The number of days between my post are increasing.. exponentially.
ok. EXTREMELY Longggg post ahead. be warned.
Had dinner at IV with Susan (rm mate) and both our buddies, Monica (mine) and Jamie. This is like a twin date hor? haha.. but its nice to have alot of people to add to the conversation and make everything more interesting. haha.. i might not be an interesting person to talk to mah. so just to play save=p we had Sushiya express (aka jap food). The thing about having a buddy is that you really get to interact with the Americans which i feel is really good. haha.. Susan's buddy brought us out for Indian food in Downtown. haha.. its really nice to have such 'Singaporean' food eh. haha.. It totally reminded me of home.
and I have a very nice buddy! We went to the SB Mission another day and she was explaining to me all about the mission, who built it, the rituals in the church etc etc. haha..
or rather, u can say that im very good at asking questions. Either way works. I really feel that that is the first time that im really touring SB. Its really a peaceful little town with its own heritage taht really ought to be appreciated. Absolutely a perfect place to settle down after retirement=p Oh. and there were 2 couples taking their wedding photos on that day. It was so pretty. I was saying. shit. i need a guy. 
*LAUGHS* Meeting Monica tomorrow again for dinner at Sushiya and going to an art exhibition with her on thursday=) I love having a buddy!
Ventura Outlet Shopping was a hell of a sink for the American bills. Omg. the amount that i spent in Ralph Lauren alone could have supported my meals for half a month i think. Topped up with a few tops and a jacket. Its really starting to get cold. Its weird that the warm and cold days seem to be alternating. Its a confusing weather:) Splurged on dinner again at Chiles. I wanted to order Buffalo wings but its 'buffalo' right? I don't take beef. Ba. The buffalo wings are just like chicken wings without the bones la. Marinated with a sweet-sour apetizing sauce and completed with perfect deep frying. Mmmmm...
hehe. SAN FRANCISCO. 3 days 2 nights. Stayed with an American friend's house and her mom showed such hospitality! omg. her house has a swimming pool! and they had carpets everywhere, the toilets are all lacy and golden and rich in colour. This is better than a hotel. im serious. Thank you Heather~ and your mom and august (the dog) and marie (the cat).
Day 1- Union Square and Chinatown. BART makes it real convenient to travel in SF. its like the trains in singapore. Chinatown is chinatown. well. haha.. but the very exciting part is that you can absolutely get all the chinese stuff that u have been deprived of for just too long. Chinese tea leaves and barley! soy bean milk. haha..Union Square is a paradise for shopping. haha.. and you know what? Macy's (departmental store) was celebrating their anniversary! I got a good discount for my boots;) *winks* and then I went for a 'fitting'. well. haha.. erm. pretty personal but i realised that i have been wearing the wrong size of..clothes.. for a long time. erhmm. okie. FOOD again. THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. I cannot emphasize enough how much i LOVE this place. they have 30 types of cheesecakes and also serve the usual main course. Its SO good. I know some people might not comprehen my apparent love with cheesecakes. but this is the best i have ever had. Skip the main course! i so regretted not doing that. The main course was very good. just when u thought that nothing can top it, the cake is there to prove u wrong.
Day 2- Heather and her mom brought us around to places not reachable by BART. We went to Fishermen's Wharf, which is really a pier area with lots of ships and seals. This place is freezing cold. I was wearing a sweater over a sweater. haha.. they are famous for their sour dough (aka. bread. which is really sour by the way) 
and for being the place of production of Ghirardelli chocolate (they served samples to everyone who entered!). he best part is again the food. haha.. i have no idea why, but there seems to be alot of good food around SF. There is this place called Bubba Shrimp that was really mentioned in a movie called Forrest Gump. Shrimps are the juice of the sea. And you can boil it broil it ...... and the list goes on. They serve really fresh seafood. Mine was rice with lots of cheese covering big shrimps and loads of CRAB MEAT. haha.. envious ba. And im really sorry Heather. I didnt know that your mom will pick up the tab. But i certainly don't regret eating it though. 
And then we made a drive through the golden gate bridge and stopped to take some 'postcard-alike-photos'.
and then the drive continued up a super super steep slope. SF is hilly. but this drive was scary. I estmiate the angle of elevation to be about 50 degrees. everytime the car stopped and move again, we will move backwards first. Cars park perpendicular to the roads to prevent them from rolling off. hmm.. and then it was a steep 'down' trip at Lomba (which is the curviest (no such word. but nvm) road on earth. it was left right left right left right. ) its fun when you are not driving=) 
Night was spent in Berkerley
at a Sushi Karoake (sudden realisation taht i cant spell). Met a few more Americans who went to NUS for exchange. They are really a funny lot. But all i can say about Berkerley is that, I think UCSB is better. haha.. the environment i mean. oh. they had bubble tea and calamari there. I never knew that the exchange students who went to NUS will fall in love with these two. haha.. they bought. I ate. =p
Day 3- we have technically left SF. Went to San Jose instead. They have a Winchester Mystery house. If im to say, its not worth it to pay so much to get in. But as tourist, maybe doing some of such money spending activities is expected? The thing is, Heather and her mom went in as well. Meaning they had to spend so much. ahha.. its just this house that is huge with 150 rooms with weird structures like doors opening into the wall and inverted pillars and openings that make you drop all the way down into the sink of the kitchen below and extremely short steps etc etc. I find that its weird that anyone ever built something like that. But Lady Winchester was a widow of this guy who used to do firearms. They were rich. So who is to say anything about rich people building houses? haha.. Lunch at The Sphaghetti Factory before heading back! The smoked chicken on the pasta was so appetizing. haha.. realise its all food. One good meal everyday. We ate in the Cable car in the Factory. haha..and then it was a long trip back to SB. Oh. it was a treat again. Thanks Heather for driving us!
3 cities in 3 days. if you don't know which are the 3 cities, its SF, Berkerley and San Jose (pronounced as St. Hos-seh). and experiencing American hospitality is absolutely amazing. Beside the food, i would really like to mention taht im really grateful that Heather's mom has been.. so true. When we were hugging goodbye at San Jose, I just felt it. That im going to write a postcard to her when im back, that im really happy to have met her.
In general, SF is more to my liking relative to LA. Despite not having the Disneyland, Universal Studio, Six Flags etc etc, (im NO fan of themeparks anyway), its the entire feeling that the place gives you. The orderliness (no such word again) and the pace. Its just nice to be there.
And so, after the enjoyable trip, it was pay back time. The mad rush for the MId terms that are absolutely irritating. Had a mid term the day after i was back. haha.. so happening. 7 mid terms in all for the quarter and im currently done with 5. (one more the day after i come back from San Diego this weekend). I guess im doing ok. Not fantastic but reasonable enough considering the fact that I really don't feel like studying here. Its just not right. lets hope that i don't flood because of the Diego trip, Disney Trip and Vegas Trip to come. Really eh. 我对考mid term一点感觉也没有.
ok. EXTREMELY Longggg post ahead. be warned.
Had dinner at IV with Susan (rm mate) and both our buddies, Monica (mine) and Jamie. This is like a twin date hor? haha.. but its nice to have alot of people to add to the conversation and make everything more interesting. haha.. i might not be an interesting person to talk to mah. so just to play save=p we had Sushiya express (aka jap food). The thing about having a buddy is that you really get to interact with the Americans which i feel is really good. haha.. Susan's buddy brought us out for Indian food in Downtown. haha.. its really nice to have such 'Singaporean' food eh. haha.. It totally reminded me of home.
and I have a very nice buddy! We went to the SB Mission another day and she was explaining to me all about the mission, who built it, the rituals in the church etc etc. haha.. or rather, u can say that im very good at asking questions. Either way works. I really feel that that is the first time that im really touring SB. Its really a peaceful little town with its own heritage taht really ought to be appreciated. Absolutely a perfect place to settle down after retirement=p Oh. and there were 2 couples taking their wedding photos on that day. It was so pretty. I was saying. shit. i need a guy. *LAUGHS* Meeting Monica tomorrow again for dinner at Sushiya and going to an art exhibition with her on thursday=) I love having a buddy!Ventura Outlet Shopping was a hell of a sink for the American bills. Omg. the amount that i spent in Ralph Lauren alone could have supported my meals for half a month i think. Topped up with a few tops and a jacket. Its really starting to get cold. Its weird that the warm and cold days seem to be alternating. Its a confusing weather:) Splurged on dinner again at Chiles. I wanted to order Buffalo wings but its 'buffalo' right? I don't take beef. Ba. The buffalo wings are just like chicken wings without the bones la. Marinated with a sweet-sour apetizing sauce and completed with perfect deep frying. Mmmmm...
hehe. SAN FRANCISCO. 3 days 2 nights. Stayed with an American friend's house and her mom showed such hospitality! omg. her house has a swimming pool! and they had carpets everywhere, the toilets are all lacy and golden and rich in colour. This is better than a hotel. im serious. Thank you Heather~ and your mom and august (the dog) and marie (the cat).
Day 1- Union Square and Chinatown. BART makes it real convenient to travel in SF. its like the trains in singapore. Chinatown is chinatown. well. haha.. but the very exciting part is that you can absolutely get all the chinese stuff that u have been deprived of for just too long. Chinese tea leaves and barley! soy bean milk. haha..Union Square is a paradise for shopping. haha.. and you know what? Macy's (departmental store) was celebrating their anniversary! I got a good discount for my boots;) *winks* and then I went for a 'fitting'. well. haha.. erm. pretty personal but i realised that i have been wearing the wrong size of..clothes.. for a long time. erhmm. okie. FOOD again. THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. I cannot emphasize enough how much i LOVE this place. they have 30 types of cheesecakes and also serve the usual main course. Its SO good. I know some people might not comprehen my apparent love with cheesecakes. but this is the best i have ever had. Skip the main course! i so regretted not doing that. The main course was very good. just when u thought that nothing can top it, the cake is there to prove u wrong.
Day 2- Heather and her mom brought us around to places not reachable by BART. We went to Fishermen's Wharf, which is really a pier area with lots of ships and seals. This place is freezing cold. I was wearing a sweater over a sweater. haha.. they are famous for their sour dough (aka. bread. which is really sour by the way) and for being the place of production of Ghirardelli chocolate (they served samples to everyone who entered!). he best part is again the food. haha.. i have no idea why, but there seems to be alot of good food around SF. There is this place called Bubba Shrimp that was really mentioned in a movie called Forrest Gump. Shrimps are the juice of the sea. And you can boil it broil it ...... and the list goes on. They serve really fresh seafood. Mine was rice with lots of cheese covering big shrimps and loads of CRAB MEAT. haha.. envious ba. And im really sorry Heather. I didnt know that your mom will pick up the tab. But i certainly don't regret eating it though. And then we made a drive through the golden gate bridge and stopped to take some 'postcard-alike-photos'.
and then the drive continued up a super super steep slope. SF is hilly. but this drive was scary. I estmiate the angle of elevation to be about 50 degrees. everytime the car stopped and move again, we will move backwards first. Cars park perpendicular to the roads to prevent them from rolling off. hmm.. and then it was a steep 'down' trip at Lomba (which is the curviest (no such word. but nvm) road on earth. it was left right left right left right. ) its fun when you are not driving=) Night was spent in Berkerley
at a Sushi Karoake (sudden realisation taht i cant spell). Met a few more Americans who went to NUS for exchange. They are really a funny lot. But all i can say about Berkerley is that, I think UCSB is better. haha.. the environment i mean. oh. they had bubble tea and calamari there. I never knew that the exchange students who went to NUS will fall in love with these two. haha.. they bought. I ate. =pDay 3- we have technically left SF. Went to San Jose instead. They have a Winchester Mystery house. If im to say, its not worth it to pay so much to get in. But as tourist, maybe doing some of such money spending activities is expected? The thing is, Heather and her mom went in as well. Meaning they had to spend so much. ahha.. its just this house that is huge with 150 rooms with weird structures like doors opening into the wall and inverted pillars and openings that make you drop all the way down into the sink of the kitchen below and extremely short steps etc etc. I find that its weird that anyone ever built something like that. But Lady Winchester was a widow of this guy who used to do firearms. They were rich. So who is to say anything about rich people building houses? haha.. Lunch at The Sphaghetti Factory before heading back! The smoked chicken on the pasta was so appetizing. haha.. realise its all food. One good meal everyday. We ate in the Cable car in the Factory. haha..and then it was a long trip back to SB. Oh. it was a treat again. Thanks Heather for driving us!
3 cities in 3 days. if you don't know which are the 3 cities, its SF, Berkerley and San Jose (pronounced as St. Hos-seh). and experiencing American hospitality is absolutely amazing. Beside the food, i would really like to mention taht im really grateful that Heather's mom has been.. so true. When we were hugging goodbye at San Jose, I just felt it. That im going to write a postcard to her when im back, that im really happy to have met her.
In general, SF is more to my liking relative to LA. Despite not having the Disneyland, Universal Studio, Six Flags etc etc, (im NO fan of themeparks anyway), its the entire feeling that the place gives you. The orderliness (no such word again) and the pace. Its just nice to be there.
And so, after the enjoyable trip, it was pay back time. The mad rush for the MId terms that are absolutely irritating. Had a mid term the day after i was back. haha.. so happening. 7 mid terms in all for the quarter and im currently done with 5. (one more the day after i come back from San Diego this weekend). I guess im doing ok. Not fantastic but reasonable enough considering the fact that I really don't feel like studying here. Its just not right. lets hope that i don't flood because of the Diego trip, Disney Trip and Vegas Trip to come. Really eh. 我对考mid term一点感觉也没有.
Oh. Yet to mention that I met up with my host family:) wah. they are really young eh. cant be more than.. 10 years older than me. they belong together. at least they made me felt that way. ahha.. California Pizza at downtown and ice cream at the SB pier. My first ever trip to the SB pier. (getting to tour around SB more and more). They (Tom and Kirsten) are both physiotherapist and they also do some teaching in a college (under some biological department). Tom's looking at doing a 5year PHD. He did TKD for 15years and is now into some Brazilian Martial Art. Kirsten went to a Christian College and didnt get to party as much as we do at UCSB. Her parents play Ping Pong almost everyday and occassionally, they go hiking as a family. Its heartwarming knowing that they went online to search for information about Singapore. It shows that they care? :) looking forward to seeing them again. I want to know more about the American lifestyle! 
Last but not least, it was the completely CRAZY halloween. CRAZY is the only apt word for this. Im serious. Absolutely a bad day to do groceries in downtown. Everyone (from SF, SD etc etc) dressed up in weird costumes (alot of skin baring) were rushing for the supposedly last bus to IV (where the party is held). We were in T-shirt and jeans and completely sticking out for looking too normal=p this guy was staring at us and finally asked
'what are you guys for halloween' *laugh* like nothing? well, we replied: we are staying IN IV. and he was like really?!
It went abit out of control when the bus came. the bus driver had to drive 1 more street down to prevent people from GUSHING into the bus while the passengers alight. Then the bus operators called police to maintain order to amke sure that those people who couldnt fit into the bus do not give any trouble. Like 'hey. we are only trying to get HOME. I want to get HOME.'
Had a semi-witch attire. but really, thats not important. haha.. lets talk about the other people. Im not important. hmm.. so what is the biggest party in the entire America like? lots of police, lots of drunks, one whole street closed for the party, lots of skin baring (i mean g-string and laced bra). Couples (who i suspect, just met at the party) making out in the balcony (i mean kissing necking legs hugging hips? ). There are obviously sane people around as well, this girl who wanted to take photos with us etc etc. some people are just there to look at other people's costumes. Its totally different. Its not like the 'halloween scary business' in Singapore. haha.. its like wow. but stats is such that most (90%) people arrested over halloween are NOT from SB.haha.. people from out of SB, i know you all don't get to party as frequently as we do, but still, get a grip. Its enlightening and funny in a certain way, this experience. You just have to experience it once. 或许式着不去看别人的缺点，就会觉得好过一些。要改进。
okie. Diego this weekend. skipping lessons AGAIN. haha.. woo. think its gonna be fun=)updates soon.
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