walking through SF

Everyone says Boston is a walking city... and it's true. You can get around just about everywhere walking. But I never thought the same about San Francisco; with all the hills, it used to seem somewhat intimidating.

J visited this weekend. His cousin's wedding was in the Oakland area on Saturday, so he came down to our place after that and we got to spend Sunday catching up. He figured since he was in the area, he might as well check out SF. I had looked up a few [touristy] things to do in the city and since it was Memorial Day weekend, there were all sort of events. We could check out the Carnaval parade, listen to opera in the park, etc, etc., but we didn't end up doing any of those. Instead, it turned out to be a very laid-back, make-up-stuff-along-the-way kind of day.

We stayed up until 3-4am Saturday night and woke up around 11am/12pm-ish on Sunday, spent quite a while just bumming around, chatting, and looking at maps of SF. J was hungry so we went to a place on Castro to eat dimsum. (Reminder to self: ok for take-out dimsum, not recommended for eat-in dimsum) Then came back to my apartment, a quick shower, and headed up to Milbrae to take BART into SF (my first time taking public transportation here!).

We finally got to SF Powell St. station around 3pm. The only semi-plan we had was that we would visit Fisherman's Wharf sometime during the day. J had originally wanted to try one of the cable cars, but we decided against it after we saw the line (~1 to 2 hour wait). So instead, we walked around the shops of Union Square, then headed up Powell until we reached Clay St. I guess I've only walked along 1 or 2 streets of Chinatown before because I never remembered it being as big. We walked through all the streets, checking out the various restaurants, bakeries, and stores. We entered every single bakery to look for the elusive 'coconut cream bun' that Kristin loves but can only find in NYC... and came out empty-handed.

Satisfied with our tour of Chinatown, we headed up Columbus. We discovered the Little Italy of SF, North Beach, along the way. (I now regret my decision not to stop for a cannoli because that cannoli craving won't go away.) I took a picture of a weird looking church at Washington Sq, which turned out to be some "historic" church.

We stopped at Lombard St, making our way up the steep street towards the "Crookedest Street" portion. Lots of weird tourists, of course... some just taking pictures and some driving down. You know you need to get in better shape when you utter something like "I'm not sure I can make it up there" (lady in her mid-30's).

View from the top of the Crookedest Street...


We then continued onto Hyde St. until we got to Northpoint... then headed to Ghiradelli Square.


2nd food regret of the day... not getting a sundae. We saw a couple taking professional wedding pictures in the square, which seemed kind of odd. They were just standing in front of a large crowd of people, not really scenic or anything, but I guess different people like different types of pictures.

And on to Fisherman's Wharf then to Pier 39. There wasn't really too much at Fisherman's Wharf, just more food and a bunch of small art galleries, and then a tourist trap of shops. It does seem like a good place to get crab though, so I'll have to keep that in mind.

A fake looking scene... (the center building is Coit Tower apparently) It almost looks like one of those minature models they make for some scene in a movie.


It all ended with a walk back to Ghiradelli Square (after 8pm now) and then we took MUNI back to Powell Street.


The day was a pleasant change from the usual trip to SF - get up early, drive to some place, park, walk a few blocks near destination, get back in car, drive to some other place (or go home), etc. Of course, my feet were almost dead by the end... 5 hours of being on your feet with no rest can do that. I must walk more, though I'm not sure I know of anyone else besides J who would *prefer* to do the walking thing.

flying

Lesson of the Day:

Buy plane tickets early. I guess with all the money problems the airline industry has been having, the magic number is no longer 3 weeks/21 days. My guess is that it's now extended to 4 weeks (or maybe even more?).

And don't assume that a standard round-trip flight between 2 cities will cost less than a multi-way destination trip.

this is how rumors start

(Names have been fictionalized to protect the innocent.)

Ben and Kenny are working on a project. Ben was going to rotate out of my group to another group. Kenny has been delaying his retirement for several months. I was forewarned that I'd possibly have to take over this project because Ben and Kenny are leaving. For whatever reason or circumstance, Ben has decided to stay on until the end of the year. I originally heard the project is supposed to be completed by the end of the year.

Talking to a colleague (Tim) about this project, I mentioned that it looks like they won't need me for it anymore because Ben will be staying until the end of the year. Tim says to not count on that because in reality they need someone who will be around for 5 years or so (to fix problems and bugs that will most definitely arise and implement new features that will most definitely be asked for). I mention that it will be tough to find a person like that, considering all the people who are retiring and that new people will probably not be staying in the group for many many years like the old folks have been doing. He asks if I was considering rotating; I answered that it's in the back of my mind and probably some day I will.

Tim -> person B -> person C & more people in group

Ends up people are shocked to find out that I'm going to rotate (implying I'm going to within the next few months).

'Tis my lesson to go back to being a closed person who doesn't say random things that can be spread and construed in other ways.

all in

Started: May 7th Finished: May 22nd SBS, 24 episodes Cast: Lee Byung Hun (as Kim In-Ha) Song Hae Gyo (as Min Soo-Yeon) Ji Sung (as Choi Jung-Won) Park Sol Mi (as Suh Jin-Hee)

We finished watching the last 2 episdoes of All In this weekend. Good drama, good story, decent ending. The ending was sort of abrupt in a way, but I guess it's one the best endings you could come up with for the story. It was kind of odd to have random bits of English pop up throughout the drama. And now I want to check out Las Vegas.

Other weekend bits... even though I still have no confidence in my horrible singing voice, I need to thank JK for a pleasurable day of karoake. I wonder if K will go out and buy a karoake mic set thing whenever we settle down.

circle of life

This week was a busy week with work and other stuffs. The week ended pretty well -

Thursday -
I saw Star Wars Episode 3 with K and SL, courtesy of G. The Incredibles, Lord of the Rings 3, and Spiderman 2 were the last few movies I saw in the movie theater... not really a big fan of paying to see movies in the theaters. The movie was alright aside from the many times they cut from one scene to the next. I suppose it was better than the first 2 and there was, of course, the upside that I got to see how things ended up the way they did for 4 through 6. One big gripe... if you feel bad about killing someone, why would you want them to burn and die a painfully slow death rather than just a quick blow to end it all?!

The movie previews were all for wannabe summer action blockbusters... Fantastic Four is the only one I remember because it was the first one they showed and the only one I might end up watching some day.

Friday -
JA in a Day... we finally picked 2nd grade to teach this time. The class was a much more outgoing and engaging class than the last 2 classes we've had. Every kid except for maybe one or two were raising their hands and participating. Defintely a fun day! Kids like doughnuts, a lot! I had reservations about feeding them doughnuts... if I was a parent, I'd probably not be happy finding out about my kids being fed random junk foods at school. Being a parent must be hard... you want your kids to be happy, but at the same time, you want them to eat healthfully.

I also just found out that Krispy Kreme doughnuts do indeed have partially hydrogenated junk. I should have known, really. Argh. So if I want to avoid stupid synthetic fats and eat doughnuts, I'd have to make my own. (Have you tried yet, V? Season 8, Episode 4)

So now that we've taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, next time will be Kindergarten or 4th... I think Kindergarten would be lots of fun ^o^

monday humor

Receiving an email (or any other correspondence) from someone when I don't expect it always puts a smile on my face. It's even better when it also brings some good laughs on Monday morning...

After every flight, Qantas Airlines pilots fill out a form called a "gripe sheet", which conveys to the mechanics problems encountered with the aircraft during the flight that need repair or correction. The mechanics read and correct the problem, and then respond in writing on the lower half of the form what remedial action was taken, and the pilot reviews the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor.

Here are some supposedly actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution as recorded by Qantas maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident.

(P = The problem logged by the pilot.)
(S = The solution and action taken by the engineers.)

P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on backorder.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

batali ate neopets

Third chef book signing at the G-office today, with Mario Batali. If you don't know who Mario is, dig up a Nintendo or SuperNES. I never understood why Luigi didn't get a bigger part in all the action. Ok, watch Food Network. I've only seen maybe one or two episodes of his show =P He got a decent size line of people, though nowhere's as impressive as when Martin Yan visited. So the book is "327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home" and apparently, cannolis and tiramisu count as "simple". I left work to meet K for lunch a little too late and didn't actually get to meet Batali or take a picture, ah well.

It's been almost 2 weeks since I last visited Neopets. I took a peek today and was greeted by 3 sick pets all with neomites... no clue how they got that. I thought maybe roweslab had added me to his hitlist because my inventory was filled with neomites injections (which I thought odd considering he only showers people with gifts of dung, old boots, sludge, and items of that nature). After looking at my list of events, I found out it was just a bunch of people feeling sorry for my pets? This tanktop looked cute, and if it didn't cost $20 I might have bought it.

watermelons are yummy... and they can also be art

better now

Maybe my immune system is weaker than most other people my age. Or maybe just my digestive system is; I seem to fight off random common colds just fine, but not random food-related problems. Like that time in college when R's green tea ice cream made my intestine go haywire. Or this weekend. (Oh, feeling much better, yes. All symptoms have basically subsided. I started eating other things besides crackers, rice, and jello today.)

Food poisoning is more common than I thought. The CDC estimates 76 million people in the US get foodbourne illness each year. The population of the United States is approximately 296 million. That's a 1 in 4 chance of getting food poisoning in any year... and a probability of 1 that you will get it in your lifetime (assuming the 1/4 probability every year, that it's the same probability for everyone, blah, blah). If you want to lessen your chance of getting food poisoning, move to the UK (3.4% chance) or France (1.2% chance).

If you're lucky to get the right bacteria, you'll only experience lots of poopage (aka diarrhea). If you're unlucky (like me), then you might experience: excessive poopage, throwing chunks, feeling like you'll throw chunks, stabbing pain in the abdomen, elephants pounding your head, fever, tiredness. Symptoms start to arise anywhere from a few hours up to 48 hours after eating the food.

If you ever get food poisoning or some other illness that might cause you to not eat and possibly become dehydrated, make a solution: 1 tsp salt, 4 heaping tsps sugar, 1 liter water (~ 1 quart). Gatorade would be a bad choice (sorry R).

Unrelated... while looking up the US population size in the CIA World Factbook, I ran into some other interesting facts I did not know about the US:

• about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe
  
• the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels
  
• world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India)
  
• Mt. McKinley is the highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent
  
• Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.71 years
  male: 74.89 years
  female: 80.67 years (2005 est.)
  (Do we really live this long?)
  
• Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)
  
• government type: Constitution-based federal republic (federal republic? hmm... need to learn what that means)
  
• Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households.
  

ugh

Today, I threw up for the very first time ever. From the symptoms, it seemed to be food poisoning. Let me just say that having junk come out of two orifices of the body at the same time is not fun. Most of my day consisted of lying in bed sleeping, interspersed with trips to the bathroom. Dizziness and headaches whenever I moved. I got to drink lots of water and eat some saltines towards the end of the day. It's turning out to be a great weekend.

Correction: Ok, it wasn't the first time ever... the last time I threw up was when I was 5 years old, once when I was forced to swallow a pill and other times from being fed milk.

Men will forever be men...

L: Absolutely correct!
Me: What is?
L: Over the radio... any hip movement, hair flipping, or shoulder movement that a woman does, men will find some sort of sexual innuendo in it.
Me: I see...
L: Not me though. Any movement what-so-ever that a woman makes is -

castle rock sp

K & I finally watched Matrix 2 and 3. I can understand why there were so many bad reviews for the 3rd one. It's good I didn't watch it by itself in the theatres like everyone else; 2 and 3 really do have to be seen together as one movie. It's also good I watched The Animatrix clips before watching the 2nd one.

I made a late-day decision to go to Castle Rock again. The views at Castle Rock are <insert your word for great, wonderful, awesome, etc>. Past the mountains in the distance you see Monterey Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. I decided to try out the panoramic aid feature of our camera. For scenic pictures like the ones I was taking, it's really hard to get the camera to expose each picture the same amount. The stitching into a panoramic came out ok though...


K's funky panoramic...

We still haven't hiked a full "loop". Last time, it was because we took the wrong path at the fork, going up to Castle Rock thinking the path would wind around to the falls. The rock formations were interesting, especially with all the people out with their climbing gear. We were going to leave after lots of misdirection and battling of large fire ants, but I suggested taking the other path at the fork. And we did.

Just as we were about to turn around because we had yet to encounter the falls, I caught the sound of water. We couldn't stay long after seeing the falls though because K had an Arizona game to watch.

This time, we did not hike a full loop because of the late-day decision. We hiked up to Goat Rock and came back down.

Find a funky rock formation, and you will see climbers. K thought it would be fun to climb up to the top on the shorter side...

We managed to finish the hike 2 minutes before sunset (park closes at sunset). Castle Rock State Park notes: the end of the hike is always uphill, and the crazy ants are only on the Castle Rock side, not on the paths to the falls and Goat Rock.