sightseeing in sf and a trip to davis

I am finally back in the bay area after..... several months. My last day of work for the next two weeks was supposed to be this past Wednesday, but I had called in sick because I was feeling sick. I think it was from fatigue in general, because now that I'm rested more, I feel better.

Yesterday (Thursday), I managed to finally get myself up to San Francisco with my two friends. Having wanted to go there for awhile now, I was so glad to have gone yesterday. I mean I did get to go to SF in October of last year, but it was hastily done because I was there stressing about getting a same-day visa for China. Yesterday, however, was spent sightseeing and going to Chinatown. We went to the SF Museum of Modern Art, a place I wanted to see for a long time but never got the chance to go. Google offers was having a deal: $18 for 2 people, which was a good deal as the regular adult price is $18. I met up my friends at Powell station and headed over to the Museum, which was about a three block walk. Upon entering the museum, we were greeted by this:

This design was pleasing to look at, and I could probably stare at this for hours. This is because it has birds fluttering in the lights.

I think the most prominent exhibitions I remember are Dieter Rams and Francesca Woodman. Here is an example of Rams' work:

coffee grinders

He promoted sustainability before the word even existed. Rams also said that a good design lasts forever and never go out of fashion.

Other works I saw included Henri Matisse, Picasso, Gorky, O'keefe and many others. We spent about a good 2 hours in there.

After that, we walked to the Contemporary Jewish museum, which I headed in by myself. It was only $5 that day because one of the exhibition was closed. I saw the Black Sabbath exhibition featuring a musical history of Black-Jewish relationship. The California Dreaming exhibition which featured Jewish life in the bay area. Also, there was this statue on display called Hagar in the Desert:

According to the Bible, Hagar was the Egyptian servant of Sarah, wife of Abraham. Because Sarah wasn't able to have children, she told Abraham to lay with Hagar. Hagar became pregnant with Ishmael, but was treated badly by Sarah. Long story short, this statue depicts Hagar with Ishmael in the desert after being kicked out of their house because Sarah didn't want Ishmael to have a share of Issac's (the long awaited son of Abraham and Sarah) inheritance. 

outside the CJM 

interesting cube structure right next to the museum

Of course, Chinatown was great as usual.

posing with the lion

Reunion of the trio after 7 months of separation

Friday was spent in rainy Davis frantically meeting up with people, since I was there just for a couple of hours. Great time, just the drive back from Davis was not fun. It was pouring rain and windy. Everyone on the road was going at 50-60 mph as was I, being that it was dark, and my vision was pretty limited. And now all I want to do is lie down and sleep. 

2 more days until Chinese New Year.

9 MORE DAYS UNTIL CLASSES START. 

OH MY GOSH.

waiting to board the plane in Vancouver, destination, Beijing!

Here I am, waiting at the Vancouver international airport lounge. My plane to Beijing takes off at 13h55. So that's almost a 4 hour wait. But no worries, nothing a little music, reading and studying can't fix.

I got up at an ungodly hour of 3:50am this morning to get ready for my flight from SF. The picture you see is from this morning, and yes, that would be my plane.

I promptly fell asleep the moment the plane was in motion. And because I'm flying Air Canada, they spoke French! To be fair, it was quebecois French, so I did have a bit of a hard time understanding the accent. But nonetheless! French!

So, here I am, a year later at the airport. It's exactly the way it was before.

And thank goodness for free wifi in the airport. Hopefully, it'll be a smooth flight from here on. I met two other people who are also going to Beijing as well. So we're all sitting here and having some conversation. I'll have to get some food later. I'm thinking about getting a pumpkin spice latte...but that might not be a good idea before getting on a plane.

One of the people I met took this picture of me. Alright, definitely getting the munchies. Let's get the show on the road, and get to Beijing! Hopefully, the jetlag won't be that bad.

Until the next time!

not-so-pleasant experiences at consulates

I went to SF today to get a visa for China, being that I'm leaving in about a week. I had opted for a same day visa, which would require me to turn in my application before 12pm and getting the visa around 2pm-ish. So, having gotten up early this morning, I got on the BART and rode to Powell station. The walked to the consulate, which is right next to Japantown. It's about a 30 min walk. It would have been a pleasant experience if it wasn't RAINING. To be fair, it was quite overcast in the East bay, so I guess I should have known it would be raining in SF. Of course, I wasn't prepared or anything. I didn't bring an umbrella and wore flipflops. On my way there, I passed by this lovely, familiar structure:

At least it wasn't raining that hard, so I was able to not get fully soaked by the time I got to the consulate. Oh, did I mention the huge line at the consulate? I suppose it wasn't as bad as last week from what I heard. And the reason for this line is because of the Chinese National holiday. The consulate had a couple days of break, so there was backlog and everything was pushed back. I stood in line chatting with a couple of ladies who were waiting to pick up their passport. The security guy was so rude. He obviously enjoys his job. I bet he feels so peachy coming to work everyday.

To be fair, he probably gets so tired of people asking him the same question over and over again. But then again, what did he expect when he started working here?

Another guy I talked to just left the line and said he gives up and will try tomorrow. Finally, by the time I got to the door, it was....11:30am. There was another person who needed a same day visa. She had a Chinese woman with her just in case. I allowed them to stand with me, so that we could all go in at the same time. And when you get in, you have take a number. My number was 181, and the people behind the counter were only at 121.  @____@

The whole entire time, my face was like:  @________@

Again, I got lucky. The Chinese person accompanying the American lady asked someone who had a 130-something number if we could just tag along with her and say that we're together. Thank goodness the person said yes, and we were all able to get our visa application in before 12pm. Thank God for miracles.

I promptly left the consulate after that, having 2 hours to kill before picking up my passport again. Since Japantown was right around the corner, I headed there for some good Udon soup. Standing in the rain for 2 hours is...not that pleasant. After eating, I treated myself to a crêpe!! XD

Nutella, strawberries, and kiwi all rolled into one bundle of deliciousness.

My favorite stationary store in Japantown (above)

Guess we all know Halloween is coming!

Finally, at 2pm, I had to wait yet in another line to get my passport and pay for same day service. Le sigh. I talked to another guy while waiting in line. He's been away from home (Seattle) for 24 weeks now traveling the world. I envy him.

I am back in Monterey where I can just stay in bed and study. I'll attribute that to my roommate. Actually, I admire anyone who can motivate me to study like no other. Muahaha.

In 2 more days. I will be yet another year older. Time is going by too fast.