My blue foot.


Me & my blue foot


The kitchenette


My bed

Trip to Aurora Factory Outlet

It looks like a small town rather than a factory outlet! But it had good stuff...aeropostale, calvin klein, gap, liz claiborne, bible factory, osh kosh, polo ralph, dkny, fossil....


Shoes that I can't afford, because...


they are from here. Things are 'cheaper' here, which means about...oh, just a few hundred dollars for a pair of shoes? =$


Our car boot loaded! Haha...Carol & I had a good day =D Retail therapy...ahhhhh.


Our satisfied contended day! Really thank God for good weather and safety throughout, cos Carol drove us there & back. It was our first time driving this far (about an hour & a half from Sandusky). Thank God for his protection!

Saying our good-byes...

Aey, one of my thai apartment-mates. She's so sweet, and a great cook! Always cooking & offering us some of it...


Another of my ex-apt mates, Kwan - the hardworking one! She's the only one in my apt holding TWO jobs, working in Cedarpoint in the day, and then off to Macs at night. Kudos.


Dinner at Steak 'n' Shakes (a 24-hour diner) with the Thais...our farewell dinner =(
(left to right) Thomas, Marcus, Britmand, Shaosheng & Esmond.
Ok ironically this table are all Singaporeans oops.


Utt's masterpiece - over the kitchenette sink in his apartment.


Danny (on his precious strings heh) & Jumbo
Danny brought his whole house to his dorm I tell you, he brought his bass guitar, classical guitar, amplifier, violin...he can play anything, and he taught himself! That's pretty impressive.
Jumbo won me a homer simpson doll from the arcade! It's pretty cute & he was going to win one for Carol on his last day here in Cedarpoint, but he got caught by a manager =P


Nong, me, Mo & Jay! On the night that they were leaving. The cab was coming at 6am, but they were still no where near finished packing at 3am!

Niagara Falls

Still on the bus...with Utt, the future architect =)


The American Falls on the left, and the Horse-shoe Falls straight in front...massive.


Climbing up the stairs to get up-close and personal with the water!


Isaac gazing at the mist the force of the cascading waters created.


Isaac & Carol, all dressed & ready! We were about to head onto a boat called "Maid on the Mist" that goes real close to the Horse-shoe Falls. Yeap, we got wet alright!


Thar she blows! Couldn't take really nice or many pictures got I didn't wanna risk my camera getting wet =P This is the closet shot I got of us on the boat heading straight towards the massive Horse-shoe.


CANADA!


The Rainbow Bridge, that connects the States to Canada. What I've been told is that Americans go across the border to Canada to drink because the age limit there is 19 while here it's 21.


Awww ain't that pweetty....haha I think he's gonna kill me for putting this up =D


I never thought I'd see this - a spongebob toilet bowl. Teehee.


Sorry don't have that many nice pictures of Niagara Falls, it was kinda wet and I didn't take them very well. Hopefully Carol & Isaac have better ones...

oh shucks something's wrong with my connection/blog, i can't put up all the pictures that I planned to, sigh. Hope I can do it the next time! It's early! For once I'm back before the recreation center closes, so at least I get to use the internet without a few million other people hogging it. It's because this week I'm selling snowcones, and it's really windy today, bugs are being blown all over the place! (If Gabe were working today he'd be telling us about the bugs that flew into his mouth again haha)Furthermore the ride where my stand is near at is closed today, I think it has to do with the fact that the carriage (with people sitting in it) got stuck on one of the biggest acension of the ride, for 20minutes! Pretty exciting man...for those people sitting in it I mean. So, that means that snowcones were not really selling, and they closed it at about 3smtg. So happy. =)

Anyway I have something to say about people buying these snowcones...I cannot help but wonder why in the world people wanna buy a cone of ice for 4usd. Sure, it's a HUGE cone, and it's got up to 4 flavours of syrup on it...but, IT'S STILL ICE. People would just come up to me and exclaim, "Boy, this has got to be the best deal in the park!" The first time I heard that, I'd just bite my tongue and reply, "You really think so?" And they'd go, "Yeah! I mean, look at the size of that thing!" *Gasp* But these days I just agree with them, no energy to disagree with happy customers who think they're getting their money's worth. I still think 4usd for a small cup of dippin dots is more worth it...at least it's ice-CREAM, and not just ice.

Something worth mentioning, my foot turned blue. Literally. My runner didn't fix the nozzle into the syrup properly so it was leaking all over the wagon floor. So while trying to fix it, I accidently spilled the blue syrup into my right shoe...and throughout the day my foot was just soaking it up while i was working. So my foot is blue.

We went to Niagara Falls last week, and it was good! It was no where near as grand as the grand canyon, but it was a pretty fantastic experience all the same! The falls were pretty huge, and we actually managed to get UNDER one of them! It was CRAZYY. It's where we take a elevator down a shaft to the bottom of the cave, and then we walk up a staircase (which they have to build every spring because of the force of the cascading waters beating down on it) into the falling water itself. There's this point called Hurricane Deck, where if you didn't get wet standing on that spot, you'd get your money back =) The water was just falling on us so fast and heavy, it was really like standing in a hurricane there! I couldn't even open my eyes. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures, cos our poor cameras would be completely soaked. But one of the best things were the rainbows that we saw...at least 3 of them! They were absolutely beautiful...a wonderful reminder from God =)

We got a car! An oldsmobile which we paid 1,000usd. It's old...real old, but the engine is still good & mileage is low. It just looks old and old-fashioned heh. It is so convenient now with a car...at least we can go to walmart anytime and not wait for the bus which only goes down twice daily on weekdays. And of course, for supper! We're still singaporeans after all =) Thank God that no one was hurt in the minor accident that Gabe & Ambrose were in...please pray for us for safety as we drive up to Chicago on 28th June: Carol, Gabe, Ambrose, Yongchang & I.

The Thais left last week...it was a sad time for all of us. I got to know some of them, and they are really wonderful and hospitable people. I really want to go Bangkok end of this year, now that I know so many people there! I miss Utt's crazy animation and his creative drawings and his no end of nonsense, even though his verbal communication is limited (which makes it even funnier). Pan's friendly aura, and his no-ending request that I cook him dinner! (Which i still didn't manage to do before he left =P) Grand's non-accented and funny voice and funny antics. Jumbo & his pro-camera, and his thoughtfulness to everyone around him. Ploy for just being so cute as she is, and watching her attention for me go to zero when our good-looking manager steps into the cafeteria. Tangmo for her sweetness & excited energy. Byrd for never failing to make sure every single person's tummy is filled with his homecooked meals! Mo, Nong, Jay...sigh. I think one of the best things of coming here, are meeting people like those I've met. I hope I can be a blessing to others, just as they have been to me.

Our roomates from thailand left last week too...and goodness. After we said our goodbyes the night before (because we were working early morning the next day so we won't be able to see them), I came back from work the next day thinking they haven't left yet, because the house was IN A HUGE TORNADO-WARNING STANDARD MESS. They left half eaten food and plastic bags everywhere, and they even clothes and shoes behind! But the apartment is kinda empty now without them around...wish I got more time to get to know them better! Anw, one of the days I just put on the gloves that mom convinced me to bring (thanks uncle tsaohui & auntie christina), got the broom, dustpan & sponge, and did my springcleaning. And MAAAANNNN. It felt good. Even though the apartment is not *sparkling* clean, but it is SO much better...I can at least walk around in the kitchenette area, and not tiptoe for fear of stepping on something sticky. I actually took photos, so I'll put it up the next time =)

Very thankful to hear LR & church camp went smoothly =) Can't wait to come back home and get the updates from you guys...

Today is Father's Day, and I miss home, family & food...you really take things for granted when you're comfortable & sheltered. Hearing Danny so willing talk and share about his family, roots, life & lifestyle back in Toledo makes me want to just go home & help Dad wash the car, or go fishing. Happy Father's Day Dad =) Miss you Mom & Jie! And Kor I hope you get the package I sent...hopefully before your exams end heh =P Hang in there brudder.

Niagara Falls

Isaac & Carol: We are on the bus on the way to Niagara Falls! It was a 4 hour bus ride, and we just slept all the way...Carol & I brought so much snacks, enough to feed an army. And we still managed to finish them afterall. Sigh. I need to go on one of those reality tv weight-loss challenges soon.

so many things, so little time...

more pictures & updates coming up, I promise!

It's snowing in summer!

The winds were blowing all the dandelions all over the place, it was really pretty...there were so much of the white stuff floating in the air, that it relly looked like it was snowing! =)

Been feeling unwell since I called mom the other night (or morning on Singapore side), health is really something not to be taken for granted. Haven't been on my knees in heartfelt prayer in a while, and I think the sickness was a really good reminder of my dependancy on him...truly, "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away", that includes possessions, people, and health.

"And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

Birds gone wild

The birds are crazy. They attack people!! Just today, I got attacked by a small black bird with colourful wings, THRICE. They just swoop down out of no where, and just attacked my ponytail, and before I knew what was that, it was gone. I'm just thankful they aren't the huge seagulls.

Today was a good day, in terms of work. Wasn't working anywhere in general, so I just sat in the 'camp' (where they store all the things they need for wagons like cups, spoons, etc) and did miscellaneous stuff. Which was pretty good! Quite slack and relaxing, and I was training my biceps by scooping out at least 20 bags of ice today, for the snowcones. They snowcones they sell here are like the iceballs they use to sell in the old days in Singapore...except here, they charge $4!! Amazingly overpriced huh. But people still buy, because it's SO HOT out here...I think it's safe to say:

SUMMER IS OFFICIALLY HERE!

It's hot, humid, and...very hot. As hot as singapore, but I THINK Singapore is more humid...

Groan I miss singapore food! =P

Prayer requests:
1) That I'll be able to get the morning off to go to church next sunday
2) Discipline in doing quality quiet time
3) That God will take away the discomfort in my throat...think got a little dehydrated today!

Managed to sneak in my camera to work one of the days...as you can see I was pretty bored in my dippon dots stand haha.
"Would you like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate or Cookies & Cream with Oreo?"


Hoo yeah. The good stuff in BULK.
Was still bored.


The view from my dippin dots stand last week...I got kana scolded for taking this shot by this supervisor who saw me happily taking pictures haha. This week I was posted at a different stand, so different view...and too busy to take photos during work =P

The view of the dragster from my window...it shoots you up at a 90 degree angle at 130miles in 5 sec. Whooboy.


"Matterhorn"
One of the first few kiddy rides I sat on to 'warm-up' for the bigger ones later in the summer =)


Carol, Me, Nick (standing), Danny & Jumbo...we're all in the wagons dept!


Carol & Nick playing table-tennis in the rec center...one of the ways to destress after work, if you're not dead from aching feet and a sore throat from talking all day yet!


Our visit to Walmart...the whole row of freezers was filled with ice-cream! And yeap, you saw that right, Carol's in front of the drool-worthy Ben & Jerry's...haha. Man, we're eating Ben & Jerry's EVERY night...and I'm not exaggerating. Gulp.


Some friends I've met here - I'm sitting with Preow (thailand), behind us are Reina (left) & Marilyn from Singapore...they extra extra popped their heads into the picture when I was taking with Preow hehe.


To prevent Cedarpoing employees from going mad from working to much, they hold some activities at the rec center now and then. This is BINGO NIGHT! Haha...yes yes, nothing exciting, but still. The prizes were good ok...was hoping to win the huge teddy bear so it could be my substitute bolster while I'm here. Speaking of which, Americans don't use bolsters! Gasp. Should've seen Danny's face when I was trying to describe it to him...his reaction was like, "What? Why would anyone need a cylindrical pillow??" Teehee. Oh, this is Carol & Utt! =)


Ploy! The cutest & friendliest thai girl I've met here in Cedarpoint =)

Discoveries of the past week

Americans are not rude. On the contrary, their phrases ALWAYS start with, "Hi, how are you doin?" They would make the extra effort to ask how you are, on top of the normal, "Hi"s. Except whether they want to hear your reply is a different issue! =) And over here, if you want someone to repeat him/herself, you just have to go, "Hah?" And no, it's not the singaporean ah-pek, "HAH??". I found that when I couldn't make out someone's accent, and I went, "I'm sorry?" And she looked at me funny, and asked me what I was sorry for. So from now on, let's do it the American way..."Hah?" =)

Haven't been updating much about my life here, just been posting up pictures =P So I'll try to do a little summary...

When we touched down, Carol & I had a little accommodation issue. Well to cut the long story short, the girls we are staying with were initially not very happy about us moving in, as it means less space and privacy for them. To be honest, I understand where they're coming from...to a certain extent. I want my space & privacy (and not to mention, safety!) too, just that they really have no choice but to let us stay, as even if it's not us moving in, there will be other girls in the room as well. At this point I'm really thankful Carol & I moved from the Commons Apartment to the Bayside Apartments. The difference is...10 less people. 'Nuff said. Anyway the Commons is very 'happening', there will be cops every other night, because of some fight or some girl crying wolf, or a fire alarm which went off probably because of someone smoking in the dorm. The guys' apartment ceiling light went out cos their upstairs neighbours were either wrestling or playing DDR really enthusiastically.

Well even if the Commons are 'happening', we girls at the Bayside had our share of a saga as well. We have 2 bedrooms, a living room & a kitchenette in our apartment, and when we first came, 2 girls slept in the living room on the sofabed (don't ask me why) and the other 2 girls slept in the other bedroom. One night when we were all in slumberland, I woke up because of what sounded like really loud laughter outside in the living room. I sat up and I saw Carol was up too, and I just said, "Those girls are mad" and went back to sleep. And fyi, if I could actually wake up from something, it is REALLY loud. In the morn we asked the other girls wad happened, and they told us that one of the girls sleeping in the living room saw a ghost and she got scared and went into their room crying. Long story short, they were hysterical by the time everyone woke up. And Carol & I happily went back to sleep heh. Well that kinda worked in our favour cos then they didn't sleep in the living room anymore, and I don't feel bad about sprawling over the sofa now.

Cooking. I cook! Or at least I try to. I tried beef vermicelli the night before, and it was not bad ok...except that the noodles were not thoroughly cooked, and it just sucked up all the sauce so were were left with a weird-looking dish. But well...it's edible. I'll learn a culinary skill or two by the time I get back home ;)

Thank God for the weekly devotion/sharing/worship sessions we have every week; just had our second one last night, and we seem to be increasing in numbers =) I hope more people can join in as the week's go by. Am very thankful for sessions, it feels nice to sing songs with other people again. =) I hope this continues.

That's all from me for now, cos Carol is falling asleep at the table hehe. I'll post pictures next time. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers.

Dippin Dots! The ice-cream of the future...
Americans are crazy. Even when it's 8degrees out, they STILL buy dippin dots...

Thanksgivings

1. Being posted to Dippin Dots this week, that during a rainy & cold few days, at least I had a shelter over my head, and a little booth to block out the wind =)

2. For food, that Carol cooks for me! Haha...

3. That I recovered from my back strain literally over night! Thank God for that, cos at least I could work without hindrance. And YES, I got it from scooping Dippin Dots. Sheesh.

4. For accountabilty, with the grounded Christian friends I have here.

5. For a quieter heart

Day 9...already??

I can hardly believe I've been working here for more than a week...ok, not really working. "Working". =) I don't really wanna bring my camera to work, so I prob won't be posting as many pictures...and type more words in my blog! Hehe. So this is prior warning: Have plenty of eye-rest before reading this page! =)

Work here has been pretty uneventful, as I still can't get over their inefficiency, and the way they do things here...they have NO form of system really. Like today for example, I'm sitting here in the recreation center, in the middle of the day, getting good internet...why? Cos everyone else is working in the park except a selected few told to go home cos there was nothing else for us to do. Which I really doubt, cos today's a Sunday, and there ARE going to be crowds! Just that at that point of time, John (one of the area supervisors) didn't have anything for me to do. Yeesh. Haha Mark (one of the cotton-candy guys) has been trying to convince me that Americans are stupid. Pretty funny, since HE'S an American himself! But apart from the inefficiency around here, what makes up all of that, are the people here. They are really fun, friendly and nice...there's Danny, Ebony, Josh, Fred, the thai peeps, Nong, Byrd, Pan, etc...will introduce them again.

Oh no I gtg now, will update again sigh.

Carol & I on our first day of work...


Me in my yucky uniform...the shirt is 2 sizes too big, constantly smells of grease, and the pants are too short, but too baggy. Unfortunately no asian-fits. Haha...but as ugly as my pants are, I'm REALLY thankful for them. Some people just have coulottes! Behind me is the Power Tower...where people get dropped at 240 feet...that's like 73metres!


The Singaporeans at the all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta & salad (i.e. junk food) buffet...for only USD5.79!! Yeah, that's dirt cheap here. The guys have vowed to come back here every week haha...
(from left to right)Me, Charles, Ambrose, Yongchang, Gabe, Carol & Nic

Johny Rockets!!

Haven't been able to update in a while, so sorry guys! Upon touching down here in Ohio, internet has been really hard to get, and for the past few days, the router in recreation centre was down...and they got a new one today!! =)

It's been real bo-liao past few days actually, cos the amusement park doesn't open till saturday, the 'foods' people are basically just cleaning and re-cleaning...and RE-CLEANING. Nothing much...Carol & I got assigned to wagons, so we'll most likely have a cotton candy wagon or smtg...we'll know tmr =)

but today was HAPPENING man!! After another day of 'acting busy' (which according to yongchang is what guys have been trained in army haha), we were invited to go to Cedarpoint's Johny Rockets (the largest in the world!) to try out the food! AWWWEESOMEEE!! Johny Rockets is actually a diner fashioned after the 1940s era, where they have really enthusiastic staff, had little jukeboxes on the table where they gave u nickels to play songs like "Staying Alive" (beegees), "Chapel of love" & "Walk like a man" (but sing like a woman haha). Cool stuff. Every 20 min, the waiters would start yelling and whopping, and then the service will come to a standstill, and they'll dance. Yes, they'll start DANCING! It was SOOOO fun! I had SO much fun watching them, that I can't imagine how fun it must be to be in their shoes and dancing as well. Really had a taste of the American culture here this evening, they were really going ALL out and really enjoying themselves. Man. =) AND. This young lady sung their national anthem at one point. I heard smtg about her being on American Idol, but then again I could be wrong. SHE WAS POWERFUL! She has like...4 lungs or smtg! She belted out at the climax SO LOUD that my ears were LITERALLY ringing. Whoop.

Today was a good day...and their closing the recreation centre now. Drat.

Day 2 & 3 of DC

The capitol up close


FBI police car! We actually wanted to have a tour inside the FBI building, but it was temporarily closed...the building is actually quite disappointingly boring though. pooh.



After ALL the walking, we had a rewarding dinner at Hard Rock Cafe...where Carol & I shared a legendary 101 burger, and I was SO full. Even Gabe & Ambrose were 'struggling' with their "pull-pork sandwich"...massive. Ugh. No more burgers for me for a while...


The Ben & Jerry's here are like USD5 for 2 tubs!! Cool stuff, we're even thinking of going to Vermont to check out the Ben & Jerry's factory in July/August...=)


The White House!! Actually that was kinda disappointing, cos we couldn't really get up close (which I guess is logical), and it looked so puny from far away...cos 1)we were really far away 2) the wings and neighbouring buildings like the Eisenhower Executive Office Building & the Dept of the Treasury were hidden behind trees. But yeah, ladies & gentlemen, THE WHITE HOUSE!


DAY 3 (today)
The washington monument...and just one of the many flags surrounding it. Wanted to go up, but when we got there, the tickets to go up were all sold out. And it was only 10plus in the morning! It's actually only 170m tall, but no other building in DC is allowed to be taller than the washington monument. So you can actually see the distinctive feature of the washington monument wherever you are...


The Lincoln Memorial, really beautiful from the outside with its Roman pillars. But seem pretty...hmm 'interesting' on closer look, cos after a seeing all these people who have monuments and huge memorials with their huge statues in memory of them, you get the feeling they are 'worshipped' to the certain extent, cos the awe created and magnitude of their name and honour is so great...




The Korean War memorial - "Our nation honours her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."
"Freedom is not free."


As a cheap alternative, we had packed lunch on the lawn in between the lincoln memorial (in the backdrop) and the washington monument, along the reflecting pool...yummy.

Ahh...


The Thomas Jefferson Memorial...with an ugly scaffolding at the side =P He's most famously known as the author of the Declaration of American Independence.
Famous words: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
I realise a lot of America's leaders are really really good orators...people just don't say things like this anymore.


Arlington Cemetary, which stretches for miles and miles! It's the burial grounds for veterans from every war...and burials are still ongoing.


JFK's burial ground, with his wife & children buried next to him...the fire will never burn out.


The sunset over the amphitheatre of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's actually to comemorate the soldiers who were unidentified during the war...


Ok I realise my post is quite boring, but all the happening photos were not taken with my camera! there was this shot where we did an SMU jump in front of the washington memorial, where we all scrambled onto a cedar-looking tree (and nic took quite some time to come down from his perch haha) and this boyband-quality photo of all of us, looking seh. haha. Ah well, maybe next time when we consolidate our pictures.

And today, my goodness. It hasn't been a week since we left Singapore, but the guys are like really craving for Chinese food, and all the mouth-watering local delights back home...like bahkuteh, timsum, spicy laksa...hmmmm ok i'm making myself feel hungry right now! I'm sick of burgers already, but let's hope I don't get sick of Italian food just yet =)

Next stop (tomorrow): Georgetown University!