200th Post!

So this is my 200th post... And... probably my last post on this blog.

I know I haven't posted much since the beginning of school but a lot in my life has changed and the adjustments are taking longer than expected. I don't have anything really positive to write about in here and that has stopped me from posting as I should be.

School finally started and its been okay. Its starting to get interesting now. My classes are picking up and I actually have a good amount of homework to procrastinate. I should start my part time job this week. I'm working at the university again, for ITS again, but not the same group. I've been asked to do some technical writing and a Usability study. The money will be nice but part of me doesn't really want the extra work anymore. I was just getting used to the spare time in the house by myself.

I spend more time alone than before. It gives me lots of time to do homework and get a head but its still lonely. Don't get me wrong, Michelle and Matt should be out on their own more and thats not the problem. I just spend more time alone now. The internet doesn't keep me entertained like it used to.

I've decided I'm going to try to get into Grad school and do my masters while I am in "School Mode". I don't know forsure that I can do it, but I'm going to try. I'm looking at 4 different school, all Human Computer Interaction (HCI) based research programs. So hopefully I can continue my whole Usability Thing.

Grad School won't start until Fall 08, so I have about 8 months to kill in between. I'm considering taking another semester of school or looking for internships that would last about 6 months. I'm sure I could go back as an intern to Google, but I need to work someplace else. It would be nice to experience, "User Experience Research" some place else as well.

As I said in the beginning I think this will be all for this blog. As the next chapter of my life unfolds I'll maybe start another blog but for me this feels like a good ending point. Thanks

Waiting for School to start

I need something to focus my time on. I'm ready to start school and have stuff to read and do at night. I SUPPOSE I could work on my 499 research, but I'm kinda lost on direction of the project. I Would like to talk to my advisor and figure out the best way to move forward.

My textbooks are mostly in the mail... I still should order 2 more but I'm waiting to see how necessary they are and where I can buy them for cheaper.

I didn't buy a parking pass this year... I'm sure I'll regret it some days... but I think the walking will be good for me. Its weird to think I'm graduating soon. Almost surreal sometimes.

The kittens are doing well... they co-exist with the sheik fine now... we are pretty sure that as long as no one gets within a foot of each other everyone will be fine. The food is still an issue that we are working on... but it will get better.

In Windsor

So I didn't get to update from the road... Mostly I was just too tired to blog about the boring drive. We did three long days of driving and put a lot of time in in the car. The kittens traveled pretty well... Carmicheal did not like his carrier and cried a lot.

It feels a lot different to be home here. I'm not sure just what to do with myself. I'm unpacked... I did laundry... the kittens are adjusting... I'm missing Sean... Michelle is here and we are hanging out... but I'm not very talkative. I'm pretty excited to see my family. Its been a while and I think they missed me too. Can't wait to see my niece. But I have a feeling I will likely be quiet around them as well.

I thought I had more to say... but I can't really think of anything.

Next

Finished my internship... now i just have to get home to everyone.
Once the car is packed i will feel much better.... but right now.... we have too much stuff!

Hopefully I'll be able to update from the road...

The Countdowns are on...

I only have 7 days of work left and 10 (?) days till we start the drive home. I doubt people are reading this blog anymore since I update so infrequently but I just felt like writing today. I'm currently in the middle of my last study at Google, I have a series of one on one interviews still to do and a report to write. But I'm fairly confident that I will be able to finish everything with sometime to spare. I finally started bringing my own tea to work, the coffee was killing my insides. I missed tea.

I've been trying to describe my feelings about the next few weeks to a number of people. I think anxious is close to the right word... I'm excited to go home to see my friends and family, All the new people in the world... I'm worried about the trip... about the kittens and endless amount of driving and getting lost. I'm sad to be leaving Google and California... I mean this place is really nice and I'm pretty comfortable here. I worry that I won't get my report done before I leave. I'm concerned and scared about my future... with Google or otherwise, Graduating and the possibility of Grad school.

All these and more a rushing me at the same time... I've been very quite recently and doing a lot of thinking. I've unfortunately been more anti social recently... which makes me sad as well... thats not who I am normally.

I dunno where this is going... Or how to end it now. I mean ... it all sounds really depressing over all. But I've really had an awesome summer all around.

Numbers

• 15 number of Days of Work Left
• 20 number of Days till The Road Trip Begins
• 1 number of Times it has rained since I got here
• 1.5 number of studies that I still have to complete
• 3 number of reports I have written
• 128 number of regularly scheduled meetings I have or will attend.
• 3 number of free books I have got so far
• .5 * 3 number of books I've read
• 2 number of interviews I still have to do
• 2 number of add/drop forms I had to submit to register
• 5.5 number of classes this semester (only one lab!)
  
• 2,782 number of miles I have to drive before I can see my friends and family at home
  

I like this... I may try something like this again...

Usability Recruitment

Hey Everyone,
Google is looking to build their usability participant database and they need volunteers who might be willing to participate in a study. They also pay their participants usually about $75 a hour to help us. What I need you to do is follow the URL:
https://survey.google.com/wix/p0822776.aspx?referral_code=MV4 and At the bottom of the first page there is a "Where did you hear about us?" box. Please enter jlweber so that they can track who the referral is.

You can forward this message to anyone you want. Where you live doesn't matter they do remote studies all the time.

Thanks for your help!
Janna

[Why am I doing this? What's in it for me? Officially, If I have the most referrals I win a t-shirt that I already have. But really I just want to help build the database for my team]

Bullets from the West Coast

• Camping was a lot of fun.
  
• I haven't had a chance to get the pictures up yet but it was exciting to have some time to take some pictures.
• The park was pretty small and probably only used for day trips by locals.
  
• The campsite wasn't really what was expected but we made it work
• The lake was cold and filled with gold flakes... which was pretty cool.
  
• Smores are awesome!
• My internship seems to be flying by pretty quickly. I only have a few weeks left and two big studies left.
  
• I'm pretty thankful right now that I don't have to do a work term report for school... cause I would be pretty lost trying to do that.
  
• Most of the interns I know are starting to pack up and leave... I had one of the longest internships of anyone I think...
• Canadian dollar hits a high of 96 US cents - International Herald Tribune -- SUCKS
• I'm currently doing laundry at work and making a blog post... something just isn't right about that
• In the past few weeks I've had three blow my mind kind of meals...
  
• 1. Steak and scallops with mashed potatoes
• 2. Prime Rib with ranch horseradish sauce
• 3. Seafood Jambalya
  
• Other meals have been very good as well but those top my list
• Planning on going to the Beach this weekend... Patrick is going to surf and Sean and I are going to hangout on the beach. Get more tanned.
  
• Going to see the Simpsons movie tonight
• We've been playing a lot of scrabble lately and I've been getting better. Last night in a 4 person game I broke 200 for the win.
  
• Back to work.
  

Roughing it...

Just posting a PSA, Sean and I are going camping this weekend...
I will be without internet connection for a few days...
Its shocking I know... I'm not sure if I will survive...
or if I will be able to dig out of my inbox on Tuesday.

More about the camping trip later.

Big Sur Road Trip

One Saturday we decided to take a road trip to Big Sur, just to enjoy the ride along the coast. We stopped along the way to take a few pictures and enjoy the view. I have more pictures to come but I have to finish my film first. After making it to one of the Big Sur parks we made our way back and had dinner in Carmel-by-the-sea, not sure why they hyphenate their name like that but it was really nice... the food, even for pub food was amazing. Would definitively like to go back sometime.

From Big Sur

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations on your engagement Julie and Andrew!!!

Some Creative Title....

So its been a really long time since I updated.
It may be the beginning of the end folks... I've lost time and actually I've kinda lost interest in blogging... its become this thing that is always sitting over my head whenever I am at home. Thankfully, I guess, I'm not actually home that often. I had to actually make a point of staying home tonight (even tho it is a friday) cause I've been so tired lately. I finished a big study this week and presented the results today. It went pretty well... but is also going to lead into an even bigger set of studies. Which is cool I guess.

Sean and the kittens are doing well. Carmicheal is growing so big and well.... Sammy hasn't grown much at all... But they are so super cute. Sean got his wisdom teeth taken out last week and is pretty well recovered now... has to get his stitches out tomorrow.

Michelle was here and visited... I think she should come back again... it was a really fun time with her... I think she had fun as well... there are pictures from her trip on my picasa web album.
Missing everyone at home.

Driving in California

So I do a lot of driving in and around the Bay area and I've found it to be a very different experience than that of driving in Ontario.

The number 1 rule... expect traffic. Always expect traffic to add time to your trip. Then you can be pleasantly surprised if you show at your destination early. Often times I find myself increasing my speed as I exit the Highway. Yes... speeding up on the off ramps. I've also observed (and through a survey of sample size = 1 I have found it to be true) that there is a direct correlation to the time of day versus the quality of cars on the road. People who arrive at work at 9 or before in the morning tend to drive slightly older cars that are slightly more likely to be American brands. People who can arrive at work when they choose (err 10am) drive very nice cars that are always shiny. A super impressive car is always in sight... at least one. Often in the first few months you will get very distracted by the amazing cars everywhere you look. Eventually.. you get distracted by the crappy cars that clearly do not belong in California.

Most roads are a minimum of 4 lanes wide. (In fact I can only think of 2 that are 4 lanes) most are 6 lanes with a center divide. Which requires more U-turns and one ways. It also brings a whole new meaning to driving defensively. (Maybe not a new meaning but it enforces the old one) You have to assume like most people are out to get you and you must defend yourself first. Its quite interesting watching people weave in and out of lanes in and around people. Its very much like a dance with metal robots.

Finally when you are venturing any where in the bay area, if you go far enough you will run into mountain driving conditions. Which are either very steep or very twisted. The drive into big basin on this past Saturday was amazing... but very much like a video game... left then right then left then right... Very scary when the centerline goes away and the road narrows.... AND then you can't see around the corners.

In Other News: After lots of thought and discussion Sean made the very tough decision to leave his job. Everyone he's talked to thinks it a good idea that he did and I think it was overdue. He doesn't have a new job lined up yet, but he does have options. The tough part is getting a company to take him on under the condition that he will only be here till the end of the summer. I'm sure he could move back now if he really wanted... but I would rather spend summer with him.

In Other Other News: I always find it interesting when main-stream media tries to explain an online phenomenon.

Long Time without an Update

Where does the time go? I seem to be running somewhere all the time, which is normally a good thing for my social life. But unfortunately my online life and responsibilities seem to fall by the wayside. So a brief update from my desk at G.

Been exploring the bay area more this week, specifically the San Jose area. Found a few really cool places to eat and more that we will have to explore in deeper depth. I've really come to appreciate yelp.com . The reviews are usually pretty close and if you can take them all with a grain of salt you usually know what you are in for. Aside from food we also visited a nickel arcade and spent a few hours there playing classic arcade games at a fraction of the price. This weekend we are planning a photo taking excursion to Big Basin. A park that isn't too far away in the santa clara mountians. should be a good chance to take some really nice photos. I'm excited. (There is about 6 or 7 of us going)

Work is coming fast and hard now. My day to day work isn't overly stressing but thinking about all the various projects that I could/should be working on makes me fret a little. I'm totally enjoying all my time here tho. Sean is having a rough time at work the management of the place seem to be falling apart which is pretty sad and frustrating. I think he should really consider switching jobs soon, but thats just my opinion he has to make up his own mind.

Anywho.. back to work.

Point Form Stories

So I feel that I have too many stories about my pass weekend adventures and happenings to give them all justice so ... instead I will give none of them justice and write point form teasers of each and then IF you want to know more you have to let me know.

Symphony

• Got tickets to go to the Play! Symphony
• Miscommunication with the arrangements
• Wrong cell numbers
  
• Arrive at the wrong location
• Finally arrive only to miss the first 3 minutes of the symphony.
• Loved the rest of the show.
  
• Tried to buy the CD but it was of a totally different show (thumbs down)

Sunday at Six Flags

• Started to six flags at 8:00 (park opens at 10:30)
• People are late and lost... finally on the road to six flags at 9:30.
• Get about 2 miles from the park and join the line up that goes into parking.
  
• Frantic phone calls and indecisiveness ensues
  
• Changes lanes and heads towards Napa.
  
• Mmm(mumm) Wine and trolley cars.
  
• Close the Winery
• Heading home and hitting traffic on a road without a median!
• Hwy 29 to 37 to 580... no 980.... no 580... to 880.
• Lost in Oakland. Don't make eye contact with the drug dealers outside the elementary school that has the bars on the windows.
  
• 3 hours to get from Napa to San Jose.
  

Patrick Arrives!

• I was supposed to pick Patrick up at 6pm but I went to napa instead
• He missed his connection in LAX (a common occurrence for me)
• Get Home from Napa at 9. Patrick Lands at 9:15
• Break into his new apartment. (Nice place... not very secure tho)
• Visit a real English Pub

Memorial Day

• Sean, Patrick, Matt (Patrick's Roommate from MIT) and I give Pat an introduction to American/California Culture.
  
• Visit
• Chipotle
• GameStop
• Frys
• Target
• Safeway
• Eat Steak! (very tasty)
• Play Wii.
  

Google Happenings

• Google had a very busy week
  
• Streetview was released
• Gears was released
• FeedBurner was bought
• Panoramio was bought
• 1st Ever Global Developers Day
• The Food was to die for!
• Baby bay scallops by they bowlful. It was amazing.
  
• Had Dinner with Brian since he was in town (starts Monday)

Friday Night

• Date night!
• Getting Lost
  
• California Pizza Kitchen for dinner
• Shrimp Scampi Pizza (mmmm!)
• 2 for 1 by accident
• Pirates of the Caribbean 3
  
• LONG movie!
• SO much stuff happening on the screen
• Weird Ending

Santa Cruz Beach

• Saturday, Sean, Patrick and I head towards Santa Cruz to the Beach / Boardwalk
• Saw the Seals (you know ... ArpArpArp)
• Sean went Swimming! Found the water a bit Salty
  
• Spent (too much?) time in the Arcade
• Played Tetris
  
• Sean is awesome at Ms. PacMan!
• Nice Drive out and back on the 17.
  
• Lasagna for a Late dinner.
  
• Scrabble with Sean, two Apple Interns and a Google Intern
• Sean Kicked all of our asses. (Hes really smart)

Sigh... Thats all... Today I went shopping for a little and for a drive by myself. Then I ended the night at Panera were I like to blog and talk to people on the computer. Had a good conversation with my parents and Michelle. That was a really long post. I should go back and add links to things.... but I'm feeling Lazy right now and should be leaving soon. Yay!

Mood Change

I'm Still alive folks.

Sorry for my long delay between posts. I'm even more sorry that I still don't have a super interesting topic to post about. This may just be all about me for a while. At some point I'll get back to my blog posts about super interesting things I learned in psychology but for now the mood of the blog has changed back to an update for my friends and family back home. I miss you guys!

I've been working a lot lately and only on Google things. I go to work at about 9ish (traffic pending) and get home usually about 6 or 7. by that time if Sean's home we might go out to eat or something but if hes still at work I usually get pretty lazy and just watch tv. I barely turn on my computer when I get home and even if I do, its hard to get up the energy to be creative and blog.

So whats going on today? I'm at work again. Doing Laundry. Sean left me last night to go to one of his friend's weddings in Ohio. (He told me the wrong dates or I probably would have gone too). He'll be back on Monday. Tonight I'm going to the Play! Symphony tonight, which I'm super excited about. And Tomorrow I'm going to six flags with a few intern friends. should be fun...I'm going to get burnt again.

Google updates: The food is just as awesome as ever. Probably more healthy now tho. Everything is color coded. Green means healthy, eat as much as you want. Yellow means its alright to have a little extra but don't over do it. and Red... well... red is the most unhealthy, should be the smallest portion on your plate, but is always the most delicious! I had roast lamb and sweet potatoes mashed the other day... It was so wonderful. The broccoli soup was to die for the other day as well.

In other news: Patrick arrives tomorrow evening and starts his internship on Tuesday. Which is very exciting. Michelle has bought her ticket and is coming to see me for Canada day!! I can't wait to see her and show her around here. (I think Sean will get jealous that weekend... hehe).

That may be all I have for now. I will try to keep this better updated.

Picasa Web Albums Slideshow Feature!

Just thought I would give it a try. Let me know what you think.

I'm still alive!

Woo!

So A LOT has happened since my last update so this post should be full of kick ass information and stories about myself... But I'll probably lose interest half way through and put everything in bullet points or something like that... Sounds like me at the moment.

There are somethings that I should have done already but still haven't. Like my report for the university... for work.. that I should have finished before I left. I'm sorry Richard, there is no real excuse I've just gotten lazy I suppose. I plan on sending something in point form tho I'm sure you don't really need it anymore. (I feel like I've burnt a bridge that I really didn't want to). Secondly the other report for Dr. Boulos.... Its not overdue but I'm sure someone is waiting on it. One of these nights I will be able to pull my thoughts together on the subject and send it off.

I've started work! I''m back at G again and loving it. The food and the work are just bout the same as I remember them. Tho... there are more cafes now and I get a little more freedom with my work. But my hosts are great and I'm pretty excited about my project!

My parents sound like they are having a pretty good trip. I saw them last on Wednesday when they came to work with me for breakfast. It was quite an experience I wish I could have thought faster of what to show them and where to take them on campus. I think they enjoyed seeing the place anyways. They call me from time to time and get me to pass on the message that they are still alive. Today they were waking up early to do a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. Should be amazing I hope they talk lots of pictures and that my mom isn't sick in the plane.

On Sunday, a group of interns and I headed up the 101 to Muir woods and did some hiking. I think we walked 4 miles uphill. We celebrated properly tho by going to the cheesecake factory for dinner. Surprisingly enough my knees are fine... my calf muscles are KILLING me today tho... I can barely walk on my one leg... its like when you get that muscle cramp in the back of your calf... and it won't relax!

The Kittens!
The kittens are doing good. They are SO cute you just can't get enough of them until they are fighting and jumping on you while you are trying to watch a movie and their tiny little claws are sticking in your skin. We took them to the vet this morning to get them all checked out and make sure they are really healthy. So far so good.

I give up... thats all for now.

I'm at my Summer Home

Day 7, Saturday
Current Location: San Jose
Start Time: 8:30 am (PST)
Stop Time: 11:00 am (PST)

Sorry this post is late, I been adjusting to my new place and taking my time. the drive down from Sacramento was pretty painless. There was a bunch of traffic (as expected) and a little bit of construction that slowed us down. But we finally made it to my summer home, Sean was still in bed hehe. After a very short tour of the apartment for my parents we headed to Panera for lunch (free!). After which my parents went their separate way and headed towards San Fran.

We spent some time at the apartment, we were waiting for Sean's coworker to come pick up keys. Or at least that is what I was told. What actually happened was Sean's coworker was coming by to drop off two kittens!! Sean got me two, 6 week old brothers! They are so adorable! Carmicheal and Sammy. Quite the pair, and quite a handful so far.

I'm in Cali!

Day 6, Friday
Current Location: Roseville, CA
Start Time: 11:00 am (PST)
Stop Time: 4:00 pm (PST)
Traveled: 450 km

Wow, what a crazy day. Woke up to snow in Nevada, and they were telling all the trucks to make sure they bring their chains to get up the mountain. Pretty scary. So we planned on trying to get to Fernley (about 2 hours away) and see what was happening after that. We didn't leave till 11ish tho hoping it would warm up a little. Instead we drove through rain and more rain untill about 30 miles before Fernley when it started to clear. Giving us the motivation to move further up the mountain and try to pass Reno. With only a few flakes in the air we sail through Reno and up further into the Rocky Mountains. Very beautiful scenery for a short while. I'm sure it was very cold for dad tho. At the summit, My head started exploding with a pressure headache due to the altitude. At the same time a nice scary blizzard sets in.... just after the sign saying we will be going downhill for the next 40 miles. So... we've got downhill slope at 70 mph in slush and snow. On come the 4 way flashers and we try to slow down as dad tries to see around his windshield to know what is coming ahead. Words cannot describe!

Anyways we are all safe and sound in California tonight. It's fairly warm here (particularly in comparison) and the room is pretty nice. Should get to see Sean tomorrow for lunch which is pretty exciting!