Since we lost a majority of our soccer players (and I'm not sure where I'll be in the next few months), our co-ed soccer team didn't attempt a third season at the YMCA. Instead, I started looking online for random pickup games. Yesterday was my first pickup soccer game and there were striking differences from the organized games that I've grown accustomed to. Instead of a sport ladened by nugatory rules and regulations, it felt like futbol the way it was meant to be played.
On Monday night, a friend and I went to the designated spot and approached a motley group, asking if it was the same meetup group that posted online. A terse "Yes" was all that was said from one of the players.
The group of random people consisted of all age groups, genders, and ability. They gathered for the sole purpose of playing a good game; there were no introductions of names, rules, or even a single referee. Almost instinctively, teams formed with dark shirts vs. light shirts and the game began instantly.
What I found most interesting was that there were no limits on 'ball touches' based on gender. In most of my past co-ed games, guys were usually limited to three to four 'touches' of the ball before someone else needed to touch the ball. This forced limited ball control with guys while girls had unlimited touches. The rule implied that all guys were more proficient than all girls. I found it to be an antiquated concept that could easily be seen by certain girls who could dribble endlessly around talented guy players.
It felt incredible playing without the imposed handicap. It was mentally and physically rewarding in that I didn't have to count each touch. If a ball came high, I wouldn't have to worry about using my chest to stop the ball (first touch), kneeing the ball to gain control (second touch), and begin dribbling (third touch), before I needed to pass the ball (fourth touch). Throughout the night, I was able to use my speed to catch up to attackers or to pass defenders, and I had unlimited touches to control the ball!
For the majority of the game, I played defense with a random stranger that happened to hang out back with me. With no goalie, we were able to defend with 2 defenders versus 2-5 attackers. Although I had never met this person before, we were able to read each other's moves and cohesively defend against the odds. Without a word, one of us would cut off the pass while the other would rush the ball. For the first hour, they hadn't scored at all while we scored over 3 goals.
It was bizarre how few words were communicated throughout the night. There were a few shouts of "Man on", "You have help on your back", or "Across". It was just pure soccer. We started playing with sunlight and left at night, with cars flashing their high beams onto the otherwise unlit field.
Everyone played clean and we finally called it a night (promptly after someone was accidentally kicked from the lack of visibility). We all exchanged concise "good game" goodbyes and left as quickly as the game had started.
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
An amazing week
Sometimes you have that perfect day. Sometimes you have that perfect week. This was one of those memorable weeks.
My younger brother and his girlfriend visited from Nebraska last Friday/Saturday, the beginning of my weeklong break. They had my truck and returned it intact after a cross country trip; that was already a great start. As usual, I found their good humor refreshing. Hours after my brother left, I saw some Peace Corps friends who have been living as dorm parents in Shanghai. They were such amazing company and I got to show them around a little of San Diego.
Monday through Wednesday I went to visit my parents and some high school friends up in Reedley. It happened to be one of my cousin's birthdays so there was a lot of good food. Wednesday night I happened to come back in time to meet up with some other coworkers in my building for happy hour. Thursday I drove up to Vegas with a friend; he had an annual gaming convention up there, though I honestly went for the open bar and pool party. We stayed there until Saturday. Sunday I recovered by playing a lot of Starcraft 2.
After much thought, on Monday I put in my two weeks notice to leave my company. I've had a job offer from another company hours after my notice was sent and I haven't even sent out my resume yet. However, I don't plan on taking it. I plan on taking time out to study for the GRE for graduate school; I'm hoping to get into a Public Health and Policy program. Sometimes life shouldn't be planned. Sometimes life should have that free fall moment, where things should just happen for that moment and nothing else.
Life is looking good. I have a lot in savings and hope to make the most use out of my newfound free time. I hope that my application to be a janitor in Antarctica gets approved. My lease for my apartment is up in January and I want to travel or do something new by next year, whatever that may be.
My younger brother and his girlfriend visited from Nebraska last Friday/Saturday, the beginning of my weeklong break. They had my truck and returned it intact after a cross country trip; that was already a great start. As usual, I found their good humor refreshing. Hours after my brother left, I saw some Peace Corps friends who have been living as dorm parents in Shanghai. They were such amazing company and I got to show them around a little of San Diego.
Monday through Wednesday I went to visit my parents and some high school friends up in Reedley. It happened to be one of my cousin's birthdays so there was a lot of good food. Wednesday night I happened to come back in time to meet up with some other coworkers in my building for happy hour. Thursday I drove up to Vegas with a friend; he had an annual gaming convention up there, though I honestly went for the open bar and pool party. We stayed there until Saturday. Sunday I recovered by playing a lot of Starcraft 2.
After much thought, on Monday I put in my two weeks notice to leave my company. I've had a job offer from another company hours after my notice was sent and I haven't even sent out my resume yet. However, I don't plan on taking it. I plan on taking time out to study for the GRE for graduate school; I'm hoping to get into a Public Health and Policy program. Sometimes life shouldn't be planned. Sometimes life should have that free fall moment, where things should just happen for that moment and nothing else.
Life is looking good. I have a lot in savings and hope to make the most use out of my newfound free time. I hope that my application to be a janitor in Antarctica gets approved. My lease for my apartment is up in January and I want to travel or do something new by next year, whatever that may be.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Believing in Fate
Tomorrow's an important day. I have an interview for the Technical Manager position at my non-profit. If I get the job, I switch to management and we hire someone to replace me as one of the data analyst / database administrator. I would step far outside my comfort zone both in my current abilities and ideology.
Society seems to place a high status on managers, though I never really understood the reasons why. While I don't think of managers as the grossly inept people commonly portrayed in the mass media, I did think that a small professional staff could easily write off a manager as unnecessary overhead. Plus, I thought middle management was an antediluvian concept.
A couple events recently changed my mind. First, my boss went on vacation for a week. It was the end of the quarter/fiscal year so our staff should have all been busy. Without getting into the details, the office instantly turned into a wreck. I guess you don't appreciate someone for what they do until they're gone. Up until this point, I hadn't yet realized that my boss was the glue holding us together. After she came back, she was able to quickly bring the team back into a cohesive unit.
I also recently read "It's Your Ship" by D. Michael Abrashoff, a recommendation by my roommate, and it's helped change my perspective on what management means. I think the term management has a negative stigma associated with it; I think people still think of it as the "We do this because I'm the boss and I said so" mentality. As I read the book, I noticed the subtle, yet powerful messages that a manager can send to those around him/her. If I hadn't just seen my boss' invisible hand fix our company, my pessimistic self would have written it off as 'management bullshit'.
If you asked me a couple weeks ago whether I would hire an intelligent programmer or a competent manager, I would have easily chosen the programmer. They produce tangible results that you can see. Now, after seeing the crippling effects that even one negative employee can have on staff (and its negative effects on productivity), I would have to pick the competent, down to earth manager.
Although I believe in the company's mission, I'm still a selfish person. If I don't get this position, I think my time with this company would be closely approaching an end. I would want to stay around long enough so that the company can hire new employees, have them become proficiently trained, and then I really would wish them the best. I feel like I haven't challenged myself recently and I owe it to myself to do so, whether it's this new position or by facing the unknown again. I think fate will decide whether I get this position and where my life will go from there.
Society seems to place a high status on managers, though I never really understood the reasons why. While I don't think of managers as the grossly inept people commonly portrayed in the mass media, I did think that a small professional staff could easily write off a manager as unnecessary overhead. Plus, I thought middle management was an antediluvian concept.
A couple events recently changed my mind. First, my boss went on vacation for a week. It was the end of the quarter/fiscal year so our staff should have all been busy. Without getting into the details, the office instantly turned into a wreck. I guess you don't appreciate someone for what they do until they're gone. Up until this point, I hadn't yet realized that my boss was the glue holding us together. After she came back, she was able to quickly bring the team back into a cohesive unit.
I also recently read "It's Your Ship" by D. Michael Abrashoff, a recommendation by my roommate, and it's helped change my perspective on what management means. I think the term management has a negative stigma associated with it; I think people still think of it as the "We do this because I'm the boss and I said so" mentality. As I read the book, I noticed the subtle, yet powerful messages that a manager can send to those around him/her. If I hadn't just seen my boss' invisible hand fix our company, my pessimistic self would have written it off as 'management bullshit'.
If you asked me a couple weeks ago whether I would hire an intelligent programmer or a competent manager, I would have easily chosen the programmer. They produce tangible results that you can see. Now, after seeing the crippling effects that even one negative employee can have on staff (and its negative effects on productivity), I would have to pick the competent, down to earth manager.
Although I believe in the company's mission, I'm still a selfish person. If I don't get this position, I think my time with this company would be closely approaching an end. I would want to stay around long enough so that the company can hire new employees, have them become proficiently trained, and then I really would wish them the best. I feel like I haven't challenged myself recently and I owe it to myself to do so, whether it's this new position or by facing the unknown again. I think fate will decide whether I get this position and where my life will go from there.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Another fast weekend
Friday Night:
Been having insomnia lately; by Friday night I hadn't slept for over 24 hours straight. After work I went to hang out with a friend. We went to an art fundraiser for a local nonprofit, then had wine and dinner since we were downtown.
Wine makes me sleepy. I should drink more so I can sleep easier. I agreed with friend in doing an "8000 meter challenge" (where you run up and down 3 mountains in 24 hours). Some say the challenge is tougher than a marathon. It should be in September so we don't have much time to train. My little brother called; he wanted to borrow my truck for a month. I agreed to that too. Maybe I shouldn't agree to things while drinking. Got home 'early', fell asleep immediately.
Saturday:
Woke up early. Packed my gear in preparation for a day hike up Mount Baldy; it's one of the three mountains that's part of the 8000 meter challenge. This is part of our training and we're not wasting any time. Picked up friend, drove to LA. I decide to try this hike in beach flip flops just to see if I can.
Made the hike up and down in 4 1/2 hours including breaks. We're both out of shape (at least relatively). Hiked up to 10,084 feet elevation. Saw snow on top. Neat.
The US vs Ghana soccer game was recorded. Coming back, we avoided looking at our text messages/calls. I had 3 missed text messages and friend had 6. We're tempted to ask a random stranger to look at our text messages to screen for world cup comments. Friend buys whiskey before watching the game; good for celebration or for numbing the pain of a loss. We do burritos and whiskey. Yum.
My little brother shows up. We finish watching the game and then watch new Futurama episodes. Such a disappointment on both fronts; we continue drinking.
Sunday:
Woke up. Started to watch Germany vs. England recording. Shitty refereeing. Again. What's with this World Cup? Too early to start drinking? My older brother visits. I don't remember when all my brothers got together. It feels surreal seeing everyone; I feel like we're in middle school. We grab pizza and watch the Argentina vs Mexico game. Even more shitty refereeing. Ok, now I can grab a beer.
I clean out my truck and move my gear into my younger brother's vehicle. I find cleats, shin guards, climbing shoes & harness, soccer ball, sleeping bag, sleeping mattress, ski jacket, frisbee golf discs, and other misc. items in my truck. My brothers leave and I hurry to play on my co-ed soccer team at the YMCA. Then I grab beers with the other team after our game. I arrive back home and do laundry. Now it's time to read and write.
Tomorrow's Monday again. Where does the time go?
Been having insomnia lately; by Friday night I hadn't slept for over 24 hours straight. After work I went to hang out with a friend. We went to an art fundraiser for a local nonprofit, then had wine and dinner since we were downtown.
Wine makes me sleepy. I should drink more so I can sleep easier. I agreed with friend in doing an "8000 meter challenge" (where you run up and down 3 mountains in 24 hours). Some say the challenge is tougher than a marathon. It should be in September so we don't have much time to train. My little brother called; he wanted to borrow my truck for a month. I agreed to that too. Maybe I shouldn't agree to things while drinking. Got home 'early', fell asleep immediately.
Saturday:Woke up early. Packed my gear in preparation for a day hike up Mount Baldy; it's one of the three mountains that's part of the 8000 meter challenge. This is part of our training and we're not wasting any time. Picked up friend, drove to LA. I decide to try this hike in beach flip flops just to see if I can.
Made the hike up and down in 4 1/2 hours including breaks. We're both out of shape (at least relatively). Hiked up to 10,084 feet elevation. Saw snow on top. Neat.
The US vs Ghana soccer game was recorded. Coming back, we avoided looking at our text messages/calls. I had 3 missed text messages and friend had 6. We're tempted to ask a random stranger to look at our text messages to screen for world cup comments. Friend buys whiskey before watching the game; good for celebration or for numbing the pain of a loss. We do burritos and whiskey. Yum.
My little brother shows up. We finish watching the game and then watch new Futurama episodes. Such a disappointment on both fronts; we continue drinking.
Sunday:
Woke up. Started to watch Germany vs. England recording. Shitty refereeing. Again. What's with this World Cup? Too early to start drinking? My older brother visits. I don't remember when all my brothers got together. It feels surreal seeing everyone; I feel like we're in middle school. We grab pizza and watch the Argentina vs Mexico game. Even more shitty refereeing. Ok, now I can grab a beer.
I clean out my truck and move my gear into my younger brother's vehicle. I find cleats, shin guards, climbing shoes & harness, soccer ball, sleeping bag, sleeping mattress, ski jacket, frisbee golf discs, and other misc. items in my truck. My brothers leave and I hurry to play on my co-ed soccer team at the YMCA. Then I grab beers with the other team after our game. I arrive back home and do laundry. Now it's time to read and write.
Tomorrow's Monday again. Where does the time go?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Never fear, Will is here!
I sat in the middle of a semicircle of people, with all eyes focused on me. I chuckled at the next question, "What's the longest time that you've been car camping or backpacking?"
I replied that I don't think car camping constitutes as 'camping', but answered that the longest I've gone car camping has been two months straight. Some of the interviewers were visibly shocked at the reply, probably expecting an answer closer to a weekend. The guy nearest me joked "That's not car camping, that's being homeless". We all laughed (with me probably laughing the loudest).
I went on and explained some of my backpacking experiences, mainly wilderness hiking in Yosemite and the trips out to various secluded islands in Tonga. After the interview, one of the members told me that they would normally get back to an applicant in a week. For me, they'd get back to me in 2 minutes while I stepped out so they could vote.
Once I was welcomed back into the room, I heard that I passed my initial interview to become part of the San Diego Mountain Search and Rescue group. It was only the first step in becoming part of the volunteer group, but I was excited. The next test is a weekend trip out to an unknown location with other new applicants. It'll test our ability to pack for an unknown place, the ability to work with other potential SAR members, use our survival knowledge in a wilderness setting, and to learn new SAR skills.
After climbing these last couple months, I figure its about time to try to do something productive instead of only crimping progressively smaller plastic holds in a gym (although I definitely won't stop the latter).
[Updated - It costs a LOT for the additional equipment necessary for the Mountain Rescue Team. As much as I would love to join the group, I'm selfish and want to save up my money to travel again.]
I replied that I don't think car camping constitutes as 'camping', but answered that the longest I've gone car camping has been two months straight. Some of the interviewers were visibly shocked at the reply, probably expecting an answer closer to a weekend. The guy nearest me joked "That's not car camping, that's being homeless". We all laughed (with me probably laughing the loudest).
I went on and explained some of my backpacking experiences, mainly wilderness hiking in Yosemite and the trips out to various secluded islands in Tonga. After the interview, one of the members told me that they would normally get back to an applicant in a week. For me, they'd get back to me in 2 minutes while I stepped out so they could vote.
Once I was welcomed back into the room, I heard that I passed my initial interview to become part of the San Diego Mountain Search and Rescue group. It was only the first step in becoming part of the volunteer group, but I was excited. The next test is a weekend trip out to an unknown location with other new applicants. It'll test our ability to pack for an unknown place, the ability to work with other potential SAR members, use our survival knowledge in a wilderness setting, and to learn new SAR skills.
After climbing these last couple months, I figure its about time to try to do something productive instead of only crimping progressively smaller plastic holds in a gym (although I definitely won't stop the latter).
[Updated - It costs a LOT for the additional equipment necessary for the Mountain Rescue Team. As much as I would love to join the group, I'm selfish and want to save up my money to travel again.]
Monday, June 8, 2009
Futbol
I met my team five minutes before the game started. I knew a few of them, but for the most part, we were still trying to figure out each others' names when we got onto the field. Names and faces were extra important to me since we were the green team and the opposing team was red (and I'm partially red/green color blind)
Slight color blind genetics was probably the least of my worries since I had a host of other problems. For one, I lacked any real soccer experience. I haven't played soccer since middle school. At the time I remember making the soccer team... and promptly quitting since the video game 'Crash Bandicoot 2' was just released on the Playstation. You shouldn't ask a nerdy student whether he preferred running laps or helping a bandicoot save the world from Doctor Nitrus Brio!!! So I didn't quite remember the rules, no big deal.
We warmed up by kicking the ball on the field for a couple of minutes. I immediately felt out of breath and tired. I mentioned it and I think people thought I was joking. Ok, maybe I'm a little out of shape, no big deal.
I was still optimistic. I saw some elderly ladies in the parking lot, maybe they were the red team. The reality of the situation dawned on me as some of the red team appeared onto the field. One person was wearing a San Diego State soccer jersey and another had on a US Marine Corps soccer shirt (and that's just what some of the girls were wearing). The guys had custom names and numbers. Thinking it was a 'beginner / intermediate league', I was almost ready to show up in my sandals. I didn't even know that shinguards were required until an hour before the game.
I can describe in detail how the red team kicked our ass, but I'm sure no one wants to hear about that! We ended up losing 15-3 (the scoreboard stopped keeping track after they hit 15 before half time). Apparently they were in the league's final match last year.
In the end, what really mattered was that it was really fun. It was neat meeting new people and jumping back into something active. I also realized that all the stuff that I've normally been doing hasn't even been remotely competitive; yoga, rock climbing, running, slacklining, surfing, and hiking. All of that has been very mellow and relaxed. I guess its good to change things up a bit.
Slight color blind genetics was probably the least of my worries since I had a host of other problems. For one, I lacked any real soccer experience. I haven't played soccer since middle school. At the time I remember making the soccer team... and promptly quitting since the video game 'Crash Bandicoot 2' was just released on the Playstation. You shouldn't ask a nerdy student whether he preferred running laps or helping a bandicoot save the world from Doctor Nitrus Brio!!! So I didn't quite remember the rules, no big deal.
We warmed up by kicking the ball on the field for a couple of minutes. I immediately felt out of breath and tired. I mentioned it and I think people thought I was joking. Ok, maybe I'm a little out of shape, no big deal.
I was still optimistic. I saw some elderly ladies in the parking lot, maybe they were the red team. The reality of the situation dawned on me as some of the red team appeared onto the field. One person was wearing a San Diego State soccer jersey and another had on a US Marine Corps soccer shirt (and that's just what some of the girls were wearing). The guys had custom names and numbers. Thinking it was a 'beginner / intermediate league', I was almost ready to show up in my sandals. I didn't even know that shinguards were required until an hour before the game.
I can describe in detail how the red team kicked our ass, but I'm sure no one wants to hear about that! We ended up losing 15-3 (the scoreboard stopped keeping track after they hit 15 before half time). Apparently they were in the league's final match last year.
In the end, what really mattered was that it was really fun. It was neat meeting new people and jumping back into something active. I also realized that all the stuff that I've normally been doing hasn't even been remotely competitive; yoga, rock climbing, running, slacklining, surfing, and hiking. All of that has been very mellow and relaxed. I guess its good to change things up a bit.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Our Place
I remember the first time Adrienne and I walked into the empty apartment. I can almost see us there, hand in hand wearing smiles that barely contained our anticipation, both of us eager to move into our first place together. As we walked across the bare hardwood floors, our steps echoed throughout the rooms. The whole apartment had a light colored décor that was instantly warm and welcoming. After viewing the place, we didn't need to say anything, we knew it would be our new home.
Being the travelers we are, we moved in with barely any possessions. Between the two of us, there were a couple of mattresses and some hastily packed boxes of clothes. We didn’t even have to rent a vehicle; a few car trips with some friends quickly moved us in. We didn’t have much, but we couldn’t have been happier. We were quite the unusual pair whose ultimate nightmare wasn’t being homeless, but rather owning a home.
Moving in was quite the commitment in more ways than one. For one, it was our first time living with one another. For both of us, this was our first real relationship. Speaking of commitment, in order to rent our ‘dream apartment’, we had to sign a 6 month lease (which seemed like an eternity to us). Despite our initial hesitation, we signed because we knew that life was going well; Adrienne had gotten the break she needed after months of job searching and had finally landed a new job that paid well. I was still enjoying my job and after being broke for so long in college, I was still getting used to the fact that I had expendable income. We were happy to have our own place together.
Soon after moving in and consolidating what we had, we realized our past reliance on our previous roommates’ kitchenware and furniture. Our place was barren and it remained so for a while; a few months after the last box was unpacked, a visiting friend saw our place for the first time and asked us without a hint of sarcasm, “When do you guys finish moving in?”
One day we finally broke down and decided to ditch the minimalist lifestyle. We finally accepted kitchen and furniture gifts from family and friends. My mom started it off by buying us a dining table. Once she found out that I would accept gifts (albeit reluctantly), she got us a couch and a set of kitchen knives.
Our thinking of what was acceptable to keep slowly shifted with time. When I first moved to San Diego, I was adamant that we had to follow by the “everything has to fit in the backpack” rule. (To be fair, I didn't think we were planning on staying long - we still had a world to explore) It took a while, but that mentality changed to the “everything has to fit in the truck” rule, which then finally took the form of “everything has to fit in the apartment” rule.
Now I’m sitting in the same empty apartment as it was a year ago. The rooms completely cleared, our stuff has been packed into separate boxes, and we’ve had random strangers on craigslist come by every so often to buy our stuff.
I used to wonder why people had such a hard time giving things up. Now I think I understand a little better. It’s not so much that they’re losing their material possessions; it’s more so that they’re losing a souvenir of their memories. The cute dinner table wasn’t so much a finely crafted piece of wood as it was the gift that my mom gave me or the place where I spent cooking countless new recipes.
When I leave this apartment tonight, I won’t take most of the material items with me, but I will take with me the good memories I’ve had here. Since I moved out of my parents place when I was 17, I haven't been to a place that I genuinely felt like it was home. This place was different; Adrienne made it home. And now I feel her slipping away from my life as well.
Being the travelers we are, we moved in with barely any possessions. Between the two of us, there were a couple of mattresses and some hastily packed boxes of clothes. We didn’t even have to rent a vehicle; a few car trips with some friends quickly moved us in. We didn’t have much, but we couldn’t have been happier. We were quite the unusual pair whose ultimate nightmare wasn’t being homeless, but rather owning a home.
Moving in was quite the commitment in more ways than one. For one, it was our first time living with one another. For both of us, this was our first real relationship. Speaking of commitment, in order to rent our ‘dream apartment’, we had to sign a 6 month lease (which seemed like an eternity to us). Despite our initial hesitation, we signed because we knew that life was going well; Adrienne had gotten the break she needed after months of job searching and had finally landed a new job that paid well. I was still enjoying my job and after being broke for so long in college, I was still getting used to the fact that I had expendable income. We were happy to have our own place together.
Soon after moving in and consolidating what we had, we realized our past reliance on our previous roommates’ kitchenware and furniture. Our place was barren and it remained so for a while; a few months after the last box was unpacked, a visiting friend saw our place for the first time and asked us without a hint of sarcasm, “When do you guys finish moving in?”
One day we finally broke down and decided to ditch the minimalist lifestyle. We finally accepted kitchen and furniture gifts from family and friends. My mom started it off by buying us a dining table. Once she found out that I would accept gifts (albeit reluctantly), she got us a couch and a set of kitchen knives.
Our thinking of what was acceptable to keep slowly shifted with time. When I first moved to San Diego, I was adamant that we had to follow by the “everything has to fit in the backpack” rule. (To be fair, I didn't think we were planning on staying long - we still had a world to explore) It took a while, but that mentality changed to the “everything has to fit in the truck” rule, which then finally took the form of “everything has to fit in the apartment” rule.
Now I’m sitting in the same empty apartment as it was a year ago. The rooms completely cleared, our stuff has been packed into separate boxes, and we’ve had random strangers on craigslist come by every so often to buy our stuff.
I used to wonder why people had such a hard time giving things up. Now I think I understand a little better. It’s not so much that they’re losing their material possessions; it’s more so that they’re losing a souvenir of their memories. The cute dinner table wasn’t so much a finely crafted piece of wood as it was the gift that my mom gave me or the place where I spent cooking countless new recipes.
When I leave this apartment tonight, I won’t take most of the material items with me, but I will take with me the good memories I’ve had here. Since I moved out of my parents place when I was 17, I haven't been to a place that I genuinely felt like it was home. This place was different; Adrienne made it home. And now I feel her slipping away from my life as well.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Idealist vs Realist
I was just about to leave the house when I heard a shout come from the kitchen.
"William! The ants are back. They're in the trail mix." I came rushing in to assess the damage.
The ants were all around the kitchen, but mostly in the drawer where we kept a hidden stash of well sealed food. I sighed and replied "Ok, I'm gonna spray again" as I reached for the bottle of RAID.
Adrienne whimpered and complained about using the spray. I sighed again, this time with a hint of frustration building; I knew it was coming. Something as small as killing a few ants got us into arguments because our ideologies naturally clashed. Adrienne was an 'idealist' and I was a 'realist'.
To make it worse, we had this discussion before. The first time the ants came, I said I was going to get rid of them by going to the nearest supermarket, buying a can of RAID, and then spraying to kill. She complained saying that there was a more natural way to get rid of the ants.
I agreed and gave her a week to figure something out. A couple of ideas were thrown around, but no attempts were made to remove the ants. It doesn't matter how well thought out plans are if there is no execution. A week later, I sprayed and the ants died.
This time around I immediately sprayed. I heard the complaint again; it's poisonous. (Of course it is, that's why the ants die!!!) I argued that the amount of toxins were too small and indirect to really affect us, but were deadly to the small ants. All we had to do was open the windows, stay away, eat out for the rest of the day, then clean up. I asked again to find a natural solution, although I believe I can safely bet my left nut that nothing will be done until the ants come again.
The arguments are from the idealist versus the realist perspective. Adrienne has called herself the idealist and me the realist. I can kinda see that. A shining example of one of the things that we have constantly butted our heads on are our career goals.
I think a job is exactly what it is, a job. When it comes down to it and you need money, you need to put your ego and sense of entitlement aside. You don't have to be paid a lot and you don't have to enjoy it (even if you have a college degree); it's a job. It's not what defines who you are unless that is all you do. Now it could certainly be the opposite; you could love your job and you could get paid a lot.
However, it's usually not the case when you immediately graduate out of college and have no real experience. When you're straight out of college, you usually get to pick one; high pay or enjoyable job. When you get enough experience, you could be lucky enough to pick two.
Adrienne's an idealist. She wants both. I ask her to apply for all the ones she's interested in, but to remember that most of the time, it's either gonna pay well OR be something you enjoy. My logic is that since she's had so much trouble getting a job, she should start applying to more than her dream jobs. When she hears this, she gets mad at me for putting her down. I'll spare the details.
I admit that I might be wrong (and I really wish I am). Currently I'm in a job that pays decently and that I enjoy enough to stay at least another year. I think I got extremely lucky though. Adrienne also has a job interview next week that (based on the job description) she'll love and that pays very well.
Whether I'm right or wrong about how to pursue a job or how to kill ants... I don't care anymore. I'm just tired of it. I hate the constant arguing, the constant bashing of ideologies, and I wish there were a quick fix spray... but that's not realistic. I'll find a way to work on it.
"William! The ants are back. They're in the trail mix." I came rushing in to assess the damage.
The ants were all around the kitchen, but mostly in the drawer where we kept a hidden stash of well sealed food. I sighed and replied "Ok, I'm gonna spray again" as I reached for the bottle of RAID.
Adrienne whimpered and complained about using the spray. I sighed again, this time with a hint of frustration building; I knew it was coming. Something as small as killing a few ants got us into arguments because our ideologies naturally clashed. Adrienne was an 'idealist' and I was a 'realist'.
To make it worse, we had this discussion before. The first time the ants came, I said I was going to get rid of them by going to the nearest supermarket, buying a can of RAID, and then spraying to kill. She complained saying that there was a more natural way to get rid of the ants.
I agreed and gave her a week to figure something out. A couple of ideas were thrown around, but no attempts were made to remove the ants. It doesn't matter how well thought out plans are if there is no execution. A week later, I sprayed and the ants died.
This time around I immediately sprayed. I heard the complaint again; it's poisonous. (Of course it is, that's why the ants die!!!) I argued that the amount of toxins were too small and indirect to really affect us, but were deadly to the small ants. All we had to do was open the windows, stay away, eat out for the rest of the day, then clean up. I asked again to find a natural solution, although I believe I can safely bet my left nut that nothing will be done until the ants come again.
The arguments are from the idealist versus the realist perspective. Adrienne has called herself the idealist and me the realist. I can kinda see that. A shining example of one of the things that we have constantly butted our heads on are our career goals.
I think a job is exactly what it is, a job. When it comes down to it and you need money, you need to put your ego and sense of entitlement aside. You don't have to be paid a lot and you don't have to enjoy it (even if you have a college degree); it's a job. It's not what defines who you are unless that is all you do. Now it could certainly be the opposite; you could love your job and you could get paid a lot.
However, it's usually not the case when you immediately graduate out of college and have no real experience. When you're straight out of college, you usually get to pick one; high pay or enjoyable job. When you get enough experience, you could be lucky enough to pick two.
Adrienne's an idealist. She wants both. I ask her to apply for all the ones she's interested in, but to remember that most of the time, it's either gonna pay well OR be something you enjoy. My logic is that since she's had so much trouble getting a job, she should start applying to more than her dream jobs. When she hears this, she gets mad at me for putting her down. I'll spare the details.
I admit that I might be wrong (and I really wish I am). Currently I'm in a job that pays decently and that I enjoy enough to stay at least another year. I think I got extremely lucky though. Adrienne also has a job interview next week that (based on the job description) she'll love and that pays very well.
Whether I'm right or wrong about how to pursue a job or how to kill ants... I don't care anymore. I'm just tired of it. I hate the constant arguing, the constant bashing of ideologies, and I wish there were a quick fix spray... but that's not realistic. I'll find a way to work on it.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Pictures!!!!
I've been slacking on my writing... but hey, a picture is worth a thousand words and I've got plenty of pictures to make plenty of stories. I'll skip my normal dragged out style of writing and just make comments every few pictures:
William Before Hair Cut (I was going for the Homeless Guy Look - Success!)
William After Hair Cut
Although there was a recent death of a tri-athlete who got bit (and promptly died) by a great white shark in San Diego, everyone's still hitting the beaches. I got a chance to use my new (to me) surfboard and wetsuit. Hey, I know that some might consider it gross to buy a used wetsuit, but think about it this way: "It automatically gets washed everytime anyone uses it!"
Surfing uses a lot of muscles that I normally don't use so I'm trying to build up my 'spring up' ability by doing some pushups everyday. I normally do about 3 sets of 25 pushups. Despite the training, I have yet to stand on the board for more than a second. Thankfully Adrienne didn't get any pictures of me going under or getting smacked by my board after a nasty and unexpected second wave.
This is one of the older set of pictures lying around. Adrienne and I haven't gone rock climbing in a couple months and I'm really looking forward to the next time. I'm actually terrified of heights, but love scaling walls. (Climbing down is another issue) There's a great feeling when making a great dyno or figuring out a difficult problem. Here's Adrienne doing the beginning traverse and me playing around the padded bouldering section at Vertical Hold.
For Memorial Day weekend Adrienne and I decided to visit my parents up North in my hometown of Reedley. It's easily a 300+ mile drive one way from San Diego to Reedley. To break up the monotony, we visited a few friends along the way. We visited some of my college friends and even one of the our Peace Corps Trainers from the Kingdom of Tonga, who just happened to be in Long Beach!
It's always great to see my family too! :)
Gas prices are up, world food prices have increased dramatically ever since we started doing all this research for alternative fuel, and our environmental issues now include this giant plastic clusterfuck that's somewhere in the Pacific. Sure there's growing demand in India and China that's causing food shortages, but we're also to blame for creating this demand. Why?
Ignorance; we just don't think about the global welfare (just in case people didn't get the clue when we invaded another country for their oil under the false pretense of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism). Anyways I disgress. We don't think anything past the number at the gas pump. We don't think about the food riots happening across the world when families cannot afford the doubled price of $.57 for the pasta that's necessary to feed their families. Our gas guzzlers are creating this shortage of grain and people are buying gas because they simply can. I wish people would try to find an alternative means of transportation, EVEN IF THEY CAN AFFORD THE INCREASED GAS PRICES! Try public transportation, try carpooling, try... scooters?
Today I bought a Buddy 125cc scooter. It gets 90+ miles per gallon and it's orange. What's there not to like?
125 cc Genuine Scooter Buddy
Haircut Donation Pictures (Before and After)
William Before Hair Cut (I was going for the Homeless Guy Look - Success!)
William After Hair CutSurfing
Although there was a recent death of a tri-athlete who got bit (and promptly died) by a great white shark in San Diego, everyone's still hitting the beaches. I got a chance to use my new (to me) surfboard and wetsuit. Hey, I know that some might consider it gross to buy a used wetsuit, but think about it this way: "It automatically gets washed everytime anyone uses it!"Rock Climbing
This is one of the older set of pictures lying around. Adrienne and I haven't gone rock climbing in a couple months and I'm really looking forward to the next time. I'm actually terrified of heights, but love scaling walls. (Climbing down is another issue) There's a great feeling when making a great dyno or figuring out a difficult problem. Here's Adrienne doing the beginning traverse and me playing around the padded bouldering section at Vertical Hold.
Memorial Day Weekend
For Memorial Day weekend Adrienne and I decided to visit my parents up North in my hometown of Reedley. It's easily a 300+ mile drive one way from San Diego to Reedley. To break up the monotony, we visited a few friends along the way. We visited some of my college friends and even one of the our Peace Corps Trainers from the Kingdom of Tonga, who just happened to be in Long Beach!
It's always great to see my family too! :)
Scooter
Gas prices are up, world food prices have increased dramatically ever since we started doing all this research for alternative fuel, and our environmental issues now include this giant plastic clusterfuck that's somewhere in the Pacific. Sure there's growing demand in India and China that's causing food shortages, but we're also to blame for creating this demand. Why?
Ignorance; we just don't think about the global welfare (just in case people didn't get the clue when we invaded another country for their oil under the false pretense of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism). Anyways I disgress. We don't think anything past the number at the gas pump. We don't think about the food riots happening across the world when families cannot afford the doubled price of $.57 for the pasta that's necessary to feed their families. Our gas guzzlers are creating this shortage of grain and people are buying gas because they simply can. I wish people would try to find an alternative means of transportation, EVEN IF THEY CAN AFFORD THE INCREASED GAS PRICES! Try public transportation, try carpooling, try... scooters?
Today I bought a Buddy 125cc scooter. It gets 90+ miles per gallon and it's orange. What's there not to like?
125 cc Genuine Scooter BuddyMonday, May 12, 2008
Yum, beer!
When Adrienne and I backpacked through Europe, we tried as many different, local beers as possible. There's no point in traveling without experiencing the rich culture that each country has to offer (and by culture I mean especially their beer).
Now there's so many beers out there and so little time to try and rate each one according to categories from best stout, pilsner, etc. I wanted to keep my rating system simple. I rated them all on a 1 to 10 scale based on one factor "After I have this beer, would I want another?". This is a quick breakdown of the scale and my findings based on my limited time traveling:
1: Do not ever drink this again...
1.5: Drink Listerine for the alcohol% instead
2-3:Coronas, Budweisers, etc. (American Beer)
4-5: French Beer
7: German Beer
7: Guinness
8-10: Belgian Beer
Now Belgian beer won hands down. The sad part is... I wrote all the beer names in my little black book and I somehow misplaced this precious information! I forgot exactly what great beer it was that I had in Bruges, Belgium!!!
That's why when we went to a Belgian Beer Tasting this weekend, I was hoping that I could be reacquainted with the mysterious beer whose name has escaped me. Sadly, we did not find it, but still had a great time. Thanks to Adrienne for suggesting this! I <3 her so much :)
Now there's so many beers out there and so little time to try and rate each one according to categories from best stout, pilsner, etc. I wanted to keep my rating system simple. I rated them all on a 1 to 10 scale based on one factor "After I have this beer, would I want another?". This is a quick breakdown of the scale and my findings based on my limited time traveling:
1: Do not ever drink this again...
1.5: Drink Listerine for the alcohol% instead
2-3:Coronas, Budweisers, etc. (American Beer)
4-5: French Beer
7: German Beer
7: Guinness
8-10: Belgian Beer
Now Belgian beer won hands down. The sad part is... I wrote all the beer names in my little black book and I somehow misplaced this precious information! I forgot exactly what great beer it was that I had in Bruges, Belgium!!!
That's why when we went to a Belgian Beer Tasting this weekend, I was hoping that I could be reacquainted with the mysterious beer whose name has escaped me. Sadly, we did not find it, but still had a great time. Thanks to Adrienne for suggesting this! I <3 her so much :)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
100% Hippy?
Despite the hair cut, I still feel as hippy as ever. Since we moved here, Adrienne and I have made it a tradition to visit the local Farmer's market every weekend to support the local farmers and to buy inexpensive, good food. Farmer's market is only a few blocks away so there really is no excuse for us not to go.
Last week I tried a large spicy beef gyro that reminded me of when we went backpacking through Europe. This week I got a little carried away and tried a hearty British chicken curry pie, a well seasoned and beautifully grilled chicken kabob, and some sweet Thai coconut milk pancakes (rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and salt). Along with tasting the prepared food, we also bought basic ingredients that Adrienne's been turning into fancy delicious meals throughout the week! :)
Ok, maybe Farmer's Market isn't really that hippy, but it sure makes me happy. Whenever I pass by the makeshift tents, I get a certain sense of peace that's attributed to the stereotypical carefree and stressless hippy. Shortly after putting our groceries back home, we walked over to Balboa Park to celebrate Earth Day with 50,000+ of our San Diegan neighbors. Since Balboa Park was only a mile away from our house, it was only a simple walk for us. Within traveling two blocks, we immediately saw congested traffic and were once again thankful for where we lived.
The event was already gathering crowds of people and throughout the rest of the day, Earth Day sent two very different messages. The large signs, the laminated pictures, and the text on the brochures claimed how organization X was protecting and saving the environment. However, when one just looked past the messages and looked simply on the ground we stood on, you could see an entirely different message of empty wrappers and discarded fliers.
Now I'm not saying this is the fault of the organizations. No, I just find it sad that some San Diegans don't manage to see the true meaning behind Earth Day. They either picked up information packets knowing full well they wouldn't read them when they got home or they somehow couldn't connect Earth Day to recycling the wrappers from the food that they just bought.
They seemed too caught up with trying out meatless BBQ ribs or visiting the familiar Ben and Jerry Ice Cream stands located every 30 feet apart. Before I could create more judgemental thoughts, we met up with one of Adrienne's friends (and her parents) to explore the rest of the park. With the good company, my mind didn't dwell on the negative thinking.
We witnessed everything from pure electrical cars to organizations focused on saving our wildlife foundations. There were rock to reggae concerts, food courts, people simply lying around, and even some that were boldly and publicly celebrating 4/20 in true 420 style. There was one thing that I didn't expect though...
Just past the Clif bar stand and right before the political activists tents stood a large group of people holding picket signs. I walked in for a closer inspection and read the large billboard "WARNING: Protect Your Children - Gruesome Images Ahead: The following protesters are not part of Earth Day and have refused to leave".
Hmm.. who would put up gruesome images at a public event? Heck, just 30 yards away, there were Jedis and Stormtroopers putting aside their petty differences to pose for pictures with all the kids. Can you believe that; even Stormtroopers, representatives of the evil Galactic Empire, had a heart and thought about the kids first!
I walked over to see who was holding up the signs. There were people holding up pictures of half aborted children and even a group claiming that all worshipers of Islam were part of a political movement and that Islam is truly not a religion. I didn't even know what to say so I'll just type a bunch of dots...........................................
I wish I could describe their lack of respect or their ignorance better, but I really have trouble coming up with articulate words. I really think there is no hope for those people so let me throw in a few more dots...
As we were walking home, I decided that I wasn't a true hippy. I might have stopped looking the part after my hair cut, but even before then I knew I was way too judgmental of others. I'm definitely all for peace and loving, free speech, and anti-government, but at that moment when I saw the protectors holding up their ignorant signs... I would have no problems looking the other way if someone slapped some sense into them.
Last week I tried a large spicy beef gyro that reminded me of when we went backpacking through Europe. This week I got a little carried away and tried a hearty British chicken curry pie, a well seasoned and beautifully grilled chicken kabob, and some sweet Thai coconut milk pancakes (rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and salt). Along with tasting the prepared food, we also bought basic ingredients that Adrienne's been turning into fancy delicious meals throughout the week! :)
Ok, maybe Farmer's Market isn't really that hippy, but it sure makes me happy. Whenever I pass by the makeshift tents, I get a certain sense of peace that's attributed to the stereotypical carefree and stressless hippy. Shortly after putting our groceries back home, we walked over to Balboa Park to celebrate Earth Day with 50,000+ of our San Diegan neighbors. Since Balboa Park was only a mile away from our house, it was only a simple walk for us. Within traveling two blocks, we immediately saw congested traffic and were once again thankful for where we lived.
The event was already gathering crowds of people and throughout the rest of the day, Earth Day sent two very different messages. The large signs, the laminated pictures, and the text on the brochures claimed how organization X was protecting and saving the environment. However, when one just looked past the messages and looked simply on the ground we stood on, you could see an entirely different message of empty wrappers and discarded fliers.
Now I'm not saying this is the fault of the organizations. No, I just find it sad that some San Diegans don't manage to see the true meaning behind Earth Day. They either picked up information packets knowing full well they wouldn't read them when they got home or they somehow couldn't connect Earth Day to recycling the wrappers from the food that they just bought.
They seemed too caught up with trying out meatless BBQ ribs or visiting the familiar Ben and Jerry Ice Cream stands located every 30 feet apart. Before I could create more judgemental thoughts, we met up with one of Adrienne's friends (and her parents) to explore the rest of the park. With the good company, my mind didn't dwell on the negative thinking.
We witnessed everything from pure electrical cars to organizations focused on saving our wildlife foundations. There were rock to reggae concerts, food courts, people simply lying around, and even some that were boldly and publicly celebrating 4/20 in true 420 style. There was one thing that I didn't expect though...
Just past the Clif bar stand and right before the political activists tents stood a large group of people holding picket signs. I walked in for a closer inspection and read the large billboard "WARNING: Protect Your Children - Gruesome Images Ahead: The following protesters are not part of Earth Day and have refused to leave".
Hmm.. who would put up gruesome images at a public event? Heck, just 30 yards away, there were Jedis and Stormtroopers putting aside their petty differences to pose for pictures with all the kids. Can you believe that; even Stormtroopers, representatives of the evil Galactic Empire, had a heart and thought about the kids first!
I walked over to see who was holding up the signs. There were people holding up pictures of half aborted children and even a group claiming that all worshipers of Islam were part of a political movement and that Islam is truly not a religion. I didn't even know what to say so I'll just type a bunch of dots...........................................
I wish I could describe their lack of respect or their ignorance better, but I really have trouble coming up with articulate words. I really think there is no hope for those people so let me throw in a few more dots...
As we were walking home, I decided that I wasn't a true hippy. I might have stopped looking the part after my hair cut, but even before then I knew I was way too judgmental of others. I'm definitely all for peace and loving, free speech, and anti-government, but at that moment when I saw the protectors holding up their ignorant signs... I would have no problems looking the other way if someone slapped some sense into them.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Hair - A world apart
"Hey, he could cut hair." Trevor pointed towards a Tongan walking by his restaurant. "Malo e lelei, fefe hake?" I asked. The Tongan turned around and responded "Sai auptio!" After some small talk, I finally asked if the person wouldn't mind giving me a hair cut then and there at Trevor's restaurant. He happily agreed. Luckily Trevor had a pair of scissors and a comb handy. That was my last hair cut, which was well over a year ago...
That is until this past weekend. I measured my hair; it met the 8 inches minimum necessary for donation. I decided it was time to get a hair cut! Besides, the weather was warming up, not to mention the fact that I was finding enough leftover hair around the house to suspect a small phantom dog was hiding somewhere. Adrienne must have noticed my 'shedding' because within minutes, she had a list of salons nearby. A quick call later and I found myself sitting in a salon with my hair tied neatly in two long braids.
As the remaining pieces of my hair fell, I had the opportunity to view the bustling and very fashionable salon through its reflection. Even though it was my first time in a salon, it wasn't the hair wash, the massage, or the facial that fascinated me the most. I still couldn't believe that last year, I pulled a random stranger off the street to help me cut my hair...
That is until this past weekend. I measured my hair; it met the 8 inches minimum necessary for donation. I decided it was time to get a hair cut! Besides, the weather was warming up, not to mention the fact that I was finding enough leftover hair around the house to suspect a small phantom dog was hiding somewhere. Adrienne must have noticed my 'shedding' because within minutes, she had a list of salons nearby. A quick call later and I found myself sitting in a salon with my hair tied neatly in two long braids.
As the remaining pieces of my hair fell, I had the opportunity to view the bustling and very fashionable salon through its reflection. Even though it was my first time in a salon, it wasn't the hair wash, the massage, or the facial that fascinated me the most. I still couldn't believe that last year, I pulled a random stranger off the street to help me cut my hair...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
My spider senses are tingling!
After moving into our new place on Sunday, Adrienne and I noticed that our apartment felt as cold as a cave! (Consider this a warning to all potential visitors! Our place is now dubbed "The Bunker")
Normally I would laugh and mock my girlfriend's inability to generate body heat while I would sleep warm and snuggly. This time I even felt cold so I decided that something had to be done immediately and that this was no joking matter.
I looked at the bunker's aging gas heater, wondering how to operate it. Where do I log in? Where's the power switch? Man, I wish I wasn't out sick laying on the ground drooling on myself when the landlord showed us the place.
With my numb fingers, I tried to ignite the fire with the small switches. We would try to turn the knob from an ignited pilot switch to the "ON" position, but with each attempt the fire would just die out. After numerous attempts, we finally understood how it worked. I just need to light the fire while pumping the gas! The heater rattled alive and we quickly rejoiced as our fingers regained sensation. We had conquered this ancient technology with our mighty brains of the future!!
Still, the heater was warming up too slowly for our impatient bodies so we pulled up our mattress next to the heater. We laid out blankets and I quickly fell asleep with only a small headache and sinuses, naively thinking that I'd be ready for work the next day.
I woke up worse. I called in sick. Adrienne had a sore throat, but left the Bunker early to take care of shopping and help clean up the remainder of our old apartment (she's so sweet!).
Throughout the day, I kept waking up feeling a bit worse. At 7 p.m., my body instinctively told me that I had to get away from the Bunker and get some much needed fresh air. I also secretly wanted some Kung Pao chicken. Even though I had been resting all day, it wasn't doing me much good. The more I slept, the more I felt.. tired.
When I stood up, my head become instantly dizzy and throbbed with pain. It was like I had a midget in my head kicking me every time I tried to get up. For the first time in a long while, I felt the surging sensation to throw up. I climbed the stairs leading to our apartment and was barely able to stop myself from puking all over my neighbor's plants. (I heard in some cultures, that's how you properly greet your new neighbors?)
A couple more blocks brought me to the local Henry's market. They didn't have any ibuprofen or Kung Pao Chicken), but my nausea was starting to disappear even without it. I started feeling remarkably better by the mere act of walking around and getting fresh air. After traveling a little less than a mile, I found a Ralph's that had some Advil.
Adrienne and I returned home pretty much at the same time. She had gone shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, and Target. She bought everything from color complimenting bathroom rugs to a carbon monoxide detector. She went on about how this color would match with this color, but my headache still drowned out her voice.
I had joked on the first night that we would die from carbon monoxide poisoning during our first night in the bunker. Since it was an invisible and odorless gas that caused death, we wouldn't know that that we were even dying! Adrienne didn't sleep so well after that joke. She couldn't find the humor in it (just like most of my Peace Corps friends couldn't find the humor in a falling coconut related death)
As soon as I plugged in the carbon monoxide tester, 4 high pitched squeals went off. Ouch, it hurt my ear!!! Moments later, another 4 chirps went off in quick succession. I looked at the instructions. 4 quick chirps mean that there is a harmful amount of carbon monoxide. Oh shit. As quickly as we moved our mattresses towards the loving warmth of the Bunker's friendly heater, we just as quickly opened our windows and pulled our mattresses from the invisible cloud of death.
With the carbon monoxide releasing into the open environment, we hoped that our new (and fairly distant) neighbors wouldn't catch a wiff of death mixed into their dinners. Due to the large amount of foilage, we doubt it would travel far (according to myNon-existing...Limited... well read knowledge about how lethal gases would dissipate through the air into non lethal doses). Ok, now with perfect hindsight, maybe we should have warned them and called 911. (Though we figured it was ok since the alarm stopped crying at us) At least I didn't throw up in their plants.
I learned a couple of very important lessons after all of this. Sure, you should be really careful about old gas heaters. However, you should really be on the lookout for danger if you ever have a craving for Kung-pao chicken.
Normally I would laugh and mock my girlfriend's inability to generate body heat while I would sleep warm and snuggly. This time I even felt cold so I decided that something had to be done immediately and that this was no joking matter.
I looked at the bunker's aging gas heater, wondering how to operate it. Where do I log in? Where's the power switch? Man, I wish I wasn't out sick laying on the ground drooling on myself when the landlord showed us the place.
With my numb fingers, I tried to ignite the fire with the small switches. We would try to turn the knob from an ignited pilot switch to the "ON" position, but with each attempt the fire would just die out. After numerous attempts, we finally understood how it worked. I just need to light the fire while pumping the gas! The heater rattled alive and we quickly rejoiced as our fingers regained sensation. We had conquered this ancient technology with our mighty brains of the future!!
Still, the heater was warming up too slowly for our impatient bodies so we pulled up our mattress next to the heater. We laid out blankets and I quickly fell asleep with only a small headache and sinuses, naively thinking that I'd be ready for work the next day.
I woke up worse. I called in sick. Adrienne had a sore throat, but left the Bunker early to take care of shopping and help clean up the remainder of our old apartment (she's so sweet!).
Throughout the day, I kept waking up feeling a bit worse. At 7 p.m., my body instinctively told me that I had to get away from the Bunker and get some much needed fresh air. I also secretly wanted some Kung Pao chicken. Even though I had been resting all day, it wasn't doing me much good. The more I slept, the more I felt.. tired.
When I stood up, my head become instantly dizzy and throbbed with pain. It was like I had a midget in my head kicking me every time I tried to get up. For the first time in a long while, I felt the surging sensation to throw up. I climbed the stairs leading to our apartment and was barely able to stop myself from puking all over my neighbor's plants. (I heard in some cultures, that's how you properly greet your new neighbors?)
A couple more blocks brought me to the local Henry's market. They didn't have any ibuprofen or Kung Pao Chicken), but my nausea was starting to disappear even without it. I started feeling remarkably better by the mere act of walking around and getting fresh air. After traveling a little less than a mile, I found a Ralph's that had some Advil.
Adrienne and I returned home pretty much at the same time. She had gone shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, and Target. She bought everything from color complimenting bathroom rugs to a carbon monoxide detector. She went on about how this color would match with this color, but my headache still drowned out her voice.
I had joked on the first night that we would die from carbon monoxide poisoning during our first night in the bunker. Since it was an invisible and odorless gas that caused death, we wouldn't know that that we were even dying! Adrienne didn't sleep so well after that joke. She couldn't find the humor in it (just like most of my Peace Corps friends couldn't find the humor in a falling coconut related death)
As soon as I plugged in the carbon monoxide tester, 4 high pitched squeals went off. Ouch, it hurt my ear!!! Moments later, another 4 chirps went off in quick succession. I looked at the instructions. 4 quick chirps mean that there is a harmful amount of carbon monoxide. Oh shit. As quickly as we moved our mattresses towards the loving warmth of the Bunker's friendly heater, we just as quickly opened our windows and pulled our mattresses from the invisible cloud of death.
With the carbon monoxide releasing into the open environment, we hoped that our new (and fairly distant) neighbors wouldn't catch a wiff of death mixed into their dinners. Due to the large amount of foilage, we doubt it would travel far (according to my
I learned a couple of very important lessons after all of this. Sure, you should be really careful about old gas heaters. However, you should really be on the lookout for danger if you ever have a craving for Kung-pao chicken.
Moving in
This past weekend I moved.
At first, I had a nice and simple plan for our move. I like simple plans; the pieces come together so easily. My plan involved only a few trips of Adrienne, me, and my small pickup truck. We wouldn't need a U-Haul since we were only moving 30 miles and we weren't going to bother our friends since we had so little stuff; I also hate asking people for things (it's something that I know I should work on). Since we didn't 'need' the help, we didn't ask for it. I figured that moving our stuff wouldn't really be a logistical problem.
Then I started having the sniffles on Wednesday night. People asked if I was taking medicine for the cold. I thought "Nah, let me try to fight this one out naturally by just drinking lots of water... ooh, and eating a burger. I have a craving for a juicy burger with swiss cheese!" My body is tough; after all, I'm young!
By Thursday afternoon, I had to go home early from work and ditch my Spanish class to rest up. I decided that maybe hamburgers weren't such a good idea and that I would try drinking more water, still keep my greasy meals, but add in vitamins into the formula to help balance out the bad.
That didn't work either and Friday sent me home early with a slight fever and sore eyes. By Saturday morning, my eyes felt like I was back in college trying to catch up on a semesters worth of reading at the last minute. My body felt cold, random, dull pains all over; the pains felt like Karma poking at me for eating that hamburger and thinking that I was above modern science and medicine.
The pain wouldn't go away, despite how much rest I got. On Saturday morning, we had our walk through of the apartment. In a normal walk through, tenants would have to sign all the necessary paperwork and point out the apartment flaws so that they are not held responsible for any preexisting flaws. Well, I was literally sprawled on the ground with my sunglasses and hoodie pulled over my head, trying not to drool on myself. I couldn't concentrate on anything and could barely put my signature on the papers. (As if legalwork wasn't boring enough, amirite?!)
I didn't see the landlord when she walked away to do the rest of the walk through with Adrienne, but I'm sure she must've had second doubts about renting the place to us. Here we were, two pretty young adults, both fairly new out of college, and the person with the only source of income was lying asleep on the hardwood floor drooling on himself. Somehow, the landlord trusted us with the keys...
Now that we had the keys, my simple plan wasn't going to work. I was sick. Although there wasn't that much stuff, there was no way Adrienne could pack, load, and unload all our stuff herself. With some last minute phone calls, we had a few friends come over on Sunday and lend a helping hand! I started to get feel better and by late Sunday, I was back to lifting things myself.
As we plopped all our stuff into our new apartment, we wanted to say that it's nice to be able to count on friends when you need them. Thanks guys.
At first, I had a nice and simple plan for our move. I like simple plans; the pieces come together so easily. My plan involved only a few trips of Adrienne, me, and my small pickup truck. We wouldn't need a U-Haul since we were only moving 30 miles and we weren't going to bother our friends since we had so little stuff; I also hate asking people for things (it's something that I know I should work on). Since we didn't 'need' the help, we didn't ask for it. I figured that moving our stuff wouldn't really be a logistical problem.
Then I started having the sniffles on Wednesday night. People asked if I was taking medicine for the cold. I thought "Nah, let me try to fight this one out naturally by just drinking lots of water... ooh, and eating a burger. I have a craving for a juicy burger with swiss cheese!" My body is tough; after all, I'm young!
By Thursday afternoon, I had to go home early from work and ditch my Spanish class to rest up. I decided that maybe hamburgers weren't such a good idea and that I would try drinking more water, still keep my greasy meals, but add in vitamins into the formula to help balance out the bad.
That didn't work either and Friday sent me home early with a slight fever and sore eyes. By Saturday morning, my eyes felt like I was back in college trying to catch up on a semesters worth of reading at the last minute. My body felt cold, random, dull pains all over; the pains felt like Karma poking at me for eating that hamburger and thinking that I was above modern science and medicine.
The pain wouldn't go away, despite how much rest I got. On Saturday morning, we had our walk through of the apartment. In a normal walk through, tenants would have to sign all the necessary paperwork and point out the apartment flaws so that they are not held responsible for any preexisting flaws. Well, I was literally sprawled on the ground with my sunglasses and hoodie pulled over my head, trying not to drool on myself. I couldn't concentrate on anything and could barely put my signature on the papers. (As if legalwork wasn't boring enough, amirite?!)
I didn't see the landlord when she walked away to do the rest of the walk through with Adrienne, but I'm sure she must've had second doubts about renting the place to us. Here we were, two pretty young adults, both fairly new out of college, and the person with the only source of income was lying asleep on the hardwood floor drooling on himself. Somehow, the landlord trusted us with the keys...
Now that we had the keys, my simple plan wasn't going to work. I was sick. Although there wasn't that much stuff, there was no way Adrienne could pack, load, and unload all our stuff herself. With some last minute phone calls, we had a few friends come over on Sunday and lend a helping hand! I started to get feel better and by late Sunday, I was back to lifting things myself.
As we plopped all our stuff into our new apartment, we wanted to say that it's nice to be able to count on friends when you need them. Thanks guys.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Trip
Screeech!! - the tires squealed across the highway concrete. A gray patch of smoke appeared from under the SUV, followed by the distinct thud of cars colliding. A small pickup truck started to fishtail, but quickly lost all control as it swung 180 degrees across 4 lanes of busy California traffic. Large pieces of wood and debris flew out the truck bed, scattering itself across the lanes.
Within seconds the SUV rested on the far right hand side of traffic, its horn unable to stop blaring and its front bumper laying a lane away, while the truck remained motionless on the far left hand side of traffic, directly facing the oncoming traffic.
I saw the accident from about 100 feet away. By the time my vehicle stopped, it was near two shattered pieces of the 2*4 and within 30 feet of the SUV. I knew my phone was dead, as it had died minutes earlier while I was listening to a friend's voice mail message from New York wishing us a Happy Easter. I asked Adrienne to let me borrow her phone, which she promptly handed over and warned me about running into traffic.
I scanned the scene and noticed that all traffic had halted. I was a bit careful since I was the first one coming out of a car. I ran past the wreckage, past a few stunned cars still in shock, and towards the SUV to check if the passengers were ok. Inside were two Hispanic adults and their child, all who responded that they were ok and appeared without any visible injuries.
I looked across the highway and saw that someone had started checking on the driver of the truck. He seemed to be all right, considering he was rear-ended at 70 miles per hour. Adrienne had come out of my truck and I passed her the phone to call 911 while I helped to clear the lanes of debris. A few others hopped out of their vehicles and started helping as well. As soon as the wreckage was cleared and the call was finished, a Highway patrol car finally appeared on scene and took over.
After the adrenaline rush was over, I noticed that my foot was slightly bleeding. I was only wearing my Chaco sandals since we were out at the beach with some of our Peace Corps Tonga friends this morning. They were behind us and navigated through the traffic to check if we were ok. We signaled that we were good. After I got back inside the truck, I felt a stinging sensation in my foot and noticed a cut.
Looking back, I have no idea how I could have helped. Adrienne was the actual EMT and if the SUV family didn't understand English, my Spanish could only direct her to the nearest library. I'm glad it didn't come down to anyone needing medical attention. If they did, Adrienne would have been able to help. I don't know why I became so overprotective of her.
Within seconds the SUV rested on the far right hand side of traffic, its horn unable to stop blaring and its front bumper laying a lane away, while the truck remained motionless on the far left hand side of traffic, directly facing the oncoming traffic.
I saw the accident from about 100 feet away. By the time my vehicle stopped, it was near two shattered pieces of the 2*4 and within 30 feet of the SUV. I knew my phone was dead, as it had died minutes earlier while I was listening to a friend's voice mail message from New York wishing us a Happy Easter. I asked Adrienne to let me borrow her phone, which she promptly handed over and warned me about running into traffic.
I scanned the scene and noticed that all traffic had halted. I was a bit careful since I was the first one coming out of a car. I ran past the wreckage, past a few stunned cars still in shock, and towards the SUV to check if the passengers were ok. Inside were two Hispanic adults and their child, all who responded that they were ok and appeared without any visible injuries.
I looked across the highway and saw that someone had started checking on the driver of the truck. He seemed to be all right, considering he was rear-ended at 70 miles per hour. Adrienne had come out of my truck and I passed her the phone to call 911 while I helped to clear the lanes of debris. A few others hopped out of their vehicles and started helping as well. As soon as the wreckage was cleared and the call was finished, a Highway patrol car finally appeared on scene and took over.
After the adrenaline rush was over, I noticed that my foot was slightly bleeding. I was only wearing my Chaco sandals since we were out at the beach with some of our Peace Corps Tonga friends this morning. They were behind us and navigated through the traffic to check if we were ok. We signaled that we were good. After I got back inside the truck, I felt a stinging sensation in my foot and noticed a cut.
Looking back, I have no idea how I could have helped. Adrienne was the actual EMT and if the SUV family didn't understand English, my Spanish could only direct her to the nearest library. I'm glad it didn't come down to anyone needing medical attention. If they did, Adrienne would have been able to help. I don't know why I became so overprotective of her.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Design
I haven't been climbing for a while, partly because I think I sprained my wrist.... about two months ago. So two months after the injury, I just now decided that I should take it a little easy and give my body some time to rest.
The temperatures are high enough that I don't want to go outside much. With nothing to do, a friend and I decided to work on a design project. We looked around at different designing tools and narrowed our choices to Microsoft's XNA, the NeverWinter Nights Aurora Toolset, Blizzard's Warcraft 3 Editor, and the Unreal Editor.
Each toolset had distinct advantages over the others. At first I was leaning towards the Unreal Editor, mainly because the game that I was interested in working on was built on the Unreal engine. However, Unreal is naturally a First Person Shooter engine. The extra scripting that was required to change the engine from a FPS to a MMORPG was beyond how much time we wished to put into it.
We then pushed to use Microsoft's XNA. We needed to install C#, update our version of Windows, and then download the XNA documentation. We got our computers set up at work, knowing full well that the intellectual property rights would be forfeited there. However, given the necessary compiling, the much faster computers, the conventional meet up place, the air conditioned work place, and the quick Internet connection, we simply couldn't pass up those perks. Plus, there's always free coffee, tea, and sometimes donuts (Yay for Mondays and Fridays)!
The advantages of XNA were that we could change our design down to the code level. Because of this, we could never use the excuse of there being no available tool. If we didn't have a tool, we could program it in. However, that was also a disadvantage. We'd have to make our own toolsets, or take the time to search for them online, then learn how to correctly use other people's toolsets.
Basically, using XNA would give us more work, but more flexibility. It would also focus more on coding than designing, though we could implement a lot more creative design. We decided to try it out, but for whatever reason (omg we be haxorz lol), our work didn't feel safe with us programming our own code at work. There goes the thought of using XNA.
We then installed Warcraft 3 and looked at the editor. The editor was simple to use, but I personally found that it was a bit too simple. We would be able to create some DOTA maps, but that was it.
Coworkers strongly recommended using the Neverwinter Nights Toolset. I had looked into the Aurora engine earlier, but my initial impressions was that it seemed rudimentary. I thought that the graphics lacked any substance. I took another look at it, this time buying Neverwinter Nights 2 and since I had spent about $30, I would give it much more than a quick glance.
Wow am I impressed. The engine is powerful to look fairly impressive, it runs quickly on my old computer, and NWN2 has a very tight knit developer and mod community. I haven't gotten into much scripting yet, as that will be the deal breaker to see if I stick with this toolset or not. Here's a screenshot of the engine and what I made in a couple hours.
NeverWinter Nights 2 Toolset
The temperatures are high enough that I don't want to go outside much. With nothing to do, a friend and I decided to work on a design project. We looked around at different designing tools and narrowed our choices to Microsoft's XNA, the NeverWinter Nights Aurora Toolset, Blizzard's Warcraft 3 Editor, and the Unreal Editor.
Each toolset had distinct advantages over the others. At first I was leaning towards the Unreal Editor, mainly because the game that I was interested in working on was built on the Unreal engine. However, Unreal is naturally a First Person Shooter engine. The extra scripting that was required to change the engine from a FPS to a MMORPG was beyond how much time we wished to put into it.
We then pushed to use Microsoft's XNA. We needed to install C#, update our version of Windows, and then download the XNA documentation. We got our computers set up at work, knowing full well that the intellectual property rights would be forfeited there. However, given the necessary compiling, the much faster computers, the conventional meet up place, the air conditioned work place, and the quick Internet connection, we simply couldn't pass up those perks. Plus, there's always free coffee, tea, and sometimes donuts (Yay for Mondays and Fridays)!
The advantages of XNA were that we could change our design down to the code level. Because of this, we could never use the excuse of there being no available tool. If we didn't have a tool, we could program it in. However, that was also a disadvantage. We'd have to make our own toolsets, or take the time to search for them online, then learn how to correctly use other people's toolsets.
Basically, using XNA would give us more work, but more flexibility. It would also focus more on coding than designing, though we could implement a lot more creative design. We decided to try it out, but for whatever reason (omg we be haxorz lol), our work didn't feel safe with us programming our own code at work. There goes the thought of using XNA.
We then installed Warcraft 3 and looked at the editor. The editor was simple to use, but I personally found that it was a bit too simple. We would be able to create some DOTA maps, but that was it.
Coworkers strongly recommended using the Neverwinter Nights Toolset. I had looked into the Aurora engine earlier, but my initial impressions was that it seemed rudimentary. I thought that the graphics lacked any substance. I took another look at it, this time buying Neverwinter Nights 2 and since I had spent about $30, I would give it much more than a quick glance.
Wow am I impressed. The engine is powerful to look fairly impressive, it runs quickly on my old computer, and NWN2 has a very tight knit developer and mod community. I haven't gotten into much scripting yet, as that will be the deal breaker to see if I stick with this toolset or not. Here's a screenshot of the engine and what I made in a couple hours.
NeverWinter Nights 2 ToolsetThursday, June 21, 2007
The gym, the past and future
It's places like the gym where I wish I were back in Tonga and lifting with my buddy James. We used to just kick back, make jokes, and push ourselves in lifting (even though that noob did everything in the wrong order... but that's another story). In Tonga, there were no vanity mirrors to watch yourself or some stupid mind numbing pop music playing in the background. Nope, it was simple. Weights were the remains of what people didn't or couldn't steal and whatever that weight, that's what you lift.
The gym in San Diego is crazy. By crazy, I mean there's a lot of crazy people in there. It simply creeps me the fuck out when I see some of these huge guys flexing in the mirror for 5 minutes after doing a single set. They're not just flexing a little, I literally saw one guy inches from the mirror as he flexed and looked at his arms. It looked like he was going to kiss himself. I swear some people are there more to look at themselves in the extra large mirrors instead of actually trying to work out. *Sigh* Sometimes I miss the simplicity of Tonga.
It's been about a year since I first landed in Tonga, but it's felt like a lifetime has passed since then. So much has happened. During that time, I've lived in Tonga, backpacked across Europe, and now I resettled back into the States into a job I like. I've gotten the opportunity to meet such great people and learn more about the world. I feel really lucky. I know it's not the new year yet, but it sure does feel like a new chapter has begun. I had a great past year and I'm really looking forward to the next.
The gym in San Diego is crazy. By crazy, I mean there's a lot of crazy people in there. It simply creeps me the fuck out when I see some of these huge guys flexing in the mirror for 5 minutes after doing a single set. They're not just flexing a little, I literally saw one guy inches from the mirror as he flexed and looked at his arms. It looked like he was going to kiss himself. I swear some people are there more to look at themselves in the extra large mirrors instead of actually trying to work out. *Sigh* Sometimes I miss the simplicity of Tonga.
It's been about a year since I first landed in Tonga, but it's felt like a lifetime has passed since then. So much has happened. During that time, I've lived in Tonga, backpacked across Europe, and now I resettled back into the States into a job I like. I've gotten the opportunity to meet such great people and learn more about the world. I feel really lucky. I know it's not the new year yet, but it sure does feel like a new chapter has begun. I had a great past year and I'm really looking forward to the next.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Settling into San Diego
So I'm getting settled into San Diego and my new job. When I moved in, I had a sleeping bag, a guitar, and two backpacks. Now I'm fairly nestled in with a mattress, chair, desktop, and pillows! It's funny what my priority for things are. Before I bought the mattress or even a pillow, I bought rock climbing shoes, a chalk bag, and a new mountain bike.
I guess it's a weird mentality to buy things in that order, but ever since I got back from Europe and Tonga, I've been wanting to try new things. Ordinary sleep pales in comparison to riding up technical trails or conquering my fear of heights. When you've lived on an island where there's limited resources, it makes you appreciate everything we have here in the States. With so many things that we are lucky enough to experience, why let our brain and body atrophy?
Speaking of which, two of my cousins are far from letting their brains atrophy; yesterday they graduated from UCLA. Grats to them!!! :) After I met up with them, I realized that I haven't seen some of my family for a while; I guess I'm pretty bad at keeping in contact with people, even people as close as my own family. I'll try to work on that.
After dinner my mom gave me $100... for ice cream. I guess she knows me well! Woot! =)
$16 dollars of ice cream has been spent and 3 boxes of Mochi Ice Cream has already been consumed. Which flavor next? I think I'll pick up something that's new to me...
Expect to see more writing soon. I have lots to update now that I have my desktop back.
I guess it's a weird mentality to buy things in that order, but ever since I got back from Europe and Tonga, I've been wanting to try new things. Ordinary sleep pales in comparison to riding up technical trails or conquering my fear of heights. When you've lived on an island where there's limited resources, it makes you appreciate everything we have here in the States. With so many things that we are lucky enough to experience, why let our brain and body atrophy?
Speaking of which, two of my cousins are far from letting their brains atrophy; yesterday they graduated from UCLA. Grats to them!!! :) After I met up with them, I realized that I haven't seen some of my family for a while; I guess I'm pretty bad at keeping in contact with people, even people as close as my own family. I'll try to work on that.
After dinner my mom gave me $100... for ice cream. I guess she knows me well! Woot! =)
$16 dollars of ice cream has been spent and 3 boxes of Mochi Ice Cream has already been consumed. Which flavor next? I think I'll pick up something that's new to me...
Expect to see more writing soon. I have lots to update now that I have my desktop back.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Got a job!
I started work a couple days ago. I picked the much lower paying, but very interesting job over at Sony Online Entertainment. I like the people there a lot more than the other places I've been to. ROFLMAOBBQFriday!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Green Triangle C cannot be third in line!
For a lot of the jobs in IT, tests are given to determine one's technical aptitude. The position that I might be offered as software programmer for random phone company was certainly no exception. No worries I thought, I've always been pretty decent at taking tests.
The test was like any other programming test. It covered basic programming logic to simple math skills. I was doing fine until a logic question hit me that caused me to slightly panick.
There were 5 objects that had to be arranged in order. The 5 objects were labeled A, B, C, D, E and each were assigned a unique color and some shape (2 circles, 2 triangles, and one square total)
I was fine with the logical portion of these questions and actually preferred them thanks to studying the "Power Score Logic Games Bible" when I was preparing for the LSAT. Anyways, these questions required a careful setup of the diagram, making some fairly simple inferences, and after which the questions were easily answerable.
The question asked to place the objects in order given a following rule set:
For example, Rule1: two circles cannot be next to each other.
Rule2: Blue Triangle cannot be the last one, etc.
When I read "Green Triangle" cannot be third, I started to worry. It wasn't the logic that confused me. I just didn't know which one was the green one? I think that one is brown? Wait, the last time I said something was brown, a friend had pointed out that my browns and reds were mixed up.
Hmm... not good. Oh wait, I think someone said my shirt is green! I placed my shirt against the test. Yes, they look similar! The looks that I might get from pressing my shirt up against the test might have people questioning my sanity, but at least my logic is solid. Green Triangle C cannot be third.
[Updated: I got an offer, but I declined. I don't really see myself working as a programmer for a phone company. There's gotta be more to life than this. I'm also not that desperate for a job... yet]
The test was like any other programming test. It covered basic programming logic to simple math skills. I was doing fine until a logic question hit me that caused me to slightly panick.
There were 5 objects that had to be arranged in order. The 5 objects were labeled A, B, C, D, E and each were assigned a unique color and some shape (2 circles, 2 triangles, and one square total)
I was fine with the logical portion of these questions and actually preferred them thanks to studying the "Power Score Logic Games Bible" when I was preparing for the LSAT. Anyways, these questions required a careful setup of the diagram, making some fairly simple inferences, and after which the questions were easily answerable.
The question asked to place the objects in order given a following rule set:
For example, Rule1: two circles cannot be next to each other.
Rule2: Blue Triangle cannot be the last one, etc.
When I read "Green Triangle" cannot be third, I started to worry. It wasn't the logic that confused me. I just didn't know which one was the green one? I think that one is brown? Wait, the last time I said something was brown, a friend had pointed out that my browns and reds were mixed up.
Hmm... not good. Oh wait, I think someone said my shirt is green! I placed my shirt against the test. Yes, they look similar! The looks that I might get from pressing my shirt up against the test might have people questioning my sanity, but at least my logic is solid. Green Triangle C cannot be third.
[Updated: I got an offer, but I declined. I don't really see myself working as a programmer for a phone company. There's gotta be more to life than this. I'm also not that desperate for a job... yet]
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