Leaving on a Southwest Plane.

Yup, its less than 12 hours to my flight to LA and i am packing my bag for the trip. For those not in the know, this is the first leg of my 2006 Tibet Discovery Journey!! haha super lame name. My itinerary looks something like this:


12 July to 14 July Visit to Zhaorong and Fred's place in LA
14 July Flight to Hongkong thru Japan
15 July to 17 July Stay Hongkong
17 July Shenzhen
17 July to 18 July Chengdu (Meet Benjamin Yeo!)
19 July to 22 July JiuZhaiGou and Huang Long
23 July to 25 July Lhasa, Tibet
26 July to 29 July Namsto Lake, Tibet
30 July to 5 August Hitchhike/Local Bus/Hike journey towards Everest Base Camp, on the way will pass Shigatse, Gyantse, Lhatse, Rongpu Monastery
6 August Everest Base Camp
7 August to 10 August Return to Lhasa
11 August to 13August Yangshuo
14 August Shenzhen
15 August Flight back to LAX


Its 2.15 a.m. and i am packing while writing this entry, so its sort of like a checklist for me personally

Equipment check



One pair of jeans
One shirt good enough for chionging
Two Berms
Two comfortable shorts
One Swimming shorts
One sleeping Singlet
One Sleeping Shirt
Four Daily wear Shirts
One Long Sleeve Sweater
One Water Proof Jacket
8 Sets of undergarments
4 pairs of Socks
Pair of Boots
Pair of Sandals
One Towel
Toiletries
Gifts for Tibetian Children
Passport, Visa, Travel Insurance
Money Belt
Torch Light
Water Proof Container with Match Sticks
Water Bottle
Sunglasses
Cellphone
Mp3 Player
ThumbDrive
4 sets of AA rechargable Battery
1 set of AAA rechargable Battery
Travel Battery Charger
Canon A620 Digital Camera (not brining the box la, i holding the camera how to put there?)
SD cards- 2 Gig, 1 Gig, 256 Mb

For practical purposes i even named the different sets of batteries so as to not mix the used ones from the newly charged ones!



After all that is said and done, everything is squeezed into my bag. It looks big but actually i have my boots and a big jacket in there, take that out the centre compartment is almost empty. hehe quite happy with my packing. Also i decided to name my bag 'Spartacus'!! haha its 4.21 in the morning and i think my lameness is reaching its max.



To tip the lameness index over the scales i even put on Spartacus, my little green bag, my sunglasses complete with my thumbs up side profile to pose a farewell shot. damn.. i think this one goes down in my acts of lameness hall of fame.




Alright guys, wish me luck. Will be back in about a month... i hope... hahaha.

Cheers,
Monster Tang

Jason Mraz

short post about the concert. Low on words and large on media! Good right? hah more like i lazy.



The concert was actually held in a golf course so its that gathering you see in the distance, its early so there aren't much people yet.


This my attempt at a wide angle shot.



My running commentary on the concert grounds.



Can someone tell me what song this is, heard before.. but can't remember the title leh... he is one of Jason Mraz's opening acts.



Super Long video on his famous song, you and i!



another nice song, Sleep all day.



His voice was really good, sound exactly the same as on MP3. Too bad it was a very short set as it started raining one hour into the set. Fortunately, the rain eased off just a few minutes later for the 4th of July Fireworks. Personally i liked the fireworks at Marina South for NDP 2005, but then thats just me.

Cancer Birthdays

I am leaving for LAX in a couple of hours so have to get all these posts up before then!

It seems like a lot of my Tucson friend's birthdays are around my birthday, so i'll keep it short and simple. My birthday, Yui's birthday and Upal + Ojjal's birthday (they are twins), in that order.


My birthday!

Dinner at the PF Chang's the Americanised chinese food, it wasn't as bad as i thought. Could pass off for a average chinese meal.



Then homewards to find the gold under the rainbow.



Mark.. who turned quite red later.. not that he is drunk.. its just the Asian thing.. we have good blood circulation! and Srini had to give him a nickname for that.. haha i will not disclose it for privacy issues..... did i hear someone say pinky boy?



Upal and i, ah my roommate. SO nice of him. Guess what he got me for my birthday? The brown shirt i am wearing in the above picture AND a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label! haha



Srini, Ojjal and i!




Yui's Birthday

Went to Golden Phoenix for dinner, it was sort of the last time Carol, Mark, Louanne, Yui and I would eat dinner together. because everyone is leaving, Carol is in LA... Louanne is leaving for Singapore or New York, Mark is probably leaving soon for his eventual job and i am leaving tomorrow. hai.. end of an era.



Anyway, we went to his place afterwards and this is his dog or Maki's dog.. bebe.. so cute!! haha and yes Yui like to disturb the dog and he is pinching his 'you know what'.. hahhaa



Final family picture~~~




Upal + Ojjal Birthday

Another round of drinks... and Mark wonders... "damn!"



damn i was holding two glasses at once... no wonder it was a bad morning the next day..



Ah Srini, haha he is quite the guy. Always has stories to tell and immensely entertaining most of the time.



Us being entertained..



After that night of alcohol and looking thru my pictures... a though came to my mind. You know how alcohol has a very interesting effect on different people. Different individuals behave differently after consume alcohol. You see before alcohol, everyone is so normal, smiling and properly posing for pictures.





Then after the Alcohol kicks in,



















Some people become extremely happy ...



Some people become more relaxed...



Others become so relaxed that they fall asleep.



some become lovely-dovely... (on a side note, becky... what are you reaching for?... sniggers)



For some alcohol has little or no effect on them, well its actually more of self control.



then there are others that have impaired visual perception



some start thinking they are in the sixties...



Then of course, there are the ones that just go crazy. hhaaha. Juz joking Srini.




Ah the joy that is alcohol. (only for aged 18 and above!!)

Me want FOOD!

Got this off Jungee's blog. hhmm.. quite true man except i dun really have the sweet tooth. More like "Me want PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS WITH MANGO SALSA"

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Mahathir chu power again

Wah lau! What is this guy up to again, losing popularity izzit?

"MIGs are given, are sold to us without any condition, if you feel like bombing Singapore, for example, the Russians are not going to object"

Disgusting Business Practices

Is this how the consumer spending model is propagated?