Hearst Castle

I expected a CASTLE. But no...its juz a museum on a hilltop portraying the lifestyle of a famous person. Oh well, it costs only 20 bucks, and the experience to tell me that i SHOULD NOT bring my family and Ping here when they come for visiting. Unless they wanna go back to high school for a history lesson of course. But thinking back about that extremely "scenic" drive....hmmm... i might consider going through that again.

Hearst's residence(Castle), is pretty huge to begin with. And so i will just pick a couple of interesting pics to show....

A scenic view from the "castle"...

Outdoor pool...
3 marble lesbians, and errmm....3 human ones...

Some grand entrance to the castle...

Hearst's dinner table....
And the finale....This is in the indoor pool of the "Castle". Everything is made up of marble here. Its amazing how they manage to maintain the entire place!!


Next Stop.... LA!!

LA-Vegas Trip

I have procrastinated long enough regarding this post! Actually, my dad juz reminded me a couple of minutes ago over MSN. Its been delayed because some photos are still in my friend's laptop! hahah.... Excuses!!

1st day was our drive to LA. We met in Stanford before setting off in 2 cars. And halfway through, we were supposed to stop at a museum called Hearst Castle.

The drive to Hearst Castle...well.... was really quite an experience. A few entries away, i was commenting about how scary it was to drive on the highspeed, but straight highways in the US. Now, we are supposed to go on Highway 1. Its highspeed... not exactly straight...and its only 2 lane!! Now, thats intimidating!! And it goes through hills!!.... On top of that, we encountered fog halfway through.... my god! One wrong turn, and we go down the cliff! Just an idea about what i was going through from 7am till 1.30pm.... here is what i was looking at most of the time...

Hey, it doesn look so bad here... coz we happen to be at the bottom of the hill. Its the only time i can have a hand free to take a pic while in the driver's seat!

But highway 1 has really proved itself to be one of the most scenic drives in the bay area. Never regretted volunteering to be the driver for this group of people. They entertained me along the way, i was glad they did not puke from all that winding driving.

Presenting my crew....and the view....:)

After all that torture of winding roads.... we could finally see Hearst Castle...

LA-Vegas Road Trip

I have been neglecting this blog for a while...had a busy Xmas week. Was busy clearing my work in preparation for this 5-day road trip. Yes!!! 5 Days!... no email, no circuits to troubleshoot, no shit!

Juz in case you do not know what a road trip is, its basically juz driving long distance to tour various places. Its damn popular with the Asians here in S.V, and i managed to tag along with a group of students who were mostly studying in Stanford.

And this was how i spent my Xmas:

Day 1(22nd Dec): Drive down to LA, stopping by Hearst Castle
Day 2(23rd Dec): Universal Studios(LA)
Day 3(24th Dec): Disney Land(LA)
Day 4(25th Dec): Drive up to Vegas
Day 5(26th Dec): Drive back to Sunnyvale

I promise pictures on this blog... still sorting them out. Its too many pics. For a rough idea.... my 2GB SD card on my Lumix is insufficient... thats how many pics we took!!!

The Inconvenience of Convenience...

Sent my car for slight servicing today. Had trouble starting my car juz the day before....heard some funny clicking sounds before the engine really started....and they got me reeeaaalll worried.

Call me paranoid, but i juz experienced the fear of having to walk home after my car battery went dead last week.... thank god i was at the office, and some kind colleagues helped me to jumpstart my car.

Well, thankfully juz had to replace my car battery.... which set me back at about $80. The filipino mechanic also informed me about the nuts the bolts of what i have to watch out for... which oil to top up....which fluid to top up.... he was so kind, really. Great service! He even found that my engine oil was running really low, and he topped it up...FOC ok!

$80 is juz the beginning. I juz realized i need to buy lots of stuff, like engine filters, engine oil, coolant,..and he told me to check my fluids and oils every week or 2.... sigh... the price of convenience.

Christmas Atmosphere....

Updated Pic of Thanksgiving Event

Juz received this pic from the host a couple of days ago, juz felt that the previous entry will be more complete this way..

Thanksgiving with NUS Alumni-SFO

Not exactly NUS Alumni... but basically some Singaporeans in the Bay Area. Organized by Mr FC Chong, who generously offered his house as a gathering spot, we managed to reach out to Sgconnect, NUSEA and NUS Almni in the Bay Area.

Had a great time meeting fellow Singaporeans who are residing in the Bay Area... and many of them studying in Stanford..wow... mostly on scholarships from research institutes... really too many of them, din have enuff time to connect with everyone of them.

Met really cool people here... and had really great food! This includes turkey, and many asian delicacies(homemade) which is so hard to find here....im so grateful to Mr Chong and NUSEA for getting me connected to this wonderful group of people.

Lastly, Mr Chong, is from the batch of NUS Engineering graduates in 1977...and i'm the 2006 batch...woah... 2 ends of the spectrum...cool stuff!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving seems like an important day for Americans. While other special days only have a day's public holiday, Thanksgiving actually bestowed everyone in America with 2 vacation days.....yep, and people celebrate it with turkey dinners and gatherings.




Having stayed here for a tad more than 2 mths, i have never introduced my landlord & landlady before...They were especially kind to invite me to dinner, and even pose for a pic. They are a young taiwanese couple with little Jalen in the centre....*warm fuzzy feeling*...

Wonderful cooks they are....preparing a table of goodies...Fusion actually. Turkey, some taiwanese beef stew, and stir-fried kailan. I never had a good impression oftTurkey, always felt that its a drier, and larger form of its chicken cousin. However, they made it juicy and tender...despite it being their 1st attempt! Their turkey stuffing comprises of a unique blend of a whole list of ingredients which i cannot disclose too much...heh....

Fish Head La-Mian with Dumplings???

Its getting really cold, and im craving for hot soups...esp, the fish head steamboats which i used to enjoy with my Dad.

And i happened to chance upon this place called, "Ray's House of La-Mian". Their menu, is unique. They actually have a dish called "Fish-Head La-Mian with Dumplings". And the cook.... is yours sincerely....haha...

Give me some credit lah. Its my most adventurous dish so far. Well, when i was finally done with cooking, with my masterpiece in front of me, i was thinking to myself, "Man, who says you need a wife to cook, and look after you?"


After taking a few mouthfuls..... hmmm.... i take back my thoughts....sheesh....

Good Break from Sleepy towns...

I know May may not be coming in May, and so i may not be seeing May in May, so i agreed to meet May whenever May may come by SFO, which may not be May.

Confused?.... haha.. so am i. It really does not make sense, it was coined up by yours sincerely in 3 mins flat.

haha... i finally decided to venture out of sleepy towns since May was stopping by SFO for 2 days. It really is my 1st time driving to SFO on my own....driving in the highspeed highways.... and utterly confusing streets of SFO. But, i still made it to her hotel.... thankfully....:)...

The feeling of meeting a friend in SFO ....is soooo exciting!!... We always met up in Cityhall mrt, Orchard mrt... etc... suddenly... we are meeting in SFO?... Like how May describes it... its so surreal!!

We had a nice walk down to pier 39 where we had lunch(above).. pretty place... reminds me abit of Clarke Quay though. Afterall, it is by the pier. The Clam chowder here is amazing.... no wonder Sam keeps re-iterating that its a 'must-try'. Totally sinful, and with clams more than cream... woah... it really swept me off my feet!

Fortunately, we had a heavy lunch, such that May was encouraged to walk in her heels up and down Lombard street(see previous entries on Lombard, see below.)...our conversation was suddenly simply dominated by her panting... haha...May, i hope you did not regret letting me lead the way!!

Finally at the higher end of Lombard St....
And finally, i'm not so lonely in my pictures!!

We then walked down to Ghirardelli Square where we took a short rest, and then down a beach where we can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

We ended the day at Chinatown and Union square where May brought me to try great food.....Eggtarts, "Lau Puo Bing"("Wife Biscuit"), and GODIVA Chocalate Cheescake @ The Cheesecake Factory.... wahh.... heavenly.....its really a day of indulgence...

If my parents see a Super-Sized me 1 year later.... they will know who i have been hanging out with!!... hahaha....

Beautiful Autumn....

This is the street where i always park my car. Spent a couple of minutes admiring the amazing effect of the upcoming autumn this morning....Suddenly, it dawned upon me that i will miss waking up to the cool, beautiful autumn when i am back to sunny-pore in a year's time....

Believe me, despite already been working in Excelics for almost 2 months... i have never eaten out with my colleagues before. Over here, its a 'lunchbox' culture...everyone(well, almost!) packs their lunchbox to work on top of their briefcase. We always dined together in the pantry...

I always avoided fast food like a plague.... but i have been hearing raves about this US burger joint even when i was in Singapore.... and since everyone was game to indulge today...

The menu is nothing u usually see in a fast food restaurant!! Goodness.. they ONLY served cheese burgers and french fries(and drinks of course). But the main course... was really only cheese burgers!!! The only choice you had was probably the number of patties you wanted in your burger. And thats it!... Talk about a cheese burger specialist....

It has a unique taste to it. Nothing you can find in Singapore definitely. But its greatest edge over other burger joints is its freshness. Their burgers are only baked, cooked and assembled upon ordering. Even their french fries are freshly sliced and fried. Unfortunately, i did not take a picture of what was inside.. i was too excited for a bite of it..... it really looked too enticing to be rotting under the sun.....!!

My lunch party from the office... friendly bunch of people from all over the world....and special thanks to Jessie(the lady on the extreme left) for the treat..... aiya, so paiseh to have an intern to treat the whole gang....

2 luxuries i will rather not have...

This occurred to me while doing my household chores today...

1) A bath tub - its difficult to clean!
2) A double-storey house/mansionette - Climb, climb, climb......

I usually stay home on weekends to rest... and climbing up & down the entire day really makes me appreciate home even more....how i miss HDB!!!!!

The day time slowed down....

It was grocery shopping day! And being the KS Singaporean, i wanted to be the earliest to beat the crowds. After hanging up with my sis on Skype, the clock showed 915...which is late!!... The doors open at 9am! Hastily i rushed down to the grocery store....only to see a dead town......No one there??!!!

Went up to the grocery store, only to find it closed... but the sign says they open at 9am. And my watch showed 930am!!...What is going on??!!

I asked the janitor in the vicinity, and he told me very nicely that there is a minus 1-hr adjustment due to the beginning of autumn. So, i was actually too early...0930am in summer & spring = 0830am in Autumn & winter....Therefore, there is a 15hr lag from sg time in summer & spring, but a 16hr lag in autumn & winter!!...Sheesh.....felt so silly then....

Hari Raya @ Sam's!!

No travelling yet... but had a wonderful time yesterday at Sam's place for Hari Raya!... Chatting with fellow Singaporeans are wonderful...finally, i can comfortably express my 'lahs' and 'lors' without fear of being misunderstood.

Salizah is really a wonderful cook... with all that wonderful lontongs, sambal chicken and asian dishes, i juz felt soooo at home....:)

End of workday greeting...

After a typical long day at work.... this is the kind of greeting i get at home... haha...Since Halloween is juz round the corner, i shall forgive him.... haha...

Cutie!!

I finally managed to coax my landlord's son into my room to take a pic with me....:)....He is another cute kid..... and my mum says he has a mischievous look. He actually "intruded" into my room, and climbed onto my lap to see why i was speaking to my laptop...haha... that was when my mother saw him.




With this 'kid craze' going inside me, i wonder what would my parents' reaction be if i were to leave Singapore alone, and return with another 2 people............

San Francisco Chronicle

Its finally Sunday, and i can wind down abit. Managed to grab hold of the Sunday papers while grocery shopping. My god, its 3 times more expensive than the usual day's paper...its $1.50USD. Hmm... but its sooooo thick!!

Its contents are of hardly anything about world news. Half of its thickness is contributed by "savings coupons" of all kinds of shopping outlets, grocery stores, pharmacies... etc. Even so, some of them are hardly even considered savings! C'mon, im Singaporean, i can differentiate a real sale and a fluke.

Really, the news here is all about America.... about some gay congressman, some statistics about American couples, blah blah.... and of course the North Korean nuclear test hoo-hah...Thank the heavens there is always channelnewsasia.com....:)

Disappearing Act!!

Just in case everyone has been wondering what has happened to me.... well, to provide some clues, this is a picture of my office desk...


Ya... have been busy with work... haven done much travelling and exploration. So far just busy checking out the best deals for grocery shopping.... cost of living is so high here!

Free Car Wash!!

It finally rained in Sunnyvale!! Its my 1st day experience with rain here....

Had initially wanted to wash my car during the weekend...but my landlord advised me against it, due to the coming rainy season(ie.autumn).

For once, i'm thankful that i was feeling lazy.....

Of Little Alya and Haystacks...

Its the 1st time i have seen a maze constructed of
haystacks. But what really caught my eye was the
decor they had created for the upcoming Halloween season. Well, little Alya was so excited that she just ran in!! But in her excitement, she ended up abit lost...















But still, she had her fun despite being lost....

Oh dear... and she brought some hay back...

I realized that i am always charmed + enthralled + fascinated by little Alya's chatter and ever-changing expressions. So adorable!!!...

And finally, after many many attempts, we managed to get Alya to sit down with Sam and myself to pose for a picture....:).... whew... the toughest task of the day...

Pumpkin Patch in MountainView..

Its a cold and lazy Sunday, and with the Autumn season beckoning, temperatures are dropping by the day. However, despite such sleepy weather, and the Ramadan month, Sam was kind, and fortunately, energetic enough to show me around in this pumpkin patch at MountainView.




Halloween is coming.. and the pumpkin patches are stocking up on their pumpkins. Heard from Sam that this place becomes a Sunflower patch during other times. While other pumpkin patches require an entrance fee, this particular one is free!





Frankly, i have never seen so many
pumpkins of all sorts and sizes in my entire life.












The owners of this place really have a knack with decorating pumpkins!

Sunnyvale's Farmer's Market... Vegans Paradise..

I have long heard about this small organization called the "Farmer's market" that brings the freshest and pesticide-free greens to the various towns in California only on Saturdays or Sundays.

It looks abit too deserted...but I guess i was early(9am). They actually close an entire street every Saturday, in Sunnyvale town centre, just to set up these stalls.











Guess i did not come in vain. I have never seen so many bright coloured fruits on an entire street before!













Fortunately, they do not sell the same thing at every stall. Else, i will be so bored. However, this also somewhat reduces competition....and justifies the higher prices.

What are Zuccinis(above)??....Aiya..."Sua Ku" Singaporean....

They sell a nice variety of bread here too....

Eventually went home with a bag of peaches, tomatoes and oranges. I practically rushed home to try them. The oranges were not spectacular, though they tasted a little different from the ones back home. The peaches were good.... but what i was really amazed with, was with the tomatoes. It was actually very sweet!....For once, i could almost mistake it to be a citrus fruit of some sort....