So on Sunday, Lisa and I decided to do a little light climbing out at Mt. Diablo. The afternoon started well. We had to run to San Francisco because I had to do a little work at a terminal of a machine that didn’t want to connect to the network before we went, but that only took like 10 minutes. When we got to Diablo, we both realized that we have no idea where in the hell we are going so we decided to roam around the park and mark things in the GPS. We stayed in the Rock City area and there were a ton of people on the main paths. We stumbled upon Sentinel Rock and decided to go off the path and hike to the bottom of it. Once we got to the bottom after quite an adventure we found a quiet spot and put our stuff down. We decided to climb a bit of it and just have some fun on our first outdoor climb together. So I did a hard little problem on the side of the rock face.
As I went to move to the next position my right foot slipped and all my weight was on my right hand and the tiny ledge. I heard a snap in my wrist that seemed to hurt for a second and then went away. I finished the problem and all was fine. Then Lisa decided to do a taller and easier route on the wall. As lisa was cleaning her start holds, a shower of yellow droplets came down the rock face… What is yellow, and smells like piss? You got it, someone was pissing off of a cliff above! If you know Lisa, you can only imagine how mortified she was. Luckily, the scream caused the shower to stop and the golden river flowed a less resistant path down the rock face about 10 yards away. Lisa climbed the rock anyway (partly because I think she was going to go and kick some ass but they were gone… I have never seen her climb that fast). Then she came down and I did the route.
By this time we had been in the park a couple of hours and it was time to head home. So we trekked back using the GPS and followed a different trail. It was very pretty. We got back to the car and headed home. When I got home, my wrist started hurting… it just got worse and worse… I don’t know what I did to my wrist but it still hurst really bad today. I had to wrap it up just to make it feel better. I think I am going to see the doctor about it later this week. All in all though, it was a really fun Sunday afternoon and I would say it was worth the hurt wrist.
The past two weeks have been nuts. I had to work last Saturday and it looks like I will be working this Saturday and Sunday! Damnit!
This release cycle is nothing short of a power cycle death march. We had a few weeks to add functionality and do yet another redesign on some stuff. It was kind of crazy to begin with but hey, add the fact that the production system has been a little spotty and you have a recipe for watching the release deadline fly right by without fail. So there is that right now. I am struggling to not die.
Also this past couple of weeks, I have been working towards getting better with Java. I have been reading up and experimenting in the Java realm. I want to broaden myself from Systems Admin to Software Developer… I got involved in some java projects and Sean and I have been working on a new application called JAmba. Well, mostly Sean right now but I am learning. If you want to know more about JAmba go to www.jambagroup.org (I built the whole site…I am proud damnit). Sean and I are planning on using JAmba for the production site in this next release, provided we can work the bugs out. We hope to release the source code and the package on the JAmba site by next week for anyone to use and play with.
The next update comes from the little bit of personal life I have managed to sneak in to this crazy release cycle. At Karate, as of Wednesday, I learned all four Kata I need for the test in May. All I need to do is practice and polish and hopefully by June Lisa and I will be donning some yellow around our waist. Also, last Wednesday we had to do a birthday workout because our sensai turned 61, so we had to do 61 pushups, 61 sit-ups, 61 leglifts, 61 crunches… you get the idea. I am so sore still, though it was fun.
Smart Water by Glaceau was on sale last week and Lisa decided that she would try it. So we bought the stuff expecting that it would be awesome for our gym time activities.. The “Vapor Distilled” and “Electrolyte Infused” water is usually like $2.50 a bottle. Upon trying it, we both noticed that the water seems to have a funny taste. It is like seltzer water without the fizz. Instead of quenching your thirst, it seems to actually make you more thirsty. The water is the most dissatisfying bottle of water you could ever drink… and at $2.50 a bottle, you better be on crack to buy a second bottle!
So this morning started out early with a Dentist appointment. Luckily it wasn’t my appointment, it was Lisa’s. So we got up and went to Oakland for her appointment. On the way there this crazy bitch in a beater car pulled out on to a 4 lane road right in to oncoming traffic. I was in the second lane and I had to pull in to the third lane to miss her. The worst part is that she just kept coming! So anyway, we arrived at the office promptly at 9:00. She went in and I hopped on to my laptop. I was determined to get my feet wet in java by trying to smash a bug in the techTribe app. It was simple, add search capability for the site admin to find a user using the user’s ID. It is a simple database query. Well, come to find out it is already implemented in the backend so all I had to do is create a frontend call for it and format the output. So, no java dev, but all XSL dev. Good news, I got it done before Lisa was out of her appointment….
So next we decided to go to REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) in Berkeley because they are having one of their “Garage Sales”. Basically, at REI, you can return almost anything at anytime for any reason, so when they get the used equipment, they have to get rid of it somewhere… So they have these “Members Only Garage Sales”. So we get there at like 10:00 and get tickets to get in for 11:40… That was how many people were ahead of us! So for an hour and a half we walk around the store and find plenty of fun things to keep us occupied. 11:40 rolls around and we go in. Nothing really to be had worth anything. There was a pair of almost new Evolv climbing shoes for like $40 but there were size 10 and I wear size 11… SUCK! Oh and there was a pair of beat up climbing shoes that said “Reason for Return: Didn’t fit quite right, didn’t notice for seven years”… LMAO, returned seven years later! Amazing! We bought some climbing chalk and left.
So after we left REI, it was time for lunch. Lisa and I decided on Zachary’s Pizza. The best pizza in the east bay in my opinion. I got lost trying to get there as usual but we finally got there. Oh Zachary’s Deep Dish, how I love thee! We order the Mushroom, Spinach, Chicken pizza. It was good but I think that Lisa is right when she says that deep dish needs to be a “Meat Pizza” with sausage and pepperoni and such. It really makes the hearty flavor.
We left Pizza heaven with bellies full and decided to go for a walk down the strip there. We went in to a shop that had awesome Buddhist items for a garden and in the home. Then we went in to a furniture shop that had no beds… hmm… Lastly there was “Rosebud Gallery”… This place was a work of art. It was a junk shop with gallery prices… what a joke. There were a lot of awesome things but it was just too expensive for what it was.
We left and went to Wal-Mart for some laundry detergent…but they were sold out of Roma Detergent in two different stores… am I missing something?! Sold out?! Seriously!? So we left and headed back for Alameda. On Park St, we found the Alameda Video Game Exchange. They had everything from Atari to PS3! It was awesome!
Lastly, we went to Fudgelato and got some awesome Gelato. I got Chocolate Hazelnut with Dark Chocolate and Lisa got something with coconut and mint. We came home and passed out!
and I wear size 11… SUCK! Oh and there was a pair of beat up climbing shoes that said “Reason for Return: Didn’t fit quite right, didn’t notice for seven years”… LMAO, returned seven years later! Amazing! We bought some climbing chalk and left.
