The One-Day Road Trip

For a complete photo album, please visit my Flickr page at http://tr.im/baltimore. Wee Loon’s take can be read here.

On Monday June 29, Wee Loon and I woke up early to begin our 5 to 6 hours drive to the Baltimore and District of Columbia (DC) area. After having the delectable cheesecakes from Cheesecake Factory, we left the apartment at approximately 08:00.

I was delighted to drive a full-size car (Chevrolet Impala — one of my favorites by the way), as to the compact-size vehicle that I initially reserved. When I was picking up the rental car, the receptionist was particularly kind to offer me a two-tier upgrade (i.e. compact to mid-size to full-size) at no cost.

Along Interstate 95 North (by Wee Loon Ong)

We abandoned the initially planned Shenandoah Cavern stop en route. It was too ambitious (time constraint wise) and practically almost impossible to achieve. So the drive was a direct service to Baltimore, MD. The drive provided an opportunity for us to really catch up, since we were busy touring the Carrboro and Chapel Hill area the day before.

Inner harbor of Baltimore (by Wee Loon Ong)

It was half past one when we arrived at Baltimore. The downtown area was overwhelmed with crowds and it was rather a challenging task to look for a parking garage that did not have the Full sign.

Colorful fish in the National Aquarium (by Wee Loon Ong)

After a quick lunch at Chipotle, we bought our admission tickets into the National Aquarium. Overall, the aquarium was okay. I would personally give it a B+. As far as my aquarium experience goes, I think that Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL is the best. They secure a solid A from me. The second best aquarium I have been to is the KLCC Aquaria in Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia. I certainly award them an A-.

A lazy crocodile enjoying the attention it is getting (by Wee Loon Ong)

Back to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. The total experience package (for the admission ticket) includes general admission as well as the penguin dolphin show and a 4D immersion theater admission. As usual, the penguins’ dolphins’ ability to perform acts was impressive, and the 4D show was at times unpredictable especially with all the sense stimulations. Sprays of water were being directed right into our faces when the ocean scene came up and our legs were tickled when the film moved to a rattlesnake take.

Wee Loon and I at the National Aquarium, Baltimore (by Wee Loon Ong)

We decided to adjourned to Washington DC for dinner at about 18:00. We took several pictures outside of the aquarium before leaving. The photo on top was taken at the main entrance of the aquarium, while the one below features a special pedestrian crossing. The crossing has a real pedestrian light and the special pedestrians are jellyfish!

Jellyfish crossing? (by Wee Loon Ong)

On our way to the car park, I stopped by Barnes and Noble to get my Starbucks fix. Jason called from Britain and greeted Wee Loon while I lined up to order my drink.

A collection of tea in Starbucks (by Wee Loon Ong)

By the time we returned the car, had dinner, and checked into Hilton Hotel, we listlessly took a refreshing shower and dived into our dreams on those comfortable beds.

A Treat from Starbucks

Starbucks recently started the 14:00 treat receipt again — If you make a purchase prior to 14:00, present your morning’s receipt and you will be able to get any grande cold drink after 14:00, on the same day, for 2 U.S. Dollars only (not including tax).

Is that not just a lovely deal?

For example, I got myself a Strawberry Banana Vivanno Smoothies this afternoon. Regularly, it costs 3.95 U.S. Dollars. With this morning’s receipt, I only need to pay 2 U.S. Dollars. After factoring my Starbucks Gold 10% discount and North Carolina tax, the total was 1.92 U.S. Dollars.

That’s about a 50% discount!

This offer is going to last (I think) through August 2009.

Starbucks Treat Receipt

Welcoming Wee Loon

For a complete photo album, please visit my Flickr page at http://tr.im/carrboro. Wee Loon’s take can be read here.

Wee Loon, aka Dr Ong, arrived at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) at about 20:00. My roommate kindly drove me to the airport so that I could pick up Wee Loon and get the rental car from the airport.

I waved to Wee Loon as he exited the sterile area. We greeted and hugged; I was so delighted to see him. He was obviously tired after the more-than-20-hours flight to the United States. I guess the 8-hour Malaysia-Australia flight did not seem that bad after all.

We proceeded to luggage carousel to identify a red backpacker’s luggage. After spending several minutes staring at strangers’ bags, Wee Loon told me that his luggage might have not “made it on time.” The time in between the checking-in of his luggage and the pane’s departure was about 30 minutes or so. His luggage should be on the subsequent flight to RDU, which was scheduled to arrived at 23:00. So in between, we headed to P.F. Chang for a light dinner.

The next morning, I took Wee Loon to tour the UNC campus. I would have given a more informative tour had it was University of Michigan campus. Nonetheless, I think I did a decent job. Wee Loon, who had his extremely professional photo-taking device strapped around his neck, was taking pictures from time to time.

The old well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (by Wee Loon Ong)

After we have concluded the brief campus tour, I drove around Chapel Hill and Carrboro. We made a stop at Weaver Street, which is the most happening place in downtown Carrboro. On Sundays, there are performances right in front of Weaver Street Market (a locally operated green groceries store) during brunch hours.

Weaver Street Market at Carrboro (by Wee Loon Ong)

The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Wee Loon and I (by Wee Loon Ong)

I chanced upon a friend Bevin Maultsby from the department too that afternoon.

Bevin Maultsby and I (by Wee Loon Ong)

Then, we went to Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch. We stopped by Apple Store and Target, where at the latter we got ourselves some titbits for our one-day road trip the following morning.

Anticipation

Wee Loon, an old buddy of mine, is scheduled to arrive at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) 4 days from today.

I  look forward to his U.S. visit. I more than happy to host his stay in Carrboro for the first 2 days.

Then, we are going to spend a whole afternoon on a mini road trip from the Research Triangle area to the capital Washington D.C.. We are going to make stops at two tourist destinations en route — namely the Shenandoah Caverns and the National Aquarium. Two full days will be spent in the capital before we part — Wee Loon is going to New York City while I travel back to Carrboro.

I am so excited about our meeting. The last time we saw each other was August 23, 2004, which is almost 5 years ago, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Wee Loon et al sending me off at KLIA on 8-24-2004.

The Demise of A Great Beverage

“I would like to have a grande no whip, extra matcha, half the melon syrup, Green Tea Frappuccino, please.”

That’s my long, customized order that I usually place when I step into a Starbucks café. (I think the barista(s) at the East Franklin St, Chapel Hill café identifies me with this order — one day, I asked my officemate to get me my “fix” from Starbucks and my customized order was too long for him to remember. So I wrote it down on a piece of post-it note so that he could make the order by presenting the note. The barista nodded and told my office mate “Hah, I know this guy!“)

Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino (Image Credit: Haiku Girl's blog).

I distinctly remember that Starbucks introduced this new Tazo green tea flavor into their existing blended crème menu (in North America) in summer 2005. This beverage was supposed to be a seasonal item; right when autumn picked up from the end of summer, Green Tea Frappuccino disappeared from the menu. The barista in Ann Arbor broke this disappointing news to me in fall 2005.

However, the marketing guys in Starbucks figured that the consumers really loved the new beverage. Consequently Green Tea Frappuccino was reintroduced the following summer as a year-long beverage on the menu.

In the end of last year, Starbucks discontinued the production of melon syrup, which is one of the (key) ingredients in this blended crème. Green Tea Frappuccino is basically made of matcha powder (ground green tea leaves) and melon syrup. It is the melon syrup that gives a tinge of melony flavored sweetness to the frappuccino. One of the baristas (whose name is Rachel) who knows me by my name kindly informed me of this, but she told me that I still could have my customized drink as long as the melon syrup has not run out of stock.

For the past several months, I had been able to continue blissfully enjoy my no whip, extra matcha, half the melon syrup, Green Tea Frappuccino.

Last week was the end of an era, at least for me. The barista informed me that they were using their last bottle of melon syrup on Monday, and urged me to savor every single sip of my drink. On Friday, I did get extra matcha for my frappuccino; but this time it was no longer the melon syrup. Classic syrup has replaced melon syrup in the recipe.

Even though this recipe technically has been adhered to since the end of the last year, I was able to stick to my comfy old recipe for additional six months or so.

I took my first sip. My first sip of Green Tea Frappuccino without the melon syrup.  It tasted ordinary. It almost felt like the very hallmark of this beverage has been robbed away, just like that. To me, it’s the death of the fabulous Green Tea Frappuccino. I think I shall revert back to my once top favorite beverage (before summer 2005), that is the classic Mocha Frappuccino.

May you rest in peace, Green Tea Frappuccino with melon syrup!

Bo Obama

Introducing the First Dog of the United States — Bo Obama!

Bo Obama (Image credit: The Official White House Photostream at Flickr)

A complete biography of Bo is available here.

Sunday Dinner

It was a lazy and sunny Sunday. At about 15:00, I biked to downtown Chapel Hill to chill at Starbucks café. I brought my MacBook for Internet surfing. Surprisingly, I managed to get some (math) reading done!

Four hours later, I went back home for dinner. I was not at all in the mood of preparing something proper (read: laziness from the afternoon). I had some leftovers, but in quantity not large enough to be a complete meal (at least for me).

A random thought came to my mind — why not pair the chicken curry (the leftovers) with some creamy scrambled eggs?

The ingredients

I gathered the ingredients that I need for my scrambled eggs — butter, whipping cream, shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, chives, and of course, eggs. First I broke the eggs into a pot. Then I put in a slab of butter (1 tablespoon). On low heat, I began to scramble the eggs and butter with a spatula. From time to time, I repeatedly remove the pot from the heat, continue scrambling the eggs and butter, and placing the pot back on the stove top. At the same time, on a separate frying pan, I greased the surface with some olive oil and cook the sliced tomatoes and shiitake mushroom on low heat. Not much attention was needed for the frying pan.

Then, I seasoned the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. I continued mixing the eggs and added some whipping cream later. After about 8 minutes (or when the mixture in the pot starts to look like scrambled eggs instead of being liquid), I served the eggs on a plate along with the mushrooms and tomatoes, which were cooked by the time the eggs were done.

Sunday dinner

The end result was the unorthodox paring of curry and scrambled eggs — the fusion tasted surprisingly delicious. Please pardon the resolution of the photos as they were taken using my iPhone instead of a camera.

Bon appétit!

My iPhone 3G

The new iPhone 3G S (S for speed) was unveiled at the WWDC (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) last Monday. Looking back, my iPhone 3G is almost one-year old now.

This iPhone is my very first smartphone that I own. I used to think that having a data plan is an extravagant luxury. Today, having Internet access via my phone has become an integral part of my life. I can hardly imagine switching back to a regular phone now.

When I commute to campus on a bus every morning, I grabbed my iPhone from my pocket and start reading the news. If time permits (read: more traffic than usual), I would start launching applications such as Facebook, FML (sometimes I wonder if I enjoy schadenfreude…), Twitterfon (a Twitter client) etc.

Whenever I need to board a bus, I check the estimated arrival time for a specific bus stop online, since all buses have GPS tracking.

When I need to know where exactly I am, I pinpoint myself on a map using the build-in GPS. The same solution comes in handy when I need to locate, say, a Starbucks café.

I also have the most up-to-date weather forecast. And of course I am able to check my mail inbox more frequently. In Starbucks, I receive 2-hour complimentary WiFi access (via AT&T), a privilege that I already enjoy from my Starbucks rewards card.

I am so darn pampered, am I not? Anyway, my old friend Vivian Ooi (Chicago, IL) is going to be an iPhone owner. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome her into the Apple family!

The Moving Drama

During the last week of May, I was busy moving to my new apartment. Six months ago, I had never thought of moving out from my old apartment. The hassle of moving was particularly discouraging. But in the past couple of months, my current new roommate Anna Geyer found a 2-bedroom apartment that is better than my previous 4-bedroom apartment. Plus, I would rather live with a roommate whom I know than 3 new stranger roommates with whom I have to get acquainted. Furthermore, the new kitchen is bigger and more manageable.

On Wednesday, May 27, I rented a Zipcar (a Ford Escape to be exact) so that I could move my stuff in boxes to my new apartment. My colleague Feng Shi kindly agreed to help. My reservation was from Wednesday noon through Thursday noon. Everything was expected to go as planned: I was going to get the SUV at noon, grab a quick and cheap lunch at McDonald’s, pick up Feng, and begin moving boxes and small items.

However, at fifteen past noon, right after I placed my order at McDonald’s, I received a phone call from another colleague of mine. He needed help moving. Being nice, I offered to assist him after having moved my boxes. So I suggested helping him at 19:00 since I expected to be done with my moving by then. He said that would not be possible since he had to move out by then. Being very accommodating for the second time, I suggested 13:00. I thought of just giving him the help he needed first before moving my stuff. I did not like the idea of having to put my moving aside to attend to him in between. Not only my proposal was declined, he further demanded being helped at 13:30. At this point, I thought to myself — Is he not the one who is asking a favor? I have to say that I was not at all familiar with the notion of negotiating whilst needing a favor.

Being a good Samaritan, I decided to derail from my plan and help him. Since he mentioned that 19:00 would not have worked, I gave him the benefit of doubt. I presumed that he had a plan earlier and somehow it got screwed, and that he had to evacuate the building before dusk. I suppressed my frustration. At 14:00, I received a phone call from another friend who moved into my neighborhood before Anna and I did — she said that she was expecting us since noon and saw no one. A few days ago, I asked her to help Feng and I unload my stuff during my moving. I thought that she was going to be in her apartment and I could just let her know when I arrive with boxes. However, that was not the case. She actually made a trip from campus to the neighborhood just to help me out.

I asked a favor from her and I had made her waiting for me for 2 hours. Feeling tremendously bad, I apologized to her again and again. I was being late for fulfilling a demand that derailed me from my original plan.

Don’t you hate it when you plans got screwed for being kind, and that disrupts other parties as well?

It was certainly not a good start.

In the evening, when all of my stuff had been moved and unloaded, I unpacked some of my essentials. It was my first sleep over in my new apartment. I only had a handful of big furniture left in my old apartment — a bookcase, a L-shaped desk, a bed frame, and a mattress — which were taken care of on the subsequent morning when Anna and I rented a U-Haul truck. Though my bedroom was not completely set up, I was not going to complain. I had my air bed with me and a fantastic Internet connection.

Internet Speed Test

Later, I learned that the colleague whom I helped did not have any moving plans until the morning of his moving day. Apparently the thought of planning his moving on the very day of moving did not bother him at all. Plus, Wednesday was not his last day to move out. It was the Saturday of the week. But he had to move out by 16:00 (I think) because he was going to leave the town on the next morning. The housing office would have been closed by 19:00. I was totally speechless. At the same time, I think it was a blessing that I gave him the benefit of doubt on Wednesday. Otherwise I would have been infuriated.

Amazing

What a pleasant surprise!

This is more impressive than the previous 6 Mbps result.