June 2004 Archives

I let Bailey out of the house last night and although I worry each time she
leaves my site, I was quickly relieved to see her come back (if only for a
brief moment). Later, however, I was awakened from my slumber by the sounds of
growling and other unpleasant Bailey noises. It turns out she has attracted
the attention of a neighbor cat. Is this a male caller, looking for love? A
misunderstood creatin, hopefully for a friend? Or a trouble-maker, trying to
run Bailey out of town? In any case, the cat was squirted with some water by
my trusty bottle. Now I have to actively manage the window, instead of just
leaving it open all the time. So Bailey will likely be stuck in the house
during the day (provided she comes home before I wake) and free to roam at
night.

Bailey and I slept in our first home last night. as usual, she was not very
cooperative in moving and i have several scratches to prove this. i moved more
items this morning and besides some computers, a glass table, a lamp, and some
cleaning stuff i am completely moved in -- or at least, all my stuff is in the
condo. it is a disaster, to use Eriko's term, and will probably be quite a
while before everything is setup. on another note, i'm going to have to ride
my bike to the top of Queen Anne from now on.

a big thanks to Todd, Brett, and Alex for helping me move all the big items
to my condo. i haven't verified whether the TV actually works nor have i
discovered the inevitable damage to the hard-wood floor but for now i am
quite relieved. ;P i transported another load myself this afternoon and
hopefully can finish it off with one more load tomorrow about 8, as Todd is
allowing me to use his truck over night.

officially, it started last night around midnight when i gingerly carried
two dried roses. this afternoon i left work a little early, borrowed Todd's
truck, and moved about 12 boxes. this evening i got a big worry out of the
way when i coerced the mg into starting and drove her into the parking
garage. whew! tonight i continue to pack; i will transport dishes and clothes
over using the Miata. i want to get everything staged as i offered to buy
lunch for several co-workers if they'll help me next week (and i might have
use of two pickup trucks). i really don't enjoy moving, so i hope i get this
done with sooner rather than later. ;P

they are in my possession. i hope the house turns into a home that suits
me well.

i same these little strips of paper for inspiration, but it would be pretty
darn silly to keep them through a move. ;P


You are capable, competent, creative and careful.

Love comes singly and leaves accompanied.

Consider establishing a routine to improve your health.

i discovered this morning that Eriko reads this diary. I was surprised. I
certainly have thought it was possible but it doesn't hit home until someone
refers to something. I realize that by opening up my diary it gives me the
strength to be a little more honest; a little less reserved. I wonder what kind
of subtle effect the thought of her reading will have on my entries.... ;P

Melissa and I had a little conversation about babies, specifically where they
sleep at night. She asked me to ask Eriko where babies sleep in Japan. Eriko
said they sleep with their mothers. At first, Melissa was very opposed to
this idea (mom is) but apparently Melissa has changed her mind. In the course
of conversation, I said something I want to remember: I think the most important part of parenting is not being too
rigid and learning to modify your behavior so that your child feels loved and
suffers least. Especially when they are young!

1. Get a cat.

2. Find something to admire about every person; good or bad.


3. Learn from those before you, those around you.


4. Fear only your own cowardice.


5. Discover a new tip.

belle has gone down hard twice in the last three days. luckily i was able to rescitate her using the remote power control, but it appears as if she has some filesystem corruption. i'm not sure what or whom, but certain operations cause the home directory to be mounted read-only (to avoid further damage). tonight i'm going to have to attempt a repair, and if that is unsuccessful, reformat and restore from backup. i'm dissapointed in myself; she should be using a journalling filesystem and she's not.

the condo becomes mine next week

Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and the instruction afterward.

it is a step up from the last class, but i haven't reached that 4.0 yet.

tomorrow i exchange all my money for a piece of paper and 1/5 of a little place. here's hoping its everything i need and want.

Zack and I just had a stimulating conversation over email and I have to admit,
he is quite a bit more logical than I. I realized that this was happening when
he beat me in some strategy board game a few years ago. I don't have the
discipline to stay the course and quickly become overconfident. Sometimes I
feel like such a poor student. Don told me that good students take the wrong
paths and I can't help but feel like I am constantly doing so. I hope that he
is correct and that is an indication of a good student but I cannot help but
wonder. Anyway, the computer spit this quote at me and I figured it was apt
timing:

The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange
protein -- it rejects it.


  —P. Medawar

i'm getting quite annoyed with my belly/weight. it is my own fault, as my
horribly unhealthy lunch today shows. so i'm just going to get serious about
eating less, eating better, and exercising more.

my japanese class starts tuesday. there will only be three students and the
course has been shortened by one week, but it should be ok to get me back
into things.

the more Eriko and I research our marriage, the more complicated it becomes!
our current line of thought is we will get a marriage license in December so
that we'll have time for the green card application to process. i find out
today whether the japanese class i signed up for received enough enrollment
to proceed. i hope so. i don't have the motivation/discipline to make time
to study myself; i need to be pressured into it. =)

my co-worker, an experienced gentleman, introduced me to the idea of a
lifestyle business. it is the type of business which preserves a desired
lifestyle rather a growth-oriented one. i like the sound of that.

my final paper for the digital design course is in email. here's hoping for
a 4.0!

- modify pcal to generate weekly and daily calendars

- add a one-time pad cipher to gnupg


- write a LaTeX package for generating flowcharts

despite all the cahos and corruption, our system is truely fascinating. here's
a cool article and lots which link from it.

last night, while writing my final report for my UW class i was having trouble justifying a technique that me and Rob used for timing. essentially, we determined emperically through some guess work and although Rob claimed that it sounded perfect, i was having a hard time stating that. so i went into UW and implemented a timing method using the chip's built-in timer, which is the way to go. high on my success, i came home. i had a craving for some wine, so i bought some and had about a glass and a half. then i watched some James bond and surfed porn. quite a range -- from ambitious and intellectual to a state of nothing upstairs. a little hangover (man, i'm a lightweight these days) but i'm feeling better as i prepare breakfast. cracked open my second (and last) bottle of nescafe excella.

latestly i've been daydraeming of playing the guitar. perhaps it is because
i've been listening to Johnny Cash or perhaps i just like the idea of sitting
on the couch and strumming an instrument, rather then sitting on a bench. i'm
really torn because i haven't put my time into learning the piano lately and
i'm not sure whether the guitar fantasies are an escape or a genuine desire.
all i do know is that music really moves me and i will find a way to express
myself with it.

no successes to report so far. i've got a busy weekend. my final project report
is due, which probably involves some modification to the final project to make
sure i get maximum points. i also have to put time in to work, because i'm
losing sleep since my project isn't finished.