Adventures in USA - Day -1

Oh my god. I'm actually going.

Those were the thoughts that were running through my mind when I turned back and waved one last time at the family and friends that came out to send me off, as I walked around the corner into the limbo area.

It was a surreal, I-don't-believe-this-is-happening kinda feeling - like when you see a magic trick like a magician levitate, a coin vanish, etc. Except this time the magic trick was me, disappearing from Singapore, and reappearing in the US.

I was actually scared as shit and when I started hugging people I felt a surge of emotion rising in me and I had to suppress it otherwise I would start crying. But no. I had to stay strong, appear strong - my gf was already crying uncontrollably before we even walked over to the departure gates. I did my best to comfort her, hug her, tell her everything will be fine. It was so touching to see her cry that I almost cried with her, but no. I had to stay strong. For her, for my mom, for myself.

Some pictures to distract you from the wordiness of this entry:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="455"] Lovely friends who sent me off[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="485"] churchies! timo + bestie :D[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="315"]

VIP :)

VIP :)[/caption]

Adventures in USA - Day 0

A long flight is no joke man. I flew 19 hours from Dubai to San Francisco and almost died. Add on the fact that I was sitting next to an annoying screaming toddler and the plane (or rather just my section) had 2-3 screaming toddlers. Bloody little things wailing at random intervals.  What made it more annoying was that it's intentional wailing (i.e. she asks for something and mom says no), not like uncontrollable wailing (i.e. a heavy suitcase drops on her head)

The whole flight was like a marathon - I kept breaking the remaining time down in parts and kept looking forward to the next meal. That was the only thing(s) I had to look forward to.

Custom was amazingly long too, taking me 2 hours to finally clear it. Just hit at a wrong timing when there was a multitude of people zzz.

 

Anyway, complaining aside, I finally checked into my hotel at about 4++, but because my travel companions were only arriving in US at 7+ (which means reaching the hotel at 9+? zzz), I decided to go for a walk to also hunt for my phone card.

And OH MY GOD it was SO COLD! It's like, air con temperature which is blowing hard at your face! Stinging winds man. I was wearing my sweater which is decent thickness by Singapore standards but clearly too thin there. I learnt my lesson and will bring a scarf along with me.

And amidst my random walking, I stumbled into Union Square! Like I didn't even know what it was but saw this cool sculpture:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="409"] Union Square![/caption]

Plus I heard some music so I was wondering what it was, thus I walked towards it. I didn't even know Union Square looked like that! Haha.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="446"] Jazz band! They were damn good! Had many solos and improvs and stuff[/caption]

So by sheer luck/chance, I ended up standing there for a good 30 minutes just tapping my feet to the snazzy jazz beats and applauding enthusiastically at the end of every piece. They were really damn good!

After this ( I didn't stay till the end), I went to this pizza place just at the corner of the block which my hotel was on.

I went on to have the best pizza of my life:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="478"] Meat Mania[/caption]

There was pepperoni, ham, chicken, beef, smothered with delicious gooey (mozzarella?)cheese. And it's really gooey like you bite it will draaag out

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="419"] Picture to show you how far the gooey cheese can stretch[/caption]

Plus it was freshly made so the crust was perfectly crispy and nice! Omg I didn't know pizza could taste so good.

And it was for $6 (USD), so not bad! 7" one, with A LOT of meat as you can see. Still a bit pricey though, I gotta watch my expenditure on meals heh.

That's all folks! Hope to get an early night, have a looong day of fun tomorrow!

PCAMFS

I thought it'll be really sweet and nice to cook a meal for SH before I leave, despite my limited culinary abilities. I mean, it's the effort that counts right? This would be my anniversary + christmas present for her ! (I won't be around)

But I don't have any idea what to get for in terms of a monetary gift, so I decided to invest the time and effort (and a bit of money) to prepare a special meal for her!!