I have just finished going through all photos that Agnieszka and I took during two weeks of our holidays. Out of 3'000 I decided that 230 are of reasonable content and quality to be shared with the wider audience. I am going to use those photos in the subsequent posts to illustrate our adventures.
If you would like to get a preview of what will be posted here in the nearby future click here. Almost all of those photos were taken by me with my Nikon D40 (except for the ones on which I appear, of course). I will acknowledge the photos that were taken by Agnieszka once I start using them in my upcoming posts.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
CA driver's license
Yesterday, I attempted again to obtain CA driver's license. And this time, finally, I managed. But not without problems of course :)
This time around I decided to use Marta's (a friend from the lab) car, as other girl from my lab had already used her car for the same purpose and she had had no problems with it. Based on that, I assumed that Marta's car fulfills all the requirements that DMV has towards the vehicle.
But with all my luck, there was a problem with the car and I was almost sure that because of it I would be send home again without a license. When one of the examiners was doing the "safety inspection" of the car, she noticed that the back stop light at the passenger's side did not work... When she told me that, my heart stopped, and in my mind's eyes I already saw myself going through the ordeal of making another appointment for the exam... Luckily, the woman was nice enough to suggest that I go and fix the light and come back for the exam later that same day. I immediately drove to the nearest gas station and found somebody who replaced the light bulb for me. 20 minutes later I was back in the line waiting for the exam.
The exam itself went very well and I was very happy with its outcome. Not only I did not make a single mistake, but also after we were back at the DMV office, my examiner repeated at least three times that I am a very good driver :) Maybe that does not mean so much from the mouth of somebody who has to deal all the time with the beginning drivers, but still it made me very happy and at least it partly compensated for my previous misfortunes with the exam.
Bonus story:
Earlier that same morning, when I arrived at the DMV office, something ironically funny happened to me. I was driving around their parking lot looking for a free parking space when I finally spotted a car about to pull out and free one of the spots. I stopped, switched on my indicator and patiently waited for the car to pull out. In meantime, another car appeared from the opposite direction blocking the exit way of the car whose spot I was planning on taking. There would be nothing wrong with that, if the other car had not attempt to enter the parking lot in the OPPOSITE direction to the traffic signs and if that wouldn't have led to blocking of 5 cars (my car, the car that wanted to leave the parking space and two other cars that wanted to drive out of the parking lot following the traffic rules). Somehow I am still able to understand that somebody might make mistake like this and turn into the wrong traffic lane, but I have very little understanding (and patience) for people who do something like this, see that they block several other cars, but just decide to do nothing and wait for others to solve the situation. So I think to myself "who is the idiot driving this car?" and I start to stare through the car's window to see who is causing all that mess. And now, surprise, surprise (here the irony comes), who do I see? The driver is my friend Ania, with whom I initially planned to travel for the past two weeks when also my friend Agnieszka was visiting. About a month ago, I had decided not to travel with Ania anymore as a series of very peculiar events (that I might describe here later on) made me question her intelligence and/or sanity. Well, she did prove me wrong again, didn't she? ;)
This time around I decided to use Marta's (a friend from the lab) car, as other girl from my lab had already used her car for the same purpose and she had had no problems with it. Based on that, I assumed that Marta's car fulfills all the requirements that DMV has towards the vehicle.
But with all my luck, there was a problem with the car and I was almost sure that because of it I would be send home again without a license. When one of the examiners was doing the "safety inspection" of the car, she noticed that the back stop light at the passenger's side did not work... When she told me that, my heart stopped, and in my mind's eyes I already saw myself going through the ordeal of making another appointment for the exam... Luckily, the woman was nice enough to suggest that I go and fix the light and come back for the exam later that same day. I immediately drove to the nearest gas station and found somebody who replaced the light bulb for me. 20 minutes later I was back in the line waiting for the exam.
The exam itself went very well and I was very happy with its outcome. Not only I did not make a single mistake, but also after we were back at the DMV office, my examiner repeated at least three times that I am a very good driver :) Maybe that does not mean so much from the mouth of somebody who has to deal all the time with the beginning drivers, but still it made me very happy and at least it partly compensated for my previous misfortunes with the exam.
Bonus story:
Earlier that same morning, when I arrived at the DMV office, something ironically funny happened to me. I was driving around their parking lot looking for a free parking space when I finally spotted a car about to pull out and free one of the spots. I stopped, switched on my indicator and patiently waited for the car to pull out. In meantime, another car appeared from the opposite direction blocking the exit way of the car whose spot I was planning on taking. There would be nothing wrong with that, if the other car had not attempt to enter the parking lot in the OPPOSITE direction to the traffic signs and if that wouldn't have led to blocking of 5 cars (my car, the car that wanted to leave the parking space and two other cars that wanted to drive out of the parking lot following the traffic rules). Somehow I am still able to understand that somebody might make mistake like this and turn into the wrong traffic lane, but I have very little understanding (and patience) for people who do something like this, see that they block several other cars, but just decide to do nothing and wait for others to solve the situation. So I think to myself "who is the idiot driving this car?" and I start to stare through the car's window to see who is causing all that mess. And now, surprise, surprise (here the irony comes), who do I see? The driver is my friend Ania, with whom I initially planned to travel for the past two weeks when also my friend Agnieszka was visiting. About a month ago, I had decided not to travel with Ania anymore as a series of very peculiar events (that I might describe here later on) made me question her intelligence and/or sanity. Well, she did prove me wrong again, didn't she? ;)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Grand Circle in 15 days
Hello! Hello! Did you behave while I was gone? :)
I had a wonderful time during my holidays and after such long time away from the bench it would probably be difficult for me to get back to work if it weren't for the fact that I have an important deadline approaching soon. That means that I neither have time to organize all 3'000 photos that Agnieszka and I took during our trip nor to write reasonable blog posts about the places we saw.
Still, I wanted to let you know that I am alive and back, and soon I will start posting again. Here is the list of subjects on which I plan to post in near (but not immediate) future:
I had a wonderful time during my holidays and after such long time away from the bench it would probably be difficult for me to get back to work if it weren't for the fact that I have an important deadline approaching soon. That means that I neither have time to organize all 3'000 photos that Agnieszka and I took during our trip nor to write reasonable blog posts about the places we saw.
Still, I wanted to let you know that I am alive and back, and soon I will start posting again. Here is the list of subjects on which I plan to post in near (but not immediate) future:
- Valley of Fire SP
- Zion NP
- Grand Canyon NP - North Rim
- Antelope Canyon
- Powell Lake & Glen Canyon Dam
- Betatakin Ruins
- Canyon de Chelly NM
- Monument Valley
- Mexican Hat
- Moki Dugway
- Natural Bridges NM
- Mesa Verde NP
- Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway
- Arches NP
- Delicate Arch in Arches NP
- Devils Garden Primitive Loop in Arches NP
- Dead Horse SP
- Canyonlands NP
- Capitol Reef NP
- Scenic Byway No 12
- Bryce NP
- Peek-A-Boo Trail in Bryce NP
- Cedar Breaks NM
- Las Vegas
- Red Rock Canyon, NV
- Lizards of Canyons and Deserts
- A Step Back in Time
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Muir Woods in wide angle
As I still had Anil's car yesterday I took Agnieszka to Muir Woods that she can see the Redwoods. I think it was also the first time that I was there with my wide-angle lens thanks to which it is almost possible to see a whole Redwood tree on one photo. Below are few pics demonstrating that.
Little deer with blue eyes:
Agnieszka with a huge Redwood in the background:
Fallen tree:
Monika and Redwoods:
Redwoods like to grow in groups:
And sometimes they form this kind of burls that in favorable conditions give rise to the clones of the original tree:
Most Redwoods have extremely straight barks, except for this one:
Agnieszka inside one of the Redwoods:
Me, the tree witch!
PS On Saturday we are leaving for our road trip, so do not expect any blog posts for the next 2.5 weeks. In meantime, do not do anything that I would not do :)
Little deer with blue eyes:
Agnieszka with a huge Redwood in the background:
Fallen tree:
Monika and Redwoods:
Redwoods like to grow in groups:
And sometimes they form this kind of burls that in favorable conditions give rise to the clones of the original tree:
Most Redwoods have extremely straight barks, except for this one:
Agnieszka inside one of the Redwoods:
Me, the tree witch!
PS On Saturday we are leaving for our road trip, so do not expect any blog posts for the next 2.5 weeks. In meantime, do not do anything that I would not do :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
third time is the charm...?
Did I pass today's driving test? - No.
Did I fail it? - Also not.
Was I allowed to take the exam? - No. (hysterical laughter in the background)
What was the reason this time? - The car that I took for the exam was missing a current registration sticker.
Why is that important? - No idea. Especially that I had with me current registration documents for the car, as well as other required documents.
It seems that universe does not want me to drive a car in this country.
Don't you sometimes wish that things would be easier?
Did I fail it? - Also not.
Was I allowed to take the exam? - No. (hysterical laughter in the background)
What was the reason this time? - The car that I took for the exam was missing a current registration sticker.
Why is that important? - No idea. Especially that I had with me current registration documents for the car, as well as other required documents.
It seems that universe does not want me to drive a car in this country.
Don't you sometimes wish that things would be easier?
free rice revisited
In case you have not played FREE RICE yet, or you took a break from it for a while, you should definitely check it out: It got largely expanded and now you can also check your knowledge on other than English vocabulary subjects (e.g. art, geography, chemistry, go here to see the full list of subjects). And for every answer you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated for the hungry.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
behind the wheel
Tomorrow I will make the second attempt to obtain CA driver's license. And no, I did not fail a drive test the first time around - I was not allowed to take it.
In California (and I guess in other states as well) you need to bring your own car for the exam. I do not own a car (and I do not intend to own one in the foreseeable future), so it is difficult for me to show up for the exam with a car... Of course I could borrow it from somebody, but not so many of my friends have cars, and the ones that do, actually need them to commute to work.
So last time that I tried to take the exam, I rented a car from Hertz. That would have worked out well for me, if I had only known that (on top of all possible insurances) I needed to bring with me an additional letter from Hertz that stated that I was allowed to use their car for the behind the wheel test. Unfortunately, I did not know that and I showed up at the DMV office without the aforementioned document. On the day of my exam, I still tried to obtain the appropriate letter from Hertz, but it was not possible as I was not assigned as a primary driver (I co-rented the car with one other person and he was the primary driver) on the rental contract for the car...
Today I tried to rent a car from Hertz for my exam tomorrow morning, but somehow, all of their cars all over the city are rented out. (Yes, I was too stupid/arrogant/naive to get an idea of booking the car in advance.) I tried to rent the car from other companies, but all of the ones that I called did not allow for their cars to be used during the drive test.
I ended up borrowing an SUV from my bf, but I have to say that I do not feel 100% comfortable driving it. Well, actually driving itself is not a problem, but parallel parking is. This car needs really a lot of space to be parked easily. Of course I can park it, but not always at the first attempt, which I am afraid is necessary during the exam. Moreover, I will be taking the exam in Oakland (as to get an appointment for the exam in SF you need to wait around a month), in the neighborhood that I have not been driving before. Also to get there I will need to take a 7km long bridge. Alone. (And in case you do not know I have a strong bridge-phobia). Taken all that into account I really wonder what my chances for passing the exam tomorrow are. In any case, keep your fingers crossed.
In California (and I guess in other states as well) you need to bring your own car for the exam. I do not own a car (and I do not intend to own one in the foreseeable future), so it is difficult for me to show up for the exam with a car... Of course I could borrow it from somebody, but not so many of my friends have cars, and the ones that do, actually need them to commute to work.
So last time that I tried to take the exam, I rented a car from Hertz. That would have worked out well for me, if I had only known that (on top of all possible insurances) I needed to bring with me an additional letter from Hertz that stated that I was allowed to use their car for the behind the wheel test. Unfortunately, I did not know that and I showed up at the DMV office without the aforementioned document. On the day of my exam, I still tried to obtain the appropriate letter from Hertz, but it was not possible as I was not assigned as a primary driver (I co-rented the car with one other person and he was the primary driver) on the rental contract for the car...
Today I tried to rent a car from Hertz for my exam tomorrow morning, but somehow, all of their cars all over the city are rented out. (Yes, I was too stupid/arrogant/naive to get an idea of booking the car in advance.) I tried to rent the car from other companies, but all of the ones that I called did not allow for their cars to be used during the drive test.
I ended up borrowing an SUV from my bf, but I have to say that I do not feel 100% comfortable driving it. Well, actually driving itself is not a problem, but parallel parking is. This car needs really a lot of space to be parked easily. Of course I can park it, but not always at the first attempt, which I am afraid is necessary during the exam. Moreover, I will be taking the exam in Oakland (as to get an appointment for the exam in SF you need to wait around a month), in the neighborhood that I have not been driving before. Also to get there I will need to take a 7km long bridge. Alone. (And in case you do not know I have a strong bridge-phobia). Taken all that into account I really wonder what my chances for passing the exam tomorrow are. In any case, keep your fingers crossed.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Twin Peaks
I am very fortunate to live in an extremely beautiful city. During last few days I had a chance to show part of San Francisco's beauty to Agnieszka, one of my Polish friends. Some things taste the best when they are shared :)
Here are few photos that we took tonight at Twin Peaks, from where you can see almost the whole city.
San Francisco, the beautiful, as seen from Twin Peaks:
Agnieszka and I at the top of Twin Peaks:
Anil, our driver who forgot to shave :) and I:
Here are few photos that we took tonight at Twin Peaks, from where you can see almost the whole city.
San Francisco, the beautiful, as seen from Twin Peaks:
Agnieszka and I at the top of Twin Peaks:
Anil, our driver who forgot to shave :) and I:
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Poland 2008 - Gdynia
During my recent trip to Gdansk I managed to convince my father to visit Gdynia. Initially, my father was more inclined to visit Sopot and stroll on its wooden pier (apparently the lonest one in Europe) as he thought that Gdynia being an industrial city had nothing to offer. Luckily, Gdynia proved him to be wrong and we had a great time there. Especially, we enjoyed visit to the harbor and watching a few of Polish most famous historic ships/sailboats.
"Blyskawica" (destroyer "Lightning"):
"Dar Pomorza":
Pirates' Ship:
"Zawisza Czarny"
Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Monument with Musuem of Oceanography in the background:
"Blyskawica" (destroyer "Lightning"):
"Dar Pomorza":
Pirates' Ship:
"Zawisza Czarny"
Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Monument with Musuem of Oceanography in the background:
Monday, September 1, 2008
Berlin 2008 - the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe/Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas
Holocaust Memorial is a huge (19'000 square meter) memorial in a center of Berlin dedicated to the memory of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. It consists of 2'711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The stelae are 2.38m long and 0.95m wide and vary in height from 0.2 m to 4.8m. They are suppose to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and walking between them surely makes you feel uneasy. Interestingly, nowhere inside or around the memorial you can find information on what it commemorates. Apparently, this is a deliberate attempt to encourage visitors to reach their own conclusions.
Berlin 2008 - Neue Synagogue
Beautiful neo-byzantine Neue Synagogue is not easy to photograph, still I thought that I will give it a shot:
Berlin 2008 - German Parliament/Deutsche Bundestag
The Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament, is another one of Berlin's most important historical landmarks. It is close to the Brandenburger Tor and before the unification, it was located right next to the wall. Today, it is one of the biggest tourist attractions of Berlin, mostly thanks to its glass dome, which is accessible to the public and from where you can enjoy the beauty of Berlin.
View of the west portal of the Reichstag Building in Berlin:
Architecturally impressive, the Marie-Elisabeth-Lueders-Haus, one of the official buildings of the complex:
View of the west portal of the Reichstag Building in Berlin:
Architecturally impressive, the Marie-Elisabeth-Lueders-Haus, one of the official buildings of the complex:
Berlin 2008 - Museum Island/Museumsinsel
Berlin’s Museum Island was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status in the year 2000 and at the same it was designed to be “a sanctuary of art and science.” There are five museums located on the island formed by the river Spree: Old Museum (Altes Museum), New Museum (Neues Museum), Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie), Bode Museum and Pergamon Museum. During this year's trip to Berlin I did not have time to visit any of these museums, but I had visited them during my previous visits to Berlin and I had enjoyed all of them a lot. If you have time to visit only one of them, go to the Pergamon Museum. It has an absolutely amazing collection of antiquities, the most stunning of which is Ishtar Gate of Babylone.
Spree and Bode Museum:
My personal favorite, Pergamon Museum:
Spree and Bode Museum:
My personal favorite, Pergamon Museum:
Berlin 2008 - Brandenburg Gate/Brandenburger Tor
The Brandenburg Gate is one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. During the Cold War, the Brandenburger Gate was the symbol of the city's divide as it was located just at the border between East and West Berllin. After the fall of the wall, it became the symbol of a reunified Berlin.
Its design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis. On its top you can see the Quadriga, the chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.
The Quadriga is facing to the east, in direction of Unter den Linden:
View to Brandenburg Gate from the western side:
Its design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis. On its top you can see the Quadriga, the chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.
The Quadriga is facing to the east, in direction of Unter den Linden:
View to Brandenburg Gate from the western side:
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