Ogisan's Home

2007-04-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

04-14-07 Luigi's wedding

I attended Luigi's wedding tonight. It was quite a spectacular wedding at Glen Island Harbour Club. The club itself was very well decorated and maintained.

Both Lou and Sam look very happy. Afterall, they have waited 12 years for this to happen.

I saw John at the wedding, along with Leena. Rene was with his wife as well.

I was very impressed with the amount food available. The hand food was from one end of the room to the other. Same thing for desert. I have never seen so many choices for desert at once.

Needless to say, I was full when I left the banquet.

To see all the pictures, please visit here.

2007-02-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Fashion Show

Sylvia, my sister-in-law's sister works at fashion district in NYC. She used to have her own label as well. My wife has 3 pieces of her clothing and she loves them. Due to financial reason, she stopped being her own boss and started working for other people.

Anyway, her boss, Chris Han, is preparing for a fashion show that's coming up. My wife was asked to give an extra hand at the office. I stopped by one noght to pick her up and took some pictures.

The dress my wife was helping to finish.

Sylvia telling her hubby how to get to her.

The boss' desk.

Mannequin gone bad.

The rest of pictures can be found here.

2007-01-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

Pictures from New Year's Eve Party.

I spent this past New Year's Eve at Nancy's. She is a good friend from CMCNY. I was supposed to go last year but ended up changing my mind. I am so glad I made it there this year. It was packed with food and other good friends from CMCNY.

I know it is almost February and people are asking me why it took so long to get the pictures up? Well, I pretty much tweaked every pictures slightly and it took a bit of time. I guess once you know what you can do to make a picture better you are going to try to fix it up.

I met Alan and his family for the first time. They have two boys and one girl - I am sure they keep Alan and his wife busy. All the kids were very cute and pudgy (if there is such a word).

Henry advising Charlie on his camera-buying options. Charlie did buy a camera that night. Guess how much he spent?

Henry's lovely wife, Sharon and their son, Nathan.

Alex, another photographer in CMCNY.

Francis posing with his birthday present.

Can anyone guess whose legs are these?

Anyway, here are the rest of pictures.

2007-01-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

One Week in LA Part I

I was in Los Angeles for a week - it was half for fun and other half for work. We flew in on Friday and stayed at Victor's new apartment for two nights. It is a very nice apartment. Both the host and hostess (what? who?) are curteous and thoughtful. The first night we had some really really awesome Chinese food at 大上海 - the 豆酥鱈魚, 絞白筍炒肉絲, 蟹黃絲瓜 were simply excellent. Unfortunately, I was too hungry to take any pictures.

Victor and Anita checking out the Chinese recipe brought over by Tami.

The next day, we went down to the Santa Monica beach for bike riding. It was only our second time on tandem bike. It was great, except for the old rental bike that was problematic - flat tire, stuck brakes, etc.

We saw the Arlington West at Santa Monica. This is a temporary memorial set up in memory of American soldiers who have fallen in Iraq. It was quite a sight. More info on the temporary memorial here.

The entire set of pictures from my Califonia trip are up. Here they are.

2007-01-07T23:53:00.001-08:00

One Week in LA Part II

There were plenty of sun and on the day we headed into Orange County, it hit mid 80s on the thermometer. Even the breeze was warm. One of the practice I was interviewing at set us with relocating service and a real estate agent to see some of the properties around LA. It was quite an interesting experience. I snapped this shot on the balcony of one of the high rise building I was seeing.
During our stay at OC, we met up with Tami's cousin, Mei and Peter. They were very nice and took Tami out when I was away for interviews. Their kid, Mathew and Elizabeth has grown quite a bit since I last saw them.

I met up with my friend, Dave, too. He has been out in LA for about 3 years now. He seems to enjoy it. We (Victor, Anita, Tami, Me, Dave) went to the LA Kings vs. San Jose Sharks at Staples Center. I was really tired from the interview and was dozing off half way through the game. We finished the night off with some food from Monterey Park.

The entire set of pictures from my Califonia trip are up. Here they are.

2007-01-07T23:53:00.000-08:00

First Blog of 2007

I guess I was kind of busy during the Christmas/New Year period and did not get a chance to write much on my blog. I hope everyone had great time with his/her family and received lots of gifts.

I had a great 2006. I did a total of ~25 hikes, bought a bike and more camera gear (2 new bodies and 1 new lens). I also picked up biking as a new hobby, although I still haven't gotten used to a sore hinnie yet.

Job is also going well. I finished my residency and started my pediatric anesthesia fellowship. So far there hasn't been too many mishaps (thanks to Dr. Sun and Dr. Kazim).

Finally, I turned 30. I guess it is a big deal for some.

The only thing that I had wished for is seeing my family who did not make it to NYC this year.
All in all, it was a good year.

2006-11-30T19:53:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving at Michael's. Again!

Pictures for now, words later.

2006-11-27T21:13:00.001-08:00

The Prescription Lives !

Went to a concert about a week ago. It was a beneficiary performance by "The Prescriptions" - a band consisted of physicians/dentists for raising money for retinal research - specifically inherited disorders of vitamin B12 transport and metabolism.

My attending, Dr. Anthony Clapcich is the drummer and his brother, Dr. Robert Clapcich is the guitarist/vocalist.

It was quite fun, as I haven't been to a live band performance in years. The alcohol improved the fun factor, although it only took ibe beer to do me in. I got a little tipsy after that.

To learn about their cause, please see Rock 4 Retina and Michaels Fund.

Of course I had my camera with me. Here are some pictures from the event.

To see the full gallery, please go to here (color) and here (B&W).

2006-11-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

My Chinese School Experience

I was not able to go hiking yesterday so instead I drove Tami to the Chinese school where she teaches on Saturdays. Being quite bored, I sat on for the last half hour of class.

The kids were cute and rowdy. Tami had wanrd me before, but I was unprepared. They get really, really wild!

If you ask me, I would describe it more as a "zoo," especially during game time.

I guess you can't blame them for being kid-like, right?

Daniel shows no hesitation in showing his boredom.

Kevin collecting candy from his friend in exchange for providing his protection.

Jeffrey Xing and his trademark pose (招牌動作).

For the complete picture set, please see here.

2006-11-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

It has been 4 months since I started my pediatric anesthesia fellowship. It has been quite busy but I am having a great time.

Unfortunately, it has come to a point where I have to decide what my career is going to be. To stay in the Tr-State area or southern California - specifically, Los Angeles.

The idea of sun, beach, great Chinese food is enticing, but giving up four seasons and convenience of NYC is not easy. Most important of all, I have came to know a lot of great people during the eight years I have spent in NYC. I am sure I will be missing them.

Anyway, what lies ahead is still in question. Will just have to wait and see.

Olson

2006-10-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

I bougth a bike. It is a Fuji absolute 1.0. I bought it as a gift to myself for passing the anesthesia written board.

The decision to try biking was inspired by my good friends at CMCNY. No only do they hike, they also ride. I guess I will have a chance to spent more time outdoor with them.

Two people that I have to thank with my purchase are: Ben and Mandy. Ben was the persuader and the one that provided most of the buying advices and technical details.

Mandy was kind enough to lend me her bike, which is a similar model from last year, to me for a week without asking any questions.

Thanks to them, I got a great deal at Roy's Sheaphead Bicycle Shop. The retail price was $1,200. I bought it for $850 (including tax).

2006-09-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

I passed!

Received a letter from American Board of Anesthesia indicating that I have passed the written part of licensing exam. I am one step closer to being a board certified anesthesiologist! Yoohoo!

Olson

2006-08-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Delaware Water Gap

We went hiking at Delaware Water Gap this past Saturday despite forecast of shower throughout the day. It turned out to be pretty nice for us.

It was quite a drive, about 70miles on Highway 80W from GW Bridge, but it was very worthwhile. The heavy rain from few days prior had stopped but left the place covered with heavy fog. It was mystic and made the scenary very picturesque.

Some people went there for rockclimbing, but I wanted to see the scenary as it was the first time I was there. We (Nancy, Mandy, Kelly, Grace) hiked for ~6miles. The terrain was smooth and trails were marked out nicely.

All inall, I was very happy.

Alex and Chung trying to find the best spot for setting up ropes for the rockclimbing course.

"這條路也行, 那條路也行, 另條也行...."

Hiking in fog. In the cursed forest.

For pictures from that day, plase see here.

2006-08-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

8-12-06-Camping at Fahnestock

It's been awhile since I have updated my blog. I have been having an eventful week. First I injured my thumb quite badly (on the night before a planned hike, imagine how bummed I was) and now suffering from seasonal allergy, with bad sneezing and runny nose. The only thing I am looking forward to now is to get out and do another hike. I have been a couch potato for 2 weeks now.

Well, I hope I am not keeping folks waiting (for pictures from the camping trip). Well here they are - Pictures from both days are up!

Nice families, sorry I never really got their names.

CiCi and her two children, busy making various Shish kebab for us to enjoy. I think they were the only people who spent more time cooking than eating.

Our new member, Justin, who supplied us with tons of chicken wings, mushroom and zucchini. He probably spent more time cooking than eating.

Chung playing with fire..

For rest of the pictures, please see here!

2006-08-04T18:55:00.001-07:00

Ice Cave Hike at Shawangunk

What an interesting hike! I have heard Ben bragging about this hike for two years now and I finally had the time to do it. Unfortunately, it was a very hot and humid day.

The scenary was interesting. The park is close to Minnewaska and its scenary resembles that of Minnewaska as well. There were plennty of caves and gorges. As we walked by cracks of rocks, we could feel cool air sneaking through them.

At the firs site of cool air, 阿Ben哥說"come feel the breeze!"

There were many more like these and they made the whole trip much more tolerable.

There were several small gorge/canyon. They were lined with large rocks and frequently all four limbs were required to traverse them. Also the air were cooler and more moist in them.

Thanks to Alex, Ben, and Mr. Ng, who set up the rope for us, we were all able to get across some difficult terrain safely.

The scenary and afternoon lighting also afforded many interesting opportunities for photography.

What I don't like about this hike is that there is too much shrubs and overgrowth along the trail. The trails are unmarked and not the easiest to follow.

All in all, it was still a good day! Beats any day spent at work!
For rest of the pictures, please see here!

2006-07-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Watermelon Hike!

After two months offam finally back on trail. Luckily enough, I am on a hike led by Michael, who is famous for bringing along a watermelon onummer hike to share with people. Being that it was a hot, humid day, it was perfect.

"Start of Confusion"

The trail itself was confusing - quite different from what's on the map. It really took some brain power (not mine) to figure out where we were. There were also quite humid with still water along trail, as evident by mushrooms growing along the trail.

Despite all these, I had a good time. The watermelon at top made it all worthwhile. Kudo to Michael for being a great leader!

A mushroom that Su insisted on taking picture of.

Michael getting ready for "開瓜儀式." Everyone was eagerly anticipating.

Here's Li and Tang, two newcomers, haappily enjoying slices of watermelon. They don't realize how lucky they are - I have been with CMC for a year and half and never had fresh watermelon on trail before.

For complete set of pictures, see here!

2006-07-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

Taiko Drum

Went to see Soh Daiko performing Taiko drum at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan as part of the Japanese Obon Festival.
The drumming was actually quite involving and the atmosphere was festive.

Many cute kids as well.

This baby was very photogenic, he was drooling at one minute and totally smiled when he saw the camera. Maybe because he is from a nation known for tourist with cameras?

The weather was beautiful and cozy - a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon after anethesia board exam.

For complete picture set, please go to here.

2006-06-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Rainbow !

I did not think I was going to be working on my blog until I am done with my Anesthesia Board. However, my friend Luigi convinced me otherwise. With one more day left to residency, I brought my camera to work to snap a few pictures of the familiar faces.

Evetually, I retreated to library to get some studying done; that's when I got a page from Luigi, telling me that there is a rainbow not too far from the hospital. Knowing that I have my camera with me that day, he asked if I want to get some pictures of it.

I have never taken pictures of rainbows, so I was natually excited. Anyway, here are some pictures:

Half of the rainbow lies next to the Highbrodge Water Tower.

The other half lies over the Yankee Stadium. If you look carefully, you can see that there are actually two rainbow (in the picture on R).

Thank you Lu!

2006-06-14T05:13:00.000-07:00

Boston Trip

I was visiting Boston a few weeks ago around early May. It was a very nice experience, quite different from the big city madness of NY. The only thing was the weather - it rained five out of the six days that I was there.

On the day when it was not raining, we visited Boston common and came across a family playing next to some brass sculputure of ducklings. I just could not resist.

Here is a picture of his older brother.

2006-05-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Fish and Chips!

This is Lu, he is a good friend from residency. We headed out for dinner after a days work. We were going to City Island for some seafood but the traffic was horrible going to and leaving from City Island. It probably had something to do with first day of Orchard Beach opening for the summer season.

Anyway, so we took a drive on Shore Road and ended up eating at Leno's Clam Bar (aka Greasy Nick's for the locals). Rumor has it that Jay Leno's brother owns the place. People that know, please confirm!

We sat outside and had an order of fried clam and an order of fish and chips. They were both quite good and not expensive at all. With gentle breeze from water, it was a good way of ending a humid summer afternoon.

I think I will take Tami there when she get back to NYC!

Here is one more review.

2006-05-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Start of Summer!

Memorial Day weekend marks the official beginning of summer. Although I appreciate the sun and warmth, I find the humidity difficult to bear. I ended up going out around early evening to escape the heat.

I saw this ad and thought it was quite cool so I took a picture of it.

2006-05-21T03:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Tami !

May 15th was Tami's birthday. Fortunately and unfortunately I was post-call on that day. It was nice to have almost a whole day to spend time together but I was quite tired from working 24 hours the previous day. After I got home, I slept til 1pm.

We got to Flushing at around 2pm, starting off by going to a 阿波蘿麵包店, a Taiwanese bakery to order a birthday cake (海綿布丁蛋糕 - sponge cake with pudding/custard and fruits in layers)

Then we had lunch at Flushing Mall, a small Chinese mall with several food stands that serves authetic Taiwanese food. We had some quite traditional dishes, from 鹹豆漿, 鹹飯團 , 肉鬆蛋夾餅 , to 阿宗麵線 all for $12.

Then we ordered some more take outs for dinner and drove home after picking up a 新疆羊肉串 for the ride home.

Since the lunch was late, we ate very little dinner and moved quickly to the birthday cake. It was very nice to have only two people sharing the birthday cake, because it was simply delicious.

The cake was good, but it was even better when I painted Tami with the remainder of the cake that night....

2006-04-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

Whimsical Colors!

The best part about the botanical gardens are their conervatory or green houses. Inside you will find plants that will sit still for you (won't be blowing in the wind), which is great for macro shots.

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to the New York Botanical Garden. It features a HUGE conservatory that's broken down into tropical, subtropical, and desert sections, with plenty of opportunity for photography.

Well here are some pictures I took from there. Some of them were tweaked slightly in photoshop to give them a slight emphasis. Enjoy!

2006-04-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

Bronx Botanical Garden

I was on vacation for a week, but have not been doing anything particularly exciting. The only thing that I remembered fondly waws visiting the NY Botanical Garden located in Bronx NY (no, not the one in Brooklyn - that is the Brooklyn Botanical Garden".

It is one of the few great places I have visited recently.

Here are some pictures I took from that day. As you can tell, the weather was gorgeous, further elevating my mood for the rest of the afternoon.

It also has a section of forest trail. I have not got a chance to check it out but it seems like a nice alternative for hiking in Harriman when time is short, especially for those that do not want to be too far away from civilization (i.e. Tami, haha).
The Mertz Library, one of the research libraries for knowledge about the world of plants.
The very impressive conservatory.

2006-04-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hiking on April Fool's Day! 師奶上路!

Tami was sweet-talked into doing a hike last Saturday despite poor weather forecast of thunderstorm. She did very well. This hike was same as the very first hike we did with CMCNY about a year and half ago.

This hike starts with a steep hill. I remember the first time we did it, we were both quite out of breath by the time we got to the top of the first hill. This time around, she was still able to go on without much rest.

Only toward the end, Tami was slowing down because of sore spot on her feet. The thunderstrom finally arrived after lunch. Despite the downpour she still finished the hike.

I am very proud of her.

Getting ready to go hiking!

Mason reading newspaper during the first break.

"Does she know where she is going?"

Finally a lunch break!

(L) Cloud thickening up after lunch.

(R) Francis frantically putting on his rain pants as the rain is coming down.

(L)Tami limping off the hill.

(R) "Hmm, should I kill Olson for draging me into this?"

2006-03-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Noah, Happy Birthday!

My nephew had his birthday party this weekend. He turned 6 this year. There were about 20 kids invited to his party, which took place oat an indoor playground.

Jeff (my brother in-law) spent ~$400 for 1n hour and half of "fun" for kids. That's very generous of him. Talking about cost of raising a family.....

Noah looking at birthday card (custom made by his 姑姑 - Tami).

Scene of horror.

This is what Jeff looks like after paying his bill.

During dinner, Amelia's fondness for fried food proved that she is indeed Jeffery's daughter.

2006-03-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

Break Neck Mountain (斷脖山 not 斷背山).

I went with Nancy, Chung, CiCi, and Alex yesterday to BreakNeck Mountain at Bear Mountain State Park. It was quite a different hike. It started with a very steep climb up a rocky face. We had to use both our hands and feet to get to the top. The first mile took nearly an hour. The rest of the hike was quite easy.

I decided to put up some B&W pictures for a different look. There is no need to put up more pictures of blue sky, deep green, all the time.

2006-03-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Longest Half Mile !

The last time I went hiking was two weeks ago. I was supposed to attend Noah's piano recital but was able to convince Tami that my day would be better spent hiking. So off we go!

Today was sunny. The wind has done a good job clearing up the sky for us. I met Mr. Ng for the first time. He is extremely nice and always looking out for members in the group, making sure no one is missing/lost.

We followed a series of uphill climbs, taking few breaks, to get to the lunch point. At one point, I asked our fearless leder, Marjorie how much longer to the lunch point. "Just another half a mile," she said.

Well, it was the longest "half mile" I have ever seen. It was nearly another hour before we had our lunch. I won't believe her distance estimation fro now on : p

Well, the view at top made it all worth it!

Two unfortunate incidents happened during this hike. 1. I fell and broke off part of my flash. It is quite hard to imagine but I actuallly slipped on some dried leaves. It was not a hard fall so I was surprised to see my flash breaking off from my camera. Time to try some crazy glue tonight.

2. The tip of my hiking pole came off! 真的是賠了夫人又折兵. An hour after my flash broke, I found myself going down a rocky hill. One of my pole was wedged between rocks. As I pulled it out, I heard a cracking sound and was disgusted to see my hiking pole with its last section missing (stuck amongst rock).

So at the end of the hike, I decided to drive to EMS at Scarsdale to see if I can get it repaired. I knew they have a really awesome "100% Satisfaction Guarantee" but to my surprise, the manager just gave me a brand new pair of poles instead of sending them back for repair. Much kudo to EMS.

To sweeten te deal. There was a 30% off all clearance sales item. So I picked up a Mountain Hardwear Aguille Jacket for $111 + tax (MSRP $295). That's a deal too good to pass up!

Here is a picctuer of Mason listening to Ben describing the "evilness" of my camera.

2006-02-26T18:34:00.001-08:00

CMCNY Spring Festival Party!

It was very fun to see everyone in street cloth. With those that I do not know as well, it took me awhile to put the name to the face but it all worked out at the end. There were lots of people and plenty of food but I think people were more interested in chatting than eating!

The presentation by Mr. Chen, Chi, George were very inspiring. They make me want to plan some trips to the exotic locations. Unfortunately I was sitting far from the projector screen thus I did not get to enjoy the presentation to the fullest extent. However, the presentation the really got me going was Mr. Chen's, as he was talking about his trek in some of Taiwan's peak. Being that I am from Taiwan, it seem like that's the more likely place for me to do a big trek.

I have no pictures of hiking from Taiwan. However, here (http://www.frogfree.com/) is a site with beautiful pictures of climbing/hiking around Asia (Taiwan included) that I think most member of CMCNY would appreciate. This link (嘉明湖) is for Mr. Chen. This link (神山, Malaysia) is for Ben. Now that you have seen them, don't you guys ever plan a trip there without me!

I think the highlight of the party was the fashion show, courtesy of EMS. It was hosted by Chuck, the assistant manager at EMS Downtown NY. Our very own Marjorie, Michael, Cam, and Mandy were the model.

The party ended with raffle and bingo (with fifts provided by EMS and CMCNY). I think there is a prize for everbody. Tami was very glad that her 年糕 (sticky rice cake) was popular among the deserts.

Well, all good things come to an end, I will see you guys on the trail soon enough!

Peeping Francis

Henry's kid, Nathan was quite popular at the party.

Michael performing his version of "盲劍客."

Mandy looking sassy even with her dislocated thumb.

Tami making sure the rice cake is done the night before the party.

For more photos of the party, try here.

2006-02-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

2006-02-18-Winter Hike at Harriman (Very Cold Day!)

It was a very cold day. The wind was gusty and the sky looked like a storm was coming when we set out in the morning. By the time we met up at the parking lot by Lake Tiorati, it was snowing very hard.

My first thought upon seeing the snow "damn, better not get left behind, cause people won't be able to find me!" Thank God the snow slowed down afte half an hour; the sun also came out. It was quite nice to be hiking on a thin layer of fresh snow.

I met several people on this trip. Jessica brought her dog, 來喜. Whe is one year old and very active. She was running around us constantly. If we did 5 miles, she probably did 20 miles. Jessica also brought 煮番薯 (boiled sweet potato). It was quite refreshing at 11:30AM when my breakfast was not longer sitting in my belly.

Jessica carrying her dog across a stream. The dog got scared after she nearly fell into the stream.

I also met Mr. Chen, who is a member of "26 mi. club." He just came back from a trip in Taiwan and had done some hiking over there. I am planning on getting some more info from him regarding hiking in Taiwan.

During lunch time, Michael gave us some 茶葉蛋 (eggs boiled in tea); Ben donated some sausage. Both helped boosting our energy in the cold weather.

Here is a picture of Su trying to fish out a 茶葉蛋 from Michael's thermos.

Despite being in the shelter, it was still very cold. We pretty much left right after everyone is done eating since most of us could not really stand up to the cold weather. It was probably the shortest lunch on trail for me.

Just a note, it was so cold that the tubing from my Camelbak froze. I had to defrost it with some warm water.

After lunch, we visited an "Ice Cave." It was an old mining site. There were icing hanging off the ceiling. I was told that when there is sufficient rainfall and cold weather there would be some spectacular ice formation. Well, not that day!

For more photos from this trip, try here.

2006-02-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

Snow Storm.

Just flew in from LA last night to one of this winter's biggest snow storm. I actually had to get on an earlier flight to beat the storm to NYC. Because of that, I missed a potentially good meal in LA.

By the time the plane landed, about an inch of snow has alredy built up on the ground. I spent today trapped in my apartment watching the snow, wondering when it was going to be over. Finally it stopped around 6PM.

2006-02-11T22:30:00.002-08:00

Feb 7th. - Day 2 - Visiting UCLA Campus

Tami had lost her UCLA hoody pullover and wanted to get a replacement so we drove to UCLA. If you know anything about women, then you won't be surprised that she took about 40minutes to find one she liked.

Oh well, what can I say, she is my wife right? At least she let me have my way at outdoor equipment stores.

We then met up with Dave, my friend from college who is working on a building in UCLA. He took us around the construction site.

We had to put on hard hat for the tour. We looked kind of goofy.

We finished the day having dinner at 小陸子 and desert at 鳳城.

For more pictures from that day, see here.

2006-02-11T22:30:00.001-08:00

Feb 8th. - Day 3 - Visiting Relatives and Thai Town

This was a day spent experiencing LA's highway system. We drove from LA downtown to Orange County (O.C., as in the TV series) to meet up with Mei for lunch. We took 3 highways and spent nearly an hour going at 70 mph to get there.

Mei's daughter, ELizabeth has grown so much since I last saw her (when she was about a year old). She wasn't feeling well that day so I could not get much smile out of her but she is still adorable nevertheless. We also saw Peter, who is still as big as I have remembered.

We then drove back to Beverly Hills to see Uncle Randy who just had a liver transplant. He actully looks preety good for someone who had undergone such a big surgery within the past 6 months.

The last stop we made was at Rose' s place, which is just a few blocks away. She just had a babygirl not so long ago. Her son, Noah is also very different from what I remembered. He hs grown into a handsome little boy.

The day ended with Thai food in the Hollywood. The neighborhood was really run down for me but the food was simply amazing. The best Thai food I ever had, period!

2006-02-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

Feb 6th. - Day 1 of LA Trip.

We took a flight out of JFK to LAX. Before getting to JFK, we stopped by Flushing to get some 飯團, 蛋餅, and 豆漿 for breakfast, which we had at the airport.

Flying into LA, the first thing we noticed was how warm it was. It was 70s when we landed. We walked around downtown for a bit while waiting for Victor to get off work.

......We walked by the Disney concert Hall, which was spectacular in the setting sun.

Picture of Victor in his office.

We finished off the short day by eating at Garden Cafe at San Gabriel - a very worthy meal follwed by some Tapioca at Tea Station. We were very stuffed.

For more photos from this trip, try here.

2006-02-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

Bummed!

The ski trip was cancelled due to poor snow condition. We then planned to do a day hike on Sunday the 5th. However, it was cancelled for other reason. This got me really bummed out as the things I was looking forward to this weekend were disappearing one by one......oh well, there is always next time.

Nevertheless, I did bring Tami to Jacques Torress chocolate. It is know for making its chocolate from scratch (i.e. coca beans). These chocolates are good but somewhat pricey. We bought a box for Victor and some others for mommy and daddy in Taiwan.

Some of their truffles have very interesting names - Love potion, menage a trois, love bug...

I remember taking a friend of mine (who is going to remain anonymous) to this chocolate store. He thought the chocolates were good but have announced that his girlfriend is not going to know about this place....

2006-02-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

Vacation is coming!

Starting my vacation at 7AM on Friday, 2/3/06. I am very psyched. Going to be spending two days doing cross-country skiing at upstate, then flying out to LA for 5 days!

2006-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

大年初一去爬山!
(Hiking on Jan 1st of Chinese New Year!)

After the feast of New Year's eve, we woke up to a brisk day of hiking. It was warm for late January. Unfortunately it started raining around lunch time - mostly just drizzle, so had to cut our day short.

I was glad that it was cut short since my leg started hurting around the same time. Probably from lack of warming up and trying too hard to keep up with Chung.

Secret red envelope from Nancy, only Su and Wendy would know what's inside.

As I was moving along, I could not help but overheard this conversation between these two lovely ladies. "不知道是沒有人要騙我們,還是我們太聰明沒被騙到?" (Is it that nobody want to take advantage of us or is it just that we were too smart to be taken advantage of?). You can guess what they were referring to, use your imagination.

For more photos from this trip, try here.

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2006-01-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

Showcaseing Tami's food

At the request of my wife, Tami, I am putting up some pictures of food that she cooked at various time.

Coroquette, first time suceeding in making it from scratch.

蒜泥白肉 with 蒜頭醬油. Ver garlicy but very asty. You feel the taste of garlic coming outof all your pores.

Fried chicken niblet.

Note how many dishes are deep fried? You can guess who she learned those from....

2006-01-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

No camera?

I went hiking yesterday, but without my camera. I was getting really psyched to go, packed everything but when I got to the trail, only to realize that the camera was left behind. I did bring spare battery, lens etc for the camera. How funny is that?

So this is my first time hiking without my camera.

2006-01-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

Picture of Kids

I spent last Sturday evening at Jeff's place. It was quite relaxing, as always. Kids were running around. They were extremely excited because I finally set up the tent I bought for them as Christmas gift. There were so much statics that Amelia's hair was pointing at different direction.

Amelia also tried on her new outfit for us. Though I probably would not have bought something like that for a 3year old, she was indded very cute in that.

At the end of night, Noah was getting ready to be put to bed and had insisted that Tami read a little bit to her. I think this picture came out really well.

2006-01-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Flor de Mayo

I went to a restaurant named "Flor de Mayo" (May Flower in English). I was told that it is a good place for Cuban food. I was very surprised when I walked in that the staff were mostly Chinese, with a few Hispanic waiter and almost all the items on the menu were Chinese dishes or had Chinese names.

As it turns out, it is a Cuban-Chinese restaurant, serving Cuban food with a Chinese food or vice versa. We had "Pollo a la Brasa" (Peruvian special chicken), which was very tender and juicy.

Our other dish, "Lomo Saltado" (sliced steak sauteed with potatoes tomoato and onion served on rice) surprised me because it was stirfried with french fries, which actually worked really well. The portion was good too. All in all, not a bad place for a quick dinner fix.

2006-01-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

Cough, Cough, Cough.....

I have been ill since Sunday. Started with some sore throat then some bad cough. Looks like I am recovering fast this time thanks to Nyquil and Amoxicillin. Nyquil sure makes me sleep well. I was afraid that I will be sick at home this weekend - looks like I will be ok. Geart!

Tami took care of me during this few days. She cooked three course meals for me everyday and packed my lunch. Thank you very much! She asked me to take some pictues to show off her cooking, haha!

2006-01-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

First Hike of 2006 !

On Jan2nd, went hiking at Harriman. I am so glad I am starting my hike this early. My goal is to get in about 20 hikes this year. Will try to get Tami to do some 6 mile hikes and perhaps one to two 8 mile hikes. It has never ceased to amaze me how much Tami supports my love for hiking. She has no problem with me going hiking most of the time. In fact she encourages me all the time. I work five days a week most of the time, with two free days in a week. Hiking usually takes up a whole day. I think it is very generous of her to let me use up one of my free days to do what I enjoy. I have to thank her for that.

猛男Ben...the only man that you will see in short-sleeves at Harriman in winter.

Alex Wei, an avid photographer who always brings his camera to hikes. He uses mostly an OM SLR. He has amny impressive work that can be seen here.

Lunch at Shelter. Have you seen so many thermoses?

Even Frances was posing for me. Then Ben had to get into the frame as well.

For more pictures from this hike, please see here.

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2006-01-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

My New Year's eve was reserved for food (hot pot). Had a great meal at Michael's. Mike is a great host who always has the best food for his guests. He is also a very good husband by many women's standard - washes dishes, cleans house, impeccable neatness.

Snap shot of kids as they were getting ready for family picture.

Mike and Jeff sitting in front of fish tank talking about fishes' body parts (皮納思).

While the women decide on what dessert to attack first.

2005-12-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

How was your Christmas?

Mine was very wet. I spent an hour in the afternoon trying to capture some foggy scenary of City Island. My camera was wet but no damaged was done to it. Then I had dinner at Michael's place.

Tonight, I just finished watching a 1949 Japanese movie "Stray Dog" by Akira Kurosawa. It was actually quite good. One would expect that perspectives within movie of that vintage to be quite different from ours but it was very straight forward and enjoyable.

One line really stuck to me "the world is not fair, but it is worse to take it out on world."

It is common for us to feel being taken advantage of but it would not be fair for us to take advantage of the others.

Tami is coming back from Taiwan tomorrow, will be picking her up! Yuppy! Tomorrow is also my birthday, don't know what she will bring for me.

2005-12-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

This is Su!

My friend Su is going back to Taiwan today for two weeks. I met her at CMCNY. She was actually the leader of my first hike. I have known her for a year and we have done quite a few hikes together.

Every time I see her, she says "I am so fed up after a week of work, I need to get rid of it by hiking (每一個禮拜下來就積了一肚子的氣,需要去 hiking 把氣消一消)." Haha.....

She is a very nice lady indeed, albeit old fashioned as well. Don't be deceived by her look. It will take moer than 10 miles before she will slow down.

I wish her a very good trip to Taiwan.

2005-12-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Winter Hike at Minnewaska !

These are actually from 12/17/05. It was very pretty and very ICY!

2005-12-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas!

It's been three and half weeks since Tami left for Taiwan. Life is quite different without her. I taking out a sweater from the dresser and it smelled so nice. I don't think I can make it smell that cozy.

Another thing is that Tami alway wraps our Christmas gift very nicely. Hiding all the seams and tapes. This year, the Christmas gifts that I am sending out will not be wrapped as nicely, if they are going to be wrapped at all.

Lastly, my apartment is slowly turning into the Bronx zoo. Only she can keep things tidy for me.I think it is time for a clean up!

2005-12-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

This is Dave....

I have known him for 10 years now. I knew him from my days in Wash U. Dave attended schoold of architecture. He is now working for a NY based architecture firm but has been assigned to a project in LA for the past 2 years.

He is a very pleasant, light-spirited man. I don't think I have ever seen him been down - always talking about going out, socializing, and boozing.

Dave just got back in town for work. We met up for dinner at Tabla, an Indian fusion place at 25th St. and Madison. The food is exotic and pleasant. These are some pictures of Tabla and the curry popcorn that they serve (something Dave always brings up when we talk about Tabla).

We ended the night with some tapioca/bubble tea (珍珠奶茶) at Saint's Alp. I told Dave I have to drink Tami's favorite drink for her - so I had to get a hot black milk tea. The truth is, it is just a little chilly for a cold one.

2005-12-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

Part II of the day...

The night is followed by a Christmas party at Dr. Mercer's. It was a very fun party - good food, good ambience, and a good crowd. It is very well organized as well - with alumni giving us residents tips on jobs interview, etc.

Ps. Who think Dr. Mercer looks like William Dafoe? feel free to comment.

Kudo to Dr. Mercer for his time and generosity for hosting the event.

2005-12-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Part I of the day.

I went hiking at Harriman today. I have done a few winter hikes here and there but this is my first hike in snowy ground.

It was much more difficult than I anticipated - not because of the temperature but because of the condition. The weather started out at low twenties, but it was not cold because there was very little wind. The snow was above my ankle mostly and knee deep at times. The snow provided very little traction - making going uphill extremely difficult. The snow masked what was underneath out feet (i.e. rocks, branches, or little streams), making the trail difficult to travese.

I screwed up this shot, got a giant flare in it. Otherwise, might have been somewhat decent
All in all, we did about 4 miles in 4.5 hours, which is very slow and felt more like a 7 mile hike.

2005-12-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

Finally having a day finish at normal hour.
(Picture of 奶油白菜 - one of Tami's famous dish)
Today is the first day within this week that I have finished before 5'o clock. How wonderful. I get to relax at home before having to go back to work at 6:45 AM. I got to watch "War of the World" which I thought was quite good and I finished some more food left in my fridge. (Since Tami is back in Taiwan, I have to do everything myself now). Oh well, I will live.

It is suppose to snow tonight and tomorrow. Maybe it will be pretty, but it can get pretty dangerous on the road too.

Don't get confused. I did not make this pan cake, this was made by Tami before she left for Taiwan. Can you make out the figure on the pancake?

2005-12-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hiking pictures...

One of the few things that I enjoy is going through my pictures. I was going through my pictures tonight, hoping to find some that I may print as Christmas gift. 我今年可是很認真的挑禮物 (I actually put in a lot of effort in picking out Christmas gifts). Anyway, these are what I came across tonight.

2005-12-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

First snow of the season (2005初雪).

The forecast warned of snow last night. Sure enough, when I woke up this morning, everything is covered with a layer of white. Not too cold though, like most snowy days.

2005-12-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

Oh what a day! I finally had time to do some hiking today.

I am a proud member of CMCNY(Chinese Mountain Club of New York, 紐約華人山川會). It is a club that organizes outdoor activities such as day hikes, weekend backpacking trips, and biking trips. So far my participations have been limited to day hikes as I do not own a bike and do not have all the camping equipments. I became a member in January 2005 and have done a total of 10 hikes this year (which was my goal when I joined).

My last hike was in mid-September and my foot has been itching badly. I was on vacation to Taiwan from 10/15-11/6 and caught a bad cold after I came back, thus missing much of the New York's fall foilage.

Today was extremely cold with temperature in 30s and windchill in 20s, but it was great fun. Despite the weather, a total of about 15 people came out today. We all had a goodtime. The sky was clear with few clouds. We blasted through 6 miles in no time. I was veyr impressed by what people brought for lunch - instant noodle, coffee, tea - all made with hot water kept in thermos. Can you imagine what a luxury it is being able to have warm food/beverage in such weather?
Perhaps it is time for me to buy a thermos.

Here are some pictures from today.

It was so cold today that the earth was frozen and there were icing on it.

The lake by which we had our lunch.

The only picture that I am in!

Going home! I think I will sleep sound tonight!

2005-11-29T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have been working for around 12 hours straight at work for the past two days. Plus I am not sleeping well Since Tami's gone. Quite exhausted now. Just taking it easy today after work.

Went to my favorite ramen place in NY. Then just relaxing at home sorting pictures from my Taiwan trip (from a month ago)!

Here is one of my favorite picture, taken when I was in 淡水.

There were a lot of good food on the 老街. One of the best the 台南小調擔仔麵. I had the 粿條 that I loved so much. Best of all, cost ~$2 US. Also there was the very excellent 黑橋牌 booth that was selling grilled 珍珠香腸 - oh, so tasty!