English- Gotta Love This Funny Langauge

Case in point:

I started my drive back to Columbus today with lots of mixed feelings- sad to leave Utah but happy to be going back "home" (yup, it's official- Columbus has become my home away from home). Anyway, our (as in my sister and I- thank goodness she came with me this time!) first overnight stop was at Denver, CO where a Singaporean friend and his wife lived, and they planned to take us to eat 红烧牛肉面. Because the restaurant had limited seating, we planned to get there by 5:30 pm. I decided to give us plenty of driving time, and calculated to reach there an hour early if we didn't take any breaks.

I keyed in the address into my GPS, and according to the Time of Arrival, we would get there at 4:30 pm. So we started the drive, and since I got onto the highway, I changed the "Time of Arrival" to "Distance to Destination" to countdown how many miles more we had left to drive.

But after driving about 16 miles, the GPS instructed me to take US-6 for 400+ miles, and I grew uneasy because I knew my route had to be US-6 for about 60+ miles, then on to I-70. I was like, "How come my GPS is telling me stay on US-6 all the way? What about I-70?" Alarmed, I asked my sister to check the GPS for Time of Arrival.

Her response: Time to arrive is 7:35.

WHAT??? Reach there at 7:35 pm? What the heck- did I take a wrong exit or something? How did I suddenly add 3 hours to my trip?!

So we drove back all the way to Provo, and then I calculated my GPS again. It showed me the same route, and when I zoomed out to see the entire route, I realized that we had been traveling on the right route after all.

That was when I realized that my GPS said the time TO arrival was 7:35- as in 7 hours and 35 minutes to our destination. Sadly, our time AT arrival was now 5:30 pm.

The good thing was that even after wasting one hour's worth of gas, we still reached the restaurant with plenty of time to spare, and had really delicious food. It all worked out in the end.

And I almost got into an accident today, and am so grateful to God for watching out for me.

The Best Things About Being Back

I have to admit that when I realized that I had to return back to Utah for research, my response was a little... lackluster. Don't get me wrong- I loved my time at BYU. LOVED IT. But I miss living in a diverse metropolitan city (Salt Lake City does not count), and where I don't have to drive everywhere because I can take public transportation. Plus I'm a little more politically liberal.

So I was (and still am) very pleasantly surprised at how good it is to be back for a while! I still don't think I can stay here permanently, but I can definitely handle being here for a few weeks. It helps that the weather has been breathtakingly beautiful- cool, sunny days, springtime flowers slowly turning into summer blooms...

MY FAVORITE THINGS SO FAR
- Seeing my sisters
- Surprising friends at their doorsteps
- Hanging out with friends and just talking
- Getting my hair cut by my hairstylist- see THIS POST
- Getting excited when my research yields fruit and makes me go "Ah ha!"- I am SUCH A NERD!!!
- These:

I'm still trying to figure out a way to transport my beloved mountains back with me.

- CHEAP rent. Seriously. It's worth the long commute up to Salt Lake everyday.
- Frontrunner Train from Provo to Salt Lake. It's a little pricey (frankly my car gets slightly better gas mileage so gas would have been cheaper than the ticket), but in exchange I get a seat in a comfortable chair, air-conditioning, no stress from peak hour traffic, and no parking fees. The view is pretty nice too- I love to simply stare out of the window as it rolls through all the different towns. Also, there is free wireless (which is how I'm typing out part of this post) and I'm saving the environment.

Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.

But I think my top favorite thing about being back so far, has been the chance to return back to Temple Square. During lunch I simply cross the street from where I do research (the Church History Library) to the main Temple Square arena, find a seat somewhere outside in the sun, and just enjoy the gorgeous landscape and serenity of the area.

I love sitting near the Reflection Pool and watching the children play with the water, or admiring newly wed couples taking their pictures- a sure sign that a) wedding season has descended and b) Temple Square definitely has some calming effect on me since I don't get cynical/ bitter about seeing all these couples.

My spirit feels like it can breathe, something I didn't realize I needed till I came back.

 And I saw this sign while walking this morning. Good to know the Church recycles its water! (;p)

Off with Her HAIR!

One of the best things about bring back in Provo is that my hairstylist is here. We used to be in the same ward, and from the very first time I went to her to cut my hair, I was hooked.

As most of you know, last year when I went back to Singapore, I permed my hair and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. My hair is naturally straighter than a rod and thin as a, well, rod, so the perm gave my hair some volume and shape.

Then it grew and grew and grew.

Taken 2 days ago

Though most of the curls have already loosened, you can still see some waves in it. Unfortunately long hair is hard to keep healthy, plus it results in lots of tangled knots that are extremely frustrating to comb out. For the sake of my sanity (and shampoo bill), plus the fact that I was back in Provo, I therefore decided to take the plunge and...

I promise is not a creature. It is, however, what was left.

And now for the final product...

I love it! It's so cute (it looks even cuter in real life), plus I can't believe how easy it is to wash and maintain my hair now. I still want to perm my hair again when I go home, but for now, I can live with my new hair-do. 

Hello everyone- I'm Baaaaaaaaack!!!!

Back in Utah for a month! Who would have thought I'll be back so fast? But I drove cross-country for 3 days to surprise one sister for graduation, and then stay on for a month to do research. It was a VERY tiring and boring drive, but it has been really fun to see friends and family again.

Highlights of my trip so far?

#1 Surprising my sister for graduation- her one second 0.5 second look of surprise on her face, before she raced to me and said...

"Can you hold my jacket? I'm so hot" as she pulls off her graduation gown.

Seriously?! I grumbled, "I drove all the way here, and the first thing you say is 'Can you hold my jacket?'" To which she replied, "Actually I suspected you were coming. You kept asking me questions about my graduation, so I suspected it." I really didn't ask that many questions!

*Slap forehead*

Surprise fail. Sort-of.

Sisters Re-united!

It was still great to see friends and family. We had dinner last Sunday night with some family friends, and I sat with two of the grandchildren, who are 8 and 11 respectively. They asked me how old I was, and if I had a boyfriend, and then

"Are you going to get married?"

Point blank straight up, no holds barred. Highlight #2. I was cracking up inside. I replied, "Uh... I hope so." Next they asked me how old I was. Er... pretty old.
"How old?"
"Older than you by... a lot"
"Are you... twenty?"
"Nope, older."
On and on till they got my age (which, sorry, I'm not revealing on a blog)

And then, they proceeded to talk between themselves and list all the men they could potentially set me up with, such as...

"How about (insert in some random male name)?."
"He's too young."
"No he isn't."
"I think he's 17."
"Oh, that might be too young."

I was dying inside from laughing, and I am highly flattered. At least 2 people think I'm a pretty good candidate for marriage.

Other than that, I've been running around getting my car checked (my poor car... it's such a good sport!), helping one sister pack all her stuff up before she flies back to Singapore, visiting friends, and starting some preliminary research. Oh yes, and moving into my apartment. It's been a while since I've had a room-roommate (she is super nice), and lived in student housing, but rent was cheap, flexible and furnished- what more can a poor graduate research studen ask for?!  It's been fun, though I miss my apartment and friends in Ohio.