The long way home

It was hot today! I'd forgotten how much I miss the heat. Even at 8:30 this morning it was too warm for gloves on my motorcycle, and it got up into the 80s as the day went on. It felt wonderful.

I got off work at about 8, and it was still warm and breezy. Instead of going up onto the highway, on an impulse, I drove west through the city, looking for a slow route home. I meandered through the colorful, off-beat Mission District until I happened on a hole-in-the-wall sushi place called Yo's Sushi Club. It felt authentic, with a clean, very Japanese aesthetic. The chef, Yo, stood behind the counter, a white towel wrapped tight around his bald head. There was no bento or teriyaki on the menu, just sushi, and I watched as Yo made all the sushi himself. The chirashi was delicious. I ate slowly, then rode the rest of the way down Mission until I found myself on the hilltop at Daly City. It was starting to cool off by the time I made my way to the road across the mountain, and saw the lights of San Francisco spread out north of me as I wound through the pass.

I've got to take the long way home more often. I hope the weather stays nice! If it's clear, tomorrow night I'm going with some friends out past Livermore in the east bay, and we're going to watch the meteor shower.

If I had a million dollars...

I worked a half day today. I didn't have a particular reason for going in, but there were a few things I wanted to catch up on, so I fired up the bike and rode up to campus. I spent most of the day sitting at my desk, reading a mathematical physics textbook, and tinkering with a simulation I'd written earlier in the week.

A recurring theme of me-at-work, pretty much ever since I started working when I was 15, is the thought, Sigh...if only I had a few million dollars, so I could do X instead of this... Today, it struck me that, if I was independently wealthy and could do whatever I wanted, I probably would spend my time doing what I did today. I'd find somewhere quiet to sit, and learn some new physics.

On top of that, I found out a couple of weeks ago that I won a competition for a federal research fellowship, so I'll get an extra $4000 or so per year to do exactly what I'd be doing anyway, with no strings attached. (I worked out the total value of the fellowship, and was surprised at how large it is: it pays for everything for three years, which comes out to be around $150,000!) As an additional bonus, it's considered very prestigious, looks good on a CV, etc. (not that I'll be applying for jobs anytime soon...).

I hesitate to say so, but I feel honestly satisfied with the way things are going. It's the first time I've felt this way in a long time, so it's a bit alien to me, but...I'm happy. (On a related note, I also feel completely vindicated in my decision to switch research groups.)

Everyone loves grad school!

I dug up a funny transcript of a conversation I had with my brother a few months back...pretty much captures how much I hated my previous lab:

2:49:47 PM Gheed: man grad school blows though
2:49:50 PM Me: lol
2:50:00 PM Me: WUT DO U MEAN IT'S AWESOME
2:50:01 PM Me: :\
2:50:51 PM Gheed: >:o
2:51:08 PM Me: >:o indeed
2:51:22 PM Gheed: u have any idea how useful a "masters of science" degree is?
2:51:29 PM Me: i wake up every morning and think to myself: >:o
2:51:47 PM Me: i do not
2:51:51 PM Me: inform me immediately
2:52:23 PM Me: btw i do a lot of >:o while i'm at work too
2:52:31 PM Me: then when i get home i'm all like >:o
2:52:45 PM Gheed: lol yeah that face sums me up pretty well too
2:52:47 PM Gheed: >:o
2:53:04 PM Me: there's a few :\ and :( thrown in there for good measure, too
2:53:12 PM Me: but for the most part it's all about the >:o
2:53:28 PM Gheed: >:o
2:53:32 PM Me: >:o