Jason's Daily Notes

My mom and uncle, as promised, called me at like 9am and came to my flat by 10am. We were supposed to visit Kew Gardens, properly this time! But I was not in a good condition. I had them sit down (they also had to change their bags) as I forced myself to get ready, which took like an hour. (I also had to wash my sheets and my clothes.) Somehow Mike woke up too and he got ready as we left the flat. We all met up at Stockwell station.

We got to Kew Gardens, walked in, and explored the grounds somewhat thoroughly. It's a big place. We spent a lot of time in the glass houses. I was still really hungover, but I bought 2 litres of water and tried to finish as much of it as possible. I felt bad about basically dumping my mom and uncle onto Mike. I should be better than that.

The weather brought showers throughout the day. We finished the Gardens around 15:30 and were really hungry. I bought a chicken pasta salad from Tesco Express, and then we all had food at a nearby pub right by the station. My mom and Mike and I had mulled cider. Mike's burger looked good; my chili con carne wasn't.

Went back home. But my mom and uncle needed to move their things to the new hotel in Greenwich. Why did I choose such a place for them? It was ordeal to get there, because of the tube closures. No Northern Line, so we took the 133 bus to Bank. There, in the station, I learned that there was no DLR service from Bank to Shadwell! Damnit! Frustrated and exhausted, we gave up and took a taxi. I didn't want to deal with taking the Jubilee line and transferring to the DLR. The taxi cost £20.

We rested in the hotel room, watching some lottery game. I was totally exhausted. I walked with my mom and uncle to the DLR station and said bye - I let them get dinner on their own.

Mike returned!!! He was obviously tired, but we decided to go to Kew Gardens (and use the free tickets anyway).

We met my mom and uncle at Knightsbridge, where my mom had bought a handbag from Burberry. (They had also visited Harrods - on their own! Impressive). Mike had forgotten to bring the printed tickets with him, so we had to find a place to print them out. We walked to South Kensington. Hungry, my mom and uncle ate at a creperie while Mike and I printed out the tickets. They were still finishing their food. We randomly saw Helene there with 2 of her friends visiting from France. Mike and I went to a nearby pub and got mulled cider (which wasn't good).

By the time we left South Ken, it was already past 15:00. This was not good, as the last entry to Kew was at 15:45. Nevertheless, we persisted west on the train to try to make it. We got to Gunnersbury at 15:35 and realized that we would not make it in time, so we turned around. What a waste!!! We had to wait 15 minutes for the next train back. Poor planning! Oh well.

Returned home. Mike and I were tired; I took a small nap. But Mike unpacked and vacuumed his room (Julie had been sleeping there for the last few days). Then, he started napping.

Kayleen had planned that we all have a big night out that evening. She and Julie returned around 20:30 and begun the pre-drinking with a coconut/pineapple punch. I started to join them, and Mike awoke and joined us. For some reason I made myself a triple vodka energy drink. (This would come back to haunt me.)

We went out in Clapham. We had a beer along the way. The pubs were alright, but not packed. We ended up at 4 bars, but I don't remember much at all after the 3rd. But Mike does have all the memories. Either way - not good! I do remember running back to the flat by myself.

Obviously I did not feel good when I woke up in the morning...

Woke up in my mom and uncle's hotel room. We got ready (I didn't shower, whatever) and had breakfast at McDonald's. We went to my flat in Brixton, where Julie and Kayleen were. They apparently went on a Christmas Day tour that took them to many of the same places we were - Stonehenge, the Cotswolds, and Stratford-upon-Avon!

My uncle and I searched for the extra mobile phone (for my mom and uncle to be able to call me), but to no avail! He did have his other phone from the Philippines, so we decided to just buy another SIM card and put it in that phone.

I went to the nearby post office depot to pick up a package that couldn't be delivered to me. (It was my end-of-year cards). We bought a SIM card from the nearby pharmacy. We got on the bus, when my uncle realized that he left the umbrella at the pharmacy. So we got off, walked back, picked up the umbrella, then got on the next bus (133 - because the Northern Line's Bank branch was closed). It was already after 12:00.

We got off a stop before London Bridge, and I walked them around Borough Market. There, we bought several types of food - paella, a duck confit sandwich, an OJ/mango smoothie, and a minced beef skewer baguette. Oh, and my mom got a mulled cider. We spent over £20 on this lunch. Afterwards, I walked them onto London Bridge, and then along the south bank of the river, through Hay's Galleria and past City Hall to Tower Bridge. We took pictures and crossed the bridge to the Tower of London, where I left them to fend for themselves (which they needed; they were relying too much on me and weren't really experiencing London for themselves).

I was feeling really cold (I only wore my ski jacket instead of my usual sweater + coat). I returned home and snuggled up. I decided to relax but somehow also wanted to make use of my travel card, so I ended up past Wandsworth, near Roehampton. I returned to Earl's Court in good time to meet my mom and uncle for dinner at the nearby Filipino restaurant (Sunrise Cafe). They enjoyed talking to the volunteer employee and chef there. I felt like going home, so I did.

We awoke (warm this time; I had turned up the heater) and started packing up to leave the Cotswolds. We tried to finish the leftovers from last night's dinner, but there was simply too much.

With the day ahead of us and London not too far away, I suggested that we got to Stonehenge instead. So we did. Of course, I drove :) It took about 1.5 hours, and I was tested with parking the car in a busy lot as we arrived at the stone age attraction. It was cold, windy, and showery (aka typically English). We paid £7 each, but the admission gave us an audio guide, which helped color the experience. However, the weather was relentless, and being battered by cold rain showers discouraged us from staying longer. We took our pictures, looped around the stones, returned our audio guide and stopped for some hot coffee to warm us up.

I drove us into London (getting out from Stonehenge was also a challenge, as I had to merge onto a busy road while stopped on an incline. I did it, though!). We made it to the M25 easily, but then we hit a wall of traffic, and switching over to the M4 was even worse. The motorway had come to a complete stop. It took maybe 40 minutes to get into London (it's maybe a 5 mile drive). Oh well, we stayed positive; after all, being stuck in stop-and-go traffic is really good driving practice for me.

I dropped my mom off at the hotel by Earl's Court. It's a good-located hotel, but of course the room is tiny, and oddly, you have to leave the room key at the front desk every time you leave the hotel. Then, my uncle and I left to return the car. However, the traffic was also insane. It took 45 minutes just to leave Kensington. We were at a near stop (inching forward) for maybe half an hour! The traffic was almost certainly due to everyone going to the Westfield in Shepherd's Bush for Boxing Day shopping. I drove on the N Circular, skirting around London, and dropped the car off at the rental place.

We were going to take the train back, but soon found out that there were no trains running at all! (There was also a tube strike going on.) So I had to figure out a bus route to take us back to Earl's Court. We ended up taking 4 buses (through Edmonton Green, King's Cross, and Oxford Street/Marble Arch). Luckily we didn't have many bags with us, because the last bus leaving Oxford Street was completely packed with people! It was a very "welcome to London" experience for my uncle.

Exhausted, I decided to just stay over at the hotel room that night (which also saved me the trouble of having to travel back there in the morning anyway).

Christmas day! And we woke up very cold. Apparently the heater hadn't come on. But I was too sleepy to do anything about it; I just snuggled up tighter in my blankets.

We didn't exchange gifts or anything this year, and it was great - less to worry about anyway! :)

We had some breakfast (coffee and pastries) and then set off. Our goal for today: Give me enough practice driving so that I can drive comfortably. It really bothered me that I couldn't drive a stick shift. I had tried it twice already (and failed both times), and it really bothered me that I couldn't get it. I mean, so many millions of other people can drive manual cars, but I can't?! That was simply unacceptable to me. (If you know me well enough, you know that I do not like missing out on things or not knowing things.) The most insulting thing was that everyone told me "it's so easy; it's so fun; I can't believe you prefer automatic Jason." It really taunted me and bothered me. So, I was determined: Even if it would take all day, I would learn how to drive.

It was our first full day in the Cotswolds. We started the day by going to Tesco, stocking up on essentials for our Christmas meals, including steak. (We couldn't buy everything at the Cooperative the day before, as they were closing and already asking us to leave!)

We brought the food back to the house, and we had some lunch, consisting of leftover pasta (half of which I made into a nice carbonara).

Because the days are so short, we had to make the most of the few daylight hours we had. So we rushed out around 12:00 to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. We got there in good time, but there was some traffic as we entered the town itself. We managed to park in a parking structure (on the 3rd floor, in a tight space) and headed directly for the Shakespeare birthplace, which was just a block away. We paid, went through a little exhibit about Shakespeare's life story, and then went outside to the actual house where he was born and raised. There were helpful guides in each room to give us information about what happened in each room. Shakespeare's father was a pretty successful glove maker who sold gloves and other leather goods from a window in their house that opened up onto the street.

We got up, packed up, and left Neath, Wales by 10am. We couldn't find our umbrella. Apparently I had left it at the restaurant/pub last night, but there was no sign of it anywhere.

We packed up our stuff and hit the road again. We didn't get breakfast, though. The plan was to buy some lunch in Cardiff, on our way. My uncle drove, and the driving was easier today, because we had a shorter route and most of it was on the motorway.

I chose a cafe in Cardiff that looked not too central (so as not to intimidate my uncle with difficult driving/parking). It was called Cafe Calcio, a trendy student-focused cafe that was highly rated for its breakfast/brunch offerings. We parked the car (with a little bit of difficulty) about 2 blocks away and walked there. I had "eggs brenedict" - a full English put into the form of eggs benedict. After some confusion, my mom ordered the salmon.

We then walked around the (quiet) area before returning to the car; we all agreed that the houses in that part of town at least reminded us of San Francisco. We then drove out of the city, headed on the M4 east back into England. The weather was cloudy and breezy, with only a few passing moments of showers. We switched over to the M5 headed north and then got off the motorway to head to the Cotswolds. The views were really nice, so we stopped at a turnout to take a few pictures.

Before long, we had arrived at our new home, Bourton-on-the-Water. The key was left under the potted plant by the door, and we quickly settled in.

Since things were bound to close for Christmas, we soon headed out to the nearby Cooperative supermarket to stock up on food (so we wouldn't starve over Christmas!). We got to the store about 10 minutes before they closed for the day (it was Sunday after all, so they closed at 4)!

We spent the evening in the house, watching some TV and preparing a dinner of pasta (bolognese). Uncle really liked the block of English cheddar that he bought.

Woke up in Porthmadog, Wales. I slept pretty well (but I always sleep well when I travel, and generally most other beds are better than mine in my flat in London). My mom, uncle, and I went downstairs to get breakfast. We were the only guests staying in the hotel that night. My uncle and I each ordered a full English breakfast, with my mom getting some fried fish thing. The workers were just cleaning up the pub and getting ready for the day. By 11:00, we were out of the hotel and on our way.

We drove south, stopping by  Harlech Castle. The weather was not cooperating, however: It was foggy, drizzly, windy, and chilly. In such conditions, it was nearly impossible to enjoy the good views of North Wales. Nevertheless, we parked the car, walked over to the castle, and took some pictures. [Note, at this time, several parts of the UK were under flood warnings as heavy rain pelted the region.]

We continued the drive, with rain showers sputtering on and off the whole way. We bypassed Aberystwyth, only stopping for petrol. My uncle was still pretty uncomfortable driving, especially starting and stopping in a busy area. Driving on the opposite side of the narrow country roads was also difficult: The car tended to drift over to the left side, and so I constantly had to yell that we were about to hit the curb or go off the road! Additionally, we wanted to get all our driving done before nightfall, which came very early, around 16:00.

We drove a bit through the interior of Wales, which was hilly but not too noteworthy nonetheless. We were soon in South Wales, on the M4, arriving at our hotel in the small town of Neath by 15:30. The hotel was in the town centre, but luckily there was a car park just for hotel guests a block away. We checked in and moved our stuff into our second-floor room. The room was spacious, with three single beds, one for each of us. We settled in, watching some TV (US X Factor) for a little bit. I also took the time to organize/ my entire email inbox, archiving emails from several years ago!

We were soon hungry, however, so we walked around the town center at 18:00. Everything was already closed, and it was dark and quiet. Rain continued to shower down, so I had to shield my camera from getting rain drops in the lens. We walked around and found another castle overlooking the Morrisons parking lot! (The castle was closed, though.) Eventually we settled on having dinner at the restaurant connected to the hotel. But all the tables were reserved! We just sat in the pub and ate there, while watching Liverpool win 4-0 against Fulham. I had the most amazing burger - it is definitely in the top 5 burgers I have ever had, if not the best ever! It was just the patty, with cheddar on relatively plain bread, but wow, it was delicious. I'll credit it to the restaurant using only Welsh ingredients. Also, I ordered Tatrs and Caws (taters and caws?), which was basically potatoes drenched in a creamy cheese onion sauce. Amazing! My uncle had a steak and my mom had some chicken, neither of which was that great.

Full of beer and food, we settled in to our room and fell asleep relatively early.

It was the first day of my family Christmas trip through England and Wales. I was awoken around 08:30. My mom and uncle called to say that they were on their way to my flat (to pick up a few thinsgs from their bags. They got lost - it took them like an hour to just walk the 5 minute walk to my place! Apparently my uncle asked for directions to Brixton and they walked all the way to Brixton! Sigh.

Mike awoke before I could take off, so I was there when he received his gifts. Oh well. My mom and uncle were off, taking the tube from Stockwell to Tottenham Hale, where we had to change to a national rail service. The next train was in 20 minutes, so we snacked on some croissants and coffee while waiting. The train eventually came, and we got off after only two stops. We walked from there to the car rental place, and soon I was off with a rental car. We definitely made sure to buy the additional insurance!

And then we were off. After my embarrassment trying to drive on our trip to Scotland this past May, I let my uncle do the driving. Unfortunately, he was also not too experienced with driving a stick shift. It was obvious that it was still a bit of a struggle to get the car going at times, but somehow we made it out of London and onto the M25 and then the M1.

I directed us to exit at Luton, where I would practice driving! I found a residential neighborhood with lots of streets that seemed perfect to practice on. So we parked the car, and it was my turn to go!

I was a little late to work because I couldn't find my Oyster card! I was really distraught - where could it be?!

At work, there was little for me to do in the morning. Instead, I started to help Dren out with the logistics in the office. He taught me how to prep devices for shipping, which I picked up somewhat quickly. There was a lot to do today: There was a deluge of orders coming in right before the Christmas holiday, and frankly, the logistics of the company was not able to handle that many. Raj, Dren, Faith, and I cut it down to the line, resetting devices and prepping them to ship. We even had to run down to catch the FedEx guy at the very last minute to deliver the very last shipment. WHEW.

And I had to leave at 18:00. I chatted with Simone on my way out. The agreement to sponsor my visa had changed. As I feared, the company would no longer be able to sponsor me. So I'm basically SOL. Not too unexpected but still, it was a heavy decision. We parted on good terms, though, so I hope that they'll leave me a good reference.

I returned home, getting off at Stockwell because I wanted to ask whether an Oyster card had been found. Nope. :(

I stopped by home, where Mike and Kayleen were off to watch Stomp. Fernanda joined me at my flat before we walked over to meet my mom and uncle for dinner at a nearby Portuguese restaurant (Cantinho de Portugal). Fern was able to order for us; the food was great, filling, and affordable. It was really an enjoyable dinner.

We returned home, dropping my mom and uncle off at their place, and Fernanda sleeping over at my place. I had to turn her away as I packed up her and Mike's Christmas gift :) Kayleen, her friend Julie and Mike returned to the flat and we chatted briefly before they went to bed.

Went to bed, after preparing everyone's gifts - I had to be up early to pick up our rental car :)

I returned to work after my graduation day. It was a dreary and dark day, as all days are in London this time of year. Work was draggin on, and I had little motivation because I got the feeling that I wouldn't be staying there much longer.

My mom and uncle stayed at home, because they were too tired and still feeling under the weather. I had time to meet them after work, because I had to help them move into their new apartment, which was toward Stockwell. We dropped off some stuff at my flat first, so that they would have less stuff to carry.

I accompanied them to their new flat before quickly leaving to meet up with some friends at a pub near Victoria. There was Severine, Helene, and Delfin (who was visiting London for a few days, trying to sort out his job situation - hopefully he'll be in Milton Keyes!), and Cece and Abhi, whom I hadn't seen in years! It was great to meet them and to catch up with them too. Abhi works for Facebook which is really cool and impressive. Helene is working for Starbucks, while Sev is working some nanny job I think (?). We had a couple drinks each. But then it was starting to get late, so we parted ways. I accompanied Delfin to the tube, where he had some trouble topping up his oyster. I took the Victoria line a few stops to Stockwell, and I rushed home in the rain. It was 00:30.

Little did I know: That moment would be the last time I had any record of my Oyster card :(

Even though I didn't have work, I still had to get up early to meet my mom and uncle and get to LSE in time for the 10:45 graduation ceremony. I dressed up in my suit and tie, and I met them around 08:30. We waited at Groveway for the 59 bus, which took us all the way there.

Outside of the Old Building were crowds of graduates, many already dressed up in their cap and gown. I caught a glimpse of Kristi, who was there with her parents. We said hi, and I quickly rushed off to pick up my gown and tickets for the ceremony. The Student Services Center was hectic with people queueing to get suited up and to collect tickets. But somehow I made it, saying hi to many classmates along the way - Alexandru, Thibault, Aditi, Danial, Qian, Thomas, David F., and Christoph among them.

I entered the ceremony, where I parted with my mom and uncle (who were sitting upstairs) and met many more classmates - we were all seated in two subsequent rows. I ended up sitting between Suxin and Alexandros. People were catching up right until the start of the ceremony, which was nice, formal but constrained by LSE's usual lack of spacious facilities. The head of the university gave a relatively uninspired speech, and we all walked across the stage, being cheered on as could be expected. Ana won the award for best dissertation; how cool! At the end, there was an honorary degree bestowed upon the former treasury of the World Bank; he is Chinese and his name was Justin I think. It was pretty cool to hear him accept the degree to graciously and with some humor.

After the ceremony, I hung with Kristi for a minute before reuniting with my family. We took a couple pictures but headed straight to the photographer to get my portrait taken. There, behind me, was Gagandeep and some of his friends. The photos were ok, but I felt that my smile was too forced and I didn't look that great :( And it took some time before we could properly take my pictures with the big foam letters spelling out "LSE 2012"! Then, we headed to the 4th floor restaurant for the reception, but it was already over! :( Sadly, I didn't get to even say hi to many of my classmates. But Thibault and JB were there to at least have a picture with me.

So, I then returned my cap and gown, and we then walked around looking for a place to eat. Conveniently, there was the sushi restaurant right on Kingsway, so we popped in for a somewhat late lunch at 14:30. There, seated at two tables next to each other, were JB and his family, and Maya and her family! We said hi and congratulated each other again.

My mom, uncle, and I, instead of going home, headed to the National Gallery to fit some sightseeing in. However, my uncle was still not feeling well, so mom and I insisted that I take him home (he can't figure out how to get home by himself). So I did; we took the bus from Trafalgar Square. Then,  I returned via tube to the museum to find my mom, whom I had left with the telephone but she wasn't picking up when I rang. So I methodically but determinedly walked through the entire museum, room by room, scanning for her. It took less than 10 minutes before I found her - yes! I then accompanied her back home and dropped her off around 18:30.

The plan was for my [IMEX] classmates to meet up on campus for drinks at 19:00 and then find a restaurant or bar to go to afterwards. However, the Tuns was closed, and there was no update from them on Facebook. So, I decided to join the other [M&S] classmates who were at All Bar One. I got there, and it was just Aditi, Thomas, and Elena. We chatted over a couple drinks, and they caught me up on all the gossip between classmates. It was pretty interesting, actually. Thomas noticed that at the next table, there was his old dorm mate (?) and they had a mini-reunion. We also got a free bottle of wine from the previous party that was leaving.

We left as the bar closed, around 11pm. Kerem met us, walking down Kingsway. We had a brief reunion, and he introduced me to his girlfriend, before I tore myself away and forced myself home (I did have work in the morning). Good times! Wish I could have seen more classmates, though.

I had to go to work; it was my first day back after my holiday in California. My uncle was not feeling well, and my mom was also tired, so they stayed in the apartment all day.

It was a dim and dreary day, and things felt different at the office. First, the two rooms that our office had occupied were now consolidated into one. Secondly, there was a reshuffling of employees: Ecehan was gone, and so was George, but there were two new logistics helpers: Faith and Abi (sp?). Thirdly, it seems like the company's momentum had suddenly collapsed. Many problems had popped up, including several bills and creditors calling to demand that they be paid by the company, and Jas coming back in tears because the company couldn't afford to pay her. Basically, it looks like the company is having serious cash flow problems.

I talked with my supervisor about their decision regarding my sponsorship, and they said that they would sponsor me, if I would stay on minimum wage. Seriously?! There is no way that I would accept that. I told him that, and he said that there would be an answer for me in a couple days. At LEAST I got my paycheck - finally. During lunch, I went over to Bayswater to deposit the cheque. I needed the money; rent was due.

I worked the whole day, but I made an effort to leave as soon after 6 as possible, coming home at 7pm and buying some Christmas stuff, including wrapping paper and a gift for Asia. Mike was making dinner for us (breaded chicken cutlet with vegetables) - what an awesome guy. I packed up a gift for Asia and went off to meet her around 9:30pm. I think having a birthday is important, but having one so close to Christmas could leave you often being neglected. So that's why I felt it important to see her. I met her at Belsize Park station, and we walked over to Hampstead Heath, strolling to the top of Parliament Hill (I think that's the name) and chatting the whole way. It was pleasant. I didn't get back home until midnight-ish. I needed rest - in the morning, it was my graduation, after all!

I got up around 10:30am and took my mom and uncle to Brick Lane. We took the tube to Liverpool Street and walked over. My mom and I each had Ethiopian food, whereas my uncle went with Vietnamese pho. It was good. We strolled along Brick Lane.

We then took the bus to St. Pauls. Walked inside; there was a service going on.

Then we headed to the British Museum. Along the way, we bought a large (wall-size) London street map, so that my mom and uncle could get their bearings over where they were in London.

Met Tita Aida at Tottenham Court Road station; we were slightly late, since we decided to walk over to Oxford Street and see the Christmas lights. It was too cold for uncle especially, as he was ducking into stores and cafes just to be out of the cold. (It was really only like 7°C.)

Dinner was at a touristy but good fish and chips place near Covent Garden. After dinner, I walked over to Philomena's (formerly the O'Neill's) to meet Mike and his friend Rory. (I played "tough love" and left my mom and uncle to find their own way home. But Tita Aida decided to accompany them home. She ended up sleeping over! So much for my plan!)

A couple drinks with Mike and Rory. Rory shared tales of his iPhone being stolen and the difficulties of getting properly reimbursed for it. He still works at a restaurant, as some sort of coffee genius who manages to get paid more than store managers. Mike was tired but in a satisfied way :) However, Monday morning lurked around the corner, and we needed to get home. The 59 bus was it.

Trying to adjust to the time difference, I woke up around 11am, and then I spent the rest of the day with my mom and uncle. We took the bus to Brixton and went from there to Green Park. We saw Buckingham Palace, then walked around St. James's Park. To get lunch, I wanted to take them to a nice pub nearby. We checked out a couple pubs but they weren't saving food. So we ended up at Walkers of St. James, where we ordered some pies and I got bangers and mash. I also had a pint to keep me happy.

We then were right by Fortnum & Mason, so we walked in and explored it. We then walked down Piccadilly, hopping on a quick bus to Hyde Park Corner, where we walked into Hyde Park. Winter Wonderland was still going on, and it was really crowded, so instead we walked through Hyde Park. We crossed all the way to Kensington Palace. By the time we got there, though, it was completely dark. I did learn to play with the shutter speed on my camera to increase the exposure and take some really cool-looking photos.

We took the bus back to Green Park and tubed back to Brixton. We were tired and hungry, so we bought some food from Tesco and took it back to the apartment. We cooked some pasta and had some salad with it for dinner. Watched some TV.

I said bye to my family, then I went to the Swan at 10:30pm to meet Amanda, Asia, and Craig. It smelled bad - like countless sweaty nights had gone into the walls of the place. Mike joined us there! (He had been having dinner with Bernadette). We had a couple beers, I paying for Mike since he had no cash. The place started filling up and the band finished playing, so we moved to the dance floor. Mike left for home, and soon Asia also disappeared. I was pretty tired. I took the bus home, even though I could have easily walked. Asia was there in the flat.

We flew into London Heathrow. Our flight arrived at 3:55pm local time. The day was already turning to night. My mom and uncle walked slowly through the crowd to immigration. The queue was long, unfortunately, but our immigration officer was really friendly! She had relatives in Riverside and was glad to chat with us.

We got our bags, bought a snack at the airport, then took the tube into central London. I was excited to introduce Uncle Ben to London. We took some pictures on my new camera on the tube. My SIM card wasn't working (I had to configure the iPhone's profile using wifi, which I couldn't find until somewhere around South Kensington).

I took my mom and uncle directly to the apartment near my place in Brixton. It was difficult, mainly because my mom and uncle weren't as capable of carrying their bags (especially up and down the stairs) as I was. We somehow managed to get ourselves onto the crowded bus and to the apartment next to Jaam. Mary was there to meet us and get us settled in. The apartment was nice and clean. But its location was particularly good - just a block away from my apartment.

I showed my mom and uncle my apartment too, but it had too many stairs for them to want to stop by again! They had a very hard time getting oriented (which would take many days).

We walked all the way to Oval Tandoori for dinner. The waiter recognized me! We then took the bus to central London and walked around from Parliament to Trafalgar Square. Again, mainly to introduce uncle Ben to London. We were tired so decided to go home.

Mike was at his office's Christmas celebration, which involved lots of drinking at several nice bars and lounges around central London. But they were tired and finished early, so he tried to meet up with us. But right when he got to Trafalgar, we were already on the bus home! So he got on the bus right behind us, and we raced all the way home! Haha!

Today was the day. My mom, uncle, and I were flying together to London. Our flight was in the evening, so we still had the whole day at home and around town.

We had done most of our packing last night. My mom decided that she needed a new camera, and she offered to buy me the camera I wanted too - a DSLR!!! I felt really spoiled, but time was short, so I arranged to meet Justin and Chris at Best Buy. Chris came over to our house and we all drove together!

Along the way, I spontaneously decided that I needed to gas the car up, and there at the Chevron, i found $5 laying on the ground! I gave it to Chris to buy a lotto ticket.

My mom and uncle had a lot of questions, and it took the sales guy some time to get everything set up and rung up, but I ended up with a nice new Canon DSLR :)

I then went off with Chris and Justin. We ended up at the Glendale Galleria; since I had mentioned that I wanted a beanie, we made it our mission to buy me one. But I wasn't really satisfied with what we found. So we drove over to the Fashion Center, where I found a cool beanie at Ross. There, Justin and Chris also decided to collect sports jerseys of athletes who had already retired.

Anyway, time was running short, and I needed to go back home to get to the airport. Justin dropped us off, since Chris had left his car at my place. Chris stuck around for a few minutes and left just as Ate Aileen arrived to drive us to the airport.

Actually, I drove us to the airport. Traffic at 6pm, as you could imagine, was horrendous. We got off the 110 somewhere around Vernon and I bought some food from Jack in the Box for my final meal. We got to LAX by 7:30pm, checked in (our bags' weights were fine - but we had to drop them off at the scanning terminal yourself! WTF). Terminal 2 was bad and had a depressing atmosphere, like an old hospital that hadn't been thoroughly cleaned because everyone there had just given up all hope. Wow, I hate LAX. I sat on the floor in the corner of the waiting room, next to a girl who was also on the floor, because that's the only place that had an electrical outlet. SERIOUSLY.

While waiting for my flight, I opened my new camera and started to play with it! :) Boarded the flight, sat in the back of the plane, and we were on our way to London!

My last full day in California.

My mom and I met Auntie Nancy for lunch at El Toreo, a cozy restaurant in Old Town Pasadena. I felt very loved again :) After that, my mom continued her search for the perfect outfit for my graduation, so we drove to Macy's. Then, we stopped by Target and Vroman's to buy some LA souvenirs, with limited success.

Back home, and it was time to start packing!

My days in LA are counting down. I had to prepare for our departure on Thursday. But I also needed to soak up as much sun and SoCal culture as I could. So I left the house somewhat early to go for a small hike at Runyon Canyon.

The air was cool and the sun was shining brightly as I walked up from my car. Around me, there were several young women walking toward the park with yoga mats (how LA!). It was a good climb; I wend up the side with the stairs and was sweating heavily by the top, so I went topless :)

Returned to my car, and I drove west along Sunset into Beverly HIlls, where I spontaneously decided to stop by Sprinkles cupcakes. Then, I continued driving west, passing Century City and West LA (depositing some cash at the ATM). I headed to Santa Monica, parking the car and having some fish tacos at Wahoo's. Then, I moved the car to the beach, where I had my mission: To fill up some bottles :) I rushed down, taking a moment to soak up the warm midday sun, and rushed back because I didn't feed the parking meter enough money!

I returned to home, only to get a call from my mom and uncle. They were out near Vermont, dropping off some balikbayan, so I went out to meet them and grab some lunch. We went to Kan Hodong Baekjeong, a real Korean restaurant (not very English-speaking) in Koreatown. The Korean bbq was amazing, slightly pricey, but totally worth it!

My uncle drove the BMW back home, while my mom and I proceeded to Glendale to do some shopping. At Nordstrom Rack I bought a new pair of shoes/boots. Then, we went to the Americana, where my mom wanted to buy a new outfit for my graduation.

We had dinner plans with Tita Fanny and Tito Noel, which was a very pleasant dinner. We chatted, largely about England and the like. Patrick returned from work and shared in our conversation as well.

I spent the morning at home. Still had some stuff to clear out from my room.

Had a dentist's appointment in the afternoon. Good to have my teeth clean :)

Then, went to the Santa Anita Westfield mall with my mom and uncle. We did some shopping. I wanted to find a beanie and possibly some new shoes for myself. I shopped around, and almost bought a pair of Vans (the girl working at Vans, btw, looked half Asian and was very cute). But I didn't get anything - until we were about to walk out the door at Macy's. I ended up buying a $50 vest, which was on clearance, and which was also subject to a check-in discount on Foursquare, which meant that I ended up getting it for only $17.  Awesome!

We then went to Trader Joe's to buy a few things, and then drove home as nighttime fell.

I slept in, obviously. Didn't go to church (partial victory for me there?). When my mom and uncle returned from church, having bought some vegetables to cook, I got the car and headed to Echo Park, where I had scheduled to meet Jenn and Les for lunch!

We ate at Masa, which wasn't too crowded, where we shared an amazing deep dish pizza! We caught up, telling stories about our respective lives, and then we walked off our heavy meal. The walk took us to the Echo Park Time Travel Store (related to the pirate store in San Francisco), which was randomly cool. The clerk there said that they have been there "since the beginning of time." I got a few things from the store as gifts :)

We then walked around Echo park, and we ended up at Sage Organic, where we got vegan ice cream for each of us. We chatted and caught up. It was great.

In the evening, I had dinner with family - Lisa and Ferd, and Aileen and Jim. We got sushi in Pasadena. It was nice. Ferd tried to explain to me how to drive a stick shift. :)

I woke up and was very glad to be alive. Driving back in the fog at 3am was a real mindfuck to say the least. I spent most of the day at home. I cleaned out my room, sorting through a lot of old crap that had accumulated over the years. I purged out a lot of documents and trinkets. In the evening was Angela's and Vincent's birthday party at the Palihouse hotel in West Hollywood. I got them Hanukkah cards from Rite Aid. I stopped by Taco Bell on the way there, and I parked two blocks away (street parking ftw!). I sort of invited David to join, since he decided to stay in LA, but he ended up not coming. It was really great to see everyone all there together again. Just like good times. Jmar was there. Kevin was pouring alcohol. We played left, right, center, and I ended up winning :) There was love and praise all around. We took off our pants! Apparently I had the firmest butt, and Vincent was keen to compare body hair. Drove back home around 5am. My mom was already awake and getting ready for her walk! :X

I ran some errands during the day. I got my hair cut at Samy's, where my mom goes. Sam had just run out for a few minutes when we arrived, so we went to Costco in the meantime. We bought a lot of stuff to ship to the Philippines. I also got a few things (socks, external hard drive). Back to Sam's, where I got my hair cut (my mom insisted on it being shorter, and I didn't disagree) and my eyebrows waxed slightly. Then to Glendale. I had an appointment at the Apple Store. We parked in the Galleria, but it's being renovated so there was no easy way to walk out. I dropped off my laptop at the Apple Store and then met my mom, who was shopping in Nordstrom. We shared some food from Panda Express then ended up buying new shoes at Clarks. Went to Long Beach in the evening. Traffic was horrendous; it took nearly 1.5 hours for me to get there. I just met Michelle at the 49er Tavern. It was practically empty. The burger was amazing! We played a couple rounds of pool (I had some hot streaks going). Ruben arrived, he vented a bit about work. It seems that everyone is uneasy with their current career. Around 10:30 we headed to Congregation (?) in downtown Long Beach to meet Duran, Adrian and Priscilla. They had just walked out to 7 Eleven. We caught up, getting a table. Then I remembered that I hadn't closed out my tab, so we returned to the Tavern to get my credit card. We had one last drink there. Then we headed to Denny's. Late night food and hilarity! The waitress was definitely looking at us. But it was chill. Unfortunately the fog rolled in very very dense so I was afraid for my life when I drove the long drive back! I'm so happy I made it home in one piece!

Woke up around 9am. My mom and uncle had already had breakfast and gotten ready. I continued sleeping until 09:30 as they watched CNN. We "checked out" of the hotel just around 10 (the check-out process is automatic now; you don't have to hand in your keys or anything). I drove us to Chinatown, where we filled up gas and then got some boba smoothies. Then, we were on the road again, headed back home. We didn't really want to see much more in Vegas. I didn't drive too fast; I opted instead to save gas by coasting in neutral downhill. The sun felt warm on my chest. We stopped in Barstow, getting food at Chipotle. We then completed our outlet shopping. I got some gag gifts at the store for Angela and Vince. I slept through much of the drive back to LA. I woke up as we were already getting off the 2 freeway. I took another nap at home, and I was almost too late to get to the Bucket to meet Brian and Marissa. We had dinner, delicious burgers as usual. The server was nice, and we also shared a pitcher of Stella. Chris came; he has a new job that he'll be starting in 2 weeks; no more Wells Fargo. He also wasn't feeling too well. We then went to Rite Aid to get Thrifty brand ice cream. We then walked around the video store, making fun of some video titles. I was tired, so I was glad to go back to sleep by 11pm.

Time to go to Vegas! Left home at 10am sharp, and made very good time - we passed into San Bernardino County at 10:30 exactly. We were in Barstow by 11:30! We stopped to eat at In-N-Out and to do some outlet shopping. The outlets were pretty deserted. One set of outlets were almost completely closed down, except for a couple small gift stores and an Asian vitamin center. My uncle took over the driving. I slept a little in the back seat. We made it to Vegas around 4pm, stopping at a bank to withdraw cash (Uncle also ordered a check book). We then had some Thai food at a small restaurant next door. They had no bathroom, so I walked to CVS to pee. It was already dark when we drove up the strip. I insisted on stopping at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign to take a picture, but the lighting made it impossible to get a picture on my phone. We then headed straight to Caesar's Palace, where we checked in (getting a little lost trying to find the front desk through the casino). I played $50 on roulette, betting on red as usual, and I doubled my money. Tired. The beds in our hotel room were so comfortable!!! I struggled to get up out of bed in time (7pm) for us to go downstairs and pick up the tickets for the Shania Twain show. We got in, climbed three escalators to the upper mezzanine, where we had a barely acceptable view of the show. The crowd was more redneck than I expected. The show was great - but they were very strict about allowing no photography! Shania had a very timid stage presence, but she seemed very sweet and warm hearted. It was a very nice show with some great effects. Several audience members were brought on stage to sing around a campfire. She brought a horse out to sing "You're Still the One" to, and the show closed with "Man, I Feel Like a Woman." After the show, I had arranged to meet David (from Sweden), who said he would be in the poker room. I didn't see him there, so I went back up to the hotel room to get some rest. I napped for about half an hour and then went down to the poker room. He had just lost his money, so we went to withdraw cash, and instead of going out, we decided to return to the poker room. David kept playing, and I just sat with him, getting a good load of free drinks. It was already 2am when we finished. We weren't too keen on going all the way to Marquee or any other club. (Rockhouse was closed, and so was the whole front of Imperial Palace.) We were hungry and so went to Denny's to get some food. I returned to the hotel room around 4am.

Spent the day hanging out with Michelle. She came over around lunch, and I drove us over to the westside. We stopped by my apartment in West LA, which made me very sentimental but happy! :) Then we had lunch in Santa Monica at Veggie Grill (got parking right behind it - yes!). Then, we walked around Santa Monica Beach for a few minutes. There were clouds and haze - it was not the best day to be at the beach. Tried to take some jumping pictures.

Then I drove us to Venice Beach. I found a parking space not far from the beach, but unexpectedly, I had a hard time parallel parking! We made my favorite drink (rum and orange soda) and then began to roam the Venice boardwalk. We caught a nice sunset by the beach. Then, it was time to go; I got word that my friend Alex wanted to meet up, so I arranged for him to join us for dinner at a Mexican place in Culver City. Dinner was good, and then we headed west to Liquid Kitty, where we met up with Kevin and Crystal. It was really good to catch up with everyone :)

Woke up feeling somewhat sore (I guess I overdid the running yesterday morning). I went to Trader Joe's with my uncle and picked up some things. We had Mexican food for lunch - Huarache Azteca. It was my frist time having huaraches, which were good, but mine was a little soggy. It was good, though. We then stopped by the post office, then went to Chase (which has moved locations! Now it's in the former Blockbuster location). Then we went to Target, where I bought an aux cable for the car. Finally, music from my ipod. Then, we decided to go hiking for a little bit in Griffith Park! So I drove us to the Observatory and we walked for a few minutes along the Mt Hollywood trail. The ground was still slightly soggy, and there were hazy clouds obstructing much of the view, but the sun was pushing through. Dinner was at Gangnam Style in Koreatown! First, I met Leslie, right when she got off work near downtown. I drove her to a cafe in K-town, where I had a mocha latte, and we caught up and had an instagram battle. Then we went to dinner. I parked 3 blocks away. Matt was already there. Priscilla soon arrived, and after a few minutes, there was Michelle! They played "Gangnam Style" every 10 minutes or so! It was hilarious. We ordered soju and a mix of plates. After dinner, we went to another cafe (because the froyo place was closed). Misugaru was had. Fun times!!! I slept well.

The jet lag was strong: Even though I didn't fall asleep until midnight, I woke up at 5:30am sharp and couldn't fall back asleep. My mom also was up (she's usually a very early riser) and thus, I joined her for an early morning walk/jog around Silver Lake. I completed 2 laps (4.4 miles in all) around the lake. Returned home, showered, and we all went to St. Bernard's, which felt weird. There were some family friends around, who were all very happy to see me again and were extremely jealous of my life in London. We all ended up going to Thai BBQ for lunch. Yum. There, we ran into another family friend (Max). I introduced them to drunken noodles! I didn't have much to do, so I replied to a post on Couchsurfing looking for people to hang out with. I called up Matthew, and we went shopping in Glendale (more like, I went shopping and he came with). I bought two sweaters from Express (they were on sale); we walked around the Galleria and Americana, and we coincidentally bumped into my friend Justin right outside the Coffee Bean!!! Amazing. We caught up for a bit and walked back to the Galleria together. Matt got some food for his mom from the food court. We dropped off the food at Matt's place, then we went to Tommy's for dinner! They changed the menu (added some very In-n-Out looking burgers). Then dropped him off at home (since he had to wake up early for work). In the evening, I met up with David from Sweden (from CS) and we hung out at Denny's before grabbing a drink at Yard House (American bar employees are so annoying, I thought to myself). But it was great. I dropped him off at his hotel (which was just nearby on Main) and headed home (in persistent rain showers)! Around 11:30pm, I knocked out solidly!

I have returned to my homeland - Los Angeles, California! I flew on Saturday, leaving London in the morning. I said good-bye to my friends at home (each still in bed at 8am), and I set off into the frosty morning. I hustled with my luggage to the tube station at Stockwell, and it made me sweaty by the time I jumped on the tube. I changed at Green Park, and relaxed with some music on my ipod as I headed to Heathrow. The city was foggy and covered in a layer of gleaming frost. I arrived at Heathrow and soon checked in my bag and was headed to the gate. I had a hard time connecting to the internet (and importantly, checking in to Foursquare!). The flight was great! Virgin Atlantic - so the service was great. I sat upstairs (in economy class), and there were so few people sitting there with me, that we each got a row of 3 seats all to ourselves! (Also, there was a ledge next to the window, giving me space to put my stuff and to lay my feet down as I slept!) So I got plenty of rest, 2 hours of solid sleep, no sore legs; I got to watch The Dark Knight Rises and read all of Love Life by Ray Kluun. This flight, along with my 2008 flight from London to Singapore, are the best flights I had ever taken! Arriving at LAX was, as usual, a fist-clenching experience. I was one of the first off the flight and through immigration. They asked to scan my bag at customs. It was warm and steamy as I stepped outside. I was almost sweating within a minute. My uncle was there to pick me up, and we were on our way home! My mom was of course happy to see me again. She cooked a little korean bbq, which I only had a little bit of because I had dinner plans! I quickly showered and was out the door to meet my friends (Brian, Marissa, and Michelle R) at Alondra's in Alhambra. It was great to see them again. We ordered too much food, nachos and a buffalo chicken pizza on top of the buffalo fries that we already had. Brian had work, and Marissa had to study, so I spent the rest of the evening catching up with Michelle, walking around (to burn off the food) in the drizzle, then driving to Pasadena where we ended up just having a coffee. I drove home and promptly passed out!