This week, someone invited me to join Circle K. I was not interested in joining the organization, and I declined the offer politely. Then the person said that "it'll look good on the resume". It wasn't my first time that I've heard this line, but it it is really, really irksome to me. Was it supposed to entice or motivate me to join the organization? If you are doing something you love or interested in, then all the more power to you! I just have a problem with people joining organizations for the "sole purpose" of padding their resumes. What happened to joining clubs/organizations just for the love or the fun of it?!?!

Okie dokie, that's my complaint of the week. ;)

I have work training on Saturday - it is expected to run from early morning to mid-afternoon. This means that I'll be staying on campus ... on a Saturday. Ahhh! I've made plans for the afternoon and evening of Saturday, fortunately, so I'll be out of here shortly after the training session. Yay!

P.S. I don't think the senior events/trips are particularly appealing. Besides, some are only for 21+ (i.e. Foxwoods Casino) - a requirement that I will not meet until next September. Can that be considered as age-ism? ;)

OK, plenty of people have asked me why I am graduating early from college, and the truth is, financial reasons are only half-truths. It is a major aspect of my decision to graduate early, but there are other reasons as well. It all goes back to my senior of high school ...

Me: At the time, I didn't know what I wanted to do or major in, but I was leaning toward enrolling at Brandeis to study science (chem or physics) or computer science.

Parents: Despite the fact that it offered me the second best financial aid package, my parents did not like Brandeis. In fact, they were so dissatisfied with it after the college visit that they'd rather that I attend any of the other schools on my list.

Me: Since my FA package consisted mostly of grants, I was concerned about how to finance school for subsequent years. Brandeis was one of the top 25 most expensive colleges in the U.S, and I don't want to be deep in debt upon graduation, either. I began looking into other possibilities.

I applied to about 6 or 7 safety schools, which was a bit excessive but necessary due to financial factors. In retrospect, I should've applied to more reach schools just for the heck of it. ;)

Final choices: (Selected based on financial aid packages)

Me: Brandeis
Parents: BC

The truth is, I only applied to BC because they accepted the Common Application - it took no time to apply! I'd never expected that this would be the school that would offer me the best financial aid package; two scholarships! BC's a good school, but I know it wasn't for me. My heart just wasn't in the right place.

After many arguments with my parents (we've all said some things that we shouldn't have), I finally made my final decision. And it was MY decision:I chose Bentley.
Besides a beautiful campus, they also offered me a half scholarship - renewable upon meeting GPA requirements.

I wasn't entirely happy with it because it wasn't my first choice, but rest assured, I am perfectly content now. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably choose Bentley! ;) "Because" it was not my first choice, I made a vow to myself that I'd pay for all my tuition and room and board myself - whether it be through loans, scholarships, or life savings. With the exception of my laptop, I refused to let my parents pay for anything that is "school-related". I naively thought that if I flunk out of school, no one can complain but me because I am paying for my own education! ;)

Fortunately, I highly value education and love learning. Besides, my parents never got the chance to go to college, and I am not going to waste my opportunity. It's not even an option. But because I made a vow to myself - and one that I intend to keep - it'd made more sense for me to graduate early. I had AP credits, credits from other colleges, and I only need to work harder in school by taking course overloads. Things laid out perfectly by itself, and it was a simple decision. Besides saving money, it also saves time. I could spend the year to have a head-start in graduate schools, work, or maybe do some travellings (just not London again) ;)

You know, life has its strange way of working things out. Trust me on that. :)

Did I ever tell you that I am a newspaper freak? Well, now you know. ;) Besides local/national/international news, I go as far as reading other schools' news for interesting articles - if time permits. I am telling you; it's almost like an addiction.

I've stumbled upon an entertaining article on Cornell's website. Trick or Treat (Career Fair) To summarize it, the author went to the Career Fair to get "freebies". ;) I thought it was entertaining because we had our Career Fair just yesterday. Despite my sister's advice, I *did not* wear a suit because it's just not...me. Instead, I wore a black jacket that "looked" like a suit. See, it's all a matter of perception! ;)

You see, I didn't want to go to the Career Fair in the first place because I think it's rather superficial . I went though because I had promised my roommate that we'd go together. The gym - where the Career Fair was held - was hot! You'd think they were trying to fry us! My roommate and I walked around and were ready to leave after the 5-10 minutes. I then saw some of my friends (who I haven't seen in some time) and we just hung out. I wasn't at all surprised that most of the companies were recruiting accounting and finance majors, after all, this IS a business school

I ended up walking around with one of my friends, who seemed equally as bored as me - she was just waiting for her friends to "finish up". I have to agree with the author that too many people were too serious with it. People seemed to be in a mad dash to submit resumes! My heart just wasn't into it, so I didn't even bother to stop by the IBM and EMC tables. I guess I should be more concern about career prospects, but I am not. So, if I am unemployed after graduation, we'll know who's to blame. ;) D'oh! Of course I am not talking about me! It's the darn economy! It's always the economy! Blame everything on the economy! ;)

My friend and I walked around rather aimlessly. So while we have nothing better to do, we decided that we might as well get some freebies. And you know what? As silly as it sounds, I think that was the highlight of the Career Fair. Why? Because it occupied us ... for a while. So the point of this post? Well, I could say "don't take life seriously" but there's really no point to this post. ;)

My personality type: INFJ

"Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types. INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives. On the other hand, INFJs operate within themselves on an intuitive basis which is entirely spontaneous. They know things intuitively, without being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at hand. They are usually right, and they usually know it. Consequently, INFJs put a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions."

I actually wanted to say something about my intuition for quite some time now, but I wasn't sure how to talk about it without sounding presumptuous. There is something that is bothering me, and it has to do with my intuition. I - I don't know how to quite explain it, but I know how another person feels about me - actually, even better than he knows it himself! That's certainly not something anyone can say, but I do know, believe it or not. The truth is, I am kind of disappointed by what I know, even though that person does not know or realize it yet (I, myself, don't how I know, but I am 99.9% certain that he does not know yet).

I guess the interesting thing is that I also know how others think about me (both the details of my "positives" and "negatives"). I haven't changed any of my "negatives" because 1. I am not really concerned about how people think about me 2. Those "negatives" that I know others viewed me with aren't really "negatives" in my mind; some are misconceptions, whereas others are not done intentionally - even though it may appeared that way.

I might write more about it later (let me know at hkmail@excite.com if you're interested in reading more about it), in the meantime, I think this is confusing enough.

Over the weekend, I have been writing an article for my school newspaper on the terrorist attack in NYC. It's not a long article, and it is the very least I could do to inform others (in the most objective way I could) on what is going on in the world. They might not even publish it (I am speculating that many others will write about it as well), but all that matters to me is that I made an effort. A long effort, actually.

I have been rather tired these day from not getting enough sleep - especially with all that has happened last week. So this week, I am going to try to get as much sleep as I could, because there is a very real possibility that I might get sick if I am not more concerned about my health.

I am just glad for some sort of normalcy.

On to other updates: I have been assigned the role of "Lead Analyst" in my group project. I thought that was funny, just because I couldn't quite imagine myself playing that role yet. Anyway, I haven't been paying as much attention to my school work (or much at all, for that matter) with all that has happened last week.

My two classes on Friday have been cancelled due to the National Prayer and Remembrance Day. Those two classes were cancelled on Tuesday as well, so there should be lots of make-up work. It shouldn't be too bad, though. College will be over before I know it and I am just trying to cherish my time there. I love Bentley and I am just so glad to be there.

When I read the news about one of the passengers from the doomed flight - who called his mom to say that "he loved her very, very much" moments before it crashed - tears streamed down my face. I quickly wiped my tears away because I don't want my roommate to see me crying. It was all too surreal yesterday - almost like a very, very bad nightmare. But it's all too real, and ... it's finally sinking in. The collaspe of the World Trade Center. Rescue workers working to find survivors under the mass of rubbles. Death tolls estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.

I guessed I was still detached from the reality of it all yesterday, but now, it hurts just to see others suffering over the loss (or the unconfirmed fate) of their loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with them...


"The flame that burns the brightest
is the light of eternal human spirit:
a beacon of love, justice and peace
that will never be extinguished.

It will triumph over the forces of darkness,
And illuminate for the whole world
The truth path of freedom,
through goodness, hope and love."

I don't know about you, but I am still reeling from the shock of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. today. The destruction of the World Trade Center, the injuries of thousands, and the many who are not accounted for- even at this late hour - saddens me. This morning was also the high point of my worries, as a number of my relatives live in NYC (who are OK, thankfully). Nonetheless, I still feel very bad for the victims and their families. Today is a tragic day that will go down in history.

The topics of

why? (terrorist attack)
how? (four planes were hijacked)
who? (Bin Laden is at the top of the suspect list)

have been reviewed by news stations all over America today. One of the things that disturbed me, however, is the short broadcast where some of the Palestinians (note: only those individuals, not the group) were celebrating of the attack in the U.S. It almost seemed cruel. Even if U.S. consistently sided with Israel, it and NATOs didn't just sit there and do nothing (or worse, laugh or celebrate over it!); they tried to resolve the conflict between them! Whatever happened to...human compassion?

Terroist Attacks
A tragic day today...