I specifically stated, and let it be known, that I DID NOT want to plan this years' cousin's summer trip. I already plan the annual cabin trip in the winter, and that's comes with a high level of stress. Even before I got the job in Sac and before I started looking for places to live in Sac, I did not want any additional stress. For once, I didn't want to be the responsible adult and take care of the things that no one else wanted to take care of. I just wanted to chill this summer. That's why I wanted to go to a beach: to just chill and relax.

Well, I got the new job, which (of course) is stressful since I'm getting used to a new work environment, as well as trying to look good for my boss and fellow co-workers. And then there's my apartment search. This would seem to be pretty much straightforward, but it soo hasn't been. At first, I was only looking for a studio or 1bd, place near downtown, or near public transportation, that was in a relatively good neighborhood, that didn't cost too much, that has utilities paid, a washer & dryer, a garage or gated access. I know, it's a lot of requirements. I was spoiled by Chris' place in Merced. Then all of a sudden my cousin wants to live with me & split rent, so now I'm looking for a 2bd place. There haven't been many that fit all my criteria, but of the ones that do, they get taken off the market relatively fast. I've been just a little too late on 2 of them now, and I feel like my chances are running out. So I've been going through Craigslist ads daily and trying to respond as fast as I can. AND I'm kind of on a deadline. My cousin starts school on Aug 29, so I definitely have to find a place before then.

So I have that all on my plate, and now I'm basically planning the summer trip that I previously stated that I did not want to do. I booked the hotel, calculated the expenses, looked up prices for the attractions, looked up the near-by beaches to see which allowed alcohol & bonfires, looked up potential restaurants and their prices and if they're good for big groups, looked up places to visit and things to do in the area, and figured out the ride situation. I basically put in the time & effort to do a thorough research of everything involved with the trip.

Despite all that, I'm still excited for the trip, and it'll probably be hella fun and totally worth all the trouble. I could just do without the additional stress.

edit:
Yes, I'm a fucking sucker, but I'm ok with that, if it's for family. For now. And it all ended up working out in the end anyways, as always.

Too lazy to do a full post, so here are some pics:

Work!
old work desk = 2 23" widescreen LCDs & Win 7 64-bit w/4gb RAM = super awesome

new work desk = 1 18" non-widescreen LCD & Win XP 32-bit w/2gb RAM = it's like I'm back in 2001

the friends in Mer-sad
This guy......stop-over on his way to SoCal. Got to experience The Applebees for himself. This man loves himself some Tequila Sunrises (happy hour special)

The moving van. Managed to Tetris all my crap in there.

screenball?
It's a game my cousins invented. Playing with a homemade duct tape ball and a whiffleball bat, it's like baseball except you don't run to bases, but you still keep track of it. It was pretty fun.

drinky shenanigans
At Bob's Doughnuts on Polk. It was Mark's bday, and he really wanted the giant doughnuts.

No joke, they're huge.

The following week, at Bullitt, Mark's friend was having her 30th bday bash and was doing the Edward 40-hands. She did both hands, but Mark only did it on one. That night, it was the most 40oz's, duct tape, and condoms that I've ever seen (in one place) in my life. (for ever 40oz sold, they included 2 condoms. and they were hella people with 40ozs, at least 15).

Some more plankage. It's cool, it's on Rad's car, and he's planking too.

Congrats, Caroline!
(my Auntie) Caroline graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Masters of Business Administration. It was at the HP Pavilion in San Jose and I thought it was going to be a small ceremony. I had no idea how big the University of Phoenix was. It was standing room only.

I've been meaning to write on here for a while, but I just haven't had the time. I did a bunch of stuff the weekend of 4th of July that I wanted to write about before I forgot about it, but at least I uploaded some of the pics from that weekend to my photostrip (on the right). I'll put them up in a real post soon. I've also been meaning to write about work, other than my initial first impressions. And then there's my ever-changing apartment search, which has kinda been a lil crazy. I'll write all about that stuff soon, I promise.

-Parking is worse than I thought. People fight for the limited spaces on the property. The waiting list for the state-owned garages is at least 2 years. The free street parking is on X St. My office is on O St. That's a 9-block walk. In the morning, that's fine, but at 3pm when it's 105 F, hell no. So I've been paying $7 a day (commuter special) at the public garage at the Downtown Mall. Paying that should give me more incentive to find an apartment sooner.

-Things are slow here, too, if not slower than in Fresno. I guess I shouldn't judge that on my first day, since it was the Friday before the 4th of July holiday weekend and half the office was gone. But still, on my first day, I didn't get my computer till maybe 30 min before I left, and it was not setup for me to do any work. 2nd day, I setup and installed the programs for the project I'm currently supporting, as well as the programs needed for my upcoming programs, which I haven't been assigned yet. It's now my 3rd day, I haven't been officially assigned anything yet, and I still don't have network access to the drives that I will most likely be working on. My boss and my boss's boss don't seem to be worried, so I won't be either.

-I'm possibly the youngest person in the office. I just had a meet-n-greet bagel meeting this morning, and mostly everyone was older. The guy I'm working with seems to be near my age, from my best estimation. He's staff level (a level above me), so that leads me to believe he's older, but I'm not quite sure. At least there's a wide range of different backgrounds & ethnicities. But I haven't noticed any ladies, at least not in my immediate vacinity.

-I have noticed quite a few ladies when I've gone out for lunch. On my first day, Haile took me to lunch at Burgers & Brew (on R & 14th), and there were a bunch. I went out to lunch today at the state-only cafeteria-like Plaza Cafe, and there were a bunch. Now, I actually have to DO something. And I plan to.

-Fresno spoiled me. They gave me TWO 22" widescreen (16:9) LCDs and a brand new Windows 7 64-bit workstation w/ 4gb ram. Up here, I get ONE 18" letterbox (4:3) LCD and an old Windows XP 32-bit workstation w/ 2gb ram. Doesn't sound like it, but it really is a BIG DIFFERENCE.

-NO AT&T SERVICE (VOICE OR DATA) AT MY CUBICLE!!!!

fri -
1st Day in Sac
Beer Revolution

sat -
Sunvalley
Adjustment Bureau

sun -
moved out of Merced
Buffalo Wild Wings & SF Creamery
Transformers 3

mon -
BBQ & Screenball

-no traffic
-2 hour wait
-no PC
-parking worse than I imagined
-office more than half empty