Monthly Archives: July 2008

Personal

Furnished by IKEA!

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I’ve finally got most of my furniture from IKEA. My place looks pretty nice… it’s the first time in four years that I’ve put my own personal touches on an apartment.  The 52″ LCD Panel TV is a bit excessive but I can’t resist a bargain from Ben.

I’m starting to realize that not all furniture from IKEA is created equal. A large portion of my furniture belongs to their Norvald line. I don’t know what Norvald means, but after today I feel it is synonymous with piss poor quality control and stupid directions. While I now have a Norvald table and four chairs, I also have calloused hands and a hatred of all wood faux black. On the other hand, my new leather Vreta couch (sofa bed) just makes me happy.

I love the way my apartment looks, but I still can’t get rid of this restless feeling. After moving all this furniture into my place, I can’t help wonder what I’ll do when I’m back on the road. Is this the beginning of the end for my carry-on bag lifestyle? Will I adopt a puppy next?

At least I’m ready for my sister’s visit next month….

Personal

The Dark Knight

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I’m a huge fan of comic books.  I learned about my culture a long time ago by reading Amar Chitra Katas… Indian comic books that have illustrated versions of all the major Indian holy texts.   While comic books may not always cover important topics, they do a great job of boiling down the major concerns of the moment.  Between all the battles between heroes and villains, you get a great snapshot of people’s fears, ideals, and struggles. 

This “texture” is often lost when a comic book character goes to the big screen.  While comic books regularly push the medium by tackling difficult subjects, their big screen versions are hit and miss.  There is a simple formula they follow – the origin story, an examination of what makes a hero, and then a third movie that ruins any appeal the characters ever had. 

The Batman franchise was rebooted three years ago with Batman Begins.  This was necessary because someone screwed up the original movie incarnation of Batman.  Christopher Nolan, one of my favorite directors of all time (see Memento!), changed the entire origin story of Batman.  He used lesser known villains and less gadgetry to create a Batman for the modern age… similar to what Frank Miller did for the Batman comics books 20 years ago.  The result was a movie that was spectacular and fun.  Batman was cool again.

This past week, the sequel was released – The Dark Knight.  From all accounts, this movie sounds like it is the best comic book movie of all time.   It may be one of the best movies released this year.   I don’t think I’ve been this excited to watch a film in a long time. 

Given the unusual circumstances behind the movie, I expected it to be heavily hyped.  What i didn’t expect was all the rave reviews.  A comic book movie with “texture”… is it really possible?

Personal, Professional

Seattle: The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

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I’ve traveled around for most of my life, and I have yet to find a place as beautiful as Seattle is during the few months of the year when the sun goes up at 5AM and sets at 10PM.  The temperature is moderate, the greenery is plentiful, and the people all seem to have a sparkle in their eyes.  Last weekend, I witnessed the July 4th fireworks on Lake Union on a upscale houseboat and had an incredible time.  I did miss Mark and Erin who were my usual July 4th house boat buddies.  They were having their own fireworks with the birth of their son Chance!!

I’ve just finished up my first month at the Gates Foundation.  A couple of days ago, the company had a picnic and I was astounded at how small we are.  As an undergrad at the University of Texas, I had more people in most of my classes than employees at this company picnic.   It was a great experience to meet so many of my coworkers and their families.  The event was set up as a children’s paradise; there was a little train going around the facility, an “iron man” rubber jumping castle, an obstacle course with tons of slides and ropes, and dozens of little flotation devices in the waters near Vasa Park.  The highlight of the day was seeing Bill Gates Snr sing “Tiny Bubbles” in a wig while the executives blew bubbles in the background.  This was a great send-off for CEO Patty Stonsifier who was serenaded with a creative ballad celebrating her accomplishments.  What an amazing human being!

I’m starting to adjust to my project and my new life in Seattle.  Over the past two weeks, I’ve gone hiking and kayaking multiple times.  My workoutrageous competition is going well, and I have little to complain about these days…

Hobbies, Personal, Projects

The Burn of a New Workout Program

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Workoutrageous V4 begins tomorrow.  We have 17 participants!  For a lot of them, working out twice a day is no biggie.  They’ve always had a good regimen and all they have to do is post their workouts.  I would argue that they will have a more challenging time with this game.  When you build a habit and someone asks you to change it slightly, it can be hard to adjust your routine… I expect to see several good workouts get dismissed because of our strict logging rules.

For others, this is a chance to dive into a new workout program with the support of friends and a fun competition.  They’ve got two great motivations – get in shape and get a win.  I’ve been off a serious workout program for the past six months, and I’m ecstatic to jump back in.  It’s been my longest break in over 15 years!

Over the past few days, I’ve had a chance to measure my strength and monitor my cardiovascular conditioning.  I was at my peak an year ago while training for the Melbourne Marathon (which surprisingly had a positive impact on my weight training as well).  I’m nowhere close to feeling like I did back then.  However, it doesn’t take a very long time to recover muscle mass.  My conditioning should return as well in due time.

I’ve decided to focus on shorter runs and a decent weight training routine.  I don’t feel ready for another Boston Qualifier this year, and if I push my luck I may end up injured again like last year.  I’ve decided to include leg training as part of my workouts which hasn’t been part of my plan for many years.  Training my hamstrings, quads, and glutes has never been enjoyable.  While it took me a large amount of time to build my upper body, my lower body has always responded to workouts abnormally well.  This imbalance doesn’t include my calves… which would have been nice.

While I’m not a professional body builder, I’ve always taken a body builder’s attitude towards weight training.  It’s not just about strength; it’s about selecting what parts of the body need training to achieve your “look”.  While genes determine much of your physical build, there is tremendous potential to work within those limitations.  For me, the benefits are endless. .  The “look” makes me feel healthy and more confident.  Others may not notice it, but I’m sure that they can feel my pride when I have it.

It’s kind of like the “Magnum” in Zoolander…

Personal, Tech

eTrade Account minus PS3 = $4.32 and some Wisdom

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There are times when I think my life is a sitcom… not a sitcom that appeals to the masses like a Seinfeld or the Simpsons, but a comedy like Arrested Development – a critically appraised hit that never strikes it big and gets cancelled after four good seasons on Fox.

Right now, my life’s worth (in liquid assets) is $4.32.  I have an iPhone with a partially broken touch screen.  It’s good enough to play my music, but I can’t seem to dial any phone numbers that use 1,2,3,4,5, or 6.  I’ve “borrowed” a roll of toilet paper from the workplace.  I badly need a haircut, and some detergent would make my day.  Despite all of this and a lack of decent sleep, I’m feeling pretty cheerful.  How did I get here, and why do I think someone is laughing at me?  How I can prevent myself from being one of the smartest people ever to win a Darwin Award?

I am uniquely talented human being.  I have a rare gift that combines a startling lack of common sense, strange luck, and bizarre assumptions.  Give me a challenge and I will surprise you, but give me something “easy” and you’ll wonder how I make it through the day.  There’s a reason why I never tie my shoelaces in public 🙂  Why did velcro never catch on?

Lesson of the day: when you use a virtual bank like eTrade, you’ll be fine 9 times out of 10.  On that rare occasion where you get a paper check instead of a direct deposit for your first pay period at a new job, you’ll wish you had a brick and mortar bank to go to.  Especially when it’s Thursday July 3rd and the next business day isn’t until Monday.  Especially when you’ve just purchased a Playstation 3 (on sale) that’s left you with exactly $4.32 in your account.  I don’t even have a TV.

My iPhone? My favorite gadget of all time has never let me down until now.  I’ve bashed it against tables to demonstrate its durability.  I’ve successfully used it as a weapon against a mugger in Melbourne.  It’s even survived a round in a washer/dryer combo.  And now my baby is broken… not the broken that makes you want to replace it with something new, but the partial kind that makes you think it’ll be fine after a few days of rehab.  Physically, it looks as good as new, but every time I press my finger on the alarm clock button (that woke me up every morning to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal) to no avail, I realize that things will never be the same again.  

It’s been a long week, and I’m looking forward to the fireworks of this weekend.  July 4th rocks!  The weather in Seattle is sensational and I’ve been out running and kayaking.  Workoutrageous starts next week and I just gotten a new gym membership.  Currently, there are 14 quality people signed up.  It will be a spectacular competition!