Happy (Belated) Birthday to my cousins Brittany & Caitlin! I really wish I could've been there for the celebrations (especially since it's summer time in NZ at the moment and Rugby season is about to start). In any case, it's quite late here in Pasadena so I best be off to bed. Take care all!
Hi everyone. Apologies for the lack of posts. I really haven't been any good at keeping you all up to date recently. One of my New Year's Resolutions definitely is to be much better at updating (hopefully I'll get a new digi cam to help facilitate that goal). In any case, I've had a pretty eventful past month or so. Finals were ridiculously stressful and I'm extremely grateful not only for surviving, but doing much better than could've been expected! Apple Pasadena then let me go home for Christmas so I went back for 10 awesome days (technically 8 since two were spent in Osaka, Japan). After some valuable family time and getting to see many old friends, I'm now back in Pasadena (and subsequently the good, old Apple store) just in time for the New Year! I'm also here in time for tomorrow's Rose Parade (hopefully I can catch the Punahou Marching Band in action). Enough talk, here are some pics from the aforementioned activities:
Let's start things off during Finals. Darren got commissioned as a 2/LT in the Air Force and, fortunately for us all, will be stationed right here in LA! Hopefully he enjoys training and makes it back intact (and with a new tC in tow). After getting worked by the BME 513 final, I made my way to Darren's commissioning ceremony. Although I missed the main program, I got there for cake and champagne (as shown in the pic). Oddly, Darren's last name was still left on one of the slices so I got a hold of that piece (woo hoo). How exciting!
After finals, Darren, Priscilla, Brandon & I celebrated by going down to Bar Celona in Pasadena. For those of you who missed seeing some food pictures, here you are! The Salmon & Broccolini dish was quite tasty even if it wasn't all that filling.
Dessert from Bar Celona was a strawberry & banana crepe with chocolate hazelnut sauce. Also tasty.
Back in warm Honolulu, I had the privelege of hanging out with everyone's favorite East Coast Corporate Banker: Phil. We (L->R: Phil, Traci, Noelle, Me - Part of Brandon's head can be seen peeking out behind Noelle's) walked around Waikiki one night and here's the pic to prove it. We were feeling particularly Christmas-y so we caught this pic outside the Sheraton Moana Surfrider (where, by the way, the Tiffany's has not been for many years...apparently).
I'm quite pleased that I also managed to visit the beach. Here we are at Makapu'u (Phil, Kevin, Traci, Noelle & myself). Kevin might look a little sad because he just got disrespected in a round of beach football. Your's truly - "Ocho Cinco" - apologizes for any long term psychological damage which might've occurred.
Finally, here's a pic from Xmas Day (after an awesome buffet at Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab). I found this little license plate thing in the wondrous aisles of the Iwilei K-Mart.
So, I'm not really one for lists but I feel somewhat inspired to put up a few more New Year's resolutions. We'll see in a year's time if any progress was made. Here goes:
1)More frequent blogging (+more pics)
2)More trips: Hawaii or International (wishful thinking?)
3)Become a better rock climber (new hobby)
4)See my friends/family more often (that means YOU)
5)Graduate & get a job I don't hate! (it's time)
So, there you have it. I know there are tons more pics that I'll eventually post, once I actually get a hold of them, so just sit tight. Have a Happy New Year (in other words, Gung Hee Fat Choy), take care (don't let your leg get hit by fireworks) and see you in 2007!
Hey folks. Just a quick update since it's exam season. I went to the car show this evening w/Darren, Priscilla & Josh and had an awesome time. I even met a Kiwi mechanic who was at the show with Morgan Motor Cars (http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk). Anyhow, I thought I'd let you all know that no updates will be on the way till after all my work is done (Dec 12 to be precise). Please accept this single picture of me behind the wheel of a 2007 Porsche Boxster S (yes, those are my jeans in the bottom of the pic) as a bit of a preview of things to come (also expect higher quality pics since I'll be leaching them off of Josh from his digi cam). Take care everyone and best of luck to those of you who are still in school!
So, the end of classes for the Fall semester calls for a mini update. I didn't have a digi cam handy over the Thanksgiving period but I had a great time with Josh's family down in the San Diego area (where it was sunny and generally much nicer than LA). As expected, the Apple Store Pasadena was extremely busy and I imagine it's not gonna get any better from here until Xmas. On that note, here are a few pics for you all to enjoy:
So, I managed to find Tamarillos (aka tree tomatoes) at Gelson's market in the exotic fruits section. They were true NZ tamarillos to boot (the same can't be said, unfortunately, for the feijoas). Since I hadn't had one in a while, I picked one up, sliced it open and had it for a snack (w/a bit of salt) late one night. I completely forgot how they tasted. It was quite tart and I think it wasn't quite ripe enough. But it was good to have a taste of something from my childhood (granddad still grows them in his garden). Hopefully some NZ feijoas will make it up here cuz I'm dying to have some of those....
The night before Thanksgiving, I went to the Clippers v. Sonics at the Staples Center with Carie. It was my first time there and I was quite amazed at how much larger the place is in comparison to how it looks on the telly. It was a great game too (if you're a Seattle fan). Now that the Staples Center has been checked off the list, hopefully I can catch a game at the newly opened Galen Center. I'd like to see where some of my tuition money has gone...
(Yet again, I'm waiting for one more pic from Carie)
Anyways, I can't wait for my actual winter break to start so that I can head home and just take it easy. Grad school isn't what I expected it to be, so it's been a pretty tough semester. [In case I haven't mentioned to you, I was expecting something different from my undergraduate experience. Something more enriching, interactive, interesting and new. Instead, it's just been like another, slightly more intensive senior year. At this point, I'll be happy to just make it through the year and walk away with another piece of paper. I hope some of the classes I've selected in the Spring can help to change my point of view.] Lots of work at Apple Pasadena as well as some quality exam studying time should be going on in the near future. Feel free to drop by if you'd like to keep me company. On that note, peace out and take care everyone. Hope to see many of you soon.
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