What life has treated me with in the past four months?
Yes, it's been a long while since I last posted an entry to my blog, apologies for being lazy in communicating my life out here to the ones I love!
Los Angeles
Early March an AIESEC conference happened to take place in LA - why not go there? :) Didn't get to see much of the conference, but got to explore a bit of the Orange County.
Disneyland - a place to definitely check of my "To See" list. Had lots of fun riding various roller coasters, enjoying the crowd, looking for ways of cutting the loooooong lines :) Nice, but definitely meant for children. Shoot - I'm not yet as grownup myself. LoL :) Anyways, I can firmly say now - "Been there, did it, time to go elsewhere, no need to return".
Hollywood - Walk of Fame and other famous places to go proved to be a big tourist attraction. Interesting people around, you can definitely sense a strong "wannabe a star" atmosphere all around.
Beverly Hills - neat and sweet. Rodeo drive and surrounding little streets reminded me so much of Europe and the old towns I missed so much!.. A little copy in LA is not that real and rich in history though... There's no place like home, indeed.
Overall Las Vegas is humongous, somewhat fake, traffic is seriously bad; however, the feel of California is there, on every single corner..
Discovering Indian culture again and again
Living in the Bay Area is really rewarding in having the possibility to discover various cultures mixed in one place. Indian culture is one of those I'm quite often exposed to.
HOLI - the festival of colours. A crazy day spent with some crazy AIESECers and a bunch of Indian people! :) Look how pretty and colourful you can get in a few hours:
Indian Cultural Show - nice dances, colourful clothes, rich cultural heritage - Indian is indeed a diverse as no other.
Work hard party harder
Work has been pretty intense in the last months - long hours approaching our busy season, surviving through it, moving on and catching up on numerous projects left behind. Tuff at times, but seriously rewarding in the end. In the evaluation period now, getting some nice feedback and looking into some nice future development later.
Work has not only been professionally challenging, but also fun :) Starting from kick of events at vineries, continuing with wild end of busy season parties and continuously spiced up with outings with the closest circle of colleagues - accountants can be hella fun! ;)))
Basketball
Something making me feel like home :) Our team (Golden States Warriors) finally made it to the NBA playoffs and gave us here some good times spent watching the games and enjoying Sarunas Jasikevicius (rarely on the field, but still :P). I got to go and see one of the games right before the playoffs myself at the Oracle Arena in Oakland - tons of fun, was something a Lithuanian has to do at least once in the life - go watch a real basketball game, an NBA game! ;)
Broken bones
Yep, May was an exciting month in my medical experiences here in the US. In addition to the wisdom tooth removal I happened to visit the Emergency Room one late Friday night and leave it with big ol' cast on :) Excitement about the Warriors wining against the Utah Jazz ended in Monika falling on her elbow and having a bone fracture for some good 4 to 6 weeks. Experience not as nice and desired, especially in a foreign country. Can't blame anyone else but me though, I'm not a ten year old boy anymore, lol ;))
Here's how I look now with my little splint on. Thanks god the big ol' cast is of already!
Get Golden - camping in the Yosemite National Park area
Get Golden is an annual camping trip Sun Microsystems trainees organize in May. A number of AIESECers, trainees and their friends gather together from all over U.S. and abroad to have fun in the beautiful nature in the Yosemite surrounding area. I got to bring a few of my co-workers with me, too ;) 
This year we had 50 plus people camping together - fun ;)
One day spent at the Bass lake going crazy on a ski boat, enjoying the refreshing swims in the water, simply playing games at the campsite, fire, songs and dances around it, marsh mellows deluxe :)
The second day in the amazing Yosemite mountains - breathtaking… Even though it's my second time there I couldn't stop staring at everything with my mought wide open…;)
Now looking forward to my trip to Hong Kong!
An overview of the latest and greatest...
It's been a long while since I last posted the latest happenings in my life overseas. It's always difficult to put all the emotions new experience of more than a month in a short manner (especially for me :)), I'll try to do my best!
Having Lina here in the Land of fruits and Nuts
Yeah - "The land of fruits and nuts" :) A truly correct way to say it all about California! An indeed divers community over here has no shortage of both gay people and the once with mental disorders, too.
OK, back to Lina and the time spent with her. I cannot put it in words how great it was to have someone so precious to me like Lina last holiday season!.. Yeah.. All the great things we did: went to check Monterey and the Bay Aquarium there, did bar hopping in Santa Cruz, 
enjoyed endless walks up and down the hills of the breathtaking San Francisco city, had a traditional Christmas dinner (Turkey turkey…) in a sweet American family, droved all the way up to the mountains to the amazingly beautiful resort of Lake Tahoe, met the New Year in a crazy crowd of San Francisco. A lot to remember!
San Francisco - again and again!..
Check some photos out.
Little Italy and the Transamerica Pyramid in the background. Tiramissu in the cafes out there.... amazing...
Talking about "fruits" of California :))) a common view in SF!
Crazy streets of San Francisco might make you go crazy, too... :P
Lake Tahoe
The lake surrounded by the amazing mountain range is a perfect place for skiers at winters, a wonderful place for all the nature lovers in summers. Oh, and gamblers - the resort is on the border of California and Nevada, which means that gambling in a so distinctive Nevada part is on 24/7!
I was lucky to visit this place twice in the last month - first with Lina to simple enjoy the snow I don't get to see in the Bay Area, and the second time - with AIESEC friends for some snow boarding!
Yep - my first snow boarding experience! What can I say - my bum and my knees were not to happy about this adventure, but my soul sure was! The feeling is surely amazing… Needs quite some practice to be absolutely spectacular though... :P
Some precious moments…
Siuntinukai… Little parcels… Sweets, magazines, champagne (that was a crazy one for sure!), all the greetings… Every single little detail just made me realize that there's no other place like home, no better friends like the ones you grew up with, experienced so much with! My Love for ya all is reaching even further when the endless sky!
People surrounding me here - all new, becoming very precious in the speed of light… Finally, after spending a few months in the Golden State I feel having a growing network of people I can so much relate to - fiends I value more and more with each and every day! Guys - you know you always make my day! Love ya all!
The feeling of slowly becoming a "
local". I'm not talking about dinning in all the fast food chains, managing to have the whole extra large meal in one go or becoming a lazy spoiled ass, nooo… I'm talking about all new shortcuts I'm discovering, new ways of doing things, understanding the ways people behave here… Feels both strange and as well good… :)
Work. Didn't expect to put this one here, but... I indeed start to feel the value I'm getting working with PwC. One thing - I can totally enjoy the diversity I value so much every single day in the office - more that 50 countries are represented here... The other - a number of my colleagues are crazy as hell and I love them for that! :) And of course - the professional experience. I sure feel the growing trust in me and the what I do, support and effort to push me beond the frames of the initial job description...
Now I can honestly admit - this experience is totally worth it!..
Christmas on the streets!
I told you Americans are crazy about holidays? Right... And decorations!!!
Halloween came with all the pompastic decorations on the streets in the town, in many many families' front yeards - all over. It left of course...
The start of the Christmas season took over the stage right after! Some captured moments to share...
Macy's netingi pasipuosti :)
Union square San Francisco
Most of the families try their best in decorating the house - some do really well, the others simply don't know a better way to spend a fortune on the decorations them selves and the electricity bill... Jundge this one yourselves :)
Google, Paris Hilton and me
The news today on CNN made me realize why here in the U.S. people make a comment like "Did anybody ever tell you that you look like Paris Hilton?" or "Wow, for a second I thought it was Paris walking into our Starbucks cafe!" and alike to me so often... People on the bus, people on the street, even PwC partners!
Here's the reason:
"Top 5 of the searches people run on Google are:
1. Paris Hilton
2. ..."
Seams this girl is really something in the states! But how come I have to be the one associated with her?.. :) Do we really look alike?
Kucios with the Lithuanian community in the Bay area
Thanks to my Lithuanian co-worker I got to know about the Lithuanian community in the Bay area and the traditional Christmas Eve dinner they were organizing. No surprise - I didn't loose this opportunity to meet some Lithuanians and taste some traditional Lithuanian food! :) Silkute... Balta misraine... Zagareliai... Kuciukai... Aguonu pienas.... mmm... I almost felt like home... :) I was actually expecting to meet some Lithuanians of the age similar to mine, build a small network of friends; however, I found only elder people and children attending... :) No wonder, youngsters have better things to do than just watching a performance prepared by sweet five year olds or chating with a charming couple in their 70-ties... :)Anyways, I'm glad I went. I hope to make it to the celebration of the independence day as well!
Pre-Christmas party
On a Friday night me and my friend Lina went to a Pre-Christmas party in Santa Cruz organized by her boyfriend's family members. Americans love to celebrate - Pre-Christmas party, Holiday kick of party, whatever reason to get together and have some fun :)
This party was a bit special coz it had a game/competition which was the center of the whole night. It is called The White Elephant competition (because of the prize - a pimped white elephant sculpture - the winner gets hold of for a year) the goal of which is to bring the most crapy gift ever :D It was really fun to see how creative people can be! This competition was a good way to count the people attending too - by the time the number of the participant reached 6o everybody was already tired... :)
Just for the record - the winner of this whole thing was a person who brought in a crocodile candy jar...
TodayyyyyyyO! :)))
I have to tell you - this birthday of mine was the longest birthday I ever had! Started right after the midnight of the 14th in Australia and ended at midnight of the 15th in the West coast of the U.S.A. :D it can't get any longer!Some magic components of the day:
burning shot in the glass of beer instead of the candle on the cake :)
a precious friend from Lithuania - the best gift you can ever expect!
twelve little cakes and a surprise birthday party with all surprise guest being late :)
...
All this and much more made the day fun like no other... Better when I could have expected it to be after only slightly over two months in a completely new environment... :)
The Birthday drink :)
The suprise late at night... :)
One crazy night...:)
After spending the whole weekend shopping both in San Jose and San Francisco we ended the Sunday night grocery shopping and bringing the shopping cart to the apartment :))) ...crazy girls... ...crazy shopping... ...crazy weekend...
Linksmybes darbe
Apie pati darba nera ka ten labai rasyt, tai va apie smagiaja vakarine jo dali brukstelsiu truputuka:
- Vakariene su parneriais ir Comedy show. Pries savaitele teko sudalyvaut dar vienam PwC parneriu organizuotam renginuke - susirinkom 16-a zmoniu vakarienei mielam restorane, o po jos perbegom i Comedy show. Tai vat pastarajam reikale pirma kart gyvenime buvau :) Turbut zinot, kad tai gan megstama vakaro praleidimo forma cionais - sedi, gurksnoji koki kokteiliuka ir klausaisi gan stipriu komedijantu juokeliu. Turiu pripazint, kad tikrai smagu! Du is keturiu komedijantu buvo nerealus, griuvom visi juokais :) reiketu ir LT kazka panasaus uzvest (jei dar nera)!
- Kulinarijos pamokos. Sia savaite turejom savo darbines komandos team building vakara - profisionalios kulinarijos institute mokemes gaminti! :) susiskirste mazesnemis komandomis gaminome visa galybe uzkandziu bei desertu, kuriuos veliau visi smagiai ir isragavome :) paprastas ir puikus budas aptureti smagu vakara su kolegomis - sveikintina iniciatyva. Beje, mano su vienu PwC partneriu ruostas uzkandis buvo nuominuotas kaip vienas skaniausiu :P
- Sventinis vakarelis. Gal ne tiek vakarelis, kiek didziulis pobuvis :)) mat ofise musu kiek virs tukstancio zmoniu!!! o i svente dar ir su antrom pusem sukviesti visi buvo! :)) tai galit isivaizduoti, kaip viskas atrode :) Pats vakaras (apart zmoniu skaiciaus) nebuvo kitoks, nei iprasta pas mus LT - maistas, gerimai, gyva muzika, sokiai pokiai, pokalbiai ir pan. Tik toks pastebejimas - cia zmones tokiuose darbiniuose vakareliuose tiek neatsipalaiduoja, apie vidurnakti dauguma ir issiskirste :)
Thanksgiving day
Na pacia padekos diena praleidau lektuve - pasvenciau skrydziui i NYC, bet jos isvakarese teko sudalyvauti padekos dienos vakarieneje tarptautiniuose studentu namuose. Juose AIESEC kartu su tarptautiniais studentais suorganizavo visus tradicinius pateikalus ir sukviete uzsieniecius juos isragauti :) nesijaute tos jaukios seimynines atmosferos, bet vistik paragavau ju zymiojo kalakuto :) si svente is dalies primine musu Kucias - apsivalgymo meta :) beje, sia diena nedirba visi (tik degalines ir KFC atidaryti:)), visi issislapste po namus dziaugiasi savo seimomis...
New York City
Zinia, kad padekos dienos savaitgaliui lekiau i NYC pasidairyti. Keliavau su kambarioke Asma, apsistojome pas jo broli su seima (kas isties sutaupe ne viena simta doleriu!). Turiu pripazinti, Niujorkas - nerealus miestas! Didelis ir nuolat uzsiemes :)) Aplankeme didziaja dali miesto izimybiu: Wall street, Ground zero, 5th Avenue, Rockefeler center, Crysler building, Empire state building, Times square, Liberty statue, Central park, China town, Little Italy, Madison square ir dar nesuskaiciuojama daugybe ne tiek zymiu, bet zavingu vietu...:) Nerealus visa ko misinys sis miestas! Tuo jis ir uzburia... Gaila tik, kad neteko patirti naktinio Niujorko zavesio... Mat kompanija mana nevisai tokia buvo... Issiskyre musu su Asma prioritetai - as lekiau i NYC atrasti dar viena didmesti ir isspausti is keliones viska viska (vistik visa JAV perskridom ir tikrai greitu metu ten nenukaksim!), o ji vaziavo su seima pasibuti. Tai vat sau ir prisizadejau - organizuotis smagia kompanija ir siaust kitokio Niujorko atrast! Prisijungiat? :)
Keliones metu atradau ne tik Niujorka, bet ir Pakistanieciu kultura. Nepatikesit, kaip skiriasi musu laiko planavimo iprociai, sprendimo priemimo greitis ir budai, poziuris i dalykus ir pan..:) Ugdziausi kantrybe ir tolerancija su jais laika leisdama.. dar dalele kulturines patirties, kurios cia semiuosi :) Viena vakaru praleidom Asmos giminiu namuose - pakistanietiska virtuve ir dideles seimynos surmulys.. Samgu buvo meginti isijausti i ju kultura, padiskutuoti ekonomikos klausimais su Federal Reserve Bank ilgus metus besidarbavusiu seneliu..
Tiesa, apsilankeme vienoje isskirtineje parodoje - The BODIES. Joje eksponuojamas ir detaliai nagrinejamas zmogaus kunas - kaulu, raumenu, organu, nervu/kraujotakos sistemu sandara, tikru tikriausi pavydziai! Nerealu... Galit uzsukt pasiziureti - http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/intro.html 
Wall street - New York Stock Exchange
Ground zero - buvusiu dvyniu vietoje dabar statybu aikstele, ruosiamasi statyti paminkla atminimui... Be rugsejo vienuoliktosios ivykiu chronologines sekos minuciu tikslumu, kvapa gniauzianciu nuotrauku cia taip pat eksponuojami ir tevu netekusiu vaiku piesiniu koliazai - sirdi gerokai suvirpina...
5th Avenue
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Chrysler builbing
Times Square
Pakistanieciu namuose
Empire State Building virsuje
Vaizdas nuo Empire State Building
Statue of Liberty :)
Central Park
Mazas pasaulis - susimatymas su Camryn
Zinot ka?! Ogi Camryn - buves AIESEC Vilnius stazuotojas is Naujosios Zelandijos - buna San Francisco! Jis taip pat tik atsikele i Kalifornija - nuo spalio 1 dienos cia darbuojasi. Taip taip - mazas tas pasaulis!!! :)) Smagu, kad draugu ir pazistamu ratas plecias :)
Vakariene su PwC partneriu
Viena penktadieni buvau pakviesta vakarienes su vienu is PwC partneriu ir jo zmona. Cia viena is kiek anksciau pasibaigusio busy season akciju atrakciju darbuotojams. Vakarieniavom Singapurisko maisto restorane, viso 10 zmoniu taigi buvo uzsakyta turbut viskas, kas tik buvo meniu - apsivalgem nerealiai :)) smagi iniciatyva ir gera proga geriau pazinti zmones ne darbineje aplikoje. Po vakarienes nusitrenkem su vienu kolega dar i kluba - pirma karta per visa menesi turejau proga pasisokti! pagaliau! tik ne taip jau paprasta buvo su aukstakulniais ir pilnu skrandziu tai daryti... :P :)))
Aerosmith koncertas
Jau buvau minejus, kad su kolegom nusipirkom bilietus i Aerosmitu koncerta - taigis pastarasis ivyko ketvirtadieni pries kelias savaiteles! nerealu buvo matyti tuos senuciukus (na tikrai jie jau ne pirmos jaunystes) taip selstancius ant scenos! :)) koncertas pavykes gavos, tik norejos ilgesnio ir pritruko keletos paciu paciausiu dainu... Anyways, manau dar ne viena zvaigzde pavyks gyvai isgirst, mat i Bay area atveza ju daugybe! :)
Halloween JAV
Turbut daugelis isivaizduojat, kokie pamise del Halloween amerikonai yra - TAIP ir dar kaip!!! Persirengia visi - kasininkai supermarketuose, pardavejai visose parduotuvese, zmones gatvese, autobusu vairuotojai, netgi ofisiniai zmones, tokiu firmu kaip PwC darbuotojai! Taip taip, musu ofisas buvo visas dekoruotas, priruosta akciju atrakciju darbuotoju vaikams, moliugu skaptavimo, isradingiausio/baisiausio kostiumo konkursai :) Smagu matyt kolegas taip atsipalaidavusius :)))
Halloweeno vakara stazuotojai ir AIESECieciai nusprendeme praleisti San Francisco, kur Castro gatveje/rajone (is esmes geju rajone) vyksta didziulis judesys sia proga - tukstanciai zmoniu, persirengusiu ir tiesiogine ta zodzio prasme einanciu ir proto! ojojoj vaizdu prisiziurejom!!! :)) Siaip gana ekstremali patirtis buvo, mat vieta tiesiog sausakimsa, o zmogeliu dauguma apsvaige (turbut girdejot ir LT per zinias pranese, kad pastarasis renginukas susisaudymais biskiuka baiges...) Na mes sveiki gyvi ir nieko panasaus nemate likom. Zodziu - pamatyti visa tai buvo verta, bet vieno karto uztenka.. :)
Savaitgalis su Paulos seiminyksciais
Praeita sestadieni praleidau su Paulos (buvusios AIESEC Vilnius stazuotojos is FIlipinu) teciu ir broliu - jos tetis jau 7metus gyvena JAV (South San Francisco), brolis kaip tik lanke ji, taigi Paula budama namie Maniloje suorganizavo mums pasimatyma! :)) taigis, susitike ankstu sestadienio ryta leidomes lankyti:
Fort Funston. Golden Gate Nacionalinio parko dalis Ramiojo vandenyno pakranteje, joje amerikieciai buvo isbarste visai nemaza skaiciu patranku gynybos tikslais. Patranku, aisku, nebera, bet vieta ispudinga uoleta pakrante ir gausybe vadinamuju Hang gliders vejuota diena. Deja, anas sestadienis buvo tiesiog nuostabiai siltas ir sauletas - beveik jokio vejuko, taigi ju pamatyti taip ir nepavyko.
Cliff House. Kiek toleliau toje pacioje pakranteje esantis gan ispudingas namukas su fainu restoraniuku ant uolos :) Vat si pakrante tai banglentininku gan smarkiai okupuota, tai smagu buvo stebeti, kaip jie bangas gaudo viena po kitos :) salia Cliff House atradom ir seniausiu bei prabangiausiu viesuju pirciu/baseinu komplekso liekanas - ispudingas dalykas anais laikais buvo!
Fisherman's Wharf ir Pier 39. Populiari vieta SF, pilna akciju atrakciju turistams (tarp ju ir Musee Mecanique - senovisku zaidimu automatu ir kitokiu mechaniniu dalykiuku muziejus). Prieplauka turi net sava pasauliniu mastu zinoma benami - "bush man". Pastarasis slepiasi uz "krumo" ir kaifuoja gasdindamas praeinancius zmones :)))
Cable Car. San Francisco turi dar toki faina relikta :) smagu pasivezinti senoviska priemone, nuzvelgti miesto izimybes.
Praleide visa diena SF apylinkese, vakarieniavom Filipinietiskam restorane - dar viena virtuve irasyta i isbandytuju sarasiuka! :))
Pietus indu namuose
Spalio 15d. stazuotojai buvome pakviesti vienos indes AIESECietes pietu jos namuose. Kaip tik baigesi Diwali - viena didziausiu svenciu, kone prilygstanciu musiskems Kaledoms, tai buvome pakviesti tradiciniu pietu sia proga. Buvo isties labai malonu apsilankyti ju grazuose namuose, paragauti tikros tradicines indu virtuves, pasikalbeti su issilavinusiais jos tevais - zinanciais apie Lietuva! hehe :)) dabar suprantu, kaip turetu jaustis stazuotojai Lietuvoje - chebryte, pasikvieskite juos karts nuo karto i savo namus!
Yosemite nacionalinis parkas
Spalio 21d. su grupele zmoniu issiruosem i zygi Yosemite nacionaliniame parke, esanciame rytu Kalifornijoje, apie 200 myliu nuo mano gyvenamosios vietos. Issinuomojom "big fat car" - vadinamaji SUV (Sport-Utility-Vehicle), naujuteli Lincoln'a, kuris be problemu iveike kalnus ir kitus sunkumus :)) taigis, kelemes 5val ryto, kad vieta pasiektume dar pries pietus ir turetume pakankamai laiko palaipioti tais nuostabiais kalnais, nes temsta cia apie 6-7val vakaro. Ir galiu pasakyti - buvo daugiau nei verta!!! Nuostabiai grazu... nuostabiai... :) Lietuvoj tokios vietos nei su ziburiu nerasi - visi juokesi, kai pasakojau, jog musu pasididziavimas - Juozapines kalnas - nesiekia net 300m virs juros lygio :)) vat tokiais momentais ir suprantu, kad i gera valstija pataikiau - galiu cia rasti viska: vandenyna, dykumas, kalnus, lygumas, didmiescius ir mazuliukus miesteliukus... kelios nuotraukos geriau pailiustruos sia diena..:)
San Juan Bautista miestukas
Viena sekmadieniu su Antony (vaikinukas, dirbantis PwC, padejes susirasti sia stazuote) ir jo draugais buvom mini road trip - palekem iki San Juan Bautista miestuko, zinomo del jame esancios didziausios Kalifornijoje krikscioniskosios misijos. Tokis mielas, ramus, kiek ispaniskos dvasios mazas miesteliukas - iskart pasijuto skirtumas, kitoks jis nei siaip miestai Kalifotnijoj.
Santa Cruz & Monterey
Rodos isivaziuoju i daugiau maziau tipiska stazuotojui gyvenimo ritma - darbo dienos ramios, o savaitgaliai skirti kelionems ir pazinimui :) tiagis, savaitgali aplankiau pora pajurio miesteliu - Santa Cruz ir Monterey. Tiesa, antrajame tik vakareiniavau, taigi ne tiek jo ir pamaciau...:) o Santa Cruz'e tai visai neblogai pasivaiksciojom, ir svarbiausia - pamirkem kojas Ramiajame vandenyne! :D Santa Cruz - miestelis nedidukas, bet traukia zmones savo atrakcionais ir dar keliais lankytinais objektais. Mielas tokis visai..:) tik tiek, kad jis artimiausias papludimio miestelis, tai savaitgali i ji ir is jo eismas labai didelis, tai gerokai pastrigom kamstyje triju juostu greitkely... :)
Mirkom kojytes Ramiajam vandenyne
'Pavojinga - praejimo nera' :))
Grize po kelioniu po papludimius sudalyvavom AIESEC vakarelyje-maskarade, kuriam kaukes isigyti is ryto reikejo. Beje, tai turejo buti ir mano Welcome Dinner, bet mes kazkaip i ji nespejom... :P
Amerikonai jau ruosiasi Halloweenui - jums reiketu pamatyti, kokio dydzio parduotuves pas juos siam reikalui! Cia ne musu maziukai skyriukai su keletu kaukiu supermarketuose :) Tokis pastebejimas - vargsai AIESECieciai JAV - negali jie normaliai linksmintis kol nesulauke 21 metu (ir aisku jie visi kaip tik 18-21 :P)! tai vat ir vakarelis kiek apribotas - viesbucio salytej, apie vidurnakty visi buvo paprasyti issiskirstyti. Uztat planuojamas jau vakarelis atokiame name, kur nebus jokiu ribu, jokiu triuksma reguliuojanciu policiju :)) idomu.. idomu... :)
Kaip matot, del kaukiu labai nevargom :P
San Francisco
Taigis, apsilankiau as vakar San Francisco! Miestas nerealus! Jei kas dar dvejojot, ar reikia jame apsilankyti, tai meskite tokias mintis salin - butinai reik siame mieste pabuvoti! :) Architektura, zmones, judesys mieste - viskas mane tiesiog pakerejo, nors pabuvau SF tik viena dienele... :) Jau matau, kaip leidziu savo savaitgalius jame.. ;P gi tik valanda kelio nuo namu! Be kinieciu, italu ir dar N visokiu kitokiu kvartalu, miestas turi viena tokia idomybe - kone stacias gatves, tikra beda svieziai iskeptiems vairuotojams :) dar niekur tokiu nera teke matyti.. prisegu pora foto, patys pamatytis how crazy it is :))
Per viena diena tokiame mieste tik vos vos apsiziureti zmogus speji, bet va jau teko paragauti zymaus surio pyrago Cheesecake Factory Macy's prekybos centro virsutiniame aukste, aplankyti Golden Gate Bridge (deja, tik sutemus jau, tai pacio tilto grozio tiek ir tematyti... nors vaizdelis nuo jo - tiesiog kvapa gniauziantis...). Apejom bene didziaja dali miesto centro, atradome viesbuti, kuriame nakvosiu pries savo pirmaja darbo/mokymu diena SF, bei ofiso pastata (viena is didziuju dangoraiziu mieste:)), kurio 20-ame aukste viskas ir vyks.
Macy's prekybos centro virsutiniame aukste. Amerikonai dievina Macy's...
Bay Bridge
mmm... I think I'm in Love!... :))
Fone smailiai kyso - Transamerica Pyramid
Nerealiai stacios gatves! Isiziurekit kiek auksciau :))
Sugebetumet prisiparkuot tokioj gatvelej? :P
Tolumoje - Alcatraz
Izymusis Golden Gate Brige
Ir as ten buvau...
Gyvenamoji vieta
Kol kas bent jau apsistoju su dviem stazuotojom (Patricia is Dominikos Respublikos ir Asima is Pakistano). Butas triju kambariu, tai man tenka glaustis svetaineje. Nera labai patogu, taigi galvosim, ka toliau daryt - keltis man i kita buta tam paciam komplekse (rodos yra dar vienas laisvas) ir ieskotis kambarioko, keltis visoms i didesni buta ar dar kaip kitaip daryti. Visai netoliese yra supermarketas ir kitu reikalingu dalyku, autobusas i mano darba vaziuoja taip pat visai netoliese, rajonas saugus, tai gal ir visai nieko variantas. Bus geriau matyt po kokio menesiuko. 
Namas is isores - musu butukas desiniau... :)
mano kuklus kalpelis...
Pirmas vakaras Kalifornijoje
Iki naujuju namu Sunnyvale is SF oro uosto - valanda kelio. Kadangi atvykau kaip tik tokiu laiku, kai visiems baigiasi darbai, patekau ir i ametikietiskuosius kamscius :) na ne tokie gal baisus pasitaike - visai normaliai judejom :) namie tik numeciau lagaminus (kuriu mano du nemazi, bet visiems cia pasirode, kad as visai mazai daiktu atsiveziau! :)), sulaukem poros draugu (vienas is ju - Antony Tan is Indonezijos, gal kas pazistat ji is tu laiku, kai metus Estijos AIESECe buvo) ir vaziavom i Tailandietisko maisto restorana. Jooo, ivairoves maisto pasirinkimui cia tikrai netruksta :) Kadangi jau buvo beveik pusryciu metas Lietuvos laiku, tai tepasiemiau sriubos MAZA porcija, kuri pasirode bent tris kartus didesne nei Lietuvoje normali :)) tiagi, puse jos taip ir liko stoveti...:) Maistas skanus siaip, reikes ir daugiau cia visko ismeginti. Bet tikrai tiesa, kad amerikonai ir suamerikoneje uzsienieciai maistu megaujasi nerealiai, nenuostabu, kodel jie cia tokie issipute.. :) reikes kazkaip prisiziureti man ir chebra kitaip laisvalaiki leisti pratinti :P ai teisa, PwC turi sporto kluba savo ofiso pastate, kuriuo darbuotojai gali nemokamai naudotis, tai reikes jame karts nuo karto apsilankyti :)) 
Pirmasis maistas JAV - Tailandietiska virtuve.
Su kambariokemis Patricia is Dominikos Respublikos ir Asma is Pakistano
Skrydis i San Franciska
Skristi i USA is Londono nera jau taip baisu, kaip galima buvo tiketis :) na taip, batukus reik nusiimti, jokiu skysciu ir panasiai, bet siaip tai nieko ypatingo. Lektuvas pakilti velavo kokiu 20-30 minuciu, tai nebuvo itin malonus dalykas, bet AIESECieciai San Francisco (SF) oro uoste luktelejo, tai visks narmaliai :) Skrydis - kiek ilgesnis nei 10val, tai pakankamai isvargino, nes pamiegoti taip ir nepavyko - tai maistas, tai deklaracijos, tai filmai, tai vel maistas... Anyway, pasitiko mane trys zmogiukai - Reception koordinatore Ashley, kambarioke Asima is Pakistano ir Hary ir Indijos. Idave ale welcome package, kuriame nuo sladainiuku iki foto albumiuku ir zemelapio, nespejau dar issinagrineti..
Heatrow oro uoste pries pakylant i ora...
Londonas
Turbut daugelis zinote, kad skrydi per Londona su nakvyne susiorganizavome kartu su Egle, kuri veliau pakele sparnus i Hon Konga stazuotei. Nuskridom ten kokiu 20min skirtumu, tai Rutai labai gerai mus pastitikti buvo :) Pacio miesto daug pamatyti neteko - para Londone visiskai nieko nereiskia! Cia vien nuo oro uosto iki Rutos namu vaziavom daugiau nei 2val. I miesta islindom visai vakarop, pailsejusios ir pavakarieniavusios su Rutos kambariokem+draugais. Smagi kompanija :) Grazus miestas tas Londonas, butinai reikes grizti ir kur kas ilgiau jame pasidairyti! :) 
Metro - cia tiek brangaus laiko sugaistama...
Gerai, kai brangus zmones salia... :)
So here it goes!..
Welcome!
Starting from this day onwards this shall be a spot for me to share my extreme as well as day to day experiences in California and around it; for you - a place where you can have a quick glimpse at my life even when being far far away... :)
I may put a word here either in Lithuanian or in English. I'm sorry if you happen not to understand each and every piece of my writings... ;)
Let the way be free for countless adventures!
Monika
Disneyland - a place to definitely check of my "To See" list. Had lots of fun riding various roller coasters, enjoying the crowd, looking for ways of cutting the loooooong lines :) Nice, but definitely meant for children. Shoot - I'm not yet as grownup myself. LoL :) Anyways, I can firmly say now - "Been there, did it, time to go elsewhere, no need to return". 
Hollywood - Walk of Fame and other famous places to go proved to be a big tourist attraction. Interesting people around, you can definitely sense a strong "wannabe a star" atmosphere all around.
Beverly Hills - neat and sweet. Rodeo drive and surrounding little streets reminded me so much of Europe and the old towns I missed so much!.. A little copy in LA is not that real and rich in history though... There's no place like home, indeed.
Work has been pretty intense in the last months - long hours approaching our busy season, surviving through it, moving on and catching up on numerous projects left behind. Tuff at times, but seriously rewarding in the end. In the evaluation period now, getting some nice feedback and looking into some nice future development later.
Work has not only been professionally challenging, but also fun :) Starting from kick of events at vineries, continuing with wild end of busy season parties and continuously spiced up with outings with the closest circle of colleagues - accountants can be hella fun! ;))) 
Something making me feel like home :) Our team (Golden States Warriors) finally made it to the NBA playoffs and gave us here some good times spent watching the games and enjoying Sarunas Jasikevicius (rarely on the field, but still :P). I got to go and see one of the games right before the playoffs myself at the Oracle Arena in Oakland - tons of fun, was something a Lithuanian has to do at least once in the life - go watch a real basketball game, an NBA game! ;)
Get Golden is an annual camping trip Sun Microsystems trainees organize in May. A number of AIESECers, trainees and their friends gather together from all over U.S. and abroad to have fun in the beautiful nature in the Yosemite surrounding area. I got to bring a few of my co-workers with me, too ;) 
This year we had 50 plus people camping together - fun ;)
