Seattle Day 1

I'm here in Seattle and having a great time. They do things a little differently out here, but I like their style. Observe:



X is readily available at any gas station.



If you live in a shopping cart, people here take care to actually bike lock it to something so as not to lose it.



Also, half of a Superman figure was in the basket. Don't ask.



People make out all over the place as well.



It really is quite a beautiful place. Even that needle thing is pretty cool. Skiing tomorrow.

Sounds of Silence

 

The CD changer in my car has been busted for a few days as a result of completely normal operation. Since Friday, it has been trying in vain to change from one CD to another, eject, or do something productive. Frankly, I feel bad for it. Its wheezing, whirring, and clicking sounds were depressing to hear and I was finally driven to fix it today, which involved the radio's complete removal and mailing to someone at GM for fixing. I wonder what they'll think of my musical taste... Now only a gaping hole with wires remains where my beloved music/information hub used to glow.

Anyhow, I drove home to visit the parents for a few days and realized the loss of music in the car. I initially tried to use headphones/iPod to compensate but it was too awkward so I just went with the sounds of the road, gusts of wind whipping against the car, and the hum of the engine.

I have noticed more and more people enjoying filling their lives with static, noise, music, and other auditory fuzz with which to distract themselves from job difficulties, monkey presidents, and romantical travails and I'm coming to think they might be right to do so. Sitting in a car for over three hours with nothing but your thoughts can be alternately relaxing or completely maddening. Essentially, I was oscillating between the two in the following type of thought patterns:

- The car sounds better after getting an oil change
- There are so many billboards in rural areas protesting abortion
- Why do people love Dale Earnhart Jr. so much? What is the appeal of NASCAR?
- I can't believe I'm turning 30 this year. I'll probably end up the male equivalent of an old maid. An old butler?
- Life is passing so quickly, one day I'll be dead.
- When will people learn that the left lane is for passing?
- Why does everyone at this Subway have a mustache?
- Small town America is overrun with chain stores. This both removes any trace of originality/charm and gives yokels nicer places to spend money.
- Is the red state/blue state division a result of an endemic ideological and geographical separation between urban and suburban areas or is it just that the liberals got tired of it and moved to the cities?
- Did I shower today?

Later this week I'm going to Seattle for skiing and chicanery.

Soundbar

 
 

Going away party

 
 

My boss threw me a going away party last night at his house. We came up with the idea to have an iPod playlist competition. Each person got five songs and a theme. I'll post the full lists later. They were alternately awful, hilarious, touching, and insulting. I was sort of getting sentimental, saying goodbye to people I've worked with for over six years. My boss gave me a great speech and gift and I nearly lost it completely. We went out for drinks afterwards and I was really lost in the reality that I'll never work in the lab again. It's been a long time coming, and it's really for the best, and I'm glad to be done, but man, its hard to say goodbye sometimes.

Dropping Science

Today I went to a math and science academy here in Chicago to do another science demonstration with the coolest teacher, Ms. B. I've been once before and really was impressed by the kids. They're a little rough around the edges, from low income homes, some of them clearly pretty messed up, but they're smart. The problem is, since they're bright, they have been skating by in their ordinarily shitty schools and now are faced with challenging classmates. This means that ordinarily, they're pretty lazy but now have to work hard. Either way, they're great.

I did a demonstration of DNA digestion analysis and it went disastrously. The kids in the class are more than hyperactive (9th graders) and 1/4th of them were autistic. I've never dealt with autistic kids before, much less done lab demonstrations with them, and it was pretty interesting. They're bright but have trouble communicating. One kid needed written instructions instead of oral ones but did much better than other kids. There were two special ed teachers in the room assisting them and they both indicated the autistic kids were in all honors class despite very loud outbursts about the project.

Other fun events:

- One kid hooked up the power supply to himself and gave himself a decent electrical shock, even despite my very loud warnings beforehand.

- Another kid was trying to sell stolen computers and electronics ("You need an iPod Mr. P?")

- One kid put on rubber gloves, peed on his hand in the bathroom, and ran around trying to touch people in the face until I yelled at him.

- Another kid kept asking other guys if they wanted to be in gay porn. All period.

- One of the autistic kids told me about how he saw two teachers making out in the school somewhere and then repeated loudly shaking his finger at me "ITS NOBODYS BUSINESS BUT THEIRS!"

- One teacher fixing the computers told me at length about working in tougher schools where occasionally he had to clock a student in the face to get the respect of the rest. He also used a ton of profanity in front of students, for which my teacher and her assistant apologized profusely. I think he is in the wrong line of work.

- I explained how ponds and streams are basically full of microbes trying to kill and eat each other through various molecular trickery to which one kid said "like a gang war?"

- I walked into the middle of a masturbation technique discussion four guys were having, at which point they stopped, looked at me, and asked my perspective. I told them they should focus on the project.

- Finally, one kid, who was cursing people out in Spanish the whole time, said to me "Man, science is stupid but this shit is dope!" regarding my demonstration. I felt pretty good about that. This was the same kid who went around to everything in the lab and said "Can I eat this? How about this? Can I eat this?"

I had a great time. I hope I get to do this again.

Red Letter Day

I ended up waiting for someone at a bar for 1.5 hrs who never showed and was surrounded by a bachelorette party whom I was openly laughing at. Their sashes said "Anne's Entourage" and someone asked them if they were in a beauty pageant. Then I met up with my friend B and we went to K's thing, where the most exciting part was the fact that we had alcohol. Basically, turning thirty for him apparently means dating some woman from out of town who puts him on a diet and forbids him from hanging out with his friends. So that was great.

Then Bobby and I met up with my friend Sanjeev at some retarded place called Le Passage, which is possibly the most pretentious place in Chicago, which means it was full of Indians. I proceeded to ask him about his work and couldn't hear the answers, so then I called him "Sanjay" about 16 times. Pizza, sleep, the end.

Woke up early and have been friendstering like a weirdo and watching "The Office" obsessively. One for the books.

NYC at night

 
 

I met my future employers and coworkers this weekend in New York. Some observations on my assimilation into the corporate world and New York:

- I bought a rolly suitcase. It actually is much easier to get around with than any other type of luggage, even if you do look like a tool.

- The lack of smoking in NYC bars is fantastic. And as annoying as seems, clubs which maintain male/female ratios are much more fun to be in than those in Chicago.

- Future consultants use "value proposition" constantly and excessively.