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natural history

This city is too huge. I’ve walked all up and down 2nd and 3rd Avenue in the upper East side looking for free wifi and found nothing but a bunch of upper class restaurants. Not that I’m complaining about seeing some pretty cool places, but that I didn’t find ONE place that offers free wifi. It was tough walking around with my MacBook Pro all over the place.

I went to the American Museum of Natural History and had a great time. My favorite event was going to the Hayden Planetarium where I saw a 30 minute presentation of cosmic collisions, their feature presentation. I LOVE planetariums! I need to see the one in LA sometime b/c I’ve never even been to one there! There are even two observatories that could EASILY whet my appetite. Geez, I need more friends to go do that stuff with.

Why does the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History turn up as the third result on Google’s search? Is it that good? Sadly, the one in LA doesn’t even turn up in the results.

I should make this summer’s goal to visit all the museums I either haven’t visited or revisit those which I haven’t been to in quite a while. Locations will include Seattle, NYC, LA, Houston, Santa Barbara, and other local places.

28

Today marks the first day ever that I have never been home on my birthday. Coming to you from NYC until Friday and enjoying every minute of it!

niche

I used to want to fit in. I remember wanting that acceptance, eager to please the few who “mattered”. I didn’t lose morals or values over trying to fit in, but I did make some effort.

I eventually became more mainstream in high school and into college. I bought the same thing as everyone else; I consumed the same music, movies and tv as the rest of my peers. GAP, Old Navy, Taco Bell, Nike… You know how it goes. All the name brand items that we all own.

California really has changed me in many ways. I’ve not only started consuming less mainstream, I’ve started to thirst for niche. Those things that not many others have or see or do. I want that experience you’d never be able to get, or wear that shirt that was only made once. I’d rather try out the local hole in the wall than pick up the McCrack. Is there a cool little documentary playing in the theater? I’d much rather see that then the latest romantic comedy. Hilary who? Britney Who? I’d much rather (re)discover Elliot Smith or Arcade Fire or Tortoise.

Water cooler talk is mainstream. I want that opening my eyes experience more and more. I guess you don’t know what you’re missing until someone else tells you. I’d like to be that someone else.

earthquake!

And so it was.
One second long.
Quite a jolt, enough so that I was caught off guard.

At about 12:30pst, I felt my very first earthquake ever! It was so short that I thought that there was a large machine outside that was dropping something heavy on the ground and just jolted the area, but it was actually an earthquake!

Now that I’ve experienced it, I hope I never again experience one. I’m done, thanks.

1 reply

jury duty

I got summoned for the first time ever.

May 29.

Luckily, the courthouse is only 6 minutes from my house. This makes it less bad.

presenting my new tooth

new tooth crown
Today marked a momentous day in my life. I left the dentist with a brand new, permanent crown. The reason this is such a huge occasion is because I’ve had a bonded, half-chipped tooth in my mouth since I was 9. Today, that status has finally changed for good.

What is so weird about this new crown is knowing that I will never again see the tooth that was again. As I laid there in the chair, nervously gripping my shirt and arm, I grabbed the mirror the dentist gave me. His inquiry as to whether I wanted to see what was left was light-hearted because of a guy’s nature to want to see gross things. And, indeed, it was quite nasty. I had some blood around what was left of my chiseled down front tooth. It was nothing but a stub of what it used to be.

Now I’m left with this shiny, smooth new fake enamel of a tooth. And luckily, it matches all my other teeth so well that you would have no idea it wasn’t real. Technology really is amazing.

This is kinda of a closure to a life-long chapter that revolved around my accident. It was a silent transition.

marketing cartoons of the eighties

Wow, I watched my first episode of the classic show Voltron since I was probably six or seven years old. I find it hard to believe that I watched this so often more than twenty years ago.

I was absolutely a kid of the eighties cartoons. Voltron is one of my earliest cartoons in which I was obsessed. I wanted so badly to own all of the five lions that made up Voltron. Sadly, the closest I ever got to owning Voltron was a smaller, static version of Voltron which didn’t come apart.

Loving cartoons of the eighties was less about the cartoon as it was owning the latest, greatest toys: Voltron, Transformers, GI Joes, Thundercats, Silverhawks and so many more. I think my most treasured toyline was the Silverhawks since they were so shiny and metallic.

I was a total sucker for eighties marketing to children.

elliot smith and nick drake

Two of the most incredible songwriters of the last 50 years.
Some of the most beautiful music ever written.
Both lives ended early.

I don’t know how it took me 27 years to really discover both of these musicians.

Nick Drake
Elliot Smith

booze

Throughout the six years I spent in college, most of it was typically isolated. I never spent more than two years at one college or university, driven by my boredom with my situation, discontent of my academic choices, or the inevitable finale of my formal college education.

I made various friends in these six years, none of which ever really pressured me into the stereotypical college experiences of drinking, drugs, sex or rock and roll (that last one was just for the sexiness factor). I was usually too shy to make many “mainstream” friends, never feeling like I could identify with those who needed the “typical”. I never had the curiosity to experience these things for myself, and was ignorant but blissfully happy to never face the facts of human nature.

In particular, I’ve never been much of a drinker. I can take or leave alcoholic drinks. It could be days, weeks or months before I have another drink. For some, the sweet, medicinal feeling of a cold, frosty beer is one of the most anticipated events of his or her day. For me, it’s the bliss of knowing I can go home and sleep, or watch tv, or browse the Internet after a long day of tedious coding or research.

High school never served as a vessel of underage drinking parties for me. I also grew up in a 99% dry household, and my family never drank around us. We didn’t have alcoholism problems like other families I know. Alcoholism was never an issue.

My impression of alcohol when I was younger was rather negative. I was impressionable and probably took a few of those drug lectures to heart more than my peers. I heard what those people said, what they had been through and was determined to never become that person.

It wasn’t until my last year of college that I finally had my first alcoholic drink: a frozen margarita. That’s not to say I might have had a little drop here or there, but this was the symbolic first drink that most people I know had at an earlier age.

I’m always a fan of free money

Chase Freedom CardIf you can trust yourself and your spending habits, I’d encourage you to sign up for the Chase Freedom Card. Not only is it a great deal, but the money just keeps on giving after you sign up. Initially, you get $250 for FREE! Then, as you keep using it, you get 1-3% cash back! Who can complain about that?

People who are irresponsible with credit cards should beware. But for those of us who can handle responsible spending and charging, this is an awesome deal and I highly recommend it! I see no reason why you shouldn’t be apart of such an amazing deal!