[lots to update] yup, di has a lot to share and tell, but mostly di misses communication with those "anonymous" fans, keke ;o) anyhoo, in order of thought process, i think i'm going to be writing about (1) how great it feels to have my very own place in san francisco, (2) 4th of july fireworks, (3) saying goodbye, (4) SARS and me, (5) random tidbits.

[apartment 406] is now where i reside =) it's a great little nook of the city, and a great little nook of my building. i have the comfiest couch ever (those who have visited can attest to), and i'm sooo excited that it's there for me to share with my friends and family. come in -- have a seat -- have a freshly baked cookie -- do you want to sit on the balcony or would you rather roll around on my ottoman =D keke =) yes, i'm super excited about it, which means that i'm also super anal about it. seeing that i've only lived there for 10 days, it's a psychopathic necessity for everything to be put back exactly where it came from (yes, i'm a weirdo like that - so shoot me). smudge on the coffee table, ooh bring in the dish cloth. bed has a butt wrinkle on it, ooh smoothed out it will be. towel is crooked on the hanger, ooh, straighten that sucka out. my point: come visit while i can still keep it in such pristine condition, because i assure you, one month down the line, i imagine you'll be seeing butt wrinkles everywhere.

that aside, i'm actually home-home now. haha. moving from home to home - i actually felt less excited about coming home-home than usual and even sadder than usual to leave my home. i guess it's just that little-kiddy excitement in me. i'm just looking forward to building a life there.

[multiple booms] now if anyone is thinking about moving out of the bay area (and i know people are, because i had to say goodbye to three people before i left), dude, think about THIS. where else in the world can you stand along the water and experience three city's fireworks in one spectacular go?! seriously. where, where, oh where? perched along the embarcadero, bundled in your scarf, and surrounded by the warmth of good friends. *kaboom* on your left, *kaboom* ahead, and *boom boom* to your right. san francisco, berkeley, and oakland respectively. it was pretty amazing =) happy 4th of july - hopefully you made it to a couple of bbq's here and there =)

[see you later?] ... which brings me to my next subject of discussion. you'd think that i'd be used to friends coming and going, after being in an international school system for 12 years of my life, but noOooOooo, it's still happening =P perhaps it's the age? this is just the time when people keep changing themselves, their directions, and the like? grace -- we know you'll make us all proud at wharton b-school. whoa dang. andy -- another b-schooler. why did you hafta move *out* of the city right when i was moving *in*? i just lost a city buddy =( but hopefully not a buddy-buddy. and steve -- i knew you were going to go back, but i didn't realize how sad it would make me =( you jersey boys mean a lot to me, even though i might not have been the best about showing it =P yay to the non-californian connection forevah! keke =) you know where to find me when you come back ;)

[tale of a post-SARS asia] take the most paranoid person you know and blend that with technology to the nth power, and you have asia, in the aftermath of SARS. imagine my coughing spasms then! no seriously -- di got sick a few days before she took off, and i just so happened to display similar symptoms to SARS. i had to fill in this "health declaration form" before entering HK and Singapore.

-- Have you displayed any of the following symptoms in the past 6 days? | Coughing | High fever | Dry throat
-- Have you taken any aspirin medication in the past 6 days? | Yes | No
etc.

*cough cough* Check, check, and check? But of course, being the savvy traveller that I am (uh. yeah.), I ticked no, and didn't get stopped at any point despite my monstrous coughing fits off and on the plane. but check this out. they screen your body temperature at every gate. so you walk through the gate, and there's this camera-looking thing pointing at you, and you see the shape of your body in funky fluorescent green, blue, and yellow colors on the screen! ta da! it's you in infra-red mode? there were nurses standing by, and they even provided thermometers on the plane and hand sanitizers at every corner. boy anyone walking or sitting around me must have been secretly pissin' their pants. hahahah.

but helas, i am home =) made it through custom points and eeeeeverything. yay me.

[*muah*] on a final note, i just wanted to say how lucky i've been feeling lately. if i ever feel down and out, someone just tell me how lucky i am to have wonderful friends & family, a warm home, shoes on my feet, food in my refrigerator, and love in my heart =) also, i hope b is trekking along safely in god-knows-where, canada and that he knows i'm thinking of him ;) taaaaaa for now =D