Assalamu'alaikum....

I'm so sorry, I haven't penned in for about a week, more even. I've had so much stuff to do, I had to put this on the back burner for a bit. Things has just gotten more than a bit crazy, and I just have so much stuff to do that my room feels more like a hotel: a place where I go to change, sleep, and maybe watch a bit of TV, which I always have on but rarely pay attention to. I'm wasting electricity every single day.

Since I don't have much time today either, lemme just give you the highlights of what I've been doing. The weekend before last (so it's 2 weeks ago), on Sunday, UMIMSA had a BBQ at Gallup Park, and a bunch of us went canoeing before that. Funnn..... even though at the beginning, Ayun and I did a few 360-degrees turn in the middle of the lake because we couldn't quite read the sign above the overpass that we were supposed to go under (sentence does not make much sense, but I'm short on time). Anyway, the trip was fun, even though my arms hurt like crazy afterwards. Ade orang tuh kan, siap terjun kolam lagik, jadi pasukan penyelamat. Nguhahahah... jalan pegi BBQ, baju seluar siap jaket-jaket sekali basah. Hahahah...adoi.

The BBQ itself was excellent, though there were a lot of leftovers. People were bringing back uncooked steaks by the bag. Alisa buat cubaan-cubaan tak berjaye nak bawak balik madu, last-last someone mintak balik before Alisa sempat pau buat rete sendiri. Hahahahah... alah, dah sapu satu meja dah, tinggalkan lah botol madu tuh sebijik. Deera and I both went for the BBQ sauce, sebab BBQ sauce mahallllll... Malangnye, bile balik rumah, botol BBQ sauce takleh bukak, last-last kene amek pisau and potong tutup die. Nampak sgt macam tak nak kasi orang gune. But still, BBQ sauce, makan dengan my satu kotak mozarella sticks panasssss... oh my god, time-time hari sejuk, mende tuh feels like heaven.

Talking about cold, my apartment still feels like an ice-box, even though they had the heat turned on yesterday. My hands are numb from the cold. Thank goodness I have my own space heater I bought last summer, so I do most of my stuff in my bedroom nowadays. The FIXIT guy came just now, or maybe I should say, the FIXIT grampa, because the guy is really old. Anyway, he said they're gonna try to have the heat on at 70 or 60 degrees, which is okay, I guess, if my apartment actually feels like 60 degrees. He laughed his head off when he saw how much stuff was painted on in my apartment. Apparently the good people at housing managed to paint shut my pantry closet, my cable outlet and one of my electrical outlet.

Okay, nothing interesting happened during the weekdays, much, if anything did happen, I can't remember them. I've just been swamped with Phi Rho meetings, MDE meetings, going to presentations from different companies (Amazon and Bain and Company, to name a few), submitting my resume to anyone who would take them, doing research for MDE, learn how to code in CSS and XHTML, and of course, working. Did I already talk about Career Fair ? I probably did, but if I didn't, doesn't matter, I'll get to it next time. Suffice to say, I almost peed in my suit when I talked to the first company.

Last Sunday was induction for Phi Rho. Congratulations for our new batch of pledges, you know who you are :) . I don't know how many people know you're pledging, so I'm just gonna shut up and not say anything here. May your pledge period be as interesting as mine was. It took a lot of time and a whole lot of running about town and doing new things, but new experiences are always good.

I remember my pledge semester. In my pledge class, I was the only international student, the only EECS major, and of course, in the whole sorority, the only one who looked different in more aspects than just skin color, ethnicity and religion. Going to a mass meeting wasn't all that bad. Going to rush events was a bit scary. I've never been group with groups, especially with people I've just met a few minutes beforehand, but when you're faced with circumstances like those, you can either run away, or just suck it up and fight your fears. Why did I decided to pledge in the first place? I think it was more of a way for me to branch out and do new stuff, be a part of something totally separate than the rest of my life. Plus it was a great way to make new friends and get to know people.

There were many times that I felt overwhelmed. The girls from my pledge class came from all-American backgrounds, they listen to roughly the same music, know the same stuff, grew up in the same environment. It was hard when you can't relate, so I did what seemed natural to me: I asked. Questions, about things that I didn't know, like a country artist they all love, or what certain phrases mean, or what does it mean when someone does something. In return, they asked about the things that I do, where I went to school, what it was like back home. Bonding experience? You can call it that :) .

Thinking back, I'm glad I stuck through it. I jumped in with both feet, didn't have anyone there to hold my hand, and came out with a better understanding of how people work. People define sororities and sorority girls in a certain way, it's a stereotype that all of us know too well off. By pledging, I think I broke every single mold that defined that stereotype, and in the process realize that, hey, this is nothing like what I saw on TV, and certainly nothing like what I thought it would be. Guys may laugh, and they may tease, and I may be the subject of criticism because people don't understand, but I define myself, not anybody else.

Defying the cookie-cutter world, and making my own standards, however flawed it may be, is probably the best first step I could ever have made to redefine... me :) .

Wassalam....