Prepare for a long post...

Wow, I didn't realize that I haven't posted for over a month. I must have been really busy the second half of last quarter. I'm glad I finally get to enjoy a relaxing break after such a grueling quarter. Many of my friends are taking cool trips this week, but I'm content to just settle with a good book (in this case Tuesdays With Morrie), sip Tazo tea, and check up on my hyacinths that have been blooming since I was away. Hmm, I sound like I'm 50. Or more likely it's because I've been fighting off a cold for several days and it has only succeeded in taking over my throat so far. Rob has planned a mini trip to Napa next weekend so that I'm not just piddling around the apartment and running errands my whole week. I'm happy that I got a lot of errands done already including fixing my laptop that had been acting up since winter break. Rob and I also went to San Francisco on Easter Sunday for a timeshare presentation by a very popular resort company*.

In celebration of Rob's 26th birthday, I planned two main events for him this weekend. On Friday night we attended a birthday dinner that Mike and I planned for him at Trader Vic's in Palo Alto. Ten of his friends showed up and we had a blast chatting and eating Polynesian-style cuisine. I had planned something for us to do on Saturday morning and into the afternoon but Rob really wanted to go to Maker Faire in San Mateo so we went there instead. I was glad we got to go because I've never been to anything like it, although the Craft section reminded me a little of Comicon. Pretty much anyone who works with their hands and makes things was there. There were tons of creative and innovative projects that people were working on or have already built. I even helped build a Ybox with a group of four other people (including Rob). We got to take home kits so we can build our own from scratch. I've never soldered anything but jewelry before so it was fun trying something new. After Maker Faire, we went home and got ready for dinner. I made a reservation at Manresa about a month in advance and I had high expectations for it since it was the only restaurant in the state (or country?) that earned two Michelin stars. The only other restaurant in the state that earned more was French Laundry with three stars.

Someone has been opening my mail. I suspect it's my neighbors but I don't know which one(s). I've shown Rob the envelopes I've received. They would peel the corner of each envelope to see what's inside. Sometimes they would be peeled halfway. Other times they rip it a little because the glue is stronger on certain envelopes. My roommate told me when I first moved in that they do that to her too. I was horrified. She dismissed it and said that it was their culture that prompts them to do such things. I don't give a fuck if it's what they do in their culture. It's a felony, breach of privacy, and just plain wrong. I can't ignore the problem any longer. I was supposed to receive my new debit card last month because it had expired. I know Wells Fargo sent it because I called them twice about it. I never got it. I called them today and they'll send me a new one and cancel the one that I didn't receive. If I don't get it in a few days then I will change my address. I'm a very private person especially when it involves people I don't know, so this is mind-boggling bad for me. I don't know what else I can do...

It's been almost a year since I had access to cable tv that was beyond the very basic channels. I don't miss the commercials at all though. What I miss is being able to watch the news without digging for it on the internet all the time. I like to vary my sources of news and the news channels are very good at the local level.

Robert will not be moving to Cupertino because the office staff at the apartment he applied to were mindless dicks.