Week at a glance: 10-14 November

We have started the one month countdown to our departure.

Saying goodbye is hard when you are leaving behind great friends! Although we would surely see one another again in Singapore, we could never stay together in this FC community again. Supermarket trips, pot lucks, strolls by the park in superb weather... Memories to stay for life.


10 November

Took my new Public C1 bike for a ride along Beach Park Boulevard toward Redwood Shores, where Panda's office is located. The trail has the San Francisco Bay on one side, and residential houses on the other.

Along the way, I saw a couple of jackrabbits bouncing around the field. America - the land of freedom for animals too.

After saying hi to Panda at the office, I rode on to Redwood Shores Library -  my favorite hangout when I first came to US. I had a lot of free time then because I didn't know anyone yet! Relived my first month by spending a full afternoon at the library's alfresco area writing.

Attended my weekly French Club gatherings in the evening. I have grown used to meeting new people every Monday. But of course, there are the regulars - Renee, Mary, Jeff and me. We turn up almost every week, and I love chatting with them. The topics were sometimes well beyond me (I know nuts about opera), but I still enjoyed listening in to the discussions. They were very patient with me the Singaporean, too.

We were supposed to fetch Jo and Vic from the airport after my meeting - they were returning from Singapore. While waiting for their activation call to drive to the airport, we decided to stop by Safeway to stock up on our supply of ice-cream. Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's cost a bomb in Singapore. I'm going to eat till I burst before going back.

11 November

Was supposed to meet Wendy and little Z for a picnic in the park. But I totally overslept and woke up half an hour late! Oopsie. Luckily, Wendy texted to say that it was too windy to do a picnic anyway. We ended up at Kenta Ramen with Jo and Vic.

We had loads of action in the evening! Attended my first NBA game (Spurs vs Golden State Warriors) with Panda, Kevin, Rick and his friends. I finally get to wear my game jacket - Panda bought me that more than a year ago!

And we had a little beer accident. Kevin was trying to help us take a photo while balancing his burger AND beer on a tray. The juggling act didn't work. He was drenched as his lost his balance. Total damage: $30 for a new shirt. And a beery wet, smelly jacket.

You've gotta love Kevin's professionalism though. He still clicked on the shutter as the beer cup tipped. Our priceless expressions.

12 November

Ladies' brunch.

Pizza, baked pasta, garlic bread, cheese and crackers, cheese cake, chocolate cake. I am going to miss these girls so much! I hope we can still gather in Singapore like this, some day in the future.

Dinner was home-cooked nasi lemak at Wendy's place. My request for our last pot luck together as the FC family. Sobs. Yes, we can have all the nasi lemak we want when we return to Singapore. No, it isn't going to taste the same. Nothing would beat our home-cooked goodness!

And that's why I forgot to take photos. I was too busy eating. And I got a little emo when Wendy gave me a collage of photos. Great times spent together. Awwwww....


13 November

Morning beep from Wendy: Lunch alert! I have gotten used to checking my phone the moment I wake up in case Ms Bogeyman is looking for lunch companions. I needed to finish some vegetables anyway, so we had instant noodles at my place.

Normally, I would clean up the house before she comes, because she has a high standard of cleanliness! But she would forgive me for the messy house, since I am in the midst of moving.
This time round, I just express wiped the table, kitchen, and toilet vanity top. Also pushed all my loose packages to one place so that it looked tidier. By the time the cleanliness inspector came, the house was decent (I thought). It was impossible to 'clean' a house during packing. My lame excuse.

In the evening, we headed to Aileen's place for dinner. I wanted to learn how to photograph the night sky from Kevin and Nik - something that I should have done before going to Bryce Canyon. We climbed up a small hill behind their house to get away from the light. Oh yes, there is such as thing called light pollution.

Alas, the sky was too cloudy that night and we couldn't capture the Milky Way the way we would on a clear night. All we had was a hazy photo with light specks here and there. But at least I learnt a few Lightroom editing techniques from Nik.


14 November

Our last trio lunch at Joy Restaurant. More sobs. We are the FC musketeers!

I was also glad that I got to say goodbye to Uncle Stick before I go. Uncle Stick (my nickname for him) used to work in the Hong Kong cafe near our house - one of our regular lunch time/high tea hangouts, but he has since moved to work at Joy Restaurant. I love disturbing him while he worked. Too bad he didn't want to take a photo with us. But at least I got to tell him I am returning to Singapore for good. Not like Uncle Manager, who has disappeared and there's no way to bid farewell...




Last FC family dinner outing in the evening. This time, at Erawan Thai Restaurant, Redwood City. The food was SO GOOD. I had no idea we have such an awesome Thai restaurant near us. We always go back to Mini Mango at Napa Valley.

We wanted to get beer at a nearby German pub after than, but Jo and I forgot to bring our IDs and Little Z could not enter after 8pm. So we went back to good, old BJs at BridgePoint.

Two good years in US with two great families. 

Like what little Z asked, "When will I see you again?"

My first WWE Live experience

I applaud Panda's continuing efforts to expose me to new stuff. This time, it's WWE Live at SAP Centre, San Jose. 

 

That is, even though I told him I won't understand and I would only be there for the hot dogs. (There's something amazing about hot dogs at sports games. Ooh, I love.) 

 

We got tickets at $41 per pax the week before, thanks to the Leow family. Because parking was at a whopping $20, we decided to go there early to explore the area and to see if we could find cheaper alternatives. We were rewarded for our 'effort' - secured street side parking along West St John Street for only one fifth of the cost. Yay! (I secretly love our budget life - cheap thrills of saving money here and there.) 

 

The rest of the money went into our dinner fund. There were a handful of restaurants and cafes along West Santa Clara Street and we settled for a grilled chicken sandwich between the two of us. We are not fussy eaters; simple food is the best. 

 

And then it was time to join the Leows, including little L, for a night of sweaty meaty action!

 

I must say the atmosphere was awesome. When we opened the door to get down to our seats, I had a WOAH! moment because the place was teeming with neon lights and the crowd was wild. It was basically what you see on TV, with the men thrash talking on stage and the 'diva' at the side, pounding her hands and trying to move the crowd.   

 

The friendly Intercontinental match at the start

Slam! Slam! Slam!

There was a diva match in the middle but it was more like a cat fight than wrestling. I loved the 6-men tag match which followed because there's more drama! Got introduced to Alberto Del Rio (check out his dimples!), Rey Mysterio (he's small but he's fast) and Cody Rhodes (just cute!). I think Panda somewhat regretted taking me to go watch wrestling.

The night culminated in the steel cage fight between Randy Orton and John Cena:

Cena! Cena!



Not done with you yet!

The crowd went crazy. There were two boys sitting behind us screaming their heads off. For a moment I wondered if we should impose age limit. I sure hope they don't practice the moves on their sisters or brothers!

 

 

 

Too bad for us, Cena lost in the end. Orton tried to finish him off with a chair after the bell rang (boo!) but he managed to crawl up and chased him off the stage (yay!).

 

Ok, I know. All these are scripted. But I still enjoyed myself.

 

That is, even though I didn't get to eat my hot dogs.

 

I wish I could take more close-up photos but my long lens got checked in by the security at the entrance. What a bummer. A tip to note for future, hide the lens in a make-up pouch or something! They are not that strict in checking but if there's a camera lens staring at them right in their eyes, they will take it!

 

 



Of marriage magic, new tires and 49ers...

Three major things this past week:

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary!

Time flies and I cannot believe we have been married for 4 years. The good thing is, I still feel that we are dating every day. I don't know how we managed to do that, I just thank God for the magic.

So what did we do? We had a SG time zone celebration at home, where I cooked the usual steak and then tried two new recipes. First, creamy curried cauliflower soup from here. And then a dessert, adapted from what I've tasted at Wendy's for our girls' brunch - baked apple bits + dried apricots + lemon zest with crumbs.  A big thank you to Panda, who is always ready to try whatever I cook.

Oh, and I bought a balcony table and chair set so that we can eat breakfast at the balcony! Alas, it rained the night before so Wendy became my first 'balcony customer' a day later.

For US time zone celebration, we had 小肥羊 at downtown San Mateo. I love steamboat and the spicy soup base was so good, I ate till I was bursting at the seams! Honestly, the quality and quantity of food are well-worth the price. We only paid $65 for two pax!

Speaking of the budget life, Turbo also went for an 'overhaul' this week. After going through his regular servicing, the workshop advised us to change his tires and get a new battery. But it would cost us close to a grand! *horrified* After some research on Panda's part (with me feeling super heart pain over the potential cost), he managed to find a workshop at Redwood City - America's Tire Company - which brought the cost of tire change down to $585.  In the end, all the work caused us around $750. Phew!

(I forgot to take a photo of Turbo having his tires changed. Boy, I felt like an anxious mom looking through the workshop window as he was being worked on.)

And finally... we understood what American football is all about. Thanks to the Leows!

Panda and I stumbled upon St John's Bar and Grill at Sunnyvale, which supposedly served the best burgers in Silicon Valley. I don't know about the burgers (at half-price on Saturdays) but their garlic fries were good, especially with dips like curry ketchup, chipotle ketchup, honey mustard...

Anyway, Kansas City was playing against Indiana on that day, and we were hooked on that sports atmosphere in the pub. When the Leows invited us to watch 49ers vs Green Bay Packers at their place the next day, Panda jumped at the opportunity. It was such a great idea because we had Len explaining the whole mystery to us! No more just men piling on top of one another, with no sight of the ball in place!

I don't know if this sounds bimbotic, but I'm so glad I finally get what the sport is all about. I can now say with conviction, go 49ers!

Now, to do the same with baseball... *gingerly looking at the orange SF Giants visor in one corner of my wardrobe*

My first baseball game: SF Giants vs Toronto Blue Jays

Panda's boss, Mick, took us to AT&T Park to watch SF Giants against Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. It was awesome! Not because I know anything about baseball - I don't, sadly. But the spirit of the spectators, the atmosphere of the ballpark and... OK, the beer and hotdogs, it was just too cool to participate in the sporting mood.

 

The only thing I wish I did was to wear an extra jacket. The wind was freezing. By the time we left the stadium, my nose was as red as Christmas Day.

 

Will let the photos do the talking.



AT&T Park from a distance

The buzzing entrance

Panda in front of the standing spots

Toronto Blue Jays

SF Giants

In position... waiting!

  

Panda and Mick (Thank you for taking us to the games!)

Posey is the Beckham of baseball, this I learnt!

Kayaks (and other cute motor "boats") wait outside the stadium to catch flying baseballs

I love my new orange SF visor. Giant colours!

Check out my mini baseball bat too!