Haven

Awww.. sho cute.

 

AWWW.. so damn cute can die. =D


I love funny/cute comic strips lah! I read Pearls Before Swine and was laughing away like insane. Muahahaha.


Oh yeah. My other blog is so neglected lah. Boo hoo.

"I swear, that thing is not working!" I mutter impatiently to no one in particular. The last time I looked at it, it showed that it was fifteen minutes to ten. Now, after what feels like an hour, it is telling me that only three minutes have elapsed since. I think I am going insane.

'I could not wait. The anticipation is killing me.' My thoughts flicker through my head.  

One thing I've realized is that time passes by very slowly, especially when you want it to fly by. (And vice versa, too.) I could almost make out every single tick of the clock, and I feel as though I am being mocked by a common household fixture. It is very annoying, to say the least.

Sitting on this cold metal bench, waiting and waiting, isn't helping very much either.

I have a bad feeling I am here a little too early. For one thing, the plane isn't supposed to arrive until noon. Yeah, I have way too much time on my hands. I feel like going on a time-killing spree right about now..

Finally, I decide that I should get something to eat and start heading towards the little deli I spotted on the way in.

The flight had better not be delayed!

'I cannot wait. The anticipation is burning up my insides.' The recycled notion pops past my head.   

After spending a good thirty minutes nibbling on a bagel, I stand up and was ready to leave and wait some more. I stop by the resident bookstore and pick up today's newspaper to check the weather and the juiciest tabloid just for kicks.

I sit and begin devouring the latest in celebrity scandals.

After what seems like ten hours of reading -and giving someone a detailed explanation of where the nearest bathroom was in between said reading-, I feel a poke on my shoulder.

I swivel around and just about fainted.

"How did you.. you.. I mean.. I.." I am finding it hard to string a sentence, it seems.

"I thought.. I thought.. you were coming out that way?" I point frantically to the terminal I was standing in front of and waiting by.

He just looks back at me, nodding intently, with a very amused expression on his face. I could tell he was enjoying my moment of confusion.

Oh, what the heck! The important thing is that..

"You're back!" I sputter, in delight and glee.

He smiles at me for just a second before enveloping me into an embrace.

"Hey, you," he murmurs into my hair. "Still as incoherent as ever, I see," he is teasing me.

I laugh, and warn him about getting dangerously charming by the second.

"Did I say incoherent? You know I meant devastatingly lovable," he chuckles and I glare at him with mock anger.

He lets go of me and jokingly begins examining me at arm's length.

I begin my own inspection, just to annoy him. Four hundred and sixty nine days away from his familiar environment had not changed him much. The differences, if any, were subtle. He had grown out his short hair a little, he also seemed to have developed a very classy sense of style. Other than that, he was almost just as I had remembered him.

I look at him seriously and say in an equally serious tone, "Your hair's longer,"

"You beat me to it! I was just going to say the same thing about you," And we laugh in unison.

"Geez I've missed you," he says as he stares at me with his twinkling eyes.

I laugh some more. "I'm sure you have," I say, a hint of sarcasm in my voice

"It's true!" he protests. "Don't you trust me anymore?" he questions with his puppy dog eyes.

Ignoring him tends to be best in situations such as these.

"Now, where are your presents for me?" I smile sweetly and ask. What I really wanted to know was where all his stuff was so we could leave already.

"In those bags.. somewhere,"

He points to a pile sitting on a trolley behind him and I gave myself a mental smack in the head for asking such a stupid question.

"I would ask you how you managed to gather up your belongings and sneak up on me all before your flight was even supposed to land, but I have a feeling you wouldn't divulge your little secret with me anyway,"

"It wasn't mission impossible, I just had to pull a few strings," he shares. "Murder a few people here and there, you know" he is teasing me again.

"Oh!" I suddenly think of something. "Did you give me a later time on purpose?" I stare at him suspiciously.

He just throws on one of his smirks and reaches for my hand, I take it and our fingers interlock.

"I just couldn't stand the thought of you waiting all by your lonesome self for so long." He continues, saying, "Knowing you, you must've been here for at least an hour already, sitting there, counting down the minutes.."

I blush. He knows me too well. Or am I just easily read? 

"Come on, let's get out of here," I say as I tow him along, deciding not to dwell on the subject any longer.

He nods and begins pushing the trolley.

I loop my arm around his and we follow the signs to the parking lot, walking together at a rather slow pace.

"And, for the record," I stop abruptly in my tracks, making him hold up as well.

"I've missed you a lot, too." I whisper the words into his ear.

I watch his face turn a shade of red and I see his lips slowly pull into a smile.

And we continue walking.

[In all honesty, I do not think this even qualifies as a short story. A random scribble, possibly? It lacks a plot. :/ Haha but then again, my writing rarely has any storyline so to speak..
Anywho, how how how? What do you think? What do you think? And yeah I know. Not a tragedy for once! Woot! I want them comments! And suggestions for a title would be nice too! :P I'm so demanding.

Oh! Author's note: Yeah, another writing with an airport setting! Haha. But seriously hor, the airport is way versatile. Just by setting the mood and style up, you can get happy or sad stuff. :p]

[The following short story is not written by me. xD Copyrights go to my little sister, Sara. Haha. Apparently she submitted this to be published in her school literary magazine. I thought it was pretty good and I didn't have anything better to blog about so I decided to share. ;P]


"Mom, does my outfit look okay?" I asked, fidgeting with my clothes. I'm not sure what my sister had dressed me up in tonight.

"You look wonderful, sweetie," Mom assured me as she set me down on the park bench. "Do you want me to accompany you until Aidan comes?" she asked, caressing my cheeks. Her hands felt rough and crinkly against my cheek. I wondered what she looked like now. Was her hair still the same dark brown or had strains of silver locks taken over?

"It's okay, you can leave. I want a little time alone to think before Aidan gets here," I replied nervously.

"That's fine. I'll be waiting for you at home," she added. I hear her footsteps slowly fade away until nothing was left.

The cool night air felt surprisingly soothing against my skin. There was not a sound to be heard, except for the distant hooting of an owl. The chilly air in combination with the silence provided an eerie setting in the park tonight. With no one else around, I allowed my thoughts to wander freely. The lingering scent of damp grass calmed my nerves. Memories of the other night began to dance around in my mind. I remembered that night so vividly, from the words he used to comfort me down to the promise he had made.

"Aidan, I'll not be in the way if you decided to move on... without me," I whimpered, my voice barely audible. I heard him let out a soft sigh.

"That's not going to happen. I'll always be here for you, for us," he replied with sincerity.

"But, things will never be the same again. Don't you get it? I'll never be able to see anything again! You don't need some blind person following you around everyday! You deserve so much better!" I sputtered, letting my frustrations boil over and take charge.

"What happened to your eyes was an accident, Darcy. The doctors said they could fix it. We just have to wait for the right donor. Everything will be back to normal soon," he murmured softly, trying to calm me down. "And when you do get your sight back, we'll go to the park, lie on the grass and watch the stars," he promised me. He always knew I had a fascination with the little bright dots up in the night sky.

It has been two years since we had that conversation. I went through the corneal transplantation and tonight was the night I finally got to tear off the bandages which hovered uncomfortably above my eyes. Although Aidan couldn't be there during the surgery, he made a promise that he would be here tonight. We were going to watch the stars together, just like he promised two years ago.

To say that I was excited was an understatement. He should be here in a few minutes. I could hardly wait to hear his voice, to hold his gentle and familiar hands, and to actually see his face again. I couldn't help but smile just thinking about him.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. He's here. My heart began racing with joy.

"Darcy," a voice called. The voice didn't belong to Aidan. Something was wrong, I could feel it.

"Daniel? Is that you? Where's Aidan?" I asked my boyfriend's older brother.

"Aidan..." his words trailed off.

"Where is he?" I asked again, my voice trembling. I could not hide my anxiety any longer.

"He... he got into a car accident on his way here,"

I could feel my heart slowly constricting, my stomach churning. Please let him be alright was my only plea.

"Where is he now? Is he okay?" I bombarded Daniel with more questions, trying to distract myself from breaking down and crying.

"He died in the hospital,"

I felt my mind go blank.

"His body is still there right now. His last request was for me to come tell you.. before.. he went," he couldn't hold his tears anymore, I heard him begin sobbing.

No. This isn't happening. I must be having a nightmare. He cannot be gone.

"Take me there, now," I whispered, still not wanting to believe a word Daniel had said.

I never liked coming to the hospital. The clean smell sickened me. I could hear quiet sobs around me. The cold room made me shiver. I couldn't take it anymore, I wrapped my fingers around the bandages on my eyes and tore them off. The bright florescent lights blinded me for a few seconds, causing little dots to appear everywhere I looked.

I studied the environment around me, I saw Aidan's parents crying in the corner of the room, Daniel was still standing beside me, looking straight at the hospital bed. My eyes stopped dead in its tracks when I saw his blood tainted body lying on the bed. His eyes were closed, there were bruises all over his square-shaped face, he was just lying there like he was in a deep slumber. I couldn't stop staring at his lifeless body, even though tears were beginning to escape through my now functional eyes.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," I said under my breath. "We were going to to watch the stars together! You promised me, Aidan! You cannot just simply break a promise!" My low voice had grown into a yell as I screamed at him, no longer bothering to hold back my tears.  

Haha. And now you shall all go Oooh and Aahhh at my photography skills. LOL. (okay they're not incredible but I tried..)

So my sibs and I went to Sea World all on our own! Haha. My mom and dad were like, we've seen before so now you guys go. -__-lll


How sad, really. We didn't get to touch the dolphins! =(
 

Dolphin Show.

 
   



In between shows, we went and looked at the various sea creatures of the deep..
 
 
People cleaning the manatee tank. Geez. Must be fishy down there.
 

Alligator! Or crocodile. Whatever. 
 

Ohmygosh! Super cute penguins! ♥♥♥♥♥
 
 


 
Is this shark, like, sleeping?                                             "Lao ban, bring me that stingray. I want it cooked to perfection."
 


We waited in line for AN HOUR under the sun (well, okay there was a little bit of shade...) to watch Shamu the killer whale do his/her/their thing. Ohmigosh.

 
 


The sea lion and otter show was so funny! They did parodies of the park's attraction! Oh man, I love parodies! :)

The banner reads: Shamu, can you do this too?
  
And the did a spoof on the roller coaster. Lol
 
Haha, and he even pukes at the end. How cute!



Another Shamu show. Lol

 
 



Voila! And that was our day at Sea World. :)


In between, we managed to squeeze a little time at the beach. We drove an hour out from Orlando to Cocoa Beach, and only stayed for thirty minutes. Haha. Hey it was noon when we arrived.. and who freaking goes to a beach at noon when the sun is at its highest and brightest?! Sheesh. 

It was worth it though. Ah~ Lovely scent of the ocean.. :)

  

 



And I'm done! With my whole vacation! Emptied out and used up most of the pictures.. woot! :)

Now I can move on and blog about other nonsensical stuff! Do I hear a YAY? :P

XD I'm almost done blogging about my vacation! So you all can heave a sigh of relief. :P

Yeah.. this blog is getting drier than ever. :(



Magic Kingdom is basically what the original Disneyland in California is. It houses all the classic rides! The iconic Cinderalla's Castle!


After paying 11 dollars for parking, you get to ride the tram! Or else it'd be a five mile walk under the scorching sun to get from the parking lot to the park itself. I kid you not.


Ferry ride across the lake. :) Gorgeous views.


 

 

Haha. Isaac at Adventureland.


Went on a Jungle Cruise. It is supposed to be set in Southeast Asia. I think. xD Note the color of the "river" water.. told you they paid a lot of attention to detail. :P

Funny menu. Read to understand. xp


An unfortunate scene.


We actually missed Pirates of the Caribbean! DRATS! I know right... Very disappointing! I checked and it was unfortunate that they were renovating the ride the whole week that we were there. Sigh.

 


Oh, my sibs and I went to the famous Haunted Mansion. Didn't take pics because my camera died on me. :D VERY SCARY, like seriously! xp


My dad took tons of steamboat pictures. -___-lll
    

Shh. We're hiding. 


Random pictures here and there. o_o Even I also hin..
This was taken after riding Space Mountain.
 

Went on a few other rides which we didn't take any pictures of. Pish posh. Whatever.

I got soaked on another water ride, Splash Mountain. Grr.


Anyway, moving on..


The nighttime spectacular was fantabulous!!! Oh my gosh, I seriously do not know how I will ever look at any other theme park ever again. Disney is just the cream of the crop.

First there was the parade. XD My sibs think parades are lame.. but WHAT LAH! It's Disney parades leh! Ish. They're good, trust me.

I shall post most of the parade pics that I so painstakingly took! haha.
I tried it with and without flash here and there. Sigh. They turned out okay... I suppose.

 

I'm hoping you kids are familiar enough with timeless Disney characters enough to be able to identify them.. :P

Just for May. Haha. Chip and Dale.
 

  
Woodland creatures..
  
 
  

   

  
 
   

  And thus concludes the parade!

Fireworks next. And the fireworks were sweet!

Cinderalla's Castle, at night. :D
 
 
These pictures do not do the fireworks display justice, at all.
 
   

To think Disney has these displays every single freaking night during peak season! Oh my gosh indeed.

   
 
  

And there you have it. Four theme parks, wrapped up in pictures. :D
 
Hope I didn't bore you to death... Haha, I'm sure you gave up after the first entry of Disney World. I bet. :P

The day I got drenched..
was just..
Another hot hot day!



Went on Kilimanjaro Safaris and saw a bunch of African animals roaming around. lol

 

Wooo I love this picture!
 

Some random animals, grazing..
 
Scratching on a trunk..
 
And playing peek-a-boo...
  

  :/
   
 
Hahaha. Kids at a watering hole!
 

Kali River Rapids. 

I got drenched. When I say drenched, I mean SOAKED from head to toe!
We went on the water ride and boy was I lucky enough to be the few who actually get dripping wet.

Before:




After:
 

SHEESH.

But it was all in good fun.

Proceeded to walk around dripping wet.

The famous Tree of Life. With hundreds of hand-carved animals on it. Very very cool. 


Yeah. Antennae, anyone? :P
 

Afterwards there was a parade!

And there's Chip! Or Dale. Lol
 

Cool animal cyborg (haha) contraption thingy. 
 

More pics but frankly, I'm too lazy to post them up.. lol

Not the traditional shiny red juicy apple.
  


Oh no. It's the Apple site/store.


Eddie and I have been chatting a whole lot these past couple of weeks. Well actually, in retrospect, we've been chatting quite a lot these past two years. Haha. But that is beyond the point.

And the point that I am trying to make here is that, the Apple website is seriously sinful.

Random, you say? Not very much.

Eddie's been talking practically non-stop to me about laptops and other fancy high-tech/high-end stuff that I cannot afford. Why? Because he's getting a new laptop. So I, being a good and bored friend, decided to join in his quest to find the most compatible laptop there is, out there!

Note that I am seriously NOT the most well informed tech person at all. You start blabbering to me in tech jargon and I'm lost... SO! To help out, I can only resort to being superficial looking at the prettiness and classiness of the laptop designs. :P

Anyway, after surfing high and low (haha) around the net for options.. and trust me, there were loads of them! Dell, HP just to name a few.. 

Before going on to the evil site...

And man.. the Apple is not known as the forbidden fruit of Eden for nothing! (aiseh man, damn symbolic and analogical!)
These apples are very pretty to behold alright. But ridiculously expensive too. I mean, in comparison to what Microsoft and everybody else have to offer lah.


One commits four deadly sins just by innocently going through the glistening and glowing gadgets...

(Oh em gee! I want lah...  What for? Shrugs. I just want okay? :P)



Lust - Goes goo-ga-ga over the shiny MacBooks and iPods..



Greed - Wants to buy absolutely everything offered on their site. Well, I exaggerate.. only the MacBook Pro and iPhone.. is that too much to ask?!





Envy - Realizes that an average student's budget doesn't quite allow for said dream purchases, thus begins jealous streak.




Wrath - Despises the rich and privileged population who can afford lousy Apple gadgets. Hates their very existence. (of course, this sin just overlaps the Envy one.. lol)



And maybe even..  Gluttony - If you manage to gobble it up. I mean, it is an apple. :P


Commit four sins with one site. LOL.



Sigh. Got to remember to mention this the next time I go for confession. Lol. "Father, forgive me for I have sinned. I have spent many hours going over the Apple website.."

Hahaha.


[Not an advert, by the way. I WISH Steve Jobs would pay me to advertise for Apple. I wish! Heck, I'd be happy to write for a few iPods and Macbooks.. Really. Haha, what a sell-out I am. XP]  

Palm trees everywhere to make the place feel like the real deal: Hollywood in Los Angeles. :)
 

We went to Hollywood Studios on the second day and on the fifth.


Beauty and the Beast, The Musical. The movie was amazing and remains one of my favorites. Tell me who doesn't like Beauty and the Beast, huh?! The musical was very well done as well. It was fun.. musicals are always fun. :) Makes you feel happy cheery-o.

   
   
 


 Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Very cool. Even if I've never watched any of the movies.. lol.. my dad was a fan though, I could tell. But man they blew up stuff, which is always a plus.

That's Indiana Jones, if you squint hard enough.. you'll see him!
  
You can't tell all that well but that was the explosion! Lol
  
 

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Very cool as well! I imagine guys would love love love this one. Definitely taught me not to trust EVERYTHING you see on the big screen/tv, because most of them are just very well done visual illusions. :)

High speed chases and everything! They say they burn through 2 sets of new tires every single day in the summer! o_o

     
"I'm on fire! I'm on fire!"                               And would you look at all the smoke coming from drag racing! Air pollution, much? 
   


Random picture, that there is either an Alien or a Predator behind me. Shrugs. Never watched that movie so I really can't tell.   

Now on to the rides!


Rock 'n' Roller Coasters Starring Aerosmith. One of my absolute favorites! I kid you not but my sister and I went on it THREE times! xD The last two times, back to back some more!

My exemplary photography skills! LOL I love this picture!
  
A glimpse of the roller coaster! Albeit, a bad one.
  

 
 
 The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Very fun! Not scary fun, but fun fun. :) We went on it twice!

 
The inside of the eerily decorated haunted hotel. ;p Love the spider webs as finishing touches!
 
And in we go into the elevator.. of doooooom. Muahahaha. Okay, that was lame. >.<
  
 
 Toy Story Mania! was pretty fun too. It was a recent addition to the park so predictably the lines were obscenely long ALL DAY! Finally, we waited in line for like close to an hour to get on the ride. -___-lll
 
The waiting line winds through some pretty interesting stuff! You're made to feel like you're toy-size.. so (duh) everything around you is gigantic! xD I am so going to doll up my pre-school JUST like this if I ever go into the business! Eh, cannot steal my idea. :P I track you down owh.
    
  And then you're off to shoot stuff and compete with the person sitting next to you!
  Get to use 3-D glasses summore. Funny but my mom seriously enjoyed this ride. hehe
   

 
  At night, there's this cool (I realize that I've been overusing the word "cool".. sigh, but no other word fits!) Fastasmic! spectacular. If you've ever watched the Disney Fantasia movie, you'll get the gist of the whole thing. 
 
Waiting for night to fall. Everything also have to wait, have to get in early so can get a good seat and etcetera! 
 
  Lots of people.. o_o And there's the stage...
   
  I have no idea how they do it but they manage to project images on mist? fountain?.. on water! Didn't get a picture of it though.. :(
 
  Hard to tell, but if you enlarge it you'll maybe spot your favorite Disney character! xd
 

Number One: Tourists are bitches mean uncivilized people.

Well, generally speaking about most of them. (I'm sure not ALL tourists are like that because I definitely was not! xp And I am not being biased here). I am dead serious. Do you see the seriousness that is plastered on my face? Okay, stupid question, you can't see my face, but let me assure you I am not smiling. :)

Oh here's the proof. I don't simply and blatantly say one. :P

Incident One:
I was walking along, minding my own business, and out of nowhere this stroller bumps into my ankle from behind. I can understand a mere accident or just a moment's carelessness. But what made me so mad was when I looked back at the source, the woman glared at me, like I was the one who hit her! Like Hello? I was walking at the same pace all along and you crashed into me!
I wasn't even looking for an apology (man I can be SUCH a pushover!) but oh my heavens, at least look like you're sorry. What lah still think it's my fault some more. Sheesh.

Incident Two:
We were queuing outside the stadium for a show at Sea World, under the hot sun too mind you. And along comes this family who thinks they own the place, you can guess what they did right? Well I'll tell you, they freaking cut the queue! Right in front of us! Like Hello? What do you think this line is for? We just line up for kicks is it? Oh my gosh, I'm like angry that I didn't make a scene now. Sheesh. I think I would have if I had backup with me. Why am I such a pushover?! I think it is totally MY fault that people like this even exist, because people like me don't put them right. But man, since when was it my responsibility to teach other people civility and common courtesy? 


Number Two: Any waiting time under 40 minutes is considered short.

I'm talking about the waiting time for rides and shows and stuff like that. Because boy oh boy, there were literally people everywhere you look! It is like people mountain people sea, everyday, without fail! I'm scared of people now. I am terrified of crowds! Hahaha. Anyway, so predictably, the lines for everything were also loooong. Especially for the popular rides and shows! I think we spent the majority of the trip in line, waiting and waiting and waiting. Ohm~ Patience is a virtue. I have really worked on my patience there. :)
But thinking back, it actually wasn't all too bad, if you're in line with family and friends that is. Time flies. THANKFULLY! 

  
*And this is the line to actually GET IN the park, at 9 in the morning. -__-lll Kind of preps you for what's to come huh? :P


Number Three: Lather on lots and lots of sunblock!

I did, but not enough apparently. I think I got a little sunburnt on my face. Cheeks, to be precise. =( And man, I am so tanned now, I look like I never left Kuching. Hahaha.


Number Four, quite possibly the most important one too: Everybody is a kid at heart, no matter how old you are, no matter how much you try to deny it.

Disney World brings out the forgotten kid in adults. Like seriously! I see 60 year olds going on roller coasters, screaming and laughing as loudly as teenagers. Like, even my dad whose usually not the best with rides, went on every single one of them with us. Haha, he even screamed along too. And right after the ride, you can see on their faces, that they really enjoyed it and was glad you dragged them along. It really is quite heart-warming actually. :D


Number Five: It is seemingly impossible, but you do get homesick on vacation, even if you never want to leave.

Oh and homesick I was. Especially since this year the destination of my vacation wasn't Kuching! Which speaking of, I would be back in town this time last year, suffering from jet lag. *daydreams* Oh the good yesteryear days! I miss them so much. 
Haha anyway, I think I was kind of tired and homesick by the last day of the trip. I was ready to come home to my bed, to eat my mom's cooking again! Home is where the heart is, after all. :P

Then I went globe-trotting! :) A whirlwind tour of the world, done in half a day. Kiang or not I ask you? ;p

Note: Notice the attention to detail in every single thing.. it is amazing!

 United Kingdom. Aiks, I forgot to take a picture in those cute red phone booths!
                            Pretty nice fish and chips here though. :)

    


Say Bonjour! to France.

  

Then we stopped over at Morocco for lunch. 

      

     


Next off, Japan! (I want to go to Japan! For some unknown reason.) The shops here sell pretty Japanese-y stuff, too expensive for my wallet though. :(

Shield your eyes! cough excuse my unphotogenic self cough
 

  
          

    


 Italy. I could tell just from this that the real thing must be gorgeous!  

     
 
  The Neptune fountain.
     


Germany.

 Haha. Snapped a picture of my unsuspecting mother. :P
 
       


Some prettyful bushes I saw on the way.. ;p Remind you of any Disney characters?
 

 
China. Home of our ancestors. It's unfortunate how I've never actually set foot on Chinese soil, yet. Hahaha.

   

  Die liao, caught harassing a Fortune God? 
    

  


Stopped by Mexico for a bit. XD
 
  
Borrowed a sombrero and some Mexican musical instrument which I sadly do not know the name of. :(
 


And then last but not least, we head to the U.S.A showcase. XD

I fell asleep during the theatre show.. *ashamed* I was tired okay. :P
 
 
Didn't take many pictures as I didn't bother to. Haha.

 
There was a nice fireworks display at the end of the day too. :) The pictures don't do it justice.

   

And thus concludes day one at Disney World. Phew~ walked like one whole day eh.. was damn tired. -__-lll

Oh man, I suck at blogging... blargh

Most of the rides were in this side of the park.

    

     


   

Test Track was super fun! You're basically one of those test dummies going through the car check tests..  Wikipedia explains it better: guests ride in futuristic "test cars" in a GM "testing facility" and are taken through a series of tests to illustrate how automobile prototype evaluations are conducted.


   
The nice thing about Disney is that they KNOW that you're tired of queuing up too, so they try to make it as nice and fun as possible! The queue to every ride winds through lots of interesting stuff, so you'll be entertained, or at least will be preoccupied while waiting your turn.

  
Cool-looking futuristic car! Not sure why the Twin Towers is in the background picture. Shrugs.  And look Ma, I'm driving a Hummer! ;p

Then, we went on Mission: SPACE. This one gave me a headache. Once more, from Wikipedia. Mission: SPACE is a motion simulator thrill ride. It simulates what an astronaut might experience aboard a spacecraft on a mission to Mars, from the higher G-force of blastoff to the speculative hypersleep.

This one gave me a headache. I was centrifuged, and it felt like I had a facelift. Lol. Apparently there's been two fatalities from this ride. Hahaha. It wasn't scary or anything per say, it was just the G-force and motion sickness thereafter. Haha.

 


There were other rides and attractions but blah, I'm too lazy to cover everything. :P

                           
P.S I Love You made me weep. I needed tissues! It was so touching and sad and happy and funny ALL at the same time!


                       


Should watch it if you haven't already. A very good chick flick. :P Even if the critics think otherwise..



                       

If the movie's this moving... the book must be awesome! SO going to read it.. lol


Speaking of reading...

Summer Reading List, Books I Should Read:

Geez, have to read a few Classics lah. :( I am so not well-read! Need to take a break from those fluffy easy teen reads... but man they're so fun! :P

1. actually finish Pride and Prejudice
2. Kite Runner
3. Catcher In The Rye
4. Da Vinci's Code
5. Breaking Dawn, oh I cannot wait!!!
6. Wuthering Heights
7. Time Traveler's Wife
8. Lord of the Rings, this is going to take a while
9. actually finish Eragon
10. Atonement
 
Then, Bryan recommended Neil Gaiman's books/graphic novels.. and KM said Roald Dahl's autobiographies really good.. and some more May told me this Wizard's First Rule also good.. and Vika said this Lady of the Forest really worth a read too.. lol

Any more recommendations? I'll take 'em! :D

[Voila! My (highly questionable)creative writing. Lol.]

I sit alone at the lunch table again today, staring at my half-eaten sandwich in disdain. My mouth was dry and I could almost feel the morsels of food creeping up my throat, I really wasn't up to eating anymore.

She walked past me, without so much as a wave or a smile. It was as though I was invisible, nothing more than thin air. I hear a faint chuckle and I look back. Figures. He's right by her side. His arm draped across her shoulder nonchalantly as they made their way to the salad bar together. Whispering inside jokes into each other's ears and laughing in sync like the most perfect couple.

There was an odd pang in my chest and I felt my insides burn as if I had swallowed fire. My face was heating up and my eyes started to water without my realizing it. This definitely wasn't the first time I had witnessed the scene, yet the impact wasn't any less severe than the first time I did see them together. That particular image was eternally imprinted into a section of my hypothalamus, unfortunately.

I hated how unfairly the world worked. I had met him first, I had known him first, he was my friend first! If only this were kindergarten, I would have won the fight. If only it were a race, I would have been the winner. Too bad so sad, as they say, it wasn't kindergarten anymore. Nor was the competition a clear-cut one. I hadn't realized there were shortcuts and detours until it was far too late into the game. 

It didn't matter anymore. The petty details of the dreary past could not change anything. I had already screwed things up so badly that there was no hope for recovery. I was pretty sure I would never be forgiven.

Everything was my fault. I was to blame. I was guilty as charged.
I had fallen for the forbidden fruit. I had fallen for the one person I could not have. I had fallen for him.
I had fallen in love with my best friend's boyfriend, that was what I had done.

That wasn't the worst part though. I could have kept my feelings hidden, out of plain sight. In fact, that was my plan all along. Until I committed the unmentionable and unforgivable crime.

I had kissed him.

The whole thing happened much too quickly. It was a typical weekend and the three of us were hanging out together at a party. I was feeling rather tipsy, having had more than a few sips that night. She had left us alone to chat up with some of her other friends. He and I were just sitting there, joking and laughing.. the next thing I know, I was leaning in and touching his lips with my own. He was pretty shocked, I could tell. I didn't pull back, it was way too late for me to hit rewind or press the undo button. He did the decent thing though. He pushed me away lightly, afraid (or was he merely disgusted?) to even look at my face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her lingering at the door. Eyes wide open, both hands clasped on her mouth, gasping for air it seemed. She had seen everything.
I always did have the most excellent timing.
I watched as she turned and stormed away, I could hear her muffled sobs already.

What had I done?

He saw her, too. It was no surprise that he chased after her almost immediately. I was left behind like always, only this time with a skull-splitting headache and an overwhelmingly complex sense of guilt, envy and wrath. Not the best concoction of emotions in the world I tell you.

Predictably, she had forgiven him in a heartbeat.
I, on the other hand, was not about to be let off the hook without undue punishment.
I had my reputation tarnished, and was labeled a "slut" by virtually every mutual friend we had. She had her ways, she was definitely popular enough to influence all of our peers. I couldn't have cared less what they thought of me or the nasty rumors that they spread about me. The only thing that I did care about was how I had lost the one friendship that mattered most to me - hers.

"Please," I said to her one day after school, cautiously. She was standing under a shady oak tree, no doubt waiting for him. "I'm sorry,"
There was no reaction on her part, she just walked away as if I was an annoying hallucination, better to be ignored. My reflexes got the better of me and I let my fingers grasp her arm, trying to stop her getaway.

She flung my hand aside, her face scrunched up in disgust and hatred as she glared at me. The force she had used on me took me by surprise. I almost fell over in a moment of imbalance, but I managed to catch myself before I landed on the ground. The initial shock had now subsided into what could only be described as disbelief. I felt as though I had some sort of contagious skin disease that would infect anyone within a three-foot radius.

There was a soft thump as the bracelet landed on the ground, beads scattered everywhere. It was the matching bracelet we had gotten each other just two Christmases ago. Our friendship bracelet we had called it. The same bracelet we vowed to treasure forever.

Friendship forever? I wondered as I stared blankly at the fallen beads that now lay on the grass. I guess some things do change. Rarely are things ever forever. There were no second chances for me, not this time.

[Um.. so, how did you like my short story thing? xD You are more than welcome to come and leave me some criticism! I need help. Like, a lot of help. =)]

Yes, I made it through the whole Graduation Commencement! Yay! Without tripping, stumbling or falling on my butt. I am so proud.. and oh so relieved! Phew~

My three-second Welcome Speech thing went well enough! XD I was a bundle of nerves right before going on stage, even if it was only for a measly couple of seconds, my hands were so cold and my mind was literally a blank. Glad I managed to coherently say what I needed to say, which was just a simple phrase in Mandarin. LOL.

Anyway, my dad didn't take an awful lot of pictures during the thing.. nor did he take that many after. It was such a hassle trying to find ANYONE, really.. after the ceremony. The sea of people everywhere. I was worried that I'd not find a familiar face! The weather was not exactly cooperating either.. I mean, right before the graduation ceremony, there were tornado warnings! -__-lll Like, seriously! My dad even made us all go huddle in the basement for half an hour! I was like, I need to shower and get ready! I was thinking they would possibly call off the entire thing.. haha. But they didn't, obviously. 

So here are some of the pictures. Please refrain yourselves from laughing at how horridly green compliments my skin tone. lol :P

*There was a LOT of people. Holy crap!
  
                                                                   *I think there was 386 graduating seniors. O_o


*Hillary, me and Vika. In all of our Mayo spartan glory! XD
 
                                                                                *And of course, mom and dad.



*Not sure how the background turned out THAT way and color.. looks cool nonetheless. XP
   

Damn. It feels sort of strange.. to be done with high school. Haha.

WoAh.

Talk about extreme weather!

There were tornadoes in the neighboring cities just this past week! (Narrowly missing Rochester! *wipes cold sweat off forehead*)

And as we speak! Admist the raging thunderstorm, -instead of the usual boring rain- the heavens decide to shower us with hailstones the size of quarters. Variety is the spice of life, no? Hahaha.

I've been here for close to two years but never have I seen falling ice the size of quarters! Or quite this much altogether! Hahaha. I hear they can reach up to golfball-size too. Gaspeth, much?

Haha I ran to the front door and braved the hail (aiseh, so kiang. haha) to take these lousy pics. xP



  

*Fallen hail reminds me of Dippin'Dots ice-cream. Teehee.

  

The weather here bukan main-main saja. Lol.
You think it's perfect spring weather and sha-zam, down comes the.. ice. xD
Don't play play.