Tuesday, July 11, 2006
south cali sun-kisses
Haha yes that says it all doesnt it? Gosh the sun here is so strong that its impossible to go anywhere without getting a tan. Of course, that can only mean one thing - the dreaded uneven tan. *sigh* ah well, i guess that comes with the whole new sporty thing. Everything's so open here too i'll never be able to escape the sun anyway - especially when i'm spending a great deal of time on the golf course!!
I've taken my precious Nine Wests out and i love em to bits!!!
They're so gorgeous! I love that they're like, 5 inches high. I become so tall in them! And, as they say in "Kinky Boots", which i watched on the nice plane on the way here (and enjoyed very much), "the sex is in the heel".
My new shoes have been a good source of entertainment for us too! First let me introduce Mel - she's a good friend of Bee's and we all came to San Diego together last year for the same tournament, the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships. Mels cute and squishy and a great golfer. She's short like me and she has tiny feet too! So naturally, we HAD to have her try my shoes.
Priceless, that, considering she's a total tomboy like my sis. It was like putting a boy in heels for Halloween or something *cough* only funnier, cos she could hardly stand up!!
With the exception of the very hawt shoes however, i've been uncharacteristically sporty this trip. Look what a priceless moment the trip to the weekend market gave us!
Haha the kiddy bikes are HOW COOL! I so wish i had things like that to play with when i was a kid. That way i'd definitely have the coolest toys in the whole neighbourhood! The weekend market had so many cool things - I'd have bought a dagger/sword/axe if only they weren't going to be classified as offensive weapons and give the airport authorities the chance they've been waiting for to throw me in jail. I left with many things - too many to count, but most notable was a SKIMBOARD. Hahahaha yes i know, i'm crazy! But it was pretty! It had a heart on it. A heart with wings! I don't even know how skimboarding works, which side of a board to stand on, let alone how to skim. But in the spirit of being sporty, i decided that i wouldn't let such little details deter me!
Also in the spirit of being sporty, or perhaps just absentmindedness or just plain not being bothered with sunblock, i left the weekend market with a terrible uneven tan. A totally HORRIFIC one, well before i even stepped onto the golf course, too. My shoulders were totally toasted - and they still are now! And this is the sad and unfortunate result at breakfast the next day.
See the lines?!? And the toasted shoulders? Sad! I quickly decided that it was time to bring out the tube tops, mini shorts and the sunblock to try and do damage control! Just as well, since the next 2 days were to be spent with the golfers during their practice round.
These are my darling golfers, Debra, the girl on the far right, was with us last year too. Then of course there's Mel, Steph and my darling Bee.
These are just the girls, the boys, Jerome who is full of shit and damn funny, and George, are playing on the South course at Torrey Pines, while the girls play the North. We all stay at Homewood, with the exception of Debra, who stays at the Hilton Lodge with her SMU prof father.
I attended the opening ceremony where there was a parade of all the countries taking part. It was terribly crowded and the whole course was like a madhouse - though it did make for spectacular people watching. Anything from blue whales, to whale families, to cute underaged guys. Haha its sad lah there aren't exactly a great deal of hot guys here. Most are severely underaged too, just the way i like em.
I'm sure this one will grow up to be a hottie. I definitely wasn't the only one taking photos of strangers during the parade, though! I lost count of the number of people photographing me on the sly! And i hate to admit that the little cam whore in me actually doesn't mind that strangers are taking my photo. I even befriend the adorable ones.
Like her! My cute little fangirl haha. And yes, that IS me in hot pink pants. I have no idea what her name is or where she's from though! She didn't speak much - though i believe she understood English. Her parents were wearing Italian jerseys (though they could well be just for the World Cup finals which happened just hours before) and speaking in a language that was either Spanish or Italian, but since i understand neither, and it was so noisy, i can't be sure. I'd rather have people like her taking my photo than all those weird uncles!! Even all the way in San Diego, there doesn't seem to be any escaping it!
While the girls work hard at their game on the course, i'm whizzing around on a buggy, with Auntie Jacinta, Steph's mum, at the wheel, snapping photos and feeding squirrels. The 6th hole Par 3 has some really greedy, fat squirrels and they come right up to you and eat right out of your hands! One even tried to gnaw on my finger, thinking it was food!
They're so cute though! I'm a bit scared of being bitten and catching a weird virus or something that will kill me or make me very very painfully ill, so i didn't dare to try to pick any of them up. This is probably the only time you'd ever be able to get so close to a squirrel in the wild. I remember i sketched the scenery at the 6th hole last year. I should find the time to do so again, since the scenery at the course is just as breathtaking as i remembered it to be.
I love all the trees at Torrey Pines!! They smell so nice and they look so good in photos! I feel recharged every time i walk the stretch at the 7th hole. It runs along the side of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. Walking that hole just makes you feel like the whole world is in harmony (which translates to a surge in good karma, of course). So, in the spirit of peace and love and harmony and sportiness, i've started climbing trees! Yes, go me!
Climbing trees in dangerously short shorts, and a tube top, no less! And since i hardly ever wear tubes, we of course, will post the mandatory topless photo.
Ok, fine. Photos.
And since it's almost 2am where i am, and i'm absolutely knackered from running around on the course taking photos, i will leave you with another reason why there is such a large concentration of whales here.
Ben and Jerry's for $2.73. Jealous now?
Yes darlings, i love you and miss you too <3
Posted by Crystal at 3:49 PM
Saturday, July 08, 2006
ce blog est mort
yes, and since our blog is dead, i'm turning it into my personal public blog for the next week or so (if i ever do post again, thanks to the free broadband access in my suite).
Warning: image heavy! Not cos i wanna make you jealous, but cos i love you all my dears and i wish you were here, of course <3
i'm on a high now cos i just bought these gorgeous Nine West shoes that i've been eyeing since they were released in Singapore. They cost a disgusting $220 back home, but thank god for summer sales, cos i got them for only US$40 here!!!
i don't care that they're a little big, or if i look like jesus, they're hawt!
The flight here was great! i've decided that the SQ20 non-stop is my favourite flight to take, simply cos there's so much space in the cabin! 
Its not often you see crystal so happy in an airplane - but i guess big seats and airsickness pills and the promise of a good holiday are enough to make it better! You can't see it here but i'm actually wearing jeans haha (just thought everyone might like to know, since it doesnt happen too often)
The flight was nice and merciful - i didnt puke and i actually ate! it was less kind to my poor extensions though, they've already been subject to continuous straightening and blowdrying on a daily basis and were starting to well, die. i think the flight officially killed them, so it was time to say goodbye. 
Byebye pretty hair! Thanks bee for getting em out for me!! i shall miss em, i quite liked looking down and seeing red and purple streaks on my shoulders and spinning around me when i was dancing. But yeah they had to go, the weather here is really dry cos its kinda near the dessert, and its totally wrecking my hair! They wouldn't have survived anyway.
We stayed with my mum's friend, Aunty Rosemary. She brought us out for chinese food, where i had really wonderful crab that i wish we had in Singapore cos there's so much more meat in the crab that i'll actually eat stuff other than the pincers! But the best thing is this: the taro paste. 
i swear, its the BEST taro paste in the world. Its got like white fungus and red dates and gingko nuts inside and somehow it tastes really really really good. After eating it i promise you will feel like your life is complete. Its almost worth flying 16 hours, just to get to eat this when you land.
I'll be staying with Aunty Rosemary again later in the trip, after i return to Los Angeles again. We stayed at her place in Alhambra after we arrived, and its got a this really nice piano studio. Somehow, the pianos found in the studio of the president of The Music Teachers Association of California sound richer, smoother, nicer than any other piano i've played on - i was inspired for a good while until i realised how sucky i was at playing the piano as compared to the people she's used to hearing.
We flew in on the 4th of July, Independence Day. The everyday American seems to celebrate by buying fireworks from the booths that seem to spring up everywhere and set them off on their driveways. Naturally, since they're illegal and i've never set off any of these things in my life, i HAD to try. But also, being the little coward i am, i picked the tiniest little one, and ran as fast as i could (yes, RAN) after lighting that string thing. 
Well done Crystal!! hahaha, yay now i can say i've set off fireworks! i even have a photo of myself in jeans, no less. It was really pretty, especially those big ones that i didnt dare to light myself - they're kinda like the ones we see set off on national day, only not so big since the national day ones are huge. But yes, they're like huge exploding flowers in the sky and since EVERYONE is setting them off, its totally pretty! We were driving along the freeway and all around us there were all these beautiful golden showers in the sky as we passed by. We should totally legalize fireworks in Singapore. I mean, its so dry here that many people make their houses outta wood, but none of them burnt down so it should be ok! Quite sad though, 2 kids in the state got killed by oncoming vehicles while playing with fireworks... but i guess America is like that. It's just so big that lotsa shit happens. I'm slightly freaked out that there was a shooting today, at Mira Mesa, just 3 minutes from where i'm staying. One person was killed. While Singapore should legalise fireworks, i think America should really think of banning possession of firearms.
Another thing about America - everything here is so big. I have a little theory that this is why so many Americans are obese. See when you drive a big car, you never have to squeeze into it and realise that you're close to spilling out the doors. And when your big cars drive into big parking lots, you've got lots of space to open your door, so you never realise how much space you occupy since you've never been put in a situation where you're unable to accommodate your size. I mean think about it. The carparks in Singapore are so small. So the cars have to be small. And the drivers have to be small to get out of their cars. No such thing in America.
The end result? Why, a whale on every corner, of course.
A trip to CostCo, this kinda budget no frills megamart kinda thing only strengthened my theory. Everything just seems GIGANTIC here. Look!! A single bag of chips covers my entire torso! And the Hershey's Kisses come in bags enough to feed an army!
I've got a whole lot of scary pictures from CostCo. Giant shopping carts big enough for 4 of me to fit inside, giant black label, giant tequila, giant iceboxes, giant tomato ketchup, giant peanut butter. Everything there is huge - its like everything in America just seems to push you to become of a certain body type. I'm terrified that i'm gonna return home obese because i've started to eat like an American. I'm serious. You should have seen the baby back ribs i had for dinner.
That was all for Los Angeles - we were only there a day before leaving on the Interstate-5 for San Diego. I am, as always, the navigator for the trip, because it seems that i'm the only person around with some semblance of a sense of direction and who can read a map properly (which i honestly find quite sad). It helps too that i'm the one that adjusted the fastest to the 15 hour time change - god the things i could do if the self-discipline i had to adjust immediately (yes, IMMEDIATELY) applied to other things. Then i'd really be unstoppable! Pity no one else seems to realise that we're only here 2 weeks and there is no time to loose.
We got to our hotel in Del Mar, the Homewood Suites by the Hilton. Which kindly provides free broadband internet access, wireless, and yummy breakfast. Its really near the golf course that bee plays at, Torrey Pines. That place hasnt changed at all since we were here last year, it even smells the same. The weather here is gorgeous. Cool in the shade and warm in the sun, unlike LA, which was just HOT, HOT and HOT. The skies are pretty, perfect blue which makes for stunning photos, and the smell of the pines and the gentle breeze at the golf course makes it a great place to just lie down and nap. 
Its amazing how it feels like i've never left this place, after whining for a year in anticipation of this trip. And it really sucks that we're never gonna come back again, boo! Its so pretty here than i'm loving lying on the grass, feeling the sun on my skin and the wind on my hair. And yes, i do believe i am slowly, but surely, getting a tan, without trying of course. Bee's even tried to make me look more sporty by giving me her cap.
I'm still not sure it's my thing, though.
We're also really near a huge shopping mall, Westfield UTC, and its got just about everything there. Sephora, Abercrombie, Victoria's Secret, Hollister, American Eagle, L'Occitane en Provence, Ben & Jerry's, Forever21, Guess and the list goes on and on and on. UTC is such a happy place, it even has a Capezio dance shop!! We used to go there almost every single day when we were here last year, cos we were staying at the Marriot La Jolla, which was right across the road. The place feels, looks and smells the same, and it feels like i totally haven't left too! The sales are on this week, so i'm having a very good time! Hello cheap Nine West shoes. Bath and Body Works is having a great sale too, and i love taking photos in the shop cos the lighting/colours are so nice! haha!
The rest of the Singaporean team arrived today and we all went out for a huge dinner. I do not exaggerate when i say that i'm eating a scary, worrying amount here. Luckily since its cooler, i can convince myself that i'm burning lots of calories just keeping warm!
Ok tomorrow we go to the weekend market! I hope the weather stays nice. I need to find time to get a proper, good tan. Oh no its been 4 days already!! I don't wanna have to go home!
Crystal
