Adventures of a Non-Resident Alien

Yosemite National Park.

2008-02-29T23:47:00.000-08:00

After 2 past failed attempts, I finally made it to Yosemite National Park! I took a one-day bus tour there today; my final day in the Bay Area. Yosemite is home to some of the world's most majestic and awesome rock formations, including El Capitan, the world's largest monolith, which stands at 3000 feet tall! Other highlights include Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America, and the groves of giant sequoia trees.

I had my lunch in the award-winning Ahwahnee Dining Room. The 34-foot-high beamed ceiling with large sugar pine trestles that complement the room’s granite pillars, floor-to-ceiling windows, chandeliers, linen tablecloths and beautiful china create a spectacular ambiance. Entrée: Sautéed Mountain Trout.

Washington DC!

2008-02-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Washington DC was the best. The magnificent Capitol House (above) is often mistaken for White House (below).

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

Hope Diamond @ DC's National Museum of Natural History
(World's largest deep blue diamond)

National Air & Space Museum

(The dude on the right is a US fighter pilot)

Philadelphia & Baltimore.

2008-02-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

I got up bright and early on Friday morning to catch my 2-day bus tour to Philadelphia / Baltimore / Washington DC, which departed from Chinatown NY. It was snowing heavily outside. I accidentally boarded the wrong bus, but managed to transfer to the right one in the nick of time. Phew!

New York -> New Jersey -> Pennsylvania -> Delaware -> Maryland -> Washington DC.

First stop: Philadelphia

Lunch stop: Delaware City
$9.50 all-you-can-eat buffet bliss!

Afternoon stop: Baltimore Harbour

Dinner Stop: Silver Spring
I gave the $11 all-you-can-eat buffet dinner a pass. Would have been severe overkill! Haha. Settled for roast chicken and mash. Picked up a Tommy Hilfiger Polo Tee from Marshalls!

Final Stop: Holiday Inn, Maryland.

Wow! 2 Queen beds to myself, wireless internet and cable TV!

New York: Part V.

2008-02-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

On Thursday it was back to New York. I visited the Bloomberg HQ on 731 Lexington Ave. What an office! The interior design is stunning. Looks like it belongs in a 6-star hotel, not an office!

Now that is what I call a pantry! 50m of tid-bits and drinks buffet heaven.

In the evening I met with Tim and family. Talk about long time no see! It had been close to a decade since I had last seen them. Back in the day, Tim and Jean were still courting and Celest was non-existent! Tim showed me around the Lehman Brothers office and we also took a peek at the University of Columbia campus. We all had dinner at this Cuban joint in Upper West Side and subsequently Tim and I proceeded to McD's for the continuation of a good long chat.

Boston!

2008-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

First thing Monday morning, it was off to Boston with Charmaine. Once again, I got to experience life in a college dorm. As there were no spare beds, I slept on the hard floor (and that bought me a few days' worth of backaches!) The highlights of the trip were...
Testing guitars @ Guitar Center

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Concert @ Berklee College of Music

New York: Part IV.

2008-02-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we went to Times Square Church for the morning service, followed by T.G.I. Friday's for lunch. Comes at a price though. (And I don't just mean that in an economic sense!) But YUM YUM YUM YUM *BURP* anyway!!

We spent the afternoon through evening at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. I'd already bought just about anything I could possibly need, so I did not end up buying much of anything that day. After shopping we met Julie and David for dinner at some Korean restaurant in K-Town, where I had my first Bi Bim Bob!

New York: Part III.

2008-02-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning we went to check out Ground Zero. Basically you go there to see that there's nothing to see. After that we walked over to Battery Park, where we viewed the Statue of Liberty from afar (and took photos while at it!)

In the evening we went to see the hilarious Tony Award winning musical Avenue Q. The humour is highly politically-incorrect and takes cynicism to new heights, but leaves you gasping for breath from laughter! "What do you do with a BA in English..." Lalala...

New York: Part II.

2008-02-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

On the first night I met with David, Charmaine and Eric for supper in Chinatown. We then went to M&M's World to gawk at the dazzling array of M&M variants and merchandise. How much for that ugly crayon-wielding black M&M??

New York: Part I.

2008-02-25T13:09:00.000-08:00

I took a week off work to see the East side of the USA from 15-24 Feb. I started off in NYC, where I decided to spend the 1st day exploring on foot. I spent all day walking from Chinatown till I had nearly reached Central Park! (That is quite a distance!!) On first impression, I found New York to be dirty, polluted, noisy, crowded and run down. Not quite as attractive as anticipated. Nevertheless, it proved to be a fun-filled adventure-packed 10 days!

Car Breakdown.

2008-02-21T23:26:00.000-08:00

On the way back from Santa Cruz, just a mere 10min into the journey, the car broke down on the highway with a loud BANG from under the chassis. There was smoke and leaking fluids.

The car had to be towed. While waiting for the tow truck to arrive, a highway patrol officer spotted me and stopped by to chase me off the road asap. We had a good chat about the academy and his experiences as an officer while waiting for the tow truck to arrive.

The car was towed back to Toyota in Santa Cruz, where I got picked up by my San Francisco host. (It was subsequently diagnosed that a major component of the car had broken off, taking out 3 other major parts with it. The car's a total write-off now.)

Sylvan Music Store.

2008-02-21T23:04:00.000-08:00

After visiting the wharf, I went to the Sylvan Music Store. They have an extensive selection of AMAZING guitars! I got stuck there for hours testing guitars. Must have tried at least $50K worth of guitars in that short period.

There was this one particular guitar that I absolutely loved; it was a James Goodall Traditional OM. Adirondack Spruce top, East Indian Rosewood back and sides. Incredible feel and tone! My dream guitar. For now. It's the 3rd from the left in this photo:

Santa Cruz Wharf.

2008-02-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

After the guitar factory, I went for a stroll up and down the Santa Cruz Wharf. It was beautiful! The weather was perfect.

There were sea lions OU OU OU-ing below the jetty.

Santa Cruz Guitar Company.

2008-02-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

I went to the SCGC factory for a tour on Friday last last week. It was so cool! Here's some pictures.

I found my guitar's registration papers! Born: 22 Feb 2007.

Korean Lunch

2008-02-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

My colleague bought me lunch at this Korean joint near Santa Clara. Yummy! The beef spare ribs were the highlight.

The Aftermath...

Boom!

2008-02-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

The car broke down on the highway yesterday as i was making my way back from Santa Cruz (which was awesome btw)! It pretty much blew up. Big BANG, loud grinding, smoke, leaking fluids, the works! I think it's a total write-off. Car got towed, I had to get picked up, it was quite an episode.

I'm back to being immobile. My solo Yosemite road trip this weekend is hereby cancelled (and i lost my non-cancelleable prepaid accomodation of $63). Pity.

SCGC!

2008-02-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

I got a call from Richard Hoover today, founder and sole proprietor of Santa Cruz Guitar Factory! We've set up an appointment for a tour of his factory this Friday. WHOOOPEEEEEE!! That's the very factory that built my recently-acquired SCGC OM-M, the beautiful work of art that bid me part with my entire life savings. I'm really looking forward to Friday!!!

Monterey, Carmel, Gilroy.

2008-02-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

It was a 2h drive down to Monterey. And what a drive it was! Much of it was scenic, driving through grassy hills.

Check out the re-created Kelp Forest!

Magnificent anemone and buddy fish!

Jellyfish galore!

1,000,000-gallon tank! That's nearly 3,800,000 litres! Big tank for big fish. Mahi mahi (Dolphinfish), larger-than-life tuna, larger-than-tuna sunfish, and even a white shark.

The weirdest (and hugest) fish I was acquainted with was the sunfish. It swims sideways and grows up to 10ft long! More like a UFO.

After visiting the aquarium, I took a coastal drive down to Carmel-By-The-Sea via Pebble Beach and the 17-Mile Drive. (By the way, many of the Carmel homes by the coast are drop-dead opulent! Haven't seen such impressive houses in a while.)

To get the following photo I had to balance my camera on a rock, set off the timer, then quickly yet gingerly hop from slippery rock to rock till I was standing at the edge, all within 10sec! So you'd better enjoy it twice as much! Haha.

I left Carmel at dusk and stopped by Gilroy Premium Outlets on the way home. Bargains galore! But the ultimate was a $2.50 Ralph Lauren Polo Tee. My eyes almost popped out!!

Failure to Launch.

2008-02-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

Yosemite has to be postponed due to severe weather conditions. 2-3 feet of accumulated snow makes driving hazardous. Oh well. Plan B into action! Monterey Bay Aquarium + Gilroy Premium Outlets here I come!

Off to Yosemite.

2008-02-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

At 5am I'm off to Yosemite National Park, where I'll be spending the weekend. Yosemite is world famous for its gorgeous scenery; waterfalls, rock formations and the like. It's a 4h drive East from Silicon Valley. (Solo road trip! Yay!) It's gonna be snowy and snowing, with a low of -3°C! Brrrrr. I'm gonna be staying in a humble tent cabin in Curry Village. My agenda comprises solitude, hiking, sight-seeing and much driving. I might also do some ice-skating over the pond or skiing at Badger Pass, we'll see. Thank God for my hosts who lent me a heap of outdoor gear, not to mention the car, which happens to be 4WD!

Ramen Halu.

2008-01-27T15:54:00.000-08:00

After snowboarding, we went to Ramen Halu in San Jose for supper. Not bad, not bad.

Thick chewy ramen in a rich savoury broth.

Snowboarding @ Heavenly.

2008-01-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

I went snowboarding last Saturday at Heavenly, another ski resort in Lake Tahoe. It's ranked #1 and has the most gorgeous view of all the resorts! Inches of fresh powder made for a smoother and more forgiving ride.

Nel, Linda & Me.

Hmmm... Maybe not.

The Board.

This is the board I rented this time. It's a 159cm state-of-the-art Rossignol Premier board! I decided to upsize to get more stability and speed. Boy is this board fasssssst!! It just pulls you straight down the slope! On my 2nd run I managed to set a new personal speed record again, beating the previous one by a considerable margin! However, the ending was not-so-glamorous. When I tried to stop... the next thing I knew I had my face buried in the snow, totally winded, lip bleeding, goggles and even mouth filled with powder!

Was it worth it? OH YEAH.

Car.

2008-01-23T23:13:00.001-08:00

This is the car I've been driving around in. It's an old Toyota Previa that I'm borrowing from my hosts. I'm about 8 miles from my workplace, which is not too bad. takes me about 20min to get in to the office.

La Jolla Video!

2008-01-23T23:09:00.000-08:00

San Diego Zoo Video!

2008-01-23T23:05:00.000-08:00

SeaWorld Video!

2008-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

San Diego

2008-01-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

I just got back from San Diego! It was an incredible weekend.

I bunked at a UCSD (University of California San Diego) College. Rowdyyyy!!! Those guys are into drinking, weed, frat parties and the like. Cool bunch of people though. Quite an experience.

This is the bed I borrowed. Check out the mess!

Day #1: UCSD & La Jolla
This is me and Denise, having breakfast on campus.

UCSD is a nice campus. Look, a giant teddy bear!

I went to La Jolla in the afternoon. What a beauty! Beats Cottesloe.

Seals visit the shore to bask in the sun every now and then.

Look what I stumbled upon, engraved in stone! Haha.

Day #2: San Diego Zoo & Gaslamp Quarter

I got to meet Bai Yun, Gao Gao and Zhen Zhen! Those are the names of 3 of the pandas on exhibit at the San Diego Zoo's Giant Panda Research Station. You can watch the pandas live on Panda Cam.

Check out this shot from the Sealion Show!

At night I went to Gaslamp Quarter, the Orchard Road of San Diego. Unfortunately, I was unable to hit the pubs cos the legal drinking age is 21. The night really got interesting when I met this 50+ year old singer-cum-guitarist busker at the bus stop. We started talking and I was intrigued by his sharing. Just a while ago he had been living on the streets. He had recently got over drugs and alcohol after 35 years of addiction and was trying to start afresh. We happened to be taking the same bus and I ended up walking him home. I even went in for a bit, we talked some more and I got a chance to lay hands on him and pray. He gave me his phone number, I'll be calling to check up on him when I get back to Australia!

Day #3: SeaWorld

I got soaked. The shows and rides were splashing wet! Plus it was raining on and off. I was blown away by some of the exhibits; especially the hybrid roller-coaster-log-ride Lost in Atlantis, the dolphin show, Shamu's Believe show and Wild Arctic's belarus whale and walrus.

Guess who!

Snowboarding Video.

2008-01-17T01:12:00.000-08:00

Lunch Time Chronicles.

2008-01-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna Sashimi & Prime Cut Steak 8oz.

Best steak texture ever!

Monday Again.

2008-01-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

Back to work. Oh well.

Order of the day: Clam chowder and sea bass.

I just booked my flight to San Diego. I'll be spending the upcoming long weekend there. San Diego Zoo, Seaworld, La Jolla, here I come!

Snowboarding at Northstar.

2008-01-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

It was a long drive to the region of Tahoe. We set out at 4am, while it was still dark, arriving about 5 hours later. To our surprise, the resort was already pretty crowded! My camera and I braved subzero temperatures to bring you the following collage.

I was exhausted by the end of the first run... Then I did 10 more. A new speed record, the landing of my first jump and some breathtaking views from the summit made for a great day of snowboarding!

At least 2 more snowboarding trips in the pipeline. Watch out Lake Tahoe! I'll be back.

Board.

2008-01-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Rented my board/bindings/boots from Ski Renters, all for only $22 per day! It's a 153cm Jimmy Jones signature model by Rossignol.

I also visited the Palo Alto Recycling Centre and Costco (mega big supermarket chain), but unfortunately didn't bring my camera. Generally speaking, people here in the Bay Area are very environmentally responsible and health conscious. Every where I go I see organic foods, all-natural ingredients, free range eggs, wholemeal loafs, etc.

Snowboarding Prep.

2008-01-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm going snowboarding on Sunday at Northstar at Tahoe! Unfortunately I don't have my snow stuff with me, so gotta borrow/buy. Picked up some thermals from Old Navy, neck gaiter and snow pants from REI.

Gotta rent a board tomorrow, the guy who was meant to sell me his 2nd hand Burton board today didn't show up!

Bon Appetit.

2008-01-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

Best time of day... Lunchtime!

Work Scenes.

2008-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

The Office.

The Desk.

A Colleague.

The Godsend & Trusty Jeep.

Noodle-tastic!

2008-01-08T23:56:00.000-08:00

I had dinner at Zao Noodle Bar in Palo Alto today. Chicken Summer Rolls + Chicken in Lemongrass Coconut Broth = YUM!! I'm hooked.

Guess what I chanced upon along the way...

THE facebook headquarters!!

Dinner.

2008-01-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

I had dinner at Zibibbo, this Mediterranean restaurant in Palo Alto. The ambience is lovely! Quite possibly my most expensive meal to date. Lucky for my wallet it was a treat, courtesy of my most generous hostess.

In The Neighbourhood.

2008-01-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

I attempted to take public transport to work today. As it turned out, I found myself stranded at Redwood City station, unable to find the shuttle transfer pickup point! Thank God for Holly, the receptionist, who came to the rescue and gave me a lift to the office. She also offered to pick me from the station daily from now on. Hooray.

I just found out this morning that Steve Jobs lives just down the street. Pretty cool.

Sunday Night Blues.

2008-01-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

I've had such a lovely weekend that I'm dreading having to go into the office tomorrow. Oh well.

I really enjoyed the Cornerstone Church service this morning. It's a 1-hour affair; short and sweet, just the way I like it. It didn't feel short though.

After church I went to Mama's On Washington Square for breakfast. They supposedly serve the best breakfast San Francisco, as acclaimed by numerous food review guides. After over an hour of queuing in the freezing cold, we finally got a table. I was so famished I had 2 buttermilk pancakes, 1 egg benedict, 1 egg florentine and a cappuccino! On hindsight, I still reckon nothing beats Witch's Cauldron back home in Perth.

We took a drive to the top of the Twin Peaks, where we braved icy winds and took some pretty photos.

We then decided to go to Phil's Coffee to defrost over a cuppa.

In the evening I went to visit Eric's cell group. They're all American. It was a chill-out night, no agenda other than dinner and fellowship. Hooray.

As I was waiting for my train, a young man approached me for $10 to buy a greyhound coach ticket back home. From the look in his eyes, my assessment was that he was probably lying, but I gave him the money anyway. Hmmm...

The Great Expedition.

2008-01-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

So I decided to go exploring on my own yesterday. I headed down to Great Mall in Milpatas via foot-train-bus-foot. It's actually a 24min drive, but it took nearly 2h via public transport! The place is basically a monster factory outlet shopping complex with over 100 stores. Abercrombie & Fitch, Dockers, Levi's, H&M, Old Navy, Calvin Klein, Hollister, Nike, Marshalls, the list goes on. Total damage: $56.27.

In the evening I met up with Eric and his friends. Eric's a friend of friends, he's here on some training program. We went to this random Middle Eastern place for dinner, then proceeded to Century Cinemas in Daly City for I Am Legend. (I had already seen that show, so it was quite a pain to sit through it once more! I hadn't even particularly enjoyed the first screening.) Supper after at IHop. On the way, we got pulled over by cops for not stopping at a set of lights. The driver Murali got a citation, but power outage and poor visibility were the real culprits.

I bunked with Eric last night, for convenience' sake. I'm visiting his church later, Cornerstone Church.

Where'd the Lights Go?

2008-01-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Blackout.

The entire grid was down after last night's storm. The office lights were out of power, so everyone left work.

Geez, my colleagues sure drive flashy cars.

The lovely receptionist, Holly, gave me a lift home. It was nice getting to know her better through our conversation all the way back. She's one of the friendliest people I've ever met!

We stopped by Wendy's for a bite. Drive-thru. It'd been over 3 years since my last Wendy's cheeseburger in Auckland, NZ. Boy, do I miss Wendy's! So I ordered a stardard single-with-cheese... Talk about delighting the senses! I would liken the sensation to a great big family reunion following a long absence, only more delicious. :) Nothing short of sheer bliss.

I later had lunch at this japanese restaurant. Doesn't look like much from outside, and the prices aren't great value-wise, but I must say the food was excellent! Both in terms of quality and quantity. (Yes, the latter's just as important as the former.) Up till today, these eyes had never seen quite so large a bento box. *burp* Yum.

At dinner, I took a photo with the family I'm staying with.

1st Day @ Work.

2008-01-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Wow. What an eye-opener! It's a small office, with the workforce consisting of highly-competent and extremely highly-qualified individuals. I have much to learn.

I'm interning with ePlanet Ventures. You can find out more from www.eplanetventures.com

Hooray for free lunch daily!

Shopping: The Saga Continues.

2008-01-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

Today I headed down to Marshalls, where I picked up a bundle of great bargains. Total damage: $71.43

Starting work tomorrow. Don't know what to expect. I hope they don't assume any knowledge on my part, cos all I know is that I don't!

Faithfulness vs Procrastination: Nike sure got something right when they created their motto. Just do it. Today is a good day to start. Now!

Fresh Beginnings.

2008-01-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

Lesson #1: 2h = 18h.

Defying all logic and rationality, I flew off on 1 Jan @ 6am and touched down in San Francisco on 1 Jan @ 8am, with 18h of travelling in-between. Yep, 2h = 18h.

Such was the passing of the longest new year's day I have ever and will probably ever have.

It is also probably worth mentioning my first encounter with a butt-spraying-fountain-equipped toilet bowl in Tokyo's Narita Airport. Let's just say I was tickled by how effective it was.

Many thanks to all ye faithful who accompanied me all the way from supper @ Simpang Bedok all the way to the airport to see me off in the unearthly hours of the morning. (My All-Ye-Faithful Gang: Charles, Daniel Lee, Charmaine, Rachel Loh, Eleta aka Bugs, Jia Li, and of course; Dad and Mom.) What a way to kick off the new year huh, with your beloved bestest-friend-in-the-world / bestest-son-in-the-world Andrew! ;D

I started my 1st day in the US-of-A with an afternoon of chauffeur-driven shopping. Beginning my pilgrimage at Valley Fair Westfield in Santa Clara, I progressed onto TJ Maxx where I found an array of lovely bargains. Yummy. Total damage: $103.89

My current host is a staunch Muslim. Conversation with him has incited in me an interest in the religion. I desire to learn more about Islam, and to this end I have acquired a copy of the Quran for examination and study.

Thanks be to God for His faithfulness and mercy; for giving me this opportunity to learn and grow as I take on new challenges in unchartered waters.

Passage of the Season: 1 Chronicles 4:10 [NKJV]
"And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested."