Danger of Blowing up Balloons

Last Saturday, Sam and Sofia organized a surprise baby shower for Lauren. Everyone had a wonderful time! Great food, fun games, fellowship and gifts!

Surprise! Hahaha!
















The soon-to-be parents of Cooper!
















Of course, Sable was as cute as ever, crawling around on the floor with a balloon tied to her waist, hahaha!




















Speaking of balloons, I learned a very important lesson. Blowing up balloons has potential side effects. I arrived at the party early to help decorate, and after blowing up about 3 balloons, I was out of breath and felt like all my energy had been drained from my body. Then about 15 minutes later, I felt my eyes stinging like crazy, but I just ignored it and thought perhaps something got in my eyes. Another 15 minutes later, my sister looked at me and goes, 'Why are your eyes SO red?!' I ran to the bathroom, and scared myself, I looked REALLY scary, I don't know why other people failed to tell me this when I was talking to them! But what was strange was that only the bottom half of my eyes were red, and the top half was fine. So I ended up throwing out my contacts and sitting in the bathroom for 20 minutes, praying and hoping the redness would go away, so I can go back to the party without scaring anyone. Later at the party, after talking to a few people, it became evident that my eyes were red from blowing up balloons!! How crazy is that? Good thing I only did 3 balloons, if I had done 6, my entire eyes would have been red LOL!

After the baby shower, we went to Citylight's soccer game, we were SO close! It was really fun to watch and cheer on our team! Then a bunch of us went to Armondo's in Jackson Heights for dinner, after Heather and I talked about going for over a year! What a NICE restaurant, the decor was sophisticated and yet casual (some of us were wearing soccer clothes and they still treated us with respect, haha), and the food was delicious (the tiramisu was especially wonderful)! After dinner, I went to Pascual and Heather's to sleep over. And that was the night I fell in love with Guitar Hero. It's a good thing I don't own it, otherwise, I would be practicing all day and all night, especially now that I'm unemployed, haha! It really is a fun game, once you get into it.

The next day was a day of eating out, after church we went to Congee Village, so cheap and so yummy. A few hours later, we met up for Pascual's birthday dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Queens, where the boys raved about how great the bathroom was, and the girls thought it was just average, haha! I guess boys and girls have different bathroom standards.

Victoria's Wedding Weekend

I had forgotten how NYC really is the city that never sleeps, there is literally ALWAYS something going on! Around 6:30am last Saturday morning, I walked into Grand Central to hide from the cold and wait for the airport shuttle to arrive. As soon as I entered the building, I heard someone's voice over a loud speaker and lots of cheering. I thought I was hearing things, why was there so much noise at Grand Central this early on a Saturday?! My jaw nearly dropped when I saw what was going on. There were 100+ people spinning (on bikes) in Grand Central! Apparently it was a 24 hour marathon to raise money and awareness to prevent obesity in children. Everyone had so much energy and were so excited to be a part, it was great to watch.

















I apologize, that had nothing to do with Victoria's wedding. Here are some pictures of the pre-wedding celebration and the actual wedding. It was such a beautiful ceremony, a true fairy tale with a 'happily ever after' :)






































We felt so special with 'reserved' seats at the wedding!

















Prince Nick waiting patiently for his Queen Victoria

















The beautiful bridesmaids (in purple, of course)!

















Victoria's dress is STUNNING, she looked SO gorgeous!
Can you believe it, it's 'strapless' :)






















Nick and Victoria at the foot of their castle






















The ring exchange











































Woah, the 'hot-and-heavy' first kiss! I was out of breath just watching them. Get a room, you two!






















The newly married couple!






















We LOVED our rental - a Chrysler 300! What a sweet car to be riding in, with Colin chauffeuring us three Asian girls around, hehe.

















The couple's first dance






















Asian invasion, hah, actually I think we were the only Asians there

















Woohoo! They running off into the sunset!

















We took P. Andrea's suggestion and went to her favorite restaurant in the area, Emiliano's Cafe. My steak was scrumptious! Then we went next door and ate gelato, as if we weren't full enough, haha! YUM

















Our flight home was delayed, so we kept busy in the airport 'game room', hahaha! Madelina and Sofia found a new technique to street fighting. Their opponent didn't stand a chance!






















Yes, they had 4 hands to control their character ... it was a bit unfair ...


















Watch this video of amazingly skillful players, using technique tested and proven over years of trial and error ... they give no clue to their opponents as to what their next move will be, thereby catching everyone (including themselves) by surprise ...

Restaurant Recommendation: Bacaro

Take a few friends who you don't mind eating family style with, request a table downstairs, and try a variety of wines with your meal at Bacaro, a very well hidden Venetian restaurant in Chinatown. It felt very European, with a lot of brick and wood, and each table is somehow in its own little nook, which made it cozy and private. Last Friday I went with three friends, I had SO much fun, I miss girls-night-outs (and girls-night-ins even). Nothing beats pigging out with great friends, laughter and of course, wine. Every wine I tried was super tasty (they have mini-glasses if you don't want full glasses). The clam spaghetti was especially good, and spicy meatballs too.
















After dinner, we went to Ann's and sprawled out on her sofa-bed, under blankets, and watched Resident Evil. Haha, it was a wonderful evening with the girls.

Alcatraz Island (Day 5)

On an extremely foggy and cold day, I decided to take a tour of Alcatraz Island. It was one of the most educational and interesting tours I've ever been on. We were able to walk around the island and the penitentiary at our own pace, and I did my best to read every word on every wall, it was so fascinating that I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything! The audio-guided self tour through the penitentiary was only 45 minutes long, but I took about 2 hours to look at everything! It was so amazing to hear the stories of how these inmates lived on the island, and particularly of the two escape attempts that were made. The 'room' behind bars is so tiny, although it did remind me of my freshman dorm room. I was a bit disappointed when I first arrived on the island, because the fog was so thick that we couldn't see anything except what was right in front of us. But again, God came through and by early afternoon, the fog had dissipated, and the view of San Francisco from Alcatraz is breathtaking. Some of the inmates said it was like torture to go outside because they had such a beautiful view of a place that was only 1.5 miles away, and yet they could not reach it.

You're supposed to see water behind the building































That big hole in the wall was one of three prisoners' escape route, they dug them using spoons, which they made into drills, how crazy is that?! They got into a raft that they made from raincoats (if I remember correctly), and were never seen again. It's like Prison Break, except for real.





















The prisoners' recreation yard
















View from the island after the fog had dissipated
















View of the skyline from the island
















Amazing blue, huh?
















View of Alcatraz island as we were leaving on the boat for San Francisco
















As we got close to the city
















There are so many of these public toilets that you see on the streets, very convenient for those emergency nature calls. You have pay to use them though. I didn't go in to check it out.
















I walked around in Fisherman's Wharf, along the piers, this was one of the busier piers, with live music, shops and restaurants. It was beautiful and warm with the sun finally out!
















I ate a late lunch at In and Out, I had been looking forward to it for days! The burger was just as good as I remembered it the last time I was in Cali years ago. I passed through Ghirardelli Square, where they used to manufacture the chocolate, couldn't resist and ended up buying a package as a souvenir
















From Ghirardelli Square, I had to complete my trip with the most touristy thing in San Francisco, the cable car ride up and down the hills! I spent my last $5 on the cable car ride, and there was only standing room left, which I thought was perfect because it made the ride more 'authentic', like how people do it in the movies, hanging off the side of the car!





















View from the cable car at the top of a hill
















It was kind of a scary ride actually, cuz your feet can't completely fit on the step, and there are people sitting right behind you, so you don't want to be in their laps either. And when another cable car passes by in the other direction, you have to lean in to make sure you don't get hit!
































On the cable car ride, I met two new friends from Singapore! They're pilots for Singapore Airlines and had a couple of days to rest in San Francisco. Since I had a couple of hours before Jolly got off work, we ended up hanging out and grabbing a cup of coffee. It was so great to meet people from a country I've never been to! I learned a lot about the culture and life in Singapore, and the best part was, I got to ask them 2 questions I've always wanted to ask pilots. 1) once the plane is in the air, and the plane is in autopilot, what do you do? their answer - sudoko, newspaper and sleep, LOL, I hope they're only partly joking; 2) can you see turbulence before it happens? their answer - no. They speak English as fluently as we do, and Mandarin more fluently than I do, haha! It's fun meeting nice people when traveling!

After I got back to the East Bay, Jolly surprised me by taking me to Benihana, which I'd never been to. We found out after we read the menu that Benihana was founded in NY, haha, ironic huh? It was SO much fun watching the chef cook, the food smelled and tasted awesome, and the company was even better. I had such a wonderful time chatting and hanging out with my cousin on this trip (who is not 'technically' my cousin, which I sadly discovered this past weekend)!

Upon returning to NJ, I did some research on what it takes to become a flight attendant, inspired by the prospect of traveling worldwide via full-time employment. When I got to the list of manual labors (pushing the food cart which is 150 pounds, lifting things that are 50 pounds, being able to open the emergency exit door, which is also very heavy), I realized that I probably wasn't built for it, so that idea quickly was extinguished. I pulled a muscle a month ago carrying my suitcase, and I still haven't 100% recovered, haha!

Exploring the Scenic Trails (Day 4)

Ah, my first day of wandering around San Francisco by myself. On her way to work, Jolly dropped me off at the BART station. I love the BART, and the entire public transportation system in the San Francisco area. It is so convenient, there are buses on nearly every street! AND it’s almost never crowded on the trains or buses, even during rush hour! When I got into the city, I found a place to grab some breakfast and review the city map. I had planned on going to Golden Gate Park and just walk around, away from the downtown area and tourists. When the server saw that I was looking at a map, he offered a few suggestions of where to go near the park. Apparently there are amazing views of the Bay and ocean from the top of a cliff at a place called Lincoln Park, sounded interesting enough, I was in. It’s amazing how friendly people are when they notice that you’re traveling alone.

I started my walk west towards the Pacific Ocean, and after an hour, I was not even halfway there. For the sake of time (and my feet) I jumped on a bus that took me the rest of the way to Lincoln Park. I walked along the Coastal Trail for over two hours, and the server was right, the views were magnificent. You’d never think you were in a city, or anywhere near one. I really like hiking and enjoying nature by myself, I feel like I can fully appreciate the beauty and the experience, and it also gives me time to think. By this time, I was hungry again, I must have been burning calories like crazy. I ate at the first place I saw that served food, Hawaiian omelet, yum.

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the trail, it was a bit foggy that day































I got a lot of exercise ...




















How peaceful ... just sitting on a bench on a cliff overlooking the ocean


















































Afterwards, I took the bus to Golden Gate Park to walk around a bit before the sunset. That was when I realized that all the exhibits in the park are closed on Mondays, so had I just gone to the park like I had planned, I wouldn’t have been able to see much that day. Praise God for the helpful server!

The Flower Conservatory, which I could only enjoy from the outside















The prickly pear cactus doesn't seem to be doing so well outside of Arizona















After strolling around the park, I walked in the Haight-Ashbury area, which is a neighborhood known for its Victorian homes, aren't they adorable? They look like doll houses!




































Soon it was dark, so I jumped on a bus that I hoped would get me to the downtown area, which it did. I still had some time to waste before Jolly got off work, so I decided to head into H&M and Forever 21. It wasn't long before I bought 3 articles of clothing, good thing they were cheap! I needed to control my spending, so I forced myself out of the store before I could try on any more clothes and jumped on the BART towards the East Bay. Perfect timing, Jolly got off work and we met up and went to Berkeley for dinner at this place called Naan N' Curry. The naan was superb. There are bubble tea places everywhere, it's wonderful!