I mentioned in earlier posts that I was heading to UC Riverside in the fall. However, life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. Given our current financial situation, I'm no longer planning to attend UC Riverside. This was a difficult decision, but one I needed to make.
On the other hand, two UC Santa Cruz professors have shown an interest in having me as an intern. The discussions with them are looking promising so far. I guess we'll see how things turn out.
Currently playing: Depict1
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
car burglars FTL
I've got more bad news: someone apparently broke into our car and stole our prescription glasses. They were worth over $1,000 in total. :-(
Because the FAIM 609 professor had to change his schedule, my parents took me to San Francisco on Wednesday for the make-up class. Dad needed his sunglasses the next day but couldn't find them. It wasn't long before we noticed that two other pairs of glasses were also gone. In addition, there were signs that someone had rummaged through our belongings. I guess we should be glad that they didn't take anything else. Thank heaven for small favors.
At any rate, I've reported the incident to the San Francisco Police Department and hope they catch the culprits soon. Fuck car burglars. >:(
Currently playing: Fish Outta Water
Because the FAIM 609 professor had to change his schedule, my parents took me to San Francisco on Wednesday for the make-up class. Dad needed his sunglasses the next day but couldn't find them. It wasn't long before we noticed that two other pairs of glasses were also gone. In addition, there were signs that someone had rummaged through our belongings. I guess we should be glad that they didn't take anything else. Thank heaven for small favors.
At any rate, I've reported the incident to the San Francisco Police Department and hope they catch the culprits soon. Fuck car burglars. >:(
Currently playing: Fish Outta Water
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
new ThinkPad X301
I just finished setting up my new Lenovo laptop. It has a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 128 GB solid-state drive. In addition, the ThinkPad X301 is pretty light for its size. The list price was almost $3,000 for the base configuration, but Dad got it for half price after discounts. What a steal!
Although I wanted to cancel the order after Dad lost his job - and we didn't need the laptop anyway - he insisted that it would be useful. At any rate, getting a new computer is always nice. :-)
Currently playing: Little Cannon
Although I wanted to cancel the order after Dad lost his job - and we didn't need the laptop anyway - he insisted that it would be useful. At any rate, getting a new computer is always nice. :-)
Currently playing: Little Cannon
Saturday, August 14, 2010
the latest victim of the economy...
The week ended on a bad note as Dad lost his job. :-(
From what I gather, the local office was closed with very little notice. That means everyone who worked there was terminated. I'm not sure of the reason of the closure, but the economic recession was likely a factor.
On the other hand, this could be a blessing in disguise. According to my father, he had a stressful job due to office politics. The good news is that he doesn't have to deal with that crap anymore. Every cloud has a silver lining indeed.
At any rate, I hope Dad gets a new and better job soon!
Currently playing: Lifeguard Larry Deluxe
From what I gather, the local office was closed with very little notice. That means everyone who worked there was terminated. I'm not sure of the reason of the closure, but the economic recession was likely a factor.
On the other hand, this could be a blessing in disguise. According to my father, he had a stressful job due to office politics. The good news is that he doesn't have to deal with that crap anymore. Every cloud has a silver lining indeed.
At any rate, I hope Dad gets a new and better job soon!
Currently playing: Lifeguard Larry Deluxe
Sunday, July 25, 2010
back from Ukiah
Just because summer break is over doesn't mean the fun has to end. Speaking of which, I just came back from a trip to Ukiah with my parents!
Day 1
We had only driven a few blocks when a garage sale caught my eye. Dad pulled over so we could see what was available. I saw some nice items but didn't find anything useful. It wasn't long before we were back on the road.
The first real stop was the Santa Rosa Town Center. Because it was almost noon, my family had lunch in the car before exploring the area. I was surprised at how empty Borders was. Mom also wanted to walk to Cost Plus World Market at the nearby Santa Rosa Southside. She didn't see anything she needed, although I bought some snacks for the trip. :-)
Our car wouldn't start when it was time to leave. Dad called AAA and was told the battery was dead. Due to time constraints, he agreed to have it immediately replaced. There was a Lexus dealership just around the corner, but we took the AAA guy's word that his service was cheaper.
Ukiah was just an hour to the north. The plan was to go hiking in Smithe Redwoods State Reserve and Richardson Grove State Park after checking into our hotel. That was what made our last trip to Ukiah so much fun. However, I couldn't find either place no matter how hard I looked. It turns out my memory was wrong - the parks are located near Leggett rather than Ukiah. Oh well.
At any rate, the hotel was quite nice. The evening was mostly uneventful, although we had dinner at Denny's and checked out the nearby Wal-Mart.
Day 2
The morning began with a stop at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. This was our first time here in several years. The three of us attended the morning sessions before heading to the dining hall for lunch. To support the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association - as well as give back to the community - we bought some vegetarian food at the on-site restaurant and made an additional donation.
Dad wanted to take us to Point Reyes afterwards, but our GPS kept giving us wrong directions. That went unnoticed for over 30 minutes, after which we decided not to turn back due to the high overhead. On the other hand, there was a roadside oyster bar on our way home. Price aside, the oysters Rockefeller was delicious. The day ended with a nice dinner at the Szechuan Taste Restaurant in San Francisco.
Conclusions
The original plan was to spend two nights in Ukiah. Though we decided to shorten our stay because there weren't many attractions, all of us had a great time. Speaking of which, the stop at the oyster bar was my favorite part of the trip. Sometimes it's the little things that matter the most. I've posted some pictures from our vacation.
In other news...
Dad recently got an Olympus SP-800UZ digital camera. The 30x zoom and 14 MP resolution are impressive!
Currently listening to: "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel
Day 1
We had only driven a few blocks when a garage sale caught my eye. Dad pulled over so we could see what was available. I saw some nice items but didn't find anything useful. It wasn't long before we were back on the road.
The first real stop was the Santa Rosa Town Center. Because it was almost noon, my family had lunch in the car before exploring the area. I was surprised at how empty Borders was. Mom also wanted to walk to Cost Plus World Market at the nearby Santa Rosa Southside. She didn't see anything she needed, although I bought some snacks for the trip. :-)
Our car wouldn't start when it was time to leave. Dad called AAA and was told the battery was dead. Due to time constraints, he agreed to have it immediately replaced. There was a Lexus dealership just around the corner, but we took the AAA guy's word that his service was cheaper.
Ukiah was just an hour to the north. The plan was to go hiking in Smithe Redwoods State Reserve and Richardson Grove State Park after checking into our hotel. That was what made our last trip to Ukiah so much fun. However, I couldn't find either place no matter how hard I looked. It turns out my memory was wrong - the parks are located near Leggett rather than Ukiah. Oh well.
At any rate, the hotel was quite nice. The evening was mostly uneventful, although we had dinner at Denny's and checked out the nearby Wal-Mart.
Day 2
The morning began with a stop at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. This was our first time here in several years. The three of us attended the morning sessions before heading to the dining hall for lunch. To support the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association - as well as give back to the community - we bought some vegetarian food at the on-site restaurant and made an additional donation.
Dad wanted to take us to Point Reyes afterwards, but our GPS kept giving us wrong directions. That went unnoticed for over 30 minutes, after which we decided not to turn back due to the high overhead. On the other hand, there was a roadside oyster bar on our way home. Price aside, the oysters Rockefeller was delicious. The day ended with a nice dinner at the Szechuan Taste Restaurant in San Francisco.
Conclusions
The original plan was to spend two nights in Ukiah. Though we decided to shorten our stay because there weren't many attractions, all of us had a great time. Speaking of which, the stop at the oyster bar was my favorite part of the trip. Sometimes it's the little things that matter the most. I've posted some pictures from our vacation.
In other news...
Dad recently got an Olympus SP-800UZ digital camera. The 30x zoom and 14 MP resolution are impressive!
Currently listening to: "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
one more quarter to go!
The final quarter at St. Mary's College has started. It's hard to believe I'm almost done with graduate school. Time certainly flies!
The break was short as we didn't get out until late June. Though I wish summer didn't end so soon, I'm not going to complain because it was really awesome. The 4th of July concert and the trip to Riverside were the best parts. :-)
Currently playing: Larry and the Gnomes
The break was short as we didn't get out until late June. Though I wish summer didn't end so soon, I'm not going to complain because it was really awesome. The 4th of July concert and the trip to Riverside were the best parts. :-)
Currently playing: Larry and the Gnomes
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
back from Riverside again
I just got back from Riverside again with my parents. You may remember that we went there in May to learn more about the statistics department at UC Riverside. The purpose of this trip was to get a closer look at housing options.
Day 1
It was a hectic morning because we didn't pack up. This is normally done the day before, but everyone was tired after a busy 4th. We hurried to the airport to find our flight delayed by almost 90 minutes. I could have used some extra sleep. :\
The flight to Ontario was uneventful. Dad rented a car and took us to several apartments in the area. Although I prefer living in a dorm, the apartments were cheaper and had fewer restrictions. Of note is that some offices were closed for the 4th of July weekend. I guess making this an overnight trip was the right decision.
The afternoon ended with an early dinner at IHOP. The food wasn't bad at all. As odd as it sounds, this was the best part of the trip. There wasn't much else to do, although we saw a beautiful sunset from our room. That alone made our stay worthwhile.
Day 2
The breakfast at the hotel was delicious too. Dad then took us back to the offices that were previously closed. It wasn't long before we found an apartment we liked. Two families that lived here were eager to make friends with us. One even invited us in for a chat. They were really nice people. I was getting hungry at this point but felt it would be rude to ask to be excused.
The three of us then had lunch at Coco's Bakery before going to UC Riverside to thank a professor who helped me get a conditional admission. Dad also wanted to look at furniture as the apartment is unfurnished. Our last stop before heading home was a nearby grocery store.
We arrived at Ontario International Airport to find that our flight home was also delayed, this time by about an hour. Lesson learned: always check flight status before rushing to the airport. On the other hand, I had a great conversation with a girl who was also studying statistics. :-)
Conclusions
Because the purpose of this trip was to learn more about the housing near the UC Riverside campus, our itinerary didn't include any tourist spots. That said, the dinner at IHOP and the sunset were quite memorable. Traveling is always fun regardless of the reason. I've posted some pictures from the trip.
At any rate, I'm extremely excited about moving to Riverside in September. It'll be challenging but probably nothing I can't handle. Bring it on!
Currently listening to: "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani
Day 1
It was a hectic morning because we didn't pack up. This is normally done the day before, but everyone was tired after a busy 4th. We hurried to the airport to find our flight delayed by almost 90 minutes. I could have used some extra sleep. :\
The flight to Ontario was uneventful. Dad rented a car and took us to several apartments in the area. Although I prefer living in a dorm, the apartments were cheaper and had fewer restrictions. Of note is that some offices were closed for the 4th of July weekend. I guess making this an overnight trip was the right decision.
The afternoon ended with an early dinner at IHOP. The food wasn't bad at all. As odd as it sounds, this was the best part of the trip. There wasn't much else to do, although we saw a beautiful sunset from our room. That alone made our stay worthwhile.
Day 2
The breakfast at the hotel was delicious too. Dad then took us back to the offices that were previously closed. It wasn't long before we found an apartment we liked. Two families that lived here were eager to make friends with us. One even invited us in for a chat. They were really nice people. I was getting hungry at this point but felt it would be rude to ask to be excused.
The three of us then had lunch at Coco's Bakery before going to UC Riverside to thank a professor who helped me get a conditional admission. Dad also wanted to look at furniture as the apartment is unfurnished. Our last stop before heading home was a nearby grocery store.
We arrived at Ontario International Airport to find that our flight home was also delayed, this time by about an hour. Lesson learned: always check flight status before rushing to the airport. On the other hand, I had a great conversation with a girl who was also studying statistics. :-)
Conclusions
Because the purpose of this trip was to learn more about the housing near the UC Riverside campus, our itinerary didn't include any tourist spots. That said, the dinner at IHOP and the sunset were quite memorable. Traveling is always fun regardless of the reason. I've posted some pictures from the trip.
At any rate, I'm extremely excited about moving to Riverside in September. It'll be challenging but probably nothing I can't handle. Bring it on!
Currently listening to: "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani
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