Archive for December, 2007

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Published at December 28, 2007 in life. 0 Comments

I finally watched CMU Professor Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture,” which he gave in September of this year.  Randy Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in August and given a 3-6 month prognosis.  (From his blog, his health is currently stable.)

His last lecture was about how to live life… and was a message for his kids.  If you haven’t watched it already, I definitely recommend seeing it.  You can grab it here, or read more about the lecture here or here.

 

Here are some of his words that stuck:

  • Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want thing.
  • Be patient: Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you.
  • When you’re screwing up and nobody’s saying anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.
  • Never lose the child-like wonder.
  • Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

iFly: Indoor Skydiving

Published at December 24, 2007 in life and work. 0 Comments

Today, my mom planned a “family adventure” that took us to iFly at Universal City Walk.  I had never heard of “indoor skydiving” before, but I guess there are several facilities around the country (see this WSJ article).   iFly is a vertical wind tunnel that simulates the free fall experience. 

I’ve gone actual skydiving once.  It was tandem, and for me, the biggest thrill was jumping out of the airplane and backflipping through the initial acceleration.  That’s when your stomach flips and you have the “oh geez, am I actually doing this??” moment.

Once you hit terminal velocity, you feel like you’re floating.  However, since I went tandem, some of the sensation was lost:  you don’t feel like you’re completely “free falling” since you’re anchored to the instructor above you. 

The cool thing about iFly was that you got to move around and, well, fly.  Not to boast or anything, but I was a bit of a natural.  :)  The instructor showed off at the end - it’s really quite amazing the acrobatics they can do in the tunnel.

p.s.  This post is in both “life” and “work” because I used Silverlight Streaming, Expression Encoder, and Windows Live Writer.  Check out these posts on how to do it:  Ian Moulster’s and Angus Logan’s.

 

Preparing for Takeoff

all suited up!

 

Indoor Skydiving

 starting to float

 

Karen, Flying

look, no hands!

the video streaming in silverlight!  the instructor (his name was Radio) let me “take off” my second time….

Back in Seattle!

Published at December 6, 2007 in life, travel and peru/bolivia. 1 Comment

Unfortunately, the arrival home - while appreciated - wasn’t quite pleasant.

Monday, my, um, digestive system started to go down hill.  After dinner, it was completely shot.  I had a 101.5 degree fever, major cramping, dehydration, swollen stomach, and a migraine that went through the roof. 

Tuesday, I laid curled in my hotel bed until 5pm.  I had 2 pieces of toast and 8 soda crackers…. and somehow managed to go to the bathroom about 10 times (only slight exaggeration).  However, in the evening, we had to make the journey from Arequipa to Lima to Houston to Seattle.  It was 20 hours of travel with 4 flight legs.  Fortunately, I had a lot of medicine in my system and an amazing boyfriend.  Still, the trip was absolutely awful.

I went to the doctor yesterday, and the good news is its not a parasite - just a good old, Montezuma’s revenge bacterial infection.  (Interestingly, I had totally forgotten about that term - but both my dad and my doctor mentioned it.)

Tonight, I’m feeling significantly better.  It think the antibiotics finally kicked in.  Still, I haven’t really ventured outside yet.

The only bright side (?) to this whole experience is that I lost 6 pounds.  Personally, I don’t think it was worth it.  :)

Anyways, pictures coming soon.  Here is one to wet your appetite:

 

Woman with Llama; Cuzco, Peru

native woman with llama; Cuzco, Peru

Mate de Coca

Published at December 2, 2007 in life, travel and peru/bolivia. 2 Comments

In the highlands of Peru, I´ve been drinking a lot of coca tea to help with altitude sickness. I think it has actually helped (though I was told chewing the leaves was more effective).

I´m in Cuzco airport right now waiting for a flight to Arequipa. We just flew in from the jungle, so the altitude is bothering me again. I ordered some mate de coca (this time in a tea bag and not just the leaves). The package lists the ¨properties¨of coca tea:

  • Restorative and energetic
  • Excellent for diet.
  • Digestive.
  • Anti-diarrheac action
  • Acts against fatigue and alitude sickness.
  • Relieves tiredness of voice.
  • Regulates the metabolism of carbohidrate.

Sounds like the perfect tea, no?

The Sweet Sweet Taste of Asian Blood

Published at December 2, 2007 in life, travel and peru/bolivia. 0 Comments

We just spent the last four nights in the Amazon jungle outside of Puerto Maldonado. It was great… but I have to say, the mosquitos were ridiculous.

Growing up in Southern California, going to school in Northern California, and now living in Seattle, I´ve never really had to deal with mosquitos. Here are some things that I´ve learned:

  1. Mosquitos can bite through clothing. Smart little buggers! On one of the nighttime walks, I got about 15 bug bites on my back…. through my shirt. Ridiculous!
  2. Deet ¨repels¨ mosquitos….. but in the loose sense of the word. I was Deet-ed, and for good measure OFF-ed as well, and the little guys just kept coming.
  3. There´s a reason why REI sells full body bug nets. Though you might look like a tool, you´re protected.

All said, i have something like 70 mosquito bites. They were easy to count since each flared up bright red like a hive. :) Thank goodness for Benadryl and Hydrocortisone.