Random~~

though there's one more month to Christmas...

everywhere seems to be preparing for it already...

i'm always excited about it as usual...haha...

my housemate's a "Christmasy" person like me too!

it's a good thing that both of us in the house love Christmas~YEAH!

thus a slacking weekend this week,

turned into a Christmas decor shopping spree...

we were thinking of checking out the mall,

ended up getting quite a few items!

we just cant help it...

one, everyone's doing their shopping...

two, it's cheap to buy now with all the crazy discount...

three, there's sooooooo many cute, pretty, nice and unique stuffs...

simply cant resist them....it's just totally insane!

it's totally different from SG...

hey people, Christmas in US is really CHRISTMAS time!

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my apartment is already decorated slightly....

i think we will have more coming...haha!

ohh...i will be putting up stuffs in my lab too...

will post pics when we are done!

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Psst... it's time for you to get into the festive mood~

DON'T FORGET MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT!!!

Random~~

it's November...the cold is coming into Albany already...

as i'm making this blog entry, it's -7 deg Celsius outside!!

brrrrr.....

i think now is the period where it's really cold,

snow hasn't fall much...only some flurries during the week...

so not much activities going on too...

too early for skiiing,

too cold to be out,

indoor activities are the best to keep warm and have fun...

so somehow i'm "trapped" in for now! *duh*

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Thanksgiving coming in a week's time,

everyone is preparing for it!

most of the American will head back home for Thanksgiving dinner,

it's like CNY in SG but western version of it!

hmm...might be preparing turkey for Thanksgiving to get into the mood,

gonna find out how to make a nice one,

and the turkey here are HUGE!!

luckily we can share among the trainees...

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After Thanksgiving will be Christmas and New Year!!

Christmas is my all time favourite celebration...

OHHH...a white Christmas this year~*woohoo*

Xmas decor, lightings, gifts and making Frosty...

so looking forward to Christmas!!

Secret Santa gift exchange with project team on 19 Dec...

Crazy Eight gift exchange and Xmas Day dinner on 25 Dec...

HO HO HO

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year end is always so full of festive holidays mood...

it's fun, exciting and joyous...

at the same time, emotional and sentimental...

makes one thinking about the past and coming year,

thinking about your life,

family and friends...

*missing warmth in the cold*

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24 Oct - 06 Nov - Karen's visit

it's nice to have friend visiting you overseas!

Karen flew over for a short holiday...

of course...we had a blast hanging out~

Albany, Vermont and NYC...

too bad i cant take more vacation time from work.

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Rented a car for the weekend...

1st time using my driver's...

guess what!?!

they gave me a pretty awesome car....

it's a convertible!!

cool, huh~

it cost me $120+ to rent this car for 4 days!!

where can you get such deal???

heehee...lucky me~

1st stop: Thatcher Park

Been there in the Spring and Summer...
now in Fall, it's totally a different view!

Karen's enjoying the pretty foilage...

seriously those leaves are fun to play with...
they are dry and crispy...
the rustling sound from the fallen leaves can be soothing to ears!
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Adventurous road trip to Vermont.
it was my longest drive up till now...
a day out with crazy weather conditions...
and as a freshie driver that's harsh!!
heavy downpour,
foggy and dark road through the national park,
plus getting abit lost along the way...
but was a gd "training" for me!

at last we got onto the ferry crossing over to Vermont!

Our 1st stop in Vermont...

Vermont Teddy Bear Company

What a nice parking lot!!

The three happy girls...

excited to start running around the place!

we were "trapped" in the car for more than half the day...

going in to the Teddy Bear World...

this is the biggest you-are-allow-to-touch bear i have seen!!

the bear could hug me instead of me hugging the bear~

other huge Bear along the tour...

but no Touching!!

yeah~i got my teddy bear pin patch!!

2nd stop: Ben and Jerry Ice cream Factory!

in time for the factory tour...

i don't usually see so many varieties in stores...

hmmmm...they are hiding the nice ones!!

me in "pint-of-ice-cream"

well...flavour of the season!

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I went to NYC with Karen for sightseeing too...

it's better to have someone together to do stuffs...

so i was there with her for 2 days...

here is the STRESSFUL to be in now...

all the finanical crisis around the world will be reflected in this place,

New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street!

We went on a free ferry ride to see the Statue of Liberty...

the orange ferry that we rode on and...

the tiny statue that got everyone coming!

Brooklyn Bridge

one of the nicest place to stroll along slowly...

taking in the night view...

though the bridge is pretty busy with tourists and traffic!!

How could you miss a chance to go on a "Sex and the City" site tour?!?

here's our guide...Lou!

it's a very girlie girl tour...cos the show was for girls!

90% of the people on the tour were GIRLS...

all ages from all over the world...

one of my favourite spots...

the Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes!!

nice simple warm shop at a street corner...

Bleeker Street Park

a park in the city during the Fall...

don't you feel those fallen leaves makes it so unreal like a scene on TV??

Any place in NYC could be a scene that you had seen on a movie, drama etc...

but when you are actually at the location....

WOW...it's different!

you will be passing the place for Nth times,

you will not realise till someone told you so!

Maybe that's the power of NYC being able to transform itself through camera~

having yummy cupcakes by the park...

it's early to hit the bar in the afternoon...

since they bought us...haha~

time for a small drink!

nice Cosmopolitan at the bar...

well well well...

you don't get to see this often in US,

the presidential election!

we are lucky to be in the city when the action happens~

not a big fan of politics...only for today...

it's fun to watch all the happenings around!

30 Oct - 01 Nov 2008 - Happy Halloween~

Halloween is a big thing here....

everyone from young to old are involved in the halloween act.

preparations starts way a month earlier...

even in schools, they have Halloween celebration!

i got into the Halloween spirit too...

how can i miss the fun!?!

embracing the American culture,

i did a little bit of everything....

craving a Jack-O lantern,

making roasted pumpkin seeds,

Halloween night-out at the club,

and a Halloween dress-up party!!

the only thing i did not do was to go Trick-or--Treat 'ing!

hehe...too old for that... :P

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*Part One*

make my 1st Jack-O lantern

i got a pumpkin to crave from my PYO apples trip...

printed out the stencil...

outlined the "face" on the pumpkin...

dug out the "guts"....

and with the pumpkin saw and scoop...

i made it!!

it was easier than i thought....

i think having a lighted Jack-O lantern

really creates the feel of Halloween at home!

see pics....

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1101161&l=39164&id=742489079

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*Part Two*

checking out the club at Downtown Albany...

Jillian's one of the happening club around...

the club was so full of funny characters for Halloween!

sad that we weren't dressed up at all...

we had a fun and interesting night,

the live band, Ten Year Vamp was totally awesome!

one of the best costume for the night....

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*Part Three*

was invited for a Halloween party at Chris's place...

so excited about it~

1st and the only party for Halloween!

wooohooo~

Theme: Ultimate Dallas

(http://www.ultimatedallas.com)

Location: Southfork Ranch

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i have never watched any of the Ultimate Dallas series...

had complete no idea on what i should dress up as...

so all i could think of was being a cowboy or cowgirl!

cracking our brains (got Weiyee to help!) on it,

doing shopping with Weiyee at the last minute on thursday night after work,

it was so much fun with everyone in the mall

all with one thing common....

getting the right costume for Halloween!

i was happy to put together something to wear...

going around the mall in circles,

finally i got a cowboy hat, shirt and wig!

the best thing when you do your shopping at the very last minute...

there's sale everywhere!! i like it...

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here's my costume profile -

Before: Dark hair Asian Cowgirl...

After transformation: Blondie Cowgirl...

Which one looks better?? hahaa....

not much difference...cos it's still me!

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yee haw~ check out more of the Southern style Halloween...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46654&l=1d0d1&id=742489079