it's freezing here. i can feel the wind through my jacket in the middle of the day, even when the sun is shining. But i'm not exactly looking forward to a full-blown summer either, cos i dun wanna get sunburnt. hope it doesn't rain tmr. it rained heavily last night. and i couldn't slp even though i had to wake up early today. got up at 6am ytd despite a fitful slp and only had an hour's nap after which i felt so cui throughout dinner i just wanted to chiong back to slp but we ended up taking 000s of jumpshots outside Denny's, to the point tt after my bath i felt damn jing shen and was still awake at 3am despite gg to bed at 2am. Then Huili's morning call came at 7+am, so basically i didn't slp much. Am tired now, after a whole day of orientation. Had cup noodles for dinner cos everyone was lazy to go out.

orientation was basically paperwork first..social security,all sorts of forms,medical history etc...then briefing on employee guidelines etc and attractions in richmond, to the point tt i just wanna move to VCU like now. cos it's boring here, being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no public transport and just a petrol station, 7-11 and a BK nearby. There's gonna be a trip to walmart on mon or tues and hopefully everyone will be free to go cos i dun wanna go alone :( the lifeguards are gonna haf trainings everyday except fri and sat i think. which means i'll be pretty much left alone, since i'm the only one out of the 8 of us who chose ecology. ok now they're fretting over wearing swimsuits, having to swim in the cold water, lifeguard tests tt include mcqs and diving...but i'm no better off la. out of the whole grp of us who arrived on 7 may (which is the earliest grp of international students to arrive in KD), only 4 are in ecology, which is me and 3 other guys. PRCs. great right. but i'm forcing myself to be sociable in order to survive, so i took the initiative to date them for lunch and to go to work tmr. (coincidentally, and luckily, 2 of them are my neighbours, in the room just next to mine so at least it's more convenient to look for them) I've gotta report for training at 1.45pm tmr, but all my frens have lifeguard training at 8+am so that leaves me to lunch and make my way to Park Operations (wherever that is) tmr ALONE right? depressing. haha tt's why i was fretting tt i'd lose my way etc but now i got the china guys for company, it shdn't be too bad right? no doubt their english is weird and i'm nowhere near fluent in mandarin compared to them, but hey i'm sure i'll be fine :) for all u know they cld just make very good frens. sure. (but somehow i highly doubt hahahaha) But no la, must always look on the bright side of life right?? at least i dare to be different and not just go with the flow. cos i know if i'm in waterworks like the rest of them, i'd be stressing even more, prob even losing slp cos i can't even freaking swim.

employee conduct here is really strict. looking at the way temps and students behave in singapore, i really have to redefine the word "discipline". it really all boils down to that. and it makes me think of those days in guides. haha. here in park ops (ecology, ride operators and lifeguards), 10 mins early=early, 5 mins early=punctual and on time=late. damn. so as long as u clock in 1 min late (even if u call and inform beforehand), u'll be considered tardy and given 1 attendance point. late for more than an hr and u get 2 pts. kns. rather like a strict demerit point system, and if u get 6 pts or more, u get written counseling; if u get 12 pts or more u'll be sacked. and if ur absent fr work despite calling in, u get 3 pts. no call or no show gives u 10 pts. ok u get the idea. it's tt bad. i better make sure when i move to richmond, tt i wake up extra early so i dun miss the bus. which can get pretty packed cos it's in the city. and our uniforms will be inspected when we scan in at the employee gates so if we dun meet the requirements, we gotta fix it b4 we get to work. i think i'll pretty much be lunching with the PRC guys cos the employee cafe is on the opposite side of the park from waterworks, which means my frens will prob haf to eat at some trailer in waterworks unless they have the time and trouble to spare to really take the tram down to the cafe. and we only have 1 hr for lunch breaks. taking more than an hour will give us pts too. great. and now i see how slack life was in singapore, be it in school or at work. the upside is that I GET 4 COMPLIMENTARY KD PASSES so whoever wants to come play at KD pls contact me cos they only last till the end of this season, which is sept 08 and we're not allowed to sell them online or sth.

my uniform is bright yellow -________- i think i'll have to wear my long pants for 2 wks before i get to wash them at VCU cos it's just so cold here. and i'm gonna wear a shirt under my uniform, hope they don't catch me for tt cos i'm not allowed to wear my own jacket. and the jacket they provided is damn cui, it's like a big blue poncho, and it doesn't even have the words "kings dominion" printed on them. and the cap is out of shape. haha. the upside is that the name tags are cool. they're not pinned or clipped on- they're magnetised! but it's weird la, we can't remove the tags unless we take out the shirt first. haha. cos the magnet backing is inside the shirt ma. and they spelt my name wrongly on my employee ID :( they can only fix it next wk, so shall have to live with it in the meantime. i've got a 25% discount on merchandise in the park, so anybody need anything? they suggested ecology ppl wear sunglasses too cos it can get really glaring but i don't think i can, cos i've got a degree :( sad right, sometimes having to wear specs is just so mafan. and they said we'd get an average of 20 lost kids each operating day...haha i'm looking forward to cute kids :))

ok my aim is to try out ALL the rides by the end of this trip. including those rated "5" for aggressive thrill rides. i hope i don't faint or vomit man. am looking forward to the DOMINATOR, which is the 4210-foot, longest floorless coaster in the world which has the largest roller coaster loop. ok i'm starting to advertise for the park alr :p hope i don't chicken out man. i don't wanna be doomed to sit just the viking for the rest of my life. but then again, i think the viking here goes 360 degrees -_________-

am looking forward to "tropical smoothie" and "cold stone creamery" which are highly recommended restaurants in richmond :) our international program HR coordinator today said cold stone serves the best ice cream ever. wow. shall wait and c ;) and i knew i just had to go to Maymont Park when she mentioned the BABY BEARS there. omg. and admission is free. wheeheehee. told ya i'm looking forward to these perks within walking distance of VCU alr. 19 may 19 may 19 may!!!

prob gonna sign up for a bank acct with Wachovia bank when they come down on 21 may cos their ATMs are on the VCU campus...have u guys heard of such a bank? it sounds damn weird. reminds me of anchovies.

am having cramps but otherwise enjoying the weather. when the wind blows we just wanna shiver and huddle but it's refreshing :) am also enjoying the peace and calm in my room. am alone in my room now, cos my roomie fell asleep in her sis's room. and when we move to VCU i prob have to room with shi min cos yue you and yue hao's parents want them to stay together. whatever man. but when shi min ends work earlier i'll prob get a random roomie then. oh wells. independence independence independence. typing it repeatedly seems to drive the point through. that i'm already learning independence.


We were trying to find our way to the HR center in KD. That sign did help :)