I've Grown

Not vertically unfortunately.

Maybe a little horizontally.

But what I would like to say here is that I've grown emotionally and mentally.

After weeks of job-seeking, I have learnt to accept rejections. I have learnt more about myself - more of things that I didn't know of or were unsure of in the past. I have become more self-aware, clearer of what I want in life and who I truly am and want to be.

Though tedious and tiring, this round of job search has made me grown so much. And I'm glad it's over.

My future looks bright... or so I hope...

This self-reflection piece is contributed by my Goddess.

New York New York Day 1

I know it's been a long time since I updated my Goddess' US trip, and it's been so long since she's back! I must admit that I almost gave up. But I remembered that this is the best way for her and the horny devil to relive their wonderful memories so I must persist on for their sake.

So where I ended off, my Goddess left Virginia after their last day of work. After which they took an early morning flight heading towards New York LaGuardia Airport.

The last look of Richmond Airport

On the plane

And they've finally reached safely at the New York airport!

The people handling the luggage was so rough man! They tore away one handle of my Goddess' bag. And it was new! It's such a good bag because it can be folded easily into a very small size such that it won't take up much space in the luggage when not needed.

A last group photo before we go on our separate ways

Did I tell you that the two of them had such a heavy luggage, and in order to save money, they decided to lug everything by themselves using the public transport?! And New York, though it's a very well-developed city, there is no lifts nor elevators in their subways (otherwise known as MRT). Think they are so developed that's why - it was one of the few cities that had subways when elevators were not even popular. And climbing the stairs with all those luggage was no easy feat at all! Luckily there were 2 other people travelling with us to our hostel so at least there was another guy helping us lug the heavy bags of goods.

The suburbs of New York.

And finally, we reached our pathetic hostel. It's situated along one of those row of apartments, of which one unit was made the hostel. There was no TV and aircon was only controlled by the remote that comes from the main staff. Wireless is only available at the lounge so you can see all the residents hanging out there with their laptops. The lounge is rather cosy though unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of it.

The minute my Goddess and the horny devil got settled down with their luggage, their friend Felix asked if they want to catch a broadway show at night. Having not much plans in mind, they decided to catch a show with him and his friends.

New York Subway

And so they took a subway down to Times Square - the famous place synonymous with Orchard Road where all the sights, sounds and smell was. It was where movies like Maid in Manhattan, Spiderman and The Devil Wears Prada were filmed. The place was overwhelming all my Goddess and the horny devil's senses. You really have to be there yourself in order to understand and experience it for yourself. It was beyond words to describe - simply magnificent, marvelous, moving - to a capital M.

As you can see, there are so many broadway shows on the streets. Any streets you turn to you can find a broadway show showing from Chicago to Legally Blonde, Phantom, Mary Poppins and many more!

Watching a broadway show is a must when one comes to New York, just like visiting the Great of China in China. Broadway shows are really popular, and there's a place that sells tickets at half price. So instead of paying USD120 for a show, tickets were only at USD60 for the more popular shows with bigger production. In the end they decided to watch Les Miserable. It was a show my Goddess wanted to watch since young. She has sung some of their songs while in SCGS.

And the show was not a disappointment at all! It was simply awesome. Even for uncultured people like the Horny Devil who doesn't really appreciate the arts and theatre, he says it was perfect. The cast sang very well, and the songs melodious. Both of them loved the show so much that they didn't mind spending the money to catch another broadway. Unfortunately, given their tight schedule, they didn't have the time to do so.

Every now and then, my Goddess will go to their official website and listen to their songs too.

"I dream a dream of days gone by... When hope was high and life worth living... I dream that love would never die... I dream that God would be forgiving..."

After the show, they decided to walk the streets a little as well as pop by Planet Hollywood where they can get New York pass. This pass allows them to visit a lot of tourist sites for free. http://www.newyorkpass.com

The nights in Times Square doesn't end till after 1am. So different from Orchard Road.

And apparently there was some filming going on in the second story of a building. There were a lot of people standing on the ground floor across the traffic junction taking pictures and waving at the people inside. My Goddess decided to take a picture too in case it turns out to be something worth selling. Hah.

So that's the end of their day one in New York. They reached back at their hostel at 2plus am. By the time they finished bathing, it was already 3am! So they were too tired to do anything but to go to sleep.

Bookmark this blog for more adventures of my Goddess in New York!

Dream room.. it has become!

Three weeks ago, my Goddess has finally gotten her dream room that she has hope to get - calling a room that's her own, just like how it was like for her for four years in hall. And something that she's more proud of - she played a huge role in achieving this dream room - she built 95% of the furniture herself!

Here's her cupboard, something that she bought first from Ikea. Luckily for her, her dad was more than willing to buy this for her without much consideration. Probably because he's missed her for being away for so long, and is finally back at home. Perhaps it was a reward for her help in the family cafe ever since she came back from the States. Whatever it is, she is happy.

When my Goddess first got the cupboard, she thought her dad will fix it all up nicely for her. But to her horror, after she helped her dad carry the planks into the room, her dad told her to do it, while he supervised her, as if she's the Bangla worker this time! So she did like 90% of the work, screwing, hammering, except for certain super long screws that took a lot of her strength to screw them in, her dad will help her. It caused a bruised hand!

Look at the number of clothes that she has! And these are only clothes that are hung, there's another drawer for all her folded clothes. No wonder she needs a new big cupboard all for herself!

Two weeks later, she finally managed to pester her dad to get a new cupboard for her. This time round, she learnt her lesson, and didn't wait for her dad to supervise her fix the cupboard, and did everything all by herself!

And tada.. it's done after 2 nights of hard work!

My Goddess loves her table a lot because it has a lot of functions! Not only can u put lots of books on top, it is very spacious, and you can put magazines on the side racks and there's also a white board for her to scribble on!

Look at all the things she has got on her table now!

And how can I forget her most prized possession - her memories of New York. Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, The Flatron, Empire State and Chrysler Building. Cost her 15USD!

I like her room so much that I am beginning to sleep with her on her bed every night now.

My Goddess loves me and I love her too!

How far do you have to journey to find your home?

Home Song Stories is a must-watch art film! The movie, based on a true life story of the director and writer, Tony Ayres, is about a glamourous Shanghai nightclub singer (played by Joan Chen), who tries to survive in the seventies Australia with her two children. It's about a dysfunctional family, a good man, and love-hate relationships between mother and daughter, and mother and son.

The cast all put up an astounding performance as all of them were really into their roles. The film is indeed worth all the accolades it has won for itself.

No number of words can describe how good this film is. You just have to catch it on the screen to experience it for yourself.

So Long, Farewell

Here are some pictures that my Goddess on the last 2 days of her in Virginia.

First, a beer party on the night before the last day of work. The first and only and last American party that my Goddess went to, although majority of the guests were Singaporeans. Btw, did I say that most of the Americans working there are not of a legal drinking age? Those in her team are between the age of 15 to 19. My Goddess feels so old there. And of course, Freddie was the oldest man alive there.

Drunk and tipsy?

Northside peeps

The Singapeeps, 1 American and 2 Serbians

Last day in Kings Dominion.

The last time my Goddess would ever enter through this gate - the gate where the bus would drop her and they would have to queue for security check before getting in.

The last time they'd ever have free Krispy Kreme Donuts.

Kings Dominion offers very good welfare service for its employees. Frequently, we would have free donuts, yoghurt, orange juice, barbeque burgers, chips, chocolate, candies, soda, movies and many other things.

Goddess and her colleagues, from top left in clockwise - Justin, Tia, Cameron, Casey, Laura, Kyle, Yanling, Jenny and Lindsey

More pictures of her colleagues - Jacqueline, Lisa, Shuletta and Hillary

Not to forget, my Goddess' supervisor.

She sure is a strong young lady.

The last lifeguard briefing

An emotional moment

The Kings Dominion Lifeguard family

The Singaporean lifeguards

And finally, leaving the gate that links the waterpark to the rest of the park...

Goodbye Kings Dominion - a last look at the neon sign that greeted employees whenever they go to work or go back home via the highway.

Goodbye James River Bus, the bus that takes my Goddess and all Singaporeans to and fro work.

And finally, the last night in VCU.


A picture of my Goddess and her Roomie, in front of their room - can go buy 4D!

The CS gang in US, VA!

Braces update!

It's been a while since I've updated on my Goddess' braces.

She just went to visit the orthodontist today. Apparently her orthodontist told her he'll be removing her braces some time in early January.

This unfortunately means that she'll have to wear braces to work too :(

Let's hope that she can get a nice set of braceless teeth for her birthday... like Donkey...

Something about buses

Some buses are just plain wierd.

When it is raining, the aircon will be blasting and freezing cold; and when the weather is super duper hot, they (the bus drivers) will be trying to save the environment and limit on their use of aircon.

The Last Dinner(s)

Alright, I know it's been a long time, so here are more flashbacks on my Goddess life back in the US.

Days just before work in KD came to an end, we had a few significant dinners.

First, Barracuda (my team) outing. We had some really cheap pizza at 2 bucks per huge slice.

Then we had our own dinner at this really cosy cafe called Village.

The food comes in real huge portions and is super duper yummy too!

And how can I forget - home-cooked meals. Our last few days of microwaved food...

Yummy chicken wings that I've been craving and deprived of...

Delicious healthy meal with meat, vege, soup, egg, our favourite mushroom and fish

And it's all gobbled up!

Black or white

Look at the difference in my Goddess' skin colour! She used to be so fair...

And now she's so chao da black!

Everywhere she went, everyone said she's black, which is true. But luckily she's been in the shade since the day she's back and she's slightly fairer now.