the past 2 days -- one useless, one eventful!

Hey! orientation's over, so i took the last two days off to roam around the city. However, yesterday was quite pointless. Today, I really went places. The deciding factor? Steven Kwok. hahaha


by the way, this entry will contain LOTS of photos.

ok, just to get things out of the way, Mike, here's one more Sharapova for you, waving after victory. at me, i think.


Well, yesterday, we planned on meeting up with an old friend, go to Times Square together, have a nice lunch at Chinatown, then go to Ground Zero. None of that happened. Of course we met up with a friend, and had lunch at Chinatown (oh... the rice was marvellous. So people over there in Asia, don't you ever take your steamed rice for granted!)

Mike, here's another surprise for ya!


haha yeah! Big Wayne is alive and well in New York! hahaha
Well, since you have seen the Hudson River in the background, I'll show you our ONLY other accomplishment for the day:


There she is, Lady Liberty. Which is not that bad right? Well, that was after Steven (ok, I shall take some of the blame so as to not infuriate him. But with that, Wayne is also involved. But Steven was the "i'm very sure of this" guy.) got us lost into Brooklyn (past the glorious Brooklyn Bridge), thus wasting about 30-45 mins of our time. Also, our initial plan of going to Times Square by foot (yes, it is possible) was halted by his hunger. So we were like 3/4 of the way there, we went into Macy's, a very very large, department store in Manhattan -- which, is, again, not that bad. But we only went in to go up to the seventh floor for a public toilet for Steven to relieve himself in. Fabulous. Then we left for Chinatown. After lunch, we took a train to South Ferry, hoping to catch a free ride to the Statue of Liberty. I shall not blame anyone anymore, but we ended up running around in circles in the rain for about an hour, then gave up and took the free (yeah, this is it.) commuter ferry to Staten Island, which took 25 mins, but allowed us to get a fairly ok view of Lady Liberty, as seen above. Then, on the ferry terminal on the other side, Steven's bladder attacked again -- causing us to get left behind by the ferry going back to Manhattan by 2 minutes. We had to wait 30 mins for the next one. So yah. long, uneventful day.

Mike, could you imagine if you were there? well, if you were there... you would know what happened la... c'mon... 2 years... and still never change... hahaha

ok, sorry for that LOOONNGGG whining session. If it was a waste of your time, claim it back from your insurance company. I can't do anything about it. and neither can they.

well, TODAY was very eventful. After learning from yesterday's experience, I decided to run out on my own today. Something that I loved to do in my time in Singapore, when I have the opportunity. (Disclaimer: I love company. In fact, I need company now. But sometimes, it's also nice to be able to do things on your own, explore on your own, and be responsible for your own decisions/mistakes.) So I planned out my day, and it turned out well.

I didn't get to take lots of photos due to fear of being spotted as a tourist (and hence become the target of pickpockets since i was alone = vulnerable).

So I got off at Central Park (my next target -- perhaps next week. beautiful) and was welcomed by a couple of horse-drawn carriages, as well as the humongous Apple Centre along 5th Avenue. Then there was a nice view of the Empire State Building so i couldn't resist but be a tourist:


Walking down a bit further, I came across Rockefeller Center. Nice sculpture thing.


And then for the Donald Trump fanatic in me (as well as others out there), Trump Tower.


Then came one of the highlights of my day: The NBA Store.


*drool* humongous complex of nice stuff!!! This will also mark my first random expenditure (which means, not including setup fees, application fees, tuition, food, lodging, furniture, and other necessities. quite good, huh? only after one week.) A nice leather NBA mouse pad.


Also inside, I got to measure my hand against the actual size of NBA player Jason Kidd's hand. look at THAT. makes me feel so small. and I didn't even show the one with Shaquille O'neal's hand.Afterwhich I made my way down (by foot) to Times Square. Other notable places I visited in 5th Ave: The Disney Store, Takashimaya (just looked. Tall building, not big though.), Zara (expensive.), and H&M (where I ALMOST made my 2nd expenditure. I love my sense of self-control. but i have to admit, it was a cheap sweater that i could have used. quite nice and warm also... ok ok perhaps next week. mwahahaha)

At Times Square was my only disappointment of the day -- eating Philadelphia Steak & Cheese Sandwich for dinner -- extreme ripoff of the century. Due to Brazil Day festivities (yes, there is such a thing here.) Not nice some more. bah.

After that, at 7pm, I went to Morning Star New York for the first time. And I was really pleased at how a church makes you feel at home anywhere, anytime in the world. Like a common sanctuary where you, God, and other people meet and fellowship. Some songs I didn't know of, but it felt as if they were already my prayers. I didn't get to talk to many people, but I made the effort to reach out and talk to some of them. Great service. And the message spoke directly to me. It was about unloading emotional baggage -- Guarding your calling. Which was exactly the area in which I needed encouragement in the past week.

The speaker talked about some main things -- Playing by the rules, not allowing small compromises, and always having people to support you. It reminded me that sometimes, it is so difficult to attain what God wants us to be because He is providing for us a straight path, but we somehow bend and adjust the circumstances to "benefit" us and "satisfy our earthly desires", thus leading to a longer, more tiring road. We procrastinate and ask God why things never happen the way we want it, while He has already prepared a way for us. Most importantly, I have to really really find people who will encourage me and fight through all the trials here with me. I really hope that I will learn to trust them more and allow them into my life as the weeks progress. Thank you, God. You never fail to amaze me.

Well, that was how my day went. Nice, huh?

Before I go, I'll show you the transformation of my room here in my apartment.
First, the room:



Haha, ok ok not that impressive, huh?

Check out our living room!!!


now, is that a bachelor's pad, or what????

oh, by the way, if you notice on the little coffee table beside the couch (which is actually just the box for our TV (on the extreme right) that we draped a piece of tablecloth on. solid huh?), there's a little plant. It's a bonsai. For some weird reason, my roommates decided to name it Albert. (really, there's a post thing. Click to zoom. Not that clear, I'll show you next time.) great. now i'm a plant. But come to think of it. bonsai = longevity. hahaha perhaps since i'm the oldest here? hahaha

ok, that sounds like an insult?

NO! im proud to be 20!!! mwahahaha

there goes my roommates again... one went shopping (which will eventually lead to partying), one went to Max Brenner's Chocolate (and had the guts to make me feel jealous. He doesn't know i'm IMMUNE to chocolate!!!), and one went to a JAZZ CLUB!!! He promised to tell me if he was going!!! hahaha it's ok, still got next time...

Today (I blogged over midnight haha), Monday, is the last day of my freedom until my official re-entry into the world of education. Whee! (i hope i can look back on this post months after and still be this excited. haha)

Something's wrong with the time on my blogger.

To those who read the whole thing. You are a great friend, and so am I. You will be rewarded with a nice serving of pork belly (my specialty -- any style you want) when we meet again.

I'M OUT!!!