Yeay!

Finally..my internet access is working. Got some help from the ISSA personnel at work. Easier with DSL at home. Got off early today..really early..5.40pm, but brought back work to do. Just cooked dinner.. beehoon soup. A bit lazy to fry stuff today..eheheh..

Lazy Sunday

Today was a relaxing day..well, had a late night..slept about 3am as I was watching telly. Got up at 9 this morning. After breakfast, did housework, laundry etc. Also walked down to Ralph's (just down the hill) to get some stuff. Lunch was noodles with veg+meat+fish cakes. Watched more telly and had a nap at about 3 till 5.30pm. Got up and started preparing dinner. Watched MTV Video Music Awards for a bit while having dinner.

Well, I took some pics on the way out to Ralphs..

Sign as you enter..pretty flowers aren't they?

One of the Apartment Blocks

My unit above the garage

From my patio..my car is the middle red one

Dinner was..rice with pak choy and sweet&sour white pomphret. Yummm..;)

It's Monday tomorrow..huhu..

Wholesome dinner

Just got back from Jennifer's house in Encinitas. It's like about 40min from Rancho Bernardo on I-15, I-5 and I-805 freeway. We left at around 5pm, but got a bit stuck on I-805 as there was a car which went on fire and had to be towed..so that kind of stalled the traffic a bit. Reached Jennifer's place at around 6pm. Playa Blanca is a pretty nice neighbourhood, with the houses having a 'Mexican' feel to it..with the nice patio/verandah and hacienda flowers. Jennifer and husband Dan invited me, Karen and Carleen (from the IMG) for dinner, but too bad Carleen couldn't make it. They had their granddaugther Alyssa, who is 1 1/2yrs old over too..as they were babysitting her while her mum was out. She kind of looks like a really young 'Shirley Temple' with extra curly blond locks (Shirley Temple's was red). Alyssa was simply an entertainer and was babbling all the way with her baby talk. Boy, she really enjoyed all the attention she was getting. Really a cheerful lil sweetie.

Me with Jennifer and her granddaughter Alyssa. She does look a tad too young to be a granny isn't it? hehehe..see the exceptionally curly locks?

Dan made grilled chicken (with burger buns), and Jennifer made salad, corn, mix of fruits (strawberry + pineapple + melon + blueberry + avocado). Typical American summer meal. It was nice having the meal out in the patio..we started at about 7pm with the clear sky and cooling breeze (though it is definitely getting hotter now in San Diego). Chit chatted away about many things - work, food, US, Malaysia, travel etc. Ate till about 8.30, then helped her with the dishes and had chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert..yum! The strawberries are huge!

Was really nice of Jennifer and Dan to have us over for dinner. First American home cooked meal..looking forward to more. Maybe I'll have them over for dinner some time.

A week has passed..

A long week..phew..

Sad to say I still can't use the internet..sigh. Got the DSL pack from SBC Yahoo DSL. Installation is complete and I amconnected to the internet, but some application in my vaio (maybe with firewall?) is preventing me from surfing..mmm..need to get it checked out. I'm posting this at the business center.

Anyway, I've updated my earlier posting below with pics of my apartment. It's getting hotter. The nights don't seem very chilly anymore. A lot more sun these days. Not going jalan-jalan this weekend. Just to do the usual groceries stock up in the afternoon. Got invited to dinner at Jennifer's (IMG colleague) place in Encinitas (about 40min away). Going to spend the rest of the weekend doing housework, laundry and catch up on sleep.

Looking forward to next weekend as we have a 3 day wknd (5th Sept is Labour Day), which we planned to go up to San Francisco. But before that comes, I'll have a very very tough time as 1st is preparation time for Sept seihan and 2nd is the meeting, which goes on for the whole day. After that, need to prepare the purchase plan to the factory, apart from clarifying manyother issues. Expecting to work till early morning of Saturday. We're leaving on early Saturday morning..as it takes at least a good 8 hours drive to get there. Well, definitely good views with the scenic route we're planning to take.

Going out to get groceries now..

Fashion Valley

Woke up at 9 this morning. Had breakfast of milk and fried eggs. Left for Fashion Valley on Friars Road with Karen at 10.30am (about 20min drive away). It’s one of the huge malls just before Downtown San Diego that people call ‘the Ultimate Shopping Destination’. The area was simply massive. Anchor stores are Nordstrom, Macy’s, Robinsons-May’s and JCPenney. And an extensive collection of stores – Kennetch Cole, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Tiffany&Co, GAP, Banana Republic, AX Armani Exchange, Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess, Stuart Weitzman etc. There was simply a huge crowd.

Huge open air shopping area

One of the anchors - JCPenney

Also, the Cheesecake Factory (thanks Jamie for recommending it to me..but the line waiting to get in was so long!) It must be really good huh? Well, next time.

YUM!!! Hoping to try it next time around!

Walked around for a couple of hours (gosh, my legs ache!), had lunch at the foodcourt. There was a choice of Mediterranean, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Western cuisine. It was an open air foodcourt..everyone eating beneath the sun. Then hopped over to Mission Valley shopping area which is about 5min drive away. US just has many shopping areas and malls that are so spread out. Just walked around a bit more and left at 5pm.

Ooo..I spotted a ‘Hooters’ Restaurant (the one famous in California for it’s waitresses with big boobs..hehehe). Maybe check it out some time :P

Dinner..fried white pomphret, choi sum and fried chicken bits..

My very own place

Finally, I’ve moved into my apartment. It’s at Jefferson at Carmel Mountain Ranch Apartments. It’s a mere 2min drive from the hotel I stayed and about 10min to work. Very convenient, as just down the hill is Shell Petrol Station and opposite is the Carmel Mountain Town Center – with supermarkets, bookshops, restaurants etc.

The apartment is on the 2nd floor (In the US, somehow, ground floor is referred to as 1st floor. So, if back home, my apartment is actually on the 1st floor. The unit is a blend of white and cream mostly. As you enter, there is a coat closet on the right and a 1/2 partition wall on the left, into the living room with a 25inch tv that comes with cable tv of up to 60 channels and mini dvd player too . The sofa set looks a tad big..but it’s alright. There is a patio too. Kitchen is white, with oven and microwave, an island in the middle, and washer/dryer unit opposite. Lots of storage cabinets and closets too. Room has a king size bed, with big dressing table and closet. Bathroom with also pretty much white and cream with bathtub and storage closet too. There are artificial plants/flowers along with pictures in frames hung up to brighten up the place and giving it a more homely feeling. I'll post pics soon.

Entrance to living room

Part of living room..with slight view of patio

Dining area next to the kitchen

Big kitchen with an island in the middle

Washer/Dryer unit in front of the kitchen.

Bedroom

Dressing table and big closet

Part of bathroom and storage closet

Shower/Bath tub...

The bare patio

Took a few trips up and down the stairs. I had quite a bit of stuff too. Just dropped off all the stuff about 1pm and went to Ranch99 to get the weekly groceries. The usual vegetables, eggs, meat..additional is fish – white pomphret and a 10kg bag of rice too. As usual, the supermarket was packed with people.

After we got back, I started unpacking. Nice feeling that you have finally settled in :) But everything seems pretty huge huh? Furniture..etc..hehe..

Was invited over for dinner at Karen’s apartment, so just lazed around watching tv till 7, had a shower and walked over to her place. Probably my turn to invite her over to dinner next time ;) We’ll see.

I’m posting this from the Business Center at the apartment community main office. We can choose to use their available pc’s or your own laptop. It can be a bit boring without the internet. I will only be getting my hi speed internet access when the installation pack arrives mid this week. Hmm..in the mean time, need to keep myself occupied..with telly? Hahaha..well, back to my apartment. LOTR is on.

Bye bye Staybridge, Hello Jefferson!

I'm checking out of Staybridge Suites in a lil bit. Just finished packing up. Went over to Jefferson's to check out my new apartment :) Pretty nice I'd say. Living room, dining area, kitchen, bath, bedroom, washer/dryer, patio with quite a few closets for loads of storage. Got a parking port, not a garage though. But it's not too bad. I'll post pics soon. Too bad I won't have hi speed net access till mid of the week, when the installation package arrives.

47 nights here in Staybridge. Enjoyed the stay though :)

Moving..

Late night again today..12.30am..Well, more issues. Hmm..anyway, I'm moving tomorrow! Er..today! Can't wait! Hehehe..just packed some stuff. Going over to check out the place later in the morning..if I can wake up. Hahaha..otherwise, i'll be after 12 when I check out. Stayed in this hotel for 47 nights. Quite a long time isn't it. It's not too bad really. The room is like studio suite, with a kitchen attached, which makes it really convenient. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. It's already late, going down to get my laundry, then off to bed. zzZzZzzZ

"Race to the Zone"

It was a fairly busy day. Morning was spent on reporting and following up on issues. In the afternoon at 3, we attended the meeting with Corporate Marketing to hear our 2H promotional plan 'Race to the Zone'. Emphasis was on HDTV. Very interesting presentations and strategies indeed. SONY is the official sponsor for NFL (American Football League) and Nascar (race car rally). Got some freebies too - sling bag and cap. Manage to get off early today..7.30..heheh..not too many days that I can go back early.

Took some pics with my immediate boss and indirect boss.

With Kobayashi-san (Tish), Biz Planning Manager for Home Audio.

My boss, Johdai-san, Business Planning Manager for Home Audio.

Downtown San Diego

Just got back from Downtown San Diego. Quite a bit of walking! Well, Downtown is like 20min from Rancho Bernardo. Really spread out and many skyscrapers. We found free parking (metered ones are free on Sundays) in front of the Maritime Museum on North Harbor Drive. There are a few old sailing ships from the 1800's. One of them H.M.S Surprise was used in the motion picture 'Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World' starring Russell Crowe. Another was the 'Star of India' which is the oldest active sailing ship, some other smaller boats and a submarine.

Star of India - Oldest active sailing vessel in America

With Karen in front of the Berkley ship

H.M.S Surprise - from the motion picture 'Master & Commander - The Far Side of the World'

After visiting the San Diego Visitors Information Center, with the international recognised 'i' character, we walked downtown to Gaslamp Quarter. This is the part of city where there is much history, fine dining and entertainment all blend in one place. Much of the buildings have been Victorian style architecture and refurbished with a bit of a modern touch. On the way, we stopped in front of Santa Fe Train station and also the Museum of Contemporary Art which is at one of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Rail stops.

Gaslamp Quarter from 4th Avenue.

Further down is Hard Rock Cafe on 4th Avenue and the huge Westfield Shoppingtown Horton Plaza - shopping mall with Macy's as it's anchor store. Loads of shops and boutiques within this huge plaza.

Hard Rock Cafe San Diego down on 4th Avenue.

Westfield Shoppingtown Horton Plaza..huge shopping mall!

Me!

Apart from that, there's the San Diego Convention Center, a massive, spread-out building nearby many internationally known hotels like Marriot and Hyatt.

The MTR station in front of the San Diego Convention Center..which stretches ?? miles

Me again!

Weather was exceptionally good. Windy but sunny. Can't say I'm not getting darker though :P talk about a tan..ahha. Next stop was Seaport Village - Waterfront Shopping and Dining area in San Diego on West Harbor Drive. There are many quaint and one-of-a-kind shops in this rea with a wide selection of unique handicrafts, gifts, artwork and fashion. I was so attracted to this mug and sea shell handicraft store. One of the T-shirt shops - Crazy Fashion had really catchy images.

Rich in colour!

At Seaport Waterfront

Part of Seaport Village at the Waterfront

Relaxed at Seaport Village

Wow..7hrs on the go all day. Legs are pretty sore after the whole day walking. We left about 5pm and reached back about 5.30pm..enjoyable day out.

Drive..

Took a drive around the area at about 4pm. Rancho Bernardo is something like a business district for many international companies - Nokia, Intel, Sony, HP etc. You always see many people from overseas here in this area on business trip. Just took a quick spin, then came back and started preparing dinner.

Yummm..Rice + tofu/potato soup + potato cutlets and choi sum. Bet I'll be full!

Nice start to the weekend so far..

Worked till 12am this morning, but managed to finish everything before I left office. Got back and cooked some light snack for a late dinner and watch telly till I dozed off. Sadly, I woke up at 8am this morning, when I could've slept much longer..sigh..well, had breakfast and bummed around a bit. At 12pm, went with Karen to her apartment that she just moved into yesterday.I will be on the same property but different blocks. Helped her move some of her stuff. Pretty exciting moving into your own place. I have 1 more week at the hotel before moving into my unit on 19th Aug.

Just got back from Ranch99 after stocking up on the weekly groceries..bought loads of veg, potatoes etc. Just cooked my lunch..hungryyy..Guess what's for lunch? Wantan mee! hehehe.. :P well, they had this promo at the Chinese supermart..selling instant wantan mee. Each pack has 2pcs of mee and 6 wantan (meant for 2 servings). Just scald the wantan and mee in boiling water, then drain it of the water. then put the seasoning and sesame oil, mix it with the wantan and mee, and it's ready to be served. I added some veggie and meat. Taste just like the one back home.

Something I don't understand about US toilets

Since the day I arrived here in the US, I found something kind of weird...

At Los Angeles Airport, San Diego Airport, public places, office buildings etc, the toilet doors have slids maybe about 1cm on both sides. Meaning anyone can peep or peek into it when you are...you know! hehhe..I wonder what's the logic of this concept..mmm..any ideas?

Shopping Sunday!

Just got back from shopping at Premium Outlets in Carlsbad (about 1/2hr away on I-15 North freeway). It's a factory outlet shopping area with stores like GAP, Coach, Nine West, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Reebok, Puma, Osh Kosh, Samsonite etc. Definitely has some good bargains whether it's sales or not. But summer sales are on now. Lines to pay for your stuff in the stores were really long! Just loads of people out in such good weather. Was there from 10am till 2pm. Discovered that nearby down a few streets is Legoland. Lego was definitely my favourite play stuff when I was young! Probably go there next time..

At the center square of Carlsbad Premium Outlets

Another side of the center square

Mmm..Coach..really nice handbags..amidst the huge palm tress.

Opposite the shopping area is Holiday Inn Carlsbad on Palomar Airport Road. Very 'Dutch' blueish influenced building with a windmill too! TGIF is there too.

Holland? Nah..it's Holiday Inn Carlsbad.

Dinner..fried rice with nuggets. Notice that the spoon is smaller than the fork? Well, rice ain't very widely eaten for meals by the Americans, unlike us Asians. It's usually just the fork and knive :)

Well...

It's the weekend. Long night last night..worked till 1.30am..the longest day yet...ever. Slept at 2++ and got up at 9 this morning. After breakfast, did some work till lunch time. Went to Ranch99 at 2pm for the weekly stock up of groceries. Boy..wasn't it really sunny outside. The supermarket was really crowded and busy.

Time to cook dinner soon. Just going to bum around for the rest of the day..watch telly (loads of 4hr sitcom marathons during the summer time) and get a good night's sleep..I hope!

Dinner..tofu soup + scrambled eggs with chicken + Chinese cabbage :)

Also, got 2 nice phone calls from my Brazillian Japanese friend Kenji from Brazil and Yoke Wee, who's completing her masters in Hawaii. Definitely a treat chatting with them.