[the belated post - due to internetlessness]

wee~ at anchourage now, at a normal hotel. with normally priced internet. the internet on board was like... 100USD per 240minutes.
!!!
unfortunately, we're off to the Denali wildlife reserve tomorrow, and i doubt there's internet there. (denali? denali?! yeah yeah... i know what you twilighters are thinking... no tanya please... or irina -wait she's dead. oops, did i spoil your story-... or whoever the last one is.)
i've seen...
orca
humpback
sealions
seals
otters
puffins
seagulls
bald eagles
brown bear
various geese and ducks
...... i wanna see terns, penguins! polar bears. moose, sheep. =D
anyhow, here are some pics which i thought might interest some of you. very zi lian i know. and not very good looking, i also know. so no need to comment too much.

sea lions jostling for the prime position on the buoy. the guide calls this their 'macdonalds'
furry face!

every night, the crew fold a towel animal and leave it on our beds. this one's a bear, which i destroyed shortly after taking this pic... unintentionally, of course.

salmon creek @ ketchikan. this is where mass salmon jump upstream to spawn. along the broadwalk are various bordellos. (ie. red light district)

aurora, the bald eagle. (i think this one is called aurora...)

leetle screech owl @ ketchikan

wearing my dad's ray bans on the yukon railway / whitepass @ skagway

humpback whale @ juneau =)

*

i would, if i may, say that i'm not generally a good-tempered person. to say so might be an understatement even in my best moments. when i am sleepy however, excreta really hits the extractor.

so it is in this state, after lugging our belongings 2 miles to the Ms Veendam, and suffering from jet lag - 15 hours difference, that i found myself in our stateroom 218, lounging on a sticky faux leather sofa which would be my bed for the rest of the voyage.

a bottle of water decided to leak inside a suitcase on its way into our room, and the clothes in that bag had the privillege of being rinsed in distilled water. to top things off, this was only discovered after dinner - since my parents, unlike me, procrastinated with their unpacking - when i was lounging on said sofa in a stupor, trying to remain awake a few more hours in an attempt to quickly get used to the time difference.

so my mum was in a fluster, trying to dry out the clothes around the tiny cabin, and she chose to hang a couple of long johns on the lamp next to my sofa.

after a while, when things calmed down, i was starting to drift off again... so i picked up a book to keep me amused enough to remain at least half conscious... and turned on the lamp next to me.

about 5 minutes later, i perceived a scent of something which was becoming decidedly toasted. it took me too long to realise that the long johns on my lamp were rapidly changing in colour and temperature. -_-

fortunately for me, my mother must have sensed my impending black mood so she didnt say much about the cripsy patches on her pants.

i interpreted this incident as a sign for me to continue my body clock adjustments the next day.

~

Americans, or perhaps only those i've met onboard, are among the most willing to share their lives, thoughts and experiences... with complete strangers.

We asians are so reserved, and we share so little of ourselves even with people we profess our love to - much less our friends, of whatever degree of friendship they may be.

it is true, that to win over someone, you have to make yourself vulnerable, and in doing so, give the other person some responsibility over a piece of you.

people in general are good? perhaps. hopefully.

i obviously have my reservations about this. but it appears that many people here believe it to be true, hence they entrust each other with a little part of themselves.

but it IS true. sharing a sensitive thought with someone, brings you closer to that person. immeasurably.

the argument is then whether you are willing to take the chance of having to deal with inconvenient consequences, should the person you share your little piece with prove to be less than trustworthy.. or worthy.

much of the time, i test a person with some info thats more than general, but not intimate enough to bring about serious repercussions, should its secrecy be compromised.

^^ and it has saved my ass many-a-time.

~

DONT SAY YES JUST TO SHUT ME UP IF YOU ARE GONNA ACT DUMB LATER AND PRETEND YOU NEVER GAVE ME YOUR WORD.

~

-diversion *song thats playing now... its so cute. lol*-

even though the gods are crazy

even though the stars are blind

if you show me real love, baby

i'll you show mine

~

and thats the end of my inspiration for now.

SG 10.33am sunday 07june09

ALASKA 6.33pm Saturday 06june09