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Well, this sucks: someone broke into my car overnight. I'm pretty sure they were after my laundry money... well, that and my gps and mp3 player, but still! My fantasy is that there's some guy/gal out there who desperately needed quarters because his clothes were just so darned dirty, leading him/her to a life of crime, breaking windows on giant trucks for access to their small change. It could happen, right?

Anyway, the damage wasn't too bad. They shattered my passenger-side window and took my coins, mp3 player, and gps device. The total damage doesn't even really exceed my insurance deductible. Oh well. It's annoying, but not that huge of a deal (just expensive). It's funny, I feel like I should feel terrified and violated, but honestly I'm just annoyed and laid-back over the whole thing. I don't think that would've been the case 3 years ago, but today, it's just another bump in the road for me. Nothing to stress TOO much over.

It does make me look forward to getting out of Berkeley, though. Not that Berkeley's some horrible place, but I've always been concerned for safety reasons here, and I really miss my quiet, suburban lifestyle ;)

P.S. I'll be coming home for the weekend for Passover! (Hopefully my truck will be repaired in time to drive it down) Woohoo!

Labels: Berkeley, Home, Truck

You know, it's strange... The notion of graduation still feels very foreign and far-off to me. The bizarre part is that... technically, I graduated last semester. For some reason, I'm struggling to reconcile the fact that I've graduated with my perception that I'm just a "naive, young, new college student". And yet, here I am, picking up my cap and gown, and getting ready for a commencement ceremony in May.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm extremely proud of what I've accomplished here and excited about what's to come, I just think it hasn't hit me that I'm going to be putting school behind me (at least for a while) soon. Sure, I'm sticking around for one more semester, but this commencement really, truly marks the end of my undergraduate experience, and underscores the imminence of the "real world". Cool, but scary ;)

I don't really have anything prophetic to say; I just thought I'd share. Fun times are ahead, and I can look back on lots of good times. But the "looking back" part is what's so new and strange!

Labels: Berkeley, career, Master's, Personal, school

It's been a while since my last post. I think, in part, I've been avoiding posting because of the meaning that Mr. Wittry's passing had to me. But, alas, life goes on, and I know Dave would have been excited to hear the latest from me in spite of any other news. He was always interested in hearing about what was going on in other peoples' lives, even when he had his own things to be concerned about.

For me, things are generally going well. I've been struggling with some back problems which has kept me out of the gym for... too long, but I've otherwise been doing great.

My spring break was wonderful. I spent a week at home, enjoying the sun and visiting with friends. I got a chance to spend a little time with Peter and Frank (who had just returned from a road trip that sounded like a lot of fun), watched a few movies (Horton Hears a Who with my sister, Bank Job with Peter, and Vantage Point with Frank), all of which were at least mildly entertaining and at best a lot of fun ;). I enjoyed seeing my parents and sister (it had been nearly 2 months... far too long), and played a bunch of chess with my dad. And, get this: I won! :) Sorry, dad! It's the first time I've ever come out ahead overall with my dad when it comes to chess. Granted, he let me be white most of the time, and I've still got plenty to learn, but it was a first for me ;) I'll take the victories I can get (and promptly rub them in my dad's face!). The other main thing I did over the break was attend Mr. Wittry's memorial at Troy High, which was a wonderful tribute and very moving. I'm so glad people were able to come together in Southern California to share memories of him, and I thought the "Wit-tree" that was planted in his honor was a very nice gesture. He won't be forgotten.

School's been going well, and I've been making good progress on my new degree. It's hard to believe I'm already nearing the half-way mark. And it's even weirder that I'll be attending my commencement for my B.A. in just over a month. I'm excited that my family will be able to be here (health permitting), and am looking forward to it, but there's a surreal quality to the notion that I'm essentially done with school. Soon I'll be headed back up to Microsoft to start working full-time. Crazy, huh?

Sadly, I was recently informed that Jon, my roommate, will be seeking housing elsewhere for next semester. He's been a great roommate, and it'll be strange not having him and his girlfriend, Kim around. I know we'll still see plenty of each other, though, as long as we've got TV shows to obsessively watch ;)

Which reminds me: LOST is awesome. Don't tell me what happens! Over the last month or two, we've been working our way through all three seasons of LOST, and we're just about to finish the third. When I had heard about it before, it didn't sound very interesting to me. But now I'm hooked. What am I to do? I'm totally, completely, and utterly addicted to it. This is what happens when the writers go on strike: I get addicted to shows on DVD.

In the meantime, I'm looking for housing for next semester. It's a little complicated, since I'll only be around from August through December, so I'm primarily looking for a studio apartment that I could rent just for that time span. Wish me luck!

Anyway, sorry for the information overload. That's what happens when I go 2 months without an update. Hopefully, I'll be more inclined to keep y'all updated more often now that I've started back up. There will be fun things happening in the coming months. I'm looking forward to it!

Labels: Berkeley, career, family, friends, Home, Microsoft, Personal, school, summer, vacation