I popped 'em open and they cracked me up!

Ok, before you judge me, please let me clarify.

I am not an alcoholic ... really. I only drink on occasions ... it's true!
And these 4 bottles are actually consumed over a period of 2-3 weeks.

Why I want to blog about them? Well, these made me smile ... and I do not mean the kind of smiles you get when u are drunk.



This is it. See .. it's a very refined drink.

Handcrafted ... sounds like some wood carvings or maybe expensive jewelry or something.

Microbrewed ... that means you can't get it everywhere.

12 fl. oz. that's just a tiny little bit ... you can drive even after consuming one of these. See, there's nothing saying that it's alchoholic.




There .. the name of the brew.

Saint Arnold.

Patron Saint of Brewers. Can't get anymore holier than this.

And why it cracks me up you say?

Here is why.



And the Finale!



Cheers!

After-Effects of a Hurricane

An insight to my life before, during and after sheltering at home from Hurricane.

Oh this got to be an interesting post. What can one do while sheltering at home and how do one conquer fear during the storm? The peak of the storm actually lasted only for around 5 hours. However the effects on me can be noticed from 5 hours before the storm all the way till today.

About 5 hours before the storm -
This is the time when fear starts to creep in. Before this, I was still taking it lightly. Feeling smug that I've got some kind of supplies with me and I'm not staying in a mandatory evacuation zone. In fact, I'm kind of ignorant on where the mandatory evacuation zones are. Fear overcame me when I was surfing the net and came across the zip codes as well as maps of the mandatory evacuation zones. It was just like two zip codes away! That means it's just 10 - 15 minutes drive away!

After that enlightening moment, I was stuck to Channel 009 (it's the channel giving 24hrs non-stop coverage on the Hurricane). Listening to every morsel of information given out by the media, watching every move of the Hurricane and observing with fear and excitement the rising waters, high wave breaks and strong winds through live broadcast from the coastal areas. All the while thinking of the impending doom as it is impossible to evacuate now that the storm is so near. Back then, I wrote my first post on the Hurricane and set it to publish somewhat after the storm, mostly to calm my nerves as well as to notify my friends and family that I should still be ok even if I could not be contacted.

During the storm -
Initially the wind was just enough to ruffle leaves and I was lulled to sleep by the sound of it. The wind starts to pick up at about 2a.m. I was roughly awoken by the rattling sound of the window. The scene was almost like that of a horror movie. Howling winds, branches shaken violently, the rattling of the window panes due to the gusting wind and ... you won't believe this ... flickering lights! But ... no worries ... instead of ghosts, I'm actually more afraid of power outage.

After the storm -
Ok, ok ... I know the title said something about after-effects. So fast forward, 2 days after the storm, everything seemed well with my place. There's power, water, supplies and 4 subsequent days of holiday!!! I do not need to ration my food to sustain for extended period as the grocery stores are back in business. What to do, what to do?

*HUGE GRIN* Well... me being myself; I cooked, eat, drink, sleep, watch movies, series, anime and simply partied at home for 4 whole days! To the point that I'm actually bored of this. Then comes the after-effects ... ... my expanded waistline!!! Not that it's anything to be proud of to begin with ... but it's something that no one wants to grow. My horror was confirmed when a colleague commented that I looked ... my, my this is sad ... BIGGER! After which he coyly reasoned that it might be the t-shirt, but still ...

This is why it took me so long to update the blog, I was busy doing sit-ups after work instead.

Growing mushrooms...

It's been 6 days, longest unplanned holiday that I've ever had! Last Friday, in preparation of Hurricane Ike and Monday - Wednesday due to power outage in my office.

Everyday, I would check my email to look out for the newest information from the administration whether power is back in the office. On the first day of closure, Monday that is, I was really happy to know that I get a day of rest. On Monday, I was finally able to finish the book that I've brought along with me to U.S. The book, "New Ideas from Dead Economists", is my first attempt in understanding economics. I have no idea what prompted me to buy this book in the first place. One of the interesting ideas that was presented in this book is that spending will eventually strengthen the economy. Furthermore, if consumers save more instead of spending it, it will actually send the economy into recession. It is an interesting hypothesis that is very much embraced in the "Credit Card Society", but personally I could never agree to it.

By the end of Monday, I got another email stating that my office will still be closed on Tuesday. Fine, I thought, another day of rest. I've finished my book, so maybe I could try watching TV and movies. One thing I realized about Cable TV here in the States is that, regardless of how many channels you have, most of them just kept on repeating the same show over and over again. Boredom started to creep upon me.

Another email was received, and here I am writing this blog in the middle of the day on Wednesday. I could not believe I'd say this but I'm really eager to get back to office. After completing this post, I'd check my email again. Let's hope this time the email says that power is back on and I should report to work tomorrow. Else, I think I could start harvesting the mushrooms already. ^_^

Los Angeles: The City of Angels. (Part 2)

Day 3 in L.A. and the weather was really nice and chilly in the morning. Today, I'm lucky. My host, MW, decided to show me around and be my travel partner for the day. This also means the comfort of a car! yay!

Downside to driving is, I have to spent the night before copying all the directions to the places I plan to go. Consequences for being too cheap to buy a GPS.

Santa Monica beach and pier is one of the must-see sights in L.A. I guess the popular Ferris Wheel on the Pier can be recognized from a lot of movies. It's around 8a.m. when we reach Santa Monica and boy is it chilly in the morning. Lucky we arrived early as the beach and pier is usually crowded. I love it when it's not too crowded, there's a certain charm to the place, especially the Pier. Walking on the boardwalk, people watching, enjoying the breeze and best of there's a street performer playing sax. However, I didn't get to ride the Ferris Wheel *sigh*... we're too early.


Recognize this? It's the famous Santa Monica Pier with the Ferris Wheel on top of it.


Baywatch? These lifeguards are really hot ... and they came in two choices ... babes or hunks!


yours truly :) on the pier


Activities on the pier includes fishing...


Performers on the pier. This guy plays great sax! Really tempted to buy his CD.


Having my cuppa, enjoying the view.


Too bad it's not opened yet, else I'd be able to take some pictures from the Ferris Wheel.


The miles long Santa Monica beach.

Next stop was the Venice Beach and its famous Ocean Front Walk. It's known as Venice Beach most probably due to the canals that run through the housing area there. The canals, bridges and houses are really picturesque. As for the Ocean Front Walk, colorful is an understatement for this place. The walls are painted with different shades of graffiti, the streets are filled with all different kinds of stalls (from hotdogs to marijuana! no kidding!) and the people; be it the tourists, the locals exercising or the street performers. However, this is a big one, the parking is simply outrageous! Metered parking spots are very faraway and limited, while the so called "Public" parking is crazy expensive!!! Min. 18USD per entry and this increases with demand! I've seen one spot goes from 20 to 30USD in a span of 2 hours.


Peaceful canal with mandarins at Venice Beach...envy those who lives in these canal houses.


Isn't it a beautiful? With mirror image on the water as well.


Don't you wish you live here?


The crowd at Venice Beach.


Active Californians rollerblading and cycling. The odd one out will be the tourist :)


Seemed to be a significant monument of some kind. No idea what it is though, forgot to bring Lonely Planet along.


This guy will only move about when tipped.


This fella talks for almost 15 minutes without any real stunts...he ended up being booed by the crowd.


Colorful graffiti...


Another one. There are countless actually, these are the better ones.


See the crowd along Ocean Front Walk

After hours of walking, we had our lunch at a nice cafe by the sidewalk. I had an interestingly, refreshing and tasty ravioli with citrus sauce. MW, however had a boring sandwich. :P



The final destination for the day is Getty Center, one of the best free must go destinations in L.A. It's a private funded yet free, art's museum build on top of a hill. The Center is truly amazing and picturesque. The exhibitions however, are a little difficult for me to comprehend and enjoy. After all, I'm an analytical, practical and boring engineer. Arts, especially ancients ones are really not my cup of tea. Therefore, I went for a guided architecture tour instead of an exhibition tour. I would say the tour is kind of educative, though I might not be able to understand completely. We stayed at G.C. until 8pm for the beautiful sunset and nightview.


The Getty Center. Really loved this picture... the white modern building with a background or blue skies and a pair of tree with contrasting leaves.


Inside the Getty Center.


The day view of L.A ... or part of it.


Lame attempt at creative photography. Tell me if you like it.


I like this one better. Diagonal lines.


The garden at Getty Center. Ain't it colorful?


Introduced to the perfection of the architect. Looks like only a single tree?


It's actually a row of them planted in a perfectly straight line along the pathway.


The tiles used in the center are from the same quarry which supplies to the Coliseum, Italy.
It's aged at the bottom of a lake and there are actually fossils on them.


Can't get enough of blue skies.


Look closely ... This statue is really having a "high". The title of this sculpture..."Angel of the Citadel".


Arc planned in the architectural drawings to frame the view of the twin trees. Lovely.


The sunset view with several layers of colors in the sky.


Night view of L.A.




With that I end my trip in L.A. The next was just a long wait in the airport. I would say it's an exciting and interesting trip for me with different kinds of new experiences. :D

Los Angeles: The City of Angels. (Part 1)

Los Angeles, it's Spanish for City of Angels. It's a wonderful place to be in, the architecture, the pleasant weather, the colourful people, the street graffiti and of course the famous beaches. A whole world of difference compared to where I am in Texas. This trip to L.A is also my first experience of travelling alone... somewhat.

The planning of this trip began when I got to know that my housemate will be posted in L.A. That translates into free accommodation! The next step is to get free flights! That comes in the form of the home trips back to Malaysia I get every 3 months in US. My boss was nice enough to approve my 4 day stopover request in L.A (it costs an extra 300USD... bummer isn't it? It's practically the same route and flight. Just because the stopover is >24hours, that much extra is charged!).

The 4 day trip is essentially just a 2 day trip. I arrived in L.A. around 7p.m. after 19hrs flight, and anly reached the hotel at 10p.m. On my last day, I'll have to leave early in the morning as my flight is at 12p.m.

Anyways, I traveled alone on the next day. My itenary includes Chinatown, Downtown and Hollywood. There are pros and cons of travelling alone. I can go anywhere and do anything I want to, when I want to. The catch is that there's no one for me to share with. When I saw the interesting compass in Chinatown Metro Station, the glimmering facade of Walt Disney Concert Hall, intriguing sculpture in front of MOCA, wonderful mix of sight, sound, smell and taste in the Central Market and the famous "HOLLYWOOD" sign; there's no one to take pics and enjoy it with me. Miss you a lot then, CH.

Chinatown: There practically nothing much there except that you can see some Chinese themed buildings and an interesting Compass.


Interesting compass with inscriptions of the virtues of the Chinese.

Downtown: This is the biggest area I have to cover on foot. Went to see the City Hall, which is not interesting at all. Just a big white building. Then, onwards to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. This is a very modern Cathedral, in a shade of beige that reminds you of the rocks and sands in a desert. There is a water feature at the entrance with multi-lingual engravings; really reflects the multi-cultured community in L.A. After that is the controversial but equally magnificent Walt Disney Concert Hall. I even get the chance to do a complete audio guided tour of the whole facility and it is very informative. It's a leisurely stroll after that, covering the Museum of Contemporary Arts (MOCA), California Plaza where there is a live jazz band lunchtime performance amidst numerous fountains and waterfalls, the Grand Central Market and Angel's Flight.


L.A. City Hall: Big white thing... nothing to shout about.


Cathedral: Modern architecture, with colors that reminds you of the desert.


Melodious chime of church bells.


They actually have pipe organ in the Cathedral!


The multi-lingual water feature.


Aah...simply magnificent curves of aluminum sheets. The Walt Disney Concert Hall. Controversial because it caused significant rise in temperature on the streets due to the gleaming aluminum. But that problem was solved... that's why the aluminum is dull now.


Isn't it a sight to behold? The warm colors and coziness of wood panels. Did you notice the jumble of wooden structures that jut out from the floor? Those are the pipes of the organ...I think.


There's even a garden on the rooftop of the Concert Hall.


It's known as the Blue Ribbon Garden ... inscribed on the floor


This water feature is a blue rose made of expensive china broken into pieces!


The L.A. skyscrapers...from the Blue Ribbon Garden.


Interesting sculpture in front of MOCA.


Angel's Flight

Hollywood: I would say Hollywood is simply too hyped up. IMHO, Downtown is a much more interesting place to visit compared to Hollywood. But, I did almost all of the touristy stuffs in Hollywood except for the Hollywood Stars Home tour. This Stars home tour is mostly like a drive-by of certain people's home and it holds absolutely no appeal to me ... I'm not a teenager anymore and I certainly do not idolize any actor/actress. Anyway, I did all the famous buildings and sights (the Pantages, Capitol Records, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, El Capitan Theater, "HOLLYWOOD" sign, etc.). The most interesting sights in Hollywood are the street performers. Oh, oh almost forgot... there's even a Giordano store in Hollywood & Highland - an upscale destination for entertainment, style and dining. Impressive.


I guess, these stars do not require any introductions.


The Pantages


Metro station at Hollywood.. filled with film reels.


Touristy stuffs that everyone did in Hollywood :D


El Capitan Theater with a HUGE WALL-E


*Updated: Huge WALL-E as requested by "iamthewitch"


Capitol Records Tower


Again, no explanations required... but it is taken at a very far distance with 200mm zoom lens *grin*


Grauman's Chinese Theater where the Star Home tours begins. There are loads of street performers here as well. Beware though, if you snap pics, you tip.


Kodak Theater ... home of the Academy Awards


See if u can see Elmo, Tigger, Barney and Jimmy Neutron in the background. I'm very stingy, so I have to snap from afar to avoid tipping.


Giordano! in Hollywood! never knew they had a high-end line.

The day ends with me having extremely sore feet from all the walking about. My wonderful host was kind enough to take me out for dinner in the comfort of her car. Thank you sooooooo much!