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Stuff ³
Jan. 22nd, 2007
Jan. 17th, 2007
04:24 pm - Snow in L.A.!
It just snowed in Westwood! Okay, it was more like hail but not quite. It was like little chunks of ice were falling from the sky. Soon I could see all the surrounding frat houses and trees and grass covered in snow.
I went out the front of the Co-op and Chris Miller assaulted me with a snowball. We laughed and threw snowballs at each other for about a minute before we both got too cold.
I didn't have my digital camera. But then I remembered that my new phone has a camera on it. So even though a lot of the snow had melted or turned into slush, I took some photos so I could have proof.
More photos
Traffic report for L.A. from sigalert.com right after it snowed. The diamond shapes are accidents. People in L.A. never see or drive in snow, hence the accidents.
Dec. 24th, 2006
09:52 pm
I want to take this chance to wish all my friends, past and present, a very merry Christmas. This year I feel very much in the Christmas spirit. Regardless of your faith (or lack of it), Christmas is a time for joy and laughter, for celebrating the good things in life with family and friends, for wishing strangers a Merry Christmas and doing good deeds.
It has been said, "Hold onto good friends, they are few and far between!" As much as I value friendships, one of my flaws is not keeping in touch with my friends once they are gone. I want all of you to know that each and every one of you have been in my thoughts. I want to be a better friend, so one of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep in touch with all of you now and then. So don't be surprised if you get a phone call from me, even if I haven't talked to you in many months! And if you ever think about me, give me call as well!
My other New Year's Resolution is to express myself more often through writing. I have so many interests and so many thoughts and ideas running through my head all the time, and I enjoy the sense of accomplishment that writing brings. This is why I have decided to re-do my personal web site, adding a blog which will focus on interesting topics and issues rather than on my personal life. I plan to write essays, book reviews, keep track of sites I'm reading, and more.
For those of you who want to know what's been going on in my life, here's a short summary. I graduated from UCLA with a BS in Physics and a minor in Philosophy in March 2006. I went on vacation in Europe and there met my current girlfriend, Eunice. I found employment at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) in Pasadena, and saved up enough money to travel to Malaysia to visit Eunice. Now Eunice and I are back in L.A., trying to figure out what to do next with our lives. I'm hoping to work for JPL again, and Eunice is hoping to get her status changed so she can start working and studying here. Hopefully, once we're more financially stable, we can move out of the Co-op and get a nicer apartment.
Nov. 21st, 2006
07:37 am - Self-guided walking tour of Penang
*Full entry later*
- St. George's Church
- Tien Kong Than Temple
- Mahamariamman Temple
- Kapitan Keling Mosque
- Khoo Kongsi
- Little India
- Snake Temple
- Gurney Drive
Nov. 20th, 2006
06:43 am - Penang half-day tour
*Full entry later*
- Penang Hill
- Kek Lok Si Temple
- Goddess of Mercy Temple
- Botanical Gardens
- Batik Factory
- Burmese Buddhist Temple
- Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram Thai Buddhist Temple (Reclining Buddha)
- Cheong Fatt Tse Mansion
Nov. 19th, 2006
06:30 am - The food in Penang
Penang is world-renowned for its delicious and unique food. Most vacationers come to Penang just to enjoy the local food. (See this link)
This evening we hired a trishaw (a passenger bike) to take us to some good local food. We ate at a hawker stand (which is where you can get the best, cheapest food). Then we asked the trishaw driver to take us to the most famous biscuit seller in Penang, Ghee Hiang. The flaky biscuit is known as tau sar peah or Tambun biscuit. Ghee Hiang has been making them for 150 years. There are many imitations in Penang, so it's difficult to know which one is the original and which are the knock-offs. We bought a box of Tau Sar Pneah and Beh Teh Saw and have been snacking on the yummy biscuits.
Later we bought tau sar peah from a knock-off brand (Him Heang) which supposedly was started by one of the cooks from Ghee Hiang (but probably not). It wasn't as yummy (too dry). :(
12:48 am - Seriously dodgy hotels in Penang
Yesterday after the snorkeling we took a ferry to our next destination, Penang. Penang is a large island off of Malaysia known for its excellent food and expensive lifestyle. We had not made any reservations, so when we landed at the jetty in Penang we had no idea where to go.
A woman offered to show us her hotel. She said it was a short drive away from the jetty, and very close to the town center. We were both a little nervous to accept, but she said she would drive us back if we didn't like the hotel. A man was driving and we sat in the back. They drove for about 20 minutes before finally reaching the hotel! It was located above a restaurant and had obviously been converted from an apartment into a makeshift hotel. The price was too high and there were not luxuries (no phone, no TV, shared bathroom), but we didn't want to go all the way back to the jetty. The only consolation was that the hotel was located right next to lots of food stands, and a Sunday market the next day.
The next day we tried to find accomdation closer to the city center, near the tallest tower in Penang, KOMTAR. A man helped us find a hotel within short walking distance from the KOMTAR. It was a little better than the previous room - it had a TV and its own bathroom - but for the quality it was still too expensive. Plus the walls were peeling and the air conditioner dripped onto our bed!
Unless you want to stay in a bleak, depressing, overpriced room, travelers are advised to book in advance at a nicer hotel in Penang (the Cititel, Continental, or Hotel Malaysia).
Nov. 18th, 2006
01:52 pm - Langkawi snorkeling adventure on Pulau Payar
Today Eunice and I went snorkeling off the island of Pulau Payar in Lankawi. The whole-day package cost RM 100 (about $25) and included a boat ride to the island, snorkeling equipment, and lunch. The operation has expanded since the last time Eunice did it. They used to use speedboats (a 40 minute ride) to ferry small numbers of people to the island, and there were much less fish. Now they carry a lot of people on a big, slow boat (a 1.5 hour ride).
Beautiful Pulau Payar
There was a lot of space to swim in, and lots of fish and coral to see. There were about a dozen small sharks swimming around, and a 2-meter long Barracuda. I led Eunice out into the deep water to see the coral. She was a very brave girl that day! Unfortunately, on the way back she pulled me under, and as I struggled to the surface I bumped into her and she got a nasty scratch on her leg.
We got to feed the fishes with some leftover bread we had. The fishes would swarm you if you had food, and would scatter away if you stomped the ocean floor. The staff also fed the sharks, teasing them with small fish to make them lunge at the people onshore!
Feeding the fishes
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