Day One
Saturday April 30, 2011
We took a look around the area we're staying and we visited the supermarket and the local Walgreens. Oh man, the confectionary aisle is full of magic like the Haribo gummi bears (I still have yet to find a kilogram bag of those) and peanut butter M&Ms and other delicious things that are hard to find in New Zealand. You've got such a huge brand selection here in the US, it can be a bit overwhelming.
For lunch, we went to the pancake house (not IHOP) across the road. I loved the food. I had two pancakes with grilled bacon and two "over-easy" eggs (I hadn't heard that expression before). Jimmy ordered this gigantic vegetarian omelette that he struggled to finish, so I ended up taking one of his pancakes too. Omg it's soooo goood.
We took a Caltrain to Burlingame and successfully located the offices where we will be working (the real purpose of this trip) and met with some of the people there, just as they were heading out for Happy Hour at this Brazilian steak restaurant a few minutes away, so we joined them for that. As my lead programmer had warned us, the drinks here are much, much stronger than what we are served in New Zealand, so that means I had to be careful and pace myself to prevent becoming completely hammered off my face.
We didn't stay for too long because the four of us were a bit tired from the long day, so we ended up back at the restaurant by the apartments, just chilling and drinking. I got some spicy chicken wings which were actually decently spicy (the food here is really impressing me) and it wasn't until midnight that I passed out on my bed.
Whoohoo! Day two, here I come.
Posted by Jeremy at 5:30pm on Saturday April 30, 2011 :: 1 comment :: 
San Francisco
Friday April 29, 2011
I'm writing this on the company's Netbook from San Francisco airport. It's been a lengthy 12 hours on a plane over the Pacific Ocean, but I am finally here, safe and sound, in the United States of America. YAY! More blog posts to follow in the coming days.
Also it's Friday again. I'm excited.
Posted by Jeremy at 6:37pm on Friday April 29, 2011 :: 4 comments ::
Easter
Tuesday April 26, 2011
It's always good when I go back up to Auckland to catch up with friends and family, and certainly Easter this year was no exception. The weather was warmer than Wellington, albeit a bit wet, but that didn't stop any of plans. Thursday night was spent at Momo's, naturally, and all of Friday I was helping my father build a deck. We made some pretty good progress - the remainder that we didn't finish required the use of a jig saw that we didn't have at the time.
On Saturday, I met up with Wellington-related people for yum cha: Jordan (current workmate), Bryce and Vaughan (ex workmates), Will (workmate's brother), Charlotte (flatmate), Jono (flatmate's boyfriend) and Mel (flatmate's boyfriend's ex-flatmate). The restaurant was extremely busy but we were finally seated at 12.50pm where we proceeded to enjoy a plethora of prawn and pork dishes. Excellent!
The Sidhe guys relocated to the Cock and Bull after lunch for a few drinks, until I left to return home via two bus routes. It surprised me that the Link bus now costs $1.80! I remember the good old days when it was $1. I met up with my CompSci friends at Sri Mahkota for dinner, and Movenpick in Newmarket for dessert.
On Easter Sunday, I was at KCC catching up with the old youth group and various other people, before heading to Wing Wahs for another yum cha, then Yifans and MCC in town for some gaming. DotA... so good. Sunday night was family dinner night, so I got to spend some time with my adorable three month old nephew.
Monday was pretty wet. I met Mat for a bromantic lunch in quite possibly the most inappropriate suburb for two males to socialise in - Ponsonby - and we made plans to meet up with Peter, visiting from Canada, that evening. I wanted to take them to KK but unfortunately that was closed so we ended up dining at the Thai restaurant across the road. We stopped by Ollies on the way to the airport, and then just like that, my four day escapade was over.
It's a busy time for me. Only three more days...
Posted by Jeremy at 9:35am on Tuesday April 26, 2011 :: 0 comments ::
The Secret to Good Tom Yum Soup
Saturday April 9, 2011
Limes. Fresh lime juice. Adds that little bit of sweet and sour flavour to the soup... delicious! Before Dave left for Australia, we took him up to the Wairarapa for a bit of a tour, and on the way back we stopped by this fruit and vegetable place where I bought some huge capsicums, some lemons and some limes. While the capsicums are almost gone, I still have plenty of lemons and limes. I made lemon chicken one day, and apart from burning the chicken a little bit, it was really good. Yay for expanding my cooking horizons!
Been for karaoke twice in the past week. I "blame" Petey (King Pededede as his friends call him, his birthday was last week) and Owen. It's good fun, although I usually end up with no voice afterwards. Also, apparently Lift and Soju is a good combination, but I'm still ambivalent on that one.
Last week, I met up with the guys from the Tongariro Crossing to play some board games. We played a game of "Power Grid", where you're a power plant owner trying to supply Germany with power fueled from rubbish, coal, oil, uranium or environmentally-friendly sources. The game is interesting because the person in the best position will get the last turn to buy resources and build buildings, although this didn't seem to faze Jono, who pretty much steamrolled his way to victory.
After consuming a Burger Wisconsin burger and several greasily delicious sides, we wound down the night with a few games of Dominion. Next time, I think we're going to try Agricola or Puerto Rico. Looking forward to it!
Posted by Jeremy at 8:42am on Saturday April 9, 2011 :: 1 comment ::