As many of you might already have known, I'm currently stuck in North America for one more day, and it really feels like one of the longest days in my life. Really, it is the result of travel fatigue coupled with a 16 hours time difference with Singapore. Well well.. it was all a mad rush this morning, and we had to clear Canada and US customs twice within half an hour, and were just being pushed around from airline agent to agent who refused to render proper assistance in re-booking our flights back home.
Still, being stranded in Portland for an additional night has allowed me to keep up with all my blogposts, although I'm really quite sick (literally fever and flu) and drained out. We're now waiting for our next flight which is in 18 hours' time, without anything to shower nor to brush our teeth (the customs officer threw the remaining 5g of my toothpaste away) and we'll probably end up in Singapore all smelly and stinky. Haha. :(
So well, just for an update, I'll be touching down in Changi on Thursday, 8 January, at 12.35am instead - effectively 1 whole day later than the previous scheduled itinerary. Undeniably I'm still quite upset over missing out on the LTM workshop and having my plans disrupted for my first 2 days in Singapore, but at least our delay ain't that bad and we don't have to spend that much time stuck in this other part of the world. Heh.. see you all soon.
Life is a journey that's homeward-bounddddddd.
the last of snow.. 9:11 PMVancouver doesn't usually snow during winter due to insufficiently low temperatures, but this year the weather all across Canada has been bizarre and unpredictable that nothing's impossible. Vancouver apparently surprised us with a very beautiful blanket of fresh soft snow, although sometimes it was so wet that lots of slosh was created instead, making roads slippery and dangerous just like in Toronto.
But for most part it was really beautiful; flurries were moderate (not too light nor heavy and irritable) and the snow was moist enough to be pressed into snowballs and other shapes, heh. We were quite excited to feast our eyes on such a pretty sight during our last stop, and I guess we do realize how much we'll miss snow when we leave. :(
These are what we saw along Vancouver's waterfront and in Stanley Park.. even though we were totally drenched and caught terrible chills later, it was all worth the while especially in our final moments of our trip. :)
See how deep the snow is..!
Someone built this snow-man which looked very much like a huge monkey, haha
I kinda heart snow, I think. Haha.. even though it's quite irritating at times. In fact, instead of exclaiming "Wahhh it's snowing!" we are more accustomed to grumbling "Eeyer it's snowing.. bleah." Haha.
a belated happy new year from new york 5:53 PMIt's already 5 Jan now that I'm writing this - haven't had internet access till at the Vancouver airport, hours before embarking on the long restless trans-Pacific flight(s) back home. I'm hoping to do up a brief recollection of the past few days right now cos I know I'll be quite bogged down by work the moment I touch down; I even did LTM work for Prof on New Year's Day for TA workshop! So yep.. these will prolly be the very last of "Wini in Winnipeg" I guess, since I don't usually blog in Singapore and had only set this up for exchange. Haha.. I'm kinda relieved actually, cos maintaining a blog with utmost perfectionism is admittedly tiring at times. :S
xx
New Year's Eve
Looking back now I'd say I didn't know quite how to feel visiting New York City for the 2nd time in 2 years; it felt strangely familiar yet weirdly different. I felt as though I'd visited most of the significant must-sees in the city already, and that reliving them didn't feel too real nor excitable as it would be for my friends. Still, it was great that I managed to see the Statue of Liberty for real this time round, meaning not just seeing a 10cm figurine from afar in Battery Park. Haha.. the last time we came it was getting dark and the ferries weren't in operation anymore so we could only make out the Statue in the distance. I'm really glad we went to Liberty Island on this trip! :)
The lines were crazy that day, I think everyone wanted to make their New Year resolutions in front of the Statue or something, haha. We actually had to queue for about an hour in the cold - New York's winter is unusually cold this year too. But we did make a silly mistake in underestimating the weather, cos we forgot that America uses degF instead of degC, so we'd thought "0 deg" was definitely bearable but it turned out to be rather chilly! Roar.
I really loved the Statue of Liberty somehow, especially after learning about its history. Everything on the Statue is significant - her torch resembling truth and light, her crown revealing her divine status, her broken shackles on the ankles a sign of freedom, and her stride to symbolize her striving forward towards greater things. We were greatly in awe and respect of this beautiful and melancholic National Monument.
Wall Street and Ground Zero, the crash site has had "improvements" since the last time I visited! Oh yes, we even "prayed" in Wall Street and tolong-ed that the market will turn for the better for us to-be graduates. Haha. Regrettably though I didn't find Wall Street as nice as the last time; the streets were crowded and many constructions and roadblocks present, prolly in light of the holiday peak period. So it just felt really squeezy and we weren't able to take nice pics without interference, bleah.
New York Stock Exchange and St Patrick's Cathedral
Empire State Building, the one where King Kong climbed atop and wreaked havoc, haha
Times Square Countdown
Many contend New York to be the place to spend New Year's Eve/Day for its iconic and highly-anticipated countdown at Times Square. And yes, I'd say it was quite an experience, but it wasn't all that easy nor fun either. For one, people usually head to the area about 10-12 hours before midnight (!!!) itself, just to chope their places and ensure they get to see the heart of the action. But of course we weren't prepared to stand in the cold and wait for so long (you can't even leave the area to pee or anything else your spot'll be gone), so we tried my friend's strategy - to wait around the area by hanging out at some random cafe/restaurant, then run in when the barricades are released near midnight.
Yet things weren't so simple (the policemen got smarter). The "ball-drop" - typical of New York's annual countdown - was rumoured to be on 42nd Street, and the police'd sealed off the whole Times Square area and limited it only to VIPs or people with reservations. They kept dissing us and told us to move on to further-away streets in the cold, streets that were a whole 15 blocks away! We had to jostle with hordes of people and were consecutively refused entry into every single barricade.. rah. So yea, it really wasn't that enjoyable at all. But that night we persisted, and after a prolonged period of defrosting in a cafe we finally sought to brave the cold, eventually wedging past a barricade at 59th Street (yes thats damn far away); there was so much pushing we really didn't know where we were going. Haha.. but at least we got into Times Square and did our countdown somewhere in the area, though we never saw the ball itself la, heh.
The policemen were really excited to have their pictures taken with us too.. haha,
The huge mob of people pushing their way through! To the right is the iconic ball on-screen.
We love our funky specs..! Happy New Year everyone!
Of simple blessings
Earlier I'd mentioned not knowing how to feel about visiting New York yet again, so I'd sought to venture out on my own on New Year's Day. I figured it might be nice to see places I didn't see last time, or to re-explore and relearn what I've previously experienced, roaming the streets of a "dream city" on the first day of the New Year itself.
And really, on hindsight I must say it was a really enjoyable day revisiting Broadway and Times Square (despite the area being superbly crowded and pushy) more thoroughly and carefully. It was undeniably a day to myself amidst the travel fatigue; a day where everything was set to my own pace and I achieved whatever I wanted. Yet more importantly it was also a period of self-reflection and revelation, where I thought about things and issues and took a step back to appreciate a slower pace of life, rethinking over my goals and wishes for 2009. I must say I have many ambitions for myself in this coming year; no doubt it'll be a tough term ahead but I do perceive it a challenge, yep.
And I guess I really ought to be thankful for what I've got; many people literally dream of visiting New York but have never done so in their lives, and who am I to comment about boredom when I'm accorded such a privilege! So yep, I dispelled my reservations, maximized my time in the city and counted my blessings. Along the way I also talked to some New Yorkers and Taiwanese, and even got my favourite Fossil watch strap fixed at a store! Haha. The only thing I prolly regret is that I never got to watch a Broadway musical the 2 times I visited - tried getting seats to Mamma Mia but they were fully booked. :(