Two weeks ago was Spring Break and I had a blast, which was a surprise. On the first day of break I was bored out of my mind and so desperate for entertainment that I just started downloading random apps on my phone. Some of them were pretty cool (Pocket Mortys, Webtoon, Rain Sounds) and that's why I'm recommending them by putting them in parentheses.
Later throughout the week though, I got to go to the library with friends, the mall with friends, and Great America, where I had a great time.
Earlier in the week though, I went to Carizo Plain. We went there to see the crazy wildflower bloom
but unfortunately, didn't get to see it. For some reason, the flowering season was out of whack and even though we came at the time the flowers usually bloom, it was too late
But Carizo Plain without flowers is still a really cool place.
It feels like a desert since it's so barren and expansive. It's really flat, too, which makes it possible to see so far. It almost feels like Superflat mode on Minecraft.
The body of water over there is Soda Lake
I love clouds
Really shrubby land, and it feels dry
Things were going great, and we were about to head home when suddenly, we took a turn into a place we shouldn't have and got stuck in some deep mud.
an image I took from the side of the car
We were stuck there for about 4 hours... so I spent my time listening to music and lying down in the car. Fortunately it was relatively cool, with wind blowing occasionally. Unfortunately, there were lots and lots of bugs everywhere, including large groups of tiny ones crawling on the half-open window and the buzzing loud ones flying in and out. There were also crane flies, which are like daddy long legs that can fly.
Here, you can see the trail we made trying to make our way through that mud. The wheels were moving but the car wasn't :(
We had also brought our bikes along for the trip so eventually we just abandoned ship and biked to the closest place that could aid us in rescue.
the crumbliness reminds me of brownies
Not the best experience, but this place was totally cool.
In this image it almost looks like a beach but it really just felt more like a desert (it was neither).
Soda Lake in the evening
glare
In the below picture you can see a police car. We had to
use a passersby's phone to call 911 since T-mobile didn't have connection. The
police helped us get tow service.
This area was especially green.
Carizo Plain is a few hours away from home, so we finally got home around 12 or 1 AM, when we were originally supposed to get home by 7. I wasn't really that bummed out. It was an interesting experience.
Oh man, things are getting stressful at school. In order to kill some time here are some pictures I've taken over the past month. I went to Japantown (in downtown San Jose) for lunch over the past weekend, so that was something. Great weather too, with cool wind and sun all around. The Japantown in San Jose apparently has strong historical roots, since many benches had short historical stories inscribed on them.
There were actually a number of Ukelele stores around town, so it must be a decent business
While walking around I noticed something. This painted-over electrical box had a red, one-eyed mustache man on its cover.
Later on, I saw the same image, but this time through the shop window of a pottery shop
After typing "one-eyed red japanese mustache man" on Google, I found out that this is a Daruma doll--commonly found in Japan as a token of good luck. It was really a coincidence that I took a picture of the electrical box (I thought it looked cool) and found it again later. To think: had I not taken that picture I wouldn't have known what a Daruma doll was.
Here's a look at a 4 way intersection in Japantown. As you can see, not really busy; no traffic lights, and only a few people out, even during the afternoon. I haven't been to Japan, but this image feels nothing like the kind of Asia I've lived in.
According to Wikipedia, Tianmu, the place I lived in Taiwan (see my earlier posts) is also a Japantown. Not surprising given the fact that there was an international Japanese school right in the area, but I had no idea. Also this would explain why sometimes waiters/waitresses would try to speak to us in Japanese when they found out our Chinese was pretty bad.
This isn't my picture (it's also from Wikipedia), but check this out for a comparison of Japantown, San Jose and "Japantown" of Tianmu Plaza
I get some heavy nostalgia just from looking at this picture.
Alternatively, here are pictures of Tianmu that I took (they aren't too great)
My justification for the lopsided image: I wasn't able to look at pictures after I took a photo since it was so bright out. I just snapped a pic, heard that click noise, and moved on.
I'll be honest, there were some less flattering parts of Japantown (most notably the empty parking lot surrounded by a worn looking chain link fence) but I didn't take a picture. Maybe I should try to highlight these areas instead of hide them.
March!
I visited Berkeley a couple of times in February, but I was troubled with other things and didn't really feel like posting anything for a while, though I did intentionally take many pictures. I had a pretty swell time there with friends, though on my final trip there, it was raining really hard and I forgot my umbrella at home.
On my first trip, I stayed at the Hotel Durant, which is a few blocks away from the university. It's a decent place, and a great location. Here's the front lobby.
I was surprised to see an empty store whose front window was filled with pro-Sanders campaigning. Not too surprising though--college tuition is a big issue, and Sanders has been the most promising candidate in terms of helping the students.
Bernie Hood and Bernie cut-out
Entrance to Berkeley's campus at the intersection of Telegraph and Bancroft (from inside a Subway)
A Red Bull car (still from inside the Subway). A few minutes later, two girls popped open the trunk, pulled out two Red Bull backpacks and walked onto the campus.
An empty hallway.
Okay so the above pictures were all taken on my first and second trip to Berkeley, and now here's photos from my third trip: possibly the rainiest day of the year.
Rain was pouring and even though I wore a water-resistant jacket (apparently not the same as a water-proof jacket), both my backpack and my clothes were drenched. My friends wanted to walk to a dessert store called "The Cream," so I followed along, realizing too late that my windbreaker was ineffective in such wet weather. My shoes were also some crappy Nike brand with lots of air conditioning holes that let in water, so I had to take my socks off and let my sneakers squish along the sidewalk.
Just outside Dwinelle Hall, Berkeley.
Walking to the BART station from campus, around 5 or so.
Waiting for the train. I always have this kind of worried feeling whenever I'm taking public transit that I'll leave something behind or drop my ticket somewhere. Here's a tip for not losing the ticket: stick it inside your phone case so you can keep track of both at the same time (alternatively, you could lose both at the same time)
That's all for now. Last month was a really great month for California's drought though.
Unfortunately, all this rain has somehow brought the pollen count (or a count of whatever I'm allergic to) up and it's allergy season now. I hope to get another update in sometime later this month
So, it's February, and things aren't very interesting. Sometimes I feel really great, but most of the time I feel a little stressed out from y'know, school stuff. Speaking of which, here's a great picture I captured about a week ago:
taken on a tuesday february evening
The cloud on the left looks so close! You can see the sun setting with the orangish clouds over behind the trees. I like that there's a bunch of people on the field too, so it doesn't feel lonely.
Now, returning to the more mundane kind of picture, here's the view outside my window: several times. I actually didn't intend to take pictures of the same thing three times, it just so happened that I took pictures of them and I noticed - wow, looks like they're all from outside my window.
blurry blurry - it's really crazy how pink the sky is, almost APOCALYPTIC
this one's not too interesting -- just some clouds, which I love. also it was really chilly outside around this time
it's been warming up recently, but I guess I took this picture for that little stream of light under the clouds
The other thing I keep doing is taking pictures from inside the car.
This is a really nice looking sunrise I took a picture of while going to some tournament in speech and debate:
oh wow that is so pretty
lightening up a little bit as we approach Downtown San Jose
So those pictures were a bit more recent. And like I said, it's really been warming up recently. Before that it was very wet, and here are some highway pics of that:
things are wet around San Tomas Expwy
this picture actually makes it look like the sky is quite bright, but I'm pretty sure it was raining at the time
It's hard to remember what rain was like now that it's been missing for like 4 days. But rest assured, weather forecast guarantees us some showers next week, during winter break part 2.
Oh, and one last picture before I go to bed
this picture is blurred, but i find that it conveys that same rush we make towards the future every day of our lives. every passing moment is another step forward to the brightness we seek ahead
There's a small creek that runs close to my neighborhood next to a small hill called 'Cathedral Oaks Park,' and it was dry for a long time thanks to the drought, but now it's pumping with water.
this is the trail itself, next to the road
there's a chain link fence guarding the creek
the creek is very urban looking, though it has a lot of shrubbery and moss everywhere
the green hill is Cathedral Oaks Park, and I can't even believe it's called a park, it's so tiny
a nice close-up of some filthy water flowing away
another angle. the water is moving pretty speedily
Okay, so I took some videos of the water as well
Here's just a video to illustrate how fast the water is moving, since the picture doesn't show that.
This next video is mediocre quality (and short, too) but I wanted to show the disgusting creek-foam that was forming as the water fell down the step.
Hey!
January has been pretty rainy and chilly. Some days are wet, some days are less wet. Generally there are a few days of sun in between but mostly it's cloudy.
Sunshine on Mt. Umunhum
chilly evening
a wet sidewalk
a rainbow (at my school)
cloudy day at Saratoga Library
Cool clouds on the freeway
more clouds on the freeway
I have some pictures of a creek near my house so I'll upload that next!
but unfortunately, didn't get to see it. For some reason, the flowering season was out of whack and even though we came at the time the flowers usually bloom, it was too late
