Reminiscing Cedar Point...
Perhaps it is time for me to recap the time i had in Cedar Point before my memory starts to fail and before i get flooded with projects...
3 months seem to past so fast it felt like i've lost my memory. Not that i've forgotten what had happened then but i remember we just ended our exams last semester, then went for class chalet and ktv on 6 May 2007, and the next moment, i found myself going back school again. Whatever happened in between just flashed past without a trace.
Was i sleeping or it felt like a dream?
Fortunately, i still have my photos to refresh my memories of how my 3 months have been. And i really need them.... A rough count shows i have around 6000 photos!! So i shall share them here....
Let me begin.......
Work Life
Working as food host isnt a simple job. In fact, i think we are probably the most ill-treated. When they need us, our working hours could be as long as 10 or 12 hours a day. When they don't need us, we will be sent home as they like. So basically, our hours is dependent on the park attendance and indirectly dependent on the annoying, unpredictable weather.
But to me, i don't really care much. I always pray for the rain to come so i could be sent home. But ended up i was always working, even on my very last week in Cedar Point.
The interior - front line and back line::The line outside
Honestly, i don't like my location because it is located beside the Maverick. It is bad because the roller coaster is new and it is such a good ride that everyday, people would throng to the Maverick. As a result, my location has to open at 9am everyday as the Maverick opens at 9am for the hotel guests and season pass holders while the official opening time for the park is 10am. Most other food service locations only open at 10am or later.
But still, the people that i worked with are the best part of my location. Though there are bad workers around, we were still all 'Roundup-ers'. Ha. And so there were 2 Slovakians, 1 Turkish, 1 Polish, 1 Czech, 3 Taiwanese, 3 Singaporeans and a few Americans who came and went...
Kristin who always took good care of me and argued frequently with the 2 Black guys::My very first supervisor, Felicia who is quite good and nice and later got promoted to Area Supervisor but in the end got demoted
For my location, our supervisors are always changing. Very complicated politics and harsh punishment Cedar Point has i guess. Altogether, i had worked with 10 different supervisors throughout my 3 month.
My very first 2 supervisors are Felicia (above) and Brian who was later demoted and quitted. My 3rd supervisor got promoted and after 2 months got demoted. My 4th and 5th supervisors came for 2 weeks and got transferred to other locations. The 6th supervisor got transferred out after 2 weeks. My 7th supervisor suddenly quitted after 1.5 month. My 8th supervisor left after 1 month when he has finished his work agreement. My 9th and 10th supervisors came to my location just a couple of days before my last day of work....
Sleeping
Other than my work place, my apartment is where i spent most of my time relaxing...
The small kitchen::Our pig sty
Our apartment is quite comfy actually with just 6 people living in it as compared to the bigger one with 16 people at the maximum capacity.
There are 80+ channels on the TV and American reality shows are indeed very interesting and nice to watch. I believe our most favourite channel is The Weather Channel! A must watch every day! Ha.
Rides
What more can i say about the rides at Cedar Point? Just a reminder: it is voted the "Best Amusement Park in the World"!
Millenium Force is still my favourite ride of all. And im feeling quite sore not able to ride my 6th time before i leave Cedar Point. Next was probably the Maverick in my list and i've only riden 8 times on it!
MaXair is my favourite non-roller coaster ride! It is like a big swing pendulum and it spins. But i've only been on it for 4 times....
Anyway, there are many rides that i like but i cant possibly list them all here. And i certainly missed the rides. So regret i didnt play more. But well, i was pretty much pre-occupied with work and road trips then.... hiaz..
The American Way
Shopping at the supermarkets was probably our next most frequent activity.
Target::Row of fridges
The supermarkets there are huge, similar to our local Carrefour that sells bascially any thing you want. Not just food, but also clothes, home furnishings, electronics, pharmacy etc. Some of the stuff are much cheaper than in Singapore like ice-creams, frozen pizzas (US$1 per box there versus S$6 at NTUC of the same kind) and the chips, milk and softdrinks all come in much larger size packaging.
Also, what i like about America is their spaciousness. Most of the shops are isolated buildings, meaning the stores are stand alone kind - restaurants, fast foods, malls, banks all are buildings by themselves...
Nice exterior Olive Garden::The spacious surrounding
Nature
I was also intrigued by how beautiful the sky was during sun set. We could never see and find them in Singapore...
But when it comes to storm, it can be stunningly scary...
Cedar Point
Well, i guess it is time to end....
Demon Drop and carpark, Gemini, Maverick,
Dragster at night, Mantis, Raptor
All in all, it has been a very nice experience working at Cedar Point. Making lots of friends, be it other Singaporeans as well as the Americans, Europeans and other Asians, has formed the most memorable and integral part of this program. There were the good times when we had fun traveling around such as road trips to the Niagara Falls and various factory outlets and also putting ourselves to the adrenaline rush as we screamed our lungs out onboard the most thrilling roller coasters in Cedar Point.
Then there were the bad times when we had to work long hours from day to night sometimes, when we had to face rude and demanding guests and even when we felt being bullied by our supervisors and co-workers. However, when I think of how fast the 3 months have past, it indeed has created lots of memories for one to keep.
Oh well, who knows if i still have a chance to meet up with friends i've made, especially those of various countries or play those roller coasters again, even if it is somewhere else.
For now, all i can only do it to refer to this entry in the future to know what i've been through.....
Previously:
Niagara Falls Trip
Cincinnatti + shopping Trip
Trip to Aurora, Ohio
