Heys. The pics frm my US Trip are up.
Go check it out at my Facebook.
New York Part I
New York Part II
New York Part III
California Part I: San Francisco
California Part II: San Francisco and Porterville
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
US Trip (Summary)
Okay. So I'm getting a little lazy. It'll take too long to do a day by day summary of my trip. And my pictures are taking a little longer to upload cuz I lost my handphone cable. Shucks...
But being in the USA was a real eye opener. Especially cuz I got to see quite a few aspects of the States. The busy New York streets, a slightly more laid back San Fran and the small town Porterville, CA.
I liked New York. It was the most like S'pore in the terms of the crowds, the way that everyone is too busy to notice a bride and groom taking the subway after their wedding (this shall be explained when my pics are uploaded) and the way that the city never sleeps. But as one of my sister's friend pointed out, that is just Manhattan. The other parts of the city like Harlem and Brooklyn are actually quite different places. And as we drove over the Williamsburg bridge into Brooklyn, I totally understood. Graffiti on the walls, dilapidated buildings, just reminders that the city is not just split by the waterways that run through the city, but also by the income disparity that marks its own boundaries.
My sister's wedding was a really sweet affair. Attended by just close friends and family (in a pub no less), it was intimate not overboard like many large scale invite-everyone-that-we-have-ever-met-in-our-lifetime weddings. Totally unrehearsed and rather informal. My step dad had the honour of walking my sis down the aisle to her waiting fiance, again another impromptu addition to the wedding programme. The open bar helped to liven up the reception and the food was fantastic.
The morning after the wedding, we had to pack up and get to the airport by 6am to catch our flight to San Fran. In San Francisco, yet another reminder that the US is a rich country. But behind the statistics, the high economic output of the country, is the reality that while the rich are RICH (read as stinking-bloody rich), the poor are also very poor. On the bus back to the apartment we were staying at in San Fran, I saw a cluster of, not one but many, homeless people taking refuge in the back alley behind the Asian Museum of Art just opposite City Hall. Bear in mind that this is in the evening and temperatures are beginning to fall. Even with a coat on, you could feel the difference in the air and the wind made it worse. These people have threadbare coats and newspapers to keep them warm while everyone else has comforters and heaters.
I'm not being idealistic and saying that the government has to come in and clothe all of them, give them nice houses and feed them. But it is quite remarkable that in the Land of Plenty, these people have been left behind. Makes you wonder what their stories are. Do they have families? Did they once have everything that we have? And more importantly, how did they end up sleeping on the streets? Problems should be solved at the root and the root cause is thus the key. Most of all, I think these people do not have means to generate stable incomes which is what prevents them from buying houses and basic utilities. This is no fault of anyone except market forces.
[Sidetrack]
Unfortunately, in creating and maintaining a growing economy, there are consequences that cannot always be avoided. For instance, in imposing a minimum wage, the artificially set wage levels create a difference in labour demanded and labour supplied. So instead of reaching equilibrium, there is a shortfall in the labour demanded. But enough of that. My views on American society can wait for another time.
[/Sidetrack]
The sights in San Fran was really something else. It is a much more laid back city compared to New York so you didn't really feel the need to rush anyway. We went to see Lombard St, i.e. the crookedest street in the world, The Golden Gate bridge, the USS Pampanito which is one of the few seaworthy submarines left from WWII and Alcatraz island. Basically all the touristy stuff.
After we dropped my aunt off in Belmont for her weekend meetings with her company bosses there, we took the 5 hr drive down to my bro-in-law's (Adan) hometown of Porterville, which is abt 200mi south of San Fran. It's not exactly a small town like that you would see in "Population 436" (awful movie by the way), but it is much smaller than the town giant cities we were in before that. The town's only cinema is pretty much all the entertainment that you're gonna get. The main thing that got to me was the amount of open land that they have. Even when I was in Lembang in Indonesia, you didn't see open spaces like this. In Malaysia and Indonesia, most of the land is hilly so you don't see the full expanse of the land. But in California, the land is flat and goes on and on. You have not see the horizon until you see it in CA. There are some hills and a lake that we visited in Porterville but still the horizon was more than a distant line separating land and sky. It was where land disappeared.
After a Saturday BBQ at Adan's parents place and a Sunday visit to the lake and river in Sequoia National Park, we made the 200 mile journey back to San Fran to catch our plane back to Taipei and eventually back to S'pore.
So ended my American adventure. But in about a month's time, I'll be off again to London. So there'll be more posts to come. Stay Tuned....
But being in the USA was a real eye opener. Especially cuz I got to see quite a few aspects of the States. The busy New York streets, a slightly more laid back San Fran and the small town Porterville, CA.
I liked New York. It was the most like S'pore in the terms of the crowds, the way that everyone is too busy to notice a bride and groom taking the subway after their wedding (this shall be explained when my pics are uploaded) and the way that the city never sleeps. But as one of my sister's friend pointed out, that is just Manhattan. The other parts of the city like Harlem and Brooklyn are actually quite different places. And as we drove over the Williamsburg bridge into Brooklyn, I totally understood. Graffiti on the walls, dilapidated buildings, just reminders that the city is not just split by the waterways that run through the city, but also by the income disparity that marks its own boundaries.
My sister's wedding was a really sweet affair. Attended by just close friends and family (in a pub no less), it was intimate not overboard like many large scale invite-everyone-that-we-have-ever-met-in-our-lifetime weddings. Totally unrehearsed and rather informal. My step dad had the honour of walking my sis down the aisle to her waiting fiance, again another impromptu addition to the wedding programme. The open bar helped to liven up the reception and the food was fantastic.
The morning after the wedding, we had to pack up and get to the airport by 6am to catch our flight to San Fran. In San Francisco, yet another reminder that the US is a rich country. But behind the statistics, the high economic output of the country, is the reality that while the rich are RICH (read as stinking-bloody rich), the poor are also very poor. On the bus back to the apartment we were staying at in San Fran, I saw a cluster of, not one but many, homeless people taking refuge in the back alley behind the Asian Museum of Art just opposite City Hall. Bear in mind that this is in the evening and temperatures are beginning to fall. Even with a coat on, you could feel the difference in the air and the wind made it worse. These people have threadbare coats and newspapers to keep them warm while everyone else has comforters and heaters.
I'm not being idealistic and saying that the government has to come in and clothe all of them, give them nice houses and feed them. But it is quite remarkable that in the Land of Plenty, these people have been left behind. Makes you wonder what their stories are. Do they have families? Did they once have everything that we have? And more importantly, how did they end up sleeping on the streets? Problems should be solved at the root and the root cause is thus the key. Most of all, I think these people do not have means to generate stable incomes which is what prevents them from buying houses and basic utilities. This is no fault of anyone except market forces.
[Sidetrack]
Unfortunately, in creating and maintaining a growing economy, there are consequences that cannot always be avoided. For instance, in imposing a minimum wage, the artificially set wage levels create a difference in labour demanded and labour supplied. So instead of reaching equilibrium, there is a shortfall in the labour demanded. But enough of that. My views on American society can wait for another time.
[/Sidetrack]
The sights in San Fran was really something else. It is a much more laid back city compared to New York so you didn't really feel the need to rush anyway. We went to see Lombard St, i.e. the crookedest street in the world, The Golden Gate bridge, the USS Pampanito which is one of the few seaworthy submarines left from WWII and Alcatraz island. Basically all the touristy stuff.
After we dropped my aunt off in Belmont for her weekend meetings with her company bosses there, we took the 5 hr drive down to my bro-in-law's (Adan) hometown of Porterville, which is abt 200mi south of San Fran. It's not exactly a small town like that you would see in "Population 436" (awful movie by the way), but it is much smaller than the town giant cities we were in before that. The town's only cinema is pretty much all the entertainment that you're gonna get. The main thing that got to me was the amount of open land that they have. Even when I was in Lembang in Indonesia, you didn't see open spaces like this. In Malaysia and Indonesia, most of the land is hilly so you don't see the full expanse of the land. But in California, the land is flat and goes on and on. You have not see the horizon until you see it in CA. There are some hills and a lake that we visited in Porterville but still the horizon was more than a distant line separating land and sky. It was where land disappeared.
After a Saturday BBQ at Adan's parents place and a Sunday visit to the lake and river in Sequoia National Park, we made the 200 mile journey back to San Fran to catch our plane back to Taipei and eventually back to S'pore.
So ended my American adventure. But in about a month's time, I'll be off again to London. So there'll be more posts to come. Stay Tuned....
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Of Tiger, Dragons & Green Ladies
Over the past three days, I have been the ultimate tourist. Camera out, head upwards n getting lost on the subway. Excellent. Honestly, that's how you tell the difference between a local and a tourist. The tourist will always have their heads in the sky looking at everything above them. A local couldn't give a fuck.
Day 1: Monday 21/04/2008
Went to see the Statue of Liberty today. Yeah. The ol' green biatch. Kinda pissing off really. Not the statue, getting to see her. When we got out at South Ferry station, we saw the queue. So we queued. And found out that was the queue to get into the place with the ticket booth. Where you had to queue some more to get tickets for the ferry to Liberty Island. While my mom waited in line, me n my aunt went into the giftshop to pass time. Thankfully the guy at the counter had a few tickets behind his store counter that he sold to people that came into his giftshop. So we bought the tickets from there and "jumped the queue" effectively.
Feeling proud of ourselves, we then proceeded to let our jaws drop vertically down the the floor as we saw the queue to get into the ferry. To cut things short, we took at least 2 hrs to get onto the ferry.
But once we got to Liberty Island, she was a sight. Did you know that the statue actually is tip-toeing? Well she is. I got a photo of her from behind. I'll be uploading it once I get back home cuz I don't have my cable here to connect my phone to the laptop.
We were done at Liberty Island by 3 so we went home to rest before heading out to Times Sq at night to see all the lights n stuff. It's a pretty cool place. The sounds, the billboards, the shops, etc. Saw the TRL studios.
Quite interestingly, there is an Army recruitment centre in the middle of Times Sq. I guess so that in case while shopping you have the sudden urge to sign up n fight a war in a far off Arab country. Hrmmm.....
Day 2: Tuesday 22/04/2006
We went to Grand Central Station today. It is a really GRAND building. The architechture is absolutely stunning. The ceiling is a stellar map with all the constellations drawn out n connected. Then there are the cornices on top of the columns.
Then there is the external facade... wow! No, I'm talking WOW!! I loved the centrepiece on the roof. If you thought the carvings on the top of Singapore's Supreme Court was cool, you have not seen anything till you've seen this. It is at least 3 times the size of the sculture on top of Supreme Court. It looks just as massive even though I'm standing so far away... Incredible.
We took the subway down towards Wall St. Sidetracked a bit and stepped into Trinity Church. Another beautiful building. The archways and the towers. It's like you've stepped back in time. From the noisy busy streets to the peace n quiet of the church. What a place to worship in...
Went past the NYSE and went to check out the bull. There is this really big bull statue that sits in the middle of a fork in the road. Haha. It has pretty big balls on the back. I have a picture with it. heh heh. Of me kickin it in the nuts. Woohoo!!
I'll type more when I am less tired. I am really burnt out right now with all the walking n shopping n sightseeing that we've been doing.
See ya...
Day 1: Monday 21/04/2008
Went to see the Statue of Liberty today. Yeah. The ol' green biatch. Kinda pissing off really. Not the statue, getting to see her. When we got out at South Ferry station, we saw the queue. So we queued. And found out that was the queue to get into the place with the ticket booth. Where you had to queue some more to get tickets for the ferry to Liberty Island. While my mom waited in line, me n my aunt went into the giftshop to pass time. Thankfully the guy at the counter had a few tickets behind his store counter that he sold to people that came into his giftshop. So we bought the tickets from there and "jumped the queue" effectively.
Feeling proud of ourselves, we then proceeded to let our jaws drop vertically down the the floor as we saw the queue to get into the ferry. To cut things short, we took at least 2 hrs to get onto the ferry.
But once we got to Liberty Island, she was a sight. Did you know that the statue actually is tip-toeing? Well she is. I got a photo of her from behind. I'll be uploading it once I get back home cuz I don't have my cable here to connect my phone to the laptop.
We were done at Liberty Island by 3 so we went home to rest before heading out to Times Sq at night to see all the lights n stuff. It's a pretty cool place. The sounds, the billboards, the shops, etc. Saw the TRL studios.
Quite interestingly, there is an Army recruitment centre in the middle of Times Sq. I guess so that in case while shopping you have the sudden urge to sign up n fight a war in a far off Arab country. Hrmmm.....
Day 2: Tuesday 22/04/2006
We went to Grand Central Station today. It is a really GRAND building. The architechture is absolutely stunning. The ceiling is a stellar map with all the constellations drawn out n connected. Then there are the cornices on top of the columns.
Then there is the external facade... wow! No, I'm talking WOW!! I loved the centrepiece on the roof. If you thought the carvings on the top of Singapore's Supreme Court was cool, you have not seen anything till you've seen this. It is at least 3 times the size of the sculture on top of Supreme Court. It looks just as massive even though I'm standing so far away... Incredible.
We took the subway down towards Wall St. Sidetracked a bit and stepped into Trinity Church. Another beautiful building. The archways and the towers. It's like you've stepped back in time. From the noisy busy streets to the peace n quiet of the church. What a place to worship in...
Went past the NYSE and went to check out the bull. There is this really big bull statue that sits in the middle of a fork in the road. Haha. It has pretty big balls on the back. I have a picture with it. heh heh. Of me kickin it in the nuts. Woohoo!!
I'll type more when I am less tired. I am really burnt out right now with all the walking n shopping n sightseeing that we've been doing.
See ya...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Big City Dreams
Okay. After the long suffering on the flight to get here, I'm finally sitting comfortably in the apartment that my sister is renting for all of us to stay in while we are here in the big city.
The 24 hrs spent sitting in planes and waiting in transit to get here was quite an ordeal. Couldn't imagine that sitting down was actually that much hard work. Not to mention that on the 11 hr flight frm Taipei to San Francisco, there was this really sour-looking lady sitting in the aisle seat of the row that my Aunt n I were in. It was really rather frightening to wake her up when we wanted to go to the loo n stretch our legs. She looked like she was ready to bite our heads off at any sec and I really didn't want to arrive in a body bag.
Quite interesting to observe the different type of people that you see walking through the various airports around the world. Already to get here, I had to sit for at least an hour in four different airports. So people-watching was a fantastic way of passing the time as we were waiting for our connecting flights.
There was one man in particular that really stood out. Well, if you see a man that personifies the movie slasher stereotype, you tend to remember them pretty vividly. Especially when he decides to stand directly under one of the airport lights which casts a shadow over his hooded face. OMFG! Spine chilling stuff.
Anyway. The drive into town from the airport was a pretty fast one and we managed to get into the apartment really quickly n get all our stuff into the rooms. Having my feet up after the long journey is really nice.
I'll post more once I have something to post abt. Meanwhile, we're gonna be heading out soon to try n keep ourselves awake and repel the effects of the jet lag.
Smell ya ltr..
The 24 hrs spent sitting in planes and waiting in transit to get here was quite an ordeal. Couldn't imagine that sitting down was actually that much hard work. Not to mention that on the 11 hr flight frm Taipei to San Francisco, there was this really sour-looking lady sitting in the aisle seat of the row that my Aunt n I were in. It was really rather frightening to wake her up when we wanted to go to the loo n stretch our legs. She looked like she was ready to bite our heads off at any sec and I really didn't want to arrive in a body bag.
Quite interesting to observe the different type of people that you see walking through the various airports around the world. Already to get here, I had to sit for at least an hour in four different airports. So people-watching was a fantastic way of passing the time as we were waiting for our connecting flights.
There was one man in particular that really stood out. Well, if you see a man that personifies the movie slasher stereotype, you tend to remember them pretty vividly. Especially when he decides to stand directly under one of the airport lights which casts a shadow over his hooded face. OMFG! Spine chilling stuff.
Anyway. The drive into town from the airport was a pretty fast one and we managed to get into the apartment really quickly n get all our stuff into the rooms. Having my feet up after the long journey is really nice.
I'll post more once I have something to post abt. Meanwhile, we're gonna be heading out soon to try n keep ourselves awake and repel the effects of the jet lag.
Smell ya ltr..
Monday, March 03, 2008
Another Bong Bites the Dust
Had a good day at the track yesterday. It was a rather humbling experience. Was trying to clear a double on my 2nd lap out on the track and I didn't get enough speed. Ended up in an endo and a sprained wrist for my efforts. But it was really fun. Had a good time in the whoops and the tabletop after that. Managed to get some air there after getting my confidence after the crash. I still haven't had enough practise in the jumps so I have some area of improvement that I wanna highlight when we go back again.
For now, my hand is still kinda swollen and sore. Hopefully that'll be alright by the coming weekend. Bandung here I come!
For now, my hand is still kinda swollen and sore. Hopefully that'll be alright by the coming weekend. Bandung here I come!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
BROKE ( my wallet not my heart )
Well. I'm finally a free man again. No more obligations to an organisation (that will not be mentioned) that treats its "temp staff" like crap and pays them crap.
But 470 a month is better than what I'm currently getting. 0. Nada. Zero. Kosong. Ling. I really have to go out and get a job. Just lemme relax for a while and enjoy freedom for a while. I'm honestly grateful for Chinese New Year. Angbao money will be able to hold me for a while before I can really file for bankrupcy.
I wanna start racing this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a good ride and start entering the Tuas races some time soon. I don't know where I stand among the S'pore riders but I feel confident in being able to hold my own against them. Plus being in my rookie year, the curve will be rather steep. So we'll see how things go in March.
But 470 a month is better than what I'm currently getting. 0. Nada. Zero. Kosong. Ling. I really have to go out and get a job. Just lemme relax for a while and enjoy freedom for a while. I'm honestly grateful for Chinese New Year. Angbao money will be able to hold me for a while before I can really file for bankrupcy.
I wanna start racing this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a good ride and start entering the Tuas races some time soon. I don't know where I stand among the S'pore riders but I feel confident in being able to hold my own against them. Plus being in my rookie year, the curve will be rather steep. So we'll see how things go in March.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Time to Say Goodbye
I've finally gotten my ORD counter down to single digits. Sorry that I've been harping about this for the past two years, but yes, it really is that depressing having to see camo green everyday.
But ORD is no where near slack for me. I've still got lotsa stuff to clear up before I can go. My clearance, the Sqn heritage board, the CPT Ted valentine's day bear thing. Sigh, they're really making full use of me before I go.
Anyway. Out with the past and in with the future. Chinese New Year is seriously the beginning of something new. Life after NS. I've yet to find any form of employment to keep me financially independent till uni starts in Aug. That's kinda worrying. I don't want to have to go through each day without being able to enjoy myself.
March also bring the end of my probationary period. So my class 2A is yet another expense I have to put on an already long list. My class 3 license is another one of those expenses. My mom says that she wants to cover that for me. So that's gonna be one load off my back. April and May are going to be pretty exciting months. Trips to New York and London. As well as trying to get back into the study mood for August enrollment.
I've decided to sell my XL2. It's a pity really. Really have an emotional attachment to that bike. But I'm willing to bet that it'll fetch a good price on the market. Time to upgrade to a bigger bike. My XL has served me well in TM and will be given a fitting farewell at the Ah Guang 2D1N but I have to get a bigger bike to further my skills. I've been stagnating for too long already. I wanna get out there on the track and make a name for myself.
But ORD is no where near slack for me. I've still got lotsa stuff to clear up before I can go. My clearance, the Sqn heritage board, the CPT Ted valentine's day bear thing. Sigh, they're really making full use of me before I go.
Anyway. Out with the past and in with the future. Chinese New Year is seriously the beginning of something new. Life after NS. I've yet to find any form of employment to keep me financially independent till uni starts in Aug. That's kinda worrying. I don't want to have to go through each day without being able to enjoy myself.
March also bring the end of my probationary period. So my class 2A is yet another expense I have to put on an already long list. My class 3 license is another one of those expenses. My mom says that she wants to cover that for me. So that's gonna be one load off my back. April and May are going to be pretty exciting months. Trips to New York and London. As well as trying to get back into the study mood for August enrollment.
I've decided to sell my XL2. It's a pity really. Really have an emotional attachment to that bike. But I'm willing to bet that it'll fetch a good price on the market. Time to upgrade to a bigger bike. My XL has served me well in TM and will be given a fitting farewell at the Ah Guang 2D1N but I have to get a bigger bike to further my skills. I've been stagnating for too long already. I wanna get out there on the track and make a name for myself.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Irritants.
Yet another gut busting top ten list from the master Jason Rohrblogger. All hail!!
http://toptenlog.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-ten-most-annoying-songs-ever.html#links
http://toptenlog.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-ten-most-annoying-songs-ever.html#links
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
The NS Song
Bro_isk showed me a damn funny clip on his handphone that day. Thought that I'd show with you all...
ORD OH!
ORD OH!
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