2008.09.27 - First OSU Football Game

vs. Minnesota @ the 'shoe. Beanie's first game back since foot injury in season opener. Terrell Pryor's second start. OSU 34 Minnesota 21.

Goodbye, WAMU.

On September 25, 2008, the banking operations of Washington Mutual, Inc - Washington Mutual Bank, Henderson, NV and Washington Mutual Bank, FSB, Park City, UT (Washington Mutual Bank) were sold in a transaction facilitated by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).


Good bye, WAMU. You will be missed. Don't worry, your deposits (and mine) are unaffected (source: FDIC):

All deposit accounts and all loans have been transferred to JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio (JPMorgan Chase Bank). All former Washington Mutual Bank will reopen for normal business hours as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank.

The Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and on line services will remain available.

You may continue to use the services to which you previously had access, such as, safe deposit boxes, night deposit boxes, wire services, etc, as normally available at each branch.

Your checks will be processed as usual. All outstanding checks will be paid against your available balance(s) as if no change had occurred. Your new bank will contact you soon regarding any changes in the terms of your account.

2008.09.17 - Ohio Stadium Tour

The Business School arranged a stadium tour for us at the end of orientation. I didn't bring my camera because I didn't know we're getting a tour due to the whole no-power-no-internet situation. Had to make due with my phone's camera:

View from one of the fancy suites:


On to the press box; we don't need no stinkin' credentials:


Overlooking The Horseshoe from the press box:



50-yard line about 10 rows from the sideline:


End zone view. I didn't get to step on the field. Boo.


The "off limits to public" part of the tour - The Recruit Room:


Band room:


I'll be with 100,000 screaming fans next time I'm there.

Hour 45 without electricity...

*Courtesy of Columbus Dispatch

Midwest was hit by hurricane-force winds Sunday afternoon. Franklin County in Ohio (where I am) is hardest hit in the state, with 58% of the city without electricity. It really could've been been much worst - it's an Inconvenience right now but at least we don't have homes destroyed, cars turned over or under water...

With over half the city in the dark...

• Coffee shops with internet access instantly becomes the most popular hangout in town
• Looking for food becomes a daily challenge
• Ice is the most in-demand item, followed by flashlights, batteries and gas. Hrmm, gas was $0.50 cheaper a few days ago...
• Entering every intersection without traffic lights is a life-or-death situation
  
• The most portable light source is my cell phone (sorry, flashlights at Target were completely raided)
• My electric toothbrush is almost out of juice!
• Charging my cell phone becomes a carefully calculated exercise - if I drive to x, I can charge my phone for 10 minutes with the cigarette lighter, followed by y minutes directly from my laptop...
• Taking out your contacts in the dark is as hard as it sounds
• Who won the (insert team A) vs. (insert team B) game on Sunday???
• 10:30 bedtime
  

Even with all this craziness, I'm still alive. Soooo this is how people lived in the 1800s before electricity.

All these inconveniences is not without positives, though. Got to hang out with gracious classmates with POWER, LIGHTS, WORKING FRIDGE and INTERNET CONNECTION! Oh yeah, they're pretty cool too.

Latest update: power will be restored in Columbus for half the customers without power within 2 days, or 4 additional days (6 days from today) for remaining customers. Hospitals, schools and heavily populated areas get priority, and we've got a hospital and a school nearby... *please please please*

More from around Columbus:

2008.09.14 - Windy in the Midwest! 84°F + 60 mph wind?!?

(Video version is on Facebook)

The remnants of Hurricane Ike will combine with a quick moving cold front to bring windy conditions to the region today. Surface winds will continue to increase this afternoon... with sustained south winds of 25 to 40 mph and gusts near 60 mph.


Just lost power...

Road Trip Final Thoughts

From California, we crossed 10 states before arriving in Ohio 8 days later.


My favorite to least favorite state:

1. Wyoming - spent more time in Wyoming than any other state during the trip. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are amazing.
   
2. Illinois - Chicago alone is enough to push Obama-land up to #2.
   
3. Montana - if I didn't bury my swim trunks deep in my car, I would've gone for a dip in the river by a hot spring too
   
4. South Dakota - Mt. Rushmore is cool, Corn Palace is funky. Other than that, just I-90 and a lot of hay
   
5. Idaho - can't say much about Idaho... barely inched into Idaho for a grand total of less than 10 minutes on the freeway
   
6. Utah - Mormon country = everything is closed on Sunday. I want my Hire Big H root beer float!
   
7. Wisconsin - don't remember much about Wisconsin other than the big people at Burger King
   
8. Minnesota - drove right across Minnesota. Lots of wind mills?
   
9. Nevada - lots of desert and flat plains. boooooorrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg
   
10. Indiana - the only gas station I stopped by had huge pot holes and gravel roads. Bathroom was nasty. Didn't make a very good impression, Indiana.

We averaged a nice and leisurely pace of less than 400 miles a day, with the biggest chunk of driving on the first day from San Jose to Salt Lake City (768 miles):


As expected, most of the cost from the trip went to lodging and fuel:

Other random notes:

• The Valentine 1 did a good job picking up the highway patrol... all 5 or so of them we ran into over the course of the trip. It sets off some false alarms, as expected. It's a useful tool if you understand its limitations - it's NOT a cop detector; it's a RADAR detector. And it's not a license to drive like an idiot.
• We didn't exceed 100mph - not even once!
• People are not very big on toilet seat covers outside of California - protection is NOT provided by the management
• The mountain states sure like their fireworks! We thought about picking some up for kicks, but putting that inside a car next to the gasoline canister is probably not the wisest thing to do.
• Your car WILL get dirty inside and out. You WILL find random things in the most random places in your for weeks after the trip. Deal with it.
  

Fuel mileage kind of stinks, but that's to be expected with a roof rack, packed car and crossing the Rockies and its 10,000ft elevation.

Would i do it again? Absolutely, but not for a couple of years. And not with my car. I'd like to do a 3 to 4 day sightseeing drive in a convertible next. Down the east coast, maybe?

Miles driven: 3,010
Gallons of fuel consumed: 133.626
Average fuel economy: 22.525
Average price per gallon (premium): $4.04

Day 8: At Long Last - Ohio!

Blogging from: my apartment; Columbus, OH

Oops, wrote this earlier but forgot to post.

After 8 long days... FINALLY!


Yes, there's a city named Mechanicsburg.


You know you're getting close when...


Highest number of bogies detected by Valentine 1 at the same time: 8

Miles covered today: 356
Road trip mileage count: 3,034
States visited: Illinois, Indianapolis, Ohio
Miles to Columbus, OH: 0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 7: Exploring Chicago

Blogging from: downtown Chicago, IL

We're taking a break from racing across the country and spent the day exploring Chicago.

Beautiful view of a parking garage from my motel room:


First stop: Sears Tower


The view from the 103th floor of Sears Tower is surprisingly good for an overcast day:


View to the North:


The Kansas Comet, one of my favorite football players of all time:


Chicago River:

Street view under the elevated loop:


The Navy Pier. This is way cooler than Fisherman's Wharf:


We took a double decker bus tour around Chicago:


Traffic light gets pretty close on the upper deck:


Buildings in front of Chicago River:


Elevated Loop:


Still on the double-decker bus tour:


Wendy doesn't look very happy:

You can take your yacht to the restaurant:


Millennium Park:


Cloud Gate / chrome bean in Millennium Park:


Cool reflections under the Cloud Gate:


Group shot. I wish we had more time to hang around here for more pictures.


Good bye, Cloud Gate:


Rock n' Roll McDonald's:


Hot dog for appetizer at Portello's:



Before heading next door to Gino's Pizza for dinner:


Heather falling asleep from the 45 minute wait:


Yen, Heather and Wendy being fobby:


I wish we had more time in Chicago. So many more places I want to visit! So many buildings to see! Museums to visit! Plays to watch! Games to go to!

In the immortal words of our Governator: "I'll be back."

Columbus tomorrow.

Day 6: Four States in One Day

Blogging from: Downtown Chicago, IL

Not too interesting today. We spent most of the day in the car and crossed Minnesota and Wisconsin and into Illinois.

Read 'em and weep - $3.639 a gallon for premium octane 91 gas, suckas.


I-90 South Dakota bugs:


Minnesota is big on windmills:


It started raining after Albert Lea, MN:


Illinois likes toll booths:


Traffic heading into Chicago:


Very excited about no driving tomorrow for the first time all week -- we're taking a break from driving and touring Chicago.

The "L" train runs right by my motel room in downtown Chicago. Do'h!

Miles covered today: 573
Road trip mileage count: 2,678


States visited: South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois
Miles to Columbus, OH: 364