Last days + back home

I guess I haven't been updating this blog for a while. So... during my last few days in the Big Apple, we kind of went a little crazy and hit up all the supposedly cool places in our last ditch effort to experience as much of NYC as possible.

















The program put together a dinner and dance cruise for us, which was really nice. We got to sail along the Hudson river and marvel at the beautiful brightly lit city for one last time.

















It's funny how we just met this summer, but I feel like I've known these girls for a long time. Also sad to think how we might never see each other again, since everyone's from different parts of the country, and I'm, well... not from this country. haha.
















Pretty view of the city from the Brooklyn bridge
















The group on our evening Brooklyn Bridge walk.

Random

So. We went to a movie screening at the Hudson River, where they were showing Iron Man and giving out free popcorn. It was fun except for the chilly breeze and the weird old man beside me and the annoying couple behind who insisted on having a loud conversation that lasted through the entire movie.
I love central park. it's so pretty and peaceful.
Went to the Harry Potter movie no. 6 (i forget the title) premiere, and the line was ridiculously long, even though we got there 2 hours before. I think the US needs to learn from singapore and give out movie tickets with SEATS NUMBERS on them, so people don't need to wait around pointlessly just to get good seats. i could've done something productive in that 2 hours, like watched a tv show or something :)
Speaking of movies, i finally saw Wall-E, and promptly fell asleep because there was no talking and i just got really antsy. And then i made myself watch Slumdog millionaire, although what i really wanted to do was to watch another fluffy, brainless movie. but the movie surprised me. it was actually really good. haha. i found myself completely enthralled by the story, and i actually sat through the entire thing without having to fight back the urge to do something else.

We also had a Dreamer graduation ceremony, which consisted of a speech meant to inspire us to surge ahead and fulfill our dreams, but it was too long and i got restless. we received a free book, which i think i threw away because it didn't look too enticing. And then we watched a video of our NYC memories and gave toasts to our awesome summer and the people who made it happen.

Freedom

The last day of work was surprisingly... bittersweet. it was the day i'd been looking forward to since i started working, but now that it was here, i felt... sad. it was a pretty good experience, getting to work for a lifestyle magazine in NYC, and my colleagues were so chill and laidback, they made the office environment fun and not stressful. i think a part of me wished i could stay and continue working, but i guess all good things must come to an end. although my editor did bring me to a PR event, where we received lots of free beauty products. happiness :)

Summer

I think this summer has been, quite possibly, one of the best summers i've ever had. although... i've only had 3 summers, since we don't get 3-month long vacations from our rigid singaporean schools. but yeah. i learned a lot. about myself, about people, about life... it's been a real eye-opener. there were ups and downs, and i admit i went a little crazy with my newfound freedom, but i definitely wouldn't trade this experience for anything :)

Back home

Now that i'm back in hot and humid Singapore, i've never appreciated air-conditioning as much as i do now. it's unbearably hot. i don't remember it being so hot. maybe i've been in indiana, the land of crazy cold weather, for too long. so i arrived home, and promptly fell sick. because everyone around me was sneezing and coughing. i felt like the air around me was brimming with bacteria and germs.

Other than that, it's good to be back. i went through NYC withdrawals for a while, but i'm glad to see my friends and family again, and spend lots of quality time with them. things are still pretty much the same. brothers are still stoic and silent... they mumble an incoherent sentence once in a while, and that's it. parents are still constantly working... at the pizza place, at the matchmaking company, at their ministry. and now i've become the unofficial writer/editor for their new online dating company, as well as the photographer for their singles mingles event. i guess they were pretty desperate, because my photography skills are zero to none, as seen by my attempts in photography 1 class at taylor. but it was really amusing to be at their sushi-making singles event. funny how no matter what age they are, men and women just naturally gravitate to people of the same sex, even at a SINGLES MINGLES event. one glance around the room and i instantly felt sorry for the women. most of the guys were sorry-looking nerds, with similar haircuts, glasses and thinning hair. they were all shy and softspoken too. i guess the good ones are all taken. but it was fun seeing them go from awkward strangers to fast friends, and watching my dad teach them how to make sushi was hilarious. dad has become the instructor of all their singles mingles events. from wine tasting to ballroom dancing to pizza making to sushi making, he's learned them all. it was very amusing. but to his credit, his sushi tasted pretty decent.

Somehow everytime i come home, it feels like nothing's changed. my friendships and relationships pick up right where i left them, and there's always the top three (and only three) things to do in good old singapore - shop, eat, watch movies. it's easy to fall back into the rhythm of life here. but at the same time, everything's changed. people have gone about their lives without me, the church has gone through major restructuring, even my house is undergoing renovation to accommodate my grandparents moving in. i guess life goes on.

It's been a while...

The past week has been crazy-filled with stuff to do...
I went and met my aunt, who's an air stewardess for Singapore Airlines, and just happened to be flying into NYC for the weekend. Passed her some stuff to bring home, in an effort to lessen the weight of my overweight suitcases. The idea of meeting her was a little weird at first, because i'm not really close to her, and we've hardly talked the past 21 years of my life. haha. But she was cool, and we ended up talking about a lot of stuff while strolling through central park on a beautiful sunny day. I love that central park is like a little taste of greenery in this bustling, dirty city.

That's my aunt. she looks so young even though she's like over 40.



One of the group of musicians we saw busking in the park. reminded me of that one time when i made the comment to my friend, 'how come people in other countries can do busking for fun and make money, but the only people who do busking in singapore are handicapped people?' (they're either blind, deaf, or have no legs or arms. and they don't earn much 'cause singaporeans are stingy like that.)

Top of the Rock

We went to the top of the Rockefeller Center one evening, and the view was absolutely gorgeous even though this picture is bad.

Embarrassing

Somehow i've been showing people my super embarrassing singapore ID picture, because they just wanted to see it out of curiosity. And of course they tried hard not to, but they always burst out laughing at me with short boy hair parted down the middle and round glasses. It's ok. I'm glad to be there to bring joy to others around me. haha. plus we all go through awkward phases. you'd be lying if you said you didn't. and yes, i used to want to be a boy, but now i'm perfectly happy with being a girl :)

Metropolitan museum of art

We went to the Met and attempted to see every gallery in our short 3 hours there, but it was simply impossible, even though we breezed through the african tribal stuff, the paintings that all looked the same after a while, and the greek/roman stuff (since i've already seen one too many museums in greece and italy).
But the coolest exhibit by far was the one chronicling the changes in the fashion world, sponsored by marc jacobs. it was so fascinating to see how fashion has transformed into what it is now, and to see all the different models and designers who made an impact. that was definitely more interesting to me than any piece of modern art (which i still think i can do. how hard can it be to splash some paint on a canvas and title it some fancy name like 'the boy and the bicycle' and watch while others try to interpret it? haha.)

My very first fourth of july

I felt very American on saturday. haha.



We went to Coney island to see Nathan's famous hot dog eating contest, only to get stuck in line waiting to buy our own hot dogs. we were so near to the contestants, but we missed out on seeing them chow down on 60++ hot dogs. oh well. at least we were there. haha. and they were good hot dogs, too (although my mom's voice popped into my head, saying 'stop eating hot dogs! they cause cancer!')
Coney island was really nice. there were tons of people milling around the boardwalk and playing around on the sand and in the water. we saw a professional volleyball tournament going on, passed by lots of people smoking weed, went through flea markets and carnivals, and went to see the freak show. it claimed to have a two-headed baby and a snake woman and other weird stuff, but all we saw was a lousy magician with card tricks, a woman (who sounded like a man) walking on glass, and... SPIDER WOMAN. oh yes, she had the body of a spider and the head of a woman! gasp.
they flung open the curtain, and ta-daaaa. there was the body of a huge toy spider, and a woman who stuck her head into the hole where its head should be. she wiggled the 8 legs for effect, but the crowd was obviously disappointed and started to disperse.
well, there goes my 3 dollars.
And for some reason, every time i wear my 'save ferris: ferris bueller's day off' t shirt, lots of guys feel the need to come up to me and provide their own opinion about the movie. i think the shirt must be cursed.

Fireworks

We saw the Macy's fireworks along the street! the display went on for a good 15 minutes at least, and it was sooooo beautiful.



My first baseball game ever

This summer is definitely one of many 'firsts.'
Went to the brand new New York Yankees stadium in the Bronx to see the yankees vs. the toronto blue jays (i think). I was excited, because everyone else around me was, too. and we got good seats for a mere 5bucks. But then, when they tried to explain the rules of the game to me and i failed at grasping the concept, i just gave up and cheered whenever people cheered, and booed when they booed. it was easier that way. haha.






It was really fun, even though the sweltering heat was a bit unbearable, and i now have 5 different shades of color on my body.

5 more days of work!!!! :)