My Staycation

The amount of time I spent at home is now considerably more than what I used to have. I am having so much fun learning about my environment and it's fascinating cleaning it too. I have all that I need, more than what I can ask for, in terms of comfort and sense of privacy. I'm in my own world where I am not only free to be myself but most of all, I can live by my own rules and I enjoy every second of it.

This leads me to realise the current trend that glossy female magazines begin to sensationalise... "vacationing at home", hence the word, "staycation". I supposed, in the more developed nations with society that is so accustomed to spending vacation abroad, the concept of staycation is now popularised in look of the current economic situation. Brilliant ideas are introduced on what you can actually do at home which incorporates element of having vacations.

Well, if you like the tropical beach, try fixing yourself a pina colada, and I'm sure with the little cocktail umbrella as garnishing, you can have quite an effect of having a beach holiday. Perhaps for those who wants to know about some places, try wikitravel.org. Now, with so much information, you hardly need to step out in order to know what's happening.

Enough said, I am now back at my staycationing and I am proud to say that it's quite a fun holiday to have, as long as my yearning for somewhere new has yet to crop up.

Great Dinner, Great Women

The evening started with a great friend fetching me from home. I was also greeted by a Westie who is a cutie, named Rufus. Rufus' mom is none other than a gorgeous pregger, whom seems to stunt us with all things beautiful being pregnant.

Instead of expecting a session of wine-tasting, little did we know, this great friend had managed to cook up a four course dinner! The menu consists of pumpkin soup as starter, lamb salad with home-made Thai-inspired dressing, for main course it was chicken and leek in white wine broth (yummy!!) and dessert by our beautiful pregger, a home-baked flourless cake ( I hope I got it right here).

Each bite on each course was accompanied by about 10 choices of red and white wines (mostly new world) brought to us by our knowledgeable sommerlier. It was truly a mind-opening gastronomic adventure for me. The food, the wines, the company of great women, are just too good to be true. I was in ecstacy, partly attributed by too many glasses (I was too eager to taste them all!). But mostly by the great atmosphere.

The night was a great preview of what a great event it is going to be, come October. This great friend, as always, will be pouring every ounce of her love and effort to ensure her guests will have the best. I know we will (have the best) and with her bubbly little sister as side-kick, nothing is impossible..

Hawthorne

The temperature recorded outside should be between 18-21 degrees Celsius. The weather is sunny but in summer clothings, one can still feel a bit chilly when the wind blows. I am now in Hawthorne Boulevard, Los Angeles. Some would have thought whether this place has anything to do with the famous or rather infamous study of workers' motivation by Elton Mayo. Well, I am not sure. But according to the open-sourced Wikipedia, the study of Hawthorne Effect was done in Illinois. Hence, I don't think this place got its name from the study.

I always have this same feeling whenever I am in Los Angeles. I feel small in the bigness of everything here. The shops, the malls, the cars! Oh dear, everything is massive and unfamiliar to me. I always have this love-hate relationship with America. It is complex and I attribute it to my own ignorance. I can never really understand it. The Hispanics here whom I encountered, mainly as service workers, tend to put on a frown face if not, a standard, dreamy, "I don't give a damn" attitude. I begin to rationalise whether the recent report on CNN Black in America 2 has anything to do with such attributes. The Asians in America scored lowest in terms of unemployment, followed by the Whites, the Hispanics and then the African Americans (although CNN still use the term Blacks to describe this race). It would be interesting to know how the Hispanics view the Asians here.

The reports that dominate the headlines here are none other than Michael Jackson. Even the (probably) greatest victory over the white-collar crimes committed by Mr Maddoff couldn't match the sensations of this pop icon. It is the death of this pop legend that has generated his so-called greatest comeback in the media. It is truly a tragedy. But the mourning was somehow felt mildly only in this part of California, judging from only one retail shop amongst many others that played his music over the speakers.

Indeed, his death has put a new light into viewing who MJ actually was. Little that we know, he was indeed a brilliant business person and a even greater humanitarian. May he rest in peace...