Merry WARM Christmas, to me!

Look what my baby got me: a Tassimo. Although I'm not a big coffee drinker, I do occasionally crave a cup. This is perfect! Single serve on a random occasion! He didn't get me coffee discs, but he did get me some green tea and chai latte discs. I hope as time goes by, more disc varieties will come out! I'm really not a big fan of Starbucks and Maxwell House coffees.

There is no way in hell...

My work's Christmas party was this past Saturday. However, I wasn't able to go because I had another Christmas party at Banff Fairmont. Although it didn't turn out to be the greatest, but I couldn't give up a free stay at the Banff Fairmont. Anyways, today when I got into work, they brought in some of the stuff that I missed: my Secret Santa present, and this big piece of ham. The ham was as big as my head. At least I'll be heading home for Christmas and I can bring it with me and give a large portion to my parents. I'm sure they'll make better use of it than me!

Brrr...

Winter has finally came. Since yesterday, it's been snowing like there was no tomorrow. Although I only live 5 minutes away from work, but I was still wet from the snow and frozen from the cold. Early this afternoon, the snow continued but have stopped now. This is it. Edmonton winter. Coldness for the next four months straight.

Curry Beef

I got to say, I am becoming a better cook! Tonight's dinner was curry beef. Although the meat was a bit tough, because it was stew beef, but the sauce was good. Yum yum yum. Look at the picture! The picture itself will make you drool!

For the past month, I've been making 燉蛋 once a week to correct my recipe. This time round, I made sure I always had white milk, unlike last time! After eating this weekly, my skin is getting smoother and smoother! Haha. Here is my version of the famous 燉蛋:

1 egg

1/2 cup of white milk

4 tsp of condensed milk

hot water

1. Fill a big pot or wok with 1"-2" of water. Bring to boil.

2. While the water is being boiled, crack the egg into a bowl and beat it well.

3. Add in white milk and mix well.

4. Add enough hot water to condense milk until it measures 1/4 cup. Add into egg/milk mixture. Mix well.

5. Cover the bowl.

6. Add in a 'holder' into the big pot or wok of hot water. Place the bowl with the egg/milk mixture onto holder.

7. Cover the big pot or wok and heat the egg for 14 minutes on medium heat.

And ta da, my version of the perfect 燉蛋.

They do exist...

So for the last weekend or two, I've been searching high and low for my tuna strainer. I seriously couldn't believe Home Outfitters didn't have it. I swear I saw it at Bed Bath and Beyond. I knew for sure I saw it at Le Gnome in West Edmonton Mall. Since I had a 50% coupon at Michael's, I decided to go to the Michael's by West Ed and go get my tuna strainer. Yay. It was there. I no longer have to worry about my hands when I drain my tuna.

The one I have is green

I tried to make my steamed egg tonight again, but I forgot to turn down the heat. It ended up all bubbly. Also this time it's not sweet enough. ARGH. Need to tweak the recipe some more! Ok, off to watch TVB's new series: 官心計. It is really good. I can't wait for more episodes to come out!

Mess

So last night, I had to rush to get this layout done for a contest. Hopefully I can win a Cricut cartridge. Haha. Usually when I scrap, I try to put things back in place while I work, but not this time. Cut and leave it on the floor. Glue and leave it on the counter. After 3-4 hours, this was my work area. Surprisingly, not too bad. I had worse, but maybe that's because my room was smaller in Calgary. And yes, I found my beloved Canon!

A Little Too Sweet

Usually during my time here in Edmonton, I don't usually eat eggs. So I am usually 'egg-deficient' for two weeks. However, today I decided to make some eggs: one hard boiled egg in my salad and one steamed egg (燉蛋) for dessert. Yes, it's my first 燉蛋. However, I don't have any white milk (I'm a chocolate milk person), so the only thing I had was condensed milk. I used 1/2 cup of condensed milk and 1/2 cup of water. I only poured 3/4 of it onto my one beaten egg. However, it came out WAY too sweet and not enough egg taste. If it's in a tart shell, it actually would taste like an egg tart. I think I should always have some back up white milk around...

Stir Fried Chicken on Rotini

Tonight's dinner. Simple and straightforward. I made it with some of this Club House stir fry sauce and my favorite black bean sauce. Yum yum yum. The picture didn't turn out too bad. Took it with my phone camera. I can't find my Canon. Camera, where are you?!

Mmm... steak!!!

Tonight is steak night. I think I made them medium done. If only I had one of those meat thermometers. I wasn't sure if the inside was hot enough so I fried it a bit longer... a total of 8 minutes! My poor stove and surrounding counter was a mess. I also used the honey garlic sauce for pork loins and ribs on the steak. The steak was GOOD!

Tilt-A-Table

After moving to Edmonton, I've been paying more attention to weekly flyers (online) to check out the deals. This week, my best find was Tilt-A-Table from Canadian Tire. It's almost like a tv dinner table. The difference is in its leg design: they can slide under my couch and hence, I can pull it in closer to me when I use my netbook, eat dinner, or do some minor scrapping in front of the tv. The negative part of it is that the table top is plastic and makes the entire thing look cheap. But for $14.99 + tax (regular $34.99 + tax), one cannot expect it to be made of hardwood! It serves its purpose and I'm happy! I think it is definitely better than a side table.

My Tilt-A-Table at work

Punctuations

Today at work we had a lunch and learn. We had free Quiznos and a class about improving writing skills. At the end of the class, we were given a statement to punctuate:

A woman without her man is nothing

Reading this statement as a whole is somewhat sexist. As a joke, the 'big guy' punctuated it like this:

A woman without her man: is nothing.

Blah. The presenters' gave two versions, a male version and a female version. I forgot what the male version was because it was too insignificant. The female version was:

A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Ingenious. I love it.

Uh oh...

I woke up this morning with a sore throat! Thanks to Fisherman's Friend, the soreness dissipated. However, throughout the afternoon, I would sneeze a few times. Blah. By the end of the day, I was developing a cold sore on my upper lip. I am not impressed. I hope I won't get too sick. Maybe just a one day thing. Must pump Vit-C. I bought a large carton of orange juice. It should help. Should finish those apples in the fridge too. Ahh. I don't want to get sick, especially when I'm up here by myself.

Oh, How I Miss Calgary

This past weekend was a long weekend. Hence, I drove home back to Cowtown. The air sure smells better when back home. However, it did somewhat feel strange to be back after a month. The sad thing was entering my old room. It's so empty. My shelves and my desk had nothing on them. Oh, how I miss my PS3. I played a good 2-3 hours today before I left for E-Town. I know I can bring it up to E-Town, but nah. I still want my Calgary home to have some 'me' in it.
On my drive back, I saw a raging fire on a farm just outside Gasoline Alley in Red Deer. I have to say it was pretty cool. Sad for the farmer, but glorious for the drive bys. A few cars pulled over and started filming it! And one more thing for frequent Hwy 2 drivers: Hwy 2 is definitely not a road to speed on. I think I saw at least eight pullovers (SUCKERS) and another one was waiting to pull someone over. Not me though. I like to set my cruise at about 112-115 km/hr. Me safe!

Today's Special

Work is piling up and I am happy. I love being piled up. I'm crazy, I know. I went out on site in the morning, and I got two new files. It's awesome! One of them was a rush file, and I got to do it myself! Well, it wasn't much. Very simple in fact, but the point is it was by myself. Yay.

Anyways, tonight's special was chicken shrimp pineapple in Casie's special honey sauce. Haha. It was more like, I'll add honey in here, then I'll add some soy sauce, then I'll add some salt, and lastly, pray it will work out! Haha. And it did. The 'choy' was simple, just garlic and salt. It was good. I think I'll make an excellent wife one day. Haha.

Pineapple Fried Rice...

... my specialty. Whenever I make fried rice, I always add pineapples. It just adds a zing to it! Unfortunately, I forgot to defrost the chicken and shrimp, or else it would have made the rice even better! I made this big wok of fried rice for myself and my parents. They came last night to visit and staying over for the weekend. Last time I made fried rice, it lasted me for a week. Last night, the three of us consumed 90% of it. Oh well. It was good!

Naughty Me...

I really need to have some self control. Well, after moving to Edmonton, I started having this urge to get a netbook. They are so small and nice. However, I've been saying, "Casie, you have an iMac for the main computer, and an ipod touch for a portable internet device, you don't need a netbook." But stupid B, got me a 37" tv. Now I really want to watch my awesome TVB shows on that instead of the 24" iMac. Sigh.
So, I've been eying on this one netbook, ASUS-Eee-PC-1005HA-PU1X for the last week. I stood strong for a while, and today I caved. However, I think it was meant to be. I was sitting on the fence until 6:30. Memory Express closes at 7. Since I live downtown, almost everywhere is a minimum 20 minute drive. So with traffic and all, I got to Memory Express at 6:55, five minutes to spare. Was it meant to be or what?! Oh well. I guess the main drive was to celebrate my upcoming first paycheck! I personally think it's bad luck not to blow the first one! Haha. I think after rent and all, I am pretty sure it will be gone. I'm 27, gotta have some fun.

My iMac's new friend

Mmm... wings!!!

Today at work, we celebrated the people with birthdays in August. We went out for a company lunch. I didn't want to eat too full so I only had a cobb salad. I was comfortable until they also served chocolate cheesecake after we headed back to the office. I couldn't say no to that!!! So after ingesting 1000 calories around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I was still somewhat full and bloated when I got home. I planned to make chicken wings with carrots and potatoes the night before, but I debated if I still should with my full stomach. At the end, I did. Good for possible lazy upcoming nights! However, the more cooked the food got, the yummier the smell. I got hungry! Yay. So I ate a bit of my wings. It's a bit salty (less salt next time), and I burnt one, but overall, it was good. Mmm, wings. Now that dinner's done (and so is tomorrow or Thursday's night dinner), hopefully I can do some cardmaking tonight. I really need to finish the cards for the card swap, so that I can work on my scrapbook. It's way too far behind.

Surprise in the Attic

My job comprises of 30-40% field work and the rest, office work. For the field work, I go out (with my supervisor for now) and do structural damage investigations. Lately, there's a lot of wind damages due to the windstorm that blew through Alberta. For a lot of residential places, there are a lot of roof damages due to the heavy wind or a tree falling onto the roof. For such damages, we often have to climb into the attic to see if the roof trusses are intact. After the site exam, we write a report back to the insurance company. While I was writing one report and doing some research on roof/attic construction, I saw this picture on the Internet. I had to laugh. I hope that I will NEVER have to run into something like this during my attic investigations. I would seriously freak out.

Dim Sum Dinner

I'm a little lazy tonight, and didn't want to cook. Therefore, I decided to depend on some... premade foods. Haha.

I had some salad from a bag (only 80 cents from Safeway) - need to eat veggies everyday, mom's orders! For the main course: frozen dim sum from TNT. Mmm, dim sum. I really wanted some this weekend, but I didn't know where to go in Edmonton. So this satisfied my craving. I also had my favorite Chunky soup: chicken corn chowder! Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder - it does Casie's body good! Dessert (later at night): fruits. I have a lot of it! Haha.

Top: Two plain buns (one shriveled), one bbq pork bun

Left to right: Two micro sticky rice in lotus leaves, four shrimp shaomai, three chicken corn dumplings

One word: YUM!

So after the meal, I took a look at my freezer. One can only eat so much frozen foods per serving, especially the bagged dim sum. So not every opened package can fit a twist tie, and therefore, I have to store them in plastic bags. So now my small fridge freezer looks like my mom's deep freeze - a storage of plastic bags! Sigh...

Feasting

Ulgh. I ate too much today. Well, not really. I woke up somewhat late and got lazy and decided to go out for brunch. So we crossed the river and headed to Culina Mill Creek, recommended on Urbanspoon. I ordered a Fried Egg Panini and B ordered an Ukrainian Breakfast. The service was friendly, but the food was way too slow. I was freezing because we were sitting outside on the patio and I didn't bring a jacket (of course). Eventually, we moved back inside, and our food came. It was ok. Would I go back? Maybe.

Fried egg panini with a side of fruits

Ukranian Breakfast

For tonight's dinner, I made the classic burger, sided with a small garden salad and fries. Check out the arrangement! Haha, it looks quite restaurant like. My cheap Ikea plates were perfect for this use.

Saturday Market

This weekend in Edmonton, I went to the market on 104th St in Edmonton. All the vegetables and fruits looked very fresh. They were expensive too - $4.00 for a cauliflower!!! I got mine last week at Safeway for $0.98! Mine looked pretty fresh too! Anyways, some stuff did look fresher and bigger. I couldn't resist and bought some cherries, plums and beans. I ate a plum when I got home and it was tremendously sweet and juicy. I think if my parents came to visit on the weekends, they would like this market.

Mmm, Protein

Today's my 8th day at work. I already have 6 files! Just this week, I got 3 new files. I am now working on my second report. It is different than the first one because this one involves more detail. Hence, it's also taking longer than the first one. Hopefully, after a few more, I can find my groove and speed things up at work. I hope the big boss understands! I really want to keep this job. It's pretty interesting.

  

I went to Safeway to do some grocery shopping. I totally stocked up on Chunky can soup! 2 for $4, and they're the big cans too! I'm good for a while. Chicken wings were on sale, too! Not only were they on sale, I found a package with an additional 30% off. SCORE! Now, I just have to remember to get some 'lo-shui' sauce or black bean sauce the next time I'm at Superstore or TNT. The best part, I found a big tub of my favorite yogurt! Peach and mango by Yoplait! Now I just have to finish the small packaged ones before I can dig into this tub!

So after a hard day of work and venturing Safeway, I deserve a yummy dinner (well I always deserve a yummy dinner). For tonight's dinner, I made myself some steak. Mmm, steak. I only ate half the steak. The whole steak is a bit too much, and therefore, I'm saving the other half for lunch tomorrow. Mmm. On the side, broccoli with cream of mushroom sauce and healthy sauteed mushrooms (not in butter, but vegetable oil). Since I'm still quite new to this apartment, I didn't realize I am missing black pepper. DOH. Other than that, the food is pretty good! Mmm... I think I will go have my yogurt now. I do have 10 cups to go before I can start on that peach and mango yogurt tub! 

Mini Banana Split

So living by myself has some ups and downs. Downs, I have to cook myself. Ups, I can make whatever I feel like that day. So tonight, I just had a big chicken salad, and because I am so healthy, I deserve a banana split. However, I cannot finish a Dairy Queen size b-split. Therefore, I made me a mini b-split. Mmm. Now it's all in my tummy.

Edmonton Move

So it's official. I am now in Edmonton, and have been living here for a week now. I live in the downtown area, on the edge of skyscrapers and warehouses. Work is a 3-5 min walk from my apartment - I can see it from my balcony. So pretty much my daily life is work-home, work-home. Depressing? Nah. I thought it would be, but now that I think about my last year at Fluor, it was the same. The only difference is I come home and I need to take care of myself. Then, I went home and had my mommy to feed me and clean up after me. However, living in 600 sq. feet of space doesn't involve a lot of cleaning. Also, I don't know why I can whip up dinner in 1/2 hour while my mom takes 2 hours.

To me, Edmonton's a pretty scary place. It's like a giant Forest Lawn. Everywhere you go, there's always some creepy sketchy looking building. I am not kidding.  Therefore, I really just stay home most of the time. My area isn't too too bad. I guess there's a police station about 10 blocks away. :P The roads are so bad. Potholes are EVERYWHERE. My poor Luigi. I hope his shocks aren't too damaged. 

No matter how boonyish Edmonton is, I will still explore. I found a crepery that is like 3 blocks away. I will have to check it out. Oh yeah... Edmonton has Red Robin. OMG. When I saw it, I got Bailey to go with me last weekend and I satisfy my 4 yr craving for their Banzai burger. It's my ALL TIME favorite burger. Just because of this restaurant, Edmonton got major bonus points!  

Breathe

So I got confirmation at Square 104. I'm moving up there on Aug 9. Yes, that is in a few days and I just confirmation just yesterday. It's pretty crazy. But no matter how crazy it is, God is with me. He has everything planned out. Even though in human time things are going boom boom boom and quite stressful, things are still working out quite smoothly:

Aug 1 - Dropped parents and aunt off at bus stop for their bus tour trip to Yellowstone Park. Picked up my baby and headed up to Edmonton to take a look at my unit before submitting the application and deposit. Come back to Calgary.

Aug 2 - Picked up my MOH dress. Furniture and miscellaneous household item shopping. Passed out at 11 pm. So tired.

Aug 3 - Packed a bit. Did some moving research (i.e. electricity set up, Shaw, van rental, etc.). Got a great deal on some bar stools on Kijiji (thanks babe). 

Aug 4 - Got confirmation on apartment. Had lunch with friends (more like farewell lunch). Set up electricity for move in date. Pick up parents and aunt from their bus trip. Packed some more.

Aug 5 - Drove aunt to airport. Researched about Ikea bed. Bought some Ikea stuff. Set up Shaw installation appointment. Rented cargo van. Wedding rehearsal. Blog. :)

Aug 6 - Pack. Maybe take a breather and go for a swim.

Aug 7 - Pack. Change my current 403 number to a 780 number! Pick up rental van. Buy bed and mattress. Put the big stuff into the van. 

Aug 8 - Wedding.

Aug 9 - Move to Edmonton.

Aug 10 - Work starts!

See, everything is boom boom boom, but things still flow. I just have to thank God for His wonderfulness. Most of all, making me a decently organized person so that I got all these things done on time!

Apartment Searching

Yesterday, I went up to Edmonton to look for a new home to rent. It's easy to be excited to move and start life in a new (but deadly) city. However, when I was actually up there, things became more real. The difference between this time and my internship in Medicine Hat is that this time it's permanent. 

I went to look at two places. The first place was called The Residence. It's old but renovated. However, the apartment is so small, it's ridiculous. I almost wanted to lay on the bedroom floor to see if I can lay across on it and fit! No.

I was early for my second appointment for viewing #2. So I drove around my new work area to see what is around. Then I found Square 104. I saw this place online, and totally forgotten about it. So I went in and had a quick look. Since I was just walking in, the office manager was nice enough to use the office suite as an example. New and clean. I don't mind. However, only 2 bedrooms were available.

Last place, 7th Street Lofts. Absolutely beautiful. However, the lady seems reluctant and want to show it to another person.

At night I had to pray for forgiveness for forgetting God to be involved in this. Especially for so many times He is with me on all of this, and that He has something prepared for me. And here I am just heading up there looking at places without praying about them. Of course, I got forgiveness, and I read Psalms 127:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city, 

the watchmen stand guard in vain." ~Psalms 127:1-2

At The Residence, I know I can go cheap and just rent it. However, I know I will be miserable and may even jump out the window! Such a depressing place. The loft is nice, but I will be looking at my finances closely because it's a little over then what I want. So again, I just have to trust God again that He will help me choose the right place. And voila...

This morning Square 104 called and said a 1 bedroom is available Aug 1. Another person was inquiring about it, but since I was there yesterday asking for one first, I got priority. WOW. Isn't that something or what? I forgot about this place, and I drove to it by accident. There were nothing available, and then overnight something comes up and I got priority. God is truly amazing. I am so unworthy of His 1st class treatment but He does it anyways. Love You, God.

Employed

I got my Sintra Engineering job! The offer was sent on Friday, and I signed it and returned it yesterday. I am so happy. I really have to praise the Lord. He truly listens to my prayers, despite the fact I'm so small and undeserving. Next step: apartment searching. Oh yeah, the job is in Dead-monton. AGAD. 

Interview

Today was my interview. I made sure I said a few prayers to ensure my best performance at the interview. I was glad it wasn't technical. However, I got the most out of the world question, and it even shocked me: "Describe your desk at home". Huh?! I think this was meant to see if I was an organized person? However, I just described it as a L-shaped desk with my iMac and printer, and above it are two wall shelves: one with my computer things and stationary, and the other with my scrapbooking supplies. I wonder what he made of it.

I can say I feel particularly good about this interview. I have had a total of seven interviews in my entire life:

1. The Gap
2. Alberta Transportation internship position
3. Defense Research Development Canada (DRDC) internship position
4. Fluor
5. Hilti
6. Alberta Transportation full time position
7. Sintra Engineering (today's interview)

The best interview I had was with DRDC. I didn't get the job I was interviewing for, but since the interview was so good, I got a job there under another supervisor. It was THAT good! Haha. The next best one is Fluor. I came out of it thinking I think I got the job! I was quite proud of some of the answers. Then the third best was today's. Maybe because the questions weren't very technical. I'm not too proud of my answers, but I was very honest and I felt that I was quite qualified for some of the questions he asked (i.e. Have you written any technical reports? - Yes, my thesis is one GINORMOUS technical report.)

Overall, I can't do or say much now. It's all in God's hands, and all I can do is trust. If He has planned this job for me, no matter how sucky I was, I would get the job. However, there is one thing I can improve my chances: write that thank you letter!

Psalms 91:14-16 and Psalms 16:2

Again, I like to do my devotions late at night (I really should start doing them a little earlier). Last night - or VERY early this morning (1 am), I was continuing my reading in Psalms. As I mentioned, earlier yesterday, I got my interview email and I was overly excited. I thanked God right away and I thanked Him again at night. Then He told me this:

""Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy hima nd show him my salvation."" ~ Psalms 91:14-16

Isn't He wonderful? I've been somewhat putting Him aside for a while. Although I love Him and say I trust Him, it wasn't until recently I really started to seek Him and call out to Him. After all I have done, God still loves me and still listens. A while back, I read another passage in Psalms that I now hold very close to me:

"I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." ~ Psalms 16:2

I still worry everyday about my career, my relationship, and my future. However, I always remember this, those things are nothing compare to my Father. He is the only good thing I have. With that in mind, everything seems like things that help time go by easier and quicker on Earth. And then, I feel much better.

Interview #3

Yesterday I got a call for an interview with Sintra Engineering. I am SO excited. Although the job is located in Edmonton (not my favorite city, and most likely will never be), the job description is A-W-E-S-O-M-E. When I got the emaill, I first had to exhaust my adrenaline that went through my body by jumping around, and then I had to thank the Lord. I've been praying hard for this and He listened and answered. AMEN.
Approximately 75% of my engineering experiences consist of research and the other 25% is industry (i.e. oil and gas). I love the research portion, but I don't love it enough to pursue another 3 years of school for a PhD. I was never a big fan of joining the oil and gas industry, and I tried it and didn't like it too much. So after I applied for the job posting at Sintra Engineering, I've been praying day and night for a call back, and it came yesterday.
The company focuses on forensic engineering. They find out what and why things went wrong. The position I applied for is for a structural forensic engineer. So from what I understand, I will be solving why a structure failed. This is way too awesome. I have always loved mysteries and trying to solve them. Understanding how things work (or fail) is one of the reasons I stayed in engineering.
The interview is at 10:30 tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Psalms 71:20

During these past weeks, I've been reading the Book of Psalms. I tend to have my moments with God late at night. It's the time where I am very alone and nothing can bother me. The other day, I read the following: 

"Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up." ~ Psalms 71:20

Less than a month ago, I finally broke down and had to complain why my life is always so complicated. This year is my all time low. Everyone keeps saying, things will get better. Human words. What do they know? No one on this Earth can predict the future. Things were going great for the last four years and now the recession that took a lot of people's retirement fund. Who would have knew? I am thankful for the Lord for telling me that things will get better. It is blah right now, but He will restore my life again, and bring me up again. 

As human, it's hard to fully trust, especially when things are just not going my way or there are no signs of improvement. Almost everyday reading Psalms, the Lord says TRUST. This is definitely the hardest lesson ever. 

A Bit Happier These Days

It's been tough the last few months. Everything seems to be BAD BAD BAD. Some nights, I would just start crying for no reason. However, this past week I've been coping well. Although nothing much has changed: still unemployed, boyfriend's parents still hate me, and still feeling hopeless about everything. I think everytime I start to feel down, I just remember the Psalms I've been reading: Trust in the Lord. Even when anger rises, I calm down easily and quickly concentrate on something else. I am still tired but life is a rollercoaster. There are ups and downs. I will just continue coping and just simply trust.

Job Interview

Today's my job interview with Alberta Transportation. I don't know whether I should be happy or not. The job is in Peace River, AB, which is an 8-hour drive from Calgary. That's so far.

Initially, I didn't want to apply because it's in Peace River. However, I've been applying to about 30-40 jobs and I only heard back from a few places. I guessed the chances of me to hear back from AB Transportation is probably small, like the other positions. Of course, with my stinkin' luck, the job I want least is the one I hear from! Surprise surprise. It's an awesome position - bridge engineer. It's just the location.

Well, I guess I shouldn't fret too much. I didn't do too well in the interview. It was pretty technical. I can answer all questions regarding about the research process, but not too much with construction and management issues. However, I did say the one thing I need to improve on is get more experience, we all need to start somewhere. With that, I think that justified all my bad answers!

Nevertheless, I will know in two weeks time if I'll still be here after August. Wish me luck!

A Blog for my Creations

So I decided to make a new blog, one for just my creations. I noticed that I have been mixing too many of my life drama and creations together. I would like to keep them separate.
However, all are welcome to see both.

The new blog:

I have moved my all my previous creations over there. Thank goodness I didn't have that many. Haha. Just copying and pasting took me half the night!

Enjoy!

Encouragement from The Man above!

I'm a Christian. I can't say I'm intensely religious or spiritual, but my Faith is quite important to me. It doesn't matter what I do, I can't give it up entirely.
I always trusted that the Lord is around me. He may not show Himself in obvious ways, but I know He's "around". I know that throughout my Struggles, He was the one I trusted who will pulled me through it.
During these hard times, I surrendered and finally prayed and read His Word, the Bible. Before, whenever I read, it's somewhat irrelevant or maybe I just don't have the heart to 'listen'. However, this time I could actually hear Him telling me something. Since I don't have a regular schedule, I just flipped to the Book of Psalms, one of my few favorites. Randomly, I read Psalms 54 to 56. Here are some things that I 'heard':

"Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life - men without regard for God. Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me." ~Psalms 54:3-4

"Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."
~Psalms 55:22

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" ~Psalms 56:3-4

For those who are reading this (although I don't think a lot of people read my blog) and are not religious, may scoff at these passages. I totally understand. I'm not preaching (for I hate that myself). However, I just want to say, WOW, can I say encouragement or what?! So I guess from this day, no matter what happens - job/no job, friends/no friends, relationship/no relationship, God will take care of it all. Although I always trusted He would anyways, it's good to have reassurance!

Struggles

I just have to say things are not getting better. Light at the end of the tunnel is getting dimmer and dimmer. Am I really that unlucky that I can't deserve a little break in life? For the past month or more, I've been trying to keep my head held high and maintain a positive attitude: "Things will get better. Life is a rollercoaster, now is just another down time." But why does it seem like it just gets lower and lower and not going back up?

I came to realize that I might as well surrender to this losing streak. Winning is not meant for me. Yes, there are people worse off than me - those in broken families, starving kids in Africa, slavery in 3rd world countries, etc. However, why am I only considered lucky to these kind of people?! Why for the last 20 years of my life, it never seemed to be easy.

In elementary school, I was maybe one of the 3 Chinese kids. Therefore, I definitely did not make it to the popular crowd. From grades 2-8 (I don't remember much before this), I was always picked on and was a magnet for negative comments. Finally, this one horrible girl by the name of Micki Faulkner (I am definitely not scared to mention her name) moved away and I thought yay, no more bullying. It was all good too since in grade 9, everyone got along. Unfortunately, I was old enough then to understand my family's financial situation. 

One can say I was born into a pretty well off family. My dad was not very successful in his career, but I had grandma, who had always promised me that she'll get me my first car, and my education was well funded for. I guess things like these shouldn't be guaranteed, because they can just disappear overnight. Let's just say my funds ended up in the deep ocean blue somewhere. I carried the stress to work hard in school so that I can get scholarships to help fund my education.

All my friends had parents who funded their university education and most provided them the old family car for transportation. Yeah, I had my own car. However, I could only take it to the C-Train station, because it's cheaper on gas. I was the only one out of my (local) friends (that I know of) who will run to the university's finance office to get the student loan forms, and line up every year to get them approved. Summer job savings went to paying for textbooks instead of a GIC for future house down payment. To keep my spirits up, I just had to keep thinking "I worked for my education. It is truly mine." This was how I spent my university years.

Relationship wise wasn't too lucky neither. I had a boyfriend during these years. First love. However, we had our problems. I know it's my fault for wanting meaningless things. I guess it's because of my insecurities based on the last 10-15 years of my life (at that point). So I ended it, thinking I can't spend the rest of my life feeling insecure, even though I knew that he truly loved me and will put me ahead of all things. But to keep my spirits up: "There are more fish in the sea" and it would be nice to be single for a bit. I also had a best friend whom I put all my trust into (which is hard for me to do). At the end, I got stabbed in the back and got scarred for life. However, I have to blame myself for that one. If only I didn't... Life goes on. With or without these people.

So I decided to do grad school instead of enjoying the economic boom. It was great for a bit - the flexibility in schedule, tuition was practically free since I got paid to be in school, student loans payback was on hold and it was great experience. However, when it seemed like it will never end, it sucked. After a year of singleness and poor grad student life seemed unending, life began to get depressing. Then luck happened to be on my side for the first time. I met a new guy, my grad project began picking up, and graduation was on its way. I even got a job waiting for me right afterwards.

Everyone told me that I should travel since I did so many years of school. HA. I had student loans to payback. My car's lease was expiring - I need to pay for another car. All the savings I had from scholarships, internship, summer jobs, and grad student paychecks were going into all of that. Traveling was for those who got 'funding' and car sponsorship. I didn't complain because life was finally picking up. 

I should have really enjoyed my last year. I took my 'break' of one year for granted. 2009's losing streak is finally getting to me. First I got laid off. My professional engineering designation gets put on hold. Then, I got a "wake up" call and noticed that my friends are all grown up and headed off in different directions in life. It's no longer like when we were students. And now, due to irrational and stupid reasons, I may have to start all over again in the relationship department - apparently, I am an evil woman with no manners and manipulates people. I am worse than a whore or a criminal. I have no faith that I can win this battle. Or maybe I'm just tired of fighting.

I guess I will just have to accept the facts. My life is meant to be hard and unhappy. I am thankful for that one year. I had a taste of what smooth sailing is. Job. Friendship. Love. It is time to wake up and face the reality of life again.   

Ribbon Storage

After looking through many message boards, I was determined to organize my ribbons. I'm so jealous of those with a scraproom in their own home. My scraproom = my bedroom. Therefore, I have limited space. This is the only reason I don't go out to buy more. My restraint = limited space available to put my stuff!

Like all scrapbooking stuff, ribbon boxes can be expensive, and they can only hold so many ribbons. I considered poking holes into a sturdy box, but that requires using a power tool (I am scared of them!). Therefore, after a few nights of research and driving and some "engineering" skills, I came up with this:

It is assembled by a $2 curtain rod (came with end fixing and brackets) from Ikea, and two 2" c-clamps that also costed $2 each. Therefore, this whole assembly costed $6 with no use of power tools! I love it. The only thing is the physical appeal. Having two c-clamps look funny. It really makes my bedroom look like some kind of workshop! Haha... it's ok. I'm an engineer. I guess it makes my room ... me.

Goodbye, Grandma

In loving memory, my grandma, KFCY

Last week was a sad week. My grandma passed away last Monday, January 12, 2009. In a way, it was expected, because she was already 94. However, it's still very sad and I do miss her.

We received a call on Sunday evening from the nursing home, saying she's having complications in breathing. We all rushed to her bedside, but it didn't appear too bad. However, she did lose more weight due to her loss appetite during the week. She even waved goodbye when we were leaving. With hopes in our hearts, we thought it wasn't a forever goodbye.

Monday at 7:30 am, when I was about to head to work, the nursing home called saying she was gone at 7:15 am. After a week of preparation, her short funeral was held on Friday evening.

Most of my childhood memories are filled with her. Although she flew back and forth from Hong Kong and here, all the times she was here with me in Canada, they were fun and joyous. My favorite times with her are those evenings after supper. We will always hide in her blanket, and she will sing me songs and tell me odd stories. Right now, I sleep in the same room where she used to sleep (before she moved out to a seniors' apartment). I don't sleep in her old bed, but ironically, I am sleeping in the same spot where I always laid beside her.

I didn't see much of her in the past few years when she was residing in her nursing home, but every holiday or free weekend, my family will say "Let's go see Grandma!" There will be no more of that. I miss you, Ma Ma.