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.