Today I went to Emeryville.

Student Support

I had some personal problems, then I went to the student support for my problems and chatted a while. The man helping me was very nice and I was touched.

BestBuy in Emeryville

Then I took the bus F to Emeryville. I had wanted to buy a computer for a while but was unsure about which to buy. I got off the bus at BestBuy and went in to take a look.

Anyways, there are all kinds of computers in BestBuy, ranging in price. I tried some briefly, trying to restart while simultaneously pressing f12 del f2 and shift, and some have trouble booting into the BIOS mode. There was this 4 gb ram computer, and I tried playing a YouTube video with 2160p but it didn't work well, however there was this huge expensive more than 2000 dollar gaming computer, and didn't play the YouTube 2160p video well too, so I reckoned it was like the Wi-Fi connectivity problem. The command lines and power shell in windows do not work. I reckoned I want 16:9 computer since my eyes' distance are long. I also wanted it to be at least 15.6 inches.

Then I was trying on a Vivobook, and I booted into BIOS easily, but it's menu is quite strange, and I could even use the touchpad. Then I tried booting Ubuntu, and it worked. However at that moment a worker came and said it is forbidden, and looked very much annoyed. So I ended up unplugging the usb, and after a while it boots into Windows again.

Then I asked the worker which computer is best for Linux, and he said directly there are no Linux computers, and I thought he lacked basic knowledge. I thought like as a worker in a computer store you would at least be familiar with computers, but like they actually know nothing.

So anyways I tried a MacBook, and I haven't tried Mac much before. I tried opening a terminal, but the worker came back at me and said "programming" is forbidden too. I thought I couldn't live 5 seconds without a terminal. Anyways I thought those workers are just as stupid like those in ATT stores, and that they best work in other shops like clothing shops or Mac Donald's than work here, since they provide no knowledge of computers.

Then I decided to buy a System76 computer since I do care about performance, and as expensive as the computer is, it is half the price of a class in UC Berkeley. I don't want to waste money on a computer that is hard to use.

Dinner at Chevys

Then I started to dislike Best Buy a little and went out and walked a while. It became pitch dark, and I was a little afraid. Last night there was a robbery at gunpoint at Berkeley, and I was always out there at 4 or 5 am. But anyways, it is still early, and I wasn't going into any homeless places.

I crossed the bridge to the Bay, and went into Chevy for dinner. There is loud music playing, like, deafening, and people dancing. It is kind of fun but I do not like loud music much, so I went and sat on the opposite side of the loud music and people dancing, and it seemed bearable. I quickly ordered a chipotle. Then after a while no waitress came to deliver food, and I went to ask them, but suddenly the waitress handed the food bag in my hand, then I started to eat. Despite the loud music, the food is very delicious.

Emeryville Marina Park

I realized I had been to Emeryville Marina Park only once, this January, and that I haven't been there ever since. It is dark at night, and seeing the waters far ahead seems like looking from a plane, with low lit lights scattered across the horizon.

Walking Along the Shore

Then I turned north and started walking back to Berkeley along the shore. The road was dark, and along the highway, there was only me, the Bay, the sky, and dim lights. It felt so isolated, kind of like how I felt walking along Huangpu River but much more. The roads went on and there weren't many people. The waves were softly pushing along the shores on my left.

Time went fast as I walked along the highway, and I reached Point Emery in a fairly short period. There were some cars parked there and a few people, who I couldn't see clearly from the dim lights. Then I walked on. On my right was Aquatic Park, where I had been to like around 3 or 4 times. But I had never been to the shoreline on the opposite side of Aquatic Park since it is not easily accessible. I remembered walking on the inside of the railroad to Emeryville but not outside of the railroad, and I kept walking north.

The Bay at night was fascinating, and soon Emeryville Marina Park was nothing but some lights lined on the south of the horizon, and then the lights combined with the Bay Bridge and I couldn't distinguish between them. 2 miles went by very quickly, and I saw the bridge to Berkeley Point.

Taking Bus Home

I remembered seeing some suspicious people on the bridge some days ago at night who were perhaps homeless. Anyways I did not cross the bridge but kept on to McLaughlin Eastshore, and it was so dark I even felt a little afraid, but soon came to 51B bus station. Then I took the bus home.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Emeryville is quite fun, and walking along the isolated shore at night alone is indeed a unique experience even for me who likes to wander around now and then.