Day 17 - 19 : Los Angeles

DisneyLand : Where dreams come true!

This is my fourth trip to Disney, 2nd trip to LA disney so perhaps this time round, was not so excited about the trip. There were just so many people. I could say perhaps easily 200 thousand people in the themepark. The park was initially schduled to close at 1030 but due to the large turnout, park hours were extended to 12 midnight.

Queues, Queues and more Queues. To get on a ride, it takes about 2 hours to queue. I made use of my fast pass and manage to hop onto only a couple of rides. Even to take photos with disney character was also a pain.

My dad and I waiting to watch Bug's Life - 4 D

Taking the California Screamin 360 Roller Coaster Ride.

The Hippest Santa I ever met!

Highlight of the day :Firework Display in front of Cinderella's castle

Finally, the "hatest" day , Jan 5th came. It was time to bid farewell to my parents. Was filled with tears that day that I was not in a mood to shoot photos. Adieus. See you in June. Love you guys!

Day 14 - 16: Glittering Las Vegas

Land of adult entertainment!

It was my best flight ever. We flew in from Denver the sight was amazing. As the plane approaches LV international airport, I could see from out the window the glittering lights of the STRIP slipping pass me. Too bad, I did not have my camera then as it was stored in the overhead cabin.

Once we touched down, jackpot machines were everywhere. Later I found out that LV is really a big gambling city. Jackpot machinese were even stationed in Petrol Kiosk.

Our Hotel

"Girls" outside Riveria Hotel

Do you know that in vegas, Marriage licenses in Nevada require no blood test or waiting period, and no appointment is necessary. There are lots of "chapels" in vegas where its open 24 hours a day , 7 day a week. You just need 55 USD and a marriage license is issued to you immediately.

CountDown in Vegas - Getting into the vegas mood. Don't I look like a bunny girl?

Day 13 ... Snow and More Snow.. Enroute to Denver

Helpp.... The sky is falling... Look at the amount of snow!


This was the second big wave of snow storm. The first one occured about 2 wks prior and left heaps of snow.. and this time round, we were about to experience the second snow storm. Dad was so afraid that the airport and roads will be closed down that he made us leave at 12pm for the airport while the plane only departs at 5pm (it takes only about 45 mins to reach the airport).



an't even see the lane marking. Everyone was going "turtle" slow.



Snow Snow and more snow ....

Day 9 - 12 - Vail/Beaver Creek

Amazing, Pretty, Scenic place... but its....brrrrr.... cold......

By first attempt doing ice-skating.... just do the rollerblade way ....







Snow Tubing in Adventure-Ridge

The drunkard!

How to Shortlist a husband

Tot I just take a break today from posting my holiday photos.

Was browsing through the net and saw the following. Its really hilarious. So for all singles out there, quick guide to short listing a husband

To the guys : Sigh, its no longer measuring you guys on the 5Cs or the 4Bs, its now the whole string of criteria. Poor boys!

How to shortlist a HUSBAND

Preliminary round (General Criteria only)

eg. introduction through friends/colleagues/SDU/SDS

1. Comparable education background or at least a stable job

2. Nice guy (in your friends’ opinion)

3. Non smoker, leisure drinking only

4. Same religion – unless you don’t mind converting

5. Sense of Humour

Detailed Criteria – during dating Friends usually can’t screen the below for you, unless they know the guy very closely. So you can only discover these during the dating stage.

Tips to screen for HUSBAND material

Children

1. Does he want to have children after marriage ? You got to ask tactfully though - eg. When you see a kid crying in public & creating a scene, ask him what does he think of that kid, whether he find that child a nuisance ?

Ex-girlfriend

2. Should not have more than 2 preferably, otherwise you should wonder why can’t he sustain a serious relationship….commitment issue ? character flaws & hence got dumped ?

3. When did he last break off with his ex-girlfriend ? - If it’s too recent (such as a few months ago), watch out for emotional rebound ! - You wouldn’t want to start a relationship with a guy who’s still thinking of his ex and likely to quickly jump into another relationship in order to forget his ex. Be extra careful with such guys.

Family

4. only child ?

- Do you need to stay with in-laws after marriage ? not a problem if you don’t mind staying with in-laws

5. Relationship with parents & sibling ?

- How close is he to his mother ? Does he admire his mother a lot ? Although you do want someone who is filial but preferably not a mommy’s boy.

- Does his parents quarrel a lot ? Did his dad ever hit his mom or him brutally ? you don’t want a guy who’s being abused since young in case he might become abusive himself too (according to reports by the Straits Times).

- Does he need to support his parents financially ? Find out the monthly contribution. Is it a huge commitment ?. If he’s earning a lot, then it’s alright since he can afford it. Otherwise do you need to help support his family after marriage ? It’s alright if u don’t mind.

- Does he have siblings ? Is he close to his siblings ? Does he need to help his siblings financially ? Does he have problematic siblings such as sisters or family members who always quarrel ?

- Once you got married, they become your relatives too. Hence they should preferably be easy to get along, otherwise they may become a source of conflict between you & your husband in the future.

Personal

6. Does he have any objectives / goals in life ?

- eg. 5 year career plan ? Where does he see his career in 5 years time?

- or personal objective such as taking MBA or upgrade himself or something lah.

- He should have some goals in life unless you don’t mind that he’s someone who just drifts along with life - But then again, his goals must be realistic. Danger if he’s just day-dreaming !

7. Spendthrift ?

- In debt ? Owe credit card bills ?

- Got expensive hobbies ?

- Is he in deficit every month (spent more than he earned) ?

8. Over Thrifty ?

- Find out his savings habits ? Is he too thrifty (stingy) ? You should ideally find a guy who’s willing to spend on you and thrift on him. Not the other way round.

9. Financial commitment

- Owns a car ? Other financial commitments such as paying installment for HDB ?

- contribution to family (as above under Family section) - If he has a lot of financial commitments, it may affect your future married life as you are likely to worry about money constantly. It’s alright if you don’t mind contributing

10. Is he willing to share housework with you after marriage? Can he at least cook a little ?

11. No long courtship (Most important)

- Is he looking for a spouse too ? ie. Ready to settle down & get married ?

- Some guys in 30s may still think they are very young and wish to concentrate on their career. Please make sure he is on the same bandwidth as you ie. Looking to start a family in near future. - Unless you are <>

Day 7 - 8 To colorado we go....Home of the rockies

Bye Canyon... Hello Rockies...

Enroute, we saw the following Rock structure. Itlooks like a castle resting on a pile of sand. Rather amazing!

Skiing In Wolf Creek ( Christmas!) : Believe it or not, I skied down from the peak. The Gondola ride took about 20mins and off I went, skiing down the green.

After a long day, relax by the hot spring and have a hot bath

Day 6 - Grand Canyon (South Rim)

Day 5 was spent at my place. Shopping Shopping SHopping.. Too busy to take any photos

Day 6 Grand Canyon

Tai Ji on the Canyon!

Day 4 - Sliding down the Imperial Sand Dunes

This is funny. We were on tight budget and were not able to rent a 4WD drive ( cost about 500USD). As such, we decided to make do with cardboard boxes and slide down the great dunes. Creative yeah.

However, we could not find any cardboxes. The only one that we have is boxes from our previous day shopping - COACH. Expensive boxes yeah, using coach boxes to slide down the dunes. Who cares, as long as we have FUN!

Day 3 - San Diego Sea World - Home of Shamu

Seaworld - Home of Shamu (killer whale)

This is highly recommended if any of you guys are making your way to San Diego. Though the tickets are slightly steep at 55USD per person, I think its worth every cents of it considering the amount of animals they have to upkeep and train.

Isnt't she pretty - Dolphin feeding

Shamu in the sensational and breathtaking performance

Huggable Polar Bears

San Diego : Day 1 - 2 Free at leisure.

Day 1 and 2 ( Free at leisure)
Got to give them time to adjust to the US clock. We did some walking in downtown San Diego, Shopping at factory outlet and of course, pier fishing.

San Diego Old Town with my family

Saw this rather interesting plate in the old town.

Sorry Dear, you are the special someone that I chose to ANNOY for the rest of my life....

Caught 4 mackeral in Mission Bay.

RnR by the Bay.


Top of the world. My parents are here!

Boo hoo hoo... Holiday is over.. Parents back in Singapore.... Home Alone

Boo Hoo Hoo...

Its all over.... Back to square one. Home alone.

Nevertheless, I had the most enjoyable 3 wks since I came here. I had the most memorable 3 wks of fun with my parents and sister. Imagine, white christmas in the American Rockies, New Year in glittering Las Vegas and the self drive tour ended in Disneyland ( The place where dreams come true!). What more could anyone ask for.

The tour stated on Dec 18 when my parents flew to LA. We then headed for San Diego immediately followed by Phoenix (my place), Grand Canyon, Pagosa Spring, Vail, Beaver Creek and Denver. We then flew from Denver to Las Vegas and drove to LA where the sad reality sank in. I got to kiss my parents goodbye. On a brighter note, I bought back lots of fond memories. Well, I got the next trip to look forward to. My parents promised to visit me again in June whereby we will head north to ALASKA.

Yippie Hooray!

From Queen of Caldecott to Queen of Bukit Batok?

Haha.. Perhaps this is old news to you guys.... but just found this out while surfing the net.

I realised that TCS is going to bid farewell to Caldecott and move to Bukit Batok. Thats where I live! Haha.. we the Bukit Batokians welcome TCS! Perhaps this will also boast the property prices there. Yippie Yuppie.

On second thought, Zoe has to give up her crown of Queen of Caldecott to Queen of Bukit Batok. Just doesn't sound right. Since Bukit Batok is a malay word, maybe SULTANA of BUKIT BATOK sounds better. Don't you think so?

Happy Birthday Girl!

NOV 19 : Happy Birthday Delia!

Cheers to you Birthday!
May all your dreams come true!
Have a wonderful Birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE 2 GREATEST GUYS

NOV 18 - Yes, believe it or not, Howard and My dad shares the same birthday!

Happy Birthday DADDY! Happy Birthday Darling!

I remembered when I first found out the dates, I freaked out. I remembered my dad asking me this question then " So on every 18 NOV, who will you celebrate this day with. Your boyfriend or me?" Well err..... its not an easy answer... so from then on, 18 NOV was always celebrated at home or at the restaurant with the 2 most important guys! Well this will be the first year that I can't celebrate back home. Nevertheless Happy Birthday Daddy!

恭祝你福壽與天齊
慶賀你生辰快樂
年年都有今日 歲歲都有今朝

I recalled once, I nearly wanted to play a prank on the 2 guys. First to phone Howard saying that I have made a reservation in the restaurant and asked him to meet me there. Then, I will call my dad next to say the same thing. It will be hilarious if I don't turn up and the 2 of them could have their birthday dinner together. Well, who asked them of all dates, to be born on the same day.

Just wanna take this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY. THanks for everything guys... for making my life so complete now! Love both of you!

My thoughts - Slavery vs Poverty

I have just finished reading yet another book “TRUE STORY” by Micheal Finkel. It is a good read and highly recommended. Below is a link to the summary of the book

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/11/DDG4SD61TU1.DTL

_____________________________________

This book got me thinking of the following.

What’s the difference between Slavery and Poverty? How media can generate misunderstandings and how organizations can perpetuate these errors?

Call me ignorant, prior to this, I have never heard of the relationship between chocolate and slavery. When I heard this, I was completely appalled. As I searched through google search on “Ivory Coast Slavery”, Top on the hit list is “Chocolate and Slavery”. In this article “Chocolate and slavery” it mentioned that young boys whose ages range from 12 to 16 have been sold into slave labor and are forced to work in cocoa farms in order to harvest the beans, from which chocolate is made, under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse.

In another article, I quote a young boy “ They enjoy something I suffered to make. I worked hard for them but saw no benefit. They are eating my flesh!” – to me these words seems daunting

In yet another article “ your clothes are taken off and your hands tied. You’re thrown on the floor and then beanter – beaten really viciously – twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, Runaways who are captured are sometimes pummeled to death”

After reading these articles, I was ashamed, I ran through my mind trying to recall if I have ever eaten any chocolates manufactured from Ivory Coast. Not that I could recall. Nestle is made in Malaysia, and the rest were either Belgian (my favorite) or France. I don’t recall any labeled Ivory coast. I may be wrong as from what I read, nearly 50% of the world’s chocolate were manufactured in Ivory Coast.

Above I must say if definitely what Slavery is all about. Something has to be done about it!

However, after reading the book, I had second thoughts. The writer Micheal Finkel presented another side of the story, which I must say, sounds convincing. Micheal Finkel an ex reporter for the “Time” magazine was tasked to write a report on Slavery on Ivory Coast. However, during this mission, he falsified parts of an investigative article and had been fired. In his book “True Story” he claimed that every detail that he wrote was accurately reported. Some may find it hard to believe this man as he was fired by Times for passing off a true story that was a deceptive blend of fact and fiction. But after reading the book, I choose to believe him.

On the subject of Slavery in Ivory Coast, in his book, he voiced out his suspicions that these boys were being coached to tell such stories. It was possible that this was being done so that the journalists would have powerful material. This would entice more journalists to visit. Everyone would be asked for donations and the stories would generate further contributions. This was an efficient way to raise funds.

He too interviewed couple of the boys who claimed that they were tortured but when asked to show the injuries, none could produce. In addition, he also added that these interviews were also arranged. Its like you go to an unfamiliar country and tell the people, I will pay you XX dollar if you show me a slave. It’s all about economics. If you offer someone money for a slave, he will show u a slave. The street boys are smart. They’ll go get their cousin and say “ Look here’s a slave” They’ll get you all the slaves you want.

I did a quick search again on google to see if I could find any pictures of young men being abused. I noticed that in most websites or articles, there were no pictures. The only picture that I’ve seen, which seemed to be repetitive in most of the article showed the back of a man that was badly injured. YES, he looked like he has been under tortured. But if slavery was to manifest in Ivory, I am sure that there should have more pictures to show the world

However, Micheal noted that the people were indeed suffering from poverty. Most children, he said sees this as a dream job. “This is because they can leave their village to get something they wanted. They want what they don’t have. They boys want bicycle…… They know all the brand names….”

As such, I believe that it is poverty that attracted these young men to work in cocoa plantations in a hope of better life. I think the word slavery is exaggerated. I agree that help is needed to raise the standard of living in Ivory Coast. Using media as a tool to generate sympathy on the pretext of slavery to encourage foreign funds is something unacceptable. On the other hand, using the word “slavery” might also hurt their export. This might gain people’s attention but it could also provoke a boycott on west African cocoa, which would only increase the level of poverty. It’s a viscious cycle

With this, I let you guys decide which side to take. “Slavery or Poverty”. This is sometime yet another grey area.

The world's most "FISH" medical care!

Arghhhhhh.... This would never have happened if this was in Singapore.

Today, Howard woke up with a fever, cough, sore throat, running nose and pain in the ear. I told him to take a rest at home as he seemed to be in a very bad state. At 10.30am, we called the doctor for a medical appointment but was told to hold for >10mins over the phone. I told him to forget it and lets just drive down to the medical center that is about 10mins away (I had bad experiences in the phone before and they made be hold for over 20mins previously before cutting off my line).

At the clinic, we told the counter girl about the illness and she said that we should have called couple of days earlier. (DUh... if I could predict or fortell that he will be sick, I will be earning big bucks now!) She claimed that there were no doctors available today and told us to get an appointment for a later date. This got me boiling inside. She then directed me to the customer service center. However, we were not able to find the customer service center and had asked couple of people along the way. They just referred us everyone where and we were just ding donging for the next hour. Finally we were directed to a phone where appointments were to be made. Too bad, I don’t have a digital cam with me at that time to take a photograph of the so called "customer service center" It was just a phone with a plate that says... "call for appointment" and this was the same exact extension that I would have called back home.

We were quite pissed again as we were put on hold. By then, howard was feeling very bad and weak. On one had, we needed a medical certificate to prove that he was unwell for work and on the other, the bloody medical center had no doctor available. Finally after 2hours, with the help of a health counselor, we were told that she could get a nurse to attend to us. A NURSE! Well, better then none we thought. Just give us some medications. We got to wait for yet another 3 hours before our turn came. We were told that we were treated as walk-ins and as such we needed to wait. 3 hours just to see a nurse! I look around the medical center. Everyone looked perfectly healthy other then howard coughing away. What sort of stupid rule to book your appointment way in advance (at least 7 days)? Is this what we called planned MC since one knows that he will be sick in advance?

Finally out turn arrived. Should I say yippie yuppie.... or should I thanked them for being so generous to allow be a slot to see the nurse. After the nurse looked at howard, took his temperature and uttered " you got a fever" .. Duhh... I know that.... she handed him a MC for a day (bearing in mind that it was already about 3.30pm. We have spent the whole day there... and could have just rested at home) and said that she was not authorized to prescribe any medication. If we want any, we got to purchase over the counter........

Can anyone believe that....Not that I use this word very often, I must say this is the most F*** health care I ever seen.

and ... we were there from 10.30 to 3.30 ... WE HAVE NOT HAD OUR LUNCH YET... and poor howard... sick and hungry

5 hours of waiting .... No doctors...... A nurse with no power to prescribe medication......

Howard is Back!

Yippie yuppie.. Howard will be back tomorrow after a long 2.5 wks TDY. Time for me to clean up this little pig sty of mine. Well, believe it or not, in this 2.5wks, I had finished reading 5 books. I have been a book-eating machine lately. Howard was asking me to slow down as he is going broke soon. HAHA. Back in Singapore, to encourage me to read, we had this pact whereby he will pay be 500SGD for per book read. Well, even with this incentive, I hardly read any as by the time I am back from work, I am already so tired. Fridays were spent at PUBS, the weekends were spent playing mahjong and poker. I got better way to spend my time other then reading. Well, here, there is nothing much to do an as such, been picking up reading. Well, this little trip to Louisiana had made him 2500SGD poorer (5*500). Haha.. at this rate, I am going to wipe out his entire saving (***evil laughter ***).