I've got way too many big things to pray for.

So Lord, I just pray that they'd all work out according to Your will and for Your economy.

We'll talk in more detail soon.

Supplies.

Good Lord. I'm almost 23. I had myself convinced that I was turning 22 for some reason.

Children's Story!

For one of my classes we had to write a children's story explaining the origins and processing of a common material. My awesome group chose rubber, and imagined this story about a girl who goes to the rain forest to find out where her rubber boots came from.

Here's a link to the pdf

I illustrated, and we all worked on digital processing. I don't like Adobe Illustrator, but I'm getting used to it.

Enjoy!

Plans for Summer

This will get updated until summer is over:

1) Stop being lactose intolerant

2) Figure out what I'm going to do post-master's

3) Road trip around U.S. and/or travel to Asia and/or travel to Europe

Chihuahuas and Salt

This weekend made me realize something. I like talking to old people.

Story 1: My friends and I went to DT Pali (downtown Palo Alto...yeah, yeah. I know I'm a dork) yesterday night, which was nice after a long week of work. Seriously - these two weeks are the hardest I've worked in my whole graduate career. I no longer have fun-filled weekends X(

Anyway, after a way-too-long ride on the Marguerite we stopped at a tap room off the main road and sat at the empty bar. The bartender was an older guy with a thick Boston accent, who seemed a bit harsh at first. He asked if I wanted a drink.

"I'm okay right now."

"You, know, you shouldn't be shy once you come to this country. You gotta try new things."

"What are you talking 'bout, man? I'm from here..."

I wasn't really offended - it was actually kind of funny that he thought I wasn't from the U.S. He slid a glass of iced water over toward me, and went to the back to take care of something. When he returned, there was still a small cloud of awkwardness, so I sliced right through it and asked him how long he's been here.

"You mean in California?"

"Yeah"

"Shoot. You probably think I'm a foreigner. I've been here for about 14 years, but before that I was lived in Boston, then New Mexico, then - oh wait, I was in Chihuahua, Mexico for a while, too."

His name's Dean. He's Irish-Italian, and he worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), which was, apparently, really big in the 60's and 70's. He had to travel for work, which is why he lived in all of those places.

Over the next hour and a half, Dean (called "Dino" by his Italian friends) told us how different life was in Mexico - how he always seemed to be outnumbered 8 to 1 by women wherever he went, how he found out compromiso in Spanish means "commitment" instead of "compromise", how his then-girlfriend's brothers beat up someone who was messing with him, and how he one time got stuck driving a young girl home in a region with druglords, but got invited into the girl's parent's home (he called it a dirt box) for dinner.

At this point I ordered a 10 oz. Paulaner. I still don't really drink, but I felt like it was the right thing to do.

Then we started talking about a lot of random things: he told us some wild adventures he had when he was 17 with a fake ID, but then the conversation turned to things like the recent healthcare reform, those big current-driven collections of plastic and garbage in the ocean that affect photosynthesis, tarantulas and big bugs, and French people and beer, to name a few.

"I think I'll have a beer with you guys," he said, and poured himself a glass. The beer was something I'd never heard of (I already forgot the name), so he gave us all a little to sample.

At this point, a huge crowd of younger kids came in so he started to take care of their orders. We finished our drinks, but as we were heading out, he stopped us, asked what our names were, and told us to come back for deals on food and drinks. Overall, it was a pretty chill experience.

Story 2: I stopped by Costco after church today to pick up my weekly Costco chicken. I've been trying to eat less red meat, which I think might be a subconscious reaction to touching cow death all day errday for research. That, and I've come to the realization that it's kinda unhealthy to eat 4 pounds of beef with no veggies every week (which is what I've been doing for the past two quarters).

I hadn't eaten lunch, so I got a Polish dog combo and sat down to eat it by myself. I started to look through some photos I picked up, when a weathered voice said,

"Mind if I sit here? It's hard for me to swing my legs over the benches now"

"No problem."

I was sitting at the end of a table. I slid my stuff to the side to make more room for him, and noticed that he was reading a book on the history of salt.

"That looks pretty interesting."
"You like to read?" He looked at me, but didn't put the book down.
"Yeah, but I'm finding that I don't have as much time to do it anymore. I'm too busy with school and research."
"Heh. I thought you were in high school. But I guess everyone seems like a kid because I'm 75. What are you researching?"

He put the book down.

I told him a little about my projects, and he began to talk about how he used to run, but that the lack of support in shoes back in his day messed up his knees. "By the time you figure out how to heal me, I'll be dead", he said. Then he talked about football, his kids (which actually doesn't bother me), how he swims a lot now, his job in the travel industry, Amazon Kindles, and his love of jazz music. It was interesting to talk with him, but I had to go back to finish my work. I let him know politely.

"I'm Ira, by the way"
"Hey, I'm Ivan. It was really nice talking to you."

I left him there with his book and went out into the pouring rain.

I don't know what it is. I just find it fascinating to see how much life has changed over one generation. It seems like people who are old now have had crazy experiences that I want to have but probably never will. You really can't replace experience with knowledge.

I got the back-to-school blues, but it's not so bad this time.Usually I'm hating life right about now, but I have to say that I've really been enjoying grad school.

Spring break was nice and chill, though. I was planning on going to SLO with some Berkeley kids, but that fell through. Instead, I visited my cousins in Reno (which, in the past ended up with me driving back with a hangover and some missing money). This time was really different, though. On the way over I prayed that the Lord would sanctify my time there, and I really think He answered it. On top of eating a ridiculous amount of good sushi and watching movies, I got a chance to visit my Aunt, whose husband (my uncle) died recently.

She told me that she's been having trouble sleeping, and that her restaurant business has been slow. I was able to share a verse with her (what's gotten into you, Ivan?): Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest." I told her that if she can't fall asleep and no one is there to talk to her, she can talk to the Lord. She jokingly, but kindly responded, "Think He'll help me fall asleep?"

"I don't know if He works that way, but it can't hurt to try. Plus, He's always there and you can tell Him anything."

She responded, "I never thought about it that way," and even though that was the end of that part of the conversation, I could tell she took me seriously. I've been praying that she'll believe in the Lord. I can tell that she's lonely now that Uncle Paul's gone.

The next day I actually went to meet with some believers in Reno. It was a small gathering, but it was pretty intimate and we shared our enjoyment of the bible with each other. It was sweet, and now I have another reason to go back to Reno.

I'm really glad I got to see my cousins and other family. The last time I saw them was over a year ago, and I think this trip was really worthwhile.

Aside from that, the rest of my spring break was spent sitting in on a hand dissection, visiting my grandma, getting a little bit of work done, hanging with old friends, and, oh yeah. Getting hit on the freeway (see previous post).

Looking forward to:

1)Getting a Great America season pass! It's so close now, so I'll definitely make use of it!

2)Buying a snowboard (maybe?). That way I'll be motivated to learn. Hopefully.

3)Saving money. HAH
4)Hopefully getting this insurance stuff taken care of quickly

I just bought this book, by the way:

Remember that friend I was worried about (the one who had open heart surgery)?. Well, the procedure went really really well, and he recovered more quickly than the doctors expected. He "blames" it on our prayers for him. The doctor even called him "a miracle" because he recovered in less than half the time from this procedure (he's in his 70s) than when he had a similar procedure done in his youth. I'm usually skeptical about these things, but thanks, Lord.

Anyway, Ravi Vakil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Vakil), the author of the book, is his nephew. He's a mathematical genius - he wrote this book about mathematical problem strategies in his undergrad, has taught at MIT and Princeton, and is tenured at Stanford. He's only 40. I'd like to go visit him and maybe get him to sign my book, which won't be weird because I know his uncle.

Sorta looking forward to a busy quarter! Hopefully there won't be rain this week...

Reminder to self: pray more for those around you.

Geez...leave my car alone.

Ugh. My car had super bad luck during this spring break. First of all, a rock hit my windshield, so I had to get that repaired - I didn't want it to spread and have to get the whole thing replaced. Fracture mechanics, anyone?

I was thinking about fixing it myself, so I went to automotive stores in the area to look for windshield repair kits. They were selling them at ACE Hardware for around 20 bucks (a pretty good deal - it costs about $200 to replace Toyota windshields), so I bought one and started to head out the door.

An old man stopped me as I was leaving, and told me that a local car wash place repaired cracks professionally for about $50. "Hmm," I thought. "I think I'm going to check the reviews of this repair kit online and see if they're good. If not, I'll listen to the old man." The reviews were baaaddd, so I took my car to the car wash. To get the window repaired.

They did a really good job! There's a tiny, almost undetectable dent where the rock hit the glass, but the cracks that emanated from the origin are gone. $55. Car wash on the corner of N. Main St. and Treat Blvd (across from the Bev Mo) in Walnut Creek.

The guys (Richard and Salva) who took care of it were really cool! They were Christians, too, so I gave them cards to order free study bibles (check this site out http://www.biblesforamerica.org/). I hope they enjoy that bible as much as I do.

---

This is what happened today:

Notice anything missing?

This is more for me (so that I have documentation from the incident while it's fresh in my mind), so there might be a little more detail than you'd care for. I was driving on 680-S at around 6:20 PM, on the way to meet good friends for dinner (review will be posted on yelp.com for Meridian restaurant). Here's a little foretaste, though:

Crawfish Po Boy Sandwich with Fries. Drooollll....

Back to the car. That's pretty much the extent of the damage, by the way. Scratched passenger side windows and body, scratched rims, and missing side view mirror. Good thing you only need two mirrors on a car to drive legally.

This is what happened:

I was in the lane marked with the gray oval on 680-S driving straight (I had been in that lane for about 1 mile, so it's not like we changed lanes at the same time), when a man in the lane to the right of me (entering the freeway) changed lanes into my car. It was a pretty quick impact, which is why I think the damage wasn't that extensive. Both of us were under speed limit because there were still a lot of cars on the road and we were in the right lanes.

We pulled over here at the spot right before the yellow traffic sign:

and exchanged info after I got out of the car on the passenger's side (didn't want to get out on the freeway side). The lady (passenger) in the car got out to take pictures of the damage to our vehicles, which was pretty dangerous of her - the damage was on the driver's side of her vehicle, so she was right next to the lane where cars were going 50-60 MPH. I tapped her on the shoulder and suggested that we pull off the freeway and find a parking lot off the N. Main exit.

We drove to this Motel 6 off of N. Main street, finished taking pictures (good thing I had my digital camera), and then parted ways.

I filed the claim with AAA here in the parking lot, and then went off to Berkeley to wind down with my best CAL friends. It was much needed at that point.

The person who hit my car and his passenger seemed nice, but I sure hope they're honest. It'd be pretty messed up if they tried anything shifty. The things that makes me a little nervous are that they didn't apologize (I guess that's standard in these situations), and that the lady said that she didn't feel anything (regarding the impact of the accident). The accident was strange, too. The way both of our cars were damaged makes it seem like we were almost side-by-side upon impact. He should have seen me if he was planning on changing lanes. I guess I just have to leave this one up to God. He is the "Righteous Judge" or something.

One thing I've been experiencing is that you're a lot less anxious when you let things go and leave the major decisions up to God. Philippians 4:6-7 "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses every man's understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."

In any case, this is a hassle. I hope everything goes smoothly *crossing fingers*. I don't like wasted time.

I guess I should thank God that I'm okay (and that the other people are too). Bad things can happen with cars on the freeway. And there were a lot of cars on the freeway when I was driving. So thank you, Lord, for taking care of me.

It's Magic!

Rubber shoe parts are hard to clean. I tried almost everything to get mud/rain stains off of my Pumas (Darn you El Nino!) from biking and walking around in the wet weather, but nothing worked! Even after scrubbing my shoes with a toothbrush and lemon juice/vinegar, they still looked like the picture up top.

That all changed with this little revolutionary product:

Sure, he creeped me out as a kid, BUT he got my shoes clean when nothing else could:



It really is magic.

Lies.

Did your parents ever tell you flat-out lies that you still believe as an adult? I'm not talking about things like the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. The most believable lies are the subtle ones that come in the form of advice.

As I was peeling an apple (I usually eat something right before I go to sleep), I remembered this bit of fatherly wisdom from my dad: "Eating an apple is as good as brushing your teeth."

This makes no sense on so many levels.

I brushed my teeth before I ate that apple just now. And thanks to you, Dad, I have no desire to brush my teeth again. Maybe this is why I had so many cavities growing up.

Doctor, doctor, give me the news

Frightening? Yes, I know. Don't search "bad doctor" on Google, by the way. you'll get some shaddddyyy results.

I made an appointment Monday with the medical center on campus. I started breaking out again - nothing as bad as Freshman year or last year - but I'm paying for school health insurance so I might as well use it, right?

The system is kind of weird. Students need to see not-a-doctor at the student health center on campus first, who either try to treat them, or refer them to doctors at Stanford or nearby hospitals. I guess it saves the school a little money if they don't need to send every student to a doctor, who only needs the treatment of a NP or PA. Anyway, here's what happened:

I was initially pretty impressed by the efficiency of the system - I made an appointment online the night before on a Sunday, got a Monday morning appointment, went in 20 minutes early, and had no wait time. Woot.

The nurse sat me in the room, asked me what I was there for, and then told me that the "doctor" would be with me shortly. He came in, and asked me the same questions. It's been a while since I've gone to a doctor, so I don't remember if this is standard or not. Still, I was a little annoyed because the nurse had already entered the info on the computer.

He checked out my face, which was admittedly awkward, and basically told me that I had a few options: use a lot of topical stuff (He said the more the better, usually. "Uh huh..." I thought), go on antibiotics for 3 months (uh...), or take a referral to see a dermatologist. The antibiotics option sounded shifty, so I asked the not-a-doctor if there were any risks to being on antibiotics for that long of a period of time. In a nutshell, this is how he responded:

"With any treatment there are risks. You could be more susceptible to bacterial infections like pneumonia, and there's a chance the bacteria could become resistant to the antibiotics. I think of it like this." Then he went into a story about how people fight against deforestation, but the rainforests will still be destroyed as long as people need to expand and use tree-products.

"Hmm...Think you can refer me to a dermatologist?" I said.

I hope I didn't offend him, but that was a little too much. Plus, I didn't follow the logic with the rainforest anecdote. The appointment with the dermatologist is this monday. Hope it goes well.

The retreat was good this weekend. I'll share later.