Bloggin'......

Jen's Birthday

Thankfully, I got home just in time for Jennifer's Birthday. I was afraid I wouldn't make it, since my plane would not arrive at San Francisco until almost 5PM, and home until well after that, but Diana convinced me I could make it. I made it for Dessert.=) Mike was nice enough to put together a small party for her, with a fondue dinner and a great chocolate fondue dessert. This year, we had all chipped in together and got her an Apple Ipod Mini. She is obviously very happy! Happy Birthday Jen!

Homeward bound (sort of)

My day started well enough, or so I thought. I was up bright and early in the morning and took a stroll around the hotel. It's a prety clean area, especially for being in China. I've heard a lot of stories how dirty Shanghai can be, but today seemed like it was going to be just great.

I checked out of my hotel and took a taxi to the airport, with plenty of time for my 12PM flight to San Francisco. "So what could possibly have happened?", one may ask. The airline cancelled the only flight to San Francisco for the day and tried to reroute everyone through other airlines. Everyone was given two options, first was a person could stay an extra night in Shanghai, fly to Tokyo the next day, and then fly from Tokyo to San Francisco, the next day after that, for a total travel time of three days, but was most direct of all the available flights. Second option was to fly from Shanghai to Hong Kong, then from Hong Kong to San Francisco, for a total additional travel time of 12 hours to the original 11hrs it takes to fly from Shanghai to San Francisco. Wonderful.

I took the second option, seeing as it would get me home the fastest. But even that was not without problems. When I arrived in Hong Kong, the second airline that was supposed to fly us back to San Francisco, would not recognize our new passes. I was traveling with maybe about 20 other people in the same boat as I was, and you can probably imagine how some people would become very irate over this. I felt there was really no need for me to add to the commotion, so I sat back for a little bit, and read a magazine. I reasoned the worst thing that could happen was maybe stay and visit my relatives in Hong Kong. Not a bad option, I suppose.

After about 2 hours, they found our reservations and we were on our way again. I never though flying back to San Francisco would be so beautiful.

For what it's worth, I saw our original plane in the Shanghai airport, parked on the tarmac, with all the engines and lights shut off. I think it was obvious there was something wrong with it, so I am also glad we didn't have to take off in it.

Suzhou in the Morning

Well, here's some shots of the ol' neighborhood in the morning. I stayed in a little inn of sorts, the Scholars Inn, in Suzhou. Somehow, it appears that Chinese people believe if you have to have an English name, you should at least sound smart. So here I am staying at the Scholar's Inn. Smart? Not really, apparently, the property next door decided to start construction at 1 AM in the morning. Interestingly, I didn't get up from bed to complain, because it became melodic after a while and I slept though it anyway. Funny how things seem work out, huh?

Greetings from Suzhou

Well, I've been in Suzhou for two days now and I thought it was time for me to set out on the town. Work has consumed me for the past couple of days, working by day and dining with the hosts at night. Kind of leaves little time for excercise. So I put on my sneakers (a dead give away you're a foreigner, by-the-way), and walked around the town. Granted, it was after 10PM, many stores were already closed. But there were still a lot of people walking around, and plenty of Kareoke bars blasting away the night. Me? I went back and watched the rest of the Summer Olympics on TV, and watched the USA Womens Soccer Team beat Brazil in the Gold Medal match. Real exciting!

Welcome to Shanghai

Greetings from Shanghai. I'm merely passing through this city today, but I already feel like I'm lost. I think my first fear was that I didn't even know where I was going to stay. My hosts, as gracious and modest as they are, keep telling me not to worry, they will take care of me. Little did I remember, when you enter a country, you are supposed to declare where you are staying on the customs forms. Thoughts of being arrested on grounds of being a spy/criminal/or just plain up to no good started to race through my head. I'm sure being arrested in China is not all that great. Luckily, the guy at the customs counter took a look at me, and said OK. Horaay!

Leaving Singapore

Waiting at the Changi International Airport in Singapore, for my flight to Shanghai

Rest time

Today, was the first day I had to rest and relax here in Singapore. Work has been pretty busy and working on Saturday is very much a reality. Waking up late this morning was a real luxury to me, and being able to go to the hotel gym was also a nice change. My colleague and I went to lunch afterwards, and since it was his first time to in SIngapore, we decided to go down to the SunTec City Mall.

I'm not sure if everyone knows, but Singapore is just made of malls. I believe, if this city were to run out of space, which it has, it would continue to build malls sideways. Sort of.... at least, underground anyways (Citi Link Mall).

Now, at Suntec Mall, it is the home of the worlds largest fountain, the Suntec City Fountain of Wealth. What is special about this fountain, is that you can run to the center of the fountain and make a wish. In order to make it come true, you have to run three times around the center of the fountain, while touching the water as you circle inside the fountain. It was so LOUD in the center, but I got to make my wish. =)

We continued in the mall, and decided to go on one of the newest attractions in Singapore, the Singapore Duck Tour. It consists of a tour of Singapore in a Vietnam War Era amphibious transport vehicle. It's called the Duck tour, not only because you tour Singapore on land and on water, but the vehicle is actually painted like a Duck!. It starts at the Suntec City Mall, and continues towards the center of the city and the Parliment Building, just before diving into the water. It was an absolutely nice day to spend on the water.

For dinner, we decided to dine in at the hotel, at the Equinox Restuarant, atop the Swissotel-Stamford, on the 72nd Floor. I had a Minestrone Soup, a Roasted Duck Salad, and a light Linguine Pasta. Then a LycheeTini, at the bar next door. Not bad for "working" hard.

Night sky over Singapore

Skyline above the Singapore Parliment Building, 10:30PM

Passing through Hong Kong Internatinal Airport

I am on the road again, this time I am going to Singapore (again), and then to Shanghai and Suzhou, next week. The toughest part of this trip is going to be this week, so we'll see how I fare at the end of the week.

Mike's Beach Barbeque

Today was Mike's beach barbeque at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, near Santa Cruz. It was cold in the morning as I got there, but as the afternoon wore on, it became blazing hot! I am going to remember it for a while, because I've got the sunburns to remind me for the next few days. It was probably normal weather for Santa Cruz, but I don't think I'll ever learn to avoid being sunburned.

San Francisco Afternoon

Last night, as I was preparing some work I was doing for an upcoming business trip, I suddenly realized I did not yet get a Chinese Visa! I am leaving for Singapore and China this weekend, and everything just seems not ready. I have been so busy with work, lately, I literally did not have time to go have this taken care of. Luckily, the Chinese Embassy has an express one day turn around time, for an extra fee, but all this running around meant I got to spend the afternoon in San Francisco.

The Chinese Embassy is located, ironically, in the middle of the San Francisco Japantown. Chinese dominance, one small part of the world at a time. =P Afterwards, I drove through the city, down California Street, and then back to the office. My work, as I found, isn't going to do itself.....

Los Angeles Roadtrip - Day Three

On our last day of our roadtrip, Diana and I visited the UCLA campus with Ansen. It has been awhile since I last visited, but it's always had the sense of home to me. On this day, we ran amuck in the Dickson Plaza Sculpture Garden. It's surely art that must be touched!

Shortly after, we had quick lunch and began our journey home, with even more memories of LA.

And if anyone can answer, what the heck is this? I've been wondering about it for over ten years now, but it looks like a giant potato that hangs from a tree, in the Kerkoff Coffee House area. Please email me!

Los Angeles Roadtrip - Day Two

My "sad puppy dog" story...

So Diana was going to a barbeque down near Brea, in Orange County, yesterday, and I was going to simply hang out for the day. Since she knew I was going to just mill around for the day, she gave me Sabrina's extra set of house keys to keep, but in the back of my mind, I knew I didn't want to take it, because I knew somehow I would lose it. But Diana was concerned what I was going to do all day with everyone gone. Sabrina had left early in the morning for a summer fashion show and sale, Ansen was out to a business meeting, Jason was busy at home with prior plans, and Mike had Church, it being Sunday and all... But Diana reasoned to just take the keys anyway, at least come back to the house if I was bored. Ok, I thought.

My plan for the day was to just take the Santa Monica Blue bus (made famous in the movie Speed"), down to the Third Street Promenade and relax and listen to some of the bands playing on the street. I originally made the effort, because I wanted to get a CD from one particular band that I saw during my last road trip to LA. And if time permited, I was going to take the bus to UCLA, and tour the ol' stomping grounds. Relaxing day, right?

Well, after everyone left the house, I promptly got my things together, and walked down to the corner bus stop. I actually waited for a while, so I started calling friends on the cell phone, fidgeted with my camera, and kind of paced around the street corner, kicked around the light post, and sat on the hot plastic bus stop bench, thinking how nice it was in LA.

I finally got on the bus, and off I was to Santa Monica, so I thought. Halfway down the road to Santa Monica, felt my pockets were kind of empty, and I started wondering where Sabrina's key was, and a sudden paleness crept up over me. I didn't have the key! I looked all around the my seat on the bus, but it was not there! Crike!

By the time I realized it was not there, I was already in Santa Monica, just past the 20th Avenue Stop. Feeling like crap, I had to stop and go back, and look for the key. The last thing I wanted was someone to break into Sabrina's house, with the key I LOST! When I got off the bus, I thought I could simply walk back to the bus stop where I started. "It wasn't too far, and I might have to wait a while," I thought, since I had to wait for such a long time for the first bus, anyway. Plus, when I started, I had only brought exact change for the first leg of the of the trip, thinking I could get change for the bus ride back when I go shopping. It was the longest, and loneliest, 20-some-odd blocks I had to walk in a long time.

When I finally got back to the bus stop, the keys were not there, and I asked the shop right in front of the bus stop if anyone had turned in a set of keys, but no such luck. Since I was already back at Sabrina's house, I decided, I might as well face the music and see if anyone was home, or at least check if I left the keys in the house, funny if it were! But no one was home, everyone was still out. Dejected, and having lost an hour, I walked back to the bus stop, to try to salvage the day back in Santa Monica. Since I didn't have the 75 cents for the bus ride anymore, I went into a convienice store, to break a twenty dollar bill for some quarters. They rejected and so, I left with an even sadder face!

At least the Hollywood video store next door saw my sad face and made change for me. Just in time too, as the Blue bus was just approaching. I went to Third Street, and did all the things I wanted, which was just to relax for the day. It was a beautifully sunny afternoon, with a cool ocean breeze on Third Street. I listened to the music, and ducked in and out of a couple stores, and just made the best of it. Sabrina eventually called to find out what I was up to, and I told her I was having a good time, not knowing how to tell her I lost her key, but I told her anyway. Her true shock was, what the heck I was doing taking the bus in LA? Nobody takes the bus in LA!

She promptly came to picked me up, and decided to go have afternoon tea and deal with the missing keys later. We had tea and sandwiches at the Chado Tea Room in Beverly Hills, with Jenny, whom I have not seen in a long time. I got to catch up with her, and found out she just bought an Infinity G35 Coupe. I can't say I'm jealous, but I have to keep telling myself I'm past my coupe driving days. Maybe i'll shold just get a coupe myself, later on, when I hit my mid-life crisis. Maybe.

Anyways, we went back to Sabrina's house, afterwards, and just as we walked in, there it was! The missing house key, right on the coffee table, next to the laptop I was using to look up the new bus fares in Santa Monica! with the final insult to my injury, I plopped myself down on the counch, and just sat there, calm and colleceted. Well, I thought, how can I complain when in the end, I got to spend the afternoon with two pretty girls who picked me up from Santa Monica. It wasn't completely a bad day.

Jenny had to go, but the rest of us got back together again for dinner at Killer Shrimp out in Marina Del Rey. I've heard so much about it, that I had to go try it. Just from the name alone, you can probably guess what was on the menu, shrimp with pasta, shrimp with rice, and shrimp with bread. I had the latter and I loved it, so succulent and so sweet. Dessert was decided over Apple Pie a-la-Mode at Apple Pan, across from the Westside Pavillion Shopping Mall in LA.

Just absolutely too much adventure in one day!

Los Angeles Roadtrip - Day One

What happens when all you can think about is how to get "away" for a while, and suddenly a call comes to do just that? Road Trip!

Luckily, I didn't have any major plans for the weekend, so I called my boss, and told him I wasn't going to work on Monday! THREE day weekend! Woohoo! With all of our plans in place, Diana and I started at my house at 7:30 in the morning, yesterday, and drove down to LA. We made a few pitstops along the way on I-5, and she even let me drive her little Honda Prelude part the way. She did make me promise to treat it nicely, though.

We made it to LA around noon, and if you can guess how would you know you're in LA, you would instantly hit traffic, and in our case, all the way through the San Fernando Valley. Fighting traffic aside, we made it to Sabrina's house after the traffic, and went for lunch at La Bottega, one of Diana's favorite little restuarants, on Santa Monica Blvd, in West LA.

Then rollerblading at Santa Monica Beach, and Happy Hour at the Raddisson Hotel in Santa Monica, all before 5PM! Sabrina had to take off for a concert, which kind of left us home alone, so what would any sane person do? We drove over to another friend's apartment, Ansen's, and simply broke into his apartment. Talk about cheap security in LA! HA!

Diana, being the consummate party planner, was already planning out the rest of her weekend, while we waited for him. Me? I was just looking forward to chill for the weekend. Ansen, did finally come back, and kind of looked at us in disbelief, being INSIDE his apartment, but he took in stride. I got his permission to enter, I swear! Ansen's great for a few things, I guess. He got us into a pretty swank club in Hollywood, Club Prey, and I'm not even a clubbing person. But, how many guys get girls who buy them drinks, anyway? Is it really a problem?

Now, by this time, missing dinner was starting to take it's toll. No problem, right? A quick call to Sabrina, and dinner is on at 2AM at the Garden Cafe in Monterey Park. What a day!

Drive a Mercedes!

I love cars. Often times, I can't seem to say that enough. When I see a nice car, I always can't help think how they are constructed, how the individual parts work, and how much thought was put into it.

Today, I got to ponder just that at the "Love Mercedes Tour". It was the start of their Summer promotional tour, and it struck me as I was getting out of a Mercedes Benz E500. I immediately smelled something funny, and it was the faint smell of burnt rubber. "Man, this just kicks ass!", I thought. I had just peeled out from the water slick start, drifted through the slalom, pulled through the gentle hairpin turn, and blew through the evasive maneuveres section. I loved every minute of it!

Ass kicking aside, the event was the second day of a kickoff to a 12 city tour, at Alameda Point, on the grounds of the old Alameda Naval Staion, across the bay from San Francisco by Mercedes Benz. In the course of the day, with the San Francisco skyline as the backdrop, I got to drive an E500 4matic, S430 4matic, CLK320 Cabriolet, the New SLK350, and finally an E320. They had a lot of other cars, too, but those lines were too long for me to actually wait. They were lines for other cars, such as the new SL500, CLK500, and S500. However, I had so much fun in the E500 4matic, I think I may have to get one for myself!

They had two road courses for the cars, and an offroad "Experience" course for the SUV's, in which a Mercedes rep actually drives you through the course. I thought, "What a rip! No way!" I stayed on the road courses, in which the guy at the start line really says, "Ready?.... ok, PUNCH it!"

That should be the motto for all great things.