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!

Day 31: I left my heart

Lots of cities maintain unconventional sculptures whose purpose is to add to the dynamic of the urban landscape (yeah urban sociology!). These structures aren't necessarily the most widely known landmarks (come on, did anyone of you who actually read my blog really know about the Chicago Bean till I blogged about it), and their purpose or interpretation fairly ambiguous.

Someone's particular interpretation of this sculpture I found on yelp went like this:
It could be a comment on the human condition of relationships, where the arrows of our intent end up going awry or just never getting launched.

Deep.

Day 30: the best incentive to buy a house in this market

Remind me if I ever decide to invest in real estate to go through this guy. Who can turn down the appeal of a free pizza with every house purchase?

Day 29: home is just a place to put your stuff down

Since moving back with my parents, I've had to move most of my possessions into a storage unit, leaving my important belongings (my poor dogs playing poker poster) away from regular access to me.

Hard to imagine I managed to fit the past 23 years, 2 months and 13 days of my life into a narrow 5' x 2' storage room.

Day 28: every rose has its thorn

San Jose State's Tower Hall

Every big name university has a signature building on campus that is there for the sheer purpose of adding character to its otherwise uncharacteristic structures. This is the building that will show up on every ad, every webpage, every ID card. Why? Because all academics or sports aside, this is the defining characteristic of your university's environment. UCLA has its Royce Hall, Berkeley has its Sather Tower, Cal State Hayward has Warren Hall and Chabot College has that one big building in the middle, I guess:

The same could be said of city skylines. Every major city has at least one or two buildings that define the character of a city since you won't find it anywhere else. New York? Empire State Building. Chicago? Sears Tower. San Francisco? Golden Gate Bridge or TransAmerica Pyramid. Hayward? Uh...the Hayward Shoreline Building?

Day 27: too legit to quit

Finally put that wine making kit to work, since if it's gonna be a whole month (and possibly years after that!) before my wine is completely ready, I've gotta start now!

In the meantime, I think I'm going to invest in the beer making kit...

but I'm not finished

Ever heard of formspring.me? If you've been a facebook user for at least over 3 years now, you may remember an old app named "honesty box" in which a user can anonymously post something on your wall without their identity being revealed. This led to compliments, insults, and professions of love to be communicated in the most passive aggressive manner possible (online...on facebook...anonymously? wimp.)

Never used it? Well I already explained half the program anyway. Moving on, this version allows users to anonymously (if they'd like) to ask you questions, at which point you may respond and post the answers on twitter or facebook or what have you. This is mostly just another thing for me to check while I whittle away in a cubicle at work, but I do insist, please ask me something...anything!

To start it off, here's the first canned question I had to answer:

What TV show do you wish would go off the air for good?

I hate to admit it, but I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I wish someone would just put The Simpsons out of its misery. Those who know me (and those who have seen my car, thanks to the little Homer I have in the back) know that I'm an ardent fan of everything about the show...from everything before 1998.

Up until then, the show was comedy cold. It was subtle, sarcastic, made intelligent references to historical, religious, and pop culture...and was still hilarious nonetheless. I say Simpsons references out loud in applicable situations around people, to see if anyone catches it...and normally I'm disappointed (fun fact @letiziat, @joanrose..."well, we'll see about that!" was a Simpsons reference). Hell, even most of the titles of my posts on my blog are a Simpsons reference.

But everything beyond August of 1998? A slow decline towards a family-friendly and genuinely unfunny and tired concept that relies on celebrity cameos for the sake of appearing fresh, and only stays on the air for its cultural legacy (SNL, anyone?)

So I must implore the executives at Fox to please put this show away, before new generations are only aware of the Simpsons we have today and are left with a sour taste in their mouth when Matt Groening (http://www.avclub.com/articles/matt-groening,13984/) finally decides to stop living in denial and actually puts this show to rest.

That, or the Big Bang Theory. God, I hate that show.

"but I'm not finished!" "oh yes you are!"

"his name was 'Amer' or something like that. I was like, couldn't you be named Joe or Paul or something?"
-TT

Day 26: this little light of wine...I'm gonna let it shine

It's always been on my bucket list to make my own wine, and tonight, I got a little bit closer to doing so. Thanks to a $60 kit (I shopped around, believe me), I've got everything I need to make a legit merlot in as little as 31 days. Of course, I'd have to age it for a few years after that to really let it mature, but all the more reason to start as soon as possible.

So what to name this vintage 2010 red blend, aged in the bedroom of a 4th floor condo in South San Francisco? In celebration of the times, I was thinking maybe "Recession Red," and when I get to making a pinot grigio, possibly "Working Class White." Thoughts?

Day 25: maybe on a librarian’s salary…

Since my local library decided to close for 4 months without warning, I've been on sort of a hunt for other not as close but still pretty local places to feed my desire for free books (and sometimes, cds). This is the 3rd different library I've been to in the past few weeks and what did I decide to check out this time? The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick, which takes place in an alternate reality in which FDR was assassinated in 1932 and the United States lost the war and was split into warring factions between the Germans and the Japanese, and The Gospel according to the Simpsons : The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family, which, I guess, is pretty self-explanatory.

Day 24: something with this picture isn't right

Hey man! Those are bushes on the side of a freeway exit! Not a parking space!

Day 23: captains of obviousness

Restaurants have a thing for putting up signs that state the clearly obvious...for usually, not so obvious reasons.

I'm guessing this was kind of a liability kinda thing. Patron opens bathroom door, patron #2 is walking in front swinging open door, said swinging open door breaks patron #2's nose. Patron #2 sues restaurant for building a bathroom door that swings open and suddenly, Burma Superstar no longer exists and future generations would no longer be able to enjoy their rainbow salad.

BONUS: this picture wasn't taken the same day or at the same restaurant, but I guess I'm just trying to drive a point:

Day 22: pictures of the sky are so cliche

On my commute home, I saw that San Francisco was on fire tonight. Anyone else notice this?

Baby Eli part 2 (w/ pics!)

Baby Eli Emmanuel Solomon was born December 6th, 2009, at 2:30pm, somewhere in Cebu, Philippines. He was 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

I am now officially "Uncle Mark." Or, since the baby was born in the Philippines, does that make me "Tito Mark?"

I know, I posted that information already on a previous post, but as promised, I'm finally posting up pictures of said nephew. These are the first pics we've seen of him since he was born, some, 6 or 7 weeks ago, and it looks like he's turning out to be a very healthy and fat baby. He even has his uncle's beer belly.






"For the first time ever, I finally saw the pictures of my nephew. I think that made my week..."
-MVS