- category : observation -
Pheww, the last week was rough.....it was filled with so many unexpected events, some happy, some confusing, the others just plain sad. Let me start with the happy one first.
When I went to UPS Store near my apartment to get some stamps, the girl who helped me was a fashion designer and she immediately asked me how tall I am, and later asked would I be interested to become her model. I found this to be a great compliment, since she found my face interesting and my body size thin enough to fit into her clothes. Moreover, this meant a lot for me since my face was still filled with remnants of acne (you definitely know what I'm talking about) ^_^ . Nevertheless, I was happy!! We still haven't got together ever since, but we'll hang out soon.
The confusing but non-negative ones were just random. Some guy asking money for bus ticket (which I completely understand, I tell you; after all, I commute everyday from uptown to downtown for at least 1:30 hours per day!), another guy asked if I want to go to some info session to get the idea of their "business plan", the portable stove that the apartment manager promised me was actually more like portable oven, 3 times missing a train because the ticket got stuck, and the maintenance guy coming early in the morning to install some shower hangers.
The sad ones happened in the last few days, that's why I kinda lost my motivation to do anything, to the degree that I wanted to get away. Unfortunately, God has different plans for me this weekend, since apparently I couldn't get a ride to visit my good friend at Minnesota or Wisconsin. Perhaps another time......
I'll let you know what went wrong. I wasn't accepted into a university that I wanted, although up until this moment I am still unsure what the reasons were. I was hoping to transfer from IIT to another university, but the task seemed harder every day. Also, the thing with the info session was fine, despite I needed to be dressed in my business suit, rode a bus for 30 minutes, took a train for another 10 minutes, and ended up one stop away from O'Hare airport. The gentleman (who asked me to go) then picked me up at the train station with his wife. This part was an accomplishment, since I never actually travel that far by myself since I arrived at Chicago around 2.5 weeks ago. But it went downhill after that.
The info session was actually about a multi-level marketing company (I won't tell the name), where an Independent Business Owner (IBO, that's each and every one of them) would sell products via internet and coach other IBOs under them to get more money. It was fine until I realized how late the night had come. When I expected to be there for only about 1.5 hours had grown into the situation where I was stuck for 3 hours. Rather than thinking about the "business plan", I was more concerned about how to get home. There were some misunderstandings here and there, but eventually the gentleman drove me home. Of course, not after he asked me what time we should meet the day after. Sounds Ok? Well, it's not. It's really nice to him to drive me home, but to meet immediately the day after was too much of a strech for me. Not enough time to get things sink in, do you know what I mean? I was getting negative impressions, and as you can see, it will become even uglier.
At the meeting the day after, I told them that as for now, I would not be joining the team. It wasn't the right time for me, and I'm not willing to invest my (limited) money to mostly recruit people. It just wasn't my priority right now. The wife tried to coax me, saying they could get someone to help me start, but I also turned it down. Then the conversation heated when I told them I did some research about them in the internet and also talked with some people I trusted to hear about their opinions. One of the people I talked with was my boyfriend, whom the gentleman initially intended to recruit when we met at IKEA. When I told him we're not interested, he got defensive and asked what's wrong with multi-level marketing. It's legal structure to make money, why was I being negative about it, and even influence my boyfriend, etc etc. The thing is, I have NOTHING against multi-level marketing, it's just not for me! If it's working fine for him and his family, great! But not me! I got so upset and so insulted that I half-yelled at them, tapped my angry hand on a table at a Starbucks store. Eventually they gave up and we went to our separate ways.
I got so frustated and angry and dissapointed when I walked home, so I called my boyfriend. But it wasn't the right time to call him, apparently. A one-sided heated ramblings from me turned into an ugly conversation. Now we both got upset. This and that everywhere, I think I experience some degree of depression right now. It's funny 'coz I just thought that I had never felt lonely, well, here I am now. Broken hearted and depressed. I was hoping to go to Minnesota and met a good friend of mine there, but it won't happen.
Please pray for me guys, and if you wanna talk, you know how to reach me.
God speed and God bless.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Settle in Chicago (part 1)
- category: observation/enligtenment -
Before I know it, it was already a week since I arrived at my new apartment in north Chicago. Not exactly near downtown, as the distance of my apartment and downtown area is approximately 15 - 17 train stops that usually takes about 35 - 40 minutes one way. And even though I thought I made a wrong apartment choice since it is located right next to the train rail, the very same one that takes me to downtown and back (laugh). You see, even though it's convenient, it was very LOUD; I could barely sleep the on the first night. After further irritation during the next few days, it was plainly solved by closing my windows properly (laugh).
Before I know it, it was already a week since I arrived at my new apartment in north Chicago. Not exactly near downtown, as the distance of my apartment and downtown area is approximately 15 - 17 train stops that usually takes about 35 - 40 minutes one way. And even though I thought I made a wrong apartment choice since it is located right next to the train rail, the very same one that takes me to downtown and back (laugh). You see, even though it's convenient, it was very LOUD; I could barely sleep the on the first night. After further irritation during the next few days, it was plainly solved by closing my windows properly (laugh).
One thing became apparent as soon as I settled in my apartment. Since I spent most of my earlier days at home, I soon gave away to my ps2 addiction. Dynasty Tactics 2, Suikoden, SSX3, and soon Xenosaga. I'm now seriously thinking about buying Dirge of Cerberus and Dynasty Warriors 5, as well as Drakengard. For some reasons, I'm not that into Kingdom Hearts, so I cannot care less about their newest release. But FFXII, I need to think about it.
The other thing that also became apparent was that since I do not have a stove, it's kinda difficult to cook here. There are times where I was simply alert because I'm not sure what to eat that day or the day after. It gives me a renewed sense of how valuable a simple meal is. But now that the portable oven has arrived, I guess my life can be a little bit better after all.
Regardless of all these, what calms me the most is simply knowing that God never leaves me. Simple, unthinkable things that I deemed useless in the past have suddenly come to be very valuable. I cannot tell exactly what matters (since it will take so much time to explain; but I'll make another post next time), but it really is calming to know Someone looks after you even when you're living by yourself. In that sense, never once I ever feel alone.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Double Dragons ~ the girl who befriends dragons
- category : about me -
Hi again, this is a story about my rapid metabolism that I always have ever since I was little. I think it's pretty hilarious what a mind can do, so I decided to share it. Happy reading!
---
‘Let her eat more, she’s too thin,’ that was what most people told her mom whenever they had dinner on a restaurant and she got scolded for eating so much.
Her mom would try to contain herself at first and sighed. There was no way these people would understand that while her daughter ate like there’s no tomorrow, she was very skinny. For a while, she was suspicious that her daughter had a stomach worm, or a few of them. She tried giving her “Combantrin”, a medicine she believed to be powerful enough to fight stomach worms.
Alas, her daughter’s eating behavior showed no alterations whatsoever. So after some convincing, she gave up and just let her daughter ate what she wanted.
The daughter was happy because it worked to her advantage. It was true that she ate so much. The proportion of white rice and meat/vegetable that she ate was 3:1. Much to her delight, it was really difficult to her to gain weight.
She insisted that she had an explanation to her condition, that she actually HAD a stomach worm. When the “Combantrin” tried to kill it inside her body, it was too late. The worm had grown to be significantly larger……large enough to be a stomach dragon. Furthermore, as fate would have it, she actually had TWO of them. She called them “Double Dragons”.
In her imagination, her dragons ate two third of the meal portions and gave up the rest for her body’s metabolism. When the dragons were full, they slept. But when they were hungry, they would cause tremendous rumbles until she fed them sufficiently. It was a mutual interaction, you see, as the dragons gave her heightened physical strength in return.
So this girl and her dragons lived together for a long time. When she got in the all-girl catholic junior high school, she immediately attracted attention for her tall and skinny figure. However, she could not care less when her friends told her nicknames like “Scare crow”, “Sailor Moon”, or when they told her not to do any exercise lest her waist got cut off. All she cared about was the well-being of Double Dragons, whom she was getting fond of more deeply over the years.
That time, she was a girl of 5’9” and weighted less than 120 pounds.
Until one day, one of her dragons died. It was during her junior year at college that she noticed she could not eat as much as she used to. It pained her greatly that one of her beloved dragons died, and she could not understand why her dragon left so abruptly after years of existing together.
Without a dragon to eat some portion of her meals, she started to gain weight, although it was subtle. Living in USA had changed her slightly, as she started to develop more muscles and stamina as she exercised and danced. Her living dragon still as enthusiastic as ever; he growled loudly when hungry and slept peacefully when full.
She is now a figure of 5’10” and 130 pounds.
Looking back, she thought it was amazing to have such a creative mind for explaining an extremely fast metabolism that goes slower as she ages. Nonetheless, she still believed in her dragons.
She endlessly hoped to never, ever lose her one and only dragon. For everyday she woke up in the morning and was happy to be greeted by the loud growling of her ever-energetic dragon.
-Fin-
Hi again, this is a story about my rapid metabolism that I always have ever since I was little. I think it's pretty hilarious what a mind can do, so I decided to share it. Happy reading!
---
‘Let her eat more, she’s too thin,’ that was what most people told her mom whenever they had dinner on a restaurant and she got scolded for eating so much.
Her mom would try to contain herself at first and sighed. There was no way these people would understand that while her daughter ate like there’s no tomorrow, she was very skinny. For a while, she was suspicious that her daughter had a stomach worm, or a few of them. She tried giving her “Combantrin”, a medicine she believed to be powerful enough to fight stomach worms.
Alas, her daughter’s eating behavior showed no alterations whatsoever. So after some convincing, she gave up and just let her daughter ate what she wanted.
The daughter was happy because it worked to her advantage. It was true that she ate so much. The proportion of white rice and meat/vegetable that she ate was 3:1. Much to her delight, it was really difficult to her to gain weight.
She insisted that she had an explanation to her condition, that she actually HAD a stomach worm. When the “Combantrin” tried to kill it inside her body, it was too late. The worm had grown to be significantly larger……large enough to be a stomach dragon. Furthermore, as fate would have it, she actually had TWO of them. She called them “Double Dragons”.
In her imagination, her dragons ate two third of the meal portions and gave up the rest for her body’s metabolism. When the dragons were full, they slept. But when they were hungry, they would cause tremendous rumbles until she fed them sufficiently. It was a mutual interaction, you see, as the dragons gave her heightened physical strength in return.
So this girl and her dragons lived together for a long time. When she got in the all-girl catholic junior high school, she immediately attracted attention for her tall and skinny figure. However, she could not care less when her friends told her nicknames like “Scare crow”, “Sailor Moon”, or when they told her not to do any exercise lest her waist got cut off. All she cared about was the well-being of Double Dragons, whom she was getting fond of more deeply over the years.
That time, she was a girl of 5’9” and weighted less than 120 pounds.
Until one day, one of her dragons died. It was during her junior year at college that she noticed she could not eat as much as she used to. It pained her greatly that one of her beloved dragons died, and she could not understand why her dragon left so abruptly after years of existing together.
Without a dragon to eat some portion of her meals, she started to gain weight, although it was subtle. Living in USA had changed her slightly, as she started to develop more muscles and stamina as she exercised and danced. Her living dragon still as enthusiastic as ever; he growled loudly when hungry and slept peacefully when full.
She is now a figure of 5’10” and 130 pounds.
Looking back, she thought it was amazing to have such a creative mind for explaining an extremely fast metabolism that goes slower as she ages. Nonetheless, she still believed in her dragons.
She endlessly hoped to never, ever lose her one and only dragon. For everyday she woke up in the morning and was happy to be greeted by the loud growling of her ever-energetic dragon.
-Fin-
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
DoIT Tech Store blues
- category: observation/memoir -
Phew, finally settled down in my new apartment in Chicago just this weekend. Of course, that's a story for another post. But now, I would like to share the highlights of my experience working at DoIT Tech Store of University of Wisconsin - Madison. I resigned a week before I started moving my things to Chicago, so that was about three weeks ago.
I actually did not realize how much fun I had working there until I had to say good bye to everyone at Tech Store counter, Showroom people, Logistics, and even Help Desk. I felt loved by so many people I barely know, and I am forever grateful for that. All the fun, craziness, the Cantaloop song, my co-workers, oh man, it was so hard to leave them. But live moves on, and I will bring the memories with me always. Love you, guys.
In that accord, I would like to share some hilarious (and sometimes redundantly ridiculous) highlights from working at DoIT Tech Store. Here goes:
---
Scene 1 : The super awesome card swipe
(a group of Korean students came to me. One of them was ready to pay for an item on his hand. He put the item on the table in front of me.)
Me : Are you all set? Allright, can I see your ID?
Student : Oh, sure. (got it from his jeans pocket and gave it to me).
Me : (flicked and swiped it on my keyboard to bring up his information on the monitor. Computer gave a beeping sound.)
Student : Woah! Awesome!!
Me : ...
* Until now, I really could not understand why he said that. Was my card flicking that awesome, or was it something else? I guess I just need to keep guessing....hmm...
---
Scene 2 : Restocking fee?
(A customer came to return a headphone that's been ripped from its packaging. My supervisor always told me to ask the product manager for restock fee whenever there's an opened package return. So I went to the product manager.)
Me : Excuse me, how much is the restocking fee for this?
Product Manager : (seeing it was a rather cheap headphone) Huff....I don't know, five, or ten, or....I don't know, just let them return it. It's not that worth it anyway! (laugh)
---
Scene 3 : Do you uh, iPod?
Customer : Hey, how is it going? Do you have iPods?
Steve (my co-worker) : Yeahsureintheshowroomifyouwannalookatthemotherwiseit'sintheglasscaserightoverthere.
Customer : Huh? What did you say?
Katrina (also a co-worker) : (laughed) Steve!!
Me : (laugh real hard) You talked too fast!
Steve : No, I didn't.
Katrina : Yes you did!
Customer : So where's the iPod again?
Steve : Oh, it's in the glass case over there.
---
Scene 4 : The cool feedback
One of the feedback forms for the Tech Store reads as follows:
"The tech store people was very knowledgable about their products and professional. They always keep their cool even when dealing with difficult customers."
---
Scene 5 : Excuse me...
One day, a customer came to me and said, "Excuse me, do you sell sound box here?"
"Sound box?" I replied confusedly, thought something along the line of DJ sound box, real cool stuff.
"Yeah, you know, the box that produce sounds? Sound box?" The customer insisted.
"......Do you mean, speakers?"
"YEAH, that's the one!"
* On a side note, the customer was a completely adorable fella. He was rather clueless with English, and that explained the sound box thing. But his attitude was great, and although he eventually did not get to buy the speakers he wanted, he still left us on a positive note. A really nice guy, I tell you.
Phew, finally settled down in my new apartment in Chicago just this weekend. Of course, that's a story for another post. But now, I would like to share the highlights of my experience working at DoIT Tech Store of University of Wisconsin - Madison. I resigned a week before I started moving my things to Chicago, so that was about three weeks ago.
I actually did not realize how much fun I had working there until I had to say good bye to everyone at Tech Store counter, Showroom people, Logistics, and even Help Desk. I felt loved by so many people I barely know, and I am forever grateful for that. All the fun, craziness, the Cantaloop song, my co-workers, oh man, it was so hard to leave them. But live moves on, and I will bring the memories with me always. Love you, guys.
In that accord, I would like to share some hilarious (and sometimes redundantly ridiculous) highlights from working at DoIT Tech Store. Here goes:
---
Scene 1 : The super awesome card swipe
(a group of Korean students came to me. One of them was ready to pay for an item on his hand. He put the item on the table in front of me.)
Me : Are you all set? Allright, can I see your ID?
Student : Oh, sure. (got it from his jeans pocket and gave it to me).
Me : (flicked and swiped it on my keyboard to bring up his information on the monitor. Computer gave a beeping sound.)
Student : Woah! Awesome!!
Me : ...
* Until now, I really could not understand why he said that. Was my card flicking that awesome, or was it something else? I guess I just need to keep guessing....hmm...
---
Scene 2 : Restocking fee?
(A customer came to return a headphone that's been ripped from its packaging. My supervisor always told me to ask the product manager for restock fee whenever there's an opened package return. So I went to the product manager.)
Me : Excuse me, how much is the restocking fee for this?
Product Manager : (seeing it was a rather cheap headphone) Huff....I don't know, five, or ten, or....I don't know, just let them return it. It's not that worth it anyway! (laugh)
---
Scene 3 : Do you uh, iPod?
Customer : Hey, how is it going? Do you have iPods?
Steve (my co-worker) : Yeahsureintheshowroomifyouwannalookatthemotherwiseit'sintheglasscaserightoverthere.
Customer : Huh? What did you say?
Katrina (also a co-worker) : (laughed) Steve!!
Me : (laugh real hard) You talked too fast!
Steve : No, I didn't.
Katrina : Yes you did!
Customer : So where's the iPod again?
Steve : Oh, it's in the glass case over there.
---
Scene 4 : The cool feedback
One of the feedback forms for the Tech Store reads as follows:
"The tech store people was very knowledgable about their products and professional. They always keep their cool even when dealing with difficult customers."
---
Scene 5 : Excuse me...
One day, a customer came to me and said, "Excuse me, do you sell sound box here?"
"Sound box?" I replied confusedly, thought something along the line of DJ sound box, real cool stuff.
"Yeah, you know, the box that produce sounds? Sound box?" The customer insisted.
"......Do you mean, speakers?"
"YEAH, that's the one!"
* On a side note, the customer was a completely adorable fella. He was rather clueless with English, and that explained the sound box thing. But his attitude was great, and although he eventually did not get to buy the speakers he wanted, he still left us on a positive note. A really nice guy, I tell you.
Monday, March 06, 2006
message for Eveline
- category: miscellanous/observation -
Eveline,
in a blink of an eye, almost a month has passed since we last saw your tearful face at the Madison airport.
I still remember vividly when you finally passed through the security gate officers, who meticulously examined both you and your belongings despite the final boarding call of your flight. To tell you the truth, we almost screamed, "Just let her board the damn plane!!!" but decided to do otherwise since we didn't want to get caught ridiculously.
Instead, we synchronously (or at least attempted to) wave our hands and sang "Sayonara, sampai berjumpa pula" when you passed in front of us one last time, with only a glass wall separating us. You stopped for a brief moment, as if you wanted to tresure the things you would leave behind for only God knows how long.
Then, we frantically pointed to your gate, still blaring the final boarding call, since we didn't want you to miss the flight. When you eventually dragged your feet and ran off, that was the last we ever saw you.
Well....I miss you.
I know this post was long overdue, but everyday I reminded myself that I need to post a 'tribute for Eveline'. Not only because I promised you that, but more importantly because you, my friend, deserved it.
Your laughters, your cute attitude, your always-ready-for-camera smiles, your cooking ^_^, and even your mere pressence never failed to light up the room. Therefore it was such a frustatingly depressing moment when I stepped up to your embrace that day at the airport, when it finally hit me that I would need the gracious hands of fate to arrange our future meetings.
Many of us here loved you, Eveline. I think I'm just one of them. Time was too cruel to limit our acquintances, it was only one or two years I finally got to be a little bit closer to you. Nevertheless, I could proudly say that it was truly a blessing to get to know you (and no, I'm not being sappy, I'm dead serious). No matter where your life takes you, always remember that you have friends that will always welcome you with open arms. Then perhaps you would sail more calmly through those difficult times.
So Eveline, my dear, please keep smiling.
Your smile's worth is comparable to sunlight after horrible snowstorm in Madison.
So long my friend, until we meet again.
If perhaps fate would be so kind, we may meet again this summer.
Eveline,
in a blink of an eye, almost a month has passed since we last saw your tearful face at the Madison airport.
I still remember vividly when you finally passed through the security gate officers, who meticulously examined both you and your belongings despite the final boarding call of your flight. To tell you the truth, we almost screamed, "Just let her board the damn plane!!!" but decided to do otherwise since we didn't want to get caught ridiculously.
Instead, we synchronously (or at least attempted to) wave our hands and sang "Sayonara, sampai berjumpa pula" when you passed in front of us one last time, with only a glass wall separating us. You stopped for a brief moment, as if you wanted to tresure the things you would leave behind for only God knows how long.
Then, we frantically pointed to your gate, still blaring the final boarding call, since we didn't want you to miss the flight. When you eventually dragged your feet and ran off, that was the last we ever saw you.
Well....I miss you.
I know this post was long overdue, but everyday I reminded myself that I need to post a 'tribute for Eveline'. Not only because I promised you that, but more importantly because you, my friend, deserved it.
Your laughters, your cute attitude, your always-ready-for-camera smiles, your cooking ^_^, and even your mere pressence never failed to light up the room. Therefore it was such a frustatingly depressing moment when I stepped up to your embrace that day at the airport, when it finally hit me that I would need the gracious hands of fate to arrange our future meetings.
Many of us here loved you, Eveline. I think I'm just one of them. Time was too cruel to limit our acquintances, it was only one or two years I finally got to be a little bit closer to you. Nevertheless, I could proudly say that it was truly a blessing to get to know you (and no, I'm not being sappy, I'm dead serious). No matter where your life takes you, always remember that you have friends that will always welcome you with open arms. Then perhaps you would sail more calmly through those difficult times.
So Eveline, my dear, please keep smiling.
Your smile's worth is comparable to sunlight after horrible snowstorm in Madison.
So long my friend, until we meet again.
If perhaps fate would be so kind, we may meet again this summer.
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