Perfect endings...

One of the temps at my office gave me a card as it was her last day at the office and it came with a really meaningful quote.

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next."

--Gilda Radner

Perfect endings are hard to come by in this world.

Seems like yesterday I was singing this song in JC with my friends and now I'm 25

"Graduation (Friends Forever)"

And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you
And then we got real blue
Stay at home talking on the telephone
We would get so excited and we'd get so scared
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels

As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come Whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever

So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels

La, la, la, la:
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la:
We will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

Day 27 & 28 All Good Things Must Come to an End

Day 27 - Bought all the stuff people requested from Union Square and went back to wait for Louis to come back from his training before finally going for Mexican food! Yeah!

Celebrating my departure.

Day 28 - Frantic morning spent packing. Time to leave for the airport! Time is now 11.35am. Will resume work in 3 days time. 1 day spent in the air. Sigh. Back to reality, folks.

I will miss this country and its people but all good things must come to an end. Bad things too, actually.

Day 25 & 26 Final days

Day 25 - Spent the entire day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. I really enjoyed myself because the rides were not as scary as the ones at Knott's Berry Farm where we went to last year in LA but Louis was pretty bored because the thrills were not death-defying. As for me, I loved every moment I was being thrown around in the air and alternatively laughing and screaming like a crazy woman. The queues were alright since it was a Monday and not a weekend. Oh! And I finally had my funnel cake! Yummy!

This was the scariest ride - the wooden roller coaster. Wanted to take again at the end but it was getting late and Louis' housemate was waiting for us. She came with us but had plans to meet her co-worker for that day.

This ride is called Medusa. Longest wait but totally worth it.

Boomerang! We took this twice consecutively because the queue was short. Harharhar...super exciting!

Ok...time for a break because Louis was feeling nauseous with all the spinning.

Funnel cake! I waited for a year to taste this delectable delight! Awesome!

Was too full to have dinner after the funnel cake so Jingyan (Louis' housemate, yes, a girl) and I watched Louis eat some chicken from Boston Market. Kenny Roger's is much better.

Anyhow, I finally got the Lipsmackers that everyone wants from Target and the day ended.

Day 26 - Packed my bags abit before heading to Stanford for lunch with Louis' friend, Lewis Hong, at Cheesecake Factory before exploring the campus grounds.

Every time I take photos of food, they're always half-eaten. So hungry that I usually forget to take before it's half gone. Harharhar...the cheesecakes are really good but we were so full from the lunch special that was supposedly a smaller portion than the regular menu that we couldn't finish them. Pity.

Now the tour of Stanford. It has a very different feel from UC Berkeley. Overall, it has a more sombre and scholarly atmosphere with beautiful architecture. It has history and therefore, character. Heh...

This is a view from the Hoover tower, named for one of the U.S. Presidents, Herbert Hoover. Must pay to ride the elevator up.

Alot of the students ride bikes to get around the campus.

There's a church on campus. It's beautiful. The stained-glass windows were mesmerising.

If I ever have kids, I hope to provide them with the option of studying abroad. NUS is truly not that bad, but the architecture is so bland. Aargh.

Had to get an extra luggage because I think I have to help Louis bring his stuff back so went to a Ross that was near Dinah's place since we were having dinner there. Bought many bags. Harharhar...I love bags!

My last dinner at Dinah's house for this vacation. I'm gonna miss them. =(

Met up there with Jeffrey, Wendy, Clairie and Shyann as well. Hohoho...for once, I'm not the oldest. I feel so old nowadays! The Saturday service crowd just keeps getting younger. Boo...

We ended the night by laughing at Dinah's collection of old photos. I'm so glad there were none of me because I was a fat kid! Harharhar...add that to the fact that I will never be photogenic and you can guess how relieved I was. Oh, Darren took the above photo. Good, right?

All of us have changed in one way or another and it's obvious that God has brought us through the different seasons. Change may be difficult but look how far we have come! People from Faith A/G together again. =]

God is good. All the time.

Day 21 - 24 Last weekend in SF

Day 21 - relatively uneventful since Louis had to work and I needed to conserve my financial resources. Had lunch at a Thai cafe named 'White Elephant' and headed to Serramonte to look for a luggage at Ross. Couldn't decide on one so Louis dropped me off at the Millbrae library where I spent time reading the latest issues of Time and Newsweek. The library is cool. The magazines are all up to date, not like those you find in Singapore. All outdated. Bleah. Borrowed a few DVDs to watch back at the house and while away the time till Vera came to fetch me for dinner. I don't have any photos of this day. I can't remember why. Anyway, after dinner at Shabuway located in San Mateo (very Japanese place!), I went to Vera's house and we completed the Wii shooting game that we had started last week. I feel extremely accomplished!!

Day 22 - Louis is off for the weekend and he brought me to the best bakery in San Francisco - Tartine, located at the intersection of Guerrero and 18th Street. The food was DIVINE. FABULOUS. SUPERB.

The cafe doesn't need to put up its name for the queues to form and according to Louis, the queues go out of the shop on weekends.

We ordered Lemon Meringue, Bacon Quiche, Spicy Turkey sandwich, an eclair and a glass of iced coffee. All were absolutely delicious! Too bad we don't have such places in Singapore. Sigh.

After lunch, we went to the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge Park. The vast spaces of verdant gardens were spectacular.

This is a satellite photo of San Francisco and we saw this at a tower from De Young Museum located in the park. It offered views of the surrounding gardens.

Enough of greenery, we headed to Sutro Bath where there was a cave that Louis wanted to show me. You can see it at the far end of the photo below.

They are actually the ruins of a public bath but was destroyed by the Great Earthquake in 1906. This is according to wikipedia.

My hair is always in a mess these days because the winds are so strong!

And this is the view at the end of the cave. Words cannot describe how scenic it is. It's like a National Geographic moment.

It was getting pretty late by then and Louis had a dinner with his colleagues to go to so he dropped me off at Stonestown Shopping Mall where I waited from 5.30pm - 9.30pm before he remembered to come fetch me. I was freezing and taking refuge in Borders where the books transported me to a tropical climate.

Day 23 - Started the day off pretty early because I wanted to go to a Farmers' Market. Went to the first one set up in SF at Alemany Blvd. We bought peaches (very sweet!), cheeries (very cheap!), oranges (sweet and cheap!) and a bottle of Eucalyptus honey. I don't know why the honey. Louis just wanted it for fun.

Anyway, we wanted to go to Pt. Reyes for some hiking so we stopped to buy buffalo wings on the way and ate in the car.

We ended up walking more than hiking because the hiking trails were not as scenic as the walking trails and would take up far too much time.

Another National Geographic moment.

I loved the feeling of walking and enjoying nature around me without any hurry. No need to compete, no need to rush to another appointment. Just stroll along, breathe in, smile at the birds and pray that snakes would stay away. Perfect.

Oh...there were seals resting at the sheltered bays along one of the walking trails. They were so close that we could almost touch them but cannot lah! What if they bite us???

Day 24 - Went to Cornerstone church for service. It was about a life worth giving. The sermon was preached by Ps Terry Brisbane, the senior pastor. He makes stories come alive. Very inspiring. And they have cool powerpoint slides. Heh...

Had bought tickets to visit Alcatraz the previous night so we grabbed clam chowder from Pier 39 for lunch before walking over to Pier 33 to take the Ferry to The Rock.

It was a really fascinating experience and the audio tour of the main prison cells was very comprehensive and interesting.

After that, Louis and I took the famed cable car to Union Square for some quick shopping as the stores close at 7pm. Had dinner at another Thai cafe that served cheap and good food. Then took the cable car back to a place near Fisherman's Wharf where he had parked and finally got back, out of the chilly wind.