Things to do Before I Turn 30

Here goes my list of things to accomplish before I turn 30. I'm sure I'll think of more things I want to do in a few months if not a few days from now!

1. Backpack in Europe (after I graduate)

2. Sleep under the stars without a tent

3. Get scuba diving license (this summer IF I have the money)

4. Swim with giant turtles/sharks/whales

5. Truly help someone (eg turn their life around for the better)

6. Live in the jungle for 48hours (sounds feral I know)

7. Go hunting, prepare and eat my catch (getting more feral)

8. Aggravate the Queen's guard and get in trouble for it

9. Get arrested and spend a night in prison (very easy to achieve)

10. Go fishing and actually catch something

11. Ski without fear of crashing into some random tree 10m away

12. Get my resting heart rate to below 50bpm (currently it's around 58)

13. Gallop in the wilderness with jumps across rocks and creeks

14. Get a tattoo without regretting it

15. Fall in love (hardest to do on the list)

Major Earthquake Imminent for California

If the observations are indeed triggers for and caused by upcoming earthquakes as Jim Berkland believes then it does sound convincing - let's see how it all pans out the next few days.

A Random Wednesday

Yesterday I had to revise for and take an exam at home. Normally when I'm at home, I'd turn on the radio or play something on my laptop so that I'd feel less bored and isolated. But I couldn't concentrate with the radio on when I was revising and taking such a boring exam. So it was utterly quiet in my apartment with me counting down each question as I go along and imagining the things I'd rather be doing. It was boring beyond my tolerance! I thought I may have died (I admit I do have a rather low tolerance for boredom).

It was finally over and I got to go horse riding at night which was a whole world of difference! I rode a huge Paint horse called Oklahoma, 16.1hands, okay so he's similar in height to some thoroughbreds I have ridden but he is just plain bulky and oh so adorable (orange with white patches). He is very gentle and rather lazy but I got him going with my ever increasing leg muscles and I cantered on him. The canter was nice - his strides were big so my feet flew around in the stirrups and got into wrong positions. I need to work on keeping my heels down while cantering. Last time I cantered on New Mexico and to start the canter I kicked him instead of just squeezing (in order of 'strength': a squeeze, a kick and then use of crop) which I shouldn't have done cos he went into a very fast canter (or a gallop?) so I pulled on the reins for him to slow down but nothing happened - we were still going at full speed even while turning on a tight corner. I thought shoot I'm gonna fall, I wondered how I should do it so I won't get hurt badly. The acceptance that I'd fall made me more relaxed and when I pulled on the reins he listened to me and slowed down to a trot and that was how I avoided the fall. It may seem counter initiative and hard to do in practice but in 'out of control' situations like this the rider should be relaxed so that the horse would in turn be relaxed otherwise he'd become nervous as well and keep going! Horses are extremely sensitive. I explained to my instructor that I had to cancel my lesson last week cos I had a little accident while mountain biking. She said how she's envious of me that I do all the dangerous sports like horse riding, climbing and mountain biking. I guess I'm really lucky to be able to do what I'm interested in!

Speaking of mountain biking, the wound on my leg is healing great but the wound on my arm not so much. I develped a yellow scab on my arm and a couple of days ago in the shower it fell off which may not sound like a big deal but the skin beneath it was white with numerous red spots. Upon closer examination the red dots were blood vessels! I freaked out and would have fainted except I've never fainted in my entire life. Soon I will decide whether to get into mountain biking or road biking. I will make that choice once I try out road biking. I'll then buy a bike which reminds me I'm spending over 2k on replacing my dying turbo engine in my Saab! Arghh with 2k I could get a really good bike!

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami 2011

The magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off-shore Japan at 2.46pm on March 11th local time. It is the largest quake in Japan's recorded history and strong tremors could be felt in Tokyo 230miles away from the epicenter. The seismic activity triggered a massive tsunami which swept into the east coast of Japan. As of now the combination of shocks and flooding has resulted in a death toll of over 1,000. The entire Pacific region is expected to be effected by the tsunami. Indeed, here in the US, states on the west coast, Oregon and California have issued tsunami warnings, evacuations are carried out and beaches are closed in response.

Where the tsunami is expected to travel across the Pacific Ocean. The dark black and purple indicate the highest rise in sea level (NOAA)

Mon premier fais du VTT en Californie

Samedi dernier, j’ai fait du vélo tout terrain avec des nouveaux amis à Mont Wilson.

J’ai loué mon vélo à Incycle pour $35 par jour. Apparemment, on a coûté près de $4000! C’était très fantaisie et il y avait beaucoup de fonctions que je ne savais pas utiliser. Donc, le vendeur m’a aidé avec le vélo. Il était très doux et patient avec moi et il a pris une heure pour m’apprendre de faire du VTT.

Alors j’étais prêt pour mon premier fais du VTT en Californie et j’ai rencontré avec trois étudiants de Caltech. Nous sommes allés au debut de la piste au canyon de Eaton.

Il faut avoir de siège haut du vélo pour grimper une colline, mais c’était trop haut pour moi de monter et donc je passais trop de temps jusque pour le monter! Aussi, il était tout en montée et c’était plus faitigant que je croyais. Je pensais que mon coeur allait s’arrêter de batter chaque seconde! Donc j’ai décidé faire du vélo à mi-chemin et le pousser à mi-chemin. Les autres étaient attendre pour moi mais je leur ai dit aller d’avant sans moi parce que je leur voulais du plaisir. Finalement, je suis arrivée à Hennigner Flats mais les autres étaient loin devant sur la route Toll du Mont Wilson, alors je continuais.

A Hennigner Flats avec mon VTT

Je les ai rencontré et quand nous descendions je pensais que je peux aller vite, mais soudainement, j’ai perdu l’équilibre et je suis tombée sur mon vélo. Mon corps a glissé sur le terrain pendant longtemps avant que je me suis arrêté. Quand je me suis levée, j’ai pu voir du sang suintement de partout. C’était peut-être le jour le plus embarrassant de ma vie, d’abord j’étais mauvais à vélo, aussi j’ai été lente et maintenant je suis tombée de mon vélo!

Pourtant, j’ai eu un grand temps et il n’y avait pas de regrets! J’ai aimé les gens et ils m’ont aidé beaucoup. A la fin de la journée, nous avons dîné à l’une de leurs maisons que j’ai vraiment aimé!

Séisme de Christchurch

Quand j'ai entendu du séisme à Christchurch sur la radio dans le matin 23 février, j'ai pensé le femme de Christchurch qui a aidé bix pendant notre vacances en Nouvelle-Zélande, elle était bien? Après, je me suis rendu compte que nous avon eu de la chance pendant notre vacances parce que il y a beaucoup du séisme en Nouvelle-Zélande. Enfin, je suis très désolé pour les victimes du séisme. Et donc, je dois quitter Californie bientôt parce que nous sommes en retard pour un grand séisme!! Suivante est la dernières nouvelles de séisme...

''The death toll continues to rise in New Zealand, as search and rescue operations continue following the Christchurch earthquake.

The death toll stood at 145 on Saturday, and more than 200 people were still reported missing as emergency crews continued to sift through rubble armed with flashlights and other equipment. The last survivor of Tuesday’s 6.3 magnitude earthquake was found on Wednesday, and the lull in rescues seems to be accompanied by dwindling hope that those still missing will be found alive. Nationals from more than 20 countries are reported to be among the missing.

One site feared to be a mass burial ground is the crumbled CTV building, where authorities fear up to 120 people are dead. On Saturday, crews worked to stabilize the area around the Hotel Grand Chancellor to begin searching the for victims. Officials say a third of the buildings in central Christchurch may have to be demolished due to damage sustained by the earthquake, which New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said “may be New Zealand's single most tragic event.” (Extrait de ABC, 26 février)

Plan

Before I went home last Christmas my advisor said that I can finish my PhD in 4 years - so in less than 1.5 years I'll be out of LA and moving on. I'm not sure to where at the moment. But there is really nothing keeping me in the US so I've been thinking for a few months now that I may go to Europe. Like US, Europe has beautiful scenery but it's also composed of many small countries and it would be really interesting to experience the different cultures that each has to offer. And in terms of practicability, education and health care systems are way better in for example Switzerland and Denmark than it is here. So I may do my rotations in Europe and decide if I want to end up staying there. Although I have been anticipating my road trip of moving from LA to where ever my job is for some time now! :P

No matter what, I'd like to do some backpacking in Europe after I graduate. Seriously, I don't know if I'll get another chance to go backpacking. When I start my job it will be very hard to take time off and even harder for when I become attached for both of us to get time off together. So it's basically now (ie 1.5 years later) or never. And isn't life about having adventures and having no regrets?! It would be nice if I can backpack for 3 months. I want to go across Morocco, Spain, France (I'll probably spend a significant amount of time in rural France and also put my French to the test), Luxembourg (see what one of the richest country has to offer), Germany, Denmark (sunrise at 4am and set at 10pm in summer!), Switzerland (the Alps), Italy etc etc I think having both English and French should set me off pretty well in most countries... :) A good starting point SoYouWanna backpack through Europe?