Hideaki

My Bike Stolen

My bike was stolen.

I was happy at the time when I went to the bike parking lot. My mind was full of happy weekend plans of cycling. Then, I found that my bike has gone. The thief seemed to cut the chain. It shocked me. Of course, I knew that the bike could be easily stolen in this city. I also knew my lock was not strong enough. So, I was planning to upgrade my lock this weekend. But the thief did not even allow that time. In addition, I did not expect this to happen so soon (only 5 days!) and at the place I work.

I was so despaired that I went to bed upon returning at the day. So today is the next day. I feel more power now. I will never let the thief ruin my happy weekend. First, I called police and insurance company. It is not so difficult to recover financial damage. Next, I checked the San Francisco Bike Coalition Page to get tips for protecting bikes. They recommend hard U locks. I will buy that U lock this time. But even the U lock is not enough because thieves steal parts. I saw the skeleton bike that only the frame is remained. Maybe, I should keep my bike in the building, not outside. The best way is to keep it next to my desk.

American Lunch

I found a new place for lunch.

The small restaurant had an atmosphere of traditional American eating house. Guests were middle aged people reading newspapers. The menu consisted of eggs, beef, and sandwiches. No fish, no chicken, and few vegetables were available. The restaurant reminded me of Steinbeck novels. In his novels, hamburg restaurants for long distance truck drivers were depicted likewise.

I ordered a hamburg steak. I was happy to try the true American taste of hamburg steak. But when it came, I found that the patty was exactly the same as that of a McDonald’s hamburger. Do you imagine what it is like to eat only the patty of a hamburger? Fortunately, I found cure. On the table were ketchup and Tabasco, waiting to be poured on the patty to cover it completely. Anyway, the price was only $5. I will come here again, but sometimes, not everyday.

In the company, I wrote a simple query to combine old databases to one. I also had a chance to talk with the CEO. He showed me a prototype of a program he himself wrote. The program represented his idea how we can manage our log of the job better. It was fantastic. He also said that he read the blog and commented on it. I am happy about it.

After the job, I went short cycling again. Today, I went to the downtown and enjoyed the same route of a cable car line.

Signals for terror

Traffic signals in San Francisco tell you how many seconds you have to cross the road. These signals start countdown from about 10 seconds. Remaining time is displayed next to the sign.

This gimmick seemed nice to me. At first, I thought such a gimmick was a special present for pedestrians, who chose to walk rather than to drive. But after staying a few days, I changed my understanding. It is not a bonus, but a warning.

Here, signal system does not keep aside any time for safety. The moment a signal turns red, the one on the other side turns green. When drivers see green, they start at full speed as if they die tomorrow. The road becomes like Amazon full of crocodiles. You cannot expect any of their mercy. So, you should never start crossing if the countdown number is less than five.

Today, I wrote a small program to modify the database. It was a tiny assignment, but I used up whole day because I was not familiar with new programming scheme. I was so ashamed about it that I stayed until I finished it at 20:30. Night of San Francisco is dangerous, so I hurried to my home.

These five years, Microsoft totally changed the programming style. But I think they did in the wrong way. I have a lot of complaints. I may write about it the other day.

Fancy Lunch

My intern company has no regular schedule for lunch. Workers can go lunch whenever they want. This should be a good idea because only one cafeteria is available nearby.

This only cafeteria is a buffet style restaurant. It serves wide variety of food such as four kinds of salads, three kinds of fishes, five kinds of sushi and mixed fruits. They are delicious. I can’t stop thinking about lunch from eleven o’clock. The drawback is the price. It cost more than $8, twice as much as I used to spend in Hawaii. Moreover, the restaurant is always clouded. I have to wait more than10 minutes. I prefer cheap and quick. I hope Yoshinoya come here.

Today, I added three lines to the program codes. This is the first accomplishment as an intern. I am happy about it. The problem is that the time can be much reduced if the CEO writes by himself. I have to study more.

After work, I went short cycling. I climbed up the Fillmore Street. The view from the highest point was great. I could see the end of the city. There, cloud disappeared. So, San Francisco was the only cloudy city today, too.

Drowned

The first day is always challenging. So was today.

My internship company was in a modern building covered with brick. The company is a software vender whose main product is a CAD add-in, which established a unique position in the industry. Only about 10 people were working, including interns. The CEO was young and active. He was busy. The reason was that he does a lot of jobs. He does not only oversee subordinates, but also write programs and establish relationship outside the company. I am curious how he handles all of these.

I learned from him that all tasks here are strictly managed as projects. The progress of projects is updated in a database and is integrated with all related documents such as e-mails. Therefore, the CEO and other workers can see what is going on. This system is realized by an original computer program. Accepting interns as a workforce must be a challenge. We stay only for a couple of months. The CEO seemed to handle this challenge with the program. He told me that my job was to create the Web version of it.

I faced three challenges. First was communication. People sometimes spoke faster than I understood and my pronunciation also was not understood often. Next was skill. Making Web applications is much more difficult than making windows applications. My hobby programming experience won’t help me much. Last is task. How can I find the way to do something substantial in this situation?

Today, I was simply overwhelmed. I sit in front of the computer hopelessly. Oh, I remember a project manager who came to JAIMS saying, “You are distained to be drowned in the first day of the project.” How true you are. I also remember Cogan saying, “Face sheer facts, but act positively.” I’ll try.

Cycling around San Francisco

The cycling around San Francisco was nice and fun. The landscape along the trail changed dramatically every thirty minutes.

First, I went through the east coast of San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge. I visited Bay Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Cable Cars Turn Tables, Presidio, and Fort Point on the way to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Unfortunately, it was cloudy today. As a matter of fact, that is not only today. I never saw sun after I came here. But it is good for bike traveler. Strong sun beam is an enemy to us.

I started to cross the bridge. When I reached the other end of the bridge, it became sunny suddenly. I looked back and found something very special. San Francisco was floating above the cloud. All other place but San Francisco was sunny. The cloud came from the ocean and continuously supplied white curtain to the city. That’s the trick why it has been cloudy…

On my way back to the accommodation, I visited the east side of the city. It was a hilly place and houses were nice. I passed through a museum on the top of the hill and went down to a sand beach. Next to the beach was the Golden Gate Park. The park was big with a lot of nice wild trees. Finally, the cycling road led me to the today’s last visiting point, Panda Express.

San Francisco is a great city to enjoy cycling. You cannot lose your way because bike roads were well posted. There’s no danger because bike roads were separated from cars by a lane. I love here. I also found extensive bike and hiking trails outside the city. Hopefully, I like to enjoy them.

The log became like a diary of a sightseeing traveler... I’m sorry for that. Tomorrow is the first day of my internship. I am curious what I will find tomorrow at my internship company.

Bike, Movie, and Danger

I went to a movie theater.

I like watching movies. In Hawaii, I used to go to a theater with my fellow students every weekend. But San Francisco is not as safe as Hawaii. I found a bunch of dangerous looking youngsters on the street nearby. I never saw such people in Hawaii.

So I prepared an extra purse and went before it got dark. The theater was not far. It took only 15 minutes by bike and it was very big.

I watched the Fahrenheit 9/11, the controversial piece criticizing President George W. Bush. Other than movie itself, I was looking forward to seeing aggressive response such as shouting and yelling of watchers. I experienced such a lot in Hawaii. It was fun to look at it. But audiences in San Francisco were actually quiet most of the time. Are they “cooler” than Hawaiian? Anyway, the movie was fun.

After movie, I went to Japantown to eat dinner. While waiting dinner, I remembered that bikes parked near the theater were tied with very thick locks. My lock, on the other hand, was thin. It might be a good idea to buy a thicker one. But the thick lock can cost $20. And my bike cost only $60. The lock will pay only if the possibility of steal is more than 33% in entire stay, or 2.5% each day off, assuming that the bike is safe on the workday in the parking lot. Umｍ…

The Long Long Day

The first day in San Francisco was long. I left Hawaii just yesterday. But I remember the happy days in Hawaii as if they were long time ago.

The long day maybe started from yesterday night at Honolulu Airport lobby. I found that I do not have six boxes of quality Hawaiian chocolate for my internship company. Indeed, I was so enjoying last minutes conversation with my host father that I forgot to check my belongings. Ah… But it is no problem. They should be my farewell presents to him. I can buy a new one at airport Kiosk. But when I opened my purse at the Kiosk cashier, I found other problem. What I found was the key of his house… So, I had to call him. He was kind enough to wait several days before the key arrive from San Francisco by mail.

I hoped this was the last problem. But it was not. When I entered the jet, I saw my seat was occupied by a young skinhead guy. He was talking about something nasty with other guy on an aisle seat. I at first thought that he simply mistook the seat, so I politely suggested that my seat seemed to be where he was sitting. But unbelievably, he said no. He said my seat was the next, the seat between the guy and his friend. But my seat 35A cannot be anywhere but that window side seat because I named it when I made the reservation. At first, I seated myself between guys for several minutes. But then, I decided to call a flight attendant. I showed my boarding card. She talked to guys. But I could not hear what they were talking about. Then, she said to me, “It is no problem to exchange seats if you like”. So the guys explained her that I wanted to exchange the seat! Ah… But I did not give up. My host father told me in the last minutes conversation that I may have to insist my right in trouble in the U.S. mainland, or they may take all of yours. So I insisted my right to the seat and stuck to it. Finally, I got it. The seat was indeed very good to enjoy the view of Honolulu. But I was afraid of those guys. So I was happy when I could arrive at San Francisco Airport without trouble. Maybe, this is the opportunity that the god gave me to exercise skills to “insist”, which I did not need at all in Hawaii because everyone was so kind to me.

First, I went to my accommodation and took a rest for a while. Then, I sent the key back to Hawaii. It was already late afternoon then. The next was to go to buy a bike. My internship company is not far from my accommodation and can be accessed by bike. That’s why I wanted a bike. To find an inexpensive bike, I went to the Walmart in the suburbs of Oakland. The new mountain bike cost me no more than $60 at Walmart. Going there was not so difficult thanks to the good commuter train system. In the return trip to San Francisco, I got off the train at the edge of the city and went back by bike. The cycling was fun.

When I arrived at my accommodation, it was almost dark. So I went to Panda Express, my favorite fast food Chinese restaurant, to celebrate the first dinner in San Francisco. And finally I found a piece at my room.

I will keep this simple log while I am in BEP (the JAIMS’s internship program). But in deed, writing is not my cup of tee. I was always in agony with JAIMS writing assignments (I remember D and E. Thank you for help). I delay my response to e-mails. I hate cell phone short message function. So this is a challenge for me. To continue keeping the log, I like to allow myself to write whatever comes to my mind. It could be from one sentence to fifty sentences (like this!), from negative to positive. This is my excuse in advance. Thank you.