My life in 2006 - on the American continent. Part 1

December 20, 2006 -

I arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah for the first time in the twenty three years of my existence, I finally get to see the great state of Utah. Utah is different, drastically different from any place I have visited or seen. Utah has massive mountains covered with snow. They are brown and thought some might think they lack of beauty in comparison to the ever green mountains of Hawaii I beg to differ. The mountains in Utah are very different from the ones in Hawaii and thought it is so, they do exhibit a different kind of beauty. I love the mountains in Utah. I have never been to anywhere else that has a change of seasons, I was born and raised in Singapore and have lived here since, the furthest place I have moved to was Hawaii and even so, Hawaii hardly experience any seasonal change, except for the occasional showers and monsoon.

Audrey and her mother Becky greeted me at the airport and upon arrival I was given a brief tour of Utah. Audrey and I drove to Cafe Rio for lunch and we met up with Lindsay and Ruth. Audrey, Lindsay, Ruth and I met this past summer in Hawaii. Lunch was great and I must say it is one of the best Mexican food I have ever tasted, except for the fact that Lindsay hid the dressing for my salad. Very smart move!!! We played Phase 10 for about an hour or so before bidding farewell again. We went to the sister missionary mall in Orem. We browsed around for a while and decided to leave. I fell asleep on the way home. I took a shower before heading out to subway for dinner with Pedro and Daniel. Shortly after we took off for Sippy town where we would eventually need to spend the night.


Strange as it might be to you who is not a Mormon. This mall caters to latter day saint women are who going on a mission. You might think a sister missionary ought to dress conservatively... you are severely wrong. This mall is a very dangerous place. It has some of the prettiest skirts I have seen. It is a dangerous place to be in if you are planning to not spend money. I went in yesterday and within the space of 30 minutes, I had already ring up a bill of over 200 bucks.

December 21, 2006 -

I vaguely remember what we did on this day, however if my memory serve me right. We continued our drive to Mesquite for the Football game in Vegas. The drive to Vegas was a long and utterly miserable one. Well at least to me it was because my nose of stuff and everyone was basically drifting in and our their sleep mode. Anyways we finally made it to Mesquite and we stopped by Wendy's for dinner before heading to the game.

The game was simply spectacular. The BYU Cougars played against the Oregon Mighty Ducks. The Cougars won the game by 31 points. This was my first football game standing out on the benches freezing. The Cougars wore their blue pants paired with white shirts, while the Oregon Ducks wore their black shirts and pants pair off with a neon green helmet. In all honesty they look like little aliens running amok on the field ... I could only think of a reason why they lost the game, it is probably because they were mesmerise by their utterly attractive helmets.

December 22nd, 2006 -

We packed our bags and head back to Fruit Heights for the Hayward's Christmas dinner at Woody and Beebe's residence. We arrived at approximately 7.30pm and was greeted warmly by the family. They live in a house, with a basement. It was a typical American home. It was furnished in with a american christmas theme and I rather fancy it. We were all given sitting assignments and Pedro decided to change Daniel's sitting assignment. Daniel ended up sitting by the children and toddlers. It was hilarious and although Daniel is aware of the prank Pedro is pulling on him, he does not mind at all simply because he is seated near the food. Best seat in the house, or so Daniel claims.

December 23, 2006 -

We drove up to Park City and took Daniel snowboarding. The view of Park City is simply spectacular. It reminds me of a winter wonderland. The streets were covered with snow. We drove through a street in Park City which is claimed to be comparable to the Waikiki on Oahu. I cannot say it resembles Waikiki to any degree, however it does remind me of a little town European town. I remembered driving pass a shop with a huge moose display. It was unlike anything I have ever since but it certainly was a proper decoration for the time and season of the year.
Time was running out. There is so much christmas shopping to do and yet so little time. We visited the outlet stores located near Park City. There were great discounts available and I cannot say more about it. We visited several stores. I picked out my own Christmas present. I bought some boots, sneakers, sweaters, scarves, gloves and hats for the season. The shops and streets were filled with people trying to get their Christmas shopping all sorted out; a very stressful scene. We also manage to drop by Target and I got to meet Todd. He is a very pleasant young man with much to offer and I hope the things in his life would work out in his interest.

Decemeber 24, 2006 -

I work up early and prepare myself for church. I attended Audrey's family home ward. It was a unique experience. It has been a long while since I attended a family ward. It brings to home very heart warming feelings. I love it.

After church, I had a chat with Becky while trying to prepare the ingredients for my Chinese stir fry dish for Christmas dinner at the Fisher's home. It was Christmas eve and I had the priviledge of being part of a Hayward tradition. I got a new set of PJ bottoms. It was yellow in color with patterns of snowman all over it. An eventful day indeed.

December 25, 2006 -

Audrey came into the room and woke me up so we can open our Christmas presents. Everyone was up at 7am and we gathered in the family room. Each of us had our own stocking even though I was not really part of the family, they still prepared one for me. I am so grateful for that. The Haywards are simply wonderful, and I am grateful for the kindness and love they have exhibited towards me.
Later that evening we went over to Papa Fisher's home for a Christmas dinner. We went for a tour to Aunt Robbin's house. We drove by a cemetery where Sister Hinckley was buried. We arrived earlier so I could cook my Sesame oil chicken. They too prepared a stocking for me. It was packed with nuts, candy, and I got a Christmas card from Papa Fisher, enclosed with the card was a $50 cheque for my mission. Papa Fisher lives in Salt Lake Valley. and this is also a place where many general authorities live. We also manage to drive by President Hinckley's house. He does not live there anymore. Now he lives in a penthouse suite located by temple square. Papa Fisher is a very interesting man... He gave me a grand tour of his home and I know he still loves Grandma Fisher dearly... It is endearing.

December 26, 2006 -

We did not do anything much today. Audrey and I went shopping for more clothes. I bought a few sweaters and some crisp white shirts for my mission. We also had a lunch with Todd, which by the way is a very nice man. He had recently put in his mission papers, and I hope everything goes well for him. We also watched the Holiday!!! I had wanted to watch it so badly... and it indeed is a good movie. It plot revolves around two different women. One of whom lives in LA while the other lives in London. Kate Winslet plays Iris, while Cameron Diaz plays Amanda, whose boyfriend cheated on her. It was a good wholesome movie. It is definitely a movie I would recommend to my friends.

December 27, 2006 -

I was going to go down to Provo and spend sometime with Keshia, but it turns out that the weather will not be a good enough for driving down to Provo and so my plans were cancelled. We had dinner with Becky and when to TJ Maxx to exchange a pair of boots I had bought last week. I did not end up with anything else, but instead got some money back instead. It was a good day... I cannot wait to see Keshia again.

December 28, 2006,

I finally get to make the trip down to Provo. Before arriving at Keshia's apartment, we decided to drop by the Sister Missionary Mall so I could get somethings for my mission. There was an assortment of clothes. Their line of clothes was modest and beautiful. However the prices are a little too steep for my liking, but what can I say? I had to get them for my mission. I got a pair of A-line skirt and a straight line skirt. I also got a black blazer, a pink shirt and a black of shoes.
After shopping we went to Brick Oven for lunch and each ordered a pizza for lunch. I cannot say anything more, but my heart is full. I am very impressed by the generosity and hospitality the Haywards have shown towards me during my stay with them. My heart is full and I do not know what to say but to express gratitude for everything.

December 29, 2006 -

Keshia took me around the Provo campus. The campus is huge, but it is a very beautiful campus. It is equipped with great facilities which I can only imagine. BYU-Hawaii has a beautiful campus too, but nonetheless it is a very different campus, with a very different spirit as well. I could feel the immense spirit present on the Provo campus and can only hope that I could attend school here someday.

December 31, 2006 -

I woke up early and got ready to pick Clarrisa up from the airport. We talked about alot of things on the way back from the Salt Lake Airport. It was nice to be able to see Clarrisa again after such a long time. Keshia made us dinner. She made rendang, macaroni salad, and Almond jelly with lychee for dessert. It was a great dinner. Melissa made curry as well. After dinner, Daniel, Rendy, Clarrissa, Keshia, Melissa and I played Phase 10 till the wee hours of the morning. I getting ready to turn in for bed and Keshia and Clarrisa decided to put on a DVD. We watched Mean girls and if that was not the end, we talked for about an hour or so more before we decided to call it a night! It was a great game and I had a great time with them all. Somehow I felt something missing. Somehow I felt as if I was not part of the group. Clarrisa and Keshia seem to have grown closer and I seem to have been left out. People change. It is a good thing, however I cannot help but feel like Keshia and I were not such close friends anymore. I feel distanced. Maybe it is just me, but I feel that everyone has changed for the better. That is good. I suppose I cannot be blamed for the feelings that I have, because I have not made an effor whatsoever to stay in constant contact with Keshia and Clarrisa. I did not update my blog and basically just stay out of the loop of things. Further more I was in Hawaii... Hawaii is so far away from everything else that is familar to me. I do not want to go back there for school. If I could hope for a miracle to happen, I hope I could go to a school that truely has a major that I want.