no rain

It's been months since I last saw rain or had the anticipation of a storm.

Venice Beach

new stomping grounds..

Storytime

You know what they say, a picture's worth a 1,000 words. Go Go Gaigi Gag Reflex! Note to everyone out in nomadland: speeding excessively down a los angeles highway with an arab hanging out your window could look suspicious with law authorities (esp LA authorities).
Oh, What a Night!

Sorry, Couldn't Resist..

English Chinese

That's not right Sum Ting Wong

Are you harboring a fugitive? Hu Yu Hai Ding

See me ASAP Kum Hia Nao

Stupid Man Dum Fuk

Small Horse Tai Ni Po Ni

Did you go to the beach? Wai Yu So Tan

I bumped into a coffee table Ai Bang Mai Fu Kin Ni

I think you need a face lift Chin Tu Fat

It's very dark in here Wai So Dim

I thought you were on a diet Wai Yu Mun Ching

This is a tow away zone No Pah King

Our meeting is scheduled for next week Wai Yu Kum Nao

Staying out of sight Lei Ying Lo

He's cleaning his automobile Wa Shing Ka

Your body odor is offensive Yu Stin Ki Pu
Great Fa Kin Su Pa

Less than a week to go! China or bust! Between this and the book Saki recommended, How To Make Out in Chinese, I hope to woo over many "patriotic" young girls (with good hand writing of course!)! So excited about the trip to Beijing! Not so excited about meeting certain people there...but...well..what can you do!?

I think this will mark the 3rd occasion I'll be meeting people through nomadlife.org and the 4th continent meeting up with old man Digs..dios mio!

The Gaigi Factor..

Well, between the new job, "The Gaigi", roadtrippin' through beautiful California, "The Gaigi", Paul Reith, San Francisco, wine tasting, bumping into KK, and "The Gaigi", sleep has been minimal. Here's to Gaigi, I'll miss that funny Tunisian and all our talks. Funny how MSN/phone still doesn't come close to face to face interation. Anyway; Ireland, Slovakia, Tunisia, Iowa, Madison, Atlanta, Ann Arbor, Los Angeles..wonder where we'll meet next!

In other news, my Volvo passed the smog test (I only waited 10 months to test it), which is some sort of emissions standards set by the state of California for older automobiles to help reduce the air pollution in So Cal. I thought for sure I'd have to go in for some extensive repairs..burning a hole in my wallet. But nope! The Volvo scores again!

Other than the chilliness, I enjoyed the differences of San Fran, and am grateful for Mr. Reith's hospitality! The best American host cheap vodka can buy!

So Long Gaigi, so long San Fran, till we meet again...

10 months in the LBC...

Almost to the day! I'm moving on out of the LBC!

How crazy can everything be? Rarely does one find himself interviewing for a future job, filling out paper work for an upcoming new job (that's already been secured), and having a going-away party for an existing job..all on the same day! Let's hope its only on rare occasions;)

Haven't slept much these past few days..which can only be a good thing I suppose. Olaf and I spent from 10am-4am Saturday moving on up to Los Angeles..Few times have I ever been so exhausted! There's enough for a couple of blogs, but just thinking about it makes me fatigued! Moral of the Story: Movers, movers, movers.

ANYWAY, it paid off on Sunday when I chilled poolside with the Belizeans..plenty of beers, coconut water and scotch, Chicken BBQ, and stewed gizzards and chicken feet in Escabeche soup..with a lil Bob playin of course. All of which helped ease the pain of moving. I even got to meet Carl's parents! Carl was a guy we met down in Belize who almost pulled a gun out on Digidy (cause Digs was running at the mouth a little too much --pretty standard really).

So, so long chill Belmont Shore, hello West LA! We're located a few minutes from the Santa Monica/Venice Beach area and I'm actually not too familiar with the scene up there so it should be really "interesting". Hopefully Gaigi will help shed some light on matters when he comes to visit tomorrow. I have a feeling he will.

In the meantime I've keep commuting from LA to Long Beach, a slave to the 405 (one of LA's notoriously conjested highways). One more day!

Well, gotta go...time for some much needed cake and ice cream..I hope the sarcasm is coming through;)

The Boy Sure Cleans Up Well...

My, my, my, six weeks sure does make a difference;) Ha! Now, if you were to tell me 10 years ago that my friend Hudson's face would be beaming from coast to coast on ABC I wouldn't have been surprised...just thought it would have been "Cops" or something. Ha! In all seriousness, congrats, buddy! You make Greenville and I proud! I'm sure this is just the beginning. Here's to future successes at Edmunds and beyond!

I'll be yo' KRO For Life! What?

Sailing, Ceviche, and Jack..

...haha Johnson that is. Every summer I try to make it to at least one outdoor concert, under the stars. Last night Jam and I went to see Jack Johnson perform in Orange County (which meant plenty of Valley girls.."eww look at this line..like gag me with a chopstick [sic]!). You really can't beat watching the sun set on the Saddleback Mountains and being lazy lawn bums on a perfect Southern Californian night. While Jack's music isn't complicated, it's an awesome way to relax and chill out and the perfect end to a very lazy, One Barrel n' Coke weekend. In fact, Jack seemed to be in the spirit of many of his listeners...he was so high he forgot lyrics to two of his songs;)

Jammy Jam is back in town (as I alluded to before) and the "Belizeanness" of the apartment has reached an all time high. I think speaking Creole loudly while drinking rum and spilling Ceviche all over my apartment is a new favorite hobby: "I noh 'member when di last time i di outnumbered by des Belizean madarasses [sic]" Probably back in 2004. I also went sailing with some colleagues of mine on Friday. It's a lot more work then you think, especially when you're the one behind the wheel with a beer shouting orders! Tack! Tack! Tack!

We Didn't Start The Fire...But We Breath The Smoke

No matter where you come down on debates of massive corporate globalization, wealth inequality, environmental issues, and armed conflict, it's always nice to have a well informed opinion. Or at least listen to someone else's opinion. I recently watched some movies and recommend them for public consumption (consume damn you, consume!).

The first one, "The Fourth World War", features live footage shot by cameramen (over 100 of them) documenting civil disturbances and war. Realistic video, chronicling the violence and instability around the world, paint a raw and sometimes surreal picture that the US media, in particular, often ignore. If you really stop and think, it's such a great disservice the media does for us, and it's just sad that American media has to follow the trends/schemes of other countries -misinformation, omittance of information, spin of information etc. It reminds of an interview I saw with a top executive from ABC (I think it was Iger, who was President of ABC at the time). He talked about how he had spent some years in London and recognized how the news was noticably different from that of in the States, specifically news relating to foreign affairs. Yada, yada, yada he basically went on to say that as President of ABC it was profits that motivated which stories were covered, and not necessarily about how "newsworthy" the story was. Duh, right? I know it's not a real big secret, I just thought it was interesting coming straight from the horse's mouth. The media people are smart, they know exactly what they're feeding us, and what they are holding back. Funny thing is, I think there is a thirst for real knowledge about places far away, and unfortunately, there is currently no way of really obtaining it short of actually hoping on a plane.

The injustice served to many (most?) is all too familiar for those living in developing countries, and just because the voices go largely unheard and unnoticed in some parts of the world who chose to turn a blind eye, it does not follow that we should remain ignorant and unaware. Scenes of economic crisises from Argentina to South Korea, violent protests of the GTO, NAFTA, WTO, etc. from Genoa to Seattle, and popular resistance movements like the Zapatistas in Mexico and the blacks in South Africa, created a collage of growing restistance movements. Having studied economics back in college, I can't claim to support all the activists or their messages, however the images of people breaking into a bank in Buenos Aires and smashing ATM machines are quite riveting (as are riot police getting pelleted with moltov cocktails). Some other scenes were gory and intense, including a young palestinian girl who was killed, and the ensuing emotional outpouring by her family. Plus, as one reviewer at IMDB said, it's nice to know where your tax paying cents are going.

The second movie, The Corporation, is another attempt to analyze current dilemmas with the modern day Corporation. It's hard to be vindictive of corporations without being hypocritical, especially since almost every facet of our lives revolves around them. This movie does do a good job of separating the people from the actual entity (although both are considered equal under US law). The best part was an analogy told by Ray Anderson about resource sustainability and man's first attempts to fly. In the analogy, he talks about how man's first attempts of flying..gliding off of a cliff and basically flapping his wings until he crashed, was similiar to the direction of the modern corporation's future course into the unknown, and the havoc being caused to Earth's resources. Here the cliff used to glide off of represented the limited amount of resources in the world, presumed to be limitless by many of today's corporations, and the crude aircraft represented the corporation, which would never really fly, because its designs were fundamentally flawed. How long it would take the plane to "run out" of cliff before it crashed was a matter of time and in the case of resources..perception. He called those who could see the reality of how fast the ground was actually coming were "today's visonaries". I've always been a believer in necessity fueling invention, and it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the decades to come. How wasteful, backward, and inefficient we will surely look to future generations. On that note, time to go fill my non smog-compliant Volvo with rich fossil fuels! Gas is just starting to climax the $3.00/Gallon in the Los Angeles area! Exciting!

Addendum to The Dode's List

Some other fine lookin' Government workers:)

Another Shining Moment...

...In American Diplomacy, just one more gem brought to you by the Bush Administration.

San Franciscan Invasion..

Ah, things were in full force in NB for another episode of...

SUNDAY FUNDAY.



Featuring:

Che ,
Mr. Reith,
Yours Truly........

and of course, ex-Southern Californian resident, KK, pictured here with Balboa Peninsula's favorite saloon contributor, my younger brother.

Truth be told, that Peninsula is beginning to scare me, and so are its inhabitants! You never truly know what will happen next. In all honesty, it was great seeing KK and Mr. Reith again..almost 1.5 years ago..in the Dig days! A roadtrip up north to San Fran is definitely in order, and this time I think we're in need for some Tunisian flava.

I heart BBC message boards..

Oh, the comments say so much more than the words themselves:) This one is about the drought that southern Europe has been experiencing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go tend my rice field in the front yard.


Every summer, I get 100 days of 40C. Don't wear a suit coat, drink lots of liquids, eat light meals, open a window, go outside and water the garden, go to the ocean and swim. Last of all - live with it!
Joseph Oleson, San Diego, California, USA

Joseph: Water your garden? In a severe drought? It's not about the temperatures, but the lack of water and desertification process that is happening in southern Europe. The problem is that there is no awareness of the problem by people that think the tap is an infinite resource and don't think twice about leaving it open whilst brushing teeth or washing-up. The average daily consumption per person is approximately two hundred litres. Surely we can reduce that just by not being careless! We all want to have rights for this and that in our society, yet we constantly run away from our responsibilities.
Daniel Rodriguez, Guildford, UK

Hear Hear, Mr Rodriguez! In California, we are accustomed to water conservation, but the American west in general is in for hard times, as much of it is in the midst of long-term drought. In addition, the west is growing at a pace which the landscape simply cannot support. The result? Desertification, more dams, disputes between cities and farmers, draining of lakes. This is what southern Europe has to look forward to if policy changes are not enforced or rampant growth is left unchecked.
John, Lafayette, California, USA