Midweek

It was a lovely day midweek: the sun was hard at work warming up the wintry land, while booming clouds sprang across the skies to provide occasional, soothing shelter. Work ended at one, and Eli ordered in Japanese teriyaki for our team lunch. Languishing on our full stomachs, ideas started popping up about the best way to spend the beautiful afternoon (it would be sinful to waste it otherwise!) Soon it was settled: Gary would bring us to this exciting joint near the suburbs for some GO-Karting action!

The journey, bringing us from Danville through long, desolate roads in the suburbs to the joint, was unforgettable by itself. Eli drove the 7-seater around, showing us ranches of horses, cows, even the rare llamas (camels with sheep wool on them!). There were some detours, detailing interesting places where Gary biked past. I never seemed to get tired of the hills and greenery... haha.

And finally, destination: Go-Kart. What do I remember?

The shuddering murmur of the engine. The burning smell of diesel and tires. Your vision, encased in aluminium, shrouded through a visor. A continuous landscape of scarred tracks and black walls, interrupted by spinning monsters that crashed you. Or you crashed them.

It was my first time go-karting. Very, very fun :) I did alot of reckless drifting and banging into the walls, and the jarring impact really goes down to the bone! Haha, good stuff. GS was a complete fail, and wound up doing 5 circuit runs less than us. Which means everyone lapped him umpteen times... you can see the scores below.

The rest of the day was spent with GS and Toby, exploring more of the towns around San Francisco... I just enjoy being with these guys so much! Really appreciate how they've been perfect hosts this whole time, bringing me around and catering to my every need. Owe a big, big thank you to them :)

---

The beautiful weather continued.

Gary, needing to get out of the office for the day (he says he's prone to causing destruction while he's in the office haha), took me and his son Max out for a roadtrip. Well... except usually I associate "roadtrip" with a tough four-wheel SUV, or a sedan with peeps screaming out of the windows.

So would you call riding in a BMW M5 a roadtrip?

Oh well. You get what you get :p

We went cruising to the coast near Cliff House and the Sutro Bath ruins. A really unique attraction, accompanied by a rocky shoreline and crashing waves. We didn't explore every nook and cranny, but it was exciting just the same :)

The Bath used to look like this!

Next stop: the Marin Headlands across the world-renowned Golden Gate Bridge.

We rode way up to the top, where breathtaking scenery of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge lay before us. The ruins of an old coastal fortress emerged out of the hills for us to explore too.

Close by, as we traversed the coastline, we found the Point Bonita lighthouse and Bird Island (without birds, they'd flown for the winter).

Nearby was beautiful seaside town Sausalito, and Point Reyes... Gary left it for us to explore next time!

We stopped for lunch at Mill Valley, a small but quaint town with an European feel to it. I kinda liked its architecture...somewhat Victorian, like old british cottage-ish. Tried my first burger in the U.S, a gigantic beef burger topped with an overly generous serving of Blue Cheese! It was really, really strong... i knew i should have gotten cheddar :p

We were sleepy after a long day of sightseeing and exploration... but we just couldn't miss out on the Muir Woods, a sacred grove of giant redwood sequoia trees, so we wound through the hills further, into the nature reserve. It bore great historical importance, being co-founded by President Roosevelt (that "Teddy" Roosevelt) and patronized by the U.N. committee. Deeply humbling to hear of the lives of the great pioneers that cared, like the naturalist John Muir, whom the woods was named after. These people fight for the things that are bigger than us, and themselves. Things larger than human society. We have the fortune today to look at what they had the foresight to see, envision and build.

At the same time, i don't think you have to be fighting for something more impactful on the world to qualify for greatness. Everyone can achieve greatness by doing the things they do. As Leo Tolstoy extolled in "War and Peace", we all make history, each and everyone of us; peasant to peasant, royalty to royalty. We all have our own paths in life. And i think it is so wrong to think that you're doing something more important than others, that you deserve more respect for doing so, that your time is worth more than others. Because anything we're doing can be so inconsequential in the course of history, yet so cardinal to the life of someone!

It was delightful talking to Gary too, learning from his experiences, understanding the american lifestyle and the values he held dear (and already tried to impart to young Max, haha). And about how financial trading is a trade, not a career, and how it makes a difference. In particular, i could relate to the fact that there is really so much more than the career landscape in SG that students like me can see from the tiny, tiny well that is SG. I'm tired of people gushing about, say, a banking or consulting job, about the "prestige" or the "high pay", when there is the world out there. Yes, the world. Shouldn't you WANT to see the world before making your choices? Or do you think you already know "enough"?

Call me stupid then. Because I'm still trying to know what i do not know. And slowly but steadily, i'm finding out :)

-----------------------
First week, midweek.

California Dawning

Gooood Morning California!

It's my third day here in San Francisco, and everything's been new, varied and interesting. Plus I had great conversations with fantastic new friends and people.

My flight here was really memorable, and gave a great start to the trip. On my first connecting flight to Hongkong, I sat with a solemn, black-suited guy, more interested in his financial newspaper than me.. but on the longer flight to SF, i was with Danny, a bohemian guy - somehow his clothes, demeanor all seemed to scream "I'm an ARTIST!!" - and he was complete madness. I chatted with him, and he asked me what my job was. To my own surprise, i just said the first thing that came to my mind, "I'm an aspiring writer." I guess when people meet a writer, they feel a natural need to share their most exciting life story (and whose life story isn't exciting to themselves?). So he did.

And it was absolutely fun, crazy, and beautiful to listen to him. I jotted some notes down - hope to organize it later as a story! Didn't get his contacts, and Danny left off saying, "You'll find me in a corner of the world. Somewhere."

Well, I finally touched down in SF. It's cold, windy, and there just aren't people on the streets - everyone's galloping around in big cars and SUVs, and the BART, their equivalent of MRT, is literally desolate. GS and his friend and colleague Toby drove to fetch me to their place. And what a grand estate in the suburbs it was!

It's a beautiful place with scenic views, snuck between low, rolling hills that went on and on. I got to know and talk to the boss of the trading firm, Gary, who rented the house, and their other colleagues Elijah and Matt. They're all Americans, except for Matt, who's Korean.

GS' company is really special. It's a small team, they live and work in the same place, and their hours range from 6am to 1pm. Once the trading floor closes, they too stop their work and have the rest of the day to themselves! Plus the company culture is really amazing, it's a very cozy environment with no pressure at all (except on your part to earn on your trades). Gary brings the team out for lunch everyday and they're genuinely interested in talking and getting to know each other. It may be the people factor - i easily spent an hour (during their work hours, oops) chatting with Gary and Eli, about their travels, their missionary work, families. I really enjoy and appreciate staying here with them.

In the morning, i'd watch Warren Buffett on CNBC giving common sense comments, then look at the guys trading and see as their lots get gobbled up by other traders. Pretty interesting stuff. I'd then wait for the drizzle to stop, and wander off to the Sycamore Valley Nature Preserve, a vast expanse of grassy, green lowlands littered with great, withering oaks (it's the winter now). I lumbered up muddy paths ringing the rolling hills, and saw hares flit swiftly across the fields, and birds chirping among the oaks. I chased after grazing cows who stared curiously at me, till my wits gave way and i backed off. It feels as though Nature never gave up on America - humans may colonize the lands, but they will never tame the wilds. Looking to meet the roving deer, turkeys and the lone coyote on the other side of the hills tomorrow!

Descending from the hike, i'd pass by Tasajara Nursery, a largish farm for shrubs, trees and flowering varieties. It's a very pretty place with many interesting things to learn about, looking at the various species and types of plants. I talked to K, an old man who immigrated from Japan, studied business here and then pioneered the Nursery business now spanning the state. He lightly exhorted about the work ethics of the pioneers of his generation - working 15 hours a day, 365 days a year. It was insightful to hear his experience in the shrubbery business. Masako, his wife, was really friendly and endearing too. I somehow poured out my concerns to her about what i wanted to do in life, while she shared some valuable advice.

It feels refreshing to be out here, having great conversations with people who care, with bosses who are never too busy to talk. I guess that is one major appeal of the US and western cultures... the slower pace of life, the openness of the people.

Another day, we rode the BART downtown, then took a cable car ride through Chinatown to Fisherman's Wharf. Very lovely place, touristy and still beautiful, with all sorts of quirky shops and stalls amidst the docks loaded with ships and cruisers. Seagulls glide above your heads unabashedly, as you peek into the distance where the infamous Alcatraz Island - The Rock - loomed ominously in the gloomy horizons.

At the end of Pier 39, we browsed through shops selling breads, bath salts, candies, chocolates, Celtic stuff - all popping up randomly from nowhere! Turn the corner, and we find ourselves face to face with a throng of sea lions, basking lazily atop wooden platforms that floated inside the pier. They howled and yelped, posing for photos and begging for a fishy meal.

Further down the wharf, we entered the Musee Mecanique - an antique museum featuring some of the oldest arcade machines in the US. Fun, interesting, and somewhat hilarious... entertainment must be really scarce back then!

Dinner, atScoma's: a seafood restaurant mysteriously tucked behind dark alleys.

CIOPPINO ALLA PESCATORE

A San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Original. Prawns, Shrimp, Clams, Sea Scallops,
Fresh Fish, and a 1/2 Dungeness Crab cracked in the Shell in a rich tomato broth.

Fantabulously fresh, absolutely flavorful, a bowl of seafood goodness all crunched up and served in a tender, juicy mix. Definitely a must-try!

Everyday serves up a new menu of fun, excitement and the unknown :)

Freundschaft.

Spent a good, full-bodied day today running around places and meeting friends!

Finally grabbed my german residence visa from the embassy, then went to school to meet Maran and discuss our FYP. We had some really exciting ideas and projects to work on, so i bet it's going to be a blast of a time next year!

He also passed me some pictures from our atypical dinner outing with JY... when we cooked our own dinner of unagi, silverfish and fried rice, then chopped and ate sugar canes raw from the cane for dessert! Never a dull moment with these frens :)

Afterwards, we browsed through the school career fair, and grabbed some brochures and such. Lunch was a hot, spicy meal with Mr Sun, followed by some Xbox 360 Kinetics fun in his room haha. He couldn't wait to show off his guitar skills too:

In the evening, had a nice chat with JY when he passed me my photoshoot pics. These are for the NTU College of Engineering, where I represented Computer Engineering :) Probably used for Openhouse publications and stuff.

Finished off the day having dinner at Gab and Dan's place, it always feels too long since we've last met. Those asses...always claiming to be busy haha.

Well, it felt great to meet up with my frens before i go :)
Auf Wiedersehen, Tschüss und Bis Bald!