Lost in lyrics

"We come out more as friends
Sometimes even like strangers
Is it me or it is just the way you are

No matter how I try to fight the tears
They still fall into the night

What happened to the promise you made
A promise that helped me to cling on..."

Cold...

Seems like everyone around me is sniffing or coughing...

my friends, my colleagues, even my boyfriend. I didn't get the cold from anyone though. I got a sorethroat the other day and one thing became another. First came the cold then the cough. during the overlapping period, it must be one of the worst days you have to endure. I don't know if you have noticed, they always run in a cycle.

It's raining outside. Don't see much of rain in LA. In fact, I think this must only be the fifth time that i have seen rain since moving to LA the year before.

Gotta work overtime tonight again. I have lost count on the number of off days I am entitled to over this mere one year period. Somehow it is always easier for the X to order you to work extra. But when it comes to your turn asking for some time off, it's harder than climbing than Mount Everest. Most of you have similar situations I am sure.

I have worked a full year now and I can start applying for vacation. My company offers 7 days for employees who have worked 1~3 years. I wonder if that is considered decent or unfortunate. I know of many companies that offer 2 weeks of annual leave. But there are also those that offer 5 days, as in my roommate's company.

I may seem lucky at first glance. However, her vacation days double up to 10 days the following year. So that puts me back in square one-unfortunate.

Skiing at Snowsummit

Ha..this past weekend was the third time I went skiing in my life.

I can still vividly remember my first experience. It was New Year's eve and a bunch of us thought it would be cool to do something different. So up the mountains we trotted.

Little did we know the clear blue sky was just a mask and would give way to clouds and rain as the afternoon rolled on. Alas, it wasn't merely rain streaming down. Ice began to sting my already frozen face.

By early evening, all of us couldn't take the cold any longer and decided to call it quits. This was not before our clothes were soaked inside and out though. I guess skiing is not a poor kid's kind of sports so we wanted to cash in every penny worth of time alloted.

The second time was actually a couple months back during Christmas holidays. 8 friends made the way up to the renowned Mammoth Lakes for a weekend getaway. Upon arrival, the snow-blanketed town oozed a certain serenity and tranquility that temporarily lifted the mounting weight off my shoulders.

Needless to say, it was a memorable excursion. The skis were newer, the sky was clearer even the snow seemed whiter! Although it took a couple falls before I grasped some skills, it was an amazing feeling once you take off down the slope.

So after some recuperation, both physically and mentally, I finally took the plunge and joined in the weekly trips that my few select friends have taken up Snow summit on Chinese New Year.

Although I'm far from claiming to be an expert, I strived to perfect my runs and skids. And it might take another few trips before I unravel the mystery. Nonetheless, I'm one happy gal~

It's been a little over a month since I got back from home.

Boy, it seems quite a long time though. The pressure of work has been mounting its enormous weight back on my shoulders since then. All of a sudden, the beautiful landscape of China seems far far away...far out of reach.

Best Birthday wishes..

Okay so this post is about a month late. BUT, I still got around to it so kudos to me =)

It's been awhile since we celebrated someone's birthday within the gang. Somehow most of our birthdays happen to fall later in the year. Ahh..that explains the reason we are so broke when approaching year-end..

And of course this time around, it's not just someone's birthday. It's my cousin brother's birthday. Although it's been awhile since he last spent time with us, he's still our good friend, my awesome relative.


Our original plan was to head to Redondo Beach for a day of fun at the beach. However, we somehow managed to end up at the neighboring beach~Hermosa Beach. keke.. boo to the lack of parking spaces in the area. Even then, most of us had a harrowing experience simply trying to look for a space.

Hermosa was pretty, needless to say. We had a blast walking along the sandy beach, playing frisbee, even our depressing attempts at playing volleyball.

Relaxed and rejuvenated, we happily strode into Belacan Grille, a Malaysian restaurant that had earned great reviews from fellow countrymen.


The food was good enough to jolt our tastebuds, sufficiently satiating our yearn for a taste of homey goodness. Too bad though we ordered such a wide array of dishes that they all tasted somewhat similar in the end.


Have a wonderful year ahead =)

Questions questions questions

I guess people are always curious to find out more about things they can only see from the surface. When I say people, myself often included in the picture ^__^

Nevertheless it's one thing to be the person who shoots questions around, and a whole other world to be the one answering the ONE question that would put you off the balance beam that you strive holding onto for dear life.

Yes, i hate being put on the spot. Especially when the question at hand involves an answer to a mystery even I am unsure of knowing.

Let it go...is my only request...when the right time comes along, everything will unfold prettily...

Now, if only I can do so myself as well.

Traceback

Hmm..it's been well over 2 months since I last logged in to my blogsite. Such a shame..I guess since summer has come along, there are so many outdoor activites to indulge in.


I've been all over the place as well to say the least. Trotted up to Lake Tahoe during Memorial Weekend for a 3 days, 2 nights camp trip. A really freezing experience indeed! The weather was so cold we could barely stand it. Fortunately we had our little reliable suvival tool--heater--to prevent us from freezing to death in the wee hours of dawn.


However, it must be said that Lake Tahoe is indeed a beautiful place, especially Emerald Bay, which almost took my breath away. It was pretty fun to set up our own tent and build our fire, barbeque, hike and bask in the glorious sun!


We enjoyed ourselves so much so that a second camping trip is in the planning per se. Nevertheless, it'll be somewhere closer, about 2-hours drive up to Big Bear, where we skied.


Then couple weekends ago, us girls drove up to Leona Valley where succulent and juicy cherries awaited us. We stuffed ourselves to our utmost stomach capacity before calling it quits. Satiation afterwards...


This past weekend, 21 of us trekked up to Simi Valley for a more thrilling adventure--PAINTBALL!!! I've read about it, seen pictures of it, just never played it..So I couldn't resist grabbing some cheap tickets while shopping some few months ago. And boy was it worth every penny!

We had 2 teams--yellow and red. Initially, my team Yellow suffered from a losing streak. But that was just 'cuz most of us were inexperienced. Once we crossed the unfamiliar barrier, we were destined to take over the battle field! I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins each time I pulled the trigger. What a rush!

Unfortunately, my body endured several fugly bruises, especially my left arm. Just looking at my reflection through the mirror is enough to scare the bejesus outta my life.

Pain, pain go away...

Santa Barbara

Last weekend a bunch of us decided to make a trip to beautiful Santa Barbara, which is about 2 hours journey from Los Angeles, located along the coast. It was supposed to be a farewell get-together with one of our friends, who will be leaving us for good comes Sunday.

So initially there were around 12 of us on this trip. Somehow news travels fast in our circle and soon almost everyone that found out we were going on an excursion requested to tag along. So we ended up with 18-19 people..Even I loss count.

Anyways, we started out trip at 8 in the morning and headed for Solvang first. Solvang is a Dannish town about half an hour North of Santa Barbara. The European atmosphere of the tiny city made me yearn for a long-awaited vacation..

The weather was gloomy and chilly despite the sunny weather prediction as shown on the Weather Channel. That's why I never trust them. From my past experience, they have never been right everytime I looked to it for clues of weather forecast.



There were many windmills visible in proximity of Solvang. I think they do add a touch of genuity to the European town. Bakeries were everywhere to be seen as well in the area.



After lunch we decided to head for Santa Barbara as another group of friends have already arrived. Upon peeping the view of the beautiful ocean, I could feel the stress buried behind my shoulders melt away. I could almost breathe in the saltiness of the sea.

As it was peak season, the motel that we were staying at wasn't able to prepare our rooms in time, so we headed for the beach to checkout the sand and sun..okay..sorry no sun..



We saw several guyz playing beach volleyball and they seemed as if they were having a kick-ass time. My friend saw that they had an extra ball so he went ahead and borrowed it from them. They were nice enough to loan the ball to our delight.

So there we were playing beach volleyball on the sands of Santa Barbara. Frankly speaking, I haven't had the opportunity to play beach volleyball my entire life although I have to admit the thought has occured in my mind for who-knows-how-long.

However I felt as if I were playing air-ball initially as I failed to catch any chance that flew in my direction..haha ^_____^ It was kind of embaressing needless to say. Nevertheless I refused to give up and insisted that it was just a warm-up act. And so I improved along the way, determined not to be the laughing stock =p

After my team won the game, we moved on to other games. And my-my..it is a great exercise to tone the calf and thigh muscles to run about on the beach. But our hands suffered bruises from playing volleyball.

Taking our turns to shower was indeed a time-consuming chore. There were only 2 bathrooms while 16 of us waited in line. haha..



The next morning, we walked around the shoreline, soaking in the breath-taking sights that Santa Barbara has to offer. I think it'd be awesome if we lived closer to the beach, then we could relax at the beach whenever we feel that stress is taking a toll on our everyday lives. But then again, I guess if this luxury is available to us at our own leisure, we wouldn't appreciate it as much.