Saturday, July 5, 2008

ryan's ride 2008 - the event

for the past 4 years, i have been an active volunteer at the Ryan Phua Memorial Kids' Ride (aka ryan's ride). the first ryan's ride was held in june 2004, just less than a year after ryan's sudden passing in 2003. ryan was the older of the twin boys of my dear friends john and michele, and brother of matthew. john and michele established the ride to raise funds for bay area cancer-related programs, and more importantly, to carry on ryan's spirit in this wonderful event for kids. i was afraid that i'd be unable to attend this year's event, but fortunately i made it!

the crowd started to gather around the race track


the phua family (2nd and 3rd from right) accepting a donation check from the title sponsor


3... 2... 1... GO!
i think we've got a future tour de france rider here


little champions race down the streets of burlingame


baby alana (ryan and matthew's cousin) participates in her first ryan's ride - royal carriage style


the kids' ride is actually a part of the annual adult professional race - burlingame criterium. it's always cool to watch the racers speed past you



www.ryansride.org

Friday, June 27, 2008

singapore (2): eat

singapore is famous for 1. the merlion and 2. its various cuisines. it was a pity that i didn't get a chance to see the merlion due to time constraint, but i did try to eat all the different foods each day!

ya kun's famous kaya toast and coffee. kaya is a coconut egg jam which is quite sweet itself. and between EACH half-sliced toast is a piece of (1" x 2"x 0.25") BUTTER, and there're 4 halves!! the toast is totally awesome, but i really had to eat around the butter by the fourth slice...


red house seafood restaurant is one of the well known places for seafood, especially crab. we forgot it was father's day on the day we went and it was packed!


house special black pepper crab (you must order those deep fried buns 炸饅頭 in order to pick up the sauce from the plate)


it's always good to enjoy food with a pretty view


open air food stalls/night markets are locals' favorite hang out places


(left) indian fish head curry with roti
(right) prawns fried in pork sung and cereal -- must order!!!


i had to order a bowl of fish ball noodles 魚蛋粉 because i couldn't get that in japan - and i wasn't disappointed~


authentic hainan chicken rice 海南雞飯 at sin swee kee 新瑞記. only S$7/person!! (US$5.20/JPY550/HK$40)


it was really too bad that i couldn't stay behind to do some sight-seeing in singapore. i heard from the locals (the girls who worked at the convention) that sentosa beach is a really nice resort spot, and the night safari is quite fun. well, maybe next time!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

happy birthday C!

i want to wish my friend C a wonderful birthday!

hope life in SD is good!
i can't wait to see you ne~
(i'll call you when i'm back in the states)

お誕生日おめでとう!

singapore (1): work

during my one week stay in Singapore, i had to attend full-day training for the first 2 days and work at the booth from 10am-6pm on june 17-20. it was a packed schedule, but also a very good experience, because i learned the latest japanese mobile phone technology and trends from NTT DoCoMo, and also met some interesting people from the industry. it really amazes me on how advanced japanese telecommunications has evolved. with the latest cell phone models, which they call the "osaifu-keitai" (mobile wallet), one can use it as a house key, train pass, credit card, coin/change, even boarding pass for airplanes (currently only available on japanese domestic flights). and of course, not to mention the basic usage such as phone calls, emails, internet, games, and tv programs. maybe one day i'll get one of these osaifu-keitai myself.

some pictures from the expo center...

DoCoMo booth


junko, the lovely staff and trainer from DoCoMo


maria, my mentor and partner from the translators team (also my good eating/shopping buddy!)


george, another translator, who is good at multi-tasking as well


chermaine, the talented MC of the show. she had to repeatedly present 3 different workshops throughout the convention - memorizing word-for-word! (and hiroshi, the all-time entertainer, whom the translators worked closely with)


last but not least, 8 cute and young local Singaporean girls, whom very diligently remembered their materials and presented the latest phones and technology to the clients. (they're so fun to hang out with during our breaks!)


besides work, i also got to try a few authentic Singaporean dishes. check back again next time to see what i had!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

ryan's ride 2008

5th Annual Ryan Phua Memorial Kids' Ride

Sunday, June 29, 2008
Downtown Burlingame, CA


Join hundreds of children, 12 and under,
riding like champions
and raise money for cancer programs in
the bay area community
for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.


to Register, Donate, or for more Information,
go to:
www.ryansride.org

Monday, June 23, 2008

amateur tour guide

two weeks ago, my best buddy from hk flew over to visit me. it was her first time in kansai so i played amateur tour guide and took her to a few famous spots. i was worried that it was going to rain the time she's here, but the weather held up and we had 4 wonderful days together!

day 1:

who can miss the famous glico running man billboard?


probably the best food find of the trip: 希望軒ラーメン (hope-ken ramen)


tasty 豚骨ラーメン (tonkotsu ramen) + freshly pressed garlic = *HEAVEN*



day 2:

elementary school kids on an outing at JR kyoto station


kyoto's "most shiny" temple 金閣寺 (kinkakuji) is listed as one of the world heritage sites.
the outside walls of the 2nd and 3rd levels are gilded with real gold foil.


one of the paths at the serene temple


possibly the world's smallest waterfall?


paper, cloth, or silk fans make great souvenirs


清水寺 (kiyomizudera), another world heritage site, was built against a steep cliff


the preserved streets of kyoto bring you back in time to old japan


we encountered a few pretty 舞妓 (or 舞子 maiko) on the way. maikos are apprentices and have not become geisha yet.


for dinner, we had a 7 course authentic japanese meal


presentation and freshness beats everything



day 3:
shopping day... no pictures! :P


day 4:

大阪城 osaka castle


梅田スカイビル 空中庭園 umeda sky building's floating garden


"floating" escalators that lead you from the 39th floor to the roof top observatory


360° view of osaka



Y: i'm so glad that you came and we got to spend time together! it definitely brought back a lot of good memories when we travelled to hawaii and bangkok. hope we can do it again!!
love ya! ~muah~