So Close to Home

There are three events today that made the day bound to be remembered than most days these days. Two of them hit, literally, so close to home.

1. Earthquake, a 4.3 Richter scale, with epicenter within 20 mile radius of my place of work and residence, at 10:40 AM. From what I've gathered from news, no major impact on the daily life of the South-Bayers. People at work including myself didn't experience any jolt whatsoever. The quake possibly was pale in comparison to the busy, noisy lab activities. Mainly, I suspected the building owner has practiced good architecture on designing an earthquake resistant structure.
2. An apparent murder-suicide that left six people dead (four were children) and one critically injured. It was within one mile from my apartment complex and happened on Sunday night around 8:30. Guns were found in the crime scene. Victim identities slowly revealed. Motive was still in the air. Place of incident, though, is widely publicized. I went on my own tour of the area tonight, although at the end I decided I couldn't take the view of it and drove the other way around. God rest your souls...
3. I asked boss for a swing shift instead of a normal day shift, he granted my request. My sole reason is that it will be more effective for me to work at this allocated window as machines are less occupied then. The lab is my oyster, or as BF texted me a reply:

   Your plan to dominate the world inches forward...

   Uhm, more like mils forward, BF.
   

Sick Again?

Tada...would you believe that yours truly is sick again. This time, whateveritis is riding on a fast track. By the second day, I have a runny nose, by the third day (today) I was in multiple coughing fits. I popped the only over-the-counter medication I had on my medicine cabinet just before the weekly meeting with the group. I anticipated its "comparable to a Nyquil" effect by preparing myself a cup of hot Orange Pekoe tea--a black tea variant I just discovered recently. The tea somehow worked to counter act the drowsiness lest I would have passed out not twenty minutes into the meeting. Instead, I was just experiencing a marked sleepiness lullabied by people "discussing" important-but-less-interesting business and technical matters at hand. LoLs. The effect worn out after two hours, though.

On to the next sickness. ETS, extrapolated time of sickness, is 40 days from today.

DSLR does make a difference

My profile pictures taken at the recent visit of a certain Ms. Inok of LA. She has a kickass "entry-level" professional DSLR camera. From now on, I'll just make it a requirement for every visitor to bring his/her DSLR camera along in order to be eligible to stay at my place. LOL.

On and about UC Berkeley...








At about 1000 ft elevation at Mt. Diablo State Park...


At about 2000 ft elevation at Mt. Diablo State Park...







At the summit of Mt. Diablo...




On a Bay Cruise off Pier 39...




On an about The Golden Gate Bridge...



On and about Santa Cruz's Natural Bridge State Park

BB (not Blackberry)

10:19 AM, CST (8:18 AM, PST)

Good morning Apple Fritter!*

11:30 AM, CST (9:30 AM, PST)

Sh..somebody is on a shutdown week and might sleep till noon. LOL. How is experiment going?

3:28 PM, CST (1:28 PM, PST)

I didnt know that Jim Rome is such a hottie. His wife must be a goddess of some sort. They have two sons! LOL.**

3:40 PM, CST (1:40 PM, PST)

Some people are like working.......

3:41 PM, CST (1:41 PM, PST)

LOL!

*His choice of dessert to call moi today
**Inside joke, hard to explain in here

Music on My Mind

Human brain is amazing. Should I shout this out loud? When the body has been deprived of something, it will signal the brain to relieve the situation, hence, we experience crave. Some common examples, for instance, are that when you are thirsty, you want to drink something, when you are tired, you want to rest, and so the list goes. It didn't hit me until late that craving goes behind the physical need but also happens on a mental state.

I have been listening to AM radios while driving, most notably the ESPN radio, the NPR, and the recently discovered Catholic radio station, AM 1260. While at home I watch TV programs, on the internet I browse over typed materials, on the elliptical I catch up on books. That is to say, my exposure to the pleasure of listening to the mellifluous harmony that is music has been unintentionally kept to a minimum.

I have come to notice that these past two or three days my brain has become its own music player. Songs were shuffled in my mind on random moments. The songs were from different genres, ranging from Taizé to The Smashing Pumpkins, and were never repeated. I can hear them played in my mind almost as complex as the original recording. All was beyond the control of my conscious mind.

To tie it back to my original premise, I conclude that I had been severely deprived from music solely on its own, my brain in turn is trying to relieve it by serving music à la carte.

I just find it all enlightening. It is perhaps also interesting to experience similar enlightenment on the other end of the exposure, that is, when the body is overwhelmed with a certain sensual pleasure.

Write That

I've been recruited to be in charge of a tri-monthly newsletter for a certain organization. I gave them an on-the-spot enthusiastic positive respond. Reasons behind such respond were that 1) I enjoy being involved in the organization, 2) I believe in the cause, and 3) the most important of them all that I just think it is about time for a bit of serious writing than the usual chronicle (of the banality) of my life type, don't you agree?

Another writing aspiration is something on my field of work, preferably on the professional but casual, for-the-masses, non peer-reviewed one. I really need to find a way to channel that. Maybe by starting on building enough credential, learning more about the industry, getting educated deeper on wider subjects? Oh, the possibility.

On another note, being a true hypochondriac, I am going down with an early form of dementia. Case in point: I forgot the names of several co-workers today. I tried real hard and was only able to recall them after a long while. Another case in point was the increasing severity of that self-diagnosed attention deficit disorder. So help me God.

State of Me

I am dead sleepy but I just couldn't turn off my brain...
I am still full from the vegetarian take out (it's almost two weeks since I've been abstaining from meat and poultry but I don't think I can be a vegetarian forever), but I am craving for something sweet or chocolate...
I can't wait for tomorrow so I can go to thrift stores around the area to satisfy an going desire to decorate around the apartment...
I miss Boyfriend so much, I cried...

I love that we can talk about nothing and everything
I love that you do listen to the trivial things I said, when I thought you don't
I love how we understand each other in a non-verbal way
I love that we can always find our way home when we are lost
I love that I feel safe when I am with you
I love that you brag about me to your friends and family
I love your giving me thoughtful gifts when I don't expect it
I love that you are there for my highs and lows
I love the silent moments when I can just reach you and hold your hand as long as I want
Most importantly, I have seen the best and worst of you, and I still love you for who you are

Would You?

One of the text message banters through out the days...

What's up boyfriend. I cant believe the deals at Z*les online. Crazy girl is screen shopping next to me...

What, my hand started to twitch...

And just two nights ago I had a dream I am wearing our wedding band. I woke up looking at my left ring finger. There was nothing there. LOL. I want to scream on top of my lung, "Would you just propose already????"

Job

I woke up fresh this morning--despite getting awaken multiple times during the night--with today's work plan on my mind. On my plan, I would finish quite a lot of the essential parts of a certain device fabrication by the end of work day. If I were The Brain, this was going to be the magnum opus for a worldly domination.

I hastily got ready, picked out some ensemble in red from the closet, which includes a red faux-leather belt worn high waisted on top of a black cardigan, but I digress. I was graceful that the car battery of unknown remaining lifetime still works in the chilly northern California morning. That and the light traffic were instrumental in bringing me to arrive at work a minute to the hour of nine. "Aha, the machines are going to be all mine," a little smirk lighted up my face.

Alas, just like my rodentia alter ego, things started going down on the very first step of the plethora of procedures I have to follow. I successfully accomplished nothing but irk by lunch time. What annoyed me most was how egoistic people are on the race to finish up tasks at hand. Little did I realize that those people include yours truly. And yet I couldn't help to nurture a sexist sentimental feeling of a little girl faces the still macho world of this industry all by herself.

My frustration grew exponentially as obstacles recurred on every single step. There I was the Job of Silicon Valley. Unlike the biblical figure, I continued to grumble (and beyond). But somehow the light at the end of the tunnel got brighter as the night progressed. I calmed down and I was back full course on my mission. After spending twelve hours and thirty minutes mostly standing on my feet, I drove back home finally attaining my goal for the day. I am hoping tomorrow is a more pleasant work day and that the device works as is, but mostly I am hoping I could be more calm and collected in cruising through tough situations at work or otherwise.

How was your work/study day?