Appreciating the Little Things in Life

Just returned from: Nairobi, Kenya
This I will no longer take for granted:
-Paved roads
-Flushable toilets
-Warm showers
-Electricity
-Getting my own seat in the bus/train/subway
-A government that isn't corrupt (oh wait... I don't think that really exists in real life)

Things I wouldn't mind going back to Kenya for:
-Ugali (yummy... cornmeal mush)
-Nakumatt (Kenya's version of Target/Wal-mart)
-Night skies filled with shooting stars and constellations
-Sandpaper leaves and exploding apples
-Giraffes (they're cute but they couldn't fit in my backpack... not even the baby ones)

Turkey Day

My first Thanksgiving in 2 years came and went. I managed to cook a turkey. There were some scary moments with the kitchen filling up with smoke and popping sounds from the oven, but all in all, it turned out not so bad. (No reports of food poisoning so far...)

Now, I can die happy knowing I'll never eat a turkey again.

As the Winds Blow

Southern California can be identified by one event that occurs annually: the Santa Ana winds. Every October, my nose attempts to implode on itself as the desert air filled with dust and other random things blow by me.

But another problem these gusts can cause are these little fires. Yup, my state is on fire... or as CNN reports "California, the massive inferno". Luckily, this time around, I'm nowhere near all the chaos. (Although I think my neighbor is up to something. Flames shooting from their backyard can be labeled as questionable, right?)

It's like a big soap opera watching all these news reports. Firemen asking reporters to get them hamburgers. Commercial airliners circling the mountains. People playing football while plumbs of smoke billowing just 5 feet away from them. I can't really go outside and play on my day off since it's been smelling like an ashtray outside. So, I'll be watching that airplane fly around because it's pretty cool to watch (the flying not the fire part).

Thanks for your concerns!

A Means to an End

Hmmm... ok, so I've been absolute crap updating this blog. Life has taken me in all sorts of directions lately and I'm slow to figure it all out.

After enjoying two months of unemployment, I finally got a job. I'm an English instructor and I teach Japanese students! (There's others from other countries but the majority of them do understand what よっぱらい [yopparai-I'm drunk] means). A bit of déjà vu? Perhaps. I actually do teach. I give out homework, lecture, grade midterms. It's like I'm a real teacher! Too bad most of the time, I really don't know what I'm talking about. (Gerrunds? Noun clauses? Is that even English? I just think back to my ESL days when I would cry because I couldn't pronounce "coyote".) I don't plan on doing this forever. It's just something to do to say I'm not a slacker, I guess.

As for the writing thing, I'm still trying to pursue it. It's hard especially since I'm now based in California and the publishing world is located all the way on the other side of the country in New York City. ...sigh... So, I'm drowning my sorrows by taking a writing class. (Some might consider it more to be a form of torture. Who knows?!)

(I'm done with the whining/verbal barf now. Next time, it'll be a more happier post. Promise.)

The Shameless Plug

Since I have nothing blog-worthy to write about except the oddity that is my family, I've decided to post one of my articles. It's short and sweet. And the best part, it wasn't butchered or mutilated like last time. Very cool.

The Eurotrip: Part 5-The Long Journey

15:17, 04 July 2007. Waiting for the slow boat to arrive.

18:34, 04 July 2007. On the slow boat back to Athens.

20:00, 04 July 2007. Still on the slow boat back to Athens.

03:14, 05 July 2007. Sleeping at Athens airport.

09:35, 05 July 2007. On the plane leaving Athens.

11:26, 05 July 2007. Wandering around Milan's airport.

13:16, 05 July 2007. Still wandering around Milan's airport.

16:34, 05 July 2007. Finally, made it to Madrid. And it only took us 25 hours to get here.

The Eurotrip: Part 4-It Really Does Look Like The Postcard

Current location: Santorini, Greece
Some thoughts running through my head as I sit guarding a prime piece of real estate on the island's mountainside waiting for the sun to set:

• Would I get tired of having this view every day if I had to live here?
• If I painted my blue-domed igloo home red, would the Greeks kick me out? Or a compromise, baby blue?
  
• I need to find a plate so I can smash it on the floor. Is there an Ikea around?
• Hmm... everyone else has a bottle of wine. I wonder if they'll share...

The Eurotrip: Part 3-Dear Bedbugs, I'm Not Your Dinner

Current location: Athens, Greece
An older Greek gentleman sat next to me on the train from the airport to the city. He noticed that I kept staring at the map off to the side. "Do you want a subway map of Athens?" he asked and then grabbed his copy from his pocket and gave it to me. Wanting to be that tourist who tries to learn about local language, I asked him to teach me how to say thank you in Greek. "Efharisto." "Huh? One more time please." "Efharisto," he said with ease. I tried repeating but my "thank you" sounded more like me trying to cough up snot. He laughed, then for the next 5 minutes, I got a lesson on pronunciation. Wong and a few others around snickered in my feeble attempts. (I probably would've done the same thing if I had to hear me try to speak in Greek.)
Do I like Athens? Not really. But it's probably because I was also eaten alive on my first night by some very hungry bedbugs. I woke up with over 50 red spots and a breakout of hives. (I would thank that one special bug who got me on my right eyelid. Now, I'm a pirate and I don't need an eye patch. ARGGGGH!!!)

The Eurotrip: Part 2-Rain, Rain Go Away. Come Again When We're Not On Holiday!

Current location: Berlin, Germany
Everyone knows Berlin. It's the capital of Germany, second most populous city in the European Union, major center of European politics, culture, media and science and oh yeah, there's a lot of history here too. While I had a great time here despite the crap weather. However, I couldn't help but feel depressed. (A word of advice... Limit yourself to only one museum devoted to either the Wall or the Holocaust per visit.)
And of course, on our last day, the weather cleared up. Naturally...

The Eurotrip: Part 1-We're Cold And It's Wet... This Sucks!

Current location: Kiel , Germany

6 months of talking, planning, emailing, researching and booking finally culminated to this... the wacky Eurotrip where we transcend to 3 far-flung countries in an attempt to see the continent. Wong and I first concocted this journey way back when I was still employed in Japan (yeah, a long time ago). And at 2:30a on Tuesday, it began with us dragging our semi-coherent selves to a freezing cold bus stop to catch a ride to the airport.
Now, since this is the end of June, one would expect sunny skies with warm shorts and a singlet type weather, right? Instead, London followed us and landed in Hamburg shivering. After some light shopping, we headed up north to Kiel to see some of Wong's old friends. Upon our arrival, the clouds thought it would be funny to dump buckets of water on us and threw in some hurricane-like winds for good measure.
For those of you who don't know your German geography, Kiel is located to the north off the south-east corner of the Baltic Sea and is known for its sailing events. Although not much sailing was to be seen (missed that by a week along with perfect weather), it was a nice change not having to deal with all the tourist pedal-pushing that I've growing to love. Would I come back here? Probably not but at least I can say I was here. And that's all that matters.

Let's Play... Make That Conclusion!!!

Just returned from: Turin, Italy
I'm going to try to make this an interactive blog post. Here's how to play. I'll list some facts and figures about my trip to Torino and you make your own conclusions. Let's start...

• Number of people who went to Turin with: 8
• Number of Australians in the group that went to Turin: 7
• Number of times the lone American got doused with water: >10
  
• Conclusion?

• Number of hours walking around Turin: 16
• Number of times we looped around Turin: 2
  
• Number of sites I actually remember: 1
• Conclusion?
  

• Number of pasta dishes eaten in Turin: 3
• Number of pizza slices eaten in Turin: 8 (small slices!)
• Number of gelato cones eaten in Turn: 1
• Conclusion?

• Number of cocktails drunk on Saturday night: 5
• Number of shots chugged on Saturday night: 4
  
• Number of times I turned red: 9
• Conclusion?

Good luck!!!

What Happens In Croatia Stays In Croatia

Just returned from: Central Dalmatian Coast, Croatia
Some thoughts...

• Island hopping in Croatia was awesome. Although, it still doesn't compare to island hopping in Thailand. Rocks with no sand does not equal a beach!
• Again, I met my creepy 40+ year old crusty man. The first guy I'll call Croatian banana man. I was in the Green Market in Split taking pictures. Croatian banana man was holding two bunches of bananas and just happened to be right in the middle of my shot. He smiled proudly showing off his bananas, persuading me to take a photo of him and the bananas. I did. An hour later, Croatian banana man saw me again by the pier. The bananas were gone though. He made a feeble attempt on a conversation but since my Croatian was limited to hvala (thank you), not much was said. But he did get out the word "address" then pointed at me. So, if there's an Ellen Chan living in London, you should be expecting a package from a Jofu Petrovic sometime soon.
  

• My second creepy 40+ year old crusty man encounter happened at a bench as I waited for a boat to Hvar. I was reading my guide book when the man suddenly said "excuse me." I looked up. "Where are you from?" he said slowly. "America." The expression on his face changed to a look of confusion. Remembering my low-level 7B Nova days, I started using hand motions. "Why?" with a shrug of the shoulders. "My hair?" Awkward silence. "Yes, yes, yes. America has many people," he patiently said. "American is unpopular, yes?" I smiled, nodded, then returned to my guide. About 5 minutes later, I heard another "excuse me" from the man. "I'm not the aggressor," crusty man said. Again, I smiled then quickly gathered my things and left.
• A lady mistook me as a Croatian and asked me in Croatian for directions! The sun must have been in her eyes. (And someone said that couldn't happen. HA!)
  
• I got some funky tan going. But, it doesn't matter because I actually got a tan. Woohoo!!!
• I'm not sure how this all happened but I ended up taking home an unexpected souvenir from Croatia. A Canadian. (It's a very long story...)

The Cosmic Connection

I was in Notting Hill today, hoping to find a Bill Bryson book for under £1, when a man asked me for the time. After a struggle with my jacket, I looked at my watch and said, "It's 1:45." The man smiled and thanked me. I started walking and he followed. "It's such a horrible day today," he chimed. With the freezing wind blowing in my face and the ominous clouds above me, I concurred.

Then, the weird started. He looked at me with his eyes bulging out. "Your aura is green. You have a lot of uncertainty in your life right now." Suddenly, he grabbed my left hand and began to touch my fingers. A bit shocked, I just stood there.
"You are a very sensitive person. Did you play the piano when you were younger?" "Hmm... yes."
"You like to travel, don't you?"
With an eyebrow raised, I responded with a head nod for yes.
"Are you a writer? You should be a writer and write about your travels. Or you should write a play." At this moment, I was debating if I should be running, screaming or staying to hear more. I chose the latter.
"And in your previous life, you were a ballerina." I let out a chuckle here. Then, I took back possession of my hand.
I looked at him and he looked at me. "Things happen for a reason. We were suppose to meet today," he said.
Being the quick-minded person that I am (haha), I gave the "oh crap I'm late" look, then quickly got out of there.

The whole experience was a bit trippy. All he did was touch my fingertips and got all that information about me. I can't decide if he's my new stalker or if he should open his own "psychic friends network."

Slovenia, Slovenia, Slovenia, Slovenia

Just returned from: Ljubljana, Slovenia
This is me interviewing me. (I couldn't get anyone else to do the job. I wonder why?)

What made you decide to go to Slovenia?
I opened up easyJet's list in the back of the magazine one day and saw Ljubljana. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to say it. So, what better way than to learn than to go to the city itself. And for your information, it's lub-ble-ya-na.

Any interesting stories while over there?
For a while, I didn't think I was going to make it to Slovenia. While boarding my flight, I (and the rest of the plane) committed a federal crime by interacting with passengers from a diverted plane from Amsterdam. To make a long story short, we boarded the plane, then was told we had to get off the plane, went back inside the terminal and was re-screened by security because we could've met one of the Amsterdam people and exchange "something." Two hours after the scheduled departure, the plane finally took off. I ended up sitting next to 4 blokes on their stag (bachelor) weekend and they bought me and 2 other girls drinks. Needless to say, that was one of the quickest 2 hour flights I've ever had. (But I think I need to thank the 2 cranberry vodkas for that one.)

I see. So you're an alcoholic again. [Nodding the head in disappointment.] Nothing new. Anything else?
[While shooting the evil eye.] Hey! I take offense to that comment.
Hmm... I accidentally took the wrong bus and ended up waiting in some small village for an hour. With nothing better to do, I decided to roam around, taking pictures of trees. One local guy saw what I was doing, walked up to me and asked in Japanese 写真を撮りますか。 (take a picture?) Naturally, I responded with いいえ。大丈夫。(No, it's ok.) In a nutshell, I had a conversation with a Slovenian man in some remote village in Slovenia in Japanese and we ended up talking about East Los Angeles. He knew street names and locations of places that only locals would know. It was a bit scary.

Weird...
I KNOW! [As the voice goes one octave up.]

Did you pick up the language?
The only thing I can say in Slovenian is hvala ti (thank you) and I probably butchered the pronunciation. Oops... I do know how to say goodbye in Slovenian. It's ciao which sounds an awful lot like Italian. When in Slovenia, right? I just like saying Slovenia. Slovenia. Slovenia. Slovenia. Ok, I'm done.

[An eyeroll.] Hmmm... sure. If you say so. Where did you stay?
I stayed in a jail cell. Very comfortable. But my cell mate had really stinky feet. [Overtly excited.]

I won't ask. [Another eyeroll.] Final thoughts?
Slovenia. Slovenia. Slovenia. Slovenia. Did I mention I like saying Slovenia? It's not as fun as Ljubljana. Ljubljana. Ljubljana. Ljubljana. It just doesn't have the same effect.

Yeah, you need help. [More head shaking in disappointment.]
Hvala ti. [With a smile.]

The Token American

I stumbled upon BBC’s News Styleguide at work today. In this so-called "Styleguide", there’s a section for Americanisms which I found particularly enlightening. Here’s an excerpt:

“American speech patterns on the BBC drive some people to distraction. Adding unnecessary prepositions to verbs is guaranteed to cause apoplexy in some households. Problems which were once faced are now faced up to. In North America, people meet with other people. Everywhere else they meet them. British people keep a promise rather than deliver on it.”

I never knew American English can cause fits of anger and rage. But wait… it gets better:

“Many American words and expressions have impact and vigour, but use them with discrimination or your audience may become a tad irritated.”

Basically, the BBC is telling me that my English makes people irate and annoyed. No wonder why all the Aussies and Brits pick on me.

As a compromise, I will now put aside my beloved “David Hasselhoff saved my life” t-shirt and will replace it with a shirt that says either “Don’t talk to me. I’m American and my English will piss you off!” or "I speak American English so piss off!"

I can't really decide.

Lessons From Deutschland

Just returned from: Hamburg, Germany

Here's three things I've learned about Germany:

• It is perfectly acceptable to have a pint of beer at 9am on a Sunday morning. It is also perfectly acceptable for men to dress up like women while enjoying their pints of beer at 9am on a Sunday morning.

• "Es ist mir Wurst" or "It's sausage to me." Bratwursts, currywursts, frankfurters... I'm all wurst-out. My heart thanks me for it. (And no, the only hamburgers you can find in Hamburg is at McDonalds.)

• Long live the Hoff! Where else in the world can David Hasselhoff of Knight Rider fame be a singer and a national hero but in Germany?

Where's the Subtitle Button?

Just returned from: Glasgow, Scotland, UK
This was my first conversation at the tourist information booth in Glasgow's other airport:
Me: What's the quickest way to the city center?
TI lady: (sounds of rocks in her mouth)
Me: EH? I'm sorry. Could you repeat that again?
TI lady: (rocks) twane (more rocks) dar [I only got 'there' because she pointed.]
Me: How much is the train ticket?
TI lady: (unrecognizable sounds that might have been words)
Me: Hmmm... Ok. Thank you very much.

Another exchange with a Glaswegian at Sainsbury trying to pay for my groceries:
Cashier: (sounds of something)
Me: N [1 second pause] o
Cashier: [She hands me my sandwich and diet Coke sans plastic bag.] (more noise) [I'm pretty sure she's telling me the total.]
Me: [I look at the register but the amount is facing the lady. I give her the biggest bill in my wallet.]
Cashier: [While giving me back my change] Chiears.

If only there was a button to magically have subtitles appear.

Micasa Sucasa

I've been officially published as of today. In theory, I should be happy. According to the magazine, over 3.1 million people per month fly this airline. The probability of at least one person reading it while bored sitting on a plane is pretty high. So, why am I a bit miffed?

In actuality, I wrote 2 pieces. One was the "3 of the best: Conversions". (Well, I wrote most of it. An editor's job is to edit. Blah...)
The other was a destination guide to Casablanca, Morocco. I spent an entire day scouring for any information I can find for a place that doesn't have much information to be found. So, when I opened up to the back of the magazine and looked at Casablanca, imagine my surprise when I saw this:
In my editor's defense, I do understand why he did that. I mean, these destination guides are suppose to be written by locals. Wouldn't you believe a Chinese girl living in Morocco? We're like weeds. We're everywhere!

(Yeah, I wouldn't believe it either.)

A Retrospective... Of the Last 2 Weeks

As I lay in my bed wanting so desperately to go to sleep but can't because the bar that's two doors down from my flat is still open at 2:16am, I'm left to reflect on life in London. So, here goes...

• London isn't as bad anymore. It could be that I'm just getting use to all of it now... Cramming into the carriage of the Tube to get to work, the pushing, the public drunkenness that I witness as I walk home... It's all starting to be normal. It's not to say that I like it or anything.
• However, I do like the job. Sometimes, the motivation to go to work isn't there... partly because I'm not getting paid enough to survive and partly because I want to go to all these places that I'm researching on.
• A perk of the job? The swag!!! (For those who don't know what swag is, it's basically promotional items or gifts that are given away by companies or organizations. Or Stuff We Ain't Got.) On Friday, one of the beauty editors asked if I was interested in free makeup. Now, even though I'm not exactly the glamor queen, I couldn't really pass up free crap. I ended up getting pretty prime stuff that one would pay a small fortune for. (Bobbi Brown and MAC stuff!!!) Now, I need to be friends with the technology editors.
• It's a bit odd to find the laundry machine in the kitchen. I wouldn't mind the machine in the kitchen if it works properly. However, this laundry machine, which is a washer and dryer in one, has been my Everest to overcome. It turns on whenever it feels like it. It locks itself and thus imprisoning my clothes in its "cleaning" receptacle. And it takes about 3 hours to dry 4 pairs of socks. I think it's trying to screw with me, but I will win. Just wait and see.
• One of the best ways to survive in London? Head to Sainsbury (or any big grocery chain) and look for the "reduce to clear" sticker. One night, I managed to score meals for the entire day for only 60p ($1.20). Gotta love it!
• Living in hostel-like conditions suck... especially since I'll be living here for the next 3 months. Let's just say the bathroom situation leaves a lot to be desired.
• For the guys... Consider going to Spain. I walked into the kitchen today to find one of my housemates, a Spanish girl, cooking in the buff. Shocked, I quickly turned around and walked back to my room. She said it was ok because it's an all-girl houses. Now, I'm not sure if this is going to be a regular occurrence. However, the few guys I told this story to wants an invite to see if this hypothesis bares any truth.
• It's almost 3am. The bar is closing. HALLUAH!!!
  

My Whole New World

Current location: London, England, UK


Visiting London and actually living in London are 2 very different things. I can't decide if I like it or not. I've come up with 3 theories as to why I can't decide: 1. It's because I've gotten use to living in Asia; 2. It's a big, crowded, busy city; or 3. It's because it's London.

I started my new job today in the exciting world of publishing. I showed up with my business clothes while everyone in the office were in jeans and a t-shirt. Right now, I'm trying to write a little blimp about places that use to be other places for the Easyjet (a budget airline that flies around Europe) in-flight magazine. (For those flying Easyjet any time in May, check out the "3 of the best" section.) It's hard to concentrate in an office full of chatter. (Times like this requires a cafe to sit in and people-watch, a carmel macchiato, and the ipod.) The people in the office are a bit closed off, but I think that's more of a British thing. But all-in-all, it was a pretty good day.

Lots to learn and so little time to do so!!!!!!!

Parle Vous Ingles? Because I Definitely Can't Speak French!

Current location: Paris, France


My funny little French story. I was sitting underneath the L'Arc de Triomphe waiting for the crowds to thin out when an elderly French gentleman of about 60 years old sat beside me. About a minute later, I heard a loud and deadly fart coming from the man's direction. I turned to look. He smiled, said "pardon," then got up and left. About 5 minutes later, the man returned and sat next to me again.

A ceremony to celebrate French war veterans had just taken place, hence the crowds. As the veterans began to leave, the elderly man tapped my arm, pointed to one of the men and said "mi papa" with a beaming smile across his face. Since I know no French, I just nodded and smiled back. Then, in French, I think he said that his father was stationed in Korea, China, Vietnam, and India (or that's the story I made up in my head while he was talking to me). I asked him "Parle vous Ingles?" afterwards where he promptly responded "NON!" This led to some awkward silence. Then man got up quickly when he saw that the people had cleared, grabbed my arm, and gestured the "take a picture of me" motion.

So, I went. (There were plenty of police around so I didn't worry too much.) He took a picture of me. (Ok, well, half of me. I think his eyes are bad.) Then, he took me around the monument, again giving me the commentary all in French. After my personal tour was over, he turned to me and said "Cappachino?" Thinking about all my past brushes with strange guys in foreign countries and since I had nothing else better to do, I went with him. (Again, I made sure we were in a very public place.)

We headed off to a French fast food place where the gentleman got me caramel ice cream and orange juice. (He pointed at the wall of the restaurant and said "no cafe.") We sat there in more awkward silence. He kept staring at the lady at the next table who looked like she was going cry. I kept flipping through my Paris guidebook, hoping there was French survival phrases I could use. Finally, after pulling all my neurons together, I finally remembered how to say "my name is..." in French thanks to my 1 day in French class as a freshman in high school. I said "Je m'appelle Helen" (my alias). He smiled and said "Je m'appelle Daniel." Slowly, we had some form of a conversation as I read through my guidebook while the man corrected my pronunciation.

After we were done eating, we left the restaurant, I thought it was time to say goodbye. I kept looking at my watch (and making sure he saw that I was looking at my watch) and chimed in "metro" every other minute. When we got to the Metro stop and as in the middle of my "au revoir", the old man asked "Arc de Triomphe. Up?" I hesitated a bit. I really did want to go on top of the monument to get a view of the city. And the sun was setting on a clear day. And it did cost €8 to go up. So, what do you think I did?

Yes, I went up with the guy. And we even took the elevator up so we didn't have to walk up 284 steps. He showed me all the different places that can be seen from the top of the Arc de Triomphe... the Louvre, the Orsay, Norte-Dame, the Opera House, and Versailles, off in the distance. It was pretty cool. 30 minutes later, I decided that it was time to end it all. I kept fake-yawning to make it look like was really tired. And when we got to the Metro stop again, I said "merci" and "au revoir" and quickly ran underground without looking back before he could say anything else.

For the record, I did NOT go on a date with an old guy, even though Annie says otherwise. I was just meeting a local and he bought me ice cream. That is all. I learned a lot. It was an enlightening experience. Now, all I want to know is why do all the weird old guys talk to me?! Blah, I say. BLAH!

On The Road Again

I'm experiencing a bit of déjà vu at the moment. I'm sitting by the computer typing on the blog while a big, red suitcase sits across the room empty and waiting to be filled. Yup, I'm leaving again. Tomorrow, I start my world domination in Europe. At the moment, I'm feeling more indifferent than anything else. But I was the same way when right before I left for Japan. The anxiety attack kicked in around my layover in San Francisco. I ended up sucking my phone card dry calling people and checking that I wasn't crazy. Hmm... oh well. If anyone hears from me tomorrow, it's because I'm losing it (again).

The Vultures

I love Costco. Where else can you get 3lbs of blueberries in a box, 15 extremely oversized muffins in one neat package, and books you don't really need all in one place?! However, if you ever want to experience chaos and madness at its best, go to Costco around lunchtime on a weekend. And if you want an extra special treat, go to one located in or near an predominantly Asian community. Why? Free food samples. Lots of them. And if the sample is located in the freezer section (i.e. warm food), people will swoop in like vultures and do whatever it takes to get that sample.

I witnessed a lady pushing her her wheelchair-bound father around so she could get ahead in line. After getting 2 samples, she quickly grabbed the sample away from her father and dumped it in her plastic bag she had hiding in her purse. I watched her for a good 10 minutes as she rotated between sample lines, intermittently leaving her father behind the sample lady so she wouldn't be as easily recognized. She had a pretty good collection of chicken bakes and nut clusters when it was all said and done. And I'm very sure she left the store without even buying a thing.

I also watched a group of 3 in action. Each person would stand in a different sample line and get 3 samples. They would meet up somewhere in the middle and divvy out the goods. Once eaten, they would go to a separate sample line and repeat. At least these people had some intention of purchasing something.

So, what is the moral of the story? Never wave anything free in front of an Asian (ok, Chinese) person. (I'm Chinese so I can say this. Why do you think my family and I were at Costco on a Sunday afternoon?!)

To Procrastinate Is To Write

• If I could go back into time, I would like to ask myself from 2 years ago the following:
• Do you really need 15 empty shoe boxes?
• Why is there a grocery-bag full of free samples of shampoo in your closet?
• What possessed you to take all those Post-its from the lab?
• Are you really going to use all those pens/pencils/highlighters/Sharpies/retractable erasers? Seriously, 124... and counting. (Does anyone know if the Salvation Army takes writing implements?)
  
• I found my senior high school yearbook. It was a bit of a time warp, although I look exactly the same, just with shorter hair. I read messages from long lost friends about how we should keep in touch and how great high school was. I'm a bit tempted to call the phone numbers just to see if it works still. (It might be difficult considering that my cell phone is buried underneath all my crap and it's on vibrate.)
  
• I like finding money. That means I can buy coffee again. (I'm not sure if the Coffee Bean will take rolls of pennies as payment.)
  
• Driving in the rain is scary. Driving in the rain while trying to merge onto freeway traffic in LA is even scarier. (I will eventually get enough courage to make the 2 hour trek to San Diego. Really.)
  
• I ran into another person today who said that I look like someone they use to know. (Yeah, all Chinese people look the same.)
• I found my Darrin's Dance Grooves video and then promptly put it in the donation bag with the NSYNC CD and accompanying tour DVD. (What was I thinking?!)
  
• I love the clothes dryer! It takes less than an hour for my clothes to dry, it comes out nice and warm, and there's no bird poop on it!
  
• SoCal's saving grace... In-N-Out... Oh, how I missed thee...
  
• The family is so hard to please. Anyone who likes Thai food, let me know. I'll cook for you.
• Starcraft is an evil, evil game. I'm really deleting now. (Welcome back to 1998.)
• Roberto, we're applying for the Amazing Race again!
  
• I think I'm over my purging/cleaning phase now. I'm tired of coughing up dust balls.
  

Home Sweet Home?

Current location: Los Angeles, CA, USA


I've been 4 days and it still feels weird to be back home.

The first thing I really noticed when I got back was that Americans are pretty rude. Granted, I was in the immigration line when I had this epiphany. The immigration officer in her monotone voice asked me, "Where did you come from?" I replied, "Japan." She briefly looked at me, then stamped my customs form and tossed my passport back at me. Then, while waiting at the baggage claim, the workers were chucking bags marked "fragile" left and right while ignoring the requests of onlookers. They could be disgruntled airport workers or it could be an LA thing. Who knows?

I also saw most of my extended family in a matter of hours after landing. The uncles have a lot more gray hairs than I remember. One cousin is about ready to apply for college. Another one has hit puberty. And the little ones are walking and talking. It's like I entered some time warp. Oddly enough, they really didn't recognize me. (Ok, I did chop off all my hair just before I left Japan and was wearing my Japanesey glasses.)

I walked into Walmart today. I couldn't believe how cheap things were in there. And it threw me for a loop that I was able to understand everything in the store. (Well, almost everything. Need to brush up on my Spanish.) Nobody yelled out "irrashimase." There was no bowing. I even scanned something by the price checker just because I could.

I started driving again. I guess it was like riding a bike all over again. I'm taking baby steps though. I still too chicken to make any left turns and I think the grannys will cut me off. I also got a cell phone again. It looks so prehistoric compared to my Japanese phone. I can't even watch TV on it!

So, I was asked this question. Has America changed? Or did I change? I really can't say.

And I'm Waiting...

Current location: Seoul, South Korea


Well, I'm actually in the airport. I'm just on a layover. I can't believe how quickly 5 days went. I probably slept on average 5 hours per night. That is probably one reason why I'm feeling like crap right now.

I have a 5 hour layover in Seoul before my 10+ hour flight back to Los Angeles. I can't believe I'm no longer in Japan. It's a bit surreal. The last time I was home was 735 days ago (a little over 2 years... I was trying to be a little more dramatic than I need to be.) Truthfully, I'm a bit scared. I'm not sure what to expect when I get there. I'll probably be taking pictures of everything like a tourist fresh off the plane.

Back to my layover... The first hour, I made a box. There's a Korean cultural center where you can make Korean art and crafts. I felt like I was in grade school again playing with glue. The second hour, I went around duty-free. I'm still contemplating whether or not to buy the chocolate covered seaweed and the chocolate kimchi for the family. I already got them chocolate squid, mayonnaise jello, and beef flavored caramel candy. Hour #3... the internet. I'm thinking for the 4th hour of finding some kimchi. But after that, I have absolutely no idea.

Oh well...

And I'm Back...

Current location: Nagoya, Japan


After 3 weeks of perfect weather, great food (and endless trips to the toilet... the curry didn't sit too well but it was so good), lots of time on airplanes (last count:10), a funny smell in my backpack (it was the sand and spilled sunscreen... not me), a big hole in my wallet (why did everything have to be so cheap) and a wonderful sense of freedom (professional bum at its best), I've returned to Japan. I can't even compare the two. I had so many great adventures on this trip. I really wish I could keep going. And in theory, I could, but then that's just not responsible, right?

We touched down at Chubu at 9p, a little weary and very cold. Immigration let me through which was really exciting for me considering my particular circumstance. (I also told a little white lie. In my defense, the guy never looked at the back of my passport.) And even better, customs didn't make me open my bag. (First time ever after 5 searches.) On the way to Nagoya station, I stared outside the buildings and streets that passed by. I listened to the Meitetsu employee blurt out the next stop with endless instructions on how to get off the train. I saw the big Nagoya hair and the mini-skirts with high-heel boots in the middle of winter. I really didn't miss it. None of it. It's definitely time to go. I just need to get through the next few days, then off to my next adventure... the States... scary.

Ode To The Monks

Current location: Luang Prabang, Laos


After another brief stint on another island in Thailand, I decided enough was enough. So, after a 2 hour boat ride back to the mainland, a 6 hour bus ride back to Bangkok, a 4 hour wait at the airport, and a 2 hour ride on the plane, I found myself in Laos not sure what to do with myself.

Luang Prabang is a little sleepy town located in northern Laos. Life moves slowly here but I don't really mind. Monks walk the streets with the locals. Little kids try to push their merchandise. This one Laotian girl sat by me yesterday while I was reading by the Mekong River. I let her draw in my notebook even after I refused to buy her bracelets. Then, she tried reading my book. Funny girl. I eventually gave in and bought one. I already lost the bracelet.

Today, I went mountain biking. Yup, you heard right, mountain biking... bum leg and all. I rode for roughly 65km. It was great going through some remote villiages with the kids waving and saying "hi" or "sawadee". We even went through a school. Everyone just stopped and stared at me and the 2 Canadian girls I rode with but in a good way. My ass has never been in so much pain before but it was worth it.

(Now, must get off this chair, but how???)

The Return of Turtle Island

Current location: Ko Tao, Thailand


After meeting up with Glenn, Voan, and Brandon, we heading to Bangkok for some food with Glenn's friend from university. (It was actually a massive Thai feast. I thought I was going to die because of a stomach explosion.) The next day, we did some touristy stuff around Bangkok (and went to Boots... yay!!!) then in the evening, we all jumped in a bus and headed for Turtle Island, aka Ko Tao. (Oddly enough, back in Nagoya, I lived in Kamejima, which translates out to Turtle Island.) It was a pretty rough ride. I do not recommend the overnight bus. We ended up in Chumphon at 4a, tired and a little frustrated that we still had a 3 hour wait before the boat leaves. We finally arrived in Ko Tao around 9a. All I can say is that I wasn't pleasant to be around. (Sorry guys!)

Ko Tao is a lot less noisy than Phi-Phi and Ao Nang but a little to on the resort side for me. Glenn found a nice bungalow complete with an outdoor shower, complementary fruit, and crabs roaming the porch. I'm still hesitant to stay here the entire time. I'm a little beached out. I should see some culture. Or at least not see drunk falangs (foreigners). We'll see.

More and More Beaches... I Just Can't Get Enough!

Current location: Ao Nang, Thailand


We're still in southern Thailand enjoying the last bits of sand and sun before heading back to Bangkok tomorrow. And yes, I'm still bumming around with Rob. It's been almost an entire week and I didn't even think about hurting him once or using my "brilliant" exit plan. I'm so proud of me. I'm going to give myself a gold star.
Done.

Yesterday, we decided a little change in activities would do us some good so we went to cooking school. Our teacher was great although I can't remember his name for the life of me. He started out as a monk many years ago so he could go to school. After 5 years, he decided he wanted improve his English so he opened up a cooking school. He picked us up in his leather interior Toyota Camry and drove us to his home/school. Since we were the only students there, we got personal attention (which I needed.) We made Thai dishes that most people are familiar with: Pai Thai, Papaya Salad, green curry, and Tom Yun Kun (It's spicy and sweet. There's lime, fish sauce, and shrimp in it. Nova-ians... C39... and yes, I have tried it. Have you?). The guy kept asking us who did the cooking at home or who was responsible for what in the relationship. Tired of explaining to everyone that we're not together, we just nodded our heads and smiled.

Today, we island-hopped. After some misunderstand with the boat driver (an angry Rob can be scary to be around), we spent the day basking in the sun, snorkeling (I saw Nemo!), sitting, me lying down thinking I'm going to upchuck an organ, and people watching. There was "hairy back man", "grandma who really shouldn't be wearing that bikini", and "black Speedo man". One particular favorite... "thong man". And he wasn't just any "thong man". He was "thong man" with a mullet. (Gotta love the Europeans!) Everywhere we went, "thong man" was right there with us.

(Now, I would like to apologize for all of those who just suffered permanent eye damage viewing the pictures above. I wanted to prove that I wasn't making stuff up. Again, I'm sorry.)

I Like The Beach

Current location: Ko Phi-Phi, Thailand


After another ordeal with planes (Nok Air can shove it where the sun doesn't shine), I ended up in southern Thailand on a little island called Ko Phi-Phi made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio and "The Beach." I found a sunburned Rob standing by the pier and together we went hunting for accommodations, a daily ritual. (For our first night, we ended up with the honeymoon suite. Quite comical... We were both pissing ourselves. )

Phi-Phi is a party island. There's loud music, lots of drinking, and lots of random stuff found in the sand. (I won't say what but I was pretty disgusted by it.) Both of us couldn't be bothered with that stuff but we did all the beach activities one can do... kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, sitting on boats, island-hopping, laying on the beach and doing nothing.

I'm not sure how much more I can take of this relaxing thing. It's been good but weird. Doing absolutely nothing. Oh wait... I've been doing it since November. Nevermind.

The Adventure Begins

Current location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

It was a long journey to northern Thailand, but I made it and that's all that matters. After a 6 hour plane ride from Nagoya (with a 10 minute layover in Hong Kong... I had never been as sad to not have stayed in an airport than in HK), I took a 12 hour overnight train to Chiang Mai, aka a trekker's paradise.

Being that I'm not so into trekking, I partook in other leisurely activities like dodging through traffic with my rented granny bike, pretending to be a student at Chiang Mai University, eating Thai curry, and having my teeth cleaned. (Ok, so I know having the teeth cleaned isn't what one would think to do while on vacation, but it was dirt cheap! 500 bhats=~$15!!!)

Oh yeah, I almost died today. I was sitting next to a tree when all of a sudden, a coconut came crashing down 2ft away from me. If I was meant to go today, I would've had preferred something a little more dramatic like stomped by a deranged elephant or eaten by geckos while sleeping. Anything but "She died because of a coconut."

Sayonaras

I hate saying goodbyes. It just sounds so permanent.

I had a joint sayonara party on Saturday with Thom, Jo, and Rob. I had an awesome time. Lots of friends, lots of food (which I managed not to eat), lots of beer and wine (which I drank a lot of), lots of out-of-tune singing, and lots of tired faces at the end of the night. The funny thing was that I didn't really say goodbye to anyone. It was more of a "see you later." In my head, I still don't feel like I'm leaving Japan for good. It's a little daunting to know that I might not see some of these people ever again. Why can't there be teleportation machines like in the movies? Then, I'll never have to say goodbye. I'll just blame it on laziness for not visiting.

The Best Sayonara Party... Ever!!!

The Road Less Traveled

It all started at around 12p last Friday. I was on MSN when I got a message from my friend, Luke. After the usual catching-up chit-chat, he said that he was going to take off on a road trip to the western part of Japan that night. Noticing that he was going to hit two of the same cities I was going to try visiting roughly 2 days later, we decided to have a little adventure together.
Day 1: Nagoya-Nagasaki-A rest stop in the middle of Kyushu
Most people have heard about Nagasaki if they paid enough attention in history class. It was the site of the 2nd atomic bomb blast in Japan. Since this city has so much history, Luke felt it was worthy of a visit. What we failed to realize was the distance from Nagoya to Nagasaki, which is location at the very bottom of Japan. Roughly 15 hours and many tolls later, we arrived in the city.
The city topography wasn't what I had expected. (Lots of mountains and hills) Well, truthfully, I really didn't know what to expect so it wasn't too surprising. Nagasaki is a sleepy little seaside port town with an important place in world history.

We hit all the major sites in Nagasaki: the Peace Park, the Hypocenter monument, and the Memorial Museum. We later ventured to find the Dutch area (there's a big European influence there because it was a major trading port) and a Chinatown (very disappointing... very expensive!!!). After studying the guide books and deciding that there wasn't much else to see in Nagasaki, we went back in the car and headed back up.

Day 2: A rest stop in Kyushu-Hiroshima-Okayama
It started snowing like crazy while on the road so we decided to pull over at a rest stop and wait it out. However, the wait was about 8 hours. Early in the morning, we continued up and back into Honshu to Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb hit. For anyone who visits Japan, I highly recommend going here and especially the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Even though I had been there before with the parentials, I was still moved by the exhibits and artifacts.

Later, we sampled the famous Hiroshima okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake) and watched the Hiroshima branch of the Elvis Rockabilly club dance to some 50's classics, then hopped back into the car and marched onward.

Day 3: Okayama-Kojima-Himeji-Kobe-Nagoya
Okayama wasn't exactly a planned stop. It was more like we were both going crazy being in the car for so long. And after 2.5 days of not showering, I gladly forked over the money for a hotel. With our guide books in hand, we found the only sight mentioned in Okayama to see, Korakuen, considered one of Japan's best gardens.
I could only image that this place would be beautiful in the spring. However, it was the middle of winter. Oh well...

Also while flipping through the Lonely Planet, Luke saw that we were pretty close to the Great Seto Bridge, the world's longest 2-tiered bridge, measuring 13.1km (8.1miles) long. It took us a while to actually find the bridge while near the shore. (It was pretty sad considering it is a long bridge.) When we finally saw it, we decided to cross it and into Shikoku, another one of Japan's main islands. Some ¥5600 (~$56) of tolls later, we were kicking ourselves for ever considering crossing the bridge.
Our next stop was Himeji Castle, one of the oldest surviving structures in medieval Japan. I was expecting a lot of this place for some reason. I'm not sure why but I just did. But, it was pretty much like all the other castles in Japan. It was old. There were some swords inside and lots of empty rooms. I was glad to see that it did not have an elevator.
By the time we got to Kobe, which is about 30 minutes away, Luke and I were both getting a little weary of the car and the trip. So, we decided after blowing our money on some Kobe beef, we would head back to Nagoya early. We wandered Sannomiya, Kobe's main entertainment area, for a bit before deciding on a restaurant that was "gaijin" friendly. We spent about ¥5000 (~$50) each on the beef. It was good but I got more satisfaction from my ¥950 (~$9) hamburger from Outback Steakhouse. But, now, I can say I tried Kobe beef.

After loading up on some sweets, we made our way home. After our financially painful trip on the expressway to Nagasaki, we took trusty Route 2, a road that connects east to west. And the best part of this road: it was free! However, in Osaka, Route 2 disappeared and with that, a bit of our sanity. To make a long story short, what should've taken us 2 hours to do, it ended up being 7 hours. I would like to say that we were taking the scenic route. At 4am, we finally reached Freebell. I've never been so happy to see my futon.

According to the odometer, in total, we traveled 2,260km (~1,404 miles) in roughly 3 days. Would I do this again? Probably not. I know Luke will be in agreement with me. But we did what we had set out to do and that's all that matters.