My Travels

I'm in a pseudo timeshare and went to the Hilton Grand Vacations on the Las Vegas strip. Next to Circus Circus, the location is OK, facilities are good. I assume most of the timeshare Hilton properties will look alike (having no experience with these types of facilities). Dragged some friends and family and had a pretty good time. Was amazed at the stamina and level of energy considering the year I've been having. Not so much for these guys.... Missed out on the pool parties but saw some places haven't done before. Missed out on a show, couldn't get to Vegas in time.... :(

I made a very short trip to DC and stayed at the Capital Hilton. I've decided the room type I like best is with the bar area in the living room. This time, I was placed in a normal room, decent size. Always appreciate the Cartoon Network as a cable channel option. The lobby bar is pretty decent and would recommend it if you are looking to chill. As typical, the weather was muggy. I know that DC has risen in reputation and trendiness, I still don't get it though....

Spent a day in St. Louis, had interesting BBQ at Smokin' Al's. Never made it to Ted Drews although I feel it is overrated at times. Since my friend never does anything, he uses people's visits to actually see the town. The agenda was to visit the local zoo. I haven't been to a zoo in quite some time and realize I don't like the concept. I think that certain animals can be happy in captivity. I don't know if it does society good by displaying animals from around the world in facilities that can never match their natural habitat. The bears and elephants were very prone to what I call claustrophia. The constant pacing or rocking can't possibly be good habits.... In any case, this may be my last St. Louis trip as my friend hopes to get a job back in CA. Could be a trend given another of my person in my social network is returning to CA after taking a job out of state.

On my way back to LA, I stopped by to visit a friend who lives in the city. He recently moved into the downtown area in the "gentrified" area near SLU (St. Louis University). Kinda sketchy at times but the loft space was coo. The high ceilings help give the place some light.... My friend seems to have matured in his selection of furnishings. I remembered when he lived with only two pieces of furniture in LA. A cool art effect on the wall.... The bathroom is the size of a bedroom...yikes!!! Washer/Dryer, shower, loo, why ever leave? In any case, nice enough city but I still have an affinity for Kansas City or Madison, WI.

Never been here and haven't gotten to the city yet. Seems like a nice enough town though. Am in a Hilton Garden Inn and it is your typical room. I've forgotten how easy it is to stay at an HGI - microwave, internet access, mini-fridge. The TV is pretty nice though, a flat screen widescreen tube TV. Suprisingly, it is raining this week. Ain't used to rain in June, must be a midwest thing....

I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of Philly. Seems like a nice enough city but nothing memorable. Stayed at the Sheraton Society Hill and the place definitely shows its age. Ate at two places that was very enjoyable, Soho Pizza and Amici. Both are on Market Street between 2nd and 3rd streets. Soho Pizza is NY style pizza and I love the garlic flavor on the crust. Amici is an Italian restaurant, had the Satchetti Rose. They also great garlic knots and regular bread. Had the Riesling, wouldn't recommend. Spent some time in the Reading Terminal Market. On a friend's recommendation, had a roast pork sandwich from DeNic's. Had the last sandwich of the day before they closed. Pretty good and different from the cheesesteaks.

Ok, this isn't about going anywhere but about a game I find vastly amusing. www.tangerinepanic.com. Avoid the orange balls.... Anyways, will be heading out to Philly end of this week. Gonna catch up with my friend who'll be getting married in October. Yikes!!! Also, some of my old old colleagues when I worked at USC will be in town for a conference. Maybe I'll hit them up.

I'm in Tucson this week. Hot and dry...typical Arizona heat. Not much to the city, suprise surprise. The only bright spot is that the conference meals have been of good quality. Gorgeous resort but I have opted to stay at an Embassy Suites nearby. Typical setup, although I found the brick walls interesting. I always crack up when the bathroom vanity is outside the bathroom....

I got this picture from my brother. A "semi-family" photo. At bottom, a family friend, mother of my half-siblings, our father, and my aunt. At top, my brother (full and oldest male), the other 'me', my newly married brother, his wife, my other brother (full and youngest male), me, and my sister.

My brother got married over the weekend!! Flew up to Toronto and stayed in the 'burbs. I'm always suprised at the growing Asian population in Vancouver and Toronto. The Chinatown in Toronto is changing to a Vietnamese population. I wouldn't be suprised if the influence changes completely in the next five years. It reminds me of LA, when the Chinatown moved to Alhambra and became the Chinese community juggernaut. I stayed in Markham and felt like I was in China. Restaurants were really good in service and quality. The only drawback was that we don't know how to speak Chinese and had to point alot. :D If ever in the area, I had great Peking Duck at the Quinlang Cafe off Highway 7 in the Cineplex Odeon Plaza. I heard that the dim sum kicks ass in this area as well. Went to the local Costco (Ok, it was right next door) and had canadian pizza slice. Canadian bacon is super good. Pricier than at home but worth the price. My brother thought the crust too doughy but ...

Went to Orlando for a conference and stayed in the Lake Buena Vista area. Didn't stay at the Disney hotels (where the conference was held). Although my friends who stayed there had nice rooms. The Hampton Inn is in the middle of a revamp and it was interesting to see the changes going on in the hotel. Ironically, I found a really great Thai restaurant near the Florida Mall. Thai Bistro City restaurant on Sand Lake Road was pretty tasty. Had the duck curry and Pad Kee Mow (sp?). Also tried a sushi restaurant, it was OK. Visited Epcot Center for the first time. Actually, the first time I've ever gone to a theme park in Orlando. One of these days, I'll go to Disneyworld....

I had an opportunity to stay in the 'mid-city' area of Los Angeles recently. A couple miles northwest of downtown LA, the area has benefitted (depending on your viewpoint) the changes of the 'gentrification' of downtown LA and the surrounding areas. As prices have marched north, more and more people are coming back to downtown LA to live and work. I recently stayed at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel and it was a pleasant surprise. A former Radison (?) property, the hotel is right across the street from a Metro station (Wilshire and Vermont). Super easy to get around w/o a car and is convenient to Hollywierd plus downtown LA. For those interested in greater distances, Universal City is at the end of the red line as well as Pasadena on the gold line.

Stayed at the Hyatt Irvine a couple of weeks ago. Very nice, reminds me of Meridien. Swanky bar and swankier rooms. Very tasteful and modern. Several of my colleagues had gift cards to the Hyatt and they were gracious enough to let me have them. (Thanks guys!!) Came in handy for the minibar munchies etc. Didn't have time to take pix as I was dealing with a family crisis. Take my word, it was nice. Location was bleh but the hotel offers shuttle service to South Coast Mall.

So my mold escapade is coming to a close with a couple of hitches along the way. The contractor employed for the reconstruction of my bedroom walls balked at repainting the rooms entirely. For what reason? He underbid the job and is trying to cut corners on anything he can. So for the "additional work" of repainting the rooms, he wanted $950 including painting the trim for 500 square feet!! One can mke the argument that my request to use different colors would add to his expenses and painting an additional wall or two would add to manpower; however, it doesn't add up to the amount he wanted. (And I'm not in the mood to pay that kind of money out of pocket.) So after a lengthly discussion with the paying party, we decided to let him just prime the rooms to where he thinks he should and someone else would come in to paint. When I came in yesterday to look at the rooms, he pretty much primed 1/2 to 3/4 of both bedrooms. I can't imagine how he could make the a...

We've moved back to the Hampton Inn Cypress again. After the Carson location, my roommate is breathing a sigh of relief. To top off the one day of no water, he forgot his toothbrush charger and belts. Housekeeping seems to be inconsistent in returning things.....I have to admit, I too am liking the Cypress location.

My 2007 has started with a stellar bang and I can only hope the rest of the year can match.... The mold removal company has finished their job yesterday and am awaiting for the microbiologist to confirm that mold is no longer present in the bedrooms. In the meantime, I've had a couple of snafus. My knee worsened over the weekend and forced me to borrow crutches from my family. Went to the doctor and was prescribed antiobiotics and anti-inflammotry medication....good stuff. My hotel lost water yesterday and we went without water for over 12 hours. Had to scramble to my gym to shower before work. Although this incident has spurred my brother to say "Back to Cypress!" To be fair, the Carson property is older but it does feel cramped compared to the previous Hampton and my roommmate's commute time hasn't changed with the different locations.

So my mold saga continues.... I blame mold for my current physical condition. I mentally killed my sister's dog on Sunday. I took him for a walk to the comic book store and when I was almost at my parent's house, he decides to try to book off (probably saw something or whatever). In any case, I was not anticipating this sudden move after an hour walk right outside my parent's house. Having a 50 lb force try to run away from you with a leash still attached to your wrist ends you up on the floor with a gashed up knee, several skin scrapes, and a minor hole in my top. The knee gash for those interested in gore....I flirted with the idea that I had a hairline fracture on my knee. See what happens when I'm homeless? Anyways, this week, I'm in Cypress. The Hampton Inn is somewhat centrally located in the midst of retail/restaurant mix. There is a Curry House right next door!! Mayhap, I should order lunch to go?? I think there are alot of Japanese in the area because t...

I'm somewhat homeless. My condo has some mold issues. It will take a few weeks to assess and repair. Although, this event happened almost a month ago with no results. I think the vendor who did the water removal did a bad job and increased the chanced of mold growth. How do you not punch holes in the wall to dry out the interior of the wall? Placing dehumidifiers in the room isn't going to solve the problem that the wall insides will be dry. Oh well, I feel sorry for my neighbor who has to pay for all this.... In the meantime, I'm now staying at random hotels in LA. As a resident, I never really put much thought in how much hotels can cost. Granted, I understood there is a high end market such as Westins, Four Seasons, etc. and the low end like Bates motels but never really paid much attention to the mid-priced lodging availability. Amazingly enough, there are plenty of hotels that are in this category and in the most suburban areas of LA. As I'm trying t...

It has been an eventful and restful vacation. I'd like to give props to my aunt's husband's brother, Trong Tin Nguyen. He is a travel agent based in Hanoi. He put together an awesome tour package that actually satisfied my parents. Another person is our tour guide, Hoai Giang Do, who was our point person in Hanoi. Of all the guides we had during our trip in Vietnam, he was the best. English was understandable as well as his Vietnamese. He was also closer to our age and could give us the best tips. Finally, Kanjanee Hongsyok who kindly befriended me on the train and made sure I made it back to Bangkok ok.

I must admit that the revamped airport leaves a better impression than last I was here. It was very cramped and cold. The new design is more consumer friendly by ensuring you access to all the Fendi, Coach, etc you can buy. The lack of food eateries is a bit disconcerting.　Does no one in Japan eat?