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| Let me continue to recount my trip to Las Vegas...
Did you ever notice that familiar things can morph into something unfamiliar and scary, just because somehow you ignored them for a while? Well, it happened to me twice on the way to Las Vegas.
When N was in Fresno doing her residency, I frequently drove from San Jose down 101 then through Pacheco Pass on 152. It's been three years since I took that trip. Three years ago, the only recognizable building along 152 was Gilroy Food factory. When I got on 152 from 101 this time, I didn't recognize it. That intersection now has a huge mall, with fast food, stores, and a home improvement center. The old two lane road is now four lanes wide. Gone are the trucks that lined the road as the truckers slept. Progress I guess.
But the situation turned outright scary when I got near Mojave. That little town sits at the intersection of CA 58 and 14. You had to pass through when driving to Las Vegas through Bakersfield. I love that place. On one side of the town, there are these 100+ car long freight trains coming from or going to Bakersfield. On the other side, it has a huge airport with lots of airplanes. Old fighters, mothballed airliners, private jets, custom-built exotic planes. Once or twice I actually got off the highway and circled the airport to have a look. (Did you know a 747 is at about three stories tall? Try standing next to it and look up!) I used the runway lights as a landmark when passing through at night. But this time, I couldn't see the runway lights. I didn't see the city lights either. There was nothing besides a nice four-lane freeway. Nothing like I remembered. I expected to see Rod Sterling standing on the shoulder, because I thought I entered the twilight zone. Twenty minutes later, things became familiar again when I saw signs for Edwards Air Force base. I realized the state built a new freeway, completely bypassing the town and airport.
Progress I guess. Straight, fast and boring. Lesson from these experiences: Go to Las Vegas often!  | | |
| I just found out I got a second patent grant. The best part is it was granted on 04/20/2004, one day before my birthday. The worst part: it was granted one week after I quit my job, so I don't get the bonus. Oh well.
Although the patent isn't for something earth shattering, I do think it is rather clever. When I proposed it, some very smart people didn't believe it would work because it seemed too simple. Pretty good, eh? | | |
| It's been a little more than a month since my last "good" entry. Why aren't there more? Simple: I've been too busy having fun!! It's been a great month, besides a few things here and there.
Let's start from DJ's bachelor party. Since my last day of work was Wednesday (4/14), N and I planned to leave for Vegas in the afternoon on Thursday (4/15, tax day), eat sushi at Fresno, and spend a night somewhere between Bakersfield and Las Vegas. But what happened? N totally messed up the tax return, and she didn't realize it until 4 pm! We ended up spending the next few hours trying to fix it. Finally we gave up, filled out an extension form, and drove to the main post office way past 5:00.
Now these postal workers sure weren't postal that night. In fact they were totally efficient. Some were directing the traffic. Others were collecting the envelopes. And they coned off some lanes so the procrastinators didn't slow down the normal traffic. They even kept the counters open to handle those extra-thick returns.
Obviously we didn't make it to Fresno for dinner, so we ended up at Dave & Buster's. (where else?) Burgers may not be as good as sushi, but few beers are as good as Gorden Biersch. Plus, there are tons of video games.
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| Two new rules of life:
1. Never read any unsanitized articles on what those i-wear-a-mask-'cause-i-got-no-balls morons in Middle East did. Just assume the worst. I can't get the Philadelphian's story out of my head after reading a PG-17 rated version from BBC.
2. Never read anything negative before writing a blog. Especially the first blog after a great experience, such as starting an interesting job after an excellent three-week vacation. The entry inevitably turns from memorable experiences to complaints. Now I don't know when I'll have the mood for the good stuff. | | |
| I found a place for cheap thrills: ebay.
I wanted to buy a Dell computer. After looking over auctions for two days, I figured out what the price range was, and got a decent deal. Then I kept on bidding on others, just for fun. Fun I got. I noticed that one guy kept trying to outbid me, even though the auction wouldn't close for hours. When minutes were left in the auction, the same guy was competing with another bidder. One person jumped in with the higher bid. Then the other. And a counterbid. Emotions high. Adrenaline flowing. One person entered a bid in the last 30 seconds. The other hurried in with a much higher bid. But the effort was futile, because the first bidder had an even higher maximum bid! It was like watching a horse race! After that auction, I moved on to the next one. Whom did I see? The losing bidder! But this time he was playing the 30 second game, trying to hide his real bid. Guess what? He was outbid again! Did he give up? NO! Right away he jumped into a third auction. By now he probably had no common sense left, because he entered a bid so high, I was sure he would win. Did he? Not a chance! Two other guys took over the race, trying to top each other, in the last minute of the auction! One bid after another, higher and higher, all the way till the end! The item was sold for the highest price I saw the 100 auctions I tracked, 20% higher than the average. Too bad our original losing bidder stopped. Otherwise I could've watched another exciting race on ebay.
What a bonus my new computer comes with! | | |
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