A Story.

Today, my cell's alarm went off at 8:00 in the morning. I struggled to get off the bed and I needed to be responsible to wake Trav too. After some fumbling around the house, both of us jumped into the car and left for Salt Lake City. The trip to the SLC USCIS office would lift the burden off my shoulder since I had not received my temp. green card at this moment. Well, I was supposed to receive the card about 3 weeks ago according to the welcome notice sent from USCIS. 

(Anyway, we really couldn't do much about other individual's timetable. In the past several weeks, I checked my mail box twice a day, anticipating THE card. NOPE. NOTHING.) 

So here we go. We had a quite pleasant 45-minute drive to the office and we were even 5 minutes early. When it came to our turn, we explained about our situation and requested to get my passport stamped with a special visa. I told the officer that I'm flying out on this Wednesday morning and I can't afford to wait on the (supposed-to-be-in-my-mail-box-a-million-years-ago) green card. After some contemplation, he stamped my passport and promised me that the card would arrive before the end of my trip. 

(And yes, this was my second time at the office for the same matter. I went there about two weeks ago to request the same thing but the officer of that day told me to wait for it. Why couldn't they just stamp my passport in the first time? Now it's 2.60 something per gallon!) 

Thus we brought back the stamped passport. As we pulled in the drive way, I went up to check our mail box. To my surprise, the mail box was filled with quite a pile; grocery Ads, a package from Gail (thanks to her sweetness to send me the program of BGSU's commencement), and, a mysterious envelope...I pinched and pressed the envelope, hoping to figure out what's inside, then my figure sensed an outline of a credit-card size square. 

Urrrrrrah. NO WAY. Was this it? I tore it open and spotted the trademark of USCIS. Men! Why? Why it came right after my appointment? Only 2 hours apart! AHHHHhhhhhhhHHHH!!!

So, this is the story of the day. I'm going back to pack now.

 

5 More Days to Go!

Ha! Can't wait! This morning when I woke up, I took a couple of minutes just laying in bed and imagining the moment when we arrive at the Taipei airport. My Mom has promised that my family will show up and pick us up from the airport. So the airport scene would be the first encounter of Travis and my family. How fun! (Sorry, If this is not the BEST attitude I should have...I know that Travis is pretty nervous about it...)

I think I will start packing today and I'm planning on taking only two luggage with us plus two items of carry-ons. I hope the airlines haven't launched the regulation to charge for carry-ons. By the way, by any chance if anyone knows  whether I am allowed to bring a 2-oz. sanitizer (flammable) on board? I need that to fight against the swine flu germs! 

I still have some errands to run before departure, such as getting gifts for my family! What would you get as a gift for your friends outside of the States? I have few ideas in mind but I would like to hear your say! (Besides, my family might be reading this blog and I don't want to spoiled the surprise by revealing my options!)  

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So Trav and I went to the Manti Pageant last night. The turnout of the crowd was pretty good concerning it was a weeknight. I was comparing the Manti one with the Nauvoo one and found the Manti one is more narrative-savvy whereas the Nauvoo one focuses more on performantive elements. I actually like Nauvoo Pageant better since it focuses only on the Saints' history in the Nauvoo period instead of attempting to encompass the entire story of LDS's migration (from New York to Utah) and the brief life of J. Smith, which the Manti pageant just did. Or maybe I'm just biased; I've always loved Nauvoo temple and the area, haha! One regret I have is that I didn't get married in Nauvoo temple but well, every temple is the Lord's house...

The Manti pageant lasted approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes. Afterwards, we took US-89 S. (about 15 miles south) to Gunnison and from there merged onto I-15 north to Provo. We were told to do so to avoid north traffic. Well, it still took us about 1 hour and 40 min. to get home. I just list this experience for the future references if somebody lives north wants to travel down to Manti to see the Pageant.     

What's Cooking?

Only 15 more days to go and then I won't need to cook for 3 weeks! How exciting! Although I love making food, cooker's block would appear from time to time. These two dishes show my attempt to be a quasi-vegetarian!

Grilled Veggies 

Dressing: minced garlic, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste.

Assorted vegetables, such as zucchini, summer squash, red & yellow bell peppers, tomato, egg plant, and red onion.

Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Brush the dressing onto veggies before grilling. Drizzle some more dressing onto the plate and garnish with mozzarella cheese and torn basil leaves before serving. 

Simple Garlic Lemon Pasta

minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, mixed Italian spices, thin-sliced veggies (zucchini, red & yellow pepper, carrot, and onion), and shrimp

 

Trav's Birthday!!

Happy birthday, Travis! Trav's birthday was last Friday and I made a cake for him. This cake embodied my love for him straight out of the BOX!! (I know, I will try to make it from scratch next time.) To make the cake a bit more special, I blended cool whip, lemon juice & zest, and canned tropical fruit as stuffing, sandwiched by two layers of cake.   

The cake! He was turning 26! I used edible pink gel to garnish the cake. The color pink caters to my personal taste instead of his, oops! 

Do you notice that? Yes, these candles sparkle!! I got them from a dollar store. It's like miniature fireworks on a cake! 

The birthday boy! I surprised him with the cake right after he got off work!

Ah.

(Ok, I know the head title is bizarre but I am kind of speechless now so please bare with me...)

So, I got a callback from Nu Skin about a couple of days ago and I went for an interview today. I didn't think I totally bombed the interview (yeah, I made some mistakes in English grammar but that just a typical me) but I am almost 100% sure that I won't get the job. Because I told them that I will be leaving for Taiwan right after the orientation & training program for new employees, they replied that they USUALLY don't allow employees to be on leave for more than two weeks not even mention that it will be right on the first week of my employment. DARN IT! (I wasn't going to be that honest but I was required to fill out some forms before the interview; my conscience was evoked during the filing process...) 

Well, I guess that means that I just need to focus on planning out my trip now! Three more weeks to go and then I will be gone! 

I will battle with prospective employers after I get back from Taiwan. If you know anyone is hiring and you think I'm made for that particular job, please let me know!!! I will be available after July 15th!