I need to save money

Tell me what do you do when...

...you happen to walk into Le Chateau just as you are about to catch the NYU bus home... and find that they're clearing their accessories at a dollar each...

... and another day, on the way home from school, you discover another store clearing their bags at $5 each...(speaking of which, I've been looking for a big sling bag to carry to school ever since the strap of my old one broke and it's so difficult to find anything cheap and functional... really miss all my bags lying at home)

... and you've already spend money watch a musical the same week...

... and on a weekend, you go shopping with an old friend and he agrees that the Guess watch you've been eyeing is nice and inexpensive...

...not to forget, Swatch is having a 40% spring sale... (note to self: avoid seeing it while walking anywhere near school)

What do you do when your school is next to all the shops, when clothes/accessories are cheaper than food, when everything is always on sale because the fashion changes so fast, when watching muscals sometimes only cost twice as much as watching a movie...

... I refuse to buy any food outside next week!

Anyway, I came down with a fever yesterday... went for one class, planned to skip one, ended up skipping two... and when I woke up, the only think on my mind was, 'It's so hot, I want to drink coke' and called Taitong, who kindly bought me two bottles to down...

...the weekend has been nice so far though. Estelle and Engsiang came over to chill out, and I laughed a lot in spite of my runny nose and throat.

Thank goodness I got better today- it's been a fun Friday, heading down to Soho with Engsiang, walking in and out of shops looking for clothes and discussing them, having milk tea and buns at Chinatown... we had plans to trying to get tickets to watch Wicked (if you want to get cheap tickets, you can submit your name at the box office 2 hours before the show and everyday, they conduct a lottery to pick 20 people who will get the orchestra seats at $26)... but there were probably about 200 people who entered their names in the lottery and we didn't get lucky. :(

I'm really much better now, but I'm pretending I still too sick to do work until tomorrow.

Les Miserables

Life's been busy... but fun.

Last week, I saw Sheryl, Serene, Christina and Engsiang... and I met Melissa today, who came with the package from my mum, complete with my Horlicks, coffee, Redoxon and credit card in an angpow!

Mel and I managed to get standing tickets for Les Miserables! It's not my first time watching the musical, but definitely the most enjoyable by far because I understand so much more... and it was awesome. To me, this show and its music is timeless. And I'm pretty lucky to have been able to watch it at this time! Lea Salonga (the voice of Miss Saigon, Princess Jasmine) played Fantine and her voice was amazing... I think just hearing her sing for awhile was worth my 21 dollars.

I'm convinced Spring is coming. The weather has been good the past week... I've officially put all my thermal wear and scarves away. And today was amazing... the highest was 21 degrees, damnnnnn hot in the afternoon. I'm not complaining though, it's wonderful to be able to take out all my (Zara) tops and walk around without a jacket... and not feel fat with all the thermal wear and million layers!

And I've started running outside the gym sometimes too... last weekend, I followed a jogger on the streets and found the East River! It's pretty dirty, and probably polluted since its next to the highway (but then again, which part of Manhattan isn't?)... but I loved seeing the skyline of New York across the river... and I was sweating in 8 degrees!

School work's piling up... projects, assignments, case studies and what not... but well, I'm on exchange! Everyone here are really laid back about projects... general lack of motivation to even have project group meetings. But heck.

Just wanted to say that I miss everyone back home. =)

Cat's 21st Birthday

Me, Serene, Christina @ Cafe Mozart

Estelle, Sheryl & I @ Cafe Mozart

Girls @ Central Park

Spring's coming!

I'm about to rush to class, but I'm so excited that I've to type this first... I just realized it's nearing the end of March, and spring should be here, soon.

It didn't feel like spring with all the remains of the snow since I got back from Orlando... and it was cold this morning while I was going to school.

But when I stepped out of the gym on today afternoon, it was SO WARM that I had to strip off all my jackets immediately!

I just checked the weather, it's 14 degrees now and the low for today is 10 degrees! YAY, glad that I'm going clubbing tonight, don't have to wear so much.

Anyway, Sheryl and Serene are staying with me this week, so nice. =)

ahhh, I'm so excited for spring.

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Spring Break Updated!

I finally have some time to post up everything on Spring Break... because it's Thursday night! I love Thursday nights... in anticipation of the 3 day weekend, I can update my blog, slack, surf the net, talk to my mum on MSN and listen to her whine about housework (maid's on vacation right now)...

Hanging around + Universal City Walk, Orlando
One the day we arrived at Orlando, my poor, deprived, ghastly white skin saw the sun for the first time! Felt good to be able to take pictures in normal looking clothes and actually look a bit different everyday...instead of being stuck in trench coats all the time. I was rather disappointed in myself though. When the temperature dropped in the evening, I still had to wear a cardigan... I thought my body would be able to brace any cold after all the freezing in sub-zero temperatures! And I was still freezing in air-conditioned places, why?!

As I mentioned before, Orlando was strange to me... too surreal. Food was expensive, except buffets... so many cheap buffets everywhere. After being deprived of food all morning, we stuffed ourselves Sizzlers for lunch...great to have a reasonable steak after so long, but I felt like I never want to eat a buffet ever again. We explored some shops... well, mostly gift shops, half of which claimed to be 'the biggest giftshop in the world.' Right.

We took a walk at Universal downtown in the evening... pretty nice, with the live bands, clubs, big restaurants, Hardrock cafe etc, except that I was pretty tired from sleeping two hours the night before, talking to Taitong on the flight instead of sleeping (nice chat) and the day's travelling.

Walt Disney Magic Kingdom & Disney Downtown, Orlando


If I ever go back to Orlando again, I'll probably only visit 2 places... Universal Studios, and the entire Disney area, which is huge- 5 theme parks + Disney downtown + Disney resorts. Taitong and I were wondering if it was as big as Singapore... and I'll make sure I rent a car to drive. Transportation in Orlando was really terrible...we had passes for the i-trolley, which brings you to the various attractions along Internatonal Drive, but it came only once in 20 minutes, didn't go to Disneyland, ended at 10pm... we spent a lot of money taking cabs from Disney back to our hotel.

I've written about Disneyworld before, so I'll let the pictures speak of how it relieved my childhood...

Oh, I didn't include pictures of this, but we went for a the Arabian Nights dinner show as well. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was definitely not worth the price and the expensive cab fare just to get to the place. We were served dinner while watching a horse show (and a feeble attempt to fit it into some lame storyline)...well, it was difficult to concentrate on the show and my food at the same time, especially in the dark. And I couldn't help but keep thinking, 'If I were really an animal lover, I might not be able to eat while watching the horses being whipped and doing stunts) Orlando has many famous dinner shows- comedy shows, mystery shows etc... guess we picked the wrong show and location.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not
This was an interesting place... check out the cool slanted building! It's basically a museum with a collection of wierd and amazing things, such as artwork made of a million buttons/strands of hair/cigeratte wrappers, a three-legged man who used his third leg as a 'support' so that bending his knees was like sitting on a chair, a dress made of guitar picks, heads shrunk to the size of a fist...

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, Orlando

We spent 2 days at Islands of Adventure and it was greeeaaaattttt. All the attractions were so innovative and I loved almost every single ride, from the extreme roller coasters to the kiddy ones.

The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride was the most brilliant ride I've ever been on in my life! It wasn't so thrilling that you'd scream your lung outs, but it was so smart- a combination of simulated rides, a real roller coaster and 3D movie effects. Basically, you 'travel' to different screens and experience various simulated effects, including Spiderman popping up right in front of you, the bad guys stretching out to grab you, swinging about the city, falling off a skyscrapper and being caught by a web... the effects were so real, really felt like I was in the middle of a Spiderman movie... could even feel the heat of the 'fire'!

We also got soaking wet by the Popoye's ride down the ripples... and there were kids who (paid money to) shot us with water guns... I was freezing from all the splashes. And we screamed out hearts out with The Hulk and Duelling Dragons...Oh, I must mention Poseidon's Fury. This wasn't a ride, but a tour of the 'Temple of poseidon'... and wow, the effects were brilliant... they made it as if we were caught in a temple without escape, and we walked through a tunnel with water swirling all around (so fast that it doesn't even splash you), stood in a cave... and there was this amazing moment when we were blinded by a flash of light and the next second, the entire cave had transformed into a place with water splashing, pouring off the falls and fire as the 'gods' fought... so so so impressive.

Erwin's Birthday Celebration

We surprised him with a cake and a free facial!

Erwin's Seafood Birthday Dinner, Lincoln Drive, Miami

Miami really reminded me of Singapore... among the cities I've seen in US, it's the one that is closest to Singapore. The shopping, the tropical weather, Metro above the ground... and Lincoln drive felt like an expanded version of Clarke Quay, with all the restaurants/bars/clubs... there was even a river at the end of the stretch, just like the Singapore River. While Singapore is not even half as exciting, visiting Miami somehow made me realize why people might want to come to Singapore...

I loved Miami. Besides the strage familiarity of some areas, it's such a happening place! I'm sure everyone there does only 3 things- go to the beach in the day, eat and shop in the evening, then go clubbing. In the day, everyone walks about the streets in their bikinis and at night, in their party clothes. Can really feel the entire life of the place at night... with music blasting from cool cars on the way to the clubs, crowds along Lincoln drive, sounds of people shouting and singing on the street...so exciting.

Anyway, it was Erwin's birthday, so we treated ourselves to dinner at this seafood restaurant, which was relatively cheap compared to New York City. It was the first time I tasted crab/shrimp in ages... and absolutely heavenly.

South Beach, Miami

I've never exactly been a very 'beach' person, but South Beach was so nice! Cat and I lay on a deck chair to tan, and alternated between reading a book and sleeping (mostly this) by the beach... loved the feeling of the sun on my skin and just closing my eyes to relax. It can't really be seen in the beach pictures, but I swear I got browner when the effects of the sun set in about a day later... I'm no longer such a white chicken!

Clubbing at Cleavelanders + Last night in our messy 1-Star hotel room, Miami

This club was recommended by Qiuyun, and we later found out that it's the most famous club in Miami. The music was bad, but it was quite an experience clubbing outdoors... and there's a swimming pool below the dance floor.

Bus City Tour and Ducktour, Miami

We were chased out of our hotel on the morning of our last day, so we went on the tours to pass time... very enjoyable ones too. The bus took us to the various neighbour hoods of Miami- Little Havana, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, the Art Deco District... seeing some of the highways reminded me of Singapore again, as well as the palm trees and expensive houses which felt a little bit like the Bukit Timah area. People in Miami are really, really, really rich... all the houses were beautiful, especially those where the entrances faced the river, and the owners had private speedboats to cruise along the river and take them around. We also passed Versace's house... and a hotel that costs US$1000+ a night to stay! At Little Havana, we got to try some Cuban coffee...the smell was like...MMMM...mmmm..mmmm

I think we all liked the Ducktour along bayside the best... took a cruise with a great view of the islands, basked in the sun, enjoyed the wind... and we met a Singaporean who was in Miami on business! He heard asked talking and asked, 'Are you from Singapore?' Loads of celebrities live on the islands... saw the houses of Madonna, Gloria Estefan, P Diddy...

I've to run off to meet Estelle, Sheryl, Serene and Chris who are all in New York City this week!

Bye Becky

Wish I was there to see you

Orlando so far...

I can't really post pictures now because I'm using Taitong's laptop... but there are a few random things I feel like talking about first...

I've mentioned this before, but I can't help but keep feeling that Orlando is a really bizarre place... I feel like I've been transported into some strange land made specially for tourists... there's really no sign of ordinary living (I'm still wondering where the locals live)... with all the tourist attractions, gift shops, outlet shops and overpriced food... rarely see taxis about, and there's this whole internal iTrolley system meant to take tourists around. And the whole place just feels empty, and quiet (the whole world is at Disneyworld and Universal Studios)... I even feel strange waiting for the bus here because it takes so loooonnnggg to come, as if there's no need to rush anywhere, because every single soul here is on a holiday.

We went to Disneyworld yesterday! I think I'm getting a little too old... the roller coasters are not exciting enough for me anymore, but I ended up enjoying the 'kiddish' rides like Winnie-the-pooh, Peter Pan, It's a Small World... all so pretty. And we watched this real cool PhilHarmagic show too... the Mad Spinning Teacups took on a new high this time, with Erwin spinning it so fast that I couldn't stop laughing in all my giddyness, and felt like I couldn't stand after it ended, I can't believe those teacups turned out to be the most exhilarating ride! I'll probably let the pictures do the talking when I post them (can remember better with them too)... I shall just add that the highlights of the day were really the parades and fireworks disaply. We watched both the day and night parades... fabulous floats and dancing... the night procession was like a disneyfied Chingay with all the lights, just a million times more exciting. I really wonder how many people work in Disneyworld just to put up such a spectacle everyday... and how much they spend putting up the fireworks display every night... it was SO SO SO SO NICE. 20 minutes worth of fireworks, I've never seen so many fireworks at a go in my whole life.

Really feel like retiring to my bed to read Fast Food nation now, but there're some random things I feel like typing about before I forget-

(1) Erwin said the most enlightening thing at Disneyworld yesterday. I was thinking back about how I used to read Enid Blyton when I was a kid and how I loved The Naughtiest Girl in School series...and then he said, 'It's communist.' My first reaction was 'HUH?!'...then i realized it made a lot of sense- all the kids going to boarding school, where they've to surrender all their food and money from home, so that they can be distributed and shared equally among everyone...

I feel like reading it all over again to look for all the connotations. Can't get it out of my head.

(2) At Ripley's Believe It Or Not today... Erwin was trying out one of these 'metal ring puzzles' (twist around two interlocking rings until you figure out how to take them apart...' Bored, I decided to try it too and after awhile, I said, 'This is so impossible. This is amazing.' He turned to my direction just as I said that (while fiddling), turned back... and realized he unknowingly separated the rings just after I said that! Believe it or not!

Very tired now... and feeling so poor, despite saving loads of money from practically starving the whole day at Disneyworld yesterday (wanted to maximize our time and avoid paying for overpriced food)

Tagged by Andy, Spring Break is here

I've never done this 'tagged' thing before, but since Andy- since it's you who tagged, and you wrote me a postcard last year, and said we should keep in touch, eat dimsum... and didn't have the time too (you were so busy the whole of Dec!), I've decided to respond to it. (I promise I'll send you a postcard from New York City sometime!)

This is what you are supposed to cut and paste if you decide to participate in the tagging game. Each player of this game starts off by giving 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog

Six Weird Things About Chengwei:

1. I have some peculiar eating habits- I love dunking things into my coffee! Besides the normal biscuit with coffee, I love dipping corn flakes, all kinds of toasted bread (especially wholemeal loaves, english muffins, ciabattas), waffles, danishes, croissants...

2. This should have been number 1 - hear this, I DO NOT EAT CHOCOLATES, not because I hate them, but because I'm paranoid from having fallen sick so many times straight after consuming chocolates. I haven't eaten chocolates for more than a year!

3. I love eating in class and having 'TV dinners'. There are times when I would starve myself through lunch just to eat during 2 o'clock lectures... starve myself until 9pm to watch TV...

4. My vision of an ideal life is to have enough time to wake up and read the newspapers while drinking coffee everyday... it's really not that simple... no one has anytime for that!

5. I don't know when I acquired this habit, but I don't believe in sleeping too much anymore. I go to bed whenever I feel sleepy and whatever time that is, I'll set my alarm for 7 hours later. So if I sleep at 1am...I'm up by 8am! (and sometimes I wake up automatically before that) I actually think it's a good habit... makes me feel pleased with myself because I've a lot more time for the rest of the day.

6. I'm scared of fishes, I hate eating (most) fishes, but I LOVE sashimi....

I tag- Manda, Linda, Christine, Taitong, Darren, Kevin (I'm too lazy to tag on your blogs... so if you happen to see this)

It's spring break! I'm actually typing on Taitong's laptop in Orlando right now... My entire attitude has really transformed over here. If I were back in NUS, I wouldn't be able to enjoy a vacation if I know I've undone work... it'll be nagging at me at the back of my mind. But now, I've an assignment due on the first day after break, I'm getting back only one day before... but I don't seem to be affected by the fact that I haven't done it.

After half a semester, I realized the general attitude to school is a lot more laxed over here... no one seems to care much about skipping classes, which makes me wonder how they catch up. Attendance in most of my classes were only half full yesterday... probably because most people had gone off for Spring Break. For one of my modules, the professor asked if we had a problem with the schedule exam date and someone actually raised her hand and said, 'yea I can't come. It's my best friend's wedding'... and everyone had a whole host of reasons for not liking the date, which prompted me to say, 'yea I can't make it, my mum's coming.' So we had a class discussion, and the exam date was rescheduled.

If I were back in NUS having my mid-semester break right now, I'd be studying for midterms, catching up on tutorials and thinking about the upcoming projects. No one seems to care about starting any projects early over here... project meetings get cancelled, and are never rescheduled. I've one nice project group though, thankfully, =) If I were back in NUS, I'd be frantically trying to finish studying for my midterms (still remember I had 6 last semester), but over here, I panic about half a day before, decide to walk to school before my paper instead of mugging on the bus... and I won't say the exams are that easy, but the level of difficulty is something we can never even dream about in NUS.

It's been half a semester, but it's hard to decide which system I like better. I like it that it's more relaxed, but admittedly, it seems even more so because the fact that my grades don't count leaves me with little motivation (ah, shame on me!). Somehow, I feel that everything back home is more rigorous, and we get a better grasp of everything (most of the time). But things are always more exciting with Stern and New York City. Yesterday, we had the assistant marketing director of Loreal International come speak to us during New Product Development class (claairrsss- it's so easy to slip into pronouncing all my 'a's the American way) and it was so interesting that I thought, 'Stern students are lucky, so many opportunities to hear from people in the different industries.'

And then there are classes like movie marketing. The prof works with Miramax and he had just gotten back from the Oscars, so he spent 15 minutes telling us how boring it was... apparantly, during the uninteresting awards like best lightings/sets, everyone there gets bored and walk out for drinks by the bar, leaving the auditorium almost completely empty...and guess what, they actually have 'fillers' on standby to occupy the empty seats so that it looks like the audience is always there on TV! I find it so unbelievable... getting people to dress up fancily just to be 'fillers'!

Just go to Orlando today... really tired because we barely slept last night after being locked out. (ended up at Dunkin Donuts in the middle of the night- felt like I was having breakfast with my cup of decaf coffee and bagels.) Orlando must be the ultimate tourism-driven city in US... I honestly think that if you live here, you: (1) own a hotel/inn (2) work in a hotel/inn (3) own a theme park/tourism attraction (4) work in a theme park/tourism attraction(5) own a restaurant (5) own a gift sore (6) work in a gift store (with the amount I spend eating at a diner in NYC, I can have a whole main course and buffet here...)

We're going to Disneyworld tomorrow... about disappointed that we're just going for one day and skipping Universal Studios entirely since I already flew all the way here and don't know when the next time ... but well, they're really expensive. And I'm really looking forward to watching the Arabian Nights dinner show... so many dinner shows here! The rest will be visiting Holyland, which I'm skipping... shall spend some time shopping at the malls and outlet stores... hopefully there're nice things to buy, mid-semester break can't possibly feel complete without some retail therapy!

HI DAD- You need MSN!

Of Mary Poppins, life, tests

I enjoyed Mary Poppins so much! It's definitely the best musical I've watched here so far- the theatre was great, the set was beautiful (and I mean, fantabulous-ly beeeaaautttiiiffulll), the magic trick effects, the singing, the dancing... I really loved the tap dancing and all... the above video's the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (I can't spell it, copied and paste, haha) dance, the last part is really cool! I can't find the video for 'Step in Time'...

the roof top tap dancing was so impressive, especially when Bert started 'walking' up the side of the stage, and started tap dancing upside down at the top... obviously pulled along by strings, but it was amazing because he was singing, and you can still hear the tapping sound of his feet!

I think the entire stage and effects is really worth paying to watch... they had Mary Poppins 'flying' down with a kite... and they lifted her up to the audience at the end...

It brought back so many childhood memories of watching Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dkye in the Mary Poppins movie.

While walking to school yesterday, it suddenly occurred to me that I've grown so used to the street of New York City... and the food vending carts everywhere. I don't buy much from them, but I love them anyway... love the smell of the kebabs/hot sandwiches as I pass them, seeing the big pretzels, buying honey coated, freshly roasted nuts (yumyum, they always seem to be at the shopping areas, so I always buy them while shopping!)... and especially the breakfast carts that sell bagels, croissants, muffins, danish, doughnuts... I haven't bought any food from those, but for some strange reason, I love it when I'm rushing along Bleecker Street to Stern in the morning, stop by one, and ask for 'one small coffee with skim milk please' to carry along to class. I know I'm going to miss seeing these vendors around when I eventually return home.

I've grown accustomed to so many things here- the supermarkets, walking everywhere, the Subway, the feeling of 'I don't feel like going home' after every show I watch at Times Square because there's so much life there, expecting to see random people performing in the Subway... still don't like it, but the cold weather and never sweating... speaking of which, it was 12 degrees today. Totally unbelievable... I had to take off my jacket after coming out of the gym because it was so hot!

And of course, I've gotten used to slacking...Sigh, I've two tests coming up next week and I've absolutely no motivation to prepare for them. Doesn't matter that Consumer Behaviour is pretty interesting. On the upside, my Managerial Accounting finals is on Wednesday... will be looking forward to starting school at 2pm on Mondays and Wednesday after Spring Break!

And some habits never change, like how I need to bathe, change, wash my face, put on moisturizer/cream/toner/whatever whenever I get home before doing anything else... even if I'm starving, I need to settle down before I can eat in peace... which is terrible, because I usually am starving after a pathetic lunch in school, and there's so many coats/jackets/gloves to keep before I can eat. Like how I love eating in class... I really can't help it, so I find myself eating my breakfast at 11am because that's my earliest class, waiting until 2pm to munch on food during my 2pm class... and how I love dipping things in coffee- I just discovered how good waffles dipped in coffee is!

Amanda... I miss eating with you! (and drinking Ya Kun teh bing)