Trip Report: California 2005

I went to California to attend Matt and Tina's wedding. Of course, since weddings don't actually take that long (the actual ceremony, that is--the planning is another matter, but I didn't have to do any of the planning), I spent a lot of time with other friends as well.

Adventures on the ATA: Kintergarden in the Sky

I left on Friday morning out of Midway. The plane wes full, holding about 250 people, and left at 7:00 am. From where I was sitting in the back, I could see seven little kids. I think there were more that I couldn't see. They were well organized... they took turns crying so that someone was always making sure that this important task got done. Two of the kids only knew how to communicate by screaming, so that's what they did. I didn't mind it all very much, actually, I mean, they're kind of cute... But the lady I was sitting next to had a different take on it. "I hate kids" she muttered several times. She really wanted off that plane. "Maybe if I tell them I'm a terrorist, they'll stop the plane and let me off." Okay, so maybe I should say that I saw eight children, not seven. Do people really forget that they were once kids, too?

Uncle Mattox

I was met at the airport by Jan and Jubi. Jon was at work at the time, so he met up with us later. Jubi (who just turned two) had a doctor's appointment that morning, so we went there. Jan said I could come in with them (she didn't want me to be bored in the waiting room). There was a new doctor that day; the usual doctor for Jubi was on maternity leave. She went over the growth chart, asked a bunch of "is development going smoothly" type of questions, and gave a lot of advice about things to try next. She looked at her growth chart and commented "well, she's very small, but you two are both petite so she'll probably be short for the rest of her life anyway". Neither of us bothered to correct her, so she'll be very confused when Jon comes next time. :-) After that we went to a Pho restaurant, visited their home off of a small lake, and had afternoon tea. We spent a lot of time playing with Jubi as well. For a two-year-old she has an amazing vocabulary! That evening, Jon came home and we all went out to a Malaysian restaurant called Baba Neo, in Mountainview. Their food and service is very good, I'd go there again. Conveniently, it was located just a few minutes away from Nicole and Glen's place, where I stayed during my trip.

The Wedding

The wedding was held in a beautiful church just outside San Jose. The windows are all glass, I wonder how anyone can pay attention to the service? The reception was fun. I got to see Sam Abraham, and Steve Kilgore. Nicole and Glen were there, too. Matt and Tina did a first dance that had everyone asking them for lessons.

Hakone Gardens

The next day I went to church with Nicole and Glen. After that, Nicole took me to the Hakone Gardens. In many respects it looks like many other Japanese gardens I've been to. Nice presentation, some water, tea rooms. One thing I noticed that's different about this garden is the incredible variety of bamboo they had. There were many different kinds there. We then came back, picked up Glen, and we went to a sandwich shop called Plutos, in Palo Alto. It had a very Chicago feel to it. It also had a wall with the names of all kinds of Space/Sci-Fi personalities... the kinds of names that geeks would know. Glen and I knew all but one of them, which I looked up on Google from my phone, thereby ensuring our geek status is safe. After that, we went to the Tied House in Mountainview. I got to try a small flight of their beer, and get a souvenier logo glass to take home. Glen and I agreed that their dark beers were the best.

San Francisco

The next day I took the Cal Train to San Francisco. It had a very metra-like feel to it. The ride cost $4.95, a bit more than a comparable Metra ride would have cost, I think. I met Vicki at the Sony Metreon. For the second time, I got to be Uncle Matt. We went to the Yerba Garden next door and Vicki had me ride the merry-go-round with Wesley while she took pictures. Wesley has a lot of energy. We went to Chinatown, and then Vicki and Wesley had to get home. So I stayed in Chinatown for a few more hours, had dinner at a nice but touristy restaurant. (Bad sign: almost no locals there!) Next time I'll research a bit more before coming. All in all, a fun trip!

Trip Report: Chicago 2005

My parents and niece came over to visit last week! The weather was not the best---very hot and humid most of the time; but it was clear most of the time so I really can't complain. We went to the Millenium Park, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Field Museum, and one day while I was at work my parents went to a lighthouse in Evanston.    My niece really loves the CTA. She drew all kinds of pictures of the Chicago El stop.

Gotta Move....

Well, I got confirmation from the landlord last night; they're selling the building, so now I have to move. On the one hand, I'm bummed, because I really like my unit; not to mention that I hate moving. On the other hand, it's an opportunity. Maybe I'll get a nice veiw of the City or the Lake. Or maybe a basement in which to keep my brewing supplies or my tarantulas.

Chocolate!

My friend Jane has been in town for a conference, and Heidi organized a trip to the Chocolate Bar at the Peninsula Hotel. They have an all-you-can-eat chocolate buffet. Good chocolate and good friends... hard to beat that combination!

The buffet itself had all kinds of chocolate treats... Raspberry chocolate, creme brule, hot white chocolate, chocolate covered pretzels, white chocolate chips with dried fruit, chocolate covered strawberries... I think you see the theme by now.

Adventures on the CTA #6 -- Truth in Advertising

You may have heard that there's been quite a stink with the CTA lately over a lack of funding, with all kinds of dire consequences promised if they don't get more money---routes cut, all trains running on Sunday schedule, that kind of thing. Someone added some text to a sign on the Red Line poster. The text that the CTA put on it said "Learn how to cut your commuting costs by up to %40!" (by using pre-tax transit dollars from your employer). Someone taped some paper underneath that said "And we'll cut your service by up to %40!". :-/ (It would be funny, except for the minor detail that it might be true!)

Brew #16 Has Begun!

I got a new toy...

It's called a V-Vessel.  It's supposed to make brewing a lot simpler, because you don't have to transfer the wort from one vessel to another all the time.  When you would normally have done a transfer (to move the fermenting wine/beer off the sediment) you simply remove the ball at the bottom (remember to close the valve first!!), dump it out, resanitize, and add it back in.

More pictures are on my Brew 16 Album.

Adventures on the Shangahai Transit

Here's a special edition of Adventures on the CTA. I'm up late at night, absolutely wide awake because of jet lag, because of my trip to Shanghai. To pass the time I thought I'd tell a CTA like story. Here are a few pictures of the Shanghainese equivalent of the El. The first thing to notice is the TV set on the tunnel. It tells you when the next train is coming. Very cool! The subway is also very popular here. Here's a picture of what greeted my when I was about to get on the subway during rush hour. Dive in! In all, though, their system is very clean, and it only costs 2-4 RMB (25 - 50 cents!) to ride. And when it's not rush hour, it's not nearly so crowded. The other cool thing I got to do was ride the maglev train to the airport. I didn't get many pictures, but the inside looks like an airplane. It takes 7.5 minutes to get from the city to the airport. Finally, I'll leave you all with this imporant safety tip from the Shanghai public transit.

Adventures on the CTA #5 --- Perverts and Heros

Wednesday I was riding back at night on the Red Line (never a dull moment, as one rider that night put it). One very foul-mothed pervert with a camera phone was trying to take pictures of this one woman, who was clearly not happy about it. The only place she could really be was by the doors, so she could at least look away from the pervert. Meanwhile, he was harassing her and swearing up a storm. My first instinct was to pray that God would thwart his plans. Within 1 second, a man with a newspaper stood up, walked to where the pervert was sitting, and stood between him and the woman, causally reading his newspaper like nothing else was going on. The pervert wasn't very happy, but it's not like he could say anything. Thought one: it's nice to see there are people who are willing to intervene. Thought two: why didn't I think of that? Next time I'll know what to do. Thought three: Praying for strangers has special rewards.

Adventures on the CTA #4 --- Not the best way to wake up.

This morning I was taking a nap on the red line on the way to work. I woke up to the sound of someone puking on the floor behind me. Needless to say, I went to the other side of the car. Yuck!

Adventures on the CTA #3 -- They want me to report what?

So, in a post-9/11 world, we are told to be on the alert for all kinds of things... unattended packages, for example. On the CTA busses, we are told to report to the driver if we see "anything unusual". Um... hello?.... If I said something everytime I saw something unusual on the CTA I don't think we'd be able to get very far!

Adventures on the CTA #2 -- Christmas on the CTA

The other day I got on a bus that was all wrapped up inside. Shiny paper down the poles, gifts piled up on the side next to the door. The bus driver gave me a candy cane when I paid my fare.

Adventures on the CTA, Back-Issue #1 -- Stupid Robber Tricks

Whenever a week goes by with no new adventures, I'll tell a story that happened in the past year. Eventually I'll run out, but that should take a while---it's the number of stories that inspired me to write this, after all. Perhaps the most disturbing thing I heard on the El was when three people got on the train and sat just behind me. The two directly behind me seemed to be a couple having quite a spat. As near as I can tell, ettiquette in these situations is to pretend not to notice. It was actually pretty annoying to have to listen to all of that, but it began to get interesting when the woman started complaining about how what they did was not how it went in the "dry run". Meanwhile the man was exasperatedly trying to explain to his lady friend that if she did not feel comfortable with things, she should have said so earlier. After a few more minutes, it starts to become clear that they are arguing over who's fault it was, exactly, that the robbery they had just committed ended up being a complete failure. Lady: Yeah, and now they have my description! Man 1: Now they have all of our descriptions! Man 2: Guys! Not on the train! I decided to get off and switch cars before they came to their senses and decided that they had to kill all the witnesses. Unfortunately, when I got off I was not in cell phone range in time to report this, but I suspect with this level of competence, they'll be caught soon enough.

Adventures on the CTA #1 -- We're All Friends Here

I love riding the CTA. It's a lot cheaper than owning a car, and you get to see all kinds of strange things. Today, when I got on the Red Line and sat down, and a woman next to me said "You know, I've must have seen you on the train at least 4 times. I figure I should introduce myself. My name is V---." The funny thing is, just a few days ago I had been thinking about how someone said of New York City that you will walk by all kinds of people who you have never seen before, and would never see again. I guess Chicago is not New York.