Melting in California…

So I’m back in California to attend my brother’s graduation. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately), my visit is only going to last a few days.

The flight from SEA to LGB was rather nice and relaxing on JetBlue. There was plenty of legroom even for the coach and individual LCDs were a plus. The fact this was also one of the cheapest flights I could find makes it even better.

Almost immediately while exiting the plane, I experienced the heatwave. I’ve been drinking ice water non-stop. The high of today was suppose to be around 104F (that’s 40C for you metric folks) and stepping outside of buildings made me feel like melting ice cream. It was like CA sunlight was my kryptonite. Every time sunlight hits me, I would move slower.

Equipped with unlimited ice water, I just might make it. Maybe…

Valerie’s Potluck Dinner Party

Why is it so freaking hot?!?! Last week we were still in the high 60s low 70s. Last night I went to bed at 6:30am and guess what, I woke up at 11am because I was sweating. I guess I can’t really complain:

krunk4ever: it’s so freaking hot
ungsunghero: )(#*%()#*$()*!(#@$*())(!$*!)(!*!!!
ungsunghero: DIE
ungsunghero: NOW
krunk4ever: haha
ungsunghero: it is ONE HUNDRED AND THREE FREAKING DEGREES HERE
krunk4ever: good thing i didnt tell you our temp
ungsunghero: let me guess
ungsunghero: 83?
krunk4ever: close, 82
ungsunghero: DIE
ungsunghero: you are banned from IMing me
krunk4ever: haha
ungsunghero: for the next three minutes

I did my biweekly (that’s every 2 weeks) Costco run today and there was a section where there were fans and air conditioners and that area was crazy! I swear practically every 1 in 3 shopping carts had either a fan or a/c unit. The drink area was crazy too. I guess if Costco had anticipated this heat wave, they wouldn’t have discounted their Snapple and Gatorade. I also picked up so Lipton iced tea and Sobe Orange Carrot Elixir (both were 10 for $10 at QFC). I also picked up some Dibs ice cream since my sister recommended it to me. It wasn’t on sale, but I needed ice cream and those darn bite-size ice cream is awesome!

So back to the main to topic. Valerie had invited us to a potluck dinner party over at her place and I was contemplating to go or not since I had to put a couple more hours at work this weekend. I decided since I had to do my Costco run and do my laundry this weekend, I would try to complete the work on Sunday.

On my way over there, the 520 floating bridge came to a complete halt. Apparently there was some motorcycle accident in front and given that the bridge doesn’t really have shoulder space, a lady came and told use to move as close edge as possible so emergency vehicles can get through. We literally sat around for 15 minutes enjoying the beautiful setting sun and lake. People were taking pictures so I thought why not:

IMG_1184IMG_1185

When I passed the accident, both parties seem to be okay. The guy in the leather suit (I assume is the motorcyclist) was standing there was some young Caucasian guy, which looked very scared (presumably he was the one who crashed into the motorcycle).

I finally get there and there’s tons of delicious stuff! I also met some new friends. Monique made these fried yucca and fried bananas and they were delicious. Valerie also baked some bread which was yummy. There was awesome fried battered corn which was actually really good. Now I have new ideas to try with my deep fryer. I discussed this over with Ungsunghero and here’s a set of new things I might try:

  • yucca
  • banana/plantain
  • taro
  • chicken wings, drumsticks, thighs

After dinner, Stanman got around teaching some people how to play BANG, a card game which is similar to Mafia in some way, but not really. We played several rounds of it and I was surprised how sneaky Anja was on her initial game. I was completely stumped.

Afterwards, Sathana insisted on playing this drinking game called Bitches Bitches (which appears to be a combination of Tap Tap and The F*ck Game). The rhythm was tap tap clap clap. While you’re tapping, you say your assigned name (which could be Bitches Bitches, Fuck Me Fuck Me, On The Table, Doggy Style, etc.), basically a naughty 4 syllable phrase. When you’re clapping, you say anyone else’s name and they have to continue. Whoever breaks the flow or screws up has to drink. It was rather hilarious to watch. I declined to play since I had to drive home and don’t exactly like to drink, but they said I could play with ice tea, but I felt a drinking game isn’t really fun unless you’re drinking (sort of like playing poker for “fun”).

And therefore my night ended there.

Here are some pictures from the photo album:

Explaining Bang's Rules (___, Felix, Anja, Joe, Sathana, Perry)Explaining Bang's Rules (Perry, Sathana, Pita, Philipp)Sathana scooping vanilla ice creamMaking vanilla ice cream with taro balls (Valerie, Sathana)Valerie's vanilla ice cream + taro ballsPlaying Bang (Felix, Anja)Playing Bang (Philipp, Joe)Sticking tongue out (Saran, Pita)Chatting (Carolynn, Monique, Valerie)(Sathana, ___)Felix drinking soda(Perry)