So its been FOREVER since I last posted.

Well I've been on vacation in California this past week and a half. Its been awesomee.

At first it started out kind of slow, with a HUGE airplane delay, my mom who already arrived to cali a day before me and mindy waited with PoPo for 3 hrs at the airport. Oh yeah, me and mindy went on an airplane alone for the first time =P. The airplane ride sucked, I asked this man if i could trade seats with him but he didn't want to, cuz I was trading him for my middle seat and his window seat. One thing that I did do productively was read This I Believe. , one of the incredibly boring books I need to read for Summer Reading.. blehh. Well anyway, that day I arrived at my Grandma's house (PoPo) to sleep after I got back exhausted from the dreary plane ride. We took a taxi, and the taxi driver was seriously weird. He was singing Arabian songs and sped so much, but um w/e. My mom as being paranoid too and told me not to talk to him.

I woke up to a typical chinese dinner, anything to do with rice I guess? haha, so after that we all went to Berkeley to visit my bro, Simon. We took the BART (subway), and that was also my first time going on the subway. It's pretty cool I guess. This lady also came up to us selling us some kind of injury treatment for athletes when she saw us with our tennis racquets. We walked a pretty long way until we found him, floating through campus on his friend's long board. Man, I really need to learn to long board, it actually doesn't look that hard, I'm just not used to it. Another challenge would be the many hills there. So then I arrived to my bro's dorm, which was pretty messy but nonetheless pretty homey. Then we went to eat lunch with Simon and everybody, including my Dad who arrived a little bit later than me and Mindy did. Simon recommended us Indian food, Naan and Curry. It was sooo good, definitely great. Naan bread is really good , and inexpensive. The curry was also really great. That night me and Mindy slept at the dorm, and Simon reluctantly gave us a room becuase he has a job that can allow him to do that, although he isn't allowed. So we went downstairs to sleep and had to leave early in the morning so nobody would see that we had spent the night in an unoccupied room. The sleep was pretty comfortable, although I was sooo not used to the cold in Cali and in the dorm. I definitely don't like the feeling of getting up from your warm blankets out into the freezing cold room. Simon said the weather was being kindof freakish and that the weather was always perfect here.

The following day (Saturday) my brother and my parents went to the temple. I think Simon was getting his Endowments taken care of before he leave on his mission to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So me and Mindy had the whole day basically just together around campus. So we decided to eat lunch at Gypsy's, an italian restaurant, and we ate calzones. They were pretty good, and huuge =P. After eating there we went to play some tennis at Berkeley's tennis courts, which suckk, perhaps there are better ones somewhere else. We also went running around campus cuz I didn't want to get too behind in xc. That night we also went to see Simon's church a little bit after Simon got back. There was supposed to be a "party" but yeah only a few ppl were there lol, but w/e. We went back to the dorm to play dota with Simon's friend, Jim and we played 2v2 (me and mindy vs them. since Jim was new to dota). That went..swell haha. not. We all kept disconnected since we all had wireless or something.

The next day (Sunday) we went to Simon's church at Berkeley the university ward. That was interesting. People kept stating their opinions and having discussions and what not. After church there was a delicioussss Linger Longer. They served great food, like amazing salad (and i usually hate salad), watermelon, chiskabobs (cant spell), and cookies. After Linger Longer we drove to PoPo's house (me and mindy and our parents) to leave Simon time to do homework. So when we went to PoPo's house, we went to Chinatown (PoPo, Mindy, and I). It was great, and there was a long walk to chinatown, which I really needed after kind of just eating and sitting around. Yeah, if you haven't figured out, I get antsy if I don't run or do tennis for a day. lol. So at Chinatown we saw a lot of good food, like bread and chicken that PoPo would later prepare. So we walked back to her place and later had a great dinner, and Simon was there although he missed eating with all of us cuz he was taking a nap, so he ate a little later.

Monday, the family left on an 8 hr trip to Palm Springs for our timeshare. My Dad printed out the worst maps so it took us FOREVER to get there, like 11 hrs I think. But we finally arrived to the timeshare that night. I came to the conclusion that it was the worst timeshare we've been to. Apparently it was because we got it last minute??  There was no TV in me and Mindy's room, it was scorching outside (114 degrees), and you have to pay to use the fitness center, tennis courts, and pool.

Tuesday, we just spent the day at the timeshare. We paied 10 bucks to use teh fitness center, tennis courts, and pool although it really was supposed to be 15 for the 3 of us kids(my dad is a good bargainer). That day I played tennis with Mindy, although really exhausted from the extreme heat, and then we swam a little. We also had a home cooked meal that night (pork chops), those were pretty good.
Wednesday, it was basically the same, except we went to In-n-Out, which Mindy and Simon were craving for about forever. That was really good. Simon told me they had a secret menu that they don't post at the restaurant. I had no idea. Like he got "animal style" french fries and stuff. Then we played more tennis, swam, and had another home cooked meal. Chicken, rice, and corn. Its funny how I remember the meals isn't it? lol.

Thursday, we left the miserable timeshare lol. and we went to my Dad's childhood friend's house to see him and his family. It was a great stay. Before we arrived there we went to IHOP. That was my first time =P. I didn't get pancakes b/c it was lunch,  but obviously it was kind of a mistake. I got a chicken stacker sandwich but that was still good. We went there to meet his kid which are basiclaly just like us except the fact that we're involved in sports, use internet way more, and are in harder classes and stuff. But anyway, we arrived there and went straight to La Jolla beach. It was sooo fun, the water was cold but you got used to it. We also got to borrow boogie boards so I think that really added to it. haha. That night we ate a potluck dinner at their church (they are LDS too), and we watched fireworks even though it was the 3rd of July. That was really fun.

Friday, we woke up early to a fourth of July breakfast at the church. That was alright, just the usual pancakes and stuff. Then me, Mindy, my parents, and Brother Ng (my dad's friend), went to Old San Diego so we could buy souvenirs and sight see I guess. then we went to the becah with Bro. Ng's whole family and our whole family. Half the time I couldn't find any of the other kids, so I was alone. But it was still fun. Then we ate dinner that night at the Ng's house with the missionaries there too. That was also a great dinner.

Saturday, we had to leave to go back to Oakland. That took most of the day. Then that night we had some time to play tennis and run around the lake. It was enjoyable after sitting in the car for so long. Playing tennis that night was also really fun because we played a little bit of doubles with these two guys that attend Berkeley. They were pretty good.

Sunday, we woke up early, and went straight to Roseville. That's where my cousins (Tracy, Brian, and Ryan) live. We went to church with them and it was Fast Sunday. So i was starving, lol, and church was horribly boring. but oh well. Then we had a great lunch PoPo prepared while she stayed home and the rest of the day was spent playing games like pool, monopoly, cup stacking, etc. then we went home and yeah I went straight to bed.

So today, which is my last day here in Cali, I'm goign to pack up and enjoy this last day. I'll have pics later, but yeah I felt I needed to document whats happened here this Family Summer Vacation. It was great, and also the last one before Simon goes on his mission. When I get home, I have piano lessons to schedule, hours of tennis to make up, miles of xc to make up, a wedding reception to prepare playing for, a birthday party thing at the park, finishing summer reading, preparing for tennis tournaments, and a whole lot more. So it'll be nice to get back to normal life you could say. But anyway, adios!