.CognitioN.

Michael Jackson

2009-07-10T08:41:00.014-04:00

One of the best articles i've seen on MJ tribute. Hardcopy's the best but guess the softcopy will suffice.
This one's great coz it has a few videos attached to the site as you read along.

Just to share~
I'm sad but i know I do not morn his death alone. Truly has he left a legacy and a great vision for humanity around the world.
He truly saw that music can change/move the world. He believed in that.

Live life to the fullest!
Peace Out!
-Chun

----
Article 1:
A Pop Icon's Death: The Talent and the Tragedy
By JOSH TYRANGIEL
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1907269,00.html

Article 2:
Michael Jackson: The Death of Peter Pan
By RICHARD CORLIS
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1907344,00.html

Article 3:
A picture collection of MJ; compiled beautifully by LIFE shown here
http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/22793/michael-jackson-life-and-times

New Life?

2009-07-06T04:20:00.002-04:00

Gosh.
I've not visited this page in eons!
And skimming through some of my past entries wow, looks like I've grown quit abit.
I blabber so much! goodness! forgive me! ha!

Openess is a good thing I guess and to a large extent now, I regret not writing all/more of my past experiences. I came here to search for some past experiences that I wrote on to use as Testimony! I'm shockingly in bible school now. Still growing. Definitely not there yet. Looking back on my old entries wow I've alot to work on! :D

Guess that's why I signed up for bible school! I know I can do so much better if I work just a little harder.
Bible school is coming to and end this august but it'll mark a new beginning for my life i believe.

I'm still struggling trying to finish all the homework yet do well in my career in dance.
I'm proudly still doing dance full-time and to be able to make a living out of what i love to do is a privilege, that too often I take for granted I feel.

Another big thing i take for granted in my life are the people. Namely Daryl and my mom.
As the most recent news. I finally broke up with Daryl for the many problems I felt we had. But that week apart he was really nice to me. We talked more than ever after we've broken up and i'm loving it. I'm falling head over heels for Daryl again and it feels like a healthy growing relationship once again. We're just taking it slow now and dating again which is sweet.
Again it doesnt change the scenario, He is studying, I'm working/dancing.

But we're growing on each other and to me it feels nice! I like the pace and where we're going - it feels like a beautiful relationship now, though I'm not too sure what happened! Perhaps is the reality that hit us to not take each other for granted, to thrash out lovingly but honestly everything when it was the end (or what we thought it would be)..We talked and we're still talking and I'm loving the honesty and openness and love-languages.

My mom has been ever so supportive. She takes care of me, works hard for the family and i can never be more grateful.
My biggest hope is for her to accept Daryl? We were rocky but we seem on the right track finally, for some magical reason. Must really thank god I feel for helping us sort out everything. We're still sorting out and will continue to sort out.

The keyword now i need to repeat is PERSEVERE! As i face my mountain of bible work, I am wondering and regretting yes. But i know after i get through this i'll be stronger!

Lotsa choreos to do and bible sermons to write. But it's gonna be great and i'll live to tell my tale :D
have a great week ahead!

These days

2009-02-19T02:21:00.002-05:00

Just to share a vegan factiva!!! :D
Interesting! See! Being vegan rocks haha check it out!
http://www.essortment.com/family/vegetarianhealt_sytq.htm

Yea but i can finally feel the calm after the storm coming. I've been looking forward to March for all my projects (major ones like EMCC, Danceworks, Evocation & Temasek Hall Dance production) to come to an end. Also the Early morning 7:30am class all the way at White Sands Pasir Ris and i teach only one class and that's it. i head all the way back to central area or wherever. Well, all i can say is we learn. Pay's not good wither coz half of it goes to the horrendous cab fare during peak hours from my place all the way to pasir ris. There goes the money. Recently lots of excessive expenditure on cab fare and my increasing fatigue. All my free time i try to give it to my new found boyfriend Daryl and we had our first "quarrel" last night. As a result of a combination/accumulation of differences here and there.

In short, i find him becoming less and less of the partner i thought he was. I'm definitely worried for I see more and more differences between us and it makes me wonder why we got together in the first place. But the answer is simple; we love each other. But can we survive the ordeal of life and living? We'll see.

I definitely wished perhaps we shouldnt have jumped into this relationship too soon. I can at the end of the day regret all i want but i think it's about looking forward now. Seeing the value in things, particularly him and what he has done for me.
Not much of a history there, but he's been there as much as he can and i appreciate that.

Funny. I got this quote: Hebrews 12:3.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

My first instance was to think of him (Daryl) enduring all odds and sacrifices and tries to lighten my load. I say "try" because he sometimes tries to help but causes me more trouble and frustration than anything else. Leaving me to doubt his sensitivity that seems to be excessively too much a times. One word, frustrating. I remember now why i dont get into relationships. Simply because it's too time-consuming and troublesome. I know if you care for that person enough all this trouble wouldnt matter. But maybe because i'm pressed for time and short of money. Having to pacify him all the time is the last thing i need.

I think deep inside i crave to be a girl. The normal girly needs of having a guy that can take care of me and provide support or a shoulder to rely on when life becomes rocky. I feel more and more like the guy. Making decisions, taking leadership charge, trying to hoang3 him and pacify him. make him happy. It's tiring.

We'll see if the fruits of my labour will come to pass. I like being real. Saying anything I wanna say. Have the freedom to do the things I want to. I definitely do not like to I feel restricted. Much less obligated to do anything.

Relationships need time to blossom surely. I'm gonna give us time. I feel we need this time and space though he disagrees. I always thought relationships were happy. You should be feeling happy with that someone and its a joy to make them happy. I feel less and less happy now and it worries me. I pray its just a phase and this is a tough month for me. He has exams too and he's not studying as much which worries me. Who am i to judge surely but i really wish he'd focus on his studies more.

I'm digressing forgive me. But thanks for hearing me out.
Interesting dynamism though between us. But it's going away from my limit. I'm playing too much of the guy role and i detest it. I pray for clarity in the relationship, love and understanding and of course openess.

I hope you're doing well! Thanks again for still reading this space and hearing my digressions.
God bless!

Short & sweet

2009-01-09T12:27:00.002-05:00

From the title I wish i was referring to myself! Unfortunately not! ha

I'm referring to the way these ladies write!

Haha as concisely spoken by Hui Yi; I truly admire the way she "rants" on her blog. Systematic, concise, effective, direct. I won't call it a rant can! Goodness. It's how short and how clear haha

Feel free to check her blog out; though I take forever just to read her chinese posts (yes she types in Mandrin! I dont think i have any software on my computer than can! lol) Amazing.

Yes! Another great breakthrough is an email from my awesome teacher from the States back at UConn.. Ms Laura Crow!

Love her! This is what she wrote:

The best musical theatre program in the US is at the Uiversity of Michigan, but Cincinnati Conservatory of Music is also good. I need to check on West Coast Schools. There are pretty radical theatre programs at Cal Arts (California Institute for the Arts) in LA and at the University of California San Diego, but I don't know about Dance. UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) has a dance program I believe and also Opera, but probably not much pop. I'm not sure where to go for pop dancing!

I'm happy that you are thriving and learning more and more about choreography.
Have a Happy and productive New Year!

hugs,
Laura

Another short and sweet yet informative note from these amazing women i so admire.

Yes but Laura basically responded to my query on which schools in USA does she recommend.

I told her of my intention to go LA this time but to study for 3years or more. Either Musical Theatre (that teaches you how to Sing, Dance and Act) or Dance. We'll see :)

Update you again soon! In the meantime i'm always here in Singapore so if anything can leave me a message :) take care!

Deception

2008-12-16T14:27:00.000-05:00

I wonder if there's a positive version of this word. Hmm. "Deception".

I thesaurus-ed it on Oxford and let's see, we have "duplicity, double-dealing, fraud, cheating, trickery..." ok not very positive right there. Second meaning! Hmm let's see "trick, sham, fraud, pretense, hoax, fake, blind, artifice.."

I wonder because today i noticed my fine line being crossed. Am i faking it?

Am i faking being happy when i may not feel so. Maybe no-one else can really pin-point this but i know i can. I want to smile, i want to cheer! And so i do.

Yes nothing wrong with that but today, i think i went overboard (or so i infer from the crowd's mixed reactions). I realised now reflecting upon today that i may feel bland and cold inside; not feeling like talking/interacting; not wanting to share anything with anybody or that my body/mind is tired from a weary day or bad company, but i want to snap out of this negativity! Be positive!

I hope to energise my actions and the crowd in hopes of changing everyone's mood, including mine. I wonder now if how much is too much. Is this faking it? When you act not according to how you feel?

Sometimes I wonder if i'm deceiving myself. From believing that i'm fine and well. Think the difference really is i must believe i AM fine and well.

I dont feel to good these days and i shall let the cat outta the bag really coz really i think i shd let all who know me know. Including Fred. No more Fred in my life :) We're through and done. Ended on Tuesday i'd say. I know i felt ok immediately after but i guess it's coz i said my peace and whatever i could. But his harsh hurting words still ring in my head. He'll probably ask cite me the exact words. Are you sure its not just you being oversensitive..blah blah blah. Guess for me the last straw was when he said he never cared and he thinks he knows best for me. He makes it sound so nice when he says oh i want you to stand on your own and i'm being to reliant on him. He said "whatever you say now will have no effect on me now, seriously". Wait why am i still remembering all this. Think it's been a week now and i guess its always good to let it out. But whatever it is, guess he never needed me nor anyone in his life. Maybe never will. But that's his life now and God bless us for that's the end of it and moving on is hard especially when i feel so sour and hurt by Fred.

Aik Leong really hit me on the nail head *bingo* really when he rebutted me. No in fact Chun honestly i feel you're a tinge sadder. Coz i know how much joy he has brought into your life. *ouch*

True. But i can forgive Fred for his harsh and hurting words time and time again but really all of a sudden like diao me then say he doesnt like alot of parts of me as a person and cant accept me for who i am. I was really taken aback. Wow. Its coming to two years and after all that, these are the words from the horse's mouth itself. Wow.

Please pray for me. But i know God sees me for who I am. And my many friends and family who love me. Guess Fred's apparently never one of them, said he when he said he never cared. I know when people are angry or mean to hurt and harm you intentionally, they can really say the darnest things. I hate him now and i know i shouldnt. Guess we all need time.

But Fred says its not the end. For me, Fred, if you still read this space, bye bye.

I still care for him and pray for him perhaps out of habit coz he really brought so much joy into my life. He never admits i bring joy to his. Maybe just like the care thing, i don't. But whatever.

Yeah so i feel really terrible and really nasty and reproached sometimes but i feel hurt still and his dagger words are playing in my head. Thank god for willpower, dance, music and good company. I snap outta hurt-zone. Wonder if i have to mourn or sth coz snapping out all the time i wonder if its healthy for my mind..hmm

But whatever it is i'm glad now. At least we're done and through. Clean cut. No more mess and no more problems. Soon, no more tears. No more fears.

No more emotional investments, no more pain. Oh wait, i sound like a Fred. Ha. His walls feel so high again. But i'm not going to climb nor do anything anymore. I want to build more walls now for probably the first time in my life consciously. This will be the hardest structure to build probably but I will finish it. To fulfill his wish and mine. He will have no more Chun to nag and him and irritate the hell out of him anymore, he can be peaceful and in his own castle and make new friends way better. I dont care coz i choose not to. Wall-building in progress. I wish i had help building this wall. It's difficult.

I used to hate walls and never liked hiding. I love to battle, fight, conquer territory and stuff like that. I bash walls. But as i build my first layer, today I saw him and i was irked. I dont know why. That's a bad response i know. But with my half-built wall to protect me, i feel abit safer.

But tonight i write here. Because as i picked up my tools and cement, I weep and i dont know why. I think i feel that it's a pity to lose someone who i thought was the closest thing to me. My mis-judgement, i guess! *shrug* A wall it is, coming right up. Good bye, good bye and I say out loud because i want to instill in myself that this is reality. Linking back to my title (ha) really that I sometimes feel that i might be deceiving myself. But I think i can heal my heart behind these walls.

Please come visit me in my castle anytime! hehe but for strangers nono. Fred's a stranger to me now. I dont understand him and he doesnt understand me. He says he does but i cant tell for sure. Only god knows.

Hey ya but I'm still under renovation so hence my fragile self. But i am trying to be strong as i always am. Being strong is my strength (if that makes sense). heh.

But I must must say! Thank you THANK YOU Thank you! For loving me. For believing in me and for caring for me. I may not see you often but i think of people all the time. Yes i think i think too much sometimes. But i do think of you. Thank you. I love you and thank you for loving me.

May you have a blessed day ahead and meet soon! Night!

Chun's dream to go LA

2008-12-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

Ok it really struck me. I really really wanna go LA. Heck all the friends who are gg there on exchange including Yayi. Guess it's always good if we have friends in a foreign land but reality check! Think i shdnt freeload off anyone. Looks like its another solo trip again.

Right when am i going? Go knows but i chanced upon the Edge website, a reknowned studio in LA. It seems they dont issue Visas! That's a problem :( But if i can ever stay in LA for a year, I'd go for it. Sidenote: this Edge Dance programme has already begun according to the website in Sept; i couldnt have made it anyway but i'm hoping for the next intake.

Else i guess it's another on my own dance trip wif no certification kinda ad-hoc courses.

I fear i would get the same result which is insufficient coverage and lacking in depth basically coz the time is just too short and there are so many types of hip hop and jazz classes offered and that i want to take.

But folks I am going in 2009 confirm..! I'm also considering joining Peter and gang to go for the Broadway Dance Center ISPV programme for international students. Yes that's in New York again..I love that place dont get me wrong but i dunno if its right if i go back there again for another extended period of time. The plus side though about gg for this is that Visa is covered though i cant work (M-1) and its over 3 or 6mths or 1yr and they offer a certificate. I hate it when i say that word coz its truly a Singaporean mentality but for sure i feel more secure knowing that i have spent so much time and for so long in NYC solely focusing on improving my dance capabilities. I'm definitely familiar with NYC also and its near all my friends in Connecticut. But a larger part of me wants to explore the world.

When i was in LA 2yrs ago there were alot of summer intensives offered by studios. wonder if there still are. we'll see. But i wanna go LA so bad to experience the dance culture there truly. i went LA but still regret not making my way to the dance studios back then. It's been 2yrs. And though lagged, i feel the urge now more than ever to go.

The question is when. My mind keeps chanting Asap.

i'm thinking 3mth ISVP in NYC from April through June/July. Then hit Chicago to visit De Rui and then summer in LA in hopes of catching some summer intensives there or related programmes. So that leaves me with 2mths to raise all the money.

Wish me luck!

But whatever the case, LA here i come!

Thank you for still checking this page..!

2008-11-15T15:09:00.001-05:00

If you see this, yes thank you.
I cant believe i havent blogged since September! That's insane.

My unpardonable excuses? Ha. I blame my extremely slow internet and low computer memory, I blame my new addiction to facebook (which is where i seem to update more frequently with photos and what not - add me there please or join facebook! heh) - cool news - Fred is finally on facebook! He accepted my invite. So glad. Yah but he's insanely adding people everyday and being the hardworking and consistent dude as always yup his friend list will surely escalate.

It's drawing nears to exams I hear and reading week is next week for NUS. I need to know so coz I realise the bulk of my friends are still in NUS (Fred included but that dude never seems to study - fulltime dancer, part time student xia - sounds familiar? Ha Yes I lived that life but I did study for the benefit of doubt! If you see Fred, please help remind him to study! I realise for the past however long, I've been hanging out with Fred. Not alot relative to my entire schedule but he's the only person I regularly hang out with amazingly. We're going strong and still buddy-buddy which is cool but i fear for more friction to come. As we're working together finally on this dance choreography project. We'll be working with the NUS Dance Ensemble to choreograph hopefully a pure-hip hop item for Evocation 2009 in first week of March. My social life definitely needs more support..! Know you guys are having exams but if you're free do holler!

What am i doing now? Well. I think life has been really smooth, amazingly. To the extent that I felt it got too slack. I fill my time well and have enoough time to relax and bum around at home. Refreshing change from the hectic life I used to lead. But it's really getting abit too slow paced for me. I wanted a change. For starters I coloured my hair pink! :) It faded finally after about 2 weeks? The Red highlights faded to pink which is cute yeah but the pink faded to brown and blond shades. Apparently still look great but I miss my pink/red hair :( Below is the lady who helped save my hair! Long story but basically the first time my hair was miserably ruined by this dude who i had a bad feeling about and his name is Keno. He's a teacher at the school of Kimage. Correction, WAS. Heard he got fired/quit. God knows but please BE WARY of any hairdresser labelled "Keno". The problem with his is that he very anyhow, is bossy and lazy, arrogant for sure from the way he brags and commands the poor students who merely do his bidding. I clarified my hair with him constantly but he was like yeah dont worry. I just closed a few ears to his sarcasm but my last straw was when my hair came out totally flopped. Thankfully another teacher noticed i was very unhappy and basically i told him i didnt like my hair. It had to be pink. I told him right from the start (sorry told "keno") that whatever you do, the hair has to be predominately pink. Grr!!!! Ok I'm dropping the subject. Talking about that irresponsible "keno" who ruined my hair makes me so mad. I regretted giving him a Danz War ticket that costs $22 and he didnt turn up. He was suppose to giro me the money. No news. I cant forgive him still. The bible says unforgiveness is torment and when you forgive you shall be set free. True. I just want my $22 back. I can forgive him for ruining my hair but i cant believe i had faith in him and he stabbed me again. I hate two-faced creatures. Beware of this hairdresser. He ruins not just hair but lives man.

The girl in the picture is Joey. She saved my hair, really hardworking girl. She couldnt do miracles of course coz the bleaching wasnt done well (that i can see for myself) but aya forget it lah. The story is basically never go Kimage school again. Waiting time is long too and in the past i felt the school took its training much more seriously. Now i feel it's become so money minded. Just cut cut can already, not considering what the customer wants or have any creative approaches. I'm comparing this experience from the last. This is my second time and I believe it'll be my last.

It's alot cheaper going Kimage school but seriou

sly, the time and heart into it is not worth it. I have a weak heart so no more. I never do my hair. I plan to up the frequency to once a year hopefully if my budget can afford it. It's a luxury for sure but i realise if it's really good i really dont mind the money. We'll see.

No more hair talk. Let me cool down and i'll talk about it. I just got harassed by Keno and when i pressed him to pay me the $22 he decided to vanish and disappear. I guess I should be glad he doesnt call me. But he called with the ulterior motive of finding out who did my hair. He seems vengeful. I cant be like him - vengeful and unforgiving. I still hate him though. I shouldnt but i still do. I dont know why i feel so petty about the $22, as it being a token compensation..

Sigh I have less and less stamina to talk nowadays. Think i'm no longer as vocally exprressive or i think more mellowed. More fred? Ha. Less affected by what is around me and hence less urge to blog, less urge to write, less urge to express. Could I be numb to the sensations of life?

Honestly though I will be more protected by being less affected emotionally, but i realise I may be like my pink hair - faded and jaded. I want to get my colour back.

Even teaching dance nowadays doesnt feel the same. I definitely need to find more jobs though. I thank god truly things are really smooth. Not perfect but not rocky either. I'm definitely enjoying life alot more I feel. It's really like a quiet life, the usually few dance classes to teach, rehearsals to go to (that don't earn me money but keep me happy and in touch as a learning dancer), on the occasion a few more random projects here and there. But that's about it! Besides work i hang out with Fred and surprisingly I'm not tired of him. Wonder if i'll ever be.

That aside, looking forward i feel a smile coming on.

In my mind is this flashback to the scene when Fred triumphantly exclaimed "Chun's a dancer! Yeah full-time!" In response to someone asking so where am i working now. I'm touched he was so proud, proud of what i do i guess. To him being a dancer is cool. Cute. Poor maybe but yeah other dancers i know i feel are cool but i wont think i'm cool. That's so weird! Yeah but one thing is that he's right. Dance is my career now and it's my life. I know I wont wanna do anything else. I'm so glad things are going well. Though slow but well, you know?

I hope things will go well for you too. It's so soon! Christmas is coming which means the end of the year is drawing near. Wow, soon. But I can't wait, think the closing and new opening will bode new opportunities for us all :) Have a good night!

Danz War reporting

2008-11-08T04:06:00.001-05:00

Men Can Cook

We Got Served part1

We Got Served part2

Sick

Elecoldxhot

Fresh Debut

Last but not least, my team :)
Dyscordia Part 2 (part 1 is missing - not video-ed)

Long time no hear huh

2008-09-15T15:44:00.006-04:00

thanks for still checking my page! ;D

Welcome to my page! ;P

Forgive me for such an extended period of absence, as you probably guessed it, i've been cropped up with rehearsals, teaching and recuperating from this flu bug (that is still bugging me at the present moment! boo)

But I am here to report well news!

Minus all drama and trauma of within these two months, I am alive and well again :) This weekend was Blast concert and it went well ;) Successful show.

For me my highlight was the people. I got to really know alot more boys and girls.

Word choice disclaimer: I say boys and girls (as opposed to dancers, or friends or people) because i feel that i've interacted with everyone on a more fun level - like kids just happily playing and dancing; free of politics and the convolutions of adulthood and duty pressure.

Of course, I was under stress and being me - i can manage and still produce results - but in terms of letting stress or any external pressure get to me? Well, let's say i get affected easily. I'm so grateful to all my Blast friends and colleagues who tolerated to much of my bitchiness and rants..! Especially to Fred and Yayi for taking my complaints and offering solutions or a shoulder to lean on. Who is Yayi? Well, new entry :)

Biodata: Top secret! Ha (kidding). Great guy, great dancer, great friend.

This is us after Blast showdate 1 on Friday night.

I'm most grateful for he really stood by me during these trying 2-3 months of stress for Ensemble and Blast concert rehearsals combined.

The show aint over yet for Ensemble but I feel a huge wight off my shoulders now that one of the concert's over - more than half of my schedule cleared! Plus this week is exam break for schools! So i'm free in the afternoons for now :) Its bump-in this week in to my favourite place in Singapore - the UCC Hall stage. It's like heaven to me here on earth :P The lights, the darkness, its just you - the performer, the stage with all the beautiful lights, and God - watching from above.

I make mistakes, yes, but to me, the stage is like holy ground - a place where mistakes dont matter so much. Its all just performance and giving it your all as you leave it there. Performing on so many stages, I still only get this feeling on the UCC stage. Weird. I hope if you ever have the chance/opportunity, you'll stand on that stage. Just stand there and look into the audience. You won't see anyone in particular but just into darkness, as if there's no one there. It's just you, simply dancing. I miss that feeling.

Today, during Ensemble bump-in, it was nice to stand on that stage again. Though we're there yearly or more than that, it always feels refreshing to be there. I'm still the same though - harsh on myself if i do make mistakes - especially on such holy ground!!! Lol But the whole beat up part sets in when I leave the stage. But i'm still learning. Know its no use killing yourself over a mistake since its over but dang! When i'm in that rut, it aint a nice feeling. But as my mentor Ryan once mentioned - keyword - contentment. That yes, you did what you could - you screwed up, fine - but move on. Reevaluate, reassess and learn from that.

Fred wrote in his card to me that he hopes i find joy (underlined) in dance (underlined) and in life (underlined again). Thank you for the emphasis. He's sweet and a great best friend. But I realised timing is everything. I read his note in hopes of lifting my spirits up when i was feeling really down before the show due to post-shaun/ensemble rehearsal blues. It wasnt a good idea coz it made me upset at myself even further. I knew i was lacking in happiness evidently and I was feeling really unhappy. Ouch. Made me feel like i was an unhappy person. Ouch.

So i ask thyself - Am i unhappy? Yes. Am i happy? Yes.

Both answers are related to dance, and to life.

So conclusion: really that in dance, or in life, there will be obstacles and heartbreaks, but there is also God's grace and His love. Good things happen to those who love Him. That when we stick through to being like Jesus, with the likeness of God in us, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. I find that so true and that when we seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness shall be added unto you. For God works in the positivity but not in the negativity. So despite all odds, we gotta stay positive!

Thinking back, I've failed Him so many a times. During this past few months, i could have done so many things better and nicer- speak to people better, practiced more, managed my money and time better, handled stress better, have more quiet time..so much that could've been done. But I did what I could and achieved my objective of doing this concert. My primary goal was to dance well, to sharpen this tool (of course to get my body back in shape! ha) yes and to put myself to the test. I did what i could and I'm glad. Didnt expect to be so stretched by item i/c responsibilities though nor have so many extra rehearsals, but I also didnt expect to know so many wonderful people so much better. I was the item i/c for Jie Xiao's Fatal Blunder item but through that experience i really got to bond with the dancers who are such amazing people! (Yup that's the same avenue where I really got to know Yayi so much more too).

*again disclaimer that i knew all of them before but it is only now that i grew closer and to know, love and care for these friends more - over rehearsals, over meals and over waiting time ;)

Yup but not all is over yet! :) Do sms me please if you havent got tickets for this weekends' concert!!! The NUS Dance Ensemble is having its annual knock-out concert this Fri & Sat night 8m at UCC. Please sms me if you havent gotten tickets! Ha see you!!!

Enjoy the rest of the Blast photos! Catch you soon! :)

Backstage/onstage photos here. Post-concert phototaking session here.

Enjoy!

P.S. for reviews, you can read Qing's blog! Love you girl! THanks for always coming to support all my shows...*touched!* Glad you enjoyed it! One more to go! woo!

--- http://shinernt.blogspot.com/ -- Qing's writing space :)

What have i been up to?

2008-08-24T15:12:00.000-04:00

Rehearsals and lots of it! Stressful period for me coz I aint earning alot of money and in fact am spending so much more on cab fares, food, transport and snacks/treats may it be on me-self or others. Sigh! Loads of back-to-back events.

My schedule is pretty fixed though. I've got occasional schools to take in some mornings, afternoons are all schools (I'm teaching the Dance CCA groups of a few schools now, can be exhausting mentally and vocally but also fulfilling. Cant help but feel that the kids make me age faster...ha). Nights and weekends are all rehearsals for my upcoming 2 concerts that are also back-to-back.

Not the best period of time but i'm glad, i can focus on dancing and teaching for now. This is my last Blast concert. Ensemble I'll still be involved but perhaps not as much either I guess. I hope to really spend all my time clocking hours and dancing outside/elsewhere. And also hopefully make a living out of it.

Please do come!!! Its my LAST concert!

BLAST concert is..

13th Sep (Fri) - 8pm

14th Sep (Sat) - 2pm & 8pm

@ NUS, UCC Theatre

Ticket Price: $14 (matinee), $16 (nights)

*All prices are exclusive of 15% discount for NUS students

http://www.nusdanceblast.com/

ENSEMBLE concert is on...

19th Sep (Sat) - 8pm

20th Sep (Sun) - 8pm

@ NUS, UCC Hall

*Ticket prices (through me/other dancers) are 20% discounted:

CAT 1 - $16.20, CAT 2 - $13.80, CAT 3 - $10.60

Please come support! Really hope you can come watch!

No big deal - deal or no deal

2008-08-13T12:50:00.004-04:00

Personally I really don't like that show (deal or no deal).

Yes but i'm talking about the experience of you having this problem and you're upset by it.

Along then comes some guy who says "It's no big deal". How do you feel?

My first instance is - shit, this dude thinks i'm overreacting. Worse, he doesn't understand, doesn't seem to want to try either. Great.

But you know what? :) I realise going beyond that, this friend of mine actually cares for me and that's why he's saying all this - he doesnt want you to get hurt again and hopes you take the next blow more objectively. Yes, for this case too, that in the larger scale of things its really no big deal, so dont be sad, there is no need to be sad.

Yes but I just had a revelation. I KNOW that the problem isnt really a big deal and all will be resolved eventually. So what's the problem?

Let me give you an example, if *choy* your pet fish dies. That's a problem, yes. But is it a really big deal? No. Will everything be okay and normal again? Yes eventually. So what's the key point? That right now I'm sad. That right now I'm upset. I know I should not be so affected. It's not my fault that my pet fish died. Even if it was partially your fault coz for example you forget to feed the lil' fella. Yes you feel guilty but we will move on and we know it. I'm a strong girl. But right now, I'm upset. Advice is great, but what i need is a shoulder to cry on.

This note is to all men out there. I am a rationale woman, but I am also a woman of strong emotions. There are times for problems and I do solve them, but right now, I need to just let it out. Be understanding please.

Yes but I learnt that not all men can take the weight of my heart. Too much to handle I guess. So the depth of how much I share a problem I realise should vary. It probably didn't help but worsened things between us when I shared some trivial problems with Fred. He was always sweet yet rationale and critical which is what i love him for but at the same time, I realise he judges, as do everyone. Yes but I realise that some words, are perhaps best kept unspoken. No need to share really. I love to share but not always do people wanna listen, not always does it do more help than harm. I get things like "Arent you overreacting", "why not this.." or that.

Thank you boys but again, I dont expect you to agree nor understand.

So note to self, that Fred cant always understand. Trying to explain sometimes I realise could end up in an argument or disagreement - then both him and me gets upset - not healthy. Perhaps when I'm better I could share or explain then, but right now? Not such a good idea.

So today, I realised that despite all feminine traits men can seemingly adopt (e.g. the whole SNAG persona), it's never quite the same. Hence, the proven usage and supporting evidence that girl talks are here to stay :)

Holler out to my ladies! Rock on sisters :)

Yeah but seriously, my point is really, it may seem trivial to you but it means alot to me. Though (for e.g.) my pet fish died, to you its just a fish, to me its my companion. I keep things I care about close to my heart. Naturally when things go wrong, for me my heart gets affected, my happy normal boat gets rocked. That's not a feeling I'm used to these days. I need time and the last I need is a brush off. Yes but I shouldn't request others to accommodate me. It's not fair. Definitely I do appreciate all the times you lend an ear or an hand and I thank you. I wasn't expecting a negative effect or a quarrel so guess that tipped me off too. Whatever it is I'm glad my problem's case closed and just a note to self that Chun, at the end of the day its about you and people can say anything or do anything but don't let it affect you so much.

Stay happy folks! See you soon :)

Friends for life

2008-07-22T14:00:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day though the MRT broke down and made me late for my class!

Terrible. But class went well and then had to hurry right away to my first Ensemble rehearsal!

It was awesome but looks like I'm losing technique! Gotta pull my socks up :)

But the icing on the cake was meeting Fred for an hour or so. He waited up for me which was sweet and made time for me. I'm sorry Fred if I had upset you...

I realised sth today; nomatter how much you see someone, the friendship's always there.

Friends for life and close as ever. I was so fearful yesterday (and probably still am), of being overly reliant on him. He's cool with it but I wasn't sure if it'll be selfish of me. I fear also since I met him, he's been indispensable and irreplaceable. The truth is, I need him. And I know without him, life can go on but it'll never be the same.

Do you feel this too about someone in your life?

Today, we both had so much fun just talking and hanging out. It was awesome.

It reminded me of sth Fred said to me a long time ago when we first met - that it's a mutual benefit. From today, watching him smile and laugh together was enough to shed light and dispell the darkness, sadness and fear in my heart. I was afraid yesterday coz it dawned on me - oh no, Fred's not around no more. I'm so free and jobless and I shouldnt be lazy and slacking! I should be working. I should be carving my career, seeking opportunities. Working my ass off! But it's moments like laughing with Fred and talking endlessly that make life alot more interesting. Alot more colourful and bright.

I hope we continue to grow with each other. And we both lean on each other. I'm fearful of leaning too much on him. Think coz besides my mom, I haven't really leaned THAT much on someone emotionally.

But I relearnt today that in relationships, it takes a leap of faith - Trusting someone and free falling. Fred always catches me. No more what ifs. He wont drop me and I know it :) Well if he ever does I'll kill him hahaha nah but he's a great great friend and I don't want to lose him :) He may not have as much time on his hands for me but he makes time for me. Though less time spent but the time spent is so precious and all the more worthwhile.

That was my experience today and it was wonderful. I feel more than blessed to have him in my life and I hope I will be brave. In facing dance/my new career as well as trusting others. Fred cares and I couldn't be happier knowing that. Whether we meet alot or not isn't an issue because relationships take that little bit of faith. I need to remind myself that life's really too short.

I dont want to work and work and dance and dance but at the end of the day, neglect what matters most to me.

Thank you for reading and showing you care, everyone. Do write to me. Hope to catch up with everyone soon! I don't want to neglect you. Busy as we may all be, I will make time for all my friends and family. It takes effort and planning but it'll be worthwhile. Coz life's just too short and it's truly in the end the people that matter and who make a difference in each other's lives.

Thank you for making a difference in mine. So dear friends and family, looks like I'll be seeing you soon? At least I hope so!

No more fears and no more tears. I can balance and it starts with me. I want to spend time with the things that matter most to me. Dance is great but you matter to me too. See you! Stay in touch :)

Drifting Apart?

2008-07-21T13:11:00.004-04:00

Today I had such a great time after teaching class coz i met up with Fred again.

It's always fun hanging out with him and we seem to talk endlessly about everything which is really nice. But i had so much to share yet my mind was blank as we sat on the bus. I felt a little sad and had no idea why.

It didn't take me long to realise (cheezy as it may sound but so true) - *gosh* when will I see him again. Nowadays, the only thing we have in common is Wednesday's Blast class and Church cell group/sunday service. I know he is now much more involved in dance and NUS summer school has been really demanding but it struck me only tonight that really I am no longer a student. Duh right but the problem is my schedule is no longer the same as Fred's. Though still in Blast together, we can't talk during dance class, we can't talk when service is on and i feel bad at times hogging him after church and denying the social interaction as a cell group during fellowship for example. I feel selfish; stealing so much time from him. Especially when he has so many existing commitments to cope with.

I think i missed having him around all the time, in the past that is, before my New York trip when I went away for so long. He still cares and we still talk like there's no tomorrow when we meet which is really nice! Love it! In the past perhaps we saw each other too much? Ha I recall we used to get at each other and squabble all the time. I saw him many times a day and we travelled and ate alot together.

He's forever so kind and accommodating though, coz when i call or text him, he always replies and does make time to see me. I'm definitely grateful but i feel that us meeting up is really an additional gift, a big bonus. Coz he's so busy and I'm glad he is.

Recalling back I did lead a very hectic life in NUS. Tiring but fruitful and I wouldn't have traded it for the world! So I'm really glad he's improved so so much as a dancer and is going strong at his passion for dance as well as his E.Lit course - which is really great!

Think maybe I'm just not used to having so much free time or so many breaks. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself. Yet I feel as though there is so much I have yet to accomplish!

For sure though I need to remember: One thing at a time. Yet one thing's for sure - I am no longer a student and truly need to wake up to reality. Earning sufficient bread ain't easy but I need to try. Gotta hunt for dance jobs and opportunities. Have been still hanging around. This won't do.

I need to stand on my own two little dancing feet.

By that I also mean I want to try and make an effort not to be too emotionally reliant on Fred.

He's a wonderful, beautiful person and said it's really ok which is sweet but I know he is stretched for time and I should be too.

I like all the free time I have now but it has to end. It gets abit worrying to earn so little all the time. For Fred, I think he will call or text or email me when he is free. Guess I have to get used to not having him around all the time or whenever wherever.

Tomorrow is a brand new day and it's gonna be great.

Calls in the morning and dance class in the afternoon. At nights I go for rehearsals (still with NUS due to the upcoming concerts in September). I dont get paid for that but I get training which I'm grateful for. I'm happy just to get to dance and even better! To perform on stage again. I can't last very long financially at the rate I'm going but my plan is to fill the rehearsal slots with classes to teach later on. Looking for classes to fill my mornings still. We'll see :)

For now, I'm gonna rewrite my resume. Sadly lost all my data along with my old Mac.

Wish me luck!

P.S. Meet up soon. I suspect I'll get busier and busier and I know I need to. Coz starting out is always the hardest bit but also the most exciting and fulfilling bit :) See you..! Stay in touch.

Good morning!

2008-07-17T21:53:00.000-04:00

Since I've got back I realise I have quite alot of random stuff to do.

Seriously random like clearing all the misc overcharges that some American companies charges me (i'm furious!!! That's hundreds of dollars deducted!), checking emails, packing up my house, watching youtube videos i promised myself i'd catch up on...etc..

I've not been sleeping much these 3days since i got back - like 3-4hours a day maybe?

Nowonder i cant seem to focus as well in class.

Mainly its coz I have to wake up in the morning, do sth, then go home and i could sleep but once i'm awake when the sun is up, i cant seem t0 fall back asleep nomatter how tired or exhausted I am. It's infuriating!

Any ideas?

Hey but it is a beautiful day ahead, though long...

I've got a class today then cell/prayer meeting tonight till late. Sigh.

Let's hope I stay alert and not on overdrive mode.

Wish me luck for class! I'm gonna prep for it now.

See you. Miss everyone - though I'm in Singapore.

Surprisingly it felt as though it's been a long time but I've only been back from London like on Tuesday night?! Hmm.

I've been dancing again so that's good. I just am fearful of overworking myself again and neglecting everything else - which i tend to do. But it is great to be finally back and for good this time.

Will go dance school overseas eventually but for now i need to get my finances stabilized first.

I owe the back money, some folks still owe me money, some companies overcharge my credit card (damn) and i hate all the money talk but it must be done and settled! It sucks too that due to hightened security i couldn't check the breakdown of my credit card balance (only the total amount). UOB Bank is great dont get me wrong. It's just frustrating that I was overseas and it is mandatory that i go down personally to any UOB branch to activate my online banking. There's werent UOB branches in the States. technically there is one office in new york but when i went there, i discovered it was an office building and they cant help either.

GRR!! Ok but i shan't complain further. Thanks for listening. I think i just need to settle one thing at a time. Soon before more problems arise. Boo.....

Money problems. I'm sure everyone has got their own fair share of that.

Hey! It could've been worse.

Going mad these few days so i think you wont hear from me for a week or two till i solve all this mess. Oh my mom just left this morning for Malaysia to sing! Really cool :)

She's doing freelance again so if you have temp admin job offers let me know.

For my mom. Thank you.

Hug..

I can do this!!! It's only money!!!

Money can be earned and it is a man-made commodity.

Mind over matter people! Mind over matter! Update you again!

2weeks in London

2008-07-12T17:17:00.004-04:00

The city of London - home of Wimbledon tennis championships (the latest hu-ha), reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, historical royal palaces & churches dating back to the 10th Century, memorial parks and iconic architectural structures of today, of course the unforgettably fine-looking English gentlemen and stylish European women.

On hindsight, due to the influence of pop culture an global trends, Euro-thrash fashion is increasingly common. But the guys still look, dress and smell gorgeous; Talk about an eye-opening experience abroad..! Ha.

Yes but like you, I watched Wimbledon on the tele. Wait, I didn't even watch it live coz it was mid-day and like the hard-core tourist that I am, I was out scurrying about the town. The final slam was the day when i was here! But alas tickets were sold out way in advance. Exciting game if you haven't caught it :)

But all activities in this place is subjected to weather condition.

Like the States, good weather really makes people happy. It sure makes me happy!

But what everyone says about London is true; seriously it feels gloomy because of the weather.

Its supposed to be summer and the rain is seriously haphazard, in all senses of the word. For e.g, it rains for 10mins, stops completely for 5mins and rains again. Sometimes all day and the winds here are seriously crazy. I would've imagined it to be worse in Autumn or Winter..Talk about the weather bring a damper! Again in every sense of the word coz it gets pretty wet and cold here. To think i brought only 7.5kg worth of clothes and shoes total! (Wanted to travel light hmm)

But today the gloom is lifted, though the skies can be grey a little, it's a no rain day today finally. Beautiful. I saw/have seen so far...

Album 3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25414&l=93322&id=828492163

Album 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25387&l=02824&id=828492163

Album 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25380&l=85256&id=828492163

More to come! I'm heading out and am mad late!!! Let's hope I have enough time! Heh

Wish me luck! :) Toodles~

A new look, a new life

2008-07-06T05:29:00.000-04:00

I redid my entire room (yes no more room sharing). Sharing a room with my sis is great but its so cool i have my own space now in my little home :) Very cool :)

Sad i did it in a hurry (an impressive 3days!) Spend $3038 on furniture (just the queen bed, matress (that is the bomb - both feel, look and of course price) and a custom made mirror-lined wardrobe).

Woo!!!
London here we are :)
See you!

NUS Concerts are back!

2008-07-06T05:10:00.000-04:00

I'm involved in both concerts but I think for Blast this might be my last since rehearsals are really haphazard. After this my career will come first so not sure if next year i can pull time out for rehearsals. We'll see :)

But for now, these are the details :)

In case you're wondering Alvan is the president of Blast and Koustav is the president of Ensemble. Rocks - both of them - great men and cool leaders.

Do come and support!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NUS Dance Blast!
Event title: Shut up and Dance!- Monsters
of Hip Hop
Date: 13th , 14th September (Sat, Sun)
Time: 730pm
Venue: UCC Theatre
Price: $16 (but got 15% discount for NUS Students so it will be $13.60)

Start collecting orders from your friends right now!
All tix orders or enquiries are to go to
monstersofhiphop.danceblast@gmail.com
**No exchange, return or refund of tickets will be made under any
circumstances.

Love,
Alvan
(P/S: good seats are release on a first come first serve basis, so the
earlier you order the better your seats)

NUS Dance Ensemble

Event title: The Next Wave '08

Date: 20th , 21st September (Sat & Sun)
Time: 730pm
Venue: UCC Theatre
Price: Should be about the same

NYC info

2008-06-20T03:36:00.004-04:00

Hi all!!! Time flies when I'm back in Singapore :)

Things are picking up and I'm just so glad life is smooth.

Lots of backlogged things to do (like packing, blogging, photo uploading, physical training to get my old weight/figure back and so on and so forth).

This is email (below) is Part One; i wrote to a dance friend Rozana who will be going New York in Aug! So cool right :D I'm definitely glad i am of help. Decided to copy it here for fellow peeps who're gg to the Big Apple.

Abit lagged but i wished i had appreciated my time in NYC there more then. But i love it and glad i lived it. Glad i lived in Connecticut/UConn too. New York City is after all a city with its cab honking and late night activities. There's sth about the great outdoors in Connecticut that made me feel so at east and relaxed. Best of both worlds truly.

I'm still consolidating and selecting "the best of NYC" and "the best of UConn" and "globe trotter" - albums of the top pick of photos of my trip basically. Its been so great and I though not uber great (in my career, dance and in life), I'm just so grateful opportunities are coming my way without the hunt or stress.

I'm giving myself time for now. Still chilling and living :) Breathing.

I'm finally sleeping alot now in Singapore (7.5 hours daily sharp) :D

[Ain't you just jealous...! Ha..]

Kay! I love you'all and do call me to meet up! My only commitments now are weekday afternoons with Bevan (this dance friend of mine who I am in debt to definitely for the opportunities he opened to me). Yes and of course rehearsals for the NUS Dance Blast! and Dance Ensemble.

I know! I dont want to quit performing for them just yet. Though not paid, hey! It's my passion and I have friends there. After these concerts in mid- and end- September, I predict i'll be pretty busy trying to get my dance career going. That's my goal.

I dont know if you know but I'm going London! >_<

3rd to 15th July. To holiday and visit my Dad who lives there.

I am going to see him coz I am finally officially graduated from NUS and as promised, I am going to pay him a visit before i transit into my next phase of life - the working world.

But speaking of the working world/my unseen future, that day, when I was driving in my mom's car on my way home from dance practice, I felt a touch and a tear. From the radio it was the song "I hope you dance" by Lee Ann Womak.

I hope you dance - Lee Ann Womack

I'm grateful truly that, though being paid minimal wage now, I'm actually being paid to do what I really love - to dance and best of all to teach and impart what I love so much.

It's a privilage and I know that I am more than blessed to have this chance.

So good days or bad, happy or sad, I'm glad I'm doing this. Though it gets pretty tough (and not to mention pressurizing), I know couldn't be happier.

Kay! Email of NYC info as attached.

Hear you soon! Hugs and much love!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As requested! Sorry i took so long!

First thing to do is to get an hardcopy NYC map. There are many free ones around. The tourist info area at time square opens from 8am to 8pm. You can get all sorts of maps there for free. Get the map that has both the subway map and the NYC grid map.

1) Shopping:

1A) Woodbury premium outlets

As attached is a word document on how to get there. This is from my v resourceful friend.

This is a much cheaper route.

The regular route (that glen i took regretfully) costed $40/per person.

Both travelling times are the same. The difference is schedule times and

I dont recommend this route but foro reference, its the Coach USA from Port Authority Bus Terminal (at time square

This place has the best deals for COACH bags. It's still expensive but a few hundred USD cheaper.

All the brands there are designer brands - eg. Lids, Adidas, Nike, Burberry, Keneth Cole New York, DKNY, etc.

See website here for map (which you can get as well once you reach at the info counter near the food court).

Dedicate a day for this.

As stated in the word doc, recommended time is to catch the 9:15 train from Penn Station NYC and leave Harriman Station at 4:13 or 6:34pm.

1B) Apple

Certain laptop models are cheaper there. But generally Apple products are cheaper in the States.

But the thing that there have and Singapore doesnt is the iphone!

[It would be great if you could help me buy the 3G iphone! Its not launched yet but will be when you're there ;) I'll pay you back.]

1C) Dr Jay's

Sells affordable/cheap Hip Hop apparel. This is located near the subway station "Penn Station (34th St)".

Along 34th St (between 5th and 6th Ave). Click here for google maps.

1D) Capezio Store & Factory Outlet

Store: 1650 Broadway, New York, NY. 2nd floor. Phone: (212) 245-2130

Factory Outlet: 776 Broadway, New York, NY. 2nd floor. Phone: (212) 586-5140

The store is pretty hard to find. The factory outlet is easier. But the factory outlet doesnt have everything. You might also find good buys at the store on sale at times.

There is a 20% discount for BDC students, when you show the BDC club card - do apply for one online at the BDC website. Collect the card at the BDC clubcard counter at BDC when you reach during office hours only - they close at 6pm.

But as mentioned, its cheapest if you ask them to mail it to your address.

[But I recommend just buying from the factory outlet straight, as opposed to buying online. I am having problems with mail now. The website is very unreliable. I havent got my shoes yet. Thankfully my close friend is still there so he's helping me bring it back to SG.]

Bloch: we went to the store and its more expensive and very small. No point going really.

Its not american and hence very expensive.

1E) SoHo

This area/district sells designer brand stuff. High end. Might find some good finds there. Now is Summer so there might be some Summer Sales. Can check out.

2) Food:

2A) Chinatown (stop at Canal St station): Cheapest place to find food. Mainly along Bowery Street.

Have great dim sum and Singaporean food (got 2: one called Singapore Cafe at 69 Mott St and the other called Malaysian-Singapore Restaurant) is not bad too.

But I have never tried this dish in Singapore before! Very nice!!! I never can remember what it's called but its basically ji jong fan with you2 tiao2 inside. I will check with Glen the cantonese name of it and tell you again :) At Congee Bowery, 98 Bowery, New York, NY. (212) 965-5028. [They do free deliveries if you spend more than $15 - 2bowls of congee/porridge and 2 of that thing (above) is slightly over $15.]

2B) Mac's and Starbucks are everywhere. In Manhattan alone there are a hundred over starbucks outlets; insane.

I try to boycott these. But if you really wanna try fast food, go for Wendy's. Cheap and really yummy. I love their smoothies!

2C) At night, esp after class when everything is closed,

2B) Cafes and Bistros are everywhere!

- I miss Pinkberry Yogurt the most!!! My favourite combi is the "Medium size Green Tea Yogurt. Toppings is Raspberry, Blueberry and Mochi/Rice Cake." Promise me you'll try this! Its heaven on earth! You can choose all kinds of other stuff but the secret yummy to me is the Mochi/rice cake.

- Coffee is common and great there in NYC. My favourite coffee cafe is near NYU: 248 Mercer St. Called Think Coffee. I'm a coffee fan so this place offers organic fair-trade coffee that's really concentrated and rich in coffee. They are famous for their ice coffee and unique brewing techniques. If you're not a coffee fan just buy one small ice one and you and liz can dilute and share.

- I loved the cafe De Rui brought me to. Serendipity 3 - located at 225 E 60th St, New York, NY. Phone: (212) 838-3531; the place where the movie Serendipity was filmed. They are famous for their deserts. Great stuff..! Very romantic deco :) We sat upstairs.

- They say the steak in the Meat Packing district is good. I cant eat coz i'm vegan so i'm not sure and didnt go but you can try that out. There are alot of steak places there so i dont know which one is "the one". They all are costly though.

All in all, NYC is no short of wonderful cafes and bistros.

So if you dont mind spending abit more to treat yourself a meal, go for it.

3) Transport/Getting Around:

3A) Chinatown Bus - located at 88E Broadway, under the Brooklyn Bridge.

[Facing the bridge, keep to the left of the bridge and follow the downward sloping part - always ask directions when in doubt]

The one i used to get to Philadelphia and Washington DC is http://www.2000coach.com/ (I heard they go Boston too)

In NYC you buy the tickets from this chinese lady going around saying "Chinatown bus, Chinatown bus".

They offer round trip or single ride. Just like Greyhound/Peter Pan coaches, you can buy a ticket and board any bus any time/day.

3B) Greyhound/Peter Pan Bus Lines - website here.

Expensive bus rides. Plus point is that they run all across the States.

In NYC, you catch these from Port Authority Bus Terminal.

3C) Amtrak - website here.

Expensive train rides, that go to Canada as well.

3D) Within NYC

The subway is the best. Since you're there for 18days, I recommend the 3-week unlimited ride pass.

You can also get the 2week (14days) unlimited ride pass plus day pass (x4) but each day-pass unlimted ride is $7.50.

So it works out to be more ex in total. Unless you wanna get the regular metrocard if you're travelling less than 4 train rides a day.

How the subway works is $2 for a single train ride anywhere around New York.

[The only irritating part about the subway is if you miss your stop and need to take backwards, both trains dont share a common platform. Esp for some non-major stations you have to scan out, cross the street and go down to the opposite side. Secondly is when into late nights (past midnight) the trains dont stop at every stop and skip alot of stops. The lines get a little messy and waiting time can be up to half hour per train.]

4) Clubbing:

Sin Sin (Mondays and Wednesdays): 248 E 5th St. website here.

5) Tourist places to go:

4A) NYC:

This one you know la. With any map of NYC the touristy places are all marked out for you.

The thing is when seeing Statue of Liberty, take the Staten Island felly that operates every hour. This is the free one that gets you pretty close to her.

When i went they didnt allow you to step on the liberty island! :( So i couldnt dock to see her. If you want that ride the queue is INSANELY long. Go on weekday mornings. They open at 8am. This is $12 for the statue of liberty ferry.

4B) I loved Connecticut, Boston, Philadelphia and DC.

In Philadelphia, Huizhi from Ensemble is there! You can crash over a night. I spent one day in each place. One day is enough.

I have really good friends in each place so if you need help let me know.

6) Last notes:

- Bring laptop is a must coz there is the invention of google maps! Just key anything there. I use it all the time.

How? Eg. Someone told me about Sin Sin. Ok so on google i check Sin Sin's website and copy the address. Paste into Google Maps and i can see the nearest subway station.

Do you have a laptop? If not I can lend you mine (I have 2 now).

- travel light. You can buy clothes and stuff there so just bring towel, toiletries,.. minimal stuff really.

ok i gotta run. Call if anything. Hugs :)

Love,
Chun

Struggles

2008-06-19T10:44:00.001-04:00

I seek improvement, I seek praise, I seek glory and happiness.

Sounds great and far-sighted but I have come too see this is a chronic disease;

this urge to get everything perfect and "right". I end up feeling uptight, disappointed and very unhappy. Now it's been to the extent that I feel depressed.

God, am i hopeless?

I feel that I have dug my own grave. I know this feels negative and i need to snap out but I aint sure how. So much that it has become a habit.

What am I talking about?

Background story: I will/am doing dance full-time as of here on. But I am not sure how it's gonna work out. Especially when the money looks more than horrible. It will come and increase in time i'm sure but that's the least among my problems.

Now that dance is my full-time job/passion, i feel the pressure. I have to be of a certain level. This standard of dancing ability that qualifies me to teach. With years of experience under my belt and for going New York and Connecticut, I am expected (by myself and others) that I have to be good, if not great.

I feel incompetent. I feel terrible. I feel like a limping loser.

Am i really dancing? Do I really enjoy myself? Rarely now i realise.

With so much technique training, may it be in Hip Hop or Jazz, now when i do choreography, my mind is so in control. Good that I can observe and see but i'm wondering if its an obsession. To be so detailed. How the choreographer does this and i will try to follow exactly. And i mean EXACTLY.

And its not what the choreographer wants. I see now that they want me to DANCE - To enjoy myself when i move when doing choreography.

I feel that i am enjoying myself at times when i dance leh..

So i question myself, am I really enjoying myself? How do i know when i am enjoying myself. I feel that I am...Am i?

Flashback to a long time ago. My dance mentor Ryan told me once, you may feel happy inside but it doesnt show when you dance. Show that you love this. Show that you love to dance.

How...

But i must always remember; dance to express, not to impress.

Why am I so tense and stressed out. Why do i give myself so much pressure.

Why am I so obsessed with this bar and level of dance ability I need to reach..?

I feel further and further away from being a super dancer. Why.

How do I relax? How to feel? How to express myself?

Sounds weird but I feel I need to get my joy back. Joy in life and in dance.

But how....?

Home sweet home

2008-06-03T00:29:00.000-04:00

I got here 2June 8am SGT. I was right. Ha.

No but seriously? I have alot of unpacking and packing to do! I'm in such a mess!

But minus that, i am so glad to be back home :)

It's hello Singapore! I cant help but feel that i have missed out so much. SO much on your lives especially. I'm back. Will call you soon!

It's mortal combat for me now!

It's me against dust and debris. Let's just hope for a clean fight/victory.

Ciao!

Homerun!!!

2008-05-31T03:30:00.000-04:00

ok PEEPS!

My flight deetails are BA7372. Supposedly reaching 8am (she said 1st June but i think its 2nd june)
Check anyway lah huh.

Coz I'm reaching London at 7:40am London Time. Leaving London at 12:15pm London Time.
So it doesnt really make sense that i can reach on 1june. Reaching Singapore at 8am and just check tv teletext for BA7372 lah! :)

Hope to see you at the airport! hehehe! Homerunnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pls vote!

2008-05-26T01:51:00.002-04:00

Do vote for Allura for Power98's Singapore Music AwardsBest Breakout band. They deserve this chance! http://www.power98.com.sg/pages/Singapore_music_awards.php

Cast your votes now!

If this above link doesn't work, go to www.power98.com.sg

Look out for and click Singapore Music Awards. The one that writes "vote for your favourite local band now."

Do vote for Allura - my sister's band.

Very important you do!

Washington DC & Philadelphia with Hui Zhi

2008-05-25T22:54:00.000-04:00

Realised i should have titles that relate to the entire post better - summary liner titles that is. Hmm. Hee!

Yes but again, no photos yet! We'll see if i can upload later from the hotel computer :)
It's been good. I realised that holidays are what you make them out to be - perception, preparation, positivity.

It's not as great as i hoped for this breakaway to be but it's working out more and more.
I'm glad :) Today we walked along the long belt of museums. With the closure times of all the museums as the deadline, we scurried through museum we could. Tomorrow is a public holiday; memorial day. Most places are closed so Hui Zhi and I will be touring around in the beautiful weather. God has been good and I truly pray that during these last few days in the States, it'll be a fruitful time.

Love you all and truly, looks like i'll be seeing you sooner than expected! :)
Night :)

Life in New York City

2008-05-18T12:14:00.005-04:00

[This is an entirely retyped entry. I used De Rui's PC and accidentally the power chord came loose. There goes all my data. Reminder to all, constantly save your work or get auto-saving programs]

Right. So life in the Big Apple? Busy.

No excuse though! Not to stay in touch with everyone. Yes but I have discovered that without modern technology? Ha. This

week, I have just experienced life without the internet. It is to die for. Thank God I could use De Rui's IBM though not as cool as my Mac (heh) It still functions and has internet access! :) Yes but my Powerbook accessed the internet just fine till recently. Great.

So what did I do? I bought a new Mac. The Macbook.

This white, pristine clean, lightweight and fast 13" baby can crunch up to 2.4GHz (with the help of the Intel core duo chip* processor), 2Gb memory, 160Gb HDD and can burn DVDs.

*the Intel Core 2 Duo is actually two processors (cores) engineered onto a single chip - offering twice the computational power relative to a conventional single processor given the same space. Hence the higher performance and enhanced effects.

I didn't get the black one coz it was $200 more. Yes it had 90Gb more HDD but I'll give it a miss. I think I can handle white. Invested in the keyboard protector which is so great ;) My old baby has the keyboard letters smudging from excessive use.

Yes, I still love my old Powerbook but I need to get rid of her before I leave. I am overbaggaged as of now and I have yet to buy jazz shoes!

Ha but today (Wednesday), I got my Powerbook (old Mac) fixed! They can fix it in time! At TekServe; this place recommended by the dude at the Apple care store coz the Apple store would take 7-10biz days. I'd have flown back to SG by then. Here, Apple care is way better and much more helpful than in Singapore. It's crazy. Love it!

The people here are not just really more interesting, but today i discovered (through meeting other dancers and taking classes outside BDC dance studio), that there is so much to do and so much to learn here.

With 5 days essentially left (minus 4 days in Philadelphia and Washington DC) i really dont have much time left! Better late than never of course to discover so much more in just one day, but i feel that i havent gotten enough of New York.

I met new dancers today. One from Russia and another from Switzerland. They stopped their jobs and flew here just to learn dance. They cant work so they literally take class everyday and are purely students of dance. One of them has been here for 1/5 months, the the other a few.

There are so many dancers like me here. Flying here from all over the world to be students of dance. I'm lucky coz at least in Singapore we HAVE a hip hop industry, though not as developed as here, but we have one. Some of them only have ballet and classical stuff. Hence it is the hip hop industry that draws them here, to New York City.

Nowonder its the huge melting pot. Alot of these dancers want to stay but cant due to financial reasons mostly. Its a hard life. But a wonderful life.

It's been an inspiring day and i hope in these last days here, It will be a fruitful time of learning and sharing.

But today, Wednesday, is also my first day without Glen. Sounding clingy as i am, we met up on Tuesday night to exchange our goodbyes. He flew back this morning. It's been such a blessing to have a real friend around who not only speaks the same lingo but breathes the same passion for dance and life. He's been so real and such a great companion to have.

It's been so great. Hey, i'll be pretty MIA for a while.

I have yet to upload recent photos, update blogs and reply emails due to the lack of time.

If i'm home, i'll be spending time with De Rui, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry or some random stuff. I'm also so blessed to have De Rui. The house got pretty lonely and quiet with just me sometimes.

Also along the lines of using my computer, i accidentally deleted all my photos and videos for this WHOLE 6 mths and more! The old memory photos i can always claim from the whole world again but my own videos i didnt upload are gone!!! All the dance moves i wanted to share when i get back! GRR! No way to recover the data.

Let's hope i can recall everything in time to share when i get back to SG.

Love you'all!

Moving Out

2008-05-08T00:42:00.000-04:00

It's really coming to an end. Most students here cant wait for exams to end and leave for their homes. I cant wait to leave and tour either but i've been chilling out since pretty much Friday here at UConn. Meeting people and saying goodbye mainly.

I'm on a sluggish slow pace in doing almost everything. Being relaxed is great but definitely i need to hasten up! Especially packing. Mostly done.

I'm thinking of going for the student exchange meet-up tomorrow then move-out thereafter. We'll see :)

Been feeling a little giddy and sick these days. Hmm i think its due to the weather change from the winter to spring (the real thing!) Though this is the Spring term, it's never really spring till spring weekend and finals. Hmm :) Better late than never! Weather's fine :)

I did my hair! My friend kamisha helped me with it. I definitely have no face to pull this hairdo offf but i took time, bothered her and paid up so i aint taking em out just yet. We'll see. They look cool (minus my face) but pull back tight so there's tension in my hair. Think i'm really not used to that; that's all. It took her 2hours! Woah. Hey at least i've tried :)

Always wanted to do BRAIDS! Heh pictures soon! Night!

On a last note, Abby and Jenny (my roommates) are moving out really early. Maybe earlier than me which is weird since i ended last friday way before the undergrad exams start. But today they gave me a farewell card and gift :) Though we dont talk as much as i wish we could, i love them and i hope we will always stay in touch! We'll see :)

Ta~

What am i gonna do when i get back to SG in June?

2008-05-06T15:02:00.002-04:00

Ha! I reach Singapore 2June afternoon/evening SGTime.

1. participate in TBG - The Big Groove!
It's the Asia Hip Hop Festival. Thankyouverymuch Fred for signing up so many advance classes for me!!! Hehe No but seriously thank you. You have faith in me but i dunno of i have faith in myself. We'll see lah huh. I know i'll likely die but let's hope i wont be too much of a hazard in dance class and injure other participants..I shd make a shirt that says "Disclaimer: stand around at your own risk." Any hu! It's gonna be exciting! And the camp is from 4-6June @ Sentosa!
There is a showcase open to public. Do come watch if you can!
8June (Saturday) at Expo Hall 1, $25.

See http://oschool.com.sg/tbg08.php for more info!

Trailer Part 1:

Trailer Part 2:

2. Help out at and watching some dance shows of the Singapore Arts Festival 08!
Yup i volunteered. The co-ordinator is SO nice though. Berton Tan. For real. I'd go bonkers if i were him. So much co-ordinating of schedules, changes blah-blah..

Any hu! My works schedule at the Festival Maze is on the
9 Jun: 10am-2pm, 1.30-5pm;

10 Jun: 10am-2pm, 1.30-5pm

11 Jun: 1.30-5pm

See http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/ for more info!

3. Pack, catch up with people (Note Hui Yi's return in June from China), eat SG food! (in moderation hopefully) ha..
Still need to loose the 21plus pounds i gained since i got here. *gulp*
Cant wait to see you guys soon! Awesome! wwwwoooooooo....

Surrender your US quarters!

2008-05-06T14:14:00.000-04:00

Ok! I need quarters! My mudder send me a darn long time ago but i've yet to see to it. Abit the last minute but better late than never eh? :P

I need!!!.....

Year 2003

1. Maine (1820)

2. Missouri (1821)

3. Arkansas (1836)

Year 2004

1. Michigan (1837)

2. Iowa (1846)

3. Wisconsin (1848)

Year 2005

1. Oregaon (1859)

2. Kansas (1861)

Year 2006

1. Nevada (1864)

2. Nebraska (1867)

3. Colorado (1876)

4. North Dakota (1889)

5. South Dakota (1889)

Year 2007

1. Montana (1889)

2. Washington (1889)

3. Idaho (1890)

4. Wyoming (1890)

5. Utah (1896)

Year 2008

1. Oklahoma (1907)

2. New Mexico (1912)

3. Arizona (1912)

4. Alaska (1959)

5. Hawaii (1959)

Your kind assistance is much needed! Thank you!!! >_<

Plans

2008-05-04T16:06:00.002-04:00

i am blessed to have Singaporean friends here like Audrey and Melisse!
Wow. This info below is from Audrey to get to Woodburry Commons in Chelsea, this cheap shopping place i refuse to go to coz i've bought all my souvenirs and have spent way too much already..lol Needed the info coz Glen would be going. I'm exited for Singaporeans or when i meet them. So cool ha. Meeting up in a foreign country. Any hu! Here's the link to the Woodburry site :)

The word doc Audrey sent me! [Thanks girl!!!]
TRAVEL INFORMATION:
Option 1:
Penn Station New York to Metro-North's Harriman Station via NJ TRANSIT Secaucus Junction:
Weekends and major holidays: Trains depart Penn Station New York at 9:14 AM, 11:14 AM, and 1:14 PM. Transfer to trains departing Secaucus for Harriman Station at 9:31 AM, 11:31 AM, and 1:30 PM; arriving at 10:27 AM, 12:28 PM, and 2:42 PM.
(For The Return Trip)
Metro-North's Harriman Station to Penn Station New York via NJ TRANSIT Secaucus Junction:
Weekends and major holidays: Trains depart Harriman Station at 4:13 PM and 6:34 PM. Transfer to trains departing Secaucus for New York's Penn Station at 5:29 PM and 7:43 PM; arriving at 5:41 PM and 7:53 PM.

Option 2:
PATH/NJ TRANSIT from Hoboken Station to Metro-North's Harriman Station: Take PATH from 33rd Street to Hoboken Station. At Hoboken Station, transfer to the Port Jervis Line for the trains departing for Harriman Station.
Weekends and major holidays: Trains depart Hoboken Station at 9:21 AM, 11:21 AM, and 1:20 PM; arriving Harriman Station at 10:27 AM, 12:28 PM, and 2:42 PM.
(For The Return Trip)
Metro-North's Harriman Station to Hoboken Station:
Weekends and major holidays:Trains depart Harriman Station at 4:13 PM and 6:34 PM; arriving Hoboken Station at 5:33 PM and 7:41 PM. Transfer at Hoboken for PATH train to 33rd Street.

Connecting transportation to/from Harriman Station and Woodbury Common (2 miles):
Weekdays and Holidays: Call any of the following taxi companies for transportation to/from Harriman Station to Woodbury Common. Rides cost between $6 and $7 each way:
Village Taxi: 845-783-6112 Monroe Taxi: 845-782-8141
Saturdays and Sundays only (excluding major holidays): The Main Line Trolley makes only one morning pick-up from Harriman Station at 10:30 AM, arriving Woodbury Common at 10:40 AM; and only one evening departure from Woodbury Common at 5:50 PM, arriving Harriman Station at 6:10 PM. Trolley fare is $1.60 each way.

Posting it here for future reference and maybe i can save some stranger the research when they Google! :) Glen from Singapore is coming to NYC! i cant believe i forgot to mention! On a holiday! Oh he's my friend from NUS Dance Ensemble. So exciting!

I've got so many plans lined up!!! My exams are done last week and i've been chilling and slacking! Time to buck up! Packing my room at my own pace and gonna leave for NYC as soon as possible! I'm

Glen is coming this Wed 7May at 10am! Same day as my last costume design class! We'll be presenting and sharing as a class all our drawings and work we've done for the whole term :) Also i've got transcript paper work, leaving documents, key returns to do. Let's hope i can do them all on Wed! Ha. I'm targeting to leave UConn on Wed and catch the 2:35pm or 5pm bus from here to NYC. Else there's always Thursday and Friday 9May buses. I can technically stay here at UConn latest till Sunday afternoon.

Why cant i do the paperwork sooner? Well its weekend, nothing is ever really open sadly. Everything (including the mail room) is open 8-5pm Mon to Fridays only. Sigh. Monday and Tuesday i take the 7am bus and the bus reaches back on campus at 5:30pm.

I plan to go to Mohegan Sun on Monday! One of the highlights of Connecticut! I dont gamble but i heard it's still an icon to see. Great website here i must say! I wish I could go an night but the darn buses always limit my travelling grr..Hey i'm grateful that there at least are buses that go by here. UConn is alive but it really doesnt have alot of links to the outside world if you dont have a car. I'm over it :) We do what we can.

Yes! So that's Monday. I always pass by Mohegan Sun once or twice a week coz it's on the way when i change bus to go to Connecticut College in New London on Tues and Thurs. But never go in coz i need to go school obviously. But no school on a weekday finally so i am so going to check that place out!!! :D

I know mornings are a bad time to go coz there's nothing much going on (best times are Fri and Sat) but ah well. I have no choice unless i take cab and that is SO not worth it...

Tuesday is Conn Coll again. I must get up to catch my 7am bus! I seem to have that problem alot. Update you again! :)

Also i'm FINALLY meeting up with HuiZhi! A close friend of mine from Dance Emsemble. She's been at UPenn (3hours drive away from UConn) so that's pretty near. We're meeting this weekend in NYC finally! We were supposed to meet alot of weekends ago but we keep postponing..she's a busy woman what can i say! Lol

But i'm excited that we're meeting finally! Way cool :D
We're going to Washington DC on 25&26 May together too! Excited! :)

Since DC is near Florida, i thought of going there too! Seems cool :)
I havent done the math yet so this aint concrete but it seems a good idea to go from DC --> Florida --then back to--> NYC. Or NYC --> Florida --> DC --then back to--> NYC. i would likely follow the latter plan since Glen would be flying back 21May. So i can go Florida then.

Oh, the Singaporean girls are going to Niagra Falls (Toronto, Canada) on 12May Monday. I'm thinking of joining them but that depends on Glen. I promised i'd go with him and i'm sure it'll be fun :) - [sorry HuiYi!] Yup but i'm definitely heading to Montreal, Canada (coz Fred will be going in SEP there from Dec to June!) and i'm curious to see what it's like there. Wanna check that place out :) [Fred, ha..then it'll be my turn to give you a full breakdown report via email hopefully. Hee. Haa..]
I thought of this plan coz Montreal is near to Niagra Falls, Toronto, Canada so it's smarter if i go to Niagra Falls from NYC, then head to Montreal and then back to NYC. All via overnight bus if all works out well :)

*phew!* I'm still looking for places to go..HEE! More updates soon! Hugs and love! Let's hope this last month here will really be fruitful! Catch you guys soon! :D

P.S! I almost forgot! Ryan and Gin from OSchool are coming to NYC too!!! WOOHOO! Not sure when but i recall mid-May. Just in time for the Dance Parade on May 17th at NYC! I am mad excited HA! Love ya'll!

Week before finals week

2008-05-01T00:55:00.001-04:00

Apparently this IS my finals week! Coz after this Friday i am done and free!
Photos of this week here ;) Will update again more and add-on soon! Best for finals!

Wrapping things up

2008-05-01T00:35:00.007-04:00

It's been a sweet day :)

1: Last class for Costume Design today! There's a portfolio presentation on 7May (next Wed) but other than that that's it! :)

2: My dance solo for Jazz Class today (Wed). No video regretfully coz i didnt take coz i decided not to. Got pretty scared. Felt unprepared. Did the best i could given the time but it wasnt enough. The dance wasnt as technical as i want it to be sadly. I decided to choreo it to be non0technical (meaning not alot of turns, jumps and kicks and stunts). It was a performance piece; uber emo! Hee. Yes but i kinda regret not making it more technical after i watched my classmates' solos. *shrug*
I knew i could have done better by doing this and doing that...blah-blah-blah... but everyone enjoyed it so that was a great relief :) I'm glad it's another load off my shoulders.
I'm never v good at solos. Still am not. Ah well :) It felt nice to just do your best and dance your heart out as much as you can. Practice makes perfect!

Yes! Enough said! Le visuals!
Some of my favourite solo pieces by my classmates! Didnt take everyone coz i kept watching and forgot i had my camera! Sigh. Beats nothing! :) They're so awesome. I wanted to video but not enough space :(

View of my class/classmates:

Finally my Jazz teacher Christine from dance class and meself in costume! :)

I took this coz i wanted to show you my light make up! Unfortunately i took it against the sunlight. Ah well :) That's me at the end of my day :) phew :)

3: The last session of Church small group (cell group basically here). Sweet memories though shortlived surely :)

These are yummy cookies an brownies Steve brought. His wife made em :) Yumm.. :D

Steve did the exercise when all of us got one coloured paper and we'd pass it around clockwise where everyone would write sth about each other :) This is mine! I chose pink :D It was so sweet :) This is the front...

This is the inside :)

Group photo! This is my small group :)
[They call it small group but its basically our version of Church cell group] :)

4: I have my final chem paper this Friday!!! Gasp. Overslept and missed chem class this morning! GASP. Hope it went well...Gotta buck up! A few more days left! We can do this!!!

Little Things

2008-05-01T00:35:00.003-04:00

FYI - Email from Lisa, the UConn exchange student co-ordinator

2008-04-30T02:31:00.001-04:00

I've placed this here for future reference :)

I need to remind myself of the list to do as well! hehe

Yeah but gosh this is sooner than expected. The semester is really coming to a closure. I see students studying all the time. This is the week before finals; reading week except classes are still going on. Yup! Talk soon! Hugs and love! Best for exams! (Wah some of ya'll finish so early o!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Everyone!!
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the fabulous weather - don't forget the sunscreen….
Several announcements
1) Exchange Student & Study Abroad abassadors Picnic- Thursday, May 8, 4-6pm on the CUE back patio.
2) Spring Weekend Activites from Thursday - Sun this weekend.

3) and you must read the attached OR below if you can not open it.

<> Final Information on End of Semester

To: Exchange Students
From: Lisa McAdam Donegan, Exchange Coordinator

I hope that your semester has gone well and you are prepared for finals May 5-May 10. I have several things to tell you so please read this information carefully.

Spring Weekend is here is this weekend! Check out the schedule of activities on the UConn Student Homepage (http://students.uconn.edu/)
Be safe and cautious

Please see Susan Heacox in CCS (Bishop Center) if you have any outstanding fees like health services (even if minimal!) (Susan is in her office 9-12 &1-4:30 M-F) Questions, then e-mail Sue at susan.heacox@uconn.edu.

--ALL student fees at UCONN must be paid so that you can have your transcript released.

Dorms close May 6, if you need to continue in the dorm for an additional fee, contact the Dept. of Residential Life, Wilbur Cross Building.
ALL International students must complete the J-1 visa Departure Notice with International Services & Programs DISP in the Student Union. It is available at www.disp.uconn.edu under forms.
You must return all library books before you leave (or you will be charged for books)
Either in person or online at the UConn Registrar (www.registrar.uconn.edu), you must request a copy of your Official UConn transcript to go to your home university using the form that they have. You can request as many copies as you want for no fee; have the address when you go. You may print out an unofficial copy online on Peoplesoft.
Final Grades: You can access semester grades (view transcript) online on the Peoplesoft system! Grades are posted 3 days after classes end, generally. Go to www.peoplesoft.uconn.edu and enter your Peoplesoft or registration number
For students who need to receive an incomplete in a course, please keep in mind that you must complete the missing work by 6 weeks into the next semester or you will receive an a letter grade of "F".
Please talk to your professors if you have any issues or concerns regarding a course or final exam. Please make note of the location of the final – they are not always held where the class is. Go to any and all review sessions for the course that are offered.
If there are any courses you needed to drop officially with Sue that you have not, you must do it this week. (Provided you already have the instructor permission).
If any international students are going to obtain an internship after next semester, you must finalize it by April 30 with a letter of offer from the company. Lisa needs to fill out a Request for Academic Training Authorization to be sent to DISP/international Programs, they then issue an extension for your visa. You must show financial support for the duration of the extension.
International students have up to 30 days after the end date on their visa to depart the country – this is a 30–day grace period.
Text Book Buy Back: You can sell your UConn texts books back to the UConn COOP for cash (less than what you paid, of course) Follow signs to location at COOP.
Classes end Friday, May 2; finals begin on Monday May 5 and end on May 10. Undergraduate Dorms close Sunday May 11 at 8pm.
Please stop in and see me before you go!. Mon, Wed, Thurs. I am in my office.
Contact me with any questions and have a safe and enjoyable spring and summer season.

Be safe and enjoy your final weeks here.
Lisa

Weekend in New York

2008-04-28T00:07:00.000-04:00

It was fabulous. I took dance classes, hung out with friends, shopped quite alot, walked quite alot.
Spent time with De Rui who got back from Singapore which was nice.
I was so gald i decided to go NYC though last minute and i spent a good deal of time searching for a contact lens store that was open but gave up and went for class semi-blind anyway.

Much to share!

Pictures here!
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/04%2026%2027%20New%20York/?albumview=slideshow

Support my lil' Sis at Stardust08 finals!!!

2008-04-27T22:39:00.001-04:00


Date:	Friday, May 16, 2008
Time:	6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:	The Arena, Clark Quay
	Tickets at S$15, entitled to a free drink

It is just down to the final few solo contestants!!! Please go support my lovely Sister (Inch Chua Yun Juan) who is not just mad talented but is hardowrking and really wants this! Her passion for singing and for people is truly inspiring. Please go check out out!!! I cant go coz i'll be in New York City. Tell me about it ya! Take videos! Upload youtube!

Update me about it k! Wee!

Saved yet again

2008-04-27T21:55:00.001-04:00

I'm safely and happily sitting at my room desk and i'm grateful to of course God, yes, but to Tony Tran as well.

Who is Tony? A quick refresher - my Hero. Really.

He's the gorgeous ABC (American Born Chinese) dude who saved me from East Brook Mall when i missed the last bus;
also the same dude who drove all the way to Conn Coll at New London, waited for my dance class to end and drove me back to UConn Storrs;
also the dude who helped me out throughout my job at USM (Union Street Market).

He is an angel and my hero who saved me yet again today! When i was stranded at Hartford!
(That is very very far). To cut the long story short, why i got stuck at Hartford bus transportation center was a combination of the bus driver not knowing the way to Hartford and made a huge detour to New Haven and delaying the whole bus, but also my own fault for not boarding the Peter Pan bus. Stupid gong me took the greyhound one. It was a risk coz the deal is that i had to reach Hartford by 5:30pm to catch the Peter Pan bus to UConn Storrs. Brilliant move. I saw the Peter Pan bus! But i didnt get off the greyhound one regretfully. Who knew the driver would have gotten lost and reached Hartford at 6pm instead..!

My phone battery was low. I called Alex Gozun. To no avail. Called Tony. To no avail. Left voicemails in both inboxes. I called Abby, my housemate but she couldnt do a thing coz she had no car. A long long wait on the bus as i watched time tick away on my watch. Moments passed. It was 5:45pm. Then 5:55pm. I reached Hartford 6:05pm. True enough the bus to Storrs had left. The desk info guy was nice and was sorry he couldnt do anything. He was kind and pointed me to the nearest ATM. Bank of America. Shoot, not again. I wished i opened a Bank of America one instead of People's Bank. My phone had some life left. No news.

I went to wash my face and drink water by the water fountain to calm my nerves down.
Looks like no one was coming. Drew cash. (The thing is that when you draw from other ATMs you must pay $2 additional to in my case Bank of America. Whatever, i needed the cash to take cab).

Right after i drew, i walked towards the yellow cab right outside. Phone rang as i was about to keep it back in my pocket! It was Tony. He was at home in West Hartford doing his paper. As usual in his calm but confident tone, he spoke,

Tony: Hey, are you still at the bus station?
Chun: Hi. (In my mind, i said 'oh god') I'm sorry to trouble you. Where are you?
Tony: I'm at home.
Chun: In West Hartford?
Tony: Yeah, I can give you a ride back to Storrs. Wait, which bus station? At Hartford right?
Chun: The address is 1 Union Place.
Tony: (Exhales deeply.) Okay, one union ...could you spell that?
Chun: One Union Place..P-L-A-C-E.
Tony: Okay. (Exhales again.)
(I can sense him at his computer checking up probably google maps. I wait momentarily. God, phone please dont die..)
Tony: Is it the one near exit 84?
Chun: Er, hold on, let me check. (I ask the bus station master nearby).
Chun: Yes.
(conversation gets cut.)
Chun: Hello? ..Hello?
(My phone died.)

I went to the front desk and queued. Thank goodness the queue was short and the lady said though it wasnt allowed, she allowed me to use the front desk phone. Thankfully there was no customers behind me. Tony picked up, "I'll be right over." We hung up.

I wanted to grab him sth. Too bad dunkin' doughnuts didnt have any doughnuts left. I got him a blueberry muffin, got tissue to partition the bag and placed cash by the side. Let's hope he opens the bag and notices the cash..!

He spotted me as i walked out! He was dressed in blue. Me too. He looks so cute..gosh.
For the journey we didnt speak much. He never accepted my payments for the fuel. This is the third time he has saved me. This is crazy.

Yes, so if you ever know a Tony Tran (Full written name is Antonius Tran) - see my facebook friends to verify - pls help him if he ever needs any help. I feel so in debt to him.

There's sth about being a damsel in distress and being saved by a gorgeous hunky hero that is so...fairy tale-like? I'm speechless that's for sure. Indescribably speechless. He'll be going to Michigan-U to do his post-grad next semester onwards (for the next 2-3years). Anyone gg there? Holler if you are! Hee.

That was the end of my wonderful weekend. I asked he drop me off at church and i went for service. Took the shuttle bus back (not to worry).

I'll update you again. I'm glad i went to New York on Saturday afternoon :) It was a great weekend for me :) Hope yours went well too! Stay in touch! :) Thank for reading!

Spring weekend report

2008-04-26T02:37:00.004-04:00

Spring weekend is basically this mega party at UConn. People flock here from all over to come and party.
It was alright for me. Sad that there was no dancing when i got there, dunno why the music got turned off..Shrug. Guess it was getting late. Yeah but so what the heck did i do for so long while i was there? Standing around. Literally.I'm glad i went with Abby. I love my housemate Abby. She's like family to me here. She always looks out for me. Making sure i'm alright and asking if i'm having fun. It was cool to see thousands and thousands of students but i agree that it really isnt all that fun. I probably didnt go crazy and let my hair down that's why. There was no dancing!!! I was really disappointed. I regret not bringing my bag or i'd have my portable speakers and i dont care coz i will start the party! Abby's girlfriends were there but no offence i dont think i'll remember them. The whole time they were just looking for people. I was standing there. I asked if we could go to check out the music and follow the music. Their like no. When they wann go places they just go. It's not ffair. I went to check out in the end but nah it wasnt dancing. I will bring my stereo tomorrow if i do go! I dont care that is final! When Chun goes to a party, she makes the party happen. At least try to get it started. How can you not dance at a party?! That's like drinking wine from a cup; still alright but nah, i dont just want alright.

But right now i really wanna go NYC instead. Spring weekend isnt as fun as i thought and hoped it'll be. For me at least.f Truly disappointing. I dont pick up guys as well so apparently that's half the point gone. i totally dont drink either so guess that's the other half gone. Ah well :)

Pictures from Friday night Spring weekend party at Celeron:
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/04%2025%2026%20Spring%20weekend/?albumview=slideshow

This is Stutti, our CA on duty :(
CAs are basically people who take up this job for the whole semester. It's not a very nice job to have coz you have to work when people are partying (see here). She is one of the nicest and most helpful girls i know around here. Loves people and serve others. Guess that's the role of a CA. She's here for the night to sign guests in. I caught her while i was walking out of my building. The plus point is that they get paid like any ohter job on campus. The plus plus is that they get free housing! Single room. But it's a tough job. Alot to do.

This is Abby and Dave, her boyfriend. They are truly the cutest couple. They make a great match for sure!

This is Steff and i will remember her. She's a friend of Nina, also a nice girl who's Abby's friend.
I hung out with her alot. She goes to Boston University! Came down to visit Nina and to check out Spring weekend :) She's only here for the night but there's sth special about her. She's different in a really nice/special way. I'm glad i met her for sure. That was that.

So if i'm gg to party tomorrow night think i'll be going early coz that's when they play music i heard. Let's hope there's dancing tomorrow. Believe there will be :) We'll see :) Coz I just wanna dance! For real!

I realise i aint a v positive person though i try to be

2008-04-26T02:28:00.000-04:00

I called De Rui, glad i did :)
He gave me a great piece of advice to bust negative thoughts.
Which really is to refocus; divert your attention to (in his suggestion) your surroundings.
Take a walk. Take a stroll. Identify the smells, sights and sounds around you.

Sounds relieving and i think i will :)
I agree that truly i am like complain queen.
I dont complain out loud but i feel it alot of times.
I feel guilty for complaining in my heart too which totally doesnt help.
I know it doesnt help to complain nor feel guilty but what am i to do. I get vexed too when i have problems i cant solve or have the power/control over.

I must stay positive. I wanna go NYC tomorrow pretty badly.
We'll see :) I have responsibilities. Not much but still. We'll see :)

Night all :) Hugs and love!
I wanna make the best outta this exchange experience and i know i will!

Tough times? Rough times?

2008-04-25T00:19:00.001-04:00

I cant believe i didnt blog about this! Not a totally good idea considering this is the world wide web, but it's basically my experience with the All Stars team at UConn. They're a great bunch of girls (there is one guy Alex but he's not always here).

Any hu, i've as of a few weeks back i took over as Dance Choreographer, since the dance captain stepped down. I am grateful to God and the team truly for this leadership opportunity. But after today's practice just moments ago, i find myself really getting quite frustrated. I really cant seem to communicate with them. Basic communication is so lacking. I fear its me.

I wanted to call someone to pray together. Anyone...
I called Fred twice. It's difficult definitely with the huge time difference.

Heck. I'm feeling worse and worse as i think about it. It is an honour to be given this task and problems are bound to surface. But i truly pray that God will lead me in the right direction. That others can see Him through me.

The dancers are definitely capable of dancing/grooving and handling choreography. They're really nice and fun people to hang with once you talk to them too! But i just dont get why is it so hard to get things done. I'm still trying out different methods to see what works. Sigh. We bend and mold ourselves to suit the environment; Adapt! is my new keyword to remember. But I pray i wont lose myself and my own identity.

I play me part and give my all. The rest is up to the dancers to make my choreo work. Let's hope it does. Update you again! Show's this Saturday. (It's great too that for this whole month of April we've been having shows every weekend). I hope the success of All Stars will continue on even after my departure.

Yes, so final trivia: it's interesting how this new leadership role is my joy and yet my anguish/problem. But as Ryan said before, it is a privilege to struggle, coz it is through struggles that we improve!

Thanks for listening! Hope you dont feel like you're struggling too! We will triumph and emerge stronger! Rah!!! Stay awesome! :)

Jazz Class at UConn

2008-04-23T00:27:00.003-04:00

This is the only dance class officially i take for credits at UConn. The only one that was open for me to take. Its a basic level but it's interesting how everyone brings different things to the table with all sort of different levels of dance background.

Enjoy! We all have to choreograph solos and i am nervous! i'm never v good with solo choreography; cant play with blocking/formations. *shrug* i need to prepare for it! :) Must make time *mental note to self* hee

26March'08 - Presenting Rachel and Chun :)
[sorry it got cut! Ran outta camera memory :(]

21Apr'08 - Group 1
[i'm in this one too! hee]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iJMMvoG3zM

21Apr'08 - Group 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8idP9Gpb56A

21 Apr'08 - Group 3

21 Apr'08 - Group 4

Boston day trip!

2008-04-20T00:12:00.000-04:00

It was great!!!

More info to come! I'm uploading on photobucket as we speak!

Facebook!

2008-04-19T23:59:00.000-04:00

Yesh, i know. i said i really didnt want facebook.
Troublesome and distracting. I have photobucket and my blog.
I can barely even manage msn - absolutely almost never go.

Why facebook so sudden and so late? My good friend Doris from BAILE, the UConn latin dance group. Signed up with me on Chris' computer. It's true coz when i go back all my UConn friends will and may disappear. I am a phone person and here too, people email and phone me to keep in touch. Hope facebook will let us stay connected.

I'm heading homebound soon. Glad i bought most of my souvenirs! I still have more shopping to do in NYC and i'm looking forward to that :)

Add me on facebook! I'm still mad new and still very much resistant to extensive usage of this newfound tool but hey who knows! Things change :)

Best for exams! It's partying week these two weeks before finals. It's pretty intense all around me. I'm good for now :) Resting :)

But i fear i may have been too sloppy and gained so so so much weight. i was 43.3kg = 95.5pounds. Now i am 115pounds = 52kg. That's 19.5pounds. God. Not going into further gross details. Looks i literally have alot of work to do when i get back to SG...lol

Embarrassed to admit my weight issues, sigh, i publically declare here and also to remind myself about healthy eating! SHEESH...when will i ever learn! Lol Think coz output here is much lesser than in SG. Input here higher as well. Oopz :P

Hope you take care of yourselves too! Exam period is no excuse! Heh
Hugs and love!

Movie nights

2008-04-12T16:05:00.000-04:00

The Student Union theatre screens movies and i regretfully watched Sin City last night. This movie that was from a graphic novel series. Dont watch it if you ask me. I hated the show coz it was just way to gory. Fred said that the movie was acclaimed for its visual aesthetics. True. Yes it was an interesting way of presenting the film i must say. Somewhat artistic. The movie reminded me of Samuel Beckett's minimalist approach, when throughout the movie was kept pretty much in black and white. With few scenes in slight "normal mode" but flushed with a black veil. Bright colours like red, orange, yellow, green were used to contrast and as emphasis.

But i really didnt see the point of doing this movie. It was really gory and it was a collection of gory stories of life in Sin City. Thinking back on it now still gives me the spooks...Now i remember why i dont watch horror shows; you literally pay to get into the cinema to watch and get this aftermath of haunting and sleeping problems. Eww.

But on Thursday night, i watched P.S. I Love You right after a performance we did by the All stars. It was great! I was abit skeptical since i feared it may be one of those chick flick love stories with such a corny title..But it is truly a great movie. A must watch for sure. It's based on the novel so you can read the book too [available at the National Library :)]
I like the way it features few characters and really worked on each character. The costumes for this movie i must say is awesome! Definitely very the designer prototype end. That's my definition of really unique cutting but it still showcases the character's character through the costume. For example, the leading female played by the gorgeous Hillary Swank was had really creative styles. In the last scene she wore this black (reminded me of the lawyer cutting but it was a kind of dress). Fitting for the working designer professional who she played. I shhant spoil too much of the show for you but in gist i also felt that casting i felt was brilliant. This show relies alot on beauty though i feel. The aesthetic of the actors. They were all beautiful people. The mom as well. The scenes that were powerful was really because of the script. If it were some other lines delivered i could imagine it to feel over the top. This one really wasnt. There were so many of those old-school romance film shots. you know, the typical close up on say male and female lead or mother and daughter moments, shows soft skin and perfect complexion, shows perfect hair and natural light makeup, the feel is bright and light...

In what i'd call cheezy love movies the same screenplay is executed but with cheezy lines. This show seems to initially give me the impression that it may fall over the edge in to cheeziness but i really think that it is the script/lines delivered that made this show work. It aint easy puling off such screen shots and this movie did for me, in my opinion. A must watch if you have the chance.

As a girl after all in the world i still definitely crave love and affection as all human beings so perhaps for the muscle men this show may be too emo and thus not to your liking but you shd still watch it!!! Romance education hehe :p Just teasing. Yes, but my take home for that show was the answer to why would the guy do all this to her!!! (Kept general; intentionally). It was one of the last few lines delivered by male lead Gerard Butler;

"..to see yourself through my eyes" when life get you down.

True. It's interesting how we see our lover. That we know they're flaws and strengths but we still love them. It reminds me also of God's unconditional love to us that through his eyes we are his children. Thank you all for your love.

I'm considering to watch P.S. I Love You again tonight but it will cost $2 :P Only friday nights are free. So yes Sin City was free. I want to write in so much to give feedback (that it may not be a good show to screen on campus). But that's my opinion, i'm still thinking how i can phrase it better - on why they shdn't screen it..Coz the argument is that i definitely shd've checked up on what the movie was..shoot. Not all free movies are worth watching.

But yes, the reason why i watched both the shows was because of Soon Leong!!! :D
His blog is http://www.sleonggnoels.blogspot.com/
(I type it here coz i need to link it to mine which i have yet to do :P)
My Singaporean friend here whom i find i can relate to best. He is an awesome friend with an awesome girlfriend. I mention his girlfriend coz he is really really into her and vice versa. Lol. Mushy but i am definitely happy for them!

I mention him last but of course of most importance coz i cannot say how much i appreciate him on this trip. He really understands and i really need not explain. We face more often the same set of problems and difficulties. But its really so nice to have a friend from the same heartlands as you, one who you can clique with, one whom you know you can relate to and vice versa! He is an awesome friend. He asked to watch both shows. Why not since i'm free. Glad i had a friend for company. Too bad he doesnt have a phone! It's old school coz we have to arrange before hand to meet up (we met at the library 7:30pm friday night to study abit before the movie). But i'm loving it lol

If i need to contact him i'd go try my luck by knocking at his room door! He stays with all the other international students at McMahon Hall. Not too far away from South where i live but still. I'm glad we met up :) Next week the Union is screening National Treasure! Watched before but dont mind catching it again! We'll see how :)

In the meantime, looks like its work for me!
I could've gone to Conn Coll this morning but i was too sleepy and was still indecisive about going. Coz i'd have to take cab back from Willimantic to Storrs UConn. The whole day would be burned and i'd reach home 1am plus. Abit dangerous. I wanna call someone with a car who could drive me there but i dont know who'd be free...we'll see.

But on a lighter note, today is 72deg Fahrenheit! That's 22.222 deg Celsius! Warm!!!
It's the real spring time now after daylight savings and it's great :)
People come out alot more now and can see students playing in the fields. Frisbee is pretty common here. But as the weather gets warmer all sorts of outdoor games come out. You name it! Softball, soccer, kite-flying..pretty cool :) Too bad NUS no grassy outdoors and open spaces. So i'm glad really to see and experience the culture here :)

More to come! Stay awesome you! Best for the examers!
It's homework day today for me too :) Join you soon :) take care!

Singapore Arts Fest 08 is here!

2008-04-12T03:11:00.000-04:00

http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/main.asp

I'm definitely fired up for it! I am so catching some of the dance performances!
I volunteered for the event! The thing is that its from 23May - 22Jun! I reach SG only on 2June evening! Hope i can work on the 5, 6, 9, 10. I signed up from 10am-5pm. I figured it shd be close to the date i get back but not too close. At least i have 2 whole days to adjust. Which reminds me i need to settle my graduation stuff! Let's hope all goes well!

But for sure i am psyched up about heading homebound!
Cant wait to see you'all :)
Have a wonderful day ahead and stay in touch! Do email me your requests ya? :) Of gifts and such. I'm shocked coz FedEx costs close to 200USD to ship a 25kg package..! That's expensive to me...i'm still looking for alternative means. Worse come to worse i get overbaggage but its such a hassle..! Let's hope i find cheaper means coz i really dont have THAT much stuff..!

Best for exams tertiary folks! I'm glad i only have one chem paper that my teacher let us choose the date! Cool. Not so cool when i take the paper but looks like i have so much catching up to do! Best wishes to you!!!

Weekend report - Latinfest 08 & NCAA Women's bball

2008-04-06T21:16:00.002-04:00

I wished i had the pictures to show you! In sum it was a fun and relaxing weekend.
I kept it empty as much as i can; a simple and clean schedule so i could focus. Saturday night was Latinfest! Sunday was church. That's it.

I almost forgot about the game! Its the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament when UConn would be playing against Stamford! It was the final four teams fighting for the national championship title! Exciting. UConn lost to the intelligent Stamford team who i must say were mind-boggling. Its interesting and really enriching to watch them live coz Stamford really had a sick gameplan which worked wonders. Their victory this time shows the story of an awesomely united team that stuck to their gameplan and made it together. I cant help but see the correlation to the intellectual orientation of Stamford.

It reminded me of the the times when i worked with USP scholars. Truly there's sth different about how more intellectually orientated folks learn and unlearn habits. They pick up fast for sure! Personally i'm thankful for my USP training coz when you're used to exercising your mind daily, information absorption seems to come more effortlessly. Hmm. I find myself being more strategy oriented and analytical. Which can be good! But like a double edged sword i suppose there is a tendency to over-intelectualise and over-theorise? Coz maybe for USP RAG i really shd have made it simpler and clearer. Hmm..heee

Yes but I still love team UConn!!!It was really worrying to watch the girls feeling pressurised. The Stamford girls were all a whole head taller than all the UConn girls so it was really scary to watch! It was also really hard to break the control of Stamford girls who had such great control of the ball all the time. They only managed to pressurise and break the Stamford control during the last 10minutes which was a little late.

I'll be back to write more. See you!

My favourite TVshow

2008-04-04T01:56:00.001-04:00

i forgot TV is different. Is this showing in SG? Its by MTV!

JabbaWockeez won wooohooo!!!! But all the teams were really great.
The show is called AMERICA'S BEST DANCE CREW! When just like SYTYCD, in this case teams are elimited each week. They bring to the stage their own choreography and are all given limited time to choreo. The season just ended though (hence a crowned winner) but season 2 is ocming up! Looks exciting!

Check it out at dancecrew.mtv.com :)

Below embedded are the performances by JabbaWockeez:
This is my favourite one by this group :)

My second favourite maybe by this group? :)

2 other episodes by the Jabba Wockeez:

Their tagline is "where hip hop meets mime".
They're a group from San Diego, California.

Enjoy~ :)

Graduation problems

2008-04-04T00:14:00.000-04:00

Thank you Aik Leong for reminding me (he's forever so on pointe and sweet) aww heh
Yes but he reminded me about applying for COMMENCEMENT!

Finally! My official release from the chains of undergraduate life. Ok so it was fun, most of it.
I'm definitely done studying. I cant imagine how i would deal with studying right now :/ Realised i'm very much outta touch with studying or the technique of studying..then again have i ever grasped this art of studying? lol

Ok so to my dismay, my name is/was not on the commencement system. That's odd, i applied for graduation and it was fine..

Problem solving mode time. Chun clicks away at the screen.
i'm glad it didnt take me really long to track down the problem. The solution was given to me when i called the Science Dean's office. Got referred to the Undergrad programmes side and managed to speak to a really nice lady Lili! (Big contrast from the rude lady who answered my call initially - i'm sure she's a nice person but probably had a very very terrible day..).

Yes but i was basically explained the rationale behind why last Sem cant be SEP; the transcripts cant be out in time. I'm pretty sure here at UConn its really fast coz everything is online and within the click of a mouse you see your results flashed before you (sounds familiar eh?) lol. Yes so is NUS. But the problem is that even if i can get my transcripts/results here, and assumingly successfully send them over to NUS Science Dean's office asap, she said that on the NUS end its a busy time for them and may to process my transcripts in time for graduation! :(

BUT if my transcripts come out in time, i can graduate this sem; after applying for Commencement thereafter of course. She said its an unlikely outcome sadly.

But she's v kind (Lili is her name) she advises if cant graduate this sem i can take leave-of-absence and graduate next semester, without paying school fees. As a special case for them to take note, on condition that i tell them early (i.e. when i get back to SG before the start of next sem).

SO basically all i can do now is pray that transcripts get out at UConn fast, sent to NUS fast and processed fast. Then, can i apply for commencement. Else i have to wait till sem1 08 to graduate....

Hey it could have been worse. I'm glad my answer and graduation prospects came swiftly coz i recall my fair share of information hunting, paperwork filling, approvals and so on. Lili was really helpful which was great.

Yup but i'm thankful to be here and get this experience for sure.
Hope you're coping well! Time flies! OMG! Just 1 more month & a week till end of sem!!!

I realised my work is pretty course based. My chem module (which i am doing horribly for) - what's new lol - is exam based so nothing till the very end. I flunked my midterms for that again due to time management problems sigh but other than that the rest of my subjects are well. Tedious and time consuming to draw etc but still going well :) Too bad only the chem module will count to my graduation! The rest are Unrestricted Electives (UE).

That's it!
P.S. I realised living in Singapore and being Singaporean makes me more inclined to technical jargon and abbreviations lol! Then again it could be an NUS thing. People here say Gen Ed classes. We have GEM, Breath, UE...Talk about kiasuism? haha :P i'm lovin' it though ;)

See y'all!
Wish me luck for show! Pray i do myself, my country and Godf proud on stage! *gulp*

The last lap

2008-04-04T00:13:00.002-04:00

This is the last week leading up to Latinfest08! This mega performance on the big stage at Jorgensen Theatre (kinda like our UCC at NUS) :)

Before i go on reporting about this week i realise i didnt upload last week's photos! Gasp. I usually update photobucket more consistently than here...shoot. Looks like i've truly been busying myself. I just hope time here will be fruitful!

This was the week right after spring break Mar 17-23. Not particularly eventful but i realised that amidst the so called monotony (coz my weekly schedule is pretty much fixed), everyday is indeed still a different day. For example, we did a showing of our maquettes today for costume design. I put alot of effort in mine but my wow my classmates' dolls were awesome! i did what i could given the time constraint so i have no regrets :) We made the dress out of folding papars and other fabrics. Pretty Neat :)

This is a picture of the final sketches for Love's Labours Lost. That's Christine my costume design classmate. She paints and draws so well! Awesome :)

Picture slide-show of the week here :)

More to come!

April Fool's day - a fool in my own way, as a result, tis thy dismay

2008-04-01T23:33:00.000-04:00

I sure feel like a fool of my own destruction!
I got up late (8:19am to be exact) and that means that i had missed both my buses. My 7am bus to Willimantic and my 8:10am bus from Willimantic to Norwich. That's ok coz that means that i have to spend on cab that costs a bomb but could still get me to Norwich anyway and alot faster. So i have some more time. My bus is not till 10am. I can rest abit more i thought.

Well i thought wrong. I got up at 1pm. The class ends at 2:30pm and i need to catch the bus back from Conn Coll, New London at 3pm. Great. That means that i had miss a whole day of school. This is no normal school. I took great pains and dont want to let the teachers down. The teachers who allowed me to participate in the dances/activities there. Teachers who allowed me to watch.

This is not happening. Hey but at least i get to go to the UConn All Stars performance at 3:30pm! Alright. So got up, cleared some mail and left. Dining hall at South closed and got not-very-nice treatment from the dining hall fulltime staff. Nvm that coz it was my choice to go South when i could've gone to other dining halls. Ok.

Left to regroup with the All Stars team at the Union at 3:30pm. Waited for all the latecomers and finally boarded the bus at 4:20pm. Long bus ride to Westbrook. I recall it being near. I was wrong. Now as i check its even further than Conn Coll that's in New London!

View Larger Map

Brilliant. the event is 6pm to 7pm apparently. I regretfully didn't ask. So it was far out and the event started later than expected. We also left campus later than announced. I wasn't suppose to dance/step coz i had missed rehearsal on Thursday coz i wanted to watch Giselle by the St Petersburg Russian Ballet. But everything was technically perfectly planned. The team reached Westbrook at 5:30pm, show started at 6pm. Performed, stayed to eat and mingle till 7pm. Then were guided to eat pizza at one of the condos till 8pm. Then left and took the bus back at 8:30pm. Reached campus close to 10pm.

I ran out of the bus as soon as i could for i planned and was really looking forward to going FUSION! - This thing organised by the Campus Crusades every tuesday at 7:30pm where students would congregate and its like cell group when basically we sing praise and worship first, some guy speaks and then sing again to close. There are usually games before that and stuff. I usually cant go coz i have practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But today both my practices (for ALL Stars Hip Hop AND Latinfest were cancelled!)

I went before from 7:30-8pm and hurried for pract at 8pm one Tuesday. It was awesome and wished i could stay. But i should go to practice. I know i need it coz my stepping isnt good.

That's my rotten Tuesday/April Fool's day today, as a result of my bad decision making skills. i could've gone shopping for my orange top for latinfest (i cant believe i have to wear orange...curse that girl...grr....she's nice i'm sure just bloody selfish). Coz we're supposed to get to choose whatever colour top we want. I brought so many from Singapore. No orange. She wants to wear orange coz she looks good only in orange and red. She doesnt want red coz its common she says. Right. Latinfest is this Saturday and she has to tell me only now that she wants orange. I could've bought sth from NYC if she told me earlier. Great.

I dont wanna even talk about it. Yah but i'm sure it'll be fun. Wednesday tomorrow its uber rushed for me but heck we'll be going after class to some nearby mall (i shouldn't have suggested Walmart) coz i've always wanted to go Buckland Hills Mall really badly but there is no bus to there at all :( And that's in Mansfield, Hartford.

In sum i feel like such a bitch/loser and it's my fault i know it.
God is good though coz though i made so many dumb choices, everything still works out well. We were provided dinner and i got a shirley temple! Yumm my fav drink. Got to see the beach and a great view, know more about funding and organisations at the event. I managed to get lunch too at South though not alot of variety its decent and just right for me, the timing of everything really was just right. i feel guilty that i feel disatisfied. Coz i missed out on Fusion, could've done this and done that instead..but who knows, maybe it could've been worse eh?

Yeah, so what to do now? Get over it Chun! Easier said than done though.
I still feel terrible about missing school and i dont know what am i to say to my teachers who dont really know me and vice versa.

I can make up for it by performing well in all that i do tomorrow and for all the days of my life. Again easier said than done! But for sure i need to take a shower now real quick and force myself to sleep early coz i need to get up early and stop missing my darn alarm!

Yes i must stay positive as well. Who knows! Maybe i might find a beautiful orange top that's cheap and will be useful..i need to have more faith seriously. Coz in the back of my mind i am envisioning myself looking like a fat pumpkin. Great.

Yes but i watched the UConn Women's basketball game on TV today and it was wicked awesome! That was the cheer-up-er for the day seriously. The UConn Women's basketball totally rocks! Think they're number one in the state. The number one player is on the team too. Very very awesome game. Exciting. Can tell both sides really wanna win really badly and dont give up. It was breathtaking to watch.

I hope you had a wonderful day and thanks again for reading!!!
I'll buck up, i have to and know i will. Gotta step up my game! :)

Have a good night!
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/

TANGO mango!

2008-04-01T00:39:00.004-04:00

Today i had rehearsal for Latin fest again. But today, it dawned on me when i was watching the video my friend helped record..that i fulfilled/am on the road to fulfilling a long lost dream/fantasy!

I will be dancing the tango on the big stage this Saturday for this event called Latinfest 2008 organised by the latin dance group i'm in called BAILE (which leans dance in Spanish).
http://jorgensen.uconn.edu/event_detail.php?eventID=64

The wow wow wow part is that i really was allowed to dance this dance by grace of the choreographer Jenny Hernandez (coz i am new and couldnt make it for alot of the rehearsals due to clashes in timing, with lessons and other practs). Yes but ok so i am confirmed in but today, though we just learnt the steps, we did the choreography justice. We just learnt it so forgive us but i'm just lovin' it...!

Wan totally rocks my socks!
Check the video out here! I cut the beginning till it starts perfectly on play. My friends recorded early. Enjoy!!! :D The dance is not finished yet so will upload to you the full dress or actual show hopefully!!! *fingers crossed i find someone to video for me!*

Tango video here :) Sry about the long wait..been trying to cut..
http://www.mediafire.com/?tgj1tl3elzn

Oh, Wan is my partner for tango. He is the bomb baby! :P
He's also coincidentally the same dude danced with me when i first joined BAILE. We did the meringue. Old Meringue Video here.

Update soon! Hope your weekend went well!

URGENT! Vote for my sister!!! - NOW!

2008-03-21T23:12:00.001-04:00

Vote for my sister at http://www.quaffs.com/events.php
You have to!!! Help make her (and our) dreams come true by just voting!
Its for Stardust. She's talented, works hard and deserves this chance!

Dont vote the wrong person though! hee :P
She's Inch Chua Yun Juan. Age 19. Song: Ladeda.
It is a GREAT song (Hear it if you dont believe it!)

Go JuanJuan! She's a brilliant singer isnt she!
Spread the word! I believe in supporting quality art!
This is your chance to show that support! Gogogo! hee

Youtube link here.
The video is embedded here for your convenience. Quick Quick vote!
I know sign up is quitfe the hassle but it only takes 30seconds (or less relative to PC & human spped discrepancies)..heh

Enjoy!

Future & destiny

2008-03-20T01:56:00.000-04:00

Powerful words for a title.

For sure we can plan alot but we never really can predict the future; i guess that's why life can be so interesting.

I got fired from my job today and my boss said i need not come in no more.
Reason? i was late twice for my 7am shift and missed a shift coz i overslept. Brilliant.
It was in the contract i signed that if i were to turn up more than 45min late for a shift twice or not show up then i'd get fired. Not many people get fired i asked.

i was shocked when i got questioned. i showed up and she wanted to speak to me. She did. She did the right thing and its in the rule book. My greatest anguish is that i just started working and was looking forward to a perfect week after spring break now that my schedule is beginning to take form and that i'm getting used to it.

i regretfully took up the 7am to 9am shift. It was abit of getting used to coz i'd usually sleep 3am nightly on average. Sometimes not at all coz i rush deadlines. I realised perhaps my mind & body have slackended for i cant say without sleep for as long as i'd used to. i get tired easily. i think its lack of exercise.

it's funny coz i was just wishing for more free time. I realise i packed my schedule. I worked alot. Routine work so my mind is pretty inactive. Maybe that's why i feel unfruitful or that time feels slow. Looks like i've been actually pretty busy. Huh.

But yes. I was devastated coz above all, i saw the disappointment in Christine's eyes when she answered "i liked you but i'm sorry, i have to let you go". Like i said just started this job not too long and had Love's labours Lost mainly that took my nights away. Yet i made so many friends or nice people at work. Its so funny! There are these Spanish guys at my workplace and they'd crack jokes, teach me spanish words coz i wanted to learn, sing..i met nice girls too and other exchange students. I just got to know them. I meet scary people and see the ugly side of people too especially when it gets busy. I turn ugly too uncontrollably and keep it inside but knowing myself my stern face would be the dead giveaway.

How am i to face my collegues! Especially when i walk by! Would i ever get another job? Should i even work? Am i a disgrace to my country and to exchange students? It was my fault and guilty as charged. When i walked out th office and out of the building dumbfounded and with tears welled up i wanted to phone someone; anyone. I called Alex. he never picks up at this time, ever. But he did. He was driving back home to West Hartford. He didnt say much but it was nice to just share my story with someone and hear an opinion. Feel someone's care and concern. Get another job, i'll be alright was the endnote.

I headed back to my dorm. Hmm? Miss call from April..Again perfect timing! I shared my story with her too and she reminded me about our friend Brittany who teaches at 6pm! Brilliant.
I snapped myself right out and went to sit in for my friend's hip hop advanced class.
I've always wanted to go but couldnt coz of work so this is great :) dance always cheers me up :) it was a joy to watch the class and watch her teach! I've never seen her teach before! She's a rilliant dancer by the way :) After that i caught up with All Stars choreo and left at 8pm. I had time finally but didnt know where to start. I went to grab dinner first for sure and brought my lappy :) Finally i can read and reply emails! Now that my two midterms were over.

They were alright by the way. I just pray to pass. Again my fault that especially for the chem one i didnt practice, just read the textbook and notes. I made the best move of calling my mom.
And i called Frfed. Both over skype. It was great to talk to them! Hey though skype need to pay i felt it was still worth it. Reception is not always goo though. Got choppy quite a few times. But hey you guys can call me on my cell ya? feel free to call :) i plan to tighten my strings and cut my phone plan. Alex wont call le so i'm switching to prepaid. He was probably the only person i tallk the most over the phone. Dont really have people to call i realise.

Hey but i believe losing this job really frees up my time; a blessing in disguise perhaps :)

So. I'm also thinking long term and was talking to my mom. Looks like i'll be furthering my dancing as a degree? I realise its application period now. Gosh there are so so SO many summer courses and internships on dance available in the Sates mainly and in Singapore. NAFA and Laselle intakes are open online! But their dance programme is classically inclined..i wonder wherei can do hip hop :) i wanted a change of environment as well. There is Sports cum dance prog at USurrey in UK. Why here? Coz i heard this contact from USP a while ago. They give scholarships for exchange students but wonder if they have for undergrad full-time courses.

But i miss home alot and really dont wanna leave till earliest after late Sep.
Will definitely go back after this soon coz i need and really want to settle all my graduation papers! In the meantime catch up on Singapore's happenings!

Its late.. 3:45am. I will be off to bed now and tomorrow is my free day! i have the whole weekend off coz i am not working :) i'm gg walmart early tomorrow to buy my art and sewing supplies. Hope i find what i need! i've never walked thoroughly the whole Walmart before! Think it'll be a good exploring chance. Its HUGE! i usually just hit for the arfts and sweing session way in the back straight and scoot out.

All things will work out well for sure. Stay happy you ;)
Happy Easter!

It is almost midnight & i am still thinking of him

2008-03-16T23:36:00.000-04:00

I had a good 2hour nap and missed supper lol
i didnt go both dance practices sinfully coz i was too tired
Dont know why i feel so tired I didnt even do anything much!
Oh well :) But i blog right now to clear my mind. Write it all out and in the process sort everything out.

My mind is in a whirl right now. But yet the logic is simple.
I am upset and angry. I feel drained, emotionally. I keep thinking and trying to phrase out in words how i feel. What i wanted/want to say to Alex. I want to say sth. I want to do sth and make all the bad go away.

But at the bottom line i find myself asking: What happened to that dream guy i met.

After talking to him i asked for it. I wanted to break up with him coz i feel as though i cant take it anymore. I felt different. He said basically he doesnt feel its worthwhile investing in a relationship that's gonna end anyway. He corelates my departure to Singapore as the end of the relationship because i'm no physically here. I realise i can argue all i want or share how i view, what i feel, the thoughts in my head: i feel i have faith and i will be back to find him. He's going on exchange to London next sem and i will go after Next Wave concert in Sep. I am willing to go the distance. I question is he?

He says no. I feel that i want to give him all i've got during this brief period and really invest my all in this relationship and know that after this we'll meet again. But he cant see that, he says.

I feel its a choice and he made his that Sunday when i called him. When we met i was hoping this might change. They sure did but i feel for the worst. He was "closed up". I felt his male ego being strong and tried to tell him but he rebuttle saying you cant sum up all that emotion to ego. I guess he doesnt really wanna listen anymore. And i dont wanna talk anymore.

I saw him in a different light this week. The more selfish him. i realise i can say and convince all i want but it doesnt matter at the end of the day coz its how he FEELS. My conclusion is that itis obviously not strong for me. True we didnt have time and barely spend time. But its his choice. I felt disappointed that he doesnt include me in his life, his time his schedule. He was suddenly a lousy boyfriend. Great guy but lousy boyfriend Its been a while and i really had to ask and face the truth, no matter how ugly. I wantfed and needed answers. I got them that sunday over the phone. To my horror i guess break up is the best solution.

After seeing him this weekend he was holding back and i can see. No hugs no kisses nothing and he was civil but i tried to patch things up and wanted to talk. I initiated the conversation again. But he said he felt closed up. Thinking back now i think i was sad and cried coz i felt rejected, though i initiated the break up i felt as though he wanted and had the final say.

I wonder if its a guy thing to have the girl still carry a torch for you after the end of the relationship - i think its a male ego thing i will never understand.

But i tell myself now i will not be that girl. I want to extinguish this flame; this torch is slowly scorching me and i dont want to carry it anymore. I carried it and braved through the dark alone hoping he'd include me in his life. He said he still likes me but its not how it works. So you dont follow your heart and follow your rational decision. He said yes. It was comforting to know he still cared but i agree.

Actions speak louder than words. He played his move. I will follow suit. He is definitely not worth it; worth this time, these sleepless nights and so on. I broke up with the man i love knowing i will feel this regret i feel now, but i know its only temporal. It was the right choice for sure.

I learned that if the guy aint treating you right, i asked why and i talked to him. He knows that i want to see him more. But i told him. So what if we can schedule everything out; these are all just peripheral and i wanted to know if he loved me. The things that you do show and are driven by how you feel. You give the girl flowers (he never gave me any haha) coz you lvoe her and wanna make her happy. What happended to that man i knew? What happended to that guy i loved? His mindset and attitude changed and i guess there's nothing i can do about it. I can talk to him, make him happy, make him smile, but he will keep saying where does this lead to?

He cant deal with the fact that i'll be "gone". I dont want to say i have a great girlfriend and suddenly she goes away and flies half way around the world. I dont know how to tell him that me going away is not the end of the relationship! At least i dont see it that way anymore. I did but i feel that if i want this to work bad enough i will! The question is does he want/is he willing to take the same leap of faith too? He says he cant.

So there you have it. I shall be above that. I shall not stoop myself low and there is no need to earn his love nor beg for it. Love is unconditional and his love for me just aint there yet. He obviously doesnt wanna give us a chance; he doesnt wanna give me a chance. I sense more and more closure and so, there you go!

It was undeniably magical, though super brief. But i gues that dream guy within him shall only remain momentary. Alex is definitely capable of being a great boyfriend no doubt, i guess i aint worth it no more. *Shrug* I'm gonna shrug it off :) One big shrug and a deep breath. Break up complete, confirmed and case closed.

I'm alot happier and clearer right now surprisingly! Thank you so much for listening!!!
I guess i needed to vent it all in some way and clear my thoughts. That wasnt so hard! lol
I['m feeling alot better now and will be doing work! I have so much homework to do by tomorrow! I have alot of exercise to do too. I have a serious eating disorder and keep eating. i overeat so much. I kept munching just now coz i was just upset inside. Hey i gotta know when to quit! And stick to it!

Its back to the drawing board for me! (Pun intended lol)
Coz i gotta draw/design people and costumes, pretty much from scratch and have tons to do but never got the motivation nor time to really sit down and do.

have a wonderful week! Its the week leading up to Easter! It's gonna be great :)
I hope you'll have a good week ahead! I hope i will too. I'll make it great ;)
God is good and everything will work out coz He loves me and God's love is unconditional!

Peace out :)

Spring break report

2008-03-16T14:22:00.002-04:00

A week. Eventful? Yeah, kinda. But i feel relaxed and GREAT TO BE IN MY DORM!
I miss my lappy! Using her right now! :) I'm gonna move to the Dining Hall to get food!
Food is so expensive! I paid for my meal plan in the beginning so yes! Its unlimited entry anyway.
Before i go, i wanna say a big Happy Birthday mom! (my mom's birthday is easy to remember 12-3 :) 12 March :) hehe

Ok yes! I have a ton of work to do coz i didnt bring my laptop ovfer break regretfully enough. And my camera ran outta memory. Right!

Intro info: Basically Spring break [8th Sat - 16th Sun March] is when all the college students have no classes and a whole week off. But the dorms, the dining halls, the buses and everything you can think of is closed. Library, gym, everything. I found out later that over the weekday they do open but for limited hours.

So, in sequence of events:
1) Love's Labours Lost production closure

2) Broke up with Alex leaving me broken

3) Daylight savings at Sun 9 March 2am! [basically time is shifted back! So now i am exactly 12hours behind time with you! As of now :)]

4) Went to New York! [Mon - Thu]
Stayed at De Rui's place the whole time (thanks man)

5) Worked at Union Street Market (my job in dining services at the Student Union building) [Fri-Sat]

6) Stayed at Alex's place [Fri & Sat night]

7) Went to St Paul's Church in Storrs for Palm Sunday
I'll definitely go here every week :) Glad I'm decided :)

8) Back in my dorm!!!
Home sweet home :)

9) Got practice now and tonight but i'm only gg for the one tonight.
Gonna do all the blogging and uploading of photos i want and do some homework

10) I have two major midterms (my only two midterms) this week! Wednesday.

Will elaborate more/update when i get to the dining hall!
Need to drop my laundry off real quick first.

All in all i regretfully was lazy at NYC and regretfully didnt maximise my time as i planned out but it was great. Will go NYC more often for sure on weekends with my Singaporean friend who goes to UConn (Soon Leong).http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Chat more soon! Hope you're well!
Its great to be back and miss ya'll for sure!

Hugs and love!

Pictures here :)

DE Evocation 08!

2008-03-16T03:17:00.000-04:00

i cant believe i missed this awesome awesome show!
Miss home so much right now and my life back there in SGP!

Hope ya'll are doing well!
I finally use the computer!!! Gosh!
Loads to share! Catch up soon!

In the meantime, enjoy the photos! Lovely!!!

Photos by professional photographer here!
http://www.ericgoh.com/p767444286

Expenditure thus far

2008-03-07T01:29:00.001-05:00

It's quite a heart attack..brace yourselves!

Crazy week!

2008-03-01T02:42:00.002-05:00

Not sure if my weeks here will get any crazier but man! Let's see..
1. I started my job as a dresser for the play Love's Labours Lost for my DRAM 107 Costume module,
2. Got my sewing stuff i need
3. My paperwork to work finally got done and i got my SSN so i started working at the Union Street Market Dining Services,
4. I went to Con Coll to visit Wayne with lift from the outing Club people
5. Went again to Conn Coll for Modern dance class (which was awesome!) with Tony who drove me there and met Wayne there
6. Last week i danced and performed with the All stars hip hop team! At the last women's ball game of the season and for a beauty peagent. I'm so grateful they let me dance and perform! :)
7. Today everyone performed their own group's choreo piece! The final showcase! For moy only UConn Jazz dance class module.

But what i feel right now is of course to tell you how up and down my heart feels. Filled with divalent emotions that are like a pendulum that sways irregularly.

Right now. The thing on my mind is Alex. I wonder if we are developing into a problem. We met on Sunday for a window of time. I wish he could make time for me. I wish he'd ask me out. I feel like a demanding girlfriend suddenly. But is one outing a week too much to ask?
I like to feel asked out. I missed when we first stared out. Then again we dont have much history together sadly to reference to. Sunday we met coz i called and asked if he could give me a lift to church coz i missed the bus. By the time he got here i missed church timing so i'm grateful to spend time with him. Ya but see. After that my fault coz i wanted to go Conn Coll and glad i did.

I intend to talk to him face to face and emo-talk, I definitely need one to find out what's on his mind and hopefully reach to a resolution. What he views this relationship to be, where does he wanna take it to, commitment wise, time wise, etc. Perhaps i'm not used to playing by ear. I love details and comcrete plans. Not everything has to be concrete but through experience for the past 3weeks its been like this. I cant take it. I will and am strong but i hope to clear the air. I feel unclear. I really have no idea of what he is thinking, what is on his mind, how he feels about us. Also cant blame coz we barely even talk! He calls on some nights which i'm thankful for. Though shortlived at least the line between us is kept alive! I continued my phone plan here by the way that costs a bomb.

I wished things were more concrete and less ad hoc sometimes. Like today, he said ya "i'm free after this" (breaking). How am i supposed to know....! But it is no fair to blame. I am to blame for not asking too. I sound so petty now and i hate it. What am i to do. Why am i like this?

I assumed he was free during his break but he wasnt. I was disappointed? Yes. But he had and should spend time with his family. I just feel not included in his life. I used to leave spaces and pockets of time windows so that i could meet or call him. Now? Ya. But as of last week i decided to work and maximise my free time to work so that i can earn money. Alex is understanding and a great listener. But I really dont feel connected as much. But i still love and care for him. I truly wonder what's on his mind. He is very responsible and spends alot of time working (student teaching at a middle school and teaches English there) and he marks and prepares for lesson half the time. I wanted to meet him to help him with his work but he's like no, its ok. I wanna spend time with him. Even if its marking scripts or anything I am most happy! I wanna tell him so many many things and ask him so many many questions.

But i saw him today. I wanted to keep it short. I wasnt expecting to see him at practice. Thought he'd not come but he did. When I saw him, i thought i'd hug and kiss him and be all excited but i didnt. I was relieved to see him but i felt abit more distance sadly. Why? I thought about it for a long time and it's really the build up. From the time he said ya we'd go out (during his long break) or ya i'll call you back, those plans didnt come to pass. So i guess when he now says "ya that'd be nice" He'd think about it in his mind but will i meet him really? Dont know. Its up to him i guess. Perhaps that's why i filled most of my free nights with Work. He'd be busy preparing for sch work and usually doesnt call on weekday nights coz by the time he's done he needs to go to bed coz he has to get up early. But i just feel sad and really wanna talk things out with him. At least for my sake.

Will update you on that. Now i remember why i dont have boyfriends; coz they simply are so troublesome. Alex is a good man for sure. We just lack communication severely i feel which i wanna solve.

But a big part of me wants to wait to see if he takes initiative or not. So far perhaps its coz of my this job as a dresser so all my days and nights on weekdays or ends are taken up. He calls me still on some nights and i'm glad he does. But I do hope we work out coz i know we care about each other still. At least i hope so.

Forgive me but I'm gonna sleep. Dead tired and will upload pics soon! Night and hope you're well! Minus my shutting down mood/mode right now, i'm grateful for a wonderful (though long) but fruitful day today :) Share with you soon! Tc! ;)

UConn to Con Coll

2008-02-28T00:53:00.002-05:00

UConn (my sch) is in Storrs town. My dance friend Wayne is in Connecticut College which is in New London town (specifically 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, CT 06320). I finally after seeking and asking around (Biblical connotation intentional) know how to get there! The sad part is that the bus timing is so sway! But hey! Its possible and I'm grateful :) Got this info from this bus driver Matt who told me on my way back to UConn from the SSN office.

Basically I take the
1) WRTD Storrs-Willimantic bus all the way to last station at Gateway Commons (Shaw's) - board at 7:02am reach 7:50am;
2) WRTD bus Route 32 from Cantor Drive at Gateway Commons (Shaw's) to SEAT Transportation Center [21 Route 12, Preston, CT 06365] - board at 8:10am to 8:55am.
3) SEAT bus that goes around New London town. Which number i havent quite figured out yet but i'm sure to get to Conn Coll so horray! hehe!

I saw SEAT bus Run #6 too that goes to Walmart/Big Y. That's in Willimantic/Mansfield which is a town near me! If that bus goes i can take that too. See how. Just hope the schedule is refering to the one in Willimantic/Mansfield town.

the HUGE problem is that i wanted to work! I work till 1:30pm and hoped to catch the bus then. There are buses but the huge problem is the Route 32 bus! That has only 4 timings per day! From Gateway Commons timings are 8:10, 2:35, 5:05, 10:40. I wanna take the 2:35pm bus but it reaches SEAT transport centre at 3:20! That's too late ;( My dance class at Conn Coll I wanna take is from 2:45 to 4pm! CRY!

But Tony was v sweet; he is the same guy who saved me from East Brook Mall when i was stranded there. I barely know him but he's really v v kind, helpful and generous. Rare species. Really glad i made a friend in him. Realise i have really very few friends here, most are mere acquaintances. Oh, he offered to drive me again. Its a long drive of about 30-45min one way. I'm thinking no coz he really is too kind i feel v bad to waste his time and money. He said he'll wait till i end dance class and then drive me back! To my horror i cant believe he pushed back his office working hours to pick me up! He has to knock off at 12midnight coz of me on Thursday coz he took 3-4hours off to drive me there and back..He is a great guy and i hope we'll stay in touch and become great friends!

Friday today he took me to Bible study which was great timing :) right aft my classes.
I'm lucky and blessed to meet a few brilliant sparks of people here that really inspire me to be a better person too. And above all i made a new found friend in him. Tony's different and I'm glad. He's an amazing person whom i know will go far in life.
Talk more soon! OK EEK! my batt is dying!
Hugs and love! Stay in touch :)

Job Application for J1 Visa

2008-02-28T00:31:00.000-05:00

It took me 2weeks and FINALLY i am gonna start work!
I shall type this here for the next poor soul who is desperate enough to search online and in need of help/instruction. Here it is. For more info can see website at www.ssa.gov.

Steps to apply for job (mine was on UConn campus). Its really v simple but takes darn long.
1. Go to employer and apply for job. They shd give you job details that contain most importantly contact and name of employer/company, fill in foreign information form.
2. Go to UConn Finance/Admin dept for UConn to issue letter of approval
[the uni has to approve]. It took me a darn long time to get hold of Ellen Lowe; the contact point for UConn students. Email and phone and do not wait, just keep trying. I had to physically find her office and leave copies of the forms, thank goodness that helped. Schedule and appt with her asap. Ensure you bring (A) Passport (B) DS-2019 or I-20 or related form (C) Employer details.

Ensure that you check all forms. She shd pass to you backcopies of the foreign info form and an employment letter indicating your confirmed employment (impt).

CAREFUL! Some problems you might face too:
Problem 1: My form had F-1 student and it got rejected! I made a wasted trip in that sense to the SSN office. I'm a J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa. Be sure to check fine print or any print.
Problem 2: Payment and SSN application. You must do this to get paid. My employer worried application problems so wouldnt let me work till i get my SSN which took me two weeks. SIGH! My fault. I learnt that you need to talk extra lot of initiative and be kiasu. Do not wait till they get back to you. Not to bug but keep trying unless you have time to spare and are not urgent abt starting work.

Basically for payment, you need an SSN (Social security number). For us foreigners we need to 3. apply for a temporary SSN (Social Security Number). You have to do this by going down personally to any SSN office (At UConn its at Willimantic along Main Street in Tyler Square which you can take the Storrs-Willimantic shuttle bus but note that not all go all the way, check bus schedule for verification as linked).
Ensure you bring (A) Passport (B) DS2019 (C) Letter of employment and employer documents etc

They will not disclose your SSN to you but it will appear on your employers' system, or so i was told. I'm glad i finally got mine! Indirectly through "the system" (which i have no idea about) but i'm glad i got it and i start work tomorrow morning at the dining services! Wee!

Will update you again hope all goes well!

Having no car sucks!!!

2008-02-24T23:43:00.001-05:00

I'm so upset!!! I wanna go see Alex now but no one would give me a lift :(
Not many people i know have cars either!!! >.< *beep!* I hate it!!! GRR!!! I dont know any cab telephone numbers either...SIGH! I wanna go Connecticut College on Tuesdays and Thursdays just for a window of time but i cant get there coz there seems to be no bus!!! Argh!!! I feel guilty and very angry coz people here dont seem very helpful nor initiative!!! I think its not Americans at large but perhaps coz i'm unlucky and meet not very helpful people. Yet at the same time i have very very helpful people i meet like Tony and Alex and Britney, my teachers and some folks. But oh man it sucks around here!!! I got so mad and checked car rental. Its so friggin expensive!!! Its about $60/day. Sigh! Some info i found on cab companies here (Hartford Taxi Services):
A-1 Taxi Service - 860-944-0911
Airport Express Livery & Taxi - 860-836-8294
The Bill Taxi Company - 860-559-1040
Central CT Taxi - 860-833-6949
A City Cab - 860-627-9320
Executive 2000 Taxi Service - 860-635-8222/800-801-0361
Executive Cab Co., Inc. - 860-627-5843
5 Star Taxi - 860-527-5555
Metro-Star Taxi Company - 860-292-6666
United Cab Co. - 860-547-1602
Windsor Taxi - 860-524-5000
Yellow Cab Co. - 860-666-6666

Cab's cheaper i guess. Sigh but i'm guessing $25 there and $25 back? So that's USD$50!!! I wanna go Conn College (in New London, 30min drive away) on Tuesdays Thursdays for dance class with Wayne, my dance friend who dances there. They have a very strong dance dept!!! I wanna go take class there! Just nice! Lan Lan's class is on Tuesdays and she's cool with me gg!!! Thanks to Wayne who has been super helpful.

I am most angry at myself. Dunno y. I miss Alex terribly and I miss home :(
I detest not being able to go anywhere i want anytime and i am stuck on this darn ulu-ated campus with drawings to do...GRR!!!

Hope you guys are doing well!!! Miss you'all and i feel guilty regretting i'm here.
I wanna get out!!!

I will be starting work for the next two weeks and have not much time to spare sadly. Plus all my drawing homework which is killing me!!! CRY!

Alex is always so busy too :(
But i'm so glad i met him but the times we share though really shortlived and rare, are moments i hold onto. I'm so glad i'm with him coz I'm sorry to Americans reading this but he is special and not the av. American guy; thank god.

Just wished we had more time to spend together. I got to see him today for a while before gg Baile (Latin Dance pract)! i took this to rememberf this brief kmagical moment. Heh.

We were supposed to meet after but i could go Conn College to visit Wayne and really wanted to. Did in the end at the expense of spending time with Alex. I wanted to come back and spend time with Alex but i guess its too late. I wish i could drive there now!!!

I was so upset coz the guy in the car lived near Alex but didnt wanna give me a ride coz he said he wanted to go see his girlfriend. Fine. I have no right to be angry at him coz its really an act of grace and out of the way to give me a lift but o man. I want to walk there now. That would take at least and hour. Not a problem coz i know and can and will go the distance if i want to (and i want to) but by the time i get there Alex would be sleepy and he'd have to drive me back :(

He works in the day and I'm free in the day. He is free at night while i dance and work at night. SIGH.

Hey i'm sorry guys. I hope i didnt/dont ruin your day with my rantings! Lol
I miss you guys and stay in touch ya...
I am beginning to detest this place and i feel guilty detesting this place. Its is a nice place - peaceful and quiet but i for sure do not feel peaceful but i feel more vengeful day by day. God help me.

I will be doing more drawing now and will likely draw through the night till 7:30am which will be breakfast! Then its school all day and then my first night on the job as an unpaid voluntary dresser. Come on Chun. Its only for 2weeks!!! A sacrifice for my module. After that I'll be home free!!! It'll be spring break which I'll go with Wayne to go NY and take dance class. I wanna spend time with Alex but i dont know if he'll have time for me. He's sweet and says he'll make time but lets hope we can work things out. He offered to lift me to Conn College but timing's bad and i understand coz its within his working hrs.

I realised that our relationship started on a really great note; the whole great timing thing when we'd always call each other JUST at the right time. Now we seem to keep missing each other (pun intended) and though I saw him today it was so short. I felt abit awkwardly surprised. It was great though to see him again but it felt long. And it will be long...

SIGH!!! No offence but i do not recommending coming to UConn for SEP...
If given the choice. Seriously. Honestly speaking. Unless you are rich and can afford a car. Maybe things might be different. Its a nice experience and so on but o man. Bring stuck on campus is really not a nice feeling. I feel it alot and i am beginning to seriously detest it..!

I cant afford car rental right now till i earn enough money. SIGH.
I cant wait to start work (that actually pays)!!! Let's hope all goes well. But God is good truly. I met wonderful people here so far. Few but awesome. My SG friends too are great and i am so glad i have people i can relate to and who can relate to my anguish and joys here.
God is always good and we praise Him when we win and we praise Him when we lose. Fred told me once that "Chun, not everything is a winning battle". True. We dont have to always win to grow. We learn by falling, sometimes in our faces. I feel the bruise but hey, i gotta pick up!!!

Dance wise it was really inspiring to watch Wayne and see him again after so long, doing his thing! He's a cool guy and i'm happy for him that he is pursuing dance, his passion. I need to seek and find ways to get to mine!!! I wont give up!!! I have spent way too much money and time to get my ass here halfway around the globe! I still have time!

Amazing Grace

2008-02-23T12:05:00.001-05:00

1. Thurday
- Managed to find sewing supplies from Walmart!
- Stuck at East Brook Mall and saved by Tony (who doesnt know me well but was kind enough to come pick me up after he knocked off from work)

2. Friday
- School got cancelled coz of the snow! So i had a free day :)
- Met up with Britney who had no reason to meet me and teach me the steps but she did
- Drew the whole time after dance
- Went late accidentally for breakdancing pract and hung out with the guys for a while for the first time
- got a call from Steven who got tickets to Asian Night that i wanted to go but didnt have tickets for!

3. Saturday
- My Performance? (Not sure if i'm gonna dance yet but we'll see! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Need to audition first)
- Asian Night! I'm gonna watch this :) Glad I have someone to go with :)I th

This whole week i was supposed to start work for the Love's Labours Lost production as a dresser. Its part of my Costume Sewing class so that means gg unpaid. But thankfully i only needed to go down on Monday to watch the run and Tuesday for the briefing which was really quick. I could hurry down for dance pract after that somemore which was lucky. So this week is my last free week before i start work at the theatre. Long hours - every night 6:30pm to 11pm and Sat 9-5 and 6-11. Sun 1-5 :( But its only for two weeks! I'll have to miss all my dance practs and not be able to work for money :( But its ok! Just for two weeks!

At first I had planned to go NY this weekend and over the week meet Alex coz this week is his full week holiday (his spring break or so to speak). But he's busier this week than ever coz he went home to West Hartford to spend time with his family which was great. But i didnt get to see him nor talk very much sadly. He's still v nice and calls me as much as he can though he doesnt have to but does which i'm grateful for. As much as he can sounds alot but he was so busy coz its his grandmas birthday and his dad just flew back and had to pick him up etc. So he was really really busy this week even though it's his free week.
O as for my weekend plans, as mentioned i decided not to go NYC this weekend but will during spring break so i'll hopefully save up for that.

More pics to be added and words to come for sure. I must stay positive!
Good will happen to those who love Him. I'm blessed in ways that i may not know it. SO even though my initial plans didnt work out, looking back on this week i have been really lucky and I must treasure this opportunity and make the best out of it!

I have no mood to draw now so think i'll practice dance abit before drawing and then its auditions! Wish me luck! Hope i make the cut!

Why am i here

2008-02-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

I have been questioning my reasoning to be here. I have spent so much money so far. I wondered why i and did my expenditure accounts on paper. I spend $8000 SGD thus far.

Residence + Meal plan = $4639
BA Air ticket = $2185 + 75 (for flight date change)
phone plan 1st mth = $65.65 (2nd mth if i were to continue it'll be $49.75)
Transport from airport = $85 + 12
Transport to NY = $61 + 51.50 + 12
Textbooks = Chem 134.28 + Costume Design (47 + 18.99 + 16.95)
Sewing supplies (DRAM 107) = 4.68 + 22.61 + 7 + 4.96 + fabric $48
Art supplies (DRAM 214) = 67.05 + 19.15
Dance class (for 10) = $140
Rent musical = $59
Ski day = $60 + rental $40
Clothes = 24.99 + 31.99 + 19.99 + 18.99
Souvenirs thus far i havent summed up but o man...

For sure I am definitely sad coz they still havent got my paperwork done to allow me to work here :( Cant wait to start work and earn my money all back..! Cry!

SO i didnt go NY this weekend and keeping it quiet here :)
Got loadza comstume designs to draw!

I question what I'm doing coz i came here to dance and expecting my hip hop and jazz to be pushed. I'm glad I'm still in touch with it through All Stars Hip Hop team and my Theatre Jazz class but its not the same. Ya i got to learn new things like Breakdancing and Drawing and sewing/making clothes but i feel bad coz as though i'm wasting money coz my dance objectives are unfulfilled.

But its my attitude. I need to pull my socks up! Nomatter what, like my mom said, we make the best out of every opportunity that is given to us.

I'll have a mini-audition later to perform for later. Yesterday i learnt the steps. There is this mini-showcase for some peagent and the UConn all stars dance team is performing. I wanna be in it too! This one's a pure dance one.

As mentioned they do both dance and step dance.
I am definitely not confident of performing the step dance routine yet but dance i wanna be ready.

I'm off to eat and then practice on my own. Hope i get in!!!
Thanks fred for sending me the music.

P.S. Mom sorry for spending so much money. I cant wait to start work.
They're not very experienced here in dealing with exchange students sadly.
Believe it'll work out hopefully.

Stay in touch! I have so much to tell.
Catch up with you soon!

Lunar Eclipse at abt midnight!

2008-02-21T11:44:00.000-05:00

These pics were taken by Kristina Larson, this girl i met when i went out to see the eclipse. It was a perfect view from right outside my dorm. Alex called me to tell me; else I'd have totally skipped it! I was really lucky!!! Coz when i went out i managed to see the perfect full eclipse (i.e. you cant see the moon but see the red shadow) perfectly! The full eclipse only lasted for like 3seconds before waning again.

My poor friend Huizhi she waited like half an hr and it was so cold so she went in. So i felt super lucky i went out for 5min and got to see the perfect eclipse; perfect timing! Lucky :)

Enjoy!

Vday special Part III: Snowbording

2008-02-19T01:54:00.002-05:00

This vday weekend felt eventful and it was!
Check it out - we went SNOWBOARDING on Saturday and I wanted to go Church and Baile Latin dance practice; so we did! I felt bad coz he was just so accommodating...always. He's game and open-minded; which is what i love about him. He is open, honest and sincere.

His argument is that I deserved to be loved, pampered and to be take care of.
I feel spoiled though for sure, o man.

But my mom is suspicious; as all paranoid parents are (heh) Not to worry. I'm pretty darn sure I can tell a good man when I see one. You have to be bloody blind to miss this one! :P
Alex is a great guy and i truly hope things will work out between us. We talked about it and we're enjoying the moment and each other's company and not thinking about the future for now so yup :)

So, Saturday morning we got up at 7am. Hurried for breakfast at South Dining Hall on campus and hurried to catch the 9am chartered bus. This was a ski/snowboarding trip that was organised by UConn SUBOG (one of the student union wings). Its useful for me coz i have no car so cant go anywhere very much. Sad though that they organise only once in a while. Smart lah coz students here need to study.

OK! Enough jibbering! I look like crap (sorry) but hey! Hope to share with you my very first snowboarding experience!

Photos here.
More to come! Gtg..! Brb :)

Vday special Part II: TGIF

2008-02-19T01:30:00.002-05:00

After breaking practice (which is pretty much a weekly jamming session), we headed back to his place. Alex cooked for me.
We technically cooked together but I played the asst role :)
He is a real charmer and the sweetest :) No man has ever cooked for me, drives/drove me around and love me so much.

Slight elaboration here but he was so cute; Alex asked last week what weekend plans I had cheekily. Lol.
His roommate Jason left over the weekend to visit his girlfriend in Boston so Alex cheekily asked if i wanted to stayover. And so i did :)

It was quite embarrassing to keep taking pictures (and probably quite irritating) but i need to! I wanna document and share this experience with you'guys! More adventures to come for sure and I cant wait :)

Oh! We played Scrabble. It was really fun! I've never played this game since Primary school can!
Seriously. We didnt put timer which was great coz I am just SO slow! He loves to think too and we aint in a rush so yup :) tah dah! Took this when we were done. Then ate ice cream with the rich chocolate cake i got! YUMM!!! :D We had his homemade green tea (him and his roomie Jason are prfetty health conscious compared to me).

O Heh, guess who won?! :P
I got lucky seriously and he passed on killing me. He helped me alot and plus he had to read the board upside down the whole time. The board faced me.
So this win technically doesnt really count coz he was like super handicapped. IHe's supposed to make it up somehow though :P Hey, but it was a really fun and exciting game seriously. Never knew scrabble could b so fun! My english vocab is incomparable to his though (he's an English major - he has 3 fields of study: Major English & Teaching; Minor Psychology). Good in a way coz i'm learning but looks like I have some brushing up to do!

So the game lasted ultra long and it was past midnight le.
Talked and cuddled till 3am before sleeping. It was a great opening to our weekend together and i'm loving it already :)

Vday special Part I: Going the distance

2008-02-19T00:08:00.001-05:00

Another great weekend :)

Well, PART I of this Valentine's day special series of events is that I WALKED TO ALEX'S PLACE! His apartment is off campus (coz senior/final year students get kicked outta the dorms on campus to give room to freshman and exchange students like me). His place is technically near school but inaccessible unless by car. Though vday was on Thursday, though I had no sch on Thursday, I had tons of drawings & sketches to do as homework due so yup. I decided to walk on Wednesday after class tt ended at 5pm, ended 5:20pm instead :(
It gets dark here really early. In winter the sun rises late (abt 7am) and sets early (abt 6pm).

It was one of those trust night walks and it was quite scary coz despite my intensive research of plotting my route, etc, you are never totally sure. And i get lost easily so was worried i couldnt find the place. It sucks also coz i realised that there are no street lights! My only consolation were the passing car headlights. It was a long walk for me (9.4miles! I took a total off abt 1.5hrs) but stopped at the supermarket and grocery store to get cake and a hat to shield me from the rain and wind coz my umbrella buckled under the harsh forces of nature. I made it safely eventually, thankfully! It was pretty exciting thinking back. Needed the exercise for sure.
But he was really really touched which was great. Yeah, objective achieved! :) Got simple stuff like chocolates and the chocolate cake coz i'm pretty poor but I am glad me walking there made a big difference :) by going the extra mile..hehe

Some journey pics i took of my mini-hike :)

Grand Union supermarket

I see the light! The nearest traffic junction outside his place.
This was the green light i followed for the longest time. But beyond this was the real challenge.
It was quite a deep walk to his place from here; really dark.

But I made it! He stays here at Cedar Ridge. Beautiful houses.

Its a square shape. Within the square is this field. Now its covered with snow and rain water but it still is beautiful and spacious.

Alex hunted these for me :) Happy vday! Yumm!!!

Part II to come!

My timetable/schedule

2008-02-15T04:11:00.002-05:00

My best weekend...yet!

2008-02-12T21:41:00.006-05:00

I went to New York with my Singaporean friends that are on SEP from NUS too.
Though we split up coz I decided not to join them for the shopping trip. Man, it was cheap at the factory outlet stores but that meant I'd lose a whole day! I crashed at Derui's on the 2nd night and I am thankful for sure. Though I spent so so so much money! On art supplies and fabrics, I am most happy that the weekend wasnt too rushy i really took my time and had fun on my own :)

I house the pictures here. Took so many! I realise I take more when I'm traveling alone. Happily taking pictures :) If you dont have a photobucket ID you can creat one or just email me and I'll lend you mine ya :)

So glad I managed to catch the 5:05pm friday bus right after my 5pm lesson (was allowed to leave earlier slightly thankfully). Its different travelling wif friends! The bus journey felt so much shorter and less painful which was great!

NY night scene was amazing even for the second time (went 2wks ago to just visit Derui).

We walked around Time Sq & ToysRUs when we reached NY.

Then went to hunt for a hostel way out uptown. The student hostel counter guy knew we needed the place pretty badly and since it was one night we paid anyway. It was so EX!!! $34+ each x4. O man.

And yes, the room for 4 is that small!!!
Breakfast was provided. That 7:30am breakfast lasted me the whole day! It was crazy.

Saturday morning aft breakfast we split up and I walked around/through Central park which was beautiful. Lotsa dog walkers and joggers for a cold morning!

walked all the way and to the famous Met (Metropolitan Art Museum)

but didnt go all the way coz we had to pay $10 and i only had a few hrs to spare; I promised I'd meet Derui at 11am at his place. So headed to his place and oh no i got glued to his computer doing research. I was so screwed coz I needed to buy paint/art supplied for my Design class and sewing fabric and sewing patterns for my sewing class and had no idea where to find them! I also really wanted to go to Victoria's secrets to get souvenirs, for dance class at BDC (Broadway Dance Centre), catch a show on Broadway and sightsee. So ok I have limited time. I left sightseeing for sunday morning when i regroup with the others hopefully. Right, but my plans got pushed back coz i am just so slow! Get engrossed in things easily i realised!

But in order I feel lucky :) I copied whatever info i needed from Derui's computer, got my art supplies from Pearl Paint nearby (its 5 stories all art stuff!!!)

Then went to Victoria Secrets and spent a good 2-3hrs there deciding and hunting for S size!

Then didnt manage to go buy my fabric and pattern designs sadly :( but was really lucky to finally find the rush ticket selling space! Check it out!

Got great seats. Tickets are so ex! $59!!! Guess coz its Sat. O I watched Rent!

Talk more later but o man it was great :) I felt like singing after i walked out! Wow :)

Between from buying the rush tickets at 5:15pm to the show at 8pm, I went to BDC for my v first dance class!!! from 6 to 7:30pm and it was awesome! I felt that my prayers were answered coz from the dance schedule there was no Zazo - this style I wanted to learn more/try. The dance instructor Murakami she taught just that!!! AWESOME! No videography allowed sadly but hope to share with you the choreography. Really great.
This was when all of us were slowly getting into the studio. It was crowded but worth it!

Then I ran all the way to the theatre for the show. Hungry but happy.

The 2.5h show ended late but it was so coincidental. Alex called just when it was interval! He and I have really good calling fate. Heh. He's my boyfriend..*piano* duh-duh-duhhhhh...haha i know its fast and surprising;
talk more later but basically he wanted to pick me up from Hartford transportation centre and meet his parents! He stays at his apartment off campus but goes home on weekends. Ok yes but back to my NYC adventure.

Aft Rent the musical I wanted to go clubbing!!! But my Singaporean friends I guess were tired and not picking up my darn calls! Sigh. So i went back to Derui's appt. Ya but before that, I am so grateful that (A) Burger King was open

(2) They had a vegetarian meal!!!

The portion was small so that was interesting. My meal of the day and a life saver! Went back right aft abt 11:30pm. Good lah, sleep early and can get up to sightsee/take dance class!! Derui went to his friend's bday party at this bar!! I wanted to go but he wouldnt let me :( It would be awkward I guess coz his friends are there. Sigh. Nomatter. I got up late next morning! Shoot!! Shd've set an earlier alarm. But I made it for church service at 10am, lunging all my shopping bags with me. I finally found a church thanks to Derui's powerful internet searching abilities and I went to Time Square Church!

It was awesome! After that I hurriedly tried to locate the streets that sold garments - the fashion district. I was broke and worried. Thankfully my ATM card worked. Really pissed off why my UOB Visa debit card doesnt work. Grr!!!

Ya but thank god i could withdraw money. But the shops were all closed! SIGH!!! I managed to find a fabric store that was open though thankfully! Expensive!!! $8/yard!!! Sigh! I miss Singapore. Ya but i really needed it so yup. Bor pian. The shop owner & asst was really nice so that was great :)

I got a little lost sadly and walk aimlessly and frantically for quite abit. But thank god I made it in time for the 2pm bus from NYC to Hartford.

I didnt have to take the bus from Hartford to Storrs UConn coz Alex picked me up through the blizzard weather!!! It was the cherry to top off my day for sure to see him again.

He is my dream lover and a dream come true. I feel pampered and spoiled but I'm loving it :P
K, before I go all mush, heh, basically we popped by his grandma's place to pick up some stuff and he wanted me to meet her (scary experience - wished i could speak Russian seriously).

Yah but then headed off to his huge house in West Hartford. Tah dah..

Before that he showed me around his town and shared his stories with me of his past here :)

He bought me this wonderful dinner! The best meal I've had here for sure. Lovely ambiance, great food, great company..heh It was freezing out there though!!! Minus 8(?) deg C but the strong winds made it feel alot colder than minus 8 for sure.

Darn I regretfully left my camera in my coat pocket and didnt bring into his place! This is him in the walkway though :)

This is his sister though I took her with my phone camera. You should see his dog Carlos! SO cute! Was quite stressed at first; meeting his family and all but i didnt manage to talk to his parents but i love his sister! She is 7 years old this year :) O he's my age; 22 this year :)

It was a great weekend for me and for sure there's more to come and I am looking forward to it :) Look out USA! I'm here to stay!

Rent, the musical

2008-02-12T21:41:00.001-05:00

People

2008-02-07T10:43:00.001-05:00

Alex

The weather

2008-02-07T10:42:00.001-05:00

Campus Academic life

2008-02-07T10:41:00.003-05:00

I'm back to my lazy-dont-wanna-get-up mornings for sure :P
Class is MWF 9am to 5pm, Tues & Thurs Free days but have Hip Hop dance pract on Tues and Thurs nights! O well :) Latin on Thurs also. Monday & Friday I go for Break dancing! :) That's about it. I don't go Ballroom anymore coz i find it a little boring but they're really good for sure. There's also Tap and Kick-line. Kick-line I'm glad I'm not allowed to join coz they only accept people in Sem 1 (Fall semester they call it). The girls dont seem very nice..hmm. Any hu! Tap nah I need tap shoes and am too cheapo to buy. I've got work to do too so its a great balance for me.

OK sorry for the data/info overload. This might be better... :)

Some visuals to go along:

DRAM 107 Intro to Costume
This is my beautiful Serbian costume making teacher Dragana!

She is teaching us stitches on the first day :)

My class is very small. This is my classmate. Like in NUS people talk here but just acquaintances I guess. Usually just the two of us coz the other two cant make it for class.

This module is fun but the down side is that this module is made up of internship (for free). That's great but the working hours for ONE play is SO crazy! I'll be helping out as costume support (costume saigang basically) from 18Feb to 9March which will be my one week spring break from technically 7Mar to 16Mar where we'll get kicked outta the dorms. Where willl i go? Touring for sure :)

DRAM 159 Theatre Jazz Dance II

My only dance module here! Sobz ;( The other 3 one of them class size was full, one was for DRAM majors here only and the last one clashed with Costume Design but decided to go for costume instead. I love my teacher Christine Gambardella. Big class! But we all dont talk. I'm beginning to dislike class or get irritated. Forgive me i think i really expected too much. Dance here isnt strong, despite its closeness of proximity to New York. But my classmates are very vocal and are nice people. Some just seem quite dao and of different frequency so really cant talk. Nobody can really comprehend/understand my speech sadly and I hate americanising my accent. So i generally dont talk. It's good practice that I'm still in touch with Jazz but i definitely do not feel pushed nor stretched to any limits, yet. Believe things will pick up so hopefully all will go well. But I am happy to be under Christine's teaching for sure. She is a great character and a great teacher. She is always encouraging and fun which amazes me truly of her energy and personality that just explodes out when she speaks. She has to keep stuff simple yet hopefully challenging coz the class has people of really diverse dance competency levels. The syllabus/warmup we do here is quite weird and i really dont like (i'm sorry!) but i will surely do to the best of my abilities and I'm learning jazz so am really happy I get to dance again. Across the floor sequences are always my favourite! But i truly miss Dance Ensemble more and more. Also UCC Dance studio that actually has more floor. Here's an old space so there isnt much floor to speak of. Plus a big class so space is more constrained. Oh no I'm rattling! Heh but my dancing has definitely deproved sadly. Less mood. I wanna train on my own! Keep saying that but gosh I see mto have endless costume designs to do!

Here are the other group's choreography videos on 31Jan. We had 4groups. The lady in blue top in front is my teacher Christine! :)

DRAM 214 Costume Design
This is my heaviest module by far. Considering also that my classmates have been drawing since 3yrs old (didnt know that's possible..freaky!) Ya they are talented and amazing people. To be with them in the same class is for sure stressful but amazing. I'm not close to anybody though its a small class. Again people cant get my accent and that's fine. I think it's also the speed. People here speak much more slower. *shrug*

Hey here are some photos! The reason also why I'm taking this module is that it's by Laura Crow. Very reputable teacher and costume designer in the US. Apparently this module is taught once in 2yrs or when she/the dept can. Its a really great module with amazing students. I'm sadly quite lazy but truly feel the pressure to step up! Getting fat though coz i keep sitting down and draw or do collage. Miss dancing so much. But this is an amazing experience for sure and I learned/am learning how to draw and design. Loving it :)

The more elder woman in the back is my teacher Laura Crow :)

src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/01%2030%20Week%202%20Campus%20life/DRAM%20214%20Costume%20Design/P1000931.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" />

src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/01%2030%20Week%202%20Campus%20life/DRAM%20214%20Costume%20Design/P1000895.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" />

src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/01%2030%20Week%202%20Campus%20life/DRAM%20214%20Costume%20Design/P1000931.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" />

Some of my stuff I did for fun and practice:
src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/01%2030%20Week%202%20Campus%20life/DRAM%20214%20Costume%20Design/P1000936.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" />

src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/venuschun/UConn%20n%20NY%2021Jan%20to%201Jun/01%2030%20Week%202%20Campus%20life/DRAM%20214%20Costume%20Design/P1000930.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" />
Truly drawing, as the textbook said, can be therapeutic and liberating :)
Frustrating at times for me coz i hate what I'm drawing. Laura said if you've tried, dont like it, throw away and start over. I guess it's like life - if i hate my job, try. Still hate it alot, change it :)

CHEM 345 Determination of Organic Structures
I have no idea why I have no photos. Ok, fine, I am too shy to take out my camera. This is a graduate level class and I am the only undergrad. Small class size. I am a disgrace to NUS Chem department (sorry!) I cant answer the simplest of questions and feel terrible. But i love my teacher and he makes me want to study and read more. He is an amazing scientist. He is this guy who looks quite ruggard and with frizzy hair but when he speaks and talks of Chemistry he lights up and his brain functions at a gazillion Watts a second. Yet he explains so clearly and so simply and can condense theories so complex in such a clear manner. I feel bad to be his student coz my other classmates have years of research experience (graduates mah), from all countries and are super smart and vocal! Challenging and I am surely learning new things. He teaches fast and is productive. He expects alot though. His name is Alex Asandei, a name I will remember forever. If I ever had to best chem tutor award I would give it to him.
comparing my experience here than at UCLA (Univ California Los Angeles) the commonality is that I guess I was lucky to have great chem tutors/lecturers here in the US. My other Singaporean friends and roommates say that they get crappy teachers too. People are people everywhere I learned and doesnt mean that in the US people teach better. I feel really lucky for sure. Gotta work twice as hard though! I'm letting the sedimentary lifestyle get to me! NO!!!

Well, but that's school life in sum for me here! Hope school is well there!
But honestly, given the choice I'm happier here. More relaxed. Fatter lol but relaxed and at more ease. I guess its coz I'm only taking 4modules and subjects that are more of my interest so. Best for school there!! Hope you're coping well back there!

Campus Activity Life

2008-02-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

My CCAs! :) They just call them clubs here; same back in NUS I guess.
I'm honoured they let me crash practices and some to join :)
Coz usually like NUS dance groups, auditions here are in Sem 1 (Fall term only) usually.

Let's see...

Break-dancing Club [Mon 9-11pm & Fri 5-7pm]
The name is clear. They're B-boys and a few B-girls!
I'm a B-gurl now :) Awesome :)
The big deal about this is that I had met someone..he's a B-Boy and a Boxer and a Tekwando pro. Name's Alex Gozun and of Russian descent. No seriously, his pafrents are Russian and he speaks Russian fluently.
He knows and I keep reminding him I'm only here for a term but ya he knows and he says enjoy the moment....hmm Great personality and not like the other American guys. Sorry but i think he's better :P
K fine I'm blind. But he treats me very well so I'm happy.

This was taken when we're studying at the library. I was doing my collage (costume design H/W) while he was on his computer. At least was till he tried to help me with my colage. O ya he draws well. What can he not do?! Sheesh.

Ok I am digressing!..
Here are some videos I took of the guys freestyling:

At normal pract-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXggX1jsyNk

At the showcase-
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6cWVn7VEtg

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5k-TWfn68k

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKdOLKOR_tk

ALL STARS Hip Hop/Step team [Tues 8-10pm, Thurs 8:30-10:30pm]
I realise now why they call team instead of club. They are selective at auditions and enphasize alot on unity and bonding in the team. ALOT of girls! Only 2 guys in the whole group. They rock! They're very very good at step dancing (the type of dance in the movie "Stomp the Yard").
They do hip hop too. Its usually 1 hour Step first then 1 hour HipHop per session.

Check out some videos! I only took 3 so far. Plan to record the choreo coz i need to remember! Die...I keep forgetting. Grr..
Hip Hop (31Jan):

Step (5feb):

Hip Hop (5feb):

BAILE Latin Dance Club [Thurs 6:30-8:30pm]
Baile means dance in Spanish! Fun :) We did Meringe and Salsa. Really basic stuff but fun nonetheless. I was lucky I met a great partner Wan. My job as the girl is always easy; just look pretty and follow.

This guy sitting down was nice and helped me videoed (Everyone is dancing usually so I have to not dance and video most of the time) but nah I love to video too :) Quite fun to watch others have fun and strut their stuff :)

I dont go Ballroom nor Tap Club coz I think I shd be a good student and finish work. Yup :)
Or rest :P The gym here is great by the way! OK! That's it for now :) Hope you find fun too this term! I had to hunt mine down. Glad I managed to :)

Best day here!

2008-02-01T01:24:00.000-05:00

Man, thank god really. My credit card worked and i managed to get new dancing heeled shoes at a great price (coz i didnt bring mine from Singapore regrettably)! I was so lucky to find this last pair and it was on clearance sale of $4.99..! Exclusive of tax though but still cheap. Saw boots! O man always like that. The one i bought the last time was cheap but gorgeous and sterdy. Too bad it's a little too small. O well ;)

I bought lotsa clothes! Mainly jackets and sweat pants (those thick ones and ones i can use to dance in in future! I'm buying some in advance as souvenirs heh.

Among my new clothes collection, my favourite jacket! Its warm and soft ;) Hip Hop styled yo ;P love it! i HAD to buy it. Super sale (from kids section ;P). You guess? hehe

The jackets were still expensive though on sale and tempting to buy! I just bought what i needed. I have more clothes to keep me warm now so that's good.

The weather is getting worse. The winds I think are the killer! It rained the day before too! Freezing!!! But rain melted the snow and after the rain, the rtrees and plants all around seem to be more alive and green!

I will upload all or at least mot important photos here la coz o no i heard that you need a username to access photobucket?! No worries!

Hey but ok, besides the great sale and great timing today i finally went for the medical appt i kept postponing due to a million reasons each time. So one more thing down! Just need to go back again Sat morning ;( Really was looking fwd to gg New York for dance clases! ;( But i'd have to leave Friday 5:05 right after my 5pm class for the trip to be economically worth. Ah, a quiet weekend here in Connecticut aint so bad i'm sure :) Will keep you posted but in the meantime, I am just glad to have found DANCE PEOPLE! And dance groups I can join!!! Praise God!!!

My search has been answered. I awaited for today, my first practice for the latin dance club and the all stars hip hop and step dance team. Man step dancing is HARD!

So that was the icing on the cake for me when I FINALLY got to DANCE! GLAD ;)
Tomorrow there's breakdancing! And I made a new good friend Alex from breaking. It was really quite a coincidence and bumped into each other so we started talking yesterday. Very glad i made such a great friend in him. He'll be teaching me to break so that'll be interesting. Ya but he's russian and did ballroom and latin since young so really cool. (He's a great partner by the way) - love a man who can lead heh!

Any hu, the cherry of my day was talking to Melisse on the phone! We talked for so long! Free so no problem. I'm on plan here for this t-mobile month hee
She's the Singaporean girl I have been trying to track down. Heh. She helped me alot in my application when we're in Singapore. I have finally found her!!!

Gonna meet for breakfast tomorrow ;)
chat soon! night ;)

P.S> Happy Lunar New Year!!!
I miss the goodies already!

My first week @ UConn

2008-01-25T20:05:00.000-05:00

To top things off, I just got back from a fraternity party. Fun. I was more or less a wallflower thankfully so watched alot of movement ;) But people here (even when drunk) are very nice. Really! Amazing feat. They still give way, look blur or stoned but still functional and they wont disturb me if i tell them to excuse me or shoo politely of course. They respect girls here and i like it. LA was not like this i recall. But I turned this guy off when I said I was 21 I think. Lol. He's 19. He was this guy that approached me at the party. Exciting coz he is cute and blah but I was polite but when the hands started coming I explained nicely that its not my culture personally. I stated clearly that I'm flattered but not normal and minus my friendliness and all I'm still very much conservative and not used to having such physical contact with strangers, especially in a foreign country. I wanted to clarify coz he looked sad when i had to leave so early, that I liked him but I hope I'm not rejecting him or declining him and that it's not him but me, really.

As in a leap of faith to be close with this guy at the party (knowing he's attractive/cute and that he might wanna hook up with me), I know that I will not compromise my identity and dignity. He's cute but I'm not the type of girl he's looking for I believe. We hugged, exchanged emails and he really is a nice guy. Can tell deep inside beyond the not-so-smart tactics as most men i know sadly posses (heh) he's a nice guy.

I'm a nice girl i guess but I am not for flings ever. Over and done with that years ago and I'm definitely tired of dating I realised. But as all fresh grads (me included), career comes first to me now, along with family (which I need tp spend more time on/with sinfully).

But today, Demetri (the guy at the party) I hope can stay in touch and we'll be really good friends. We seem to clique despite the slight language barrier and the common men syndrome of not-saying-everything-in-fear-of-scaring-the-girl-away syndrome (which is totally forgivable coz tt shows that he actually appreciates you and doesnt wanna lose/hurt you), long-dist relationship? Nope. Friends abroad? I hope so.

But the higlight for me was getting to bond and talk so much more with my housemate Abby! She's amazing and i love her. We have a great sisterhood and I appreciate that - she looks out for me and protects me and I am eternally grateful. Jenny had to go to her friend's birthday party so she couldnt come. Oh we went to Abby's Boyfriend (Dave)'s fraternity* party.

*the fraternity (frat for short) is a bunch of boys who technically live together in a big house called a frat house. But over the years, evolution and voile! Now you can be staying elsewhere but join as a fraternity member - you pay membership fee like all clubs on campus and enjoy membership privileges of varying degrees, depending on college, geographical or other dynamics.
* frats are for males. For females its sorority - a group any female student can join as a sister.

Sounds abit gang-ish coz these brothers and sisters lookout for each other and hang out which is really cool and they have events and parties their members can be a part of. The good thing is that these students dont abuse this power but use this community for good you know?

Ok i am so talking waaayyyy too much abt this subject lol
Class today was great. O! update! There is no dance dept per se here. I only managed to get one dance module! The other is full and the other I cant take coz its for drama majors here only. Shoot! Sigh. But this only one dance module I'm taking is so so jazz! Duh but o wait let me give you my confirmed module listing. Totally unexpected but hey! I'm embracing the new life ;) i got to man!

CHEM 345: Determination of Organic Structures LECTURE
09:00:00 AM-09:50:00 AM / MWF / @BRON124 by Alex Asandei

DRAM 214: Costume Design LAB
11:00:00 AM-01:00:00 PM / MW / @ DRAMU128 by Laura Crow

DRAM 107: Theatre Production Studio Topic: Costumes LAB
01:00:00 PM-03:00:00 PM / MF / @ HJTLTCR by Dragana Vucetic

DRAM 154: Theatre Jazz Dance II LAB
03:00:00 PM-05:00:00 PM / MWF / @ DRAMU103 by Christine Gambardella

Photos to here. More to come. Night! Gotta get up early tomorrow!
Think i'm gg to spend my weekend in NY with Derui. Hope he's alright. Update you again!

Nervous but excited. Believe it'll be great. Wan an!

UConn/NY Day 02 - feelin under the weather

2008-01-22T22:34:00.000-05:00

click here for Day 02 photos - 15 images. Been walking around and emailing alot today.

Today started out productive at first settling my internet, my UConn ID card, going to all the admin buildings to settle my things. Till I had to meet Lisa, my exchange co-ordinator here at UConn. Ok so I found out that I wasnt registered for my modules! Gosh. Basically no news from her so Daniel (the USP coordinator said it should be alright). Thankfully my classes dont starft till Wednesday tomorrow so I had today (Tuesday) free.

I think coz school for me has yet to start so i'm abit bored already. At the same time there's still loads I need to do like get my bills paid, get my health screening, insurance proved and information scanned.

Yet at the same time it was quite a fruitful day overall. I managed to get my hands on some stuff I wanted like transportation brochures, student activity listings, meal plan info, updated maps and of course my physical card. I went with Jenny (my room-mate) and Abby (my housemate) to the floor meeting just now and it was short but I learned alot more about my surroundings. I'm most grateful for Jenny, my roommate, and her best friend and my housemate Abby. They swiped meals for me, Jenny bought me coffee after we got back from her extra class which she let me crash..They're awesome people and I just wished and hope to know them more. We're not that close, I guess coz we're very different with different goals and interest. Little commonality also. I'm not exactly the best conversationalist either.

Jenny's studying now and she's very hardworking. I feel like a pain and dont wanna bother coz my goal here is to dance, see the world here, tour, learn..but she is determined this sem to pull up her grades and score really well. She's active and is a rower on her team ;) I cant rememer what it's called but its like dragon boat when a bunch of girls will sit on this open-top canoe and row. It's her passion but she hopes to get a decent job as a chemical engineer upon graduation. She's a sophomore = second year here at UConn. Amazing girl. She'll be going places for sure. Wow, but here is SO different from what I expected. I think coz at the back of my mind I was recalling my experiences at UCLA over summer. People there work hard but they play more, perhaps its also coz its over summer break so it's more laid back - beaches and all. Here perhaps coz its semester 2 and over winter so people here study alot, like most students in NUS.

I'm different and I've always had dance that fills the bulk of my time. Now that I dont have that, life feels somewhat empty. Perhaps it's like what Mel, my dance friend from NTU said, perhaps dance to us serves as a void-filler in our lives. But right now, I desperately wanna go NY. To take class and to see De Rui (who's at NYU).

I've checked! Luam's class is on Tuesdays and Saturdays. But I dont wanna repeat the same mistake i did aft UCLA, when I toured alot, yes. But studied too hard. Missed out on alot of the dance adventures I wanted. I'm here to improve my dancing and take class. Just got a listing of all the student organisations here and I heard from my floor I/C (who's in the school's indian dance team) that they have a hip hop group here and 2 other mixed ones. Maybe I'll go for the gymnastics group =) I'm here to learn and though governed by alot of inactivity around me (coz its UConn in Connecticut where nothing else except the school is here & worse it's winter), I will not be disheartened! I plan to travel to NY this weekend and hopefully every tuesday. I feel I dont fit in nor belong here well but all things take time. But whatever happens I dont wanna lose my own identity and self. I'm done with studying and am gonna dance here nomatter what.

Wish me luck! Tomorrow I'll be showing up at class in hopes of being accepted! I'm taking all non-foundational/non-first year 3 DRAM & 1 CHEM module, hopefully. So that required permission numbers from the respective profs of each class. Hope they'll like me and let me take their class! Bad news though coz the CHEM 344 module turns out to be a Graduate level class! Yikes. My chem sucks can..o man. But Lisa was saying in Asia its likely that we're more "advanced". I think my fellow NUS chem mates are yes but me?! Hell no. At UCLA I was so embarrassed to say I was a chem major from NUS when I was taking this chem lab class there. My prof had a super good impression of NUS students. Here too i think but oh man. I'll do my best I guess!

But I'm so looking forward to my DRAM dance classes. I changed and am hopefully gonna take DRAM 154 (Costume Design) instead of DRAM 222 (Vocal and Diction II), simply coz it doesnt clash with my timetable, though I really prefer DRAM 222. Think it'll be good though andf definitely useful to learn costume design coz i seem to be struggling with that alot when preparing for competitions and all.

Yeah but all in all my schedules is and will hopefully be:

So let's see, there's a All Stars (hip hop dance team), Break dancing club, Dance Team UConn (Jazz-based Cheerleading), DanceSport UConn (Ballroom), Flames Belly dance club, Gymnastics UConn, Tap Club UConn(recrfeational team), Tap UConn (Competitive team), Yoga Club UConn

Gonna check out DanceSport tomorrow! Shoot i so regret not bringing my ballroom heels. Update you again! Its after school from 9pm to 11pm ;) omg Ballroom! Exciting ;) Believe i'll learn sth new ;) Hope i'll like it and hope they'll like/accept me!

There's tap dance (recreational) also same place from 6pm to 8pm. Not sufre if i shfd go for that too. Shrug! We'll see i guess ;)

My first official school day tomorrow! Later than everyone else (who all start today) but better than nothing =) Update you again!

P.S. I wonder if i'm wasting my life filling it up with all these activities. Coz I was talking to Jenny while we walked back and ya, all the activities I did when i was younger compromised on my studies. Jenny felt that she got too tired of being overly active and so decided to study after high school and so now in UConn, after high school, she plans to focus on studying. Wow. I see that in alot of my friends in NUS. I guess I never really saw value in my Chem degree. Perhaps that's why I 'd rather spend my time dancing all the time at the expense of my sleep and all. But is it all worth it? Or is it just a waste of my time...

Hmm..

UConn/NY Day 01 - travelling

2008-01-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Update soon! But if you're wondering I'm safe! Thank you =)
It's not the same feeling. Loads to share. Talk soon! Shoot late for appt.

Uploaded my Day 01 photos here. Spent the whole darn day travelling but super glad i made it and found my place. I put them all in the same photobucket folder for easy reference >>> UConn/NY Photobucket

Disclaimer. I'm a little stuck wifh deciding on phone plans. To go monthly? If so which one? http://cellular.uconn.edu/basic/cell_rates.html
But i bought a Sprint prepaid card but not sure how ppl can call me. yikes.

A brand new year, a brand new start. Hear you soon! Hugs =)

Funkamania xiii

2008-01-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

From my friend weilong who kindly videoed for us. Super sweet of him. Great guy, Great dancer. Will type more again! In the meantime here are the videos of first half only! The second half poor him his camera died so couldnt catch the rest of the Blast teams.

Chun's item:
http://www.mediafire.com/?802jznvzsmd

Xiao's item:
http://www.mediafire.com/?39cm1awy909

Joots' item:
http://www.mediafire.com/?31hm1jx0zuy

My mom took too and uploaded on youtube. really nice of her. The links are as below.
She too had to leave right after the first half coz I had to hurry home to pack as fast as i can.
Thank god i packed and made it in time. Sadly was super late for the USP gathering they held for me =( sobz =( got to see them for a quick moment before hurrying to the airport to meet my family for dinner.

Yup that was that. Update soon! Hope things'll go well for all of us!

BlueEyes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsEZLFXrv8

Hoopside - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6A9sMyQ9s8

Ocean35 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spkpu0niIWQ

Faking it!

2008-01-10T12:56:00.000-05:00

It's a good reality check. Am I faking it?
Fred claims that he had almost like a revelation: he "realised" that the way I interact and deal with people is actually quite fake. I got stunned of course. Really?

Coz I've always thought I was too blunt and straightforward and honest. So reality check. Yes it was my goal to be more street smart. But have I succeeded? In a way yes coz I lean to deal with people better. Like even if I dont like someone and I have to work with them I will be as objective and normal as I can. But you cant befriend the world right?

Yah! But finally i got to talk to fred today and his words werent that hurtful but it's really the afterthought that kills i realise when I speak to him. But it didnt take me long to realise he was wrong about me and I guess he really doesn't know me well nor even bother/care to know me well.

Coz I was talking and sharing with my Mom and she immediately snorted mockingly. Ha, then he really doesnt know you. That struck me coz to think Fred is the closest person to me, I'd expect him to know me best. I guess it takes effort and also from his words and body language he really doesnt wanna face me again. He says he doesnt know how to "deal with me". Deal with something..hmmm. He's problematic to me too what but I try. We're human right but to me its about the heart. I treasure this special friendship we havfe. He blames it on me and I really think it takes two hands to clap. I hate the way he phrases it as though I ruined our friendship but his closed-up self and his bitchiness and sarcasm and uncaringness and hatred really also to me contributes to the destruction wad.

Ya but I just think its a pity to end what we had so sourly and evilly. He's so rude can. Sigh.
Yup but I'm amazingly alright. I guess I deal with Fred better now that I know his style and how he'd usually responds etc. So I'm not that surprised. But he's not a nice guy anymore to me. I see more ugly sides of him that I guess no one else really get to see.

I'm still abit bruised and puzzled coz i dunno what triggered him to so called "realise I'm fake and therefore like me less as a person" (coz he always claims he doesnt like fake people but i think he's maybe 'fake' too coz he keeps hiding his emotions). Yup he said he forgot what happened that made him deduce this but he'll think through and hopefully get back to me.

I would love to talk things out with him lah. At least not end it sour..
*shrug* but i just pray at least he'll hopefully be nice to me just for these few days. And let me fly off in peace. I'll be gone for 5.5months can! All alone and will face new challenges. The last thing I need is another trauma. He said but you'll be back. Ya but things may change. What if it doesnt. Then we'll deal with it when I get back! Duh. Dont trouble me NOW.

OH! I've been and still am super busy with Funkamania practices. I'm choreographing and dancing. But I really wanna do this before I leave. I've been medically down with flu, cough and been feeling terrible! PLUS I have to do Blast Hip Hop night poster before i leave! Gosh!

Thank god for shih han who helped me so much! But he's flying off and i gotta carry on on my own now. To make matters worse we're late on schedule and pressed for time.

Plus for my choreography I'm running outta ideas seriously. I'm running out of motivation and faith as well. But I still love to dance. My mom was saying, well if you're really going down this road, then these are some of the problems you'll have to face. True.

It's about pulling through and braving it out! So really I guess the last thing i need is to be swayed/affected by Fred or unnecessary drama that will only distract me from my goals and performance.

I was just sad and disappointed to hear his disdain, uncaring and pessimistic attitude which he was never so evil. The fred I knew was never like that. I realised I'm still me and I guess I wont trade anything for that. I can improve as a person yes and feedback always welcomed. Though hard to hear. But yes, check my conscience, check myself. I know what I know and some things I'm sure, some I'm not. I aint god but I know what' right is right to me. So if he doesnt see it, I can try to explain but if he doesnt/is unwilling to listen or communicate then I shall not blame myself.

So what is real and what is fake? To me I know I'm real. I know what I can do and cannot do. What I can improve on what I cant. So yes, I'm glad for such a reality check chance but I know myself best. Think if he doesnt wanna care it's his choice. His loss =) Yah I'd lose one of the closest people to me but I did my best. He always seem to wait for people to ask him then he answers. He's like king or sth. Yuck. Guess he forgets the happy times and the good part of us. He forgot how we'd talk and enjoy each other's company. I still do but I guess it's not worth it.

Will update you again I hope. I dunno what's gonna happen but being me, I know I'll stay strong and be myself. If you cant handle me and dont wanna try, well.. =)

To me walking out on Fred was always an option open to me. To him he said he doesnt care and just let people slip through his fingers. To him its no loss. I feel a little sad and scary that he to me does attach to people but i guess maybe he fears closeness so much.

I guess I do too coz I might get hurt so I'm a little more cautious, but I know me and I know I'll never stop giving my heart and embracing things that come my way. I'm afraid for sure. Some times afraid of the uncertainty and what if things go wrong but I know I dont give up easily. I refuse to. Love or life bring it on!

So to myself =) I shall type here that I FIND JOY IN THE THINGS I DO AND I WILL NOT LET ANYONE OR ANYTHING STOP ME FROM TRYING. Try to love, take a stab in the dark, let my guard down and be myself. I agree that I'm alot wiser now and I thank so many people for it. So yes, not letting yourself totally go and lose yourself is key but I MAKE MY OWN CHOICES! GOD THROWS CHALLENGES AT US FOR A REASON! I may not know my reasons yet but I know it's for the better!

Love you'all! Stay awesome! Best for school!
I cant believe i'm done with school..I dont know what the working dance work would be like but I'll try, else I know I'll regret so take a stab in the dark!

Night!!!

Flight details

2008-01-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

More info to come! Life seems better - a new year, a brand new start.
Look out world here I come!

TO JFK FROM SIN: [transit at London Heathrow]
flight BA12 then BA 117 (British Airways)
20 Jan, 2255 Leaving Singapore (SIN) Airport to London Heathrow.
21 Jan, 1100 touchdown New York - John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport.

TO SIN FROM JFK:[transit at London Heathrow]
flight BA 176 then BA 7372 (British Airways)
31 May, 1930 Leaving New York - John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport to London Heathrow.
2 Jun, 0800 touchdown Singapore (SIN) Airport.

Hugs! ;)

My 21st birthday!

2007-12-23T12:40:00.001-05:00

If you thought you didn't get invited well, no.
I didn't celebrate this year. Why? Not just no mood but it's too much of a hassle and takes alot of my time. My sis and mom were really sweet and wanted to organise one for me. So sweet right! It takes initiative and thoughtfulness and i think it's super sweet they wanted to.

Thanks goes out to boon ying and aik leong for making me feel special. They super sweet! Boon ying delivered loads of stuff for me! I was busy with funka/impre practices then so didnt meet up with them sadly. Amidst all our clashy schedules I'm grateful to have them as friends. Yay! Our studying nightmare is almost up! Though shortlived and painfully horrendous at times, it has been fun. Hope we all do well this sem!!! eek.

Yes! I've been heavy hearted these days bogged down by my own frustrations mainly - revolving around this team i am sending for funkamania. They comprise of 6 girls and Fred.
To top things up, fred's been a bitch but he became nice again. I hate it when he doesnt respond. No big deal but he flew off to New York for holiday. He almost left without a word and left things hanging (what's new in his hanging skeleton cupboard) but he sent me a sweet sms before he left. It read:

"Happy Bifrthday Chun! And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Don't worry so much. And email me orf message me anytime. Just got into my plane seat. Take care!"

I love you fred but I hate you at the same time!!! Yet i know deep inside i still love him. He cares but he just keep quiet. If i ever find a guy. The one thing on top of the list is to get a guy with initiative. Period. Who actually talks and not not hide everything. One who is open. Same point. That's it. Seriously I hate Fred and am still pissed at him right now.

We squabbled over the stupidest thing and he just totally doesnt respond. Basically i feel as though he doesnt trust my teaching ability. He means well I'm sure and suggestions are great but he doesnt get me. He doesnt empathise and keeps accusing me of taking up what he says as "rules" or accepting them blindly! Grr!!!!

I'm STILL mad at him and he's probably well and happy enjoying himself.
I need to get a grip. I usually counter/solve our problems through confrontation. He just keeps it all inside, keeps real quiet. Drives me nuts then he expects and says that "it will go away". Or the problem just dissipates. Ya right. More like shoved under the rug till the next quarrel when he pulls it out and shock me with it.

So now what do i do. Email him my rant? Wait till 8 Jan when he comes back then quarrel with him?! Sigh. I reeaally feellike talking to him and settling it all, argue and patch. But that smarty pants had to fly away.

I'm grateful that he at least smsed me in the plane and not leave totally without a word but man! Talk about being too late! Or bad timing!!!

Funkamania music deadline is 31Dec and he has yet to finish the music.
Big problem with fred is that because he is so uninitiative, i learnt that i just need to tell him what i want and trust that he will get it done. Being with him is exciting and DEFINITELY tries my patience but it's extremely tiring and definitely mind-boggling. I have to wait till his mood swing gets over. Else, everytime i call him when he's in a bad mood i get it. He doesnt mean to hurt and from checking with him he really doesnt know himself at times! When he's angry he says the most evil things. Ok, if you wrote what he said down it'll appear sarcastic but it's the way he says it that kills for me. Littered with disdain and verbal abuse. He knows it hurts on me but he doesnt care. I am guilty too when i get upset i dont care so much. Normal, yes.

But the thing that irks me most is that I'm trying but i dont see him trying. I'm praying to have faith that he is inside but I dont know. Right now i cant wait to leave. I cant wait to fly away to UConn and just cut off contact from this silent killer Fred. But i cant let go either. I really still believe we can work. I just dont know how.

Wait it out i guess. And try not to let things affect me.
He doesnt apologise either. At ALL! Coz he sees no need to. That to me is the even bigger problem. Grr!!!! I cant believe I'm still so angry at him! I cant seem to forgive him!!!
Give myself time for sure. But I've definitely been contemplating to kick Fred outta my team and take over myself. Dont know why. Think it could be an impulse thing but i think he still doesnt fit well with my style and my girls. Maybe recruiting him and trying to groom him was really a big mistake. The major turn off for me was when he said in the train when we were quarrelling that he didnt like when my shouting clouded the music too much. Agree and when i want to adopt his suggestion he complained too. What the hell do you want with me Frederick Voon!!! GRR!!!! He wants me to care yet not care. But from long ago and as of my past entries. I'm sure Fred's nice and means well (though i cant tell that) but he obviously doesnt know me that well. Nor does he have faith/trust fmy capabilities. I told him why not you try taking over. He replied sacarsically "so that you can take up more rules right?" Thanks best friend.

He's mean when he's angry and thinks he's right. He is unwilling to empathise and listen. He says he's a good listener but i learnt that listening isnt just about just..well.. listening to the words i say but listening to the other person's heart. That's what i think. We both have different opinions. Why do i get the feeling that he thinks his is more right and seems to argue and force his opinion down my throat when he says he's not? His tone for sure is not nice. Why cant he be nice about it and always has to turn into this angry thing then shuts up and cuts me off?

Maybe choosing him really was a big mistake. He wrote in my birthday card too but he's still the same. Not personal. No personalisation. Ever concealing his personality. But he's sweet. He feels and cares and i know him so i know he does but why cant he just say it?! Isn't hiding difficult?! He wrote "Dear Chun, Thank you ffor the life you've brought into our lives. May you have life and life more abundantly.! (flower), Fred."

I need to learn to accept his shortcomings and my own. Slowly i guess.
But at this point in time. I really wanna thrash things out with him. I hate leaving cases unclosed and this pending and undone.
I'm praying from a response from him. Anything.
I told myself by today if he doenst respond I'll find someone else to do the funka music.
i emailed him yesterday. Asked him if he's still doing the music. I hoped for him to finish before he fly. But he totally ignored my smses!!! Grr......till he replied with that one sweet one..

Well, happy birthday to me. I miss him and sad we didnt talk before he left.
Wait it out i guess. Why is he so unresponsive?!