first time volunteering in 16 years!

One great thing about Intel is that the company encourages people to do community service. Although this is something I've wanted to do for a while, there was never much of an opportunity due to time constraints. It's great to know that Intel not only allows, but actually encourages people to take time out to volunteer.

So my boss organized a volunteer event at a local church. I was pretty busy due to a work deadline but figured it wouldn't hurt to give up a few hours. Good thing I did because everyone else in my team showed up. Even my second-level manager joined us!

We arrived at the Cathedral of Faith in San José around 9 a.m. The pastor gave a brief speech before we went to our assigned areas. Our team performed two main tasks: filling the carts with food and loading them onto vehicles that will deliver them to families in need. It was physically exerting but certainly beats sitting in the office. :-)

Our plan was to have coffee at the church's café afterwards, but we decided to head back to the office after finding out the café was closed. On the whole, this was a wholesome experience. I think we definitely need to do this again in the future!

Currently listening to: "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel

a very happy 34th birthday

I just turned 34 years old. It was certainly one of my best birthdays ever!

One great thing is that our team at Intel regularly celebrates birthdays. They got me a pineapple cream cake and asked me to share my best birthday memory — which was my 20th for those curious. It's been a long time since I've celebrated a birthday with so many people. I definitely have the best co-workers. :-)

Although we didn't go to any restaurants this year, my mother made us a nice meal after I got home. Because we weren't sure whether the PG&E outages would affect us, she also made a delicious dinner for me yesterday as an early celebration. I'm blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

Currently listening to: "Together Forever" by Rick Astley

Intel Sports family picnic

I just got back from the Intel Sports family picnic. Considering that we didn't have one at my last job, this was my first time attending such an event in over two years. All of us definitely had a great time!

The event took place at Saratoga Springs. It's apparently a popular venue because Amazon Lab126 had events here too. Even my college friends Danny and Caitlin got married at Saratoga Springs last year.

Although we're a fairly small group, many people from my team showed up. I was afraid my parents would feel awkward as the event was geared towards families with kids, but they enjoyed meeting my boss and co-workers. It definitely helps that Dad's first job was at Intel. Of note is that a few other people were also ex-Intel employees. Dad says it felt like a company reunion.

Like at similar events, there were games for both kids and adults. It was fun to watch the water balloon toss and the water relay race. Afterwards, there was a big water fight with squirt guns and more water balloons. I think I was wise to stay out of the crossfire!

On the whole, the picnic was quite enjoyable. It's certainly one of the best company picnics to date. I'm looking forward to next year's event for sure.

Currently reading: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

level 99 Hunter in RuneScape

I got level 99 Hunter in RuneScape today after putting it off for a while. Here is the obligatory picture. Now that I've maxed 14 skills, I have less than half to go before getting my max cape. :-)

Of note is that I just had the completed the "Imping Around" achievement just moments ago. It's actually the XP lamp from Daffyd that made me level up. I'm really glad I didn't have to spend hours hunting for crystal implings. I love how things work out perfectly!

Currently listening to: "Poison" by Groove Coverage

finally got my own car

I recently bought a 2013 BMW 328i sedan. It's a used car, but the price was really good for its mileage. No doubt this is a major milestone in my life.

We actually first went to a used car dealer in Hayward last Friday Dad saw an ad for another car with an attractive price. Let me tell you that used car salesmen really are as bad as people say they are. The folks at the dealership were cordial at first but were very reluctant to let us take it to an inspector that we had known for years. They actually started insulting my father when he became suspicious. He wisely decided that we didn't want to do business with those jerks.

Dad later found a guy on Craiglist selling a much newer car for a similarly low price. I had my reservations about using Craigslist after hearing so many horror stories, but the fact that the seller suggested meeting at a police station suggested he wasn't a scammer. He turned out to be a really nice guy when we met in person. Although we didn't do a test drive, the car looked and felt really nice. It wasn't long before we decided to make the purchase.

I still have to complete some paperwork and get a smog check done, but I'm definitely looking forward to taking it out for a drive.

Currently listening to: "Gas Gas Gas" by Manuel

a very productive RuneScape double XP weekend

The recent RuneScape double XP weekend was pretty productive as I got the following achievements:

• 2,600 skill total
• level 99 Smithing
• level 99 Farming
• unlocked Invention on my alternate account Traductus

You can click to links for screenshots. I'm pretty busy in real life and don't have much time for video games these days, so this was quite nice for a change!

Currently listening to: "Starchild" by Wintersun

another great summer road trip

This past weekend was also nice as we took my aunts and uncle on another road trip, this time to Reno and Yosemite!

Day 1: racing to Reno

We left around 8:30 a.m. so there would be plenty of time when we arrived in Reno. It was very hot when we arrived due to a heat wave, so the afternoon was eventful aside for a stop at Costco for dinner. The best thing about Costco's food court is that everything is cheap. I also got some ice cream bites at our hotel. It was a little expensive but quite refreshing in the hot weather.

Dad later took us to Atlantis Casino Resort Spa to play the slots. One thing I noticed is that the slots at Atlantis seem to be "looser" - that is, they have a higher payout percentage and allow you to play longer. I think we spent around three hours at the casino. This was the best part of the trip even though we didn't hit any jackpots. As the saying goes: the house always wins.

Day 2: cars and more casinos

Having had so much fun at Atlantis the day before, Jill and Yu-Hua wanted to check out more local casinos. Therefore, Dad took us to Harrah's Reno after checking out of the hotel. The slots here were "tighter" than those at Atlantis, but we still had a good time.

We also made a stop at Carson City to let my aunts see the Nevada State Capitol. It turned out the building is closed on weekends, but that wasn't a problem as we still got some pictures. We also went to check out the Carson City Downtown Revival Car Show in the downtown. Some of the classic cars were really cool.

It was then time to head to our hotel in Bridgeport. Because it wasn't a very long drive, Dad made another stop at a small casino in Gardnerville. We decided to stay here for a while as it was quite hot outside. Although we didn't win anything here either, this was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

Our hotel in Bridgeport was a nice lodge in the mountains. Though it didn't have the same amenities of our suite in Reno, the lodge was located right next to East Walker River and had great views. The plan was to visit Mono Lake after checking in, but we decided to save that for the next day as we were all a little tired.

Day 3: a hectic drive home

The day began with a stop at the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center. But because the car rental agency had a policy that returning the car after 10 p.m. would incur an extra day's charge, the plan was to get home before 9 p.m. Therefore, the six of us decided to skip Mono Lake and take pictures from a distance before heading directly to Yosemite.

Of note is that Yosemite National Park was very crowded this year. Because my aunt Yu-Hua and uncle Yeh-Wei had not been here before, Dad made sure to stop at the essential stops, such as Glacier Point and Bridalveil Fall. I had hoped to visit Soda Springs and Yosemite Village, but we decided to skip them due to time constraints. This was a bit disappointing that as I was really looking forward to seeing Soda Springs.

The trip home was uneventful besides a stop at Costco for gas and food. Dad then went to the airport to return the rental car. I helped with the unpacking before accompanying Mom to the airport to pick him up.

Conclusions

Vacations are always fun, but traveling with relatives makes them even better. Although my favorite part of the trip was playing the slots at Reno, I really enjoyed revisiting Yosemite as well. It's one of those places that never gets old. The only downside is that we we didn't get to go to all the places we wanted to see, particularly Soda Springs. As much as I want to go back to Yosemite, two trips there in such a short time is probably a bit excessive. :-)

Feel free check out the pictures from our trip.

Currently listening to: "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" by Lou Christie