Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Me, My rides and I
For the 2 months and 20 days that i've been employed by PKD, i have been assigned to the ride Anaconda. basically its a big rollercoaster ride that kinda moves like a snake, hence it's name. Anaconda also has a "subsidiary" called Scrambler... sorry for the term but it's true since 100% of Scrambler belongs to Anaconda... okay i shall not start on it because i'm probably too obsessed with the influence of my AFA(advanced financial accounting) class with FRS 103,27 and disgusting consolidated financial statements that's killing me... talking about assets, liabilities.. wada wada...anyhows, Scrambler is like a smaller ride cuz it more mild and "more for kids". haha. it's similar to those typical tea cup rides except that it's more fun. it spins around and people get pulled to the sides due to centrifugal force being exerted (ya you remember you learn this in physics and all the calculations in fmaths.. blah blah ok shall not go on). so it's pretty fun cuz it gets very cooling with all the wind in your face when you spinned around. its more fun when you sit with people cuz you can squish or get squished!
Scrambler
how the ride looks like...
me on board! say... CHEEZE!!!
me at work.. checking the cars to make sure they are all locked properly!
okay, next up's ANACONDA!!! haha i started out loving Scrambler cuz it was more slack and i could have a chance to sit.. but it got rather sickening when i was left there almost all day... err thanks to jesse. i think don (another supervisor from my neighbour ride) sure understands because he frequently comments how he ALWAYS sees me there. and so i turned my love to Anaconda because i had more fun with jesse there and its kinda like... "more happening" i would say.
Anaconda
posing infront of the entrance queue line...
bird's eye view of the ride...
pretty pretty beautiful anaconda ride area...
basically my job scope includes checking the restraints to make sure it's locked properly before the train moves off... so for every cycle i will...
normally step out of the board room first...
start checking from the first row...
and go all the way to the end...
then when both sides are ok, we raise our thumbs up and give the "all clear" signal to the board operator who will then send the train off.
it seems quite simple but we kinda like have to do other stuff too.. like disabled guests who come up with the exit ramp, helping people put their belonings at the racks at the side, pulling up restraints for people who get stuck cuz they can't open it up (that's the worst because the restraints are so damn heavy!! that's why i've always thought that only guys should work here!), then cleaning up vomit (yes you didn't hear me wrong) for those scardy cats who couldn't take the excitement of the ride, going underneath the train station to pick up sandals or whatsoever items dropped by those idiots... etc etc. basically we just do everything else that is needed.
the train comes in like almost continously... one train enters after the previous one departs. so the only idle time is probably when the trains are moving in and out... and also when those people unload and load themselves (which we are supposed to help but err...). so most of the time in between cycles, i kinda like walk into the boardroom (when i'm working on the left side) to get some air-con and also to talk and play with jesse when he's on board. or sometimes just talk to other people who are inside. at other times i just don't go in at all.. depending on who's inside. well but thank God for that, it really helps to make work time pass faster and more fun. you can't imagine a human being repeatedly doing the same stuff for hours.. where's your sanity man. work will only get tiring and boring.
i never took a picture when i was on board... which was quite a pity. this is a bigger ride so they are more stringent on training for the board operator. i only managed on my "board training" status before i left because jesse refused to checklist me as i was leaving already. well actually, doing board is really not that hard at all (with our Singapore level of intelligence.. hahaha.) so well, they should have started training us earlier. somehow americans there just gave me the impression that they think we singaporeans are kinda like dumb or something. bad underestimation... hmms.
time to ride...
me on the train... with a weird angmoh posing too... haha. i love the back seat the most.. it's the most fun for rollercoaster rides i've learnt. most people think that the first row is the best.. but actually they are wrong. long coaster rides like this has the best ride experience from the back.so when you are ready to go... come with me to ride anaconda on this video...! (it's pretty shakkkkkyyyy but that's the best we can do while riding and holding the camera!)
courtesy of mingshun who took this video... and jesse who allowed him to do so even though he wasn't supposed to.. haha.
YuAn® spun on 2:43 PM.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
my favourite american
"heyo, what's up?! hello everyone. see i'm opening my mouth to say hello! haha. :) my name is jesse. jesse m.e.r.i.c.a III, named after my dad and granddad. i am 19 years old and am currently a college student at liberty university, majoring in criminal justice. i have just finished my first year of college and am now working as a supervisor of rides department at paramounts kings dominion for the summer."
"i look and am just like the average american kid you see on tv. i know it's just so irresistible how adorable and cute looking i am."hahaha.
"oohhh... look at what i've found? oh yes, i am in charge of 2 rides, namely anaconda and scrambler. see the background of these 2 pictures? it was taken at my anaconda station."
"look at how serious i am at work everyday! i'm probably one of the best supervisors in the park!"yeah right.
haha.yeaps, this is jesse, my favourite american boy. we got to know each other from working at the same ride. he's the one i've taken the most number of pictures with. this is the first picture we took together when we didn't really know each other that well. it was around the pre-season period... i looked fairer and he looked chubbier then.
and then the park started operating daily where it saw the start of us having to face each other 6 days a week, from open to close... it was a continuous 3/4 week period then. i had to see him most of the time that i was alive and awake. i see him more than anything else during that period of time. i see him more than my bed/laptop/friends/tv etc etc.
this post is gonna show the vast number of pictures we have taken together before... haha.. which doesn't include the group photos that has both of us and other people inside. but this is probably still my favourite photo of us that has been posted earlier before. it's just such a nice photo i love it so much.. both of us look so happy here!
haha this was a picture taken inside the boardroom that didn't turn out very well cuz it was too bright. the light was coming from behind. it was taken in a hurry too cuz i ran in and it was snapped between two cycles of the trains. and it just so happened that jesse wasn't looking at the camera when it was taken! he was looking outside (at his eye cycle as a board operator. haha.) at the train (i pressume)... or probably at the gates/guests etc. such a good and responsible worker! not distracted at work! hahaha!
he's almost everything to me in usa, va, pkd. he's my supervisor/ colleague/ good friend/ best buddy/ boy friend/ little baby/ play toy/ punching bag/ kicking bag/ puncher/ boxer/ kicker/ teddybear/ beater/ abuser/ cuddler etc etc.
he's the american i've talked the most to, seen the most of, hit the most of, played the most with, hugged the most of, laughed the most with/at/by... spent the most time with. it wasn't really a matter of choice initially for either of us that we had to face each other so much.. we were just forced to. haha.
one picture taken inside the board room and the other outside just beside the train. this is probably the boundaries of the land area that we've spent most of our time together in building our friendship. he's the only american who can make me all so pissed off and upset at work, but yet has the ability to make me laugh aloud too.
our last shot before we parted... on the night that we probably met for the last time in our lives.
and with his mini jeep car.he's the american i miss the most in US. and the one i never wanna lose but yet at the same time find it so hard to keep...
"thanks for reading everyone! we've come to the end of the post especially dedicated for me and it's time to say goodbye so..."
"have a good one! :)"
YuAn® spun on 1:34 AM.
Friday, August 25, 2006
we are Singapore... Singapooorreeeaannnns....
i was just looking through and organizing the numerous number of photos that i've gotten from the rest of the singaporeans during bbq that night.. and suddenly all the memories just came back. sighs.i miss all my PKD singaporeans man.
we've only known each other for barely 4 months.. but yet the friendships and bonds built were so miraculous. i miss my americans too but yet somehow i feel that the friendships of singaporeans are probably more dependable.
it seems pretty unanimous that most of us, seem to have this post-WAT syndrome. haha. we all miss the times at PKD... all the memories.. all the fun... work wasn't something too fantastic.. but it wasn't that bad. especially now that we are all back in stressful singapore uni life... the more we miss the peaceful and carefree life back then. life was simple and good.
how i wish i could go back to life back then. but good things never last i guess.. and nothing is forever in life... oh sighs.
snapshot...
1
2
and 3
WAT USA, PKD '06, Singapore.
We rock. :)
YuAn® spun on 10:10 PM.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
packing up the memories of PKD...
i was just unpacking my luggage the other day.. and put together these stuff to take a picture of them.
my ziplocked PKD uniform, jacket and cap.. my name tag, associate ID and vcu card... those that i've been using so faithfully for the past few months at PKD..
i put them all nicely together... keep it in one corner of my cupboard... not having any use for them anymore in my life.
just like how i keep all my memories at PKD, safely tucked in one corner of my heart.
YuAn® spun on 10:48 PM.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Conversation with my brother
Bro: did you leave anything behind in US?Me: yeah.
Bro: what?
Me: my heart.
Bro: ..............
YuAn® spun on 12:02 PM.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
back in my sunny island singapore
just a short update before people think that i'm still not there.i'm finally back in sunny island singapore. touched down on 11th august afternoon. we decided to cut short on taiwan trip because we were all just so tired of travelling and taipei was boring me out anyway.
my mom and grandma came to pick me up... look at the amount of luggage i brought back! i pulled one BIG trolley luggage.. carried two back packs.. one big one at the back, a smaller one in front.. a tote bag... and another smaller hand carry. basically all my hands were filled. and i still bought alcohol from the duty free shop... all so heavy!!! basically i almost died but i'm glad this is the first time in a long while that i DON'T HAVE to spend $$ on transportation to get all my stuff and myself transported! and i drove myself back home despite not driving in singapore for more than 3 months! haha.. luckily i'm still safe. at least i didn't keep on the wrong side of road despite being in countries that drive on the opposite side of the road for the last 3+ months. the photo looks pretty crowded at the back because i was on the same flight as this bunch of taiwanese stars including wang ren fu and xu meng zhe (5566), yang cheng ling, ah di and shu wei (energy). so all their crazy fans were waiting outside to welcome us back (yeah right). haha. more like waiting for them.i have like THOUSANDS of photos for this whole trip... and there are alot of them which i haven't collected from the rest of them. anyway for those WAT, PKD'06 people who might happen to drop by here... we are having a bbq gathering! check out the details.
Date: 19th Aug, Sat
Time: 6pm opposite coronation plaza bus stop at bukit timah
Venue: xueying's place, 1b shelford road #01-12
please RSVP zhiqian at 91117380. bring cash.. in sing dollars, not USD please! and not forgetting your laptops and photos all along please! :)
anyway, i'll start blogging stuff about my trip now that i have 10 days to slack before i go back to school. sighs. it's time consuming to photo blog and i apologize for the lack of updates. plus the fact that i don't have all the photos. thanks for the patience and i promise alot of photos will be coming. =)
YuAn® spun on 4:25 PM.