Trip - To Get Married {photo diary} - Selected.

 

Us

I found this photo online and I love it.  It's us.

You know how in Lord of the Rings when the ring is destroyed, everything else is destroyed with it......

or in Harry Potter when Voldermort is killed, everything also comes to an end? 

Well, I think that's how I will feel from now until July 1st.  It's kinda great!  =)

Bookish Weekend

With Chris away on a business trip, I decided to spend my weekend in bookstores.  I hit up two major bookstores in town and did quite alright.

 <-- I bought this.  Chris and I will be going to Nepal and hopefully India after Europe and since I kind of have a feeling that there's not a lot of information online, I figured I'd get this and do some reading.

Nepal is gorgeous and according to the book or what I've read so far, it's an unique experience for travelers.  So, I do look forward to going there and can't wait to take in all the sights.

Next, I whipped out my phone and started doing some "photocopying."  This is one of the areas in Prague, which is where Chris and I will be visiting as well.  This guidebook was some crazy dollars and so I decided to do some active reading and made some camera-notes.

When I was doing this, one of the salesperson happened to walk by.  I wasn't sure if he knew what I was doing, but I finished what I had to do and moved onto another section.  Sneaky sneaky me.  

If Chris was here though, he would have acted like it was all normal and continued doing what he was doing.  But for me, this was enough stealing for one day.  Yes, indeed, this was really the reason why I decided to make the purchase above.  The guilty conscience wouldn't let me get away with it.

This bookstore I went to is quite high up in the shopping center, 9th to the 11th floor.  The view going up and coming down is quite something.  For those with acrophobia (fear of height), the view will make your knees weak.  Take a look!

  

We start from zero [weekend update]

A lot happened this weekend.  So, I'll begin with this...

Chris and I watched Iron Man 3 this weekend and as everyone said, it was really amazing.  It is indeed one of the best trilogies I've seen since Lord of the Rings.  The movie is 130 mins long, but you wouldn't feel it.  There were no slow parts.  Chris and I were at the edge of our seats the whole way through.

We loved it.

Prior to the start of the weekend, I also watched this movie below.  If you are interested, here the Link! to watch it online.

3 idiots was recommended by a colleague of mine.  He came by my office one day and couldn't stop talking about this movie.  He told me it's a must-see for all in the teaching profession because it wonderfully shows how students perceive education and the stress they go through in the process.

It is not one of the typical Bollywood movies though there are songs and dance.  It is a delightful movie with a great message:  Follow Excellence...Success will chase you, pants down.

You all have heard of this before.  Very often, our parents will discourage us to pursue the arts or the music or any other subjects because it will not get you a job.  They say, "You don't want to study that.  You won't get a job." 

Well, the point of this movie is the very opposite.  It says, "Study whatever you like.  If you love it enough and do it well enough, somebody will offer you a job for it."

I think it's a great message.  And as I'm heading into my last week of class, I will definitely pass on this message to my students. 

Now, to the last bit that I want to share with you in this long post.  Chris and I were on the bus heading to the subway station and we were discussing about our future, what we want to do after we come back...etc.  We kept going in circles and weren't able to work out anything.

Then he said, "From now on, I don't think we should talk about what are we going to do after the trip.  Otherwise, what would be the point of our trip?  We go on the trip to figure exactly that!  We will start fresh.  We start from zero."

We start from zero. 

I like that.  That's indeed how I feel.

Weekend Update

I've always liked Weekend Updates.  It's sort of my way to recap (and relive) the weekend and prepare myself for the work week ahead.  It's therapeutic.

This weekend, a friend of mine treated me and Chris to an Indian dinner.  He's Indian and happens to be one of my very good friends.  We had a party of five: me, Chris, him, his girlfriend, and his best friend.  It was a great gathering.  We started the meal at 8pm and finished at 11pm.  So you know - you just know - it was a great meal. 

It was fantastic having a local (him) with us because he was able to order new or authentic dishes other than the infamous Butter Chicken, which we still ended up ordering because it was that good. 

We had a great time and stuffed our bellies.  I was so full that I was having trouble falling asleep since the stomach was hard at work.  Chris, on the other hand, was sleeping like a giant baby.

The next day, we were still feeling the effects of the food coma and we just chilled, planned our trip, and ate McD's.  Of course, since McD's has always been our favorite. 

=) Another week ahead.  Take care, y'all!

Stillness of the night

I posted a similar quote before...

"In the darkest, stillness of the night, when you are left with nothing but the terror of your own thoughts, and if you find that you are happy with the decisions you have made, that you are alright with them, then you have made the right decisions."

I believe the credit goes to Nietzsche, paraphrased by one of the guest lecturers for my course from last term.

I loved this quote.  Recently, I've been coming across similar quotes on facebook, web pages, status updates....everywhere.  There's a saying that if you intend to look for something or if that certain something is on your mind, then you'll notice it or spot it more often than usual.  It's certainly true for me these days.

The term is about to end soon, precisely, at the end of April.  I have about one more month to go before the long-awaited plan becomes a reality.  Yes, an actual reality.  Our backpacking trip will begin on July 1st.  If you've been reading this blog for some time, then you must know that this is something I've been talking about for a long time now.

So, you have been on this journey with me too.

What will be in store for Chris and me?  What career decisions will I make after our 6 months of traveling?  Will I actually have the guts to pursue what I think is my dream?  

What's that, you ask?

A writer, perhaps?

Who knows.  

I will think about it in the darkest, stillness of the night. 

Choosing...

I was chatting with my coworker after class this afternoon and it got me thinking about about some things, hence, this post.

We exchanged the usual pleasantries and she asked, "What about you? When will you get married?"

So, I updated her on what's going on: the registration, the wedding in Taiwan, my grandma, and my travel plans.

She asked, So where will you settle down after the trip?
Me: We are not sure.  That's why we are taking the trip to help us decide.
Coworker: wow...that's really something!  Yes, should do this when you don't have any children.  Once you have children, you can't go anywhere else.  You need to stay home and take care of things.......

................she went on and on about it...and so I said...

Me: What are you talking about?  I will be jobless very soon!"
Coworker: It's good to follow your dreams.  I'm too old to do that now.

Which got me thinking in my head: "Too old?"  You are only a couple years older than me!  You are not old at all!

And then, I sort of understood.  As in all other cases, when Chris and I share our plans to our friends, they all look at us in awe and say Wow, that's wonderful!  Such a great plan!  I wish I can do that!!  But here's the thing and it is going to sound cliche, YOU CAN!

Chris and I are no different than most people.  We simply decided to do it.  We simply decided to stop, quit our jobs, [be selfish for half a year], and travel around.  There was no mystery or special trick to it.

We simply decided to do it.  And that was it.    So, what I wanted to say to my coworker was the same thing too.  If you want to, you can.  There's really nothing stopping you.

Nothing.

Friend from afar

A friend who I haven't seen or talked to for almost 2 years resurfaced again this weekend.  It began with a phone call, "Hello, can I speak to...."

I said, "Leonore!?!?  What on earth have you been up to?"

"I'm here with a research team.  We are doing some interviews on the democratic development / civil society in your city.  Do you have time to meet up?"

The next day, we met in-between her interviews at the university's Starbucks.  After 2 weddings and a baby (her new baby boy) later, us two gals were all caught up of nearly two years worth of life. 

She invited me and Chris to move to Shanghai.  In her words, Chris and I should "seriously consider it" because she believes that there are lots of opportunities for us there. 

Funny enough, Chris and I have always liked Shanghai, especially Chris.  We've visited Shanghai twice so far, the first time was for a student exchange program in 2006 and the second time was for Expo 2010.  In a nut shell, Shanghai left us with a very good impression both times.

At this early stage in the game, Leonore, Chris and I are all thrilled about the possibilities.  There's nothing like moving to a new and exciting city to begin anew and realize our dreams.

The way ahead

I received an email today from our department head informing us that the selection committee has narrowed down the list of candidates and will be conducting jobs talks in the coming weeks.

For your information, 'job talks' are interviews for academics.  We invite those who have applied for a position at our department to come in and do a talk with us.  Usually, these talks will last about an hour or so (which is open to the public) followed by a close door interview (which is only open to the selection committee). 

During the first hour of the talk, the applicant will do a 20 minute presentation on his/her research and the audience can then ask him/her questions about various topics: the actual content of the research, the research methodology, his/her teaching philosophy, or we can simply criticize/challenge the research and see how he/she will handle it.

When this part of the talk is over, we proceed to the second part of the interview, which is more about the nitty gritty stuff such as how many courses can the applicant teach, what are the applicant's qualifications, his/her research record...etc etc.

If this talk is done in the morning, then we may invite the applicant for a department lunch afterwards.  Or we may have lunch with the applicant first before proceeding to the talk.

Either way, it's a process.

So, when I got this email today, I had mixed feelings.  The first thing that came to me as I scrolled down the list of applicants was that I could pretty much guess who was going to make it and who wasn't.  The fact that I realized this was not very pleasant.

Second, I felt a sense of relief in that I was glad I was not going to be part of this process; that as far as I know at the moment, I was not going to continue down this career path anymore.  I've been doing this work for nearly 10 years now, so I was certainly glad I finally had the opportunity to move on. 

It's a nice feeling, really.  Finally, a chance to do something different.  It's almost a blessing.  =)

MIA in Taiwan

Sorry I've been gone for so long!

I just got back from vacation (10 days in Taiwan) last night and am now sitting in my office typing this post.  It was a wonderful wonderful vacation since we got a lot of stuff done.

I found my wedding gown.  Chris found his ring.  We confirmed the wedding venue.

Yes...the first part of my wedding will be in Taiwan --- only 4 months away --- eek!

Chris' mom cooked up a storm during our stay and with the company lunch and everything, I ended up eating a lot of good food...no weight gained =)

And Jenny (one of my very good friends) may be able to make it to my wedding!  Hurray!!

Randomness part 1

So, this may turn into a series of randomness, i.e. Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4, who knows.  But for now, let's just go with this title.

As most of you know, I just got back home from my holiday vacation (and yes, like the good girl that I am, I have already returned to work) on Tuesday night.  Work is fine.  I finalized all my marking and submitted the marks to the department.  As one of my colleagues said in his email, "Mission Accomplished!  Hip Hip Hurray!  Hip Hip Hurray!"

Yes, that's a little academic excitement for you.  =P

But Term 2 is about to start and I have prepared nil.  Yes, nil.  "Oh, I think I will just wing it" is never a good idea.  Never.  It never worked for me.  So, that means I'll go into hyper-work mode in the coming week and try to get majority of my prep work done for my 2 new courses.  I hope I don't get a large enrolment.  I really hope I don't.  

Anyway, the point of this entry is to share some randomness that have happened to me since I got back.  The truth of the matter is that I wasn't gone for that long, just 6 days.  But judging from what I have encountered since my first day back, it seems like I have gone to Mars and back. 

Here's why:

I was heading home from work and was on my way to get some take-out at my usual place.  They are usually very friendly people, always ready to greet you and take your order at the door.  But when I got there this time, things were a little different.  Yes, the usual people were all there, but they all ignored me.  I stood at the door for about 2 mins and nothing happened. 

So then I asked, "Can I make my order?"  No one even looked at me.   The women behind me took charge and went into the store, right in front of the cashier, to make her order.  And it was only then that they all finally snapped out of it and began serving all of us who waited outside. 

Weird.

After that, I was in line at the grocery store.  I had a basket with me at the time.  The old lady behind me started rummaging my stuff in the basket.  She was literally picking out my stuff.  She was like, "What's this?  Oh, ketchup chips!  And this?  Milk...oh, how much is the milk?"  I was so stunned that I didn't how to react.  I simply turned around, smiled at her, and told her the price. 

Isn't that strange?  Has that happened to you before? 

Weird.
 

The Silent Treatment

I was fortunate enough to spend a day with a group of very special people during my holiday vacation last week.  

As you know, Chris and I flew back to his home to visit his family.  What I didn't tell you is that Chris' parents are both deaf and mute.  At the beginning, especially during the first few times I spent time with his parents, it was very difficult to understand what was going on. Both Chris and his younger brother are 'fluent' in sign language.  So, whenever we sit together for dinners or whatever, there will be these hand movements everywhere.  And to someone (like me) who's new to this, it was quite overwhelming at the time.

But with time, I became comfortable with the whole environment.  I managed to learn few hand signs and have got used to the format of the language.  So even though I may not be able to talk to them, but most of time, I can understand when they talk to me.  And that's already half the battle.

So, on New Year's Day, Chris and I spent the day with his parents' friends, all of them are deaf and mute.  We went to see a flower exhibition and an 3D art exhibition.  I've met some their friends before, maybe once or twice, when they came over to the house for a visit.  But this time, it was different in the sense that I paid more attention to them.  I really tried to observe them, their behavior, their emotions....and I feel very very fortunate that I had this opportunity to see their world, get a glimpse, so to speak.

Chris said, "You know, they are very simple people.  They won't compare who gets more or less.  They are just very nice to everyone." 

I said, "Why don't they compare?  They are just like normal people like us.  Don't they mind?"

Chris replied: "Yeah, that's makes them even better than normal people."

It is true.  At the beginning, I have to admit I felt somewhat repulsive that I couldn't spent time with Chris alone on New Year's Day.  But at the end of the day, I realize I was the one who was so narrowed-minded.  Not to sound too cliche, but they really opened me up to a new world. 

A new perspective....which is not bad for the first day of 2013 at all.

Thanks a lot!

Dear Diary

We plan to stay in India and Nepal for a little bit over one month.  India and Nepal are our last stops in our journey around the world.  This is potentially life changing.

Chris: Maybe we can just stay there...or if we find a place that we like, then just live there.
Me: In india?
Chris: Anywhere
Me: [thinking] Funny....because I feel the same way too

So, will we actually do that?  Who knows.  But the point is that we are certainly not against the idea.  I certainly love the idea.

Chris says that we are actually buying time.  By travelling, we are adding time to our lives.  We are by no means wasting it.  That, after our trip, even if we decide to go back to where we are now and do the exactly same job again with possibly a lower income, we would have still earned something.

In his eyes, we would have earned our lives, our memories, our life experiences...a lot other things that we would not have the opportunity to do again if we don't do it now - when we still can.

I agree with him. 

That's why I'm becoming more and more excited about the journey.  8 more months to go.... =) 

8 months and counting....

Eight months from now, I will be fre-eeeeee!

Free in the sense that I will be jobless; I will be a married woman; and Chris and I will be on a 6 month journey to discover ourselves.....and come up with a brilliant business idea along the way.

Meanwhile, many of our friends, peers, and colleagues are also getting married, having babies, buying their first homes, and getting settled.

As all of you probably know, aside from getting married, Chris and I will be doing none of the things that our friends/peers/colleagues are doing.  Why?  Because we would have spent a substantial portion of our savings on the trip.  Though we will not be completely broke after we come back, but we will be far from stable, so to speak.

Of course, the decision to go on this trip around the world is not easy.  To this day, I still have some doubts about it.  Is it worth it?  Will it be as rewarding as everyone says?  Will I regret blowing my savings on a loooong vacation?  What if I don't discover anything new about myself?  What if I come back the same?  Exactly the same....but broke??

But most of the time though, I'm quite excited about the trip.  I certainly think I am very lucky to be able to even think about going on such a trip.  And to actually go on this trip and share the experience with Chris is just that much more amazing.

So, wish us luck! <3

Weekend Whews

What a weekend.....Chris and I are uber tired and exhausted.

Started with an early morning call on a Saturday morning (early for me), 3 hours on the train later, I arrived at the golf course.  I took a shot at the driving range and I clearly just swung like a robot.  That was to be expected, but it was great fun in any case.  Chris was, needless to say, amazing as he is with all sports.

I decided to take an afternoon nap while Chris headed over to the basketball court.  2.5 hours later, he was complete exhausted and we headed out to dinner with his basketball team.  All 9 of us, beer, 11 dishes, most of them spicy - that's how they like their food - and I was pretty much delirious at that point.  9:30pm, we were homeward bound and 3 hours later at 12 something, we were finally in bed. 

Whew!

7 hours later, another early morning call.  We got dressed and met up with my uncle and his family for brunch.  2 hours later, we were walking around town in the ridiculous heat and humidity.  I wanted to faint and Chris saw how I was suffering, so we decided to head home.

Ah...home...my allergies acted up again!

We had McD's for dinner and it was time for Chris to go home.  I was super exhausted and pretty much collapsed on my bed by midnight.

Whew #2!

Great weekend, though =)

to travel or to job?

Wrong question!

If you've been reading this blog for a bit, you probably know that Chris and I are planning to do a bit of traveling next summer.  We've been talking about it for months now and we are still talking about it =P

The problem is really me.  I've got this decent well-paying contract and I'm not quite sure whether the university will allow me to take off for half a year and then come back and resume everything as if nothing has changed.  If the Department lets me do that, then there would be no problem.

For me to be gone would mean that someone would need to take up my teaching load for the whole term.....and knowing what I know about my department, it's...a..bit...a...strain...in terms of personnel arrangement.  I might lose the contract all together because they could just decide to hire someone with less fuss. 

So, that's the internal battle that I've got going on recently.  Of course, I would love to drop everything and travel and see the world, but realistically, I've got a house I need to look after, a job I would like to keep, and you know, all the other important excuses.

So, wish me luck.  I hope I will make the 'right' decision in the end.

xoxo

BBQ

The weather gods were on our side and the BBQ was a success.  The location was beautiful, away from the city, and it's got a nice secluded beach.

It's nice to get away from the city and spending a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon with Chris was uber uber nice.

Very nice, eh?  

I had a great time. It was a really nice Sunday.  <3