Caving and Canyoneering in Anza Borego

Went to Anza Borrego Desert State Park, which is east of San Diego, last weekend.  Camped at Agua Caliente which is a very nice developed campground with showers, flush toilets, and an indoor spa.  On Saturday we explored the mud caves.  We did Plunge Pool cave, Footprint cave, Big Mud cave, Carey's Mud cave, and Hidden cave.  It was a lot of fun crawling through the caves and contortioning your body to get through.  There was one tiny hole that we nicknamed the "birth canal" because you had to twist and struggle to get through.  By the end of the day we were pretty dirty from all the dust.

It was so nice to shower and hit the hot tub afterwards.  For dinner we had a potluck...there was lasagna, chicken salad, cous cous, chili, noodles, ambrosia, and apple pie.  On Sunday we went checked out the slot canyons in Coyote Mountain.  It was a 7-8 mile hike with 2 rappels.  We got to see sand dollars and a wall of oyster shells since the canyon used to be at the bottom of an ocean.

We ended up getting done a little later than planned so the last part we were hiking out with our headlamps on.  The desert is very beautiful at night when you can see all the stars that are obscured by light pollution in the city.  Thanks to Luca, one of my canyoneering classmates, for organizing a great weekend.

Last week some friends and I went to Don Antonio's in Santa Monica for their $1 tacos on Wednesday nights.  It was very crowded and took a while to get a table but such a great deal.  Their mango and melon margaritas are yummy too.  Afterwards we went to the Liquid Kitty, a martini lounge across the street, but it was kind of dead since it was still a little too early on a weekday night.  Decided to check out the Arsenal down the street for some drinks and hung out there for a bit before heading home.

Last night we had a belated Chinese New Year celebration dinner at NBC Seafood in Monterey Park.  It was fun to see some people I hadn't seen in a while.  Afterwards we went to a dessert place in Alhambra.  I've been sick the last couple of days.  I hope I get better in time for Mammoth this weekend.

EDIT:  Seems like a lot of people are getting engaged lately.  Here are my top 3 favorite proposals on Xanga.

1.  Chris Choi

2.  Kojibamba

3.  I_am_getting_married

Guys...take notes for when your time comes.  The ring is important but its all about the proposal.

Bachelorette Party in Vegas weekend

Drove into Vegas pretty late on Friday night and checked in at Treasure Island.  Got ready and took a couple of shots before heading out to Jet at the Mirage, a new club that opened up a few weeks ago.  We missed the cutoff for guestlist but since we were all girls we got in for free anyways, hehe.  They have a neat laser light show but it was a little blinding on the dance floor.  We decided to check out Tangerine at our hotel afterwards.  Unfortunately we were too late for the burlesque shows.  The club was a little dead compared to Jet which was packed.  Got back to the room around 4:30am.

The next day we didn't get up until pretty late.  We decided to have a late lunch at the Wynn buffet.  I thought the food here was OK but for $25 I was expecting a little more.  As we were about to leave they started bringing out the food for dinner so I was able to score a whole plate of giant Alaskan King crab legs   Went shopping for a little bit at the Fashion Show Mall.  We got back to our hotel and were supposed to change rooms afterwards (from smoking to non-smoking) but there was a huge mixup and we ended up waiting for hours.  The service at TI was horrible!  Even though we ended up getting $180 taken off our bill, got comped for a round of drinks at the bar, and comped for free breakfast...I still wouldn't recommend staying here just for the aggravation and stress that they caused. 

Got dressed and headed out to Pure at Caesar's Palace where Brook Burke was hosting some bikini fashion show.  I really liked this club...it was huge with 4 different rooms and an amazing view of the strip.  It was fun playing bachelorette party games...we each got cards divided from a deck and we had to find the guy that corrosponded to what the card said.  Some examples included "guy with a condom", "guy with a tattoo", etc.  We were invited by some guys to check out the VIP section where there was actually room to dance without being jammed up against other bodies.

And of course what bachelorette party would be complete without strippers?!  So we headed over to Olympic Garden where there are female strippers downstairs and male strippers upstairs.  We each got at least one lap dance from a guy.  Too bad all the pictures I took were too incriminating to post on xanga   After all that excitement we were hungry so we went to eat at 5am.  Since we got comped we all ordered the most expensive thing on the menu...filet mignon, haha.  We were pretty much wiped out after that.  Got up in time the next afternoon for our late checkout and drove back to LA.

Friday:  did the dinner and a movie date with the bf.  Dinner was at Kitima in Irvine.  It's a cute little Thai restaurant.  More of a lunch place since it was empty at 9:30pm.  Their pineapple sunrise martini was really good.  The portions are pretty big and food is good if a little on the spicy side (and I like spicy too but my stomach wasn't doing so well the next day).  Afterwards we watched Tristan & Isolde at the Tustin Marketplace.  I thought the movie was good...very romantic but has enough action that it's not a chick flick.

Saturday:  went rock climbing with some friends at the Rockreation in Costa Mesa.  Afterwards went to Susan's birthday dinner at the Velvet Margarita Cantina in Hollywood.  Also ran into a fellow xangan.  It's neat to order their signature margarita that comes in a pineapple but it's a little pricey at $15 a pop...and they aren't even that strong.  A tip is to order an appetizer...it's just as filling as an entree at less than half the price....I got the salmon quesadilla.  Later that night we headed out to Spundae at Circus.  It was ok although I remember the music used to be a lot better.

 

Happy 26th birthday Susan!

Sunday:  decided to stay in and cook.  The bf and I made Angus beef ribeye steak in a bordelaise sauce, potatoes au gratin, and asparagus.  Paired with a dry Chianti wine.  Also rented March of the Penguins...very touching movie.  The baby penguins are so cute!  Thanks for the recomendation Mario

Monday:  played tennis with the coworkers...man am I out of shape

Tuesday:  met up with a friend for dinner at Tsunami Sushi in Huntington Beach.  It was a fun teppan grill experience.  The sushi rolls are pretty good too.  I was only able to catch one shrimp in my mouth while everyone else at the table got 2 or 3   You can share a teppan dish and still be pretty full.  They made a mistake on the bill and we ended up only having to pay for half of what we ordered...course I gave him a big tip to thank him.

  the standard onion volcano

Thursday:  went out for sushi again this time at Hide Sushi(pronounced hee-dei not like the animal skin) in west LA.  It's a cute little hole in the wall with very fresh sushi.  I tried the toro, halibut, jellyfish, scallop and yellowtail roll, unagi, and albacore.  It's a pretty small place and almost always crowded...plus it's cash only.

Some belated movie reviews:

King Kong - lots of good special effects...you really do feel for Kong at the end.  I would say wait for the DVD but I'm sure the special effects are much better on the big screen

Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe - I loved this series as a kid so I was highly looking forward to the movie.  I was a little disappointed with the actors that were cast but it was still an enjoyable movie.  Can't wait to see the rest of them.

EDIT:  Spent last weekend at Mammoth.  Conditions were good since they got so much snow from the storm the week before.  Too bad it was so crowded and windy on Saturday.  Sunday was much better.  Next time I want to go check out June Mountain to avoid the crowds.  Landing a lot more of my jumps now...from 50% to 75%...now I need to learn how to ride switch.

Since I spent New Years in Brazil, I celebrated with the bf the day after.  It was also our 2.5 year anniversary.  We ended up going to dinner at Maru Sushi & Yakitori Bar in Arcadia.  He even packed my lunch for work the next day...some leftover gumbo that he had made for a BBQ

Also went to Brennan's Pub in Marina Del Rey to drink some beer and watch the turtle races.  It's cute because guys can buy girls turtles.  The girls then have to put the turtle in the center of the circle without bending their knees (thus prominently displaying their butt and/or cleavage).  If their turtle wins then she gets a little prize.  It was interesting but I think the races were rigged, haha.

Last week I also attended a funeral for my friend and coworker, Rosa.  She and her mother were tragically killed in a car accident over the holidays by a drunk driver who ran a red light.  This was the first time that someone I really knew passed away.  She was so young...only 24 and she still had the rest of her life ahead of her.  It really made me think about a lot of things.  Too often we think we're immortal and don't take the time to tell our loved ones how much we care about them until its too late.  It's so hard to believe that she is really gone...even now I sometimes think that it was just a big mistake and she will walk into work with her usual smile telling some joke.  I still remember the last time I saw her just a few hours before she died...she was showing one of our other coworkers how to give a lapdance.  She was genuinely one of the kindest girls I knew...it just doesn't seem fair.  And of course the drunk driver was uninjured.  Hopefully he will be convicted of double manslaughter and serve in prison for at least 15 years.  Please, please, please don't drive drunk.  Spend the night, take a cab, get a designated driver...do whatever you have to.  I can't even imagine the pain her family is going through to lose two people at once and in such a preventable way.  I also realized that life is too short to not go after the things you want.  I don't want to die with any regrets.  You should live each day as if it were your last because one day, it really could be.

Rest in peace Rosa.  You will be sorely missed.

Christmas & New Years Eve in Brazil

Flew out of LAX on Friday Dec. 23rd to Sao Paulo on COPA airlines...flight was about 16 hours.  Got there early Saturday morning and was picked up from the airport.

Paulista Avenue...the main street in Sao Paulo on the way from the airport.

I went with my friend Susan and we stayed at her friend Leo's house.  He was so nice and friendly...he even made an excel spreadsheet organizing our itinerary.

We had Christmas dinner at his uncle's house where I got to sample Brazilian food and try Itaipava, a brazilian beer.

The next day we went on a walk to the Ibirapuera Park by his house.

Drinking Skol, another Brazilian beer at a bar in Sao Paulo with John and Mariana and their friends.

The next day we drove to Brotas, a small town about 3.5 hrs from Sao Paulo.  We stayed at the Pousada de Sol.  Went hiking to see some waterfalls and go swimming.

Taking shots of 51 after dinner

The next day we went whitewater rafting.  Class III-IV.  We did one rapid where everyone got out of the raft and went down with just a lifejacket.  It was interesting because we had to listen to all the commands in Portuguese!

Us with all the guys after dinner at a pizza rodizio...all you can eat pizza which the servers bring around to you.  They have very interesting toppings like Palmito, chocolate, strawberries, hot dogs and small fries, etc.

Wednesday morning we drove to Ubatuba, a beach town about 3 hours from Sao Paulo.  We stayed at a friend of Leo's beach house.  Here we are at one of the beaches.

The next day we drove to Rio de Janiero.  This is the sunset at Sugarloaf Mountain.  We stayed at the Grande Hotel Canada, 2 blocks away from Copacobana beach.

In front of the Christ Redemptor...the largest art deco statue in the world

The view of Rio from the top of Corcovado

In front of Copacobana Beach

The fireworks for New Year's Eve at Copacobana.  Everyone dresses in white and then you jump through seven waves and make a wish.  Those brazilians are smart...think wet T-shirt contest, hehe.  Supposedly the color underwear you wear is an indication of what you wish for in the coming year, i.e. red for passion, pink for love, gold for money, white for peace, green for health, blue for hope, etc.  There are also a lot of people that throw gifts into the sea like flowers...if the sea accepts them then your wish will come true otherwise your gift will wash back to shore.

After the fireworks there was a huge party at Ipanema beach.  There was a stage playing music and it was like a giant rave on the beach.  Brazilian men are extremely friendly and it is quite common to try and kiss girls.

Overall I had a great time in Brazil.  I learned how to speak a little Portuguese and it was interesting to get to know more about such a wonderful culture.  I can't wait to go back for Carneval

EDIT:  Monday I went to a dinner party with Lanny's friends.  It was so nice...there was bruschetta for appetizers and dinner was salad, pasta, and lasagna.  Dessert was tiramisu and cheesecake and there was lots of wine and champagne.  We did a white elephant gift exchange.  I opened this really nice set of martini glasses but of course it was stolen from me so I ended up with some decorative pillows.  My really sweet bf drove me to work the next day so I wouldn't have to sit alone in traffic for 2 hours and then he picked me up later  Did a little shopping at Brea Mall.  We had a company luncheon on Wednesday and we exchanged gifts (we did the secret santa thing).  Later that night I had a Christmas party with my friends...we did a potluck.  Another white elephant gift exchange...this time ended up with 2 bottles of wine and wine holders.  We had a lot of fun playing games...especially the one where the girls were down on their knees sucking, haha.  Tonight went to Starbucks to catch up with an old friend...its nice when you haven't seen someone in a long time but its so easy to pick up where you left off as if you had only seen them yesterday.  Tried the gingerbread latte...pretty good in my opinion.  Tomorrow I'm off to Brazil...see ya'll when I get back!

Weekend in Vegas for Kevin's Birthday:

Got into Sin City late on Friday night to check into the Mirage...got a great deal $95/night on the weekends with a $50 food and beverage credit.  Prepartied in one of the rooms before heading over to Vivid at the Venetian.  They were just starting a new afterhours night so the place was kind of dead and they were only playing techno music.  I think I got hit on by some girl...she offered to get us a room to "party".  After an unpleasant incident we decided to leave and ended up gambling for a little bit before going to bed at around 5:30am.

Slept in late the next day...grabbed a quick lunch and headed over to Caesar's Forum to go shopping.  Then we had dinner reservations at Samba for all you can eat Brazilian BBQ.  Afterwards we went clubbing at TAO...man was this place crowded.  Luckily we got there pretty early and were the first ones in line plus no cover for the girls since we were on guestlist.  I can understand why it is so popular because the ambiance of the place is really cool with great views of the strip.  Afterparty was in one of the rooms.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Got a late check out on Sunday and had lunch at Grand Lux Cafe...I really liked their chicken picatta.  We had tickets to go watch Avenue Q at the Wynn.  I wasn't really expecting too much from a show with puppets but I was very pleasantly surprised.  It was hilarious but more than just being funny it dealt a lot with issues common to the quarter century crisis like finding your purpose in life, relationships, etc. that really made it relevant.  Definitely recommend seeing it.  Drove back to LA but not before stopping at Whiskey Pete's in Primm for some last minute gambling and the prime rib special.  Didn't get back home until 1am so I was pretty tired the next day at work but it was worth it.

Happy 30th Birthday Kevin!

The week before I had a dinner and a movie date with the bf on Monday night.  We ate at Daphne's Greek Cafe in downtown Brea.  Their spanokopita (filo dough filled with spinach and feta) is pretty good.  Afterwards went to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  This was the only book of the series that I actually had a chance to read.  I thought the movie was good even though they cut out lots of scenes from the book.  The subject matter is a little darker now and its interesting to see Harry in his adolescent phase.

I had tickets to watch the Nutcracker on Tuesday night at the Barclay Theatre in Irvine.  The music is wonderful and the ballet delightful.  My favorite part was the little kids dressed up in the sheep costumes...so cute!  All the dancers had such amazing bodies.  The costumes and scenery were spectacular as well.  Definitely recommend watching this.

Thursday night we went to see Tosca.  Puccinni's opera is a tragic tale of a seductive prima donna who must make a choice between giving her sexual favors to an evil police chief or the life of her lover.  The dramatic score is definitely moving.  Afterwards we went to a complimentary reception at McCormick & Schmick's for wine and appetizers.

Emily's birthday party at Villa Sorriso in Old Town Pasadena...the food is pretty good...I tried the chicken fettucine, the lasagna, and the salmon

The Company Christmas Party at Portofino in Redondo Beach

I stayed for the open bar and appetizers but had to leave before dinner to drive up to Mammoth.  Didn't get in until 3am.  The snow was pretty good for so early in the season.  We stayed at Viewpoint Condos which was really nice.  They're across the street from the Village so it's a short 5 minute walk to the gondola that takes you to Canyon Lodge.  It was cheap too...worked out to $59/person for the whole weekend.  What I really like is that they have a sauna/steam room with a cold shower inside...the alternating hot and cold feels even better than the outdoor jacuzzi which they also have.  I tried some jumps in the terrain park...landed about half of them.  But the ones where I ate it really hurt...I still feel a little sore.  I am definitely planning on investing in some butt and knee pads before I try more jumps.  On the drive back we stopped at Mount Whitney Restaurant in Lone Pine...their bowtie pasta and meatball soup was so good.

Happy hour at Whiskey Creek...really delicious steak for $10

View of Mammoth from the top

lunch at Canyon Lodge

Roadtrip to San Francisco

There was definitely lots of bonding time with the girls on this trip...you definitely learn a lot of interesting things about friends on long car rides   We stayed at the Monarch Hotel in downtown SF...cute little place but the service was horrible...they never even cleaned our room!

We got into SF pretty late Friday night so decided to just grab some late night drinks at Element Lounge across the street from our hotel.

The next day we went shopping at Macys and H&M.  I got a new dress for my company Christmas party this Friday and a new pair of 7 jeans.  Yay for the 20% Friends and Family discount, hehe.  I loved all the Christmas decorations that were up.

Later that night we had dinner at E&O Trading Company.  It's a nice Asian fusion place.  The food was pleasing but not extraordinary.  I ordered the Tiger's Paw, a mixture of several rums and pineapple juice, which turned out to be quite potent.

We decided to go clubbing at Space 550.  The venue left something to be desired, rather like a large warehouse in the middle of nowhere, but after 4 rounds of drinks we were all having a blast, haha.

Can't wait until the next girls weekend out!

Some thoughts on my 2005 trip to Vietnam:

• one week is way too short...didn't get to do much but spend a lot of time with family...I met 13 cousins for the first time (and that's just my mom's side)


• hardly anyone drives a car...most of the traffic is motorbikes and bicycles...everyone drives crazy...stopping at red lights is optional, they drive against oncoming traffic, nobody wears a helmet...there were so many times I thought I was going to die


• intellectually I knew I was going to a third world country but that still didn't prepare me emotionally for the poverty that I faced...we take so many things for granted here.  And yet even with their lack of material possessions I think in some ways they are much happier than many here.  Families actually just sit down and talk about their lives and joke around instead of wasting precious time in front of a TV or computer screen.  The average salary is about $50-$150/month.  Everything is much cheaper though...a bowl of pho costs about $1.  The exchange rate is $1 = 15,000 Vietnamese dong...so with $100 US you are a millionaire, haha.


• I tried eating goat brain for the first time (not very good).  The Vietnamese beer is very light and they usually serve it with ice so it's like drinking water.  Of course, I stayed away from chicken because of the bird flu.


• had an 8 hour layover in Korea on the way back...this actually worked out great because I got a free 5 hour tour of Seoul which included a free lunch of bulgogi and kimchee.  Korea seems expensive compared to Vietnam.  The exchange rate is $1 = 1000 won but the prices of things were comparable or just slightly cheaper than here.


• the flight was really long...about 18 hours there and 16 hours back...especially since I was sitting next to a fat person and there were crying kids.  I saw a lot of movies though...Must Love Dogs (cute and funny romantic comedy), The Island (kind of lame plot but the action is decent), Cinderella Man (a tearjerker), and Stealth (the leading guy and Jessica Biel are hot but that's about it).  Flew Asiana Airlines...service is pretty good although the food is not that great for an international flight...at least alcoholic drinks are free though, hehe

Now onto what most of you really care about...the pics:

Typical street in Vietnam...a lot of people open little stores out of their homes

My 80 year old grandma...she still walks everyday to church to pray...I love her so much...it was very emotional seeing her for the first time in 25 years

My cousin, Hien and her friend at Monaco Bistro where we had dinner one night...this was the only Americanized place I ate at...everywhere else was authentic local food

The nightlife in Vietnam is not that great...the main thing to do is hang out at coffee places such as Cafe Cat Dang

The family and I took a 2 day trip out to some of the beaches near Saigon...these are my cousins' kids...aren't they so cute?

The first day we went to Long Hai...this beach was more secluded and empty

Then we drove to Vung Tau where we spent the night at Thang Muoi Hotel and spent the second day here

I actually rode in a cyclo...more just for the experience...but I wouldn't recommend this as a great mode of transportation (yes I got a perm while I was in Vietnam...that's why my hair is kinda curly)

We stopped at Long Thanh on the way back to Saigon for some fresh milk...my aunt with some of my cousins

We went to a karaoke bar, Saigon Nho, and I actually got up and sang, lolz

My last day in Saigon, we went to an amusement park.

I love how my cousins are so fobby, haha

Having fun making silly poses

A Day in Korea:

In front of the Presidential Palace

Posing in a traditional Hanbok at the Seoul Museum of History

Outside the restaurant where we had lunch

The toilet at Incheon airport has a red button that when you push rotates clean plastic onto the seat

Too tired to post about Vietnam...still uploading all the pics.  Here are some pics from before I left...taken with my new camera (Canon SD400).

Work dinner at the Proud Bird by LAX:

  

Coworkers birthday at Basement Lounge in Long Beach: