Guidelines for the new year

My mom gave me a framed copy of this piece called "Desiderata", found in Old St. Paul's Church, Baltimore (1692). I like it's honesty and attainability.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. ~Avoid loud and aggressive person, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. ~Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. ~Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. ~Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. but do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. ~You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. ~Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. ~With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

29 Years of Not Getting It, then Getting It

I'm watching a documentary on The Beatles and it hit me: The Beatles are friggin amazing. You're probably thinking, "Dave, 'friggin amazing' are strong words that you don't just throw around. Do you really mean it?" Indeed, I do.

A few years ago I was listening to Bob Dylan and had a similar epiphany. Before that point, I forced it. I knew that I SHOULD appreciate the man's music as revolutionary, but I had never truly understood for myself. Then at a very unexpected moment I was listening to Girl From the North Country and my whole perspective changed - I got Dylan. It's almost impossible to describe, but it felt like I was being nourished by Dylan's songs... every one was a revelation, and I was so happy because I now had hundreds of Dylan songs to explore.

Before I go to bed - one last comment. Don't overlook Dylan's most recent four albums, especially Time Out of Mind (and songs like this. These albums are revelatory in their own way because Dylan has evolved perfectly into an even more jaded, gruff version of himself that you still recognize as 100% Dylan. (I just realized that writing about music is a difficult task, so I'll stop here and let the music do the talking).

Here's a couple of my favorite rocking Beatles songs from their rooftop performance at Apple Records:





And for good measure, Girl from the North Country:

Cold weather music

I associate albums with seasons. For example, Pearl Jam's No Code album has been played on the first day I feel the fall weather - every year without exception since 1996. This song from Bon Iver is a good candidate for a desolate snow, determined drive in the snow, pushing through the cold... take your pick. Phenomenal song and artist.

Birmingham Good, Mid-Atlantic Bad

For the few days I was in DC, I dismissed the coming storm as the weathermen's empty threat, but on Friday evening I decided this thing was the real deal. Since all the flights to Birmingham from DC were >$1300, I booked it to the last Chinatown bus of the night to Philly. Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking this, so the scheduled 2-hour ride took 4, but I made it in time to get a couple hours of sleep and then to the Philly airport in the morning.

My 11:45 AM flight to Charlotte hadn't been cancelled yet, but I didn't want to risk it so I got on the standby list for an earlier flight. I was the 4th person on the standby list, and 5 made it on the flight. Right after I boarded, Orbitz sent me a message that my other flight was cancelled. Whew, but we still had to get off the ground to be in the clear. After waiting for 2.5 hours for the plane to be de-iced, the plane finally skipped out of Philly and into the warmer climes of Charlotte.

Here's some pics I took while we were waiting for the de-icers. The de-icers are worthy of a Discovery Channel special on cool machinery... they're kind of like a combo Star Wars/super car wash looking contraption. Really cool. There were seven de-icers working simultaneously... quite an operation.

In dc

I'm in dc for some internship hunting, and I've already bumped into
two old coworkers on the street. I forgot how small dc is.

Sent from my iPhone

Mannheim Steamroller = Revenge of the Nerds?

You know what that Mannheim Steamroller video reminds me of (see two post below for the video)? THIS.

Think Different

The original "Think Different" ad.

Things I will Never Understand

Mannheim Steamroller. How could we let this happen?

If you want to be a cool kid...

Listen to www.woxy.com. It has already increased my indie street cred by a factor of 10.

USA USA USA!

Saturday's Honduras - US soccer game was only showed on PPV in the States, so I had to find a bar in Durham called "The Honduras Restaurant" to see the game. Taqueria trucks outside the venue, disco music pre-gaming, $20 cover, Honduran jerseys everywhere. There were also a few idiot American fans being obnoxious and wearing over-the-top USA poof hats. Not a pretty scene.

Anyways, The Honduras Restaurant doubles as a strip joint on other nights. But for Saturday, it was packed with raucous Hondurans singin all their songs. I went with a Honduran friend of mine (good idea in retrospect) for protection, but I didn't need it. Among all the Latin countries, the Hondurans give a lot of respect. There's no animosity there. Example: if I spoke Spanish to a Honduran, he'd generally be surprised and buy me a beer. I can't say that spirit of soccer brotherhood exists among other Latino countries (as far as soccer is concerned).

World Cup Draws happen on December 4th. Anyone want to road trip to South Africa? I'm getting pumped up, especially if Holden and Davies keep getting PT.

On another note, go here: http://soccerpolitics.com/. A Durham - based blog, etc. on ....well... soccer and politics.

Sagan Rules

I can't help but post this from Under Observation

Carl Sagan: "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

Awesome

I'm Back

I've been in grad school reclusion for the past 2 months without realizing it. Last weekend I traveled outside Durham for the first time since starting school, and tonight I went to Chapel Hill for an Andrew Bird concert (see video below). The experiences were as eye-opening as going to a foreign country... "you mean there's life outside of Durham?" Yes, I had forgotten this. No more.

Some quick observations:
- I like Chapel Hill a lot. For a college town, it's pretty classy.
- I need 8 hours of sleep a night. 7.5 might cut it, but my brainpower decreases severely in a downward stepwise manner below 7.5 hours.
- Klondike ice cream bars are a delicious treat
- Should I be going to more "corporate presentations" that recruiters have? I've gone to one so far - for the FBI's management program (which was actually really cool). However, I choose not to go to things like the Johnson & Johnson networking night or the "Beyond CPG" symposium. Should I? The herd definitely moves toward these things, but I prefer to travel elsewhere. It's actually quite satisfying to see my classmates in their smart business casual schmoozing at the various networking nights while I'm wearing a jeans and t-shirt. Of course, they will have jobs in 2 years, and I will not. A willing tradeoff on my part.
- I camped out for Duke basketball tickets (basically involved 48 hours of no sleep) and ended up getting tickets to half of the home games, and I will not campout again next year. My aforementioned affinity for sleep is too powerful.
- There are three taco vans (one is a converted school bus) that roam my neighborhood at late hours. Excellent.
- Two phenomenal filmmakers: Gus Van Sant and Steven Soderbergh. I recently watched Soderbergh's latest, The Girlfriend Experience. I need to give it another watch, but my first take was a truly brilliant movie. Much of the movie chronicles - in a deadpan, honest way - inane conversations that we have with one another. I was blown away by how familiar these conversations were to me, while at the same time understood that Soderbergh was lambasting these very conversations. Make sense? Just go see the movie... it's worth it.

I'm the student team leader of a trip of 30 students and one professor to SE Asia (Singapore, Vietnam, and Bangkok) for 12 days in March. Lots of responsibility, but it's exactly what I want to be doing.

That's it for now. Klondike bar, Andrew Bird, then 8 hours of sleep. Life should always be so perfect.

I'm going for it

Airwolf theme

Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats

Vince showed me this video about three years ago while not doing work in 1717 H Street (VH - you remember that?). Amazing. I WILL make it to California some day.

Drugs for sale

Walking past my neighborhood bar, I spotted their back entrance...

They're all Insane

I can't stand watching more than a few minutes of cable "news" in one sitting, for the obvious reasons:

1) Bias through "balance": giving equal time to legitimate and nutcase viewpoints, thus legitimizing the nutcases)
2) Principled bias: knee jerk, predictable opinions that gloss over the merits of an argument in favor of mind-numbing partisanship)
3) Non-news: Go to CNN's homepage. I guarantee that a featured story will be about the latest car chase in L.A. or a tabloid story (such as Natalee Holloway). Even respectable news outlets are beginning to change for the worse: BBC World had live coverage of the Michael Jackson coverage on Thursday; the same day NPR did a profile on Levi Johnston, the ex-fiancee of Sarah Palin's daughter.

As news becomes more stratified (conservatives watch Fox News, liberals watch MSNBC, economists read blogs, religious types watch CBN, etc.), people are less inclined to question their own beliefs and more inclined to watch news that rationalized their own biases. Continuing this trend, it is not hard to envision a super-partisan world - even more so than what exists now.

This got me thinking - who exactly are the television personalities that we're all listening to? Are they insane, as I think them to be? Or are they simply puppets (albeit smart puppets) who play to what their audiences want? More importantly, who can actually watch Lou Dobbs Tonight with a straight face?

Here's some bios and clips from some of my favorites. It's not a comprehensive list - what are your favorite cable news/opinion moments and personalities?

Glenn Beck
Wikipedia bio
From Wikipedia: "Beck is a self-described recovering alcoholic and drug addict"
Click for Beck making a complete ass out of himself (highly recommended viewing)

Sean Hannity
Wikipedia bio

I can't find any huge malfunctions in Hannity's bio - what am I missing?

Rush Limbaugh
Wikipedia bio
From Wikipedia:

"In the October 23, 2006 edition of his radio show, Limbaugh imitated on the "DittoCam" (the webcam for website subscribers to see him on the air) the physical symptoms of actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease.[18][19] He said "(Fox) is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

Michael J. Fox later appeared on CBS with Katie Couric and said he was actually dyskinesic at the time, a condition that results from his medication."

"In June 2006, Limbaugh was detained by drug enforcement agents at Palm Beach International Airport. Customs officials confiscated Viagra from Limbaugh's luggage as he was returning from the Dominican Republic. The prescription was not in Limbaugh's name.
After he was released with no charges filed, Limbaugh joked about the incident on his radio show, claiming that he got the Viagra at the Clinton Library and was told they were blue M&M's. He also stated that "I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it."

"On October 3, 2003 the National Enquirer reported that Limbaugh was being investigated for illegally obtaining the prescription drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone. Other news outlets quickly confirmed the investigation.[96] He admitted to listeners on his radio show on October 10 that he was addicted to prescription painkillers and stated that he would enter inpatient treatment for 30 days, immediately after the broadcast.[97] Limbaugh stated his addiction to painkillers resulted from several years of severe back pain heightened by a botched surgery intended to correct those problems.

Previously, Limbaugh has condemned illegal drug use on his radio broadcast and has stated that those convicted of drug crimes should be sent to jail."

I'll post more later. Up next: Keith Olberman and any other liberal wack jobs I can think of. Anyone got any suggestions? Am I holding these guys to too high a standard?

What I'm reading right now

A case study on How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity.

The bottom line: you must have talented people, especially in the entertainment industry. But what you really need is an environment... a SYSTEM... that fosters the creativity. Yes, it sounds simple, but it difficult in practice.

Manifesto for slow communication

Article in the WSJ Weekend on how e-mail and texting are ruining our lives. Yes, we've heard this refrain before, but this article is pretty unvarnished in it's critique. Highly recommended reading.

Before US - Mexico Game

Instead of rotating its national team coaches every couple years (a practice that I've never really understood), the US soccer team sticks with coaches (click here for an interview with Sunil Gulati of the US Soccer Federation). I like this, and it seems to make sense from a win-loss perspective, too. An example from football: Bill Cowher faced a good amount of pressure in his first ~10 years as coach of the Steelers. But the Rooney family (the owners) committed to Cowher, and won the Super Bowl. Cowher is now mentioned as a "top candidate" whenever coaching vacancies come up. I hope the US sticks with Bradley.

Prediction: the US gets it done in Azteca (2-0); goals by Onyewu and Donovan.

Quick Update

A few rushed thoughts from business school. Apologies for the poor grammar.

- The workload is demanding, but manageable. I can't remember a moment since I arrived here that's been "free." I'm either studying, socializing, or exercising. It doesn't feel overwhelming, though.
- My apartment building is basically a dorm room. A weekend ritual quickly emerged: jumping in the apartment pool at night on the weekends. It happens just about every night, it seems.
- CEB has prepared me very well for business school: analyzing a problem, understanding the facets of a corporation (my experience in Internal Audit actually helps a lot here - I know what people are talking about when they talk shop about procurement, HR, etc.; I can hang with these conversations). Perhaps the best preparation CEB gave me was how to work in teams. More on this...
- The big realization so far: the topic of leadership matters - a lot. At Fuqua, leadership is a huge emphasis. I never really "got" leadership until I read Coach K's book on the subject (a gift from Dad last Christmas... pre-Duke). Thus far, Fuqua has emphatically reemphasized the importance of leadership, and that important qualities CAN be taught. Last week we did an all-day ropes course, which was far different than the typical ropes course at summer camp. With a group of professionals, you have stronger opinions and egos. It's one thing to LEARN about particular leadership (i.e. "teamwork") characteristics in an academic setting, but it's another thing to EXPERIENCE. CEB prepared me very well to work in teams - especially how to get the most out of very competent individuals. Certain principles that I used to take for granted have been reaffirmed through our "team building" experiences, such as: know the rules before you play the game, make sure you have the information you need before rushing into a decision/action, when you're rushing you'll make mistakes, "process" is too often underrated in relation to the "great man" theory of leadership, etc. All of these things seem like no-brainers, but I confess that I didn't "get" the importance of them until recently... it's really cool to go through a ropes course, make mistakes, and then discuss "why did we screw up? Why did we succeed?" Very cool stuff with broad applications.
- I'm very lucky to have a great "small group", with whom I will do all my group projects for the next 2.5 terms. We're a diverse group - 3 guys and 3 girls - from: Alabama (me), Michigan, Honduras, Australia, Connecticut, and Thailand. Making this team a cohesive, tight, well-oiled machine over the next few months is a challenge I'm looking forward to.
- I'm doing well in class. I've kept up with the readings, and am participating well in class discussions.
- Conclusion from academic work: the importance of the stability, consistency, and predictability of institutions that surround business (such as government, infrastructure, political participation, etc.). The interdependence of one institution upon the other is very, very important.

Last week, Coach K spoke at an orientation session. I was front row. Two basketball insights he had from coaching the US Olympic team to the gold medal:
1) Nobody outworks Kobe. That's why he's the best.
2) LeBron is a physical freak. Really.
3) Kevin Durant will be the next big star in the NBA. The kid not only has skills, but he's a natural leader: humble and incredibly hard working.

Business Badasses

The best business hard-liner scenes of all time. (viewer discretion advised; mom you will not like these videos).

Glengarry Glenn Ross:


Boiler Room:


Always be Closing:



Wall Street:

80's

Critical item: I have an 80's party on Sunday. What should I go as? Don Mattingly or Wade Boggs would be the obvious choices, but I don't think people would get it.

Business School Observations

Here's a quick update on things.

Last week I went to "math camp", which was an 8-5, 5-day class reviewing math concepts that we haven't used in a while (calculus, statistics, etc.). I'm glad I did it, if only to know that I've done what Duke considers sufficient. Perhaps a best reason for attending math camp was that I got to meet about 70 future classmates - a significant head start on everyone else.

This week I've been working pretty hard on getting all the pre-readings done. While most business schools don't start classes "for real" until late-August, Duke requires two core classes to be taken during August: a leadership course and a course on global institutions (which is basically macroeconomics). A couple years ago, Duke pulled these courses out of the first and second-term curriculum to ease the burden of students during the first few months of school - a very smart move, in my opinion.

My readings have been really fascinating. For the leadership class, we read a few articles on Enron and the "talent myth" (a great article by Malcom Gladwell). The Institutions class is a bit more heady. The study I just read analyzes how China has succeeded in the past quarter-century despite a relative lack of things economists traditionally consider to be necessary: maximum liberalization, stabilization, and privatization. Really interesting stuff.

Orientation starts this Saturday, and everyone is scrambling to do the pre-readings and finish a software review course (that's actually useful). I'm in a pretty good position, having done just about all the readings and half of the computer stuff.

Here are some random observations:

- I severely underestimated the time it takes to move into a new apartment, get the requisite software for school, and take care of everything except actually studying. In this regard I'm in the same boat as most of my fellow students (probably in better shape, actually).
- "Fear of missing out" is thus far the biggest force at Duke. It's simple: most people are sociable, young, and want to go out. But you must study (that is, if your goal is to learn). It's hard to say no. That said, I think I'm doing a good job of balancing everything - it takes a lot of effort to network and study at the same time.
- I'm well prepared to work in MS Word, Excel, and PPT (thanks to CEB).
- Microsoft Excel, Word, and PPT 2007 (for Windows) are extremely well-designed.
- Somehow I forgot that I'm a hard worker. I like this role.
- (no offense to anyone reading this who went to Harvard but...) I'm very glad I'm not going to Harvard. Not that I had the opportunity, but I've said many times in the past week that "I can't imagine going to a school where you look around and say to yourself 'damn, everyone here is a gunner.' I simply wouldn't learn as much in that type of environment. I'd be more concerned about keeping up with everyone else than I would with learning and making good friends. At Duke, the sense of collaboration (definitely a business school buzzword) is genuine. This makes a huge difference.
- It feels great to be back in academia. I like having informed opinions instead of BS-ing. I like making connections among the things I learn.
- I like Durham a lot more than I thought I would. I was hesitant to move south, where life might be slower compared to DC. Life is slower here, but for now that's what I want to experience. It's nice to drive 5 minutes to the gym and school. It's nice to go for a run, work out in the apartment gym, sit by the pool, and get a bunch of people together to watch a movie in the apartment movie room - all of which I did today. So for now, it's good.

Back to studying.

Mayonnaise

No, I'm not talking about the Smashing Pumpkins' song "Mayonnaise," although it's awesome in its own right. No, I'm talking about the real thing.



My sister claims to have witnessed our dad eating a late-night mixture of mayo and cottage cheese in a bowl, although this may be an urban legend. Regardless, I tell the story with great pride. Since I've been back in the South, I've heard no less than 5 people willingly admit "I love mayonnaise sandwiches." I couldn't agree more.

So I snooped around for some other uses of this sublimely-delectable condiment. It turns out that people are quite creative when it comes to their mayo:

Mayonnaise can be used as a natural hair conditioner. Massage a quantity of mayonnaise into your hair, much in the same way as a normal post-shampoo conditioner. Cover your head with a shower cap and allow the mayonnaise to remain on your hair for several minutes. Rinse thoroughly and the result should be shinier and softer hair.

Use mayonnaise as a facial cleanser. Apply a layer of mayonnaise as you would a deep cleansing facial soap. After 15 or 20 minutes, wipe off the mayonnaise and rinse your face thoroughly. The oils and salt of the mayonnaise will restore moisture and remove impurities.

In case of a sunburn emergency, apply cold mayonnaise to the affected area. The coolness of the mayo will reduce the pain and the oil will provide much-needed moisture.

Some physicians are now recommending the use of mayonnaise to combat head lice infections. Certain strains of head lice have become very resistant to the traditional chemical treatments, but leaving mayonnaise in the hair overnight with a shower cap will cause the lice to suffocate and die. Comb out any remaining nits with a fine tooth comb and repeat the process seven days later.

Lubricate stubborn rings with mayonnaise. If a ring becomes too tight to remove, try applying a generous amount of mayonnaise to the entire finger, especially under the ring itself. Mayonnaise is very slippery, so it should reduce the friction well enough to allow removal of the ring.

Remove bumper stickers and residue with mayonnaise. A layer of mayonnaise applied to the remnants of a bumper sticker should soften the paper and dissolve the glue after several minutes.

Strengthen your fingernails: To add some oomph to your fingernails, just plunge them into a bowl of mayonnaise every so often. Keep them bathed in the mayo for about 5 minutes and then wash with warm water.

Remove dead skin: Soften and remove dead skin from elbows and feet. Rub mayonnaise over the dry, rough tissue, leave it on for 10 minutes, and wipe it away with a damp cloth.

Duke so Far

Here are pictures of my room (minus a kitchen table and chair, and wall hangings, which are coming)... it's very exciting stuff. Here is a link to my apartment complex.

So far, I'm having an amazing time. True, I've only been here a week, but it's obvious to me that Duke was the right choice. The one thing that's clear is that time is at a premium; there's tons of pressure to go out, which obviously clashes with the pressure to perform well academically. The tough part is that I want to do both.

Hassel the Hoff

As proof that I'm not a fairweather fan, I submit the following photo take in 1991 after the first of Duke's back-to-back championships. Also note the "half tuck", my preferred fashion statement during middle school.

Cameron Indoor

Before going to the gym today, I walked onto the floor of Cameron
Indoor - gotta say it gave me chills

TGIF

Photos posted

In case you missed it (and how could you), I posted photos of the Europe trip on my website:

Click for:

• Main site
• Spain
• Italy

And here is a picture of the Phillips legacy.

















I tried to figure out how to create a web poll, but this will do for now:

How big is Michael's head?
a) ping pong ball
b) grapefruit
c) sputnik

Last Day before Durham

Well, one more night in Birmingham before I head to business school. My mom asked me yesterday if I was getting nervous, but my honest answer was "I haven't really thought about it." For some reason this doesn't seem like a big move (at least at the moment). I haven't moved too many times in my life, but I've moved enough so that I'm a bit less numb to the extreme nervousness and excitement. Don't get me wrong - I'm excited. But I'm more ready than excited. It's hard to believe that I started studying for the GMAT 14 months ago; it's been a long journey and I'm ready to actually do something rather than just plan what I'm going to do. I'm not sure what to expect from school - will it be tough to study again? How much time should I spend studying vs. networking vs. looking for a job? Will the career options be overwhelming or will I find exactly what I want? Regardless of these questions, I think I'm going to kill it at Duke (if Grandma and Grandpa are reading this, "kill it" means to "do very well" in the parlance of youngsters these days... crazy kids and their words).

Since I got back from Europe, I've mainly been dividing my time between a) preparing for school (admin stuff for Duke, pre-reading, tying up loose ends, etc... this stuff never seems to end) and b) reading and swimming. I've pretty much been a homebody, but spent a few days relaxing with my Birmingham friends Daniel, Eleanor, and Allen. I can't complain. Now it's time to work.

Simon and Simon

From the archives

Recap of my Bike Trip in Italy

I never got around to telling about my Italy experience, so here goes...

First, you can see all my pictures (and a few videos) from Italy here: http://web.mac.com/davidhphillips/Site/Bike_Tour,_Italy/Bike_Tour,_Italy.html

I basically planned my entire Europe trip around this bike tour. A company called Blue Marble organizes guided bike tours all over Europe, and I chose the "Italian Lakes" tour (Provence was a close second). I liked the bike trip idea because it was different; hearing myself say "yeah, I just finished a week of riding along lakes Maggiore, Lugano, and Como" sounded appealing to me. So, I ponied up the money and went for it.

On June 13, I took a train from Granada to Madrid (4 hours), metro to the Madrid airport (45 minutes), plane flight from Madrid to Geneva, Switzerland (2 hours), and another train from Geneva to Brig, Switzerland (~3 hours). The train from Geneva to Brig was an experience... coasting down the shoreline of Lake Geneva with the mountains in the background, eventually carving our way through the mountains around sunset. I was definitely feeling the "independent Euro traveler vibes." I got into Brig just before the restaurants close (at 11:00 in Switzerland, unlike the 2:00 closing time in Spain). The hotel was nice (no hostels in Brig), and I was very glad to sleep in a clean single room after 3 weeks of being in a hostel. I watched Swiss German TV for an hour and then conked out.

Observation: On my trip, I was fascinated by cultural differences. I never got tired of asking "what do [Germans] think of [this]"? I spoke with Germans about WWII's legacy, learned that many Australians have a great sense of gratitude toward the US for coming to their rescue in WWII, discussed why Australians travel in great numbers, how the French and Spanish have a definitively relaxed pace of life (contrast to Americans and British), and so on. Stereotypes and generalizations don't hold true all the time, but when they do it's 1) hillarious and 2) hillarious. For example, there were more than a few Italian news anchors that wore skinny jeans on air. How funny is that? I digress...

The following afternoon at the Brig train station I met up with my traveling companions for the next week: Mike (a political journalist from Australia), Doug and Jen (a couple from Colorado), Barry (a friend of Doug’s from Colorado), me, and Catherine, our wonderful tour guide from NYC (but who lives in Bologna, Italy these days). Without a doubt, getting to know these people was the highlight of the bike trip.

I won't give a play-by-play account of what we did, but here are some highlights:

Here's our itinerary: http://bluemarble.org/RteItLakes.html
Day 1: Through the Simplon Pass from Brig to Domodossola
Day 2: Through the Ossola Valley to Pallanza on Lago Maggiore
Day 3: Rides around Pallanza, stayed at the (very nice) hotel a second day.








Day 4: Took a ferry across the lake to Laveno. Had lunch near the weekly market in a small town, took a swim in the lake, crossed to Switzerland for a bit, took a train to Lugano for the night.
Day 5: Amazing cycling along Lago Lugano. The last few km were rough before getting into Como.














Day 6: No biking today. Took the ferry to Bellagio for the afternoon, then the slow ferry back in late-afternoon.
Day 7: Dropped off our bikes and said goodbye at the train station. I stayed another night in Como with Barry, Jen, and Doug. Barry and I woke up early to take a train to Milan, from where we went back to the States.

- The first half-day was almost all downhill through the Simplon Pass. We pedaled along a river that traces through mountain ravines, and descended onto a large, flat valley across the Italian border.
- The first night in Italy, the town was having some sort of festival. I witnessed one of the funniest things of the trip: Ty, an American who works for the Blue Marble company, was likely the only black man in the entire town, or so we thought. Then an older couple in full African dress walked by Ty, at which point they gave each other the silent "recognition head nod of acknowledgment." Of course we all stared at Ty and asked slyly "dude, what was that about," to which he replied sarcastically, "Hey, we made it!" We all laughed.
- Far fewer people than expected in Italy (at least the areas where we traveled) spoke English. I had assumed that Spanish and English would get me around, but I felt severely handicapped by not knowing Italian. Cate, our tour guide, was fluent in Italian.
- You might be wondering - how did they carry all their gear? We each had panniers (bags on the bike) to carry our stuff from town to town (on average, panniers w/ gear weighed 25 kilos or so. Every 3 days we'd have access to the rest of our luggage. So, we only had to carry 2 days of extra clothes/gear on the bike.
- The routes weren't too challenging, but we definitely got a workout. It was neither all flat nor all hilly. I got stronger as the trip went on, which was encouraging.
- We'd usually start around 10:00 in the morning, ride for a few hours, have lunch, then ride again until 5 in the afternoon (give or take).
- The scenery is exactly like I pictured it: countryside with old villas and small towns surrounded by mountains, large lakes with beautiful (and expensive) villas on the perimeter.
- I ate very, very well on this trip. We had gourmet food every night. A lot of it.
- While in Pallanza, the US soccer team was playing Italy (in South Africa). I thought it would be a huge deal in Pallanza and that the Italy fans would be at bars getting rowdy. I was mistaken. I, an American, was obviously the one person who cared most about the game. I walked to a couple bars, none of which were showing the game. Realizing the game was about to start and that I was far away from the only place I knew was showing the game, I took off my sandals and ran about 2-3k on the street/sidewalk back to this particular restaurant. All for a 3-1 loss.

Well, those are the highlights. Again, the best part about the trip was our group - everyone got along very well. Here's some random photos. To view them all, go here:

US Soccer History

There’s much discussion going on about who will make the 2010 World Cup roster for the US Men’s National Soccer Team. I’ll leave 2010 for another day, but I thought it would be interesting to go through the US’s rosters for previous World Cups. Ahh memories.

Apologies for the crude formatting. I obviously cut and pasted from other websites…

2006
Goalkeepers (3): Marcus Hahnemann (2006), Tim Howard (2006), Kasey Keller (1990, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Defenders (8): Chris Albright* (2006), Carlos Bocanegra (2006), Steve Cherundolo (2002, 2006), Jimmy Conrad (2006), Cory Gibbs (2006), Eddie Lewis (2002, 2006), Oguchi Onyewu (2006), Eddie Pope (1998, 2002, 2006)
Midfielders (8): DaMarcus Beasley (2002, 2006), Bobby Convey (2006), Clint Dempsey (2006), Landon Donovan (2002, 2006), Pablo Mastroeni (2002, 2006), John O’Brien (2002, 2006), Ben Olsen (2006), Claudio Reyna (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Forwards (4): Brian Ching (2006), Eddie Johnson (2006), Brian McBride (1998, 2002, 2006), Josh Wolff (2002, 2006)

2002
Goalkeepers (3): Brad Friedel (1994, 1998, 2002), Kasey Keller (1990, 1998, 2002), Tony Meola (1990, 1994, 2002);

Defenders (8): Jeff Agoos (1998, 2002), Gregg Berhalter (2002), Frankie Hejduk (1998, 2002), Carlos Llamosa (2002), Pablo Mastroeni (2002), Eddie Pope (1998, 2002), David Regis (1998, 2002), Tony Sanneh (2002);

Midfielders (8): Chris Armas (2002), DaMarcus Beasley (2002), Landon Donovan (2002), Cobi Jones (1994, 1998, 2002), Eddie Lewis (2002), John O'Brien (2002), Claudio Reyna (1994, 1998, 2002), Earnie Stewart (1994, 1998, 2002);

Forwards (4): Clint Mathis (2002), Brian McBride (1998, 2002), Joe-Max Moore (1994, 1998, 2002), Josh Wolff (2002).

1998
GK Brad Friedel 18 May 1971 (aged 27) Liverpool
MF Frankie Hejduk 5 August 1974 (aged 23) Tampa Bay Mutiny
DF Eddie Pope 24 December 1973 (aged 24) D.C. United
DF Mike Burns 14 September 1970 (aged 27) New England Revolution
MF Thomas Dooley 12 May 1961 (aged 37) Columbus Crew
DF David Regis 2 December 1968 (aged 29) Karlsruhe
FW Roy Wegerle 19 March 1964 (aged 34) Tampa Bay Mutiny
FW Earnie Stewart 28 March 1969 (aged 29) NAC Breda
FW Joe-Max Moore 23 February 1971 (aged 27) New England Revolution
MF Tab Ramos 21 September 1966 (aged 31) MetroStars
FW Eric Wynalda 9 June 1969 (aged 29) San Jose Clash
DF Jeff Agoos 2 May 1968 (aged 30) D.C. United
MF Cobi Jones 16 June 1970 (aged 27) Los Angeles Galaxy
MF Preki 24 June 1963 (aged 34) Kansas City Wizards
MF Chad Deering 2 September 1970 (aged 27) Wolfsburg
GK Juergen Sommer 27 February 1969 (aged 29) Columbus Crew
DF Marcelo Balboa 8 August 1967 (aged 30) Colorado Rapids
GK Kasey Keller 29 November 1969 (aged 28) Leicester City
MF Brian Maisonneuve 28 June 1973 (aged 24) Columbus Crew
FW Brian McBride 19 June 1972 (aged 25) Columbus Crew
MF Claudio Reyna 20 July 1973 (aged 24) Wolfsburg
DF Alexi Lalas 1 June 1970 (aged 28) MetroStars


1994
1 GK Tony Meola 21 Feb 1969 (no club) 1990
2 DF Mike Lapper 28 Aug 1970 (no club)
3 MD Mike Burns 14 Sep 1970 (no club)
4 DF Cle Kooiman 04 Jul 1963 Cruz Azul (MEX)
5 DF Thomas Dooley 12 May 1961 (no club)
6 MD John Harkes 08 Mar 1967 Derby County (ENG) 1990
7 MD Hugo Perez 08 Nov 1963 (no club)
8 FW Earnie Stewart 28 Mar 1969 Willem II (NED)
9 MD Tab Ramos 21 Sep 1966 Real Betis (SPA) 1990
10 MD Roy Wegerle 19 Mar 1964 Coventry City (ENG)
11 FW Eric Wynalda 09 Jun 1969 FC Saarbrücken (GER) 1990
12 GK Jürgen Sommer 27 Feb 1969 Luton Town (ENG)
13 MD Cobi Jones 16 Jun 1970 (no club)
14 FW Frank Klopas 01 Sep 1966 (no club)
15 FW Joe-Max Moore 23 Feb 1971 (no club)
16 MD Mike Sorber 14 May 1971 (no club)
17 DF Marcelo Balboa 08 Aug 1967 (no club) 1990
18 GK Brad Friedel 18 May 1971 (no club)
19 MD Claudio Reyna 20 Jul 1973 (no club)
20 MD Paul Caligiuri 09 Mar 1964 (no club) 1990
21 DF Fernando Clavijo 23 Jan 1957 (no club)
22 DF Alexi Lalas 01 Jun 1970 (no club)

In Search of Dignity

Here's a great article on how the denigration of some social norms has made us less civil (or "dignified", as David Brooks says):

In the article, Brooks references George Washington's rules for comportment - worth skimming.

Maybe it's the southerner in me, but I really like Washington's rules. Some rules that many would benefit from learning (including myself):

In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.

Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails.

Spit not in the Fire, nor Stoop low before it neither Put your Hands into the Flames to warm them, nor Set your Feet upon the Fire especially if there be meat before it.

Shake not the head, Feet, or Legs roll not the Eyes lift not one eyebrow higher than the other wry not the mouth, and bedew no mans face with your Spittle, by approaching too near him when you Speak.

In other words, quit checking your blackberry:
Read no Letters, Books, or Papers in Company but when there is a Necessity for the doing of it you must ask leave.

Run not in the Streets, neither go too slowly nor with Mouth open go not Shaking your Arms kick not the earth with R feet, go not upon the Toes, nor in a Dancing fashion.

Gaze not on the marks or blemishes of Others and ask not how they came. What you may Speak in Secret to your Friend deliver not before others.

Put not another bit into your mouth till the former be swallowed. Let not your morsels be too big for the jowls.

Guest Blogger - Mike Phillips

Before Sunday's US - Brazil game, here's my brother's reaction to the US - Spain game:

Wednesday's first half was the first complete effort I've seen from them in a long, long time. They kept the ball on the ground, let Bradley be the maestro (which should be his role in every game) and let Donovan create. In my opinion, the biggest thing to come out of this tournament is Onyewu's progress. He effectively can't be beaten in the air. It is so critical to have a guy like that back there to clean up all the mess. He is finally finding his form. I love having Demerit back there as well. I've also always been a fan of Spector, who continues to play solid. I also like Charlie Davies up top. He lost some pace in the later part of the game, but definitely created chances and wasn't afraid to run. The most disconcerting thing about the first two games of the tournament was our team's seeming lack of desire to chase balls, get back on D, etc. Clint Dempsey may be the most guilty of this. At times, he looks as though he's completely immobile defensively (after the 65th minute in each game). Personally, I was surprised he wasn't substituted on Wednesday, but the plan obviously worked. Here are a few other observations:

- Clark - I'm still not sold on his composure. He is a warrior defender, but he is making Midfielding 101 mistakes (e.g., turning to the middle without checking a shoulder, tricky passes in the defensive 1/3, etc.). However, I love the enforcer/maestro midfielder combination so I hope he can step up his game so we can keep that dynamic.

- Feilhaber - He is good. It's bizarre to say that one of our most skilled, composed players struggled to make the now relegated Derby bench, but he did. He's Bradley #2, in my view. He really created the 2nd goal.

- Donovan - He is finally everywhere on the field. Like it or not, he has to do this every game to stir things up.

- Casey - Yes, he is brought in to keep the ball, but he doesn't play with any purpose. He is on for 10 minutes a game and I've yet to see him sprint. Under no circumstances should he be our #1 target guy. I saw him play when he was on the u-18 national side, and he was very impressive (partially because he was built like a 25 year old). Despite his solid MLS season, I'm not sold on him. More importantly, does Casey drink Guiness on the sidelines?

Torres/Adu - I want to see more of these guys in the Gold Cup - hopefully starting. I actually think that Adu could serve a solid purpose in the midfield. He plays like Bradley with more speed. Torres has great touch, but is a wuss of a defender.

Davies - I want to see more. He could be a good Rooney/Tevez wannabee.

MJ

My favorite MJ songs. God bless.

Man in the Mirror:


I Want you Back (Jackson 5)


Don't Stop

Hatch Show Print

Tonight I went to a talk by Jim Sherraden, who runs the Hatch Show Print shop in Nashville. They make extraordinary concert posters the old-school way: with a that you've all seen (click here to see a video of Hatch, and click here to see examples of their posters). They've done posters for Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Eddie Vedder... really cool stuff. Jim said that he was amazed by the demand for his Eddie Vedder poster: "I think the guy's pretty good, but the day after the concert I had hundreds of fanatics calling up the shop and wanting posters. Only Bob Dylan's fans were crazier." This makes me proud.

Let's not get carried away

The US soccer team advances, but one win and two losses is nothing to
be happy about. Competing with the likes of brazil and Italy is the
goal, not beating up on CONCACAF and Egypt. A few observations from
the two games that I watched (Italy and Egypt):

the US team still hasn't found an identity, by a long shot. The
reason there was excitement about the 2002 team was because the team
had potential... It was easy to get excited about guys like donovan,
beasley, and obrien because they had room to grow. In contrast, the
current side is a confusing mix of "just good enough" veterans
(bocanegra, cherundolo, ching), inconsistent youngsters (feilhaber,
edu, kleistjen, adu, bornstein, davies, rico clark, Spector), guys
that are frustratingly close to becoming very good but never get there
(gooch, donovan, Dempsey), and one burnout (beasley). Out of the
current player pool, only Howard, donovan, and Bradley can be counted
on for consistently good performances... The rest are still
experiments. So what's the right mix?I have no idea, but Id like to
see a bit of a youth movement. Torres, altidore, Spector, and
bornstein are all first teamers in my opinion. I'd like to see benny
get more playing time, bit until he gets more pt with his club team
then he deserves to be on the bench.

Apologies for spelling errors. I'm on my iPhone.

US soccer lucks out

I'm in the Philly airport and wanted to watch the US - Egypt soccer
game. I went to two bars - one was full of baseball fans and the other
was prwtty much empty and had six TVs tuned to the mens golf US Open.
I asked the bartender to turn ONE of the TVs to the soccer game, and
he gave me the typical look of "you've got to be kidding me... Nobody
cares about soccer.".

So I went to another bar, got a tv turned to the game, and a bunch of
guys who knew nothing about soccer started watching the soccer game.
Just shows that Americans will watch soccer if there isn't an ignorant
bartender/sportscaster standing in their way.

Think Giuseppe Rossi regrets his decision? Probably not, but who cares.

Sent from my iPhone

Last thoughts on Granada

I intended to stay in Granada for three days, but ended up staying three weeks. Why did I stay? A practical reason... to take Spanish classes. Why is it going to be hard to leave? Because of the friends I´ve made. Yes, I know - cue the violin, but it´s very true. I´ve made the Funky Backpackers hostel my temporary home, and gotten to know all of the staff quite well (I doubt that they´ve had many others to stay as long as I have). The Escuela Montalban school made me feel like I had been a student for years. Most importantly, my classmates for two weeks - Stephanie from Atlanta, Eva from Switzerland, Mika from Japan, Regis from Belgium, and Felix and Sebastian from Germany (not to mention many many others) make it really hard to leave. Well, more on this later.

Tomorrow (rather... in 5 hours) I´ll take a train to Madrid, find my way to the airport, fly to Geneva, then take a train to Brig, Switzerland.

An ATM ate my debit card and Bank of America is being extremely unhelpful in getting me some quick cash. I have 15 euros in my wallet, a credit card, and nothing else. This will need to last me until I get to Switzerland and the banks open on Monday (thank god for the Swiss and their plentiful banks). To bed.

The iPhone is killing independent Dave

I love my iPhone, but I can say - without a doubt - that this electronic tether to email and instant messaging that the iPhone is making me more neurotic. With the phone in my pocket, I´m constantly waiting for new email (and probably subconsciously waiting for signals that I´m needed by others), which distracts me from the "real life" around me.

Since I´ve been in Europe, I´ve gone through two stages: one in which I checked email once a day, and the other when I had easy access to computers (at school and my hostel) and checked email 3-4 times a day. Without easy access to email, I actually had to talk to other human beings. With email, I find myself wasting time waiting for email replies, reading irrelevant news stories, etc. I would much prefer not to have to rely on email, but that´s the world we live in. My ideal: get up, read the newspaper (NOT online), do actual work (instead of the "fake work" that so often happens over email), check email as needed in the afternoon, and then escape the computer for the rest of the day. However I don´t think this is possible for a simple reason: I´m addicted.

Here´s a quick article on the rise of smartphones, and some exerpts:

“The social norm is that you should respond within a couple of hours, if not immediately,” said David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail.”

So she got an iPhone instead, allowing her to be online no matter where she was, without having to lug a computer around. “I absolutely got it for the job search,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s really an expectation, but if another job candidate returns an e-mail message eight hours later, and you get back immediately with a message that says ‘Sent from my iPhone,’ I think it has to be a check box in your favor.”

Such a digital connection can have its downside. The perils of obsessive smartphone use have been well documented, including distracted driving and the stress of multitasking. CrackBerry, a term coined years ago, is telling.

The smartphone, said Mr. Meyer, a cognitive psychologist, can be seen as a digital “Skinner box,” a reference to the experiments of the behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner in which rats were conditioned to press a lever repeatedly to get food pellets.

With the smartphone, he said, the stimuli are information feeds. “It can be powerfully reinforcing behavior,” he said. “But the key is to make sure this technology helps you carry out the tasks of daily life instead of interfering with them. It’s about balance and managing things.”

Well rested for the days to come

The past two days I´ve made a point of studying, exercising, sleeping well, and eating well. I was feeling a bit worn out from two weeks of socializing, and really needed the break. I feel refreshed and am ready to enjoy my last few days in Granada.

All week in Granada there is the annual "feria", which is basically a huge party. Every business in town will be closed tomorrow, and most businesses will close for a half-day today and Friday. There´s a parade today and tomorrow, and every night people party from 11PM to dawn. Es una autentica locura.

On Saturday morning I´ll take a bus to Madrid, then fly from Madrid to Geneva, then take a train from Geneva to Brig, Switzerland, which is where my bike ride begins. Here´s an itinerary for the bike ride.

Boobs

So, at about 3:00 on Saturday I decided to go to Malaga, which is on the "Costa Del Sol" of the Spanish Mediterranean. My hostel in Granada has a partner hostel in Malaga, so I got them to make a reservation for me. Buses run from Granada to Malaga every hour or so (the trip takes 1.5 hours), so I just went to the bus station and boarded the next bus.

Me gusta Malaga mucho. It definitely has the relaxed feel of a beach town, but without the trashy feeling of Panama City, etc. After finding my hostel, I walked around for an hour to enjoy the weather (about 75 degrees F with a nice breeze). I planned on going to bed early, but I ran into some people who I had met in Granada and were staying at the Malaga hostel. We socialized and played a drinking game, and I was in bed by midnight.

The next morning I went to the Picasso museum (Picasso was born in Granada), and then headed to the beach with a couple people. Although I probably should have guessed it, the beach was topless. As an American not used to these things, I took note of the situation, considered the pros and cons, and have determined that it´s a good thing. Honestly, the whole thing seemed unremarkable after a few hours; you just accept it as normal. It was an interesting experience, nonetheless.

Hound of the Baskervilles

I just finished the Sherlock Holmes novel "Hound of the Baskervilles." It was my first Holmes experience, and I loved it. Conan Doyle´s prose is unintentionally funny at times because it´s very proper, high-brow English. I think I´ll read more Holmes books...

Apple keeps rolling

Minute by minute updates from the Apple event today. And here´s Apple´s official site. Don´t forget to check out the updated MacBooks, Snow Leapord, and Safari 4.

In all, the iPhone 3G S looks to be a solid improvement that keeps the iPhone ahead of the first generation Palm Pre. Still waiting to see Apple´s response to the netbook trend...

Where I´ve stayed

Here is my current hostel, the Funky Backpacker´s (photos are on the right side of the page)
Here is where I stayed in Malaga
Here is my language school in Granada

Democrats = the best for national security?

I´ve never understood why so many people automatically equate Republicans as strong on national security and Democrats as weak. True, Republicans generally spend more money on the military. But national security is not only measured by the size and sophistication of a country´s armed forces (although it is certainly one component).

Rather, a more complete measure of "national security" would include economic and cultural factors as well. For instance, I´d be willing to say that the "number of people who hate America to their core (and are therefore subject to terrorist leanings)" is just as important to our national security than the number of aircraft carriers we have. As a parallel, Israel may be "protected" by a well-funded military, but what do they have to show for it? Enmity from every Muslim country in the world, and a precarious existence that becomes even more precarious as terrorists become more sophisticated. Even if Israel (or any other country) spent 10X more on their military budget, the animosity generated would mitigate much of the security gained.

So, this brings be back to the original question - is it accurate to conclude that Republicans are "better on national security issues" than Democrats just because they spend more on the military? I say no. Thus far, Obama has been successful in proving this point. As an American, I feel much safer knowing that the American government is not as internationally despised as it once was. To be sure, grudges against the U.S. are still many (see my post and Colin´s comment on this subject), whether founded or unfounded. But in a world with so many threats, America can´t defend itself from every threat; it needs popular support from the citizens of other countries. The less people hate us, the more secure we will be. Perception matters, whether we like it or not.

Europe vs. America

My friend Colin sent me this article on how the perceived differences between Europe and America aren´t as large as we think. While I think that some of the metrics the author uses can be debated (such as the "number of books borrowed from the library" to indicate literacy levels), the article raises some interesting points.

In Granada for good

I didn´t make my decision to stay in Granada until Friday, but finally made the call to stay here. On a whim I decided to board a bus for Malaga yesterday afternoon, so I ended up staying at a hostel there, meeting new people, and then chillin at the beach all day. More on that later. For now, I must slumber because I have massive circles under my eyes and my body is simply broken down. But a good broken down.

Good blog postings are coming tomorrow.

Staying in Granada

On a whim, I decided to sign up for 3 hours of Spanish classes per day for this week. The main reason was that I didn´t feel like getting on a bus, then a boat, then a bus, then finding my way to a hostel, etc. I´ll feel quite satisfied about improving my Spanish, and hopefully this wil give me a kick start.

The school is small - about half the size of my school in Mexico. I´m in a class with five others, and the class includes grammar and conversation. Today´s class was pretty easy, so I might ask for more classes, or to be moved to another level. I like my classmates, though.

My hostel room fits four people, but I´m the only one staying there right now. So I practically have a single. This is good, since my stuff is strewn everywhere around the room.

Random Thoughts from Spain

1) Since I got to Spain, I am constantly hungry. There are very little vegetables here, and if you order veggies in a restaurant, you might get half a tomato. I think my body is craving some nutrition other than meat and bread.

2) Non-Americans don´t like America to a greater extent than I expected. I´ve had more than a few conversations with foreigners about this, and despite the Obama euphoria that many people feel, more people than expected are not ready to "forgive" the US of it´s sins (Iraq, torture, etc.). I was talking with a German woman last night and she refused to allow that the 50/51/48% of americans who voted for W and McCain in the past three elections could be, in fact, good hearted people with misguided voting habits (or even principled and well-spoken opponents of liberal policies). She kept harping on the invasion of Iraq, seemingly the most vicious act of aggression in recent history. I had to remind her - politely - that her country, and the rest of Europe for that matter, have been invading their neighbors for the past few centuries and beyond.

Well, the point is that I´ve been sticking up for America more than I thought I would. I´ve never been one to take America´s side, but I´m sticking up for the USA a bit more now. Yes, the US has done some abominable things in the past, but it´s too easy of an excuse to blame everything on America. It´s a cop-out and excuses taking responsibility.

Important caveat to this thought: 99% of the people I´ve met have been kind, reasonable people that are willing to have calm discussions on difficult subjects. These conversations are teaching me much about my culture and how it is different (in good ways and bad ways, and sometimes just different) from others.

3) Europeans and their long vacations. Maybe it´s the American in my DNA, but I don´t get how people can take months off from work to travel. I have to admit, I´m slightly envious of the number of vacation days that some Europeans get, though.

4) I am ready to give up wearing sandals. They do not suit me.

5) I want to start learning Spanish again.

6) Traveling solo. Traveling solo is about making near-constant mistakes (taking the wrong bus, saying the wrong thing, making a cultural faux pas) and then picking yourself back up, only to make even more mistakes. I love this.

Being alone gave me a system shock for the first few days. I didn´t really know how to not have email, phone, etc. constantly relieving any loneliness. It took a couple days for me to figure out a) how to be comfortable just by myself, and b) to be bold in meeting new people. These things have been great "growth experiences."

7) I much prefer meeting new people than just seeing stuff.

What I´ve done so far

Here´s a summary of where I´ve been and what I´ve done:
Saturday, May 23: Left Birmingham to Philly to Lisbon to Sevilla. The entire trip took about 18 hours, and I arrived in Sevilla around 13:00. I only slept a couple hours on the plane, but had enough energy to make it through Sunday without a nap. I checked in to the Hostal Samay (clean, about 20 bucks a night for a room with 5 others), which is in the Barrio Santa Cruz section. It´s the old Jewish quarter and was built up in the 1200´s, more or less. The barrio streets are typical Andalucia - narrow and confusing, with small plazas dotting the neighborhood.

Bullfights only happen on Sundays, so I walked to the ring and bought a "sol" ticket, which is directly in the sunlight. I had a couple hours to spare, so I had a beer and some tapas at a cafe. I thought I would respect the bullfight for it´s history, but it was truly barbaric. About 20% of the audience were tourists, which makes you wonder how sustainable the sport would be without interested foreigners. For me, it´s a relic of machismo.

Monday: I woke up late and walked around the town by myself, and toured the cathedral, which is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. It´s impressive, but seeing many many cathedrals in my life, they all blend together.

In the evening I went on a tour organized by a few hostels, then a pub crawl afterward. Met lots of people.

Tuesday: Woke up late again, and went to the Alcazar, an old Moorish/Christian fortress and palace. I joined up with a pub crawl again that night.

Wednesday: Walked randomly around the city with a friend, which I enjoyed a lot. Later went to an Irish pub to watch the Barcelona - Manchester United game on TV. I hung out with locals for the first half, and ran into some friends for the second half.

Thursday: Travel to Granada by train.

Friday: Toured the Alhambra in the afternoon, and ended up spending four hours there. By the time I left I was pretty sick of it. The Alhambra is nice, but I preferred the Alcazar in Seville. On Friday night I went to a concert by Ojos de Brujo (flamenco/hip hop/rock band)... awesome time. I went with a couple people from the hostel, and met some other travelers I had met in Sevilla.

Saturday: Took a tour of the old arabic neighborhood in Granada, and had a lazy lunch with some of the tour-goers. Then siesta. Then I met up with a couple people from the tour. We planned to walk to the caves of Sacramonte, but a downpour confined us to a bar. We ended up meeting an Australian couple, and walked up to Sacramonte for a Flamenco show.

Sunday: Purposely lazy day. Had a big Irish breakfast, but am still hungry. I need to figure out what I´m going to do in Morocco, and when. I might go to the beach for a day, and then head to Morocco. Or I might go to Morocco tomorrow, which is looking less likely as time passes, since I haven´t planned anything yet. There´s a big "world sacred music festival" going on in Fes, Morocco. Unfortunately this means that prices will be jacked up... not sure I want to deal with that.