aZLiNa sPeaKs.. tHe WoRLd LiSTeNs..

Overall view that reflects 3 weeks of silence.. and a bit of Baseball

Now people, in general, when reading my blog question whether everything is all just fun in America.. Whether my 7 weeks here have been nothing but pure bliss and excitement. The answer to that question will be, No, of course everything has not been rosy all the time. Shit happens all the time. All the usual stuff in life exists : backstabbing, phony relationships, inconsiderate morons, bad drivers, office politics.. everything! Life did not stop happening just because I am in America.

But that's what you have personal diaries for. To write all the sad, frustrating parts of life, the parts that you wish never happens. And ultimately, the parts you wish to forget now that it HAS happened. But blogs... They're different.. They share a tale of joy and wondrous encounters.. They make you smile when you read them 10 years down the road. And that's why my blogs are just fun stuff.. So friends that would like to know the real stuff should really make the effort to email (*hint hint) Hahahahaha..

Enough of that nonsense.. Here's another tale to make people green with envy. THE SPRINGFIELDS CARDINALS GAME.

Just arrived, black hat

We get to Hammonds Field. Meet up with the people that gave us the tickets. Then get an additional $10 to spend during the game.

Once in, get our personal caps; where we proceed to meet with players for their autographs.. Something me, a non fan cannot really appreciate, I know.

On the field with the mascott ~ forgot his name :P Red hat already :P

Then we're called to the field, where we wave and smile like the celebraties we are (*cough) and have the crowd cheer our existance (*double cough). We're on the big screen, they explain who we are and why we're here and what we're affliated with (SIFE).. And people just R-O-A-R with approval (*just start coughing non-stop) Pictures with the mascott and then to our seats..

The game starts! At least I now know how a game of baseball is played, and yes, I finally understand sports fanatism. Not that I am a fanatic, No no no.. But to be in a field watching a live game.. That sure evokes different feelings than just watching it on TV.

That's about it. Not wanting to write too much for fear friends who are fanatics start planning my murder.. Hehe.. It was probably a waste to send me there, but all the same I really enjoyed myself. I'm glad I can now say I have been to a live game at least once in my life.. And it would never have  happened had it not been free =P

Trip to another state!! Heheheh.. Bentonville, Arkansas.. Best giller!! Read on..

We start the day with lunch with Mr president of Drury University. Boring routine stuff : Tell them about your country; tell them your opinions; have fake promises of we should do this together/ we should do that someday.. The usual. Food somewhat decent, conversations Very Fake and speeches that lasts forever. Then it's over! Time to leave for Arkansas!

We arrive at 5, check into the hotel, then leave for some centre to have fun! We skated and some jumped into the pool, all with a full stomachs of pizzas. (When you have 18 friends with you on the ice skating ring, it is fun no matter what). Then we had a game of broomball, where you use brooms to hit balls, while wearing shoes on the ring. It was just some if the fun activities the centre had for the kids there; most of them coming from a low income family and all. Something Malaysia should have, stop complaining about the lepakking budaya and actually do something about it.

The next morning, at a very reasonable hour (530 in the morn) we all woke up and got ready to go to Walmarts Saturday Morning Meeting! (Amazingly creative name wouldn't you say?? Haha) which started at 7am. All hyped up, complete with cheers and hoo haas about the company. You know the drill ~ make everyone feel as though the people at the top cares- and that we are all a big happy family.

Which personally, I don't buy into. Its amazing how, being in an organisation that supports free enterprise (SIFE- Students in Free Enterprise) we ourselves are drawn into the idea of being part of a big successful company. Which is good thinking - as long as you see yourselves as owners, not workers. If not it just defies the whole concept of being independant, not having your fate being decided by someone higher ranked than you.

Which I think a lot of us, even me, missed the whole point of the visit/honour of being in the meeting. We should be thinking about other creative ways to instill such worker loyalty, and how will we motivate the people under us, or our own original version of Walmart's Saturday Morning Meeting (with a waaaay better name for starters!). But it is hard, even for me, to think in that mind frame; it's just so much easier to be a follower than to spend time thinking about what we really want and how are we going to set out towards achieving it.

Something to definately ponder on.

Later that day we all headed down to Jack Shewmaker's house. He is one of the BOD of Walmart, BOD of SIFE, owns/ founded J- com and a whole lot more. The first thing we did was to tour his 300++ cars.. WooooooooHooooooooooooooooo..  To one day be that rich!! And he had stories for each and every car, some funny, others poignant, and others that were just unbelievable! That took an hour or more.. Then we sat and had lemonade and cookies in his house!! State of the art house I'd have to say.. Technologically and architectually << If there exists such a word

Just arrived at Shewmaker's house

This is one out of 6 cabins, I think. Lost count after the first few

And later came what was most valuable.. Advice and success stories of a person who once had nothing. And now, by the looks of a naked eye, has everything. Yet he continues on, relentless in his believes and mindless to the fact that most 72 year olds are kicking back and slowing down.

One thing he reminded us was to always see the good side of your enemies, don't bother with what they do bad, focus on what they do better than you. And another was to always take every opportunity to improve on our communications skills, and at the end of every meeting/seminar always ask yourselves : what have you learnt?? Never come out of a meeting and say : that was a waste of my time. Because that will set a presedence on the way you think, and it trains the mind to work in such ways. Hmm. Advice is a form of nostalgia- Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling for more than it's worth. Maybe when I'm 72 I'd wish I paid more attention to all that people tell me.

His house

His home theather system

need to run off - work starts in 5 mins

America's hari Merdeka!!

Well well welll...

I have been remiss in writing down history as it happens.. But fear not, Azlina the writing monster is back.. And I am typing with perfect English so those very minute percentage of people who cannot understand internet language will read upon my ponderings with relative ease.

Lets start with the 4th of July celebrations.. We went to the mini 'parade' this little town had (a lot like what you would see in Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls) and had the usuals : weird people with weird behaviours (Kirk-ish behaviour like); clowns; old people desperately clinging to old times, 'beauty' peagents and above all, a whole lot of candy throwing.

The Olden women ~ they said it was something to think about.. 50 years ago that's how the women were here in the states; all covered up.. 50 years from now how will the women in Malaysia be??

The clowns

Later we trailed behind the parade and when to Washington park where they gave us free ice- creams for us to sit and endure the performances by overeager and overexcited young singers>> they didn't bribe us enough though :) On the way home all Malaysians started singing our National Anthem and all our patriotic songs instead>> Missing home i guess :)

Overeager kids slowly killing me..

That evening we went to the I Love America celebration.. The show in the evening were boring at best..And the bright sunlight just made you want to shoot yourself dead.. But the fireworks at night more than made up for it. Spectacular coordination between the fireworks in the sky and the symphony on stage, it was a blissful 30 minutes. But the subsequent hour was pure torture where you had to wait in line to get out of the place.. A whole lot of cars.. Apparently the count was close to 13K people.. I think

They probably had hundred of rows like this one..

After that we went with a friend to light our own fireworks!! Since it's legal here, you somehow don't think of blown up fingers and crippled faces as much as you would back home.. And before that sometime in the evening we had a barbeque in Rachel's house (Drury SIFE member). Apparently we were all such fun to have around, we earned ourselves another invitation!! HAahahahah.. Don't I feel special :)

Thats us being little kids! Boy I hope we didn't give the impression of having had a deprived childhood! :)