:: My Divided Soul ::

Dear Jersey City,

I think it’s time for us to break up. It’s not me, it’s you. I admit, you were there for me at a time when I was desperate and needed someplace, anyplace to live near my new job where I could also keep my drumset. I appreciate the fact that you gave me what I needed when I needed it.

By the same token, our relationship was really started on a lie. You see, that broker who introduced us claimed that you were safe, but it turns out you were most definitely not. The evening you told me those loud bangs were just fireworks? They were gunshots. Four of them. I later found out that someone was shot just at the end of the block. That did not make me feel safe. It has been a long road to recovery to get over this lack of security and I’m still paranoid in ways I never was before I met you.

It also turns out that you are extremely rude. For example, where I come from, when driving to pick up a friend, one generally parks the car, gets out, and goes to knock on the door. Apparently, you think it is perfectly legitimate to instead sit in the middle of the road and honk the horn repeatedly until the person comes out. This plan has several problems. First of all, since everyone does this to get the attention of others, no one thinks the honking is actually for them and so it takes much longer for people to come out, which leads to more honking. Secondly, this leaves the road blocked, meaning people behind you can’t get to where they are going. So what do they do? That’s right, they honk, too. Actually, you seem to like to honk a lot, now that I think about it. What I find particularly amazing is that you sit in the middle of the road, even when there is enough space for three cars on the side of the road only two feet in front of you.

Now this activity during the day wouldn’t be so horrible. I could tolerate it at 2pm or even 5pm or 6pm. But at midnight? No, it is simply unacceptable when I am trying to sleep before a busy day of work the next day. One day, I even tried to complain to you about this behavior. You were out at around 10pm not just honking intermittently, but actually leaning on the horn non-stop for over a minute. Given that I wanted to go to bed, I decided to go out and tell you to pull over to the side of the road and go up to the door and knock. When I tried to tell you this, you simply rolled up your window and continued honking. I then lightly tapped the window of your car with the palm of my hand in frustration and walked away. You proceeded to get out of the car and yell at me, telling me how I was disrespecting you and how I should “never touch a black person’s car.” It was around that time that I realized we just didn’t understand each other and that we likely never would.

Jersey City, you also need to bath more often. Despite the street sweeper coming four times a week, you were still very, very dirty. I’m not sure why the little “yard” in front of my place became a dump. I found food wrappers and bags in there all the time. Once, my landlord cleaned out the trash in the evening around 7 or 8 and by 8 the next morning, there was more trash there than the previous night! I don’t understand why no one taught you about the magic of the trashcan. It is in fact a can meant to hold trash. It works quite well. In fact, some people put trash bags in them, which are then taken away in a large truck to a place that holds only trash. I never understood the need to disrespect my place and dump your litter all over the place.

You also lied to me about how convenient you really were. Originally, your PATH train was to be able to deliver me to Manhattan in about 21 minutes. On a day I would drive to the train station and then take the subway after you, I should have been able to get to work in about 50-55 minutes on an average day. It was that way in the beginning, but it quickly got worse. Eventually, I was lucky if I ever got to work in under and hour. Sometimes, it was closer to an hour and 20 minutes. A lot of times, these delays were due to your PATH train, which would consistently stop in the tunnel for no apparent reason for an extended period of time. Let’s also not forget that the train often smelled, would sometimes have no air conditioning in the summer, and would be packed fully of pretty rude people like yourself.

So with all these things in mind, I think we need to go our separate ways. I have found another who knows how to treat me well. Closer to work, nicer, and pretty. I’d say I’m sorry things have to end this way, but I’m not. People say you are getting better, that you have your positive qualities now and that with a little more time, you could be the things I want. But I can’t wait for that. I of course hope that things do get better and that you are able to work through your problems. I won’t be there to find out, though.

Sincerely,

Kamal

Around a decade ago, I was introduced to Orange County Drum and Percussion via the playing of my favorite drummer, Chad Sexton of 311. In particular, I was drawn in by the snare drums. OCDP makes these vented snare drums, generally around 20-ply maple with 4 2″ holes, meaning they are extremely loud.

I vowed those many years ago that someday I would finish my bachelor’s degree, I would finish my PhD, I would get a good job, and then, finally, I would buy that drumset I wanted. So last April, I placed an order for the new drumset, knowing it was going to take a long time to get. Let’s just review the time line for getting this drumset:

1. April 4: Initial payment for drumset is cashed
2. July: Have not yet receieved paint samples for drumset. Turns out they were lost in the mail.
3. August: Receive paint samples and choose one.
4. September: Still no drumset.
5. October: Still no drumset.
6. November: Still no drumset.
7. December: Still no drumset.
8. January: Still no drumset.
9. February 13: Drumset finally makes it to the east coast.
10. February 17: I pick up the drumset only to find out they forgot to make the 13″ drum.
11. April 12: Missing drum finally arrives!

So after one year, one week, and one day, I get my entire dream drum kit. It has been an absolute blast to play. For starters, here is a schematic of the new kit:

You can also look at several pictures of my new toy. If you hear some loud banging in the evenings, you know it’s just me!

It has now been nearly three months since I last updated this weblog. It’s not that nothing has happened in my life; quite the opposite. The problem is that life has very much been in transition so I haven’t felt in a place to write definitively on where my life is until now. I suppose this is natural when one is moving into a new chapter of his life.

The first thing to report is that I finished my Ph.D. at Cornell. Yes, I am now Dr. Aboul-Hosn! I wrote my thesis this past semester, which didn’t turn out to be too bad. It incorporates the work I’ve done since my second semester, which started as a project for the first class I took with Dexter. Actually, that is an interesting story that exemplifies my belief that things always work out for the best.

When I first got to Cornell, I was assigned to TA CS 381, the introductory theory of computing class. The class had six TAs assigned to it, which turned out to be too many compared to the honors version of the course, 481. Consequently, I was reassigned. At the time, I wasn’t very happy about it, or more accurately, I was nervous about it, as I wasn’t sure I had the knowledge in the area to TA the honors version. Dexter was teaching the class and I’d say it went just fine. He suggested I take his graduate class in the spring semester and I did. As a final class project, I worked on the KAT-ML theorem prover, which turned into a paper I presented in Kazakhstan.

In the fall semester, I continued working on the theorem prover and Dexter became my advisor. Terese came to Cornell and we started working on adapting the theorem prover to work for category theory. Some interesting aspects of that problem led to the exploration of the formal representation of the relationship between theorems, proofs, and tactics. Ultimately, this is what became my thesis A Proof-Theoretic Approach to Mathematical Knowledge Management.

So this means that a simple little thing like changing the course I was TAing, which was unpleasant at the time, turned out to be one of the best things to happen to me.

I’m also happy to report that I have found a job. The job search was quite overwhelming, with several interviews in which I was asked 30+ minutes of technical questions. This is just not a scenario in which I excel. What was also annoying was that sometimes the interviewers didn’t know the answers to the questions they asked. One interviewer presented me with a question and I gave him a solution that he immediately rejected as incorrect. However, upon inspection when I got back to my office, my office mates and I determined that my solution was in fact correct. The solution I presented wasn’t complex or incomprehensible, either, so I don’t think that was the problem.

For future interviewees, there is one thing I discovered: almost all the companies ask variants of the same three or four questions. Here is a sample question you might see if you interview for a software engineering job: You have an array of n numbers containing all of the numbers from 1 to n + 1 once with the exception of one of them. Determine which number is not in the array. This can be done in linear time.

So, I’ve now gone two paragraphs talking about getting a job without actually mentioning the job I got. I will be working at Bloomberg in the Research and Development Department in New York City. The job sounds quite interesting and very challenging, which I like. This means that people like Chethan can be expected to be bothered…often.

Finding a place to live was a challenge. I got spoiled when I moved to Ithaca. My mother and I came up one Friday, got the local paper, called a place, visited, and signed the lease right away. I had a place to live without an hour and a half of my first trip to Ithaca. I have to say that it was a completely awesome place, too. The market in the NYC area is a bit different. My constraints are a little unique because I need a house due to the drumset. This severely limits the places in which I can live. I ended up with a house in Jersey City. At first, I was a little nervous as Jersey City doesn’t exactly seem to be the greatest place on Earth. However, the place I’ll be renting is quite nice and an article from New York Magazine helped reassure me.

Friday night, I got to go out and celebrate my new job with Lee and several other friends. I was finally able to celebrate in the way I had always planned to when I got a new job. With the thesis done, a job lined up, and a place to live found, I could relax and let go. Upon arriving at the bar, I opened a tab and bought drinks for the people I came with. Then, any people they were friends with, or friends of those friends, or other people I saw there I knew, were added to my tab for the rest of the night. I had a great time talking and dancing with some people I knew and others I just met. When it was all said and done, I had spent $200 that evening. It was definitely one of the best nights I’ve had, so thank you to all of you who were there to celebrate with me!

I have no idea where I’m going to be in two months. I might be in Boston, I might be in New York City, I might be somewhere in Pennsylvania or Virginia, I might be on the west coast. I guess that comes with the territory of being graduated. Before I left, one thing I wanted to do was visit Chethan in New York City. It’s become a bit of a habit for me to go to the city around October. My impression of NYC gets better every time I see it. Might not be a bad place to move to if I find a job there.

In an attempt to avoid the needs for cohesiveness as much as possible, I present the highlights of the trip in this convenient bulleted list:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art: This place still humbles me every time I go there. I just can’t get over the intricate nature of the works on display there. It is a reminder of a time when there was beauty in even the simplest of items. Our society today seems to be in way to big of a hurry to worry about details of day-to-day things.
• Chapel of Sacred Mirrors: I still get chills entering that place. I’m not sure what it is about Alex Grey’s work, but it manages to touch me in a very deep and meaningful way.
• Halloween adventures: Chethan informed me that I was required to come up with a Halloween costume for a party we’d be attending. It has been at least four years since I’ve worn a Halloween costume. Nevertheless, I did my best. I took a box of Frosted Mini Wheats, spread red ink over it, and put a large hatchet through it. Yes, I was a cereal killer.
• Out late: And I mean late. I’m usually not one to stay out into the wee hours of the morning. However, how can one not do so when in New York City where, you know, things actually stay open? I got back to Chethan’s at 4am. Note that it was the end of Daylight Savings Time, so for all intents and purposes, I got back at 5am. The night was filled with some lovely Long Island iced teas, fun conversation, and memories of I-Town (that’s pointing at your eye and then putting your hands in the shape of a “T”). Most interesting occurrence of the night was the hours spent talking to a group of women who were quite attractive. Kamal meeting a woman in a bar? Now that’s just not normal! The conversation was nice until one of them told me I was “too nice of a guy who was never going to have a lasting relationship because of it.” I could say some things about that, but I think I’ll avoid it.

Overall, I’d say it was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a really long time. Chethan and Tara say I should move to NYC and I have to say the thought is crossing my mind. Feel free to look at some pictures from the weekend.

Over the years, there have been songs that have deep associations with times in my life. They are songs that spark distinct memories from the unbelievable highs and the depressing lows. This is a list of songs I prepared a couple of years ago with some more recent additions thrown in. I also have descriptions of the moments associated with each, but I’m choosing to leave those out, as I think they are a little personal. Nevertheless, I present to you the soundtrack to my life in chronological order.

Early years

• Gary Lewis and the Playboys - This Diamond Ring
• Harry Belefonte - Scarlet Ribbons
• The Beach Boys - Kokomo
• TLC - Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg
• Snow - Informer & P.M. Dawn - I’d Die Without You
• Arrested Development - Tennessee
• Pearl Jam - Animal

High school

• Live - Selling the Drama
• Stabbing Westward - Don’t Believe
• Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons
• Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
• The Cardigans - Lovefool
• Nirvana - School
• Candlebox - 10,000 Horses

College

• Finger Eleven - Costume For A Gutterball
• Eve 6 - Superhero Girl
• Marillion - Man of a Thousand Faces
• Tool - Ænema
• Emily’s Toybox - Bionic
• Fuel - Last Time
• Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter
• Caroline’s Spine - Inside Your Mind
• BNG & Kamal - Covered in Lime
• Pearl Jam - Rearviewmirror
• Live - Dance with You
• SOBs - Negative Time
• Incubus - Pardon Me
• Kylie Minogue - Love At First Sight
• Matchbox Twenty - Bent
• Our Lady Peace - 4am
• Matchbox Twenty - Long Day

Graduate school

• The Nixons - Sister
• Jason Mraz - The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)
• Zephyrologie - Killing in the Name
• The Ataris - San Dimas High School Football Rules
• Axum - The Waiting
• Jennifer Lopez & Ja Rule - I’m Real
• Sponge - Live Here Without You
• Gavin DeGraw - More Than Anyone
• Sevendust - Face to Face
• Cold - Just Got Wicked
• Incubus - Leech
• 30 Seconds To Mars - Attack
• Maroon 5 - Through With You
• Holly Brook - Curious
• lostprophets - Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)

I have no been back in Ithaca for two weeks. I certainly enjoyed my time in California, but it also feels really good to be home. I’m back to my home, my car, my school, my town, and–most importantly–my drumset! Our reunion was a very happy one. I have to say that I was rusty for the first few days ago. My brain knew what to do, but my hands refused to comply. Luckily, I think I’ve worked those issues out.

Now I’m just working like crazy on my thesis with the intention of finishing in December. I try not to think about the fact that I have less time left in Ithaca than I spent in California this summer. I’m also continuing to work for Intel part time. ‘Tis nice to be doing that, as I do enjoy the project and feel it has a lot of potential.

For those interested in the visual aspects of my life, here are a couple new sets of pictures. First, we have my last weekend in California, when I went with Polly and friends to the Israni family reunion Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival in San Francisco. Huge thanks to Polly for being so awesome this summer! The second set comes from my return to Ithaca.

Facebook is currently offering 25 free song downloads per week from the iTunes Music Store. I’ve managed to get the last five weeks worth, including a hardy dose of rock, alternative, hip-hip, and electronica. Of course, even though I had downloaded the songs, I managed to listen to none of them. Today, I chose to remedy that problem by taking 100 of the songs with me to work on my SLVR with the goal of listening to as many of them as possible. I figured it was a good time to sample some new music. There were some good songs in the mix and some really bad ones, too.

However, one song caught me very quickly and made me realize how soon I leave Intel and California. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really cool people this summer. No doubt that I will remember fondly many of the experiences I’ve had here: kayaking in Monterey, skydiving, movie nights…the list goes on. It is my hope that I will stay in touch with the other PSL interns I met who have helped make this summer so memorable.

With that, I send the song “Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)” by Lostprophets to my fellow PSL interns. I wish you all of the success and happiness this world has to offer. Please stay in touch!

When our time is up
When our lives are done
Will we say we’ve had our fun

Will we make a mark,
this time
Will we always say we tried

Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
This is all we got now
Everybody scream your heart out

All the love I’ve met
I have no regrets
If it all ends now, I’m set

Will we make a mark,
this time
will we always say we tried

Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
This is all we got now
Everybody scream your heart out

Standing on the rooftops
Wait until the bombs drop
This is all we got now
Scream until your heart stops
Never gonna regret
Watching every sunset
We’ll listen to your heartbeat
All the love that we found

Standing on the rooftops
Wait until the bombs drop
This is all we got now
Scream until your heart stops
Never gonna regret
Watching every sunset
We’ll listen to your heartbeat
All the love that we found

Scream your heart out
Scream your heart out
Scream your heart out
Scream your..

Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
Standing on the rooftops
Everybody scream your heart out
This is all we got now
Everybody scream your…

I am currently in Manchester, UK to present my final two conference papers. My sleeping schedule is very messed up, as I am wide awake at 12:44 in the morning, probably at least in part to having slept 5:30-10 this evening. Of course, sleeping at that time is kind of strange, as it is the middle of the day both here and in California. I’m not sure what time zone my mind is on at all. Here is a list of some random thoughts, including some things I’ve meant to post for awhile. All of this will be short and some of it may make little sense.

• Skydiving is awesome. I have the pictures and a video to prove it. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.
• I’d rather have my laptop and camera with me on a plane and run the risk of it being blown up than have to worry about putting these things in my suitcase. Two weeks ago, I flew into London two hours after they arrested all of those people on suspicion of plotting to blow up some transatlantic flights. As a result, I was allowed only a plastic bag with my wallet, ticket, and passport for the return trip. That means I checked $7000 in equipment into my suitcase. Luckily, everything made it back in working condition, but I was not amused in having to expose it to baggage handlers and the elements of the cargo hold. Personally, I think such overreaction just allows the terrorists to succeed in their ultimate goals: instilling fear resulting in the loss of freedom.
• When there is nothing to take pictures of, at least there are flowers. My flight to London was so I could attend another conference. There wasn’t much to do in Wokingham and not much to photograph, but I did what I could.
• I’ve learned to sleep on airplanes. I couldn’t do it for the longest time, but now having been to Europe and back several times, I think I’m getting the hang of it.
• The summer is almost over. This is both really good and really bad. I’ve enjoyed my time in California, but it has felt like a temporary life. I’m eager to get back to my house and my drumset in Ithaca. It will be my last semester there and I’m not sure what life will bring my direction afterwards. I’d like to think everything will be fine, though.
• I cannot escape who I am and I’m destined to put myself in the same situations over and over.
• United is now my airline of choice. I have flown out of SFO using them three times now and each time it has gone smoothly and the people have been extremely friendly and good at what they do. The same cannot be said for US Air, my former airline of choice. I flew them for this trip to Manchester and they have been rude to me from start to finish. Also, whenever I call to ask questions, they never understand what I’m asking and they can’t answer well.
• My laptop is on its last leg. The hard drive makes funny noises at me now and again and slows down to a crawl. Once Merom-based Macbook Pros come out, I’m ordering one.
• It rains in other parts of the world. Having been in the bay area, where it has rained all of once since I’ve been there, I am spoiled with regard to weather. I didn’t bother to check the weather in Manchester, which was a mistake. It’s not very warm and it’s rained everyday. I probably should have brought a jacket, umbrella, or long-sleeve shirt.
• A 21-year-old boy who goes to school in smalltown, PA brings dynamite on a plane and it is obviously not terrorism, but a t-shirt in Arabic sparks concern. Maybe this is why last time I flew into SFO, I was asked the following questions: “Where is your family from?” “What is your father’s name?” “Have you ever been to Syria or Iran?” “Are you Muslim?”
• I’m looking forward to using a pirate voice during part of my conference presentation tomorrow.

I spent last week in Estonia presenting the paper Dexter and I wrote, Relational Semantics for Higher-Order Programs, at Mathematics of Program Construction (MPC) 2006. I had a really good time and regret the fact that I could only spend a few days there. The country is probably one of the nicest places I have ever visited; the area is beautiful and the people are friendly. If you are planning a European vacation, I recommend you spend a few days in Estonia. Take a look at my photos from the trip.

One of the disadvantages of living on the west coast for the summer is that travel time to Europe has increased by about six hours. Luckily, the flights all went smoothly. The two times I have now flown out of SFO have been quick and stress-free. After the three flights to get to Estonia, I had to take a four-hour bus trip from Tallinn, the capital, to the town of Kuressaare on the largest island of Estonia. As with all my international travel, I end up playing the stupid American. In this case, the stupid American tried to use the public restroom at the bus station without paying for it. I don’t think I’m going to bother expensing the $0.40 I had to spend to use it.

The bus ride was nice and included a ferry ride to the island of Saaremaa. I was surprised to discover that the ferry trip was around the time of sunset: 10:00 in the evening. Unfortunately, the sun didn’t set until after we had gotten off the ferry and back into the bus. Judging by the view from the bus, it would have been quite breathtaking to have seen the sunset on the ship. Nevertheless, I got some good pictures on the ferry.

Having my new DSLR camera has some interesting side effects. I had a number of people during the trip ask me if I was a professional photographer. I truthfully told them that I am not, but have always wanted a nice camera. Nevertheless, I realized that with a camera like this, I can blatantly take pictures of people I don’t even know; they don’t seem to mind at all. I certainly didn’t mind, either, as there are some very nice looking people in Estonia.

Anyway, back on the bus in a “do it before I lose my nerve” moment, I had a chat with the lovely Mailis, who walked me to my hotel. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time I get to talk to or see her.

The conference itself was pretty straightforward. There were a number of interesting papers. Highlights included Clare Martin and Sharon Curtis’ Nondeterministic Folds and William L. Harrison’s The Essence of Multitasking. I have to admit that some of the work presented went right over my head. My knowledge of category theory is a bit weak, which is a distinct disadvantage at such a conference. My presentation went well enough. I’m hoping it leads to some collaborations with a couple people who expressed interest in the work.

After presentations on Monday, we went to the Kuressaare Episcopal Castle for a tour and reception. It is one beautiful building of which to take pictures, inside and out. The mayor of Kuressaare came to welcome our group to the town and say a few words about the significance of a technological conference being held there. I get the impression the town and country as a whole are devoted to bringing tourists and conferences. I can’t say I’d object to another conference there.

After the reception, Dexter and I took a walk down the main street of Kuressaare and relaxed outside a bar. Shortly after we sat down, a slightly tipsy gentleman sits down at our table and says, “I have a question for you: where are you from?” We proceed to have a rather long conversation with Vootele and his friend, both Estonian natives. Vootele gave me his email address and I fully intend to contact him soon. He has expressed an interest in visiting America, so I’ll have to tell him all there is to see.

On Tuesday night, we had a barbecue in Tehumardi. The weather was perfect for some outdoor grilling (actually, the weather was perfect for the entire conference). Of course, we had to watch the time as many wanted to return to the hotel to make sure they caught the Germany/Italy World Cup Soccer match. Dexter and I also went back and watched the match. I have to say it was a little boring, minus the last few minutes.

After the last day of the conference, Dexter and I took the bus back to Tallinn. We spent the evening in the old town, which was just phenomenal. The old town has a very European flair to it. We went to dinner and then watched–you guessed it: World Cup Soccer. The crowd was definitely into it, although I imagine there were just as many tourists as natives.

After only two hours of sleep, I got up to return to California. The two hours was actually planned so that I could adjust to the return to Pacific Daylight Time, a difference of 10 hours and 15 hours of travel. The readjustment went pretty well, although I am glad I returned on a Thursday and only had to go to work for one day before the weekend. I might have to plan another trip to Estonia when I can and see all I missed.

As of Wednesday night, I am now a Palo Alto, CA resident. I flew out so I can start my internship at Intel on Monday. The trip itself was pretty uneventful, thankfully. I find travel–particularly to a new and unknown place in which I will be living–extremely stressful. My single-serving friend for the flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco was Andrzej, who works for an environmental conservation group and also places some cool folk/world/rock/country music. We chatted on the plane about our work and about music. Turns out he’d like to jam with a drummer, so I’m hoping I might be able to feed the drumming bug a bit out here, as I do not have my drumset with me.

I’m living near downtown Palo Alto with Polly, who I first met at Cornell (and who does not have a web page to which I can link…you need to work on that, Polly). This puts me in walking distance of many fine places to eat and shop, although about 14 miles from work.

Normally, this would not be a big deal as I have always had a car to get me places. I decided, however, that I would spend this summer without a car. I could have drove my car out here, although I’m not sure I want to try to get my car across the country and back. I certainly do someday want to drive across this great land, but I want to take the full two or three weeks one should really spend doing it. My other option would have been to rent a car; but, the $2300 it would have cost for the summer was not that appealing.

The train makes getting to work relatively easy, as I’m less than a mile from the train station. Intel also offers a shuttle from the train station on the other side to their campus. However, I am strongly considering the possibility of a bicycle to manage that last 3.4 miles. It would be good exercise and provide the more flexibility than the Intel shuttle.

Getting items for day-to-day living, however, has proven to be interesting. I did not want to spend much time sleeping on the floor, so I needed to acquire a mattress. I went to the Ikea about two miles away to do some shopping. I was hoping to get a mattress, small desk, and chair and have them delivered the next day. As I was standing there looking at mattresses, I realized something: I could get the mattress, small desk, and chair and have them all delivered for $79. This would require spending $79 on the delivery of furniture that barely cost that and also require sleeping on the floor for another night. Instead, it made much more sense for me to carry the mattress home so that I could have it the same night and then just get the desk and chair when Polly, who has a car, gets back from Europe. So I walked for two miles carrying a thin twin mattress rolled up into an 18-inch cylinder. It is nice to put my semester of work in the gym to good use. I’m sure that I was quite an amusing thing to see for those driving by.

Getting groceries also proved to be an exercise in carrying. I could have gone to the Whole Foods Market down the street, but they are all…organic….and….expensive…or so I assume. Instead, I went to the Safeway about two miles down the road and carried six bags of groceries back. I think my second shopping trip will be to the Whole Foods Market.

So to summarize my first day in Palo Alto: eight miles of walking, two of which were with a mattress, two of which were with groceries. Overall, I would call it a productive day. In general, I’m finding Palo Alto to be a very nice place. The weather is simply beautiful. As I understand it, the temperature stays in the 70s for most of the summer with the humidity pretty low. It is raining right now, but that’s probably not a bad thing, as it helps to keep the green plants alive and well. And there certainly are a lot of green plants.

The people here are also very friendly. I met a few people on the shuttle bus from the airport to here and they were quite chatty, as were the people at the checkout counters at Ikea and Safeway. People also smile and say “hi” when walking down the street, even more so than in Ithaca. My new neighbors, Scott and Lana, introduced themselves my first evening here. Overall, my first impressions of the area are very positive. You can see some pictures around Palo Alto that I took my first couple of days here. I’ll add to this album as I take more.

I’ve only met a couple people out here so far. Mr. “I Know Every Person Ever Born” has already informed me that several of his friends are out here, including Justin, Nitu, and Martin. The first two I knew when I was at Cornell. Martin was gracious enough to invite me to the Stanford CS department TGIF, so I got to meet several grad students in that department. I also took the time to steal all of Stanford’s computer science secrets and will be taking them back with me to Cornell.

Yesterday, rather than go completely stir crazy, I decided to take the train to San Francisco and walk around. It is one awesome city that I plan to explore much more during my time here. You can see pictures from my walking around, where there is much more commentary on my day.

So far, the trip out west has treated me very well. I’m eager to start work on Monday and actually do something.