BenJamminSpears' Blog

When you putt, and move, and think

2011-12-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time, I was in a routine of going to visit grandpa. I would leave work in my car, sit in traffic, listen to a lecture series (on cassette) of physics for non-scientists. Grandpa and I would either swim, walk, or putt golf balls.

This routine gave me some real quality time with grandpa during his final months. I'll never regret that time. My routine visiting him, and listening to physics lectures, also meant I had an introduction to the basic academic understandings surrounding the universe, gravity, and motion. In part, I'm bringing this up because I miss my grandpa very much. I think about him very often. I tell stories about him - and I connect stories about myself to his example, his humor, and his life.

Also I bring up my routine of visiting grandpa because the physics lessons I got during my drives to see him made a bigger impression than I originally expected. In discussing life's ups and downs, its hard to ignore the physical comparisons...see what I did there? There are endless similarities between physical and psychological force. And though its naive to want to experience all of life's highs and lows, I really believe that life is lived to the fullest when one submits themselves to intense changes in altitude, speed, and trajectory.

I have Katie to thank for this question: "Do [you] ever feel like you can only really think when you're moving?"

Neighborhood download

2011-12-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

Nationals download

2011-11-02T19:13:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture from the fields.

Reflecting

2011-10-13T05:22:00.001-07:00

My most recent post is about a Moroccan driver calling me "racism" back in 2003. And although I ended the text with, "thats the end of it," thats not really it. Or at least, I realize there is some processing I needed to do after the incident.

I can remember that my initial reaction was practical. "Let's just walk away and diffuse the tension," I thought. And it worked. Nobody in our group reacted or felt like a target of his anger anymore. We caught our taxi back to school and didn't talk about what happened. Or why.

My next reaction was indignation. Embarrassing for him, really, that he spoke so rashly, ignorantly and harshly. I know that my behavior had nothing or very little to do with how he formed the opinion he expressed. If someone in his life is a racist, its certainly not me. Perhaps what I represent is racist.

Which brings me to now. And how do I process that interaction? Surely I'm not racist. Right? (Righteousness) And I'm entitled to choose my mode transportation. Right? (Money and Privilege)

Honestly, i'm confused; and I still question my part in that incident...and my part in the world. Not as a way to self criticize but as a way to keep an open mind, see the world from another perspective. If I hadn't expressed it before, let me assure you this was a rare occurrence in Morocco.

Study abroad memories

2011-10-11T15:53:00.001-07:00

I studied abroad in Morocco in the Fall of 2003. I remember the semester generally as: English language classes during the week (except for Arabic) and travel on the weekend. The travel led to stress but also to great memories.

I'm holding onto two memories of trying unofficial diplomacy, botching attempts at friendship, and generally memorable interactions. I'll start with one and blog later the second.

At the Fes train station, a group of friends and I were looking for a ride back to Ifrane, where the university is. Keep in mind that cities are connected by grand taxis, old mercedes four doors that seem to last forever. On this particular night, about five of us walk off the train and out into the station vestibule.

A driver in front of the train station, unsolicited, tries to get us to jump in his car. Wanting to stick to the plan, and the grand taxi system, which requires a short walk away from the station, I decline and forge ahead. Likely, his prices would have been exorbitant. So as I refuse the offer and keep walking, the driver persists. After a couple tries and my encouraging the group to walk away, the driver calls me "a racism" (meaning racist). Speechless and far enough away to make a clean break, that's the end of it.

Relax

2011-09-14T14:37:00.001-07:00

"You have plenty of time."

Always loved this advice. And even in this time of change, and travel, and hectic weeks, its nice to remember I have plenty of time.

Times are changing. Seems that the older generation is getting sick and passing on. Several friends' grandparents are in poor health. Spears family spent some more time last weekend celebrating the life of George Spears.

Been traveling a bunch. For a mid hurricane wedding in Philly and then an ultimate tournament on the west coast. Thus the hippy sign over this Santa Cruz sandwich shop.

And free time during the week, or weekend, is hard to come by. Though maybe I should digest the sandwich shop message even more.

Ultimate Peace 13 - Getting Into Some Afterthoughts

2011-08-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Now that I have returned from Ultimate Peace Camp and jumping all over the Middle East, I get to jump all over the place in terms of reliving and blogging the experience. First off, some of the multicultural moments from camp. Great memories, as anticipated, came from the dance floor.

Evening activities committee (group of a few coaches) had the whole week planned out pretty well, from ice-breakers to a talent show, galaxy quest to camp slide shows. But for the second or third evening of camp, we had only a few details lined up in pulling together Cultural Night.

We chose to highlight Arab, Israeli, and American cultures in several different ways. Started by planning three dances - one from each culture:

the Israeli hora
the Arab dabka
the American cupid shuffle

Also had desserts...baklava was involved. And every player and coach was responsible for learning to write their name in three different languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew).

Here are two pictures of the cupid shuffle. You can tlel the crowd went from learning to enjoying pretty quickly.

Also, here is a video of dancing under a full moon the last night of camp:

Ultimate Peace 12 - FANTA finishes strong in quarterfinals

2011-07-25T01:32:00.001-07:00

I wrote this post the second to last day of camp and thought I'd lost it forever after the publish failed repeatedly. So, it would have been Ultimate Peace 10 chronologically here. Away, here goes:

Big sigh. Its early evening here and I've withdrawn to my room to let some of the dust settle from today.

Sigh. Fanta didn't finish as high in the tournament as I thought we could have. We played four games between the morning pool play and afternoon bracket. Lost three of them. But I think we're in the running for a spirit award tomorrow during the closing meeting/event. We had great cheers ourselves, took time to root for other teams, and generally carried ourselves well (if I may say so myself). Really I just want something that says "great job Ben!" though i sense that I'll have to come up with that recognition myself.

Speaking of spirit, several times today players and coaches tested the lessons of spirit and each other's patience. In our second game, one of my assistant coaches really got into it with the opposing coach about appropriate involvement in instruction and rules during the game. I still don't know what sparked it but it seemed to come from everyone wanting to win and see their kids do well points-wise and spirit-wise. Sigh.

Speaking of recognition, I handed out to each Fanta player (in addition to all the stuff camp offers, like a team jersey and water bottle, etc) a jersey (donated by Atlanta frisbee people , Thank y'all) and a Spin ultimate sticker. I know the guys appreciate it even though they were distracted by the finals and other goings on.

It feels like the end of a long tournament. One of my campers, Tomer, left camp a couple days ago, though I never heard directly why. Then Noam went home tonight to observe sabbath before sundown.

Sigh. There's more still to do at camp. I want to play with the kids more, do more throwing and drilling and scrimmaging. We should dance, sing, sit, eat, and walk together more. So as much as I need some rest from the long days of chaperoning, coaching, leading, running, meeting, preparing, and playing... this is where I needed to be this week. Of course the remaining paperwork and cleaning up seem to get in the way of knowing it. But I know it.

So I'm sad that goodbyes have started. Twice at least today I saw people cry, a camper and a local coach. The accomplishment that camp represents, and the actual connections made here are unimaginable. Everyone is really invested in this week. That's coming to s close. More emotion and farewells will happen tomorrow. Followed by a beach bbq for coaches and staff, a rafting trip sunday then by a short clinic with the national team. Then village visits Monday to the communities campers come from.

Check out the leadership of team Fanta at the fields this afternoon. Nadav from New York, Abe from Israel, and Max from Seattle.

I think that attachment has failed. Hopefully you can see Nadav with the cutest camper, Said from Jericho, in the cafeteria.

Ultimate Peace 11 - Travel and Vacation

2011-07-25T01:25:00.001-07:00

Travel and vacation are two different things. One can learn about - and enjoy - many new places in both; but vacation has a more restful pace than travel.

So, now that I've seen Petra in Jordan, swum in the Dead Sea, toured Jerusalem, walked Tel Aviv and Jaffa, seen Acco's very old tunnels, and made it to Haifa's Baha'i gardens, I feel like taking it easy.

Sleeping in, watching ships come into harbor, and catching the bus to Nazareth whenever I feel like... whereas the sprint to various places immediately after camp was travel...this is vacation.

Ultimate Peace 10 - Moving On

2011-07-19T14:21:00.001-07:00

Ultimate Peace Camp's climax came and went last Friday/Saturday. We had a talent show evening activity, official ultimate tournament, and watched the obligatory slide show with camp pictures and emotional music over the montage.

Coaches and staff cleaned up, relaxed, partied, rafted on the Hogan, visited the border with Lebanon, and watched the disappointing women's world cup final. Then finished Ultimate Peace by visiting the villages that campers come from to say hey, meet community leaders, accept hospitality from family, etc. I saw Kfaar Tevor and a little of Daburiyya (sp?). Glad that two of my campers (you know by now my team was Fanta) showed up with a smile.

In the middle if all this, I tried blogging...had a great entry Friday and then blogger service failed. Moving on. I visited Jerusalem today with friends for an excellently guided tour, during which I learned, alongside some other coaches, about the character, religiosity, and politics of the city and how all of it is reflected around the world. Aster that, over a few hours, drove with three friends closer to Petra in Jordan, to be ready for an exciting day there tomorrow.

Take a look at The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Breath-taking stuff all throughout the city.

Ultimate Peace 9 - Seriously 9?

2011-07-13T08:58:00.001-07:00

Today was hump day at Ultimate Peace. Only two full days left. Today was a day dedicated to all sports, like volleyball, soccer, kickball, handball, and basketball... plus fun water games here on campus (other days we've gone to the pool). Also today had the added benefit of being able to show off camp to important Israeli ministry people.

An advantage of not having to coach several sessions and just pimp up the guys of mine playing each sport was some relaxation time, between cheers and stations/water fights. Then the coaches teamed up to play a short game of ultimate against counselors in training (younger, mainly american and israeli high school ultimate enthusiasts). We got em pretty good...the coaches nearly blanking the other team after a couple scores each. More importantly the campers thought it was cool to see, alot of whom have asked several times who is the fastest player in american ultimate. Most common question.

I've felt a little irritated at times with uncooperative, unmotivated, and persistently challenging campers. Still, with guys imitating my trick throws, picking up on our team songs, and generally enjoying this meaningful stuff, Im not complaining. Tonight were having a cheer/spirit competition and I feel my team is poised to win. Below are a couple Fanta guys getting need sustenance in the cafeteria.

Ultimate Peace 8 - Spirit and donations become real

2011-07-12T15:23:00.001-07:00

Camp is going great! We've got a groove as a staff/coaching crew, plus the kids are now pretty settled, too. Still, the energy required to execute this whole thing is vast. So everyone's deliriousness has begun to contribute to humor and light heartedness.

Speaking of light heartedness, the photo below is of Mohamed, whose attitude and participation earned him my team's first day spirit prize. Thanks to Marjorie and PADA for the donation, which has gone all over campus to the coolest and most enthusiastic campers.

Our team, during lunch, cheered for the whole cafeteria. Based on a well-known commercial for the drink, here's how it goes (performed best when standing in chairs): coach "Do you wanna wanna!" team "Fanta!"
Repeat three times. Then coach "Do you wanna" team "FANTA FANTA!"

Ultimate Peace 7 - I'm Exhausted

2011-07-12T02:04:00.001-07:00

Today turned out really well for Ultimate Peace and for the group of campers I'm coaching. Out team name is fans, color orange, and motto "our best".

We went over the backhand and forehand, plus the basic rules around travel and turnover. It helps that most of the campers were here last summer and some played regularly throughout the year.

Little accomplishments felt like individual breakthroughs, like a young kid from Rananna throwing for the first time with someone other than his hometown friend... In fact, someone from another, very different place, Jericho.

High fives, singing "I love everybody", and a couple cheers have us in better spirits and relating to each other easier. We rummaged write a bit and took party on cultural night, which centered around a dance party, pictured below (maybe sideways).

This is being posted tuesday morning instead of monday night because of internet problems last night.

Ultimate Peace 6 - Here we go

2011-07-10T08:19:00.001-07:00

About 180 campers showed up in Acco today for the start of Ultimate Peace Camp 2011. For the next week, I'll be getting to know, eating and talking with, and coaching a group of 14 boys who range on age from maybe 10 to 13.

I share coaching duties with two assistants and a counselor-intraining. But I'm the only coach on this orange team who speaks Arabic, among mostly Arabic speaking campers. The kids mostly laughed at my speech this afternoon when I tried to be my own translator. But any practice is good practice and I'm getting something across.

Many of the campers know what ultimate is and how to throw and catch. Here's a picture of the huck drill we did as part of our first practice/time together (after a couple name games and ice breakers). Tonight starts evening activities, which I've helped plan. Hoping things go well and that I'm never too tired or caught up to see the fun and meaning in these days.

Ultimate Peace 5 - Last Day Before Campers

2011-07-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Had some great moments here today. I threw behind-the-back throws with my friend, Ali. Ali learned to throw a frisbee about three days ago and has been pushing himself to throw as many throws, learn as much of the game, and get the full enjoyment out of camp as possible. He left this afternoon and will return tommorrow with a bunch of his sports (physical education) students.

The camp director today offered a few recommendations headed into tomorrow and the campers' arrival. First, to use frisbee as a way of connecting to people, even those -- no, especially those -- with whom we don't share a common spoken language. It creates a bond like no other. And of course we want campers to really feel that they are accomplishing something here. So repeating the throwing motion, modeling good form, and having fun with the disc are all great ideas.

Secondy, the camp director has asked all staff to talk about where we are located as the Middle East, not Israel. Obviously, we are located in the country of Israel. But there are implications and nuances to the reference; and Middle East encourages everyone to feel like they are on an even place (paraphrased from fellow coach Zolo).

The last suggestion frm the camp director came as an imperative: although we have created a great family among the international and local coaches, counselors in training, and staff (and that will be important for things to go well), we are opening ourselves up to a new family tomorrow. We should be interested and curious about the campers we have...asking questions about their town and family, offering stories about our own places of birth and residence, and generally making an effort to not just be an advisor (I'm paraphrasing/interpreting), but to go beyond that and create a two-way street where I have as much to gain from this as the camper.

I lilke the way that Jez, my roommate and fellow coach, put it after lots of questions came up (from coaches who weren't here last year) about conflict resolution, context for differences between people, and other fears. Jez said that we should be focused on the great fun we'll have and head into camp with an open mind to whatever. And that's where we are.

Ultimate Peace 4 - Excitement is Building

2011-07-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Exciting day here at Ultimate Peace. The coaches are in full preparation, doings things like:

1. Hearing from the director of sports at Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sport about successful camps, like this one
2. Talking through how to demonstrate and instruct campers on Spirit of the Game as part of both sport and life, which are deeply intertwined (according to the coaching manual here -and i agree)
3. Visiting the Acco pool... actually at a nearby kibbutz (commune-type thing, from what i know) to enjoy some free time and understand the place before we take 180 campers.
4. Learning more about the culture people bring to camp, on issues such as work, spirit, sports, family, etc. (my new friend Abil lectured me for a few minutes on why my age right now is perfect for getting married).

Fun day. With so much work and more fun ahead. Do y'all believe...hope to get some comments on this... that rivalry is essential to sports, to the actual energy/spirit of the game (whatever game you want)?

Ultimate Peace 3 - Coaches and Gear Arrive

2011-07-07T06:32:00.001-07:00

Coaches and gear have arrived in Acco! The camp schedule is starting to take shape and move everybody from place to place. To be honest, the size of the non-camper group is surprising...we number something like 50 or more.

I spent some time with other coaches and staff hanging banners and other odds and ends around campus today. Picture below (though I'm not sure about formatting since I'm blogging through my phone's blogger feature on the wifi).

Highlight of the afternoon was being asked to translate for one of the shy Arabic speakers during a small group discussion as part of orientation. Had a coupler words I didn't know, and stumbled a bit trying to explain the rule on traveling in ultimate. But still accomplished something.

Until later, check out twitter.com/ultimatepeace for more updates. And let me know your questions or thoughts in the comments section here. Thanks.

Ultimate Peace 2 - Short Trip to Acco

2011-07-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

Didn't sleep well at the Haryakon 48 hostel in Tel Aviv last night. This was partly cause of the street noise but mainly because I wasn't tired. I had only been up about 8 hours after a fairly restful flight -- before I tried to sleep the whole night through based on local time. Didn't work.

Visited with some hostel-stayers in the pool lounge/lobby area from roughly 3am to about 6am. Laid down until 7. Had some continental breakfast and was in a taxi towards the train station by 8. I'm tempted to say that I enjoyed the morning after that, hanging around the train station...cause I got to read a good bit of my book and cause it represents some personal time that I won't have the next week or two. And those are valuable things...having some time to kill, people-watching in a new city, country, and region, not worrying about what time I need to be somewhere.

But the truth is that my disc bags were heavy - about 75 pounds between the two, plus my personal bag. With the security turnstiles (the rail network here gives a lot more attention to security than amtrak or greyhound), stairs around the train platforms, and other people demanding space, I felt like a wide-load-tourist-imposer.

Still, I got to see quite a bit of the coastal towns/territory between Tel Aviv and Acco. A large part of it is developed, either as farm or other production, or as pretty dense urban stuff, like Haifa
(which looks absolutely stunning set into a hill with lots of Bahai buildings). But there's still plenty of rolling hill and grassland, rock fields and untouched beach. Plus I sat adjacent to a woman and her newborn...bound to take anybody's breath away because of his young age and size. The mother seemed so in control, so confident in what she was doing. She traded between rocking and patting her baby to listening to an ipod, to having a phone conversation (with the softest tone) and reading scripture in hebrew. Her behavior seemed to embody the juxtapositions in Israel of religion and techology, family and country, tourism and history, security and development...its all really striking.

Now I'm in Acco. At the site of camp. I put down my bags in a hurry to get to lunch. Helped unload ice that we'll use all week. Culture and language barriers are potent. All part of the fun.

Ultimate Peace 1 - I've Arrived in Israel

2011-07-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ultimate Peace Camp is just days away. And now, after a 12-hour flight, a short train ride, and a possibly gimmicky (let me show you the beach and get stuck in traffic) cab ride, I'm in Tel Aviv. Acco is merely hours away and the plan is to head there tomorrow.

My initial reaction to this city was awe. From the very developed freeway and transit system to the high-rise hotels on the beach, Tel Aviv has modern amenities and yet a dusty edge-of-the-desert feel. I'm staying at a hostel just a couple blocks from the beach... see below picture for a view (taken in a taxi; I haven't really walked around yet).

I'll be making a concerted effort to thank you for your support of this adventure by involving you in Camp goings-on and whatever else comes my way this month. Please check back on this blog, or click "Follow" in the right margin so that updates show up in your Google Reader or other feed.

If you haven't already gotten a look at some of the multimedia from past years camps, check out this youtube playlist, starting with CNN International coverage last summer. Feel free to add me on twitter @benjamminspears and Ultimate Peace @UltimatePeace.

Thanks, and my love from the Middle East.

Euro 7 - Florence, England and Wrap-Up

2011-07-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Not doing London and the rest of England justice, but here's a little bit of story and photographic evidence of the post-Paganello time I was in Europe in April. I have to close this series out (or feel that I do) before starting on the Ultimate Peace storytelling and trip-documenting.

Left off in my last post with a hilarious "we're exhausted" picture of Becca on the train from Rimini back to Florence. When we made it to Florence, we handled some business (or tried to). All the ATMs available in central Florence were without cash so that presented some problems.

Night picture of the massive and gorgeous and somewhat dingy Duomo:

We did, however, enjoy a hilarious scene at our last Italian meal. At a small restaurant - that had a name Becca recognized from some tour guide - we hadn't even made it inside the door when we realized there was an odd altercation inside the place. Much like the Cinque Terra incident, where waiting seemed to be an appropriate response to the conflict, we stood by the door until emotions had died down and a table became available.

Once inside, we realized that two obnoxious Americans were hassling the store owner/manager about a table. The owner/manager was adamant that the men were no longer allowed in the store - and in the middle of all this conversation a glass of wine was spilled onto the nightclub-friendly shirt of one of the Americans. He grew livid, to which the owner/manager's only response was to invite them to enjoy the owner/manager's personal table and bottle of wine.

What seemed to become a peaceful outcome was broken when the Americans hardly tasted the wine and walked straight out the front door with nothing as nice as a "ciao."

Phew, sigh or relief that our fellow nationals would no longer make the scene they'd been making. And that we could more quietly enjoy the food and wine (and copious cheese) with a Virginian couple closely situated beside us.

Out of Florence and Italy the next day on a direct flight to London, Becca and I are still somewhat awestruck but more tired than if we'd done England before Paganello. Here are some photos and accompanying info:

Transitions are picture-worthy. This is getting on the plane from the Florence tarmac:

The first thing we see out of the tube on the way into London was Kate and Prince Charming face masks:

Thank you for the direction!

London's international appeal is obvious on the tour bus's running commentary about the scenery and language panel for headphone plug-in:

What to drink in the UK:

The Tower Bridge:

Missed the wedding by a couple days. But found their waving spot:

You nasty, Ness!

Euro 6 - Rimini On the Scene

2011-06-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Quick refresher: Becca and I left Atlanta on a Sunday. We'd had the time of our lives in Rome for three days and made do on the beach outside La Spezia (Cinque Terra). Now its time for the original attraction to hoof it all the way to Italy - Paganello. First off, here's a map of the flip we did from one Italian coast to the next. Rome is at the southern end of the map.

Paganello, the beach tournament is famous (lives in infamy) in the ultimate community as a must-do before retiring from the sport. The tournament is frisbee-based but party-focused. Here's an image from inside the tourney tent, with the Paganello logo projected onto the ceiling:

Though I had run into the same Notre Dame/midwestern ultimate players from Rome on the Bologna train platform headed to Paga, I didn't get the feeling arriving in Rimini that frisbee had taken over the resort town. But before I got to my hotel, I found Fred, Atlanta resident and friend I'd tried to meet up with a couple days earlier in Rome. Becca, meanwhile, headed to Florence to see some of the Uffizi and other epic artwork/history/tourism there.

Fred and I drop off our bags and (after flirting with a couple Canadian womens players) head to the first night of tournament partying. The organizers start the weekend with complimentary pasta, wine, and fireworks. Here's a pic of the beach sky during the fireworks and a blur of the crowd mingling under the stars:

Some frisbee is played, some resting at the beach (between games) is done, and temporary tattoos are applied. Here's a small group of us chilling.

Then the parties ensue. We went big at the parties every night - starting dance parties and sometimes finishing them. At one of the Rimini clubs, there's a pretty helpful Alcohol-Tester. Ididn't bother using it cause we were walking everywhere, but glad to know its there.

Again, temporary tattoos are applied. To friends and strangers alike, at the beach, the hotel, and the bar(ge). We host an impromptu dance party in a city park, play more frisbee, have team dinners at restaurants and hotel terraces. And apply more DTB tattoos.

Friends are made, frisbee is played/watched, and eventually we're saying goodbye. Here's me, Becca, Terri, Max, and Tom at the grandstand area (we played one round there and watched some of the semis and finals, too) the last day.

We leave more tired than I can ever remember being. And though it may appear to be a seat, this is actually Becca resting on her suitcase in the train's aisle:

Phew.

Euro 5 - La Spezia and Cinque Terre

2011-06-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

To follow up on my last post, in particular the part about regretting not having ridden a scooter in three days of Rome sightseeing... here's me rocking the scooter between our hotel and the main plaza of La Spezia:

If you've been to Cinque Terre before, you know that there are three ways of getting between the five villages. Boating: expensive and not really that interesting. Walking: which was impossible other than between villages 1 and 2 because of landslides on paths to all the other villages. Train: quick and pretty inexpensive. But it can make you a slave to the train schedule, particularly when you only have one day in town.

Fortunately, all of Cinque Terre is beautiful. Becca and I started our day there scrambling to the train station to drop off our bags. This is a funny story, cause it reveals something about the Italian people.

Becca and I had read that the baggage drop place doesn't open until 8:00. Wanting to get started before would mean we would have to leave our bags elsewhere - like at one of the stations between the five villages. But we started our day at La Spezia anyway (and were going to end it); so this station's baggage drop would be perfect.

We show up at the baggage drop at 7:40 or so. The door to the room is magically open, but sort of blocked by a rolling trash can. We walk past the trash and into the room to see two employees chatting at the back of the office behind a gate. Its obvious the office is closed but the employees don't seem rude; they simply say "We open at 8:00." Becca makes a move to turn around and regroup, re-think our strategy. I stay put, like a statue. Not upset or angry, just adamant.

Probably by a stopwatch, we stood there in the entrance for about 60 seconds saying nothing. And at the end of the minute, one of the employees said "how many bags?" Or something equally as acquiescent. And we're in! Five minutes later, we are baggage-free and boarding a train to start our tour of the towns. Hooray for the Italian culture and a little stubbornness in me and Becca!

Despite the trails being closed, Becca and I enjoy some shopping, walking, eating, and wine-drinking. Here are a couple of the awesome views we captured before ending our time in Cinque Terra/La Spezia and splitting up for the beginning of the tournament weekend:

Euro 4 - Rome Final Day

2011-05-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Let me say right now that I regret not having ridden on a scooter while in Rome (or Italy as a whole). I went into the trip knowing that I didn't want to pay to rent one (expensive) - and driving one for very long on Rome's streets is a bad idea (crazy driving). But I still held onto the hope that I would ride one...that I didn't is disappointing.

Day three in Rome started more relaxed (slower) than Becca and I planned. We woke up gradually at our hostel-affiliated apartment, still trying to figure out our clocks and alarms and time zones. After a chat with our flatmates (from Kansas?), we took our bags on a short walk to store them near the train station, we learned the neighborhood's power was out. Still got to leave our bags and moseyed on out to do a little shopping.

My roommate's friend has a shop between our hostel and the Colosseum, so we thought we'd stroll through the area, pop in, and continue onto a couple of other sites before leaving town that night. And the side street where her shop is (supposed to be) is so cool. Lots of little boutiques, I guess you'd call them, charming ivy-covered pastel buildings, and a men's clothing store I actually thought was interesting enough to purchase something from... a Paganello-theme costume-related item.

Besides the Borghese Gardens picture below, we set out thinking we would try to see the Capuchini Museum (lots of old crypts and bones, I think). The museum had odd hours, so we continued up the hill towards the Borghese Gardens. On the way, we saw a protest for alternative energy. We think the building was the Department of Energy, or Commerce, or something like that. Got to meet a couple nice people supporting the cause. As we left, we also got to see the American Embassy and talk to a postcard vendor who had a high opinion of Americans' political consciousness.

Here are a couple pictures of the Borghese Gardens and views from the hill it sits atop:

This one reminds me of Atlanta, but with a more beautiful street sign:

For our last meal in Rome, Becca and I pick a little place tucked into a corner between heavily touristed spots. Pizza was good, wine we took in moderation, and then... the friendly restaurant owner had his scooter right out in front of the place. I asked if Becca could go for a ride (thinking she would absolutely love it and that I might be next in line). But he wasn't thrilled about the idea. At least I tried.

A little walking, a city bus ride, wading through a few more tourists, and a little jaunt past Termini to grab our bags. And that about wraps up Rome for us. We head for the train that will take us north towards the beach. Here's a video that, if you listen to real closely at the end, will reveal why Becca didn't want to say "Goodbye" to Rome...

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Euro 3 - Roma Day Due

2011-05-18T12:38:00.001-07:00

Like most (of my) amateur journalism, I ran out of steam cataloging each destination and everything funny about our second and third days in Rome. But here's an attempt, greatly assisted by photos.

With 24 hours of Rome under our belt, Becca and I felt like we knew the transportation system better (which we used to finish day 1 and start day 2). Plus we felt like we had accomplished so much on day 1 that we took a more relaxed pace -- adding to the beauty and feel of the rest of our time in Rome.

Day Two starts with a metro ride northwest to the Vatican Museum and Chapel, with time at St Peter's Basilica and Square. Here are some shots from the Vatican Museum halls...

Since pictures can't be taken inside, I captured this...

Because this shot shows so well the drama of the painting [heaven above, hell below]
Intricate, elaborate, ornate, what else can be said? Oh yeah, the conveyor belt that was the walkway with thousands of tourists...

St Peter's Basilica turned out to be the artistic highlight of the trip for Becca and I, so although I've included pictures below, but they don't do it justice.

Domes everywhere, but the gold trim and amazing light made St Peters' one of a kind...

Simply awesome...

The papal quarters...

After all this awesomeness (and Becca saying she could spend another day entirely here), we tried our best to meet up with my friend Fred and his folks at the Barberini Fountain. Unfortunately I thought he met the Trevi Fountain, so we waited for a while, got annoyed by all these guys...

And then finally sat down for a delicious lunch. Delicious.

Oh and did we enjoy the afternoon/evening! We wandered across the river again (the Vatican was West of the river, the attemped lunch meetup was East) into Trastavere on the West side of town. I laughed inside - and sometimes out loud - when Becca pronounced it Travastere :) Regardless of the name, this section of the city has more of a local feeling, higher hills than the city center, and beautiful stuff. Plus its easy to get a good meal -- which we did. And a short bath in one of the public fountains...

Lastly, we got to enjoy a bit of the nightlife in Piazza Navona, with the fountains, artists, musicians, and tourists...

Euro 2 - Roma here we coma!

2011-05-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

What I did not mention in my first Euro trip post is how much nerdy planning I did for this trip. For every day of the two week trip, I had a google doc row for destinations, details, expenses, and song of the day. And for our big site-seeing day described below, I mapped it out ahead of time and put the map link on the travel spreadsheet. I'm glad to say that, even though it would be a good keepsake (for a nerdy person like me), I passed the image and accompanying six pages of directions to Maria, a teammate at Paganello who was headed to Rome after the tournament.

Becca and I touch down in Rome, exchange some money (immediately it was apparent we were going to be confused about the conversion/card usage/withdrawal fees), and waited in line for the airport's tourist office. Having read good reviews of the Roma Pass - and knowing our three day stay would fit it perfectly - we thought why not start by getting it right off the bat. After fifteen minutes or so, we get the Roma Pass and head to the airport's train station (which I half-heartedly remembered from my trip ten years earlier, when I landed in Rome and took a train to Termini then to Livorno to meet my girlfriend at the time).

On the train into town, we

share a cabin with a family including the cutest girls. Probably ages 3 and 6, and Italian as could be, they were both fighting for their parents' attention. Becca and I land at Termini and look walk Via Marghera looking for our hostel for 20 minutes. Note the small sign saying the beehive (which is an asset for keeping the place/guest quality high but drawback for finding it for the first time) -->

We send an email to moms and pops saying we arrived safely, leave our bags in the hostel's hallway (not the bag check we expected, but I got my ipad at least stowed in the staff's closet) and take off for the sights.

By 2:00, we were happy for the following things: our Roma Pass, which allowed us to get to the front of the line, sunglasses (weather was great but the sun was beaming), a nap in the grass of the forum, good walking shoes. Although we intended to cut our afternoon short, we stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain before the Spanish Steps. Becca bought an Italia soccer sweatshirt, and we ended the day by saying hello to some obviously American obvious ultimate players. Nice folks from Cincinnati and Notre Dame university.

Here are some pictures from day 1:

Colosseum

Forum

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Having had no sleep on the overnight flight, then having walked about 16,000 miles around central Rome during that first day, and following that up with several large glasses of wine for dinner...

I walked up the stairs at the metro station near our hostel around 9pm and said "I can feel eye red." That got a lot of laughter from Becca cause she knew what I meant but it wasn't a complete phrase or thought.
Then, as I was getting ready for bed, with a full water bottle set in the corner of my top bunk bed (with the cap not totally screwed on), the bottle spilled over my bag and my bunkmate's t-shirt laying out presumably for the next day. I scrambled (tipsily) to grab my towel and dry some of it up. Fortunately, the guy didn't say anything the next morning and Becca and I switched rooms for night #2.

Euro 1 - Prep stuff and overnight flight

2011-05-04T03:57:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the beauty of the trip and spurred by Anne and her Where the Hell blogging about travel and ultimate, I'm starting a new series of posts. This time about my recent adventure across Europe. Hopefully I'll have enough content and enthusiasm to keep me going until this summer, when I have a trip to the Middle East scheduled.

Europe Adventure 1

Becca is like a sister, a best friend whose family is as close to mine as cousins or neighbors would be. When I told her that I'd been invited to play at a beach tournament in Italy, she said immediately that she'd been wanting to see Italy for a while now. I added that I wanted to go through the UK, like I did last summer, for an ultimate skills clinic. And that sounded good to her, too. And what a great travel pair we'd make!

Over a few weeks of deliberation and vacillation, we decided to make it real. We bought our multi-city plane tickets for the cost of a regular round-trip (and would bank skymiles because it was on Delta) - and set off into the wonderful world of vacation planning, starting with a furious tear through Rome, then trekking in Cinque Terre, with some Florence and Rimini thrown in for good measure. We wanted to end up in London, the closest major city to an ultimate clinic I'd be coaching at, and home of the royal wedding during our stay.

Living in our hometown, Becca and I were invited to have a send-off party the day of our departure and then get a ride to the airport by our parents. My folks picked me up and we joined Becca and her mom and dad at their place. Guacamole was the culinary centerpiece -- our travels and planned phone calls home was the main topic of conversation. Quick family picture (my dad's not in the one below) and then we set off to Hartsfield-Jackson, my parents allowing Becca and I to go with her folks to the airport.

Delta's customer service at the airport was lacking. I couldn't find anyone to print out my boarding pass and we grew a little nervous after three tries and fifteen or so minutes at different desks. I reasoned that my best bet was to get a seat request card and figure it out at the gate; in fact, if the airline overbooked the flight and had to bump me, I was in for a pretty hefty voucher for future travel. But one woman made our day, getting me a seat directly next to Becca in a row with extra leg room. Double score! Irving and Jan saw us all the way to the security line and a few minutes later, Becca and I boarded our overnight flight from ATL to FCO.

I realized it was corny as I suggested it, but Becca and I watched the same movie on our individual screens at the same time. Plus we played the trivia game that everyone on the plane can plug into. I caught the few minutes of Eat, Pray, Love that take place in Italy (another corny moment). I couldn't fall asleep in my seat, so I tried curling up on the floor in front of our seats -- and got yelled at five minutes later when one of the flight staff nearly fell fast first after catching my foot in the aisle. Overall, a good start to two weeks of travel. And finally we landed on Italian soil.

Bahrain and other Arab Protests

2011-02-19T10:41:00.001-08:00

Reading a new york times article (there are at least half a dozen in today's paper on the Arab protests), I read this telling quote from a protester who closely witnessed the shooting of his friend in Bahrain:

"My friend, my brother, he just got shot in the head...I tried to take him, but they kept firing. He's dead, he's dead now. We were just here to demand our rights."

The light this puts between the simple demands of people and the governments' intense suppression is so bright, the whole world can see it.

Some Pics From Mrs Obama's Visit

2011-02-11T07:38:00.001-08:00

I'll have to rearrange these but wanted to try uploading from my phone straight to blogger. Enjoy!

Crowd shot before the event

Co-workers shot waiting for the event

iPad band performing B.o.B. "Magic"

The First Lady

Blurry

Mrs Obama Speaking with Big Screen Behind Her

Insane Crowd and Media Coverage

Awesome

2011-02-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

I have successfully avoided blogging for an entire month. You know that little ticker down on the right of my blog's homepage that says "Old Posts Lie Here" (for those that still visit the site vs getting the feed on buzz or reader)? There's nothing for January. Lull executed perfectly.

This post is a New Year's Resolution follow-up, a month and a half after picking what I would work on. First off, a summary of what I set out to do:

Avoid sweets throughout January

Keep my intake of sweets low throughout the following months, too

New Year's Resolution

2010-12-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolutions aren't my favorite. On the other hand, I don't protest them with rocks and effigies. Just happens that I don't usually make new resolutions in December - too busy enjoying the desserts and parties. But, this year, I'm making a couple resolutions. So here they are, all out in the open and visible to the public so you can bear witness, remind me, and celebrate when I achieve them.

Avoid sweets throughout January - looking for co-challengers/partners in the effort
Keep my intake of sweets low throughout the following months, too [i posted a couple years ago about the sweets habit (and past efforts at decreasing sugar's influence over me)]
Reading more Arabic
More effectively managing my personal finances; becoming more financially literate

Just talkin

2010-12-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

Count me among the sufferers here in Atlanta's coldest weather ever. It snowed non-stop from yesterday afternoon to this morning. And the wind chill was in single digits. And it was windy. And snowing. Enough of that.

My housemates and I constructed a rec room yesterday during the snowstorm. There's a space, like a hallway, between the two bedrooms upstairs. Its just the right size, we figured out, to put a tv in a nook and have some seating (and ddr pads) in the middle. I'm sore today from all the wii olympic games. Check out Andrew's blog for some footage from the event.

Been doing some christmas shopping. Bought a tree, a sweater, a chair cover, a photograph, and more. Still on my list are a book, a cast-iron skillet (hope you're not reading this potential recipient), gift card or two. I'm feeling generous this year and very grateful for family.

I just finished Eat, Pray, Love. Saw the third movie in the Millenium Series (books by Stiegg Larson) and finished that book recently. Now I'm onto The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I like it a lot so far.

Lessons from Eat, Pray, Love

2010-11-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, I went with my family to see the cinematic version of Eat, Pray, Love. I got into it and a couple weeks after borrowed the book to read at my leisure.

Now that I'm in full leisure mode, taking time to read the book is exactly what I'm doing. And here are some notes I'd like to make from the book, both of which come from the "big texas yogi" the protagonist spends time with while at an ashram in India.

send love and light every day to the people you miss and love, particularly those who you loved closely. this is relevant for me cause, even though we've been apart for more than five years, an ex-girlfriend's marriage last year hit me hard. i hope she's sending light my way sometimes - and i hope that i find the strength to do the same for her.

"you gotta learn how to let go...otherwise you'll just toss and turn forever, beatin' on yourself for being such a fiasco in life." the other day i lost my cell phone in an idiotic stretch of drunk dancing in the street (on a sunday night).

Glad to hear comments when y'all got 'em. Or just keep sending my thoughts out to ya (and by keep sending i mean send only very periodically and almost never).

Sugar intake

2010-09-10T05:52:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I sat at my desk in South L.A. and pondered my dietary problems. Here's an update with some disappointing developments and new opportunities. My main three worries are: sugar, weight, and physical fitness.

Background

Growing up, I was a sweet-a-holic. I had gone from my youth (and soccer) to college (and ultimate) then atlanta (and ultimate) and finally L.A. (and for a period of time, no ultimate or other consistent sport) within a year. My activity level suffered, my ability to prepare high-quality meals dropped, and my sweet tooth persisted. I felt less healthy. But I still craved candy and dessert.

Now

I'm in pretty good shape physically. I participate in several workouts a week - sometimes for 3 or more hours at a time. My weight and waistline have dropped over the last year. But I still feel sluggish at times - often the day(s) after I have large or very sweet desserts.

Cravings

Brownies, cake, chocolate (milk and dark), cookies, custard, eclaires, ice cream, M&Ms -- and I could go on. Ice cream constitutes probably the worst of these because of the portion sizes I take and its hefty donation of sugar AND fat to my blood stream.

Missing

I've grown apart from my old routine of brushing my teeth when I had a sugar craving. Instead, I have a bite to eat, chalking up the snack or meal to the importance of eating often. And while more frequent meals do help me keep my sugar levels constant (thereby avoiding the sugar crashes and cravings I get in those crashes), my calorie count is also something to watch when I eat 4 or 5 separate times a day.

Plus Side

Last time I checked, my weight was stable at more than 5 pounds less than it was a year and a half ago. My eating habits since moving earlier this summer have improved - I am cooking one to three meals a week, often allowing for healthy leftovers, too. I like my activity level and think there's still room to grow.

Morale of the Story

Eat fewer desserts by brushing teeth, having fresh fruit after meals, and hydrating (with water not beer). Comments are welcome.

Let's talk ultimate

2010-08-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Fall season is approaching. Dog days of summer still to get through. Here's a picture of a recent Chain practice. Its hot.

Here's the schedule for our Fall season:

Chesapeake Open - Poolesville, MD - August 28-29
East Coast Sectionals - Knoxville, TN - September 18-19
South Regionals - Austin, TX - October 2-3
Club Championships - Sarasota, FL - October 28-31

Currently, I'm nursing a sore ankle - twisted it at a practice 10 days ago, then played two nights of summer league and a summer league tournament this past weekend. Five games on Sunday... yikes for the ankle, but great for racking up championships. Here's a picture of your 2010 atlanta flying disc club end of season tournament champions, Lucky!

With summer league behind us, the next two point five months will feature bank deposits and throwing in small groups, then gel-shopping and grinding as a team.

"Killing Our Dreams" from Paulo Coelho

2010-08-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time. The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the Good Fight.

The second symptom of the death of our dreams lies in our certainties. Because we don’t want to see life as a grand adventure, we begin to think of ourselves as wise and fair and correct in asking so little of life. We look beyond the walls of our day-to-day existence, and we hear the sound of lances breaking, we smell the dust and the sweat, and we see the great defeats and the fire in the eyes of the warriors. But we never see the delight, the immense delight in the hearts of those who are engaged in the battle. For them, neither victory nor defeat is important; what’s important is only that they are fighting the Good Fight.

And, finally, the third symptom of the passing of our dreams is peace. Life becomes a Sunday afternoon; we ask for nothing grand, and we cease to demand anything more than we are willing to give. In that state, we think of ourselves as being mature; we put aside the fantasies of our youth, and we seek personal and professional achievement. We are surprised when people our age say that they still want this or that out of life. But really, deep in our hearts, we know that what has happened is that we have renounced the battle for our dreams – we have refused to fight the Good Fight.

When we renounce our dreams and find peace, we go through a short period of tranquility. But the dead dreams begin to rot within us and to infect our entire being.
We become cruel to those around us, and then we begin to direct this cruelty against ourselves. That’s when illnesses and psychoses arise. What we sought to avoid in combat – disappointment and defeat – come upon us because of our cowardice.

And one day, the dead, spoiled dreams make it difficult to breathe, and we actually seek death. It’s death that frees us from our certainties, from our work, and from that terrible peace of our Sunday afternoons

Words from Petrus to me during The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

reinhold niebuhr quote

2010-08-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Reading R Fox's biography of Reinhold Niebuhr, the famous (and somewhat radical) theologian, I pulled out this quote to share.

"The very capacities which make for happiness also subject the soul to geater grief and more poignant pain." pg 128

I'd be interested in hearing what you, my reader and friend, think about that.

Everything #3

2010-07-15T12:07:00.002-07:00

I'm picking up from where my latest post ended: Thursday afternoon - after Chain's quarterfinals win over Invictus from Canada. I spent thirty minutes that afternoon in the computer lab, partly writing on the huddle's blog and also moving towards the quarters showcase game between Boston and Seattle.

I enjoyed watching Ironside and Sockeye fight it out - partly cause it didn't look like either team would be strong enough to take down Chain's 26-deep big-man game. Watching the game was also fun because most of Chain was sitting together joking, cheering, and throwing things. Que the picture of Kid chucking a disc into the rafters. On the field, Sockeye came from behind after being down a break or two at half and became our Friday morning opponent.

Semifinal game

I want to say two things first off about how we approached this game. First, this is a good old-fashioned rivalry. We may not play Sockeye as often as Chain plays Doublewide from Texas. But there's something about the character of each team and the recent history of our games -- we came in with a chip on our shoulder.

Unfortunately, the second thing I have to say about our approach to this game completely contradicts and counteracts the first. Chain had been enjoying the feeling of a national championship for the last eight months, reveling in having kept Sockeye to single-digits at Nationals last year. We had also been riding the confidence train all week of being the number one seed and going undefeated. So the intensity of men in battle, athletes with something to prove (chip on their shoulder), whatever comparison there is to make -- we were lacking a bit in intensity.

On to the game: Not too much happened in the first half. Chain expects to have worn down the opponents enough in the first hour of play to be able to make a huge run in the second half. With all of our athletes, there was no way Sockeye could keep sending out new bodies to move the disc 70 yards - and it was out of the question that our fresh legs on offense would give up more than a break or two.

You can see from the scoring sheet and from my incremental photos in this post that our strategy was working. An unexciting first half quickly gave way to Chain getting two breaks early in the second half. If this was to be anything like the Doublewide game, Chain would extend the lead with more defensive breaks and win the game by a handful.

Let me mention before diving into the more contentious play and call of the day that there was some confusion about the halftime cap. I believe it was 49 minutes at the time Sockeye scored to make it 8-7. The WUCC staff overseeing the game did not blow their 50-minute half-time whistle until about 20 seconds after that Sockeye score, meaning the current point (the pull to Chain's offense) should occur before breaking for half. So instead of handing the disc right back to Sockeye after half with the chance to go up 9-7, we would potentially have one more O point, score to make it 8-8 for half, then pull to Sockeye for either team to make it 9-8.

As things seemed to go over the week (and especially in this game), Chain's objections about the half-time time cap were ignored. Half-time ensued, during which a pump-up speech sets us on course. We score five out of the next six points - fairly unprecedented in such a tight game. From being down 9-7, we go up 10-9 and break again two points later to make it 12-10.

On to the more serious play and call of the game. Chain is on offense, up 15-14, game to 16. From memory, Sockeye's running a vertical stack and Chain's forcing towards the sideline that I'm standing on. A Seattle player cuts across the field towards the back of the stack and a Chain player calls pick. Simultaneously, the Seattle thrower releases a flick to a different downfield cutter. The throw soars a good 12 or more feet in the air and falls several meters out of bounds. Uncatchable pass. Happened about the same time as the pick call. Under "normal" competition rules - UPA for Sockeye and Chain - this is an obvious change of possession.

But we're playing in a WFDF tournament, under WFDF rules. And one of the major rule differences between UPA and WFDF has to do with continuation on a pick call (continuation in general on violations or infractions). The WFDF continuation rule states that "play may continue after a call... 1. If the thrower is called for an infraction and subsequently attempts a pass [or] 2. if the thrower was already in the act of throwing or the disc is in the air at the time of the call" page 2.

To sum it up,I believe the truth on the play to be that a thrower was in the act of throwing as "pick" was called in the stack. The disc went incomplete and should result in a turnover - according to WFDF rules. But the problem with the outcome of the play wasn't just that I wanted to be right. We all know there can be multiple versions of "the truth" on an ultimate field and in the world.

So, in the spirit of self-officiating, two sides should come together and negotiate the best possible outcome. In the minute or two that everyone was reacting to the play, Wiggins and AJ had probably the most central role in the conversation - at least from what I remember. At one point, AJ asks me - I'm on the sideline - when I thought pick was called. I say, ignorant of the repercussions because I didn't know how the rule is written, that the pick was called while the thrower was in the act of throwing. The pick occurred simultaneous to the throw. I say it not sure whether that will support our case or hurt it - just cause that's what I know to have happened. After this, Wiggins huddles up with a couple of his teammates (I think MC ?).

I always appreciate teammates talking about what should happen with a captain or teammate with a good perspective. But what happened next was really the most confusing part of the whole scene. Wiggins emerges from his huddle with a certainty about what should happen. He walks to the sideline, hands the disc back to the thrower, and mumbles something about how "it shouldn't be this way, but..." And what can Chain say? There was no real attempt after the Sockeye huddle to agree with Chain what would happen. Sockeye's air of authority basically rolled over Chain's temporary confusion.

Shortly after, Chain taps the disc in and blows a second then third chance to advance to the finals of Worlds.

Everything #2

2010-07-13T12:56:00.001-07:00

Not Recently

Chain entered last week's Worlds tournament as the top seed. Our schedule has us start out against Loquitos, a Japanese team (but not the famous Buzz Bullets from Japan). I happened to start the game with a pretty big sky... though to be fair I was a foot taller than the guy. And we were rolling. We cruised through our second game against Latvia and bested our third opponent, Magon, 17-7. The restof day two was spent (for Joel and Asa especially) working on laundry and related bull shit. The unhelpfulness of

local staff was hard to get used to - and came back into play when I was at the airport a few later... though that's another story. Here's a cheery picture of what took too many hours and lots of sweat to get to.

After day two, for all you format inquirers, Chain was reseeded into a 6-team power pool. We would play five games over 2 and a half days; top two teams in each power pool then place into quarters. It just so happened that the 1 and 2 seeds in the power pool played in the first power pool round. So early Tuesday morning, we met regional rival Doublewide from Austin, TX. In the second half of this game, we looked to be playing like a top seed - Doublewide scored 3 or 4 in the second half to our 8 or 9. Satisfying win. Plus we got to watch immediately following Revolver play Sockeye, another US regional matchup (and, as it turned out, a precursor of the Worlds finals).

Then, afternoon games were rained out (many jokes were made about "chain lightning," which there was a lot of) - so we played cards, drank beers, ate delicious Czech food for a couple hours. This the clouds cleared up. I believe this was the day where Dylan drew Zip as part of Five Ultimate's "draw your captain" whiteboard area. Here's a pretty good shot of it:

I used the afternoon as my first day of sightseeing around Central Prague. Its worth mentioning that I had become pretty disenchanted with the tournament's organization and my lack of free time (kind of opposed feelings, I admit). So the time alone was very welcome. I even got to practice Arabic at the cafe (this is somewhat documented in my earlier post on my blog and the post I wrote on The Huddle - though I finished that one on Thursday, out of sync with the chronology of the current post).

We had our closest pool play game against FreeSpeed from Switzerland - I don't know how they didn't win a single game in the power pool. We handled Mephisto from Canada and the two Swedish teams at the tournament. Score cards from each game are available by clicking on Game Play next to the list of games below our roster here. From here, we were propelled, after the power pool games, into quarters on Thursday afternoon against Invictus. We had good reason to be nervous, considering they had some Furious George pick-ups. Great throwers and good cutters. But nothing to match our defense, which like the Doublewide game, wore down the opponents and basically stayed on the field in the second half.

There's so much I'm missing - some of which the photo albums I put on facebook portray and much of which it can't either. But here are two shots from Chain guys enjoying a) the world cup at strahov's main social area/tents and b) card playing in the hallway of building 9

Everything

2010-07-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling some pretty rough feelings right now. The great fortune of going on such a fantastic trip is now being tempered with an awful emotional and mental tumble. Quickly: I just got back from the World Ultimate Club Championships - before that I visited Berlin, plus London and Loughborough, UK.

Most Recently

I'm in Atlanta now - having survived one of the more stressful airport experiences in Prague yesterday, followed by a 10 hour flight, then some baggage delays at Hartsfield-Jackson. Had a nice dinner with the parents and reconnected with my new housemates before getting a surprisingly full night's sleep. Thanks to mom and dad for bracketing my trip with rides to/from the airport and delicious dinners - at left is a pic of dinner before I left back in June (i was also testing the camera).

Less Recently

This past weekend had its ups and downs (starting around the time Chain lost in semifinals). The ups include:

table dancing/pants-less dancing at the tournament party
trading national arm-bands with new friends
gladiator-type wrestling on the WUCC tram
absinthe bar - see video below of the shots on fire

Downs include:

flaking out on lots of friends who went to Prague's 5-story dance club while I was throwing up by the side of the road
sprinting through the prague airport (with only a few minutes til boarding) looking for a baggage locker for the bag i couldn't check for my return flight - and having to leave behind the bag

Another "Everything" post is coming soon. Feel free to put in requests for info/stories from the trip.

from prague

2010-07-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hi. Im in Prague listening to the shopkeepers speak Arabic, typing on a Czech keyboard, and speaking English on skype, and trying out phrases in Russian, French, German, and more.

And thats a little taste of the internationalism of the tournament, this city, and my trip so far. Berlin really impressed me... for its urban planning, street culture, museums, bars, and general good feel. I only spent two nights there but they were well spent. Then, after nearly missing the train out of Berlins main station, we traveled to Prague... the group of people im with constantly changes... regardless, chain lightning and other friends, teams from all over the world have descended on prague.

After three days of competition, Chain has only played four games. Not complaining. The games were hard fought and good spirited. But the rain this afternoon seems to have thrown an extra wrench in the wheel of this already sputtering attempt to organize thousands of fans, players, volunteers, etc. Well wait to see how the rain cancellation plays out in ease of shuttling, playing, and generally surviving the next few days.

The majority of Chain was out boat racing Sunday night, having a good time with some other American teams... the fourth of july went unnoticed otherwise. Im looking forward to the party being hosted by revolver tonight, as well as trading night tomorrow night, and more socializing later in the week at the tourney party, the dorms hotels, etc.

Wish i could post some of the dorm, campus, stadium, field, player, and other pictures. Soon, in sha allah.

streets of london

2010-06-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

the streets of london are as busy as i expected. cars driving on the left side of the road, sharing space with bikers, scooters, tourists, double-decker buses, those goofy black cabs, and more. i've stopped in an internet cafe to put down a little bit about the last 18 hours or so.

despite waiting on the plane in atlanta for about an hour, the flight over to amsterdam was relatively painless. i sat next to a malaysian guy about my age who was finishing up a visit to new york and atlanta. he's one of two malaysians in charge of starting their version of teach for america. and he observed the very class of teachers that my friend julia (its so new!) is in in atlanta. crazy connection. very interesting guy and project. i'm going on less than an hour sleep but feeling fairly well prepared for the train i'm about to board and the camp tomorrow. my u.s. cell phone definitely doesn't work.

you may know that i'm posting some (more so the week of the tournament) on the-huddle.org. i started talking about having set goals for myself at worlds. and i plan to take those seriously. but these next few days are my chance to slow down, watch, and vacay. i started asking locals on the train here in london about how to get around and what to do. one kindly offered me a tube map then proceeded to nearly miss her stop. when i said "isn't this your stop?" she jumped up crying "shit!" and ran off. but she recommended some social scene stuff and museums.

so i'll check back in around the time the u.s. and england soccer games go on this weekend. gotta run. time's running out at the internet cafe.

Really enjoy

2010-06-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to relax recently. And its actually surprising considering of all the work I've been doing to stay aware, relax, center myself, etc.

Despite that work, I'll admit, I have felt a bit of this creeping up recently. I spend a bunch of my free time planning for myself and Chain to go to tournaments, including Worlds; coordinating rides and hosting friends; moving between houses and babysitting Lily. Instead of three books by my bedside - which would indicate I'm actually spending a few minutes every now and then with them - I only have one. And I'm so recently into that one there's not even a bookmark in it yet.

Maybe I'm speaking too soon - I've been feeling a huge workload incline up to yesterday, when I cleared the final work hurdle before Thursday night's beginning of vacation. I knew the bottleneck up to yesterday would have me working so much to fit everything in -- just barely squeezing myself out the other end.

So I could give myself a few days to let the stress show itself the door. But I'm nervous I crossed a point of no return when it comes to relaxation versus constant motion/control. In summary, big trip coming up. Lots of effort behind me. I want to free up my nerves a bit. Relax.

Probably better that I didn't get the phone/web/email access for the trip I originally planned. Give me some time.

New crib

2010-06-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

I know I've posted a lot lately about my being an uncle. And giving my niece lots of attention. I drive around town with baby clothes and books in the trunk.

But the crib I'm talkin about is all mine. Well mine with a couple friends. Well really it belongs to the couple of friends and I'm renting a room. But I've been living there almost alone for a couple weeks. Getting stuff set up by myself and having people over. Its real nice. So you get the point.

Come by and visit some time. Rock on the front porch swing or sit in the screen porch in back. Water, Sweetwater Beer and Mangers served til late. Did I mention its less than a minute from Little 5? See ya

2010-04-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Reading Murakami's Kafka On the Shore last night, I was struck by some of the images in the book. I'm only a couple chapters into it and it seems like such complex and creative thinking goes on inside his head.

An image unrelated to the content of the book came to mind... the genie in a bottle story. Its such a popular image, that some wanderer/explorer happens upon a special bottle (usually gold and ancient). The genie materialises by rubbing the sides and the discoverer is granted three wishes.

Amid the three wishes are complexities with grandiosity and endangering others, selfishness and altruism. There is always a villain that either wants to steal the bottle, steal a wish, or corrupt the wisher into doing something altogether bad.

What I actually asked myself last night was "is the genie simply a metaphor for the spirit inside us?" And yes, I think most likely it is. In our adolescene (or later) we tend to find our inner strength and creativity, or we come to feel/know a divine spirit... and the worlds' doors are opened to us. But not without some consequence and responsibility (adulthood).

What interpretations do you guys have of this traditional storyline?

quality time

2010-04-01T06:25:00.001-07:00

As is apparent from my last post about political fanatacism, my stress-energy level has been pretty high lately. So, I'm looking for a retreat.

Last night I had some great time with my grandpa. Only since daylight savings time and the weather improving has he wanted to get outside during my weekly visits. Last night we got to the senior home's outdoor putting green, where I took this picture.

Tomorrow night I'm going to Greenville, SC, to meet up with Ali P and stay with Lil and Shannon. Then on Saturday, we'll find any campground that seems nice for walking, camping, views, swimming, peace and quiet.

Easter, chocolate, and brunch on Sunday. A real retreat weekend.

Sad to miss a dress-up going away party for Julia. Hopefully there'll be more opportunities soon to celebrate her.

Some news today

2010-03-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

Don't know how to start this post except to take a deep breath and commence typing.

Andrew Breitbart, a commentator for the Washington Times, is on my sh*t list for two reasons. More broadly, I'm feelin angry and upset about shit going down in Washington (and all over). First, Breitbart blames my U.S. representative for being called the n-word last weekend. Speaking of John Lewis and Jim Clyburn, after they were harassed between their office and the capitol, Breitbart says "they should be the objects of ridicule [for walking through the crowd]."

Secondly, Breitbart has now issued a reward offer of $10,000 for video of the harassment Congressman Lewis and colleagues experienced. If anyone has video that the N-word was thrown at the Congressmen, Breitbart will cut a check to the UNCF. By the way, countless news sources have reported the N-word was yelled. Raising his profile seems to be Breitbart's intent here.

By now, there are critics of members of congress even responding to requests for comment. Its all of a sudden a partisan act when one states the facts of an incident... I'm upset this is all so fucking hateful - or is it anymore hateful than usual, only now just coming to the surface?

Good for the creative loafing for having a sense of humor - at least humor is somewhat constructive, as opposed to the Tea Party who have done little except tear people down. So what can Congressman Lewis do - or anyone else concerned about the issue of health insurance reform but also decency and positivity? Respond to the demand for video? Ignore it and leave the hateful activists to roast in the light of day?

Anticipation time

2010-03-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Almost five months have passed since the '09 ultimate season. But I've only posted once in that time about something other than ultimate. This post is no different. I guess ultimate remains my main safe topic, the one I can most easily elaborate on without worrying about privacy and such. Naturally, people blog about their main hobbies, which ultimate most certainly is. Lastly, and this is something characteristic of most hobbies, its something that I think I do well, or I have reason to feel good about my success in the area.

I'm also really good at giving more introduction than is necessary then running out of energy for the intended post. I want to talk about the upcoming season, think through a little more what 2010 means.

The big news, and maybe I haven't fully leaked this to my swarms of readers yet, is that Chain has been invited to Prague, Czech Republic, for the World Ultimate Club Championships this summer. I can remember in 2006 when Ozone qualified for Worlds how much fun and meaning the Atlanta women's team had in their trip to Australia. So not only is this a great opportunity to represent our nation and city, but its a unique chance to experience time in historic central Europe... plus ultimate.

I trust there will be life after Prague, but its so tempting to build up all excitement around that week-long tournament and travel opportunity.

The ultimate season is pretty straightforward after July. We take a few weeks off, return for hot August. Then the Fall Series is upon us again: sectionals, regionals, nationals. In fact, I'm considering taking on the role of Regional Coordinator for the South open division of the UPA. That would depend, like the Prague opportunity and the Fall Series, on how my job situation plays out...

Other things going on include team fundraising. We're hoping to host a big party, a big bar night, and a juniors (and maybe college players) clinic. But my anticipation of this year is huge, not only because expectations of Chain have skyrocketed, but also because I'm anxious to see how the year goes (personally, professionally, ultimately). I guess I'll just have to enjoy the whole thing unfolding.

Short aside: Terminus this past weekend was epic. Fun team pic below (official team name was Full Par - golf, drinking, and Tiger Woods were part of the theme). Thanks kate, lori, and mccargo for organizing the team and tourney. Everybody else, good job enjoying the weekend.

what have i been doing?

2010-02-25T14:14:00.001-08:00

I ask this question "what have i been doing?" in kind of an exasperated way cause i haven't blogged in so long. i'm nearing 3 and a half years as a blogger; and this feels like the weakest stretch of posts in a long while.

My two series on the championship trophy and "i'm an uncle" were exciting. but otherwise, i haven't had much news to share... new year's party, mlk weekend, valentine's, president's day, it all came and went.

Lily turns 1 today, so here's a picture of me reading to her. side note: lily's name is partially borrowed from my sister's name, lelia (in the middle)...

Brandon meet the cup, cup Brandon

2010-01-06T06:31:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everybody. Especially Brandon, who I got to see this past weekend in Athens among all the idiots playing ultimate. Here's the sequence at the bar:

Hi Brandon, national champ

Brandon say hello to the cup for the first time since November 1, 2009

Brandon meet beer in the cup, bask in the glory of being the best

Recap

2009-12-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

The weather has turned fairly sour so its time to take a look at what made 2009 what it was...

January - new year's celebration in new york and inauguration in the nation's capitol (i picked out the post i wrote from the car because i was so excited about what the weekend might be like. and i joined twitter the week i got back from the trip)

February - why i travel alot helps me deal with the emotional hangover and close out the inauguration series. not having the resources for alumni weekend 2010 makes me sad. lily's here

March - a difficult month emotionally. I took these pictures during a visit to DC but had my mind on sad news. The gray sky, unintentionally, represents that.

April - its almost ultimate season and the emotions from March remind me to tell some stories, get feelings out. got to seattle later this year.

May - one week of vacation and one week of work in DC, two weddings and lots of traveling deserves a post and a mention in the recap.

June - the world's economy experiences ups and downs. here's my rant on the whole ordeal

July - this is what inspired me to write a recap. Who knew, back in the summer and its miserable heat, that Chain would finish the year national champions? i don't think i even thought about nationals until August. all the travel, training, and teamwork paid off.

August - the post about my Seattle trip that didn't focus on ultimate and instead has a picture of teammate Dave B post-double flip

September - cause I mention Swine Flu, not at all cause of the picture, inside this post

October - its ultimate season.

November - Lily is worth mentioning again because of all the time I've been spending with her. And did I mention Chain won the national championship?

December - check back

The weekend

2009-12-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

The shenanigans this weekend lasted a while. Capping it off with 10 hours of sleep was the right thing to do.

Here I am with Frank and Dylan courtside at Phillips Arena -post Hawks game- enjoying the trophy

Later that night, in the side room of Fontaine's bar, Kyle is excited about the Abita going into the cup

A little glimpse into the cup's time in Greenville: Will romances the trophy with wine by candlelight

That's a mighty big trophy you've got there

And lastly, everyone wants a sip from the cup. This guy got more than enough... and drained the beer, capping off the time we were allowed to be on the Moe's and Joe's patio

Blog round-up

2009-11-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

Coming up on 11 months into the year, I often find it worth mentioning the Moleskine Journal Around the World project. Props to Angela for keeping the Project, and her friends, in the light lately. We're really excited about what could come back from across the six continents and seven seas.

Julia B has decided to pick up and move again. Cali was an experiment, Philly was the interim, and next is Hotlanta. I think Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris have a song waiting for you... it starts with "Welcome to..."

Warning.

Good for you, Lauren, for recognizing that you'd rather not be blogging when there's so much other Peace Corps, community, and personal stuff to do in Guatemala. Also, for those who have an itch to mail somebody something, a care-package wish list is on her page's right sidebar.

I'm thankful for y'all and our keeping in touch.

Out with the cup

2009-11-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

Here's post number four in my week with the National Championship Trophy. The mountains, the niece, and the office were all fun. But last night turned into a bit of a $&*# show with the cup.

Here's me and Russell throwin it up in front of Atlanta's Olympics '96 emblem :)

Atlanta players and the Atlanta trophy at an Atlanta brewery.

Then it starts. These four girls refused to drink out of the cup - or maybe one of them half-heartedly tried - but they definitely seemed to enjoy being next to it. Picture quality stinks but the sentiment remains.

This next one shows a really good shennanigans moment with four women who we hadn't talked to until we got out of the bar. Between the parking lot and the street (10 steps) it was decided that one person would be holding her black and mild, another girl and I would be hugging, and we all would be posing with the cup. Too bad the flash wasn't stronger

Here's the requisite drinking-out-of-the-cup shot of some woman who poured her beer into the cup and immediately drank it back out. She was so enthusiastic because she had seen other Chain guys the previous Thursday at another bar in Atlanta.

Office and the cup

2009-11-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

Part 3 of this cup series comes with strong A-town representation. The office had a great time celebrating this trophy - and I appreciate all their support in this sometimes ridiculed game of ultimate frisbee. You may have caught part 1 of my week with the trophy. Right after that came part 2, considered by some to be my "cutest post ever" (thanks, Ali).

Here's the shot of the staff throwing up their A's.

Here the self-timer allows us all to be in the picture, me with the gold medal around my neck, T in the middle with a 175, and the trophy enjoying all the A-town reveling.

Baby and the cup

2009-11-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here's part 2 of the story about how I've spent time with the UPA's open division national championship trophy. Click here for part 1 of this story and go here for the latest Chain Lightning bits.

Monday night every week I try to visit with my niece. My cousin and her husband are generous enough to invite me for the hour-long episode of Heroes. Last night was a real good time hanging out with the 9-month old girl, her parents, and the trophy. Here's Lily scoping out the shiny cup (and based on her line of vision in this picture she was reading the past winners).

Here's Lily pointing to where "Chain Lightning" and "Atlanta" should and soon will be.

And of course the night ends with a little drinking.

Mountains and the cup

2009-11-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

This is a little summary of the relationship I'm building with the UPA National Championship trophy.

Friday night I picked up the trophy from the team watch party and fundraiser. Saturday morning I left town with the cup in the passenger seat - headed to the mountains.

Along the way, we found a good overlook to pose at.

We stopped at the important monuments of the Eastern seaboard. Check out my twitter page for the picture I uploaded of me and the cup at the divide.

And then we came back to Atlanta for some good old drinkin.

Attention!

2009-11-12T05:45:00.000-08:00

Chain won nationals. We went undefeated in Sarasota to take the national championship, first time a team has not lost on the way to a championship in 10 years. This is also the first championship ever for a team from Atlanta and, more impressively, the South.

Though I've been sick lately, and didn't give a good pre-Nationals post or any blog updates during the tournament, this is what I wanted to post about.

Its, like, big news.

If you wanna experience more of it, here are some links:

Also, for Atlanta friends... there's a (first time ever) viewing of the footage from finals and semifinals this Friday night. Its part fundraiser, part merchandising event, part celebration, and part watch party. We need more people attending (our plan is to attend World Championships this coming July). Let me know if you want the details.

Thanks for your support.

Nerves at Nationals

2009-10-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

I've done enough pictures-only posts lately. So here goes an expose on nerves surrounding the ultimate "series." As a preface, Chain qualified for Nationals this past weekend by beating Doublewide. Counting college and club, I am playing in my 11th (if you count coaching, this is 13) Series and this will be my sixth trip to Nationals.

Throughout the series, I wonder how I - and the team I am on - will reach the top; how I will complete the passes and get the turns necessary to win; how we will string together all the games necessary to reach our goal. Quick story about nerves:

My senior year at GW I can remember getting a floor spot the Friday night before Sectionals. The lack of structure that seemed to represent gave me an awful feeling about the days and weeks to come.

A more recent tale:

Last year, Chain nearly lost to El Diablo in the finals of Sectionals. We pulled out the victory 16-14 I believe. This game in particular was nerve-wracking. Following this sectionals Chain was expected to crush Doublewide but instead lost the Regional finals (and along with it our top seed at Nationals).

From the smallest of things -a Tuesday track workout- to the larger stages -warming up for semis against Furious at Nationals 06- my nerves seem to flare up. Here are the symptoms:

I become hyper-sensitive about my appearance - more aware of people, especially spectators
I can feel my lungs contracting more acutely - physically communicating that I am under pressure
I grow numb to some of the actions of my body despite the heightened awareness, like being disconnected

Most definitions of nervousness and anxiety allude to the fact that there are no actual dangers when one feels nervous. Fear is a reaction to an actual threat. Nervousness, on the other hand, relates only what has been stirred up inside one's brain to cause a reaction resembling fear.

Symptom #3 reminds me of high school football, when our coach would yell at us for being nervous - visible to him because players' eyes would glaze over (feeling that something is unreal/disconnection from the moment).

Feeling nervous is not necessarily a bad thing. A) it shows that I care about something, that I recognize an event's importance; B) in the words of asa w, "[nervousness is] healthy and... can be a powerful asset if you can channel it into effort on the field"; C) it may help complete a task more efficiently, with the added intensity I bring (see I Love India).

That's where I'm gonna end it. For a 2009 South Club Open Regional write-up, go here. More on Nationals and such to come. Would be interested in hearing from friends about your nervousness, your season, and you in general.

More pictures

2009-10-06T06:23:00.001-07:00

Pictures save me from thinkin too hard about writing. Though that reminds me to say something about ultimate soon...

For now, here are the before, middle, and after pictures from moving into the old Spears crib.

Before

In between

After

Clearer pictures from CBC

2009-10-01T08:28:00.001-07:00

Friday night happy hour in Dupont Circle with Jack and Shed.

Saturday night Coke reception with Jesse, Jamila, and Tom.

Accounts from the CBC Annual Legislative Conference Awards Dinner

2009-09-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was invited to join my colleagues boss at this year's Legislative Conference put on by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The whole weekend is meant to be a learning, networking event. But the Awards Dinner, at which I was taking notes of the cool people around, is a fundraiser. I was very lucky to be at the event and at the table - very close to the stage.

Saw danny glover outside the cbc dinner :)

Just met charlie rangel inside the cbc awards dinner area! Weak handshake

Sat at same table as majority leader Steny Hoyer

Wyclef presented with award

Met rep elijah cummings

Shook rev Sharpton's hand

Met tavis smiley :)

Saw Yolanda Adams up close

Wishing I could meet US Ambassador (to the UN) Susan Rice - here she receives an award as first African American woman in her position

Saw Obama speak. He and the First Lady kissed on the stage and he talked about injustices, health care, and received a Phoenix Award - low resolution picture below

Deconstruction

2009-09-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to move back into the bedroom of my teenage years. To make the room friendlier for my new furniture and more age appropriate, I had to take down the bunk bed that had been there since before our 1991 move-in.

Here's a picture of the room with the bunk bed.

This was a Saturday morning project on my own. After buying spackle for the holes I knew would be in the wall, I settled into a loud radio station and got to work. Step 1, clear furniture and boxes from the bunk/loft area. Step 2, open the windows and turn on the floor fan for some ventilation. Here are the first couple screws coming loose, constituting step 3.

Step 4, start tearing shit down. The loft piece was pretty stubborn. Though I had taken out all the screws through the boards and into the wall, the loft piece stuck to the back wall with a few unremovable nails. Check that out.

Finally, I can move onto step 5 and aim for the ladder/center post.

Though I reattached it later on to safely take down the actual bed area, this was a crucial point in the day - when I really could see the whole structure coming down.

Like the loft part of the structure, the bed platform proved difficult to destroy. Here's a picture with me holding both the crowbar and the platform while i try to separate the rafters and the whole thing from the wall.

Around the time I was finishing the demolishing, I captured the screws and bolts that for so long held up the loft and a bed...

Spackle before:

Spackle after:

Room after. End of post. At this point, you can either congratulate me for making a wise decision to take down the bunk bed or criticize the moving in with the 'rents for an indeterminate amount of time:

Wishin it would rain

2009-09-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I get into a darker mood and wish for rain. This makes the summer (actually, most seasons) in Atlanta fairly satisfying. Except for these last couple weeks, during which the clouds have threatened but rarely produced much rain at all. On the other hand, this tendency towards darker moods would make living in a climate like southern California's pretty unbearable. Speaking for me, not everybody. I think my wish for rain reflects more inner darkness than what comes through during everyday interactions.

But yesterday's sadness came from a few external things, like the news of death in the community. Not on par with that, but disappointing nonetheless, I heard yesterday from the State Department that I'm not invited to continue in my application to the Foreign Service. :( I don't feel entitled to the interview, but I have continued to maintain that I'd be able to succeed in the application and the Foreign Service Officer career. State apparently doesn't agree.

I just checked their online notification letter again to make sure I didn't mis-read it or that it wasn't wrongfully delivered yesterday. Maybe they put someone else's name on it and I downloaded the wrong one. But no. In an administration that is pumping up diplomacy, while managing highly-sensitive situations in Arabic-speaking countries, I thought I'd have to chance to go further in the process. My mistake.

Haven't done a pity post in a while, but here's why I'm "wishin it would rain."

Current Events

2009-09-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

Swine flu persists in the news. Here in Atlanta, Emory students with the virus are being isolated. According to the university, the isolation is voluntary. Speaking of isolation because of flu virus, just got saw on Jen's blog that she's stuck in her room cause of the flu. Jeez!

In other news, Chain Lightning won the Chesapeake Open in Poolesville, Maryland, for the second year in a row. Check out Chain's home page for a short summary - and to buy some team merchandise. Also, there are a couple dozen videos of Chain from the weekend (dubbed Chesterpeake in honor of our biggest fan). Visit MattandKat's youtube page for those videos and to catch a glimpse of Chesterpeake. One of my personal highlights from play this weekend was captured in this shot (smaller version below). The rest of the gallery is really good, too.

Heads up: in only four and a half weeks, Chain will host Regionals for the first time in a long time (maybe the first time this millenium). So we need lots of local folks - decked out in Chain gear - cheering for us at the Georgia Soccer Park. The top teams from that tournament qualify for Nationals in Sarasota, which is in exactly eight weeks.

Happy Labor Day everyone. Good luck to Ozone in Santa Cruz this weekend! And get better for all those swine flu sufferers...

More Parties

2009-08-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

Since posting about ECC (and reading Julia's comment about the best party of the year here in Atlanta, which lived up to its name) I have felt like sending something out to the world wide webery from some recent parties.

And since I generally have no problem making my dad the brunt of some good jokes, here's him trying to win a dance-off against an 8 year old:

We were at a wedding in Virginia for my cousin.

Next up is the same character, except this time at his own party. Side note: in case you didn't pick up on this, I love my dad very much. It just so happens that he's not as cool as me. For this reason alone I get to poke fun at his dance moves and driving.

When dad turned 60 this year, we all threw him a big party with dozens of desserts and lots of friends. Here's dad blowing out the 60 candles Aunt Chris and I put on his birthday cake:

Love you dad!

Seattle tourism

2009-08-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

I started to post on this past weekend's Emerald City Classic tournament. Here's a little more of a photo diary of the non-ultimate parts of the weekend. It should be obvious that I had a great time.

Here's Poole, Jenna, and me at the entrance to the Botanical Garden and Locks. FYI: Jenna and I have not seen each other since December 2003, when my semester abroad ended. She stayed in Morocco another semester, fell in love with her now-husband, and currently lives a mile from these locks/gardens. My thanks to Jenna and Ali for hosting Poole and me.

Here is one section of the locks. The left side of the water had been raised already from the ocean level to the sound level. The walkway on the right side of the picture doubles as the final gate before boats enter the sound. The number and size of fish on the sound side of the water was very impressive. They were constantly jumping out of the water :)

For some reason, this neighborhood has a chair on the sidewalk that encourages silly pictures.

Later Thursday night, four Chain players get into an accident in which the sedan flipped twice but ended right side up and without the airbags inflating. When the four guys finally get to the hotel after the accident around 2am (5am east coast time - almost 24 hours after most of the guys got up), I took this picture of Berendes. Three cheers for seatbelts! Seriously, they were very lucky.

ECC

2009-08-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

The weekend deserves a post.

I went to Seattle for the second time in my life. Arrived Wednesday night and crashed at the place of a friend I met studying in Morocco in 2003. With her and two teammates, I got to see the Ballard Locks and the Troll, ate at Dish and Paseo's. Awesome day.

After driving to Burlington and going to sleep on Thursday night, I got a call from teammate Asa who had moments before been in a car wreck on I-5. Wow! Scary. All four guys walked away safely and we're lucky for seatbelts. Phew.

On Friday of ECC, Chain didn't play so well. Stepped it up Saturday, going 3 and 0 against Bravo, Sockeye, and GOAT. Pause. We beat Sockeye for the first time in our team's history. Got a sweet victory against Ring in the Quarters before a tough loss to Boston in the semi-finals. Now we doubly owe them. Pictured here is me on the mark against Seattle Sockeye

Leaves the team satisfied with the weekend but hungry for more in the tournaments to come. Up next is Chesapeake Open in Maryland the weekend after next. One big day of practice this Saturday and two hard track workouts between now and then. Throwing and resting in between. I'm pumped.

Harvard professor

2009-07-20T11:49:00.001-07:00

At no point in the stories about Henry Louis Gates, or his wikipedia page, is it evident that the guy has a doctorate. Certainly he has a top-notch resume of professional accomplishments.

But he broke into a house. Then got angry, loud, and was arrested. That sounds legit... if I were a police officer at the scene of a break-in and there was one guy fitting the description, and the suspect was resisting arrest, I would probably arrest him.

But there are several matters complicating the story; and there appears to have been evidence that Mr. Gates proved his residence there with a state and university ID (although this article says he initially resisted that request). Supposedly, Mr. Gates' driver was out in front of the house... an odd juxtaposition for a Harvard academic.

The Cambridge police are calling the incident "regrettable and unfortunate." The officer should simply apologize and end it. Why is he refusing to apologize? Possibly because Mr. Gates offended him personally.

I doubt the refusal to apologize is solely due to Gates being Black. But the situation (officer approaching the house, resolving the dispute, hauling him off to jail with a trumped-up charge) would probably have gone another way were Mr. Gates to be a "Dr." Gates or white.

Summer Plans

2009-07-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

A la the olden days, when I would post about out of town travels or family/friends' visits, here's a little rundown of the remaining summer days (mainly the ultimate tournament weekends Chain is attending plus a couple things):

July 18-19 Heatout in Baton Rouge
July 25 dad's 60th birthday party (missing wildwood)
Aug 8-9 summer league end of season tournament (missing a memorial service)
Aug 12-17 Emerald City Classic in Seattle
Aug 29-30 Chesapeake Open in Poolesville, Maryland
Oct 3-4 Regionals in Atlanta
Oct 29-Nov 1 Nationals in Sarasota, Florida

Otherwise, I'll be in Atlanta. Possibly moving out of my current apartment...

Comments Awards

2009-06-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite comments from readers of this blog... all written this year. I don't provide much context, intentionally:

I think I'm figuring out who Anonymous is, but please keep posting:

Ben...dear...don't do anything that exhausts you. Forego any process and go for what flows without effort at all. This is the heart of all "mojo". Do what works, when it works and keep doing it. Rude people suck. Rude is a big deal in my book as it is contrary to kindness, and we all know what happens when there isn't enough kindness in the world. So if you think it's cute to be "the bitch" at the club...it just isn't, no matter how hot you are.

Faust, I owe you for much more than encouraging me to write, but this blog-frenzy a couple years ago started with you:

I had to turn off the song before I started crying again and I don't even like U2.

Just like there is nothing like college there is nothing like college ultimate. I remember in the years that followed wanting to be able to go back and do this that and the other thing different. It took a long time to be all right with going 0-6 on Friday of nationals, but I barely think of that now, just the good times with all my brothers.

I didnt know I cried at the needle, I certainly did on that stupid monorail ride.

All of this over a frisbee.

Thanks for the post Ben.

Snausages, my man:

Lift heavy things with good form.

Run fast. Then rest, and run fast again.

Eat real food. If you are eating cake or drinking beer, it should be good cake and good beer (and you SHOULD eat cake and drink beer -- cake and beer are awesome).

Rest your body. Keep looking good.

Kpeasey, this sums it up:

love ya.

JuliaB, keep doin what you doin. I like your blog, too:

Some classics include Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I also loved, loooved Mother Goose nursery tales.

Three Important Things

2009-06-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

One: I have been going down the list of Fela albums and youtube-ing them. Its fantastic.

Two: I think the establishment is misleading us. What some people have coined the "economic recovery" won't actually happen the way we've been led to believe.

This period doesn't show signs of simply being cyclical unemployment. It is true that most sections of the economy are suffering equally, but that doesn't explain unemployemnt levels at close to twice what we're used to seeing (unemployement now is close to 10%; in better days, its more like 5 or 6%). Also, this doesn't look like what's referred to as frictional unemployment. Perhaps there are many students and others that are "voluntarily unemployed" in the workforce. But, the economic contraction associated with 2007 up to the present doesn't reflect the thousands of people between jobs or otherwise frictionally unemployed.

This period is more like economic depression and severe structural unemployment. Older industries are fading and newer industries are hiring sufficiently-trained employees elsewhere. Structural unemployment requires that the labor supply catch up to labor demand. And I don't see that happening proportionate to the numbers of jobs lost... at least not in the next few months or even years. And this is most likely to affect the folks lower on the totum pole in terms of wealth, education, and resources --- a hypothesis I think is consistent with other trends in our political economy and global environment.

Three: Lauren posted a new account of her life in Guatemala.

My advice

2009-06-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

To young actresses and performers: press Stop on any recording device someone points towards you during a nude encounter. Gossip Girls woman adds her name to the list of girls caught
To young summer league ultimate players: remember to bring - then wear - your cleats. If your league doesn't allow cleats: remember to bring - then wear - your turfs. That should put an end to all your problems.
MARTA riders, and citizens concerned with anything else in your community: find a couple other people concerned about the same thing and willing to devote a couple hours to it. Then call your representatives to complain - especially the ones that don't agree with you - request an appointment with their office, and blog about it.
Job-seekers: promote yourself clearly and eloquently

That's all I got right now.

Carl Jung

2009-06-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Carl Jung (pronounced "young") was a German psychiatrist and clinician who dabbled in various studies, including psychology, alchemy, sociology, and religion.

From a book I borrowed today from the public library, "Introduction to Jung's Psychology," I'm hoping to learn more about what he calls the individuation process, among other items.

Simple weekend planned: jogging tonight, festival tomorrow, cleaning and relaxing Sunday.

Get it Out

2009-05-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

I don't have any major recap - the funnies started and maybe finished that. But I wanted to type/communicate at least a little bit. Above is a picture for the record books.

Three hippos, spanning 9 or 10 years of attendance at GW, standing together at Millenium Walk in Chicago.

Travel Funnies

2009-05-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a short list of funny incidents from the last week or so.

1. Ian Thomsen - his ecclecticism became neanderthalism by the end of both nights in Ann Arbor. More specifically: his facial expressions, liberty of physicality with women, and grunting for no apparent reason.
2. The groom wearing a nurse's outfit at his bachelor party, including the entire time at a trashy college sports bar
3. Rolling the baggage cart stacked with five layers of booze down the hotel hallway (right in front of the security guard)
4. Not stopping once between Ann Arbor and Glen Ellyn on the drive today - 260 miles
5. Carlton's undressing ritual during "Like a Prayer," which was played twice; the most hilarious part was the 6 foot 3? guy who said he weighs 117 pounds, constituting the skinniest half-naked person I've ever seen
6. That "boom, boom, boom" song on repeat and Snaus' condemning of the DJ
7. The way northerners and mid-westerners pronounce Dekalb. Dee-calb. Its actually de-kab
8. Many of the lines from Patton, which I watched with my grandpa - also a WW2 veteran. Paraphrased example: Sargent to General Patton "sir, do you read the bible?" Patton to Sargent: "every damn day."

missed the freakin train. twice

2009-05-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

I just missed the freakin train twice. This was the third of three I wanted towards JFK.

Missing the train is never fun. But missing it because you lost/forgot the farecard worth $5 makes it worse. I got within a few feet of the faregate and realized what my hand was grasping (I try to keep my wallet in my pocket) wasn't my farecard but instead a stub from a previous night's show. So not only did I miss the train but I had to drop another $7 for the rides to the airport. Sure, its not too much money.

But my two weeks worth of travel are wearin on me. And even if I weren't tired, sun-burned, and sick of being around millions of people constantly - wasted money is, just that. Add wasted time to the equation and my gears are really grinded, so to speak.

Now I'm sitting on the JFK runway (already 30 minites late) waiting to take off. Only drawbacks of the flight so far other than the delay are:
1) Knees in my back from the passenger behind me
2) Snowing dude a couple rows back
3) Loud talker on his cell phone (same guy with his knees in my back)

This post might make it seem that the trip's not gone well. Not true. But now I'm exhausted and out of patience for the little annoyances of traveling.

Bocce

2009-05-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sitting in training, I felt like reliving the other night. Friends' bocce ball team, sponsored by DC legendary restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl, had a game on capital hill.

Here's a pic of Tim and me between bocce tosses, Good Stuff burgers and beers. Sorry for the blurry picture. Cell phones...

Planning pictures and budgets

2009-05-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of the budget I set out for myself every month. The basis is that I write down what I spent money on by keeping receipts and dropping them off on this table. The actual budget is written on construction paper and the rows represent: budget amount, spent amount, over- or under-spent, and special notes. Once I enter the amount into the appropriate column, based on categories, I can throw the receipt away. At the end of the month, I tally all the expenses, see where I went over and under...

My favorite categories are "gifts/charity" and "incidentals" because I feel free to spend on those as opposed to feeling constrained in other areas... Example being that my least favorite categories are "eat out/entertainment" and "travel" because I always fill those up.

Still, by keeping the categories separate and tracking everything I spend, I can tell when I go overboard, in what area and by how much. I sometimes look a couple months ahead of time and say, "I'll budget less this month to have more that month." That's especially important for travel, an area where you can easily spend a few hundred bucks on a single plane ticket and exceed one month's budgeted amount.

I remember posting about the cons of living in LA, namely that I couldn't afford to. And I wondered how I could go on a budget date and other things... well those tough economic days are still here in a sense. The only differences for me personally are: a) i actually keep track, thanks to this construction paper budget, and b) that I can afford to have a column in my budget for savings. Ed kindly responded here about the whole ballin on a budget broke issue.

I know talking about specifics in personal budgets (income, debt, etc) is taboo, but I'd be interested in getting a rough idea of how my friends manage money. [Sarcasm:] I know the above budget is the most high-tech thing you have ever seen, so feel free to praise the novel system I've come up with... No really, do you have any best practices to suggest?

2009-05-01T06:47:00.001-07:00

Trying to pick up attractive women out dancing is so disheartening... I feel like complaining real quick. Oh, and the picture above is from last night, where I was in the dark about how to strike up a little flirtation with new people. See the symbolism?

Backstory: I was just talking to a friend yesterday afternoon about how picking up attractive women, even just flirting with them, is so intimidating. Then, last night, dancing at the Masquerade, I ask to dance with a good-looking girl. Her response is the focus of the rest of this ranting/analyzing post.

First off, there is usually already a prohibitive buzz around the somebody I'm interested in talking to. That can manifest itself in someone already talking to her. Or her friends could be playing the shield role, as in the situation last night... that whole shield thing is a ploy... meant, understandably sometimes, to avoid over-exposure to unwanted onlookers. But once the shield was broken down, as it was with the small group the girl I approached was a part of, shouldn't there be some space for a respectful hi/hello/how you doin?

Secondly, and this is the kicker, women act rude. I feel like I followed the fairly well-established rules of approaching this woman last night. We were both enjoying dancing in the same room. She was dancing near her two friends but not intimately with either (guy and girl who were most likely a couple). I walk up to this woman and ask her to dance. Her response is to immediately and pointedly shoot a look at her friends and say "we were just leaving" and then scamper off like I had the swine.

I guess she and I hadn't made eye contact before I approached her. Also, maybe I should have been more casual in the greeting: instead of asking right away to dance, I could have simply asked her name or how she was doin or something. God my game is weak. So maybe I should have guaged things differently and tried for a little of that before approaching.

But damn! a less rude goodbye wouldn't hurt anybody.

I understand approaching strangers is never easy. No one would expect to score a number, or even a good dance, at every approach to a woman. But still, the whole process of trying to simply develop a rapport with someone is so exhausting and... annoying, I think is the right word. Especially when women act so damn rude.

the Club

2009-04-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Georgia Lottery is up to something like $220 million. And the state's advertising campaign "Millionaires Club" sparked some extra conversation at my cousin's Monday...

What would I do with a million bucks?

pay off my student debt
go to every ultimate tournament i could - paga in italy, kaimana in hawaii, potlatch in seattle, etc
set up my niece with her own little trust
let the family van rest in peace, replace it with a hybrid civic
donate to the Open Door Community
set something aside for possible grad school
say a quick hello, in person, to Kate

lol

Training

2009-04-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm getting in better shape before the ultimate season. My goal of late has been to up my workout frequency to twice a week. For some that wouldn't be a huge accomplishment (I can think of one and two examples). But its a realistic goal for what I need to move in the right direction.

Been doing one day of lifting and one day of jumping each week; or one day of lifting and one of running; throw in a long bike ride or two and its a complete week. But to really improve explosiveness, endurance, and throws - especially deep throws - I need to excel at these areas:

eating right
lifting right
running both long and short distances
throwing right, and throwing alot

The huge slice of cake I had after lunch today might not fit in this diet :( and new regimen. Any suggestions on how to optimize my training this Spring? Or share how you're optimizing your training time... (pic borrowed from Scott's website: scaughtyphotography.smugmug.com

Seattle

2009-04-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

I've been to Seattle once. En route to Burlington, Washington, for College Nationals. Above photo after our win that Saturday in 2004.

I have the most vivid memory being in Seattle (listen to this song while you read this post. It'll give more effect):

Gdub ultimate finishes second at Regionals in early May and trains until Memorial Day for College Nationals in Washington state. Fly out (almost lost Snausages on the way) to Seattle with a brief stopover in Spokane (which, ironically, was the site of College Nationals 02, when gdub went for the first time).

The arrival in Seattle was a blur. From the airport, we basically drive through the city in evening traffic on the way to the field site north of town.

Gdub is staying walking distance away from the tournament hotel. Go over to visit the tournament hotel and pick up player packets and shit. Obviously everthing is impressive. Just as impressive as the first day of play...

Friday we battle against William and Mary, Brown, and Kansas. We didn't feel blown away by any of the teams, including powerhouse Brown, who we played to 15-13. I remember playing against Josh Ziperstein, who is now a teammate, and Will Arnold, who was a teammate in LA.

Saturday's not as consequential for the tournament, but important for our hearts and pride. We win our first game ever at Nationals against Illinois that morning and follow it with a great game against storied program Carleton College (see score reporter from that weekend). Watching the semis and, later, debauchery ensue.

I'm realizing now I should have made this a two-post affair. Cause the story I started with is less about the tournament and more about Sunday evening in downtown Seattle.

After watching the finals on Sunday, Gdub makes a beline for downtown Seattle. On the water's edge, up a cliff sort of from the Sound, we shop at a half-indoor market. Get lunch and explore what's outside the market; see Seattle's street culture and beautiful hills.

Around lunch, we get over to the Space Needle, where another ultimate team is killing time (Michigan, I think). So we mingle and play stupid disc games (ie tips). I try to buy Ethiopian food from a vendor, who's at the same time being told to close up their shop cause the vending hours are over. The park warden wins and I go hungry.

The memorable part of the evening combines a) Spencer's video from that year, panning down the Space Needle with background music, and b) saying goodbye to Faust. I remember joking with him as he was about to board the monorail and head back to the Tacoma airport. Until later that summer, I didn't realize how big a moment that was for him... to have achieved a dream, lived the weekend, and now saying goodbye to his college and college ultimate life -- all underneath this darkening Seattle sky and brightening Seattle landmark. I'll never forget brother's tears and his love for the sport/team that night.

I shed similar tears the next year in Princeton. And that brother's still my good friend. Here's a picture of him catching a score in Burlington.

acapella books

2009-04-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

Was at a bookstore a few weeks back with two friends (hippos!) and this incident occured that I recorded but never blogged about til now. This is me getting my story (however trivial it may be) out...

The manager/receptionist was pleased to handle christina's request and purchases. She was getting her change. When I reached for a book mark near the register, and asked if the thing was free, the middle-aged slightly desheviled guy shakes his head at me. He rolls his eyes cause I asked if the bookmark was free. And as I turn to walk away convinces me (with his head shaking) that I'm an idiot.

I wanted this story to end there, but it moved me to type it. So there ya have it.

Ultimate time

2009-04-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Major happenings: economic recession, deaths close to me, tax season, political turmoil.

But let's change the subject a bit. Y'all readers know of ultimate frisbee. Some have been around this site long enough to have read about me playing for Chain the first go round (most of it, 05-06, was before benjamminspearsblog actually), Monster in the middle, and then Chain as of late.

Since October of last year, I've spent more time coaching than training. And the series for the team I coach is coming up - this weekend in fact. The Wreck ladies are going to Gainesville to compete in South Sectionals for a spot at Atlantic Coast Regionals. So that's exciting.

But I've also been gearing up to restart the competitive playing season. Mentally, I'm giving myself a harder time now that its April for not working out more often (mainly cardio, but also weights and stretching). Physically, I've spent a little more time biking seriously, lifting irregularly (deadlift, squats or split squats, and hip/ab stuff), and pushing my car when it breaks down -- take that Fred and Poole!!!

Then there's the actual gear I'll need for the season.

I have turfs. Need new cleats. So I'm looking at this under armour site. Any reviews on their cleats would be helpful
I have old running shoes. Need some new ones
I'm sporting long fingernails (relative to what they are during the season). Need to cut those
Plane tickets, like to Seattle, Maryland and Sarasota, plus maybe Boston, Santa Cruz and Austin
Unlimited Gatorade

Death, or something approaching it

2009-03-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

I vowed within the last week to extemporaneously write about the issue.

Its an under-discussed topic, in general. When was the last time death marched into a casual conversation of yours? Or even a serious one? For some, that's probably more recently than others.

But its important to talk about it. For one, its sort of empowering to bring out into the open something that we are so ignorant of. Once we recognize our ignorance, we can start to build a kind of dialogue about it.

I'm reading Julian Barnes' "Nothing to Be Frightened Of," which isn't as enjoyable as it is helpful; but it's a little of both. So that's cool.

That's all I got for now. Not looking for anything in specific, but the comments link is always available to ya. I appreciate your constant visiting, reading, and commenting.

Not Live Blogging

2009-03-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

The Faith and Politics Institute hosts, along with a local legend you all are aware of, a Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Selma, AL. This year, the Civil Rights Pilgrimage had a special significance with the election of President Obama, the appointment of Attorney General Eric Holder (who I got to meet), and well the Presidential election was pretty big.

Anyway, a group of students gathers at 6am to board a charter bus headed for Selma. We detour a little in Montgomery, to see the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and Southern Poverty Law Center. When we get to Selma, we immediately walk to the Brown Chapel AME Church for a service commemmorating the Bloody Sunday event in 1965.

The students got to meet Eric Holder and Al Sharpton, and visit with Congressman Lewis. Then we marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge... here's me on the bridge:

post scriptum: with all the instant-update potential of the web, I sometimes fear that posting something that happened in the past (its been a month since the selma trip) will be frowned upon. But Twitter is for instant updates and this for more in depth-y posts. Speaking of which, if you didn't see the new box on the right-hand side, check me out on twitter.

Lilies

2009-03-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday blog is a rare treat. Just having free time on a Saturday - no plans until 2 - is the rarity.

So I biked to Home Depot with mystery hawks-game-giveaway gift cards. And I'm picking out Lilies... Ideally I'll plant a dozen or so, bringing them from bulb stage to blooming life.

Then, I could gift them to friends and family (emphasis on family) for holidays (ie Lily's birthday). Though, now that I think about the season she was born in (late February) the flowers may not be blooming that time of year :(

Still, wouldn't it be nice to give a different variety on the same gift every year... Different color/kind of Lily?

I'm an Uncle - and a call for book suggestions

2009-03-18T05:54:00.001-07:00

As ya know, if this isn't your first time reading my blog in the past month... I'm an uncle! And on Monday I went over to my cousin's house (the mom) for our weekly hanging out.

[Yes, I said cousin. And that I'm an uncle... because my cousin is like a sister, I consider myself the uncle of her and her husband's baby. Plus my cousin is an only child, meaning she has no biological siblings to be aunt and uncle. This is hopefully the last time I explain this. ]

With me on Monday, I brought five books to read to precious little Lily. The first book we read to her was Raggedy-Ann, like the very first encarnation of Raggedy-Ann. In this Raggedy-Ann, the little girl Annie finds the doll for the first time.

Lily had been fussy for a few minutes until I started reading. But while I read she calmed down, maybe fell asleep.

So, reading to my niece is the new black. Please post here suggestions for children's books. They can be books you remember from childhood or books you have since discovered and would recommend. Its open-ended.

Malicious Blogs

2009-03-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a short list of memories of Salisbury, Maryland, and why I don't actually hate the place but know people who do (picture above is from alumni weekend 07 - snausy throwing against shed with jen, carlone, bach, and willis admiring the layering):

Freshman year, lunch with Dirty and a couple other seniors between Saturday games. Ate at a southern-style place and got the worst kind of food. The fattening kind that takes a long time to cook so you have to eat quickly and get back to the fields with a heavy stomach.
Freshman year, tournament party has a beer garden and lots of alcohol. Snausages drinks Southern Comfort like its an IV. At the hotel, he takes two steps away from the 30-person-fitting team bus and throws up all over the place, including on my pants, sandals and exposed toes.
Sophomore year, in the wind against Delaware. Handling with Ed and Jeff Rakitt: going back and forth in the zone, saying after each throw 'Nice throw, Ed!'
Junior year, tournament party: Usher's Yeah song comes on and the dance floor explodes. This was a big night for the Wang. And possibly the last time I saw Old Man dance. Faust was kicked out of this party, I believe, for trying to sneak underage players in.
Senior year, beating Maryland.
Senior year, back in DC partying with women's team, who also finished first at sectionals that day... drinking from the colonial cup and playing provocative beer pong.
Alumni years, everyone shit-talking Salisbury, especially Linc. And House. And Giga. And now Kyle C. And Snaus. And the women's team. And others.

Please post in the comments below why we collectively hate Salisbury...

Three Wishes

2009-03-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

Ooh its such a personal question. I don't know if I trust the world wide web enough to share my secrets. But a secret is only such until you tell it, so why not get it out?! Found this site through a good friend who likes to write.

I really would wish an end to human suffering... primarily suffering that results from poor sanitation, access to health services, and food insecurity. Sure I sound like a 5 year old wishing everyone could just be okay. Or maybe I sound like some recently-returned traveler to South Asia saying how simple it is if we just write to our representatives asking them to increase aid and control the proliferation of arms across the world. I think it will take a sea change from the current atmosphere of rampant consumer capitilism -- but it is possible, with a major psychosocial shift, to afford the kind of aid that would end unnecessary deaths resulting from simple diseases and hunger. So that's my first wish.

My second wish would be, well, wish number one seems so all-encompassing for my life that its hard to think of a second one. Also, its hard to wish for Braves season-tickets in light of wish number one... cause of course I wouldn't have that kind of consumption desire in my proposed perfect world where no one suffers unnecessarily. But I would wish for a more robust sense of humor. Good humor reflects strong wit and intelligence, but also it shows that someone doesn't take themselves too seriously. So I guess that's a side-wish, call it wish 2.5: taking myself less seriously.

Third wish has to be ... wow ... I published this at first without a third wish. I guess I'll leave it at two for now. And ask you, the reader, for a wish or two. Either post it here as a comment or on your own blog (Bert - you, especially, need a new blog post; love ya!).

lessons post-college

2009-03-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

One thing I heard often in college was "just show up and you'll do fine." Teachers preached that presence was 90% of success. If you know me well you've heard me talk about falling asleep in every chair, row, whatever in most of my classes. Still - and I bought into it - with my intelligence, I thought making it to class was all I had to do and the rest would work itself out.

Well now, in the work world, I realize its not so easy. And more importantly, in the world in general, just showing up doesn't yield a high quality of life. Life takes hard work and struggle; to get things done and influence people takes a real presence of mind, not just body. So I'm upset at the college mantra of "you'll do fine - just bring yo ass to class."

DC Stay

2009-03-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

My greatest motivation for taking pictures is sharing then saving them. And because this blog provides a seemingly endless repository for everyone's pictures, I often think while I'm taking pictures to post 'em up here. So here's three separate photos from my hotel room last month in the L'Enfant district of DC. Lastly is a Photoshop composite of all three put together.

Short Month

2009-03-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

February ended in a blur. The baby showing up; bad news at the other end of the generational spectrum. And only a 28th day - no 29 or 30.

But at least we have another Friday the 13th this month because of February's odd (or even?) numerals.

If you couldn't tell already, this is another post that I started writing with only two thoughts in mind... the comment about Febraury being blur and the Friday the 13th fact. This is me fighting to get back in the blogging game, in the posting game, the less stressed and happier game. I don't even know what games I'm talking about.

Obviously, I've been around...

this is the highlight of my reading for the week: Vahd's blog's latest poem
enjoying Amy's newest (there are two new ones, this is the less new)
reading Ed's exotic adventure tales - his most literal and depressing post ever (read: The only part that wasn't enjoyable was writing this post)
happily hearing that book 1 made its way to a new home; i've believed since coming up with the idea with Angela that a book like that belongs at the homes its at right now.

Lily joins the family

2009-02-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

A baby's been developing for some 8 months in my cousin's belly. And now she's alive and well outside the belly.

Little Lily has nails. She has a belly button. And, as my mom loved to point out, Lily can scream!

She was born at 9:55pm last night at Grady hospital, 6 pounds 11 ounces. Here are some pictures from the saga.

In the waiting room, the dad-to-be, my cousin’s husband, is on the right. And my dad, the great-uncle-to-be, on the left:

Proof that we waited for a while, I had time to take a picture of the waiting room door sign:

The phone switches hands. But the waiting game remains:

And the ironic warning, telling visitors not to take the magazines from an already empty magazine rack:

This is the infant warmer table before the baby was born:

About 30 minutes after the news that the baby was delivered, great-uncle and I got to visit. Dad tries to get her to cry for grandma through the phone:

Lily, up close with the cutest hat ever:

Up close with dad touching her arm:

That's it for now :) I'll try to get back over to the hospital later today for a quick hello.

Food Tracking

2009-02-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

For about a week earlier this month, I tried to record everything I ate. My main dietary goal was to maximize my protein and decrease my processed carbs. Plus I thought recording it (through the memo app on my phone) would help me track it all.

I want to get it off my phone but couldn't think of anywhere else to post it. So, here it is; maybe I learned (or will learn) something from it:

Feb 3: Breakfast: 2 1/2 bowls Frosted Flakes with 1 pct milk
Lunch: 1 leg fried chicken, 1 svg pasta with eggplant and sauce, 2 apples, 2 slices cake
Dinner: 1 svg lowfat cottage cheese, salad no dressing, half a cantalope, half bar organic dark chocolate, 1/2 cup mixed frozen fruit

Feb 4: Bfast: half croissant, 1 svg egg/bacon/ssge
Lch: 1 svg cttge chs, small salad, three slices wheat brd, 5 slcs ham, 1 slc salami - 1/2 tsp yllw mustard, 1 small bag peanuts
Din: 1 svg cttg cheese, 1 cup melon, 1 onion in soup w/ chicken broth, 6 svgs tofu, 4 mushrooms, 1 beer, 1 cup mixed frzn fruit, 1 apple

Feb 5: Bfast: 3 eggs scrambled
Lunch: 1 svg brocoli, 1 svg carrots - both boiled, 1 chicken breast baked; cornbread
Din: didn't record anything

Feb 6: 3 eggs, 2 svgs melon, pasta w/ eggplant, svg cott ches, 1 orange, 2 slices whole wheat brd, 4 slices turkey, 1 turkey and cheese large sub, 1.5 rolls veggie sushi, 3 handfuls walnuts, svg watermelon, large hot chocolate

Weekend: didn't record anything

Feb 9: 4 eggs scrambled 402 calories 20 grams protein, 2 bananas 210 calories 3 grams protein, 3 slices white turkey 90 calories 15 grams protein, 3 slices wheat bread 210 calories 10.5 grams protein, cttg cheese 81 calories 14 grams protein, carrots 50 calories
Total so far (1:30 pm): 1050 calories and 62 grams protein :)

Dinner: didn't record anything

Feb 10: 2 svgs frstd flks, 2 svgs milk, 2 svgs vietnamese salad, 2 grlld chs (muenster), svg yogurt, svg frzn fruit

Feb 11: 3 eggs, 3 svgs cttg chs, slice wheat brd, 1/2 svg italian drssg, slice apple pie with scoop cream, roll, svg cole slaw, svg pork, svg baked beans

The Love

2009-02-20T07:41:00.001-08:00

This is my favorite word in Arabic. It means love. Well, the way its written here actually is 'the love.' This is the only thing I've ever considered getting a tattoo of. I think its so beautiful.

The Hardest Post I Ever Published

2009-02-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

In language class at GW, a regular exercise for 'beyond daily conversation' was to discuss the hardest decision we ever made. Well, naturally, everybody said about the same thing: deciding which college to go to was the hardest decision I ever made.

The truth is, at least in my case but I'm guessing in other's cases, also, which college to go to was probably the easiest decision I ever had to make. Michigan and UGA wait-listed me and I didn't want to go to the other school I got into.

So I lied about the hardest decision I ever made. Just to be normal.

Now my philosophy is that sometimes the most difficult decisions in our lives are the simplest. Like what to wear. Or what to eat. In honor of all those classes I lied to all those times, here's my honest version of what the most difficult decision ever would sound like, in English:

"the most difficult decision I have ever made is what I would wear today. I thought for 30 minutes about what this shirt versus that shirt says about myself, the weather, and the [insert extraneous data] I'm going through today.

And I chose an [mention color and fit, age and purchase price] shirt with [it doesn't matter] pants [or does it?]. But I presently regret the decision to wear this particular combination because the shirt flairs out at the stomach, making my whole body look less desirable than I want; and this is turning off potential sexual partners."

The End

Ahh!

2009-02-17T10:13:00.001-08:00

Mid-February events

Friday the 13th
Valentine's Day
President's Day
birthdays, etc

With the number of things going on in the middle of February, I had a feeling that this past weekend was gonna be amazing... in that kind of 'people are buzzing' sort of way. But instead, fun stuff to do (for a single person) was hard to come by. In short, I felt pretty Ahh! and Blah! this weekend.

After two days of watching TV - broken up only by a couple hours of disc sports each afternoon - I decided to spend Monday cleaning and reading. And what I was reading is sort of echoed in Kate's blog over at kawilson830.blogspot.com.

Three Cups of Tea, written by the central figure of the book Greg Mortensen and his friend David Oliver Relin, is billed as 'one man's mission to promote peace... one school at a time.' And although I don't think Mortensen began his humanitarian work in Pakistan and Afghanistan with the inspiration of peacemaking, I do think his work has great diplomatic effects.

And I'm proud that an American like Mortensen, originally a climber and only later a non-profit director, has put his whole life into his Central Asia Institute work. A couple weeks ago, Mortensen came through Atlanta on his speaking tour; just the other day, I believe, my sister saw him speak in New York. So he's getting the word out. And I'm happy to do the same.

The reason why I thought this was echoed in kawilson's blog is cause she talks about a pot of tea. And the American value placed on perpetual busy-ness, as opposed to relationship-building and patience. We grow up admiring people that never stop moving; people who think that doing something slow, or even slower, is as valuable as not doing anything at all.

At about the midpoint in Three Cups of tea, the mayor of the first town Mortensen helps build a school in takes the American aside. Mortensen was at the time working people too hard and focused too much on finishing construction by a certain date. Since procuring all the materials and breaking ground, he had spent little time at understanding the people and processes involved. The mayor, Haji Ali, says to encourage Mortensen to ease up:

The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die.”

Kate, you are in the sometimes fortunate and other times unfortunate position of having free time where no one is going to force you to either speed up or slow down. Whereas Mortensen had someone to counsel him at the appropriate pace of life, its really your issue to grapple with. I like seeing that you're concsious of the issue and that you're spending time with a wide variety of characters, including yourself and your pot of tea.

Lei Out (2006 I think) with kawilson. Sometimes ultimate is our pot of tea.

Nothin

2009-02-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

Its rare that I ever start a post having nothin to say. The entire Inauguration/President 2008 series was thought out. My What Really Grinds My Gears post was, I'll admit, written quickly. But I put some thought into it; and the subject had quite a long personal narrative as a back story.

And even though most of my writing may sound like its a train of thought, poorly or hastily structured... I actually do think about things before I write them.

But this post started with nothin, more nothin than any previous post on this whole blog. I didn't start with pictures, like Mak, or an issue to rage about, like House. Literally, the first thing I thought when I clicked on New Post was nothin. And the first thing I wrote, in the title, was nothin.

This blog has always been about me sharing thoughts and experiences. So this isn't me saying that nothin has happened since I last posted. But I also know that I can get some good practice by writing regularly as well. Right now, I'm practicing extemporaneous writing; sharing my thoughts on the fly without trying to reach into the last few hours of my life for a spark. And so far the lack of a spark coming to mind has allowed me to continue the nothin'ness of the post/moment.

related thought: did you ever have that English or Creative Writing teacher tell you that when you felt writer's block just to start with something? Even if that something was "I have nothin to write about and I'm experiencing anger at my teacher for making me write." This is that moment for me, getting through a little block and nothin'ness.

Missed Opportunity

2009-02-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Necessary background: a little over two months ago, I attended an event where TI, Ludacris, and Young Jeezy all appeared on behalf of democratic candidate for US Senate, Jim Martin.

Current event: seeing TI's performance (with Justin Timberlake) at the Grammy's reminded me of my continued regret that I didn't at least shake hands with the dude (plus Jeezy and Luda). They were all within an arm's length of me at various points and still I can't honestly say that 'I met that guy.'

Damn! I took pictures of the group of guys with my boss; but I didn't get into any with them.