U.S.S

HI ;)

Well I intended to allow my shirt to do the talking, but what the heck. Just in case there are some colorblind people seeing this, ya know?

Anyways. Just a warning; this post is super photo-heavy D: I didn't realize I took so many photos in Singapore. Well, I didn't take much, it was just at Universal Studios, where I felt I was on a sugar rush although I didn't eat properly all day. But.. here goes. Scroll down. IF YOU DARE.

WE'RE IN SINGAPORE! 

Passing the checkpoint at the border. Dad was frustrated(as usual) though there wasn't much fuss except he forgot to bring the immigration forms for ourselves. And then he got all stressed up when he couldn't find his GPS holder. Only to figure out he was holding it in his other hand... all this while. 

He didn't think it was funny, but we all laughed anyway XD. 

Singapore wasn't any different from KL, except it was (much much much more)cleaner, neater, organized, and everything including the signboards were in English and not Bahasa. Once we entered Orchard Road, where we were staying, however, it was like KL city centre all over again. With a few minor differences, but who cares? 

TEA! :D

We were all hungry after checking in, so we decided to go have a bite or two at the lounge. All that dainty little pastries and titbits and kuih.... *drools*. I was so ravenous I downed a whole bunch of food because I didn't feel hungry for lunch during our journey. That pink kuih was sooo yummy. So was the salmon. And the tuna spread. And the cheesecake... oh man.... 

..I shall stop thinking about food now. It's bad. BAAAD.

Anyways.. Adrian, I was having all these amazing stuff when I discovered you online and our Skype battle began. XD Just so you know.

Also, because Dad stayed at the hotel a bunch of times, they upgraded us to the executive suite. It was.. crazy, to say the least.

WE HAD WII. XD

That's Joel getting hooked on the Wii after discovering it in the room. He played it all evening.

Boardroom table..? 

We were quite confused, to say the least. I didn't understand when Dad told me there was a boardroom table in the suite that could sit ten people. I thought he was pulling my leg. Till I came up and saw this. 

Basically it didn't make sense; we needed a family room, not a business-cum-pleasure suite! But the table did not appear in vain, we put it to good use! As in, we used it for dinner when we ordered room service later on. It was hilarious.

Dad:

*Cleaning the crumbs and smudges on the table after dinner*

Mom:

"Careful, don't let the crumbs get stuck in the glass edges and the hole in the middle.."

Dad:

"Stupid table. Why on earth would they make it like that? You can't eat on it!"

Mom:

"WE'RE the ones that are stupid! This table ISN'T meant for eating; its a boardroom table for business meetings!"

Me:

*Sits at the head of the table*

"You're both fired."

Oh yeah. I was channeling my inner Donald Trump. ;D

We were reminded constantly to wake early the next morning, so we could catch an early breakfast and head to Universal Studios EARLY and catch the Transformers Ride before we got left behind and had to line up for two hours. At least, that was what happened to Kor's friend when she went there, or so Kor told me. And I kept true to my promise by waking at 6am *shudder*. Yes, I'm that dedicated. 

My Night Nest. :D

Joel and I refused to share sleep space, so he was content with the huge sofa and I was more than happy to have the king-sized bed all to myself :DD. I didn't like sleeping on just one side of the bed because it feels weird with an empty space next to me, so I have this habit of creating a sort of 'nest' in the middle of the huge bed whenever I have a double bed all to myself during vacation days. I did the same this time... and I did not disappoint myself. 

I had two large pillows and a few baby ones; Joel took the two extra pillows the hotel provided. I constructed that mess you now see above, and slept soundly like a baby all night long. I never had a better sleep; the bed was soooooo comfortable, and the quilt was so nice and soft and made the bed so cosy and warm :) . *Joy*

So when my alarm forced me up at 6am, I took the time to grab a snapshot of my bedtime memory. Doesn't it look oh so tempting? :D Hey, I only get to sleep in a double bed every once in a blue moon. My bed at home is a narrow miserly piece of mattress compared to that generous helping I enjoyed that night. *Sigh*

I never had so much freedom of movement in my sleep before.

..um.

I don't even know why I bothered to take this, let alone put it up here. I think maybe I was trying to show how many mirrors was lining the suite we stayed in. And yes, I was in a bathrobe. I like bathrobes. They always weigh me down when I wear the hotel ones because of their enormous XXXXL size or something. And slippers! :D Ahh, I do wish I had some of my own at home, but mom thinks they're unnecessary, and utterly ridiculous to have. I agree with her at some point, but.... she just tells me I should wear a sarong like she does. Um. I'd feel weird in a sarong. I wore it a few times during class camp(and then discovered my leg was bleeding from a leech bite), where my friends called me a Japanese. 

I beg your pardon? Japanese?? I'm supposed to look Nyonya! But oh well. I get mistaken for a whole lot of races anyway XD. 

I'm getting off-topic here, AGAIN. Arrgh! Focus, Esther, FOCUS. Kays, on to the next part...

Well I shouldn't think it's that hard to guess, eh?

The globe thingy. With fog spewing all around. 

If you're not careful, you'll lose yourself(or someone) in the thick parts. I lost Joel once. True story. 

Another true story :)

That would be me posing with the script that declares us as the First Family or something like that. 

We were standing in front of the gates waiting for it to open at ten(after arriving at nine thinking it'd be open, but noooo, Dad made a mistake, hurrah!), when a bunch of staff from U.S.S approached us and asked us whether we were a family with two kids. I was half-afraid they we were in trouble for something, till they dropped a bombshell and asked us whether we'd like to declare the opening of U.S.S for the day, and that there would be privileges if we agreed. Joel got nervous when they said we all had to speak, but I shushed him by asking him how much the Transformers Ride was worth to him(One of the privileges would be we get to enter the place first, woohoo!), and besides, how many people would ever get this sort of experience? 

..Dad messed up eventually. XD He was so eager about it, he forgot he had to introduce himself!

But anyways, besides getting to enter first, we were given a free photo taken with Po, and(the BEST surprise of all) a bunch of express passes to jump queue of any ride we wanted and go straight to the front! :DD Now, how awesome is that? 

Anyways, we declared the gates opened....

.. and headed straight for this. 

Oh yes, it was a time to be kiasu, indeed. And so worth it. :)

That ride was AWESOME. It's so awesome, I can't even describe it. We made sure to make full use of the express passes.... going on the ride three times. Ohyeahnowwho'sboss? :D

Joel and Camaro.

Family photo with Evac. 

I thought at first it was Optimus Prime, but Joel pointed out that it was the robot that we were supposed to be fighting with during the ride itself. We were his 'recruits' and were taken on a wild ride through Devastator's mouth and insides, along a street race with Bonecrusher and Sideswipe, flung through the air and into a building by (I think)Starscream.... I think I'm giving everything away. 

It was awesome. End of story, before I start telling it all over again.

Grabbed some shots of the architecture around U.S.S. I especially loved New York and Hollywood; they were amazing. I felt like I was in a dream. 

Walk of Fame. 

They were mostly of all the old celebrities that only my mom knew about. Vincent Price was one of only a few I actually recognized; the others just made blank spaces in my memory. LOL.

Deh Lion. :D

....

... okay, so maybe I've become a bit of a poser. I couldn't help myself. SORRY. 

However, I did love those crazy hats. They were pretty cool :D I chose the kookiest one and grabbed a quick shot of it before we got left behind by my brother and dad. Hah!

(Also, I only realized that the hat was actually meant for a guy to wear when I checked back on the photos later. Ultimate FAIL.)

CA.MA.RO.

If I was a gold digger; I'd marry a rich old man and get him to buy me this, complete with the Autobot insignia emblazoned on the side like this one. 

Unfortunately for my Camaro dreams, I don't believe in gold diggers. I'd rather die than marry some filthy, aging, wrinkly old man with pocketfuls of money he doesn't know what to do with them and goes and falls for some sweet-talking young girl whose eyes only light up with dollar signs. Yep, giving a jab at all those gold diggers out there. They need a life. Seriously, material stuff over emotional needs? No thanks. :S

Bumblebee! 

.. in 'human' form, of course. Joel got very peeved because the guy in charge cut us off from the queue and despite Dad trying to reason with him, he would not let us take photos with him. I just shrugged because I wasn't much into taking shots with Bumblebee, as much as I love Transformers, but Joel and Dad were pretty mad. Pity, they had to settle for this one instead. XD

Old-school glamor alright. 

CARS! :D

I loved those vintage cars they put on display. LOVED THEM. 

They were so quaint and cute and old-school! I spared no camera-taking when it came to this. For the first time in my life, cars became the centre of my attention. XD

We walked around for hours, sitting on rides, eating, going on more rides, exploring the different 'worlds', going to the bathroom, exploring different shops, resting.... it was endless.

I kept going back to Hollywood and New York, because it was awesome. I didn't much like Far Far Away, the place was too... fairy-like in a very odd, weird way. Like, I do like fairytales indeed(I grew up with Snow White and Cinderella etc etc), but I find the Shrek franchise gross. It just doesn't appeal to me. They've ripped the authenticity and classicism that the Disney fairytales have. It's not the same as Disneyland. I'd prolly feel magical in Disneyland, but till I go there someday, I suppose Far Far Away with its weird castle and bricks would have to be my closest memory. 

I LOATHED Madagascar. Oh my gosh, that place was like a zoo. Well, ironically indeed, I know. Lets see, it was hot, chaotic, noisy, suffocating, uninteresting, full of kids and families with prams, had more merchandise and food stalls than rides, and all the rides were for kids anyway. Yup, so amusing. Indeed.

The Lost World? ... it felt odd. Weird. Uncomfortable. I love dinosaurs, but the place just felt a little too plastic for me. All kids' rides and water fountains spurting out of stone dinosaur eggs, and a weird man walking around with his triceratops puppet and people going around it cooing as if it were real(I mean, seriously, come on, even the kids weren't falling for it). Sheesh, even my mom was going with the game and going all ga-ga with the baby triceratops. I felt mildly embarrassed. 

That's a lie. I was VERY embarrassed.

As for Ancient Egypt..... urgh. That was a creepy place D: Me no like it. Nope nope nope. The atmosphere and music that played throughout coupled with the architecture just sent chills and shudders up my spine and through my skin and made the hair on my head stand. It was not an enjoyable place to be; I'd prefer to be Far Far Away or even put up with wild animals in Madagascar, then stay in Ancient Egypt. 

Oh and one more thing. That Mummy Ride was freaky. It freaked me out so much, the effects were enough to give me nightmares. *SHUDDER* Thinking of the special effects right now is already making my skin crawl with fear. 

That's why, when in doubt, go back to HOLLYWOOD! :D  

OHYEAHWHOSEGOTTHISNOW?

We found the little cinematic shop that sold quaint little film stuff. There was a whole collection of golden Oscar statuettes declaring several titles like the one above. Hrhrhr... 

I'm very surprised my baby brother is suddenly so coy about this; but letting me grab a shot of it. Well, who knows his main motive. Either ways...

..nope, can't beat the boss! 

Baby golden statuettes.

Those declared us Best Son and Best Daughter. I badly wanted Best Grandma but there wasn't one for that size. We posed with them cause we didn't want to buy them, and hence sealed them as photographic memories. WOOTS.

And after that..? Well, since there were more express passes...

Grabbed this while on the express lane en route to an(other) epic journey aboard the Transformers Ride. 

Optimus Prime, I salute you. :DD

Oh, that ride. I would go on it a million times, but by the third time with Joel, I came out nursing a major headache. Maybe it was the lack of food due to my survival on mainly Milo and a few nibbles here and there all day, or the constant shaking and rolling of the ride. But it was worth it. Every little bit of it. 

Resting time( and posing time, of course, for a vain peacock that was me).

That was after we went for a Waterworld showcase, and was waiting for the Rock Musical to start. Pretty awesome shows, they both were. The water stage tempted me so, and gave me ideas about designing my future play in Theater Arts, then I remembered that I was gonna drop IB T.T *Sob*

The musical thing was rather cute. XD Frankenstein loves chicken rice!

Dad. 

On the phone. XD Mom urged me to grab that shot, because he was just with his phone all day with clients. He never leaves work alone; his job is waaaay too important. You know, for a man with so many things on his mind, he sure does know how to pose with the lamp post. 

Bottom line: I have a photogenic dad. XD

Even hidden cameras can't break that.

Seriously, my father smiles on rollercoasters, when everyone else has tragically traumatized screaming faces. Everyone asked why my dad looked so calm; heck, I asked him that the moment the ride was over and we saw the photo. And all he did was shrug. 

Nice job, Dad. 

NO FEAR. :D

Anyways, to end our rather eventful day out at U.S.S, we finally crawled into a taxi after spending literally ten hours in there. Well, I was basically dragging myself because I wasn't okay after the final Transformers Ride, and my head was spinning all the way during the journey from U.S.S to Lucky Plaza. I couldn't manage any dinner, which was a first considering a pig like me who can't live two hours without food. IKNOWRIGHT? I too was in shock.

That's a new idea though. Next time when wanting to lose weight, just give me nausea attacks and headaches; I'll stop eating. XD 

HMMMMM.... 

..holidays are coming to an end. T.T

Goodbye, freedom. College starts all over again in January.

Peace out. ;D