Northern Central Railroad Trail (NCRR)

On last Saturday, Fero and I went to The Northern Central Railroad Trail where we walked for more than 8 miles (13 km). Along the trail, I spotted 'a' black snake sun basking on a branch and Fero was interested to find out if it was actually one. He commented that it was too long to be a single snake. Being short-sighted and phobic of reptiles, I nudged him to move on but he stood there. Finally, he saw two heads where the snake was actually two snakes entwined together.

This trail actually leads to the boundary of Maryland and its northern neighbor state, Pennsylvania. From the start to the boundary, it extends 20 miles (32 km). Along the trail, you can see many people running, walking, cycling or even horse riding. Fishing and river tubing are also available. I am interested to try out river tubing when the water gets warmer. Now, it is still cold! My second intention is to reach Pennsylvania by bicycle. But first, I need to ride on a bicycle again to condition my bottom since I know I will have a split bottom from such an extensive distance without proper conditioning.

Thereafter, we proceeded to Hunt Valley Mall where we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. I ordered an appetizer called Singapore Shrimp Roll to find out what it was. It tasted like the Vietnamese spring roll where the ingredients (shrimp, lettuce, carrot, vermicelli etc) are wrapped by rice paper and dipped in some kind of sauce.

I am going to make this dish but first, I need to do some background research on it by going to a Vietnamese restaurant and surfing the net.

Disappointed by result of American Idol's top 2

Season 6 is full of twist and turn. Most of my predictions for who will go home is true. But the result for the finale is disappointing. Melinda Doolittle was kicked out instead of Blake Lewis though she was, as Simon said, consistent in delivering her performances throughout the competition.

Well, with her talent, I believe she can cut an album and sell records. You go WOMAN, Melinda!

Feeling out of touch with the world

I find myself clueless about what is happening around the world since I do not read newspaper here. Most of the news are local (in Baltimore) or within the boundary of USA. News that are coming out of USA will be those in Iraq because US troops are there.

I did tell myself to read news from the internet to keep abreast but most of the time I am just lazy. Luckily, this afternoon, I read an article about the Singapore government giving out cash to help Singaporeans offset the impending 2% GST raise in July from 5%. All I had to do was to register at the GST Offset Package website, www.gstoffset.gov.sg.

Hope that the news stations in USA can do a better job in informing its citizens rather than being so oblivious to the world.

Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid Jn 14:27

From time to time, you often need to hear words of encouragement. I got mine at church today.

During sermon, Father Joe recounted at the special Olympic Games in Seattle where nine contestants were lined up to run the 50 yards. When the start was flagged off, eight ran but one tumbled a few times and he cried from a scraped knee. The eight who were in front, heard the cry and all eight went back towards the starting line, comforted him and together, all nine crossed the finishing line to thundering applause from the spectators.

These nine special athletics had shown what true winning is compared to our notion of winning from what we were taught since childhood.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27

A great website for Men's haircut

I chanced upon this website, Haircuts for men while 'googling' for a picture to show to a barber for the haircut (crew cut) I wanted. So far, they had not given me the cut I desired for I still found it too long. I like a fuss free and ready-to-go crop.

I was amazed by the different hair styles you can carry on your head (short, medium and long) plus styles for thinning and curly hair (this applies to me when my hair is long). This site also advices on which cut is suitable for the various face shapes. Scalp and hair care, shaving advice and beard care, you name it, you got it.

There is even a message board for 'live' interaction. I do recommend this website for those who are clueless about men's haircuts and hair care.

A midweek celebration for Dijana's arrival

This feast was arranged by Vladimir in honor of his newly wedded bride, Dijana who joined him two months ago.

The initial plan was to celebrate at Tom's home but the venue was changed to the lab at the eleventh hour due to 'imminent bad weather'.

Everyone in the lab chipped in at least one dish and we got ourselves a wide spread of food (the food multiplied when we shared). There were sushi, Zha Jiang noodle, rotisserie chicken, salad, beef stew (mine), apple pie, cakes and Serbian dishes (which I did not get the names). Dijana's dishes were pleasing to the eyes and delicious for the palate. I must ask her for the banana wrap and tuna-egg roll recipes.

We had so much left over that we consumed them for lunch today. I took 15 pictures for this event and only three had people in it. The rest were displayed here. My focus was on the food as I was hungry. Hope you do not salivate from seeing.

Les Misérable

Surrounded by people, yet I felt alone.
Life was going well, yet I felt frustrated.

To see the source, I reflected inwardly.
Longing for home, broken relationships faded by distance and time.

My heart yearned for the good old times,
When I lived with loved ones close by.

Alas, time runs ahead, never turning back.
Leaving me to cherish sweet memories of my good old times.

Awaiting for my goodies from Singapore

Recently, my sister, Donna came over to USA on a business trip for one week. The world is getting smaller when a nursery principal has to travel half the world. I did not met up with her since she was flying to three places within a week. Most of her time was spent waiting at airports.

Anyway, she became the courier for me to get some of the food that I could not find here e.g. the chicken rice paste, some type of fungus for 'cooling' the body and rock sugar.

My neck is stretched long from waiting for the parcel since she sent it on last Wednesday by DHL from Michigan.

Running against time!

In the blink of an eye, five months of 2007 have gone by and I have not fulfilled one of my resolution to visit as many states as possible.

Many factors are hindering me. First and foremost, my experiments have just started and many things need to be worked out. I also need to familiarize new experimental techniques.

Second, the weather is just starting to warm up.

Third, money for travelling.

Acting like a tour guide at DC

Eduardo and family, Kuen OK and I met around 7am on April 22, 2007 (Sunday) to head towards DC to get the White House Garden Tour tickets, which would be distributed at 8am on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Instead of driving all the way to DC, we tried out the route suggested by BJ since parking would be a problem at DC. We drove along I-95 south to the New Carrollton Metro Station and took the subway to DC.

Since I had taken the metro before, I had to lead them regarding which line to take and at which station to alight. After collecting the tickets from the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, we decided to go to the National Zoo by metro again. You can say that we used the metro a lot for that day where we got ourselves day passes ($6.50).

At the zoo, I saw three panda bears face to face for the first time (instead of on the tv). Surprisingly, they had brownish fur instead of white (wonder why). Most of the exhibits were empty with placards apologizing that they were under construction. Friends who had visited the zoo a few years ago commented that the placards were also there then. After covering half the attractions, we were hungry and had picnic at a resting place where I supplied macaroons, Snickers and Chocolate Chip-A-hoy cookies. Kuen OK prepared the most with sushi, noodle and cucumber kimchi.

After filling our tummies, we toured a bit more before heading back to the White House. As food was not allowed on the tour, Eduardo and Greta decided that they would wait for us with the leftover food at the Washington Monument.

There was a sea of people visiting the White House that day. However, we could only walked on the bitumen road and not even on the lawn. Needless to say, entry into any building was prohibited! At least Eduardo and Greta did not missed much since they could see the building from the fence too.

After our tour, Kuen OK and I met up at the meeting point with Eduardo and his family. Since they had not been to the Lincoln Memorial, I suggested to go in that direction. We rested on the Reflection Pool where Mathias tried to jump in. Luckily, I was holding on to him else he would be drenched. I had a good laugh because he was so spontaneous. Coming to two-year old on May 26, he would not know what is danger.

From Lincoln Memorial, we proceeded to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson Memorials along the Tidal Basin. There, I posed with the brass sculptures, waiting in-line. By the time we reached Jefferson Memorial, we were tired after so much walking and tanned from the relentless sun.

Link to my pictures on that day. Below is a portrait of a soldier engraved onto a marble wall at the Korean War Memorial.

Call me, "Tanned Tan."

After three long months of cold harsh winter, I now understand why people living in the temperate countries love the sun.

From a tropical country perspective, you would not see locals sun bathing on grass field during midday. Nope, you would see sun bathers at the beach or pool only. Here, in USA and Australia, I had seen people lying on the lawn and "getting bake".

For myself, I had bought a beach towel during the winter sales and I used it for the first time yesterday where I lied on the field opposite to my apartment. The sun was warm but not humid. It was so soothing that I dozed off while reading Intuition. I was wearing sleeveless and Bermudas, blending in with the culture here.

Contrary to what is portray on tv, daily Americans are not that liberal when it comes to showing off their skin. Guys would wear board shorts instead of swimming trunks at beaches and pools (they called trunks, "Speedo" though it is a brand name). Gals wear one-piece suit instead of bikinis (I think for the gals, it depends on the location).