On the up?

I want to say things are looking up for me and improving. I started this post a week ago and one of the good things is crashing into a bad thing.

Three Radio Tests
On Thursday of two weeks ago I took a radio test. It was for a General Radiotelephone Operator license (GROL) with ship radar endorsement. I took it because it was recommended to me by people in LA where I volunteer. It could help me when I apply for jobs.

If you want to see what type of questions are on the test, take a look at one of these practice FCC license tests. I took elements 1, 3, and 8, which had a total of 174 multiple choice questions. The material covered basic electrical concepts, radio protocol on the high seas, distress communications, international communication systems, microprocessor concepts, practical electrical circuits, aircraft operations, radar equipment design, radar operation, and a bunch of rules.

After teaching a class on amateur radio, getting a degree in physics, and working on a degree in electrical engineering, I had a lot of exposure to many relevant topics. However, I can be proud that I taught myself everything else I needed to know in a month and a half. There are people who take classes just to get this license. The test proctor told me it was ambitious to try to take all three of those tests in one sitting. However, fortune favors the bold.

I think I passed the tests. They will let me know the results in a week. I used the great website nc4fb.org to learn what I needed. I am glad the test is over. For the previous month my default activity when I was in front of a computer was to take practice tests.

House Sitting
Two weekends ago I was house sitting. It was for the person I met at church who got me involved as a volunteer worker for the City of LA. It was great that I could get away from my parent's house. It was two miles away so I could easily drive home to pick up anything I needed or food I wanted.

I enjoyed watching TV and movies without interruption. No one in my house has an appreciation for watching fine television or movies. They lack not only appreciation, but also a willingness to try something different and see it to the end. While I am trying to watch something (which is not very often), my dad and brother make all kinds of noise in the kitchen, start to talk to me about non-timely and unimportant things, and have no concept that I am trying to immerse myself in someone's carefully constructed world. On Sunday I watched Natural Born Killers, which is a perfect example of a carefully constructed world that needs undivided attention to follow.

When I got home after being gone for most of four days, it felt odd. I was stepping into a world so different from what I was used to, so different from what I wanted. When I was away from my parents' house, I had time and space to think about a lot of things. It is apparent living at home is not helping me become the person I want to be.

The girl from two weeks ago
This is a update on what happened with the girl I met at a Halloween party. Two Thursdays ago I texted to ask if she wanted to go out. I suggested we could visit a museum. She texted back: "Hi Chris! Sure, lets hang sometime! Any particular museum in mind?" I replied with two possibilities, asking if she had a preference. Then the next morning I texted an update, saying one of them was closed for the weekend and suggestion a timeframe for visiting the other one. I asked what time would work for her. For the next three days, I kept compulsively checking my phone. Wondering, why has she not texted back?

That was on a Friday. Last Thursday, I called her up and left a voicemail saying I thought it would be easier to plan things with a phone call instead of texting back and forth. I reiterated I wanted to do something with her and asked her to get back to me so we could plan something. That was four days ago and there has been no response.

From when we talked in person and the text she sent me, I got the impression she wanted to get to know me better. Her lack of response makes no sense to me. I have done everything on my end. All I can do now is forget about her.

Other Things
Last week I tutored my neighbor in AP Physics. It was great. I got paid to do something that was simple for me to do. Depending on how things go, I should pursue tutoring as a side job. It was the easiest $50 I have ever made (aside from returns on a mutual fund).

I saw my friend Andrew last week. He was filling me in on his life after law school and what we should do politically after the election. We also enjoyed the Asian establishments at Diamond Jamboree.

Yesterday Frank was in town so I saw him, Dave, and Dan. We watched Skyfall, which was not as great as some of the buzz made it out to me.