back from Southern California

"He's your brother, right?" -- random drunk lady to Mom

I just got back from Southern California with my parents. The plan was to leave Saturday morning, but the trip was postponed because the hotels were all full. Delays aside, this was a great way to end the summer.

Day 1

The trip began at 10 a.m. with a drive to Paso Robles. Our first stop along the way was Paraiso Vineyards in Soledad. The view from the patio was amazing, making it a perfect picnic spot.

Dad took us to several other wineries after lunch. A funny thing happened at one of them: a woman asked if I was 21 as we were in the parking lot. She then asked my mother if I was her brother. It's obvious she's had too many drinks. That was completely random, but Mom was flattered as it made her feel young again. ^_^

The traffic on the way to Paso Robles was light. There was lots of time to explore the area after checking into the hotel. For dinner, the three of us went to an oceanfront restaurant in Pismo Beach. The food was slightly overcooked but otherwise all right.

Later in the evening, my mother and I watched some movies on our portable DVD player. I saw Sunshine before going to bed.

Day 2

The first stop of the day was Solvang. I had a great time checking out the restaurants and gift shops. Though the pastries looked delicious, nothing here was cheap. High prices aside, Solvang was the highlight the trip. This was followed by lunch at a Japanese restaurant as it was already 1 p.m.

Dad took us to Santa Barbara after lunch. The reason for going there was to visit the University of California, Santa Barbara. The campus was beautiful and had a homely feel. UC Santa Barbara was actually my second choice when I was applying for college.

Our hotel was located in San Luis Obispo. Because it was pretty late, my family had dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant after unloading our stuff. The food was a bit salty but not too bad as far as Chinese buffets go.

The hotel gave us two free DVD rentals. I chose Blade while my mother preferred comedies. However, because Dad was exhausted and wanted to go to bed, the two of us decided to follow suit so as to not disturb his sleep.

Day 3

I finished watching Blade after breakfast. The final fight scene was pretty cool. :-)

The purpose of coming to San Luis Obispo was to see the California Polytechnic State University campus. Cal Poly is another school I had applied to. I liked UC Santa Barbara better, but that's just me. We then went to downtown San Luis Obispo before heading home.

The rest of the day was uneventful, although we stopped at the Gilroy Premium Outlets so Mom could look at shoes. I guess the stereotype that women love shoes is true. Back in the Bay Area, my family had dinner at Pizz'a Chicago before arriving home.

Conclusions

Considering that we don't go to Southern California often, this was a refreshing experience. Of the places we visited, Solvang was my favorite. I'd love to go there again in the future.

At any rate, I should probably get back to studying as my classes are starting soon. In the meantime, feel free to check out my pictures from the trip.

Update: The pictures are now online.

Currently listening to: The Collector's Series, Volume One by Celine Dion

new dual-core laptop!

It turns out our trip to SoCal has been postponed. On the other hand, this was the perfect opportunity to check out our new HP Pavilion dv2700 laptop. I was busy studying and didn't have the chance to play with it until now.

The dv2700 has a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM and 230 GB of storage. However, the laptop is running Windows Vista. I've heard bad things about Vista but haven't had any trouble so far. Let's hope it stays that way. *crosses fingers*

Currently watching: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

done with Physics 7C

The summer session at Berkeley has ended. It was a worthwhile experience as I learned a great deal of things. Having said that, Physics 7C wasn't an easy class. I hope I did well on the final exam!

The bad news is that I tripped and damaged my microwave while moving out of the dorms. Though the damage wasn't too bad, my parents are concerned about radiation leaks. That means we'll have to buy a new microwave. Shit happens.

In other news...

Dad is planning a trip to Southern California. It'll be a great way to end the summer. :-)

Currently reading: Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? by Alan Moore

God damn script kiddies

Someone seems to have hijacked my Yahoo! and Gmail accounts this morning. The person also changed my security questions in addition to the passwords. I was able to recover my Gmail account with relative ease but had to call customer support to reset my Yahoo! login. Bastards.

The good news is that neither account contained sensitive information. I'm also sure there are no viruses on my computer. That said, the script kiddie deserves a roundhouse kick to the face from both Chuck Norris and Bruce Schneier.

In other news...

On a more positive note, there was a swing dance class at Unit 2 tonight. That was pretty fun even though I only watched and didn't dance with anyone.

Currently listening to: "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani

follow-up on Anne's wedding + pictures!

So my mother was in Taiwan for Anne's wedding and to see other relatives. Dad took me to SFO to pick her up after she came back last night. It was great to have her home again, especially considering that she hardly ever goes out of town alone!

The downer is that Dad and I were unable to be there in person. Because it's customary to send a gift when invited to a wedding, my mother gave Lawrence and Anne a red envelope containing $1,000 in our name. Of note is that I was the only one who wrote them a card. As you could imagine, the couple was pleasantly surprised.

Mom was also kind enough to take pictures for me. She didn't want to bring her camera at first but later changed her mind, for which I'm truly grateful. Though many pictures didn't come out too well, there were a few that were good enough to share. Head on over to my Flickr account to see them.

The other thing is that Mom bought me lots of Taiwanese snacks. She also brought back a large box of cookies that was given out to the guests. They're actually quite delicious. Thanks, Mom!

In other news...

A plumber fixed the leak under the sink this morning. So hopefully no more messes on the kitchen floor. *crosses fingers*

Currently playing: The Second Reality Project Reloaded

4th of July weekend report + Anne's wedding

Mom is currently in Taiwan for my cousin Anne's nuptials and to see my grandfather and uncle. Despite her absence, the 4th of July long weekend wasn't too bad.

Independence day weekend

The good news is that I got to set off fireworks twice - on the 4th and again tonight for Anne's wedding. Dad took me to Newark as TNT Fireworks has locations there. This was a pleasant surprise, although we only bought small items because fireworks aren't cheap in California.

The two of us also went hiking in Stevens Creek County Park yesterday afternoon. Our neighbor Gen's home alarm started going haywire just as we were leaving. The alarm was loud and driving us nuts. To our relief, my father managed to fix it after a few minutes. I'm glad nobody made a noise complaint or anything.

I was helping Dad unclog the kitchen sink earlier today when it started leaking. Upon further inspection, he determined the welds had cracked. Cleaning up the mess wasn't exactly fun.

Other than that, I was busy studying for a Physics 7C midterm that was scheduled for the 10th. However, Prof. Huang later informed us the midterm was postponed. I guess he wanted us to enjoy the long weekend. :-)

Anne gets hitched!

As mentioned earlier, my cousin Anne got married last night. For those wondering, the lucky young man is Lawrence. I'd like to congratulate the couple and wish them all the best for the future.

The downer is that I couldn't attend the wedding because of Physics 7C. Taking even just a few days off would have been risky given the pace of the class. Overseas flights are also ridiculously expensive at the moment. I couldn't justify the costs, especially for a short trip.

I'm super happy for Anne but also a little sad that I couldn't congratulate her in person. That said, I was definitely there in spirit. Just because I had to miss the wedding doesn't mean I can't celebrate - which I did with fireworks. :-)

Perhaps the most important thing is that the wedding was a huge success. From what Mom tells me, there were close to 380 people in attendance. Last but not least, Anne says she'll send us pictures from the reception. I'll post them as soon as they arrive. Watch this space!

Currently listening to: "Turn Me On" by Kevin Lyttle

an awesome summer dance

There was a Summer Love Prom at Unit 2 last night. While the dances at Berkeley tend to be lame, this one was quite fun. You can read my review of it here. I e-mailed a copy of the review to one of the organizers, to which he informed me that similar events are being planned. Sweet!

Of course, I just had to show off my 35+ mW laser at the dance. The cool thing is that there was another guy who had a green laser. Though mine was more powerful, meeting a fellow laser enthusiast is always exciting. :-)

Currently watching: Alexander