Duty Free

Shopping while you fly is the most fun way to buy!

That's the United Airlines jingle for their in-flight Sky Mall, played on the screen while we wait to take off.  How ridiculous is that, really?  You can shop till you drop until you get to the gate, and then you can shop some more from a catalogue in your seat.  Seriously, can people not take just a few hours off?  Who the hell gets on a plane and decides they need a pearl necklace anyway?!

I just landed in SFO, and had a step outside to breath some California air and absorb a little California sun.  People talk funny here.

Of course, the US dollar is now, for the first time since I arrived in Australia, stronger than the Australian dollar - really, on the day I leave Australia it changes.

My time in Australia was too good.  So good that I don't even want to talk about it really. But I will say this: all the adventures, all of the fun, all of the beautiful scenery, all was wonderful.  And then, there are just a few people who will also stay with me forever, and that's really something.

I'm hungry, and have one more flight to go.

Dear Blog,

I'm a slacker.  I know.  But I'm here now, so I'll tell you what.

I'm in Cairns, way up north.  Staying with Christina who used to live in a tent on our backyard in Byron.  Today I'm heading out to sea to dive the Great Barrier Reef for a few days.  You get to sleep out on the reef and everything, should be a good time.

I'm pretty grateful for tropical weather at the moment, and also grateful for Australia in general.  The only thing that sucks about Australia is knowing that it's here all the time, even when I'm not.  Also, there no Sierra Nevadas, or Rocky Mountains or anything really comparable.

Slacking on photos, slacking on content.  Got a lot on my mind.

Going back to the good old North East USA in a couple of weeks, and quite looking forward too it.  In the mean time, I'll go look at some fish.

Australia Again

That pretty much sums it up.  Back at Sydney International, waiting for my shuttle to come pick me up and bring me to a hostel.  It's raining hard, I'm feeling pretty under the weather and my flight was 12 hours early.  Yeah, that's right, 12 hours early - which made me realize that I had no idea how f'ed up my original flight plan was.  I lucked out.

More soon.

Happy Birthday To Me!

I just turned 26 in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina.  This is the north east tip of Argentina, were the Parana River separates Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.  People come here to see the waterfalls, which of course are magnificent.  It is pouring rain outside and thunder is booming!  I am sitting at the Hostel waiting to depart for the 18 hour bus ride back to Rosario.

Yesterday we walked around the national park and saw the waterfalls and I took lots of pictures that are pointless to post here but if you are wondering here is a nice one that the internet has already.  Anyway, it was beautiful, there were some cool animals in the jungle surrounding the park, monkeys, and toucans, lots of butterflies, some french girls at the hostel even spotted a crocodile!

I saw one guy smoking a cigarette and when he was finished he chucked it over the guardrail right into a smallish waterfall we were all looking at.  It ruined my mood for a little and I felt strong urges to tear his face off, which I resisted.  I really truly honestly can not understand.  BAFFLED!  There were even little garbage bins all along the trails!  Also, there were these little raccoon/anteater hybrid looking things that have gotten used to pestering people for food which you are CLEARLY NOT SUPPOSED TO FEED.  Of course people feed them, some girls were feeding them nuts in the food court area, which was bad enough, but when I saw a lady on one of the trails bend down and give one a piece of her chocolate candy bar...  GRRRR.  =(

Anyway, the park is beautiful, the waterfalls are humbling, and the bus ride is going to be long.  But, buses are THE way to travel around this country.  They are great.  You get a large, comfortable reclining chair with plenty of foot room and an elevated foot rest, and they feed you!  The 18 hours it took to get here were really quite painless, and with the right toys (iPad equipped with games and movies, and a cozy sleeping bag) its even enjoyable!  They do provide you with a pillow and blanket, but we all know my sleeping bag is pretty much my most prized possession.  The food is not great so packing some healthy snacks isn't a bad idea either, but thats pretty much to be expected of food provided by public transit.

Ok, packing up and heading out.  Again and again and again...  =)

Andy Grammer

I was at the gym the other day, and all of a sudden on the radio I hear a song written and performed by none other than my dear old roommate Andy Grammer.  Then later I heard it at the mall, and it turns out he's topping the charts in the states as well, destined to be one of this summer's biggest hits.

Not that he needs a plug in my silly little blog, but anyway, Andy was one of the founding fathers of what became the 825 legacy.  Ladies and gentleman, from the confines of our Santa Monica living room, to international broadcast, Andy Grammer!

Mendoza

Reporting from Mendoza, Argentina.  That's where the Malbecs come from for all you winos out there.  It's one of those places you should visit in Argentina if you get the chance, and a few weeks ago Facundo's job asked if he'd be able to come out for a few days for something business related.  Arm Twisted - Mendoza roadtrip.  (Not that we were planning to go anyway or anything like that...)

You can see the Andes lining the horizon, and skiing and snowboarding are possible just a few hours away if you were so inclined.  We were cursed with beautiful warm and sunny weather these past few days, and it seems that the mountains are off to a late start anyway, so no south of the equator riding for me this time around.

Tonight the Mendoza stadium hosted a big soccer game between Chile and Uruguay for the Copa América.  Mendoza is approximately six hours from Santiago, so the hotels are booked and the streets are full of rowdy, red-jersey wearing, "Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le, CHILE CHILE!" chanting Chileans.

I had the most delicious steak and wine and plate of melty cheese (provoleta) at my first ever business dinner.  I'm so charming.

Tomorrow we go to a vineyard and winery tour.

Its not easy being green.  And then there are these people.

Extraordinary Machine

Minutes turn to Hours.  Hours turn to Days.  Eventually, you have a lifetime.  The story simply unfolds.  It's a haphazard collection of chance.  You are the master of your own destiny.

Live it, love it.

If there was a better way to go then it would find me.  I can't help that the road rolls out behind me.  Be kind to me, or treat me mean.  I'll make the most of it I'm an extraordinary machine.  

Today In Buenos Aires

I did a little grocery shopping, and some laundry.  Then I walked around for a few hours.  I found China Town.  I like China Town.  Then I wandered some more, and found the Buenos Aires Skate Park, sponsored by Converse.  It made me miss my skateboard.

One time I brought my skateboard with me to Paris.  I spent one night in Paris before taking a train to the Atlantic coast to live in a tent for the summer.  I skated around, but the city wasn't great for cruising with cobblestone streets and such.  I was wearing a sundress, and got some interesting stares.  Anyway, under the Eiffel Tower was pretty smooth so I had a good time there for a little bit.

I got a little lost, walked by a park with a lake and saw a bunch of people on their afternoon jogs.  There was an elderly couple taking a walk, arms linked, talking and laughing and looking as though they were 20 years old and in love.

Cities are great when they feel like they are alive on their own.  This is one of those places.  It has a pulse and a soul.

I didn't bring my camera, because I'm like that.

New Post

I haven't written in a while.  I feel pretty guilty about that.  I knew this would happen from time to time, and that's OK too.

I tried to write a big long blog post earlier about stuff, but I now don't feel like posting it.  Here are some of the key points...

I am in Argentina, I have been her for over a month.  It is good.  I am subconsciously understanding short and sweet Spanish conversation around me.  I can go places and ask for things with Spanish words and the results are often as I intended.

I haven't been defying death, so sometimes I feel bored, and then I don't write.  I did do a trapeze class which was fun, and instructed in Spanish.

Facu and I have landed ourselves in Buenos Aires for a little over a week to house sit for the honeymooners who have gone to a Miami/Bahamas cruise.  Buenos Aires is a lively place, and you get the feeling you are in one of the great cities of the world.  The only problem is they cook their sushi rice with sugar in this country.  This has got to change.

I mini-roadtripped to Villa General Belgrano for the Argentine Holiday weekend (Flag Day) with some good people.  The town had a German, Alpine feel to it, and I believe was settled by Germans a long time ago.  We played Spanish pictionary, had a picnic by a creek, and had some beer in the sunshine.  It was good.

I am confused by the economic status of Argentina in the world.  At first glance it is worlds ahead of other place I have seen, like Nicaragua, Indonesia, and even Costa Rica.  The quality of life in Rosario and Buenos Aires seems to be pretty decent, but things are pretty expensive compared to what the average salary and wages seem to be here.  Also, there are some pretty serious shanty towns on the side of the highway leading in to Buenos Aires.  I haven't seen more, or talked to people of many different socioeconomic statuses, so I can't really say much about it, except it doesn't feel much different than being in the US, or more like Europe, most of the time.

That being said, you will ALWAYS end up spending more money than you think.  No matter where you are in the world, spending money is any easy thing to do.

Also, I got scabies, which officially makes me a pirate.

Here are some pictures...

Town Hall Wedding

Newlyweds!

Waiting For Party Time

Rosario Artisan Market

A play in the park

Lovely Day For Sailing

Parque Indepencia

Sunday Shindig

Can I Actually Buy That Stuff? 

Rosario Football Loyalty

Weekend Getaway Getting Out of Control

Pictionary En Epañol 

You Will Never Replace Cheryl

I don't know where we were, I don't know what that means, but I like it.  Somewhere near Villa General Belgrano.

Bridge looks Cool

Duff Beer in Villa General Belgrano

Villa General Belgrano

Picnic Time, Shoes Off

Hangin' Out

The horse showed up for his photo shoot!

Catch Me If You Can

OK, so… I'm just sitting in Australia, minding my own business, pretty satisfied with myself at having not given up on Byron when times were tough and jobs were scarce, and finally getting settled into jobs and bike rides and ocean play time when, all of a sudden, there's a new plate on the table.  

Back in LA, the day before my last day at work, just before all this wild and crazy walking about began, I had just worked a double shift and stopped in at a bar with some coworkers to grab a quick drink.  Sitting next to us at the same table is a group of Argentines on vacation in Los Angeles, one of which currently lives in Boston (Facundo) and one of which currently lives in Chicago (Ivan).  Immediately to my left (on the wrong side) was Facundo.  For some reason "I just quit my job and I'm going to do whatever I want for a year or so" really piques people's interests, and we got to talking.  So it starts…

I finish up in Los Angeles, and commence my road trip.  This sounds like fun - I'm driving through Chicago (with a car full of girls), that's where Ivan is.  Facundo comes to say hello, good people good times, the girls leave back to Los Angeles, Ivan stays in Chicago, Facundo and I continue East.  

And then and then and thennnn, Maria and Facundo - one way tickets to Bali.  And then and then and then - Facundo back to Boston, Maria on to Australia.  

Which brings me back to minding my own business, doing "whatever I want," running around Byron Bay barefooted.  And then the alleged spontaneity of my adventure is challenged.  Facundo's brother is getting married and it turns out there is a wedding celebration to be had in Buenos Aires that I wouldn't want to miss.  On top of that, Facundo has arranged to work remotely from Argentina for a couple of months, if I'd care to partner up for some South American adventure.  So how about it?

But-but-but… I just got a job!  I tried for so long and convinced these people I would stay for a while and now I'm just gonna leave, just like that?

But-but-but… It's just a restaurant job, and isn't A for Adventure?  And maybe Australia?  And maybe Argentina too? 

So I thought, and I felt, and I stressed, and I fretted, and I asked a few people for advice, and something like a week later I had tickets to Argentina for another week after that… and so the story goes…

I posted when I was waiting for my flight in Sydney, and 13 hours later I landed in Buenos Aires.  The immigration officials apparently decided to strike the morning of May 18th (welcome to Argentina!), which drastically slowed things down upon arrival.  I stood in line for approximately 2.5 hours before I was set loose to cause terror in Argentina.  Facundo had arrived just a few hours prior, but missed all the fun of long and slow moving customs lines.  Finally I was free to roam.  Much to my surprise, Facundo was still there waiting for me as I walked through the final security check point =), and his parents were just around the corner having some coffee.

We got some lunch in a nice part of town, and then piled into the car for 3 more hours of driving to Rosario.  I slept through pretty much all of this part.  

Now I write to you, currently sitting in the house of what feels like my new host family - La Familia Chamut.  I have Rosetta Stone and a Spanish study book to play with for now.  Everyone here seems to like me, and is happy with my feeble attempts at Spanish which are getting slightly more frequent and slightly less feeble all the time.  (My Australian housemates have threatened to replace me with a puppy - which might make just as much of a mess as me, but won't be nearly as adorable.) 

The National Flag Memorial

Rosario is a very pleasant and pretty city, arguably the 2nd largest in Argentina (Córdoba being its rival).  It sits on the Paraná River which borders the north and east edges of the city.  There are several parks scattered around town, and a running/bike path along the river.  In my first few days here, I basically did my best to wash the dirt off my feet from my extended couple of months of outdoor adventure in Indonesia and Australia and make myself presentable to arrive in style for Lichu and Anita's wedding in Buenos Aires.  

The wedding was A LOT of fun!  To start, the union was sanctioned before a judge at the court house in a room packed full of family and friends, and me.  After that we celebrated for hours with open bar, disco balls, and magnificently catered hors d'oeuvres at a rented venue somewhere in Buenos Aires that I would never be able to find for you again on my own.  

Dancing and Disco balls, Newlyweds and La Familia

I'll wrap this up by telling you that yesterday we BBQ'd on the rooftop terrace at the Chamut residence, I ate cow thyroid (a savory delicacy), and intestines (could do without those), and then went into town to shop around the Sunday artisan market by the river.

Lunch on the Parana

There are too many things to do in and around this country and there are already some plans brewing, but we will have to save that for a later date when I have some stories to tell!

Mama Chamut is making me fat.  I like that about her. 

Sydney International

That's where I am right now.  At the duty free Mac store.  Just bought some kangaroo jerky to share with my hosts in Argentina.  I thought about the Crocodile jerky as well, but decided to pass.

Airports are pretty cool.  I just brushed my teeth in the bathroom, and really liked it.  I've grown to quite like being in airports, and quite dislike being in airplanes.  Except little Cessnas - those are cool.

Dave's Building Be The Red Brick One 

I didn't get to do really any Sydney site-seeing.  I was staying in a suburb quite outside of the city called Cronulla.  Very pretty little town.  My housemate, Dennis, set me up to stay with a friend of his, Dave.  Dave was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and give me a couch to occupy for 2 nights.  I took the local train this morning to transport myself to the airport.  That took about an hour.

It's 9:45 - I'm meant to be at the gate now to start boarding.

Flight departs at 10:30 am May 18, 2011.

Qantas flight QF17
Non-stop service from Sydney to Buenos Aires

Flight arrives in Buenos Aires at 10:45 am May 18, 2011.

How about that?

Anyway, gotta go find out if that town is big enough for the two of us.  Whattya reckon?

Byron - The Final Days

Worked my last shift today at the restaurant.  My time there was short but sweet.  They were certainly disappointed that I ended up being a short term employee, and trust me I felt pretty guilty about letting them down... but I'm pretty sure I saw them hiring my replacement this afternoon, and Fish Heads as a whole will have forgotten me by next week.

It was a beautiful day, and the office view was stunning.  Julian Rocks looked peaceful in the distance, and there was some kind of bird feeding frenzy not too far of shore.  Birds circling a school of fish, no doubt, making the occasional torpedo dive from above.

Tomorrow my bags will be packed, I'll take it easy and maybe meet some friends in town.  Kat just got back after 4 weeks out to sea, so I guess she can have her car back.

I just booked my flight to Sydney for Monday night, and I have a flight to Buenos Aires on Wednesday morning.  It all happened so fast.

Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend.

It all happens so fast, and next thing you know you're 90 years old.  So just do it.

I think I felt more anxiety all day today than I did when looking a shark in the face and swimming though a dark cave 80 ft under water.

Scratch That

Creature of habit - nonsense.  I'm going to Argentina in 12 days.  Didn't see that one comin' did ya?

Yeah, neither did I.

Hell yeah to spontaneity.

Who knows, maybe there isn't a vein of stars callin' out my name.

Right now I am in a laying on a mattress covered by a mosquito net on the balcony out back.  It is almost midnight, and I will sleep out here tonight.  I can hear the ocean pretty good.  Swell is picking up, and its been spitting rain in spurts all day.  The air is fresh and the noises are soothing.

Straight back across the back yard I see the back yards of the houses the next street over.  A 48-year-old woman was murdered somewhere over there by her 17-year-old son last week.  I heard he may be mentally ill - schizophrenic or something.  I heard he stabbed her.  The newspaper did not report anything except that she was killed by him and he has medical conditions.

In other news -

I never did get to hike a volcano in Indonesia.  I was told by other travelers that it was too rainy and muddy and the trails were closed, and I'd like you all to assume that is why I didn't do it.  But the truth is I heard that and then didn't investigate further anyway.  I just didn't get around to it.

That's ok though, opportunities don't stop coming and I finally got to a volcano in Australia.  A long time inactive volcano, but I'm satisfied.

It's a thing around here to hike Mt. Warning for sunrise, as it is for most popular summit trails.  Its a peculiar thing, the popularity of the sunrise hike.  Someone asked me afterward about the hike and then asked "was it worth it?"  I couldn't quite figure out that question or an appropriate answer.  "Was it worth it?"  As though I had made some kind of huge sacrifice.  It was cool, and I only had to alter my sleep schedule for a day or so, so I guess that means it was worth it.

The fun thing about the Mt Warning hike were the multiple setbacks and obstacles that seemed to want to prevent us from succeeding in our quest that day.  After leaving the dive center that day I ran into another American guy, Matt, who volunteers there as well.  He and his friends had plans to hike later, and I asked to tag along.  We were meant to meet at 11:30, get ready and go.  It takes about 1.5 hours to drive there, and then 1.5-2 hours to get to the top.  They had one spare seat in the car, and all was sweet.

I showed up at 11:30 and found out their driver was MIA, so I was defaulted to drive my car.  Funny thing, I drove into town to meet up with everyone, parked my car in the alley behind their hostel, and then wouldn't you know my car wouldn't start.  I don't know what is up with that anyway.  We rolled it out of the alley, and eventually flagged someone down for a jump.

Oh, shit, I don't have enough gas to make it there, and there are no 24 hour gas stations until Tweed (Déjà vu all over again).  Off a bit out of the way to Tweed for some petrol - success!  And finally on the way to our final destination.

My car out here, well she does the trick around town but... She's no Cheryl.  For this trip I had 5 people in her, and the last half hour of driving was all uphill, and she definitely didn't like that.  When we finally got to the trail head parking lot and I shut the car off, I noticed she was smoking and leaking from the radiator.  I think it was somewhere around 3am at this point.  What do you do about a leaking radiator at 3am when you are in the middle of nowhere?  Hike to the top of a mountain and deal with it later.

Head lamps on, snacks in our backpacks, and we're off.  It was dark, it was quiet, it started out pretty easy, and there were awesome, green, glow-in-the-dark fungi all around.  The last .5 km was basically a rock climb with a thick chain provided for assistance.  We made it to the summit platform about an hour before sunrise.  We weren't alone.  I was tired, and after the sun came up I think I slept in my sleeping bag on the bench for about an hour or so, the sun was shining and warming by now which made for a pleasant descent.

Mission Accomplished

Of course, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that my radiator had overflowed and the little experience I have with overflowing radiators has lead me to believe that if that happens there is no way in hell you are going to successfully drive an hour and a half home without issue.  But apparently hiking Mt. Warning has magical powers and we made it home with no dramas.  Then I got a job.  =)

One thing:  No matter how many times you see them, sunrises and sunsets are always fricken awesome.

My Job:  A seafood restaurant called Fish Heads.  Nice place, classy dinner atmosphere.  I was hoping to go for something a little less demanding in service standards, and this reminds me quite a bit of my last two jobs, but still is a bit less hectic.  Plus, I moved right in comfortably very quickly and everyone seems pleased to gain my acquaintance around there.

Viewing my place of diving from my place of working.

The building is a bit of historical site, being the original Bathers Pavilion built in 1951.  There is a public pool also on the property, which again is remarkably nostalgic of my previous place of employment.  It is located literally front and center in town, right on the main beach and the main street.  So far so good - they kept me very busy last week, and called me in for 3 extra shifts.  I'm glad to be taking some work while I can get it.  The Blues Fest and Easter holiday have brought swarms of visitors, but I'm sure things are going to quiet down in the upcoming months.  I have done my part to become liked and somewhat valuable, so I feel confident about keeping up my employment with them even in the winter.

I only managed to get to the Blues Fest for a couple of hours one afternoon.  Bobby D was playing that evening, but I had to go to work.  My house mates saw him and reported that he was a bit of a disappointment.  They aren't really fans though, and, although I'm sure he's lost his pizazz in live performance, it would still be amazing to be in the presence of a living legend who's words and thoughts shape my thoughts and view of the world.  And if he happened to pick up a guitar and sing us a tune, wouldn't that be a delight?  Oh well, that's twice I've missed Bob Dylan now, and maybe the last chance I'll get.  He still sounds good coming from my computer and headphones.

I did see Tim Robbins and his band.  Yeah, that's right, Tim Robbins - the actor - plays in a band.  I didn't know that, but then there he was on stage.  It was hard to take him seriously, but he really wasn't too bad.  They had a busker station where random local/very unprofessional acts performed on a folded chair.  Some of that stuff was really great.  Otherwise there were 5 stages and I just kind of bounced around for the afternoon.  Almost like visiting an art gallery, or a wine tasting, but for music!  I still much prefer the random musical gems you find in the corner of a pub in town from time to time.  The extravagant production with a stage and confused crowds seems to really take some soul away from the music.  Except the Flaming Lips.  They seem to embrace a live performance as the beast that it is, and turn the whole thing into a big interactive party and that is seriously a good time.

Checking over my dive kingdom from the balcony

I continue to show up at the dive center.  For the next couple of months I guess I will divide my time between working, diving, and getting to know this part of Australia.  Since I'll be staying put for a little while now I think I'll go ahead and do my dive master course, but the water is getting cold!  Cold water brings cool wildlife though, so at least there is that to look forward too.

Where they house the live-in volunteers

I got to do my first kind of assistant dive guiding the other day, and it was mostly hellish.  I've done it before, but mostly it just ends up being a fun dive cause there is already a dive guide and I'm meant to hang out at the back of the group and loosely keep an eye on things.  This particular group was just strangely problematic.  First of all there was an older man who was having all kinds of trouble with his buoyancy and kept holding everybody up.  Not that big of a deal, if it weren't for the Overconfident Aggressive Alpha Male who repeatedly swam off out of sight requiring me to repeatedly chase after him, get his attention, and pull him back to the group.  It felt a lot like what I imagine it would feel like to herd sheep.

So, I work in a classy/casual restaurant by the beach with a pool, I ride my bike around which makes me very happy, I'm about to join a gym and get back on a regular yoga schedule, I go hiking and to music festivals and I play in the Pacific Ocean.  Not much has changed really, since I left Los Angeles in October.  I guess you could call me a creature of habit.

Ok Ok Ok

I haven't really written lately.  And I'll tell you why.

First, not much adventuring has been happening, although technically its all part of the adventure even when its not so gripping.

Second, I've been moody.

Trying to get a job was tough.  Byron is a small town with lots of backpackers (ranging from seemingly put together to totally out there dirty smelly hippies).  Anyway, so many people with similar ideas to mine, who want to stay in Byron cause its fun and cool and great, and want to work.  Employers are weary of the Working Holiday Visa, because they hire people and then they are gone in a couple of months and it sucks.  There really is no way around it, even Australians migrate through here in a couple of months time.  Anyway, I had a constant feeling of rejection and failure for about a month, but sunny days when I went to beach BBQs and surfing all day I felt fine, rainy cold days stuck in the house with an overactive brain were not so fine.  Never so bad either.  Just a little travelin' blues.  I've felt them before.  The kind of feeling where mostly all I want to do is reattach to an umbilical cord and crawl back inside the womb and pretend none of this ever happened.

Anyway, I had verbally declared abandonment of the job search sometime in the beginning of last week.  I was going to stay in Byron bit longer, but ultimately head elsewhere and see how that went.  I have some friends from LA who just arrived in Australia, so I figured I could meet with them and go play some more.

A few days later, I went to hike Mt. Warning to watch the sunrise.  Napping through to following day I missed a call, and when I checked my voicemail I was shocked to find out with was a woman from a restaurant I had dropped a resume at a week or so before.  I was really under the impression that leaving a resume somewhere was about the equivalent to throwing it directly in the garbage.  Anyway, she asked if I was still looking for work: I was.  She asked if I would like to come in for an interview tomorrow: I did.  So that's what I did. 

Thrift store shopping for some black dress pants: $5
Eggplant colored sleeveless sweater top: $5
Uncomfortable pair of black shoes covered by the pants anyway: $1

Finally getting a job at a pretty nice beach front restaurant - my office with a view: Priceless

Anyway, I worked 3 days this week.  I like them, they like me.  Its going to be good.  I'm going to tell a story about the Mt. Warning hike, and maybe a few other interesting things that have happened and some other thoughts about who the F knows what.  But I just wanted to quickly say YAY! 

Enough About Me

Tell me about you!

Write me a blog entry this time.

Whoever is reading this, write me a little story -  a few sentences or paragraphs or whatever you want about what's going on with you.

That would make me happy.  =)


And also...

You Tube Everything George Carlin

George Carlin - We Like War

Also, browse around the other posts on that blog.  You will either feel inspired or hopeless or both simultaneously.

Happy Birthday Dad

Here are some memories of good times we have shared that will hopefully make you smile.  I love you very much, and am so grateful to have you as part of my life.

I think we all know what that is.

Devil's Tower!

Pretty sure that's Yellowstone.

And we made it!

You were right, in the end the hike was a good idea.

Emily and I touch the Pacific for the first time!

You came to visit before I started UCLA.  Kathy just wanted us to take a nice picture, but we have a hard time being serious.

I love this photo.  Big Stars in Hollywood.  Our faces are so the same it's creepy.

I think Kara and I canoed to Vermont this day.

We saw Ava Luna play at Monkey Town in Brooklyn!

I think Emily left for Senegal this day.

Our flight from Burlington to Cortland

Flying is easy =)

Fly into the sunset over NYS.

Remember when we all went to see Stevie Wonder?

Your dates to the concert!

You came back to Cali and we flew some more.

Grandma and I trust you with our lives...

Flying through LAX airspace.  

When the weather put a storm directly and only over our exact route home.  That's, Thanksgiving I think.

And that's just a few things!  Let's add some Australia adventure to the list, shall we?

Hope you have a great day, and week, and year.  I love you!

<3 Maria

Bali/Australia

See the difference?