wannabeyemeni's Xanga

new blog

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 18:54:37 GMT

I will be blogging about my time in SD at:

http://bowmanucsd.blogspot.com/

Adios E&E Company

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 01:29:08 GMT

Today I bid my employer adieu. Off to DC on Monday, checking out GWU on Tuesday, flying back here on Wednesday, then off to the land of the rising sun on Thursday 4/12. Asa!

Want to support my former employer? I highly recommend the Park Avenue collection from Kohl's:

http://www.kohls.com/main/subcategory.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=421053399&bmUID=1175912811989

The CEO of the company designed the Empire and Dynasty patterns.

Buy Qat Online!

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 23:03:10 GMT

Thanks to youtube, i found a website where one can purchase qat online:

http://www.freshgat.com

If only it were legal in the states...

16 bucks for .5 kilos (about a pound). Expensive by Yemen standards (a fortune in fact) but not so bad for western prices.

SoCal Here I Come

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 14:56:08 GMT

In all liklihood I will be going to UCSD next Fall. Tufts and SIPA were unwise and did not accept me. While GW did, it was not kind enough to offer any money. Cost of UCSD for 2 years: $27,000. One year for GW: $22,060. As cool as it would be to live in DC, I don't think it is worth paying twice as much. Now if I were interested in working in politics and/or gov't, then GW would be much more tempting, but I'm not, so it isn't.

Rejection and Acceptance

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:28:35 GMT

Well I finally got an e-mail from SIPA today. I was turned down. Even though I knew I wasn't going to go there (due to the fact it costs an arm and a leg), it was still disappointing. Rejection sucks.

I got home and my mom asked me, "Hear from any schools?"
"Yeah, I heard from Columbia today. Wasn't accepted."
"Oh, well you weren't planning to go there anyway. What about the other two?"
"No, not yet. Probably next week."

I walk into my room and I have 3 pieces of mail: netflix envelope, a HRS card, and a big ass envelope. What's the return address? George Washington University. Excuse me, THE George Washington University. I immediately go out into the living room: "Dad, did you see this? Did you get the mail today?"
"No, your mom did."
"I got a big envelope from George Washington."
"Ha ha ha. Well, go get your mom."

I go to the laundry room: "Mom did you get the mail today?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Did you not notice the big envelope from GW?"
"Huh?"
I wave around the big envelope: "Did you see where this was from?" My mom slowly realizes what it is: "Oooh. I thought that was from Washington University."

We went back into the living room, and I opened the envelope. I was accepted, woo hoo. So 2 out of 3 , with one to go (good ol' Tufts).

An exceptional act of generosity

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:42:47 GMT

Nearly every day, I go out to lunch with the same couple co-workers, Wee and John. On Thursday, it was just Wee and myself. We get into her mini-van and she hands me a Gap bag and says, "Here is something for your trip." Inside the bag is a cardboard box, which I pull out. It says, "____electronics.com" so I think, "Hmm, did she get me a MP3 player? That would be pretty cool." I am a bit puzzled though because that isn't something Wee would get someone. So I open up the box.

Nope, no MP3 player. It is a cellphone. Huh? Wee explains, "It is a 4-band cellphone, so it should work pretty much anywhere in the world." Whoa. "Yeah, you're going to have to do some research. First, see if you can use your SIM card with it here. Then you might want to check out various countries and make sure they have GSM. It is an unlocked phone, so it should be able to work for any GSM carrier anywhere."
I reply, "Uh thanks. Wow, this is quite a shock."
"Well I figured you're going to be gone so long, I thought it would be a good thing for emergencies and whatnot. Something to keep in touch with your parents with."

So now I have a cellphone to travel with. I was blown away she got it for me. I can't think of the last time someone was that generous towards me.

In related news, I sent an e-mail to my boss yesterday telling him my last day of employment will be April 6th. He's been in Chicago for the past 6 weeks, and is finally returning to our Fremont office on Monday. I wonder how he'll act when I see him on Monday. What fun that'll be.

New BART ads

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:24:07 GMT

While I was eating toast this morning, I had the news on. What was the story I watched? BART is starting to run ads inside tunnels, so you can watch them while traveling between stations. The reporter was making it sound like it was really innovative.

Once again, this is more proof of how behind the USA is. The Seoul Subway had the same type of ads when I was living there, and that was 4+ years ago. wow, way to go us technology!

Being outside east Asia for a few years, I forget sometimes how slow this country is in embracing new trends and technology. It is stories like this that remind me that is the case. It will be interesting to see what I come across in Japan in a few weeks.

UCSD

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 03:55:23 GMT

Well the acceptance gods came through for one school: I got accepted to UCSD today. Woo hoo!

Smile like you mean it.

Places I'm staying

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 22:44:22 GMT

Since it looks like the land of the rising sun is crazy about making reservations, I went ahead and made a reservation at 3 places.

#1- The Oak Hotel in Tokyo. It is a real budget place (about 16 bucks/night) near Ueno Station. It wasn't my first choice but the location isn't bad and the price is pretty ideal. Staying here 3 nights.
Oak Hotel website

#2- J hoppers in Hiroshima. The one hostel I could find there. It was only 500 extra yen (a little under 5 bucks) for a private room vs. a dorm, so I went with the private room. Staying here two nights.
J-hoppers Hiroshima

#3- Waraku-an in Kyoto. It is a rather old-school style place that is a fair distance away from Kyto JR Station.
Waraku-an's website

I was originally planning to go from Tokyo to Kyoto to Hiroshima, then back to Tokyo, but thanks to Waraku-an being fully booked, I re-arranged my plans. What I'm doing now:

April 13-15: Tokyo
April 16: Himeji Castle, then getting to Hiroshima that evening
April 17: Hiroshima
April 18: Miyajima, then onto ____. Not sure yet. Kobe or Osaka probably.
April 19: arrive in Kyoto in morning
April 20: Kyoto
April 21: day-trip to Nara
April 22: Return to Tokyo
April 23: Fly to BKK

43% of WUSTL students virgins??

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:29:28 GMT

So I was reading a message board devoted to higher education, doing some research about IR programs. Besides the fact it confirmed my opinion of SAIS (Johns Hopkins IR school), I also found some interesting stuff on my alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). For one, it isn't well-liked by participants on the board. Lot of shit-talking about it. I guess its acceptance rate is insanely low now, mainly because WU wants to raise its ranking in US News and World Report . Then I came across this beauty: 43% of WUSTL students are virgins.

Honestly, I don't believe that. While I had didn't have any sex life to speak of at WUSTL, I thought I was the exception and not the rule. No, I have to believe the figure is closer to like 15-20%. Well ok, there is the freshman factor, so maybe kick that up another 10% or so.

That being said, apparently good ol' Student Life, a real bastion of professional journalism, did the survey two years in a row, and and the first time they got 44% virgin rate. Maybe they interviewed all the same people.

The "article" that has way too many pie charts. Warning: you will see rather bright colors that can be blinding:

http://www.studlife.com/media/paper337/news/2006/02/13/News/Student.Lifes.Sex.Survey.2006-1610399.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.studlife.com