Darkraider

Oh my gosh!!! been long since i updated this haha....

anyway, think i'm doing ok haha....i'm not pretty sure cos i have been in retail for a while, kinda realise selling products is not my kinda thing...i really prefer to sell my service or food...(now now don't think the other way...) i love telling my guest where's the best place to have a great Italian or Chinese or Japanese dinner...or where's the fastest way to get to somewhere without hitting a bad traffic...or helping guest making a reservation or running somewhere to get something for them...a little over 6 months and i can already be a concierge haha....maybe that's what i would love to do when i get home...

other than that haven't been much in my life....planning to go Florida soon....and get my sun, sand and sea hahaha....

P.S. Congratulations Jun!!! your big day have arrived!!!!

Hey all...finally return to the world of blogging hahaha...at the request of Marilyn who told me she look forward in see my blog move again haha...before i start, wanna set few things right 1st....

1st of all, wanna thank those that loved the songs i posted up...had plenty of nice comments from those i shared my songs with(even thou i don't really know them)...been hunting some old but meaningful lyrics that reflected my life...so will try and post more in future...2nd, i apologise for disappearing a long time....had been working my ass off and only got few hours of sleep...but now stopped working too hard for a while...so hopefully will have more time to blog...yay!! haha....3rd, something's wrong with my lappy...can't seem to post photos on it...don't know if you guys can see my pics...someone let me know ok...so i guess words kinda will do 1st till i figure it out hur....

Ok!! what's been happening?? been working like crazy...working as a host by day and security by night...so sometimes i got hours like 11am-7 or 8pm as host, then 11pm-7am as security...and it runs like that for 2 to 3 days a week....so only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep before going back to work...crazy?? haha...i think so...anyway been taking a break for now...anyway will be moving to Retail on my second part of my contract...will let you know how it goes...

Been to Texas last month for a break...was great!!! went to this place called Lake Whitley to camp...felt good cos i get to swim and tan again!!! hahahaha....felt like fish without water for so long...had really great time...jet skiing, tubing and all...met 3 lovely girls who like my company...will try and post some pics if i could....my roommate, Daniel's family goes there every summer and extended their invitation to me to come back next year....hopefully, will try and make it a every year thingy haha....

Well, had my fair share of partying and good times...clubs here are definitely more sleazier than the ones back home...and the guys here are good at picking the right woman somehow...unfortunately, night life here ends like 1 or 2am...then we will end up at friend's place and drink some more haha...well, for me i guess it's not that often...just got back from one this morning haha...anyway good thing i'm off today...don't see my off day on sundays often....

Been to a few attractions around Colorado Springs...very pretty man...hai wish i could post some pics man...will be going Denver with some friends once we have off again....

Oh well...what else can i say...neighbor's cat been sleeping on my bed very comfortably haha...ok will try to get some photos up...

6 more months to go!!!!! missing food and people from home...for food, chicken rice, mee pok, hokkien mee, roti prata, char quay tiao(did i spell correctly??), pig's organ soup etc etc etc haha....for people, of course my family, majong people- Justin, Steff, Tess, Jerome, Byron, Jeannette...my army friends- Jialun, Chen fui, Peter, Alvin...my primary school cum soccer dudes- Keith, Gabriel, Alvin, Chang, Julius...church friends- Damien, Mark, Adrian, Ewen, Marilyn, Vanessa, Celeste...other school friends- Jun, Yetty, Samuel, Jenny, Zhiwei....MY TP FAMILY- Han Siong, Li Jun, Anna, Guan Jin, Albert, Regina, Serene, Wilson, Fuadz, Fiona, Yulivia, Maya...and of course, Michelle...hope she's doing ok.... 

Hey all...really REALLY sorry for those expecting something new here but never really update...:P think i'm losing my readers already haha...anyway ONWARDS!!!

Got my new place...settled my problems with my old place...really happy with where i am now...it's right above a small hill...so here's how it looked like...

And here's what's looked like outside...

And my new ride, Pontiac 6000LE...and my plate number...

Well, finally got my life settled down more or less...got ABIT more time to myself haha...really wanna thank Kelly and Daniel for helping me out...and God for protecting me...

Well, don't worry with more time, i will post up more stuff i have been through...got hiking pictures and real funny stuff so hopefully my readers will stay with me hahaha....

So stay tune...;)

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.

Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed the carrots, in the second he placed the eggs, and in the last he placed the ground coffee beans. He let them boil, without saying a word.In about twenty minutes, he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.

He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, he asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her father brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.She did and noted that they were soft. The father then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the father asked the daughter to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, father?"

Her father explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity ... boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened & became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" he asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

Think about the pots. The boiling water is like the problems of life. Are we the carrots? We go in tough and strong but come out soft and weak. We get tired. We lose hope. We give up. Or are we the eggs?We start with a soft & sensitive heart but end hard & unfeeling inside. We hate others. We don't like ourselves. We become hard-hearted. Or can we be like the coffee beans? The water does not change the coffee powder. The coffee powder changes the water! The water has become different because of the coffee powder. See it. Smell it. Drink it. The hotter the water, the better the taste.

Hai...everyone's leaving...feeling a waste of time to make friends when you can only know them for short period of time...of course you still can keep in contact with them online or something...but knowing me, i can't even keep in touch often with my home friends, not to mention new friends hai....

Anyway, some meals i've made for dinners...

Chinese new year dinner...buy one h aha...wish i can make sia haha...

My cooking skills improving alot liao...i'm hot in demand liao muhahahaha....:P will cook for anyone who comes and join me...:P Marilyn?? interested?? hahaha...

Next, many party invitation but only managed to go one :(...DANIELLE!!! YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO CALL ME AND SHOW ME HOW TO GO TO ANDREW'S PERFORMANCE!!! AND SHOW ME HOW TO GO CASSIE'S PARTY AFTER THAT!!!!! will kill her later when i get to work...you better not show up hahahaha....anyway it's St Pat's Day today!! donno why they celebrate that special day...anyway went to Quindo and Daniella's farewell party...had a few drinks and ended up staying over at friend's place hahaha....well, here's some photos of friends that i've made that's left or going to leave...hai...

   From Korea...

From Hungary...my trainer, Bernat...

And from Argentina...

sadly, many more people didn't have the chance to take with...anyway wish them all the best and hope we'll meet again...

Hai..sorry have been pretty busy with work lately...that's why haven't been updating my blog...but here's my chance!! hahaha....now let's see...

New Year's have been normal for me...well still gotta work...just went reunion dinner with Jacelyn, Sharon and two of my colleagues, Gan and Peter...both form Malaysia...and that's about it hahaha...well i guess when i chose this industry i was prepare to give up my holidays and social life haha...well i'm cool with it...:)

Work's been ok...taking up two jobs now...as host by day and security at night...but my second job is only for a few days a week for a period of time...having some money problems recently...work still ok...like going to work still hahaha...recently had a high school event at the hotel so get to see pretty girls!! hahaha....but they are all pretty spoiled as well haha...security was bluffed up and busy entertaining very lame and weird people...anyway, things are back to normal soon...

Just bought a new car!! haha...for 1200USD only!! haha...thou the car is old but is still pretty good...bought it off from Gan...sadly, he left already...everyone's leaving soon hai...anyway learning driving over here...and you only need to spend less than 80  or 90USD to get your licence....jealous?? hahaha....heard from some of my friends when i come back i can convert the licence....even more jealous?? muhahahaha....so evil...

Realise the clothes here are damn cheap!! is like 2 levis jeans for only 25USD!!! can you believe that?! for ladies, there's even more cheap and good stuff...like you can get a GAP blouse for 2USD!!! or Tommy Hillfiger bag for 5USD!! is dirt cheap man!! hahahaha...and the lower brands have pretty good stuff too...haha feel like a woman now hahaha....

Well now the downside...thou is gonna be spring soon but there's still gonna be snow and still pretty cold...but getting used to it already...

Having lots of problems with my roommates...seems like they been taking my food stuff, touching my stuff and sleeping on my bed...the last straw came when i realise they been touching my lappy too...asses...anyway, found a new place which is even better...for a little more rent...but i get my own space, still get my sunrises and sets plus there's outdoor dining too...so it's pretty cool...anyway one of my bellman, Daniel, hook me up with his place coz he has an extra room...plus he's also teaching me how to drive...and he also invite me to go to the mountains during june...really appreciate the things he's doing for me man...pretty nice guy...

So gonna be pretty hectic and "dark" time for me now...haven't really talk or contact anyone back home for 2 weeks or so...well except my dad...was talking to Michelle just now...really glad she's doing ok at work...and chating online with Amelie and Ewen for a while...wanted to talk to Jialun but i guess gotta make that other time...hopefully i can get out of here and to a nicer place...and hope we can get along as roomies also...well, sorry my photos are in a mess now but will post it as soon as possible k....so stay tune...

Hai made my 1st mistake on thursday...i checked in a guest on wednesday afternoon...her name was Dr Wright...she told me that her baggage was lost and told me to send it up as soon as it arrived...knowing that i would get off at 7pm, i wrote a note on the record book so that the night shift bellmen would know what to do...

Next morning, Dr Wright called me...and was pretty upset she still didn't receive her baggage...she was told that her baggage arrived at 11.30pm last night, so she stayed up to wait...only to be disappointed...so doing what i can, i called the airline to find out....what they told me was that they were behind schedule due to the amount of baggage need to be sent...when i got back to Dr Wright, clearly she was very upset with the  whole situation...the whole time i thought i did everything that i could do...WRONG!!

What really happened was the bags did came into the hotel at night...because the resort was broken into a few buildings, it was send to the main building while she was staying in another building...and the people in the main didn't know what to do with it and just store it....Dr Wright called me again and started complaining about the whole issue...and wants me to let someone on top knows about it...so naturally, i let my supervisor, Tim, knows about it....

Ok here's what i SHOULD do but DIDN'T do....i didn't inform the evening bellman know about it before i got off work, so that if arrive he will know what to do...i didn't let the main building know about a lost luggage, so that they can send it over to my building when it arrives...i didn't inform my supervisor about it so that he can take care of the matter...bottom line is i've failed to inform people about it and that's why everything falls apart...i was the only one who knows about the problem...and i dropped the ball...

Although Tim didn't blame me for it, i felt really bad knowing it was my fault from the start...but it was something that Tim said that makes me feel proud to work here....he said that if it was my fault it was his fault too because everyone plays a part...if there's was anyone's fault, it will be the team's fault and i felt it was true...everyone works as a team...if one fails, the team fails...everyone takes the blame...

And i was glad i did the right thing when i met with Dr Wright on saturday while she was checking out...i apologised to her about the miscommunication and was glad she wasn't too pissed about it...had a small chat with her and was relieved she enjoyed her trip here despite everything....

I realised that i still haven't know everything i need to know yet...i still haven't master the basics of how to handle people...and that is a very important BASIC skill to learn if i wanna be in this industry...i guess i still have more to learn...

my 2 SG friends!! 

me!!

and my cheeseburger haha...

Haha...i couldn't say i've been here long but it's been long enough that i couldn't remember what day is today haha...don't even know if it's a weekend or weekday...but i guess for me it doesn't really matter anymore...weekday or weekend, it's still monday everyday for me hahahaha....anyway it's monday today!! at least for me haha...i know it's tuesday over there...anyway can't remember what day happen what, so i will just go randomly ok...

Work's been ok har...there's been ups and downs lately...my trainer Jack have been complimenting on my good telephone skills and been telling everyone about it...felt really please that i have been doing ok...can't really take compliment well actually hahaha...for me as long as there's no complain, it's good!! hahaha....my supervisor, Julianna, had told me i have very good english hahaha...i was surprised and almost laugh at that comment coz those who have know me will know that my english needs improving...especially my 'oh-so-know-everything' brother of mine who thinks he's right and i'm wrong...unlike him, at least i take my wrongs and mistake more graciously and that i dare to say...and because of that, one of my college, Daniel, have been teaching me to pronounce some words correctly, like i have problems with three, third,twenty and seven...he always make sure that i pronounce properly...really appreciate that...

So far the only down side was that the system they used...can't really explain to you about the system coz it's quite complicated...but because it's so complicated that one of the bellman's not happy with the way i work and been openly telling people about it IN FRONT OF ME!!! well, i can only say that if he wanna behave like a small boy(and he is like my father's age some more) and not tell me the problem is, like everyone else, then there's nothing i can do...take what i can do for you or quit!!

And in other things, met two other singaporeans!! haha so happy, got own countrymen now...haha actually is countrywomen...Sharon and Jacelyn....both graduate from NUS...major in phsyicology...what's even small world is that they know two of my good friends from church!! Sharon knows Marilyn and Jacelyn knows Damien when they were at SAJC...hope Damien and Marilyn knows them too...met 2 malaysians also...it's really good to have own people so that we can all take care of one another...but too bad, this is only a short period of time as all of them will be leaving after the winter coz they are all on winter program :(....hai and i have long long way to go....

Move to my new apartment already with two other people...apartment's actually quite good...1st, it's near my workplace, only 15minutes walk...2nd, it's on top of a small hill so i can see my sunrise and sunset!! lastly, there's a really good chinese restaurant nearby and they have buffet for only a little over 8USD!!! and more importantly is quite good!! even if you convert back, it's still damn worth it lar hahaha.... 

And lastly, didn't really wish some of them happy birthday...so to Damien, Mark, Michelle Tan from church and Adeline a happy belated birthday!! and also those coming up...Marilyn, Fiona and Lanxi...don't worry won't forget haha....

Haha don't worry...will post some photos the next time....so until then, have a good week ahead...

My parents left on Wednesday back home...and thou they left me with a 'nagging', they are just worrying parents that had to leave their son all here alone in a big world...i really appreciate what they had done for me thou...

I read Adrian's blog today...it kinda make me think if i had made the right decision to come over to US...was i really prepared for this?? i had left so much behind...i said i was gonna help in the Server's but i didn't do much...i said i was gonna patch my friendship back with my church friends but i can't even remember when was the last time i had a meal with Adrian and Damien, my 2 good friends...i just managed to keep in touch with my primary school friends and then i didn't even see them one more time before i go...and now that i'm here, it's hard for me to maintain with my friends back home...and it's hard for me to let go...

Yeah sure, people is like telling me "when you go over, you will make new friends...you will have fun...you will meet someone there..." but i realised it's different!! how can i compare friends that i just known with friends that had cultivated for so long?? friends that i had come to love and respect can never be the same as friends i had just met and probably will never see again after one year....

I'm not the kinda guy that wishes for everything in this world...yeah i do admit there are some ambitions and dreams i would like to fulfill...but i had realised that dreams that come true and have no one to share with is just...dreams...i have come to Colorado Springs and i have seen many beautiful things...and now i wish all my friends are here to see it with me...and that really makes a differences...

Well, i guess it's just me being all emotional again hai...really hate off days man...wish i could work non-stop and not have to think so much...wish i could bring all my friends here haha...well wish that the love of my life is the life that i love....