Visit from an Old Friend

Court, DMV, and Grassy Fields

I had to go to court the other day in Moreno Valley to take care of a speeding ticket. The court was in a strip mall/office park. I have never seen the likes and it felt like beurocratic hell having to stand in this massive line in the rain. wonder what court houses will look like a few decades from now. Perhaps they will in Walmart were we can shop while we wait to be dealt with.




The next day I went to the DMV and saw this guy wearing the best shirt ever. Afterwards, I was so happy to have been done with all of this madness that I went to go frolick around in some grassy fields by the box spring mountains in Riverside.

Pho!

I ate some of the best tofu pho I have ever had in my whole entire life. It was at this vietnamese place (I forgot the name) at the University Village by UCR.

The view outside my window at work:

Hey Long Time No Post

So.. what have I been up to over the past month or two?

Various stuff. Trying to make bent allenes with various substituents to study their respective stabilities. Hillel stuff. Taking picture of stuff. Some roaming around. Riding my bike to and from my Riverside residence to school/work. Quite busy really.

I was at Banquette not too long ago when I was sitting next to these two friendly chaps. They were talking about Chicano art so of course I butted in their conversation.



The guy on the left is from Highland Park, and the guy on the right is a tortilla conspiracy theorist from San Francisco. I hope to interrupt their conversations again. They were cool.

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I ate some of the best green beans recently at Boba Cafe on University Ave. The fried tofu is terrible though. Its too greasy and awkwardly spiced.




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I went to the Getty the other day. I haven't been there in ages and the weather was just perfect. Not too hot. Not too cold.





There was a lot of people laying around on the grass relaxing and enjoying their surroundings. It almost felt like a utopia of some sort with all the beautiful vegetation and happy people.





The most violent thing I saw was a little boy hitting his older brother with a cardboard tube.




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Anyway. So I have been working long ass hours, and have lost my blogging momentum. So I think I'll get back at it again.

Some random shots of downtown Riverside.

Chemical Sciences, UCR

Pink Series & People and Their Shirts I

I was riding my bike down University Ave and I passed by this guy. I asked him if I can take a picture of him and he said yes. That is a real fig leaf.

Organic Chemistry Lab

My students. Trying to convert an alcohol into an ester.

Patriotic Flag Waving Riverside

Chair

I was standing by the stairwell of the building where I work the other day while chatting on the phone. I noticed this mysterious solitary chair in the middle of the lawn.






I mean, who would put this chairin the middle of the lawn and just leave it?

Santa Cruz Inn

Where do I go to.... stay in Riverside if I want to stay in a hotel?

Why, the Santa Cruz Inn on Market Ave! Thats Where! The Press Enterprise, Riverside's local news paper recently wrote a rather over the top description of the place, which you can read about here.

That article made the place sound way more shady than it really is. I stayed there for several weeks (until I found a place), and during that time, I have never come across any customers roaming around with feces on their clothing, or soiled chonies laying around. The only thing I saw that shocked my sensibilities was one guy who wandered in angerly ranting to the universe where he can "find his bitches". Oh, and the occasional smell of pot. And the occasional yelling outside of my window, but that can generally (but not always) be attributed to crazy Riverside, not crazy Santa Cruzz Inn. Other than that, I had an OK stay at that hotel and the on site managers were really nice and responsible. I even asked the cleaning services people if they have ever seen any ghosts roaming around the old hotel and they said "no" in a way that was dismissive of my alleged pre-modern world view. (But really, I don't believe or disbelieve in ghosts... I just love hearing ghost stories).

What I've Been Eating Recently XV

Ceviche!
La Cascada, University Ave., Riverside

(However, I like the taste of this ceviche better.)

Two Guys @ The Sweeney

I was walking down University Ave in Riverside the other day and I passed by UCR's Sweeney Art Gallery and noticed some guys painting something by the window.

What I've Been Eating Recently XII

Bean, rice and cheese burrito with red sauce from La Cascada on University Ave in Riverside. I must say, this is one of the best burritos of this kind I have ever had.

Sticker at UC Riverside

Molecular Hats

I had to proctor an organic chemistry exam the other day. As I was making it through the 200+ crowd of students trying to get into the auditorium, I saw a student wearing a hat of a molecule she made from a molecular modeling kit for good luck. Here she is holding a highly caffinated drink ready to go.

What I've Been Eating Recently VIII

Chocolate Milk Boba at Boba Cafe on University Ave. Even though my digestive system doesn't like to process milk... sometimes Boba is worth the diarrhea.

Riverside's Raincross Symbol

I was walking around downtown Riverside and I saw some guy sitting down with a tattoo of the symbol of Riverside on his arm. I asked if I can take a photo and he said yes.

I have never seen anybody with a tattoo of that bell symbol before. I've been looking around for a necklace of that symbol, so that I can wear it out of an expression of my hate-love relationship with Riverside.

Having spent my teenage years in Riverside (and my mid 20's/present), that symbol has a special place in my heart. And it apparantly does as well in Jeff Soto's.


Here is a painting he did back in 2006 that showed at Jonathan Levine's gallery in NY.


I found some information on the history of that symbol on Riverside's official website:

"The unique City Raincross Symbol is derived from combining a replica of the mass bell used by Father Junipero Serra, missionary priest and founder of the California Missions, and the cross to which the Navajo and Central American Indians prayed for rain. Called the "Raincross" symbol, it was designed for the Mission Inn and given to the city by Frank Miller. The Raincross symbol has been identified with Riverside since 1907. Variations of the symbol are used extensively throughout Riverside in architecture, street signs and lighting standards, and is used on the City flag."

Quite fitting for my awkard Chican@ context. That can be some useful imagery if anybody from Riverside wants to write a "Yo Soy Joaquin"/Corky Gonzalez style poem.

What I've Been Eating Recently IV

I eat dinner at La Cascada on University Ave in Riverside a few times a week. I bring with me a stack of papers to grade, and try not to get my greasy ass fingers all over the students' papers because I have to hand them back.

I love their carne asada, rice and beans plate:

They hook you up with free tortilla chips and salsa. The salsa is quite good.


This meal is simply too big for me to eat. I have been eating the bean rice and cheese burrito with red sauce lately. And even then I can only eat about half of it. But its easier to take home and its cheapter too.


I think this is the owner's blurry kid. He was making faces in the mirror and would duck and hide whenever he caught me staring at him. Then he would pop back up and repeat the process several times.