First Caltech party

Everything I know about Caltech I learned from the movie Real Genius and it is all true. Last night: Interhouse party. The four "south houses" all threw parties. University sponsored, I guess. The theme at Blacker House was "Soviet Russia." They flooded their courtyard, making a moat that glowed the color of antifreeze. Centered in this: the deck of a (life-size?) submarine w/ conning tower provide dance floor. Home-made snow machine to create authentic snow-stricken soviet landscape. Manequin of Lenin, in glass, forms bar, over which copious quantities of alcohol are served. War Games projected onto wall. Etc. Similarly elaborate constructions at other houses as well. At Dabney House I Saw Hawks In LA played. Danced.

Further notes:
* However, they should have had a hot tub.
* Is it still possible to see this comet?!
* Why can't I find any photos of this party? Don't Caltech students use Flickr?

new house

Our new house is very small--pretty much the perfect size, actually. The living room has hardwood floor, a fireplace, a solid wood table with chairs, and a really cozy blue L-shaped couch with many blankets (all due to our housemate Jeff). On the right side of the house are the two bedrooms, and between them, connected to both, is the bathroom. Jeff's room is connected to the living room, and ours, the kitchen, which is at the back left of the house, connected to the living room. So there, you have the topology of the house: genus one.

There is a little backyard and a front yard too, and in these yards there are many fruit trees, mainly citrus. Yesterday morning we sat in the sun in front yard eating our breakfasts and greeting the passers-by, all of whom were speaking Spanish. Two blocks down the street there's a little Argentine market (there is a whole steak aisle). Our landlord, George, lives just across the street, above George's Market, a meat market where he is the butcher. From the front yard, the San Gabriel mountains loom high with palm trees in the foreground. In the background there is the snowy peak of Mt. Baldy.

The folks at MentorHouse gave us a mattress and we carried it on top of my little Volkswagen through the late-night abandoned streets of Pasadena, arms out the windows to hold it down. We've only just now begun emptying the car. We have maybe 200 lbs of books driven all the way from Rochester, and a half dozen winter jackets that may turn out to be more useful in southern california than expected (last night was forecast a "hard freeze" in the 20's and 30's). It is nice to finally have a home again.