Dangerous Deer

Taan was driving home one sunny afternoon. A few feet away, she saw a big deer standing on the sidewalk. She slowed down just in case the deer suddenly decided to run across the street. The deer didn't. She continued slowly. All of the sudden, the deer ran towards her car, leaped in the air on to the hood, slipped while on the hood, slammed his huge body onto the windshield, fell on the ground, and continued running towards the woods.

The windshield was shattered into pieces, and the roof bent towards the driver, barely touching Taan's head by a few inches. Aside from the heavy damage on the car, everyone was fine physically, but emotionally traumatized by a crazy jumping deer.

Thank God for laminated safety glass. It prevented the tiny glass pieces from injuring anyone in the car. So be careful of enamored deer (deer mating season) who might not run in front of your car, but jump on to your car. Drive safe!

Pics - Sedona, Arizona

For our family trip this year, we decided to go as far west as we can. So we went to Sedona, AZ - Red Rock country. Arizona (southern) is completely different from what we're used to in Maryland. When we landed in Phoenix, we instantly noticed the extra warm weather. The landscape was basically the desert and bald mountains. Grass was very minimal and so were trees, but the cactus was everywhere. When we were in Phoenix, the weather went up to 115 degrees (F). It was hot. Sedona was a little better though because it was a little over 4,000 feet elevation, so the weather was cooler especially at night. We went to see the Grand Canyon (again), and it was better the second time around. Southern Arizona was great, but I don't think I could live there. It would be too hot for me. It's definitely a fun place to visit.

One of the red rock formations in Sedona.

At the Palataki ruins (centuries old cliff dwelling native Indian tribe)

First Day of Classes

Yesterday was the first day of classes for the Fall 2009 semester. I had back to back classes until 7PM. My classes seem to be pretty cool. So far I'm enjoying them, and I know I'm going to learn a lot of new stuff. Now I just need to find textbooks for my classes, which would cost me a little over $500 if I buy them all used from the UMBC bookstore. So I'm looking for other (cheaper) options. I seem to have found some, and it's looking good.

It's going be a busy semester with 7 classes, a few part-time jobs, and a lot of commuting / driving, but I think it's going to be fun. We'll see. ^_^