This gastritis thingy is getting to be one disruption to my life. Woke up at 1.36am hungry. Came down for soymilk (that's my staple food for now). Went back to sleep. Woke up with a rumbling stomach again at 3.30am but this time, too lazy to go downstairs again, so, endured the rumbling, couldn't get back to sleep, listened to the songs on my iPod and finally, slept for half an hour and then by, 6.15am, got up and showered as I couldn't sleep a wink anymore. Argh...this is so frustrating. Really, am going to go see a gastroenterologist next week and get it checked.
Went on MSN and chatted with sis a little bit and then cooked an early lunch coz I have a tennis match today at 2pm. Had lunch at 12.20pm, left the house at 12.40pm to go buy King's eggroll at Story Road. Arrived at CSF at 1.20pm and then warmed up with Xiao Lu, Phyllis and Michelle. Well, didn't feel like I was tired so, thought it'll be a good match.
Today, my partner is Phyllis and we played against Pleasanton Park's Rosanna and Pauline, both of whom are 3.0 players. And before the match, we were informed that both of our opponents slices all their shots. So, I told myself, ok, this will be a toughie coz during warm ups, felt like they are striking the ball like a 3.5 player. Hopefully, Phyllis' lobs will work in our favor. The 1st set was tough coz they kept giving Phyllis the ball and she tried her best to lob but somehow, for some strange reason, her lobs didn't work that well. Also, credit to our opponents coz they are able to return lots of the lobs we throw at them at great angles. We broke them in the 1st game, got broken back in the next and then, after that, everyone held serve till we reach 6-6. So, to tiebreak we went and we barely made it but won it 7-3 to go up 7-6 in the 1st set.
And then, someway in the middle of the 2nd set, I started feeling tired and lethargic in spite of me munching on a banana throughout the 1st set during changeovers. So, took out my energy bar and munched on it some more. Then, the fingers starts to shiver which is usually not a good sign coz it means that my body is low on sugar even though I drank Gatorade and water. Told Phyllis I don't want to go to a 3rd set tiebreak coz I know my body won't hold up. We had a good start going up 2-0 in the 2nd but somehow, couldn't hold serve for the opponents to catch up to 2-2. Finally, our break came in the 10th game and we broke them to go up 6-5. Phyllis will have to serve for the match. The opponents were playing really smart attacking Phyllis all the time and they didn't give me any shots at the volley and some I tried to intercept but made unforced errors. Decided to change strategy and help Phyllis out at the baseline and it kinda worked. We were up 30-0 and then they followed with 2 good corner volleys and we were back to 30-30. Dang, this is tough I muttered but, still, gotta hang in there. Told Phyllis, return every ball to them defensively and hope they make the mistake. And, they did and we were up 40-30. Phyllis served and I rushed to the net and they pulled Phyllis to the net with a short ball and the 4 of us rallied with our volleys and finally, I hit the winning volley shot down the middle to give us the game and set. We won 7-5. That was some game I tell you. It was super challenging. Because of our win, the team won 2-1 coz the #2 doubles lost their match in the 3rd set tiebreak. What a pressure match and I nearly collapsed from exhaustion. At the end of it all, Phyllis came through and she hung in there (thanks dearie). Praise be to God for the victory....
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
24 September 2009
Today didn't start off too great. Woke up at 3.48am coz room was spinning. Knew I was in trouble. Tried to block it off by going back to sleep but couldn't. Sleeping on my back didn't help coz room still spinning and neither does sleeping on my left. Finally, sleeping on my right seemed better but can't open my eyes coz it's still spinning. Woke up at 5.15am to drink some warm soy milk but in 5 mins, threw it all out. Went upstairs to wake Sam up at 5.36am and told her I am sick and she needs to find alternative transport to school since I can't drive as I was dizzy. Went back to my room and tried to sleep but threw up 2 more times. Finally, asked Sam to call my friend Emily and asked her what I should do coz I know her husband is a doctor and maybe they can suggest something. Emily told Sam to prop me up and that helped take the dizziness away. Sam had a B day today which means she needs to be in school by 7.40am but couldn't find transportation. Had to call her school to report she will be late and I briefly spoke to the school administrator and told her I wasn't fit to drive as I am dizzy. She said Sam will be excused. Sam finally carpooled with Daniella's mom and left for school at 8am. I took my medication and threw up 1 more time, just couldn't get anything into the stomach. Told Sam to call Dr Tran to come by for house call and give me a jab at 9.30am. Woke up by then and realized room no longer spinning so, quickly texted Sam not to call Dr Tran. Went downstairs to get 2 slices of plain wholemeal bread and a cup of warm soy milk. Took me an hour to finish that 1 slice of bread and Emily called and told me to eat at every 15 min interval and not to rush gobbling down my food. Thanks Em, you're an angel. Finally, went back to sleep till about 1pm. Woke up, showered and came downstairs. Ate 1 more piece of bread and some rice with hot soup. Took my medication, went back to sleep. It has been an exhausting day and I felt weak. But, everything will be ok tomorrow. Praying now for a quick recovery b4 my match this Sunday. Hopefully, no more spinning room tonight. Thanks Sam for handling all the arrangements so well and efficiently and for the sweet note you left on my night stand. Thanks too to Daniella and her mom for coming to the rescue and sending Sam to and from school.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
20 - 22 September 2009
20 Sept - My laptop was infected by the Microsoft Police Pro malware and I couldn't get rid of it although I tried the whole night till 2.30am. Was so darn frustrated coz it won't allow me to run any applications. I ignored it for a while but eventually, it turned off my computer totally. That was the last straw...I gave up....Will have to call my savior, my bro-in-law Chong Khing tomorrow. For now, shoot an email out 1st. Man...what a night!
21 Sept - The carpet cleaner guy came, 9am-2pm. Now the carpets are so white and fluffy. Makes me want to sleep on them. Fetched Sam to her friend's house at Almaden (30 mins drive) at 10.30am and when Ken was done with the carpets, went out to fetch Sam and then head off to CSF to practice tennis (Sam's off school today as it's a holiday at VCS). Sam's doc has given Sam the ok to go back to tennis practice and her coach is mad to put her up for a game the minute she returns (and without any practice since she sprained her ankle till now) on Tue. In a way, can't blame him too coz he doesn't have enough players on the team, just "ngum-ngum." Finished tennis and came home at 5.30pm, ate an early dinner and then, called my savior and CK was great, as usual. He fixed my laptop whilst I clean the house. Didn't finish till 11.30pm. Was dead tired but didn't sleep too well coz night was chilly and I had the windows opened. Tossing and turning the whole night thru.
22 Sept - Sent Sam to school by 7.30am and head off straight to CSF. My BALL match starts at 9.30am but I was at CSF by 8.30am. A guy by the name of Thomas invited me to stroke with him and I did. Within 1/2 an hour, I tire him out with all my corner shots and he gave up. Thanked me for playing with him and said my shots were good and he sweated so, objective gained and I was all nice and warmed up for my BALL match by then.T4, win-win situation for both of us, that's good.
My partner for BALL today is Hoai and we played against Fran and Avis from Walnut Creek RC. Our opponents are senior players and tho they can't run, man, they sure can place the ball extremely well. Their balls are mostly midcourt coz they want to avoid me poaching and volleying and so Hoai hit lots of balls today and ran a lot too. The opponent's shots were kinda loopy and high but not enough for us to smash it down and not low enough for a groundy and it was without pace. That really threw both of us off and we made a lot of unforced errors in the 1st set. Was lucky to win it in tiebreak 7-3. In the 2nd set, told Hoai that we need to be patient and shot selection is ultimate in order to get around them. Return as many balls to them as possible and move them and that brought us through the 2nd set with a 6-2 win. And to cap it all, Fran said I was only 20 yrs old and that's why I could run so fast. If only, she knew, hahaha!
That's me and Hoai on our way out after winning our match 7-6, 6-2 against Walnut Creek RC.
21 Sept - The carpet cleaner guy came, 9am-2pm. Now the carpets are so white and fluffy. Makes me want to sleep on them. Fetched Sam to her friend's house at Almaden (30 mins drive) at 10.30am and when Ken was done with the carpets, went out to fetch Sam and then head off to CSF to practice tennis (Sam's off school today as it's a holiday at VCS). Sam's doc has given Sam the ok to go back to tennis practice and her coach is mad to put her up for a game the minute she returns (and without any practice since she sprained her ankle till now) on Tue. In a way, can't blame him too coz he doesn't have enough players on the team, just "ngum-ngum." Finished tennis and came home at 5.30pm, ate an early dinner and then, called my savior and CK was great, as usual. He fixed my laptop whilst I clean the house. Didn't finish till 11.30pm. Was dead tired but didn't sleep too well coz night was chilly and I had the windows opened. Tossing and turning the whole night thru.
22 Sept - Sent Sam to school by 7.30am and head off straight to CSF. My BALL match starts at 9.30am but I was at CSF by 8.30am. A guy by the name of Thomas invited me to stroke with him and I did. Within 1/2 an hour, I tire him out with all my corner shots and he gave up. Thanked me for playing with him and said my shots were good and he sweated so, objective gained and I was all nice and warmed up for my BALL match by then.T4, win-win situation for both of us, that's good.
My partner for BALL today is Hoai and we played against Fran and Avis from Walnut Creek RC. Our opponents are senior players and tho they can't run, man, they sure can place the ball extremely well. Their balls are mostly midcourt coz they want to avoid me poaching and volleying and so Hoai hit lots of balls today and ran a lot too. The opponent's shots were kinda loopy and high but not enough for us to smash it down and not low enough for a groundy and it was without pace. That really threw both of us off and we made a lot of unforced errors in the 1st set. Was lucky to win it in tiebreak 7-3. In the 2nd set, told Hoai that we need to be patient and shot selection is ultimate in order to get around them. Return as many balls to them as possible and move them and that brought us through the 2nd set with a 6-2 win. And to cap it all, Fran said I was only 20 yrs old and that's why I could run so fast. If only, she knew, hahaha!
That's me and Hoai on our way out after winning our match 7-6, 6-2 against Walnut Creek RC.
Friday, September 18, 2009
25 June - 2 August 2009
This is probably the 1st curve ball I am throwing at you all coz this update is backdating to 2 months ago. It will appear on Fb in September coz that is the date I publish it. T4, don't be puzzled...
25 June - This is a sad day for the entertainment industry as Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson passed away. What a great loss for America and I was shocked esp with MJ coz he seemed so young and too talented to leave the world so soon. We will miss both of them dearly coz I remembered I was definitely a fan of Farah with her billowy hairstyle.
27 June - Played for Sandy's 3.5 team and won 7-5, 6-4. This was a tough match coz the opponents stack their line-ups, which means, their #1 doubles is not necessarily their strongest line. And Hanna and me played the 3rd line-up. Hanna got yelled at by the opponent when she hit her on the forehead with a return of serve. Both of us went to the net and asked if she's ok and she glared at us and screamed, "You hit me on the forehead, what do you think?" Both of us were taken aback and her partner asked us to give her 5 mins to recompose which we did. Incidentally, after they lost the 1st set 7-5, the opponent did apologize for her outburst and when Hanna hit her again a 2nd time in the 2nd set, she didn't scold us.
5 July - Played for CH's 3.0 team against Pleasanton Park and won 6-4, 0-2 (retired) coz opponent's player had severe cramps. I partnered Emily Sah for the 1st time and clearly, didn't play well and couldn't hit the ball as hard as I'd like to coz it was windy on the outdoor court. I hate playing with or against the win. Anyway, the team lost that day although we won our match.
9 July - Played mixed doubles match partnering Richard against Ed Reyes/Colleen. Richard gave Ed a short ball and he ran up to retrieve it and when I saw Ed running to the net, my brain said run but my legs won't obey. That was when I got hit by the ball on the corner of my left eye. There was such a loud thud on impact but thankfully, it missed the eye. An incident report was filed by the Club and Colleen was really nice and brought ice for me to bring any swelling down. Amazingly, there was no bruises nor was there any swelling. I guess the ego was the only thing that hurts :-(
12 July - Played for Thuy's 3.5 team in Milpitas partnering Kathy Hopkins. Won the match 6-2, 6-1. Kathy is like 5'10" tall so, she was inpenetratetable at the net and won many points there. For me, I covered the baseline and today, hit pretty well in spite of playing outdoors with windy conditions and all. Hmm...maybe this is a start of something good.
14 July - Today is a sad day coz I just got an email from the USTA saying that I have been DQ-ed in the 3.0 women's category and with immediate effect, been bumped up to a 3.5 rating. Oh, that sucks coz it means that all my matches I have played on my 3.0 team (which is 3wins zero losses) will be reversed to having lost 0-6, 0-6. But, it doesn't affect the 4w 0 losses for my 3.5 team, phew. Don't know if I should be happy or sad but que sera sera. Life goes on. This is tennis after all. I guess I am good enough after all to be bumped up although not exactly the nicest way by getting DQ-ed.
21 July - Was informed by mom that the orthopedic surgeon at GH has scheduled her for her kneecap replacement surgery to be performed on Aug 4. Quickly called SQ and got waitlisted for my flight home. Ed was nice to send me home so that I can help take care of mom post surgery.
22 July - Amazingly SQ flights confirmed. Praise be to God coz this is the shortest time that I've waitlisted for their flight and got confirmation so quickly. Was so excited to tell mom that I'll be coming home soon ie. flying off on Aug 3, eta Penang, Aug 4.
23 July - Another amazing thing happened today. Both my racquet strings broke one after the other and I had no racquets to use after that, hahaha. Feels good to break two tho!
27 July - Watched the Bank of the West Classic tennis tournament held at Stanford. Match between Maria Sharapova vs Ai Sugiyama. Was indeed a thrilling match as Maria was taken to 3 sets b4 beating Ai. Score: 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. I guess Ai ran out of steam in the 3rd.
28 July - Watched the Bank of the West Classic tennis tournament with Emily today at 11am. Man, the weather was hot and we were literally baking in the hot sun. Match was Hantuchova vs Wosniack which Hantuchova won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. We didn't stay till the end of the match coz the weather was unbearable and we carpooled and Em need to leave by 1pm to fetch her boys from activities.
It's not just the tennis we watch, but I noticed Hantuchova's Nike apparel is very nice. Hmm...maybe will get it online from tenniswarehouse.com
This is A Wozniack. She is not as consistent as Hantuchova but her serves are more penetrating. Took this picture to try and emulate her serving motion.
30 July - 2 Aug - In Reno for Sam's bowling tournament. These are her scores:
Doubles with Ty - 582 pinfalls - average 194
Doubles with Marty - 595 pinfalls - average 199
Team Manteca-Perez - 581 pinfalls - average 194
Team with Marty/Ty/Anna/Sam - 543 pinfalls - avg 181
Team with Leon/Chris/Yannick/Sam - 477 pinfalls - avg 159
The 1st day's score on 31 July outweighs the scores of 1 Aug. I think the lane conditions on the 2nd day was much much tougher. Sam originally was only supposed to bowl 3 events ie. 2 doubles and 1 team but turned out, she bowled 5 events. All in all, it was a good bowling experience for her.
2 Aug - Got terribly sick in the car on the drive home from Reno to SJC. I think it was the decaf coffee or the milk in the coffee coz I suffered from severe stomach cramps, cold sweat and had to helped out of the car by Sveta. Nearly fainted in the restroom if not for Sveta's help. Thanks dearie. After defecating, felt much better. Gotta get well soon coz I have a trip tonight to go home to Penang and I am so excited about it.
25 June - This is a sad day for the entertainment industry as Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson passed away. What a great loss for America and I was shocked esp with MJ coz he seemed so young and too talented to leave the world so soon. We will miss both of them dearly coz I remembered I was definitely a fan of Farah with her billowy hairstyle.
27 June - Played for Sandy's 3.5 team and won 7-5, 6-4. This was a tough match coz the opponents stack their line-ups, which means, their #1 doubles is not necessarily their strongest line. And Hanna and me played the 3rd line-up. Hanna got yelled at by the opponent when she hit her on the forehead with a return of serve. Both of us went to the net and asked if she's ok and she glared at us and screamed, "You hit me on the forehead, what do you think?" Both of us were taken aback and her partner asked us to give her 5 mins to recompose which we did. Incidentally, after they lost the 1st set 7-5, the opponent did apologize for her outburst and when Hanna hit her again a 2nd time in the 2nd set, she didn't scold us.
5 July - Played for CH's 3.0 team against Pleasanton Park and won 6-4, 0-2 (retired) coz opponent's player had severe cramps. I partnered Emily Sah for the 1st time and clearly, didn't play well and couldn't hit the ball as hard as I'd like to coz it was windy on the outdoor court. I hate playing with or against the win. Anyway, the team lost that day although we won our match.
9 July - Played mixed doubles match partnering Richard against Ed Reyes/Colleen. Richard gave Ed a short ball and he ran up to retrieve it and when I saw Ed running to the net, my brain said run but my legs won't obey. That was when I got hit by the ball on the corner of my left eye. There was such a loud thud on impact but thankfully, it missed the eye. An incident report was filed by the Club and Colleen was really nice and brought ice for me to bring any swelling down. Amazingly, there was no bruises nor was there any swelling. I guess the ego was the only thing that hurts :-(
12 July - Played for Thuy's 3.5 team in Milpitas partnering Kathy Hopkins. Won the match 6-2, 6-1. Kathy is like 5'10" tall so, she was inpenetratetable at the net and won many points there. For me, I covered the baseline and today, hit pretty well in spite of playing outdoors with windy conditions and all. Hmm...maybe this is a start of something good.
14 July - Today is a sad day coz I just got an email from the USTA saying that I have been DQ-ed in the 3.0 women's category and with immediate effect, been bumped up to a 3.5 rating. Oh, that sucks coz it means that all my matches I have played on my 3.0 team (which is 3wins zero losses) will be reversed to having lost 0-6, 0-6. But, it doesn't affect the 4w 0 losses for my 3.5 team, phew. Don't know if I should be happy or sad but que sera sera. Life goes on. This is tennis after all. I guess I am good enough after all to be bumped up although not exactly the nicest way by getting DQ-ed.
21 July - Was informed by mom that the orthopedic surgeon at GH has scheduled her for her kneecap replacement surgery to be performed on Aug 4. Quickly called SQ and got waitlisted for my flight home. Ed was nice to send me home so that I can help take care of mom post surgery.
22 July - Amazingly SQ flights confirmed. Praise be to God coz this is the shortest time that I've waitlisted for their flight and got confirmation so quickly. Was so excited to tell mom that I'll be coming home soon ie. flying off on Aug 3, eta Penang, Aug 4.
23 July - Another amazing thing happened today. Both my racquet strings broke one after the other and I had no racquets to use after that, hahaha. Feels good to break two tho!
27 July - Watched the Bank of the West Classic tennis tournament held at Stanford. Match between Maria Sharapova vs Ai Sugiyama. Was indeed a thrilling match as Maria was taken to 3 sets b4 beating Ai. Score: 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. I guess Ai ran out of steam in the 3rd.
28 July - Watched the Bank of the West Classic tennis tournament with Emily today at 11am. Man, the weather was hot and we were literally baking in the hot sun. Match was Hantuchova vs Wosniack which Hantuchova won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. We didn't stay till the end of the match coz the weather was unbearable and we carpooled and Em need to leave by 1pm to fetch her boys from activities.
It's not just the tennis we watch, but I noticed Hantuchova's Nike apparel is very nice. Hmm...maybe will get it online from tenniswarehouse.com
This is A Wozniack. She is not as consistent as Hantuchova but her serves are more penetrating. Took this picture to try and emulate her serving motion.
30 July - 2 Aug - In Reno for Sam's bowling tournament. These are her scores:
Doubles with Ty - 582 pinfalls - average 194
Doubles with Marty - 595 pinfalls - average 199
Team Manteca-Perez - 581 pinfalls - average 194
Team with Marty/Ty/Anna/Sam - 543 pinfalls - avg 181
Team with Leon/Chris/Yannick/Sam - 477 pinfalls - avg 159
The 1st day's score on 31 July outweighs the scores of 1 Aug. I think the lane conditions on the 2nd day was much much tougher. Sam originally was only supposed to bowl 3 events ie. 2 doubles and 1 team but turned out, she bowled 5 events. All in all, it was a good bowling experience for her.
2 Aug - Got terribly sick in the car on the drive home from Reno to SJC. I think it was the decaf coffee or the milk in the coffee coz I suffered from severe stomach cramps, cold sweat and had to helped out of the car by Sveta. Nearly fainted in the restroom if not for Sveta's help. Thanks dearie. After defecating, felt much better. Gotta get well soon coz I have a trip tonight to go home to Penang and I am so excited about it.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
20 - 21 June 2009
Checked out of Movenpick Hotel and off to Chamonix we go. I am amazed that in 10 short days, we have traveled to 5 countries ie. London, Wales, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and France. Am glad I did it now that I still able bodied and full of stamina. Not sure if I can do that in another year or two as age creeps up.
Anyway, we took the car to the gas station to have it filled. Asked the pump attendant if he knew how to get to the highway as we wanted to go to Chamonix. His English is so-so and at the speed I am asking questions, he asked me to slow down and so, I did. Finally, he got one of his customers to direct us to the highway which was actually pretty simple and we were on our way.
Chamonix is in France and is about 1 hour's drive from Geneva, about 50 miles (75km) from Geneva airport. When we passed the immigration check point, we saw this booth that said, "Currency Exchange." We thought it was strange to have a currency exchange booth b4 the check point and we drove on. And just as we passed through the check point, we realized we are on a highway that we have to pay toll (A40 motorway) and then, it struck Ed that, oh gosh, the currency used in France is no longer Swiss Francs but Euro. No wonder there was a currency exchange booth. Now, we are stuck coz we had no Euros on us and toll gates are coming up. I told him perhaps he should pull over and I go use my womanly charm and see if they will accept anything else other than Euros (USD perhaps). But, Ed said no need and hope there was credit card and phew, they do accept credit cards.
We arrived in good time at Chamonix, and went to the town center where there was a farmers market and we changed some Euros at a local currency exchange stall.
This is the farmers market. Very lau juak.
Chamonix is located in a spectacular valley in the French Alps. If you like skiing (this is the oldest and largest ski resort), this is THE place to be.
I was hungry and sat down for breakfast here. The air is so clean and crisp, it's nice to soak it all in.
Notice the glacier in the background of this picture. It was unfortunate that we had a flight to catch from Geneva back to Washington DC and therefore, we couldn't take the cable car up to Mont-Blanc (Europe's highest peak). Otherwise, it would've been nicer coz the round trip ride will take approximately 1.5 hours and we don't have enough time to spare. Definitely will come back again in the future for skiing.
And, if you like cheese and chocolates, the town center shops has all these to offer and more! Here's more pics to share with you.
And so, we bid adieu to Chamonix, hope to return to see her again some day. We drove back to Geneva airport, returned our car rental and wait for our onward flight from Geneva to Washington DC. Our flight went without a hitch. We stayed 1 night at Hilton in Virginia and then picked up Sam from her conference at Sheraton Tyson's Corner and head for home sweet home on 21 June 2009.
Sam had a blast at her NYLC Conference and was sick after 10 days of running around, waking up early and going to bed late. Some of the conference participants lost their laptops and some, their iPods and cameras. Sadly, security wasn't that great at Sheraton but we praise God that all of Sam's laptop, iPod and cameras were intact. Her friend Eugene who traveled with us together lost his laptop. Oh well...good things come and good things go. Most importantly, everyone had their own fun. And we did.....
Anyway, we took the car to the gas station to have it filled. Asked the pump attendant if he knew how to get to the highway as we wanted to go to Chamonix. His English is so-so and at the speed I am asking questions, he asked me to slow down and so, I did. Finally, he got one of his customers to direct us to the highway which was actually pretty simple and we were on our way.
Chamonix is in France and is about 1 hour's drive from Geneva, about 50 miles (75km) from Geneva airport. When we passed the immigration check point, we saw this booth that said, "Currency Exchange." We thought it was strange to have a currency exchange booth b4 the check point and we drove on. And just as we passed through the check point, we realized we are on a highway that we have to pay toll (A40 motorway) and then, it struck Ed that, oh gosh, the currency used in France is no longer Swiss Francs but Euro. No wonder there was a currency exchange booth. Now, we are stuck coz we had no Euros on us and toll gates are coming up. I told him perhaps he should pull over and I go use my womanly charm and see if they will accept anything else other than Euros (USD perhaps). But, Ed said no need and hope there was credit card and phew, they do accept credit cards.
We arrived in good time at Chamonix, and went to the town center where there was a farmers market and we changed some Euros at a local currency exchange stall.
This is the farmers market. Very lau juak.
Chamonix is located in a spectacular valley in the French Alps. If you like skiing (this is the oldest and largest ski resort), this is THE place to be.
I was hungry and sat down for breakfast here. The air is so clean and crisp, it's nice to soak it all in.
Notice the glacier in the background of this picture. It was unfortunate that we had a flight to catch from Geneva back to Washington DC and therefore, we couldn't take the cable car up to Mont-Blanc (Europe's highest peak). Otherwise, it would've been nicer coz the round trip ride will take approximately 1.5 hours and we don't have enough time to spare. Definitely will come back again in the future for skiing.
And, if you like cheese and chocolates, the town center shops has all these to offer and more! Here's more pics to share with you.
And so, we bid adieu to Chamonix, hope to return to see her again some day. We drove back to Geneva airport, returned our car rental and wait for our onward flight from Geneva to Washington DC. Our flight went without a hitch. We stayed 1 night at Hilton in Virginia and then picked up Sam from her conference at Sheraton Tyson's Corner and head for home sweet home on 21 June 2009.
Sam had a blast at her NYLC Conference and was sick after 10 days of running around, waking up early and going to bed late. Some of the conference participants lost their laptops and some, their iPods and cameras. Sadly, security wasn't that great at Sheraton but we praise God that all of Sam's laptop, iPod and cameras were intact. Her friend Eugene who traveled with us together lost his laptop. Oh well...good things come and good things go. Most importantly, everyone had their own fun. And we did.....
19 June 2009
Ed left for work early in the morning while I slept in. For once, I feel like I am on holiday coz no need to rush from airport to airport and from hotel to hotel. But, my slumber was roughly awakened by the sound of drilling and knocking coz the hotel was having some renovation work done on the upper floors. Just my luck....
Wanted to go downstairs for breakfast but was too late coz it was past 10am. So, got ready to head down to town by myself and go jalan-jalan in downtown Geneva. Took the shuttle bus from the hotel to the airport and took the express train from airport straight to downtown. Whilst waiting for the shuttle bus, I was looking at the map and charting the course I wanted to take and marking down what I wanted to see and do and there was this kind French guy who was kind enough to volunteer his help and showed me what are the must see and do. And, he quipped, "if all things fail, if you can wait for me, I'll take you there myself." To which I laughingly said, "thanks, I think I can handle it."
Over here in Geneva, most people speak French so, am quite lost at the airport coz didn't know which platform to go to for the train ride downtown. Asked the station master and he muttered incorrigibly in English and point point point. I guess sign language works best in this instance, hahaha. The train ride to downtown is only 1 stop.
This is the beautiful fountain called Le Jet d'Eau in the middle of Lake Geneva. It was a sight to behold as I stand there in awe of its beauty. Luckily for me, I took this photo and after that went about my tour coz when I came back to it 2 hours later, the fountain was actually turned off.
This is the Basilica of Notre Dame which I come across in downtown Geneva. Beautiful church from the outside and inside. Was actually inside the basilica marveling at the gothic architecture and vivid colors of the stained glass depicting Catholic saints.
And from the pictures above, you can see that all the buildings are very nice. All of them facing Lake Geneva. I dare not even enter any of the shops in case they have a dress code of some sort and I am in jeans and t-shirt.
Downtown Geneva is a shopper's paradise. One can find all kinds of brand names in this town. Only problem is whether one has money. And talking about money. I was so embarrassed coz I thought I wanted some extra cash just in case I am in the mood for shopping and so, when I saw this huge HSBC bank, I was elated. Walked in there and saw this guy in a black jacket sitting very confidently over the counter and I told him I wanted to withdraw some money. He looked surprised at me and then said, "Oh, we only accept cash deposits. No withdrawals here. If you need an atm, it is outside a block away and you'll find the machine there." You should have seen my face blushed red. I forgot I was in Switzerland where people here are rich and t4, they don't withdraw money, they only put in money, geez!
After walking around a fair bit, got hungry coz didn't eat breakfast this morning. Decided to go to this food court and guess what I ate? Rice! finally. It was lunch time and that place was packed. After lunch, walked around and
took some more pictures. Frankly, if you don't like shopping, Geneva old downtown is not the place to be and clearly, I came home without a shopping bag so, that explains why I didn't enjoy Geneva as much as I did Zurich.
Took a train back and at night, Ed took me to a French restaurant that was really jam packed with people. It was drizzling a little but we managed to walk around with the umbrella. Food was excellent and the place was abuzz with people. I enjoyed the French food and wine and it was indeed a good ending to a great holiday. Tomorrow, we head off to Chamonix, France.
Wanted to go downstairs for breakfast but was too late coz it was past 10am. So, got ready to head down to town by myself and go jalan-jalan in downtown Geneva. Took the shuttle bus from the hotel to the airport and took the express train from airport straight to downtown. Whilst waiting for the shuttle bus, I was looking at the map and charting the course I wanted to take and marking down what I wanted to see and do and there was this kind French guy who was kind enough to volunteer his help and showed me what are the must see and do. And, he quipped, "if all things fail, if you can wait for me, I'll take you there myself." To which I laughingly said, "thanks, I think I can handle it."
Over here in Geneva, most people speak French so, am quite lost at the airport coz didn't know which platform to go to for the train ride downtown. Asked the station master and he muttered incorrigibly in English and point point point. I guess sign language works best in this instance, hahaha. The train ride to downtown is only 1 stop.
This is the beautiful fountain called Le Jet d'Eau in the middle of Lake Geneva. It was a sight to behold as I stand there in awe of its beauty. Luckily for me, I took this photo and after that went about my tour coz when I came back to it 2 hours later, the fountain was actually turned off.
This is the Basilica of Notre Dame which I come across in downtown Geneva. Beautiful church from the outside and inside. Was actually inside the basilica marveling at the gothic architecture and vivid colors of the stained glass depicting Catholic saints.
And from the pictures above, you can see that all the buildings are very nice. All of them facing Lake Geneva. I dare not even enter any of the shops in case they have a dress code of some sort and I am in jeans and t-shirt.
Downtown Geneva is a shopper's paradise. One can find all kinds of brand names in this town. Only problem is whether one has money. And talking about money. I was so embarrassed coz I thought I wanted some extra cash just in case I am in the mood for shopping and so, when I saw this huge HSBC bank, I was elated. Walked in there and saw this guy in a black jacket sitting very confidently over the counter and I told him I wanted to withdraw some money. He looked surprised at me and then said, "Oh, we only accept cash deposits. No withdrawals here. If you need an atm, it is outside a block away and you'll find the machine there." You should have seen my face blushed red. I forgot I was in Switzerland where people here are rich and t4, they don't withdraw money, they only put in money, geez!
After walking around a fair bit, got hungry coz didn't eat breakfast this morning. Decided to go to this food court and guess what I ate? Rice! finally. It was lunch time and that place was packed. After lunch, walked around and
took some more pictures. Frankly, if you don't like shopping, Geneva old downtown is not the place to be and clearly, I came home without a shopping bag so, that explains why I didn't enjoy Geneva as much as I did Zurich.
Took a train back and at night, Ed took me to a French restaurant that was really jam packed with people. It was drizzling a little but we managed to walk around with the umbrella. Food was excellent and the place was abuzz with people. I enjoyed the French food and wine and it was indeed a good ending to a great holiday. Tomorrow, we head off to Chamonix, France.
13 Sept - 16 Sept 2009
13 Sept - I won my 1st doubles 6.5 combo tennis match today against Ruby Hill. I partnered Xiao Lu and won 6-1, 6-0. We played #3 doubles and although didn't serve too well, hit a couple of volleys into the net, smash a couple into the net too, had 1 double fault, it turned out well in the end. Not too bad a start for my debut in the 6.5 team. Next match, 9/27 will be against Pleasanton Park which will be a tougher game. Our team is still #1 in the ranking, yipee!
After the match, didn't even stay back for lunch but rushed home to watch the Novak/Roger's semi final match. Was quite a dampener coz Novak couldn't play his "A" game but I think he had fun trying to beat the world's #1 player and again, Roger won.
Today and tomorrow, I will be talking nothing but tennis due to the US Open tournament. Did you all see Serena's outburst against the lines woman who called a foot fault on her in her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters? Oh...that was bad and I am quite ashamed to say that I was actually rooting for her. She was clearly out of line with her expletives, rude and unsportsmanlike. She deserves to lose the point and match. And to add to my anger, at the post interview, Serena wasn't a wee bit remorseful about her attitude on court. Was arrogant and from then on, I decided that from now on, no more rooting for Serena Williams no matter how great a player she is and will be. I totally am on the side with the commentators who said that the USTA only fined her US$10,500 for her expletives and racquet smashing and that penalty is way way too mild. The USTA should have suspended her doubles finals too although it wasn't fair to V. Come on...for a person who earns $23 million alone (and that is not taking into consideration the numerous endorsements she has in the market place), $10,500 is peanuts. Anyway, Serena and V won their doubles match and then went on publicly to apologize to the lines woman, Kim and her fans. To me that's too late coz I think that was the condition meted out by the USTA in allowing them to play their doubles final match. It was not a sincere apology and was all a "sandiwara." Clearly, I was disappointed in Serena's attitude but, am very happy for Kim to win the US Open 2009 coz she was deserving as she played well against Caroline Wozniacki and it also gives married women like me a slight ray of hope that we can still beat those young unmarried ladies out there. Go Kim....hope there will be many more for you to come.
14 Sept - Housekeeping day but was very hardworking and started early at 7.30am coz I want to finish early enough to watch the men's singles final match at 1.30pm. The finals was good with Roger leading 2 sets to 1 but in the 4th set and 5th, clearly Roger wasn't in his usual top form coz he had 11 double faults which is uncanny of him as usually his aces outweighs his dbl faults. And DelPo played great tennis with his unfailing hard serves which Roger couldn't take. And DelPo played smart and has improved significantly in his movement around the court. And eventually, DelPo got the better of Roger and romped home with a win at the US Open. I was so glad DelPo won coz finally, can see a new face in tennis rather than good 'ol Roger's face all the time.
15 Sept - Went out to play tennis with Taemi/Li Lin and Cindy. Partnered Cindy and won 7-5 and then partnered Taemi and won 6-3. It was a fun match with both partners and I had fun. Was about to leave but CH Shek (my 3.0 captain) caught me and asked me to replace him coz he had to run in the midst of their practice. So, I joined Phyllis against Xiao Lu/May and we lost 5-7. Why? Because yours truly was tired, impatient and Xiao Lu and May kept lobbing and I wanted to end the point quickly thus, resulting in killing my own self and lost the match eventually, grr! Lesson to be learnt : BE PATIENT.... Hmmm.. that's never been my forte but gotta learn I know.
16 Sept - Was supposed to play with Richard but he couldn't make it as he's got to take Andy to the hospital for his follow up check at Stanford Hospital. I took the opportunity to finish my paperwork and attend to stuff that I kept procrastinating about. Very productive day I must say.
After the match, didn't even stay back for lunch but rushed home to watch the Novak/Roger's semi final match. Was quite a dampener coz Novak couldn't play his "A" game but I think he had fun trying to beat the world's #1 player and again, Roger won.
Today and tomorrow, I will be talking nothing but tennis due to the US Open tournament. Did you all see Serena's outburst against the lines woman who called a foot fault on her in her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters? Oh...that was bad and I am quite ashamed to say that I was actually rooting for her. She was clearly out of line with her expletives, rude and unsportsmanlike. She deserves to lose the point and match. And to add to my anger, at the post interview, Serena wasn't a wee bit remorseful about her attitude on court. Was arrogant and from then on, I decided that from now on, no more rooting for Serena Williams no matter how great a player she is and will be. I totally am on the side with the commentators who said that the USTA only fined her US$10,500 for her expletives and racquet smashing and that penalty is way way too mild. The USTA should have suspended her doubles finals too although it wasn't fair to V. Come on...for a person who earns $23 million alone (and that is not taking into consideration the numerous endorsements she has in the market place), $10,500 is peanuts. Anyway, Serena and V won their doubles match and then went on publicly to apologize to the lines woman, Kim and her fans. To me that's too late coz I think that was the condition meted out by the USTA in allowing them to play their doubles final match. It was not a sincere apology and was all a "sandiwara." Clearly, I was disappointed in Serena's attitude but, am very happy for Kim to win the US Open 2009 coz she was deserving as she played well against Caroline Wozniacki and it also gives married women like me a slight ray of hope that we can still beat those young unmarried ladies out there. Go Kim....hope there will be many more for you to come.
14 Sept - Housekeeping day but was very hardworking and started early at 7.30am coz I want to finish early enough to watch the men's singles final match at 1.30pm. The finals was good with Roger leading 2 sets to 1 but in the 4th set and 5th, clearly Roger wasn't in his usual top form coz he had 11 double faults which is uncanny of him as usually his aces outweighs his dbl faults. And DelPo played great tennis with his unfailing hard serves which Roger couldn't take. And DelPo played smart and has improved significantly in his movement around the court. And eventually, DelPo got the better of Roger and romped home with a win at the US Open. I was so glad DelPo won coz finally, can see a new face in tennis rather than good 'ol Roger's face all the time.
15 Sept - Went out to play tennis with Taemi/Li Lin and Cindy. Partnered Cindy and won 7-5 and then partnered Taemi and won 6-3. It was a fun match with both partners and I had fun. Was about to leave but CH Shek (my 3.0 captain) caught me and asked me to replace him coz he had to run in the midst of their practice. So, I joined Phyllis against Xiao Lu/May and we lost 5-7. Why? Because yours truly was tired, impatient and Xiao Lu and May kept lobbing and I wanted to end the point quickly thus, resulting in killing my own self and lost the match eventually, grr! Lesson to be learnt : BE PATIENT.... Hmmm.. that's never been my forte but gotta learn I know.
16 Sept - Was supposed to play with Richard but he couldn't make it as he's got to take Andy to the hospital for his follow up check at Stanford Hospital. I took the opportunity to finish my paperwork and attend to stuff that I kept procrastinating about. Very productive day I must say.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
30 August - 12 September 2009
After the inital hype of school starting on Aug 24, Sam's beginning to feel the heat of being loaded with so much homework and was finding it hard to cope with all the new subjects she's taking. I think it's more the routine of getting back to hardwork coz the 3 months of summer hols has somewhat spoilt the momentum. Go Sam go! Jia Yu...
Looking forward to Labor Day weekend where we will have 3 days off from work and school from 5-7 Sept. Not doing much except rest rest rest. That's all I need for now coz since coming back from Penang, have not been resting well. Also, looking forward to watching the US Open which starts Aug 31 till Sept 13.
2 Sept - Sam sprained her left ankle during tennis practice at school today. She was crying as it was really painful. Wasn't sure if she broke any bones so, went home to put her stuff at home and then off to the ER at Regional Medical Center. We spent 3.5 hours sitting around waiting for xrays to be done and thankfully, at the end of it all, no broken bones. Sam had to be on crutches for the next week or so and definitely, no tennis or bowling. What a drag!
7 Sept - Went to see Sam's physician Dr Trang Tran to confirm if she can start on light tennis workout but, no such luck. Big tears rolled down her cheeks when Dr Tran said there's no such possibility coz when Sam moved her ankle laterally, it still hurts. Sam felt like she's letting her school team down coz she's been scheduled by her tennis coach to play 2nd singles against Mitty and now, without any practices, she's gotta forfeit that game. Oh well, I told her to look at the big picture and not hurry coz sprained ankle doesn't heal quickly and if she goes back in too much of a rush, she may re-injure it and that will be the end of her tennis or bowling. She's been obedient thus far although not very happy with it. Next follow up check will be Friday, 9/18 and we hope there'll be good news to share with all of you out there.
Other than that, sad news to hear that Alisa has passed away on Sat morning after a long battle with brain cancer. Our heartfelt condolences to Belinda and Ted Harvey as well as to Eddy and Ethan. Alisa is Belinda's daughter in law and Belinda is my best friend. The memorial service will be held in Arcata, 5-6 hours drive from San Jose on 19 Sept. Our prayers are with them.
This whole week, have been playing lots of tennis and trying to play catch up but body is acting up and retaliating. As I am writing this on Sat, 9/12, both legs' hamstrings are tight and shoulder is feeling the strain from all the serves I have been practising of late. Hope that when I play my 6.5 combo match tomorrow, my body will hold up. Prayers will be needed for sure.
Am still rooting for Serena to win the US Open women's singles but Kim Clijsters looks fresh and is hitting the ball clean. So, I am somewhat having my reservations that Serena can pull this out of the bag. Keeping all my fingers and intestines crossed, hahaha...
Looking forward to Labor Day weekend where we will have 3 days off from work and school from 5-7 Sept. Not doing much except rest rest rest. That's all I need for now coz since coming back from Penang, have not been resting well. Also, looking forward to watching the US Open which starts Aug 31 till Sept 13.
2 Sept - Sam sprained her left ankle during tennis practice at school today. She was crying as it was really painful. Wasn't sure if she broke any bones so, went home to put her stuff at home and then off to the ER at Regional Medical Center. We spent 3.5 hours sitting around waiting for xrays to be done and thankfully, at the end of it all, no broken bones. Sam had to be on crutches for the next week or so and definitely, no tennis or bowling. What a drag!
7 Sept - Went to see Sam's physician Dr Trang Tran to confirm if she can start on light tennis workout but, no such luck. Big tears rolled down her cheeks when Dr Tran said there's no such possibility coz when Sam moved her ankle laterally, it still hurts. Sam felt like she's letting her school team down coz she's been scheduled by her tennis coach to play 2nd singles against Mitty and now, without any practices, she's gotta forfeit that game. Oh well, I told her to look at the big picture and not hurry coz sprained ankle doesn't heal quickly and if she goes back in too much of a rush, she may re-injure it and that will be the end of her tennis or bowling. She's been obedient thus far although not very happy with it. Next follow up check will be Friday, 9/18 and we hope there'll be good news to share with all of you out there.
Other than that, sad news to hear that Alisa has passed away on Sat morning after a long battle with brain cancer. Our heartfelt condolences to Belinda and Ted Harvey as well as to Eddy and Ethan. Alisa is Belinda's daughter in law and Belinda is my best friend. The memorial service will be held in Arcata, 5-6 hours drive from San Jose on 19 Sept. Our prayers are with them.
This whole week, have been playing lots of tennis and trying to play catch up but body is acting up and retaliating. As I am writing this on Sat, 9/12, both legs' hamstrings are tight and shoulder is feeling the strain from all the serves I have been practising of late. Hope that when I play my 6.5 combo match tomorrow, my body will hold up. Prayers will be needed for sure.
Am still rooting for Serena to win the US Open women's singles but Kim Clijsters looks fresh and is hitting the ball clean. So, I am somewhat having my reservations that Serena can pull this out of the bag. Keeping all my fingers and intestines crossed, hahaha...
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