Update! Things are looking up!
Brad Chin
Hey everyone! Hope you’re well.
Just another personal update so you know that I’m still alive and doing things.
Things are going really well here. I had several really slow, rather uneventful months in Oakland at the beginning of this year, but since moving here and getting settled, things have been picking up! I’ve got a bunch of new projects and have made some progress on major design projects that I’ve been working on for quite a while. I’m really looking forward to sharing those things.
In addition, my family just moved up here — about 30 minutes away. That’s really cool, too, because it seems to be much better for my father. I’m glad that the pets have adjusted well to the transition as well. I was a little worried about Muffin, my childhood dog, but she was apparently really good in the car ride to Sparks and has been very content since. (Really cute/heartbreaking: when the house was being packed up, she was really nervous and started crying because she seemed to think that she was going to get left behind. She’s been glued to my mom and sister since. And bonus! (formerly John Ascuaga’s) Nugget in Sparks has a pet-friendly floor, so she’s been able to stay with my family in the hotel as well!
More exciting news!
I finally got a few suggestions of local places to go for good food and coffee! (Thanks, Lindsey!) Java Jungle is a cool, artsy, indie coffee shop a few blocks away from me, and there’s a nice family-owned Italian Restaurant called Noble Pie Parlor that I now want to check out. The majority of the stores and restaurants in Reno seem to be chain/franchise places, and there’s a lot of fast food — not a lot of fresh. Most of the fish is frozen out here, and at the majority of restaurants that I’ve been to, there aren’t any vegetarian main courses. I asked at several, and after getting a strange look, I get suggestions like, ”Well, you can get a chicken salad… with a side of steak.” A lot of fried food and a lot of potatoes. Really heavy food. Fortunately, I really like eating at home — it’s been a necessity for so many years due to my condition that I’ve grown to vastly prefer it to eating out. But even as a true creature of habit, sometimes it’s nice to have a change.
I’ve been able to spend a fair amount of time with my dad and his friend Steve, doing one of my dad’s favorite things — gambling at the Pai Gow tables. My father is insanely lucky. People have a hard time believing how many big hands he’s picked up (seven card straight flushes, five aces, royal flushes, etc). I’d never had anything bigger than a full house until this weekend!
Several days ago, I got my first Straight Flush, and last night, I got four tens with two queens on top at The Nugget — and then we went over the The Grand Sierra Resort in Reno and I got a handful of straights, flushes and full houses. I stayed at the table for a bit too long though; four times in a row, I was one card away from a Royal Flush, usually with an off-suit face card for a high straight. What makes it so… addicting, I suppose, is that the card that I needed was usually in the hand of the person directly next to me. So while I was picking up pushes with bonuses, I was thinking, well, I think I’ll hit a big one pretty soon!” Sadly, no straight-flush or four-of-a-kind at *GSR. But I met some nice people there and had a pretty good time!
Unpacking and organizing is still going relatively slowly. I’ve been trying to find all of my computer equipment and get my desk setup but I’m still missing a few things. I really hope that Apple releases a really kick-ass iPad this year. Mine is starting to really show its age; a lot of new apps lag.
Although unpacking and the various new (and old) projects are going to continue to take up a lot of time and energy, I think I can set aside time to write some reviews and work on some long form content for Bradtastica and SaysBrad. I’ve added some things to my various social pages and Pinterest, but by far, the bulk of my posts have been on my facebook. Mostly link posts to the various articles that I’ve read, and occasionally YouTube videos that I think are worth watching. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, feel free to follow me there.
Wherever you are, take care and enjoy the rest of this Memorial Day weekend!