Goodbye Boardwalk, Goodbye La Bahia, Goodbye Santa Cruz

In a blink of an eye, my 3 months work and travel at Santa Cruz is over. There is a lot that I love and hate about this place. A lot that I'm dying to get out off and a lot of things that I would miss. At the end of the day, I will look back and be grateful for all the experience, work, friendship and traveling I went through.

Work at the boardwalk was easy and boring. I did not really like it but its the job that gotten me here in the first place. I always wanted to do something else. So I guess my second job at Surf City was a good outlet. I look forward working there as much as I look forward to getting their free meal. Lol. Trash and cardboard time are horrible but that always marks the end of my day. After those 12 hours shift I would always walk around the beach and wharf to relax and listening to the sound of the waves, feeling the breeze and counting the stars above me. Guess this is what I'm gonna miss the most.
I realised that most of my off days were spent out of Santa Cruz. San Francisco is the place I visited the most. That was my main reason for choosing Santa Cruz actually. Its proximity to SF. Now that my work is ending, it will definitely be harder for me to visit lovely SF as often. But I do remember some off days spent in Santa Cruz. They were simple days like those that I head to the gym at UCSC, jog around Westcliff area and enjoy a wonderful that home cook meal at M&J 's.
La Bahia, my home for these months has really trained me on my sensitivity towards temperature. I am now a pro on switching the hot and cold faucet off intermittently to maintain a correct temprature while showering. Haha. I will also need to say goodbye to my dear microwave, one which I abused so much throughout my stay. My only means of cooking my meal.
Well, though I will leave all these behind. I am sure that the friendships made here will last for a long time even if not forever, thanks for making everything so hard, irritating, fun, exciting and memorable.

A final person to thank would be the W&T coordinator Sequoia without whom I will not even get to come here to Santa Cruz. Not forgetting Dave our housing coordinator for helping us out on all little nonsense too.
So adios work and travel 2008. Gonna keep this piece of memory for a long long time to come.

The Seaside Village

We visited Capitola Village after the sailing trip. It was a rather small place. making it more compact than the beach and downtown at Santa Cruz. We could feel the vibrant atmosphere here unlike back in our workplace. Perhaps its hard to enjoy the place when one works there.


We checked out a specially themed wine place called Poison. They even put the wine inside a coffin shaped box. Ewwww. The mascot right in front of the door is uber scary as well. I wonder whether one will see ghost from drinking those wines. Haha.


Our walk around the beach led us to a green grass patch near the place. It was really really inviting that we lie around the place for almost an hour. Took lots of funny pictures as well. It was certainly a very fine day.

A Day at the Sea

We get to sail on the company boat today! Its called Chardonay II. Apparently people pay like $40 dollars to get on. We only need to pay $10. But minus the food and refreshments. What a way to show the workers their appreciation. This company really need to work on its welfare. Boooooo

Back to the whole sailing thing. It is actually my first time on a yacht. I am so so excited. Almost all the SG people are there too. Think it is our first group outing. The weather was so sunny and I forgotten my sun block. Dumb ass. Gonna end up getting burnt later.
The first part was really fun as we went around to take picture and cam whore around. But man, I was having a ultra bad hair day :( Then I simply relaxed on the yacht. The relaxation somehow turned into boredom after a while. With no food and drinks on board for 2 hours, we decided to do our own entertainment, playing childhood games. Bet the other students must be giving us the ........ thing. Haha.
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The Biggest SF Celebration

Went down to SF again after just 2 days of work. Haha! I have 2 main agendas today. Meeting up with friends and checkin out on the huge pride celebration in SF.

Before that I went around the wharf as Santa Cruz is also having something big. It is the annual vintage car show. Hehe. Very impressive. All those ppl really took good care of the cars or rather spent a lot to refurbish them. Prices of the car going on sale is even more expensive than a brand new one. Did not really manage to see everything as I needed to catch the train down to SF for a bigger and more flamboyant celebration.

Took advantage of the good public transport from San Jose to SF via the Caltrain. It was very comfortable and for only $7.50 one way, it is really a steal. Had a very pleasant hour long train ride. Yup it only took me 2.5 hours to get from Santa Cruz to SF with total cost of $11 dollars. I foresee myself heading down to The City a lot this summer :)
Met up with my UofC exchange friend Zoie. So envious of her being able to move to SF. I've met up with almost everyone from UofC gang except Christine. Guess Taiwan will be the next stop. Lol. We spent lots of time deciding where to eat and finally settled for Vietnamese cuisine. The 7 flavored beef was special but the price was a little steep. It was great catching up with her.
The next day was spent going around Market Street where the pride parade takes place. It was really and eye opener. Not an event to miss. Very very happening indeed. So glad I get to see and experience this man.
Also checked out the booths at the Civic Center with John and friends. The whole pride event was so huge that then condone off like the whole area and street around the Civic Center. It is really not a event to miss. See so many funny things. There is even guys and gals walking around stark naked! OMG! Was too pai seh to take photo of that. Now I kinda regret not doing it. Sigh! Will try to get some of the photos from friend. Once I get it will upload them here. Haha.

New Job

Operating rides was so mundane and boring after a while. A good or bad day at work really depends on your luck. Meet wonderful guest your day becomes marvelous. Its amazing how a simple thank you and smile can really make one's day. Meet horrible guest and the rest of the day is ruined. Its funny how people always try to pay less or not paying at all to get in. I recall parents pressing their child down when I was measuring them just to chaperon them for free. The worse ones however are those who try to break the height requirement rule. Gosh don't you actually care about your child's safety?

With my fun co-worker Vanya

I am glad that i found a second job. Hectic but interesting. It saved me from working too many hours as a ride operator. So i did 6 hrs of ride operating and another 6 hrs at a fast food restaurant. Its called Surf City Grill. Time passes faster and the work is definitely more fun. At least I get to take orders, work the cash register and do some stocking in one shift. Certainly a zillion times better than pushing the start n stop button of the machines all day long. The only downside of this is doing the smelly heavy leaking trash at closing. Argh!

Feastin' on the free food :)

To The New Apartment

Today we have to move to our new apartment with 4 other Singaporean guys. Hooray!! A really run down building on the outside. Luckily the inside is not that bad. We had an empty apartment initially and end up doing garang-guni. Haha. Which helped us to complete our living room. Lol. Two sets of sofa and a coffee table! Woohoooooo. And now i have a kitchen to cook.
Not only that I finally found my second job after a long long search and worrying period. Gonna work at this fast tood place. Right after securing that job, I got a call from the merchandise shop. Totally wtf, everything come in on. I am still wondering whether I should choose merchandise shop. Less oily and dirty ma but time will pass slower as there is less to do. Think think.....

A Quick Summary

Been quite busy with second job hunting and trying to hang out more with fellow W&T people until I do not have time to blog. The week passed quite fast. Work is as usual, getting bored actually. But I finally found my favorite ride to operate. It is called the Space Race. Some kinda bumper car thingy.

But unfortunately, I also found my least enjoyable ride. It is called Sea Serpant. I have to bend down each time to secure the restrains. My poor thigh ached like made the next day. Gosh. And the kids just like rushing for seats and pushing each other around. Its sure a pain in the ass operating a kiddy roller coaster.

I finally asked someone off the ride this week too. On some spinning wheel. Tell me what kind of crazy people will actually unfasten the safety restrain when they are in midair. Some people are just brainlesssssss.

Another ride is like the Journey to Atlantis back in Seaworld it is called Logger's Revenge here. Very fun water splashing ride. Hehe. The best part of working on this is you get to see the park from the top. Here is the view. Very nice isn't it. I don't mind being put to work here for a full shift man.

Besides work, we went clubbing in this small little town for the first time as they offer a free entry thing on Tuesday. The best part is they play RnB too. Thursdays are 80s music but got cover charge. Booooo. It was quite fun but obviously New Orleans was better. Looking forward to clubbin in San Jose or San Fran soon. :p

Fireworks on the Beach

Finally an interesting day. Got off work and decided to have Chinese Buffet. Hehe. Really loved the food. Have been deprived of Chinese food since I came to Santa Cruz. Though the price is a but steep at 12 dollars, I guess it is well worth it. We sat there like for 4 hours. Wahaha. Kiasu ma!

Headed off to the beach at 9pm to catch the fireworks. Its the 101th anniversary of the boardwalk. For the first time I get to lie down and really enjoy the fireworks on the beach. Such a nice romantic setting. Too bad I don't have that special one here with me to share the experience.


Ended the night with some silly card games. I think we drank more than 1 bathtub worth of water. Seriously. Wonder how many times we will need to go to the bathroom tonight.......


I found out the next day that somebody went to the bathroom 5 times. Haha. Beating my 3 times rush to the bathroom. And water drinking game is officially banned!

Just Another Week

7th
Training day. Boring routine. Its like sitting down in the meeting room for 5 hours watching clips. We even have to watch one on fire extinguishers. Worst part is the Q&A, feels like I'm back in pre-school. Another boring day.

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8th
Got up early today to head to the gym. Guest that is like the best place for me. Loved it lots. Only thing that I am enjoying so far besides the jog. Went to Safeway again, but this time on my own. Never wanted to wait for the shuttle service on Monday as I wanna shop at my own leisure pace. It seems to me that each time I step in a Safeway, memories of Calgary just keep running through my head. Man, if given a chance, I would wanna go back to that time.

Had to rush back to the boardwalk for work as the buses here is really infrequent on weekends. Argh. Luck I made it on time. Finally, I was trained on operating a ride. It is called the Tornado. Some spinning ride that I find quite fun operating.
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9th
Work starts at 10am today. Argh! Getting up at 9am is such a chore, even when I sleep at 10pm the day before. Haha. I am sleeping so much that I think I will be a pig soon. Today they taught me another ride. It is called the Kiddie Boats. Yes, it is a kiddie ride. Its kinda less enjoyable as compare to the one yesterday as I need to keep on telling the kids to behave. Argh! Nevertheless, it was fun seeing well-behaved kids enjoying themselves.

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10th
Just another day at work. Learned another ride called the Tsunami. Opening and closing those freaking handle is making my hands so painful. I realise that kids here are so daring. I lost count how many junior high school gals are flirting around. What have the world become!!! By the way, I saw a first incident of puke today. Haha. The guy just came out of the ride and started puking in front of the entrance. Disgusting. This is followed but excited people running towards the ride stepping on the puke. Haha. Freaking funny.
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11th
Finally an off day! Meet up with some student from Ecuador and my Serbian roomate to have fun in the park today. It was a totally different experience being a customer. Haha. The rides in the park was ok as they are less trilling as compared to those that I have been to back in Florida. So, if you are faint hearted and still wanna get on rides, come here. You'll be alright trust me. Did some walking downtown later the day which bring me to warn you readers about those stands to pay parking fees. My friend was happily walking and talking and the next thing we know 'bang'. He knocked into the stand. Wahahahah.
There is a forest fire going on near us. Look at the smoke. Scary isn't it.

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12th
Another break day. Kinda hectic day. Did nothing but went around to search for job. Praying hard that I will be able to secure that second job.

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13th
Back to work. Did not get to learn new rides today so I am really bored at work. I cannot believe I am so free until I actually post up these mundane boring activities on my blog. Somebody save me. I need a more interesting work and travel experience! Looking forward to the fireworks tomorrow night. Think they are celebrating their 100 anniversary or sth like dat.

A Different Kind of Life

Jun 2nd
As I arrived in my motel room on the first day here in Santa Cruz, I cannot help but feel the quietness and loneliness all around me. Not only I am alone in the room but there is really not many ppl around. The motel is a temp place as they ran out of space at the apartment for international students. So i get to enjoy a more comfortable bed till 20 June! Hehe. However, it is so empty here. Guess I've gotten too used to company of my travel buddies in these 3 weeks. I need that busy and on-the-go life again! Here are photos of my motel. Good thing there is internet connection. I get my comp as company once again.

The first inviting view on my arrival

My motel room

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Jun 3rd

Today we had to settle some paper work with the coordinators. Lucky there is things to do to keep me busy. If not sure rot in room. Pretty simple procedures. We had to go for orientation and medical test later the day too. Oh well, as long as there is something to keep me occupied

Decided to go for a jog. Something that I did not get to do since I finished exam. That's a massive 2 months. Gosh, my stamina sure went down by a lot. The view around the place is just marvellous. If only I have someone to share this with. Here are some of the things I see as I jog today.

Seals

Very nice houses like this along the street

The famous Surfer Statue in Santa Cruz

Went to Safeway to shop later the night with some fellow Singaporeans. Thank goodness there is some ppl to talk to here else I will really die. Seeing Safeway makes me miss Calgary so much. Any of you my dear exchange friends here me? I Miss UofC and u guys! Bought all those microwave food that I used to have for breakfast last year.

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Jun 4th

Today is free day! Not that free after all as I need to settle stuff like bank account and get a phone line. Thanks to Thomas n Alex for helping me out on this. Checked out on the gym and dance lesson places too. Dance lesson place seem alright but the gym place is bad.

Will try out the UCSC gym tomorrow. Went for a jog again but at late afternoon as it is hotter. The weather here is freaking cold, the sea breeze just wouldn't stop blowing. I had to wear long pants and double layer of clothes. Weather is a little gloomy today

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Jun 5th
Took a bus to UCSC to check out their gym. It turned out to be good. Not as good as the one in UofC but definitely better than the NUS one. Haha. Had to pay $5 dollars each time but well, it alright. Had a great time working out there. The last time I work out was back in Atlanta, the wonderful Intercontinental hotel. Ahhhh I wanna go back there.

View of the place

Lots of treadmills but best thing is the view outside from here, see the photo below?

Another view of the gym. There is 2 levels altogether

Join another group of Singaporean to catch a comedy show at Blue Lagoon as our coordinator is doing a stand up comedy there. He was really good. We found out that he actually tour around to do comedy with 3 other guys. Cool. I get to ride to the place for free, thanks to th 4 SG guys from room 208. Hehe. We however, got pulled over by a cop. Luckily nothing happened he just checkin on our driver. Guess nothing can be as severe as my experience with the cop back in 2006. That was definitely the worst birthday of my life!

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Jun 6th

Went for a jog again as there is nothing much to do today. There is a lot more ppl around today. Guess cos its Friday. Lots of surfers around too. It was fun seeing their moves. Think I am gonna get addicted to this soon. Haha We had to go for work training a 4pm that day. I am kinda looking forward to start work as I am feeling real damn bored by now.

Saw this on the beach. Cool isn't it

Views along the jogging path

Guess what, we got there and found out that our training has been cancelled. It is not bad at all because they will actually pay us 4 hours of work as compensation! Yeeehhharrrrrr! Get to catch a glimpse of my future work place today finally. Now keeping my fingers crossed for my next 3 months at this place. How will it be?They will have free beach concert here every Friday!
The boardwalk