Day 31

It's time for the spring thaw. The image of a browning holiday wreath in the trash is somewhat of a contrived, though convenient metaphor.


My army of terra cotta beer bottles. They will accompany me into the afterlife. I just filled and capped all of them, and they should be ready in time for my birthday/Kyle's birthday/end of school/moving out of my apartment bash. Maybe I should refer to my birthday as my brisday. That is a much more vivid image, though a birth is pretty gory too, when you think about it. I don't really know why my parents opted for the extra incision. I guess the people at the hospital figured that if they already snipped the umbilical cord, they might as well lop off the foreskin while they were at it. Maybe they did it at no additional charge as some sort of promotional deal: "Free circumcision with every birth." I guess if that's the case, I can't really blame them, my parents. I mean, who wouldn't take a deal like that?

Old man Salinger is dead now. He died just the other day. Just in case you were too much of a moron to know.


Tonight is curry night! Yang makes a mean curry.

Day 30

• It's not dumpster diving if it's your own trash, food items included.
• It's not breaking the speed limit (or any other traffic law) if you're riding a bicycle.
• Of my eight co-workers, I'd say two qualify as stranded-on-a-desert-island material, on the basis of survival and conversational skills.
• I'm not Filipino, though it might be fun to pretend to be.
• The self-aware haunted house is kitsch performance art in its highest form.
• Never try to capture a heathen's likeness inside the confines of your devil box; no good can come of any such thing.
• The 50% Off shelf at Safeway is a friend to be trusted.

Day 29 and 1/2

"Let's be different... together!" - Motto of the UC Berkeley Co-Ops

Day 29

Last night I had an interesting experiment that tested the concept of peace through tyranny. I was having something of a pizza party with some high school acquaintances at the Cheese Board, one of Berkeley's renowned eateries. I got there early, but as more people began to trickle in, it was clear that we didn't have much of a game plan beyond meeting at a proscribed location and time before devouring cheese-covered bread. Well, that was a fine and dandy plan, the only problem being that our party was about 14 people. Predictably, it got chaotic pretty quickly and I found myself do a fair amount of traffic control. As a person who abhors a mob, I tapped into some of my deep-seated sheepdog instincts and did some herding of all the sheeple.

The pizza party was in honor of a friend of ours, and he seemed a bit flustered at such a volume of humanity before him. So I stepped in and became the benevolent dictator. I decided that there shall be pizza in our time, and I bought three pizzas for our group. Seeing that there were neither chairs nor plates, I directed some chairs and tables and plates together, that the people might sit upon the chairs and eat from the plates and sate their lust for pizza. And it was good, and the people knew it in their stomaches that it was good. Their cups runneth over.

What I'm essentially trying to get at is that I've gotten to the point in my life where I have next to no patience for indecision or inaction.

Also, I've been keeping a google spreadsheet of my spending so far this year. I have two columns, for my two accounts: personal expenses and family expenses. Whenever I bill something to the family column, I feel like I have to have a pretty legitimate reason. My general policy is to bill my parents for three essentials (non-prepared food, clothing, and shelter) and one major luxury (education, including books and tuition). But sometimes there are things that fall inbetween. Who pays for my laundry? Does the upkeep of my clothes fall in the category of essentials (staying clothed), or is it my responsibility? This may seem like petty niggling over a few nickels and dimes, but every time I move an expense from the "David" column to the "Famiy" column, I feel a little bit of my independence slip away. It definitely looks like it'll be a long time before I can stand on my own two financial feet. The count for 2010, as of 29 January:
David: -$213.67
David's Family: -$6049.75

Day 28

Went running this morning. I felt pretty great going in to my first class. The pre-class run, shower, and oatmeal were definitely the deciding factors in my feeling like a million bucks.

Tonight I said goodbye to one of my friends from high school. He's going away to do missionary work for two years, as is mandated by his church. It just made me think about all the other people I knew in high school I haven't seen since graduation (which was about two years ago), and wonder how much their lives have changed. I felt kind of eerie thinking about these people I had almost completely forgotten about; it was kind of like raising the dead from their graves. My mind was filled with strange apparitions of ghosts of schooldays past.

Day 27

I suppose there are several things to remark upon today:

First. This morning I had theatre class, and we focused on sensory experiences, in which we paired up, with one person blindfolded and one person leading the other around campus to show the blindfolded one "snapshots." Walking without sight is pretty daunting at first, but I got to trusting my guide pretty quickly. The snapshots I got to see were of birds and squirrels hopping around campus, doing their business, along with a really green patch of ivy. I suppose the sense deprivation made the colors pretty vibrant, because I don't recall ivy ever being quite that green.

Second. I have a lot going for myself: not only do I eat three meals a day, but I also have access to hot and cold running water. Additionally, I live with four walls and central heating, I have a soft bed, and I receive a heavily-subsidized public university education. Things are going pretty awesome by global/historical standards. That said, I still kind of want to live in a yurt on the steppes.

Third. Today I added a friend. No, not on The Facebook, but in The Reality. Julie the Marine Scientist will be there for me in physics lab/discussion when I need to talk to someone about the geomorphology of islands or NPR. Which is pretty freakin' sweet, because those two-hour long labs/discussions sure get awful lonely when I only have my old pal, Newtonian physics, to keep me company.

Day 24

Man, the other day I was having some major fantasizing going on. I'm not one to indulge in wishful thinking too often, but my imagination just wouldn't let go. I really wanted an Alaskan Malamute, as in the breed of dog that looks vaguely like a wolf. Growing up, I never had any sort of mammalian pet (only carnival goldfish), on account of my childhood home's carpeted floors and my dad's allergies. But the other day I just couldn't stop looking at pictures of malamutes. They just look so awesome with their curved tails and pointed ears and natural grins. I never really got to empathize with kids who owned dogs, and for most of my life I've been pretty socially awkward around dogs, which is weird when you think about it. I mean, dogs are maybe some of the friendliest creatures around, who have minimal to no expectations of their relationship to you. All they really crave is attention. Give them that and they'll give you the world. But for some reason, I never really knew what the correct protocol was when in the presence of our domestic canine friends.

Maybe that's part of the draw of the malamute for me. There's something mystical and wild built into them, seeing as how they're interbred with wolves and all. I'd like to think about them as still having something wild inside them. I suppose it's a trait I'd like to have in myself, seeing as how I would abhor to ever have the term "domesticated" apply to me. I've built a mythology in my mind around the malamute, one that involves them being something purer and wilder than other dogs. In my mythology, malamutes lack the dumb happy smile, the glazed look of contentment that comes from a comfortable life. That they still have the inventiveness and courage to survive on their own in the wild makes me tingle in the spine a little bit.

I should move to Alaska some day. I swear to God.

Day 23

I had my first theatre class on Friday, and I have to admit that I'm pretty pumped for the coming semester of acting. For a long time, I was pretty apprehensive about the whole idea of acting, taking an even puritanical view in thinking that it was a form of fakery or deception. I thought that it would be insincere, fake, and, worst of all, phony, to pretend to be anyone but myself.

I've come a long way since then in terms of how I define "myself." In my Tibetan Buddhism class last year, I even toyed with the idea of tossing out the whole notion of self altogether. I've evolved my definition of self to encompass a wider range of personages and identities, each with an appropriate application depending on my company, the weather, my mood, the alignment of the stars, and so forth. So I'm a whole lot less troubled these days by the fear that I might be that dreaded word: phony.

I'm looking forward to discovering and developing new selves, as well as meeting all of the other interesting sorts of characters in my class.

Day 21

I don't really have anything all that interesting going on right now. I'm still adjusting to this new semester that so far has had an uncanny resemblance to my high school experience, where I was surrounded by some of the hardest-working people I've ever met (our unofficial school motto was "Lowell: Where You're Best Hasn't Been Good Enough Since 1856"). Because I'm enrolled in two "weeder" courses (introductory chemistry and physics), a good deal of my classmates are freshman with medical aspirations. Some words I might use to describe the way that this species of student approaches academics include mercenary and self-flagellatory (not an actual word). Basically, these kids want good grades and the odds are against them (my physics professor gives A's to the top 25% of the class).

I've more or less succeeded in this sort of competitive environment before, and I'm not super worried about it, especially since I'm not worrying about ever applying to medical school. But it's still pretty annoying to run into these competitive-types that work super hard and hate every minute of it; it's like there's a vortex of misery swirling around them (don't get sucked in!). I suppose it's a good reminder to not take things too seriously -- one of my lab partners was practically flipping out with stress during our first lab (baking soda and vinegar volcanoes, yay!).

Wow, I can hear the train from my apartment. Toot toot!

Day 20

Caution: Woodchips

Currently reading: Mythematics: Solving the 12 Labors of Hercules by Michael Huber (not as exciting as it sounds; it reads like a physics textbook where all the problems involve mythical beasts. I picked it up because I was in the Mathematics/Statistics library and needed to kill some time.)
Dollars spent: $16
Miles ran: 0

Day 19

Today I ventured into the strange eastern lands known as the College of Chemistry (pictured below). Starting at my native College of Natural resources, I journeyed far across campus, from the land of the redwoods to the west, to the library stacks of central campus, and finally to the mighty cement edifice that is Latimer Hall.

There I found a land peopled by inhabitants clad in strange foot coverings, for it is the custom of many of my fellow Forestry majors to go about their business bare-footed. Additionally, these quaint folk have yet to discover the utility of glass mason jars as suitable drinking vessels, instead opting for woefully opaque plastic mugs that bear the logos of their favorite corporations. Instead of using these queer vessels to hold the cup of tea that is customary in my homeland, these odd beings consume a dark, aromatic liquid known for its psychoactive properties that increase their ability to pay attention to the classes they don't enjoy. What a strange land indeed.

Dollars spent: $3.53 (chili and cornbread for lunch)
Currently reading: Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh (it's about a phrenologist!)
Miles ran: 0

Day 18

I'm a very busy man, so I only have enough time to express today in picto-form.


Richmond Shoreline


Brown Nut Ale

Old hops.

Zoomed in for texture.

I need to leave right now - I have a tea party to attend to.

Money spent: $114`.98
Miles ran: 0
Currently reading: Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh

Day 17

Home at night.

I finally went running for the first time in about a month, and I sure picked a doosey of a day to run to Twin Peaks. It was pretty windy, and about halfway through the run it started to drizzle. I was cramping up and my breathing was labored as my asthma started to kicked in. But I earned some major hardcore points when a car passed by, not too far from the top of the peaks, and gave an encouraging honk, its occupants smiling and giving thumbs ups. That kept me going.

Miles Ran: 4.5
Currently Reading: 1491 by Charles C. Mann
Dollars Spent: 0

Day 4 (Non-Sequential)

Pork waiting to be unloaded at Sunset Super, Vicente and Sunset Boulevard, San Francisco.

RECOGNIZING the suffering of domesticated animals bred for human consumption; FURTHER RECOGNIZING the energy inefficiency of fossil fuel-dependent, and therefore unsustainable, farming practices; ADDITIONALLY RECOGNIZING the tenfold loss of food calories during the conversion of feed into meat; BE IT RESOLVED that David consume less meat.

Today's Expenditure: ~$20
Currently Reading: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Miles Ran: 0

Day 16

Went to the cemetery today, or rather, the "memorial park." Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo: it brings to mind heaven's golf course. There, I met a bench named Howard, judging by the letters carved into its black stone. It had a commanding view of Half Moon Bay.

Today's Expenditure: $0
Currently Reading: 1491 by Charles C. Mann
Miles Ran: 0

Day 15

Bussed back to SF today on AC Transit. The F line makes a stop right next to the Berkeley campus at Bancroft and Telegraph, so there are usually a couple kids on the bus wearing Cal hoodies. I was sitting across from a girl in a Pacific Rowing Club hoodie. The Pacific Rowing Club practices on Lake Merced, which is across the street from my alma mater, Lowell High School. If I hadn't been reading such an interesting book, my conversation with her might have gone like this:

Me: I see you're wearing a Pacific Rowing Club hoodie.
Girl: Yes, I am.
Me: Why, the high school I went to high school is right next to Lake Merced.
Girl: Oh, you went to Lowell?
Me: Why yes, I did.
Girl: Oh, I went to... [There proceeds to be 2-3 minutes of smalltalk; 2 minutes if we went to different high schools, and 3 minutes if we went to the same high school. At the conclusion of the 2-3 minutes of smalltalk, we make awkward, unintentional glances at each other for the duration of the bus ride.]

On the underground, we ended up getting on the same outbound K-Ingleside. I got off at Forest Hill Station, and she kept going.

Today's Expenditure: $2
Currently Reading: 1491 by Charles C. Mann
Miles Ran: 0

Day 14

First, I finally went outside today after a long time spent shuttered in the apartment. It was a bit overwhelming; I had forgotten that I was in Berkley. For the past two days, my mind has been everywhere but here: Yuma, Bangladesh, central Mexico, the Mediterranean, Bolivia, Cuba. The consumption of books and movies has been dizzying and I was a bit startled to discover that I was in Berkeley all along.

Once I was out-and-about I thought I would do some of the things that normal people do when they are out-and-about, so I went to a local dealer of books and bought some textbooks today for next semester. I also got a used dictionary for $3.29, primarily for its excellent words to price ratio.

Second, I finally started up a correspondence game of chess with Ramon over the Facebook (not like I need more reasons to compulsively check and recheck that page). Current board position (Ramon plays white, I play black):
1. d4 f5
2. Nf3 Nf6

I am playing the Dutch Defense in response to Ramon's queen pawn opening. It's not a particularly strong response to the queen pawn, but it's different, and the game should be interesting.

Third, I finished reading The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. This is the second of his books that I have finished reading over my long winter break, and I definitely enjoyed Sea of Poppies more, by far. But both books satisfied a longing for faraway places in me. Ghosh's writing is so evocative of his native India that reading one of his novels is equal parts travelogue and human drama. I don't think that I will ever travel to India, but reading Ghosh's books has been a whole lot cheaper and more convenient. Perhaps I should renew my subscription to National Geographic? Pretty soon, I'll have sprouted muttonchops and developed a taste for shooting enormously large creatures, deep in the bush. The Empire will have to wait, I'm afraid.

Today's Expenditure: $252.98
Currently Reading: 1491 by Charles C. Mann
Miles Ran: 0