Two parts to this post: Atlanta and Athens, both in Georgia (in case you were unaware). We'll start with Atlanta, since that's where I was for most of the past 6 days or so. First, let me say that Atlanta is HUGE. It also has a very poor public transportation system (unreliable buses), virtually no bike lanes, and some very sketchy neighborhoods that white people without bulging muscles and pit-bulls would do best to avoid. So it's a driving city, like a lot of big cities, I suppose. On top of this, city planners for Atlanta seemed to be schizophrenic and anti-collaborative at best, so the roads make no sense, with one-way signs and traffic circles all over. I got so turned around the couple of times I had to drive, it took at least 15 minutes longer than it should have to get anywhere.
And then there was Eric (the friend I stayed with)'s house. One of his housemates had an xbox 360 and a huge widescreen tv, and he had GTA 4, which I'd been dying to play for ages. Placed in this situation of daunting prospects at braving the roads, cold weather, and a fair amount of exhaustion from the past two cities visited, it made it pretty easy to just spend a lot of time during the days sitting in front of the tube playing video games. And it was glorious. I really didn't feel like I was missing much, maybe there were things to do around town, but they all cost money and I'm trying to conserve, so whatever. It'd been a while since I'd been a couch potato, so what the hell, I thought, let's take a break.
Friday night, Eric and I went out on the town. Little 5 Points, The Clermont Lounge, and the Majestic Diner. Little 5 Points was interesting, certainly a very eclectic mix of people, but all the bars were packed and we didn't feel like standing, so we walked around for a bit and then headed off to another bar down the road that was less crowded to play Battleship and drink beer.
The Clermont Lounge was a trip, to say the least. Apparently a mainstay of seedy Atlanta culture, this was definitely the fugliest strip club I've ever seen. Now, I would certainly say the girls were all attractive in their own ways, but they were definitely all over the age of 30, most of them were.....rotund, and I spent more time laughing at their antics than feeling at all aroused. It was great! The most interesting thing I saw was the surprising number of women in the crowd. Most strip clubs I've been to (okay, the one) have been pretty much entirely populated by men. Not so with The Clermont. I'd say there was probably 1 female for every 3 males in the crowd, it was quite impressive! Granted most of them were there with a guy, but the fact that they would even agree to step inside is a testament to the Clermont's draw. It's more than a strip club, it's a real experience.
Then there was the Majestic. Reminded me very much of Ann Arbor's Fleetwood, only a bit bigger with more cooks behind the counter and waitresses in front. And they served grits with pretty much everything. It made me happy.
We also went over to a friend of Eric's' house for the Superbowl on Sunday, which was quite the fun time, I must say. The condo building he lived in was a ridiculous fortress, with requirements to phone the desk once at the gate to the parking lot and once to get into the building. Considering its location smack dab in the middle of downtown, I suppose I can understand the security precautions, but it was wild nonetheless. During the game we pulled out the poker table and played an epic series of poker rounds. It started with 8 players and ended with 1, and I'd say the game took about 4 and a half hours total. I actually made it to the final four, and if I had stayed in for one more elimination I would have actually won money (something that I've never accomplished in a poker game before), but alas it was not to be. Eric took me out on an extremely close hand (he had king-queen I had king-jack, the first card to come up in the flop was a jack, but then the queen came out on the river. It was intense!). I also found out that evening that Georgia still has a no-alcohol on Sundays rule, which I found surprising. Thankfully the guys had thought ahead and there was plenty of booze to keep us satisfied.
So that was pretty much my experience of Atlanta. Didn't get a chance to meet up with my aunt Sue, as they were super busy preparing for lectures and whatnot, so that was sad. But other than that, I think I had as good a time as was possible, so I'm happy.
Onto Athens. I enjoyed Athens much more than I did Atlanta, even though I was only there for one night. One thing this trip has made clear to me is that I am not a big city boy. I could probably survive in a city with descent public transportation, but growing up in the college town of Ann Arbor has definitely given me a preference for mid-sized cities that are walkable/bikeable. College atmospheres also help make me feel at home, which is interesting. Athens was both. And on top of that, it's warm and the people are beautiful, the food is tasty and the bars are hoppin, so what more can you ask for?
My couchsurfing host got a tummy ache after our curry-dinner-cooking extravaganza, and the guys we were going to go out with ended up going to a bar on the outskirts of town with a $5 cover, so I ended up roaming the streets of Athens stag for the evening, wandering in and out of bars as I saw fit. I tended to gravitate towards bars that were emanating the booming sounds of live music or had enough people in them to look entertaining but not so many that you couldn't even get to the bar. The best part of the evening was conversing with all the drunk girls. They're so entertaining!
The next day Cristal (my host) and I went on what turned into a 6 mile hike through a nature area nearby. It was quite the excursion, my feet were so tired by the end! But it was definitely fun just walking and talking and enjoying the sun and nature. Yay for uv-rays and d-vitamins!
So now I am in New Orleans, and it is yet another new and unique experience. I'm hoping tonight will give me a better impression of the town than last night, but that remains to be seen. I am now going to take a nap, since this town never sleeps and I have a feeling I'm going to be up late once again... Let's all meditate on me not getting mugged! Hooray!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
New Orleans.....
I've got lots to say about the rest of Georgia, but I'm going to save it until I'm in a better mood. Right now I need to talk about my first impressions of New Orleans, because they have made a very strong impression on me and I need to get it out there.
I don't like it here. Sure, the people in the hostel are cool. Sure, there are some aspects of the city that may be cool. Sure, I had fun on Bourbon Street tonight. The bars were cool, the bands were fun, I met some nice girls (who, it turns out, were married), but there is this one fundamental aspect to this city (and to Atlanta, for that matter) that really turns me off. It is SO fucking segregated, I can't handle it. The first I noticed was in the bands. There were black bands and there were white bands. The black bands played soul, funk, blues, etc, the white bands played rock, country, pop, etc (I preferred the black bands, fyi). There was one white band with a hispanic female singer, but that was the extent of integration I noticed. It pissed me off like you can't imagine. But whatever, I'm in the South, I shouldn't be surprised.
What really got my goat was when I left Bourbon Street to head back to the hostel. To avoid spending 10 bucks on a cab, I decided to wait for the trolley. At the stop closest to Bourbon Street there was this black guy chillin at the stop drinkin his beer and smokin his cig. It's all good, I thought, we're both just waiting for the trolley, I don't bother him, he doesn't bother me. Boy was I mistaken...
Bum-dude was sitting on the bench. To avoid confrontation I decided to remain standing. Well, after about 10 minutes my legs started to get tired, so I sat down at the other end of the bench. After sitting down, I glanced over at bum-dude and apparently that just set him off. "Why you keep lookin' at me?" "What's your problem?" "Why you even sitting here?"
**sigh** here we go, I thought. I try to diffuse the situation "chill out man, I'm just waiting for the trolley, just like you" Well that didn't work. "Waiting for the trolley? It ain't even running! You better get on goin where you're goin, bitch. Shit." Pretty much a direct quote.
So I walk down to the next stop, a couple of black dudes talking. One asks me for a cigarette. More racial tension, I thought, so fuck it, head on to the next stop. Thankfully at this one there was a punky-lookin white girl focused on her cell phone. The first thing she says to me is "10 minutes". Thank god, someone who isn't trying to start shit or get something from me. She's just informing me how long I'm going to have to wait for the next trolley.
Then, as I'm sitting there at the stop, I think to myself, what the fuck? Why did I have to walk all the way down here? Are we still this racist that we can't sit at the same fucking trolley stop? Sure, maybe the same thing could happen in Detroit, but I think it'd be more likely that I'd get in to at least some sort of superficial conversation with said bum-dude about the weather or something, rather than him immediately harrasing me for looking at him.
And then I thought well, at least he didn't mug me. What the fuck? What kind of society do we live in when we see someone of a different skin color and immediately worry that they will try to take your money? Once I got on the trolley I noticed another black dude staring at me. He was wearing glasses, so by default I found him less threatening, but still, he was staring at me, and he was black, so I assumed he was thinking how to take my money. In reality, he was probably staring at me because I had put my sunglasses on and my hood up to avoid confrontation. Sunglasses at night will attract attention from anyone.
It's this fucking culture. It breeds racial prejudice. White people assume black people are against them, and so black people assume white people are against them, and vice versa. It's a viscious cycle that, from my one night here, feels impossible to break. White people elected a black President, for christ sakes. When are we going to get over this fucking segregation and move on with ourselves? Being here really sharpens that issue for me. It makes me feel so much less optimistic about this country. Maybe things are getting better up north and out east. But down here in the south we still have a LONG way to go. God it's depressing. Maybe when I get back from peace corps in 2 years things will get better. I'm not getting my hopes up.
I don't like it here. Sure, the people in the hostel are cool. Sure, there are some aspects of the city that may be cool. Sure, I had fun on Bourbon Street tonight. The bars were cool, the bands were fun, I met some nice girls (who, it turns out, were married), but there is this one fundamental aspect to this city (and to Atlanta, for that matter) that really turns me off. It is SO fucking segregated, I can't handle it. The first I noticed was in the bands. There were black bands and there were white bands. The black bands played soul, funk, blues, etc, the white bands played rock, country, pop, etc (I preferred the black bands, fyi). There was one white band with a hispanic female singer, but that was the extent of integration I noticed. It pissed me off like you can't imagine. But whatever, I'm in the South, I shouldn't be surprised.
What really got my goat was when I left Bourbon Street to head back to the hostel. To avoid spending 10 bucks on a cab, I decided to wait for the trolley. At the stop closest to Bourbon Street there was this black guy chillin at the stop drinkin his beer and smokin his cig. It's all good, I thought, we're both just waiting for the trolley, I don't bother him, he doesn't bother me. Boy was I mistaken...
Bum-dude was sitting on the bench. To avoid confrontation I decided to remain standing. Well, after about 10 minutes my legs started to get tired, so I sat down at the other end of the bench. After sitting down, I glanced over at bum-dude and apparently that just set him off. "Why you keep lookin' at me?" "What's your problem?" "Why you even sitting here?"
**sigh** here we go, I thought. I try to diffuse the situation "chill out man, I'm just waiting for the trolley, just like you" Well that didn't work. "Waiting for the trolley? It ain't even running! You better get on goin where you're goin, bitch. Shit." Pretty much a direct quote.
So I walk down to the next stop, a couple of black dudes talking. One asks me for a cigarette. More racial tension, I thought, so fuck it, head on to the next stop. Thankfully at this one there was a punky-lookin white girl focused on her cell phone. The first thing she says to me is "10 minutes". Thank god, someone who isn't trying to start shit or get something from me. She's just informing me how long I'm going to have to wait for the next trolley.
Then, as I'm sitting there at the stop, I think to myself, what the fuck? Why did I have to walk all the way down here? Are we still this racist that we can't sit at the same fucking trolley stop? Sure, maybe the same thing could happen in Detroit, but I think it'd be more likely that I'd get in to at least some sort of superficial conversation with said bum-dude about the weather or something, rather than him immediately harrasing me for looking at him.
And then I thought well, at least he didn't mug me. What the fuck? What kind of society do we live in when we see someone of a different skin color and immediately worry that they will try to take your money? Once I got on the trolley I noticed another black dude staring at me. He was wearing glasses, so by default I found him less threatening, but still, he was staring at me, and he was black, so I assumed he was thinking how to take my money. In reality, he was probably staring at me because I had put my sunglasses on and my hood up to avoid confrontation. Sunglasses at night will attract attention from anyone.
It's this fucking culture. It breeds racial prejudice. White people assume black people are against them, and so black people assume white people are against them, and vice versa. It's a viscious cycle that, from my one night here, feels impossible to break. White people elected a black President, for christ sakes. When are we going to get over this fucking segregation and move on with ourselves? Being here really sharpens that issue for me. It makes me feel so much less optimistic about this country. Maybe things are getting better up north and out east. But down here in the south we still have a LONG way to go. God it's depressing. Maybe when I get back from peace corps in 2 years things will get better. I'm not getting my hopes up.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Part of History, part of the Future
Washington, DC. A fascinating place, by any standard. I've visited Washington several times in my life, for conferences, workshops, family vacations, et cetera. However, after my last visit I felt like this was the first time I actually got a chance to visit the District of Columbia. There is a distinct difference, if you didn't already know, between the two. Washington: the seat of the federal government. The suit-and-tie, stick-up-your-ass, work in a monolithic building part of town. Most people who work in Washington do not actually live in DC. There are plenty of other cities, in other states, around the area for them to commute to and from, and the commute is not bad. Washington is pretty cool, with its museums, its monuments, its federal buildings. However, only visiting Washington leaves out a big part of the area.
The District of Columbia, outside of the federal complex around the Mall, is a very different place. With a population consistency of something like 80% african-american (in terms of permanent residents, at least), a complex mixture of "dangerous" and "safe" neighborhoods, and ridiculously high costs-of-living in areas where you can walk around without feeling like you're going to get mugged, DC is an American city like no other. They say that the population of DC increases something like 3-fold during the business day, and even the vast majority of residents of DC are transitory, constantly looking for a place to live outside of the city, in areas of Maryland or Virginia.
What this ended up meaning for my experience is that pretty much everyone I met while in DC was not from DC, nor did they plan on staying in DC any longer than they had to. The population is always changing, and if I were to go to visit DC in 6 months I'm sure there would be completely different people to visit, different places to stay, different subways and busses to ride. In that sense, the city is always changing, and I have a feeling would always be interesting to visit, with new experiences every time, as long as there are still people in the city worth visiting. So the city is cool, the people I met were cool, and I had a great time.
But you want to hear about the Inauguration. I was there, along with the other 2 million people who descended on the Mall that day. I really did feel like I was a part of an historic moment, even though I couldn't see the capital and had to follow the proceedings on a jumbotron with sound delayed a few seconds from the video. Just being there, among all those people, listening to such a great and inspiring speech, was so powerful I was almost moved to tears. Some say that it was as if the District finally came to Washington, and the makeup of the crowd totally felt like that. Everyone was so joyous and celebratory, the energy was so positive, it was just awesome.
I'm not really sure what else to say about the Inauguration. It was fun, despite the cold, despite the 6 mile walk, the hours of standing around in a big crowd. But you saw it all on TV, so you know what happened. Yes, I booed when Bush came out, yes, I understand that it was somewhat disrespectful, but no, I don't regret it. And when his chopper flew overhead, we all waved and cheered and it was awesome. Saying goodbye has never felt so good.
I am now in the Old South. Charleston, South Carolina, to be exact. I passed through Lynchburg, VA and Charlotte, NC on the way, and it has really been an eye-opening experience. The people I've been staying with (couchsurfers), are all very liberal, so I haven't gotten in any political arguments yet, but it was pretty funny when I got here and my host was like "so...you voted for Obama, right?" Everywhere else I've been so far everyone has just assumed that I'm an Obama supporter, but being asked that question down here made me realize the huge change in culture from the East and North. Democrats are not in the majority down here, and you can totally tell. But to be honest, it really doesn't bother me that much. I'm not a big fan of arguing anyways, so being surrounded by republicans doesn't mean that much, aside from the feeling that I shouldn't bring up political sensitive subjects. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, what I can tell you is that southerners are just generally more friendly people. I've gotten several compliments on my jacket, I think most of them were just because someone wanted to spark conversation. And it felt great! I love that people want to be nice and open to each other down here, I feel better smiling at strangers as I walk down the street, knowing that they'll probably smile back. It's a great feeling, and really makes me feel like I could fit in down here, despite my liberal leanings. It's like Obama said; there is no liberal america or conservative america, there is the United States of America, and I want to put that theory into practice as much as possible.
Charleston itself is a beautiful town. Steeped in history, there are so many old old houses with big big pillars and gardens and fountains and all kinds of stuff, I really do feel like I am in the Old South. Haven't seen any confederate flags flying yet (though I did see an american flag with fewer stars on it), but there's a building in the center of downtown where they used to auction off slaves. And it was restored by a group called "The Daughters of Confederacy". Interesting... But at the same time, there's graffiti on the wall of a construction site that says "Less Ronald McDonald, more Dali Llama". The two cultures seem to be coexisting pretty well down here, which gives me great hope for our future.
So today I drive to Savannah, GA, for another couple days of Old South revelry. Then it's off to Atlanta for a few nights, then New Orleans for a few more, before finally making it to Austin, thereby ending the first leg of this cross-country tour. Let's hope I still have some money by then.....
Until next time!
The District of Columbia, outside of the federal complex around the Mall, is a very different place. With a population consistency of something like 80% african-american (in terms of permanent residents, at least), a complex mixture of "dangerous" and "safe" neighborhoods, and ridiculously high costs-of-living in areas where you can walk around without feeling like you're going to get mugged, DC is an American city like no other. They say that the population of DC increases something like 3-fold during the business day, and even the vast majority of residents of DC are transitory, constantly looking for a place to live outside of the city, in areas of Maryland or Virginia.
What this ended up meaning for my experience is that pretty much everyone I met while in DC was not from DC, nor did they plan on staying in DC any longer than they had to. The population is always changing, and if I were to go to visit DC in 6 months I'm sure there would be completely different people to visit, different places to stay, different subways and busses to ride. In that sense, the city is always changing, and I have a feeling would always be interesting to visit, with new experiences every time, as long as there are still people in the city worth visiting. So the city is cool, the people I met were cool, and I had a great time.
But you want to hear about the Inauguration. I was there, along with the other 2 million people who descended on the Mall that day. I really did feel like I was a part of an historic moment, even though I couldn't see the capital and had to follow the proceedings on a jumbotron with sound delayed a few seconds from the video. Just being there, among all those people, listening to such a great and inspiring speech, was so powerful I was almost moved to tears. Some say that it was as if the District finally came to Washington, and the makeup of the crowd totally felt like that. Everyone was so joyous and celebratory, the energy was so positive, it was just awesome.
I'm not really sure what else to say about the Inauguration. It was fun, despite the cold, despite the 6 mile walk, the hours of standing around in a big crowd. But you saw it all on TV, so you know what happened. Yes, I booed when Bush came out, yes, I understand that it was somewhat disrespectful, but no, I don't regret it. And when his chopper flew overhead, we all waved and cheered and it was awesome. Saying goodbye has never felt so good.
I am now in the Old South. Charleston, South Carolina, to be exact. I passed through Lynchburg, VA and Charlotte, NC on the way, and it has really been an eye-opening experience. The people I've been staying with (couchsurfers), are all very liberal, so I haven't gotten in any political arguments yet, but it was pretty funny when I got here and my host was like "so...you voted for Obama, right?" Everywhere else I've been so far everyone has just assumed that I'm an Obama supporter, but being asked that question down here made me realize the huge change in culture from the East and North. Democrats are not in the majority down here, and you can totally tell. But to be honest, it really doesn't bother me that much. I'm not a big fan of arguing anyways, so being surrounded by republicans doesn't mean that much, aside from the feeling that I shouldn't bring up political sensitive subjects. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, what I can tell you is that southerners are just generally more friendly people. I've gotten several compliments on my jacket, I think most of them were just because someone wanted to spark conversation. And it felt great! I love that people want to be nice and open to each other down here, I feel better smiling at strangers as I walk down the street, knowing that they'll probably smile back. It's a great feeling, and really makes me feel like I could fit in down here, despite my liberal leanings. It's like Obama said; there is no liberal america or conservative america, there is the United States of America, and I want to put that theory into practice as much as possible.
Charleston itself is a beautiful town. Steeped in history, there are so many old old houses with big big pillars and gardens and fountains and all kinds of stuff, I really do feel like I am in the Old South. Haven't seen any confederate flags flying yet (though I did see an american flag with fewer stars on it), but there's a building in the center of downtown where they used to auction off slaves. And it was restored by a group called "The Daughters of Confederacy". Interesting... But at the same time, there's graffiti on the wall of a construction site that says "Less Ronald McDonald, more Dali Llama". The two cultures seem to be coexisting pretty well down here, which gives me great hope for our future.
So today I drive to Savannah, GA, for another couple days of Old South revelry. Then it's off to Atlanta for a few nights, then New Orleans for a few more, before finally making it to Austin, thereby ending the first leg of this cross-country tour. Let's hope I still have some money by then.....
Until next time!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Baltimore: History, Culture and Pride
Several people asked me before I left why I was going to Baltimore. Fewer still understood once I tried to explain. I've been here before, I've got friends here, and it's a cool place, despite its setbacks. Now, after two fun-filled and enlightening days, I have come to the realization that these words don't even come close to encapsulating what it is about Baltimore that I find so fascinating. It's so much more than just the friends and familiarity... it's the Pride that the citizens show toward their hometown. It's the complex diversity that permeates every facet of the community. It's the life and breath of the city. It is wondrous, unique and awesomely inspiring.
Yesterday morning, after a restful night on Meg's antique pullout couch, we went out to a nearby service event helping homeless by assembling lunch packs and blankets to be delivered to a shelter downtown. It was a fun 45 minutes of sandwich-making, and even though I did not get a chance to interact with any homeless directly, I did get a chance to mingle a bit with some Baltimore locals and get the first feel for the local community. Above all, I felt an enormous sense of compassion and neighborliness among the volunteers, and even though that attitude is pretty much to be expected at a service project such as this, it still impressed me and left an endearing impression. These people weren't just doing this to feel good about themselves once a year, they were just performing another service for their community, something they seemed to do every day.
That afternoon, Obama came to town to give a speech at the local war memorial plaza. It was bitterly cold outside, so Megan and I elected to stay in, but we caught the speech on the tube, along with all the people speaking before Obama came on. They really milked it too, bringing out speaker after speaker, all saying the same thing, using the same buzzwords, it did get repetitive after a while. Nevertheless, I did notice a few very impressive aspects about the event that left me speechless. First was the Star Spangled Banner. As you may or may not know, our national anthem was penned right here in Baltimore, by a guy hunkered down in the fort on the harbor, holding out against the shelling of the british navy (or something like that). For Obama's speech, the powers that be chose an extremely deep-bass black man to deliver the national anthem. His voice was so deep and so powerful, his character so strong and deliberate. He delivered the anthem in the city where it was written, where race relations have boiled and cooled countless times, a city dwarfed by its neighbor but steeped in much deeper history and culture, for a President who is about to change everything. The performance, for me, represented the extremely powerful moment in history that we are in better than any other performance of the Star Spangled Banner I have heard, and I found it indescribably moving.
After the song began the speeches. I have no idea who the first guy to speak was, but his attitude just made me love Baltimore even more. He had an air of joyous exultation of the event, enormous pride in his City (which was heartily echoed by his crowd), and a glimmer in his eye that said, "This is it, Baltimore. This is our Future, and it is wonderful!" His ramblings led into some other person's ramblings, and this went on for 3 or 4 more people. By the time Obama came on, neither Megan nor I were paying much attention, and the bits we did catch really didn't sound much different from any of his other recent speeches. It's no big deal though, he will be giving much more important speeches in the next couple days.
That evening we went to a curry cookoff at Katy's house--er, sorry, Katherine's (KT for short). There, we met a slew of friendly new faces, ate some delicious thai curry and had some very interesting cucumber-chili martinis. It is an event better remembered in picures, suffice to say it was yet another experience affirming my love and respect for Baltimore and its people.
Today Megan took me on a tour around the Johns Hopkins campus before heading over to the Baltimore Museum of Art to meet up with Katy. I found the campus very beautiful in its uniformity and elegance. Schools with strict guidelines for architecture have always fascinated me. I like to look at the newer buildings and think about how the architectural design styles of the time they were built affected the design of the buildings, especially when having these strict guidelines to work around. It often leads to subtle and interesting touches that take a trained eye to notice. Other times it just leads to a boring, monochrome campus, but I try not to think about that.
The BMA was pretty awesome too, they had a really great modern art exhibition that had lots of interesting pieces. My favorite was the video projection on the wall of about 2 dozen mouths humming a tune. Afterwards, we went out to the Golden West Cafe for brunch and conversed about Baltimore, Marilyn Monroe, and churros. It was a great morning with great friends, and these are the times I treasure the most.
Tonight the Ravens are playing for the AFC championship (football, for the uninformed). We may or may not head out somewhere exciting to watch it, but at this point I don't feel that I need to do anything else, I've already fallen in love with this City, I don't need football fans to convince me. Tomorrow I'm off to DC, more excitement to come!
Baltimore: It's like what I've always wanted Detroit to be.
Yesterday morning, after a restful night on Meg's antique pullout couch, we went out to a nearby service event helping homeless by assembling lunch packs and blankets to be delivered to a shelter downtown. It was a fun 45 minutes of sandwich-making, and even though I did not get a chance to interact with any homeless directly, I did get a chance to mingle a bit with some Baltimore locals and get the first feel for the local community. Above all, I felt an enormous sense of compassion and neighborliness among the volunteers, and even though that attitude is pretty much to be expected at a service project such as this, it still impressed me and left an endearing impression. These people weren't just doing this to feel good about themselves once a year, they were just performing another service for their community, something they seemed to do every day.
That afternoon, Obama came to town to give a speech at the local war memorial plaza. It was bitterly cold outside, so Megan and I elected to stay in, but we caught the speech on the tube, along with all the people speaking before Obama came on. They really milked it too, bringing out speaker after speaker, all saying the same thing, using the same buzzwords, it did get repetitive after a while. Nevertheless, I did notice a few very impressive aspects about the event that left me speechless. First was the Star Spangled Banner. As you may or may not know, our national anthem was penned right here in Baltimore, by a guy hunkered down in the fort on the harbor, holding out against the shelling of the british navy (or something like that). For Obama's speech, the powers that be chose an extremely deep-bass black man to deliver the national anthem. His voice was so deep and so powerful, his character so strong and deliberate. He delivered the anthem in the city where it was written, where race relations have boiled and cooled countless times, a city dwarfed by its neighbor but steeped in much deeper history and culture, for a President who is about to change everything. The performance, for me, represented the extremely powerful moment in history that we are in better than any other performance of the Star Spangled Banner I have heard, and I found it indescribably moving.
After the song began the speeches. I have no idea who the first guy to speak was, but his attitude just made me love Baltimore even more. He had an air of joyous exultation of the event, enormous pride in his City (which was heartily echoed by his crowd), and a glimmer in his eye that said, "This is it, Baltimore. This is our Future, and it is wonderful!" His ramblings led into some other person's ramblings, and this went on for 3 or 4 more people. By the time Obama came on, neither Megan nor I were paying much attention, and the bits we did catch really didn't sound much different from any of his other recent speeches. It's no big deal though, he will be giving much more important speeches in the next couple days.
That evening we went to a curry cookoff at Katy's house--er, sorry, Katherine's (KT for short). There, we met a slew of friendly new faces, ate some delicious thai curry and had some very interesting cucumber-chili martinis. It is an event better remembered in picures, suffice to say it was yet another experience affirming my love and respect for Baltimore and its people.
Today Megan took me on a tour around the Johns Hopkins campus before heading over to the Baltimore Museum of Art to meet up with Katy. I found the campus very beautiful in its uniformity and elegance. Schools with strict guidelines for architecture have always fascinated me. I like to look at the newer buildings and think about how the architectural design styles of the time they were built affected the design of the buildings, especially when having these strict guidelines to work around. It often leads to subtle and interesting touches that take a trained eye to notice. Other times it just leads to a boring, monochrome campus, but I try not to think about that.
The BMA was pretty awesome too, they had a really great modern art exhibition that had lots of interesting pieces. My favorite was the video projection on the wall of about 2 dozen mouths humming a tune. Afterwards, we went out to the Golden West Cafe for brunch and conversed about Baltimore, Marilyn Monroe, and churros. It was a great morning with great friends, and these are the times I treasure the most.
Tonight the Ravens are playing for the AFC championship (football, for the uninformed). We may or may not head out somewhere exciting to watch it, but at this point I don't feel that I need to do anything else, I've already fallen in love with this City, I don't need football fans to convince me. Tomorrow I'm off to DC, more excitement to come!
Baltimore: It's like what I've always wanted Detroit to be.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The MASTER PLAN (part 1)
As I'm sure most (if not all) of you have figured out by now, I am planning a cross-country road trip over the next couple months. In this post I will discuss my plans for the first leg of my trip. If, while you're reading, you think of a place I should go along the way, know someone I might want to stay with, or just have any general tips for the region, hit me in the comments! I want to make this trip as interesting as possible, and the best way to do that is through collaboration!
SO. Stop 1: Baltimore. I know, I know, when I tell people this they give me this funny look, like "have you been to Baltimore? What in god's name would make you want to go there?" Well, it just so happens I have been to Baltimore, and I enjoyed it thoroughly! In addition to this, I have a couple close friends in the area who I can't wait to see, so it's going to be fun. I'll be in Baltimore for the weekend of Friday, January 16th. If you're in the area, you should gimme a call and come visit (unless you're in DC, in which case keep reading).
Después de Baltimore is Stop 2: Washington, DC. Yes, I will be in DC for Inauguration Day. No, I will not be attending any of those official functions. Tickets are either too hard to come by or too expensive for poor ol' me, so I'll be partying it up with what I'm sure will be a great turnout of other poor bastards who wanted to be there but couldn't afford to "Be" there. Where will you be for Inauguration? Will you call me to find out what DC is like? I hope so!
Since parking is ridiculous in DC and it's going to be even more ridiculous on the days I'm in town, I'm just going to leave my car in B'more and take the MARC in. Apparently MARC is running their regular schedule on Monday (which is remarkable because that's MLK day and they usually don't run on national holidays), so it'll only cost $7 one-way. Can't beat that! So Wednesday or Thursday I will return via MARC and continue on my journey from there.
The next three major stops are as follows: Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin. It's quite a drive from B'more to Atlanta, so I've been asking around as to where I should stop in between, and right now the top pick is Asheville, NC. Not sure how great it is in the winter, but I've heard good things from friends and there are a lot of couchsurfers in the area, so I'm sure there's some reason to go there, right? If you have any thoughts on Asheville or really anywhere between Baltimore and Atlanta, let me know! Come to think of it, thoughts on stops between ATL and NO, or between NO and Austin are welcome too! I can do 8 hour drives, but I'd rather not, you know? I wanna take my time on this here road trip. No hurrying allowed!
From this point things are still hazy. All I know is I have to be in Austin by February 6th to catch the plane to Chicago for the NASCO Board Meeting. Since there's about 2 and a half weeks in between Inauguration Day and the 6th, I've got plenty of flex time and so I hope to use it to experience the Old South as fully as possible (preferably the culture and people more than the tourist attractions). Lemme know if you have any tips.
I'll be keeping this blog updated regularly during my travels, so if you want to know what's going on with me on this crazy road trip, keep on top of it! I'll also have my mom's DSLR camera with me, so will hopefully be posting some really pretty pictures along with my ramblings for you to stare at in awe and wonder.
That's it for the pre-trip update. See you all on the road!
SO. Stop 1: Baltimore. I know, I know, when I tell people this they give me this funny look, like "have you been to Baltimore? What in god's name would make you want to go there?" Well, it just so happens I have been to Baltimore, and I enjoyed it thoroughly! In addition to this, I have a couple close friends in the area who I can't wait to see, so it's going to be fun. I'll be in Baltimore for the weekend of Friday, January 16th. If you're in the area, you should gimme a call and come visit (unless you're in DC, in which case keep reading).
Después de Baltimore is Stop 2: Washington, DC. Yes, I will be in DC for Inauguration Day. No, I will not be attending any of those official functions. Tickets are either too hard to come by or too expensive for poor ol' me, so I'll be partying it up with what I'm sure will be a great turnout of other poor bastards who wanted to be there but couldn't afford to "Be" there. Where will you be for Inauguration? Will you call me to find out what DC is like? I hope so!
Since parking is ridiculous in DC and it's going to be even more ridiculous on the days I'm in town, I'm just going to leave my car in B'more and take the MARC in. Apparently MARC is running their regular schedule on Monday (which is remarkable because that's MLK day and they usually don't run on national holidays), so it'll only cost $7 one-way. Can't beat that! So Wednesday or Thursday I will return via MARC and continue on my journey from there.
The next three major stops are as follows: Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin. It's quite a drive from B'more to Atlanta, so I've been asking around as to where I should stop in between, and right now the top pick is Asheville, NC. Not sure how great it is in the winter, but I've heard good things from friends and there are a lot of couchsurfers in the area, so I'm sure there's some reason to go there, right? If you have any thoughts on Asheville or really anywhere between Baltimore and Atlanta, let me know! Come to think of it, thoughts on stops between ATL and NO, or between NO and Austin are welcome too! I can do 8 hour drives, but I'd rather not, you know? I wanna take my time on this here road trip. No hurrying allowed!
From this point things are still hazy. All I know is I have to be in Austin by February 6th to catch the plane to Chicago for the NASCO Board Meeting. Since there's about 2 and a half weeks in between Inauguration Day and the 6th, I've got plenty of flex time and so I hope to use it to experience the Old South as fully as possible (preferably the culture and people more than the tourist attractions). Lemme know if you have any tips.
I'll be keeping this blog updated regularly during my travels, so if you want to know what's going on with me on this crazy road trip, keep on top of it! I'll also have my mom's DSLR camera with me, so will hopefully be posting some really pretty pictures along with my ramblings for you to stare at in awe and wonder.
That's it for the pre-trip update. See you all on the road!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Ponderings and Panderings
Today is my last day of work until 2009. Seeing as how all the students are done with finals and have gone home, I have picked up a double shift in the hopes of working 14 hours in one day without answering a single question. Wish me luck.
I got my wisdom teeth pulled last Friday. The pain is starting to subside, but yesterday, my sixth post-operative day, was particularly bad. I think I got a dry socket in the former home of my lower-right wisdom tooth. I guess that's what happens when you decide to self-medicate with certain herbal remedies 24 hours after surgery and only swish with saltwater 4 times a day, instead of 20. Oh well, c'est la vie, it hurts much less today, the ibuprofen is working and hopefully I will not need the vicodin I brought along just in case. I think I'll be able to kick this pain by the end of the weekend. I got dis covered, SON!
The snow today makes me wonder how much GOD really hates Michigan. It's kind of ironic that the day G-Dub announces the $13.something billion loan to the auto industry, GOD decides to drop a foot of snow all over southeast Michigan. It's like GOD and the Federal Government are doing battle over who has more influence over Michigan's fate. G-Dub, "We are gonna save the Amr'kin Auto Industree with thurt-EEN billion dollers in 'mergencee fed'ral loans. Keep on truckin', Mitch'gan!" GOD, "Oh, so you're going to save the auto industry, eh? Well let's see how you like it when cars without spikes in their tires and 4-wheel drive are rendered completely useless! Bwah hah hah hah! I will DESTROY your pesky little human civilization! This is MY peninsula, bitches!!"
Or at least that's how I would envision the conversation... "Coming in 2009.... G-Dub leaves the White House and moves on to tackle the biggest project of them all. You thought the War on Terror was bad? You think Global Warming is being caused by Humans? Well get ready to have your world ROCKED.... Straight from the Heartland of Texas, George Double-U Bush brings us the ultimate fight, the coup de gras, the last-ditch effort, the WAR ON GOD!!!"
Enter press conference: G-Dub, "The Almighty has aligned himself with Al Qaeda in the effort to bring down western civilization. His repeated behavior with these so-called "natural" disasters and the increasingly unpredictable nature of the so-called Global Warming phenomenon has convinced me that God Himself is against us. But His attacks have gone on long enough. America will not tolerate these acts of agression against our values, our people, and the very notion of Freedom itself. Together we stand as a united front against the brutal and unprovoked actions of God, and together we will defeat this threat to our nation. Viva America!"
Or something... Okay, Bush probably wouldn't have said that last little bit. He probably doesn't even know Spanish. Anyways... moving on. Vicadin is awesome. Vicadin plus Ibuprofen is even more awesome. Mix in a little herbal remedies and you've found the secret recipe for destroying all feeling in your body. Last night I was in a ton of pain. My jaw was sorer than Rocko's cock after a long day's work. I had a headache the size of mount rushmore (presumably due to the epic storm front that was coming our way). I was easily irritable and quite snappy. Then I dosed myself in medication and, not 15 minutes later, I was numb to all pain, physical, mental or emotional. It felt great. Then I got a full 8 hours of sleep and this morning, lo and behold, all it took was a couple ibuprophen and the pain has been satiated for the past 4 hours! Score one for drugs and rest. Huzzah!
I've been invited to go drinking tonight with a friend and some of her friends (who I've never met before). I haven't drank any alcohol in probably about a week and a half, so I guess on one hand we could say it's due time for some boozin. Plus I got a phat paycheck today that covered all my christmas expenses and then some, so it's not exactly as if money is a huge object. But then again, I am still recovering from this operation, and alcohol in my system probably won't do much good to help with that. And I'm working at the computer lab ALL day, so maybe I won't even have the energy to go to the bar and be social. I guess we'll just have to see what happens when I get off work tonight.
While we're on the subject of alcohol, let me be clear. I am a very happy drunk. I smile, I laugh, I say yes and end up doing ridiculous things. It's good to be a happy drunk. The only concern is that I might enjoy drinking too much and end up doing it more than I should (read: become an alcoholic). It could totally happen. Sometimes when I drink I can see myself as an alcoholic. It runs in the family. I can drink beer 'till the cows come home and not feel drunk off my ass (liquor is another story entirely). Maybe drinking every night wouldn't be so bad..... No! Not going to happen! Must. Control. Drinking. Habits...
It's all good though. I won't be an alcoholic anytime soon, I've got too much ambition, self control, and other things to occupy my mind. Get back to me in 20 years and I'll let you know how it's going.
Damn! Not even noon and my goal of not answering any questions has already been broken! Damn you color printer........
Ok well, I've run out of things to rant about for the time being, so I'm just gonna go ahead and hit that publish button. Maybe you'll get one more thoughtful post before the New Year. I guess that all depends on whether or not I feel the need to say something.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Er, day. Er, couple of weeks.... Whatever.
I got my wisdom teeth pulled last Friday. The pain is starting to subside, but yesterday, my sixth post-operative day, was particularly bad. I think I got a dry socket in the former home of my lower-right wisdom tooth. I guess that's what happens when you decide to self-medicate with certain herbal remedies 24 hours after surgery and only swish with saltwater 4 times a day, instead of 20. Oh well, c'est la vie, it hurts much less today, the ibuprofen is working and hopefully I will not need the vicodin I brought along just in case. I think I'll be able to kick this pain by the end of the weekend. I got dis covered, SON!
The snow today makes me wonder how much GOD really hates Michigan. It's kind of ironic that the day G-Dub announces the $13.something billion loan to the auto industry, GOD decides to drop a foot of snow all over southeast Michigan. It's like GOD and the Federal Government are doing battle over who has more influence over Michigan's fate. G-Dub, "We are gonna save the Amr'kin Auto Industree with thurt-EEN billion dollers in 'mergencee fed'ral loans. Keep on truckin', Mitch'gan!" GOD, "Oh, so you're going to save the auto industry, eh? Well let's see how you like it when cars without spikes in their tires and 4-wheel drive are rendered completely useless! Bwah hah hah hah! I will DESTROY your pesky little human civilization! This is MY peninsula, bitches!!"
Or at least that's how I would envision the conversation... "Coming in 2009.... G-Dub leaves the White House and moves on to tackle the biggest project of them all. You thought the War on Terror was bad? You think Global Warming is being caused by Humans? Well get ready to have your world ROCKED.... Straight from the Heartland of Texas, George Double-U Bush brings us the ultimate fight, the coup de gras, the last-ditch effort, the WAR ON GOD!!!"
Enter press conference: G-Dub, "The Almighty has aligned himself with Al Qaeda in the effort to bring down western civilization. His repeated behavior with these so-called "natural" disasters and the increasingly unpredictable nature of the so-called Global Warming phenomenon has convinced me that God Himself is against us. But His attacks have gone on long enough. America will not tolerate these acts of agression against our values, our people, and the very notion of Freedom itself. Together we stand as a united front against the brutal and unprovoked actions of God, and together we will defeat this threat to our nation. Viva America!"
Or something... Okay, Bush probably wouldn't have said that last little bit. He probably doesn't even know Spanish. Anyways... moving on. Vicadin is awesome. Vicadin plus Ibuprofen is even more awesome. Mix in a little herbal remedies and you've found the secret recipe for destroying all feeling in your body. Last night I was in a ton of pain. My jaw was sorer than Rocko's cock after a long day's work. I had a headache the size of mount rushmore (presumably due to the epic storm front that was coming our way). I was easily irritable and quite snappy. Then I dosed myself in medication and, not 15 minutes later, I was numb to all pain, physical, mental or emotional. It felt great. Then I got a full 8 hours of sleep and this morning, lo and behold, all it took was a couple ibuprophen and the pain has been satiated for the past 4 hours! Score one for drugs and rest. Huzzah!
I've been invited to go drinking tonight with a friend and some of her friends (who I've never met before). I haven't drank any alcohol in probably about a week and a half, so I guess on one hand we could say it's due time for some boozin. Plus I got a phat paycheck today that covered all my christmas expenses and then some, so it's not exactly as if money is a huge object. But then again, I am still recovering from this operation, and alcohol in my system probably won't do much good to help with that. And I'm working at the computer lab ALL day, so maybe I won't even have the energy to go to the bar and be social. I guess we'll just have to see what happens when I get off work tonight.
While we're on the subject of alcohol, let me be clear. I am a very happy drunk. I smile, I laugh, I say yes and end up doing ridiculous things. It's good to be a happy drunk. The only concern is that I might enjoy drinking too much and end up doing it more than I should (read: become an alcoholic). It could totally happen. Sometimes when I drink I can see myself as an alcoholic. It runs in the family. I can drink beer 'till the cows come home and not feel drunk off my ass (liquor is another story entirely). Maybe drinking every night wouldn't be so bad..... No! Not going to happen! Must. Control. Drinking. Habits...
It's all good though. I won't be an alcoholic anytime soon, I've got too much ambition, self control, and other things to occupy my mind. Get back to me in 20 years and I'll let you know how it's going.
Damn! Not even noon and my goal of not answering any questions has already been broken! Damn you color printer........
Ok well, I've run out of things to rant about for the time being, so I'm just gonna go ahead and hit that publish button. Maybe you'll get one more thoughtful post before the New Year. I guess that all depends on whether or not I feel the need to say something.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Er, day. Er, couple of weeks.... Whatever.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Rejected.
The butterflies have been replaced by molasses.
The giddiness replaced by melancholy.
Once again, the object of my desire has found someone else.
It's not that I'm sad she chose this other guy over me. To be honest, I'm not all that surprised. They've known each other for years. They already had something going before she met me. He was there first. It makes sense. Can't leave one knot untied before starting on another.
What displeases me the most is that she preached honesty and full disclosure, yet never told me about this guy in the first place, who, obviously, was a very important part in her life. Maybe she didn't want to complicate things. She said she thought he was going to break it off anyways. But even still, it is a bit ironic, isn't it?
The strangest thing, though, has nothing to do with her. All of the emotions I feel, or should be feeling--anger, spite, self-pity, loneliness, sorrow, rejection--they are all muffled by a strong sense of "well, this happens all the time." Just one more scar on my heart. Just one more reason to not get caught up in women. I have been rejected so many times--whether it be for her reasons or mine--it just doesn't seem to hurt anymore. I know it should, but I can't help the feeling of a recurring pattern. Another one bites the dust.
Maybe the next one will be different? No. Who the fuck am I kidding? Maybe I'm just not meant to find "The One." Maybe I don't have "One." Maybe my destiny is to travel the globe, making women fall for me and then breaking their hearts. Like James Bond. Minus the secret agent bullshit.
I've always envisioned myself eventually settling down and starting a family. But if this keeps happening, I don't think I'm going to have enough of a heart left to love someone enough for that. I know it's pessimistic and maybe even a little defeatist, but seriously. How can someone with no ability to trust or be trusted ever commit themselves to someone for the rest of their life?
Once again the Human Condition has ruined my trust in humanity. Alas, if only we could be completely honest, no matter how much the truth hurts. I will never buy into that whole "I lied to protect you" mantra. Horse shit.
My heart feels like lead. There's gotta be some way, some One, who can heal my heart. I hope I find them one day...
PS, I'm not giving up on my road trip. If anything, it's going to be even MORE awesome and spectacular. Bring it on America, you ain't seen nothin' yet!
The giddiness replaced by melancholy.
Once again, the object of my desire has found someone else.
It's not that I'm sad she chose this other guy over me. To be honest, I'm not all that surprised. They've known each other for years. They already had something going before she met me. He was there first. It makes sense. Can't leave one knot untied before starting on another.
What displeases me the most is that she preached honesty and full disclosure, yet never told me about this guy in the first place, who, obviously, was a very important part in her life. Maybe she didn't want to complicate things. She said she thought he was going to break it off anyways. But even still, it is a bit ironic, isn't it?
The strangest thing, though, has nothing to do with her. All of the emotions I feel, or should be feeling--anger, spite, self-pity, loneliness, sorrow, rejection--they are all muffled by a strong sense of "well, this happens all the time." Just one more scar on my heart. Just one more reason to not get caught up in women. I have been rejected so many times--whether it be for her reasons or mine--it just doesn't seem to hurt anymore. I know it should, but I can't help the feeling of a recurring pattern. Another one bites the dust.
Maybe the next one will be different? No. Who the fuck am I kidding? Maybe I'm just not meant to find "The One." Maybe I don't have "One." Maybe my destiny is to travel the globe, making women fall for me and then breaking their hearts. Like James Bond. Minus the secret agent bullshit.
I've always envisioned myself eventually settling down and starting a family. But if this keeps happening, I don't think I'm going to have enough of a heart left to love someone enough for that. I know it's pessimistic and maybe even a little defeatist, but seriously. How can someone with no ability to trust or be trusted ever commit themselves to someone for the rest of their life?
Once again the Human Condition has ruined my trust in humanity. Alas, if only we could be completely honest, no matter how much the truth hurts. I will never buy into that whole "I lied to protect you" mantra. Horse shit.
My heart feels like lead. There's gotta be some way, some One, who can heal my heart. I hope I find them one day...
PS, I'm not giving up on my road trip. If anything, it's going to be even MORE awesome and spectacular. Bring it on America, you ain't seen nothin' yet!
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