ABOUT HOKIDOKI...: 3/29/2006

I want to thank MGalBlue and AynRand2008 for adding another perspective to my take about International MBAs' difficulty in landing jobs in the US. They are right that it does boil down to each individual so companis have to be able to distinguish that. I hope in the coming years companies will be more open-minded and loosen up the "absolutely no H-1" policy.

I was at Hearst Castle this weekend. I have lived in California for almost nine years but this was my first time stepping feet in this gorgeous mansion once owned by a newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. The castle was built over the course of 30 years by WR Hearst and a woman architect Julia Morgan (UC Berkeley Civil Engineering graduate...go Cal). A native Bay Area, Miss Julia Morgan studied architecture at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts in Paris after being refused admission 2 years prior because the school had never allowed women to study there. For more story of Julia Morgan please visit www.juliamorgan.org

Anyhow, the castle that was once called La Cuesta Encantada or Enchanted Hill consists of 115 rooms in the mainhouses, numerous guesthouses, a Greco-Roman-inspired outdoor pool, a Roman-inspired indoor pool, 8 acres of cultivated garden and many more and ooohh you get a gorgeous view Pacific Ocean coastline. I was mesmerized throughout the 1.5 hours tour (I took the novice tour) and can't wait to be back for some more (it has 4 different tours because the mansion is so huge). For more info please visit www.hearstcastle.com

On a not so different note, Hearst family endowed tons of money to UC Berkeley, hence the name Hearst Gymnasium, Hearst Greek Theatre, and Hearst Mining Circle. Julia Morgan was the architect behind the Greek Theatre and the Hearst Mining Circle.

Here are some other pictures of fabulous California Coastline as we drove around Highway 1 en route to San Simeon from San Jose. How can I move elsewhere when I have lived in Paradise :)