pasta, earthquakes and shopping

i cooked pasta for my entire musical cast last night... there were abt 30 ppl squashed into my small house... haha. so crowded. neway... the pasta was good, or so they said. i'm really happy that they whole musical is over, and that it went pretty well! and the cast seemed to really enjoy themselves during the musical. so that was good.

the tsunami is terrible horrible. watching the news makes me depressed. i realise that alot of children died. they are the ones who can't swim, or who are not strong enough to hold on to something. so they die. it's so sad... all the little bodies lined up. about 80,000 people so far are dead... every year, it seems, asia is hit by a major disaster. last year it was SARS this year it is this earthquake/tsunami thing. and it's odd that the areas that were not really affected by SARS last year are now terribly affected by this tsunami. it's like everyone has a turn... sigh... depressing... sad...

i need to buy shirts for working. and a jacket...... not fun shopping... boring shopping.... darn. and expensive too.

so busy, so excited, so blessed!

i think everything is working out and falling into place... it's great! i can see the musical coming together... we have made something of it from nothing! God's hand is so obvious in the whole process. He brought different people with different talents together. even when some people doubted, and said we had not enough time, and gave us negative opinions, we perservered, and now, we are almost 80% done. we have one more week exactly to the musical. 3 more practices. then the day. i want it to be as perfect as it can be. i want God to look down at us and be proud cos His little children, working with limited resources, and not enough time, have put in their best shot!

it's wonderful how people came by at the right times. Shuying came in to help choreograph the dance, michelle came back to singapore just at the right time to help with the singing and the vocals, i managed to find a lady to help make costumes, many others volunteered their services to provide us with help at different times. OCBC let me start next year, my manager let me quit... everything fell into place. really. how can we deny the hand of God in all of this.

ok now the last leg. i hope everyone just does their best, and then we can go and make this the most spectacular production that megalife has ever done. i have no doubt that it will be surpassed very soon. but for now, this will be the talked about event for the year. i have no doubt that many will be saved, and God will move greatly through this musical.

oh and i got an airmail from "Santa Cruz Seaside Company" today. it was a christmas letter (oh well... it was on a piece of paper, so cannot be considered a card) and below, was the signatures of all the admin/executive staff in the Food Service Department. there was Everard (the Food Service Director), Claudia (a Manager), Rosaura (another manager), and Mike, Angel and Sequoia. neway that was pretty cool, and quite sweet. there were little comments too, like from claudia "Hi, Merry X-mas, you're missed" and Everard "enjoy", and sequoia "happy holidays". heehee... it brightened up my whole day!

yupz...

Last Day Tuesday!

yay... my last day of work at shittybank is tmr... tuesday.. oops... i meant citibank... (haha) is tuesday! wooohooo!.... *dances with joy*... YAY i can finally have time to concentrate on the musical... there's still so much work to be done!!! omg... *faint* i wonder if i can get all the stuff done in time. sigh

and u know what i had to do today? they made be the courier girl for abt 3-4 hrs. because the regular courier girl was on MC... and i was the only one available to do the job... so they made me fill out courier forms and all that... omg.. i can't believe they pay me $12/hr to fill out courier forms! it's amazing... but unfortunately, that left me less time to do my regular work. which i really want to do well and finish up cos Cil, this really nice girl who's in charge of my team will be short of helpers once i'm gone, and i really want to clear as much of my work as possible. sigh. okie... back to to fixing my script... darn what else do i have to give jimmy?? i can't remember... busy busy busy...

ok... this is a photo of me, michele, mike and valente in great america with bob le ponch! that's sponge bob square pants in french...

hehe... i like spongebob esp after watching the spongebob 3-D movie in great america... so much fun! it's the best 3-D movie i've seen. :)

the GOOD news!!!

guess what? i got a job!!!! woohooooooooo!!!!!!!!! neway it's a good job. i din wanna say anything earlier cos i wasn't sure if it was confirmed. but the HR person just called me this evening. Neway this job is working for OCBC, in the business banking centre, as a trainee bank officer. everyone starts out as a lowly call centre operator, but this one is in the business banking centre, which means no shift work, 9-6pm everyday! plus, it has chances for advancement, and it's a perm job too... no need to worry about looking for another job so soon! and... the best part of it all is, they actually wanted me to start sometime in the middle of December. but i really wanted to finish up all my commitments to Megalife's Christmas musical, and that period would be the busiest period too. so, i requested to start late (in Jan), or to take a few days leave during the christmas week. of course, i would rather start in Jan. it's like a new start, a new year, and i would have finished all my commitments. and, thankfully, they actually allowed me to start on 3rd January 2005. it's amazing i tell ya. it's really really God's blessing. so i'm happy happy happy, and i can quit my job at citibank (bleargh). so happy.

except for the fact that jessie claims that the team that i'm under in citibank still needs me... ummm... oh well... whatever, if she doesn't give me the days off i requested, i'll just leave and not come back. no great loss to me.

whee! still happy....

fat and pimply

ahhhhh... i need to whine!!!! i have bad bad bad skin!!!!! my face is infested with pimples... even in places where there never used to have pimples... and i'm fat fat FAT!!! i tried on this dress that i wanted to wear to my supervisor's weddding that i bought in america... and omg... i almost couldn't fit!!!! i bought it in july... which means that i was not that fat yet then... which means that in the 2 mths that i was in america... i put on abt 5kg!!! fwah.... horrible... what have i been eating???

neway the musical is going well... megalife is full of talented girls!!! and some talented boys... heh. i'm alot less stressed and happier now. except for the fact that i'm fat and pimply...

i have a job offer... dun wanna say too much yet... it's not exactly confirmed... but i have accepted it... now it's more of a matter of timing and scheduling... neway i hope that goes along well.

i'm pissed with valente. he's such a lousy friend... bah. heh i can say that cos he prolly will neva read this. neway if he reads it all the better. then he'll know... haha. maybe he's found a new girlfriend... that's why i haven't heard from him in 3 wks. he din even wish me happy birthday! oh well i could always give him the benefit of the doubt and say maybe he's busy, or he got into an accident... or he died or something. yup... i'm still sore... that idiot. not very worth keeping as a friend.

finally gonna meet up the the WAT gang! that's really cool... they're coming over to my house to watch singapore idol finals and just chill. neway i think sylvester will win... i hope he does too! cos he has a chance of making it big in asia.

k k .. too tired... sleepy...

too many things, too little time.

i'm so tired... it's unbelievable. for someone who only has a temporary job... i'm really really tired. and i still gotta write a script for the musical. and i'm only 1/4 way thru that! darn...

i think it's the whole combination. going for interviews, having to go to work, and trying to write the script in the spaces in between is just about killing me.

oh yeah... for those that don't know, today is my birthday! i'm one year older, one year wiser, one year responsibler. *heh*

k so happy birthday to myself! too many things to do in the mean time to be too immersed in that. oh and i'm still wishing a specific someone will call. but it prolly won't happen.

just to let all those who are not working yet know, work sucks! it's not as fun as you think. the monotony of work is just as bad, if not worse than the monotony at school. going crazy!

hurt...

yup... literally. injured... me. sigh... i'd like to tell everyone i got into a fight... or got thrown off a motorbike or something cool like that... but unfortunately... it's not as dramatic... i fell while jogging. heh heh. oops... neway yesterday was a comedy of errors. i woke up, wanted to go jogging in the morning. realised that it was quite sunny, didn't want to get too dark, so decided to hunt for a cap to wear. then... turns out that my brother's 2 caps are missing. okay... decided to do without the cap... then i go to the shoe rack, and guess what, i can't find them! (okay. i just got a confession from my father... he stole my shoes!) neway so i decided to wear my sister's OLD rotting shoes. then... i go running... and within the 1st 10 min, i trip over a kerb, and fall on the sidewalk. resulting in abrasions on my knee and my palm. BAH. and abrasions hurt the most and take the longest to heal. especially on the knee. it hurts... so bad.... and the one on my knee is perpetually leaking. sigh. my poor leg... and my poor hand... and my poor brain... it's getting shockwaves of pain all the time. sigh

pain pain pain.....

oh today was my 1st off day in 11 days. it feels so good! finally get to relax and go shopping... and watch a movie... yeah baby... oh i finally got my paycheck. the evil people deducted 2 wks worth of cpf... which was $192!!! omg... which left me with like $300 out of $500... sigh... such a sad case...

but oh well... it's savings for my old age... heh heh

so busy busy busy...

what a change from my slacker lifestyle... i tell ya.. one of the things i miss the most about santa cruz is the amount of slacking i did. any regular day involved waking up at 12pm, having lunch, going to my friend's apartment to hang out, then going to work at 6pm, and then finishing work late, going back home, sleeping... and then repeating the day again. and... you never have to think past the next week. cos that's how our schedules are planned. week by week. and then paychecks come in every 2 weeks. so... life was so happy and temporal. but now... back to reality, life is not so easy.

neway got work, waking up at 7am everyday makes me tired... then having to keep a professional front (so not me) at work really drains me. and then, on top of that, i got other stuff to do for megalife. oh no... am i complaining? i really like to do whatever i'm doing for megalife. it's fun. i hate work tho... the only reason why i do continue on is because of the good pay. and then there's the fine balancing act of my time. it's not really that i have not enough time to do certain things, it's just that... i can't be in 2 places at the same time!!!! and all the commitments seem to clash. oh wellz... let's try to be superwoman for a while. heh...

neway it's just for a while... cos my job is only gonna last another 4 wks. then it will be over.

yeaaaaah... and silly little me agreed to help jeffery do transcriptions too. bah... and i forgot how hard they were to do... growl... torture... torture.

on a happier note, the workplace is becoming friendlier. really. the people talk to me, and tease me... so i guess it's a good sign.

yup yup... i need to be superwoman 4 weeks from now. maybe someone can invent a machine to split me up into 2 parts so i can be in 2 places at the same time? i can only hope...

my poor face...

it is disfigured!!!!! ARRRGGGHHHHHH.... now there's this red blood-clottish looking thing on my face....

i'm quite worried.... the doctor said that it was probably hives... but hives don't look like this! i'm pretty sure of that... hives are like huge mosquito bites... and they go away after u take antihistimines.... BUT... i took an antihistimine yesterday... and it didn't go away!!!! sigh... and then.. yesterday... i itchy fingers... go and poke at it... and liquid came out of the little bumps on my skin... and now it looks more horrible than yesterday... sigh... sigh... sigh...

i think i have a new disease... it's not a cold sore, and not a hive... what the hell is it, i have no idea. i think i shld go back and see the doctor if it doesn't get better.

and today... i went to buy a pair of charles and keith heels... cos they were having a sale. ok... i bought this pair, and wore them for 2 hours, and realised that they were damaged even before i bought them. so i went back, and tried to exchange it. BUT they didn't have my size. SO, suggest that i pick another pair, but... i don't like any of the others. they call the neighbouring shops to see if they have the pair of heels in my size, but to no avail. and... since i threw away my old pair of shoes immediately after i bought this pair, i was left shoeless. so the other alternative was to buy another pair of shoes from the shop, or go home barefoot. they wouldn't let me wear the damaged pair out of the shop because say that once the bottom is worn out, they won't be able to exchange it. sigh... so in the end, i had to buy a pair of slippers just to be able to go home. it was ridiculous, i felt. because the shoes were damaged to start with. but... i know how it feels to be a sales assistant, so i didn't want to make things any more difficult for her. i'm such a pushover... i should have asked to speak to a manager or something. bah.

2nd Day of work... MC.

it's quite sad... my 2nd day of work... and i have to be excused from work cos i have a medical certificate. neway... the only reason why i got a MC was because i have this ugly patch on my face! at 1st i thought it was a cold sore, because it was around the same part, and it looked the same to me!!! but after going to see the doctor, i was relieved to hear that it is probably a hive. not a cold sore.

i had a cold sore (viral infection) before.. and it's really horrible!!! it hurts, and because it was on my face, it was ugly, and then, cos i didn't get treatment until the later stages of the infection, it got really big! and it was just like a huge scab on my face.

i must have looked horrible. i remember when i went to get my medicine from the pharmacy, the pharmacist looked at me and went " wow, you are so brave! how can u dare to step out of your house looking like that!" i wanted to slap her. bah.

neway... so i have the rest of the day to sleep...

oh applications for SIA hostesses have just opened... i wanna go try out... my dream!

bored... santa cruz chronicles 4

so far i've shown some pictures of the people i really like in santa cruz... those people made my life there so fun! now here's really special guy. he's one unforgettable person. life in santa cruz would never have been the same if he had not been there.

this is Ben.

ben was an employee at espresso. and he's just about the stupidest person i've ever met in my life!!!!!!!!!! he deserves one post all for himself!!!!
the 1st day i met him was his 3rd day of work at the espresso cart. he had already been trained by valente AND trina previously. so i did expect him to know the basics. he did not need to know everything... but at least some things.
i was at the cash register taking orders, when suddenly i realise that the cups are piling up on the counter... and the person who was working the front machine was already busy. it wasn't even that busy, so there shouldn't be orders being piled up. SO, i look back and see how ben is doing. and guess what, instead of making drinks, he was busy... CLEANING. i was like "Ben, you have to keep a watch out for the cups that are at the counter, if u see them coming, u have to make them!" he was like "YES. i got it" ok... never mind that... later that same day, i took an order for 2 ice blended drinks. i handed him the cups and told him to make them. 10 minutes later, i turn around and see 2 cups filled with ice on the counter top. puzzled, i ask ben, what the 2 cups of ice are doing there. he started and said "oh i forgot all about them, my only excuse is that the band playing was so good that i totally forgot about making these 2 drinks." i was shocked! and the 2 customers who had ordered the drinks had been waiting for 10 min!

the next day, he worked with michele, and he made michele so mad because he was at the cash register, and took orders for drinks. but then, after she had made them, and was calling them out, no customer wanted them. it turns out that he had taken the wrong orders, and so she wasted those 4 drinks.

tasks that usually take normal people half an hour to do, he would take an hour. for example, when we asked him to go stock (i.e. go to the basement and bring up stuff according to a list that was already made out) he took such a long time that 2 other employees had to stay back an extra half hour each, one to help him, and the other to help the girl at the cart.

the last straw was when i closed together with him. i distinctly asked him whether he was the one who had opened the money bag, because if he did, he would be expected to count the money at the end of the day. he said YES. i asked him if he had counted out money before, and he said YES too. so i went to do the dishes, and the other closing stuff and left him to count the money. after doing the dishes, clearing the waste tank, AND wrapping muffins, he still hadn't finished counting the money. it turns out that when filling out the cash count sheets, he had shifted the carbon papers so that all the numbers where on the wrong rows, and he had to correct each one individually. then i went to help him do the rest of the paperwork, and when i looked at the opening cash count sheet, i realised that the name of the opened was jesus! it wasn't even opened by ben. then... i said to him, now u put the yellow sheet into the money bag lock it, then we can go drop the bag. i turn away for 5 seconds, and when i look back, i can't find the shift sheet (which also happens to be yellow!). so i ask him where the shift sheet went. and he looked at me blankly and said "oh i could have sworn that YOU told me to drop it into the money bag." i was SO ANGRY!!!! so now it's my fault. ok... never mind... so i ask him why he had so much trouble counting money, when he had done it before, and he said "oh the last time i counted money, trina was doing most of the work." i wanted to faint... that meant that he had never counted money before! he had only probably watched trina do it!!!!!!

he never says NO, and always says YES buthe actually doesn't know a thing. he acted so stupid that jennie, this really nice lady actually wondered if he was mentally slow (like retarded!) but no... he's a UCSC student, and is a linguistics major. and the best part of it all was that he had actually worked in another espresso place before.

yup... ben... he's an unforgettable memory.

bettina is blessed

ok... i've progressed since i got back from being broke and stingy and without faith, to being broke and with faith. if u bless God with what you have, i really believe that he will bless you back. the sermon about miracles was quite amazing for me. i was feeling pathetic, broke, and unable to give. but then, after that, when i was thinking about it, if i did have the money to give, and gave it, it would hardly be a miracle would it? so, last week, i decided to put an amount down that i was felt God wanted to me to give for the church building fund. even though i did not have a single cent... not a single one, with no idea how my income is going to come about. and then this week, i find myself a temp job. an extremely high-paying temp job!!!! wahahaha... so now i can earn money! it's good... all good. i really think that this decision that i made to give God this certain sum of money is the turning point. without which i would still be poor and pathetic and without an income.

i am blessed!

more pictures... santa cruz chronicles 3

ok this is just about one of the scariest rides on the boardwalk. it's called the fireball... and this is what it does! it swings and spins at the same time!!!!! oh well... maybe for those who like this kind of ride... it's not scary at all... but this ride made me SO SICK! i took it with maritza (the pretty girl in the next picture) during work one day! maritza really likes the ride, and so angel, our supervisor called the rides deparment and got them to allow us to take the ride in our uniform... which we are technically not allowed to do. after the ride..... i felt so sick! i was all pale... and 10 minutes after taking the ride, i was like... umm... i think i need to go to the bathroom... NOW... and i went and puked... heh... my conclusion is that swinging rides are not for me...





so this is maritza. i find her really attractive! at 1st, i thought that she and angel had something going on... hehe.. that was before i knew that angel was already married!!! heh... okie... about maritza, she's a cheerleader! u know.. the bring it on kind... hehe... she's so chirpy and bubbly. ok... so here's the story about her. one day, she had a party... this was cos she was going back home to LA, and she would be leaving Santa Cruz for good. i was working really late... cos i had to close in the office... and so valente came back to pick me up. as we drove into the driveway of her house, we saw cops coming out! and people leaving... so we sat in the car for a while until the cops had left. then i wanted to go say goodbye to maritza. and this was the drama that happened while valente had gone to get me. apparently, maritza's ex-boyfriend was throwing a fit because she was talking to this other guy that he didn't like. so the ex-bf stormed off. THEN... apparently, as he was leaving, he got pulled over for drunk driving... and the cops arrested him. when maritza heard about it, she was all hysterical, and crying and everything. when we got there, she was still crying, and the party was over. sigh... quite sad i missed the party.. but then later, some of us went to mike's house to hang out. and that was fun too!




this is mike's neighbour's kitchen.at mike's house, we played this game called shut the box. it's a gambling game played with dice... but that nite, we played for shots.. wahahaha... i actually shut the box once!!!! i am so good... hehe
neway we went into mike's neighbour's kitchen and stole pizza. oh well... it was just sitting on the counter... valente is trying to feed sequoia some of it... haha

a little happier and a little less bored...

I've found myself a temp job!!!!! everybody scream and say hip hip hooray 3x!!!!!! so it's just a temp job... but i still get to earn some money... yay!!!!!! and the pay is pretty good too!!!! the per hourly rate is $12.60. that's quite good! it's for a 6 week assignment too... so i can still continue looking for proper job in the mean time. =) yup. i'm happy. it means that i finally have some money. i can go shopping... and pay my mother back... wahahaha...

so this is the 2nd instalment of the santa cruz chronicles... in the previous post, i put up pictures of ppl that i liked.... here's more!

this is armando... i think i mentioned him in one of my previous posts. he always laughs at me! mostly cos i did a lot of stupid things when i 1st joined the boardwalk. i had SO much trouble especially with counting money... and it always has to be that i am working with him. so whenever i call his name... and ask him what i should do, he just shakes his head and laughs. he's also the stupid one who got me caught for giving him a drink! cos u know how espresso staff gets 2 drinks a day... so one day he helped me do something. so i promised him one of my free drinks (which we are not supposed to do). i make the drink, and valente jokingly says, "don't let everard catch u giving that away!" i'm like "yeah yeah whatever". THEN later, i discover this is what happened!!! everard must have seen me walking away with the drink i had made. then later, he goes into dipper diner (which is where armando works), and he sees the same pink drink that i made on the kitchen counter! he asks around, and everyone claims that they don't know anything about it. he calls the espresso cart. valente picks up the phone and everard asks valente a series of questions, like what's this drink that bettina made, and who it was for. valente covered up for me and said that i had gone into dipper diner to drop off something and must have left the drink there by accident. *whew* that was a close shave! everard had earlier written rachel up for letting her boyfriend eat some company food. scary...

this is rachel. she's only 16!!!!! she's such a wild 16 year though... i really like her. i treat her like my little sister! she's taken all sorts of drugs before, she drives really really fast and scarily, but all in all, she's a responsible and mature girl. she's alot more mature than her boyfriend! and her boyfriend is 18. there was a period when her boyfriend had not started working, she would give him money to go play video games in the arcade! i thought that was horrible actually... that her boyfriend would take money from her like that... but she's really mature.




and now we come to brandon. i have nothing personal against brandon. i think he's an interesting guy to talk to, a nice guy to occasionally hang out with... BUT he's just about the laziest worker in the world. he was the one who applied for lead together with me, and he didn't get it, even though he had worked there for 2 years, and i had worked there for only 2 months! but because he was so lazy, no one liked working with him. actually he improved a great lot! he used to just stand by the cashier and not help to make drinks. and he would take orders, then slam the cups down on the counter, and expect u to make them. but then, as in my earlier blog, he suddenly become alot more hardworking. and more pleasent too. he once made me push in the cart alone! i didn't want to. not that i couldn't have done it, but just cos i don't think it's worth it to risk hurting my back. he claimed that trina and aimee (the lead before trina, who is just as small as trina) could push in by themselves. yah yah and trina has back problems all the time... *rolls eyes* he could be such an ass.



anyway, in the background is my beloved espresso cart. that's where i spent most of my time in santa cruz. yup it looks a little shabby, but that's how the boardwalk looked! it has this nostalgic feel to it.

ok now... guess how old this guy is!!!!! you'll never guess right...



he's 20!!!! omg... i bet u guessed at least 26 right??? can anyone be more chao lao... *faint* he looks old, and he acts old too! he does not act 20 at all. he's a supervisor, and he makes himself seem really mature. he 1st told me that he was 22. i couldn't believe it already! he looks so much older! then he told me that his real age was 20... he's in his 1st year in college. omg.... it's amazing. how can these people look so old!!!!! neway he's quite nice. he's friendly, and he always takes coffee from us.

these are just some of the nice people i met in santa cruz. sigh... i miss the laidback life there... my next post will have more pictures... hehe...

bored...

oh well... i think no one is ever gonna be looking at this blog anymore now that i'm home... but as u can tell, i'm really really bored... as yet, i don't have a job, everyone's working, or studying... going for interviews drains the life and energy out of me... and somebody doesn't wanna talk to me. sigh. ok neway i'm just bored... so i've decided to upload pics for my own pleasure actually cos no one's gonna see them anyway.
they are those that i think i look nice in or have a story... wahahahaha.

1st one is on our trip to the monterey bay aquarium... it's like underwater world but alot alot nicer and bigger. it was really cool. neway we were at the children's play area and decided to go put on the little costumes for the kids and take a pic... so that's us. me, rachel and sam.



here's a pic of me and trina! trina is one of my very very very good friends in Santa Cruz. you probably have heard her name mentioned in some of my previous blogs. anyway, trina is one of the 1st people to volunteer to take me out! she invited me to watch a movie with a bunch of them, and then she took me ,rachel and sam to gilroy where all the outlets are... and she lets me do laundry at her house, and we just go hang out. it's so fun to hang out with trina! i really miss trina. she's one of the people that made santa cruz special for me. =)



then this is mike. mike is one my supervisors. he's quite a funny guy. he's the one that kept on calling out my name in various weird voices in the beginning. then, he broke up with his then girlfriend, and he'd talk to me about it when we closed together. this was taken at his party. he was having a bbq! wow... he makes really good steak!!!! it was so so so good... i really need to get the recipe from him! after trying his steak, i wanted to marry him. haha. neway one day, after his bbq party, we and a few other ppl went to this bar called the red room. it's a nice place. decor is mainly red, hence the name. it's got a nice atmosphere to sit down and chat. mike got SO DRUNK that night. we were laughing at him... and then michele (i'll intro her later) was saying that she was going to laugh at him the next time she saw him at work! i was like no no no... we have to be nice... even though he is so drunk today, we have to forget all about this tomorrow. she said... ok ok... then the next day, she took one look at mike and burst out laughing! we can't forget the sight of our supervisor being so drunk.



oh yeah... did i mention that samantha was always spending time at jeff's place... so much so that she practically moved over? and elaine moved to san jose to live with her friends... so i had the whole house to myself! and oh well... u guys know me... i'm not the neatest person around... so this is how my room looked one horrific day after i was looking for something, and elaine just popped by for a visit. she was shocked... heh...

neway the guy in the next pic is valente. he's making turkey burgers! omg... they are just so so so good. big, juicy, tender, full of flavour! i never knew burgers could taste so good! it's interesting how i'd never be able to make stuff like that... but to cook singaporean food is just so easy. i look demented in the photo... but oh well... it was pretty funny.



the turkey burgers were made just before our party! ok... if u really want to know, we singaporeans are really really quiet creatures.. we hardly make noise in la bahia... but that night... our apartment was rockin'!!!! we had such a cool party. lotsa alcohol, good music, and lotsa ppl having fun!!!! woohooo!!!!

neway so i took a photo with sequoia. she's the coolest single mum! she has this really cute 5 year old daughter... but she can't be more than 22 or 23 herself! neway she parties hard, but she's really disciplined too. that's what i really like about her. the office is always organised with her in it. and she thinks i'm cool! wow... that's a real compliment...



now... for my favourite french canadian... michele!!!!! it's wonderful how 2 ppl from such different backgrounds and cultures can be so similar and can click so well! maybe part of the reason is because we are one of the oldest working there. she's 23 and i'm turning 22. much as we like the 16 year olds... it's kinda hard to be very very good friends with them... but anyhow... i'm glad for her friendship! we always have so much fun together!!! whether it is going to great america, or just going for a meal, or even partying together. hanging out with michele is always entertaining.

the sunday before i left santa cruz, we decided to go paint ceramic at this ceramic shop... so she chose salt and pepper shakers, and i chose i huge mug...

it was really fun to do! and cos we were such amateurs, we didn't know how it was going to turn out! mine turned out really pretty, i think. hehe...



my last day of work... it was a little sad... though i was looking forward to going travelling and coming home... but leaving santa cruz was hard too! neway this is angel... the one who made me cry... the same one who has a 5 yr old daughter from a previous relationship and is currently married to a 19yr old korean girl. but i still think he's nice. i like their whole little family!

here's his daughter, lilly.... she's so precocious! she's really really adorable..



and this is claudia. valente's sister... and the one that i thought was really scary initially... heh heh... i still wonder if she really liked me... cos she never did give me hours! she schedules me for crappy shifts (like 6pm-1.30am) and i still wouldn't get a 40 hr week. oh well...



ok this blog is getting kinda long... maybe i shld continue some other day. i bet this page takes forever to load too! wahahaha....

2nd last day in USA

prolly no one will read this blog before i reach singapore... but oh well... i just wanna write it for fun. :)

neway i'm so excited!!! i'm going home!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!

30 hrs more til i fly, and another 3 more days til i reach home sweet home!!! i know i'll miss the US, but i'm really happy that i can go home. i can't wait to see my family and all my friends again... including YOU! keke...

i'm gonna watch a real broadway musical on broadway tonight too!!! how exciting!!!

the 1st week of travelling was torture for me... but the next 10 days or so i've been not as miserable and finally enjoyed travelling. but i'm really tired now... i just wanna go home. but i figure that i gotta make the best of my last few days in NY rite? hee...

New york is a really bustling city. i like it alot.

Las Vegas is such a den of sin... it's fun... but i don't like it that much.

LA is UGLY!!!! there's nothing there... NOTHING. just an ugly city. it reminds me of KL. bah

San Diego is alright... we went surfing there. the highlight of my time in san diego. :)

oh..... did i tell u... our plane got delayed on the way from vegas to NY! omg.... it was terrible!!!!! we got to the airport early (2 hrs early for our 4pm flight). when we got there, the lady at the check-in desk says that our plane is delayed, and might be delayed for 2 hrs. THEN, at 6, they say that the communication system in LA that controls the air traffic in that area is having problems. so no planes can land or take off til further notice.
we waited and waited. we only left the airport at 11pm!!!!!

the guy thinks that we were delayed cos george bush was scheduled to arrive in las vegas at the time we were taking off. at about 7-ish, a blue plane landed (when they said that no planes were allowed to leave) THEN, 1/2 hr later, suddenly the problem was fixed and planes could land and take off.

our flight was delayed so long cos the plane had to be rerouted to new mexico to refuel. SO, it took a super long time to actually arrive at las vegas and then get ready to fly off again. that day, we spent 9 hrs waiting in the stupid airport. don't get me wrong, las vegas airport is pretty nice already (u shld see LAX) but it's TINY!!!! no airport can compare to our singapore changi airport. i wouldn't mind being delayed there... there's so much stuff to do!!!

yup. not a very good start to NY, but my time in NY was good overall.

k k will update more later...

cya guys SOOON!!!!!!

SUPER EMO BETTINA

okie... bettina is gone from santa cruz. my last day there was yesterday and today me elaine and sam are in san diego. i'm in jason's house now... met up with him... hung out, had dinner. and he let me use his computer... how nice of him.

neway sorry for not updating for so long... but i really didnt feel like doing so. but i thought i'd just write and tell everyone that i'm doing ok and that i'm travelling now. i might not be able to use the internet much...

yesterday and today morning was super emotional. i had to leave santa cruz and all my friends... it was sad... i mean i was excited that i could go travel but still leaving is hard. and i know that i might not see these people ever again in my life. that makes it harder. also leaving a special someone that i spent 1 month hanging out with was especially hard. even though i know nothing could have ever come out of it, and that it was not possible, i still feel sad. i thought i could handle it but i guess i was wrong. i'll get over it soon... but for now... i'm still feeling the aftereffects of emotionalism. sigh.

me and my roommates had a party before we left. it was a GOOD party. we singaporeans are known for being tame, and not making too much noise. but that night... we went crazy! i think it was the best party ever thrown in la bahia. really. i'm not just bragging. everyone had so much fun. there was good music, lotsa alcohol, and everyone was drunk and happy. i was happy too. then the next day was depressing. all this emotional up and down is not doing me any good. sigh..

oh well i might update again... i might not... see how i feel.

a busy sunday

went to church today... i'm getting kinda bored of church cos i don't know anyone!anyway i decided to go to safeway on the way back from church to see what i can buy. did i mention i love grocery shopping? it's the best.

walked all the way to safeway. not very far... about 15-20 minutes. i bought prawns (they were on sale- i'm such an aunty) to cook sambal prawns for lunch! anyway... it's been ages since i've had any fresh seafood... can't believe i'm living right next to the sea and i haven't had seafood. it's just cos it's way too expensive here.

took the bus back home... on the bus, i met this really creepy old man. i sat down, and he moved from another seat to sit beside me. he started asking me questions... like where are you from, what's your name... AND THEN he tells me that his friend married a girl from china. i was like WTH do you think i'm that kind of girl? i definitely do NOT want to marry you... freak...

i was quite freaked out by that. i decided to get off at Walgreens to buy canned soup. and he got off too! and he followed me into walgreens as well... crap.. istarted ducking behind shelves... and when i lost him, rushed over to the counter to pay. and almost ran home! yuck. such crazy people here.

valente was supposed to visit his brother, but when i called him to ask him where he was, he apparently didn't go. i called valente over, cos i had this huge pile of prawns. and he decided to come over and have lunch that i cooked. just sambal prawns and rice... but it was so shiok! i haven't had that for such a long time... i miss home. just as valente got here, we saw michele out of my window! Michele lives directly opposite me btw... i can look into her apartment and she can look into mine. so we called her over to have lunch too! i think they must have nearly died of spiciness... even i thought it was hot.

OH i forgot to mention... Valente brought his sister's doggie along! her name is orie... so cuuuuuute! Michele kept calling it poopy in her french accent. haha. anyway orie is so friendly and lovable... cuteness to the max. :)

After that, Michele went to work, and valente took me shopping. apparently there was a warehouse sale for some stuff... and we went to take a look. it's really a warehouse. i didn't buy anything. valente got some shirts and stuff.

then, we went for a walk on the wharf... then it was off to work for me.

Mike's BBQ / bonfire

Mike decided to throw a party! Val actually found him a BBQ pit, and so he wanted to have a BBQ. BBQs in america are somewhat different from what we have in singapore. for one, they BBQ with seemingly very little food! think about it... in singapore, a usual BBQ menu usually consists of chicken wings, sausages, otah, satay, maybe prawns, stingray, beef steak, sweet potatoes and corn. and that's only the raw stuff. usually there'll be cooked stuff like bee hoon, fried rice... and other yummy food. here, all that was on the menu was... 1 HUGE slab of beef steak. and mexican rice, beans, and chips and 7 layer dip. eh? where's all the food huh?

Claudia actually asked me to work today at coconut grove! omg... super gian... it's good money. cos we get tips and all, and it's working at overtime pay! which is time and a half. BUT because of Mike's party... passed up the chance.

Anyway, we were late for the party, cos Val was late. not my fault i assure you... He was supposed to bring hot dogs too, but he was too lazy and didn't get them. Mike sounded kinda upset when he heard we didn't bring the hotdogs. oh well... Val brought the chairs tho... so hopefully that made up for it.

A Night Out- Rocking the Town

Yesterday i had another day off, and Angel and Aimee invited me and Valente for a night in town. I was slacking the whole day at home, waiting for Valente to come pick me up after work. He took so freakin long, so I was watching TV while waiting for him. Omg... i saw the KFC ad like 10 times.... "chicken capital, USA". that's it. i have to have KFC.

When Valente finally came to pick me up, he asked me what i wanted to eat for dinner... my immediate answer was... KFC. Fried Chicken. I craved so bad... Anyway, yeah we did go there to eat eventually, and i must be the greediest girl in the world. We both had 2 piece meals, and Valente only ate 1 piece of chicken. Me... i finished both mine, and his remaining piece as well. oops... lol... Someone told me it's not good to eat too much around guys... oh well...

We bump into Trina's friends... Trina's back home visiting her folks... i miss her.

Anyway, we finally get to Angel and Aimee's house. We start drinking first. Angel's kinda worried for me... he keeps telling me not to drink so much... do i look like i can't hold my liquor?


Angel...


Aimee and Angel backing it up...
they're both really funny.

their friends were there too. can't remember their names...

We walked down to town from their house to the blue. Along the way, we bump into these black guys who were really rude! they started taking to us. and aimee was like F*** off. i paid no attention to them. them being rude and all that really pissed angel off. he started turning around and behaving aggressively to them. anyway we get away without much trouble. Valente told me later that they were trying to pick me up! apparently when aimee scolded them, they said not you b*tch,haha i didn't even know.

AT the blue, oh we drank this really nice drink. it's called a cum shot... baileys with something else and whipped cream on the top! yummmy... we tried getting into the catalyst, but couldn't cos aimee was underaged. Angel got pissed... i dunno for what reason. Aimee thinks it's cos she couldn't get into the catalyst. stupid angel, spoiling the perfect nite out, and making aimee cry. hmph.

Anyway, we go back to the Blue and drink somemore, and wanna go dancing! aimee decides that she wantsn to have fun anyway. we go dancing. i keep going over to angel to try and get him to come and join us... but he just stands there in a corner. Then finally he decides to come and dance too. he and aimee dirty dance on the stage... whoot! they're both crazy. we meet sequoia there too!

Angel comes over and wants to dance with me. he like pulls me closer to him, but i'm kinda uncomfortable... cos u know aimee is like right next to us... i like aimee and i want her as a friend... i don't go around pressing up to my friend's boyfriends... anyway he keeps on telling me that it's ok... and i'm like yeah right... sure.. your WIFE is right next to us. Anyway, we dance until the music stops. he grabs me in a hug and gives me a peck on the cheek. i'm like ok.. and he looks at me and taps his cheek... i'm like for what? he just goes c'mon... it's just on the cheek... *rolls eyes* fine whatever. i just lean over and peck him on the cheek too. haha. these americans are crazy. *muakz* it must be the alcoholic haze... haha...

All in all it was a fun night... i would do it again! :)

an eventful day off

Today, Me and Michele both had off days, so we decided to take the roaring camp train to see the redwoods! that's the train that passes our apartments every day. it's one of those traditional type trains too... it goes choo choo.... and runs on a "real"road. lol... cool.



that's us on the train.

Anyway, the train took us up to the redwoods, and then dropped us off at some station place where we were supposed to go and look at the trees. well... me and michele are city girls... we ventured about 10 minutes into the woods... then too many mosquitoes... we started feeling itchy... so... we took the requisite photos and escaped to the comfort of the gift shop.




after like 1 hr, the train took us back down to the boardwalk. we went to look for Valente on the boardwalk cos.. we were going to have a lobster dinner on the wharf that night!

omg... the lobster that nite was fantastic! it cost only like $10.90 per person, and we each got one full lobster. yummy... slurp slurp... where can you get lobster for that price in singapore???

after that, we were supposed to go to a party... but we were met with a surprise at La bahia. Michele's french canadian friends were passing through to go to LA, and they popped by to say hi! so we kinda changed our plans to go for the party and hung out with them instead. it wasn't very fun cos they were all chattering away in french, and me valente and david didn't know what the hell they were talking about.
i got some henna, and so we tried out the henna.

I was kinda pissed off at valente cos he left with david without saying anything to go to safeway to get beer. sometimes, i really hate all this crap. why do i care so much? i don't know. i don't want to care. it would be easier. *shrugs* i wonder if he feels the same way. but sometimes he really pisses me off.

Swimming

Sandi Jo is the Work and Travel Coordinator at the boardwalk, and she's the one who takes care of us. anyway, she's really nice and she is constantly inviting us to her house for a swim!

today, since Jeff was off, we decide to take her up on her offer. Jeff took me and sam to Sandi Jo's house, and she wasn't even home! i tell you people are so trusting in Santa Cruz. We just let ourselves in and jump in the pool. it was great to swim after so long. it was a little chilly, but generally a nice day. considering how cold it was previously...

Oh... Sam did a bad thing... she accidentally broke the swimming pool cover... hmmm... oops... i wonder if Jeff will tell on her.
*smirk* they are dating btw... haha.

chinese food with michele!

Yesterday, I finally got to hang out with Michele after talking about it for a long time. heh heh... we have always been meaning to hang out, but never got the chance! Michele is French-Canadian. She's from Quebec! sounds like it's cold there all the time... haha.

Anyway, my work ended at 4.30pm, and me and michele decided to go for some Chinese food! We walked down to this place that i always buy beef rice from, and order cashew chicken, vegetables and rice. it was yummy! i miss home so much whenever i eat stuff like that... i

's great hanging out with her. it's really interesting how we click so well... since she barely speaks english, and i don't speaking french at all! but she's really really dear to me.

Here's us at the restaurant after the great meal.


Anyway, after that we went back home after a fantastic dinner, and i went to sleep.

It was Matt Sim's going away party last night too... He's starting school again, so he's goin back to england i think. Anyway, Angel and Aimee says they'll come. Valente came up to look for me after he finished. *ahem* well... not going into any details here... but let's just say Angel and Aimee walked in on us.

Anyway, we go down to his apartment, and Roman as usual is walking around drinking vodka straight from the bottle. Roman's Russian. explains the vodka huh...

Angel and Aimee are wild... i mean you've heard the story about the pasties.. today, they were taking body shots... and angel took a body shot off aimee's breasts! like lifting up her shirt in full view of everyone. kinda not used to it... but it's fun. haha. Anyway, Jeff came up with sam as well. Me, sam and Aimee were drinking and making noise together. Jeff keeps on trying to make us keep quiet... oh well... the asian girls are the most fun.oh Valente was trying to convince me that drunk sex is the best. so he asks aimee. guess what aimee says... she says drunk sex is the best, makeup sex is the best. actually any sex is the best. haha. i didn't have to know that... but she's so funny. and just really open and honest.

I'm drinking way too much these days... i'm turning into an alcoholic! Drinking 3 times a week is too much...

Maritza's going away party

Here's a photo of David, who's going away party I attended last weekend...

I forgot to bring my camera then, so this was taken at Maritza's going away party...

Maritza is this really pretty girl..I don't have a shot of her at her party.. but this is her.

Anyway, Maritza's really pretty, I think. She's a cheerleader for UCSC! So yeah she's loud and very active.
Anyway, she is leaving to go back to LA cos she graduated! I really wanted to go to her party. I was closing that night, so Valente made the trip down to fetch me. Apparently the party was really heating up before I got there...BUT we closed really late, and by the time we got there... it was nearly 1am.

Then as we turned into the driveway, we saw cops walking out. Valente parked the car and we tried to look invisible. When they left, we went to talk to Trina to find out what happened... She said that Maritza was crying and hysterical... and the party was basically over. Cos, Maritza's ex-boyfriend came to the party, and was jealous cos she was talking to some other guy. So, he stormed off in a huff and since he had been drinking, got pulled over by the cops. He was the one who brought the cops on the party. Maritza was so worried and guilty that she could have "caused" her ex to go to jail or something... anyway, she wouldn't stop crying even though we tried to comfort her and tell her it's got nothing to do with her. Well after this the party was prety much over.

Valente, Sequoia and I went to mike's house to hang out... He kinda shares this really cool garage place with his neighbour. It has really nice armchairs and cool decor.

Great American Adventures

It was National Day yesterday... Me, Valente, Michele and Mike went to Great America for some rides! We got free tickets from some friends and since all of us were off, decided to take the day to go and have some FUN!!!!

I never realised how much I like roller coasters!

My favourite...
This one is called Top Gun after the tom cruise movie... WHEEEEEE. It's special in that the coaster is attached on the top to the rails... so there's effectively nothing under your feet!



Drop Zone's pretty scary... that's the one where they drop u from 224 feet. And when we were in the queue, they suddenly made us wait cos they were doing maintainence on the ride. Freaky... BUT so cool!


For the Vortex, we're strapped to the car standing. And the whole thing is really open... not as scary as Top Gun... but still fun!


The only ride that I felt sick on... was this one. It's called the Invertigo. Very scary... It starts from one end like this, and goes all the way to the other end VERY FAST. I dunno how to describe it, but it made me feel puky. I think it's the swinging movement. Cos i get sick on the viking and fireball too...
I drew a picture of it... not very good pic but I guess it gives you a rough idea...


Me and michele at the fako hollywood sign.

The Spongebob Squarepants act/dance thingy...



Me and Michele taking a photo with Tommy from the Rugrats!


And of course, the star of the show.... Spongebob Squarepants! He's so funny! michele was so fascinated by it, and kept saying that she saw the real bob le'ponge in california. haha. she's so cute... actually she probably didn't mean it so simply, but cos her english is so bad, it comes out sounding really childish! But... she's really really smart. i just love michele to bits!


We watched the 3-D movie... it's really funny! and really cool too! Not just rocking seats... there's water sprayed and really cool effects! Spongebob plays with a pingpong ball thing in the movie, and you know it's all illusions, but you can really see the ball coming out of the screen! it's so funny.

Party, party

Yesterday was David's going away party... Trina decided to host it at her house. Angel was closing with me, and he volunteered to take me there. He came with Aimee to pick me up.

Everyone left really late... Poor Trina was really tired... but Brandon and his friends didn't wanna leave, and Trina didn't wanna chase them out.

I think Aimee suspects something. She was looking at me and Valente just before she and Angel left... hmmmm... Actually I don't mind so much now that people know. I mean I'm not gonna be telling everyone. I still think it's kinda weird if everyone knows... but i'm gonna leave it free and easy.

Anyway, everyone's leaving... it's just a matter of time... i'll leave soon too. Before long, it'll be my going away party.

I tell myself it's only going to last a month more...no more....

Mexican Rock concert

Went with Valente to a Mexican rock band concert yesterday. We went with one of Valente's friends who's called chewy, and his girlfriend.

It's was questionable that we could even go... How he asked me was... He told Trina 1st that he wanted to take me to a concert, and asked her to swap duties with me. BUT he never asked me. Then, when I finally gathered that I was invited, Angel and Aimee and Maritza were also going out to the bars, and asked me and Valente along too. He asked me on the phone, so I gave Angel and vague answer like I'll see how it goes. Valente was kinda pissed because I didn't reject Angel straight away and say I was going out with him instead. *rolls eyes* whatever.

Anyway, in the end I go for the concert, of course... It was pretty fun! even though i didn't know what the hell they were singing about. we danced, and it was fun.

After that, we went to get pizza for supper and went to Angel's and Aimee's house for a while. They have a really small cute studio apartment. It's SO SMALL. but very very pretty.

Both of them were so drunk. Angel didn't want to let us in, and Aimee was wearing a nightshirt on the sofa. And guess what she said she was wearing under? she even showed us... She was wearing pasties. And she said she was wearing only pasties at the bar too!!!! gosh... she's really wild... but so fun to be with...

David's going away party is tonight...

graduation disaster!

I had a big scare today! I got a call from laraine telling me that someone had called me on my singapore mobile number telling me that I did not file for graduation! I was so shocked, cos I remember doing so at the beginning of the semester already.

Major trauma. Now I have to fax over some documents to NUS to say that I actually want to file for graduation...

I hope everything goes smoothly...

Prelude to Singaporean Night

I decided to do a spot of cooking today and invite everyone over. I maade Shrimp Omelette, Stir-fried cabbage with dried shrimp, and Chicken stew. Valente came during his break, and so did trina, elaine and mike.

Packed a little box for David to try. :)

They seemed to like it... I'm glad!

Food service had an employee breakfast to appreciate their employees. That's so nice... Don't think many employers in singapore would do that... especially for minimum wage employees like us!

Anyway, they needed volunteers to go down to help out, but I was too tired.. Trina and Valente went down to help though...

I was kinda self conscious... I was wondering who knew about us. It's really weird... I kinda over the "I wanna keep it a secret" phase, but that's not to say that I'm gonna go around publicising it though. like if people find out it's ok... I just think it's weird if all the management people find out. I mean Mike Murray's okay, and Angel's okay... But claudia??? She's Valente's sister! I'd be so paiseh.

Anyway, took some pics...

Trina and me! Trina's SUCH a funky babe... love her dressing... even at 8am in the morning she looks cool! me... i just woke up.


Julie, Me, another campus crusader (can't remember her name) and Travis. Travis is lead at Barbary Coast. He's young... like 19...


Here's me with Julie again. The campus crusaders are leaving soon! awwwww.... that's sad.... I'll miss Julie... She's really sweet!

After breakfast, Valente came up to my room for a while... He was supposed to take Claudia home though. Heh... I guess he got kinda distracted in my room... poor Claudia had to wait...

emotional bettina

saturday was an emotional day for me... i dun even know why i was emotional! i think it was the full moon. (i might as well blame it on the moon) the moon was reaaaaallly pretty. let me describe the whole process to you. it started rising around 9pm, and it was half hidden behind the mountains. so u could only see the top half of it. Then, it rose more and u could see the whole moon. it was orange. it rose more and ascended behind a cloud, so that only the bottom half could be seen. THEN, it was hidden behind the cloud and all u could see was like a spotlight shining from behind the cloud, making a circle of light on the water (imagine like Mr Bean, how the spotlight shines down) then it rose past the cloud and u could see the big round moon. apparently, this full moon is called a blue moon, cos it's the second full moon in the same month! which is an extremely rare occurence.

neway that wasn't really why i was emo. i dunno also, think it was a combination of all factors plus extreme tiredness. samantha was sick, and her temp was 39.5 deg!!! super high!!!!!! i was so worried, and jeff had to send her to the hospital to get checked. then, i went to work, and had to train this new guy, who was extremely STUPID. he's just stupid. THEN, angel gave me a hard time about closing... he was just being mean, like teasing me... i felt pretty bad, like i was not doing a good enough job as a lead. but with all the factors combined... it was just too much to handle. i was so pissed with angel tho, cos he was just being overly picky and just basically giving me a hard time. he got a little scared... and apologised. i wld have been fine if he had just let me go... but he very concernedly asked if i was alright, and i guess all the frustrations and anger erupted in tears ( as usual... cos i dunno how else to release my emotions).

after which i really felt stupid... cos i just cried in front of angel. bah. but angel's really cute when he's sorry about something... like i was in his car crying a little, and he's like "i'm sorry" and he rubs my head... i made him feel really bad. wahahahaha... he won't be messing around with me for a long time!!!! yeah... it was funny... at the end, i was consoling him! and telling him that i was going to be alright instead... hahaz

yeah yeah... my emo day...

oh and yesterday, i was so clumsy... i spilt milk all over the floor, broke a blender, and did tons of stupid things. but on the bright side... i had alot of sleep......

hihi *waves*

ok... bettina has been a bad girl... hasn't been updating her blog.... but she's back!!!

k so the last weekend, i went to visit uncle roy and aunty dorothy in (not oregon) Paso Robles. i was such a blur gooondoo... i actually thought they were living in oregon and i told the whole wide world that i was going to oregon! but it turns out that they moved to california 3 yrs ago... and they are living 3 hrs south of santa cruz. yep.

it was sucha fun and relaxing time... i felt really bad tho... cos they are both really old! they are like 74 and 75 years old, and hey came 3 hrs up to pick me up at my house, then drove to have lunch at monterey, and went along this thing called the 17 mile drive. this road is a tourist attraction. you gotta pay like $8 just to drive through the road! and there are different stops along the way where u just stop and get out and look at the various natural attractions. i saw sea lions, a lone cypress tree, bird rock, and other stuff.then we went to this pretty little town called carmel-by-the-sea... i really like that place... it's so pretty!!! it's full of little art galleries, exclusive clothes shops and little bed-and-breakfast inns. it's so cute!!!! then we went home for dinner where i ate one of the best pasta dishes i've ever had in my life! it was fantastic... i got the recipe from aunty dorothy and made it for me and trina the day before yesterday... yummy!!!

then the next day we went to hearst castle. this castle is this huge ranch that was owned by a multi-millionaire, who had nothing better to do with his money, so he spent it all on building his house. he had one huge main house, and other smaller (averaging 18 rooms each) guest houses and all these houses were filled with antiques. he had tapestries dating from 600 years ago, 300 year old gates from churches, and statues and other decorative items from all over europe. he also had 2 heated swimming pools... one indoor and one outdoor. the outdoor swimming pool is one of the most beautiful i've ever seen. i'd really like to swim in it. all this was built in the 1920s-30s. it was pretty awesome...

yeahz... so that was my exciting weekend...

ummm this week has been pretty exciting too... i've been going out with a guy... nothing serious... just fun.

Hanging out with Trina

I was contemplating whether to tell Trina about me and Valente. I mean it's kinda weird that we're dating, cos we're like working together, and Claudia is Valente's sister! I wonder what would happen if she knew. And what about Mike and Angel? I mean don't they have policies about stuff like that happening at work? As much as Trina's my friend, she's also my lead... what if they think dating him is gonna affect my work? I dunno...

Trina was shocked when I told her... I'm kinda shocked myself... haha.

Anyway, we cooked the pasta for her and her housemates, and we went to get dairy queen ice cream and rent a movie. They chose some asian-american movie which was quite boring... I fell asleep. haha. Well Valente came to pick me up after his work to take me home.

Great Mall Adventure

Wow, me and Sam have the same off day this week! Anyway, we heard so much about Great Mall in San Jose, which is kinda like an outlet mall, but it's in one gigantic building, so we wanted to go there. We were going to go there by bus, but then Valente was off on that day as well... so... we kinda pressured him into taking us there. =)

Well, just as we were going to turn into the parking lot of Great Mall, we stopped at a red light and then *BAM*. Valente's car got hit from behind! This silly lady apparently didn't see the Valente's HUGE RED VAN and ran right into us. Valente got out, and got her driving license before we turned into the carpark. Anyway, the back was a little dented... She didn't want us to settle this thru the insurance, cos the car wasn't hers. It was her boyfriend's. So, Valente got her number and her driver's license number. I hope she pays up.

I feel kinda bad for the rest of the day... cos if we didn't ask him to drive us, we wouldn't have been hit. Me and Sam treat him to lunch and then off we go on our shopping spree. WHEE!!!! Lotsa stuff to see and buy. There's this shop called Charlotte Russe, and I bought 2 $3 tops from there! so freaking cheap.

After a long day of shopping, Valente took us to 99 Ranch which is an Asian supermarket to get groceries. We are planning a Singaporean night somewhere near National Day, so that we can invite our friends to eat Singaporean food! I'm gonna cook... pretty excited about that... :)

Tuesdays are Dollar drinks nights at the Blue Lagoon down on Pacific Avenue, so Valente took me there. Wah can't believe you can get housepours for a dollar each. So cheap. You can get really drunk on very little money here in the USA. After that, we went down to Beach Deck to sit and chat for a while. I asked Valente why he liked me. He says that he likes me because I'm fun to hang out with and I have a nice ass! haha. Never really thought I did, but i'm glad someone thinks so. Security came along after a while and chased us away though... hehe... I can only conclude that they do their job really well.

oh... I see...

Going to watch Catwoman with Mike. I think Halle Berry is HOT!

I asked Valente out last night... I just have to know. We went to Saturn Cafe. This is a

place that sells vegan food. Which is kinda like vegetarian... no meat, but alot of beans. The decor is really funky too. The tables

are glass-topped with deconstructed dolls and stuff. Some of them look quite freaky...

Yeah... so I actually asked him if we were dating. He said yeaaaah... I was like okay... so I guess we are. Interesting... I don't

mind... he's really funny, and nice to hang out with. I am entertained whenever I'm out with him. So I guess we can "date" for as long as I'm in Santa Cruz.

Dating who?

I'm so confused... This is all happening too fast...

Today, Aunty Dorothy and Uncle Roy sent me back all the way from their home back to santa cruz... I love them so much...

they're such darlings. Imagine, they're both over 70... and still driving 4-5 hours, and taking me all over the place. More on my

trip later.

Anyway, I had to work today at 6pm. As I was walking to work, and along the way I bumped into Laura (Supervisor for

Barnacle Bills). She started asking me whether I was dating someone. I was like no, why do you ask? And she said that the

people at Fisherman's Galley were talking about me dating someone. But they wouldn't tell her who is was... OMG! how come

they are talking about this?

In the first place, I don't even know whether we're dating. Are we?

I only went out with him twice, and it was 1 kiss. He didn't even contact me over the weekend or anything.

Should I ask him? I feel quite stupid.

keeya's party and more...

Rachel left today... so sad... yet another singaporean gone... i'll miss her cheerfulness and bubbly character...

anyway, was closing today... as usual, but Valente came to pick me up cos he was goin out with some friends.

We ended up going to keeya's house. she has this little one bedroom place. it's really cute but tiny.

we stayed there for a while, then left about 2am... he walked me back up to my room...

now for the momentuous part. we hugged, and then i turned around to open the door. suddenly, he grabbed my arm, spun me around and kissed me!

i was shocked for a while. really stunned. i think we just hugged again, and then i turned around and continued to open my door and went in. i didn't know what to do or say. nothing.

my first kiss.

other than that, i'm off to spend the weekend with Uncle Roy and Aunty Dorothy today. they're coming to pick me up at 12pm. i'm so excited! more about that when i get back. :)

Sushi at Takara

OMG... the best sushi i've ever had.

Jeff took Sam and me to Takara, where they have really good sushi. i'll describe one of them. this one is called the sunrise. it's got tuna wrapped around rice, topped with a raw quails egg and salmon roe. omg.... it's just fabulous... and u have to eat it in one big bite... u taste the flavours sliding down your throat... ummmmm... heavenly...

tired and looking forward to the weekend!

omg... it seems like so much stuff has happened in the past week and i'm just SO tired... i'm really really looking forward to this weekend. i'm going to oregon to visit with some friends of the family! the couple that i'm visiting are really really sweet, and they'll take care of me so much! i'm really looking forward to a nice, restful weekend away from work!!! woohooooooooo

neway today i just came back from a sailboat trip around monterey bay. it's pretty cool! i love being on the ocean. it's just the sun and the sea, and it's calm and relaxing, soft music playing in the backgroun, and we just sat and talked. quite romantic really, just no one to share it with... hahaz... it was so cool.

oh i got a B.R.A.G award on sunday! actually, 2 other of the singaporeans got it too... but apparently according to the manager, they hardly give out this award to people... so yeah! i'm pretty happy that i got it... i can go pick a prize too! think i'll go get the capitola mall voucher... wahahaha... go do some shopping!

oh yah... i can't remember if i talked about this guy being super uncooperative when i 1st became lead last week... neway there was a 180 degree change for one of them!!!! oh my goodness... i'm so shocked! and i have no idea what sparked off that change too! k this guy is called brandon, and he used to be the laziest guy on the cart. he used to stand at the cash register all day and refuse to make drinks! even if was a little busy and there were a few drinks piling up, and no new customers he'd just stand there and refuse to help. and he'd absolutely REFUSE to make ice blended drinks (cos they're the messiest to make). this really pissed some of the espresso staff off... BUT, suddenly, last week, he started becoming hardworking! omg... he would volunteer to make drinks, and even ice blended ones, he'd volunteer to wash dishes (he never would volunteer), he'd automatically go and clean off tables and the counter top, AND, he became so much more friendly! he'd say hi to samantha, and play "cai quan" with me, and let me draw pictures as a forfeit on his arms... i'm jut amazed! i wonder what happened really.
i wonder if he got hit on the head and suffered from shock or something... it's amazing...

then valente has been working there for a looooong time. he's like the master of all drinks. and nobody really dares to scold him... neway he used to take long breaks... and he wouldn't come back for 45 min - 1 hr. NOW... he's always back within the allotted 30 min, and he even comes back early!

i'm really amazed... i wonder if i'm an excellent motivator or what... or maybe both of them have some ulterior motives... but i'm still happy... i think it's the favour of God. it would be so hard if they decided to not cooperate. cos i'm really a new staff, and lead over people who have worked for a much longer time than i have.

yep... i'm happy....

:)

Sail around Monterey Bay

This morning, we went for a sailboat trip around the Monterey Bay. It was really nice weather and all! Here are the pics.


On our way to the Santa Cruz Harbour... we had to walk through the railway tracks.... It's like a 15-20 minute walk to the harbour. The girl in white is called Maryna. She's really slutty and goes out with different guys all the time. WOnder what else she does with them man... She got promoted to being lead just 2 weeks after she got here! I wonder what she did to bewitch Everard and Claudia.... Maybe it's just sour grapes, but I just can't stand her! She's just so bossy!


Me and Sam... Look at my slitty eyes... I have eye infection... sigh.


Me and Grace... the one who waited up with me to go and look for Sam... hee...


This is Julie. She's a campus crusader... and she works at the espresso cart too! she's from south carolina or something like that... she's got this nice southern accent... think she's pretty!


Me and Julie again... I look kinda crazy...


That's us, the singaporean gang. From left, Sam, me, Rachel, Grace, Delphine and Kelvin.