Minggu Ketiga

每每回头看和静静的数算神的恩惠，他的供应总是源源不绝，恩典也！

去了CBC和Maranatha，CBC的人较为年长，坐在我后面的两位中国老伯喋喋不休，大声地聊天，有点受不了。我不禁转头偷瞄，其中一位便说道：别说了，人家讨厌！当时的我有点愣住了，搞不懂怎么会有这么直接的人！

至于Maranatha Chapel，我喜欢她的现代式崇拜，还有Ps Ray简单扼要的证道，这周我还去了两次；如果时间和精神允许，我希望能在周三晚参与他们的崇拜！

去了CEFC小组2回，感觉还是怪怪的。虽然同样是华人，可是我们的背景还是有一定的区别。不知为什么，虽然我年纪不轻，可是当我和他们在一起时，怎么老是显得自己很嫩，没有那么老气，我不觉得我的思想幼稚，但就是有些不一样的地方。可能我现在认识的群体都稍微比我年长些，毕竟我在SGP与较年少的接触得多，同辈的相处还是有的，但是这里的新朋友似乎有所不同，看来接下来的功课是我需要习惯称为小妹被人呵护啊~

工作上，同样的我觉得在资历和年龄上我是属于较浅的一批。可是我已经不是fresh graduates 了，眼前的一切似乎在告诉我我需要重头再来，要不懈和有恒心的学习，这包括建立友好关系，丰富technical knowledge和增强沟通方式等。这条路还长着呢！

这周觉得开心，感觉情况有所进展，很欣喜，很感恩。

听说CRV’s JKearnes对我的评价很好，JK觉得我蛮proactive的，愿意学习和发问great questions。我有点莫名其妙，曾几何时我有那么做，呵呵。Barb（我的hiring 经理）告诉我JK是个很难impress的engineer，所以她让我好好的keep up my good work down there!

下月初在CRV有个庆祝会，hoho，既然我们还是IHPS的人，当然啦，我也受邀参与。好开心啊，终于可以到CRV去走走，会见在视频里才能见到的同事，更开心的是可以到woodburn享受tax free 的瞎拼。那天早上ron 主动地问我们要不要随他而去，可以carpool.当然啊，我懒惰开车，加上又可以借此机会更认识同行的同事。Why not?

尽管是工作的第3周，前面的方向还是模糊不清的，毕竟我不晓得那样会是我的forte,我能胜任那种任务。就在我有点茫然的时候，MYL给了我一个45分钟的剖析，感谢神，虽然我还是无法自由选择，至少我认识其中的risk 和challenges。

还有啊，我们的部门要聘请人，听说有40个申请者，其中大部分都是PHD。天啊，只有一个空缺！我非常感谢上帝给我一个这么美好的机会。当我们在聊天时，我告诉DaveH（我的section manager）我觉得有点自卑，其他人的学历都那么高，而我只是个本科生，他说他们需要一个较平衡的团队，所以学历不是问题；BillF（我的直属上司）也说又很多PHD面试失败！我还真的有点侥幸啊，这是恩典，不是吗？

去了pre-thanksgiving party, 下回分晓。这周买了CK外套，和第一双MIA靴子！刚刚收到信，我有SSN了！

周末也疯狂

也许是压抑太久，加上周末的临近，我们干脆在外头吃午餐晚餐。Pearl 的水平真的下降了，服务又差，点心和招牌烧鸭没有以前的可口，悲哀啊！不过偶尔出外用餐也好，不然每天饭盒，有点凄惨？呵呵

夜晚我们到了Balboa Ave的 Zion 韩国市场和日式Mitzuwa超市，好兴奋啊！他们的规模很大，zion 更是应有尽有！我买了韩国面来stock up.。 呵呵。我也买了他们烘焙的豆蛋糕，很开心! 看来我真的要学习老美消费的方式，样样都不便宜，但如果和出外用餐相比，就来得很划算！天气冷，所以我选择到tajima去吃热烘烘拉面。好想念日本的种种拉面啊！

搞了约1个钟，终于把JA的铁马从4S带回来，哎，由于不懂得拆前轮，开车的一路上都很战战兢兢，又走错路！还好，最后还是平安抵达！感谢神！原来那只是噩梦的开始，哈哈。

天气预报说周六晚会40度，太冷了，所以我们打消到Anza Berroga Desert State Park露营的念头，我们开了轿车，载了铁马到CA56哪儿去骑车！

我兴奋得骑着轿车，调皮的转换gear，链脱牙了，此时也与NT失去联络了，所以我就招手求助。女骑士几经辛苦帮我但是还是不行。这是，有两个好心的男骑士停下帮忙，ta da, 解决了！好感谢，好感动，遇上那么有爱心的骑士。哎，几分钟后，我的手多，换gear,又脱落了！我们截住了另外两个男骑士，不用说，他们同样搞定了，不过之前的那两个动作比较快些，呵呵！

就这样，为了避免链脱落，我也就不能视斜坡的倾斜度转换gear，还好啦，顺利完成1.5钟的56之旅，没有想象中的难，哈哈，太嚣张了！

我一直觉得骑脚车是一个很容易的差事，只需要穿上美美且有形的gear,就可以conquer the bike trail! 哈哈。我忘了我需要懂得如何换tyre, 链脱落时懂得解开，还有就是要涂防晒膏！天哪，大热天，没有云朵，你可以想象阳光就是那样直晒到你的皮肤上，很大的牺牲啊！呵呵。

我喜欢过后吃的spicy chicken melt. 很好吃，因为不是冷的三文治！听说是一对英国夫妇在经营，但我们没有看到她的老公，据了解，老公的厨艺很好，那块cheese一定会完全melt的。呵

对了，我成功打了第一次的油！呵呵。好开心。间中还有人叫我借他2美元来打油咧，我到头来ignore 他啊，不知道是不是骗子,估计他是！

主牵我手

进入第二个星期，我不知道事情有没有改善但我确知我的上帝没有离弃我，他一直牵着我的手向前迈进。

等了9天，工作上开始有着落，至少我们晓得哪个事项是超重要，哪个是可以暂时闭一只眼。昨天Ron说了这番话 "You don't need approval to work on things. Just make sure that you're occupied. So you have something to point to when someone question you"。也许这就是这里的文化吧！看来他本身也是IHPS和PTP模糊界限的受害者，虽无奈但还是有一大堆的工作等他去带头！

生活上嘛，马马虎虎，还行。学习习惯家里多一些人，学习大胆去参与和交谈，要命啦！昨晚开车回家时迷路了，快抓狂，拼命质疑GPS的可信度。天哪，我竟然在天黑时到Torres Pines 和 La Jolla一带。白天才可以看到美丽的风景，晚上一片漆黑，又没有人，又冷得要命。感谢神，我最后平安到家。吓坏了！

初到SD

就在机仓门关上后的2分钟内，失望的我坐在候机室准备继续等上2个小时，奇迹出现了！我听不出柜台小姐在叫我的名字，一直等到我看到在我waitlist名单后的小姐冲向gate,我忽然发现我错过了，我马上拿着手提包冲向柜台，工作人员便急急忙忙的带我搭上前往SD7.45的班机，还有一个位子！你知道吗，我在gate关上那刻，我还在写日记，吁请上帝不要再开这样的玩笑，对于这旅程的惊险开端，我快受不了啦，快哭了！怎知道事情竟然有这样的转折，呵呵，更妙的是，我的手机没电了，基本上无法通知NT提早到机场接我，呵呵，快昏了！

果然，第2个惊喜在上班的第二天临到我的身上！虽然IHPS雇用我，由于项目的需要，PTP和IHPS将来个swap! Bill再也不是我的dotted经理，他马上成为我的上线。加入PTP对我来说很怪，感觉有点无奈？毕竟我是printer group 请的人！值得感恩的是，他们将会等到明年1月才将我从barb 手中调走，因为他们要确保我能顺利完成relocation的手续和补贴。听说如果是PTP先雇用我的话，可能我一点补贴都没有！所以，这可算是blessing in disguise? 我选择相信这是上帝的美意。

开始了做饭，独自吃饭的日子，要慢慢寻找自己的Lunch clique, 应该还需要一段时间。哎。我好想念我那SGP WS的同事。工作方面，我的玩具很大啊，高度应该是我的两倍，长度嘛，我的OJP的几十倍，对她很生疏。真是颓丧。哎。要如何学啊？！Ron 和Sean每天都很忙，有时候真的不知道他们在干吗，所以我就强迫自己厚着脸皮，死缠烂打的问他们，还得要低声下气的随着tech发问，这是一种考验，我口口声声说要踏出comfort zone, 这就是其中的步骤，不可以埋怨。每一天的某个时段难免会很emo,很depressed。上帝啊，帮帮我！

可能他们需要时间warm up 吧，我也需要一些时间处适应他们的工作文化。周五时他们竟然开我的玩笑？！呵呵。基于纸张都有static, Ron竟然叫我挨近它，尝试让我的头发站起来，他疯了，我才不干，没有形象；然后呢他爬上去让他的头发来个‘按摩’。很滑稽！Jeff 和Sean也有的没有的‘怪’我submit错文件。哪有！hee... but those really made my day!! I seee things are improving!

Ron 不是非常帅，但他的长睫毛和深邃的眼睛真的快迷死我了！他还蛮斯文，较轻声，属于机智，冷静，聪明型！果然江湖地位不输他人！Sean呢，是个标准的美国人，声音很大，但绝无恶意，Bill 说sean的应变能力很好，troubleshooting 技术一流! 看来我要好好向他们两人学习！

我起得晚，所以到Miramar Lake 时已经8.40了，大大的太阳，一点都不像秋冬！好不容易边跑边走完进5英里的路，脚其实不是很酸，倒是担心紫外线和曝晒，急忙的用小手帕遮脸！是心有灵犀吗？我在漫步的过程，一直提醒自己要好好享受这一切，这是一种恩惠，虽然我一个人跑步漫步，但我在那刻不觉得很孤独，我知道上帝会和我一起走。我要勇敢，大步的向前走，上帝会陪我一起冲破狂风巨浪，他的恩典够我用！就在今天，CY写了封电邮，提醒我要enjoy the breeze at San Diego, i may be alone at times but not always lonely!

这周我买了comfort food 来宠一下自己!! 蓝莓，梅子，香蕉，芒果，Yoghurt，B&J 的开心果冰淇凌。开心！Queen嘱咐我要对肉温柔些，我会努力的！

过去几天的天气都较为暖和，今晚（周六）有点冷！明早要到Del Mar 附近的华文教会！对了，今天day light savings正式结束，明天时钟将调迟一粒钟！

Last part on farewell

More farewell.. the memories start to fade away, so I better jot down the thought soon

KP & Jessie @Tampopo

KP joined around the same time as me, and we get to work on the same project since. Maybe because we are peer and that is why we have a lot more to share, be it info or personal stuffs. Not that I want to compare, I must say that I am more blessed and fortunate in the sense that I am being promoted earlier, got a bigger pay check and had better managers than him. Well, he made the choice to stayput and I hope eventually things worked out for him. Geesh, I am unable to attend his wedding next year. I suppose they are to tie the knot sometime next year? Kekeke. As for Jessie, this is her 2^nd farewell for me. Ha. They are very kind to have brought me to Tampopo since I crave for ramen and the eggs! Nice sia.

ZR& mummy @Akashi

My face is big and Cindy brought zhirou to see me. Ha. The food at Akashi is quite nice and Sing said it is actually better than Sushi Tei. Hmm I agree. But hor the food there is not cheap. Anyway I ordered a cold soba with tempura. Nice. Kekeke. I thought I was a bit sua ku. Cindy will quit soon too, end of Nov. it’s interesting how we met, it all started from a software purchase. Since I have to fill in the long tedious form, she helped me and Andrew with it. Ever since then, whenever I have PC problem, I will look for her and she always help me with a smile. Hehe. She is now a mummy, happy for her. And she is picking up baking!! Whoohoo.. how nice.

Fiesta Brasilla with LBOs

Have you heard of United Square? Geeshh... I went to UE square instead. Ha. Anyway, that is not too bad since I get to know this place before I leave for US. Ha. I thought the atmosphere wasn’t that great, It is noisy. Basically they play Brazilian music, serve grilled food and a salad bar. I like the mutton and beef and the garlic bread. Oh, I ate a lot of the watermelon. Man, I am going to miss the watermelon!!! It was the last CU dinner. I am going to miss CU29 group. Theme of the night was flower and I think QX is mad, he wore a flower on his shirt. As usual, we have interesting and honest conversation. The wongs are crazy and it seems that they are more alike right now. ha.

CYing @BB market

I am very thankful that we finally met up. There are unspoken things which I think we should not bring up at all. Anyway, we enjoyed the conversation and the companionship. It has been a wonderful journey with this good and special friend of mine. It left a footprint on me.. and ya, she is the friend who actually more prone to the idea of self discovery. I thought that is an interesting value. It is not that we want to be alone, but as we venture onwards, we get to discover self more; in the meantime, we know that God is with us and we are actually not alone! As Cying mentioned, we may have cross-pathed with one another somewhere, some time. Yup, just trust that God protects and prolong the friendship and we both also make effort to maintain that. Hehe.

The night b4 departure

It was a busy Saturday. I thank God for providing the opportunity to be open and honest to PS. It was a great communion in Christ. I pray that God sustain her and guide her along the way. I didn't want to get emotional as I leave the church but it just can’t help. The feeling of leaving those whom I love and who love me just so unbearable. Some comment that they don’t usually see me tearing. Of course la, how can I always show my weak side ler. Kekeke. I am not superwoman. I am weak then I am strong.

Raymond, and Lizzie brought baby serena to my place. It was actually a surprise and I thought it was pretty sweet. That is also the beauty of fellowship in Christ. Apparently serena has lots hair. Kekek. Then the 2^nd baby who visited me was Adriel. SW and Z purposely brought him to my house to let my mum see adriel. Haha. Funny hor. Hmm I am gonna to miss SW also. SW said the farewell cost them 300 buck due to the incident we had the previous week at imm. So she warned me better bring some gold coin for her next year. She is mad la.

Wongs, queen and Loys came over at night. Eunice is the 3^rd baby. Hehe. Ah well, I will seriously miss her too. it was very sweet for loys to come since mdm is preggy. The hubby is so sweet also. He worried that I might not come back in future, so he suggested that he should send me off at airport. Ha. Thankfully they didn’t and I am glad to see them at my place! I will take good care of myself, my dear friends. No more Friday hangout at legend and special gathering until we meet again in Singapore or in LA. Ha.

It is not common that we speak on the phone. But these people are sweet. They actually called me, msged me. It is just so heartwarming.

Another sweetie whom I need to mention is Constance, my beloved sweet little niece. She is 6. She cares about my leaving. She asked why I leave and where am I going etc.. she ‘helped’ me pack my stuffs. Although she struggle to wake up in the morning, she still does. She sent me off at the airport. She drew me a lot of drawing and I brought them with me. Hehe. Heard from dasao that she kept asking them to bring her to see me. Oh man, so sweet, my dear Kaiyue ah.

Osaka (8-10 Oct 10)

 

It’s about 3.5 hrs Hikari bulletin train ride from Tokyo to Osaka . The JR lady was nice, she gave us right seats so that we can get to see Mt Fuji. Guess what, we are supposed to spot the famous mt soon after the train depart, maybe 40-50min… but we didn’t see any!!! Argh… we have been watchful for like 1.5hrs and then we gave up and tucked into our bentos. Haha. I hate the sweet bean curd, I regret buying those. Trust me, I will try not to eat that again! Queen can sense that I don’t like since I dumped it away. Haha. Sad sad.

Maybe I was too upset, so when we hit shinsaibashi, we tried freshness burger, pork katsu, croquette, Four heaven kings ramen, blow fish, takoyaki balls.

As if someone starve me for very long… haha. We eat like nobody business. Kekeke. It was raining that night, and we left our umbrella at Toyoko. We both didn’t want to get a new umbrella, ha. Thank God, we didn’t fall sick. Haha.

The next day, we have decided to visit Kobe . Ya, thinking that we can go and taste the kobe beef regardless of the price. It rained… we continue to roam around this small and quiet town, I thought it was nice. 背山面水. I thought the 先天条件was great?! We took local JR train to Sannomiya (1 of the 3 JR stations located near city center), we stroll all the way to motomachi. We manage to taste this award winning kobe beef restaurant at this small lane near Sannomiya. That was a surprise! I like the macaroons at the food
hall there. I shamelessly sample that. Haha. NICE. Not as sweet. I like it. I tried the berry, followed by vanilla and chocolate.

We took train back to Osaka central. It was very busy and lots sky scrapers. I don’t like that. Ha. we didn’t have any dinner but went back to Shin Osaka for tsukeramen! The shop closed at 8.30pm and it left 2 soy sauce ramen choice. So we continue to hunt for food nearby. In the end we had udon… we thought we order soupy udon and we got dried one. Very sad. Ha. But the dried ones still quite tasty la just that it is not what we want! We had cream puff from Lawson for supper as happy food! Kekek.

Osaka castle. It is their festive season and there were a few dance groups. Kekek. Then we saw a couple wedding ceremony at the shrine. The bride wore a true white kimono which I think not very nice. It is more like for a funeral. Eeee…

Since we didn’t get to eat the tsekeramen, we went back again! There was a long Q…apparently their ramen is good :) the location is a bit off ler. Anyway we Q for it. Haha. It was kind of special. I can taste the fat pork belly and the fish taste. How to eat Tsukemen? Just dip the cold/hot ramen into the thick gravy and slurp it loudly! Kekek.  

    

This is blow fish. i scared of the poison. hahaha. thankfully we didn't die ;p actually this incident tested me on how much i fear of dying! Maybe at the moment, i just thought i should just treasure my life and not putting self into unncessary test, seize the day and live life to the fullest!

well, the blow fish was a bit disappointing. the thrill is more of... you may have die of being poisoneous by the fish. else..it just taste like any kind of the fish. btw, we feel cheated as they only gave us 1 mushroom instead of 4, as shown in the display. geeshh...

notes on the farewell...

LISHI

The morning DG was a good one. I enjoyed learning with DGers and I am happy that I have the honour and privilege to facilitate the discussions. I do not think that is my strength but I am thankful for the opportunity that God and His people have given to me.  I hope I can continue that. I know I am not that 1k talent person; God gives me more than I deserve.

Many weeks back, I worried that it would be a very emotional service. I am such a paranoid person, anxious about the hugs, the teary scene when I am on the stage; in short I am worried about being a crying baby in front of all. Therefore I took the advice to prepare my speech. It works! I am calmer than I thought and I can still joke about it! I love my congregation, I love this place where I get to grow and experience life!

Actually the moment LXin start to describe what that person has done to her, my eyes just filled with tears. Can’t help it. Really. I am not someone great but I am thankful that I can be the support of others and they feel blessed to have me around. At least, I left some foot print in their lives, and vice versa.

*just the day before i left for US, someone told me that i sounded not being sincere and sad while i said i will miss lishi congre. That remarks really amazed me. Did i really sound like that?* anyway.. not as if i can do anything to defend. so be it...

Finally the 5mth iceberg with Tying has somehow melted. I feel the urge of saying goodbye to her personally and ya, the hug was crucial. To me, it is a kind of reconciliation and honestly I feel her sadness via the hug. I do have that too.

Chias sisters are always lovely. I will miss teasing them and talking to them. Vianz did a very nice art work for me, so personal. And soooo nice. VNa is always so soft spoken and I will miss her sweet smile too.

YE @ Mayim

Quite an unusual friendship as it was not established too long ago. I am glad I can somehow be the support during her difficult moment. I still remember telling her that I can’t talk due to sore throat but I can listen still. Guess what happen. It was a long phone call. Ha. Interesting lady who actually had amazing ways while handling HR stuffs. Ha. Impressive.

SingE @ Sushi Tei Vivo

As my schedule is tight, we have decided to meet for lunch. Heee.. I am thankful for this great friend has walked me thru the whole process and be my support always. Sing said she is happy for me yet she feels sad as I will be miles away. We know that it is harder to meet up anytime soon and the sms response just can’t get that spontaneous. She sewed me a very cute pouch. Very sweet. We talked about kate spade and osh kosh shopping. Finally we departed at the skybridge there. I sense it again but there’s silence. I will miss you, my dearest friend!

As @ Sushi Tei Raffle City

AWong brought the whole family to meet us. Adele is petite while ChangC has ‘qiao chui’. That is the price of being parents. I am happy to see my ex-neighbor! The firm handshake and good wishes is so sincere. Come on, you can tell if it is filled with sincerity or not.

Athjie. I observed that he was a bit uneasy but slowly he become more comfy when I think I tried to be open and chatty. Also, unspoken awkwardness. Haiyo, since they want to meet me so much, I just meet them together with dajie. He is now a married man already. Ya, party was held at Bali for 16k SGD. I still think he is a bit selfish and money minded.

Anyway, we had a great dinner conversation and I am glad that.. we still feel that comfortable with each other, it seems it was just yesterday that we first met and joined the company. How time flies. And now we are on different paths!

It is amazing that I visited Sushi Tei twice a day! Ha. both are treats. Anyway I had different food and nice company!

SCF girls @ Dian Xiao Er

Too bad, bronzeit is opened at 12 else we would have gone there for beer! Ha. Anyway, it is so sweet of both them. PTeng is a more reserved and quiet lady. She is detailed and hardworking while JSim is more streetwise and know how to ‘select’. Ha. it wasn’t too tough being their lead, just that I need more patience and be assertive and firm whenever I need to. Hope they don’t find me too fierce. Ha.

JSim smsed me this morning, saying that she will really miss me when I am away. Appreciate the thought. I believe that would be some change, but probably people will just move on after awhile. It is always great to be missed by others. Hope I leave a good impression. Ha.

Lunch @ Red Hill

Wanna say byebye to bak chou mee auntie but she wasn’t around. As for feng you coffee lady, we chat a while. Ha. you know, those stall owners like me. It is beyond my control. So I request to go RedHill so that I can farewell with them.

Dadajie said she wanna farewell with me. We waited till 1240pm, thinking that they won’t come. Who knows, they came. I was actually quite happy. I miss the time lunching with ming2, dajie, Peow, PC, and Zlin. Ha. we started 2^nd round of coffee and I was overdosed. So bloated. Ha.

You know, I was a bit sad as how come dadajie never say wanna farewell for me, I thought she is cold and ignore me liao. Kekeke. Therefore when she suggested the lunch, I just get KP to change their farewell lunch with me to Thurs. Dadajie was my mentor when I first joined. Technically she is very good and a role model. In a way, I am trying to be like her. She brought me to SD ok..for the very first time; together with SShin, my favourite FW engr. Heheh. Both of them are great and smart people!

DajieDa OC me, asking when my farewell is and how come she is not invited. Oops. I freeze for a few second. Apparently dadajie told dajieda that she is going for my farewell lunch! Dajieda feel sad as she was excluded. Actually we had 1 farewell at Zi Yean last tues, I didn’t dare to say coz dajie didn’t get dadajie and dajieda. Who knows. Chey…

You must be very confused why are there so many dajie. Ha. I have dajie, dadajie and dajieda in my team. Dadajie is OHY, dajieda is TCT and dajie is CCL. Haha

不寻常的开始

我很惊讶这次的旅程会有如此让人难忘的经验!尽管身体还真的有点疲惫,但心情还是挺舒畅的.就这样.因着莫名其妙的理由,班机竟然延误了8小时,导致我搭不上内陆班机,后果是我得再等上5个半小时,抵达SD的时候应该已经是接近凌晨了.你知道吗,无本来是预计中午12时抵达,梳洗过后到处走走,然后会有一个暖炉大餐等着我;现在泡汤了! 呵呵

有点耐人寻味啦,心情有点复杂.哈.转眼我已经浪费了6个小时,到'大家乐'点了猪扒饭和奶茶,很写意的读我所爱的SUNDAY TIMES, 然后,慢慢的处理公司邮件,删除文件;和... 不自动的霸住HKIA的互联网服务,写博客,和聊天.还有3粒钟!待会儿我得要好好的睡!

我愿意以一个平静和勇敢的心去拥抱未来的挑战，所以我不可太Pek Chek. Haha. still smiling!


Back track a bit... back to past.. the time prior departure. Ha.

Hakka food @ Wen's place
Auntie很贴心,准备了一大堆的佳肴,尤其是我喜爱的客家酿豆付,我超爱苦瓜和茄子,好吃!还有,哥买了TB的烧鸭,我吃了两个褪.呵呵.
看那弟兄和睦同居,是何等的美,何等的善!当我们聚集在一块讨论一些'严肃'的课题时,我的感触是:我们都长大了!看到嫂嫂们,还有我们4个人,我们都不小了!那一幕很温馨,也很感恩!

这几天来吃了很多免费且包含着爱心和祝福的食物.很感恩上帝的恩带.我现在有点懒惰,不要写了,先休息一下.旁边的他味道很重,受不了!

A fresh chapter

Yes, it has become real and i am now at the departure hall. I didn't have a very emotional moment yet i feel sad as i am leaving my loving family and friends! It would not be the same as there is timne zone and location difference... yet i know that they will be behind me to support me and i have a big God whom i can cling onto!

Here i come... san Diego! With excitement and fear!! I am strong when I am weak, may His Glory be shown thru.

Celebrations

JC @ Gyu kaku

Thanks to my dear friend, I get to visit this atas place before I left for US. Ya, It’s BBQ wagyu beef. Nice. Sumptuous and generous celebrations treat!! I guess it is not so much about food but the friendship that counts. Honestly it is still a bit unimaginable that we will hang out together. Ha. Unbelievable, given that I am so serious and JC is..xxx.. for your imagination. Yet it is by God’s grace and plan that we can attend mentu and cell together and we have been in the same company for >4 years! Cheers to our friendship! Always, appreciate your uniqueness in your own way and style, and yes, I see the change in you especially when you seem to be closer to God in recent years. I thank God for that! Amen. We had beef briskets, tongue, garlic bacon, scallop, big prawn, pork belly, lamb and dunno which cut of the cow. Haha. The 2 scoop ice cream meant to be a surprise that we can both taste one yuzu and one matcha. Kekeke. Sweet.

WS @ Zi Yean

Peow said they chose this becoz of YEAN. Please lo, long long ago I already noticed that. Ha. Nah, we love Zi Yean as they serve nice dim sum esp the hong you chao shou. One observation we had, we went there whenever someone in WS left the team and you know what, it shrank from 2 tables to 1! Actually it is not; it is just because WS starts to have different clique and we are no longer that closely knitted. It is a pain in the ass! Well, I requested a smaller group instead of whole WS as I seriously think that no point to eat with those hi-bye team mates. For what? Kekekeke.

Steamboat @ Ah yee’s place

I realize I do not really know how to say goodbye esp to the elders. Visited kaofu(uncle)’s place and only he was around, aunt and cyee were out. As I 吞吞吐吐told him that I will go to states next Sunday, I start to 哽因 a bit. Just not brave to have eye contact with him. He then asked me when am I leaving and why so far? Hehe.. I was a bit emo. Kekeke. Then I visited ah yee & yee jiong. Same, as I told uncle that I am leaving soon, the same kind of emotion just.. ha. They are very nice. They prepared a sumptuous steamboat  to 饯行. I love the big fat fresh prawns and the fish slices. Soooo yummy. Soooo full. Think my cholesterol quota is hit and I shall stop taking in seafood till next year. I love steamboating @ ah yee’s place as they always prepare fresh and good ingredients.   

Tea with Tohs

I thank God that we are good friends since uni first year. Ha. Wah lament that she feel hopeless for Jamie. Well, what’s new? Maybe J is a bit ultimate and extreme. Ha. And she is always in her own world n she likes to divert her call to her home. Therefore we get to talk to her family members when we call her. Ha.

Adriel is 6mth old now. He is good, and never makes noise when I carry him. Kekeke. He looked like Wah la. As we were wondering why IMM has so many visitors, zack bang into the car in front. Haiz. So paiseh. Can’t be helped, he knocked at the back of the car… I am sorry about the incident. We should have walked there. Anyway, I had a nice chat with Wah. I am unsure when will be the next time.

Beloved Wise Mentors

Hans with Wise Couple

I look forward to gather with them and the final private catch up. To me, they are like my ‘adopted parents’ and I am glad that they actually treat me like one of their daughters :) wise man said that, not me. Ha.

Honest words are always much appreciated and welcomed especially from someone you respect and trust a lot. I may not need to hide that much in front of them and I can just reveal who I am and what my thought are. Maybe I know I can’t really act! Hehe… I thank God for them and for the kind of ‘kinship’ in Christ. It is something like you always have someone to watch over you, to rebuke and remind you timely though it seems to be painful esp the moment whereby the words are like swords piercing thru your heart! Kekeke. It left you bleeding for awhile and it gets healed and you’ve gotten a stronger heart after that. Hehehe…

He said he won’t agree to every decision I made which I interpret that he actually does not agree to my move. Yup, I sense that. We trios were frank enough to thrash out the emotions. He shared his experiences and ya, some reminders. One of the thing which really hit me is… I shall not belittle myself and see myself as xiao mei mei when I move over. Instead It should be the other way round. They bring me there for a reason as I am good. So I gotta show that I know something and that is why I am there! Americans has strong 优越感 while Australians has strong 自卑感; and they appear to be arrogant and defensive in order to protect themselves from intruders. I truly appreciate that perspective. You know why? Because no one has shared the same thought whenever I told them about PTP and IHPS people being senior in age and experiences.

Only the wise tell me. I shall anticipate some loneliness also esp in the first adjustment phase. Therefore work and social life are equally important. Yup, please pray for me if you are reading this blog entry hor.. hahah

I seriously think that I will miss them a lot!! L

Coke chat with CM

She is really powerful and I also think that I will miss her mentorship! I request to meet her before we meet again in US! Hehe.. she was kind enough to remind me of my bonus…kekek.. and she will swing by Barb’s cube to tell her about it. Recently mrBirdnest really piss me off and I told CM about birdnest. I am really a bit disappointed with him. Sigh…

Only those who care for me and my interest will care to brief me all those that may put me in advantage and disadvantages.

CM asked me to get Karen and JU as mentors too. Good suggestions

Praise to the Lord for the great mentors i have in life and work! Amen.

oiyishi

Food.. this trip is all about foood , rather than sightseeing

Osaka- Freshness beef burger, poisoneous blow fish, takoyaki, pork katsu, ramen @ xin zai qiao; dried udon, cream puff @shin osaka
Kobe - kobe beeef!!! cafe latte, cheese n beef croquette..

whoohoo... SASHIMI and KIRIN Beer for supper for consecutive 2 nights! today we are taking a break ... kekeke... we shall have cream puff instead!

we had tasted various kind of yummy pastries..i like the macaroon.. kekeke

Kyoto... We are coming!

OK, I have been faithfully taking all the food pictures... shall post it once i am back!

Movies in the air

I thought I want to blog about the movie I watched on 747. I must say the impression on shared screen has improved as the image quality (screen resolution and sharpness) was pretty good. Sorry, my 职业病. Ha. Anyway both movies had some impact on me, in term of values again!! I conclude that I am too innocent and naive about so many stuffs. Ha. Now you see the influence of media and how it can just integrate to your life, be it knowingly or unknowingly.

The backup plan

I always hear her name but I have never watched her movie once. She is Jen Lopez. Ha. She is quite pretty and she can be quite hilarious. So this story is about her(Zoe), being artificially inseminated and on the very same day, she met her man of life, Stan (starred by Alex O’Loughlin).  Her reason of being preggy is that she can’t find a suitable partner and she can always have and raise child on her own! Interestingly she joined this single mum support group. They are all single yet they want to be mummy and get inseminated too. funny. So this movie gives a new insight… which is also quite unhealthy. Tsk tsk. That is.. you need not get married and you can still be a mummy!

Alex O’Loughlin is handsome. Ha. I like him!!

The Joneses

That is also a culture shock to me. It features man, being materialistic and greedy in this consumerist society. This ‘perfect’ family moved into this rich neighbour which the average household income is >100k USD. And they are the ultimate trend setter of the luxury goods, range from designer labels, high tech toy, flashy fast cars,  cool gadgets etc. The neighbours are busily trying to keep up with the Joneses and imitate their lifestyle. Guess what, the Joneses family is hired by a company to boost up the sales of the luxury goods. WOW. I never know such things exist. I told lunch kakis, NP said it’s fiction but I remember seeing the movie features a few couples in the various states.

Part of the reason I watched this movie is because of David Duchovny. I hardly watch x-files. Ha. Good la, the movie exposed me to another form of consumerism which creep into our lives quietly

Karate Kids

I happened to watch it. Heard from the rest it wasn’t nice but then..since the image was clear, I watched lo. I like jaden Smith. I watched because of him and not JC. I don’t like JC. Hehe… Jaden looked  like the dad ler. The storyline is simple. Hee.. somehow it reminds me of Ip Man!!! Please, westerners always like to look down on Chinese but in this movie, the kungfu master actually taught his students to be ruthless and merciless towards their ‘enemy’ and be mean. Simply put, being unethical. Anyway, I tear… hehe.. when Jaden persevere on even when he almost can’t make it to the final round. Sweet.

Economy Plus

Btw, I am now the Premier status. so i get to board the plane earlier, cut the screening Q and if there is free upgrade available, i can sit on the econonomy plus seating which has a bigger leg room. kekeke. for FREE.

End of Fall * Start of Winter

MYL told us officially we are into the first day of Winter. Oh man. He likes everything except summer as it is too hot! He said RB is for retiree.. ha. coz they drive slow, quiet community. but hor..i like The Villas at Camino Bernardo & Bernardo Crest.. La serena also nice. very spacious. Cham, i am hooked to bigger and nicer @ atas area. the bar is slowly raising. ha. Must control a bit.

Thu the 23rd: Victor, Pier @Seaport Village
MYL suggested Greek food. OK, we went. Ha. not as bad as i thought. I shared a chicken swarhmi with Ju. kind of big sia. MY had #11. sorry, i don't know the name. Get to know him more. Good. Super zai guy. He said we gotta learn to play 'their' game. hoho. Chim hor. My usual fix @ Seaport Village with nice colorado bridge view! Had fried calamari, shrimp & fish; i didn't eat lots fries. ha. and i had old pier margarita 'on the rocks' to pamper self a bit.
prior to that, i almost...almost ran into the train/tramp. I didn't notice as my mind was fuming and thinking of other stuffs. Phew. His grace :) else i wont be blogging now!!
I finally had the pumpkin spice latte @ Starbuck as i thought the pumpkin season is in. well, overrrated la.

Wed the 22nd: Elephant Bar, Shien of Osaka
Wanted to go Shien for lunch but Howard suggested Elephant bar. OK, since i have never been there during my previous visit, we just drove off. Hoho, i had teriyaki salmon with fries. both Howard and the waiter think that i am a bit unhealthy and people don't normally eat wih fries. ha. who cares?!
The dinner @Shien was soooo nice and comforting! I love Shien! I had spicy rock shrimp handroll and half dragon roll. the combination of avocado, crabmeat, unagi is simmmplyyyyyyyy yumz! together with a cup of green tea, i was so satisfied and happy. Well, never tear though. ha.

Met Bill on our way back from lunch. What he said almost made me cry. BPD management has never said that to me. hoho. Maybe it's really a loss and how to ask them to congratulate you ler? hahah.

Carmel 加密山

Tue the 21st: Cheesecake Factory @Friars
Ju and myself crave for the cheesecake there. had shrimp scampi and red velvet cake. Yumz. keke. the portion is big and we shared the stuffs. It was really crowded man!! well, they are known for good food n superb cheesecakes. I am a visual person, so i choose it based on its look! ha. Shallow.

I couldn't sleep throughtout, and i don't like the TV. You know what, the moment i switch on the radio, wowo the song HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD. it is just sooooo comforting as you hear something you're so familiarize with and what's more it reminds you that how awesome our God is :) i think this channel is Christian channel ler. FM 100 something. Sweet

Actual i like Carmel Landing, nice green apartment. hehehe. just that 588sqrft is too small. but hor, if i wanna stay at RB or Carmel area, the rental is not cheap. maybe around 1.4k? but it's only 7-10min drive. Happenned to pass thru some doggy place at MM, i was freaked out. Your 6th sense will tell you that... you just don't feel good. Calvin called that Singaporean instinct. Haha. BUt hor thankfully as we went to Allure to drop our stuffs, the place is pleasant. a abit atas also. The rent is not cheap either, about 1.2k-1.6k. at the end of the day one will need to spend 1.7k for rental?!! this is crazy. hoho.

Otto was funny. He said he heard rumour about me. I said it is not rumour. I really love those ICS folks. They are kind to me! I am meeting Howard later for lunch :) shall go Shin. kekek

Faces

Mon the 20th: Italian mama, Kings
I think it's something called Mama dunno what. Ha. I visited this place few years back with HY and SS. hoho, JohnM said he must visit this place every week. I had pizza, canadian bacon with mushroom. the rest are having a big lasagna, pasta with meatball. only Don and I had simpler food such as sandwich and pizza. Hmm shall i go again and have their pasta?
After doing some shopping at Carlsbad, i wanted to go BJ but it was like..so FULL. and i've found KINGS! The guy told me the grilled wild salmon is nice. so i had it with french fries and sautee spinach. It feels so good to eat cooked vege. ha. 

It was a new milestone for me, meeting all the new faces! Hoho, you know what! i am actually considered quite short when i stand beside all of them! Only JenTseng is shorter than me. oh man. Not only the height, the age too. Ha. i am relatively younger!!! To think JohnM is turning 66 and he will retire on 29 Oct!! I am taking his cube, so he'd better clean up!

View 4S Ranch, real nice. Am i serious? hmm...

Foodie

Sun the 19th: Starbuck, Shin of Osaka
Ha. You must be wondering why i mentioned starbuck here! the fact that bcoz i dunno what to eat for lunch, I just got myself a raspberry drink with a rapsberry low sugar cake. Yumz. I got a coffee marble cake, not as fantastic though. The raspberry cake is yummy!! Perhaps i am too hungry? kekeke.
Although they have changed their name to Akai Hana for ages, i still like to call the place Shin. I had my must-eat salmon roe, spicy tuna & nabeyaki udon. The udon did not meet my expectation though. nvm, i shall visit again since i want to eat the Dragon roll and Rancho Bernardo roll.


Sat the 18th: Louis
If i remember correctly, that's the name of the pizza place at USS. kekek. Since we had four 5 buck meal voucher, we settle our lunch there @ Hollywood section.
I like the think crust, the Hawaian taste is not bad. then we had coke. hoho. sick, i had pizza with chilly sauce since all others had that too. we are mad.

Fri the 17th: DTF 鼎太丰; CC
That meal is all about meat and gossip. Kekek. 小笼包，红油抄手，腐竹豆腐冬粉汤，菜云吞拉面，炸排骨。太多肉了啊. All time favourite -> Mocha Vanilla Coffee. This time we had a raspberry pastry. Not bad. Quite smooth. Many thanks to queen :)

Thu the 16th: Brewkerz
Interesting meal as I am having that with Cheryl. Hehe. think many will fall from their chairs. To think i am actually dining with a SM. 3 hrs ler. Ha. i am amazed and honestly, i was quite worried what will the conversation be. Original plan was to go Bronzeit but since home is nearer than Brewerkz, we cabbed down. btw, cheryl dressed up for that ler. wowow, i feel so honoured.
Singapore Pale Ale, Grilled wings, she prefered Cow boy while I had Brewekz burger.
I am thankful as God has prepared such as nice mentor at work for me. She shared her perception and she wouldn't mind listen to my nonsense at times. Kekek. As what dajie said, i owe Cheryl alot as I believe that in a way, she helped me to pave the way. By only mentioning her name helps to open doors and resolve deadlock. she is professional and she is pretty much quite true to me. She shared about her personal life. hoho, insider news. She also told me about the upcoming job rotation plan in our organizations, eventhough I won't be affected. She shared her experinces in living in Poway and how she likes her mazda3 along CRV road. 
I am supposed to treat her as an appreciation. who knows I was treated in the end, to think I have already prepared to burn hole :p

Tues the 14th: Happy Chicken, Daily Scoop
We had our fix at happy chicken. kekeke. so full. and then we went to Daily Scoop on foot. I like the avocado ice cream. creamy and rich. I will miss that!

Feasting Regime

Maybe regime is not the right word, ah wel, who cares. kekek. I feel that i have started putting up weight due to the excessive feasting which was started on 10 sept. I shall note down the various feast to better manage my calories intake in the next 1.5 mths

shall blog about it when i am more free. T3 has so many people. Hope all is well and i can get through things with His blessings. Get a bit nervous as there may be lots of surprises. HE is the God, isn't He?

Yeah. Economy Plus. Kekek. Free upgrade from now on. Yes yes, more leg space. later i shall look out for the big fat lady at SFO. kekek.

Getting fat

It was an interesting extended weekend. Ha. Enjoyable especially with good food and good company cum interesting conversation. It started on Thursday… since we have floating half day.

Italia…
We went to Ristorante Bologna @ Marina Mandarin. Initially we just wanted to have ala carte pasta and tiramisu, who knows eventually we decided on the buffet lunch there, as the sweets looked too good. Kekeke.

Nice ambience, a bit atas. It’s like fine dining. So I feel a bit out of place. Ha. I like the clam dunno what. Ha. The dory fish is nice too. then the chocolate lava, black forest and chestnut cheese cake are yummy too. oh ya, the strawberrt puree/mousse is yummy! I had 2! Ha. The crabmeat ravioli and baked bacon & cheese pasta also quite nice. kekeke. One thing that surprised me is they don't serve normal coffee or tea, instead they serve either latte, cappuccino or espresso. Kekek. Then we roam around esplanade library to borrow some movies and buy a big bag from planet traveler!

Chinois
At night, I am honored to join the popiah feast at our neighborhood. Those aunties are very kind and nice. They were so happy to see us and keep asking us to eat and eat and eat. Hoho. I had a lot of Kong Bak and 1 pau. Hahah. Sick me. Imagine I put 2 thick fat 3 layer pork inside 1 bao, then I finished the 2 meat and I put another 2 in to finish up the same bao. Hahah. Then better still, I use one vege to wrap another piece of meat!! haha. horrible. We had 4 kinds of popiah: Cantonese, teochew, hokkien and Penang. To me, I prefer the Cantonese style! Yum! The auntie who is called Macaroni is also very friendly. We had a long chat.

The community is pretty friendly and I can see their passion in having the events which cheer more old folks. More importantly they get to showcase their cooking! It’s yummy too!

Western
The high tea @ Shang ri la is not bad too. the spread is not like very big but sufficient and tasty enough to satisfy the needs of our taste buds. Ha. And also, you get to choose either 1 or many kinds of premium tea. I had tea no.18, both chilled and hot one. I prefer the hot one as it better brings out the aroma of the tea leave.

The juicy gossip also shocked me ah. I was a bit shaken, it’s a clash of value system! Thus don't always judge a book by its cover, and probably at times, being in love can be blind.

What I like about Shang: durian cake, chocolate banana coconut cake, coconut ice-cream, cold duck/ham, kueh pati. Basically I think I am fine with the food, the company matters more.

Thank God for meeting Deir also, at least I get some good advice. As for Ming, she supposed to give me a lift from the main road and in the end I gotta walk in by myself. Ha. But it's ok. Good weather along Addison ave, I think.

Chinois
I like Asam fish. Nice. Keke.i had twice over the weekend. Then I also had lots prawn. Ha.

Duh, I hope I don’t gain too much weight over the long weekend. Ha.