seriously??

during the past few days i have been diving into san francisco research, and as luck would have it, the public transportation system BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) which i was anticipating would be my main method of getting around, is going on STRIKE starting Monday! figures that something dramatic would happen in the Bay Area the day before i arrive! let's hope they clear this up in the next day or so...fortunately, there are many other ways to get around the city!




so, other than trying to do some spring...er...summer cleaning, i have been spending my time saying *sniff* my goodbyes to friends/coworkers, and playing with my new IPOD TOUCH! Apple is running a special: Free iPod touch with rebate when you purchase a Mac for school. I had to buy a Mac for school anyway (and it's scheduled to arrive Monday!) so I figured why not? I'm having a little trouble with the rebate, but hopefully it will work out. In any case, I didn't realize how amazing the iPod touch would be! I think it will be a great traveling tool. In addition to playing music, you can keep a list of notes, a calendar, list of contacts, check weather, and easily connect to the Internet at free wifi hotspots to map out your trip, check email, etc. There are also lots of free applications you can download. My when I was first fumbling with my iPod, my friend Katie set me up with a bunch of games and even some full-text books to read! I think Apple sums it up best when the label it "The funnest iPod ever."


I am still amazed at how far technology has come in the past few years. When I was cleaning out my room, I came upon a box that had some old electronics, including a CD Walkman and a "Cassette Personal Stereo" that played tapes AND am/fm radio. Most people nowadays would laugh at the idea of carrying around a big fat CD player nevermind something that plays *gasp* CASSETTE TAPES. These things seem so archaic, but it wasn't so long ago that i was rumaging through cassettes in the music store at the mall, or that my anti-skip CD player was high-tech. Now even CDs are an inconvenience. We just rip the music and toss the physical media in some drawer where it will rarely see the light of day. Such is the life of technology; they love you one day, and the next day you're sitting amongst a bunch of junk in a curbside box that's labeled in Sharpie, "FREE."