long long time ago.

so it's been awhile since i landed back in singapore. amidst the west wing dvd marathon (i'm already halfway through season 3, you wouldn't believe how addictive the show is, and how muc politics you can learn), i have done unpacking, watched more dvds, met up with friends, ate local food, watched transformers, perspired perpetually as my body tries to acclimatize, and still very unwilling to tidy up my messy room and update my blog and write about the last 6 months.

well now that i've finally gotten around to organizing the 7000+ pictures that i took over the last 6 months, now it's time to continue with where i left off with pictures.

ok now photobucket has decided to give up on me. so let's deal with words here.

my last entry was made in san francisco. it was the night after we came back from biking the golden gate bridge. i remember 'cos i was so tired and my butt was aching from all the cycling. but i loved san francisco a lot. i love its climate, its people, the shopping, the neighbourhoods, the culture (although i'm still upset i didn't get to visit museums there, or in LA), the liberal scene, the buzzing financial district (SF being the financial capital of the west coast), the sights.

anyway the next day we got up way too early to meet our guide for the yosemite (yo-si-mee-tee) national park tour. it was a very small tour just 13 of us. and our guide doubled up as the driver. the drive there took about 3 hours and we packed lunch at a safeway at our rest stop. we saw the usual sights of yosemite. the tunnel view, el capitan, bridalveil falls, yosemite falls, the half dome etc. the sights were breathtaking and it was a great geography lesson. i'm convinced that secondary school students should have the opportunity to visit places like yosemite and grand canyon because it makes geography come alive and SO interesting. i wished i could see all that when i was mugging for geog O-levels. and it turns out that our guide was from university of washington! geology major. small world afterall. after we got back to the hostel, we decided to celebrate our last night in SF by going out for drinks around union square. cheesecake factory on top of macy's. tropical martini.

cheers to a beautiful city. and a well-spent summer vacation in the united states.

our last day was spent shopping last minute and the annual gay pride parade along market street. SF is a major gay hub and it was THEIR day. and they are so proud of it. SF's gay pride parade is the 2nd biggest event in california after the rose bowl in LA. so it was once-in-a-lifetime that i was able to be part of the parade. well at least stand by the sidelines and watch the parade and cheer. their parade is something like our chingay, complete with floats and bands and all, but the crowds are much more lively and they love to be there! in contrast to chingay's people where they always look like they are forced to do it. anyway it was a great parade.

so we got on our way to SFO, got on our united flight back and i realized that'd be the last time i'd be taking domestic, at least for the time being. that comforted me a little, having taken about 10+ flights since i arrived in US, going through all the security stuff and checks. met some pretty chatty guys on the bus. haha had a good talk with them, as well as introducing singapore, all the good and bad things, to them.

then i got back, and realized i had to pack my life into 2 bags and 1 box. the nightmare began. things to throw, things to recycle, things to pack, things to vacuum pack, things to give to people. then the packing was more or less done. and i headed out on 3 roadtrips. to 2 national parks and 1 to see the salmon jump.

more later. time to watch curtis stone on tv. he's so cute and my sister loves him. oh yes we love his recipes too. =)