Minneapolis-Reflections

This trip to Minneapolis sparked alot of internal debate within myself and made me reflect on the decisions that one has to make and how we actually come to that "life changing decision". Everytime when I come to Minneapolis, I ask myself and Jason, "how do you actually live here?". The question may be automatic once I touch down because I see the bleak, SUNLESS sky, or it could be the ultra cold weather, or it could even be the sombre and drab look of the buildings in Minneapolis.

When you were a kid or maybe some of you reading this post may still be.........making everday decisions were so simple such as "choosing what practise book to do for PMR or SPM" will probably be one of your toughest choices or what tuition classes to go to!!!!! As we grow older, I have come to realize especially the past few months, how many of my friends and even myself are at the juncture of making decisions, tough ones! For example, one common one I am hearing nowadays is "Do I stay in the USA/Australia/UK or go back to Asia/Malaysia?" or " I don't like my job now and really don't have interest in what I am doing, do I switch or just settle with this job, I mean it is after all a job right?"

You might be thinking, how does any of these questions even relate to being in Minneapolis? Well..........it has alot to do with it because if you were at a cross roads in your life as probably most of my friends are, how do you solve your endless questions on "where to live", "where to work", etc. To be honest with you, I am at that juncture right now and I believe you will probably come across these questions at multiple time points in your life.....

My answer to all of the above is:

Do what makes you HAPPY. Do NOT SETTLE for something because you think that thing is the best you can get right now.

In relations to Minneapolis, if I was about to graduate from there and I truly did not like to live in Minneapolis BUT I got a job there, the only company that hired me in the USA...... OR you have another option which is to go back to Malaysia because you also have a job there...... You know you feel happier in Malaysia but if you go back, you can never come back to look for a job.....what do you do?

Well...if you are reading this and you think this question somehow actually pertains to you, I feel that you need to prioritize what is important to you:

1. Why do you want to stay in the USA? Is it just because  "I THINK I will have a better life here" or " I may be able to get a green card" or "Although I don't like it here, it might get better, anyways, this is for my children's future"

I mean ARE YOU SERIOUS? If you actually think any of the statements I wrote above.....well....then maybe you need to RE-THINK your options. I did not pull these statements out from thin air but rather from my friend's mouths....If you are not happy and you are just SETTLING, I suggest you move back or to somewhere you know you will be happy and have a better quality of life(in terms of general well-being,i.e., emotional, mental). Think about it, do you really think you will be happier if you are not already happy now? And...if you are not happy, aren't you not having a good QUALITY of life already.....being unhappy leads to many mental health issues.

2. What is important to you right now? Is it your family, career, love life,etc?

Basically, once you prioritize what is important to you, somehow clarity prevails. For me, as I have mentioned before, my family is very important to me which already sealed my decision on where I would be after I graduate because I want to be closer to them, I don't think being 24 hours away or even 16 hours away helps. What's worse, only being able to see them once in 4-5 months. If it is your career, then you have to weigh the jobs that were offered to you in the USA and the one in Asia. Which will give you a better advancement? And at what expense are you willing to sacrifice your quality of life for career advancement?

3. Where are you happiest?

To me, this is the ultimate question. If you are not happy where you are especially where you are lonely, facing depression, but you are just staying because you think "this is the right thing to do"....well.....I say LEAVE! Do not think just by leaving a job, you can't get another one, or by leaving this horrible location,i.e., Minneapolis, Michigan, Iowa which provides me a job, you can't get another one. When there is a will, there is a way. Trust me, I have seen it happen many times with some of my closest friends. I am really happy to see some of my friends that are actually successful doing what they love doing when no one would even dare try to make it their careers, worst of all, some of themwere discouraged in the first place...

David Lai the magician is very successful!!! He perservered and manage to achieve his goals, and I know for a fact he loves what he does:)

Yee Ming! She is one superwoman ever since I knew her in high school but she is currently the captain of CHARM(Malaysian's cheerleading team), coaches and has made cheerleading a sport in Malaysia! This girl manage to make cheerleading her career!Amazing!

May Sze, my other half(she has the same name as me), she went after her interests rather than what was expected of her!! She had the guts and I know she will become a name to remember in the fashion industry soon!!!!

OF COURSE, MY MOM! She is an amazing lady!!! She studied for her real estate license which was really difficult, passed with flying colors, started her own real estate company AND after seven years, has a very successful and roaring business:) She truly is an inspiration! And you know what, she really likes what she does...

My trip to Minneapolis did not just spark my crazy writing spree and thoughts but I always look on the bright side of things. I got to spend time with Jason, visited a few places and had loads of rest. Below are some of the pictures I took while "sight seeing" in Minneapolis

The Normandal Japanese Garden

Once again, I was so excited when Jason took me to a Japanese Garden somewhere in Mineapolis and when I heard it was 2 acres, I was expecting it to be super huge and pretty, love Japanese styled houses and gardens:) Butttt....when we got there, everything was basically dead, hardly any greenery and the lake was still de-frosting....nevertheless, it was still picturesque?

                                            The Bentendo, hexagon shaped building

The lake and the three stone lantern at the corner(shipped directly from Japan)

Zig zag bridge. According to the Japanese, evil follows a straight line, and this bridge was designed as non-linear so evil spirits can't cross it....pretty interesting

Before heading to the flat bridge

Flat bridge, main focal point of the garden

Turtle and Crane island(look how cold it is, the water was still partly frozen!)

Jason in his contemplation post in front of a christmas tree.....kekeke

The Taiko-bashi(drum shaped bridge)

This tree WAS suppose to be the famous sakura tree...well...I guess now it is a yellow tree?

The square shelter which provides a retreat and an overview of the garden

Did you guys like it????I am sure it is prettier during summer...... Weird thing was that I doubt that was 2 acres of land....

OOOHHHH, I had to show you the cutest juices I found!!!! I was so excited, I bought the whole sesame street juices:) It tasted good too!

Next place I checked out was the Minneapolis sculpture gardem, apparently a tourist attraction. The only few things that caught my eye were these few sculptures I took a picture off for you:

This was the main attraction, a huge spoong with a cherry amidst a gloomy city backdrop

A mesh dome, with little ornaments inside the mesh, very artistic!

I loved this fish sculpture the most because it was sooo glittery but it was closed by the time we got there:( I manage to take a picture of it from the outside though...

Anyways, you can probably check these few places out if you happen to be in Minneapolis but I have to warn you first, remember to keep super warm!!!!! Once the wind blows, your face freezes over!!!!

For those out there who are making important decisions right now, I hope this post helped you in someway and remember this......being happy is a key to alot more great things to come! Good luck!

xoxo

Meiz

Blogger Boy

I am currently having my one week break of the semester, spring break!!!!!!!!!And.... I am over at Minneapolis visiting Jason...........yay!!!! that's the upside but.....the downside of it is that there is truly nothing to do here, so we usually stay in and watch tv...hehe....well..that works for me because this is one of the only times I get to indulge in doing something "relaxing" other than schoolwork, research or advising work.

So......................guess what I have been watching? I feel a need to write about this particular tv series becauuuuuuseeeeee.........it is a Malaysian made production and I was super impressed with it:) Both Jason and I have basically heard about Blogger boy because one of my closest friends Julie and her boyfriend Qi were in it. We never got a chance to watch it as we were in the United States, so we were browsing google for Malaysian made production series when Blogger boy came up. We downloaded the first episode of the series and we were like two kids, being soooooo excited because it was pretty cool seeing two of our friends on tv as other characters!!!!!!!!

With Qi(Budi) and Julie(Nina)

Good job babe!!!!!

Jason and Qi

Anyways, the first episode kept us coming back for more, both of us basically watched 20 episodes( the first season) in three days! For a Malaysian production, the plot was impressive, graphics were cool, there was a stellar cast(there was even Patrick Teoh in it), and.......................... it was a Malaysian made production(buatan Malaysia)....I am proud to say the least!

I personally liked the storyline because it mirrors love stories that happen in real life and the writer even integrated Malaysian culture, the "muhhibah-ness" (multiculturalism) into the whole story. For example,  there was a mixture of malay, english, and Chinese languages in the show. Furthermore, certain excerpts from the show such as Budi(main character) who is a tuition teacher is kind enough to bring his students back to his place for tuition when the tuition center was closed unexpectedly. In addition, Budi's mother made "goreng pisang" for the students to eat during their break made me feel nostalgic! I used to have tuition in my house and my mom does occasionally buy banana fritters or random tidbits for us to eat...ehehehe...... You know, the Malaysian way of providing food during meetings, breaks, or any event....I love that!! It's better to feed people and keep them full and satiated then hungry and grumpy right???? Although the plot was made in the modern times, but the incorporation of old fashion values such as respecting the elderly, being tolerant and having respect for one another's culture's, sharing, and many more Malaysian values were nicely intertwined:)

Goreng pisang(banana-fritters), yum yum!!!!

Jason and I are still really hooked on it, we have started watching season two where the plot and love triangles, get even juicier, with newly added characters! I highly recommend this tv series for everyone ESPECIALLY for Malaysians not in the country because it not only represents the trials and tribulations experienced by adolescents and young adults of modern Malaysians BUT it reminds you of Malaysian culture true and true! Hence the catch phrase "Malaysia TRULY Asia"!!!!hehehe......................

If you guys want to find out more about Blogger boy, you can actually check it out at their very own blogger boy website or on the 8tv website:

http://www.bloggerboy.com.my/

or more information can be found at:

http://www.8tv.com.my/

Have fun watching!!!! Tell me what you think aight once you have gotten a chance to watch it? :)

xoxo
Meiz

Uncle Bo's on St. Patty's day which coincides with Jen's birthday!!!

This is the first time I have actually been out in a loooooong time for a birthday or just about any event. For the past two weeks, I have been at home because I was terribly sick once again. I myself don't really understand why I fell sick once again, it could be the nasty weather, it's been cold in Hawaii with the crazy winds or my weak immune system???? Any suggestions on what I should take to build my immune system up once I get better??????? I am basically willing to take anything......

Anyways....Happy St. Patrick's day! Being the extremely blur person that I am, I was at school walking around campus and I happen to "notice" that everyone was in green. In my mind I was thinking "wow, everyone is so in sync with nature". Erm...............yeah right!!! You mean everyone is so in sync with DRINKING on their minds......hence green which actually relates to the shamrock(a three leafed plant), this particular plant  was used by Saint Patrick himself to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish.

I didn't know how big a celebration it was until I came to the USA. To be honest, I am probably like alot of people that don't know what the true meaning of St' Patty's day is except that it was an Irish holiday and somehow signifies that people have another excuse to go drinking?????????????? After reading about the true meaning of this holiday, I feel I should somehow highlight the fact that this Irish holiday was actually to honour the most well known patron saint of Ireland. A gist of how Saint Patrick day came about was that Saint Patrick himself was captured by Irish raiders and held captive as a slave at the age of 16, he was then given an escape route communicated to him by God back to England. When he arrived in England, he immediately studied to be a priest. After that, he went back to Ireland as a bishop to christianize the Irish who was at that time were practising polytheism(the belief in spirits). And, this lucky three leafed plant was used to explain christinaity to the pre-christian Irish people.

Interesting? That is up to you to decide but if you were out drinking, wearing green, and celebrating the Irish culture, at least you know a weeee bit about the history of this holiday right?????hehehe...Sorry if I bored you, I am a history buff!

As for what I was doing? Sadly, I couldn't join friends who were downtown celebrating at the many many huuuge parties that were going on all at once BECAUSE I was too sick to go out!! However, my friend Jen's birthday fell on the same day and I thought that I could at least go out and celebrate this special day with her:) We had dinner at one of the bars/restaurant/lounge near Waikiki. I have heard rave reviews about it being a chilled out spot where people like to hang out after work or school? So...here are some pictures and my reviews of the place?????

The bar was litted in pink

There were two rows of tables, and all the tables were pretty close to one another as you can see.....not suitable for a first date when you are trying to get close to someone and you can actually hear some juicy conversations next to you?

With the birthday gal....both of us as green as we can get:) I really liked the lava red infused lamps on the panel of the walls...gives the place a whole relaxing,local atmosphere....

Everyone else NOT in green????? Roland however claims his shirt is green.......we thought it was grey...so it didn't pass the "green color" test!!sorry!!!!!! maybe in a different light it would turn green in our eyes????heheehe

Moving on to the food....all of us were sooooooo excited! Oohinnnggg and aaahing when the food arrived like we hadn't eaten for weeks....!!!

Dynamite shrimp! Apparently their signature dish.....Not a fan though....tasted like any normal shrimps with mayo????

Spinach salad...price was a lil steep but it tasted super good, I really liked the added touch of strawberries...yum.....

Crab cakes, I think this is the best dish of the night and the rest agreed!!!! delicately done with the right amount of toppings

My huge opakapaka fish dish......Either I was sick or the dish wasn't really good but I felt that the fish and vegetables were too oily!!! Makes you stuffed(or jelak) really fast!The exterior looked better than the interior if you get what I mean....

Roland's lobster/crab dish was lightly seasoned and tasted good....

Too creamy for me but if you like spaghetti carbonara, I think you will like this. An interesting option with all main dishes is that you can include either rice, pasta, or french fries. How does someone choose?????? Jen did the smart thing, she asked the waitress what goes best with her dish, I highly recommend that to get the best taste out of your food

For all birthday girls/boys, you get a complimentary slice of cake and the whole restaurant knowing "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY"!!!!!! Happy Birthday Jen:) Hope you had fun!!!!

There were throw pillows and a couch next to our table which enhanced the ambience, I really liked that!!!

If you are somewhere around Waikiki and feel like hanging out at a chilled out local spot, I recommend Uncle Bo's especially after 9pm for pupu's, drinks and a nice chat with friends. They dim the lights after nine which makes the ambience so much more romantic and loungey........... If you are planning to eat dinner there, I only recommend it if you have a pretty deep wallet and want a good sized fusion meal(portions are huuuge).

Other than that, hope you all had a great Saint Patrick's day!!! I have also come to realize that many people in Malaysian are picking up on this special Irish holiday, especially the "drinking" part!!! hahahah......Have fun and be safe!!!!!!!

xoxo

Meiz

Cherry Blossom Festival- Good luck Cori Hanagami:)

What is beauty? This question came to my mind while I was watching the fundraiser event for the Cherry Blossom festival last Sunday. As I have attended a few beauty pageants in Malaysia, I was actually expecting the Cherry Blossom festival to be held as a formal event, probably in a restaurant where the contestants give speeches, a catwalk, very businesslike,etc. However, my first ever beauty pageant event in Hawaii was definitely an eye opener for me, it was actually held in an open air corner of a shopping center, with a stage set up for the cat-walk and a few tables in front of the stage. Anddddddd, contestant's families had to decorate the table they bought to show their support for their daughter, girlfriend, friend, wife who was in the pageant??? Interesting huh????

What I as an "outsider" didn't realize was that the Cherry Blossom festival was MORE than a beauty paegent. It was an activity or festival which is ongoing for months to educate the contestants who are Japanese American women about their heritage and culture. The contestants take classes on their cultural heritage which are sponsored by the Cherry Blossom organizers and even hold many activities and events for the contestants to share their experiences with other people(e.g., family members, friends). In contrast, pagrents in Malaysia do not have any beneficial activities or lessons to further educate their contestants(or not that I know of), rather the activities or appearances are more to promote sponsor's businesses. How different right? Maybe, I should start having pagents for educational purposes in Malaysia...ehehhe....

Initially it was raining, so all of us were basically rained on because it was an open air venue without shade????!!!??? Here are some pictures AFTER we were rained on.....

The Hanagami women. All so beautiful!

All of us here to give our support

At the "pupu"(Hawaiian word for appetizer) table.

Honestly I was dissapointed at the amount of food they had.....it was so little and there were throngs of people lining up for it!

Kendra's mother made this beautiful sakura tree:) Kirei desu ne(pretty in Japanese)......... And all those cupcakes wrapped in those boxes were made by Kendra and Jen....they were delicious by the way.....

Waiting for the fashion show....and at that point of time, very sick and cold from the rain too....hahaha...

Next up, show time!

A picture of the stage

Some of the contestants in outfits by Tori Richards

The next three outfits were from the "Wedding Cafe", I love their clothes!!!

This contestant in particular has alot of sass!

Stylish outfits!

Cori, you are a sure WINNER!!! Good luck:)

Kendra's mother on the right with another one of her home-made sakura trees! It's just so pretty and nicely done, filled with love!!! And all of Cori's supporters!!!!

Final round of catwalk, the next few pictures are actually last year's winners in wedding gowns...

Last year's winner

Some of the contestants lining up for the Q and A session. It was really interesting because contestants were asked to do silly stuff. For example, one of the contestants had to hand-wrestle another contestant, another had to walk down the catwalk acting like a monkey, and some even had to sing songs in English BUT using a Japanese accent!!! All the contestants were so brave and were able to do what was asked of them. Good job ladies!!!

Final pictures before we leave

All handmade take-home gifts made by Kendra's mother, Kendra and Jen. We all support you Cori Hanagami!!!!!!!

Watching these contestants strut their stuff, show their prowess really impressed me which lead me back to my initial question at the beginning of this post. What is a beuatiful person? Does it mean that woman has to have the perfect, eyes, lips, nose, body to be deemed as beautiful?????  Well, for me....... I don't judge a person's beauty just by the surface but from the many,many layers that make up a person too. If you know me, alot of people say I have "high" taste when judging whether a person is good looking or not? That is true, because I always judge a person not from how they look but for who they are............Therefore, I believe and know that all the women around me including my Mom, Grandmother, and girlfriends are BEAUTIFUL because they are all nice, confident, smart, kind-hearted and have the looks too!!! I promise you that I am not lying because aloooot of my guy friends have asked me, "Mei Sze, why must all your girlfriends be sooooo hot??" .....Well, because they are beautiful inside and out.....~wink~

Do you agree? If not, what is your conception of beauty?

xoxo

Meiz