SVong-Along

Short answer: if you can, bid to upgrade, but if not, at the very least fly Singapore Airlines, and rest lots before and bring sleeping pills Two weekends ago I flew from SFO to Singapore, which was estimate to be 16 hours and 40 minutes . Actual flight time was about 15 hours and 40 minutes. The world's longest flight is Newark to Singapore, which is 2-3 hours longer. Below are very few pics of my journey and some tips to survive this very long flight. If you have priority pass - get some food at the airport before  In SF I had Yankee Pier in Terminal 3 - and a mimosa and this NorCal scramble was $1 after the $28 credit from Priority Pass. ( I left $5 because I think a tip is still encouraged). The mimosa helped me feel more relaxed - yay bubbly  The Singapore Airlines plane itself was large - I sat closer towards the back which wasn't great- but the location was fine because I was in between 10 bathrooms - 8 in the midsection area and 2 behind me. T...

August 20th marked my 1 year work anniversary as a Deputy Attorney General, and as of yesterday I was recommended to be granted "permanent civil service status" with the State. It's been an exciting journey, beginning with getting a badge: I guess I got tan after going to Europe. Within a month, I was hearing the Attorney General himself, Xavier Becerra (my boss's boss's boss's boss) address environmental justice. I also got to attend the Attorney General's inauguration , where I described the food with the words "cultural and Costco." Some moments even felt like I was still at the Governor's Office, such as the return of twerk bird:  I also KonMari'd my spa-ffice .  (A supervisor walked by my [new] office just the other day and said "if I was in here I'd be asleep all the time - the vibe is so relaxing!")  I've pretended to be a 9th Circuit Judge, but have actually learned how t...

Summer is a great time to visit Seattle if you enjoy sun (last time I visited November, it rained at least 75% of my weekend trip.) View from the ferry. I visited the city for two half-days (I was mostly staying in Bremerton), but still packed in a lot of fun activities and food.  SITES: I knew I wanted to check out the Space Needle since they recently renovated to have a rotating glass floor, but didn't want to pay $30 for the ticket to go up. I stumbled across the CityPass deal- which you can choose 5 attractions including the Space Needle for $99. Expedia had a discount- so I got two CityPasses for $150 - making it 5 attractions for $75 [cutting the Space Needle to basically $15/50% off - and nothing is sexier than saving!]  With the City Pass, I also saw the Aquarium, the Zoo, the Chihuly Museum and Garden, and did an Argosy Harbor tour! If you like touristy stuff then I recommend the CityPass.  Nemo in the Aquarium [no pics from Zoo ...

How do you deal with a loved one who is losing their mind? Rachel Khong's novel Goodbye, Vitamin explores this through Ruth, a 30 year old Asian American who returns home to take care of her father, whose Alzheimer's/dementia gets increasingly severe. Ruth returns from San Francisco to Southern California after a break up with her ex-fiance, and writes diary entries for the year she spends with her family. In short, read Goodbye Vitamin if: you're looking for a good read and short read with both lighthearted and heavy insights about love, loss, and family  you are a young Californian or Asian American dealing with struggles of adulthood- relationship, family, etc.  you want a different perspective on how to love someone who is losing their memory  The book takes a fresh perspective on the familiar genres of family battling disease/overcoming a breakup: more specifically, an Asian American Californian (and her family) confronting Alzheimer's and their prio...

If someone you love is dying- would you tell them? The Farewell explores this heavy question with a surprising amount of hilarity and is a funny yet emotional family movie that also showcases Asian culture and the ethical dilemma of deciding what is best for our loved ones. Release poster - (Wikipedia) In short, see the Farewell if: you like laughing about weird family customs you love a good movie about family and/or love your family you are interested in/relate to Asian culture The Farewell is truly an homage to the idiosyncrasies of Asian culture: from the overall theme of hiding secrets big and small and pretending everything is ok, to burning fake money for ancestors to have a prosperous afterlife. But it also explores the intermingling of many complicated family relationships: grandparent and grandchild, kids and parents, uncles, cousin, etc. While everyone can relate to family love and drama, the setting here is China - and some themes arise of: the perspecti...

"Most human activities are predicated on the assumption that life goes on. If you take that premise away, what is there left?" Haruki Murakami explores this theme in the very strange but fascinating  Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.  Murakami draws readers into a "narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his undemure granddaughter, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect." The book is definitely a trip - taking you from the mind of a seemingly normal, nameless man who talks about mundane (but relatable things) such as couch shopping, to dealing with the Yakuza (mafia) and avoiding demons in the sewer. What I enjoyed most was the immersive narrating with random details, and unraveling the mystery/how the storyline eventually made sense. Murakami adds such relatable notes of nostalgia- i.e. bringing up memories of how library books had t...

TLDR: See "Yesterday" if you are a Beatles fan and/or like British humor. What if "the Beatles" did not exist? That's basically the premise of "Yesterday," a fun film featuring the very talented Himesh Patel, (and also a lot of Ed Sheeran). I saw a sneak peek a few weeks ago thanks to my Yelp Elite friend May A. The premise of the movie, the whole world not knowing about the Beatles, basically applies to today's generation (i.e. my current 24 yr-old apartmentmate commented: "the Beatles are too old for me.") The highlights of the movie are the Beatles covers by Himesh Patel and Kate McKinnon being ridiculous as a music executive. Otherwise, the love arc is super cheesy but does have some "cute" moments, and the movie overall isn't super memorable. I do appreciate its creative take on a parallel universe, and the showcasing of a SouthEast Asian/Indian being a star and legit having a great voice. The song "Yester...