Obi-J

Big air meets the dust devil.

Sometimes we. I’ve been spending much of my free time for the last year on music and the last few months staring a my laptop working on DJ sets and music production within Ableton. None of which I’ve bothered to back up (Note to self: buy backup drive ASAP). Somehow it was spared last night.

I’ve also been contemplating a major career change, going from ad sales…bleh…to architecture…yay. The thought of going back to school is daunting, but those that I’ve mentioned it to have encouraged me to follow my passion. I actually tried to sign up for a CAD course, but got a call back after doing so online telling me it was full. But then today I got a call saying that a spot had opened up.

So yeah, I think the universe is trying to tell me something.

After a wonderfully fun TransportedSF, and post dancing adventure burritos with Jason and Jiwon – Happy Birthday Jiwon!! – upon arriving at our car, parked at 17th and Shotwell, we discovered the window smashed and the the few things that we had inside – maps, a few CDs, fastrack – were pulled out of the side cubbies and strewn about. This was about the 7th time we’d had our car broken, so we know not to keep anything visible inside. Yet that didn’t keep this individual from busting in. At this point it’s more a feeling of annoyance than violation.

But then I remembered, “MY LAPTOP!!”. It was stashed in the trunk. While we normally lock the trunk release, we hadn’t in our rush to meet the bus. My heart sank as I asked Amy to pop the trunk. To my surprise and relief, our bags, including my laptop, were still there.

We didn’t quite understand how they didn’t find their way into the trunk. Amy guessed they were they too fucked up to function. But stille, they pulled out the few CDs in the driver side cubby which is right by the trunk release. Were they just looking for change? Did someone come by and spook them off?

After a breezy drive home I noticed the gas door was popped open. The gas release is right next to the trunk release and often I pull that one instead of the trunk. My best guess is that they pulled the wrong lever and when they got out to go to the trunk they thought that it was locked. No point in trying again, so they left. Phew!

I REALLY lucked out on this one because I have yet to back up most the files on it, including all my recently downloaded music project files I use for DJ sets. And given I’m playing on the 13th and an upcoming Transported I’d be pretty S.O.L. to pull months of work back together. To say I’m relieved would be an understatement.

Amy has the detailed report of our trip to Yosemite over here. No need to repeat her recap.

Highlights and lessons learned:

• To better enjoy Yosemite, ie. get away from the crowds of people, one must leave the valley…aka backpack.
• If you love coffee, bring your own. All available is rather awful.
• While the hike to Half Dome is possible in one day, I recommend backpacking up and staying in Little Yosemite Valley the night before. My legs are still sore 3 days later.
• The cables to the top of Half Dome are WAY steeper than I had anticipated. It didn’t help that I’m slightly afraid of heights, but a little mental focus and moving slow got me through. Also, better footwear may have helped.
• We met a guy, Mati, who shared the same birthday as Amy. We also learned that he went to Burning Man and to my surprise he spent some time and rather enjoyed my art project. Small world.
• With many vacations, I come back and wish I had a vacation from the vacation. Solution: Plan for an extra night in a cush hotel and just lay in bed for hours.
• Amy is the most wonderful companion ever :)

Photos here and videos below.

Mirror Lake sans water with views of the surrounding mountains including Half Dome.

Panoramic view while on top of Half Dome

Nevada Falls

Top of Vernal Falls

Bottom of Vernal Falls

Gotta love the low-budg bling.