Wednesday 23 February 2011

Christchurch Quake

Me, Aunty Karen, Gung Gung & Po Po in front of Christchurch Cathedral circa 2008.
As you've all probably heard, Christchurch got rocked by an earthquake that caused a great deal of damage and loss of life. NZ has declared a 'State of Emergency' and there have been some predictions that this could be NZ's worst natural disaster in history. I'm hoping for the best and that the wonderful people of Christchurch, the Greater Canterbury area and all of NZ can pull together to make it through this immense tragedy. If you can, please chip in a bit of dosh (i.e. $) to help out the cause/s.

NZ Red Cross
Salvation Army NZ (Reference 'New Zealand Quake Appeal')
Rotary NZ World Community Service (Click the Earthquake Paypal Donation Link)

Some of the sites might be affected by the high internet traffic so please be persistent. Aroha.
P.S. I'm a firm believer that humour helps in extremely trying situations and I felt like the following video does just that.


Wednesday 16 February 2011

So Cal Visit + So Cal Visitors

The weather has returned to more normal-for-winter mode, including wind and rain this week, so activities have been limited accordingly. I had a Southern California related few days last week, as the title alludes, and I have a few pictures of them to share.


It started with a trip to Anaheim for the Medical Design & Manufacturing trade show at the Convention center. A massive affair with thousands of booths and tens of thousands (at least) industry folk running around. I'm regretting not taking any photos at the show but I went with my boss and we actually had a very busy day full of discussions with potential (and a few current) vendors. I figured it'd be best if I kept things professional while wandering the Convention center. With that said, we walked to Downtown Disney for lunch and ate at the ESPN Zone (where we watched the France v. Brazil friendly).

Ah, Downtown Disney on a clear, beautiful day. The strong-ish wind kept it from being a perfect day, but we still enjoyed things.

See. A Disney banner. I really did make the trip down there.

Darren and Priscilla came up over the weekend (hence the So Cal Visitors). We had a lovely dinner at Tamarine (in Palo Alto) where I enjoyed this Clay Pot Cod dish. Pretty yum, though not filling in the least. I'm glad we got some appetizers and a few sides too.

Priscilla, Christine, Me, Darren & Brandon at Fraiche in PA, where we enjoyed some great conversation and tasty yoghurt-y dessert.

The next day, a group of us hit Fu Lam Mum in Mt. View for dim sum (thankfully we went early enough to avoid the mid-day rush). After that, we walked to Verde to get a couple of bubble drinks for those who wanted them. Pictured above: Darren, Brandon, Me, Tony, Priscilla, Melissa, Elise & Christine.

Thanks for coming up to visit, Darren & Priscilla. It had been far too long since either of you blessed us with your presence (Aug 2009 and Oct 2007, respectively). We've got a long weekend coming up so let us hope that the weather allows for some fun times.

Thursday 3 February 2011

January Recap

恭喜發財!
Onward to a new year (on the lunar calendar). I have a mini backlog of photos from last month that I'd like to share with you all so let's get to it.


Hiked up Sweeney Ridge in the San Bruno area. The view depicted above shows SFO as seen from the trail.

And looking towards the Pacific Ocean from Sweeney Ridge on a gorgeous afternoon.

A pic of my homemade minestrone. Some of the ingredients include vegetable stock, cannellini beans, edamame, spinach, roma tomatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, fresh basil. seashell pasta & a bit of quinoa. A very hearty, healthy and delicious soup for sure!

Another of my recent kitchen creations: spinach, mushroom, shallot quiche. I even made the crust from scratch. Pretty good, though it took a bit more effort than I originally anticipated.

During one of the lovely weather days that blessed California a couple weeks ago, I made it out to Half Moon Bay. I'm bloody glad I did since I've never been at the beach there on a warmer, or clearer, day (this includes trips to HMB in the middle of summer). Amazing.

Foot in sea foam (2011).

Mari & I enjoying the fine weather out at Oceanview Park in HMB (yeah, you couldn't see the ocean from there).

Now the lovely weather has passed and the "chill" of winter has returned to Cali. Onward to February. Happy year of the Rabbit everyone!