A new year

Well, it's certainly been awhile.

Ugh, I don't have the energy to catch up on the past six months or so since I've made a blog post. Too much Facebook.

However, to ring in the new year, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures.

Some gifts and souvenirs I've collected. I got the mahjong set in Vietnam; the tea set, mask screen, and kokeshi doll were gifts; and the blue vase was left in the apartment when I moved in.

A closeup of the kokeshi doll, a treasured Christmas gift from my friends in Taipei.

I took a long walk today; I definitely need the exercise. Along the route I took this shot of pampas grass, with the Tai Mall parking structure in the background. It's not meant to be creative or artistic. It's just a photo I wanted to take.

6.5 Earthquake in Humboldt

Eureka, California (where I'm from) was hit by a 6.5 earthquake today (Saturday 4:30pm their time). Fortunately, no one in my family was injured or suffered any major damage. I've heard that the mall had some damage and injuries, but I don't know yet about other areas.



Thanks, Michael, for directing me to this video, from a webcam at the Arcata plaza. The camera distortion during the quake is trippy.

Let's hope I don't have to go #2

It's 10:00am, and I'm getting ready to go to work. I turn on the faucet...no water. Hmmm.

This happened to me once before, last year, in my old apartment. Apparantly, an announcement had been posted in the elevator notifiying the residents of a temporary water shut-off. I assume that's the situation now.

I just now went to the elevator...ah, there's the notice:



Or, is it? Who knows?

And so, here's yet another reason for me to work on my New Years resolution to get off my lazy ass and start studying Chinese seriously.