It feels that I am rather lacking in inspiration with these posts of late. Many are somewhat scheduled and probably of little to no interest to anyone else (namely the food blogs and movie blogs). Occasionally I have brief flashes of inspiration - some subject that I could really get my teeth into and before I have a chance to write it down or record it - it has evaporated.
I am not really sure where I stand in this 'grand venture'. I didn't really think too much about what it would be like when I was out here. It is always hard to look back into the past and avoid applying knowledge learned later but I guess before coming out here there were so many unknowns, so many possibilities that there was no point in trying to plan anything to much. I know I wanted to do some writing, I wanted to catch up on some reading and try to get Talisman played.
Actually writing this out I am recalling much more clearly what I had hoped for - an opportunity for some introspection and a chance to look into myself. I wanted to loose some weight and come back feeling better.
I guess I really ought to try and refocus on these priorities. I feel like these objectives have gotten a little lost in my usual rush to be accepted. I am not good around new people, I am not out going among strangers, especially in large groups. I think part of me has been thinking about relocating, about what it would be like to be out here permanently and I am realizing that really isn't what I want. California is glorious, the offices are amazing, the weather is perfect, the people are welcoming, but it isn't where I want to be, where my friends are. I miss London and I think that instead of trying to hid from that. I need to focus on the things I came here to work on and improve my inner self. I will make sure I still do and see the things I want to, but I need to stay focused, and be content to do things on my own, not rely on having company as I normally do.
I can feel myself on the verge of another downward slide and I really can't afford to be doing that any more, I need to find balance.
Hmmm so this seems to have turned rather circumspect... let's completely undermine that by talking about movies. I watched two when I got home today:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is really a fine example of an English feel good movie. It has the same flow, no fear of having realistic older characters in prominent roles not just 'fount of knowledge' as Hollywood paints them.
I also watched John Carter... fuck knows why. I think the morbid curiosity - the question of whether it really is as bad as everyone said... well yes, yes it is. I feel that with better acting it could have been a lot like Avatar... not saying much but there we go.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Day 38 - Nothing much to report
It has been another lousy week work-wise. I feel like I am smacking my head against a brick wall with the project and despite asking everyone I can think of, I am not really making any headway. The only solution that looks currently viable would effectively eliminate the concept of scalability for the project. I have also found out that the level of access I have is not actually available for some of the people I am working with, meaning that contrary to my initial intentions - they wouldn't be able to just take the script and run it themselves. Next time anyone tells me that Google doesn't take look after people's data seriously - I am going to smack them into a wall. Apparently it is taken so seriously it is actually preventing people from doing the work they should be.
I left work early and went home, sat down and watched Rushmore which was weird, followed by Whip It which is awesome (although fomulaic) and finally Rise of the Planet of the Apes... interesting with great special fx but missing something.
I left work early and went home, sat down and watched Rushmore which was weird, followed by Whip It which is awesome (although fomulaic) and finally Rise of the Planet of the Apes... interesting with great special fx but missing something.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Day 37 - Fasting continues
It is really rather sad and pathetic just how much joy can be gained through experimenting with different temperatures of drinking water. I have found today a lot harder than yesterday. The smell of food which didn't bug me yesterday is now driving me nuts... and strangely giving me a headache. At lunchtime I ended up going for a walk to get away from the smell of food from everyone eating at their desks. I wandered around the nature trail that sits between Charleston and Steirlin Court and in the process wandered past Sergei who was coming in the other direction. Being so used to being in a remote office, it is really really strange to just encounter them on the street...
Getting within 2hrs it became really hard to focus on anything except the void in my stomach. Water was no longer doing the trick at suppressing my hunger. I was waiting for a query to finish running and knew that there was other stuff I could be doing but simply couldn't focus on what it might be. I was also really restless - wanting to get up, sit down, wander around, listen to music, not listen to music... it is really very disconcerting. At the end of it all though was the group dinner! It wasn't anything special - a standard dinner service with some 'hungry' android cupcakes.
Getting home I decided to return a the DVDs I watched last night and pick up a few more... and got a little carried away and took out six more! I now have a stack of nine to watch... well I introduced Diego to Grosse Pointe Blank so now only 8! A lot of them are easy watching so it shouldn't be hard to get them all watched.
Ok so I kinda feel that these blog entries have rather lost direction, interest and insight... I will try and do better and write something more interesting.
Getting within 2hrs it became really hard to focus on anything except the void in my stomach. Water was no longer doing the trick at suppressing my hunger. I was waiting for a query to finish running and knew that there was other stuff I could be doing but simply couldn't focus on what it might be. I was also really restless - wanting to get up, sit down, wander around, listen to music, not listen to music... it is really very disconcerting. At the end of it all though was the group dinner! It wasn't anything special - a standard dinner service with some 'hungry' android cupcakes.
Getting home I decided to return a the DVDs I watched last night and pick up a few more... and got a little carried away and took out six more! I now have a stack of nine to watch... well I introduced Diego to Grosse Pointe Blank so now only 8! A lot of them are easy watching so it shouldn't be hard to get them all watched.
Ok so I kinda feel that these blog entries have rather lost direction, interest and insight... I will try and do better and write something more interesting.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Day 36 - Back to YouTube
Entering my first proper day of fasting and so far feeling pretty good. It feels a lot better starting in the evening as I then sleep and wake up to have already made it through 12hrs of the fast! At this point I am more than 18hrs through... leaving 30hrs remaining. I am drinking pretty vast quantities of water which is working well to suppress my hunger although I suspect that will only take me so far.
It is weird being in the SBO office without either Jackie or Mimi around, it feels a lot less accommodating and warm. I guess it's just something I will have to get used to about this office, there is a lot less 'spirit' here than in the London office, it makes it feel a lot like NYC - nice to see you but I have work to do so you sort yourself out kind of attitude.
I had debated stopping at MTV on my way back to play board games but I realize that while I am on this fast I am not good company and am liable to be irritable if gaming so I figured that as Diego is out tonight, I would head home and watch a few movies before having an early night...
First up was Paths of Glory... a fine example of the absurdity of war and World War I in particular. I am not sure it really deserves to be ranked so highly though.
ParaNorman was next up and after the disappointment of Coraline, this film was pretty good. Not very funny for the most part it had similar vibes to '9'.
It is weird being in the SBO office without either Jackie or Mimi around, it feels a lot less accommodating and warm. I guess it's just something I will have to get used to about this office, there is a lot less 'spirit' here than in the London office, it makes it feel a lot like NYC - nice to see you but I have work to do so you sort yourself out kind of attitude.
I had debated stopping at MTV on my way back to play board games but I realize that while I am on this fast I am not good company and am liable to be irritable if gaming so I figured that as Diego is out tonight, I would head home and watch a few movies before having an early night...
First up was Paths of Glory... a fine example of the absurdity of war and World War I in particular. I am not sure it really deserves to be ranked so highly though.
ParaNorman was next up and after the disappointment of Coraline, this film was pretty good. Not very funny for the most part it had similar vibes to '9'.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Day 35 - All work and no play...
Another session of D&D this morning although still no sign of Hugh and Adam Fair was also a no show which left just Moley and myself in the driving seat... frankly I think that 3 is too few for a party, 2 deff didn't work, there was too little discussion and dynamic. Graham did a good job of covering by making this, in large part, and info dump but it still felt a bit off.
We could have also run the session longer for a change but given the depleted cast and the fact I have some work to do, we called it after 2hrs like normal.
We could have also run the session longer for a change but given the depleted cast and the fact I have some work to do, we called it after 2hrs like normal.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Day 34 - Actually in SF!
Ok guys I know you are sick of me going on about it but I would be
Yup... it has taken me over a month to actually get into San Francisco but today I managed it...
Last night we went to the 4th in the Outdoor Movie series - Shrek! It was really cold out but the movie was good and made me realize that I haven't seen the original in a long time. The Shrek movies are about the only good CG movies I don't own the DVDs for... I may have to fix that when I get back... at least for the first two, maybe the third.
Our first target on heading into San Francisco was Cliff House, and we got there quickly enough, albeit via a slight detour as we walked up to the Legion of Honor monument first. We didn't go inside but we did watch some rather strange folk doing some kind of pseudo-military exercise that seemed to involve a lot of running in a fountain... We then walked around the cliffs and got to the remains of Sutro Pool and Cliff House. I have to say I was disappointed it seems that whilst the location has a fascinating past, there is really no reference to it as it is now simply a rather overpriced restaurant. I would love to find out some more on the history of the place.
Diego and I walked from Cliff house, through Golden Gate Park eventually stopping at San Tung. San Tung is a place I had heard of through a Zagat article on the best Fried Chicken in the US. San Francisco featured twice with San Tung and another place that I have yet to try called Wayfare Tavern. The chicken at San Tung's however is AMAZING! Their Potstickers are also amazing and it is totally worth the wait.
'Your Goal will be completed in two months' were the words inscribed upon my fortune at the end of the meal... I understand the psychology of fortune cookies (and fortunes in general) however this particular statement has filled me with hope that I may manage to complete my project in time after all... all I have to do now is work hard to make sure my cookie is not shown to be a liar...
After lunch Diego and I headed back into the park and went up to the Disc Golf course... HOLY FUCKING COW THAT IS A NICE COURSE! It was real busy when we went, I think there was some kind of event on but it was fascinating watching some very talented players clearly familiar with the course. The holes on this course are a LOT longer than the YouTube course. I am pretty certain that the YouTube course is smaller than it ought to be and highlighted that I really need to improve the calibre of my drives.
The smell of machine oil and steel shavings is one that anybody who has spent time in a workshop knows (and in all probability loves). For me it makes me think of metal lathes, working in labs after school, machining my own steam engine from raw materials. It is a smell that I love and one I haven't smelt in a long time but today while I was sat on the bus headed back to the CalTrain.
I headed back early after having totally worn myself out and finally saw Predators. It is a great film although it really doesn't feel any different to Predator in the way things develop.
After Predators I switched to Coraline as the other film that I need to return to the library tomorrow. I am really not sure I got the plot.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Day 33 - Food Day Friday
Time for another food update!
Of the 31 Cafes... I have managed to visit 15! Almost half way. I have now been to all the Crittenden venues except for Baadal which needs to be booked. There are a couple of reasonably accessible locations still to try but mostly it is West Campus, The Quad and SFO. David will be here in a couple of weeks so might do the SFO office then. The Quad will be my next mission and I am thinking working there on the Mondays I am not in SBO.
- Atom
- Baadal - Indian food that needs to be booked in advance. Table service makes this place a little different to the normal Google offering.
- Beta
√ Backyard - In my building and specializing in Barbecue (honestly it's a wonder I go anywhere else)
√ BETA C - A nice, balanced 'all round' cafe. Food of all sorts, well done.
√ Big Table Cafe - This cafe has a great variety of tasty foods.
√ Blaze Cafe - Fresh Pizza is the focus here but it has a few other things and is always very popular.
√ Charlie's Cafe - This is the original cafe of Google and it has everything from fantastic Pizza, burgers, burritos to Pho, Sushi & Indian.
- Crave Cafe
- Evolution Cafe
√ GO! Cafe - This is a sandwich to order to place. I'm not a big sandwich guy but if Subway was like this, they'd be making a lot of money off of me.
√ Jia Cafe - Authentic East Asian food and REALLY good.
- Long Life
√ Lunch Box Cafe - This place does a couple of dishes and a small sandwich section... that takes an age!
√ Masa Cafe - Burritos the size of your head made exactly the way you want.
√ Maverick Cafe - Nothing special, although the desserts are good and the staff are the friendliest on campus.
√ Moma Cafe - This place is the king of sandwiches, toasted, normal, sliders they are all to be found here. It also has awesome breakfasts with pancakes!
- Nourish Cafe
- Quad Halftime
- Quad Hangout
- Quad Portal
√ root Cafe - A bit of a mix, nothing special but is fairly popular.
√ Slice Cafe - Some packaged sandwiches but the reason to come here are the fantastic smoothies.
- Steam Cafe
- Stock Market Cafe
- Trux Cafe
- Victoria Deli Cafe
√ Yoshka's Cafe (w/e) - I have been here at the weekend but it felt like only half service so wait until I have been in the week to pass judgement. Weekday food here is good! Not much selection but the food is done well. A little too much oil in things though in the salad, the rice, the meat.
- Left Coast Cafe (SFO)
- Warehouse6 Cafe (SFO)
√ YouTube Café (SBO) - The breakfasts are good, sadly the lunches are not!
Of the 31 Cafes... I have managed to visit 15! Almost half way. I have now been to all the Crittenden venues except for Baadal which needs to be booked. There are a couple of reasonably accessible locations still to try but mostly it is West Campus, The Quad and SFO. David will be here in a couple of weeks so might do the SFO office then. The Quad will be my next mission and I am thinking working there on the Mondays I am not in SBO.
- Atom
- Baadal - Indian food that needs to be booked in advance. Table service makes this place a little different to the normal Google offering.
- Beta
√ Backyard - In my building and specializing in Barbecue (honestly it's a wonder I go anywhere else)
√ BETA C - A nice, balanced 'all round' cafe. Food of all sorts, well done.
√ Big Table Cafe - This cafe has a great variety of tasty foods.
√ Blaze Cafe - Fresh Pizza is the focus here but it has a few other things and is always very popular.
√ Charlie's Cafe - This is the original cafe of Google and it has everything from fantastic Pizza, burgers, burritos to Pho, Sushi & Indian.
- Crave Cafe
- Evolution Cafe
√ GO! Cafe - This is a sandwich to order to place. I'm not a big sandwich guy but if Subway was like this, they'd be making a lot of money off of me.
√ Jia Cafe - Authentic East Asian food and REALLY good.
- Long Life
√ Lunch Box Cafe - This place does a couple of dishes and a small sandwich section... that takes an age!
√ Masa Cafe - Burritos the size of your head made exactly the way you want.
√ Maverick Cafe - Nothing special, although the desserts are good and the staff are the friendliest on campus.
√ Moma Cafe - This place is the king of sandwiches, toasted, normal, sliders they are all to be found here. It also has awesome breakfasts with pancakes!
- Nourish Cafe
- Quad Halftime
- Quad Hangout
- Quad Portal
√ root Cafe - A bit of a mix, nothing special but is fairly popular.
√ Slice Cafe - Some packaged sandwiches but the reason to come here are the fantastic smoothies.
- Steam Cafe
- Stock Market Cafe
- Trux Cafe
- Victoria Deli Cafe
√ Yoshka's Cafe (w/e) - I have been here at the weekend but it felt like only half service so wait until I have been in the week to pass judgement. Weekday food here is good! Not much selection but the food is done well. A little too much oil in things though in the salad, the rice, the meat.
- Left Coast Cafe (SFO)
- Warehouse6 Cafe (SFO)
√ YouTube Café (SBO) - The breakfasts are good, sadly the lunches are not!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)