I actually know someone who is running for Congress

I am a political junkie and so I think it's totally cool that I actually know a person who is actually a major party candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Granted, it's a tenuous connection, but it is a connection.

If you happen to be reading this and are a consitutent of Michigan's 6th Congressional District, which encompasses the Southwestern corner of the state, I urge you to check out the candidacy of Democrat Kim Clark. His opponent is Republican Congressman Fred Upton, first elected in 1986, and is a the grandson of the one of the founders of Whirlpool. Congressmen Upton, according to the analysis of his voting record, is a moderate Republican.

You are probably wondering how do I know the candidate? A couple summers back, on my two month roadtrip across the country, I spent three weeks in Chicago and became friends with Kim's partner, Dave F. and that is the connection. According to every prognosticator and election guru, Kim's chances or victory are slim to none. But I applaud him for taking the risk and partcipating in the political system we enjoy.

On a totally random note, the 6th District of Michigan was once represented by a congressman named David Stockman. This is the David Stockman who became Ronald Reagan's Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the one who spearheaded the ideas of Supply-Side Economics, which lead to the huge budget deficits of the 1980's. A little history with our posting today, eh?

The bridesmaid becomes the bride

Congratulations to Tim A. or Princeton, NJ for winning the most recent message contest. You all will remember how Tim was runner-up the at the end of first round and his honorable mention. This time, Tim outclassed the field by using the word STAMPEDE in gerund form and in a context that was seamless. The winning message.....

"Hello there, I was calling to return your message and even though you aren't answering I hope there aren't children STAMPEDING all around you." -Tim A.

A surprise phone call and an even better message

The word of the week was DETERIORATE. Before I reveal the winner and their message, I have noticed a dropoff in participation rate of those who have called and left messages when I first began the contest. Those who are experiencing the challenge for the first time are nearly always game to try and leave great messages, or the attempts are hilarious themselves. So a charge to those who have tapered in their enthusiasm to forge on and continue. It's a little brain stretching and improvising that provides much happiness and humor in my day.

Our winner is Emily D. formerly of Berkeley, Santa Barbara and now Boulder, CO. She was in my advising group during my first three years at HRS and, like many of the class of 2001, has managed to keep in contact and move from student to peer. Here is the winning message:

"Hey Chen, I'm calling to chat, as I have appointed you my lifetime advisor. I was wondering if you had any pearls of wisdom on hot to help me manage my money after college before I deteriorate my funds." -- Emily D. (Sept. 2006)

A note on how long a word stays as "the word". When I listen to the messages there are times when I hear one and it simply strikes me as "the one" and at that point, I'll change to a new word. Usually, it takes about a week for "the one" to reveal itself, but for deteriorate, it was about two weeks. I think I have a winner on the first day with the newest word. You'll find out soon enough.

A bigger project

After the success of the flowerboxes from this summer, I decided that it was time to tackle the bookcases that I had been thinking about building in the front room, which I now use as both my office and what, in the olden days, was called a drawing room. For those of you who have been to my home, you'll remember that there was a decorative non-working fireplace against one of the walls. At first I was going to take the fireplace out, but then decided to build AROUND the fireplace. I thought it would breakup the monotony of a wall of shelves. Here's the result:

Like I said last year when I installed the french doors, moulding and trim hide all mistakes and "non-traditional" methods. I'll now add a fresh coat of paint to that list.

Survivor: Cook Islands

Ok, so I have to admit that I think the current Survivor set up is certainly a ratings ploy (there are four tribes that are separated into racial groups), but a part of me is totally rooting for the Asian-Americans to kick butt, especially in the physical challenges. You know if one of the challenges was something academic, there would be no questions who the money would be on. And what happened the first week? The Asian-American tribe (Puka Puka) won the immunity challenge. If you want to be totally entertained, read this this article, The Tribe Has Spoken that was in the San Francisco Chronicle. It had me howling, while bringing up some interesting points of view.

I am going to be a NERT

No, No, not NERD (I already am one of those) but I have started the training to be on my Neighborhood Emergency Response Team. The program grew out of the chaos in the Marina District here in San Francisco after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake struck. There were so many people willing to help and the SF Fire Department recognized that. Out of that tragedy the SF NERT was launched. This program to train residents to know what to do to take care of themselves and their families and subsequently go out into their local areas and aid others. Over the course of six three hour sessions, we will learn:

•How to prepare before it happens
•What to do when the earth starts to shake
•Basic Disaster Skills
•Natural gas, water and electrical controls, why, when and how to shut them off
•Types of fire, and using extinguishers to put it out
•Hazardous Materials awareness in the home, on the road, and all around you
•Disaster Medicine
•Health considerations for the rescuer
•Opening airways
•Stopping bleeding and shock position
•S.T.A.R.T. triage
•Minor injuries and burns
•Light Search and Rescue
•Different types of construction and where to look for damage
•How to classify damaged buildings
•Building marking system
•Interior search patterns
•Lifting heavy objects and mechanical advantage
•Victim carries
•Team Organization and Management
•City Disaster Plan and where the NERTs fit
•NERT Incident Command System, managing the disaster
•Disaster Psychology
•Terrorism and NERT
•Extinguishing fires
•Triaging and treating moulaged victims
•Extricating a victim trapped by heavy timbers
•Interior search for reported missing persons
•Exterior building damage assessment

Wow, that's a ton. But the coolest thing is that upon completing the course, I will receive my own yellow hardhat that identifies me as a NERT. I'm a NERT.

You never know what you're going to get

The word of the week was PANACHE, which seemed to fluster more than a few callers. Most of the messages used the word to describe something (or me) as having flair/verve/elan. However, once again Joe H. of Greenbrae, CA gets special mention for using PANACHE as describing a hat with ornamental feathers or a plume.

But the winner this week is John H. or San Francisco who informed me that Panache Choclatier was his chocolate store of choice when he lived in Kansas City, MO. And we have a winner.....

The new word has been recorded on my outgoing message and is ready to go. Have fun!

They must have done their research

The first day of school in August is one of total logistics. It's a bit easier for advisors who don't advise freshman because all of our students already know the ropes and our role is simply to collect forms, distribute forms and make sure we ourselves get our picture taken. It was this last task that threw me off today because instead of sitting on a box and looking at the camera, the photo company now has each and every person KNEELING and then having their hands gripping metal bars at chest height. Yeah, that's what I thought too. I think the shock of this new method for posing just might cause our photos to be even worse than normal. But, as I said, the company must have done tests and research and found that kneeling is the way to go.

A new skill for my resume

PICKLING

Our first winner

Those of you who call me have, for the past six months, heard a very somber sounding outgoing message from me. Last week, my friend Carlos P. said that enough was enough and that it must be changed. Therefore, I have recorded a new outgoing message that has a much more chipper sounding me, but I've also added a bit of a twist. I've instituted, for those who choose to participate, a little contest in which the caller must leave a message and use a word of my choosing. Our word this first week was TURBULENT.

I must applaud my friends and those who called me as 75% went along and successfully used the word correctly in the message. My Mom, however, when she heard the new outgoing message, thought she had dialed the wrong number.

I hope to be disciplined about posting a transcript of the winning message here on the blog. This weeks winner is David C. of Casselberry, FL.

"Oh the turbulent and tumultuous times we live in. My kitty was at the vet getting a bath this morning. She had such a turbulent experience that the vet said please don't bring her back as we will not bathe her"

I must however, include the message left by Tim A. of Princeton, NJ who didn't use turbulent, but went his own way to leave this witty message.

"The state flower of Indiana is the peony. The state bird is the cardinal. And the state..........what would you call Ernie......you're a bit like a stalker. So the Indiana state stalker is Ernie"

Honorable mention must go to Joe H. or Greenbrae, CA for using the adjective and noun form of the work turbulent. One must also go to Carlos P. of Santa Cruz, CA for using the word morose in conjunction with turbulent.

On a whim

While in New York, I got the rare opportunity to chat with my friend Jeff O. He's one of those great friends who I can not see or talk to for two years and when we get together, we pick up where we left off seamlessly. Jeff has spent this past year in San Juan, PR, having the honor of clerking for the Puerto Rico based judge on the United States Court of Appeals - 1st Circuit.

He had invited me (as well as many other friends) to visit him there. Many had, but I had yet to make it there. I learned that the upcoming weekend, August 12th and 13th, was his last weekend in Puerto Rico. I took the bull by the horns, as the saying goes, and extended my trip by five days. Instead of returning to the Bay Area on the 9th as scheduled, I instead flew to San Juan. I landed on the afternoon of the 9th and spent the evening walking around Old San Juan.

A particularly beautiful street in Old San Juan

Jeff's apartment was the top floor of the blue building. It was on Calle de la Cruz in Old San Juan.

I spent Thursday out Ocean Beach and Condado. It was windy and it rained intermittently, but I had a wonderful time walking on the beach and walking back into Old San Juan. Swimming in the ocean was fantastic. That evening, Jeff's former downstairs neighbor, Jeff and I went to an woman's art show and then out for dinner and some open mic music.

On Friday, Jeff had to do some business at the Puerto Rico DMV, called CESCO. I accompanied him just because I sensed that some huge frustrating fiasco might happen and being that Puerto Rico is not an efficient nor customer service oriented culture, I might be witness to some hilarity. Unforunately, everything went smoothly, but I paid for my desire for chaos when later on that afternoon, I got on the bus which ended up going the wrong way and I spent almost two hours on that bus before I returned back to Old San Juan.

On Saturday, Jeff and I rented a car and drove along the "Ruta Panoramica", which traverses the mountainous East/West spine of the island of Puerto Rico. At the end of the day, we strategically ended up near the Western Coast because we were on a quest to find Mangosteens, which are said to be the one of the most delicious things to eat in the world. Alas, we failed. That night, we spent swam in the pool, played ping pong and ate dinner all at The Hacienda Juanita

The view of the Mountains of Puerto Rico from the Ruta Panoramica

Sunday was spent in search of a waterfall, which due to my inability to walk on large slippery boulders, we didn't reach. But we then drove to Shack's Beach where we met up with some of Jeff's friends and spent the afternoon laying on the beach and snorkeling.

This picture doesn't do Shack's Beach justice

I left Old San Juan on Monday, but here are some final pictures.

A view of the "Del Morro", the centuries old fort that guards the entrance to the harbor of San Juan.

A turret along the city wall, which encloses Old San Juan.

Shaved Ice, a Puerto Rican specialty. The flavor here is Guanabana, which I have no idea what that is but I like the flavor.

The area that leads up to the "Del Morro".

What a treat to get to visit Jeff and to enjoy Puerto Rico. But I have to say, the amount of trash that lies on the street and sides of the road is truly shameful. But, in the end, it truly is the Caribbean at its best.

I Heart New York

For a Westerner like me, New York City has been a "scary" place. It's the big city, and back in the 1970's, it was, in my mind, a dirty crime-ridden city. When applying to colleges, I essentially put a big X through the New York Metropolitan Area. While living in Ithaca, my first significant visit to "the City" was with friends as we travelled and stayed with my New York City native friend Nora B. I was so petrified that I memorized her home phone number, which I still can recite to this day.

Over the course of these many years, I would visit New York City many times, but never for more than a couple days and always running around trying to meet up with the friends who were putting me up or when I was at Lawrenceville, making sure I didn't miss the last train back to New Jersey.

I would hear everyone around me rave about New York and there is that rabid core who could never imagine living anywhere else. But, I never really got it. I enjoyed visiting New York, but it wasn't yet in my soul.

Well, things changed during this last visit. I spent four full days in New York, staying two nights at my friend Jennifer C. studio in Murray Hill and then two nights with Peter S. who lives in Brooklyn Heights. Having only to move once changed my entire visit. I arrived on Saturday August 5th in the early evening after a long Greyhound ride from Ithaca. That night, I saw "The Producers". It was great, although I spent a great deal of time thinking about how great it would have been to see Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane doing the two lead roles.

Sunday morning, I awoke and stepped out in search of Bagels, which I found a mere block and a half from where I was staying. I spent the morning reading the Sunday New York Times in New York City. This leisurely morning was the first I had ever spent in New York. I walked to visit my friends Gayle A and Rob M for lunch and then we all strolled over to Columbus Circle where I bid farewell to them and spent the afternoon in Central Park. That evening, I took the subway to Queens to have family dinner with Jennifer C.'s family.

Monday the 7th had me arise and pop on over to take a tour of the United Nations. After that I packed myself up and moved myself to Brooklyn Heights to meet Peter. He gave me a tour of Park Slope, after which we ate lunch and walked through Prospect Park. In the late afternoon, we walked around the waterfront of the Red Hook neighborhood. I have to give credit to New York for having invested a great deal of money developing and maintaining great parks and green spaces.

Tuesday the 8th was my last day and I started out with a walk along the Brooklyn Promenade and then did a bit of shopping on Broadway in SOHO. Peter met me for lunch at Katz's Deli. This Deli is where they filmed the famous "I'll have what she's having scene" from the movie, "When Harry Met Sally". Afterwards, Peter and I took a tour of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. I then took a bus down to the South Street Seaport to meet Ian M. to take in The Bodies Exhibition. I then took the subway back to Park Slope to meet up with Peter, Simeon S. and Mary Bentley H. (a shout out to all three for putting up with my surly behavior) at The Applewood Restaurant which was holding a fundraiser for an Upstate New York farm that was devastated by the floods in July.

As you can see, I packed in quite a lot in my four days, but it felt leisurely. I guess what I came to understand and really love about New York City, is that everything is at your fingertips, seemingly 24 hours a day, and usually you are getting the best in the nation, if not world, of what you desire. But mostly, what I came to find fascinating and amazing is the juxtaposition of two things that are completely unrelated. The Tenement Museum is located at 97 Orchard St and right next door, at 95 Orchard St., is the Il Laboratorio De Gelato. How cool is that?

My Nickname was "-2"

The original crux of this East Coast trip was to attend the Cornell Adult University (CAU). I was interested, and partcipated in, a weeklong seminar on the history of the US Senate. Even though my undergraduate major was Geological Sciences (and Economics but the department handed me a degree with me really knowing essentially nothing) I've recently have wondered if I got the wrong major starting with the letter G. If I were to go back to college now, I would more than likely major in Government. The added bonus was that the course was taught by two highly regarded professors who's names were always mentioned in reverent tones. The two professors claimed that teaching in the CAU was a highly sought after gig and one of them boasted that he had started teaching CAU courses in 1968 at which I promptly, and smugly blurt out, "I was -2" and thus I was called by that name.

We had lectures on:
1) The Historical Constructs of the US Senate
2) The Great Compromise of 1850
3) The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
4) Woodrow Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles
5) Joseph McCarthy
6) The Civil Rights Bill of 1957
7) The Filibuster
8) Watched the movie "Advise and Consent"
9) The confirmation of Clarence Thomas
10) The Impeachment of Bill Clinton

We always had two hour long lectures in the morning followed by an afternoon discussion of the mornings lectures and the current political scene. I found it a totally different educational experience to actually be interested in class enough to listen and not need to take notes because I was absorbing what I was hearing out of sheer intellectual interest.

Outside of class, it was wonderful to be back in Ithaca. If I knew how well alumni were treated, I would have been more active alumni activities earlier!! During the week, I went swimming in one of the famous gorges that border the Cornell campus, ate at the Moosewood restaurant, visited for an afternoon and evening with friends Michelle P and Mike B and their very happy son, Raymond and played a round of golf at the Cornell golf course.

However, on the day before I left, I was in the dining hall grabbing a piece of French Bread before I headed out and I ran into a student that I taught at HRS and was working as an RA this summer. Sam W is in between her sophomore and junior years at Cornell and we spent Friday evening walking around campus and had dinner.

Sam W and I after dinner. I must note that the man who took the picture asked if we were a couple. I don't look that young, people.

In front of the building I lived in my junior year. Nothing has changed.

This last photo needs some explanation. In college, friends of mine would reserve the Lynah Ice Rink for an hour every once in a while, usually at 1AM, and we would get together and play hockey. Well, I tried playing hockey. It was just a blast to get out there on the ice. We took this picture (my friend Jeff O and I have no clue what Omega Beta Kappa was supposed to stand for), framed it and nailed it to the wall of the Chapter House Bar on Stewart Street right off campus. We did this in 1992 and the picture is still on the wall, as seen below.

It's pretty easy to see how young I looked. Jeff is kneeling and is located second from the right in his row.

Who says you can't go "home" again??

A Former Life

For those of you who have always wondered what my life was back in New Jersey when I taught at a boarding school, well, here you are. The first part of my journey took me back to the place where I felt as though I came of age as an adult. My three years there were truly a baptism by fire, but I am the better because of it. I thoroughly loved my three years at Lawrenceville and remember it in my heart with great fondness. Here's what it looks like:

The Chapel which lies around the circular lawn. The grounds were laid out by the famed Fredrick Olmstead; the same man who designed the grounds of Central Park in New York City

The Bunn Library

The Corby Mathematics and Computing Center on right(Yes, it does look like Pizza Hut) and the Science Building on left.

The track and football field

The rear of the Science Center (air is completely recirculated every three to five minutes) and the bleachers to the field. As punishment for their senior class prank in 1998, the seniors had to move every brick from the far end of the field to the base of the bleachers. A comical sight at 8AM the Sunday morning before graduation.

Upper House where I lived with 65 senior boys for two years.

The Haskell House where I spent my third and final year living with 14 (to start by 12 by the end) senior boys.

Where Am I?

Essentially, we can call this two week trip of mine, a journey down memory lane. But it's also serving as a cleansing of the soul as well. More on that later. Flying from Oakland to Newark (via Orange County of all places) I spent the first couple days of this trip at my old stomping grounds of Lawrenceville. I puttered around with Jim J., spent an evening in Philadelphia, and took a nice long walk around campus, where I was filled with emotions of great pride in having spent three years here. It's hard to put into words what I was experiencing, but it must be that same thing that my parents feel when we go and visit some place of significance in their lives, that for me mean nothing, but it brings up something for them. I can now respect that when it occurs for them or anyone else.

A great evening of bonding, eating with Ian M. and a potential celebrity sighting of the star of the moving "Edge of Seventeen", Chris Stafford. But I'd say it's more than 50/50 but I didn't confirm by actually asking the guy who looked like the movie actor, who was sitting a mere two feet from us. By the way, high praise for the movie "Little Miss Sunshine".

Where am I now? In Ithaca, NY for the week. Again, it's another significant place in my life. I'm having those same nostalgic feelings. But it's also here where I am finally ridding myself of my relationship with Scott. I'm sad because I can envision him here taking a Wines course while I sit through lectures and discussions on US Politics. But here I am, alone. It's good to be here alone, although somewhat sad as well. But most important, I think, is that I am sitting with the feelings and letting them work through me and let them run their course. It's not easy to admit to oneself that I'm sad and that there are parts of my life I wish were different and parts of my personality that I could change but that will take immense effort and perseverance, but I guess the journey begins now. The sign? Last night, I deleted Scott's entry in my cellphone.

Onward!

I can complete what I start

Remember those flower boxes I mentioned that I had started to make. Well due to the trips this summer and a lack of motivation to get after my friend to bring over the router for me to borrow, it languished on the back burner for a month. Well, after returning from my trip to visit my family in Seattle, I was on my best behavior by the way, I got the fire to finish up the flower boxes.

Here's a couple of them for you to see.

Angel Island

Ernie's summer adventures continues with a recently completed camping trip to Angel Island State Park. For many of you, this name might ring a bell. It has a long history serving many different functions since the San Francisco Bay Area was discovered by non-natives. Angel Island is a large island in San Francisco Bay. Much like it's more famous sister, Alcatraz, Angel Island can only be reached by boat. However, Angel Island looms much larger and has much more to offer than the prison structures of Alcatraz. In its time, Angel Island was considered the Ellis Island of the west. It processed many Chinese Immigrants through its Immigration Station. The United States Military claimed possesion to it in the early 1900's, through the cold war. Angel Island was the launching point and return point for military men who served in the Asian theater. Many of those structures stand, albeit in no habitable condition, today. Between 1952-64, there were three Nike missile sites on the island. These missles had a range of 25 miles and were eventually rendered obsolete when ICBM's were introduced. Sometime between the 60's and now, the island was turned over to the state of California and turned into a State Park. On the island, there are 8 environmental (no fires allowed) campsites that can be reserved for $20 a night.

My friend Richard and I, after a number of my friends flaked out, set out to spend a couple nights on the island. If you check out this map you will see that our campsite was just above the word "Perimeter" just above Pearl's Beach on the south side of the island. The south side of the island faced San Francisco and here are some pictures of our campsite.

The city of San Francisco directly ahead

The Golden Gate Bridge off to the right

Richard trying his hand at his star chart and SF in twilight

Richard surveying our picnic table. We ate like kings.

My sleeping bag and a fog shrouded Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

Strange fog patterns such as this morning shot where Alcatraz is the only landmark shrouded in fog.

What I was struck by the most is that the San Francisco Bay Area is still a working port of great magnitude. We saw large container ships enter and exit the Bay by sailing underneath the Golden Gate Bridge almost continuously. The city and surrounding region was originally settled because the Bay provided a calm port to load and unload ships and that is a huge part of the areas economic foundation to this day. I think we here in the SF Bay Area tend to forget that it is the basics such as shipping that what undergird our regions huge success and fortunes.

What the ships also provide is a symphony of foghorns when visibility is low to nothing. Early on during the second morning we arose to a wall of white. We could see nothing beyond the tops of the trees below. However, we could hear all the ships emitting their horn sounds. Usually, one wouldn't even pay attention to these but I was attuned to the different ships' sounds and it was fascinating. It also put a smile on my face.

Thanks to Richard for a great trip. We should do it again sometime!

Read and Follow the Instructions

Yesterday, I received a six page document from the Internal Revenue Service stating that I had claimed too much for my Mortgage Interest Deduction on my 2004 return and I therefore owed the government an additional $1,850 paid within a month.

After doing a bit of sleuthing (thank god I harbor my Dad's gene for filing away documents for situations exactly like this) by reviewing my 2002, 2003 and 2004 tax returns I found that because the 2004 tax return was the first time I calculated my taxes with Turbo Tax and didn't file through my Dad's accountant, I entered my deduction amount on Line 10 of the Schedule A instead of Line 11 and added a statement of explanation at the end.

The issue stems from the fact that the building is owned as a TIC and all the 1098 forms have the name and SSN of one of the other owners, therefore the IRS doesn't automatically apply the portion I paid in mortgage interest to my return. Entering the amount on Line 11 should be done when claiming mortgage interest in the case one doesn't have a 1098. Pretty obvious that I missed that key instruction and that miscue is coming back now.

I went down the the IRS office and consulted with a very helpful agent and was in and out of there in under five minutes. So, I've written a letter explaining my mistake and included a number of supporting documents. I hope this gets resolved quickly.

The silver lining here is that in going over my forms, I may have UNDERREPORTED my actual total mortgage interest because I didn't include the interest I paid on the Line of Credit I had in 2004. So, I actually might get money back from this whole ordeal. Ironic if I actually gain financially from this whole thing.

What good friends are for....

Tickets to daytona .......$140.00
Hot Dogs & Sodas...........$21.00
Picture Number 16 .......PRICELESS

Love you bud - Dave, Thom & Donald

"My life is ironic, yours is just funny"

This was a quote as I was ending my conversation with a former advisee/student of mine who I chatted with as I sat in the New Orleans airport waiting for my flight to Orlando to visit friends of mine who moved from San Francisco last year. Hers is ironic because I've been correctly predicting the events of her life for the past five years and mine is funny because upon arriving in Florida and watching the delay of the shuttle launch, I attended my first NASCAR race, the Pepsi 400 at the famed Daytona International Speedway.

The racetrack is called a "trioval"

The Vice-President was on hand

Members of pit row stand for the national anthem

Our seats were right before turn 1 where the cars exited pitrow

One of the things I learned quickly was that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beloved and Jeff Gordon is loved by women and hated by men. I really didn't understand it until Jeff Gordon responded to his exit from the race by blaming the "out of control" driving of those racers around him, but taking none of the blame himself. Lame.

Jeff Gordon's #24 car coming to halt after trying to re-enter the race following a crash near with 10 laps left in the race.

I must confess that I had a great time. Just like I found with horseracing, I simply couldn't experience the speed, sound and smells of the race unless I witnessed it live. And Jeff Gordon sucks!