Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Very hot in Seattle

Even someone like me who loves to travel gets apprehensive and anxious about heading out. That’s just the introvert in me. I’m one of those people who actually thrived being relatively confined to our homes for 15 months during this pandemic. Staying home is what I do most of the time anyways! So the energy to break that inertia can be considerable.

I was still anxious even as the Amtrak train pulled into Union Station in Los Angeles, half wanting to be home instead. Perhaps an introvert who likes to travel is a bit of an oxymoron. Nevertheless, momentum eventually takes over and I simply get immersed into the experience. I’ll get to go home soon enough.

Besides, it’s nice for the body to leave the natural air-conditioned climate of San Francisco and into something hotter. A sort of training, if you will. Southern California summer weather did not disappoint, as it was well into the 80s during the week we were there. Pro tip if you are prone to sweating: have a towel handy to wipe away perspiration every so often.

One never expects to fly into Seattle from San Diego for it to be significant warmer. The Pacific Northwest conjures up feeling of cold and drizzle, rather than hot temperatures into the triple digits. Well, the latter is precisely what we flew into as the PNW region experience an absolutely historic heatwave. Triple-digit temperatures in consecutive days, and records utterly shattered. Stepping off the plane at SEATAC had the feeling of Texas: a blast of dry heat greeting you just past the door into the gangway.

Good thing we arrived towards the end of the heatwave. On the days we were in Seattle and Portland, temperatures were back down to a more manageable 80s. And good thing our hotel and AirBnB were equipped with air-conditioning. We never turned it off during our stays.

The lesson here is: get air-conditioning for you home, even if you live in a place where traditionally you wouldn’t need it. Intense climate change is here.

Back from vacation

Greetings, comrades! I have returned from a two weeks vacation hiatus, and it feels wonderful. The travel was wonderful as well, details of which I will write about in the upcoming days, perhaps weeks.

Indeed it’s the first bit of traveling I’ve done since the beginning of the pandemic. As cliche as it goes, you truly don’t know how good things are until it’s taken away from you. I love traveling, but never was one to be sentimental about it. The euphoria I got as I stepped onto the train in Emeryville, en route to Los Angeles, was a welcomed surprise. The challenge and excitement of heading off to a new adventure has returned, and it’s been far too long since I’ve last had it.

Let’s not go a year and half before I travel again. Go get vaccinated if you haven’t already. And I pray the rest of the world will be able to catch up soon enough. I yearn for the shores of the Asian continent. Hopefully by Thanksgiving week I can either go to South Korea, or Taiwan.

For this trip, we elected to take the train as much as possible. Flying is fast and all, and I’m sure it’s plenty safe vis a vis the coronavirus, but the lack of space and being stuck inside a metal tube in the sky with hundreds of other souls just isn’t all that enticing. The leisure pace and space of an Amtrak train is the way to go for those of us in zero hurry to get to our destination. 14 hours to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles is quite a time-consuming affair, though that’s nothing an iPad full of books can’t solve. Or an iPhone full of music.

The views along the way are quite nice as well. It’s a shame the train network here in America isn’t as intensive and fast compared to Europe and Asia. I for one would choose it over flying if both methods are able to get me to the same destination. Principally because I’ve a fear of heights, and planes have always caused me anxiety.

Trains are cheaper than flying, too.

It's going to take a while

As of two days ago, California has fully opened back up from the pandemic. That means no masking practically everywhere, and zero capacity restrictions. Yesterday after work I went to the local Target to re-up on mouthwash, and everyone inside was still masked - even me! I guess returning to our formerly maskless lives is going to take some adjusting.

I am very happy to stop wearing masks, but my workplace still requires it as of this writing. And since I walk to work, I put on a mask before I leave the house. It makes no sense for me to wait until I get to the office to put the mask on because I hate touching my face with unclean hands. At the ripe old age of 33, I am still prone to acne breakouts for some inexplicable reason.

So if you encounter me on the sidewalks and I have a mask on, it’s not because I am fanatical about mask-wearing and don’t trust the science. I am merely following the rules of my workplace! Hopefully things will change soon. The governor has signaled that he will sign an executive order to fast-track the relaxation of workplace COVID restrictions. I suspect once I return from vacation in a fortnight’s time, I can freely enter the office without face covering.

That’s right: to perfectly coincide with the state opening back up, I am taking a two week vacation from work. Indeed it’s the first proper time-off since the start of the pandemic. Time to load up the Kindle… app on the iPad!

Mechanical sculpture

It’s somewhat ironic that there’s a Chevron gas station just a few blocks down from where I live. The convenience and proximity is very nice, obviously, but I don’t commute to work! It would be nice in theory to be able to fill up before I set off on another slogging drive. Thankfully, it’s only a 10 minute walk to campus; my daily two miles of exercise.

And thankfully I don’t drive very much, because gasoline prices have gone through the proverbial roof recently. A gallon of 91 octane at that corner Chevron station is currently at $4.75, which is rather high. I joked that if I did have to commute, I’d have to get rid of my BMW M2 and its ~20 miles-per-gallon average fuel mileage and get something way more efficient. Or perhaps a fully electric vehicle.

But then the question becomes: could I really afford to own a particular car if higher gas prices will force me to sell it? That’s a deep-cut into my spending numbers that I don’t really want to go into. It’s scary. Besides, the reality of the situation is: I can drive as little as I want. Just enough to keep the engine healthy by running it periodically if I have to.

That’s why I can afford to keep the M2 around. At present moment, car ownership is more symbolic than anything. Sure I use it at least once week to visit my parents, but other than that, the M2 simply sits. It’s more living room decoration than kitchen utensil. Admittedly, the mere fact I own the car is a large part of the whole experience. I get a sense of joy just seeing it parked outside through the window of my room.

All this is to say: gas prices are too damn high, but it hasn’t affected me much at all.

Pristine front end

It’s been a little over half a year since I’ve bought my BMW M2, and it’s a minor miracle that I haven’t yet done something I’ve done in all my previous cars: scrape the bottom of the front-end. I mean, just look at that intricate shape of the M2’s lower fascia: it is begging to be scraped on a driveway entrance into a Safelite AutoGlass location. That’s how my previously-owned Subaru WRX STI got a really nasty abrasion on its front lip.

Coming from a Porsche 911 GT3 that’s got a plastic front-lip designed to be scraped and replaced, I am an expert in doing all sorts of exotic angles entering and exiting driveways, so avoid impacting the front bumper. Even so, there’s only so much you can do. It takes one momentary lapse or misjudgment of steepness, and there goes the your pristine front-end. This is such a problem for car enthusiasts that there’s been a slight cottage industry of lower bumper protectors for sale.

And yet my M2 remains unharmed under my admittedly clumsy hands. I think the reason is due to the front-end, rear-wheel drive layout: the front overhang is relatively short. Therefore, the front wheels are quick to contact the pavement on driveways, saving the lower front from taking impact. Comparatively, In a front-wheel drive car where there’s more bumper and fender ahead of the front wheels, the chance is higher for the bottom of the bumper to hit the driveway incline before the front wheels can elevate the car upwards.

Of course, now that I’ve written all of this, I naturally just jinxed myself. Within the next few drives, I’ll surely ruin the virgin front-end of the M2. Such as it goes.

Mission Peak done

Three miles up, three miles down. Nearly 2,000 feet of elevation. That’s the the Hidden Valley Trail at the Mission Peak Regional Reserve. A friend and I hiked that yesterday in all its steeply elevated glory. It took about three and half hours in total, though I reckon at my own pace I could do the thing in less than three. Obviously I am feeling the soreness this morning, mostly at the knee joints. On the way down is really when the joints take a tremendous pounding.

Mission Peak is reputed to be one of the gnarliest hikes in the Bay Area, and now that I’ve done it, I have to agree. The constant incline utterly grinds on you, and the last bit up to the summit is the most torturous and difficult. Some folks actually run up and down that trail! That’s far too hardcore for me. If you’re just starting out on your hiking adventures, I definitely would not recommend coming anywhere near Mission Peak.

Pro tip: there aren’t any water stations once you leave the base. Do consider fully the recommendation to take at least two liters of water with you. On hot weather days - like the one we had yesterday - I definitely needed every drop of my two liters. What would be even better is have some Gatorade (or your favorite electrolyte water) ready in the car when you return. And a change of clothing because the one you hiked on will be appropriately dirty and sweated through.

And obviously: go at your own pace. There’s plenty of opportunities to stop and rest along the way. A few benches and tree covers here and there. The view out towards Fremont and the Bay Area is beautiful no matter what elevation you are at. There’s absolutely no shame in taking it slow. Or turning back midway; we certainly passed some people who did not make it to the top. And that’s okay. Three miles up with nearly 2,000 feet of elevation is really tough indeed.

Douchebag drivers

BMW drivers have a reputation for being mean douchebags that don’t use turn signals and generally flout all the rules of the road. I of course don’t contribute to that reputation with my BMW M2. I’m the guy in the slow lane going the speed limit, happy to take my time and enjoy the scenery. It was curious that when I bought the M2, the concierge showing me the interior functions didn’t mention where the turn signal stalk was…

“Sir, you drive a BMW. You will not be needing the turn signals.”

Jokes aside, I have a pet theory on how BMW drivers got their unseemly reputation. Historically, BMW cars have been some of the more agile vehicles on the road, with decent amounts of power. This allows drivers to do maneuvers that would be tragic in a Toyota Corolla. The ability to dart in and out of traffic with ease makes BMW an outlier in a sea of slowness. Those drivers are able to leverage that power if they are feeling slightly naughty.

Presently there’s many more cars on sale - for relatively cheap - that have decent power and maneuverability. Therefore the bad reputation of BMW drivers have spread to other makes and models. Namely the Nissan Altima, and the Dodge Charger/Challenger duo. The worse offender are Tesla drivers. Electric cars are so superiorly zippy and accelerative that Tesla drivers tend to bully others into submission. You will never out-accelerate one, and if a Tesla wants a particular spot on the road, it can filter in there faster than you can speed up to fill the gap.

This is to say: driver of Tesla cars are now the new crown douchebags of the road.