dracil

I lost my cell phone holster.

Well, I kinda expected it to eventually happen since it's kinda loose and I've had it fall off a few times. Probably lost it somewhere in the morning crowd. Good thing I didn't lose it with my phone inside (it was in my pocket so I could listen to music).

Unfortunately, it *is* pretty convenient as keys + wallets take up my two pockets so now I need to find a replacement. Preferably one a little more secure.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Warning Link Spam Ahead

During the weekend someone's forum signature on shrinemaiden.org linked to Hetdegon's deviantart (if you somehow ever stumble upon this entry, Mystia still = KFC! ), which reminded me to look at lilythescorpio's deviantart, which reminded me about anime conventions, which meant JTAF (which ironically, will NOT be in JT this year, since merchants there don't seem to like us visitors), whose pre-reg deadline, BTW, is today, so I signed up pretty much immediately (hey, it was my first convention after all!), and then I saw she was also going to AOD, so I looked that up, and yes, it's also in SF, at a pretty convenient location (geary/van'ness). I kinda regretted not buying some of her stuff last time so maybe this time. AOD has more Western animation including Happy Tree Friends (which is definitely a draw, haha) and some guy who did art for a game line called Anima, whose products I'm interested in.

And yeah, no point in trying to find people to go. Current real-life friends don't really share my interests anymore. =/ (Well they do to various degrees, but either they don't share it enough to do geeky stuff like this, or else they aren't in the right place at the right time to go)

Hmm, in a related, but not really note, as Konata-chan might say, I wonder if I've triggered any flags. Probably not.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2007/04/intercourse-and-intelligence.php

I think what's most interesting about this is that it means humans are basically breeding towards mediocrity. Yes, yes, you can also argue that offsprings of smarter people are more likely to survive so it's still balanced. But it still just goes back to the two extremes of reproductive strategy. Spray and pray, or firing in controlled bursts.
Currently feeling thoughtful

dracil

So every friday is waffle day. Someone makes a bowl of waffle batter and then everyone can just pour it on the waffle machine. It's GOOD.

So after 2 false starts, it looks like this is the weekend where I will actually be working. Only on Saturday, and I get my meals basically free and I can go in later so it's not too bad. Supposed to meet Karen's friend anyway so the timing is pretty decent.
Currently feeling sleepy

dracil

Hmm, got up at 8:15, after eating and getting a bit ready, checked mail.  Oops, my coworker had emailed me last night saying he needed to send his wife to the airport at noon so we could meet at 1:30 instead.  Too late to go back to bed.  So I plan to get there at 1:30, except the stupid bus is tardy by 20 minutes, then the bart slows down between South Hayward and Hayward because of some problem which means I miss the transfer, so I don't get there till 2.  Ugh.  Then turns out my coworker was already there from 11:30.

Anyway, when all was said and done about work it was 8:30.  Didn't get to meet Karen's friend because of that, so we'll meet later.  Afterwards my coworker and I went to have (free) dinner at an Italian place in North Beach.  This lasted for several hours so we did not go to watch Bourne Ultimatum.  Got a ride back.  Lots of conversation, mostly about the books he wants to write and other some ideas about the future of humankind and then the current state of US immigration.

Currently feeling tired

dracil

Hmm.  So after unsuccessfully trying to find housing, a place kinda fell in my lap, so I decided to take it.  Not exactly ideal, but shaving 3 hours off commute/day is definitely worth it.  But just thinking about furnishing the place is gonna give me a headache.

So it's another live-with-a-family type deal.  And it's in San Francisco.  The place is supposed to be $650 but because I got the place via my aunt's friend, I only need to pay $600.  Since water is included, it's *slightly* cheaper than the other place in SF I was living at.  Unfortunately, it's pretty far south in the Sunset district, which means all the good stuff is far away.  Like Japantown or that Gamescape store.  Even the Golden Gate Park is not exactly walking distance anymore.  Downtown access is fine since that's where I'm at during work.  However, I'm probably going to get the monthly pass for Muni, which means I'll be more liberal about going on public transportation and visiting places.

It's not carpeted, which means probably less dust for my computer to choke on.  But it's wireless-only internet, so luckily I have a wireless card now (which I already bought in anticipation of this situation occurring when moving).  Seems like I'm the only person who really understands computers there so I'm guessing there won't be massive downloaders, which is good.  All that's left is acquiring the password to the router in case I need to open some ports.  Speaking of the wireless internet, I was originally planning on leaving by 7:30 so I could get home by 9:30, but the (kinda cute) Taiwanese girl already living there (who apparently knows my aunt's friend, which is how I got the place so easily) needed help setting up the wireless on her laptop.  After messing with it for 45 minutes, even going downstairs and looking at the settings on the landlords' computer, it turns out her laptop's built-in wireless actually had an on/off switch she didn't know about.  Doh.  So that meant I didn't leave until 8PM, which meant no direct bus and thus huge waits and getting home at 11:40.  Oh yeah, I don't think I even asked her name.  Oops, guess that's kinda rude.  However I did find out that she's straight from Taiwan (F-1 Visa and all that) and in grad school at Golden Gate University (which sounds a lot like Xia's former housemate, could she be the same person?  That would be a weird coincidence).  So yeah, looks like at the moment the entire house is Taiwanese + 1 dog (yay, pets!  The dog's really friendly.  But it's probably going to stay downstairs so I doubt I'll get to play with it much).  Hmm, I also did not take a look at the bathroom.  But it's probably that block of wall between the living room and the bedrooms that, for whatever reason, completely bypassed my attention at the time.  Oh yeah, they have a really nice backyard.  Don't think I have access to it though, except through the window.

I also rode on the Judah line for the first time.  Interesting experience.  It's like a small crowded BART that arrives very frequently, and a lot cheaper.  I also took some pictures of a dead/shrunken/mummifying? rat outside a Korean restaurant a block from the place.  Hmm...

Also, if Sophia reads this (but you don't), this means I'm going to be living pretty close to you again.  Like <15 blocks.  That's totally walkable.  But so was the 15 feet between our apartment units back in Berkeley, and we didn't really visit often then.

Oh, so a major thing that makes the place less than ideal is, it's SF.  And near the coast at that.  That means the skies will pretty much always be cloudy at night.  So much for developing a new hobby.  =/  Looks like I may have to join a club and camp in the mountains if I want to continue.  Then again, it looks like much of the East Bay where I was looking for housing has similar conditions, just 80% instead of 100% clouds and maybe an extra hour before the clouds come in.  On the other hand, this puts me relatively close to the SFSU and its observatory, and if they have an observatory here, there must be some good weather days.  Hmm...

Another major thing is, again, it's SF.  That means it's going to be a steeper learning curve if I get a car and drive around here.  >_<

Money and opportunity cost-wise, assuming 22 days of work/month, instead of $286 in transportation costs, I now pay $45.  I have to pay an extra $600+utilities extra in rent.  But I also save 66 hours of life, which is probably a couple thousand dollars worth.

So this makes makes some interesting twists to some short-term plans.  Looks like I can now definitely stay for the anime convention in full without worrying too much about how to get home afterwards.  It also means I'm going to have to do some creative planning if I still want to see the total lunar eclipse on my birthday.  Something stupid like going to the Fremont BART then camping out at Lake Elizabeth (might be illegal) or going there but not camping out and then finding a taxi home afterwards (might be expensive and difficult, random taxis running at 3-4AM?!) or just not sleeping.

Oh, I officially begin move-in Saturday, but probably just gonna bring some luggage worth of stuff.  Plan on meeting Karen's friend that day, and I really need a bed and desk and move my computer there before I can really stay there.  I actually already have keys.

In other news, I'm glad I got the stereo headset adapter for my phone (which arrived yesterday).  That means I can use my earbuds, which is the difference between setting the volume at 80% and 20% when I'm in public transportation.  That means not ruining my ears (and even if I turned off the music, that's still a lot of noisy decibels being blocked off anyway).  Also, found out turning off the phone feature (arguably the reason I'm supposed to have a cell phone) of my phone *really* saves battery power when I'm just using it as an MP3 player.

So the lack of sleep for the past 10 days means I've lost the equivalent of almost a day's sleep, and I'm not going to make it up for tomorrow because of arriving home so late and writing up this blog entry and so I'm actually starting to feel tired at work.  Well, a little hard to concentrate at times.  Need to sleep earlier again... or just get up later.  I arrive on average 1 hour earlier than everyone else except for a select few...

Oh, and for obvious reasons.  Konata.  Flags.  Not.  :3

Currently feeling tired

dracil

WTF, do not discuss the ending of Harry Potter 7 at work!  /rude

Currently feeling annoyed

dracil

So eventful day.  Got an email from Catherine about half-price tickets to that comedy show.  I thought it was for next week since when I saw it it was still showing Thursday's time, but then it was updated when they actually opened, then it was oh crap, it's today!  But then I ended up staying late for work (which arguably was fostered by not actually having the physical tickets in my hand yet) so it was just 4 of us left.  Then my boss said we may as well go get dinner for free 'cause of company policy and the restaurant we were going to was closed.  But another coworker's wife was driving up anyway which meant we could go to some other place.  We were going to go to House of Nanking but that was packed so we went to Brendy Ho's instead.  It was pretty good.  Afterwards one coworker left while the rest of us went to see Bourne Ultimatum.  We cut it really close so we ended up sitting on the very first row.  That was pretty stressful on the eyes since the movie uses a lot of shaky camera work for the action scenes.

Currently feeling tired

dracil

So... Jenny came by and picked me up after 1:30 and we got to Kaisen and Yosen's place around 2:15.  Jenny brought some pasta casserole as well as a bag of chocolate chip cookies as my contribution to the potluck.  We were one of the first people who showed up even though we were technically late.  Food was good, over the course of the day played some Wits & Wagers, Time's Up, and Apples to Apples.  Two games of each.  There were some brainteasers going on for a while (I think it was started by a discussion on Google interview questions) but I guess this was a little too geeky for some people and I think I sorta got yelled at for that later.  >_<  Apparently, wearing my Obon Festival shirt was a good move as a few people asked about it.  Did the game exchange with Yosen via Jenny (A Game of Thrones for Princes of Florence and Castle) and got some outlet converters for my new place.  'Twas fun. 

Currently feeling very tired

dracil

Sorta began moving today.  Just a little bit.  Not moving in yet.  Was kinda interesting the landlord asked me if I was Christian and when I said I was Catholic, seemed to be pretty confident in my trustworthiness and stuff (the family's Christian).  The landlady was saying how I should bring down my laundry for her to wash and that that's how they've done things around here.  That was kinda awkward.

I finally found out my housemate's name (Olivia).  Since Karen's friend had not responded about going out today I decided to go with her to explore Castro for a bit (it's just like Haight, only one really interesting store called Under One Roof with all sorts of odd items), then Ning finaly called so we went our separate was after that in downtown.  Took Ning to the Fisherman's Wharf, but I guess it's kinda hard to act excited about a tourist spot when you're sorta a local and have been there quite a few times.  He also felt that the stores were too similar to stuff you could get in downtown anyway.  The sea lions were the most interesting thing we saw there so it occupied a good chunk of the time.  Might still see meet him up for dinner during the week.

Went meteor shower watching with my cousin after I got back.  Saw 6 confirmed meteors and maybe up to 5 more in the 40 or so minutes we were out.  I did look at other stuff though so I could've probably seen more. 

Oh yeah, I also finished the last Harry Potter book.  Won't talk about it here for preventing people from being spoiled, but if you've already read it, we can discuss it elsewhere.

 

Currently feeling okay

dracil

Stayed late to have dinner with him at Katana-ya.  The ramen there was very tasty.  Well, the miso broth and the chashu pork.  The actual ramen itself was ok.  Kinda small though.  He leaves tomorrow.

Currently feeling okay

dracil

So... I finally figured out that if I use ogg format music on my phone, the Japanese characters will actually show up properly in the music player.  I'm assuming this is because Windows Mobile doesn't recognize .ogg as a valid file format to screw around with its default fonts.  (I'm using GSPlayer and FontOnStorage although I'm not sure if the latter is actually necessary).

Now I just need to reconvert my music into ogg... and situations like these are why I like having the majority of the music I keep on my computer stored in a lossless format (*cough*Jenny*cough* ) so I don't have to worry about lossy-to-lossy conversions.

The only remaining annoying thing is the filename itself cannot have Japanese characters and I need to have my computer under Chinese to have direct access to the storage card on the phone.

dracil

Made another trip to my new place.  So met the other girl.  Seems to like keeping to herself.  International first year undergrad student so everything's all new and exciting and scary for her I guess.

Seems like the landlady has been providing a lot of food upstairs so they've been eating pretty well (too much food actually.  Well, the landlady thinks they're too skinny - it's the Asian/American standard thing.  I guess things will balance out better once I actually move in or something and help ).

Basically just spent the entire afternoon talking to Olivia about various things, like places to go around in the Bay Area, Taiwanese TV, karaoke customs (they used to go with about 5 people but sing for 6-7 hours.  Sometimes from midnight to 7AM.  Some people don't even sing.  O_o  I don't think I could stand that, pretty different from the BST standard.  They sing about 3x as much).  Some time during then we gave each other our phone numbers in case it was needed, but that's when I noticed my phone had somehow bugged out and couldn't make/receive calls.  I wonder if Shubha called me and I didn't realize it because of that... (well, I already threatened her with forced attendance at the anime convention when she came here anyway, so I'll probably see her next weekend.  She probably wants to spend... "quality time" with her boyfriend right now anyway ).  Then some discussion on Christians/Christianity (since the landlord/landlady are Christian and they've been taking her to church) in Taiwan/US.  Then some stuff on languages (basically how Taiwanese people tend to like Japanese culture a lot, but not the same with the Chinese.  e.g. the other girl is Chinese and basically has no interest in Japan).  Also some discussion on the differences between driving in Taiwan/US/Thailand, and issues with owning pets.

I guess in retrospect, the many hours of conversation is similar to when I first met Xia.  The nice thing about meeting new people (if you can relate on some level) is that they haven't already heard about all your little theories and views a half dozen times already over the years, so conversations are still completely fresh and interesting.

Also, boo, seems like her room has the three pronged outlets, and most of the rest of the living room area does too.  Just my room (and probably the other one too) does not.  >_<  I'm supposed to show everyone to Berkeley when I move in (they had wanted to go, but decided that it's probably a better idea to wait for me since I probably know that area better having lived there).  I guess they just all really want me to quickly move in.  The other girl apparently she bought some table at a garage sale that belongs to a recently deceased woman and now she's afraid of sleeping in her room without someone else in the other room.

Looks like they also have a TV that will eventually be able to watch Taiwanese channels (yay!)

Currently feeling okay

dracil

So I have almost 250 people on my contact list on various IM protocols, not including work people and family.  Several dozen of those are duplicates.

Of the remaining, I have 50 in my "talk often" group, but half of that were just relatively new people (within the past few years) that I just placed there as default (optimistic thinking?).  That group could probably be more accurately labeled as "people I might even talk to" group.

Of that, only 25 are people I may actually be interested in talking to.

Then of those, less than half are even online with any regularity.

Which leaves 5-10, of which it seems like I'm almost always the one who initiates conversations.  Maybe 3 of those people will really ever IM me with any regularity (like at least once every month on average).  And one of those people is myself. (yes, I talk to myself sometimes to test network conditions or a new icon)

While there are probably some other factors involved, the general conclusion being drawn from this is that nobody I know personally that I want to talk to wants to talk to me.

And some people wonder why I talk to strangers (or at least people I haven't met in person) online... 

(Ok, that's kinda depressing.  Looking at the numbers more objectively, it seems that I am only interested in talking with about 10% of the people on my contact list, and if I can assume the same can be said of other people, then 10% of those 10% reciprocate the interest, leaving only 1% people with mutual interest in the long-term.  Hmm... while this rationalization is slightly more palatable, it's still kinda depressing

Note: Actual percentages should probably be higher because of people who simply aren't available online.  But it could also be argued that either they don't care enough to be online or I don't care enough to contact them some other way)

On a related note: People's lack of willingness to blog about their lives on a regular basis also makes the situation worse.  I mean, most of the blog entries that appear in my friends list nowadays are pretty much dominated by syndicated comic feeds and posts by people I haven't met.  If we look at it from the flip side, I can also probably count on one hand the number of people I know in real life who read my blog, and 2 of those are my parents.

Currently feeling dunno, but it's not positive

dracil

Heh, got a call from Olivia earlier tonight asking if I was staying over this weekend (which I am because of the anime convention.  BTW, if you're wondering, I will be cosplaying Generic College Student #6/Random Anime Convention Attendee C ).  Apparently she's staying at a friend's place on Friday so the other girl is afraid of sleeping alone with that possibly haunted desk. 

Ah, superstitious people.  It's not like there's really no one there since the family is also downstairs, but even the short distance to Olivia's room was too much for her...

This would be like the perfect setup for some harem anime/game.

Currently feeling amused

dracil

Why do female cats keep offering their pussies to me when I'm touching them elsewhere?

Why don't I have this magic touch with human girls?

Well, maybe I do, but I don't go around stroking random girls so I don't know. :3

Currently feeling amused

dracil

Let's see... Bought the laminated Rukia card from lilythescorpio 'cause it was laminated better this time and also to support a Cal student.  Bought drawings of Konata and Kagamin from Cutemew because they were current enough to already be drawing them.  Konata is more like THE main character but I like Kagamin better. :3

There was a booth at the dealer's room selling Melty Blood figurines but they were $4 each and I only wanted Len and the contents are random.

Speaking of Melty Blood, there was a lot of Melty Blood: Act Cadenza on the PC going on in the gaming room.  I tried it once and was promptly whooped.  Not used to arcade stick and I suck at MB:AC anyway (I still don't even know the full mechanics).  Then they briefly did Phantasmagoria of Flower View (but arcade stick again = I can't control!).  However, I did ok for Immaterial and Missing Power.  Well, first matchup was me with Remilia vs. Phillip with Meiling.  I only barely beat him both rounds even with such a matchup.  =/  Then I did Patchouli vs. some other guy with I forgot who, but I pretty much completely whooped him since he wasn't very good at grazing her projectiles.  Then they went back to Melty Blood.

Also had some good DS action.  I suck at Ouendan 2, was ok with Puyo Puyo Fever (we both had to play on the easiest setting though), and I did better with Bleach DS 2nd (although one of the other guys was better).

Anime screening room was mainly old stuff, the AMV was kinda fun and I'd go there once in a while.

The parapara lessons never occurred.    I would've been interested in doing Night of Fire.

Ken Pontac of Happy Tree Friends was great, although most of it was showing his older works.  The bonus from the first DVD was great though, and apparently he was one of the writers of the You Are a Pirate song too. 

Wen M Li who did art for a lot of the Anima RPG was also there.  It was cool watching him draw out concept art right there and then.  However, he's not very sociable, unless you were a girl. 

Of course there was a costume contest, didn't catch the karaoke contest but did catch a bit of the open mic.

Ended with an AnimeMyu performance (Sailor Moon stuff + other random songs including Hinoi Team's Ike Ike and the Evangelion OP.  That alone makes them cool. :D).  Usagi's hair ball things fell off during the show to which another cast said "They're implants" and to which she replied indignantly "O RLY?" (too bad it didn't continue with "YA RLY" and "NO WAI" )

 

Currently feeling was exhausted

dracil

So today was the celebration for Aaron and me.  Went from SF.  Was sitting close to Sophia on the BART but we didn't notice each other till right after we got off.  Picked up by Dave, we bought some mooncakes for Joyce's parents because they were going through the trouble of hosting and cooking lunch for us.  It was VERY good, lots of different dishes too.  Jenny gave me a nice planisphere, a lot more portable and easier to use than what I've been using.    I gave Aaron a bunny suit Mikuru figurine, specially picked out for the looks he would get if he displays it.  :3

Eric and Jenny had to leave afterwards though.   (Aww).  The rest of us played some games afterwards and we included Joyce's brother John.  We played a bit of Long Live the King, only got to Round 4.  I basically tried to change things up a bit by throwing John in the dungeon, but he quit playing after that.  =/  Generally I think people were getting into it but it was a bit complicated (so many cards).  So Joyce was defaulted as winner being the next in line as the Queen (and her infant).

Joyce then had to get ready to leave and so there was 5.

We played Bang after that.   John and David were outlaws, Aaron was renegade, Sophia was Sheriff, and I was Deputy.  We were seated in that order as well.  We pretty much figured out who we all were early on because of Aaron's reaction and my reaction to his reaction.  Although they couldn't be sure whether me or Aaron was deputy or Renegade until I died from my own dynamite (+ a duel by John following that).  At least it helped end the stalemate the game was in.  Aaron ended up winning in the end, taking 4 of Sophia's life with Bang, Duel, Gatling, and Indian while she had no cards.  Ouch.

Then we played Ra, with Aaron at first with 36, me at second with 30, and the rest behind (I think 28 for John, and David and Sophia were lower, maybe 25 and 26).  I was stuck with low valued suns so I just kept calling auction after auction, Sophia just wanted the game to end so we could go home, so she wanted Ras to appear quickly. 

Then Aaron, David, Sophia, and I had dinner at Pepper Lunch.  Seemed like they were understaffed but food was otherwise good, although they felt it had too much MSG.

Thanks everyone for coming!

Currently feeling exhausted but happy

dracil

Well, even though I'm not legally 25 where I'm currently located, I've actually been technically 25 for a while based on my birth time, which I can never remember if it was 2:17pm or 4:17pm.  Probably because it was 14:17 in military time, which means it's probably 2:17pm.  Now I'm not even sure if it was 17 or 16 minutes.  Blah, I'm growing old and losing my memory.  I've been negatively influenced!

So, about 1/3 of my life is probably over.  1/2 if I'm unlucky.  I now have a supposedly stable, permanent job.  I can drive, but I own no car.  I still have no love life and pretty sure I'm nowhere near getting one.  Either they aren't interested (I may be wrong, but experience says I'm not and I'd be wise not to risk it), or they already have someone, which also means they aren't interested.  And as I said before in a blog entry a while ago, the number of available people of my generation shrinks with each day.

Other stuff related to my birthday.  Apparently I am now as old as the light that has reached Earth from the star Vega  (it's like 25 light years away, according to some sources anyway, some others put it at 24.3 or 27 LYs).  While astrologically I'm a Virgo, astronomically I'm supposed to be a Leo.  Which may or may not have anything to do with my fondness of cats and is an interesting contrast to me being born in the year of the Dog.  Of course, humans see whatever patterns they want to see in stuff, even if it doesn't really exist.  My birthday can also form a palindrome, depending on how you format it.

Also, happy birthday Shubha!  (You, who share the same circumstances of my birth, but have done so much better at the Game of Life. )

Now, to go look at our celestial present (which you may or may not be able to see, since you're in SF, but surprisingly, the sky clocks are showing clear skies, perhaps another gift?).

Currently feeling thoughtful