Basically, it’s a smaller black arrow with a blue ‘pinwheel’ that is similar to the rainbow pinwheel (but only one color). Anyone else witness this?

It’s number one on iTunes right now, which either means that my subconscious needs to give in, or that America has terrible taste. Probably the latter.

Sunday – The Flight

We left Dulles on Sunday, the 8th, at 9ish in the morning. Arrived at SFO around 3 local time, I think. Mom had been in touch with some of her friends from way back when – they all lived in the same apartment complex – and we stayed with Marilyn and Al, who are married.

Marilyn picked us up from the airport and we went to their place, about a ten minute drive. She and Al had contacted even more of Mom’s old friends and brought them together for a mini-reunion of sorts. It was pretty neat.

Later on Sunday, their son Keith took Dad and I downtown on a whirlwind driving tour of the city, with a stop at Ghiradelli for some ice cream. We drove through the red light district and I was waved at by a lovely redheaded “lady of the night” as I rode by in the backseat of Keith’s sexy white Chevy Lumina.

Monday – All over California

At least, it seemed like we covered the entire state. First up: put Grandma to rest with her late husband Paul, at the Presidio. Very nice little service of sorts, and it was nice to have the closure. From there, we drove around Presidio – Mom used to work there – and stopped to take some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We stopped at the “typical” GGB rest stop for some pictures as well. Drove across the bridge and into Sausolito for lunch and some shopping. Great food – which ended up being a theme on this trip! Post-Sausolito, we took a series of overly-curvy roads (would have been perfect for the Miata, not so much in the Explorer that we were in) to Muir Woods to see the tall redwood trees. Apparently there are some that are still taller. Interesting.

Stopped at a beach and then kept on truckin’ to Mom’s (and Marilyn/Al’s) old apartment building. The manager was pretty cool and let us in to see what’s changed and what’s remained the same. We attempted to figure out where all three of them lived back in oh, 1975.

Back into the city now, we drove to Lombard Street and drove down. That’s the way curvy street that’s famous. Duh. Went to dinner at Little Joe’s – which was some awesome Italian food – and ate way too much.

End of Day 1.

Tuesday – Behind Bars

We got up on Tuesday and drove to the city. Parked across from Pier 39, and took the boat to Alcatraz. We did the guided audio tour (where you put on an MP3 player and walk around). The tour was pretty interesting. Not something I would have done on my own, but it was cool to go. After returning from the island, we had a late lunch and shopped around for a while before walking down to Fisherman’s Wharf.

The popular spot at Fisherman’s Wharf that we visited was the Buena Vista café – for some very good Irish coffees, both legit and virgin. They were pretty good, though the legit ones were heavy on the whiskey IMO. Dinner on Tuesday was at Benihana’s, the chain Japanese steakhouse. I hadn’t been to one since Hawaii, senior year of high school, so it was nice to go, even though the food doesn’t always sit well with me.

Wednesday – The Mothership

Thanks to John Woody and Mrs. Manning, I was fortunate to meet with three different Apple employees on Wednesday. I met Christopher first, at a coffee shop near headquarters. He’s a recent Virginia Tech grad and was great to chat with. He gave me some pointers for getting an internship/job, which will definitely not go unheeded.

I left Christopher to meet Andrew and Ann at their office. Ann was unable to join us for lunch, but Andrew took us to the main campus (the well-known 1 Infinite Loop) to eat at Caffé Macs. We chatted (more) about my best chances for moving from Apple Retail to Apple Corporate. I think it’s a good thing that I’m already “in” with the company in some way – if nothing else, it can make things easier. I still have a while before a job is a concern, but it’s nice to be ahead of the curve a bit.

Christopher took us to the Company Store, which is the only legitimate Apple store that sells Apple-branded “gear” like clothing, water bottles, bags, etc. I walked out with a track jacket, a second jacket for Andy (at work), two t-shirts, two more shirts for Ben and Steve, another for Hannah, and stuff for Mom + Dad. Hey, it’s a rare chance to get out there!

After the store, we went back inside so I could get my “official” badge printed. Took my picture, waited a few minutes, and I now have a badge that will let me in to various doors in Cupertino. Plus, it just looks cool. I can wear it at work and look official now, hah.

The Apple part of this trip was certainly beneficial, and I owe Woody and Mrs. Manning both HUGE thank-yous for getting me in touch with these great people. Hopefully I’ll be reunited with them in the next year or two. Keeping my fingers crossed now…

Thursday – AKA the rest of my break.

We flew back to Dulles on Thursday. That consumed most of my day. I went over to Alexa’s around 8, hung out for a while, and was home by 11. I went to work on Friday for eight hours – and it was GREAT to see everybody and be back in the swing of things. It felt so natural to be back there. Also worked Saturday for nine hours, whee! I got home around 10 on Saturday night, watched some TV, and packed. Drove home Sunday around noon, and now… here I am!

It was certainly a whirlwind break, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. I did, saw, and learned SO much, and I can only hope to be moving out there within the next two to three years. It’s only more incentive to work harder here at school.

Yesterday, around 3:30, I packed up my car (literally, as the photo shows) and hopped on I-81 for the drive home. Flip flops on, top down, hair blowing, music cranked. Good times, even though the traffic kinda sucked for a while. Every car was from Tech, Radford, or JMU. I met Mom & Dad at Tortilla Factory for some of the best Mexican food ever, then we headed home.

Today was my first legitimate “wrench day” for the Miata. I met up with five or six other Miata guys in Sterling, and we worked on a few cars. I finally replaced the O-Ring that has needed replacing since July, along with the valve cover gasket. Easy enough work, plus some of the guys knew just what to do from past experiences. Hopefully I’m not leaking oil all over the driveway now – or at least, leaking less. I think my rear main seal leaks or something as well. Sigh. That’s what comes with owning a 14-year-old car.

We are flying out of Dulles tomorrow morning to San Francisco! I’m pretty pumped for the trip and all the sweet stuff we’ll be seeing, doing, etc. while there. Mom and I reviewed the FAA regulations for carry on liquids and stuff. It’s confusing. I’m ziploc-ing my stuff and putting it in my checked bag. Not worth the hassle in the security checkpoint. Apparently I could take down a plane with my bathroom kit:

We’ll see how the whole “checkpoint” thing works. I don’t think I’ve flown since Hawaii, which was senior year of high school.

Keep watching my blog and my Twitter for updates as the trip progresses!!

JMU has no idea how lucky they are to have him on their faculty. Damn he’s good!!

Flo’ Rida’s new “song” – which is a blatant ripoff of You Spin Me Round by Dead or Alive. The stolen beat wouldn’t bother me so much if it weren’t for the obscene lyrics. Okay, Flo’ Rida, we get it. Your lady friend gives amazing head. Apparently, you do a good job with her as well. But what in your right mind possessed you to write lyrics about it, set it to a bizarre 80s beat, and put it on the radio for six-year-olds to hear?!

It’s not just this song that frustrates me. I heard another catchy song on the radio a while back. I Shazam’d it on my iPhone and decided to download the song after hearing it on the radio a few times. Addicted by Saving Abel is as bad as Flo’ Rida. What’s with the obsession of singing about your significant other “going down” on you, in between the sheets? At least Saving Abel had the decency to release an edited version (that says “rolling ’round with me” instead) for the radio to play.

I’m sure many people take no issue with the lyrics of this new “music” being released. I’m kind of divided, really. I think for people my age, it’s just fine. Taking into account the extremes (aka 7-15 year-olds and the 55+ age range) though… I’d have a difficult time if either song came on and they heard the lyrics. Older folks would probably be offended, and the little kids want to know what “going down” means.

My point is not that we need to censor our public from the realities of the world – oral sex included. I just find it hard to believe that the artists have exhausted every other topic already.

After saying I’d replace this O-ring since I bought the car last June, I finally got to Advance and bought the part. It cost me 62 cents. Now comes the hard(er) part – the actual install. I’m hoping to do it on Sunday and take my time. I’ll be going off of pictures from this guy’s Flickr and will document the process myself as well. I figure I should do this before I ruin another heater hose from neglect… though in fairness, it’s been leaking since before I bought the car, so three or four weeks on this new hose hopefully hasn’t damaged it yet.

Wish me luck!

I just have some minor changes and tweaks to make before I announce the URL to the world. Give me one more chunk-of-time between classes and I think it will be done.

On a completely unrelated note, this weekend will be crazy busy. I’m hoping to have a social night on Friday, since Sarah mentioned wanting a group event of sorts. We’re still up-in-the-air about what we’re doing, where, with who, etc. I shouldn’t get too worked up yet… it is only Tuesday.

Saturday will be… Breeze photos. Trying to see SBHS band people visiting for All-State. Hired photos, assuming I’m hired. Adrienne’s party, if I don’t crash before 9. All this, maybe with a bit of UREC in there somewhere? If I can’t see the SB people on Saturday, I’d like to try and catch them on Friday when they roll through campus. Maybe I should email Mr. Keller and figure this out.

Busy schedules… I hate them, but I love them. They keep me organized and focused, and I usually manage to get everything done. My iPhone plays a HUGE part in this process, though. I would be so lost without the calendar app.

So lost.