I’ve been pretty busy these few weeks - time seems to fly by and 24 hours a day don’t seem to be enough. Plus unlike in the past, I can’t seem to survive on 5 hours of sleep each day anymore.

Been busy with my HYP, plus taking 3 courses this term, plus a Teaching Assistant appointment. And in between trying to keep my sanity and still spare some time to study for GMAT… unfortunately I can’t seem to spare more than a few hours a week.

Am feeling like a prisoner now, traveling mostly between home and campus only, although I’ve only a 2 day week on campus. Most of my time I am just an attachment to my computer… ya know, like a thumbdrive plugged into the USB drive all day long.

I’ve got another 8 months of such a life to live.

Been having random flashbacks of the comfy life I had in Vancouver just months before. It wasn’t that long ago, but it certainly feels like a long time! I have particularly fond memories of going grocery shopping, walking to class on snowy days, going drinking with my roomies and cooking my favourite Asian dishes… and, how can I forget the $1 pizza slices? Oh, and of course of the various trips I went on, to the Canadian Rockies, and my month long trip after the exams.

Such wonderful memories. I hope I can relive that kind of life again in the near future.

Here are the things I have to work on all at the same time these days:

1. Special term module - ending in early August, and I just failed the mid-term today =( I’ve never failed a single exam since secondary school days… this paper was just too ridiculously difficult, and I suspect many other students are in the same plight.

2. Honours Year Project - until next May. I’ve read more than 30 journal papers in the past few weeks, with more reading and work to come since the project is just beginning.

3. GMAT - I need to somehow find  time to study for this, and take the exam some time in September or October… and get at least a 95th percentile score.

4. Grad school application materials - Also need to find time to research on what schools to apply to, write application essays, etc

5. Regular modules - Starting in August, I’ll have 3 modules to work on, right up till December.

6. Web development work - Extra cash from 2 freelance projects… going on right now. Hopefully I’ll finish one by end of this month, and the other within the next 2 months.

I’ll either need 48 hours a day, or I need to get mutated somehow that I’ll become a super geek and work twice as fast without affecting quality of work.

Until recently I’d been deceiving myself for years, believing that since I succeeded in doing business before I can repeat my success again. Unfortunately, it took me this many years to realize that I am just a blank sheet of paper now.

I came to a realization that the skills I relied on to succeed in the past are now nothing compared to what many others are doing now. Perhaps at the time when I started my previous business we were considered one of the pioneers and early entrants into online retail in Singapore, but now the entry barrier has been raised - customers are more demanding, and there is much, much more competition in every market and product.

It’s just like falling down, breaking a leg and then realizing that you have to learn how to walk all over again. A very humbling experience. I don’t think I should wallow in self-pity anymore about what happened in the past, then try to console myself by saying things like “if I could do it last time, I can do it again”. It’s just not going to happen. While I was down and out, the earth was still spinning, people were progressing and now I have to admit that I’m probably no better than any other recent graduate - the only difference is that I have a longer resume, but all the conquests were of years ago.

So many regrets - if only I picked myself up much earlier… but that’s irrelevant now. I ain’t going to look back now. It’s time to move forward and eat humble pie, get the ego out of the way and start by learning how to walk again.

My fight from New York to Las Vegas was really comfortable… I had more space than business class passengers as the seats for flight crew were in front of me and not occupied! It was my first Delta flight (hopefully more to come in future), as well as my first on a Boeing 757! It was a rather new aircraft – still smelling of fresh interiors and looking bright and clean… unlike the WestJet flight I had on a stinky, old 737.

It was evening by the time my ~ 5 hours flight arrived in Las Vegas. The view from the plane as we were flying into LV was spectacular - lots and lots of specks of lights! The Las Vegas airport was really interesting, as it had rows and rows of slot machines where gambling addicts can play while waiting for their flight departures!

Las Vegas hotels are really affordable. I booked a room at the Excalibur Hotel as it was even cheaper than staying in a hostel! The room was not very nice, but nevertheless it was still a nice change from the hostel beds without any privacy.

By the end of my first night in Las Vegas I gambled away $75 and downed about half a dozen $1 Corona beers. Drinks are free in casinos (even cocktails!) but one is expected to tip the server about a dollar each time.

Not wanting to gamble away my remaining trip expenses, I reluctantly pulled myself away from the craps table.

Las Vegas is very different from other places, not only for its casinos but also for as one of the few places in the States where there are things like legal prostitution (there are people handing out flyers everywhere - well, the brothels are operating outside of Las Vegas itself… but the flyers advertise ‘escort services’… ), and legal consumption of alcoholic beverages on the street.

My second day in Las Vegas was spent walking down the Strip… the weather there was hot and dry, it would have been easier to take the bus down but I wanted to pop into all the Strip hotels and casinos to look around so I went on foot. Vegas is full of imitation architecture - there is New York New York, where the hotel is made up of several imitations of iconic NYC buildings (i.e. the Empire State Building) and Paris (that had a fake the Eiffel Tower). The most amazing attraction in my opinion is the lion enclosure at the MGM Grand. Apparently the hotel owns a pack of lions in a ranch somewhere outside of Las Vegas, and someone would groom a few of them each morning and they would be transported to the hotel’s enclosure which comes complete with a man-made waterfall and pond, if I remember correctly. The interesting thing is that their lions are all pretty active, unlike those at the Singapore  Zoo that are always sleeping.

I spent the later half of the day at the Las Vegas Premium Outlet where I bought another handbag for the SO.

I had most of my meals at the Excalibur hotel’s buffet restaurant as I had plenty of dining credits that came with my hotel room… the food there sucked big time though. I would have paid the $20+ to try one of those legendary buffets in Vegas (I heard a lot about those huge Alaskan crab legs!) if not for those credits I had to finish… well, maybe next time.

And the third day I went on a day tour to the Grand Canyon… the view was amazing, but unfortunately being on a day tour meant I had just about 3 hours at the South Rim itself. It would have been more enjoyable to stay over for a full day at the Rim, but there were no viable/affordable transportation options.

After several weeks of procrastination, I’m continuing with my trip report… I stopped blogging at NYC, and so the report continues from there…

Not that I’ve got many readers eager to know about my unexciting life, but this also serves as a record of the thoughts and experiences I’ve had on my trip. I’ve got an awful memory and this will be nice to read years from now when I’m reminiscing about my journey in N. America.

NYC - Las Vegas

I’m writing this in the food court at JFK Terminal 3, where there is no free WiFi access. I got moved from my original seat at the back of the plane to near the front, at the emergency exit row – yay! More leg space for my 5 hours flight to the Sin City.

Delta planes at JFK

Excess legroom in front of seat A1 on a relatively new Boeing jet

I’m missing Vancouver already, with its pleasant weather, fresh air, friendly people and relaxing pace of life. And of course my roommates who are really awesome and easy to get along with.

And oh, I got my grades yesterday – I got 3 A- and an A. Oh my, guess what… the A was not for any of the courses in my major, but for Wine Science! All my homework and revision (drinking wine!) have paid off! Wine is a pretty fun and interesting subject… I am actually contemplating to look for a part time job at a wine bar or shop when I get back to Singapore, just because I like the subject … not because I like working part time (I don’t like to work for others, and I certainly don’t like to face snobby customers). Maybe I can gain some experience along the way and can learn how to start my own wine distribution business or wine bar!

Yes… I didn’t fall off the cliff during my hike in Yosemite National Park earlier today. Just too busy to put up all the photos and trip reports. I will do so gradually…

Just a short reflection for today.

I noticed that the talk of the blogosphere these few days have been about foreign workers in Singapore again. Seriously, the government isn’t listening to native Singaporeans’ views - why can’t they respect the fact that many SIngaporeans do not like our country to be taken over by foreign talent? Instead of telling us what is good for us… why can’t they just respect what the people want?

Pro-establishment people are going to slam me for being myopic, going to comment saying that Singaporeans should be open to competition, it is healthy for the economy, the government always have the best intentions for the people, etc. I’ve had enough of this shit and brain washing. Life is only so short, why should we restrict ourselves to a place where the government doesn’t bother about implementing policies that we really want? True, what we want may not be in the best interests for us… but… ultimately, isn’t is so that in a truly democratic society, citizens get to choose what they really want for themselves?

Our economy may not perform as well if we choose not to allow that many foreign talent to come in, however, if we made that choice, we will be responsible for the consequences. And afterall, is the Singapore economy really doing that well now with all the FT? For business owners and investors, maybe. For the normal and marginalized population… not quite so - I am sure many of my readers out there can testify to.

The most significant choice we can make as citizens is to choose who we want as our leaders - however, the election laws and political scene in Singapore make it difficult for opposition parties to effectively challenge the ruling party. As a result, many constituencies remain unchallenged and many Singaporeans are unable to exercise their rights to vote - is this still considered a democracy? People who want to make alternative choices have no chances to do so…

Some people say that Singapore has few competent opposition politicians. This I agree with. There are certainly lots of competent people in Singapore, and I suspect many with strong political beliefs. However, there is a climate of fear - look at all the opposition politicians in the past who, for some reason or another, have been put out of action. Truly successful and competent people in Singapore will not want to take the risk of openly associating themselves with the opposition - much less to become opposition politicians themselves - it takes a lot of guts and appetite for risk to do so, and in this society where ‘me’ comes first over ‘we’, most people will stay away from that. The general mindset is, when you are already doing well in life, why make things more difficult for yourself?

These are more reasons I have for wanting to leave Singapore. Many of us never had the opportunity to choose our leaders before… maybe even for the rest of our lives we will continue to see ‘walkovers’ in our own constituencies. However, we can choose to leave for somewhere else, where citizens are treated with more respect, somewhere where the political scene is healthier, where the grass is greener.

Having traveled around quite a bit now, I still subscribe to the belief that the grass is really greener on the other side. If you believe in this too, continue believing in it - do not let people put you down, telling you that you’re wrong and Singapore is good for you. Everyone has their own ideas of what is good for themselves. As long as you know what you are doing/thinking is right, then continue believing in yourself and continue to dream and strive for what you want or where you want to migrate to.

I’ve made my choice. And the next step is to work towards it.

Today is my last day in NYC… I’ll be leaving for Las Vegas in a few hours’ time.

NYC is a pretty fun and exciting place, with lots to see and do… however, one would need a substantial budget to go for nice meals, watch broadway shows and go for all the tours and attractions. On a low budget, there wouldn’t be much to see or do, because all the museums have admission charges of $10 - $20.

I bought a 3 day New York Pass (www.newyorkpass.com) for $100 and it gave me admission to ‘over 40 attractions’, but in actual fact only a handful of them are the better ones - having said that, it’s already worth the money, as I managed to use $100 worth of value on the first day alone.

I visited the Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum, Madame Tussaurds’ Wax Museum; went up the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the Bodies Exhibition, and had a 2 hour evening ‘cruise’ on a ferry.

In terms of food, NYC wasn’t as expensive as I expected it to be - one can spend a fortune on food if he likes, but for people like me, $1.25 can get a breakfast of coffee and a chocolate eclair (I think the price was only for a coffee and donut but they gave it to me when I asked =)). That’s an impossible price to get in Canada (except for Macdonald’s $1.50 coffee and muffin).

I don’t have a very good first impression of NYC - I find that people here are pretty stressed out, always rushing for time (just like in Singapore), and pretty much unfriendly and not helpful - except for some street side food vendors who always seem to be cheerful and friendly. It’s certainly a nice place to visit for the shopping, shows and attractions, but it’ll never be on my list of places to work and live in.

Last night I was at a subway station and there were two transvestites dancing and taking off their shirts on the platform, either oblivious to the attention they were getting, or actually enjoying the attention. It was so funny and crazy, and I was telling my friend (whom I met for dinner) we don’t need to pay to go for cabaret or comedy shows… can just get a free show on the subway.

Another funny thing about subways here is that, on every single subway ride that I took (about 6 times), there would be some homeless people who’d hop on the train and start to tell their sob stories and asking for money. Homeless people here are very creative (well, some of their stories could be true, but I am skeptical), compared to those in Canada who just sit on the ground and hold out their hands! Here are some of the ones I remember:

* “Between XXX and XXX stations, somebody stole my wallet. I have no money to go home now, and I need $8.50 to get back. I have $1.85 now, and if somebody can spare me a quarter or any amount at all, it would be great”
* “I am HIV positive and have no ID. The hospitals would not treat me because I do not have an ID. I need money for food and for my treatment”
* The most ultimate one that I’ve encountered… and I gave some coins to… were 2 elderly men who got on the train I was on last night, and shouted “How are you, New York City?! It’s gospel time!”… and started to sing a catchy jingle (I couldn’t make out the lyrics cos I was listening to my MP3), dancing and jiggling across the train. I was impressed! I gave them some coins and one of the chaps gave me a hi-five and said, “you’re an artist”. LOL!

I think they deserved it - they were homeless but still able to ‘work’ for money, appearing cheerful and trying to entertain people… not like the stereotypical homeless people who’d just tell their sob stories and hold out their hands. The latter doesn’t work for me - I (and probably many other people) would think they are just making up stories half the time.

Alrighty, tonight I will stuff myself with a buffet in Las Vegas and finish the evening with a soak in the bathtub - a nice change from the bunk bed I was in for the past 5 nights.

I bought a ticket for a hop-on-hop-off open top bus ride today, and hopped on, intending to take one whole round without hopping off. However, traffic was extremely, painfully slow, and so I got off at Chinatown to have lunch… fishball noodles! I had it at one of the HK-style cafes there, and it was actually more like instant noodles with fish balls. Well, still it was a decent meal at just $3.50 in NYC, can’t complain much I guess. At least they gave me 11 fish balls…

Then I went to the subway station intending to take the tube to meet my friend at Columbia University. Being totally new to the NYC subway I was totally taken aback by the complicated network of routes… so I asked the ticket vendor what train I should take. That was a Chinese guy, and he looked at me as though I was a moron and yelled an indecipherable answer at me. I asked how much the ticket cost and he yelled $2, grabbed the money from me, and practically threw the card through the hole in the window.

I asked a passer-by for directions instead.

Later when I was getting back from Columbia U to Times Square, the ticket I bought had a problem and I couldn’t get through the turnstile, so I asked the ticket vendor for assistance… and got yelled at again. Seems like he couldn’t understand English or just couldn’t be bothered to listen - I told him the ticket had a problem and he just asked me to try again. So I went to the turnstile to try again… couldn’t work. I looked at him, and he was motioning furiously at me to try again. So I did so again and again. Couldn’t work still. Then I walked back to the counter, looked at him, and he again had that “you are a moron” look and told me to go through the manual gate instead. Dammit. What’s the problem with these people.

When I got back to my room, I realised that someone took my towel. Gee. Of all things, someone stole my towel, a used one too. Now I got to buy a new towel before I can shower =( Better lock all my stuff tomorrow before I go out.

I took the road less traveled today by taking the Amtrak train from Montreal to NYC. I chose this mode of transport because having experienced the excellent service on Amtrak’s service between Vancouver and Seattle I thought it’d be just as good.

However, this time round the train kind of suck (poor ventilation, and less comfortable than the Vancouver one), and the food service was bad… while there were gourmet sandwiches on the Vancouver service, this one had just hot dogs and hamburgers… and there was no hot water for the entire ride, thus no coffee or tea.

Nevertheless, it was a very scenic route and I enjoyed it… pretty grueling ride at about 11 hrs though. Reached NYC at about 9pm, and headed out to get some dinner after checking in at the hostel… there are street side food vendors here, just like in Bangkok! But much cleaner of course… and I got myself some delicious, authentic tasting Indian food for just 5 bucks.

I spent the entire day walking around Montreal today, following the suggested itinerary from Frommer’s travel guide. Took lots of photos, of which a selection can be found below.

For lunch I had Chinese food in Montreal’s Chinatown. This is totally different from the Chinese food in Vancouver. Apparently here the clientele is mainly westerners since there are fewer Asians in this part of Canada. Not like in Vancouver where we make up a formidable number. So obviously the food tasted less authentic and yes, the meal ended with a fortune cookie.

Guess what my fortune for the day is (pic below)? Quite hilarious, because I know for a fact that the fortune cookie is an American invention and I am pretty sure many Americans believe that they really do come from China. The same for things like “General Tao’s” chicken. In all my life eating Chinese food I’ve never heard of things like these.

And as an afternote, I did not manage to finish what I wanted to undertake today (against what the fortune cookie predicted) - I didn’t go to Mont Royal because I was too tired. Darn fortune cookie!

Tonight is my last night in Montreal… and then I’m saying goodbye to Canada (with the exception of my half day layover in Vancouver at the end of my trip).