Day 59: you're still doing it wrong

that's the strangest looking chocolate donut I've ever seen...

Day 58: so this is what it feels like to be a FIDM student?

Today, I helped turn this:

Into this:


I can't remember the last time I spent an afternoon pulling out rusty nails from old moldy chairs. Or if I ever had a reason to.

Day 57: has it been a month already?

Yes. Yes it has. And though I haven't had the chance to try it since I've bottled it (I guess I should let it age for a little bit after bottling), I will definitely let you all know (and for those of you who I promised a sip, I'm saving a bottle for you.

Day 56: the high cost of free parking

What may seem like a really convenient and nifty service provided by the city's parking lots, something like this is only perpetuating the City of San Jose's reliance on vehicles and under-utilization of its mass transit system, much unlike San Francisco's general plan to make the city itself "non-parking friendly" (and really, the fact that I was able to be stopped in traffic long enough to take a picture like this is a bad enough sign already).

Me? Indoctrinated by my urban planning classes to be anti-car? No way.

Day 55: municipality

Spent an uncharacteristic-of-my-routine-evening at San Jose last night to attend a lecture that was put on by an old professor of mine (no, he didn't remember me). In getting to know this new city of my educational residence, I was able to check out its city hall.

Hm. City halls are a symbol of local government, an icon for the city it governs. A city hall is meant to have some sort of cultural significance, to give off an aura of grandeur, like in San Francisco:

Hell, San Francisco's city hall is even nicer than Wyoming's State Building

Or something historic and iconic, like the Los Angeles city hall that has shown up in so many films throughout the past century:

Or even Oakland's city hall, whose main purpose is so Oakland can say it has at least one nice building:

even then...

But San Jose's? For the most populous city in the bay area and the self-proclaimed "Capitol of Silicon Valley" it's hideous and looks like it's supposed to be on the moon or something (which, considering that Google Earth has extended to Google Moon, was probably their intention).

Day 54: no pressure

There it is, people. Contained in those mainframes are the complete operations of transit.511.org. There you see $10 million worth in security, technology, and transit data. And there you see sitting on top of it my binder with instructions on how to not screw the whole system up, and on top of that, my tea.

Let's hope my inherent clumsiness doesn't affect things too much.

Day 53: so am I!

I am now the proud owner of a dual monitor set up in my cubicle! The fact that I'm so excited about it is probably a sign that I'm moving up in the company. It's also probably a sign that I've realized that...

I'm A Nerd

The Simpsons | MySpace Video

Day 52: lard lad

My god, even the sign itself looks appetizing. For those of you who frequent the LA/Inglewood area, find your way to Randy's.

Krispy Kreme ain't got nothin' on these.

Day 51: what happens in...

After a long night of sleeping in a Vegas hospital waiting room chair, you'd have to forgive me for not looking up and noticing this until after I finished my 8am brunch buffet prime rib.

Day 50: vegas bound

Yeah, yeah. Virgin America's blacklight cabins are nothing new to most people. 

But I've only flown this airline once before, so I still think it's awesome.

Just for kicks, I'm actually writing this on my phone and in the plane in midair. Free wireless internet mid-flight for the win. For the win again, people.

Day 49: I am fulls of win

Remember this? Well, apparently, SJSU parking enforcement is just as incompetent as UCLA's, since they both seem to have fallen for the "last week's parking ticket" trick.

Free parking for the win, people. For the win.

Day 48: non-profit

Now there's a workspace I wouldn't mind working in. Well lit, brightly colored walls, no cubicles walls to deter employee interaction...the place is a far cry from the corporate America I've come to know and become a slave to.

Day 47: but over there, they just call it "pizza"

For those of you who I liked enough to spend money on air-rushing Chicago style deep dish pizzas, you'll recognize this as the box that arrived at your apartments per your requests. Considering I had this one sent to myself, I guess that yes, indeed, someone does like me.

Day 46: the rock tumbler or the tv?

Been helping a couple of my friends alot lately this past month since they've recently moved into a new apartment. Lacking a vehicle of their own, I've been called upon to help them pick up random (but cheap!) furniture they've been able to find on craigslist. In return for the possible back problems I'll have in the future from lifting tables and bookcases up a tiny stairwell, I came away with this huge ass TV from them for a steal at only $25. Woohoo.

Day 45: the first rule of...

As an alternative to Singles Awareness Day, if in San Francisco, one can attend the Great San Francisco Pillow Fight, a massive collection of those bitter dateless singles or those looking to vent their frustation on their fellow man (with a soft and fluffy pillow, of course).

Caught in a sea of a drunken pillowy mosh pit, people were breaking off into straight up pillow fight duels to organized charging routines that would be able to push a whole crowd of thousands back. And of course when you mix hundreds of shameless young adults and big public settings with intentions to attack one another, there's bound to be a mess:

The event asked everyone to clean up afterwards...but really? Yeah right.

I don't think that these pictures do the event justice (cause it really is one of those 'you had to have been there' kinda things), so I took the liberty of uploading a video of this chaotic event so those of you who never made it or are simply deathly afraid of cotton can experience it for yourself.

at 0:04, Yes, my camera gets whacked by a pillow. thank goodness for the strap
at 0:21, Yes, that guy was doing the best Schwarzenegger impression he could while under the influence of inhaled feathers
and at 0:47, No, I don't know where that big explosion of feathers came from. all I knew is that it made people swing their pillows even faster

Day 44: I choo choo choose you

The other half and I aren't staunch believers in the holiday that has some sort of affiliation with Saint Valentine, and as such, we decided to "celebrate" with a dinner the night before and don't have anything in particular planned for the day of.

What do we see here? A candlelight dinner at home: "heart" shaped pizza from Chicago, sangria, and brownies baking in the oven. (cue obligatory 'awws') Sometimes, even I'm sickened by me.

Day 43: escher

My cousin made dinner tonight, and she just had to post it on her 365 project too. So I took a picture of her taking a picture for her 365 picture project, so I could post it as a picture on my 365 picture project.

Day 42: I did it again

Back in the day when I lived west of the wood, I made it a point to never have to pay for furniture for my apartment, since rich kids moving out of their old apartments left behind their nice stuff just laying on the streets. Every year around the middle (graduation) to the end (end of year-leases) of June, moving trucks and family vans packed the streets of Westwood, ready to shuttle off one generation of college students so the next generation can move into their first apartments.

There were many instances when these students just couldn't fit or just simply didn't need some of their larger furniture to wherever they were going next. This resulted in an abundance of couches, tables, desks, coffee tables, lamps, and many many many bookshelves littered on the streets of this college neighborhood. While the thought of this happening in any other community may be unthinkable, it was a beautiful time for my friends and I. We called this particular period of time "Christmas in Westwood," and it was during this time that we went "shopping" for new furniture, a practice that once resulted in the hoarding of 4 couches, 5 bookshelves, and lord knows how many random chairs into one apartment.

Good times.

Nowadays, as post-graduates and expatriates of the old college towns of yore, furniture is harder to come by. Suddenly, the idea of sleeping on a used and yellowed couch is no longer appealing or acceptable, so we've gotta make do by actually buying furniture ::shudder::

Tonight, I relived those moments when I helped carry a 6 foot tall bookshelf 5 city blocks to some friends' apartment (and San Francisco has really big city blocks, mind you). In return, I got some furniture that they didn't want anymore.

Old habits die hard.

Day 41: we don't get out much, can you tell?

Today at work, we all went out to have have a going away lunch for one of our coworkers who found a new job.

Missing from picture: the guy who's actually going away.

Apparently he forgot we were having this and made prior plans. We already had a reservation for 12, so we all went anyway.

Day 40: you're doing it wrong

I know I know, I'm probably cheating a little here, since I didn't really "take" a picture today, per se. But it's been a slow past few days and I haven't had the chance to break out of my usual routine of wake up, commute, work, commute, eat, study and sleep lately. So gimmie a break. (or gimmiefantastic?)

And so while bashing on the unholy creation that is "Jersey Shore" is nothing new to the world of the internets, I still found the 3 minutes I spent adjusting my face to fit onto the gratuitously tanned bod of "DJ Pauly D" fairly amusing.

Day 39: oh yes.

Just like I said I would.

Day 38: hall of fame

In tribute to Jerry Rice's recent induction into the Hall of Fame and it being Superbowl Sunday, just thought I'd showcase our only decorations for the mini Superbowl party my parents had today.

Suck it Pittsburgh, you may have 6 Superbowl titles, but we're still the only ones with an undefeated record in the big game.

Oh, but good game today, Saints. If I hadn't knocked out during the 3rd quarter due to a multiple-beers-with-a-shot-of-jack-induced slumber, I would've enjoyed seeing the second half heroics.

Day 37: manctuary

Thanks to a friend's ambition to build his own hi-fi room, complete with record player, speakers, tv, video games, and couch in the garage, I have been inspired to to design my own "man cave" (because perhaps, that's what I'm missing in life...a man-tastic man-cave to call my own).

First step? Thanks to woot.com, I was able to pick up a nice flat screen at a fairly decent price. I have never owned a flat screen before ever, but I am looking forward to hooking up the old SNES for a spin soon.

P.S. I am well aware of the irony of a Barbie being in the background of this picture, given the context of this post. This is still my sister's room, after all.

Day 36: not exactly burning man, but...

Waited an hour in line to get into a club/rave tonight. Lady playing with fire was the entertainment for us patient procrastinators. Was my first time to a drug induced dance party ever, but needless to say, thanks to my overexposure to the "alternative lifestyle" back in college, scantily clad guys in their underwear and/or bunny suits and toe up women in fluffy pink legwarmers or rainbow fishnet don't even phase me anymore.

Day 35: just can't catch a break

Oh dammit. Seems I can't seem to escape those assholes at parking enforcement, no matter what school I'm at. Worst part is (as you can see by the photographic evidence) that I actually did pay for parking today! Oh dammit.

But little do these suckers know, they've essentially given me free parking for the rest of the semester. Why? Because I'll always have a ticket on my car now! *wink wink*

Day 34: santos l. halper

BART policy reads:

BART allows pets to be brought aboard at no additional charge. The only requirement is that the pet must be secured in a container that is specifically manufactured for transport of a pet.

Animals at-large or on a leash or harness (other than service dogs) are not allowed.

Ooh, this guy is lucky everyone thought his golden retriever was cute and didn't report anything. Plus, he was able to easily start conversation with so many attractive women.

Hm. Note to self: buy dog. Ride BART.

Day 33: cop out (I couldn't think of anything better to take a pic of)

Today I manned the front door/admin assistant's chair for the first time. So this is what it feels like to be her. Ugh.

Day 32: droopy tree is droopy

someone call a gardener!