Orients Daily

Excited for the new term!

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:24:00 +0000

It's been a long long time since I posted anything here. I had a great time in my co-op term in the University. There were some challenging and demanding times but things work out at the end. I couldn't ask for a better co-op term. It was really an enriching experience. I had lots of responsibilities and I learnt how to be more professional in the field. (Just don't take into consideration the stress that is the reason of 10 kg extra baggage in me)

I am going to work part time in this lab next term! Yeah! I love having lots of things to do and I will have biology course next term. I love biology, I always do. Watching Grey's anatomy, I really feel like...maybe after all, I could be surgeon. I know I have the capacity for it but not the guts.

I am back to loving Glee too..I realized that some things never change no matter how hard you want to change it. I love that show, I love being me, I love being silly. Being an engineer can't change who I am. Thanks to jbi.

Talking about easter weekend...I LOVE NIAGARA!! And the weather too..Thanks to Lisa <3

Engineering Explorations Highlight

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:36:00 +0000

I and other 2 co-op students in Green Energy and Fuel Cell Lab in University of Waterloo took part in the Engineering Explorations of University of Waterloo. It is an interactive event for Grade 6 and 7 students to see how cool (AND AWESOME) engineering is (the students are awesome too).

I apologize for the lack of photos. I was too excited to set up our display and explain what we are doing in the lab to them. In short, since this lab's principle is electrochemistry, we had them to make their own potato clock. We got creative and brought in lemons, tomatoes, apples, pears, oranges, and COKE.

Yes, coke can work as a clock. I have a super cool potato watch too. I tested how long can it run and MAGIC! It stayed on for 15 hours. Just by using 2 small pieces of potatoes and I didn't put anything else on it. Maybe my potato was just strong.

Maybe potato clock is not cool enough for you? We had a legit battery from the 1890s made by Edison and it was commercially available for telegraph machine. Now, THAT is cool. Next on, we had many different batteries saw open so that everyone can see the cells inside the batteries. Cellphone battery, drill charger battery, laptop battery (not my laptop), 9V battery, etc. Of course, we also showed them the fuel cell stack as well.

One of the parents asked us, "The car that you are running with the fuel cell is the size of an actual car?" YEAH! Really actual car. Many well known car makers are actually planning to have their fuel cell cars on the road by 2015. University of Waterloo also has a fuel cell car that we built on an Equinox. During a competition in the US, we were the only car that run without any refueling (we used just 4 kg of Hydrogen) or breaking down from NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. And we won an award for best design or something like that.

The price of that fuel cell car is 50k, but the forecast is that when the fuel cell cars are commercialized, the on the road price will be around $ 20k. Consider the silent engine (Yes, they don't make any sound at all), clean air that you're breathing, engine without any movement (no piston whatsoever), and highly durable hardware.

Get the infrastructure needed done and we can all be driving Hydrogen cars soon. Considering the price of Hydrogen and gasoline for the same mileage produced, they're on par, but Hydrogen cars will give you MUCH less emission (well, if you consider water as emission gas, then I'll just be speechless).

Engineering is cool, yes it is, and engineers are more than capable to make your world, a better one to live in.

UW OHD: Student Leadership Program

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:43:00 +0000

OHD is Organizational & Human Development that is one of the resources available to students in University of Waterloo. What distinguished them from some other resources is that they are providing a leadership certificate training called the Student Leadership Program (SLP).

I have been attending 11 session out of 12 now. I should be done with 12 by the end of this weekend, but I had to cancel my morning session yesterday due to the ISA Cultural Caravan Practice. By the end of the program, I will receive an e-certificate that states my certification in Student Leadership.

After attending those 11 sessions, I have to say that some of them really have great ideas that allow me to recognize the importance of great qualities in a leader. Some of the session also touch on being successful in general and one is revolving around the global culture. Being a individual living in a globalized world, I do believe that it is important to understand other people's culture and beliefs.

There are a lot of interaction and self assessment in the sessions and one thing that I love the most is just meeting some strangers and actually get to talk to them directly in a positive environment. Everyone there is just having a good time and even if they're bored, they will still be great participants (by being silent).

If I want to continue to talk about this program, I could really talk for a chapter. I have learnt a lot of things from the sessions given and also from the facilitators. Thinking back of my own self before I attended the sessions, I am a much better leader now. I know exactly how to ALWAYS create a positive environment, communicate with people, understand people through non-verbal communication, etc.

Seems that it means...I AM A BETTER LEADER NOW. A leader that will respect people and more importantly, continue to improve herself in ways that are possible. Why? There are just too much support to be a greater person here that I feel I should be utilizing that.

Anyway, try to google Village of 100 and you'll be surprised when you watch the video.

Ciao now!

ISA Cultural Caravan Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:49:00 +0000

Hi everyone! This is just a video taken during our Indonesian Students Association performance practice for University of Waterloo's Cultural Caravan 2011 that will take place this March 10th. I am officially one of the executives and founding member of this club and I am really proud that we can take part in this cultural event in University of Waterloo and help to promote the richness of Indonesian culture to foreigners.

I also would like to thank you the Consulate General of The Republic of Indonesia in Toronto for their support in our traditional costume. We would not be able to have the distinguished ethnic touch without their help.

One private comment here: I should be losing weight...really!

Profound Effect of Sleepiness in College Student

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:17:00 +0000

The title might sound like a title of a journal article or something as fancy as that. However, it is just an effect after days of reading high quality (read: hard to understand and full of jargons that sound like they came from the Martians civilization.) papers to write a literature review on metal-air batteries.

I have been having a huge lack of sleep these days and it has taken its toll on me a couple of times. Fine, a lot of times.

Some of the stories that came up because of sleepiness are as follows: (I do really sound like I am writing a paper instead of a blog post, don't I?)

A few weeks ago, when I went to the gym in the morning, I accidentally locked my locker with another lock that was just lying around on the bench. I did not mean to do such an 'awesome' thing, but that just happened because of lack of sleep. I had to go to the front desk and explained to them about the stupidity that I just did. That was the first time I used a lock clipper and cut a lock open. Believe me, it was a tough job.
I left my keys inside my room and got myself locked out of the house. Yes, it happened again. Fortunately for me, the landlord's house is just next door and the nice landlady lent me her entire bunch of keys that I had to try one by one to find the correct key.
Oatmeal volcano inside the microwave. It happened at least thrice in 2 weeks. I set the time wrongly and BOOM, there they were...some well cooked oatmeal lying on the microwave's pan.
Cinnamon fried rice instead of spicy fried rice. Another lesson that I can learn is that I should not put the ground cinnamon right beside chili pepper. I still have no idea how 'good' my fried rice will turn out to be. I haven't tasted it. That is today's lunch.
Visiting the men's washroom instead of the women's. Luckily no one was there, or else, that could be the highlight of my term. I realized that I went into the wrong washroom because it looked different and it seemed to be bigger. Also, they have the men's potty thing there.

Well, those are the ones that I remember for now. At least, I have not done anything hazardous to other people. Most of them (if not all) are just pure embarrassment to myself.

I wish I could have 30 hours a day. I will totally put those extra 6 hours to a great and awesome sleeping time.

Life of Delta #1

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:24:00 +0000

A webcomic hand-drawn by me. It is just an inspiration I got after I ate my cinnamon oatmeal breakfast.

I apologize for the poor picture quality. I just used my blackberry camera to take this picture and adjust the lighting with Adobe Photoshop.

Notebook or zipper binder?

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 05:38:00 +0000

I can not believe how much time I have been thinking about this dilemma. I am thinking to re-organize my last term's notes to make room for my next term's notes in my binder. Then, I was thinking to use notebooks next term so that I do not need to re-arrange everything afterwards. However, I can not put my assignments together with my notes that way because there is just no way that I can re-attach those assignments to my notebook unless I glue them to the notebook papers.

Considering that I would need to bring some textbooks in my backpack, I think that zipper binder will be a better option than regular binder. I am so done with having loose papers flowing out of my regular binder when I am running from one class to another. Zipper binder will be a nice change. At least, I wouldn't need to pick up so many loose papers on the floor. And maybe I can ditch my huge pencil case too if I can get a zipper binder with a lot of pockets.

Still can't believe that I can even make this as a topic...I have been having this dilemma since middle school. Changing from notebooks to binders from one year to the other. But seems that I am confirmed with zipper binder now. Using notebooks is just a waste of paper. You'll never know how much papers are you going to use and the rest of the papers behind the notebook will just stays there, unused. That is so not eco-friendly. Another consideration is that when my friend needs to borrow a piece of notes, I don't need to give him/her my whole notes. For anyone that still doesn't know me well, my notes are like my life. I can't study from other people's notes. I have my own way to write and organize my notes. I can even go all out and re-write my notes if needed. Being a born perfectionist sucks sometimes.

I'm on a mission to find a good zipper binder now. Ciao.

Sony Walkman W Series: Best Gym Investment Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:09:00 +0000

I was looking for a new music player since my Ipod stopped being detected by Itunes for a while now and my blackberry is just too fat to allow me to do cardio effectively in the gym. Not to mention how the tangling cable from the earphone bother me so much. So, I was on a mission to find a new music player.

I was thinking to get Ipod Shuffle, but then, the tangling cable will still be a problem. Then, I saw Sony Walkman W Series and I know that I totally have to get this. This music player is the solution to my current issue. Unluckily, I just knew that Sony Asia Pasific carries 5 COLOURS for this walkman and in Canada, they only sell BLACK colour. Sad.

Sony.ca sent it through Purolator Canada, but then I was not at home yesterday noon. I was at work. Working hard as usual. I went to pick it up today near Conestoga Mall. A big box for something so little, that was my first thought when I saw the box.

Sony box with my music player inside

80 percent of the filling of the box was just big bubbles to protect my super small order. I am pretty satisfied with the quality of this walkman though. Great sound quality, simple user interface (well, there is only 4 buttons), and long battery life (haven't actually tried it out, but that's what Sony claims).

Sony Walkman W Series, black colour

Another good thing, it's water resistant! It's not like I sweat like a cow in the gym (does cow even sweat?), but it would be nice to have that feature, especially since I have become a gym goer for a while now. The left and right part of the walkman get attached together by a small magnet, and to prevent the magnet to affect other appliances, the walkman even come with a holder. Nice.

Looking forward to lose a lot more pounds with this walkman on my ears. Oh yeah! Say goodbye to Apple!

Diet Jumpstart!

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:43:00 +0000

Looking back at the photos from last year, I really regret that I turned to junk food when I got stressed and home sick. Video calling with my family really opened my eyes, once again. I want to be in a healthy weight and look good, at least when I am still young.

Well, now I hope that I am back on track. Here are some of the food samples that I ate today.

Oatmeal with nuts and cinnamon

Whey Protein

My very own recreated Indonesian Fried Rice

I am really happy that I can find Kecap Manis ABC in Food Basics yesterday. Even though it's not the brand that I used in Jakarta, the taste still reminds me of home. I have to admit that I experienced the freshman 15, after my first term. I wish I could go back to myself 2 months ago and reminded her not to eat junk food.....College, freshman 15, I am going to beat you!

Uptown Waterloo Ice Dogs Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:51:00 +0000

When I heard of the phrase "Ice Dogs Festival", my mind was set that I will see some attractions performed by cute dogs with beautiful fur. I was pretty excited to see the festival, but it was not as what I expected. They advertised that they will have ice sculptures, but there were only 3 ice sculptures scattered in three different places. Well, at least they have the sculptures, and they did not say how many will they have, right.

I went there with a friend of mine and when we got there, we had a brunch first before we decided to look around the festival. My first dim sum in Canada. I have to say that it tasted ok, but that was a kind of funny/weird experience. I never thought that curry squid will count as dimsum. Plus, the english translation just made me laugh.

The name of the restaurant is Crystal Palace in Uptown Waterloo. The food was fine though. Service was ok.

Ever thought what a "Shumy" is?

I was looking down the paper to look for Siew May, a type of dim sum that is famous everywhere. But then, I did not find it anywhere on the paper. We were just betting against the odds that "Shumy" will be Siew May. And...we were right. I thought it would be another type of new 'Canadianized' dim sum.

Shumy a.k.a. Siew May

After brunch, we were on our way to the festival when we saw a dog tied under a platform. A guy told me that he has been observing that dog for almost an hour and no one came to look for him. He just brought the dog into the mall to warm him up a little bit. I have to say that he's kind of correct. Today was really chilly and windy.

Poor dog blown away by the wind.

I took some pictures around the festival, but it was nothing much more than some gathering for dog owners, I think. Or probably, today's weather actually played a role as well. It was too cold outside to actually have some dogs to pull around the dog sleds. I wished it was not that windy and cold.

Big husky

Golden Retriever?

Cute chubby husky

Ice sculpture and me

The same ice sculpture and Febrian

Anyway, it was Febrian's birthday just last week and he's legal now. We went for some gelato in Whole-lot-a Gelata in Uptown and ordered Rye and Coke for both of us. That's his first alcoholic drink and well....I haven't been counting mine in a while. There was no specific legal age in Indonesia and Malaysia and thus, I have been exposed to the knowledge of Wine and Spirits for quite some time. I only drink socially though.

My Spaghetti Gelato

After that Rye and Coke, we went to LCBO and look around. I grabbed a small bottle of Canadian Whisky and he got himself some vodka. Well, his first one. I have tried Scotch and normal Whisky, but not Canadian Whisky. Haven't got the time to try it after I bought it too. Looking forward to have a sip to it in the future though.

LCBO's paper bag

Canadian Club Whisky

A happy thing was that the cashier asked for my I.D., which meant that I still look young and not like I am 25. Well, because I am NOT.

Good day, good day. I wish spring will come faster.

Marble Slab

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:40:00 +0000

Sinfully delicious, adding more and more lipid (read: fats) to my body. I have been gaining weight because of stress and home sick feeling. I really should restart my 2011 resolution and actually start losing weight.

But afterall, what's done is done. Here it is, Marble Slab's Chocolate Swiss with Reese Peanut Butter Cup.

That's a big scoop right there.

Back to Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 03:10:00 +0000

My dearest blog and readers,

I know that I have not been writing for a while now. Work and life has totally consumed me and when I do find time for myself, I am usually too tired to type up some words to fill up my three years old blog. Just like now, lying on the bed with my laptop on my knees, writing a random post on my blog just to keep it alive.

I have been really busy with my work in the lab since my supervisor is leaving soon. I have learnt a lot of new knowledge here and I am looking forward to keep learning in the future. It's just that...it's pretty tiring.

I am thinking to change my blog template too...since it's 2011 and I have been using this current blog template for a while...We'll see how that goes...since I'm really really busy. I came back home at around 7 or 8 pm every weekday. By that time, I'll be too tired to do anything but preparing for meal. On weekend, I have to go groceries and clean the house. Probably hang out with my friends to keep my sane...and catch up on sleep.

We'll see if I can make time to upgrade my blog during family day (Yes, there is a day called family day in Canada...)

Happy New Year 2011
Happy Chinese New Year
Happy Valentine to my blog
(since I really didn't have time to say this to you)

Lydia.

Anatomy of a Chicken Breast

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Nope. This is not a biology course or cooking class. This post is just based on a random stupidity of grocery shopping. I wanted to buy fillet chicken breast today..happily bought 3 packages home, and surprised by the rib below the meat.

Yes, it seemed that I didn't read the fine print "Trimmed ribs". I thought that "trimmed" will mean that there's no ribs attached to my chicken. What happened was that the ribs were still attached, just that it's...well...trimmed.

I thought of just putting them in small portion bags together with the ribs, but on second thought, I will not have the extra time to cut of the ribs during weekdays. So, I took out a knife that I found somewhere in the kitchen and started to do "operation" on the chicken.

Honestly, why don't chickens have flat ribs? It's so hard to cut the meat off the ribs when the ribs are following the shape of the meat. I know this sounds epicly stupid, but yeah...I have understood that butchers are skillful people. Haha.

I had fun cutting 6 chicken breasts though. And experimented to fillet them myself. I kind of like the feeling when I cut the tender and cold meat. I didn't even feel disgusted by some blood sticking to it. Maybe...I could be a doctor afterall. Surgeon. LOL....

Just a thought..after cutting chicken breasts for 30 minutes.

2011 New Year Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:17:00 +0000

I can't believe that I'm entering the my third year with this blog. Seems that this blog could last forever ^^
Anyway, I'm going for a New Year party tomorrow and I do not want to announce my new year resolution with a hangover, I'm scared that I'll write the wrong things. LOL

Here is my new year resolution:

Cut out unhealthy food and eat whole food 90% of the time (why 90%?? I have been living in such a modern/unhealthy world and there will be some situations that I just will not be able to refuse the unhealthy food...)
Be at 45 kg at the end of the year! (this should not be a hard task...I lost 12 kg in 6 months before, 5 kg in 12 months is not a hard task)
Go to gym routinely (I have put my gym routine in my ipod, including the pictures on how to do all the resistance training, in case I forgot)
Follow healthy eating program (Yes, I even made an excel sheet, in which I tracked all the calories, protein, fiber, and carb)
Have awesome abs!!!!! (this is the newest thing to do..I have been struggling with my weight for 2 years and 2011 will be a new start for me. I'll be focusing on sculpting my body now..yeah!)
Be a good and enthusiastic person! (sometimes I think that I could be a better person than I am now)
Smile more more MORE (I just feel like I'm not smiling enough)

I wanted to make much more points there, but I think that I won't be able to cope with too much things...I'll be a better person next year overall...And yeah! be a gym rat before I'm 20 years old, since research shows that your metabolism will decrease starting at 20. I wouldn't want that to happen...

Happy New Year everyone!!

Cooking 101 # 3 [Weird 'Fried' Rice]

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:56:00 +0000

Weird Fried Rice

--Minute Rice's Brown Rice--Naturegg Simply Egg White--Cabbage--Black Pepper--Kikkoman Stir Fry Sauce--Worcestershire Sauce--Crushed Pepper Sauce--Garlic--Canola Oil Cooking Spray

Does not taste like fried rice at all, maybe for the fact that I didn't really FRY it. I am not using vegetable oil, just cooking spray, and...anyway, it tasted ok. Not bad for my first fried rice that is done in 15 minutes.

Fuel Cell Research #2 [$7000 cell]

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:56:00 +0000

Can you believe that the single fuel cell above costs $7000.00? Yes, I didn't type extra zero there. I just realized that there's so many expensive things in the lab, including the $8000.00 milli-ammeter and $100,000.00 fuel cell stack. YEAH, hundred thousand!

I'm still stuck with the older version without water coolant, but I'm pretty sure that it costs quite a lot as well.

Cooking 101 # 2

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:52:00 +0000

Shimp Broccoli

--1 cup of shrimp--

--1 bunch of broccoli--

--herbs and black pepper--

--canola oil cooking spray--

Fuel Cell Research #1

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:18:00 +0000

Yesterday, I started my first day at work. My work is not supposed to start until January, but my supervisor will be away in February and so we had to get trained before he left. I was so excited to go to the Green Energy and Fuel Cell Lab. Maybe next time I will take a picture of the front of the lab. I am not quite sure if I'm allowed to take picture inside the lab. Who knows that the research is confidential? This research is working with the largest fuel cell manufacturer for car in Canada and also the biggest Tier 2s in car industry.

What is Tier 2s? Let me explain it. In car industry, you mostly just know the Tier 1s, which are Honda, Ford, GM, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, etc. But they actually only add 15% to the value of the car. 60% of the car value is added from the Tier 2s. Tier 2s supply to Tier 1s. Tier 3s supply to Tier 2s and so on.

I get to see some fancy testing machines from Hydrogenics as well. Actually, that will be my main task for the rest of the term. Work on testing of fuel cell, and maybe some other tasks in between. I can't wait to get my hands on the actual tested fuel cell. I deassembled an old fuel cell yesterday, just to get the hang of it. I don't want to deassemble a new, working one and ended up screwing it up. Honestly, there's so much to read about this research. But it's so interesting, I didn't even know that I was reading a PhD thesis yesterday and sort of understand 30% of it. Well, I am still in first year, what could you expect.

I tried to read up on electrochemistry book that I found in the lab. It was so hard, and I just realized that it's a coursebook for ChE331, which I guess, should be taken in third year. Well, sort of explain why I hardly understand a thing beside Nerst Equation.

I am so looking forward to my actual work. The lab sort of remind me of my dad's warehouse in his office. The feel and the smell. Or maybe that's just how a machine shop looks like.

Cooking 101 # 1

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 19:27:00 +0000

I'm totally proud of myself today. It seems that cooking runs in my blood or maybe I just have the right instinct this time. I cooked beef broccoli and beef bokchoy today. Healthy versions. Without any salt.

Beef Bokchoy:

--Sliced beef--Chinese Bokchoy--Lemon and Herb--Chili Sauce--Canola Oil Cooking Spray--Garlic

Yes, you read that right. It's totally healthy and I'm on my track to healthy cooking and eating for at least 4 months. I'm eating C-L-E-A-N now. Which means, no unnecessary oil, no salt. I'm using herbs and garlic to give taste to my cooking, and considering that I'm used to little salt, I'm ok with that. But, obviously, this is not for everyone. I use cooking spray to reduce the amount of oil needed.

Beef Broccoli:

--Sliced beef--Garlic--Sesame Oil--Broccoli

The beef broccoli used sesame oil, but it was used sparingly, just to give some "chinese-ey taste" to it. But, I'm inclined to use herbs now...Love it more. Anyway, I won't use salt to cook all my dishes, so...for anyone that want to taste my cooking, please be prepared to get "healthy".

For someone that do not have actual background and knowledge in cooking, I'm so surprised that my dishes came out really well without looking at recipes. I even just used my feeling when I put in the spices. And it turned out just right. I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF!!

Lovely Season of Gingerbread

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:49:00 +0000

Cute gingerbreads from Tim Hortons and Mudies. I love how they look. I just don't like the effect on my waistline.

Smokin' First National Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:15:00 +0000

This is a full story of my first national conference of women in engineering that lasted 3 days from 19th to 21st of November 2010. It's going to be a very long story, so sit back and relax or just close the page because it's going to take you years to finish reading it :p

It all started on Friday, 19th of November. I went to morning lecture and skipped everything else afterwards because I'm heading to Ottawa with other delegates. In short, I met the other senior delegates in the Engineering Office and we went to Ottawa with a guy that is representing ESSCO, some kind of engineering student society across Ontario. It was all good until we drove at Highway 401 at Scarborough.

I was sleeping soundly because I had not been having enough sleep the previous night until I heard a real loud and distracting noise that awaken me from my deepest dream (this is getting so dramatic :p). The car was smoking and I could see thick black smoke coming out of the rear of the car. We pulled over on the side of the highway and Cam (the ESSCO rep) went out of the car and checked the car. We were like," WOW! That's dangerous." In Canada, you're just not supposed to go out of your car in the highway, no matter what. There was a case where someone was hit by another car when he was checking his wrecked car. That's unfortunate.

We had to call the CAA and got towed. We waited for 30 minutes until the tow car came and he was a really nice and....err...smelly guy. He set up our car to the tow car and we got in to his tow car(by that time, we have already taken a lot of pictures on the towed car, us, us in the tow car, and us on the highway. Anyway, the tow car started to move and the rear of the car started to produce smoke again. It turned out that the shocks were gone and if we continued to drive in it, there was a big chance that some parts of the chassis poking to the back seat, where I and another delegate was sitting.

We had to be towed to Whitby, a small town somewhere near Oshawa. On the way there, gosh..I just couldn't imagine how I were able to stand the tow guy's body odor. And I was the lucky one to sit in the middle and a part of his jacket was draping over my lap. The other two delegates were just smiling to each other and almost burst into laughter. Duuh, I'm in such a 'wonderful' position to absorb any superb 'perfume' the tow guy was emitting.

In Whitby, we got to Enterprise, a car rental agency, and we were supposed to be able to get a car through University of 1aterloo Corporate account. However, the officers there were not even trying to help us and just practically chased us out of his precious office. He wanted to have a driver that is at least 21 and have an insurance. Cam has an insurance but he's 20. The other 2 delegates are 22, but they don't have a valid insurance. They just wouldn't accept a combination of both. Haha

We walked to a nearby Subway and figured out how to get to Ottawa. Luckily, Cam knew a general manager of Gus Brown, a used car company, and he could get us a contact with that Enterprise. We could get a car from them after 1.5 hours of wait and totally rubbed it on that unhelpful officer face now. Haha! We could get the car now! But then, we had to return the car to Whitby and can't just simply return it to Waterloo branch.

It was a really nice trip afterward. A total of another 4 hours trip and we reached Holiday Inn & Suites in downtown Ottawa just before dinner. We had dinner in Johnny Farina, a nice casual dining Italian restaurant nearby. Met some new faces from every corner of Canada: Newfoundland, Windsor, Ryerson, McGill, Calgary, and many more. I just needed a rest and slept afterwards.

Saturday was a really great and productive day. I listened to awesome women from all across the industry; from government, council, private sector, and even inter-disciplinary options that you can take beyond your engineering degree. The hotel provided a great amount of food and I had so much cakes and cookies throughout the day.

In the evening, we had a banquet dinner and the food was great. Afterwards, I went to explore Ottawa with some other first years that I found in the conference. We walked around the bridges, canal, and the magnificent parliament building in the heart of Ottawa. We got lost, drank hot chocolate together, and got back safely at midnight.

Saturday was a smooth day and a real highlight of the weekend. Sunday though, was another story. The fire alarm went off in the morning and a girl had to come out from the shower at that time. Poor girl. After breakfast, we had another talk and we're off to Waterloo.

But then, we had to return the car to Whitby. So now, I'm currently sitting in Starbucks in Oshawa, waiting for Guelph people to pick us up to Guelph and later on hitch hike with the society B people to Waterloo.

What a great experience and what a long day. I really hope I'll crawl back to my bed safely today.

Picture Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:53:00 +0000

It's been quite some time since my picture updates!! But even all these pictures are not taken by me...The pictures include me inside them but they were taken by my friends.

South 4 Pumpkin Carving Session

Bonfire after midterm

L-R: Jacqueline(my don), Crystal, Candice, ME!, and Sahel

Still bonfire picture~~!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Night! Jacqui baked the pumpkin pies..She's an awesome don~~

South 4 Lady engineers!

I promise that I will TRY to take more pictures...ciao for now~!

Kashi and Gas

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I love chewy food. That's something I've known for years. I like to bite. OM NOM NOM. And recently I have found that Kashi Go Lean Crunch satisfies my need to chew. Unluckily, I had 2 bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch with Skim milk today morning and evening, it turned out to be a disaster. I felt so bloated and I am having so much gas in my stomach now. I feel so ill...

I guess I will have to go back to healthy living after days of pancakes, burgers, fries, and pizzas. Fruits all day long tomorrow.!! I have to go back in shape!

Midterm's over and jobmine reopens

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:17:00 +0000

I'm totally aware that it has been a while since my last post and gosh, I have been really busy with stuffs lately. 4 of my 5 courses midterm marks are out and I got 94 for algebra and calculus, 100 for physics, and 91.67 for chemistry. Not bad, but I was expecting for more in my chemistry...Duh, I'm in chemical engineering, chemistry should be my specialty.

My interview went well that day but I was not ranked by the employer. I guess they're looking for a mechanical engineering student afterall. Jobmine reopens this wednesday and yeah! I will bomb the prospective employers with my new resume. LOL.

Anyway, Halloween had past and I didn't get to celebrate it. Part of it is because I don't have time to assemble a costume and another part is because I had to do volunteer work for Waterloo SOS on Saturday and Sunday. I am looking forward for a better Christmas though. Maybe I would have a chance to do something fun in the snowy area.

Talking about the snow, there is a funny story about it happening just yesterday. Walking back to Village 1 from volunteering session, I was surprised by some white flakes falling down the sky. I was thinking that those are hardcore dandruff from somewhere until I realized that those are SNOW. Yes! Snow..like, super light snow that will not stay on the ground.

It got really cold this morning and my classmate just told me "Welcome to Canada".... ><"
I can see fog coming out of my mouth when I breathe and the feeling is great that now I am ready with my boots and mittens. I just feel like a really fat polar because of the gears I have to wear though...

Another concern that I am having is healthy eating here. Maybe I just get too picky after my whole diet sessions that opened my eyes to nutrition and healthy world. I had banana for breakfast, tuna wheat sandwich for lunch, and apple for snack today. I just think that it's better than eating pasta or some indian food. Much less fat and I have to be in shape even though it's winter...gosh...my daily planner has become a food planner as well starting yesterday :p

Thumbs up for snow~

Ground Flax Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Lydia) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:22:00 +0000

It has been 4 days that I have been eating yoghurt for breakfast. I had raspberry yoghurt with go lean crunch, blueberry, and ground flax on Tuesday and Wednesday. Vanilla yoghurt with blueberry, strawberry, and ground flax on Thursday. Strawberry yogurt with go lean crunch with blackberry, go lean crunch, and ground flax this morning.

The worker in caf even remembered that I am the "girl that loves ground flax". I just said that it's healthy and it actually is. She told me that because it is healthy, not many people choose to eat it. Ground flax is a super healthy food especially in a situation that does not make it possible for me to eat fish. The caf here just doesn't serve fish so much. All fatty food....all fatty food.

Ground flax is a source of healthy fat and it actually curb my cravings all day long. It's a good aid for weight loss. For REAL. I'm having tuna sandwich for lunch today...since it's gonna be a long and tiring day today. MEETINGSSSS AND REHEARSAL!!