In Motion

One of the things I enjoy most about having time on my hands is being able to learn more about subjects I'm interested in. Back in college days, I used to gripe about not having the time to fully delve into deeper understanding of particular topics that caught my interest due to practical considerations such as the lack of time and energy, or the fact that it wouldn't be asked about in the exam. Now I have the freedom to learn any subject of my choice due to platforms like Coursera and Youtube and the Internet in general. Yay for online education! I initially signed up for online courses to pad my resume, so I was on the lookout for courses related to my field. As of today, I have completed "The Clinical Psychology of Children and Young Adults" by the University of Edinburgh, and I am in the second week of "The Bilingual Brain" by the University of Houston. At the same time, I'm also signed up for "The Psychology of Popularity" by UNC Chapel

Here I am, at long last, blogging from our own place. For the past six months, we had been sharing an apartment with Jameson. While the stay has been lovely and the company's been great, it's great to finally get a place to ourselves. Beyond the obvious benefits of privacy, the temperature regulation(the air-con was always too cold there), and so much more space, it also feels like a milestone - this is our first apartment together since our marriage. So exciting! Right now it's summertime, and today the temperature is going to hit 34 degrees Celsius at some point. That's like Malaysian weather, but it's still bearable because it's not as humid here. For my Malaysian friends who have little to no concept of what a "less humid" place is, think of it this way - if you're in a shaded place, it's much cooler than being out in the sun, even if the light is just 1 foot away from where you're standing. No such thing in Malaysia, I know. =P .

I hate smoke alarms. I hate that they make me worry whenever I'm cooking, whether I'm cooking a hard-boiled egg or crepe batter. I hate that it's so loud and annoys other people as well. Having to apologize about the noise is just...ugh! When we get our own place, I'm definitely tampering with the smoke alarm so that it'll never ring when I cook again. I can't suffer this kind of embarrassment and stress for the next two years. It has traumatized me too much. I need to be able to cook in peace. Yes, you can expect me to die from an apartment fire. In other news, we're moving next Tuesday! How exciting!

Recently, a very close friend of mine from college got married. To my surprise, I actually felt like I was missing out on a major milestone in her life and the reunion of my classmates at her wedding. I also just got the news that yet another classmate will be getting hitched this weekend, but I'm too far removed geographically to share in their happiness. The weird thing is, I find myself actually wanting to share in the happiness even though I can't. I'm surprised that I feel this way now, given that I'm hardly the most sentimental person you'll know. I didn't mind my close friends not attending my own wedding. I didn't know what the big deal was about having close friends to celebrate with me because I just wanted to get the whole wedding thing over and done with. I didn't feel much loss when I was still in college and skipped the weddings of some coursemates - granted, I wasn't very close to them anyway. Maybe the degree of intimacy you have

Today's the first day of June. Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary, and we celebrated it over the weekend by making a getaway trip to Wilmington, a charming town just a 2.5 hour drive away. Photos and stuff are all on Facebook, so you'll only get words here. =P I can't believe how time flies. Jia Wern and I have been married for a year (!) already and dated for 7.5 years (yup, still counting). I've been here in the U.S. for half a year and don't really feel like an alien anymore. I've also learnt to bake, drive on the right side of the road, made friends at church, volunteer - all things that seemed so far away just 6 months ago. God has been so good to me. Just the other day, I kiddingly piled the guilt on Jia Wern for "ruining my career" and "making me give everything up for you". Whereupon he retorted, "For a ruined person, you seem to be having a lot of fun." I can't hide the fact that I love being here with hi