Lovers' Point Monterey

Summer is the time for get togethers, picnics and cook-outs / BBQ at the beach or parks or even kat belakang rumah...backyards. Kalau di Malaysia, rumah teres macam kat Shah Alam tu, nak buat apa-apa semua di depan rumah. The houses here on the other hand, are mostly designed with the garage in front so, kalau nak buat apa2 semua kat belakang. Musim panas ni the days are longer - sunset at 8.30pm - so more daylight time for activities. Jenuh jugak nak puasa nanti, kan!? Most children pulak are out of school - cuti sekolah - macam kat Malaysia jugak, time to do some family bonding! Well, a few of us - 17 adults & 17 children - did some bonding at a place called Lovers' Point in Monterey, which is around one and half hours from here. Monterey is one of the more beautiful coastal cities in California. I agree ! That was why I had no qualms or doubts when the group wanted to hold a picnic at Lovers' Point. Dari nama tempat pun dah tahu pasti menarik. With beach access just below, the nice cosy spot which Izzah & Ridhwan booked offers an excellent location to enjoy the beauty of Pacific Grove and Monterey Bay as well as picnic-ing. The weather was a bit foggy & chilly that day, but it got warmer and nice as the day went by. Upon arriving we quickly put up our 8-person tent that have not been opened since our camping trip in New Hampshire during summer of last year. The 2-room tent became a make shift surau for the ladies. The men however, solat berjemaah kat luar. We got the direction of kiblat from the GPS - how convenient! - and we verified its accuracy using Google Map at home. Bringing the satelite and internet technologies to our advantage... apa-apa pun insyaAllah di terima Allah...:-) Menurut internet, Monterey was established in 1770 by someone called Father Junipero Serra. Rupa-rupanya Monterey ni pernah jadi the state capital of California satu ketika dulu. Currently, the capital city is Sacramento which is located somewhere to the north of the state. There is also some military presence in Monterey and I hear quite a number of our military personnels attended training at the Naval Postgraduate School here awhile back. Maybe, a few of our Navy men are still there... stationed macam kat Rhode Island..who knows! Bila dah tiap keluarga bawa
sedikit sebanyak makanan... banyak la jadi nya, sampai sedeqah kat a group of Hispanics who took the spot after we left that afternoon. At first I was taken aback when one of them requested for makanan kita orang yang berlebeh. Kita patut bersyukur apa yang ada, tak semua yang bernasib baik macam kita. Tak sangka pulak dia orang pun makan Nasi Goreng Kampung! :-)


Salman Amir and Yusuf Chang grilling...








Jina with two of her 'men'... Isa keletihan..









:-) ....







The men in our group... July 4th birthday Aziz & July 8th birthday my beloved hubby...






The ladies ...







Untuk sesiapa yang ingin melihat mamalia yang terbesar di dunia ... kalau timbul..!







Mereka yang berani di lambung ombak.....and loads of insides to throw up!...:-)







An adult ticket cost almost $40 each... a pocket full for a 5 adults family..! On top of that, there is no guarantee any whale will surface and give a good show. So, we opted otherwise and reserve our curiosity for later.

The before picture... too bad tak der gambar rupa masing-masing selepas di lambung ombak Lautan Pasifik..! Tak sangka lautan nie mengganas jugak yer...

Bougainvilla - Bunga kertas yang dijumpai melingkar di tepi salah satu tangga di Cannery Row......seronok tengok..! Teringat akan pokok-pokok bunga kertas yang selalu kekeringan dalam pasu depan rumah di Shah Alam.. :-)

The 'cool' search engine

The internet has grown immensely and some people think that it's time for search engines to do so too. A new search engine sprung from the Silicon Valley named Cuil, pronounced as "cool", began processing requests for the first time last Monday July 28th. http://www.cuil.com/ . Cuil claims it searches more pages on the Web than anyone else—three times as many as Google and ten times as many as Microsoft. The President and co-founder of the Bay Area start-up company, Anna Patterson is an ex-Googler who holds a computer science doctorate and mother of four. She began programming during a difficult pregnancy - how cool is that! Patterson leads the company with her husband, CEO and co-founder Tom Costello, who researched and developed search engines at Stanford University and IBM. They are joined by a third founder, ex-Googler Russell Power, and Vice President of Products Louis Monier, a veteran of Google and eBay who also was the founding technology chief of the AltaVista search engine. Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge or wisdom. Cuil says it has come up with a search engine that indexes 120 billion Web pages, ranks results by relevance instead of popularity, organizes the results by ideas and protects the privacy of its users. Inspite of all that, I found a lot of my search items using Cuil became confusing after some time and I resort Google-ing them back. Nevertheless, Cuil brought me to a free Malay portal website that have the same name as my blog... hmmm.. without the dot and blogspot you'ld reached there yourself. Although, I must say there's nothing much to see and read. Go on 'google' Cuil and experience it ... :-)

Blogsini's New Template..

Blogger has frequently prompted me to change my template to their new ones. After a long thought (scared my postings will suddenly disappear with the change), and now that I have some spare time.. not to mention moood, I have decided to at last change Blogsini's template. The previous template was quite a chore to deal with. Had to use some brain cells in Html editing! My MScIT qualification is made to good use after all.. :-) The new template is more user friendly with drag & drop features when adding new elements. There are 15 templates to choose from, with 3 or 4 colour choices. I don't quite prefer plains and whites, and I like 'My Profile' to be on the right. So I skipped the 'Minimas' and the 'Lefties'. I also don't prefer the backgrounds with dots, bubbles or pillars. That left me with 'Son of Moto' and 'Thisaway'. I chose the latter because its more my style.. However, Atiqah doesn't agree with this peachy, brownish colour. She says the previous pink colour is more vibrant! I don't know...... there are only 4 colours for this 'Thisaway' template: peach, blue, green & pink. Not too many choices! Any suggestions...?

Anybody can blog..!

Just recently Blogger Buzz announced that Blogger is now available in Malay! Hoo... Hoo.. Bahasa Melayu - The Malay Language ! Blogger says that it has a large base of users in Malaysia and they are excited to now bring Blogger in our native language.
I haven't really tested the features yet but I think its a good start understanding the commands in Malay let alone getting translations. Bagus tuu... Blogging is often seen as a young person's game. Orang selalu fikir blogging ni untuk yang muda-muda saja. It's not true... anybody can blog! I got to know about blogging in 2005 from Roslan Ramli - an ex-colleague. Mula-mula tu ingat boleh buat duit. Kelakar! Well, the last I checked my paypal account, I have around 7 dollars in it. I think Roslan would fare better than me! Actually, of the roughly 175,000 new blogs that are created every day, very few of them make any money. I suppose one really have to go all out both day and night at it, like a local man here in Silicon Valley who earns his living through blogging. Bill Belew is one of an emerging breed that spends brutal and irregular hours chained to a computer feeding the insatiable blogosphere machine. He takes his blogging very serious and says there's nothing easy about it. He writes for readers on the East Coast of US as early as 4am and has to log on around 4pm to catch Japanese readers. And, he checks his readership statistics as late as 11pm. It is said that he earned 60 to 70 percent of his income from blogging in 2007 totaling around 60 to 70 thousand dollars. Aduh... banyak tuu..tapi letih! Bill is 54. He maintains 4 blogs: http://www.panasianbiz.com/, http://www.risingsonofnihon.com/ http://www.thebizofknowledge.com/ and his own personal religion-heavy site.

How he gets traffic to his blogs, beats me! The number of older generation bloggers including octogenarian, and those who have retired or are approaching retirement are growing daily. The oldest that I read of was ( she passed last month ) Olive Riley, 108 who blogged with the help of her friend. Life of Riley can be found at http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/ . Currently Millie Garfield, 83 is acknowledged by ABC as the oldest blogger alive. She has appeared on the ABC show and her blog is http://mymomsblog.blogspot.com/. You can even see her on YouTube trying to openup 'stubborn' bottle caps.:-) As we get older, our social worlds can shrink and when we retire, there isn't the daily camaraderie of the workplace. Blogging is a powerful antidote for isolation and loneliness. Many believe - including me ! - that blogging is also a form of exercise for your mental health. Even at this age, I forget often and isn't it helpful to put it all in writing..!?
Elaine Frankonis http://www.kalilily.net/ Claude Covo-Farchi, 63 http://www.blogginginparis.com/ Pattie, 53 http://texastrifles.blogspot.com/ Ronni Bennet, 67 http://www.timegoesby.net/

Miss Universe 2008: Miss USA Falls again!

Sorry... can't help myself. It's all over the news and internet! :-) I don't have anything against Miss USA, but second year in a row.. C'mon..!

Here's a classy lady for you.... Miss Universe 2008 : Miss Venezuela....!

Miss Malaysia ? Once upon a time ( can't remember when ) we got into semifinals through Christina Ling (not too sure of name) from Ipoh. Then in late 70s Yasmin Yusuf won the Best Costume. She wore Baju Perak.. very nice! First time I noticed her was when she returned from Students Exchange Program to our school up on the hills.. I had always admired her beauty and height. I was in Form One then ! :-) I lost track of other Miss Malaysias after that. Now... I just don't bother..

Lotion & Cream Making Made Easy..

Last month I attended again a class under the Adult Education. No... not baking and cooking for me. This time it was Basics of Lotion Making with Lori Stoia. Before this I also took Soap Making Made Simple with her. Please read my May 2nd posting, if you'ld like to see the soaps I made. Lori taught us how to make the products from scratch. I am glad her recipes has no alcohol content. It's very simple actually and the result is guaranteed. Memang jadi macam lotion yang kita beli di pasaran ! We worked in twos and Amida was my 'lab-partner'. We know it would be more fun if we attend class with friends whom we could make mistakes and giggle with. The class shared together 2 digital weighing instrument, a microwave and 2 stick blenders .. we were always the last to finish.. Mana tak nya.. banyak ketawa! We had fun stamping and coloring our own signature labels. I named mine " Sweet & Simple " by Lady of Leisure (LoL)...he..he.. kelakar! With Amida, Cynthia and our products...

July 4th in California....

4th of July last year we huddled together along Charles River to experience the Independence Day fireworks in Boston. Read more of it in my previous posting... Boston ranked 3rd among the best fireworks show in US and lasted one whole hour. Usaha tu dalam sejuk-sejuk nak pergi tengok.. he..he.. This year it is extraordinarily hot in California on Independence Day - record temperatures everywhere, almost 700,000 acres have been burnt by wildfires, many have lost homes due to the fire and foreclosures, and almost everyone is complaining about the rising oil prices and the downward turn in the US economy - well, maybe excluding Bush and his administration who are still in denial! If homes are lost and oil prices are burning pockets, I think there is not much these days for any Californian to be proud of being independent. Except for living in one of the states to approve licence for same-sex marriages!! Shiiishh... Allah nak turun bala sekejap jer... Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco says the same-sex marriage industry brings in a lot of money to the city. That's really funny! I think he's just re-enforcing his support to his own idea. The fireworks show in Cupertino took place at Cupertino High School - lasted for only about 30 minutes. What is it with fireworks that captures people's hearts !? Ramai jugak Cupertino residents lining the streets....

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park ( pronounced "yo-se-mi-tee" ) is an Internationally Recognised Park and designated as a World Heritage Site in 1984. Well known for its spectacular granite cliffs, amazing waterfalls, clear gushing streams and ancient giant sequoia trees, this National Park sees over 3.5 million visitors through out the seasons of the year. Like Malaysia's National Park, Yosemite has centuries old trees and biological as well as geological treasures. I have read about and watched quite a few National Geographic episodes, - once upon a time - about those BIG, HUGE trees ( Sequoia, I think ) that could even allow vehicles to pass through them. So, I was on a mission to find those trees! We entered Yosemite National Park through the West Gate since Yosemite View Lodge is just before the entrance. It is quite difficult to get lodging during this time of year since visitors to this area make reservations 6 months ahead of time. We were lucky someone cancelled and made a river-view room available. Or else.. there are many camping sites we could set up tent but it wouldn't be fun with just the 5 of us. I remember around this time last year when we camped at New Hampshire with friends on the East Coast: The family and friends of Laila-Bill & her sister Lina-Dave, Tini & Sabri as well as Isma & Nizam. Every year in July Laila arranges camping activity for her friends, her children and their friends. I cannot forget the tons of food & equipment that she brings along! Terbayang-bayang Laila membakar apam balik, Lina mengipas sate.. Bila time nak balik, habis semua her love ones kena kerah untuk mengemas.. termasuk anak2 'mat salleh' ( her children's friends ) yang ikut sekali. Dengar cakap pulak tuu! Tini & Sabri have gone back to Malaysia. Tini is making her PHD and her experience as a lecturer in Northeastern University, Boston to good use in UKM. Shazmi - her 10 year old - yang bijak tu, I hear masih ber-slang American.. :-) Hassan - the 3 year old - dah besar and mula pandai mengusik his brother. Miss them ! Isma & Nizam came to visit us last week. Nizam has to be in California for a month implementing Nokia's billion dollar project with T-Mobile. Isma & their 10 year old Sara yang paling untung 'sambil menyelam minum air' - they have visited plenty of places in the US. The 20 dollars entrance fee to Yosemite is valid for 7 days - makna nya we can enter as many times as we like within the week. The one-way road circles inside the area, making driving easy without us looking out for on-coming cars. Certain parts the road can get very narrow - like the picture on the left above - which supports only one car each time to tunnel through the granite hill ! The sound of the gushing waters beating against rocks & boulders in the wide river could be heard rushing downstream on to our right. Somehow we could feel the serenity of the park which urged us on to find a good spot to picnic. Banyak picnic spots.. teringat pulak air terjun yang di beri nama Lata something, something di Sungai Seputih, Selama Perak - a few miles after passing my parents house there. During my younger days, we used to see a lot of visitors/ picnic-ers, passing through to go to the air terjun and berkelah. We could see more cars, motorbikes and sometimes busloads of children, kalau cuti sekolah. You'ld know they were going there to mandi-manda & berkelah by the looks of 'striped' towels hanging from the bus windows and also pelampung-pelampung tayar sticking out too! Picture on the right above is a distant view of the Yosemite Falls - Upper & Lower Falls. Every angle at the National Park looks like scenic views in a calendar or postcard ! There are many waterfalls there and visitors have to hike to some of them in order to get a better view. Bridal-Veil Falls on the right - the hike was not too bad though! At that height, we could feel the cool mist spraying all around. Much welcomed in the scorching heat of the day. One could also experience exploring Yosemite by bike, by raft, on an open-air tram or even on a mule or horseback ! Of course, if you go on foot it won't cost you a thing. If you really look at the rock formations, the waterfalls and the scenic views of the national park, you can't help feeling the wonders and blessings of God's gift. Allah pencipta alam... Geologically speaking pulak - about 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada ( range of mountains ) was uplifted... and then tilted to form its relatively gentle and dramatic slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in formation of deep, narrow canyons. About 1 million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet (1200 m) during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic landscape today. Located near Yosemite's South Entrance, the Mariposa Grove is the park's largest collection of giant sequoias. We had to park our car at Wawona Store parking area - 30 minutes away - and took a shuttle into Mariposa Grove as the access road to the grove closes intermittently due to limited parking inside. Using this free bus shuttle is encouraged to reduce congestion and parking delays. They want to control the number of cars inside so as not to disturb the condition of the ancient trees. I read somewhere that these trees can grow until 3000 years. The bigger they get, the older they are. Their roots grow very shallow - less than 6 feet ! Very strange I thought of HUGE trees like them. They can even tumble if their roots frequently get trodden upon, nevertheless once fallen they will not rot ( tak reput ! ). It makes sense not to allow cars beyond the grove parking lot. Trailers and private cars longer than 25 feet are prohibited even to enter the gates of Mariposa Grove. It means that we have to either go jungle tracking on foot or take the guided tour on an open-air tram that circles the designated routes inside Mariposa Grove, - costing 16 dollars each ! To save cost, I designated the job of searching for my tunnel tree to my kids during their one and half hour ride on the tram while both of us went back to Wawona Store to get our car. Apparently the sort of tree that I was looking for - Wawona Tunnel Tree - fell during the harsh winters of 1968 & 1969. Between 1881 - 1968, when it was carved, millions of people flocked here to drive through the tree - first in buggies eventually in cars. The other tunnel tree is the California Tree carved in 1895. Despite the huge hole in its trunk and weakened condition, the California Tree is alive and growing. With on-going research on trees and habitat done to this date, damage such as this would not be allowed to occur today. However, both tunnel trees helped to promote Mariposa Grove and has contributed to its inclusion into Yosemite National Park. Itu la some information gathered by my kids... Picture on the left is the Fallen Monarch. Notice the diameter of the roots relative to the height of the couple... Pokok ni tak der akar tunjang, tu sebab senang tumbang... Too bad the tram didn't stop for them to take more pictures.


One of the giant cones...










Yosemite View Lodge is worth staying ... There are also quite a number of pools & indoor spas in this facility. Ideal for those with small children. Honeymoon-ers pulak would love the view !




Just nice for the 5 of us... anak bujang tidur dalam sleeping bag kat bawah






Equiped with wide screen TV, fireplace, mini fridge, and a small kitchenette - 2 stove burner and a sink. There is a microwave hidden in the cabinet. Provided also are cutlery as well as pots & pans - which are not of much use to me. Kita bawa our own plastic utensils.. one small pot for heating the gravy... and of course the rice cooker is a must! Boss I cannot do without nasi lah...:-)

View of the river from the balcony outside our room... Too bad the rest of my San Jose friends cannot make it this time around. Being here for several years, they have been to Yosemite many-many times. I think the best time to visit this place of Allah's creation would be in Fall/Autumn or in Spring when it'll be a lot cooler. Winter would be beautiful but it'll be much too cold !

BIO2008 in San Diego

In my previous posting on May 7th of last year titled BIO2007 Boston, I mentioned the next BIO International Convention was going to be held in San Diego. Little did I know I would be there... or here in San Diego. Funny how life works ! Next year BIO2009 will be held in Georgia - it would wonderful if I could be there too..! ;-) This year, from 17th till 20th June Bio Techies all over the world gathered in San Diego Convention Center for their conference and exhibition. Compared to the 350+ last year, I hear Malaysia only sent 100 delegates this time, with the Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam and the current Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili as the VVIPs. Of course, like last year I was not involved at all with the convention. My husband, on the other hand had to attend and so while he dives I simply took a drink.. - sambil menyelam minum air ! Atiqah tagged along since dia dah cuti sekolah for the summer. Too bad her brother & sister had classes .. San Diego lies just north of the Mexican border. I have included an image of the map of San Diego which shows its location relative to L.A and San Jose. It takes 8 hours driving from San Jose to San Diego. San Diego is situated near the sea.. it has its own bay macam San Francisco. Hence, the mild mediterranean climate. However, during our stay there San Diego experienced a heatwave. Temperature naik sampai 110 degrees F. I don't know berapa dalam deg C but I am sure lebeh panas dari kat KL. In KL it's hot & humid but here its hot & dry... Kadang-kadang tu 'segumpal' awan pun tak dak, clear blue sky allowing hot stinging penetrating rays of the sun directly on to you. I've always felt this condition is more dangerous & people here are likely to get skin cancer than anywhere else. Kita tak pernah dengar orang mati kepanasan kat negara kita, kan ? Tapi kat negara mat salleh ni, ada yang mati kalau sejuk sangat & silap2 ada jugak yang mati kalau panas sangat. Selalu mangsanya orang yang homeless or living alone, old & disabled. It costs a lot to provide heating and air conditioning! No wonder people who runs this country 'craves' and addicted to oil - minyak!. San Diego Convention Center located near the bay is the 21st largest in this country. Makna nya ada lagi yang lebeh besar. With almost 8 or 9 big exhibition halls, to me it's already HUGE! Looking at the pictures here, you know I couldn't get the whole building in one frame... panjang sangat! The design is like a ship... cantik ! There is the Convention Center train-stop right in front of it. Very convenient indeed for those who prefers to take the San Diego Transit train to that part of town. There are also many hotels surrounding the area. A few that caught my eye are Grand Hyatt, Marriot Hotel and Marina, Embassy Suites and Hilton Gaslamp. Unfortunately we couldn't get a room in any of those hotels sebab dah penuh! BIO Convention is an annual event so I guess once the next host is known, most of the BioTech companies buat block booking ahead of time. Notice the fog (kabus) creeping in the sky - temperature drops by a few degrees in seconds. San Diego is the BioTech Center of the West Coast like Boston is to the East Coast. San Diego also acts as a host that provides many military facilities to the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Marine Corps. It's not surprising that the decommissioned USS Midway - now turned into a muzeum - chose to serve her final duties at San Diego waterfront. Located at the Naval Pier between the Cruise Ship Terminal and the Seaport Village, the USS Midway was the largest ship in the world when commissioned in 1945. She served the United States longer than any other aircraft carrier, covering the surrender of Japan in WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam and Desert Storm during her prime time. Yokosuka, Japan was her homeport for 18 years. Hmmm... itu lah some of the information I got from the audio tour guide on top of the Hop On - Hop Off Double Decker Bus Tour. Atiqah and I took the ride on the city sightseeing bus for the fastest way to visit downtown San Diego. We bought tickets at Visitor Information Center in Old Town San Diego. The ticket costs 25 dollars for a 2-day pass but the operator charged us only 10 dollars each because we wanted only for a day. We went on the Harbor Loop which goes through the Embarcadero, USS Midway, Seaport Village, GasLamp area, Horton Plaza and Little Italy. The other loop goes through several parks and San Diego Zoo. I hear the San Diego Zoo is among the best.. their tagline says : If you don't see an animal there, it probably doesn't exist! Ada banyak lagi city tour buses which could be taken at Old Town but we picked the open top double decker bus sebab Atiqah nak duduk kat atas to have a better view. Hop On - Hop Off means that we could get off at any place within the loop and get back on the next double decker bus that's scheduled to come along. So the map and the bus schedule kita simpan untuk guna as reference to plan our visit. To me the Old Town San Diego is actually a Mexican Cultural Village - banyak crafts, potteries, mexican architectural buildings, restaurants.... like any other cultural village. I think the prices here are a bit cheaper than in downtown.. We didn't stop at USS Midway Muzeum because I thought Seaport Village has a lot more to offer. Rupa-rupa nya just souvenier shops from a few countries, restaurants and a view of the harbour. I heard that on board the USS Midway, you can learn about life on a Navy ship and how aircraft land and take off from an aircraft carrier. Visitors can also tour many of the USS Midway working areas and see more than 15 restored aircraft such as the Skyhawk, Tomcat, Hawkeye, Hornet....dan lain-lain yang sejenis dengan nya... that would be interesting, - to most men ! For me, tak tengok pun tak per...

Kena tunggu the next bus sebab I was too busy looking at other stuff and not the time...




A view of downtown San Diego from the top of the double decker bus...






Left picture is the entrance to the Historical Heart of
San Diego...GasLamp area... just across the street to the San Diego Convention Center.. kat sini la the European immigrants first settled..






Can't resist taking a picture of this building... kat sini AT&T pun kena kutuk jugak..!





PETCO PARK ni rupa-rupa nya baseball stadium... home of the San Diego Padres! Kami ingat taman untuk pets.. pergi tanya orang pulak tu... nampak sangat orang luar ! :-)






A souvenier shop at Horton Plaza...






On the right, entrance to Seaport Village... bangunan tu sebenarnya restoran. Nampak macam surau, kan...?





They don't mind me taking their picture dengan syarat share the profit if it sells on e-bay! I told them, nope I won't auction them off.. I'll just blog them !..

Exit of Balboa Park... where many muzeums and parks can be found..








San Diego Airspace Muzeum..








Inside is the International Hall of Fame..








At Aisha's lovely home with Zaleha & Zuaida, friends from home attending BIO Convention ... thank you for Aisha's grand hospitality...





Love this corner ....






$7.99 lunch buffet at Restoran Bismillah... The food there memang sedap.. I see even mat sallehs stop to eat.. ada tempat solat... :-)






Six Flags Theme Park outside of L.A

Kedai jual buah kat tepi Highway 5 ...

Gutsy Ladies......

When friends come over, mana la lagi nak bawak melainkan ke San Francisco. Kat sana ada jambatan, laut, pelabuhan, jalan yang krekod - krekod ( orang utara cukup pandai adaptasi bahasa oghang putih 'crooked' jadi 'krekod' ), apa lagi ek? Beautiful architecture, cool lovely weather & roller coaster like roads - jalan turun naik dan menjunam macam roller coaster ! Budak-budak suka sangat but it's a strain on the 'minyak'. Dah la minyak mahal sekarang nie. Berlainan dengan the city of San Jose where there's nothing much to see - except for buildings & offices of famous internet & computer companies. San Jose is not really a touristy city - more for engineers & industrialists. Banyak lagi tempat - tempat di San Francisco tu yang menarik but by just visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, Crooked Street & Pier 39 pun dah cukup for you to spend a day there. Oh, jangan lupa the quaint little town of Sausolito which is at the end of the bridge. Kalau tak pergi sebelah sana, tak dapat la experience crossing the jambatan. Tak kan Penang Bridge jer yang kita nak lalu.., kan? Kalau tak nak jugak, then parking jer kereta kat sebelah San Francisco and jalan kaki melintasi besi buruk tuu.. Tak payah kita bayar tol... kalau nak berbasikal pun boleh. Another place to visit is the Island of Alcatraz - bekas penjara yang di buat jadi tourist attraction. Tempat yang di ceritakan dalam filem The Rock. Kalau nak ke sana kena naik ferry di Pier 33, which is just walking distance from Pier 39. Actually I haven't visited the island myself... peluang belum sampai. Lagi pun tambang ferry rasanya mahal la ... 24 dollar ! Kalau kali 5 dewasa dah berapa tuu... Cukup la dengan ambek gambar dari jauh jer. So, I don't really have anything to story about the place. However, my husband's colleagues who happen to be my friends also: Fauzimah, Zu, Lily and Shira (Zu's niece) dah sampai ke tempat tu.. Bukan saja ke Alcatraz... merata2 tempat di US dan beberapa negara lain dia orang dah sampai. Best betul ! Wanita2 srikandi ... he..he... jangan marah yer. Lesen Malaysia laku untuk beberapa bulan (not sure berapa) jadi bergilir2 la driving ... cool jer..... Kat sini harga sewa kereta masih berpatutan ... but make sure sewa sekali dengan GPS - Garmin or Tom-Tom, kami sekeluarga call it 'makcik'...sebab suara perempuan... dan dia akan bercakap macam 'berleter' whenever kita tersilap jalan... " re-calculating!.. in point 3 miles make a U - turn " Benda yang we can do without - must have ! - whenever travelling these days. Dulu2 kita bawa peta..

Ferry to Alcatraz and a few other places like under the Golden Gate Bridge and Pier 39...

Double click to enlarge image....

Between San Francisco and Sausolito.....

Between San Francisco and Sausolito ... lies the Golden
Gate which bridges the two cities together and provides a shorter route to the northern side of the San Francisco Bay. I don't know why, but Sausolito seems to be familiar ... macam dah pernah dengar or dah pernah baca.. maybe in one of the romantic novels I used to read when younger. It is a lovely, small town - quite romantic actually - with many art galleries and souvenier shops. So, when friends here wanted to take a trip there, we tagged along ! My children suka jalan ramai-ramai ... they say, lagi seronok. I guess dia orang dah naik boring tiap-tiap hari tengok muka masing2 jer.. :-)
No bridge toll going to Sausolito... however, kena toll fee of 5 dollars when crossing back to San Francisco. I hear they're going to increase the toll fee... sigh !
Parking lot in the middle of town is a convenient place to leave our cars and just walk around absorbing the view of Sausolito and of San Francisco right across. From there we could even take a ferry to tour the island of Alcatraz and Pier 39. But, the man balancing rocks at a spot along Main Street Sausolito fascinated us more ! Like magic .. once balanced nothing could move or blow away his creations. Rupa-rupa nya cina Indon...






Don't know how he does it... I suppose patience is key when doing his art...








Jina's handsome, youngest son Yunus wanted to see the bridge again and my handsome, eldest wanted to experience Lombard Street - The Crooked Street !




.. makan-makan kat Bang San, Thai Halal Food Cuisine. They have opened up another branch and this one is much bigger. There is also a small room for customers to perform solat...seronok rasa, tak payah nak solat duduk dalam kereta. I suppose it's common in most halal restaurants back home, but knowing a space is available in most halal restaurants here is just great !



... queuing at the Ghirardelli for a taste of their world famous ice cream !







Memories are for us to treasure...

U - Pick Fruits Day

Now is ' ripe ' time of the year for cherries & berries, even peaches & apricots. Last year we missed the cherries & strawberries. They seem to be a favourite among fruit lovers and disappear faster than the rest! And maybe because they don't hold well when the weather gets warmer. Jenis buah cepat rosak. I guess that's where the farmers got the idea of U-Pick or Pick-your-Own .... besides the zero labor cost, of course! We only managed blueberry picking last year when we were in Boston. And, when Rusminah & family were here in November there were only 'picked' citrus fruits at Brentwood. So, her children did not have fun picking them off the trees. I hope the pictures in this posting can entice them to come and visit us in June pulak. :-) Itu pun, if we are still staying here..
There are cherry farms at almost every corner in Brentwood.
This year we don't want to miss the boat. Cherry picking starts early June and like Pak Mat said, within 2 weeks they'll be gone! We couldn't go picking with his family during the Memorial Day long weekend as we had something on then. Kena pergi ramai2 ke kebun buah nie.. kalau boleh 'picnic' lagi la seronok. Teringat pulak zaman2 tunggu buah durian ( kami sebut..deghian ). Siap dengan nasi, or pulut with santan and air garam... of course with gula sikit to be sprinkled on top. Kalau dapat isi warna kuning pekat and tak der biji tu lagiii seghonok! Yummiee..... Kait buah rambutan pun best jugak ...
ANnyway, we were glad when Marcus wanted to arrange a trip to Brentwood with Shahril & Amida as well. Marcus is a Malaysian from Sabah & his wife Cynthia from Taiping - near my old kampung Selama - tempat banyak deghian! :-) There's Cynthia on the left putting suntan lotion on Mathew. Yes, it was exceptionally hot that day.
We also met their friend On and his family. They are from Johor. Both Marcus & On have been living in US almost 20 years .. so they are already pros at fruit picking. Like us,.. Shahril & Amida will leave when due, or bila di- arahkan and like me, Amida doesn't have a clue the difference between pokok peach and pokok cherry from afar! ;-) Cynthia says : Pick the big2 blackberries yang warna hitam. Kalau yang merah tu.. masam! True enough, the black ones are sweeet walaupun kecik. Next stop the cherrieees! I love them even though they give me gas and cleanse my bowels ever so often. Tak sangka pulak there are many types: Bing Cherries(merah), Rainier ( a bit yellowish ), Black Tart ( hitam, rasa macam kismis ) and Stark Rimson, to name a few. The trick in fruit picking is, when you get to a good tree with the fruits that you like, stick to it! So, pokok yang dah togel2 tu buahnya surely sweet & sedap. And, you can also know the good ones if squirrels or birds got them earlier than you. Makan lah sepuas2nya until your tummy can hold, then you pay for the balance. Most of the fruits are claimed to be pesticide free but bawa jer la botol air untuk basuh, just in-case. And, yang mana suka menyicah tuu you can bring 'salt' if you like. Nobody can stop you! As done by a Filipino man I saw at the cherry farm. Tak terfikir langsung nak bawa garam. Real veteran! Cherries on the farm cost 2 dollars per pound. These days fruit farmers are getting smarter, they have a limit on the minimum weight and charge for the box! Like this strawberry farm which is currently owned by a China-man. You can't help smiling reading their ground rules... I don't quite fancy petik buah strawberry sebab kena bongkok2 - oghang lamaa! So I just leave the picking to my children & hubby. Even the small strawberries at this farm is sweet. My hubby says strawberry memang banyak antioxidant and according to Pak Ngah (his tukang urut back home), the fruit will be masam once it leaves the farm. No wonder we never get sweet strawberries from the kedai... mahal pulak tu! Senang jer jawapan nya kalau buah dah benyek2...buat ais krim! Yes... I have done that! I tried with the strawberries we brought home. Jadii......... Macam ais krim Ben & Jerry's. Once I get the measurements right, I will post it... sedap! Tak payah guna mesin ais krim ... your old faithful cake mixer or blender will do ! And, the ingredients are easily available. Dah tentu halalan toiyiban..
On the left above: Message loud and clear..!
If possible go fruit picking on a Saturday because mostly everybody will go on that day. The trees will need time to ripen the remainder of the fruits. We went on Sunday because we couldn't make it the day before... since it is early in the season, the 'catch' was still good. Another fruit picking tip to remember : Wear a hat or cap especially at the strawberry patch. Teringat pulak strawberry2 kat Cameron Highlands!

My fruit - pickers taking a break to pose





Dah terlampau banyak makan buah! :-)








Ayam kampung yang gemuk2...







You can only see this type of vintage car at the farms...













Last stop was at the Peach
farm... kalau betul2 dapat yang manis, memang sedap!






Finally... resting after a hard days work under a donno what tree!

A day with Seniman Jalanan in downtown San Jose

I haven't really had the opportunity to explore downtown San Jose as much as you'ld think. I am not the type to ronda2 on my own tanpa tujuan. Carlos will always tell me dengan pelat pekat filipino nya : " Your chilren already biig... you can take train or bus. Itch-chokey..( it's okay ), here seb (save).." Ya la tuu! Kadang-kadang geram jugak dengan drebar ni, semua nya dia pandang elok pasal Amerika. First of all, there are no transport system, - neither train nor bus - in ' my neck of the woods ' . Rumah dekat kaki bukit. Secondly, I like going around with my children and so far they also like having me around too! I think... :-) A few times Anis got invited by her College friends to go out shopping or party-ing, but she turned them down. Nak keluar dengan ibuuu jugak. Alhamdulillah.. kat sini tak payah nak bagi 'lecture' teruk2 pasal social ills. I see this sort of attitude in anak2 Melayu here too. Baik2 belaka.. insyaAllah.. My weekends, macam jugak kat Malaysia, are normally spent with grocery shopping or visit friends' houses - if invited.. ! :-) A fortnight ago we were at Sohair & Wardah's kenduri selamat in Sacramento - 2 and half hours drive north of San Jose. They bought a nice home in Rancho Cordova. Seronok tengok... Last weekend pulak we had friends over from Malaysia. Four ladies on vacation.. penat2 kerja, dah cukup duit... jalan laa. Actually, I am so caught up with doing 'nothings' that I forgot all about this posting which I started drafting quite some time ago. I guess I should just complete it instead of delete. In case you're wondering.. Seniman Jalanan is one of Malaysia's young, budding Film Director and Professional Graphic Designer who attended a short course in L.A a few months back, - at the Universal Studios to be exact! We call him Ajin and here's him above on the right taking a shot of the VTA ( Valley Transportation Authority ) in downtown San Jose. I've included a link to his fotopages at the bottom. He was under the scholarship of FINAS and KEKWA. Haa..... kek what? Was my first response to the acronym! For those who are as 'blur' as me, it's short for Kementerian Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan. Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage previously headed by Datuk Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim. Well, after
the elections (pilihanraya) I don't really know who currently heads the ministry. Anyway, I believe everyone's quite familiar with FINAS - Filem Nasional. In fact, I got a bit of an update of current happenings in the Malaysian film and singing industry - that is after much 'korek-korek' out of our guest! Our first stop was Adobe Building at 345 Park Avenue - home of the Photoshop Engineers! Seniman Jalanan wanted to see whether the place hosts a showroom of Adobe's latest products. Apparently, they don't have it there. Anyway, if you want an inside look of the building and to know a few 'creative brains' of Adobe, click on the link ..
http://www.photoshopnews.com/feature-stories/a-visit-to-adobe/
The building from the outside really looks more like a bank. But, one couldn't miss the logo of the company that invents the infamous open standard for the billion+ PDF files in existence today. Making them viewable and printable on any platforms be it Macintosh, Microsoft® Windows®, UNIX®, and even mobile. Our next stop was The Tech Museum of Innovation along South Market Street. The Tech Museum of Innovation is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. Their mission is to inspire the innovator in everyone. Budak2 suka la tempat2 gini.. very educational! The talking robot above on the right ' tired out ' after being drilled by the kids with their questions.
http://www.thetech.org/
I guess The Tech ni is similar to PETROSAINS yang terletak di Petronas Twin Towers, which aims to be a seeding platform for stimulating interest in Science and Technology. While it is about creating more awareness of exciting career opportunities in the petroleum industry, The Tech on the other hand is all about the silicon - semiconductor technology. Fortunate to have many companies in the Silicon Valley as their patrons and sponsors, entrance to The Tech is FREE except for the IMAX cinema. Kalau kita nak tengok 3-D films baru la kena bayar. Tickets to PETROSAINS ranges from RM4 ( 5 - 12years ), RM7 (13 - 17years) to RM12 (adults). F.O.C is only given to children below 5years and even Senior Citizens have to pay RM6. Well, I supose if one could afford shopping at Suria KLCC, then the cost of the tickets is nothing, but kalau dah 5 orang anak ranging from 13 to 17 years .. plus mama & papa, banyak jugak tu! Tak kan nak tinggal separuh kat luar pulak. Last2, papa pun cakap kita pi makan kat McD jer lah... lagi murah!
http://www.petronas.com.my/internet/petrosains/Petrosains.nsf/263c2vis?OpenPage
Above left are some notes on making integrated circuits (ICs) ...



Robotic arm...






I got it to spell my name...

Interesting... ! And the figure increases every second...

Mothers' Day

Happy Mom's Day to all mothers, step mothers and those wanna be mothers... may we be blessed with children who love and respect us despite all our imperfections.
I hope I will never see the day when I am refered to by my children as " Hish... orang tua nie! ", like in some scenes we used to watch in drama Melayu. But, we'll never know what the future will bring onto us. All we can do is hope and pray for the best things in life.... InsyaAllah..
My children surprised me today with flowers, a t-shirt with "One in a million Mom" printed on it and a mug with their faces on it! I am glad they remembered.

I called up my mom in Sri Manjung, Perak the day before Mothers' Day here as that would already be Mothers' Day there.. She sounds allright...... but keeps saying; " Alhamdulillah.. macam ni laa..oghang lamaa " Never really complaining what ails her. Constantly looking forward for her daily activities of mengaji, Bahasa Arab classes & marhabban group. A 72-year old retired teacher, ilmu to her is a continous affair. I'ld rather she keeps busy in those activities and retain her feistiness than just mope all day long. I remember her earlier post retirement days when she was really involved in marketing & selling Herba Nona Roguy .. It's not easy to sell a product that has something to do with your bowel movements! But, she proved otherwise in spite of her age... sampai ke Pengarah Mahkota! And that's the max that a dealer can achieve. Of course, my arwah father helped... well, he kept the accounts, and drove her around! Their house became the Stokis for Selama, Perak where many gatherings & ceramahs were held. Bukan nak buat duit sangat, she says... Saja-saja nak buat kawan, kalau boleh nak tolong oghang...:-)
Ooo...you should see her in action when giving her ceramahs! With the microphone in hand, she could not stop!
That's our mom.. Puan Hajjah Bastiah binti Haji Abdullah

Di hari ini hari istimewa

Sekalung kasih untuk mu bonda

Sungguhpun sudah berlarut usia

Hanya pada mu tempat bermanja...

Petikan dari Puisi-Puisi Kamariah Nuri

Sasterawan Perak Darul Ridzuan..

Angkasawan Malaysia in San Jose

So much has happened since I last posted : There was Mother's Day - a day in a year to remember mothers!,... the heat wave in California - the day our house air-cond chose to breakdown!,... the ruling legalising gay marriages made in San Francisco - the day signifying doomsday is approaching fast!... it took place the same day as the heatwave - not surprising, eh!? and ... as you can see.. the day our Malaysian Astronaut - Angkasawan Malaysia, Dr Sheikh Muzhafar Shukor chose to land in San Jose!.
Nadia & Sarah handing him the Congratulations Card. Just look at Nadia's adoring eyes looking at the fine-looking doctor, restaurant owner & also model...:-)
The event was organised by M.C.A at the Convention Center in the Masjid. Dr Sheikh came alone that Friday afternoon, gave his speech and left for L.A the next morning. I think he underestimated the response that he would get in San Jose - especially from the children, and mothers!. His audience were not only us Malaysians but all other nationalities who knew a Muslim Astronaut was coming - the Convention Center was packed up to the hilt! Although not the 1st Muslim to go to space, he mentioned the 9th, I think he is definitely the youngest and maybe the handsome-est ! ;-)
Eager boys greeting him at the door of M.C.A .
His speech was eloquent enough.. I believe he has done & rehearsed it many times for the road-trip. I read somewhere he was previously in Dubai before coming to the US and will be going to who knows where next... Only just 6 months coming back from space, he must be tired out. But, looks like he is loving every minute of it! Dr Sheikh described how he spent his 12 days in the International Space Station (ISS) ...how he performed his solat, how he break his fast (puasa). He also showed how he did some scientific experiment there. He should write a book by now!
Michelle introducing Dr Sheikh on stage. Accompanying him on stage is Pak Mat. Rasa-rasanya Pak Mat & family lah yang paling lama tinggal di US compared to any other Malaysians here.

The children asking questions. One question was : How do you go to the bathroom? Bagus tu...tak terfikir kita nak tanya.






Part of the audience at the Convention Center. In front, leading them is Dr Bakri, .. busy taking notes for his blog, maybe..?




There have been quite a few emails I received before, concerning the status of Dr Sheikh 'astronaut-ship' or 'angkasawan', him being just a 'space-flight participant' instead. He denies it of course, describing what he had to go through in comparison with another person from another country ( I forgot the name..), who secured a ticket by just paying a lot of money! Apparently we got our seat when the Malaysian government bought one point something billion worth of aircrafts from the Soviets. I heard murmurs of " OOoooo.... " when he mentioned that to the audience. Macam technology transfer through free training laa.. which is a norm thing to do in any contractual procurements. Well, I am not sure pulak of any other 'in-kinds' that might have taken place.. mesti ada tuu! :-o
On top, Dr Sheikh wearing a Batik shirt and spinning the gasing in space..


Performing the solat ...he had to tie his leg so that he won't float!




Performing a scientific experiment..







Taking a 'sip'.. buka puasa...







With Malaysians and half-Malaysians...
Dr Sheikh was selected among thousands, undergone rigorous training - in Malaysia, Russia and even in Siberia! - , endured the pain & sacrifice and finally he qualified. Body and Soul! He said, it has been his passion to go to space since he was 10. Constantly having to watch his health and be physically fit. Cannot even have a single scar on the body! He used to do model-ing... selain angkasawan, juga peragawan !

The rest of the crowd at the Convention Center...






Me and a few sisters here....debating on where to place the 'fruit bouquet'...:-)

Whatever the controversies are on naming him, to me he is an 'Angkasawan' - a man who has gone to the 'angkasa' and back! With all the fame and attention he is getting now, I don't think he should be traveling alone..... Get yourself a Manager! Dah jadi macam artis pulak... Pity him, tapi kesian lagi looking at a few children's faces yang tak sempat nak bergambar dengan a man who has gone to space! Bukan senang nak jumpa. Kalau dah ada Manager, tahu la orang kalau nak makan ker, nak balik ker, nak tidur ker...dah letih ker.. ! :-)


Finally, one with my children... Pak Aji tak ada..balik Malaysia!

MAY ALL OF OUR DREAMS COME TRUE....too!

Earth Day....

April 22nd is Earth Day. I thought everyday of the year should be Earth Day.. Just to proof that I am an 'earthling' , I have recently made some contributions towards it also. Of course not the roses, they are already here when we first moved in. Normally whatever I plant will just wilt and die away... I am convinced that my fingers are not 'green' ... and they are also 'hot' ! I have always admired people with cool and green fingers.. anything they plant will just flourish. My mother-in-law is one of them; and I managed to convince her about my 'hot fingers' too ! She would willingly plant whatever green there was in my garden back home, weed and repair them whenever she comes visiting! Always having gardening advice for me : The best baja is 'chicken shit', siram tak boleh tengah hari, gembur kena selalu. Believe me I tried ! But, they never turned out right, like the way her garden grows. Thank goodness she never complained ( well, none that I know of..so far ) nor compared me to her other 'menantu' whose fingers are as green as the 'rain forest', and have a garden the envy of her neighbours. At least I am comforted knowing that my mother-in-law acknowledges the fact that not all of her sons - especially my hubby ! - inherit her 'green fingers' or have the gardening passion that she has....
Now that I have aaalll the time in the world ( I keep saying that...he..he..he ), I thought I could un-convince myself of my own hypothesis with the help of proper watering system in the backyard and 'perfect' California weather.

No, I didn't plant this....

nor ...this...

Not even this pokok sambung hayat .. which was planted by Rahim ( Rusminah's hubby ) from a tiny, dried up twig which they risk smuggling for me in their luggage when they were here holiday-ing. True to its name - panjang sungguh hayat pokok nie..

My chillies in the 'Made in Malaysia' pasus, basil and mints on the ground in front... hoping not to die.....

My tomatoes...
notice the wire climbers, they are terbalik!.. :-)

Puding Caramel - a flan worthy of being a family favourite !

I have always seen myself as totally lousy at baking, making 'kuih' or even desserts. But, friends of mine have on number of occasions tried to convince me otherwise. I remember Diyana & Rashidah (Ada) and even Rusminah (Rose) saying to me " Resipi yang paling senang K.Ainal.. blend jer !! " Sure, jadi ... I've never tried it in Shah Alam becos as usual, mana ada masa.. ! Now that I've all the time in the world, I tried once in Boston and the pyrex dish I used exploded ! Haa... right inside my kuali (wok ) which I used as part of my equipment for kukus (steaming). So I gave up until I read this article by Aleta Watson in the San Jose Mercury News recently. She mentions that it is a staple dessert in countless Spanish and latin American Restaurants. All the while, I thought it's Malaysian! Well... because of the secret ingredients, of course... evaporated and condensed milk! Which is nothing fancy.. We call it Puding Caramel but Aleta named it Alicia's Flan...after her friend whom she says learned to make it from a woman she stayed with during an educational exchange in Spain. The only problem was the recipe was in Alicia's head, macam Diyana, Ada and Rose ... I guess because it's so simple. Anyway, with Alicia cooking and Aleta taking notes they came up with a recipe that is sure to work every time. It worked for me ! So try it, if you haven't done it yet...

ALICIA'S FLAN

Ingredients - serves 10-12
6 large eggs
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Method
1. Place eggs in 5-cup blender jar and whirl 10seconds. Pour in condensed milk and whirl 10seconds. Add evaporated milk and whirl 10seconds. Fill empty condensed milk can with water. Add vanilla and enough water to fill blender jar to brim. Whirl on low speed a couple of seconds. Set aside while you make the caramel.
2. Place sugar in 10-inch skillet and over medium-low heat, tilting pan now and again to help sugar melt evenly, until it liquifies and turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Do not stir as it will be clumpy. Watch mixture carefully as it cooks to avoid burning. Don't ever put in any liquid such as water!!
3. Carefully pour caramelised sugar into a 1 1/2- quart souffle dish. Slowly pour egg and milk mixture from blender over caramel. Seal dish or flan pan tightly with foil and place in roasting pan or soup pot large enough to hold dish and cover with lid.
4. Pour water into larger pan to a level about a third of the way up the dish. Cover pan with lid and bring water to boil on stove. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, one hour.
5. Remove dish from water bath and let cool. Refrigerate overnight and turn upside-down on a plate to unmold and serve. must be well-chilled to unmold in one piece.
Note:
I don't have a 'periuk kukus' so I use a round metal cake mould placed on top of a small metal rack which is put inside a wok. I cover the whole thing with the 'wok's cover'. If you don't have the metal rack use something, - like empty milk cans - that can raise up the mould so that it doesn't touch the water bath but still low enough to be covered.

Adult Community Education (ACE)

Chef Suzanne in action at her Chocolate Candy Making Class which I attended for 2 sessions - 3 hours for each sesion. I love the idea of utilising existing facilities and infrastructure in more ways than one - as what is being practised by the Union High School District (Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah). School facilities are being used during night time and also weekends to cater for the education of the adults community. There are many-many courses to choose from and these programs are accredited by the Western Association of Schools & Colleges. So, a person who for some reason or another did not finish high school and opted to work instead, can continue their education at ACE and then go to a Community College and get transfer credits for a degree at a local university. That is what we call Life Long Learning - Pembelajaran Se-panjang Kehidupan. The 2 guys are my cooking mates getting ready to coat the mashmallows. The mashmallows were not 'halal' so Nikki ( my daughters' violin instructor ) got my share. Kevin made sure he took home the cherries which were marinated with brandy - how thoughtful of him! The 3 ladies are mother & daughter team (Ellen & Jean) and Janine. I got to know about ACE when a brochure arrived in our mailbox, so I signed up! The courses offered under the Career and Technical Education are either I am already good at ( ha..ha..) or too specialised like Nursing, Security Guard Training, Cosmetology, Nanny ( funny, right? but they offer it ), Accounting, Building Maintenance, Programming courses ( Unix C/C++, Perl, Bits to Java..), Electronics, Computer Tech and more.. All of which certs issued. Fees..? It ranges, but one example : Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate Program costs in total $525 for 25 sessions. Whereas, for Intro to Computers for Older Adults costs $45 for 7 sessions. One session lasts for 2 to 3 hours... Rasa2 nya worth it la tuu..! Then there's Citizenship classes and they are ...free! The class is to prepare a person for the citizenship interview. The instructor for Soap Making Made Simple with a sample that she made. Go visit her blog, its interesting. Tak kedekut ilmu dia nie.. http://homemadebathproducts.blogspot.com .
Adult Secondary Education is also free and it prepares a person to pass the High School Exit Exam in order to obtain a high school diploma. English as a Second Language pun ada... What do you think of Parent Education... ? Motherhood 101, Sibling Solutions, Wiggles & Rhymes - lagu2 nursery rhymes.. Everything needs to be taught these days, and has to be paid for too ! One of the sisters of mine here who join me in this class, putting in coloring and fragrances in her soap before pouring in the moulds.. Classes untuk Active Adults 50+ which are way cheaper ( which I am not eligible yet, honestly...tak boleh join! ), ada dancing.. languages.. painting.. literature.. writing.. yoga.. taichi.. quilting.. sewing.. finance.. and many more under this category. A few of the soaps that I made.. cantik & wangi ! Interested? Boleh order... no problem, payment to my M'sian account.. ;-) Seriously.. they are decorative soaps, jadi bagus untuk dijadikan hantaran ! Kalau nak guna untuk mandi pun apa salahnya... Memang 'halalan toiyiban'. Hmmm, apa lagi yer...ada Community Enrichment classes - Arts & Crafts, Cooking, Health, Home, Music & Dance, Physical Fitness. Yang paling best tu under Special Interest : 1. How to Play Mah Jong, 2. Single? Attract & Choose a Lasting Relationship That Works, and ... last but not least ... 3. " Anybody can Blog! " :-)

Monta Vista High School SBS Tutoring Program

The SBS Office is located in the library. It is equipped with a PC installed with all the necessary MVHS and Microsoft Office applications.

Study Buddy Society (SBS) Tutoring Program at MVHS was initiated by a parent several years back. And currently it is run and coordinated, on a voluntary basis, by four mothers - including me! It may soon be reduced to just me and another lady. Mary - the Taiwanese lady with the twins I story-ed in my previous posting - has gotten a job at her friend's company and might not be available for the voluntary work anymore. The red flower-like daisies remind me of the 'straw flowers' which used to be a craze some many2 years ago.. Doris and Seema would also be leaving since their sons are now seniors and will be graduating this coming June. The two ladies have been coordinating the program ever since their boys were in freshmen year. I was Doris's 'intern' only for a few days before the ex - HP Director (also originates from Taiwan) decided to let me hold the 'fort' on my own. Doris is a wonderful trainer - I've never met anyone who is so 'systematic' as her. This picture was taken several weeks back... right now pokok2 yang 'togel' ni dah berdaun banyak..At first I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of work that the SBS Office has to handle. But, like all other jobs and everything else in life, we will get the 'hang of it' once we set our mind into it! Anyway, the workload is made easy by sharing them among us ... I just pray it won't be 'warm-warm chicken shit' for me...:-) Working on the office application files (excel, word) and email-ing is nothing new. But, when the students come in with their queries or when conducting workshops for the students on the program or even when talking to the teachers..... time tu lah lidah jadi berbelit2! Intonasi pun jadi tunggang langgang ... he..he.. Where can speak 'Manglish' waaan... using our famous fillers like... lah.. maa... will make them even more 'confuse'. If we pronounce it the way we normally do ( the British way, lah ) dia orang tak paham, but when we roll our 'Rs' ... and 'Ds' our 'Ts' ... or cakap sengau2 through our noses ..... paham pulaak.. Yang pelik tuu, most of them bukan nya 'mat salleh' pun.... almost 70% of the MVHS students are of Asian heritage! This tree on the left is on top of a hilly ground.. with all the leaves it's having now, it looks so biig, strong... and shady! Even Doris & Seema yang bertahun2 tinggal disini pun masih ada slang from their mother-land. Mary on the other hand is now taking a course in 'speaking'. That sweet lady ( who looks more like a Japanese rather than a Taiwanese ) doesn't even want to pick up any phone calls and just let me handle them instead. I will miss her when she's no more with the SBS Office. I remember the times when she'll pick me up or even send me back home. Once, I had tea at her apartment while both of us waited for our children to finish their tutoring class. Her twin boys Jonathan & Eric are in the same tutoring class as Atiqah. And according to Atiqah, the twins are cheeky ( selalu kena usik la tuu.. !) and asyik cakap cina jer..:-) Tutoring classes are held after school from 3.15 till 4.15pm and theirs are every Mondays & Wednesdays; the days which I pick to be at the SBS Office too. There are 8 tutoring classes with not more than 10pairs of students and a host teacher in every class. The teacher doesn't do anything much, just take attendance and supervise the students. Their overtime will be paid by the school district and as proof, SBS Office compiles the students attendance and forward to the school district every month. On the right bunga pokok pear... At the bottom, bunga pokok apple.... at the moment, pokok2 ni kat belakang rumah dah ber-putik... banyak sungguh bees..! Must be sweet.... Anyway..., students with GPA 3.5 and above are eligible to be Tutors. They are matched with the Tutees on a 1 to 1 basis depending on the subjects which the Tutees need help with. At the end of the year, SBS Office will provide the necessary recommendations and credentials; which is going to be of added value in the Tutor's College applications. On the other hand, with assistance from their peers or seniors, the Tutees academic performance will hopefully improve. Currently there are over 100 Tutees but the number will dwindle as a few will be dropped from the program for bad attendance or just plain not interested! Usually parents ( yours truly included ) are the ones that urge their children to attend the tutoring program. After all the SBS Tutoring Program is free! Other Tutoring classes out there cost around 60 to 70 dollars an hour! In addition to the SBS Tutoring Program, Atiqah is also home tuitioned by one of MV Senior whom we pay $15 an hour. Cyonee Mukhopathaya comes every Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dah terpaksa, kalau tidak dia akan asyik tengok YouTube drama Korea or even Akademi Fantasia yang sikit pun tidak memberi apa2 pembelajaran. Alhamdulillah, her results are beginning to look more promising and I am hoping to see her achieving GPA of 3.5 and higher.

InsyaAllah...

Amazing Cities By Nite!

I added a slideshow on Amazing Cities by Nite recently. It was recommended by a fellow blogger. I couldn't get it on this posting, however I managed to insert it at the bottom right hand corner of this blog. Go on take a peek! Tak boleh pergi to those places but at least boleh tengok.... pun jadi lah, kan?... :-)

Click on the link below to get to Anuj's blog & other slideshows...

My take on the US School System..

My daughter Atiqah goes to Monta Vista High School (MVHS), - located 40 minutes walk from our home - the high school which is said to be one of the finest in the state! It is no wonder advertisements of Cupertino's residential neighbourhood - apparently made to Taiwan & Korea customers, not surprised if it goes to India as well! - describing a modern living in a scenic resort lifestyle also includes the high school as one of its attractions. To ensure community dollars are spent on students residing within the district's boundaries, the Union High School District which is similar to our Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah, has recently instituted a residency verification by checking the resident's housing title or leasing agreement, driver's license and vehicle grant. It started early of this year and it will continue every year at the beginning of Spring Semester. Formerly, when it was not so strict, people living outside of this area 'cheat' by borrowing someone else's leasing agreement. You'ld be surprise to know what people are willing to do and sacrifice just to get their children into the US School System and eventually gaining entrance to Colleges and Universities here. Atiqah tells me that a few of her friends here are not staying with their parents but instead with relatives or even with 'my mom's friend'. They pay for room and board, of course.. but such sacrifice at that age! I remember myself also, in a boarding school and away from my parents (and missing them most of the time) during my adolescent years, but that was between Seremban and Selama. A stark difference in distance between Taiwan or Korea to California! My new friend from the SBS (Study Buddy Society) program which I am now volunteering at MVHS, is renting an apartment here with her twin sons who are 9th Graders. They came here last year and her husband stays in Taiwan running their business. She says they have to sacrifice for their sons' education. I think they are also fortunate to have the money to do so! Of course, I do count my blessings too.. alhamdulillah..;-) As of the 2006-2007 school year, Monta Vista has a student body of 2,573 students, of which a majority (68.7%) are Asian American. Only 28.2% of the population are white : A 2005 Wall Street Journal article claimed that Monta Vista is currently experiencing a "white flight" caused by white families feeling overwhelmed by the recent influx of Asian American immigrants. And we know how most Asians are.. when it comes to education! Very competitive...

Bulletin Board outside of schools is really a good idea.

The way I look at it, studying with the best has also a downside if one is 15, new to the language and no countryman to freely converse with! I think Atiqah would be better off if she was eligible to start somewhere in Middle School when we first arrived in the US. It would give her more time to enjoy and adapt herself. However, she never complains about the schools - be it Newton South or Monta Vista - nor the teachers, and never miss even a day of classes. Tak pernah ponteng! With so much to cope with, I think I would be so overwhelmed ..

The road that Atiqah takes walking back from school everyday and for me every Mondays and Wednesdays when I do volunteer work at MVHS... Actually, 40 mins of walking is a looong way, but not an ounce shed!...uurgh...

The US School System starts with Elementary School (Grades 1 to 5), Middle School (Grades 6 to 8), and High School; which caters for 9th (Freshman), 10th (Sophomore), 11th (Junior), and 12th Graders (Senior). Most schools start somewhere in September of each year with the exclusion of MVHS which starts one month earlier. The children here begin formal education at the age of 6. That means a January-born child goes to school 7 or 8 months older and a November-born child goes to school 1 or 2 months younger. The cut off age is in December where the child goes to school the following year... but they are still considered as 6+ , right? Atiqah turned 15 last November and 10th Grade in the US school system. Although ecstatic about missing PMR ( and hopefully SPM too! ) my daughter knows she has to play catchup real fast with the US school system and syllabus. Like any other International Student, meaning English is not the primary language, she is placed within the ELL (English Language Learners) group. Some schools call it ESL students (English Secondary Language). These classes go through the same syllabus as the regular classes but at a slower pace. There are 3 Levels of ELL classes in MVHS and Atiqah is currently in ELL3. At this level she can now take some courses (subjects) in regular classes.

The pathway that I take in between houses to reduce a few hundred steps...

Up close the plant really looks like some form of sea-creatures or aliens from outer space... try clicking on it, you'll see what I mean..

Selecting the courses reminds me of my University days. Here, the students get to pick what they want to learn base on their capability and performance for the duration of their 4-year stay in High School; as long as they cover the core main courses such as Math, Science, English and History. There are also Technology/Career Courses, Leadership Courses and Language Courses offered. These will add credit to their College applications. Dalam Math ada Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry. Dalam Science ada Biology, Chemistry, Physics. English pulak ada World Literature, American Literature, British literature.. History offers World History, US History. Geography is not offered as a course but I see Geography lessons covered in History, isn't that strange? I suppose if you wanna learn about a country's history, you also will have to learn where it's located, population, climate, and other geographical stuff. All the core courses also offer AP (Advance Placement)and H (Honor) classes which are added bonus and even could be requirements to the IVLeague Universities. I am not sure whether IB (International Barclaureate) courses are offered at Monta Vista. I think my daughter is not up to that level yet...The level she's at now pun dah tercungap-cungap! People say it's easy studying in schools overseas than at home.. well, I used to say that too! 20 years back maybe so.. or maybe, the system implemented which makes it easier. I have seen the high school work that she has to do everyday, a lot !: Essay writing, Projects, Debates, Journals, Presentations, Speeches.... Which some of the work I think we did in College!
One of the many tuition centers in Cupertino... don't talk about the fees.. memang mahal!

To make it worse, dulu tak ada 'big' exams.. now California enforces CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exams) and Massachusetts with their MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System). Kalau tak pass tak boleh graduate from high school and tak dapat High School Diploma. I haven't begin to story about SAT exams.. which is a requirement for most Universities. I sympathise with her, but sometimes I myself am not able to assist ... causing tensions on both sides. Ya la pulak... kita kan dah lama tinggal sekolah. Like parents back home, my only solution is to get external help in the form of 'tuitions'...
I'll story more about SBS Tutoring Program at MVHS... it's interesting & worth modeling. Maybe, a few of our Boarding Schools might already have this kind of program.

Obama's Speech : Race & Politics

I couldn't resist 'google-ing' for Obama's infamous speech when I missed it today. And sure enough it's already on YouTube!

International Nite at MCA, San Jose

The San Jose M.C.A (Muslim Community Association) organised an International Nite at the Banquet Hall last Saturday 23rd February, featuring China and South East Asia. Frankly, I did not expect the turn out to be so great since I heard they have done it before a few years back. However, the large number of guests surprised me! First of all I must congratulate the organisers especially sister Michelle Lee and her committee for their tremendous efforts in running the event smoothly - filled with activities fun for kids and adults! Even the 'sampled' food were plenty to go around for the 300+ guests. Looking at the buffet table, one would think otherwise! Bringing food to guests instead of them 'attacking' the buffet table did the trick. Alhamdulillah, the committee was never short of volunteers that night to assist in putting 'samples' of food on paper plates and serving guests at their tables. As the request was only to prepare some 'kuih', the four of us ( Jina, Nani, Faridah & me ) came up with bengkang ubi (cassava) and agar-agar for Malaysia's contribution. Jina & Nani are the experts in making kuih-kuih Melayu so they made bengkang ubi and left the easier agar-agar for Faridah & me to tackle with. People say one can never go wrong with agar-agar .. Jina's words of " alah kalau tak jadi, masak balik jer Kak Ainal " kept ringing in my ears when I did just that! Though a bit on the sweet side, ( which I am told prefered by the Middle-easternes ) my 'agar-agar gula jawa berkepala santan' turned out quite okay in the end. Faridah came with the 'pandan' version. Rupa-rupa nya we are never far from our neighbours when it comes to food. The International Nite saw macam-macam warna of agar-agar... kuning, merah, jernih, berkepala, tak berkepala...! I am never good at making 'kuih' so I brought along a pail-full of 'air bandung' to make up for it. My two girls have become experts in making the delicious concoction which became the 'much sought after' drink of the night!. Anis says that the 'drink committee' had to hide the container for awhile upon seeing children coming for seconds, thirds & fourth rounds before the adults even got a taste of it. Mak - Mak Arab pulak asyik tanya jer resipi! We decided to name it Malaysian Rose Drink because we ourselves are 'confused' on its original name. Air Bandung...Bandung Drink.. no that cannot be! Maybe due to the short notice only China, Indonesia & Malaysia had items for the cultural & heritage display corner. Alhamdulillah, within a few hours we managed to grab - from walls & cabinets of our homes... :-) - quite a number of items to show: Sarong Batik & Pelikat (ensuring first that they're not from our neighbour across the straits!), Papan Rehal, Congkak, Recipe Book of Malaysian Cuisines, Miniature Twin Towers, Pewter Mugs, Wooden foot Massager, Pasu Sarawak, Fan of a painted kampung scenery, The Wau, and Paintings of our traditional houses. The paintings were from one of Telekom Malaysia's yearly calendars. I am glad I got them framed! Did I miss out anything!? Oh yes, and The Wau we borrowed from MPBA's ( Malaysian Professional & Business Association ) store. Thank you, Haniza! Display items from Indonesia & China pun tidak kurang hebat nya. I haven't seen that kind of angklung for quite some time now. It still makes good music though! All countries taking part that night had to do a presentation on Islam in their homeland. Thank you Amir for preparing the slides on " Islam in Malaysia " and by virtue of being the most 'veteran', my hubby did the presentation. I must say it went quite allright! :-)
The night continued with a cute " dragon dance " by 6 & 7 year olds from Granada Elementary School. Seronok tengok the teachers so involved in getting them ready for the act. I suppose an International Nite is not complete without a fashion show, to show-case traditional clothes and national costumes. Honestly, we weren't prepared for it but somehow things worked out our way when Sarah & Yunus, who are not siblings and from different parents, happened to be wearing 'sedondon' and after much persuasion the cute couple were willing to represent their mother-land. It only takes a step forward and a bit of courage. A pat on the back for both of them! The committee also arranged for a presentation on Tai-chi & Tae-kwon-do by a local martial arts operator. It would have been perfect if we got someone to do the 'silat' for us! I don't know what exactly is the role of Tourism Malaysia's office in L.A but I am told they did turn down request for assistance a few years back indicating this sort of event is too 'small' for them. Well, at least a tourism video or some brochures would be nice... Although not 'big', the International Nite at MCA last Saturday was very successful indeed. Guests had fun exploring the ancient traditions, the rich history, and the modern life of Muslims in the land of China and Southeast Asia!



Sarah Amani Amir and Yunus Chang courageously introducing themselves to audience.







Two fashion show participants from Indonesia...










A 'brother' from Russia who graduated UIA a few years back. Currently earning his living in San Jose. Appreciating his love for our 'Baju Melayu'.








Not surprising if the Martial Arts Center registered many customers that night...

Siti Nurhaliza & Brian Adams

I have updated my previous posting of CT in the making & CT in London with inserts of YouTube video clippings. And I've also renamed it. Bukan aper...I just learnt how to add on video clips in my blog so why not! I wanted to put in Celine Dion as well but hers couldn't be downloaded due to some violation. I guess her people knew better! Although the clips are outdated....enjoy! I'll try to find newer ones later... I am all excited just knowing how to do it.. it's sooo eaaassyy! Betul2 copy & paste actions ... he..he..



I have also added another singer favourite of mine ... Brian Adams

Nadia's Song by Soheir Khashoggi

I have just finished reading a novel titled Nadia's Song by Soheir Khashoggi.... This book was first published in 1999 and recognised as an international bestseller. I didn't buy the book but borrowed it instead at the Cupertino Public Library last week. I have always wanted my children and me to sign up as library members - ahli perpustakaan - even kat Shah Alam lagi! But we never got the chance to do so. Forever having not enough TIME! Ia nya seperti MASA sentiasa mencemburui kita, sering kali kita memburu nya dan sentiasa juga kita terbiar leka di buai nya. Rasa rugi sangat tak dapat menjejaki tangga-tangga Perpustakaan Negara yang terletak di Jalan Tun Razak tu... or even melewati Perpustakaan Shah Alam yang berdekatan dengan M.P.S.A dan Quality Hotel di Seksyen 2, Shah Alam itu. Rugi bebenor gedung2 buku itu dibina dengan tersergam indah dan kita tidak berusaha menikmati khazanah ilmu di dalam nya. Walhal kita diberi MASA yang sama, samaada di sini mahupun di sana. So, I'll try to make the best out of TIME while I am here. Melalut pulak! Anyway, Cupertino Library has 2 floors with an elevator for the physically challenged and for those who finds it easier and faster not to take the stairs. Registration counter is on the ground floor and we only need our picture IDs to be registered. Even to borrow books is a breeze using the self check-in kiosks. Nadia's Song is about the life of a famous Egyptian singer Kamila, story about her love... her lost daughter (out of wed lock) named Nadia. Setting in Egypt, Italy, US and France in the era of the 40s till the 80s... tahun 40-an tu flashback laa.. A few famous names mentioned like Egypt's last Prince and her first President - Gamal Nasser. Rupa2 nya Hitler was believed to be a Muslim by the Egyptians back then. He goes by the name Muhamad Haider. Of course, Nadia's Song is fiction. Ada love story, a bit of politics, a bit of spy story but.... cerita tu betul2 tunjuk betapa tipisnya iman orang2 Islam di Mesir. Negara yang tergolong di dalam negara Arab. Kalau pengarangnya pun dari situ mungkin sedikit sebanyak ada kebenarannya. Soheir Khashoggi was born in Alexandria, Egypt but now living in New York City. She is the sister of Adnan Khashoggi (remember the million/billionaire who was once connected to Jackie Kennedy/Onassis) and Dodi Al Fayed's auntie. Her late sister Samira Khashoggi was Dodi's mother. I think there is not much of royalty in them but they're very2 rich! Their father Mohamed Khashoggi once worked with Marie Curie and was a physician to Saudi Arabia's royalty. She has produced 3 best sellers but the first titled Mirage is banned in Saudi Arabia. Soheir dedicated Nadia's Song to the memory of her dear nephew Dodi al Fayed. From the day he was born, she loved him as a precious baby brother. And he, as a gentle caring adult, always treated her with love and kindness. Although he is gone, in her heart he will live forever....

Crabbing at Jina & Eddie's

We hear its crab season this time of year. Atiqah pun memang dah banyak kali sebut nak makan ketam. Despite her allergies! And these few days dia demam pulak. Having anak2 yang dah besar ni some people say senang, but when they are sick they'ld act like 4 or 5 year olds! Tu belum bapa nyer... lebeh dari anak dia kalau demam...he..he.. Whenever Atiqah eats shrimps or prawns both her eyes will be itchy and swollen. However, she has no problems with lobsters & squid (sotong). But, we haven't tried her with crabs. When Jina & Eddie wanted to do a cook-out of crabs at their home, it was like pucuk di cita ulam mendatang. Shafinaz, Aziz and Eddie's roles were to go crabbin' kat Half Moon Bay...tempat fishermen unload their catch. Pergi beli ketam bukan tangkap ketam.. I think Shafinaz got them at less than 4 dollars per pound.. she's quite a negotiator! :) and I haven't seen ketam2 yang gemuk2 and banyak isi macam tu. O... except for the King Crab that has 'limbs' more than a foot long! The two couples were almost done cutting and cleaning those fresh smelling crustacean when we reached Jina's home. They divided them into 3 portions - one portion for masak lemak cili padi, the second for barbeque, and the third for sup ketam. Ahaa.. tak pernah masak ketam buat sup? Yours truly pun tak pernah...tapi Chef Shafinaz kita masak sup ketam hari tu memang sedaap! Itu lah dia rahsia selama ni... Ms Shafinaz kita pandai masak. Senang la nanti in our next get-together.. :) Jina's kuih keria was also a hit. I think she also made karipap.. banyak sangat makanan sampai tak ingat. Well, I just came with ayam goreng salut tepung.. O ya... selain crab season, it's also flu season.. We missed another family (Nani & anak2) sebab semua nya demam! Salbiah & Faizal had visitors from San Francisco & Stockton. Faridah & family couldn't make it either..

Oleh kerana dapur Jina tinggi sangat, terpaksa lah Chef Shafinaz guna 'stool'... he..he..







Eh...Eh... nampak macam model la pulak... :)





Outcome of our findings? - Atiqah is also allergic to crabs... ! Hmm....nasib la
At first the idea was to share the total price of the catch among us, but thanks to our new Haji & Hajjah (Eddie & Jina) yang murah hati we left only with heavier bellies... Next time dah tak boleh...kita kena share the load.. :)
Thank you also for their grand hospitality. May they receive abundant blessings from Allah always ...

Visitors from Malaysia

Last 2 weeks Nureena, her baby Afrina and her parents (En Muhammad and Puan Norma) visited us from San Francisco. She's working with P.N.B and now seconded for a few months at a Venture Capital company in San Francisco. Her husband is holding fort at home with their other three children. It's good getting to know ladies like Nureena - very determined, very sharp, not easily intimidated and has good communication skills. Her experience studying in US before helped. I guess P.N.B chose the right person to represent the organisation. Seronok berborak dengan her parents too! They are here to help in looking after her 2 year old. This ex-army veteran banyak cerita... Just a few hours with them terasa macam dah kenal lama. Too bad her working stint is just for a few months or else we could get to know them better. InsyaAllah, umur panjang kita jumpa lagi........

Five ladies extended their stay and flew over to San Jose to pay us a visit after their official trip to the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) held in Las Vegas. My hubby also attended the 5-day show ....... and me, wishing I could have tagged along to Vegas. Instead, jadi driver for my daughters who have started classes. Anyway, the 5 ladies Shakila, Wahida, Wan Nor, Fakhriah and Ada were our guests for only a night. They touched down on Sunday morning from L.A. Sempat gi shopping in Gilroy and the next day visit San Francisco. I hope they had a nice time in SF considering they had only a few hours before having to leave for the airport. Seronok jumpa balik Ada since our last meet in March of last year. She was my ' friend in DC ' mentioned in my posting of that month. Ada and Hashimi's hospitality memang tiada tandingan. Needless to say about her cooking. Simple as it might look, her ayam masak lemak cili padi memang sedap! , As I have mentioned before US domestic flights allows 2 bags per person. Each bag has to weigh less than 50 pounds or else you'ld be charged with excess baggage weight fee. So watch your bags' weight..mahal jugak tuu... :o

New Year & Rose Parade in Pasadena

Thank you to our hosts NurulSyam & Azura kerana melayan kami dengan baik nya semasa kami di sana. Also to En Rasli & family ... This picture is taken in front of Syam & Zura's home in Pasadena before we leave for the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. Baru anak2 dia orang nak bermesra dah kami nak balik. This young family came here about the same time as we did. Iqbal dah fasih 'speaking', siap slang lagi. Children catch up so fast! Even his younger sister is coming along fine understanding the language. I find that children who like to watch cartoons grasp the language faster. My son loves to watch cartoons unlike his sisters, and I believe he is better off in the English department than the two girls. My daughter Anis, on the other hand, is from a boarding school in Kuantan. I suppose her English is fine but I hope she'll get better in it when she makes more friends at De Anza College. She's brave so I have no worries. Somehow, Atiqah's English results are alright but she's a bit shaky in the Maths department. She has always been under her mother's armpits (bawah ketiak ibu..he..he..), nak buat camno...anak bongsu! Best nya tengok swimming pool rumah nie... but, not used this time of year sebab sejuuk - even in L.A! Wish we had one in Cupertino... :] The night before was New Year's eve.. 2008. Tak ku sangka berada di Los Angeles menyambut tahun baru. Tup - tup dah setahun kami di bumi Mat Salleh nie.. time flies so fast and waits for no one. Wish I had been more productive! Maleh dah nak berazam.. After dinner at Restaurant Haidar Baba we ventured out to the streets wanting to see how 'Angelinos' celebrate New Year. I was surprised seeing them booking a place & camping out along the streets on the side walks as early as that afternoon. Siap ada folding chairs, tents, sleeping bags, blankets... barbeque sets. At first I thought ......ramai nya homeless... Not only yang muda, yang tua2 pun ramai. In fact, one whole family - mak, bapa, anak2 even the likes of grandmothers and grandfathers pun ada - camped out on the side walk to welcome 2008 and to watch Rose Parade on New Year's Day. I don't know what their youngsters will learn into their adulthood from this experience. It's ok to sleep on the streets...? It's true polis bagi permit, but what sort of values are they giving to their children? Jangan la kita ikuut.....alhamdulillah, kita tak boleh tiru sebab kat K.L panas & banyak nyamuk! he..he.. In case you're wondering... Rose Bowl is a football stadium. American football.. kat sini the English football is called soccer. Soccer is being taught early in schools and it's popular among young girls. Currently, the US soccer teams are not world's favourites but give them time and who knows they might be a force to be considered. Atiqah now has P.E classes 4 times a week and ada exam pulak tu. Jadi for the class dia terpaksa lari at least 1 mile, - if the weather permits - and terpaksa main games like soccer, basketball. Soon they will learn about American football...dah la kena balik jalan kaki. Tiap2 hari kena pujuk suruh bersabar... There was going to be a big match between University of Southern California - Trojans and University of Illinois - Illin on New Year's Day. Of course that wasn't our choice to watch... I have heard of the Rose Parade since the 80s lagi when M.A.S was at the peak of the airline game. We were so proud of Malaysian Airlines System - our biggest carrier then - when she won the Rose Parade. I heard from someone in the consulate at L.A that M.A.S menang 3 kali. Of course now we understand why M.A.S is not winning any awards....looking from her state of affairs! Anyway, flowers are sooo expensive. From the name of the parade, one would expect to see tons and tons of roses, berbagai-bagai bentuk dan warna, bersemarak wangi nya di udara.. But, not all 'floats' were decorated with just roses. There were many other kinds of flowers too..one thing for sure, memang colorfull! Oh ya, what happened to our Pesta Bunga? Is it still on? Haa...... Rose Parade ni macam tu la sikit sebanyak. There were also other international participation in this parade: Taiwan, Japan, Mexico.... uuuurrgghh tak ingat... and United Nations. We did spot our Jalur Gemilang among the group! People come all over to watch the parade... just look at the campers or mobile homes. Patutla ramai yang book tempat seawal petang semalam. We heard that seats at the beginning of the parade - where they have speeches and shows - costs 40 dollars and more. And, this parade was covered live.. tapi tak sampai ke tempat yang hujung2 where seatings / standings were a little unorganised. I guess the footage will also be aired in many countries.

I like this float....macam kereta Back to The Future. Also looks like 'transformers' ... ready to fly...

Universal Studios- The Entertainment Capital of L.A

Universal Studios - The Entertainment Capital of L.A - offers a Theme Park, Studio Tour, CityWalk, Cinemas, and Concerts all in one. Universal Studios ticket for a 2-day pass bought over the internet is really worth the money. Moreover it's way cheaper (jauh lagi murah) than the price of an adult ticket at the Ticket Booths. There are lots to see and one day is just not enough to cover all the sites. We picked to go during holiday season so just imagine the crowd, the line, the queue and the waiting time. One thing good is that the waiting time is displayed in front of each ride so visitors can choose the one with a shorter waiting time before queue-ing. But we knew we had 2 days so we were in no hurry.... making the visit very pleasant indeed! Especially with companions like Faridah, Suhair, Sara, Ozzie & Sabrina..The Theme Park opens at 10am but it's advisable to go earlier as queue starts even at the main entrance where visitors take their parking tickets. There are two types of parking : Preferred Parking & Regular Parking. The Preferred Parking is more expensive but it's very near to the entrance of Universal Studios. The Regular Parking is about 10 - 15 minutes walk to the entrance, passing Universal CityWalk - an area of night spots, cinemas, concerts, dining, and shopping. There are no entrance fee to Universal CityWalk and it closes around 12am during weeknights. If you have a van full of excited kids, I suggest go with the Preferred Parking! In case you have to wait for friends at the entrance, take pictures first at The Red Carpet or at The Globe to fill up your time. You'ld be too worn out and too tired to take pictures on your way back. Or your cameras might even be running out of batteries or memory space by then! Those are nice spots to keep as part of your memorabilia of Universal Studio. If you book your tickets on-line, make sure to bring along the printed copies. Nanti tak boleh masuk pulak... :) There are quite a number of eateries at the Theme Park but I preferred to pack sandwiches for the children. Some Theme Parks like Sunway Lagoon ( we went ages ago ) doesn't allow us to bring in food but Universal Studios boleh pulak. And if you bring along a Sponge Bob Square Pants Sipper Cup (alaa...macam botol air tu) you can save on re-fills of air soda. My children dah lama tak minum carbonated drinks so they turned down Zura & NurulSyam's offer to bring one. Zura & NurulSyam - our hosts in L.A, more of the lovely young couple in my next posting .. :) . The Theme Park is made up of an Upper Lot and a Lower Lot separated by escalators known as StarWalk - the bottom picture. You'ld be listening to piped-in music / songs all the way up or down when you take the ride. Listening to music lets your mind forget about the height of the hillside. Certain parts of StarWalk are quite steep (curam!). If I can remember well, Sunway Lagoon also has an escalator down to its wet area, but I don't remember listening to any songs. .. is there? The first thing to do upon entering Universal Studios is to look for the Studio Tour. Get the Studio Map so that you save time & won't get lost! Come to think of it, actually the area is not all that big....... It is just that everyone wants to start their day with a Studio Tour so the line might be long if you delay. The tour takes a bit over one hour, but you wouldn't feel the time passing by as you are comfortably seated on a tram. We go up a tram for the tour so no energy lost there. Just ooohs...& aaahs... and sometimes screams as we were taken through the exploration of Hollywood's most famous backlot (or backstage) in the world's largest working movie studio. Sometimes when we watch movies or TV shows we wonder how do they do that on a busy street of New York. The answer is build a real life 'mock city' ... as in the picture on the right. Siap ada street signs, cafes, shops and all the 'accessories'. We also wonder how speedy car chases negotiate dangerous moves and escape gunshots and explosions.. well, build something 'robotic', and digitally enhance the rest. Like this one on the right used for The Fast and the Furious. The tour also took us to the Clock Tower spot where the eccentric scientist of 'Back to the Future' did his stuff. But only the spot remains with no action. I think they are going to replace it with the Simpson's Ride which is still under construction. One thing for sure, this place updates within a few years with the latest and most popular. We witnessed the eerie smoldering remains of plane crash from the War of the Worlds. Steven Spielberg wanted it to have a real life size jumbo and a few demolished homes on set. We passed through 'Mexican towns'...'Cowboy towns'.. 'Japan'.. 'London'.. Wisteria Lane... Amazed to see such a set can create an image of a whole housing area. Those yang suka tengok Desperate Housewives would know and able to identify the houses. Frankly, I watched a few episodes and also missed many.. Not that desperate to follow the story! The tram even went into water for us to experience a close-up view of a model Ocean Liner & icebergs.. We were exposed to the Special Effects Stages..turned & shaken to experience earthquakes.. water gushing & flames thrown at us..helicopters crashing! King Kong! Jaws! There is even a small lake for scenes that involve water. Kita semua tertipu! Ha..ha..ha.. These days whenever we watch TV shows Atiqah would say... alah, Universal Studios... :)











Wisteria Lane.....


After the Studio Tour we ventured the Theme Park.











One of Universal's Animal Actors..

Happy Feet....






Appolo 13....












Super heroes.... I think...

My hero... I am sure....

The evergreen Incredible Hulk!

Fear Factor Live.. a show on extreme audience participation

Ozzie and Sara as Wilma & Fred Flintstone..







Jaws!....






Not sure whether it's life size... but that is already BIG!..

Scooby Doooo where are you?....he's at Universal Studios!





ooops... I forgot to mention this parking!







...also used in the movies









A scene from the re-enacted Water World






The girls with the one-eyed villain ..






Entah kenapa budak2 suka sangat dengan si Shrek nie... I don't know the story and haven't come around to seeing the DVD that my hubby bought for the girls.. my son says that the story contradicts the myths of fairy tales. Princes are not always heros and not necessarily be good-looking. Likewise the princesses as well.. ooo.. Anyway, Shrek 4D show was interesting enough. Seperti biasa kena queue, and get the unique glasses before entering. Besides the stunning 3-D, there is an extra dimension of feeling... your seat shakes & you feel as though you are riding with Shrek whenever he's being chased and you'ld feel water on you whenever there is a raining scene. All the children loved it... you could see the expression on their faces as they came out. But, I like Terminator 2: 3D. In addition to the 3D film, they have actors on stage acting out the roles of Sarah O'Connor & her son. It was clever of them to interweave reality with the fantasy of film. Siap ada gunshots, explosions, smoke...we also feel the falling sensation... betul2 technology in play.. I was too involved with the action that I didn't have time to take pictures! The Mummy Ride was quite interesting. They psyched you up even during the queue. It is like a roller coaster ride but without the 'loop'. Sara, Anis, my son and me went up on the ride. We were shaken forwards and backwards in total darkness. Only Sara and me were screaming our heads off! My son loves The Simpsons.. dulu2 kalau boleh I would restrict them from watching The Simpsons & Mr Bean. Tapi kalau dah besar panjang nie insya Allah.. they know themselves what is good what is bad, what is moral and what is immoral and what is funny and what is not.... His other favourite is The South Park.. sometimes he would update me with an episode or two and we would laugh together. Kelakar sungguh cerita tu, what's funny is that the story line relates to current events. Tu yang best!






hmmm....




Another ride that's interesting is Jurassic Park... but only Sara and Rizal took up the challenge of dropping straight from an 84 foot vertical drop waterfall.






The masked man called Zorro...









Spider man....


















Universal CityWalk






Studio Map...

Los Angeles, California

Last few days of 2007 had been a little hectic for us. After Christmas holidays in Lake Tahoe, my hubby had some business in LA. A few weeks before, he was in Portland, Oregon. But, we missed the opportunity to tag along then. If not, I would have gotten the chance to meet up with my school-mate friend Ins (Hamidah Zakaria) who is residing there with her husband and their 2 children. My hubby came home impressed with the Malaysian-Iranian couple's fine hospitality and their lovely home. The last I saw Ins was at Marriot, Putra Jaya in mid 2006 when we had 'The Invincibles' 30th anniversary of leaving school. She came all the way from Portland for the gathering; and that was the first time I saw her - along with many others from my batch - after MCE of '76. Hmmm... orang lama, ek? he..he.. We had lots of fun during the 2-day get-together cum 'down-the-memory lane' retreat. If you wanna see a group of ladies - how sophisticated they maybe - turned school girl-ish screaming & hugging & talking all in unison, you should see us at one of our gatherings. :)Weee can turn back the wheels of time and become oblivious of those around us. It is as though we are in our own 'zone', leaving hubbies at the door! he..he.. ANywayyy, that is another story altogether. This time around, the children and me didn't want to miss out on the City of Angels - Los Angeles and what she has to offer. Universal Studios, Disneyland, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Blvd, Rodeo Drive... just to name a few. Driving south from San Jose to L.A takes 5 - 6 hours and that was what we did on Friday morning of Dec 28th 2007. A bit on history.. bear with me for awhile :), at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, Los Angeles and California became part of the United States. Los Angeles or L.A is the largest city in the state of California and the second-largest in the US. It is located in Southern California with a population of almost 4.0 million people. The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana metropolitan area however, is home to nearly 13 million people who come from all over the globe and speak more than a hundred different languages. Begitu diverse-nya L.A nie... Astonishingly enough, Wikipedia says that the crime rate has declined since the 1990s with 2007 recording the least homicide cases. Nevertheless, the city is still being referred to as the "Gang Capital of America". Hissh..teringat pulak TV series L.A Law & Order, LAPD, Homicide..... CSI L.A (ada ker...?). Wikipedia also says that car chases in L.A happen more often than in most other major cities. The freeway (highway) system in L.A is complex and allows for lengthier pursuits...aksi kejar - mengejar! It was good that nothing happened on the road when we were there but I realised that the driving in L.A ada sikit-sikit macam driving in K.L. Aggressive! Well, it's nothing to a well experienced K.L driver like my hubby..he..he.. Suite 400, 550 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California hosts four Malaysian offices : Consulate General of Malaysia - the other one is in New York; MARTRADE, MIDA, and MSD. The MSD - Malaysian Students Department now has only 3 staff ( I think ) very much reduced; not like it used to be a few years before when they occupied at least half the floor. Well, that was what I understood from Kak Yati... in the ladies room! Malaysian students dah tak ramai. That's no surprise... Yang non-sponsored of course masih belambak - where they get the financial aid, beats me! Kita ni harapkan MARA & JPA jer... itu pun kuota dah reduced. ANywayyy, ter-melalut pulak... the city of Los Angeles ni is prone to earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire; which causes approximately 10,000 earthquakes every year. Nevertheless, many are of low intensity and are not felt. I remember the 5.6 Reichter yang menggegar San Jose last year... takat tu pun dah kecut perut! Hollywooood..., a district in Los Angeles, California and situated to the northwest of Downtown L.A is where the glamour is. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a reference to the cinema of United States. Macam "Bollywood" is to Hindi films laa... Actually, the Hollywood Sign is Hollywood's "biggest star". It is more than just nine white letters spelling out a city’s name; it is one of the world’s most suggestive symbols that reflects ambition, success, glamour …and dream. That is why hundreds of teenagers run away from homes to flock to Hollywood hoping to be 'discovered'. Competing with the professionally trained, a few made it - by pure talent, I suppose. But those that don't, end up becoming gas & parking attendants, panhandlers (peminta sedeqah), prostitutes or star in pornographic films. The Hollywood Walk of Fame was created in 1958 for artists in the entertainment industry based on career and lifetime achievements in motion pictures, live theatre, radio, television, and or music, as well as their charitable and civic contributions. We tracked along Hollywood Boulevard searching for famous names that we know. The kids raised their eyebrows to the ones that are familiar to me... the likes of Lindsay Wagner & Lee Majors....sapa tu? tak famous pun! Well, famous to me since I grew up watching Bionic Woman & Six Million Dollar Man.. he..he.. But, frankly I don't think I'ld prefer my name to be stepped on by millions of feet. So, jangan ler ada 'mat bijak' or 'minah pandai' kat sana tu yang nak tiru macam The Hollywood Walk of Fame nih.. memang bukan budaya kita! We can take the good, but please do away with the bad & the ridiculous. Bayangkan nama P.Ramlee or Saloma kat atas tanah di pijak-pijak. Cukup ler dengan nama dia orang diguna untuk jalan & restoran. I am not sure how Jln P.Ramlee looks like these days and I didn't have the opportunity to eat at 'Saloma'. But, I did have lunch at a restoran in Kinrara once, which has all black & white pictures of our yester-years celebrity as its deco...even the music reminds me of my childhood days... makanan? ... sedaaaap! Lupa pulak nama restoran tuu. I hope it's thriving well.. If you like watching the Oscars or the Academy Awards then you are familiar with the sight of Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. I am not really a fan tapi kalau dah tak der kerja tu, tengok la jugak. :) Of course, we all know where our female artis-artis get their fashion sense from. Strangely enough, I don't have any opinions when seeing these foreign actresses 'berkemban' or bare-backed but rasa 'jelek' sangat pulak when I see any of ours parading in attires exposing most parts of their chests! And, I guess it's catching on even with our youngsters in K.L.. Frankly, I haven't seen anyone dress undecently or unpleasing to my eyes since we are here. Agak nya sebab cuaca sejuuk & all have to be wrapped up most of the time. If you want those kind of action then I guess go to the beach! ..he..he... While we are here in L.A, Atiqah wanted to go to Disneyland but I know we need at least 2 days there. So tak cukup masa ... Anyhow, the tickets are soo expensive. Tak cukup duit sebenar nya... :) We settled with just Universal Studios since we could get cheaper tickets on the internet. There are quite a number of advantages by just being AAA member here. Lagi pun we heard Faridah and family are also going... The children were quite excited at the prospect of visiting Universal Studios with Sara, Ozzie and Sabrina. The 3 siblings have already visited Universal Studios a few years back but Sabrina, the youngest was smaller then and couldn't remember or appreciate much of their visit before.... Sabrina the 9-year old girl (or is it 10? ) has already got Surah Al-Waqiah imprinted in her brain. She will recite it speedily and without hesitation. Seronok betul talking to this student of South Valley Islamic School who loves doing 'magic' and even confident enough to perform it in front of a 'mock' audience. Since L.A is a multi-ethnic city, eating 'halal' is no issue. However, we took a liking to a Thai Restaurant named Barn Rau and we frequented it while we were in the city. I think the owner originates from South Thailand because the dishes are very similar to ours...and sedap2 belaka. I didn't get his name but he is a big fan of Allahyarham P.Ramlee.. or at least I think he is, since P.Ramlee's songs berkumandang when we were there. There is an area in the restaurant reserve for anyone to solat and the restaurant owner himself leads his customers in solat jemaah. How 'coool' is that! he..he... With Ozzie leading the way, driving his family's car we cruised through Downtown L.A to places such as Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, Santa Monica, Malibu .. & hoping to come across famous people's houses and cars. Sara says to watch out for fancy expensive cars with no license plates which would normally belong to a famous person. Nampak quite a few, but the windows were pitched black! Faridah played the part of an impromptu tour guide, most of the time on the cellphone with me! Come to think of it...seronok & kelakar... Everybody was satisfied with the trip: the children visited all the spots in Universal Studio within one and half days, my hubby met his counterparts in L.A and completed his intended task and I got to see Hollywoood......he..he.. Nicki Botswick - my daughter's violin teacher says in one of her text messages - after realising I've forgotten all about her violin lesson and in L.A! - that she's not a fan of actors as a lot of them have been caught in DUIs. So true! One of the shopping place of the rich & famous in L.A is Rodeo Drive. I noticed the chandeliers 'dressing' the lamp posts in the middle of the street. Impressive!!

Some of the famous brands lining Rodeo Drive.....

Skyland in Zephyr Cove, Nevada

Skyland in Zephyr Cove is a private residential area speckled with beautifully built homes, at the edge of Lake Tahoe. Rumah 'mat salleh' yang besar-besar & cantik-cantik. The house where we stayed had I think, 6 bedrooms, 2 big living rooms, 1 gameroom; and all the necessities for a large family. Thanks to Nana for her effort in exploring the net for us. Everyone was pleased with her for the good deal. Would like to share the view of a few with you...too bad I did not venture much within the area. Anyway, during this time of year it gets dark very fast. So daylight time is very short... belum apa2 dah gelap.


















The house on the right has external wood panelings...cantik! The villa below is huge... orang kaya mana la yang owns the place!














In view of Lake Tahoe's large size, the edge of the waters is called 'beach'. If I am not mistaken, I did mention before that Tahoe even has her own Coast Guard. A few pictures of Skyland's Private Beach below. No worries of dogs' 'poo-poo' catching you by surprise since No Dogs are allowed there.















Pat Mat with his neighbour ( forgot his name ), and my hero... Just watch the snow clad mountains in the distance... this place offers loads of picture perfect postcard pictures!























The Game Room downstairs..... with its own bar! Pool turned ping pong table..... I now have a new partner ... Faizal! :-)
I remember the times when the lift lobby at 21st Floor, Wisma Telekom and later the back corridor of Level 6, Menara Telekom became a favourite spot for a group of executives' to perform 'stress management' after office hours. The ping pong method! We tempted quite a few 'Top Management' as well. I hope the same kind of camaraderie still exists ...









the downstairs living room on the right...








Pak Mat's happy family...






The upstairs' living room...


















....and the fully equipped kitchen, which did not see much rest when we were there!

Snow Mobiling at Tahoe

My hubby lives to please his children, especially his girls. I know he couldn't bear the look on their faces when they couldn't go ski-ing with Nana or even ice skating at Heavenly Village! Manja Atiqah menjadi-jadi when she saw her father stopping at the snow mobil park. She didn't mind at all being in line for one and half hours before getting ourselves a snow mobil. $50 for half an hour! Mahal...but, that was long enough for all 5 of us to get a turn on the vehicle. The route was short & sweet - doing laps around the park. So I figured there was nothing dangerous in that, and the vehicle was simple enough to manuevre. Pulas handle sebelah kanan to accelerate and press to break. There were no hard and fast rules to follow, but everyone had to watch others' backs. It looked like fun so I had my fair share of driving too. The best was Yasmin who didn't even as much as 'blinked' when sandwiched between her parents during their ride. Coool jer dia!

Atiqah & Anis adding another round to their turn!

Ingat kat Mak Cik Pidah pulak masa muda2 dulu bawa Pasola...

Whoaa.....

Anis slowing down for her pic to be taken..

Faizah, Yasmin & Salbiah on their snow mobil...

Yasmin all warm & cuddly...

Hmmm....

Gondola Ride at Heavenly, Tahoe

We were advised by those who have visited Lake Tahoe before, to take the ride up Heavenly Mountains on the Gondola or Cable Car ( like the ones in Pulau Langkawi ) to get the whole view of Lake Tahoe from above or else we'ld be truly missing out on our trip. The Heavenly Gondola provides visitors the opportunity to ski or view Lake Tahoe in all its glory. I can say that I have gone up many Cable Cars before this: to Telekom's satelite station in Gunung Kinabalu (pregnant pulak tu, a long2 time ago..), the ones in Cameron Highlands, the ones in New Zealand, the ones in Perth Australia.. but the cable car going up Gunung Mat Cinchang in Langkawi was by far the "scary-iest", to my own standards of course! However, my children enjoyed the ride and thought nothing of them when I recalled our trip to Langkawi a few years back. After browsing through Langkawi's websites, now only I know that the cable car goes over 2.2km up at a 42 degree angle. Nevertheless, the breathtaking view up Gunung Mat Cinchang beats anywhere else! Another info that's news to me is that the Langkawi's cable car was built without constructing any roads through the jungle and all the materials used were lifted into place using helicopters. I don't know how they did that but to me, that sounds impressive! Like the cable car ride in Langkawi, the Heavenly Gondola ride also has 2 stops; The Deck and The Top Station. The eight-passenger cabins take guests 2.4 miles (about 4.8km) up the mountain in 12 minutes arriving at The Deck - a 360° viewing platform located at 9,123 feet. The 2nd stop at the Top Station is for the skiers and for those who wants to see the view at a higher elevation. The 1st stop at The Deck was enough for us. Anyway, my camera was running out of batteries by then. Similar to the Oriental Village where the Langkawi Cable Car starts, the Heavenly Village -starting point of the Gondola Ride, is a "must-see" on the list of things to do in Tahoe. Architectured with a European flair, the "Village" located along Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe has many unique shops, eateries, and entertainment venues. There were also many other tourists there too this time of year, mainly those who originate from Asia. I can't help noticing many distant relatives of Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Barchan, Kamalahassan (hero Tamil), Rani Mukherjee ..just to name a few ...:-) I am also not surprised if this place is in their list of sites for film scenes yang ada nyanyi2, keliling2 pokok Pine & terguling2 dalam snow. There are many kedai India, Pakistan & Afghan in San Jose that sells/ rents DVD filem Hindi because they have a big market for them here...but sorry, I am no longer one of their regular customer, I am now into blogging and browsing..... NOT shops..., the Net of course! However, I really wish I can make something more (like $$$ ) out of it, instead of just more 'bumper' in my seat! he..he.. Anis & Atiqah geram jer tengok skating rink - picture on the left - and wanted to have a go at it...but mahal sangat! Even the Gondola ride was already a leak in their father's wallet - although he paid under 18 years old tickets for both of them. Anyway, I think they can always skate somewhere else.. And the Gondola Ride will be a one time experience for them as well, since we are definitely not going up there again... I think once is enough to see views from above.

A few pictures of the hotels and the areas in South Lake Tahoe.......

Maybe I should have a facebook account....

... or something of its kind!..





















for all my pictures....

Trip to Lake Tahoe..

Pak Mat's offer to join him, his family and friends for a trip to Lake Tahoe was very tempting indeed. Although my son was fretting on how he has had enough of snow in Boston, we couldn't resist! Anyway, it was Christmas holidays and everyone, including my hubby had a few days off. Most office workers in Malaysia pun ramai yang bercuti this time of year. That Saturday morning we stopped at Pat Mat's place in Stockton first before leaving with the whole team. It takes 2 hours driving from San Jose to Stockton and another 2 hours more from Stockton to South Lake Tahoe. So, Stockton was a welcomed stop especially with Kak Ros's steaming 'nasi lemak' waiting for us. Most parts of California doesn't snow in winter so we don't normally use snow tires. Sometimes, chains or snow tires are necessary on the roads leading to Lake Tahoe, but alhamdulillah we did not need them that day and our box of chains was left unopened. With Kak Ros leading the pack our travel was smooth and relaxing stopping only once at a gas station to 'relief' ourselves. We used Routes 88 and 89 - some what 'jalan kampung' and very scenic, but eventually re-connecting with Highway 50 into South Lake Tahoe. Highway 50 passes the Lake Tahoe Airport en route to shoreline communities and eventually Stateline, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is located along the border between California and Nevada. The border runs across the lake and two thirds of it is on California's side. Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is home to a number of ski resorts, summer outdoor recreation, and tourist attractions. The bungalow which Nana booked is located at Zephyr Cove which is a few miles more from South Lake Tahoe and crossing over into the state of Nevada. Since most cities in California tak ada snow so orang sini pergi ke Lake Tahoe untuk ski, main dengan snow or... gambling. Gambling is legal in Nevada, pernah dengar nama2 bandar seperti Reno... Las Vegas...Carson City ? Well, they are all in Nevada. One could identify the borderline between the two states once approaching the numerous hotel casinos - Harrah's, Harveys, Bill's Casino, MontBleu, Horizon, Lakeside, and many more smaller ones. Lake Tahoe is created due to earth's movements many, many thousands of years ago. So you have this vast mass of water about 22 mi (35 km) long and 12 mi (19 km) wide and has 72 mi (116 km) of shoreline - which makes it necessary for them to even have their own Coast Guard!. The lake is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. The area surrounding the lake is also referred to as Lake Tahoe, or simply Tahoe. MasyaAllah.... memang cantik! Hish...kalau orang punya, puji jer! he..he.. Warisan tanah kita pun cantik2 belaka..kecantikan yang tersendiri... tapi bila dah tercemar yang jadi tak seronok tuu.. Semoga Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam aka Bukit Cerakah dapat di jaga keasliannya dan tidak terus di terombosi. Google la tempat tu dan saksikan property agents making money out of it on the internet! Well, maybe I am becoming a sentimental fool! Anyway, back to my story... Lake Tahoe ni, is the second deepest lake in United States, with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet (501 m). Memandangkan tasik Tahoe ni sangat la dalam, para penyelidik berpendapat bahawa sekiranya terjadi gempa bumi di bahagian yang paling dalam, ianya boleh mengakibatkan tsunami yang mempunyai ketinggian gelombang dari 3m hingga 10m. Dan melintasi tasik tersebut dalam masa beberapa minit sahaja. Tsunami pernah terjadi di Lake Tahoe sehingga ketinggian 100m, .....berpuluh2 ribu tahun yang lalu.. Minta2 jangan la jadi lagi dalam zaman kita ni. Kami sampai ke 107, Skyland, Zephyr Cove dalam pukul 3.30 petang. I will tell you more about this house we rented and the housing area in my later posting. Nana, Pak Mat's daughter got it from Craigslist. It's a lived-in house but the owners are out bercuti and advertised it for rent in winter. Talk about making money while vacationing!Almost every year Nana and her friends would come to Lake Tahoe to ski. Tergedik2 la my children nak ikut but it's a NO - NO for now. Ski-ing is actually an expensive sport.. silap2 patah riuk pulak! That's me being over protective and a negative mom... Snow attire itself costs a small fortune! Thermals, winter jackets, snow pants, snow boots... gloves. Luckily, Haniza & Sharifah offered a few items for us to 'pinjam' when they heard we were going. And, I am thinking of returning the jackets we bought back to the store.. he..he.. Here, barang boleh return.. with no questions asked! So they ended up playing & sliding in the snow near the bungalow like crazyy... suka giler! The sky was still clear & bright at that time, maghrib masuk around 5pm. Actually, mak dia orang pun cuba jugak sliding a few rounds.. he..he.. Even little Yasmin was enjoying herself & showed no signs of being cold! :-)

Selamat Hari Raya Eidul Adha

Muslim Community Association (MCA) of San Jose have decided to hold this year's solat Eidul Adha at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It was good of them to do that as the MCA prayer areas are too small to 'house' the large number of muslims praying all at once. So they have to do two rounds of solat each time, - either for Juma'at or even for the Eids. Santa Clara Convention Center saw a multitude of muslims this Eidul Adha. I think the pictures below speak for them selves. As with every Raya day, I would be the one to 'move' everyone in my house. From the mandi sunat Raya...to solat sunat Hari Raya, and not forgetting the cooking!. I know they are all 'sunats'...well, not the cooking ( rasa nya 'wajib' tu.. he..he..). But to me those are the basics.. the must-haves for a Hari Raya... or Raya day. I remember when my elder sister, my younger brother and me were toddlers arwah Cikgu Zainal would wake us up early- early morning of Raya day and bathe us in COLD water! He would tell us to niat dalam hati mandi sunat raya kerana Allah Ta'ala. We didn't mind it at all sebab excited nak pakai baju baru, which he has crisply ironed and laid out for us. Oh ya, right before Cikgu Bastiah knows how to jahit baju, he was also our tailor! He sewed all of our baju kurungs and baju melayu. Senang jer dia buat, jahit macam 'baju kedah' with leher bulat.... kain & seluar semua pakai getah! That was our father - a very practical man! Langsir? huuh.. dia jugak yang jahit. Rumah kat kampung dulu-dulu used to have glass shutters and rumah we all had PLENTY of them. Cleaning those window shutters was really a chore! Life was 'better' for my two younger sisters as Cikgu Bastiah could then jahit baju and WE took over the bathing tasks! :-) Before Globe Silk Store was around my parents did all their shopping in Penang but after Globe became the 'in' thing for them, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman became their favourite spot! I think, that street holds plenty of memories for many..... I don't know about yours, my parents were always 'budgeting' and 'saving'... tahu saja la gaji cikgu back then! But because of them and their ways we always had 'just enough'. Tak berlebeh dan tak kekurangan... I could go on and on writing about my parents for there are so much to tell about them. But I think I'ld better not! My tears are now running faster than I could type..... sigh! I suppose each of us have our own sweet memories of our childhood Raya days and that of our parents. And I also think that we should create fond memories for our children too, then they would remember their Raya days like we do.. As for the solat sunat Raya, I appreciate it even more now that I am older... and living life overseas. And I assure you... there is no takbir Raya like the kind we do in Malaysia. Memang Syahdu...
That I missed the most! Tried to do it in the car on the way to the Convention Center but got no response from either my son or his father... sigh! Oh ya, my son is back for the holidays so I have him with us to celebrate Eidul Adha. Having him makes my cooking worthwhile... :) I believe food is a unifying agent. Jadi memasak la I the night before: nasi impit, kuah kacang, masak lemak lodeh, nasi minyak, kari daging, ayam masak merah and acar... sedap ke tak sedap belakang kira... he..he.. The areas around San Jose celebrated Eidul Adha this year on Dec 19th, which is a day after Arab Saudi declared 'wukuf'. There are also muslims from a few areas here who celebrated Eidul Adha on Friday Dec 21th; which is 10 days after the sighting of anak bulan Zulhijjah. And, Eidul Adha in Malaysia fell on Thursday Dec 20th! For whatever reason is beyond me.. Thank you to Haniza for bringing over her karaoke set which we belted on, just us anak beranak with Haniza and Kevin after all our other guests have gone back ...he..he..


Anis with Nana - anak Pak Mat .

The best part of Raya day was talking and seeing Cikgu Bastiah via the webcam... :)

Nicki Botswick's Wedding Reception... 12/12/07

Nicki Botswick is my daughter Anis's violin instructor. We got her through the internet - Craigslist to be exact. Alhamdulillah she turns out to be a very nice lady. With Bachelor in Music from Oxford, Masters and PHD from Stanford U, her playing makes my living room feels like 'the philharmonic' every Friday afternoons. Nicki is originally from Canada and has been playing violin all her life. But of course, with all the fine credentials under her belt her fees are a little bit more than Peter Kryssa from Boston whom we left behind in September. Nicki got married again on December 12th and was really nice to invite us to her wedding reception. Most of her students were there. Even her ex-husband (the tall guy half seen in the picture on the right ) and son, Russel were there to share her happy moments. But was there a 'hint' of occasional uneasiness in him seeing her all 'snugly' and 'smoochie' with her new husband... :) Even Russel was constantly 'acting up' ! Buat hal and meragam.. wanting attention maybe. But, Nicki looks very happy.....and she knows what's right for her!

One of Nicki's students playing for the wedding couple.....

Nicki & Moasses cutting a piece of cake for Russel.

We didn't have any problems with the buffet since Nicki included some vegetarian dishes and 'sushi'... Of course, 'margaritas' were flowing but since it was a weekday and most of the guests had to drive back home, most turned down the offer....

Moasses relatives fix up the backyard to become a 'disco' with all the spotlights and revolving lightings....but we had to leave before all the fun even begun!... sigh.... he..he..

May you have a happy marriage Nicki Botswick...

Arabic Class for Beginners

Last Friday Dec. 14th, I completed my 7-weeks course in Arabic for Beginners organised by the Islamic American University - Arabic Language Institute. It was held twice a week on Thursdays & Fridays from 6pm till 8pm. The purpose is just getting to know a few conversational phrases like how to introduce oneself, how to ask questions, how to answer questions, nouns , pronouns , adjectives... and once a while Sr (sister) Fadia Rayyan - the teacher, will throw in hadiths and du'a for us to translate. She also covered a bit of 'science' in the Al Fatihah within half an hour of the last class. Which she said it took her at least one semester. So that was just a tip of the iceberg! She has gotten her Masters in I think.. Usulludin & Hadith, can't remember, and she's now in the midst of her PHD. Seronok dengan orang banyak ilmu nii... Parents from Palestine but she was born and raised in Jordan. As a mudarrisah or mu'allimah (teacher) she's rather firm and strict - a trait she says comes from her Palestinian blood. Classmates? Ooo..all over the world..he..he... at first there were 14 of us but towards the end only 10 were left. Above is Ammar an engineer from India, beside him Abu Sattar (cannot see his face in the picture) a pharmacist from India as well. On the left here is Ahmad an engineer from Kenya, beside him Amir, forgot his profession but he's from Pakistan. Back of the class in the bottom picture is Hussein an engineering technician from Sudan. He is still studying to get his degree. In front of him is Hassan a chiropractor originally from Lebanon but now his parents are living in Canada and beside him is Ahmad Othman a student from Malaysia. He is currently staying here with his parents and 2 sisters in Sunnyvale. Ahmad or Ozy as we call him here is the youngest in this class...and of course, I am the oldest. But, I am also the best student! he..he.. We were missing a few others on the last day, Tasneem a teacher from

Somalia and Rahmatullah an engineer from Pakistan.
Tassannam an architect, born and raised in US but parents originally from Pakistan and Johan an accountant from Singapore were not around after a few classes. All these people have been in the US for quite sometime now...ooo, last but not least "Ana Ainaalfadhilah min Maleyzie, kuntu muhandisah wal'an ana rabbatu bait". Which means... I am Ainal Fadzellah from Malaysia, I use to be an engineer but I am now a house wife... And it was all and more of it captured on tape! Which Fadia says she'll get them up on youtube...so watch out, you'll soon see us introducing ourselves and our families on the internet...in Arabic!

The course cost us 100 dollars for 14 classes which means about 7 dollars for a 2-hr class. Ok la tu...ilmu ni kalau tak kena bayar tak berkaaat....he..he..
I hope to enroll in the full program which starts next year...

"masaa unnuur"

The Most !!

Thought of sharing something sent by a friend. Some of you might have read it somewhere but I think it's okay to be constantly reminded.
1. The most useless thing to do ...........Worry
- those who really know me knows that I do this .. a lot!! :o

2. The greatest Joy...............................Giving
- saw Oprah Show on TV today.. it was one of the series where she gave away her favourite things to the audience. Menjerit2 la semua macam nak giler, mana tak nya dapat samsung camcoder, kasut, baju, cosmetics, perfume...lots more, but the best was LG's latest 2-door refrigerator with a built-in TV & computer! Wish I got one..

3. The greatest loss.................Loss of self-respect
- if we don't respect ourselves then who would? I always advised by children to have in them 'jati-diri' then they won't get 'lost'. I really hope they heed to my advice.

4. The most satisfying work................Helping others
- anak 'mat salleh' kecik2 dah diajar volunteer work...subjek civics ada lagi tak?

5. The ugliest personality trait......................Selfishness
- I think 'selfishness' adik beradik dengan 'opportunist' but according to the Thesaurus 'opportunist' means entrepreneur. However, I believe 'opportunist' used to be a bad word! The Encarta Dictionary says Opportunist is somebody who takes advantage of something, especially somebody who does so in a devious, unscrupulous, or unprincipled way. Aa..Ha!! So.....don't call yourself an opportunist. And... don't call yourself an entrepreneur either... he..he..

6. The most endangered species...................Dedicated leaders
- when you are living outside your own shell, you get to 'see' how your 'shell' really looks like. I don't know why but NOW I somehow tend to relate the word 'leaders' with politicians. I better not get into that! Leaders are heads of nations & organisations...be it big or small...We even need them in our families. They unite, make or...break!.

7. The greatest "shot in the arm"..................Encouragement
- I don't mind giving others "shots in the arm". In so doing, I feel I am giving it to myself, too. My elder sister Ainal Kamalia is very good at it. Her way of encouraging or motivating oneself is by 'cheating yourself into believing' you CAN do it!

8. The greatest problem to overcome.............Fear
- I think most of us have heard of the saying " there's nothing to fear but fear itself.." I used to remind myself 'that' whenever I had to do presentations to management. Well.. ages ago..!

9. Most effective sleeping pill..............Peace of mind
- when there are no worries, no problems....you don't need to count sheep! :)

10. The most crippling failure disease.........Excuses
- what I know is procrastination will lead to excuses.

11. The most powerful force in life......................Love
- so ... love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't!
12. The most dangerous pariah..................A gossiper
- this is something new to me!
13. The world's most incredible computer......The brain!
- yes, but if the BRAIN is not used often it will rot and as slow as 16bit processor!

14. The worst thing to be without...................Hope
- if there is FAITH then there is HOPE

15. The deadliest weapon.......................... The tongue
- it used to also be " The pen is mightier than the sword!".. these days, it's the missile launcher!

16. The two most power-filled words..............."I Can"
- I think it is also " I Will " ...

17. The greatest asset.................Faith
- a few weeks back, we got a chance to listen to a ceramah by an African-American brother at the masjid MCA ( Muslim Community Association). He talked about how Islam have uplifted the prestige of the African-Americans (blacks/negros) in the US. By having a muslim name they have become more 'international' to others' eyes, especially to the 'Mat Sallehs'. The gist of his ceramah is Faith Over Fear. By having 'Faith' one can overcome 'Fear'. Good, right? :)
- if everything is lost..na'uzubillah...at least we have our FAITH.. Reminds me of Nalil, a friend in Buckfield, Maine.

18. The most worthless emotion................Self-pity
- no one can make you feel bad but you yourself! I am reminding myself actually..

19. The most prized possession................Integrity

20. The most beautiful attire....................A SMILE!

21. The most powerful channel of communication........Prayer

22. The most contagious spirit...................Enthusiasm

23. The most important thing in life...............G-D
- Atiqah says the muslims these days don't spell God with an 'o' because if spelt backwards it's Dog...and OUR god is different with other people's gods. It is spelt G-D in order to show due reverence (respect) to the Name of G-D Almighty. It's true in writings of Muslim Journals handed out by the masjid.

Believe that every thing happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, TAKE IT!
If it changes your life, LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy ....
They just promised it would be WORTH IT...


Cheerios!
'Life is short. Enjoy the journey.'

San Francisco again....

Last Sunday December 9th, we went again to San Francisco but this time with Salbiah, Faizal, Yazmin and 2 ladies from my husband's office back home. Daiana & Oni completed their meetings & whatever business they were here for on Friday, sent their boss off to return home on Saturday and then spent a few more days here with us for some sight seeing and shopping. I on the other hand rasa seronok ...dapat bercerita-ceriti with both of them. Rindu pulak kat Rusminah and her family. Since they left, the house seemed even quieter - sunyi!. Anyway, we brought Daiana & Oni shopping the whole of Saturday afternoon and evening at Gilroy. There are many shopping centers here but if you want factory outlets then Gilroy is of course the spot to go to. With Christmas and the holidays around the corner, banyak la 'sale' going on. 'Langkah kanan' betul Daiana & Oni. :) Seronok tengok the 2 ladies doing their shopping. Me? I was just being a good chaperone! he..he.. tapi geram juga tengok baju budak2 yang comel2 in stores such as OshKosh & Carters - the kind of places that these feet have not stepped into in a long, loong time now.... San Francisco seperti melambai-lambai 'chirpy' Pn Daiana and 'cool' Pn Oni - jangan maarah ya .... Seperti biasa first stop in San Francisco is Pier 39. We parked our cars at the Pier 39 Parking Center across the street. It costs 7 dollars per hour but by showing AAA (Triple A) card...parking is free! We found using the overhead pedestrian bridge, which we did not notice in earlier visits, much easier than crossing the street to Pier 39. It's connected to the Parking Center at Level 3. If you are staying in a hotel in San Francisco, you can also take a trolley or cable car and it stops right at the entrance. All your souveniers and gifts buying gets done at one place! The rest is just seeing the sights and taking in the sounds....so to speak. If you have time, go on up the cable car. You see one in the picture on the left below, where the driver stops just in time for his passengers to take snaps of Lombard Street from the top of the hill. Our trips to San Francisco were always a one-day affair so we don't get to see more than what I am writing about it here. ANyway..my children love Lombard Street... and it's still as crooked as ever! Notice the car parking at an angle in front of the houses. Imagine living in an area where it is most photographed! And we got our fair share of 'glamer' too, when we were met by a group of 'paparazzis' at the bottom of the hill. Actually, they were tourists taking pictures of cars coming down the hill of Lombard Street. Hmmm...maybe I'll join them in our next trip. Funny... even a crooked street can be one of tourists attractions. I think we must start learning how to make 'something' good, out of a bad situation. I bet orang tak nak tinggal pun kat tempat tu dulu...dah la nak masuk rumah pun susah! Kena parking kereta senget pulak tu....he..he.. Do you know why San Francisco streets become the way they are? Earthquakes of course! The other day it was shown on one of the programs on TV, ( dah tak der kerja..asyik tengok TV jer laa...LoL ), how the old city of San Francisco was mostly destroyed and the earth shifted after the massive earthquake about 100 over years ago. Thus, creating this undulating land. The city, houses & roads are built along the slopes.. memang cantik! People say driving in this city guna banyak minyak...Well, what do you expect! .. Naik turun, naik turun bukit. It is forecasted that a major earthquake will occur in year 2008. They say it's not a matter of 'IF' it happens. Definitely, it will happen but only they don't know 'WHEN'. Walaubagaimanapun, Allah lebeh mengetahui dan menghendaki. Yang kita mampu buat hanya berdo'a supaya dijauhkan sebarang musibah. That is one of the risk that we have to take living overseas....Kalau nak di fikirkan, quakes are now beginning to occur in Malaysia too! Kita berdo'a supaya no harm is in our way....insyaAllah. Another fact that I am getting to know is that this city is the 'gay' capital of the West. Like I have story-ed in one of my previous postings, the 'gay' capital of the East Coast is ProvinceTown, Massachusetts. Note the picture of the 'gay' center on the right which we happened to pass. Them... in their own world! Mereka, dengan dunia mereka sendiri...

Picnic-ing at Chrissy Fields last Sunday was a bit better than the previous time we went with Rusminah & family. It was not that windy but it was still cold. Each picnic table comes with a barbeque grill and there were quite a number of other picnic-ers as well in the area. Tak sanggup pulak nak guna the common barbeque grill. Don't know what was grilled before.. Orang yang jalan kaki & jogging pun ramai. There were also those with their dogs... Dia orang ingat kita bekenan sangat dengan anjing dia orang tuu. Imagine picking up after their dogs.. sanggup tu! Ramai kat sini yang lebeh suka binatang dari anak. It's funny at times seeing them with their dogs... dia orang layan betul2 macam budak.. We were on Twin Peaks around dusk. Sejuuk ya amat la kat atas bukit tuu and everyone was too tired to get out of the car....

Yazmin feeding the pigeons out of her hand at Pier 39. Ooo..she is really something. Seronok betul tengok anak comel ni...

Guests from back home...

Masa berjalan begitu pantas sekali sehingga kita tak perasan seminggu dah berlalu. Kawan kami dengan 3 orang anak mereka memandu balik ke LA awal pagi Selasa November 4 untuk kembali ke Malaysia selepas lebih 2 minggu berada di Amerika. They arrived in the US on November 21st following a tour group, visiting famous sites in LA and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Even my family and I haven't had the opportunity to visit all those places mentioned by them.... Universal Studios, Disneyland... Grand Canyon National Park...jealous betul! Like me, Rusminah (whom i fondly call Rose) have always wanted our kids to gain most of life's experiences.. so this is the one-time experience that Muzakkir, Nisya & Husna will never forget. I repeatedly say to them that they're so lucky to have parents saving up just to let them travel - see places other than our own. Like Cikgu Bastiah (my mom) always say dulu2, when she was younger and had the opportunity to travel....dapat tengok tempat orang, dapat saksi ciptaan Allah yang menakjubkan, dapat melawat sedara seislam. Now there must be some 'pahala' in that! Anyway, on November 27th the family decided to rent a car & drove up north from LA to San Jose and alhamdulillah they reached our doorsteps safe & sound. In fact, they were early! Surprising me who was then in the midst of cooking rice & lauk kari for them. I have said before that Melayu..(or Jawa) hee..hee.. memang tak boleh lari dari makan nasi! Pictures on the left were taken during the 'makan-makan' held in honor of visitors from Malaysia as well as Jina & Eddy leaving for Hajj, scheduled on December 4th. Amir's parents from Kuantan are also here visiting. It seems my husband remembers Pak Cik Razlan & his brothers from younger days in Jerantut. Well, it's a small world after all! Pictures of Rahim & Muzakkir picking persimmons or pisang kaki in our backyard. Bila dah gugur daun baru nampak banyak! Persimmons ni sedap..so I purposely kept the fruits on the tree for them.. however, the oranges are not ready yet to be picked. Buah nya masam pun... I browsed in the internet and came across an area called Brentwood where there are lots of fruit farms. Of course, by now most of the fruits are out of season but we still wanted to try our luck. Story in my next posting... read on...

Rose giving tips to adik2 di sini...

;)

Fruit Farms in Brentwood... with Rose's family

It was nice of Haniza forwarding me her recommended website links to fruit picking, when I voiced my search to her. The best is http://www.harvest4u.com/ where it brings us to the farms in Brentwood - a bountiful agricultural region home of almost 40-something local farms. Of course, most of the fruits ( except oranges & nuts) are out of season at this time of year and Pick-your-Own is definitely out of the question. The place would be lovelier in the months of May onwards, during Spring and Summer, but we wanted to try our luck with picked fruits and I thought it would be good experience too for the children to view the countryside... kampung la tuu! And besides, Brentwood is just about 1 hour drive from Cupertino... jadi tak la jauh sangat. It is north of San Jose and located between San Francisco on the West and Stockton on the East. Smith Family Farm is busy with Christmas Trees and creating Christmas gift packages this time of year. They only have tomatoes, corn and nuts in their shop. It is here that we can see and meet ramai 'Mat Salleh'... tapi pekerja am nya pulak ramai Mexicans... hmm, macam kita jugak, terpaksa ambil outside help! Gursky Ranch is run by Mr Gursky and family. Pictures on the left is him and his daughter entertaining us at the counter. Cucu dia comel sangat... Mrs Gursky is somewhere in the shop. Their shop is filled with honey, apple cider and nuts - almonds, walnuts, raisins, pecans, pistachios. The Gurskys were nice enough to give us directions to another farm - peterwolfe.com, when I enquired about oranges and limes and even call them up to inform of our arrival. The local farms here are mostly family run and I guess they know their neighbours very well. I also understand that they are members of Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust which is like their own Persatuan Petani. Bersatu teguh! Remember..? :-) Alienation and unhealthy competition would definitely kill them! Their logo is Buy Fresh, Buy Local. The idea is for customers to come and buy at the farms, meet the farmers and enjoy the delicious variety of seasonal fruits. That way the fruits don't have to travel a long way, no need for middle-men and of course price would be cheaper! They also cater for deliveries if any individuals, markets or restaurants call up to order in advance. I believe our Pasar Tani used to have a similar concept..but what happened? Take Pasar Tani kat Stadium Shah Alam for example...sayur layu, ikan tak segar and harga mahal! Tahun lepas la...tahun ni mungkin berubah. Teringat masa-masa menyusuri jalan-jalan Ulu Selangor, Ijok, Banting dan kawasan sekitarnya... tak kurang dengan pokok buahan dan hasil tani. Kat sini belum jumpa lagi Dragon Fruit..alaa, buah yang isinya warna merah, didalam ada biji halus-halus warna hitam...rasa macam buah kiwi dan kaya dengan vitamin C. Sedap...tapi mahal! Bentuk pokok macam kaktus. Hish..nostalgia pulak. AnyWayy, ..... We didn't get to meet Mr Wolfe, however Mrs Wolfe and his daughter were around at the shack. We were not allowed to pick so we just took pictures, under the watchful eyes of a worker! I don't really know the difference between orange / tangerine / or mandarin. I simply call them 'limau'!

Anak bujang Rose yang 'pemalu'....

Trip to San Francisco... with Rose's family

We're back in San Francisco again, but this time with Rose's family. I browsed the internet for sight seeing in San Francisco and I came up with amongst others, Pier 39 & Fishermen's Wharf, The Golden Gate Bridge - Chrissy Fields & Battery East Park, Lombard Street, Twin Peaks - the highest point in SF, Alamo Square - where 'The Painted Ladies' sit in a row and boat cruise to The Alcatraz & Angel Island. Since it's a one-day affair we just managed to visit the sites that my daughters and I visited earlier and those that are within reach. Of course we did not take the cruise as it would take us at least half a day on the boat. And we also couldn't find The Painted Ladies - a row of Victorian style houses which are made famous by the sitcom Full House, even though we use the GPS - which we call 'mak cik'. She can be annoying at times when we missed a turn and she is forced to 're-calculate'. Well, maybe next time. Our first stop was Pier 39...like I had mentioned before, it's a place for souveniers and photo taking of The Golden Gate, The Bay Bridge and Alcatraz in the background... and not forgetting the sea lions.
Muzakkir, anak bujang Rose who has begun mellow-ing with us by now... at Magnetron - The House of Magnets
As Christmas is approaching, Pier 39 pun tak ketinggalan with its Christmas and holiday decorations. A big tree with wrapped up boxes underneath, - presents lookalike - is spotted at the entrance. The potted plants are shaped into deers, elephants and other animals. I believe most of the shopping malls in KL dah meriah by now...kadang2 tu perhiasan untuk Hari Natal lagi sakan pulak daripada Hari Raya. Sebesar2 nya pokok kat Center Court di Mega Mall, Mid Valley tu! Jangan segan2 ambil presents kat situ kalau Santa Clauss 'mata sepet' or 'kulit gelap' offer.. They say celebration nie its all in the giving.. so ambil, jangan tak ambil. After all, semua nya datang from the money we shopped there. Staff Telekom, Tenaga & RTM.... he..he... I am not being sarcastic, but its the truth, right? .. :) Picture of us sederet, getting the background of The Golden Gate in the far distance... at Pier 39.

Sohaimi's and Rahim's girls fooling around...at Pier 39.

Masing2 tunjuk gaya, oblivious of those around them! Tak kisah dengan orang sekeliling... & orang pun tak kisah dengan kita.. :)

Our next stop, after missing a few turns was an area somewhere below San Francisco Bridge. A place known as Chrissy Fields, where many jog, picnic and even fishing or crabbing. But that day seemed to be extra cold and windier. We tried to open up our picnic stuff on one of the picnic tables but gave up... sebab semua kesejuuuukan!! So we ended up eating in the car instead. You might say why take all the trouble, pergi jer la Mc D or any restaurants. Well, its fun this way! There's always plenty of food and, I think the children will never forget the memories of eating with jari-jari bekuu...
The jetty in the pictures on the right are used for fishing and crabbing as told by Carlos during our first trip here with him.

Next stop was Battery East Park or the Golden Gate Park. Full of tourists ...everybody was trying to get the best angle of the bridge. There is even a Japanese Tea Garden somewhere nearby but we were pressed for time so we opted that out.

The bridge has got pedestrian walkway if one feels like walking across to the other side. I even saw couples pushing strollers just to get the feel of the iron structure and the water underneath. There is no toll charged for pedestrians but automobiles will have to pay the bridge toll of 7 dollars on the way back. Our GPS - 'mak cik' can be very usefull at times of total lost. Just punch in Muslim Community Center or Masjid and she will direct you to the nearest one. Alhamdulillah, at the time of our arrival Bro. Abdul Rahim, the caretaker and bilal was about to open up the door to the MCC at 850, Divisadero Street. The African-American has been a Muslim since 1965, and he was so excited to be imam-ed by my husband for the Asar prayers. On Sunday mornings the center is being used for Arabic classes. It's good to know that the place is being made full use of. Being right in the middle of the city, the rental must be exorbitant! Abdul Rahim says that there are many who travel, musafir like us stop by the center to pray. He has met many Muslims from around the world. Too bad we did not have a chance to meet the jema'ah there. He also provided us with a list of Masjids around Western States of US... those that are in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Huih.. banyaak! In San Francisco itself there are 6 Masjids.
Seen on the right is Rose talking to Abdul Rahim, the caretaker and Bilal of the Muslim Community Center, San Francisco...
Lombard Street or the Crooked Street was our next destination. Cari punya cari, tiba2 sampai jer to that unique street which slopes at an angle of at least 45 degrees! Turning & winding downhill, our car was filled with oohs and aahs made by Anis, Atiqah & Nisya. They are also excited whenever we went down the sharp slopes of San Francisco streets. Rasa macam roller coaster pulak!! The sides of Lombard Street are flanked with beautiful homes and if put up for sale, those houses must be fetching millions! If you want to see downtown San Francisco at a higher elevation then Twin Peaks is the spot to be at. The structure in picture below is not an information booth as I first thought, it's actually a public toilet! The door opens whenever a quarter is inserted. Convenient indeed, since there are no other buildings there! .

We had dinner at Shafinaz & Aziz... kind of her to

comply to my wish for her delicious Laksa Johor... :)

We went back late in the night. I trust their

hospitality, and WII will always be remembered... hopefully their neighbour downstairs did not cause any problems for them.

A snapshot of downtown San Francisco...from Twin Peaks

We hope Rose, Rahim, Muzakkir, Nisya & Husna enjoyed the trip to San Francisco... and also their stay in San Jose ..

Illal li qo'

Thanksgiving Day ...on November 22nd.

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. This year Thanksgiving fell on Thursday, November 22nd. I think most of us know or have heard of this particular day, now a bit on the history... it was celebrated as a "day of thanksgiving" to 'God' in 1619 when a group of English settlers first arrived in Virginia. Picture by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris (1850-1930)
It was also celebrated in 1621 by the early settlers in Massachusetts who were particularly grateful to the Native American who taught them how to both catch eel and grow corn in order to survive in the New World. So now if you watch scenes of Thanksgiving Dinner on TV, you'ld remember its history in blogsini... he..he..

For us muslims, kesyukuran atau giving thanks to Allah Almighty for the things we have achieved do not need a special date or time... hanya dulu2 orang kampung kita suka buat kenduri doa selamat pada hari Khamis malam Juma'at.
These days, Thanksgiving Day is part of a four-day long weekend which usually marks a pause in school and college calendars. The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday - a day to shop like crazy! There would be sales everywhere and some stores even open as early as 5am. Hardcore shoppers would start queue the night before. But my husband only got Thanksgiving's day off! Nevertheless, we took the opportunity to go down to 17-Mile Drive Pebble Beach in the early morning of Thanksgiving Day with Salbiah, Faizal & Yazmin. Cuaca nampak panas.... but the wind really makes it sejuuk.. A few Head of Companies would be coming down so it's good to check out first the location of the Golf Course there. Story on 17-Mile Drive is in my next posting...do read on... :-)
A few days before the holiday, topics on Thanksgiving would fill TV programs: be it news, talkshows or cookshows. From lessons on roasting the turkey & preparing the stuffing, to adorning center pieces on the dinner table. Thanksgiving meals are traditionally family events where certain kinds of food are served - most of which are native to North America. Those that are associated to a Thanksgiving Dinner are stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, turnips, yams and various kinds of pies: apple pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie and pecan pie.

The star is of course a large roasted turkey! I haven't tasted yet daging turkey (ayam belanda).. I hear it's available in the 'halal' meat shops here. Menu Thanksgiving Dinner sama saja dengan Christmas dinner.....macam lah kita, ada lemang, ketupat, rendang, nasi impit & kuah kacang yang begitu sinonim dengan Hari Raya. I am surprised to know the 'Mat Sallehs' here have the concept of 'balik kampung'. Like our highways, the multi-lane freeways here jammed up in the rush to be on time for their special dinner...

Yazmin all bundled up! Kalau jatuh .....tergolek situ la, dah tak boleh bangun sendiri... he..he....

17- Mile Drive .....

Yes! I learnt something new today... I now know how to crop a photo ...Yeaaa, might be easy for some of you out there...:) So go on, double click on the image of Pebble Beach on the left which I took from a brochure. Get the enlarged version.......and let your imagination flyyy... The area is beautiful!! 17 Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach, California. Much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses and mansions. It also serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. I hear quite a number of hollywood's actors and actresses live in this area.. sorry, I haven't done enough research to let you know who! Like the community, the majority of 17-Mile Drive is owned and operated by the Pebble Beach Corporation. Macam mana2 khidmat penswastaan yang lain, entrance fee mesti ada! Entry into Pebble Beach costs US$9.00 per automobile. Of course, residents of Pebble Beach and their guests enter for free. Entry is also free for bicyclists and pedestrians. Motorcycles however, are prohibited from entering 17-Mile Drive. In doing so, the beaches are free of rubbish - except for seagull droppings! - and the overall atmosphere is calm and quiet. There are three main gates for entering and exiting the 17-mile drive—the Pacific Grove Gate to the North, the Highway 1 Gate on the Southwest and the Carmel Gate to the South. We entered through the Highway 1 Gate. Travelling along 17-Mile Drive takes as long as the traveler likes. It takes a minimum of 20 minutes from Highway 1 Gate to Carmel Gate without stops. However, one cannot resist the numerous turnouts along the road to stop, take pictures, or get out and stroll (picnic too!) along the ocean or among the trees - making the trip a lot longer than 20 minutes! The road runs inland passing Spanish Bay, then becomes parallel to the beaches and then runs up to the coastal hills - providing many scenic view points between the Pacific Ocean, the beaches and the centuries old forest. Begitu nyaman sekali! Probably the most famous tree in the United States is The Lone Cypress which has inspired many as an icon of fortitude. It has clung to its rocky perch for over 250 years and serves as the eternal symbol of Pebble Beach Company—the developer of the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach and the Del Monte Forest. See how lonely it is at that angle! They had to tie up the tree inland in order to secure it. The winds in this area can be very gusty! A small tree like The Lone Cypress - tak tahu kita panggil pokok apa - is more than 250 years, so one can imagine how long the other trees have been around.










Managed to snap a picture of the surfer from afar. The water was freezing cold...gila betul!

My November Babies...

My girls' birthdays both fall in the month of November. Anis Aqilah turned 18 on November 7th and Anis Atiqah is 15 since November 16th.....which is a few days ago. This is the first time their birthdays are celebrated without relatives and their friends. I know they miss those occasions.. Actually, their previous birthdays were nothing fancy. Without balloons & party stuff, but a birthday cake is a must! When they were smaller, finding a cake that was certified 'halal' was rather difficult. I always ended up buying from Angel Cake Shop since there weren't many business of homemade cakes around then. And of course, baking is not one of my forte! But, these last few years and with the turn of the millenium we could see many make-from-home food businesses springing. Ordering can be made easily via the plain old telephone, sms ( kat sini orang sebut text messaging ) or even email-ing. Some even provide home or office delivery service! I wonder whether the lady ( did not have the chance to meet ) I used to order cake from have opened up her own shop. Her husband works on a few floors below my 'once upon a time' office and delivery was either at the elevator lobby or at the parking lots. Just transfering from one boot to another! A few of us would order cheese cake or chocolate cake or even carrot cake... semua sedap2. InsyaAllah...sahih kebersihan & kehalalan. Here, my baker is Anis... but the cake she made for her sister, picture above got the help of Betty Crocker! he..he.. Pre-mix chocolate cake flour.. We shared it with Shafinaz, Aziz, Jina & Eddy as dessert at Shafinaz's apartment. The main dish was laksa johor cooked by the hostess. Ahaa..she claims she cannot cook, but her laksa speaks otherwise...memang sedap!...I had 3 helpings..imagine!
Happy birthday my November babies...

Atiqah who started complaining about 'sakit mata' & 'pening2' getting her eyes checked by a doctor... hish..macam2 betul budak nii.. baru 15! But, this is another story altogether...
:)

Hari Raya & Deepavali Reception

On Saturday Nov 10th, the Malaysian Professional & Business Association (MPBA) organised a reception for Hari Raya & Deepavali. It was still in the month of Syawal and Deepavali was only a few days before... so the mood for festivities was still in the air. I hear it's an annual affair and the reception was held at my hubby's office. You can see the various spread of food on the table - curry, assam pedas, samosas, rendang, meehoon goreng, mee mamak...- and the dessert table was equal in variety. I thought we brought the 'hit' of the day - satay! ... from Kak Rose & Pak Mat's grill, fanned at the back of our house. The lovely couple came all the way from Stockton and everyone was pleased to meet them. I was given the 101 ( basics ) on satay making and now I know those golden delicious succulent meaty bites needs tender loving care in their preparation. And Pak Mat is just the right 'man' to do it. Sabar betul! If it were me, I think I would have burnt the whole lot and created heaps of carcinogens! Although Kak Rose's peanut sauce or kuah kacang is the 'talk of the town' - memang sedap! - their satay doesn't really need the thick peanutty coat to taste better. They're already 'out of this world' delicious just on their own. . Maybe this year's crowd is not too large compared to previous years since it is a long weekend - Veteran's Day is this Monday. Nevertheless, there are a few MPBA members who came from as far as San Francisco and Sacramento, like Semara & Anee. I spotted a few Singaporeans as well - they love our kind of gatherings. Picture on the right is the President of MPBA, Haniza doing her welcoming speech, introducing and thanking her committee for the wonderful work they have done. And the girls at their counter for new member registration....

Dept of Motor Vehicle (DMV), CA

I already passed the written test for driving license...yea...yea.. So the next step is to pass the driving test pulak. Remember I mentioned somewhere in my previous posting, Massachusetts doesn't allow A2 visa holders to apply for a driver's license? Well, California ni lain .... different states have different rulings. Macam another country altogether! I could choose to apply for a California ID or a driver's license and I chose the latter. In case of any emergencies a driver's license will come in handy... obviously! California ID costs $22 and the application fee for the driver's license is $27. The fee is good for 12months and allows us to take the appropriate law tests 3 times, if needed, during that period. Alhamdulillah, I passed on the first try. Actually, it wasn't very easy as some people claim - the questions are quite tricky - and the ' english ' memang berbelit2. But, if English is not your choice, then you can opt for Bahasa Indonesia! Doing the practice tests on line at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ will also help a great deal. The people here can start to drive as early as 15 and a half years old...of course, dengan memenuhi beberapa syarat2 tertentu. Atiqah says several of her High School friends have started driving to school. Well, I think it's ridiculously too young to drive at that age! They say it's easy to drive here because the roads are wide, no motorbikes to avoid, bicycles have their own lanes and strangely enough everybody follow the rules! I don't know when I can really start to drive here..... I can't afford a car at the moment, and I just need to use the license for ID purposes actually. Right now, I am glad I have adik2 and fellow homemakers Nani, Jina and Faridah who are ever so willing to pick me up - di jemput - whenever we have our meeting & eating sessions.....mmmuuuah...love ya 'all... :)

Gilroy Premium Outlets (GPO)

Just like Wrentham Factory Outlets in Massachusetts, Gilroy Premium Outlets located south of San Jose off Hwy 101 is also a bargain hunter's haven. It is more than just a great collection of the finest designer labels and brands, GPO is California's largest outlet center. Last Saturday,... and Sunday... we decided to 'scout' the area and take a peek in a few of the outlets there. I love to browse through and window shop but I am not really a 'shopping freak' ( I think...he..he.. ) and I buy things whenever necessary only. I believe you'ld need a lot of determination to do so... I would figure out in my mind... nak pakai ke nak simpan jer - like the many handbags & shoes that I already have waiting their turn -, or thinking where would I put it ( rumah tak besar & storage area pun tak banyak ). But sometimes the special price during 'sales' and 'closing downs' can drive anybody insane! These few weeks with Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, have been CRraazy!. All the department stores and shops are really competing with each other to win customers. Friends of mine here are no help either. They would entice me further, saying " Beli Kak Ainal, beli... jangan tak beli! Biar menyesal beli, jangan menyesal tak beli! " When one is no longer on the payroll and not receiving monthly paychecks, - only one 'pocket' as I normally say - STRroong 'will power' is really needed.. he..he..

Shafinaz claimed she has 'repented' from buying anymore stuff. Dah tak nak shopping, she said. But, the way I looked at it...this petite lady, manager of a semiconductor company here hasn't lost her ways in the purchasing department. And, although almost 8 years living in the US, I am glad she & hubby Aziz still practice our ways of helping out - tolong menolong. My marble top console table ( just a small one, actually ) would not have reached Cupertino without their help. That day, I succumbed to Bombay's 'Closing Down' sale! I hear Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving is going to be even crazier. Shops will be open very2 early and people would camp out as early as 3am just to be the early birds.. So, what say you Shafinaz!? Wanna catch some more 'worms'?... he..he..

Well, to my friends ( especially Rusminah & family ) who are planning to come over to this area of the country... do include this shopping stop as part of your itenary.... you won't regret it! I will then utter our popular saying here....... " Beli...jangan tak beli...Biar menyesal beli, jangan menyesal tak beli! " he..he..

It takes about 30 minutes drive to Gilroy from San Jose.

Halloween?

Our doorbell saw action last night! Believe it or not within 2 hours that is from 7pm till 9pm, almost 90 kids came to our front door. Yes, I counted! Serve us right for keeping the porch light on. I didn't have the heart(tak sampai hati) nak turn them away. Most of them have their parents waiting in the dark as chaperones. That really comforted me as people here, including us don't open doors to strangers. But last night was an exception. These children are very polite...they only took one candy each from my bowl.. until I say...go on, u can take some more!
Anyway, candies are very cheap during this time of year. I rasa macam raya...instead of duit raya, we gave away candies! To some I even say Eid Mubarak back to them ....... Halloween?....aaah..to me its just fancy dress...

The 'Bumble Bee' below is so cute! These 2 guys took the opportunity to collect donations for UNICEF!...Scaryyyy!!!

San Jose Earth Quake 5.6 Reichter scale

The magnitude - 5.6 tremor, centered about 9 miles northeast of San Jose. We in Cupertino which is like on the west of downtown San Jose, also experienced the intense shaking. It happened yesterday night, Tuesday Oct 30th at maybe 8.04 pm. Masa tu we were all downstairs, except for Atiqah who was doing her homework in her room. Immediately we understood that it was an earthquake since this area is very much prone to it. The house shook and swayed for a few seconds, pause awhile and then shook again for a few seconds more. Rasa macam orang goncang kita kuat2, lepas geram.... quite scary! Itu baru sikit and sekejap...so nothing broken or fallen. We told the girls to run out front to see if any of the neighbors were already outside. The Indian family at the end of the road were out for awhile but went back inside when no more shaking occured. Salbiah called just to find out how we were doing. I told her to pack a 'survival bag' and put somewhere near her front door in case of any future happenings. My younger sister who had stayed a few years in Yokohama - quakes there are also very frequent - advised to put 1-2 liters air minum, protinbar, ubat, plaster, torchlite, lighter, pad, underware, tissue, photocopies of important documents and a few clothings in the survival bag. Well, anything can happen so might as well be ready. Couldn't contact any of my friends here because the circuits were all jammed up for awhile. But once 'line clear' it was good to know a few whom I called - Shafinaz & Aziz, Faridah & her children (hubby dia not back yet from a conference in Langkawi), Haniza & Kevin - were all right.. except for a few things toppling from shelves and body aches stiffed from the shock! News say that this quake caused no serious injuries or damage, only managed to rattle nerves and homes...anyhow, I really hope we wouldn't experience anything worse than this!

While DIVING......Drink Some Water..

Peribahasa kita ada meyebut, sambil menyelam minum air.. makna nya mengambil kesempatan ketika membuat sesuatu pekerjaan yang lain. Agak2 macam tu la makna nya. Yesterday my husband was invited by the Malaysian Professional & Business Association (MPBA) to speak at a seminar in Crowne Plaza San Francisco. The current president, Haniza Zainal Abidin or Haniza Schlosser and her committee are very active in organising events under the 'umbrella' of MPBA. While he was there, I and my daughters with Carlos went round sightseeing Frisco or The City by the Bay. Carlos is very familiar with this area since he has been living in the US for almost 20 years and frequently goes crabbing in this part of the waters. Funny though, his Filipino 'twang' masih tak hilang...San Francisco is almost one hour drive north of San Jose and saturday traffic is not too bad. It is part of the much larger San Francisco Bay Area which is home to approx. 7.2 million people. The city is located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the San Francisco Bay to the east, and the Golden Gate to the north. San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination renowned for its steep rolling hills which is also frequently used for film settings, especially scenes involving speedy car chases. The architecture is an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern...to me a bit of Mediterranean (Spanish) influence pun ada jugak. Famous landmarks and places to go see in San Francisco includes The Golden Gate Bridge of course, The Alcatraz Island, The cable cars, The Painted Ladies, Pier 39, The 'crooked street' and many more. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge - literally means ' Jambatan Gantung' - suspended from cables anchored by towers at either end and supported by structures at regular intervals. It spans the Golden Gate, which is the opening into San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean and connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County as part of US Highway 101 and California State Highway 1. The Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and also....of the US. To note: The Penang Bridge is built using the cable-stayed technology of San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. The Port of San Francisco was once the largest and busiest seaport on the west coast. But now its activities focused on developing waterside assets to support recreation and tourism. Pier 39 and the Fishermen's Wharf is the center of it all. San Francisco's Premier Bay Attraction, Pier 39 offers shopping, souvenier hunting, entertainment and dining. It also provides cruising facilities around the bay including to the island of Alcatraz. Once a federal maximum security prison, Alcatraz has housed notorious inmates such as Al Capone. Teringat pulak movie "The Rock" starring Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery. Cerita mengenai ex-military men taking over Alcatraz and threatened to launch rockets loaded with deadly nerve gas on San Francisco. Seronok!.. We were also fascinated by the antics of the California Sea Lions camped out in Pier 39's West Marina. These Pier 39's 'visitors' are typically males looking from the bump or 'crest' that males develop on their heads around 5 years of age. Grown males reach 850pounds and 7 feet in length whereas grown females can grow 300pounds and only 6 feet in length. The California Sea Lions started to make this marina their home shortly after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and due to the plentiful herring supply and the protected environment their number multiplied. Given more time I would love to visit The Crooked Street or The Painted Ladies where the latter used to be the backdrop for the introduction to the sitcom The Full House - made popular in the 90s by the cute Olsen Twins, now celebrity entrepreneurs. There are still re-runs of the show even now! We had lunch at a quaint little Thai Halal Restaurant which serves 'huge' nasi goreng, Tom Yam and other mouth watering Thai dishes.. The street ( I forgot the name) that the restaurant is on, has several others from India, Pakistan and the Mediteranean serving halal food ...

California Fire

I think the whole world would have known about the California fires by now. Thought of sharing this picture of the raging Cal fire which I had extracted from one of the websites. Kalau kita tengok betul2...on the right hand side of the picture looks like an angry face of a man. Subhanallah...amazing...and menggerunkan!! I have been following the fire status on TV and as of today Thursday 25th Oct the fire has destroyed 1,500 homes and have burned more than 373,000 acres of land. Scary as well as heartbreaking to see people going back to their burnt down homes...cars charred beyond recognition! Yang mana kaya ada 2, 3 rumah lain tak apa lah. And maybe ada insurance.. As of today 7 people died. 2 didn't want to leave their home and 4 whose bodies were found near the Mexican border, were suspected illegal immigrants. It has been said that the fire is caused by arson. The price money for the capture is quarter of a million dollars. So far they have no leads... I just hope there won't be a reason for them to declare it as a terrorism act! We came to know Aisha Othman & family during the Raya gathering last Saturday. Her lemang memang best! Their house is in San Diego and had to leave at 3am just to be with us in San Jose for the gathering. Drive from San Diego, which is located even south of LA to San Jose takes 8 hours. Alhamdulillah, Aisha and family are safe. They were about to evacuate their home when help arrived to contain the fire in their neighborhood. The other muslim families in her juma'ah are also safe. According to Aisha, homes for some of them are miraculously spared while their neighbors' burnt. It was as though the fire stopped in front of muslim homes. Subhanallah......yang maha melindungi.... InsyaAllah things will get better.

Raya Gathering...

We finally met more Malaysian families at the Raya gathering hosted by Aziz & Shafinaz. The Family Tree Apartments clubhouse's hall has just the right size and facilities to host such an event. The rent is also not that 'steep', making it even minimal when shared. The hall comes with refrigerator, dapur with 4 burners, a sink and a big wide 'bar' for serving. It has even a yard on its side for children to play and roam, giving the opportunity for the ibu2(mothers) and bapa2(fathers) to borak2(chat). There were plenty of food - potluck style! I just loved the 'lemang' brought by Aisha, who came all the way from San Diego. I heard she left home around 3am this morning. Although wrapped in aluminium foil, it tastes almost the real thing. Shafinaz & Ruby also spent the night before cooking! Rendang, kuah kacang...I can't remember who brought what but semua sedap2..delicious! We wanted to have a change so we made karipap, and brought along dodol. Funny actually for I have never made karipap, that is before coming to the US. Always have felt very difficult - cumbersome...renyah!! Especially klim - mengelim. Must thank Kartini Khalid in Boston for giving us her recipe and taking the trouble to show and teach us her secrets. Kalau dah terpaksa, semua nya boleh!

I observe that, anak2 disini semua nya terajar - disciplined. It's good to see them, even the small ones stopping their play to join the elders for solat jemaah. Imagine di imamkan by a 20-year old...alhamdulillah.. The gathering at the clubhouse ended around 6pm, however upon an invitation by Faridah we continued on to her lovely home nearby. Borak punya borak we lost track of time...we went back home late in the night...kekenyangan.


Thank you all, hope to see more of us for the next raya gathering.

Forest Spring Court, Cupertino

Our neighbors at Forest Spring Ct, Cupertino are mostly professionals and in some ways 'hidup berjiran' disini is almost like living in Shah Alam - where you don't know your neighbors and if once a while eyes meet, a friendly wave will suffice. However, I made it a point to know at least my next door neighbor and exchanged contact numbers in case of any emergencies. They're from Taiwan with children already in colleges which accounts for their house being very quiet most of the time. Mrs Ma works at Monta Vista High School where Atiqah goes to, and Mr Ma.....is probably a CEO like the rest of them here. I notice that 'mat sallehs' are very rare & few in this neighborhood and most of our neighbors are internationals - mostly Indians and Chinese, which is nothing new for us coming from a country with multi races. The Seven Springs housing area - where among others Forest Spring is one of its Courts - is flanked by Rainbow Drive to the north, Upland Way the west, Dorothy Anne Way the south and South Sterling Road to the east. Seven Springs Drive meanders in the center with all the Courts as its tributaries. The Courts are designed to be 'dead ended' making the single-home houses (average 8 units) within them sort of 'gated'. California's weather is really sunny, mild & nice - good for flowers & fruit trees. Almost every home has persimmons (pisang kaki) & oranges in their yard (laman) and I am now beginning to like 'pisang kaki' - it tastes very sweet, macam buah pear. The mild weather is also good for 'veterans' whom I normally see walking together irrespective of the time of day. Tak kira masa... walaupun matahari tegak atas kepala, atau pun terbenam di ufuk jingga.

I am yet to be amongst them, a routine which I am also persuading my hubby to take..for his health sake. My daughter Atiqah walks home from school...45 minutes of walking is actually quite far. Alhamdulillah for the fine weather. California has one of the highest % of sales tax in the United States @8.25% to which someone commented that we also pay for the weather. Thanx a lot to the Governor - Arnold Schwarzenegger! There are many lovely designed homes in this area.. I have included 3 samples from my list of favourites. My friends back home will be greeeen with envy if we were to live in one of these homes. Rest assured our house here is no bigger than the one back home. The allowance we get here doesn't permit unnecessary luxuries....hah..hah...ha.... Wherever home is..., here..there..or anywhere.. what matters most, is the LOVE & CARE.. don't you think so?



Terasa macam living amongst the 'rich' kat Bukit Pantai pulak....

World's Largest Flea Market

Flea market atau 'pasar kutu' hmmm... dahulu nya ada lah satu tempat dimana perniagaan atau pun pertukaran barang dijalankan. The original flea market started likely in the northern suburbs of Paris back in the late 17th century, where ragpickers (pengutip kain buruk) exchanged their findings for a small sum. Some of the items were flea infested, so now we know where the name Flea Market comes from! Of course so much has changed since then...Kita biasa dengan pasar malam, pasar tani atau pun car boot sale... macam dekat Stadium Shah Alam tuu. But car boot sale originates from United Kingdom and thus more popular there. Selalu nya orang kata, harga pasar malam murah... Kat Shah Alam pelik sikit, ... harga barang di pasar malam Seksyen 19 lebih murah dari pasar malam Seksyen 6 tapi lebih mahal sikit dari Seksyen 17, walaupun jarak diantara seksyens di Shah Alam tu tak la jauh bebenor.. Barang dan pekedainya sama pulak tu! I think some of them even have 'tapak' di uptown Shah Alam yang buka sampai awal pagi....Wonder whether ia nya serancak dulu...The vast majority of flea markets in rural areas here sell goods that are second-hand and worth collecting. I thought it is the same like 20 years ago and maybe could find something interesting from San Jose Flea Market di Berryessa Road. Looking at the size of the flea market, one can find anything from toys to tires! Tempat nya ya amat la BESAR!..Even the special parking area ($6 per day) located across the street is HUGE! Several policemen are stationed to ensure flow of traffic and pedestrians. There are more than 8 miles of colorful alleys and treasure-laden corridors with over 2000 sellers. You'll find an enormous variety of collectibles,... arts, crafts, comic books, belt buckles, jewelry, and more. You'll see a huge selection of fashion clothing (mostly from Vietnam & China), walking shoes, fine furniture, and tools.. -from bonsai pruning shears to power meters. The place even sells cars & trucks! The Flea Market's quarter mile long row of produce is the busiest outdoor produce market (pasar tani) in California and features produce from local farms and around the world. Most of the vegetable & fruits are from South America - macam2 rupa, some I don't even know their names! Their mangoes are very much bigger & maniiiiss..and, 'ciku' ya rabbi punya besar...Smack-dab in the heart of Silicon Valley, the global center of technological innovation, this "no tech" business hosts 80,000 visitors a week, more than 4 million people a year! Largest open-air market in the country, some say in the world. The San Jose Flea Market started in 1959 and since then it opens every Wednesday till Sunday from dawn to dusk. The Flea Market is completely self sufficient with all sorts of amenities - musical band, restaurants, playground for kids and adequate number of restrooms that are extremely clean and maintained. The sellers here are multinational of origin - Vietnamese, Chinese, Indians, Mexicans. The Vietnamese-American here think highly of us because of what the Malaysian government did for them or even for their parents during the time of the 'boat people', 20 to 25 years ago. Most of them are doing very well here in the US - have got their own businesses and their children obtained good education and jobs! Visitors here are mostly hispanics - Spanish speaking. Looks like the flea market is a favourite spot for an inexpensive weekend outing for them to bring their family shopping, enjoy good food and entertainment. Oh yes, the 8.25% sales tax is not applicable in this flea market making the prices here slightly cheaper. Like in all other crowded places, one must hold on tight to their purses and wallets... kami nyaris2 menjadi mangsa 'pencopet'.

Hari Raya at Pak Mat's...

We were told that Pak Mat's place in Stockton is 'kampung' to many Malaysians here during hari raya. Students as well as those who have made California as their permanent residence gathered at Pak Mat's not only for his superb sate and Kak Ros's delicious rendang but also for their warm hospitality and kemesraan. Stockton is almost one and half hour drive north from our place and this would be our first trip out of San Jose. I think this valley is appropriately named... the Silicon Valley...Lembah Silikon with numerous 'big' names of semiconductor companies lining the freeway. But most of the panaromic view on the other hand, is mainly made up of pasir dan tanah yang 'gersang'...barren land with few vegetation. There were also many 'windmill' like structures along the way. I suppose taking advantage of the massive amount of wind energy for electricity. Pak Mat and Kak Ros have gotten many visitors by the time we reached their home that Raya afternoon but they were still dishing out hot steaming sate! Sedap ... macam sate Sairah & James' in Boston. My husband was excited to meet Pak Mat again after their first encounter 11 years ago in San Jose. Likewise, Pak Mat remembers him too!..



Alhamdulillah with good food and warm friendly people...what more can we ask f