September 29th, 2004 Although two months have passed since I moved to California, it feels as if I just got here. Perhaps that feeling will never go away — there is an endless amount to do, eat, and explore in this area I have not yet started calling my home. Despite this feeling, a lot has happened in these two months. Here are some highlights:
Moving
My mom flew up here with me to help me unpack and get ready. I was really glad to have her along — otherwise I would have been a lazy bum and I’m sure I would not have bought forks yet. The first few days were spent shopping for apartment stuff – pots, pans, kitchen towels, cleaning supplies, and all the rest. With perfect timing after finishing that, the movers arrived, and we unpacked most of my stuff. A word of warning: don’t trust the moving company! Although none of my stuff was stolen, they really didn’t take good care of my boxes by tossing them around and throwing them on top of each other. Anything that is important should be handled personally. My car came a few days later, and was another disappointment. Evidently the car above it had been leaking oil, which dripped on my stripes and complimented another yellow stain. When I confronted the driver about this, he said it wasn’t his fault, and wanted me to sign saying I received the car in good condition. I refused, and we argued for a while as he made it quite clear any damages would make his kids starve. He finally agreed to note discoloration, and I signed. An $80 carwash later, the stains were gone and my car looked brand new!
Starting Work
I started at Apple on August 2nd. Buzz of Sci-Fi Hi-Fi was assigned as my iBuddy, which was pretty sweet since I had been reading his blog since I noticed a comment of his in the tumultco.com referrals. He got the job of showing me around and teaching me how things work in Software Update Integration. Shortly after starting, I was assigned a project that is now receiving more attention than it probably should. Let’s just say I’ve already met some legends. I’ll probably devote a whole post to life at Apple later, but a lot of details I dare not share (sorry).
Making Money
It feels really good to make money. I just bought a 55″ HDTV. Standard Definition sucks. With some help from my parents, my apartment has been reasonably outfitted. I’ve gotten a super-soft mattress and comforter, black leather couch, dining table, chairs, side tables, and a shuji to separate my dining room from the living room. Media towers are on their way. My apartment is themed in black and tope colors, which I think is a sharp look. I’ll be completely debt-free in about a month, and then can really start spend…. err… saving money.
SourceTab
I’ve been working on SourceTab when I haven’t been working too hard at Apple. I’ve definitely found myself needing it at work, so actually using the program is driving me to add useful features. Most recently, I’ve developed a plugin architecture so the tabs can contain text editors, web browsers, terminals, or whatever you want. If you are interested in developing a plugin, let me know. It is really easy. I’ve also revamped the tab bar, and started adding support for finding symbols in a file. I currently discover Objective-C methods, functions, pragmas, etc. and display them in a semi-transparent overlay window when the user presses control-space. It makes code navigation pretty quick.
Kendo
I haven’t started going to a dojo yet since I need to get armor, but I have been practicing a little on my own. This past sunday, I went to the Northern California Kendo Federation tournament to watch. It is pretty much like the Midwest Kendo Federation tournaments in size and organization. The one notable difference is there is a division for seniors, as in senior citizens, not sempais. I didn’t stay very long at the tournament, since the seniors were slightly boring, and I would of had to wait about 3 hours to see sandan and up.
It seems the 50th East-West Japan Taikai was not too long ago (this is the most prestigious tournament, with better Kendo than the international tournament), and I was able to find some low-quality MPEGs. Click the statue to download them.
Sushi
There’s a mitsuwa about 10 minutes away from my apartment, and they sell different kinds of reasonably priced sashimi blocks there. I’ve cut it up, and made some sushi. Yum!