My new favorite website is: Stuff White People Like . My words can't describe how hilarious this site is. Word of warning: Don't start reading it unless you have about 2 hours to kill, because you won't be able to stop reading/laughing. The great part is, it's all so true!!
I used to think that white Americans were devoid of a cultural heritage. Do you ever notice how white people cling to any 'interesting' ethnicity that they can find in their family tree? "I'm Irish" usually means "my great-grandmother was Irish but she came to the US 100 years ago and never looked back." (Or on March 17th, when "I'm Irish" means "I like beer".)
Anyway, I had a pretty white day yesterday, so I thought I'd share (all the links here are to posts on the Stuff White People Like site):
I started my day with some coffee, of course. I went into my lab, had a meeting with my adviser, and wrote some code. I brought my own lunch, which consisted largely of products from Trader Joe's.
After class, I went for a run, because I'm sort of training for a 10k. I haven't been training that hard, but I ran my first half-marathon last November so I am still living off of that glory.
At 6, I went to an employer info session. I didn't major in the arts, so I am considering getting my white person status back by working at a non-profit.
While walking home, I called my mom, who drives me crazy. (Now we'll find out if my mom reads my blog or not!)
After dinner, a few of us went to the Tractor Tavern in Ballard to see Slavic Soul Party. I was excited to see them, because I have a few Serbian friends. I thought the concert was amazing! They had an accordion, and a clarinet! I used to play clarinet in marching band. I think marching band might someday make the list of things that white people like. At the concert, we danced
and drank PBR.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Loki Cafe
Today a few of us went to Loki Cafe for brunch. It just opened recently on 45th, and I like to keep up with the Wallingford restaurants, so I have been wanting to try it out.
Quick summary: Not so good. You're better off going to Julia's.
More detailed summary: When I got into the restaurant, it looked crowded but there was no wait, so I thought that was pretty cool. When our waiter asked us what we wanted to drink, I said coffee (of course!) and Sean and Evan both ordered waters. So the waiter brought a coffee and two waters. Now, I realize that I didn't explicitly ask for a water, but who doesn't bring everyone a water? I found that a tad weird.
Then onto our food. Sean order 'chilaquiles', which sounded yummy. Turns out they were out of that, and the huevos rancheros. So he went with the Bagley Breakfast. I *heart* the name, but the breakfast is fairly boring. 2 eggs, hash browns, choice of breakfast-y meat, and toast. YAWN. This is a fine breakfast, however it should not cost more than $5. $9.75 is right out.
I got eggs benedict, which were quite good. I'm willing to pay $10 for those since that's about how much they always cost, and I'm too lazy to buy and use an egg poacher. Our friend Laura ordered a waffle, which looked very thin. Maybe it tasted good, but again, for that kind of waffle volume, we should be looking at under $3.
Finally the coffees. They were good but cost $2.50. I should have looked at the menu, and to be honest I'm sure I would have ordered it anyway. Cause I freakin love coffee. And I especially love getting it at a restaurant cause free refills are the bomb! :) Does anyone say the bomb anymore? Outside of 'somebody set up us the bomb?' Heh heh.
So, the breakfast was fine. And our waiter was not bad, but certainly not giving it 110%. Or even 90%. Overall, it was just too pricey for what it was.
Quick summary: Not so good. You're better off going to Julia's.
More detailed summary: When I got into the restaurant, it looked crowded but there was no wait, so I thought that was pretty cool. When our waiter asked us what we wanted to drink, I said coffee (of course!) and Sean and Evan both ordered waters. So the waiter brought a coffee and two waters. Now, I realize that I didn't explicitly ask for a water, but who doesn't bring everyone a water? I found that a tad weird.
Then onto our food. Sean order 'chilaquiles', which sounded yummy. Turns out they were out of that, and the huevos rancheros. So he went with the Bagley Breakfast. I *heart* the name, but the breakfast is fairly boring. 2 eggs, hash browns, choice of breakfast-y meat, and toast. YAWN. This is a fine breakfast, however it should not cost more than $5. $9.75 is right out.
I got eggs benedict, which were quite good. I'm willing to pay $10 for those since that's about how much they always cost, and I'm too lazy to buy and use an egg poacher. Our friend Laura ordered a waffle, which looked very thin. Maybe it tasted good, but again, for that kind of waffle volume, we should be looking at under $3.
Finally the coffees. They were good but cost $2.50. I should have looked at the menu, and to be honest I'm sure I would have ordered it anyway. Cause I freakin love coffee. And I especially love getting it at a restaurant cause free refills are the bomb! :) Does anyone say the bomb anymore? Outside of 'somebody set up us the bomb?' Heh heh.
So, the breakfast was fine. And our waiter was not bad, but certainly not giving it 110%. Or even 90%. Overall, it was just too pricey for what it was.
Friday, February 22, 2008
My Self Help Book
I just got a book off of Amazon called The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less
.
I started reading it yesterday and I am loving it so far! It's describing a problem that I'm very familiar with - that we are constantly bombarded by an amazing array of choices. I have thought for a long time that I'd probably be happier if I had less choice. I mean, look at me. I changed my major 5 times in college, I went and worked for 2 years and quit, now I've been in grad school for almost 2 years and I want out. I even hate going to the grocery store because I end up spending five minutes trying to decide which granola bars to get. (Or even whether or not I should get granola bars!) I already have a list a mile long of what I want my kids to do because I didn't get to do it at a young enough age to become really proficient: learn how to ski, become fluent in a foreign language, take gymnastics, etc. (The gymnastics is in case they want to become pro wake-boarders - it'll be easier for them to learn how to do flips).
Anyway, I'm only a third of the way through the book, but already I think it will be helpful to me. It's telling me that I am a 'maximizer' rather than a 'satisficer'. There was a little quiz in the book, and one of the questions was something along the lines of "Do you often envision lives for yourself very different from the one you are currently leading?" Um, YES. I am an off-the-charts maximizer!! I am always wanting to see every country in the world, read every magazine in the world, eat at every restaurant in the world. And at the same time be a better daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, student. WTF, mate?
I am feeling hopeful that this is a problem that I can gain control of, and change! I'll keep you posted on whether this book actually helps. I need to move more towards being a 'satificer', who may still have high standards but stops worrying/looking/obsessing over a choice once they find something that meets those standards. I can do this!!
.I started reading it yesterday and I am loving it so far! It's describing a problem that I'm very familiar with - that we are constantly bombarded by an amazing array of choices. I have thought for a long time that I'd probably be happier if I had less choice. I mean, look at me. I changed my major 5 times in college, I went and worked for 2 years and quit, now I've been in grad school for almost 2 years and I want out. I even hate going to the grocery store because I end up spending five minutes trying to decide which granola bars to get. (Or even whether or not I should get granola bars!) I already have a list a mile long of what I want my
Anyway, I'm only a third of the way through the book, but already I think it will be helpful to me. It's telling me that I am a 'maximizer' rather than a 'satisficer'. There was a little quiz in the book, and one of the questions was something along the lines of "Do you often envision lives for yourself very different from the one you are currently leading?" Um, YES. I am an off-the-charts maximizer!! I am always wanting to see every country in the world, read every magazine in the world, eat at every restaurant in the world. And at the same time be a better daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, student. WTF, mate?
I am feeling hopeful that this is a problem that I can gain control of, and change! I'll keep you posted on whether this book actually helps. I need to move more towards being a 'satificer', who may still have high standards but stops worrying/looking/obsessing over a choice once they find something that meets those standards. I can do this!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
6 Word Motto for the US
Earlier today I was reading an article on the Freakonomics blog about picking a 6 word motto for the US.
In today's post, the author picked his top 5, but I was reading through the entries and I found several hilarious ones that he didn't pick. I was reading this at work and started laughing so hard that I had to stop. So, here are my favorites in the order that I read them:
1. Hubris: it’s not just for Greeks!
2. All your oil belong to us.
3. When in doubt, whip it out!
4. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Democracy.
5. That looks nice. It’s mine now.
6. It beats living in Soviet Russia.
7. America….at least we’re not Canada.
8. Do you want fries with that?
9. McDonalds! Walmart! Microsoft! Starbucks! Porn! Christmas!
10. Affordable or not, we’ll buy it.
11. America: bombing you, suing each other.
12. Luckily, our parents left your country.
13. Past performance doesn’t predict future results.
14. Quiet, or we’ll liberate you too!
15. One Nation, Under Canada, Above Mexico.
16. Kick your a$$, take your gas.
Ok I gave up.... I read the first 200 or so, and then realized that I wasn't even close to being done. There were over 1200 submissions!! Well, there's a sampling of the funniest (in my opinion).
In today's post, the author picked his top 5, but I was reading through the entries and I found several hilarious ones that he didn't pick. I was reading this at work and started laughing so hard that I had to stop. So, here are my favorites in the order that I read them:
1. Hubris: it’s not just for Greeks!
2. All your oil belong to us.
3. When in doubt, whip it out!
4. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Democracy.
5. That looks nice. It’s mine now.
6. It beats living in Soviet Russia.
7. America….at least we’re not Canada.
8. Do you want fries with that?
9. McDonalds! Walmart! Microsoft! Starbucks! Porn! Christmas!
10. Affordable or not, we’ll buy it.
11. America: bombing you, suing each other.
12. Luckily, our parents left your country.
13. Past performance doesn’t predict future results.
14. Quiet, or we’ll liberate you too!
15. One Nation, Under Canada, Above Mexico.
16. Kick your a$$, take your gas.
Ok I gave up.... I read the first 200 or so, and then realized that I wasn't even close to being done. There were over 1200 submissions!! Well, there's a sampling of the funniest (in my opinion).
Monday, February 18, 2008
10 Things I Love
10 on Tuesday
Of course I love my family and Sean, but the topic is 10 "things" so I'm skipping people.
10. Riding public transportation. I can zone out so easily, and I often get my best ideas on the bus.
9. Reading magazines. I used to love reading novels too, but don't seem to have that much time for that these days. Partly because of my magazine addiction. :) I subscribe to Business Week, and if I have time I also love to read The Economist, Utne Reader, Seattle Metropolitan, any/all travel mags. Next one I'd like to try out is Foreign Policy.
8. Scrubs! My favorite tv show for the past several years.
7. Internet Radio. I love music in all forms. I like terrestrial radio too, believe it or not, but of course you can't beat commercial free (and sometimes customizable) internet radio!
6. Running. I think it might be more accurate to say I love the feeling I have just after finishing a run. During the run I'm not always super happy. But when I am in decent shape, I can relax while running and it's a fantastic stress reliever.
5. The smell of green chilis being roasted. I can't begin to describe this. All I can say is that it releases endorphins in my brian. I'm sure it is the best smell on earth. Haven't smelled it since I left Tucson!
4. New socks. So nice! Just bought 3 pairs recently from Fred Meyer.
3. Surprises. A random phone call or email, or bumping into someone I haven't seen for awhile. A nice card or present that I wasn't expecting. I love being surprised!
2. Traveling. I love stepping off of an airplane in a new location. This is a big rush for me.
1. Surfing! Once when I was 18 I caught a wave on a boogie board. This might be the coolest feeling I have experienced in my life. Every time I go surfing I get to feel that feeling again.
It was really hard to narrow it down to 10 things. I guess it's good to know that I love a lot of stuff. I might post the runner up list tomorrow.
Of course I love my family and Sean, but the topic is 10 "things" so I'm skipping people.
10. Riding public transportation. I can zone out so easily, and I often get my best ideas on the bus.
9. Reading magazines. I used to love reading novels too, but don't seem to have that much time for that these days. Partly because of my magazine addiction. :) I subscribe to Business Week, and if I have time I also love to read The Economist, Utne Reader, Seattle Metropolitan, any/all travel mags. Next one I'd like to try out is Foreign Policy.
8. Scrubs! My favorite tv show for the past several years.
7. Internet Radio. I love music in all forms. I like terrestrial radio too, believe it or not, but of course you can't beat commercial free (and sometimes customizable) internet radio!
6. Running. I think it might be more accurate to say I love the feeling I have just after finishing a run. During the run I'm not always super happy. But when I am in decent shape, I can relax while running and it's a fantastic stress reliever.
5. The smell of green chilis being roasted. I can't begin to describe this. All I can say is that it releases endorphins in my brian. I'm sure it is the best smell on earth. Haven't smelled it since I left Tucson!
4. New socks. So nice! Just bought 3 pairs recently from Fred Meyer.
3. Surprises. A random phone call or email, or bumping into someone I haven't seen for awhile. A nice card or present that I wasn't expecting. I love being surprised!
2. Traveling. I love stepping off of an airplane in a new location. This is a big rush for me.
1. Surfing! Once when I was 18 I caught a wave on a boogie board. This might be the coolest feeling I have experienced in my life. Every time I go surfing I get to feel that feeling again.
It was really hard to narrow it down to 10 things. I guess it's good to know that I love a lot of stuff. I might post the runner up list tomorrow.
Out and About: Dad in Seattle
My dad came to Seattle for the first time ever last weekend. This is a big deal because he doesn't leave his midwestern stomping grounds very often.
Here's the run-down of the fun stuff he did while he was here.
1. Pike's Place. My aunt took my dad here, and they ate at the Athenian.
2. Salmon! My aunt cooks an awesome sockeye salmon. You just can't get anything like it in MN.
3. Mosaic. We stopped here Saturday to grab a coffee. Mosaic is one of my favorite places in Seattle. It's a coffee house that does not charge for their coffee, it only takes donations. I was a little nervous the first one or two times I went there, because it's in a church. But no one ever preaches to you there. It's just a coffee shop, and happens to be an awesome place to study!! Free wi-fi, plenty of outlets, never too crowded. I only wish it were open later than 9pm!
4. Dick's. After Mosaic, we went and grabbed cheeseburgers for lunch. Just found out while writing this that Dick's has a website. Thank goodness. This should put an end to the constant bickering about how much Dick's starting wage is (yes, I feel a need to stay current on this. Don't ask.)
5. Smith tower. Nice URL on that one. This tower was super cool!! Hate to say it, but way more character than the Space Needle. And only $6 for entrance for students and seniors. I learned that most of the pyramid on top is actually a penthouse! And I'm 99% positive that the woman who chatted with us as we were waiting for the elevator was the one who lives in it.
6. Bremerton ferry. Ferry rides are an awesome way to see the water and some great views of Seattle!! My aunt and I agree that the Bremerton one is the best bang for the buck, since it's an hour ride and only costs $6.70 per person, round trip.
7. Stevens. Early Sunday morning, we took off for Stevens Pass. My dad hadn't been skiing since 1990!! Being 61 years old, I think he was a little worried about breaking a hip. But, he did awesome!! I tried to take him up Daisy Chair (the green runs), but I had never been on that chair, so I looked at the map but still got messed up and took him up Hogsback. The funny part was, as we were almost to the front of the line at Hogsback, this lady just completely wiped out for no reason whatsoever. So I was sure we were in the beginner line! :) Dad did great on the blue though, and only fell once! Throughout the day he got way more comfortable and was doing all the blues no problem by the time we finished.
The bummer was that someone accidentally took my skiis!! There was another pair that looked identical on the next rack over. But I knew they weren't mine because a) my poles were where I left them (but sans skiis), and b) my feet didn't fit in those bindings. So, I had to file a stolen skiis report with the lost and found, and now I need to call the police just to make it official. Of course I didn't have the serial number of the skiis, so I'm pretty much SOL unless the goofball figures out that they have the wrong skiis and returns them.
8. Duke's Chowder. The trip home from Stevens took forEVER.... Stevens was crazy busy on Sunday, probably due to the long weekend. So we were stuck crawling from Gold Bar to Monroe. I wanted to take my dad to Red Mill, since he loves cheeseburgers, but we got there at 8pm, just as it was closing!! No love! That's fine Red Mill. Some people say that your burgers are too greasy anyways. We took our business to Duke's Chowder, which was awesome as usual! MMMMMMMMM their award winning chowder is a bowl of creamy heaven. And my dad tried a new food, which is kind of a big deal for him! :)
That's it! I did also try to bring him to Big Time on Saturday night, but he wanted to sleep. Reasonable enough. I think he had an awesome time, and the weather could not have been nicer while he was here!! I've never been that warm at Steven's. And lucky for us, my dad carries sunscreen everywhere he goes.
Here's the run-down of the fun stuff he did while he was here.
1. Pike's Place. My aunt took my dad here, and they ate at the Athenian.
2. Salmon! My aunt cooks an awesome sockeye salmon. You just can't get anything like it in MN.
3. Mosaic. We stopped here Saturday to grab a coffee. Mosaic is one of my favorite places in Seattle. It's a coffee house that does not charge for their coffee, it only takes donations. I was a little nervous the first one or two times I went there, because it's in a church. But no one ever preaches to you there. It's just a coffee shop, and happens to be an awesome place to study!! Free wi-fi, plenty of outlets, never too crowded. I only wish it were open later than 9pm!
4. Dick's. After Mosaic, we went and grabbed cheeseburgers for lunch. Just found out while writing this that Dick's has a website. Thank goodness. This should put an end to the constant bickering about how much Dick's starting wage is (yes, I feel a need to stay current on this. Don't ask.)
5. Smith tower. Nice URL on that one. This tower was super cool!! Hate to say it, but way more character than the Space Needle. And only $6 for entrance for students and seniors. I learned that most of the pyramid on top is actually a penthouse! And I'm 99% positive that the woman who chatted with us as we were waiting for the elevator was the one who lives in it.
6. Bremerton ferry. Ferry rides are an awesome way to see the water and some great views of Seattle!! My aunt and I agree that the Bremerton one is the best bang for the buck, since it's an hour ride and only costs $6.70 per person, round trip.
7. Stevens. Early Sunday morning, we took off for Stevens Pass. My dad hadn't been skiing since 1990!! Being 61 years old, I think he was a little worried about breaking a hip. But, he did awesome!! I tried to take him up Daisy Chair (the green runs), but I had never been on that chair, so I looked at the map but still got messed up and took him up Hogsback. The funny part was, as we were almost to the front of the line at Hogsback, this lady just completely wiped out for no reason whatsoever. So I was sure we were in the beginner line! :) Dad did great on the blue though, and only fell once! Throughout the day he got way more comfortable and was doing all the blues no problem by the time we finished.
The bummer was that someone accidentally took my skiis!! There was another pair that looked identical on the next rack over. But I knew they weren't mine because a) my poles were where I left them (but sans skiis), and b) my feet didn't fit in those bindings. So, I had to file a stolen skiis report with the lost and found, and now I need to call the police just to make it official. Of course I didn't have the serial number of the skiis, so I'm pretty much SOL unless the goofball figures out that they have the wrong skiis and returns them.
8. Duke's Chowder. The trip home from Stevens took forEVER.... Stevens was crazy busy on Sunday, probably due to the long weekend. So we were stuck crawling from Gold Bar to Monroe. I wanted to take my dad to Red Mill, since he loves cheeseburgers, but we got there at 8pm, just as it was closing!! No love! That's fine Red Mill. Some people say that your burgers are too greasy anyways. We took our business to Duke's Chowder, which was awesome as usual! MMMMMMMMM their award winning chowder is a bowl of creamy heaven. And my dad tried a new food, which is kind of a big deal for him! :)
That's it! I did also try to bring him to Big Time on Saturday night, but he wanted to sleep. Reasonable enough. I think he had an awesome time, and the weather could not have been nicer while he was here!! I've never been that warm at Steven's. And lucky for us, my dad carries sunscreen everywhere he goes.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Thursday Thirteen
 |
1. Slave - Watching You I'm going through a bit of a funk phase... this song is so awesome, it's the song that Snoop Dogg sampled for Gin and Juice. 2. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black . I thought this song was supposed to be super popular right now, but I never hear it on the radio. Why is this? I have been listening to Top 40... maybe Amy Winehouse isn't in that category? I think I first heard this song on Radio Paradise. 3. Jake Shimabukuro - While My Guitar Gently Weeps .Another one from the RP (radio paradise). Most new songs I find now come from there. 4. Kooks - She Moves in Her Own Way . Fun, happy song. 5. Beck - Think I'm In Love .6. The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost .7. Soulja Boy - Crank Dat Soulja Boy (Superman) . I heard a rumor that this song was only sold online. If that's true, it's pretty cool. It's always fun to watch me (a white chic) do the dance too. 8. Timbaland - The Way I Are .What can I say? I'm a big sucker for the songs where couples sing about how they are in love and they don't need money. I love 'Forever in Blue Jeans' too. 9. Amadou & Mariam - Senegal Fast-Food .Has Manu Chao in it. Love it. 10. Joni Mitchell - Jericho .I think she could be singing about taking out the garbage and it would sound beautiful. 11. Sugarhill Gang - Apache .My dear friend Gillian dedicated this song to me on Facebook. Ever since then it has been in my head. If you actually listen to the lyrics they are extremely hilarious!! Not to mention it's the perfect song to wake yourself up in the morning. 12. Conjure One - Make a Wish .13. Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats . My roomie Evan introduced me to this one, it was on a Sony Bravia commercial. |
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Mathetry
Ok, if you have a better way to combine the words math and poetry, let me know! :)
My friend Sergey recently let me read a couple of his poems, and there was one that I just had to put on Engineering is Cool.
More Sergey poems here
How often do you see the term "equivalence class" in a poem? Not often enough, that's how often! I don't know much about poetry, but I do know that there isn't much in this world that is more beautiful than a class whose elements are reflexive, symmetric, and transitive.
My friend Sergey recently let me read a couple of his poems, and there was one that I just had to put on Engineering is Cool.
The avant-garde isn't dead;
a proof by
contradiction.
Assume the avant-garde is dead.
Then there is nothing new under the sun.
Since the number of ideas is now fixed
at some positive integer k,
there will eventually be one individual
who will study each and every idea,
1,2,...,k.
But that individual can create an idea,
numbered k + 1,
that is unlike everything
else
already in creation. Then the (k+1)st idea
will be avant-garde.
QED.
More Sergey poems here
How often do you see the term "equivalence class" in a poem? Not often enough, that's how often! I don't know much about poetry, but I do know that there isn't much in this world that is more beautiful than a class whose elements are reflexive, symmetric, and transitive.
Whistler Part II (no poutine for Amy)
The exciting finale of my Whistler trip....
While we were skiing, Josh tried to take a picture of Sean and I, but pointed the camera the wrong way and took a picture of his eye.
Later, he took this nice picture of my North Face and I, trying to look happy as we freeze to death on the mountain. It sure is pretty though.
Lunch was fun! I somehow didn't notice that they had poutine at the lodge, (dang it!) so I settled for chicken alfredo pasta. We talked to some nice people sitting across from us at our table, who happened to work at Microsoft, or "the Soft", as Josh calls it. Not too surprising - many people I talked to that day were from Seattle.
In the evening, we had dinner at the DELICIOUS OSF . Just in case I didn't get enough pasta at lunch. Word of warning - the Old Spaghetti Factory in Seattle will let you bring your own wine for a small corking fee, but that wasn't the case at Whistler.
Then we met up with my Tucson friends, who were renting two condos up there. I was thinking about showering, since I hadn't done that in the morning, but they wanted to start drinking right away! So we hit up the Brew Pub, which was a close walk from our condos, and then went clubbin' with the youngsters at a new place called Moe Joe's. You can hardly tell that I hadn't showered in over a day! :)
Sunday we slept in. I love skiing, but I just couldn't be asked to pay another 70-ish dollars to get snow-blasted and ski blindly through fog. Not to mention I was extremely exhausted! It was fanstastic sleeping in, then waking up and having some coffee and a little web-surf.
In the afternoon it started to snow very heavily, which was a) beautiful, and b) allowed me to fulfill one of my life's dreams. To sit in a hot tub while it is snowing! Ahh sweet success.
The drive home was pleasant... I entertained the masses with some tunes from my Nokia 5300. We were planning on eating some poutine (finally!) in Vancouver for dinner, but got slightly lost. We ended up in Sean's hometown of Langley, where we at a White Spot (Canada's answer to Denny's.) Our server was incredibly nice - he said that he knew we were American because there was a hockey game on and we weren't watching it!
Eh?
While we were skiing, Josh tried to take a picture of Sean and I, but pointed the camera the wrong way and took a picture of his eye.
Later, he took this nice picture of my North Face and I, trying to look happy as we freeze to death on the mountain. It sure is pretty though.
Lunch was fun! I somehow didn't notice that they had poutine at the lodge, (dang it!) so I settled for chicken alfredo pasta. We talked to some nice people sitting across from us at our table, who happened to work at Microsoft, or "the Soft", as Josh calls it. Not too surprising - many people I talked to that day were from Seattle.
In the evening, we had dinner at the DELICIOUS OSF . Just in case I didn't get enough pasta at lunch. Word of warning - the Old Spaghetti Factory in Seattle will let you bring your own wine for a small corking fee, but that wasn't the case at Whistler.
Then we met up with my Tucson friends, who were renting two condos up there. I was thinking about showering, since I hadn't done that in the morning, but they wanted to start drinking right away! So we hit up the Brew Pub, which was a close walk from our condos, and then went clubbin' with the youngsters at a new place called Moe Joe's. You can hardly tell that I hadn't showered in over a day! :)
Sunday we slept in. I love skiing, but I just couldn't be asked to pay another 70-ish dollars to get snow-blasted and ski blindly through fog. Not to mention I was extremely exhausted! It was fanstastic sleeping in, then waking up and having some coffee and a little web-surf.
In the afternoon it started to snow very heavily, which was a) beautiful, and b) allowed me to fulfill one of my life's dreams. To sit in a hot tub while it is snowing! Ahh sweet success.
The drive home was pleasant... I entertained the masses with some tunes from my Nokia 5300. We were planning on eating some poutine (finally!) in Vancouver for dinner, but got slightly lost. We ended up in Sean's hometown of Langley, where we at a White Spot (Canada's answer to Denny's.) Our server was incredibly nice - he said that he knew we were American because there was a hockey game on and we weren't watching it!
Eh?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Out and About in: Whistler
Last weekend I went to Whistler with Sean and my cousin Josh. It was a blast!
Friday afternoon/evening: Josh, Sean and I drive off into the sunset. (Well, north).
On the way there we stop for bagels at The Bagelry in Bellingham. Bellingham was just as adorable as I'd imagined it. As we ate our bagels at the window counter, we were treated to a view of the main drag, including the feed store across the street. Too cute!
We also stopped in a McDonald's close to the border, where Josh crawled into the tubes in the indoor play area. I guess people are friendlier in northern WA, because 3 girls followed him in there! (Nothing happened... or so he claims!)
One more stop at the duty free store to buy alcohol and wine gums, and then off to Whistler!
On our way up, we were chatting with Josh about his current unemployment. He is actually my hero right now, because he's collecting unemployment insurance and just working part-time as a ski instructor. What a life! He describes it like this, "It's just like being a stay at home parent. Except there's no kids." LOL.
At about 9:30 pm, we arrive at staff housing at Blackcomb mountain. Some of the cars seemed to have been parked there for quite a while.
My friend Ryan is working at Whistler in the ski rental place all winter, so we crashed at staff with him and his 3 roommates. It was kind of hilarious to be back in a dorm after ~10 years. The majority of the staff is about 19-20 years old, and we happened to arrive on payday. Ryan told us that payday = mayhem, so we figured we better go out to Whistler Village and see for ourselves. We went to a bar called Longhorns. (I just checked out the website and I'd say the site is a bit nicer than the actually bar). There was a nice cover band playing there, which almost made up for the fact that our beers cost over $5 each (for Kokanee, Canada's answer to PBR) and that the bar smelled like vomit.
Saturday morning: Went skiing!
Didn't quite get up at the crack of dawn as planned, but did get onto the mountain at a somewhat reasonable time. The mountain is enormous!! I saw a 'bubble lift' for the first time, which was cool! Actually, it was a little claustrophobic, because with all the snow and ice crusted on the bubble you can't see where you're going. Ryan led us up to 7th Heaven, where I got a free microdermabrasion treatment in the form of snow blasting my face.
To be continued....
Friday afternoon/evening: Josh, Sean and I drive off into the sunset. (Well, north).
On the way there we stop for bagels at The Bagelry in Bellingham. Bellingham was just as adorable as I'd imagined it. As we ate our bagels at the window counter, we were treated to a view of the main drag, including the feed store across the street. Too cute!
We also stopped in a McDonald's close to the border, where Josh crawled into the tubes in the indoor play area. I guess people are friendlier in northern WA, because 3 girls followed him in there! (Nothing happened... or so he claims!)
One more stop at the duty free store to buy alcohol and wine gums, and then off to Whistler!
On our way up, we were chatting with Josh about his current unemployment. He is actually my hero right now, because he's collecting unemployment insurance and just working part-time as a ski instructor. What a life! He describes it like this, "It's just like being a stay at home parent. Except there's no kids." LOL.
At about 9:30 pm, we arrive at staff housing at Blackcomb mountain. Some of the cars seemed to have been parked there for quite a while.
My friend Ryan is working at Whistler in the ski rental place all winter, so we crashed at staff with him and his 3 roommates. It was kind of hilarious to be back in a dorm after ~10 years. The majority of the staff is about 19-20 years old, and we happened to arrive on payday. Ryan told us that payday = mayhem, so we figured we better go out to Whistler Village and see for ourselves. We went to a bar called Longhorns. (I just checked out the website and I'd say the site is a bit nicer than the actually bar). There was a nice cover band playing there, which almost made up for the fact that our beers cost over $5 each (for Kokanee, Canada's answer to PBR) and that the bar smelled like vomit.
Saturday morning: Went skiing!
Didn't quite get up at the crack of dawn as planned, but did get onto the mountain at a somewhat reasonable time. The mountain is enormous!! I saw a 'bubble lift' for the first time, which was cool! Actually, it was a little claustrophobic, because with all the snow and ice crusted on the bubble you can't see where you're going. Ryan led us up to 7th Heaven, where I got a free microdermabrasion treatment in the form of snow blasting my face. To be continued....
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I'm an Author!
My friend Ravi in Tucson started a website recently, called thepapr , which is a fun citizen-journalism website. I really wanted to post something on there, but it's not like Digg where you just post other people's stuff. You have to actually write something. Well, what do I know a lot about? Unix!! Hee hee. So I wrote an article about unix tips, much of which was condensed from my various rants on this site.
If you want to read it, it's here . If unix bores you, I totally understand and am not offended. *smile*
If you want to read it, it's here . If unix bores you, I totally understand and am not offended. *smile*
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
10 Things You Can Do Instead of Watching TV
10 on Tuesday
This is my first meme.... yay! A milestone in the life of a blogger. I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, cause I couldn't figure out how to get the nice 10 on Tuesday graphic on here. If anyone knows, please let me know! :)
I don't really watch much tv, unless I'm sick. Most of my day is spent trying to find ways to avoid working, and then there are a few unfortunate hours where I actually do work. That being said, here's my list of 10 ideas for non-tv-watching:
10. Work. Come on, I'm in grad school. I had to say it.
9. Make phone calls. I always have a few people who I'm meaning to call. This isn't a light undertaking for me though. Usually
when I get on the phone with one of my girlfriends it's at least 40 minutes to an hour.
8. Listen to internet radio. This is one of my favorite things to do these days. Usually pandora or radioparadise.
7. Play a board game. A while ago I played the game Apples to Apples with a bunch of friends. I couldn't believe how hilarious it was!
I think this game needs kind of a big group, but it's worth expending some effort to get a game going.
6. Go for a walk. Or drive - if you HATE mother earth! ;) These are nice things to do with your significant other, or a good friend.
When I was in Tucson I discovered the best drive! Go to Valencia and Mission and take Mission south all the way to Duval Mine Road. Then, take Duval Mine back over to I-19 to get back quickly. It probably takes 45 minutes to go down Mission but it's a really neat drive - you pass lots of fun stuff like ranches and old mines.
5. Read a magazine. I love magazines! If I could, I would sit around and read magazines all day. If I go to heaven, I will be surrounded by magazines and really comfy chairs. And coffees! As a side note, I found out yesterday what would happen if I were to go to hell. It would be the inside of a store called Cartoys. (I like loud music, but I just can't think of anything more boring than car accessories.)
4. Stretch. This was supposed to be one of my New Year's resolutions. Oops.
3. Facebooking. I sometimes actually consider this a chore, but I just got into the "Lil Green Patch" thing. You can annoy your friends by sending them requests every day, AND you can save the rainforest at the same time!! You can't beat that.
2. Floss. I got a cavity filled today. It sucked. Actually you can floss while watching tv. But if you're trying to avoid tv you can also floss while reading a nice blog or news article on the web.
1. Buy yourself something. Today I bought myself a nice delicious cheeseburger from Dick's. Mmmmmmm. Happiness in a little yellow wrapper.
This is my first meme.... yay! A milestone in the life of a blogger. I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, cause I couldn't figure out how to get the nice 10 on Tuesday graphic on here. If anyone knows, please let me know! :)
I don't really watch much tv, unless I'm sick. Most of my day is spent trying to find ways to avoid working, and then there are a few unfortunate hours where I actually do work. That being said, here's my list of 10 ideas for non-tv-watching:
10. Work. Come on, I'm in grad school. I had to say it.
9. Make phone calls. I always have a few people who I'm meaning to call. This isn't a light undertaking for me though. Usually
when I get on the phone with one of my girlfriends it's at least 40 minutes to an hour.
8. Listen to internet radio. This is one of my favorite things to do these days. Usually pandora or radioparadise.
7. Play a board game. A while ago I played the game Apples to Apples with a bunch of friends. I couldn't believe how hilarious it was!
I think this game needs kind of a big group, but it's worth expending some effort to get a game going.
6. Go for a walk. Or drive - if you HATE mother earth! ;) These are nice things to do with your significant other, or a good friend.
When I was in Tucson I discovered the best drive! Go to Valencia and Mission and take Mission south all the way to Duval Mine Road. Then, take Duval Mine back over to I-19 to get back quickly. It probably takes 45 minutes to go down Mission but it's a really neat drive - you pass lots of fun stuff like ranches and old mines.
5. Read a magazine. I love magazines! If I could, I would sit around and read magazines all day. If I go to heaven, I will be surrounded by magazines and really comfy chairs. And coffees! As a side note, I found out yesterday what would happen if I were to go to hell. It would be the inside of a store called Cartoys. (I like loud music, but I just can't think of anything more boring than car accessories.)
4. Stretch. This was supposed to be one of my New Year's resolutions. Oops.
3. Facebooking. I sometimes actually consider this a chore, but I just got into the "Lil Green Patch" thing. You can annoy your friends by sending them requests every day, AND you can save the rainforest at the same time!! You can't beat that.
2. Floss. I got a cavity filled today. It sucked. Actually you can floss while watching tv. But if you're trying to avoid tv you can also floss while reading a nice blog or news article on the web.
1. Buy yourself something. Today I bought myself a nice delicious cheeseburger from Dick's. Mmmmmmm. Happiness in a little yellow wrapper.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Environment 1 - J.R. Ewing 0
Great news! A politician named Jay Buckey in New Hampshire is proposing a "National Security Levy" a.k.a. a tax on gas. I'm "pumped" about it!! (Sorry, couldn't resist that one).
Check out Jay Buckey's letter to famous economist Greg Mankiw.
I read through his proposal, and he doesn't say how high of a tax he is proposing, however he does throw out the number $2 per barrel as an example. If the tax is in this range, it would amount to only a few cents per gallon.
The coolest thing about this tax plan is that he proposes placing a price floor on oil, so that the levy will be higher when oil prices dip. The reason this is great is that it makes prices more predictable for people who are investing in/consuming alternative energy sources. It would also be great for me if I decide to buy stock in STP .
The second coolest thing is that Buckey has a B.S. in electrical engineering. On an almost-as-cool note, he has also been an astronaut.
Check out Jay Buckey's letter to famous economist Greg Mankiw.
I read through his proposal, and he doesn't say how high of a tax he is proposing, however he does throw out the number $2 per barrel as an example. If the tax is in this range, it would amount to only a few cents per gallon.
The coolest thing about this tax plan is that he proposes placing a price floor on oil, so that the levy will be higher when oil prices dip. The reason this is great is that it makes prices more predictable for people who are investing in/consuming alternative energy sources. It would also be great for me if I decide to buy stock in STP .
The second coolest thing is that Buckey has a B.S. in electrical engineering. On an almost-as-cool note, he has also been an astronaut.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Bash Scripting: Tip of the Day
Don't name your variable $PATH.
I can't even complain about this one, because it was just plain dumb of me to do that. FYI, if you get errors like:
rm: command not found
you might have screwed up your path. I mean, seriously. rm is always found!
I can't even complain about this one, because it was just plain dumb of me to do that. FYI, if you get errors like:
rm: command not found
you might have screwed up your path. I mean, seriously. rm is always found!
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