Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Austin
Yeah I posted that list without really explaining anything about it. Plus I'm sure there are things I haven't added yet...but to be honest those that are on there now, are what I came up with over the past week, and nothing else seemed to pop up, so whatever I did miss probably wasn't a major factor.Also I have to keep reminding myself that this is all just hypothetical. It could never happen. Even though I keep doing research about Austin, everything from rent to jobs to stores to neighborhoods, I always try to keep, 'it could never happen' in the back of my mind.
Jobs
In other news, I went for a 2nd interview for a $10 mail clerk job. Really a 2nd interview for a job that only pays $10 an hour. You can't even live in LA for that much money. Anyway I think that the woman could tell I really had no interest in the job other then for gaining money. Oh well. I have a hard time in interviews selling the right points about myself no matter how much I practice. I also have a tendency to bring up the worst qualities about myself, or what could be considered bad. Guh either way I find out by Friday apparently. If I don't get the job, I might just go for one of those Campaign to Save the Environment Jobs you see on craigslist all the time, be one of those annoying people who stand outside of Trader Joes getting folks to sign petitions. They pay $10 an hour....see why I'm weirded out by the 2nd interview.Health
I accidentally made an appointment with the chief of surgery at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. I just picked the name out of the list on my providers website and called them up. Later I researched the doctor and found out. She's going to take one look at my back and be like, 'PSShhh I should be doing heart surgery, not working on some minuscule pipsqueak'. Although I read she's really great at colon surgery or something. So maybe she'd be like 'this any no colon! leave my presence'. Anyway, I might actually get a doctor to pay attention to me for once.
Yosemite
I kind of went into detail about the negatives of Yosemite, yes there are negatives, in my yelp reviews. I don't really feel like reiterating them here. I will say though, that the weekend went by entirely too quickly. Yesterday I felt like it almost never happened, which was sad indeed. I guess because everything was so rushed, we sped here, sped there, sped home. I'm sure if I stayed longer it may have gotten a chance to sink in more. So I'm going to highlight some of the things that were the best, and leave out the rest:
Pacific Crest Trail: I'm really tempted to get in shape just to do the PCT, even though I'd totally want to take a pack animal, of course my choice would be a llama. Anyway...where we stayed, you really got a sense of the trail community that develops each year. And June happens to be the time most folks make to Yosemite on the 2500 mile trip. Guh so much training for that, I don't know the first thing about one over night backpacking trip forget several months. And if I go to Texas, yeah, totally much harder thing to plan for.
Geography & Geology: The entire time I was there, I couldn't look at a rock, or a tree, or a cliff without trying to figure out which way a glacier passed through, what kind of rock it was, where the weathering was occurring etc. Haynes, Cunha and BoMac's lectures kept floating around in my head. I kept imagining what a field trip with them would be like in Yosemite. I miss school soooo much sometimes it hurts.
National Park Service: I came into contact with a lot of rangers, and volunteers and interns and who knows who else that Yosemite employees, which must number in the 1000 range. But it was interesting to see how a major park operates. I mean Santa Monica has a huge staff too, but their problems focus primarily on humans living within the park, while Yosemite really focuses on how to get tourists in and out and bears. I mean those are really really really big generalizations. Anyway, Yosemite has either been forced to deal with the volume of tourists, and responded by making the valley like a freaking theme park resort, or someone thought they should do that anyway, fuck the nature. This may seem kinda draconian, but seriously, people should only be allowed in if they can pass a test. That would help cut out the retards, obese children, asshole red necks, and cut down on the amount of car traffic. Questions should be asked like: Do you drink Budweiser with your shirt off while walking to see Bridalveil falls? Do your children run around places that are undergoing restoration? Do you have any idea what a glacier is? Do you drive a hummer? You get my point right? If Yosemite ever decided to limit visitors, I would be in favor.
The 395: Like I said in my yelp reviews, the 395 is my second favorite after the 101. I mean the more I explore the 395, the more it may become an equally favorite. I haven't been up the entire thing to the end of California like I have with the 101. But every time I find myself on it, it seems to leave an incredible lasting impression. There are so many things to stop and see along the way. The White Mountains, which are home to the oldest trees in the world, the Bristle Cone Pine some 5000 years old, lie to the east of the 395. There's Manzanaar the Japanese internment camp. You can see Mt. Whitney the freaking highest peak in the Continental USA. The ghost town of Bodhie a silver mining place. SOoooo many things I really want to explore in detail one day lie along the 395.
In conclusion, you really should see Yosemite at some point in your life. But do NOT come during the high summer months. If I ever come back it will be fall or winter. You really should see the sites, even though they'll be dampened by the overcrowdedness.
Pacific Crest Trail: I'm really tempted to get in shape just to do the PCT, even though I'd totally want to take a pack animal, of course my choice would be a llama. Anyway...where we stayed, you really got a sense of the trail community that develops each year. And June happens to be the time most folks make to Yosemite on the 2500 mile trip. Guh so much training for that, I don't know the first thing about one over night backpacking trip forget several months. And if I go to Texas, yeah, totally much harder thing to plan for.
Geography & Geology: The entire time I was there, I couldn't look at a rock, or a tree, or a cliff without trying to figure out which way a glacier passed through, what kind of rock it was, where the weathering was occurring etc. Haynes, Cunha and BoMac's lectures kept floating around in my head. I kept imagining what a field trip with them would be like in Yosemite. I miss school soooo much sometimes it hurts.
National Park Service: I came into contact with a lot of rangers, and volunteers and interns and who knows who else that Yosemite employees, which must number in the 1000 range. But it was interesting to see how a major park operates. I mean Santa Monica has a huge staff too, but their problems focus primarily on humans living within the park, while Yosemite really focuses on how to get tourists in and out and bears. I mean those are really really really big generalizations. Anyway, Yosemite has either been forced to deal with the volume of tourists, and responded by making the valley like a freaking theme park resort, or someone thought they should do that anyway, fuck the nature. This may seem kinda draconian, but seriously, people should only be allowed in if they can pass a test. That would help cut out the retards, obese children, asshole red necks, and cut down on the amount of car traffic. Questions should be asked like: Do you drink Budweiser with your shirt off while walking to see Bridalveil falls? Do your children run around places that are undergoing restoration? Do you have any idea what a glacier is? Do you drive a hummer? You get my point right? If Yosemite ever decided to limit visitors, I would be in favor.
The 395: Like I said in my yelp reviews, the 395 is my second favorite after the 101. I mean the more I explore the 395, the more it may become an equally favorite. I haven't been up the entire thing to the end of California like I have with the 101. But every time I find myself on it, it seems to leave an incredible lasting impression. There are so many things to stop and see along the way. The White Mountains, which are home to the oldest trees in the world, the Bristle Cone Pine some 5000 years old, lie to the east of the 395. There's Manzanaar the Japanese internment camp. You can see Mt. Whitney the freaking highest peak in the Continental USA. The ghost town of Bodhie a silver mining place. SOoooo many things I really want to explore in detail one day lie along the 395.
In conclusion, you really should see Yosemite at some point in your life. But do NOT come during the high summer months. If I ever come back it will be fall or winter. You really should see the sites, even though they'll be dampened by the overcrowdedness.
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