Trial and error

When I was studying for Exam 5, there were all these things that came into my mind that I thought of doing after exam. However, after exam, I did not really do much except for some reading and relaxing. Luckily, one thing that I managed to do was to bake some cakes. Some of them turned out ok while others might do better with a bit of adjustment. Here are the results from some recipes that I tried out:

1) Pandan Chiffon Cake (click here for recipe)

I baked the pandan cake for one of the Malaysian potluck. Taste wise, it was alright but the cake didn't rise as much as it should. Huey Shann and I thought that it might be due to the fact that I did not use a tube pan.

2) Tiramisu (click here for recipe)

I have been craving for tiramisu and hence I decided to try making tiramisu for the second time. I found a new recipe and thought that I would succeed this time....However, the cake was not as good as I expected. This time, I used too much of coffee and the bottom layer was kind of "flooded" and the cream became too runny. I think the recipe is alright and hopefully I would do better in my 3rd attempt :)

3) Carrot cake (click here for recipe)

Last Wednesday, I tried baking a carrot cake to bring it to our annual department picnic. I added a little more cinnamon then the quantity shown on the recipe and used one instead of two lime for the frosting. I am pretty happy with the taste of the cake.

Now that I started studying, I don't know when would be the next time that I would be in the mood of baking.

Fun time is always too short

DDR Game- when exercise gets fun!!!

I found a new way of exercising, as you can see, by playing DDR. I decided that I like the game enough to justify buying the metal pad since the rubber/plastic one is kind of slippery.

The investment is worth every penny. I am having so much of fun with the game and I play almost every evening until...

A NEIGHBOR CAME TODAY AND COMPLAINED ABOUT THE NOISE!!!

She was not being mean and I understand how annoying it would be if someone who is living upstairs keeps making noise. I did not know that it would cause so much of noise for them and I feel terribly sorry. However, at the same time, I am just sad that I can no longer play something that I enjoy so much. I don't think I should continue playing until I think of a better solution. All that I can think about now is either:

A) stop playing
B) move to a new place

I can't just move because of this, and hence I'm left with option A which I am very unhappy about.

A final glimpse of my new toy :(

The function ƒ

There is a wall at Angell Hall on which people usually write on about problems in their lives and there are always someone else who respond to the writing. Most of the stories are about somebody's love life but I found something rather different last Sunday:

It seems like someone found a different way to interprete function. I don't know if I should leave a comment on the wall for her.

Missed my flight

I am at LAX now...waiting for the next flight to go home because I mistakenly read the time for my flight...it was supposed to be 12.05am and I thought that it was 12.05pm and so I arrived at the airport at 7.12am today just to realize that I've missed my flight and I need to stand by for the next flight at 12.05am the next day. I could have taken a tour around the city if I did not need to lug my luggage around. I decided to stay at the airport to wait for my flight but I really have no idea how to kill more than 12 hours. I tried reading Werner or Feldblum but they only make me even more sleepy.

Reading some of my friend's old blog post and trying to watch a TVB drama. I don't know how long this will last...and I'm still waiting for a final confirmation from my travel agent for my next flight. Apparently there's some complication...hopefully I can still get the next flight and go home.

I hate waiting...especially now that I'm deprived of sleep :(

Hi, Ninja!

Two weeks ago, I went to the International Motorcycle Show at Novi. I was very excited because I could finally get a closer look at the motorcycles. Every time I see a bike at a parking lot, I'm afraid to stay too close to the bike for people might think that I look suspicious.

There weren't as many bikes as I expect but the more popular ones were all there. There were some ATVs and off road vehicles as well. I walked around and looked at sports bike most of the time. After a while, I heard the motorcycle roaring sound and realized that the stunt show was about to begin. I hurried to the booth and was surprised that they were actually having the stunt show indoor. The choreographed free-style demonstration was performed by the Ducati Freestyle Team. I was impressed by the performance especially when the two bikes were making a close circle. I found a video of the same performance on a different day on YouTube.

After the show, I continue to look at bikes and finally I came to the Kawasaki booth. I couldn't take my eyes off the Kawasaki bikes after I saw them. I tried to ride on the bikes (although it was not moving) and I finally got some hope that I can actually ride a bike by myself. I used to think that a sports bike might be too big for me.

The bike that I tried to ride on was the Kawasaki Ninja 250R that has a lower seat and lighter weight. Although both of my feet still couldn't reach the ground at the same time but I think I might be able to handle this bike.

the Ninja 250R

I lingered at the Kawasaki booth for a very long time before moving on to the other booth. However, after I met the Ninjas, the other bikes did not look as good anymore. At the Honda booth, I saw this bike on display that is made for kids that might be an alternative for people of my height :P

Unfortunately, I think it is only meant for off road use

Before I left, I went to obtain some information regarding the motorcycle classes that are available around this area. I am not going to learn how to ride a bike now but I'll think about it after I'm done with my exams.

A New Beginning

I always say that I will chop off my hair if I fail an actuarial exam.

So I did

And this marks the end of my "grieving" and it's time to move on...

All I want for Christmas...

I finally scored over 100 for bowling last night
Dearborn is finally covered in snow

but my biggest Christmas wish did not come true...my number is not on the list of passing candidate numbers...

I knew I did not do well...yet I could not help but to feel disappointed...