DAY 19

Damnnnn....alwayz muz go thru this shitty feeling twice a year...and that mouse click always seem to be the longest mouse click that one could ever have...and in almost a blink of the eye...it is make or break time...one sem of effort, hardwork, late nights, tears and sweat will reflect cruelly on that cold hard screen and almost in that instant u can feel every blood molecule in your body rushing to all your veins and arteries they can find...felt my adam's apple dropped to my belly button as i made that deadly click at 9.30a.m sharp...6 hours aft the adrenaline of shamrock...

And wad it turns out to be...It is make time...party time!! results satisfying indeed...achieved mine best sem so far in NUS...unbelievable really when i look at the screen...pheeeeewwwwww...wad really surprise me is the A for CE3101...wah thought we went out of point with our paris hilton poster and was expecting a B at most...saw an A and I have to double rub mine eyes to confirm it...well done Vortigern Entertainment...all the time spent discussing, planning and squabbling was really well worth the effort...still can remem we spent 2 nites at YJ's place to come up with our "professional" model of Sentosa - The Timeless paradise...it's been a great time working with u guys and hope we can work together in the future again...PM Lee is going to invite us for a tea session to further discuss our plans on Sentosa soon...haha...

Vortigern Entertainment proudly presents...

Went to call home to tell Pa my results...he sounded rather pleased over the phone...but den again there's still 4 more sems...better dun get too complacent yet...my aim is to really pia the nxt sem...raise & maintain 2nd lower...fly to canada relac one sem and come back fyp den ORD!! oopphs i mean graduate loh!

head down to the bank to cash in the past 2 weeks paycheck...feels good when i see the balance amt rose up...den went with ken to Panda for a late late lunch or dinch...to celebrate both of us achieving our best sems and as a warm up for the xiong wkend ahead...wah everytime eat der they never fail to disappoint me...the chinese food was solid as usual...beef with mixed vegetables was simply delicious...maybe it's wad pple always say when u r away u will start to miss the things u normally get dread of...

reported for work at Mariner's Landing at 5pm...really gonna be a super busy wkend...with memorial day on Mon and a long wkend ahead...had a chat with Gil before the ride was opened...told me almost half his life story...all his wives and gfs...how he confronted his gf's lover...his kids...the time he is in jail...really interesting fella who live by the day and dun give a damn about rules and regulations...and this is simply why he landed in hot soup barely 1 hour into operation...in fact since his 1st day here...the supervisors have been watching him almost everyday...it is juz waiting to happen...how can u expect this tough puerto rican rugger to abide the rules and operate sea dragon day in day out faithfully...the final straw came when he is warned not to smoke within the pier during his break...he came up, shook my hand and tell me that he had enough and that he enjoyed working with me the past 2 wkends and simply left with his white plastic bag...and that's prob the last time i will see him again...

left me alone to fend for the nite...lucky help came one hour before closing time...yilin came to take over me and coz i will be working early the nxt morning at the waterpark was allowed to go back early...this will be the arrangement for the nxt 1.5 mths here...lifeguard by day...ride operator by nite...serious and stern by day...friendly and personable by nite...two different jobs...two different personalities...two different Leons...

Day 18 (Lifeguard Training Day 3)

YEAH!!! finally got to sleep in today...only need to report for training at raging waters at 12.30 pm...and whole morning is free...went wif ken and NF to superfresh in the morning to stock up on essentials...realized i am finishing a loaf of bread the same rate as my family of 5 finish back home...chanced upon some good lobangs at superfresh this time rd...one carton of minute maid at USD$1...chicken bologna at USD$1.99 (will come in handy for my sandwich lunches the nxt few days) and one tub of never-hear b4 brand of cookies and cream icecream going for USD$1.99 too...good enough but not perfect enough substitute for hagen daz...

A pizza party was organised by the trainers to celebrate the last day of training...damn welfare at raging waters...everyday sure got treats for us aft training...day 1 was doughnuts...day 2 was hersheys chocolate and now a pizza party...worked like a dog at sea dragon and not even a peanut was offered...the pizza delivery man was late though...and we all had to sit for the written test first...finished 50 MCQs within 15min...and scored 47/50...simply can't fail...they went through the answers juz the day before...the rest of the aftnoon was spent testing out the rides ard the waterpark and as usual all of us were shivering non-stop and worse we gotta dip into the waters for the rides...the rides are fun no doubt esp the serpentines and speed slides...juz that it happens to be a wrong day...the slight drizzle made conditions even worse...a baptism of fire indeed...

Shamrocks nite again...went there aft a solid 2 hour nap aft dinner and man almost all the s'pore students were there...the thais were der as well but for most of them it is prob going to be their last shamrock...ordered a jug of beer as usual...hit the dance floor to the tunes of rnb and house...but this time rd decided to challenge some ang mohs to the pool table...lucky never lao gui...stayed on for a few rounds before some ang moh insist i lost even though i got the black ball in becoz i hit his ball in the process...sore loser really but wad to do...now in people's turf den better obey...dun wanna end up being whacked by the cue sticks and pool balls stuffed into my mouths by some crazy sore loser american...me, ken and jk decided to head back at ard 3am juz in time to check results but den reach back den realise no internet connection...haha muz be fated or wad...sleep first fresh liao den take wadever shock there is tml...zzzzzz...

JK, me and Ken...i look like i juz finish 2.4 in this pic...but the whole damn bar dunno air-con spoil or wad and imagine 100 over bodies squeezing against each other...sweating like mad

Day 17 (Lifeguard Training Day 2)

Training to be lifeguard...saving lives...once in our lives...3 months of our time...

training...training and it's basically just training the whole day...more CPR drills in the morning and it was followed by a 40-min lunch break...went to look for vicki the person in charge of our payrolls with the rest to clarify our payment errors...wtf tell us that it is not in the system and gives all sorts of excuses...and say she gotta check again...how can that be?? when 2 of the gang got twice the amount we get when we worked exactly the same number of hours...confirm some bloody admin cock-up and still dun wanna admit...they better pay up asap...pissed off totally...arrrrrggghhh...

water practise straight aft lunch...and stayed in the pool till almost sunset...all of us were tested on the water skills we were taught over the past few days at the end of the session...part of the practical assessment to be lifeguard...anyway the whole training course has been compressed to juz 3 days to cope with this coming memorial day long weekend and the opening of the waterparkon Sat...a formal training session will be held again in 2 weeks time when the full lifeguard course will be conducted...who cares if they are going to teach the same things over again in the nxt course...they are paying us to train anyway...get to learn something useful and get paid den why not??

headed back to the mag straight aft training...whipped myself a mean meal of pasta...watched finish "american beauty" borrowed frm ken...interesting movie starring kevin spacey showing the dysfunctional aspects of american family life...and stopped halfway "When harry meets sally" before deciding to turn in for the day at 11.30pm...the earliest time i slept since i arrived in US...one of those monotonous days i suppose

Day 16 (Lifeguard Training Day 1)

Given up all hopes on the weather here liao...anticipate another day of shivering in the chill 16 degrees climate with nothing but mine saf PT shorts on and with strong wind beating against drenched bodies...nothing physical...pure mental torture...

the entire morning was spent learning on CPR skills...endless CPR drills was practised and practised and everyone took turns to be the victim and rescuer...learnt how to open up one's airways...perform AR (Artificial Resuscitation) and things to do in times of emergency...quite fun and enriching i muz say...might come in handy the nxt time i see a chiobu drowning in the rochor canal back home...breathe 1-1000 2-1000 3-1000 4-1000 breathe...

the most feared water training came in the aftnoon aft lunch...like i say not the physical aspect but the hard-beating cold...lucky the trainers still welfare a bit...the training pool was heated to a comfortable temperature...but it is coming out of the waters that is the tough part...and worse we have to do it continuously practising our compact jumps into the pool until Denise Beckson is satisfied...speaking abt Denise...she is the big boss ard...director of the two water theme parks...and she 's one of the most hands-on boss ard...went personally to Singapore to conduct the recruitment exercise...and of coz personally oversee the lifeguard training even though she could simply leave it to the trainers...and somemore she takes the effort to remember all our names...all the names of over 20 of us in the course ...really admire these type of hands-on bosses...truly command the respect of their workers...my corporate american idol...

Wings nite on tues! head down to Tony's again for cheap drinks and wings...have been looking forward for the whole day for a bottle of bud-light to calm those cold nerves andden we got a scenario totally uncalled for at Tony's...the waitresses asked that we produced our passports to prove our age when barely a week ago we bought drinks easily with or drivers' licenses...we argued on that point but the waitresses (particularly the lao ang moh ah lian) even showed us attitude and said it's the boss instructions...wadda hell walk all the way here and no drinks and wad kind of policy is this? some sort of racsim tactic against us or wad? we demanded to see the boss himself and he turn out to be much nicer in explaining the situation...apologised for his overlapse last wk when we juz bought drinks with our licenses and suggested we bring photocopies of our passports the nxt time...bobian no drinks...juz wings...but wad to do...dunno who the hell came up with this stupid policy...but of coz wadever rage we had was soon overcame by the taste of the tonys' wings melting in our mouths...the main reason why we were here in the 1st place...whoooooh

whooooohing the Tony's wings

Smiles across our faces with wings in hand...Shireen & me at Tony's

...One sentence says it all...

Credits: All the above pics courtesy of Joy...similarities between mine blog and hers are purely coincidental :p

Day 15

It's swim test day!! finally get to dip in the water after waiting for 2 long weeks...decided to wear PT shorts over mine saf swimming trunks coz 1stly, the trunks alone are too sexy...2ndly it's damn paiseh to wear saf swimming trunks and 3rdly...the weather here is freezing to the core...wah lau dunno suay all wad...of all days that we have...the day we gonna take our swim test the winds is so esp strong and the weather is so damade cold...wak along boardwalk to mariner's landing gotta the feeling like anytime can get blown off...muz be somebody up der juz wanna put the brokebackers frm apartment 5 to the test i suppose...always giving us obstacles one aft another since we arrived...but come'on do wadever u wan...we are not called the brokebackers for nothing man

the test was not as easy as it seems...consists of 2 parts...the first gotta swim 10 laps across a 3m deep pool but spanning oni 25m in continuous breaststroke or freestyle...damn easy i tot to myself at first and comfortably swam freestyle for the 1st 6 laps...wahlan reach the 7th lap ran out of breath and i mean seriously ran out of breath...felt the currents pushing against me and the water pressure was certainly much higher than the pools in s'pore...struggled for breath on mine last 4 laps but lucky still completed it...got choke by the waters but heng in the end still made it...muscles stiff all over the pool...ok i admit mine fitness is pretty bad but i know i am defitnitely a much better swimmer den runner...i mean i won some medals back in acjs in swimming coms k...dun prey prey hor (p.s the medals are all inter-house relays none of them individual events)

2nd test was to classify u to deep water or shallow water guard...gotta dive in 3m feet first...picked up a 10 pound (roughly 4.5kg load) and den thread water for 2 full min wif both ur hands on the brick...wah lau it was crazy even threading without the brick in the pool wif such strong currents and pressure...the brick did'nt make things better of coz...gulped a few mouthful of waters...was finding hard to thread any longer and decided to drop the brick...btw only 3 pple frm s'pore passed this test out of almost 15 of us...underestimated the difficulty really...feel like taking it again the nxt swim test...but seriously was thinking pass liao deep water guard training will be more xiong...higher responsibilities and worse same pay as shallow water guard...so in the end no point lah...it's juz the personal issue to contend wif...esp wif one girl managing to do it...a huge dent to the egos of all the guys who failed

and of coz it's super duper cold...back home come out of pools already shiver like siao...here is 10 degrees lower and the moment u step out...u juz shake uncontrollaby and i mean uncontrollably...i have never felt this cold in my life before...wah lau everyone was juz jumping ard like madmen juz to keep warm...heng the pool is heated...if not i really cannot imagine wad will happen to 15 lifeguards from sunny singapore...

a few of us hop down to the cinema along boardwalk to watch da vinci code...damn interesting not the movie but the cinema...it's juz a one man show...he is the ticket seller cum popcorn seller cum movie operator cum toilet cleaner...basically he bao ka liao...movie seats still quite ok...one good thing is there r no irritating and corny adverts but they do show movie trailers here...a few times the screen went off during the trailer screening and mr bao ka liao has to come out and tell us to hang on while he fix the prob...in the end the movie was surprisingly smooth frm start to finish...thought-provoking...but rather draggy is all i can say abt the movie...most pple like me who have not read the book will find it hard to follow most parts...but still this show will go down as my 1st ever movie in the land of Hollywood...

the tickets cost USD8.50...same price as s'pore...but times 1.58...on a mon nite...and i can hear many "bo huas"

at the cinema waiting for the show to start...shireen, joy, me & ken in the frt row...mugan & greg in the middle row...

Self-made pasta wif beef sausages...confirm adding to my menu frm now on

The all-impt pasta sauce...America's choice...my choice...

Day 14

A pretty smooth day at work...well of coz knowing this will be my LAST day at sea dragon...Yeah!! that xtra motivation to get over the day...ahhh actually the work is not that bad also...shoo in the crowd, press the button and then send them off...will kindda of miss it when i post over to lifeguard tml...confirm will have a special feeling when i take the viking boat the nxt time...haha can imagine when i come back on my off days as a guest and Gil shuts the lap bar for me...that will be kindda of funny...in actual fact...i have not even taken my own ride before or any of the rides so far when as an employee i can take all rides for free...bobian when the park is open i gotta work...things will be diff come summer time...will definitely try the sea serpent for sure and of coz my seeeeea draaaagon...

got a diff task juz before knockoff frm shelly...asked me to go ard the pier collecting the clipboards...feels good as finally can see and talk to the pple who have been working ard me but never have the chance to to meet up wif...feels like some sort of final lap of honour to exaggerate a little bit...haha...Gil gotta go off early since business was rather slow on this cool sunday and i was left to close shop at 6pm...took one final look at this boat which i have been working for the past 2 weekends...though short but no doubt memorable...

attended a meeting for all singapore students at 6.30 pm...turns out some sort of cockup happen between Speedwing the s'pore agent and CIEE the US governmental agency in charge of the work & travel program...it seems now all s'pore students have to stop work on 16th july for some reason or another and pple who have contract expiry date later will have to sit down to discuss with the management...mine is 20th but dun make a diff really...so decided to go along with moreys but hopefully they still can provide the housing for us until 20th when our official travel plans kick in...otherwise no roof over our heads for that 3 days and motels are gonna rip a bomb off our pockets here...

was playing basketball when a group of ang moh ah lians suddenly chup it and wanna join us...we gamely agreed and it was asian men vs ang moh gals...haha the gals here are definitely more open-minded and fun-loving...no offence to s'pore or asian gals in general...but how often do u have gals coming up to guys playing basketball to challenge them? the end result was pretty obvious but all of us had great fun...but these gals sure put up some fight man...and aft the game found out they are actually our neighbours living oni 3 houses away...Game on!!

head down to superfresh aft that to stock up mine groceries wif JK, NF & Ken...bought at least one wk supply of stuff and almost could not make it back wif so many things to carry...i was even sweating man in this 16degree temperature...now really understand the convenience of living nxt to a hypermart back home...went to panda to dabao char siew cao fan wif ken aft putting our stuff...and hit the pillows wif a shag smile across mine face...proud that i have survived thru such a long wkend :)

my grocery cart at superfresh...was literally dragging myself to carry them on the 15-min walk back

da bao cao fan frm panda...wah even the packaging is so cute...reminds me of the KFC popcorn chicken

Day 13

"Welcome to Moreys' Pier Sea Dragon. For your safety, please kindly put your hands and legs in the boat at all times. Once again, please kindly put your hands and legs in the boat at all times. Thank you and enjoy your ride."

"Riders, please kindly remain in your seats until the boat has come to a complete and final stop. Once your lap bars have been released, exit towards the beach. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your stay at Moreys' Pier."

I muz have heard these at least a 1000 times today...worked for a straight 12 hours from 11am to 11pm and the crowd is certainly worse than I expected...every ride was filled to the brim...and at one time I counted there were 33 passengers onboard my ride (the capacity is 40)...a record during my 2 weekends here...heng there was some technical difficulty which is totally not my fault this time rd and the ride had to close down for half an hour for repair on one of the lapbars which refuses to close properly...maintenance had to be called in later for a smaller-scale repair when 2 of the lap bar lights blew...other than that it was basically Swing Up Swing Down...Swing To Swing froth...and worse my dear Gil came in at 5pm oni...thinking that the theme park is open at 6pm everyday...had to hold the fort alone for half the day which i can tell u is no joke...dunno why my ride is so popular too esp for teenage girls...juz swing up and down also fun...their screams and shrieks feels like standing nxt to the sound boxes at phuture...or maybe issit word spread ard that there is an half Italian half Spanish ride operator at Sea Dragon and the pre-matured, hormone-charging, braces wearing teenage gals juz flock here like mouse to cheese, bees to honey...hahahaha...sorry ah nut a bit loose up here liao...juz imagine seeing a pendulum swinging up and down for 12 straight hours...and u know wad i mean...

head back to the Mag totally drained and shagged aft closing the ride at 11plus...cook myself a packet of instant mee wif broccoli, carrots, beef sausages and egg...the thing i was fantasising badly abt juz 2 hours ago in the atlantic wind...

Cooking Lesson 1: Add Broccoli only at the very last part...Broccoli when boiled too long becomes shredded into tiny fragments and it taste damn bloody bitter and disgusting wif little greenies all over my plate

Cooking Lesson 2: Place sliced potatoes into a pot of water because oxidation will cause it to turn brown...same concept as apples

Cooking Lesson 3: How to differentiate a garlic from an onion? garlic is white while onion is purple...ok i know how stupid can i be...dun even know the diff frm garlic and onion...really make myself the joke of the day in the kitchenette

was listening to some chinese pop songs juz before i sleep...suddenly very gian to go ktv belting out all the songs in my playlist...haha i muz admit i am quite a ktv fan...dun laugh ok...got pple say i sound like Ah Du when i sing his songs k...aiyah but seriously K-Box shud juz come and set up a branch here in wildwood...3 months without ktv...haiz...

Gotta settle wif this as my mike for the nxt 3 months..."ahhh ahhhhh...geh wo yi beh wang qing shui..."

Day 12

suffering frm the after effects of shamrock when i woke up this morning...boy it was a great nite of music and booze even though decked out in entirely wrong fashion...capris and slippers...went straight down to Adventure's pier in the morning for the 3rd straight day of sai kang...no choice the summer season is still officially not here yet and all 3 piers will not be in full operation until 3 weeks frm now...that means tons of cleaning and maintenance work to do before expecting the summer crowd...

sweep...swept...sweep...was sweeping the whole pier for the whole morning...surely not everyday is sunday and i know it too damn well...yesterday given easy tasks and i can oni expect this kinda of chow kang today...basically prancing up and down the pier with my broom and dustpan for a good 5 hours...at least they ordered lunch for us this time rd even though getting a little bit sick of pizza these days...but seriously the papa john's pizza is good stuff...definitely much cheesier and delicious than the 99cents pizza along Boardwalk...everyone juz gobbled one piece aft another and in no time...empty boxes of pizza started piling up...

this sign seems less and less appealing each time i walked past it...

It's the Beach Jam here at wildwood!! Over 9000 boy and girl scouts are expected to visit the piers this wkend...my goodness that means twice the crowd last wkend and twice the workload...gotta tong the heat and sun in the day...the wind and chill at nite...ohh man my face is juz recovering frm the moisturizer...and now it's now going back to square one...

reported for work at 5pm...was cleaning mine baobei viking boat when suddenly a tough-looking & burly middle-aged angmoh wearing moreys jacket walked up to mine boat...at first i tot i was in for some shit and the moreys management sending this manager over here to warn me...

"Hi, I am Gilberto and nikki sent me here to work wif u..."

i was in for the rudest shock i can get...i would never expect this guy to tell me he will be working wif me...or issit management found out i have trouble dealing the boat alone and decided to send this bouncer to bail my arse out...haha...but Gilberto or Gil rather turn out to be a pretty nice chap...he will defitnitely not feel out of place if u drab him up in cowboy wear and a hat to match...with his southern floridan accent and puerto rican origin...could tell he is very much a Ricky martin in his heydays man...haha...aft some chatting, found out he is oni 35 yrs old or perhaps his goatee added some years to his age...and is already a father of 3 daugthers and 1 young son...and his eldest daughter is already 18 yrs old man...started early is wad he say...haha...a former plumber who had a salary of 14 bucks an hr decided to switch to 6 bucks an hr operating the viking boat along the jersey shore...told me he had enuff of digging and backbreaking work...$$ is not the issue but rather enjoying wad u r doing is the matter...shudden this be the mentality in life?? but why am i still stuck in this pathetic rat race?? tsk tsk

tents sprouting all over the beach for the wildwood beach jam...damn

and of coz got mine first paycheck today and it turned out to be a disaster...realized we were severly shortchanged or rather, NF, eric, JK and me were shortchanged...got almost half of wad ken and FX got...and it is almost impossible since all of us were basically doing the same things thru the whole wk...filled in the payroll error form at sendout and hopefully the issue will be resolved soon...nabe suay or wad...everyone got their right pay except us...haiz...

Day 11

Reported for more sai kang at Adventure Pier today...expecting the worst aft tasting 1st hand on tues how jialat the whole pier is...heng never posted here...it is by far the dirtiest, oldest and furthest pier frm the Mag...and wads more...the whole damn pier dun even have a single public toilet and u expect guests to hold their bladder andden walk 10min to mariner's landing to pee...wads going on man?!? ridiculous

a lucky day to start wif...was given a damn easy job...juz need to go around to all the rides on the pier and clean the grey bin wif car wash...cao keng a bit here and der and the morning juz wheeze past...was given a 2 hour lunch break and the gang decided to head back to the Mag and whip up a decent meal of fried rice before heading back for more work later on...each of us given our own task when we got back to speed things up...NF the main chef...JK the rice cooker...Ken the cutter and me the beater...egg beater in actual fact...ok i have to admit thats prob the most brainless and least culinary effort-consuming...but hey come'on...i am trying to improve mine cooking skills everyday k...and of coz everyone needs to start somewhere rite...btw beating eggs is not as eazi as it seems too...tell myself confirm must master fried rice when i go back...

ingredients parade: sliced potatoes, ham, broccoli, onion, diced carrot, sausages, spring onion==> yum yum cao fan

frying in action

The men behind the scenes...NF, JK & Ken and dun forget the egg-beater KM behind the cam

Ta de!! Proudly presenting a plate of warm, tasty & healthy home-cooked fried rice...3 bucks any takers?

wah cooking, eating and wahing up the whole process really takes time...before we know it gotta head back to adventure's pier for work...muz be mine day or wad...given another slack job...was tasked to clean the merry-go-round (they call it carousel here in US) wif ken by the J-Lo looking area manager, Cindy...even praised us for doing a good job coz "the mirrors are so shiny...good job boys"...haha if only she had said "good job boys...waiting for tonite ohhh oh ohhh...when you would be here in my arms..." ok very lame i know...

went back wif the boys at ard 7p.m...and decided to cook fried rice again...this time including eric and FX who have gotten the day off...wah cao fan is really one dish i cannot get sick of...really a fan tong indeed...slightly more delicious than the aftnoon attempt...even came up wif another dish of our own consisting of sliced potatoes, green pepper and tomato...agreed to call it "Brokeback Mountain" to symbolise the close camaderie and "brotherhood" of apartment 5...hahaha

went to shamrock late at night totally caught off guard and unplanned...met shaun, greg, ian & co while returning the superfresh trolleys and the temptation was too strong...first time in mine life chionging in 3quads and slippers...can u imagine...dancing wif slippers on the dancefloor...quite paiseh initially but the music was too good to be missed...beer is freakin cheap too...one jug oni USD2 bucks...wah kaoz where to find in s'pore and best cover charge is oni 2 bucks too...5 times less the charge on mambo nite lah...found out frm the thai students who were at shamrock that moreys pple will usually be der on thurs nite...ok now muz officially designate thurs instead of wed ladies nite back home as chionging nite and nxt time rd...no more slippers man...haha still kan believe i can actually dance wearing slippers...haha but in the end...it's been abt comfortable wif urself that all matters...shamrock rawks!

DAY 10

Another OFF day...but in case u guys are wondering why so good life here and every other day got OFF...muz remem that this place is an amusement park so gotta slog thru like hell on wkends and such...OFFs are only given only on wkdays...and OFFs are gonna become a rarity frm this wk onwards...more or less can say this OFF is gonna be mine last for a very very long time (haiz...philadelphia cheese, meeting wif Bushie at White House & mine date wif carrie bradshaw has to wait for a while)

One day of miscellaneous and admin stuff...early morning went wif Ken & NF to Bank of America along New Jersey Ave abt 15min walk away...decided on opening a checking account at Bank of America rather than other wulu pandan neighbourhood banks (heard of crest savings or cape savings bank???)...like s'pore bank accounts...gotta put in minimum of USD$500 by end of the month if not they will deduct USD$12 a month...really bloodsucking lah waddahell...but bobian need a safe place to bank in and store all mine paychecks...and only in Bank of America I trust (borrowing frm the slogan on all US notes "In God We Trust")...too bad we went on a wrong day...the com got some glitch and we can't get our debit cum ATM card...they say will send to Moreys for us and they better...

Official Bank of America account holder

The so-called bank account book...can u believe it...their bank account books are handwritten here in US, the so-called superpower of the world?

New account holders are given 3 cheques for free...dunno for fark also...buy one carrot at superfresh and i sign cheque issit?

Headed down to Superfresh wif my supply of hotdogs, instant mee, bread & cheese singles running dangerously low...bought more greenies (carrots & broccoli) and apples...muz be lack of fiber...finding it harder for daily business to transact these days when it used to be like a breeze back in the toilet bowl back home

In dying need of this...really dry weather up here and u know wad...this small bottle of liquid wif foam cost me USD$6.95!!?!

made a mad dash back to the Mag wif Champs league final starting wif only 15 min left...wah lau finally some soccer action...totally deprived of it man...at least they showing champs league final...damn sick of whole day baseball and ice hockey on their 2 espn channels...had never understand why soccer is unable to pick up in here US when it is the official planet's sport...NFL, NBA, NHL and NBL seems to be more familiar names den FIFA...but they better be showing the world cup come June...

Watched the Champs league at the common lounge wif the thai students...the thais had came much earlier in late march and will be leaving come the end of this month...really nice and friendly pple to hang out wif...and i muz say some of the thai chicks are pretty hot too...the Land of Smiles indeed...heehee

went for second round of laundry aft dinner...wah lau realised it ain't gonna be cheap if this is going to carry on like that...2 bucks to wash and 3 quarters to dry...plus muz buy ur own washing detergent...but den again bobian...juz gotta made sure frm now on underwear wear liao den flip over...socks wear until got smell come out...and shirts and jeans wear, sun it andden wear again to cut laundry costs...haha ok lah joking oni...still not to that desperate stage yet...but seriously might consider if screw up at sea dragon this wkend again and moreys decided to terminate my contract wif immediate effect...fingers crossed...no more cockups...no more cockups...

Day 9

Woke up this morning with a tinge of Atlantic City still left in me...the buzz of the traffic & the gleaze of the casino...certainly much more livelier than dead Wildwood where the streets are practically empty and nothing greets u except gusts of cold wind and flocks of seagulls as irritating as the crows back home...prepared a nice breakfast for myself consisting of chocco cereals with milk, scrambled eggs, sliced cucumber with cheese sandwich and a banana to start the day...basically slacked away the late morning...checked email, surf net and stuff

reported for work at Adventure's Pier at 1pm...hell was Advanture's Pier...construction activity was ongoing and debris was left hanging everywhere...so unlike Mariner's Landing where i am working where everything is so organised and clean...really geared up for the Sai Kang ahead...and man my gang was decked out in the wrong attire again for the 2nd time in a row...when need to wear uniform we wear home clothes...when wear home clothes we wear uniform...either all 6 of us are deaf or the whole mag 1 and mag 2 are hatching a giant ploy against us...but not so paiseh this time rd...prob used to it liao...

was quickly despatched out to clean, polish and wax the go-kart cars under the rather warm aftnoon sun...and i can say these cars were not cleaned since Will Morey founded moreys' pier or wad...freaking dirty and sandy...and worse the NTU boys had to remove a dead bird stuck between the foot pedal and one of the car's interior...and den slowly pluck out the feathers stuck onto the foot pedal...disgusting,...grotesque...pui...wadda hell running the risk of contracting bird flu for a measly USD$6.00 pay...pui...worse was to follow when a mexican ah beng supervisor went to "sheck" (he kan pronounce the letter "C") and insist the cars were not clean and bright enuff..."Sheck" you lah mexican punk...how clean and bright u wan when the bloody circuit is juz located nxt to the beach and every wipe i made...the wind will juz blow the sand into the car again...left with no choice...juz gotta go back and cleaned, polished and waxed the damn cars again...at the end when i knock off at 5pm...i am already all tanned up and dry...more or less can blend in with the thai students at mag 2...

went for mine first watering session since I arrived in US with the boys minus eric who was nursing a terrible stomache...reached Tony's which is a 15min walk away at ard 7.45 pm and ordered my first bottle of alcohol for 2 weeks...man it was refreshing...damn hard to find beers ard the neighbourhood and was told beer and alcoholic drinks are only allowed to be sold in the pubs and bars in NJ...and the age limit for drinking in US is 21...higher than s'pore certainly...a good thing lah...these american young punks are already so crazy when they are sober...imagine if they can juz hop down to any convenience store and suka suka buy alcohol...thats it man...all hell and pandemonium will break loose...and a few more things down here with rgds to alcohol...no open bottles in public (meaning no drinking alcohol while walking balonglong in the streets) and no poker games allowed in bars unless the bar has a gaming license...damn farkin strict when it comes to alcohol here...

since tuesdays are wings nite...decided to order 5 baskets of wings...wah the wings are damn nice...dunno wad sauce they use also...but taste not too spicy and with a kindda of sweet and sour taste...can fight with the hak jiong kai back home...ordered another round of drinks...watched the New Jersey vs Miami game and supported the Nets as a new-born New Jersian (damn New jersey lost and kicked out of the series even with mine support)...and left the pub ard 10.45 pm...took a slow walk back, had a warm bath and hit the pillow soon aft...alcohol really makes u sleep better at nite man :)

Outside Tony's...good enuff to be approached to be the nxt GAP model in my new jacket anot? haha

Gonna be mine new fav american beer for the nxt couple of months...BUD LIGHT rulez!

NF and me...to our hearts' content...cheers to moreys!

DAY 8

Yippee yipee yipee yipee yah!! OFF Day! A much needed and truly deserved break aft a slogging weekend...the gang decided to hop down to Atlantic City which is about an hour's drive away for some serious shopping and action at the city's famed casinos...have heard so much about the city being widely touted as the "Las Vegas of the East Coast" and also is very much eager to check out the site where several episodes of Donald Trump's "Apprentice" was shot and filmed...

Bought the round-trip ticket from wildwood to atlantic city which cost USD$7.30

On our way to overnight riches...taken from inside NJ552 on our way to atlantic city

"Howwwwwl"...looking rather sleepy aft a 1 hr long journey...at the cross junction of atlantic city

Ahhhhh...looking much revitalised with food...ken and me outside the hotdog stand where we had lunch

A Msg to all gals reading my blog: I am telling u here the shopping here is awesome!! there is so much variety here and the things are comparatively cheaper here compared to s'pore...even someone like me who has literal zero shopping sense cannot resist the temptation of names like Banana Republic, American Eagles, Guess, Polo Ralph, Nautica, Reebok, Timberland, Gap, Fossil and so much more...in terms of big departmental stores orchard wins hands down...but in terms of designer boutiques which offers reasonable prices...Atlantic City triumphs man...A Fossil watch that would cost over S$100 cost only USD$39.90 (latest exchange rate at 1.58)...a pair of adidas's samba cost ard $49.90 and the last time i went to queensway to enquire it cost $95.00 man...Levis, Guess and almost any american brands are confirmed cheaper here in the States...

Told my driver to wait while I snapped this shot wif Eric

City Square of Atlantic City

The boutique shops along Pacific Ave, Atlantic City

A relaxed man by a busy road

Waaaah...this is life man...shopping, having high tea, reading the papers and an aftnoon chat wif close friens on the philosophies of life

Me and mine captures in Yankee Land

Aft some hardcore shopping...the gang decided to explore Atlantic City's more famous Boardwalk where many casinos such as Sands, Taj Mahal, Bally's, Caesars and Trump (obviously owned by the man himself) are located...was turned off by the minimum bet of USD$10 on the blackjack tables...and our dream of returning in a chartered plane using NF's so-called foolproof blackjack method was dead and truly buried...decided to juz explore along the boardwalk andden head back to wildwood for some more decent panda fare and call it a day...

A proof of mine visit to Atlantic City for the future

It's a truly wild wild west down here...the gang wif henry

At NJ's Korean War Memorial along Atlantic City's Boardwalk

The world's oldest Ripley's Believe It or Not!

I am going to rename this to KM PLAZA in 10 years time

Rainforest cafe....heard so much abt it man

Bought this coca-browned with yellow stripes jacket at GAP for USD15 bucks

And this H&M grey chionging shirt for a cool USD$9.90...

Will defitnitely come back here again...Atlantic City...truly Atlantic

When you walk through a storm

Keep your chin up high

And don't be afraid of the dark.

At he end of the stormIs a golden skyAnd the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,Walk on through the rain,

Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone,You'll never walk alone.

LIVERPOOL FC - FA CUP WINNERS 2005/06

This blog entry is in dedication to the team of Liverpool FC for their remarkable achievement in capturing the FA Cup and following up on their epic Champs League success last season...Congratulations to Benitez, Gerrard, Carragher and the team...from their faithful supporter for the past 11 years and beyond...you 'll never walk alone!!

Day 7

Wow can't believe one week has passed already man...Moreys is turning out to be almost everything I have expected except for the stupid weather man...can be so warm and sunny one day andden cold and chilly the next day...my chaffed lips and untouched packet of oil blotters bears best evidence to the extreme cold and dry conditions (back in spore i have to use almost 1 blotter a day due to overactive oil glands...glad they went into hibernation here haha...)

reported for work at 10a.m sharp...spent one hour tidying up my sea dragon...cleaned and waxed it...swept the ride area and booth...test run it before opening up for business...every mum was given a special rate and plastic flower on this special mummys' day and business was brisk but smooth (dun worry guys i am more or less experienced liao...one more cockup and i will be sent back 1st thing to spore in disgrace haha)...as usual young punks are my most boogy bunch of customers and i always have to keep a special watch on them...they can simply dun care abt their lives and tried to stand up when the boat is at its almost vertical position...and there was this particular grp who keep on taking my ride and insist on sitting at the opposite back ends only to engage in some intense spitting war in mid-air...but wadever grievance and anger i have to clean up the boat aft that was appeased when one of them asked me whether i am spanish or italian? hahaha juz this simple question make my day...wah lau wad can i say man...there is juz this bit of spanish flair and italian romance in mine blood that is not always so easily spotted...i can forgive them even if they shit on my ship man...i mean it's not everyday someone tells u u r in the same league as francesco totti (ying dun puke ah...heh) and paulo maldini :p

explored the rest of Wildwood wif NF and FX aft knocking off at 5 p.m while ken, eric, JK, moyar and samantha went to superfresh...

NF and FX checking out the IDD calling cards at a local grocery shop

Posing outside Dragon House...one of 2 chinese restaurants in town

FX & Me outside Wildwood High...the name and building is so damn "Hollywood"

Self-made Dinner---> 2 packets of oriental flavour instant Ramen, sliced sausages, green peas & the all-essential egg

Day 6

...Shagged...

...Drained...

...Totally Buried..

Wish I could juz stay in bed on this beautiful Saturday...i mean wadda hell this is only the 2nd saturday since exam ended and I have to force myself to wake up and bemuse ang mohs in a faraway land...no choice this is just the reality of life...I thought to myself...this is aftall a WORK & travel program...I thought to myself...

Attended Lifeguard orientation at 10...was surprised to see so many young american punks who applied to be lifeguard at moreys this summer...the number of singaporeans was juz a handful and the boys from mag 2 apartment 5 made up almost half of them...wad can we do man...we are aftall the fittest, loudest and most fun-loving apartment along the whole of magnolia ave...had to stand up and introduce ourselves during the orientation and need to tell everybody if given a chance, which mag cover we would like to be on? Cleo, FHM, Men's health...haha dun make everyone laugh lah pls...decided to say some Travel magazine come my turn and say I travel a lot...was given a facility tour of raging waters, a water themepark on the back of the pier i am working on now...the whole place was not too big and the waters are not too deep as well...the rides are mainly for kids and knowing how these american punks can be so active aft experiencing 1st hand at sea dragon last nite...i predict it's going to be a damn busy summer saving drowning kids...and hopefully some sexy ang moh babes and putting my cpr skills to the test...hek hek...the pros of a summer lifeguard...hiak hiak...

went back for a one hour rest before heading down to sea dragon to take over yilin...wah lau today was super crowded lah...could barely take a break...and worse had to handle all by myself today...had 2 bloody major cockups today and had to call my supervisor on those 2 occasions

Cockup 1: One boy who is obviously too short and needs to be accompanied by someone who is at least 16 came up with his brother who is barely 10...obviously taking cue frm my training with nichole...i rejected them and duly refunded their tickets...den their tigerish old granny confronted me and asked me why i reject them...i told her the reason and she still not happy and insist that i give her back the right tickets (i gave her exactly wad she gave me)...so i told her to wait and i will call my sup...nabe my sup come and she ciao liao...make my sup tink i dua him or wad

Cockup 2: Ok this is seriously my fault...i accidentally pressed the start button again when the boat coming to a stop...panic i went to press the shunt power which was to cut off the power completely when i shud have juz let go of the foot pedal...wadda hell the boat juz can stop swinging aft that like a never-ending pendulum and a worried mother of 7 kids was on board looking at me with eyes that could have shredded me to pieces...the kids were asking me to stop...complaining that they were going to throw up but there was nothing i could do abt it man...quickly called my sup...and he rushed over to off the main supply...really damn paiseh...the kids' face were all white when i released their lap bars....prob took their last viking boat ride...thks to me *sheepish grin*

Bored at work...self-shot frm the operator's booth

Exposed to the elements...the sun, wind and sand...leaving my face shrivelled, tanned and peeling *sniff*

was subjected to some sort of racial poking when ken, jk and me went to wawa aft work at ard 11pm to stock up on our breakfast supplies...quite an experience really esp on this part of US on a Sat nite...as we walk past the motor inns on our way back to mag 2...not once, twice but thrice pple poured some sort of racial scorn on us...one group of young and obviously drunk american punks unwind their car windows and asked us whether we were buying rice in a ridicule manner...another young punk purposely reversed his super high-wheeled tractor or truck or wtf u call it dunno for wad also...maybe his butt itchy or what and den give us a stupid face like we shudden belong here...the last encounter was relatively mild...some black susas juz called out to us asking whether we are asians frm their 2nd floor balcony and ask us wheher we know Bruce...aiyah these bunch of susas are juz not well read...chinese is almost 1/6 of the world's population and they only know one chink---Bruce Lee...wadda hell have they been learning in their elementary and high sch man?

But generally things are fine here...overall pple are friendly and racial discrimination is hardly witnessed in Smiley Wildwood...it is only a bunch of white-assed monkeys who travel here for their wkends that like to make trouble...but i guess the best way to deal wif it is juz to laugh abt it and poke back at them in a similar innocuous manner...really not as bad as what i expected and dun worry YJ and genie...our arse are still intact...haha