| An Update |
[Sep. 22nd, 2009|09:49 pm] |
Let's see, it has been like 2 years...
- Still at Microsoft, now a permanent employee
- Still hitting the cliff jumping spot a few times a year
- The car is almost completely un-modded & full of sound deadening
- Living in my own apartment in Mountain View
- Riding a road bike now, mountain bike was stolen on V-day 2009 while out at dinner
Interests shift, I suppose. I have done a LOT of work with microcontrollers, and picked up C, C++, VB.NET & a DSP course at Stanford (EE264...what a bitch!). Carmen & I are still going out, and all is well there. She is more or less moved in to my current apartment with me (rooming with Mike & Sara). That is nice.
This weekend I am planning a trip up to Nor-Cal for a hot air balloon festival & some cliff jumping in McCloud. My friend Sam is going, and we are looking for others. This sounds exciting, I have not been in a hot air balloon since I was like 5!
I have also built some speakers (got into it thanks to Dan) & sweet tables upon which they can rest.
Initial model of tables...
Close-up...
BOOM, all done.
And the speakers...
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| Jobs, Housing, and Other Stress |
[Nov. 14th, 2007|08:18 am] |
Ever since I began my job, I could tell that it was not going to be the amazing career-skill development experience I dreamed of. While the pay is certainly nothing to complain about, the work itself is becoming more and more monotonous. The time for me to move is rapidly approaching. It does not seem hard to go and beef up / update my resume, but actually doing it seems to be another story. Seriously, I could update it in about 20 minutes, and I know full well that I do not have too many other things to attend to (none that qualify as more important anyway).
As far as where I would go next, Agilent seems like a good place to start. Although I got my degree in Mechanical Engineering, I have a great deal of interest in electronics and programming. Through my various hobbies, I have actually become quite proficient at designing simple electronic devices and writing various types of code. Agilent would be a very good place to gain practical experience in these areas, that I will hopefully get to apply in my own business someday. Still, I need to get up and begin pursuing this move soon. Upon the recommendation of some people I trust, I may have to wait until January or so. Apparently the holiday season is not the prime job-hunting season.
Now, the next stress item is my housing situation. I am presently at home still as I am waiting on potential roommates, and am using all that saved rent money to pay off my student loans as fast as possible. Rent in the Bay is not cheap, and it will be a challenge to manage that, my loans, and responsible savings. This will get worked out though, I am not terribly worried.
There is also a seasonal stress item. Christmas gift shopping. Aside from a great disdain towards malls, spending-crazy consumer whores, and the bastardization of the words "love" and "family" by various marketing edifices, it is hard to get gifts for people. As much as "it is the thought that counts," nobody wants to get someone a gift that they do not like. At least I can afford decent gifts now that I am gainfully employed. However, figuring out what to get people is a real challenge.
Despite these various self-made hurdles to my own happiness, I remain positive. The recent lack of sleep is a likely culprit to my worry-wart posting. Daylight Savings has also dampened my spirits with 4:30PM sunsets, which mean no more climbing after work (at least not outdoors). I long for the warm, endless days of summer! Cliff jumping...
The waters there are so unbelievably inviting in the mid-summer...
If it was not so far into the future, I would begin planning the next trip!
Until those days return, I will have to make-do with my 24 Hour Fitness membership. Of course, I always have my wonderful family, friends, and girlfriend. I suppose that things like that are all anyone really has anyway. What more do you really need? |
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| First LJ post from new job |
[Jun. 8th, 2007|01:25 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | awake | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The drone of my laptop | ] |
Just had to do it. Presently, I am working at Microsoft. The job is mostly thermal work on the XBox360. It keeps me pretty busy, and this is only my first week! I discovered that by leaving for work an hour early, I can save 30-40 minutes on my commute. Score. Anyway, back to work...... |
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| You Don't Fuck With a Man's OJ |
[Feb. 20th, 2007|12:43 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Townhouses | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | My Roommate's Talentess Party Rap | ] |
[Edited for decency's sake]. My roommate is pretty audacious sometimes. Let's leave it at that. |
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| A Sunday Trip to See Art or Whatever |
[Feb. 13th, 2007|11:46 pm] |
So, sometime this past saturday night (I was likely intoxicated), my former roommate Matt called me up. The next day, an art gallery in Sacramento had free admission from 10AM to 1PM...and they were featuring some of Ansel Adams' works. I am all about Yosemite and the other work he did, so I said sure. Sure enough, the next morning myself, ever-so-cute girlfriend, and Jorge (kigeni) were off to the gallery. When we got there, the place was filled with a smothering number of art snobs. Art snobs aside, the car ride there was filled with eccentric jubilance over doing something outside of Stockton. On top of that, we gained some valuable insight into the artists' lives at the gallery. Nevermind the disgusting quantities of coffee we pounded before leaving....
So, there was a picture of someone cuddled under a blanket in broad daylight, clutching a box of Bisquick and grinning madly...yeah, the Bisquick picture told it all. The people in the gallery, gazing at the work and trying to sound "cultured," speaking about how Adams was such a wonderful centurion of nature and whatnot were funny. Sure, the results of those peoples' lives were beneficial to the conservation movement. However, they were nothing super duper extraordinary at the time (well, minus Rockefeller...he made Chinamen carry him up stairs because he could). These folks of a time past went out to the wilderness, drank alcohol...and likely smoked mastadonic quantities of pot. MASTADONIC.
Back to the point I was getting at in the preceeding paragraph:
I would not put it past them to be snacking on some mushrooms and possibly even toying with some Peyote. C'mon. Weed does not send you scrambling for cover under a blanket (magical...keeps the spirits of the coyote-bears away), clutching a box of Bisquick (again, magical...when consumed it dries out your insides so that you will only absorb the positive energies of the Puma-Eagle's wing-winds). I suppose this would be cause for gleeful grinning; wing-winds of the Puma-Eagle AND no coyote bears!!!!! ! !!! 1111 one
A little herb will lead to sun-bathing on warm rocks...not hiding from the unseen forces of nature under a (magical) blanket. It should be noted that there was indeed a picture of folks sunbathing on warm rocks. It is possible that one could enjoy the sun's warmth on a smooth rock without smoking herb...but by that point we were convinced that their trip to Yosemite was the basis for Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.
The other photo of note was one of Georgia O'Keefe (hell, just look at her last name!). She was standing in front of a camp fire, adorned with a black cape...just standing there, staring away form the camera, looking as though she was ready to fly around in the Matrix. The art snob would say that people just dressed differently back then. NO. Not at any time would people go out into the wilderness wearing a CAPE. Lord only knows what she munched on prior to that...
So...Kigs we are to go and have more wild adventures and take good pics. Maybe someday we will have art snobs using our lives to try and sound cultured. Aaaah art snobs...they are the lollertrain I ride to the roflcopter. |
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| Friggin Bay Area |
[Jan. 9th, 2007|08:54 am] |
So I spent the past 3 days in Santa Barbara. They consisted of climbing, playing on the beach, slacklining and drinking. I must say, the weather down there is a hell of a lot better during the winter. We got a 75F day Monday...I think it tops out up here at like 60F.
I left for SB from San Jose at 2:08PM and arrived at 5:58PM. Not bad for a 286.2 mile drive (when you get super bored, you do crazy stuff like watch the odometer and calculate time and mileage). After arriving, Nick & I purchased some beers and consumed them. I cannot remember what we ate, but I DO know we had a lot of pie. A little later Jorge arrived down there. After some more screwing around, we passed out.
Saturday...we woke up & cleaned up the apartment a little. Delicious breakfast burritos were prepared & consumed. Thereafter we set out to climb. This involved myself, Nick, Jorge, Matt and Jamie. It consumed most of the day. Later on we made some dinner and drank more (yay lol). I cannot really remember what else we did that night, but I DO recall passing out to Dark Side of the Moon.
Sunday. I think we had some super nachos for breakfast lol. Once we had tummies full of goodies, we went out to climb at "Gibraltar." It was a deliciously rocky place to climb. The sun was warm and overall, everything was fantastic. The mounds of bird shit were a little smelly in a few places, but it is a small price to pay for the view. Once we had completed the day's activities, we went back to Nick's place for some $10 Margaritas. Those things can definitely knock one on their ass, especially when one commences to drink more beer afterward.
Monday was spent slacklining and attempting to surf without a wet suit. It did not go over so well. After a few hours of messing around, I hopped back in my car and made the drive back up north. That was my weekend, and I wanna go back.
Why the Friggin Bay Area title? Well, because when I went out to my car this morning it was frosted over. I bet nick has not seen frost down there ONCE. Bastard........... |
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| Booooooooooooored |
[Oct. 6th, 2006|12:15 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  bored | ] |
| [ | music |
| | none | ] |
So yeah it is friday and I am in between projects. The weather is not great, but it is not awful. It qualifies as a MEH. So yeah.
I eagerly await 2 things:
- This evening/weekend when I will be up in stockton to see friends (have not been there in a month or so).
- Sunday afternoon when I will be paying my ladyfriend in Berkeley a visit.
I did meet up with Jorge last night at University Chicken in Santa Clara (formerly Cluck You Chicken). We had some beers, drove back to my place, had more beer and passed out. Wheeeeeee |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 10th, 2006|01:08 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Verk! Aaaach! | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | awake | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Yellowcard - View From Heaven | ] |
So Jorge (kigeni) had an entry where he would answer the following about people in the comments:
"Post here and I will:
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory about you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. Post this on your journal. Rinse. Repeat."
ANSWERS:
"1. The Willster is a fly swatting barbarian.
2. How the hell do I challange the man who jumped off the pyramid to do something? The fuck if I know!
3. Sky Blue
4. I don't think we've ever hung out and failed to find something to do.
5. "Who the fuck is the guy tightroping in the middle of campus?!?!?"
6. Something excitable and bizzare; a Dik-Dik
7. What the hell are you going to do with your life after college? Where will you do it?
8. Post this on your journal. Rinse. Repeat." |
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| Can't Wait for Weekend! |
[Aug. 9th, 2006|07:46 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home, My Room | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Rasmus - In The Shadows | ] |
So I am going camping this weekend. Nothing too glorious, just an overnighter at the cliff jupming spot. There is a fantastic little beach about a quarter mile up from the big jumping spot that I have wanted to camp on for the past few years.
It will almost be car camping out there. We will only be about .60 miles (according to Google Earth) from our car...pretty easy stuff. Still, I only want to make ONE trip from the car. It could be a little tough though, as I want to bring along my new slackline A-Frames & their anchors (should arrive tomorrow, YAY!). Those are going to be bulky & heavy. Food and stuff should not be too big a deal. I have all my backpacking gear from past years, so I think we will be in good shape. Slacklining on that beach, next to the river, should be exquisite. Thus far, Matt, Dan and I are the over-nighters. I am waiting to hear back from Megan still, and Jorge might come along for the day Saturday.
I absolutely cannot wait for my anchors to arrive! I am going to set up a nice long line in my back yard. Well, I guess the longest I can go is like 50 feet. That is long enough to have some fun, yet still do some tricks. I filed off all the sharp edges on the chain links I am using as line-lockers, so I think those are all good to go! So exciting.
I will HOPEFULLY be making a trip up to Berkeley one of these nights to purchase a climbing harness (Black Diamond Alpine Bod Harness), an ATC, a locking biner and a couple regular biners from a guy on Craigslist. I hate to say it, but I need $$$. Cisco certainly pays enough for me to have some insane fun; enough that I really COULD do anytihing I want. Unfortunately, I have student loans, and I am going to pay those down as much as I possibly can, giving up some of the amazing adventures I want to have right now.
I REALLY dislike NOT using my $ for that fun stuff (going to Slackfest in Moab, visiting Clay in AZ, backpacking around Europe, etc) as I fear that I will never be able to do these things again after college. By the time my loans are paid off, I may be saddled with a family, and most 'real' jobs out there do not let employees take 3 months off to go backpacking around the world. Booooo! So, I guess that I need to bust my ass machining custom parts for people for side-cash. I guess if I dump all of my Cisco paycheck into the loans, and use side money for fun I can still go wild!
Haha, I talk like I do not have fun as it is. Shit, I have gone out almost every single weekend & gone SOMEWHERE, doing things many people already consider wild. Still, by my standards I am selling myself short somehow. Lol, oh well, at least I don't kust sit around bitching instead of having SOME fun! Proactivity = good! |
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| Fun times at Devil Mountain. Incredible weekend! |
[Aug. 8th, 2006|11:27 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | rejuvenated | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Hum of my Laptop & Workstation | ] |
-----------------------------------------
Saturday, August 5, 2006
This past weekend I went up to Mt. Diablo with my buddies Nick & John. It turned out to be an awesome day. The beginning was filled with some hiking...hikng that involved us making our own trail through manzanita bushes and some really spiky ones for the last half mile. I am sitting here 3 days later and my legs still itch like crazy. It was a hell of a hike at the end! It was a good 100 feet straight through the thickest brush we had seen. Most of the stuff we had hiked through at least appeared to have been a trail at some point, or we could at least see the ground. The final extent...no. That was pure, untraversed, thorny goodness. We clawed through, laughing at our own stupidity, cursing the plants, grumbling vernaculars and all-along having a good time. Once free of the thorny labyrinth, we rested for a few moments as the pain in our shins set in from all those scrapes.
Next we decided to go find the rock climbing spot called Amazing Face. The whole side of the road was full of trees and shrubs, and sloped downward steeply for wat appeared to be maybe 30 feet. So, we walked about a quarter mile down the road from where we parked and there was a big rock formation 5 feet from the pavement at a spot where the ground does not dip downward as it did further up. It is maybe 20 feet tall and easy to scramble up onto. While climbing, I was expecting to get atop it and find prettymuch nothing on the other side...maybe some flat terrain with more trees & grass. That was not the case. We get on top of the rock, and beyond was a huge ravine lined with more rock formations and canyons. From our outlook, we were a good few hundred feet above the floor. Talk about a surprise. So much for the small climb to see a boring sight (not that I find nature to be so, you know what I mean!)!
We scrambled down the rock formations until we got to dirt. We descended pretty quickly as there was nothing technical...it was prettymuch a case of doing the crab-walk and scrambling. We spent some time at one location where there were some rock faces to boulder on, and a steep rock decline that went down maybe 50 feet to the next flat spot. The ground was littered with a large quantity of big sandstone boulders. We threw a number of them down the rock decline with all of our might, causing them to explode and scatter their fragments in every direction. Being that the area was walled in by rock faces, the sounds were most satisfying. After doing that for a while we ventured down the decline.
Once at the bottom, we turned around a corner of one of the large formations that had formed the walls of the previous area, and found a large rock chimney. It extended upward for a good 100 or 150 feet. The incline varied from around 70 degrees to probably 87. Good holds were plentiful, and if there were none, plenty of places were available to do hand-jambs and to lock your feet into crevices for support. About half way up I had my doubts about continuing. Aside from the second half being near-vertical, I had to wonder how we would ever get back down. But, as usual, just ignoring the screaming sense of doubt and having confidence in one's own abilities, I convinced myself to continue up the incline behind Nick & John. If my friends jumped off of a bridge, would I? Well, in this case, yes. We made it to the top, and the view was beautiful. It was full of nice places to sit and enjoy the vista, relax and recoup. The first thing I did when I summited the chimney was look at where the other side of it went. The chimney divided two huge rock forms, and continued to extend back down the other side. A brief second of inspection gave us all the OK to let go of our worries about descending the way we came up. The other side looked very friendly to descend through!
So we enjoyed the view, chatted and took pictures. Nick & I had left our shirts back at the car, and the afternoon sun felt warm and friendly as it poured down upon us. Laying there on the warm, smooth rock I thought to myself, "You know, this is how people are supposed to live. It is so much simpler, so much more satisfying. What has humanity dug itself into?!" Obviously, it is an observation, and a nice thought. Although it was far from spoiling the moment, I could not help but think about how overly idealistic the last thought would seem to most people. For the moment anyway, I am saddled tightly into the 'real world.' My student loans are the anchor that keeps me firmly planted in this working-for-a-living life. Once they are gone, I am free. I can go do whatever I please. I have my responsibilities, and I do not mind taking care of them. I figure that struggling to fulfill them and living in this complicated world will only help me to appreciate the time when I have broken free of my shackles, and can live as I please. I certainly do not want to live in the mountains, subsisting off of whatever I can find to eat and clothe myself with, but I do not want to spend every waking moment working to make house payments and pay for property tax. I want fulfillment, and I see that money does not bring it (outright)...it can drive you from it if you are not careful.
These things were shooting through my mind, and probably only took about a minute to percolate through my synapses. I conversed with Nick lightly on the subjects and made the comment, "Money does not buy happiness." Cliche, of course. He gave me a, "Hmmm, well it can..." I replied, well, money does not BUY happiness, but it certainly gives you options. And options can help you to find happiness. He cordially agreed. That was something my Uncle Jim had said to my mother, which she passed to me (years ago). It seems to be a lot more pragmatic than, "Money does not buy happiness." That is a very jaded sounding thing to say, as if BLAMING ones unhappiness on money. In the end, it is not money that makes one unhappy. It is the choices one makes regarding how they use it and their expectations about what they NEED versus what they WANT that determines how happy they can be. WANTING lots of stuff can just leave you feeling unfulfilled in life. Having lots of things means you do not have much time to appreciate each one.
After mulling over these things for a few minutes (it is absolutely amazing how fast you can cover soemthing that, when written down, seems as though it were pondered over for hours!) we just spent the rest of our time up there playing around and enjoying the vistas.
We descended a short way via the chimney on the opposite side of the formation. About 50 feet down we reached another small flat spot. It wrapped around the rock formation, leading to another chimney of sorts that extended down sharply another 50 feet or so with rock walls to the sides. Looking up about 8 feet we saw an alcove that had been formed by rocks stakcing on one another. We climbed up there and rested for a good 15 minutes. It was comfortable, and the shade it offered was a welcome respite from the sun that was beginning to redden our skin. The warm, inviting sun was becoming a harsh, pounding element. The sun itself had not changed, but as our skin burned, our perception of it changed from being a freind to a nuisance.
From there we worked our way back to the road. Once back at the car we decided to head back to Nick's house and do some BBQ'ing. We purchased some New York steaks, Pulgese bread and a six pack of Corona (and limes, too). As the steaks cooked we swam in Nick's pool and played on the diving board. I applied some sun block to my reddened shoulders so as to prevent them from burning further. The feast we had prepared was very welcome. The steaks turned out mouth-wateringly delicious. The break was amazing. The Corona's were tasty as well. It was the most relaxing afternoon I have had in a long time. Being beaten thoroughly by the morning's hike and climbing only enhanced the feeling of relaxation. John departed, and Nick & I were left playing in the pool for another hour or so. Once the beers had worked their way out of my system, I finally accepted that I would need to head home. I said my goodbye's and took off.
The drive home was almost surreal. The extreme feeling of relaxation and fulfillment from the day carried on, and carried over to my gas mileage. I was just fine moving in the right lane at 65mph, which would normally have me all steamed up. I got home and found myself wanting badly to be out of the city. I set up a slackline in the front yard and played on it for a brief period. Noticing how dirty it had gotten during the past winter, and remembering how many times I had planned to wash it but never got to doing, I took it down. I coiled it neatly and secured it with zip-ties. I washed it in the washing machine as I had planned to try many times. To the best of my knowledge, nobody else had tried a washing machine for this before. It worked out great, and since I enjoy contributing to the slackline community, I took pictures of the process to make a DIY writeup with. The tutorial is HERE actually!
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Sunday, August 6, 2006
I found myself to be very restless Sunday. I was feling depressed. This was due not only to the fact that I love the outdoors, nor the fact that all that scrambling was incredibly satisfying, but because I realized how much I had missed hanging out with Nick. Had I been to the park with other friends, I would have had fun as well. Nick, however, is one of my old buddies. We had ridiculously good times at UOP back in the days of Grace Covell, and this was a big reminder of the long-gone good times. I had spent a good year being mad at him for transferring to UCSB, and that I could not transfer because I had my priorities "straight"...I COULD transfer, but as far as my future as an engineer, UOP was the best choice. I was miffed that he had left my buddies and I, and sad that I no longer had a partner in crime. Him & I were a good pair of buddies, and anyone who has lost one knows the feeling. Lost is a harsh word, but seeing as how both of us are usually too broke or busy to make the 300 mile drive, it is close to the reality of the situation. Hanging out with him was lots of fun, and a painful reinder of how much has changd over the past couple years. I certainly have had a ton of fun since he left, but it was never quite the same after that. My other two closest friends also left the school that year alongside him, which was a real downer. I certainly have enjoyed mysef since then, but again, it is different than if they were there. I would not go so far as to say it would have been BETTER if they had stayed, but it certainly was DIFFERENT.
The longing for more good times with Nick, and being tired of the cement behemoth of the city I was living within, put a big damper on my day. So, what did I do? Well, the same thing I do whenever something gets me down. I made the best of the situation! I am NOT the type to just sit around moping when something goes awry. No, I am the proactive type. It also happens that, as much as I enjoy human contact with friends, I get a lot of satisfaction from building and creatng things. I began construction of some A-Frames for my slackline gear. That would enable me to rig up lines almost anywhere! I was reasonably broke at the start of the day, but my neighbor paid me $100 to replace the door handle assembly on his Toyota. It was actually a big job, getting all the linkage back on and the door's interior paneling on neatly. Anyway, doing some woodworking made me feel muuch better.
So, that was my weekend. It was fun on many levels, and a reminder of how friendship can persist through distance and time. I am saving my pennies to make a trip down to SB to visit the Nickster. I anticipate some wild good times! |
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| A Very Good Weekend...Passes far too Quickly |
[Jul. 31st, 2006|10:16 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  blah | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Shins - New Slang | ] |
Twas filled with cliff jumping and some decent randomness. The cliff jumping was magically delicious, although the creek hike/swim was sorta rough on the body. Leaping from rock to rock, across gaps, and swimming in a river that conceals underlying rocks can take its toll on the body. It was absolutely worth it though. Very reminiscent of the times I went there in past years, just different people. There was a LOT more driftwood out there this year than in others. I suppose it was from the big storms we had. Jorge wants to go back & get a huge piece to make a table from. It sounds like fun, and honestly, I just want an excuse to get out of town and hang out with the college buddies. I will get some pics up a little later in the day.
I suppose I am now starting to get into what any college student (with a fun social life) feels before they embark on their final year. I have this internship until January, then one last semester at UOP. Right now I am really dreading the end of my college career. Despite the school work that interrupts my sleeping, napping and having fun, I am really going to miss it. Mostly, I will miss the people, having them live minutes, even seconds, away. They have about as much free time as I do, so we can do the most random things at the most random times. Life after college is so...scripted. Even the weekends are that way unless you go out of your way to arrange some fun excursions, and even then, it is scripted. Not that the trips are not fun, but deciding to go to Yosemite at 2AM the night (well, morning) before departing is so much more fun. You do not even have time to build any expectations of the fun to come. The fun just happens and it is all a surprise.
I suppose I am feeling that finishing college truly is the death of my childhood.
I do not want it to die, but it seems prettymuch inevitable. Living your childhood out has a lot to do with WHO you spend your time with. After college, you see those WHO's a lot LESS. Sure you can have your office pals, but it is not the same. I suppose I am at a disadvantage in that I am at least 10 years younger than everyone else here. You cannot really tempt married folks to come over & get tanked on beer, BBQ and go cliff diving on a whim. I will need to make a real effort to keep in close contact with friends that are within an hour or 2 of wherever we all end up. Not that I will forget the ones further away, but I certainly will not be seeing a friend half way across the country on a weekly basis.
So, I am feeling what all college seniors feel...the ones that have had a blast in college. I suppose if I had just studied & made myself miserable the whole time I would not be stuck in this dilemma. The hell with that notion...all the fun I had is worth whatever pain/anxiety I may feel when it reaches the end. I suppse that is a problem as well...thinking that it will end. I certainly will not let that happen. The fun will still be there, I suppose it will just change in its nature. Humans naturally fear change, and are afraid to lose things, so I suppose I am really fearing the change that looms on the horizon...a rapidly-approaching point. I am also afraid, despite the fact that I would not allow myself to get stuck alone and joyless, that I may not be able to help it. What if everyone moves away and I get stuck in a cubicle from 7-4 and an empty apartment with nobody to talk to, clinging to AIM as my only source of human contact? I do not think that will happen, but who is to say.
At any rate, that is what goes through the mind from time to time. Time will tell what life has in store for me. I will do my best to make it good. |
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| I goofed |
[Jul. 30th, 2006|11:47 am] |
Note to Self:
Don't leave the computer logged on at Jorge's House.
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| When humanity decides to shred itself |
[Jul. 28th, 2006|08:22 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work, where else | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want | ] |
Well, not that it isn't already, or trying to. I had a silly thought yesterday. I was walking back to my office from the gym in the afternoon and was walking up the plant-lined walkway to the front entrance. There are these big plants with long slender leaves along the sides, many of which hang over onto the path. They were to my right. My left foot stepped on the end of one, and my right foot decided to get hooked under this leaf that was now a big loop. Son of a bitch, it almost sent me face-first into the pavement. Naturally I recover my balance and look around quick to make sure nobody saw lol. Then I start laughing because I am a klutz sometimes. Then the weird-thinking begins.
Seeing as how I am quite convinced that humanity is going to wipe itself out at some point, whether it be from screwing with the ecosystem too much that it can no longer produce enough food for our overpopulating asses, or someone drops the big one and everyone launches theirs (lol think of the end of the world internet cartoon...FIRE ZIE MISSILES!). Anyway, my though was, "Hmmm when shit hits the fan and stuff is like The Postman, I must remember these plants. They are very strong and I can make all sorts of stuff from them." Maybe it is the lack of sleep, or just from reading too many books on anthropology and social/ecological responsibility. Anyway, it was just sorta funny.
Man, I just wanna get outta here & go up to Stockton...well go to the cliff jumping hole more-so. I cannot wait to get out there & go have some fun. I really missed going there last year since the river was just too high/fast. It is still cold as a witch's tit, but it is bearable. By now it is probably a little warmer anyway. Man, the anxiety is killing me. |
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| Assembly Completed |
[Jul. 25th, 2006|09:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | My comfy room | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | calm | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Dispatch - Past the Falls | ] |
I got myself some new panorama software and put together all the pano's I have taken in the past 5 months...it was so much easier with the new program (Arcsoft Panorama Maker 4).
Ask for larger copies, I have them on the compy. Larger as in like 5 to 15 times larger. Here are but a very FEW of the ones I put together.
I won't delay, here are the pano's:
Mt. Diablo:
Looking south-east from the summit.
Looking east from the observation deck.
Gazing westward from a little vista in Rock City.
Rock City's Wind Caves
Some from Almaden Quicksilver County Park where I mountain bike periodically:
Santa Cruz Mountains to the West
Westward yet again
Anderson Resivoir
A little stop-off, and my trusty old steed.
Aaaand one from Mt. Hamilton a few weeks ago:
Northwest view from the summit, next to Lick Observatory.
If a reader ha sany interest in visiting these places let me know. I would be more than happy to provide directions, or get a little day-trip rolling!
After playing with some photos, my day has begun to feel far better. Doing somethign you enjoy, for yourself, can make all the difference. Yay for hobbies! |
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| Striking |
[Jul. 25th, 2006|11:30 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | mellow | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Postal Service - Nothing Better | ] |
I've got a cupboard with cans of food,
filtered water, and pictures of you
and I'm not coming out until this is all over.
And I'm looking through the glass
Where the light bends at the cracks
And I'm screaming at the top of my lungs
Pretending the echoes belong to someone
Someone I used to know
And we become silhouettes when our bodies finally go
I wanted to walk through the empty streets
And feel something constant under my feet,
But all the news reports recommended that I stay indoors
Because the air outside will make
Our cells divide at an alarming rate
Until our shells simply cannot hold
All our insides in,
And that's when we'll explode
(And it won't be a pretty sight)
And we'll become silhouettes when our bodies finally go
I was just listening to this at my desk. For some reason the lyrics were just very striking to me for some inexplicable reason. Odd how sometimes you cannot even explain why you feel a certain way. I think being in this cubicle makes me feel isolated, just a tad. For some reason I have been quite distracted by memories of my Sophomore year at UOP...probably the Modest Mouse I was listening to earlier. It reminds me of the good times with my buddy Nick before he transferred to UCSB.
I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. College was some of the best times I can think of, and it saddens me that it passed so fast, and how easy it is to slip out of contact with people that you care for. Actually being able to physically be with someone is a big part of friendship. Leaving messages (voice/text/IM) just is not the same, and even live on-the-phone is not the same. I just want to go buy a house in a neighborhood, and all my friends buy houses on the same street. That would be very cool...prettymuch like college but we have our own houses instead of apartments/dorm rooms. Sophomore year epitomized the best and worst of times, and it was my most fondly remembered year. I really need to either go to SB & visit Nick, or get him to come up here & go cliff diving with my 'crew.' Jorge, Alex P, Long, Brad and others are in Stockton still, so I can visit them on weekends. Alisha is a little north and certainly likes wacky adventures. Matt-po, he's in Stockton for now...every time we do something it involves some massive mischief...stories that I cannot repeat on here lol. Andrew & JT are gonna be back up at school and it will be nice to have the grilling crew back. One other person I need to call up & see how things are goin with is Claudine. She was always having some sort of good adventure in life, and always seemed to know me better than I myself do. Heh, once I put the pride aside & just learned to take good advice life got a little easier! Oh well, it is lunch time. I think I will eat & go walk around outside since it is not 105F today...just a brisk 97F! |
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| Common Trends in Friends...that rhymes |
[Jul. 25th, 2006|08:10 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | The Cubicle | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Slightly Stoopid - Everything You Need | ] |
It is sorta funny how many people I know from school that are direly disappointed in the life awaiting them after school. Well, not haha funny, but notable I suppose. It makes me happy to see that many are protesting the lifestyle that so many are subjected to...working shit jobs (shit meaning something they are not passionate about).
I would be most destrought if I was the only one who found the 'working world' to be direly unsatisfying.
It is inhuman, and certainly not terribly fulfilling. Earn-n-Spend, Earn-n-Spend...wheee let's all get trapped in the delightful cycle of wasting the most precious moments of our lives; wasting them, slaving away at something we really do not give a damn about, neglecting our loved ones (and OURSELVES), all to get a piece of paper that has imaginary value. Then we give away this piece of paper for items, built by people doing something THEY hate, because we are told that obtaining these items with our money will make us happy and fulfilled. (cynicism) But, we must toss out these items every year and get NEW ones to stay fulfilled, because only NEW items are worth anything. (/cynicism) That is what we are told, and it is a crying shame that so many people cannot see through this. Yes, I am asserting that I am superior, so if you were about to wonder regarding this and be offended, wonder no more and feel offended to your heart's content! Do I smell more cynicism...maybe a little.
Personally, I find life to be far far far more fulfilling with much less 'stuff' (despite the fact that I was totally looking for a laptop yesterday...excuse? I wanna get rid of my desktop so I can go somewhere besides my room to work on photos, which I DO love...aaaah good ol' rationalization and run-on sentences!). 'Less stuff' is liberating. There is less to worry about, less responsibility to feel for actually using all the crap we bought with the best moments of our lives.
What do I regret most? I regret not getting close with other people that feel the same way about how to live their lives while I was in school. I have good friends and I value them. Not many really share my views on life, or just do not like discussing THEIR views, though, and the people I did know that shared it I did not get to know as well as I feel I should have. If you somehow stumble onto my little corner of the web here, let me know. Post a comment, agree with me, tell me I have my head up my ass, do whatever. If stuff I write is enough to make someone feel SOMETHING then I can go to bed happy. Don't be shy if you don't know me. Afterall, every friend I have began as a complete stranger. |
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| No Dice |
[Jul. 24th, 2006|07:27 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | hot | ] |
| [ | music |
| | History Channel | ] |
Alrighty, so no new laptop for me today. I have to try & find somewhere to sell the compy, both for $ AND so I do not have way too many compies laying around. They might start reproducing if I have too many in one room, and feeding all the new ones would be hard on the power bill.
This little free unit could probably fetch me a good $300 or so as well. It would be nice to keep since it is so small, but I only want ONE computer. And if I have ONE computer, it needs to be capable of running CAD software and doing photo-editing.....things that require some hefty number crunching capacity, and lots of RAM. These are things that my little free friend just was not born with.
Perhaps I will install Photoshop 7 on this though. CS/CS2 would be too much for this little tyke to handle, but version 7 would probably barely make it on here. Certainly not optimal, but I guess it would be nice to have available if needed.
Uugh, I must go upstairs into my already swelteringly hot room and make it even more of a furnace by turning on my desktop to do some photo work. Oh well, can't always have the cake (but if I find out who took it, they are gonna be sleepin with da fishes). |
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| Feelin like posting |
[Jul. 24th, 2006|02:02 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | anxious | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Incubus - Glass | ] |
Hokay, so I went to Circuit City on my lunch break to see what laptop selections they had. Normally I would ONLY but one from the web as I HATE hate places like CC, Best Buy and the such. However, they have a VERY nice laptop there for $550, marked down $200 from $750. I have been wanting to ditch my desktop for a while now anyway, so if I could get a little cash for it that would be cool. Anyway, I will see about procuring one after work today.
Specs on it are:
- AMD Turion 64 ML-32 Processor (1.8GHz).
- 512MB DDR333 RAM
- 80GB HDD
- DVD-RW + CD-RW
- Wireless & Ethernet Integrated
- Claimed 3 hour battery (I hear it is more around 2)
- 15.4 Inch Screen (1280 x 800)
- 6.2lbs...not too bad, 4lbs would be preferable.
- Integrated Graphics...booooo, but if I want dedicated it will jack the price waay up. I don't play games anymore anyway.
- 3 USB 2.0 Ports
- PCMCIA Type I/II Slot
I think I will upgrade to 1 or 2GB of memory though, since I like doing photo editing stuff. 512MB will cut it perhaps, I suppose I will wait & see first. Hopefully I will be picking this unit up tonight!
The Laptop:
 |
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| Weekend over already...boooooo! |
[Jul. 23rd, 2006|11:38 pm] |
It was a good weekend. I spent most of it in the garage/machine shop. I got the digital readouts working on the mill...I had to fab up some custom bracetry, but it is all working now. Whee!
I went to scenic Mt. Diablo with the family today. It was a cool 108F there, but compared to the sweat shop, errr garage it was not too bad. We did not do too much hiking due to the heat, but it was enjoyable nevertheless. I had far too much fun with the super-macro mode on the camera! If you like a pic a lot let me know. I have the high-res ones on my comp and will gladly send you copies! There are many many more pics, I have to assemble the panoramas, then I will post them! Pics...
Dry grass...
View from the summit, to the east.
You cannot really see it through the haze, but this is downtown SF.
Berries!
Trail into Rock City.
Yeah, you do not wanna touch this...
Manzanita branch...or is it Madrone, I can never remember!
Looking at Sentinel Rock.
Some foliage on the rocks!
A big rock that I climbed back during winter...a little slippery back then!
A vista from within Rock City.
Gravity decided to change. The wind-caves are on this rock-face, behind the rock face in the foreground...
I made the V2.0 Coil-on-Plug retrofit bracket today. It came out well, and everything fit! I will need to move the threaded holes on the bottom a little in future productions though...clearance issues. Time to make a little side-$ selling these to all the people in the car-club I started a year ago. Since nobody there seems to have access to a machine shop, I guess I have a monopoly on custom fabbing stuff! The bracket came out well...
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bmwman91's journal
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