It's not really easy to keep in touch without a computer. The laptop I've been using finally died in the 2nd half of April. It just refused to power on! It was a good old Toshiba (897 MHz with 256 MB of RAM) that a good friend lent me. It's time for an upgrade!
It took me a good couple of weeks before I found a deal that attracted me. I got myself a Dell Inspiron 1420: 14.1", Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz), 3 GB of RAM, 120 GB of HD with built-in Bluetooth and webcam priced at regular price for $1019. After 25% off and 8.25% tax it totaled $833.30. I was quite satisfied with the deal!
Unfortunately, it was just not meant to be. On the day after I received it, I was playing with its webcam software and I encountered the Windows Vista blue screen (BSOD - Blue Screen Of Death)! I had a chance to work with Dell's tech support. I followed tech support's instructions and did a system restore. After restarting Windows Vista, I got a 2nd blue screen when starting Internet Explorer! At that point, my case was escalated and I was given a phone number and a contact name. The service I experienced was quite good. It took me about 2 weeks of phone exchanges with Dell's tech support but the cause of the blue screens was not determined. I finally decided to return the laptop for a full refund (due to defectiveness). In the meantime, I got a third blue screen.
Once again, I'm computer-less... it feels weird... Let me know if you find any good deals for my budget of less than $900 total (out of pocket)!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, April 07, 2008
Free Drinks!
Jamba Juice is giving away free breakfast tomorrow until 10am to promote their new breakfast products!
http://www.jambajuice.com/
And coincidentally, Starbucks is having some kind of promotion tomorrow as well... but they are not telling what it is "because it will spoil the surprise"!
http://starbucks.com/
Enjoy!
http://www.jambajuice.com/
And coincidentally, Starbucks is having some kind of promotion tomorrow as well... but they are not telling what it is "because it will spoil the surprise"!
http://starbucks.com/
Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Home, Sweet Home!
It is booked! I'll be back to Montreal on June 26th until July 15th. Please mark down your calendars if you care about meeting me!
It will be the 3rd time I go back home after I moved to California and also the 3rd time I use my points for a flight home. Let's see if I can keep the trend. My target is to not have to pay for airfare to visit home. This time, I redeemed with United Airlines' Mileage Plus program. DH redeemed using Delta Airlines' points. He wants to get rid of them. We would be flying separately, which really bothers me. After 6 years of long distance relationship, I have grown enough hatred towards traveling alone and crossing borders alone. However, I guess I will do it to save a few hundreds of bucks. Sister is going back too. She decided a few weeks after us and was able to use her points as well, but she will arrive half a day after me. It's funny: the 3 of us will arrive at 3 different times with half a day intervals between arrivals.
It will be the 3rd time I go back home after I moved to California and also the 3rd time I use my points for a flight home. Let's see if I can keep the trend. My target is to not have to pay for airfare to visit home. This time, I redeemed with United Airlines' Mileage Plus program. DH redeemed using Delta Airlines' points. He wants to get rid of them. We would be flying separately, which really bothers me. After 6 years of long distance relationship, I have grown enough hatred towards traveling alone and crossing borders alone. However, I guess I will do it to save a few hundreds of bucks. Sister is going back too. She decided a few weeks after us and was able to use her points as well, but she will arrive half a day after me. It's funny: the 3 of us will arrive at 3 different times with half a day intervals between arrivals.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Flight Booking Tip
This tip was known to me since 2002. It is probably the most useful tip that my travel agent gave me. It came in very handy today. I thought of sharing it with you on my blog.
When an airline change your flight (ie. when they bump you to a different flight) or there is a schedule change (ie. change in time of the flight), you are eligible to ask to be rescheduled. I've done with successfully with Northwest Airlines and also confirmed it with United Airlines. UA told me that if the flight schedule change is greater than 90 mins, then we can request to change flight within the same class.
Couple weeks ago, we booked tickets for my parents to come visit next month. We purposely booked direct flight from Montreal to San Francisco. There is only one per day. We just found out today that they rescheduled them to transfer in Denver one the way going and Chicago on the way back. This would cause major confusions to my parents and a longer travel time. We checked the timetable, Air Canada canceled direct flights on both days. We called them and were able to reschedule them on different days with direct flights.
Ever since I knew about this trick, I like to book early for big holidays (3-5 months in advance) as soon as I find a decent deal, usually for July (hight season) or Christmas. Then as the days come closer (about 3 weeks - 1 month), airlines would readjust their schedule according to demand. I would monitor and if they change my itinerary, then I request to change to a more ideal time or even airport! For instance, for Christmas 2002, I booked to depart on the Sunday before Christmas because Saturday was a blackout date, after they changed my itinerary, I was able to negotiate to depart the day before!
When an airline change your flight (ie. when they bump you to a different flight) or there is a schedule change (ie. change in time of the flight), you are eligible to ask to be rescheduled. I've done with successfully with Northwest Airlines and also confirmed it with United Airlines. UA told me that if the flight schedule change is greater than 90 mins, then we can request to change flight within the same class.
Couple weeks ago, we booked tickets for my parents to come visit next month. We purposely booked direct flight from Montreal to San Francisco. There is only one per day. We just found out today that they rescheduled them to transfer in Denver one the way going and Chicago on the way back. This would cause major confusions to my parents and a longer travel time. We checked the timetable, Air Canada canceled direct flights on both days. We called them and were able to reschedule them on different days with direct flights.
Ever since I knew about this trick, I like to book early for big holidays (3-5 months in advance) as soon as I find a decent deal, usually for July (hight season) or Christmas. Then as the days come closer (about 3 weeks - 1 month), airlines would readjust their schedule according to demand. I would monitor and if they change my itinerary, then I request to change to a more ideal time or even airport! For instance, for Christmas 2002, I booked to depart on the Sunday before Christmas because Saturday was a blackout date, after they changed my itinerary, I was able to negotiate to depart the day before!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
South Beach Diet
It's that time of the year, spring is around he corner and I'm getting ready for summer by starting my annual South Beach Diet. I really love that diet, it works very well for me so I do it every year :D.
Today is day 2. I have another 12 days of no carbs to endure before I can slowly re-introduce good carbs. It's quite painful, but hey... it's guaranteed to work! My record is losing 7lbs in 9 days and I was able to lose 10lbs for my wedding.
Today is day 2. I have another 12 days of no carbs to endure before I can slowly re-introduce good carbs. It's quite painful, but hey... it's guaranteed to work! My record is losing 7lbs in 9 days and I was able to lose 10lbs for my wedding.
Going Vegetarian - Conclusion
I heard that some of you wanted to know the result of my vegetarian diet. Well, it wasn't as "cleansing" experience as I thought. The first 3 days was wonderful, we ate at home and had homemade cooking. After that, it went all wrong. We over ate! We went to try vegetarian Indian food. We had dosa and other dishes for the first time. It was good, but it was also a lot of potatoes and starch (and saturated fat from the coconut!)! We were quite stuffed. The following days, we had a lot of curries and also went to Sweet Tomatoes (a salad and soup buffet). Needless to say, we over ate for the remainder 7 days of our 11 days of diet! I have to say, that's not exactly what I expected from the diet!
For conclusion, I believe it is fairly easy to be non-strict vegetarian here in Silicon Valley. Supermarkets have great selections and many restaurants offer vegetarian alternatives. However, it becomes very tricky when you go out with non-vegetarian friends. Especially if they want to go for pho (vietnamese food) or Chinese food. It is definitely challenging when you want to have cheap fast food! One time, we had to fill on potato wedges at Safeway for quick lunch! So, finally, I don't see a need of going vegetarian again in the near future. As far as I am concerned, it's only healthier if you eat at home or at fancier restaurant.
For conclusion, I believe it is fairly easy to be non-strict vegetarian here in Silicon Valley. Supermarkets have great selections and many restaurants offer vegetarian alternatives. However, it becomes very tricky when you go out with non-vegetarian friends. Especially if they want to go for pho (vietnamese food) or Chinese food. It is definitely challenging when you want to have cheap fast food! One time, we had to fill on potato wedges at Safeway for quick lunch! So, finally, I don't see a need of going vegetarian again in the near future. As far as I am concerned, it's only healthier if you eat at home or at fancier restaurant.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Going Vegetarian
On Monday, I started a vegetarian diet. DH and I are going vegetarian for 10 days just for an experiment. It has nothing to do with religions and believes. I still believe we are not at the bottom of the food chain, so it is merely for fun! I wanted to cut all animal products, but I think I should start slowly, so I'm allowing myself to milk products and eggs, so that I can eat cakes and cookies :D.
The purpose of this experiment is to verify how difficult it is to be vegetarian in our society and if the vegetarian diet gives noticeable physical difference. Today is Day 4, the first 3 days weren't bad. I find myself eating a lot of veggie soup with noodles or pasta. Our friend T. is participating in our experiment and he says he's been eating more carbs than ever: he stuffs himself with lots of bread and rice! I think the most challenging is for T. and DH to say no to free meat at work!
After 3.5 days of vegetarianism, I do feel a physical difference. I don't feel as stuffed, almost wanting to eat something. I definitely have more water intake from all those veggies and fruits. On the other hand, T. feels more stuffed than before from eating all those refined carbs! I wonder if I would lose weight or body fat percentage... Oh... I must mention that on Monday, we also started the National Body Challenge, therefore, we started exercising on Monday, maybe that would affect our weight and percentage body fat too. Anyway, I don't say no to losing some fat and weight... :D
The purpose of this experiment is to verify how difficult it is to be vegetarian in our society and if the vegetarian diet gives noticeable physical difference. Today is Day 4, the first 3 days weren't bad. I find myself eating a lot of veggie soup with noodles or pasta. Our friend T. is participating in our experiment and he says he's been eating more carbs than ever: he stuffs himself with lots of bread and rice! I think the most challenging is for T. and DH to say no to free meat at work!
After 3.5 days of vegetarianism, I do feel a physical difference. I don't feel as stuffed, almost wanting to eat something. I definitely have more water intake from all those veggies and fruits. On the other hand, T. feels more stuffed than before from eating all those refined carbs! I wonder if I would lose weight or body fat percentage... Oh... I must mention that on Monday, we also started the National Body Challenge, therefore, we started exercising on Monday, maybe that would affect our weight and percentage body fat too. Anyway, I don't say no to losing some fat and weight... :D
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Hawaii at End of Month!
Remember I mentioned going to Honolulu, HI at the end of this month? Yup, we are going for $100 in "taxes", that includes flight for 2 and two night hotel in Waikiki.
We received the trip info on New Year's eve. It is confirmed and we flying with NorthWest Airlines. Yay! That means we can collect WorldPerks points! (NWA's frequent flyer program).
Honestly speaking, WoldPerks points are quite useless to us. Before our marriage, DH and I had a long distance relationship for 6 years. During those 6 years, I have mostly flown across the continent with NWA because they were the cheapest, but also because they had and evening flight landing in SJC. Until now, I have collected roughly 43000 points. Unlike for Star Alliance airlines partners, I have never been able to redeem a flight with WorldPerks. They claim flights within Canada-USA start at 25000 points, but in real life, all I have seen cost more than my 43000 points! I tried to redeem them for hotel nights, but there's no such option... Then how to get rid of them or use them?
DH really wants to go see volcano in Big Island, HI. I wasn't too enthusiastic about it: we are going to be in Hawaii for only 2.5 days, I don't want to be rushing or spend too much on a "free" trip. He tried to convinced me to book for flight to Hilo. It would cost us $220 (that's $49/way + tax).
Finally, we found a solution that saves money and helps get rid of points! We went to Honolulu, HI for our honeymoon by Hawaiian Airlines. We joined their frequent flyer program to get $10 off the price of the flight and collected 4000+ points in 2006. Then, we participated in some surveys and joined their mailing list for some bonus points, which brought us to above 5000 points, enough for 1-way inter-island flight! I have one account and DH have another one, that makes it enough for 1 round trip from Honolulu to Hilo! Then, I remember my mom has 11000 points in WorldPerks, which is not going to take her anywhere... She has only flown once with NWA and collected 5000+ points in 2002. To keep her membership active, I have helped her find bonus points and in 5 years, I pumped her up to 11000 points! NWA and Hawaiian Airlines are partners, that means another round trip inter-island flight!! Which her permission, I redeemed 10000 points for a second inter-island flight and it is only costing us $5 in taxes.
Here is a summary of our trip so far:
$100 + 2($5) = $110 in total taxes
includes: 2 flights from SFO to HNL, 2-night hotel, 2 flights from HNL to ITO.
Did you know...
That you don't need to take taxi or shuttle from HNL airport to Waikiki beach? There are several public buses you can take. For instance, bus 20 would take you directly from HNL to Waikiki and would cost you only $2. The average tourists wouldn't know and would pay $15 for shuttle or even $30 for taxi! That's what we did last time and it didn't even saved us time due to multiple drop offs at different hotels. So, public bus that is!
Since we are going to the airport twice in this trip, it would cost us a total of $16 in public transportation. We also booked a car at Hilo airport (ITO)'s Dollar Rent A Car for our day trip, the estimate total is $30.15. Therefore our new subtotal would be: $156.15 for the trip.
Let's see if we can keep this entire trip under $400. :)
View Larger Map
We received the trip info on New Year's eve. It is confirmed and we flying with NorthWest Airlines. Yay! That means we can collect WorldPerks points! (NWA's frequent flyer program).
Honestly speaking, WoldPerks points are quite useless to us. Before our marriage, DH and I had a long distance relationship for 6 years. During those 6 years, I have mostly flown across the continent with NWA because they were the cheapest, but also because they had and evening flight landing in SJC. Until now, I have collected roughly 43000 points. Unlike for Star Alliance airlines partners, I have never been able to redeem a flight with WorldPerks. They claim flights within Canada-USA start at 25000 points, but in real life, all I have seen cost more than my 43000 points! I tried to redeem them for hotel nights, but there's no such option... Then how to get rid of them or use them?
DH really wants to go see volcano in Big Island, HI. I wasn't too enthusiastic about it: we are going to be in Hawaii for only 2.5 days, I don't want to be rushing or spend too much on a "free" trip. He tried to convinced me to book for flight to Hilo. It would cost us $220 (that's $49/way + tax).
Finally, we found a solution that saves money and helps get rid of points! We went to Honolulu, HI for our honeymoon by Hawaiian Airlines. We joined their frequent flyer program to get $10 off the price of the flight and collected 4000+ points in 2006. Then, we participated in some surveys and joined their mailing list for some bonus points, which brought us to above 5000 points, enough for 1-way inter-island flight! I have one account and DH have another one, that makes it enough for 1 round trip from Honolulu to Hilo! Then, I remember my mom has 11000 points in WorldPerks, which is not going to take her anywhere... She has only flown once with NWA and collected 5000+ points in 2002. To keep her membership active, I have helped her find bonus points and in 5 years, I pumped her up to 11000 points! NWA and Hawaiian Airlines are partners, that means another round trip inter-island flight!! Which her permission, I redeemed 10000 points for a second inter-island flight and it is only costing us $5 in taxes.
Here is a summary of our trip so far:
$100 + 2($5) = $110 in total taxes
includes: 2 flights from SFO to HNL, 2-night hotel, 2 flights from HNL to ITO.
Did you know...
That you don't need to take taxi or shuttle from HNL airport to Waikiki beach? There are several public buses you can take. For instance, bus 20 would take you directly from HNL to Waikiki and would cost you only $2. The average tourists wouldn't know and would pay $15 for shuttle or even $30 for taxi! That's what we did last time and it didn't even saved us time due to multiple drop offs at different hotels. So, public bus that is!
Since we are going to the airport twice in this trip, it would cost us a total of $16 in public transportation. We also booked a car at Hilo airport (ITO)'s Dollar Rent A Car for our day trip, the estimate total is $30.15. Therefore our new subtotal would be: $156.15 for the trip.
Let's see if we can keep this entire trip under $400. :)
View Larger Map
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Trip Expenses
When I go on trip, I would mark down all my expenses. I like to know how much I spend for future reference. It makes it easier to budget for the next time. After computing my expense for this last trip to China, to my biggest surprise, I found out that we spent less than one thousand dollars during our journey. If we add up the cost of the tour and every miscellaneous expenses, the total spent on this trip is US$3,243.68 for the two of us! (I used the rates of US$1 = RMB¥7.30 and US$1 = HK$7.60) and I budgeted $5000!
The biggest portion of trip was the tour, which cost $1209 (per person), then we had to add $35 (per person) for Saturday return flight. Visa to mainland China was $45 for dual entry for us (for the American passport, it is flat rate of $100). Therefore, before leaving, we spent $2578.
Yes! That means... we only spend $665.68 during the trip!! and that includes 7 days that is not part of the tour, ie. eat and stay at our own expense! Hehe, we were very lucky and blessed, my relative took care of our extra night lodging in Guangzhou and we stayed with my good friend in Hong Kong. I wanted to spend more, I wanted to go crazy clothing shopping, but bad timing I guess... I really don't like this season's style and plus, it wasn't sale season either. Too bad for me, but DH is very happy he got 3 pairs of cheap pants and 1 sweater (all 4 items for RMB¥200, about US$26.32).
Finally, as my friend said, we are so under budget that we can use that money for a mini-getaway :D :D. Our next trip: Honolulu, HI at the end of January!! (This one is from attending one of those timeshare presentations: flight + 2 nights hotel for two in Waikiki, we paid $100 in "taxes").
The biggest portion of trip was the tour, which cost $1209 (per person), then we had to add $35 (per person) for Saturday return flight. Visa to mainland China was $45 for dual entry for us (for the American passport, it is flat rate of $100). Therefore, before leaving, we spent $2578.
Yes! That means... we only spend $665.68 during the trip!! and that includes 7 days that is not part of the tour, ie. eat and stay at our own expense! Hehe, we were very lucky and blessed, my relative took care of our extra night lodging in Guangzhou and we stayed with my good friend in Hong Kong. I wanted to spend more, I wanted to go crazy clothing shopping, but bad timing I guess... I really don't like this season's style and plus, it wasn't sale season either. Too bad for me, but DH is very happy he got 3 pairs of cheap pants and 1 sweater (all 4 items for RMB¥200, about US$26.32).
Finally, as my friend said, we are so under budget that we can use that money for a mini-getaway :D :D. Our next trip: Honolulu, HI at the end of January!! (This one is from attending one of those timeshare presentations: flight + 2 nights hotel for two in Waikiki, we paid $100 in "taxes").
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Back from China!
It's been about a week and a half that I've been back from my trip to China. We joined a tour and went to Beijing, Nanjing, Wuxi, Sozhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou and finally Guangzhou where the tour was dismissed. Then we made our way to Hong Kong and flew back to San Francisco from there.
The trip was good. My main concern was DH getting a culture shock with the food. Not only he didn't complain and ate a lot, but he also didn't get sick! What a relief. Well, we visited big cities, it should be much safer than visiting say Xian or other remote areas.
In preparation for the Olympics, the Beijing National Stadium (or the Bird's Nest) was already there, we drove by and could have a look. It was either a very foggy or smoggy day, we couldn't see well. Streets in big cities were clean and I noticed significant reduction in number of people spitting (almost none!). I have to give them credit, every time I go back to China, I can see significant improvement: they evolve at very quick pace!
When we got to Guangzhou where the tour was dismissed, we finally got to eat food other than "tour-package-deal" meals. DH was very pleased. Guangzhou is known for good food. We met up with my relatives and they took care of taking us out. We tried local specialties like free-range chicken, fresh fish balls, dumplings with fish-meat wrapper, wild caught shrimps, and even pigeon! We stayed in Guangzhou for 2 nights and then took the train to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was charming. It was great for walkers! For 2 days in a row, we walked 21,000 steps per day! (Daily target is 10,000 steps). We were proud to show our friends and relatives what we walked.
On the first day, we walked from Central to the escalators to mid-levels, visited the zoo (open to public, free admission!) on the way and then walked to the tram station to go up to Victoria Peak. After seeing the view of the city from high, we walked back from the tram station to Central and finally from Central to Causeway Bay. We stopped on the way for afternoon tea and visited Cisco office in Wan Chai. We met up with DH's cousins in Causeway Bay for dinner.
On the second day, we visited The Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui. It was free admission on Wednesday. We walked North on Nathan Road from there to Mongkok where we shopped and experienced the crowds in Hong Kong. We went as far as Gold Fish Market!
Thursday was a relaxing day, we took it easy and had a day trip to Shenzhen where we indulge ourselves with half a day at a SPA.
Friday was the last full day in Hong Kong. We occupied ourselves with last minute shopping and last minute meeting with friends and relatives.
Saturday morning, we head out early at 7:30am to catch bus E22A from Tseung Kwan O (near Po Lam MTR station) to the airport. It took us 1hr15mins and costed HK$24 per person. The ride and flight were uneventful. We met up with 4 tourmates who took the same flight home. The flight was nice, the flight attendants were courteous. I was tired and slept most of the flight. Never has a trans-Pacific flight seemed so short (about 12hrs)!
The trip was good. My main concern was DH getting a culture shock with the food. Not only he didn't complain and ate a lot, but he also didn't get sick! What a relief. Well, we visited big cities, it should be much safer than visiting say Xian or other remote areas.
In preparation for the Olympics, the Beijing National Stadium (or the Bird's Nest) was already there, we drove by and could have a look. It was either a very foggy or smoggy day, we couldn't see well. Streets in big cities were clean and I noticed significant reduction in number of people spitting (almost none!). I have to give them credit, every time I go back to China, I can see significant improvement: they evolve at very quick pace!
When we got to Guangzhou where the tour was dismissed, we finally got to eat food other than "tour-package-deal" meals. DH was very pleased. Guangzhou is known for good food. We met up with my relatives and they took care of taking us out. We tried local specialties like free-range chicken, fresh fish balls, dumplings with fish-meat wrapper, wild caught shrimps, and even pigeon! We stayed in Guangzhou for 2 nights and then took the train to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was charming. It was great for walkers! For 2 days in a row, we walked 21,000 steps per day! (Daily target is 10,000 steps). We were proud to show our friends and relatives what we walked.
On the first day, we walked from Central to the escalators to mid-levels, visited the zoo (open to public, free admission!) on the way and then walked to the tram station to go up to Victoria Peak. After seeing the view of the city from high, we walked back from the tram station to Central and finally from Central to Causeway Bay. We stopped on the way for afternoon tea and visited Cisco office in Wan Chai. We met up with DH's cousins in Causeway Bay for dinner.
On the second day, we visited The Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui. It was free admission on Wednesday. We walked North on Nathan Road from there to Mongkok where we shopped and experienced the crowds in Hong Kong. We went as far as Gold Fish Market!
Thursday was a relaxing day, we took it easy and had a day trip to Shenzhen where we indulge ourselves with half a day at a SPA.
Friday was the last full day in Hong Kong. We occupied ourselves with last minute shopping and last minute meeting with friends and relatives.
Saturday morning, we head out early at 7:30am to catch bus E22A from Tseung Kwan O (near Po Lam MTR station) to the airport. It took us 1hr15mins and costed HK$24 per person. The ride and flight were uneventful. We met up with 4 tourmates who took the same flight home. The flight was nice, the flight attendants were courteous. I was tired and slept most of the flight. Never has a trans-Pacific flight seemed so short (about 12hrs)!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Hardest Chinese Words
I came across this website that votes for the hardest Chinese word. Very interesting.http://recordcup.com/ranking/287/hardest_chinese_ever.html
This word to the right means "exorcism". I have no idea how to pronounce it!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Yosemite National Park
We went to Yosemite National Park last weekend with a few friends. It was the idea of our friends, I didn't do any research and didn't know what to expect. Yosemite National Park is a wilderness park in the California. It is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. Despite that at this time of the year, there's not much water to see, we enjoyed the spectacular granite cliffs.
On Saturday, we hiked 2hr20mins to admire the granite cliffs. On Sunday, we did 3hrs20mins to see the sequoias. We also made a stop at Glacier Point for the breathtaking scenery.
http://www.ebuceci.com/pics/travel/Yosemite2007/index.php
On Saturday, we hiked 2hr20mins to admire the granite cliffs. On Sunday, we did 3hrs20mins to see the sequoias. We also made a stop at Glacier Point for the breathtaking scenery.
http://www.ebuceci.com/pics
Monday, October 15, 2007
Cock'n Bull Pub & Eatery in Ottawa, ON
As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a French environment and didn't learn much English until I was 17. I took a 6-week crash ESL summer program at York University in North York, ON before enrolling in an English CEGEP (Quebec's pre-university college). I then did 6 years of studies in English (2 years CEGEP + 4 years of University). English became my preferred language for technical speech, but I did not learn much English outside of school environment.
In 2001, I moved Ottawa for my first job after graduation. Ottawa is a beautiful small city, only 190 km away from Montreal. Being the capital of Canada, it was bilingual though it was located in an English dominant province.
One day, my colleagues and I went out to lunch. They chose a restaurant called "Cock'n Bull Pub & Eatery" not too far from work, on Richmond Road. From the outside, the sign shows a rooster on top of a cow. "Oh, that's right", I thought, "coq is a rooster in French, cock must be the English equivalent." We saw down and looked at the menu. I chose the burger called, "Pig and Bull Burger" - hamburger plus bacon. The waitress came and took our orders. My colleague Darrell ordered the "Cock'n Bull Burger". I opened the menu curious to know what it is... Is it chicken burger plus some beef? I read the description quickly scanning for some chicken, I didn't see... so I asked the waitress out loud, "Where's the cock?" Darrell covered his eyes and my other colleague Cindy kicked me. The waitress laughs and says "Don't worry, I've been asked that question many times."
Yes... I didn't know what cock was in English slang... and how was I supposed to know? They don't teach that in school ;)
In 2001, I moved Ottawa for my first job after graduation. Ottawa is a beautiful small city, only 190 km away from Montreal. Being the capital of Canada, it was bilingual though it was located in an English dominant province.
One day, my colleagues and I went out to lunch. They chose a restaurant called "Cock'n Bull Pub & Eatery" not too far from work, on Richmond Road. From the outside, the sign shows a rooster on top of a cow. "Oh, that's right", I thought, "coq is a rooster in French, cock must be the English equivalent." We saw down and looked at the menu. I chose the burger called, "Pig and Bull Burger" - hamburger plus bacon. The waitress came and took our orders. My colleague Darrell ordered the "Cock'n Bull Burger". I opened the menu curious to know what it is... Is it chicken burger plus some beef? I read the description quickly scanning for some chicken, I didn't see... so I asked the waitress out loud, "Where's the cock?" Darrell covered his eyes and my other colleague Cindy kicked me. The waitress laughs and says "Don't worry, I've been asked that question many times."
Yes... I didn't know what cock was in English slang... and how was I supposed to know? They don't teach that in school ;)
My Blog
Dear sister complains that my blog is boring and that I'm just telling my life story in it. I'm not sure what she's expecting. I found out that I have two new readers... Yay! It appears that I still can attract readers interested in knowing about what I've to say! So, I'll keep on blogging :D
Friday, October 05, 2007
China here we come!
After one whole month of tremendous hunting, we finally found an apartment that we like: well lit, spacious, in a good neighbourhood, and cheap! Now we'll have to move on to the next big shopping item that we neglected: our trip to Asia.
Last weekend, DH and I started hunting for deals to go to Asia. It didn't take too long, we found a tour to China decently priced for $1209. It includes 11-day trip tour with flight on United Airlines. We drove to Burlingame, CA yesterday to get to the travel agency at their opening time of 9am to book the trip. Since it's near DH's workplace in San Bruno, CA and far from home, I spent the day at his office.
It is DH's first trip to Asia. He is so excited he even bought a new camera for the occasion!
Cleaning and Moving!
ah ha! It's Friday already. Sunday is the big day. We are going to sign the lease on Sunday at 11am and then spend the rest of the day cleaning up the place so that it'd be ready for moving in on Monday. :D
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Free Photo!
JC Penney Portraits: Free 8 x 10 Portrait + no sitting fee + additional Portrait Sheets $4 each:
http://www.jcpenneyportraits.com/offers/LNSSFallSurvey.asp
http://www.jcpenneyportraits
Monday, September 24, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Hunting hunting hunting...
It's been 4 weeks since we've been hunting... apartment hunting! It is not easy... It is so stressful... It is so different from back home!
Sister needs a place for October 8th, we started apartment hunting about 4 weeks ago. Back then, we started with showing up at apartment buildings' rental office. Where ever we go they would say October is too far from now, they wouldn't know the availability for October 8th because people only give a 30-day notice. Ok, I wouldn't say we wasted our time since we got to visit a lot of place and got to compare prices.
Finally, September 8th passed and we are within one month of the target moving date. We are getting good at it. Every day, we look for deals on Craigslist.com, compile a list of potential places, call them, and visit them. Now the issue is that the places for rent are usually already vacant, so they want immediate occupancy! Ok, there's no way we can move in within few days of notice! So we lose to all the others are willing to move right away!
Now, there's only two weeks left before having to move. Hopefully the last weekend for hunting. On Saturday, we saw two decent place for $1600. One, we minded a bit for being shady and the landlord forces to charge extra $70 for electricity. The other, I minded it to have only 1 bathroom for that price. Sunday, we saw 3 more apartments. The first one was nice, it has two bedroom and two full bathroom for $1590. Then other two were cheaper: $1350 and $1250 respectively for two bedroom and one bathroom. We put in application for the last two because we wanted to go with cheaper. But that's not the end! There's one more that I want to check out... It would be at better location and even cheaper: $1200. We'll see if we can check it out tomorrow... :)
Stay tuned! Will let you know what would be the conclusion of our hunting!
Sister needs a place for October 8th, we started apartment hunting about 4 weeks ago. Back then, we started with showing up at apartment buildings' rental office. Where ever we go they would say October is too far from now, they wouldn't know the availability for October 8th because people only give a 30-day notice. Ok, I wouldn't say we wasted our time since we got to visit a lot of place and got to compare prices.
Finally, September 8th passed and we are within one month of the target moving date. We are getting good at it. Every day, we look for deals on Craigslist.com, compile a list of potential places, call them, and visit them. Now the issue is that the places for rent are usually already vacant, so they want immediate occupancy! Ok, there's no way we can move in within few days of notice! So we lose to all the others are willing to move right away!
Now, there's only two weeks left before having to move. Hopefully the last weekend for hunting. On Saturday, we saw two decent place for $1600. One, we minded a bit for being shady and the landlord forces to charge extra $70 for electricity. The other, I minded it to have only 1 bathroom for that price. Sunday, we saw 3 more apartments. The first one was nice, it has two bedroom and two full bathroom for $1590. Then other two were cheaper: $1350 and $1250 respectively for two bedroom and one bathroom. We put in application for the last two because we wanted to go with cheaper. But that's not the end! There's one more that I want to check out... It would be at better location and even cheaper: $1200. We'll see if we can check it out tomorrow... :)
Stay tuned! Will let you know what would be the conclusion of our hunting!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Braces... Me???
Finally went to the dentist after being here for a whole year. I'm glad to use my benefits or rather, DH's benefits. Before DH's employer got acquired, we were under DMO plan and the selection of dentists under that plan was... rather not so interesting. In other words, the good ones don't even bother dealing with DMO. I waited until the acquisition finalized. We now have new benefits under this parent-company and it is costing us much cheaper in premiums!! Premiums is the portion that is costing the employee out-of-pocket for the health benefit coverage. We are saving something like $80-$100 for both of us in premiums per month.
It wasn't too hard to pick a dentist with good recommendations. I searched on Yelp.com and just randomly picked one that had good recommendations and close to home. DH and I went together for a preventive cleaning and check-up. Now, Dr. Goh says I have bite alignment problems causing too much pressure on my molars and jaw. A night guard would be a temporary solution, but for permanent solution, I would need braces. Euh... Braces? Me? aiya!!! I'm 30 and married... I really don't want to go through 2+ years of braces unless it's very necessary! *sigh* I wouldn't do it for cosmetic... but now that she brings that up, I do feel my jaw tired sometimes. Ok, I should go get a second opinion from a specialist.
It wasn't too hard to pick a dentist with good recommendations. I searched on Yelp.com and just randomly picked one that had good recommendations and close to home. DH and I went together for a preventive cleaning and check-up. Now, Dr. Goh says I have bite alignment problems causing too much pressure on my molars and jaw. A night guard would be a temporary solution, but for permanent solution, I would need braces. Euh... Braces? Me? aiya!!! I'm 30 and married... I really don't want to go through 2+ years of braces unless it's very necessary! *sigh* I wouldn't do it for cosmetic... but now that she brings that up, I do feel my jaw tired sometimes. Ok, I should go get a second opinion from a specialist.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Welcome to the Bay Area!
On Saturday, we had a welcome party for my sister! The first party I organized since I moved to CA. We had it at her corporate apartment and I made some of my favorite desserts: mango pudding, coconut pudding, water chestnut pudding... and I also cooked French Canadian delicacy pâté chinois. It was fun, we had about 14 guests and we played Apples & Apples. I also surprised my sister with a early birthday cake!! haha... She really didn't expect that!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
I'm still hanging around!
Dear readers,
I don't mean to neglect my blog, but life has been busy since I got back from my trip. For the past few weeks, I have been babysitting 3 days a week to help out my friend until she finds a good nanny. The other two days of week day are just enough for me to catch up with my volunteering work and get back in touch with my network here. Thankfully, my friend just told me that she found a nanny who will start in September, so I don't need to help her out anymore! Yay!
My sister just moved here on Friday the 10th from Chicago. I am definitely part of the reasons why she moved. I feel so blessed... to have family to support me. She is leaving behind 7 years of seniority with her previous employer and her beloved house to be here. She started her first week at her new employer last week. She is loving it! Well, hope this honeymoon phase will last... hehehe
I don't mean to neglect my blog, but life has been busy since I got back from my trip. For the past few weeks, I have been babysitting 3 days a week to help out my friend until she finds a good nanny. The other two days of week day are just enough for me to catch up with my volunteering work and get back in touch with my network here. Thankfully, my friend just told me that she found a nanny who will start in September, so I don't need to help her out anymore! Yay!
My sister just moved here on Friday the 10th from Chicago. I am definitely part of the reasons why she moved. I feel so blessed... to have family to support me. She is leaving behind 7 years of seniority with her previous employer and her beloved house to be here. She started her first week at her new employer last week. She is loving it! Well, hope this honeymoon phase will last... hehehe
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Meditation while Babysitting
I've been helping my friend taking care of her son while she looks for a good full-time nanny. Today is my 7th day babysitting. Baby Nathan is almost 9 month-old and is quite a good boy, that's why I agreed to help since I lose patience with cry babies. But now, he is teething and has been quite fussy since yesterday.
Babysitting made me meditate on motherhood. I'm thinking... A mother goes through 9 months of pregnancy, plus painful and endless hours of labour to give birth to a baby. Then she breastfeeds him. Now can you picture this? It is quite an intimate relationship. Fathers can only imagine, but could never experience. Would they stop and think about the effort a mother puts into a child?
Then a baby is born, from this moment on, a mother spends the rest of her life devoting to him/her. She spends time nurturing, caring, and protecting him/her. She worries... Does he eat? Does he sleep? Is he cold/hot? Does the sun bother him? Is the noise too loud?
I always knew that mother's love is quite something - mother's love is generous, grand, heroic! But why? Have I stopped and think how it is to be a mother?
Nathan is almost 9 months old and his routine is based on 2-hr slots: he plays for 2 hrs, then sleeps for 2 hrs. When he sleeps, I prepare his food and can't step away too far: if he wakes up in the middle of his nap, I have to put him back to sleep, because sleeping helps growth. When he's awake, I can't detach myself from him: he may get hurt while I'm away. I entertain him, feed him, play with him in a very educational way because it helps his growth. Then the routine restarts. That is so much work! And I'm only watching him 1/3 of the day! And I have not been in the picture since the beginning! Well, reality is there is no break for a mother: it is a 24/7 job and it's for the rest of her life!
Now I wonder... What if the child she raised turn out to be a brat? What if the child she has cared of and gave unconditional love to turns out to hate her? How heartbroken can a mother be? How would she feel if her dear son moves away to be with the woman of his life? How would she feel if he turns his back on her to protect another woman?
To all mothers on Earth who choose to love unconditionally: Chapeau!
Babysitting made me meditate on motherhood. I'm thinking... A mother goes through 9 months of pregnancy, plus painful and endless hours of labour to give birth to a baby. Then she breastfeeds him. Now can you picture this? It is quite an intimate relationship. Fathers can only imagine, but could never experience. Would they stop and think about the effort a mother puts into a child?
Then a baby is born, from this moment on, a mother spends the rest of her life devoting to him/her. She spends time nurturing, caring, and protecting him/her. She worries... Does he eat? Does he sleep? Is he cold/hot? Does the sun bother him? Is the noise too loud?
I always knew that mother's love is quite something - mother's love is generous, grand, heroic! But why? Have I stopped and think how it is to be a mother?
Nathan is almost 9 months old and his routine is based on 2-hr slots: he plays for 2 hrs, then sleeps for 2 hrs. When he sleeps, I prepare his food and can't step away too far: if he wakes up in the middle of his nap, I have to put him back to sleep, because sleeping helps growth. When he's awake, I can't detach myself from him: he may get hurt while I'm away. I entertain him, feed him, play with him in a very educational way because it helps his growth. Then the routine restarts. That is so much work! And I'm only watching him 1/3 of the day! And I have not been in the picture since the beginning! Well, reality is there is no break for a mother: it is a 24/7 job and it's for the rest of her life!
Now I wonder... What if the child she raised turn out to be a brat? What if the child she has cared of and gave unconditional love to turns out to hate her? How heartbroken can a mother be? How would she feel if her dear son moves away to be with the woman of his life? How would she feel if he turns his back on her to protect another woman?
To all mothers on Earth who choose to love unconditionally: Chapeau!
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Babysitting - Day 5
This is the baby I've been babysitting. :)
He is particularly talkative when I put him in his bouncing saucer, which he also uses as a poo station.
He is particularly talkative when I put him in his bouncing saucer, which he also uses as a poo station.
Friday, July 27, 2007
I'm back to California
It's Friday. I've been back from my trip for about a week and a half. In this past week and a half, I did catch up with things I left off.
On my first day back, I unpacked, cleaned up, and worked on the garden. Yeah, since I don't live alone, the house gets dirty even if I am gone on vacation. I'm not too satisfied with the stove top condition, but I must say, it is much better than when I went away to Chicago for 10 days. I had lectured DH last time, therefore he had promised to scrub the stove top everyday this time.
Our garden has gown a lot in this past month! Our zucchini plants and tomato plants have grown out of control. Back home, tomato plants don't grow much more than half a meter. Needless to say, I didn't expect my two tomato plants in California to grow taller and bigger than me!! I couldn't delay the work on the garden and took 2 hours of my first day back to trim my plants. I'm quite happy to have tones of home grown vegetables!!
Today, I'm helping out a friend and babysitting her 8-month-old baby boy. He is taking a nap right now while I'm catching up with blogging. I'm sure you wonder how my trip went... I'll tell you later!
I'm
On my first day back, I unpacked, cleaned up, and worked on the garden. Yeah, since I don't live alone, the house gets dirty even if I am gone on vacation. I'm not too satisfied with the stove top condition, but I must say, it is much better than when I went away to Chicago for 10 days. I had lectured DH last time, therefore he had promised to scrub the stove top everyday this time.
Our garden has gown a lot in this past month! Our zucchini plants and tomato plants have grown out of control. Back home, tomato plants don't grow much more than half a meter. Needless to say, I didn't expect my two tomato plants in California to grow taller and bigger than me!! I couldn't delay the work on the garden and took 2 hours of my first day back to trim my plants. I'm quite happy to have tones of home grown vegetables!!
Today, I'm helping out a friend and babysitting her 8-month-old baby boy. He is taking a nap right now while I'm catching up with blogging. I'm sure you wonder how my trip went... I'll tell you later!
I'm
Monday, June 25, 2007
Home Sweet Home!!!
Hey... It's been 1 week already that I've been back!!! Many things to say... but may be too lazy to type it all :p
I had so much fun during my weekend in Vancouver. I stayed with a good girl friend and we did tones of girly stuff like enjoying a home spa! I also had the chance to meet with another good friend from Ottawa who was stopping by Vancouver on his way to Hong Kong. We ate cheap sushi and good Cantonese food (that is hard to find in the California Bay Area).
Now I'm back in Montreal... Can't wait to meet all my good old friends... hehehe.
I had so much fun during my weekend in Vancouver. I stayed with a good girl friend and we did tones of girly stuff like enjoying a home spa! I also had the chance to meet with another good friend from Ottawa who was stopping by Vancouver on his way to Hong Kong. We ate cheap sushi and good Cantonese food (that is hard to find in the California Bay Area).
Now I'm back in Montreal... Can't wait to meet all my good old friends... hehehe.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I'm going home!
You probably wonder what I've been up to lately.
My sister came again this past weekend... for 2 more interviews! This is the 4th times she comes in 2 months. She's taking away half of my weekends and taking away time from working on the garden and backyard! It looks like she will take an offer and is moving here for real. We'll soon have to start looking for apartments and help her move-in!
I'm also preparing to go back to sweet home Canada. I'm leaving on Friday and will stay for a whole month. Yesterday, we had a ceremony for our first zucchini. It was yummy! I stir-fried it with some garlic, salt and sugar. Too bad I won't be here for our first tomatoes. We have many... a lot!!! The plants have grown bigger than I expected. Back home, they grow half my size and here, our two tomatoes are my shoulder-height! I should show you some pictures next time!
My sister came again this past weekend... for 2 more interviews! This is the 4th times she comes in 2 months. She's taking away half of my weekends and taking away time from working on the garden and backyard! It looks like she will take an offer and is moving here for real. We'll soon have to start looking for apartments and help her move-in!
I'm also preparing to go back to sweet home Canada. I'm leaving on Friday and will stay for a whole month. Yesterday, we had a ceremony for our first zucchini. It was yummy! I stir-fried it with some garlic, salt and sugar. Too bad I won't be here for our first tomatoes. We have many... a lot!!! The plants have grown bigger than I expected. Back home, they grow half my size and here, our two tomatoes are my shoulder-height! I should show you some pictures next time!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
Little Prank to the In-Laws
Scrubbing the stove top is a new task that I introduced to DH's family. MIL (mother-in-law) already commented that few weeks after our marriage. She claims we don't need to scrub the stove top every day. I suspect her heart is aching because I'm making her beloved son working too hard.
On Wednesday, DH and I did our routine cleaning after dinner. We washed the dishes and scrubbed the stove top. MIL walked by and suggest that we wrap the stove top with aluminum, hence diminishing our scrubbing effort!! "Yes, that's what others do", she says. I had nothing to answer, I really didn't know what to say... For a moment, I pictured our brand-new kitchen upgraded with slate-stone flooring and granite counter top with a black stove wrapped in silver-colored aluminum. *yurk*. But I could find no good words to reply MIL, so I stayed quiet.
I then remember a story that my university friend told me, which inspired me to do the following. The next day, yesterday, I decided to play a little prank to show MIL how I respect her ideas and approve them. I wrapped MIL and FIL's white eating bowls blue plastic wrap. I served miso soup in those bowls and asked DH to present them to his parents. "What is that for?", asked FIL to his son. "So that we don't need to wash the dishes later", replied DH. He put them on the table and walked away looking at me smiling and trying not to laugh. His parents were clueless and didn't comment. I guess they didn't link it to what MIL said the previous night... But that was funny experience :D
Loving my story? You can support my cause by contributing to my "Moving-Out Fund" by PayPal at littlecamy at hotmail dot com.
On Wednesday, DH and I did our routine cleaning after dinner. We washed the dishes and scrubbed the stove top. MIL walked by and suggest that we wrap the stove top with aluminum, hence diminishing our scrubbing effort!! "Yes, that's what others do", she says. I had nothing to answer, I really didn't know what to say... For a moment, I pictured our brand-new kitchen upgraded with slate-stone flooring and granite counter top with a black stove wrapped in silver-colored aluminum. *yurk*. But I could find no good words to reply MIL, so I stayed quiet.
I then remember a story that my university friend told me, which inspired me to do the following. The next day, yesterday, I decided to play a little prank to show MIL how I respect her ideas and approve them. I wrapped MIL and FIL's white eating bowls blue plastic wrap. I served miso soup in those bowls and asked DH to present them to his parents. "What is that for?", asked FIL to his son. "So that we don't need to wash the dishes later", replied DH. He put them on the table and walked away looking at me smiling and trying not to laugh. His parents were clueless and didn't comment. I guess they didn't link it to what MIL said the previous night... But that was funny experience :D
Loving my story? You can support my cause by contributing to my "Moving-Out Fund" by PayPal at littlecamy at hotmail dot com.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Video of my Beau Riding a Cupcake!!!
Thanks Bunny for the comment!! As per request, let me post a something about my thin DH... Look at him riding a cupcake!!
Cake Time!!!
This pas Sunday, I rode an electric cupcake!!!Yup, this cupcake is using a car battery and parts of an old bike... No... I didn't make it, it was made by DH's co-worker and his wife. It was so much fun an totally hilarious!!!
Monday, May 14, 2007
French Dinner with Friends
At the "Alliance Francaise" gathering, we met a friendly couple from Paris. They invited us to their home on Friday to have dinner with some friends.
French people eat late (we know that from our trip to Paris in 2005, restaurants don't open until 7PM for dinner), our host said dinner would be at 8PM. We got there at 7:45PM, then we chatted and didn't start dinner until 9PM!
Dinner looked fancy. For appetizer, we started with some smoked salmon with some cherry tomatoes and some lettuce. Then for main course, they took a dish out of the oven and it was still boiling. It was a dish with cheese on top, "au gratin" as we would say in English, but in French, it would be the adjective "gratiné". It looked very cheesy... I asked, "Is this what we call mousaka?", they replied, "It's 'hachis parmentier'". Oh, wow... "What is it?" "It's a dish made of beef, onion, and potatoes." Wow... "What origin does this come from?" "Euh, I think French... it should be French." I took a bite and recognize right away this comfort food. "Oh, I know this dish", I said, "in Quebec, we call it 'pâté chinois'!". They found me very weird: "pâté chinois" literally means "Chinese pie"! Yup, I'm not kidding!!! In Quebec and New Brunswick, there's a version of hachis parmentier with added corn that we call pâté chinois. (You probably wonder why it's called like that, well, read the links then. ) Between the main course and dessert, there was a dish cheese, hmm... I tried Roquefort cheese for the first time! It was strong!!! Hehehe, I wonder how these French people stay slim with all this food (and drinks)!!
French people eat late (we know that from our trip to Paris in 2005, restaurants don't open until 7PM for dinner), our host said dinner would be at 8PM. We got there at 7:45PM, then we chatted and didn't start dinner until 9PM!
Dinner looked fancy. For appetizer, we started with some smoked salmon with some cherry tomatoes and some lettuce. Then for main course, they took a dish out of the oven and it was still boiling. It was a dish with cheese on top, "au gratin" as we would say in English, but in French, it would be the adjective "gratiné". It looked very cheesy... I asked, "Is this what we call mousaka?", they replied, "It's 'hachis parmentier'". Oh, wow... "What is it?" "It's a dish made of beef, onion, and potatoes." Wow... "What origin does this come from?" "Euh, I think French... it should be French." I took a bite and recognize right away this comfort food. "Oh, I know this dish", I said, "in Quebec, we call it 'pâté chinois'!". They found me very weird: "pâté chinois" literally means "Chinese pie"! Yup, I'm not kidding!!! In Quebec and New Brunswick, there's a version of hachis parmentier with added corn that we call pâté chinois. (You probably wonder why it's called like that, well, read the links then. ) Between the main course and dessert, there was a dish cheese, hmm... I tried Roquefort cheese for the first time! It was strong!!! Hehehe, I wonder how these French people stay slim with all this food (and drinks)!!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Free Ice Cream!!!
This is my 3rd post about free (or almost) ice cream in two months!!!
Häagen-Dazs ice cream shops will give out free cones of its new
flavors, Cinnamon Dulce de Leche and Sticky Toffee Pudding, on
Tuesday, May 15, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at any participating
Häagen-Dazs location
Häagen-Dazs ice cream shops will give out free cones of its new
flavors, Cinnamon Dulce de Leche and Sticky Toffee Pudding, on
Tuesday, May 15, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at any participating
Häagen-Dazs location
Museum Month
As I mentioned in a previous post, this month is free admission to selected museum for BoA's customers. On Sunday, we went to the city to visit two museums: California Academy of Sciences and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
We went to the California Academy of Sciences first. We found parking about two blocks away for $5 whole day, it was a decent deal, last time we were in downtown San Francisco, it cost us $17 parking!! This museum has a fancy name for an aquarium. Yup, that's what it is... we saw many tanks of fishes and not much of anything else. It was very small. Oh... and not only we got there for free, there was an oyster tasting!!! Yup, there are 5 different species of oysters and it was about tasting the difference between them. Since it wasn't crowded, we got to taste many... hehehe, I think I had 4. Then, we walked to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). We did every floors starting from 5th floor where Picasso is. Hehehe, unfortunately, I don't know how to admire modern art.
We finished the day by walking to Chinatown and had dinner there. It was a long and tiring day, but educational. :)
We went to the California Academy of Sciences first. We found parking about two blocks away for $5 whole day, it was a decent deal, last time we were in downtown San Francisco, it cost us $17 parking!! This museum has a fancy name for an aquarium. Yup, that's what it is... we saw many tanks of fishes and not much of anything else. It was very small. Oh... and not only we got there for free, there was an oyster tasting!!! Yup, there are 5 different species of oysters and it was about tasting the difference between them. Since it wasn't crowded, we got to taste many... hehehe, I think I had 4. Then, we walked to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). We did every floors starting from 5th floor where Picasso is. Hehehe, unfortunately, I don't know how to admire modern art.
We finished the day by walking to Chinatown and had dinner there. It was a long and tiring day, but educational. :)
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Coconut Pudding
I recently made mango pudding for my sister when she as in town. DH complained that I was not thoughtful enough because he doesn't like mango. So, I looked up recipes for coconut pudding (椰汁糕) and found a few thanks to google search. I made it last night and *oh yum* it tastes just like the ones you get at dimsum!!!!!!!
Here is the recipe I used: http://www.tinfu.net/healthnfood/dessert/dessert25.asp
Ok, now one more item I won't order at dimsum... :)
Here is the recipe I used: http://www.tinfu.net/healthnfood/dessert/dessert25.asp
Ok, now one more item I won't order at dimsum... :)
More Freebies!!!
Free museum admission for Bank of America's customers during the month of May!!!
http://www.bankofamericapromotions.com/museums/
http://www.bankofamericapromotions.com/museums/
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
New Toy!!!
Sister came to town... and brought us a new toy! It's a Motorola RAZR, the G3 model (forgot its name) that is for the Asian market. Woohoo!!! a toy to use in Asia on our trip planned for the end of the year!
Finally not an Err4
DH finally registers on our scales last night. After close to 1 week of Err4, he registered 4.9% body fat last night... phew... I was afraid my husband was disappearing...
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Cheap Ice Cream!!!
This time it's Baskin & Robbins promotion time, it's cheap - $0.31 - but not free!
http://www.baskinrobbins.com/Promotion/31cent.aspx
It's Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 from 5pm to 10pm!
http://www.baskinrobbins.com/Promotion/31cent.aspx
It's Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 from 5pm to 10pm!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Err4?
Talking about being married to a skinny husband. Two nights ago, after his shower, DH (Dear Husband) was looking forward to play with our new scale... He stepped on it happily and was astonished to receive an "Err4"... "Error 4?", he expressed out loud. "Don't weigh yourself until we find out what error 4 is", he said to me. He pulls out the instruction manual and here is the explanation:
Display Err4 Body fat percentage is beyond the range (4% to 50%).
Ok... So I weighed myself and got a normal result to confirm the scale is working fine, then DH weighed himself again and gets the same Err4.
Today, for the 3rd night in a row, DH is still Err4. (He used to be slightly less than 5%, in the 4ish%.)
Display Err4 Body fat percentage is beyond the range (4% to 50%).
Ok... So I weighed myself and got a normal result to confirm the scale is working fine, then DH weighed himself again and gets the same Err4.
Today, for the 3rd night in a row, DH is still Err4. (He used to be slightly less than 5%, in the 4ish%.)
Monday, April 23, 2007
My sister is coming... Again!!
My sister is coming this weekend... again!!! She was here just 2 weekends ago, the company she interviewed for is making her come in again for a second and final round of interviews. It will be another weekend of eating and drinking...
Another trip for cheap!!!
Hey all, remember my trip to Napa Valley? We stayed at a resort offered by those timeshare presentations? Here is another one... for Honolulu, Hawaii!!!!
Early last week, my husband got a letter from snail mail. It talked about a trip for two including airfare to Honolulu and 2-night stay for $100!!! That sounded too good to be true!!! So, my husband called and asked if there were other fees and the lady confirmed that the $100 was to cover the taxes, no other fee!! We quickly booked an appointment to listen to the timeshare presentation and went in on Saturday morning.
This company (RCI) sounded like much a better deal than the last timeshare presentation (Shell Vacations) we listened to. It was so attractive that we did spend 30 mins to think about it and finally turn them down... hehehe This one is really cheap, only $8350 for 21,000 points which is enough for 3 weeks of stay per year in one of their 3,800 condoes they own across the world, HOA (Homeowner Association) fee is only $273. Also, being a preferred member, we could get 30-50% off airfare since they are wholesaler. Since we are planning a trip to Hong Kong this year, we thought maybe we can make use of it and resale it next year... We should come out cheaper or we might just break even... I also thought I would have a place for my parents to stay if they visit the Bay Area. But at the end, the choice was easy - they don't own condoes in Hong Kong or San Jose, so, not good for us... BUT WE GOT A TRIP FOR $100 and for listening and considering!!! hahahahaha
Early last week, my husband got a letter from snail mail. It talked about a trip for two including airfare to Honolulu and 2-night stay for $100!!! That sounded too good to be true!!! So, my husband called and asked if there were other fees and the lady confirmed that the $100 was to cover the taxes, no other fee!! We quickly booked an appointment to listen to the timeshare presentation and went in on Saturday morning.
This company (RCI) sounded like much a better deal than the last timeshare presentation (Shell Vacations) we listened to. It was so attractive that we did spend 30 mins to think about it and finally turn them down... hehehe This one is really cheap, only $8350 for 21,000 points which is enough for 3 weeks of stay per year in one of their 3,800 condoes they own across the world, HOA (Homeowner Association) fee is only $273. Also, being a preferred member, we could get 30-50% off airfare since they are wholesaler. Since we are planning a trip to Hong Kong this year, we thought maybe we can make use of it and resale it next year... We should come out cheaper or we might just break even... I also thought I would have a place for my parents to stay if they visit the Bay Area. But at the end, the choice was easy - they don't own condoes in Hong Kong or San Jose, so, not good for us... BUT WE GOT A TRIP FOR $100 and for listening and considering!!! hahahahaha
New Toy!!!
We got a new toy!! It's a scale with percentage body-fat analyzer!! It was a deal on amazon.com, regularly priced at $99 and down to $17.99. Amazon doesn't charge sales tax for item shipped to California and shipping fee was waived because we signed up for Amazon Prime membership (free trial for the first 90 days).
I knew how much body-fat I had, but it was my husband's body-fat that I was curious about! That guy can eat, he doesn't exercise much, but remains fairly slim, so I always wondered... Maybe he has a lot of body-fat and he doesn't even know!!!
Ok... the verdict? 0_O He has the lowest level of the healthy range for body-fat percentage for men (which is about 5%-8%)... He's not even 5%... *sigh* some people can just afford to eat without having to worry...
I knew how much body-fat I had, but it was my husband's body-fat that I was curious about! That guy can eat, he doesn't exercise much, but remains fairly slim, so I always wondered... Maybe he has a lot of body-fat and he doesn't even know!!!
Ok... the verdict? 0_O He has the lowest level of the healthy range for body-fat percentage for men (which is about 5%-8%)... He's not even 5%... *sigh* some people can just afford to eat without having to worry...
Lunch at Google!!
My brother's good friend happens to be living in the Bay Area and working for Google. We bumped into him and his family and he invited us to visit Google and have lunch there. So, last Monday, after we drove my sister off to the airport (she was in town for the previous weekend), we went to Mountain View and met the friend at his work. I guess you all heard about free meals at Google and how they have chefs cooking for them. We had to check it out!
We got there around 11:30AM and visited the friend's office, two of their cafeterias, and a few of their mini-kitchen. It was still early, we had the chance seeing the happy cooks working hard preparing lunch with love and attention. Wow, lots choice of food!!! and all healthy choices!! Their milk is organic and their snacks are healthy choices like yogourt, apple crisps (made from dehydrated organic fuji apple), nuts, smoothies... As for lunch, one of the cafeteria served tuna steak (rare in the middle, just like tuna sashimi!) and New York steak... oh yum!!! But we didn't eat at that one, we settled for a second cafeteria where we had sole fillet stuffed with chunky crab meat... :D~ and for dessert lava chocolate cake and lemon strawberry shortcake!!! HAHAHA... my husband was so happy, he can eat and he was running out of space on his tray!!!
Hmm... We need to go back ;)
We got there around 11:30AM and visited the friend's office, two of their cafeterias, and a few of their mini-kitchen. It was still early, we had the chance seeing the happy cooks working hard preparing lunch with love and attention. Wow, lots choice of food!!! and all healthy choices!! Their milk is organic and their snacks are healthy choices like yogourt, apple crisps (made from dehydrated organic fuji apple), nuts, smoothies... As for lunch, one of the cafeteria served tuna steak (rare in the middle, just like tuna sashimi!) and New York steak... oh yum!!! But we didn't eat at that one, we settled for a second cafeteria where we had sole fillet stuffed with chunky crab meat... :D~ and for dessert lava chocolate cake and lemon strawberry shortcake!!! HAHAHA... my husband was so happy, he can eat and he was running out of space on his tray!!!
Hmm... We need to go back ;)
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Free Ice Cream!
Today is Free Scoop Day at Ben & Jerry!!!
Quote from their website: "On Tuesday April 17th from 12pm until 8pm participating Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops around the world will be hosting Ben & Jerry’s Annual Free Cone Day."
Quote from their website: "On Tuesday April 17th from 12pm until 8pm participating Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops around the world will be hosting Ben & Jerry’s Annual Free Cone Day."
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
I'm going home!
Hey!! I just booked for my flight back home in June with a stop-over in Vancouver. My maid of honour is getting married in mid-July and my other friends are getting married on July 1st, so I'm going back for a whole month!
I redeemed my flight using my Air Canada's Aeroplan points and it's costing me a whole $155 in taxes!!! That is so expensive and they don't even give the break down of the taxes!!! The taxes are more expensive when you cross the USA-Canada border. I remember redeeming for flight from Ottawa to Vancouver and it only cost me ~$30-40 depending on how many and which airport I stop over.
This is the 4th North-America flight I redeem using Aeroplan points (25,000 points). I have been member of Aeroplan since May 2000, so 4 flights in 7 years, not bad at all! My last trip was paid using my 30,000 points of Diners Club, which took me about 2 years to accumulate. I also have about 41,000 points with NorthWest Airlines' WorldPerks' and about 15,000 points with United Airlines' Mileage Plus.
I think my favorite points-to-air system is Diners Club. It is really easy to book a flight through their travel agent and there's no blackout dates. I will drop Air Canada (at least not focus on it) and will collect UA's Mileage Plus for all Star Alliances flights because AC charges too much taxes. I'm not liking NWA's WorldPerks' points as there are very little or no availability for flights at 25,000. As for Delta's SkyMiles, it is also a pain to find a good flight back to East Canada because their hub is in Atlanta, GA and flying to Montreal would mean having to deal with a detour.
Hehehe... that was my 2 cents regarding redeeming points... :)
I redeemed my flight using my Air Canada's Aeroplan points and it's costing me a whole $155 in taxes!!! That is so expensive and they don't even give the break down of the taxes!!! The taxes are more expensive when you cross the USA-Canada border. I remember redeeming for flight from Ottawa to Vancouver and it only cost me ~$30-40 depending on how many and which airport I stop over.
This is the 4th North-America flight I redeem using Aeroplan points (25,000 points). I have been member of Aeroplan since May 2000, so 4 flights in 7 years, not bad at all! My last trip was paid using my 30,000 points of Diners Club, which took me about 2 years to accumulate. I also have about 41,000 points with NorthWest Airlines' WorldPerks' and about 15,000 points with United Airlines' Mileage Plus.
I think my favorite points-to-air system is Diners Club. It is really easy to book a flight through their travel agent and there's no blackout dates. I will drop Air Canada (at least not focus on it) and will collect UA's Mileage Plus for all Star Alliances flights because AC charges too much taxes. I'm not liking NWA's WorldPerks' points as there are very little or no availability for flights at 25,000. As for Delta's SkyMiles, it is also a pain to find a good flight back to East Canada because their hub is in Atlanta, GA and flying to Montreal would mean having to deal with a detour.
Hehehe... that was my 2 cents regarding redeeming points... :)
Monday, March 26, 2007
More to grow!!!
2 bell pepper seeds just sprout today :D. There's hope of having bell peppers this summer :D
Spring is here!!
It's that time of the year!!! Husband and I have been waiting for Spring for many months. We have been looking forward to grow vegetables and fruits in our backyard.
Husband and his parents moved into this house last year in March, it was brand new and was finished building in February. The house came with an unfinished backyard. It rained a lot in March 2006, then it was our wedding in May and summer was hot and dry, hence, we didn't have a chance to work on the backyard.
Two weekends ago was the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, I thought it would be a good time to start sowing some seeds indoor. We went to Walmart and got some seeds (it was only $0.10 a pack!!!), some potting soil, and some biodegradable containers to sow the seeds in. We started growing indoors some zucchinis, cucumbers, carrots, string beans, green onions, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers. Being optimistic you would say? :)
It's been two weeks, 3 zucchinis, 4 cucumbers, 5 green onions, and 3 carrots sprout. We were so happy to see them come to live!!! But also disappointed that cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, and string beans didn't show sign of life. Zucchini was the early adapter, it grew so big that we had to relocated them to a bigger home, which we did it this weekend, we planted them outside. We decided to keep the other sprouts indoor as they seem still very fragile.
On Saturday, we went to Lowe's and Home Depot. We got 1 tomato plant from each store (hybrid cherry tomatoes from Lowe's and "early girl" tomatoes from Home Depot) and some garden soil from Home Depot. We also got a pot of Garlic chives (a.k.a. Chinese chives, 韭菜) from a friend. We transplant all 3 pots in our garden, next to our zucchinis.
Last but not least, there was a citrus plant sale at Costco, so we got a 2-feet tall semi-dwarf blood orange tree for only $17.79. I approached some fellow buyers at Costco and asked them if they succeeded planting citrus. They confirmed that they already have an orange tree and a lemon tree and they grow very fine, so now they are getting a mandarin tree. Our tree will bear fruits, it may just take couple years... Couple years? I don't know where I'll be in couple years!!!
Husband and his parents moved into this house last year in March, it was brand new and was finished building in February. The house came with an unfinished backyard. It rained a lot in March 2006, then it was our wedding in May and summer was hot and dry, hence, we didn't have a chance to work on the backyard.
Two weekends ago was the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, I thought it would be a good time to start sowing some seeds indoor. We went to Walmart and got some seeds (it was only $0.10 a pack!!!), some potting soil, and some biodegradable containers to sow the seeds in. We started growing indoors some zucchinis, cucumbers, carrots, string beans, green onions, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers. Being optimistic you would say? :)
It's been two weeks, 3 zucchinis, 4 cucumbers, 5 green onions, and 3 carrots sprout. We were so happy to see them come to live!!! But also disappointed that cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, and string beans didn't show sign of life. Zucchini was the early adapter, it grew so big that we had to relocated them to a bigger home, which we did it this weekend, we planted them outside. We decided to keep the other sprouts indoor as they seem still very fragile.
On Saturday, we went to Lowe's and Home Depot. We got 1 tomato plant from each store (hybrid cherry tomatoes from Lowe's and "early girl" tomatoes from Home Depot) and some garden soil from Home Depot. We also got a pot of Garlic chives (a.k.a. Chinese chives, 韭菜) from a friend. We transplant all 3 pots in our garden, next to our zucchinis.
Last but not least, there was a citrus plant sale at Costco, so we got a 2-feet tall semi-dwarf blood orange tree for only $17.79. I approached some fellow buyers at Costco and asked them if they succeeded planting citrus. They confirmed that they already have an orange tree and a lemon tree and they grow very fine, so now they are getting a mandarin tree. Our tree will bear fruits, it may just take couple years... Couple years? I don't know where I'll be in couple years!!!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Diet isn't doing good...
A friend came to town for business. We met up with him 3 times and also met up with another friend for hotpot. So it kinda screwed my diet :(. I weighed myself this morning and gained back 2lbs of the 4 I lost... Oh well... will work hard again soon :D
Thursday, March 15, 2007
South Beach Diet - Day 3
Today is the 3rd day of my South Beach Diet. I got up and weighed myself and was surprised that I have lost 4lbs in 2 days!!! Every time I try this diet, I'm always amazed by the results! Ok ok... Don't get your gears in a jam... I know I know... I know it's mostly water and toxin, but hey... it's still very encouraging and makes you feel lighter :)
As I mentioned in a previous post, Starbucks' gave free coffee today to celebrate coffee break. On my way to volunteering, I stopped by the Starbucks' and asked for their free coffee. Not only I got friendly service and free coffee, I was also offered a free sample of their banana nut bread. "Sure!", I said. How can I say no to free banana bread :D Oops, then I realized that I'm not suppose to take any sugar on this Phase 1 of my South Beach Diet. Hmm... The cashier handed me a paper bag with the samples and I took a look in it. There were only 2 1-inch cube pieces, I decided that it won't hurt and ate them.
Oh... I have to tell you guys what I saw at Starbucks! You know the sugar & cream stand for self-served addition to your drink? Well, while I was stirring the Splenda into my coffee, the guy next to me was holding a 16-oz empty plastic glass for cold drink (with Starbucks' label) in one hand and with the other hand, he grabbed the jar of half and half cream and filled his glass. Then he grabbed the cocoa powder and sugar and added them to his cream. This guy just made himself a free chocolate milkshake!!! Ok ok, maybe I should call it a chocolate milkstir!! Euh... that's being creative... I must say... Very original, more original that a friend of mine who orders a mug of hot water so that she can add honey to it and save on coffee. No no, don't think I'm like that... I think she's extremely cheap :p~
As I mentioned in a previous post, Starbucks' gave free coffee today to celebrate coffee break. On my way to volunteering, I stopped by the Starbucks' and asked for their free coffee. Not only I got friendly service and free coffee, I was also offered a free sample of their banana nut bread. "Sure!", I said. How can I say no to free banana bread :D Oops, then I realized that I'm not suppose to take any sugar on this Phase 1 of my South Beach Diet. Hmm... The cashier handed me a paper bag with the samples and I took a look in it. There were only 2 1-inch cube pieces, I decided that it won't hurt and ate them.
Oh... I have to tell you guys what I saw at Starbucks! You know the sugar & cream stand for self-served addition to your drink? Well, while I was stirring the Splenda into my coffee, the guy next to me was holding a 16-oz empty plastic glass for cold drink (with Starbucks' label) in one hand and with the other hand, he grabbed the jar of half and half cream and filled his glass. Then he grabbed the cocoa powder and sugar and added them to his cream. This guy just made himself a free chocolate milkshake!!! Ok ok, maybe I should call it a chocolate milkstir!! Euh... that's being creative... I must say... Very original, more original that a friend of mine who orders a mug of hot water so that she can add honey to it and save on coffee. No no, don't think I'm like that... I think she's extremely cheap :p~
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
South Beach Diet
It's that time of the year again and it's the 4th anniversary. Every year, when the weather starts warming up, I start my South Beach diet. It works!! Well, if you guys think you have few pounds to shed, you can consider it :)
Free Coffee!!!
On March 15th, from 10am to noon, Starbucks Coffees is giving free coffee!!!
http://www.starbucks.com/ourcoffees/coffee_break.asp
http://www.starbucks.com/ourcoffees/coffee_break.asp
Friday, March 02, 2007
Napa Weekend
Hey guys!My sister and best friend both said that I disappeared for few days. They forgot that this past weekend was my weekend to Napa, a trip that was planned since September!
Back in July, we signed up for a timeshare presentation because it says it will give you 2 nights stay at a resort in Napa. We have heard about timeshare before, but we never really knew what the concept was. It was our first time attending a timeshare presentation, we didn't know what to expect. We spend 3 hrs there asking questions and trying to understand the "deal". My conclusion is if they don't let you sleep on it and think about the "deal", there must be a catch! Anyway, we didn't plan on buying anything, we were only there for the freebies. We got our 2-night package and we left happily. We had to book the resort in advance and couldn't choose blackout dates. So, we booked for after the holidays in February, i.e. this past weekend.
We stayed at The Meritage Resort in Napa, CA. It is conveniently located at the city limit of Napa, just off the Highway 29. It was indeed really nice and new!! Every room had a 32-inch plasma TV and DVD player. Unfortunately, both of us don't drink... and we were in wine country!!! On our first day, we drove to a winery for wine tasting. We didn't enjoy it and didn't plan on buying any. We had a passport from the resort for free wine tasting, but still we decided not to go to any other winery since the wine is meaningless to us anyway. We then went to an outlet mall. It was pretty small and it only took us 2 hrs to go through all the shops. It also rained badly the whole time we were there. We didn't know what to do. So we borrowed two movies from the reception (yes, they have a DVD library!) and watched movies in the comfort of our room.
It was a nice and quiet rainy stay. It was relaxing and I would definitely recommend that resort!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Free Pancakes!!!
More free stuff again :)
Today, IHOP gave away pancakes for free from 7PM to 10PM!!! Yup, it's to celebrate (their?) National Pancake Day (well, it's Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday). Of course, I couldn't sleep on that deal ;) . I went with husband and ordered 2 short stacks (3 pancakes/short stacks), we didn't get a bill as we didn't order anything else. We kindly left a tip and a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network foundation.
http://www.ihop.com/tellafriend.php
On a separate note, I don't think the 6 pancakes were worth the drive and the extra calories. The tip and donation didn't add up to cheap either. I make pancakes on weekends from mix and they come up to almost the same and plus we have genuine maple syrup from Quebec. It was more for the experience since I wanted to try all these American chains. I heard that IHOP overprice their pancakes and I wouldn't volunteer paying $5.29 for 3 pancakes (their regular price for a "short stack"), so it was a nice experience. Talking about trying out American restaurant chains, I have also tried Jack-in-the-Box and In and Out Burger, but still looking forward for my first time at Carl's Jr.
Today, IHOP gave away pancakes for free from 7PM to 10PM!!! Yup, it's to celebrate (their?) National Pancake Day (well, it's Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday). Of course, I couldn't sleep on that deal ;) . I went with husband and ordered 2 short stacks (3 pancakes/short stacks), we didn't get a bill as we didn't order anything else. We kindly left a tip and a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network foundation.
http://www.ihop.com/tellafriend.php
On a separate note, I don't think the 6 pancakes were worth the drive and the extra calories. The tip and donation didn't add up to cheap either. I make pancakes on weekends from mix and they come up to almost the same and plus we have genuine maple syrup from Quebec. It was more for the experience since I wanted to try all these American chains. I heard that IHOP overprice their pancakes and I wouldn't volunteer paying $5.29 for 3 pancakes (their regular price for a "short stack"), so it was a nice experience. Talking about trying out American restaurant chains, I have also tried Jack-in-the-Box and In and Out Burger, but still looking forward for my first time at Carl's Jr.
Tourists in San Francisco
Last Black Friday, my husband bought the City Walks: San Francisco: 50 Adventures on Foot cards. It was only $3.99 on sales at Borders. Since yesterday was Presidents Day and husband had a day off, we decided to go explore San Francisco on foot and make use of these cards to see if they are any good. If yes, then we can consider buying the ones for other cities like Paris, London... if we happen to go there :)We got up fairly early, had quick breakfast, grabbed our backpacks and caught the 9:54AM Caltrain. We rode for over 1 hr before getting to San Francisco Caltrain Station (4th Street and King Street). We walked up 4th Street to reach downtown San Francisco and continue on Stockton Street and passed Union Square and reached Chinatown. That's a whole 1.6 miles! We stopped at the intersection of Washington Street.
Our first stop was for lunch, we randomly picked a restaurant in Chinatown. I wanted to eat Hong Kong/Cantonese style food - something I really miss. We found this place called "Washington Bakery & Restaurant" (華盛頓茶餐廳) on Washington Street at Grant Street. It is a restaurant where they serve Hong Kong-style Western cuisine. Restaurants like this one are typically called Cha chaan teng (茶餐廳) - something not common and hard to find in South Bay (the neighbourhood where I live). It was really busy, so you really can feel the hongkongese atmosphere. We were nicely greeted by a Cantonese-speaking server. Seeing our backpacks and camera, he asked us where we were visiting from. My husband was proud to tell him we were tourists from Sunnyvale, which is "only" 40 miles away. I think that was funny :). We ordered a house pan-fried egg noodles and a shrimp in egg sauce fried rice noodles, for drink my husband had a Hong Kong style lemon iced tea and I went for a Hong Kong style cold milk tea. Everything was delicious!! We definitely would recommend this place!
After the meal, we walked up on Grant Avenue visiting busy Chinatown. It was so nice, it was so busy and people were happy on this second day of the Chinese New Year. We stopped by famous Golden Gate Bakery (金門餅家) and waited in line outside for about 15 mins just to buy only 1 winter melon pastry (老婆餅) - it was good!!!
Afterwards, we walked all the way to Coit Tower and had a good look out at the city from the hill. We then took some back street recommended by our tourist cards. We walked on Filbert Street from Montgomery Street to Sansome Street. We were astonished to find a flock of wild parrots living in the middle of the city!!! They were noisy, they were loud, they were a good bunch of 20-30 parrots!!! It was so entertaining that we took videos of them. We also saw 2 humming birds, unfortunately, we failed to take good pics of them.
Finally, we reached Embacadero street and walked back to the Caltrain station. We got home just in time for dinner. At night, my pedometer recorded 21585 steps, that's double of my daily target :D yay!! A number I haven't seen in a long time!!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Health Insurance
Yesterday, I went to the career consultants' for a meeting . There I meet people just like me who got laid off. One lady said that her health insurance by her employer is running out, so she is shopping for some coverage for herself and her spouse. She said what she found was $850/month for a couple. Then, another lady in the meeting confirmed that it costs her $858/month from Cobra as well. I was sitting there speechless! Holly Cow!!! It's so expensive!!! I guess Canadians are really spoiled!! $850/month isn't really what the average person can afford. Oh my! J'en r'viens pas encore!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Some random facts
If you watch Hong Kong TV series, you probably recognize this face. It's Gregory Charles Rivers (河國榮, Ho Kwok Wing). He plays most of the foreigner roles. I just found out about him today by accident while browsing some TV shows.
He seems to have been an actor for TVB for as long as I could remember, so I was surprised to find out he's "only" 42. The other surprising fact is that he was a medicine student in Australia before he relocated to Hong Kong. I wonder why he chose to be an actor rather than a physician. He is also active in the Mac circle in Hong Kong and a popular blogger. His personal website is http://www.hokwokwing.hk/ You can even email him!!! (if you want to... :p~)
Import/Export
On Saturday, I went to an Import/Export seminar by SCORE. It was in Fremont, about 25 mins drive from home, so we had to get up at 7am to make it there for 8:15am.
I don't have intention of doing business in importation or exportation, so I just went for general knowledge. After 5 hrs listening to 3 different speaker, I confirmed that importation and exportation are so complicated that it is not something I want :p~
First, there's the financial and trust issues: how to pay the export agent? how to make sure the products will get here? how do you know you will get paid? Then, there's the legal/custom aspect: is this product allowed to be imported from this country? do the labels conform to the local laws?
Hmm... It may be a good way to make money, but it doesn't sound fun at all... so, not doing that for sure!
I don't have intention of doing business in importation or exportation, so I just went for general knowledge. After 5 hrs listening to 3 different speaker, I confirmed that importation and exportation are so complicated that it is not something I want :p~
First, there's the financial and trust issues: how to pay the export agent? how to make sure the products will get here? how do you know you will get paid? Then, there's the legal/custom aspect: is this product allowed to be imported from this country? do the labels conform to the local laws?
Hmm... It may be a good way to make money, but it doesn't sound fun at all... so, not doing that for sure!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Well almost this time...
Yesterday was Sunday. That means the beginning of a sales week for a lot of shops. Our Sunday routine is to read fliers while eating breakfast. Have you ever heard of enviga? We saw a coupon for a free one in Longs Drugs weekly flier... woohoo!! After breakfast, we went to the gym and after gym, we went to Longs and grabbed one each. :) We had to pay 8.25% tax and $0.08 for CRV (deposit for can) which add up to $0.19!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
How to get freebies...
Hi all... As I mentioned in one of my recent post that it is fairly easy to find freebies in USA. Yup, that is one cool thing here... buying things that are free or almost!!! Now, you must be wondering how do we find these deals...? Well, we read two websites: www.slickdeals.net and fatwallet
Two Sundays ago after dinner, my husband checked www.slickdeals.net and saw a deal that we couldn't sleep on! So we jumped in our car and went to Walgreens (it's a big drugstore/pharmacy chain in USA).
So, here's the deal:
Purchase $20 in Kimberly Clark products, get $10 Walgreens gift card by mail.
Regular prices count towards the $20 in purchase.
Based on this thread:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?threadid=442168
We posted on the same thread what we got:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5528443&postcount=25
And we even made a profit of $0.39!!
Two Sundays ago after dinner, my husband checked www.slickdeals.net and saw a deal that we couldn't sleep on! So we jumped in our car and went to Walgreens (it's a big drugstore/pharmacy chain in USA).
So, here's the deal:
Purchase $20 in Kimberly Clark products, get $10 Walgreens gift card by mail.
Regular prices count towards the $20 in purchase.
Based on this thread:
http://forums.slickdeals.net
We posted on the same thread what we got:
http://forums.slickdeals.net
And we even made a profit of $0.39!!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Bedroom Furniture
It's been so many months since I moved here and we didn't buy bedroom furniture until two weekends ago. We were waiting for the perfect bedroom set, but I guess it's too hard to find something that is modern looking and yet not too expensive. I refuse to have a metal bed - it reminds me of hospital beds from the old days and husband and I hate colonial style. That doesn't leave us with much choices. Ikea have nice modern furniture at low price, however their stuff are becoming commodity and we don't like to have a bedroom set that everyone has.
Finally, after so many months of shopping around, we finally had to give up and chose a bedroom set from Ikea: the Hemnes collection. We didn't buy the bed, only the dresser, the chest of drawers and two nightstands. What we need was clothes storage and bed is not a necessity. We are thinking of seeing how things fit in the bedroom first and/or maybe wait for a sale this summer.
So, we haven't finished assembling all of them. Hope there's enough storage after that :)
Finally, after so many months of shopping around, we finally had to give up and chose a bedroom set from Ikea: the Hemnes collection. We didn't buy the bed, only the dresser, the chest of drawers and two nightstands. What we need was clothes storage and bed is not a necessity. We are thinking of seeing how things fit in the bedroom first and/or maybe wait for a sale this summer.
So, we haven't finished assembling all of them. Hope there's enough storage after that :)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Lacrosse Game
On Friday, I went to a lacrosse game. It was another of those deals. The game is free, we only had to pay $4/ticket for TicketMaster fee.
It was my second time going to a ball game and my first time watching lacrosse. It was quite interesting. The rotation rate is quite fast: the players go in and out after being on the field for like 20 seconds. It was funny to watch that, seeing the players going in and out made me related it to a fashion show! I know this is a funny comparison! hehehe...
Hmm, I was quite surprise at seeing these professional players to intentionally hit on each other. I sat too close at saw too well. With hockey, I always wondered if it was just an accident since they could slide, but with lacrosse, I could see them hit with their bat. Hm... I wonder what professional manners and professional practice mean to them...
It was my second time going to a ball game and my first time watching lacrosse. It was quite interesting. The rotation rate is quite fast: the players go in and out after being on the field for like 20 seconds. It was funny to watch that, seeing the players going in and out made me related it to a fashion show! I know this is a funny comparison! hehehe...
Hmm, I was quite surprise at seeing these professional players to intentionally hit on each other. I sat too close at saw too well. With hockey, I always wondered if it was just an accident since they could slide, but with lacrosse, I could see them hit with their bat. Hm... I wonder what professional manners and professional practice mean to them...
Big News!
The biggest news since my last post in December is obviously the acquisition of the start-up my husband works for by a network and communication technology giant. This is big news... this is great news! We were on vacation back home in Montreal, when it was officially announced on Thursday, January 4th. We learned it from a 3rd party as his manager couldn't reach him over the phone: we wouldn't answer our USA cell phone to avoid roaming fee.
It was so unexpected that we couldn't get over it for like a week! His stock options are finally worth something! Something he/we have dreamed of since 2000 and something we thought almost impossible after the hightech crash.
I'm not sure how this would affect our life, at least for sure now, we know we'll have more employee & spouse benefits. But what does that mean for our future? I don't know...
It was so unexpected that we couldn't get over it for like a week! His stock options are finally worth something! Something he/we have dreamed of since 2000 and something we thought almost impossible after the hightech crash.
I'm not sure how this would affect our life, at least for sure now, we know we'll have more employee & spouse benefits. But what does that mean for our future? I don't know...
Going to the gym again!
One good thing about being is USA is there's often good deals and even freebies. Husband and I managed joined the Discovery Health's 8-week National Body Challenge. Yay! So we are getting free gym at Bally Fitness for 8 weeks! The only disadvantage is that the closest one is in smack downtown San Jose. It is near where I volunteer, so I go there after volunteering, but it is far for husband who works in San Bruno!
The 8-week challenge ends on March 13th. I started being concerned about what to do after that. I stopped going to the gym for about 1.5 year and I felt so out of shape. Luckily, on Saturday, we went to Valley Fair Shopping Center and had a Jamba Juice there. We saw Jamba Juice advertising for their new "light drink" and saw that they were giving away 30-day gym membership and 24-Fitness if you purchase one of their new light drinks!!! We read the fine prints which says, "must be activated by April 30th, 2007". We were so glad and got the light drink. That means, I will have gym until roughly May 2007!
After that... hehehe, I'll look for other deals... :)
The 8-week challenge ends on March 13th. I started being concerned about what to do after that. I stopped going to the gym for about 1.5 year and I felt so out of shape. Luckily, on Saturday, we went to Valley Fair Shopping Center and had a Jamba Juice there. We saw Jamba Juice advertising for their new "light drink" and saw that they were giving away 30-day gym membership and 24-Fitness if you purchase one of their new light drinks!!! We read the fine prints which says, "must be activated by April 30th, 2007". We were so glad and got the light drink. That means, I will have gym until roughly May 2007!
After that... hehehe, I'll look for other deals... :)
Friday, December 29, 2006
Home... Sweet Home
Woohoo... It's December 29th!!! Tonight, I'm going to take an overnight flight to go back home!! Just in time for New Year with family. It will be my first trip home since I moved here. I heard it has snowed on Boxing Day and that it is freezing now... Yay... I miss that weather!
I haven't finished packing. My husband can't find his suitcase. Not sure where his mother put it. Well, just waiting for him to get home and find it, then we'll just dump everything in and we'll be good to go!
I haven't finished packing. My husband can't find his suitcase. Not sure where his mother put it. Well, just waiting for him to get home and find it, then we'll just dump everything in and we'll be good to go!
I'm back!
It's been quite a while since my last blog... like a month! I've been busy... and also lazy... and also been hooked watching tv shows that I downloaded!! It is so addictive that I even delay my volunteering work to watch them.
I came back from my Chicago trip on December 4th. I went there to meet my parents who went to visit my sister. During my stay (on the Thanksgiving weekend), we drove down to Branson, Missouri. It was my first time going to small town in the mid-west USA. It was quite an experience. People there are so religious that there's even a county called Christian County. Church locations are part of the "things to do" section in their tourist guides. It took us 9 hours to drive from Itasca, IL to Branson, MO. In mid-way, we stopped at a McDonald's in the middle of the State of Missouri for a rest stop and dinner break. When we entered the restaurant, the staff were look at us and the janitor smiled at us looking surprised. "Are you guys from Vietnam???", he said. It was then I remembered that I was in the country side and that these people have probably never seen Asian-looking human beings.
Branson was a small small small town with one strip of entertainments. The entertainments included The Wax Museum, Believe It Or Not Museum, Shanghai Circus... Other than those, nothing really spectacular... I would never go back there for the entertainments, I'd rather drive 9 hours from San Jose to go to Las Vegas. Nonetheless, it was an interesting experience, very different from my usual trips to big cities and I got to see very conservative people.
I came back from my Chicago trip on December 4th. I went there to meet my parents who went to visit my sister. During my stay (on the Thanksgiving weekend), we drove down to Branson, Missouri. It was my first time going to small town in the mid-west USA. It was quite an experience. People there are so religious that there's even a county called Christian County. Church locations are part of the "things to do" section in their tourist guides. It took us 9 hours to drive from Itasca, IL to Branson, MO. In mid-way, we stopped at a McDonald's in the middle of the State of Missouri for a rest stop and dinner break. When we entered the restaurant, the staff were look at us and the janitor smiled at us looking surprised. "Are you guys from Vietnam???", he said. It was then I remembered that I was in the country side and that these people have probably never seen Asian-looking human beings.
Branson was a small small small town with one strip of entertainments. The entertainments included The Wax Museum, Believe It Or Not Museum, Shanghai Circus... Other than those, nothing really spectacular... I would never go back there for the entertainments, I'd rather drive 9 hours from San Jose to go to Las Vegas. Nonetheless, it was an interesting experience, very different from my usual trips to big cities and I got to see very conservative people.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Las Vegas I went!
We got back from Las Vegas on Tuesday night. We were so tired! I was so tired yesterday that I would just fall asleep when I was idling! Las Vegas has changed a lot since the last time we were there 3 years ago. Winn had opened, Trump buildings are being built, Venetian is expanding... Oh... there's also a big mall across from Winn that wasn't there 3 years ago.
On Sunday, we arrived Las Vegas slightly before 11am. I had breakfast at home around 7:30am before heading to the airport, when we landed, I was hungry! We went to Thrifty to pick up our car, the lineup was ridiculously long, I don't think I would want to rent a car again if I go to Las Vegas. We had the choice of picking our mid-size car, we had the choice between an Intrepid or a PT Cruiser. So for fun, we picked a silver PT Cruiser... I know it's ugly, but what the heck... we never rode in a PT Cruiser. By the time we met up with the other traveling pals and hit Paris Las Vegas for lunch, it was already 1pm and I was starving!... It was my first time having buffet at Paris and it was Sunday brunch for $25. It was good, their prime rib was delicious... very tender and tasty. We ate until 3pm and we were so full!!! After that, we had to walk it off and did some hotel hoping and site-seeing. We got back to MGM where the traveling pals stayed past 8pm after being tired of lack of sleep and 5+ hrs of window shopping. Some of us had a nap while the others watched Amazing Race on CBS... Hehehe, yes, I love watching that show and I was glad I could catch it. :) My husband and I then went to check in at Stratosphere, rested a bit, played a bit at blackjack and then, around 11pm we were ready to eat again. We've never been to Las Vegas Chinatown, so took the car to check it out. We were happy to find a Cantonese/Hongkongese style seafood restaurant and ordered some very good chowmein and congee for late dinner.
On the second day, we visited Winn hotel and had lunch there for $18-19. The decor was very nice, everything was new and clean. We agreed that everything tasted a little better... However, we were not so pleased about the food selection. It was more "regular" food like pizza, chowmein, guacamole... The desert selection was great and delicious. There was strawberry shortcake, baba au rhum, chocolate fudge mousse, ... and their creme caramel... so smooth... so delicious... better than Paris'!!!
On the third day, we decided that we couldn't take another all-you-can-eat, so we ate fast food for lunch. My husband and I went up the tower of Strastosphere and enjoyed the ride called "X-Scream". For dinner, we checked out Hooters Hotel and ate fried wings at their restaurant. This is the first Las Vegas trip without eating at Bellagio's.
Travelling to Las Vegas is fun, but I guess more fun if you have money... :)... I played penny slot machines to make my dollar last longer... But that's ok since I don't want to support gambling as an entertainment. Food is probably the most enjoyable part. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't go on shopping spree... hehe... but that's ok :)
Next week... it will be Chicago :)... going there to meet my parents and sister.
On Sunday, we arrived Las Vegas slightly before 11am. I had breakfast at home around 7:30am before heading to the airport, when we landed, I was hungry! We went to Thrifty to pick up our car, the lineup was ridiculously long, I don't think I would want to rent a car again if I go to Las Vegas. We had the choice of picking our mid-size car, we had the choice between an Intrepid or a PT Cruiser. So for fun, we picked a silver PT Cruiser... I know it's ugly, but what the heck... we never rode in a PT Cruiser. By the time we met up with the other traveling pals and hit Paris Las Vegas for lunch, it was already 1pm and I was starving!... It was my first time having buffet at Paris and it was Sunday brunch for $25. It was good, their prime rib was delicious... very tender and tasty. We ate until 3pm and we were so full!!! After that, we had to walk it off and did some hotel hoping and site-seeing. We got back to MGM where the traveling pals stayed past 8pm after being tired of lack of sleep and 5+ hrs of window shopping. Some of us had a nap while the others watched Amazing Race on CBS... Hehehe, yes, I love watching that show and I was glad I could catch it. :) My husband and I then went to check in at Stratosphere, rested a bit, played a bit at blackjack and then, around 11pm we were ready to eat again. We've never been to Las Vegas Chinatown, so took the car to check it out. We were happy to find a Cantonese/Hongkongese style seafood restaurant and ordered some very good chowmein and congee for late dinner.
On the second day, we visited Winn hotel and had lunch there for $18-19. The decor was very nice, everything was new and clean. We agreed that everything tasted a little better... However, we were not so pleased about the food selection. It was more "regular" food like pizza, chowmein, guacamole... The desert selection was great and delicious. There was strawberry shortcake, baba au rhum, chocolate fudge mousse, ... and their creme caramel... so smooth... so delicious... better than Paris'!!!
On the third day, we decided that we couldn't take another all-you-can-eat, so we ate fast food for lunch. My husband and I went up the tower of Strastosphere and enjoyed the ride called "X-Scream". For dinner, we checked out Hooters Hotel and ate fried wings at their restaurant. This is the first Las Vegas trip without eating at Bellagio's.
Travelling to Las Vegas is fun, but I guess more fun if you have money... :)... I played penny slot machines to make my dollar last longer... But that's ok since I don't want to support gambling as an entertainment. Food is probably the most enjoyable part. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't go on shopping spree... hehe... but that's ok :)
Next week... it will be Chicago :)... going there to meet my parents and sister.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Limited Brands Buys LaSenza?
I was proud of how well LaSenza was doing... but looks like they are getting bought by Victoria Secrets' owners Limited Brands. Read more on the purchase...
Friday, November 10, 2006
Alliance Française
Last night, my husband and I went to an "Alliance Française" meeting. I heard about this association from a French gentleman that I met at the career consulting firm I go to. Luckily, the meeting is held every second Thursday of the month at a Mexican restaurant in Santa Clara, which is only few minutes drive for us.
The meeting started at 6:30PM, we got there around 6:45PM. There were only 2-3 other people there. We were nicely greeted by the organizer. Then, we ordered dinner and socialized with the other members. Many people came afterwards, I think by 8PM, we were about 30. The purpose of that meeting is to network and practice French. The group was very diversified with people from different background. We even met couple of Americans who learned French in school and wanted to practice it. One of them never lived in a francophone environment and I was pretty impressed by his good vocabulary and grammar. There were people from France, Algeria, Italy, ... We were the only French Canadian last night, but I heard there are usually a couple others. Overall, we met interesting people working in interesting fields. We even exchanged contacts... My husband would have to bring his business cards next time ;).
It was a lot of fun, we stayed late and the restaurant had to kick us out. We got home around 11PM. I was so tired, but very pleased by the productive evening. First thing that my husband did when we got home was to set a reminder on his Google Calendar for this meeting, I guess he has intention of going back every month :D. I think I have gone to more social activities in the few months then he did in the 6 years he lived in California! He also started attending free workshops with me, especially the ones offered by the Entrepreneur Center in downtown San Jose. On Monday, we attended a workshop called "Get Top Positions on Google/Yahoo - Increase Your Sales!". It was free and we got to learn and meet people. Yup, since I got here, I've found enough activities to keep me busy and entertained.
However, I still miss home...
The meeting started at 6:30PM, we got there around 6:45PM. There were only 2-3 other people there. We were nicely greeted by the organizer. Then, we ordered dinner and socialized with the other members. Many people came afterwards, I think by 8PM, we were about 30. The purpose of that meeting is to network and practice French. The group was very diversified with people from different background. We even met couple of Americans who learned French in school and wanted to practice it. One of them never lived in a francophone environment and I was pretty impressed by his good vocabulary and grammar. There were people from France, Algeria, Italy, ... We were the only French Canadian last night, but I heard there are usually a couple others. Overall, we met interesting people working in interesting fields. We even exchanged contacts... My husband would have to bring his business cards next time ;).
It was a lot of fun, we stayed late and the restaurant had to kick us out. We got home around 11PM. I was so tired, but very pleased by the productive evening. First thing that my husband did when we got home was to set a reminder on his Google Calendar for this meeting, I guess he has intention of going back every month :D. I think I have gone to more social activities in the few months then he did in the 6 years he lived in California! He also started attending free workshops with me, especially the ones offered by the Entrepreneur Center in downtown San Jose. On Monday, we attended a workshop called "Get Top Positions on Google/Yahoo - Increase Your Sales!". It was free and we got to learn and meet people. Yup, since I got here, I've found enough activities to keep me busy and entertained.
However, I still miss home...
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Home... Sweet Home
That is correct: I'm homesick... and I really need to get away, even if it's not to go home, at least I can be a tourist again.
You wouldn't think you'd get homesick or get a culture shock. The reality is that Bay Area, California, USA and Ottawa/Montreal, East Canada are very different.
At this time of the year, I'm used to get prepared for the first snow fall. I actually miss the snow. I don't know how I'm going to survive California's winter. I'm serious. Before moving to California, I've been visited it during winter, oh boy I didn't like it. I was constantly cold, even indoor, even in shopping malls!!! Yes, it is colder in Canada, people make fun of our winter, but there's one thing people don't realize is that we are prepared for winter. Houses are well insulated to keep warmth, hence it is possible to maintained a room temperature. Here house walls are roughly 15cm thick, with no insulator fibers, so it is like a reptile: its temperature follows the outdoor temperature. Ok, I know what you are thinking, you probably want to tell me to turn on the heater. Hey, but the room or house can't keep the heat and it just leaks out... So what? I turn on the heater, there's like a draft of hot air... and that's it!!! If I keep the heater at low, then there's just as much cold air coming in as there's hot air leaking out, hence the room never gets warm. If I turn the heater higher, there's a big draft of hot air, then you'll have to turn it off before over heating the room... It is very hard to maintain a good temperature. So my intention is to give you a different point of view. People who make fun of our winter are maybe not aware that houses don't have to follow outdoor temperature. But because winter is milder here, there's not need to invest money in insulating the house with bricks and fibers. However, the big irony is... houses cost 3 times more in California...
I so need to get away... After my Las Vegas trip this next week, I'm going to meet my parents and sister in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Then for New Year, I'm going back to home sweet home.
You wouldn't think you'd get homesick or get a culture shock. The reality is that Bay Area, California, USA and Ottawa/Montreal, East Canada are very different.
At this time of the year, I'm used to get prepared for the first snow fall. I actually miss the snow. I don't know how I'm going to survive California's winter. I'm serious. Before moving to California, I've been visited it during winter, oh boy I didn't like it. I was constantly cold, even indoor, even in shopping malls!!! Yes, it is colder in Canada, people make fun of our winter, but there's one thing people don't realize is that we are prepared for winter. Houses are well insulated to keep warmth, hence it is possible to maintained a room temperature. Here house walls are roughly 15cm thick, with no insulator fibers, so it is like a reptile: its temperature follows the outdoor temperature. Ok, I know what you are thinking, you probably want to tell me to turn on the heater. Hey, but the room or house can't keep the heat and it just leaks out... So what? I turn on the heater, there's like a draft of hot air... and that's it!!! If I keep the heater at low, then there's just as much cold air coming in as there's hot air leaking out, hence the room never gets warm. If I turn the heater higher, there's a big draft of hot air, then you'll have to turn it off before over heating the room... It is very hard to maintain a good temperature. So my intention is to give you a different point of view. People who make fun of our winter are maybe not aware that houses don't have to follow outdoor temperature. But because winter is milder here, there's not need to invest money in insulating the house with bricks and fibers. However, the big irony is... houses cost 3 times more in California...
I so need to get away... After my Las Vegas trip this next week, I'm going to meet my parents and sister in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Then for New Year, I'm going back to home sweet home.
Las Vegas in Few Days!!!
This Sunday, we are going a 3-day trip to Las Vegas!!! This trip has been planned for few months. We are going to meet up with bestman hurc, his sisters and a couple of friends from Bay Area. It will be our first trip since our honeymoon, I'm looking forward to it... Yeah, I know, I don't sound very enthusiastic about it... well, I've been there before... I don't gamble, I don't shop and I hate the smoke there, so basically, we are going there for the buffets. The thing I look forward most is to get away from here. Oh... I so need it!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Gas Price Dropping...
Yes, I know we all know that gas price dropped... but probably nobody kept track of how much it has dropped...? I've been here in the Bay Area since June 1st, 2006, that makes it 5 months and a few days... I remember when we just got here, price gas was slightly above $3 a gallon, but since we buy from Costco, I remember we paid at most $2.97 per gallon. Gas price at Costco settled at $2.199 over the weekend and now as I just check, it seems to go back up and it is now $2.23.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Save Park Avenue!
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay wants to change Parc Avenue to Robert Bourassa Avenue. I don't know why they like to change names, but I know that Avenue du Parc has a value in the history of Montreal's culture. I remember reading books by Michel Tremblay and they mention Avenue du Parc and its bus #80. I grew up near that area and it will mean a lot to me if they can keep this part of my past, so I'm voting to keep Avenue du Parc. Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/parc/petition.html
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Five Months Already...
Today, I received an email from thenest.com congratulating me for being married for 150 days. Oops, has it been 5 months already? hmm, that means, in two weeks, I would have been in Silicon Valley for 5 months! Yes, I haven't forgotten - I better get those thank you cards mailed out!!! Ok, my target is to get it done within the next two weeks... hehehe... Sorry for those who have been waiting :) We needed to get the pics from the photographer and then have them printed out.
Today, in thenest.com's newsletter email, the topic is "Learning to Love (or at Least Tolerate) Your In-Laws". Hmm, interesting... According to them:
2. Never spend more than three days under the same roof with your in-laws.
3. Try (really, really hard!) not to bash each other’s parents.
4. Call your mother-in-law once in a while to say hi, even if it kills you.
5. Never criticize your spouse within earshot of his family.
6. Deal with your own.
To read more about each of them, read the article about The Laws of In-Laws on thenest.com
For those who know me personally, it is very obvious that I fail badly at one of them.
Today, in thenest.com's newsletter email, the topic is "Learning to Love (or at Least Tolerate) Your In-Laws". Hmm, interesting... According to them:
6 sacrosanct rules of behavior
1. Every family has a different way of doing things.2. Never spend more than three days under the same roof with your in-laws.
3. Try (really, really hard!) not to bash each other’s parents.
4. Call your mother-in-law once in a while to say hi, even if it kills you.
5. Never criticize your spouse within earshot of his family.
6. Deal with your own.
To read more about each of them, read the article about The Laws of In-Laws on thenest.com
For those who know me personally, it is very obvious that I fail badly at one of them.
The Jimmy Chiu Show
Have you ever watched the "How to Make Pho" cartoon movie? It's hilarious!!! Even funnier if you understand some Vietnamese!!!
I found it so amusing that I went for more and looked for more cartoons from the same group and found The Jimmy Chiu Show website!
Don't skip the intro and listen to Jimmy Chiu rapping... so funny... but BEWARE: mature content... :)
I found it so amusing that I went for more and looked for more cartoons from the same group and found The Jimmy Chiu Show website!
Don't skip the intro and listen to Jimmy Chiu rapping... so funny... but BEWARE: mature content... :)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Using Code to Catch Sex Predators?
The following information was taken from SlashDot:
An anonymous reader writes, "Wired News editor and former hacker Kevin Poulsen wrote a 1,000-line Perl script that checked MySpace for registered sex offenders. Sifting through the results, he manually confirmed over 700 offenders, including a serial child molester in New York actively trying to hook up with underage boys on the site, and who has now been arrested as a result. MySpace told Congress last June that it didn't have this capability."
Wired News says they will publish Poulsen's code under an open-source license later this week.
An anonymous reader writes, "Wired News editor and former hacker Kevin Poulsen wrote a 1,000-line Perl script that checked MySpace for registered sex offenders. Sifting through the results, he manually confirmed over 700 offenders, including a serial child molester in New York actively trying to hook up with underage boys on the site, and who has now been arrested as a result. MySpace told Congress last June that it didn't have this capability."
Wired News says they will publish Poulsen's code under an open-source license later this week.
Monday, October 09, 2006
France Bans Smoking in Many Public Places
It was almost unbelieveable to me when I read the article. I visited Paris, France last year on a weekend trip.
My then fiance and I took the EuroStar train from London, UK and stayed in Paris for two nights. We arrived at night after a day at work in London. I was astonished to find out how we were surrounded by smokers. The next day, we got up early and spent the day site-seeing. We had lunch at a small bistro and we could smell cigarette everywhere in the restaurant despite the big windows opened to outside: there were just as many smokers inside as outside the restaurant. We looked around us to look at the other customers, everyone seems to smoke... and drink! From lady-like to teenage girls, from professional to trashy women... they all smoke!!! I guess that's just part of their culture!
They say Paris is a romantic city, no offence, but I couldn't concentrate on that part. My mind was preoccupied and disgusted by the smoke and hence the pollution level. By early evening, after dinner around 7:30PM, we had to head back to hotel. My fiance just couldn't stand the smoke anymore: his eyes were burning and red!
All that to say that I think this is a good move for France, I just don't know how the population will react and just sceptical that they are ready. Hopefully, my next trip to France will be more enjoyable.
My then fiance and I took the EuroStar train from London, UK and stayed in Paris for two nights. We arrived at night after a day at work in London. I was astonished to find out how we were surrounded by smokers. The next day, we got up early and spent the day site-seeing. We had lunch at a small bistro and we could smell cigarette everywhere in the restaurant despite the big windows opened to outside: there were just as many smokers inside as outside the restaurant. We looked around us to look at the other customers, everyone seems to smoke... and drink! From lady-like to teenage girls, from professional to trashy women... they all smoke!!! I guess that's just part of their culture!
They say Paris is a romantic city, no offence, but I couldn't concentrate on that part. My mind was preoccupied and disgusted by the smoke and hence the pollution level. By early evening, after dinner around 7:30PM, we had to head back to hotel. My fiance just couldn't stand the smoke anymore: his eyes were burning and red!
All that to say that I think this is a good move for France, I just don't know how the population will react and just sceptical that they are ready. Hopefully, my next trip to France will be more enjoyable.
Monday, October 02, 2006
It rained..... Finally!
Yesterday, October 1st, exactly 4 months after I moved here, it finally rained for the first time! I was so happy. I wore my rain jacket with hood and went under the rain for a few pictures. It had not rained for at least 4 months. The rain made the oil stains on the roads bubble. What a cleansing feeling. It was cold and dark, a perfect day to enjoy a hot chocolate.
Monday, September 25, 2006
From Tomorrow on...
There's something new about me. Starting tomorrow, there will be something to keep me busy. Please ask me if you haven't heard about it :) and care about knowing.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Vacation - Flight, Hotel, Car search?
Many friends have asked me for advice when it comes to flight search. I could say I'm experienced. I had a 5-yr long distance relationship (San Jose - Ottawa) and I had to learned how to find cheap flights to fly across the continent. How to find cheap flights? Here are my tips:
For Trips to Asia:
Internet pricing aren't the best. Just go to Chinatown and check out travel agencies one by one. As they need to stay competitive, they will usually give you a good price. You probably wouldn't need to shop more than two places. Unless you have a regular travel agent you go to who gives you good deal, you should at least get a second opinion from a different travel agency.
For Trips within Canada/USA:
First check a few well known online travel agency. These are my favorite ones:
Then, take note of the airline of the cheapest flight and go to the airline's website to see if they have the same or even cheaper deal. For Ottawa/Montreal to San Francisco/San Jose or vice versa, Northwest Airlines is often the cheapest airline. My second choices are United Airlines and Air Canada. They rank second on my preference list because they are member of Star Alliances, hence easy to collect either Mileage Plus or Aeroplan points.
If you need to add hotel to your trip, the above two sites seems to have good flight + hotel packages. Of course, nothing stops you here, you can also check other websites like www.expedia.com or www.tripreservations.com. If you book hotel alone, Orbitz seems to have better deals, from my experience. Do remember to read customer reviews on the hotels. We find them very useful. Just like for flights hunting, take note of the hotel you want to stay at and call them for a quote. You can even ask to match the online price you found.
Tired of searching websites one by one? Websites like Kayak, Mobissimo, and SideStep are travel seach engines... Yes, these search engines will browse travel sites to find the best deal available...
Want to learn more about how to save on trips or how to get even better deals? Visit flyer talk where frequent flyer shares their experiences or deals.
Finally, Rewards Canada and Frequent Flyer Bonuses are websites that provides informations on travel reward programs.
Hope all these tips help... Enjoy and travel safe!
For Trips to Asia:
Internet pricing aren't the best. Just go to Chinatown and check out travel agencies one by one. As they need to stay competitive, they will usually give you a good price. You probably wouldn't need to shop more than two places. Unless you have a regular travel agent you go to who gives you good deal, you should at least get a second opinion from a different travel agency.
For Trips within Canada/USA:
First check a few well known online travel agency. These are my favorite ones:
Then, take note of the airline of the cheapest flight and go to the airline's website to see if they have the same or even cheaper deal. For Ottawa/Montreal to San Francisco/San Jose or vice versa, Northwest Airlines is often the cheapest airline. My second choices are United Airlines and Air Canada. They rank second on my preference list because they are member of Star Alliances, hence easy to collect either Mileage Plus or Aeroplan points.
If you need to add hotel to your trip, the above two sites seems to have good flight + hotel packages. Of course, nothing stops you here, you can also check other websites like www.expedia.com or www.tripreservations.com. If you book hotel alone, Orbitz seems to have better deals, from my experience. Do remember to read customer reviews on the hotels. We find them very useful. Just like for flights hunting, take note of the hotel you want to stay at and call them for a quote. You can even ask to match the online price you found.
Tired of searching websites one by one? Websites like Kayak, Mobissimo, and SideStep are travel seach engines... Yes, these search engines will browse travel sites to find the best deal available...
Want to learn more about how to save on trips or how to get even better deals? Visit flyer talk where frequent flyer shares their experiences or deals.
Finally, Rewards Canada and Frequent Flyer Bonuses are websites that provides informations on travel reward programs.
Hope all these tips help... Enjoy and travel safe!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
How to Choose a Pineapple
For our honeymoon, we went to Honolulu, Hawaii and went to Dole Plantation. There, we had a chance to get lost at the world's largest maze and also tasted fresh sweet pineapples! We even learned how to pick a good sweet pineapple.
When choosing a pineapple, there are basically 3 things to look for:
Did you know? Pineapple don't get any sweeter after they are picked. That's why farmers have to harvest them when they are ripe. Like melons, pineapples don't store the starch in the fruit. Rather, pineapple plants store their starch in the stem. Hence, no starch in the fruit to be converted to sugar. Conclusion? Buy fresh pineapples and eat them fresh, no need to let them sit on the counter. :D
When choosing a pineapple, there are basically 3 things to look for:
- Firmness - You want a fresh pineapple, hence you want it to be firm.
- Smell - A fresh pineapple shouldn't smell. Hold it about a feet away from your nose and you shouldn't be able to smell it.
- Eyes - The eyes of the pineapple should be big and even from bottom up. If the eyes at the top of the pineapple is more or less the same size than the eyes from the bottom, it means it is fully grown.
Did you know? Pineapple don't get any sweeter after they are picked. That's why farmers have to harvest them when they are ripe. Like melons, pineapples don't store the starch in the fruit. Rather, pineapple plants store their starch in the stem. Hence, no starch in the fruit to be converted to sugar. Conclusion? Buy fresh pineapples and eat them fresh, no need to let them sit on the counter. :D
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Dawson College Alumnus
"It's a bad day when your school gets into the front page of CNN", said a friend to me this afternoon. For those who still don't know, there was a shooting rampage earlier this afternoon at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec. Yup, I went to Dawson College indeed. It's beautiful college, it was very clean and new when I attended school there.
This is not the first shooting at a Montreal college. We still remember Marc Lepine who killed 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique some 17 years ago on December 6th, 1989.
About two weeks ago, there was a hit and run rampage in San Francisco. It seems like there's no where to be safe... What can I say? My two advices:
This is not the first shooting at a Montreal college. We still remember Marc Lepine who killed 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique some 17 years ago on December 6th, 1989.
About two weeks ago, there was a hit and run rampage in San Francisco. It seems like there's no where to be safe... What can I say? My two advices:
- Make sure you have an insurance policy to protect your loved ones in case of your death.
- Live your life fully, so that you don't die with regrets. (Psst... for example, make sure you tell your mom that you love her, tomorrow might be too late...)
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Where can Entrepreneur get help?
It's been already one week since my last post. I kinda feel bad for not updating for so long... but, hey... that means I've been busy and I found better things to do than staying at home (and watch crime shows on tv)!
On Wednesday, I went to the Entrepreneur Center (note that here, it's "Center" and not "Centre") in San Jose downtown. There, I was surprised to discover that there are many organizations helping entrepreneurs. There I found SCORE, SBA, and couple other organizations in the same building. SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a non-profit organization where retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders volunteer their time to teach, coach, and counsel entrepreneurs. SBA (Small Business Administration) is a US federal government agency that provides support to small businesses. It was established after World War Two in the purpose of boosting the economy. I had the chance to speak and get valuable advices from both SCORE and SBA staffs. The knowledge that there's support and help available out there makes me feel good and even more attracted to the idea of small business ownership.
Then, I went to San Jose State University. It felt good to walk around campus with a backpack : I felt like a student again. I saw students chilling out reading books on a bench on a sunny afternoon. Other students were gathered doing street dance. Young female commerce students were baring skin trying to impress male schoolmates. I remember those days... days where my only worries were to do well in school, then I would be able to find a good job. I checked out two of their programs for their pre-req, program durations and tuition fees. Unfortunately, at this time in life, I don't think, I want to spend $10k-$40k on a degree.
On Thursday, I spent the whole day at the career counsultant, where I attended a workshop on interview. I had the chance to network with other clients.
Then weekend came, I was happy to spend quality time with my husband for the long weekend. We went around for furniture shopping. It's been 3 months that I have moved here and we still haven't been able to find a bedroom set to our liking. :(
Yesterday, we drove down to Monterey Bay and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We spent over 5 hours there... There was a lot to learn! I saw big tunas, sea otters, sharks, jelly fish... I had the chance to touch and feel a skate fish, a sea cucumber, star fish, shark eggshells... One of the most hidious fish is the sunfish.
That's it for now, today, I'm back to my routine...
On Wednesday, I went to the Entrepreneur Center (note that here, it's "Center" and not "Centre") in San Jose downtown. There, I was surprised to discover that there are many organizations helping entrepreneurs. There I found SCORE, SBA, and couple other organizations in the same building. SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a non-profit organization where retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders volunteer their time to teach, coach, and counsel entrepreneurs. SBA (Small Business Administration) is a US federal government agency that provides support to small businesses. It was established after World War Two in the purpose of boosting the economy. I had the chance to speak and get valuable advices from both SCORE and SBA staffs. The knowledge that there's support and help available out there makes me feel good and even more attracted to the idea of small business ownership.
Then, I went to San Jose State University. It felt good to walk around campus with a backpack : I felt like a student again. I saw students chilling out reading books on a bench on a sunny afternoon. Other students were gathered doing street dance. Young female commerce students were baring skin trying to impress male schoolmates. I remember those days... days where my only worries were to do well in school, then I would be able to find a good job. I checked out two of their programs for their pre-req, program durations and tuition fees. Unfortunately, at this time in life, I don't think, I want to spend $10k-$40k on a degree.
On Thursday, I spent the whole day at the career counsultant, where I attended a workshop on interview. I had the chance to network with other clients.
Then weekend came, I was happy to spend quality time with my husband for the long weekend. We went around for furniture shopping. It's been 3 months that I have moved here and we still haven't been able to find a bedroom set to our liking. :(
Yesterday, we drove down to Monterey Bay and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We spent over 5 hours there... There was a lot to learn! I saw big tunas, sea otters, sharks, jelly fish... I had the chance to touch and feel a skate fish, a sea cucumber, star fish, shark eggshells... One of the most hidious fish is the sunfish.
That's it for now, today, I'm back to my routine...
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