1. today, i saw an old lady crossing the street looking frail but grumpy. that made me think of my grandma, whom i miss very much :( i loved those 11-year-old days when she would take me on a bus ride to Genting, and we’d eat hot pei dan porridge together in that tuck shop outside the theme park in and out of which people of all shapes and sizes would shuffle even at 4 in the morning. we’d eat, and then we’d go back to KL in a cab — sometimes a bus if we were feeling broke — and she’d let me fall asleep in her lap. then i’d go straight to school.

2. it’s been an absurdly chilly fall in New York. but some days we get lucky and it’s warm enough to sit out on the grass to catch the last strains of sun.

i have missed college. it’s good to be back :)

3. but calculus is KILLING ME already. why am i still doing it, why??? this math major stuff is hard.

4. in exactly two weeks, i will be … very old. usually i feel all kinds of excitement about my birthday, but i do believe this is the first birthday i’ve ever dreaded. i’ve never understood how some people feel sad or depressed on their birthdays because they’re getting older or felt that they havent accomplished much despite their age, but i guess now that i’m officially Becoming Old, i understand too. (don’t you just hate it when you’re on the receiving end of the acrid ‘I Told You So’?) what have i done with my life?? :( almost a quarter of it is over!

5. i just perused the nominees list for the Nuffnang Awards. they’re quality!! i was actually expecting to see a whole host of ‘celebrity’ bloggers nominated for Best Food or Travel or Most Influential blog (you know lah, these days every blogger is a food blogger / travel blogger / fashion blogger all rolled into one), but Nuffnang did an excellent job shortlisting the five finalists for each category. i’m sitting down now to trawl through the Best Hidden Gem nominations. i love hidden gems! :) am starting with A Singapore Taxi Driver’s Diary — his tagline is: ‘possibly the only taxi driver in the world with a PhD from Stanford’ :D i love it already! i do relish vocational stories.

6. i made bolognese sauce today to go with my pasta ^________^ i’ve missed my yummy bolognese sauce! no mushrooms though, so this tastes like the one Tall Brother eats. whenever i make pasta sauce at home, i always have to make two pots — one that follows the recipe, and another one entirely devoid of vegetables for Tall Brother.

7. joe came to visit this weekend! he came dispensing many frowns:

joe’s a philosophy major. i was telling him how my Great Books professor was moanin’ and groanin’ about not having enough time in our syllabus dedicated to Plato’s Republic, and joe reacted like this: “OF COURSE LAH. IT’S THE FUCKING REPUBLIC!!!”

8. i’m going to watch U2 in concert tomorrow :)))