This day, we wake up morning in 5.45am. Another day which need to wake up early as the train to Newcastle is 9.40am! what early day in our schedule again. Lucky this time I got enough sleep before we start the journey, talk all the way with Dorn till we reach Newcastle station.

Not bad, we have a friend of Kai come to bring us along in Newcastle as he is studying there. Then we go check and head to our lunch. As he mention he did see me before, so do i too! Hmm.. but each of us cant remember where we meet before. We eat in china town, a shop name 天天. After lunch, we start touring the city as it was already half pass 2pm! We were running out of daylight to take picture.

First place we visit is china town of Newcastle, it is very near to where the hotel we stay and it is also where we eat too! Then we head to Newcastle FC, the first football stadium i visit. Nothing much to comment as i am not a Fans of it… And then we start touring the city center and high street. Eldon Square, a very big shopping complex in Newcastle, and The gate clubbing, pub and casino, find u night life here!

Then we go to Northumbia University, one of the earliest modern University in UK. This U is wonderful! The structure and the compound, it just so good to have such environment as a modern U. And then finally we walk to the bridge. I had ask some ppl, what is the most popular attraction point in Newcastle, and most of them say the bridge, i not sure what bridge so good as i only know tower bridge. And it really impress my on my sight on it! Is a curve line hanging bridge, lighten up with multicolour light. It look like a man-make rainbow from far. We spend plenty of time there to take picture!

And then we head back to our hotel for rest while we waiting Emily, Amanda sister to reach us. We have dinner in a chinese restaurant (again). The dish is more toward the szechuan style, again, they cant really take it. but still eat it. Then we send Emily back after the dinner. And we going to visit the casino at The gate. Each of us get free 10 quid voucher as a new member, however u must play before u can turn it into real money.Only christopher success to turn it into chip but then while playing roulette, we lose again. Biggest sponsor of the night is Kai of course! Hahahaha… Not sure how much he play but 4 am only come back.

Azi m’a avut cel mai genital vis.

azi am chinuit noaptea. am vazut deserturi din nisip, şi din apa – munti, am vazut ceaţa pamantului inecandu-ma in piatra. Vulcani? Am vazut totul. Inlemnit, m-am trezit. Nici nu continuam visul ca să mai vreau. Era vazut şi eu am ajuns ce am vazut. mi-am dat seama demult ca e primul vis. e primul vis in care nu salivez si nu vad cartile, articolele si omenirea pe care o fac ziua. e primul cosmos in care m-am ridicat incet in vis. Spatiul orbitei imi tine muntii aţintiţi spre ochii mei şi senzatia aia din deserturile  de uimire in care eu puteam zice: ”vreau sa fac laba” si lava apărea.

azi m‘a avut cel mai genital vis. doar in 50 de ore de somn din ultimele 50 – poate asta e poluţia?

p.s. Eu nu tin minte exact cum a inceput viata mea

Dita: ” Šodienas plāns – Apsveikt Peteru un Kerry Ziemassvētkos, kā arī pateikties par to, ka mums ir darbiņš. Viņi gan ir pelnijuši to bagātīgo dāvanu ko uzdāvinājām pirmai aģentūrai,bet anyway tā  sasildīs viņu sirsniņas (Balzāms 0,5, medus burciņa un paldies Marikas mammai par končām, tās mēs ar bišķiņ piebērsim). Vēl mums Akvusam jānopērk soma un es labprāt aizietu uz optiku noskaidrot cik te maksā lēcas. Un tā kā šķiet, ka ārā šodien laiciņš foršs, laidīsim uz Chaina town, ko nejauši ieraudzījām, kad nācām no NI (national insurance) ēkas uz mājām.”

Marika: “Vakars. Sniegs. Sniegavīrs. Pikas. Vietējie. Snowman attack. Fight. Police.”

Šodienas filma – Hooligans

I hate the bus. When I was in elementary school I didn’t mind the bus as long as I got a backer (I could never really understand why Rosa Parks didn’t want to go to the back of the bus. That’s where the cool kids sit). Now I really hate the fucking bus.

The eastern seaboard is currently in the midst of a snowstorm. Despite all of the greatness of America, we seem to be the only developed country in the world that can’t have trains that run in anything but nice weather. Knowing that there was no way that I could get back to New York until Sunday or Monday, I decided to catch the Chinatown bus at 11:35 pm. This was the first of many mistakes of the evening.

Since DC cannot function in the slightest of slight snow storms, the bus was an hour late. Now I’ve never taken the bus from DC to NY (and I will never take it again). Let me start by saying that aside from a kid I went to high school with (more on him later), I am the only white person here. I have no problem with different races but lets just say that I feel like John Grimes in Byram Hills.

Now since all the roads are blanketed in snow, the bus is crawling forward at 20 MPH. My favorite part was when the bus driver decided to randomly get off the main road and see if he could make it up a hill just for fun: he couldn’t. As the bus slid continuously down the hill over and over again, I felt not unlike Sisyphus rolling a rock up a hill for all eternity except instead of a rock, I got to listen to the wheels of the bus go round and round, unable to gain traction for an hour.

Once everyone on the bs finally woke up from our asinine detour (with the exception of the flatulent geriactric sitting behind me whose snoring sounds like a World War II air-siren) we finally made it on our way.

Now it is 3:51 AM. I just had a week of finals and I am emotionally and physically drained. I have another two hours to reach Penn Station and then I have to wait for Grand Central Terminal to open. Also, I made the mistake of sitting next to an old friend who feels the need to elbow me and/or tap me on the arm for EVERY FUCKING POINT OF OUR CONVERSATION! I also can hear his shitty house music blasting through his iPod headphones – I hate that. Your music is for you, not me.

At the risk of sounding repetative – I hate the fucking bus. I should have pulled a “Day After Tomorrow” and walked home. I could have made it quicker. That or perhaps dog sleds.

Oh and as I finish this post the driver is pulling off the road. I think he wants to take another shot at a hill…fuck.

This weekend we planned to visit Yokohama.There are many tourist attractions here in Yokohama,we could not cover all of it, Managed to cover more than half of the sight seeing places.

Yokohama is a city with International trading port.It is located along the coastline of Japan’s Pacific Ocean.

Aravind had read in Tokyo guide book that we could travel by sea from one location to another in a Covered boat, we headed towards this place called Sea Bass where we have to take a ticket to goto Yamashite park,Person escorting us into the boat wished us Namaskar,Dhanyawad and Subhyatra,We were surprised to hear these words from Japanese.On the way if you look around we get to see a beautiful view of an amusement park(Giant wheel),oil refinery,Bridge,International terminal,Japan coast guard,Minato Mirai (Tallest building in Tokyo that offers 360 degree view of Tokyo and Has got the Fastest Lift).

We reached Yamashite park,where we met a Japanese Uncle who had been to Delhi 10 years ago.He managed to explain to us about what he had seen in Delhi.

From there we strolled down to a place called China town, China town is a street,a place full or restaurants,cake shops and eateries . I assume this place is famous for momo’s, Most of the people on street did not miss on eating huge momo’s.

Moving on, we took a subway train to Queens Square and reached the amusement park, by then it was raining , we managed to get into giant wheel and capture beautiful view around from the top.

The building next to Queen’s Square,Minato Mirai is the tallest building with 72 floors.It has got the fastest lift with max speed of 750 meters per minute.It takes 40 secs to reach 65th floor where u get to see 360 degree panoramic view of Tokyo.Observatory is named Sky Garden.1000 yens per person are the charges.Observatory area has the facility to sit and relax and some refreshments(u need pay and get things to eat or drink)

From here, we headed back to our apartment.

Rajamin and the Merlion

On the last day of the workshop, kami dapat kesempatan ikut free tour yang diadakan oleh penyelenggara workshop. Salah satu stafnya kenal baik sama si papa, jadi kami semua diajak ikut. Memang sih tournya gak ke tempat yang jauh-jauh banget.

Pertama, kami pergi ke Little India. Di sana sempet saya belanja oleh-oleh tapi hanya bentar banget, soalnya tempatnya kurang begitu menarik buat kami. Apalagi ke sananya pas lagi hujan. O ya, di sini kami singgah to take a lunch di restoran India. Pertama kalinya buat kami nih nyobain masakan India. Yang paling berkesan adalah Nasi Biryani-nya. Nasi ini dibuat dari beras basmati *kalo saya gak salah*, dan di lidah saya terasa ada cabe dikit, jahe, kayu manis, bawang (kemungkinan besar red onion alias bawang bombay merah), dan tentunya yang tidak hanya terasa tapi terlihat dengan jelas adalah cengkeh dan bawang goreng. The taste is a little bit weird di lidah saya, but well, it’s quite tasty… Keknya kapan2 pengen juga bikin Biryani Rice ini

The Biryani Rice

there were two babies following the lunch

Setelah dari Little India, kami ke Esplanade and The Merlion. Yah, di sana mo ngapain lagi selain foto-foto

Agak susah nih fotoin Raja di depan Merlion, secara ni anak kan paling seneng sama air, jadi daripada ngeliat ke arah kamera di depan, dia prefer ngeliat ke arah air mancur di belakangnya Setelah beberapa kali gagal, akhirnya jadi juga kami berfoto bertiga di depan Merlion kek ini…

Failed 1....

Failed 2...

Failed 3....

B E R H A S I L ! ! !

The Esplanade

Playing with papa @ the Merlion Park

O ya, di sini Raja dapat temen baru lho. Namanya Stacey dan Stevie, they are sisters, come from Malay and they came to Singapore with their big families. Mereka excited banget ngeliat Raja…si Stevie sambil malu-malu minta permisi sama saya, “Can I carry him??” hi hi.. O ya, Raja seneng banget lho sama kedua bersaudara ini… tuh, liat deh the pictures below, sampe ketawa2 ngakak gitu dia dapat temen baru

Lumayan lama kami ngobrol dengan keluarga dari Malay ini. They don’t speak Melayu jadi lumayanlah pembicaraan bisa nyambung dan asik banget, soalnya jujur saja, saya dan suami lebih bisa mengerti English daripada bahasa Melayu apalagi yang dari Malaysia..duhhh…ribet mikir artinya

Ujung-ujungnya kami tukeran email dan facebook dengan mama si Stevie n Stacey. Janjian untuk ketemuan di dunia maya… Well, the world is now getting smaller

with sisti Stevie

with sisti Stacey

Setelah dari Esplanade dan Merlion, kami diajak ke China Town. Di sini kami memilih untuk memisahkan diri dari rombongan tour, soalnya memang udah rencana pengen shopping n dinner here…

Nyampe sana pas malam sudah mulai menjelang. Jadi udah bisa kebayang dong suasana di China Town yang menurut saya romantic banget dengan lampion merah di sana-sini…

A Temple in China Town

Inside of the temple

The houses and the lanterns

O ya, waktu kami lagi makan di sini, Raja catched the attention of many people there. Ni anak memang attractive banget. Maen sambil ketawa-ketawa ngakak. Orang-orang sampe ikut ketawa ngeliat dia

Play with papa

Dari Chinatown, kami balik ke apartment menggunakan MRT. Wuahhh….MRT stationnya keren banget. Kalo gak salah sih stationnya terdiri dari 4 level dan semuanya subway bo’!!!!! Gileeeee…beneeerrrr….. ni kayak gini nih kalo kota udah maju banget. Pembangunannya gak ke atas lagi, melainkan ke bawah!!! Hebat….hebatttt….

there were a boy who gaped at the greatness of Singapore's MRT station

in front of the MRT door

Fiuuuuhhhh…kapan yah bisa liat yang kayak gini di Palembang????

finally the weekend! was a pretty crazy week, started off the week on a crazy 30 hour binge of staying awake, But recovered towards the middle of the week. Got some design works done for Digs and some other stuff. Had a great R/C Drift session at Napa’s on Tuesday. Planning on drifting at the boxcar tomorrow but also might attend Mighty 4 at UH…We’ll see I’m undecided still.

Today was pretty laid back. Took a stroll through China town, as my co-worker and I were trying to locate the fruit stand a certain youtube video had of that was rat infested…I know gross but we were curious. I hate rats…deathly terrified. Mickey Mouse is cool though but rats and mice in general…NO THANKS!

Headed to Digs after to drop off some shirts we printed for them and some “Live Aloha” stuff.

“Street Dreams” Shirt I designed…go out and get it!

Some of Digs newer exclusive stuff we printed. Note: The new logo design was done other then Matt Tapia. Talented guy! nuff said.

I wish we stayed longer, Wanted to take pics of some newer designs I designed for Digs, and also Scorpink and VD Ink’s Live Aloha series. Next time though for sure. Pretty much that was my day. Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the weekend before I’m back on the grind. Got some big projects set for the coming months along with the RC Drift Series I’m also helping run so Weekends are always great.

Smashed one of my favorite sushi joints last night with the blood brother.

SUSHI GEN.

This place does not fuck around- forget about trying to get some roll with spicy tuna or some shit—
they will fuckin cut you with a samurai sword for trying.

This place is top grade sushi cuts- and prices to match-
expect about $50/person.

My three other top sushi restaurants include:

1. Katsuya  (played but always reliable)

2. Sushi WA

3. Sushi Sasabune

Check out this Ad from China Town, a low alcohol cocktail that apparently feels like a dragon in your hands… while you drink and drive. Very poor Ad.

Wuhuuu, ich hatte mal wieder eins von diesen raren freien Wochenenden (im Dezember habe ich sogar ein langes WE, heisst von Donnerstag bis Sonntag). Ich hab die Zeit super zum Entspannen genutzt. Ich war in China-Town, hab mir dort eine DVD mit 8 Koreanischen Filmen fuer $7 gekauft, dann noch ein paar Snacks fuer das Wochenende. Auf meinem Weg zum Haus (Kateri-House), das fuer Gaeste sowie fuer freie Tage und Wochenenden der Assistenten gedacht ist, habe ich das erste Mal in die groesste bibliothek Edmontons, in Downtown geschaut. Es war eine ganz andere Atmosphaere als in Deutschland, denn hier halten sich nicht nur Leute auf, die auf der Suche nach Buechern sind, sondern ebenfalls eine Menge Jugendliche und Obdachlose, die einen warmen Platz in der Bibliothek bevorzugen.

Im Kateri-House habe ich die Zeit genutzt, um eine Menge Musik aus der Bibliothek zu hoeren und zu entspannen, bis Kana dazukam. Zusammen haben wir ein paar Asiatische Gerichte zum Abendbrot genossen. Ich werde uebrigens immer besser im Umgang mit Essstaebchen. Am Samstag waren wir mit Heerae Koreanisch Essen und am Sonntag musste man einfach mal wieder das schoene Wetter geniessen und raus gehen.

Ich fange jetzt an, Koreanisch zu lernen. Zu aller erst muss ich das Alphabet lernen, damit ich schliesslich lesen kann. Aber es scheint, dass es garnicht so einfach ist, denn ein Buchstabe kann zwei verschiedene Aussprachen bedeuten und als Wort ist die Aussprache meist immer anders als man denkt, wenn man kein Muttersprachler ist.

Heute sollte meine erste Evaluation stattfinden, doch ploetzlich ist Iva schon wieder krank. Hier sind im Moment recht viele Leute krank, weshalb diese Woche auch schon eine veranstaltung und ein Meeting abgesagt werden muesste.

Ich habe gestern meine Impfung gegen H1N1 bekommen und mir gehts gut.

This Saturday, November 21st… Hip Hop, Beats, Rhymes, DJays, Graffiti: Come True and show your support.

November Chronicles: Green lights in SoHo, margaritas & pizza, early morning walks to work, a happy reunion, and other charming/vaguely interesting moments that made up the first couple weeks of November. . .

Click below for the photos…

xx

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Elena and I spent last weekend in San Francisco. My grandmother has been in Toronto since the end of August–she’s just hanging out around here for about 6 months, and she wanted to visit her family in Sacramento. We took her to SFO so she could get picked up by her sisters. She’s spending the rest of the month in Sacramento, and Elena and I had the rest of the weekend to explore San Francisco together.

Some places you should definitely check out:

1. Mama’s: An awesome breakfast place in North Beach. They’re really good and really popular. Get there early if you want to try their food. We waited about 45 minutes but it was worth it. The place closes at 3pm everyday.
2. Tadich Grill: The oldest restaurant in California serves awesome seafood. Again, really popular. The staff there is awesome–they’ve probably been working at the restaurant for decades.
3. R&G Lounge: A popular Chinese place in China Town. Try their live deep-fried crab with garlic, ginger and hot peppers.