Peter’s Blog V2

Going back to school always makes me happy.  Even back in the days when driving down I-81 meant having to prepare for finals after Thanksgiving, I could never help but start to hum “country road… take me home…”

Well, this time we picked a really memorable weekend to visit.  The school was shut down on Friday, and so were most of the stores and restaurants in town.  Even the Math Emporium!

Nothing stops Wally World, though.  Where else would thirsty people go to clean out the water shelf?

While Blacksburg is still a rural town, the urbanization and commercialization had been cranked up like crazy.  Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Jos A Bank, and other big brand retailers creeped in.  A third parking garage is being erected in town, not that long after the first one surprised us with its presence.  The Kroger on South Main, holy cow, had doubled in size, added a drive-through pharmacy and a huge groumet section.  It’s now as impressive as Super Walmart and Boeing’s airplane factories.

Saturday’s lunch took place at Owen’s.  It brought a new definition to “home food”.  The same pasta sauce, garlic bread, General Tso, Philly cheesesteak, and smoothies that we had had hundreds of times since freshman year.  Freshens now has a new design to the cup, but that’s it.  Even the texture of the rice remained the same weird tasting that we’ve never had anywhere else.

The best moment of the weekend was when Phil walked into the bookstore and inquired, “TEN YEARS AGO, you guys used to carry this thing on that shelf…”  The cashier responded to the awkward question with professionalism, that if they had any of the older merchandise left, it would’ve been kept in another section of the store.  Right, she was probably still learning the Times Table when we last saw what Phil wanted.  Did we sound like grandpas or what?  Looking at the youthful faces around us and counting the number of businesses that used to be in More Than Coffee’s place, well, definitely didn’t help.  After all, we returned to visit our retired friend, Jason, right?

What did bring us back to youth was the incredible snow storm.  Running in knee-deep accumulation, taking silly videos, and throwing snow at each other helped discounting our maturity.  The white Drillfield, wow.

Here’s Jason, with one of several mini snowmen that we built.

One of two awesome snow forts, which always get built on the DF after a major snow:

Woohoo!  In the face!  (not a nice thing to do to the elderly, though)

And there on Alumni Mall, the cadets (I assume) built a huge snowman and a giant snowball.  It’d take some clever engineering students to make something that size.  Awesome.

Later that day, we found tons and tons of other snow sculpture around town, in front of frat houses and apartment complexes.  It was a calming throught that we all once knew how to put down the busy work to enjoy life and the world surrounding us.  The thought almost made me believe that I was young again… until I got exhausted walking across the Drillfield…

Phil and I decided to take a weekend trip back to VT.  So did a record snow storm.

We managed to escape before the worse part of it hit NOVA, and the highways were kept clean for most of the trip.  However, we did have to go through some pretty bad sections of the storm:

For the very first time since the marquee sign was installed!  No manager’s special today!

Virginia is full of farms but certain things just aren’t that visible when the world is not covered in white.  The black moo moo cows, for example, were everywhere!  Poor cows must be freezing!

Our return trip began a whole day after the snowing stopped.  Great.  Now the roads were perfectly clean and the sky was bright and clear:

We had assumed that the closer to civilization, the better the road condition would be.  After all, the rich NOVA people have all the money and expectation to keep things under control, right?

Wroooong… the closer to DC, for some reason, the worse it became.  The stretch of I-66 around Manassass/Fairfax averaged about 2 accidents per mile.  It was crazy!  We saw an H2 with the hood poped open from a collision, and watched a Camry spinning in circles until it hit another car sideways on the shoulder.  Lots of trucks, pickups, and cars trapped on the shoulder or the median.  Here’s a rather strange situation with black slush flooding onto the road:

I also expected the nation’s capital to be maintained with the same diligent snow shovelers as NYC… wrooong again!  The streets were almost not drivable!  We need more illegal immigrants!

Since Penang is such a tropical island that makes you sweat as soon as you step out of the hotel, my mom suggested to eat lunch at “an air-conditioned restaurant”.  And Chee Seng hesitated, reasoning that good food and air conditioning don’t mix in Penang.  We later experienced this ourselves, and found an inverse relationship between the number of walls surrounding the meal and the satisfaction we had from eating it.  Under the guidance of our Penang native and his particularity about food, we had a fantastic experience.

Let’s eat!

Here’s a good roti place where the family had our first dinner and where Aunt Marian fell in love with the key lime iced tea.  This is a corner restaurant with two walls:

Breakfast at the hotel - since Malaysia has a lot of Muslims, public food places are usually Halal.  In this picture are chicken bacon and chicken sausage:

Sambal, curries, anchovies, egg, etc.  Common breakfast food (plus coconut rice) in Malaysia that I’ve been hearing about:

Coconut experience #1 at a tourist spot.  Supposedly not that great in either coconut quality or the vendor’s opening skills.  Some of the juice was spilled during the process and it got sticky.

One of the most recommended bal kuh teh places in Penang.  That and curried fish head:

The most spicy vindaloo I’ve had, by faaaaaar.  And other northern Indian dishes:

Coconut experience #2, by the beach, while waiting for the bride and her mom to get prettified at the salon.  These were better coconuts and the vendor cut them open more skillfully too.

Rojak, the Penang specialty of shrimp sauce and fresh fruits.  Can’t say I was a fan of it.  Chee Seng had a good laugh watching me eat this thing.

Coconut experience #3, the best pandang coconut vendor in town.  The pandang (sp?) coconut is a generically modified plant that’s sweeter than regular coconuts, and is supposedly hard to find.  You wouldn’t think that coconut quality varies by vendor, by somehow it does:

In two slashes with the knife, the vendor shaves off parts of the coconut’s exterior and turns it into something very easy to hold in one hand.  Then the third slash opens up a hole precisely big enough for the straw.  I wouldn’t mess with this guy

After you drink the juice, hand the shell back to the vendor and with the same knife, he (1) sculpts off a piece of the shell into a scraper, and (2) cuts the shell in half.  Now you can eat the inside with the scraper!  What could be more eco-friendly than having a single thing serve as a drink, a snack, a bowl and a spoon?

Next, onto the best char guay teow in Penang.  This lady is supposedly so amazing, that people would come across town despite her obnoxiousness, and wait for a whole hour just to eat a small plate of her stir-fried noodles:

Snacks we had while waiting for an hour for the char guay teow: mee goreng (sp?), spring-roll like thingy, and the “brain brain” fish paste that looked like poop.  All these came from different hawker stalls (street food carts), and the char guay teow lady didn’t care that we ate them in her seating area:

The newlyweds and their drinks - watermelon juice and tang shui.

Finally!  The well-famed char guay teow!  It doesn’t look any different from the chow mien from your local Panda Express, but the explosion of flavors is simply unexplanable!  You might think I’m exaggerating, but after this plate I actually felt sad about leaving Penang…

Afternoon snack was provided by these people frying curry puffs and bananas (the oil is more black than the stuff you pump into your car, though):

Another roti vendor:

When you look hard enough at a street food vendor, you’ll find (at minimum) unsightly sanitary issues.  For example, what I saw about the char guay teow lady’s assistant - well, I’ll spare you with the details here.  But instead of thinking poorly of street food, this only makes me wonder how much nasty stuff is hidden from us in restaurant kitchens.  It’s great being able to see the chef, the ingredients, and even the source of heating.  Chee Seng says that in Penang, words travel like wildfire and good/bad incidents about each stall is quickly known by everybody, sort of like an old school version of CitySearch.  I wonder if that or the state department of health is a more effective way to control quality.

Goodbye Pulau Pinang and your good foods.  The only question is now, how will I be able to go back to eat at Penang the restaurant chain?

[1:30pm Penang time; 1:30am New York time; 6:30am here in Frankfurt Airport]

My second visit to Europe has been a lot less pleasant than the first time.  I’m stuck here for three hours by flight schedule instead of by mechanical delay, i.e. no compensating free meal, and instead of being able to roam around the airport, we’re restricted within a small confined boarding area with no food or drink or souvenior available for purchase, let alone any chance to win an Alpha Romeo.  There’s no working phone data connection or Wi-fi.  Thanks Germany - this must be what jail feels like.  Oh, and I just watched a mouse running by.  Yay for Mickey.

For some odd reason, the returning trip is always less encouraging.  16 hours earlier at the Penang International Airport, I watched the four most obnoxious line-cutting actions right in front of my eyes at the immigration counter.  Two parties of two Indonesian (I think) ladies apparently had no concept of queueing order or “please wait behind the yellow line” and proceeded directly to the counter, standing right next to the passengers being examined.  The first pair apparently knew one of the passengers at the counter, and started passionate hugging and screaming like what American girls do when they get overly drunk.  It was such an awkward situation that neither I, nor the officers, knew what to do besides letting them do whatever.  I spoke up minutes later when the second naive/retarded pair cut in front of me.  They gave me the look like they had no idea on what basis I was making a fuzz, and just moved to another line.  Maybe they really don’t know anything about airport security or orderly conduct?  I really hope they’d visit New York one day.

But a bad returning trip is not so bad as long as the actual trip itself is good.  Ariel and Chee Seng’s second wedding is happily over, and I’m glad to have seen some traditional Chinese practices, for probably the one and only time in life.  CS’s sister asked whether we Taiwanese follow the same traditions, and I had to explain that we weren’t exactly of Taiwanese heritage and had no clue about some of this stuff.  The tea ceremony, for example, where the couple served tea to all family elders, accepted their gifts and blessings, then gave red envelops to all the family children.  CS’s older sister and I were “stuck” being not old enough as elders but too old to want their red envelops.  The program was modified last minute and we were the only attendees that drank tea standing and involved in no monetary exchanges.

The wedding reception was awesome.  The magnitude of fanciness was something I don’t expect to witness again unless my friends win the lottery or get married in a country with low labor costs.  The grand entrance was led by one of the four singers/dancers performing at the event:

The centerpiece on table #1 looks crazy:

The the first course entered the room between two rows of waiters with plates of candles by the red carpet (not pictured).  Each table had its own dedicated waitress serving food to the individuals, and there were additional food/beverage waiters running around:

The event went rather quiet and slow for the most part, until most guests left and Chee Seng’s friends started to get rowdy and toasted the couple over and over, Hokkienese style.  Given the amount of wine spilled on the tableclothes, I was glad to see nothing harder around:

The after party party:

The after party games:

The travel map - it’s a loooong way!

[4am]

I had not been so excited about flying, in a very long time.

Singapore Airlines is among the very few five star airlines, and was rated #1 in the world in the recent past.  Compared to the major American airlines, this is like driving Rolls Royce over riding a water buffalo.

It’s all about the minor details: the silverware is silver; the glass is glass; the hot food is still hot after bread and salad; for dessert you get ice cream that’s not melting like mud.  The stewardesses are no wider than the carts they push; there are too many movies that you actually want to watch; you also get a bag of towel and toothbrush in the event that grooming is necessary on a 24-hour flight.

The only complaint is that they feed you too often.  Having a “light snack” between “dinner” and “breakfast” at 3AM is something I haven’t done since college, not to mention it’s a full-sized entree seasoned with more than just salt and pepper.

Alcohol is not only free on the flight, it also comes in a great variety of options.  With dinner I got a Singapore Sling, a cocktail that required the stewardess a trip back to the station to make.

Here’s the optional survey I filled out.  When was the last time you saw something this pretty being called a “survey”?

[7am]

Writing now from the Frankfurt Airport.  I was originally very excited about this point of layover, just because I had never set foot in Europe before.  Well, now I got here, and it looks no different from any average American airport… everything’s in English here!  There are fewer labels in German than JFK would have labels in Spanish.  Their duty free stores also sell the same liquors, same fragrances, and same Victoria’s Secret lotions.  Maybe a bit more Swarovski crystals and a few more brands of watches with 4-digit price tags.

Cultural observation #1: European toilets look and work quite differently from the US toilets.  Also the paper towels by the sink are softer than the toilet paper in the stalls.

Cultural observation #2: their sweepstakes car is a Alpha Romeo Spider, instead of a Land Rover.

I wouldn’t really mind driving this thing.  It’s just that if I bring a convertible back to New York, no matter where I park it, people will use it as a trash can.  It’d be a shame to see cigarrett butts and chewed gums all over this thing, so I decided to forfeit my chance of winning it.

As I wrote the above paragraph, I was sitting in a random seat at the airport, waiting for my plane’s “mechanical problem” to be resolved.  Then all the sudden a whole herd of people stampeded into lining up for the restaurant in front of me.  That’s weird, I thought, how could an airport restaurant get this sort of popularity?  Ten minutes later, I realized that among the crowd (still in line) were a lot of Singapore Airlines crew members and a girl with a travel bag with a creepy doll head, who was waiting for my same flight.  It turned out that due to the delay, the airline is now buying everyone lunch at this restaurant!  Now I’m writing this paragraph from a restaurant table, drinking European Coke from a curved glass.  Wow!  I’m so used to the American airlines that just tell you to fuck off when any problem arises, that this treatment almost makes me uncomfortable!

An 18.50-Euro filet of salmon later, I started a brief conversation with this guy who sat behind me on the plane and is headed to Cambodia.  He’s a law school student, and I told him I’m an actuary.  Not that I expected him to know what an actuary is, as most people have not a clue.  Moments later, we were served with boxes of Nestle ice cream snacks, as dessert.  He flipped the box over and studied hard, as if he could understand the nutritional labels in German.  Then to me he said, “so you could tell me how this will decrease our life span, right?  Isn’t that what you actuaries do?”  Holy crap!  I just got pulled the very first bad actuary joke in my life!  In Germany!  Once I read an extensive discussion on how to respond to these lame encounters, but of course I blanked out now.

[9pm]

Flight is finally approaching the Lion City, and I’ve accomplished one of the greatest tasks men have ever attempted in mid-air… I did my taxes.  After hours battling the everchanging jetlag, I had filled out my federal 1040, 8889, NYS-2 and NYS-201.  I wonder what’s gonna keep me busy on the returning flight.

[11:30pm]

So I had, as expected, missed my connection flight to Penang.  The next one is much later in the afternoon.  Sucks, but oh well, the airline had handled the situation very professionally.  As soon as we landed, our new boarding passes, meal vouchers, and transfer information were all printed waiting at the gate.  I even got a voucher to stay at the airport hotel during this six-hour layover (that’s somewhat extreme, if you ask me).  It’s kind of hard to get upset when people treat you so nicely.

Let’s be honest here.  If you have to get stuck at any airport for six hours, the Singapore Changi Airport has to be one of your top choices.  It’s huge, it’s clean, it’s technologically advanced and it’s simply bad ass.  Let’s see…

Environment: Gardens like these, with koi ponds, are scattered all over the airport.  The sheer mass of orchids on display makes you think they’re fake (but they aren’t!).  Alongside the motion-activated moving walkways are other potted plants like sunflowers.  If your gate is really far and you get tired of walking, you can also take a break in random corners with these (free) foot-massage machines.

Shopping: Bvlgari, Tiffany’s, Cartier, Hermes, Rolex, and Swarovski are among the average stores in this terminal.  Although I’m used to New York’s Fifth Avenue, this place still intimidates me.  Check out this bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label.  I bet it’s worth more than the taxes I paid in 2008:

(pardon me for not rotating it properly)

Entertainment: If you like sports, you can sit down in one of those speakers-equipped seats in front of the, eh, wall with soccer game display:

Right behind it is “the world’s largest 103″ 1080p HD display”, showing some regional tourism information:

If you’re young, or young at heart, there are also stations of Xbox 360 setup for you to play, for free.  The numbers of gamers this terminal can accomondate is no fewer than the Nintendo World at Rockefeller Center.

I picked up a controller, ran a race of Burnout Paradise, and won.  Then I sat down at the Internet station right next to it.  There are 24 computers set up for you to use the Internet for free, and there are these pods of stations (reminds me of Math Emporium) for you to plug in your own computer for power, ethernet, or the airport’s free wireless Internet:

There’s also a really cool “gadget recharging station”, which is like a set of lockers with cell phone adaptors inside.  You (1) find an unused locker that fits your phone, (2) plug your phone in to charge, (3) lock your phone inside and take the key with you, (4) go shop/eat/poop/whatever, (5) return with the key to retrieve the phone when you feel like it.

Alright I’m hungry.  Gotta go use my meal voucher and explore this cool place more!

We returned to the city of yellow snow and black ice, from the sunshine state, after a week-long theme park adventure in Orlando.  All I could say is, “damn I forgot it’s winter here.”

We visited all four Disney World parks and both Universal Studio parks.  Here are the holiday props + park icons:

Additional photos….

Mt. Everest.  Awesomest Disney big structure and ride:

I’ve always wanted to run away from a t-rex since I was a kid:

Doctor Evil gunning down other tourists:

My shadow looks freaking like a real monkey:

“Team work”:

Whee!

So as you know (maybe you don’t), I took two weeks off to visit Taiwan.  Gotta do that once in a while to remind my friends of my existence… and remind myself of theirs.  Also it was needed to recharge the Chinese/Taiwanese in me.

While I was there, I had some thoughts everyday that I wanted to write down.  But now, of course I can’t handle that much at once… so I’ll just post a few pictures instead…

Laser tag… with Rabbit, Bear, EnTing

Karaoke Round 1

Middle school gang

Middle school gang

Chillin’ in the Google office

Taipei from the 73rd floor

Found this in a car near my elementary school… we used the exact same thing for a school performance during 3rd grade… good memories…

How do you get anything out of this over-stuffed machine?

Mom & Hong’s Grandma

Taichung Park

Karaoke Round 2 with Grace

九份 Jiu Fen… the “old streets”

Ice cream with Dad after an amazing hotpot buffet

It’s a tunnel boring machine (TBM) behind me.  Learned about this many times from Discovery and National Geographic, so excited to see it in person.  This is a small one used to drill the new subway line by my house.