August 20, 2009

Starting Summer in Taiwan

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Experiences Abroad: Greater Asia
Leave a Comment 

Taiwan 01

(Taipei, Taiwan) They played with jet engine in mechanics class

Global Initiative Symposium was great. It was the first time Taida organized such an event, with the intention of emulating SGS. GIS is Asia-centric and attracted interest of mostly Asian descended individuals. Kudos to the organizing members for their effort and hard work in trying to make this a success.

It was also the first time I had been to Taiwan, so I’m taking the opportunity to explore the cities in there. The only fault I find with Taiwan is the hot weather and the inundated Chinese characters on street signs with no English translation, but since there’s nothing that could be done, I’ll leave them aside.

Quoting someone from GIS, “Wow, did you just ran a marathon?” after my excusion in NTU alone, noting that my shirt was entirely drenched in sweat. I bow to the glory that is AC.

 

August 8, 2009

Childhood Lost (A Bit) and Gained

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Nostalgic Lu, Touristy Lu
Leave a Comment 

New York 01

(NYC, New York) Cheeky rascal likes to have his photos taken. He wanted to have a picture skateboarding through Central Park.

My last trip to New York coincided with Michael Jackson death. I was never an avid fan of him, but it is regrettable he died at such an age. His song certainly was influential when I was young, having a few friends who were fans of him. I was not aware of this incident until one by one, Facebook notices popped up regarding his death. Watching the news in the hotel room was never less inviting than this when everything was about him and it was pretty much predictable.

New York 05

(NYC, New York) The Miserable Ones. I think it’s befitting MJ, his songs lived on to be some of the most popular, at a price

New York 02

(NYC, New York) Demonstration at hand. They sealed up a road in the city center

Walking around New York was mostly to satisfy the inner child in me. It is not everyday that I got landed right in the middle of a bustling city with all sort of events going on. In fact, I hardly been to any crowded area for months prior to this. The atmosphere here is something to be missed. I hoped to return soon to catch up on other stuff I missed out. In the mean time, enjoy some of my favorite childhood love.

New York 03

(NYC, New York) Lego!!!

New York 04

(NYC, New York) Not M&M’s in particular. But I do have a rather sweet tooth

 

August 4, 2009

Sleepless Night to Cedar Point Pt. 3: The Rides of My Life

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Touristy Lu
Leave a Comment 

I intend to continue this as a photo entry. The photos should be pretty much explanatory, except for those exciting details in between.

Cedar Point 06

The journey continues. I guessed the figures provide enough explanation for how everyone felt after the walk. Interesting enough, this was not far away from the harbor. Perhaps, it really served as a cryptic message to remind all those on foot to seek for wheels instead. Regardless of the warning, the team managed to reach McDonalds for some rest (some fell asleep), breakfast and a place to clean up. It was a straight travel to Cedar Points from then onwards.Cedar Point 07

The rides there are scary; definitely not for the faint of heart. The Dragster is the ultimate thrill for a hair raising experience.Cedar Point 08

Another view from the go kart tracks. Surprisingly, I did quite (amazingly) well on the race court, overtaking and speeding off although I do not legally have the license to drive yet.Cedar Point 09

A view of another roller coaster from a high shot.Cedar Point 10

The ground at last. I wanted to go parasailing out there, but the flag was raise to indicate rough waves and all the water activities were canceled for the moment. How disappointing.Cedar Point 11

Snoopy on Ice. I really like this show. It was funny, relaxing, and down right comfortable in the theater. In fact, I like it so much that I went to watch the show twice. Truthfully, I was just seeking a place to sleep for a while. I was awake for quite some time since the early walk and my body just cannot cope with all the fun and excitement it can handle.Cedar Point 12

Extreme sport show. My personal favorite amidst the other attractions and rides. I even forgave the half an hour delay for their final show of the day. It was that good and the crowd were ecstatic in the end. I guessed that the crew wanted to give out something extra since it was the their last show of the day and it was spectacular. They changed most of their choreography since I also did catch part of their earlier show and it was just something special.Cedar Point 13

More night rides. My camera is starting to fail me at this time. It is not meant for night time shots and the results are grainy as the lights fade out.Cedar Point 14

What a way to end the trip. Another sunrise shot took from inside the train. It concludes my two nights one day of non stop excitement. I barely had enough sleep within the time period and most are dropping into a coma as the day ends. I believed that I stayed awake for the rest of the day after this and suffered terrible migraine in return. Oh well, there goes the consequences for trying to stick to no sleeping during the day.

 

August 3, 2009

Sleepless Night to Cedar Point Pt. 2: Dawn

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Touristy Lu
Leave a Comment 

Cedar Point 03

(Sandusky, Ohio)

Walking from Sandusky station to Cedar Point is very very tiring. I think I was walking for a few hours when the moon is high up shining brightly only for it to be replaced by the faint hint of incoming sun rays. Our entourage finally stopped to witness sunrise at a harbor.

Cedar Point 04

(Sandusky, Ohio)

The sunrise is amazing. On the other side of the harbor is Canada, and I’m witnessing the splendor of nature with a bunch of friends.

I meet a fisherman over there. I strike up a conversation with him as he was catching catfish.

Cedar Point 05(Sandusky, Ohio)

Turns out that he is fishing at the harbor because his boat was under repair. But life certainly seems good, he caught his first fish when I meet him and several more during our conversation. Cool breeze and beautiful scenery. I wouldn’t mind doing such thing once I’m retired.

And on to walk some more to my goal.

 

August 3, 2009

Sleepless Night to Cedar Point Pt.1: The Beginning

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Touristy Lu
[3] Comments 

Cedar Point 02

(Sandusky, Ohio)

It was a hastily made up decision, to have the thrill of a lifetime at Cedar Point. The idea was to have a trip with a bunch of friends, through bus and train, and plenty of walking distance.

Right after classes, I took the bus to train station. It was a pretty much uneventful ride, having to take a bus all the way to Toledo. I was trying to catch as much sleep as possible, anticipating the disruptive schedule I will have to get there.

Cedar Point 01

(Toledo, Ohio)

We played poker in the train station to whilst the time away. I believe it was actually the highlight of the whole ride there.

 

June 13, 2009

Catch Up on Life

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Happy Lu
[2] Comments 

I had been pretty free recently and so, I decided to brush up my cooking skills. I would secretly admit that my end results are quite good, but please do not expect me to cook for any of you any time soon. I’m trying to expand my repertoire of recipes to include more diversity in both cooking styles and ingredients. So far, I pretty much tried out some variety including the basic beef, pork, chicken, fish and seafood. But, I’d yet to try other type of meat due to the unavailability and price concern. I will venture out instead to experiment with cooking styles instead of the ingredients.

As much as I would like to reproduce famous chinese cuisines in my small kitchen, I found the time spent in the kitchen disproportionate with the returns. The reason behind my experimenting with food was to find more efficient ways of cooking in order cut off the time I used on preparing food, but so far I’d only managed 45 minutes on average. I wanted to be able to have warm food quickly by next semester because at the rate I’m going, lunch or dinner will take me around 1.5 hours from preparing the dish to consuming them. I viewed food as substance to keep me going, and would not actually be bothered with the minor details of appearances, just that it is edible would be sufficient. Sometimes, I would try out those complex recipes involving more man power in order to relieve those hometown taste on a whim. It cringed me when I realized that preparing to cook char siu took up so much time, but the end result did satisfy me. Slightly under par compared to the hawker stall version, but that’s because I could not bothered to prepare more caramelized char siu sauce since I used them up.

Perhaps, now is really the time for me to learn a thing or two from my mother about managing in the kitchen.

On the other hand, I’m pretty much involved with a still airing Korean drama, “That Fool”. Next week would conclude the whole series, and I could not wait to see it. The drama have an impressive cast, with two famous actor/actress are the two main leads (Kim Ah Jong and Hwang Jung Min), but its ratings are a bit in the dismal. Nevertheless, it would make a sweet romantic flick for anyone interested.

 

June 8, 2009

Chicago Rush Pt. 4: Food Galore

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Nostalgic Lu, Touristy Lu
[2] Comments 

Chicago might not be considered a food haven, by my standards. But deprived from the usual delicacies for the past few months have an effect of bringing back nostalgic taste. Indeed, my time in Chicago was spend indulging in feasts.

siew-mai

Dim Sum meal ~ Siew Mai, just the tip of the iceberg.

penang-restaurant

(Chicago, Illinois) Sorry, I could not resist. Penangnites, your opinions?

roast-pigeons

(Chicago, Illionois) My travel coincide with some of the coldest days in Chicago’s history. Even the pigeons are forced to decide between becoming frozen birds, or roast pigeons.

Sorry for the lack of quality in pictures. The weather was cold, and I was shivering while holding the camera. I was a glutton too, I would rather digg into the food than retake a decent picure of the foods.

 

May 30, 2009

Cooperation among ASEAN

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Event Lu, Rambling Lu
[4] Comments 

dr surin

During Asia Business Conference, I had the chance to sit right next to Dr. Surin, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and talked with him at a pre-conference meet up. Dr. Surin is one of the more inspiring figures I meet during the conference. His background as a Muslim from the Buddhist nation Thailand provide some sort of surprise for me. Moreover so when conflicts between Muslim in the South of Thailand and the militants are frequently reported not to long ago. As the SG of ASEAN, it was not surprising that he stressed on cooperation among the ASEAN nations, beginning from its students. To help among each other and to improve the relationships.

I’m a bit skeptical about his idealistic views but a reality check will show that communications with students of other ASEAN nations are a different story altogether. The only common theme I could point out is the youths’ fascination with foreign influence like branded goods. For his argument sake, Dr. Surin used the example of war of the worlds to exemplify what it takes for the ASEAN members to unify together. For the international students, the mere fact that they are outside their native countries and in a foreign situation is enough to substitute for the opposing enemy. And he admitted that the Myanmar issue is a pain in the butt.

I was pretty impressed by his opening speech during the conference. A trained economist he was not. However, it was the way he handled the questions hurled to him that showed his experience as a politician. I wished I picked a thing or two about being a diplomat. He was pretty suave in answering the questions and at the same time, giving out a friendly aura. Perhaps, I should put diplomat as a career prospect. It might help improved my non existing social skills.

 

May 26, 2009

Chicago Rush Pt. 3: City of Angels

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Happy Lu, Touristy Lu
[2] Comments 

chicago-macys

(Chicago, Illinois) Macy’s !

I visited Chicago cosmopolitan to look at their architecture. I must admit that my timing throughout the entire trip is not perfect, but perhaps, it was this sense of uncertainty that added some spice for the travel.

My train ride through the Metra was delayed because there was a homicide in the next station prior to my boarding. While the delayed was a nuisance and ate up significant time I could spared, being near a crime scene was indeed an excitement. I could not help but to try and lookout for the scene as early report come in that the person was hit by the train, or to another version, a gunshot.   Xiaolu and I looked out of the window, focusing up and down the tracks, and guessing whether the footprints that stopped halfway on the train tracks might have belong to the now deceased person.

Chicago was supposed to be the cultural center of the American Midwest. To a certain degree, I agreed that it was true. The many museums, cultural attractions, and unique Gothic architecture brought out the aesthetic appreciation in me.

chicago-culture-musuem

(Chicago, Illinois) “Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.” ~ Addison

I meet a friendly security guard in one of these museums. He was a nice chap, with a side hobby dabbing in photography. He offered to take a picture of us, and gave some pointers on interesting shots around the place.

My time spent walking around the city area was spent photographing memories as well as sampling the local culture, as it was during a celebration period when I visited. It was a time well spent. I do hope that I have more time to spare to explore the remaining areas. I also learned that Chicago is a better place to shop for high end products comparative to NY because the stuff are slightly cheaper and the salesperson more responsive even though I might not give out an aura of a rich social elite.

chicago-skyline1

(Chicago, Illinois) Frozen river. Amazing skyline.

 

May 25, 2009

Dream of Renaissance

Posted by Lu Yung Terd under Rambling Lu
Leave a Comment 

Chicago Statue

(Chicago, Illinois) Look at all the different faces.

Ever since young, I dream of remodeling myself. Shaping my whole personality, actions, gestures, facial expressions into someone I’m not. When I watched “The Pretender” when I was young, I used to think how cool it was to be able to transform into another person and fool the whole world with it. It was through this that I wished to be whole, to master and know a bit of everything. I wanted to be able to enter one day as a doctor, supervising the charge of another life and then, as a pilot the next day, planning my great getaway into the unknown. I recalled in a comic book that what gave Batman his edge was his ability to constantly rebuild his character. Breaking down and molding back something new.

It was a dream I suppressed for a while, only to relieve it when I watched Leonardo DiCaprio in “Catch Me If You Can”, an adaptation of real life story of Frank Abagnale Jr.. This character was indeed the great pretender, forging everything from checks, pilot license to a Harvard Medical School degree (or at least that’s what the movie showed). He was shown to have fraud around 4 million USD (real value at 2.5 million USD) at a time when converted to current dollar, is significantly larger amount. All these charges from when he is between 16 to 21 years old. I lived through most part of it with nothing that significant in my resume and wonder how far would I go by the time I’m 21. Now, Frank’s free from serving his time, and is a rich leading security consultant who works with the FBI.

It saddens me sometimes when I can take the path few took. I could be the next real life story of a person who is anyone. The only thing holding me back right now is the law and my conscience. I still dream of the dream, where I could slipped in and out of uniform and be anyone I want.

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »