my take on it

Newark, NJ (08.02.2005 - 08.05.2005)
Brian went on a business trip in Newark (Parsippany, to be exact), so I tagged along since our two year anniversary was that weekend. I hung out in the hotel while he was at work during the day. It was... not so entertaining. I spent most of the time watching movies on my laptop or sleeping =P We also discovered that nearly every restaurant in New Jersey sells mozzarella sticks (even McDonald's -- 4 for $1 on the dollar menu!). Even cooler, McDonald's had a 5-piece mcnugget choice on the dollar menu! Anyhow, that's about all we gathered about New Jersey. We went to White Castle, too. It was my first time there; I thought the mini burgers were SO cute! As we were on our way back to the New Jersey airport to return the rental car, we got a flat in the middle of Newark. Seriously a ghetto that compares to South Central. Brian was still in hiw work wear, so he had to change in the backseat before he could mess with the tire as he didn't want to look like he was a sucker waiting to get mugged. Finally, we were able to return the car and be on our way.

New York, NY (08.05.2005 - 08.07.2005)
After the car fiasco in Newark, we were ready to go to bed once we reached my sister's apartment in Manhattan. But I was hungry, so we walked around and ate at a cute Japanese place. I had a mushroom salad and some soba; Brian had some cold-style ramen. Then we headed back and had a nice, deserved rest. Saturday was supposed to be our pseudo-anniversary since we'd both be flying the next day, which was our official anniversary. We walked around 5th Avenue and Union Square. Brian bought a Reggie Miller photo at the NBA store, which I will reluctantly allow him to put up in our room (as long as I can get a Kobe picture). Then we had lunch with my sister and her boyfriend, Jon. We hung out for a bit, played some Star Wars Legos (or something like that) on Xbox. Brian and I had to wait until 11:15pm to eat dinner because that was the only time they had left at Babbo's. Dinner turned out to be decent, but nothing special. Then we walked around Washington Square Park. It was still satisfying. The next morning, we did a rushed tour of The Metropolitan Museum (saw the Matisse collection and some really cool arms and armors). As we were making our way to the museum, Brian decided that he didn't want to carry around a book he had just bought, so he hid it behind a bush in Central Park and said we'd pick it up on our way back. I was skeptical, but it was still there in the end and it all worked out. Then we headed back to the Newark airport where we parted ways -- me towards San Francisco, CA and Brian towards Richmond, VA.

San Francisco, CA (08.08.2005 - Present)
So I've been working full-time for a little over a week now. It sucks! I mean, the work is fine, but 8 hour days are so exhausting! I wake up at 6:30am so that I can be in by 9:00am (living so far away from work is not too fun). Then I get back some time between 6:30pm-7:00pm. This gives me enough time to figure out what I want to eat, eat, and then watch TV for about half an hour. Then I have to go to sleep and repeat the cycle. Geez. I feel so old going to sleep so early. I don't know how you keep a social life on this schedule! Besides for that, I think things are going well. I've met a whole bunch of new people (that seem nice) and I'm getting to know the company a little better (and I like it even more!). For those of you that don't know, I am working as a Technology Analyst at BGI (Barclays Global Investors). They are an investment managing firm (and pretty damn good at it, too) headquartered in San Francisco, with offices all over the world. As the training continues, I learn more about the company and realize how much more I need to learn and how much more I'd like to know. So far, so good. We'll see how I feel once I actually start working in my team and getting some hands-on experience.