Pet Peeve

Pet Peeve of mine:

People that Floss or cut their nails while in public places. I can stand brushing your teeth when you are around me, even outside of the bathroom. The other 2 are just unnerving to me. The middle-aged man beside me on this plane has a portable flossing fook and has been using it for the last 10 minutes while reading a Scientific American.

Scientific American, now that is a magazine that I might be interested in buying a subscription with. I also have a lifetime subscription to The Bent, an Engineering magazine that I really enjoy reading, so maybe that is enough scientific/nerdy stuff to read. I also read Men's Health for some helpful tips and facts.
Apparently in a sexual behavior study, cuddling is more benefical to men while women do not feel the an intimate connection because of it. I feel as though that study isn't very trustworthy. The only explanation I can imagine is that women derive more overall satisfaction from cuddling, rather than it just being an intimate action. Men, on the other hand, aren't as interested in cuddling outside of showing intimacy. So, the only way you can tell if she loves you is in her kiss, thats where it is!

The debt crisis in Greece is sadly a foil for the problems in America. Retirement funds starting around age 50 at many public jobs, barriers to fire unachieving employees, debt created by previous Presidents (not just Bush, Clinton and these ongoing wars), and a large amount of public disatisfaction because they feel as though it is not fair that brillant, possibly evil, business men in America are making most of the income in America, while the rest of us Art History Majors get nothing... I believe that there should be changes to the Tax code, taking more away from the top 1%, but there should also be more incentives for them to invest that money back into more jobs and the stock market.

More Blog Posts soon, I need to continually use my vocabulary and writing skills outside of engineering work for my future graduate school essays!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/before-after-pictures-of-japan-3-months-after-th

Here are a few before and after pictures of various places around Japan showing the incredible progress their society has been making to rebuild.

Each one of these pictures plucks at your heartstrings in one way or another, and I am filled with hope by them. These people have perseverved through the worst natural disaster I have ever been alive and are making progress.

It acts as a foil for the other problems around the world that are so miniscule compared to this one. America's threaten each other over matter of comfort while Japanese peopl clear building concrete out of streets. Japan has a credit debt rating of AA- from the early 90's while we fear our nation crumbling from just being lowered by 1 company to AA+.

Course, Americans lead the world in finding new ways to have fun and spend our parents money. I love football, as most Americans do, yet I like watching the World Cup and love the Olympics.

Makes me wonder if the US is the best country now and forever.

Go USA! I still think it is... right now even with all the problems.

Stories Missed

I know I know, this is a really late blog post.

I am making this blog post right when a Debt Deal was proposed by the the Party Leaders and President Obama. Hopefully it gets through Congress or China might bomb us.... or just increase our interest rates and therefore demolish the housing market.

But anyway, now I am watching Beauty and the Beast with my girlfriend and remember tidbits of the story. I truly did not remember that Belle loved learning and reading but she was shunned because it but the townsfolk. Yet this movie is so easy to find. Why is it that we love watching movies when they are on TV even when we own them? Could it be because now it is on public channels and that allows us to watch something that others are watching as well?

"It's not right for a woman to think!"

But there are always movies that you missed over the years and in your childhood. It baffles me when people have not watched Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, or Shawshank Redemption. Luckily I got my gf to watch Shawshank Redemption, and I am in the in middle of watching Moulin Rouge.

A short blog post today. I will blog again on Tuesday.

Stay classy!

ALOHA!

I’m on a plane to Hawaii for my cousin’s wedding! I don’t particularly like location weddings because you leave out many people that can’t travel or won’t spend the money for it, but it was a good reason to actually use my days off. I will be there from Thursday in the morning to Monday afternoon, and then I have to drive back up the Sacramento for work! Hurray!
A few things about the wedding were a bit odd.
1) No Hawaiian shirts and it is semi formal, but you can wear flip-flops. I guess this is because my cousin might hate heels?
2) There is no registry to give gifts. They asked for money to help pay for the wedding as the couple don’t cook and so don’t need many things for a house. I guess we’ll give ….$25-$30?
3) The wedding is on Sunday! I wish it was on Saturday so I would have one day to enjoy again before I leave.
Wearing the shirt I bought here 5 years ago, so I can finally get rid of it. It has been washed only 2 times because the design has already chipped off in the wash. The shirt is on its last legs sadly, and I thought it would be fitting to wear it one more time before getting rid of it. While at the airport I noticed that they have concerts on Fridays! Live music at the airport! So weird… My gf believes that San Jose is obsessed with free music, and I sadly agree with her since we have a great Jazz festival but theres no pull for good artists to play here.
As for me, I have been working hard, working out hard, sleeping hard, and studying hard (trying to) 4 weeks ago I injured my OTHER knee playing basketball and have been resting it. Instead I’ve been working on my upper body and eating much healthier. Its amazing how much better my diet is when I am not at home and not bound by the food my parents also want to eat. I have a half marathon at the end of July so hoping my knee will be find by then. As well I have decided my goal for the year is to take 2 Certification tests. That means a lot of studying!
One thing I would like to mention is that I really want to start exploring more unique places in the Bay Area. There are some places I haven’t been to in San Jose that have perked my interest, as well the new downtown’s for Mountain View and Sunnyvale are similar to Palo Alto’s, just smaller and so much more friendly.
Poor Vancouver, their Hockey Team gets destroyed in the Stanley Cup and then the Canadians riot, showing a very ugly side to typically nice people. The whole world was watching the game 7, and is now listening into the rioting and damage.

Shrinkage....

Drunk Question to a Vegan:

What do you do when Ants are swarming all over your kitchen? Do you have kitchens?

Really, I want to know what you do about Ants when you can't kill them? The house I am staying at in Dixon is being swarmed by them because of the Spring rains. I actually like rain, means plants are growing, the air smells fresher (cause it is), and its better after the droughts California has been through, but I hate Ants invading our living areas because their own are flooded.

There's an Ant on my laptop!

Sitting is apparently going to kill us all. Scientists are doing studies on the effects of sitting for most of the day as office/cubicle folk. It is really damaging our leg and core muscles. Even with consistent exercise humans must sit less and stand/walk more in a day to offset the potential debilitating problems associated with sitting too much/being inactive for most of the day.

I sadly need to start gelling/something my hair to make it more presentable at work... too much frizzy hair. Though I love running my hands through my luscious locks in frustration, and I cannot do that with gel.

Eatting an apple... but I have to throw it outside cause of the stupid Ants. There's one on me!


Honey I shrunk the kids!

Droid- The Next Frontier

So I just got a Droid 2 Global (don't worry about the global).

I know I know it is already an old smartphone. But it is still a smartphone! There is a possibility that I will "root" it (wipe the phone to be able to write code for it) but that will void the 1 year warranty on it. I do not know how to write code in Linux but there are some helpful guides online that I could take advantage of.

Whenever I get a new piece of technology it reminds me of how outdated my stuff is (always) and how most of us, myself included, don't use the tech that we have to its fullest. Really, most of us don't use anything around us to its fullest (goes to turn on the heater... its cold in Dixon!).

I have never really gotten around to learning how to keep my computers at maximum efficiency through maintenance and correct usage. My room is almost always a little dirty and there's always excess food for me to eat.

I love the droid but I got to get more assertive in my life! I am running out of my youth and I need to get things done. I have so many goals and dreams that my head is in the clouds too often and not doing what needs to be done.

Speaking of dreams, if you have ever been a Disney fan, go watch Tangled. It is a good movie all around and I think its foolish to call anything that reminds us of happy endings and following hopes and dreams girly is stupid. Sports are basically dramatic competitions about happy endings. Randy Pausch, the speaker at the last lecture is not "girly" for loving imagination and Disney.

P.S. I dont like how gyms are so busy now that people are getting in shape for summer, blah!

Dixon/Sacramento

Hi!

Well here I am on a Wednesday night in Dixon. I live here Monday night to Thursday night, allowing me to at least be on my own for extremely cheap, work, and go home to help out my parents. Work is extremely tiring, but there's satisfaction in designing Hospital campus layouts.

I am living in a 1 story household which my friend's parents use as a gigantic shed. There are so many random items in this house that it would be overly furnished even as a typical family house. This makes it a very nice place to live... if it wasn't in the middle of nowhere. I have a bat next to my bed, just in case.

But living by myself allows me to get away from the problems I deal with in my family. While I do want to help out, I'm almost 24 and I still have responsibilities to my parents that can take up my weekends. Eat, Sleep, Gym, Work. The life of a mid-twenties male. At least I have some paintings and artwork, not just supermodels! Never been a big fan of that, nor of lesbians. They are cool in my book, but not really attracted to someone who has made a choice to be attracted to the opposite sex. There's a good Family Guy scene where Peter and his friends enter into a new bar and realize that it is a Lesbian bar. The reactions quickly tell you the thought process that seems fitting: Excitement and interest, then realization of uselessness, then sadness and melancholy.

I'll try and get back into blogging more and hanging out with friends!

I'm On A Boat! Listen to funny music at work, like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQlIhraqL7o&feature=channel_video_title

Japan, disaster relief

So I'm sure everyone has heard about what has happened to the Japanese people and this is a disaster that could have happened anywhere.

Earthquakes, while typically occurring on fault lines, can happen anywhere on the planet. They are based on tectonic plate motion releasing pressure from the mantle's constant heat generation. They can happen anywhere because the mantle and the plates are constantly changing. Without warning other areas can be hit by massive earthquakes.

Areas such as Japan and California are on fault lines where earthquakes happen frequently and so buildings and roads are designed these days to minimize damage from earthquakes. These "building codes" saved thousands of lives when the earthquake hit to allow people to evacuate.

Yet even as a Civil Engineer, I have no real idea how to design correctly for a tsunami. While I could think of ways to make a building safe to a massive wave (F=ma) against the side of the building, there is no way I could think of making it for a boat or a train being thrown at it, or keeping the people inside alive from water...

I am rambling a little bit, though truly I feel guilty. I went to Vegas the weekend after the earthquake and tsunami hit. It was supposed to be for a birthday, but really my friend just wanted to go on a vacation. While I was there I tried to pay attention to the continuing problems in Japan as I felt I didn't deserve my vacation, nor in reality have I. I haven't been working as hard as I should be with my good life and health should be going so much more with my life...

So now I am going to study more and donate whatever I can!

Here is a link to some sites you can donate to, I am also going to really get on giving money to Engineers Without Borders.



More posts soon!

Fancy

You Fancy Huh?

I forgot last week to Blog because I was so busy visiting my gf in San Diego and moving into my new place in Dixon, CA (5 mins from Davis). I will make it up this week.

Well, after being laid off for 3 days, I have a job situation that works out as I can still take care of my parents and work hard.

My Engineering firm, BeKaFf (spelled it like that because HR divisions google their company's name and see what has changed about it) has offices scattered throughout Norcal and 1 in Orange County. I am now based in the Sacramento Office, here


View Larger Map

We are really close to the Capitol. The first time I have ever driven to the Capitol, and I admit that I was a little awestruck seeing the Capitol Building right in front of me. It is definitely because I have become much more interested in the news and government because of listening to NPR. Even at work I download their podcasts and listen to them instead of music. It is an excellent way of learning and keeping up on current events.
More about Sacramento later! I will be working in Sacramento and living in Dixon Tuesday to Thursday. Drive up Monday, Drive down Thursday.

On Mondays and Fridays, I get to work from the San Jose Office here:

View Larger Map

I will be putting an enormous amount of miles on my car, but it is actually less then when I was working at Walnut Creek every day. Trust me, I am driving less.

Right now I am renting a room at my friend's parents extra house in Dixon. It is a 1 story and he is there for classes in Davis Tuesday through Thursday. I rarely see him because hes out with friends or working.

I'll talk about the place more in another blog post, but the largest problem has been a poor wireless internet connection because I'm about 50 ft away from the old router and it has to past through multiple rooms to get to me. Just a few years ago it would not have been a big problem but now so much of what I do is ridiculously better with it.

I should become used to not relying on the internet to constantly entertain me, like this!

Sporting Events

So I watched the SuperBowl this Sunday at a friends place which turned out to be a small gettogether. At about halftime my friend's wife was passed out on the floor, sleeping soundly after a few drinks.

It wasn't that thrilling of a game as the first half was dominated by the Steelers poor play. Though the second half was much more thrilling and high caliber, especially for a fan that doesn't care really about either team.

What I have found odd though is that to truly enjoy watching some type of sport, you have to have been taught it at a young age and possibly have played in it. Though I am interested in Tennis (going to watch the SAP first round with some friends today), I feel like that interest has stemmed from a small of amount of experience playing it and the people around me enjoying it.

It is my goal that in the next year I go to a:

Sharks home game
SJSU basketball/football game
Battle of the Bay game
Warriors home game

For each one I will make a poster from Kinko's (its so cheap!) and try to enjoy the atmosphere. Most of those event I haven't been to in years or ever!

Something into Something

Hey hey,

Well I have been trying to keep up with my new year's resolutions!

I have been writing down my errands for the weekend.

I have been blogging consistently, and using twitter a bit.

Hanging out with friends or going out 3 times a week is pretty hard to do now because of the diversity in people's schedules at this time of our lives. Mid-20s seems to be a very chaotic time, especially because of how volatile the US economy is right now.

I am a clear example. My Walnut Creek office is unsure whether or not they will have work for the rest of the year, as well other workers in the office do not have enough to keep them employed. We work on a "job charge" system, where you always must be charging work time to the job so that project managers can bill accordingly. It's a good system of keeping companies efficient.

I will be taking a part time, possibly full time job in Sacramento while my parents are still sick and need help. It is with the same company and I believe they really want me to stay in the system and loyal.

Volatile situation, as they have to take a risk of losing me to another company because they can't even offer a potentially valuable long term employee a job.

Anyway, I was thinking in the shower today (I do my best thinking then) and I thought about the old expression, "his shit stinks just like yours does", meaning that no matter how perceivably better a person is then you, both of you are still human and equals. Yet I began to wonder if there should be more to that expression, like "its what you choose to put in you, that's what counts."

All about choice, I think.

Anyway, I am rambling, and my babe is complaining that she might have cancer.... she's definitely does not...

New years resolution!

Valentines Planning!

So... I just realized its the end of January....

Holy cow did that month go by quickly. So much seemed to be jam packed into the last 3 weeks....

The ironic part of this is that now that all the holiday spirit and cheer has come and gone, we have to begin looking forward to times that aren't as world consuming or social. I really want to go to Hawaii some time this year.

My friend has a free flight with southwest, he has suggested going to vegas, miami, new york.

But there has to be little events to look forward too as well. I am always overjoyed to see my girlfriend and spend time with her especially since it is a long distance relationship right now (rawr).

After going through the last few events in my family life with financial problems and health problems I realized that events to look forward to don't have to be ones that you can tell everyone about like a marathon or a wild trip to vegas, but little things that make lives better. I have never taken my parents out to eat, and we are going for sushi tomorrow. Hopefully the place will not be packed because of my dads wheelchair.

And if they can't, then I'll be sure to get take out and sit down with them.

Maybe I'll have a Guiness with my dad, Brillant!

Martin Luther King Day!

Well, I started his blog post that day, but I had to sleep for work! Work is excruciatingly boring when you don't have much to do, and it has been like that for the past couple days.

Happy "Everyone should remember how bad and racist the world used to be and be thankful that you dont live in that world" day!

If you stop and think about the state of the US today and what it was back then, even with the spiraling debt, political unrest, and rising prices, the American people have pulled through so much worse in the past. Maybe I should get a Martin Luther King poster, he was my favorite philosophical activist of the 20th century for his beliefs (albeit idealistic) in love and good always prevailing because it is the highest form of human emotion and action.

If anyone reads the news anymore (igoogle.com!), there have been revolts and uprisings in Tunisia because the people are disgruntled at job problems 100x worse then the US and a corrupt government. There have been public suicide burnings and riots. The President had to flee the country for safety to Saudi Arabia. This whole story is symbolic of the interesting power groups of organized people can have. When the Peasants aren't working there's no food for the Nobles.

My gf came up for the weekend to celebrate her birthday and it was a semi-crazy party! I say semi because she did not overdrink to the point of throwing up or blacking out, much to my happiness. In a way its a last hurrah of the holiday season for me, because I do not have MLK day off like some people. If you look at this article that she gave me, it spells out a funny scenario about why January 17th is the saddest day of the year.

Here we goooooo!

Til next week!

New Beginnings?

Well I started off the year sick, with a fire at our apartment complex, and not getting a lot of sleep sadly.

Every company and website is trying to push "reinvent yourself!" and I wonder how many people these things actually work one. The other day I saw a commercial for Cheerios saying "wouldn't it be great starting off the year eating right, for you and your family's sake?" Geez that's harsh. I mean I like cheerios but still, it makes it sound like I am going to hurt them if i don't reinvent myself with cheerios.

Though I am a big advocate of new years resolutions. They are fun, and sometimes work. My most successful one had been not to lose a nailclipper for an entire year.

Lofty goals this year for me though, but I want this year to be a year of.... being active. Going out, studying away from home, being athletic, traveling, and trying new things.

I really want to go rock climbing, and kayaking, and rafting and go to hawaii, and .... yeah maybe do one of the top 10 manly life experiences:

http://www.askmen.com/top_10/travel/top-10-manly-life-experiences.html

and be more like the dos equis guy!

New years again!

Oh boy, looks like I will only post on this every new year, say that its a new years resolution to say that I will post more, and then fade out like those people with gym memberships.

But NOT THIS TIME....

Anyway, I have 2 new years resolutions:

One is to push errands to the weekend so I can get them out of the way at once and save the weekdays for relaxing/working out/sleeping/studying. I'll make lists of things I need to do over the week.

Another is to hang out with GOOD friends at least 3 times a week. I don't want to become one of those people that forgets about having friends and people that he found unique or special.

All of these random ones are flooding into my mind now but I need to cut it there! Sometimes my posts get too long and I ramble so there will be no more of that even though I believe I give good information and I want to put my thoughts down somewhere to be saved and so that others can.... ok rambling.

Anyway, More blogging!

Check out this cool picture of this guy!

From here!
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132482428/into-the-tunnels-exploring-the-underside-of-nyc