The Worn Out College Student and the Tie-Dye Wearing Antagonist

Hello everybody, I am sorry about my overly long hiatus from my normal writing schedule. I didn't forget, I just have been busy. Anyway, it's time for an update.

Last Tuesday, September 12, was a big day. Apple Event, new Barenaked Ladies album and a potential mugging avoided. Yes, last Tuesday I was almost mugged on my way back from work to the record store to pick up my new Barenaked Ladies Are Me album. I was walking down Telegraph, the famous street in Berkeley, with a lot of independent shops and an equal amount of homeless people. It was mid afternoon so the sun was shining and people were out and about. Obliviously talking on the phone to my mother, I noticed a normal couple in front of me being approached by a hippie/homeless man. The shady man holding a skateboard in his left hand approached the couple saying, "You see that cup over there? Well, you're going to put money in that cup." The female side of the couple said in a stern voice, "um, sorry dude, no." I wanted to avoid the situation by going around the confrontation thinking he was just a normal bum looking for spare change. However, I heard an exchange of words and I turned around to see the man raise his skateboard in threat to the couple. We know about "fight or flight", my conscious in its infinite wisdom decided to choose fight that day. I yelled. "hey man knock it off". The guy turned to me and approached me, I said to my mother over the phone, "sorry mom, I will have to call you back, someone is getting mugged" as if it was a normal occurrence. As soon as he started to approach me the couple scurried off the other direction and didn't even stay for back up. So here I was, an 18 year old college student coming back from a long day of school and work carrying his backpack, only wanting the CD he has been waiting for months. As they couple sheepishly ran off I thought, "great, now it's just me and this guy while busy Telegraph Avenue is oblivious.

The man, who was ironically wearing a tie-dye peace shirt and sporting dreadlocks began to get close to me giving his whole rehearsed homeless story, telling it as if the world owed him something. He had a scar under his left eye, presumably from a fight with his crack or heroin dealer. I gave the flower child retort saying that we didn't need violence and that he can just go to the local shelter or wait patiently for someone to drop change in his cup on their own terms. He continued to tell me he has been out there for weeks constantly getting spit upon or kicked and that this was his day "to vent". I knew I couldn't just walk away, he might have come after me, so I stupidly opened my wallet and said to him, "If I give you this will you leave and get the hell out of here?" I never really got a response, but I gave him a dollar and watched him turn the corner from telegraph onto a different street.

I am sure this was part of his routine and I thought about calling the police, but I thought finding one homeless person in Berkeley was as tough as... well finding a specific homeless person in Berkeley. I know I didn't do the exact right thing, but I feel like I did something and that's more than the male side of that couple can say. Where did he go anyway?

I picked up my phone, "Hey mom, sorry about that..."

No More Summer Camp

Berkeley is no longer the summer camp I said in which it reminded me. I am writing this in hoping to further delay the completion of my philosophy paper. It is supposed to be about 3-4 pages long and I am just past two pages. Not only am I writing my first college paper, but I also have an economics problem set due this week and reading for English as well as a drawing to redo for art history. Give me a break if I can't draw. What makes this philosophy paper even worse is that we just started class last week and have only been four times, that's six hours of instruction, but the discussion group has only met for one hour... on Thursday. Even my graduate student instructor (GSI) said it was weird that we were writing a paper so early in the course. Even worse is that we have to reconstruct (not summarize) the philosopher's argument and then draw our own conclusion, like if we have enough experience to be philosophers. If you want to know what the paper is on, just look up Descartes' First Meditation and all will be known.

On the bright side, I am feeling comfortable in my new environment as I begin to gain a routine. I was elected as the hall association (hall ass) treasurer/finance director, I am again in charge of money, I hope to do well in this position. I also just started working at the campus computer with a really great group of coworkers. I really look forward to working there more and creating a bond with the folks there, they could be like my new robotics. I also figured out my schedule for free food, all at Hillel, the Jewish group on campus. I am good for food on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays that saves me meal points. I go to Hillel a lot, usually with my friend Eric from temple back at home.

Well this brings me to the Apple related topic of the blog. On Tuesday, Apple is having a special media event. The event is to be held in San Francisco, just 15 miles away from my dorm room.

It's time to play my favorite game... Guess What Apple Will Introduce!!

My first prediction will be an iTunes movie store, full length movies downloadable on iTunes, that in my opinion is almost a given. Apple wouldn't however just have a media event for software, there is also some hardware to go along with the new software. Probably an iPod refresh or new iPod model with a bigger screen for viewing movies. Also Apple may introduce a living room media hub, but I doubt it, but it could happen. Anyway I look forward to watching Steve's Reality Distortion Field™ on Tuesday as well as stopping by the local record store to buy the new Barenaked Ladies album "Barenaked Ladies Are Me" it should be a good week.

A Great Weekend

I can write about the first week of college classes. Well they were... different. Yes they were more difficult than high school, but they were also very different. From 20 people discussion groups to 700 student lecture halls. Everyday I had to walk about 4/5 of a mile just to campus and an extra fraction of a mile to classes all at 8:00 in the morning. Just so you know, I am the only one on my floor with 8:00 classes everyday, so imagine how I feel being pretty much the only person awake at 7:00. Worst of all are the awkward gaps between classes, enough time to study, but not enough time to walk back to my room and rest for awhile. This week though was just a lot of downtime. Fortunately for me it's a good trade off because I am also one of the only ones on my floor with Friday entirely off, so it's always a three day weekend for me. Here's a little view of what I did this week:

Econ 1 Discussion MW 8:00-9:00
Econ 1 Lecture MW 12:00-1:00
Theatre 24 M 2:00-4:00
English R1A TTh 8:00-9:30
Philosophy 4 TTh 11:00-12:30
Art History 24 W 2:00-4:00

**Starting this week however I can move econ discussion up an hour and add an hour long discussion for philosophy on Thursdays from 2-3**

This weekend however is what this post is about. My friends Janet, Will, Rene, and Tyler came up from Lancaster to visit (Alan came too, but he spent his time with Jena). On Saturday we took a tour of Berkeley, had dinner, went to Yogurt Park and some of us went to a party.

On Sunday we took the BART to San Francisco and had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, walked up to Ghirardelli Square for some awesome ice cream sundaes where Tyler and I split a $7.00 sundae, but they accidently filled our order twice so we got two for the price of one. After that we went to Japan Center, city hall and UC Hastings Law School. We then took a quick muni ride to Castro and took a look at all the shops. Then we finished the night going down Market Street and had dinner at a Thai restaurant and got drinks at the Hilton after joining in chorus with a homeless man looking to make some quick change.

Today we had to say goodbye but not before getting some Cal apparel and eating lunch at Blondie's Pizza.

I just wanted to let everyone know that seeing those people put a huge smile on my face, it was one of the greatest things to have happened to me. In a time where I was feeling a little bit homesick I got to see some of my favorite people and that just meant everything to me. I can't thank them enough, but hopefully this will suffice for now. Thank you.