A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
I can't believe that it's Alex's 19th Birthday! . Inna and I made some preparations to celebrate this wonderful occasion. . . . . . . . Inna and I purchased fresh pastries at Le Marais Bakery for Alex's birthday breakfast. After waiting in a long line for 15 minutes, we selected the following pastries: . Chocolate Croissant. Peach Scone. Kouign-Amann. Pain Au Raisin. .…
Read More: Celebrating Alex’s 19th Birthday
Saturday, July 24, 2021 . I woke up at 06:30 but decided to sleep until 07:45. Inna, I went for a short walk to Crissy Field. . . . . . . . Inna hoped to photograph some of the local Night Herons and other birds who frequently inhabit the Palace of Fine Arts. She managed to take a few excellent photos. . . .…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 2
While we could still work from home (due to COVID-19), Inna had an idea to try living in San Francisco. She reserved an Airbnb house from July 17 to August 16, located near the Presidio, Marina Blvd, and Crissy Field, that suited our work-from-home intentions. . . Saturday, July 17, 2021 . Inna, Alex, and I packed our suitcases, but I decided to leave earlier…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 1
After hearing disturbing news about my 2008 Toyota Sienna Limited minivan from my auto mechanic at Foreign Affair, I decided to research possible alternatives in case I needed to replace my van. . One possible alternative was to replace it with a 2021 Tesla Model Y SUV. Another alternative was to look at the 2021 Toyota Sienna AWD XSE option. . When I priced both…
Read More: Tesla Model Y Test Drive
Saturday, July 3, 2021 . In the morning, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. I stopped by the nearby Farmer's Market to purchase a few essentials for the upcoming week, including fresh organic tomatoes, pita bread, blueberries, and tzatziki sauce. . . . . . . . After returning home and eating a breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and raspberries, we drove Alex to San…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 4
Saturday, June 26, 2021 . . . In the morning, I stopped by Whole Foods for a few grocery items (bananas, Gouda cheese) and to get cash for my Saturday's Farmer's Market visit. I purchased fresh organic tomatoes, sourdough bread, blueberries, and raspberries at the market. . . . . . . After returning home and eating a quick breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 3
Saturday, June 19, 2021 . . . I woke up early in the morning to shop at the nearby Farmers' Market (next to our Fire Station). Inna and I walked over and examined all the stands. We purchased German Rye Bread, pre-sliced Sourdough bread, Grapefruits, Tomatoes, Burrata cheese, tzatziki, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. . . . . . . . Finished with shopping, Inna and…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 2
For the first semester at Northeastern University, Alex decided to enroll in the N.U. in the London program. He will spend his first semester in London, England, and then resume his education in Boston, MA. . . . . . To travel to London, Alex needed to renew his U.S. Passport and order airline tickets. . . AIR . . American Airlines . Flight Number.…
Read More: N.U.in London Pre-Arrival
With the COVID-19 pandemic ending, we planned another work-from-home trip to our favorite Laguna Beach rental home (June 12 - July 12, 2021). We enjoyed last year's stay (from September 4 - October 4, 2020) and looked forward to exploring the beautiful beaches, eating delicious pastries at Moulin Bakery, and surfing at Rockpile Beach. . We were unsure how much longer our current employers would…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 1
With Alex out surfing with his friend at San Luis Obispo, Inna and I decided to revisit Carmel-by-the-Sea on Memorial Day. . After waking up at 07:30 and getting dressed, we drove to Carmel around 08:30 (stopping for gas at Shell). I noticed that gasoline prices have really increased recently (to $4.40/gallon for 87 unleaded) . . We arrived in Carmel-by-the-Sea around 10:00, parked our…
Read More: Returning to Carmel
To celebrate my new job at Nvidia and Inna's recent promotion at Genapsys, Inna made dinner reservations at our favorite Campbell Restaurant - Naschmarkt - for 8:00pm. . . . . We ran a bit late and had trouble finding parking, but we eventually found a spot nearby. We arrived around 8:20pm and sat outside near two excellent heaters. . After looking at the menu,…
Read More: Dinner at Naschmarkt
We decided to treat Alex to a delicious dinner at our favorite Michelin-rated restaurant in Saratoga - The Plumed Horse- for Alex's graduation from Bellarmine College Preparatory School. . . . . After reviewing the Chef's Tasting menu, Inna and Alex decided to try it.. . . . It had the following items listed. As expected, they were exquisitely prepared:. . Farmer's Market Asparagus. Pea…
Read More: Dinner at Plumed Horse
Bellarmine College Preparatory held its Commencement Ceremony at 5:00pm on May 28, 2021. The graduation of Class of 2021 seniors followed a Baccalaureate Mass on the evening of May 27, with both events taking place on the San Jose campus. . . . Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only two people per senior were allowed to be present in person, and each person had to have…
Read More: Bellarmine Graduation
On May 15, 2021, my neighbor dented the driver's side of my 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan. . After discussing the incident with State Farm Insurance, I took it to Fix-It Auto San Jose (the shop recommended by State Farm) for an estimate and repair. I initially hesitated to use it, as I had never used it before (but the multiple positive Yelp reviews won me…
Read More: Repairing Toyota Sienna Damage
I have owned the Asus RT-AC66U WiFi Router (AC1750 3x3) for 8 years (since February 2, 201), which has served me well. However, in the past month, I experienced multiple disconnects from many of my devices (including the Ring Alarm) and decided that an upgrade might solve the problem. . I tried upgrading to the Asus RT-AC88U two years ago, but it had difficulty connecting…
Read More: Review: TP-Link AX6000 WiFi 6 Router(Archer AX6000)
After surfing for many weeks at famous surfing spots in Laguna Beach: Thalia Street, Rockpile Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente, and Trestles, I realized that my surf paddling could use improvement. . I discovered Rob - a local surf trainer who teaches proper surf paddling techniques. He runs a website called surfpaddling.com. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and offers online and…
Read More: Improving Surf Paddling Part 2
After trying out the Gerry Lopez 8' surfboard (that failed on me on the second day), I decided to look for a new surfboard that would get me closer to surfing my 6'6" Firewire Spitfire shortboard. After looking at Craigslist ads, I identified a few overly expensive contenders (ranging from $400 to $800). In addition, I stopped by to look at 7' surfboards (fun-size) at…
Read More: Review: Wavestorm 7′ Surfboard
On Sunday, April 25, we decided to head to Capitola to surf "La Bomba" at The Hook. Even though the forecast predicted rain, Alex was not deterred. When we arrived at the parking lot, there were lots of spaces available (which is usually a bad sign for waves). However, when we walked to look at the waves in The Hook, we saw beautiful, clean rollers!…
Read More: Surfing at the HookOver one week, April 19 -25, we experienced a lot of surprising events: . . Monday, April 19, 2021. My new employer's background check was completed successfully, and I was free to resign from Juniper Networks and accept the new employment offer. . . . Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Inna's surgery to remove her dermoid near her left ovary was successful, and no abnormalities were…
Read More: The Golden Week
After reviewing all the universities where he was admitted, Alex enrolled at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. . Alex decided on Northeastern due to its prestige in Computer Science, its widely-known Co-Op program, and its location in Boston. If he gets off the waitlist, Alex may also consider UC San Diego, UC Irvine, or Carnegie Mellon University. . . . . . Alex's first semester…
Read More: Enrolling in Northeastern University