but other than that, it’s actually quite nice. People are nice, food is good, and cheap, and public transportation is clean and efficient. Mobile phones actually work on the subway here. Comparing the subway here to Boston’s T is like night and day. I went to Chinatown to do some shopping, so now I have some goodies for Catie and Sheila. Have to go back there later with Nhut and see what it’s like at night. They were setting up a bunch of booths and stuff today. Gotta check that out.
off to Singapore! My friend David had offered to take me to the airport on Monday, and knowing that I had a 12:45 international flight, we figured that I really should arrive two hours early. It’s a good thing we did too, because, the lines were outrageous. It took over an hour just to get through the check in line at American Airlines. You would think that with a daily flight to Tokyo, that AA would staff their checkin counter for the flight with more than just one person… but it seems they were happy to let folks steam in line with one person checking in passengers up until around 11:30. Brilliant.
Well, the plane was packed, but that was OK, my seat was comfortable enough. I was impressed with the JAL portion of the route from Tokyo to Singapore for a couple reasons, one thing is the plane was much less crowded, and the level of service and quality of the food and service was way better on JAL than it was on AA. This is the second time on the San Jose to Tokyo route that the flight attendant passed by my seat without offering me the M&Ms or Toblerone that was on the menu. Of course by the time the second flight attendant got his attention, there were no Toblerone left. Annoying. Oh, and you would expect that if the flight attendant offers a hot towel before they start their service, that it would be 1. hot, and 2. wet. On AA, the towels were neither of those things. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s the lack of attention to detail like that that just made the flight kinda shitty. Oh well.
at work… you like to think that the things you do make a difference, especially in Extreme Blue, that you can have a positive impact. I got a note from an intern that was somewhat unsettling. I hope there’s something I can do to make a difference, one way or another. Time will tell… it’s frustrating when the results you’d like to see take months or years to achieve.
I did some blading this afternoon to clear my head a bit, and do some thinking, the good news is that they repaved the coyote creek trail from Silicon Valley Blvd to Coyote Hellyer Park, about 5 miles. I skated there and back, and the trail was empty. Since I left my portable radio in Boston, I had to opt for the sounds of nature along the way, well, plus a little bit of Highway 101.
I need to get some food… nothing really within walking distance of home, not like living in the city in Boston… but then again, the weather here doesn’t suck.
Pictures: Fenway Apartment and closing party.
I made it home to San Jose without much of a delay (10 minutes) despite a major blackout on the east coast yesterday. I have a little bit of yardwork to catch up on… the dogs are doing well, and the weather in San Jose doesn’t suck. Catie is such a sweetheart, thanks for picking me up at the airport! There are peaches on the tree in the back yard, I had a few last night, first time in three years that the tree had edible fruit, and it was pretty good. Looks like the pear and apple tree are doing well too, I couldn’t see the persimmon tree in the dark, but I’ll check it later. I guess Qi will have to come and visit this fall to mooch some fresh fruit. 
OK, moving sucked… and I have roughly three times more stuff here now than I arrived with. That’s bad, mkay? Well, I’m out of the dorm, and into an apartment in the Fenway area of Boston. I took some pictures, which I’ll post when I get home tonight. I set up my WAP/Router here, and got my roommate Jim’s machine up and running on the wired network, and my laptop on wireless. Well, better go get packed and head to the airport. Catie volunteered to pick me up and give me a ride home, which is awesome, thanks Catie! I hope the stuff Sheila and I ordered to thank Catie for helping us out at work is waiting at home so I can bring it in to work tomorrow… anyway, I’m off…
OK, it didn’t have to rain today! I got the bike into work, but so much for doing anything after work, the sky opened up this afternoon, and the rain and wind are whipping around. I really do prefer San Jose weather. I still have a lot to do, but I’m feeling lazy, and kinda bummed out that the summer is over for Extreme Blue.
Oh, tonight we’re having a Bluau (Blue-Luau) hawaiian themed end of program party, and Extreme Wednesday. Should be fun, look for more pictures in the next couple of days .
Ack! I have to do laundry again tomorrow, and pack up everything from the BU dorm and move it to the new apartment. Plus I need to ride Nhut’s bike into work and lock it up in the bike cage. Of course the weather here has not been cooperating.
I’m going home to San Jose on Thursday, and I think I’ll ride my bike into work there on Friday. It’s the last day of Extreme Blue in Boston on Wednesday, and San Jose on Friday. I have to drop in the lab and see Catie and talk to some of the students and mentors.
Vacation on Monday for a couple weeks! I’m heading off to Singapore and Malaysia on Monday! woohoo!!
Sarah, one of the MBA interns in Extreme Blue and I went kayaking on the Charles River today… Pictures here.
I did laundry this morning, and finally got motivated to get out and go to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast around 1:00. I ordered a bagel and iced coffee, and I had to luagh to myself when the guy asked if I wanted any flavor in my coffee. I almost told him that “Coffee is a flavor.®”, but that would have been far too east coast of me.
Anyway, now that I’m fed and caffeinated, I’m off to skate on the Esplanade. I do need to pack and move this weekend, but there’s always tomorrow….
The Extreme Blue Cambridge interns held a toga party at the dorm last night… pictures here.
Sunday through Tuesday of this week, I spent in Armonk for our annual Extreme Blue summer program Expo. As usual, the Extreme Blue interns outdid themselves presenting their project results to IBM senior management and hiring managers gathered from across the company at IBM’s Learning Center facility in Armonk, NY.
I’m back in Boston now for another week before heading home and on to Singapore for vacation.
