un-environmental

So I realized that once winter comes, all my good tree-hugging, conservation, sustainable thoughts go out the window. If you know me, you know that I hate *hate* being cold. So now I leave the heater on to warm up my room. I have a heated blanket on the couch when I watch tv. I let the water run when I brush my teeth so that it's warm when I wash my face. I have the heat lamp on when I shower. *sigh* I'm horrible. But I promise to be better once it's warmer. Promise!

announcement: an additon to the timbuk2 family

I've been eyeing the floral print timbuk2 bag for a while now but I was loathe to get it because I already have 3 bags (!!!)...but then came Sportsbasement and a nice UCSF 20% discount! So, of course, I got the bag and now it's part of my timbuk2 family. :)

the family

medium, small, extra small

beretta

Update: pictures c/o Lenh

Last night Lenh, Annie, and I went to Beretta, a small, understated place on the corner of Valencia and 23rd. Though the facade wasn't very remarkable the interior had a warm and cozy feel to it. The place is definitely popular, we had made reservations and we still had to wait for a bit on a Tuesday night.

But that was fine, their cocktail list was full of fun combinations that you wouldn't have thought of. I got the Lonsdale which is a gin, apple, lemon, honey, and basil concoction. It had a great fresh taste to it and the basil made it smell extra good!

After drooling over the menu while we were waiting, we ordered almost right away; the waitress hadn't even given us water yet. We got the lamb chops with arugula & goat milk yogurt, prosciutto di parma, tomato, arugula & mozzarella pizza, porcini mushrooms & barbera risotto, and a baked herbed halibut dish. They were all really good. Though there were two tiny things: the thin part of the halibut was a little dry and the risotto could have been on for a minute more. But all really good and everything was so fresh tasting.

But what we really gorged on was dessert. I would come back here just for dessert and I don't even like dessert! We each ordered one: moscato-marinated strawberry tart with mascarpone, mission figs, honey rosemary syrup & goat cheese gelato, and bonet-chocolate gelato with amaretti & caramel. They were all amazing.

I highly highly recommend coming here! I'm excited to go back. :)

sf bicycle ballet: a subculture experience!

Being a fan of Timbuk2 on facebook leads to interesting things. There was an article/blog that Timbuk2 featured from 7x7.com about the SF Bicycle Ballet and I was like oooo! random! must go! So Dev and I met up at Hard Knox for a nice fried chicken dinner and then crossed the street to the Dogpatch Saloon. After sitting and drinking for an hour and watching sports on tiny tvs, we walked 4 blocks to an overpass so that we could look down on the bike ballet performance. Here are some cool shots [the rest are here]:

There were definitely scary moments as well, like when cars would drive through the street [cuz it was their right of way] or when they would turn on a dime close to each other. But really the scariest moment was when the unicycle decided that he was in Critical Mass and was barreling down on a car, playing chicken with it. That was a bit much. But otherwise, a very interesting and creative experience.

down under: day 13

We woke up the next day to rain. We were going to try to go up Mt. Cargill again but it was pointless at that point. So what ended up happening we me watching Boise and Naomi play the guitar and ukulele to random songs all morning. It was pretty funny. I wish I had a video of it. Then Boise made the frosting for a Pavlova cake and added kiwi fruits to it. [Cuz the people of New Zealand are called Kiwis and to just say Kiwi would be cannibalism!] It's basically this denser version of meringue and the whole thing is basically that. Basically the whole thing was: sugar, eggs, milk, kiwi fruit. I could only finish half of the piece Boise cut for me. Sugar overload. There's also a dispute of whether it's a New Zealand invention or an Australian one. Funny.

Then off we were to the airport. It was really weird cuz there's no security to go through. You just check in and stay in the cafe area until your flight is being called. It was a little shocking. And the plane I was on to Christchurch was the smallest aircraft I've ever been on. The next flight back to Sydney was a little more normal. I got Uncle Peter some Maker's Mark and I hope that he likes it. Maker's is awesome. But yeah, apparently you have to pay a departure fee when you leave New Zealand. It was a little surprising since I thought that would have been covered in the plane ticket but it seemed like everyone had to pay it. So weird. It was 25NZD which came out to about 20USD. Not so bad, but it was surprising.

The 3 hour flight wasn't bad at all, I just watched old House episodes that I hadn't seen yet. It was good. And when I got to the airport, it was also really easy to take the train to Seven Hills and it was about 18AUSD. It took about an hour but it was better than having Uncle Peter drive out to get me and then have to drive me to the airport the next day. It was really easy, get off at Central and then head to Platform 18 to the Western Suburbs. Everything went smoothly.
Dinner with the family, meeting John, having a good chat with Auntie Winnie and Uncle Peter over breakfast, buying Tim Tams, lunch at PoPo's, headed to the airport.

Another trip done. Sydney was amazing. And I want to definitely come back and just travel down the east coast from the Gold Coast to Melbourne. And if I had to describe Dunedin, the first word that would pop out is green. I guess I came at the right time [even though it was kind of freezing for me] since the hills were just so green. It would be what I would imagine Ireland looking like. I can't wait to come back and see more of it!

down under: day 12

Officially my last day in Dunedin and we decided to drive up a road to the Otago Peninsula to see the ocean, see the yellow eyed penguins, and then head to Boise's church. The views were awesome with the green pastoral hills, the sandy beaches, and the blue blue ocean. Lovely. Then we headed to Penguin Place for our tour. It's actually land that a local farmer has dedicated to these penguins because there are so endangered. They are trying to replant the trees around there so that the penguins will have shade so that their eggs are protected from the sun. There are only about 18 breeding pairs in the area now. They are the 2nd tallest penguins in the world. We were in a group with an Indian family and they were definitely in tourist mode and kept getting too close to the penguins. And the lady totally pushed me aside cuz she wanted to get ahead of me. Reminded me of old Chinese ladies in Chinatown. The refuge made trenches/bunkers so that we could see them without disturbing them. It's currently nesting season so most of the penguins were sitting on their eggs and not really walking around. It was still pretty awesome to see them. Two penguin encounters in two day is so worth it.

After that, we were starving. Boise decided to try to find fish and chips for me but the place was closed. We settled on a kebab instead. It was pretty yummy except it was one of the messiest things I've ever eaten even though it was warmed in foil. Couscous should not be wrapped so loosely. I guess it didn't help that we needed to head to the church right away or Boise would have been late for rehearsal.

It was definitely interesting watching the interaction of the people at the church. You can see the camaraderie, the sometimes frustration, but there's always the sense of community. It's admirable and a tad frightening to be able to believe in something that wholly. For example, during on the sermons, she was talking about how we're not really descendants of blob organisms. I just don't have the faith to believe that we weren't. The scientist and the logic in me rejects that. But it was definitely an experience going to church, since I've never done it before.

Afterwards a group of the kids decided to go to the Dino/Whale Park with some food to hang out. They are some fun and interesting kids. Oh speaking of kids, Boise introduced me to one of them and the first thing that came out of his mouth was: Oh, you weren't what I expected. And I just had to retort: So, *did* you expect? Cuz I just really wanted him to say, I expected you to be white. But he just muttered something and didn't answer me. I know that yes, he's just a kid and doesn't know better but a part of me wonders about it race and expectations of being an American. Hopefully he'll learn 1) not to have expectations about people and 2) learn how to keep his surprise to himself when he's confronted with something not in his expectations. Interesting.

Anywho, back to the kids, after eating outside in the freezing-ness, They decided to jump over the whale that was in the play structure. The whole thing was pretty funny. They're a good bunch. After they tired of that, we went to Boise's to see Wolverine since it was filmed in Dunedin. It was a horrible movie cuz everything was just overly dramatic. It totally could have been a good movie. Ah well.

down under: day 11

We actually didn't wake up as late as we thought. But we didn't head out to Central until after we went to the Farmer's Market. It was like any other farmer's market but they did have this interesting militia band thing come through. Not sure what that was all about but it was funny. The "queen" was wearing a cabbage bra over her clothes and had a broccoli sceptre. We started the day with more meat: a bacon buttie. Basically white bread, bacon, onions, tomato sauce, and mustard. [And yes, I ate the onions!] Healthiest thing ever.

After roaming around for a bit and playing guitar at the Octagon, Boise and I started our drive to Central Otago where we were going to see a mountain range called the Remarkables. I once again fell asleep on the long drive. It was so warm and car rides are always so soothing. But on the bits I was awake, there were lots of green pastures with mainly sheep but other farm animals as well. It was a really pretty drive. We ended up in Alexandra where we weren't super close to the Remarkables but it was pretty nonetheless. Boise was telling me 3 weeks ago, it had even more snow, now it was a bit naked. We ate at a really cute cafe called the Red Brick Cafe and Wine Bar. It was very cutely decorated and it had this great back patio area with a huge screen above to shade people from the sun. I had fish and chips cuz apparently it's really popular in New Zealand but Boise said that it was way too upscale and that I really needed to try the really greasy ones from the mom and pop stores. It was still good; it had a really good light tempura coating which is what I like. I mean, tasting the fish is the most important part to me. Boise was actually good and got a healthy portabella salad. It looked good too. Soon after that we had to drive back since we had plans to go visit Boise's friends Bob and Bridget to see the blue/fairy penguins. On the way back, Boise let me drive partially back. It was a little strange driving on the left side of the road but it wasn't too bad. The most confusing part I think was where the blinkers are since they are on the right side instead of the left. I didn't do any roundabouts so I was good to go. It was good fun trying to navigate the narrow roads.

So we got back and we were off to the Otago Peninsula to where Bob and Bridget lives in Portobella. Bob and Bridget are friends of Boise's through church. They're really lovely and we had a good time talking about various topics. The view of the Harbour from their house is gorgeous. Bob made us a really good dinner of steak, potatoes, and baked beans. [I've never had baked beans before, it was quite good.] We then, bundled up and went to see the blue penguins. They are the smallest penguins in the world and they have nests burrowed into the ground to keep their eggs protected. They spend all day fishing and then come ashore at night to feed their young. There is a viewing area where you can see them if you're patient since they only come out when it's almost night time. Bob and Bridget came out the night before to see them and they said many of the penguins walked up very close to them as they stood watching them. So I was super excited. I brought my camera even though I knew the pictures weren't going to be good since flash would scare them away. So we waited near the fence and finally saw one penguin come up and scope out the area. Then a while later, a whole phalanx of them swimming ashore. They all stood there for a bit and then started hopping and walking up the hill. It was pretty dark by then so it was hard to see them walking up, so we walked further up the path we came down. After standing there for a little there were a few that were walking up the road. You could hear the scuffling noises they made from they feet on the gravelly road. They were so cute! One of them walked directly in front of us. It was probably about a foot away. I think we were in its way since it walked around us to the brush behind us. It was just so awesome to be that close to them. And as we walked up we saw a few more headed to their nests. It was just an amazing experience. I *heart* penguins.

When we got back to Bob and Bridget's, Bob made us an awesome hot toddy. While we all warmed up, they told us the story of how their passports, marriage certificates, credit cards etc. were stolen and they thought the worse since it was a complete ID package for two people but 5 years later the local police found it: a fisherman found them in the harbour. They have the remnants of their marriage certificate framed. It was amazing. I really do hope they come visit me in San Francisco, I think we would have a great time. :)

So I realized that when we got back to the flat that the link Oona had sent was for the yellowed eyed penguins. So I looked at the website to see how much it cost but it didn't give any of that information. I decided to call them and SOMEONE PICKED UP! It was 12:30 in the morning at that point. I was just hoping that there would be an automated machine! I bet that poor woman hates me. I didn't really know what to do after I realized that a real person answered the phone so I asked anyways, 40$ for adults. Blargh, I felt so bad.

down under: day 10

After another day sleeping in when Boise had already gone out and bought food for a Maori boil up for lunch, I got up and we went to Mash Cafe to try out meat pies. It's apparently a big New Zealand or South Islander thing. When I thought pie, I didn't expect this flaky pastry like thing. It's actually quite good. I had a beef and Guinness one. YUM! I have to say that I'm a fan. Maybe I can experiment with filo dough? And coffee here has different names: coffee with milk is called a flat white, black coffee is called long black. That's all I know though. Speaking of New Zealand things, they have this term Sweet As which is like they want to finish the analogy but then ends it. It's quite funny.

After a great breakfast of meat pie and coffee, we attempted to find Mt. Cargill [pronounced more like car-go]. We went up a few roads but we weren't really successful. We did get some nice scenes of the Northeast Valley though. It's so pretty that you have the harbour on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. The views were stunning, especially since the clouds went away and the sun was shinning. Another thing about the area is that the roads around there are really narrow and windy but the locals go 100km on them. Craziness! You're right on the cliff!! So we couldn't find it and it was time for the boil up.

A boil up is a Maori tradition where you get pork on the bone and have all these different vegetables mixed in. And you basically boil it until the meat falls off the bones. The interns at Boise's church made it for us and it was nice to meet them in small batches since she told everyone that I was coming! Talk about nervousness! But it all went well and the food was delicious. One of her friends Desiree was really funny when she was introduced to me. She was like, Hi Janet *pause* Jew... Haha, it was funny and I was a bit taken aback since that means Boise was calling me by my full name! Boise! The weather was nicer, so they set up a table outside and everything. So nice.

So after eating meat in the morning and meat in the afternoon, we go to the Speight's Brewery for a tour. It's interesting that it's a gravity factory where they put all the ingredients in the top and slowly refine it so that it becomes beer. Efficient. The tour guide was pretty nice in that she let us see all the behind the things like seeing the new apricot brew for the summer when it was in a gyle fermenting. And since we were the last tour, it seemed like they weren't in a big rush to get us out of the tasting room afterwards. It was pretty awesome but we didn't stay for very long since it was a lot of beer. The Old Dark was my favorite of the lot. The porter was okay but it was way too chocolaty. The rest were okay. I didn't really like or hate the original one but the others were way light. Beer tours are fun!

More meat was to happen when Boise made a lamb roast with potatoes, komura and carrots that I picked out. It was a little dry but overall really yummy. I think I ate more meat that day than I had in the past month. We watched another movie while we were eating called Sione's Wedding. It was basically about 4 friends that have been getting into trouble by being too drunk at weddings so they were banned from the wedding of one of the guy's brother. To be able to attend the wedding, they need to be able to find dates to bring. There were definitely some funny moments in it. A nice light dinner time eating movie.

After dinner, we all got ready to go to Port Chalmers to see one of Boise's friends play at the Chick Hotel, Nadia Reed. Naomi's friend Colin also came with; he lives right across the street from them. Nadia is quite a talented singer/songwriter. But then the other acts afterwards were really weird. The second one was this kinda bluegrass band and the lead singer was dressed very granola. She also made really weird comments inbetween songs and I think she was going for an American accent but not really. The third act might have been okay, Van Klapp, but the venue was way too small for them and it just sounded a bit awkward. We left after two songs since it was late and the music wasn't so good. We then proceeded to drive to Mt. Cargill since Naomi knew the way. The road up was really uneven in some places and I'm so impressed that the tires of the car didn't pop. It was freezing up there and we left soon after. After getting back, we proceeded to stay up until 3 listening to Kiwi music and talking about nothing. So much for being tired. The plan was to go to Central Otago the next day but I doubt that's going to happen at this point.

down under: day 9

After sleeping in until 10, I woke up and there was breakfast all set for me. I felt so special :) Boise had some things to do until noon, so I just hung out at the flat till she got back. It was nice sitting around reading and doing nothing for a bit. I did scare Naomi though. I was sitting in the lounge reading and she forgot that I was in the flat. When she walked through the curtain, she didn't expect to see me and was totally startled. I felt so bad. But I felt fortunate that she didn't start beating on me since Boise once scared her and Naomi started beating her. Lucky. :)

So when Boise got back, we drove out to Tunnel Beach. The plan was to have lunch at her pastor's house and then hike down to Tunnel Beach. Nan made us a lovely lunch. She is such a lovely lady and we had a good time chatting about her very large and growing family. She's already a great grandmother! Also there, I tried Marmite, which is the cousin of Vegemite, and I think it tastes exactly the same, which was, ick. It definitely is an acquired taste. To me it also tasted salty and bitter. So weird. After a very nice lunch and a cup of tea, we were pondering if we really wanted to go walk down since it was still rainy. And it was a good thing we didn't because after sitting for a bit in the lounge, it started hailing. It would have been a 20 minute hike down and a 40 minute hike up since it's very steep. So the hail would have gotten us right when we were on the bottom about to come back up. But apparently it's normal in Dunedin to have all 4 seasons in one day. Strangeness. So we sat watching the hail and after awhile said our goodbyes.

Since we didn't go to Tunnel Beach, we decided to go to Cadbury World instead. It was actually pretty fun running around their waiting area taking stupid pictures. :) The tour itself was pretty fascinating since you did get to see how they produced some of their chocolates. Being the last tour of the day at 3:30 wasn't the greatest though since some of the machinery is already shut down. But it was still interesting to see the conveyor belts going and the boxes of finished goods moving down them. I still think the last bit in the silo was the best part. We all stepped into the purple silo where it's all really for show but in there, you can see a ton, literally a ton, of chocolate being released from the top of the silo down vats about 5 floors high. They have a generator that pumps the chocolate from below from the previous tour to the top of the silo. The chocolate is warmed up to melted consistency and then released. It was like a waterfall of chocolate falling down. The chocolate isn't consumed and is thrown away after a while but still the idea of a ton of chocolate is crazy. The only Cadbury products I eat are the chocolate mini eggs that they have in the spring but I've learned that those are made by the Hersey Company. The products we saw will mainly be consumed by New Zealanders and maybe Australians. Oh, and the other interesting fact is that while chocolate was actually invented in Dunedin. Cool, huh?

After the tour, we still had some time to kill before Boise had to go to church to rehearse guitar with her group, so we drove up to Signal Hill. We didn't really last very long up there since it was FREEZING and windy. We ran around a bit like crazy people and took some pictures. There's an awesome one with Boise wearing the hair net/hair cap thing we had to wear at Cadbury climbing on the women statue. Craziness. :)

I got a take away dinner of Pud Thai as they called it and read some more. The Pud Thai wasn't so bad except that it tasted like it had a bit of tomato sauce [i.e. ketchup]. Pretty good overall. Boise came back and we didn't really know what to do next. We tried to find a movie to watch at an actual theatre but movies here shut down early. So she texted her friend Vicky to see what Kiwi movies that I have to watch. The first one was Whalerider but I had already watched it. Another suggestion was this crazy true story movie about two girls that couldn't bear to be apart from one another and their families that thought it wasn't healthy so they plotted to kill one of the moms. Um, not really my type of movie. So Vicky actually came over with a bunch of Kiwi movies and one Australian one I think for us to chose from. I wasn't really in the mood for a drama so we picked Second Hand Wedding. It was one of those really bad comedies where you don't care about the main characters cuz it's so predictable but the side characters are really entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed but I don't think Vicky was too happy with it. She kept exclaiming throughout the movie about how it was cheesy [which it was] and how characters should have been cut from the movie [which they could have]. Everything she said was true but some of it was just so sweet and cute and funny. Haha, great time killer. And it was also one of those movies that you could make comments watching it since you already knew the plot. It was great fun.

We were going to practice my driving on the left hand side of the road that night too but it was just too cold. Maybe another day. ;)

down under: day 8

After waking up early since we were going to hit peak traffic, we were off to the airport. It took us a bit to get there but I was passed out most of the way. :) Checking in here is nothing like checking in in the States; everything goes by much faster and smoother. I guess it also helps when you're not checking in baggage. I had lots of time to kill so I got stamps downstairs to send postcards and then headed back up to through the check point and gates. The flight wasn't even remotely full when we left and I entertained myself by watching House and 30 Rock. The 3 hour flight went by really quickly. There was even food served that I wasn't even expecting. We landed and it was probably one of the worse landings I've ever had...a 2 of 10 I have to say. Getting through customs was easy enough since I don't have anything except my clothes. The walk over from the International to the Domestic one is a bit weird though. It's well marked and everything but it just seemed so deserted. It was a little eerie when I saw some guy sitting on one of the benches not doing anything. But after 900m and a suggested time of 12 minutes, I got to the Domestic terminal. I went through security and I got to my gate and there was NO ONE there! I was a little scared that I had missed my flight or I was at the wrong gate but eventually other people came and sat behind me so I feel a little better now. As a look out the window, the sky is no longer blue but is instead filled with grey clouds. Tut tut, it looks like rain. People are deboarding right now so hopefully the aircraft will be all set to go!

The flight to Dunedin wasn't so bad. The two hours went by pretty quickly. And then I was there and Boise was at the airport to pick me up. It was good seeing, we reckon it's been 5 years now since we've last seen each other! And I met her flatmate Naomi who's actual from the North Island. The weather here is a bit unpredictable. Showers one moment, sun the next. Hopefully in our explorations the weather will stay unrainy.

down under: day 7

Finally! Animals! Anuska works at the Featherdale Wildlife Park and was able to get us 2 free tickets. [Thanks Anuska!] Originally, Mommy and Dad didn't want to go but they were convinced. The place isn't very big but you're able to walk around and actually get close to the animals. I patted a koala! [They call it patting here instead of petting.] It was the only one I touched since the others moved around way too quickly. :) It's fur is surprising coarse...well, maybe not surprising...I wasn't sure what to expect. We walked around and took lots of pictures. There were so many birds and their squawking was pretty annoying but some of them were pretty. It was everything I wanted and more! ;)

After walking around, we went and got some fixing for Wednesday night dinner that I'm not going to be here for. They're getting primerib [or something similar to it]! No fair! :) Then we went over to PoPo's for dinner where I basically passed in and out of on her couch. It's been really warm...at least in the high 80s, I'm not used to such weather. Mom made dinner and it was yummy as always. We got back home after saying our goodbyes and I started packing for Kiwi Land. It's been a fun trip so far and big kudos to Uncle Peter for driving us everywhere! Looking forward to see what New Zealand brings.

down under: day 6

Today PoPo wanted us to accompany her to buy some shoes. Uncle Peter drove us to the Blacktown mall so that we'd be closer to the Featherdale Wildlife Park but when we got there, PoPo didn't recognize any of the stores to get her to the shoe store that she likes. After roaming around for a bit, we realized that we were in the wrong mall! She was expecting Parramatta, not Blacktown. So when we trekked over to Parramatta and found the shoes that she wanted. Then we had soup noodles, chow fun and chow mien for lunch since PoPo said she wanted to take us out for lunch. The soup noodles and mien were pretty good but the fun was just okay. There was too much baking soda in the beef in the fun and the noodles were really soft. But otherwise it was yummy. I love soup noodles!

So once again, we didn't really have time to go to see animals but it was okay, this was for family time. I got back to Uncle Peter's and completely crashed. I guess I was *that* tired.

Amie, Irene, and I made plans to go see Sydney at night so after a really nice nap, we headed out. Their family friend Anuska and Irene's boyfriend also came with. Annie still has a couple years to go, so she didn't get to accompany us. Legal drinking age here is 18. We went to this restaurant called the Helm Bar. Uncle Tony earlier was raving about the Angus beef burger in Australia so I had to try it for myself. I'd realized up to this point that I've only had asian food except for the Turkish Golzeme at a small food festival in The Rocks. As an appetizer, we had this really good bread with 3 dips. We all mostly ordered the burger but Anuska ordered this yummy looking salmon and Amie ordered a lambshank salad. The burger was huge! I not only had to cut it in half but I ended up making it an open faced sandwich since I couldn't eat the whole bun. I don't know how much meat there was but it was a lot and it also had canadian bacon which I like so much better than regular bacon. So good! But it was strange, cuz they don't ask how you want your burger. Our waitress was also really funny. She kept making "meh" noises. But not used the way I would use "meh" like it was "blah." It was more like an attention getter since she used it at the beginning of the sentence. We all tried not to giggle when she came around. It became a running joke the rest of the night.

After a delightful and filling dinner, we walked around the harbour. Since it was Monday night, there wasn't a lot of people around but I was fine with that. We stopped by one of the bars since it had cocktail hour. Baia is like one of those upscale tourist traps but not really at the same time. I ordered a Purple People Eater that looked more grey purple than actual purple. It was okay, it tasted a bit like cough syrup. Anuska ordered the Cococabana which was bright blue and it really tasted like cough syrup. Ryan's berry champagne drink was pretty good too. But the best one was Irene's Crime of Passion. The bar was a little strange. Instead of having nondescript bottles to put other liquors/liquids, they reused bottles from other liquors and put hand written labels on them. I'm all for reusing but it just seems really unprofessional.

Ryan suggested ice cream so we walked around the harbour some more and found an ice cream place. They had some pretty standard flavors so I decided to get something different with the blood orange sorbet. It had a really strong flavor to it but it was really refreshing.

We went to one more place after ice cream, I think it was called the Bottle Mart but I could tell if that was its name or if it was a indication that they sold bottles. Anuska got us this cranberry, vodka, peach schnapps drink that I'm sure has a name but I don't know. It was pretty dangerous since I couldn't taste any of the alcohol. It's one of those drinks that if you had a few, you'd be on the floor not knowing why. After ordering, we went to the upstairs area of the bar which looked completely different from the bottom. The bottom looked like any other bar: bar, stools, dark. But upstairs, it looked like someone's house: well lit, nice couches, really interesting light fixtures. It even had two tvs one showing a football game and the other playing the Phils vs. the Dodgers. And the Dodgers were losing so it was even more awesome!

We called it a night after that since it was really late and everyone had work the next day. A big thank you to my cousins for showing me around!

down under: day 5

Today I thought I was going to see animals but I was foiled! Instead we drove south of Sydney to the Wollongong area see the Nan Tien Temple and the Kiama Blowhole. The drive was windy like most coastal drives but apparently I was really tired cuz I totally fell asleep. Long car rides always causes me to nap. Apparently my neck kept going at weird angles because Mom kept pushing my neck back up. Better than getting a crick in the neck. :) The first stop was along the coastline of Wollongong. There is a walkway that you can walk up after you park but we decided to just take pictures near the parking area. The area is dotted with many small beaches. We stopped at one of them and walked around. The sand was really interesting. It was dry but it also seemed to have a cohesive quality to it as well. It's hard to describe...maybe cuz it's finer than the rocky sand we have in San Francisco? Not sure.

Our next stop was to visit the Nan Tien Temple. It was pretty impressive. The place was huge and really new looking. I think it's less than 10 years old? They definitely spent a lot of money on it. Which sometimes seems hypocritical to me since monks are supposed to give up all material items. I know that it's not them giving up the money for it, it's all the believers that donate the monies, but still... seems odd to me. Anyways, we walked around the grounds and it has all these cute little monks spread all over. I like seeing temples but I get headaches from all the incense so I was feeling a little queasy and I'm sure I was a little dehydrated. We stopped by their Dew Drop Cafe to partake in their vegetarian fare. It was good if a little salty. I think they have it salty to compensate for the lack of meat. The wontons were a little mushy for me...I think I definitely need meat with them. The mushroom and tofu one was good but it didn't have a lot of mushrooms and the tofu was the really dry variety. I was expecting the tofu to be the fried on the outside, soft in the inside type. And lastly we had this "ham" and vegetable one. I couldn't figure out what they made the ham out of but it wasn't too bad. I still don't see the reason for having "ham" if you're vegetarian. All in all, it was definitely sometime that most people wouldn't see.

We drove further down the coast to see the Kiama Blowhole. It's a hole that formed naturally in the volcanic rock and when the tide builds up high enough, water is forced through the hole in a spray. It was slightly like watching grass grow since you had to wait for it and wait for it. But I think I got some good pictures with the continuous shot mode. New cameras are fun!

After a long day in the sun and doing a bit of walking, we headed to Vincent's Kitchen to have dinner with Uncle Peter's family. The food was good and they had big portions. I think we could have ordered one less dish since we were all female except Dad and Uncle Peter. And it was nice to sit down all together and talk. I think that's one of the best things about this trip, being able to get to know our relatives.

down under: day 4

Not much going on today since Uncle Peter needed to take Auntie Kam and Uncle Wing to the airport. We went over to PoPo's in the morning and had noodles. The soup noodles had parsley which everyone seems to love except me. Ick. We sat and chatted for a while before it was time to leave for the airport. I found some old picture albums and looked through them while the grown ups talked some more. It was good to see Auntie Kam in good spirits and sprightly. Since I was the odd person out, Uncle Tony drove me back to Uncle Peter's while Mom, Dad, Auntie Kam and Uncle Wing all went to the airport. It was okay since Amie, Irene, Annie and I made plans to watch the movies later on. Amie and I had a good "get to know" talk with we were walking Buddy. It was a very nice day and not too windy and we walked around the neighborhood. Toongabbie is just like any other suburb: things are quiet and clean. :)

Auntie Winnie came with us to the movies so it was nice to chat with everyone. We watched Mao's Last Dancer which I had never heard of before but it was about a Chinese ballet dancer that came to the United States for an exchange program and then didn't want to go back. This was during the time when Communist China was very much in effect [as opposed to now where things are much more lax] so it was very politically charged. It was a really good movie and it's actually based on an autobiography of Li Cunxin. I recommend watching it. But perhaps not in Australia...movie tickets are really expensive. I can see why my cousins don't go out to the movies a lot.

After the movies, we went to Sushi Bay which is a sushi train place. The food was decent there; I'd compare it to Kiki's: not good, not bad. It was hard to recognize what the different sushi were though and I notice that they use a lot of tuna but like tuna sandwich tuna. Can't say I was a fan of that. But it hit the spot...*heart* sushi :)

down under: day 3

It's 10am right now and we were supposed to go to Sydney proper to the Darling Harbour area. But we got a call this morning that Auntie Kam wasn't feeling well. Mommy and Dad went to PoPo's and Uncle Peter took Auntie Kam and Uncle Wing to the hospital. Annie and I are holding down the fort. Hopefully they'll call when they hear something.

Everything was fine. Auntie Kam went to the doctors and is probably going to need to see the doctor when she gets back but is fine to fly out tomorrow. With that piece of good news, we're continuing with our plans. We took the train to from Toongabbie to Milson's Point to view the Opera House. It was a gorgeous day and the pictures turned out really nice! We then walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge so that we could see the Opera House up close. Apparently for some sum, you can pay to walk across the arch of the bridge. I'm not sure that there were many people doing it today since it was so windy. And I don't think anyone could pay me to actually do it...scary.

After walking around the Opera House and seeing it in all its glory, we went to the aquarium. It's a pretty extensive aquarium but not as big as Monterey I don't think. There was the normal stuff but also some really cool tropical barrier reef fish. They had a dugong exhibit that was really amazing and also a shark one that was really cool. We were in a bit of a rush since we had to get back to cook dinner at Uncle Peter's house but I always love aquariums. :)

The train ride back took a bit longer since there wasn't a direct train back. One thing that I noticed about people on the train is that they're not very nice. No "excuse me"s or "pardon"s. Some common courtesy would be nice. Instead I got pushed around a bit on the crowded afterwork train. Annoyance.

We got back with plenty of time and all the grown ups made dinner. It was great! There were these flat peas with bell peppers, garlic shoots with shrimp [first time ever eating garlic shoots], really tender steak, noodles with napa cabbage soup, lettuce with oyster sauce, and corn. Nom nom nom!

It was Uncle George and Auntie Shirley's last day before flying out to Hong Kong and then doing a China tour early in the morning. So we said our goodbyes and hopefully they will visit us in the States soon!

down under: day 2

We woke up at 5:30am, well I didn't wake up cuz I wanted to, Mommy turned on overhead light. But of course we're all awake now. This is what happens when you sleep early!

I lazed around for a little bit longer and then we headed out to see the Blue Mountains. The drive took about an hour and a half but the views were so worth it! It was crazy windy and chilly so I was glad that we brought extra clothes. Uncle George and Auntie Shirley bought some macadamia nuts chocolates where the nuts are grown in Australia and kangaroo jerky (!!). The jerky wasn't so bad...almost like beef but there was a little bit of a gamey taste at the end.

From the view on top, the forest below was thickly covered with eucalyptus giving the mountains its "blue" color. There was also a trio of rocks there called the Three Sisters which are made of sandstone. There is a path to climb down to the Sister on the left. The stairs were really steep going down and footing wasn't so great but it was a great view on the bottom. Climbing back was a bit tough on Mommy and we had to rest for a bit. That was a little worrisome. But she caught her breath and we continued up.

Next we drove a little further to ride a railway, cableway, and walkway at Scenic World. The descent on the ravine was really steep and they created a rail to go down it. At the bottom, there was a walkway that showed different flora and also old coal mining shafts and tools. I can't imagine going down something that steep back in the day without proper safety precautions to mine coal. To go back up we went on a cable car that took us back up. It was such a tourist thing to do but it was fun. :)

After that, we were all starving so we had dimsum at Rhodes Phoenix. We definitely were hungry because we inhaled all the food in 30 minutes! The food was pretty good but not stellar. And things are definitely more expensive here but that's to be expected since most things are imported. Uncle George kept us all laughing and Auntie Kam added to it too. We're a loud bunch. Uncle George likes to make fun of my "little girl" voice. Hey! I can't help it! That's my voice, I can't change it! :D

We had time to kill but not enough to head back to Toongabbie so we went to the mall where our dinner was going to be. It was a Westfield mall; guess they're everywhere! It was huge and apparently on thursday nights, it's called shopping night and they're open until 9pm. Just one day open until 9? Craziness. So we walked around and just window shopped [since things were crazy expensive.] But I did find a pair of sunglasses that work! 25$ AUS which basically is 25$ US since the exchange rate is almost 1:1 but Australia has the advantage. I'm pretty excited for my 400UV ray protection sunglasses. It was weird walking around without sunglasses.

Finally it was time for dinner. We went to Prince Restaurant and we had our own room since there were 15 of us. The only problem was that the previous people who booked it were smoking. Super gross. In private rooms, people are allowed to smoke, which doesn't make any sense to me. But it was good to meet more of my cousins and the food was good. Our waitress was really funny too and added to the conversation. And there was conversation, lots of it! Uncle George and Dad were being troublemakers with their joking around. But it was good to see everyone together. Coincidentally it was Auntie Shirley's actual birthday so we sang happy birthday twice...once for an early birthday for PoPo and one for Auntie Shirley. I had a great time and was super stuffed. Fun fun fun times!

down under: day 1

It's 10pm right now and the jet lag has finally gotten to me. After a near perfect landing [seriously the best I've ever experienced], we had to go through customs since we brought over some ginseng as presents for the family. It was actually wasn't as painful as I thought it'd be. I think we went through customs and quarantine in less than 30 minutes. The "to" flight was pretty good with not much wait time in lines.

So we got out and waited for Uncle Peter and Auntie Kam and waited and waited. Mommy even wore a really bright red jacket so that they could spot us easily. We called Uncle Peter's cell phone [thank goodness Mommy had some Aussie coins from her last trip] and they finally found us. There was an accident and it caused delays. Then we were on our way to Toongabbie.

Our first stop after dropping off our luggage at Uncle Peter's was to go see PoPo. It was so good seeing her, I haven't seen her in 3 years when I was last in Hong Kong. At her cute little apartment we waited for the rest of the aunties and uncles to go visit GongGong's gravesite. I hope he was happy to see all his sons and daughters in one place. :) We did our incense and burning money thing and we were planning on eating at a park but it started pouring down rain. So we reconvened at PoPo's and everyone feasted on duck, chashu, and roasted pork while everyone chatted and caught up. It was also nice to meet some of my first cousins, Annie and Alan.

Later on we all got back together and had family dinner at a restaurant. It was good to chat and catch up with Mommy's side of the family since they're all so spread apart.

down under: day 0

It's 8:00am Australian time or 2:00am PST October 13th right now. We've been on the plane for 3 hours already which means there another 11.5 to go if we're lucky but I think there's more hours to be traveled.

Uncle Shang was nice enough to drive Mommy, Da-do, and me to the airport. Uncle Peng was supposed to do it but he wanted to leave at 7pm for a 11pm flight. There was no way that I was willing to sit at the airport for 4 hours. Those two hours were hard enough! Checking in and getting through security was really quick actually. It only took us 30 minutes or so. I need to remember to take night flights.

So even though we were all set to depart on time, there was random drama going on. Apparently there were a bunch of seats that were double booked. Not really double booked but more like two people had the same seat assigned to them. So they needed to move these people around to their correct seats. Then there was this lady that had her family all spread out so she was trying to get Customer Service to move people around so that they could sit together. The Customer Service did do their jobs and got them seats together but she was still complaining because they were two middle seats. She was totally holding up the entire plane. I mean, yeah, middle seats suck but at least you're with your family. Idiot. Holding up an entire plane for at least 30-40 minutes. So yeah, I think there's more to fly than 11.5 hours.

So far sitting near the bathrooms aren't a big deal. Yeah there's traffic here but it's good people watching. And so far, no gross smells like Sol said there would be. And mom and dad scored really awesome seats. They're sitting in back of the bathrooms so that they don't have anyone in front of them. Leg room!

I also always wonder how airplane food is always so tender. I think they probably add a bunch of preservatives to it so that it can be tender. I would have taken a picture but everyone was still half asleep and a flash would have been rude.

So because I have problems sleeping, I asked Maggie to buy me some benedryl. She ended up buying generic Walgreens variety which is fine. I was so hoping that it would knock me out but here I am 3 hours later and still awake. I did some dozing but I seriously was hoping for a knockout. Oh well, I think I need something stronger.

I also forgot my sunglasses at home. I'm hoping that there will be some that will actually fit my face down under. We'll see...or there will be a lot of squinty photos!

smuin at the palace of fine arts

This week has been full of culture! First the symphony and now the ballet!

Devon was able to get tickets to see the Smuin Ballet at the Palace of Fine Arts. I didn't know what to expect but I did know that it is more modern than most companies. The theatre was really nice with cushy seats that you could rock back and forth and there was so much leg room! The seats we got were the best that I've ever sat in for a performance. I've never been that close to the stage before. Awesome.

The performances were very pretty eclectic. The first was, I think, African inspired because the music was very beat heavy. They were really amazing in their synchronicity and precision. The next was scenes from Medea which was very risque to my thinking of how ballet should be. I still haven't figured out if the guys were wearing nude leggings but they definitely were wearing thongs. And the last part I enjoyed the most. It was songs by Sinatra where they were used as little vignettes. They captured the themes of the songs with their dancing and some of them were really cute.

All in all I had a really good time. I think if it was classical ballet, I would have been bored but contemporary ballet is right up my alley...as long as I can relate to the music. :)

scelsi and mahler

Today began the first of six San Francisco Symphony Wednesday Series with Scelsi and Mahler. MTT was also conducting and I'd never seen him conduct before so I was super excited!

The first piece was Hymnos by Scelsi. I'd never heard of him before but I'm not surprised since he's a 20th century composer. From the talk before the show, I learned that this was a study of A and D notes and the semi, quarter, and half notes inbetween. His work wasn't anything I'd ever heard before; listening to it reminded me of a sci-fi movie soundtrack. Not really my cup of tea but I loved the way he had one note be played by different instruments in the orchestra.

The second piece was Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor. It was a really dark, full, robust, sweeping, and rich. Like dark chocolate or good merlot. He's also really awesome at creating a theme and having it go through the different sections of the orchestra. This happened throughout the five movements and it was fun to try to recognize the themes.

And MTT is a fun conductor to watch. He's really controlled but then he uses large sweeping movements. I can't wait to see more of him in the series. Also, I was amazed to see him conduct Mahler without the score. Awesome.