La Jolla Cove and Book Club

It was a beautiful Sunday, as we discussed the latest book our book club read -- Eat, Pray, Love. It was also a celebration of Jessica's birthday but also a goodbye as she leaves for S.F. bay area for her new job. We had a picnic at La Jolla Cove, and these are some pic's.





Sally.


Jessica and Karen, admiring 2 lab puppies.

Alice.

Karen.

Saying good bye to puppies.
Alice and Karen, talking.

Jessica, being our hostess.

Soaking in the view.


Indonesian salad by Jessica.

I forget what it's called but it was really good -- by Sally.

Cake for Jessica.

Along with cupcakes for Jessica.
People digging in.

Seagulls? Geese? No idea but I captured them flying overhead.

Christine.

Michele and Jessica.

The group, by the food table.

Eating away...
My vantage point from my chair... I wasn't about to move.

Cupcakes and cake for Jessica.
Jessica and Alice.

Alice, Michele, and Janine, catching me taking pic in time to pose.

Before digging in for birthday celebration.

Blowing out imaginary candle lights.

Digging into the cupcakes while discussing the book.

Sally and Christine.
The whole gang.

Julie, Sally, and Christine.

Jessica and me.
Jessica, Alice, me, and Julie.

Sunset Cliffs

So I am on this mission to hit all the beaches in San Diego by the end of the summer. I haven't gotten through all of them yet (actually, not even half, I don't think) but I already have a favorite... it's not really a beach area but still gorgeous views of the ocean and cliffs. The region is called Sunset Cliffs, and the houses next to the ocean are also pretty nice to look at too. hee hee.

Here are some pictures.









Well, I have to drive 5-10 minutes to see the above views... but I actually have a nice view from the rooftop of my apartment complex. We get a view of the harbor (not the Pacific Ocean)... I guess it's not bad. It's not bad that I can walk 5 minutes to see the harbor either. Below is a picture from the rooftop of my apartment complex.

$191 Monitor (including tax) from Costco

I've had my Toshiba Satellite laptop since 2004. That means, by computer age, my laptop is pretty obsolete. I have been meaning to check out and buy a new laptop but I wanted to wait until Microsoft Vista's kinks have been all worked out. And I also wanted some time to research on getting a laptop that weighs less than what seems like 10 kzillion pounds.

2 weeks ago, though, I had to change my plans. Every morning around 6, I fire up my laptop. I can't check my personal emails from work so I have got into the habit of checking my emails early in the morning before I go to work. But on June 1, 2007 (demise of your computer leaves an indelible impression), I fired up my laptop... I heard the little hard drive cranking... and NOTHING! Just big fat black screen stared back at me. So I did what any technician would tell me to do whenever you call one up -- I shut down my computer, waited a little bit, and fired up again. The little hard drive cranked itself up... but once again, NOTHING on my screen!! I panicked. How was I supposed to check all my emails? (Yes, more than one email)

I went to work, came back home for lunch, and started calling a few folks listed in the yellow pages under computer repair. Basically, I was told that my LCD is gone and it's not worth fixing it for a computer this old (only 3 years!). For the money it would take to fix the computer, the repair guy said I might as well just go buy a new one.

Well, needless to say, I wondered which computer I should buy that night (literally). Because, really, how can I live without my computer and internet access?? In despair, I called my sister at work, and she came up with a brilliant solution -- buy a new monitor to hook up to my laptop and wait to buy my laptop until later after I've researched.

So after work, I went to Costco to check out their monitors. I purposefully chose Costco because you can return any electronics within 90 days, no questions asked. If the new monitor hook-up didn't work, I wanted to return it. I ended up buying a 19 inch, wide screen, flat panel LCD Viewsonic monitor -- for $169. With California E-WST fee (no idea what that means but I assume it's something to do with recycling) and 7.75% sales tax, I got an awesome 19 inch monitor for $191. It's also supposed to be able to show HD TV and is quite bright.

I hooked it up to my laptop... and it's working brilliantly! I'm not happy I had a sudden unforeseen expense of $200, but I'm stoked I can (1) see everything via bigger monitor and (2) don't have to incur a sudden unforeseen expense of $1,000.

I would take a picture of my laptop sitting under this beautiful monitor, but I think I also need a new digital camera. How come everything goes out of whack at the same time?

Seal at Redondo Beach!

I have been woefully neglectful of my blog because of hectic work schedule I've had to keep, weeknights and weekends. But this weekend, I was in L.A. to celebrate my sister's birthday and my birthday. We went to Redondo Beach for celebration lunch, and we ended up seeing this seal!! I can't take credit for taking the pictures - these were taken by my sister.

No worries, we weren't walking up to the seal. A lifeguard put up cones to protect the seal from curious beach goers. We were sitting at our table in the restaurant (eating lots & lots of crabs), and we had this perfect view of the seal coming out of water for a little nap. And having a camera with a zoom function doesn't hurt. =)

Environmental Steps

I'm not a fanatic environmental activist, but I don't doubt that there is a global warming. At this point, it's probably safe to say most people agree that our society's progress has created impacted our environment.

So, what to do? There are many things we could do, but I wanted to post two things I just read in the news that might not be so obvious. The first has to do with where we live -- our homes. More specifically, the size of our homes. The article chronicled how so many houses are incorporating environmentally friendly features, such as solar panels, glasses to soak in more light, etc. While all these features are great, the biggest hazard we impose upon the environment is basically the size of our house. Bigger the house, more energy it takes up. And bigger the house, more land we take away from other animals. A few years back, when I was visiting Korea, I remember being surprised by how regular apartments/condos in Korea was much smaller than in America. Yet, despite the smaller size, you had all your basics -- space to sleep, eat, gathering space for family. I look at my own apartment, and I realize there are a lot of empty spaces to just walk around...just so I can call my own? It does seem rather wasteful.

The second thing may be a little more obvious. We have all heard it -- drive less. I heard in the news today that there is a national push for everyone to use public transportation at least once a week. The hope is that will reduce our energy consumption by 20%. So, if you drive to work (as most Americans do), the goal is that we take public transportation once a week. For me, I am walking to work now, and besides helping to reduce energy consumption, I love the stress-free commute! =)

Just some things to think about.

Hiking at Iron Mountain (Poway/San Diego County)

Yesterday, I went on a hike with an online social group I found, Meetup.com. It's amazing how internet can bring people to meet in real life, not just online. =) Anyway, the hike was my first Meetup.com event I attended, and I met a few folks (some new to San Diego, like me). Of course, I also enjoyed the view of the Iron Mountain as well. Here are some pictures... but I don't think it does justice to the panoramic view you get from the peak. Isn't that always the case?