Jason's Daily Notes

Friday night: Stopped by the apartment after work. It was raining. A woman had fender-bended me on my drive home, but no biggie. I left to meet (auntie) Nancy and my mom at an African restaurant in Mid-Wilshire. The restaurant had changed its name, and apparently also changed its menu. The food wasn't that great - a lot of mostly flavorless collard greens (at least to my unaccustomed American tongue). We then got some dessert at a nearby (and very cool/antique) Marie Callendar's. Returned home with mom. There is a new, faster internet connection at home now. Hooray.

Saturday: Dentist appointment in the morning. Then to Sweet & Savory. My mom wanted to buy a rug, so we stopped by a couple places in Pasadena, dealt with high-pressure salesmen trying to push us into a $1000 purchase, and my mom finally found one. We got home to realise it's too small. We watched some episodes of Parenthood. Mom soon went to go line dancing with Tita Lourdes. I left for West LA, as Laura was preparing a vegan dinner. It was raining moderately to hard. At the gas station, my credit card wouldn't take, so I had to run inside and pay - frustrating! All rules of driving in LA (what few rules there are) are gone once there is water on the road. Imagine how crazy it was driving in a torrent of water across town. My street had turned into a river. I found it exciting! Dinner was a curry with Laura, Sandra, and Matthias. We played the guess-who-I-am game (names on foreheads) and then left for the Echo. It was a funk-dance night, and there we met Mike with his two couchsurfing friends, Armen (who performs hip-hop?) and Zachary (from New Hampshire). We boogied the night away (for a couple hours at least) to funk music (which I had never danced to before, but it's fun to just let go - no body seemed to be the slightest bit concerned with "how they looked" - it was very un-LA and a reason I like the east side of town). Returned around 1:30am; it took a while for Matthias to close out his credit card at the bar.

Sunday: I woke up and drove to an indoor shooting range in Van Nuys. There was a special range time offer for Reddit users and I was really interested in checking it out. Michelle R, who was supposed to join me, had slept through her alarms so couldn't (it's okay, she had just arrived from the PI on Saturday and was naturally jet-lagged). It was fun! I was surprised how powerful it felt to shoot a gun - the recoil really goes through your arms. Also, my aim sucks. I left around 10:30 and drove to Pasadena to meet up with Michelle. We went to a burger shack near her apartment, then we went to Target to see Brian. He had his lunch break with us and we caught up as he ate. I also asked him about some cameras I might want to buy for my approaching trip. Ben (Michelle's boyfriend) was playing poker at Commerce. It was Ben's birthday, but all he wanted to do was gamble. I also discovered that I'm the total opposite of Ben - politically, motivation-wise, in terms of climate/geographical preference, and family wise (he's having a money issue with a soon-to-pass-away and not-kindly-regarded relative). It's fascinating to see other people's family issues. You see the ways in which they have become set in their ways, dealing with their family; it's really impossible to approach your own family issues with an objective eye.
Anyway, Ben, MR, and I went to Senor Fish in Alhambra. Ben wasn't impressed. It was chilly outside, although sunny. I was the only one with a jacket. MR bought a tea at Starbucks. We drove back to Target; met up with Brian. Ben left to continue playing poker (he's kind of a professional). Brian, MR, and I got a brownie sundae from Fosselman's. Then Brian drove home to change. We met up with him, and I drove them to Pasadena. MR had a prescription to fill, and luckily the Target Pharmacy was still open near her place. Funny enough, as she handed in her prescription, I instantly recognized the guy behind the counter - "Jan?!" I blurted out.
"Whoa, Jason!" he enthusiastically replied. "Oh, don't worry then - I'll get this prescription done in 5 minutes." All the while, we caught up with each other. He's finishing his BA and considering getting an MBA. He's been working in Target for 3 years. He's having a hard time finding a job for Matthew (my classmate) - which is weird, because I'd figure engineers from UCLA would be in demand.
MR, Brian and I left and did some typically "Pasadena" things - walked around Vroman's, then drove to the Rose Bowl, where we walked around the Aquatic center and then did a lap around the Rose Bowl (and the golf course adjacent to it), which ended up being likt 4-5 miles! But we were playing connect-the-celebrities (ala 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon), so time flew by. Then, back to Old Town and dinner at King Taco. It was really cold. Drove MR and Brian back to their respective homes and returned home to rest. All this while, I was texting Laura, Mike, and Sandra. We planned a trip to Tijuana for Monday. Crazy, spontaneous! But this whole weekend was mostly spontaneous and has been a lot of fun.

Louise and Sandra went on a party bus / to a club last night, but Laura and I didn't go. Instead we went to Whole Foods and bought ingredients to make a veggie curry. We then went out, our path determined by flipping a coin, to Mt. St. Mary's College in Brentwood, where we went for a late-night moonlit walk in the hills.Matthias went out to look at a car he might potentially buy.

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Woke up 8am. Continued uploading / tagging FB Vegas pics. Got to work 9:20. SM Blvd was packed, because of construction just past Beverly Glen blvd. (I cut down Westholme to Ohio to Bev Glen to get around it).
Music: B.o.B - Nothin' on You; Ryan Adams - New York, New York; Katy Perry - Firework
Surprise! I get the day off Monday!
Unexpected 3 day weekend! Yay!
Today, a big rainstorm is supposed to move in.
Lunch: Leftover curry.
I bought my plane ticket! I'm flying from Boston to Iceland to Manchester in June! CRAZY.
Having dinner with mom and auntie Nancy tonight.
... the key to the apartment is stuck in the door (?)

Stayed at the apartment last night.
Watched Mulholland Drive. Laura went to the gym with Matthias. I was feeling tired.

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Busy morning. Many shareholders to respond to.
Laura should be riding my bike around the beach today.
It's chilly but sunny (in between storms).
12:15 - Internet down in the office
Music: Keane - Hamburg Song; Die Ärzte - Wie Es Geht
Lunch: TJ's pre-packed Indian fare (+ bread)
TAX RETURNS FILED. Finally.
News: More protests in the middle east. Blah blah.

Laura arrived. She got here early (there was surprisingly little traffic). We went to California Vegan for dinner (she's now vegan). The food was good but costly - $20 per person to fill up.
Stopped by Trader Joe's then went back to the apartment to get ready. Matthias joined us as we went to Angel's Piano Bar in Santa Monica. There was jazz music and a burlesque show later. Sandra, Patricia, and Eliana were there. Louise and her friend Alexandre went to the wrong address (in Los Angeles, not Santa Monica!) but showed up anyway. It was fun.
Returned 12:30, slept - Laura on the floor.

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Woke up late - 8:40. Oops. Rushed to work.
It's raining. Things seem different (the air feels/smells different, like springtime).
I GOT MY FIRST ADMISSIONS OFFER. From the University of Warwick. It's still tentative, pending receipt of my second recommendation, but still - FUCK YES! I'll definitely be across the Atlantic in a few months!

Seems like my friends have bad luck whenever something good happens to me :(
Big research project - nVidia. HP laptop models, looking them all up. Blah.
...watching YouTube videos to pass the time (and to actually see the artists I listen to so often!).

I was at work last night until nearly 7pm.

I decided to go to my mom's. Got some Taco Bell on the way home. Watched The Social Network. I think people like this movie because they can relate to using Facebook, not because the story is overly compelling on its own merits. I don't think the film deserves many Oscars. The movie was also more serious/heavy (at least in tone) than I expected.
Slept @ 10:30. Dreamt that I was back in Berkeley - moving into the dorms (Unit 2) for the new semester. It was raining. There were new dorm building on College, between Channing and Haste. My friend AF was visiting too.

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I switched the license plate frames on my car - I needed a wrench for the front plate. Where did the other hammer and screwdriver (for my apt) go?
Laura arrives this afternoon!
It's cloudy and rainy (slightly). The forecast calls for rain for the next two weeks :/

... submitted my application to the University of Manchester!
Lunch: Panda Express.
News: Revolts are now going on in Bahrain
Music: Ke$ha - We R Who We R
For the first time, the security guard in the building asked me which suite I was going to. Treated like an outsider in my own building. Only took 1.8 years of working here!

Back from Vegas. I'm tired and my head is still kind of ringing. What a great weekend it was!
Slept at the apartment. The key under the mat was gone (I hope I don't lose my key again!).

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Work sucks today. It's busy all day. Research - yuck.
Should I go home tonight, or stay at my apartment?
I'm tired, slow, and lethargic.
Memento mori = "remember, you will die"
Ryan's bridge partner invented a Final Jeopardy betting strategy.
(This week, Watson the computer is competing against the two biggest all-time Jeopardy winners.)
Working late - til 7pm. I've decided to go home (to mom's).

Friday night: I was picked up around 6:15 by Julia and Paulina. We were running late. And LA traffic was doing a great job of adding delay after delay. Paulina had to pee, so we stopped at the most expensive gas station in Beverly Hills. She got into the wrong car and said loudly, "are you driving?" (thinking she was talking to me). We had a healthy laugh. Finally, we made it across the city to Marina's around 7:30. (It's really secluded in the hills of Echo Park.) Gas (with no bathroom), then we were finally on the road around 8pm. There wasn't much traffic anymore. We ate at Del Taco in Barstow, and arrived in Vegas at 12:45.

The French (+ Sandra) were there when we arrived and were dressed up, ready to party. Julia was exhausted from driving over 8 hours that day, but after a few minutes, we all were ready to go out, even for a little bit. So we ended up walking to Tao. We partied for an hour or two. The girls were all getting hit on by random sketchy guys. I was too busy having a blast (and drinking everyone's drinks - they kept giving them to me)! No wonder that I stumbled out by myself, drunkenly lost $40 on roulette, and passed out on the doorstep of the hotel room. The others soon arrived, found me, and put me on the bed (which I soon fell off of).

Saturday: We awoke and got ready, it was maybe 10:30. Our room wanted to go to the pool, so we got our bathing suits on and headed downstairs, optimistic and wide-eyed. To our dismay, the pool was closed for the "winter season". We were suddenly sad. So we changed and got ready for the day. Walked to Bellagio for brunch (a group of 9 people - it's hard to get everyone together!), then toured the hotel, saw inside the Cosmopolitan, and saw the Bellagio fountain show. Then, to Paris! ("what monument is that?" - Julie, pointing to the Eiffel Tower, but meaning "what building is that underneath the tower?") We blocked traffic on the moving sidewalk. I got my Eiffel Tower sippy cup. We walked to Caesars, outside of which Paulina dropped my Eiffel Tower and broke it all over the sidewalk. Sadness. More walking through the huge palace of Caesar. Tired, we returned to our hotel. We rested for a few hours, watching Fight Club and playing some poker (I taught Marina how to play). Then, the other girls came over around 8pm, and we started the drinking games. Fun times, Lucas had these dice for a drinking game. Marina fell on the floor but did so in a very sexy way. It was past 11 when we left to Marquee - the latest and hottest nightclub in the new Cosmopolitan hotel. Julia's host dad is a club promoter, which is how we all got in so easily without paying. The club was PACKED. It was impossible to even move anywhere. Stephanie felt sick and soon went back. Everyone split up. Tired, I just leaned against the wall instead of being pushed around by everyone. After a minute, a guy was pulling me outside through a back door, and I was led down an elevator and outside! WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? I got kicked out of a club? I didn't even punch anyone! This isn't how it's supposed to happen! So I walked back along the strip, lost another $20 gambling (probably); and found Julia and Stephanie in the hallway as I arrived back at the hotel. We hung out and ate some Subway sandwiches; Stephanie soon had to vomit. We passed out; I woke up around 6:30 as the others returned from the club, when I switched rooms and continued sleeping on the floor.

Sunday: Everyone was really tired, but we had to check out by 12, so I (the most well-rested one) was up and ready by 10:30. It took so long to get everyone packed, showered, and all the luggage moved into the cars. We had to walk to Harrah's to cash Flo's receipt; the Denny's was way too crowded, so we drove to In-N-Out. (Julie missed the turn to get on the freeway HAHAHA!) We ate around one table (it was also really packed at In-N-Out). Then we went to the Las Vegas sign. We took our pics - another group, of 3 people, was there and they saw how much fun we were having and started taking pictures of us! It was then time to say bye to the other car (of the French people), who were trying to get back to LA early. Julia then dropped the four of us off at Mandalay, as she went off to get her tattoo. We gambled a bit, I won some cash at roulette. Walked through Luxor to Excalibur. We played some arcade games. Then to New York New York! Met back up with Julia; we walked to MGM to see the lions. Then we drove to the Venetian. We saw a little street performance, strolled the canals, and ate at the food court. Then, goodbye Las Vegas! We were back on the road, blasing the Ke$ha just as we came in. Played 20 questions and 6 degrees. Julia didn't notice that we were RUNNING OUT OF GAS. Until we were 10 miles outside Yermo. We panicked and freaked out that we would be abandoned i the middle of the desert, but a miraculous small gas station appeared and saved us! We celebrated Stephanie's birthday there with a mini pecan pie and a lit cigarette!

A perfect ending to what could easily be ranked as my most amazing Vegas trip ever!

Artwalk last night. Drove there with Steffen from Century City. Got a couple drinks at the Edison as our German friends arrived - Ulrike (not UCLA), Sandra, Patricia, and Matthias. We then went to the food truck lot. I got a delicious and juicy wrap from the Turkish food truck TastyMeat!. The girls and Matthias wanted to see the burlesque show at the Edison; Steffen and I wanted to see the art. So we split. We then met Josh and his sister.
Wurstkuche afterwards.

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Gotta get things done and wrapped up today before leaving for Vegas...

News: Mubarak steps down! This is kind of a big thing. For the world.
Busy busy today... taking shareholder calls for 3 cases. Monster resume search, and tutoring Alex (he has an essay due).
Music: Abba - Gimme Gimme Gimme; Green Day - Holiday