A man, an ostrich and a cat walks into the bar.

The bartender walks over to them and says: "What can I get for you?". The man answers: "I will have a beer", the ostrich says: "I will have a beer as well", the cat says: "I will have a beer and I am not buying". Bartender brings the drinks and says: "OK, that will be $3.87". The man reaches into his pocket and brings out the exact change and pays for the drinks. A little bit later bartender asks them what else would they like to get. They order the same thing and the man again has the exact change for the drinks. A couple of days later they come back into the bar and the bartender walks over and asks: "What do you guys want today?". This time the man orders a scotch, the ostrich orders a bourbon and the cat says: "I'll have a beer and I'm not buying". The bartender says: "OK, that will be $7.53". Then man again reaches into his pocket and brings out the exact change and pays him. After a couple of months three of them become regular customers at the bar. Eventually, the bartender's curiosity got the best of him and he asks the man: "You have been coming to the bar for quite some time now, can I ask you a couple of questions?". The man says: "Sure, go ahead". Bartender says: "Why is it that every time I tell you the amount you owe, you always have the exact change in your pocket?". The man answers: "I found a bottle with a genie in it and she granted me three wishes. My first wish was that I always have the exact change in my pocket for anything I want to buy". Bartender says: "That's a great wish, even better than asking for a million dollars. A million can run out at some point and now you will always have enough money, but I still have to ask, what's the deal with the ostrich and the cat?". The man says: "That's where I screwed up. I asked for a chick with long legs and a nice pussy".

The Original Fudge Kitchen

One day before work I went for a ride in the city just to look around. I found a closed block in the city, but I saw a lot of people over there, so I decided to check out what could they offer. I found a big tent of t-shirts. Most of the t-shirts had these funny pictures printed on them, but the problem was, that most of them were weather-stained. So I just took several pictures with the first several t-shirts that I picked up. Of course, I found a few other interesting views in the city and decided that I will share these pictures over the post.

On 12th of July we encountered a storm here in Wildwood. I had a split shift, so I had a couple of hours lunch break. I didn't have my lunch with me, but I had my raincoat. So I decided to head home even though it was pouring rain heavily. I put my boots into my backpack, jumped onto my bike with barefoot and started to ride. It was then, when I noticed that my raincoat didn't protect me that much and I was already all wet. The only purpose of the the raincoat at this point was to protect my backpack, which was the only thing that it did. Having in mind, that I was already wet, I decided to go and get some food from the grocery store. When I was riding my bike through the town, people where stopping by with there cars and asking me if they will be able to pass that road with their car. I was raining so heavily, that some of the roads where closed. At some points at the road water was so high that it even reached my knees even though I was on bicycle. Also, the wind was blowing so hard that I felt like a batman (it might as well be Bat-cat), when his mantle flaps in the air. Of course, in my case it was my raincoat.

Just after the little storm that we had here, I went to the ocean to have a swim. The waves were huge, it was probably the first time that the ocean tried to consume me so hard. I enjoyed those waves so much. Now whenever I am going to the beach I always expect to find such a big waves again. Fortunately, today was my lucky day, cause I got to enjoy the waves again as well as I remembered one funny detail about it. During such a weather, after rain, when the waves are big, usually the ocean water is much colder than usual. Both of the times that I got to enjoy big waves, I came back with a dripping nose. It is only natural, cause the water was that cold, but the nose is dripping like an open tap and only one side of it and that of course seems a little bit odd and funny for me. I am also getting more and more acquainted with the ocean. I noticed that I am going there more often by every day. I have several beaches around my house, so I can even choose to which one I want to go. On the way I also pass a few quite unique pieces of art.

Of course, I have to tell more about our beloved neighbors, but now from another angle. Sometimes it feels that our house is built straight on a huge anthill. Whenever we leave any sweets on the table, it immediately gets consumed by ants. Of course, these aren't the only animals around. You can often meet a rabbit jumping in the yard, squirrels climbing surrounding fences and trees. One evening I even saw opossum that caught me by surprise. At first, I thought that it was anteater, but later on I was explained that it probably was just an opossum. It might be very simple, but to see these animals up close always brings a smile into my face. Well, maybe the ants would be an exception, cause I have already lost several packages of food, apparently I didn't fold it perfectly and they were able to get inside (for example, my serial).

When I bought my bicycle in Amsterdam, I thought that it was the crappiest bicycle that I would ever get. Oh, how wrong I was. The one that I have right now is all oily, so if I touch it with my white work pants or any part what so ever, it makes almost unwashable stains. I also tried to clean it, which also seems to be nearly impossible. Front wheel as well as the back one, handles, gears, breaks are loose and if it's raining I have to be even more careful. In general, we are living in a nice neighborhood. For a couple of last years everybody were leaving there bicycles just outside and didn't have any problems what so ever. This year everything is different. One day our neighbors' bicycles were stolen. Even though my bicycle was the first one in the row and unlocked, they probably didn't even consider taking it, or even considered to leave me some extra money. A couple of days after the first accident with the bikes, my roommate had our apartment door open with lights and everything on, just being inside while the bicycle was just at our doorstep. Apparently, it wasn't enough for thieves to try to steal the bicycle again. It's good that he saw it in time and was able to scare them this time. Of course, I am obligated to tell the story fully ant truthfully. There were around eight guys and most of them had guns with them. When the roommate saw his bicycle's wheel disappear, he ran outside. He saw all of the guys getting alerted. Roommate was thinking fast, so he came up with a perfect solution, he ripped his t-shirt off to show his muscles just to scare them off. As soon as he did that, they dropped the bike and ran off. I really hope that we won't have any similar accidents, cause he might run out of t-shirts to rip off.

The third day off

The first time in a big shopping center in USA. One of my coworkers suggested a couple of stores to go shopping at. That's what I decided to do on my day off. When I went there, the first thing that popped into my head was that these stores resemble me of Lithuania. Maybe it's not an outlet shop itself, but it is close to it. There were a lot of cloths, furniture and a lot of other stuff. All of it of course is much cheaper than in the original shops, plus some of the items even have an additional discounts on them. Of course, as well as in every store here you are able to find food inside. Even in pharmacy stores there is a big variety of different things that are not even related to medicine. Of course, what day off is it without visiting the ocean. As I have already said, I am getting really acquainted to it. So in the evening me and my neighbors went for a walk by the ocean. It is really nice to stand in the ocean and feel the sand going from beneath of my foot back to the ocean. 

The fourth day off

The day before we had a little gathering at our place. It was quite unexpected, cause at first I wasn't told about it, so I thought that people were just messing around with me. When we came back home after work, there were already some people waiting for us at our doorstep. After all, it was really nice to sit down and get to know our coworkers a little bit better. They even pranked at our house. My roommates found a statue and a mirror in their bed, as well as my roommates work boots were hidden in the unfixed ceilings that we have, so the other day it took him quite some time to find the boots before leaving for work. I enjoyed the unexpected evening/night a lot, even though I got drunk just only after a couple of cocktails, that makes me laugh even more.

The actual day off was just a day to relax. I went to the beach a couple of times. The second time that we went there, we saw dolphins swimming in the ocean not that far from us. It was spectacular, cause I really wanted to see dolphins near the beach. Later on we met up with more people and went to sit down on the bridge to the ocean. Over all it was nice and relaxing day. I enjoyed it even though it didn't go as I planned.

The fifth day off

Today I decided that I have to be more precise with my plans and use my free time more efficiently, cause I wasn't able to do everything that I wanted. Well, I cannot say that I didn't do anything. I visited Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, which is made mostly for bird viewing. It is nice, clean and has really beautiful view, plus I saw more birds than I could have expected. Eventually I took binoculars and even started to stock poor birds for a minute. It didn't take long, cause I saw that waves became much bigger over the day, that's when I decided to head to the beach and enjoy them. At last, I found some time to write this post, so it counts for something too.

Merry Christmas

everybody!

It's a little bit under, would that be okay?

 

I have been living in Wildwood for a several weeks already. Sunny days, living just a couple of blocks from the ocean. Even though I spend most of my days in work, I really like it here. Friendly people, a lot of interesting experiences, just propagating different life style than I was used to.

Nice memory from everyday life. One day, my roommates ate my boiled eggs. As soon as they realized it, they left some boiled eggs and a note with it. That was really nice from them, even though I didn't mind it in the first place. It also reminds me about all the notes that we had in dormitory in Amsterdam too. Somehow these little things can make you smile even without realizing it.

Work

I like my work so far. Working in the Original Fudge Kitchen was a lot of fun so far. Learning new side jobs, being able to taste different kinds of chocolates that I didn't even know about. Salt water taffy as well as fudge itself are so unique, that even now I know, that I just have to bring some of it back home to my friends, just to let them taste it too.  I spend there most of my days and that's a good thing. I'd rather be there the hole day than half of the day doing nothing back at home, cause atmosphere in workplace is just great. All the staff is really friendly, making jokes and helping out when it's needed. Pleasant ride all the way.

The first day off

On my first day off I went out just to get acquainted with the surroundings. In the first half of the day I walked around with my two friendly neighbors on the Boardwalk (where I also work). There you can get old style photos, tattoos, piercings, variety of food, enjoy arcade game places, try your luck on typical gaming machines or even buy some beach equipment. Also, there are so many amusement parks, where you can get on extreme rides, water slides and so much more. Of course, I saw several things that I want to try out, I will name a few. One of my little dreams before coming to USA was to try out deep fried ice cream, I have already saw several places where they are selling it, and that I will definitely do as well as go to some of the rides. On the other half of the day I went to the Wildwood Crest, where I found some of the most amazing sand art that I have ever seen. Palaces where made with such a precision, it was just beautiful. On the way back I noticed that on next Friday there suppose to be WWE event in Wildwood. When I was little I used to watch it every week, so of course, I wanted to go there. The other day I asked a couple of people if they would like to join me,  but didn't find any company after all. The funny thing is, that when the week was passing I even forgot about it myself :D.

The second day off

Today was my second day off and it started with a blazing hot sun. A couple of my coworkers and I had decided to go to the Cape May County Park & Zoo, so in the morning we met and went on a trip. The zoo is really well looked after. There are reasonable variety of animals, but due to the sun, a lot of them were hiding in the shades, or sleeping in their nests. Just to name several amazing things that have happened in the zoo. We saw giraffe sitting down, it's legs bended so weirdly and funny, it was really fun to see. We also were going over a bridge and then noticed that in the pool just below us there were so many little turtles just swimming and eating. It was so simple but also amazing at the same time, cause it got me by surprise, I really didn't expect to see them there. I also liked all the monkeys, specially the little ones with funny and puffy faces. Of course, I have to mention the most amazing thing about the zoo: I saw cows, pigs and some other farm animals. Even before going there, I knew that there we would be able to find them, but in Lithuania these animals are so normal, you definitely wouldn't see them in a zoo. The place is called Cape May County Park and Zoo, but we just explored the zoo. The temperature and humidity was so high that we just decided not to explore the park this time, which is around 3 times bigger than the zoo itself. Also, during the evening me and my neighbors went to the lighthouse and then to the pier, where we laid down and were watching the stars. It was really nice and calm. Fun fact that we discovered was that when you concentrate just on one star, other stars tend to disappear. Truly amazing night!

Everything starts with a story

The trip to USA itself was strange. The flights from Vilnius to NY went well, I was sitting besides nice polish girl, which kept me company the hole trip. When I reached NY, I took a metro to a bus station. Apparently, there was a maintenance in the part of the metro, so it took a detour around his usual route - of course it was the wrong way for me. Then I bought a ticket for a bus from NY to Atlantic city NJ, but when I went to my gate they told me that the bus will be late for more than hour, lady suggested me to take another one. So that's what I did. I actually had a nice trip, I was sitting with a Russian girl Violet, whom was in USA for a week already, so she told me about her experience here so far. Apparently the bus took me to a Caesar casino in Atlantic city, so I had to find the bus station there. Of course, people warned me to be careful, cause neighbourhood was not safe for white people. Eventually, I did find the bus station there, but it was already around 11 PM. I tried to call my employer to let him know how is my trip going, but apparently my phone is unable to call any US number, but is able to call any other number worldwide... I tried asking people for help, but didn't receive any help. Then I took a bus from Atlantic city to Wildwood NJ, where I suppose to work. What happened next was that the bus broke down in the middle of the way there, we had to wait an hour or more for another bus to pick us up. Eventually I reached the city, but it was the middle of the night and I was 3 miles away from where I had to be, so I took a walk. When I reached my employers house, the lights were on (like in half of the houses that I have seen), but there was no door bell, so I tried knocking 3 times, but didn't receive any answer. I decided to sleep on coach which was on a porch of the house. I have to mention that it was raining the hole day in Wildwood, so everything was wet. I turned around the pillows and worked with what I had. Of course, eventually (around 4 or 5 AM) employer woke up and went for a smoke, where he saw me on the porch. Then he let me inside, we talked for a while and at last I had some real rest.

The next day I was filling documents for a half of the day and then I went searching for a place to stay, cause I didn't have one. Most of the places that I liked where full. Of course, I really enjoyed living in Amsterdam, so I was trying to find something similar, but sadly - unsuccessfully. I am staying at the house with a couple of Lithuanians and we have Lithuanian girls living just next door. The place didn't even have an oven, stove, no Internet connection, just a microwave, toaster and a fridge. Right now we are borrowing Internet from one of our neighbours. The next day we got good news, the landlord said to us that he will bring us a stove and that he indeed did. At last I will be able to cook a worm meal. Well I did that before at neighbours, but it is nice to have it inside our house. Of course, as soon as we got a stove, I went to shop to get some decent food. There aren't many people who are traveling alone, so I am quite happy with what I have. It could have been much worse. I feel safe, cause the neighbourhood is much better than the other one that I have checked. They are nice and friendly. In total, I think I found a good place to live.

I have already bought a bicycle for 35 $ and they told me that at the end of the season they will buy it back for 10 $, it's a  little bit crappy bike, but it's something (similarly as in Amsterdam). Of course, the next day landlord told me that he has 2 good free bicycles which he could have just given to us, but it's OK, 35 $ is cheaper than I expected anyways. Also, even though cloths are really cheap here, but food stores are terrible, at least from the first impression. The food is expensive and they don't have any variety and I am not even going to a small shops (which don't have anything at all), I am going to the biggest one that I know, which a couple of people have recommended to me.

Also, I started working immediately. At the first day of my work, everything seems to be very technical, I have to learn phrases and answer customers with them. I hope that I will be able to get used to them, cause the first day I felt a little bit trapped and controlled. But they might be right, cause I have to be more polite and I might not know how to do it in a right (usual for them) way as well as all other students that are working with us. It can just be an easy way to teach us how to speak with people here, cause I saw the difference in communication instantly when I arrived here. Everybody is very nice and helpful, so everything will be just fine.

At last, I reached my last day of training (4th one). I might have done a little bit better than expected, cause today almost all day long I was alone (I wasn't inspected by other all day long) and I think I did everything okay (if seen, somebody would have corrected me). Plus after my boss tested my skills, I got a lot of work hours. Actually, my first free day will be next Sunday, but it's okay, cause sometimes I have to be at work around 5 PM, so I can rest well, as well as do something for myself (for example, tomorrow I am going to the beach before leaving to work). That's mainly why I think that I did good. I didn't expect it, cause the first three days were kind of slow for me. I have made many small mistakes during the first three days. For example, just saying the special with one word different than it should be. 

A couple of days ago, at some point we realized that NBA finals are on (the 6th game), so it was really nice to watch a game and have a beer. Two days after, I was able to see the last half of the 7th game after work, it is nice, cause I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to see the game.

This is what happened so far, I will try to take some pictures, when I get an opportunity. Right now, I am waiting for tomorrow, cause I am going to the beach in the morning just to enjoy the sun and the ocean :)