West Coast Wish List

After a few months of desperately waiting, I finally landed an interview at a medical school. It's Albert Einstein back in the Bronx. I'm thrilled and excited at the prospect of returning back home and reuniting with my family and friends in New York. But, it also means that my stay in California may be nearly over.

So here's a list of a few goals I'm setting for myself before I leave:
- Visit all of California's National Parks and Mounuments.
- Hang glide in the mountains with the Berkeley Hang Gliding Club. Get my Hang 3 rating.
- Summit three of the 14,000+ ft. peaks in California including either Mt. Shasta or Mt. Whitney.
- Backpack across at least 20 miles of the West Coast, John Muir, or Pacific Coast Trails.
- Spot a California condor and quail in the wild.
- Drive or hitchhike up to Alaska in the summer.
- Complete a sub 3:30 marathon.
- Run my first ultramarathon.
- Join a CSA and learn how to cook without relying on recipes.
- Stop relying on a car if I'm traveling less than 30 miles. Walk, bike, or use public transit instead.
- Go cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or downhill skiing at Lake Tahoe.
- Hike all of the top-rated trails in Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown's book California Hiking.
- Hike through one of Utah's slot canyons.
- Hop on a freight train.

Admittedly, I'd be thrilled to complete half of these adventures and remain healthy and intact. Hopefully, I'll have some progress to report back in a few months!

Bathing Ape Hoodie

Those of you who have been around me enough know that I've been jonesing for a cool hoodie for some time. I think I finally found a brand I like: "Bape" or "A Bathing Ape."

Here's the description from Bape's myspace: The company was started in 1993 by Nigo as a T-shirt brand, originating in the Harajuku area of Shibuya in Tokyo, becoming one of the first Japanese streetwear brands. Bape's logo and themes are derived from the original Planet of the Apes movies, while the brand's name is based on a common Japanese saying, "bathing in lukewarm water", describing the willingness of Japan's youth to follow popular trends.

Sounds cool, n'est-ce pas? Thanks Shana for the tip.

I don't think I'll actually pay the $100-200 to buy one though. First of all, I'd rather spend that money on something I actually need, like food. Second, I know that once I start wearing something, it becomes un-cool. Third, "Mr. Wu" + "urban streetwear" are two phrases I just don't feel comfortable mixing. I think I'll stick to hand-me-down clothing from my brother and friends.

Links: NYT article on Bape's SoHo store, Wikipedia article on Bape.

iPhone

The new iPhone sure has a beautiful interface, and it's a touch screen to boot! Check out Jeff Han's cool work on touch screens at NYU and his presentation at a TED Conference. Anybody want an A in science? Do what you got to do...