Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Had my long delayed dental appointment today. It wasn't that easy to get out though, as today is the evaluation day for my close combat training. I have to endure about two hours of waiting time as Im one of those last groups to be tested. Unlike the mock grading (which I flunk), I managed to 'smoke' my way through all the stupid techniques with a lot of exaggerated actions, reactions and shouting (screaming actually. especially towards the end). The sparring was especially exhausting; imagine screaming and shouting with each and every move you make, be it defending or attacking. By the end of 2 minutes, we cant even bow to each other properly.Oh ya, I still haven't talk about my dental. Because the test end so late, I have to rush to bath, get off-pass, walk out of camp and take a cab to Woodlands polyclinic within half an hour. Miraculously reached 1 minute before appointment time. I sat on the all too familiar 's' shaped chair and face upwards towards the bright lights. A dental consulation during secondary school was the last time I remember seeing those lights and surroundings. This surroundings don't give me good memories, though. I never had an appointment when the dentist just examine and let me go when I was in school. And its still the same for this time.
I was surprised and mortified during the examination when the dentist told me I had not one, not two, but three decayed teeth. And the teeth which I thought were my wisdom teeth and which I happily neglect and let it decay? Turns out to be my second molar -.- So, for everyone who, like me, dunno what are wisdom tooth, they are tooth that grow behind the second molar, or it can be also called the third molar. Sighs. Obviously the dentist cannot sit by and do nothing to the decayed teeth. So with no mental prepartion or whatsoever, she cleaned up whatever there is supposed to be cleaned up. I think I may sound like a big fuss here; afterall what's the big deal with cleaning my teeth? Well I have to confess that I have a childhood phobia of seeing dentist ever since young, especially since none of the dental visits I had were pleasant, as mentioned above. The feeling of putting multiple metal things into my mouth was so revolting that I have to force myself to relax and not choke on my own saliva. Luckily I did not embarassed myself in front of the female dentist today, but to say the truth, I was really glad when the consultation ended.
8:25 PM
Sunday, November 01, 2009
My weekend....
Zouk wasnt the most empty places to visit at any time, even more during Halloween where it is changed to a place called 'Villianville', and flocks of costume wearers came and squeezed into the extremely full arena, each with its own type costume for a purpose; some to attract attention, some to scare, and even more people tried to gain free entry to Zouk with their costumes. Unfortunately me and my band of army peeps werent dressed up; we simply didn't think it would be neccessary. However we realised we were wrong when we reached the place: At least 7 out of 10 people there came dressed up, from the simplest, tattoo drawing on the face, to the most complex, a monk dressed up with all the props on hand, plus one bra sticked to his 'headgear'. Lol. It was definitely fun in some sense to so called 'vibrate' with the music on the dancefloor, but I wun visit it again unless I have a bigger bunch of peeps of mixed genders. I must say its quite a visual spectacle to see all the costumes dressed up by females, and interesting (and digusting) to see the behaviour and strategies displayed by some males to so called 'rub flesh' with people of the opposite sex.500 Days of Summer! Nice movie, realistic, witty and funny. Sometimes certain relationships just wouldn't work out, with no fault lying on both parties. Another message from the movie: There is no such thing as coincidences when it comes to relationships; its fate. Treasure it, or you will regret dearly for sure.
9:55 PM
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Good news: Its confirmed that I am going to New Zealand.Bad news: Its also more or less confirmed that there will be many many outfields to come. bleh.
I screwed up my combat shoot. Somehow during the most crucial part of the shoot, which carries the most points and is the easiest, I forgot to switched to 'Semi" mode from 'Safe" mode when I am about to shoot my target, causing me to miss like 2 easy targets. Night shoot was horrendously bad, with my team missing like 60% of the targets. I thought the day couldn't get worse already, since I never get my marksman. Never did I thought my CO would want to make us 'practice' one more time >.< I was about to sulk and pout for all I am while at this; thankfully zisong came to the picture and cheer me up using his version of 'I gotta feeling'.
Now we are learning throws. Its not fun getting thrown onto your back flat. Really.
9:47 PM
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Aw...so sad huh. Friends for 7 years, but in the end its the company that he's blaming. Intoxication also requires the right company huh? But I have to admit he's right in a way...we have to move on..1:14 AM
Thursday, October 22, 2009
My plans..
This month is the month of october. To be exact, its the end of October. From this perspective, November will come and exactly three months and one week later, ORD lo. Though its not like I had anything concrete for the days that will come after ORD. What I had in mind was a list of wants and what-to-dos, such as my want of my long awaited diving trip and completing an undetermined task to prepare myself mentally for the interview (if there is ever one). But what I really need is a imaginary converter, one that will turn all these thoughts into a concrete plans of actions. This conversion should be a part of my brain's function, but so far it has been preoccupied by plans not of my own, but of my unit, and it is going to happen just right before I ORD. So nowadays you may find me online more often. Its not because I lead a very good stay-out life, but rather, I need to clear my off/leave as much as possible to finish constructing whatever I need to do for post-ORD before my unit summons me back to be a part of their planned activities for the end of the year and start of the new year.Life sucks. I can barely count with ten fingers the amount of offs I can get from next week onwards.
EDIT: Saw a phrase from a msn contact's nick which sorta explains the lack of the converter and kicks start of what I needed to do.
'YOU FAIL 100% OF THE TIME WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN TRY.'
7:48 PM
Sunday, October 18, 2009
On Pubs..
Pubs. Not those public peeps that dota players meet on garena (whom I hate in general), but rather, dimly lited places with disco lights, loud music with waitress selling alcohol to anyone with the money. Its not a bad place though, as I enjoyed watching the soccer matches plus drinking and watching the live band performing at the same time. Certainly I can see the reason why emo people would choose to go to pubs and just drown themselves in the 'high' atmosphere, to beings devoid of their original stressful emotions.
Dinner @ Fishermen's Wharf is great. I loved my Snow Fish fillet. Words cannot describe the juicy and tender fillet plus a crispy, but not flaky, skin. F^&$ fish & co and manhantann (or wadever you are spelled).
1:46 AM
Friday, October 16, 2009
Movie: Julie & Julia
Watched Julie & Julia. To sum it up, I will have to use Jonathan's quote: 'It (the movie) is funny even though its not a comedy.'In my opinion, good movies are movies which influence its viewers positively and provide entertainment to them throughout the whole length of it. Julie & Julia certainly is one. You definitely cannot stop the urge to laugh whenever Julia Child expresses her emotion; whether is it her speech, her reaction, or her way of cooking. The other character, Julie, a married woman in her late twenties-going-to-be-thirty, provides inspiration to its viewers with the all too familiar scenairo that many of us is likely to face: Having a meaningless job and wanting to do something that she liked for her life.
What is that something I like, that I can do, so that I have no regrets for life? I cannot have a definite answer to that yet. All I can think of now is things that I like to do; swimming, playing the keyboard, k-ing etc...
11:03 PM
Saturday, October 10, 2009
2-Day Work Week
I love my 2-Day work week! Although there's the expected call-back by sergeant major big head, everything else went uncanningly smooth. Duties were handed over successfully to another batch of people after two mock 'press-the-button' siren. To our good fortune, Big head is flying overseas to India to where he belongs!Dinner at Kushinbo (for the Battery Cohesion) was totally carbo-load with soft-shell crabs, long-legs crab and a lot of chocolate fondue desserts! And there was of course this 'bong bong bong, 1,2,3, kushinbo.....', and that was when many people, including adults, rushed to get this limited half-hour special dish cooked by the chefs. After seeing all the ord-ed men coming in working attire, there were mixed feelings in me. For one, I am happy for them as they have started working, and its like realising your child has grown up le, after accompanying and growing with them in camp for 10 months. For another, I am glad I am currently still an NSF (grudgingly of cuz), for I do not have to worry about income and job-hunting yet, at least for another 4 months.
Watched Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Post-movie thoughts:
** It is important to have mutual understanding between the parents and their children. While it is imperative for the parents to have faith in their children's ability, their children should also be more understanding to their parents, asking questions during rejection instead of shutting down communication entirely.
** It is hard to find someone who can appreciate you for who you are entirely, your thoughts, your illogical-ideals, and your strengths and weaknesses. More often than not, people will try to become what society wants them to be, rather than who they are.
** You can run away from anything, but what you cannot run away from is yourself.
Labels: Thoughts that make sense
1:15 AM
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Horoscope of the day..'Your focus needs to be on your goals and desires, rather than your fears and worries. You see some challenges in the road ahead, but are making them out to be far more dangerous or risky than they really are. Have faith in your inner vision, stay true to your mission'
why didn't I thought of medicine earlier during JC? i would have known the criterias required and would have done a lot more. it was quite aimless during that time, leading to even more aimless results.
1:18 AM
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Tuesdays with Morrie..
When you learn how to die, you learn how to live...We have to learn how to love, or die...
Imagine a bird on your shoulder and you asked, 'Will I die today?" When people think they are about to die, they do things differently.
Forgive everyone!
Life becomes clearer, when you see the purpose in it, and not be blinded by ambition, money and career. Its amazing what a 1999 fifty minutes video can teach us.
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Midautumn festival at chinatown! Spent time with mm and lanterns, admiring the lights and sounds of chinatown. Three years plus of friendship and still counting...
2:46 AM
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Quote: Personality may open doors, but Character keeps the doors open
By Elmer G. LettermanHow true... I realised that whether a person can succeed in a working environment depends on the principles that he upholds. There is no point pretending to have a amiable personality since the work you produced showcase who you actually are. Only those with character, who knows WHY they do the things they do and WHY they want to do work properly, will be able to do things properly in the long run, under any circumstances.
Then why do I want to do things properly? To not disappoint my battery mates? Maybe. To look good in front of my superior so that I can go for my off/leave? Partially true... But the real answer? I want to prove to myself that I can do things properly without flopping. Its a confidence and principle issue.
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My very Realistic Aim for October:
One, to keep fit and start gyming. Two, to improve my grammar and writing skills. The rest of the time is for friends, family and get started with my passion - keyboard!
12:04 AM
Monday, September 21, 2009
Welcome to the 2_ Club
Happy birthday to me! i know its nt yet but gotta go back camp le. will blog about the fun day i had in sentosa some other time. and mm thanks for ur thoughtful present ^^ .saturday:
A supposedly manjong and wii session gathering turned out to be a sad lonely wii session with only johnson playing guitar hero with me. well at least we learned the different techniques that is associated to each instrument and played together quite welll. after playing for two hours, i glanced at my phone and was surprised by the missed calls and messages received. alll were from chun meng and kelvin, my chevrons ktv khaki. needless to say, they were asking me for another round of ktv session. my throat was throwing tantrums that day though, so was chun meng's, so we opt to sing girl's songs instead of hitting the usual round of impossible playlists. had a not so fantastic supper at xin wang and that was the end of the day.
sunday:
outing with sm and julie. I had a lonely but cheap lunch near my sis's workplace. As I still have some time to spare, I went inside Isetan with no aim but just walking around. However when I reach the men's section, it was like stepping into a heavenly shopping ground. There were sales everywhere on items which I thought of buying, like belts and bags etc. A call by julie pulled me from my ecstasy and i got forcibly dragged to look at mooncakes and food at taka instead. Worse to come was the trip to dempsey road flea market, which features a huge and wide variety of girl's accessories, clothes and shoes from over five hundred stores. needless to say i adopt the usual squeeze-walk-wait-repeat strategy, but i guessed five hundred stores were really too much on me, so i seeked cover on the stairs instead. heaven to hell huh? lol. well it wasnt all bad, it was an eye-opener to clothes and more importantly the many EYE-creams over there. have to give my friends some mian zi mah, so I stayed for dinner at swensens with ice-cream buffet even though my throat probably cannot withstand icecream stuff anymore. well some stupid things we did that time was to share a baked rice among three person, playing with a faeces-like coffee ice-cream and playing with water cups. Thanks sm for introducing a new friend and for making things so lively in an otherwise dull sunday. i guessed i have a cheerful time afterall =)
monday:
family first! had lunch with my parents and dear sis in a korean restaurant at bukit timah. the bi bi bart (s/p?) was quite good with a good mixture of veggies and sauce, while the grilled beef was tender and juicy. had my sample of ice-cream (again lol) with a very strong whiskey taste which will make me think twice before drinking alcohol. took my time to walk around the old beauty world plaza looking for my dad's clothes before heading to vivo to meet mm, which unusuallly turns out to be me who is late. (paiseh!) I took my very first tram ride to sentosa, squeezing with people in an mrt-like environment. once i reached, the place greatly reminds me of genting, with alll the fun rides and attractions that are out to make wallets lighter. me and mm already had an eye on the sky-ride and luge ride before we came. Sky ride was enjoyable, at least for me lol. it will be even more thrilling if its fun and shaky though. luge was kinda good also, alas not really what i expected. chilled out at a small piece of land facing the sea and enjoying the seabreeze with not-so-wanted company - band of foreign workers. after much deliberation and much conviction, me and mm decided to take the Mega Zip ride! we were strapped to comfortable harnesses and ushered to the tower overlooking the megazip. It was a high 75 metres drop from the tower to the bottom, but scenic at the same time. Though obviously it was not the best mood to enjoy the view as what lies ahead was 450 metres of 30 degree drop. we were to take the ride together to save time and slots for other people, thus i think the speed of the drop was increased to the maximum. it was more thrilling than scary, as once we get over the initial drop and high ground, the acceleration and speed really make the ride very enjoyable. other than the brushing of my legs with treetops every now and then, I really enjoyed the ride. Thanks for the organiser and the day! The organiser will probably help me remember stuff and preserve my in-camp memories!
tuesday:
as expected, when i am in a bunk together with six of my bunkmates still awake till 12am, something is bound to happen to me. blanket-party, tau poks and ahem things that i shouldn't mention here >.<> for making things memorable for me =) had dinner out at pasta mania (Thanks Chunmeng for the car sticker!) and a long overnight chat with my buddy marks the end of my birthday, also the start of my life in the 2- club! I wished not for more materials, but the enlightening of mind and finding out what I really want to do.
9:58 PM
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Realisation.
This week is a birthday week which unfortunately coincides with audit and inspection week. It doesn't mean all the fun is lost however; with all the tau poks, surprise drills, more tau poks and playing risk (the board game), life in camp never gets boring, especially since master sergeant big heard was on medical leave. Incidentally I left out a few friend's birthday during this and the past week, to which I can only give my most sincere apologies and belated wishes. Makes me wonder if I really should appreciate my friends more.14 Sep. Its the day when most of the senior batch of specialist came back to camp and collect their pink ic and duffel bags. Seeing their faces of surprise when I gave some of them the cards I made during my duty on sunday makes me feel that my effort was worthwhile. Even though we know it is highly unlikely there will be regular meet-ups, we know we will still remember each other as the ones who is part of the chiong sua two year ns journey.
Tuesday. Watched G-force with mm. Well its actually quite a brainless follow-the-action kinda movie. But who wouldn't love a bunch of cute ferrets, hamsters and guinea pigs?
I realised I have been pretty much a blog stalker during this weekend. Somehow much facebook I incidentally stumbled onto a SMU student council promotion group. It's been some time since I last saw this self-appraisal and 'vote-for-me!' stuff so I delve deeper. The fanciful English which requires me to use free dictionary every now and then, the professional-sounding usage of words, were what I saw in each and every student council hopefuls group page. One particular hopeful even have a wordpress blog to illustrate his desire and plans to change if he's chosen. What's the point of seeing all these? Well I realised that my English has much to improve (ameliorate) if I want to rise above the common crop. Sometimes I even feel that my usage of language isn't really much better than those uneducated and self-appreciating enciks. Time to buy a thesaurus and get more reading materials.
12:51 AM
Friday, September 18, 2009
A meaningful story...
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'
11:29 PM
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Update...
Some events of late...ARMY OPEN HOUSE 2009
Its a event that totally drains my battery's resources to the point that almost always there is only one specialist in the whole battery, which is the one on duty orderly. For me Im being deployed during the Urban Operations Display which feature artillery blasting a house, but actually what we did there was just to show the mobility and deployment of my gun primus. After the show, loads of kids and adults came over to take a look at the interior of the gun. Most common and funny comments below:
MOST COMMENTED: 'WAH this tank (actually we call it gun as it is artillery, but the public dunno that) no air-con ah???? So hot!!! Poor guys!'
Me: *trying to act cool 'actually its quite okay la, we are used to it already.' (but actually sweating like mad le)
Public: 'Wow the insides are so big ah???' Me: 'ya actually we can play manjong inside if we want to.'
Many kids came inside also, mostly to take pictures inside the gun. Our job during that time was simple: keep the kids from hitting their heads by the low ceiling and siam away from their parent's camera. oh plus stop them from wandering around and anyhow press buttons.
Overall its still quite meaningful and fun la i supposed.
WII Session @ Aloha Lan (today)
4 players, 3 guitars, 1 mike and 1 drum set = a BAND for GUITAR HEROES. Its really really fun. =D
I think i am getting used to spending a lot nowadays already. from the comex it fair, I bought one audio technica plug-in headphone @ 60 bucks. quite a bargain considering it was worth 70 plus. but i still need quite a lot of stuff sia, like a decent portable organiser since im so forgetful, water bottle and a bag for going out. bleh. $$$$$$
9:25 PM
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Regarding ORD
ORD LOH (not for me yet)To most, this date is the day when freedom comes as a crack emitting rays of sunlight which leads to the unknown. This date is the day when guys are released from the burden of having to book into a camp on sunday night and being released on a friday evening. This date also means that guys no longer need to listen to the 'other unreasonable guy cuz his rank is higher or have a chocolate bar'. Remember the three guys to which we ended over the pink ic on Pulau Tekong? To some, the date will be all about the pink ic that they have dreamed over the past two years.
So isit really a wonderful date to look forward to?
After attending the ORD function at discovery centre yesterday, I realised the grass (once you get your pink ic) may not be greener on the other side after all. For one thing, income will definitely be a problem since NSFs are used to spending so much per month on food and entertainment. For some, life in school may sounds welcoming after two years of suffering in a army environment, but they will soon realised suffering within mountains of lecture notes and crateloads of assignments is very stressful as well. The future is just an even greater unknown once you leave the system that kept you from thinking too much about them.
ORD also evoke thoughts on the simple question - 'what have you done in the past two years and how have you changed?' To some this question merely provides the answer to all the colourful writings they will provide in their testimonial to be submitted to their superiors. Writings can of course be lies, but a speech by a lieutenant during the function certainly don't sound like a lie. Even though he wasnt my favourite outgoing officer, I still listened to him as I could sense the sincerity when he talk about his life in the army. This is someone who has really changed a lot, do things that he thought he couldn't have done, and truely believes in 'what don't kills you will make you stronger.' There are also other outstanding specialists in my battery, like YouRong who although looks like a joke by his actions and antics, but he is actually efficient and really will go the extra mile in things that he really wants to complete. Was he initially already have those traits or was he changed by army?.. Well one thing is for sure, we have to accept whatever that comes towards us and make the most out of the time left in the army so that what we have left to remember when we ORD is the experience we are proud of, the hardcore friends that we make for life, and the strengthening of our character to embrace whatever that may come in the future.
12:19 PM
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
25 random stuff....
Busy busy. again. somehow there's always a lot of things that other batteries will throw at us. its time to step up, be independent and play my role as the more senior specialist leading the way to complete tasks.25 random things about me..
1) I hate green beans/peas, especially those there are found on the assorted corn/carrot/beans package which is normally used for fried rice.
2) Im a slow learner.
3) I was a librarian for about 3-4 years (?) during my pri school days and i really regret about it. should have done something more worthwhile..
4) I don't have the skill of finishing food cleanly...hopefully i wun get karma from this.
5) I also don't really like eating fish due to bones. same goes for prawns for their shells. I don't mind crabs though.
6) Im right-handed but have a left master eye. what this means is that my brain gets more images from the left eye rather than equally. this fact sucks especially when shooting cuz i cant close my left eye by itself properly.
7) The furthest country I have been to so far is china. sadded..
8) I sometimes wonder if im in need of a english name.
9) I think a lot but it doesnt seem to come to any conclusion. in the end rashed decisions is made and sometimes i regret my choice. contradicitng? abit.
10) I know I should spend more on my family but currently my top spendings are on apparels and entertainment.
11) I hate backstabbers, people who slack too much without thinking of others and those who are all talk but no show.
12) I get pissed off, jealous easily. even if i don't show it. 13) I am modest about any of my strengths, but sometimes i can get drastically proud of something until i forget that im the only one that is good at it and there are better people around.14) I tend to rely on hear-say too much and not have my own-opinion on things.
15) My favourite genre of books are thrillers/adventures.
16) The irony is that i hate movies that have many frigthening/sudden scenes. (thrillers)
17) I recognise the importance of doing certain things, but just never have the perseverance to do it to its best..
18) Im very interested in cars from a very young age. i remember i started collecting car models in primary school and very soon after i started collecting those bigger and more expensive model cars (1:18)
19) I tend to remain silent as there is really nothing meaningful that can come out from my mouth that is unprocessed.
20) I had quite a variety of nicknames in army. i think my favourite was cpl Conk when i was a specialist trainee as i tend to do stupid things.
21) I like music and playing music, even if im not talented.
22) I realised i never really like to support original stuff (for media). whether isit for console games or music albums.
23) Even though the lyrics of a song is important, i feel that the tune is more vital.
24) I very very very forgetful! =x
25) I believe nothing is free in this world.
9:41 PM
Friday, August 28, 2009
Busy busy week.The two books i have brought to camp were not touched at all. instead i got hooked onto mitch's book called 'the five people you meet in heaven'. nothing religious, its just a book that invoked a lot of thoughts about the journey of life. its amazing how someone else's life story told in a different original approach can influence people and how we view life.
11:48 PM
Monday, August 17, 2009
21km....
is the distance that i ran for half marathon. i thought to myself, 'since i already ran 14km before, 7 more km shd be no kick!' ya right. i think i nearly died during the marathon la. the shagness is unbelievable. the whole leg just sort of cramped up and my nearly flat foot just keep on acting up. by the 16km im super demoralised at the rate each km pass by. ended up wasting like at least 20 plus minutes on walking instead of jogging. well this kinda shows that i dun really have the mental power to perserve when im alone....i have to rely on another jogging buddy to keep myself afloat.haha japanese biscuits are nice. like really really nice. =D
I think i can eat bread and water after all the big spendings i have made this month =x
9:52 PM
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Corkscrew corkscrew corkscrew...
It was quite a last minute decision to go on a trip to genting for three days with 6 other in camp khakis. Even my passport collection have to be rushed in order to make it for the trip. But all in all, it was a trip that i won't regret going..The bus trip there was very comfortable - personal LCD screen with many choices of movies to watch, comfy chair with leg rest etc. I managed to watch two movies before reaching genting in good time in the afternoon.
Food:
Due to monetary constrains, nearly all my meals were fast food - mac, kfc, bk, marybrown, pizza hut. Okay actually its all the meals. The kfc is really nice as they offer chicken rice with soup, albeit full of msg. Bk was okay with all their black pepper burgers which is not available in singapore. marybrown is sort of like a mix between long johns, kfc, burger king, and its okay also. Only mac sucks cause its exactly the same as singapore's. One thing to note though, the service is really slow for all and all the prices reflected on fast-food menus does not include government tax. Pizza hut? They don't provide cheese. wth.
Entertainment:
Its quite good to go theme park on a weekday as there arent so much quenes. Started from the big swing which totally sets the mood of that day - giddy. Followed by the roller coaster before embarking on the park's second most thrilling ride - the corkscrew. The descending portion from the top totally makes my heart sink to the bottom as well. There is also the 360 degree turn etc which gives the roller coaster the name. After the initial shock, all became fun and as there arent many people, we took the ride a consecutive three times. I think i became quite immune to the feeling of free-fall after that. tried almost every thrilling ride, with the exception of space shot, which is unfortunately on maintainance.
Casino:
Yup im under 21. So by right im not supposed to go in. But as the majority of the group im with are all of age, me and my friend decide to come up with various ways to sneak into the casino. Our initial method was to act blur and just walk through the security counter. But the guards were relentless in checking passports and IDs of young people to make sure they are of age. We tried this method for like three gates of the casino and all three turns us out. Getting into low-spirits, we went to the fountain at the entrance of the hotel to stone. Thats when my friend suggested that we should just throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish to let us go in. After the weather became too cold, we went back to the hotel and discovered another casino entrance. However we did not barged in and instead stayed back to observe a group of china tourist who are also entering the casino. Apparently its a tour to see see look look. My fren den suggested to enter together with them. One guard wanted to ask the tour guide regarding the age of some girls who were also underage but were with the group. The tour guide just said, 'they are with me', referring to the girls, but somehow the guard take it as me and my fren included. So ta da! infiltration success!
Well its quite crowded, with loads of lightings, many many many jackpot machines (about one football field) plus a lot of tables displaying a variety of games -3 card poker, big or small, carribean poker, roulette etc. The sucky thing about that place, which incidentally made me miss singapore, is that they did not ban smoking in hair-conditioned place like the casino, ending up me inhaling one gas tank's worth of smoke. Its quite interesting to see real big amounts of cash exchanging hands fast though. Plus all the human behavior that i see inside, its quite different from what i can imagined.