Day 3: Return to Austin

I forgot to mention a few things. 4 beers and 3 shots of vodka later. Vomiting Mexican food in the toilet. Sleeping on the bathroom floor. Being carried to my bed by K. Refusing to drink water. Yelling out Kerryck's name as loud as I can. Shooing Evan away. Kicking Mai out of mybed.

Fist bumps that turn into snails. Fist bumps that turn into turkeys. High fives that turn into jellyfish.

Doing one last one on Skype for good times sake. Recording the video of them eating hot sauce with no sound because I had my earphones in. The faces, but not the voices on my video phone. Somewhat cinematic with Mai moving her mac around so that I can see the faces of those who are talking.

Missing the heatwave.

Being back in Austin, living out of a backpack, and missing those guys like crazy. I just need to get settled here; need/want things to pick up bad.

Day 80-90 Click click, saddle up, see you on the moon

Wrapped up all my work at Palm on Friday. Said many goodbyes. Didn't say many goodbyes.

Been packing all weekend. Making mixtapes. Crying my little heart out. Cleaning. God, I'll miss this place. And especially the people who I've had the great pleasure of being friends with during my stay here. Mai, Kerryck, Evan, Eric, Geetanjali, Robert, Teddy, etc.

It's definitely easier being left being than it is actually leaving. I could stand to spend another week here -- I can stand to move out here again in the future.

Grounders with the Canucks. Lava Monster. Scattegories in scattegories and winning all the time. Scrabble, Skipbo. Going to G's house and eating lovely Indian food. Picking plums from the trees in the back. Gazing at the stars, looking for the Perseid Meteor Shower. Teddy, with arms crossed, pointing out all of the constellations that he knows. Scorpio, Cassiopeia, the Big and Small Dippers. Looking for shooting stars in the night sky so that we could get our wish. Going to Yosemite, climbing up the rocks to the waterfall. Climbing up 600 steps to get to the top of Vernal Falls. And the thunderstorm at that level was beautiful. We couldn't swim cause the rapids were too fast.

Playing horse with Mai and Kerryck and Eric and always losing. Playing a violent made up basketball game at the elementary school late at night. Kerryck's brother visiting for a week. Getting drunk a few times and sharing a mattress with him at night. Sleepless nights for the rest. Bryce and Kerry Jones. Drunk dialing. Irish poker, Ring of Fire, beer pong.

Never have I ever only when there are girls in the room. When it's a bunch of dudes, it's 5 - drive. Start your car and vroom, vroom, vroom. Vroom or Eek? Irish car bombs (2 of them) and getting so wastedface with Robert, Teddy, Kerryck, and Jeff Mei. I threw up all over my shoes in a park while Jeff poured water on them because he said they were "too pretty" to ruin. Then I washed in the washing machine next morning cause they smelled like vomit.

Being bridal carried ("princess-carried") because I couldn't walk. Slept on the floor with a trash can next to me just in case. Kerryck on the other side. No feelings then. Gayest game of beer pong ever. Lots of gyrating, asking about lists. Sucking at beer pong, but winning my second match. Second Irish car bomb put me over the edge.

Going up to San Francisco to see the fireworks on the 4th of July. Nice ride up on the train in the back car with the bikes. 5 of us there. Cold and jealous. Long walk back to the Caltrain.

The trip to L.A. To the Kodak, Grauman's Theater, Santa Monica Beach/Pier, and Venice Beach.

Terry taking me to her favorite restaurant in SF. And then taking me to the bridge. Her sense of direction is the worse, but it was a nice meander through the city. Driving through the cute town of Sausalito before heading back down and stopping at a little lookout where single men waited patiently in their cars... for something. Or someone.

Many hours playing Killer/Thirteen. And then playing Catte where the winner of the round asks the losers of the round a truth. What's your kill count, who would you fly out to visit, your most embarrassing moment, someone you regret wanting to sleep with, etc.

Soccer games on a Friday night. Hating playing soccer, but ending up scoring a few goals and liking it. Geetanjali and the dinosaur woman we saw. My stomach was hurting from all the laughter.

Very important meetings in Heisman, where we'd listen to music and play board games.

The beach outing I planned. Burying Dustin Picasso in the sand, getting a brilliant half day off work.

Watching Wicked at the Orpheum and dressing up for that. Watching Laura Marling at the Great American Music Hall. Watching Inception twice. The first time with "the twitter guy" was less enjoyable then the second time around.

Meeting someone who was infatuated by me. Wanting to take me out on a date, feeling my leg up, wanting to go to dinner and a spa as well. Turning him down, ignoring him. Catherine, Mai, and Evan all worried about me, sticking around the coffee shop just to make sure everything's okay.

The quietest last weekend of the summer. No partying, everyone just doing there own thing. Eric in San Diego. Kerryck com o pae dele. Evan with Kayla in SF. Very quiet send off. Unlike the ones we did for Jeff Mei, Robert, Ted, and G. It's quiet but it feels very resolute.

I've made mixes for the three and I'm giving it to them.

I take in one last glance at the beautiful hills visible from my balcony. And I think back to those moments when I first saw them. How I couldn't get over them. The landscape all beautiful and stuff. Then I soon realized that Sunnyvale was pretty much the shittiest place in the world. The Burbs - not at all exciting. And then I was lonely and though I went up to the city, it was no fun doing it alone.

And then I met people and I soon realized very quickly that it isn't where you are, but who you're with that makes life enjoyable. Jesus, this is such a sentimental post. I just can't help it though.

I hated them at first. I thought they were annoying and being a cynical little bitch. But then, ending up really enjoying their company a lot. Essentially needing their company now.

I wonder if I'll ever see these people again?

Anyways, though I'm devastated to leave this place. And to leave all of these great people behind, I'm excited to resume life in Texas - in Austin.

Sometimes though, I just wish that I lived closer to them. They're all in the midwest area. Urbana-Champaign, Lansing, Waterloo. And then G's in Berkeley. My Gigi. My penis.

Jesus.

Tomorrow's it. Click click, saddle up, see you on the moon then. I hope I can do another one of these stream of consciousness type recollections. It's just been so damn good here.

Day 77-79: Half Day at Santa Cruz

Quick post. Took an HR-sponsored VP-approved half day to go to Four Mile Beach in Santa Cruz with the other Palm interns. It was such a blast.

But since I'm so tired, I'm not expanding beyond that. I'll try to in tomorrow's post. Night all!

Day 76: Ain't gonna be golden

Me and co-worker Erica checking out the Palm Summer Tour at the HP campus in Palo Alto.

Last week, I had to write a job description for my position to be used to find my replacement once I go back to school. What that means is that they (my dept) see that a position like mine is necessary, right? This is a good thing.

It's so strange. I'm finally getting into the groove of things, but I'll be leaving in 2 weeks. Nine more work days, and I'm done with Palm for the summer.

Today, I was in a foul mood for the first time all summer. I'm not sure why, but I was. Like angry foul. Not sad foul.

Fourteen days... 2 weeks, and I'm back in Texas. I just can't believe it.

Day 62-75: Two Weeks Left

As usual, I'm missing Texas real bad. But I've definitely grown comfortable with the lifestyle here in Silicon Valley. And I've grown quite attached to all the people I've become friends with. I tell them that it's kind of like The Breakfast Club. We all, by sheer luck or coincidence, have been put into the same environment. In the end, we're all friends, though whether or not we will continue to be friends in the future is uncertain. By the end of the summer, people will be moving back to Illinois, Toronto, Texas, and some will remain in the Bay Area. It makes me kind of sad to think about that.

Now on a lighter note, I have been having a lot of fun here. Last Sunday, August 1, I saw Wicked at the Orpheum Theater in SF with Boyce, Teddy, Geets and her boyfriend, Rohan. It was a wonderful production. The sets, the actors, the songs -- all stellar. I finally got to hear those songs everyone in high school used to sing all the damn time.

Kerryck's brother, Bryce, also came last weekend on 7/31. It was his 18th birthday that day, and Mai, Eric, and I took care of him while his brother worked (yes, on a Saturday -- it was absolutely ridiculous). He's a good guy. Though they look nothing alike, they sure do act alike. It's amusing. Anyways, today we sent Bryce off at SFO. It's back to Canada for him.

And yesterday, I went to Yosemite National Park with Geetanjali, her family, Teddy and Shirley, Robert, Quinn and his +2 (Andrew and Laura). Though, I'm not the most outdoorsy person and though it was irritating getting into the park with all of the traffic, I was definitely glad I went. It's a gorgeous place.

We hiked maybe 5 miles total and we went to two waterfalls. One was Vernal Falls. I forget the other's name. There wasn't a lot of water flow since it's the end of the summer, but I hear it's really great in the spring time. In order to get up to Vernal Falls, we had to climb up 600 steps. It was tough! But the top was definitely worth it. There was a thunderstorm and I saw rain in Calif. for the first time since coming out here. It was so refreshing.

Just to wrap this up: I love Geetanjali's family and family friends. They fed us lunch and dinner. By the end of the day, I called her mom and one of the other women "Auntie." Man, could they not contain themselves. I'm just so charming!

Day 60-61 And That's Reality

Being able to map out my foursquare check-ins on google maps is a blessing! It makes blogging a great deal EASIER. Today, Evan and I went to Union Square in San Francisco to do a little shopping. I also wanted to find a shop that had croque monsieurs because I have been dying to eat one for so long. I know traditionally croque monsieurs have ham, but there ARE variants that are veg-friendly. Anyways, our day started late. We left around 2 and didn't arrive in the city until around 4. By then, the cafe that we went to (Crepe O Chocolat) had run out of monsieurs. Bummer. Maybe next time! But the man that was working there was very friendly. That was a plus. He smiled a lot.

Because our search for these elusive sandwiches was a bust, we ended up eating at Wolfgang Puck Express. Hehe. I'd never heard of it. We had such bad service and an all around interesting experience in general. There was this woman who sat in the booth next to us and she'd butt into our conversation every now and then. When she found out that Evan's order had been messed up and that the service was poor, she complained to our server on behalf of us. It was kind of embarrassing.

Macy's, Neiman Marcus, 7 for All Mankind, Lucky Brand Jeans, Niketown, Banana Republic. We visited a lot shops, but didn't buy a whole lot. I came home with a pale-ish yellow polo shirt and a white belt. TWO THINGS ON MY LIST THAT I'VE BEEN WANTING. Now, all I really want is a SKINNY BLACK SILK TIE. And maybe a cardigan and black/gray fashion sneakers.

OH. Ev and I also rode the Zeum Carousel (that's the checkpoint on the bottom right corner of the map). It was a blast.

He reminds me of an old friend back from high school. A lot of the Palm interns do. It's kind of strange.

PROFILE TIME.

Evan is a political science major at UC Davis. He is a Palm fanboy, he loves tech, and he's a complete nerd about the whole thing. He really does know a great deal. It's fascinating. He's my roommate and he's really good at Trivial Pursuit, too, which is a pain because I love winning and hate that I lose the game quite a bit. We get along quite well, which I find strange because I don't typically click with many people. Oh, and he works in Corp Comm/PR/Social Media at Palm.

He's also 6'6" - but I think I've mentioned that in previous entries. I called him Burj once. I thought I was clever as hell, too.

Night, guys!

Day 49-59: One month left!

This is insane. At EOD Friday, I will have four full work weeks left at Palm and one whole month before I fly back to Dallas. I just can't believe it; I want things to slow down. Slow. Down.

Since my last update forever ago, I haven't done anything too exciting. I've just been eating and hanging out with the other interns. Though I will say that last Friday night (the 16th) was pretty exciting. IRISH. CAR. BOMBS. Getting "princess-carried." Turning what would otherwise be a very masculine game into a very gay one.

Oh! Something interesting: I went to one of the intern's house this past Wednesday. Her name is Geetanjali, she goes to Berkley, but her family lives in San Jose. Some of us just went over, picked plums from her dad's garden (photo above), took a little hike up some hills that overlooked San Jose, ate some really good Indian Food, and played some board games. It was pretty much a blast.

So, this provides a nice segue to that whole profiling thing I mentioned in my last post (oh god, I hope none of them ever sees this). This is a photo I stole from her facebook:

Geetanjali works in the operations department at Palm, where she ... I forget what she does. Something about failures and errors. Lots of excel work. She and I like to go down to shipping together because it's nice to get out of the cubicles every now and then. We also like to go out to the 3rd floor balcony around 4 pm every now and then to get some fresh air. She loves board games and soccer, and she organizes events for a bunch of us to play both. Soccers on Friday evenings, board games randomly throughout the week. Though she may not look like it, she is Indian and she does speak two languages. Sometimes, her Indian accent comes out. I probably G-talk with her the most during work, which is kind of funny because some people call her G. I like to call her Geets. Other people call her Geeti. And I tell her about everyone I ever crush on at work. HA. I'm planning on seeing Wicked on August 1 with her, some of her friends and some of the other interns. I think that's all.

I've got a lot more to say but I don't like long posts, so I'm going to try to get better about this. Especially since I have but a month left here. Byeee!

Day 44-48: Chill Daze

So, things have been pretty chill here in Sunnyvale since my last update. I've got a nice flow of work at Palm. Keeping busy with that. I haven't been bicycling to campus that much since I became best buds with one of the female interns who lives two floors below me. I typically ride with her in the mornings now. I haven't really been running either, but that's because more days than not, my entire body is sore. It took a while for me to recover from the whole Muscle Beach thing last weekend. This past Friday, I played soccer with some of the interns and I've been sore as hell all weekend. I honestly think my body's this way because I don't get enough protein in my diet and therefore my muscles can't rebuild itself fast enough. Because of this, I've been consciously trying to eat more eggs and garbanzo beans. Haha. But I don't think that's enough so I broke my vegetarian code of honor and ate seafood this weekend (seafood > chicken > beef > pork). It was done out of desperation!! In the end, I decided to take the most desperate action of all: I drank up a nice big glass of my roommate Evan's whey protein. It actually didn't taste that bad. In any case, I think it definitely helped out a lot. I mean, I definitely feel a lot better now.

Let's see. Recaps, recaps. I went to a Korean restaurant called Omogari in San Jose last night. I think this has been my favorite place to eat thus far. I ordered Bipimbop, but couldn't eat it because I forgot to order tofu instead of beef. So my friend Mai traded me her seafood pancake for it. Her friend Mindy gave me a little of her seafood bipimbop because I said I'd always wanted to try the dish since seeing it made by Mario Batali on Food Network's Iron Chef last summer. I think it's made it onto my 'favorite dishes' list. We also got free green tea ice cream at the end. That was a nice treat. My waiter gave me two scoops instead of one because he felt bad that I couldn't eat the beef bipimbop. So cute.

On Friday (oh god, this entry makes absolutely no chronological sense), I ate dinner at Mama Chen, a very very Chinese Restaurant in Santa Clara. There was some Chinglish going on in the menu items: prok chop... a dish called 'mix mix.' I couldn't find anything to eat there. Pig's feet? No thanks. I tried to order pomfret (misspelled 'promphet') but the fish dish took too long to prepare and they were closing up in an hour. So, I got boring chow mein.

I watched the final two world cup games on Saturday and Sunday with some folks, which included the (2) very hilarious Canadian interns from Waterloo. One of them, Kerryck, has this ridiculously goofy Canadian accent. He says "aboot" and "eh?" all the time.

Fun stuff. I think I'm going to profile some of my fellow interns in the next few blog entries. Hopefully they never see this blog. Hehehe. I also need to do a post on all the things I miss about Austin (not sure if I'd already done one) and also a post on all the slang words I've had to teach my fellow interns. These could probably be combined into one. Until then!

Day 39-43: BroCal

Surfer, dude., originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

On July 1 (that's day 39 of my time here in Sunnyvale), HP and Palm officially merged. We celebrated with a company-wide party. Ruby cheerleaded, of course. There was also a Q&A with a panel of SVPs who were involved with the integration of the two companies. Lots of interesting talk during this meeting. I brought my macbook to take notes for a fellow coworker who couldn't attend. It was a little awkward.

On Friday (day 40), I went on some AT&T store visits and did a little secret shopping to get some first hand insight on how sales reps feel about our product. It was a good thing that I did this. That I also got to spend a day basically hanging out with my coworkers outside of the office was also nice.

This weekend (Fri-Sun, days 40-42), I went down to Los Angeles and did all of the touristy stuff: Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard/Strip (well, we drove right through it), Santa Monica Beach/Pier, and Venice Beach.

It was an insanely fun trip. I mean, I haven't had a fourth of July weekend in many long years, so this was definitely a great way to spend the weekend. God, the beaches in SoCal were lovely. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: Californians are so damn spoiled. Granted, they very much pay for it.

Venice Beach was a scene right out of a movie. There's a little skatepark, people surfing (photo above) and sailing, guys dancing on rollerblades/skates, vendors, shops, tourists tourists and more tourists. It all felt very 1990's sitcom. So much to take in!

And Muscle Beach was a blast. It's essentially an outdoor gym... but it seemed more like an adult's playground. There are rings that people swung on, ropes for people to climb up, uneven bars, parallel bars... it was awesome. I definitely tried to do some ropeclimbing. It's a lot more difficult than I imagined. My body has been trying to recover from that since Saturday. God, my muscles are still very sore.

Oh, you know how I like to namedrop people I meet? Well, I'm about to do that. It's the journalist in me.

Met a man at Muscle Beach called Jim. He was teaching me and Jeff, one of the people I went with, how to walk on those little tightrope things (I know there's a different name for them, but I can't figure it out right now). He had very nice teeth and very nice hair, but that's all besides the point. He told us that he was learning how to turn on the little rope and that he'd been practicing but hadn't been able to do it. By the time we left, we definitely saw him complete not one, but two turns. It was pretty cool. We applauded.

Also, you know how I have a thing for Scandinavians? Well, apparently, I have some sort of a Scadar™. I didn't talk to many of the vendors on Venice Beach, but the one that I did talk to - guess where he's from? FINLAND, baby. Tatu's his name (kinda like that gimmicky lesbian girl band from the early 2000s). He came to southern California to study photography and was selling some panorama prints.

I have photos from the trip that I can put up, but first I have to find a card reader. Hopefully, one of the Palm interns will let me borrow his soon.

In any case, we came back from LA at around 4:30pm on Sunday and by 6:30 pm we were on the train heading into the city as we wanted to check out the fireworks show they put on at Fisherman's Wharf. The show wasn't long or elaborate, but being out there in the cold with thousands of random strangers was a nice feeling. I mean, it always is. Over the bay, there was lots of fog, which obscured the fireworks. Though we could only see about half of it and though there were a few people who left in disappointment, I was okay with it. I mean, it's San Francisco. I can get any old fogless fireworks shows elsewhere.

That's really it. It was a great, long, wonderful weekend. Gotta get back to work tomorrow... such is life.

Day 36-38: So Long, Lonesome

This week has been super weird. But that's the way Silicon Valley works apparently. Changes happen, people come and go, and the world keeps spinning. Nothing's within my control.

Today, we had a little fiesta celebrating the end of Palm. I don't have any pictures from it, but I do have the images inside my head. Motivational speech by Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein, a short little movie made by the MarCom guys. One of those things. Got a little commemorative t-shirt from the event. I also got to pass out t-shirts... cause I'm a marketing intern.

Tomorrow is Day 1 of HP. We'll see how that goes. I don't expect to see any massive changes right away though...

Day 30-35: Interns, Roomie, Pride

Man in Costume - SF Pride 2010, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Oh god, neglect neglect. I think the more I actually get out there, the more likely I am to neglect this. Which I think is a good thing.

Finally spending some time with the other interns. Although we have vastly different sensibilities, I find that I do get along with them. Scrabble, Taboo, dinner. I hope my competitive nature didn't scare some of them away.

Oh, my roommate Evan came in on Friday. Ask me about him some time and I'll be more than glad to talk. Did I mention that he's 6'6" and that I'm only 5'5"?

Pride this past weekend. Lots of fun. Lots of penises. Lots of drag queens. Lots of love. Saw the Backstreet Boys! But you all know this already because of my facebook/twitter updates. Took some photos; hope they turn out good. I need a card reader to upload them... and then I can make some sort of sound judgment.

Aw well, here's to another week of work. This Wednesday is supposedly the last day of Palm. Thursday, it's officially HP since the stockholder vote passed last week. That's going to be strange. We'll see what happens.

Day 28, 29: Toy Story 3 & The Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Yesterday, I went to see Toy Story 3 at the Cinemark Cinema theater in Mountain View. Saw the Google campuses on the way. Those buildings are pretty huge. I also saw giant cupcakes and the giant Android mascot on one of the lawns. I would like a photo there. One day...

Toy Story 3 is a wonderful movie. If I had feelings, I would've cried. Man, so good. The only thing is that I'm more of a character study kind of guy, so I could've done without all the rising conflict, plot turns, resolution, deus ex machina elements.


TODAY at work: My boss David asked if I wanted to go up to the city to attend a meeting at the agency we're using for a new marketing campaign we're launching. Of course, I SAID YES. I couldn't pass that up. I planned to go to Union Square while I was up there and then take the train back down, but my co-worker Terry also drove up for the meeting. She lives down in South Bay so she had to drive down and offered to give me a ride back.

We got dinner first and I mentioned that I hadn't gone to see the Golden Gate Bridge yet, so she took me! We went to the Vista Point scenic lookout. Such a tourist spot. But it's gorgeous. Like, it's one of those things where photos/pictures do no justice to the actual location. It was also freezing there. AH, so so cold.

Then we drove through the little town of Sausalito. God, it would be wonderful to live in a place like that.

Anyways, afterward, we drove back South, but on the way, we stopped by this other scenic lookout called... Vista Point. It's off 280 and overlooks the Crystal Springs Reservoir. But man, I did not like it at all. There were about 7 cars parked there. And in all 7 cars were men by themselves sitting at the drivers seat of their own respective cars. Seven men, seven cars. It was the creepiest thing. Like I have no idea what these guys were doing there. I was so uncomfortable.

Now my stomach is retaliating from the dinner I had eaten. We ate a Chinese restaurant and I got kung pao shrimp - "the spiciest you can make it." Burning from the inside out!

Day 25, 26, 27: Chinatown & North Beach

Lombard and Golden Gate from Coit, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

25 - Offers were sent out.

26 - More work. Nothing exciting.

27 - Went into the city, visited Chinatown & North Beach (aka Little Italy).

The Caltrain to SF was hella crowded. So ridiculous! It was a good thing I got on early when there were seats available because the aisles were full of standing people by the end. I got off at the SF Caltrain Station and got on the 30 towards Washington Square for the North Beach Festival. This small bus was even more crowded! Jeez Louis. I decided to get off midway and just walk the rest of the way because I could not stop laughing inside the bus. It was that crowded/ridiculous. People wanted to come in, but were turned down because there was no room. And there was one point in which the bus couldn't move for about 5 minutes because the driver couldn't close the back door. We were sardines. We really were. It was really quite comical.

So, I went up to SF today because of the North Beach Festival. Lots of people. Lots of booths, musicians, beer, good-looking people. It felt a lot like the Pecan Street Festival that takes place on 6th street in Austin, but a lot less weird.

Lots of pizza shops here. Oh ho ho. And lots of Italia supporters for the World Cup.

North Beach was decent. I didn't find anything too exciting except for City Lights Bookstore, where I spent a good hour reading Milan Kundera. Apparently, this place is pretty historic. It kind of reminded me of that bookstore in Denton, but less large and with new books.

Not too far from Little Italy is this scenic lookout called Coit Tower. Man, if anyone wants to see all of San Francisco from one spot, this is the place to do that. On one side, you can see the crazy zig-zaggy Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge (photo at the very top).

On the other side, you can see the bay, the Oakland Bay Bridge, and the Financial District.

And you can even see Alcatraz. I mean, I wasn't expecting this type of view. I always thought that when I first see the Bay or the bridge or whatever that it would be no big deal because I'd seen it all in films and in photos. But in real life - man, it was really pretty. I actually let out a gasp when I climbed up to the tower. So grand, so cold.

But I didn't actually go up the tower. The line was too darn long. Maybe next time!

Now, let's talk Chinatown. This place has a lot of character and a lot of tourists! I wanted to buy some bubble tea and various baked goods at this one shop, but they didn't take credit. Luckily, there was a Chase bank nearby where I could get change.

"Do you always carry large bills with you?"
"Um... no. Just today. A lot of these shops don't take credit."
"Oh. You're not from around here are you?" (I think my DSLR was a big giveaway)
"No."
"Where are you from?"
"Austin."
"Australia!???"
"No, Austin. Austin, Texas."
"I've never been there, but I want to go one day. Do you like it?"
"I love it. You should go."
"I want to. One day. Texas. Dallas, Austin, Houston."
"Ooh, I don't like Houston."
"I wanna go see the new Cowboy Stadium!"
"I haven't even been there yet."
"Are there a lot of Asians in Texas?"
"Uh... not as much as here."
"But still a lot, right? Lots of Asian girls in Houston?"
"Um... ya, I think so."
"How about Austin?"
"Well, it's a college town, so ya, lots of Asian girls at the university."
"That's it! Next time, I'll be over there!"

This guy -- my banker -- made me laugh.

After, I went to this shop called Golden Gate Bakery. The line was long! So naturally, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I asked a guy behind me if the line was always so long.

"Well, it's a local place that all the locals go to, you know?"

Ok dude, I know I'm a tourist... but you're a DOUCHE.

Saw a shop that sold fake Louis Vuitton clutches and Chanel sunglasses. Can't say I've been to Chinatown without seeing knockoffs. Also, just an observation, but a lot of the shops were slow to serve me. Actually, it's was less that they were slow and more that they would ignore me to help out the next person, usually someone who spoke Chinese. That was definitely a little aggravating.

Well, that's all! Tiring trip! I'm glad to be home and to finally have some food in my refrigerator.

If I remember anything else, I'll cover it in tomorrow's blog entry.

Tchau amigos!

Day 22, 23, 24: Week 3 Hump Day Update

Fruit Bowl, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Can you tell how exciting my days have become? I can't think of anything to take photos of besides what I eat at work. Which is a whole lot of fruit and salad. Occasionally, I eat omelets or pancakes for breakfast, or veggie sandwiches or pizza at lunch.

HP, HP, HP, HP, HP. Lots of HP going on.

This week is Reach Out to Key Senior Marketing Employees Week.

Director of Advertising; Senior Product Marketing Manager; Director of Carrier Marketing; Director of Program Managment, Marketing; Director of Online Communications. No VPs or SVPs though. They ain't got time for no intern. These directors barely have time for me! Haha. I've had to reschedule about 63 times. But that don't get me down. No it don't.

Speaking of, I'm trying to reach out to my fellow interns! Remember when I thought they hated me before? I don't think that's the case. I think there's just a lot of shy going on.

Around the office, people are buzzing about the World Cup. No surprises there. No, but I mean literally too. There's a Vuvuzela app you can download on the Pre/Pixi. And you just touch it and it makes that buzzing sound. Very authentic. Very annoying.

Every now and then, I'm having bits of Texas Monthly flashbacks. But I won't get into that.

Finally got my first pay check today! Feels great. Now I just need to go deposit it before I overdraft. 26% of it went to taxes though. Welcome to life, Edmarc.

I think that's all for now. Seems like updating this blog every 3 days is a good idea, especially when things on my end have been largely uneventful.

I really appreciate you guys for your devout readership! The .17 average comments per entry means a lot to me! And it makes this experience infinitely more pleasant.

Day 21: This Is Goodbye, Mildred

2 p.m. CST

Sunnyvale, CA: I am sitting in front of my television watching Germany kill Australia in the first Group D match of the World Cup.

Durban, South Africa: Tens of thousands of fans cheer on the Germany national soccer team, while tens of thousands grow disappointed in Australia's poor performance.

Denton, TX: My parents sit in the bleachers of the UNT Auditorium waiting for my brother's name to be called at his high school graduation ceremony. Meanwhile, my brother receives a text from me: "Congratulations! I'm going to call you later tonight, okay? Also, just an update. Germany is killing Australia 4-0."

Wichita, KS: A man calls a (214) number with urgent news, but receives no response. He's the messenger of news far worse than Australia losing miserably to Germany. He continues to call for the next couple of hours until someone on the other end finally picks up. You know how long those graduation ceremonies take.


Rest in Peace, Mildred.

Day 18, 19 & 20: Recap of Week 2 at Palm

Courtyard, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Work at Palm is kind of up and down. There are times when I've got things going on, but there are also times in which I've got nothing. The HP/Palm merger makes things a little more interesting as well. Lots of things going on regarding that. And everyone's got it on their minds. I'm finding things out in bits and pieces, none of which I am able to write about. I definitely, definitely don't want HP's legal coming after me.

But I think I'll be here when the deal is finalized. Looking forward to that. What luck I have that I am getting to see from an inside perspective what is happening with this big merger/acquisition.

I met Jon Rubinstein, the CEO of Palm, yesterday (Friday). After a speaker series, I was walking up the stairs and saw him climbing up as well. His office is on the fourth floor. I guess he prefers stairs over elevators, too. Anyways, I slowed down and introduced myself. I think I'm finally starting to feel more comfortable in the office. I hope so. I mean, it's about time. I've only got 10 more weeks.

Regarding activities outside of work, I've been running a lot lately (as I mentioned previously... I want those good looking legs back). I pretty much run the same course, but I'll change it up once I'm more in shape and I can handle longer distances. I bring this up because I just found out that I've been running by a hidden cache (redundant). Saw the description on geocaching.com and I think I know where the microcache is hidden! Next time, I'm going to look for it even though I don't have a GPS system.

The weather yesterday and today has been in the mid-80s. So it's kind of hot... for this area. Definitely the hottest it has been since I got here. I still refuse to turn the AC on though.

Hoping for more adventures in the near future. Things have become a little dull for me. Want/need for things to pick up!

Day 17: Siesta Fiesta

No photo today. SORRY. Dustin from HR threw the interns a little party today. Mexican food, nachos, jarritos, non-alcoholic sangria. I mostly listened (in simultaneous wonderment and confusion) to all the engineers talk about techie stuff and programming. Zzzzz. I also watched the over-bubbly upstate New Yorker giggle while emphatically and enthusiastically nodding her head in agreement with various other over-bubbly northerners. Bigger snore.

In other words, I ran today! I want those legs I had freshman year of college. Man, those were good looking legs.

Day 16: Good Mornings

Dranks, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Are not good mornings unless I have a glass of water, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of black coffee at work.

Total is $1.37 - unfortunately orange juice costs me. Regular drip coffee is free though.

Lots of bathroom breaks after. Lots.

I haven't been sleeping early enough lately, so I've reverted back to drinking that black poison. It's hulu. I'm hooked on this TV series. Not saying which because it's kind of embarrassing.

In other words, I got a phone call today on my LANDLINE (Whaaaa? That's what I thought, too).

"Hello?"
"Hi. Puedo hablar con Mario?" (I think she said more, but I only understood this part)
"Oh... um... Mario no vive aqui."
"Oh, I have the wrong number?"
"Um... yes. I'm sorry. Bye."

Not sure why I answered in Spanish, but I did. My brain was trying to process and comprehend so rapidly that I think it was easiest for me to answer back in Spanish? Since I was already thinking it?

No sé. That's it.

Adios amigos.

Day 13, 14 & 15: Observations

Oh hai guys!, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Hi guys. I know you have all probably forgotten what I look like, which is why I decided to take a photo of myself... in Palm gear.

They've been giving me a lot of stuff. Three palm t-shirts, a hat, lip balm (all of which are premiums for our Summer Tour campaign), a little water canister thing, a cocktail shaker set, and an unbranded "Palm orange" drawstring bag. One of my t-shirts is a Large, so if you want, you can have. Alls you need to do is ask.

Everything's still going swell. Still trying to meet as many people as possible. My marketing professor told me to never have lunch by myself. Trying my best to do this. And I didn't fail today. It's so nerve-wracking though. "Hey! Be my friend, I don't want to eat alone, please have lunch with me!" That's pretty much my strategy. It works about 42% of the time... 72% if I ask a female though.

Anyways, here are some observations I've made about the Bay Area...

1. Every time you bring up Oakland, everyone shudders. It's kind of like mentioning Oakcliff in Dallas or Riverside in Austin.
   
2. San Francisco is most commonly referred to as "the city" or "SF" (ess eff). No one ever calls it San Fran like I do. Or like I've heard other good ole Texans call it.
   
3. San Jose is sometimes referred to jokingly as "Man Jose." All engineers, dude.
   
4. The only toll roads that exist here are the bridges. Texans, we know all about those. A coworker was baffled by the number of tolls in D-town.
5. High 70's is hot for a lot of Bay Area folk. I'm sorry all you Dallasites who experienced triple digit weather this past weekend. It's June... wayyy tooo early!
   
6. Bay Area folks also crumble when they feel the slightest bit of humidity. Ooh boy, they can never survive in Texas.
7. You'll find very few Wal-Marts here. There are maybe two in Silicon Valley. I think there are more in East Bay than there are on the peninsula. It's all Safeway here. It's kinda like Tom Thumb/Kroger/HEB.
   
8. Finally, a lot of people bike here, which I think is great. Also, EVERYONE wears a helmet. ATX, TAKE NOTE.

That's all I can think of right now!

Tchau amigos.

Day 12: It's the French Variant, Not Latin

Constant Misspellings, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

One day, my coworkers will know how to spell my name correctly. But for now, I'm still trying to involve myself with more projects at Palm so that I can meet as many people as possible.

Speaking of getting your name out there... do you ever google yourself?

Honestly -- and I'm not ashamed to admit this -- I google myself every now and then. Check this out: my twitter, tumblr, and linkedin accounts are all on the first page of the google search results for 'edmarc.' My twitter's got the #2 spot. It sucks that I'm competing with a children's hospice for that top spot.

I hope I never get it.

Day 11: Is No News Good News?

Mochi, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Continuing to try and get involved with projects with different people at Palm. Sign me up! Sign me down! (Pedro Almodovar reference)

I couldn't partake in the wine tasting today. I'M STILL A BABY. AHHHHHHH.

I've been eating so badly since I got here. If I look 15 lbs heavier when I get back, feel free to make fun of me.

One thing I miss about Texas: BREAKFAST TACOS.

I heard Texas had a scary storm last night? The weather here you ask? Perfect as usual. Maybe it's too perfect?

Gonna try to clean up the apartment. It's only been 11 days and it's starting to look like a hot mess. Tchau amigos.

Day 10: My New Pre

My New Pre, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Got my work phone today, a new Palm Pre Plus. It like it. It can do some things I wish my BlackBerry could do. For example, I can play Gowalla! That's definitely a plus. Haha. I also have a Touchstone charger, which is definitely a nice accessory.

Things are still a little slow at work, but I'm hoping it starts speeding up really soon. I know it's only my second day, but you know me - eager beaver. I'm glad that they're involving me in meetings. Today, we had a conference call with a San Francisco agency. It feels really different sitting on the client side instead of the agency side. Every time I heard the female voice on the other end, I kept imagining that it is was my old boss, Ali.

In other words, I ate some bad Asian food tonight. And the bus driver on the way home drove like a mad man. The two combined made me want to throw up really badly. Blech. I'm beat. It's 10:40 and I am going to bed!

Day 9: Day One at Palm

My Set Up, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Completed my first day at Palm. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to give myself ample time to prepare and also so I could get there early. Dressed up as conservatively as I could because I got nervous that if I dressed in jeans and nice button up, I might be too casual. Ya, I was in a suit.

I arrived at the Palm campus at 8:15 via my bicycle. When I went to lock it up, I realized I forgot the keys to my lock so I scrambled around trying to figure out where I could keep it for the day. The situation frazzled me. I ended up leaving it at security with a nice man named Jesse.

Waited in the lobby for orientation. Looked around at everyone. I overdressed like crazy because I'm an idiot. Katie from HR said dress was casual - jeans and a nice button up - and she meant it.

There were some contractors and two interns. One intern was a super enthusiastic MBA Cornell student. The other was a quieter recent Michigan State graduate. Got my badge, got paperwork to fill out. Got a little tour of the place. It's huge. When Dustin from HR dropped me off on the third floor, he said, "You know this is where marketing is because they've got a bar." Oh ho ho. How Madison Avenue.

Met everyone in my department, got situated in my cubicle, got my macbook. It's a pretty sweet set up. Talked with my boss David about projects I'll be working on for the summer. Everything looks promising. I can't wait until things get going. I hate when I feel like I'm not doing anything, but that's how thing go the first week or so until I get a hang of everything.

When I was getting ready to leave, I noticed all of my HR paperwork was missing. I thought someone was playing a practical joke on me. I got so worried because I just could not find it. I retraced my steps all throughout the place. Called Dustin and it turned out that he grabbed it from my desk when I had gone down to the shipping room. Scared me so bad. I wish he had left me a post-it, a note on my whiteboard, an email... something!

Now I'm home, it's 7:15 pm and I am exhausted. WHY?? I'm probably going to turn in soon. Here's looking to day two.

Day 8: Happy Memorial Day!

Carousel at the Asian Market, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Went shopping again. I needed to get some essentials for my work wardrobe: brown shoes, a blue button up, etc. It was a good day despite having missed out on a Memorial Day barbecue. Perhaps another time.

On the way home, this old Asian man stops me from getting on the bus and asks me...

"Are you under 17?"
No.
"Are you under 18?"
No.
"Give me money."
What?
"Give me money!"
NO.

I mean, at least in Austin, people ask for money. They don't demand it.

Tomorrow is day one at Palm. I will go through a two hour orientation before I meet my boss. I'm both nervous and excited about it. Getting ready with my clothes now because tomorrow morning will come very early!

Day 7: Light Rail Derailed

Light Rail Accident, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Went to Lake Cunningham in San Jose. I really wanted to go to the Mission for Carnaval, but aw well. Changed my plans at the last minute.

Had trouble getting there because A TRAIN HIT A CAR. It was so aggravating. It's like I rely on it so much and now it's failed me. I couldn't help but feel angry. Apparently, this doesn't happen often, which means it would happen when I needed to take it. My first time going towards Alum Rock and I can't even get to my stop by train. As for the car, it was MESSED UP. It really was.

BBQ, kickball, dodgeball, food, etc. Learned that some people call San Jose "Man Jose." No surprise there; Silicon Valley is full of engineers. Also, there are a lot of Asians here. Definitely much more than in Texas. Met a couple longhorns. It was nice. Definitely asked about breakfast tacos in the area - none. It was upsetting.

I'm so tired now. The sun sapped all of my energy. It's like 10:30 and I'm incredibly tired.

The lake was pretty though.

And I could actually see those mountains I talked about on Day 1. Turns out they are hills and not mountains. Taxi driver was right. I was wrong. But man, those hills. I cannot get over those hills.

Day 6: Um... como?

Sunnyvale Apt - Living Room, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Started walking to the station today so that I could get to the city for Carnaval festivities, but then I realized I forgot my iPod. So I told myself I'd just stay in for the day again -- relax, exercise, la-di-da. I'm not sure that I could've sat around for a 2+ hr commute without that music player of mine. I think that's why people go crazy on those trains and buses. Have you seen those videos on YouTube?? I don't want to be that.

Watched a lot of Hell's Kitchen on Hulu. Starved half to death because I don't have anything in my fridge. Ate at a taqueria nearby and was forced for the very first time in my life to speak Spanish. Ya, never had to do that in Texas. Made me so nervous, but I got those simple phrases DOWN PAT. I just don't comprehend that well.

On one of the Hell's Kitchen episodes, the challenge winners went into San Francisco. It was kind of cool to be able to recognize some of the landmarks. Planning of going in tomorrow; hope I'm motivated when I wake up.

______________________________

This is the last part of my first day trip into San Francisco last Wednesday.

8: Union Square

A materialist's paradise. Bought some flip flops here just in case my blistered feet couldn't make it. This city is so advanced. They've got this little computer at check out that tells you what register has just opened up. "Register 4 is open" it tells me. The sales clerk thought I was a school kid. It was so cute. I had my earbuds in my ear (not listening to anything though - this was just a tactic to avoid those pesky Greenpeace canvassers) and she saw my messenger bag, so she asked if I was walking home from school. Way cute.

Went into Westfield Centre. But then I felt like I had succumbed to excess, so I left and started questing back to the Caltrain.

On my way though, I saw Jollibee, a Filipino fast food chain and one of my fondest memories growing up as a child. I ordered the spaghetti (an old favorite) and lumpia. It managed to be both disgusting and comforting at the same time. Jollibee only exists in three states and I stumbled upon one of the locations randomly. It's crazy. I would never have thought to actively search for one.

Also saw my first seedy porn theater, which I could not stop gawking at. And finally, I saw a Whole Foods, which made me happy because, once again, it reminded me of Austin. Talked with a nice man named Kyle. I expressed to him my concern for the small size of the store compared to the one in Austin.

"How big do you want a grocery store to be? This is San Francisco -- this is prime real estate. It's pretty big for a grocery store."

He helped me pick out the best blueberries and strawberries. And when I asked for activity/event/trip tips, he gave me a vague answer: "Go do all the touristy things."

"Don't buy crack on the streets," he also warned.

Anyways, after this, I finally changed into those flip flops I had bought and happily walked to the station, where I boarded the Caltrain and headed back to Downtown Mountain View.

Day 5: South Bay Transportation

$1 Coins from the VTA, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

The VTA (Valley Transportation Authority) operates buses and a rail system. It goes as far west as Mountain View and as far east as Alum Rock. It's a pretty complex system they have.

Finally understood today that buying a day pass for the light rail also gives me access to the buses. Could've saved a lot of money. HA! I've learned now thanks the nice bus driver on the 60 (Santa Clara Caltrain). Also learned that when you get change from the Light Rail tellers, you get $1 coins. And the buses accept them. Ka-ching!

I went to Santa Clara/San Jose to visit some shops. There's this place in San Jose called Santana Row - lots of high end stores. Gucci, Burberry, BCBG. Made me nervous just being there. So I went across the street into Santa Clara to the Westfield Valley Fair shopping center (still kind of upscale, but the middle-aged women in nasty sweats made me feel better about myself).

Met this nice UCSD marketing grad at William Rast (Justin Timberlake's fashion line).

While I was perusing she says, "I like your shoes." I was the only person in the shop so I knew she was talking to me. Also, this is a common compliment. My recs are quite popular with the ladies. I just can't tell them about the blisters they give me. ACK.

Translation: "Go out on a date with me." I sidestepped the whole matter by discussing with her instead the huge differences between the Bay Area and Austin. That will be a blog topic one day, I'm sure.

It shouldn't have taken me 3 hrs to get home today, but it did. But now that I'm a public transit pro, it won't happen again.

Just learned that Valley Fair is situated in both Santa Clara and San Jose and brings revenue into both cities. Neat.

_________

Continuation from yesterday:

6: Golden Gate Park

Twice in five minutes was I offered some bud. I had to decline politely. I saw a kids soccer team practicing on the fields. They were all speaking French. It's such a huge park! I wanted to get to the Pacific Ocean but I didn't because I was too tired and my feet were hurting like hell. So I got out of the park and took the infamous Muni towards the direction of the Caltrain station.

7: Civic Center

I got off at 9th & Market because I saw seagulls. I found myself at the UN Plaza where there was a fountain and all these seabirds just cawing. It was so, so cold and so, so smelly, but I was fascinated because these birds are here in the middle of the city instead of flying over the bay or something. Took photos of an interesting statue in front of city hall. Felt like a tourist. Saw a lot of Greenpeace canvassers. It was both nice and aggravating at the same time. Nice because it reminded me of Austin. Aggravating because it's Greenpeace.

Day 4: Rest and Relaxation

Mission Dolores Park, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

I did a lot of nothing today mostly because I didn't want to put shoes on. The blisters... ya, they're gross. I almost rode into the freeway on my bicycle. The ramp specifically forbade cyclists not to go onto the freeway. I was scared as hell. It was one of those rock and a hard place situations: either go onto the freeway and exit asap, or go up the ramp against the flow of traffic. I decided to backtrack, naturally.

Anyways, I mapped my first adventure into San Francisco. I went just to get an overview of the city and not necessarily to do anything in particular (except to visit one shop). By the end, I wanted to acquaint myself with some of the different neighborhoods. I feel that I definitely accomplished my objective though I know there is so much more to the city that I probably won't get to see while I'm here. On my next trip, I'll do a little less general perusing. Hopefully, I'll actually have specific activities planned out. Anyways, here's the map. Click it to make it bigger!

1: MISSION BAY

I think, technically, the San Francisco Caltrain Station is part of the Mission Bay neighborhood. I didn't really do much. Just got off the Caltrain and walked across the street to Safeway, the first real grocery store I've been to since arriving in the Bay Area. They have security guards. It was so strange. I wanted to walk to Valencia straight away so I started my trek. It was about two miles and I had to go through the Design District to get there. Lots of interesting architecture, but not the image of San Francisco that I had in my head. You know, not the stuff they show on television/film.

2: The Mission

I wanted to go to Valencia to visit a shop called Self Edge, which sells high-end denim jeans for $200+. My brother bought a pair and I wanted to check out the store. I'm not really knowledgeable about denim jean culture so I was kind of lost in the store despite it being so small. The guy there was neither friendly nor helpful.

After, I headed west hoping that I'd hit the Castro, but first, I found myself in the Mission Dolores Park, which I loved. It overlooks downtown (yesterday's photo) and is warmer than other parts of the city that I visited. Microclimates. They're crazy. I lazed around for maybe 45 minutes and thought, "This is why Californians are so happy." The park was populated with people lying around tanning, reading, etc. Children playing in the playground, dogs catching Frisbees and pooping on the grass, lesbian couples making out. It was awesome. I wish I could go there every day. Unfortunately, there were a lot of high school kids disrupting my peaceful moment, but it's expected seeing as how there's a high school (above photo) right across the street.

There are also lots of really great murals to look at in this neighborhood.

3: The Castro

So colorful! I didn't see any butt plug stores though. Lots of very swole men. Lots of people at the Gold's Gym. Lots of people in general.

This old woman tripped and fell on the sidewalk. And two men helped her up to her feet. It was so nice. It felt very Queer as Folk. Like this is a community in which people care about each other? Maybe I'm just idealizing? If I am, I blame Gus Van Sant.

There was a farmer's market going on. They hold one on Market & Noe every Wednesday in the summer. It reminded me of the Austin farmer markets. I didn't spend too much time here because I knew that Golden Gate Park was nearby and I wanted to walk there. And also because I assumed that I would be able to check the area out again when Cary comes to visit his cousin.

4: Duboce Triangle

It's mostly residential so I didn't really stop except to look out east. I could very clearly see the bay. It was awesome. I had one of those moments of awe. You know what I'm talking about.

5: Haight-Ashbury

Lots of shops here. Visited a few including a shoe store, a record store, and a coffee shop, where I had awesome apple cider. Coffee to the People was the name. My barista was nice. We made small talk about the Philippines and Saipan and Guam. The place had a very social atmosphere. Lots of the same people probably frequent the place. I came initially looking for outlets because I needed to charge my dying phone before I continued exploring this unknown city. Fortunately, there was an abundance. So I sat, charged, and sipped on my apple cider for an hour before I headed to Golden Gate Park.

---

I'll post the rest later!

Day 3: View of Downtown from Mission District

View of Downtown from Mission District, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Went to San Francisco today. Spent a lot of time there. Too tired to blog. Too much walking. Too much exploration. Too much misadventure at the end.

Blisters on my feet. The dimensions of the largest one (on the right little toe) is probably 10x5x3 mm. It's disgusting.

Anyways, I'll blog in greater detail tomorrow since I'll pretty much be lazing around all day relaxing and recovering. And I will map out my trip through the city as well. Until then! Good night!

Day 2: Cycling on a Rainy Day

My bicycle, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

This is my bicycle, which as I mentioned previously, is a little too big for me. I can reach the ground with my tiptoes, but that's it. They don't have any shorter ones, unfortunately. Hopefully I don't hurt myself! Crossing my fingers. I decided to ride it around to see if I could manage. I mean, I did, though I made it a point to stay on roads that have bike lanes.

Also made it a point to meet my neighbors. I've heard them stepping in/out of their apartment, so I went over and asked for a screwdriver (to lower the seat on my bike). The guy's name is John. They appear to be a family of three. I was hoping it was another intern or something, but alas. I can't always get what I want. I know someone one floor down is doing corporate housing as well. I just don't remember which one it was. Otherwise, I'd go and ring their doorbell.

Here is where I biked. The lightning bolt is the little deli where I had lunch. The heart is my apartment complex. In total, it was about 7.5 miles. I was hoping see some South Bay, but I couldn't figure out where I needed to go to do that. Maybe next time.

Still don't know where the nearest grocery store is (where I can walk/bike safely). For now, I'm frequenting convenience stores. I want to go into the city tomorrow or the day after. Let's see if I can muster up the motivation.

Day 1: View from the Balcony

Sunnyvale - View from Balcony, originally uploaded by edmarchedrick.

Checked in at DFW airport at around 10:45 a.m. and waited at Terminal C26 for my 12:15 p.m. flight to SJC. Plane delay, switched to terminal C29 with a departure time of 12:50. During my flight, I sat in seat 25A (window seat) next to a man named Kelvin from Arkansas. He is visiting San Jose for a conference before he goes on to travel through most of Asia looking for new electronic suppliers for his company.

Arrived in San Jose, CA at about 3:15 p.m. PDT, took a $45 taxi ride to my apartment in Sunnyvale and found an awesome view from my balcony (photo above). I call these raised bits of earth 'mountains.' My taxi driver called them 'hills.'

"Go further east and you'll find the mountains," he tells me.

"We don't have mountains in Dallas," I explain. "These look like mountains to me."

The temperature was about 64 degrees all day. Definitely not used to this nice, cool climate. My A/C isn't even running right now and it is awesome. I wore a sweater... in May; everyone was wearing sweaters or jackets... in May. Even the joggers.

There are also a lot of pine trees here. Or whatever they are. And with the clouds and the mountains, I kind of feel like I'm in a David Lynch TV series. But this moderately creepy feeling is negligible.

I also walked into my apartment and found an awesome bicycle (photo to come later perhaps). Unfortunately, the bike is too big for me. Story of my life. I appreciate that they assumed that I was a man of average height. I really do. Not sure if I will ask them for a shorter bike or if I should just try this on for size (no pun intended).

Because I could not bicycle, I walked to grab some noms. I found a taqueria (a piece of home!), where I found myself being laughed at by all of the workers. Then I went to a nearby market. Boxes of cereal that I could buy in Texas for ~$3 are ~$5 here. Completely absurd! I left the store with 5 bananas and a half-gallon wax-carton of mango juice. I wonder -- will I starve?

Regarding the photos: I'm shooting some stuff with my DSLR , but I can't/won't upload those because it takes far too long, which means you all will only get to see those taken on my BlackBerry.

To view a couple snapshots of my apartment (and I literally mean a couple), go visit my flickr. Less text in future posts perhaps. Just depends on the amount of free time I have.

Tchau amigos,

Dave