Musings of a (Formerly) Displaced Chinese RooBoy

Wendy and I have decided to return to Melbourne for good, and will be returning in early March!

Having spent 3+ years in L.A. and not attending a Lakers game, I figured it was time to go. And what better opposing team to see than the Bulls (I followed them since the 1990s). Chicago was in town for a double header versus the Clippers and Lakers this past weekend. I picked the Lakers game to see both Kobe (the MJ apparent) and Bulls. Staples Center is a nice, modern facility with decently priced food (I had $8.50 pasta, and expected higher prices). Parking was a hassle as the LA Motor Show was on next door at the Convention Center, and the American Music Awards was at the Nokia Theater. Celebs Note: Mel Gibson and Ellen Pompeo (from that chicks show - Gray's Anatomy) were courtside at the game. Lakers championships banners (and retired jerseys) About to tip-off Outside Staples Center before the game

Just returned from a week-long training in Orlando, FL. Over 200 Senior Consultants from around the US descended onto the Peabody Hotel in the Magic Kingdom and to learn about storyboarding Powerpoint decks, effective orals presentation and to structure deliverables from a business perspective, not just technical. I thought the course was fantastic - lots of soft skills and networking with other consultants. Non-Training highlights were: Night 1: Dinner buffet and Hawaiian luau show Night 2: Checked out Downtown Disney (much bigger than the one in Anaheim) Night 3: Blue Man Group (I saw this with Wendy in Vegas in 05) at Universal CityWalk (CityWalk is much bigger than the one in LA) Night 4: Dinner and appearing as a volunteer for Tom Deluca 's hypnotist show. I wasn't able to be hypnotized but man, those who did got up to some funny antics! I spoke to them afterwards and know that it's for real - some were aware of what they were doing, but could not control their actions...

Carlton , long the giant of the AFL with 16 premierships (aka "world championships") but having anchored the competition from the bottom in recent years, scored a MAJOR coup today by finalizing the trade for Chris Judd - the best midfielder in the competition. This is the player who captained West Coast to a premiership, with multiple All-Australian honors as well as winning the Brownlow and Norm Smith medals - all at the ripe old age of 24. Imagine: Judd & Stevens & Gibbs & Murphy & Walker & Scotland & Kruezer & Waite & Fev in season 2008. The sleeping giant has awaken...watch out!

Earlier this month, Wendy and I did some traveling with my parents (visiting from Australia) and showed them around the US and Canada. Highlights were: San Diego - my birthday, Old Town (feels like Mexico), coffee at Hotel del Coronardo, fresh sashimi at Sushi Ota and seafood dinner at Oceanaire Palm Springs - outlet shopping and relaxing at Hyatt's spa facilities Las Vegas & Grand Canyon - 2 Cirque du Soleil shows (KA and Love) at 50% discount NYC - mum's birthday, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, dad catching up with his friend Holman Niagara Falls & Toronto - Maid of the Mist boat ride, mum catching up with her cousins, Toronto's bustling Chinatown Ottawa - Not too much, other than Wendy and I renewed our US visas Montreal - Interesting city with a definite French feel (both in everyday language and architecture) Here are some pics: At Hotel del Coronardo, San Diego Hyatt Grand Champions Hotel in Palm Springs Las Vegas Grand Canyon Lunch at John's...

Since the Chicago-based project ended 2 weeks ago, I've finally had time to attend to pursuits that were pushed to the background due to all the traveling, including: preparation for PMP (Proj Mgt Professional) certification. PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy was recommended by my Chicago colleague - very useful so far! catching up on movies and HK TV serials - the serial we're currently watching is Heart of Greed (溏心風暴) that just finished its run on TVB. It's an excellent show, blending the right amount of comedy and heart-tugging drama about the internal conflicts surrounding a large, wealthy family. The second wife is so evil and scheming it makes my blood boil! finally bought a car to replace the Honda CR-V. Hello Acura TL! My folks will be visiting later this month. We will be showing them around the US and Canada, as well as renewing our US visa stamps while in Canada.

The great Greek, Kouta, retired from footy today. He was the last player from our '95 premiership team - this is a sad day for Carlton. Kouta single-handedly won the '99 preliminary final against Essendon who was the odds-on favorite. There's a good article in the Herald Sun .

Having watched Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle a few years back, I've always thought it would be fun to check out the joint, but the chain doesn't have stores on the west coast. Anyways, I found there to be a store close to my client's office in Chicago, so a few of us went there for lunch, mainly for laughs. The trip to White Castle was definitely non eventful as compared to the movie. The burgers are tiny, the patty really thin, which explains the $5 for 10 burgers price! Check out the last menu item - 30 burgers for $15! Tiny beef patty Aaron, Ali and Ankur looking satisfied after the "healthy" feast

The rumors floating on the Internet for the past week was confirmed when Sony officially dropped the price of the PS3 (60Gb version) to $499. Now that the difference between the 360 ($399) and the PS3 is only $100, it appears to be a good value proposition: extra 40 Gb HD HDMI output at 1080p Blu Ray movie playback In another Playstation news, new slimline version of the PSP will be released soon with the following updates: 33 percent lighter, 19 percent slimmer outfit sped up game load times from UMD (by memory cache) improved battery life video output capability to allow you to play your PSP games or watch UMD movies on a big screen TV

This year's July 4th falls on Wednesday, smack bang in the middle of the week. Talk about bad timing. I'll spend the weekend here in Chi-town, with Wendy flying in for the July 4 festivities. Speaking of which, the main one is the Taste of Chicago - the world's largest world festival. The fireworks on July 3rd off Lake Michigan is reputed to be amongst the best in the US. I'll report on the findings next week. *** UPDATE *** Taste of Chicago was crowded but fortunately there was a gentle breeze blowing throughout the weekend. We tried lots of small portion food (lobster tail was yummy), took photos with the Simpsons movie and caught the Chicago Country Music Festival, with performance by Craig Morgan (we didn't stay for Kenny Rogers and Sara Evans). Water tower, found in many Chicago suburbs. This was taken in Rosemont. Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park Cloud Gate in Millennium Park Taste of Chicago (sponsored by my project's client) and the Chicago Country Mu...

The Bulls swept the defending champion Miami out in round 1. Now they move to round 2 against Big Ben's former team. This brings up some good memories of the Bulls-Pistons rivalry from the early 90s! I found some intro vids on YouTube. Which ones are better - the classics from the MJ era, or the modern stuff? 1. '92 Finals vs Portland at the old Chicago Stadium - noticed how the crowd goes nuts when MJ is introduced? 2. '98 Finals vs Utah at the United Center (with Ray Clay as the announcer): Watching this still gives me the chills - crowd goes nuts again over MJ. 3. 2006 Intro Animation: 4. 2007 Playoff against Miami: Cool vid...loved how the Miami bus was smashed! 5. 2007 Regular Season game versus Washington: Man I'd love to be at the game. The new announcer doesn't muster the same level of energy though.

Stumbled across this article where Federer and Nadal played on a half-grass, half-clay court. WTF is going on?!?

Just found out the Bluebaggers staged one of the best comebacks of all time against the hated Bombers. The young guys in the team showed spirit to come back from 48 points down. With all the young talent already at the club, I think we're just a few players away (CHF/CHB) from returning to the finals. Our new midfield looks good with Walker, Murphy and Gibbs sure to improve. Bentick has a chance to become the new Ratten as the in-and-under, hard ball winner. We also have Stevens and Scotland manning the middle. With Bradley and Ratten coaching the midfield, we could have the best midfield in the AFL. Go Blues!

Wendy and I headed to Palm Springs this past weekend for some unfinished sightseeing, carried over from February. It was also to celebrate Wendy's birthday. I flew in from Chicago on Friday night, quickly packed then made the 1+ hour drive. The time we stayed at Hyatt Palm Springs and Hyatt Indian Wells Resort . On Saturday morning we set off to a spot we found in Feb. for $25 helicopter ride over the desert, but it must have closed. Dammit! Next we did some hiking through the Indian Canyons to look at desert flora and fauna. It's amazing that clusters of huge palm trees grow in the middle of the desert. I kinda thought the concept of an oasis was fictional. After the hike we went back to the hotel and and chilled out. Wendy standing in front of an oasis of native California palm trees. Interesting rock formation that resembles the head of a turtle, at Indian Canyons Aaron with some cactus...big huh? Close up of a cactus flower Next Trip: sunny San Diego in 2 weeks for some yu...

The standout memory of my first week in Chicago was the bitterly cold weather. It was windy and snowed so heavily that my rental car was covered and flights into/out of O'Hare were canceled/delayed. My Chicago co-workers tells me this is unusual for April. In nearby Cleveland, the baseball game was "snowed out". Wendy and I spent the weekend in Huntington Beach, CA (popularly referred to as "Surf City USA"). It was overcast but warm enough for t-shirt - definitely a good change from Chicago. The hotel is beautiful, built in Spanish architecture. It has a calming vibe with themed water fountains and koi ponds surrounding a wonderful spa center. Overlooking the koi pond and spa center Water Fountain Next Week - Palm Springs 2.0!

Got confirmation from a project manager out in Chicago to start work there beginning next week, probably until end of the year. The client is in telecom, so my Telstra experience should be useful. If work schedule permits, I plan to catching a Bulls playoff game in April!

We made the drive to Monterey/Carmel two weekends ago, as we had some unfinished business there from the first trip in January. This time we were ready for the long drive and left early, as well as bypassing the scenic Pacific Coast Hwy (aka Hwy 1). We checked out the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium (the otters were really fat and cute, and the jellyfish were colorful and intriguing). After dinner at Cannery Row, we retired to the Park Hyatt Carmel (one of the more upscale hotels in the US - most US hotels cannot compare with their Asian/European counterparts). The hotel room offered scenic views of the Pacific coast. On the way home we stopped by Laguna Sega racetrack. In other news, I've finished with the project in San Diego. Currently I'm working on a proposal in the Orange County office - it's a major pain the arse because Wendy and I have to carpool to/from work, and our work hours don't match.

Episode 6 came out a few days ago.

Here's the footage of the race between an active 67 y.o. Bavetta and an overweight 43 y.o. Sir Charles from All-Star weekend in Vegas. Frickin' hilarious!

Today's is the first day of the new Chinese (Lunar) New Year (Year of the Pig). Wendy and I wish everyone a safe and prosperous new year!

Finally got time to create blog entries about some recent weekend trips - Monterey (this entry) and Palm Springs/Indian Wells (see previous entry). During the Martin Luther King Jr (MLK) long weekend in January, we made the drive up the famous PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, aka Hwy 1) that winds along the Pacific Ocean to Monterey, Carmel and Pebble Beach. The drive took about 7 hours (slow driving along the twisty hwy), but there were things to see along the way (elephant seals sunbathing/sleeping on the beach, and the general scenic views of the coast). There was no time to visit Hearst Castle, so we're planning to make another trip up to Monterey next weekend. Monterey has the charm of a small town. We had dinner at the Cannery (Wendy had a huge bowl of soup/bisque with heaps of seafood). Drove through the 17 mile Drive and saw the world famous Pebble Beach golf course and lone sequoia tree. On the way home, we drove past Laguna Sega race track (featured in the Gran Turismo series ...

Wendy and I went to Palm Springs last weekend. Even though it is only 100 miles away from home, we had never been there before. With some free hotel nights to burn, we booked the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort at Indian Wells (15 miles from Palm Springs). The Aerial Tramway at Palm Springs is a well known attraction, taking you up 8,500 ft above Palm Springs (and the desert) to Mount San Jacinto State Park. We both agreed it is not worth the money ($22 each) because there wasn't much to do, apart from hiking. Next we checked in to the hotel and basically relaxed away in the spa facility (steam room, jacuzzi etc), swimming pool and tennis. We didn't get time to check out the desert vegetation (cactus etc.) so we're planning to go back in March.