Go Temple in the A-10!

Alright homies! How you doin'? For all y'all that ain't keepin' up, Temple is in the A-10 final in a rematch tonight against who else but our cross-town rivals, St. Joe's. And if you've really been out of the loop click here for my run-down of the last game between the two, when Temple edged out St. Joe's in a one-point thriller at the Palestra. Temple's got strong support over here across the big pond, and we'll all be happy when they claim the A-10 title and thus secure a bid to the big dance. Go Temple!

In other news, there are riots in Tibet. And in other news, I am in Essen, Germany now, after a four and a half hour flight from Cairo to Cologne, then a two hour plus train ride on the slow, local "S" train from Cologne to Essen. But here I am, stinking it up after playing basketball and then soccer (do I have to say football?) here in the neighborhood. The shower is calling me, but I figured I'd stop in for a quick cameo.

The only final update to my time in Egypt was my visit yesterday evening at the Khan El-Khalili bazaar. As soon as I got out of the cab I was approached by a guy who told me to call him "Bob", I laughed at that one, but told him that I would play along.

Anyway the rest of that story is pretty good, but I'll have to fill it out later, since I have to hurry now if I want to go to a European football match. I hope the weather is getting nicer now in Philly. And without further ado, I'm off for a much-needed shower.

I'll leave you simply with a photo of me in Cairo's nicest and by far largest shopping mall, City Stars, in front of one of its most recognizable tenants; as one of the last photos taken before we went to the airport just a couple hours later, you would say it's a bit paradoxical, wouldn't you?

Walking (a lot) like an Egyptian

Good afternoon! It's Friday, 3:30pm, here in Cairo. Because I'm waiting to hear from my friend, and he could call at any minute, I have to keep this short and clinical, as much as anything to refresh my memory at a later time, and at that point to then fill in the details. So let's go chronological.

Yesterday, instead of going to the Pyramids as I had planned (and as I told you in the last post), I slept in, and then spent the entire day walking, walking, walking, in circles and down the same streets here in DownTown over and over again. The initial objective was simply to find an HSBC automatic teller machine that I had spotted the other night; as it turned out, it may have been easier to find a needle in a haystack. After walking for two hours straight, a new objective materialized: to keep walking as a way to get to know the city, its character, its people, its pulse, and in doing so, to become comfortable with my place, ever so brief yet ever so important, in the city. I stopped at fruit juice stands to drink orange juice or a cocktail mix (basically a fruit punch). I went into local dive restaurants to eat ful, or falafel tamia, or koshary. Towards evening I spent an hour at a local tea bar (although that sounds way too fancy for what it really is: a place for men to hang out and observe the streetscape and its goings-on); there I casually drank four chai (hot tea, of course), while playing my role in observing the city life and then taking some time to read the first part of the first chapter of The Trial by Franz Kafka (hilarious in its absurdity, I couldn't help laughing out loud several times). At some point in the day -- how can I remember when? -- I found the ATM, which at that point had become a mere pitstop in my minor hajj.

During my meanderings a mid-20-something guy came up to me and began speaking to me in English. I told him that I was hungry and if he could suggest a good place for koshary; he escorted me and we began talking of course. He then invited me to his business, a perfume shop, so that I could sit down and enjoy my food. Then he brought me up to the second floor of the shop to talk to me confidentially about my energy, which he said was essentially positive, but showed a little bit of stress, which conveniently enough (as I came to realize) he would be able to help me relieve, for a price not named or mentioned until I was totally roped in. Looking back I now know that the Cairo salesman is very subtle in his techniques, befriending you at first, then appearing to do you a favor in your own self-interest, then only at the very end bringing up the issue of price; which, to a freshman like me, was totally unexpected. Having to suddenly bargain for a product which I didn't know that I was going to buy is a bit disconcerting, but then you've gotta do what you've gotta do to protect yourself from being suckered. In the end I bought a bottle of perfume, supposedly tailored for my specific needs, at a third of the price that he wanted me to pay; and even still, from what others have told me, I probably paid a bit too much. Oh well, so it goes.

In the late evening, I came back to my hostel to hang out in the lobby with an Australian girl, a U.S. guy from Seattle, and a U.S. guy from Baltimore. It was a good conversation; all I'll say now is that the girl was talking mostly about relationships between Egyptians and foreigners, and their gender-specific permutations. This was going on when all of a sudden Roland steps off the lift, sees me, and says let's go. Totally reflexively I grabbed my bag, shook hands and left.

The night was really good. Roland, an Egyptian girl named Ruby and her brother Karim, and I went to a very fancy bar/lounge called Cairo Jazz Club. A live band, named Screwdriver, played really great music, from The Beatles to Bon Jovi. This was also one of the rare places that serves alcohol in Egypt, so I had my chance to try a Stella and a Sakkara, two of Egypt's three domestic beers. Apparently the crowd represented the young high society of Cairo, as well as some foreigners too.

This morning, knowing that it is my last day in Cairo, I got myself going early to the Pyramids. I took the microbus from Tahrir to Haram, not too far from the Pyramids, and walked the rest of the way there. Once there, I rode a camel, went through a very narrow and claustrophobic passageway underneath the big Second Pyramid, then rode a horse with a nice Egyptian named Sayid in order to take some nice photos of all the Pyramids at once.

Sayid explained to me the four types of Egyptians: Bedouin, Arab, Western-style city-dwellers, and Nubians. He also told me that very few Americans go to the Pyramids; nearly all the tourists there are Europeans. He didn't like the fact that the Americans that do go there are all there in packaged tours, and that this means that these tourists only contact with Egyptians is with their tour guide and bus driver. Sayid said that he really appreciated that I, as an American, took the time to talk with him and he was happy to hear that I was riding public transportation on my own in his country. I told him that I definitely agreed with him, and that tourists who only want to see the Pyramids without experiencing authentic Egyptian culture should just look them up in an encyclopedia.

As an aside here, though, I realize that many of the American tourists are seniors, so for them it might be advisable if not necessary to travel in an organized tour. Otherwise, I really feel like it is a form of (unintentionally? ego- & ethno-centric) cultural arrogance to visit foreign tourist sites without any other intercultural exchange.

Back to the story, though, Sayid's horse that I rode was named Aziza; it was awesome. I also took some photos of the Sphinx (I solved the riddle) before leaving. From there I walked for a couple of kilometers, then caught a public bus from there to Giza Square, where I got out and caught the Metro back to Tahrir. All along the way, I asked people where to go, and everyone was friendly and helpful, even if they spoke little or no English. I'm telling you, it IS possible to travel in countries where you don't speak the language, as long as you're willing to put yourself out there and dive in headfirst. The bus and the metro cost a total of 1.5 Egyptian pounds, or about a quarter in the U.S.; not bad, and to travel and be with the people on top of it, excellent!

So this is longer than I thought, and I'm sure I can fill in more details later. For now I have to go to see if I can contact Roland. Although he has to go to an Egyptian wedding tonight, and I can attend, I think I'll respectfully decline due to the fact that I have no professional -- or even clean -- clothing with me, and I would really like to go to the bazaar to get a few things before our 2:25am (yes: am) flight later tonight. Thus, my next post will probably be from somewhere in Germany.

I hope all is well with you back home, and I pray that everyone is happy and healthy. With that, I'll sign off from Cairo, Egypt. Check it, check it out!

Hi-Yo from Cairo

Tomorrow morning I'll get up first thing in the morning to visit the Pyramids. It's now 9:45pm here, and the city of Cairo is as awake as ever, but this is my last task before returning to my hostel (Sara Inn) to shower up and hit the sack.

We arrived in Cairo around 8:30am, after we caught a 10pm bus out of Siwa to Alexandria, then made the quick decision in Alexandria to just continue on immediately to Cairo. Although I slept on both buses, even to the point of drooling on the Arab scarf that I was wearing around my neck, my weariness is now catching up to me.

Cairo is one of the largest cities in the world. Due to a population explosion in recent decades, the city's infrastructure has not kept up with the number of inhabitants. And so the streets here are jam-packed with cars and with people. In addition there are very, very few traffic lights; I've been told that there are only two in the whole city, and that may be the truth.

As long as we're on this topic, let me relate an interesting adventure I had earlier this evening. I had to catch a microbus from the wealthy neighborhood of Nasr City (near the airport, and where Roland is staying with friends for the night) to the downtown area, in order to return to the hostel where I am staying for the next two nights. While I was catching the microbus, Karim (Roland's friend) was yelling at me to push my way into the microbus; I ended up squeezing my body facing backward while the sliding side-door to the van (i.e., the microbus) was still open while we were moving. At the next stop someone got off and I was able to replace their spot. The ride lasted for nearly 45 minutes through typical Cairo traffic; it's like the Daytona 500, there are no lanes, and every vehicle is constantly jockeying for position and weaving in and out of the other cars. Looking out the window of the van, I observed how much the city reminds me of the boroughs in New York, as there were lots of well-lit commercial establishments all over the place, with tons of people walking around. When I finally reached the last stop I got out and had to find my way on my own back to the hostel, with only a small map on the hostel's business card to guide me. Of course this meant crossing several major roads and intersections, which as I said earlier none of which have stop lights. This part of my trip reminded of the game Frogger, because I literally had to time my jumps from lane to so-called lane to avoid being hit by a car (earlier today while walking with Roland a car tried to turn where I was walking, and it's right front tire literally rolled over my foot before I hit the car with my hand and the driver stopped). As is common among pedestrians here, there were times while crossing the road that I had to wait, between lanes as cars passed by me, until I could proceed across another lane on the road. It was an exhilirating experience, although one that requires total attention.

Earlier today I visited the Egyptian Museum. Although I really like museums, they invariably make me tired and sleepy. But since I was alone I simply took my time and took plenty of rests. The best part of the Egyptian Museum was the exhibit of the Royal Mummies, for which I had to pay an additional entrance fee. This exhibit featured the mummies of such pharoahs as Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis. It was really cool and really surreal.

After my visit to the museum, I had to get lunch. I walked into a local restaurant, ordered two "ful" (bean-filled pita) and sat down to eat. Two men at the next table started talking to me. They asked me where I was from; of course I told them the USA. They asked me my opinion of Bush and I indicated with a hand-motion so-so; they immediately put their thumbs down. They asked me if Barack Obama was Muslim; I told them that he isn't but his father was a Muslim from Kenya; they hadn't known that. They asked me if I was Christian and I said yes; so I asked them if they were Muslim and they said yes; I told them that I love everybody as long as they're nice to me, they gave me a thumbs up. As it turned out, one was a legal advisor and the other was a lawyer. I asked them what they were eating, they told me it was "kofta" and asked if I would like to have one, I said sure; at the end, despite my attempt to pay for it, they insisted that they treat me to the kofta. It was really nice of them, and it was the type of direct personal interaction between people of different countries and cultures that I so enjoy.

Well, that's about all for now. I will fill in more details and clean up my writing on these posts once I get home. So please bear with me for now. Just know that I am thinking about all of you, yes you! And so you can be sure that a part of you is with me here in northeastern Africa.

Finally I'll say that contrary to what you may think the weather here has been relatively cool. This morning when we came into Cairo on the bus I was wearing a t-shirt, a long-sleeve button-down shirt, and a sweater, and I still felt a bit cool. Throughout the rest of the day, although I rolled up the sleeves, I continued to wear the long-sleeve shirt.

Anyway, a part of me is beginning to miss home now. But I know that I have two more days here in Egypt, then three more days in Europe to let it all out before returning to the grind. Feel free to leave a comment or to send me an email, as I am checking every day and would very much love to get a little transatlantic love from my homies. Peace out, y'all! Keep feeling alive in the 2-1-5!

Sahara

Sahara means desert in Arabic, so to say Sahara Desert is redundant. It's late morning on Tuesday right now, and this will be my last day in Siwa before moving on; more on this later.

Yesterday we spent the whole day out in the Sahara. For 100 Egyptian pounds (about US$20), we joined a tour out to the desert. Our ride was a 4-wheel drive GMC Scottsdale, probably early 1980s model; our company was an English man, his Greek wife, and their one and a half year old son named Rowan, along with our Norwegian friend Sven, and our driver named Hassan.

After a half-hour ride out, our first stop was at the top of a pretty tall sand dune. This was the group's first opportunity to take photos of the arid expanse, and Roland's and my first opportunity to break out the sandboard. Roland waxed it up for me and then I shimmied my barefeet into the cloth straps, while I told the group watching me to prepare for a royal wipe-out, which did in fact happen after I surfed down the dune for a pretty good distance. Roland and I took turns and even had Sven give it a try too. It was a lot of fun.

Our next stop, after our driver entertained us by driving very fast up and down the sand dunes, was a very small oasis tucked away in a topographical depression. There was a small round pool there lined with a short stone wall, the diameter must not have been more than about 6 meters at most. After breaking down to my swimsuit, I dipped into the pool and discovered that this was a hot spring, a very hot spring in fact. It took a few minutes to acclimate to the temperature, but once achieved, the effect was absolutely relaxing. We stayed there for over an hour, just taking it easy at this unlikely refuge in the middle of the Sahara.

And this was something not lost upon me throughout the afternoon: that I was spending the day in the middle of the world's largest desert, and not very far from the Libyan border. I couldn't help thinking what everyone back stateside was doing at that very instant. I thanked God for the opportunity to be here and to be blessed with such special experiences.

We continued on not too far to a lake that we had been able to see from the little oasis. Surrounding the deep blue lake was a lot of plants very similar to those up in the Meadowlands of northern New Jersey ("let me just make this statement loud and clear, Jersey's here!"). While all the other tourists, including those from two other trucks were milling around, staring at the lake, Roland and I had broken down to our swimsuits; on the count of 3 we ran full-sprint toward the lake and dove in boldly. I kid you not when I say that the water was very cold, as implausible as it may seem being in the middle of the desert; perhaps it was the depth of the lake as well as the fact that it is still only spring, not yet summer, even here in Egypt.

The other highlights from the rest of the afternoon were visiting a field of seashells, testament to the fact that much of this land used to be underwater in prehistoric times; the driver taking us over steep sand dunes so that we felt like the car was going to tip over headlong into the sand; and a final stop atop a sand dune to watch the sun set gently into the desert.

Returning to town, not having eaten anything since around 11am -- when, after taking off our shoes to enter the restaurant, we ate bread dipped into a squash-type soup and drank hot mint tea while sitting on the floor -- we looked forward to a solid dinner. We went to the East-West restaurant, where I ate couscous with chicken and tahina with pita bread. After this I was so tired from the long day that I went to the roof of our hotel to chill out while listening to music, and then went to bed early around 10pm.

I woke up today around 7am, returned by myself to the roof to enjoy the cool morning air while I finished reading my book. Roland and I went back to East-West, where I ate falafel tamia for breakfast. I took a nice long warm shower, and now I am here.

Tonight we will try to catch a 10pm bus for Alexandria, which will take around 7 hours. From there we will then go back to Cairo. As far as today I hope to visit the Oracle and then watch the sun set at Fatnas island.

Thanks again for keeping up with my travels, and believe me when I say that you are here with me. Salaam aleikum!

Oasis = Water + Life

Today we swam in the Kleopatra spring, located within the Siwa Oasis. Although the air was a bit cool due to a steady wind coming out of the desert, the water of the spring was warm and refreshing. We dove in from the ledge of the stone wall surrounding the spring.

In order to arrive here, we caught a bus at 7:30am in Marsa Matruh, and rode 4 hours through the desert. For miles and miles, there is nothing but rocky desert on either side of the road. If it were not for the road, the surface of the earth to the horizon in any direction appears as the surface of Mars. The only break came halfway through the trip at a small cement structure, which housed a kitchen and some plastic tables. There I ate two soft breadsticks filled with some kind of red sauce.

Siwa is an interesting place. It is literally an oasis in the middle of the Sahara desert. Roland and I climbed a tall rock structure this afternoon, easily one of the tallest in all the oasis, from which we gained an amazing vista of the surrounding area. In one direction we could see the salt lake. Below us was the small town of Siwa, its central plaza and the streets radiating outward. All the buildings appear to be made out of mortar and limestone, to a great extent they resemble the adobe buildings of the American southwest. Surrounding the human settlements are hundreds and hundreds of palm trees. But then not too far out in the distance, one can clearly see the desert; all of a sudden the palm trees end and there is only sand and rocks stretching off towards the horizon. The sight is really amazing.

After checking into the Yousef Hotel right in the center of town, we decided that the best way to quickly explore the town and find the spring would be to rent bicycles. We did so and then did our best to avoid the young boys driving donkey-pulled, two-wheeled carts around town. The main streets in the middle of town are paved, but one doesn't have to go far until they turn into packed sand. Everywhere we rode (or later walked), little children would wave at us and say "hello!", it was truly wonderful. Some of the friendly adults would say "welcome to Egypt." The feeling here in Siwa has been so amazingly warm and welcoming.

Because we were simply riding our bikes with only the goal of eventually reaching a spring, we unintentionally took the long way to our destination, thereby traveling through some of the very poor outlying areas of town. But even in those areas the children were genuinely happy to see us and any time we asked adults for directions they were quite willing and ready to help point us in the right direction.

So we finally got to the Kleopatra spring, where there was a very chill juice bar and treehouse built around the large palm trees already growing there. The owner was a cool Egyptian guy who spoke English very well and loved using the word "wicked" to come off as being really hip to the game. There were also a handful of other tourists there, including a family from the south of Germany, a couple young guys from Hamburg, and later we had a reunion with Sven, a Norwegian backpacker whom we had met on the bus from Matruh to Siwa.

While Roland was speaking German with the guys from his country, I went up to the treehouse, which was really the roof of the juice bar, covered above with dried palm leaves to provide shade from the sun, and covered below with authentic Egyptian rugs on the floor, and pillows colored either turquoise, purple, or orange, lining the two-foot walls around the perimeter of the roof. I leaned back against a few of these pillows and listened to the chill music that was playing from below, some Marley, chill West African music, jazz, and other cool stuff. It was very relaxing, and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Earlier this evening, while Roland showered and then went to prayers at a local mosque, I hung out on the roof of our hotel, where we had a view of the illuminated rock dwellings of the ancient people of Siwa. The sight really cannot be described in words; to be sitting alone, listening to my music through my headphones, while sitting under a starlit sky and looking directly at illuminated ancient dwellings and the quiet expanse of the desert beyond, was absolutely mystifying. All of this in addition to the calls for and recitation of prayers over the loudspeakers of the several local mosques. After absorbing the sentiment of my existential surroundings, I finally attended to a more practical matter: my first shower in Egypt. There are few things more pleasant than a warm shower to wash away the dust, sweat, and grime of three days' travel, even if the showerhead was positioned directly over the toilet.

Tomorrow we will stay in Siwa for some more fun. We hope to go sandboarding as well as visit the Oracle here in the oasis. After this we have no plan, other than to take it one step at a time. Thanks for checking in, and I will try to write again tomorrow.

A Salaam Aleikum

I have made it to Egypt. We arrived on time at 1:25 in the morning yesterday. Flying into Cairo was interesting. The city lights were so expansive, the closest thing it reminded me of was Los Angeles. But of course a big difference was observing the bright green lights: these marked wherever there was a mosque, and there were hundreds.

Karim, Roland's friend, met us at the airport. We drove directly to an outdoor restaurant or food shop to drink assab, which is pressed sugar cane juice, it was very refreshing. We also drank a glass of mango juice. Then we went somewhere else to eat some fitir, roughly described as a pizza-like food filled with the ingredients of your choice; I ate mine with sausage.

Because our bus to the east did not leave until 6am, we spent the rest of the night driving around Cairo. We drove by President Mubarak's residence, a section of the city called Heliopolis, which was very beautiful, Nasr City, where we ate our food, and other areas too.

Later after we caught our bus and were leaving the city, and the sun had risen, I saw other areas of the city. The buildings in these other areas appeared as if they had been bombed. There were donkeys on the streets. There were already lots of cars on the streets at 7am. And although there are 20 million people in Cairo, it doesn't necessarily seem that much because everything is spread out. Nevertheless, I only saw this at 7am.

As the bus left the edge of the city, we passed right by the pyramids. It was amazing to see of course. But it was also amazing to realize that they are located right on the edge of the city.

Then came miles and miles and miles of nothing but desert on either side of the highway. The driver was going very fast and weaving from side to side, so it made it nearly impossible to sleep, as much as I desperately needed to sleep.

We arrived in Marsa Matruh at 1:30pm. We checked into a hotel for about $4 per night for both, so about $2 per night per person, and that was about right. Here I finally had a chance to use a toilet (since there are almost never any restrooms in public). I decided not to use the bidet, which nearly touched me when I sat down.

After checking in, we went out for a walk through town and to the Mediterranean coast, only about 6 or 7 blocks from our hotel. The water was a very light blue, reminiscent of the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the air temperature was cool, due to the wind coming off the sea, and the water was too cool as well. So we just walked on to a pier, laid down and slept for a little while. I was awakened later by the calls to prayer from the mosque right on the sea, and by a group of young boys who approached us to say "welcome" and "hello."

We are trying to decide what to do tomorrow. We may take the 5 hour bus ride to Siwa, in the south, to go sandboarding and camping in the desert. But it all depends on it not being too cold at nighttime. If not, then we may head back east to either Alexandria or back to Cairo. We shall see....

Gutentag!

Traveling somewhere without knowing the language can be frustrating. But it can also be quite comical.

This morning, after getting out of bed and getting dressed, I went downstairs to see who was around and to see if I could have a bite to eat for breakfast. I went into the kitchen to clean out the glass that I had used last night. I noticed that there was a pot of coffee brewing. After a minute, a man who I had not yet met came into the kitchen. Later I found out that he is the father of Roland's younger brother. What I did find out right away was that his English was only slightly better than my German. And so began a morning filled with lots of hand gestures, pointing, thumbs-up's, and awkward chuckling at misperceived and misunderstood jokes.

Since Roland is working until mid-afternoon, I'll have some time to go exploring. In a short while, I'll take a walk down the street to downtown Essen. So I can expect some more language-based comedy. After breakfast, though, I asked Michael (Roland's younger brother's father) if there was a German-English dictionary around the house; we found one, which I'll certainly be carrying with me on my walk soon.

So I'm feeling refreshed now. I was in bed and asleep by 10pm last night (I couldn't help thinking that it was 4pm back in tha Illadelph at that time). I woke up this morning probably somewhere around 7am, and eventually got out of bed at 8am. I'm hoping that this was enough to re-wire my Circadian rhythm and ward-off any further effects of jet lag. Based on all expectations, the trip to and throughout Egypt will require a good deal of endurance; a solid rest is the foundation for all of what is to come.

Roland and I leave Essen for the Cologne airport later this afternoon, probably around 3 or 4pm. Our flight for Cairo departs at 8:10pm and we'll arrive in Cairo at 1:25am. As I mentioned in my last post, we'll take the first bus out of the city en route to Marsa Matruh, a seaport on the Mediterranean. As such, my next post will very likely be written from Egypt.

Y para terminar este cuentecito, les envio a mis primos y a mis amigos en Costa Rica un gran saludo muy tico: PURA VIDA, MAE!!! Ustedes estan conmigo como siempre, les llevo una parte de ustedes en mi corazon con cada pasito pa'delante!

Willkommen in Deutschland

Five world cities in one day: Philadelphia, New York, Munich, Cologne, and Essen. It's now 7:30pm local time and I'm sitting in my friend Roland's house in Essen.

A couple interesting observations to confirm my arrival in Germany. First, while sitting at the gate in Munich airport, reading my book while awaiting my connecting flight to Cologne, I looked up casually to see a woman sitting across from me reading a newspaper. What struck my attention was the photo of a naked blonde woman right there on the front page of the newspaper. That's about the time I decided that German women are nice-looking.

The second observation to confirm my arrival in Germany came shortly afterward, when I was actually on that flight from Munich to Cologne. As the plane took-off from the runway and began its ascent, I looked out from my window seat toward the airport below. In the distance I noticed a long range of snow-capped mountains: the German Alps.

After landing in Cologne and picking-up my backpack from baggage claim, I walked out the door to exit the airport; I saw a girl standing there, so I approached her and asked if she was Roland's friend Tania. Fortunately for me she said yes. And so began my day in Cologne and my first lessons in basic, elementary German. It wasn't a problem, though, because Tania spoke English pretty well. We caught a train to Cologne central station.

As soon as one walks out of the train station, one is standing face-to-face with Cologne Cathedral (Dom). From what Tania told me, it is the highest cathedral in Germany if not in all of Europe. So of course we climbed to the very top; Tania did this, impressively, with high heels. [later I will upload photos of our climb].

As the afternoon wore on, my jet lag began to kick-in pretty hardcore. Although I closed my eyes and even slept a bit on the flight from JFK, there was no escaping the fact that I was walking the streets of Cologne at around the time I should have been just getting out of bed back at the double-deuce and Spruce. Later in the day we went to this great little coffeehouse called Starbucks so that I could try to get a caffeine boost; it didn't really work.

At 3:50 in the afternoon, Tania sent me off on the hour-long train ride from Cologne central station to Essen so that I could finally meet-up with my friend Roland. Although I knew I was risking appearing as an arrogant tourist, once I boarded the train I immediately stretched out, put my feet up on the seat before me, and quickly fell asleep. The alarm clock on my old-school digital Casio wristwatch woke me up in time to get off at the Essen train station.

And now, for the rest of the evening, I've been catching up with Roland and discussing our plans for the coming days. As soon as we reach Cairo we'll catch the first bus out of town en route to a small town near the Egyptian-Libyan border, close to the Mediterranean coast; this will be a 15-hour journey and Roland warns me that it will be very uncomfortable. From there, we'll then travel south to Siwa, an oasis in the middle of nowhere, also known as the Sahara desert; that's where we'll be camping.

Needless to say, some incredible experiences await me. I look forward to seeing the millions of stars under the clear desert sky. It will be good to feel so alive.

The Journey is about to begin

Or shall I say that my journey is simply continuing?

As I prepare to leave, two quotes are borne in mind:

"It is a good thing to experience everything oneself . . . As a child I learned that pleasures of the world and riches were not good. I have known it for a long time, but I have only just experienced it. Now I know it not only with my intellect, but with my eyes, my heart, with my stomach. It is a good thing that I know this." -- from Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

"Para mi solo recorrer los caminos que tienen corazon, cualquier camino que tenga corazon. Por ahi yo recorro, y la unica prueba que vale es atravesar todo su largo. Y por ahi yo recorro mirando, mirando, sin aliento." -- from The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda

I would write more now, but time does not allow it. Besides, my heart and my soul are filled with so many emotions at this moment that they defy any hurried attempt to translate those feelings into words.

I will be completely alone for the next day, yet surrounded by so many people moving in so many different directions. Lost in my own thoughts, each one of you will be with me. Thanks for checking in, and I'll write again soon!

Blood in South Philly

Let me set the scene: It's around 6:30 p.m. earlier this evening, I'm riding the 7, and I'm sitting on the right side of the bus in the row immediately in front of the rear exit. I'm on my way to PetSmart to pick-up some cat food and cat litter for Rocky and the Baby.

We've just passed through the Point Breeze section of the city when a woman boards with her young son. The little boy, probably 3 years old, boards the bus and heads down the aisle at an all-out sprint. As his mom pays the fare, the bus starts moving forward, and the boy, already running full-tilt, runs headlong and falls face-first into the step that leads to the back, upper section of the bus. As his mom comes up the aisle, the boy starts crying, then the mother picks him up and realizes that he's bleeding heavily from his nose and his mouth. The mother begins freaking out, yelling out loud that someone call 911.

The bus driver soon pulls up and stops at the corner of 23rd and Passyunk. All the passengers are just staring at the woman and her young son. I'm sitting right across the aisle from them, feeling helpless, and thinking I'm no damn doctor, I wish I could do something to help them. Finally, a teenage girl gets up and calls 911.

After about five minutes, the cops and some medics show up on the scene. All the while, the woman is yelling at her son to open his eyes and not to fall asleep, and he continues to bleed profusely from his nose and from his mouth, crying out loud. It's a really messed up situation. Once there, the medics come onto the bus, check out the boy, then put him in a neck brace and onto a stretcher, the kid is really freaking out, and the mother is clearly no comfort to the boy as she is out of control too.

The mom, once she talked to one of the cops, wanted to blame the bus driver for pulling forward too quickly. And I guess that would be her impression since she didn't even see her son running full-speed toward the back of the bus. Her attitude seemed representative of an inner-city attitude that is quick to point fingers at someone else, while failing to realize that she even had any responsibility to begin with, on top of the fact that she had no capability to step up to the plate as a mother should do when her son truly needs her to do so. By no means am I intending to apply my generalization to every young, inner-city mother or resident, but based on my personal observation and experience, this finger-pointing attitude seems endemic to the city's culture. The truth is that the bus driver did nothing wrong, the kid simply had an accident, if anyone was to blame, it's the mother for allowing her 3-year old son to run onto a public bus at a full-out sprint. I'm aware that it's easy to judge, and who knows how I would act and react in that type of situation, so my thoughts should obviously be taken with a grain of salt.

But ultimately, my final thought is one of fruitless regret: if I had just reached my arm out into the aisle, I could have easily caught the kid before he fell nose-first into the step at the back of the bus. As they say, hindsight is 20/20, but even still, I can't help thinking that if I had done so, there's a real chance that I would've been yelled at for interfering with someone else's child. And so it went: blood in South Philly.

Redemption at the Palestra

Earlier this evening I went with a friend to the Temple - St. Joseph's men's college basketball game at the Palestra in University City. And what a great game it was!

But to put this game into context, we have to recall the previous Temple - St. Joe's meeting, in which St. Joe's won by one point at the last second, when Temple's Mark Tyndale missed a lay-up as the final buzzer sounded.

So tonight's rematch promised to be entertaining. But for most of the game, it didn't really seem like it would be. St. Joe's clearly appeared to be the quicker team, in addition to their bigger line-up as compared to Temple's. These advantages led, at one point, to a 16-point lead for the Hawks, and things were beginning to seem bleak for the Temple Owls.

But with about 5 or 6 minutes left in the game, the Owls began a slow, almost unremarkable comeback, gradually chipping away at the lead, while tightening up their defense. Eventually one began to realize that Temple was really fighting as if their backs were up against the wall. The wake-up call really sounded when Tyndale took the ball the length of the court, avoiding Hawk defenders along the way, en route to a dunk right in front of the Temple student section; the crowd went wild and that was the exclamation mark that announced that this game was gonna come down to the wire just like the previous meeting between the two clubs.

The last possession of the game was classic. Temple was up 57 to St. Joe's 56, and St. Joe's had the ball for the final 20 seconds of the game. In the season's earlier contest, St. Joe's best player hit a 3-pointer near the end of the game to seal it for the Hawks. So the question tonight was whether history was gonna repeat itself or whether the Owls could stage a game-winning defensive stand. Fortunately for this Temple fan, it was the latter. The Owls stifled the Hawks' last three consecutive shot attempts, and pulled out the dramatic victory.

And so went Temple's sweet redemption of their earlier loss to St. Joe's. And with that, Temple now claims second place in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Nice!

Word up to Temple starting point guard Luis Guzman for hooking us up with comp tickets.

Tower of Babel

If you're reading this, then I'm guessing you speak English. If you don't, then please apprise me of your self-assessed echelon of comprehension on a decile scale, with high digits denoting -- or shall I say correlating with -- a higher level of cognizance. Muchisimas gracias!

When ya come to think of it, it's really funny how there are so many languages. And when I say "funny" I don't mean ironic, I mean hilarious. I mean, really, everyone else talks so weird, don't they! It just sounds like a bunch of gobbledy-gooky jabberwocky. Why can't the whole world speak English, and eat hamburgers, and drive SUVs, and think their culture is the best thing ever? Well, I don't know; maybe they'll reveal the answer to that question on the series finale of Lost; I sure hope so.

So I guess you noticed that it's been a lil' over four months since my last post. You must be asking yourself, where's that guy been, man I really missed him. Well, we're forward-looking here at Philly 215, so just like Don Henley ("a little voice inside my head said don't look back, you can never look back") let's never mind the past. It's all water under the bridge. And speaking of water and bridges, there will be some exciting posts to come very soon. Be sure to check back frequently and often and a lot.

For everyone who couldn't read this post, avisame pa' los proximos cuentos, por fa'. Until tomorrow, peace out y'all!

news of the day [email to Pito]

This past Monday was the latest round in my DUI matter.  I hope that it's an auspicious start to my career, since I pulled one out that really exceeded my expectations.  I was pretty sure that my client wasn't going to show up, since he hadn't been answering my calls or replying to my emails, so I had some worries about what was gonna happen at the hearing.  But even without him being there, I got him the best outcome possible.  I did a good job of talking it up with the DA and was proactive by finding the office of another DA in a judge's chambers in another part of the building.  So I was happy about that.  The next listing is not until March, but this past date has, I think, put us over the hump.

So I plan on celebrating some Christmas this Sunday, and you should come by if you're able to.  Movies and holiday cookies will be in abundance.

This week has been busy with holiday parties and other stuff.  This past Monday night we had our holiday party for Hudson, and some coworkers and I got a chance to get a photo with A.J. Feeley, the Eagles QB.  David Akers, the kicker, was also there; as he was walking out of the bar, I yelled to him to "beat the Saints!"  I'm sure he really appreciated that.

I'm getting toward the end of the autobiography of Miles Davis, and so I just bought "The Age of Reason" by Jean-Paul Sartre with the gift card that you gave me -- thanks!  I also picked up a great cd: Ozomatli, a Latin fusion group from L.A.  The cd I picked up beat out Amigos Invisibles for Latin Grammy for best alternative album back in 2005, I think.

Anyway, that's about all for now.  Hope you're having a good week before the holiday.  See ya!

good news [email to Pito]

i passed the nj bar exam.  also had a great day for my birthday: my co-workers got me an ice cream cake and sang happy birthday to me during lunch.  then a few of them invited me out for drinks after work.  it was a really nice day.

FAITH [email to Paul]

Paul,

Anthony is with you today, just as he is with you every day.  He is still very much alive with us and within us.

You've sometimes mentioned to me the frustration of the question "why?".  The way I look at it is this: at your job, you trust the company's CEO to do whatever is best for the company, even if you don't understand or agree with his decisions.  But of course, the CEO very likely knows a lot more than you do about what's best for his company, and you lack the perspective he has and the information that he has available to him.

God is the same way, but God created everything, including that CEO and you and me and Anthony.  God's perspective, as the Creator of everything, is higher up than anything or anybody else.  And not only that, the amount of information available to God is limitless and infinite, so God can make the most informed decisions possible in the interest of what's best for His "company": everything, all of existence.  And of course, God is perfect, so that totally and completely reinforces every decision.  Even if you and I can never understand those decisions.

In both cases, we put FAITH in those who are in positions of power and authority.  And God is the ultimate power and authority.  Our only mission is to serve God, wherever we are and wherever He sends us, in this lifetime and beyond.

God bless you Paul.  You're like a brother to me.  And so, we'll both be thinking of Anthony today.  Peace and Love, [...]

Greetings from Philadelphia [email to Cherise]

Dear Cherise,

Before getting into everything else, I want to say that I hope that you and your family, and hopefully their property too, is safe from all the wildfires.

Next, I want to let you know that after your last email, I prayed every day for many, many days, asking God to allow you to regain your good health, with the eyes and ankle.  How are you now?  I hope you're healthy.

I'm sorry if my absence may have led you to false assumptions.  Unlike what you suggested to Jess, I haven't been "mad" at you.  If anything, I've been (and continue to be) confused and unsure of the possibility of any future relationship with you, while at the same time I've been extremely focused on myself, namely my career.

And as long as I've brought up that topic, you deserve to know the good news: I passed the PA bar, and I've already been sworn-in at City Hall and received my attorney ID number.  All of that means that I'm now officially an attorney.  I'm still waiting for the results from NJ, but I'm feeling optimistic, and they should be announced within the next 2 weeks or so.

As far as a job, I'm currently working full-time on a short-term legal project that's helping me to catch-up on the rent and all the bills.  It's not bad; let's just say that 1 week's paycheck pays for my monthly rent, all of my bills (gas, electric, and cell phone), and my groceries for the whole month.  At the moment, the only prospect for a full-time position is a meeting next week with a former City Solicitor.  Wish me luck!  If I get that position, I'll be working with some of the best and most well-connected people in Philly.  My future as a young leader of this city will then be well on its way to becoming reality.  I've been very persistent and aggressive in working all of my contacts to see about getting a full-time job at a firm.  I wanna get something at one of the best, because I know that once I'm settled in as an attorney, I'm gonna be one of the best.

Finally, Cherise, I've gotta tell you that I think about you here and there, probably a lot more than I even realize.  The truth is that I really don't know what the future holds, and so it naturally follows that I can make no promises of anything at all.

I don't really know what you're thinking these days, but that's where I'm at, for whatever it's worth.  The one thing I can definitely say is that I really care about you a lot.  You're a great girl, and that's really an understatement.

Take care Cherise.

More Than Just Ice Cream

I went to a great restaurant/eatery tonight: More Than Just Ice Cream, located on 10th and Locust. Really great food, pretty cool atmosphere, and hip, chill music. All in all, a great place to go to eat. I recommend it, and I'll be sure to go back there again some time.

For posterity's sake, here's what I had: a tall glass of pink grapefruit juice, a hot roasted turkey sandwich with a side of fries, and to finish it off, a walnut brownie topped with whipped cream. All very delicious.

Well, that's all for tonight, considering that it's kinda late, and I have to get up early in the morning. I've gotta start getting into a routine again; not easy for someone who's not really a morning person.

Chevy commercials are racist and anti-immigrant

Do you know those Chevy commercials featuring John Mellencamp singing "This is our country"? Well, those commercials are pretty damn racist and anti-immigrant.

Really, think about it. Every person in those commercials is a light-skinned person of European descent, i.e. white dudes. Put that together with the song "This is our country." So is the message being delivered by Chevy that this country belongs to white dudes only?

To add to the racist overtones, let's recall one version of that commercial which shows a long fence being built by white dudes. Is this an allusion to a fence being built along the Mexican-U.S. border? Quite isolationist; quite xenophobic; quite anti-immigrant. And to really add insult to injury, the sign at the head of the fence, featured at the end of the commercial, shows that the name of the ranch is the "KK." Hmmm, add one more "K" and whaddaya got?

I'd love to see a new version of that commercial featuring only Native American Indians, and put to the same song: This is our country.

Either that or a version that shows who's really working all the ranches out in the Midwest: a ton of Latin American immigrants, put to the song: "Este es nuestro pais."

I'm Back

Did you miss me? Well, I've been taking care of some personal business for the past couple of weeks. But I'm back, at least for tonight, and I do hope to continue checking-in on a more regular basis. So you do the same, why don'tcha?

So what's been going on? Well, this past Thursday, I attended an event at The Hub at Cira Centre. It was my first time in that building. I got there by walking through the main concourse of 30th Street Station, then heading back to where you pick-up the SEPTA regional rail trains, and continuing through the connecting bridge to Cira Centre. I must say, The Hub was a really nice venue. I enjoyed the event, due in great part to the open bar and complimentary hors d'oeuvres (a more sophisticated way of saying "free beer and food").

Today, I went past the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was very impressed to see so many people out and about. I realized that the Rocky statue at the base of the museum steps has really established itself as a major tourist draw; there were a ton of people there, waiting their turn to get a photo with the Italian Stallion. There were a lot of people outside today, no doubt because of the great autumn weather. It was really nice to see.

Well, that's all for now. Be sure to check back soon!

RE: Thanks and Request for a lil' help [email to Stephanie]

Hey Steph,

I took the NJ bar, and the results are still pending.  Once they're in, I'll be sure to let you know.

As far as [...], I've spoken with Anita, Richard, and Sue.  Right now, it seems that someone else had the inside track on Cynthia's position, so I'm second in the deli line.  Something may or may not open up, so we'll see about that.

I do intend on being an active member of the HBA, especially once I'm practicing.  I honestly don't have the money for dues right now.  But I'll check the website and start going to meetings.

Finally, thanks for your help.  Please let me know what you hear from your immigration contacts.  I'm really eager to put my skills into practice.  And I know once I settle in somewhere, I'm gonna be a solid attorney.

THANKS AGAIN!!!

[.....]

PS. Since you intimated it in your email: MANY, MANY CONGRATS on being pregnant again!  That's gotta be exciting!!!

RE: sup [email to Pito]

The weekend was fine, but busy.  Somehow I've gotten into the habit of getting up every day by around 8am, and then getting things started right away.  So I worked out both Saturday and Sunday, mopped up the floors of the whole apartment on Saturday, went to church on Sunday, etc.  Saturday night was the dinner at Bill and Nancy's.  Only Paul showed up out of the rest of the guys.  We just ate pizza, played some Nintendo Wii (the new gaming console where you actually get up and move around), and then watched the Phillies game.  I was tired, though, so I was back home by midnight and in bed shortly afterward.  Then Sunday, after all my stuff in the morning, my friend Patricia (la cubana) picked me up here in Philly and we went out to Wayne, where she lives.  We spent the day drinking a whole bottle of wine and walking.  Later her mom cooked us "ropa vieja," a traditional Cuban dish, to celebrate me passing the bar, and she talked with us about Cuba and her friend's contact with Che.  So the food was delicious and the conversation was very interesting.  I dead-headed back into Philly around 11pm, so I made a full day out of it.  Yesterday was disappointing with literally only 1 job listing; maybe b/c of the holiday.  Today I'm looking again, but also disappointed b/c I think my cell phone has been cut-off.  So I emailed Mike and Richard to see if anyone has any yard work or house work for a few bucks.  I will be so grateful once I have a job and my money situation is not so wretched.

Listen

The slow chugging of an engine, maybe a bus or a garbage truck.
Then, the sound of a car going by and glass clinks and clanks,
so it's probably a garbage truck. The engine chugs, and a couple
short sounds of horn, not too loud though. Another car goes by,
then a loud humming engine of a truck goes by. The slight
screech of a brake. Then, silence. My pen stops moving for a
second. But another two or maybe three cars go by. The city is
waking. But silence again. No sounds but engines and car wheels whizzing
by. Vague noises of sleepiness. What else to be heard?

Let your voice be heard

If you have not already done so, be sure to vote in our poll. Your feedback is important! Just like (North) American society, I have to lull you into a false sense of participatory democracy, even though I am in complete, dictatorial control of this blog. Hoo hoo haa haa haa (evil sounding laugh). Okay, maybe that's being a little cynical, but vote anyway, gosh dang nab it!

Hispanic Heritage Month

Well, we're halfway through Hispanic Heritage Month (Mes de la Herencia Hispana), which is observed every year from September 15th -- the Independence Day of five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) -- to October 15th. (source)

The theme of this year's National Hispanic Heritage Month is Hispanic Americans: Making a Positive Impact on American Society. (source)

WHO IS A HISPANIC?
The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. Thus, the term Hispanic is broader than any racial category. In other words, the term Hispanic is not a racial identification. There are black, red, white, and yellow Hispanics, as well as those that are brown. Also, there are Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant Hispanics, as well as those that are Catholic. (source)

On the 2000 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as 1) Mexican, 2) Puerto Rican, 3) Cuban, or 4) "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census.

Many non-Hispanics jump to the conclusion that a Hispanic must necessarily fall into one of two archetypes -- Mexican or Puerto Rican -- or, if in Florida, then possibly a third -- Cuban. The numbers clarify this common prejudgment. 64% of Hispanic-origin people are of Mexican background. Another approximately 10% are of Puerto Rican background. This means that 1 out of every 4 people of Hispanic-origin are of neither Mexican nor Puerto Rican background. Continuing with the stats, Hispanics of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins account for about 3% -- each group -- of the total Hispanic population . The remainder are of some other Central American, South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins. (secondary source; primary source: AmericanFactFinder).

GROWTH OF THE U.S. HISPANIC POPULATION
42.7 million: the estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2005, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. (This estimate does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico.)

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are now over 44 million people of Hispanic origin in the United States. That's about 14% of us!

102.6 million: the projected Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2050. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 24% of the nation’s total population on that date.

OTHER RESOURCES
--> Read here the President's Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2007
--> Click here for a list of links to celebrate and research our Hispanic heritage

So celebrate the second half of Hispanic Heritage Month by eating Hispanic food, listening to Spanish-language music, supporting Hispanic businesses, and learning Spanish. That last point will be brought up in a later entry, when I will discuss the inevitable, already-occurring evolution of the United States as a bilingual nation. So listen up, juevon: aprenda hablar espanol ya!

Lucitas Azules

Caminando por el sendero a las orillas del Rio Schuylkill en la noche, veo las luces azules del Cira Centre reflejadas por las olitas del rio. Esas lucitas azules parecen como llamitas frias bailando por el superficie del agua, todas ellas intentando, deseando, queriendo nadar hacia la costa, pero nunca superan la fuerza de gravedad que las mantienen amarradas en su baile eternal solitario. Cada lucita azul representa a un residente de la ciudad, cada uno se ve los demas, cada uno esta rodeada por los demas, cada uno puede hablar solo a las mas cercanas, cada uno tiene que gritar con toda su fuerza para comunicarse con las mas lejanas, cada uno se ve todas las otras lucitas bailando furiosamente, y, de vez en cuando, cuando una pare por un momentico para ver para afuera y darse cuenta que existe un mundo afuera de, y mas grande de, su propia olita, se de cuenta que todos estan bailando, siempre bailando, que siguen, siguen, siguen bailando, ailando, lando, ando, do, o. En ese instante, esa lucita se siente que es una parte integral de un gran movimiento, dirigido por un Gran Director en el cielo, y a la misma vez esa lucita se siente tan solito, tan aislado, tan vacillo, tan pequenito. La luz aspira super hondo y grita desde el fondo de sus pulmones, con la fuerza inmensa de todas las fibras de su alma: Que Contradiccion!!! Sus lagrimas caen al rio, que las lleva al mar, que las da a las nubes, para dejar caer otra vez en el rio. Asi sigue el ciclo de la vida, nuestras lagrimas nos refrescan en el justo momento cuando las necesitamos. Y mientras todo, el Gran Director sigue con el ritmo, la musica, con el bajo bien fuerte para que uno se siente el pulso en el puro centro de su pecho.

(image source)

Take Action to Help the People of Burma

Since August 15th, the people of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) have been demonstrating publicly against the military junta that has ruled that country since 1992 (and the military rule since 1962, when democratic rule ended as a result of a coup d'etat). These peaceful, pro-democracy demonstrations gained momentum when the country's highly-respected Buddhist monks joined in peace marches on September 18th.

During the past week, the military-controlled government has begun to crack down on these demonstrations in an attempt to repress the pro-democracy movement and maintain its control. "Cracking down" has meant firing bullets into crowds of demonstrators, entering Buddhist temples to physically beat and arrest monks, and shutting down any connections to the internet, thus attempting to cut-off any contact with the outside world.

The official death toll, as of today, is 13 killed. But according to ABC, the number of those who have been killed by the military crackdown is in the hundreds. And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated that he believes the loss of life in Burma has been "far greater" than that reported by the authorities.

Human rights violations in Myanmar are widespread and systematic (source). They include:
--> The use of child soldiers and forced labor.
--> Laws that criminalize peaceful expression of political dissent. At the end of 2006 most senior opposition figures were imprisoned or administratively detained, among more than 1,160 political prisoners held in deteriorating prison conditions.
--> People are frequently arrested without warrant and held incommunicado.
--> Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are common, especially during interrogation and pre-trial detention.
--> Judicial proceedings against political detainees have failed to meet international standards of fairness.
--> Defendants are often denied the right to legal counsel and prosecutors have relied on confessions extracted through torture.

You can TAKE ACTION right now!
--> Ask President Bush to urge a UN Security Council mission to Burma
--> Download Amnesty International USA's Urgent Action sheet for detained protesters

When the people of Burma last staged mass pro-democracy protests back in 1988, the military junta murdered thousands (source). Let the military junta know that the world is watching!!! Take a minute and take action right now! Because failing to do so is to remain silent. And as Zack de la Rocha sings in Fistful of Steel:

Silence

Something about silence makes me sick

'Cause silence can be violent

Sorta like a slit wrist

Fin de semana, mae!

Here are three great events going on this weekend. Check'em out, yo!

Midtown Village Fall Festival
--> this Saturday, Sept 29th from 12 noon to 8pm
--> in Midtown Village
--> featuring international cuisine and beverage tents from nearby restaurants, product booths by retailers, all types of live music, adult and kids games, an outdoor movie, charitable giving and much more
--> more information here

Campus Philly Kick-Off
--> also this Saturday, Sept 29th
--> museums from 10am to 5pm (see esp my previous post)
--> music from 2pm to 7pm
--> on the Ben Franklin Parkway
--> featuring Talib Kweli, Against Me!, and The Ataris
--> more information here

And to stoke your pre-game for the concert, here are a couple vids to warm ya up:
Talib Kweli - Get By (he's sporting a Sixers hat, check it out at 1:00):


And, as we begin autumn, a fitting song to end the summer: The Ataris - Boys of Summer:


Puerto Rican Day Parade
--> this Sunday, Sept 30th from 11:45am to 3:30pm
--> departs from 20th Street & the Ben Franklin Parkway, then heads down 20th St to Market St, where it turns left and moves down Market St to 16th St, where it turns left to head back to the BF Parkway, moving back to 18th St, and finally arriving at the reviewing area at Logan Square
--> more info about the parade can be found at El Concilio's website here

See Tut b4 time's up

Reminder: you only have through this coming weekend to see King Tut here in Philly. The boy king can be found at the Franklin Institute, located at 20th & the Ben Franklin Parkway:


View Larger Map

Tropic of Cancer

Early on Sunday morning, I finished reading Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. The book described the author's time in Paris during the 1930s, and included graphic descriptions of his sexual escapades there. In between those vivid scenes, there were some really beautiful stream-of-consciousness mental explosions, which were nothing less than poetic.

Here are my top three quotes from Tropic of Cancer:

"Lawyer, priest, doctor, politician, newspaperman -- these are the quacks who have their fingers on the pulse of the world. A constant atmosphere of calamity. It's marvelous. It's as if the barometer never changed, as if the flag were always at half-mast." -- page 146

"One is ejected into the world like a dirty little mummy; the roads are slippery with blood and no one knows why it should be so. Each one is traveling his own way and, though the earth be rotting with good things, there is no time to pluck the fruits; the procession scrambles toward the exit sign, and such a panic is there, such a sweat to escape, that the weak and the helpless are trampled into the mud and their cries are unheard." -- pages 183-84

"It may be that we are doomed, that there is no hope for us, any of us, but if that is so then let us set up a last agonizing, bloodcurdling howl, a screech of defiance, a war whoop! Away with lamentation! Away with elegies and dirges! Away with biographies and histories, and libraries and museums! Let the dead eat the dead. Let us living ones dance about the rim of the crater, a last expiring dance. But a dance!" -- page 257

Yeah, man, in the spirit of that last quote, let's all dance like this guy:

Hey Doog!

Before I get any deeper into this blog thang, I really have to take a moment to reflect on the fact that my dream of writing in my diary on my computer at the end of each day has finally been realized by way of this blog. Just like Doogie Howser, M.D.:



Great quote from that series:
Patient: You're a kid.
Doogie Howser: True, but I'm also a genius. If you have a problem with that I can get you someone who's older but not as smart as me.

And as long as we've brought up Neil Patrick Harris, let's use this opportunity to remind ourselves to always stand up and speak out against homophobia. As Coretta Scott King stated in a 1998 address:

"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity, and personhood."

Autumn Has Arrived!

Just about three hours ago, at 5:51 a.m., the equinox took place. In the northern hemisphere -- where we are here in Philadelphia -- this means that autumn has arrived. And autumn will be here until the winter solstice, which will take place this year on December 22nd at 2:08 a.m. So let's enjoy autumn for everything it's worth!

Cool days, crisp nights. Changing, falling leaves. Yellow, orange, red, purple. Afternoon coffee, late night hot chocolate. Cool winds coming off the Great Lakes, coming from the Canadian plains. High school football Fridays, College football Saturdays, Pro football Sundays. Squirrels in the park, geese in the sky. Curling up under covers: on the couch to watch a movie, in bed to go to sleep. Halloween, trick-or-treat, candy, chocolate, visiting neighbors. Thanksgiving, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, visiting family. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, apple cider. Mountain trails, college campuses, and city sidewalks, all covered in leaves. Clear, starry nights. Crisp, fresh mornings, imbuing one's soul with vigor and optimism for a fresh new day.

College Football: Penn State and Rutgers

Earlier today, (10) Penn State lost 14-9 to Michigan. From what I saw today and from what I've seen in the past, I've come to the conclusion that Anthony Morelli simply cannot step up to the plate when it really counts. And despite the Nittany Lions' solid defense, Morelli's inability to pull out the close games will hold Penn State to a mediocre season in the Big Ten.

So let's get real: Penn State was highly overrated at #10. I mean, c'mon, the first three wins (all home games for PSU) were against Florida International, Notre Dame, and Buffalo. Let's break that down. Florida International has an 0-4 record. Notre Dame likewise has an 0-4 record. And Buffalo -- whose lone win in a 1-3 record was against the perennially winless Temple Owls (who have only 1 win in the past 27 consecutive games) -- was no powerhouse either.

I look for Penn State to finish fourth in the Big Ten this season -- behind Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State. And watch out for the Iowa Hawkeyes, who put up a great fight against the Wisconsin Badgers earlier tonight.

Let's see if (11) Rutgers can avoid a similar characterization after their game next Saturday at home against Maryland. Although Maryland is sitting at .500 after winning 2 and dropping 2, let's consider that the Terps only lost to West Virginia by a count of 31-14. With a strong running game in Ray Rice, though, and more consistent play -- as compared to Morelli -- by Mike Teel, and weapons at the WR position (Tiquan Underwood and Tim Brown), Rutgers is a more balanced team than Penn State.

Look for Rutgers to steadily move up about three spots in the rankings until their meeting against West Virginia on Saturday, October 27th. Meanwhile, over the same course of time, look for Penn State to settle into a high-teen/near-twenty ranking in the AP poll, as they have to face tough battles against Iowa and Wisconsin before their October 27th match-up against Ohio State.

Philly Graffiti

Check out the cover story of this week's Philadelphia Weekly.

And check out this cool video, put to really cool music: "Sound of Philadelphia" by Reef the Lost Cauze:



Although I do not support the nonconsensual modification (by spraypainting) of another person's private property, there is still something to be said for alleviating the glum, post-industrial, and aesthetically unpleasant environment of some sections of the city by adding some color. If the choice is living across the street and walking by a vacant gray warehouse everyday or tagging it with a colorful, personalized, and artistic design, I'd choose the latter. Put the burden on the property owner to actively use her property, and if she doesn't, then put the burden on the government to actively remove urban blight.

Of course there is the flipside that cannot be ignored. There is a lot of graffiti that is just plain ugly. To all you artistically uninspired taggers out there, stick to your day job! And there is also a lot of graffiti that is painted where it shouldn't be, and with a malicious intent to purposely deface property. Anytime anyone does anything with a mean spirit, I really can't support it, it's as simple as that. C'mon now, a little love, people!

Car Free in Philly

Today, September 22nd, is Car Free Day in Europe and Canada. Two weeks ago, on the morning of Sunday, September 9th, many of Philly's streets were blocked off in order to allow cyclists to ride safely in an event called Bike Philly 2007.

On a related note, just a couple of nights ago ABC World News Tonight ran a piece that highlighted the growing problem of longer and longer commutes in the U.S. Increasingly longer commutes translate into more wasted time and more wasted money on more wasted gas. Because this problem is only going to get worse, the obvious solution is to minimize the time/distance between work and home. But how, you ask? => the answer is The 21st Century Renaissance of the American City. Instead of living in the suburbs and commuting to the city for work everyday, imagine living in the city and working down the street.

What the Renaissance means here at home -- where we are expected to realize the prophecy of Philadelphia as "America's Next Great City" -- is that we absolutely must lead the way in addressing people's need to minimize their commute. This means, in part, the continued growth of Philly as a liveable, residential city (not to mention its reputation as being very walker-friendly). But really most pressing is the task to design and implement a plan to expand and modernize Philly's internal public transit system. That is, to give city residents the ability to travel easily and quickly from one part of the city to the other. This project is a multifaceted Gordian knot that will not be easy to unravel, due to its chicken-or-egg and NIMBY aspects and the ever-present question of where the money will come from, but it is one which must nonetheless be actively confronted by Philly's leaders: political, business, community, et al. More thoughts on this later.....

But for now, here's to being car-free today and to spreading the word to make next September 22nd a completely car-free day for Philadelphia.

Bienvenidos a Philly 215!!!

Blog. An onomatopoeic word calling up the image of a puddle of vomited oatmeal, maybe with a few raisins mixed in. Or perhaps a pile of warm, recently-evacuated soft-serve style shit, the kind that barely satisfies the definition of a solid, the kind that may have been created as a byproduct of a brave new dish.

So here we go! Our reader-writer relationship has now officially begun. And so, without further ado, the time has come for me to evacuate...............

sat [email to Pito]

Hey, I hope you can help me out with the cats on Saturday.  They have an appointment for 11am to get some shots; so it shouldn't take too long.  On Sunday I went to the Mexican Independence Festival with my friend Tobin; there were hundreds of people there.  On the walk back to my place I ran into a friend of mine who works for Taller Puertorriqueno.  I talked with him for a while, and during that time a woman walked by and said "nice hair Tighe."  It was a friend of mine who's an attorney at Friends of Farmworkers, a nice-looking young Puerto Rican woman.  I'm supposed to go into her office to visit her later today.  Also, my friend Mike called me to tell me about a couple of Brazilian friends of his that were nabbed by immigration; since he doesn't know any immigration attorneys, he suggested that I use it as a chance to visit my old friends at NSC, so I'll do that either today or tomorrow.  So let me know about Saturday; it's not a long ride so you could get here at 10:30am.  Make sure to take a lunch break today and eat plenty of healthy food.

Shine, baby, shine

Life in the city is like a star's in outer space.
I can see all the other stars, yet they're so far away.
So, in response, I try to shine as brightly as possible.
Can you see me? Look over here! Am I shining
brightly enough? brightly enough for you to look at me?
Shine, baby, shine. Because if I don't, then I'm
invisible, and just as good as non-existent. I am
a star. I am a star. I am a star. My life's
purpose is to shine, shine, shine. Can you see me???

RE: weekend [email to Pito]

things have been going really well.  spending most of my time with carlos since his schedule as a fulltime student is the most open to hang out.  jumped around where i sleep from zahyra to carlos to fabio.  fabio burnt me a couple of cds with photos and one with a bunch of old school, prob 1950s and 60s music, so i'll bring that back to show you.  so maybe send something for him.  he was telling me that he needs a new electric shaver (like the norelco ones), but that might be too expensive to send down.  if not, if you have a copy of buena vista social club that i gave you, then def burn a copy of that for him.  been to guapiles twice on day trips, i'll go there for most of next wk since i like the peacefulness out there.  haven't been to beach yet, but will go next wkend, aka in 8 days, to dominical.  other than that, my spanish has improved a bit since arriving.  everyone compliments me on how well i speak.  and i even sang karoake in spanish last night, didn't get in until 5am!  not sure what i'm doing this wkend, but i'm gonna pay one of carlos' friends $100 to rent his car for the rest of the time that i'm here, so getting around won't be an issue starting today.  mita has been doing other stuff, and i've been purposely doing my own thing.  like i said about jaco, i don't think i'll go there since everyone says its so bad.  but in the off chance that i'm near a computer when yorlen is with me, i'll open up the other email you sent to show her.  please take care of rocky & moda, i've been really worried about them the whole time i've been here.  thanks for helping out with them.  alright, gotta go now.  pura vida!

San Jose, Costa Rica -- morning

I'm back! And I guess I mean that in more ways than one. First of all, I'm back writing in this journal. That has a lot to do with the second way: that I'm back in Costa Rica.

I arrived here just three days ago. Today is Monday morning. I just woke up, and since no one else is awake or around, I decide to start writing.

Mita and I landed in San Jose on Friday around noontime. After going through customs and getting our bags, we met Carlos outside the airport. From there we drove to Marlen's workplace so we could all have lunch. I should also say that at that moment that we met Carlos outside the airport, I had to switch gears from English to Spanish. I've realized so far on this trip that at times I've grown tired of expending the energy necessary to speak and listen in Spanish. And unlike other trips in the past, as far as I can remember them, this time I don't feel so pressured to force myself to stay in Spanish mode. I'll either retreat into my own head to take a break or I'll just state that I'm gonna say something in English and then I'll say it. And really, with the level of English that people have here, it's usually cool. So I'll probably stick with that method, even while my Spanish naturally improves a little bit each day.

Anyway, returning to what I've done since getting here. Mita, Carlos, Marlen, and I had a nice lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the strip mall where Marlen works. After that, we drove to Tia Zahrya's house, where we saw her and Yorlen. Carlos had to leave to prepare and then go to his evening English class. So I just stayed at Tia Zahrya's house for coffee and then just chilled out for a while.

Later that night, after eating dinner, Yorlen, Said, Vicky (Yorlen's friend), and I went to a bar called Cavale. It was a really cool atmosphere because they played hip-hop and electronic music. It seems that the owner is some young-looking Swedish guy. I went out even though I felt a bit tired from the trip. But the funny thing is that once I got out, I was energized by the music, the women, and by the fact that I was finally in Costa Rica again. We went out thinking we'd be back easily by midnight. But we stayed until closing. Then, we even went to a late night food stand to get some gallo pinto with salchichon. By the time I went to bed, it was four in the morning.

The next day Tia Luisa, Tio Fabio, his wife Leticia, their little girl Alexandra, and of course Tia Zahrya and Yorlen were all hanging out by the time I woke up at noon. I took nearly an hour in the bathroom because I had to piss, shit, blow my nose, then take a nice long shower. So I finally saw everyone around one in the afternoon.

Well, I'm gonna continue writing later because Carlos is up now. So it's time to hang out.

ya voy! [email to family in Costa Rica]

el tiempo ha llegado para disfrutar la pura vida
porque hace tiempo que he tomado una pura birra
en solo unas horas estare volando en una nube
y cuando llego es cuando el volumen de la fiesta sube!

cuz the time has come to chill out and get loose
put on the tunes and drink a lil juice
cuz i'm comin' all the way from the double deuce and spruce
and i'm bringin' the engine if you supply the caboose!

Saw Beastie Boys at Festival Pier, Penn's Landing, for $49.50 with Jess.

Faith in One word

Yes!?...

In Search of the Future

meaningful human contact is what I have lacked
the impact being that my sense of tact is no longer
completely intact; the fact is that memories and days
have faded to black, my drive has become slack,
and as Iraq is attacked, so too am I terrorized
by the constant self-conscious insecurity. Will the day come when I can
break off my shackles, retract the distractions that
have protracted my hunger, and redact all these words
that reflect my actual, contemporary self? Yes!?...

a big favor [email to Cherise]

Cherise,

I have to ask a really big favor of you.  The bar exam is Tue, Wed, and Thu, July 24, 25, 26.  I know that you'll be making your decision about whether to take the world cruise btwn now and then.  Please don't tell me your decision until Fri July 27, no matter what the decision is.  Please.

Right now, I'm pretty much expecting you to take the world cruise, but even still, I'm holding out hope that you may choose to be with me.  And I'm cool with that for now; I can handle that no problem.  But I don't want to find out that our relationship is basically over the wk before the bar exam: I need to deal with that separately afterwards.  The bottom line is that I cannot have ANY external stress from now until the bar exam.  So please help me out with this.

Let's talk again this Saturday.  There are a few things I want to tell you before you make your decision.  I've sat here trying to type them out, but I'd rather tell you in a real conversation.

The only thing I will say is on the topic of planning.  Although I agree with you that life should not be micro-managed, I do think that life should, to a certain extent at least, be planned.  And my main support for this belief is that God has a plan.  So I believe that I should too.  Having a plan just means that you have a vision of your life, and that you're making decisions and taking positive actions to realize that vision.  A plan is just that: a plan; it is not a set of unbreakable rules; because life brings the unexpected, a plan can and should change; it is not set in stone.

So on the topic of planning, Cherise, I don't think you should talk down on it.  "One should not live life like a dead leaf being blown around at the whim of the wind."  You can quote me on that one.

I miss you a lot.  If that means nothing to you, then that really sucks.  Be sure to look at old photos of us before you make your decision.  If that doesn't change your mind, then I guess it's better that we never see each other again.  But I want you to look at the photos because I know that you're easily influenced by what immediately surrounds you; the photos will help to give you a wider perspective.  Being on the ship so far from me makes it the easy decision to leave me behind forever; but it doesn't make it the right decision.

sum nu rimes frum slick [email to Paul]

new bboys album comes out tomorrow. gonna pick it up of course, will burn it for you if i can.  by the way, you put your copy of hybrid theory in the linkin park case, so we can swap next time i see you.  good job w/ 225 6x; keep up the good work; i'll be breathing down your neck really soon though, so that'll be extra motivation for you.  good wkend; thanks for coming down.  from "soup to nuts", always good to hang out w/ you.  don't think i can say that about anyone else.  be good in CA and keep in touch, aight.

cuz i was shittin a house in rittenhouse
but now the time has come to be gittin out
so we go ta old city where we get kinda shitty
and that's when all the girls start lookin real pretty

feeling better? [email to Pito]

i hope you're feeling better, which i assume you should be by the time you read this.  by the way, thanks for everything this past wkend, including the food and the toilet piece.  i definitely got a little bit of color from hanging out at the pool; hopefully i can somehow keep it up for the rest of the summer.  the temp in the apt feels okay right now; thankfully the hot & humid weather is only supposed to last for one day, and most importantly it shouldn't be too bad by nighttime.

so here's a quick story from earlier tonight.  i was walking back from the gym when i noticed a guy sitting in a lawn chair looking at his laptop in an empty parking space here on spruce.  the sight of it really pissed me off but i didn't say anything.  but when i came inside i remembered that i needed milk from wawa, so i went back out.  when i passed him i told him "you know what you're doing is illegal.  there is no property interest in a public property space."  he replied with some attitude, "oh really."  i said, "it's also unfair for everyone else."  so he replies rudely, "i don't care. call the police if you want."  then i said, "so you're an asshole then?"  he just replied, "yep."  i said, "in that case you can go to hell."  and i walked away.  when i got back home he was still sitting there, so i called the police.  but of course no one showed up b/c that's typical philly.  the whole thing really pissed me off though.  for anyone, but especially an asshole like that, to think that he has the right to exclude the rest of the public from something that didn't even belong to him.

anyway, i hope you have a good rest of the week.  i'll talk to you later.

Two Shooting Stars

Many moons ago our lives merged:
Like two shooting stars our orbits converged
For a while my hopes and happiness surged
believing that the beginning of my future had begun to emerge
but alas, it wasn't to be
for even the stars are subject to gravity
little did I know that I was being called by my destiny
to my next set of experiences in another galaxy
And so inevitably
our orbits have begun to diverge
in search of new love that each of us deserves
So now I bid you farewell and wish you the best
While our starlight shined brightly I truly was blessed