Oh Internet, this is so cute!

http://trextrying.tumblr.com/

Update!

Life has slowed down; I haven't gone to as many new events recently and instead I've been enjoying the downtime either at home or at a familiar event.

One of the events that I regularly attend is the NYC Tech Meetup.  For the biggest meetup in the world, it has a surprisingly small community.  I regularly see the same developers and startup entrepreneurs.  The passion that these groups have for their work is contagious and inspiring (this time I was awed by a guy presenting an open source geospatial database).

Another one of my regular events is an Android developers meetup; this month's meeting was over at the Google offices.  A Google Advocate went over the new Ice Cream Sandwich update.  I learned a few interesting things, but most of all is that Google has free catering for meetings! :)

After these events, I felt inspired and got a few programming friends together.  We brainstormed ideas that ranged from a Google Plus Friend Finder (location based) to random game ideas.  We looked at the Google Plus API and decided it wasn't a good idea (due to querying cost).  We're looking into the details of game programming so I'll be reading up about collision detection in the next couple weeks.  (It's much different game mechanics than the one I was working on previously)

Besides computer stuff, I did some home decorating this weekend.  I created a 4ft by 10ft chalkboard wall (only cost $20).  I used my phone's panorama shot to try to capture how large the area is.  The chalkboard is on the left hand side.

I also finished the Game of Thrones books, which was an enjoyable read.  I started reading the series shortly before moving to NYC.  I'll either finish the Steve Jobs book or start on Band of Brothers next.

I would have checked out the unknown destinations event this weekend (previous post), but they ran out of tickets.

Work's going great.  We got a function repository and a report scheduler, which I need to figure out how to use next week.  I almost forgot to mention, a few of us started a work bowling team (our team name is 'Lifesavers').

Oh, and I started seeing someone!  She's really cute, smart, and chill.

Randomness of NYC

The randomness of NYC... I found an art project where you show up, get a free train ticket to a random destination, then you document your travel.  I'm going to check this out next week.  Seems neat!

http://unknowndestinations.org/

Dating

I recently joined okcupid, an online dating site that matches people based off their answers to random questions.  The questions range from relationship specific (e.g. "Is it mandatory for your significant other to have a college degree?") to some that are just interesting (e.g. "What's worse, starving children or starving animals?")


Here's my thought process when answering questions.  The web site asks "Are you intense or carefree?"  I'm intense in some ways; I watched two seasons of Breaking Bad in one weekend... does that count?  Oh man, am I really on a dating web site?  People do say I'm laid back.  Maybe I should delete my profile before someone I know recognizes me.  Maybe I'm more carefree.  All right, I'll keep the profile and play it by ear.  Okay, carefree it is.

Anyways, I tried okcupid out for a few weeks while in San Diego, but it didn't really stick.  I went on one date, which went okay, then I disabled my account.  During that time, I think I had about 15 profile visits a week.

A few weeks ago I went to reactive my account.  I looked through my previous answers and found that I think a lot differently now than I did just a couple years ago.  For example, one question asked "Would you be okay with your significant other seeing their ex as a friend?"    My previous answer was a flat "No".  Now, my thoughts are "Sure, go for it".

Most of my answers were slightly different so I just deleted the account and started from scratch.  Since 2012, (around when I reactivated the account), I've gone on four dates and I already notice a huge difference between West Coast (San Diego) and East Coast (NYC) dating.

In San Diego's dating scene, the odds were against straight men.  I thought it was pretty difficult to find a girl my age that was thoughtful, intelligent, into the outdoors, and passionate about something.  At bars, the girls were always being pursued; you could always see a group of men swarming around the girl.  The girls either loved the attention (usually the type that I didn't like) or they hated the attention (and didn't go back to bars).  That's why we couldn't have nice things in San Diego.

In NYC's dating scene, the odds are heavily in favor of straight men.  It's a good mix between girls and guys.  The guys are just as likely to be gay as straight, thus the odds being in favor of straight men (from my experience, I haven't met as many lesbians).

The NYC girls seem a lot more substantial too.  We have the rock climbing programmer who does non-profit hackathons, the yale grad going for her JD and PhD in political philosophy while TAing at Princeton, the RPCV teaching at a charter school, and the sociology professor that loves the outdoors.

So yeah, NYC is better in the dating scene too.  I love this city.

Guitar!

I wish I had my guitar here!  Edit: I just picked up a ukulele! :)  Edit Edit: My older brother just sent me my Takamine guitar!

A Solution!

One of the things that I've been working on and off (with more off than on) has been programming my game.  It's not so much the programming that I like, but the ability to create things and the experience of tackling any challenges that come along the way.

Lately I've come up with excuses on why I haven't made much progress; I had a move, a job search, had to learn the systems at the new job, and make new friends.  It's been almost two months since I moved out here and I think my excuses are wearing off.  I'm settled in and I'm going to get back to creating.

The technical me needs to think like the survival me.  I remember being out in Ha'apai and I couldn't climb a particular coconut tree.  My friends and I needed to drink something (since we only brought rum to the island), but the smaller trees that I could safely climb only had hollow shells.  So I improvised by poking at the tall tree with a very long branch.  It wasn't the most efficient method, but it worked and we got our drinks.  I just need to take that thinking and apply it to technology.

One of the many challenges of developing an independent game is the very limited amount of resources.  Compared to others, I'm not a talented programmer or artist/animator and I certainly have no idea when it comes to music theory.  On top of that, I have the manpower of a single person who can't even devote full time hours to develop.  So instead of crying "If only I had X and Y...", I'll break down one problem at a time and improvise with what I have on hand.

Right now, art is an issue.  Well, art isn't so much the issue as animation is.  I want to tell a visually compelling story, but I'm limited by time.  Animation takes each piece of art, then painstakingly requires recrafting frame by frame.  There's a reason why there's usually as many artists as programmers.

How can I easily create (animatable) art quickly?

I typed out my thoughts and then I laughed.  The answer was right there.  The answer is right here.  Text.

Used typography to make the models of your art.  Draw a tree using the letters T R E E.  Draw the hero using the letters H E R O.  You get the idea.

NYC - I love you!

Coffee.  We need coffee.  A coworker and I were busy with a 26 page web site that had a turn around time of two weeks (from mock up to final document - which is an incredibly tight schedule).  It was one of many projects.  2pm, third coffee.  I wasn't heavily involved with the web site, but I'm glad to be a part of it (doing design mockups and brushing off my ancient html skills).

The number and variety of projects at work have been really interesting.  I feel challenged and I get to use a lot of different skills (data analysis, report coding, design).  While analyzing data, sometimes I just think "Wow, that's fucking neat!"

As an example, say someone is giving out a survey.  We know that the location and time will affect the responses.  Now what if we throw in factors like the surveyor's race and the type of questions they ask?  Are you likely to have the same response to a question about racial inequality if asked by a black woman as you would a white male?  Now how do you quantify that data?  If you can, how?  If not, why not?  How do you remove these outside factors from your survey?  Are any outside factors present in your dataset?  You get the idea.

So that's work.

Outside of work has been just as interesting.  I feel like your experience in NYC can vary so much depending on who you are and who you're with.  I feel like this city makes your personality come out, whether that's staying in or going out.

Some people say you need a lot of money to have a good time here.  While that certainly helps, I think you don't need it.  If you know how to have fun, you will have fun.

Lately I've ditched the expensive bars and have been going to a lot of 'underground' events.  If you're good at searching the Internet and adventurous enough, you'll find gems like these:

• 4 Portions of Brooklyn - I arrived at this random guy's apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  He was hosting 4 events at his place that night; an art gallery, a classical band (singing Grimm's Fairy Tales jamming out in the living room), an interpretive dance sequence, and an acoustic set.  The people ranged from Couchsurfers to a New York Symphony Cello player.  There was a small bonfire out in the backyard and the conversation was amazing.  I left feeling the need to read "A History of Love"; iif it could make a grown man cry on the subway, it must be good.  This was a (free) Thursday night.
  
• Stories about online dating - If you've never been to a storytelling event, I highly recommend it.  I believe the Moth is the most famous one here in NYC (though I haven't been to it yet).  I was a huge fan of "So Say We All" when I lived in San Diego.  People basically pour their hearts out in stories (usually around the night's theme) and it's simply beautiful.  This event had me laughing, emphasizing, and even feeling like "the right girl" is somewhere out there.  This was a (free) Tuesday night.

The city does get expensive though.  There was a free secret concert by the Black Keys that I knew was going to happen on Monday (but they gave them away on a Monday morning when I had work).  I did manage to get two tickets to the Black Keys at Madison Square Garden (about $70 each after Ticketmaster).  I'm not sure why I bought two, but I figured I'll meet someone that wants to go by March.

There's also a "Sleep No More" event that I want to check out once I get enough money.  The move from CA, buying furniture, getting a new laptop, and buying winter clothes has put a huge dent in my savings.

All I have to say is, I love this city.