Hey Guys! How's things? It's finally become colder now, starting to feel a lot more like winter, and not the bipolar temperature that has been happening lately. I think I've seen most of the wildlife here, but I never manage to snap any of them on camera. I've yet to see the famous banana slug though, but my friends have. >_<>

• Finally enjoying the winter side of things =D
• Eating homemade Japanese Stew - I thought it was pretty delicious, and something different for a change!
  
• Went to a Japanese mixer - involved eating some nice food, and meeting some new people because of it
• Ate at a Thai restaurant
• Australian culture night!
  
• Bought some manga for friends of mine
  
• Pissed off at the assignment submit system - had to submit an assignment late because they say I didn't submit it...*sigh* I wish it was on paper.
• Still in holiday mode, when my first exam is coming on the next Thursday! T_T
  

The two manga I bought for friends of mine.

Aussie culture night!

Thai food!

Japanese Mixer!

At Kana's house with the delicious stew! (see below)

Japanese White Stew!

It's that time of the week again! The 5th week already! Here's the usual summary of my week:

• Went to Gilroy Premium Outlets - where I managed to spend 70USD on clothes = I have to start saving now, before I run out of money soon. I managed to pick up 2 shirts, a pair of shoes, a necklace/choker thing (I'm not sure what they call them lol), and a belt.
• Tried out Jamba Juice - pretty decent, but more or less like the Boost Juice we have at home.
• Ate some Häagen-Dazs as it was on special - I love cookies and icecream.
  
• Had a try at the I Love Sushi restaurant - made me realise why I hate hype, with some people claiming it to be the best sushi restaurant. It was alright in my opinion, but in no way the best place to have sushi. It was more or less like Oishii, but all the dishes were basically the same, instead of the variety they have at Oishii.
• Ate some decent American food at Chilli's in Capitola - pretty good I reckon, expect to see it on Oishiilog soon! Dessert was good too there for you chocaholics!
  
• Met some new people along the way!
• Same old classes

Decent outlet place, that surpasses the ones in Brissy by far!

Random Necklace thing I bought at Gilroy's.

Boost equivalent!

Decent American Food place I have had with variety that doesn't involve just burgers/hotdogs and fries

Part of the monstrous main meal I had at Chilli's

Awesome dessert at Chilli's

Cheap Haagen Dazs ice cream!

Oishii equivalent!

Australia vs America differences 1:
Fairy Floss = Cotton Candy

Well, it's basically been a month in the US already! What can I say? I've had another fun week too. This week comprised of:

• Flatmate Birthdays (Yuko and Spencer) - both involved parties and having a great time, check the pics and videos below, Yuko turning 22, and Spencer with his 21st birthday, with a cool surprise too.
  
• Going to the Boardwalk again - this time going to the beach and eating at a restaurant on a pier for the first time
• Making breakfast on a Sunday morning
  
• Classes as usual
  
• Meeting more people

Me and Yuko

Me and Spencer

Boardwalk/beach pic

Charbroiled Mahi Mahi (fish)

Beach Sunset

Attempt at English Breakfast!

Acapella surprise for Spencer, setup by his family friend!

Hey guys! Just wondering how everyone is going wherever you are. Wow, time seems to fly when classes start. I'm already starting to feel the workload now, although its basically one week of classes. You sure do get tired here though going from one side of the campus to the other. So, here is the usual list of things happening this week:

• Attended my first dancing lessons - it was modern/contemporary dance, and it is painful: there is so much stretching involved! Basically modern is a mixture of ballet + jazz, with some yoga/pilates to the side as well.
  
• Dropped a class - thought since that I'm only here for a quarter, I shouldn't bombard myself with unnecessary workload, although that course was interesting.
• Met a few more people - it's always cool to compare different cultures, making new friends and increasing the facebook friend count! xD
• First Rain occurred! Visit here for more info.
  
• Went to San Francisco for the first time since I have arrived in Santa Cruz - attended LoveFest to see what that it was about. LoveFest = a big party of parties with at least 20000 people in the middle of San Francisco. Visited Chinatown and Japantown, Pier 39 and had proper food instead of Dining Hall food! Finished the day off with some karaoke too.
• Had homemade lasagne for the first time!
  

Homemade Lasagne!

LoveFest 2008!

The famous Pier 39
Sealions!

Chinatown!

Good Food!Karaoke!