My 'Foolproof' Gap Year Plan

I have mentioned once that I'm in the middle of my gap year. Honestly though, I don't know if I'll have a gap year, because whether or not I'll be having a gap year depends on whether I get accepted into uni for 2014 (not 2013 because I won't be old enough to live at the residential halls by then and I don't want to get in during the second semester). Getting in at the first semester is mainstream, but I want mainstream when it comes to uni schedules.

Gap years however are not so maintsream. A good friend of mine (let us call her Seesee Spongebob) once told me to use my time wisely. This was a simple yet precious advice. I don't know anyone else in my batch of graduates who are having gap years (I only know one or two souls who are keeping half a year vacant at max).

As for me, if I do get accepted into uni directly, I will leave for school in 2014. Which leaves me with a 1.5 year gap. If I don't get accepted into uni directly, I'll have to spend around eight months at a college for foundation. I would have to leave at 2013, and then I would have less than a year vacant. Even now, I do not know what will become of my fate in 2013. I have no idea if my documents have safely arrived at the university either (screw the mail tracking system for attempting to kill me by curiosity/nervousness overload). So right now is a very nerve-wracking time of my life. For the very first time my future will be decided by a third party :X

Until then, this is how the linguist rookie shall spend her gap year!

Translations: c'est moi (French): it's me; l'ordinateur (French): computer; mi sono perso (Italian): I am lost; 내가 제일 잘 나가 <naega je-il jal-laga> (Korean): I am the best (in reference to 2NE1's song)

First Hand at Photoshop

Huzzah! I've finally made a banner for this blog. That was the reason for yesterday's entry vacancy. This is actually my first achievement in Photoshop.

Before I started I didn't even know it existed on my laptop, let alone ever using it. So I searched in my laptop for anything called 'photoshop' (had my fingers tightly crossed) and to my delight, Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 appeared! :D

Still, I was a complete noob when I opened it. Needless to say, I searched my trusty friend Google for help countless of times. I don't think I've ever opened so many tabs at once. The Internet is just one of the things that make me glad I live in the 21st century.

With the help of some really helpful tips and guides online, I raided for free digital scrapbook papers. I can't afford to pay for anything I won't get in the real world, because I am just a humble student in her gap year. The selection part was fun and torturous at the same time. There were so many wonderful selections online, but to find the exact patterns I had in mind was difficult beyond words. Now I know I am not as bendable as I think.

One of the things I spent the most time on had to be globe with the infinity sign, which you can see right on top of the blog title. I've lost countless hours just working on this.

Ta-da! This is my globe of infinity. It also took me countless tries to get the infinity ring around the globe right. The idea of using the oil brush had to do with the cover of Infinite's (I love them and their music!) latest album, 'Infinitize'. 'Infinite' also happens to be my favourite word. It has inspired me in so many ways.

Japanese Meal Time: Sushi

Like any normal day, my mom and I were left to decide what to have for lunch. My dad wasn't present that afternoon, so this time, just before my brother comes down to the kitchen with an empty stomach, begging for food. Not much brainstorming was required for lunch, because we simply decided to make my favourite food - sushi! :D

It certainly hasn't been ages since we had some homemade Japanese food for a meal (hayashi rice!). But I, as an ardent Japanese food admirer, found it very hard to refuse. The fillings that we usually use for making sushi would be crabsticks, little tempura shrimps and egg. We've never made sushi with fresh raw fish at home, for various reasons like the cost and the availability. It's just not really appropriate for impromptu whipping up of meals, since it's definitely not there every single time we're in a pinch :P

 This was what went on at the kitchen:

Talking About Ribs

Okay, so yesterday I went to Tony Roma's for the first time in my life.

Some of my friends think that it's somewhat ridiculous that I've never been there.
They are big fans, after all.
One of them, who is also my lovely neighbour, claimed that I 'have not lived' if I've never tried Tony Roma's ribs. This saying had stuck to my head ever since it came out of her mouth.

Was it really that good? Was it really so delectable that I supposedly 'never lived' if I've never eaten it? I was overflowing with curiosity. In fact, I'm often so filled with curiosity that I think I'm abnormally inquisitve.

If anyone was good at advertising via word of mouth, it's my friend, the Pink Princess.
Pink Princess is my neighbour and the only girl in my 'clique' whose age is the same as me. The other three, Josie Buttercup, V-man Brain and Lady Agata are all a year younger.
Eloquent as she is, she managed to save me and my other friend, Josie Buttercup, quite a sum of money with her impressive bargaining skills. I wish I could haggle like her, but I lack the umm...persistence to do so.

Anyway, back to the topic. Here's what we ordered last night:

Initiation

Hello, my name is Alicia.

I'm Asian, 16 years old and a dreamer, 24/7.
I have a passion for liberal arts, but foreign languages interest me the most.
So far I can speak English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. I have a lot to improve on, though. Also, I'm learning French and Italian on my own, making very gradual progress.
I have a lot of pastimes, which include listening to music (all genres), reading books, surfing the Internet, cooking and sometimes, watching movies.

And I'm now back with a new blog!

I've just recently decided to delete my old blog, and properly dedicate my time to this one. I have a blog on Naver.com as well, written mostly in Korean. I think it's going to be a challenge for me to update this regularly, because I don't go out and experience very much lately :|
I'm going to be posting about all sorts of things that life offers, so don't let the name fool you. Food, art, traveling, music, the list goes on. C'est la vie! :)

This summer, I've graduated from high school and won't be seeing my friends regularly anymore (sob). It is saddening, but however tough life gets for us, I can always walk a few blocks to my friend's house and have a nice chat.

So, I guess that's all for the first post :)

アリシア (Alicia)
 

Now listening: Don't Say No - Yoon Gyeon and Seo Hyun