Visit to the beach

nice feeling to let the sea water swish around at your feet. cooling to the feet, warm on the shoulders. Imagine standing there facing the Atlantic ocean, without a single thought on your mind. yeah..like *duhhhh*ing at the sea. and feeling a nice cool breeze blow your hair back, with your arms outstretched. a couple of whiny seagulls sail by and the sea smell fills you up. ahhhh..i just needed a nice icy cold drink to top it off then.




Taken at about 6pm. Sun still pretty high up. This was taken from the beach towards ocean oasis. Small puddles of water + glowing sun = enchanting array of colours on the ground.













How can I ever not think of doing the baywatch run down the beach?













What happens if you cannot do the baywatch fast enough or it was just ? You get dunked into the sea lor..haha





























Simply soaking in the scents and sight.

lazy-fast-warm-coolingwaters-brainless-sandy-laughters-shouts-seashells-rollercoasters-bikinibabes-greetings-soccer-seagulls-splashing-posing-shades-bliss

Philadelphia experience

Philadelphia..my trip there can be summed up in only 1 word -> compact. With the limitted time constraint of just 1 day, i felt i have seen & experienced so much of the city. At the end of the day, I was closing my eyes trying to recollect the memories of the day and i can't seem to recall just half of it. We spent the day on the move, constantly sticking to our game plan and yet making sure we slow down to soak in the atmosphere. because the geography of the city is pretty str8forward, we were pretty efficient in getting from one place to another. loved it.

We set off at 6.40am in the morning and came back ard 4am the next morning. My most memorable experience there will have to be the visit to University of Pensylvania. lovely lovely lovely campus. Shops lined the roads, nice food places, gd shopping spots, nice roads & friendly pple. we spent a gd 4 hrs there..just breezing thru the streets and enjoying the surroundings. We chased after squirrels, lazed ard on grass patches, shopped, stoned, took a million photos, crashed a lecture and just simply had the time of our lives.

Had the chance of visiting the liberty bell. Quite an eye opener to learn about how it symbolises America's never ending quest for freedom. The continuity of the country's quest for freedom can actually be linked parallel to the bell's history. The walk through the bell's passage of time contains the essence of the country's rich history and literature in its quest for freedom. def an eye opener.

Other places included places like betsy ross, us mint, constituition, independence hall etc. all these we visited, while at the same time relishing the colours of the city. A slow walk down market street, making silly comments, joking, laughing and just basically enjoying each others' company.

Weather was gd..it was sunny initially, except for a lil downpour, in which we had to seek shelter somewhere. Other than that, everything else was gd.








A beautiful sight, 30USD for 20min ride ard some of the hot spots of Philadelphia. The smell of the horse dung is however kinda repulsive.



Me and buddy on a bus ride.






Looking foolish.


Just basically chilling out in the campus



3 posers with nothing better to do.



This is the life i'm telling you.


What do you do when the sun sets and the stomach starts to growl?u look out for some juicy and famous cheese steak.


Wolf chomping in ferociously.



Following dinner is a nice walk down South Street eastwards towards the Delaware river.



Got a chance to busk with some of the locals!


The consequence of playing drinking games with a gal who can hold her liquor better than any of us.

Right where the adventure all begun.......


Embarking on the ultimate trip of our lives. My best buddy and myself about to tuck into our first airplane meal.

be thankful for all your circumstances

In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone), he was alive -- much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.
His account of how he survived is fascinating. His ingenuity -- how he managed to catch fish, how he fixed his solar still (evaporates sea water to make fresh) -- is very interesting.
But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air and wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was starved. He was desperately dehydrated. He was thoroughly exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only sane option.
When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the guts to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds.
"I tell myself I can handle it," wrote Callahan in his narrative. "Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up fortitude...."
I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important. And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time I've said it, I have always come back to my senses.
The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. I've read enough history to know you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It's a sane thought and worth thinking.
So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever you're going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.

by: Adam Khan

a sudden off day rawks ur day

today i finally have a free day from work. was supposed to go to work at 0830. woke up at 0805,(thanks to jian kai).rushed down to work, cos i was supposed to have my in-servic training,and found out that the water park is closed for the day. it was a bittersweet feeling, sweet that i do not have to step into the dreaded sky ponds for the day, but bitter when i think of my miserable paychecks..and the enormous amt of groceries i normally buy. i guess it all tips towards more of the sweet feeling, as we raced home to cook lunch, while the others planned their road trip to atlantic city for a second round of shopping. no more atlantic city for me..twice is enough, and i've already spent quite abit. i never knew i had this shopaholic blood in me. put me in superfresh (grocery shop) and i can buy so much stuff which i never knew i could buy in sg. put me in atlantic city and i could spend easily over a 100 bucks in no time. lol~. i guess shopping is a form of easing the pangs on loneliness away from home. it's a form of empowerment within me that has suddenly seemed to emerge out of nowhere. but due to financial circumstances, i can't really buy too much stuff too.

the day can be summed up in 1 word -> laze. right after a hearty lunch, i took a nap. woke up, decided to go to the bank to bank in my cheque, and at the same time visited superfresh to top up my groceries. went back and just spent some time chatting with eric. i had an apple i got from rio grande, it was spectacular. 1 bite into it and u can literally taste the red..if u wanna know what does red taste like, chew into that apple. it was really amazing when the taste first explodes into ur mouth. it's that kind of feeling that makes u simply wanna close ur eyes and savour it properly. gd news is, i still have 5 more. yay

just an insight into the kind of dishes i have been whipping up.
ok, it was not a very close shot..but basically it's baked beans with ham, and my stir-fried vegetable with beef dish.

ok,here's a close-up on the beef dish.



here's me just resting after a pretty tiring day's work. i'm still in my pirate's coat costume btw.

taken with andrew,masks off, while we were in the pirates ride supposedly scaring pple.

have i ever mentioned it really doesn't feel like summer? it's friggin cold..thats the downside of lifeguarding. when u stand up on a high tower, and the cold wind blows and blows and u start shivering. then, some smart guy has to splash right in front of u and u get covered with cold water as well. thats a bad combination. hey but i've learnt very valuable skills as a lifeguard..cpr and life rescue skills. that sreally smt i'm gonna cherish for life..it's just so practical.

ok..time to get on with my day.i can't believe how fast time is flying here.it's 6.45 pm already. be back again.tc, hugz

Foods that I'm craving for like crazy

1. mom's curry chicken
2. sweet and sour chicken from tze char stall outside my house
3. chilli crab
5. char kway teow
6. black carrot cake
7. sugar cane juice
8. nasi lemak
9. bar chor mee
10. stingray
11. fish soup

Things I've learnt and will cherish for life

never to throw my used clothes casually
the importance of eggs and how to ration them
the art of choosing fresh fruits
tidying my own bed and making it clean daily
cooking in a superrr constrained kitchen
sharing a fridge space with 6 other guys
the art of smiling even when u're tired
how to brave chilling winds with a smile on your face
some ukraine and coloumbian small talk

first day of lifeguard trg yest..went thru all the stuff we learnt b4..got abit dry along the way, but still it was a fun time, esp when u have gd frenz ard wif u. we decided not to go to our second jobs cos we were in desperate need for groceries. we headed down to panda restaurant for a sizzling beef bowl and rice (YUMMY) and went down for some grocery shopping. i stocked up on pretty much new ingredients this time round. for eg, i garlic, mushrooms, terikyaki sauce... to spice up the taste of the dishes and the results are wonderful. cooked a really nice veg dish this morning and savoured every bit of it..yummy

played soccer with the coloumbian guys last night..they may seem imidiating..average height is prob about 178..we were like kids next to them..lol, but we still won them 6-3. s'pore vs coloumbia.haha.we had to stop when the local neighbours opened the window and yelled her head off at us.oops.

2nd phase of lifeguard trg starts tmr

the other phase for lifeguard training begins tmr..pretty excited abt it..i figured after this course i'll probably be quite proficient in cpr and stuff..which is a very useful thing. do u know i wanted to be a medic when i was in the army?or a pti too..i thought being a medic was really meaningful, and i thought being a pti would keep me super fit.

the days are sailing by smoothly..everything seems to be falling into a routine..but a very comfortable and easy one..work eat sleep.managed to squeeze in a game of bball with nafiur, steven and timon earlier. was a gd workout..kinda a nice way to end the day..just sweating it out in the cooling courts.

tdy i did my first lifeguard rescue.haha not dat it was very impressive or smt..it was just 2 small kids that couldn't get out of the sky pond splash.(it's a pool with strong currents) and so they kinda paniced and called for help. being the efficient life-saver that i am, i got in and pulled them out safely to their mom..felt so gd after dat.even tho it became super cold after dat cos of my wet clothes, i felt kinda accomplished.haha~ love it.

work at the pirates ride was easy tdy..there was a total of less than 15 boats i think..so it was really easy. looking 4ward to a bright week ahead..i seriously need to go shopping for groceries and cook more creatively.

weather was cold over the past few days.hope it gets warmer and sunnier. going to turn in now.

pictures post

panda-cvs-superfresh-eveningbball-coldchillywinds-oldwomandoingkungfuoutsidemywindow-
eggshotdogspizzaeggshotdogspizzapastamilkpastacarrotsapplesorangeslettucecheeseburgerhambreadpastapastapasta-poolscanning-sunburn-pretzels-pirates-seaserpent-morningrunsalongboardwalk-boats-storms-whistles-peelingback-$1pizza-cookies

Lying down in green pastures, beside the still waters

Dad,Mom,Kor and all my buddies, i miss you all.

Greetings from "3501 Boardwalk Wildwood NJ 08260" (Moreys Piers)
*currently caught in a tropical storm*

i'm a bad blogger

yup..i'm back..after disappearing for a couple of weeks. everything went against my blogging during these couple of weeks. internet connection from my apartment was really screwy..internet was an on/off kinda thing.and i was kinda drained from work. working 2 jobs now..my day starts at 9am and ends at about 10pm everyday, with pretty short breaks..so it's pretty tiring..been feeling kinda drained these past few days..but well..it's a happy experience overall.

being a lifeguard is not really what i expected. i thought i could just sit back on a chair and enjoy the view..haha..but in actual fact i have to be on my toes almost throughout the day..watching out that kids don't kill each other in the water. and we have this head scanning thingy..where you have to scan your head up and down across an imaginary horizontal line..pretty straining for the neck. gets kinda dry but i suppose it's all in the mindset. if you go for work with an attitude that you really don't wanna see anyone get hurt, you'll find the job more meaningful..thats how i feel at least. and yes the sun is really hot..beginning to look abit like my jc days again..the black ken is coming back. at least this time round i know how to equip myself with sunblock and stuff so it's not that bad.

what do i do when i'm not working...shopping for groceries! it's the newest in thing..shopping for ingredients and trying to invent new dishes (success rate not very high though). really should have picked up more skills from mom b4 coming here.

clubbing is cheap here..went down to shamrocks twice. for awhile the dance floor reminded me of zouk..cos it consisted mainly of singaporeans. the entrance charge is 2 usd dollars..and a jug of budweiser is 2 too.a corona is 4. nice music..with a pool table. a nice place to chill out wif frenz.














tired..body is kinda drained after working so many long hrs in a row. my pal kok ming is now sleeping already..think i'm going to turn in soon..need to wake up early tmr again.i need proper nutrition plus rest! loving everyday of my life..there r so man things to see and do. weather is picking up tho..getting kinda hot and humid.ok i'm not really thinking much now..be back again. love you all.
hugz