End and beginning

Finally, I've settled down for real since I came back from Ohio. August have been quite a hectic, fun-filled and lighting fast month. Everything happened in a flash that it's already 27th, almost 28th, now.

I spent the first 9 days at my last few days in Dr. Finer's lab. Moved in my new place on the same day I flew back to New Jersey. Stayed at home for 3 days, trying to study. Then, I left again. This time to Washington DC for Tzu Ching camp. It was my first Tzu Ching that I've ever attended. The whole camp was very relaxing and full of laughters. Met a lot of new friends there, which is a boon :) And, I was asked to become a team leader few weeks before the camp began. Kind of nervous in the beginning, but team members were really good and friendly, no issues occured, except for the two little teenage boys that rarely spoke... Ah, that phase! I totally can understand that :) After four days in the nice and cozy camp, I went back to New Jersey, not for long...

After staying a day there, I left again, this time for my short and kinda spontaneous (not really... but I wasn't that ready for it) trip to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, and San Franscisco. Las Vegas...The best description I could find for it is --- Adult Disneyland.. It kinda like a fantasy land. You could find building replicas from all over the world from Venice, Rome, France, NY, Sahara... Everything was so not real there... but, it does no harm to escape from reality once in a while, right? So, 4 days was spent in LV, with 1 day for Grand Canyon Tour. Took lotz of pictures in Grand Canyon though we only made 2 stops for sightseeing :'( Hopefully can do a camping trip there next time! On the other 3 days, we went shopping in the LV Premium Outlet and walked down the Strip --> the most happening place at LV. At the Outlet, I was so tempted to buy $100 Coach Purse. I'm glad that I managed to get out from the store without buying it coz I knew I would definitely regret if I did ... Luckily, I'm still conscious, also thanks to my shopping buddy, Eileen :) For the last 2 days, we took many pictures on the Strip, watched some free shows, and I went to Cirque du Soleil "O" show in Bellagio. That cost me a fortune but totally worth it coz it's the only place on Earth (as for now) that I could watch it! So, that is a brief account of my Las Vegas trip.

On the 4th day, we took an hour (40minutes??) flight to San Franscisco. It was so cold when we exited the airport.Eileen and I was expecting warm weather. But, the truth is San Frans has a Mediterrannean weather, which stays around 64F or 15C throughout the year -.-" So, we basically flew from 113F (48C) to 64F (15C) in less than an hour! It's freezing cold!

First night in SF, we had some Thai food in a downtown restaurant. Tasted yummy, sorta like eating "tuo pan" but slightly sour (tou pan in Jawa mee sauce?). Downtown was very happening that night coz it's Friday. People was drinking and clubbing at the bar right below our hotel. But, we're too tired for those... So, we went to bed right after the supper.. zzzzzzzzz

The next morning, we went shopping for clothes in H&M and Forever 21. Eileen needed it since she only bought sleeveless shirt and shorts (cold....). Spent 2 hrs there while waiting for another friend to join us. Then, the rest of the afternoon was complete chaos as we tried to find the place to claim our Visitor Cards. It's all the car's fault. Shoudn't have rent it at the first place. Right after I got our cards, we went straight to Sonoma County for some wine tasting.... bought a bottle of white wine with lychee flavor. yes, I can buy legally now! After the short session, we went back to San Francisco to get some yummy fresh seafood. Did I say that we pass by Golden Gate Bridge on the way to Sonoma County and back? Yes, we did :) I tried to take pictures... but they weren't that good... So, at the Crab Stands, we had seafood for dinner. Eileen and I shared a plate of Crabs, prawns, raw clams, and raw mussels. I tried raw mussels for the first time and it tasted quite nice :) But, I decided not to try raw clams coz Eillen said it's kinda smelly.. ewww.... After the hearty meal, we went to the Crookedest Street and Japan Center. Took plenty of pictures there... Another observation --> there are manu Asians in SF, even more than NY! Also my Eurasian babies :P So, that was the 2nd nite in SF.....

2nd day, I decided to do some biking. Though the idea did not appeal to Eileen and her friends, I decided to do anyway... on my own. So, I boarded the F bus to Fisherman's Wharf (took the wrong one to Castro's "Rainbow Town" and had to retake another F bus), claimed my ticket for my cruise, took my 1-hr sightseeing cruise, rent a bike, and started my journey toward the Golden Gate Bridge at 1.30pm. I managed to get on the Bridge at 2pm ish, strolling on the Bright Orange bridge, took more pictures, spots a few sea lion playing in the sea water :) ... At 3.30pm, I finally made it to the end of the 2-mile (?) long bridge and headed to Sausalito, another beautiful town, to take the ferry back to SF. Though I spent 2 and a half hour, the bike shopkeeper said that could actually be done in 1 and a half hour and it totally worth it! So, what did I do in Sausalito? Something totally unwise --> wine tasting, since it's already included in my Visitor Pass... I felt terribly drizzy when I was at my third glass. Luckily, I took a ferry back or else I'll definitely bumped on somebosy, which definitely not a good situation.... I slept for half an hour in the ferrt and chatted with an lady from Philedalphia. She was trying to capture the Alcaltraz Prison and sent it to her husband back home. How sweet...

Once I'm back to SF, I biked around the Embarcadero and returned the bike at 8pm. Then, I took the Historical Cable Car back to where I lived. I was quite lucky that day because the line for Cable Car was so short that I only have to wait for around 10minutes. Maybe, it was dinner time and not many was interested in riding the car :) During other times of the day, you might have to wait for more than 1hr... Lucky! Lucky!

3rd day was a short, checked out at 11am, we headed to Castro. Had the most fabulous, delicious breakfast there called Crab Florentine.. SO GOOD! Then, more sightseeing there before we went to Fisherman's Whaft again because Eileen and friends were boarding the sighseeing cruise. I, on the othe hand, hop on a downtown sightseeing tour. It was a very informative and insightful tour that told you untold story of the neighborhood.. Very neat indeed. After that, I went to Chinatown to take some pictures and have dinner.... And the dinner was the end of my 7-day trip in Las Vegas and San Francisco...

Now, I'm back to reality. GRE in 4 days, and schools will start in 4 days.....
加油!加油!