Today was sort of different: my family took off to the river today with many friends.  This left me at home all day today, which was fine because I had to read an entire book – yes, an entire book – for class tomorrow.  Fortunately, it was a pretty good read.  The book was “Fifth Chinese Daughter,” the story of a Chinese girl brought up in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1920s – 40s.  She found herself living in two distinct cultures and had to balance between the two.  Tomorrow, I will present this book to my multicultural class.  The class, by the way, is pretty good.  I’m now three weeks away from finishing the class, and graduating.  In the background, I’m also greasing the path for a quick turn-around on my credential so I’ll have it in hand by the start of the school year.  It may not matter though, so far, I haven’t had an interview for a job.  Still, you never know what will happen as school approaches.  Jobs open up suddenly due to unexpected enrollment shifts and sudden departures by teachers.

So, getting back to my day… as I was having lunch and about to start a movie (to take a break from reading), my main contract employer called asking me for a quick turn around on a chip.  Suddenly, I spent two hours modifying a chip and getting it taped-out.  I had not planned on that.  I still watched my movie, though I shouldn’t have due to time constraints, and was still able to finish my book by the time my family got home at 11PM.