After landing in Mexico City I took the subway to my hotel (only $0.20 for the ticket!). I put my stuff there and went to the National Museum of Anthropology. The museum had reconstructions of ancient American cultures and original artifacts. I returned to my hotel early because I was tired.
Today I took a tour to the pyramids of Teotihuacan (I pulled that name out of a hat…. I bought the hat there). The site features two great pyramids for the sun and moon and many smaller pyramid-shaped altars. These pyramids were built by the Aztecs on a site where a more ancient civilization once lived.
This ancient civilization built palaces and mined the volcanic obsidian stone. I bought a small souvenir from this stone and a nice pyramid-shaped key chain.
On the way back we ate lunch at a restaurant with a view of the pyramids and now we’re headed back to the hotel.
Our group consisted of four people: A man on business from Venezuela, a couple from Argentina and Texas, and myself. The couple had cameras and took photos for all of us, which they will later e-mail us or post online. I took several pictures with my iPAQ as well, and I plan to post those later.
Tomorrow I will probably walk around the historic center. I’m quite tired now so I will probably rest in this evening.
September 30th, 2007 at 01:45
Posted by
epsalon |
Mexico |
one comment
Yesterday the HP iPAQ I have ordered from eBay has arrived unexpectedly to my office. It was not expected because the US postal service website did not update the details of the delivery.
So, what is this iPAQ you ask. Well, it is a mobile PC slightly larger than a mobile phone. My model includes a full QWERTY keyboard and a touch screen and supports WiFi, cellular, GPS, and bluetooth. It can also hold up to 2GB of flash and be used to surf the web, play music and videos, and to write notes (such as this blog post).
The last day was mostly spent playing with this new toy. The other things I did were send my laptop for warranty service (LCD problems) and pack for my trip to Mexico City. I am writing this post from the Delta crown room in San Francisco airport.
September 29th, 2007 at 02:57
Posted by
epsalon |
Mexico, Tech stuff |
one comment
I haven’t updated in some time. You don’t have to worry. I’m doing fine. Yesterday I picked up my brand new blue 2008 Toyota Yaris, all paid for and insured. So now I have a car and a place to live. I got a good deal on the car and paid only $16,300 for it including all taxes.
Today I bought a parking permit for the car, so now I can actually park on campus. I also finally got my student number and ID card, and my network ID, so now I can use my laptop anywhere on campus.
I have done other stuff this weekend. On Sunday I went on a short hike to “the dish”, a radio-telescope here at Stanford and made some new friends from all over the world.
I was also told about a BBQ at the Jewish center here at Stanford on Monday night so I went there as well. Many nice people, very few Israelis there. After the BBQ party, they aired the first episode of season 2 of Heroes on a big screen, so I stayed to watch.
Next post I’ll talk about the wonders of eBay.
September 26th, 2007 at 01:33
Posted by
epsalon |
USA |
3 comments
Good news: I have found a place to stay!
Today I started my search for a less temporary place to stay and I immediately found one. The chepest place available answered and had all what I need (bed, electricity, wifi) and for only $450/month. It’s also a short 12 minute drive from my office. After several calls to the landlord and my parents I decided to go for it, without seeing any other places. The room was so cheap because I am barred from any kind of cooking in the room. However, with the money I saved I can eat out every day if I want to. All in all, I think I struck a great deal.
My residential address, if you would like to send me mail, is:
Alon Altman
256 Walter Hays Dr.
Palo Alto, CA 94303
USA
Yesterday I went to Stanford’s compulsory postdoc orientation meeting. In this useless 2.5 hour meeting, we were explained a lot of practical information I have already read online. I didn’t even get my student ID number, as the postdoc office did not receive all my information on time. I also went to the weekly meeting of Yoav’s group and got introduced to all the other researchers in the team.
Later that day, I went to the social security office to get my card replaced to one that is valid for employment. They told me that I must arrive after the start date of my program, which is October 1st.
September 21st, 2007 at 00:15
Posted by
epsalon |
USA |
3 comments
Yesterday was my first full day here. In the morning I went to eat breakfast at McDonald’s, guided by my trusted navigation system. The first McD I went to was closed, so I went to another one which was open.
After breakfast I returned to the motel, and figured out I somehow managed to lose my room key. In any case, I decided to go on line and plan the rest of my day. It was still early to go to the International Center at Stanford, so I decided to go to see a new car for sale. I called the person I’ve been in touch with at the dealership and set an appointment for an hour later. The price he quoted at the dealership was too high for my parent’s taste, so I did not yet buy the car.
From the dealership I made my way to Stanford, ate lunch, and went on to get my temporary ATM card and visit the Int’l center for an orientation. Then, I drove to the CS faculty and met with the administrator there. I signed lots of forms to be on payroll and got signed up for an orientation meeting today. Then, I went to see Yoav — the professor I’ll be working with. Even though he was not expecting me, he took the time to give me a short tour of the faculty and have his assistant assign me an office and give me a key. Now I have an address where I can get mail! The address is:
Alon Altman
Gates Computer Science
353 Serra Mall, room 258
Stanford, CA 94305
USA
After arranging all that, I went back to the hotel room and on line. I had a chat with my friend whom I met in Hawaii and met up with her for dinner. I really enjoyed it.
Overall, I feel good and even though getting settled is hard, I think I’m doing pretty well. Today will be another day at Stanford and I hope to start looking for places to stay tomorrow.
September 19th, 2007 at 16:02
Posted by
epsalon |
USA |
6 comments
