JUL

30

2010

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Nullam id ante augue, eget interdum odio. Curabitur ut euismod elit. Vivamus ac justo non magna fringilla commodo id eget massa. Nam arcu leo, ornare suscipit dignissim et, vulputate at enim. Fusce nec sem leo. Vivamus et neque quis est ullamcorper dapibus eu eget elit. Maecenas dui nulla, molestie blandit varius et, dapibus in dui. Ut eget odio quis est cursus molestie. Quisque porttitor elementum varius. Quisque interdum sagittis elit, sed lobortis metus pellentesque quis. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Nulla facilisi. Phasellus euismod ornare mi in gravida. Pellentesque tristique elit eu lorem mollis nec lacinia magna vulputate. Donec ligula purus, sodales at porta in, vehicula sed elit. Quisque ac lorem diam. In quis tellus a ipsum placerat consequat.

JUL

29

2010

from there i biked to belmont to get the battery charger from the garage. from a few blocks away i could already see the huge crane behind the house and hear the sounds of chainsaws and wood chippers. apparently the backyard neighbors have decided to get rid of an enormous pine tree on their property. these are the same annoying neighbors with their noisy kids and clucking chickens. i rather get rid of the neighbors than the tree. there ought to be some law against chopping down an old tree just because you don't like it. i don't exactly know how old or how tall that tree was, but it was definitely one of the tallest trees in the vicinity.

back at home, i removed the battery and charged it inside the house. i connected the leads wrong, sending out angry sparks from the point of contact. i quickly figured out the problem. after a few hours of charging, i put the battery back onto the bike and managed to start it up without any problems. i may want to buy a new battery though: this is the second time the battery has failed. i was lucky both times because i was close to home, but it'd be a nightmare if i was stranded somewhere far away with a dead battery.

i made lasagna for dinner. originally i was going to teach my roommate, but she didn't get back home until 11:30, having gone out for dinner in chinatown with some coworkers.

JUL

28

2010

my father and our relative dropped by my place for a visit. not only was it his first time seeing my house, but it was his first time in boston. my father told me their plan of returning to western long island tomorrow and picking up the daughter for a weekend back in boston before returning her to school and her father returning to china. a next door neighbor had thrown out a little cubic mini-fridge; my father picked it up, figuring the daughter could use in her dorm (provided that it was still working, which it was). later they drove to northeastern university to check out the campus (with the help of some maps i printed out for them).

my roommate came home around 6:30. i hadn't seen her since sunday night, before i left for new york on monday morning. she told me about the different classes she had to take growing up under a communist chinese educational system: classes on marxism, mao's poetries, and confucian ethics. even into graduate school, they're required to take a communism course. primary school has a secondary function as daycare and children stay until 6:00, when their parents can pick them up from work.

JUL

27

2010

i slept terribly last night. first of all, i went to bed late. while my father had already fallen asleep hours ago, i was still busy transcribing the day's events into a blog entry. i didn't go to sleep until 4:00. then there were the noises. besides the intermittent rumble of passing trains, the air conditioner was also too noisy. i would've turned it off but didn't think i could fumble it off in the dark. finally, maybe it was psychosomatic, but i felt itchy all over, and began to believe there were bed bugs.

by the time i woke up at 8:00 i'd barely slept. my father was already up, partaking in the complimentary continental breakfast and helping our relatives load up their luggage into the car. i got myself ready, taking a shower and getting dressed in some presentable slacks an a white shirt. i forced myself to eat a piece of fried chicken and washed it down with some free apple juice from the breakfast table out in the lobby.

we left hojo by 9:00. the route from queens village to adelphia university (garden city) was straight forward enough that we didn't even bother using the GPS for the 15 minute ride.

located in a quiet suburb, adelphia had a very picturesque campus, with a grounds crew working non-stop to keep the lawns mowed and the trees and hedges nicely pruned. it's not a bad place to go to school actually, except it feels sort of isolated from the rest of the world (even though manhattan is only a 45 minute train ride away).

it took us a while to find the ELS language center, especially since they relocated to a different building (linen hall) than what i originally saw on their campus map. the place was nothing more than a dormitory, with the offices located in the basement.

(to be continued...)

JUL

26

2010

i was surprised to find my roommate had already left for work this morning, since she was up late last night (like 2:30 late) hunched over her laptop in the living room working on some mysterious project. i'd already gone to bed, hoping she would be too, since i hate to lose the crown of the person who stays up the latest.

i made a quick trip to the bank this morning in harvard square to get some cash, before quickly gathering up my stuff and leaving for belmont via bicycle. i hope my roommate remembers what i told her about locking the windows, but just to be safe, i took my laptop, my camera equipment, and even my backup hard drive, so there'd be nothing of value left in the house should it be burgled while i'm away.

i was leaving with my father to new york city (long island actually), and probably won't be back until late tuesday at the earliest. we were there to pick up a relative from china (my father's maternal cousin), escorting her daughter to the US so she can attend business school. here's where the story gets complicated though. originally she was supposed to go to school in boston, where she'd have at least some familial support (my parents) should she need it. however, the only school that contacted her was adelphia in garden city (long island), so she reluctantly agreed to go there instead, with the condition that she attends an ESL course to brush up her english prior to the start of the semester. but after all the paper work was done (and the tuition paid), northeastern accepted her as well (actually her first choice). by then the student visa had already been issued, and with only a few days left before leaving china, there wasn't anything she could do. so the new plan is for her to start her ESL class at adelphia, wait for the transfer to go through, then relocate to boston.

guided by our garmin gps, we made our way to queens village, where we had reservations for a pair of howard johnson hotel rooms, within striking distance of both the JFK international airport and adelphia university. we left belmont around 11:00 and got to queens village close to 3:00.

queens village wasn't much to write home about, with the hojo located on a decrepit stretch of commercial thoroughfare in a sea of thickly settled residential. there were a lot of banks and a lot of churches. plenty of laundromats as well, and no loss for convenience stores. actually, as far as commercial districts go, it was pretty well represented, but the area had definitely seen better days. of the restaurants, there were several west indies places, some chinese, one mexican, and one diner. what my father thought was a korean restaurant turned out to be a tae kwon do school.

i'd done some research beforehand and had realized there were some fried chicken restaurants within the vicinity, as well as a white castle. the first thing we did after checking into our hotel room was drive to said burger joint about a mile away. ever since harold and kumar, i've been dying to try a white castle burger. we ate in the restaurant, to absorb the full ambience. i ordered 4 tiny burgers, and my father got 4 tiny pull-pork sandwiches. verdict? they're okay, but nothing worth driving 200+ miles for. the buns were soft like cotton, but the meat was a processed sliver of rectangular greyness passing for beef. the toppings were reminiscent of a normal mcdonald burger, except at least mcdonald tries to make their patty resemble something that came from a living thing. i almost wanted to apologize for my father for having to experience this failure with me. 4 white castle burgers equal approximately a single regular mcdonald burger, except more expensive. there also seems to be unnessary waste, as each tiny burger is individually wrapped in a cardboard carton. surprisingly, i felt full after just 3 burgers. i forced myself to finish the last one, figuring it would taste worse cold.

we parked the car back at the hotel and wandered around the neighborhood for a while. we visited the elevated queens village LIRR station. the place was a bit run down, and had the smell of spilled soda (a nicer way of saying what i really thought it smelled like). other than the few drivers waiting in their buses downstairs, there was no other MTA employees to be found. a few folks were waiting on the platform, motionless for the most part, just trying to stay cool in the oppressive dry heat. two trains came down on either side of the tracks without stopping, traveling so fast (100+ mph?) that i could easily see it sucking someone down onto the tracks.

back at the hotel we rested until dinner. it didn't take us long to realize the LIRR went by the back of the hotel, so every so often we'd hear and feel the rumble of a passing train. we turned the air conditioner to full crank, feeling obligated to the cool breeze for our paid room. i'd brought along my laptop when i saw that there was free wireless internet access. the password was just their fax number (i wonder if this is the same for all howard johnsons?). there was also a small LG flat screen television mounted to the wall, but the reception on the 30 odd channels seemed rather analog despite the digital technology. i woke my father from his nap at 6:00.

from our exploration earlier we spotted a west indies restaurant we wanted to try out. my father was drawn to the oxtails advertised on a chalk placard standing on the sidewalk. there was a counter of heated curries behind a glass window shelf in front of the store, with banks of empty tables in the back. we stood there for about a minute while the employees did their best to ignore us. "are you open for dinner?" i asked slightly annoyed, almost about to leave at that point. one of the employees directed us back to the front of the restaurant, where seemingly unappetizing curry awaited. too late to consider any other options, we decided to gamble and try it out (for takeout anyway, no point sticking around for a table). my father had his oxtails mixed with some bean and rice, mashed sweet potatoes, and mashed pumpkin. i had the same, except goat curry instead, and some mashed spinach as well. at $7, it wasn't a bad deal (provided the food was fresh and hadn't been sitting there for days). we also got 2 bottles of guyanese ginger beer.

my father was pleasantly surprised by the oxtails, and finished most of his dinner. my goat curry was okay, but the smell of goat was very strong and made my stomach queasy. those white castle burgers must've also been more filling than i realized because i wasn't hungry. i ended up just finishing the goat parts, dipped in some west indies hot sauce for that extra kick. speaking of which, i was in the bathroom soon afterwards, my digestive system kicking back (i wonder if there was also dairy in the curry?).

we left for the airport before 8:00. our precious cargoes weren't arriving until 8:30 (via korean air), but my father wanted to get there early in case we got lost or hit some traffic. goggle map said about 16 minutes driving, which was about right, plus a few additional minutes for missing our terminal and having to circle back around to find the green parking lot.

the arrival board said the flight was already on the ground by 7:53, whatever that meant. at 8:40 the board updated the status to arrived 8:20. most of the people waiting were koreans. some had welcome balloons, a few carried cameras to document the arrival. of the non-koreans, a handful held up signs with names on them, drivers looking for their drivees. a distinguished looking older man in a suit was greeted by a team of similarly looking young men in suits. working as a team, they helped the boss carry his things. the man must've been VIP first class, but many more minutes went by before anybody else came out from the doors. it was kind of interesting watching the flashes of happy emotions as arriving passengers were greeted by their waiting party. especially these international flights from asia, because these trips aren't often made, so the reunions are that much sweeter.

besides my father's cousin and his daughter, the daughter's boyfriend was also traveling with them. like her, he's also going to graduate school here in the US, but in connecticut. his aunt was supposed to come pick him up, so she was somewhere in the crowd of asians. my father and i tried to guess who it was (the short frumpy lady? the lady in the 4" heels?). he even called her cell phone twice, but neither time she answered.

the cousin, the daughter, and the boyfriend were amongst the last passengers to clear through customs and come out of the gate. the reason why we didn't see the aunt was because the uncle came instead (it was the asian man with the coiled national geographic magazine all along!). there was a moment of awkwardness as the couple split up, the boy leaving with his uncle, the girl coming with us.

we drove back to the hotel guided entirely by gps. the way back was so circuitous (yet still the shortest way home) that we would've never made it without satellite guidance.

after unloading 3 large suitcases and 2 small suitcases (it was a packing miracle that we managed fit them all in the car), my father went to go park the car while we waited. the cousin asked if he could smoke outside (as a daily single pack smoker, he was jonesing for a nicotine fix after a cigarette-free trans-pacific flight). i jokingly said no, but said yes when he thought i was serious. we showed the father and daughter to their room, just across the hallway (112) from ours (113). while my father went with his cousin to pick up some popeye fried chicken from down the street (and also probably to smoke as well), i instructed the daughter how to access the wireless network.

i've never had popeye fried chicken before, but i heard better things about it than KFC. after having two pieces, i think they're pretty much the same, which means they still can't compare to genuine freshly-made fried chicken. i didn't think the daughter was very hungry, but she downed a few chicken as well as indulging in some cole slaw. the cousin refrained from the fried stuff, confessing his disdain for both chicken and fish. he did however have a bowl of ramen my father brought along from home.

the rest of the evening was spent in our room chatting. the cousin is a very amiable fellow, full of funny stories about applying for his second US visa or incurring the wrath of a local on a recent taiwanese business trip.

father and daughter left for their room around midnight. they didn't seem tired, but i told them if they can get some sleep tonight, it'll speed up their jetlag recovery. when the cousin went out for a smoke my father went along as well. when he returned he smelled of chinese cigarettes.

JUL

25

2010

things are happening in the belmont garden. another week or so and we should be picking our first ripe tomato of the season (not counting the cherry tomatoes that've been sprouting).

one of the cayenne pepper has turned red. the hungarian hot wax is showing its greenish yellow color. the anaheim peppers will turn red but they're usually used green.

i noticed a few holes on one of the bottle gourds. it was only superficial, bottle gourds are too tough for worms to tunnel through.

i did go around and inject some more Bt into a few squash vines. infected plants are easy to spot because their leaves look shriveled. if they still don't improve, they'll have to be uprooted and the invading boring worm destroyed before it can finish feeding and pupate in the soil.

the first episode of season 4 of mad men should be titled, "how don draper got his groove back." a year later after the inception of the new sterling-cooper-draper-pryce advertising agency, things aren't going right for don. he messes up a newspaper interview by being his usual mysterious self, loses a client as a result, goes on a blind date and doesn't score (DD don't score? say it ain't so!), employs the services of a prostitute (DD paying for ladies? say it ain't so!), spends thanksgiving alone, and he's still paying the mortgage on his house that's currently occupied by his ex-wife and her new husband. so the ending was especially satisfying because if there's still one thing where he has plenty of mojo, it's his work, and throwing out a client for not embracing the new advertising paradigm is exactly what SCDP should be doing. and the episode ends just like the way it started, with don draper sitting down for an interview. but instead of being coy, he's selling himself this time, and taking credit for the good work he's been doing. and the mere mention of the "heist" that happend in last season's finale makes me want to rewatch that episode again.

JUL

24

2010

after walking down the length of newbury street (admiring both the name brand boutiques and the empty for-lease store fronts) to copley square, we checked out the boston public library. susan was impressed by the architecture, but was floored by the stacks of books, especially the large collection of chinese literature. she noticed a few titles banned in china and took some photos to show friends back home. she also couldn't believe people could borrow movies and music from the AV department. we used their public bathroom, looked through the exhibit of vintage travel posters, then finally left the library.

back outside, we checked out the trinity church and the hancock tower. susan wasn't too impressed by our glass mirror skyscraper until i told her back at home that it was designed by i.m pei, world-renowned chinese-american architect.

continuing down newbury street, we arrived in boston common. susan saw some tame park squirrels and spotted her first robin (and then another, and another - they seemed ubiquitous).

from boston common we climbed into beacon hill, checking out the boot scrapers, some historical eye candy of a bygone time when horses were the main mode of transportation. we saw the state house, then checked out the granary graveyard, final resting place of some distinguished americans like benjamin franklin's parents and john hancock.

at downtown crossing i realized we were slightly off-course. though close to haymarket (our final destination), we backtracked so we could check out chinatown. we got some stuff from the lincoln street c-mart before walking back in the direction of government center.

it was 4:30 by the time we finally arrived at haymarket. with the market about to close at 5:00, vendors were slashing prices and customers were clamoring for bargains. i bought a whole box of red plums for $1 (about 3 dozen) and 4 lbs. of cherries ($8).

passing through city hall to catch the subway back home, we ran into the cuervo games happening in the plaza, a kind of adult obstacle course sponsored by a booze company. there was a live band performing (didn't catch the name of the performers though). we stayed for a few minutes, then took the T back to cambridge.

JUL

23

2010

i spent the rest of my early morning reading a magazine in the living room. at 7:30 there was another round of upstairs clamoring. when my roommate woke up she was surprised to see me already up and about.

i was in standby mode the rest of the day. since my code delivery last night, i hadn't heard back from client S with any sort of addition edits or bugs, so i took the lack of feedback to be a positive development. as a programmer-for-hire, i'm always the last person to know when a project has been signed off. maybe clients don't want to give me the okay signal only to later find out something else went wrong.

as a treat, i got some chinese takeout for lunch from zoe's. i ordered the general tso's chicken, an entirely american creation not found in authentic chinese cuisine but one of my takeout favorites. i devoured my meal why watching the rest of the midday news.

doppler radar was showing me a large swath of rain clouds approaching the boston area beginning in the afternoon. i was going to get some groceries but didn't want to risk getting soaked, so i stayed home instead. i watched all episodes of MTV's the hard times of RJ berger, up to number 7. surprisingly, it's my new favorite show, kind of like a cross between american pie, glee, and superbad, your typical coming-of-age sex comedy.

since my normal sleep was cut short by about 4 hours, i drifted off into a nap. the soft fall of a drizzle doused the landscape. i figured i'd be more comfortable sleeping in my own bed instead of the couch, but the moment i decided to relocate, i couldn't fall back asleep. i can only nap when it's spontaneous, not forced. something in my brain kicks in at that point and makes me realize i could be doing something else instead of sleeping.

that something else turned out to be taking photos of the bikers getting caught in the rain as they were coming home. is it wrong? but where else can i capture drama so up close and personal?

after i got back, i change out of my wet clothes and took a shower before my roommate returned home. while she was eating some ramen for dinner, we talked about american movies. she knows a lot about stateside cinema (even did some subtitle translation work in her spare time) but only the chinese names of the movies and actors. we played an improvised game where we i tried to guess the film from the foreign name and her synopsis.

we just so happened to be talking about lord of the rings when it came on TNT. she seemed to be trying to match me in staying up late, but before i could tell i was going to bed, she saw the time and realized it was late (like, 2:00 late).

JUL

22

2010

aside from work, the other exciting things that happened today was i biked to the library to return some books (it was nice to get out of the house for a little bit, having been cooped up for most of this week) and i got my neighbor renee to turn off her beeping low-battery carbon monoxide detector in her empty downstairs apartment. the culprit was definitely the battery, because after she changed it, it stopped beeping. i noticed it again last night, but by then it was too late to do anything about it, so i shut my bedroom window to keep myself from going crazy from the intermittent beeps.

i haven't been eating well the past few days, not having made my weekly visit to the supermarket for groceries. i have a yogurt for breakfast, maybe a turkey sandwich for lunch, then either simple dan dan noodles or pizza rolls for dinner. hopefully i'm free for much of tomorrow to make a food run, but i won't be home monday and tuesday, so i may wait until next week to fully restock the fridge.

i thought it was kind of weird, but my roommate was hanging out in the living room when she got back from work. while i was watching a show on television, she was watching a show on her laptop with headphones, straddling the social divide.

JUL

21

2010

i have a secret: i actually like windows 7. i've played around with vista as well, but not enough to notice any bugs. compared to XP though, vista seemed bloated. but in its most current iteration, windows 7 is a much improved vista. and it's the most mac OS X like windows OS to date, so for a life-long apple user like me, the windows 7 user interface feels just as intuitive.

i'm overdue for a new pc. my current dell dimension 1100 is over 5 years old. i bought it new for $300 and it came with a monitor. i use it primarily for testing purposes. my desktop mac is even older, over a decade, a 400mhz G4 that i suped up to 1.8ghz but feels just as slow. when and if i do get a new pc, it'd replace both my desktop machines in the form of a hackintosh.

i stopped working by 4:00. smelly a bit raw, i took a quick shower. my roommate came home around 5:30, but left shortly afterwards to meet a shanghai friend in harvard square.