| Donate |
[May. 8th, 2008|06:53 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | San Rafael, CA | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Diana Ross - Upside Down | ] |
I just took $100 of my money earned by sitting on a chair for a few hours and moved it from the world's #1 superpower to the world's current #1 trainwreck, Myanmar! I kind of think you should do the same because you'll probably save a whole lot of lives.
Donate because you don't really need a video game |
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| Realize |
[May. 3rd, 2008|11:38 pm] |
I'm just realizing that, after more than four years of having my social circle based outside of San Rafael, that I really have no remaining social circle IN San Rafael. I had a good amount of friends to hang out with back in the day (whether I took advantage of that fact is a different story), but then I was in Santa Cruz for four years, and while I was here over the summer, for the most part it wasn't spent socializing. Besides work, I don't really know what it was spent doing. Moping, maybe.
I don't know what really happened to San Rafael. People moved to Silicon Valley to pursue more lucrative stuff, I grew out of some activities that others kept with, and with others I just lost touch.
Well now that I'm considering the Bay Area as my long term place to live (Seattle and Israel being other places), I have to sort of build that strong social connection back up again, and now I have the time and resources to do it. I'm looking at local blogs, checking out forums to see what people my age are up to, and hell, this is the Bay Area; there's a ton of stuff happening all the time. Not a whole lot in San Rafael, per se, but I moved back to the Bay Area knowing I'd be driving all over the fucking place. A blessing and a curse.
Shiranne's going through a similar thing. Might have to distance herself from some groups of friends, but she's got the gumption to go and make new groups and try new things. My sister posted on her blog that she wishes I'd go do the same thing - and yes, I certainly am.
But right now my butt really hurts so I'm going to take this weekend off... heh. Tomorrow I'm going with my pops to the Maker Faire! Anyone else down? |
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| Sprechen |
[Apr. 30th, 2008|06:19 pm] |
I've been told recently, by a few people, that I get sort of verbose when I talk. I run on, I can't convey stuff concisely, and that I can even get pretty boring. I actually was never aware of that until recently, and I still don't completely believe it, but there you go.
It's especially interesting, because I tend to be extremely concise when I write. My essays tend to be shorter than most people's. I can't blog for paragraphs upon paragraphs. Ironically, I start to lose interest in whatever I'm saying if I go on for too long.
But yeah, has anyone else noticed that about me? Is that something I should be working to fix? I think I'll be more aware of it in the future, but right now, like I said, I don't know exactly what my problem is, if any. It's been suggested by my mom that I try to join Toastmasters International and see if that helps.
Huh, well there you go. |
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| ddddddddddddd |
[Apr. 30th, 2008|04:29 pm] |
I totally had my butt operated on today. I'm feeling kind of tired and dizzy but I don't think it's from blood loss or anesthesia or anything; I think it's just from the realization that I now have a third hole inside my pants. had a large chunk of skin removed. They shot my gluteal cleft up about 10 times, dug around, and then actually fastened a grounding strap to my arm so I wouldn't get electrocuted when they cauterized the wound. Right now I've got this large pad taped to the area and I guess it's soakin anything up.
Besides having to wash, reapply gauze for a number of days, and shave my upper butt regularly for the next few months, everything's okay! I should be able to go into work tomorrow, and exercise as soon as next week.
Thanks for putting up with my detail! Or if you skipped past it, that's fine too! |
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| Postponed! |
[Apr. 24th, 2008|11:47 pm] |
So the deal is, I had an appointment with Dermatology today. While they can lance and drain cysts, they can't completely remove them. That's for Surgery to do. So they had to reschedule it for next Wednesday. So NEXT week is when I spend a few days wallowing in a tub trying to keep everything clean and somewhat bearable. Supposedly they're going to have to go down deep to remove the whole thing.
I didn't go home empty-handed, though! I thought, while I'm there, they might as well remove the left half of my left big toenail, the one that's been digging into the cuticle for over a year now. Had to stick it with a needle about 10 times, then just shove enough stuff under the nail that it ppoppppsss offf.... ghhfhfssfsnfnxvnxv I cringe thinking about this stuff. I had my hands over my eyes during the entire ordeal.
So the toe's all bandaged up. Doesn't hurt! And I'm keeping it that way with some Tylenol.
BTW I am totally going to the LJ Housewarming Party tomorrow. Who's with me! |
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| EMPLOYMENTS |
[Apr. 23rd, 2008|06:46 pm] |
I have just landed a sweet position as web developer at Diabetes Health! Now I don't have diabetes, but it's pretty awesome to be working for a local magazine and helping their transition to the web. I'll be helping with the website and a bunch of other related topics. Full time until I leave for Israel. Pays great. And yes, it's local! It's in Woodacre, a 20 minute drive west from San Rafael. In fact, it's just up the street from Sophie's folks' house.
Heck of psyched. Feeling really lucky, too. This could have been a position that didn't fit, didn't pay well, was part time, had rigid start/end times, was in the city or further, etc. etc. This one's got a casual atmosphere and friendly folks.
That said, tomorrow's a half work day, at most, because I'm going in for surgery to remove my pilonidal cyst (ewwww... NSFW. used to not have a picture...). It's something that just doesn't go away, and sometimes gets enflamed. So it's good to get it out of there. Might not be able to walk for a while!! woooo
P.S. I now weigh less than 170 lbs, the first time I have weighed so little in... at least 5 years? |
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| I need work |
[Apr. 18th, 2008|02:29 pm] |
Man, so I thought I had a job offer but it turns out that if I do, it's not starting until late May. I can't wait another month for a job. I subscribe to the appropriate feeds on craigslist, but it's pretty difficult because I have a schedule limitation. I'm still going to Israel. I still expect to get an internship there in a few months. So I can only look for freelance/contract/temporary work.
I'm not sure what else I should be doing. I'm part of a temp agency, I'm sending out resumes... what am I missing? |
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| Songogo |
[Apr. 14th, 2008|10:56 pm] |
Townage
Simple song I made in about two hours. I had the Cinematic Orchestra in mind - also Nifflas' music from the Knytt series. Finally, I wanted to use a small MIDI I made that I never ended up doing anything with. I also wanted to stick to basics, and stay calm, since a lot of my songs tend to get carried away for fear of becoming too repetitive. Take a listen! |
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| Santiago |
[Apr. 9th, 2008|03:45 pm] |
I am on vacation with my dad and sister in San Diego! We woke up real early this morning and flew shortly afterward, checking into our snazzy hotel room quite early and enjoying the pool for a few hours. I haven't been swimming in almost two years, and come to think of it, I think the last time was with Shiranne at Water World USA. 'Course, all I did today was just let go of my breath and sink to the bottom for a while and lounge around in the hot tub, but it was still intensely relaxing.
We went to San Diego with barely any plans in mind - we know we're going for Sea World and the Zoo, but besides that I've just been consulting Yelp for a few good botanical gardens and museums and earlier we raided the hotel's brochure rack. We might go kayaking in the San Diego caves. Fun!
The only thing I've done when was in San Diego was attend Comic-Con twice and walk around downtown trying to find cheap food. I also saw Jack Black walking around. But that's about it. Anyone out there in Inter-Land have San Diego Suggestions? |
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| Bears in the Area |
[Apr. 7th, 2008|11:54 pm] |
Hello again from me; I am back in America after my two school quarters in Seattle.
The road trip ended pleasantly with a viewing of Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Ashland is a wonderful town and I totally want to return to it some time. It's certainly got that indie vibe. Anyone under 20 in Ashland is a high school student visiting from another state along with the rest of their Drama class. It's cute!
Today I dressed up all fancy and ferried into San Francisco for an interview at Aquent and then another one at the Jewish Community Federation (an organization that shares my initials). Both are for just month-long jobs - one in California starting ASAP, and one in Israel starting in a few months. Later, I went home and cooked a chicken dish consisting of forty garlic cloves and a half-cup of olive oil. My dad told me that I should try to start focusing on cooking things that won't instantly give you a heart attack. Although my dish turned out splendidly, I think he is right!
Tomorrow, I file my taxes, unpack the rest of the boxes we drove down with, and pack back up for a few-days-long vacation down to a resort in San Diego with my dad and sister, where much beach-going and city-exploring will be had. A good Spring Break escape from the quite empty house that Betty once kept up.
After I return, I look forward to getting into the swing of the Bay Area again. I want to spend less time at home and more in a social environment. I want to casually swing by a friend's place and spend the afternoon, just like Skeeter always did at Doug's place, Sam at Clarissa's, or Gerald at Arnold's. I'm sure it happens in real life too, but I always found myself envying Nickelodeon characters.
I miss Shiranne and I wish summer could come sooner! She is going through turbulent work times and I wish I could have been more available in the past few days. Eventually I will be able to relax, and even after that I will be able to relax with Shiranne in the same country as me. |
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| RAOD TRIPE |
[Apr. 3rd, 2008|11:21 pm] |
Hi there
I have left Seattle! The remainder of my stuff is in a rental PT Cruiser that my mom has rented, and the two of us are in a hotel outside of Portland, Oregon. We walked around the Pearl District and happened upon "First Thursday" where there are a bunch of art gallery open houses. Intensely pleasant as always!
Tomorrow, we head a bit east and drive along the Oregon side of the Columbia River, checking out waterfalls, dams, and the like. We've been told it's heck of pretty. And in the evening we head back to Portland for a concert downtown.
We'll be back in the Bay Area by Sunday. Okay I got bored of writing on the Internet so goodbye! |
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| Shiranne Gone |
[Mar. 26th, 2008|08:57 pm] |
End of Spring Break, kind of! I dropped Shiranne off at SFO early this morning, and her plane in JFK just took off for Tel Aviv. Goodbyes were less tearful than usual, probably because I'm so dead set on Israel at this point that it's just like we're taking time off from being together, which is already in progress. A few months of break. Then we continue a few months of where we left off. Sounds kind of crazy, but I think the both of us can put up with it, given what we've gone through.
Oh and Shiranne and Eric and I are fucking sunburned to the max. My face is red and it's finally starting to peel. There's also an epic hat mark where the normal skin color abruptly stops across my forehead. Remember, kids, just because it's below freezing doesn't mean the sun isn't reflecting off that snow.
In other news, I got my grades back from this quarter. Even though I failed my CS midterm (55/100), I ended up getting a 3.3 in that class, which is like the best thing possible. 3.6 and 3.9 in my other two classes. That gives me a cumulative 3.71 which means that as a grad student I am kicking the ass of my previous undergrad GPA. But more importantly, it means that there's a greater chance of me returning to UW to complete my degree. I guess I really am kind of up for it.
But before that I really have to see what's up with employment and lodging in terms of spring and summer. We'll see. |
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| Spring so far |
[Mar. 23rd, 2008|05:06 pm] |
Thought I'd give y'all an update on what the haps are.
I finished my final projects and tests early last week. Turned in a final paper about Facebook's Photos and Events application linkage, phonemic alternation in Mandarin, and took a test on data structures.
The next morning I woke up bright and early to haul myself and most of my stuff to the airport, and arrived in San Francisco with a few delays. Had lunch on the go with my mom, stopped at my dad's, and took off toward Santa Cruz.
Met with Nico and Zack and Shiranne and her friends at Saturn Cafe for some veg burgers. Then Shiranne and I headed to the Explosions in the Sky show down the street at the Catalyst. A lot of pot smoke, a lot of really epic guitar strumming and plucking, a lot of knees getting tired from standing a lot! Then we drove around somewhat aimlessly on Highway 1 for a while then I headed back to Nico's apartment at Porter and sleeped.
Thursday was spent tagging along with Shiranne and saying hello to a bunch of her friends. Well, my friends, too. They were classmates or at least Internet friends while I was still in Santa Cruz. In the evening we headed to the Chabad House and had a fun Megillah reading with a cute PowerPoint slideshow with caricatures of all the characters. Also, pizza. Later, Shiranne and I took an awesome walk through the Porter meadow and lied on the Porter Squiggle for a while until the cold got sort of unbearable.
Said goodbyes to Nico and crew the next morning, and Shiranne and I climbed Tree 9! It was her first time. Dat tree lost the little log at the bottom that people used to get up to the climbable branches, but some kind souls constructed a rope ladder in its place. Then we headed back to Palo Alto and chilled for the rest of the day, welcoming Shabbat along with Shiranne's mom who made us some soup and pastas.
On Saturday I spent some time catching up on Internet (while Shiranne couldn't ohohoho) and also took a walk to Greer Park where we saw these people roasting pigs on a rotisserie which totally grossed Shiranne out! Later we prepared for Shiranne's Purim party and I got totally lost picking up Paolo and Sonya. We played some Brawl and watched some Wristcutters and chatted about bygone Palo Alto days (that I was not a part of).
Today I woked and drove back to San Rafael and spent the rest of the day finally unpacking all the suitcases I brought home, and catching up on the rest of the Internet. That's a lot of Internet to catch up on! About 300 LJ posts, and about the same amount of RSS posts. I guess that is the price to pay for spending time outside. Later today Shiranne and Eric and I are headed into the city for some Japaneses, then we're heading back here to watch a movie.
Tomorrow we're heading up to the mountains and going down hills on various planks of polymers. What a vacation! |
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| Santa Cruz |
[Mar. 17th, 2008|12:08 am] |
Heyyyy Santa Cruz kids.
I will be in Santa Cruz with Shiranne from Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning! On Wednesday night we're going to the Catalyst to see Explosions in the Sky. Afterwards I believe I'm crashing at Nico's apartment. Thursday, we'll be goin' around and saying hello to people. Friday, Tree 9 maybe??!! I'm planning on tagging along with Shiranne, but anyone who's around, I want to see you!
Also, I've decided to start tagging my entries. They do indeed get lost in the shuffle, and Google sucks at searching LiveJournal. Hopefully this will provide some structure! |
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