Going home

95 days in USA, 98 days from home. I'm finally going home. I just left Wildwood a few hours ago. Bidded sad farewells to some people I'll never see again and looking forward to see my friends in Singapore once more. Back to school, wack to work... mundane lifestyle once again. I loved the wonderful days at Wildwood, loved the extravagant high life in South Beach miami, loved the magical Disney world in Orlando, loved the Jazz in New Orleans, loved the beautiful Montreal and last but not least the bustling 24 hour city of New York. Now its time to go home.

Came to NYC to eat the subway and now I'm leaving NYC with a subway. Good memories I have to bring home. All's well that ends well. Now time to board my plane, first class... Haha

Ciaos USA.

Slack.

Cough Cough

Back in NYC by 4.25am so we decided to go queue for the Brian O'Connor show tickets at Rockerfeller center. Thinking that we'll be the first few, we went over the MAC to get breakfast. However, when we got there at 6am... we were already 50th in the queue! What did I say about the city that does not sleep? Haha... To add on to my amusement, Faith Hill was holding a concert cum signature signing event... at 6AM in the morning!! Oh man... New York City sure is crazy. Where in the world do you find 6am concerts? Only in NYC.

However, the 24hour city sure has lots of bad points. It is 1 of the dirtiest city in the world. The subway stations are basically just a tunnel supported by I-beams... The roads are filthy, if I left a piece of garbage on the floor and I returned 2 years later, it'll still be there. It is also super dusty. Example. I sat on the pavement waiting for the tix so I opened my laptop to watch anime. In less than an hour, it was covered in 1 layer of black dirt, sprayed from the passing buses and trucks! 1 thick layer...

Slack.

Bonjour... Merci

Montreal is a lovely laid back place. Laid back in a different way from Miami. The pace of life here is slow although it is a city center. Amazing right. No wonder Montreal doesn't appear in the world map as a business center. =) Nevertheless, it provides a very surreal and tranquil environment. Just nice for studying! Right now I sit in a Starbucks sipping mint mocha frappucino with my computer plugged into the wall for power and logged on to a free internet network like the 10 other users in here. Nice slow music plays over the stereo to add to the ambience. french people really know how to enjoy huh.

Other than the alarming number of unemployed roaming the streets, seriously worse than in NYC, I love this place. Another town, another new experience.

Slack.

Peace at Montreal

First impression. OMG! Firstly, everyone, okie maybe not everyone but at least99% of the poeple here speak French. I made my way out of the the bus station and the whole place was so peacefull unlike the energy that filled New York City. Headed straight to my hostel to dress up. The lobby was so decorated with antique furnitures, a fireplace and proper restaurant chairs and tables I thought I had entered a fine restaurant. That was not all. I walked down the stairways, it looked like a high class apartment with nice stone walls and paintings hanging on the walls. Another stunner came when I stepped into the room. The pictures I saw online did not do justice to the room. The sofa gave way to a bed pulled down from the wall. The room was laced with wood. Wooden furniture, wooden floor and wooden desk. Yes, they provided a desk like it was a unversity dorm, complete with lan socket! Did I mention that there was also a huge fridge and a microwave? The toilet was also white, spick and span. Proper bathing cubicle and even a mirror to check your bald spot. Haha... Excellent. A good start to a brand new day in Canada.

Spent the whole day visiting churches. 3 churches in all. All very grand and well designed. I guess only the pictures I took can describe its beauty.

Slack.

On the sidewalks of New York City

My friends went shopping at American Eagle and H&M and I sat on the sidewalks of New York using the internet. Clearing my emails, chatting on MSN, enjoying the view of passer-bys. What was missing was a cuppa nice fruppacino in one hand and a donut in the other. This is life.

Slack.

The 24 hour city

The 24 hour city really runs 24/7. As Marc puts it, "its a sin to sleep in Manhattan". Its simply amazing how the streets are still packed with people at 2am in the morning. Subways run 24 hours and people fill up the train at these odd hours. Goodness. This city never sleeps. Another thing that amazes me is the horrendous traffic they have here. Right now I'm typing on my laptop while being stuck in the jam. I've already been stuck here for nearly 2 hours inching forward every minute or so. Haha, couple with the fact that there's practically wireless internet connection wherever you go, its so easy to surf the net while you're waiting for the traffic to move. Hehe... there's always an open linksys network that allows you to leech on. Weee!!!... hmm... so much for not allowing people to use the handphone while you drive huh...

Slack.

Origin of the Jazz

I'm now in New Orleans. Took me 14 hours to get here by bus from Orlando Greyhound terminal, the longest journey yet. New Orleans is so special in its own rights and has such a rich history worth mentioning. First up, jazz music originated from here. Secondly, cajun cooking and creole style cooking had their roots here in New Orleans. Not to mention my favourite Tabasco sauce and other Lousiana Hot sauce. As you can tell food has become one of our group's favourite hobbies. The price of our lunch ranges from S$16 -25 and dinner from S$20 - 30. Nevertheless, the humongous servings more than satisfy our cravings for food.

There's also a street here called Bourbon street. Yes, the drink was named after this street. This is where you can find the most bustling forms of entertainment be it adult entertainment, clubbing, pubbing or street basking. Some place huh? Listen to my jazz, get a drink, chat with friends. What more can I ask for? =)

Slack.

Magic Kingdom

Did Disney world today. Mom always told me that when she brought us there 15 years ago, we could not appreciate it enough to warrant the amount she paid so she said I should go there again 1 day to appreciate it with my own money. Today, that was exactly what I did, costing me US$63 for a 1 day ticket to Magic Kingdom, one of the 4 Disney world theme parks. Ouch. However, I really felt the magic which I think I did not feel as intensely when I was 7. Just 1 park. Imagine if I did exactly what I did 15 years ago and visited all 4 parks. Purr-fect.

It was so special and made all $63 worth it. The rides were well designed and maintained to world class standards which set the level for other theme parks to aim for. The attractions were also cleverly structured to accomodate huge crowds. It was both entertaining and simply magical. What made it even better was the on-the-ball staff who were constantly smiling and lively. Purr-fect!

Slack.

Miami

Have not blogged for some time. I'm done with Miami. Leaving Wildwood was hard as I left many people behind, but after we settled down in Miami. All was well again. We lived the high life. Eating a US$50pax dinner at Rendevous restaurant. Crazy right?! Basically we spent at least US$20 a night for dinner only, not inclusive of the Hagen Daz and gelatos we took for dessert. Not only were we spendthrift on food, we also splashed on beach chair rentals, scooter rentals and clubbing. In fact, after proper accounting, I realised I spent US$480 on Miami alone. Shit. Nevertheless, we left Miami feeling satisfied and yearning for more. The clear-water beaches with nice sand and water that you could see the seabed even when you're 100 feet from the shore. The beachside scooter rides and getting caught by the police for riding the scooter from the rear seat. The fresh and tasty food. The wonderful hostel with internet access and free phone to anywhere in America. The chill out pubs which wraps up the day perfectly. The list goes on.

Slack.

Clubbing

For the first time, the girls to guys ratio was good. Technically, we had 2 girls to each of us guys. Yup, its the first time the Taiwanese girls joined us for clubbing, together with Cindy and Grace. We drank and danced all night till Michelle couldn't even stand properly. Haha,,.,. At the end of the day, we had 3 girls in our room. Knocked out. A pity we are not bastards like how Marc puts it. Nevertheless, it was definitely a memorable night coz the gals we went with were so amicable and affable. Had a whale of a time! Again again! A pity Cindy's gone back to Singapore.

Slack.

Feel good

Went to work at 5pm for Hunt's pier and it was not long before John comes over to tell me "Sash (my manager) ask me to replace you coz he doesn't want his best guy working for others, so head back to morey's pier." Whoa! That feels good. But poor him, he was not wanted at Morey's piers then? Haha... He was pissed.

Later on, I was working at the long range basketball stall. Near the end of the day a bunch of drunk Americans came over to play. Since they were nice and friendly, I gave them free shots since I was getting bored and I had no customers. However, Gilberto came over and told me not to give them free shots. And the guys were worried that I got ticked off for giving them free shots so they offered to bash him up for me. Hilarious!

Slack.

Down in Boston

Harvard square was NOT fantastic. Neither was MIT. Haha... prefer NUS campus. Serious. Anyway, highlight of the trip was not the tourist attractions. It was the food! Yupz, after me, Gwen and Felicia seperated from the rest, we took a walk down to the tallest building in Boston to view the scenery of Boston. Pity it was closed, but we still managed to grab some good seafood at Legal Seafood chain in Coupler's Place. Like Gwen puts it: "Its the first time we didn't bother about the cost and just ordered what we felt like eating" We had crab rolls, lobster bisque, authentic New England clam chowder with HUGE clams, fish, prawns, calamari... the list goes on. A meal meant for kings and it only cost us 35 bucks apiece. Woohoo!

We then bought desert wine and ice wine to enjoy in the hotel room, but... our corkscrew broke. Can you believe it?! So we had to lug these 2 bottles of wine all the way to Wildwood. Grr... By the way, did I mention the Kahlua cheesecake we bought from cheesecake factory? It was simply delicious.

Slack.

Falling sick

Poor Gwen fell sick on the bus today. Reminds me of that day when I dumbly drank milk first thing in the morning before I headed out to the supermarket to purchase Shu Ling's birthday grill. That caused me to miss the chill out session after the grill as I went to sleep early. Argh!! haha...

Slack.

Wonder of the world

I went down to Niagara falls about 20 years ago. Now I'm back. Not much memory remains of then but this time round it was an extremely enjoyable trip. Wished my parents were around to enjoy the scenery and fun as well. We took a ferry caled the "Maid of the mist" which brought us under the falls. Not exactly under but so close that the current was too strong for the boat's engine to bring the boat any closer. Water splashed on us like rain, bringing gleeful screeches from us. It was like we were kids once again.

Niagara falls has 3 parts. Bridal falls, Horseshoe falls and American falls. All of them are so gorgeous, pun unintended. We were snapping photos like Japanese tourists.. haha... especially when they found out that How Lun had a camera capable of taking nice shots. Next we took a walk right under the falls. Decked in yellow raincoat and sandals, we proceeded to the bottom of the falls. The platform named "hurricane deck" was our destination. There we stood feeling the wrath of Bridals Falls - the smallest of the 3. The water beating on our back was just so SHIOK! Then... we started ripping each other's raincoat, while we were still under the falls. First victim to get wet: Ying Kiat. Haha... Clever Marc stayed out of the fray.

Slack.

Relaxing

I realise I did not blog my trip to Cape May. Anyway, this Tuesday we were give 1 day off so the group of us took off to Cape May which which they proclaimed was nicer than the ones here at Wildwood. So, we went there, rented a bike and visited 3 diferent beaches there... haha. We basked in the sun, played with chilly water and came back with a nice tan. Satisfied. =)

Last night we went clubbing again. This time round while protecting a lady friend, I nearly had to fight with this bloody, rowdy, drnk American. He said that I touched him and said he will throw me a punch if I stopped him from dancing with the lady. But he didn't dare to do it. Phew... My group had too many guys. He then tried to rally support from the other Americans who totally ignored him. Poor loner... geez.

Slack.

Americans

A girl came to my stall with her mom and brother. She pas dressed prim and proper and knew exactly which prize she wanted and how to spend the least money to get it. When she asked her mom to pay for her game, it was a mature explanation of how she wanted it and how it was worth it. A pretty convincing argument she put up. So convincing that her mom paid for the game. She looked me in the eye and asked me to start the race. It was to the extent that it was actually intimidating. After the race, I tried to smile when passing her the prize and expected to bounce in jubilation like the others, but she maintained her pose and took it from me with a polite thank you. Not too bold and not too reserved. So matured.

She can't be older than 8 years old.

Americans never cease to amaze me.

Slack.

Ben & Jerrys

Did I mention that Ben & Jerrys ice cream only cost S$3? Haha, plus there're 20 different flavours to pick from. Woohoo!

Slack.

Work work

No customers the whole day so all I was doing was using my mic to converse with another Singaporean nearby in Chinese. Yes, in chinese so that no one know what we're talking. Did I mentioned that I've to use mic to converse with my customers through all the din? Yupz, and I also have to say silly phrases like: "Come on folks, step right up, don't be shy. There's always a winner, there's always a prize. It only takes 2 to play and 5 players for choice." It is now deeply ingrained in my head after I repeated it so many times that even Marc remembers it. So I go on the whole day yelling into my mic that's strapped around the back of my head. Sucks. The yelling gives u a sore throat. Anyway, the story here is that I've a friend in a nearby stall with a similar game, so she has the mic as well, so there we are conversing happily for everyone to eavesdrop, but they can't understand Chinese... haha... That's what I did for 7 hours straight since I had only 9 customers.

However, customers started streaming in after my dinner break at 5. Apparently these guys were down at the beach for the morning and afternoon, leaving our theme park void of much human trace lest the Pier's associates (that's what we're called).It then got really busy, such that I actually worked non-stop for long stretches each time. So here I am in my bedroom, feeling drained and poofed. Nitez!

Slack.

A dark and gloomy day

Looting too much nowadays. Haha... because we work in game stores, we have access to stocks of chocolates, sweets and soft toys. Guess what, we start taking them for ourselves. However, it has became outrageously out of control. I hope we won't get caught.

Slack.

1 month

I've been here for one month but time flies when you're having fun... sigh! I'm already starting to plan my after work tour. I hope everything goes fine. I always feel that its a hassle to go places in big groups yar? Anyway, 4 should be fine and we've known each other for so long that it shouldn't be much of a problem. Haha... Here we go!

Shopping Galore

Shop shop shop was what we did for the whole day. We went down to some factory outlets in Delaware and did alot of shopping for branded goods including Nike, Gap, Guess and CK. I managed to restrain myself at the first cluster of outlets and left without spending anything at all. However, later on I bought Board shorts, skate shoes, Nike shades, CK underwear (haha), GAP slippers, Nike socks and a few other useful items. Nevertheless it came up to 200 bucks within 1+ hours. Haha... but they were really good buys. Imagine Nike shoes all going for under S$70! Yes, that's what it was like even with brands like CK and Guess.

After a full day of shopping I was so shack, all I wanted was to go back to drink the Malibu, Tequilla or Irish Cream that we bought at the store. But no... the guys wanted to go Harbour Inn for a drink, so I tagged along, dragging my feet as we walked to the pub. Am I getting old or are my friends just too energetic. Doesn't shopping drains your energy? Anyway, we headed down to the Bar and had a few drinks, making us high and woozy. We were mad. Dancing, screaming and stripping me... They were mad! And the stupid bar owner scolded me for stripping... but it was not my fault what... grrr... We were definitely rowdy, and had a hard time coming back to our residence. Nevertheless I'm quite happy I could get high and drunk without puking for once. Yeh!

Slack

Friends

New acquaintences and new friends appear everywhere you go. I just made new friends today. The Thais. They were here since March and thus will all be leaving soon. In fact, at 7am this morning, I just sent off a good friend I had just made the night before. Over here, we're making alot of friends and they are more international than I would ever dream of. We will go our seperate ways after the program, but everyone will leave an etched image as they played a part in making my experience as wonderful as it has been.

On a happier note, my day at work today passed much more easily despite the worse crowd ever that I've seen on a weekend. This was because of wonderful company I had with me. Cindy and me were given game stalls opposite each other equipped with mics and speakers to help draw customers to our stalls but we happily used it to talk to each other. Haha... time passed really fast as we were talking to each other whenever there was a lull (which was like the whole time I was there). We spoke in Chinese so no one else could understand our conversation though it was broadcasted on the speakers, haha...

Slack.

Philadelphia

Slept at 3am last night and had to wake up at 6am this morning to go to Philadelphia. All this after a 50-hours working weekend. Phew! Guess what, I still have to work tomorrow and worse still, my friends wanna play mahjong tonight! Sleep is really scarce around here, too much to do, too much to lose if I sleep. Haha...

Yup, Philly was fun, we went on an independence tour, boring one I must say. However, it was very informative about the independence of the United State of America. I didn't know that they went through so much hardship to gain independence on 4th July 1776. We then got to see the liberty bell and some other independence stuff like an independence documentary Ying Kiat insisted on seeing. However, the highlight was the end of the day. After window shopping at the Gallery, we headed to Chinatown for dinner where I had a plate of 油鸡面. Nice. We all had vey nice Chinese food which we have not tasted for some time. On top of that, we bought a whole ton of groceries like dried mushrooms and CCYD instant noodles where you cannot find elsewhere. We then ended the day at a very nice park which had a LOVE sign similar to the one you can find in Singapore near Park Mall Fish & Co.

Tired and sleepy. Mahjong time!

Slack.

assholes

You meet alot of people during work, and there's the occassional assholes. Even asholes come in many different forms. The first type of asshole I encountered was that day when they came in big groups and swapped the dollar coins they placed as bets with quarters when they realised they lost. I call them cheaters. Then there's those who come in big groups and have 1 person asking you question about the game while the rest find ways to steal your prizes. These I call robbers. Then there's those who come in big groups with no intention of playing your game other than making fun of you so that they look funny amongst their friends. These I call trouble makers. Last but not least, a new type I discovered today comes in big groups, make a big fuss about you being slow so you'll hurry up, then at the end of the game when they lose, they will ask why you have not returned them change for the 10-dollar bill they gave you. I could not remember if I did give him change, but I always return the change before I move on to collect money from other players, so I could not have gone wrong yar? These I call sore losers. Notice they all come in big groups?

Yup, as you can see, working here is enriching, even with all these assholes around. The only problem is that they spoil your day. Thankfully there was fireworks today near the end of the day. It was so beautiful, I stood there all by myself basking in the beautiful sight.

Oh did I also mention that when I went jogging this morning I ran past a few hundred kites flying in the sky? A beautiful sight!

Slack.

Night owls

No more boob flashers today but even if there were, I'm too busy to notice. This is the Americans Memorial day weekend. Its suppose to big a big thing to mark the start of the summer season, when we'll just get busier and busier, but its already SO BUSY NOW! Goodness. THe shops on the boardwalk opens till 2am!!! Our theme park closes at 12mn. Its insane. Where else in the world can you find such happening nightlife. I'm not talking about the pubs or clubs here, I'm talking about normal Orchard road stores and a theme park for goodness sake! I worn out, yet we have to go to work at 11am tomorrow.

Totally slack.

Breasts

Some brat came up to me and asked me: "You like my breasts?" Stunned. American girls are like so... disgusting. Serious. What type of parenting they got man, and they do it when they're not even drunk?! On the topic, it reminds me about the time when my friend told me her boyfriend preferred big breasts and she was thinking of perhaps getting boobs op. haha... Come on, boobs are nice, but isn't it sufficient as long as there're some fats there? So big for what? Anyway, if you guys really like big boobs, u guys are missing out on alot here man... bwahaha...

Slack.

Drunkards

Some thai students told us: "drinks for $1 at fairview on Thurs" We were hooked.We entered with a $3 entrance and then, housepours were 1 buck and beers were 2 bucks. Guess what, we drank lor. Once again, i got semi-drunk and I bet I made a fool of myself. Things I normally will not say comes out from my mouth. haha. Anyway, I think the relationship of 2 of my friends are very rocky. All the best to the guy, hope u get her back.

Tired liao, slack.

Hollanded

Okie, so it was my fault when I found the wrong map to Six Flags today, but hey we got to see new places yar? hehe. Anyway, a normal 2 hours drive took 3 hours instead, so we wasted 2 hours of the day getting lost and asking for directions. =)

Anyway, when we got there, that was when the fun begin! I always had a fear for roller coasters and I always thought it was not worth to get myself uncomfortable and pay for it. haha, but this time round it was free, besides, my friends all wanted to on the rides so badly, so I went along. The apprehension for the first ride was killling me. The queue, the other riders' screams and the slow and ardous climb to the top really made my stomach churn and doubled up in knots. But, in the end the ride felt really too short as I started to have fun. The second ride was even more thrilling as it brought us up 7 ups-and-downs, and 1 gigantic drop. Then I realised something, I was actually having fun on the rides. It was no more a scarey affair but I could now face the camera during the ride and smile! and wave my hands and stick out my tongue... yeh, you get the idea. It was a pity we could not take the newest ride there though. It would have brought us up 455feet (30+ stories), make an inverted loop and come spiralling down at 200kph. Just imagine!

Can childhood dislikes be overcomed? Maybe I'll enjoy horror shows now. Maybe I'll like the taste of ginger now. You never know till you try - Morale of the story.

Slack.

Boring boring

Today went by slowly. I tried to be enthu but my stall was just sucky. US$3 for a game and only when 4 players play, do you get a chance to win a basketball or football. So if you wanna win, you have to at least fork out 12 bucks so that you can win the ball. No wonder no one came over.By the 4th hour, I only had 9customers. Yes, you got it right, 9! They seriously throw away my game and Shuling's games. But we went to a party tonight and got free drinks from Sash, our supervisor. They said it was pretty dead. I agree, but all the guys there are people I know, so it wasn't that bad for me. Anyway, we came back for Ben & Jerry's instead. Mint cookie flavor, nice...

Slack.

OMG! - part 2

I didn't know that when they meant it was gonna be busy this weekend, they actually meant we won't have time to eat. Haha. 35 mins was all I had in the whole day to feed my busy body and empty the waste. Nevertheless, it was an interesting day. Daytime work was long and dreary but the night was not, ah-ha! I was wondering what made the night alot easier to pass by, and I realised that my attitude for work at night is so different from that in the day. I was lacksidasical in the day and laid back, not interested in engaging the visitors. However, I my attitude was so different at night. I was dancing, singing into the mic and talking to my customers non-stop. My stall was located very near a ride so it was very strategic and garnered alot of attention. Add in a mic and loud speakers, I was out full force at night, playing with the kids and prancing around in my stall. Time flew when I was having fun and I wasn't constantly eyeing the clock for break time anymore. I think this is one thing I must try to achieve in the days to come. As you can tell, I like my work, but please give me more breaks in future, boss? =)

Tired from a long day of work.

Slack.

OMG!

Holy shit, last night was the second time I drunk till I puked so badly man. Wat to do? Free food, free drinks, so drink like crazy lor. Some more I keep losing when playing guessing game, haha. Yup, it was a weird feeling, I was not drunk enough to not know what I'm doing, but I was doing things I would not normally do, hehe. Hey, can't help it if Juan Pablos was giving out free food and drinks yar? Initially, we were there for the food, but after a Corona, maguerita and a HUGE tequilla shot, we were all stayers for the free drinks. I tell you, it was plain madness. All 7 of us there were totally gone! Drunks walking along the streets, bumping into police officers and puking in the drain, haha. After that the rest was a blur. I know I made it back safely but I found myself sleeping in a friend's room... on the floor. Geez, do I suck or what.

Slack.

Photos up

Cleaned up my blog and posted the photos up. The link is in the sidebar. Hooray!

Just came back from a bout of fattening Ben & Jerry's ice cream, chips with French onion dip (simply gorgeous, 10 times better than Sour cream and onion flavour), vanilla fudge... erm and many more sinful items. Man, we're pampering ourselves! Anyway, I worked hard today. At least for the morning portion because I got to work at the warehouse with the South Americans. Did I mention I was the smallest in size over there. Yup, and we had to move 100s of boxes from a large trailer into the warehouse. Man... U know what, I feel like the Banglahs in Singapore. Underpaid to do manual chores, haha. Anyway, something interesting happened. These guys I was working with are the more uneducated Americans and uncouth at best. The cool thing was that their supervisor was a young chap, albeit big size, was too young to control these people. However, he managed to do it, why? For one, he joined them in doing what they were doing, even when the boxes were super heavy. Secondly, he gave everyone a bottle of drink after we were done with the work. That sure bought them over. Haha, nice leadership skill there Tom! Thumbs up.

Yupz, for the rest of the day nothing eventful happened, but I'm looking forward to watching Star Wars tomorrow man! Shiok.

Slack.

Slack

Yupz, as the title suggests. Today is a super slack day. We went to work but did very minimal until I was arrowed. Those blardy Ukranians think they damn chio can make me carry all the heavy loads for them. Haha. But they are very chio yarh? I forgot to mention. I'm working with 4 Ukranian ladies, or girls (under 21) if u please. These 4 ladies are tall (1.7m at least) and slender. Nice leg, big boobs and beautiful. In fact they're very good at flaunting their goods. Despite the freezing weather, you can spot them in very short shorts and tight tees. Speaking of which. 1 of the girls turned up in a g-string that rode way higher than her low cut jeans! You practically see the whole T-shape! So there was this bunch of Americans bunching around them. When one of them, Natasha, had to climb up a ladder t clean bulbs on the stall's roof, this guy was like fighting to help her support the ladder. Oh gawd! *smacks head* Then like Shuling said, he practically looked in awe of her. This bunch of Ukranians are really... hmmm... *lost for words* Now you know why they could make me carry the heavy stuff huh, but I must credit them for being really friendly people, yarh?

Besides work, we played mahjong. Mahjong in a foreign land, cool yarh? hehe. Lost money though.

Slack.

A busy saturday

Started the day early and yet I had only less than 45 mins of break in total for this 13 hours day starting from 11am. God am I tired man. I had to man a betting games store. It goes like this. There are 3 numbers ( 0, 1 and 2) to choose from and 2 colours for each number. You have to place your bets on one of the 6 combinations (eg. Blue- 1) and the wheel is spinned mechanically like wheel-of-fortune. If it lands on your bet, you simply get to bring home a choice ball from my station. Each 'bet' is $2. Awfully expensive I must say, plus chance of winning is only 1/6. Wait a minute, isn't this a family theme park, how come there's gambling??

Anyway, the days were dreary and customers came in trickles, however nearer evening time, the number of guests started increasing and there were times I was overwhelmed. There was this time where a guy asked to join a game but it had already started so I asked him to hold on a second. After the game ended, he asked me to change his bills to coins so that he could play but I ran out of coins so I asked him to wait awhile longer. At this, he flared up and said he had enough of waiting and walked off. Geez. Not like I could help it.

There was also this bunch of black asses who came to play. I thought they genuinely wanted to play and win something, but all they had on their mind was winning. I changed their bills for $1 coins for use in the game. However, they swapped the dollar coins with quarters instead while I wasn't looking. Man! What cheats! I hope I won't have to cover up for their black asses. Idiots!

Otherwise, the day went pretty okie, it was interesting in fact. There were the itchy-hand gamblers who played for the sake of playing and had no interest in the balls that were prizes, and there were those who played so many time just so their kids can get the ball. Interesting. The parents giving everything for their kids remind me about how my parents provided for me without question. I now see the light of how hard it was for them to drag me away from something I probably insisted of having as a kid. Salutes to my parents! I'd give anything to you guys in future. I swear.

That's all for now. I'm awfully tired. Gotta wake up to work tomorrow (sunday).

Slack.

To work

Started work today cleaning games stalls. The guys we met are so friendly. The interesting thing only occurred after Morey's piers opened for operation. We had an early dinner and went back to start work. Was initially asked to man the same stall as Shuling, but I guess they were in lack of workers so they pushed me to the darts stall. I thought it was damn miserable considering that the weather was friggin' chilly and the breeze was like a gale, but the night was pretty interesting. To my left was a thai called Pond who was exceptionally friendly and aptly kept me entertained when I was bored. In front of me was a lady in charge of a ride. A high class, more scarey carousel, while I operated a dart game where u'll have to score 50 points and above in order to get anything at all. Haha, at least the prizes were worth it... i think.

Slack.

Jog on the boardwalk

Went jogging for the first time today. This was to work out the sumptous buffet we had the day before. We stuffed ourselves to the max, trying to complete the portion we took plus those the girls could not finish. We jogged by this old couple who waved to us like we knew each other for ages. It was just so endearing. The people here are rather friendly and definitely more polite than Singaporeans. We're immersed right amongst the culture. I'm glad we came.

My newest past-time is trying to figure out how to reply friendly gestures. Like if someone said thank you, it was only natural for them to reply "u're welcome". Then if someone said Good morning, you could reply "Good morning, have a good day". This and many more.

Another thing, there're SO MANY flavour for Ben & Jerrys. In fact we bought 5 different flavours of ice cream which we have never seen before in Singapore, and we worked on our first tub - Half baked.

Slack.

Visit to Atlantic City

Finally at Wildwood New Jersey. We have settled in and bought food for our kitchen yesterday. Today, we went down to atlantic city to check out the gambling town. It was filled with old foggies spending away their pension. hehe. Anyway, I got myself a trackshirt although it cost a bit, but I didn't get a watch. Sob. We walked down boardwalk and chased birds at the beach. It was shiok man. Its defenitely something you won't be able to do in Singapore. Ha! Anyway, its late today, I think i'll start uploading the pictures only tomorrow. Right now, I wanna go sleep already. With my sweatshirt I can now wake up for my morning runs! Tada. No more fats!

Slack.

Plane journey part 4

Waited a whole 7 hours for my friends at Newark airport. Long wait coz their plane was delayed. My FHM and 3 other magazines were not sufficient to keep me company. It's a pity my laptop ran out of batt. Anyway, now its happily charging away in the corner while I'm chatting with my friends. Another long 7 hours wait at the airport before we leave on the first bus tomorrow morning to out final destination. Wildwood New Jersey.

Slack.

Plane journey part 3

On the train now to EWR on the NJ transit. Heard that the Sat trains were packed to the brim with standing passengers, thankfully it ain't that bad today as I got a seat in the front cars. In fact the train is very similar to the on u take to go Malaysia. Oh man, its only 5pm. Taking the train to New York liberty station before changing to an airtrain to Newark int'l airport. Dinner was subway and it was totally horrible, maybe coz i don't have much appetite left. Too much food inflight.

Slack.

Plane journey part 2

Back on the plane. Its 1631 back in Singapore, but the local time now is probably only 0831. Yup, flying over France now. Apparently they're having bad weather in France today coz all I see out the window are clouds and more clouds. Just had brunch, it was fantabulous. Grilled beef fillet was tender and succulent; veal sausage with pepper sauce and English mustard was gorgeous; coupled with the roasted tomato, yes, roasted tomato, takes like tomato juice and looks over-ripen at first glance but, melts inyour mouth. I then washed down these sinful food with a cup of dom perignon 1996 champagne. This was followed by a more than sinful plate of cappuccino mousse with chocolate sauce. Now I'm going back to my show 天下无贼。And to film my bed taking shape. Bwahaha.

Got off the plane and felt kinda lost. Don't know what I'll do until tonight. Bumped around and ended up in the airtrain. I thought it might bring me to another big terminal where I can find more shops. I was at terminal 4, then 5, then 6 and before I knew it, I already passed all 9 terminals in JFK international airport. Yes... 9 terminals! So I made it to Jamaica train station where I paid $7 for the trip to 34th st. Penn Station via subway. Haha, I'm actually on the well--renowned NYC subway. Yup, then when I reached, I again bumped around looking for NJ transit to make my way to EWR later. Passed by a subway, and starbucks but I didn't stop. Nope, all the way till I found the NJ transit ticket counter. I realised that it was only 1200hrs, so I had lotsa time. So I took to the streets. Yes, once again I bumped around, checked out Empire State building (very tall, in fact the only tall building around, hehe). I realised that the streets here are very organised, especially here in Manhattan. Avenues run north-south and streets run east-west. Yeh, the famed 5th Ave is where I am now. Starbucks on Fifth ave, typing on my iBook and checking out the streets while sipping my venti Java Chip Frappuccino. Whoa, lovely.

I realised that New York City is a really multi-racial society. Lotsa blacks and caucasians, then there were the Chinese and other minority races. Cool place, oh yar, did I mentioned the weather here is a cool 12 degrees unlike burning Singapore temperatures? Bwahaha... Over here, the Macy's departmental store is suppose to be the largest in the world. Well, I'm really not interested, but I might check out the sneakers shop later. 20 bucks for a pair of Nike. Cool. Anyway, I'm done telling stories for now. - pinksire (1356hrs, Fifth Ave NYC) 0156hrs in S'pore.

Slack.

Plane journey part 1

I just watched Coach Carter. It was a friggin funny show. I must tell u that this first class seat is amazing. Nice big TV screen, sofa seat big enough for 2 of me and 60 MOVIES! What a choice. Then there was Meet the Fokkers. I can't resist it anymore, so I whipped up my iBook and decided to take some nice photos, but the cabin was too dark. I was suppose to be 3am in the morning see. So I turned my seat into a bed, and got into a 180 degrees reclining position. Gorgeous. Oh gawd. Did I mention I also tried foie gars last night? Some duck liver which taste like salted egg yolk or something like that.

Having a breakfast after waking up wearily although the bed was gorgeous. Finished watching electra and watching dare devil now. Bwahaha. Breakfast was good with croissant and scrambled eggs and bacon. I'm quite sure I'll get enough of that in US. Anyway, I'm reaching Frankfurt in 45 mins according to the co-pilot. I'll take a picture when we land. I'm gonna go finish my breakfast before the take it away. Okie, something interesting. I didn't know that the Elektra in Daredevil was the same as the one in Elektra until I saw the Sais. Goodness... Jennifer Garner...

Just got off the plane. In Frankfurt now, caught a glimpse of the city on way down. It was funny, clumps of buildings and only 1 or 2 high-rise buildings, so unlike Singapore. Noticed I said clumps? Coz, the other region was all covered by forested areas. Cool right? After landing, I finally got to take some pictures of the seats, with the help of a friendly leading Steward Alan. He was nice, encouraging me to be an Air steward after I'm done with my studies. Haha. Had a nice chat, and it really convinced me that I wanna become an air steward in future. Its 5 degrees outside and now my stomach is aching, I wonder if it was because to the food or the anticipation of what lies ahead. Okie, signing out for now, to watch my 天龙八部。- pinksire (0703hrs, Frankfurt) 1.03pm on my comp clock?

Slack.