Beauty in the Water

Swimming season just ended; I'm starting to miss it already. This season had been a roller coaster ride filled with misfortunes but managed to end with quite some flying colors. Things I've learnt this season:

1. Do not limit yourself because you are more capable of doing more than you think you can. 

2. Trust that there is a reason behind everything, even at times of failure. 

3. "Forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead." -Philippians 3:13

I can't express how thankful I am for everything that happened this season, even for my misfortunes that helped me to view swimming in a different way (when I had to sit out of the meets) and made success taste sweeter than it was. Now it's time for some off-season training! :)

Aka The Most Awkward Photo

Trick r' Treat

Disclaimer: I don't celebrate Halloween. I just like dressing up for the day and of course, getting an endless mountain of candies. 

My costume of a gingerbread man was fun and a lot of people loved it, so I thought I would just post a photo of it here. What did YOU dress up as this year?  

My Friend Patty as Santa & I 

A Day in NYC

Highlight of my long weekend: trip to NYC! Although I study in New York, I'm actually 3 hours away  from the city. The trip was supposed to be "academical" (i.e. visiting colleges), but we ate and shopped at Soho for the most part (hey, at least we passed by NYU & Parson). 

Soho- © Google Image

1st Food Stop: Lure Fish-bar. I just had a salmon tartar as I knew that I would be overwhelmed with food later on. 

Salmon Tartar

2nd Food Stop: Baked by Melissa. The special thing about this cupcake shop is that it has the tiniest and cutest cupcakes ever, served in twelve flavors. 

I have never been to Korean Town in NYC; to be honest, I've never even knew there was such a town. We had our final food stops of the day here, including dinner at Wonjo and we stopped by Paris Baguette to take some baked goods home. 

Dishes of Appetizers

Tofu & Kimchi Stew

I had a sip from one of the stews- tasted fine but it was too spicy for me.

Kimchi Pancake

Korean Barbeque

Beef vs. Pork Belly- I preferred beef; sweet and tender.

Special design of typical Korean restaurants- the pipe, which is used to evacuate the smoke accumulated during the barbeque. 

Because that was my second time having Korean food, I got a little too bold and tried all the spicy food.  I ended up with a sore throat and non-stop coughs. Lesson learned: never push yourself to the extreme.

New York City was a great getaway from the mundane city I'm studying in, but if I were to study there, I doubt I could actually concentrate.