Popcorn Friday!

I know it’s Monday but this title has been moving about in my mind since Friday. Why? Last Friday, I tagged along with my friends and a few Americans after dinner at Hubbell Dining Hall (Where else even though the food is revoking) for an American board game session at Morehouse. The game is called Killer Bunnies.

Never mind the game if you’re that kind of person who doesn’t like really really slow game. But if you do, google is all yours. It’s not that I’m bad at explaining things, which unfortunately is actually quite a fact, but it’s best if you learn as you play. All I can say is that the main aim is to kill bunnies that don’t belong to you, that’s why the name killer bunnies. Make sense?

Coming back, we get to eat popcorns while we played and the smell of popcorns was really aromatic. In addition to that, there was this similar burst of aroma of popcorn blasting through the atmosphere that tingled my nose hairs when I was on my way back to my dorm room in Goodwin-Kirk (we call it GK for short). So, having popcorn smells slapped twice on my face, HARD, I pretty much think that Americans eat popcorns on Friday, and therefore, led me to the title – Popcorn Friday! Yay!

In case you’re wondering about the food in Drake, it’s awesome. Trust me. It can make someone with a huge appetite go down with diarrhoea, then make him feel like vomiting every second the thought of Hubbell food flashes through his mind and not forgetting, instilling phobia and fear into him that he never takes food in large amounts no more. That’s how AWESOME Drake’s food is.

Yes, I had diarrhoea, then fever plus a headache which lasted for 3 days? It was tormenting and in this kind of freezing weather, it was hard recuperate. For those who’re in the US currently, drink more water and don’t get sick, blizzard’s coming! It’s easy to get ill but it’s hard to get out of it. 

On Saturday, the Malaysian Student Association (MASA) at Drake held a Welcome Back Party for all MASA members, and practically, you’re a member of MASA if you’re a Malaysian. So for the sake of meeting the seniors and other Malaysians to build up my network, I slept in that day just to make sure that all my illnesses were gotten rid of. It didn’t quite work but I definitely felt better than previous days.

The party was okay. It wasn’t like any other parties where there’s ample supply of beers and alcohols for guys to down just to impress girls, who then become all drunk and wasted and start puking at every corner they swayed to. Neither was there a disco ball hanging on the ceiling, brightening the entire room with rainbow colours while sweaty people squeezed onto the dance floor and started nodding and shaking along with the rhythm of the music.

NO! Not even close. This party was way laid-back than that. We did a little bit of speed dating. Basically new students us, were arranged to be sat next to a junior or a senior and we start talking for 2 minutes, then we move to the next senior or junior, that speed dating. Then there’s the game of matching characteristics, which I will definitely bore you to death even more if I go into detail. The benefit gained from the party was that you get to know more people along the way despite the corny and lame activities implemented to achieve that objective. So yea. No comment.

I was invited by Ken Vin, one of the seniors to this Saturday Night Supper thingy, which is on Sunday (weird) at one of the American homes for some home-cook dinner after I complained to him about the food at Hubbell when we were speed dating (sounds wrong but it was what we were doing).

On Sunday, I went without any hesitation just to get away with Hubbell food for the night and of course, to gain more experience of the American culture. It was a long 20 minute journey and when I stepped into the house, there were around 20 of us cramping in that small wooden American house, eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.

Although the food was almost similar to those at Hubbell i.e. rice, chicken, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, but it tasted way better. Love it. We played a little card game called President after dinner before bidding goodbyes to them folks and heading back to Drake. It was a great night! There’ll be one every Sunday night and I sure am going to all of them if I have the time. No, I’ll find time for it. =)

It’s snowing heavily today and yes, there’ll be pictures! But not today. Hee~

Till Then.

Weather Fun!

So, yesterday I had my first class in Drake University at Aliber Hall 0006. It was Theory Of Interest, the only class I had in my schedule for the day.

It started off pretty interesting with Professor Kester joking away, then it got a tad boring as he started going through the materials on the textbook. Your mind usually start wandering away when a professor does that but he was constantly trying his best to brighten up the class. Appreciate it much.

And there’s one thing I have to say, Americans can be really really smart. Never look down on them.

On a different note, the weather yesterday was beautiful. It snowed and the bald trees were smothered with powdery snow that when the wind blows, the snow came down as if it was still snowing. I didn’t expect myself to amble across Drake with a camera in my hand and start clicking away because PLEASE, I’m a student, not a tourist. At least I will feel pretty awkward doing that. So I took a picture of the scenery from my dorm room. =) Pretty?

I know I had to show you my uni one day, so I chose this day, Jan 20, a Wednesday, a perfect day for venturing out into the cold when almost everyone is still hiding themselves under thick comforters and snoring away, to bring back some pictures of Drake especially for you.

Why? You ask. This day was supposed to be the most hectic day for me each week, but due to the weather condition in Des Moines, (I don’t know about other states) freezing rain and yada yada, all classes are cancelled today.

You think I must be prancing around with joy. No. I had my sleep being interrupted twice and you know, waking up twice is not a fun thing to do. At first, I woke up at 7.30am to find that the earliest classes have been cancelled. I then hopped onto the bed and get on with my sleep. 3 hours later, I was awaken by the alarm and when I checked, the notice has been altered. This time round, the cancellation of classes was meant for the entire day. Are you kidding me?

Coming back on track, I covered only a few buildings but I think it’s sufficient to give you a general idea of how my uni looks like because most buildings look similar, with red bricks, windows and all. Not to worry, I will be back with more pictures, just to keep you waiting and to build up the suspense.

That’s all that I’m saying and I bet you’re swearing at me already. “SHUT UP NOW AND JUST SHOW THE PICTURES!” Sean, “OKAY OKAY!”

Olmsted Building, the place where I had my Drake ID done and where you can have Subs, Pizzas and whatever they have for lunch and dinner. Not buffet style.

This is Goodwin-Kirk, my residence hall. It’s also the place where I play pool with Hern Ee and Angus.

The black building on the right is Meredith Hall, where I’m going to have my Probability 1 class. Sorry I was taking from quite a distance.

Look how a cold weather with freezing rain can cause tree branches and every other things to be frosted up. The building on the right is Aliber Hall, where most of my classes would be at.

This is where Yi Yun and Lydia currently reside in - Morehouse. It’s right beside Aliber Hall as you can see from the above picture.

Yes! I was wearing a pair of slippers while taking those pictures.

These are the classrooms in Aliber Hall if you haven’t notice they are classrooms.

That’s all for today. Stay tuned! =)

Campus Life

It was just yesterday night I spent my first night in Goodwin-Kirk. The bed was very nice to sleep on and all the bed sheets I brought from home made my room feel very homey. It took me almost 2 hours to unpack all my things from 2 luggage and so I was tired and lazy after that. That’s why the slight delay of updating my blog.

I broke out of my daily routine of coming online after moving into the residence hall. There’s so much to do here and it is so much nearer to those places from the dorm compared to the house at Cottage Grove Avenue. For instance, there’re 2 pool tables at the ground floor of my residence hall which you can play for as long as you desire at zero cost.

Apart from that, Bell Centre which has basketball courts, badminton courts, squash courts, swimming pool, gym and so forth is less than 10 minutes walk away. If you are a sports averse person, then feel free to join the slew of clubs and societies Drake has or you could always lock yourself in the room 24/7.

As for the food part, it’s pretty much taken care of as Hubbell Dining Hall is once again opened for students. With a meal plan, you could enjoy the large variety of food HDH provides. And because it’s buffet style, you could eat as much as you can. Besides that, McDonald’s, Subway and Starbucks are now only a stone throw away. So if you were to get bored of the food in Drake, you know what to do.

This is what I did today.

I woke up at 10 in the morning and started upgrading my Operating System. Although it took me more than 2 hours to fully upgrade my lousy Vista to the awesome Windows 7, the result was satisfactory and it was worth the hassle and the waiting.

An authentic copy of the Windows 7 OS costs around $30 if you’re a student of Drake. Yes, as a Drake student, you get privileges like that. However, I didn’t pay for a single cent because Choon Hoe has a complimentary copy which I suppose came along when he bought his Dell back in Malaysia. I decided to give it a try and it worked! Boy did it feel good to have Windows 7 operating your laptop.

A little later after lunch, I went over to Bell Centre with Hern Ee for badminton. There, I met a lot of people, all Malaysians if you’re curious, and one of them was Ian. Finally get a chance to see him. I had a great time playing badminton, a game which I retired from more than half a decade ago, despite being thrashed like mad. It was fun.

Now this is something you won’t get very often. Chloe and bf came down to Des Moines from Ames for some beef noodles for dinner at this restaurant called A-Dong. So the bright shiny light bulb me tagged along. What? I haven’t seen Chloe for quite some time already okay.

So the beef noodles was really scrumptious and filling. Unlike the beef noodles you get in Malaysia, the beef noodles here are really beef noodles and not noodles with a minute amount of beef. The beefs were as much as the noodles I must say. And hell no I’m not exaggerating. I’m up for more. *hint hint*

At 10 something at night, I went down and had 7 games of pool with Hern Ee before coming back up to finally have some rest. What an exhausting day! =)

Pictures time?

That’s all. Byee.

Unfamiliar

Seeing that the number of viewers and readers have increased for the past 3 days, I decided to reward each and everyone of you enthusiast of A Comprehensible Affection with another update of my life in Des Moines. Apart from posting up words which I know most of you despise, I’m also going to upload some pictures I have taken on my trip to Des Moines and some, in Des Moines itself.

Before rummaging through the contents of my luggage for the transfer cable, allow me to talk about random facts about Des Moines and the people.

As I have mentioned, I am now staying with Hern Ee, Angus, and Pek Hong (a Malaysian girl whom I’d not mentioned) in a house, which is pretty huge from the outside but not from the inside, in 2801 Cottage Grove Avenue. This house in which we currently reside has 3/4 levels, however, due to the extremely unique design of it, all floors are not connected to each other. Meaning, there are no stairways in any of the floors which lead to the next.

In fact, each floor has its respective entrances at different sides of the house. Ridiculous as it may sound, it took Hern Ee long enough to know that Ian is staying in the same house as him but on the higher level. Speaking of Ian, I have not seen him for a little over a year now and still haven’t got a chance to see him. As the saying goes, so near yet so far, it can be very convincing at times.

After spending more than a day in this suburban, I realize everywhere could be just a stone throw away from everywhere. What also caught my attention is the design of the road, which made “getting lost” sound pretty absurd. Everywhere is a walking distance from everywhere but people don’t really walk much now because of the extreme weather condition, duh.

Since yesterday was my first night here and I was sleeping on a sofa due to insufficient beds, I didn’t sleep really well. I woke up at 7 in the morning, my earliest yet ever since God knows when, and turned on the laptop. Trust me, it was a long wait until those 2 boys got out of bed. I was so starved that at 2 in the afternoon, I barged into their room to inform them about my grumpy stomach.

Because I was planning to open an account at the US bank near Drake, we went to this place called Jimmy Jones for lunch. It was something like subway but they serve their sandwiches with French bread instead of those fancy Italian ones. It cost me less than 6 American Dollars (considered cheap if you give your head a smack and stop doing those conversions) and I really loved it. Not to mention, the portion was big unlike Malaysia’s Subway, where a supposing half foot long bread was served in less than 6 inch.

Then we got our butts to the other side of the road and went into a building which has a “US Bank” board, covered with white snow, fixed to the wall just above the entrance. It was really really a tedious process to open a bank account. I bet I took around 1 hour or more to get everything done.

It was already pass 4.30pm by the time we reached Olmsted Centre. It spoilt the plan of getting my Drake ID done when we came to a locked entrance door and a completely dark building. Since we were already out, we decided to pay Yi Yun and Lydia a visit. It was really nice to see them but their apartment was steaming hot, we didn’t couldn’t stay for long. It’s like the hot wind you get in Malaysia but without the wind. Someone could get suffocated in there, seriously.

We then went to McDonald’s for dinner, Woot~ The price was FUHREAKING CHEAP! They actually sell Chicken and Cheese burger for $1, FREAKING ONE AMERICAN DOLLAR. Now I know where to go when I’m starving, 5 chicken and 5 cheese burgers, please. Thank you. We stayed at McDonald’s for awhile before heading back to Yi Yun’s to deliver her her meal.

The night yesterday was a bit chilly, plus it was colder than previous nights but I can totally survive this. =)

Till then.

At KLIA

At Changi

I ate Burger King at 3 in the morning.

Look how empty are the food courts.

The entire airport was also empty at that time.

I was on my way to get my boarding pass at 4.15 in the morning.

I got myself a window seat on the flight to Hong Kong.

At Des Moines

Front View: The house in which I’m staying.

Side View.

I can See Snow everywhere~

Sean Arrives At Des Moines

After an excruciatingly long flight from Hong Kong, I arrived safely at Chicago O’hare airport to find myself in the midst of an emergency situation.

During the 14 hours flight, one of the passengers suffered from breathing difficulty I supposed. It was so serious that the flight attendant had to summon a doctor among the United Airlines passengers over the PA. After arriving at Chicago, we were all required to remain in our respective seats as the doctors rushed into the plane to the rescue of the patient. You get that once in awhile.

At the custom, the queue wasn’t very long compared to the queue I was in at KLIA. I quickly got out the necessary documents and hoped that everything would go well for me. Well, FML, things always don’t go smoothly for me, just like how I was put on hold for a week before I could get my US visa.

The immigration officer behind the counter greeted me and started punching down my info to the computer in front of him after I conveniently handed him my passport and documents. I sensed something went wrong when he’s taking a much longer time than supposed. After he was done, I thought, Great! I could go get my luggage, YAY!

Instead of saying Thank you, have a nice day, he told me to follow another officer to get my process completed. Great! What now? So I followed this officer whose name was Rolland or something like that, pass through all the counters right to the counter at the end, just like someone who was going to be detained. Freaky much? I was then asked to fill up a form that has “US Homeland Security” printed on it as the header. What is this all about?!

When I was done filling up all the details that I remembered filling for more than a thousand of times just to come to US to further my studies, I handed it to another officer and was asked to grab a seat. Okay, that means the hope of all is well went Kaboom because for God knows what reason, I was being held back. 

I sat on the aluminium bench and watched “NSEERS REGISTRATION” those two words ran through the LED board just above the counter over and over again for about an hour before being summoned to the counter again. Behind the counter, Officer Mitchell asked me for some biological verification and explained that if I were to leave US, I had to go through all the hassle again or else I would be illegally leaving the country. FML. No leaving the US until 2 years later then, thank you.

At gate F12 in Terminal 2, I boarded UA6225, a really small plane and departed to Des Moines at 4.25pm. Hey, it’s not as smooth as it sounds. The flight was delayed for about half an hour. The best part was that I reached the gate half an hour before the expected boarding time. Which added up to a solid 1 hour time of waiting.

So, I went to the wall, put me bags down, took out my laptop, sat against the wall and started blogging offline with Windows Live Writer cause the wireless service in Chicago Ohare Airport was just like that in Changi. This showed how useful Windows Live Writer is, okay? (This message is for those who chose not to heed to my advise). =)

Despite all the delays, I arrived at Des Moines airport just in time to see Siva, a senior Drake Student who’s also majoring in Actuarial Science and who’s also a Malaysian, walking through the automatic glass doors. I identified him with the Drake hoody he was wearing, Duh.

After loading my heavy luggage into the boot, Siva took me around University Avenue before heading to Cottage Groove Avenue, where Angus and Hern Ee now temporarily stay.

My tummy was grumbling ever since I landed in Chicago. So, shortly after all my luggage were stowed in the house, I went out with Hern Ee to this Chinese place which was a walking distance from the house. I must admit that the portion served here is bigger than that in Malaysia but the taste, obviously, wasn’t close to the standard of Malaysian’s food. Owh, and did you know that in US restaurants, they expect you to give a 15% tip?

I guess that’s about my trip to Des Moines. =) The weather tonight wasn’t freezing cold although it was –10 degrees Celsius. However, if there’s wind, then everything would’ve just been plain shivery.

PM me if you’re curious about how I’m really doing here.

Byee.

Fly You May

Just in case you haven’t been informed about my flight to the USA, I left KLIA at 8 in the evening yesterday. Booyah.

So I departed from home at around 3.30pm. Throughout the 50 minutes journey to the airport, I contacted some of my relatives yada yada to bid them goodbye. It wasn’t a tear-inducing moment.

Of course, I also received some calls. One of them was from my darling, Shermaine. It was so nice to hear from you and trust me, I’m starting to miss you already. =’(

At the airport, the queues at both counter E and F were like a gigantic anaconda. I wasted almost an hour waiting for my turn to check in. It added on to my frustration witnessing some immoral people cutting queues. They were supposedly late for the check in and were allowed to do so (cut queues). Might as well be late than early then.

After getting everything done, I buzzed Clement who had earlier arrived at the airport with his 2 other friends to send me off. We were getting ourselves into a really interesting convo when Elaine’s call hampered that progress.

Thanks for the call, Elaine. It somehow calmed me down although I’m not nervous, and you failed to make me nervous. I have to say this. You are so motherly! =) Not referring to your age but your concern and care. You know what I mean.

Arriving at Changi airport at around 9.00pm, I leisurely walked to the information counter to gather the information about subsequent flights and boarding passes. I then sat the sky train to Terminal 3, the terminal in which I will board UA896 to Hong Kong at 6.50am. Bravo! It’s 10 hours from then on.

Seeing that I had ample time to spare, I decided to explore around the pretty Changi airport. As I walked across the airport, I began to wonder how a not-so-pretty airport like KLIA could win the best terminal award.

Finally satisfied with the distance I’d covered, level 2 and level 3 included, I found myself a seat at one of the WiFi spots and started browsing through the Net with my laptop. Owh. In order to access to the wireless service Changi airport provides, you have to surrender your passport at the information counter and get a free account. If you are a hassle-averse person, bring along an internet cable. Then you can have free access to the Internet without having to log in.

MSN and Skype were the best way to kill time, seriously. And not to forget, Facebook. Half of the time, I was chatting with my friends and boy did time fly pass me! Thank you Clement and Qing Han for staying up late to keep me company.

Of course, my family were there too, to remind me of this and that and this and that and this and that. Never ending. Until finally, it quieted down when bed time came. I stayed awake the whole time. Imagine that.

Ate Burger King at 3 in the morning and got my boarding passes at 4.45am. It’s 5.53am right now. In just a tic, I have to get myself prepared to board on my next flight to Hong Kong! Till then.

Byee!

Ps: I am very proud of myself for not feeling nervous at all when it is my first time travelling to somewhere so far away from home, ALONE.  =)

Best NYE Celebration

So it’s that time of the year again, which I very much look forward to. No, it’s not Christmas, and No, it’s not New Year. It’s uncle Jak Boon’s house party!

In case you’re wondering who uncle Jak Boon is, he’s neither an uncle nor a relative of mine. He was an old classmate of my dad way back in Malacca High School. It is nice to see how they are still keeping in touch after so many years.

Just 2 years ago, uncle Jak Boon started taking the initiative to gather his classmates back from MHS for a bonding session at his spacious crib. This year was a tad different from previous years because he decided to have a NYE celebration instead. *He usually holds the party after new year*

Come to think of it, it’s a good thing he made a slight change this year or I would have missed the best party of the year. Good food, good environment, good people, good company… What else can you ask for?

It always have been a DIY popiah party because uncle Jak Boon prepares the best popiah sauce and ingredients ever. So far only praises were heard.

This time, the party comes with even more scrumptious food, Malacca Duck Mee! That was really orgasmic. I ate 2 bowls of it even after eating rolls of popiah. Felt like having more but oh well, have to leave some for others. =)

Wait.. There’s more. We had homemade sago layered with saturated Malacca sugar and soaked in coconut milk for dessert! Way better than the ones we had during PROM and the Thanksgiving dinner.

Tequila jellies were being served too. There were red and green jelly. The green ones tasted like Listerine, the red ones are just like the cough medicine you can grab from a nearby pharmacy. Both had some bitter taste to it. We were joking about the taste of the jelly when one of the uncles said, “The next colour that will be served is Blue(Viagra).” Funny much.

We had a glass of red wine each while waiting for the new year countdown. The wives clumped together and gossiped away. Some uncles and aunties joined uncle Paul as he played the keyboard and sang to the melodies of songs back in the 70s. I was pretty sure a pang of nostalgia swept through the entire living room then.

When it was half past 11, one of the uncles went around with a huge red plastic bag, distributing a bag of party accessories each to the olds and the youngs. That was pretty unexpected. Soon, whistles and party horns blasted through the living room, adding on to the cacophony.

I joined the fun and was later tempted to take pictures of cool uncles and aunties having fun playing with what are the kids favourite toys in parties. Hey, people of the older generation know how to have fun too yo! Don’t play play.

With the black box switched on, we countdown New Year together, shouting in decreasing order the seconds we had left to the new year 2010 at the top of our lungs. When the time was up, everyone was cheering, hugging, and exchanging handshakes, wishing each other Happy New Year. The atmosphere could not have been merrier with these people.

With that I had the best New Year Eve celebration ever. I really wish I have that kinda celebration every year. =)