Trip summary: San Diego

After going to Anime Expo in Los Angeles, I spent a week in San Diego. This was in July.

From Balboa Park, San Diego

My cousin Gayle took me to the "Body Worlds 2" exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Body Worlds is beyond text description, and they did not allow photographs. But you can check out their website. The most profound parts of the exhibit were 1) a human head showing all of the blood vessels in it, and 2) a display with real preserved human fetuses and embryos. (The exhibit noted how the embryos had been obtained. I do not remember exactly what they said, but I was satisfied.) Actually, the entire exhibit was definitely worth seeing.

The huge tree in the picture is just outside the museum. That tree is off-limits now, but Gayle said that, when she was a kid, people could climb on it.

I saw the Pixar movie "Up" with my cousin Lance. Then we went to Barnes & Noble, and I saw the strangest book: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." I do not know which was more disturbing: adding zombies to "Pride and Prejudice," or the fact that this new version was a New York Times bestseller (and had no doubt outsold the original, at least recently). Nevertheless, I thought this would be the perfect gift for my cousin Jason, who both likes zombies and aspires to be a high-school English teacher.

I also went to the San Diego Zoo with my friend Steph. It had probably been 15 years since I had last been there.









We had a great time, but of course we did not see everything. I really enjoyed the seal show, which included this hawk. The hawk actually flew right above our heads, and I was totally tempted to stick my arm out and see if he would land on it. But seeing the hawk in person, one realizes that he (she?) could easily maim any person he wanted to.

From San Diego Zoo w/Steph

My favorite part of the zoo was actually not the wildlife, but this. Around that signpost is not ivy; it is a person! You can see more by clicking on the link below the picture.

From Hom dinner

We had a Hom family dinner at Gin Lai Sen. In the picture are my Uncle Jim, cousin Karen, and Auntie Evelyn.






The impetus for going to San Diego was the wedding of my friend John Love. John and I were in the same lab at Caltech; now he is a professor at San Diego State University. Our friend Possu was also there.

From Wedding of John and Therese Love

John's bride, Therese, seemed very nice.












I did a few other things in San Diego, but I did not take any pictures. I stayed a couple of days with my cousins Will and Nora, and Nora introduced me to the TV show "The Next Food Network Star." I also played some board games with my friends Elliott Davis and Aleck Lin (and Steph).

Next week is PAX, the Penny Arcade Expo! I went last year and blogged about it. Wil Wheaton will be there again!

One year later.

I was planning to show pictures from my trip to San Diego. However, this time I would like to reflect on the past year.

From My last Genentech Ho-Ho

One year ago, July 31, 2008, was my last day at Genentech. I was doing postdoctoral research studying human genetics and the disease lupus. There were many nice things about that situation; nevertheless, I decided to quit, and also to move from San Francisco to Seattle. The picture is from my last meal as a Genentech employee.

Why did I decide to do this? In hindsight, it was due to three F's.

The first "F" was "Flash," as in Adobe Flash. Instead of studying lupus, etc., I wanted to make some computer programs. But not computer programs for scientists; rather, programs that my mom, sister, or even grandma could use and would want to use. The programming language that I chose to use was Flash. I had tried to program in Flash while I was still a postdoc, but I really wanted to try programming full-time. So, that is why I quit.

The second "F" was "Family," as in my mom's side in Seattle. In recent years, I had gotten to know my dad's side (mostly in Los Angeles and San Diego) much better than before. However, I had spent very little time with my relatives in Seattle: two weeks every summer when I was a kid, and one wedding a few years ago. So, that is why I moved to Seattle.

The third "F" was "Faith," as in faith in God, specifically Jesus Christ. Since 2005, I have been much more proactive about seeking faith, and in a related sense, truth. For example, the Bible describes Jesus Christ as dying and being raised from the dead. Did this really happen? While I was living and working in San Francisco, I had a lot of help trying to answer these questions, but I still was not sure. I did not have to quit or move to Seattle in this case, but the change would hopefully allow me more time and flexibility to pursue faith. Also, I really respected the faith of my grandma in Seattle, and I thought I might learn something from her.

So, with regard to the three F's, how has the past year gone?

Flash: I learned a lot, and I made some real progress on two programs. It is probably a lot more than I would have done if I had stayed at Genentech. But in terms of programming full-time, I honestly have failed. I will chalk this up to laziness, and I need to do better with my remaining time.

Family: I have gotten to know my grandma; Auntie Nancy and Uncle Paul; cousin Chris, his wife Olivia, and their daughter Jubilee; cousin Jason; Auntie Audrey; cousin Brian; cousin Michelle (and her newborn son Braden!); and Uncle Gordon, Auntie Marlene, and their kids Brendon and Sydney. Some better than others. And I have also gotten to know extended family, such as my Auntie Nancy's relatives. When I consider how little I knew beforehand--for example, I had never even met Jubilee before I moved--it has been quite rewarding.

Faith: I have read some books, joined some study groups, visited some churches, talked to many people, read the Bible more, and prayed. But I still am unsure. I am still uncommitted. However, I definitely think I have learned a lot over the past year, and I now practice daily quiet time and Bible reading. I feel more at peace with my spiritual progress than when I was in SF ... at least I think I do.

So that is how things look to me now. I do not regret my decision to quit my postdoc and move to Seattle, but clearly I still have a lot of progress to make.

I was thinking about how things would be if I had stayed at Genentech. I would probably have more money. For everything else, who knows? However, I know some things that probably would be gone: all of the experiences I have had up here in Seattle. All of the pictures.

From Roof cleaning

I will close with just one. My Uncle Ron was visiting from Fresno, and we were cleaning my Auntie Nancy's yard and roof. I was on the ladder, and Uncle Ron let me snap this picture of him.

I cannot explain why I like this picture, even to those who know Uncle Ron. But I feel that having even one picture like this means it was a good year.