Bye bye California

hello everyone! hello my blog!
i had a wonderful stay in California. five weeks passed like a finger flip. I got many things taken care of, but most importantly I get to hang out with many friends and coworkers who I missed. I was even invited to the team outing of my old group. We spent a fun day on the beach. Then Lilian and I went shopping at Gilroy outlet, same itinerary as last year. But after living off of a backpack for 6 months I've become a bad shopping companion. :) I didn't buy anything and even discouraged her (by giving ligitimate reasons!) not to buy things she doesn't need. haha. ain't I a changed woman? I think i am now on her list of "ten people NOT to shop with" :) dang. I also had many lunches and coffee breaks with people I used to work with - Umesh, Nital, Amanda, Andrey, Carol, Lilian, Laurence, Yin, Mark, Jay, Kei, Jenny, Vincent, etc. It was great to see everybody. I even went to Ricardo's housewarming party where I met people I used to work with and haven't seen for ages! Janet, who used to tutor me English, also took me out for lunch a few times. We had great times and great conversation. She even bought me a jar of Dulce de Leche after we talked about how good those caramel-like syrup from south america are! :) mmm..my mouth is watering when thinking of those pastries filled with dulce de leche in Argentina....

Needless to mention, I spent lots of quality time with my friends, mostly around food, good food. :) One day we even drove all the way up to the city to eat at Spices (the stinky tofu, spicy chicken, and basil intestine... yumm), then went to the Grove to chill and have a cup of coffee. just like old times. Two nights before I left, we went to Gochi's for my farewell, every dish there is divine, and the green tea creme brulee & strawberry mousse are to die for. I also liked that we got a private room with Japanese style Tatami seatings, we had more privacy, could talk louder, and it saves us embarrassement from fighting for food (we shared all the dishes). :) And thank-you to many of you who have been so kind to pick up the tabs when we eat out on many occasions (although not necessary), extra thank-yous to Ming & Emily with whom I had a very comfortable stay in California. With many loose ends tied up and things taken care of, I felt more prepared about the departure this time around. However when the day comes I was still packing and sorting things when Anne and Puk were at the door to pick me up to the airport. They ended up having to help me. Totally a deja vu from six months ago. I guess some things never change.. :)

I had a smooth flight to Switzerland, with only one connection in Paris. The only adventure was one of my "luggage" didn't arrive at the carousel. It's actually just a moving box full of summer clothes (and instant noodles), well-taped by packing master Anne. I thought it was quite impossible that the box fell apart or got lost in transit because my backpack arrived with no problem. I got a little worried thinking maybe instant noodles are not allowed to come in? I then went across the terminal, dragged all my luggages into the office (one 69-L backpack and two carry-ons. carts are not allowed inside the office and the weight of the backpack is not what my shoulders can handle anymore). i felt people in the whole office were looking at me, yet no one lended a hand. The long line moved super slow and just when it was about my turn i saw this familiar box sitting on the floor. isn't that MY box? yuppi! It turned out that a box is a special kind of luggage and it doesn't arrive in carousel. phew. what a relief! With a bit of kicking and dragging i finally got all my luggages out the office and onto a cart. I stopped to catch my breath, then slowly roll the cart out. Hello Geneva!