So, I’ve been in San Francisco since last , working at the Elative offices. Been a beautiful week here in SF weather-wise (50–60’s, blue skies every day), and working in the office is always an excellent change of pace, but I’m definitely looking forward to returning home & seeing my baby :D
And I need to give my hosts Steve & Stacy a super awesome shout-out, they’ve put me up for the whole week, and have taken me out with them to a bunch of great places. There’ll be some Yelp reviews soon!
[Ed. note – I wrote this Sunday on the plane back from Charlotte, but forgot to publish it right away.]
Turns out that on an E190, the row of seats directly in front of the emergency row do NOT recline. In fact, they seem to be even more upright, if anything. So, if you like to doze on planes, don’t sit here!
As for my time spent with my parents, had a great time! Spent some time at the stables with my mom, helping a little bit more with their computers, then got in some horseback riding on Saturday. Definitely sore, but it was great; haven’t ridden in years. Thursday & Friday night was spent just hangin’ out watching movies; Thursday we just watched whatever was on, but Friday we rented Body of Lies from the iTunes Store, a great movie!
Saturday night was the best though: my friends Joe, Matt, Greg, Tim, Tom, & John, along with his wife Catherine, came over for dinner. My mom prepared steaks, fettuccine, salad, & shrimp which was delicious, & we popped open a bunch of great wine, courtesy of my father’s always excellent purchases. The last time I had a bunch of these guys together was on my 21st birthday, back in 2004, and it was even better this time! Everyone spilled in regards to their lives recently, which was great, as I haven’t caught up with a few of them in a while. Got a chance to hear my buddy Tom’s jury, as he had a DVD copy of it in his car, & the night was just filled with laughter. Hopefully, I’ll get to see each of them sooner rather than later, especially since a few of them are big on coming up for a Sox game!
Only thing that would have made it better is if Amber could have been there, but she’s kicking ass getting ready to graduate! She’s wicked excited that the end is in sight, & we’re looking for a job for her in Boston. Hopefully in biology/medicine (that’s her field), but with the job market as it is, any decent gig would be good for now. So if any of you silent readers (come on, comment already!) know of an opportunity, please get in touch with me.
Alright, now to try & doze some more in this damn seat.
Headed down to Charlotte today for a long weekend with my parents. First time I’ll be seeing both of them since Christmas. Unusually for me, neither of my siblings will be there, so that will be a new experience. Excited to get some riding in with my mom at the stables she works at, as well as see some old friends on Saturday night for some good food & Good Times™!
Also new for me, this is the first time I’ve ever taken any actual vacation time from a job. Being paid to relax rocks!
This week and next I’m in Cupertino for Genius Training at Apple HQ, but today & tomorrow we have off, so myself & a few of the other Geniuses hopped in the rental we have and headed off to see the sights.
First stop was the Computer History Museum, which was *way* cool. Not big, but they had lots of nifty stuff, and a working 19th century replica difference machine! Definitely recommend if technology interests.
After that, we went hunting for redwood trees (*Sequoia Sempervirens*), and headed north to Redwood City. Sadly, a misnomer a far as we were able to tell, but we did find some *magnificent* views of the countryside. Pictures will follow on my flickr.
From there we headed to San Fran, and at the moment we’re still approaching. The bay is on our right, and the Pacific on our left. Too cool. I’ll post more later!
Some pictures of my travel mates/fellow Genius trainees:
Andrew & DJ, my car-sharing mates, are showcased first.
After that we have Jeffrey and Assad.
Trying out blogging from my iPhone; pretty nifty. I’m currently sitting by gate B10 in Logan Airport, waiting to board my 10:30 flight to Roanoke via Philly. My sister’s graduating from college tommorrow, which is just unbelievable to me. Then in June, she moves to NYC! Crazy stuff. Not only that, but my brother is graduating high school on 3 weeks, and a buddy of mine is getting married 2 weeks after that! Momentous occasions this spring, to be sure.
But right now, I’m exhausted from a couple of sleep-deprived nights. Helped my friend Christine with two final projects this week, both followed by early mornings. Currently running on about 4–5 hours of sleep. No fun. Hopefully I can catch some z’s on the plane.
On another note, the jazz group Ellie & I are trying to start may finally have the kick in the ass it needs: a gig. Well see how that turns out.
So I will be going away on vacation from this Friday, Dec. 21, until Sunday, Dec 30th. I’ll be out of the country in fact, on holiday with my family in the Society Islands. I hope everyone has a happy holiday, whatever you may or may not celebrate, and I’ll see you in the new year!
