Meanwhile, On The Planet Krypton, ...

Ah, home! A sweltering heat wave provided the means for some meaningful R&R last weekend. How ironic it is that the places you once cursed for being boring and quiet are now some of the only spots where you can go and contemplate the bigger things in life: isolated from the world, basking in the warm sun;)

Oh How The Years Go By...

Next picture in Pentwater, Michigan: 2026;)

"Stranded" In Michigan..

..Well, they say it's always hard to leave home..in this case it's impossible! The flight out Michigan was cancelled. No more flights for the day. We'll try again tomorrow. Ah, yeah I need a little bit more vacation time:) I'm sure my boss will be REALLY happy to hear this;)

We're On the Road to Shambala!

[Biggie] Yo!
[P. Dad] Yo Big wake up wake up baby
[Biggie] Mmm, yo...
[P. Dad] Yo Big wake yo' ass up c'mon
[Biggie] I'm up! I'm up. *mumbling* I'm up I'm up
[P. Dad] Big, wake up!
[Biggie] I'm up baby, what the f@ck, man? What's up?
[P. Dad] C'mon now it's a quarter to eight we got the 10:00 flight
[Biggie] Mmm, *mumbling* yeah
[P. Dad] Yo Big Big, Big
[Biggie] Yeah I hear you dogg, I hear you, alright,8:30
[P. Dad] Yo take down this information
[Biggie] Ain't no pen
[P. Dad] Tell your girl then to remember it or somethin
[Biggie] Aight honey, yeah write this down
[P. Dad] Aight, ummm, flight five-oh-four
[Biggie] Five-oh-four
[P. Dad] Leaving LAX
[Biggie] mumbling LAX
[P. Dad] On the G-R-R
[Biggie] Oh! Grand Rapids???
[P. Dad] No doubt baby, you know we gotta get this paper
[Biggie] Ahh, no doubt, aight
[P. Dad] You aight?
[Biggie] I'm up, I'm up
[P. Dad] Yo Big
[Biggie] I'm UP man
[P. Dad] Flight five-oh-four
[Biggie] Alright 8:30 I'ma meet you at the airport
[P. Dad] Michigan
[Biggie] Yeh[phone clicks]

Yeup, I'll be one of the 800,000 people bummin around LAX this weekend. Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everybody!

On Old College Roommates...

If they're not being arrested in Saudi for making wine, they're off in Memphis starting cults..

Let It Be Known...

When you choose Istanbul, good things happen.

On Getting Old...

It's weekends like this that make work all the more difficult..

Dan the Man...

Meet our neighbor, Dan, who cooks mean steaks and grills awesome shrimp. Here he is making some "important" calls on the beach Saturday...What the picture doesn't show is that he is actually in the middle of receiving one of the worst sunburns of his life!! Hahahah, Sorry, buddy! (our other neighbor Christine is also pictured)

Mumbai Advertisements...

"Conservative" India and her ice-cream bar fantasies!

Happy Birthday(s)!

What is the deal with this flurry of May Bdays? Happy Birthday to Sarah Kevertis and The Gaigi! Hud last week, Tugba Sert next Monday, and Jam on Thursday! Ridiculous!

Happy Birthday, Roomie!

Che Dog celebrated his birthday in style at Hollywood's Dar Mahhreb restaurant. The place (palace) was awesome, and it really felt like it should have been somewhere in Northern Africa. A filling seven-course Moroccan meal served with plenty of "Casas" (Casablanca, a typical Moroccan beer? Somebody tell me if that's true..)! I don't know how my roommate got to celebrate his birthday here and I was forced to take a shot of Jack Daniels and get on a mechnical bull, but I digress..



As said, the resturant was awesome, the service was great, the food was oh so funny, especially watching this:



White Man's first attempt at eating with his hands! Umm, well, is he eating or is he throwing it up? World: You be the judge!

And of course the BEST part of the night: The Bellydancer! And of course having Jamel join in while I was feasting on honey-lamb and wine...well, it just doesn't get much better;)



Ahh, what a great night! Happy Birthday, Dude!

mumbai in pictures

Opulence and oppression. An assult on the mind and body, both good and bad. Advertisements for IPOs over some of Asia's largest slums. Although in the midst of the craziness I was not able to meet up with Karan or Katrijn, I certainly enjoyed my time in India, esp the people...very friendly! Certainly India's infrastructure has not managed to keep up with it's population-as always, I've never seen so many people in my life--, however, it's certain not to remain that way (see: 10% GPD growth)! India (and China) are def going through what the US went through in the 1920s, and it's exciting to see. It's going to be so interesting to see how this newly found wealth transforms the country (and hopefully allievates some of the poverty). Go India!

Reunion: Bombay

Yes there were arrests and court appearances, curries made of brain, cameras lost on booze cruises, tires thrown from rooftops, dogs kicked on streets, ladies wooed on dancefloors, fine whiskies sipped in the sweltering heat of an indian evening....inappropriate and culturally insensitive comments were made all around. It was a wild week spent in India, which is nothing less than what I expected...

a gLove story...

Prashant and Sasha tie the knot..

Been Around the World, Back From Bombay...

I had to take this quote from Naaz, who was reading Shantaram.

She writes,

"On Page 2, as if he was reading my mind and putting in words what I was struggling to, Roberts describes the Bombay smell....

...it's the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is the opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love. It's the smell of gods, demons, empires, and civilisations in resurrection and decay. It's the blue skin-smell of the sea, no matter where you are in the Island City, and the blood-metal smell of machines. It smells of the stir and sleep and waste of sixty million animals, more than half of them humans and rats. It smells of heartbreak, and the struggle to live, and of the crucial failures and loves that produce our courage. It smells of ten thousand restaurants, five thousand temples, shrines, churches, and mosques, and of a hundred bazaars devoted exclusively to perfumes, spices, incense and freshly cut flowers. Karla once called in the the worst good smell in the world, and she was right, of course..."

Thanks, Naaz!

There is no other smell like it in the world. After 6 years I was actually eager to smell it again. And, thanks to some dirty laundry sitting in my room, it is a smell that has taken over my apartment:) AHHH! After partying all night, and 20 hours of flight, I'm back from India! More importantly, I've recovered fully from any jetlag or "Bombay Belly";)!! Oh India. Where do I begin? I think Naaz's post is appropriate.

GRAVITAS!

haha, Cobert at the White House Press Correspondents Dinner! Priceless!

Merk Faught the Law and the Law Won!

Who gets his passport confiscated while illegally trying to make wine in Saudi Arabia? My good friend, Merkle, that's who!

I understand you're itchin' for a drinky, but dude, haven't you seen Midnight Express ;)?