5/19/04
Hello and Welcome to my new web page! Everything here was created using simple html script (no fancy web designing programs), Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. Feel free to check everything out. All of the links should work... even if there might not be very much to see on the new page. And, yes, I am aware that the mouseover for the "Links" button is not operational. If anyone knows why (Raymond?), please let me know and I'll fix it imediately. Otherwise, like I said, everything else should be working

I have posted some pictures on the pictures page. These are a select few from my trip to London, that I thought you all might enjoy. Hopefully I will update this section often, as soon as I get a digital camera.

Well other than that I have nothing else to say at the moment. No promises on how frequently this site will be updated.

6/2/04

Well I'm sitting out on our lawn, enjoying the sun, when all of a sudden, these two elderly women push through foilage. Unfased by their apparently magical appearance within the shrubs, I continue to read. One of them asks, "What kind of pine tree this is?" "Um.. I don't know. " Maybe I look like a botanist? The two of them continue to mutter about the beautiful nature of the pine. "Are there any more of them on the property?" "Um.. I don't know. " Now I'm becoming slightly confused as to why there are two ladies wandering through my backyard asking about pine trees, and it appears that the two ladies are also becoming disoriented. " I think we may have wandered off the trail" Now my interest is peaked, There's a trail behind our house? I thought there were just more houses back there. Apparently every spring an extensive azalea garden with trails extending behind the houses is opened to the public to honor of the man who originally planted the flowers. The two ladies assure me that it is beautiful. A must see. Bring a camera they say. And what should come in the mail the very next day? My new digital camera!

I decided a trip to the azalea garden was a perfect way to test out my new camera and take the advice of a few nice ladies. While I'm in the garden taking pictures, a photo journalist approaches me wanting to take a picture of me taking pictures. And since I'm so cute and photogenic, I appeared on the front page of the Narragansett times.

© Narragansett Times, Wednesday May 26, 2004.

6/8/04

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!

6/17/04

Summer in New England is much more exciting than the winter. Schools been out for sometime, so all I'm doing is working and doing independent study. Dylan and I both bought bicycles with our tax returns so we've been checking out the bike paths around RI. A couple weekends ago Dylan's Mom and brother came into town and we did the whole tourist circuit: went to Newport, Providence, Block Island, and Narragansett. Block Island is really nice, I've dedicated a whole picture page to Block Island pictures. The island is about three miles across and we walked around a large portion of it and since the roads are curvy we probably walked about 6 miles (and climbed 200 stairs). Next time Dylan and I go out there we are going to take our bicycles.

We've also been spending some time in Connecticut with Dylan's extended family: Uncle Gill, his son David, David's wife Gwen, and their two kids, Savannah and David. (Dave is the one who fixed my car! :) A few weekends ago, we went with them to Mystic Aquarium , and last weekend we went out to celebrate Savannah's 4th birthday. She's a Gemini like me! It was fun shopping for a birthday present for her. I don't think I have ever bought a four-year-old a gift. There are so many cute options.

Yesterday, Kendra (my officemate and co-worker) and I, were sitting around the office, doing virtually nothing productive, so we decided to throw out the rest of the afternoon and go to Six Flags New England. We left at noon, drove the 2 hours, bought season's passes, and then spent the next seven hours riding roller coasters! It was a blast! My stomach was still queasy this morning when I woke-up.

This coming weekend Dylan and I are heading out to Cronton-on-Hudson, New York for a folk music festival where we will see Ani Difranco and Dar Williams and several other artists, plus hang out in the sun by the river.

Well I think that is about it for now. I'll let you all know how the festival goes next week.

Love ya all!

7/22/04

The time has come to update my site. I know that it's bad when Raymond has updated his site twice since my last update. I really don't have much to say. I wanted to post pictures from the Clearwater festival but I keep leaving them at home (no internet there). I have, however given my archive sections a new look, and I'm working on modifying the graphics for the home page. I've also been working on cleaning-up my html code a bit. All things that probably none of you will notice.

This past month I completely re-did the MGSL (Marine Geological Samples Laboratory Site The new page has not been up-loaded yet, but you all can check out the old site so that you will be able to identify the changes that I have made once the new site is posted. Since I finished that project, my enthusiasm for html has waned a bit, hence the lack of posts. Perhaps I will be more inclined to write in August! Till next time.

7/23/04

Hello again! Well, I actually have some new pictures with me today, so I thought I would share. No they are not the festival photos that I mentioned in my post yesterday; They are pictures from a bike ride Dylan and I took yesterday afternoon. We biked around the Great Swamp of Rhode Island, saw much wildlife, and got bitten by only a few bugs. Then we went home to watch a movie from our new video collection. That's right we now have a video collection (and a VCR, Luckily we bought one at a garage sale not too long ago or our new video collection would be worthless). Someone in our apartment complex had left a box of perfectly good videos by the dumpster, apparently to be thrown out, so we are now the proud owners of such classics as Evil Dead II, Godzilla, and several other films of equally esteemed caliber. Sorry, If I post two days in a row, these are the trivial facts about my life that I am forced to write about.

Check out the swamp photos!

8/6/04

Well I've finally managed to bring the photos of the Clearwater Festival that Dylan and I attended back in June. Yes, I know that these are very old, but since I never told any of you about the concert (and since I have nothing new of significance to report), I decided that now is a good time to share my experiences on the Hudson.

Dylan and I set out on Saturday morning and drove most of the way across Connecticut. We stopped to camp at a closed ski hill (closed for the summer) located in a town that must be the antiquing capital of the United State (AT LEAST every 2 out of 3 buildings were antique stores). The camp was interesting. Mostly because there were no real campsites and we were the only ones there. They told us that we could setup our tent on any of the parking terraces on the mountain, this was just fine with us; The lots were overgrown and secluded (and only a little bit bumpy). The only problem was that we didn't know how to identify poison ivy, and when you're not sure, everything starts to look a little suspicious. What IS this bed of shiny looking stuff where we just setup our tent? We moved the tent.

While in Connecticut we visited a nature preserve. I mention this because some of the photos on the picture page are from this preserve (the forest, the swamp, and the lily pond).

On Sunday we went to the festival. It was a beautiful day, as you can see from the pictures. We saw Dar Williams (who is pictured to the right), headliner Ani Difranco, Pete Seeger, SONiA, Toshi Reagon and several other folk music artists. There were informational booths about the wildlife in the Hudson River, plant life in the region (and yes a sign pointing out poison ivy), kids craft tables, dancing and food. We had a great time.

8/13/04

Hello all. In the spirit of the new semester (and since everyone else already has) I've decided to post my new schedule (By everyone else, I, of course, mean just Raymond and Kimberly) I actually have not registered for any of these classes yet, since I want to put off paying the student fees for as long as possible. I'll register the day before classes start. Ahh the joys of being a grad student and enrolling in classes that have 4-5 students top!

Monday-Wednesday-Friday 11:00-11:50
T.A. for OCG 131 Volcanoes and the Environment
note: I will also have two office hours a week either before or after class time

Monday 3:30-5:00
OCG 695- Student Seminar (students give talks on their research)

Tuesday-Thursday 9:00-10:15
OCG 645- Petrology of the Ocean Crust

TBA - one three hour session per week
OCG 651- Marine Stratigraphy

Now starting... hmmm.. when does my semester start... well, starting early September you will know exactly where I am at any given moment (FYI if I am not at class, I'm in my office).

9/16/04

I now own a wonderful new/used 1995 VW Jetta. Its a black, five-speed manual with a sun-roof and a security alarm. I completed all the DMV paperwork on it this morning (only 45 min in the DMV, not bad) so it is officially mine. One thing that is different about buying a car in New England, as opposed to in CA, is that you keep your old plates. So I have my old plates and old registration with me when I go up to the counter (I've also filled out a cancel registration form). The lady there looks at me like I'm crazy when I try to cancel my old registration. She asks me if I've bought a truck, and I don't see the relevance. She patiently explains that since I purchased a car I can keep my old plates and the registration will transfer with them. She rolls her eyes as if to say "The idiots I have to deal with all day." As if bringing my plates to the counter was such an inconvenience to her.

On another note, I've started classes, or I guess I should say that I've started class since I only have one class so far. My Marine Stratigraphy has now met twice, and so far I really like it. So far we've only talked about basic marine geology/marine chemistry/bio topics, but I really like the professor and his lecturing style is very easy to understand. I guess I should mention that the post that has been up forever announcing my class schedule is pretty much obsolete. The only class that is actually in its correct time slot is the class that I T.A. But, since I know none of you really care what times I have class, I'll leave it be. I actually gave a lecture in that class yesterday. It was very nerve-racking, nothing like giving a seminar talk or a presentation. I think the difference is that with say a seminar, you already have the interest of the audience, they wouldn't be there if they didn't want to hear the talk. With a class presentation, you only have one person to impress, the professor, so in the back of your mind you don't care if the rest of the class pays attention or is interested. With a lecture, you want the class to be interested in what you are talking about even though they are inclined to be uninterested. I mean, come on, why would a freshman psychology major be interested in the origin of magma? I don't know, but for next time, I'll work to figure that out.