who would've known?

So I've heard about ppl complaining about how hot the weather back in Malaysia is, and I am, opposite the globe, complaining about how cold it is. Literally. Freezing. Sunshine state is never supposed to be that cold! As I'm typing this I'm bundled up under my Snuggie (Haha, yes Ju and I actually bought it) , with two layers of clothings on.

Work has been pretty good. It's such a repetitive job, the service industry, but the people and positive thinking makes the day pass by. For all who don't already know, I'm on a work and travel program, catered to university students who're interested to learn about the US culture. There's two companies in Malaysia who offer this program at the moment, Speedwing and Out of The Box. I came with the latter, but do check out both companies to score the job that best suit your interest.

Right now, I'm stabilized in Bonita Springs located in the state of Florida. Currently attached to Publix, a grocery outlet. I work in the customer service department, as a bagger, or a nicer name would go as a customer service clerk. Ha ha. My job involves putting groceries in plastic/ paper bags for customers, pushing carts back to where it's supposed to be, basically, customer service. Don't go 'omg what kinda job is that' because people here grocery shop ALOT, and I meant alot to the point the groceries sometimes equate to two cartfull. The store is currently very busy lately because all the snowbirds are down here, and it's a cluster of human jam. It's nice to be kept busy though, working hours seems to pass faster. One day I will post up the picture of my uniform, which isn't too shabby but i would love to do without the apron.

It's been two months into the job now, and I've experienced the good and bad of the job. Things like pushing carts around sunset simply is amazing, because the splendors of colors in the sky is beautiful at that time. Occasionally you get to chat up with nice customers who tell you about their plans in the evening with the groceries they bought, and these things makes your job more interesting than it usually is. Getting tips is sweet even though I'm not officially allowed to. Cleaning the store at night ain't that fun, but walking pass those aisle of goods while mopping isn't all that bad, I love America's grocery shopping. Everything is so instant, so easy. The coffee aisle is one of my favorite to mop, the heavenly smell of fresh ground coffee is intoxicating. Mmm. Biking to and fro from work is honestly pain for me, but I guess it's giving me the exercise I need for the amount of food I'm consuming over here. And occasionally lifts home from colleagues are cool. (: Just y'day we packed three bicycles, a scooter and six people into a MPV, just to get us and our bikes home. How cool is that. ;p

Being the workaholic I am, I scored a second job at Burger King, just to pass my off days, and earn extra dough. I work as a cashier in Burger King, and it's honestly pretty fun. I actually like my job. I love how busy the food industry can get, how demanding it is, but how you can put satisfaction in people's face, because there's this invisible bond between people and good food. It's a multitasking job, especially when you're working the drive thru. It involves filling up the right drink in the right cup size for the customer, getting the right food (picky customers, no lettuce, extra tomatoes, no mayo... ) , collecting money... at the very same time you have to take the order of the next customer in line at the drive thru. Pretty insane during busy hours. The only thing about Burger King is all the employees speaks Spanish, gosh I feel like I'm exposed to Mexican culture more than the US culture over here. It's so diverse. Which reminds me, I really need to buck up a lil' bit on Spanish if I want to make the effort to know my colleagues. Best perk of this job? Getting a double cheeseburger with bacon and mayo, add onions no pickles (yes, I'm picky too) at only a whopping 53 cents!! :D Es Bueno!

I've been enjoying myself at the expense of my sleeping time. Just yesterday night we had a game of poker with a twist, the bet being sips of beer instead of the regular poker chips. It was pretty insane when the bets were raised to crazy amount of sips. The worse thing is when you lose. But it was all good fun. Even got to drive on the left hand side to McDonald's at 4am to grab our one dollar breakfast burrito, although I wished they had sausage Mcmuffin at that time.

Another thing about living on your own, you have to settle your own food. Either you eat out, or take frozen, or cook. Since I came here, I've been cooking more than I've ever did in twenty years. Dead serious. I think no one can imagine me and Ju dissecting a whole chicken. It was pretty comical watching us do it. You should've seen the squeals and expressions. Haha. But look at the end product of one of our cooking! Doesn't it look pretty good?

Baked Chicken

(for two)

Cooking time: 30 mins

2 leg quarters
1 packet of Baby Carrots
1 packet of Spinach
Italian Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Barbeque Sauce

If you're tight on budget and tight on time, this would do good. (: Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, barbeque sauce, italian seasoning.. anything you prefer, to your own liking.

Place marinated chicken in oven dish, and pour the excess marinade into the dish. Throw in carrots and spinach. Potatoes would taste good too. Heat oven to 300 degrees, and just wait patiently. Don't forget to turn your chicken over from time to time so it won't get burnt.

Glaze with butter or honey when it's cooked.

Voila, bon apetit! (:


Ju and I were just randomly talking about opening a restaurant with the name: Everyday's a Suprise! to which we'll serve whatever we feel like cooking. Haha, pretty ambitious for two ppl who know close to nothing about cooking. Tsk. Well, at the very least the kitchen is still hanging in there, not burnt yet! ;p

Turrah for now! I'll try to update more from time to time, if work isn't dating me all the time! :p

A million miles away...

... from home.

My first CNY away from home.
A valentine.
Long distance phone calls.
Mailss. ;p
Webcamming with the family makes me smile. (:

I have so much thoughts to share.
For memory keepsake.
Or just to open up that reserved self.

But I'm so drained doing my daily routine.
Taking two jobs is tiring, as much of a workaholic I can be.
I'm not complaining.
I love life.
Traveling starts in two months time.
Bliss.


Here's a pretty gory picture of the price to pay for being clumsy.

The other side of the finger is in worst shape, but I'll spare you all the details.


Cute picture to remove the gory image from your head.
After Valentine's sale. USD 1 toy. Sho cute.

G'nite world.

I'm still a klutz

Two months here, two accidents.
I'm that accident prone. Tsk.

First one involved getting hit by a car while biking home, but thank God I scrap through with minor bruises and cuts. (:
Second one just happened today. Got my finger slammed by the door. Pain is excruciating. ): Sigh, I think it's still bleeding at the moment. Rar, pls remind me not to be so clumsy.

So bad shape.

a glimpse of my life in US

Off days are honestly bliss. It comes by so rarely that you'll take full advantage of every single bit of it when you get it. I'd sleep in late on cold days, and get the freedom to roam around this quaint little city when it's warm and sunny without work stuck in my mind. What's best is when I get two days off in a row, full potential to have decent rest and fun.

Tuesday marked one of those crazy long but fulfilling days. Those one-of-a-kind days, those that struck the unusual chord. I caught my first ever fish with a fishing rod yesterday! yes you heard me right, I had my first fishing experience down at the pier of Naples Gulf. Honest opinion, I used to think fishing is a waste of time, but I had a change of mind yesterday, it is indeed one of those relaxing sports you'd love to be up for when the weather's good. Put it this way, fishing is more than just merely fishing, it's taking in the ocean smell, feeling the sea breeze messing your hair, having the sun giving you that golden tan, sipping that thirst quenching Snapple Raspberry Tea, watch seagulls flying in the cloudless blue sky.. to sum it up in one word, calming. The tourist me would love to actually have some decent pictures show how the process went, but the brilliant klutzy me snag the camera out of the house without its battery. Le sigh , this is how forgetful I can be sometimes. I vow not to ever do such things again. To top the cherry on the icing, we managed to catch the last glimpse of sunset on Marco Island's beach. Beautiful, very beautiful indeed.

I'm currently too tired to think of what or how to phrase my sentences, or even to edit those pictures. Picture post coming up soon, can't believe I've already been here almost a month, time really flies doesn't it.

monday morning thoughts

I'm slowly losing tune.

I don't know what it's like to be in tune anymore.
I'm trying, but I'm drifting.
drifting further and further.

hoping for someone to notice, and catch me just in time.
before I drift just a little too far for my own good.

Cómo estás?

Maya on Lincoln Rd, decorated to usher in the new year.

How has 2010 fared so far? For me it's a mixed of changes in environment, much more responsibilities, or put it in a simpler way, different challenges in life. Florida has been pretty welcoming, albeit the unforgiving cold weather, people here are very nice and very friendly in general. I'm also learning up basic Spanish since everyone here speaks Spanish, hence the title. In translation it means: how are you?

I've been working for close to a week by now, and yes, work has been draining, especially when you're living a bachelor's life. Household chores, meals, bills... so much to handle. But all's in good hands for now, just that I have a tad bit lesser time to spend idling on the net. Off days are exploring days, which meant visiting the crooks and nooks of the small town I'm living in. Thank God the weather was good today, Ju and I headed to the beach with our bikes. It was around 40 minutes ride, 4.5 miles away, with beautiful landscaping along the way. I could use a five month break away from the hustle bustle of the city, and enjoy living just 1o minutes drive away from the beach, and wake up to a quaint little town, nope, not that bored just yet. (:

We managed to spend New Year's Eve counting down on South Beach of Miami, besides walking around Sawgrass Mills Mall and Adventura Mall. Miami is so full of life, and the fireworks display when the clock struck twelve was breathtakingly beautiful I wish I could share it with all. I'm pretty drained at the moment, after biking 9 miles to the beach, but before I go here's some pictures during our stay in Miami.

#1 Plane food actually taste quite good. Ju was just telling me a minute ago that she's already looking forward to our trip home just for the food. -_-' Ok, I do miss plane food and M'sian food a bit already, especially Village Park's awesome fried chicken nasi lemak and bubble tea.

#2 Major spam of apple and orange juice in the airplane. Luckily we were sitting at the very last row where the air steward was just a seat away. Much easier to grab drinks. Our 13 hours flight has no personal screen can you believe it we spend most of the time sleeping and writing. Rar, still very not happy with the fact we don't have movies to entertain us.

#3 We missed our connecting flight from Detroit to Miami because of technical screw ups in our flight arrangements, and were put on the next flight delaying our arrival time by 5 hours. Detroit airport was freezing cold, we settled in Starbucks and slept off to past time. Just beside our sofas are these pebbles, to which anyone can scribble anything they feel like. Obviously we had to do one, but I misspelled Detroit, le sigh.

#4

#5 Walkalators, and getting use to standing on the right instead of the left.

#6 Pretty fountain in the middle of the airport. The airport is so big there's a train inside the airport just to transport people between transits.

#7 Before Detroit we had a short transit in Tokyo, Japan. I can now tell people I've been to Japan ... 's airport. Sigh, so tempted to walk out and explore Japan.

#8 This is Zong Liang, also known as John. (: He is so hospitable, giving us a nice cozy room to stay, driving us around town and from the airport, providing us an IDD card to call our parents, bus cards to travel around, and temaning us window shopping. Thanks loads John!! Waiting for your arrival in Naples, and we'll head to Tampa ok?

#9 Wannado City, part of Sawgrass Mills Mall. That place is a shopping haven, with so many factory outlets and whatnots. So tempted to start splurging on those Coach bags, Forever 21 goodies.. but self control. ;p New York will have better outlets.

#10 We're 7 feet tall with extremely long legs! (:

#11 So instead of splurging on items, we bought food. We found the Cheesecake Factory! and just couldn't resist not walking out with a slice of cake at least. Tried their 30th Anniversary Choc and Cheesecake, and boy it tasted so awesomely good. Accompanying the cake slice was a whole chunk of fresh whipped cream, which I don't take, and Ju was happily enjoying every bit of it. We didn't finish the cake though, and ended up throwing a quarter of it away. What a waste. );

#12 Everything, absolutely EVERYTHING we had that day revolves around CHEESE. Tell me how am I supposed to come back looking the same. Ugh. Taco Bell! So sinfully good. Ok, I'm a cheese lover so honestly I love the food here. Even the pastries in the supermarket I'm working in now looks tempting. Apple puff pastries drizzled in sugar, how can one not drool!

#13 South Beach was so brightly lit with a million lights, packed full with people and balloons. It was quite a sight, and people are so jolly and happy. I was so drained from the lack of sleep and jet lag I was in a pretty down mood despite the atmosphere I was in, party pooper much. But that was after flying for 40 hours, and having to wait for the next connecting flight cuz we missed ours.

#14 Miami is filled with night clubs. and their clubs are opened till 6 in the morning, and it was quite a sight because at 2am there was still a line outside. Our stay in Miami was way too short though, only had like one proper full day to wander around.

#15 Part of Lincoln Road consists of art centers. They are all so creatively designed it adds so much flavor and vibe to that street. Typical touristy us snapping away along the streets.

#16 Tired looking me with Lincoln Theater.

#17 Blessed 2010! ;p

#18 I quote the wall: '' Art can make you look at something in an exciting and totally different way. It can give you the power to fly."

#19 Fireworks at 00.00am, 1st January '10.


I wish you were here, with me.
5 months, will things still be the same?

Currently Listening: She's got you high - Mumm-Ra

I hate papercuts. ):

and a very blessed 21st to me.

Thank you all for making the effort to come.
and for dressing up in pink.
Lots of love from Naples, FL.
♥

Domokun hard at work blowing pink balloons for the pink party.

;p

... some moments don't come by twice.

#1 Spent a couple of days in Singapore to visit the bestie, at the same time do some much needed clothes shopping. The Merlion, proudly overlooking Singapore's river. Such a tourist destination, but I just had to since I was already at the Esplanade. Besides, it's too pretty at night to forgo.

#2 this is my darling bestie, to whom I dearly love and miss. we're exactly on the opposite side of the globe right now, and distance is honestly a bitch. Those four days were so rejuvenating for our relationship, and yes I know I have yet to reply your fb message, but I will soon I promise alright? (:

#3 I asked her for a clothes hunt, she brought me on a food tour instead. This is Chippy's, Bristish Take Away, fried mars bars with vanilla flavored ice cream. It's something different, but it doesn't scream 'you must eat me!'.

#4 THIS. THIS IS AWESOME. you don't even need to speak. you just eat, and the expression on your face will explain it all. mMm. (: It cost SGD 6 for a small slice though, pretty pricey, in comparison with that freaking awesome cheesecake I had from The cheesecake factory, going for USD8.10 but thrice the size, plus it comes with freshly whipped cream. Yum.

#5 Perks of being an air stewardess includes having the best of all worlds. Well, being one's best friend I got to enjoy the perks too! Hong Kong's most favourite egg tart, although I'm not a big fan of egg tarts, taste so good. But I can only imagine how it would taste like if it was fresh...

#6 Put two girls and a camera together, you'll end up with self timer syok sendiri shots. Well, it's not completely bimbotic. I honestly wanted the pictures for memories, just because some moments don't come by twice..

#7 She had a mini Christmas celebration whereby we whipped up some awesome home cook food, wine and great fellowship. I had the fun going grocery shopping. Picking out biscuits and feta cheese, and attempting my very own salad. (Fine, making salad honestly isn't hard, but I'm not a kitchen person ok. New year's goal is to learn up some culinary skills)

#8 Lynn's very own Clam Chowder, made from scratch.
*licks lip*

#9 The salad I 'made'. (:

I love feta cheese it taste so freaking awesome when mixed in salad.

#10 More pictures of ussss! (:
Everytime I browse through the pictures I smile.

#11 Handmade stockings filled with goodies and thingamagics.
♥

#12 Orchard Road striking a pose.
Narcissistic much.

#13 Us again! at Ion Mall and reflections.

#14 This is the famous MOS burger in Unagi flavor. Tell me how not to put onweight when wherever I go people are feeding me good food. Not that I'm complaining much.

#15 DSLRs are so cool. Just you wait, just wait till I get my hands on one.

#16 Hard Rock Cafe Singapore as an early surprise 21st celebration, from Lynn. It was a pleasant surprise! Thank you for everything love!! The guy with the star shirt plays awesome guitar and sings beautifully to the song he plays. I have a few videos in my computer, it'll have to wait a lil while before I edit/upload them.

#17 Fooling around silly at The Coffee Connoisseur. Absolutely love that place, the salmon sandwich with avocado is love.

#18 Another awesome dish from TCC. Ok this post is filled with too many food pictures, maybe cuz I'm still contemplating between reheating that buffalo chicken pizza or just head to bed. it's 5am right now. I should just head to bed. G'nite world. Waking up tomorrow for grocery shopping! Am highly excited! Wheeee.