you brought me here. Thank you.

someone wrote a nice writing on the ice. 
it says "dear lake, you brought me here. Thank you."

yes, lake mendota in madison had frozen! the ice is nice and thick. you can step on it. but that is only true for about 100 meters from the shore. if you were to go beyond that, you'd get caught in the watery grave of the subzero water that is lake mendota.

looking a year back, this is about the time of the year when i was busy searching for prospect schools in the states.

i remembered choosing three schools from the list. they were all ranked in certain order which i couldn't figure out how. nonetheless, from that list, i didn't secure an admission from my first school of choice. i did manage to get number two and number three though. and now looking at the present, i am in the number three, ie the one on the bottom of my list. yeah, that's right. why and how i came to that decision? my college essay already explain that so i don't feel like doing it again. turn out, it was the best choice i could have ever made. how's that possible? recently i came across a link on facebook to the SOA website (stands for Society of Actuaries). they just released a recognition to certain actuarial schools in the states: Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE) Fall 2009. the title is self-explanatory, thank you. browse if you eager to know more. and guess what, my school is in it! and number one and number two was not. sorry :). from this point on i know that i am on the right track. my hopes and dreams are solidified. now what i ought to do is strive. :)

plus, when i had the interview for my american visa, i was asked a question by the immigration personnel: "out of all places in America, why do you choose Madison?" i answered that with my skemaness to the max; that uw is a good school. bla bla bla. turned out that lady gave me an unsatisfied expression and repeated the question. i rephrase the same answer only with much facts and enthusiasm. "i chose madison because it is a very good school and that mara set criteria for their scholar. bla bla bla..." was the jest of it. and yet, she repeated the question for the third time. i was stumped. i didn't know what to say anymore. i guess my reasons weren't good enough for her. so, on that very critical moment, with sweaty palms and butterfly stomach, i ponder hard to some witty word to say and suddenly i blurted out: "i heard they have great bus there. and nice lakes too."

she then smiled, with satisfaction and approval. and with that, i passed my visa interview. weird. i guess that is the sort of thing she wanted to hear from the interviewees. juniors, take note.

come to think about it, the lake did, in some weird and subtle way, brought me here. yes it did. think about it, if i didn't blurted out about the lake, i might partially not be able to be here today, right?

i smell butterfly-effect-theory-obsessing-paranoia. lol. XD

i wish my lumix isn't broken anymore.

it's funny how humans like to relate to everything around them.