted about Taiwanese politics, mostly because I'm further removed from it now. I get my news from Taipei Times and assorted English bloggers. Normally I just read the articles, but the anger and disbelief that I experienced back in Taiwan isn't there anymore.

However, not this time. On the eve of the U.S. Democratic Presidential Election, a huge event that everyone has their eyes on where the citizens of the U.S. pick their next leader, another democratic country is going through something it shouldn't ever have or need to. A high level Chinese official, Chen Yunlin is visiting Taiwan, and any sort of protest or any form of patriotic (Taiwanese) display has become forbidden. That is ridiculous. We are a democracy; we have freedom of speech and the right to express our opinions. But it seems like these rights have been disregarded and tossed away because of the need for "safety" of this Chinese official and the fear of pissing China off.

I may not be physically in Taiwan, hearing and seeing these things, but all the way here in Belgium, while reading the news articles about how Taiwanese people are being treated by the police for holding on to a Taiwanese or even Tibetan flag, I am in disbelief. And angry. This is not what Taiwanese people had in mind when they chose Mr. Ma for our leader.

Preventing harm from coming to the Chinese official is one thing, but when people who are expressing their pride in being Taiwanese and their opinion on the state of Taiwan (peacefully) are detained or forcibly removed from a location is a totally different thing. When did freedom of speech, either through speech itself or a visual display become something that can get someone arrested? My sister was so angry when she heard that she said she wanted to carry a flag in one of those locations where the Chinese official will be and see what would happen. When I heard that, I had the fear that she would get arrested or even harmed. I shouldn't have had this reaction because all she would be doing is holding on to a Taiwanese flag. There's nothing remotely threatening about that. She wasn't going to go throw eggs or do anything that would harm the official. This irrational fear is no longer irrational because it is occurring, right now in Taipei, the capital of a democratic country.

I can't stress enough how sad and wrong this is. When Mr. Ma was elected president, I was told that this is just a part of the democratic process - parties will win and lose. That is true, look at the U.S. - Republicans and Democrats have both been in the presidential office throughout its history. However, they never had to worry about one party selling them out to another country. The people of Taiwan didn't vote for Mr. Ma to reunify with China; he even said in his own campaign that it wouldn't happen during his term. Well, maybe in name it's not happening, but it certainly feels like he has a higher regard for China than for the people of his own country, the people who put him where he is now.

I didn't live in the martial law era, same with my peers. But from what I've read, many people who had lived during that time see a resemblance of what's happening right now in Taipei to how it was back then. And that is a scary thought. It might be only a temporary occurrence for now because of the Chinese official, but when it has happened once, it's that much easier for it to happen again.

More readings of what's happening:
- Measures Recall the Martial Law Era [Taipei Times]; detailed article of the protests and arrests that have occurred on Day 1 of Chen Yunlin's visit.
- Editorial: Fear and Loathing in Taipei [Taipei Times]
- ARATS Visit Roundup [Michael Turton]
- Martial Law Type Incident [A-Gu]
- Security Detail [The Foreigner in Formosa]; how many police officers will be protecting the official.

Sunset Colors

2008-11-03T17:38:00.006+01:00

At around 5, my room was getting darker and darker because I hadn't turned on the light (lazy), and I realized there was a pinkish glow coming in. I look outside, and the color was absolutely gorgeous. So of course I took pictures. I didn't enhance or anything, that's just how the color really was. So so so beauuuutiful.

On another note, I am cold. I turned on the heater, but heat doesn't dissipate very well, it just stays localized to where the heater is. Ugh. I have half the mind to just sit right next to heater, except the floor is cold. I think I need to switch places with the printer. So the picture below is what I look like, in my own apartment (yup, hoodie and scarf). Sigh. And they say this is just the beginning of winter (*tears*). I just might turn into a popsicle.

Picture-Taking is Fun

2008-11-02T19:55:00.003+01:00

I love it when random pictures I take without thinking come out well. Sometimes I'll overthink a shot. Sometimes I'll go with an instinct and just take the shot. Guess which one turns out better?

I wonder if that means I have no skills in photography. Sadness. But it's so fun! Now I really wish I'd paid attention in photography class (exposure? whatever whatever? random terms?) back at NEHS instead of skipping class or not paying attention to the poor student from Jiao Da or Ching Da trying to teach short-attention-spanned high school students. Hah! Regrets regrets.

But it's ok. Not like I have to waste money to develop photos anymore, so I can just take as much as I want and practice! Maybe one of these days I'll have enough money to get a DSLR, then I get to practice all over again.

Who wants to come and have a photo session in Europe with me? Let's go!

Although I've realized that I can't really concentrate on taking photos when I'm with other people. Alone and at my own pace is the best way to take pictures, but y'all are still welcome to join me. :)

Ew. Groooooss.

2008-11-02T00:03:00.003+01:00

I have little fruit flies flying around my kitchen area. I don't know if they're fruit flies actually, but they lookit. I don't know where they're coming from either! >.< I think it's the sink, so I've blocked off all possible entrances, but there are still some flying around. Ugh! It might be my trash, but the trash isn't close to the sink, so I don't know. I was going to take the trash out anyway, but! the light outside is broken or something, so it's super dark and I can't see where the dumpster is. Ugh! So I ended up just putting my trash out on the balcony. I hope hope hope there isn't a sudden rainstorm tonight *crosses fingers*. That would suck. Sigh.

It's also cold out. I nearly froze to death outside. Maybe that's because I only wore a sweatshirt. Heehee. But it felt nice. After being in my room all day long, a little fresh air is good.

Anyway, I hate bugs. HATE HATE HATE. Sigh.

Wretch.cc Folks

2008-10-31T00:45:00.002+01:00

Not sure how many of you actually visit Wretch.cc, but on their main page there's always a bunch of either "hot" looking girls or guys. I put hot in quotation marks because, well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Anyway, they all look the same! Well, girls look the same, guys look the same, not girls and guys look the same. I mean, it's the same hairstyle, same make up (on the girls), same webcam/digicam positioning, same trying to look cute expression. So much for individuality. I mean, nothing against conformists, I am one, afterall, but how does the Wretch staff go about picking which ones will make their main page? And how do girls (or guys) judge if a guy (or girl) is hot or not if they all look pretty much the same?

Also, how many guys do you know who like to take pages and pages of pictures of himself? Same with girls. Hmmm, I think I can count on one hand the number of people I know who love taking pictures of the self and posting them online.

Sigh. It's just so random, but I guess everyone has their own interests. :P

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Now playing: 黃立行 - 妳身邊
via FoxyTunes

(Not so) Little Thoughts

2008-10-30T21:38:00.007+01:00

- I stumbled upon this blog Margaret and Helen written by this 82 year old grandma, Helen. Margaret is her friend of sixty years (60 years!! Geez, that's a long time). Anyway, her entries are really, really entertaining. I've only read the ones related to the presidential election. Some bits from the blog:

It must be hard to be both pro-war and pro-life at the same time and still look so perky that early in the morning. It’s as if she [Elizabeth Hasselbeck] doesn’t lose a wink of sleep over it. What a brave little soldier she is.

I started out in this election supporting Hillary Clinton because I believed our country needed a women’s point of view in the Oval Office. I truly believe that women approach education, war, healthcare, the environment, poverty, etc. differently. Of course then I met Sarah Palin and realized that some women are just bitches who only want to change their wardrobe and your religious freedoms.

Sarah Palin had the choice to talk to her daughter about sex. Her daughter had the choice to listen or not listen. Her daughter had the choice to have sex or not have sex. And once she was pregnant she had the choice to keep the baby, put it up for adoption or terminate the pregnancy. And as much as it scares me that the Palin clan is producing a whole new generation of women like my old friend Sally, the fact is they have a choice. All I ask is that women respect the right of other women to make their own choice because I remember what it was like when we didn’t have a choice.

[edit] Although if what this guy says is true, then *sadness*. Oh well, the entries are still funny and interesting and makes for good reading. So, still check it out![/edit]

- I started a Tumblr account. Yes, I know, I leave too many footprints on the internet. What can I say, I'm fickle? I like new things? I like using different sites? Well, each site serves different purposes, I guess. This one's for thoughts and long meaningful (pshhhhh) entries, Tumblr's for short thoughts and all the interesting things I find online, and Lines n Curves is for art. Although I kind of want to start a Wordpress account. Hah! I kid, I kid (maybe).

Anyway, on tumblr, I've stumbled upon some pretty pretty pictures and quotes and thoughts and stuff. So, I like it. And they're all short! So it's perfect when I'm not in the mood to read too many words (lazy mah). Heh.

- The U.S. elections is coming up. It's an exciting, nerve wracking, anxiety-laden next few days. Who's going to win? What direction is the U.S. going to head in for the next four years? Even though I don't get to vote or anything, it's still interesting to follow. After the debacle of the Taiwanese election, I hope my hopes won't be dashed again this time around.

- Speaking of Taiwanese politics ... eh. Nevermind. Don't want to think about it.

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Now playing: Garbage - As Heaven is Wide
via FoxyTunes

Living Alone is Bad for Me

2008-10-29T19:55:00.003+01:00

I've realized that living alone can be a terrible thing, not because I have to fend for myself. Rather, it's the side effects of living alone that can be bad bad bad.

For example, I've had to work very hard to not become a total slob. Like leaving the dishes to be done tomorrow (or the day after ... or the day ... after ...). Or throwing clothes randomly around the room. Or just keeping my work area organized and clean. Ah, I think I'm failing on keeping my work area clean. It's kind of messy right now.

Also! When you don't have to go out (for class or whatever) and meet people, it's also harder to convince yourself to shower. Hahahahahahaha. Ah gawd. This is not good.

It's also harder to actually go out when you don't have class. Yesterday I had to force myself to leave the room and go for a walk. Wandered over to the next town (not THAT far) and have discovered more places I'd like to explore with my camera. You know, even in town, you can find little plots of farmland (like next to my apartment). And this place is just so scenic that it makes you want to take pictures. Went wandering around the medical center today. There's a forest-y area next to it. Didn't get to explore as much as I wanted to because it was kind of muddy and I was wearing my white Converse - bad idea. Also it was quite cold, and my fingers were freezing and so was my camera. But got a couple of good pictures (like the one above).

So. Living alone. Never again. Must always have roommates to keep me on my toes and not turn into a total slob. :P

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Now playing: 陶喆 David Tao - Finally
via FoxyTunes

Once in a While Photo - Wings

2008-10-28T17:41:00.002+01:00

When pigs fly - sooner than we expect.

Ethics of Sexuality

2008-10-27T21:55:00.005+01:00

Taking a course on … well, ethics of sexuality. Sexual ethics. Find it interesting - who’s the judge what’s right or wrong or what’s considered a good conduct when it comes to sexuality. Some things that may be considered “wrong” in one society or culture may not be in another. Some things that are frowned upon by one social class may be prevalent in another due to necessity.

There’s such a wide range of sexual behavior along with different experiences, and it seems kind of ridiculous to apply a set ethical standard to it.

Not to mention, which set ethical standard are we talking about? The one from a Chinese person’s point of view? or from a Westerner’s point of view? or from a woman’s point of view? or from a man’s?

Margaret Farley, the author of the book, Just Love, that we're reading from argues,

"Whatever our intellectual theories about sex and morality, moral questions do emerge a the heart of our sexual lives. Hence, skeptical or not, efforts to develop or at least refine a sexual ethic are inevitable."

I guess I can follow that. We all judge one another (inevitable), and for some people, having a set guideline to follow would make their lives easier. But that just brings me back to the question of who decides on these set ethical standards of sexuality?

Well, it's just the start of the book. Will find out more as I continue reading, I guess.

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Now playing: Nine Inch Nails - physical
via FoxyTunes

Studio!

2008-10-27T15:55:00.007+01:00

Finally I've gotten around to cleaning up my room and taking pictures. Was supposed to be studying, oops. :P

The bunk area - originally the top's supposed to be the bed and the bottom a sofa. But I'm getting old and disliking having to climb up and down when I go to bed or have to pee in the middle of the night. Hah. So I switched it around. Bed on bottom, sofa (kind of) on top. There's a shelf up there, so I can't put the back up, so it's just wasted space for now. But! It's bed for those of you who want to visit me *hint hint nudge nudge*! The white thing next to the bed is a freezer where all the yum food my mom cooked me is stored.

Kitchen area. Kind of small and messy, but, don't know how to make it not so messy. It's as organized as it will get!

Window. Or door rather. My room faces the west, so in the afternoon, the sun shines in. When there's sun anyway. But it's nice, I can get a nice tan just sitting at my desk. Hah! But the only bad thing is I have to hide all the food and medicine, so they don't get shine on and melt or something. Sigh.

Desk area! My little cubbie holes. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with how I've organized things (it's already been re-organized twice), but it'll do for now. Seems so messy still. I have too much random junk. Argh!

The bathroom. Sigh. The worst part of my studio. Haha. The rant from before hasn't occurred again, thankfully. But the sink is leaky. AHHH!! And yes, I told the landlord who said that a lot of people are having this problem, so it might take some time for them to come around and fix mine. =.= Sigh. One of my main priorities when looking for a studio was the bathroom too. Blah. I hate bathrooms.

View from my room - the left hand side. =)

View from my room. The people to the right have little gardens. So cute. =P

So! That's my room. We'll see how long it stays this organized/clean. :)

Can't Wait for Winter Break

2008-10-26T19:48:00.004+01:00

Woo! I am EXCITED to be going back to D.C. this winter break.

Why? why? why?

BECAUSE! It's like going back in time, you know? I haven't been back for ... a couple of years. More than 5. It was some time during high school, when my sister had just transferred back to Taiwan. My gosh. Geez, where does time fly? It'll be interesting re-visiting the old places - Beverly Farms, Herbert Hoover, Montgomery Mall, etc. I wonder if I'll still remember it all. I wonder if things have changed, much. I wonder, I wonder.

Sometimes it's better to leave places in your memories alone because things might have changed, and not necessarily for the better. Better to have your "idealized" memory of the place, I guess. But I don't think it makes that much difference because I actually don't remember that much from our four and a half years in the States. Just little bits and pieces.

Anyway, also because I get to finally eat Pho, Chipotle, Pinkberry (?) after a year and a half of going cold turkey. Yay yay yay. And also Starbucks. I know, I know ... Starbucks?! I can't help it. I really like their caramel macchiato, though. And I don't have an espresso machine or anything here that I can make my own with. And I have yet to see one in any of the restaurants I've been to here. Boo. :( I guess I could always take the train to the airport where the only existing Starbucks in Belgium is located, but that seems kind of a hassle and not worth the train ticket. Haha. :P

But yes. MARYLAND!!!! I am excited. Can you tell? But. I am not looking forward to the airplane trip out. =( Especially during Christmas season. Bah.

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Now playing: 范逸臣 - 讓我靜一靜
via FoxyTunes

Graffiti'd Alley

2008-10-25T21:07:00.001+02:00

Graffiti'd Alley, originally uploaded by lisapoo.

In Gent, this little tunnel was totally covered in graffiti of all sorts of colors. I wanted to go through because on the other side there was even more graffiti, but we were with other people, and I didn't want to hold up the group, so I refrained. Sigh.

Don't think I'll be able to find that tunnel again. But it was awesome!

Random Update

2008-10-24T21:07:00.002+02:00

I suck at keeping a constant posting. :P

Why's it so hard? Probably because I have to think of something to post about.

My mom's leaving tomorrow. AHHHHH. I will, as someone put it, finally be alone. Sigh. I will have to fend for myself! Oh my!

As nonchalant and flippant as I try to sound, there are still many, many worries.

Didja know this is the first time I've EVER lived alone? I've shared a room with someone for the past five years. I've lived with at least one other person for the past 23 years. Sigh. So this will be the first time living alone in an apartment/studio in a foreign country (still so many firsts even now!). AHHHHH. I'm pretty sure I'm going to freak myself out with my overactive imagination. I just hope the phase will pass, QUICKLY, and I'll be able to ... uh, get settled and not think scary thoughts at night. >.< I'm such a wimp. UGH.

I think my cold is going away faster this time around. Thanks to all aspirin + vitamin C drink thing my mom's friend suggested. Yay!

Also, lugging huge ass comforter to and from the laundromat is NOT fun, especially in the rain. I don't see myself washing my comforters that often. Ewwwww. Thank goodness for febreeze. HEEHEE.

Ok, I'll stop now before I gross anyone out.

Cold #2

2008-10-24T00:03:00.006+02:00

Yup. It's official. I have another cold. The other day when writing about the fantastic-ness that is European weather, I thought to myself, "Wow, I'm surprised I'm not sick again." Spoke ~~to see~~ too soon, once again. I need to stop doing that! Argh.

So this cold is kind of kicking my butt. Energy-less, sore and achey all over, brain dead along with the usual sore throat, ~~coffee~~ coughing, and runny nose. Sigh. Cold number two since arriving in Belgium. It's funky because I hadn't had a cold for a while, and now it's suddenly here with a vengeance. Sigh.

Waaaaaah. This suckeths. And I have no Nyquil to help me sleep at night. Sigh.

The slash outs are what I had typed before I realized what I'd typed. The mind and the hands are not coordinating. Sigh.

Me go drink warm water and try to sleep. Sigh.

I need to stop sighing. Sigh.

Sinfest

2008-10-22T19:18:00.003+02:00

Working my way, slowly, through the webcomic Sinfest. Currently on 2002, still got six years to go, WOO WOO!!! Talk about time waster. :)

With winter fast approaching and the horror stories I've heard associated with it (mainly, cold, wet, and dark), this is totally going to be me.

Once in a While Photo - Secret Place

2008-10-21T23:21:00.005+02:00

A little peek...

And the full view.

Getting a Resident ID in Leuven

2008-10-21T00:26:00.003+02:00

This is sort of a guide to getting a resident's ID here in Leuven, if any of you fine readers should ever feel like applying for school here or doing an exchange program. To travel around the Schengen States, you will need this ID; just having the student visa is not enough (good for Luxembourg and The Netherlands, though). I went into this not knowing what to expect. I thought one or two visits to the Foreigner's Office would lead to an ID card. Ehhhhh. Wrong. So, here's the process, so you don't go into this blindly, like I did.

Report to the foreigner's office as soon as possible after you arrive, preferably have a place of abode available already. Grab a ticket (ticket for foreigners), which is currently on the right hand side of the flat screen TV (not sure if that will change later on). Your number corresponds to the screen showing which number is being called upon on the right hand side of the room. Take a seat for this should take a couple of hours, depending on the number of people ahead of you and the counters that are actually open (usually 2 out of the 4). Bring something to read or play or something! A definite must. It took me about 3 hours of waiting time. I was actually the last person. In this visit, they basically set up a file for you in a pink folder! Bring them your housing contract and also your passport, of course, and they will give you a yellow form, in return, of which you must complete prior to your next visit to the Foreigner's Office. When will that be? After the police visit your place of abode, or you get summoned to the police station.

After the police's visit, you await a yellow invitation card. This card allows you to not have to wait three hours because it tells you exactly when you can go (specific time people! If you can't make it, you have to call them and reschedule)! Yay! Once you get the invite, head back to the Foreigner's Office and go straight to desk three or four. Show them your yellow card and voila, you should be done in ten minutes or less. Give them your completed yellow form, a proof of registration at KU Leuven (should have gotten it when you registered for classes), and two (or three, forget) passport sized photos. Then they will tell you that you will receive another invitation in ten days (or a little bit longer) when you can come back to the Foreigner's Office and apply for a electronic residence card.

Wait ten days (or a little bit longer), and you get a letter telling you what to bring (two passport photos, passport, and 12.50 Euro) and when counter six (express counter!) is open. Go at the best available time for you, but I suggest early in the morning, so you do not have to wait an hour because trust me, there will be other people there either picking up their IDs already or applying for their IDs. The letter says you do not need a number, but they've changed the system, and you actually do. So! Grab a number from the person at desk 1 or 2. Do NOT mess with or touch their stuff. They get touchy about it and lecture you loud enough for the rest of the hall to hear (no, not me. Someone else.). Wait your turn. When it is your turn, give them the required items. Watch them do their thing. Then, they will tell you to wait 3 weeks when you will get another invite back to the Foreigner's Office to pick up your ID card. Take your leave and wonder,

WHY? WHY DOES IT TAKE SO FREAKING LONG AND REQUIRE SO MANY TRIPS TO THE FREAKING CITY HALL TO GET AN ID?!

And that is my experience thus far. Now I must wait for the last invitation, and I will complete this long and arduous procedure and entry (hopefully!).

Smokers. [Smoking Rant]

2008-10-19T19:38:00.003+02:00

Not to offend anyone, but man, people like to smoke here. I hate it, especially when we're walking behind someone, and he (because they're mostly guys) suddenly exhales. Then we get a face full of smoke. Gah. At least have some consideration and don't smoke while you walk! It's not just when he exhales, but also just walking and having a cigarette in his hands causes the smoke to come towards people behind him. Wish they'd be more considerate of people who haven't built up some tolerance to cigarette smoke and is semi-allergic to cigarette smoke.

I shouldn't be sexist. There are also plenty of girls who smoke here. So different from LA where there actually weren't that many smokers. Blech. Everywhere you go here, you inhale smoke. Sigh. I'll probably have inhaled more second hand smoke here by the time I leave than all my four years at UCLA. Hope it doesn't have any effect on my health. :(

I don't understand this need to smoke. I mean, aesthetically, it's not pleasing. Yellow teeth? Yellow fingernails? Mmm, sexay! Also, it stinks! Not just the smoke itself, but also the person is drenched in that smell, especially his or her breath. I hate sitting in the vicinity of a smoker because, frankly, s/he stinks! Sigh. And then there's the health side. People are striving for a healthier lifestyle nowadays, yet they smoke? Hmmm. It doesn't work that way. Cancer of many types are caused by cigarettes, so why smoke? 就是不懂。

Ok. End rant.

Coffee <3

2008-10-18T18:14:00.005+02:00

There's an old-school coffee making machine here called Belgium Coffee Maker (aka Vacuum Coffe Maker), which used to be made in Belgium but has now been outsourced to Portugal. But it's so cool. It's kind of hard to explain how it works, but basically on the glass container side you put the coffee grounds in and pour water in the metallic container side. The water side is a vacuum and is heated by the little candle on the bottom. So when the water heats up, it goes to the coffee ground side and then the coffee that's made goes back to the water side. Then you pour out the coffee via the spigot (so cute).

Okay ... that was confusing, huh? And I'm not sure how it actually does all that (like the mechanisms and whatnot), but it's super pretty (:D) and super cool. I wish we had one, but it costs like 300 Euros or more, and they're no longer sold as widely because everyone likes to use those Espresso Machines now.

Better than my lousy attempt at describing how it works ... Ha! Just turn off the sound because the music is .. eh ... and the demonstration starts around 0:25. So coo!

Dog ... Love (?)

2008-10-17T23:25:00.004+02:00

What? I didn't do anything.

Imagine having a huge, powerful German Shepard come straight behind you and, um, attempt to hump you from behind in front of a dozen moms. YAH. That's really all I have to say about that, besides, AWKWARD (turtle).

But I's so cute.

Bathroom Anger

2008-10-17T00:35:00.003+02:00

Anger's a bit extreme. I'm not angry. Just ... puzzled. I think that's a better word; REALLY REALLY puzzled.

I was going to leave my rant about my bathroom for the room picture entry, which will happen after my mom leaves. But! It cannot wait! I seriously cannot understand the person who designed the bathroom here.

Ok. You know how in Taiwan there are lots of bathrooms where there's no tub or shower stall, but it's just an open bathroom with a shower head (and the other necessary equipment for a bathroom)? Like the one at the apartment I stayed at this past year in Taiwan (for those of you who have visited). So it's just a floor with a drain in the middle somewhere (with a very, very slight slant of the floor towards the drain). To prevent water from escaping the bathroom into the outside area, though, the designers built a ledge where the door is, so the door is a tad higher, but it effectively prevents water from escaping. Basically, unless the water level is over an inch high, there's no way the area outside the bathroom will flood.

So my bathroom here is kind of like that. There's curtains, but curtains do jack to prevent your floor from getting wet. It just prevents the sink and toilet from getting wet, but not really because steam is going to get them semi-wet anyway. I don't really care if everything else gets wet in the bathroom because I'm used to it (thanks to Taiwan), but, there's two big differences between my bathroom here and the one back in Taiwan. One, there's no ledge. No ledge you say! Doesn't the water flow out into the room then? Why yes, yes it does. Not as much as you'd think because the floor has a bigger slant (than the one in Taiwan) inwards towards the drain. Smart, but not really because the slope is not steep enough. Two, the even stupider part, they put the showerhead right next to the door. So! The shower curtain covers two sides, the wall with the shower head covers the third side, and the bathroom door with a crack underneath covers the fourth side. Which means, inevitably, water will escape into the room.

When we asked the landlord, he said it's ok! The bathroom is designed so that not A LOT (just a little bit) of water will escape into the room unless the drainage pipe is clogged.

Hah! I had a near-flood tonight. It wasn't really a flood, but a decent amount of water came out (not just a little bit). The worst part is that I have a freezer right next to the bathroom, so the runaway water nearly got into the electrical part of it. Thankfully I caught it before it had the opportunity to kill my freezer, but I'm just so confused as to why they designed the bathroom this way. Why didn't they just make a ledge at the door? Why is there a crack under the door that allows water out? Why did they put the shower head RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOOR?! It makes no sense. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

But I can't really complain because technically, the shower/drainage in that bathroom is made for one person, and we have two people showering in there right now. After the first person showered, it was all ok, but during the second person showering, the near-flooding happened. Sigh. But the drain is not clogged because there's no flooding in the bathroom, and we clean the drain everyday. So I'm also puzzled as to why this didn't happen before but is happening now.

Argh. It's just frustrating because I HATE HAVING WET FLOORS - one of my pet peeves. Not to mention I used up a roll of paper towels wiping up the escaped water. Sigh. If only they built a damn ledge instead of thinking that slanting the floor inwards towards the drain would do the trick.

Messed up Weird European Weather

2008-10-16T18:35:00.003+02:00

I've forgotten how ADD European weather is.

This morning I wake up (at 730, sigh) and it's pretty cold and drizzly. Then, we go to Brussels, and it's cloudy with some blue skies and sun shining through, so it's relatively warm. Then, it starts pouring like no tomorrow with the sun shining in the distance (wtf?!). Then, we get back to Leuven, and stepping out of the train station my mom says, "well, the weather here is pretty good - look, the floor is dry!" And we see some blue skies in the distance. Then, two seconds later it starts raining. =.= THEN! We're five minutes away from home, and the clouds clear and blue skies and the bright sun comes out. And it is hot and blinding because of the wet cobblestoned streets reflecting sunlight (see above picture). And right now, it's getting cold again. ALL THIS IN A DAY. I'm surprised it's not SNOWING. (Just watch.)

Sigh. It makes deciding what to wear in the mornings a difficult task. I known I should layer, but then I'm too lazy to have to take clothes off and carry them around. So I normally end up either overdressing (like today, wearing a sweater, a vest, and a thick jacket) or underdressing (hoodie and tshirt). Blah.

On another note, discussion classes at 9 am are a bad idea. It requires me to wake up at 730, and today in particular, it causes me to not think coherently after a long climb up the damn steep hill to get to a library that's hidden away in a small alley, which I luckily stumble upon, but get lost trying to find the room in the library because it's like four flights down on level 92 but not on level 92 exactly but rather between levels 91 and 92. WTF?! In that case, the room number should be 91.5.03 not 92.03. That is MISLEADING. And then the prof talks about ethics (ugh) and what we're required to do in the class and I hear her talking, but none of it is actually being absorbed. So, if you ask me now what she said, I would have to say, I have no ideas? Thankfully there is a syllabus. Phew! Then the prof asks me what I think ethics is, and I somehow manage to blurt out an answer without thinking about what I was saying. Sigh. I hope it made some sort of sense. Ah whatever, I can't even remember what I said. Sigh

Enough random ranting for today. And I actually wanted to blog about accents. But that'll be for another time.

Ah, I missed a blog post yesterday. >.< Sigh. Bad!

Apple Apple Apple!

2008-10-14T22:46:00.004+02:00

I've decided I have a love and hate relationship with Apple Inc. Why?! Because they produce such pretty things every year but at a high price. SO! I hate them for making me want to spend the money that I don't have, but I love because their things are so pretty. And good. And awesome. And ... yes, I am an Apple fan. Sigh.

Anyway, so Apple announcement today - New Macbook Pros, Macbooks, and 24" Cinema Display (FINALLY), and also updated Macbook Air. Wowees. Oh, and cheaper older version of the white Macbooks (although I was really hoping for an 899 USD Macbook). The Macbooks have pretty much become smaller versions of the MBP's - 13.3 in. screens but otherwise looks the same as MBPs.

I don't know. Maybe I need some more time to get used to it, but the black on silver on a laptop doesn't really do it for me. I still like how the old MBPs looked. All silver. Now everything kind of just looks like the iMac, as a friend pointed out. Even the cinema display (which looks really cool! I want!) looks like an iMac. Sigh.

But, nonetheless, I STILL WANT ONE, MBP that is. As the same friend pointed out, the macbooks can now outrun my 1.83Ghz even more (Ouch, that HURTS). Before it didn't hurt as bad, but with these new upgrades on the Macbook ... *Sigh* It's ok. I still <3 my mbp although Photoshop crashed on me three times today and and and keeps giving me the spinning wheel of death. Argh. But no! Actually, if my MBP wants to die on me soon, better do it before March 19th when my warranty runs out. Ahhhhhhh.

At least I'm over the Macbook Air. :) I just want a $2499 MBP now. HEEHEE. Just kidding. No, not really. Sigh.

End Apple Rave.

Clumsy of the Late

2008-10-13T20:22:00.003+02:00

Taken in Gent. There were some pretty awesome store displays.

I don't know what's up with me lately (as in these past few days), but I've been accident prone. On Saturday, while trying to climb up the steps to my apartment's front door, I missed a step and totally fell on my hands and knees. I knocked my knee against the edge of the step too, and it hurt like a ... lot. ::>.<:: And then today, I spilled detergent on my floor. I shouldn't have held the bottle by the cap, but I thought I'd already screwed it tightly. Unfortunately I was wrong, and the whole bottle dropped on the floor, spilling half of its contents. Took a while to clean up the oily, soapy mess.

Blah. What's going on?! Why am I so accident prone lately? Sigh. Need to be more careful nowadays I guess.

Totally unrelated: This real life love story is so touching and sweet. Sniff.

Gent (Picture Entry)

2008-10-13T13:33:00.003+02:00

First we stumbled across a bird/hamster/rabbit Market - so many cute furry animals. I saw chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, and all sorts of birds, like these. So noisy.
Then we wandered into a flea market. Didn't get many pictures because I was too busy looking at awesome old things.

Following are pictures taken along the boat tour. I don't remember what the buildings are anymore. Beside the obvious church and castle buildings, there were also some fish market, meat market, and ... other ones. Just old buildings in general. :P

Gent's version of the Big Ben

People of Gent were known as the noose carriers because back in the good old days, people who were unable to or did not pay their taxes were punished by wearing a noose around their neck and parading around downtown as a form of public humiliation. Scary.

Castle!
This boat was imported from Bangladesh. Kind of gondola-like.
Oldest remaining building with a wooden facade.
The tour boat guide referred this as the Gent Skyline - three gothic-styled buildings one after another.

Can never escape the Mcd's
Ham. Random.

More random street pictures to come later .... :)

Gent & Excessive Picture Taking

2008-10-12T22:48:00.004+02:00

We went to Gent (another city in Belgium), and boy is that city super scenic. I took more than 200 pictures, which I whittled down to 200 after looking through them on my computer. I think I take too many pictures, mostly because I'm not sure how they'll turn out. Looking at the picture on the tiny little LCD screen and on the computer monitor are two different things. So, to be on the safe side, I take a bajillion photos of the same thing and just keep the best one when I get home. Thankfully my memory card is big enough to let me do that. I used to only have a 1 gig on my old Sony, and it was never enough.

Anyway, today was a beautiful day! Super sunny and blue skies with wisps of cloud here and there. It was perfect for sitting beside the river in Gent and enjoying a meal and some coffee. Also perfect for a boat tour of the old city. And definitely a perfect day for me to be snapping pictures here and there. It also helps that the buildings and surrounding just makes you want to take out your camera and snap away. More than ever I wish I had bought a DSLR (as much as I love my Fujifilm). But, I'll just have to make do with my digital camera.

When we arrived at Gent, we first looked around its flea market. There were a lot of things I wish I had the money to buy (and the place to store). Old school boxes, metal wall hangings, really old and probably non-usable 8mm film cameras, dishes, figurines, really old and rusty tools, old instruments, and many more objects people brought out to sell. There were also lots of old books that just look awesome (since I can't read them because they're all in French or Dutch). The stuff there were so old and dusty that I got allergies just walking through the open air flea market. Crazy! But so cool. One of these days, I'm going to go back and look at it some more and maybe collect some small things that I can easily bring back to Taiwan (and aren't too pricey). One of those metal wall hangings cost about 7.5 Euros (kind of pricey), and I really wanted to get one, but I refrained. Sigh. Next time! My mom and I walked away with a metal spoon because I need one. It cost 1 Euro. I think that's why my mom decided to buy it. Hah!

Then we went to the old harbor (panorama picture up there). There were all these people chilling alongside the river/canal. So relaxing, so chill. If only everyday was a day like today (weather-wise). We ate lunch there while soaking up the sun. It felt really nice. Then took a boat tour. Then wandered around the city some more. Then left! Short version of the trip.

Will post pictures later because I am too lazy to choose appropriate ones to upload and to actually upload them. :) Enjoy the panorama!

Randomness from Today

2008-10-12T00:14:00.004+02:00

Our family friend who we knew from back in our Washingtin, D.C. days (and who happens to be here in Brussels now, too!) came to Leuven to take us grocery shopping since we have no car. Sad. But it was good. Bought a lot of water, stocked up on meat and fish, and veggies of course. Bought some chocolate soymilk, not as good ask Silk, but it'll do, it'll do.

Anyway! Two random things today. One is that picture you see up there. Yup. It's a rooster. Know where it was running around? Behind the Carrefour we were shopping at. We were waiting for the son to buy some gum, so we were just chilling in the parking lot. And I see, ROOSTERS! So random.

Next random thing, but not really random. Interesting I guess. Anyway, the family friend's son and I were in McD's buying him some fries and McFlurry (he has super huge appetite, it's kind of crazy) and me some coffee. We were fighting over who gets to pay because my mom wanted me to and his mom wanted him to .... so we both handed the money to the cashier, and she's like "Oh no, which one do I take? Oh, well, it's always the guy that pays, so I'll take his money." It was funnier when I was there, but you know, there's that whole benign sexism thing. Meh, not going to think too much about it. It was just funny when we were there, and it gave me a good excuse to give to my mom in how I failed to pay for the food. *Sigh*

Took lots of pictures of Leuven again today. :) Will share next time.

Autumn is Here!

2008-10-11T18:29:00.004+02:00

Less than a month ago my mom and I went walking at the old nunnery (Beguinage). Today we went again with parent's old friends and things sure have changed! Well, not really. The buildings still look the same (don't think that'll change any time soon), but the color and existence of leaves have changed. Unintentionally, I took pictures of some of the same location and foliage last time and this time. So the above picture is the compare and contrast of what less than a month can do to the trees here. Can you spot the differences? (Click picture to enlarge)

Gadget Discoveries

2008-10-10T20:39:00.006+02:00

My new Firefox appearance.

I've realized that I really like to find new gadgets, not just electronic gadgets, but also gadgets for the computer and internet. A couple months ago I posted about Adobe Air and its associated programs for Digg and Twitter. Well, I got over that phase because it was annoying having to switch screens (Yes, I use Spaces on my mac) just to see what was new on Twitter or Digg. Also had some other issues with not being able to shut it down or start it up if whenever I restart my computer. Blah blah blah. Then, at work I discovered the Twitter Add-on for Firefox, which was really useful in reading random people's Twitters in my FF browser and general slacking off at work.

Today I found another fun Add-on for Firefox - Yoono (still in Beta). I know, it sounds funky, but it's actually pretty useful. You can put your AIM, MSN, and GTalk buddy lists in a column on the left hand side part of your browser. So for those people who enlarge their FF to fill the entire screen, it's pretty useful. I've put my Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook on there, and whenever there's new activity on any of them, it shows up in the left hand column. You can also put Digg and your Google Reader subscriptions on there, not to mention E-mail (if you have Yahoo or Gmail), so you can see when you have new E-mails and such. It's kind of complicated to use in the beginning with so much goings-on, but after some random clicking-arounds and time, it gets easier.

It's basically a solution for lazy people like me who don't like to click around and likes to have everything in one place. It also looks pretty cool (if you like blue, like I do).

Thought I'd share another online gadget. Ah, I love discovering these things. So much fun (until I get bored of it)! :D

Gasp

2008-10-10T00:42:00.007+02:00

Ok. That was dumb. After typing in the title of this entry, I hit enter instead of tab and basically posted a blank entry. Ah. My stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Neither does my forgetfulness. Sigh.

The *gasp* of the title was for the fact that I nearly let today go by without updating! Well, I guess I kind of did since it's past 12 am, but, eh. It's still TODAY for me since I'm still awake. Heh. Been trying to post something everyday, if you've noticed, and have been pretty successful, until now.

Today was another trip into Brussels. More mothers gathering for lunch (Japanese food today - yum!), and I get to tag along. I get good food, so I ain't complaining. I also bought nail polish! Yes! I didn't bring any from Taiwan because I seriously had no space in my luggage, and I thought I could do without nail polish for at least three months (until I go to D.C.), but I thought wrong. I don't know. My nails just look so blank and sad without some color! Well, I only bought one - copperish bronze. Once my mom leaves, time to go buy some black. MUA. HA. HA. HA. :)

Oh. So another addition to my short legs in a long leg land - Boots! I mentioned earlier that I went out and bought a pair, but that was after looking at all these different stores with all these different boots. Why was it so hard to find a pair? Well, price was the main concern. But there was another one! All the boots were so tall (not the heels, but the leg part) that if I wore it, they'd have gone past my knees. Woe. My legs are too short! Ahhhhh. So we wandered around trying to find a pair that was decent in price and not too tall so I didn't end up unable to bend my knees. Sigh. The pair that I finally settled on was actually located in a clothing store, not even a shoe store. Hah! And it's the perfect height for me (I hope it's not meant to be an ankle boot for the people here since that would be REALLY sad for me. No, I mean REALLY REALLY sad.).

Another difference that I've noticed is that people here tend to always look impeccably dressed for class. I mean, in UCLA we had those girls who put on tons of make up and wore short skirts with Uggs, but in general we were a campus of jeans, tshirt, and a UCLA hoodie. Or even just rolling out of bed and going to class still in PJs. But not so here. My fellow program-mates are ok. Jeans and well, not tshirts because it's cold here, but some kind of long sleeved shirt. But when I'm walking to class or even just around Leuven, I can't help but notice that the girls have like, make up on and are wearing stylish clothes, etc. I feel even more ... immature or child-like here. Hah! Not to mention short. Yup. The girls here are tall already, but they also wear heeled boots, which makes them even taller!

Maybe UCLA isn't the norm and other universities in the States or even Taiwan have girls showing up to class with impeccable makeup and clothes. Yes? No? Anybody? Anybody?

Orchid (Part 2)

2008-10-08T21:30:00.003+02:00

One more orchid bud bloomed! Now there's a total of three orchid flowers. So pretty! Two more to go!

Also, I love Photoshop! :D

Mommy, Can I Have a Doggie ... PLEASE?!

2008-10-07T21:05:00.003+02:00

So instead of um ... studying, I found another fun and cute blog to waste my time on. Actually, I finished studying. And that will be another topic for another time (more like another complaint). But anyway! This blog is Three Woofs and A Woo. Omg. So cute. So many pictures of the border collies, the author's cat, and other dogs! Ahhhhh. Makes me want dogs and cats even more. :( Anyway, thought I'd share. I wanted to post more pictures, but my download limit is inching ever closer to 5 gigs, so, I shall refrain from saving pictures. :(

SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN ......

2008-10-07T16:29:00.007+02:00

You know those pictures of puppies who see a ball and the caption of the picture is "BALL BALL BALL BALL BALL BALL BALL!!!" (like the one I found up there?) Well, that's me with the sun. SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUNNNNNN ... oh my. :) The sun is out! And according to Weather.com, it's supposed to stay out for the rest of the week. SWEEEET.

There's this bush I have to pass whenever I go in the downtown direction and come back. It's filled with BEES. Ugh. I hate insects, but especially spiders, cockroaches, and bees. Back in Taiwan it wasn't much of a problem since there are rarely any bees in Taipei (not much to pollinate I guess). Although there were way too many BIG cockroaches, ew. Guess you can't have everything. Anyway, I have a fear of being stung even though I don't think I've ever been stung before (and hopefully it stays that way), and yah, just a general fear of bees. So every time I walk by the bush all these bees fly out and start buzzing. I should really give the bush a wider berth, but sometimes I just don't pay attention where I'm walking. Sigh. So whenever that happens, I wince and pray that the bees are too busy buzzing to do any harm to me. >.<

Oh! On my way home today I saw a Himalayan cat with no collar. And it looked kinda dirty!! So either it's a runaway or it's lost or it's owner doesn't practice proper hygiene for their kitty. I wanted to take it back home with me, but my mom forbade me. Sadness. IT'S SO CUTE. AHHHHHH.

(Cat picture from Piccat.com)

Space! (Nerdy Entry)

2008-10-06T20:02:00.004+02:00

I deleted all the music from my computer and that freed up 20 gigs of HD space. WOO! I seriously have too much music that I don't listen to but don't want to delete because I'm always afraid that I'll want to listen to it in the future. I have the makings of a pack rat. Wait. I already am. Although I think I'm getting better in that department. Throwing things away doesn't cause so much pain any longer. It helps to get rid of that pack rat mentality when you move around so much. Having too much stuff ain't good when you need to pack it all into two (or one) suitcases. Trust me, I know.

Now why would I go and delete ALL my music? Because I transferred them all to my external. :) Now I have an external (300 Gigs man!) plugged in permanently because I've realized that 70 gigs is TOO small, and it's a pain having to constantly go through your stuff and wonder what you can delete (although it's good to do that once in a while). I was planning on transferring the pictures over as well, but I think I'll hold off on that. I have a fear of the ext hd dying and losing all my pictures (my drawn AND taken ones) even though I have a backup in two other countries (burned them to CD in Taiwan and backed up in my WD HD that's with my dad in D.C.). Still! I don't think I've ever been so paranoid about losing data.

I remember with my computer in Taiwan I didn't care if it died (which it did, often) or if my cousin wiped the data from my HD. Except now I kind of regret not backing up those HDs because ... I've lost all my high school pictures (except for the ones I'd managed to upload to the internet). Stupid! Doh! So, now I'm super paranoid about losing my pictures (especially the drawn ones!) and other potentially important data (like my resume, perhaps).

He he he. I don't think my laptop has had so much free space since ... well, for a long time. I wonder if it's happy. Ecstatic. Will run smoother now. Speaking of which! I need to increase the space allocated to my Windows XP so that I can play Maple Story. Will have to find time to do it and hope I don't end up killing the comp. Cross my fingers!

(Image from ursulav.devart)

So. Friggin. Cold. Ah!

2008-10-05T17:39:00.003+02:00

There's really no point to this entry besides me ranting about how it's really cold. Ok fine, it's only 11 degrees celsius (or 52F), but it's still cold. It's only October! Why is it so cold already? Was Switzerland like this?! Why can't I remember?! AHHHHHHH. I'm not used to it getting cold until ... later.

And and and, not only is it cold, it's also rainy and dreary and depressing weather. When I attended the TSA meet, one of the girls was talking about winter blues. You really get winter blues here! Because the sun rises late and sets super early (like 4 pm ... wtf!), and there's not much sun. There's lots of gray clouds.

Aih. I am in trouble. I wish I could take SoCal weather with me where I go.

Oh, there's another point to this entry. I made a cute animated GIF (or so I think) that I'd like to share: clicky!. For a little explanation of it, visit here. :)

The end!

Short Legs in a Long Legs Land

2008-10-04T20:28:00.003+02:00

People here are tall. Really tall. Both the guys and the gals. It kind of sucks being short here. Why? Well, since the majority of people here are tall, a lot of the chairs, desks, cabinets, etc. are made for their height. For example, I find my legs dangling a lot when I'm out at a restaurant, on the metro, on the bus, and on the train. I have to sit at the edge of the seat to actually touch the ground with the bottom of my feet. Also, the medicine cabinet/mirror in my bathroom is so tall that I can only see the top half of my face (read: forehead). I've found it to be useful when plucking my eyebrows :P. There's also a mirror on the inside of one of my cabinet doors, but the cabinet is so high up that I can't really see myself in that mirror. Hence I went out and bought a mirror and made sure it didn't hang too high.

My short legs have never really been a problem (except for the toilet in our studio back in LA, which was really high for some odd reason) until now. 'Tis quite sad, I must say.

Picture of the Day - Orchids' A-Bloomin'

2008-10-04T20:18:00.007+02:00

Before my parents had their stuff shipped out, they convinced me to take in two of their (many) plants. They'd originally wanted me to take all of them, but I figured that wasn't a good idea, considering how I would be gone for semi-long periods of time (winter & summer vacation) in which there'd be no water for the plants. So, not wanting to kill ALL of them, I took two home-less plants in, one of which is the orchid pictured. And the buds have bloomed! Two of the five, anyway. They're quite pretty. :) Hopefully the rest will bloom as well, and this orchid will have a long life (unlike the one my roomie tried to raise back in LA).

On another note, I tried to take pictures of my room, but I realized how messy and disordered it is currently. There's clothes hanging all over the place because my mom has no closet space (yes, it's filled with all my stuff, but it's not a very big closet at all!), so she has to utilize random hanging places in the room. :P So, wait for it ... the pictures will be up soon enough.

Trip to Brussels

2008-10-03T21:09:00.002+02:00

What a long day.

Went into Brussels today to have lunch with my mom's friends. Also walked away with a very nice pair of boots that was expensive, but not as expensive as the 200 ~ 300 Euro ones, which were the majority. Sigh. I figured it would be a good idea to get a pair since 1) it rains so often here, 2) it'll keep my calves warm, and 3) I can maybe wear skirts (I might have to start wearing tights, though. Oh dear God.).

After lunch, my mom thought we would be able to exchange my dad and her's drivers license at the community place near our old apartment, so we chill around until 5 pm and head over. Turns out we were mistaken and they were closed already (argh, it's a long metro ride, which feels even longer during rush hour), so we had to head back downtown to the train station (rush hour!!!) and wade through crowds (Friday AND rush hour. ugh.) to get to our train. We end up taking a really slow train that stops at all the little stops (normally it takes 20 minutes, this train ended up taking 36 minutes). Then we get to Leuven and decide to try to take the bus back to my apartment because it's cold and wet, and we end up going in the wrong direction. Thankfully we realized it before we actually arrived at the last stop (far, far away). So we wait in the cold and wet for the bus to take us in the other direction and finally make it home at like 7:30 pm (we left at 10am). At least now I know how to take the bus to the train station. Sigh. Did I mention it was raining all day long?

Oh how I hate the weather here. Raining most of the time. I seriously think So Cal weather has spoiled me. Sun. Blue skies. Sun. Little rain.

I am super tired, so please disregard any incoherencies and grammar mistakes. >.<

It's a Beer Culture

2008-10-02T18:36:00.004+02:00

I've noticed a pretty interesting thing here in Leuven. There's beer EVERYWHERE. In the student cafeterias they sell beer. Today at Mcdonalds I noticed they were selling beer too. Oh man, definitely a beer culture here. It's so normal to have beer being sold everywhere that they don't even blink an eye. Coming from the U.S., this openness to alcohol still takes some getting used to. Even in Taiwan where the drinking age isn't enforced (what is it anyway?), beer's still not as accessible as compared to Belgium (well, unless you count 7-11). And! The beer here is better. Mmmhmmm.

So. Any beer fanatics out there? You should apply to KUL. Just not the human sexuality program, ok? Ok!

On an unrelated note, I am dying of allergies. I went to the laundromat today to do laundry, and either that place has way too much dust or something, it's riled up my allergies like no tomorrow. Sigh. I think I've sneezed more than 20 times today. My brain is starting to leak out. Gross.

Speaking of laundromat, it was difficult understanding what needed to be done when everything was in Dutch. :( Thankfully there are nice peoples out there who are willing to help. Sigh. And the laundromat is a walk away. Sucks. And I used to think going from the second floor to the first floor to the laundry room in Gayley was a hassle. I shouldn't have complained back then. T~T And it's more expensive here too! Really shouldn't have complained about the prices back in the States. Hah. Washing and drying cost me 6.80 Euro (~9.45 USD ... holy mother). Definitely won't be doing laundry THAT often. Will have to start handwashing. Sigh. Why is life here so tough? Why?!

(Image from allposters.com.)

Lightpaint Piano Player

2008-10-02T12:41:00.002+02:00

This is all shades of awesome. And cute! :D

(first seen on Bbrother.)

Picture of the Day - The Past

2008-10-01T20:51:00.002+02:00

So because there's been no recent photos taken that I haven't posted, I've decided to reach into my (recent) past and grab a random picture. I'm hoping not all of you have seen my Flickr account. Heh.

Anyway, this picture was taken back in Feb. of this year. It's in that little exhibition beneath one of the buildings near Taipei Main Station that showcases a little bit of the old days of Taiwan. The streets, decor, "stores" are all done in the old-fashioned way. Check out that old scooter! Interesting thing is that you can still see those scooters (some times) in the real streets of present day Taiwan. I liked the feel of the place, although the entrance fee was kind of expensive (I think 200nt), but they did provide a certain amount of coupons that you could spend in the exhibition itself. Kinda cool.

General Update

2008-10-01T19:30:00.006+02:00

Je suis fatiguee. It's been a while since I had class from the morning to the afternoon. Thankfully this won't be happening every week. Although I kind of wish I had a stabler schedule. Anyway, I'll try to make this a coherent update without me going all over the place and off tangents.

Health

So it's official. I hate my health. JUST KIDDING (please don't give me any other random infections or sicknesses, PLEASE!)! But yah, I went to the doctor yesterday for the tooth pain, and the doc says it's an infection in my gum. So, she gave me a prescription for antibiotics and said it should get better in 2 to 3 days. If after five days it's still not gone, then I have to go back. *Sigh* It's day two (just beginning), and I'm not sure if it's because the medicine is actually working or because I got some painkillers and are currently taking them, but it isn't as painful. I think it could be because of the painkillers because when I'm chewing, it's still painful.

Speaking of chewing, I haven't really been masticating my food recently. More like, I make a half-hearted attempt at chewing and then swallow the food. Hah, my stomach probably hates me right now. But eh, I can't chew without pain, so I kind of gave up. I had the most fantastic meal today at lunch - (tasteless) mashed potatoes - no gravy and yogurt. Two foods that did not require chewing. Too bad I was starving during my afternoon class. Sigh. Please get better, please!

So I'm still debating about whether or not to get my lump removed. I got a referral but I want to wait till I get my health insurance card before I make an appointment. On the pro side of getting it removed, there's the fact that it'll be gone (yay!) and I don't have to worry about it getting infected - for now. Which leads me to the con side - it's most likely going to return (because it's difficult to remove all parts of the tumor due to the roots looking like regular tissue), and I'm going to have major scarring if I continue to get it removed each time it grows back. Not to mention, IT HURTS after the surgery.

Meh. The fact that it'll probably grow back is a big deterrent, but I don't want to get it infected because then I have to deal with the puss and all that fun stuff (although now that I know where the student health center is, getting medication for it shouldn't be too bad). Sigh. Decisions decisions.

Classes
Monday we were supposed to have class, we all show up and there's no professor. The class has been canceled (for now). So we were all confused and decided to take it up with our program coordinator (who's pretty chill, I guess). He kinda arrives late for class today because this class (Sexology Seminar) had been rescheduled, and he'd noted down the wrong time for it (note: CHILL prof). But he showed up, phew! (otherwise people would have been p.o.'d) and we proceeded to have class (for about an hour). It was pretty good - did some word and thought association with certain words (e.g., sexology, human sexuality, etc.) and discussed.

Then we did a little pow-wow with the prof and figured out that we didn't only have three classes. We actually have six, but only two of them have class every week. The others are more along the lines of self study where we read articles and do assignments and then meet up with the profs every so often. I've never done that before, so it should be interesting. I wonder if I have the self control for it. Hah! Sigh. Time to learn some self-control I guess.

Afternoon class was the physiology and endocrinology class - holy mother was today's class more difficult than last time's. All these hormones stimulating other things and whatever ... Although it wasn't as hard as that brain class I took in UCLA (where I understood little to nothing in the first and all subsequent classes), it was still a tad bit hard considering how I haven't really been using my brain for the past year. Sigh. But, positive side, the prof did say today's class was the most complex and it should get easier from here. So! Keep my fingers crossed. :)

OH! I discovered that in one of my buildings where I have class, they have a good coffee machine (not like the so-so Nestle ones in UCLA). The coffee was actually pretty good. And it's not that bad in terms of price - 60 cents (although it's kind of a small cup). Happiness. :D

And that's it for the update. Didn't post picture of the day yesterday because ... there was no picture for me to post. :P Will try to take some today while we're out on our walk. (edit: since it was raining while we walked, there were no pictures to be taken, sadly. Although one of these days I may just go out after it rains and takes some pictures. Leuven is actually quite nice at night with the pebbly roads wet and shimmering under the light.)

(comic from Wulffmorgenthaler.com ... Thanks JC for intro-ing me to the comic. it's fantastic. click to enlarge.)

Picture of the Day - Sign

2008-09-29T17:53:00.004+02:00

Taken on my walk yesterday. Was trying to get the spider web, but that's kind of hard to see (unless you enlarge it by clicking). But the colors are so vibrant. :)

Pain, pain, pain ... (complaining post alert)

2008-09-29T17:46:00.006+02:00

So I don't know if it's because wisdom tooth is growing or if it's because I'm biting my skin or something, BUT IT HURTS. Oh the pain ... Sigh. It's spread to the left side of my face, and like whenever I open my mouth or bite down, it hurts. >.< And the usually prepared me forgot to bring pain killers. I guess I could go buy some, but I don't know what's good here. I could also go see a doctor, but I have no insurance. And even if I did, I wouldn't know where to go! Blah. This sucks. Majorly.

It would be just my luck to have this happen to me now. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Someone, STOP THE PAIN. Aghhhhhhhhh.

(image from here.)

Picturesque Leuven

2008-09-28T22:26:00.010+02:00

Went walking around Leuven on a nice sunny day today. It was Sunday, so not as many people around. Although, because it was a nice sunny day (guess we don't get that much around here), there were a lot of people at the park and other grassy areas out sunbathing. The atmosphere here is very relaxed, chill. It's kinda nice. Anyway, because it's been a while since I've actually taken any decent pictures, thought I'd get back into it. Here's a little photo tour of my new home.

The little river near my apartment
The building KUL originated out of. Super old - from the 1400's.
Courtyard behind the super old building.
Seminary school(?) Not sure since I can't read Dutch. Sigh.
Pretty red vines

In Leuven, there's an area of old dwellings that's been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO called the Beguinage. It used to be where sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church lived, but nowadays it has become housing for professors and students of KUL. It's super quiet inside (except today there was some activity going on, so it was kinda noisy). There's a courtyard that's really peaceful and nice, too, but didn't get a chance to take pictures.

Another view from inside the Bequinage
Church inside/beside the Bequinage.
River alongside the Bequinage.
EXISTENZ!!! yah, no idea.

And the following are my attempts at being artsy fartsy ... I used to be all black and white, but lately I've been drawn to bright colors. I've matured. Hahahahahahaha .....

Quack!

The street where I live.

So, that's one part of Leuven. Still have the Centrum (St. Peter's Church, City Hall, the library), train station, medical plaza, etc. to explore and take pictures of. Probably next Sunday. Maybe. If I can get off my lazy ass ........

Picture of the Day - Horse

2008-09-28T13:14:00.002+02:00

Near our old apartment in Brussels was small open space where a horse and pony would spend their time grazing. One time we were walking by and the pony was super close to the fence. My dad fed it grass, but I was too wimpy to do it (not to mention, I wasn't keen on getting slobber all over my hands. Gross!). It definitely liked its grass.

New Layout

2008-09-27T15:03:00.003+02:00

MUAHAHA. I gots a new layout for blogger! And it's pretty. Scroll down to the bottom to see where I got it from (if you're on my blogger site). Too lazy to retype. And, for those of you reading from my facebook notes, come to my site! It's pretty, I promise!!! :D

Picture of the Day - Dig!

2008-09-27T14:14:00.002+02:00

Awww, it's butt is sticking out whilst it digs! :P

Book Review: The Shadow of the Wind

2008-09-26T22:35:00.005+02:00

Before my dad left, I went on a book shopping spree in Brussels. There's a bookstore that sells all English books. OH MY! Exciting. Two constants in my life (especially after going to college all by the lonely self): books and music. So easy to escape into the world of books when you're feeling lonely or have nothing to do really. Especially with some good music to keep you company. I may be internet-addicted, but there's no replacing a good book, some music, and the nice warm sun.

The first book of the bunch that I finished reading is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I had no idea it was a bestseller until just now when I went to Wikipedia. Crazy! It's a translation of the original Spanish version (as I don't read Spanish, DUH!). But anyway, it's good. And I'm never any good at giving plot summaries - I tend to make them sound super boring and not worth reading. So I really shouldn't try because this is a good book, and I don't want to ruin people's impression of it (Just read Wiki's).

But it's a book about a book and the mysteries surrounding it and its author. Vague enough, right? Not boring? Mysteries can never be boring, I must say. This one involves a mystery, suspense, romance, drama, action ... everything! My favorite place of the book is the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Man, if such a place existed, I'd want to visit it, except I'd probably die of allergies. Eh.

So, I recommend it to people who ... like books! Harder and harder to find nowadays. E-books, PSH! REAL books, please. Ok, the end of my first book review.

Picture of the Day - <3 Mens

2008-09-26T11:38:00.004+02:00

Saw this during one of my walks around Leuven. The arrow's pointing at a wall ... hmm. What's it mean?!

Picture of the Day - 50th Anniversary

2008-09-25T16:28:00.002+02:00

DSCF0578, originally uploaded by lisapoo.

This is a part of the Belgium's 50th Anniversary Monument.

Mmmyah. That's about it. :P

False Pregnancy

2008-09-24T23:18:00.004+02:00

Today had my first class of physiology and endocrinology of sexual reproduction (I think that's the name. It's so long I can't remember). Despite the relatively dry name, it was a pretty interesting class. And if all my professors are like this one, school will be fun!

Anyway, one of the interesting things we learned about was false pregnancy. I had no idea that this psychological disorder actually existed; the only time I heard of it was on CSI: Las Vegas. Hehehe. It was an episode where the daughter thought she was really pregnant with her dad's kid, I think, but it turned out to be not true even though she had all the symptoms of pregnancy. I thought it was ... science fiction or something. Guess not. Apparently if you really want a baby or you're really afraid/anxious that you're having a baby, you can actually trick your body into believing it's pregnant (with hormones), so your breasts swell and your tummy gets bigger (abdomen gets filled with H2O), but you're not really pregnant! Interesting, no? Scary, too.

Oh! so we do have one more classmate. That makes four of us, total. Although in this class, we're taking it with the Erasmus psychology students, so it's not just the four of us. There's like around 11 or 12 I think. Dang, that's the smallest class I've ever attended (as far as I can remember, anyway). It's an interesting feeling, though, since it feels like the prof is just talking to you, which in a sense he is. So weird. This'll definitely be a new experience.

Picture of the Day - Side View!

2008-09-24T19:18:00.002+02:00

DSC_0113, originally uploaded by mariadeldia.

Yah ok, so one of the few pictures of humans on my blog. :) Kenting via Picker's picture taking skills.

Picture of the Day - Waves

2008-09-23T12:14:00.003+02:00

DSC_0253, originally uploaded by mariadeldia.

Taken on our trip to Kenting with Picker's DSLR. Fantastic camera, btw.

Man, I'm missing those good times. I think it was especially fun because we could just avoid the real world for those couple of days and just enjoy the sun and surf.

Sigh. I'm just being nostalgic.

First Day of the New Academic Year ...

2008-09-23T11:18:00.003+02:00

Technically that was yesterday, but there were no classes, no orientation. Apparently all the professors dressed up in their ... gear (whatever that may be) and paraded down in the Centrum towards the main cathedral to attend mass. I missed it, sending my dad off at the airport, but no great loss there I think. And that's the second goodbye. One more to go! Sigh.

Anyway, today we had our program orientation. One of my biggest worries was that I'd be the only student in the program. And I was sitting there in the big classroom alone and getting worried-er and worried-er by the minute when in comes another student! Phew! So at least I'm not alone. And then the professor walks in, and he said there should be another student. She shows up a tad late, but that's okay because the place is confusing as hell. Took me a while to find it yesterday, too, and we later learned that she'd walked all the way from the train station area. A little perspective - it takes me about 20-25 minutes to walk from where I live to the medical area. It also takes me more than 30 minutes to walk to the train station from where I live. So yah, it took her more than 50 minutes to walk to the medical plaza! Insane!

I digress. So, I'm still sorta confused about our schedules and what's going on, but I hope to be enlightened as the week progresses. First class should've been this afternoon, but the professor's double booked, so that class is going to be moved to another day. Apparently I have three classes to actually attend, but a bunch of self-study ones to complete. Sigh. Also have to start thinking about a thesis and getting an advisor. Ugh.

So begins another school year. Haven't said that in a year! Hopefully I'll get the hang of being back in class with homework and stuff. Yay? *Apprehensive*

International Car Free Day

2008-09-21T19:34:00.003+02:00

Today was international car free day! How international it was, I have no idea. But, there were no cars allowed (except for taxis, buses, and those with special permits) in Brussels today. And there were some areas in Taiwan that were car-free as well. So, in my very narrow view of the world, that's semi international. :P It was interesting. There were a few cars that still drove, although I'm not sure if they were just ignorant, didn't care, or had special permits. But generally in our residential area, there were no cars, so you could walk on the roads. What a liberating feeling of not having to worry about having cars run you over. =P All the public transportation here were free too! So we took the metro to get downtown and back.

Last night in Brussels for me. Tomorrow, I will officially be living in Leuven as there will be no more home for me to come to in Brussels. Just as I was getting used to and knowing my way around this neighborhood. Meh, at least downtown Brussels is just a few stops away via train from Leuven.

Anyway, I think you all should visit me because I have a nice bottle of red wine waiting to be drank (drunken?) in Leuven. Who's up for it?

Arrrrr ...

2008-09-19T22:04:00.003+02:00

It's International Talk like a Pirate Day! And over on facebook, you can change your language to English (pirate) on the bottom of the page, left hand side.

So, instead of home, it's home port, and instead of wall, it's plank.

The funniest is people who are listed in a relationship = ____ has found private booty!

Heehee. Love it.

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's not really due to lack of internet (been coming to Brussels quite often); more just that I'm not feeling all that great lately. Hopefully with time, there will be adapting and things will get better. :)

In the mean time, talk like a pirate! :)

Pardon the mute sign in the picture. Dunno how that happened and too lazy to fix it. :)

How will I Survive?!

2008-09-16T20:37:00.004+02:00

Dear avid readers of mine (all 4 of you), I shall be offline for a couple of days (hopefully one, but heck, knowing the way things are here, probably not). I'm moving over to the new studio tonight, and alas, there is no working internet there currently. They are awaiting those cable boxes that are required for internet connection, so unless I can leech internet off some poor soul, I shall not be online for a whiles. The manager said hopefully they will arrive end of this week, keyword "hope."
[/rationality]

Ahhhh!!!! If it's really till next week that I won't have internet access, then that'll be .... *gasp* more than five days without internet! HOW WILL I SURVIVE?! Ugh. What will I do? This will just compound my loneliness even further *tear*. Why does life play these games with me?! AHHHHHH. But yes, if you have my phone number (wait, I don't think any of you actually do, ugh), call me! or ... something. *sigh*

(Image from Purseblog.com)

Winter ..... is here >.<

2008-09-15T13:06:00.004+02:00

It's SO COLD. Ahhh!! The actual low temperature of yesterday was 5 degrees celsius. FIVE. It's only September! I remember it still being hot everywhere else I've lived during this month. Today's not as bad, but it is like 12 degrees!!! Aieeee. It's so cold. >.< I'm so cold. BLAH.

Also, yesterday we started moving stuff to my apartment (I have so much junk it's unbelievable). We moved like two boxes, which were relatively heavy, but I hurt my waist while moving! It's ridiculous! I used to move heavier stuffs and not hurt anything. *sigh* I am getting old. :( This is not good.

My parent's apartment is currently slowly filling up with boxes. Although I think once I move all my stuff out, there'll be less boxes lying around. But yah, all the furniture and stuff are leaving this week. This place will be empty! I guess it's a good thing I'll be at school.

But ... that means school's starting. :( I am scared. Sigh. What else is new? Ha!

Ew.

2008-09-13T17:37:00.005+02:00

I was looking at my Google analytics to see where all my wonderful readers are reading from (see above picture), and I noticed that they have Taiwan as part of China. So, when you mouse-over Taiwan, China lights up along with it .... ew. At least it's still called Taiwan instead of just China. Sigh. Also! The other day while looking at my bank info, ING has my parents as from Taiwan, but me as from China! What's up with that?! =.=

Rawr. My patriotism is insulted.