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I'm coming home tomorrow! Yay! I've been hearing this song over and over again the past few days, feel very connected to it. Haha.

Rolling in the snow

It was snowing really heavily last Friday, was my first experience seeing falling snow. =)
The walkways were very slippery and traffic was moving very slowly everywhere. I took this picture of a car which stopped in front of me, and i thought it was rather funny.

How do you drive like this! Haha. This was the extent of the snowfall while i was walking to meet some students;

Having said that, it's rather nice when it snows, everything is a sea of white, and it's actually not that cold. Apparently if it's too cold, it doesn't snow, the conditions have to be just right.

The university organized a weekend retreat to a ski resort up in the Pocono Mountains over the weekend. It was a pretty relaxing weekend. We did a few rides, walked on a frozen lake, threw snow at one another and skiing.

The main lodge

I got a single room while the students shared 3 to 1..haha

Just outside the main lodge

Frozen lake!

Skiing and snowboarding

I tried to ski as well, but was pretty hopeless at it. Haha. Maybe next time i will try snowboarding instead. We should be back again in the summer, where they have other kinds of activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing and hiking. Looking forward!

The weather is kind of crazy, look at the outlook for Wednesday!

 17 degrees!!! That's quite a drastic swing in a matter of days!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Fwah! Just started about half an hour ago, and everything is white now.
It's actually getting worse as i'm typing. Haha

Christmas comes late

It's been a really really really cold past 2 days, the temperature just went from 5th storey to basement 10 in a matter of days. Last weekend it was hovering around 10 degrees, which is nice. Look at the outlook for the next few days!

My poor-shrinking-balls-goodness! My ears were frozen just now while walking from office to the train station...brrrrrr. It snowed quite heavily for about an hour last night;

This is the aftermath of the snow storm last night. Looks like there will be more snow in the coming days. Time to bring out the heavy artillery; scarves, gloves, ear muffs, heat packs and all.

On to other happenings, my friends and sis have been happily shopping on Amazon and shipping their purchases to my apartment the past 2 weeks. I have become a mule...look;

These are the stuff i have to pack into my luggage when i go back, i don't know if i will be able to fit all of them in. Haha. The things are so random, there are ear plugs, water bottles, car grooming products, knife, even shampoo and muesli bars..more to come in the next few days. Haha.

Santa's going home next week!

How it works

I just spent the last 4 hours packing my office, clearing it of all the unwanted stuff and making it my own work space. It was quite a mess actually, things were here and there, some stuff in this box, some stuff in that box.

I guess i'm turning into a neat freak, everything has to be aligned straight, unless absolutely necessary. Haha. Don't think i'm to the extent of OCD yet though, it doesn't have have to be totally squeaky clean, i'm fine with a little dusty. =)

So i shall show the before and after pics;

Before..

The desktop is at least 7 years old!

Boxes, boxes, messi-ness

After..

I reused the screen for dual screen!

Moved the boxes to the back and packed the cabinet

There's even a stool to rest my leg

As you can see, i started while it was still bright outside, and now it's totally dark. Haha. That's my major work done for today. Happy weekend!

Indigo sanctuary

My apartment is almost done! Still waiting for the study table to come, most probably next week before the furniture company delivers it.

In the meantime, shall post pictures of the kitchen, bedroom and toilet.

The bulbs for the standing lamp just came in today, it creates quite a nice ambience when it's lit at night. A nice orangey-yellow glow engulfs the room when it's on.

Nice and comfy bed

Neatly organized cupboards

The toilet..

The shower curtain matches the cups

The floor mat match matches the vanity top and cupboard..haha

The dining table..

I'm thinking whether i should get a carpet for it, somehow it doesn't feel complete.

The kitchen..

Love the rug

 

Some of the synchronicities, both the rubbish bin and the kettle were the last ones on the shelve. It was as though they were sitting there waiting for me to pick them up, which i did in the end. I had to convince myself that they were worth the buy, even though they are not the cheapest kettle or rubbish bin out there. Plus they look nice! Haha.

The rubbish bin is particularly interesting, because it has an infra-red sensor that detects when objects are near, and opens by itself!

Open sesame!

Hallelujah!

Another item that i indulged myself in is this knife set, which comes with a rotating base!

Chop chop!

Don't think i will ever get to use all the knives in the set though, but who cares as long as it can swivel! Right?

Shall post pictures of the living room after the study table comes. It's the final piece of the jigsaw, looking forward to it's arrival soon. =)

A new beginning

A new post for the new year, after a long hiatus. =)

A lot has changed since the last time i posted an entry on this blog. I changed job, got my own ride (technically not considered as i had one in Australia, but that wasn't really counted. Haha.), travelled to many countries that i've not been to, grew 2 years older, and last but not least, got relocated to the USA for work.

As i sit in my apartment now in Philadelphia, writing this post and looking back at how everything have unfolded in the past 6 months to get to where i am now, i am filled with a tremendous feeling of gratitude, love, faith, empowerment, and hope and anticipation for the future.

I've always felt that i will be working overseas someday, and it was a chance meeting with someone i didn't know then, in August 2011, that got me this job. Fastforward a year, when i was back from a work trip to Chile, a friend offered me a job to join his company. The offer was good and i was thinking about it seriously. Just when i was about to decide to go, my boss asked me to his office and asked if i'm keen to be relocated overseas as my colleague is looking to end her contract. Ahh, the synchronicities of the universe, i'm so grateful for her guidance.

It is about 2 weeks now, since i've been officially posted here, and i am feeling very comfortable and settled in my new apartment (apart from the cold). Somehow, everything doesn't feel all that new or intimidating, perhaps my time in Australia helped. Or perhaps it is in my nature to be comfortable with being on the move and believing that the universe will plan a smooth journey ahead for me. It is truly amazing how the universe made everything fall into place so nicely, even down to the bed that i have been sleeping on for the past 2 nights.

Moving ahead to my apartment, i decided to stay in the city as it is much livelier and it would be more convenient to get daily necessities. Below are the pictures of the apartment prior to moving in.

Front door: *roll imaginary pineapples in* Huat ah!

Come in turn right and it's the dining area and kitchen

Sink area

Stove area

Living room area

Walkway to toilet and bedroom

Bathtub area

Vanity area

Bedroom closets

Bedroom and windows

The apartment is not fully done yet, still waiting for a few furniture to come in, plus i have not decide on the final position of some of the furniture. Haha. I am very satisfied with how the apartment has come together so far. Even though i did not manage to keep within the budget, i feel that everything i bought is well worth it. I hope to show the pictures of the fully done up apartment in the coming days.

Thank you for everything. =)

Taipei Holiday

Last week was a long awaited trip to Taiwan with mummy and sister. The last time we had a holiday together was wayyyyyyyy back in 2008, during my graduation in Gold Coast. It was definitely a welcomed break away from work, a short getaway to recharge the body and mind.

A few photos below. Warning; a lot of eating pics.









Finally something non-food related!

Back to food again =)

On our last night, we went to Shilin Night Market to get more goodies for our friends and family back home.
It has been a truly wonderful and blessed trip filled with love. Thank you for the opportunity to spend so much quality time with my loving family, I love them all so much. Looking forward to the next trip already. Hug hug kiss kiss.