last blog for now.....

here i am, sitting here at 1.06 am eating Haagen Dazs ice cream from the tub (have to finish it tonight) and typing this last entry from our home on Stanford campus....

having mixed feelings now - the past few days have been very hectic, with my parents-in-law and brother-in-law arriving from Singapore on Friday for HL's graduation ceremony, which took place today (Sun June 17th), as we brought them around the campus, and also took a trip down to Carmel-by-the sea and Gilroy...

can't believe this day is finally here - when we have to pack up and say goodbye to this place that we called home for the past 9 months! Packing, as usual, is a nightmare, especially when your bags are filled to the brim with things bought over the past few months and gifts to bring back to family and friends in Singapore...

we are sad to leave here, but looking forward to catch up with friends and family back home! all we can say now is - sayonara, adieu, thanks for the memories!!!

gotta wake up at 630am - another 5 hours from now...

san jose day trip

we decided to hop on the Cal train for one last time for a day trip to San Jose yesterday, and visit the Tech Museum, for which i have complimentary guest passes thanks to my big boss who is a regular donor...

we managed to catch an IMAX show, "Hurricane on the Bayou", which is a documentary about Hurricane Katrina, http://www.thetech.org/imax/filmdetail/?movie=HOB&ref=current, and the importance of preserving the rapidly disappearing wetlands in New Orleans which have helped to block some of the hurricanes' devastation in the past.

the Tech Museum is great for kids to learn about science and innovation - we even designed our own bike and roller coaster ride!

lunch was at an original American's diner, Johnny Rockets, complete with hamburgers and milk shakes!

Japanese red bean cake

Japanese red bean cake garnished with (over ripe) raspberries

you can see the red bean bits in the cake

yesterday, after our trip to San Jose in the morning, HL went to play his first 18 hole golf game at Stanford's golf course with his buddies, Hide and Ben, while i spent time with Hide's wife, Yuki, and we baked a cake together, and chatted over English tea and swiss roll.

Yuki is one of the loveliest girls i have ever known, and she is really good at baking and arts and crafts (her apt is adorned with all these shadow box frames that she did, and I have seen and tasted some of her cake/dessert creations before).

I am getting this recipe from her and hope to make in Singapore. :)

Bike trip around campus

we have finally done something that we said we will do right from the beginning - to bike around campus!

you may wonder why we procrastinated for so long...well, one big reason is because both of us don't have bikes here! we belong to a rare breed of students/residents here on campus that don't own a bike. Rather, we have been relying on our leg power and the free shuttle buses and the occasional goodwill of friends who lent HL their bikes when he needs to get to someplace further.

the weather couldn't have been more perfect today for a bike trip. there was only one glitch - the bikes HL borrowed from his friends were way too big and the bike seats too high for me (short legs lah!). Even after adjusting the seat down, i had a bit of trouble navigating the bike initially, and fell down after a mere 5m distance! thankfully, i only bruised my elbow and scrapped my left knee, but the elbow is hurting quite badly now as i type this entry, and i garner yet another scar on my legs! :(

other than that incident, we had a great time cycling around, and went to a few places of significance which are pretty far from campus. 2 of them are the Mausoleum and the Angel of Grief which are the final resting places of Leland Stanford, his wife and son and a memorial created for Jane Lathrop Stanford's brother respectively.

we also went to a farmers' market near our apartment after that, and sampled one of the best popcorn I have ever tasted - light, fluffy with sweet and salty flavours mixed together! Yum!

check out the photos:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcNGThi1ZNGLDog

End of Course

8 June 2007. Today I checked off my final program deliverable.

By way of a presentation on a proposed business plan that my friend and I gave this morning signified a conclusion to the end of my 10 month MSc Program in Construction Engineering and Management here in Stanford. All I've to do now is to twiddle my thumbs and wait for the results due next week.

It'll be another busy week ahead, filled with packing, returning stuff, administrative work and getting in some final sight seeing, meeting up with friends and saying see you soon to all the good friends, before commencement happens next weekend.

We're missing this place already.

Goodbye exam stress...

trying to do some last minute studying at the train station while waiting for the train

again some last minute cramming of formulas during lunch break

...hello freedom

Yay, I have finally finished my CFA exams on Saturday! What a huge sense of relief! I am just so glad this is finally over and whatever the outcome, I think I have tried my best and happy to move on from here! :)