First Bloom of Spring

Spring is finally here! Yesterday was the first day of Spring, and it's time to ditch the coats and to air the shorts, skirts and dresses! I'm amazed to see flowers suddenly blooming out of nowhere, just in a span of 2 short days. On day 1 we see the buds appearing on the trees, and the very next moment, we see flowers covering the entire large plant. I never knew flowers take only 2 days to blossom; very fascinating!

Pretty yellow flowers greet us at the entrance to our estate.









Flowers sprouting on trees along the road leading to our apartment.












Most of the trees are still bare though. It'll probably take another 1-2 weeks or so to see Spring in full bloom! I'm anticipating!




Along N. Big Bend Blvd just outside campus, on my way home.

Bad Things Come in Pairs

I was sad enough that I had to go back to school (again) when I was barely having enough of the break, yet I was hit by a devastating news on the very 1st day of the Spring mini B term. I HAVE TO ATTEND SUMMER COURSES! Was looking forward so much to the 4-month long Summer break starting in May, that I was already counting down to it and making plans way before I could even smell it. Then the bombshell fell and flooded my vision with darkness. Plans to tour Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and L.A. with my parents are now put on a hold. I still cant decide if I should skip a week's lesson (which is a day in fact cos there is only a day class weekly) for the vacation planned, bring forward the vacation and shortened it considerably, or forsake it totally, which I am very unwilling to. Damn it! I just can't fathom why can't the school inform us much earlier of the requirement to attend the freaking Summer classes. As much as most of the visiting parents will like to tour parts of US upon arriving for our commencement, we the unfilial kids are now unable to bring them around cos classes start just 3 days before the ceremony. How unruly! Morever, since classes are only going to be held a day per week for 6 long weeks, can't they just compress the class schedule to 6 consecutive days instead, just like what we did for our foundation courses? I'm a lot more willing to go to school for 6consecutive Summer days, rather than once a week for 6 long freaking week, and forsaking all my vacation plans!

What's worst now is, I can't decide if I should still go back to SIN for a 2-week vacation. Summer courses end in June, and after our trip to NF and Toronto, I will only have a mere 6 weeks left before the Fall semester starts. If i were to spend 2 weeks in SIN, I will have prob only 3 weeks left to enjoy my STL life totally, after spending 1 week to recover from jet-lag. If I do not go back to SIN, I will waste that free ticket, and the opportunity to earn the mileage points. GGrrr...... I hate school a lot more now! Academic life sucks, big time!

Hate It!

The 3rd term is starting tmr, and I seriously dreaded it. It's gonna be the toughest and busiest term. Having the worst time-table to date makes me abhors school more. Classes starting at 11.30am everyday means I have to wake up early daily. And the worst part is, classes end at 5.30pm the earliest on Wednesdays, and the lastest at 9.15pm on Mondays! I have to be in school till 6pm on both Tuesdays and Thurdays. In short, this just means no time for home-cooked dinner on school days! How sick!!!

Count My Blessings

I am a lucky lady, to have a Hubby who brings me on holidays ever so often. At least for these 18 months. A glance at the magnets on my refrigerator, it strucked me that we have been to plenty of places over the past 8 months. Chicago last Sept, Colorado in Nov, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and NYC in Dec, San Francisco in Jan, and lately South Dakota last week (noting that we've arrived in STL only last Jul). We have almost confirmed 3 more trips over the next 9 months; Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and L.A. in May, Niagara Falls and Toronto in Jul, and lastly Florida in Nov. If the bank account permits, we may squeeze in a mini road trip over the Labor Day weekend in Sept. Though he insisted on not parting his money for that Chanel/ Miu Miu (which means I may have to forgo them??!!), I am still thankful for having someone who constantly plans and pays for my vacations. On a side note, I suspect this goodwill will last only for 18 months. Nonetheless, I am still a happy lad for being able to live off the Hubby during this short stint.

** Introspectively, perhaps Hubby had no choice but to bring me along on these trips. He yearns to visit as many states/cities as possible during our stay in the States, and I bet he does not have the guts to exclude me from his escapades cos my parents may castigate him? For all I know, he may be bringing me around purely because he has to since I am his responsibility, not because he wants to. That will be extremely devastating.

Ridiculously Cheap

TWC and I went to Plaza Frontenac once again yesterday. To our amazement, Mont Blanc was having crazy sales! Sunglasses and keychains at an astonishing 90% discount and leather goods at only 20% of its original prices! We all bought ourselves a pair of sunglasses each. Though I'm no fan of Mont Blanc, I couldnt resist paying $32 for a pair that cost $320 originally. Wanted to get Hubby a belt for casual use, but couldn't find any suitable ones. Instead, I found a keychain at a mere $11 as a gift for him.

I bet the sales staff had a love and hate relationship with us. 5 excited ladies in a shop, no doubt it will be rowdy. Plus the fact that we kept asking them for the prices of many of their goods since the prices were not displayed, we sure made their lives hellish by running to and from their PC. However they should be thankful that we wiped out many of their items. Not exactly me though, cos I controlled my spending; and that's because I have to keep some funds available for the next mega shopping spree coming up next weekend in Osage Premium Outlets! Woohoo!