White water rafting

My first white water rafting experience!! Overall it was AWESOME, albeit in the beginning of the activity, it was quite slow and boring.
We went to Lotus which is about 3 hrs from our place. If you think this is far, I met ppl who who drove from San Diego, which is about 8 hrs away just for this activity!

Saw these Llamas(I think) on the way to Lotus. Aren’t they adorable?  The lady saw us taking pics of them, and asked us to go over so that we can touch the llamas. So nice of her. The one on the left is about 2 yrs old and she is quite shy. She felt uncomfortable of our presence and kept moving behind her owner. I think that she is really pretty and managed to stoke her neck (that was what the owner asked us to do) Really made my day! The day started on a positive note…   Felt really happy.

This was my itenerary:

Meet time: Mid- to late morning, Coloma
Hour One: Sign-in, instruction
Hour Two: Class II warm-up rapids
Hour Three: Riverside lunch
Hour Four-Six: Class III rapids, “The Gorge”
Hour Seven: Take-out in Folsom Lake, bus ride

Hmm, it was just one hour at the warm-up rapids. Felt reaaaaaally long!  Should have gone to the class III/IV instead, but we didn’t know it was so calm.

I do not have any pics with us on the raft to post  because the $75  CD that we bought is blank! OH BOY!

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These few days, I have been watching too much drama for my liking!  Tmr, I must work! We plan to go for Independance Day parade/event today, but since I watched drama until 6 am (yes, I am addicted), I woke up at 2 pm and it was too late for the event.

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Edit: Got the pics! Below are some of them:

Didn’t know that pics were being shot, thus looking down.

Knew that pics were being taken, thus everyone was posing for the camera.

Dia de Portugal

Last week, I was back in my event-searching mode again, and found out about Dia de Portugal(Portugal Day) event which took place yesterday at History Park, San Jose. It was quite interesting. For the event there were parade and booths. Since the event took place in History Park, we took the opportunity to visit the historic buildings in the park.

Portugese traditional costume maybe?

Pageant winners? If they are pageant winners, there are quite many pageants going on for girls/teens as I saw a lot of them in the parade. They were dressed in very nice gowns, with crowns and the person in the middle will have a “cloak” as below.

The two ladies at the sides had to carry the strings/cloths on the arms to ensure that the “cloak” remained stretched out.

The “cloak” is grand, right?

Portuguese water dogs!

I am wearing my $5 dress.

Could not resist taking picture inside this cute train.

This reminded me to a conversation I had not so long before.

So, I am 25, but I do not feel 25! I feel young, like I am still in high school. I am puzzled by this. Am I the only one who feel this way, or this feeling is actually normal? I asked a lady much older than me if she felt her age. She said no, and said that when you start to get old, physically you start to deteriorate, although mentally you may not. She also mentioned that you tend to feel you are at the times when you are happiest.

It is true that I am very happy when I was in high school. Had a lot of great memories. I would feel happy every time I think of my teenage years. Maybe what the lady said was true somewhat. Maybe it explains why I always feel like a teenager.

Dentist chair. It looked scary, alright. Wonder what was that pedal for? To create movements to grill the patient’s tooth?

I like this pic.

A man was showing how the archaic printer works. He was using it to print flyers for an upcoming event, so yes, the printer is still usable

Ng Shing Gung (Temple of the Five Gods). The five divinities are:

Guan Yin, Tien Ho, Choi Sun, Kwan Gung, Cheng Huan

A look at the past. More pictures of historic buildings.

Strawberry Picking

I went for my first and only fruit picking today! As you can already see from the title of this post, my colleagues, (YW, WX, JK) and I went for strawberry picking. We (or rather WX) drove for about an hour to East Bay just for the strawberries.

I filled up my basket quite quickly compared to the others. Maybe that explained why my hand-picked strawberries are not very sweet. WX kept eating the strawberries while picking them. I wanted to do that, but I saw ants, spiders, cobwebs and numerous other insects near those strawberry plants. All I could think of was there are millions of disgusting-harmful microbes on the strawberry surface! However, after a while, I force myself to eat one too. Maybe this will boost my immune system. I am still feeling fine now.

We had fun searching for funny-looking strawberries. I only kept one of them as I am certainly not going to eat those funny-looking ones.

My poor shoes, stained by squashed strawberries. Just washed them and let them out to dry. Hopefully my shoes are still as good as new.

Enjoying my not-so-sweet strawberries now.

Note: I really need to improve my mandarin. 95% of the time, I do not understand what were my colleagues talking about. Luckily, the patient YW explained to me in English if there was any part of the conversation which she thought was interesting or when I asked her to explain.

Celine Dion’s Concert! =)

I went to Celine Dion’s concert last Friday, 20 Feb 2009. (Need to make sure I record the date =)) The concert was supposed to be on Nov 23, 08, but it was postponed. =(. The wait was well worth! I posted two pictures of the tickets because, unfortunately, they are the clearest pictures in this post. We did not bring camera to the concert as the ticket specifically mentioned ” NO CAMERA/VIDEO/RECORDERS”.

We arrived about 1 hour before the doors were opened, and the queue was already super long. Luckily, it wasn’t very cold that night, so we (me, at least) do not mind the waiting.

Place where concert was held.

When we reached the door, we were very upset! On the door, it was posted “Camera allowed”. What?! Gosh, so contradicting! If the organizer changed their mind about camera policies, they should at least e-mailed the ticket holders, right? Cameras are really IMPORTANT.

Luckily, I have a camera phone, but the best resolution is only 2MP. And since we are sitting w a a a a y y back, the pictures of CD were all blurry of course. =)

There was a T-shirt with the word “Malaysia” among other countries names.

Well-achieved athletes.

Enjoy some margaritas during the concert.

CD was actually really funny. I always had the impression that she is more serious than what she was that night. This may be because I had not heard of any scandalous news(generalization about artists) about her and some of her songs are so motivational. =)

This is how FAR I was from the stage.

Below are some of my attempts to take a close-up pictures of her. Not bad, eh?

Of course I  tried to take closed-up pictures of her on the screen. My 2 MP camera could not even zoom enough to take her full profile. =)

My first NBA game!

When IAS asked me if I wanted to watch an NBA game at the stadium, the first question I asked was “How much?” I am not really into basketball, however, watching an NBA game at the stadium is really cool. I wanted to experience that, at least once!  The tix was cheap On the way to the game, IAS had to give me a crash course regarding the rules of the game. (It wasn’t really much, actually)

This is THE ticket. I chose to take a pic of the ticket printed using a colored ink instead of a black/white ink because it looked much better!

Too bad we can’t bring food nor drinks into the stadium. IAS had to finish his Panda Express bowl outside the stadium with us waiting impatiently for him. Just kidding lah. Also, YKC can’t bring his professional Nikon camera into the stadium. All the pictures would turned out nicer if he could bring  his camera in. He might even be able to capture players in action, i.e. scoring goals, dribbling, etc! (I say “might” because he is still an amateur )

I managed to seludup this popcorn in by sembunyikan it under my jacket.

Players in action. The stadium was quite full.

The young boy on the screen was really a good dancer! He stole the spotlight for quite a long time, with the cameraman focusing on him dancing and showing his stuffs.

Heard that Spurs is the better team. However, the Warriors was in top form. They were leading by 12 points at one time. It was really a good game (in my opinion), with overtime, making it even more exciting and intense!  Spurs won the game and the final score was 110 – 105.

Tie!!!

Had to snap a pic for remembrance! YKC, sorry, I do not have a solo pic, so I had to post a pic of you on my blog. Yup, I wear glasses as I am short sighted. I had to keep reminding myself to bring my glasses to the game! Or else, all the actions on the court would be hazy and blur.

It was really fun watching the game at the stadium because of the crowd and atmosphere!

Pet Parade and Faire!

I went to the Howl‘oween Pet Parade & Faire last weekend! Pet parade = doggies + cute outfits <3

I missed the parade, but it was still good looking at the animals adorned in their costumes. The animals at the parade were mainly dogs, which came in all sizes and characters, but I also saw a spider(!!!) and a tortoise.

We spent about an hour there for my ‘fix’, and I felt happy the whole day after that!

Dad, I bet you love the pictures on this post The pictures I took were mainly of animals with costumes, but there were a lot of people with costumes during the event too.


Pumpkin

Police

Contact lens??

Baby exploring the wonders of … Dogie. Doggie wasn’t too excited or friendly though.

Superman getting acquainted with Dog

merry-happy-performance

There were also pet themed booths at the faire.

Acupuncture anyone…. I mean, any animals? I am curious how animals communicate with the doc about their problems.

You can also have a potrait picture of your pet

Aaaawwww… Owner and Dog are enjoying the view

2nd place for one of costume contest categories

1st place for one of costume contest categories

Below is my favourite pet-owner-themed costume.

The cast list:

Dog : Raindeer

Baby: Santa on a sleigh

Mom+Dad : Santa helpers

Nice, right?

Mini Golf and concert

Went for mini golf on skteh’s bdae a few weeks back.

The guys

 

360 degrees path

Kept looking for shades to hide from the blazing sun

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Went for a concert at SF yesterday.

Sara Bareilles

Sugar Ray

Daffy

My tattoo, which reads “Spread Health”

The concert was from 12 pm – 5 pm. We were very restless halfway thru. There were some stalls there to keep us occupied.

S a u s a l i t o

Kke, pk, wj and I went to Sausalito during the Labor Day weekend! I was trying to find events around my area, but did not find anything interesting. Since it was a 3 day weekend, I can’t just stay at home! I will surely feel very depressed if I am just being cooped up at home and only do the ‘routine’ stuffs i.e. grocery shopping and working out. Have to find something to do! So, Sausalito it is! Thanks to wj who did most of the planning! Sausalito is about 30 minutes from my place.

Excerpt from Wikipedia,

Sausalito (from the Spanish: sausal, “willow”, and diminutive -ito, i.e., “little willow” ) is a San Francisco Bay Area city, located in Marin County, California, United States. … Developed rapidly as a shipbuilding center in World War II, the city’s industrial character gave way in postwar years to a reputation as an artistic enclave, as a picturesque residential community (incorporating large numbers of houseboats), and as a tourist destination. It is adjacent to, and largely bounded by, the protected spaces of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge

We walked along Bridgeway Avenue, which is a popular shopping district that has art galleries, souvenir stores and cafes.

My FAVORITE picture of myself

One of the ‘attractions’ in Sausalito. Rock sculptor, Bill Dan, doing his thing. There was quite a crowd looking and admiring his work. When Bill successfully balanced a rock, the crowd cheered.

Please be responsible dog owner

People here like to bike

The original plan was to head to see San Francisco Bay Model, but we didn’t because ********.

We also planned to have some picnic at Marin Headlands while enjoying the view and the fresh air but unfortunately, the road (forgot its name) that we chose to go to Marin Headlands was closed. Thus, our day trip was cut short.

For the next two days, I watched a lot of dramas and movies and just being cooped up at home and do the ‘routine’ stuffs, minus gym.

Jalan-jalan at San Francisco

Went to SF on Saturday with A, I, kke and WJ. Thanks to A who organized this! I have been wanting to go to SF, but the plan was postponed indefinitely. The reason for this is because it is crazy to drive and find parking spot around SF, which means we have to go by public transportation. But then, I am lazy to find out how to get around SF using public transportation.

We walked around The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. This market is held both in front of the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero and on the rear plaza overlooking the Bay. Most of the booths sell organic food. Most of the booths have samplings! So you get to taste before you buy.

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market outside Ferry Building

Organic flowers!! Hmm, organic flowers?

Honey in VARIOUS flavors *and colorings* ! Raspberry, orange, peach, pina colada, lemon, lime, peppermint, chocolate, root beer, cranberry, blueberry …okay, you get the idea.

Then, we walked around Ferry Building Marketplace. According to www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com, ” Located within the historic Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street, shops large and small celebrate food in all its forms, offering everything from artisan cheeses to the freshest of local fish.” They sell high-class food.

The many types of Mushrooms

Then, we w a l k e d towards Telegraph Hill. We also c l i m b e d up Telegraph Hill using Filbert Steps to reach Coit Tower . Climbed up the stairs la. I would say it was a great workout! However, the only minus point is that I sweated. I just do.not.like to sweat. . The hill offers fantastic views of San Francisco including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge and Lombard Street.

Before our *climb*. Coit Tower on the background. Seems sooooo far up!

Took some pics on Filbert Steps.

According to Wikipedia,”The Filbert Street Steps runs along a short section of Filbert Street. Along the steps is a garden tended to and paid for by the residents of the street. The steps lead from Telegraph Hill down to The Embarcadero. Many houses in this residential neighborhood are accessible only from the steps.”

The gardens are really nice…and the smell of flowers was really pleasant. Made the climb more enjoyable and interesting. I sweated though

View of Lombard Street (jalan bengkang-bengkok) from Telegraph Hill.

After enough rest on Telegraph Hill, we headed for North Beach (San Francisco’s Little Italy). Along the way, kke needed some sugar boost as he was tooooo hungry to continue the walk to Chinatown. We stopped to get gelato. I love ice-creams, so I had no complains.

Segway gang

St. Peter and Paul Church on the background. Some art show going on. The pieces sold here are quite mahal. Not just any vendors selling pictures. There are many vendors selling pictures/paintings of SF around SF.

Walking in Chinatown is just like walking in Petaling Street. Can find shops selling imitation products. Going into some of the shops in Chinatown was also very entertaining as the products sold were really interesting. Such as this.

Do you need this?

I was trying very hard to get a nice picture of the cable cars. They reminded me of the Pittsburgh Molly’s Troleys. After many attempts… ta-da

Took this pic in Chinatown. This cable car is not our notion of Genting suspended cable cars. The SF cable cars are on the roads.

Transamerica Pyramid at the background

Our next destination is Union Square District. Except from here, “Experience the unique character of San Francisco’s Union Square District, where the best names in fashion, dining and theater have resided for over a hundred years.” One can find shops like Montblanc, Ghiradelli Chocolate, Tiffany & Co, Bulgari and Saks Fifth Avenue here.

There was a China Out of Tibet protest in Union Square. On the truck there was a banner which says “China out of Tibet”. We moved on before there were too many poeple gathered for this demonstration.

At this point, we are all tired and cranky ppl. The weather was also getting colder. We headed for United Nations Plaza and San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco City Hall

San Mateo County Fair

Was just like PESTA PD! Miss those pesta-s. Watched my first circus there.

Dinner before going to the fair. Yummy! Ate at a place called Kobeya. Nothing fancy and the food is not pricey.

We bought tickets to watch a concert in the fair. I did not rally pay attention to who are performing that night, since I would think that the performers wouldn’t really be popular? We reached at the fair about 1.5 hrs before the concert, so that we would have some time to walk around the fair. I was sooo surprised to see quite a long line formed towards the concert entrance. Wow, this better be good. I looked at my GOLD VIP CIRCLE pass.

“Village People and KC & the Sunshine Band”. Hmm… nvr heard of them (Well, that’s not surprising since I do not even follow the current entertainment news)

Sample some banana smoothie while waiting in queue

Village People! Crowd doing the Y.M.C.A. -thing. I am sure you have heard of that song? No? Village People are popular during their time.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

Village People are a concept disco group formed in the late 1970s. Village People scored a number of disco and dance hits, including their trademark “Macho Man”, “Go West”, the classic club medley of “San Francisco (You’ve Got Me) / In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star)”, “In the Navy”, “Can’t Stop the Music”, “Sex Over the Phone” and their biggest hit, “Y.M.C.A.”

KC and the Sunshine Band! I actually recognized some of the songs! “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty” and “Please Don’t Go”.

Quote from KC “I am your mother’s Justim Timberlake”. They are really popular during the 70-s. I deduced from the fact that there were ppl shouting “I love you” during the performance. Not only that, there were quite a number of ppl who danced to the beat.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

KC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group. Founded in 1973, their style has included funk, R&B, and disco. Their most well known songs include the disco hits “That’s the Way (I Like It)”, “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty”, “I’m Your Boogie Man”, “Keep It Comin’ Love”, “Get Down Tonight”, “Give It Up” “Please Don’t Go”.

Both of these bands are popular during the late 70-s and 80-s. That explained why the crowd were mostly older people. Maybe 10-20 years down the road, I will attend Westlife and ‘N SYNC concerts.

Pony ride

Erm..getting up?

The pig is REALLY greedy. I could not get his attention. We actually missed the pig race event! Cute chicks!

We should have gone to the fair earlier! Since we did not expect a long queue to the concert, we were not able to walk around the fair before the concert, and the concert eneded at about 10-ish p.m. A lot of booths were closed at that time. Oh well, can go again next year!