Avanzar

As you can see, I've made quite a few changes with regards to the blog's layout. I started off with a new header background; finally one that has a little more personalization. My background to date primarily lies with the two institutions that are pictured in fading grey, so I figured it would be a nice play on the dual-meaning of backgrounds. The pictures are set against a photograph I took during my trip to LA on Santa Monica Beach.. basically it's the Pacific horizon at sunset. It really was quite a sight - perhaps the most lasting image from that Californian winter trip. Of course, the symbolic nature of the horizon cannot be undermined.

I guess I am at the starting point of what could be a defining career, and it is definitely significant enough to warrant these changes - a commemorative act, if I may say so..

Oh and Happy Merdeka Day, fellow Malaysians! I see a lot of words being strewn and cast all over the social media.. words that give me hope that perhaps that 'bright future' I envision can be achieved much sooner.. If only everyone would simply practice what they preach. Patriotism shouldn't be something that lights up for only a day, or even a month every year. May we hold on to this spirit and move forward in unison, towards a future that keeps getting better..

Summer's End

It seems I didn't manage a final post prior to my departure from KL as I was overwhelmingly swamped with all sorta stuff- from outings with friends and visiting relatives to packing my luggage and trying to keep it within the weight limitations. Twas' with a heavy heart that I had to leave my loved ones yet again, my tears held back by the mere knowledge that I would return to them - sooner or later.

The flight back was nice, but it didn't seem as great as my initial trip back home. A one-day stopover in LA gave Kwong Hann (who was traveling with me) and me a chance to revisit the City of Angels, but little did we know that randomness would prevail.

As soon as we arrived at LAX, we were looking to store away our luggages for a day, to no avail. This resulted in us having to book a room at some hotel called Hacienda, albeit at a really cheap price ($60 for both of us) thanks to a lady at the airport. From there, the plan was to revisit Santa Monica, and perhaps walk along the beach spread against the setting sun - all the way to Venice Beach to catch some of their street performances. After quite some deliberation in search of change for the bus, we finally got onto the bus - only to realize a little while later that it was headed the wrong way! I knew that the other terminal which we were headed towards was Long Beach - a place we failed to visit on our last trip. Hence, we decided to stay on the bus and go all the way to Long Beach, passing through the southern suburbs of LA. What we didn't expect was for the trip to take more than an hour!

Either way, we got there and had no clue as to what attractions were around, especially since we arrived to the city under twilight skies. Unfazed, we simply walked into the nearby Renaissance Hotel and grabbed a booklet to look for attractions and more importantly - a place to eat. To our pleasant surprise, the city around the lagoon is peppered with tons of award-winning restaurants. What perplexed me though was the lack of people around us. The place is really beautiful, and is well-maintained, just how a tourist attraction should be. Yet there was a certain emptiness around us - a rare tranquility within landscapes tamed by mankind.

After walking around and about for half an hour, we finally decided dinner was top priority and decided to hunt down a restaurant, although we were determined to avoid burning a hole in our pockets at one of those award-winning restaurants. After much deliberating (we did that quite a bit that day), we finally decided on Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que. We never heard of the place before but apparently it's a franchise all over the US, stemming from the Midwest! As much as I would love to gloat on and on about this gem of a diner, the bottomline is that you get massive portions of food that you'd probably feel is worth more than what you're paying for - and it tastes incredible! The best part is their original barbeque sauce, which is the best I've tasted all my life. They also have the 'Devil's Spit' which is a spiced-up version of their original base. These sauces make anything they serve taste incredible, plus we had a really nice and friendly waitress to make our dining experience all the more pleasant. Loved it!

During dinner, while flipping through the guidebook from the Renaissance, we found a familiar name in the Queen Mary - holy crap! The much-famed Queen Mary was docked at the lagoon right in Long Beach, and we hadn't the faintest of ideas! After dinner we walked around the lagoon so Kwong Hann could get some nice shots of the spook-ridden ship, but it was way too late for us to get onboard onto the famed decks, let alone catch the Paranormal Tour and other exciting stuff.

From there, we boarded the Metro Train back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep. Indeed it turned out to be an amazing adventure, albeit a short one. Regardless, it was the perfect end to a rather long summer break. Now, I'm onto the final hurdles of my undergraduate days....


Come what may.

An Intermission?

8 days had passed in Los Angeles.. looking back, it was an excellent trip. I'd recommend it to any of you for an end-year trip.. Here's a little food for thought though, for those planning to make your way there any time soon.

1. Downtown LA is an excellent place to stay. Not too many subway stations downtown though (as opposed to Chicago), but staying close to the Union Station won't hurt.

2. Bid for hotels online months in advance. We really had it pretty cheap.

3. If you've been to Times Square in New York, you'll hardly find Hollywood much fun.

4. Never plan too much on a Sunday.. almost everything's closed and the same goes for Christmas for that matter..

5. Public transportation will do, as long as you have a map in hand at all times. It's more fun as well, as you try to find stations and landmarks by foot (as opposed to signboards and parking spots if you drive..).

6. Give Universal Studios an entire day. Disneyland calls for a day or two. You'd find so much more in Disneyworld, Florida.

7. At Disneyland, make sure you don't purchase a One-Day Park Hopper.. seriously, a day's not enough to catch both parks, and you'd be better off spending your whole day on a single park.

8. In Disneyland, make sure you drop by at the City Hall to grab your 'First Time in Disneyland' badge. It's free, and it makes a sweet souvenir.

9. Never fixate on one cuisine. LA has so much to offer, so hop around. I strongly recommend the El Paseo Inn (oldest restaurant in LA) on Olvera Street for Mexican cuisine.

10. If you see a signboard that says Micheli's, walk away from it.. be it in Universal City or Hollywood (Heh.. this one just had to be in the list).

With all that done, we were pretty much satisfied (personally I wish I had stayed in LA longer.. just for the weather). All set to go home, no? NOPE.. We were only halfway through our Californian adventure! A short plane ride, and it was hello San Francisco!

Dreamin' Californication

Here I am again, from Des Moines! I'm putting up here for a few hours before my flight from the Des Moines airport. The bus ride was smooth, yet the trip to the bus station was once again the killer. No, it was not the slushy streets or snowy trails.. it wasn't even snowing, as was the case when Kwong Hann made a similar journey a couple of days before me. 'Twas the wind.. vicious gusts from the depths of hell. For the first time in my life, I completely lost all control of a part of my body.. in this case the fingers on my right hand. It did get better after some time, but it was a strange feeling indeed.

Either way, here I am at Julian's place, hours before my flight to Chicago, then Los Angeles.. Yep, you read right. I travelled all the way to Des Moines to catch a darned connecting flight that takes me back to O'Hare airport, Chicago. I tried calling the airline company to see if I could just catch the flight at O'Hare without having to go to Des Moines, but they insisted it was a 'change' to my flight plans and I would have to be charged hundreds if I planned to do so (I continued debating against this to a point where the lady just kept repeating "I'm sorry sir, but those are the rules."). Naturally I chose the cheaper option : A 40-buck bus ride to Des Moines.

Aite, so the stage is set for one heck of a trip to the west coast.. first LA, then San Francisco. A fitting finale to an excellent year.. Here's to the new year, and my hopes that it'll be just as good, if not better. On that note, I wish you all an excellent year ahead, an the best of the current holidays.. Felices fiestas y próspero año nuevo.