Good days...

Feeling more cheerful these few days... dunno if it's bcos the new year is comin... or mayb just more used to being here in SF.... In any case.. it's gd...

Work has been gd... cos we get to work on new yr's eve- (today) it's 1.5X of the usual pay... so it's alot for the same amount of work... haha... \($_$)/
I don't have much to complain about... although there's stil pressure at home cos I'm living under someone... and well... it's probably just different family cultures... shan't say too much....

While I still miss Singapore, my parents and all my friends... I have to say I'm starting to get to used to the place... so hopefully 2007 will be a new beginning for me... and that I learn to look fwd to living and experiencing much much more...

I used to think that I'm independent and open to new experiences... but after my move to SF... i realised... I overestimate myself... Not that I thought I wouldn't miss my life in Singapore- my family, my friends, and even chilli... but I nv thought it would b this much...

Being in a comfort zone for so long, it's hard that I'm suddenly thrown in a new place and have to learn to adapt all over again...

When I first came to Singapore, it was not much of a problem- being so very young and much more adaptable... I really love living my childhood and teenage years in Singapore- it was truly a wonderful time... =)
But I think in order for me to grow, I haf to learn more... so I shall try to take in a little bit each day...

There are people i noe who have totally lost contact with the countries they haf left... but I don't think I will- at least I hope I wouldn't... cos it was my friends and experiences there that made me who I am... and I'm truly grateful for all of them...

Happy New Year everyone~! May 2007 be filled with lots of fun, laughter, peace and joy...

Love, Rachel~*

It's not easy to be me....

I resent that I haf to speak in a fake-o American accent just to be understood...
Why must people ask me how I am doing everyday? I know they are just being friendly... but I find it quite pointless...
And to fit in... (and not seem rude) I too haf to ask people how they are doing in response to them asking me I am doing everyday...

While I am grateful for having a roof over my head (sponsored by my uncles), I'm somewhat forced to be polite and nice... even when i am in a freaking bad mood... and just feel that being rude and mean.... (sometimes u juz wanna let off some steam)
I NEVER liked hierarchy in the household... my parents and I are friends and somewhat equals... which makes it DAMN hard when I have to listen to people older than me (except my sis of course... Thank God for her...)

I have to ask for permission from authority to use the computer, watch DVDs and play PS2... which *sigh* feels like shit everytime I haf to do that....
I mean... I use the computer EVERY freaking DAY...

*sigh* Migration is not easy... and it doesn't make it easier that I dun haf a place wher I can truly call home....

X'mas has come and gone...

So here I am...

Christmas is gone... so there's new year left... but it's quite depressing when u dun haf friends to spend the festive season with.... I miss all of u... truly....
and it's times like these that I feel even more lonely.... although it helps that i haf my sister here with me...
But bcos I see her 24/7 we tend to quarrel more often too... (I quarrelled with her on X"mas eve...)

I sometimes wish that I'm back in Singapore... where it's not so cold... and I haf people I care about around me... I dun haf to do small talk or haf people force food onto my plate and down my throat...
It's not all that bad... but X'mas in Singapore was much more comfortable than what i experienc ed here..

*sigh* I guess i'm juz home-sick...(which reminds me... my home is here now...) but I miss the place wher I grew up, my family and my friends...

America- land of opportunity?

Human Rights, Employee rights, product rights, animal rights, civil lawsuits, protests, strikes,

Racism, discrimination, hate crimes, shootings...

DNA test for who's the father of a child, cheating spouses, sex with mulitple partners, STDs...

The poor and the homeless, high crime rates, no late nights...

Ignorance and intolerance, fear...

They exist everywher.. I know... but I seem to find a concentrate of it here... of cos, there's always something gd here too... but USA is not without weaknesses... There's segregation... among races, among the rich and poor, among social classes...

I find it hard sometimes to adjust because Singapore is such a safe place... I dun always haf to b on my guard... yea there are criminals in Singapore just the same but I didn't grow up here... so there's still alot I dunno about... it's the things I don't know that scares me most... I feel i
I hope I don't live here in fear... it's wat causes the segregation in the first place...
I guess I do haf to step out of my comfort zone and learn more... it's not easy though... sometimes I really just wanna be back in Singapore- warm, comfortable and confident of wher I am and what I am doing...

There's a lot to look forward to here... the people here in general tend to be friendlier and more trusting... someone managed to get a girl's number on the bus... he actually managed to pick up a girl on the bus in 15 mins... an eye-opener for me... while he probably won't get far with someone lik me who's less trusting... but at the same time I won't b able to experience as much bcos we are not as open to new experiences or people as the locals here would...

Although I haf a brush of a guy who seem to be a racist... he's an usher working at the theatre... cos he only seem to order/shout at the Asians... and he's not even the management- just a normal staff like me... but calling someone here a racist is a taboo... u can't anyhow make this kind of accusations...
but u aso haf to be careful if u r a racist here in America... civil lawsuits are RAMPANT... u can get a lawsuit anytime- so everyone has to b careful what they say or do...

It's a bit disturbing for me to experience being discriminated against bcos of my skin colour... but it's bcos i'm now a minority here... no longer the chinese majority in singapore... so i guess i juz haf to learn to live with it...

It's things like these that make me miss Singapore...

Random rambling...

Feelin v lazy here in SF... i dunno if it's bcos of the cold or it's bcos i'm juz plain lazy... but i feel lik i haf my own gravity field... so tiring to walk around, carry things, move my fingers... i juz wanna stay still...

NO! CANNOT! Rachel Nip Oi Ting.... Move move move move!!!
if not u'll become obese sooner or later man... U dun wanna be like the pigeons here rite?

(Note: the pigeons here are twice the size of those in Singapore... )

Talked to zan yesterday on msn... wow... she's goin to Vietnam today! So excited for her... and so lucky that her work allows her to travel... haha i hope she thinks the same cos she sometimes quite paranoid... According to her, Thailand got dead bodies in hotels and is very dangerous... But then she's goin to thailand the x'mas week w her family... FINALLY... haha... hopefully there's no dead bodies in her hotel room...

Shit!

Aye... v suay.... i stepped on shit again.... i've already lost count how many times i've stepped on/hit by shit... think it's wat ? the 10th time... ? *sigh* but i stepped on it while resucing my sis frm walking into a super big pile of shit...

But I've stepped on them so many times... guess i'm kinda immune to the grossness of it all... haha...

Anyway "edward scissorshand" was a ballet-like performance... tot it was gonna b a musical man... (-_-")
The movie is stil better... my sis and i were saying that the ballet's edward kept swingin his "scissors" hands around lik nobody's business... alot of pple should b dead by the end of the show... haha...
But even though it wasn't wat i expected it to b... it was stil quite enjoyable... they had sprayed snow towards the audience at the end of the show...

Oh... they are playin "Jesus Christ Superstar" nxt week... haha... so me and my sis are thinkin bout goin to watch it... haha... we are spending all our $$$ on theatre and musicals...
Ok.. i'm gonna go watch some DVD now... update u guys soon la.. =)

Musicals, musicals, musicals

Yea!!! I'll b watching Edward Scissorhands tomorrow!! I'm v happy... but the tics r abit ex la... it's US$35.... er... so feel abit bad esp since my pay for the ushering job isn't alot aso... so i'm kinda spendin b4 earning... which isn't v gd...

Oh well, since we've bought the tics alreadi... i'll treat it as my X'mas present... heh heh... >=)

There are alot of musicals, plays and art shows here in SF... so i haf no lack of entertainment...

and yesterday went w my sis to watch "Marie Antoinette".. it's an okay show la... but i dun really noe the historical background of the show... but mayb if u noe u'll appreciate the show more... even though the show not say fantastic i like the music in it... so i suspect the soundtrack will b quite nice...

Haha... my sis is eyeing the com to do her job applications so I'll b lettin her use now...

Will let u all noe how "Edward Scissorhands" is soon... =)

Employed finally...

Hey good news... I've got a job! I'm now workin part-time together with my sis @ a theatre as an usher for a musical playing now called "Jersey Boys".. so i can actually stay and watch the whole show... It's all v exciting for me!
And the audience here in USA is v spontaneous... they'll laugh out loud and cheer loudly and "awwww..." at a touching scene... so it's a lot of fun watchin their response too! Haha... u'll nv get such a fun crowd of audience in Singapore...

Yea... cos I'm working almost everyday now... so I haven really got the time to go on msn or update my blog... but will try to when my sis isn't usin the com... (cos she's got job applications to send too)

Gettin used to the cold...

It's gettin colder and colder... but i feel that i'm starting to get used to it...

Me and my sis haf finally moved into our room!! So it's really exciting for the both of us... we've been snacking alot in our room... and reading the Death Note comic series... it's really quite exciting... but my reading speed for chinese is really very slow... my sis is reading the last book (vol.12) but i've juz started on vol.5 ... -_-"

Actually i've been feelin abit useless since my arrival here... cos we r treated abit lik kids... (but it's gradually improving) we are starting to help w the chores and we r cleanin up our own room... (but the room is inevitably messy)... i haf NO idea why...

Oh and we recently got new handphones... but sadly we have no friends here... so er... there's no one to call... but it's the trendest phone I've got so far... (haha..) this one is Samsung's but i dunno wat's the model no. but it has a camera... and can access msn, bluetooth, play music... so it's pretty high-tech for me... haha.. =)

Went out shopping at night last nite... the city is very pretty at night... they had a big x'mas tree at the Union Square and it was all lighted up... we went to this restaurant called "Cheesecake Factory" and ta-bao 2 cheesecakes (my sis loved it... but i'm not too much of a cheesecake fan) and the restaurant had seats outdoors and u can get a really beautiful view of the Union Square... n they r playing x'mas songs.... it's all very Christmas-ty...

And then a cold gust on wind blows... and i'm reminded of how cold it is outside...

Recently haf been juz watchin DVDs, playin video games, sleeping, eating, snacking, shitting, so er... which explains alot bout my feelings of being useless...

Anyway i've found out how to make PC-to-PC calls on MSN messenger... so if u guys ever wanna talk to me... =)

It's not easy...

This morning me and my sis set up my "cozy corner" in our room... actually it's juz a rug with a few cushions that we bought frm IKEA... whew... yesterday we went to IKEA to get the bed frames...
I love IKEA!! and I LOVE the meatballs... the last time i went there I didn't get a chance to eat... I only had the hotdog... luckily this time my sis saw thru my greedy face and told everyone to take a break in the restaurant...

U noe the pple here r v disciplined... they put the potato chips outside the counter for pple who order the meal to self-service... i tell u... if it was in S'pore... it would b long gone liao... but the pple here r v disciplined... they only take it if they paid for the meal... so I thought that was pretty cool...

Anyway my room is almost finished... we juz need the bed mattress n then me n my sis can move in liao!

I'm starting to miss S'pore quite alot... and tt's y my mood recently is not v gd... (quarelled w my sis yesterday)... miss the warm weather, miss my home (which is technically not my home anymore), miss my parents, miss my friends, and miss my freedom...
In Singapore, I could go anywher I want.. (ok not everywher), go out WHEN i want, and I KNOW wher I'm going... here... it's always waiting at home, and always needin someone to take me n my sis out... I feel lik a caged up animal...

I hope things will get better though... my sis is more optimistic... she says that we'll b able to travel on our own after we r more familiar w the place... and we can take the bus b4 we get our license... yea... i hope she's right too.... cos i feel trapped....

Migration is not as easy as I thought it would be... uprooting myself entirely and goin to someplace new... *sigh* I juz hope to adapt to the place and then move on... right now... i feel lik i dun belong anywher....

Missing the hot weather....

Hey hey... i'm starting a blog! =) i'll try to keep updating my blog....and i'll try to learn how to load photos and videos if possible... and how to do all the cool stuff with a blog... (haha... always the computer idiot)

NOTE: the word "TRY"

It's almost a week since I've reached San Francisco... Not much jetlag... but i've been sleeping alot......

it's getting colder and colder by the day.. stil autumn but winter is comin real soon... brrrr.... my fingers n toes are constantly bein frozen by the wind... and i thought that i sneezed a lot while I was in Singapore... haha... i'm sneezing twice as much now... =

REALTIME camera: I'm in front of the computer my legs stuffed into my jacket... and I have a blanket around my head... ya... i look lik an idiot...

I starting to miss a lot of the things in Singapore... i miss bein warm and er... humid...
here... it's always cold and dry... and I miss havin to go out... I juz haf to take the train, bus or taxi... here I haf to depend a lot on my uncles' cars... cos i'm not familiar with transport system here juz yet...
Most of all, I miss the food.....

Me and my sis are gonna haf a room of our own... that's very exciting... but it's still not furnished w any furnitures yet... but we haf been to IKEA to get some things and we've juz put up our curtains in our room... While there's stil a lot to b done b4 we can officially move in... me n my sis r spendin some time on our own there... it's great to get our own space... very thankful...

Which reminds me, tomorrow (23 Nov) is Thanksgiving day.... and I'll b havin turkey... kinda exciting!! I haf a lot to b thankful for... my family, my friends and this opportunity to experience a completely new lifestyle... although i stil miss Singapore alot... *sigh*

Anyway i heard that Singapore is gonna raise the GST to 7%... well... i noe it sux but if u wanna look on the bright side... the tax here is 8.25%... so hope it's some consolation to all of u there...

I'm gonna end off here for now... my fingers r complaining...
THUMB: "Hey u! WE ARE FREEZING OUT HERE! I dun wanna keep pressing spacebar while the toes are inside... warm and living the gd life"
THIRD FINGER: "YEA!!! U better warm us up if not i'll point myself at u.."

Ok ok... *sigh* gtg...
bye all... will update this blog soon!! =) Take care!

Lotsa love,
Rachel~*