HMB Pumpkin Fest

Wow, I'm pretty behind with some posts. In an attempt to try and catch you all up, I'll start with the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival (er, which was almost 2 months ago). Here we go!

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First off, it took AGES to drive out to HMB. Virtually the entire Bay Area decided it would be a good idea to drive out there at the same time and so we (Melissa, Noelle & Moi) got stuck on Hwy 92 for at least an hr. Go figure...I had been given fair warning but did not heed it. My bad. Anyways, when we finally got pretty close, it became pretty apparent what we came to see as evidenced by the field of pumpkins pictured above.

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Pumpkin Ale on the left (not all that pumpkin-y) and guide on the right.

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Pumpkin ice cream. Almost worth the drive itself. Pretty darn good (and much more pumpkin-y than the ale). Yum!

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It might've been a bit counterintuitive eating ice cream on such a cold day (a nice preview of winter at the time) but it was quite worthwhile. Besides, we arrived a little late (no thanks to the traffic) and much of the booths were beginning to close).

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What's a trip to Pumpkin fest without some pics of us with pumpkins! And bales of hay. Yee haw! Yes, I'm kinda cold.

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And there we go. Thanks to Melissa & Noelle for coming with. Your company made the LONG ride out very worthwhile. And we all even got to see the ocean! How 'bout that? I've got more fun activities to catch you all up on as well. Take care till then!

Motorcycles & Mancunians

Last week turned out to be a ridiculously crazy one. It also happened to be quite a bit of fun! Being busy at work helped only to make the moments away from it that much more fun. Things started out with the Motorcycle Safety Course (hence Motorcycle being in the title). Completion of this course would mean that I can go get my motorcycle license w/o having to do the road test at the DMV! The classroom session took all of Tuesday night and it left me anxious for the riding session that would occur over the weekend. More on that later. The night after that course, I went to Oracle Arena to see Oasis play (and hence the Mancunians in the title: Oasis was formed in Manchester, England). Here are some pics:

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Kevin, Gordon & Myself waiting amongst the crowd for the Brothers Gallagher to take the stage.

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After a ridiculously long wait, here they come!

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Oasis!!! Live in concert! I still can't believe it (kinda). Gem, Andy, Liam & Noel projected onto the massive screens. We weren't sitting that close to the stage so it helped to have those screens!

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Liam belting out a song. Probably tossing in some profanity as well. For good measure.

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As much as I love the band as a whole, I'm quite partial to Noel's songs (he's singing one in this pic). Hearing "Don't Look Back in Anger" had to be my highlight of the night (followed closely by Champagne Supernova). Those songs take me back to '95/96...

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In a nutshell (and to paraphrase the Gallaghers): F*cking Brilliant! Not much else to be said other than to thank Kev & Gordon for coming along.

Then when the weekend rolled by, I spent Saturday morning putting around a parking lot on a 125cc motorcycle and much of Sunday morning doing the same. They conducted a skills, riding test on Sunday and I managed to pass! So now all I have to do is take a little certificate down to the DMV and pass the written and more two wheel fun for me! More to come I guess. Just wanted to share the Oasis pics and Motorcycle stuffs. Still need to post old pictures...sorry about that. For now, however, I gotta catch up on some of the sleep that I missed out on last week. On that note, take care all. G'night!

Movember Update 3

So, the month ended and Movember came to a close. As did my mustache growing antics. How did I fare following 30 odd days of facial follicle growth? Observe:

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The Mo (& fuzz below my bottom lip) were untouched through the full month. A fun exercise though not as impressive as I would've hoped!


And here it is about to be gone! Even though it wasn't much, it began to get annoying near the end...particularly when I ate and it felt like there was a caterpillar sitting up there.


And there we are! Clean shaven once more!

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So, it was all good fun and all for a good cause. Thanks to those who donated on my behalf (er...thanks Mum). It's not too late to get in on the donation fun if you're still keen to contribute to a worthwhile charity! Ask me how! Mercifully, I reckon that'll be my last attempt at facial hair development (well, at least till Movember '09). Also, apologies for slacking off plenty on overall updates. This week looks like a busy one so I can't say the sitch will change. Hopefully I can update you all soon though! Take care!

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

Gourmet teri burger, fries and portuguese bean soup! Who needs turkey?

Movember Update 2

So, here's a quick update on Nov 20. This is what I look like after a little bit of grooming! More to come!

Movember Update 1

So, some of you may know that I'm once again participating in Movember (in brief: growing a mustache and collecting donations for worthy causes). This will be the first year that I do so with any semblance of officiality. If you go to movember.com you can click on Donate to make a contribution. By searching my name (or registration #) under Members, you can either make a donation to my US entry (#2083412) or my NZ entry (#2083257) or both. Donations go towards the Prostate Cancer Foundation (US) or the Mental Health Foundation of NZ and the Cancer Society (NZ). I hope some of you may help support me in my fundraising quest.

Just to keep things interesting, I plan on keeping track of my progress (somewhat loosely) here on this very blog:


Here I am clean shaven on Nov 1st.


And here I am on Nov 10th. Pretty paltry but I reckon I'm well on my way to a fulfilling 'stache (yeah right...who am I kidding).

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Anyhow, enjoy folks and I promise I've got a ton of pics to post from the past month or so. Life has just been too busy recently. Take care and I'll keep you all in the loop. Cheers!

More on the Menu: October Again

Peach gelato using organic white peaches, mascarpone cheese and a touch of sugar. Yum!

On the Menu: October

I haven't done this in months (cuz, unfortunately, I haven't cooked anything noteworthy in that time) but I'm now bringing back the cook & show portion of the blog.



Here's my dish for this month: Cashew Chicken Stir-fry (over rice). From the name, you can tell that chicken & cashew nuts are two of the major ingredients in the dish. Also in there, as you may be able to see in the photo, red capsicums (bell peppers), snow peas and baby bok choy to round out a reasonably healthy (and simple to prepare) dinner! It turned out quite well and adding some crushed red pepper gave it a nice kick. It's good to be eating at home again!

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On an unrelated note, here's a pic of my bro in action for Oxy Soccer. We'll see if I get a chance to catch a game sometime this season before it's over (I think I have about a month).

October Stuffs

So, nothing too exciting going on here so far. Work has been incredibly busy so my weeks have become mostly a blur with a bit of time thrown in to recover (i.e. weekends). I don't have a lot to share with you guys so far but here are a few of pics from the last week.

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Last saturday, after watching most of the USC beat down over Oregon, I had dinner at the Oaxacan Kitchen (California Ave in Palo Alto) with Kevin & Nyssa. It was lovely being able to catch up on things and chat about the good old days back at Punahou.

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It's my blog so surprise, surprise here's the Enmolada dish I had that night. It wasn't too bad. Oddly enough, the highlight was the roasted veges (zucchini & butternut squash...yum)! Nyssa's Chile Relleno was quite delish though and I'll have to get one of my own next time 'round!

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My co-worker and I were talking about some work related equipment/fixture stuff and how he wanted to prototype a new design he was thinking about. I half-jokingly suggested we prototype using Legos. Pictured above is the result of our discussion and a trip down to the Lego store at Valley Fair. How awesome is that? I miss Legos so much!

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And here's lunch from today. I've started doing a lunch time bike ride with another co-worker of mine (a very serious cyclist) and the last 2 fridays we've ridden from Mt. View to Alviso and had lunch at some Mexican places out there. Last week's place wasn't all that special but today, we ate at Rosita's and it was pretty amazing. Pictured above is my Chile Verde Burrito (meat only) and chicken enchiladas. At the top of the frame (and mostly out of the pic) are the two small dishes of fresh salsa that were amazing. Fresh, tasty & cheap just the way it should be. Definitely worth the ride out there!

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I hope to have some more pics for you guys in the (near-ish) future so that I can keep you all posted on more exciting events (whatever they may be). Life's going well but just a bit hectic at the moment and lacking a the amount of traveling I'd prefer. Take care all!

Sunday Morning Bike Ride

So, this past weekend I went out on a lovely sunday morning ride that encompassed Woodside, Skyline, the 92 and Cañada. It was a pretty tough one, particularly the climb up King's Mountain Rd, but we made it (I'll omit my flat tyre blunders...you'll have to ask Don or Charles). I didn't get too many pics (just a few a that I managed to snap with my phone) but here goes:

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A pretty view looking out to the Bay from King's Mountain Rd. I can say with a good amount of certainty that it's harder taking a decent picture while on a bike versus while riding a horse.

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Don & Charles climbing up King's Mountain Rd. Kudos to Don who managed to tackle the hill with a most unhelpful "Granny gear."

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Pic taken from Skyline Blvd out towards Half Moon Bay (and, somewhere through that fog, presumably the Pacific). There were so many good vantage points on this ride.

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The best pic I managed to take of the three of us. Apologies for cutting off part of your head Charles.

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I'm very happy about making it out to ride on such a lovely day. Too bad more of you guys couldn't join us. *cough* Nick *cough* Alisa *cough*

On a different note, today pretty much marks a year that I've been up here in the Bay Area. Many thanks to those of you who have made the past 12 months as enjoyable and as memorable as they have been. I look forward to many new adventures with you all and I'm certainly glad I'm here! Cheers!

All Better Now

Glad to have you back!

September 2008 (mostly)

So, just wanted to do a quick photo upload to cover some of what's gone on this month. Let's get underway...

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I was lucky enough to be able to head on home for Labor Day weekend and I enjoyed this Seared Ahi Caesar Salad @ Gyotaku (Niu Valley).

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Words can't describe how much I love Home. This photo was taken on a beach near Laie where my Mum's Uniki was.

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So this Uniki was a hula performance that my Mum danced in. She's been doing hula since I left to go to Uni.

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A close up of my plumeria lei (and my Local Motion aloha shirt).

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‘Ohi‘a lehua. Very similar to the Pōhutukawa of NZ. Both lovely, lovely plants.

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Mum doing hula.

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I posted a pic of this food the day that I ate it (just scroll down a bit) but here it is in a bit more detail. Opihi, poke, haupia, lau lau, lomi salmon, poi, kalua pig, okinawan sweet potato and chicken long rice. Soooooooo goooooood! I wish I could find some decent local food up here...

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My family on a beautiful Hawaiian day: Me, Po Po, Mum, Dad & Gung Gung (post uniki).

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Melissa, Kurt & Myself at Romano's Mac Grill. Had a lovely dinner during which we were serenaded by Cat!!!! Despite a lingering cold, your voice was as beautiful as ever!

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How can it be a trip home w/o Boots & Kimo's famous banana mac nut pancakes?!

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Me & Noelle @ Boots & Kimo.

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Melissa, Jon, Cat & Myself outside of Boots & Kimo. We were pretty full after that!

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Went back to the Bay Area and here we are the weekend after. Charles, Song, Nick, Diana & I outside of Village Pub where we went to celebrate Nick's B-day!

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My mum & grandparents came up to visit and we took a day trip down to LA to visit the bro. Here, Deryck & I pose with our grandparents in Deryck's dorm room.

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And finally, Priyanshu's farewell tour of the Bay Area made a stop at Ben's where we enjoyed some ridiculously delicious food, talked story and played a few video games: P, Diana, Nick, Charles & Alisa.

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So, it's been a rather eventful month. It's getting busy at work too which is both a blessing and a curse. I'm also glad to report that Hippolyta is back and in good shape. I'm so happy to have my car back...I couldn't have anticipated how much I missed her...

Anywho, take care folks. I'm hoping to capitalize on a bit of warm weather and ride my bike to work tomorrow. Cya!

Aloha 'Oe Priyanshu

From co-worker, to fellow climber, to Rock Band-mate, to travel buddy, it's quite an honour to count you as a friend. Best of luck to you in your pursuit of a PhD out there in Buckeye territory. For your sake, I hope your new football team will bounce back so that when I come visit for the USC v. OSU rematch next season, it'll be more competitive than tonight's 35-3 blowout. All kidding aside, enjoy your time out there in the Mid-west and don't forget to come visit your friends here in the Bay Area often. Cheers pal!

Happy Birthday Nick

Admittedly, this is a bit of a placeholder post. And, a belated one at that. More photos forthcoming, including a big dose of family & friends (HI trip & Family visit to CA). Until I get around to posting those, here's a photo I can't resist uploading. In case you can't read (sorry for the blurry pic), Birthday boy Man is holding a bottle of Japanese hair care product called "Man Dom". Thanks for being a good sport Diana.


Again, Happy Birthday!!!

Onolicious

I miss this food so much!

Smushed Bug

Thankfully I'm unharmed. The same can't be said for poor Hippolyta. I can't wait to go home...

Things I've Missed

So, thanks to my busy schedule and lack of blogging over the period of the last several months, I've managed to have a backlog of photos to share with you. Better late than never right?

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NZ Pt. 2

Queenstown is breathtaking. Here's a panoramic of Lake Wakatipu. Would be lovely to have a home down there someday!

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Me & my Grandparents in front of Lake Wakatipu. It was really early that morning...

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I plead the 5th...

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The famous gigantic fruit at Cromwell.

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Aoraki/Mt. Cook (highest mountain in NZ), Lake Pukaki and little, old me.

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Me, Aunty Karen & the Grandparents in front of the famous Cathedral in Chch (Christchurch...the Garden City).

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Mt. Taranaki/Egmont from the sky on the way from Chch back to Auckland.

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Let's be honest, it's never a proper trip back to NZ without a good ole Kiwi BBQ! I miss Kiwi food!

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LA in Apr

So I popped down to LA for Claudia's B-day. Here we are, Priscilla, Me, Claudia & Darren, in the club.

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Also went to hear Cat sing in the Siren's Reunion Concert. Lovely (though we missed Cat's solo)! Priscilla, Claudia, Cat, Me, Brandon, Darren & Ryan.

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We went out for dinner afterwards at Zucca in Downtown LA.

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DJ P-Lin on the turntables (Josh's to be specific).

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And here we all are post Dim Sum. Kellie, Darren, Priscilla, Brandon, Grant, Deryck, Me, Ryan R, Cat, Ryan C, Jeanine & Claudia.

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Back in the Bay

Travis (fast asleep) & Dorothy on our way back from a trip to check out the North Face outlet and catch lunch with Kev in Beserkley. Sad to see you two move away but I'm sure you'll have a blast over there in New Haven, CT!

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Then Aunty Karen, Mum & Deryck came up for a visit in June. On the first night, we did dinner @ Bistro Boudin at SF's famous Fisherman's Wharf. I had garlic fries, haricot vert & crab cakes. Delish!

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Being touristy meant that we did the obligatory Alcatraz tour. Here's Aunty Karen pulling on a jail cell.

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My bro doing his best to be thug.

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Mummy dearest sitting on the toilet in a cell. I hope they cleaned that...

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Me, Mum & Deryck. Alcatraz Island circa June 2008.

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Aunty Karen in front of our boat on a cloudy, cold & windy SF day. Typical Bay Area weather...

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Deryck & I on the boat deck on the way to Angel Island. It started clearing up nicely (though it was still bloody cold)!

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Can you tell they're sisters? [Ed. Note: Apparently I've used this caption before...oh well. Bonus points if you can name where.]

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Bay2Breakers 2008. A fun run with heavy emphasis on the fun. People dress up to do crazy things and I figured it'd be fun to check it out. The Luau guys (Daniel & I) on the left, Runaway Bride peeps (Priyanshu & Alisa) on the right.

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Celebrating Diana's (center) birthday! Epic. Look, there's even a balloon arch!!! How awesome!

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The Euro Cup 2008 Final Replica Match ball. I can't complain about not having a soccer ball to play with anymore. Thanks!

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And, after I saw this rugby ball at Sports Authority, I knew I had to have it (even though no one 'round here wants to play with me).

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It's It ice cream sandwich. One of the things I love about the Bay Area! Interestingly, my love affair with these began at Camp Pupukea of all places!

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My cube at work. I haven't mentioned it on here till now but I finally got a job as a Manufacturing Engineer at Access Closure. Sweetness. Apple, HI & Paris are represented proudly in the cube and since I took the picture, I added an NZ flag to the mix. [P.S. Observant eyes will see that the jacket hanging on the chair is my Foxhollow North Face one. I miss you Foxhollow!]

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Last but not least, here's my Turkey pesto sandwich from Cafe Borrone in Menlo Park. Lovely way to finish off a weekend bike ride!

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So, there are still a few gaps in the timeline (mainly Carie's B-day in LA) which hopefully will be filled in sometime reasonably soon. Hope you all enjoyed the pics. Take care and catch you later!