coming home is always some kinda discovery for me... at the airport, when my dad's car pulled up at the loading area i was just innocently admiring how new his car was and how scratch-free it was... and wondering how he managed to keep it so intact though he has had his car for quite a few years now... and then secretly condemning my poor driving skills.... only to discover 10 seconds later that he went and bought a new Nissan Sunny in the exact same color in March... he prob told me some time ago but i totally forgot about it and made myself a laughing stock... how typical of me to do things like that.
also found new pieces of furniture at home but somehow everything seems kinda random... also discovered a pretty chio new LCD screen tv at home, but placed on top of this old wooden coffee table in the chapalang room... cannot help but laugh. i think the longer u live in a place the more difficult it becomes to make everything go together...u get all kinds of interesting juxtapositions of 'new' and 'old' and i really dunno what to make of everything... my bedroom and bedsheets make it seem like i am perpetually stuck at age 12 or something... =P but it's kinda sad how short my stays here usually are, for me to actually feel motivated enough to do something to my home...

i'm going home! =P

the view at the peak of Mount Tamalpais was simply breathtaking... and from high up above all the cities seemed so insignificant compared to the vast expanse of mountains, trees and rocks...and human beings are but little specks seen along the mountain trails... and so on day 2 of the "shimin-explores-the-bay-area" long weekend I continued to be mesmerized by the beauty of my natural surroundings. then in the evening, after accepting an invitation from my housemates to go watch the July 4th fireworks at Berkeley Marina, i found myself sitting on the rocks by the waters watching a slightly foggy sunset with cold wind blowing in my face... i am really really struck by how beautiful these places close by can be. and really quite horrified by how i have never bothered to really explore any of them. i now have in mind destinations i want to visit/ visit again in fall before term starts... =)

and i found myself above a sea of clouds... 

imagine watching the sunset here... 

at the top of the world...? 

thanks to ziyang and sumei today i explored places close by but never ever visited...it was somewhat amusing though that i spent bout 2 hours on a morning trail in a state park in Napa only to find a somewhat disappointing and obstructed view of the valley at the peak; whereas when cruising through Tilden Park in air-conditioned comfort in the late afternoon i was able to get an awesome view without even trying... this was my very first time going to Tilden Park in the 3 yrs i've been here and i'm pretty surprised that we actually have a gem of a park right in our backyard... perhaps just 5/10 min away from Lawrence Lab and we enter this world of difference... of course it isn't as spectacular as the popular national parks... but for something that's so close to us, i agree with Sumei that it really is something to 'crow over'...
and i am extremely pathetic at playing frisbee... despite trying yesterday and today to learn the correct method of throwing it i still cannot get it... what a letdown to my dear patient coach, Sumei... guess certain things u really need some talent.. =P oh well... i will take a break for now then return in fall and attempt to master the art of the frisbee throwing, the seh3 way...