"Hello!" (universal saying in Asia that can mean "Excuse me", "Watch out!", "Look at this!", "Do you want something?", or more...)

So lately I've been really pestered about the fact that I had my return flight to the US scheduled for just 2 days after my last final, as people around me even start telling me "Oh, you're not going to be here for long, well, hope you had fun..." Sometimes I was losing sleep over it, so I finally emailed my Mr. Fix-Everything-for-Me-Because-He's-So-Damn-Good Papa and asked him to call Cathay Pacific to see if they could do something for me. And guess what? Now I'm leaving a week later!!! And for NO extra charge!! Apparently Cathay is having a special offer for flights to the US, and they had a lot of available seats on May 14th, so they just moved me to that flight. YES!!!! I am so ready, so ready, so reeeeady... let the party never end!

Now I don't have to sneak away from studying for finals as much. I would just feel bad about doing that, although apparently other exchange students have very little qualms. So I'll maybe join them at times as well during the reading week. Now just have to decide where I want to go.

Again I don't know where to start with Singapore updates. Will say first though, my sister got into Rice!! Well, we sort of already knew that was safe to assume she would get in, but she definitely got in with style. Tons of merit-based scholarships were offered to her... practically a free ride... makes me look like the retard of the siblings, damn. Don't think she would choose Rice over some of the Ivies like Harvard and Yale, but I've still got a little time to change her mind if she gets into those as well haha.

So last weekend went to a "Francophile" dinner, where the NUS French-speaking club was having a gathering at a local French restaurant. Didn't speak any French at all haha, but it was nice to have a little French food in Asia for once. Emphasis on the word "little", typical French. After that meal I had to go out again and eat some more because I was still hungry.

The next day went to a Korean BBQ/hot-pot buffet place, pretty good. Met with some regular friends as well as an American guy who came to NUS on exchange like I am a few years ago, and now he is living here teaching English. Pretty cool. We ate a ton, too, because it was a buffet, so I made up for the previous night's dinner. I think we ate from like 11AM to 3PM, ridiculous. After that I went to a museum, because I actually haven't yet been to a museum in Singapore the whole time I was here. This one showcased Peranakan life in Singapore, pretty interesting. I'm always fascinated by histories of Chinese descendents making an adapted lifestyle of their own in a new culture, in this case Southeast Asia. Then went to a party that night, this time at a beach-club on Sentosa Island that was having its closing night. It was omega-crowded, people were packed on the beach and even standing in the water because they couldn't get a spot on the dry land. Lots of fun, but still trying to clean up all the sand in my room that traveled with me in my pants and shoes.

So I've decided today that California really is my home. Every time I go abroad, I'm always jittery with excitement at seeing new things and having that "man, the grass is so greener on this other side" feeling when I go out. But once the party dies down and the confetti settles, I really should go back to my original home, to grow up and become a man in my own domain. And what if I don't end up living in California, say if my job requires me elsewhere? I get a twinge just thinking about it, but there wouldn't be anything I could do about it. But where ever else I am, that will only be my temporary address, even if it is for years or even decades. I need a homeland, and my home is where those golden grassy hills with those grand oak trees and towering redwoods meet the vast ocean on the side where the Sun sets every evening. Haha, didn't know I could be that cheesy, but I'm afraid it's true. I'm just part of the Bay Area culture, and unless I'm in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, or somewhere nearby or in between, I will never feel completely at rest, anywhere else and I'll feel some odd bumps here and there on the streets where I walk, and watching my step wherever I go. Not that I can't make friends for life in the places I visit, as that is always a major plus, if not the best thing, about going abroad.

Reminds me though, this morning I had the hardest time of my life getting out of bed. I swear, I don't remember the last time I was ever that reluctant to get up. And it wasn't like I dreaded going to class or anything, I didn't have anything bad to avoid. I was just extremely comfortable, I didn't even budge when my alarm went off and kept ringing for 2 minutes or so. I think this current temperature in Singapore must be perfect for me, which according to Google is 88 F right now. 88, lucky number haha. Granted, I have my fan on too, so this is assuming there's a breeze as well, which in reality there isn't outside my room. I like warm evenings, which California only has sometimes during the summer, but that's OK, gives me something to look forward to every year. And I should be back in May, so just in time for when it starts to warm up there.

Ugh, have pictures too from last week but I'm too lazy to put them up... sorry! For my own reference, check the NUS photos in the S'pore folder and you'll see what I was thinking about.

Ok, time to find some dinner and do some catching up on emails. Au revoir!