Day 7: freezing in frisco

Hi. I’m in San Francisco. It’s 2.46pm and 14 degrees out. The trip’s been good, people are friendly. Loving the Ben & Jerry’s. No stars seen in LA. Lots of shopping though. More sightseeing to come today, having a late start. Going home tomorrow, probably the 1.45pm flight which arrives Monday in the early am, around 1-ish. 

Day 1: still in Singapore

Venue: Changi Airport Terminal 3, Gate Holding area B3

Scheduled Flight: 1715h, delayed till 1755h

Time: 1800h

Current Situation: Boarding

yes, delayed. as if trying to get on this flight wasn’t nerve wrecking enough. at least they’re offering us food. that’s SIA for you. flight is stopping at Taipei after a 4h 30min flight, where there will be less passengers and more room to stretch for the 11h 45min continuing journey. plan is to go straight to Anaheim (where Disneyland is) once we reach LA.

my nervous chuckle

i’ve got requests ranging from chocolates to posters, books to dvds, and various apparels including one i got just a minute ago, underwear. i can’t help but giggle. i’d love to try as much as i’d love to go with the flow for the holiday. i believe travels beckon the unnatural and the unexpected. that’s also the kinds of trinkets i would get for myself and would love to get for others as well.

then again, i’m going to a country that pioneered consumerism and mass produces to death.

Edited to add: it’s 215am now. the flight’s at 950am. i think that’s cause for an OMG.

anyway, for the benefit of those interested, the flight’s SQ12 with a stopover at Tokyo. hope to get on this one, we’re on standby as usual. the next flight is SQ38 nonstop at 415pm and then at 515pm SQ28 Taipei stopover. returning from San Francisco on 15 March, either SQ15 via Seoul or SQ1 via Hong Kong. guess which i’m rooting for.

i’ll see if i’ve got time to make use of the internet kiosks at T3 to update tomorrow later.

if not, have a good time and wish me all the fun in the world in the so-called land of the free and the home of the brave.

the holiday monologue

so here it is. the trip i longed for when i was younger. i still remember when i was 12, pleading my mom for us to go to Los Angeles coz i wanted to visit Disneyland. i guess that desire diminished as i aged, but it may have been subconsciously suppressed coz now i feel a tinge of excitement thinking of the prospects of visiting that place.

on the other hand, i’m affirmatively thrilled about Universal Studios. a friend went recently and apparently visited the set of Wisteria Lane. if anything else, i want the themed rides. again, this is the nostalgic part of the trip. my elder sis will be there, the one i watched classics like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park with. little sis will be there, the one i shared Shrek and Enchanted moments with. well there isn’t any Enchanted ride, but at least they’re playing the movie on the plane.

Hollywood, what can i say. the experience, rather the revelation of what it’s really like. Kodak Theatre, where the academy awards just took place… i’m hoping for some leftover specks of glitter.

Shopping. need i say more… i’ve been putting aside buying clothes in Singapore and hopefully it’ll be all worth it. i wanna get blu-ray discs (sidebar: hd-dvd lost the battle and i’m all but indifferent because blu ray has always been the choice). i won’t be able to play them when i come back because i haven’t even got the Playstation 3 yet but what the hell. (wondering: should i get games as well?)

Krispy Kremes… ohh how can i forget thee. from the school project that introduced me to those frustratingly unreachable scrumptious donuts, to that piece i had from a colleague. well now i’m gonna get box-loads! ooh people tell me what else to get… (sidebar: friends oh friends, there are so many to get for and what little spending money i have, but try i will. but don’t expect wonderful things okay… and ultimately i’ve to give myself some more belated birthday gifts coz i can’t really be satisfied with my 19th can i).

San Francisco. We’ll be making a trip up north from LA to this city known for Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s more of the 19-year-old me kinda place, culture and soaking it all in nice and easy. Have yet to research more about the place, but i think the attractions are pretty basic. I’m taking a flight back from here.

and of course a good part of the trip would be spending time with the family. i’m crossing all fingers that we find a good place to stay at. 6 of us together in 10 days could mean a lot of things. my dad and bro driving in LA freeways would be teeth chattering-ly interesting.

worthy of mention, flying. a known favourite of mine. so exciting that i almost forgot the spend-time-with-family bit in this piece. it’s such a rush because there are 3 flights a day to LA, 2 from San Francisco where i’m coming back from and i can never be sure which one i’m in. transit destinations are still destinations no less, although i do itch to try the Singapore-LA 15 hour nonstop journey.

so there, a little piece about a holiday that’s been postponed from december 2007 to two days from now. from considerations ranging from Paris to Egypt, Vancouver to New York, and a second visit to Switzerland, California took the cake… or shall i say doughnut.