Faraway, so close.

South Lake Tahoe Lodges

Since we go to Heavenly, some good places to consider in South Lake Tahoe

Tahoe Beach and Ski Clubs
http://www.tahoebeachandski.com/rates.html
Jet Tubs in all units except Studios
It is about $155/night at the ski season

Avalon Lodge
Some rooms with private hot tub
http://www.avalonlodge.com/avalonlodgerooms_winter.htm
1-800-659-4185
1-530-544-2285
info@avalonlodge.com
Their online reservation link is not listed correctly - need to manually delete the ' at the end of the url in order to book online
It is cheaper to book on their own website than from expedia

Forest Suites Resort
Steps from the Gondola at Heavenly
Pros: Last time we booked a regular room about $99 and got upgraded to a suite for free. The suite is pretty nice.  It is very close to Heavenly. So no need to pay for parking at Heavenly staying there.
Cons:  Bad service when I couldn't connenct our mac to the internet though. And the bed - gush, it killed my back the first night.
Lessons: it is really dry staying inside the hotel, should've brought the humidifier

Heavenly's website has some other suggestions:
http://www.skiheavenly.com/reservations/accommodations/

Close, still so close

November is the month! Finally after seperating for about 10 months, we finally live back together. We both moved from the sunny southern California to the northern Cal.

It was a big change for both of us. But so far we both like it. Living apart makes us thankful to being around each other. We are pretty happy about the new townhouse we rented. It is home (if it would be warmer here) and cozy (if there would be more sunshine).

:) so we are not Faraway, except when we work.

Seattle Trip

Prepare:

Flight info
CheapTickets Reference Number:  LQ737M
American Confirmation Code:  AA FICKLU
FOR: HU/MIAO PU/JIA
Friday - August 12 (Flight \t6785)
Depart \t08:05 pm \tLos Angeles, CA - U.S. - Los Angeles Intl Arpt
Arrive \t10:31 pm \tSeattle, WA - U.S. - Seattle Tacoma Intl Arpt
American Aircraft  Boeing 737 Operated by ALASKA AIRLINES
Tuesday - August 16 (Flight \t7015)
Depart \t07:50 pm \tSeattle, WA - U.S. - Seattle Tacoma Intl Arpt
Arrive \t10:25 pm \tLos Angeles, CA - U.S. - Los Angeles Intl Arpt
American \tAircraft \tM80 - McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Operated by ALASKA AIRLINES
Flight(s) \t$628.80 \t
Total (USD) \t$638.78 \tNote: These amounts may appear as 2 or more
charges on your credit card statement.

Rental Car informaiton
Budget reservation #: 16911163US3 .
pick-up
Sat, Aug 13, 2005 10:00 AM
KENT, WA DTN, KENT - KT1
hours: Mon-Fri 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM ; Sat 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM ; Sun 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
phone:253-872-0956
return
Tue, Aug 16, 2005 06:30 PM
SEATAC, SEATTLE, SEATTLE - SEA
hours:Mon-Fri Open 24 hrs ; Sat Open 24 hrs ; Sun Open 24 hrs
phone:206-431-8800
car
economyautomaticair-conditioned
no-smoking
my guaranteed rate \t
car 99.96         taxes 18.84
total \t120.68
3 days 8 hours rental
unlimited free miles
http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=0.131104,0.227174&saddr=28083+Maple+Ridge+Way+SE,+98038&daddr=22005+84th+Ave+S,+Kent,+WA+98032&hl=en

Ways to piss PP off

sing the song of "Smurf"

repeat the words that he just said (to maximize the pissing off effects, try to use the same facial expression and tones as he did)

repeat murmuring something monotonely in low voice

when he wants your input, give him silience as feedback

keep whining about something, then when he gives suggestion, whine about the suggestion

keep singing/saying  the line of "black machine is a sex machine"

Pupu's silly comments

Monkey likes King Kong.
(Well, usually he is the bear and I am the monkey but sometimes we exchange. After he stole my photo on my blog to use on his ichat icon, he refers himself as a monkey a lot. And when we were talking about whether going to see King Kong, he said that.)

写小程序是一个工程师的自我修养
(writing some small programms is a way to improve him/herself of an engineer)

什么？
(when he uses to pretend not to understand something I have said)

as a software engineer's woman, you must know that an algorithm must have two components: one is that it is composed of "input" and "output," the other is that it must finish within a certain time.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

It is a July 4th long weekend trip.

As PP plans for it:
Plan A:
**July 1st**
Arrive Lodgepole camping ground.

**July 2nd**
Find a nearby first-come-first-server camping ground. Spend the day in Giant Forest area.

**July 3rd**
Go to Mineral King area. Camp at Cold Springs.

**July 4th**
Visit Crystal Cave and come back home.

===================

Plan B:

**July 1st**
Arrive Lodgepole camping ground.

**July 2nd**
Spend the day in Giant Forest area.

Go to Cold Springs camping ground before sunset.

**July 3rd**
Stay at Mineral King area. Camp at Cold Springs for another night.

**July 4th**
Visit Crystal Cave and come back home.

===================

Plan C:

**July 1st**
Arrive Lodgepole camping ground.

**July 2nd**
Visit Crystal Cave and see some big trees.

Go to Cold Springs camping ground before sunset.

**July 3rd**
Stay at Mineral King area. Camp at backcountry, maybe by a lake.

**July 4th**
come back home.

===================

Plan D:

**July 1st**
Arrive Lodgepole camping ground.

**July 2nd**
Find a camping ground at Grant Grove area. And spend the day there.

**July 3rd**
Find a camping ground at Cedar Grove area and spend the day there.

**July 4th**
Visit Crystal Cave and come back home.

We booked Copper Canyon Trail for 2 nights and the confirmation number is 40040.

Europe Backpacking Trip Planning

We both have dreamed about backpacking for at least half a year since a long long time ago.

To plan for a long trip, first of all, we need to have time. Second of all, we need to have money.  We never have got either of them.

Howeve, without hoping and planning, it is hard to achieve anything. I would like to keep the hope up, and continue planning and gathering information.

We are from Asia, now living in the North America. We want to go to Europe or Africa. PP always has his adventurous spirit. For me, adventure is not my type. But I would love to go around and know a lot.

Big Bear Snowshoeing Trip

Snowshoeing? Yes, it is snowshoeing... the newest sport we have tried. (Jan 22nd 2005 Sat.) We didn't try snowshoeing in Lake Tahoe and decided that we need to try to drive PP's new used car for a longer trip - unfortunately we don't have a lot of budget for a weekend getaway. Therefore, we just had a one day trip!!

It was fun!! It was the first time we two actually hike on snow trail. The only flaw is that Southern Calf. is too warm for snow, even at the 7,000ft level. The snow at the bottom of the mountain was kind of dirty and mixed with mud. The upper part was really snowy white and pretty.

However, after 2 and a half hours hiking (extremely exhausting for lack of oxygen), we still couldn't reach a peak to have some good view. We did manage to climb up to a small hill to get a peek of the downhills. But I have to admit that I was kind of frightened when coming down from the steep slope. Of course he laughed at me - what so ever - it was my idea to climb up the hill. If we had seen more good views, the trip would have been more rewarding.

PP drew a conclusion from the trip - he likes hiking and snowboarding better than snow shoeing - for he likes to walk faster and slide down faster. He is a speeder! Well, I like to try anything new. So it is quite an experience. I would like to go some places with fascinating views and snowshoeing!

Just for the record, we went to the discovery center first and then went to 38 east.

-AM

Why is "Faraway, so close"?

In the five years the we spent together, for two and half years we were separated by either pacific ocean or the north america continental. Now I feel thankful that we are together. we might have to be apart far away again very soon. But we are alway so close.

It is private.

When people say "can I have some privacy", it usually means that it's some stuff that means nothing to others. Well, this place is where we publish our privacy.

We have always wanted to have a place where we can have a journal of our time together. What did we do? Where did we go? What did we eat? Things like that, things that no one else cares. But she has been busy, I have been busy, so we still don't have this journal.

This monday, when I looked at the calendar and realized that the most important annual event is coming up next month, I had an idea. Why don't I open a webolog account, put some nonsense, and give to her as a gift? We can use it as our journal book. It is a way better valentine gift idea than those items having been used for hundreds of years.