Oy! What a week!

Monday - Jan. 14

It's tough to be the new guy again! Spent Wed. through Friday nights training at my new post. Worked my full shift Saturday and Sunday, 8am-4pm. What a schlep! I haven't done this much walking in a very, very long time. The good thing is that I'm getting plenty of exercise, even without a gym. :-)

[Sunday night I went out to see what night-life was available on a Sunday evening. Mostly slow. Did manage to run into an old friend at Mission Ale House. Caught up a little and scored a free drink. That was cool.]

Took myself out to dinner at La Victoria. What a treat! I dearly missed their Super Nachos con Carne Asada. This time I didn't ask for jalapenos, but their house hot-sauce certainly made up for it. Great stuff.

Tuesday - Jan. 15

Fire alarm went off around 3.30pm today, much to everyone's annoyance. I took the time to go speak to the Dept. Chair for Linguistics. I explained my academic situation and my desire to graduate this semester, and how repeating my past coursework would be holding me back. My argument was not persuasive, but she said she would think about it and let me know Thursday. *ugh* Spent the rest of the day in distress over that.

More stress was added when I checked my student account and found that I have got an Academic Progress Hold on my Financial Aid(!). My whole semester plan was revolving around actually getting said Fin.Aid. so I could actually pay for school. Some of that money is in the form of grants, which I can't afford to pass up. It's looking like this semester may not happen after all...

Another dumb-ass set off the fire alarm again that evening, around 6.30-ish. Found out later that both alarms were caused by grease-fires. *sigh* If you can't cook, don't use the kitchen!! The elevators were still in "fire" mode when we were allowed back into the building, so I hiked up seven floors to my room. More exercise.

Wednesday - Jan. 16

Spoke to the Foreign Language Dept. Chair today regarding my Minor in German. She felt the completed coursework was too old to count (about 12 years old). *gah* She suggested I go to the Language Lab next week and take the placement tests. If I can pass those, then she may sign off on the -already- completed coursework. By the way, I had my Minor signed off twice(!) already: the second time was in 1995, by my German advisor, who is still with SJSU, but is on sabbatical this semester. *grrr*

My last check from the Stockton office of my employer FINALLY arrived. Mom sent it last week and it took FOREVER! I was getting seriously worried about my spending money.

I spoke to the Financial Aid office and the Fin.Aid. hold just showed up because they had to wait for grades to be posted. I explained I was not enrolled the previous semester, or the previous year. The hold is based on two (2) classes from Spring 2004 that I did not finish due to depression issues. And the petition is due Friday, because Monday (the actual due-date) is a holiday. So I need a note from my doctor to help me document and challenge the hold on my aid.

Decided after about 6pm to go home for a couple days, talk to Mom and do some laundry. The computerized system for adding money to my student ID card was not cooperating, so I couldn't do laundry in the dorm facilities. Taking it home to Mom's is the next best thing; I do my own laundry anyway. ;-)

Thursday - Jan. 17

The doctor's note did not arrive in the mail yet. Disappointed. Tried to find the psychologist I was seeing in 2004, no luck. He's no longer at the offices he once used. I can't find him in my current Palm Pilot history, and I can't find the back-ups of my old Palm Pilot (when I was using the Mac version of the software and a much older Palm system).

The Linguistics Dept. Chair called me this morning and left a message saying she would sign off on waiving my old (already completed) coursework. JOY!!

Installed the CPU and heat-sink on the motherboard of the computer system I was building my mother at Christmas. The heat-sink is too tall to fit back in the case. *sigh* Now I need to find a new case that I can install everything into. That'll have to wait till later.

Went out to dinner with Mom at Perko's. She had the Chicken Parmesan; it was ok. I had the Thai Chicken Wrap; it was great! Messy, but delicious.

Friday - Jan. 18

Doctor's note has still not arrived as of 12.30pm. I call the Financial Aid office again. A different person tells me I can still turn-in my petition next week. That's a relief. The note finally arrives about 2.00pm. I open it, and am a little disappointed: It's a note on a prescription paper. Hrm. The doctor's info seems to differ from mine, so I call him and he says he will check into it further and send another note. *do I really deserve this?*

Headed back to San Jose feeling much more relieved about being able to finish school this semester. Got lots of (much needed!) hugs from Mom.

Ironed some clothes, checked my email and went to bed.

Guess if I had this to do over again, I would have started the process a year ahead of time and been better prepared for it over all.

European Close-up

Here's a close-up of the European Countries I've visited so far.

The list includes, in no particular order: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Vatican City, the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia Herzogovina), Romania, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany (only the former West Germany), Denmark, France and the Netherlands (Holland).



create your personalized map of europe
or check out our Barcelona travel guide

Finally!

TUESDAY - Jan.08
Loitered around my dorm all day and chatted with friends online. Waited for employer to call. Went out that night for Nachos y Jalapenos and horchata at La Victoria on East San Carlos. Good stuff! Will have to go back and refresh my memory of their Super Nachos con Carne Asada. Almost yelled at the kids (customers) and their foul mouths. I miss Turlock, where I would have done it without thinking twice. *sigh* Walked around downtown to see how much has changed. A lot of places have different names now, but the businesses are mainly the same. Good to see Gordon Biersch and Mission Ale House are still in business. More new restaurants downtown and new buildings in place of parking lots. Can't wait to try out some of the restaurants when money allows.

WEDNESDAY - Jan.09
Employer finally called Wednesday afternoon and asked me to come in for uniforms and start training that night. Had to drop off pants at dry cleaners in South San Jose, right near Los Gatos, before reporting for duty. That was a chore, missed my first exit and continued on surface streets, which I knew would get me there. Cleaners was a small place that had changed its name, but I finally found it. Forgot how dense rush-hour traffic in the Bay Area is compared to my small part of the Central Valley.

Arrived at post and started training. I'll be training through Friday night, then start my regular post and hours Saturday morning. Feels like old times. Much more to learn and do at my new site than any post I've worked since Altera. The first days and weeks will be the most difficult while I'm getting adjusted. Glad this will only be a weekend job during school.

THURSDAY - Jan.10
Dropped off shirts at the cleaners and then went to bookstore to get a couple things. Decided to check and see if any of my textbooks were available, and found quite a few. Bought my books for: LING 125 (Introduction to Historical-Comparative Linguistics), LING 166 (Sociolinguistics: Cross-Cultural Communication), PHIL 134 (Computers, Ethics, Society), and POLS 1 (American Government). I still need the book(s) for PHIL 160 (Philosophy of Science), which have yet to be determined. These will probably be available at one of the nearby print-shops.

Hurried to lunch at "The Fortune Cookie" on the corner of South 10th St. and East William St. Pretty good meal, but ate too much. At least I didn't have to live on Zone bars for the day. :-) Got changed into uniform and made it to work for training just in time. Will have to plan better on Friday so I can be there early.

Still need to turn in my Graduation Application. I have to talk to my Major and Minor Departments and get paperwork filled out for those to hand in with my application. Will work on that Friday. Need to get cleaning bucket and products to work on the dorm: the place is a sty. *phew* (And was so before I arrived.)

Good night!

Globe Trotter

This can tide you over till I have time for a more detailed entry. More maps later.



create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

Monday

So. I returned to Modesto to pick-up more stuff Sunday night. I spent most of Sunday afternoon unpacking and organizing what I brought up Saturday. I still need some shelving and organizing space because I have odds and ends sitting on my desk, and elsewhere. Unpacked most of my new load of stuff and got to bed by 3:00AM. Got a little nervous because the police stopped a car on the street below my window. A second cruiser came up from the other direction and boxed in the car, then the police got two people out of the car. I left the room for a little while, just in case any stray "action" came through my window.

Got up this morning with my alarm at 7:00AM and got ready for my meeting at 9:00AM. It looks like I will get a weekend job, two (2) days a week, at a post that should only require two (2) days of training. I will be contacted tomorrow to find out if the corporate office has gotten all my info transmitted and transferred to the local branch. After that I can go in to get my uniforms and get ready for training. My branch manager seems like a straight-forward kind of guy. He introduced me to my scheduler who is a tall, beautiful, blonde woman. *sigh* [Names of people and companies will not be mentioned, in case anyone I work with, or for, gets around to reading this blog.-L.]

That much was squared away by 10:00AM. Thereafter, I made my way back up the road to Fry's in Campbell to browse the aisles for a heat-sink that I can no longer buy through PC Club in Modesto, or their web-site; I need the part to finish Mom's new computer I built for Christmas. Right after finding the part I needed my good friend Suzanne called and asked where I was. She told me she just finished an interview in downtown San Jose and asked me to wait there; she would meet me. We met up, browsed Fry's and chatted a little; she's looking for a new gaming mouse. We took her car and went to lunch at Taco Bravo. I had the basic bean burrito and orange soda; onions were included even though I requested "no onions." After lunch we crossed the street for coffee and a browse through Barnes and Noble; the seasonal Cinnamon Dolce was quite tasty, much better than the awful Tazo Chai I once had a few years ago. [I've never had another Starbuck's Chai. At the time, I had hoped it was as good as the Oregon Chai that the Camera Three cinema was selling, which was fantastic! I could drink those all day and they went well with my Sampoerna cloves. Maybe the Tazo and the cloves didn't mix. Whatever.] We browsed around the books a little bit then returned to Fry's to pick-up my car. Gave Sue a kiss and a hug then back to campus for me.

[Wow. This post is getting really long. Don't worry, once classes start I will no doubt have far less time to write this much. ;-) -L.]

Onward! Once back on campus I spoke to the Parking Services office and arranged a two (2) week parking pass till my semester pass arrives. The permits have overlapping dates, but for only $24.00, that's just fine. I also need to update my license plate info since I entered it incorrectly Saturday when I applied online for the semester permit. *slap's head* So stupid. I should have just gone to look at the plate. Now I can relax about parking.

Next up, I checked the Linguistics Department office and see that they are open. I still have to finish my Graduation Application and get that turned in, then have my department forward my records of completed/in-progress work. I looked around the bookstore and saw that some of the Spring semester books are out, but not all. Will have to spend more time there tomorrow to get the books I can. Robert's is open this week so I can check there, too.

Stopped in at the Courtesy Desk for my building to get tips on making the thermostat co-operate. Apparently, when the room doors are all closed and the heater is running, the temperature at the thermostat drops, but the heat is getting into the rooms, barely. This explains why setting it for 70F and letting it run for (30) minutes dropped the temp to 66F. Back in my room I turned on the heater and left the door open for a few minutes, saw the "heater" was doing it's job, then closed my door and crashed out for about three (3) hours.

So that brings me up-to-date. Haven't had dinner yet, and I'm not too hungry (it's 9:48PM now), but I'm thinking "La Victoria" for a dinner of Nachos with Jalapenos, or maybe Super Nachos, for something more filling. It's getting late. I better get dressed and go check-out their hours...

Good night for now! I updated the comments settings so my friends in Turlock, and elsewhere, should be able to add comments without having Google/Blogger accounts. Let me know!.

-Lancer!!

Moved in!

Alright! Got moved into my dorm room today with lots of help from Mom and Jarrod. Did a lot of packing this morning; right up to 5:20pm. We used all the boxes I got from work, plus a few Hefty sacks. Loading the cars was a little challenging due to the heavy rains. Water was pooling in the carport so we got our feet wet, but not the boxes. Mom and Jarrod made a trip to pick-up sandbags so hopefully the water won't run into the house.

My brother and I packed all my things into our cars and drove to San Jose in the rain. We arrived (20) minutes ahead of schedule; what a relief! Check-in was mostly painless and the line was short. I picked up a card-key for the garage so we could bring our cars in out of the rain and unload boxes close to the elevator.

Armed with my card-key and room key we scouted the path to my apartment and met one of my roommates, Joe. We introduced ourselves, checked out my room, turned on the lights and got to work. We finished bringing in all of my belongings and were damn glad Mom insisted we bring a hand-truck.

Jarrod treated me to dinner at Chevy's, then dropped me back at my dorm. Found a decent spot on the street for my car. Hope it won't be molested overnight. Parking should be free overnight and all day Sunday. Got my computer set up and Internet access was immediate.

Good night for now!

Countdown to the move

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2008. Now the countdown begins for my move back to San Jose, CA, where I am going to finish my degree: B.A. Linguistics. Lot's of organizing, packing and laundry to manage between now and then. Looking forward to the Spring semester.