NiCkOoN's Xanga

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:45:18 GMT

BOUND FOR BEIJING!!

woot woot.....we're going to the olymipcs!!! yayyyyy!!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:12:59 GMT

haha....so it's been 3 months since my last post. The last post was done after a 6 month hiatus.....so it looks like I'm making progress =)

Well...anyways....this past weekend...I went to New York City with my friend Michelle cuz we were able to get an awesome deal on plane tickets from Virgin America. But of course.....the hotel costs offset our savings from the plane tickets...but all in all...it was a blast! Lots of fun shopping...sight seeing....and of course eating!!! yumm.....enjoy the pics!

Grand Central Station

This place always amazes me....such a beautiful building....and there's just people everywhere you look, travelling in every possible direction.

haha....I kinda liked this picture....it's a picture of the trees in Bryant Park. Definitely shows you that winter was just there....

The old torch that once adored the Statue of Liberty. If you ask me...i'd say it looks more like a tea pot or better yet, a magic lamp!

Looking up the structure from inside. That circular staircase use to let you access the observation deck in the crown...but now, you can only go up as far as the pedestal.

The security check area. This has to be by far the most elaborate security system I have ever seen anywhere. You first go through the metal detectors before boarding the ferry. Then once you get here, you rent lockers using your fingerprints!...no keys involved. Then after that, you enter another security line where a gloved man hands you a plastic card. Once you're at the head of the line....right before the second set of metal detectors...you hand the card to another gloved man....who scans the card for your fingerprints!! After that, you enter a room where a machine blows puffs of air at you to check your body for bomb making residue. Crazy stuff......

The fortress like perimeter....

Old lady liberty....

...another view...

....and another.

This is the sculpture that once adorned the World Trade Center plaza. It survived....albeit a little mangled....but it's now here at this temporary memorial at Battery Park.

The big hole that was once the World Trade Center....

...Ground Zero is now a big construction site....

View from atop the Rockefeller Center....

Construction picture from the site of the Rockefeller Center...

Rockefeller Center and its awesome ice rink...

the cold cold weather and its bundled up tourists

Ice Skating in Central Park!!

...so fun!

Wall Street....

Michelle and I at the famous Bull on Wall Street. Word has it that if you rub the bull's testicles...your stocks will do well. So yes....of course i rubbed them!

Time Square...

...another picture

Lunch at Lombardi's...

America's first Pizzeria.....it was Yummy!!! MmMmmm....

Our last day...we saw a crap load of NYPD cars lined up all around Grand Central...

...we asked what was going on....

...and they said it was a Counter-terrorism deployment. Whatever that meant....haha. Pretty crazy nonetheless...

Empire State Building on Sunday....before our flight home. It was 16 degrees up there!!! FREEZING....and windy!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:53:07 GMT

wowwee!!

its been what....6 months since i last updated my xanga? crazyyyyy......but yeah, I thought I should update it before my xanga really really dies and ceases to exist.

So anyways, it's been a good 6 months. Been out of school for about 7 and been working for a good nine months now. Wow....time flies. Working life is eh......not too exciting.....not too boring....just a tad bland. Haha....I guess I'll just get use to it eventually.

So back in August, I went on a mini vacation to Thailand and Cambodia and took 3 weeks off of work....!! Boy were they happy to hear about that when I told them....but yeah, here are some pictures from my fun-filled trip. Enjoy!!

The new Bangkok International Airport.....look at them cool escalators....

Outside the airport.....looking at their cool control tower...the world's tallest!!

one of our first meals....in my beloved foodcourt at mbk of course! haha...and look at how we're all wearing yellow!....such loyal tourists!

the usual sightseeing.....royal palace/temple of the emerald buddha

...the roof

Wat Arun/Temple of the Dawn

me at the top of the Temple of Dawn....signing my family's name for good luck

At the Floating Market....too bad it rained that day....had to put my camera in a plastic bag and cut a hole for the lens...haha

yumm....nothing like eating off a boat....

uh......tripping hazard. a big nono in america.....thats just a lawsuit waiting to happen!

Ayuttaya....ancient capital of Thailand....

lil elephant peeking out from behind the yellow robe...

Me in Lampang....at the elephant conservation camp...

....dont wanna get run over by these...

at another temple in Lampang. Had to make an offering since it's suppose to be a bad year for the Ox

...one of my favorite desserts....!! eaten straight out of the bamboo.....using a piece of bamboo u rip off as ur utensil....mmm....yum!

now onto Phuket!

look at the dark ominous clouds in the distance. It rained nonstop.....constant downpour. Monsoon season = bad time to go

haha.....

Did some kayaking/canoeing through the caves. Due to the rain....the water level rose super duper fast. Our guy had to jump out and push us through while others had to ditch their boat and actually swim out. We were lucky to get out unscathed...others actually got their faces scratched!

....close call!!

we stayed at Patong beach in Phuket. Very very touristy and european and westernized. Boy were we happy when we actually found REAL thai food.....

yummmm....pad thai....street food is zeee best!

last meal in bangkok....yummy street food. had to save it for the last day in case we got sick =)

mmmm....yummy and spicy!

Now off to Cambodia....aboard our beautiful little plane for our 45 minute flight that costs $400!!! Siem Reap only has one airport that allows only one airlines to fly in.....talk about a Monopoly!!!

Me and my trusty sidekick in what our own personal mode of transportation complete with driver!

no pavement....no traffic striping....no traffic signals....pretty awesome

full service gas station!! haha.....

chicken anyone?

our driver as seen through his side mirror. Notice how he has to cover his nose while he drives....its that dusty!

what an awesome car/truck!

phew....we made it!

Angkor Wat.....truly amazing and breathtaking. There's nothing like it in the world....

The long corridors...

look at their intricate carvings...

lots and lots of people. It was super duper hot....

Lots of statues looked like this...

Lots of temples in ruins....

super steep stairs...

hmmmm.....

it was more like rock climbing than walking up stairs....pretty scary

Bayon.....known for the faces that are seen all over the temple...

Ta Phrom.....one of the more popular temples since they allowed the trees to grow out of control....

crazy ruins....

more ruins....

...and some more...

Here's one of those crazy trees....

...be careful!

...and the Tomb Raider tree!! look familiar?

hmm...Okay....that's about it I guess. I hope you guys enjoyed the pictures. Let's see how I do at updating my xanga in the near future.....take care everyone!!!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:46:32 GMT

aloha! havent updated in a while......

too busy w/ the vicious cycle that is called the real world. work is tiring...but oh well...i guess ill get use to it. so heres my tribute to my fatty sister who is in rio de janeiro, brazil.....for the Pan American Games for badminton. and heres the good news.....she won gold and bronze! haha...yeah....crazy huh? well.....she sent me some pics....so im just gonna post them here and write about them based on what she told me...haha...

hmm....eating hall?

....this looks like this would be the athletes village...

nike clothes for all the american athletes...

gotta do some sightseeing. heres one of the new seven wonders of the world....

badminton people. isn't it ironic how the USA badminton team is all asian? hehe...

at the opening ceremonies

ooh...lots of people

...haha...hats not very flattering =P

dude with torch

big cauldron

looks kinda cool

fireworks

mi hermana and her funny clothes

her medal

add a gold to USA's medal count!

a pic from getty images...

congrats MAY!!!! woot woot...u did it! woohoo

haha....and on a side note...my cousin just pointed this out to me.....i actually have an associated press photo credit to my name!! woohoo....how awesome is that! my first AP photo credit! haha.....

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:45:00 GMT

Tribute to the Class of 2007!!

Lets start with USC...my adopted school...haha...jk

Kyle Yoshimi Ishii....

so many leis....looks like he has no neck!

Moving onto Berkeley...

graduation at the greek theater....

michelle han and the gang!

me and the grad

me and the grad in front of the campanile

my personal chaffeur

good times....good times

...sitting through the uber exciting graduation

ingaaaa!

Pacifica HS gang!!

....now moving onto ucla....boo

purtyy

the grad

grad with flowers

grad with me

....and now my graduation!

me and peter the anteater

me and the fam minus the sister

engineering buddies.....woot woot!

me and michelleee

me and ishii

me and my bestest buddy in the world

me and the girls

woohoo.....im on top of the world! haha...

thats it folks. 16 years of school and im done! thanks everyone for coming out and for all their love, support, and care! and thanks to my family for always putting up w/ me.....and thanks to all my friends at UCI for giving me a memorable 4 years. you will all be missed!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 16:23:55 GMT

finally back home.....and schools starting up tomorrow.....ahhhhhh....not ready!!!

well, anyways....i just developed the disposable camera i took on the trip....it kinda came out bad...but oh well...haha....here are the pics...

here is the cage ill be in soon.....you can already see the sharks in the water. look how far apart the bars are...

looking down while in the cage. these were right below us. teh first time i jumped into the cage, my feet kinda dangled down there...it was pretty freaky

....oohhhh...shark

....shark fin soup....mmmmmm

...big shark

...big shark eating

...another big shark. a guy on the boat was fishing for some big mackerel. he caught one and was reeling it in and then this shark went and ate it and took the line with it. if you look carefully, you see the line hanging from his mouth

...ahhh....close one

....another close one

.....i just want to reach out and touch it. but then would be suicide

.....crazy sharks

...look, hes smiling

a couple days earlier.... me and my cousin went kayaking in the ocean....here are some pics

weeeeeeee

....soooooo fun

alright...thats it for now. hah....hope u enjoyed them

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 09:26:16 GMT

last update since im going home tomorrow! wow.....cant believe that my last quarter ever will be starting on monday and that i'll be working full time within a couple weeks....eeek....how scary!

well.....the week in hawaii has been a blast. i seriously did pretty much everything possible here in oahu...it was great. i got to do the aloha stadium flea market, golfing, snorkeling, shrimp trucks, matsumotos shaved ice, pearl harbor, diamond head, waikiki beach, and best of all, my shark encounter (with pictures to follow shortly!)....

here are some pictures from today which included pearl harbor and hiking up to diamond head...

the view from the visitor center looking towards the USS Missourri and the USS Arizona Memorial Site...

....a living legend. a pearl harbor survivor.

the USS Missourri

the USS Arizona Memorial

looking at the memorial dock and the sunken ship which still leaks oil to this day...

...the oil slicks that can be seen on the water. it is said that the ship is still "grieving/crying" for the 1,177 lost lives

...the flag flying over the memorial

...looking towards the USS Missourri and the other docks where the other ships were located. the buoy out there marks the back of the ship

...the memorial site. very moving and emotional.

next stop was diamond head

had to hike through dirt paths and super uneven trails...

...had to hike through crazy tunnels...

...and very very narrow stairs...

..but the view was definitely worth all the tiring and sun burning trek...

...waikiki beach from diamond head

...survey monument from atop diamond head.

haha...on a side note....i noticed that people here in hawaii lead a very relaxed/calm life. since theyre so relaxed, they move at a pretty slow pace....haha....for example.....cars are super duper slow here on the freeways. some major streets even have limits of 25mph....which is pretty slow for major arterials.

heres a speed limit sign for the H1....which is the main highway in Oahu. Noticed how the limit is 50mph! and i bet they had to post a minimum speed limit too since people probably drove even slower...haha

.....haha....and my personal favorite.....

...only in hawaii would u find a blue stop sign.

alright...hope u enjoyed the pics. ill post my shark pics when i develop the disposable camera...

Friday, March 30, 2007

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:41:56 GMT

update numero dos from hawaii!!!
so here goes....

waikiki beach.....very crowded and touristy, nothing like the serene calmness of ko olina where i'm staying

lifeguard's surfboard...

golf time!

...where else can you get a golf cart w/ a gps unit in it!

....ahh.....so purty

pictures in and around our resort

....so relaxing

....so clear

....ooohhh...palm tree!

do the doggie paddlel!

on the way to north shore! u can already seem their infamous waves breaking

the north shore's infamous shrimp trucks

....they DO have thai food in hawaii! it truly is heaven here...

...one of very few pics ull ever see of me since im always behind the camera. here i am at giovanni's shrimp truck....

...the menu. it was deliciousssss

...people who come here leave their marks...

....every possible spot is covered with writing

...of course, i had to leave mine. the truck was all taken up, so i wrote on the picnic tables!

next was matsumoto's shaved ice. its considered THE best shaved ice place in hawaii.....and the line says it all.

and here is the sole reason why i came to the north shore. see that cage? i'm going to be in it, surrounded by sharks....stay tuned for the next update...ill post my underwater pics then! hah...it was awesome....!!!!!!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:55:34 GMT

quarters finally over....and theres only one more to go......how scary, how exciting, how crazy! haha....so yeah....a lot has been going on the past couple of weeks....lots of crap going on at school and at work...and the biggest news of all is that i finally got a job! ahhhhhh...how scary and nerve racking. but yeah.....ill be working through school until i graduate, so i'll see how i can handle that....hopefully it wont be too bad. i guess i won't really be having a summer anymore since i'll be working full time....eeeek! so yeah.....this spring break is basically my last fling before my life is over....so luckily i got to go to hawaii w/ my cousin and her family! wooohoo....its so fun. weather has been great and this place is like paradise.....its so beautiful....but anyways....here are some pics for now..enjoy!

view from the lobby

...open air lobby. its pretty darn awesome

view from my room....and u can see the pool and our private cove

our private cove

...another view....

...and another...i actually saw fish in here too....pretty awesome

look how the water is just as blue as the sky....if not even bluer....

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 04:57:37 GMT

holy crapppp

its been like forever since i've written in this thing. well...lets see.....quarter is half over....got 1.5 quarters left to go before i graduate! job hunt has now begun....and im not enjoying it. as much as i hate school...i think id rather stay in school then work for the rest of my life. well...anyways.....went up north this past president's weekend and had loads of fun......it was awesome. hung out w/ my wonderful hs friends and it was a blast as always....here are some pics from my trip to monterey and napa! enjoy!

started off the trip in monterey....which was packed beyond belief since it was a long weekend. oh well. look at all them seals!

...saw teh sun fish....it doesnt look big here...but it was actually 6' x 6' and was over 600lbs! its by far the ugliest animal ever too!

me and michelle in our clam shell!

me, inga....and hairy otter! haha.....

went to the thai temple in berkeley the next day for some yummy thai food!

...lots of peoples...

...lots and lots of people.

ate myself to death

next day, we went to napa valley...

...yay...we made it!

first stop was st. clement

...looked awesome!

....me and michelle!

the place was awesome...very relaxing, especially on that swinging chair thingy!

me and jamie and our background that looks fake..

..me, michelle....and our long legs

...one too many drinks. okay....it actually wasnt ours...

our last pic at st. clement..

afterwards, we drove and stopped in this random field to take pictures. heres me and michelle...!

me and inga!

ME!! haha....the background looks like it was photoshopped in or something...

the three of us!

next stop....v. sattui!

....cheese anyone?

awesome setting

cheers!

cool building....

next stop....merryvale!

group pic!

the wine cellar thingy....

...and last but not least.....our wonderful dinner...it was yummyyyy