A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
I don't know what happened, but I suddenly had a lot of unexpected repairs to complete: . . . Saturday, August 27: . The garage door's lever broke. I ordered a new Schlage brass lever from Amazon to replace the broken lever. . Sunday, August 28: . Toyota Sienna's Check Engine light came on during a short drive. Foreign Affair Auto checked the van and…
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I can't believe that it's already Alex's 20th birthday!. Since he had a Northeastern University midterm in his Computer Algorithms class, we did not plan too many events on this day (as he would be busy finishing his exam). Instead, we planned a full day of activities for the following weekend (after Alex's midterms were finished). . . . For birthday presents, we purchased the…
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On Monday, July 11, 2022, I started to develop COVID-19 symptoms (after my return flight from Kauai, Hawaii). It turned out to be a miserable week. . . . . Here is a daily run-down of my condition and symptoms:. . Monday, July 11, 2022 - High Heart Rate, Flu-like symptoms, high fever (103F) . Tuesday, July 12, 2022 - High Heart Rate, Flu-like symptoms,…
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My home's 30-year-old York furnace and air-conditioner were getting old and working ineffectively at cooling the house. . . After consulting with David Pogosian and Conrad (two highly regarded contractors), I decided to upgrade my system using the following components: . . . Bryant BRGF 801SA48090E21 4-Way 80% AFUE 1-Stage Furnace . Bryant NRCO CNPVP4821ALA N-Coil Puron Up/Downflow . Bryant BRAC 127ANA048000 *17 Seer A/C…
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For Mother's Day, Inna made dinner reservations at the modern French Deuxave restaurant in Back Bay, Boston. . . After returning from our weekend trip to Portland, Maine, we rested in our apartment at 334 Harvard Street and ordered an Uber to Deuxave. It was only 2 miles away and took 10 minutes to get there. . . . . When we arrived for our…
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With Alex's week of Spring Break ending, Inna made dinner reservations at Naschmarkt - our favorite local Austrian restaurant in Campbell. . . . . . After parking our Sienna minivan in the garage, we walked to Naschmarkt. Campbell was quite lively, and all the restaurants were busy. There was plenty of live music, and the mood was cheerful. . . . . . We…
Read More: Dinner at Naschmarkt
On Sunday, March 13, Inna, Alex (who was in San Jose for his spring break from Northeastern), and I decided to try playing pickleball and table tennis at AVAC. Initially, Alex considered surfing to The Hook in Santa Cruz, but the wave forecast was unfavorable, and the Surfline cam did not show any respectable waves.. . Around noon, Alex and Inna started playing while I…
Read More: Playing Pickeball with Alex
I made dinner reservations for Inna's birthday at Dio Deka in Los Gatos for 19:45. We arrived on time and parked on the street on Los Gatos Blvd. . . . . After ordering a Japanese Kiss cocktail (as Strawberry Margaritas were not available), Inna and I ordered Tzatziki with pita bread and Octopus to start our dinner.. . . . After sitting down and…
Read More: Inna’s Birthday Dinner at Dio Deka
I decided to try the highly-rated Asa Los Gatos restaurant for Valentine's Day. When researching restaurants, I was surprised that Asa was nearby in Los Gatos and unaware of its existence. . . . I made reservations for Monday, February 14th, at 19:45, and we arrived on time. After being seated, we looked over the menu and ordered the following dinner items:. . . Appetizer:…
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To improve the use of our closets, Inna and I worked with California Closets to redesign them. . . . . At first, we had a contractor, David Pogosian, come in a few days earlier to remove the old closets and repair and repaint each one. On Thursday, 3 California Closets installers installed our closets in a few hours. . . . . . .
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. . . How was 2021 in Sports? With Covid-19 raging, it turned out quite different, with much more windsurfing and mountain biking than in previous years. . Here is the link to my Strava Year in Sports . 77 days of playing tennis at Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC). . 42 days of surfing (Capitola, Rockpile Beach, Trestles) . 20 days of windsurfing (Crissy…
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For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, I made dinner reservations for 6:45pm at Flowers, Saratoga. We noticed Flowers nearby when we last dined at The Plumed Horse (for Alex's Bellarmine Graduation). It was an exquisite restaurant, and we wanted to try it.. . We arrived on time and parked in the parking lot near Plumed Horse. . . . . . After checking in, the hostess…
Read More: Anniversary Dinner at Flowers, Saratoga
On Friday, September 03, 2021, we woke up at 4:00 am to prepare for our 45-minute drive to San Francisco Airport (SFO) for Alex's one-stop flight to London's Heathrow Airport via New York (JFK). . . . . . Alex was excited to begin his college education, starting his first semester at Northeastern University in London through the N.U. London program. . When we arrived…
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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 BirthdayFor 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
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
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…
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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 DamageOver 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…
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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