1st Week in LA

mon, 24 sept
well well.. pretty exciting.. mon was pretty scary.. hee i found my way to school via 2 buses.. i know the buses to take just wasnt sure where is the area i need to connect the buses.. but everything went well...while waiting for the 2nd bus, i saw In and Out burger! awesome! was thinkin to myself must go n eat sia! hee so popular.. hee the stop i wait for the 2nd bus, there was a guy drinking at the busstop... he seems pretty ok.. well well finally reached sch then iris n miranda r both not in the office yet.. tahkus greeted me n told me to go starbucks for coffee n come back later..hee but i went walking ard the area... cool... down the street there's a Vons supermarket, some eatery, deli, thai rest, blah blah. walked into a shampoo store n bought my shampoo n conditioner.. well... thinkin back, the price shd be more expensive than buying in supermarket right? hee well not sure if supermarket will have the brand.. prob not.. it's Redken.. hee okok, i know i must not anyhow spend $$ but hair very impt wat...it can determine how u look k.. walked back, miranda not in yet so mike(ya i dun rem his looks le) showed me into the campus n tell me to walk ard.. lol.. thanks lo..but ya, really small, but they r still making a recording studio on 2nd storey of the building, which is pretty awesome! we can record music in professional setting right in the small little sch.. haha checked out the drum studio.. they r all yamaha tour custom n hardware.. hmm.. they love yamaha? hehe walked up to 2nd level where the vocals room n internet is... there were some guy upstairs hanging out.. prob graduates of the sch or wat.. then i tried to find kelvin's photo on the sch photos.. haha cannot find sia.. never mind... then went off le.. explore the area... down to colorado area/shopping area.. cool.. there's a park just up the streets, metro train, shopping!!! i saw cheesecake factory restaurant.. cool. looks good...but must be damn ex too.. =\ stepped into GAP.. heehe nice clothes! pricing wise still ex but at least can find like US$10+ top in there... try finding them in SG's store.. they'll be at least US$20 i believe... very nice.. i wan to buy! =( i brought alot of clothes over le.. cannot buy! until i throw them away.. maybe winter time can buy..

(right now actualy summer clothes stil can wear in Fall in LA...it's only in the morning/evening need to wear 1 more jacket..it's better than SG aircon.. haha this air is natural one.. hahaha nice weather sia.. hehe they told me it doesnt rain in LA, so must drink lotsa water.. and the fact tt it rained on tt day i touched down in LA means it's so significant tt the sky decided to release the water in LA on 22nd Sept! hahahah)

saw abercrombie, blah blah.. saw a few small boutiques but never go in also.. trying to familarise ma.. wana take photo but dun wana look like tourist/suaku in the area ma.. alone wor.. not safe to look new.. im pretty blend in le.. just tt i seems to dress abit more 'style' than them! haha not tt im at the front of fashion, but they r really as ppl tell me tt tshirt n jeans enuff le..even the staff in the sch all dress casually... they no need so office looking la.. hee like tt more 亲切 wat.. hee my sch's area less chinese walking ard..my town alot more..

down to In and Out Burger for lunch!! hehehehe soooo happy! and so lucky! coz i didnt even know where to buy it except in Las Vegas and maybe downtown LA.. haha :D the ordering part was pretty fast.. only 3 set meals to choose from, $3+, $4+, $5+... i choose the cheeseburger $4+ one... the size seems tt i can handle.. then the waiting for the food is long...drinks is self service(like carls Jr) and i believe is free flow too! u can see the kitchen from the dining area.. and true as i was told, they prepare ur food after u ordered! u can see them putting the freshly peeled potato thru the mould to crush into fries.. and throw into the frying pans... wah... must be realfresh i was thinkin... hehe well, ketchup is free flow.. didnt see mayo and chili... but later on i saw someone carrying a plate of fries with mayo/thousand island on it... it's just like our cheese fries in KFC... looks yummy! n too big! haha nice the burger n the veggie inside was soooo fresh.. heaven! hee great food, reasonable price! at $4+ for a meal, it's really pretty decent le.. coz i walked past burger king the meal is like SG's price but in US$... i guess the serving would be pretty big too.. but never try.. haha couldnt finish the fries n chuck the remaining away.. yes, i know next time can tabao if cannot finish..


the bus has no bell... -_-''' u need to pull the cord


this is my home!

clear blue sky eh? hee

In & Out Burger! yummy!

then went home to check online where to buy wkly bus pass...then out i went again.. aiya since i've gotten the day pass, might as well make full use of it.. kekeke also can familiarise the bus route.. then went back to Fair Oaks road to find tt place to buy the pass.. cannot find! argh.. then dropped off at the shopping area... nice place.. but havent check out where r the pubs to hang out.. went home, dropped off after my house, to the HOWS supermarket near home..bought some more groceries n carry all the way home... a few streets awat..maybe 15mins walk lo.. it's ok la.. i like to walk.. LOL so happy bought my cereals, milk, of coz my florida orange juice! maybe i'll try Tropicana next time.. i scared not nice leh.. tt one abit cheaper.. hehe if not nice back to forida! hehe

Tues, 25sept
ok i stayed at home whole day coz i wana practise my strokes n do some reading b4 the evaluation on thurs.. did outdoors coz mimi is sick n resting at home so didnt wana disturb her w the noise.. i retune my host's snare drum.. so tempted to buy over! pretty nice wood n in good condition.. Yamaha Maple Custom.. haha since she put at home also collect dust ma.. hmm.. well, no budget for snare now so see how in future.. unknowingly, i practised strokes for 2hrs+! congrats man.. haha but im itching to prac drums leh.. havent gotten my gears yet... then settled my meals at home lo.. really nothing much... just chatting online w u guys back home! haha mainly is dear elaine-chan! and my 2nd bro... thanks alot for all the advices elaine! 我真得很感激你的support! hehe 2nd bro feeding me w info on wat's happening back home.. aiya, the hp bill also bobian la.. i need to tell the whole world im leaving wat.. and the calling to the bank hotlines contribute alot la.. i also dun wan ma.. u also know the stupid phone at home is damn soft.. hear wat sia..


Pretty snare drum!

wed 26sept
great! 1st day of sch.. i woke up very very early.. coz i scared cannot wake up or the bus will sabo me.. took my own sweet time to drink my italian coffee(heehee) , eat my cereals... lalala read some magazines on the table..down to sch... when i reach, i saw quite alot of ppl le.. found a table w an empty seat n filled in the sch form.. wait n wait.. see some europeans.. tok to a few japs.. so many jap sia... was thinkin tt im the only SEAsian in this batch.. hee grp orientation and then department one.. everyone has to intro themselves in the department orientation.. heehee got another female drummer in my class! her name is Valerie from US.. she was captain in her high school band, plays percussion. oh boy, must get her to teach me some tricks! she seems to know Ralph very well and plays jazz.. Joe Pocaro and Ralph Humprey filled us in about our department with mike packer there too.. there's a blind guy in my class i think his name is Ilan.. i'll update again about his name.. hee he's been in this sch for a few summer programs n now for the fulltime one.. he's cool man.. he must be really great coz when he said he has only play drums for 3 yrs, the teachers couldnt believe it.. he must be great to be in my class... and of coz, his ears must be very sensitive... can learn a thing or 2 from him.. got to know a jap guy, Takayuki who sat beside me during orientation... just found out he's only 18-going-on-19! argh i must jiayou!! went for lunch w him and back to sch... took pic for student id pass and nice valerie was kind enuff to drive me n roberto (ecuador guy) down to guitar centre to get our stuff... pretty easy to go down but it's very very long way.. and it turns out tt it's very near home.. i stayed on in Guitar Center longer coz i need to get everything.. daniel the salesman helped me with all the stuff, bought Zildjian 17" medium thin crash and mastersounds 14" hihat, iron cobra double pedal :'( (ex!) the hihat clutch, washer, felts, practice pad stand n a cymbal bag to carry everything home.. the normal cymbal bag was out of stock so he got me to buy Road Runner Cymbal bag with wheels so i can get home w the stuff.. everything was pretty ok and he gave me big discount on the stuff... the only complain i got was he made a mistake in keying in the cymbal size n charge me for the wrong cymbal n i had to walk back to GC to change it n get some $ back... daniel persuaded me to get the 18" cymbal(the one keyed into the system) instead of changing the cymbal in the system but i didnt wan it coz im getting a ride from someone in sch.. 18" crash is too low for me.. in the end, they rekey it but never gimme discount for this cymbal! argh so disgusting! i shd have been persistent on tt discount, after all tt carrying to n fro from the busstop which is abit far from GC. im pretty disgusted with their service n i wun think about going back unless i have to. DONT GO TO GC IN PASADENA! IT SUX! of coz they've got everything u need in the store, but how can u run out of stock?! the store is very big lo.. so farking disgusted. charge so high some more, they think im idiot or wat. but anyway, since i need it n for convenience sakes(im at the store already) i just get my stuff there lo.. their pricing style is like our swee lee in SG. mark up real high on the shelf n charge u lesser when u pay(ok, maybe not for everything) yucks! took bus 487 down san gabriel til Hows supermarket/subway is n walked home from there.. it's much worse than carrying the groceries home!!! but i survived n getting more muscles esp in my left arm i duno why. had instant noodles for dinner... and more chatting on internet w elaine-chan n bro.. turn out tt the practice pad stand doesnt fit! argh so sian.. rather pissed w the store le then need to go back.. didnt go out w caroline at nite when she need to go to the store to return some stuff.. busy w checking out the prices online n see worth it or not. hee got 30 days money back guarantee ma..



thurs, 27 sept
reached sch ard 9.30am as stated in the schedule though i know my turn for sightreading evaluation is at 11.30am.. haha tiring sia.. prac abit with snycopation by ted reed and realised tt it's a popular book.. i saw a few other guys holding it.. the euro guys all hang ard together one.. cannot miss one.. coz their dressing style is distinctly un-american.. hee similar to those ppl in italy, that is low abit baggy pants, show boxer out like no one's business.. hahaha and their hair is very neat one..coz i like UK bands, their hair n face features very europ-y like! haha interesting to observe.. somehow im hanging out w the japs.. and the farnie thing is the japs dun gather together as much as those europeans.. do my sch ppl think tt i cant speak english for nuts or wat or they just like to stick to their own kind? hmm... perhaps drum department is too big.. 33 of us in my class.. the others is much lesser than tt and they(own department) will tend to stick together more often.. maybe after some time things will be better.. my turn to be tested by mike.. abit stressed... played rock, funk and jazz.. gosh funk was pretty bad! i kept on switching into rock unconsciously!!! boohoo! jazz was the worst of all! i know i can do it maybe i was just nervous lo.. play jazz like wana fall off the chair like tt!! *wail aloud* never mind time will tell tt i can play more than tt! did the sightreading test.. boy it was tricky! but i made it through and was given to skip SR class but still have to go to ASR classes... heehe oh man i'll miss Joe's class! never mind.. nxt quarter got jazz classes so can see him more.. =[

got to know Miki, the jap drummer gal who grad already from the sch.. very nice lady.. she told me i look jap! hahaha this is the 1st time ppl said i look jap!heeehee she's been real nice n was telling me it's not tt easy to find gigs to play, esp without a car and drums... well, i'lll see how things go on later lo.. right now, just learn as much as i can!!

lunch i hang out a taka again... coz our turn for the test is next to each other... hee great lunch in a cafe along colorado blvd.. had theory test in the afternn by Dave Pozzi. hee those tt wnaa take level 1 can go off... a few ppl left after they saw the test paper n couldnt think they can make it thru.. i was determined to skip level 1 so i tried my best.. haha circle of fifth! i know tt one but i didnt know there were 3 enharmonic major scales in it as well! i only know Gb n F#... hee but anyway i passed the test.. the aural test was pretty easy... just up n down the scale.. the interval test was a-ok... and yesh, i skipped to level 2! all right! heehee maybe im the only drummer who got to skip to level 2.. hehe duno if i shd take L3 and 4 and go on to arrangement class but i shall think about it later.. maybe doing producing n recording is gd enuff for me.. can i do both?! haha more $$ $300/unit more for extra classes taken.. boohoo.. got to know this damn cool looking female guitarist, vicky, after test.. always wear boots one with big glasses.. her whole family plays music except for 1 bro.. so cool.. out of the performance hall and saw the japs.. yuji, taka and toyo. we chatted for a few hrs at patio area.. toyo told me i looked jap too n was wondering how come this jap dun speak japanese at all.. lol.. then left for home w yuji in the evening.. we stay rather near each other aong huntington drive.. but he stays like 15mins drive further down Hows supermarket.. it's great to know someone has to change bus as well and goes along the same route.. hee he's also in the homestay program but only for 2 months.. we have decided to share apartment le.. together with Itzumi, vocals girl. we'll start to look ard for apartments near sch..no need to travel so far le.. hee itzumi is stayin in green plaza.. alot of the internatinal students r staying there.. hee taka as well but he cycles to school... this is so exciting! though i will miss staying in this home im in now, but i think staying near sch is more impt.. i can prac til late n walk home rather than trying to catch buses home.. the public transport is terrible.. got the form for bus pass application! yeah! im eligible for student bus pass $36/month! heehee now i spend $5 per day to n fro sch.. =(

fri 28th sept
no need to go sch in morning so woke up pretty late.. hehe had instant porridge(not nice one) plus mushrooms i bought.. (yummy!) n off to sch.. did my BOA acct le. need to deposit $ into acct.. only setup the acct but no $ inside.. hehehe the staff tt came down to sch were great! so friendly.. hee late for international student orientation.. nothing much really, got the papers n reaad thru... any questions also can walk into office to find miranda wat.. hehe checked with her about the M1 visa coz the US embassy very niao1 about the pass so give me til oct 1 2008 only.. she said it's ok as long as i stayin US lo.. hehe ok verified tt le so im relieved. down to GC to exchange my practice pad stand... i brought the cymbal bag along to sch... got to know Gabriel from hungary at the BOA acct setup.. he was very interested in my cymbal bag n tot for a long time whether to buy from me.. haha ended up i chuck the bag with him n let him decide til monday.. well he wun run away also.. the sch is so big only..in my class some more.. he's a really nice chap.. maybe can hang out w him more.. tt roberto is everywhere.. keep on chatting w ppl.. down to GC w taka n yuji n changed for a crash cymbal stand to hold my pad.. hmm.. tt sales guy i think he also duno the stuff one.. or do they think im stupid? idiots man.. he told me the cymbal stand is pacific DW one.. but it's not leh.. only the stupid tag on it says so.. it's clearly not so later on i look at the stand carefully.. made in taiwan.. hmm... of coz he didnt charge me the price as stated on the DW price tag.. if he had done so, i'll kill him! haha hand carry the cymbal back n throw into locker.. didnt get to apply mobile line.. hmm over this wkend ba.. decided on getting T Mobile.. best choice le.. $39.99/month, free after 9pm n wkends.. more mins given for this plan as well.. stupid AT&T is a rip off. haha.. but anyway my host said if only use in LA, Tmobile is good enuff.. i'll go down to the shop latest on monday near sch to get it done.. reached sch almost 5.30pm le.. the party has started! woah the pizza r huge!!! pic up later. it's so amazing.. never see b4!!! hahaha italian food in US? hmmmm... salad was so so, pizza was great.. ice cream is very yummy! missing italy! the italian food is the best in italy! hahaha

ready for sch!

huge pizza!!

Mingler party!

then hang ard, walk here n there,m checked which grp am i in and private instruction tutor n timing.. then a brazilian drummer walked past n asked us if we know who is xiao tian.. lol! cute sia..then i said it's me.. heehee katsu was looking for me! the one tt i wana buy his ride from! haha i havent got my mobile line ma cannot call him in sch.. he's a great guy n then showed me the 2 rides he's selling, didnt like the inital 20" k custom ride i wanted to get, ended up getting the 18" K ride.. hehe the sound is great but i would love the 20" one.. anyway, i just wan it for practice so anything goes la.. paid him on the spot. haha he's richer by $100+ right away! hee he's pretty helpful n said if i have any questions about the stuff taught in class i can approach him.. he just graduated from the sch n in the grad program.. which is just taking private instructions only.. cool i told him i also wana hang ard US after i grad.. hee he also said it's alot of $$ n it's tough.. ya lo.. =( i must ganbatte!

left sch for home w yuji at 7plus n reaching home an hr later..we have so much to tok about.. he's a real nice n gentlemental guy(jap guys ma) n he stayed in UK for 3 yrs and went to Drum Tech over there for 2 yrs! he must be real good! alittle stressed out here coz female drummers r rare n ppl r anticipating how good i am... gosh.. practise!!!

the rest of the nite was spent watching korean drama serial, war of money 钱的战争. it's very dramatic n farnie! hehee watched 6 epi in a row n ended up bathing at 3am! haha never mind la, the plot is very good n u just cant stop watching.. hehe slept ard 4am..

sat slacked at home... coz go out need to take bus which means $$ heehee then sunday too...except tt sun evening caroline n mimi jio-ed me to go watch movie with them... our prepaid tix(sg shd have tt and at super low price!) didnt allow us to watch the show we wana catch but we bought the tix anyway for the same timing n went to watch Eastern Promises anyhow hehehe Great show! i love the cinematography and misc-en-scene (i dun rem how to spell) and how the movie implied alot of things... well, if the show is going to SG, must watch! about russian mafia... hehe i like the leading main actor!(forgot name! hee)