I’ve never truly savored the lull period of a vacation actually. I’ve always been in search of new experiences, adventures and just want to do something. But after a nightmarish week of rushing my assignments and studying for exams, I think I can really relate to those who are just adamant that they don’t do anything during a short break. I needed downtime.

Left Morgantown on Friday morning, arrived in Pittsburgh Airport. Slept until it was almost my time to board the plane headed for Chicago. A 2-hour flight spent sleeping. Got off at O’Hare, took the Blue line down to Damen, and walked all the way to Willow. :D I love being independent. I’m looking forward to staying there when Baby Oli comes to town. ;)

Had a Japanese dinner with my cousins and their friends, and that was a new experience in itself. I expected older working adults with serious things to talk about, such as politics and the weather. Knowing that there was an Englishman there fueled that notion along.

Funnily enough, I was absolutely wrong. Completely. Not only did they make lots of inappropriate toilet jokes and acted like random college students, the said Englishman was also just as bad. :D then we adjourned to Kelly’s place, where her husband and her kept a huge Boxer, Pascal. He was absolutely adorable. I spent the entire time pampering him, just as I would with Princess and Rocky and Sally. He had a toy beaver, and played little games with us too. He was such a sweetheart.

We got home a little after 12, and couldn’t resist watching the Samurai. I didn’t think it was any good before this, so I didn’t bother watching it. But after watching it that night, I found it to be an enjoyable sit. :) in the afternoon, I watched Prince of Persia, which I now think is good (previously avoided it too). :) They are mostly character-driven stories, with simple almost formulaic plots. But the characters were fleshed out enough to give the audience something to chew on. That, to me, was their shining point. :)

On Saturday, Kakak Minda and I had breakfast at Feast, and I went shopping with her. XD We fetched Abang Tuah from the pub after he was done watching the rugby games and headed for Madison! :D it was a 3 hour journey, I think, and we stopped by McDonald’s along the way. When we reached Madison, they checked in at Hilton, and then we went out for dinner with Lynn, Yeet Chien and Chloe at Vientiane Palace, a Laos Thai restaurant. Superb. Had a great time with them, and parted ways with my cousin that night. Gave Lynn and Chloe their long-overdue birthday gifts, and around 9, Lynn took me to see Chin Wei, Shi Ning, Shiau Shuang and Karen. :) they made caramel apple for me, apparently, and spent a jolly good time cracking the hardened candy, and exercising my tongue. == lol. But all was well. Finished the apple. :) Ji Mi was there too, and he and Shiau Shuang were finishing their Physics assignment. :) the apartment was cozy, and their rooms were huge, compared to the common area.

We got home about midnight. The next day was spent sleeping. Haha. Been a while since I got to sleep in that long without worrying about the time and assignments to complete. We (read: me and Lynn) woke up around 3, and we took our time getting ready and went out for dinner. Had Bacon Cheeseburger at Five Guys on State Street. :) Stopped by a cupcake shop, and Lynn bought us a delectable, heavenly chocolate cupcake. Oo-la-la. Headed home via State street, and noted the interesting shops I’d like to visit. ;)

So now, I am Steep & Brew, a coffeeshop on State. Just finished walking about around the main campus, and joined Lynn’s 8.50 Parasitology class and met up with Nisha at her 9.55 Organic Chemistry class. Feels good to literally ‘goyang kaki’ in class. :D When Lynn’s done with her discussion, we might head to the State Capitol, and meet up with Chloe, Lew Jin, Jesslyn and Yeet Chien for an early dinner down at QQ, a Chinese restaurant. :)