bleargh

bettina is sick... she has a cough...

but bettina is alright.. or soon will be after taking the cough syrup that bettina bought.

bettina does not feel like blogging. bettina is going to work.

sigh

yesterday...

wooo... this cute guy stopped by the place i was working... then he kept on staring at me... my friend noticed it too... then after he ordered and stuff he left, then he came back and asked for a drink of water... so i got it for him. then he still kept staring at me... then he asked whether i was chinese... and if i knew how to read chinese. i said yes... and he pulled up his sleeve and asked if i knew how to read his tattoo... (which happened to be chang2 shou4 or long life) but i din know how to read it... hah so embarassing... was he flirting? i can't decide... apparently he's japanese... think he works at the boardwalk too... hehe... maybe he'll come by more often and provide me with some eye candy! haha

neway took a bus for the 1st time to capitola mall... it's a big mall... i can't wait for my paycheck to come!!! i've been restraining myself SO MUCH.... i wanna shop... ahhhhhhhh... i can't take it anymore......
ok ok.... calm down bettina...

oh i went to talk to my manager about getting a fixed schedule cos i want a 2nd job rite... and she doesnt sound very happy about it... and says that if me and my friend want a 2nd job, we'll have to make sure that we're fresh when we work at the boardwalk!... and that she'll be watching us to see if we slip up or slack off... that sounds scary! i wonder if i'm making a mistake by trying to get a 2nd job... i know it'll be more inconvenient for them... but i dunno... i guess in the long term... we'll definitely earn more... oh wellz... i dunno....

i love working closing... that way i get to bring home food!... hehe... saturday nite. i brought home bagels... and that was my breakfast... i'm just looking forward to bringing home more food!

oh! and we got a TV!!!! AWESOME!!! american idol finals are just round the corner.... tmr nite i'll get to watch it.... i can't wait.... so excited....

that's my pathetic life... everytime i work someone asks me... what am i doing tonight... and my answer is always the same... i'm going back to sleep. oh wellz... now i can add another hobby other than sleeping... i'm going to watch TV!!! haha...

:)

san francisco adventures!!!!

k over the last 2 days i went to san francisco.... it was awesome!!! i love it there.... went primarily to meet rebecca there.... but coincidentally, jason was in town too! so... he acted as my chauffeur and tour guide for thursday...

k san francisco... wed evening was spent walking around downtown... the shopping there is amazing!!! everything's HUGE! there's like niketown, which is 4 or 5 entire floors of nike stuff, then there's a levi's store that's 4 floors too!!! there was macy's there, nordstroms, everything! bought a US$5 top from old navy.... just a simple singlet with a USA flag on the front... i'm gonna wear it on 4th of july... :)... oooh... i'm definitely getting something rom victoria's secrets before i get back.... everything's so pretty!!!

rebecca's uncle and aunty were really nice... and her cousin too.... i stayed over at his house.. and they didnt even mind! her uncle bought this fantasic strawberry cream pie... FANTASTIC!!! big red juicy strawberries, fresh cream, and custard.... omg.... the BEST i've ever tasted... i had 3 slices... sinful.....

then on thursday me and becks decided to go walk around fisherman's wharf.... we took the BART(like the MRT) downtown, then took one of those touristy cable cars to the wharf. before we could get to the wharf... we got attracted by this bike rental shop... sooooo me and becks decided to rent bikes and cycle across the golden gate bridge!!! that was SO COOL! actually it was really tiring cos the 1st 1 hr of the journey was uphill! it was a slight slope... but torturous!!!! then when we got to the steeper slope, we just got off and pushed our bikes uphill... haha... then we got across the bridge.... the wind was really strong! some parts we had to stop cos it was just so hard to cycle against the wind. ! once we got across the bridge, it was downhill from there.... so that was shiok man.... we went to sausalito where we were supposed to take a ferry back.... the total distance we cycled... 13km... waaaaah.... i was so proud of myself... haha

then we stopped at an italian cafe, and had the best pizza i've ever eaten in my LIFE!!! it was fantastic... and it was HUGE.... tasted really good.... then we got jason to come and pick us up here... heee... fortunately he has a big car and our bikes fit in....

neway jason was good... he drove us around san fran and tried to be a tour guide.... and even drove me back to santa cruz even though he was so tired..... (thanx grandson)... had a weird conversation in the car.... really weird... but we're cool, or so jason says... *shrugs* whatever.

oh man... today i did something really stupid i kept thinking that i was working at 9.30 today... but i was actually working at 9am. AH!!! so i was 20 minutes late!!! sigh... hope i don't get into tooo much trouble.... trina(the expresso cart lead) was quite cool about it... but i dunno about the bosses.... oh wellz... they're quite nice... so i think i'm fine.... =)

ok ok... can't write anymore....going back to take a nap... so tired....

*happy*

it's divine...

k i went to church yesterday...walked 45 min there and 45 min back... church was FANTAASTIC! it reminded me so much of riverlife... sigh... felt like home... just that i din meet many young people... alot of older folks... *shrugs*

neway... i bumped into that director of food services there at church too.... and he and his wife were really nice... he offered to give me a ride back to the boardwalk too.,. but i wanted to stay behind to see if they had any young adult ministries... but looks like they don't. neway met his son too... and guess what? his son's name is NATHENIEL! Oh man there can't be that many conincidences... yeahz... i have a good feel about this.,..


oh man... results are coming out!!! stress!!!!!!i really hope i passs i heard from my friend that the entire faculty did very badly this sem... sigh.

i really enjoy working at the expresso cart. it's small, so we really get to know the people working there. and it's not smelly or hot like the others... hahaz... it's good.... and my colleagues are all so nice too!

oh and during the training, we were told that it's company policy not to accept tips., but the lead person at my cart just collects it and splits it up at the end of the day... woohoo! so i got like $1.70 at the end of yesterday... :D

u guys shoul email me and tell me about what's happening in singapore...else i'll be so lost when i get back...

high on coffee!!!!

omg... i'm working at the expresso cart... and i'm SO HIGH!!!! drank so much coffee... hehe... it's quite fun... i learnt how to make hot drinks, blended drinks, tea blends... all kinds man! hehe... it's fun... hope i'm stationed there permanently..!

i really shouldn't be this high... cos i prolly only slept 5 hrs last nite... oh man... i have crazy neighbours... they're crazy man... real crazy... last nite... all was quiet... bettina was in bed, and then... at 3 AM, guess what? they decided to have a hiphop party downstairs at the courtyard!!!!!! music blasting, and people shouting... and guess what? they were playing jump rope! like skipping and all... omg... at 3am... and i had to get up at 7 to go to work.... sigh... miserable... fortunately they turned down the music at around 3.30 and i got to sleep around 4... oh well... it's exciting... i'm just wondering what they'll come up with tonight... it's saturday nite...

currently i'm only working the wkends... only gonna be working 3 days next wk... which is like 20 hrs... sigh... much less than the expected 32 hrs they promised.... oh well... think i'm gonna get another job.. hope i can work at the bikini shop near my apartments... =). it's really quite convenient. pray for favour...

oh yeah... and i'm going to church tmr! quite excited about that.... gonna walk there... oh its such a coincidence... cos the director of food services was planning out our schedules, and i told him that i didnt want to work sunday mornings cos i wanted to go to church. and then he was like " so which church are you going to?" and i replied that i was going to santa cruz bible church! and it just so happens that he's going to that church! then after that, he posted me to expresso carts... and according to the administrator here, they don't usually post new people to expresso... even the one who trained us said that expresso was one of the best.... so that's cool! i believe that God had a hand in it somewhere... :)

okies... getting thrown out of the o ffice now.. cos it's closing.. heh...

the feeling of being broke...

... never goes away... sigh...

i just passed up an opportunity of going to the mystery house in san jose cos i think i shld wait til i have more cash... heh... pathetic it is...

took a walk down the wharf.. it's a pretty nice place.. people fishing... HUGE seagulls... they sell fresh fish there too! but as usual, it's expensive... i'm looking forward to starting work tmr... then i get free meals.

got 5 blisters on my feet... owwies... cos i'm not used to walkin so much in shoes! actually i'm not used to walking at all... haha...
from now on unless i'm working... i'm wearing slippers.. hehe

yesterday, me and samantha walked 1 hr down to the supermarket, and 1 hr up again! thant's the kind of distance we walk everyday..

oh wellz... we have become super aunty... going to supermarket, comparing prices, and looking out for sale items! and also collecting plastic bags so that we can separate our food... wahahahaha... the aunty syndrome is overwhelming... ! i even have a safeway(supermarket) card, which gives discounts on food items...

have gotten closer to samantha... our long walks together have done us good... so we've talked a bit. and help each other out more... i think at the beginning, my 2 apartment mates were so conscious of what's mine, and what's yours... it was quite weird... but now at least we share some stuff, and plan on buying some stuff together. yeahz... life is getting better.

i hear that our work and travel coordinator here is not very happy with the way things are, cos she thought that 4 of the 11 of us here would be going back early, but now it's like only 4 of the 11 are staying for the full 4 mths! yeahz... prob some communication problem with the singapore person... blah..

neway it doesnt really affect me... hee... i'll just do my job... =)

=)

my job!!!

today... went down to the employment office for orientation...
i'm a.... FOOD SERVICE OPERATOR! haha... that's one of the highest paying posts... (US$7.65/hr instead of US$7/hr) PLUS... i get one free meal everytime i work... wahahaha... it's good.... :). i might get really sick of the food by the time i'm done... but at least i get to save money.. :)
starting work this friday. hope i get to travel around in between... not now tho... i feel so broke now

oh... u know it's such an irony... but USA-land of macdonalds... doesnt have that many around! like in singapore there's always one around the corner... but here... it's at least 1/2 hr walk to the nearest macs, BK, and KFC. but the stuff is pretty cheap there... i hear u can get a cheeseburger at BK for US$0.69. hee.. must go check it out sometime...

tmr is when they have a farmer's market, where i guess, farmers will come down to sell their stuff.. and there supposedly, we'll get really cheap fresh vegetables... looking forward to that! i've never eaten so much vegetables in my life... haha... i'm really become healthier...
anticipate seeing a slimmer fitter bettina when i return! heehee.

*rebecca.. where are you????

okie.. that's all for now...

will write again maybe tmr... :)

here in santa cruz!

hey everyone, i'm in santa cruz now! it's SO COLD...
the wind is really strong...

i tell ya... we dun appreciate singapore til we're
away... santa cruz is this really small town...
internet access costs US$3 for 15 min... extortion
rite???
i know...

i'm using free internet in the public library now. can
use for 1 hr... oh man.. the smell man beside me got
up and is replaced by another smelly man! they STINK!

neway i've been walking everywhere.. it's quite fun..
think i'll become really fit after this 5 mths. food
is expensive too. i've started cooking. gotten to know
the other singaporeans... they're alright.

went with a few of them to san jose (silicon valley)
nothing to do there... but we had city withdrawal.
haha... there're actually tall buildings and shopping
malls there!!!!! huge gigantic ones!!! fabulous...
nothing like that in santa cruz. haha

got a cell phone... number (831) 2953893

can sms me... i might sms back.. heh...

neway it's really cold anyway... really... really
cold... esp at night... in the day it's cold... but
bearable...

pace of life is slow... havent started work yet... so
we're just slacking away.. really slacking... walking
around... looking at everything... :)

oh man... there're these crazy people living
downstairs.. and they regularly go into crazy fits.

last last night, i was woken up 3 times!!! 1st, at
12am there were these 2-3 people sitting out in the
courtyard talking really loudly. i could hear their
ENTIRE conversation. then they left. THEN at 2am, some
other people came and held a conversation outside my
window again... really LOUDLY. THEN at 4pm, the
neighbours decided to go crazy and make noise... they
played trumpets, banged on tins, and generally made
NOISE( not music). i went down to scold them, and met
another neighbour who was drunk i think, and kept
persuading me not to report them... all this while the
people in the room were still making their own music
(noise)... growl... in the end i went back to my room,
and i think the housing admin came to stop them at
5.30. only slept at 5.45 and then woke up at 6.45 to
go to san jose (pronounced ho-se)...

oh well that has been my exciting life so far...
havent seen many hunks.. hahaz... been too cold to
look out for any...

12 hrs more

woooo.. in less than 12 hrs i'm goin to be flying off... on a jet plane... to USA! i can't believe it really... guess i'm not really prepared... oh well... i'm really tired too... this will be prob my last post in singapore...

i lost my ISIC... can u believe it? i can't ... it's nowhere to be found... i gotta be less careless if i wanna be able to take care of myself...

too many things to think about... just feel like sleeping... but trying to keep awake so that tmr i'll sleep on the plane.. AH!...

neway pray for me... i wanna have fun, and enjoy myself, and not get into any trouble!

bye everyone... i'll miss you guys... even if berinda is probably the only one that's gonna read this... yeah.. i'll miss you ber... ur constant presence was good for me these past few months... and the lack of it for the next few months will be difficult...

even tho it's just 5 mths.. i feel like i'm moving into a new stage of my life now... it's gonna be a big change. once i come back.. i need to get a job....

ah!... lemme get back to packing...
:)

time passes so fast!

oh man.. can't believe in 33 hours i'm gonna be leaving singapore!!! then i'll be off all by myself, to be independent, to go on my adventure.

everyone askes me if i'm prepared to leave... actually no... not really prepared in packing, not really prepared mentally too. i just don't like to think much... i'd rather DO. oh well... i'll muddle thru it somehow...

actually i feel like a child that doesn't want to grow up... like jaime's going for interviews, brina has found a job... but for me... i'm gonna play in america for 5 mths! what a stark contrast...

kenny has a girlfriend. think it's weird.. not that i like him or anything, not that it really affects me in any way... i just think it's weird.

just got back from clubbing wif jess. not a very successful nite... but i managed to get quite alot of free drinks... which counts for something... hehe... (sorry i was late, jess... and it's not ur fault for anything at all)

ate SO much today... buffet at rice table, dinner at marina south steamboat... whoa... major pigging out!

sad that my ex-crush is still tog with his gf... and they'll prob last forever too... neva understood how long distance relationships could last so long.. must be love. oh well... some admiration too... hehe... still... sigh...

wonder if i missed anything out while packing... really afraid i'll miss something out... hmmm... *think bettina, think!*

tired... will post after bento... haha...

pammie wammie!

today i helped to streak pamela's hair... the dye she bought was supposed to be light brown... BUT... the colour seemed to be blue-black when we put it on... this is her in the process of colouring her hair.

hope it turns out nice... will post a pic of her when it's all done!

FINALLY...

can u hear the music?? can you can you??? woohoo.....

happy...

my room is...

... almost packed!!! wohooooooo... spent like 6 hours packing my incredibly-messy-room, and just got this last box to clear out and just need to vacuum and mop the room... fwah... it was a tough few days trying to dig through the years of accumulated stuff and dirt... but... i succeeded! :)

k once my room is packed i can get to packing my bags.

:)

happy happy happy!

my ushers are the sweeeeetest kids! k let me list down the nice things they did for me today...

1. a BIG bunch of BIIIIG PINK roses.... (sweeeet!- Glenn bought them, he'll make someone a wonderful bf)
2. a really CUTE photo album as a present (from happy house... my favourite!)
3. a little cake...
4. and lastly but the cutest thing they did... was to sing a song that they recreated for me!

awwwwww.... i love them... (YOU if you're reading) they're so adorable... and sweet... they make me happy!

i will miss them... them and their funny antics... ;)

yeahz neway today is my last megalife service for 5 mths... i dunno if i'll be back in the same capacity as i am now as a leader... there's a tinge of sadness... and also wonder at how time has passed so quickly. megalife as been good to me, and also for me. good to me in that it has brought me real friends, and has been a great source of support for me. good for me in that as a leader i have learnt discipline, have learnt how to communicate and interact with people, and how to be a better leader. all these skills i wouldn't learn if not for megalife. megalife has become a home.
:)

oh yeah sidetracking, today my bro (who thought i was leaving last friday) reminded me of the words that the speaker last week spoke. that she saw a picture of me in a car... but i don't know how to drive.... THEN... sudddenly it comes to me... i have been talking about going to america to learn how to drive... wahahahaha... maybe this dream of learning how to drive will really come true in america! hehe... just a random thought.

yeahz back to megalife, really i will miss it. dunno where my direction lies after i return, whether it will be still in megalife or children's ministry. depending on where God wants to me to serve. i'll consider this later... :)

yup yup.. all in all... i've been having quite a good time lately... just need to get my phone... and when you're on a budget... hp shopping is not fun... heh... oh wellz.. God will provide... it'll come.

happy happy!

ok 1st i must post about yesterday cos i was so tired last nite... too tired to post anything...

spent yesterday 1st wif my sister... had dimsum.. then didnt manage to buy a hp and discovered that no shop offers discounts for singtel pod lite plan... which was super frustrating... and i was SO tired cos i worked till like 5am the day b4 doing up the youth alpha thing. then i went to meet berinda... we shopped around, and... i found a shop that offered a promotion for pod lite plan (which is the plan that my sista has and wants to stick to, and i'm buying a phone on her line cos my plan is not due yet.. neway long story. let's just say i'm buying a phone on her pod lite plan.) AND, the price after trade-in was ONLY $28! when the whole day other shops offered like above $100. BUT the catch was... my sister wasnt with me and i didnt bring the phone to trade-in. BAH... so... i was really whiney then (thanks ber for putting up with me.. haha)
oh then the exciting part starts! berinda brought me to her house, and we had dinner... then she helped me do a foot scrub and buffed my nails! waaah.. it felt sooooo shiok after the long and tiring day... (thanx ber again) although she only got to buff 3 toenails before my parents came to pick me up...hehe... i did the rest at home tho they didnt turn out that nice... :). felt so loved...