Right now I am sitting in my hotel room in the lovely Nevada hamlet of Elko. I finished the first leg of my journey from the Bay Area to Michigan. The days leading up to my departure were spent enjoying some strictly Bay Area things. I had Korean food, Pepper lunch, and pho for the last time for a while. I doubt I can find anything decent or close to those in Ann Arbor. Hung out with my friends such as my going away shin-dig in SF. Camille, Ida, Rie, Vishnu, Ben, Amy, Carl, Alwoon (aka Allen), Walter, and Nick came along. We went to this Senegalese restaurant which was pretty good. And then went to random bars in the Mission. Again I got blitzed off my ass and failed every sobriety test. My last day in the bay area I spent half working. I came in to help this guy who was taking over my duties until a replacement could come in. This guy is the super slowest typist in the world. It took him literally an hour to return three emails that required at most two sentences to reply. The report took even longer because the guy is so anal that he double and triple checks everything he sends out. Even if it is a short simple response, such as “Yeah I got that.” Had to stay at least two extra hours because of his slowness. Anyway, everyone else was very gracious about my leaving.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cramming my stuff in my car. I had shipped a lot of my stuff earlier that weekend. My conclusion: I have a lot of shit. Shipped seven boxes and then filled my car to the brim. I gave Phil his computer back and he took my vacuum cleaner. We went to Vishnu’s place and then Nick, Phill, Vishnu, and I went to the Spaghetti factory for one last dinner. After dinner, I said good-bye and went to Jinah’s place in San Pablo. Quite honestly, I am missing the Bay area already. I am watching the TV in my hotel room right now and I am seeing these different local channels and for a minute or two I actually thought I was simply on a trip and I would be going back to the Bay Area and would be seeing all the familiar channels. But it turns out I am not. I am not heading back. I moved out and gave back my keys. I quit my job in the Bay area. I said goodbye to everyone there. The finality still has not sunk in.

But the long drive I took today has sunk in. I took off from Jinah’s place at 6:30 and then went to the local Shell station, which sucks ass. Because the last time I went there I got some shitty ass gas and then this time the damn pump didn’t work. So I left without filling up and on my way up I-80 (I am taking I-80 almost the entire way until I switch to 94 in Chicago), I saw a grody accident. Cannot tell what happened but two cars and a semi were involved and the two cars spun out with lots of car parts all over the ground. I was literally two cars back and had to slam on my brakes. I then drove through and stopped in Dixon to fill up, handle my nerves, and go to the bathroom. I drove to Reno, where I stopped to use the bathroom and get a battery for Jinah’s camera. Apparently the battery is really rare since they did not have it at the drugstore. So I bought a disposable digital camera which I will use to document my trip. I then drove another two hours to Winnemuca to get something to eat. I know I am not in California now when I went to the McDonalds they had actual teenagers working there rather than Mexican laborers like they do in San Jose. By the way, gas is still as expensive as California. I then hauled ass to Elko which took another two hours. I plopped in my hotel room where I am watching VH1’s 100 most shocking moments in rock and roll. I only left to go to a Chinese buffet for dinner. Which sucked ass because all the food sucked majorly. So much MSG it wasn’t funny. And apparently it is the best Chinese food place here in Elko. It is actually run by Asian people but since mostly white people eat there they probably don’t care much about quality since these people will eat anything. And when I say that, I mean it. I noticed this first on my trip in Ann Arbor back in May but I noticed in places other than the bay area there are more overweight people. Yeah there were more fat people in the buffet than skinny people. I guess I got a close up look at the obesity epidemic that is sweeping our country. Not a very pretty look I might add. Since Nevada is mostly desert, tumbleweed, and hills, there were not many radio stations. So I had my CD players going for quite a long time. I listened to the following albums:

Ten – Pearl Jam

Unplugged in New York – Nirvana

Uchtung Baby – U2

Kid A – Radiohead

I Do Not Want What I have not Got - Sinead O’Connor

New Miserable Experience – Gin Blossoms.

Kid A is a weird album but a pretty adapt record to play when driving through the desert. Gives is a surreal kooky feel to it. Better finish this up because my battery is dying. Next entry will be from Rawlins, WY.

Day 2 – Rawlins, WY.

Greetings from Rawlins, WY. Today was the longest drive distance wise. About 520 miles. Glad it is over. I drove over three states, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Nevada and Utah do have some scenic views but after a while it gets to be repetitive and I just wanted to get it done with. I left Elko at 7:15 and stopped for gas and Wendover which is right on the Utah/Nevada border. It was a good thing because the next gas station was over 100 miles away. Passed by the salt flats or plains that I thought were salt. I next stopped in Salt Lake City but on the way I passed some places with strange names.

Beverly Hills – Yes, there is a Beverly Hills in Utah. No shitting. It is one of those exits with nothing there and it was literally just hills. Doubt you will find a celebrity there.

Deeth Star Valley – I first thought it was Death Star Valley like in Star Wars but no, it is Deeth Star Valley. Man, that has to be a sucky last name.

Flaming Gorge – No need for explanation. Explains itself.

Missionary Mall – apparently there is a mall for Mormon missionaries. I took the exit it said on the billboard but could not find it. I ended up going to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. I dropped by their library to email off a hello to my friends. Their library kick ass. It is nicer than most malls, even Vallco. Actually that is not saying much. After my brief stay (I left in less than 30 mins less I be charged for parking in their garage, I was on my way. Two hours later I stopped at this truck stop called Little America, which is pretty adapt because everything they were selling was overpriced. Yet another two hours, I was in Rawlins and I finally located my hotel due to some poor mapquest directions.

As for the CDs I listened to while I drove –

Live from Atlanta – Pearl Jam

Songs from an American Movie – Everclear

This is Alice Music 3

Pure Moods III

Clusmy – Our Lady Peace

Secret Samadhi – Live

Next entry will be from Kearney, NE. See you then. Peace.

Day 3 - Kearney, NE

Hello all! Right now I am entering this entry from the WIFI in my hotel. Today's drive was a lot easier than yesterday simply for the fact that it was 60 miles shorter. The day started off very deary since it was raining in Rawlins all through the night and into the morning. I left Rawlins about 7:30 AM. The road was of course still wet so everytime I passed a trucker on I-80 I would have to pass through the water storm they were kicking up. Talk about low visability. If you have ever seen the movie Boys Don't Cry, that pretty described Rawlins. Deary, gray, with literally nothing but small towns and miles and miles of brush. I stopped in Cheyenne where it was not raining but windy and cold. But then after gassing up, and not more than 15 minutes, it was frickin sweltering because sun came out. I had to stop and take off my sweatshirt. You can definitely tell the difference between Wyoming and Nebraska. The difference: Wyoming has hills and Nebraska does not. It is flat here.. I mean Asian girl flat. Yes a sexist joke that is. Actually more like racist.

I passed by a few corn fields, which I took a picture of. It is very hard to take a picture while driving I found. Hopefully they come out okay. They are donig a lot of roadwork on the 80 so for many stretches there is only one lane, which is annoying since it means having to drive behind a semi going at least 10 miles below the speed limit. For some reason, no bathroom in the midwest has seat covers. Another thing about CA I miss. I arrived in Kearney at about 3:45 local time. I splurged a little bit and reserved a room at the Fairfield Inn, which is run by Marriot. Lets just say it was well worth it. For about 10 bucks more than the crappy Travelodge palce I stayed in Elko, I got a much bigger room, pool, and free WIFI access. I took a swim earlier, the first time I have been in a pool for at least three years. I just chilled and went to Red Lobster for dinner, where i had one too many beers. I should have gotten some steak because Jinah says Omaha is famous for good steak. I also remember my barber telling me that once. I'll try to get one in Iowas. I am pretty sure the steak will be good there also.

Here is the rundown of CDs I listened to today:

What's the Story Morning Glory - Oasis

Throwing Copper- Live

1977 - Ash

Parachutes - Coldplay

Soundtrack from Reality Bites

Republic - New Order

Heathen Chemistry - Oasis.

I might be in danger of running out CDs. I want to reserve listening to the High Fidelity soundtrack until I hit Chicago because that is where the movie takes place so I thought it would be apt. I am getting tried of typing. My next stop will be Davenport, Iowa, where John Kerry and Bush ended up campaigning at the same time a while back. Most likely will end up posting that entry once I arrive in Michigan on Saturday. Until then, peace out.