After months of studying, I went in and took the FAA airman knowledge test for single engine land aircraft and passed with an 88%. I am extremely satisfied. This was holding me back for a while but I did it and now I'm ready for check-ride preparation which should take a week. I hope to obtain my private certificate in the next ten days! After 14 months of weather delays, overbooked instructors and aircraft the dream will become reality. I can just remember thinking all the way back when I was in the 2nd grade where the daydream began....
Having to go through so much of the proverbial matter for the last year this is all too good. I was thinking of mentioning my training on my applications where you're supposed to explain what exactly you've been doing for four months since graduating from college. The job market sucked, entry-level with experience was an oxymoron. Countless CV's and cover letters submitted to more positions than I can count. 3 interviews for sales jobs that I had no interest in, I stayed dedicated to something I was passionate about instead. Take it or leave it.
And the geographic connection? Navigation, map symbology, triangulation, GPS, true vs. magnetic direction, isogonic lines, terrain elevation, time-speed-distance, radio navigation aids, meteorological conditions, basic physics, newton's laws.......it goes on and on.
The big question is what to do with the certificate once I get it? I was planning on renting a C-172 and taking it up to Schenectady, NY pick up my younger brother for thanksgiving.
Next plan was perhaps to make a 400 nautical mile cross country to Ann Arbor, MI to visit an old friend. This may prove to be too expensive and will require crossing into Canadian airspace. Might just buy an airline ticket instead.
GRE prep begins the next two weekend in Allentown. Bring on the fun.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Front Page — arachnoid.com
Front Page — arachnoid.com
P. Lutus, same person as mentioned earlier. This is his website, very awesome and a quote from Dr. Richard Feynman to boot!
P. Lutus, same person as mentioned earlier. This is his website, very awesome and a quote from Dr. Richard Feynman to boot!
A new ebook to pass the time.
Confessions Online
"Confessions of a Long-Distance sailor" by P. Lutus.
A guitarist friend of mine from way back in jazz ensemble when I was in HS posted about reading this. It's the story about a man who(he invented Apple Writer) felt that most people lead very boring lives. He strives to do "something different" whenever things get too mundane. He tries to become a sailor; not an easy feat. Sounds like an adventure. This will give me another form of entertainment and dreaming material to pass the time trying to find myself.
Speaking of passing the time. It consists of submitting resumes and cover letters still. Still no replies but I'm sure it will change soon, it must. On top of that I managed to pull a 90% on a practice FAA airman written knowledge test. I'm getting somewhere, despite these dark and empty times.
Blast to the past: It's fall 2000, I had just moved to Japan from a 2 year stay in Hong Kong and thus began the nearly decade long journey to the most interesting place I've ever been. It was in Roen's homeroom however tough it was (I appreciate her now,) we were exposed to a lot of psych-thriller type material and psychedelic lyrics of the 60's and 70's. That was the first time I read T.S. Elliot, Dylan Thomas. I don't know why or how I can remember any of this. For a while it was horrible culture shock. Nothing quite like a humid and overcast fall afternoon studying with the windows open and hearing the faint cry of the yaki-mo (grilled sweet potato) vendor with his loudspeaker go by.
"I am a rock..."
"Confessions of a Long-Distance sailor" by P. Lutus.
A guitarist friend of mine from way back in jazz ensemble when I was in HS posted about reading this. It's the story about a man who(he invented Apple Writer) felt that most people lead very boring lives. He strives to do "something different" whenever things get too mundane. He tries to become a sailor; not an easy feat. Sounds like an adventure. This will give me another form of entertainment and dreaming material to pass the time trying to find myself.
Speaking of passing the time. It consists of submitting resumes and cover letters still. Still no replies but I'm sure it will change soon, it must. On top of that I managed to pull a 90% on a practice FAA airman written knowledge test. I'm getting somewhere, despite these dark and empty times.
Blast to the past: It's fall 2000, I had just moved to Japan from a 2 year stay in Hong Kong and thus began the nearly decade long journey to the most interesting place I've ever been. It was in Roen's homeroom however tough it was (I appreciate her now,) we were exposed to a lot of psych-thriller type material and psychedelic lyrics of the 60's and 70's. That was the first time I read T.S. Elliot, Dylan Thomas. I don't know why or how I can remember any of this. For a while it was horrible culture shock. Nothing quite like a humid and overcast fall afternoon studying with the windows open and hearing the faint cry of the yaki-mo (grilled sweet potato) vendor with his loudspeaker go by.
"I am a rock..."
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Has internet now.
Finally have Internet. This is a good thing. Two weeks into living in an empty house with nothing but the black berry as my connection to the outside world was starting to hurt my eyes. I had to manually configure a wireless G router as it's software was not compatible with Linux. So far it's working quite well albeit the 16mbps isn't very impressive compared to the fiber optic line I was using in Tokyo but what the hell, I'm connected.
I fucking snowed yesterday. A reminder that I need to get out of here. The house is nice, the space is nice, the hot tub is nice but the weather is not. This is the end of week 2 after applying to a bunch of green jobs that said to wait 2-3 weeks for them to get back after submitting the applications.
I've been feeding the outdoor feral cats that seem to own the place. They are little skittish but will randomly stare at me through the windows. Along with the deer that just seem to stare at me funny when I walk down the driveway to get mail that's all the interaction I get up here.
I now sleep next to the dry chemical fire extinguisher which I borrowed from the kitchen, an aluminum pipe, and a kitchen knife. This may sound insane but it brings me a little bit more peace of mind. I was reminded by the recent story in the news of the Johns Hopkins student who stopped an intruder with a cheap samurai sword (katana?) which sounds very cool but isn't practical. The katana is a battlefield weapon that is meant to be swung. The first thing that a katana indoors will encounter is the ceiling or a door jamb. Which will make it useless.
My other idea was a 12 gauge shotgun with a laser sight and mounted flashlight. They are highly effective, easy to use in close quarters and extremely intimidating. The sound of the pump action cycling in the dark is probably enough to make an intruder leave quickly and quietly. I've only ever used one for clay pigeon shooting when I was a teen. Only problem is NJ residents need licenses to acquire and a 30-day waiting period to be approved or disapproved. Considering I'm still technically a NY resident this isn't very practical either.
So the fire extinguisher will have to do. Figure it can get a good amount of distance between me and anything threatening. Plus dry chemical to the face and head is probably an effective deterrent.
I did spend the good part of yesterday evening searching for a replacement pair of jeans. I don't know if it's a positive or negative thing that the only pairs that fit are the walmart brand 29'' inseams. No other store carries anything shorter than 30''. This was no easy task as I was only able to locate 2 pairs and only bought one. It's too much time, money and trouble to have other brands such as GAP or Old Navy hemmed.
I've started Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. It's very interesting. I'm only to the second chapter but the introduction of how controversial the number or in this case 'place holder' ZERO was to ancient civilizations. Another interesting thing that never really came to me was the different kinds of counting methods used by ancient civilization. The most primitive one described is a crude binary system that involves 'one' or 'many.' This later develops to 'one,' 'two,'one and two,' 'two and two,' and 'two and two and one.' Seems logical enough. This then progresses to base 5 or quinary. Humans have 5 fingers on each hand. Later we see base 10 (both hands) and even base 20 (vigesimal). It makes sense to me now that the French word for 'eighty' is 'quatre-vinght' or 'four-twenties.' Same for 'ninety' or 'quatre-vinght-dix' which is just 'four-twenties and ten.' The assumption here is that in warmer climates civilizations counted in base 20 because they were most likely barefoot or their toes were clearly visible. One wonders what else might the French be good at doing with their toes?
Also started Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities." It's very comical. Though I caught Wolfe using the word 'solar-plexus' in the first chapter. He used that word a few too many times in "The Right Stuff." He must really like the sound of it: solar-plexus. Sounds sci-fi-ish but it's really very plain and mundane.
The air bed continues to feel amazing.
I fucking snowed yesterday. A reminder that I need to get out of here. The house is nice, the space is nice, the hot tub is nice but the weather is not. This is the end of week 2 after applying to a bunch of green jobs that said to wait 2-3 weeks for them to get back after submitting the applications.
I've been feeding the outdoor feral cats that seem to own the place. They are little skittish but will randomly stare at me through the windows. Along with the deer that just seem to stare at me funny when I walk down the driveway to get mail that's all the interaction I get up here.
I now sleep next to the dry chemical fire extinguisher which I borrowed from the kitchen, an aluminum pipe, and a kitchen knife. This may sound insane but it brings me a little bit more peace of mind. I was reminded by the recent story in the news of the Johns Hopkins student who stopped an intruder with a cheap samurai sword (katana?) which sounds very cool but isn't practical. The katana is a battlefield weapon that is meant to be swung. The first thing that a katana indoors will encounter is the ceiling or a door jamb. Which will make it useless.
My other idea was a 12 gauge shotgun with a laser sight and mounted flashlight. They are highly effective, easy to use in close quarters and extremely intimidating. The sound of the pump action cycling in the dark is probably enough to make an intruder leave quickly and quietly. I've only ever used one for clay pigeon shooting when I was a teen. Only problem is NJ residents need licenses to acquire and a 30-day waiting period to be approved or disapproved. Considering I'm still technically a NY resident this isn't very practical either.
So the fire extinguisher will have to do. Figure it can get a good amount of distance between me and anything threatening. Plus dry chemical to the face and head is probably an effective deterrent.
I did spend the good part of yesterday evening searching for a replacement pair of jeans. I don't know if it's a positive or negative thing that the only pairs that fit are the walmart brand 29'' inseams. No other store carries anything shorter than 30''. This was no easy task as I was only able to locate 2 pairs and only bought one. It's too much time, money and trouble to have other brands such as GAP or Old Navy hemmed.
I've started Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. It's very interesting. I'm only to the second chapter but the introduction of how controversial the number or in this case 'place holder' ZERO was to ancient civilizations. Another interesting thing that never really came to me was the different kinds of counting methods used by ancient civilization. The most primitive one described is a crude binary system that involves 'one' or 'many.' This later develops to 'one,' 'two,'one and two,' 'two and two,' and 'two and two and one.' Seems logical enough. This then progresses to base 5 or quinary. Humans have 5 fingers on each hand. Later we see base 10 (both hands) and even base 20 (vigesimal). It makes sense to me now that the French word for 'eighty' is 'quatre-vinght' or 'four-twenties.' Same for 'ninety' or 'quatre-vinght-dix' which is just 'four-twenties and ten.' The assumption here is that in warmer climates civilizations counted in base 20 because they were most likely barefoot or their toes were clearly visible. One wonders what else might the French be good at doing with their toes?
Also started Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities." It's very comical. Though I caught Wolfe using the word 'solar-plexus' in the first chapter. He used that word a few too many times in "The Right Stuff." He must really like the sound of it: solar-plexus. Sounds sci-fi-ish but it's really very plain and mundane.
The air bed continues to feel amazing.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
It's cold again.
I thought that I'd be out of the east coast by now but unfortunately I'm not and the weather is turning cold once more. It isn't too bad just rainy and chilly. I've been spending my days at the airport in Princeton again stealing their wifi and flying as often as I can. Not going up today but went up yesterday and the day before yesterday. I've been practicing orienting myself to the NJ terrain in relation to NYC and Philadelphia along with major landmarks. On top of that I'm also practicing my emergency procedures checklists for engine failures.
I went solo 2 days in a row. The first day I flew north west over a golf course and lots of open fields and practiced engine outs by gliding with the throttle closed. I would slowly circle down over a patch of grass that I had judged to be acceptable to land on and set myself up for approach. Once I broke 1,000ft. I open the throttle back up and get out of there as I wasn't actually going to put the plane down on the golf course or any other field for that matter. Besides legally we can't be more less than 1,000ft above a populated or congested area and I didn't want to scare the shit out of any golfers or get close enough so that some grounding with a grudge against general aviation could get a snapshot of my tail number.
Yesterday when I went solo I just stayed in the pattern over Princeton to do the same thing but this time actually land on the runway. I was able to do it once and the rest of the time was being held up by the helicopter school as they hogged the runway and kept getting in the way late in the afternoon. They were doing the same thing, emergency engine out procedures but it was difficult for both fixed wing and rotor craft to share the same space.
I'm now officially signed up to take a Kaplan Express GRE course in Allentown in a couple of weeks and my prep package arrived in the mail today. Unlike the full blown classroom course which is 2 days a week for a month, the express course is condensed into a long weekend and half the price. I figure if I still don't feel up to speed, I can always take another express course.
I finished Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" the other night. I now have a new found respect for the Mercury 7 and a new favorite astronaut: Wally Schirra who flew Mercury-Atlas 8 in Sigma 7. and have been drooling over NASA's website for the astronaut candidate program. Apparently geographers are in demand because they need to understand the geomorphology of how the surface forms on Earth and other heavenly bodies. So I thought to myself hey why not steer myself in this direction from graduate school? I don't see myself entering the Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps to fly jets as my eyesight disqualifies me but hey after they retire the shuttle they'll be back to the automated flight systems that won't actually require the skills of someone from "flight test" to go up. Nevertheless having knowledge and passion for aviation won't hurt. Somewhere down the road I would like to continue my training after I get my private certificate to at least the instrument rating and commercial license. I'm dying try aerobatics and experience G-forces both inside and outside (positive and negative.) Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to have the coolness of flipping a ship in any attitude, speed and direction through space without loosing one's lunch? I've already taken 3Gs in the Cessna Aerobat over Penn Yan and been weightless for a few seconds as I we did a nose over and got a pencil to float off the instrument panel. No problems whatsoever.
Back in Hackettstown I've been trying to figure out the stationary bike but for some reason can't get it to give me distance. I've also with caution tried the treadmill as I don't have an elliptical trainer and so far it's not too bad on the left ankle. I'm just taking it easy not sprain it again (nothing impressive). I miss the elliptical and pool that I was using in Tokyo but this will have to suffice for now. My goal is to be able to be able to do the international sprint distance triathlon in a little over an hour. Unfortunately I don't have a functioning pool at my disposal. I saw a travel yoga mat at target that looks useful. I've found my free weights again and am trying some new reps: flys and the two-handed hammer over the shoulders.
I went solo 2 days in a row. The first day I flew north west over a golf course and lots of open fields and practiced engine outs by gliding with the throttle closed. I would slowly circle down over a patch of grass that I had judged to be acceptable to land on and set myself up for approach. Once I broke 1,000ft. I open the throttle back up and get out of there as I wasn't actually going to put the plane down on the golf course or any other field for that matter. Besides legally we can't be more less than 1,000ft above a populated or congested area and I didn't want to scare the shit out of any golfers or get close enough so that some grounding with a grudge against general aviation could get a snapshot of my tail number.
Yesterday when I went solo I just stayed in the pattern over Princeton to do the same thing but this time actually land on the runway. I was able to do it once and the rest of the time was being held up by the helicopter school as they hogged the runway and kept getting in the way late in the afternoon. They were doing the same thing, emergency engine out procedures but it was difficult for both fixed wing and rotor craft to share the same space.
I'm now officially signed up to take a Kaplan Express GRE course in Allentown in a couple of weeks and my prep package arrived in the mail today. Unlike the full blown classroom course which is 2 days a week for a month, the express course is condensed into a long weekend and half the price. I figure if I still don't feel up to speed, I can always take another express course.
I finished Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" the other night. I now have a new found respect for the Mercury 7 and a new favorite astronaut: Wally Schirra who flew Mercury-Atlas 8 in Sigma 7. and have been drooling over NASA's website for the astronaut candidate program. Apparently geographers are in demand because they need to understand the geomorphology of how the surface forms on Earth and other heavenly bodies. So I thought to myself hey why not steer myself in this direction from graduate school? I don't see myself entering the Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps to fly jets as my eyesight disqualifies me but hey after they retire the shuttle they'll be back to the automated flight systems that won't actually require the skills of someone from "flight test" to go up. Nevertheless having knowledge and passion for aviation won't hurt. Somewhere down the road I would like to continue my training after I get my private certificate to at least the instrument rating and commercial license. I'm dying try aerobatics and experience G-forces both inside and outside (positive and negative.) Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to have the coolness of flipping a ship in any attitude, speed and direction through space without loosing one's lunch? I've already taken 3Gs in the Cessna Aerobat over Penn Yan and been weightless for a few seconds as I we did a nose over and got a pencil to float off the instrument panel. No problems whatsoever.
Back in Hackettstown I've been trying to figure out the stationary bike but for some reason can't get it to give me distance. I've also with caution tried the treadmill as I don't have an elliptical trainer and so far it's not too bad on the left ankle. I'm just taking it easy not sprain it again (nothing impressive). I miss the elliptical and pool that I was using in Tokyo but this will have to suffice for now. My goal is to be able to be able to do the international sprint distance triathlon in a little over an hour. Unfortunately I don't have a functioning pool at my disposal. I saw a travel yoga mat at target that looks useful. I've found my free weights again and am trying some new reps: flys and the two-handed hammer over the shoulders.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Serenity, rain, tortuos roads, vehicle inspections....madness
I've been in Hackettstown for almost a week now. It's nice. Fall is really showing through up here. Can't say that I will welcome the cold, wet, iciness of winter but hopefully by then will be somewhere else. I took the car up to Port Jervis yesterday to get it inspected. It's still got NY plates on it. Nothing special just needed a new driver side wiper blade. I had to spend the whole day up there to wait for an opening at the shop so I just drove around. It seemed like a tired little upstate town. The weather sucked. About the only enjoyment was shifting on the tortuous roads as I decided to take the back country way instead of the highways.
Back in Hackettstown, the former owners of the house came over to show me how to use the hot tub, pool chemicals, sauna controls and how to start the 1950s tractor which needs a new battery and leaded fuel additive. The jet lag has worn off and I don't feel tired in the early afternoons anymore. Looking forward to the treadmill, bike, weights and the hot tub. This whole thing is surreal. No background noise is really starting to play tricks on me at night. I'm not sure if I'm hearing things or if my mind is making me hear things to keep me alert. Contemplated purchasing one of those huge 3 D-cell maglites for illumination and protection from hypothetical intruders. I must be going nutz.
I'm re listening to the entire discography of Led Zeppelin one album at a time. Usually just blast in in the car. It's fun to try and mimic the high pitched singing of Robert Plant. So far I've finished albums I and II. 'Ramble On' from II is sticking to me especially with the fall colors.
here's the first verse:
Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...
I really need something new. A change of pace, a snippet of something that isn't going to drive me insane. Sending out more resumes and cover letters and playing the waiting game again.
Tonight I'm going to try make turkey yaki-tori with leeks and rice. Yaki-tori is a type of Japanese street food. Essentially chicken (all parts of the bird) on grilled on skewers. My favorite kind is just the plain chicken that is skewered with leeks. Should be easy. Back home mom taught me how to make congee boiled rice. It's a typical Thai thing to have at breakfast, sprinkle some chives and a dash of fish sauce and chili pepper to taste. Turns out you don't need an expensive multi-mode rice cooker to make it either. Simply make regular jasmine rice in the rice cooker then take the cooked rice and put in in a pot on the stove and add water until the rice is submerged an inch or so. Then slow boil it until it turns to porige.
So now I've got to get back to some more reading. Going to start 'Zero." I need to stop stealing Princeton Airport's WiFi.
oh and btw 'Foxtrot-Mike-Lima' is just simply another way of saying FML!
Back in Hackettstown, the former owners of the house came over to show me how to use the hot tub, pool chemicals, sauna controls and how to start the 1950s tractor which needs a new battery and leaded fuel additive. The jet lag has worn off and I don't feel tired in the early afternoons anymore. Looking forward to the treadmill, bike, weights and the hot tub. This whole thing is surreal. No background noise is really starting to play tricks on me at night. I'm not sure if I'm hearing things or if my mind is making me hear things to keep me alert. Contemplated purchasing one of those huge 3 D-cell maglites for illumination and protection from hypothetical intruders. I must be going nutz.
I'm re listening to the entire discography of Led Zeppelin one album at a time. Usually just blast in in the car. It's fun to try and mimic the high pitched singing of Robert Plant. So far I've finished albums I and II. 'Ramble On' from II is sticking to me especially with the fall colors.
here's the first verse:
Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...
I really need something new. A change of pace, a snippet of something that isn't going to drive me insane. Sending out more resumes and cover letters and playing the waiting game again.
Tonight I'm going to try make turkey yaki-tori with leeks and rice. Yaki-tori is a type of Japanese street food. Essentially chicken (all parts of the bird) on grilled on skewers. My favorite kind is just the plain chicken that is skewered with leeks. Should be easy. Back home mom taught me how to make congee boiled rice. It's a typical Thai thing to have at breakfast, sprinkle some chives and a dash of fish sauce and chili pepper to taste. Turns out you don't need an expensive multi-mode rice cooker to make it either. Simply make regular jasmine rice in the rice cooker then take the cooked rice and put in in a pot on the stove and add water until the rice is submerged an inch or so. Then slow boil it until it turns to porige.
So now I've got to get back to some more reading. Going to start 'Zero." I need to stop stealing Princeton Airport's WiFi.
oh and btw 'Foxtrot-Mike-Lima' is just simply another way of saying FML!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Back from the far east.
I haven't posted days 4 or 5. Will add those later.
The order of events:
Tokyo=>car=>airport=>airplane=>airport=>train=>car=>Hackettstown=>zombie =>wake up the next morning human once again.
The flight home was uneventful save for some movies and gin and tonics compliments of continental airlines. I wanted to see if I could stay awake the entire 13hrs watching movie after movie but fell asleep after Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian; The Proposal; The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I really liked the last one, I love psych. thrillers and unfunny Jim Carey is very good (Cable Guy?). Didn't get to watch some others that I hadn't seen: Minority Report and Good Will Hunting. I haven't seen a lot of movies having lived abroad all my life. Also would have been nice to re-watch A Beautiful Mind and Star Trek.
There happened to be two 'Shibuya-Girls' sitting a few rows in front of me who decided to walk to the space behind the back row and cabin wall and just stand there chatting in fake high pitched Japanese for a couple of hours obnoxiously. What more kinds of entertainment do you need sitting in a tin can 8 miles high, going 10 miles a minute?
So I'm back from Japan and now have moved into my new home (temporarily) in Hackettstown, NJ. It's nice to finally have a room large enough to organize all my belongings and not seem like I'm living on top of everything. It's still strange though since there's no outside noise or lights and I'm all alone in an insanely huge house with no furniture. I picked up a queen size airbed and am surprised at how comfortable it is. I guess anything is more comfortable than than dorm beds.
I haven't lived anyplace that has a yard let alone grass for over a decade now. So having vasts amounts of space going to take some getting used to. Deer just carelessly wander around the property like they do in Nara, Japan, albeit a little more skittish. I'm really enjoying the serenity. I still don't have internet so I'm actually sitting in Panera's in Princeton and stealing theirs.
I just applied to some new job listings: AECOM (environ. type stuff) in Honolulu. Enercon (more environ. type stuff) in Sacramento. indeed.com seems to have more new environmental job listings everyday. This is good as the market is on it's way back up. Hopefully they'll get back to me, Hawaii would be a really nice place to be right now. After re-watching the surf movie "Sprout" after and a half years, I'm longing for warm weather, beach and a longboard. Cali would be nice too.
Side note for investing: Buy stocks in paper companies. As the market goes up, consumer spending increases. Just about everything is packaged with some kind of paper product for protection. Also another thing to pay attention to is diversified stock indexes, mass market corporations like ebay, amazon.com and wal-mart. Metals and minerals, raw materials, resources are a good bet as well.
The order of events:
Tokyo=>car=>airport=>airplane=>airport=>train=>car=>Hackettstown=>zombie =>wake up the next morning human once again.
The flight home was uneventful save for some movies and gin and tonics compliments of continental airlines. I wanted to see if I could stay awake the entire 13hrs watching movie after movie but fell asleep after Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian; The Proposal; The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I really liked the last one, I love psych. thrillers and unfunny Jim Carey is very good (Cable Guy?). Didn't get to watch some others that I hadn't seen: Minority Report and Good Will Hunting. I haven't seen a lot of movies having lived abroad all my life. Also would have been nice to re-watch A Beautiful Mind and Star Trek.
There happened to be two 'Shibuya-Girls' sitting a few rows in front of me who decided to walk to the space behind the back row and cabin wall and just stand there chatting in fake high pitched Japanese for a couple of hours obnoxiously. What more kinds of entertainment do you need sitting in a tin can 8 miles high, going 10 miles a minute?
So I'm back from Japan and now have moved into my new home (temporarily) in Hackettstown, NJ. It's nice to finally have a room large enough to organize all my belongings and not seem like I'm living on top of everything. It's still strange though since there's no outside noise or lights and I'm all alone in an insanely huge house with no furniture. I picked up a queen size airbed and am surprised at how comfortable it is. I guess anything is more comfortable than than dorm beds.
I haven't lived anyplace that has a yard let alone grass for over a decade now. So having vasts amounts of space going to take some getting used to. Deer just carelessly wander around the property like they do in Nara, Japan, albeit a little more skittish. I'm really enjoying the serenity. I still don't have internet so I'm actually sitting in Panera's in Princeton and stealing theirs.
I just applied to some new job listings: AECOM (environ. type stuff) in Honolulu. Enercon (more environ. type stuff) in Sacramento. indeed.com seems to have more new environmental job listings everyday. This is good as the market is on it's way back up. Hopefully they'll get back to me, Hawaii would be a really nice place to be right now. After re-watching the surf movie "Sprout" after and a half years, I'm longing for warm weather, beach and a longboard. Cali would be nice too.
Side note for investing: Buy stocks in paper companies. As the market goes up, consumer spending increases. Just about everything is packaged with some kind of paper product for protection. Also another thing to pay attention to is diversified stock indexes, mass market corporations like ebay, amazon.com and wal-mart. Metals and minerals, raw materials, resources are a good bet as well.
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