Free Coffee At Starbucks!!! Exceptional surprise! I didn't know Starbucks would serve coffee on the house and not charge a single cent. I've taken samplers given out by Starbucks staff along the streets but this is the first time I got a Venti Latte for FREE!What happened was...I was with my council mates at Starbucks at Cathay, the one at Handy Road near Plaza Singapura for a small discussion yesterday. While settling down, joining 2 tables for the 5 of us and 2 laptops with a powerpoint nearby, the shop's light keep going on and off and at one point, I heard one of the staff even asked someone if there's internet.When everything seemed "stabilized", I went to get my coffee. Since my friends were going to be late, I wanted to settle for a Venti instead of a Grande and have my favourite coffee drink, Latte. I went over to the counter and the staff joked and asked, "ice water"? I guessed it was because he thought I was just looking for a power point since I asked him earlier. Haha... I was kinda amused and blur at the same time lah. I told him I wanted a Venti Latte and he asked it I wanted a Super Venti. I don't know if it was meant as a joke, but seriously, a Super Venti would be caffeine overkill lah! So I told him a Venti would be ok.Now, the best part was, everything was up and running, except the Point-of-Sales (POS) machine aka the cash register. I didn't know what was happening to the store or the register, but I just wanted to pay for my coffee and there wasn't some "welcome" message on the thing that tells you your bill. Meanwhile, there was another staff at the register who was looking for the key or something to open the register. And so, when I asked how much, this staff who was at the register told me it was on the house. That's when I managed to put everything together.I told them, I can give you exact change, and you can key it in later. The staff at the register kept emphasizing, "no its ok, its on the house, really", while the joker one kept saying, "its my treat, but dinner's on you". When I got my Latte, I still wasn't quite sure about the free coffee. But the staffs ensured me again and again.And so, I got my FREE coffee!!! Hiak hiak hiak... Stop! Damnit! STOP! I think I really ought to slap myself real hard over and over again so that I can wake up, face the real facts and the truth and move on. No more "what ifs" and "by rights" anymore! But why do I still cry everytime it happens? What's done has been done and there's no way it can be reversed. Time can't be turned back. Why can't I ever learn? Wake up wake up... ARGH!Man Utd won Portsmouth just now and I should be darned happy because we don't look miserable at the bottom half of the table. I am happy, but because I'm still sour, sad, disappointed, grieved, (insert your description of negative emotions here) over the transfer of Chris Eagles, I did not feel as happy as I think I would have.Seeing the lineup, it was torturing and tormenting and I became overwhelmed by emotions and the whole vicious cycle happened all over again. With the Brazilian de Silva twins, Possebon, Campbell and Gibson named as some of the substitutes and with John O'Shea playing in central midfield, the thought that one of them could have easily been Chris Eagles once again brought tears to my eyes.And I start to wonder again if it was the right choice... ARGH!!! The Freaky Russian Taxi Driver I was alone and when someone is so friendly to you, asking all kinds of personal questions at some unfamiliar place, its really damn scary lah... Anyway here's what happened...I reached back LA at 11+pm after the New York day trip and boarded a cab back to hotel. Upon boarding, I said "I'm going to Ramada Hotel at North Vermont Avenue." The taxi driver said he did not know where is the hotel but would drive me to the exact street and I could give him directions. Well, I felt brave and confident enough to do that, after all, we had driven around and I can kinda recognise the area around the hotel. He also said that he did not know how to go by the minor roads and would take the freeway all the way. Of course I knew taking the freeway was a small detour (imagine taking the MRT from Orchard MRT to Raffles Place or City Hall MRT then to the final destination at Bugis MRT, where taking SBS bus service number 7 is faster), but I was tired out from the day and anyway that gets me back to the hotel is good.He then started chatting, asking where I am from, what I was doing in the US, what I was studying in Oklahoma, where my flight arrived from, what I was doing in New York, yadda, blah, etc. He then started asking personal questions like if I have a boyfriend, whether we are planning to get married, how long we have been together, yadda, blah, etc. I did not think much of it as I felt he had been "Americanized" (he's a Russian and had been in America for the past 7 years) and was just being very friendly. Furthermore, I could recognise that we were on the correct way back to the hotel, and thus did not sense "danger." But still, we were still not near the hotel yet, and he was freaking me out just a teeny bit...Then, he commented I was a "good person" and very friendly. Ok, friends say that of me also, so again, I did not think much of it. Furthermore, I kept telling myself that he is just very friendly and chatty and brushed aside any thoughts of him as a scary person. I mean, afterall, he exited correctly on the freeway...As the taxi was a few buildings away from the hotel, he said he would stop the meter here because I was a "good person". As we were pulling into the hotel driveway, he said that if I was free, he would like to bring me out for dinner because I was a "good person". I FREAKED OUT at this very moment. Where got people so damn freaking super duper uber extremely very friendly one?! Within 25-30 minutes on the taxi chatting, you ask someone out for dinner?!So, I replied that my days are very packed and I would not be free. But this fella would NOT give up. He continued by asking when I was leaving. I told a lie, "a day after tomorrow." I felt bad because I was no longer a "good person", but I felt I had to because he was just getting toooooooo freaky for my comfort!!! I then thanked him for sending me back and said good night. He replied his byes and good night and wished that I have a nice holiday in the US. I quickly got off the taxi and brisk walked back into the hotel... I almost felt that I was running...I wished I had bought more stuff but I was kinda scared that my debit card account didn't have enough. Bah!(From left to right, top to bottom) Derek Jeter bobble, stadium commemorative replica, thermal mug, Derek Jeter handphone strap, display car plate, Alex Rodriguez tee, Yankees jacket (the most expensive item in the loot), Derek Jeter tee, souvenir bat, Derek Jeter-jersey-patterned bag and "the only team that counts: Yankees" tee...Universal Studios coming right up!p/s: So so sorry about such a delayed update on the US trip. Contridicting Myself All Over Again... Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!Fraizer Campbell started for Manchester United in the opening match against Newcastle. Rodrigo Possebon came on as a substitute and so did Rafael de Silva.Could Chris Eagles have gotten a chance instead of them? Its a definate yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!! But instead he played for Burnley in a 3-0 loss to Ipswich! Argh!!!I dare not confirm that if Eagles did start and played in this opening match, Man Utd would have picked up a full 3 points. But... Argh... Rafael, can't say anything because he is a defender... But I seriously don't see how Campbell and Possebon would have been picked ahead of Eagles if Eagles is still in Man Utd! I better stop here, before I start the Chris Eagles and the vicious cycle ranting again... Pfft!*Start to psycho myself that it's for the better good for his career and hold back tears* The Vicious Cycle... I looked at the Manchester United squad numbers registered for the 08/09 season and started crying again because I realised that, at one glance, if Chris Eagles was willing to hold out a while more, his chances of first team regular football is actually quite high.Some youngsters were given numbers and the squad registered is actually bigger this year compared to last year. And honestly, these youngsters, I feel, are still nowhere on par with Chris Eagles, although I have high hopes and expectations of the Brazilian twins.At this moment when I'm still grumbling, which does not change the fact that he has already signed for Burnley, I realised it becomes a vicious cycle. The cycle of me grumbling and crying about him leaving Man Utd and then trying to psycho myself that he needs regular football if he wants to have a chance to get back into the England squad and the possibility that another EPL club will buy him or Burnsley will get promoted and that will bring him back to play in the top flight.And at this very moment, I realised that I have to add another label, "Chris Eagles"... Singapore Finally Get Its 2nd Olympic Medal In History!!! Sorry for the false alarm for all the weird reasons it happened. Here's the real deal...The women's table tennis won their semi-final against Korea. We now confirm have a medal, dunno what colour only... Haha... Wooooooot!!! Well done gals!It was damn exciting and it was a close fight with the Koreans. But Li Jiawei have to stay calm and composed lah... Lost to Kim Kyung Ah 4 years ago in Athens, gotta learn from that lesson.Feng Tianwei is a player we ought to watch. Very clever and composed... Won us both singles matches!!!But personally, I felt that Wang Yue Gu had a better day compared to Li Jiawei. Hopefully all of them will excel in the individuals later on also... 加油! A Message That Made My Jaw Drop Guys, will you send this kinda message to girls whom you do not know on social networking websites such as Friendster, Facebook, etc? I almost fell off my chair when I saw this message from a guy whom I did not know!Anyway, to protect this fella's identity, I censored some personal info like name, company name and handphone number lah...Good afternoon.just back home from work , just eaten lunch at home.eaten "lontong" .you eaten yr lunch? do remember to eat yr meal soon.drink plenty of water as weather stuffy and hot .bit down on cough and flu , seen doctor two tme but did not recover .bit down on luck , injured one of my finger during work few days before .not heading anywhere today , will be resting at home .mind be a friend ?.let me intro myself first ... (name) here, 23yrs old Singapore Chinese guy , height 1.72m n weight 60kg .Short profile of myself. Single.completed army last year sep . wrking in outdoor sale line for (some company). Tend to care for others more and also be truthful to others .wrking hard and hope to get my car licence so can drive mitsubishi lancer .love to eat dim sum and drink Soya bean.hardly clubbing , maybe once a year ,no smoking .Sincerely hope you give me chance to know you more.sometime do help out in housechores.always tend to care for others more before me.i do drink but it like only abt twice in half a year .hi . as my friendtser got "connection error" .find it very hard to log in . you can sms me at (handphone number) if you don mind .Sincerely hope able to recieve your sms .Am i allowed bring you cross over to malaysia to eat next time or perhap in time to come ?Do known of famous stall selling herbal roast duck and japanese food.When you are free i make fried "BEER" chicken wing for you to try .sincerely hope can bring you go eat nice food next time . Happy 7th Birthday, My Dear Blog! 7 long years of blogging... I guess I might be even have been blogging longer than a whole lot of Singaporean bloggers and even some prominent and "famous" bloggers.Compared to them, what have I achieved? Nothing... Zilch... No advertising payments (my ads as you see on my blog have only earned me less than USD$8 since I put it on 12 months ago) nor paid for endorsements and reviews nor even a manager.But yet I still blog...I only get like an average of 20 hits a day. Mind you, its 2-0, TWO digits, not like others who have a 5-digits hits daily.But yet I still blog...Since I have nothing, why do I still carrying on blogging in this boring blog?To me, I blog because I want to and I love to. Its like an online diary. Some of you may say that diaries are not meant to be publicly read, but to me, my most inner thoughts are often kept up in my heart and not on this online "article/ document."In the past, I used my blog mainly to vent out my fustrations, whines and grumbles. I did nothing else. As friends started to know I have a blog, I started to type about what's going on in my life to update them in a way.When cancer came into my life, I still updated as much as I can to let my friends know how I was coping with treatment and all. Then I felt that there was something more then just talking about my daily life. I felt that I should use my blog to reach out to other cancer patients, survivors and their care-givers.And thus, I moved my blog from a lesser known platform, diaryland, to blogspot. I also joined some blog "directories" to get my blog out there for people to reach. All I want is to share my experience and be there for other cancer patients, survivors and their care-givers out there. I just want people to know that there's this cancer survivor who has this blog and it is opened 24/7 for other cancer patients, survivors and their care-givers to contact.I do not need fame and fortune from this. I do not crave for it nor do I look for it. I just want to be there for other cancer patients, survivors and their care-givers. If fame and fortune comes along, it is not a must, it is only a bonus.I'm just a gal who has a blog, and because of that, I'm a blogger. But I'm not a full-time/part-time/famous/etc blogger. I'm just a plain old blogger who is a gal that has a blog and she blog because she simply love to and want to.Happy 7th Birthday! Leading Strong In This Long Battle Against Cancer 1 month and a 1 week shy of my 2 years in remission, I went for my scheduled regular checkup with my radiotherapy oncologist, today. He did an endoscopy for me and all is clear, at least for the primary site!I remembered 3 years ago, this week, I was having my first chemo dose. I remembered trying to keep myself occupied by watching the tv in the clinic but was complaining to my bf and the nurse that I was damn drowsy and my head was really heavy and spinning away crazily. The nurse then told me to sleep and that it was ok to sleep, trying to make me feel less "pig/ lazy". It was there and then I learnt that sleeping was the best way to keep myself occcupied while having chemo, and many others felt the same way too. Haha... The True Colours Of Authority And Administration? First you say no to everything, giving no reasons or lame reasons, or reasons that have solutions to it. We listened and made changes and provided solutions and backup plans. Still you said no. Sometimes I wonder if you say no for the sake of saying no.Then, we see our ideas and plans implemented by you and you pass it off as yours without crediting us any single bit.Now, you clam down on us saying that we did not produce ANY results and try to discredit us in every detailed single way possible.Erm, hello... You being the thickest, biggest, longest wall possible (even thicker, bigger, longer that Great Wall of China), saying no to everything and grabbing our credits, what results you want to see from us huh?! You taken everything already what!Seriously, this is a viscious cycle. Want to see results from us, then give us the fucking due credit! I had enough of this kind of people. God, please bless me that my direct boss is not like that when I re-enter into the working world again... Selling Chris Eagles Is Manchester United's Loss And Burnley's Gain With the news of Sir Alex Ferguson (might be) giving youngster Fraizer Campbell a taste of EPL this season reaching my ears, my blood boiled AGAIN!Oh, just because he scored the only goal in the testimonial match for Solksjaer and won the game!? HELLO, my Chris Eagles ALSO scored an only Man Utd goal during the pre-season Vodacom Challenge opening game against Kaiser Chiefs and saved you from a loss. Campbell is still untested while Eagles has scored in last year's EPL opening match against Everton!Although the transfer news/rumours have been going on since end-June, early-July, he has never been really interested in leaving. He wants regular football and as a manager, you could have told him to polish his skills while he could wait till Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs to retire where he could stand a chance to have a regular football! Look at the Man Utd players who were sold to divisions below the Premier League, where are they now?! And now, I fear the same for Chris Eagles.Eagles had been featuring regularly in the under-(age) groups for England and you can safely say that he is an England youth squad member. However, in the past 2-3 years, he was not picked. So, what is the reason? A coaching flaw in Man Utd's youth academy or England's youth academy (if there's one)? He's 22 going on 23 and now that he is playing for the lower divisions, I really doubt the chances he can play for England's senior squad.Psst, Man Utd, you can start kicking youself for agreeing to let the fabulous Chris Eagles go... He scored in his debut appearance for Burnley... Sometimes I Feel I'm Unappreciated In a certain way, I feel that no one listens to me seriously nor take me seriously. Even when facts are presented, whatever I say or do seems to be just a breeze that just went by, tickling just a single leaf on a tree while the others dun even shift a millimetre.Is it because I'm small sized and look like a little girl. Ok, so blame it on my parents who gave me a baby face meh? Look at the fucking fine lines and wrinkles beneath my eye lah!Is it because I have a sreechy high pitch voice? I'm not a guy, so my voice does not break upon puberty.Is it because people who work with me do not know me well enough to see that I'm less serious and picky when it comes to work? Is it because I "worry" too much? I do admit I'm picky and go right into the nitty gritty finest details. I also like love to envision the worst case scenario. But why do I do so? Has anyone fucking understand why I have to play the devil every single fucking time?!I'm not insisting that I want to have my way. I do so because we must think further and be prepared for things that would crop up. It is true that not all of us have the ability to foresee if a plan would have any hiccups or will move on smoothly, but is it wrong to anticipate than to let the matter catch us off guard?Be it any matter that crops up, school, work, friends, etc, every serious comment I make is always for the better good. But has anyone fucking listened?! Which is why sometimes I feel damn useless too. Maybe I should not expect too much. I'm just a nobody in everyone's eyes. I'm just that small-sized gal who is part of their social circle, hidden at one end, away from everyone. Sir Alex Ferguson, Its Your Fault! Man Utd have lost a promising player, Chris Eagles. Why I'm saying it's the gaffer's fault is because Eagles hasn't been getting first team appearances that he deserves! You don't even let him warm the bench lah!I thought he had a pretty good pre-season and was actually kinda looking forward to seeing him play in this weekend's testimonial match for Solskjaer. During an interview last year, he even said that he will remain in Man Utd even if he only plays in reserves. It just goes to show how loyal he is to the club.If Eagles is on loan to another club, I still not so sad. But now, he is actually being sold to Burnley for slightly more than a million pounds. Man Utd, look at your blardi aging midfield, the question marks over Ronaldo's future at the club, Carrick's invisibility and Nani's forever off-forms, I don't understand why Eagles has to be sold! I don't think Man Utd is so hard up for that million pounds right?I guess this will be the last time I'll see him in the Man Utd jersey... And I'm still in a state of shock... I DESPERATE! Can Or Not?! The reasons behind this made me feel like a despo somewhat! But who cares? And so...And why am I crying when I blogging about this? Bah! This Is What Happens... ...when you plurk too much... Bah! Bad Start For The Day When we went down for breakfast at the hotel, I started to miss Anaheim and even more of Oklahoma. Remember I complained about breakfast in Anaheim not on par with Oklahoma in this entry? I shall apply that complaint all over again here with some changes here and there.1) The breakfast spread in Anaheim was bigger and better and the one in Oklahoma was EVEN bigger and better.2) The eggs in Oklahoma were REAL scrambled eggs, not some pancake-looking pieces of eggs which tasted like flour.3) There was only caffinated or decaf tea. In Oklahoma, we had green tea, chamomile, earl grey, etc., on top of the caffinated and decaf red ceylon tea.4) Ignoring the poor tea range, at least we still had hot chocolate sachets in Anaheim, which was just like Oklahoma. Over here, none.5) About yoghurt? None here to speak or even complain about.6) In Oklahoma we have cheese sauce. In Anaheim, we have shredded cheddar. Here, nothing.7) In Oklahoma, most of the time, we had sausage patties that tasted like McDonalds and on a few occasions, we had what tasted the same, but in the shape of a sausage. In Aneheim, we only had the sausage shaped ones. I'm suspecting that they all buy from the same supplier or something because over here, the sausages taste and look the same as the ones in Anaheim.8) I don't think I'm being picky because in Vegas, breakfast was not provided and we had muffins and bread at our relative's place in San Francisco. I was kinda gearing for some kinda McDonalds Big Breakfast!Haiz, so chin chye eat lor.After walking around, we got back to the hotel early as I needed time to shower, pack and catch my flight out to... Hehe...More US adventures coming right up! Moving On To Los Angeles... Presenting to you, the journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles through peektures!!!And so, we reached Los Angeles. We unpacked a little and decided where to have dinner. My sis suggested Yoshinoya, since we saw it while driving and it was only a few blocks away. I was telling my dad to drive, but he said no need and did not want to, maybe he is tired after driving for so long.And so, we walked to Yoshinoya, which is damn far lah, although it was only a few blocks away. Moreover the sun was setting and this street is so empty, unlike Vegas. A bit the scared actually. Then don't know who suggested to eat in, but majority wins and we ta bao-ed dinner back to hotel. After getting dinner, I think we almost kinda brisk walked back to the hotel. Vegas felt so so much safer, despite the raunchy-ness that is everywhere, most probably its because the Strip is so brightly lit and there are so so many people around...While my sis slacked out, and my parents in the other room, don't know doing what, I was busy. Busy planning where to go first, finding out where to park and the exact street names to key into the GPS system.Busy and fun filled LA days coming right up! The Eagles Soar Yet Yet Yet Again!!! I'm in a happy mood today because my DARLING Chris Eagles made me happy!!! And yah lah, thanks to the stubborn old man, Sir Alex Ferguson who was willing to give him a first team appearance to play in central midfield lah... My Chris Eagles scores for Man Utd AGAIN!!!!!!Grabbed this off youtube! 1 Year Rendezvous With Ping.sg 1 year ago on 21st July 2007, I joined Ping.sg and hence, our love affair begin...I can't really remember how I stumbled upon ping, but I was looking to get my blog listed on some site so I can reach out to other cancer survivors and/or patients. Like a blur sotong, I was trying to figure out how things work around here and even thought that I as long as I pinged, my post would be the one on top for that moment in the latest listing. 2 pings later, I realised that blogger aka blogspot post time is the time of creation, not time of posting and ping.sg lists post based on timing, thus, my pings would end up in the middle of the big sea. Finally, I got clever and did the right thing.I saw the shoutbox and thought that it seemed like a mini mIRC chat room. I couragously typed something and was warmly welcomed and greeted by a few people. And for the next few days, I found myself addicted to the shoutbox, and more importantly, the community, as everyone was like a one big family! On the shoutbox I chatted with people like Xizor, Daphne, DK, Chillycraps, Arzhou, Rinaz, Malique, UFC (sorry if I forgot anyone) and got to know even more people, even the members who joined after me, as the time went by.I was 2 weeks late for the 1st anniversary party, and some did asked why I wasn't there cos they thought I had joined before the party which was held on the 7th July. But I felt that I was part of ping community within a week of joining when I was involved in the ping.sg adverts started by (I think) Cris, and I did it again and again.Days later, 3 gals began talking about cheesecakes on the shoutbox and it became a Secret Recipe outing. Initially set at IMM, it was shifted to a more central location at Forum Shopping Mall so it would be more convenient for the "easterners". At this virgin outing of mine, I saw first hand, the power of Twitter and I think we managed to psycho DK to cut his class and come down. Haha...There was a day when I just got home and since I have a tab permantly fixed on ping on IE already, I took a peek at the shoutbox while cooling down and getting ready to shower. Then I saw ping Daddy, Uzyn jio everyone for supper damn last minute at Fong Seng (behind NUS) because Daphne was feeling down and needed some company. In about 15 minutes, some "westies" agreed to come out and it was already close to midnight. At this moment, I could feel that the community was tightly knitted and everyone regarded each other as friends when all of us rushed down to Fong Seng in our own ways to meet up. DK drove down and fetched some others and even offered to give me a lift, but when Arzhou called me, I was already in my Dad's car, hehe!!! And, I was the first to reach! Funny stuff happened and I remembered that DK was damn stunned (jaw-dropping-stunned) when he got to know how old I was. At the previous Secret Recipe outing, we were talking about male pingsters having a belly and I came up with a post based on the supper...About a week or 2 later, I got flamed left, right, up, down, center over this post on my blog, my tagboard and some forum. First time I kena this kinda thing, and I really did not know what to do. So, what else can I do but to talk to fellow pingsters about it, since they are all bloggers as well? I went down to Cafe Cartel to meet up with them, and they comforted me and gave good advices. To me, this ping community was a big family of people who cared for one another.Then I did up a post on a pasar malam happening in Clementi and another gathering took place. We bought food from the pasar malam stalls and went to a nearby kopitiam to order drinks and enjoy our food while having a TCSS session. Soon, I kinda like disappeared from the radar because my modules were beginning to pile back to back and were even overlapping. Furthermore, a few of my classmates managed to push MDIS for a Student Council and I was on board as a committee member. Thus I didn't really have the time to lurk on the shoutbox or come out often for gatherings. I remembered having ice cream at Island Creamery and the TCSS session at Essential Brew, then there was the yu sheng session at Decoder's Cafe and the Good Friday Waraku and TCC TCSS session. I was so tied up with school that I missed Daphne's surprise birthday party (Sorry Daph)...I further disappeared into thin air when I went over to the US for 6 weeks to complete the last 3 modules for my degree and my family joined me over there for a holiday after that. While I was studying, the hotel I was staying in had free wireless connection and I would be free after about 8pm Oklahoma time and on the weekends. So, I would try to blog something or to appear on the shoutbox. When touring started, there was hardly any free time as we would be out the whole day. It was also a clash of timings when I thought I could help contribute to the 2nd anniversary party after a year, but I can't as I was overseas and had to mug for 2 papers and essays when I came back. But thanks to the organizing committee who had let me played a small part by helping out to present one of the awards!Recently, some unhappy stuff happened as well. I was horribly affected and cried numerous times because I did not know what to do. I did not really take sides as both were friends to me and I felt I did not do a good job in trying to help. I really miss the good old days (where there were still people chatting on the shoutbox at 4am in the morning) but that doesn't mean I don't want the good new days (where there are more pingsters and there is now a bigger community).I remembered how we used to have discussions over grey areas such as pong cheating and all, or how to improve ping over the forums or the ideas page and everyone contributed their 2 cents worth. Everyone somehow played a part as a community member to help improve ping through their ideas and I could see some of the ideas coming to life as Uzyn is improving the site over time through version 1.8 and the upcoming version 2.0 which was given a sneak preview during the 2nd anniversary party. And yep, till now, I still miss the old ping pong balls... (Psst, Boss, can we have the ping pong balls back again, please please, pretty please...)And oh ya! (Belated) Happppeeeeeeeeeeee 2nd Birthday ping.sg!!! I Went To Prison... Almost... I managed to persuade my dad to drive down to the Embarcadero area the next morning for the Alcatraz trip. Since we had drove past in the cab the day before, have the GPS system in the car, maps and research on where to park, it was not going to be a headache. And it turned out kinda easy. Even when we got lost when we made a wrong turn, the system would go "recalulating" and still bring us to where we wana go. It was also really easy to find parking space, maybe because it is a "tourist-y" place.We gave too much time allowance and turned out that we reached really really early. While waiting for the booth to open to collect our tickets (which turned out that we need not to), I was happily snapping away at the waiting and queue area, displaying some exhibits on history and ex-inmate quotes and regulations when it was a federal prison the waiting and queue area.Alcatraz was a maximum, high-security federal prison. Many have tried to escape. Most were either dead or recaptured, except for a few whose whereabouts are still unknown. I could feel what the prisoners were feeling upon stepping on the island. Here I am, on an island surrounded by freezing, rushing currents. It was a feeling of "that's it." If that wasn't enough, the lost and helpless feeling was worse upon stepping within the walls of the actual prison building.We left my sister at home because she was running a high fever and since Embarcadero is where Fisherman's Wharf is, meaning pier, meaning sea, meaning strong winds, we did not want her to fall sick even more. After the Alcatraz trip, we went back to get her, and then drove out again to sightsee.Also drove past Chinatown and experienced the hilly-ness the San Francisco. Damn scary. Try directing your dad with the GPS system in the front seat when you have the fear of heights and taking a roller coaster ride, with steep slopes, at the same time.I love seafood and I want Bubba Gump in Singapore because they cook shrimps in so many different ways!!!Went home after dinner and started packing. Remember how worried I was when I saw the spoiled luggage in this entry? Thank God! Everything was intact and nothing inside was damaged, even my F.R.I.E.N.D.S complete series boxset didn't suffer any dents.A lesson learnt... Don't pack the luggage full, because when TSA opens it, they will not have the time nor remember how you arrange your stuff nicely. If your luggage can't be closed properly, chances are that your luggage might be damaged and things go missing because they fall out. Help TSA and yourself out.Meanwhile, more of my mum's cousins came over to say hi and goodbye because we were driving back to Los Angeles the next day. Honestly, I can't remember when was the last time I saw these aunties and uncles and I hope it won't be the last time...Los Angeles adventure coming right up! TSA Spoiled My Luggage!!! The main thing I love about Las Vegas is the shopping, the fact that I can walk around the Strip at 10pm and there are still lots of people and that the city is very compact because everything is at most only 30 minutes away. But, still gotta move on...As we went to the airport shuttle and onto the shuttle bus to collect the rental car, nothing could calm my anxiety and anger. I was really damn worried and anxious to rip it open and check because my textbooks and notes were in it, my graduation gown and Phi Kappa Phi medallion were in it and my F.R.I.E.N.D.S COMPLETE series BOXSET was in it as well! I've also heard enough horror stories of things missing after TSA opened to inspect it and with these horror stories playing in my mind, nothing could help calm me down...We then drove back to my mum's cousin's place and settled down. It was damn kind of them to put us up in the San Francisco leg of our tour, and they were really nice hosts! My uncle brought us to Costco, which was Walmart in a bigger and cheaper way, to get a replacement luggage and things which we need. In the end, we settled for a 4 piece luggage set because we reckon that there will be more shopping and we might as well get it now since we would not be bounded by any more domestic flight baggage regulations.We then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Finally, DECENT Chinese food, although Panda Express does help curb the need for Chinese food... BUT, FINALLY, DECENT Chinese food!!! Wah lau, try being in my shoes lah. For like almost 5 weeks, Panda Express was the only (kinda) decent Chinese food, buay tahan one lor!Got back, washed up, booked a cab and slept early. We were going Yosemite the next day and since the meeting time was damn early and we were not familiar with the place and especially where to park, my dad wasn't really keen on driving down to the Embarcadero area where the meeting place was, so we had to book a cab.The thing about me and Yosemite is that I'm NOT AT ALL impressed. After seeing Wichita Mountains on day 4 of my on-campus residency where the colours are damn beautiful and clear (blue is damn blue, green is damn green, brown is damn brown) and heading out to Grand Canyon while in Las Vegas, Yosemite really pales in comparision with its blobs of varying degrees of brown. Adding fuel to fire, Yosemite is at least 5 hours away, which meant we spent a whole 10 hours on the bus, which also meant a waste of time to me, although we caught both sunrise and sunset on the bus.More San Francisco adventures coming right up! Finally!!! Its OVER!!! NO MORE exams!!! Wooooooooohhhooo!!!But I'm not feeling as high as I thought I should. Don't mind me if I sound weird, I'm actually crying now and its not because I'm happy exams are over, its because I feel USELESS! I only want the best for the community and for everyone. I should never be a mediator again in future, huh? Or rather, I should NEVER EVEN TRY to be a mediator... I tried, I really tried. But it didn't work. 手心是肉, 手背也是肉 (the palm of the hand have flesh, the back of the hand also have flesh) I only want the best for the community!!! I tried, I really really damn fucking tried. But still... Sorry guys, I didn't try hard enough... I really feel damn lousy, damn freaking useless now. I can't even do anything constructive to help!!! And I still dare to say I love the community to death! But I didn't do anything to help, did I? I'm really really sorry...Maybe seeing A*Mei win the best female vocalist later will perk me up... The Devil And The Angel Fights Again... Fight, fight only... Only know how to fight!!!So, eh you the devil, stop asking me not to read through my notes lah. Listen to the angel on the other side of my shoulder!!! So what if you look like Man U's mascot huh? Must listen to you meh? 13 hours only!!! And that 13 hours includes sleeping time!!! Eh zai... Tahan... 13 more hours only... If can finish the paper earlier, hiak hiak hiak, muuuuuuuuuahahahahahahaha... Ganbatte ne!!! Angel, I think I need words of encouragement... Aiyah, both of you can fight it out lah, I feel like sleeping now...THE COUNTDOWN STARTS TO NO MORE EXAMS!!! (oops, sorry for the caps... too excited liaos...) Wooooooooooohhhhoooooooo!!!Yesh, naggy angel, must read notes first before sleeping... Rant... ARGH!!! I need to kaobei! I want to shout! I want to sleep! Me essay ish keeling me!!!Family planning in India, Thailand and China huh? China I know how to hantum, but the other 2 parts are ripping my brains apart!!! Although I have done 5 pages already, every sentence is punctuated with "(author page)"!!! I have no input on my own sia... I've been trying to find the policies on the governmental pages, but I can't find anything helpful!!! And it doesn't help that I can only understand damn simple and basic Thai like kop khun ka and although I have a half-Thai boyfriend, we can't read Thai! I've been to the English sites, but nothing...Then I still have to prepare for my exam. Thank goodness our lecturer gave us a list of questions that she'll choose from for the exam, BUT I have not touched on those yet!!! I want to go back to Oklahoma and/or the US, BUT not for on-campus residency lor... Cannot fail and pressure's building... My friend say textbook can find the answers, hopefully easy to find lor.AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!Rant done, back to the fucked up essay... China Travel Scam Or Not? I received this a few days ago as a comment posted on one of my entries. The reason I'm not approving this comment is because there is no "credible" source to it. Anyone else got this? How true is it? (Click for a bigger pic) The Thing About My Boyfriend IS... Sometimes I really feel like knocking him hard on the head for his irritating-ness. I guess most of you already know who he is...Anyway, here are some conversations that took place in the past week...1) We were talking about why some kinda girls only appeal to some kinda guys...Dear: Guys like that girlfriends to be presentable, so can bring out mah. Like trophy like that.Me: So I am trophy lah.Dear: Something like that lah. Me(Starting to get irritated already): Than I what kinda of looks, what kinda trophy?Dear: Erm, that kinda girl-next-door look lor.Me: I don't look like your neighbour mah.Dear: But the look is different one.Then he took one of my friends and say that her look is the "upper-class girl-next door" look and that she has a different kinda look compared to my "girl-next-door" look.Me: But I still don't get it leh.Dear: Got the village girl, 土乡, look.Me: So it's the country girl look lah?Dear: Something like that, very hard to describe lah....Say I look toot say so lah...2) I slept over at his place the other day. We met up at slightly past midnight, on the morning of 24th.Dear: Happy Birthday!I was so damn happy lah, because this guy sometimes damn goondu one. BUT when we went for lunch the next day...Dear: Today what date ah?Me: You asking me? How can you forget my birthday?Dear:i know today your birthday and it's on 24th, but just cannot connect....Somehow, Dear's brain is wired differently from us, the normal human beings... 3) I finished my paper and we were having lunch just now. He was telling me about his friends getting married and they got together around the same time as us.Me: Wah, they so fast get married ah?Dear: Ok lah, we together 3 years coming October right?I stared at him.Dear: Not 3 meh? 3 or 4?...dot dot dot...4) Today I felt we had kinda good telepathy. Over lunch just now, we were talking about the kopitiam stored-value card and the discounts for each different kinda card. He said something while I was having food in my mouth. So I twisted my index finger and middle back and forth.Dear: Yah lah, reverse one.Me: Wah, you know what I mean ah?Dear: Yah lah, I clever one.Me: Your 10-years-series throw away liao ah? In this case should say, of course, I understand you mah.Dear: 把到了(Get already), 10-years-series still keep for what?...Pure irritating-ness... THE Experience In Vegas! Kinda sad that we are leaving soon, and it is also a very slack morning/ afternoon for us, while the real fun kicks in at night!And so, we got up real late, ate the remaining donuts for brunch and while my parents and sis went to Ross to buy another luggage, I stayed in the hotel to book day tour tickets for our next leg of the trip. We bought another luggage because it's cheaper to pay for additional piece of baggage than have an overweight baggage and we did toooooooooooo much shopping that even though there is space in our luaggage, the weight limitations means we have to get another luggage.So, maybe you thought last day no shopping. You thought wrongly lor. We spent the afternoon at Fashion Show Mall before moving to Fremont Street for the Fremont Street Experience.The first show will start roughly about 8.30pm or when the sun fully sets, goes on for about 15 minutes, returns again at 9pm and at hourly intervals and the last show of the night will be at midnight.We got to and from Fremont Street by riding on The Deuce again and from the top deck of the bus, looking down on the lights of the Strip, BEAUTIFUL lor!!! Again, no photo evidence because lost in transmission, argh!Back to the hotel, we packed and packed. Trying to make sure each luggage will not exceed 50 pounds. But before I pack, of course must take photo first lah...- Right at the top, 2 Aeropostale shorts and a black underwear.- Footwear (on the right, from top to bottom): black Anne Klein wedges, black Marc Jacobs flip flops, 2 Timberland flip flops, brown and black, DKNY casual wear and white BCBG wedges- 3 Calvin Klein bottoms on the left.- In the middle (from top to bottom): baby blue CK top, grey BCBG top, grey DKNYJeans top, Banana Republic spaghetti strap, black AX top, no brand dress from Ross, DVD on Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton (its very special to me because my favourite designer is a Creative Director for my favourite brand), Marc Jacobs Daisy solid perfume and (ultimate splurge) Marc by Marc Jacobs Groovee in Black from 2008 spring collection.San Francisco adventures coming right up! On The 4th Day In Las Vegas After 2 whole days of shopping madness, its time to relax... Although I do seriously think I can go on physically, so guess where we went...Final day in Vegas coming right up! Krispy Kreme Was Disappointing... As I was saying, I was looking forward to Vegas because of the shopping. And guess where we went the next day...But when my mum saw this, I kena niam, "We have in the fridge right? How come you buy again? One whole box in the fridge haven't finish and you buy again..."Besides staying in a good location justifying the lok kok kok-ness of the place, there is another point to justify the lok kok kok ness... On the ground floor of the hotel, there is Krispy Kreme. And so, on the very first night, we had already bought a dozen (argh, photo lost in transmission) and had tried them for breakfast the morning before going to Outlet Center.Verdict: KK TOO DAMN FREAKING SWEET lor... The dough had the donut "oomph" and since KK is the "bread-y" kinda of donut, seriously, it is not soft enough. When I took the dough with icing/filling together, I can't taste the dough anymore and I felt like rubbing bittergourd all over my mouth to neutralise the sweetness that was making me cringe. Before I went on the US trip, I had tried J Co a couple of times since it's in Singapore already, and J Co scores landslide win over KK lor. J Co, also the "bread-y" type, after refridgerating, is still SO DAMN FREAKING BLARDI SOFT! The dough has the "oomph", the icing/filling does not overpower the dough and it not too sweet too. Honestly, once you tried J Co, you can forget about KK liao. KK really let me down. As a DD fan, to be fair, the "bread-y" ones (glazed, jelly, etc) win "ommph" over KK and J Co, but in terms of softness, it loses to J Co since it is very close to KK. But the "cake-y" ones, DD is KING! "Oomph" to the max, soft and melts in the mouth!!! Now, can someone airfreight me 50 chocolate munchkins?Sorry ah, digress too far... So, anyway, we took The Deuce, a bus that travels up and down the Strip to the Outlet Center and back. You can never miss your stop unless you have fallen dead asleep or there is some technical fault, because the bus driver annouces the street name or the location of the stops or plays a traped recording.Seriously, Vegas is the only city that I see crowd (i.e LOTS of people) walking on the street at 10pm...After 2 whole days of shopping, do you think we took a break? *Evil laughter...* Hehehehehe...4th day of Vegas coming right up! Enough Is Enough So what if the blog post has been reported on the papers? So what if the guy has come forward with his side of the story? To me, the whole matter has been blown out of proportion. I also seen several blogs paparazzi-ing the happenings. Is that at all necessary?Yes, our blogs are not private and are public but we post what we want to post, even our darkest secrets. If you do not have constructive comments, then keep your hands off the keyboard. Who are you to scold and say or-bi-good? Who are you to make judgements or analysis of the case?At times, our judgements may not be that good and people do make mistakes. If so, let the parties concerned solve the problem themselves. What has happened has happened, as outsiders, no point scolding or trying to pin-point blame also right? Enough is enough. Let them have their peace...