In three weeks time, I'll be waking up after my first night in my new apartment. And I mean really new...they're putting the finishing touches on the construction now. The anticipation is nearly killing me, but the next 3 weeks will be full of organization, happiness, and logistics. I've already booked my upstairs neighbor to help me move--he's got a big truck, a fairly large trailer, and does this for one of his side jobs--and given notice to my landlord. Of course, it's been sitting here,
Here in Japantown, there is a cute mix of cuisine. Of course, the predominant theme is Japanese food--some of the best you'll get anywhere, both on the sushi side and the traditional dishes. There's a couple of Chinese places (naturally), some Mexican places (consider San Jos
Well, I'm here, it's really day 2 for me in the Eternal City. Yesterday was spent at the heart of Ancient Rome, so to speak: the Palantine Hill ruins, including the Forum and Trajan's Market, the Capolitine, and all that I could get. I took almost 200 pictures yesterday...not bad. I'm definitely doing this on the cheap, so sadly no museums...I have to save most of my money for Tuscany, which starts tomorrow.
Today I'm off to the Vatican and the Pantheon...must really get my religious aspe
What a very weird night of sleep. Usually I'm one to conk out at whatever hour, sleep the entire night without much bother...in fact, I've been told that I more-or-less find one position and stay there for most all of the night. But last night...ugh. A night full of the oddest visions, scenes and sounds, ranging on various topics, and I'm still up at 7:30 in the morning.
One dream had me going crazy, literally. And I knew what I was doing, too...so I go to talk to my ex, who is a psych
It's award season in academia...as the semester winds down, it's time to honor those whose work and effort did not go unnoticed. We have a 'power couple' as I like to call them, a duo who emigrated here from Mexico together, who study together, who will graduate together, who will transfer to a 4-year college together. Oh, and who rock. Check this out:
Aldo and Violeta win the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
What the clip didn't mention is that this is the second year in a row that Ca
My Yahoo! Horoscope for the day reads:
So I guess I should interpret this as a strong hint to add another blog entry, right? Seems only logical to me, really. Or does it mean that I should email my one brother, even though I know he won't get the email until tonight, when he's back home? Or does it mean I should G-Chat with my other brother, even though I talk to him all the time? Oh bother.
Nah, I'll stick to this entry, and then go for a walk. Then do a bunch of work. Then, per
I just updated my FaceBook status to: Domani!! Domani!!!
Translation: Tomorrow!! Tomorrow!!!
Yes, tomorrow's the big day. I've been working on the list of things to pack. Today I have a couple of appointments, then it's laundry and cleaning the apartment. I haven't decided for sure, but I still have some stuff for a light dinner tonight. Then...the big day!
Tomorrow's shaping up to be a very long day...about a 36 hour day. In the morning I need to pack (unless I do it tonight
Front page of the San Francisco Chronicle (link to article):
A car-burglary suspect fell to his death early today after he climbed over a wall on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill while trying to flee from police, authorities said. The incident began at 12:30 a.m. when police received reports of a someone breaking into a car on the unit block of Alta Street near Montgomery S
(Ok, so that''s a song lyric, and not a song title...it's appropriate, dammit...)
Friday was a huge and emotional day, for many reasons. Yes, I did go to the Honors and Transfer Ceremony, which was this fulfilling experience as an educator and as a member of the campus community. We have 10,000 students at my college, which is a small number for a community college, but the number of students who have finished their certificates or associate's degrees and who are transferring is large. An
Valentine's Day is a bogus holiday, as far as I'm concerned. Why do we need one day for women to expect to be lavished with gifts, making their men suffer as far as what to do next? I really never did like the day; I'd rather celebrate with the one I love all throughout the year. And while in recent years I haven't had a person to share this pitiful day with, it never ceases to amaze me how many hoops men will jump through, and how many hoops women will put up for them.
__________________
I'm an optimist who hates to lose. It might not sounds complementary, but it's true. I despise losing, and I become severely put-off when I come across a situation that stymies me completely. And that's the key here--if I can find a glimmer of positivity, then I don't feel like I've totally lost. I can get over the temporary set back, as long as I know that I can still see an avenue to get what I want. I can will myself through the toughest of times, provided that I can see that light at th
Still waters run deep. I know this to be true, and while creating and maintaining conversation is a skill of mine, it is equally true that not everyone is good at this skill.
Lately I've been on the dating circuit, and have met a wide array of interesting chaps. Some have been quite conversant, but there has been a gnawing at my viscera that something's not quite right with them...and I've learned the hard way to listen to my viscera on such matters. Some have been, well, perhaps overly r
I have no idea why, but lately I've had a string of dreams involving my ex. Each time the dream starts out the same, but always takes a different turn. Sometimes it's a good turn, sometimes it's a worrisome one, but always ending right at the time my alarm goes off. Dammit, I never get resolution.
So yesterday I decided that this had to be some omen that something was wrong with him, and set about texting him quickly. I would have called, but I know that he usually is at work, and since
One thing to make very clear: I love tea. When I used to drink caffeinated beverages, I had a constant supply of teas of various blends...Assam, Chinese, Indian, even once a Nepalese tea. Always have a green tea of some kind around...still do. Now, herbals are in rotation here, especially hibiscus-based blends and African Red Teas/Rooibos. I drink it straight--always have--and even if it's in bags, it's always loose-leaf. I don't want to say that I'm a tea aficionado, but I do love the stuf
The president of the college made a big but welcomed decision for today. It's the first day of classes for the spring semester, and of course everyone wants to watch the inauguration instead of going to class. So Tom decided that the main theater would broadcast streaming video of the festivities all day long, starting at 8am. I personally thanked him a couple of times; this was truly a community-building event, and he did the right thing. Many 8am classes came in and watched instead of doin
How many students will try to fool the professor...update at 11. (AM...Pacific Daylight Time)
The experiment ended early...I'm off coffee again. Yesterday I didn't feel like coffee, considering that the day before my tongue was slightly swollen all day and I felt a hair jittery. I know there's a bit of caffeine in decaffeinated coffee, but clearly 3 days in a row my body was saying "basta!" So yesterday I went back to milk, this morning it's red rooibos chai tea. This is something that
Yeah, I know, two entries in one day. Whoda thunk it? The truth is that today was a day of various inspirational elements, and I find myself at 11pm at night needing to write. So here I am.
It was relatively a good day. But weird in the evening. There was a party; my upstairs neighbor Hank decided to have a shindig, complete with live band. A damned good one: the Roger Steen Band, in which Hank is the bassist. They practice in the studio on the property, and while I'm very thankful wh
This is just to start things off...I view this blog as a way to do a couple of things:
--As ideas come to my head for possible future research, I'll place them on here...if nothing else than to philosophize on them for a bit.
--To expound a bit on topics of the Romance languages (and perhaps others) which come up on UNRV.
Since I'm in the middle of writing my dissertation, I'm either going to have no time to write often, am going to be fried when I do it, or will be on here often bec
As I drove to work yesterday, the sun slid over the eastern horizon like a welcomed old friend. Sure, it was quite a bit cooler at night than it had been lately, but the daytime temps creeped up towards an almost spring-like level. Welcome to February in the San Francisco Bay Area--it could be pouring, or it could be brilliantly sunny.
Mt. Hamilton has a few specs of snow on its cap, which should go away before our next blast of precipitation this weekend. People were outside, sunning thei
We're back to winter weather here in NorCal...either clear and cool or damp, windy and somewhat rainy. This is actually comforting; that stretch of 10 days with record warmth in San Jos
Been a while, I know. The end of the semester usually gets a bit rough. In this case, perhaps all the moreso because of the upcoming trip to the motherland. There seems to be an unending amount of things to get done beforehand, so that when I come back I'm not bombarded with a myriad of items requiring my attention. It's bad enough that when I come back, I'll have about 3 weeks to get everything settled for my move.
I have been reminded that I am honor-bound and duty-driven to come up with
...and Tuesday, and Wednesday...well, you get the drift.
Yes, it's been about 3 weeks since I've had time to sit down here and update...actually, it's been almost 2 weeks since I've had time to log into the site. So, just to catch you up....
Honolulu was absolutely spectacular...but 4 1/2 days isn't nearly long enough. Love it, loved spending my time doing exactly what I wanted to do, nothing more and nothing less. Wish I could do this vacation thing more often.
Got back, and had
Last night was the first time this year that I slept with the window cracked. Wow, I forgot how great that is. Oh, I perhaps could have done it earlier in the year, but I've opted not to, and instead kept the apartment a bit warmer. I tend to favor warm places in general, which is probably why I like some aspects of the South Bay. It's about 10 degrees (that's Fahrenheit) warmer in San Jos
I finally had some time to work on some pictures from the trip to Aruba last month Every underwater shot is taken by my brother Matt, and the topside shots are either mine or my mom's. I still have a few more to add, once I work on them. Anyway, enjoy!
It's the 31st of March, 2010. Three months have already gone by in this year, and I really can't tell you where it's all gone. I knew that this would a very hectic year, what with work, work and work, but it's unreal how busy I've been. The good news is that this week and the one coming are times for me to rest, do a very little bit of catch up, and enjoy life here in NorCal. I'd sit here and say, "I'm ready for whatever life has to throw at me," but since I'm pretty much broke, well, that's
