sjamesho.v3

so i’ve had the HTC Incredible from Verizon Wireless for about three weeks now and i have to say it is a pretty sweet piece of phone tech to hold in my hands.

here are some highlights of why i like it so far…

1) Form Factor. my phone requirement was full touchscreen, no physical keyboard. the Incredible was the most recent phone to debut on Verizon’s network that met my requirement at the time of my upgrade eligibility. the back is multi-leveled creating visual interest, yet is able to lay relatively flat on a surface. the camera protrudes ever so slightly, but a case easily resolves this.

2) Snappy. “snappy” is a relative term since certain products can be more snappy or less snappy depending what you’re comparing with. well… my previous phone was a two year old Motorola Q9c running Windows 6.5. if any of you know what that is, you will agree that in comparison there is definite snappiness to HTC Incredible.

3) Android. i’m enjoying the UI and its customizable potential. i like that you have the choice to be as shallow or get seriously deep with the OS. that is the kind of depth i was looking for and found in Android. though i may not plunge very deep, it’s nice to know that i have that capability should i choose to do so. the system’s philosophy is one that i can get behind as well as its community.

4) Social Management. since Android is from Google, i love how my Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, etc. integrates with this phone. my lifestyle management as been kicked up notch… or two. plus, using apps to manage my social networking activities has never been easier.

remember, these are some highlights of why i like it. i encourage you to test the combination of many available brands and mobile operating systems. it is easy to be persuaded by a community of users or by marketing appeal and/or popularity. keep an open mind and find out for yourself which experience best fits you. in 2010, i’ve found that the HTC Incredible best fits me.

WOW! awesome! praise the Lord! within minutes of blogging the last post, i received a call from Baggage Services informing me that my big bag had arrived at Tampa (TPA). grateful to hear the great news, i inquired where it ended up. she told me that “well… it didn’t end up anywhere.” apparently my big bag was not loaded at San Jose (SJC) with my small bag and took the next flight to TPA. i feel a little sad that my two bags had to travel by their lonesome to TPA but i guess that is what reunions are for. there’s going to be a party all up in my room tonight!

okay… i think i’ve gone a little over to the weird but hey… i’m excited that my big bag is found. i’m wondering if i should peer out my window for the delivery and run towards it as it is coming. hehehe.

hmmm… i think there’s something in the good Book about lost items being found. Luke 15 has a series about it.

earlier this evening i was standing at the baggage carousel waiting for my two bags to greet me. one big, one small. as i was waiting i was looking forward to picking them up, getting into a taxi, checking into my hotel, and showering the travel “yuck” (what do they call that?) away. i stood in the middle of where the baggage appears from behind the wall and disappears and when i noticed my small bag being one of the first bags out i was delighted. it won’t be too long before the big one will follow… but it didn’t.

i realized that my small one was among the small bags and thought that maybe the big bag will be with the other big bags. makes sense, right? so i patiently waited till a series of big bags came and were taken by their respective owners. one by one they disappeared until the two doors of the carousel closed and the baggage track stopped. hmmm… maybe i missed it as it went around and one of the attendants placed it at the unclaimed baggage area. so i checked, hoping that it would be there… but it wasn’t.

i then went into Southwest Airlines Central Baggage Services counter to inform and inquire about my missing big bag. the service representative took the details and told me that it “should” eventually arrive at Tampa (TPA) later this evening… worse case scenario, by tomorrow morning… before my ship leaves port! in our conversation her words at times seemed to give a glimmer of hope that i will get it tonight… but it hasn’t.

the way that my big bag will eventually reunite with me will be revealed at the time and circumstances God sees fit for me to experience. the basic choices that i have currently is to either worry and stress over my big bag which has about 90% of my clothes and my ukulele. OR, i can relax, pray, and have faith that God is taking care of it… even to the worse of the worse case scenario should i never see my big bag and its contents again.

still it is quite the challenge to look at the time and NOT wonder, “why hasn’t Baggage Services called me yet?” faith… i have so much to learn.

the friday before Thanksgiving i started coughing. and then i coughed some more. and then more and more. even though i was coughing, i was determined and went Las Vegas where my cousin and aunts were spending Thanksgiving weekend. the friday after Thanksgiving i finally went to get my respiratory system checked out and learned that i had pneumonia.

this last sunday i finished my course of antibiotics and then on tuesday went to my primary physician for a follow up and learned that my lungs are now clear. i just have a residual and occasional cough which is slowly going away.

now i’m getting ready to go and will be leaving on a mission trip this weekend. maybe i’ll get in a post or two before i leave. now that i’m healthy again, i can get back into sharing with you all my adventures.

on November 2 i made my way to the Napa Valley to visit my cousin Carissa who is a first year student at Pacific Union College (PUC). PUC is also my alma mater and it has been three years since i’ve visited the area so it was nice to get back to the valley. Fall Fest was happening that day as well so i was looking forward to the festivities.

i picked up my cousin at her dorm and took her out for lunch at Guigni’s in St. Helena where i had frequented many times in my college duration.

but unlike those times, i did not carry a camera with me as often as i do now. so now you have the benefit of my amateur skills. and my skills loves to take pictures of food. here is my Guigni vegetarian sandwich.

after lunch we headed to Calistoga where i showed here where Boskos Trattoria was if she had a hankerin’ for some good Italian food. i stopped at the ATM to draw out some cash and then we went back to PUC to hang out at the gym where the Fall Fest was to take place. here are the tapioca pearls that were being prepped at the Asian Student Association booth.

i went up to Rasmussen Art Gallery to check out the latest exhibition and then headed up to Grainger Hall where my fellow graphic design classmate, Jonny Halverson, is now the Associate Dean of Men. i was informed that he was at the gym helping to set the Grainger Booth so i headed back there.

i was able to find Jonny and had a short but great time catching up as he was busy assisting with the booth. here he is after receiving a pie in the face. at their booth, they had various faculty and/or staff being the target and a fee was taken from those who would wanted a chance to throw pie. when it was Jonny’s turn, those that manned the booth offered the privilege to walk up to him and apply said pie to his face for an extra buck. brilliant entrepreneurship thinking!

this little remote control truck advertised for the World Missions program, which is always a good cause.

ah… the front of the Asian Student Association booth where they sell asian food and Tapioca Express pearl tea or slushy. i believe the proper term is “pearl” not “boba” which is the Taiwanese/Chinese slang for nipple. and that is just crude.

i also wanted to support my friend’s booth which offered corn dogs and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. is that American or what?

i don’t know. but whatever it is, it certainly was popular. i think i may have waited 30 minutes in line for my corn dog. i thought about getting two just for the principle of the it all but i was allocating the rest of my money for other treats.

and doughnuts was not one of them. here is my friend Jaylene who tried to sell me one… or the box. but i had to decline since i didn’t want my hips to get any wider than it already is. haha!

soon thereafter i said goodbye to my cousin and headed home for there was work to be had the next day.