tigertricks

House Plans

Rach — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 07:00:00 GMT

After a long hiatus, I am finally posting on this blog and plan to start posting more regularly. Between last August and now, I haven't felt like I have really done anything that I was really inspired to write about. To summarize; between October and mid January I was getting settled in one job, before deciding it wasn't for me, due to a number of factors which I won't discuss on a public blog. I started a new job last week which, so far, seems like it will be a great opportunity and one I...(read more)

Vegas!

Rach — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:44:00 GMT

Going to Las Vegas tonight, for a long weekend of all kinds of badness. Will return on Monday. I'll post pictures, etc, when I get back. ...(read more)

A warning to men across the globe. Never underestimate the perils of wearing massive white underpants...

Rach — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:08:00 GMT

Evidently the donkey found them very sexy though! My brother sent me this today. It's hilarious. :-)...(read more)

Los Angeles Angels Game - Sunday August 20, 2006.

Rach — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:32:00 GMT

Yesterday I went to my first ever baseball game. For the benefit of my family (who as far as I know have never been to a baseball game either - it's a virtually non-existent sport in the uk), the rules are similar to the game "rounders" that we used to play in school. How ironic... The most popular sport in England (football/soccer) is played mostly by girls over here, and one of the most popular sports over here is played by small children in the UK. Anyway, we watched the game which...(read more)

To the "lady" who cut me off yesterday...

Rach — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:35:00 GMT

When you cut me off while yakking to someone on your phone yesterday, you forgot one important consideration... Who do you think is going to care the most if I hit you? You in your $40,000+ Porsche Cayenne SUV, or me in my $1200 18 year old Buick Century? :-) I would have advised you to concentrate on your driving, rather than nagging your husband, or conducting any other phonecall that you deem so important that it can't wait until you get home. However, you passed me further...(read more)

Are all the English people in Southern California weird?

Rach — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:32:00 GMT

I have only met a few so far and this seems to be a developing trend. I hope this doesn't say something about me, and I hope that the locals don't think we are all like Colin (who has his birthday party tomorrow - so who knows what offensive crap he'll come out with. I am filled with enthusiasm. Can't you tell?) and the lady I met at the gym last night. I started talking to her and she was such a snob. She asked where I lived and I said San Pedro. She then immediately asked me if I was from...(read more)

The day a homeless guy gave me the shirt off his back...

Rach — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 07:33:00 GMT

Well, not literally but... Last Friday I decided to go for a bicycle ride along Palos Verdes Drive South and West, both of which run along the coastline in Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos Verdes Estates. It has some truly beautiful scenery and is a ride I enjoy at least once a week (sometimes twice). I then get onto the bike path that runs along the beach, starting in South Torrance and follow it all the way up to Hermosa Beach, passing through Redondo Beach on the way. I then ride back. It...(read more)

Happy Belated Birthday BlogWishes Steve. :-)

Rach — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 02:14:00 GMT

It was Steve's birthday on Monday, July 24. I won't broadcast his age on here, because he probably wouldn't appreciate it - and because he tells everybody who doesn't know better that he's 35. ;-). Because his birthday fell on a weekday, we decided to celebrate on Sunday and went out to brunch at the Ports O'Call restaurant in San Pedro. If you live nearby and have never been there, I would highly recommend it.

I'm not usually a fan of buffets, as I find that they have large amounts of average quality food aimed at feeding the masses. This is fine, if you see value for money as being able to stuff your face until you can't move with bland crap, but not so much if you are looking for a reasonable quantity of nice, tasty, food. This is where Ports O'Call restaurant is different. The food is excellent. There is an amazing selection too. As well as the traditional breakfast type foods, you can also get sushi, other fresh seafood and custom made fajitas and stir-fries. It is a little pricey at $29.95 a head, but you get unlimited champagne with your meal too. Oh, and I forgot, there are no laws against gluttony at Ports O'Call either. Right, Steve? :-) We asked our neighbours Bill and Jacque (no it is not a gay couple... Jacque is a woman, pronounced Jackie) to join us. This was originally going to be my birthday treat for Steve, but Bill and Jacque insisted on paying, which was very nice of them. They have known Steve for a long time and they had no idea what to get him as a gift.

When we got back I made Steve a birthday cake, which I must confess was more for my benefit than his. :-) I have an allergy to both milk and wheat, so I bought a gluten free mix and used rice milk and a non-dairy butter substitute (this is delicious, by the way and you cannot tell that it is non-dairy) in the recipe. This was so I didn't have to miss out on the treats completely.

The next day, on his actual birthday, I went to the mall to see if I could find anything for his birthday present. I couldn't find anything remotely exciting for him (I got quite a few things for myself, but that's another story…). I ended up buying him clothes, which he couldn't really care less about, so I decided to spoil him with food instead, which gave him great pleasure. :-) I made gluten and dairy free pizza for dinner which, although Steve has no allergies, he requested anyway because it really does taste as good as the regular stuff. If anyone is interested, I can post the ingredients and recipe... I also bought apple pie and ice cream, which Steve prefers anyway, but are out of bounds to me. This brings to mind a conversation we had yesterday;

Me: Would you like a piece of birthday cake with your cup of tea?
Him: No, I've had enough cake. I'm really not a cake person... (he pauses and doesn't sound convinced of this)
Me: You had to eat half the cake to realise this? (trying not to laugh)
Him: Stop making fun of me! I can't help being greedy. (trying not to laugh as well)

Funny thing is, there's not an ounce of extra fat on him. He works out, but not enough to get away with the amount he eats. Must be good genes, I guess.

Dinner at Acapulco's and squabbling skunks!

Rach — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:56:00 GMT

Last night we went to meet one of Steve's friends Colin and his long suffering wife Michelle at Acapulco Mexican restaurant. When we arrived, they were already there with a few of Colin's workmates. I really like Michelle, but I am not sure about Colin yet. I have only spent time with them on a couple of ocassions, but I think he can be a bit of a moron at times. Case in point - When he introduced us to his friends. He said, "Oh and this is Steve and his "wife". When he said it, his voice was dripping with sarcasm. While I expect people to wonder about the age gap, I certainly don't expect Steve's friends to highlight it when introducing us to people we don't even know. It's none of their business, you rude bastard, and it's certainly not your place to mention it. Either introduce us in a respectful way, or let us introduce ourselves. I have also noticed that, on ocassions, he'll also make a point of drawing attention to Michelle's weight. Ok, she is very overweight, but to embarass her like that is just cruel. It probably needs to be discussed, but sensitively, and certainly not in front of other people... Anyway, I was pissed off and would have said something to him about it, but I didn't want to make a scene. He'd better not ever do it again though!

When I've been to Acapulco's before, the food and service has been fine. However, this time, the food would have been fine, but the service was terrible. We waited half an hour for drinks and when our food came, (we shared the chicken and steak fajita platter) the chicken, steak and fajita mixture came first and then we waited another 20 mins for the tortillas. In that time we had eaten the meat and the mixture to stop it getting cold. :-( To be fair, it wasn't really the waiter's fault. It seemed like he was fairly new and he was only of only a few waitstaff. In a packed restaurant on a Friday night, this just isn't enough...

After we got back from the restaurant - we heard squealing noises outside our bedroom window. Steve went to the window - which he had thankfully shut quickly when he saw what was making the noise. It was two skunks fighting in the backyard! He called me to the window because I had never seen a skunk. We don't have them in the UK. Just as I was walking to the window, I smelled this awful smell. I can't describe it. I took a quick peek and retreated to the living room. Luckily they didn't spray us - just each other. So there you have it. :-) I have now seen a racoon, a skunk and a possum. None of which are present in the UK. I could have possibly done without smelling the skunk though!

Flakey, Flakey people...

Rach — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 07:54:00 GMT

Steve and I were supposed to go out to The Blue Cafe in Long Beach tonight. A couple of women we know, I hesitate to say friends because I barely know them, called and invited us out for dinner last night. I'll call them A and B. They were supposed to be meeting us on their way back from San Diego tonight.

Anyway at 4.45pm (bearing in mind that we were supposed to meet them at 6.30pm) I got a call from A to tell me that they were at a party at a friend's house last night and her car was impounded, therefore she wouldn't be able to get back from San Diego until her mother was able to pick up the car. I thought, ok, so you're telling me you had to wait until about an hour and a half before we were supposed to meet to tell me this. I have a class I usually go to tonight that I have missed... Even if your car had been impounded - which I seriously doubt - you would have known first thing this morning that you couldn't make it. There was no reason for you to wait this long to let us know. I suspect you have had a better offer. I'm not stupid and you have pulled this kind of crap before.

However the point is; had you called me soon after you found out your car had been impounded, then I wouldn't have rearranged my plans for you. Also my husband who is actually very busy at work right now, is coming home early, just so we can meet you.

Obviously our time is less important that yours

I know Steve will tell me that this post is mean, and I should be more tolerant. But he's nicer than me.

Another piece of INS madness and other stories…

Rach — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:54:00 GMT

I went down to the DMV to take the test for my California driver’s license last Monday, after booking it 3 weeks prior to this. I stood in line with everyone else, only to be told,

“You can’t take the test. You only have 30 days left on your visa and you need 60 days left for us to allow you to take the test…”

I then asked, “So what you’re telling me is that, had I taken my test 30 days ago, I would have been fine?”

She stared at me blank faced, but didn’t deny it. It was as if, deep in an orifice of her tiny “jobsworth” brain, she realized how stupid this rule was and didn’t want to admit it. Sadly this is the kind of mentality I have witnessed with both the DMV and the INS. It is as if the four main rules of these organizations is,

Never question the policies – no matter how ridiculous they are.
If you don’t know the answer to someone’s question, don’t research it for them… Make something up. If their case then takes longer to process, all the better.
Be as rude and ignorant as you can be. If you can manage to be condescending whilst spouting crap you are management material. Utilise this skill as much as possible
If English happens to be your second language – pretend you don’t understand the person speaking to you.
Follow these rules and you will go far in this organization, my friend.

You can make a right turn on a red light unless there is a sign that tell you that you can’t. In England you can never turn on a red unless there is a green light or a green arrow. There are no exceptions to this.
When turning right you need to follow the curb around. Do not forget and swing wide, or you’ll hit oncoming traffic. :-O
When you are turning left into a two way street, you need to turn into the lane furthest away from you, instead of the one closest to you. Otherwise you’ll hit oncoming traffic.
If you are turning left into a street with two lanes going in each direction, you must turn into the lane furthest from the curb on the right hand side.
There are very few turn circles (roundabouts) here. In my opinion, they could do with a few. It would prevent people speeding up to get through the traffic lights on yellow, as they would have to slow down to go around the turn circles. However, this would introduce another hazard, as I would have to train myself to go around them in the opposite direction as I always did in the UK. Also there might be a few more death, as the people in enormous HUM-V’s and teenagers in 4X4 trucks got used to turn circles (as if most of them aren’t bad enough, or inconsiderate enough).
People over here are constantly yakking on cell phones in their cars, so there is no guarantee that the lady in front of you in the mini van is paying attention and she may pull in front of you without warning… Talking on cell phone while driving is against the law in the UK and you get a ticket if you get caught doing it.

the best grocery store in the world

the most expensive grocery store in the world

this mall

gym

this post

What a great deal!

Anybody know of a good hairdresser in the South Bay?

Rach — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 04:02:00 GMT

Today I went to have my hair cut and coloured for the first time since I moved to the Los Angeles area. It was a disaster. I walked in there and the owner introduced my to my "hair stylist". In hindsight she must have been the trainee. I was not informed of this and they were going to charge me full price for it. :-(

I felt uneasy from the moment I started talking to her about what I'd like done. The haircut was no big deal since my hair is reasonably long and I just wanted any split ends trimmed off. Then I told her what I usually had done with my colour and asked her if she had any recommendations. In my experience, any good hairdresser will be able to make suggestions as to what will look good with your skin colouring etc. This girl didn't have a clue. I could see this so I just picked from the colour swatches and picked as close to what I usually had as I could.

She then started trying to persuade me to run bleach though it. I said, no way, bleach damages your hair. Looking back, I should have figured that she was useless and walked out then, but I just insisted she used the colours I asked for. I assumed she actually knew how to colour hair. Apparently not. The foil process seemed like it was being done by a clumsy 4 year old, but it was too late to stop it. However, about halfway through, I decided there was no way I was letting her loose on my hair with a pair of scissors. I was kind of chicken though. I told her I was going out that night and it was getting kind of late, so I would save the cut for another time. She said fine and after banging my hair with the dryer and burning my scalp, she washed my hair. Afterwards, she started scrubbing at my neck and face with some color remover and seemed kind of concerned. She then called over a colleague and he and the manager of the shop started suggesting crazy things like trying bleach and nail varnish remover! I have sensitive skin at the best of times so I said no to this.

I then insisted on looking for myself. I looked in the mirror and was incensed! There was chocolate brown dye all over the side of my face, the back of my neck and my ears. I asked her to get the owner and told them both that I could have done a better job myself at home for free, and that I would not be paying for it. Luckily then accepted this, or I may have totally blown my top. I still had some sort of control at this point. When I got home, in our desperation, Steve and I tried all kinds of stuff. In spite of the sensitive skin we used Hydrogen Peroxide, toothpaste, milk and even WD40! Any suggestions? It will not come off!

Also, the color is liveable, but they clearly did not use the red I requested for the lights. Therefore I need some repair work done. Hence the need to find a good salon in the area... I certainly won't be going back to that place again. Anyway, if you are thinking of visiting this establishment;

http://www.edenspaandsalon.com

Don't say you weren't warned!

And I thought my first cell phone looked like a brick...

Rach — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 04:34:00 GMT

Whilst clearing out the garage we discovered a blast from Steve's past. :-) His first Motorola cellphone. Apparently this was given to him by the company he worked for at the time and cost about $1000!

Went to Vegas and got married on the Strip!

Rach — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 17:23:00 GMT

We got married on Saturday, in Vegas, in a chapel on the strip. It was not our first choice, and was more humorous than special. The lady who married us had to have been about 100 years old and looked like they had let her out of the nursing home for the evening! :-)

Neither of us would have chosen Vegas for our wedding, preferring a more romantic, tranquil setting, but as ours is a complex situation, involving a US and a non-US citizen (myself), we just had to do it quickly so we could tie up legal issues, concerning my visa and work permits. I really need to be working sooner rather than later, so we can buy a much needed bigger house... Plus the fact that having to amuse myself all day while Steve is at work, is driving me nuts! I need some mental stimulation damnit!

We had always planned to have another ceremony, with all our family there, later in the year. With this in mind we didn't spend a lot of money, or time planning the Vegas ceremony. The total cost was $250 (including the tip for the 100 year old reverend)! We would never waste a huge amount of money on a wedding (the average in the UK is the equivalent of $25,000 - which is my opinion would be far better off contributing to your down payment on a house, or paying a big chunk off the house you already have) but we will make the one later in the year much more special for us.

The conditions of my visa state that we have to get married withing 3 months of my arrival. The waiting time for the work permit is 3 months AFTER we get married. For example, if we left it right until August (the visa deadline), I could be out of work for 6 months +. This way, I should only be out of work for a little over 3 months, if all goes well with the job hunt. To cut a long story short, the sooner we get married the sooner I can get to work. :-) Plus, we can take our time and plan something more personal and memorable for later in the year, at a a time when my family in Singapore and the UK will be able to make it. It's not an ideal situation, but this is what we have to work with - so you just have to make the best of it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. USCIS (formerly known as the INS) couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. Case in point, whenever I call their helplines, I find myself correcting their representatives about the most basic of procedures. They have consistently given me info that I KNOW is wrong. Stuff that is at odds with the instructions on the website. They are an apathetic bunch of bastards who just want to get you off the phone, so they can continue picking their noses. They don't know the answer to your questions and would rather feed you a bunch of crap, than spend 10 minutes finding out the information you require. Thank God for;

VisaJourney.com

All the information in there is written by people who have been through the process and is really detailed.

Speaking of immigration fueled mayhem, I just found out that no insurance companies will cover me until I have been in the US for 3 months. This means I'll have to be very careful in that time, as something like a broken bone would have me flying the 11 hours back to the UK (in agony) to have it treated on the free "National Health Service" there, just to avoid the high costs of treating it here without insurance. Wouldn't that be fun?

On a lighter note... I just passed my traffic laws test yesterday and I have a driving lesson on Sunday. Sadly my UK license won't cut it if I am a resident in California. Hopefully I won't need many lessons as I can already drive. I just need to feel comfortable driving on the other side of the street. This is fine for the most part, but it is just not natural for me to do things like turn right on a red (in the UK if there is a red light, you don't go anywhere). Also when you make a left turn in the UK, you would turn into the lane nearest to you. Turning into the lane furthest away just feels wrong to me right now. My Dad drives on the right a lot and says I'll soon get used to it though. :-)

Oh, and I'm still working on the Singapore post. It is going to be quite long and, due to the fact that I have a lot of legal paperwork to do, I need to write it in stages...

Lots of new photos everybody!

Rach — Wed, 31 May 2006 19:20:00 GMT

Blog update coming tomorrow... I know it's been a long time, but I have been at the computer since 9am selecting, resizing and uploading pictures. Enough for today. Time for a walk in the sunshine. It's 75 degrees outside!

*Update - If you click on "photos" in the top navigation bar, it'll take you to the new galleries of pictures. By "lots", I wasn't just referring to the ones in "new additions" on the right hand side of the page.*