I don't want this blog to drag on and I never finish it like #revacation but I do want to blog about it so I can remember how awesome it was and hopefully reading the main details will trigger my memories of the other in-between stuff that is really hard to convey. I'm hoping to make it like the other blog just shorter and more to the point so I can get these out faster before my memory dims.
PROLOGUE
2010/07/02
Today was a busy day. I had to get out of work as soon as I could to go get ready and when the time finally came I was extremely happy to be free. More so than usual because tomorrow I will be at the airport to pick up my girlfriend who is coming all the way from Argentina to hang out and be with me.
The first thing I needed to do was finish with my packing. I had most of my clothes and everything I was going to need. I just needed to make sure I had all my electronics and plugs, presents for Ale, etc.
Once that was square I had to go to the grocery store and get us some food for the week. I went to the Giant Eagle and bought a ton of stuff: cakes and sweets and sandwiches and breakfast stuff. Now I have to get all this stuff over to Jim's which is where we would be staying. (Instead of renting an expensive hotel room for the week I had asked Jim if we could rent out one of his rooms since he traveled a lot it seemed like a much better idea, lucky for us he had no problem with the idea)
I talked to Jim earlier in the week and got a copy of his key off him in case he was traveling at the time and wouldn't be around to let us in. I pulled in and hauled some bags down to his door and when I walked in I had to make sure I was in the right place. It was clean! I have never seen Jim's house this clean and I was amazed. Not that Jim always had a dirty house you know it's just... let's call it a single man's house. I guess he was practicing for when his girlfriend moves in. Whatever the reason I appreciated it because I wanted to make sure Ale would be comfortable here.
I brought the rest of the stuff in and put it away. Then I set up everything in my room and decided it was time for a break. I called Matt and he stopped by for a bit and we had a little party and then I crashed. I think I was supposed to do some chore for my mom in the morning but I don't remember what it was. I think it ended up being done anyway so not knowing how Pittsburgh traffic was going to be, I left early to go to the airport.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
uwvark27's Tattoos Part 1 - Luigi
I'm pretty sure I used to keep a page that detailed the progress of my tattoo's but that has been lost with time. I decided here would be a good place to try and recreate that.
Let's get this out of the way. I am a hardcore gamer. Whatever you think that means, I don't care. I play video games. I love video games. I am steeped in video game culture and I always have been and always will be. (You can read my gaming blog if you want to get more insight on that) Anyway growing up I was always a Nintendo first kind of guy. Their games were the best Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. The list goes on. Now everyone loves a Mario game but to me I had always thought Luigi was better. Can't exactly put my finger on why though. More personality, better abilities, cooler color scheme, I don't know maybe I just liked rooting for the underdog and I was sick of all the attention Mario was getting. Whatever the reason was the bottom line was I liked Luigi better. So much more in fact that my homage to Nintendo tattoo was going to start with him.
I didn't really have a plan for this I just know what I thought I wanted. I figured the tattoo guy would allow me to describe what I was thinking and he'd be able to interpret my mental image into something awesome and I'd just go with that. My friend Gary told me he knew a guy named Heasley that lived close by in his trailer that did tats. I brought a picture of Luigi from a Mario game manual. He didn't exactly use that picture to make a lot cooler version on my arm like I thought. He straight up made a photocopy of that on some stencil paper and pretty much just duplicated that exact picture on me.
Although I was hoping for a little something better, I didn't think it was horrible or anything and I was fairly pleased with it. Yay for me and my first tattoo!!
Luckily my close friend Dan was learning how to be a tattoo artist himself and although there were a series of events that caused us to not hang out for a few years it was around this time we were becoming good friends again. I quickly went to him with what was going on and he introduced me to Tom Sinnamond the tattoo artist who was mentoring him. He totally scoffed at what I had already gotten and told me that he would fix that mess and give me a real tattoo.
I was astonished when I saw what he intended to do. It was very large but he assured me large was best. I sat there for 6 hours and he did a marvelous job with it. I made another appointment and he did the piranha plants which finished completely covering up the old little Luigi.
From there on Dan took over the project. In the next few years he added more piranha plants on my shoulder, the lava flames down my arm and the Giga-Bowser that is underneath. There are still a few things I want to get done on it but I am not in a hurry. It took so long to get this much that I was eager to start working on a new design elsewhere. Enjoy this video of the whole piece and watch for the upcoming uwvark27's Tattoos Part 2 - Weird Al
Let's get this out of the way. I am a hardcore gamer. Whatever you think that means, I don't care. I play video games. I love video games. I am steeped in video game culture and I always have been and always will be. (You can read my gaming blog if you want to get more insight on that) Anyway growing up I was always a Nintendo first kind of guy. Their games were the best Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. The list goes on. Now everyone loves a Mario game but to me I had always thought Luigi was better. Can't exactly put my finger on why though. More personality, better abilities, cooler color scheme, I don't know maybe I just liked rooting for the underdog and I was sick of all the attention Mario was getting. Whatever the reason was the bottom line was I liked Luigi better. So much more in fact that my homage to Nintendo tattoo was going to start with him.
I didn't really have a plan for this I just know what I thought I wanted. I figured the tattoo guy would allow me to describe what I was thinking and he'd be able to interpret my mental image into something awesome and I'd just go with that. My friend Gary told me he knew a guy named Heasley that lived close by in his trailer that did tats. I brought a picture of Luigi from a Mario game manual. He didn't exactly use that picture to make a lot cooler version on my arm like I thought. He straight up made a photocopy of that on some stencil paper and pretty much just duplicated that exact picture on me.
Although I was hoping for a little something better, I didn't think it was horrible or anything and I was fairly pleased with it. Yay for me and my first tattoo!!Luckily my close friend Dan was learning how to be a tattoo artist himself and although there were a series of events that caused us to not hang out for a few years it was around this time we were becoming good friends again. I quickly went to him with what was going on and he introduced me to Tom Sinnamond the tattoo artist who was mentoring him. He totally scoffed at what I had already gotten and told me that he would fix that mess and give me a real tattoo.
I was astonished when I saw what he intended to do. It was very large but he assured me large was best. I sat there for 6 hours and he did a marvelous job with it. I made another appointment and he did the piranha plants which finished completely covering up the old little Luigi.
From there on Dan took over the project. In the next few years he added more piranha plants on my shoulder, the lava flames down my arm and the Giga-Bowser that is underneath. There are still a few things I want to get done on it but I am not in a hurry. It took so long to get this much that I was eager to start working on a new design elsewhere. Enjoy this video of the whole piece and watch for the upcoming uwvark27's Tattoos Part 2 - Weird Al
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Revacation part 8 THE END
2010/04/02
For the 2nd day this week I woke up in the morning on a bus pulling into a bus station. We grabbed all stuff and hauled it out of there and found a taxi to get back to Ale's house. When we got there we just dumped it off and crawled in her bed to finish sleeping.
When we woke up we didn't do much. Today was a resting day. We basically sat on her bed all day (like how she is every time I call her on skype :P) and played with our computers. We copied each others pics from the #revacation. I gave her a bunch of media that I had on my hard drive that I put on there specifically to give her. She downloaded Windows 7 for me and installed it on my laptop along with a bunch of other stuff which was awesome. It was a nice day to just be together in a more normal setting than with the excitement of vacation all around us. Later I actually wish we had spent more time doing stuff like this. I love how tech savvy Ale is. <3
As the evening approached we both could fell our hearts growing heavy. It was time to pack up her dad's car so they could ride me to the airport to go home. The was the most glorious week I had ever experienced in my life so far and although it seemed to stretch out for longer than it actually was it had to end sometime and this was now. I knew this moment would eventually come and I dreaded it. I was getting sad because I had to leave.
It was a crappy long ride to the airport and when we got their her parents stayed with the car and Ale walked me in as far as she was allowed to go. I checked my bag and we walked to where I had to walk thru the security gate and sat down. What was I supposed to say? I don't think I needed to say much we were both just crying. We hugged and kissed and stuff until I got up to go to my plane. I think I cried thru about 3 security gates before I was able to stop. It sucked. I don't know why I had to go thru so much security either. It was pretty stupid but I eventually made it to my gate and boarded. It was time to leave this country and go home. I knew I'd be back someday. This was after all the trip of a lifetime.
EPILOGUE
2010/04/03
When I woke up and got off the plane in Washington DC I had a little less than 2 hours to get to the next plane back to Pittsburgh. I knew we had to go thru customs but little did I know I still had a bit of adventure yet to go. I scheduled everything this way because I felt I'd have enough time to get back to make it to Isaac's first ever baseball practice. Something I did not want to miss. When I got off the plane and shuffled down with everyone else to customs I started thinking that not only might I not make it but I might be stuck here for a long time. The line wrapped between those velvet rope things throughout the entire room. Sure they had a lot of booths at the end to check the people out but like only 3 of them were staffed at this time. I got on chat on my phone with Ale and told her what was going on. She didn't want me to worry so she kept reassuring me that I would make it. She didn't see this line though. It moved agonizingly slow. You could hear everyone bitching to each other and to loved ones on their phones that they were stuck in this line and were going to miss their flights. It took about an hour and half for me to make it to my turn but it seemed like forever. I was thinking at this point I wouldn't make it. The guy looked at my stuff and let me go thru. I started running.
In the next room was all our bags. I saw mine immediately and grabbed it. Ok, I have a few minutes. Maybe I would make it after all I thought. The next room was another security station. Take off all your clothes, etc. Good god man. Where do you think I got a gun from between here and where I got off the plane? For real. Again the lines moved so slow. Well there goes my hope of making it. I finally got thru this and started running again.
I came out in the airport proper and although I knew what gate I needed to make it to I had no idea where that was. I asked some guy and he said go back the way I came. That confused me. I went back down the stairs to the security station. This wasn't right and I was wasting valuable time. I went back up the stairs and looked the other way. There was a sign for gate A. I ran. Oh boy did I run. I had less than 10 mins. There was no way I thought. You always see in movies people running thru the airport like that but never have I experienced in in real life until now. That was me. My gate was of course at the furthest point away from where I currently was. At least now I had running buddies coming along with me. Other people were killing themselves as well to get to their respective gates. We all got a small break to sit down and rest when we got to the shuttle that went between gates. My legs were killing me. When the shuttle stopped we all took off again but I could barely run anymore. My luggage was too heavy and my calves were on fire. at least now I was at the right gate and I had an early number like 3 or something. As long as they went in numerical order I was almost there. I couldn't be that lucky. It, of course, was in reverse numerical order. My gate was way at the other end. I kept running the best I could. I kept telling myself that I could rest when I got to the plane.
I finally made it and I burst thru the gate throwing my boarding pass at the lady. Oh man, the plane wasn't here. This just opened up into a whole other corridor I had to run down and without fail my gate was the very very last. I could see the words Pittsburgh on it as I tried to catch my breath. I was sweating and dying here but I MADE IT!! I don't know how but I did with 1 minute to spare. Luckily I was in seat 1A so I could finally sit down. Just a quick 45 min jaunt home now.
There was still some more pain hauling my stuff to where I parked (if you remember my first #revacation blog it was pretty far back) but the worst was over. Oh no someone in DC broke my luggage. I only had one wheel now. :| That's going to make it harder.
I packed up my car and blasted straight to the municipal field. What a good daddy I am. Flying home from another country overnight on a 12 hour flight to go straight to my sons baseball practice is a story I enjoy telling. I texted Ale I had made it and sat down to see my son learn the wonders of team sports. Could there be anything better? A leg massage would be nice. :P
THE END
For the 2nd day this week I woke up in the morning on a bus pulling into a bus station. We grabbed all stuff and hauled it out of there and found a taxi to get back to Ale's house. When we got there we just dumped it off and crawled in her bed to finish sleeping.
When we woke up we didn't do much. Today was a resting day. We basically sat on her bed all day (like how she is every time I call her on skype :P) and played with our computers. We copied each others pics from the #revacation. I gave her a bunch of media that I had on my hard drive that I put on there specifically to give her. She downloaded Windows 7 for me and installed it on my laptop along with a bunch of other stuff which was awesome. It was a nice day to just be together in a more normal setting than with the excitement of vacation all around us. Later I actually wish we had spent more time doing stuff like this. I love how tech savvy Ale is. <3
As the evening approached we both could fell our hearts growing heavy. It was time to pack up her dad's car so they could ride me to the airport to go home. The was the most glorious week I had ever experienced in my life so far and although it seemed to stretch out for longer than it actually was it had to end sometime and this was now. I knew this moment would eventually come and I dreaded it. I was getting sad because I had to leave.
It was a crappy long ride to the airport and when we got their her parents stayed with the car and Ale walked me in as far as she was allowed to go. I checked my bag and we walked to where I had to walk thru the security gate and sat down. What was I supposed to say? I don't think I needed to say much we were both just crying. We hugged and kissed and stuff until I got up to go to my plane. I think I cried thru about 3 security gates before I was able to stop. It sucked. I don't know why I had to go thru so much security either. It was pretty stupid but I eventually made it to my gate and boarded. It was time to leave this country and go home. I knew I'd be back someday. This was after all the trip of a lifetime.
EPILOGUE
2010/04/03
When I woke up and got off the plane in Washington DC I had a little less than 2 hours to get to the next plane back to Pittsburgh. I knew we had to go thru customs but little did I know I still had a bit of adventure yet to go. I scheduled everything this way because I felt I'd have enough time to get back to make it to Isaac's first ever baseball practice. Something I did not want to miss. When I got off the plane and shuffled down with everyone else to customs I started thinking that not only might I not make it but I might be stuck here for a long time. The line wrapped between those velvet rope things throughout the entire room. Sure they had a lot of booths at the end to check the people out but like only 3 of them were staffed at this time. I got on chat on my phone with Ale and told her what was going on. She didn't want me to worry so she kept reassuring me that I would make it. She didn't see this line though. It moved agonizingly slow. You could hear everyone bitching to each other and to loved ones on their phones that they were stuck in this line and were going to miss their flights. It took about an hour and half for me to make it to my turn but it seemed like forever. I was thinking at this point I wouldn't make it. The guy looked at my stuff and let me go thru. I started running.
In the next room was all our bags. I saw mine immediately and grabbed it. Ok, I have a few minutes. Maybe I would make it after all I thought. The next room was another security station. Take off all your clothes, etc. Good god man. Where do you think I got a gun from between here and where I got off the plane? For real. Again the lines moved so slow. Well there goes my hope of making it. I finally got thru this and started running again.
I came out in the airport proper and although I knew what gate I needed to make it to I had no idea where that was. I asked some guy and he said go back the way I came. That confused me. I went back down the stairs to the security station. This wasn't right and I was wasting valuable time. I went back up the stairs and looked the other way. There was a sign for gate A. I ran. Oh boy did I run. I had less than 10 mins. There was no way I thought. You always see in movies people running thru the airport like that but never have I experienced in in real life until now. That was me. My gate was of course at the furthest point away from where I currently was. At least now I had running buddies coming along with me. Other people were killing themselves as well to get to their respective gates. We all got a small break to sit down and rest when we got to the shuttle that went between gates. My legs were killing me. When the shuttle stopped we all took off again but I could barely run anymore. My luggage was too heavy and my calves were on fire. at least now I was at the right gate and I had an early number like 3 or something. As long as they went in numerical order I was almost there. I couldn't be that lucky. It, of course, was in reverse numerical order. My gate was way at the other end. I kept running the best I could. I kept telling myself that I could rest when I got to the plane.
I finally made it and I burst thru the gate throwing my boarding pass at the lady. Oh man, the plane wasn't here. This just opened up into a whole other corridor I had to run down and without fail my gate was the very very last. I could see the words Pittsburgh on it as I tried to catch my breath. I was sweating and dying here but I MADE IT!! I don't know how but I did with 1 minute to spare. Luckily I was in seat 1A so I could finally sit down. Just a quick 45 min jaunt home now.
There was still some more pain hauling my stuff to where I parked (if you remember my first #revacation blog it was pretty far back) but the worst was over. Oh no someone in DC broke my luggage. I only had one wheel now. :| That's going to make it harder.
I packed up my car and blasted straight to the municipal field. What a good daddy I am. Flying home from another country overnight on a 12 hour flight to go straight to my sons baseball practice is a story I enjoy telling. I texted Ale I had made it and sat down to see my son learn the wonders of team sports. Could there be anything better? A leg massage would be nice. :P
THE END
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Revacation part 7
2010/04/01
We had to check out of the hotel today but apparently your still allowed to check your bags and hang out there for free so rather than haul our stuff around all day that's what we did. We grabbed what we would need and checked the rest. We then started our day by grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel and then walked down to the beach for the 3rd time. The first time it was cool and no one was there. Yesterday it was warmer and some people were there. Today it was beautiful out and blazing hot and it was packed!! We grabbed a spot to lay our towels down and jumped into the water. This is where we got some of my favorite pics. I also did some picross puzzles as we tanned. After a few hours it was time to eat so we decided to grab some lunch at that castle restaurant at the end of the beach. I think we had to pay more to sit on the outside deck but we went for it because it was nicer then sitting in the cramped inside. It was a bit windy but we still enjoyed ourselves. The food we got here was probably, I don't want to say bad but, the non-best we've had the whole week. The chicken thing I got was good but it was small and the pumpkin mashed potatoes were good but meh.
After we ate we walked down to where all these street vendors were selling their junk. Everyone other booth was sunglasses and stupid stuff made out of wood. I made fun of it and Ale thought I was hilarious. She is so sweet and awesome. It was a good walk down there and on the way back we walked down towards the water. Here there was no beach just rocks but it was fun to climb over them and jump over the cracks.
When we got back to the beach part there was some kind of memorial sidewalk area where all kinds of famous Argentinian people cast their hands in the cement. Ale acted like I heard of some of them but I have not. Excuse my ignorance dear. :(
Even though we had checked out of the hotel, our coupons for a free spa treatment were still valid so decided to cash those in. This was an awesome, relaxing time. It broke down into 3 separate stops: the sauna, the Finnish bath, and then the jacuzzi (15 min at each stop). First we went into the steam room with the heated rocks. It was damn hot. I kept pouring water on the rocks too for some reason which just made it worse. We almost couldn't take it but the lady came and pulled us out right before we gave up. That was a hardy sweating for sure. The lady showed us where the showers were between each stop. I guess you were supposed to rinse of all the sweat and cool down a bit before the next thing. So we did that, dried off and walked back out.
We went in the next thing which I had never heard of before, the Finnish bath. It was like being in a bathroom. The sauna was wood and this was bathroom tiles. More steam came from everywhere and it was almost so hot you couldn't sit down. The steam even smelled like a clean bathroom somehow. Once again though it was extremely hot in here and I think Ale did wig out and left the room before our time was up.
We took a quick rinse off shower again and hit the last thing, the jacuzzi. This was the best. Although this one wasn't as hot (as I expect a jacuzzi to be) it was very calm and relaxing. The bubbles and jets were very soothing and we just sat there and vegged out for a while. Actually a long while I think the lady forgot about us or soemthing because it seemed she left us in way more than 15 minutes.
We got cleaned up once last time and got dressed. It was time to check out the casino.
Neither of us really see the point in gambling so we didn't have that great of a time here. We walked around saw the tables and slots. I remember having trouble breathing because there were so many smokers around. I think we played the slots for about a dollars worth and then I dragged her over to the bar so I could get a drink. She ordered some fries so she wouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach and we both got some fancy drink. It was nice. When we were done that was all we needed to see. We left. I remember being amazed at the bill. It was so cheap. Back home just one of these fancy drinks would cost more than our whole bill!
We walked thru the town and stopped in some of the shops. There was an arcade here so we went there too. I had a strange sense of deja vu at one point like I had been here or dreamed about this place a long time ago. That was weird. They had one of those cool things where you put on 3D glasses and go into the small room and sit on one of those chairs that jerk around and watched a short roller coaster movie that they advertised was in 4D. I like those kinds of things and I think Ale liked it too.
When we left there we walked back to the mall to eat some dinner. We went to a normal burger type place and then got some ice cream after. We were getting tired after such an exciting week so we went back tot he hotel and chilled in the lobby till we took a cab back to the bus station.
The bus still wasn't too packed and we claimed our same, top of the bus in the back seats that we did before. No snack this time though. When we woke up next time it would be my last day here. :(
TO BE CONTINUED
We had to check out of the hotel today but apparently your still allowed to check your bags and hang out there for free so rather than haul our stuff around all day that's what we did. We grabbed what we would need and checked the rest. We then started our day by grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel and then walked down to the beach for the 3rd time. The first time it was cool and no one was there. Yesterday it was warmer and some people were there. Today it was beautiful out and blazing hot and it was packed!! We grabbed a spot to lay our towels down and jumped into the water. This is where we got some of my favorite pics. I also did some picross puzzles as we tanned. After a few hours it was time to eat so we decided to grab some lunch at that castle restaurant at the end of the beach. I think we had to pay more to sit on the outside deck but we went for it because it was nicer then sitting in the cramped inside. It was a bit windy but we still enjoyed ourselves. The food we got here was probably, I don't want to say bad but, the non-best we've had the whole week. The chicken thing I got was good but it was small and the pumpkin mashed potatoes were good but meh.
After we ate we walked down to where all these street vendors were selling their junk. Everyone other booth was sunglasses and stupid stuff made out of wood. I made fun of it and Ale thought I was hilarious. She is so sweet and awesome. It was a good walk down there and on the way back we walked down towards the water. Here there was no beach just rocks but it was fun to climb over them and jump over the cracks.
When we got back to the beach part there was some kind of memorial sidewalk area where all kinds of famous Argentinian people cast their hands in the cement. Ale acted like I heard of some of them but I have not. Excuse my ignorance dear. :(
Even though we had checked out of the hotel, our coupons for a free spa treatment were still valid so decided to cash those in. This was an awesome, relaxing time. It broke down into 3 separate stops: the sauna, the Finnish bath, and then the jacuzzi (15 min at each stop). First we went into the steam room with the heated rocks. It was damn hot. I kept pouring water on the rocks too for some reason which just made it worse. We almost couldn't take it but the lady came and pulled us out right before we gave up. That was a hardy sweating for sure. The lady showed us where the showers were between each stop. I guess you were supposed to rinse of all the sweat and cool down a bit before the next thing. So we did that, dried off and walked back out.
We went in the next thing which I had never heard of before, the Finnish bath. It was like being in a bathroom. The sauna was wood and this was bathroom tiles. More steam came from everywhere and it was almost so hot you couldn't sit down. The steam even smelled like a clean bathroom somehow. Once again though it was extremely hot in here and I think Ale did wig out and left the room before our time was up.
We took a quick rinse off shower again and hit the last thing, the jacuzzi. This was the best. Although this one wasn't as hot (as I expect a jacuzzi to be) it was very calm and relaxing. The bubbles and jets were very soothing and we just sat there and vegged out for a while. Actually a long while I think the lady forgot about us or soemthing because it seemed she left us in way more than 15 minutes.
We got cleaned up once last time and got dressed. It was time to check out the casino.
Neither of us really see the point in gambling so we didn't have that great of a time here. We walked around saw the tables and slots. I remember having trouble breathing because there were so many smokers around. I think we played the slots for about a dollars worth and then I dragged her over to the bar so I could get a drink. She ordered some fries so she wouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach and we both got some fancy drink. It was nice. When we were done that was all we needed to see. We left. I remember being amazed at the bill. It was so cheap. Back home just one of these fancy drinks would cost more than our whole bill!
We walked thru the town and stopped in some of the shops. There was an arcade here so we went there too. I had a strange sense of deja vu at one point like I had been here or dreamed about this place a long time ago. That was weird. They had one of those cool things where you put on 3D glasses and go into the small room and sit on one of those chairs that jerk around and watched a short roller coaster movie that they advertised was in 4D. I like those kinds of things and I think Ale liked it too.
When we left there we walked back to the mall to eat some dinner. We went to a normal burger type place and then got some ice cream after. We were getting tired after such an exciting week so we went back tot he hotel and chilled in the lobby till we took a cab back to the bus station.
The bus still wasn't too packed and we claimed our same, top of the bus in the back seats that we did before. No snack this time though. When we woke up next time it would be my last day here. :(
TO BE CONTINUED
Monday, July 26, 2010
Keep Right, Pass Left
Kindly Driving Advice via uwvark27
If you are in the fast lane and aren't passing anyone, move over.
If you are in the fast lane and someone is directly behind you, move over.
If you are in the fast lane and people are moving into the right lane to get around you, move over.
If no one is in the right lane and you are in a long line of cars in the left lane, move over.
There is no pride in driving. Don't get the attitude that 'I am driving fast enough' and stay in the fast lane blocking others. There is always someone driving faster than you whether you agree with it or like it or not. Pull over for a second and let them go by then you can pull back and proceed.
If you change lanes, use your turn signal. This includes turning into the turning lane.
Use your turn signal to turn even if you are in a turning lane and you think it should be obvious. Believe it or not, that's not always the case. Using it removes all doubt.
Put your turn signal on before you start turning. This is intended to be a warning to other drivers. Once you start it's obvious what you're doing so putting your turn signal on then is kind of pointless although then we do know for sure what's going on and you're not just weaving around willy nilly.
If everyone lets one car in front of them at a merge point then we don't need to stop the whole works. That's why it's called 'Merging'.
They put the 'Maintain Sped Thru Tunnel' signs there for a reason. Please heed them.
Informative article about older drivers and how long they should keep driving
If you are in the fast lane and someone is directly behind you, move over.
If you are in the fast lane and people are moving into the right lane to get around you, move over.
If no one is in the right lane and you are in a long line of cars in the left lane, move over.
There is no pride in driving. Don't get the attitude that 'I am driving fast enough' and stay in the fast lane blocking others. There is always someone driving faster than you whether you agree with it or like it or not. Pull over for a second and let them go by then you can pull back and proceed.
If you change lanes, use your turn signal. This includes turning into the turning lane.
Use your turn signal to turn even if you are in a turning lane and you think it should be obvious. Believe it or not, that's not always the case. Using it removes all doubt.
Put your turn signal on before you start turning. This is intended to be a warning to other drivers. Once you start it's obvious what you're doing so putting your turn signal on then is kind of pointless although then we do know for sure what's going on and you're not just weaving around willy nilly.
If everyone lets one car in front of them at a merge point then we don't need to stop the whole works. That's why it's called 'Merging'.
They put the 'Maintain Sped Thru Tunnel' signs there for a reason. Please heed them.
Informative article about older drivers and how long they should keep driving
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Today was a Good Day
2010/07/19 didn't start that great. It certainly didn't get any better in the next few hours but I do consider it to be a good day. Let's see what happened.
First I woke up. I was still tired. I stayed up late all weekend and wasn't able to fall asleep early enough to get enough rest. Not good.
I got to work and the lady from the Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts called me back about a letter I got on Saturday. They say I owe them $575 for me being on probation for 23 months between 1996 and 1998. Apparently whether this is made up or not or a 12 year charge or not, I have to pay it even though this is the first I've ever heard of it.
I also looked up obtaining an immigrant visa for my fiancée. That costs $455 to submit a form. Yes you read that right.
You could definitely say my day didn't start off that great.
After I finished my work and went home though things really started to happen. I was waiting for this and I jumped right in. Since it was possible for me to sit and the computer and get stuff done without Isaac bothering me (he was at his mother's this week) that's exactly what I did. I was just in the zone when I got home and I feel I made the most of it. I did branch around and do a lot of smaller tasks not my 'main list of things' but the bottom line was that things got accomplished.
Right now when I don't have Isaac we take out 3 days to 'Be Productive' - 1) Work related goals, 2) learning Spanish and 3) learning development by hobbyist programming. I can't wait until all my hard work on these areas pay off. :D
First I woke up. I was still tired. I stayed up late all weekend and wasn't able to fall asleep early enough to get enough rest. Not good.
I got to work and the lady from the Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts called me back about a letter I got on Saturday. They say I owe them $575 for me being on probation for 23 months between 1996 and 1998. Apparently whether this is made up or not or a 12 year charge or not, I have to pay it even though this is the first I've ever heard of it.
I also looked up obtaining an immigrant visa for my fiancée. That costs $455 to submit a form. Yes you read that right.
You could definitely say my day didn't start off that great.
After I finished my work and went home though things really started to happen. I was waiting for this and I jumped right in. Since it was possible for me to sit and the computer and get stuff done without Isaac bothering me (he was at his mother's this week) that's exactly what I did. I was just in the zone when I got home and I feel I made the most of it. I did branch around and do a lot of smaller tasks not my 'main list of things' but the bottom line was that things got accomplished.
- I ended up making progress on one of my work related goals.
- I started a LinkedIn profile.
- I started cleaning up the mess that is the 'My Documents' folder on my desktop PC.
- I messed with my Delicious toolbar and made it way more useful and productive.
- I updated the progress on a bunch of my Goals.
Right now when I don't have Isaac we take out 3 days to 'Be Productive' - 1) Work related goals, 2) learning Spanish and 3) learning development by hobbyist programming. I can't wait until all my hard work on these areas pay off. :D
Friday, July 16, 2010
I need a new phone
Well despite all the news going around right now about the iPhone 4's reception problems I went out to the AT&T store the other day (07/14) and ordered one. I had to. I had a bit of an accident with my almost 2 year old 3G.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Me and my friend, Lana, were standing outside of work that day and we were underneath the awning in front of the door. She was talking about doing pull ups on the beams holding up the awning. She is short and I didn't even think she could reach it but whatever. I didn't think it would hold up to anyone hanging on it but I wondered if I could reach it. I jumped and touched it no problem. Unfortunately for me my phone was in the breast pocket of my shirt and jumping like that caused it to fly out. It sort of hit my shoe and the hard cement at the same time and the glass shattered. I had a screen protector on so right now it still works. I think it's the only thing holding the glass together at this point. I am very bummed and kind of shocked that happened. I took such good care of it for this long.
WHAT DID YOU DO?
I went right to the AT&T store after I picked up Isaac and did a few errands after work. It was kind of busy but I got my turn eventually and the lady was very nice and helpful. I knew I bought the Applecare plan but she told me I was going to have to go thru Apple directly to make a claim on that and that would cost money and be a pain and yadda yadda yadda. That wasn't going to do me any good so I did not get it on the new phone. It would be $199 to get the same phone (which didn't make sense), $99 to upgrade to a 3GS and $199 to get a 16GB 4. I knew before I even got here what I was doing. I ordered a 4. It would take a week to get here and because UPS needs you to sign for it I had it shipped to the store directly for me to just pick up. I was trying to convince her that I couldn't use this broken phone for a week and asked her if they had any loaners. I guess they don't do that and I'll have to deal. :|
I don't know what to think about this issue with the dropped calls. It seems to me this issue is more media driven trying to put a dent in the iPhone party. I don't know anyone who is having this issue. I was kind of forced into getting this because of the accident. I hope it is not a tough fix and that it ships to the store repaired before I even pick it up. There is a press conference today in a few hours that Apple will announce what their plans are. I'll note what they say here and when I find out how that affects me.
UPDATE:
It actually took 2 weeks to get here and I had to deal with my crappy broken phone for that much longer. Now that it is here though it was awesome. It's like a brand new phone but one that I already know how to use. I do get a free case which I already downloaded the app to order it.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Me and my friend, Lana, were standing outside of work that day and we were underneath the awning in front of the door. She was talking about doing pull ups on the beams holding up the awning. She is short and I didn't even think she could reach it but whatever. I didn't think it would hold up to anyone hanging on it but I wondered if I could reach it. I jumped and touched it no problem. Unfortunately for me my phone was in the breast pocket of my shirt and jumping like that caused it to fly out. It sort of hit my shoe and the hard cement at the same time and the glass shattered. I had a screen protector on so right now it still works. I think it's the only thing holding the glass together at this point. I am very bummed and kind of shocked that happened. I took such good care of it for this long.
WHAT DID YOU DO?
I went right to the AT&T store after I picked up Isaac and did a few errands after work. It was kind of busy but I got my turn eventually and the lady was very nice and helpful. I knew I bought the Applecare plan but she told me I was going to have to go thru Apple directly to make a claim on that and that would cost money and be a pain and yadda yadda yadda. That wasn't going to do me any good so I did not get it on the new phone. It would be $199 to get the same phone (which didn't make sense), $99 to upgrade to a 3GS and $199 to get a 16GB 4. I knew before I even got here what I was doing. I ordered a 4. It would take a week to get here and because UPS needs you to sign for it I had it shipped to the store directly for me to just pick up. I was trying to convince her that I couldn't use this broken phone for a week and asked her if they had any loaners. I guess they don't do that and I'll have to deal. :|
I don't know what to think about this issue with the dropped calls. It seems to me this issue is more media driven trying to put a dent in the iPhone party. I don't know anyone who is having this issue. I was kind of forced into getting this because of the accident. I hope it is not a tough fix and that it ships to the store repaired before I even pick it up. There is a press conference today in a few hours that Apple will announce what their plans are. I'll note what they say here and when I find out how that affects me.
UPDATE:
It actually took 2 weeks to get here and I had to deal with my crappy broken phone for that much longer. Now that it is here though it was awesome. It's like a brand new phone but one that I already know how to use. I do get a free case which I already downloaded the app to order it.
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