Some knucklehead stole the tail-light from my bike in Long Island City the other day. I actually wasn't too pissed, but what a hassle. And the whorehouse of a thief isn't going to get shit for it anyway since it's pretty old and crappy. Kind of reminds me of when my jacket got stolen in Germany. I lost a lot and someone else gained nothing. Sigh. Just goes to show that people will steal anything that's not tied down, which makes it even more amazing that my landlord can leave his kid's bike out front unlocked and it never gets jacked.
I suppose I am just procrastinating here since I have a huge paper to write. I am almost done with the semester - just this paper and my GIS project, which will be relatively easy, just a bit time consuming.
Next Fri I fly out to WI for Christmas and I'll get to spend some time in Madison, Wausau, Sheboygan and maybe even Milwaukee. I'm looking forward to seeing some real winter weather instead of the weaksauce, somewhat cold we've been getting out here.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Longest commute ever
So my first, and only, mistake was that I decided that I wanted a leisurely breakfast so I chose to stay a half hour longer and make eggs. I rode my bike to the L instead of the 7, which I suppose was my next mistake. I was running a bit behind and decided that I should go with the ol reliable L instead of riding my bike over the Pulaski, which I am uncertain of the time. So I see a train on the platform and YAY! I run down and jump on. And we sit. And sit...
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are being held momentarily by dispatch. Thank you for your patience!"
and...
...
.
"Ladies and gentlemen, (you know it's a problem when a real person is announcing) we are waiting for a train directly in front of us with its brakes in emergency. Thank you for your patience."
...
refrain
...
20 minutes
...
"Ladies and gentlemen, the train in front of us is preparing to depart. We will be moving in a few minutes."
So, ok, I've now missed the 9 o'clock bus, but the 9:30 will be fine.
Right.
I caught the 9:30 with ten minutes to spare!
We pull out of the Port Authority and a big ol' Brooklyn accent comes on with much authority informing us not to walk around because "we don't want you fallin' and gettin' hurt. If you gotta use your phone don't scream into it. There are people around you. If you gotta scream you need a new phone or service plan, your neighbor will thank you. Phones: use em but don't scream."
As we exit the tunnel, Mr. Dyker Heights comes back on. "We got an accident up ahead and I'm bein' told we gotta go through Hoboken. Gonna be a rougher ride, so don't go walkin' around."
Hoboken turns out to not be so bad and we get on the Turnpike, finally.
Then... badda badda badda... rumble strips and we are slowing and pulling to the side. This is not our exit. This is the shoulder. We have now broken down.
Everyone looks at one another in dismay. An occassional, "wha the fuu?" are uttered.
"We gotta nother bus ten minutes behind us."
A few minutes later a bus pulls up.
We board.
And we're off!
To East Brunswick Tower Center!! Yay!
Just out of walking distance of my actual destination. Since this guy isn't a Princeton bus, he ain't goin' to no New Brunswick.
FINALLY, ten minutes later a "not in service" pulls up and we board for the rest of our lovely sojourn into the New Jersey suburbaside.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are being held momentarily by dispatch. Thank you for your patience!"
and...
...
.
"Ladies and gentlemen, (you know it's a problem when a real person is announcing) we are waiting for a train directly in front of us with its brakes in emergency. Thank you for your patience."
...
refrain
...
20 minutes
...
"Ladies and gentlemen, the train in front of us is preparing to depart. We will be moving in a few minutes."
So, ok, I've now missed the 9 o'clock bus, but the 9:30 will be fine.
Right.
I caught the 9:30 with ten minutes to spare!
We pull out of the Port Authority and a big ol' Brooklyn accent comes on with much authority informing us not to walk around because "we don't want you fallin' and gettin' hurt. If you gotta use your phone don't scream into it. There are people around you. If you gotta scream you need a new phone or service plan, your neighbor will thank you. Phones: use em but don't scream."
As we exit the tunnel, Mr. Dyker Heights comes back on. "We got an accident up ahead and I'm bein' told we gotta go through Hoboken. Gonna be a rougher ride, so don't go walkin' around."
Hoboken turns out to not be so bad and we get on the Turnpike, finally.
Then... badda badda badda... rumble strips and we are slowing and pulling to the side. This is not our exit. This is the shoulder. We have now broken down.
Everyone looks at one another in dismay. An occassional, "wha the fuu?" are uttered.
"We gotta nother bus ten minutes behind us."
A few minutes later a bus pulls up.
We board.
And we're off!
To East Brunswick Tower Center!! Yay!
Just out of walking distance of my actual destination. Since this guy isn't a Princeton bus, he ain't goin' to no New Brunswick.
FINALLY, ten minutes later a "not in service" pulls up and we board for the rest of our lovely sojourn into the New Jersey suburbaside.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Metal Kettles
Who the hell thinks that metal kettles with metal handles are a good idea?? I mean seriously, does some guy sit there and say, "hey, let's design a kettle that, when used for its most reasonable purpose will quickly transfer copious amounts of heat energy to the user's hand." I'm sure the average person only burns themselves once or twice a month. The best is when you know about the problem and use a towel to hold the handle when pouring the contents. Then after you've emptied the vessel, you transfer it to the other, untoweled hand as if all the heat has magically dissipated during the pouring process. Sigh*
Friday, June 20, 2008
Life is good
I am sitting at a coffee shop that I just found via Eric, studying discrete choice modeling in the 70 degree New York summer air. This place, only a few blocks from my home, has a huge back yard half of which is covered by a huge trellis filled with grape vines. This give a good amount of shade, letting in just enough sun to keep me warm and, portends a great late summer when I'll be able to come here and pick the fruits.
I am, however, completely broke since I still have not begun working anywhere. This is a problem since my bank account has officially been exhausted and I even have credit card debt thanks to me not looking for a job early enough when I was in Portland. I am going to school on Monday to meet with a professor and a supervisor at the Voorhees Transportation Center http://policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/ regarding some research work that I'll be doing this summer. I will be conducting parking audits in the vicinity of train stations in northern New Jersey. I would like to do a little more than data collection, but I'm also interested in the project and that is all that is needed now.
Tomorrow I will go to my first practice with the ultimate team with whom I am ostensibly playing this summer. We shall see how it goes. On Sunday we will check out this block party further down in Brooklyn and also a craft fair near here. Brandy wants to find out what it will take to sell some of her work at the fair.
I am, however, completely broke since I still have not begun working anywhere. This is a problem since my bank account has officially been exhausted and I even have credit card debt thanks to me not looking for a job early enough when I was in Portland. I am going to school on Monday to meet with a professor and a supervisor at the Voorhees Transportation Center http://policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/ regarding some research work that I'll be doing this summer. I will be conducting parking audits in the vicinity of train stations in northern New Jersey. I would like to do a little more than data collection, but I'm also interested in the project and that is all that is needed now.
Tomorrow I will go to my first practice with the ultimate team with whom I am ostensibly playing this summer. We shall see how it goes. On Sunday we will check out this block party further down in Brooklyn and also a craft fair near here. Brandy wants to find out what it will take to sell some of her work at the fair.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Friggin' kitten!
There is this damn kitten in the window across the street meoring it's face off. It has been doing this for the past two hours with no signs of relenting and is incredibly annoying.
Turns out that little kitties can, in fact, be the opposite of adorable; deplorable.
Turns out that little kitties can, in fact, be the opposite of adorable; deplorable.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ahhh
The heat wave has finally broken. Last night around we started to hear the portentous cool winds outside our window. In minutes the sky had opened and a cold rain was pounding the scalding pavement, lightning crashing all around. Dropping what we were doing, we grabbed beers and ran out to the stoop. We savored actually feeling chilly as we watched the storm blowing itself out. There was another couple doing the same across the street and we waved joyfully at each other. Today our high will be a cool 88 degrees.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
In New York
Yes, I'm alive and well living in New York. I got here a couple weeks ago following a two week road trip across the country, which took me through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and of course, New York. I was joined on this journey by Brandy and two Italians, Stefano and Francesco. I met Stefano while studying in Budapest in 2004/5. Photos and, if I am not too lazy, commentary will come soon.
I am settling into my life here in Brooklyn quite well, although I have yet to find a job for the summer and my funds are basically nonexistent. I'm hoping to find something related to my field and have a couple of leads, but I might soon resort to whatever I can find. Of course I could be a little more proactive, but there are plenty of other tasks to tackle related to moving to a new place.
Brandy and I went to a music festival upstate called Mountain Jam on my first weekend here. I probably should have stuck around town, but she really wanted to go and the last festival I attended was Rockfest in 1999. It was quite fun although I was not into the music as much as Brandy. The venue was perfect - a ski resort in the Catskills - and we had fun exploring the mountain.
I have also begun my summer league for ultimate frisbee. Our team is terrible and we have lost every game. Granted, I cannot fault the quality of the players as much as the attendance, which has been abysmal. My back has been sore for some time and I'm trying to rest up this week, so I can be counted as one of the group of those too lame to play. But I am trying out for teams so I need to be in peak condition, or at least not broken.
It has been preposterously hot the last few days, topping out yesterday around 99 and humid. We also had some crazy lightning the other night that kept striking right near our place. It really sounded like we were being bombed.
Last night I met up with Krista, a couchsurfing friend, for her birthday. We went out to dinner at a pretty decent Thai/Japanese place called Nooch in Chelsea and then proceeded to the bars. We were supposed to go to this lame ass place called Lit near St. Marks, but apparently they were having some party and we couldn't get in right away, so we went over the the Kabin across the street. It was a divey place with a very cool bartender and we hung out playing pool for awhile. When we were informed that 10 or so friends of ours had gotten in at Lit, we made another attempt. This time two of the group were denied entry because they were too well dressed, having come straight from work. Brandy informed me that this place used to be a popular hipster hangout about 4 years ago, but was now pathetically hanging on to what was no more. Whatever. We exchanged some heated words with a couple of the staff and then gathered our group of 30 and took our business elsewhere.
Today I am once again hanging out in a coffee shop working on lots of random stuff. There are some perks to being unemployed.
Eric loaded the latest version of Ubuntu on my machine and also fixed my wireless so I can actually use password protected networks, or for that matter any network. My wireless situation was getting out of hand. Apparently it was the most hassle he's ever had with wireless. Atheros wireless cards are not recommended for those who wish to run Linux.
Tonight we are going to a cocktail party for our CSA and hopefully we will be able to switch our Saturday share with someone on a Wednesday share, otherwise it will be quite a hassle to get our veggies this summer. For those who are wondering, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a group in which members buy a share of a local family farm at the beginning of the year and then receive food for the duration of the season. The food is typically organic and you get a bunch of different products every week - whatever is in season. We bought veggie, fruit and egg shares and are looking forward to our first load.
I am settling into my life here in Brooklyn quite well, although I have yet to find a job for the summer and my funds are basically nonexistent. I'm hoping to find something related to my field and have a couple of leads, but I might soon resort to whatever I can find. Of course I could be a little more proactive, but there are plenty of other tasks to tackle related to moving to a new place.
Brandy and I went to a music festival upstate called Mountain Jam on my first weekend here. I probably should have stuck around town, but she really wanted to go and the last festival I attended was Rockfest in 1999. It was quite fun although I was not into the music as much as Brandy. The venue was perfect - a ski resort in the Catskills - and we had fun exploring the mountain.
I have also begun my summer league for ultimate frisbee. Our team is terrible and we have lost every game. Granted, I cannot fault the quality of the players as much as the attendance, which has been abysmal. My back has been sore for some time and I'm trying to rest up this week, so I can be counted as one of the group of those too lame to play. But I am trying out for teams so I need to be in peak condition, or at least not broken.
It has been preposterously hot the last few days, topping out yesterday around 99 and humid. We also had some crazy lightning the other night that kept striking right near our place. It really sounded like we were being bombed.
Last night I met up with Krista, a couchsurfing friend, for her birthday. We went out to dinner at a pretty decent Thai/Japanese place called Nooch in Chelsea and then proceeded to the bars. We were supposed to go to this lame ass place called Lit near St. Marks, but apparently they were having some party and we couldn't get in right away, so we went over the the Kabin across the street. It was a divey place with a very cool bartender and we hung out playing pool for awhile. When we were informed that 10 or so friends of ours had gotten in at Lit, we made another attempt. This time two of the group were denied entry because they were too well dressed, having come straight from work. Brandy informed me that this place used to be a popular hipster hangout about 4 years ago, but was now pathetically hanging on to what was no more. Whatever. We exchanged some heated words with a couple of the staff and then gathered our group of 30 and took our business elsewhere.
Today I am once again hanging out in a coffee shop working on lots of random stuff. There are some perks to being unemployed.
Eric loaded the latest version of Ubuntu on my machine and also fixed my wireless so I can actually use password protected networks, or for that matter any network. My wireless situation was getting out of hand. Apparently it was the most hassle he's ever had with wireless. Atheros wireless cards are not recommended for those who wish to run Linux.
Tonight we are going to a cocktail party for our CSA and hopefully we will be able to switch our Saturday share with someone on a Wednesday share, otherwise it will be quite a hassle to get our veggies this summer. For those who are wondering, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a group in which members buy a share of a local family farm at the beginning of the year and then receive food for the duration of the season. The food is typically organic and you get a bunch of different products every week - whatever is in season. We bought veggie, fruit and egg shares and are looking forward to our first load.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Oh yes, sleet
It turns out that the ideal time for a torrential downpour, complete with driving wind and sleet, happens to coincide with the time I chose to walk to school. I took refuge with some other hapless travelers under the overhang of a large building. We waited five minutes until the obvious happened; the sun came out and all was calm and quiet again.
In other news, I have been offered a research assistantship at Rutgers which will pay for most of my tuition, give me a stipend and health insurance. I do not know yet with which professor I will work, but there are three who supposedly have shown interest and they all seem to have pretty cool work.
My time in Portland has dwindled down to less than three weeks, crazy as that seems. I am feeling a little sad to be leaving so soon this town I love and the friends I've made here, but I am far more excited to be back in the City, beginning an interesting master's program, and best of all...
I have been enjoying Portland as much as I can for my remaining time here. I've gone to the coast twice and am planning at least one more trip. Lot's of other stuff too, but I need to get some work done here, so I shan't go into details.
I did just have a visit from my buddy Jan, who I hung out with last summer in New York and who is soon to be returning to his native Germany.
So I guess we can say that all is quite well here, despite the recurring knee problems.
In other news, I have been offered a research assistantship at Rutgers which will pay for most of my tuition, give me a stipend and health insurance. I do not know yet with which professor I will work, but there are three who supposedly have shown interest and they all seem to have pretty cool work.
My time in Portland has dwindled down to less than three weeks, crazy as that seems. I am feeling a little sad to be leaving so soon this town I love and the friends I've made here, but I am far more excited to be back in the City, beginning an interesting master's program, and best of all...
I have been enjoying Portland as much as I can for my remaining time here. I've gone to the coast twice and am planning at least one more trip. Lot's of other stuff too, but I need to get some work done here, so I shan't go into details.
I did just have a visit from my buddy Jan, who I hung out with last summer in New York and who is soon to be returning to his native Germany.
So I guess we can say that all is quite well here, despite the recurring knee problems.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Got into Rutgers, yo!
So, yup. I got in.
I hadn't been thinking about it and I saw an email with the subject, "BLOUSTEIN ADMISSION DECISION."
An email? I thought, this does not look good.
I hadn't been thinking about it and I saw an email with the subject, "BLOUSTEIN ADMISSION DECISION."
An email? I thought, this does not look good.
Upon opening it I notice about three lines of text that began, "Thank you for applying to Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy."
This did not seem positive. It went on, however, to tell me that the decision was attached, and lo and behold, it was positive! Even more cool is the fact that the open house will be during the time when I'll be in NY anyway.
They have not yet made any decisions on financial aid, so I will have to send them an updated resume as I had not had my jobs yet when I applied.
This did not seem positive. It went on, however, to tell me that the decision was attached, and lo and behold, it was positive! Even more cool is the fact that the open house will be during the time when I'll be in NY anyway.
They have not yet made any decisions on financial aid, so I will have to send them an updated resume as I had not had my jobs yet when I applied.
Ten Minutes in the Rain
Ten minutes in Wisconsin rain,
a cold, thorough drenching.
Ten minutes in Oregon rain,
a soft coat of cool, sparkling mist.
Is it any wonder umbrellas don't exist here?
a cold, thorough drenching.
Ten minutes in Oregon rain,
a soft coat of cool, sparkling mist.
Is it any wonder umbrellas don't exist here?
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Cookies
I made chocolate chip cookies the other night and I can't stop eating them. It's terrible, but oh so delicious.
Finger Bang City
I am typing quickly b/c this is the last week of class and I have mad paper to write. I should have been here hours ago... I was but then I looked out the library window and saw discs flying on the field and could not resist. I just got back in after playing for like 2 hours. The play was really low level, but that was nice b/c I didn't want to exert myself too much with my knee being weird. I just really needed to get some cardio in and that was just what I needed, although I'm not exactly sure my knee agrees.
Last night I went with Chappo, Eric and our friend Dave to see Finger Bang City http://www.myspace.com/fingerbangcity. I have been waiting for them to play since I moved here and Chappo, who introduced me to them hadn't seen them since he moved here a year and a half ago, so we were definitely going... even if it was at a gay bar, as it just so happened to be. Now, being at a gay bar doesn't really bother me, although I'd never been to one and it was... interesting. I probably would have felt less comfortable at, say, a biker bar or a thuggish bar. However, others don't feel the same way and it was really fun watching my friends squirm as they were way out of their comfort level. The sound system sucked though and the set was fairly disappointing, so I wasn't too bothered when everyone wanted to leave at the set break. One thing I thought was funny was that the place had straight, 70's porn playing on the big screen.
Fri night I navigated for my friend Joe in a time, speed, distance rally. I'd never done it before and it was a lot of fun. I mean, me navigating? No way! It seemed pretty simple when I read the instructions ahead of time and went over all the rules. It was not at all simple. In fact, I thought my head would explode. I way underestimated the importance of time management and, let's just say that we didn't quite get the worst score possible and we were pretty happy about that. The results just came in and I am happy to report that we did not come in dead last. We learned a lot about how we need to work together and I think we will do better next time. We got back to my place around 10 and both of us were really beat and there was no way I was going anywhere, so we packed up a hookah and chilled on the back porch listening to the rain and smoking a cherry and lemon mix. Turns out that was exactly what I needed, although I woke up feeling really shitty.
Now I will get on with my paper, which is on the economics of right-priced curb parking.
Last night I went with Chappo, Eric and our friend Dave to see Finger Bang City http://www.myspace.com/fingerbangcity. I have been waiting for them to play since I moved here and Chappo, who introduced me to them hadn't seen them since he moved here a year and a half ago, so we were definitely going... even if it was at a gay bar, as it just so happened to be. Now, being at a gay bar doesn't really bother me, although I'd never been to one and it was... interesting. I probably would have felt less comfortable at, say, a biker bar or a thuggish bar. However, others don't feel the same way and it was really fun watching my friends squirm as they were way out of their comfort level. The sound system sucked though and the set was fairly disappointing, so I wasn't too bothered when everyone wanted to leave at the set break. One thing I thought was funny was that the place had straight, 70's porn playing on the big screen.
Fri night I navigated for my friend Joe in a time, speed, distance rally. I'd never done it before and it was a lot of fun. I mean, me navigating? No way! It seemed pretty simple when I read the instructions ahead of time and went over all the rules. It was not at all simple. In fact, I thought my head would explode. I way underestimated the importance of time management and, let's just say that we didn't quite get the worst score possible and we were pretty happy about that. The results just came in and I am happy to report that we did not come in dead last. We learned a lot about how we need to work together and I think we will do better next time. We got back to my place around 10 and both of us were really beat and there was no way I was going anywhere, so we packed up a hookah and chilled on the back porch listening to the rain and smoking a cherry and lemon mix. Turns out that was exactly what I needed, although I woke up feeling really shitty.
Now I will get on with my paper, which is on the economics of right-priced curb parking.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
No longer sick, knee troubles
Well, I haven't been sick for awhile and the weather just continues to be wonderful. I'm not sure since when Spring has been in February, now March I suppose, but I am enjoying the sun while it's out. I may not be sick but that damn knee is bothering me yet. I dutifully went easy on it, staying off my bike, doing no running or lifting. It was good for a week or so, so I decided that I could start biking again. I took it easy, but still the whatever the hell came back. It doesn't so much hurt but rather is a worrisome feeling deep in the middle of the knee. I did yoga the other day, which didn't hurt it, but made me aware of my body (I don't know how to explain it, but that's really what it did) and I am pretty sure that the knee problem has something to do with my hip, which has never been quite right. It pops when I walk sometimes and when I walk a lot it becomes pretty sore. So I don't know. I can't really afford to go to a doctor and have them just give me some Ibuprofin. I have a high deductible anyway and if something was wrong, I'm not sure how much that would cost me. I'll just wait until I'm in New York and hopefully with a job with better insurance.
I had been glum and didn't really realize it until this weekend and it hit me pretty hard. It's just that I have been withdrawing from Portland since I'm leaving, but I'm not in NY yet, so I've been feeling really empty. I had some really good conversations with Brandy this weekend and also went out and partied with some of my friends here and these things really helped me feel a ton better and now I'm feeling like I can much better live in the moment and enjoy Portland like I should and not worry about leaving.
It looks like I'm going to leave Portland right after the scavenger hunt that I'm planning, which is on the 10th of May. I'm going to go down to CA to see my family and then the following Fri Brandy is flying into Sacramento and I'm going to head across the country in about 10 days - way too little, but jobs are a bitch. It also looks like I'm just going to miss my good friend from elementary school Molli, who is moving here at the same time that I'm leaving :( I am happy for her to be coming to this awesome place.
I had been glum and didn't really realize it until this weekend and it hit me pretty hard. It's just that I have been withdrawing from Portland since I'm leaving, but I'm not in NY yet, so I've been feeling really empty. I had some really good conversations with Brandy this weekend and also went out and partied with some of my friends here and these things really helped me feel a ton better and now I'm feeling like I can much better live in the moment and enjoy Portland like I should and not worry about leaving.
It looks like I'm going to leave Portland right after the scavenger hunt that I'm planning, which is on the 10th of May. I'm going to go down to CA to see my family and then the following Fri Brandy is flying into Sacramento and I'm going to head across the country in about 10 days - way too little, but jobs are a bitch. It also looks like I'm just going to miss my good friend from elementary school Molli, who is moving here at the same time that I'm leaving :( I am happy for her to be coming to this awesome place.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Disease
Good God I've been sick for about a week and a half.
Brandy came for a wonderful visit last week. We had a great time hanging out in Portland and we also went up to Mt. Hood to do some snowboarding. It was my first time and I did fairly well, although I did bite edge a couple of times trying to switch back to the front from a toe edge. It was really beautiful up there too and there was tons of snow. Probably about 16-20 ft. I haven't seen snow like that since the last time I went to Lake Superior in the winter. The road is just a tunnel through the snow piled on both sides. The result of all that activity however was that I was totally worn out and some nasty illnesses took advantage of my weakened immune system. It started with a sore throat and went on to general pains and weakness and headaches. Brandy also wasn't doing too well, although with different symptoms. Word on the street is there is both a flu and bronchitis floating around.
The weather has been teasingly nice - sunny and floating around the 50s and 60s. I so wanted to get out and bike, but I was just too weak and tired. I finally felt well enough to ride yesterday and surprisingly the weather didn't break yet. I got in a heavenly ride down the river with my friend Cameron and then we ate tacos with homemade tortillas... so good. I tweaked my tendon from all the biking, so I'm taking it easy today, ie. no ultimate :( It's good though b/c this gives me time to get some homework done and I got some throwing practice in too. I also have another incentive to get my homework done early b/c if I get my Thu work done, I can go boarding again on Wed. My buddy Eric (ET), who I know from Madison and has been living out here for a couple of years, was conveniently laid off the other day, so he's got some time to do shit on weekdays while he collects severence.
I am fairly busy now in general. My homework isn't too bad, but I do need to get moving on my research project as well as start learning R for the work I'll be doing with my professor. I also wanna get into the training that my illness postponed and I need to contact companies to make appointments for job interviews and ultimate teams for early tryouts for when I go to NY in April.
Now, on to the work.
Brandy came for a wonderful visit last week. We had a great time hanging out in Portland and we also went up to Mt. Hood to do some snowboarding. It was my first time and I did fairly well, although I did bite edge a couple of times trying to switch back to the front from a toe edge. It was really beautiful up there too and there was tons of snow. Probably about 16-20 ft. I haven't seen snow like that since the last time I went to Lake Superior in the winter. The road is just a tunnel through the snow piled on both sides. The result of all that activity however was that I was totally worn out and some nasty illnesses took advantage of my weakened immune system. It started with a sore throat and went on to general pains and weakness and headaches. Brandy also wasn't doing too well, although with different symptoms. Word on the street is there is both a flu and bronchitis floating around.
The weather has been teasingly nice - sunny and floating around the 50s and 60s. I so wanted to get out and bike, but I was just too weak and tired. I finally felt well enough to ride yesterday and surprisingly the weather didn't break yet. I got in a heavenly ride down the river with my friend Cameron and then we ate tacos with homemade tortillas... so good. I tweaked my tendon from all the biking, so I'm taking it easy today, ie. no ultimate :( It's good though b/c this gives me time to get some homework done and I got some throwing practice in too. I also have another incentive to get my homework done early b/c if I get my Thu work done, I can go boarding again on Wed. My buddy Eric (ET), who I know from Madison and has been living out here for a couple of years, was conveniently laid off the other day, so he's got some time to do shit on weekdays while he collects severence.
I am fairly busy now in general. My homework isn't too bad, but I do need to get moving on my research project as well as start learning R for the work I'll be doing with my professor. I also wanna get into the training that my illness postponed and I need to contact companies to make appointments for job interviews and ultimate teams for early tryouts for when I go to NY in April.
Now, on to the work.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Training
I have decided that I am going to try to get on a fairly competitive team this summer, so I've started training. I'm taking it easy at first, just doing a little lifting and I'm going to start with the sprinting in a couple weeks. I also finally got my bike in working order and braved the rain for the first time and guess what - it wasn't that bad after all. I now feel so free since I'm using my bike for all my transportation. I can stop where and when I want, don't have to deal with schedules and I'm getting exercise and cross training while getting where I need to go. However, since I've been a slug these past few months, only playing a little disc and racquetball my legs are totally sore from the biking and the first workout. So today they are on R & R.
Now I have to get my homework done for class this afternoon.
Now I have to get my homework done for class this afternoon.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Muffin
I just got a muffin at the coffee shop that looked like a tasty chocolate one with some type of frosting. The "chocolate" turned out to be a sausage patty and the muffin is more of a dinner muffin, very heavy with seasoning and everything. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Back in School
Well, my trip was long and quite nice, although I would certainly not go so far as to call it relaxing. I spent a significant amount of time in transit and will try not include so much movement/time in the future.
A quick itinerary:
Fri Dec 7: Fly PDX-Phoenix
- It rained in AZ for four days straight
Tue Dec 11: Night bus to El Paso (7 hr)
Wed Dec 12: Arrive in El Paso, walk across the border to Ciudad Juarez (5th largest Mexican city, who knew?), argue with Mexican immigration over passport stampage.
Spend a few hours with a CSer, Jenny, seeing the city and eating delicious food. I learned that, contrary to urban legend, burritos are not an American fake Mexican creation. Nor are chalupas.
Catch bus to Chihuahua (5 hr) and meet CSer, Jorge
Thu Dec 13: Walk around city, sadly seeing no wild packs of rabid chihuahua dogs.
Play guitar hero for first time (No longer uninformed hater of the game)
Interestingly, drivers here stop for pedestrians as proactively as they do here in Portland. I have not seen such anywhere else and was certainly not expecting it in a redneck city in Mexico.
Fri Dec 14: Catch early 5 hr bus to Creel, a touristy town in the mountains with a hostel that costs $7, including dinner and breakfast, sweeet.
Sat Dec 15: Morning hike to a mirador (scenic overlook) where you can see all the wood smoke from heating enveloping the town
Catch train to Divisadero where there is an amazing canyon, almost as beautiful as Grand Canyon, although I will consider this further when I go to the Grand Canyon this summer
Spend a couple hours here before catching next train to El Fuerte (approx. total train time = 8 hr)
Arrive OUTSIDE El Fuerte late in the evening to find that the town is actually several kilometers away so that I have to box ride in the cold to avoid a seemingly expensive taxi ride, which upon later consideration was not that expensive.
Get picked up by random guy who drives me to the hostel, which is closed and then drops me at another cheap motel ($8/night, no food). I give him a couple bucks for his help... he is unemployed.
The guys at the cheap place tell me that when they travel, they go to nice places, why do I go to cheap crappy places? This place is definitely crappy. The room is bare concrete with a broken chair and a lone industrial looking fan in the corner. It reminds me of the hostel room in The Beach. There is one toilet, with no door or seat. No showers appear to be available. My guess is that this place is frequented by hookers.
Sun Dec 16: Walk around the very nice town of El Fuerte. Remember that this is the desert, so it is decently warm and there are palm trees. The center square is quite nice as is the mirador. I also walk around the grounds of the two nicest hotels in the town, one of which is absolutely fabulous. For $100 a night, it would be an extremely nice place to go with a lover.
Catch extremely cheap bus to Los Mochis (3hrs). This is a minibus, which seems to act as a local transit service, almost more than an intracity service. What can we learn here?
Eat excellent tacos while waiting for bus to Empalme. The bus, which should take 5 hrs. takes 7 b/c of huge back ups at the military checkpoints. An orange is confiscated from me. I was insanely hungry, those bastards.
I meet a CSer here, Dianela, who puts me in a motel b/c her mother has not met me and is reluctant.
Mon Dec 17: Spend most of the day helping Dianela with her special olympics event by taking photos. After the event we head over to her grandparents' ranch, which is on the edge of town and is unbelievably serene. A short hike up the hill behind the house gives a wide view of the desert plain. At the extents of the view is a rim of mountains, with a bay of the Sea of Cortez poking through. To the east, a single track of rail cuts across the plain and, with the late afternoon sun casting an orange pall across the rocky expanse, a train blows its whistle in the distance. This calm view reminds me of a scene one might find on a decorative plate adorning the wall of a grandmother's den.
In the evening we go to a posada, or town party, where there is old Mexican music for the few who choose to dance, lots of food and cheap beer. I meet the mayor, and our table seems to have the luck as an uneven distribution of the night's raffle prizes go to us, including the two largest, a television and a stove.
Dianela's mother decides that I am not a weirdo, which is apparently what most of her friends are, and I am allowed to crash on their couch.
Tue Dec 18: We spend most of the day just hanging out around the house. Dianela's job seems to have that coveted quality where one can simply decide not to go. In the afternoon we drive down to San Carlos, which is a beautiful touristy area on the coast of the Sea of Cortez. The shore is spectacular with the mountains meeting the sea, interspersed with wonderful sand beaches. She convinced me that it was too cold to go swimming, but I was mighty disappointed that I brought neither swimming trunks nor towel once I realized that the temperatures rivaled Lake Superior in the summer.
I caught a night bus this evening back to Phoenix. The lazy Mexican immigration workers were not working the border when we crossed, so I still did not get the coveted passport stamp that had given me the trouble earlier, despite the fact that I paid their bullshit fine.
Wed Dec 19: I arrived in Phoenix near downtown pretty early in the morning (8 hr). So as not to trouble Jon or Keri, I decided to take public transit. Wow, it takes over an hour and a half to cross half the city.
Thu Dec 20: I worked on grad school applications and other random things. My red eye flight left at 11 PM to Minneapolis.
Fri Dec 21: I arrive in MSP at 3:30 AM and have to wait until 7:50 to catch a van to Eau Claire, which takes about an hour. Jen picks me up and we spend the day together. Her boyfriend is a huge baby and still doesn't want to meet me. He even makes her come outside to his car to get her Christmas present because she will be going home the next day.
Sat Dec 22: With a snowstorm looming, we depart around noon. On her way to Madison, Jen is going to drop me off at a gas station near the Taylor exit (45 min), where Simon is supposed to pick me up after visiting with family. Of course his cell phone has no service and all my calls to him are failures. We wait at the station for a little while before the attendant has the idea that we should look in the phone book. What a novel thought for us technology dependent youngsters. Luckily I am able to find his family and he picks me up a little while later and we proceed to Wausau (3 hr).
Sun Dec 23: The snow holds off until today, when it dumps over a foot. Woohoo!!! It is beautiful and doesn't even wreck any plans, although it postpones my last-minute shopping until Xmas Eve. I have been missing snow so much and haven't been able to be in a storm like this in a few years.
I play poker with the cousins, which is always fun.
Mon Dec 24: I finish my shopping and do the Xmas thing over at Keri's.
Tue Dec 25: Same as every Xmas, but with a nice new layer of snow. The family football game is fun and my team demolishes, as usual. There is plenty of grumbling that the teams have grown uneven over the years and must be adjusted in the future. Whatever, I make 3 of 4 touchdowns, one of them a spectacular run, although I give Ben the MVP for catching 4 interceptions and throwing two touchdowns.
Wed Dec 26: I go to Sheboygan with Mom (3 hr), defeat her at Scrabble.
Thu Dec 27: I am dismayed to find out that I have to catch the early bus, and then that it is delayed and I have conflicting directions about where the hell it picks up. The dispatcher tells me it will be delayed 1.25 hrs, but when I show up 45 later, I am lucky enough to see the bus pulling away. We end up chasing it down the streets of Sheboygan and I catch up to it at a red light and the guy is cool enough to let me on, telling me that the dispatcher has no idea what the hell he's talking about. You think?
The bus takes me to Milwaukee (1 hr), where I am to meet Brandy, who is flying in from VA. We meet at the Badger Bus terminal, which is inconveniently still in its old location, a several block walk from the new multi-modal station, where the other bus drops me off. We take the bus to Madison (1.25 hr), where we are happy to find out that they will drop us off at the capitol loop, many blocks closer to our destination than the Union, where it would normally go.
We spend 3 days in Madison, during which we get another half a foot of snow (Yes!!), and I get to see a ton of friends, including Araby, who is in town from NC; Jesse, in town from Phoenix; and Laura, who has now moved to Austin. We also went to a Badger hockey game, which was fun.
Sun Dec 30: We take the Van Galder to Chicago (3 hr), where we meet Eric just as he is flying in, and Liz. At the airport, I happened to notice Eric before he did me and ran straight at him in an attack pattern, he noticed when I was only a couple feet away and, with eyes the size of dinner plates, deflected me to the ground. Laughs were had by all.
Mon Dec 31: We went to Red No. 5, a club in Chicago that was having a NYE bash. The music was cool, but they totally lost lots of customers by making us wait for like an hour outside in the cold, thereby depriving us of an hour of free drinks, as the freebies ended at midnight.
When we left, not a cab was in sight and we spent like 20 minutes trying to flag one down. Finally, some other girls flagged one down, but it stopped in front of us and we got in. They were not happy, but we had been waiting forever and they had just arrived.
Wed Jan 2: Eric, Brandy and I all flew out, they to New York, and I to Oakland. I arrived in Oakland and then had to take the Air BART, which cost $3, cash only, no change (bastards), and then the Amtrak to Sacramento (1.5 hr). It was nice to be on a train again.
I spent the remainder of my trip hanging out with my uncles and cousins, including taking a trip up to Chico to meet for the first time four of my cousins.
Sun Jan 6: I flew back to PDX and was delayed enough to miss my last MAX. I was lucky enough to be offered a ride by some girl going to Sellwood.
In other news, I just sent out my hard requirements for my grad school applications and will submit the electronic requirements by tomorrow, except for PSU, which isn't due until the 1st of Feb.
Yesterday was unseasonably beautiful, being sunny the whole day, and I spent it walking all over the city and then playing ultimate for 3 hrs. I discovered that the SW is incredible for urban hiking, with nice neighborhoods, views, and tons of cool staircases all over the hills.
I will play in a winter ultimate tournament this weekend in Eugene and am pretty pumped since I haven't played a tournament since Halloween.
A quick itinerary:
Fri Dec 7: Fly PDX-Phoenix
- It rained in AZ for four days straight
Tue Dec 11: Night bus to El Paso (7 hr)
Wed Dec 12: Arrive in El Paso, walk across the border to Ciudad Juarez (5th largest Mexican city, who knew?), argue with Mexican immigration over passport stampage.
Spend a few hours with a CSer, Jenny, seeing the city and eating delicious food. I learned that, contrary to urban legend, burritos are not an American fake Mexican creation. Nor are chalupas.
Catch bus to Chihuahua (5 hr) and meet CSer, Jorge
Thu Dec 13: Walk around city, sadly seeing no wild packs of rabid chihuahua dogs.
Play guitar hero for first time (No longer uninformed hater of the game)
Interestingly, drivers here stop for pedestrians as proactively as they do here in Portland. I have not seen such anywhere else and was certainly not expecting it in a redneck city in Mexico.
Fri Dec 14: Catch early 5 hr bus to Creel, a touristy town in the mountains with a hostel that costs $7, including dinner and breakfast, sweeet.
Sat Dec 15: Morning hike to a mirador (scenic overlook) where you can see all the wood smoke from heating enveloping the town
Catch train to Divisadero where there is an amazing canyon, almost as beautiful as Grand Canyon, although I will consider this further when I go to the Grand Canyon this summer
Spend a couple hours here before catching next train to El Fuerte (approx. total train time = 8 hr)
Arrive OUTSIDE El Fuerte late in the evening to find that the town is actually several kilometers away so that I have to box ride in the cold to avoid a seemingly expensive taxi ride, which upon later consideration was not that expensive.
Get picked up by random guy who drives me to the hostel, which is closed and then drops me at another cheap motel ($8/night, no food). I give him a couple bucks for his help... he is unemployed.
The guys at the cheap place tell me that when they travel, they go to nice places, why do I go to cheap crappy places? This place is definitely crappy. The room is bare concrete with a broken chair and a lone industrial looking fan in the corner. It reminds me of the hostel room in The Beach. There is one toilet, with no door or seat. No showers appear to be available. My guess is that this place is frequented by hookers.
Sun Dec 16: Walk around the very nice town of El Fuerte. Remember that this is the desert, so it is decently warm and there are palm trees. The center square is quite nice as is the mirador. I also walk around the grounds of the two nicest hotels in the town, one of which is absolutely fabulous. For $100 a night, it would be an extremely nice place to go with a lover.
Catch extremely cheap bus to Los Mochis (3hrs). This is a minibus, which seems to act as a local transit service, almost more than an intracity service. What can we learn here?
Eat excellent tacos while waiting for bus to Empalme. The bus, which should take 5 hrs. takes 7 b/c of huge back ups at the military checkpoints. An orange is confiscated from me. I was insanely hungry, those bastards.
I meet a CSer here, Dianela, who puts me in a motel b/c her mother has not met me and is reluctant.
Mon Dec 17: Spend most of the day helping Dianela with her special olympics event by taking photos. After the event we head over to her grandparents' ranch, which is on the edge of town and is unbelievably serene. A short hike up the hill behind the house gives a wide view of the desert plain. At the extents of the view is a rim of mountains, with a bay of the Sea of Cortez poking through. To the east, a single track of rail cuts across the plain and, with the late afternoon sun casting an orange pall across the rocky expanse, a train blows its whistle in the distance. This calm view reminds me of a scene one might find on a decorative plate adorning the wall of a grandmother's den.
In the evening we go to a posada, or town party, where there is old Mexican music for the few who choose to dance, lots of food and cheap beer. I meet the mayor, and our table seems to have the luck as an uneven distribution of the night's raffle prizes go to us, including the two largest, a television and a stove.
Dianela's mother decides that I am not a weirdo, which is apparently what most of her friends are, and I am allowed to crash on their couch.
Tue Dec 18: We spend most of the day just hanging out around the house. Dianela's job seems to have that coveted quality where one can simply decide not to go. In the afternoon we drive down to San Carlos, which is a beautiful touristy area on the coast of the Sea of Cortez. The shore is spectacular with the mountains meeting the sea, interspersed with wonderful sand beaches. She convinced me that it was too cold to go swimming, but I was mighty disappointed that I brought neither swimming trunks nor towel once I realized that the temperatures rivaled Lake Superior in the summer.
I caught a night bus this evening back to Phoenix. The lazy Mexican immigration workers were not working the border when we crossed, so I still did not get the coveted passport stamp that had given me the trouble earlier, despite the fact that I paid their bullshit fine.
Wed Dec 19: I arrived in Phoenix near downtown pretty early in the morning (8 hr). So as not to trouble Jon or Keri, I decided to take public transit. Wow, it takes over an hour and a half to cross half the city.
Thu Dec 20: I worked on grad school applications and other random things. My red eye flight left at 11 PM to Minneapolis.
Fri Dec 21: I arrive in MSP at 3:30 AM and have to wait until 7:50 to catch a van to Eau Claire, which takes about an hour. Jen picks me up and we spend the day together. Her boyfriend is a huge baby and still doesn't want to meet me. He even makes her come outside to his car to get her Christmas present because she will be going home the next day.
Sat Dec 22: With a snowstorm looming, we depart around noon. On her way to Madison, Jen is going to drop me off at a gas station near the Taylor exit (45 min), where Simon is supposed to pick me up after visiting with family. Of course his cell phone has no service and all my calls to him are failures. We wait at the station for a little while before the attendant has the idea that we should look in the phone book. What a novel thought for us technology dependent youngsters. Luckily I am able to find his family and he picks me up a little while later and we proceed to Wausau (3 hr).
Sun Dec 23: The snow holds off until today, when it dumps over a foot. Woohoo!!! It is beautiful and doesn't even wreck any plans, although it postpones my last-minute shopping until Xmas Eve. I have been missing snow so much and haven't been able to be in a storm like this in a few years.
I play poker with the cousins, which is always fun.
Mon Dec 24: I finish my shopping and do the Xmas thing over at Keri's.
Tue Dec 25: Same as every Xmas, but with a nice new layer of snow. The family football game is fun and my team demolishes, as usual. There is plenty of grumbling that the teams have grown uneven over the years and must be adjusted in the future. Whatever, I make 3 of 4 touchdowns, one of them a spectacular run, although I give Ben the MVP for catching 4 interceptions and throwing two touchdowns.
Wed Dec 26: I go to Sheboygan with Mom (3 hr), defeat her at Scrabble.
Thu Dec 27: I am dismayed to find out that I have to catch the early bus, and then that it is delayed and I have conflicting directions about where the hell it picks up. The dispatcher tells me it will be delayed 1.25 hrs, but when I show up 45 later, I am lucky enough to see the bus pulling away. We end up chasing it down the streets of Sheboygan and I catch up to it at a red light and the guy is cool enough to let me on, telling me that the dispatcher has no idea what the hell he's talking about. You think?
The bus takes me to Milwaukee (1 hr), where I am to meet Brandy, who is flying in from VA. We meet at the Badger Bus terminal, which is inconveniently still in its old location, a several block walk from the new multi-modal station, where the other bus drops me off. We take the bus to Madison (1.25 hr), where we are happy to find out that they will drop us off at the capitol loop, many blocks closer to our destination than the Union, where it would normally go.
We spend 3 days in Madison, during which we get another half a foot of snow (Yes!!), and I get to see a ton of friends, including Araby, who is in town from NC; Jesse, in town from Phoenix; and Laura, who has now moved to Austin. We also went to a Badger hockey game, which was fun.
Sun Dec 30: We take the Van Galder to Chicago (3 hr), where we meet Eric just as he is flying in, and Liz. At the airport, I happened to notice Eric before he did me and ran straight at him in an attack pattern, he noticed when I was only a couple feet away and, with eyes the size of dinner plates, deflected me to the ground. Laughs were had by all.
Mon Dec 31: We went to Red No. 5, a club in Chicago that was having a NYE bash. The music was cool, but they totally lost lots of customers by making us wait for like an hour outside in the cold, thereby depriving us of an hour of free drinks, as the freebies ended at midnight.
When we left, not a cab was in sight and we spent like 20 minutes trying to flag one down. Finally, some other girls flagged one down, but it stopped in front of us and we got in. They were not happy, but we had been waiting forever and they had just arrived.
Wed Jan 2: Eric, Brandy and I all flew out, they to New York, and I to Oakland. I arrived in Oakland and then had to take the Air BART, which cost $3, cash only, no change (bastards), and then the Amtrak to Sacramento (1.5 hr). It was nice to be on a train again.
I spent the remainder of my trip hanging out with my uncles and cousins, including taking a trip up to Chico to meet for the first time four of my cousins.
Sun Jan 6: I flew back to PDX and was delayed enough to miss my last MAX. I was lucky enough to be offered a ride by some girl going to Sellwood.
In other news, I just sent out my hard requirements for my grad school applications and will submit the electronic requirements by tomorrow, except for PSU, which isn't due until the 1st of Feb.
Yesterday was unseasonably beautiful, being sunny the whole day, and I spent it walking all over the city and then playing ultimate for 3 hrs. I discovered that the SW is incredible for urban hiking, with nice neighborhoods, views, and tons of cool staircases all over the hills.
I will play in a winter ultimate tournament this weekend in Eugene and am pretty pumped since I haven't played a tournament since Halloween.
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