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几个月前，Shell Malaysia 决定给我一个 job offer 在 Port Dickson 的时候，超信心兴奋，但是做不到决定，我应该留在美国发展还是回去呢？好不容易的决定。我很有信心如果我留在这里，肯定会有根好的机会，找到我很喜欢的一分工作，但是没家人在我身边。虽然爸妈一直叫我留在这里，但是，他们听到我在 PD 有一份满好的工作时候， 他们很开心。。那一时刻，我决定要回家了。。 一个好不容易的决定。。。 要放弃这里，离开二哥和这里的朋友。在这两年，遇到不少的好朋友，和关心我的朋友。。。不舍得。。。 还记得我买飞机票的时候，很兴奋但有个怪怪的感觉。或许我还没有心理准备吧。 But, there is no turning back! 决定了就不要去想了，有那么容易吗？现在，我还有一个星期， 时间过得好快。我还是觉得我还没有心理准备离开。。。 去自己面对将来， 面对我自己一个人的生活, 没人依靠的生活。。很舍不得，但没办法，人总是要放弃一些东西的。。。。 会很想念这里的朋友们！！    张琳珮要加油!
"Let's hope that one day, our future generations will never have to hear the word "CANCER" again...." The Spartans Relay for Life to fight Cancer took place last weekend. The AIChE was part of it, so I was part of it, too! Friday was the event day when the participants would take turns to walk round the Ralph Young Track from 3pm to 3pm the next day. Our AIChE team had 14 members, so each of us had to walk about 2 hours which was not bad at all! Krissy's and my shift was 11am to 3pm on Saturday but we decided to drop by on Friday evening to show our support! I got there at around 7.30pm and started walking with the rest of the gang till about 10pm and then it was the Luminaria Event....  This is the event where you write or decorate these paper bags in support of fighting cancer and light them up with candles.  In memory of my loved ones... It was not easy for them...  The opening ceremony of Luminaria was followed by a silent walk around the track to think about our loved ones being affected by cancer. That was the longest walk I've ever had. It was not easy for me, too.....  When it's all dark but there are still lights of hope. Never give up... Some of the luminarias were very interesting, like these....
 Against Breast Cancer  Never give up fighting against Brain Cancer!  All the way from China/Taiwan/Hong Kong...  The Chem E's walking... It was around midnight and we're still going strong!  Flush all the bad stuff away!!! Yes, bye bye Cancer!  50 cents monster cookies. They were delicious. Peanuts + raisins + M&M + oats = The perfect combination  The Ms. Relay Contest.  One of the sexy "ladies"  Another one attempted pole dancing just to get more donations...  There's always hope.  Our campsite for the night.
I left at around 1.45am with Michelle and Dave. It was all on Isabel and Chad to "walk" their shift out. More classmates were gonna come to take over after them... --The next day-- I got to the track at around 10.30am to take over from Ryan and Melissa. Krissy was my walking partner! We started walking till it was about 2.30pm, and it was time for cleaning up and the closing ceremony.  Guess what? We managed to achieve our $100,000 goal! We've collected $ 101,781.25 :)  The organizers had us walk the Final Lap... At this time we were in high spirits and even more pumped up~~ Go GREEN Go WHITE!!!  The happy Chem E's.... We managed to raise way above our $1,000 goal :) This was my first experience taking part in a fight-against-cancer event. It was definitely a really good one and was really impressed with the efforts by the Spartans. Wish I was involved in all these the first year I got here and not my final year! Nevertheless, I'll make sure I'll be more involved in all these events when I am back home in Malaysia.
Keep the fighting spirit going!
Holla! "Spartan basketball" - these words never crossed my mind when I applied to be an undergraduate student in Michigan State University, Also, I never liked watching NBA basketball games when I was in Malaysia. During my first semester in MSU, I was not exposed to any college game events... Later on, during the 2007/2008 basketball season, Zarraz started inviting me to some basketball games with her, which was AWESOME! We went to the games that her boss could not make it. From then on, I began to learn more about the rules, techniques, and of course the players and Coach Izzo. Last year, Zarraz and I decided to buy the 2008/2009 season tickets and be part of IZZONE! Oh my, that was one of the best decision I have made. We managed to attend every single home game except for the last one for me (Spring break trip to Florida). Also, I watched almost all our boys' away games on TV! Here comes the best part... We were the Big Ten Conference Champions! The last time we won it was in 2001.  Zarraz and I went to the Breslin Center to welcome our champions home!
 Our boys with Coach Izzo giving a speech, "Enough said"  My favorite player: Raymor Morgan So, you thought that was it? Big Ten Champions? No way! Our boys were pumped up for the NCAA tournament. There we went, as an underdog team... and guess what??? We were the Midwest Regional Champions (There are 4 regions in the US)!!  The Midwest Champs back in Breslin Center again!
So, what does Midwest Champions mean? It means we are in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament! One of the top four teams in the nation. It's showtime between Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels, UConnecticut Huskies, and Louisville Cardinals. The road ends in Detroit, yes, Ford Field which is 91 miles from campus.....
First it was Michigan State against UConn for the semis. I was with the rest of the gang in Breslin Center to watch the game on the big screens.
 All pumped up for the game! Yes! and we won!! We beat UConn 82-73. I managed to get student tickets to the Final game! It was the Spartans against the Tar Heels! Omggggg, I was super excited. It's gonna be me in Ford Field with the rest of the 82,000 crowd.....  Welcome to Ford Field. The 3 hours wait in the cold were worth it...  A tiny part of the crowd....  Yeah, that's Michael Jordan!!!! So the game got started and we lost 89-72 to the Tar Heels. I thought our boys played really well, but the UNC players were way too strong. They had like 3-5 NBA draft players that decided to stay back year to play and win the championship, I guess they really wanted to win and were the top choice to win. However, I am still proud of our players as we had no NBA draft players and we managed to be the nation's number 2. That's very impressive considering the fact that we went to the tournament as the underdogs....
 The Tar Heels celebrating... but the Spartan fans left the stadium feeling proud of our boys!
We'll be back next year with a stronger team! Too bad I'll be in Malaysia when the season starts but I'll definitely keep myself updated with the scores and cheer for the team from the other side of the world!
Go GREEN! Go WHITE!
Yeayyyy, so we had around 12-15 inches of snow one fine weekend, and we decided to.... build a SNOWMAN!!!  View from my apartment... Nothing much but SNOW!!  All White So. we started of making messing with the snow...  Start making snow into balls.... Hard at work... After a good one and half hour in the cold, was probably -10C if I'm not mistaken...
 It's Ah SNOW!! Wasn't that easy to build because according to some experts, the best temperature to build a snowman is when it's at -1C and not -10C!!!! The snow was just too dry...  The girls with Ah Snow...  The guys...  Probably my last snowman... :( After being done with snowman, it's time to play with the snow!  1-2-3.. Jump!  Trying to catch my bro.. (Notice how deep the snow is!)  I finally did a snow angel~~~ This was after the "practice session the night before... The night before.... Snowangel 101  1) Free fall onto a pile of snow!! (Make sure there's no stones, slopes around)  2) Keep moving your arms and legs up and down or side ways.... Like this!  Ta DA!!!! Snow angel! I think this was done by X! Nice eh! That's all with the COLD-WHITE but fun activities. Ohhh, guess this would be my last winter in the States! Pretty sure I'll miss the snow :(
Welcome 2009~~Thank you and Goodbye 2008!! Looking back into 2008, it was rough, but satisfying. Had lotsa "First time experiences"! School was demanding, but managed to pull through, wasn't that BAD after all!  The welcoming of Year 2008 at Zarraz's place...  Celebrating the start of the winter semester 2008
 Happy Chinese New Year!! Gong Xi Fa Chai~  Fifth time moving into a new apartment....Finally!  Spring break trip with the gang...Chicago...  Welcoming summer!! Woot, the SUN :)  Picnic at Lake Lansing  My first ever Paintball experience...  Mackinaw Island~ Missing that place now....  First ever camping experience at the Sleeping Bear Dunes...  the dunes...  Ohio trip, the Friendship Park...  First horse riding experience!  First time painting the MSU rock~ It's er ge's birthday!! Yeayyy, it's finally a break back home!! PENANG~~~  Finally, MUAKS! The strong support I had...  Awwwww, what more can I say?  First ever clubbing experience with 大哥 in the club! Back to East Lansing, Michigan...  First sunset experience, Yipeeee.  Happy Birthday!! I'm 21 now!  The ChE's celebrating my 21st! First time in the bar, LEGAL :)  It's the Chem E's Bar Crawl 2008..  It's the mini ADPian Reunion in MSU!  Alan and May's Graduation! Congrats! The end of the Fall semester!  Winter Road Trip with the gang...  Jay Chou in Mohegan Sun!! First concert experience!  It's Mr Harvard with us! Finally, it's almost the end of 2008, another countdown party at Zarraz's!
 Anticipating what Year 2009 has for us.... Probably we'll not be able to celebrate new year's eve again, but friendship forever!!!
So, I've been missing in action till recently... So, what happened? This semester I'm enrolled in a course, Process Design and Optimization I which is a senior design class. It's a 4 credits class, but I spend at least 15-20 hours on the projects everyweek. Till now, we've completed 3 projects, another one to go - which is the toughest :/ This class is all about optimization an engineering/process plant and $$$$$. After doing some rough hand calculations (NOTE: rough calculations doesn't mean it's easy! haha), we will have to plug in all the equipments and specifications required into a computer simulation called Aspen. From there, we will make some changes to further optimize the process. Sounds easy? This is what we get when we started messing with Aspen...  hmm, a big "X" there, bad news.... zoom in...  What does this mean?? It's a corrupted file? Aspen does not like your design? Fine, restart the program. Change the specifications...and..  Yeayy! It's working! No errors. (Notice the right bottom corner)
 OMG!!! I have 26,927 stages in my column??? That's WRONG!!! (Usually number of stages is less than 200, or else I'm gonna get a huge column!) Way off! Fine, after XXX times of modifications and restarting my program...  YEAY!!! It's working! Woohoo.. BUT, it does not meet the required specifications for the products, bummer. Must OPTIMIZE it!! I can't imagine when i take Process Design and Optimization II next semester. We would have to complete a huge, super huge project in a month!!
Another great birthday celebration away from home! Could still remember last year's celebration was at Zarraz's apartment, in which she cooked Penang Curry Mee, Tomyam, etc. 好好吃！  2007 年的生日。。 今年的生日还满 eventful 的。。。 22 号 11.30 晚上。。 TT 说要去 Meijer 买 groceries, 我觉得很奇怪，但是我们平时都会很晚很晚才去 groceries shopping。我们就去接 Pei Hua 和 Zhi Ting。谁知道我的好友们，突然出现在他们的家，拿着一个蛋糕， 原来是一个 Surprise Party 给 Zhi Ting 和我！ZhiTing (22岁，22 号生日), 我(21岁，23 号生日)!  没有准备德我们。。。谢谢啦！！ 23 号晚上。。 我的同学说要帮我庆祝我二十一岁的生日。在美国，21 岁是 "the legal drinking age", 所以他们比我还兴奋！哈哈。我们去 B-dups 吃晚餐， 然后去 Ricks Bar！  哈哈。。 Thirsty Thursday。。 脸开始红了。。 25 号晚上。。 还没庆祝晚。。 我终于可以在美国 Clubbing 了，当然要 Celebrate！和朋友们去 Apple's Bee 吃晚餐，二哥买了 Mango Moose Cake！哈哈，又有蛋糕吃！  2008 生日。。 吃饱了，我们就开始准备去 Excel！哈哈，CLUBBING！  哈哈，好开心的我们。。
谢谢大家让我过一个很有意义的 21 岁的生日， 虽然没有家人（除了二哥）陪我过生日，但是我从你们身上感觉到 “爱” <3。 有你们，我真的没那么孤单了！！明年的生日，还会有你们吗？？
Oh yea, more to come about stuff I did in Penang. As soon as I landed on Penang International Airport, dad called. He was on his way to pick me up, yeay... but... as soon as I got into the car, pau called me!! Haha, her clubbing kaki sudah balik laa. Ya, the long-planned "clubbing session" the next day right after I reach Penang was gonna happen!! And when I got home, Justin called, first thing he said was "Let's go clubbing, NOW!" haha, of course not~ I want to spend my first night home with pa and ma laaa. Ok, the excited-ness of the next day~ Met up with Pau and Steph for dinner in QB. Then went to the promenade near Jelutong..  all smiles... finally... *Ring ring ring* Phone call from Justin and the gang... Time to go MOIS~ Well, it was my first time there, so the experienced Steph and Pau lead me there....  the girls...  Steph, my sister, one who talks to me when I need to, advises me when I am lost, forces me to clubbing, too~  the Boey, Justin Boey... We know each other too well that we just hate each other! Haha. Boo!! Hmm, I dont seem to be red enough huh? But...  OMG!! Jong, 11 years of friendship and still going strong...  Yong Lin, better known as Pau. We just "clicked". Our theory: Clubbing made us become FRIENDS..  My Darling 大哥！Aint it just way too awesome to meet your bro when you're like half drunk? Love you bro!  Group pic... Eh, where are the rest? Believe me, my heart was "pip pip pop pop" when I saw all of them again~~ Oh, miss you all! A great night with great people. It wasnt the clubbing session that I enjoyed, it was the company :)
Howdy~ My trip back at Malaysia was just way AWESOME :) Uncle and Aunt from China came to visit, too. So took them sightseeing around Penang. First stop was the Snake Temple, then Kek Lok Si. Snake Temple!! Could still remember that I used to go there quite often but NEVER took any pictures with the snakes. So, this time, I decided to do it~  Haha, I finally did it~!!!! Guess what?? I made dad and his brother did it, to o!!! Oh yea, on the way coming out from the Snake Temple, there were a stall selling my favorite COCONUTS!! Yum, yum! 
Next Destination, Kek Lok Si Temple!!   Took the "Incline Lift" to the hilltop for a close-up look at the still-under-construction Kuan Ying statue. Apparently they're building a new Kuan Ying Statue because the previous one got broken or something. Oh yea, I heard that if we were to visit the Kek Lok Si during Chinese New Year, the lightings are really beautiful and colorful! Hmm, wish that I will get a chance to visit there one day!
This is so TRUE! Thanks you Patricia for sharing!! 我们大家都是华人！ 华人万岁！
1. You unwrap gifts very carefully, so you can save and reuse the wrapping. (and especially those bows).
2. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out.
3. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.
4. You save grocery bags, tin foil and tin containers. You use the grocery bags to hold garbage.
5. You hate to waste food: a. Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them. (your mom will give a lecture about starving kids in Africa ).
6. You have Tupperwares in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing. You don't own any real Tupperware - only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, take out containers and jam jars.
7. You have a collection of miniature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel.
8. You wipe your plate and utensils or wash them in a small basin of hot water before you eat every time you go to a restaurant.
9. You own a rice cooker and slow cooker.
10. You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it.
11. You fight (literally) over who pays the dinner bill.
12. You have a teacup with a cover on it.
13. If you're under age 20, you own a really expensive Walkman, if you're over 20,you own a really expensive camera.
14. You're a wok user.
15. You only make long distance call after 7pm.
16. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached - it means they're fresh.
17. You never call your parents just to say hi.
18. If you don't live at home and when your parents call, they'll ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.
19. Your parents tell you to boil herbs and stay indoor when you get sick. They also tell you not to eat fried foods or baked goods because they're heaty (yeet hay in Cantonese)
20. You email your Chinese friends at work, even though you only sit less than 10 feet apart.
21. You always cook too much.
22. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don't eat the last piece of food on the table.
23. You starved yourself before going to all you can eat buffet.
24. You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewellery or electronics or computers.
25. You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.
26. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin.
27. You know why this list consists of only '28' reasons.
28. You can take this message and forward it to all your Chinese friends.
一个很有福气的 writing!
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鹃鹃原本在美国工作，公司给她的待遇很好，再加上单
身，生活过得很逍遥。
前一阵子她住在台湾的母亲罹患脑瘤，开刀后复原得很
慢。
鹃鹃立刻请调回台，找了间公寓，把母亲接到身边就近
照顾。
鹃鹃不是家中的独生女，上有大姐，下有弟弟，但是只
有她放弃原本的生活，承担服侍母亲的责任。
她大姐偶尔给她一笔钱，当作是孝亲费，此外很少露
面，更别谈关心自己母亲的现况，好像出点钱就可以心
安理得的把母亲推给妹妹。
我们这些鹃鹃的朋友看不过去，纷纷提醒她要找大姐和
弟弟谈清楚母亲的事。
鹃鹃保持她一贯的优雅从容，静静的说：「照顾妈妈是
我的福气。 」原本为她打抱不平的我们，听了这句
话，顿时沉默起来。
难怪从来不曾听她抱怨，自认享有「福气」的人，怎么
会向人诉苦呢？
她总是耐着性子寻找适合母亲的饮食配方和复健机构，
珍惜与母亲相处的时光，鹃鹃忙着张罗都来不及了，哪
有闲功夫喊累叫烦哪！
在鹃鹃细心打点下，病情不大乐观的母亲，身体竟一天
天好起来，母亲想要康复的意愿也启动了，甚至会离开
卧房到屋外走走。
原本令人觉得沉重的担子，因为鹃鹃懂得惜福，居然化
作丰盛的礼物。
现在鹃鹃成了大家的强心剂，每当我们遇到困难，或者
受了委屈，习惯性的退缩、放弃、抱怨或指责别人时，
总会想起她的话。
在我们这一群朋友中，开始流行一种句型：「能多做
一点是我的福气。 」
「孩子不听话，耐着性子引导他是我的福气。 」 「挤
公车没位子坐是我的福气。 」
说这些话的时候，我们多少带着点自我解嘲的意味，有
时也是开玩笑，但不知不觉中，我们看待周遭人事物的
态度有了明显变化，原来好福气也是会传染的。
一句话
人生的成败，常常因为一个人、一件事，甚至一句话而
有决定性的影响。尤其对人有用的一句话，胜过千言万
语。
古今中外有很多人因为别人的一句话而深受感动，甚至
豁然开朗；由于「一句话」而改变一生的事例，更是多
不胜数。
美国著名的教育家和演讲口才艺术家卡内基，小时候是
一个非常调皮的小男孩。他九岁的时候，父亲将继母娶
进门。
他父亲向新婚妻子介绍卡内基时，如是说：「希望你注
意这个全郡最坏的男孩，他实在令我头痛，说不定明天
早晨他还会拿石头砸你，或做出什么坏事呢！ 」
出乎卡内基预料的是，继母微笑地走到他面前，托着他
的头，注视着他。
接着告诉丈夫：「你错了，他不是全郡最坏的男孩，
而是最聪明，只是还没找到发泄热忱地方的男孩。 」
此话一出，卡内基的眼泪不听使唤地滚滚而下。
就因为这一句话，建立了卡内基和继母之间深厚的感
情；也因为这一句话，成就了他立志向上的动力；更因
为这一句话，让他日后帮助千千万万的人一同步上了成
功之路。
「一句话」很容易说，但重要的是要能让对方受用。
给人一句好话，让人生命奋起飞扬，何乐而不为呢？所
以，人要常说：
第一、给人欢喜的话；
第二、给人鼓励的话；
第三、给人肯定的话；
第四、给人赞美的话。
多说好话，少说坏话。
不经意的一句轻浮话，有时会自毁前程，而一句关怀别
人的话，却能让沮丧的人有生存下去的勇气。因此人要
经常检点自己的口舌，以免破坏了好因缘。
原来你也很富有
有一位青年，老是埋怨自己时运不济，发不了财，终日
愁眉不展。
这一天，走过来一个须发皆白的老人，问：「年轻人，
为什么不快乐？ 」
「我不明白，为什么我总是这么穷。」
「穷？你很富有嘛！」老人由衷地说。
「这从何说起？」年轻人不解。
老人反问道：「假如现在斩掉你一个手指头，给你1千
元，你干不干？ 」 「不干。」年轻人回答。
「假如砍掉你一只手，给你1万元，你干不干？」
「不干。」
「假如使你双眼都瞎掉，给你10万元，你干不干？」
「不干。」
「假如让你马上变成80岁的老人，给你100万，你干
不干？ 」
「不干。」
「假如让你马上死掉，给你1000万，你干不干？」
「不干。」
「这就对了，你已经拥有超过1000万的财富，为什么
还哀怨自己贫穷呢？ 」老人笑吟吟地问道。
青年愕然无言，突然什么都明白了。
心灵导航
亲爱的朋友，如果你早上醒来发现自己还能自由呼吸，
你就比在这个星期中离开人世的人更有福气。
如果你从来没有经历过战争的危险、被囚禁的孤寂、受
折磨的痛苦和忍饥挨饿的难受……。
你已经好过世界上五亿人了。
如果你的银行帐户有存款，钱包里有现金，你已经身居
于世界上最富有的8％之列！
如果你的双亲仍然在世，并且没有分居或离婚，你已属
于稀少的一群。
如果你能抬起头，面容上带着笑容，并且内心充满感恩
的心情，你是真的幸福了。
因为世界上大部分的人都可以这样做，但是他们却没
有。
如果你能握着一个人的手，拥抱他，或者只是在他的肩
膀上拍一下。你的确有福气了。因为你所做的，已经等
同于上帝才能做到的。
亲爱的：如果你能读到这段文字，那么你更是拥有了双
份的福气，你比20亿不能阅读的人不是幸福很多吗？
看到这里，请你暂且放下书，然后非常认真地对自己说
一句话：
「哇！原来我是这么富有的人！ 」
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Happy July 4th!! Cheers to the long weekend~~~ Started off Friday with a bbq party at Tailo's.  A little tipsy already?  Then, it was Ching Ching and Alan's Birthday celebration! and....It's time for fireworks!!  Feeling like kids again!!  ain't it pretty? It was like celebrating Chinese New Year!! Hehe. Good night, more exciting stuff tomorrow! Good morning!! Ready for the Saturday activities? Let's get to the Silver Lake Dunes! As usual, we rented a mini-van (too many of us already laaa). Off we went to the dunes! Our first stop was the Rainbow Ranch Horse Riding!!!  Mick and Pei Oh yea, I was totally freaked out. The lady just made me sit on the horse, Mick and she went off~~!! She only said "Just hold on to the rein, and I will be back soon." Off she went, and 5 seconds later, Mick started to move forward! I wanted to shout, but couldn't because I remembered that I was told not to shock the horse or else, Mick might just go crazy. Haha. Then Ching Ching came over and rescued me by telling me how to control Mick. Thank You! According to our guide, Mick is... 25 years old already! He's older than me but he is a real good "boy". While most of the others had problems keeping their horses away from eating the grass, I did not have a whole lot of problems. I was also told that old horses are much more easier to control compared to the young and cheeky ones. Hehe. Next stop : The Light house and the beach!!  The girls  The guys  The guys again! Final Stop and the best stop!
 It's the sand buggy ride and...  the quad ride!  Group picture. Had sand all over... even in my mouth. nose, ears, eyes and everywhere else la! Ok la, time to go back to East Lansing....hang on, not yet... it's time for Tian Tian!!! Karaoke and dinner!! Yeay!! Good night!
什么东西会让你很开心？你有一百个开心的理由吗？
最近，看了很多 natural 的 happenings 让我觉得这世界很奇妙。。月亮不是每一次都园园亮亮高高远远的，有时候它会很低又很靠近我们的。好像可以 grab 它，然后收在口袋里面。彩虹！一个星期里面，看到 两次的彩虹！今天看到了，不是一个，不是两个，是三个彩虹！！！ 很开心，其实，要开心是很简单的。不必花很多钱，不必住在 bungalow, 只要我们懂得去珍惜our surroundings, nature...
 彩虹，很美吧？但是我觉得从 picture, 它只是一个“彩虹”的 picture, 没有什么的别的。。只要我们 google "rainbows images" 就会有很多 pictures 了。。 所以，"There's no use to capture 10000000 shots of a rainbow, a single shot captured in our minds/memory is just right"。 
看了这一个picture, 是一片蓝蓝而已吧？有什么 special 呢？但是，我看这一片蓝蓝的时候，当我站在它的面前的时候，我看到的不只是水而已，我可以听到 the sound of waves, 我可以感觉到 the winds, 我可以摸到 the waters... 我已经把那一个 moment capture 起来了。。 希望你们 have little images of your happiness :)
Holla again! Day 3/ Final day of our camping trip~ Both Zarraz and I got up earlier than the rest, so we checked out our campsite's trail - Bridle Trail (did I get the spelling right?). We had Zarraz's birthday cake leftovers for breakfast and headed off to the trail.  Breakfast... cool utensils huh? Okie, after filling up our tummies, we started walking along the trail.  Ready? Walking around with our "khun-sa"... with our... sleepy faces? LOL Then... the best part of the morning walk came... MOSQUITOES!! omggg... they were having a feast that morning! We forgot to apply some anti-nyamuk-stuff on us~ I was busy jumping up and down trying to shoo all those "bang"s away. So, we walked walked walked and walked...  Which way?  We took the road not taken, and arrived at a dead end! Made a "U-turn" and headed back to our campsite! Cleaned the campsite up, and did the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. READY for the Scenic Drive??  #1 The Covered Bridge What is it for? To protect wooden bridges from rain and snow. Cheaper to repair the rood than the bridge itself!  #2 Glen Lake - Nice blue waters Whose fingers? Zarraz Lee's! Thank you for your contribution in all these pictures. Those fingers really helped :)  Group pic :)  #3 The Dune Overlook
What's it about? One of the tallest dunes, about 200 feet high!
What can we see? North and South Manitou Islands, Pyramid Point, Sleeping Bear Bay, the Sleeping Bear Dunes, Glen Lake and the surrounding hills, to name a few.
 #4 Cottonwood Trail Why the sky? Because we did not get out of the car to walk along the trail! What's it about? Close look at the beauty of the dunes, but since we've already CLIMBED the dunes, we skipped it.  #5 Dune Ecology Looking at how the plants survive through the tough conditions on the dunes: strong sunlight, low soil fertility, drying wind action, wind erosion and many more.  #6 Leaving the Sand Dunes Leaving the dunes, and entering the beech maple forest  #7 The Beech Maple Forest  #8 Changes Over Time Statement from the brochure: Imagine how this land must have looked just after the glacier melted about 11,800 years ago. Answer from me: Flat land covered with sand? Now: A forest!  #9 Lake Michigan Overlook #10 The Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook BEST stops of the Scenic Drive  Overlook of Lake Michigan  My favourite picture!  #11 North Bar Lake What it formed? It is ponded behind a sand bar.. Huh? What other lakes were formed this way? Glen Lake, Crystal Lake, Elk Lake and Torch Lake!  #12 The Pine Plantation THE END!  On the way back to East Lansing... our thoughts were still with...  Sleeping Bear.... well, at least mine was :)  See ya!
 Good morning! Well, not really for me, as I couldn't sleep the whole night! Then Zarraz woke up at 5.30am... which means I've got company! We went to clean ourselves up and had breakfast. When we were all ready to prepare some breakfast for the rest....Oh shoot! .. All the food were kept in Tailo's rented minivan! Cannot cook! So, we each ate some granola bars made by me :) and walked around the campsite. Soon enough, we got bored walking around the campsite. No challenge laaa.. LOL.. We wanted to drive around but was afraid that we might wake the others up. Then... "TING TING TING".. both of us had an idea! We set Zarraz's car on reverse gear and pushed it out of our campsite and drove off! Woohoo! Crazy start to the day!  We drove to the Visitor Center to get some information, and then into the Empire town! Then, it was the Empire Beach! When we saw the beach, both the Penangkia's were jumping up and down like gina kia's! Hehe. There was a huge playground and SWINGS!! After "swing-ing" there for a while, phone call from Wei Yi.... mereka sudah bangun pagi!  As soon as we got back to the campsite, we started to prepare breakfast and lunch for the day! We had sausages, scrambled eggs and spicy tuna with bread :) Got Kopi-O also! I was thinking, "Erm, camping eat such good breakfast one arrr?"  After makan-ing, we were ALL set and READY for activities of the day! First stop, the Pyramid Point Hiking Trail. The hike up the trail wasn't supposed to be that long, but we took a longer time cause we were looking at trees and plants as we were walking. The plant that I liked the most was....  Okie, as soon as we got up the Pyramid Point, the view was just way too breathtaking to be described! The water was blue and the sky was... blue, too! From the point, we could see both the Manitou Islands, and according to Zarraz, if it was a clear day, we could see the wrecked ship in between both the islands. We did not see the ship :( but it was still a clear day with good weather!! :) See the colors of the water... So pretty horr??
After the trail hiking, all hungry already. Met up with the guys (they went fishing!) and had lunch by the Glen Lake and "phak jit" a little.
 Sun tanning session.. more like 3 roast pigs? LOL After lunch-ing, it was the highlight of the day! The climb up the Sleeping Bear Dunes to the Lake Michigan! The guys continued with their fishing adventures while we headed off to the Dunes! Yay! Oh well, it was not easy, it was challenging, but it was FUN! Altogether there were 10 dunes that we had to climb up and down... According to the parking-ticket-guy, it should take us around 3-4 hours and bring lotsa water to keep ourselves going! Okie, picture time!  It started out with four of us... but...  since MingWoei has already done it before, it was down to the 4 girls! Girl Power!  Are you READY??? "ya".... I cant hear you!! "YESSSSS!!"
In order to keep ourselves from thinking that we're tired, we sang a lot! From nursery songs to English songs to Chinese songs to err.... Negaraku and Lagu Pulau Pinang!! OMG! Haha...
 Ya, that's me.. Jumping up and down, walking like a drunk person...  Nope, we're not tired, YET!!  ERrrr, where are we heading to har? How come all sand one?? Got cactus ar?  Tired already? Not yet la, just posing for the camera nia... but... How long more to reach ar?  OMGGGGGgg, still got somemore ar??
Finally, presenting...
 Lake Michigan!!!!! Woohooo! You could imagine me behaving like a monkey the moment I saw the lake! All the sweating and ooooohh's and ahhhhh's were paid off! DETERMINATION is the word (Correct a not, Ah Ping?). Ups and downs in lives are expected, but if you do not try, you will not get to see what is ahead for you and you are DOOMED! No pain, no gain!  Monyet-Pei exploring the lake....  and got ourselves WET~~!! After playing with the water, we hiked back... it wasn't easy, but we were all very satisfied and proud of ourselves. We did it! Oh ya, we sang the "We are the Champions" song on the way back, cause....we really felt like one! It was all good.  Bye bye Lake Michigan! We'll be back. Met up with the guys at the campsite and we were presented with their 72 dollars fish...! Oh well, they spent $72 to rent a boat to go fishing... and since they did not have enough information on where is the best spot to fish, they managed to only get one!  The most expensive fish I've eaten in my life... but it was really really delicious!
Okie, after cleaning up ourselves, we started cooking for dinner!  Spinach with garlic !! Wah, why so "ho mia" one camping?? Got shrimps a not? "GOTTTT"  BBQ some food la. Fishballs! Potatoes! The 72 bucks fish! Sausages! When we were about to finish cooking, storm warning!! argghh... Run !! All of us went into the guys' tent and had dinner!  Food! Baked potatoes, fish, ham + chilli padi?, baked beans, left over cake.  What's life about? MAKAN laaaa! Everybody was super tired and the storm/rain was over. So we went back to our tents and tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags and... Zzzzzz... Good night!
Yo! Finally, another adventure of ours completed! The long-planned camping trip. It initially was the 4 girls' plan...but as usual, the whole kampung decided to join in :) which means more FUN!! Zarraz did most of the planning, from the campsite booking to the things-to-do to the scenic drive route. We left Lansing at 3.30pm, and was scheduled to reach the Sleepy Bear Campsite by 8pm... but due to the damaged roads cause by the storms, we arrived at 9pm! Tada! When first arrive, must set up tent first lo...  The girls' tent. Nice and cosy horrr  The guys' super dupiee huge tent! Okie la, after setting up the tent, hungry already. Time for dinner...and then, it was time for...the SURPRISE of the trip! It was Zarraz's surprise Birthday Celebration!! We managed to trick Zarraz into driving her own Black Forest Birthday cake to the Sleeping Bear Dunes! :)  Birthday girl with Birthday cake with Melody candle! After cleaning up ourselves, it was already 1am, everybody was tired. So, we went to "bed"!
Ole ole, c'mon everybody let's celebrate OLE Ole ole, raise the roof and sing OLE OLE Oh, da Football Crazy Days is BACK! It's the EURO 2008~~ Sleepless nights again, for those back home, but it's still better than poor-pei... No live telecast here! Can only keep myself updated through the net :/ Hmm...back to the FIFA World Cup 2006 days...
 World Cup Final - Italy vs France... went 2 hours earlier to the "mamak" to get good seats..!
 Hardcore Italy fan....
Oh...good old days huh?
Used to be a France supporter...cause Thierry Henry is there :) , but now he is only a substitute... So, I guess I'm going for... GERMANY...!! Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack, make me proud~~!!
It was May Chia's 2X birthday celebration last Friday! Yeay, I love birthdays. Miss Zarraz Lee came up with an idea to bake something for May....and it was.... Chocolate Coconut Macaroon!! To get details and step by step instructions, visit Teacher Zarraz's site. Since it was all of our first time making macaoons, there were lots of "healthy" arguments and discussions. lol. Oh ya, it was my first time baking... So, you can imagine the mess I made laaaaa.. haha.. Ok, after aroun d 2-3 hours of baking and fooling around, tada! Our products!   Looking at all those interesting designs, the love story between Alan and May Chia came up... PAST Once upon a time...  There was a boy called Alan Looooo...  and a girl, May Chia whom Alan fell in love with the minute he saw her...  Alan started to 追 May Chia but she rejected him quite a number of times... :/ However, Alan did not give up...  Finally, he "got" her !! They were an item...! yeayyyy~~~  Their first Valentine's Day celebration.. Alan gave May roses.. awwwww....  During their undergraduate studies in MSU, they met a bunch of crazy friends... together-gether, they went to Mackinac Island!! (the almond nut = island, shredded coconut = water.... use imagination!) In the FUTURE....  They decided to get married! yeayyy! and... pOOp.... Their first kid! It's a girl~~ (Sorry, there was supposed to be a chocolate chip there, but not clear la.)  pOOp, 2nd baby... It's a BOY!!  Poop! It's another baby boy!!  Their eldest son wanted a dog, Mr Loo, got him a Dalmatian.. (Oh, Almond = the spots on Dalmatians...)  Their 2nd son wanted a Dalmatian, too...  With 3 kids and Mr Loo, the big kid... the house was getting very "kelam-kabut" and messy. So, they decided to get a....  bungalow,别墅~!!! Alan Loo very rich harrr! 住洋楼，养番狗 (Almond nuts = bricks??) So, this happy family....lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER!! :)
Hola! Here we go, the long awaited trip to Mackinac Island ! We decided to make a trip there before everyone s tarts to leave M ichigan :( We started our 4-hours drive"journey" on Saturday morning, aroun d 630am :/ Halfway through the journey, as everyone started to get a little restless, we decided to stop to re -charge ourselves. While waiting for our Tour Guide, Datuk Alan Loo do his BIG bu sine ss in the washroom, we did this... 
The driving journey continues... and finally, we reached MACKINAC CITY!!!! We had to take the ferry to get to the island, which cost us $22 per person!
 and.... FINAL FINALLY-----> presenting MACKINAC ISLAND!  Since motor vehicles were NOT allowed in Mackinac Island, we each rented a bike to travel around the island.  Yeay, bicycles... I love cycling. haha. Tour de Mackinac Island officially begins.
 Cycle cycle cycle....
 Look at the horses... They are looking at me! :)
 Looks like Penang Bridge, eh?  The girls...  The guys... Ok, enough of fun.. Here comes the tough part... We had to cycle up some really steep slopes. OMGGgg, they were not easy.... Not to mention that sometimes, it rained a little, then back to sunshine, then rain, sunshine... bla bla. Also, it was really really windy and cold (~10 °C)  Tired faces, but still energetic.. I supposed. The journey continues...  A little high up the island. Pretty nice view... Still not tired?  Bro looked a little tired?  This was how high up we've cycled... Not really high LAaa hor? As ALL of us thought that the "naik bukit" parts were finished... NOooo! We were wrong, there were more to come!  Little "breaks" in between rides, while enjoying the beautiful scenery. After cycling for around 4 hours ( 9.5 miles!), we were back to the Mackinac Island "Downtown". We decided to walk around the shops along the street and get some souvenirs.  Bro got me "Ah Key" and I got myself a cap.
We took the 6.45pm ferry back to Mackinac City and headed off to get dinner. The guys then decided to "sun bian" try out their lucks in the casino next to where we ate.
Day 2
After checking out, we took a walk along the beach. It was FREEZING cold!
 Chilling...
 We left for East Lansing at around 1pm. Some of them decided to try their luck again in the casino. The rest of us who were not interested headed for EL first.,,  BYE BYE Mackinac... We will be back!
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