mi travelog

2010-07-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

need I say more? Let pictures speak for themselves :)

twas the night before the night before christmas

2010-01-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

NYC 2009

2009-07-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

My Nihon Trip - DisneySea番外片

2009-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

Cute handles in the internal Disney Train :)

Even the windows are mickey~~ so typical..

it was brrr.. freezing.. doesn't really help when you have to queue for 2 hours for a ride..

i like this. no reason

this ride was fun.. hehe.. almost like solero shot in genting :p

i think i was not supposed to go into the car.. hahaha...luckly no one was around huhu

uncle scrooge.. he was unwilling to take a pic with me.. i chase him around b4 taking this shot!

Disney sea has very nice scenery, this area has a Mediterranean feel to it

And this area.. obviously Arabian (we saw the Alladin show over here)

The *TOWER OF TERROR* at night..

This picture is made up of pictures of Tokyo Disney visitors.. omoshiro.. hehe

An empty train back from Disney.. else i wouldn't dare take my camera out in the densha~

hehe. my stash of UFO toys.. mann.. it's addictive..

The very first UFO toy i caught - MYSELF.. so proud =D

I can't bear to give this away... seldom i c a stich so cuuute!!

and also the cat from Alice in Wonderland.. *what was his name again*

chicks.. hehe, caught a couple of them

The ticket for the disney resort line-taken while it was with me for the ride.. aa..would like to keep it but it was gulped by the exit gantry..

aa. cant do without this b4 my amazing day in Disney Sea =)

*taking a breather b4 going back those *ss stuff that @#$%^&*( ai........ *

Updates on the Last day of CNY 2009

2009-02-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

aaa.. haven't such a relaxing weekend for duno how long....
for once.. i stayed entirely at home for 2 full days + one nite.. i can only say it is simply simply blissful abet a bit lonely...

all ritetoo.. some updates to what i have been doing...

1. 18.Aug 08...Working in Acn.. well. it's work.. sometimes interesting.. sometimes boring.. but i get to learn lots of stuff n meet amazing ppl. so .. i guess i'm good. for now at least..

2. 22.Dec 08.. Mi bro left to the States for NOC.. so i wun b seeing peat around in Msia n Sg for one year...

3. 27 Dec 08.. Tokyo trip.. stayed at Asher's place.. had loads of fun.. caught loads of UFO toys.. and ate loads of great food

4. 19 Jan 08.. Evie's wedding in KL..and get together with Joyful grace Church old youths @ Indran's place...

after a looooooooong time.... again..

2008-08-12T04:42:00.000-07:00

i m such a lazy slob. i don't even bother to blog nowadays..
not that i m uber busy.. just that. well. i m lazy. haha..
some updates.. (to remind myself in 10 yrs what I did these few months)

1. April (Bangkok)
This was a very last minute, very unneeded change of plans I made to accommodate the interview from nanometrics which did not happen in the end.. very sorry to e ppl i flew 'aeroplane'.. but had a super crazy shopping time @ bkk..

2. May (Msia Trip)
with Sonnie, Por + Lu, we went to Teluk Intan, Penang and Langkawi... i would never forget how good the chee cheong fun tasted in TI.. nor I would forget how horrible was the ferry ride from Penang to Langkawi (unless dire circumstances.. nvr nvr take the ferry again).. heavily imprinted in my memory is also the uber nice + romantic dinner we had @ the german restaurant @ Langkawi .. called beer garden i think.. de beer was good.. pizza great.. and the beach + breeze + ambiance was simply excellent!

3. June (Job Seeking + House seeking)
It was countless hours in front of the computer.. browsing thru countless advertisements for house to rent... jobs to apply.. good sites to look for places to rent includes...
singapore.gumtree.sg
www.88db.com
me, sonnie + fernie had our share of shocking experiences looking @ scary houses.. like de one @ jurong east... no way i m going to pay 2k/month for such a shabby and poorly located flat.. and the horrible 1.5K 2+1 we saw @ telok belangah.. there is FERN growing out of the windows @ e bathroom and don't get me started @ e toilet bowl (ewww.. it's horrifying just to think of it).. saw a uber nice duplex near admiralty... very nice floors and built in cabinet.. with a very 'nice' owner (planning on how to upkeep the house if we are renting it... wth??!!.. like he is hiring housekeeper or something)...
in e end.. we settled for 1/2 a jumbo flat @ blk 821 woodlands.. fully furnished.. really nice owner and kids.. our flat is right opposite fushan garden.. so we hv our share of nature.. bla bla.. @ quite a affordable rate for all of us... so i guess it isn't too bad :)
job seeking was quite a roller coaster ride for me..somehow.. i couldn't land any interviews with those chem eng jobs that are available.. i duno why.. something wrong with my resume? ai. i duno.. anyhow.. i settled with a job with accenture.. and am excited to start e job (tho a bit apprehensive of the long working hours)

4. July (Cambodia, Vietnam + Convocation + House Moving)
early July.. me + ann+lu went for our grad trip to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh and MuiNe (will upload some pics later on.. IF i remember.. hehe)
after my trip, it was a busy busy time when I had to move all my rubbish from Hall 10 to our new place in Woodlands.. went really nuts trying to pack everything.. threw away a lot of clothes.. (sshhh.. dun tell my parents)
den it was the ceremony that marks the end of my connection with NTU.. my convo... sad to think about it now... ai...

5. Aug (Lu leaves + I start work.. i hope)
9th Aug.. Lu leaves for China.. he will be flying off from Guangzhou to Penn late Aug.. sigh. have to get used to life without him around.. de days before he left was hectic.. packing.. throwing stuff.. meeting ppl... spending time together..
currently.. i m just lazing at home.. moping around that Lu is gone.. and enjoying the shows on astro. hoho.. the olympics is pretty interesting too!! hehe.. 11 channels on astro.. superb!
hopefully.. i can start work soon... but it has been nice lazing at home.. haven't been able to really stay for such a long time at home for the past few months.. for most of the time i have to return back sg for my weekly tuition on tues (just a excuse la.. else how do i spend time with Lu?)
ahhh...

let me enjoy Pontian while it lasts :)

another year..

2008-05-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

it's my birthday today. (actually it was yesterday)
still remember 365 days ago..
Spending by birthday on the plane and at San Francisco airport trying to sleep at a deserted terminal.
haaa..
time passes so fast.. the time I had in US seems like a dream now..
.. soon it would b a reality for lulu as he leaves for US..
when would it be my turn again?

www.PYOtravel.com

2008-04-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

hmn...
seems I had some misunderstanding..
or it was really my bad luck..
anyhow..
everything went smoothly and I got to stay at a great place -Baiyoke Boutique..
will upload some pics later.. (after my presentation at least)

Huang Shan

2008-04-04T23:44:00.001-07:00

In the olden days, if you were a prominent figure (brave warrior, wise prime minister), or had extremely good deeds (such as being a faithful widow until death, a filial son), the emperor would bestow upon the family a 'pai fang' 牌坊， which signifies the 'greatness' of the family clan. In Anhui, we visited this group of 'pai fang' from a particular family. It has 7 of the arches, one of the families that had the most.
To me, the significance of the arches lie in the stories behind each and every one of them. One had the story of mistress that brought up the first wife's child into a prominent figure after her husband died shortly after she was married into the family *wonder who would do such a thing nowadays*. The architecture of the arches and how they are arranged .. makes a scenic sight and it was used as the set for many dramas and movies.

early winter: the trees were still brown, a dreamy feeling... like autumn

nearby, is the family's large garden for their sons and daughters to play, recite poems and draw. I really mean LARGE.. the garden is a good tens of acres complete with a lake and countless valuable bonsai trees. During the cultural revolution, many trees were cut and burnt but the villagers around couldn't bear to see the trees being destroyed and hid them in their houses or in the woods. These bonsai plants were preserved to date and are a delight to behold.

a huge lake for the 少爷、小姐 to play.. *envious*

This bonsai tree costs a cool 5 000 000 RMB. :s who would buy such a tree? according to the guide, there was a person who offered such a price for the tree, but this tree is not for sale ;)

I've forgotten the name of the place. It is just next to 翡翠谷， the set for the flying above bamboo sword fighting scene in crouching tiger hidden dragon.. this body of water reminds me of the morning glory pool in Yellowstone. i'm sure it would be even nicer when the sun is right above it.

*flower freak in me*

the waters are said to bring good luck and fortune to those who touch it. *how bout drinking it? more luck? hehe*

*interesting... is this how gps works??*

me in the garish FOC beanie with lu in the cable car on our way to the mid-way point @ HuangShan.

Although I didn't get to experience any snow falling on my head, the sheer thrill of seeing the blanketed ground is simply -- cool, literally :)

I wonder if it was the overexposure of my camera, or the surroundings were simply too bright due to the ice that formed on the twigs and branches of the trees. Most of the trees here are pine trees, many are very very very ancient (100-300 yrs old).

ice crystals on a branch, it's delicate, touch it, and it is all gone.

it snowed last night, hence the sun this morning started to melt the ice crystals..

Interesting mix of greenery and snow, it was the perfect day to tour HuangShan during winter. It was great as there were no haze, no snow, no rain; the weather was perfect with the sun shinning on us while we get to enjoy the snow scenery from the snow fall the night before =)

As with many touristy destinations in China, the padlock on a chain can be seen everywhere. Lovers carve their name on the locks and lock the padlock on the chain while throwing away the key into the valley. *romantic, but too commercialized*

Yay. me luv snow (only there is not enough snow to make a snow man :( )

We had to take a 4-5 hour walk to our hotel for the night at the top of HuangShan. Along our descent, we saw many amazing sights that we thought were only possible in postcards. This is one amusing sight. Notice the stone formation at the top left hand corner of the picture looks like a gigantic 2nd generation mobile phone, complete with the antenna!!

Some of the paths up the mountain were build many many years ago during the Tang Dynasty (i m not sure about which dynasty tho... ). Every single stone is carried up the mountain using manpower.

Sunset beckons as we hurry to our hotel at 玉屏风.

The tree behind us is the most prominent tree in the whole of HuangShan, it is called the 'Welcoming Pine' 迎客松.

As the sun sets, temperatures drop sub zero. These pictures were taken by a half frozen Jayne.

It's FREEZING!! but nice pictures have to be taken :p
Dinner was simple, but everyone in our tour group finished every single scrap of food on the table. We were really hungry after a long day up the mountain. *Didn't take any pictures as the hungry monster in me made me forget everything except food* Although the hotel was situated thousand over meters above sea level, it has all the comforts one could expect from a 3-star hotel. This simple fact is fascinating as every single little thing, from eggs to huge glass doors were carried up the mountain by manpower.

The next morning, we woke up extremely early to see the sun rise. Left (top), right (bottom).
It was an experience to see how the sun slowly crawls up, and slowly one can feel its heat, its warmth and everything around looks different.

The clouds surrounding the mountains.. looks magical~

aaah. it's a blessing in life to see such sight, even at least once.

As the cable car was under maintenance for the day, we had to climb all 40 000 steps down the mountain. My thigh was super sore when I woke up the next morning. Nonetheless, we were still extremely fortunate as we see the many other tourists that had to climb UP the mountain using the 40 000 steps =)

A man carrying two gas cylinders up to the mountain. This is how every single non man-made thing gets up the mountain. I sincerely salute these men and how they toil to make their living. During our way down, we saw one of such worker slip and fall at the steep stairs. *ouch* He looked in pain but his expression was worse when he realized that he couldn't work for the day as he twisted his back.

The trip to HuangShan was fruitful and I learnt much from this trip: the historical significance of different sights in China and above all, the wonders of God's creation.

*i m lazy, a procrastinator, and that is why I haven't uploaded pics of HuangShan since last december until now =)*

kaki gatal @ ntu

2008-04-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

yesterday was a strange day for me..
in the morning..
i went to meet a prof from the school of civil and environmental engineering to express my wish of continuing my graduate studies in that field n HOPE to get a research position at least for this 12 months.. guess it wasn't quite possible. He was quite nice to meet me ( I just emailed him out of the blue!), explained to me what environmental engineering is about and how is it different from environmental science... talked to me for a good half an hour..
BUT! seems like my plans to do research for this year is quite dashed. I must now find other alternatives so that I won't live like a slob for this year, while increasing my chances of getting into a good grad sch AND at the same time, save enough money so I need not depend on my parents to go over to the states. stress...

the strange part of the day came later in the afternoon when i had my very last lecture with my coursemates. After 4 long years, yesterday is the very day we ended all our school lectures. The strange part is: it didn't seem like a parting, at least for me, it was not very emotional, no goodbyes, no teary eyes and no laments of the end is finally here..
strange.
am I the only one that feels no attachment to the school?

nyah. since being a poor little PO is not working for me.. i guess i have to find a job.... a job that pays well... a job that satiates my kaki-gatal.. =)

*~Chiet Sin's wedding day~*

more of china

2008-01-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Me and some huge craving kinda thingy @ our hotel called 徽州酒店， there is this old ancient house right behind the hotel which we visit.

I like these details on the knocker of the doors.. i want one on mi door someday :)

the mirror reflects lulu n his brother.. intently discussing something I do not understand.

apparently.. the richer the person, the higher the wall he built.. this is to prevent his wife (wives) from running away when he is out doing business for long periods of time.

the courtyard with funny looking doorways.. talk about Chinese being pragmatic

The intricate cravings on the door, you could even see the expression on their faces!

a contrast: the old and the new

Front view of the old mansion I visited (heck, i really can't remember the name)

See the mud like remnants on the cravings? Apparently during the cultural revolution, the owners smeared the cravings with mud and wrote "long live chairman mao" to prevent the carvings from being destroyed. interesting.

2nd week of sch.
can't sleep. hot humid night. worrying about my fyp which is quite non-existent.
so. i decided to upload some of the nice nice pics i took during my trip to China~~ yay!
hope it would help lull me to sleep :)

China-GuangZhou

2007-12-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Kaki gatal in me brought me to GuangZhou this time :)
on 4th Dec, I went for a trip to Lu's mum's place..

I met Jay @ this huge poster of his @ the subways of Guangzhou

Had milk tea by this 'lulu' character (i think the cartoon is supposed to be a female character...)
hahahahahha

Had SNAKE...... yummy

This is how we order food...

My Fav Xue San Bao... i still can remember its lingering taste... salivating

Lulu and a McD's Mocha Vanilla Cone..
I had to force Lulu to bring me out shopping.. poor me..
but it couldn't be helped, his place is kinda far away from the subway n stuff like that..
from his 'taman' we had to take a shuttle bus to a nearby subway station that was 45 minutes away.. it was really far..
then we took the subway to the 'walking street' which literally had an ancient market place right under it. awesome. hehe..
more awesome was the shopping.. i blew most of my $$ on DHC products.. (don't tell my parents I spend around RMB500 on them) so I was not that tempted by the various boots and winter wear on sale.. bought some comics.. some odds and ends..
bla bla.
the nice part of the trip was going to Huangshan which I would be describing in another post :)

a day before my 2nd last exam

2007-11-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

it's engineers and society exam tmr..
my 2nd last paper... haha.. i hope i can manage it.. tho i hv been slacking for the past few days. sleeping of hours of time where i shud b mugging/memorizing the books..

i always wonder. what is the point of having us university students vomiting out what we have been memorizing for the exam? what is the point of having us being like robots, churning out perfect textbook answers.. time and again?
what is the point?
what is the point of education?
to educate, to enlighten, to lead one into more knowledge so to speak.
For me, I think education is more about the latter, to lead someone to learn. I realized that a lot of useful stuff are not learnt from textbooks, rather by books, info off the net and even the discovery channel. Education is about teaching someone to think critically, not being parrots of what is written on paper.
It is difficult. education is a awful, pressurizing matter, that is why I do not want to be a teacher. the responsibility is too much. a person's future thrust into your hands, how terrible can that be?
people now are too complacent. for one thing. i m getting too complacent. expect everything to be laid nicely in front of me. this defeats the purpose of life isn't it? Life should be an endless pursuit, no final destination but the processs of it that moulds one character and the experiences that would let one feel that it was not a life wasted.
education nowadays is kinda political, a child since born is thrown into a factory that makes them into a bolt or nut of the ever growing industry.
i guess asking anyone on the street: why do you study?
the answer would be: so I can find a job.
so why do a person finds a job?
so that the person can earn money.
so education is about making money?
work is all about making money?

i'm clueless.
just daunting to think that I would be one of the bearings that churn out money so that I could live.
but there is more to life that this, right?

*i guess when I start work next year, I would not be saying such childish stuff. I will be packaging my resume, trying to make some company think it is worth hiring me, trying to fit into a company, trying to run the rat race. For what purpose? To make more money.*

*in a few days, 2 of my secondary school mates would be getting married. wow. can't imagine that.. but I do admire them making such a big decision at such a young age while I m still building sandcastles by the seaside. hehe*

oooo... meaningless exams...

2007-11-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

meaningless
meaningless.....
wth.
got 4.5 for writing for mi GRE which totally, absolutely made my previous effort to score in verbal and quantitative vanish into nothing.
have no confidence to apply for grad sch now.
results like sh*t. what i can do.. :S
sigh
i know people to change but i didn't expect myself to change so much
giving myself too much pressure?
hmn. maybe not. i m such a person who strives to gratify myself. *snicker*

so easy to say 'i give up'
especially to requirements set by myself
to my goals
my dreams.
just dot the tiny period
.
I give up

xxx 'n' xxx

2007-10-25T05:08:00.000-07:00

It has been more than a month since i blogged.
time flies so fast. really.. too fast.
completed my GRE,
started applying for sch, only two so far but not the least completed.
stuck writing my statement of purpose.
stuck writing my statement of....

what is my purpose?
what do I want?
Do I really want to spend 5 years pursuing something that I am not 100% passionate about?
5 years, 5*365+1 isn 't a short time. i'll be at least 29 when I finally graduate again.

so now, what I wanna do IF i am n not going to study?
what am I going to do?
work?
had applied for a few companies with no avail for the past few weeks.
but I felt nothing when I recieved my rejection email.
so what?
that is how i feel.

i think my biggest flaw is being apathetic. I do not know and do not want to blame anyone instilling it into me. it is me.

apathetic. procrastination.laziness.
all come together.
the lack of passion and drive to do something.
make everything seem grey.
passive. no energy to accomplish anything.
everything passive.
like the shopping cart in a hypermart. waiting for someone to push, to pile it with all sorts of rubbish.

I do not want to be so. I do not want to be filled with something I do not want.
I do not want to do what I do not want.
I do want to know what I want.

What I want?

Life feels like the mangrove swamp I want to last weekend.
Mushy. Marsh. Muddy. Messy.
My legs are in the wet soil.
I'm stuck. can't move anywhere.
tide comes in.
I can't move.

recess

2007-09-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

has been SEVEN FULL weeks since school started..
so...
what did i achieve thus far?
hmn..

1. getting a 42/100 for my Design pratical test...
2. studied around 1/2 de GRE wordlist but my memory retains less than 1/2 of that
3. bruised my nose from falling face first onto de sea doing a foward roll 2 days back
4. managed to swim around 10m finally
5. tanned again after 2 days under the sun
6. slacked for 4 weeks for my FYP
7. finished 1 full drama serial, 3 downloaded movies, hairspray and de rat cooking show
8. pending:
9. pending:
10. pending:

i need to get going
too slack for my own good.
argh.

missing yellowstone

2007-08-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

in another few days... it would be fully one month since i left the states.
sigh.
i
miss
yellowstone.
argh

it's 4:21am now, it should be around 2:21pm there in Yellowstone.
I wonder what people are doing right now....
lunch would be over.. the eccentric vegan would be cleaning the EDR..
in the dining room, the lunch shift would be nearly over, hope there isn't a geyser rush right now else i m sure the servers working now would curse and swear.
the weather outside would be fair, the skies would blue, big and beautiful..
some people would be hanging out around the porch of laurel dorm.. smoking.. listening to music, chatting...........

arh. i miss yellowstone

Taiwan Trip (4-8 Aug 2007)

2007-08-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

As the airline we flew was China Airline, we had a stopover in Taiwan where we spent a few days of shopping eating and relaxing...

Taiwan was not all I imagined it to be... it might be because I had too high expectations for it.. maybe it was the weather.. it was so damn hot... maybe it was the long 18 hour flight from new york... I just didn't feel happy in Taiwan.. hahaha.. shud go there in winter maybe?

Mao Kong - place for ppl to drink tea... obviously a bright n sunny summer day is not very suitable for such a purpose...

my 'flowery' pursuit.. yet again.. ;p

Taipei 101 - nothing much...... hahaha

This is 'tian bu la'... faintz. i always thot it was tempura...

at Sun Moon Lake... nearer to Taichung.. i still miss yellowstone lake better

taken from the airplane when I just arrived into taipei.. note the cute hello kitty cartoon on the airplane beside me

228 taiping Garden.. filled with old people doing Taichi.. sounds interesting?

regular spot to take pics for ppl coming to taipei.. the sun was unbearably hot and i nearly got a heatstroke..

the famous.. ah zhung mian xian... not bad not bad

wildflowers of yellowstone

2007-08-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

the 'hua' chi in me took these pictures while i was on my way to Mt Washburn. I love these flowers!!

back on home ground

2007-08-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

it has been 4 days since i landed in Changi airport
life passes on as usual...
i walk thru school as usual...
eating the usual canteen food...
i am still the old me.. (juz shunning from western food for sometime)

but
i hv a mine of memories that i carry from the past 3 months i had..
din hv time to relate everything...
so i would try to post some blogs.. hopefully.. hahaha (given my nature)
and may these blogs mark this milestone of this league of my journey ;)

me back

2007-08-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

sigh..
after pa pa zhao for around 3 weeks..
finally i hv mi feet firmly planted back on singapore soil..
in a way.. i m glad to be back..
in another way..
how i hoped that vacation didn't end.

haha...
hoped for a looooooooooooong vacation ;)

I miss USA

2007-08-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

i miss my slave costume.. hehe.. server apron looks much better than the SA apron :p

top above: Chef Jack Royals; above: Alan and Leslie (both darlings i miss)

i miss the blue blue big skies of Yellowstone..

it had been around 48 hrs since i stepped off the plane at Taiwan's Taoyuan Airport..

i feel:

bored

empty

dissappointed

yearning to go home..

had always been looking foward to go to Taiwan.. someplace to mai dongxi chi dongxi etc.. budden i think lei.. nothing so much special about here.. this place makes me wanna go back home asap.. i had seriously considered the possibility of flyin back a few days earlier. damn i do miss home now..

missing US loads..

start to miss the people in yellowstone.. those cool and sweet ppl i had been working with for the past weeks b4 i started my travels. miss the cool dry air there.. miss the picturesque sceneries around.. everywhere i turn i see something pleasing to the eye.. the skies were true blue.. with greenery all around... i now even start to miss the thermal features.. the BISONS there.. oo damn i miss my Mercury Grand Marquis.. hahaha..

it is the feeling there i miss.. the feeling of being free.. the vastness.. the idea of juz sitting at one corner doing nothing.. staring into space seems so appealing to me now.

miss the people..

miss the strange and goofy people there..

miss the sentimental and kindered spirits i found there..

i know i can't live there forever.. obviously..

juz.. missing that place.

that company i had..

that moment

travelling around

2007-07-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

the super big chevrolet cadillac i drove in LA

i lurve Disneyland

Minnie mouse!!

it has been quite sometime since i blogged... (seems like i always start with this line :p)

...

updates:

1. i left yellowstone :(

2. gambled and won USD10 in Las Vegas

3. Went to Disneyland for e first time in LA

4. drove a super big car around in the terrible traffic in LA

5. chilled to the bone playing around in San Francisco

6. ate crab (for the first time) after being in the states for so long

7. got tailled by a black on the streets of New York

hehee..

seems like i m enjoying myself rite?

took many pics.. duno how to start uploading....

11 more days in Yellowstone

2007-07-08T20:11:00.001-07:00

Blogger: mi travelog - Create Post
wow
it has been 8-9 weeks here in yellowstone..
time passes so fast over here.. can't believe that i m leaving in barely 11 days.. and I barely touched the 80GB of stuff i brought in my external hd to kill my boredom over here.
boredom?
hahaha..
no time for me to get bored over here.. if I had the time to get bored.. i guess i would juz b too tired to do so.. sleep is a much better alternative.. plus.. there are simply too many things to do over here already..

feeling a bit melancholy now.. people are starting to take pictures in the EDR cuz they will be leaving in the next few days.. bit by bit.. familiar faces start to filter out.. day by day.. comes the day I would have to leave this place.. it is not easy i think..
Although work here sux.. the food in the EDR sux.. some ppl sux... but the overall feeling and the place is simply too amazing to take the before-mentioned into acc. I may not be coming back to work again.. but i think i would come back again.. as a middle class tourist.. joining the long snaking line in front of the Old Faithful dining room for lunch.. and tell my server that day that i was actually working there a few yrs back.. *falls back into YY-ing*

btw:
just posted up the advertisement to sell off our car.. imagine this. we bought the car for USD600.. we are now asking USD1600 for it~ hahaha.. i dun think we can sell it at such high a price but i guess we would surely be selling it over 600 :D think i would get more $$ to shop later on.. hehehe...

p/s: i need to get another luggage to put my stuff in. :D
*dad: dun faint when u see this.. hehehehe*

What I did in the past week

2007-07-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Finally got to Mt Washburn. so what if I m there one who walks the slowest? cheyyyy......

yup.. a very proud me on top of Mt Washburn :p

Our post in the guest book @ viewing station on top of Mt Washburn.. note that i had already forgotten how to draw the Malaysian flag hahahhaha

kinda like this photo.. it is a father and daughter walking in front of us..

siao siao ppl trying to imitate some superheroes.. wahahaha...

erm.. the stones here r kinda yellow.. maybe that is why it is known as yellowstone here.. hahha

Sunset @ Mt Washburn

I like the way our shadows are elongated under the setting sun...

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After Mt Washburn.. our party of 6 headed for Cody to get a dose of American spirit for 4th of July :)

And.....

Heyhey.. our car finally has a registration plate! Hopefully we won't get so 'close' with rangers anymore.. hahahha...

The Cody Stampede.. kinda interesting to see ppl being bucked off their horses/cows .. and of course.. the smell of dung..

and this is the 13 ppl that shared a motel room for the night.. ate crappy chinese buffet for that day tho.. :S

lazy person's blog

2007-06-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

'relaxed' boating trip at Lake YNP

The sky, the lake and mountains

on my way to be toasted

sunset on my way back from Bozeman

obviously.. another sunset again :p

after so looong.....

2007-06-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Road Trip to Mt Rushmore that took 500 miles.. the 12 ppl in 2 cars who hiong hiong went there

Maybelline me and Zongming - de 3

us 3 and wingfai.. finally saw the 4 faces.. hahaha.. kinda small tho (small dissappointment)

Us 3 and Eunice -->Bear country - the first place i ever saw any bears.. but sad to see how the bears are treated here.. :(

it has been sometime since i posted anything on this blog...

reason:

1. lazy to come over to online

2. internet speed here is !@#$%^&*(

3. there so much other stuff to settle online before i can blog :S

anyway.. some updates

1. i got mi car lisence and am drving around

2. i got promoted to a server :D

3. went Bozeman to shop a lot

4. went to Rushmore and saw the 4 president faces

5. went Idaho Falls and shop a bit :p

6. got pulled over by a traffic police (he thot i was drunk driving.. WTH)

7. EDR (Employee Dining Room) food is turning from bad to worse

8. I got to eat chinese food 3 times since i got here

9. I m turning into a charcoal girl (so tanned)

10. i m sick of thermal features (i dun even bother when the old faithful erupts)

blogging from Rapid City

2007-06-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

i m now in a Super 8 Motel at Rapid City, juz had so called 'Chinese Food' after having one month plus without any decent food...
anyway.. the so called 'hu nan' restaurant does not serve anything remotely similar to hunan food.. anyhow. i was happy that i got to eat decent rice and guo tie :) the other dishes were pretty american...
say, who ever heard of chinese donuts? soft ice cream for desert? so very american laaa... hahaha..
i miss home food a lot.. home as in malaysian food.. miss naan.. miss bak kut teh... miss roti prata... ahahaha.. food here pretty much is standard.. now i know that the variety i had back home is so much compared to what i can get here...
anyway.. will be going to bear county tmr.. what is that? i dunooi..

:p

it's snowing here!!!

2007-05-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

it suddenly snowed one late afternoon.. it was coooolllldddd!!

the road surface was too hot for the snow to remain on it.. :S this means that there is no snowman for me!

kek deng deng wanna take away my jacket for photo... :p

snow frosted log.. looks like christmas log cake? hehehe....

Picture Post - Middle and Lower Geyser Basin , West Yellowstone

2007-05-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

* not in the best mood today, being dissappointed by someone who did not keep his promise and displayed not a very good attitude upon being confronted*

random pics ( u can c i m lazy to type today)

2007-05-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Old Faithful

2007-05-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

The place where i am now is called Old Faithful which comes from the Old Faithful Geyser.

The Old Faithful Geyser is actually not the biggest nor the most magnificent geyser of all. It is famous because of it's 'faithfulness' of erupting every 90-92 minutes, making it the most regular and easily predicted geyser eruption of all.

I first saw my first geyser eruption 3-4 days after my arrival in old faithful. Guess i was too busy working and resting to spend one and a half hour watching the geyser erupt.

I finally saw it erupt around 9pm one day after pestering my roommate to accompany me go see it. (most of them had seen the old faithful go off like countless of times, so they find it quite boring to see it again and again.. hahahaha)

The very first time i saw old faithful erupting at dusk.

Old Faithful in the Morning....

my work

2007-05-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

The place where i work....

i work as a server's assistant in old faithful inn's dining room.. my work is to 'water' the customers that is seated, remove the extra placings on their table... then try to clear the plates when they finish their food... adding more water as they finish their drink.. when they finish all their food and leave..i m supposed to clear all the leftovers into the kitchen and set the table for the next customer.

sounds easy?

nah. it is definitely not.

it is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tiring... and my legs hurt like hell.. :S

for the first few days i started work.. my feet hurt so much that i couldn't even walk properly.. but i m improving day by day... although i still have a big blister on mi feet now.. making me walk like a cripple... hahaha

we also had to balance a big oval tray with all the left over glassware above our shoulder.. it takes a lot of muscle strength to do it... hahaha.. maeb i'll get big biceps by the time i go back :p

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money wise....

my hourly wage is USD4.7.. which is actually low.. but it is supplemented by the tips we recieve from the sever who is tipped by the customer.

In US, it is customary to tip 15% of the total bill for the server.. hence dinner shifts are very lucrative.. the most i had in a night (4:30pm to 11:30pm) was around USD70-80 in tips alone.. wooo.. sounds good? ahahha.. but we have to work breakfasts and lunch shifts which are not lucrative at all.... in fact.. i remember getting 3-4 bucks for a whole day of work from 6:15am to 3:30pm... :S

picture post.....

2007-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

more ramblings....

2007-05-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

After a grueling night, finally we are set to fly to salt lake city from San Francisco....

We were very happy to leave that cold airport with expensive food... but however.. we were again delayed for 2 hours as there were some technical problems with the plane. The plane made some funny noises as the technicians checked for problems in the engine.. apparently there was a valve that was stuck!! it didn't help when there are no eye candies to look at like the china airline taiwanese air stewardess.. :p hahahah... one stewardess for Delta Airline even commented : i hv been working in this airline for SEVENTEEN years, bla bla bla.... , so it is up to ur imagination how the air stewardess look like for american airlines.. hahahahhaa...
it was only after another 1 hour plus the plane started to fly, and for sure we would have to miss our next connecting flight to Bozeman... arghhh.....
nonetheless, i was partly compensated by the beautiful views that i saw from the plane. As the plane was quite a mini one, it flew at lower altitudes allowing me to see more clearly the scenery below :)

Notice that the clouds in the sky is reflected on the lake.. ooo.. beautiful.. ain't it?

When we finally reached Salt Lake City around 11am, we were told that the next flight to Bozeman was at 3pm.. argh.. another round of waiting... n i had burger king for lunch! (the Whoopers are really bigger than the BK in Singapore n Malaysia, i start to worry for my weight :p)
Since we have time to burn... we were taking pictures around the airport...
Nice scenery with all those snow topped mountains... a typical site around these areas... and they have some interesting air planes!

The temperature started to go down... and it was getting COLD.... eee....
Finally.. we reached Bozeman around 4pm which was too late to settle our social security stuff.. ended up, we spent a night at Holiday Inn Bozeman which is right opposite the omnipresent - WALMART~ hehe

Realized that the buildings there are all wide and short.. seldom do I see any building exceeding two stories... hmnn.. maeb it is to allow people to enjoy more of the mountain scenes around?

More stories and pictures to come when I have more time.. would have to run back soon to prepare for lunch set up :S

First Post!

2007-05-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

6th May 2007
After a few days of frantic packing with Lulu being utterly @#$%^& by me... i left for Changi Airport for my new adventure to Yellowstone.
The queue was super long at the China Airline checking in counter, was even more frustrated when BD was taking his own sweet time coming over from Terminal 1 (argh)
anyhow, I was super touched when Fernie n Yongjie came by to see me off, Fern even gave a book! What's more, Weijing n Chengchoon came ALL the way to see me off! very very touched... sob sob...

but i m most thankful for mi parents for driving all the way from home to see me off at the airport, also helped me get mi $$, cc and shades.. waaaaa...
then, i set off for Taiwan~

Had to transit at Taiwan... had some time to burn.. so end up.. i was online again! yay!
Thanks to some company that sells fish egg, i got to use FREE wireless.. hahaha..
The next flight to San Francisco was a long one, it took around 12 hours.. eeeee......
and... i celebrated my 23th birthday on the plane.. (Singapore Time)

However, when i reached San Francisco, it was still the 6th of May, yippie! i m still 22.. hahahha.. i hate getting old...

We reached San Francisco around 8:30pm, but had to wait for the next flight to Salt Lake City on 6:10am the next day... so we found a deserted terminal n tried to make ourselves comfortable n well... tried to sleep.... but before that...

I celebrated my birthday one more time! hahhaa.. this time i am really old.. hahaha... even time difference cannot save me now....
*and i haven't bathed for at least TWENTY FOUR HOURS!! eewww.....*

hehe... a bit tired now.. will save my description for my journey to Salt Lake City and Bozeman later on...
but before that,

Jayne with a jet-lagged face in front of the old faithful inn she will be working this summer :)