Music: One Last Breath- Creed
Mood: FUSTRATED
I'm classified as a senior..... and I still can't get the classes I want. I registered today at 11am (Oct 29th) and I'm still on the wait list for two of my classes. What the HECK?
In other news, I have an auditing midterm on Friday and an OM test on Tuesday. I went to Macau last weekend, and I'm thinking of going to Shenzhen this weekend. I'll post something more coherent this coming Friday after my midterm because it looks like I won't be doing anything for Halloween, except studying, Blogging, and worrying about registration.
I just keep telling myself: C'ste la vie
Oh, and I have a profound career annoucement, but I'll talk about it when I'm less fustrated about registration. Good night.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Things You Learn
Music: Don’t Blink- Kenny Chesney
Mood: Post-midterm Relief
Today is my Grandma’s birthday! And yesterday, we went to dinner to celebrate!
There’s that old (and annoying) cliché—“You learn a new thing every day.”—Yesterday, I learned a lot, but not from school. (Well, I learned about different models of line waiting in OM, analysis on Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum, and some Chinese prose of the Late Ming Dynsaty). But besides that, I learned a lot about Chinese culture.
I had made this picture for my grandma to give to her along with flowers. Since my grandma doesn’t know how to speak or read English, I found on Google-images pictures of Happy Birthday written in Chinese. I superimposed that image along with the numbers 2008 from the “Bejing 2008” logo and put it in a picture frame. See below—
Notice the Black Letters (..eek!)
So, when I went to develop the photo and then showed it to my cousin, she was like.. that’s,… interesting, and she wouldn’t tell me why. I kept annoying her and asking her what was going on, and she said that the font was black, which, when written on things like gifts, etc. symbolizes death, which I totally hadn’t realized. She explained that on gifts, font colors are usually red or gold (gold being better!). I totally didn’t realize this mistake at all, but it was too late. I couldn’t do anything because I already created the image and developed it. My cousin reassured me that it was okay because the background wasn’t pure white (it was a tan-ish background with black font, so it’s a little better. See above). I still gave the picture and flowers to my grandma, and she still liked it. So, I was relieved.
During this whole gift preparation (all of yesterday and Wednesday), I learned so much more of things we take for granted in the US.
1. Photolabs at all the pharmacies and Kodak express machine—I guess this is something we really don’t realize but selling drugs and photos in the same store is a weird combination. Here, the photo stores are separate from pharmacies. So on Wednesday, when I went to the mall to buy a picture frame, I also wanted to develop the picture I made. I scoured the places and couldn’t find a photolab open (because I went right after my finance midterm and all the places were closed). So on Thursday, on my way to dinner, I thought I could just go to the photolab near the MTR stop because all the MTR stores have these shops called Fotomax. They, however, don’t have Kodak express machines. I thought I’d be able to go up and find one to develop the photo. However, the only instant developing they have is for 4x6 photos and I needed a 5x7 photo. It was so frustrating because the Kodak machine in the States can develop anything instantly! So I just went ahead and developed the 4x6 one and put it awkwardly into the large 5x7 frame. I got luck though, because at the MTR stop near my grandparents, I went to the Fotomax over there and they weren’t that busy, so they were able to develop the picture for me in 5x7 in 30 minutes. It was still frustrating. So moral of the story, don’t take for granted Kodak machines at every CVS!
2. Florists at the grocery stores—I had no idea where I was going to get flowers, so I had my cousin help me. We went to this first florist near the MTR stop by my grandparent’s house, and they were too busy making arrangements for a wedding, so we couldn’t get a bouquet made from them. We walked around for a bit and couldn’t find a florist, and this lady overheard us complaining and she pointed us to two different florists (both which were closed). Then, we decided to give up and just go to the restaurant, and if we stumbled along a florist on the way, we would get a bouquet. Luckily, right near the restaurant, we foCund a florist, and they arranged the bouquet while we ate and then my cousin and I pretended to go to the bathroom and went to fetch the bouquet to give to my grandma. In the States, this would have never been an issue. I would have driven to the HEB, Kroger, Whole Foods, Randalls, or whatever and simply bought a bouquet! How simple! Haha.
3. Country Music—this is unrelated to anything involved in getting the gift for my grandma, but I miss country music and miss staying current with the latest country hits. I swear, when I go back to the States in the spring, I’m going to be 6 months behind in pop-culture.
In other news, I’m done with midterms for now! (My next one is Halloween.. yes, I have an exam on October 31st from 6 to 8pm. Seriously?!?! What was this professor thinking?) These midterms/essays were worth about 40% of my grade. How scary or ridiculous is that?! For finance, we have just exam, the final, and a few homework grades. Besides school, UT Alumni in Hong Kong have a mixer tomorrow from 7 to 10, so I’m going to try to go to that. I’d be cool to network with the alumni and see how they got their jobs in Hong Kong. I’m trying to look for an internship in Hong Kong, but I’m assuming that’s going to be pretty difficult because (1) the market is horrible right now and (2) the pay is so much less than in the States. My roommate is currently going through recruiting and it’s such a pain. They don’t have something like OCR where they can just drop their resume to a posting. Instead, they apply to each company online at each company’s website, writing the silly essays and things for each company. Imagine that!?! He had a “group” interview today where he and a group of like 6 people all work together on a case and present it in front of the interviewers. How ridiculous is that!? I’m so glad I don’t have to do that (unless I start looking for an internship here).
I don’t even know what to do about my internship search. I’m hoping to go for strategic consulting, but I don’t know how to get that started because I feel all the recruiting events like mixers and such are in the fall, so I won’t know anyone there in the spring when it comes time for me to recruit. Ekk. What am I to do? I’m also considering law school, so I need to really reflect on that because then I might just do a May-mester abroad with the Plan II program in Rome and then take the rest of the summer to study for my LSAT and maybe work for some senator or congressman. I really need to figure out if I’m hardcore law or not. I mean, I’m not too thrilled about business though. Nothing has excited me yet. I either need to find that excitement soon in a future internship or I’m going to get bored and go Law (or business PHD is still an option, but I’d rather just become a lecturer after I retire and do research).
And who needs to work? Why can’t we just travel all the time? (Answer: because you need money to travel!)
The Texas vs OkState game is this Saturday. I won’t be able to see the game, but we better win. Seriously! I don’t think we can lose to OkState, no way… and I’m hoping Ohio State beats Penn State this weekend too! Hook ‘em Horns!
Oh, and the HKUST + CitiBank International Case Competition is this week. Too bad UT wasn’t invited this year (ask me why in an email), but a team from Tammassat University in Bangkok, Thailand is here. It turns out that one of the university friends of Tracey, a UT BHPer studying abroad in Bangkok, who I met while in Bangkok is actually in Hong Kong competing. Their team didn’t make it to finals, but I ran into her on campus. We’re totally going out tonight! I’m pretty excited! Random, but cool! Haha.
Ok, I’m going to watch some of the office right now. I keep saying this, but I don’t know what I’m going to do once I run out of Season 3. I need season 4 (and then season 5 is right now!). On Saturday, I’m planning on getting my hair cut. I want an Asian haircut, and I think I’m going to get red highlights this time as well! =) So excited. Then I’m going to go shopping for real. I haven’t bought anything here yet, so we’re going shopping on Saturday.
Here are some photos from the dinner. Look at the pretty bouquet of flowers! =)
Grandma and her presents!
With my Grandparents on my Grandma's birthday
I saw this ad on the MTR. I don't understand why the sheep is pooping and there's a poop symbol in the speech bubble of the other sheep. I haven't taken marketing yet, but I don't know if Poop-sheep is an effective tool, regardless of the culture...
Mood: Post-midterm Relief
Today is my Grandma’s birthday! And yesterday, we went to dinner to celebrate!
There’s that old (and annoying) cliché—“You learn a new thing every day.”—Yesterday, I learned a lot, but not from school. (Well, I learned about different models of line waiting in OM, analysis on Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum, and some Chinese prose of the Late Ming Dynsaty). But besides that, I learned a lot about Chinese culture.
I had made this picture for my grandma to give to her along with flowers. Since my grandma doesn’t know how to speak or read English, I found on Google-images pictures of Happy Birthday written in Chinese. I superimposed that image along with the numbers 2008 from the “Bejing 2008” logo and put it in a picture frame. See below—
Notice the Black Letters (..eek!)So, when I went to develop the photo and then showed it to my cousin, she was like.. that’s,… interesting, and she wouldn’t tell me why. I kept annoying her and asking her what was going on, and she said that the font was black, which, when written on things like gifts, etc. symbolizes death, which I totally hadn’t realized. She explained that on gifts, font colors are usually red or gold (gold being better!). I totally didn’t realize this mistake at all, but it was too late. I couldn’t do anything because I already created the image and developed it. My cousin reassured me that it was okay because the background wasn’t pure white (it was a tan-ish background with black font, so it’s a little better. See above). I still gave the picture and flowers to my grandma, and she still liked it. So, I was relieved.
During this whole gift preparation (all of yesterday and Wednesday), I learned so much more of things we take for granted in the US.
1. Photolabs at all the pharmacies and Kodak express machine—I guess this is something we really don’t realize but selling drugs and photos in the same store is a weird combination. Here, the photo stores are separate from pharmacies. So on Wednesday, when I went to the mall to buy a picture frame, I also wanted to develop the picture I made. I scoured the places and couldn’t find a photolab open (because I went right after my finance midterm and all the places were closed). So on Thursday, on my way to dinner, I thought I could just go to the photolab near the MTR stop because all the MTR stores have these shops called Fotomax. They, however, don’t have Kodak express machines. I thought I’d be able to go up and find one to develop the photo. However, the only instant developing they have is for 4x6 photos and I needed a 5x7 photo. It was so frustrating because the Kodak machine in the States can develop anything instantly! So I just went ahead and developed the 4x6 one and put it awkwardly into the large 5x7 frame. I got luck though, because at the MTR stop near my grandparents, I went to the Fotomax over there and they weren’t that busy, so they were able to develop the picture for me in 5x7 in 30 minutes. It was still frustrating. So moral of the story, don’t take for granted Kodak machines at every CVS!
2. Florists at the grocery stores—I had no idea where I was going to get flowers, so I had my cousin help me. We went to this first florist near the MTR stop by my grandparent’s house, and they were too busy making arrangements for a wedding, so we couldn’t get a bouquet made from them. We walked around for a bit and couldn’t find a florist, and this lady overheard us complaining and she pointed us to two different florists (both which were closed). Then, we decided to give up and just go to the restaurant, and if we stumbled along a florist on the way, we would get a bouquet. Luckily, right near the restaurant, we foCund a florist, and they arranged the bouquet while we ate and then my cousin and I pretended to go to the bathroom and went to fetch the bouquet to give to my grandma. In the States, this would have never been an issue. I would have driven to the HEB, Kroger, Whole Foods, Randalls, or whatever and simply bought a bouquet! How simple! Haha.
3. Country Music—this is unrelated to anything involved in getting the gift for my grandma, but I miss country music and miss staying current with the latest country hits. I swear, when I go back to the States in the spring, I’m going to be 6 months behind in pop-culture.
In other news, I’m done with midterms for now! (My next one is Halloween.. yes, I have an exam on October 31st from 6 to 8pm. Seriously?!?! What was this professor thinking?) These midterms/essays were worth about 40% of my grade. How scary or ridiculous is that?! For finance, we have just exam, the final, and a few homework grades. Besides school, UT Alumni in Hong Kong have a mixer tomorrow from 7 to 10, so I’m going to try to go to that. I’d be cool to network with the alumni and see how they got their jobs in Hong Kong. I’m trying to look for an internship in Hong Kong, but I’m assuming that’s going to be pretty difficult because (1) the market is horrible right now and (2) the pay is so much less than in the States. My roommate is currently going through recruiting and it’s such a pain. They don’t have something like OCR where they can just drop their resume to a posting. Instead, they apply to each company online at each company’s website, writing the silly essays and things for each company. Imagine that!?! He had a “group” interview today where he and a group of like 6 people all work together on a case and present it in front of the interviewers. How ridiculous is that!? I’m so glad I don’t have to do that (unless I start looking for an internship here).
I don’t even know what to do about my internship search. I’m hoping to go for strategic consulting, but I don’t know how to get that started because I feel all the recruiting events like mixers and such are in the fall, so I won’t know anyone there in the spring when it comes time for me to recruit. Ekk. What am I to do? I’m also considering law school, so I need to really reflect on that because then I might just do a May-mester abroad with the Plan II program in Rome and then take the rest of the summer to study for my LSAT and maybe work for some senator or congressman. I really need to figure out if I’m hardcore law or not. I mean, I’m not too thrilled about business though. Nothing has excited me yet. I either need to find that excitement soon in a future internship or I’m going to get bored and go Law (or business PHD is still an option, but I’d rather just become a lecturer after I retire and do research).
And who needs to work? Why can’t we just travel all the time? (Answer: because you need money to travel!)
The Texas vs OkState game is this Saturday. I won’t be able to see the game, but we better win. Seriously! I don’t think we can lose to OkState, no way… and I’m hoping Ohio State beats Penn State this weekend too! Hook ‘em Horns!
Oh, and the HKUST + CitiBank International Case Competition is this week. Too bad UT wasn’t invited this year (ask me why in an email), but a team from Tammassat University in Bangkok, Thailand is here. It turns out that one of the university friends of Tracey, a UT BHPer studying abroad in Bangkok, who I met while in Bangkok is actually in Hong Kong competing. Their team didn’t make it to finals, but I ran into her on campus. We’re totally going out tonight! I’m pretty excited! Random, but cool! Haha.
Ok, I’m going to watch some of the office right now. I keep saying this, but I don’t know what I’m going to do once I run out of Season 3. I need season 4 (and then season 5 is right now!). On Saturday, I’m planning on getting my hair cut. I want an Asian haircut, and I think I’m going to get red highlights this time as well! =) So excited. Then I’m going to go shopping for real. I haven’t bought anything here yet, so we’re going shopping on Saturday.
Here are some photos from the dinner. Look at the pretty bouquet of flowers! =)
Grandma and her presents!
With my Grandparents on my Grandma's birthday
I saw this ad on the MTR. I don't understand why the sheep is pooping and there's a poop symbol in the speech bubble of the other sheep. I haven't taken marketing yet, but I don't know if Poop-sheep is an effective tool, regardless of the culture...Sunday, October 19, 2008
Mid-terms and Test Galore
Music: Detroit by Black Gold
Mood: Bored of Studying
The music I'm currently listening to was the free iTunes download last week, and it's actually very good. With those free downloads, they're either hit or miss, and this week, I really like it.
This past week went by pretty quickly; I spent most of the week in the library, studying for my finance test that's I have this Wednesday. Yes, I'm sort of a nerd (albeit a frustrated nerd) because I locked myself in the library everyday after getting out of class working on the practice problems for finance. It was actually very aggravating because I'm a finance major but this class here at UST is my first finance class. It's a corporate finance class (and it's not the most exciting). I mean, I understand how to use my financial calculator and calculate the NPV, future cash flows, etc. but some times, the problems are pretty ridiculous. However, it isn't as if I don't like challenges or like to think, rather, the teaching style here just doesn't suit the way I learn. Unlike my BHP classes or the classes at McCombs in general, the teachers (lecturers) here are very impersonal and don't really make an effort to help you out. Furthermore, the TAs here are not very helpful. It's pretty much learn it yourself and figure it out-- which is very annoying. I mean, I would work with other students to figure out what I don't understand, but most of the other study abraoders don't care or don't understand it because their grades don't transfer. So I'm stuck in a predicament and I am forced to study harder. What else can I do?
So after studying all week long, I decided to play mafia with friends on Thursday night, which was fun, but I didn't end up going to bed until 2:30 or 3am, which was bad. I mean, mafia is a really fun game and we've been playing it for a while now because everyone we introduced it to loves it, but on Friday, I went to the 2pm accounting instead of the 9am accounting because I was so tired. And if you know me, I'm a morning person! I hate getting up around 11 or 12 and having that feeling like you wasted half the day. I don't know what it is. I like getting up by 9 every day-- in fact, here, my roommate gets up at 8am every day, so I try to get up by 8 or 8:30 everyday and be productive. I mean, it's actually working out! So on the weekends, I usually find myself sleeping at 2 or 3am and then waking up at 11 or 12. Friday was no different, me and some dutch people (they go to school in The Netherlands, which is the same as Holland?, and some are from Germany... I don't know.. my European geography/history is not good at all, even though I took western civ. late and early. hah.) So we went to this korean place for dinner, which was really good, and then afterwards, we went back to the university and just sat at the levy along the beach until about 2 or 3am chatting about our countries, etc. It was really relaxing-- except for the fact that I got eaten alive by the mosquitoes. I was wearing pants, but that didn't stop the mosquitoes-- I currently have like 5 bites on my feet, including one on my big toe and one on my pinky toe. How annoying right? And then, of course, that gives me the excuse not to work out because my foot is too itchy. haha. Yea, i've been pretty lazy lately. I skipped the gym Friday through Sunday (gasp!), and all I've been doing is eating and studying (and eating...) so yea! not good.
Saturday, I got up around 11:30 and grabbed dim sum with some people at noon. We ate A LOT (like A LOT) and didn't get done till 1:30. After that, I ran straight to the library to start the studies! This week, I have a paper due in my Chinse Film class on Tuesday, a mid-term exam on Wednesday in finance, and another paper due on Thursday in Chinese Lit. (And then I have a final on Friday, the 31st, halloween weekend.. which STINKS!). So, all day Saturday, I spent writing this chinese film paper-- I haven't proofread it yet but it should be okay. Then, Saturday evening, we went to Jordan (near Mong Kong at in Kowloon) and saw the Flower Market, Bird Market, and Goldfish Market-- Literally, there were shops and shops selling those respective items... it was crazy but really cool to see! The baby turtles were about 10 hkd each (or 1.30 USD). There were also gold fish for like 800 HKD (more than 100 USD), it was so cool! We didn't ask them how much the birds were, but we assume they weren't too expensive. After walking around for the evening, we tried to find a place to eat but couldn't decide what to eat. That's one problem here in Hong Kong. Since places are zoned by district, you either come across a whole area with a lot of food or areas with no food, so we found ourselves walking for a while before we found a place we felt like eating at. I had some chinese noodles and pork and a red bean ice drink (my new favourite!) I don't really like bubble milk tea because the tapioca is too chewy. Red bean ice drink is so tasty!
Also, I've been trying to find a good place to go shopping. I still haven't found a good place that sells guy clothes. All the little markets sell knock-off products with labels, etc. and I feel the malls are too expensive, so I haven't gone shopping shopping yet. I'm hoping to do so this coming weekend after the first round of my mid-terms is over. I think I just need to go to a mall near one of the MTR shops and look around. The thing is, I want to avoid any clothes was their logos on the front. I prefer clothes that doesn't show the label and looks good for what it is. The only shirt I've gotten while here in HKG was a I <3 style="text-align: center;">
Look at the heart-shaped firework!
Collage from my Vietnam/Cambodia trip (click to enlarge!)
Pictures from the Flower, Bird, and Goldfish Market
Mood: Bored of Studying
The music I'm currently listening to was the free iTunes download last week, and it's actually very good. With those free downloads, they're either hit or miss, and this week, I really like it.
This past week went by pretty quickly; I spent most of the week in the library, studying for my finance test that's I have this Wednesday. Yes, I'm sort of a nerd (albeit a frustrated nerd) because I locked myself in the library everyday after getting out of class working on the practice problems for finance. It was actually very aggravating because I'm a finance major but this class here at UST is my first finance class. It's a corporate finance class (and it's not the most exciting). I mean, I understand how to use my financial calculator and calculate the NPV, future cash flows, etc. but some times, the problems are pretty ridiculous. However, it isn't as if I don't like challenges or like to think, rather, the teaching style here just doesn't suit the way I learn. Unlike my BHP classes or the classes at McCombs in general, the teachers (lecturers) here are very impersonal and don't really make an effort to help you out. Furthermore, the TAs here are not very helpful. It's pretty much learn it yourself and figure it out-- which is very annoying. I mean, I would work with other students to figure out what I don't understand, but most of the other study abraoders don't care or don't understand it because their grades don't transfer. So I'm stuck in a predicament and I am forced to study harder. What else can I do?
So after studying all week long, I decided to play mafia with friends on Thursday night, which was fun, but I didn't end up going to bed until 2:30 or 3am, which was bad. I mean, mafia is a really fun game and we've been playing it for a while now because everyone we introduced it to loves it, but on Friday, I went to the 2pm accounting instead of the 9am accounting because I was so tired. And if you know me, I'm a morning person! I hate getting up around 11 or 12 and having that feeling like you wasted half the day. I don't know what it is. I like getting up by 9 every day-- in fact, here, my roommate gets up at 8am every day, so I try to get up by 8 or 8:30 everyday and be productive. I mean, it's actually working out! So on the weekends, I usually find myself sleeping at 2 or 3am and then waking up at 11 or 12. Friday was no different, me and some dutch people (they go to school in The Netherlands, which is the same as Holland?, and some are from Germany... I don't know.. my European geography/history is not good at all, even though I took western civ. late and early. hah.) So we went to this korean place for dinner, which was really good, and then afterwards, we went back to the university and just sat at the levy along the beach until about 2 or 3am chatting about our countries, etc. It was really relaxing-- except for the fact that I got eaten alive by the mosquitoes. I was wearing pants, but that didn't stop the mosquitoes-- I currently have like 5 bites on my feet, including one on my big toe and one on my pinky toe. How annoying right? And then, of course, that gives me the excuse not to work out because my foot is too itchy. haha. Yea, i've been pretty lazy lately. I skipped the gym Friday through Sunday (gasp!), and all I've been doing is eating and studying (and eating...) so yea! not good.
Saturday, I got up around 11:30 and grabbed dim sum with some people at noon. We ate A LOT (like A LOT) and didn't get done till 1:30. After that, I ran straight to the library to start the studies! This week, I have a paper due in my Chinse Film class on Tuesday, a mid-term exam on Wednesday in finance, and another paper due on Thursday in Chinese Lit. (And then I have a final on Friday, the 31st, halloween weekend.. which STINKS!). So, all day Saturday, I spent writing this chinese film paper-- I haven't proofread it yet but it should be okay. Then, Saturday evening, we went to Jordan (near Mong Kong at in Kowloon) and saw the Flower Market, Bird Market, and Goldfish Market-- Literally, there were shops and shops selling those respective items... it was crazy but really cool to see! The baby turtles were about 10 hkd each (or 1.30 USD). There were also gold fish for like 800 HKD (more than 100 USD), it was so cool! We didn't ask them how much the birds were, but we assume they weren't too expensive. After walking around for the evening, we tried to find a place to eat but couldn't decide what to eat. That's one problem here in Hong Kong. Since places are zoned by district, you either come across a whole area with a lot of food or areas with no food, so we found ourselves walking for a while before we found a place we felt like eating at. I had some chinese noodles and pork and a red bean ice drink (my new favourite!) I don't really like bubble milk tea because the tapioca is too chewy. Red bean ice drink is so tasty!
Also, I've been trying to find a good place to go shopping. I still haven't found a good place that sells guy clothes. All the little markets sell knock-off products with labels, etc. and I feel the malls are too expensive, so I haven't gone shopping shopping yet. I'm hoping to do so this coming weekend after the first round of my mid-terms is over. I think I just need to go to a mall near one of the MTR shops and look around. The thing is, I want to avoid any clothes was their logos on the front. I prefer clothes that doesn't show the label and looks good for what it is. The only shirt I've gotten while here in HKG was a I <3 style="text-align: center;">
Look at the heart-shaped firework!
Collage from my Vietnam/Cambodia trip (click to enlarge!)
Pictures from the Flower, Bird, and Goldfish Market
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Even in Hong Kong...
...OU Still Sucks.
Music: Texas Fight Song and The Eyes of Texas- Longhorn Band
Mood: Elated
I am still in disbelief that I was able to see the Red River Rivalry (UT-OU game) this weekend at a sports bar in Hong Kong. Kick-off was at 11am CST, which is 12am GMT +8 (Hong Kong time). We watched the game from 12am to 4am, and I didn't go to bed until about 5am Sunday morning. It was an intense game, and I'm so glad I was able to see it.
That game was my first football game this year. Sad, I know! But whatelse can I do? No channels play american football because nobody here watches it. So anyways, we caught the game, and it was AMAZING. Nothing short of spectacular.
However, all of today, I was feeling a bit homesick. I know that most of my friends back home went to the game in Dallas, and if I were back in the States, I'd be in Dallas cheering with them. Seeing the game made me miss Texas Football (and TX sports in general, like volleyball too!) I also miss following the BCS games and seeing the other teams get defeated. I miss following MLB baseball in October, esp with the Red Sox in. I'm kind of upset that Chicago got knocked out by the Dodgers.. what the heck?!
But yea, I miss those American comforts a bit, but I really miss my friends. Today, I didn't really do much of anything. I skyped with my parents for a bit, chatted with friends online, and studied. Then I ran a bit to get the homesickness out of me and to stop being so bleh and unproductive. I uploaded like at least 200 pictures on facebook, complete with captions and tags, so it was a lot of facebooking time too.
Ok, I'm not really making sense right now, so I'm going to end here and probably go to bed. I have a 9AM tomorrow and that's it. After that, I'm going to the gym, then eating lunch, and then STUDYING! Woot!
Enjoy the pictures from the UT-OU game in Hong Kong!
Some of the UTers who went abroad to HKUST, celebrating our win!
Horns up!
Oh, and in other news, I voted in my first presidential election!! (though it was via absentee ballot, and I didn't get a cool, 'I voted' sticker)
Music: Texas Fight Song and The Eyes of Texas- Longhorn Band
Mood: Elated
I am still in disbelief that I was able to see the Red River Rivalry (UT-OU game) this weekend at a sports bar in Hong Kong. Kick-off was at 11am CST, which is 12am GMT +8 (Hong Kong time). We watched the game from 12am to 4am, and I didn't go to bed until about 5am Sunday morning. It was an intense game, and I'm so glad I was able to see it.
That game was my first football game this year. Sad, I know! But whatelse can I do? No channels play american football because nobody here watches it. So anyways, we caught the game, and it was AMAZING. Nothing short of spectacular.
However, all of today, I was feeling a bit homesick. I know that most of my friends back home went to the game in Dallas, and if I were back in the States, I'd be in Dallas cheering with them. Seeing the game made me miss Texas Football (and TX sports in general, like volleyball too!) I also miss following the BCS games and seeing the other teams get defeated. I miss following MLB baseball in October, esp with the Red Sox in. I'm kind of upset that Chicago got knocked out by the Dodgers.. what the heck?!
But yea, I miss those American comforts a bit, but I really miss my friends. Today, I didn't really do much of anything. I skyped with my parents for a bit, chatted with friends online, and studied. Then I ran a bit to get the homesickness out of me and to stop being so bleh and unproductive. I uploaded like at least 200 pictures on facebook, complete with captions and tags, so it was a lot of facebooking time too.
Ok, I'm not really making sense right now, so I'm going to end here and probably go to bed. I have a 9AM tomorrow and that's it. After that, I'm going to the gym, then eating lunch, and then STUDYING! Woot!
Enjoy the pictures from the UT-OU game in Hong Kong!
Some of the UTers who went abroad to HKUST, celebrating our win!
Horns up!
Oh, and in other news, I voted in my first presidential election!! (though it was via absentee ballot, and I didn't get a cool, 'I voted' sticker)Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Live from Vietnam....
...it's Tuesday NIGHT!
Music- Disturbia- Rihanna
Mood: Loving Life
Haha! Sorry, I had to do that. It's currently 10pm in Vietnam (11pm in HKG), and I'm sitting in the lobby of the hotel in Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City). I think I'm paving blogger history as I write this post. I'm the first BBA Blogger who's blogged outside of the country (in HKG) and now while on travels. Haha! As Barney, from How I Met Your Mother would say.... "It's.... wait for it... wait for it.... LEGENDARY!"
Ok, so fact: I have to catch an airport transfer at 3:30 AM to SGN airport for a 6am flight back to Hong Kong. I'll land in Hong Kong around 9:30am, Wednesday morning and then take the subway back to UST, ready to catch my 1:30pm class and then my 4pm class. I'm going to be soooo tired but this trip has been totally worth it. I'll post pictures later, but right now, I'll just blog.
So I leave Hong Kong on Wednesday for Vietnam at 8:40pm, and I've been in Vietnam and Cambodia for 6 nights! This has been the longest trip I've taken. The other trips to the Philippines and Thailand have been Thurs to Monday trips, but this one is Thurs to Wednesday. Crazy, huh?
OK. I'm getting eaten alive right now by mosquitos in this lobby so here's a quick rundown of what I've done this wk.
Thursday- Flew into SGN, landing at 10:10ish.
Friday- Cu Chi Tunnels (where the Viet Cong hid underground as the US attacked them); Vietnamese War Remenats Museum; crazy market; Notre Dame Cathedral
Saturday- 12 hr bus ride to Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sunday- Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat and surrounding temples built between the 11th and the 15th century--- intersting fact- i saw the temple where Tomb Raider was shot
Monday- fishing village boat cruise on the lake near siem reap..... These fisherman make between 100 and 250 USD a YEAR... wow! took 6 hr bus ride to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tuesday- visited the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh (total killed by the Khmer Rouge, 3 million, in 1976ish, total population at that time was 7 million; Russian Market; Independence Monument; 6 hr bus ride to Saigon, Vientam
Wednesday- flight at 6am back to HKG
Ok. Seriously, these moquitoes are relentless. Gotta go!
wait--- let me write one profound statement:
Traveling Southeast Asia has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life, reaffirming my passion and desire to help others less fortunate than myself. I've seen poverty and destituion. I've seen prostitutes and tuk-tuk drivers. I've seen the clash between preserving culture and accepting the Western ways. I realize the fortune I have been blessed with simply becuase I was born in the United States to a family who could provide for my needs. When I was 6 years old, I didn't have to walk from table to table in the city, selling cigarettes and gum to the wealthy tourists; I did have to bathe in the lake or beg for cashew nuts at the bus stop. I love Southeast Asia. The people are truly genuine and friendly. It's just so sad to see the corruption of the government and the pure disregard for human rights. All in all, however, I believe that my traveling has made me a more concious and mindful world citizen.
Music- Disturbia- Rihanna
Mood: Loving Life
Haha! Sorry, I had to do that. It's currently 10pm in Vietnam (11pm in HKG), and I'm sitting in the lobby of the hotel in Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City). I think I'm paving blogger history as I write this post. I'm the first BBA Blogger who's blogged outside of the country (in HKG) and now while on travels. Haha! As Barney, from How I Met Your Mother would say.... "It's.... wait for it... wait for it.... LEGENDARY!"
Ok, so fact: I have to catch an airport transfer at 3:30 AM to SGN airport for a 6am flight back to Hong Kong. I'll land in Hong Kong around 9:30am, Wednesday morning and then take the subway back to UST, ready to catch my 1:30pm class and then my 4pm class. I'm going to be soooo tired but this trip has been totally worth it. I'll post pictures later, but right now, I'll just blog.
So I leave Hong Kong on Wednesday for Vietnam at 8:40pm, and I've been in Vietnam and Cambodia for 6 nights! This has been the longest trip I've taken. The other trips to the Philippines and Thailand have been Thurs to Monday trips, but this one is Thurs to Wednesday. Crazy, huh?
OK. I'm getting eaten alive right now by mosquitos in this lobby so here's a quick rundown of what I've done this wk.
Thursday- Flew into SGN, landing at 10:10ish.
Friday- Cu Chi Tunnels (where the Viet Cong hid underground as the US attacked them); Vietnamese War Remenats Museum; crazy market; Notre Dame Cathedral
Saturday- 12 hr bus ride to Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sunday- Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat and surrounding temples built between the 11th and the 15th century--- intersting fact- i saw the temple where Tomb Raider was shot
Monday- fishing village boat cruise on the lake near siem reap..... These fisherman make between 100 and 250 USD a YEAR... wow! took 6 hr bus ride to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tuesday- visited the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh (total killed by the Khmer Rouge, 3 million, in 1976ish, total population at that time was 7 million; Russian Market; Independence Monument; 6 hr bus ride to Saigon, Vientam
Wednesday- flight at 6am back to HKG
Ok. Seriously, these moquitoes are relentless. Gotta go!
wait--- let me write one profound statement:
Traveling Southeast Asia has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life, reaffirming my passion and desire to help others less fortunate than myself. I've seen poverty and destituion. I've seen prostitutes and tuk-tuk drivers. I've seen the clash between preserving culture and accepting the Western ways. I realize the fortune I have been blessed with simply becuase I was born in the United States to a family who could provide for my needs. When I was 6 years old, I didn't have to walk from table to table in the city, selling cigarettes and gum to the wealthy tourists; I did have to bathe in the lake or beg for cashew nuts at the bus stop. I love Southeast Asia. The people are truly genuine and friendly. It's just so sad to see the corruption of the government and the pure disregard for human rights. All in all, however, I believe that my traveling has made me a more concious and mindful world citizen.
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