I did miss San Francisco after being away for at least 4 weeks.

The cool weather, the peace in my neighborhood and the half empty malls here. No trampling of people trying to get the same sutff as I do, no one cutting my line when I am lining up for food, and cars here slow down for pedestrians (ahemm, besides the point that pregnant women walk slow).

Please do not get me wrong, I do love my country. But now I remember why I vowed to myself that I shall live far from home when I grow up. Even my favorite cousin says that I have the 'Most likely to stay abroad' tag pasted on my forehead since I was little. He knows me so darn well. And with the crisis that came upon me on my last visit, being away from home helps alot in terms of sanity and recuperation. Noone here to bother me, to say bad things in front of me (at least I wouldn't hear them) or even 'snatch' my precious things from me.

When Uja came to visit and we sat in Union Square itself drinking Diet Soda, it was scattered with tourists but the feeling was very serene, hearing the cable car running every minute and the bells ringing. We could sit there for hours with Uja repeating herself saying that its oh so beautiful here in SF and me kept saying 'Kau tak tinggal sini Uja, suma nampak wangi lah' ('you dont't live here Uja, everything looks beautiful here). But she still could not hide the truth that San Francisco is a beautiful city by itself.

If you dont like the crowd, then take the car and drive 20 more minutes to the cliffs and the beach. Our family's favorite place to sit and rot during the day, provided there's sun to keep us warm. Still bored? Lets go hiking, 10 more minutes of coastal driving and we're there to climb down and the cliff, explore the untouched beaches and then climb back up. (No wonder Ely's so fit eh? Still can climb and walk when shes oh so big now).

Let's snap back to reality. Ely and family has not finished unpacking...no we have not. Why? Cos we're too lazy and tired. Our first week getting back to work was such a joy to the husband and me...as long as we don't touch the luggage. Its Sunday now and what am I doing? We just watched an Alfred Hitchcock movie marathon since last night. The husband went to see a client who's selling his vintage car via eBay ($5k potential earning for us) and the daughter is rotting in front of the TV with pretzel crackers in her hands. No topic of the untouched luggages has been mentioned. In fact, the cats have been making the luggages their temporary bunk!

But I know that I need to update on my makeup...my foundation is almost at its last drip and the compact is sitting to its side container and the makeup brushes look more like used toothbrushes now. So this means that Ely needs to go shopping right? Just yesterday, I went for my haircut. My hairdresser was appalled to see my colored hair with split ends...she managed to cut the ends but still keep most of the length on my head. Looks so much better!

We have also found another halal buffet indian restaurant in San Mateo (15 minutes drive from our place). The food was heaven! Setting of the restaurant was also like heaven, siap dengan langsir and Bollywood dvd. Good place to bring Mak when she comes here in December.

Did I also mention that half of my maternity clothes are very fitting now? Yes, the baby just had growth spurts since I got home and she is kicking her way out of the maternity clothes. Eventhough I just gained 4 lbs from the trip, the baby surely is telling us that she had absorbed most of my food intake. So this means that I need to go get more clothes which I am violently resisting. I have 3 more months to go...I am so NOT going to spend more money on clothes that I am going to wear for a few more weeks. Oh wait! This reminds me that I DID buy a maternity pinafore when I was in Singapore...now i just need to go find it!

Now I feel that I need to sweep and mop the living room and the kitchen. Alah, malaslah...the cats are sleeping on the bed...maybe I should join them!