Avatar in Hollywood

Went down to Hollywood today. Finally a real town town area. Did a real bit of shopping n of cos the highlight of e day was watching avatar at the posh arclight cinema. Goodness e cinemas was so grand. N the popcorn was real yummy topped w warm butter. But yeah it was all pretty ex. $15 for tix $5 for popcorn.

Afterwhich we visited a rock concept pub that serve awesome Thai food!

Finally the day ended w a close shave w danger. Quite funny snippet actually. My friend n I went down our motel to buy a drink n this dude just came right up to us asking for some money. Fortunately e owner was still around, n we diverted the guy to e owner n sieze e chance to escape.

Starting to miss my friends back home. N growing a lil apprehensive about school n also my module on sexuality. Will I be able to handle it? Learnt that it challenges my faith greatly. N somehow it hurts to hear of ppl fully convinced by the thoughts learnt in sociology n brushing God aside. Will I waver too? N I really think not taking a stand is just negative moral relativism.


- Posted from my iPhone

Venice Beach

Went down to santa monica and had a uberlicious yummy lunch before heading down to Venice Beach to soak in the awesome seaview and sunset!! oh my... i would never have expected the sunset to match up with the ones in NZ but praise God it did! Really thankful for God's lil present for me this evening! I was feeling pretty nostalgic about NZ during these few days. And praise God too for answering prayers. I really feel the company getting closer now. :)

And i have a really lousy poker hand. OH GOSH. i got bankrupt at poker!! :(( and damn... the forfeit is gonna be sooo bad.

Downtown

Went around downtown LA today. pretty boring really. but its also quite cool how dif areas give a dif feel n is populated by the respective ethnic groups like lil tokyo and this spanish place el puebo (spelling error detected)anyway it's a day of walking hell lot. man i miss the roadtrip. i miss the car. i miss the breakfasts. i woke up to hello panda in the wee morning and walked till quite a distant b4 hvin a decent brunch n again a great distant b4 a yummy lunch at this famous eatery established since 1924.

the portion for everything is seriously HUGE.

Day 1 in US

long long journey on the plane. entire day just spent on flying till i'm dying. n since LA is behind Singapore in time, it's like living the same hours twice. extra fatigue and exhaustion. will land at about 3am but it'll still just be mid day in LA.

now i run out of movies to watch n things to entertain myself but to pen my thoughts now for posting when there's wifi later. arghh. played poker n big 2 on the flight system but it's almost like u're pre-prog to lose.

addicted to the casino shuffle. my eyes lit up when my fren said he brought along a deck of cards haha.

and i miss my really long hair... the stupid hair stylist cut it too short... n he still got the cheek to laugh at his "master piece" :(

bye bye singapore hello US

last night in singapore. bye bye sunny island for the next 5 months! :)

and my luggage is bloody heavy. hate killer luggages. this is can not!! but i'm too lazy to repack.

Counting down to US

Back from cell retreat. It was real hectic having to go for retreat right after the night i touched down from Auckland. And retreat was fine and alright. Now counting down to US. Goodness it still feels very far away and unreal. And the task of packing the luggage seems like an uphill task. And surviving overseas alone for the next couple of months seems pretty daunting as well though I'm also feeling a lil exhilarated at the prospect of it.

Missing Auckland still and missing the roadtrip and the peeps...

Day 5 and 6

time really really flies and here i am in the apartment studio with just marilyn alone as the rest departed for their homes. sigh~~

our wonderful lovely escapade in NZ has come to an end this morning.

Day 4 was totally spent relaxing in our penthouse by the sea in Coromandel. Went grocery shopping, went jacuzzi, cooked our own dinner and just laze at the balcony sipping white wine n nimbling on gourmet cheese while enjoying the sunset. Life is good.

Day 5 was pretty intense and exhilarating as we set off from our 'home' in the morning to take a glass-bottom boat ride out into the sea to visit the cathedral cove at Whitianga in Coromandel and to snorkel. But snorkling was such a bad bad idea. The water was sooooooo freezing cold. It was a horrendous nightmare jumping in. But oh well it was still pure fun. But the freeze and the chopping sea afterwards made me a lil oozy with my unsettled breakfast (thanks to the friend who suggest I finish up the bottle of wine after my milk and cereal as it's a pity to dump the leftover). Nontheless, I survived the mini ordeal and it was pure fun. And we then grab a light lunch and went off to visit the Hot Water Beach. It was soooo packed with people. And it's really an amusing sight seeing everyone with spades digging into the beach sand for hot water. And natural sauna was really awesome.

Next was the really intense drive back to Auckland. Due to some mis navigation and a wrong turn by our friend the second driver, we found ourselves going in a circle and back to the area where we had stayed. But really thankfully, another friend in the group was really cool and capable. He took over the wheel, managed to beat the sunset at the winding roads and completed the drive back to Auckland under 3 hours (the journey should have been more than 3 hours). Quite crazy at the start no doubt as he really just sped all the way through the winding cliff roads. So we reached, checked in, rested briefly and had our dinner at some late night chinese joints before our usual nightly talk cock and late sleep.

Day 6
Last brunch together was really in the words of my friend, like the way we were when we first met. Our first lunch was spent in silence. This time too. But for different reason. What was initially unfamiliarity and awkwardness has really miraculously changed into nostalgia and sadness at the thought of seperation.

And finally the roadtrip gang parted after brunch as our friends left for the airport to Sydney and Christchurch, while marilyn and I have our last day and night in Auckland today.

Sigh~~~~ I really feel soooo grateful for this awesome roadtrip. Indeed God is really such an awesome God. I wouldnt be able to have such an enjoyable time without these new friends. Really God worked in wonderous ways! Praise God for these friends, for the car, and for the steady drivers.

And I truly miss you guys~~ And tonight there's no one to talk cock to anymore or to play cards with. Yes my gambling skills had increased exponentially thanks to the tutorial by my new friend.

Day 4

Following our dining in e car feat while watching sunset last evening, we had breakfast in the car as we drove to coromandel for a day of lazing.

Really heart this roadtrip but it's already the second last day. I think I'll be really sad n miss these new frenz when I return.


- Posted from my iPhone

Day 3

Adventure begins w a lil stroll/hike in the reserve of wai o taupu. Lots of natural geysers, hot spring etc. Witness the eruption of geyser Lady Knox too. The entire town is just amazing. As a volcanic region, u can see lots of geyser at the most random spots. Mountainside, random parks off the street, n even beside the drain of our hotel.

Next up was The Squeeze. An adventure combo that saw us hiking knee deep in water, between boulder cracks into the geothermal hotspring waterfall hidden deep into the nature reserve. Followed by the adrenaline (not too exciting) pumping jetboat ride through the lake.

N now I'm standing right in front of lake taupo. Soaking in the view of this huge lake. Made up of over 46 lakes. Area as big as Singapore.



N now for this


Take off!!

Finally now driving over to Huka falls b4 dinner :)

Lovely lovely day 3 of roadtrip.
- Posted from my iPhone

Day 2

Yesterday was totally spontaneous. Went down to Rotarua and did horse riding up the hills n valleys along the way there. Love my handsome horse! His name was Red n he was totally gorgeous. Nice copper brown tone. I'm really so in love w horse riding that I feel like taking it up as a sport!!

After which, the entire day was spent vegetating by the poolside, meals in town n the impromptu frisbee in e park till night falls. Really hilarious. What intended to b a visit to the lake for sunset turned into a session of extreme sports in the shower of rain. The beautiful view of sunset over lake was totally neglected as attention shift to the flying saucer till it grew so dark we can no longer see each other n ourselves.

Heading off to wai o taopu now for volcano n hotspring. Wee~~ n music in e car is awesome too! Loveless by yamapi. :)








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Day 1 roadtrip

Concussed last night right after gg to bed. Went the area of mata mata to view the farm area where LOTR is filmed n the glow worm cave in Waitomo. In a nutshell a day of madness fun n fatigue.

The travel mates are a real crazy bunch to be with. Went up the summit of Waitomo reserve w the guys n took real awesome photos of the field of daisies!! While the gurls who didn't get our text n thus fail to join us went off for some grass rolling else where. Lol, this is how spontaneous n crazy we are! Yay lovin' it!!

- Posted from my iPhone

Road trip start!!

Setting off!! Madness cramping of luggage into car booth


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Pre-road trip

Checked out of our hostel n set off for Auckland museum for some Maori culture in the early noon. Was joined in by our fellow road trip peeps n just hung out for lunch n sunset watching at mt eden.

The apartment today was real lovely. Heaven if the hostel was hell! There's our own living room n bedrooms n kitchen! A full apartment! :))

N I'm glad the new frenz are all nice ppl! N they even cooked dinner n we also caught fireworks from our balcony! Wat a lovely start! :D


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ちくしょう

Escape the crampy room into the lounge n here we meet the xiao ang mohs. Strumming the guitar n hitting the piano. Not too bad the pianist's singing n playing n guitarist hmm...

N the partying n racketing continues versus the asian losers who retreated to their room. Lol.

にせん円のりょこうどうして楽しくなぁい？いろいろな物から、気持ちあまり悪くなりました。畜生。お金がたくさん払って。。なんだよ。。

- Posted from my iPhone

심심해

Day of boredom in Auckland. Had an awesome breakfast in e garden of an Italian cafe. Then it was the intensive rotting at the hostel while waiting for Marilyn to settle her modules n phone interview.

Excruciating boredom. Then it was the shopping in e city which suck cos everywhere closed at 5pm n we weren't in time for any attraction. N the clothes were too big too ex or too over rated for it's prize. Rarr~~ n it's back to crampy lil hostel room. Arghhh.



- Posted from my iPhone

Late night ramblings

Stuck in my cramp hostel room. With just a brief chat w an ang moh girl backpacker as I went to brush my teeth. Having nothing to do as I wait for Marilyn to finish up her interview preparation b4 we can hopefully discuss abit of Mongolia. Hmm...

Checked out the travel brochures as I was loitering around waiting to brush my teeth. NZ is seriously such an exciting place. But y is everything so ex?? N it also suck that many thgs here are e same as in australia.

Apprehensive about the coming travel mates now. Hmm... All are old birds living in Aussie for years. Surely, all aren't new to em. But they r to frog in e well me. How?? :((

Wanna go surfing but it's 100++ bucks. Seems impossible that anyone would agree. :(( kayaking is ex too. Wanna go see dolphins n whales but mare isn't keen. All too similar to Aussie it seems. How?? N the only thing Marilyn wants is bungee. Oh gosh. N I'm hesistant n reluctant.

I wanna surf surf! Boohoo so ex~~ next trip? Y y y must my friend go off for japan now? Boohoo if not trekking w him will be so fun!!

- Posted from my iPhone

auckland- waiheke

Off the island of waiheke. Just day 2 n I'm sunburnt frm a day of island life. We had a real awesome house with the sea just in front of us. So it was a day of wine tasting at the vineyard, lil shopping at the town, n dining at alfresco at our lil porch outside the house n sipping rose by the beach. Oh gosh I've totally fallen in love w e way of life in waiheke!! Heart this place.

N all was good except my messed up body clock which can't stomach the time difference n causing me to wake up almost at every hour. Rarr!! Oh but good thg was since Marilyn n I are both up at 4.30am this morning we were in time to watch the sunrise at the beach at 5 am. Pity, we realised later that the view is blocked by this cliff. Arghh.

N now it's back to the city. Back to Auckland! And now I'm extra extra burnt. oh gosh... ouch~~~didnt visit much places today cos of the unexpected time taken to travel to our new hostel back in auckland. we went around the housing estates hunting high and low for it with our backpacks. left waiheke at abt 12 almost 1 pm, had lunch at a ramen shop after we reached auckland and began our torturous hunt at the city for the bus stop and the excruciating walk around the housing estates before finally checking in at 4pm. boohoo. but after which was a cool chill out around the neighbourhood and up Mount Eden. and the climb was absolutely worth it!! awesome sunset view at the summit! Lots of couples, families and friends around as well.
:DDD

Lots of post card perfect photos taken!! Up on facebook when I'm back :D

bye bye singapore hello Auckland!

so it was the awesome God-filled saturday (man the youth service rocks!! glad i went despite the fact that i should be mugging for JLPT), and then it was bye bye JLPT on sunday!!

And finally tmr morning it shall be bye bye Singapore and HELLLO AUCKLAND!! woohoo~~ Wheee~~~ this shall be my first true blue backpacking and roadtrip experience!! like literally travelling with a backpack! no cheating. n suddenly it felt like back to the days of scouting... of packing clothes into ziplock and sucking the air out. LOL

kk all excited except that lil regret that i wont be able to meet my friend but oh well...

anyway yupz! see you guys soon when i return! 18th Dec :))

Mr Stud and the New Moon

busy busy days when i should be mugging intensely for JLPT but really somehow I really just have half the heart of just passing it... I seriously can't aim for a high score cos it's just impossible within such a short time frame to improve your language ability... oh well watever it is I'll 頑張って！

but anyways so 勉強 has been disrupted very largely by SEP matters, housework and filming. arghh seriously. all the props making and shopping. all the time wasted at the embassy over the visa too. yess hell lot of time gone. but oh well it doesnt help as well that the drive to study is so low. and oh yes not to forget the mongolia summercamp project, it's also the time to push for the project really hard if it's to come true. and there's just too much hopes pinned and stakes on it that really really it has to come true. N i'll trust that God will see it through and i also entrust that all the opportunities (internship etc.) given up will not be in vain... there'll be more doors opening for me!!

So anyways for just in case sake, i shadnt say more about the video till it's premier on youtube and I'll post it here thereafter. meantime haha this is Mr Stud :)

OH and the unexpected fireworks at vivo during dinner with the video's PD. God's lil surprises in life... how awesome!

ANDDD of cos last but not least, was tonight's wonderful movie session with a lovely company!! Thankew Jas for accompanying me for new moon! I know we both heart Jac! It's really funny as well how this lady gasp in delight when Jac took off his shirt in one of the scene. The entire cinema just roared in laughter upon hearing her solo squeal/gasp. Man.. it must have been so embarrassing for her! but it's really funny and everyone was just totally ignoring what's happening on the screen and just laughing with her at her little blooper moment. Haha awesome time in the theatre!! ANDDDDDD AHHHHHHH I really heart Jacob! Gosh if a werewolf boyfriend is like him, wah I wouldn't mind a 100% taking a risk in dating him. One's who's sooo handsome, strong (really the protective knight material) and always warm! HAHA I'm a bimbo. :P

operation double shift (a.k.a housework)

acrobatic act of balancing on the stool while hanging the clothes to dry~~ omg my arms are gonna detach... and before that was the staring at the washing machine with my dad.

dad said, "It's not that I don't know how to use. I just forgot how to..."

well done. good game without mommy. oh myy really learning to appreciate my mom more.