at the end of all things good,

the holidays are here and i finally have time to come here. my sanctuary.

the last 10 weeks have been kind of crazy. sometimes, i enjoy my work and the people i get to work with (students and colleagues alike) so much that i forget that it's not always a bed of roses. the stresses of working, the burden that i carry whenever i get reminded that my work deals with the lives of young people, that nagging need to strive for perfection and acceptance, that want to bring glory to the Lord and live my life as a testimony to the grace that i've been given.

sometimes, i'm glad i have a (physical) place to turn to in the middle of the work day. to reflect. think. cry out. pray. whenever a silly mistake was made. whenever big mistakes were made. whenever.

***

watching the whole slew of season and series finales the past few weeks to destress from work. thankful. 4 outstanding finales ought to be mentioned here.

1. house - just because it was shot entirely with a DSLR in HD. the canon 5d mkII was used, together with a mix of canon primes (i suspect they are below f1.4) and zeiss zooms (24-70mm, 70-200mm, if memory serves me well). the result was no different from the regular tv shows, but with an added bonus. the tremendous f-stops used ensured amazing an array of depths of field. and even though some scenes may seem out of focus, it fit into the storyline well. and did i mention cuddy and house are finally trying to make it work? :)

2. flashforward - went out with a cliffhanger-open-to-interpretation. the practicalities and business of broadcast media in america led to the axing of a once-promising show. and i'm still quite sad. the show was bouncing back from a few episodes of bad writing and script, but got axed way too soon. farewell flashforward.

3. lost - went out with a poignant smile, fully redeemed. in the end, the important questions were answered. the flash-sideways world was explained. our characters got the redemption they needed. and they moved on, together, to whatever comes after.

after all the adventure, mythology, spirituality, science, faith, philosophy, history, and the countless lessons and knowledge i've picked up watching the series, there are no regrets, no yearning for more (like i usually do with series finales), no burning questions (just a few small ones to satisfy my science brain), but just a quiet, poignant smile as jack closed his eyes and step into the light.

it also reminds me of being redeemed by the blood of Christ, reconciled with God, justified by faith, and the life in Heaven that awaits after we are done in this life. i used to struggle with the reality of a Heavenly Kingdom where there are no tears and sorrow, no sadness and fears. but God, sitting on His throne, where the angels sing and i can find rest for all eternity. though i still struggle with this sometimes (thanks to my science brain), i'm glad for a tv show that can remind me of this fact.

4. grey's anatomy - the season finale left me at the edge of my seat as charles, alex and derek lay dying and a grieving man who lost his wife went on a 2-hr (unrealistic, yes. pumps up the drama equation, yes.) shooting rampage in the hospital before committing suicide.

after i finished the show and started to think about what i saw, i got these flashbacks to the time where i was on exchange in the US. sitting in my poli-sci class, reading breaking news off my classmate's laptops about a shooting that happened on campus. MY campus. and i was ON campus, not at home. without details, my mind started to go crazy. is the gun man still going around shooting people? is he going to walk into my classroom with that loaded gun? it was a crazy time and i hardly paid attention. when i finally got hold of the details, the gun man had shot himself after he shot his ex-girlfriend in the chest 5 times, an ex-girlfriend he had been stalking. i'll never forget those crazy minutes (40 or so minutes) of fearing for my life.

and a few weeks later, the virginia tech massacre happened across the country i was in. my nightmare. and it is a sobering wakeup call for america to rethink its gun and ammunition laws. and it's also a gentle prod to be thankful for singapore.

ETA: i'm shaking my head as i type this after i saw a CNN breaking news tweet about a man going on a shooting rampage in the cumbria region of the UK, killing 12 people. they just found the shooter's body. cumbria is the region where lake district is, a beautiful place i visited last year. it's unthinkable. seriously.

one more thing that caught my attention in the grey's finale. the shooter asked the people he met whether or not they were surgeons. if the answer is yes, he shoots. this closely mirrors the rumors that surfaced during the aftermath of the columbine shootings, that the shooters asked the people if they believed in God, and if yes, they shoot. the rumors proved to not be true.

however, i thought about if it were true, how do people face such situations with the tremendous amount of courage that is needed. would we all respond like how Peter did, bearing in mind that a positive response would mean suffering, pain and death. or would we stand up for our faith and take the bullet, like so many disciples and apostles and servants of God today did? would we have that courage?

***

and yet i know, there is still hope in prayer as i grow in my faith. as we studied from the book of Jeremiah during YAG retreat, i can't help but change my mind about Jeremiah. i used to think he was really whiny and emo (esp. after studying the book of Lamentations).

but looking at things from a bigger perspective, i can see why the tears came as he prayed. his people were deliberately rebelling against God and not heeding his advice or warnings. Judah was suffering and yet Jeremiah's words fell on deaf ears. what was so outstanding about Jeremiah was how faithful and persevering he was as he served God. despite all that he went through, he still remained a faithful servant, and he constantly went back to God in prayer. that, to me, was really special. and inspiring.

overheard from house.

house: "trans-tracheal aspiration."
foreman: "that's practically waterboarding!"
wilson: "that's pretty radical."
hallucination-amber: "that's a great idea."
house, ignores amber: "is it regular radical, me radical or me-out-of-my-mind radical?"
wilson: "somewhere between regular and you."
house: "so what's the problem?"

haha i love such dialogue in House. hugh laurie is really a genius at playing House, and wilson (robert sean leonard). my guy from dead poet's society. love them both.

anyways it's a sneaky way to get waterboarding into the dialogue. especially now condi rice is under fire for the bush's administration actions and policies. and i'm getting lots of such storylines. grey's this week featured an anti-deforestation activist who was flung off the tree she was staying in when they cut down that tree.

and i applaud the writers of House for not blowing the whole amber-in-house's-head hallucination out of proportion, like what grey's anatomy did with denny and izzie. i never appreciated the whole making-love-to-a-hallucinated-person, even when battlestar galactica did it. but the sci-fi nature of BSG and the subsequent ending kind of accounts for that possibility.

but grey's was just stuck in a rut. i'm glad it's getting better now. :)

but Lost ranks at the top with House now. it better not kill of daniel faraday for good. i know with time travel, everything is possible now. faraday's my favorite character from the huge ensemble cast.

pre-easter thoughts.

the insane week comes to a close. and what better way to end it. by celebrating the death and resurrection of my Lord and his work on the cross.

singing at easter's musicale, more than just a man, has been very impactful. i think the medium of acting and stepping into the shoes of a character is pretty amazing. to be a totally (ok maybe not totally) different person. and especially in this musical.

i remember distinctly a q&a sort of application/quiz that i did on facebook years ago. if i could go back in time, when would that be. and i remembered so clearly my answer was - to go back to the time where Jesus was teaching and preaching and performing miracles. and in this musical, i'm able to see uncle W as Jesus, teaching and healing and carrying the cross all bloodied and beaten and finally be nailed to the cross with all my sins. as a member of the crowd watching him, i could just imagine what a great privilege it was to be able to learn from the Master Teacher Himself. to hear Him speak and teach God's word. i catch myself being so mesmerized by the scenes that i forget my lyrics. :)

well, on a similar note, my prayers of late have been focused on being a good teacher to my students, and to learn from the Master Teacher Himself. always seeking to learn from His word and His ways and never to fall into the trap of being too-smart or too-proud or holier-than-thou or smarter-than-you.

today i taught my first integrated program class of sec 3s. it was daunting 'cos
1) chemistry is not my strength, forte, university major.
2) they are IP kids, supposedly creme of the crop.
3) my CT is the HOD of science, though he's a jolly good fellow, easy going and sometimes a bit insane.
4) having to plan and teach a 100-minute lesson for the first time in my life in chemistry.
5) my fellow practicum friend requested that she sat in my class, and i didn't want to turn her down because of my nerves. also because it'll be a good learning opportunity for both of us. so i had 2 people observing my lesson.

so i survived with loads of self-discipline to plan and research and come up with that lesson, 'stealing' ideas from the internet, periodic distractions of entertainment news and tv shows (HOUSE delivered a shocking suicide!), lots of music blasting in my ears (muse, coldplay, jason mraz, avalon, switchfoot, david cook), lots of teh-o peng and earl grey tea, escape-from-work lunch at old airport road and getting hazed by my own chemistry teacher who took my phone and hid it in his pocket,

and lots of prayers and more prayers.

well they all worked. although it was murphy's law galore during my lesson - i got generally positive comments from my HOD. and i thought the kids understood ionic bonding (crossing fingers).

ok the insane week actually continues into easter weekend. so it's all about planning and managing again. which i dislike 'cos my ideal easter weekend is filled not with work, but with the Lord and His people and His songs. but what to do.

ok i'm ranting. so i shall go back to my mountain of marking. and tomorrow i'll don on my jew costume and be a merry jewish girl celebrating the passover in jeruselum and hearing Jesus teach and rejoicing at His resurrection. Jesus is alive! :) :)

***

am i the only one who thinks that chris martin (coldplay) looks quite like hugh laurie (house). maybe it's the british guy look. :)

the end of madness!

the ground of the WWII memorial
berlin, germany

my semester is over! well short of one final comm skills lesson tmr, and 3 assignments to complete over the holidays, but still! i'm in the midst of the OC season 2 dvd marathon. boy, do i miss it. and i just finished studio 60 on the sunset strip on dvds. and the subtitles help with the rapid-fire dialogue, so i'm quite glad to bask in aaron sorkin's genius writing since the west wing ended.

well this holidays i'm looking forward to the sister being back from all her travels and finnish work and tell me all her stories. plus christmas! i love the songs for this year's concert, as always. and learning choreo for big dance numbers are always tiring but i shall press on and find my youthful energy again! there's also a batam trip, a japan trip, and a pending bangkok and hongkong trip. yay. with trips-planning comes thinking about past trips.

germany photos are akan datang!

learning to breathe.

it's really nice to laugh again.

a long lunch with mr. v, mr. d, mr. j and ms. c led to 2 hours of laughing and getting-to-know-one-another and just chatting about life.

watching my favorite shows online again.
b&s offered great lines for rob lowe's character, sally field and calista flockhart.
heroes set up a series of big arcs for the next 9 episodes in the first volume of the season - yay more flash forwards and new powers.
grey's anatomy continued its soapy opera, which is my guilty pleasure.
house continues to make me laugh and intrigued by the cases (which is amazing: the endless supply of amazing radical out-of-this-world medical mysteries).
private practice is something i'm watching 'cos of addison the character and tim daly the actor. (:

i miss lost.

and the thing that makes me laugh these days: tina fe*y as sarah pa*lin. tina fe*y has the best and most spot-on impersonation of the veep candidate and she's hilarious! watching her exaggerate every wink, silly, dumb-"blonde", incoherent, incompetent, answer-evading move of sarah pa*lin is hilarious. she even talks like her and has the same twang. which i find the most annoying. tina fe*y is so gifted she totally deserves her Emmy.

***

well school is turning into madness. i'm trying to stay afloat in the midst of all of it. i am consciously reminding myself that my strength is not enough and not perfect for this, and by His grace and love, that my weakness is made perfect in HIS strength. and that wisdom is more important now than ever.

strength and wisdom. the subject of my prayers of late.

i just finished writing an article on Trust for the ypg website, and i'm very glad i did it. through the writing, i find myself even more convicted in my trust in the Lord that He will see me through my days. and these days are times i need it more than ever.

next week is madness week. i have something due EVERY DAY of the week. be it presentationS/teaching/assignmentS. and i know the only way to go through it and do it well is to keep my eyes, ears, heart and mind on the Lord and His Word. (:

mel shared this verse with me and i truly found it encouraging, so it shall be my verse of the week.

"I would have lost heart,
unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!"
- Psalm 27:13-14

postcards from london.

london didn't live up to my lofty expectations. but thinking back, i think it was still quite enjoyable, save for the rain that fell lightly and continuously for 2 whole days. i'll always remember london for its vintage finds, prince william, the british accent, way too expensive tube tickets, musicals at west end and jamie bamber. (:

early morning rush hour at a king's cross platform.

blue skies and white fluffy clouds.

the grand and old atrium of the museum of natural history.

a cool afternoon for a stroll at hyde park/kensington gardens.

beach chairs dotting the greenery around the lake.

swans-a-gather at hyde park.

smile for Piccadilly circus! those yellow lots on the monopoly board.

somewhere around leicester square. home of west end.

saturday morning at portobello market. my kind of saturday. (:

home-made quiche, anyone?

tulips, my favorite flower. other than daisies.

the colors of portobello.

am currently in the middle of a battlestar galactica marathon. another smart and witty series, because i'm a geek, this is sci-fi and i love it. the show reached cult status, much like star trek (which i cannot appreciate) and lost (which i find so intriguing). within 2 weeks, i'm at the home stretch of its 4th and final season, with the 2nd half of the season airing next year. there's much to think about the issues raised by the show - politics, war, existentialism, religion, race, genocide, sexuality, violence and morality.

the end of an era.

been feeling sort of quiet and whimsical of late.

returning to a home of comfort and familiarity deeply contrasts with the nomadic lifestyle of discovery and learning when i traveled through europe for a month. it was truly a great trip, with lots of things to see and do, going from city to city, meeting interesting people, and witnessing the grace of God in cities with notorious dangers of robbery, kidnap, pickpocketing, fraud and so much more. and seeing the Lord's hand of guidance, as well as His creations being crafted out in the form of the mountains and valleys, rivers and lakes, flora and fauna, the stories of former great kings and the stories of the Bible, coming alive right in front of your eyes. and these are just the highlights of the the highlights. more to come as i blog city by city.

returning home was sad. especially when your last stop was the beautiful city of paris. when asked (at the effiel tower, no less) what were his thoughts on returning home after his graduation trip, my new-found s'porean friend succinctly replied in one word, "depressing". (:

well, i returned to reality. reality equals admin work, enrolling in NIE, going through a teacher preparatory program at NIE before starting my 1-month stint at temasek secondary. i wonder what are the repercussions of me going into teaching. would i have to give up my lifestyle of blogging and facebooking and chilling out at pubs? would my students respect me more or less? the education scene in singapore is rapidly changing and i wouldn't know until i'm in it. but meanwhile, i have another year of studying to go.

okay, reality also meant catching up on my tv shows grey's, lost, house, american idol and project runway. yep i'm a month behind. and not to mention the SATC movie, which i adored completely and watching it with my sister brought back many fond memories of discovering SATC DVDs and falling in love with the girls and the men and the clothes and the shoes. as well as getting educated about life (and sex).

of course, coming home also meant catching up with friends. i felt detached from everyone at home, even when i received my results and my honors classification, and not knowing what everyone else got. nevertheless, outside of being kaypoh, i love my friends. and it's hard to think about my friends from biological sciences while i flipped through our graduation dinner and dance photos.

it's hard to go from 4 years of playing and studying together to the real world away from the comforts of the walls of our school. but all good things have to end, and i'm glad ours ended in a most thoughtful and positive and hilarious way, not to mention i got sabo-ed onto stage to dance with my kazakhstan friend. and it set the stage for the beginning of our lives, sealed the bond that we had as a class, of 2008. and i'm looking forward to us getting our certs and throwing our mortar boards into the air after convocation.

travelling.

Well I can't tell you where I'm going, I'm not sure of where I've been
But I know I must keep travelin' till my road comes to an end
I'm out here on my journey, trying to make the most of it
I'm a puzzle, I must figure out where all my pieces fit

Like a poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song
I'm just a weary pilgrim trying to find what feels like home
Where that is no one can tell me, am I doomed to ever roam
I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' on

Questions I have many, answers but a few
But we're here to learn, the spirit burns, to know the greater truth
We've all been crucified and they nailed Jesus to the tree
And when I'm born again, you're gonna see a change in me

God made me for a reason and nothing is in vain
Redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain
Oh sweet Jesus if you're listening, keep me ever close to you
As I'm stumblin', tumblin', wonderin', as I'm travelin' thru

I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru
I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru

Oh sometimes the road is rugged, and it's hard to travel on
But holdin' to each other, we don't have to walk alone
When everything is broken, we can mend it if we try
We can make a world of difference, if we want to we can fly

Goodbye little children, goodnight you handsome men
Farewell to all you ladies and to all who knew me when
And I hope I'll see you down the road, you meant more than I knew
As I was travelin', travelin', travelin', travelin', travelin' thru

I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin'
Drifting like a floating boat and roaming like the wind
Oh give me some direction lord, let me lean on you
As I'm travelin', travelin', travelin', thru

I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru
I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru

Like the poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song
I'm just a weary pilgrim trying to find my own way home
Oh sweet Jesus if you're out there, keep me ever close to you
As I'm travelin', travelin', travelin', as I'm travelin' thru

- Travelling through, Dolly Parton

only now then i realized that Dolly Parton looks a little nuts, but she's a talented songwriter and singer. some people really diss country music but i like it. ok maybe country-pop, not country-country filled with guitars and more guitars and tim mcgraw kind of country. but rascal flatts and sheryl crow and carrie underwood are beginning to grow on me. and now dolly parton.

i love her perspectives on life through this song. (:

i've always appreciated american idol for educating me about many other genres of music that i otherwise, would never be exposed to. and many eras of music. strange but true.

this season's idol surpasses last year's, which was totally disappointing. jason castro, david cook, the young cute david archuleta, michael johnson (?) the aussie and carly smithson. my favorites. in terms of star potential i think the 2 davids stand a high chance.

ok back to FYP thesis. my countdown has started ticking somewhere in my head. 2 weeks.

note to self: DO NOT PANIC.

these days.

the weeks seem to pass me by.
mid-feb is here.
chinese new year is almost over.
valentine's day is here again.

no i'm not here to moan about what happened 3 years ago, 2 years ago or a year ago.
it's just a regular day, right?
except for the over-commercialization and over-emphasis of this day by couples and merchants.
well i did enjoy my valentine's day last year.
i remember it being very cold. and i watched my first movie in the US with my girlfriends, 'because i said so' and i loved it.

***

well anyway, switchfoot concert was GREAT. i know i'm like 2 weeks behind with this recap. but it was a good concert. they sound very good live and jon foreman is quite charming too. i think band lead singers HAVE to be charming. it's mandatory. that's how you win the hearts of girls. the fire fight, one of the opening bands, did us proud. (:

i remember one moment during the concert where i just stood still and really was quite stunned. twenty-four was the song. and during jon foreman's acoustic guitar solo, just his voice and his guitar was kind of amazing. it reminded me of a similar experience i had at damien rice's concert. this was especially amazing because of the lyrics. now this song is on repeat on my itunes and N95.

and thank you zeh zeh and justina for being great concert-mates, rocking out at the concert. (:

***

chinese new year was the usual affair that i remember. a lot of food, a lot of people, a lot of catching-up with relatives. it's strange that i haven't seen some of them in 2 years and it didn't felt like 2 years. there was also the usual get-together at bethany, this year was complete with a hilarious sketch and weiquan misquoting a Bible verse in front of everyone during the sketch. there was also a family picnic at the marina south pier with roasted chicken sandwiches, chips, curry (:, cny goodies, fruits, jelly and red wine. then we still went to eat zi char.

a lot of eating.

***

was quite sad that ah meng died, for some reason. i kinda remember vaguely taking a picture with him when i was young. but when i saw that beautiful potrait of that beloved orang-utan on the front page of the papers on saturday, i got upset. then i saw the memorial service and eulogy on the news and i can relate to the zookeeper's tears. 'cos those same tears fell when my dog, oscar died 8 years ago.

***

am very very glad that the writer's strike is O-V-E-R. also very glad that the writers got what they deserved and the big mogul companies giving way. but those billions of dollars lost because of the strike can never be replaced. the cost of pride can be so tangible, and intangible at the same time.

***

am also very very glad that obama has won 8 straight primaries and caucases. and i'm glad my state of washington voted for him. i have some obama for america campaign goodies with my friend alvin, so alvin come back soon!! i hope he wins ohio/texas or both, for the high number of delegates there could really push him to win the nomination.

***

simple joys come in the form of

the kids in church, whose bright eyes, cheeky wit, pure innocence and abundant energy really makes me smile.

the dogs i see, from day to day, and my own dog, who is so laid-back and carefree with life. who lies on his back and enjoy the cool evening wind and is friendly with every friend of the family, but barks insanely at people he doesn't like.

coming home at the end of a day at work of injecting things into fish embryos and probing them with stuff, to home-cooked dinner and tv shows. after finishing my 2nd west wing season 1-7 marathon, i'm now rediscovering lost right from the beginning and fishing out clues to the mystery. oh yes and those precious episodes of brothers and sisters, house, and lost coming up online every week. (:

reading and learning and discovering God's word and seeking to walk closely with Him everyday and under every circumstance. learning what it means to receive His precious provisions and blessings and not take them for granted. (:

confessions of a movie/tv junkie in LA.

i'm thinking back on 2007 more often than i should be. which is something i wish i did less. to look back. but being a sentimental girl, it's hard to not think about good times in the past.

anyway this is day 3 in sunny los angeles. i love the LA weather when i was there. mid-june. it was sunny and breezy and the nights were nice and cool.

day 3 was our private warner brothers studio tour which we paid for. i can still remember i bought the tickets online at the las vegas airport because LAS had free wireless access. and i also checked my spring quarter results and i thought i did SO badly for my human resource management module that i panicked like crazy. my prof emailed me to tell me she forgot to key in my exam marks.

anyway we booked a super early slot. 8.45am. it's good also 'cos we can spend the rest of the day doing something else. which we already planned. it was a sleepy morning and we had breakfast at the motel before heading up the bus to bring us to burbank, calif. we registered and got personalized nametags. so cool right. and hung around the lobby to wait for 8.45am to come.

then we were ushered into a small auditorium to watch a video of those famous movies and tv shows that are shot by warner brothers. and a history of the company. i recognized many of my favorite movies so that got me really excited. then we got introduced to our guide who is this movie-&-tv buff, obviously. we got into a small tram-like vehicle similar to those on golf courses and off we go onto the warner brothers lot.

production offices that double up as buildings for shoot. bicycles belong to production staff who cycle around the huge compound. and it was pretty funny when we met this production assistant working on a new tv show "the chronicles of sarah connor" now showing in the US. and he was complaining about his boss to us, a group of strange-looking visitors. well i understand. since PAs are sai-gang warriors in the film industry.

and we go past many houses on the lot used for shoots. and those sprawling mountains of burbank are usually digitally-removed in post-production.

seems ordinary right. but it's a frequently used set that i recognized on the west wing! it shows itself in several seasons, as a california mexican cafe place where bartlet and his daughter were eating lunch, as a place where a group of activists were rallying against the government during the big block of cheese day, as a hospital where the chief justice was admitted and matthew perry went to visit him. (:

this is sookie's house on gilmore girls! but it's empty inside. a typical facade.

this house, on the outside, is lane's house (also gilmore girls). and i learnt that some facades have working interiors like this one. except the 2nd floor is partically non-existent 'cos they have to hang lights and mikes. this is for shots where the director wants a long, continuous shot from outside to inside the house. so they gotta put up decor in this house and it changes from show to show.

this is the famous town gazebo of stars hollow in gilmore girls. the entire stars hollow town is left as it is, and it was actually a set of a very old film, reused in gilmore girls. and now even as the series has stopped completely, the set still remains. so you can tell i was SO excited when i was there. like i was really in stars hollow. where lorelai and rory were.

this is luke's diner (gilmore girls). with the decor taken off of course.

this looks like chicago at first glance, the very distinct subway tracks. but we're still on the set. this is used, obviously, for stuff that needs to look like it is in chicago.

and because chicago is known for its winds and rain, these lines high above the ground are known as rain-makers. or a water-sprinkler system, if you like. and tey would just drape a huge piece of black cloth above the rainmaker and use lights to create a rainy day.


this is the doors that open to the emergency room of cook county hospital in ER. the show that reigned way before grey's anatomy even was created in shonda rhimes's head. and yes george clooney looks young and cute.

this is the carriage that brad pitt rode in the movie Troy. then he proceeded to kill eric bana and drag his body behind this carriage. it was a super cry-worthy moment.

the flying car from harry potter and the chamber of secrets. (:

and after harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban, the whomping willow left its mark.

this is the couch that 6 famous people have sat on. the couch at central perk in Friends. left in its original state even after Friends wrapped production. in a special corner designed to pay tribute to the only show in history that raked in profits for warner brothers in its first season.

so just an iconic place what must you do. take picture! (: yes i was also very excited to be here.

inside central perk.

outside. filming in progress. the streets have no street lamps if you noticed. that's 'cos it enables the movie people to shoot whatever period of history they want. just pop in the correct type of street lamps and decor correctly and make sure the cars and the clothes people are wearing are of the correct era and voila. you can get anywhere between the 1800s and today.

we saw many many others things in the studio tour and many places where movies were shot. and i was sad that the tour came to an end and i didn't spot any stars. all on vacation i suppose. but i'm glad i went for the tour.

after that we were supposed to wait for the car rental company people to pick us up from warner brothers. so we hung around, take picture, buy souvenirs etc. we rented a car for 3 days over the weekend 'cos enterprise, the company, had this special discount for weekend rentals and it was only US$14 a day! so we did.

on the way to the rental place. we saw NBC studios. where many people are picketing and striking right now. when is it gonna end?!?! burbank is home to many production companies and their backlots. oh yes. rental companies in US pick you up from any nearby place and bring you to the company. so good right. great service.

so after we collected the car, we managed to get ourselves on the freeway and drive back to downtown LA. i was quite freaked at first because the last time i drove, i had my sisters with me and i was much more familiar with seattle roads. now it's all foreign and we don't have a map! but we managed without getting lost. but LA traffic is horrible. even at off-peak hours.

so we got to downtown LA and we searched for a grocery store to buy maps and finally spotted a safeway. yayyy. linda went to buy a map while i scrutinized the car. then we decided to drive around LA and explore the city. which's a really good idea 'cos we would never be able to do it on foot 'cos LA's too big. so here, the pic above, we started at downtown LA.

we parked along the road. learnt how to feed the parking meter. then walked around. (: these were sights around the walt disney concert hall.



this is for the very discreet rainbow peering out from the water. (: so pretty.

this is walt disney concert hall. very very nice design. quite avant-garde and nicer than esplanade. we took a short walk inside and in the shop. very very nice. too bad no time or money to catch a performance there.

p.s. this outdoor place of the concert hall, with the fountains, was where robert mccallister proposed to kitty walker in brothers & sisters. (:

the sky scrapers of downtown LA. oh this is where kevin walker of brothers & sisters works.



the concert hall from across the street.

after exploring downtown LA (and just walking past a nice museum), we drove out of downtown LA and headed for beverley hills and rodeo drive.

this is rodeo drive. and it looks more quaint and prettier than i expected. the building in front is bvlgari. and this intersection is really weird.

anyway rodeo drive is really the most upmarket, 5th ave of manhattan type of shopping. but it has that typical LA vibe to it. rows of short buildings. palm trees. the sun. tons of sports cars and cute cars. and cute guys.

this street, i can still remember, leads to a pretty 3-storey shophouse housing tiffany & co.

this is a car-less rodeo drive, or hollywood drive, the parallel street.



after some shopping. yeah right. i only bought a skirt from anthropologie, on sale. we drove towards the coast to santa monica. and i love this town!

first up, we drove right to the beach. at this time it was approaching dusk and it was starting to get cold. either that or it was the cold pacific ocean wind. we spotted this huskies van at the beach carpark, and judging by its washington state licence plate, it is indeed a university of washington van. haha must be some of my ex-collegemates who had taken a drive all the way from seattle to LA.

the beach!

the fine fine sand and the beautiful ocean. i haven't seen it in awhile. no oceans in NYC or las vegas.

the famous santa monica beach theme park. it's very distinctly santa monica. and this ferris wheel and theme park is always in the sweeping aerial shot in private practice. and santa monica is where addison and sam lives.

this is the 3rd st promenade. where it's a lovely lovely shopping street filled with big brands and big but affordable brands and small cute shops. people are busking and there are many little cafes and restaurants with al fresco dining, to soak in the nice weather and bustling crowd and talented buskers. i even took a video of this acoustic duo who sang beautifully. that's why i love santa monica. (:


well that was the end of day 3. we did more shopping at various shops, esp. forever21. had a late dinner at california pizza kitchen (how apt right) and began my long drive back to west hollywood.