Jan
30
The Fabulous Snowy Day Trip..
Filed Under USA, travel, photo | 11 Comments
I didn't think I will have a chance to go there for this US trip for various reason. First it is 4 hours drive away. Second, my US-housemate-cum-driver only fancy San Francisco and everywhere else is too far (and boring for him). Third, I will never be that lucky (or so I thought).
The place I meant is Lake Tahoe, which is surrounded by the mountains, 4 hours north from the place I am staying in California. It is the second deepest lake in US and a place for skiing and snowboarding. My friends actually recommended me to go there but I kept my expectation very low. I am happy to settle for San Francisco.
But, another dear Indonesian colleague here was so nice to offer to take us to Monterey Beach for a day in Saturday, which is 1 hour drive away. But since the rainy and cold season started on my 2nd week here, we doubt if we would really enjoy the nice scenery with the rain.
But hey, AD got a better idea, let's go to Lake Tahoe! It would be snowing and nice up there at that time. It wasn't confirmed until Friday and I didn't set any expectation too. After all, 4 hours drive is too far for a day trip and we were not close enough to them for being so nice to us, right?
And he really was being so nice to us and gave us heaps of advice on what to wear and to buy (I bought another water + wind resistant jacket at around USD19 at Target). So, on Saturday the 26th Jan, 5 of us (me and another M'sian colleague, 2 Indonesian colleagues and their Indonesian friend) and his black Mazda3 made it to Lake Tahoe!!!
We left around 7.25am from my place at Fremont, took wrong way to San Francisco, back to the correct route, have quick breakfast at "Jack & the box" and back to the long drive and reach there nearly noon.
My yummy breakfast; croissont with ham, cheese and egg. It looks ugly but it tasted good!
It's a loooonngg drive…
It was fun to see the trails of snow getting thicker and thicker on the ground and tree as we went up the mountain. Well, our first snows! (at least for me and the M'sian girl)
Snows on the way! Gee, ain't we excited?
Still a long drive after seeing the snow, towards the mountain…
We had yummy buffet lunch at the hotel casino, which was one of the reasons that motivate the driver to drive us 4 hours there! The bacon was crispy & good and it was an enjoyable meal at around $19 (after tips and tax).
The casino there, it is weird that there is no checking on the door for visitors, unlike in Genting.
The buffet restaurants with various cuisines for selections.
Pretty view from the restaurant, overlooking the beautiful lake and snow mountain..
Next, we proceed to take the Gondola up the mountain for a scenic spot at USD28 for two ways (some sort of cable cars) and the view was really amazing. We took many pictures and now, looking back at those pic, the background seems to be like fake one as it is too pretty to be true!
The gondola, heading toward the mountain with two stops. The first stop is for the scenic view and second top is mostly for ski-er and snowboarding.
The M'sian colleague that travelled with me from M'sia, AD and me!
Isn't the view fabulous?
Me, my Indonesian colleague, her friend and M'sian colleague.
And yeah, we try eating the snow..! Just taste like shaved ice~
The brave snowboard-er who plays at slopy areas with many trees around.
House covered by snow, like in the movie.. ^.^
After that, we drove to another beautiful scenic place where we could view the lake clearly and stepped on the thick, powdery snow and throw at each other. We made snow angels too, which was silly but very happy ones. The snow is powdery, and it doesn't melt in your hand (or gloves as I have two layers of gloves on each hand as it is very cold!) I think the weather was at border 0 degree Celsius! We couldn't stay too long out of the car! It's freezing!
The drive was pretty dangerous one with curvy roads and not covered at the edge. And you could easily drive down the valley!
I love the view, simply amazing, isn't it?
Look ma, snows!!!
Snowfight?
The big man started it, making snow angel! More like a challenge from us.
Pretty soon, all of us want a snow angel too. Laid back on the cold snow and move your hands and legs.
See my snow angel?? Nice??
The five of us~
Passed by the casino on the way back and this lady won USD1000 jackpot!!! Lucky her!
We left around 5.30pm and had a long drive back, hunting for cheap gasoline (as the price for different petrol station differs at different stations and locations) and we finally settled for USD3.15 per gallon, only to find USD3.09 per gallon at the nearby! Life's always like that, isn't it?
We had late dinner around 9.30pm in Berkeley and it seems to be one of their famous pizza, which is extremely thick, guzzling with cheese and tomatoes and I never had better pizza in my life! Seriously.
The pizza place..
The pizza! Yum yum~
Finally reach the residence around 11pm and was very happy with the trip. Got to know the colleagues better and they're really friendly and fun people, not the pretentious kind. It was a good day and I am grateful for them. =)
Jan
29
It’s a Routine Life~
Filed Under USA, travel, me, life | 2 Comments
After 18 days in US, I am already quite numb here; everything is a routine especially on a weekday. Wake up around 7.15am, showered and get ready for breakfast around 7.50am which is served at the hotel. The breakfast is almost the same everyday with slight variations but nothing much is different.
After that we leave for work around 8.35am and reach office around 9.15am, depending on the traffic as it is around 18 miles to work using the 880 highway. Training usually starts around 9.40am but recently we are given QA task to do. |
Lunch is around 12.30pm and if the colleagues here didn't bring their lunch, they bring us out for lunch or else we normally eat somewhere near office. There is a Chinese restaurant and Burger King which serves the best fries I had in US~ But the burger is about the same in Malaysia. Usually they bring us to different places/cuisines for meal and it's mostly very nice..
We leave work from around 6.30pm to 7.15pm depending on the workload we have. Reached home, showered and eat dinner (either leftover from lunch or frozen food and sometimes we eat outside before going home). Next I'll enter expense claim, surfing, watch a little TV and sleep.
Quite routine, eh? I hope to go out more on weekday nights rather than staying at home all the time but I ain't got much choices. So, only get to go out on weekends all my weekends are gone! >_<
I'll be flying to Taiwan this coming Friday midnight and spend two days there! ^.^ After that, I'll reach KL, Malaysia on the 5th of Feb and back to Malacca on 6th Feb, yeah, Chinese New Year eve! But hafta be back on Sunday itself coz no more annual leave!!!
The pic of my studio apartment. More pics here..
Jan
28
Tax!!!
Filed Under USA, travel | 9 Comments
There are things that I like and don't like over here in US. The thing I dislike most is the tax! Yes, everything is taxable, from the food and drink you ordered to the every single products you purchase, everywhere, small or big shops! Yes, everything!
The annoying part is that they don't display the products' price after tax. The price is normally before tax and thus rather misleading. The very first time I pay, I thought I was wrongly charged, only to discover that it was the tax. It was rather embarrassing as it happened at the shopping mall.
And well, it happened again and again and the tax is like 8.25% which is rather high! If I am to spend USD600 here
(which I personally have spent), I would spend like USD50 on tax and that is about RM136! Geez.. that's a lot of money for tax. And why do I have to pay tax again?
Jan
25
Glorious food!
Filed Under USA, travel, food | 13 Comments
I try to have more different varieties of food while I am in US. The thing is Asian foods are pretty common in US and you can get it almost anywhere. But of course there is no 'wan tan mee' or 'pan mee' or I have yet to see them so far. Some food are better than Malaysia's and some are not. Thai tomyam food is good though, or was it because the weather was cold?
My almost same usual daily breakfast..
I am pretty done with American food for sure as it is mostly about deep fried or burger and of course fries too. But I like their sausages especially the pork as it is so tender & really yummy.
Fried Seafood Platter..
"In and Out" Vegetarian Burger (coz all others are beef and I couldnt eat beef!)
Cheese and hams (layers!) sandwiches with fries.. Very oily fries!!!
Free light evening meals (doesnt seems to be light at all, huh) at our residence/hotel but only up to 7pm. This is the first and only time we manage to have it.
I have tried other food which is rather good like the Taco (Mexican food), Greek food, Italian, Taiwanese and their Pakistan curry. Quite yummy. Even the BBQ Korean here is delicious and the Japanese food in San Francisco was good too. But the chinese food here is not as good.
Japanese Shrimp Fried Rice with extra big portions and generous amount of fresh shrimps!
Vietnamese Cold Noodles with BBQ Meat.. Quite nice but huge too!
Chinese Food, don't really like it..
Another chinese food..taste so so only. But de one plate of meat is one serving for one person!!! Damn large!
Taiwanese Food. Look at the amount of the pork! Freaking big size for one person!
I couldn't believe the pork so I took it home and have it for dinner the next night, with instant noodle (and fruit juice), still looks good, eh? And yes, ppl here takes home what they cannot finish.. 
Wonderfully yummy Pakistan (I think) Kebab & Curry for only $8 buffet lunch!!! Love the lamb & chicken!
One of my favourite meals, the Mexican Taco with spicy pork and bean! I love de small serving too!
The buffet dinner which only cost around USD12.xx (without tips) and de salad was good. I didnt eat as much as I would normally do in Malaysia's buffet.
Italian meal at Olive Garden, de salad is huge (meant to be for 1 person but we share), de soup was good and I was too full for the main dish (pasta filled with mushroom) which was quite nice too..
Mexican Burrito, wrapped with beans, rice, chicken and corn (all u can choose by urself), quite good but very filling!
Darn good Korean BBQ food, especially de pork! Best meats I ever have in US! De taste is heavenly! Though in very big portion too..
Greek food, I dont know what it is called. But quite nice. Something different..
The really-delicious-seafood-thai-tom-yum! With rice..
Haagan Dazs ice cream is pretty cheap here for only USD3.60 for a pint (around 500ml) which sells around RM28 in Isetan, Malaysia.
Dreyer's ice cream - cherry vanilla flavour~
The waffle that I made at breakfast (in hotel) and Aunt Anne's Pretzel! Almost de same like Malaysia (maybe slightly better) and de price also same! USD2.90~ Expensive!
And yeah, the frozen food where you can get at supermarket at a rather small portion but there was many varieties, I really mean a lot of varieties! I have tried 2 so far and it tasted pretty good though it is unhealthy! ^.^
The frozen-and-mircowaved chicken pie, quite good too..:D
The porkchop frozen food, not too bad..
Last but not least, my favourite berries!!! Blackberries, raspberies and blueberries. The bottom is the cherries and grapes! Yum yum~
T
Jan
24
Shop Till U Drop~
Filed Under happy, money, me | 13 Comments
Of course I was looking forward to buy branded stuffs when I was here. It is much cheaper here compared to Malaysia but then again, everywhere else is cheaper than M'sia, right? Not that I fancy much of branded goods but well, I wouldn't mind a piece or two… if it's cheap. 
So we went to this premium outlet stores in Gilroy on Sunday which was really a huge place with lots of branded name stores, like Coach, Banana Republic, Timberland, Nike, Gap, Levi's and etc. I went into some of the stores which I didn't dare to step in when in Malaysia. We reached there before 11am and shopped till 6pm when they closed (with lunch break in between)!
The prices are indeed much cheaper! Stuffs that I have bought either for myself or someone else are : Nike Sport shoes (at extremely good deal and am real happy bout it), Nike Duffel Bag, 2 Nike T-shirts, Fossil watch, Fossil purse, 2 Levi's jeans, Bass purse, Jansport pouch, 2 Gap shirts, Vit E cream and Vit A & C supplements.
Some of the pictures.. :
My Fossil watch, with interchangeable ribbons~
1 Fossil & 1 Bass Leather Purse..
My NIKE shoes, love it!
One of my 2 Gap shirt, another is just light pink long sleeves..
My Jansport pouch, though I don't like to use pouch so much but convenient to have one here..
My Levi's~
All of above cost me like USD207 only! That is under RM700 for so many items which are a real bargain. I wish we could go again but the place is like an hour drive away and I think the sales ended last weekend. And my money is running out, very fast! >_<
Update : Spent another USD100 today for Levi's jeans, a small bag for myself, 2 belts, 1 Nike shirt & 4 mini Victoria secret's perfumes~ I MUST stop spending!!!
Jan
22
On my second Saturday weekend, I went to San Francisco again, for the third time. Yeah, my life here is all about San Francisco although I really want to go to other places like the Muir Wood, Napa Valley (the winery), Monterey for the nice beach view and other places.
But heck, I am not going to complain. The last time the two of them complaining about each other, they ain't talking to each other till now! I am officially the middle-man now.. >_<
Anyway, back to the San Francisco, which was freezingly cold in the morning and night and stupid me decided not to bring the scarf and hat when I need it most. This time I went to an island which prison that kept the most notorious criminal in US! It is Alcatraz Island which is around 15 minutes of ferry ride from Pier 33 and the trip cost USD24.50! The most expensive visit so far and it is a building of prisons and all the small cells and stuffs. Pretty neat but too expensive!
The small horrifying cells..
Cells at Alcatraz Island..Rows of loneliness that could haunt you days & nights..
There are few rows, 3 floors, dark, small & scary.. I can't imagine staying here for years! Or lifetime! Some tried escaped but..
The inmates/criminals..
Next we went to the see the Arrival of Sea Lions events at Pier 39 but all the sea lions just lazing around under the sun and did nothing much! Watched for like 15 minutes and quite disappointed as I thought I could view from near and they'll do something except for napping! The fat, lazy ass..
Aren't they lazy?!?
This is a fat one!
And I love the sun, surpisingly! It's too cold!
Next, had lunch at Chowders, I have the seafood platter which was fried squid, shrimp, fish and fries. My colleague was right; all American food is about frying! And I have quite enough of it.
All fried!
My favorite visit would be the Aquarium of the Bay at $14.95 with many starfish and stingrays and jellyfish! Awesome! Definitely better than Singapore's. Took many videos there. ^.^
Look out for the shark!
Starfishes~
Big Jellyfish
Small jelly fish..
Touching leapord shark!
I had the Dready's 'Red Cherry with Vanilla' ice cream in choc waffle cone which cost USD5.50! Yum yum, but taste a bit like cough medicine coz cherry mah.. We had it outside of the shop which was even colder, while watching the many yatchs parked at the bay. Lovely!
Yum yum~
I love the yatch!
When around Fisherman Wharf and Union Square for the rest of the day which is really cold and tiring as we were walking the whole day!
Fancy a horse ride?
Fisherman's Wharf~
Mr.Bear & me~
The famous & EXPENSIVE Shopping Mall..
Finally before getting back, we had 'Taco' at Mexican Grill which was surprisingly very nice! Yum yum~
Home by 11pm and slept through the 1 hour journey, really very tiring but a good day after all. =)
Jan
19
Tipping around..
Filed Under USA, travel, life | 6 Comments
In Malaysia, we pay only for what we eat or drink in the restaurant, according to the receipt. But here in US, they give tips at nearly every restaurants! Except for those that you buy and pay at the counter such as fast food or you take away the food.
It is new to me and unfamiliar to me. We don't have the tipping culture but yet, I have to follow it when I am here. It is around 15% to 20% of the total bill.
So when I order a food that cost USD7.70, I probably will pay USD9 for it. And even for room service, we tip the fella too.
It seems that the waitress wages is low, so it is something extra for them.
But what about me?
Another thing is people take away their food if they couldn't finish it! They just ask for a box and take away the leftover food!
I felt so odd at the first time but since everyone do so, I did few times too! Not to mention that the portion of food is really huge here! It is like double of what you can get back home. So you heat it up for dinner or lunch the next day.
And yes, nobody laugh at you or look at you one kind when you do so. They sort of expect you to do so, I suppose, not to waste the food. But if you do that in Malaysia, I suppose you'll get weird glances!
They call it 'to go' instead of 'take away'. When I told my colleague in the office that I couldn't finish my lunch, he asked me 'where is your to-go-box'?
I had my first lunch at this Japanese Restaurant at San Francisco~
Jan
19
The hardest thing is always the first step, no matter what it may be; whether to take up a class or do braces or to speak up one mind. It is no wonder that for many who don't have the courage to take the first move, hardly achieve what they want in life or something to improve the condition of their life.
It could be more difficult for those who have a bigger problems and recognizing them, such as addition to drugs or alcohol. Support and help from families or friends are very crucial into helping them taking the first step to recovery
There are many drug rehab around that could help those abusers to recover from the addition as well as improve their life generally as the addition has great impact in their life, study or work as well as their social circles including family and friends.
Drug rehab center has five effective steps that could effectively assist in the recovery of the additions. It would start with detoxification and withdrawal stage, followed by the self control and communication exercises where they are paired together to help each other. The 3rd process will be sauna cleansing and next is study improvement. Lastly, they are educated of drug-frees remedies for discomforts.
Jan
18
Whenever told me that they have sensitive skin/hand and it would peel when they use detergent or soap powder, I wondered how it could happen as it never happens to me. The most is I have a little dry skin after washing but nothing bad.
I don’t have sensitive skin or allergy or anything at all, not that I am complaining but I just don't feel the pain of others. Well, except for my super sensitive nose and eyes.
But hey, the back of my hands got really dry yesterday evening, when I touched it, it feels like wood or paper! Seriously! Like I aged 30 years older in minutes.. When I got home, it was almost burning sensation and it was quite reddish!
I washed and put lotion and it feels really bad, like a sunburned. I wondered what happened. The weather was very dry here but I could cope with it so far. And then it hits me! The soap detergent that I bought at the laundry shop during lunch to do my laundry there!
Though I used the washing machine at the shop, I guess it still leaves residue on the clothes and I've been touching and folding them.
My manager told me before that the detergent in US was very harsh but I didn't really bother as I thought my skin should be ok with it.
When I wore the newly-washed-long-pants, my legs were itchy that I started to scratched till they become reddish with red little bumps. Gosh!
I quickly put lotion but it didn't help, gotta wash it with water and I wore short pants the whole night.
Next, I washed my towel, jeans and long pants with water to clear up the residue of the soap detergent. After washing, my hands' skin started to peel and become very dry and flaky! Darn!
I brought some detergent from M'sia but it wasn't much. I hope it could last for my next 2 weeks stay here or else.. I don’t know.. get a glove?
And the weather is so dry that I could wash my jeans, leave it hanging and dripping with water in the bathroom at night; the next day it is 80% dry! Normal clothing dries completely overnight in the bathroom! No smell whatsoever! Amazing… -ly dry!
And so is my whole body, hand, legs and even hair!!! 
I think I used this one!!!
This is the laundry place where I did my laundry, which is just right after my office.
The front-load-washing-machine for 2 loads, I think around $2.50 or $2.75 per washing.
This is the cheap $1 top-load-washing-machine that I used as my clothes weren't that much to wash.
This is the dryer, a quarter (25 cents) for 8 minutes. We put a dollar and the clothes were pretty dried up after 32 minutes.
Jan
17
My Daily American Breakfast..
Filed Under USA, travel, food | 7 Comments
There are a lot of Asian foods in US, apart from the American food. In fact I think I consumed more Asian food in these 5 days, if excluding breakfast which is provided by the apartment, American buffet.
I quite like it although it is the same choices every single day. The sausages that was made from pork was fabulous and I couldn’t help consuming at least one piece although it is oily and very unhealthy!
There are also scrambled eggs, toast or wedges, breads, donuts, muffin, oats, 3 choices of cereals, peach, strawberry, pancakes and some fruits. For drinks, there are coffee, decaf coffee, hot chocolate or variety of teas.
Everyday I have very heavy breakfast and I enjoyed it very much!
The place where breakfast is served, buffet..
The donuts but I never tried any of them before. Must try at least once!
I usually have one sausage (on weekend I'll take two) with some scrambled eggs and potatoes (or bread). They don't have chilly sauce so I'll eat with Tabasco sauce (which is very common here) and I really like it a lot!
Next, I'll have a bowl of oats or cereals with raisins, nuts, peach and strawberry! Healthy, eh?
If I eat cereal, I'll add on the milk. Sometimes I'll add on a Yogurt too, so really very filling!!!
Jan
15
I’m back, virtually!
Filed Under travel, USA, holiday, fun, me, life | 15 Comments
I finally got my laptop from work today and finally can online from the studio apartment! I arrived safely on Friday night after a total of 15 hours flight and 7 hours of waiting! That is easily more than 24 hours!
We got a studio apartment (Marriott), with a room without door on the 1st floor and a room on the ground floor, which I chose to share with the female colleague, YJ. I love the place as it is very comfortable, with kitchen, living room and fireplace, nice bathroom and heater, very comfortable indeed. It is $130 a day with lovely American breakfast! I think it is very expensive, but what the heck, I am not the one paying!
From the outside! Cool huh?
The bedroom, I shared the bed with another girl~
The comfy living room, with fireplace~
The fully equipped kitchen with fridge, dish washer, micowave, stove and cooking utensils~
We got a car rented by our dear company and went to San Francisco on the weekend, both Saturday and Sunday! Luckily, one of my colleagues can drive as the driver side is on the left hand side! It is quite confusing to me, the way you have to turn the car and driving on the different side. And the highway is like 5 lanes and those people drives real fast! I don't think I wanna drive here!
Our rented car, I think around $20 per day or so, the company paying for the rent but we pay for the gas/petrol. Driving to work is like 17 miles per way! (1 miles = 1.6x kilometres! U do the math!)
Within few days, I have taken hundreds of pictures in San Francisco, the foods I have, the things I see, the lovely buildings and everything else! It's really cool and I absolutely like the place!
The weather was quite cold at night and my hands are freezing even though I am wearing gloves. But overall it is manageable if I am to wear 1 or 2 sweaters. I bought a real nice jacket from Macy for a very cheap price too, totally love it!
My sweater from Macy, guess how much is it!?!
But the weather is very dry and I feel that my lip is dry and my skin too. A colleague suggested me to get a humidifier so that it would be better for my skin especially when I sleep at night. I feel thirsty and woke up at the middle of the night! Will search for a suitable and affordable humidifier soon.
But.. it could be better.. I mean the 2 colleagues that are here with me. They both don't see head to head sometimes and sometimes are pretty upset about each other. Only 3 days we are together, can you believe it?!? I have to be the neutral one and hope it doesn't get worse (if it doesn’t get better).
Training will officially start tomorrow. I hope it is manageable but not too heavy. The colleagues here are quite nice too. They treated us lunch today at The Elephant Bar.
The nice lake by the Palace of Fine Art, San Francisco~
I love the hilly and slope-y San Francisco with the design of their houses/buildings!
Me at Golden Gate Bridge! I've made it!!!
Don't you just love the view? Could see the Bay Bridge at the back~ SF too..
I’ll be back with more pictures. =)
Jan
14
First Job?
Filed Under happy, me | 10 Comments
“So this is your first job?” my new colleague asked me as I was walking to the LRT station with him.
“My fourth job!” I exclaimed.
“You look like fresh graduates to me. How old are you?!” he asked.
Wah… I am very happy to hear that, coming from a stranger (or nearly a stranger, just got to know each other few days). Practically floating on the air~
As we grow older, I guess we just want to be or look younger. But when we are young, we want to grow older and to be in control. Right? 
