Ian Ritz's Blog

Graduation

2010-05-21T09:08:00.007-05:00

The time has finally come, I am officially a Master of Public Affairs. After two years and countless hours of studying and writing, I concluded my program at the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (geez, that's a mouthful).

The graduation ceremony was last Saturday and it was really nice. Instead of sitting through the mass graduation at the Kohl Center, the students of the La Follette School organize our own ceremony at the Wisconsin Capitol Building in Downtown Madison. We reserve an assembly chamber and coordinate speakers, guests, and all accompanying activities. The student, faculty, and keynote speakers were excellent. Jeff Greenfield, former speech writer for Robert Kennedy and currently a CBS senior political correspondent, was the keynote speaker and his message stressed the of public service and reasoned policy, but mixed in humorous realism. My favorite line was, "You will not reach all your dreams in life... In fact, some of your dreams may be illegal."

My parents as well as Natalie and her parents were up for the weekend too. It was awesome to have them share the experience with me and we had a lot of fun. Highlights included going to the Farmers Market on the Capitol Square, walking through Olbrich Gardens, and eating a bunch of delicious food. I even managed to drag them to my men's league soccer game on Sunday morning.

It was certainly a great weekend, but I am now left with the anxiety of semi-unemployment. I have a 20-hour/week research job on campus through the end of August, but I definitely need more permanent employment. I enjoy my work but it is not sustainable and I am looking to finally start a professional career that matches my education and skill set. It is a daunting prospect to be sure, but I am up for the challenge.

Spring Time

2010-03-17T13:41:00.002-05:00

It is currently 60 degrees and sunny outside which is unseasonably warm and positively marvelous. The weather has been excellent for the past two or so weeks and the remnants of winter are fading away. Some snow piles linger, but their size is diminishing rapidly. It definitely feels like spring has sprung.

Sadly, I will not be able to enjoy the afternoon to the fullest because the first draft of our capstone project is rapidly coming due. Overall, we are in good shape with our research, but I still have to write my section. I am not overly worried because this is only the initial draft, but it is still important to create a nearly complete report. So, instead of basking in the balmy conditions, I will be stuck inside at the computer.

I will, however, be taking a break later this afternoon to kick a ball around with some friends. I haven't touched a soccer ball (especially outdoors) in months and I am looking forward to running and playing in the fresh air. No doubt I will be rather rusty, but it should still be fun all the same.

Still There?

2010-02-21T11:50:00.002-06:00

Why am I writing a blog post? I honestly have no idea. Many moons have passed since my last effort, and certainly many things to potentially write about. But yet, I haven't. Certainly apathy factors strongly into why I haven't posted anything in 8 months, but business does play a small part as well.

School is nearly over and I can safely say that I am looking forward to being out of the world of academia once again. Last semester consumed me body, mind, and soul and I fear this semester will do the same. Thus far, however, my final semester has been perfectly manageable. I attribute this mostly because I haven't been employed (something I hope will end soon) and because I am taking one fewer courses than in previous terms.

The big task is our Capstone project. To graduate from La Follette we are required to fulfill a Professional Workshop course and it is designed to be the culmination of our time at the school. We have professional clients and are responsible for completing a research project on the topic of their choosing. The intent is for us to draw upon our previous three semester's worth of knowledge and produce a meaningful report. I am with a team working for the City of Milwaukee's Budget Office and so far it is going well. My team is working well and we're making good progress. It will be a long semester but I am cautiously optimistic that all will go according to plan.

New Computer, Same Great Blog

2009-06-22T10:50:00.003-05:00

My trusty computer finally failed me about a week and a half ago. It had been acting up bit - spontaneously ending programs and not wanting to shut down - but I didn't think too much of it. The PC and I have developed an intimate relationship over the past seven years, and the churlish desktop has been prone to intermittent fits and stutters. Yet, through the years of research, paper writing, procrastination, and emailing, the old guy hasn't let me down. I made it through Mac and now the first year of grad school without any major incident.

True, I did lose some files but at least it didn't kick the bucket during finals time. I was somewhat purturbed when it decided not boot up any more, but in the end I was forced to accept that I had pulled my last late night, scrambling to finish a paper with this computer. I mourned, but like the passing of an old pet my mourning was assuaged by the arrival of a new, energetic replacement. I purchased a new desktop and things are looking up once again.

In other news, I started an internship last week. I am now volunteering a small amount of my time at UMOS, a non-profit organization that provides services to immigrant populations. Their primary constituency is hispanic migrant farm workers, but their programs extend to the much broader immigrant community as well. They seek to provide labor force enhancement (job training, work fairs), education services (Head Start, ESL), housing (temporary and permanent), health care services, and legal services to all who seek help from them. UMOS has built a strong reputation in the area and I am excited to be a part of their work.

I was connected to UMOS through a friend of mine in the program. The organization is based in Milwaukee, but they have offices throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest as well. A new office opened in Madison earlier this Spring and I was able to contact the woman who is operating here. She's a lawyer and I met with her to interview for an internship position. It turned out to be less of an interview and more of an information session as it seemed to be assumed that I would work for them and they had things for me to do. (I suppose all non-profits would be interested by the prospect of free labor.) The woman was very nice and excited for me to get involved. It will work well for me too because the work is very flexible. I can do all my work from home and communicate with her via email and phone. This is great because it allows me to maintain my time committments at Willy Bikes without much conflict.

Unfortunately for me however, the beginning of this internship coincided with the end of the computer. A mild source of consternation, but nothing disastrous for sure. I just turned in my first memo about a grant proposal to her I am awaiting a response. I don't know how this will all progress but I am looking forward to this opportunity.

Back to Madison

2009-06-08T21:31:00.003-05:00

After Leah's graduation from Macalester, it was back to Iowa for a little bit. Asa and I left St. Paul on the Sunday afternoon with a minivan full of Leah's possessions headed for Ames. (Mom and Dad stayed on until Monday to spend more time with Leah and dropped Aaron off at the airport. They had our other car and loaded that with some more of Leah's stuff.)

I was only back in Ames for one night as I helped Natalie move into her new apartment in Cedar Falls. She will be starting school at the University of Northern Iowa in the Fall but wanted to move up there and get settled before the semester starts. She actually has a job playing piano at a Von Maur department store. Natalie, with the help of her parents, had moved a bunch of stuff up a few days before I arrived back home. So, all that was left to us was to gather the few remaining things - the cat included - and head on up.

I was greeted by a mountain of boxes when I entered Natalie's apartment for the first time, but it was a nice little place for sure. She has a one bedroom with a balcony and even enough space to fit a piano in there. Certainly plenty of space for the little devil Dexter to roam and knock over plants. After living with her parents for over a year, Natalie is duly excited to have a place of her own. I can emphathize with this sentiment and I think she will be quite happy in her apartment and at school once everything gets settled.

Moreover, Cedar Falls isn't far from Ames, only about an 1.5 hours driving, but it's in the right direction. The town is located in the northeastern portion of the state, and conveniently for me, is directly in route to Madison. It cuts the distance considerably and will hopefully make travelling back and forth a bit easier.

Leah's Graduation

2009-06-04T10:51:00.008-05:00

Almost immediately after turning in my last final I was whisked away to the Twin Cities for my sister Leah's graduation from Macalester. My other sister, Claire, swung through Madison on her way from Chicago and we drove up to St. Paul. Though somewhat comatose/delirious from lack of sleep and hyper brain activity, I managed to stay awake and talk with Claire for most of the trip. I am sometimes derelict in communicating with my siblings throughout the year and so it was great to catch up with her.

It was odd to watch Leah walk across the stage and accept her diploma. It was definitely satisfying because she worked very hard and certainly earned the degree. But at the same time, I clearly remember her being a little freshman at Mac when I shook the President's hand and took my diploma. I don't recall exactly when, but at one point Leah told me her motivation in school was to do better than me. I like to think simply gaining academic knowledge should be motivation enough, but beating an older sibling should not be disregarded. In a family such as ours, there is always a degree of sibling rivalry and there is a certain amount of dangling achievements in front of the others. This one-up-manship is never too intense - and certainly not malicious- but it is especially fun to do to Leah because it makes her so flustered. I think Leah has perhaps the highest combination of academic aptitude and drive to perform. To her credit, she graduated with a double major and maintained a higher GPA than me and earned some sort of prize for a paper she wrote. (Still, I had a minor degree and an honors project as well ;)

On the whole, it was an excellent weekend. Definitely the way to toast finishing up my first year of grad school. All my siblings had come back from their respective domiciles (Philadelphia, Chicago, Iowa City) and my parents were up from Ames, obviously. My mom was especially pleased to have us all together. I was definitely on guard against random attacks from Mom-hugs for several hours arriving (not that I am complaining).

Whenever we all get together its a raucous time: this was no exception. There was lots of food, lots of drink, and lots of revelry. The first night we made pizza at Leah's house and drank some of my dad's home brew. The next night was grilled steak and more libations, topped off by homemade soft-serve ice cream. Dad even brought up the carbonator so we made a variety of bubbly beverages. I think Leah's roommates were somewhat overwhelmed by our family, but such is the Ritz experience.

In addition to family, I was able to hang out with a several friends who are still in the area. I hung out with my former roommate Roscoe, my friend Katie, and even unexpectedly bumped into a former teammate, Robbie, at the commencement ceremony. I was also able to see my Sociology adviser and met up with my coach, Ian Barker. I saw about everyone that I could over the weekend... fantastic.

Finals Recap

2009-05-28T12:15:00.003-05:00

Gratefully, the end of the semester has come and gone. I must admit, this semester's finals were the most challenging I've faced during my various years at school. They proved to be exceedingly trying for a variety of reasons; some internal to the course, some external to school.

Starting with internal factors, the courses were quite demanding in and of themselves and I had four (as compared to three last semester). In the last three weeks of the semester I two group projects, two presentations, two individual semester projects, and two take home finals due. All told, I submitted (or at least contributed to) about 110 pages of writing. A couple of the assignments were projects that I had been working on throughout the semester, but I had to finish them and turn them in. There were a couple of late nights and early mornings but my good friend caffeine helped me survive. The most impressive feat was Thursday night and Friday morning in which I cranked out the take home final and finished up a project for my last class. Both were due by noon on Friday and I submitted my final at 9:30 and the project at 1:30. I had emailed the professor letting him know that it would be a little late and fortunately he did not penalize me.

People say graduate school is difficult with good reason. My impression is that professors are disinclined to fail students, but they are also disinclined to give high marks. The workload is heavy and professors expect students to put forward good effort. That is, you really have to earn grades. I am not complaining, however. Everyone is confronted with the same situation and that's just the way it is.

With respect to external factors, working at the bike shop added more stress to the situation. I maintained my normal work schedule (about 20 hours a week) during finals time, which ate up a lot of potential study time. In addition, there were several student functions going on that I felt compelled to attend. I am a member of the La Follette School Student Association and we had fundraising and social events during finals week. I definitely could have skipped, but I wanted to support the group.

In the end, I am quite pleased with my performance in each of the courses - certainly better than last semester. I received the highest grade level in two classes, and next to the highest in two others. Not only did my grades turn out well, but I feel that I learned a great deal during the semester. My classes were diverse and I feel comfortable with the material in each respective topic.

Almost There

2009-05-10T19:51:00.004-05:00

Tick, tock. Time is steadily marching down to the end of my first year of grad school. I must say that I am wholeheartedly looking forward to the end. Finals are feasting on my soul and it makes me feel dead inside. I have a Social Policy final paper due Monday as well as the final exam for my Public Management class. On Tuesday I have to turn in my final project for Statistics. Lastly, I have a final exam and a final project due on Friday for my Community Economic Analysis class. I am decent shape as far as the work load goes, but there isn't a whole lot of room for error.

On the plus side, as soon as I wrap up on Friday, I am heading off to the Twin Cities for Leah's graduation. It is hard to believe that she will be done at Mac. I am especially looking forward to the weekend because all my siblings will be back together. Claire is coming to get me from Chicago and we'll make it up late on Friday night. Aaron's flying in from Philly and Asa will have just finished up his first year at the University of Iowa. My parents will be bringing up a couple batches of home brew and everyone should be in good spirits so it will be a raucous time.

Crazy Legs Pics

2009-04-26T11:22:00.002-05:00

Crazy Legs

2009-04-26T10:53:00.003-05:00

I was duped by a friend of mine at La Follette to run in the 28th annual Crazy Legs run this past Saturday. It is an immensely popular 5 mile road run to benefit UW Athletics that winds through the central parts of Madison and the Campus, ending in Camp Randall football stadium. Everyone has said the Crazy Legs is a lot of fun. A bunch of people (18,500+ this year) and at the finish they give you beer - very novel and Wisconisn-like idea. So, when a La Follette contingent signed up and starting pestering me to join, I had little chance of refusing.

Although I love being active and playing all kinds of sports, I generally avoid such frivolous things like simply running. I can chase a soccer ball for hours, but going out and running just for the hell of it is one of the sillier things a person can do. It is long, it is monotonous, and it is painful. But, I always seem to let myself get talked into doing a race every now and again.

I put my name in a while ago, but didn't really do a whole lot of training. I have been lifting weights at the gym, playing racquetball, cycling, and playing a little soccer and so I felt confident I could finish the race just fine. I wasn't concerned with time as much as just running with friends and having a good time. We even had a big spaghetti dinner the night before to get ready. Everyone was in high spirits even though rain was in forecast.

That night, the heavens opened and it rained into the morning. I checked the forecast right before leaving for the race and it didn't look good. Rain all day. I met my friends at the race start (Capitol Square) and stood in line for our turn to take off. I was decked out in all red (even red UW cycling socks) and was feeling pretty good due to a brief respite in the rain. Just as we reached the front, however, it started to pour. Big, cold rain drops descended upon us as we headed down to the Campus.

I like to try and make this sound terrible sometimes, but the truth is that I had an enjoyable time. The rain was invigorating and it didn't stop me - nor the other 18,000 people - from having a really great time. Though it rained the whole time, I felt good throughout and finished strong across the line. Outdoor speakers pumped the 'Rocky' theme at various points and I even picked up an umbrella along the way. I wasn't fast, but that wasn't the point. Afterward, I ran off to another friends to shower and clean up before going to work. Work went fine and now I can say I am a crazy leg. I will try and get a picture and post it soon.

Too Many Things, Too Little Time

2009-03-27T13:45:00.004-05:00

I apologize that I have been neglecting the blog lately. There are of course, too many things going on and not enough time. In typical fashion, I am squezzing this in before jetting off to work. Here's a quick run down of things.

Birthday: Quarter Century Old, Hot Damn! Thanks to everyone for their wishes and gifts. I enjoyed them all. The highlight of the event was sharing a Boot with Natalie and some of my friends at an authentic German pub in Madison.

Midterms: Lots of stress, not much sleep. Midterms came and went and I was more glad to see them go. However, upon receiving scores for all my projects I am pleased with the results (certainly better than last semester).

Spring Break: Late night bus rides and a delightful few days back in Iowa. It was near 70 degrees back in Ames. Who needs to go to Florida... Spring Break Iowa '09! Then it was back to Madison where I worked the rest of the time at the bike shop.

Mega Sale: Twice a year Willy Bikes has what they call their Mega Sale. "Everything priced to sell!" Not sure about that, but it is crazy busy. Setup was a bitch because it was cold and rainy and I was outside all day shuffling bikes around. An inch of standing water in the parking lot and under our big tents. Shitty. Hopefully the sale will be better but they're talking snow tomorrow. WooHoo!

La Follette Formal

2009-02-18T21:32:00.004-06:00

The La Follette Social committee successfully hosted a formal party a couple weekends ago. The entire student body as well as faculty and staff were invited and we probably had about 60 people show up to the event. The intent was to provide an opportunity for people to mingle and have fun outside of a school setting. We waged a heavy publicity campaign and twisted a few arms but many were excited about the event.

The party took place at an Irish pub on capitol square called The Brocach. It's a pretty nice place and we had an area of the upstairs reserved for the evening. It was a little cramped but we basically had our own bar and the section to ourselves. We charged $10 for tickets which went to purchasing some food and there was just a cash bar. The food was good, but there was unfortunately too little of it. We could have charged more for tickets and gotten more food, but we didn't want to make it prohibitively expensive.

Part of the conditions for the night was formal attire. I think it's fun to dress up from time to time and I wanted to get other people to look snazzy as well. People sometimes don't like to admit that they like to wear nice outfits, but I know deep down everyone likes to look good. Some dressed up more than others, I wore a bow tie, but it was fun to see all the suits and dresses.The turnout was excellent and everyone seemed to have a good time. I was talking with my friend Becky the next day and she said, "People were a little skeptical about the party, but it actually turned out well" (I think that's a compliment). I had plenty of help from others on the committee but the idea was primarily mine and I was especially pleased with how well things worked out.

Chili Cook Off

2009-02-12T08:21:00.002-06:00

On Super Bowl Sunday a group of us decided to have a chili cook-off. The winner received not only the pride associated with victory, but also the golden spoon (wooden spoon spray painted gold). I teamed up with my buddy Nate for the endeavor. Taking the event perhaps a little bit more seriously that others, we woke and went grocery shopping that Sunday morning. We meandered through the aisles collecting ingredients and went back to his apartment and tossed them in a crockpot to cook for a few hours.

We had three different kinds of beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, etc.; they all went into the pot. I was moving around the kitchen opening cans and whatnot while Nate was doing the chopping. I was really paying attention as he chopped up and threw in a whole habanero pepper. He was half way through the second when I told him those are really spicy peppers. He didn't know and maybe didn't believe me because he picked up piece he was cutting and popped it into his mouth. He took a couple chews and duely started coughing admitting, "yeah, that's pretty spicy."

With the crockpot bubbling away, Nate and I did some homework during the afternoon before heading over to watch the Super Bowl. The game itself was actually really good. Back and forth with lots of big plays on both sides. Two other chilis were in the competition with all accompanyment (corn bread, cheese, beer) and it was a good time all around. In the end, I would have liked the Cardinals to win but I'll just have to be satisfied with a chili contest victory.

If you were curious...

2009-01-27T09:21:00.004-06:00

If you were curious why I would undertake such a foolhardy endeavor as riding my bike through a Midwestern winter, this is an example of the genetics that I inherited. Here's a picture of my Dad slogging through a snow storm in Iowa couple weeks ago.As you can see, I have little choice in the matter and do what I am compelled to do. Aaron can relate to this and I am certain, in time, Asa will too. Alas.

Back to School

2009-01-27T09:05:00.003-06:00

The first week of the semester has come and gone. And, so far so good. I am mostly caught up with readings, which is saying something because I am already inundated with journal articles, texts and other readings. For one class I had nearly 200 pages of reading... before the first lecture! Oh well. So far all my classes seem interesting and I am looking forward to each of them (I don't remember the last time that happened). I have another Statistics class, Public Management, Social Policy, and Community Economic Development. It will be a lot of work, but should be good.

In other news, it's damn cold here. How cold? So cold that boogers freeze in you nose. So cold that eye lashes freeze together when you blink. So cold that I am even taking the bus sometimes. The current temperature as I am writing this at 9:13am is -4 F. Damn, that's cold. But, it's not just here, the cold snap is punishing the entire upper Midwest and you just have to deal with it. Fortunately for me, I got a pair of ski goggles and some face cream to keep me warm. The cream keeps my skin from chapping and the goggles are a God-send. I wear a balaclava and a skull cap to keep my head warm it's really quite amazing how well the goggles keep the rest of my face warm. Previously, I would get a splitting pain right in the middle of my forehead from the cold, but now I bike along in an orange-tinted bliss.

Sanding and Painting are Best Done Outside

2009-01-14T10:49:00.006-06:00

I also had a project for myself over winter break. I have been riding an old Raleigh road bike that my dad converted into a commuter for me. Its been ridden and ridden hard for several years and I decided it needed some lovin'. Few (if any) of the parts on the Raleigh were new when they were installed so I intended to replace most everything and give it a new paint job.

Everything started fine but like so many projects, a little snowball turns into an avalanche. It turned out a crack in the frame was of more structural significance than previously thought and I had to abandon the original plan. Fortunately my dad - as only he would - had an extra frame laying around in the garage that would be a suitable replacement for my commuter bike. It was a 90's era Univega (decidedly less classy than the Raleigh) with a hideous red and black spackle finish. So, I set to work.Over the two or so weeks that I was home, I spent a good portion of time down in the basement working on the bike. First I had to sand down the paint which really wasn't too bad save for a little dusty. The next steps was to prime the frame and fork and then layer on the paint and clear coat. The tedious part was that I had to lightly sand the metal between each application of spray and then wait for each successive coat to it dry fully. This process took several days and in the end, I finished with two primer coats, four color coats, and five clear coats.

One the back of each spray can is a warning advising the user to apply the spray in a warm and well ventilated area. Since it was the middle of winter, there was no suitable place outside and my only option left was the basement. They suggest a ventilated area for good reason. That stuff is noxious. Despite wearing a face mask and moving air around with a fan, I could only suffer a few minutes down there while spraying the bike. More than a couple times I bounded upstairs, fleeing the fumes feeling light-headed and slightly nauseous. What's worse is that the reek seeped through the ventilation shafts and filled house with the lovely aroma of nail polish.

To spice the bike up a bit I made a checkerboard pattern across the top tube and a silver band around the down tube. In the end it turned out OK and I was mostly pleased with it. If I undertake such a project again I will plan a little bit better and hope to be a bit more creative with my design. Thanks to my Aaron for some helpful suggestions, thanks to my dad for allowing me to steal the frame and helping me hang parts, and thanks to Natalie for documenting.

Christmas & New Year

2009-01-05T13:21:00.003-06:00

After several weeks of enjoying the comforts of home I am back at my apartment in Madison. Although it does feel good to get back to a little bit somewhat of a routine, I must admit I miss being back in Ames. I had a really great break, perhaps the best one since leaving home on my various endeavors. All my siblings were back and Mom, Dad, and the pets were happy to see us. Whenever we all get together things get a little rowdy and raucous but it's always so much fun.

A little insight to what I'm talking about. Only somewhat employed, Aaron has had lots of time to undertake a multitude of projects and experiment with different things. Appropriate to his ecclectic personality, Aaron's latest kick has been homemade bacon and beverages. He, with the encouragement of his accomplice, Jennifer, has taken to smoking bacon and making moonshine or carbonated drinks. He and I drove to meat locker in northern Iowa and picked up some pork belly. We had only desired 4lbs or so, but when they brought out 7lbs, we thought what the heck. Aaron brined the pork belly for 4 days and then smoked them on our grilled and it turned out deliciously. Perhaps the best bacon I've ever had, if not a little salty.

That same day we procured a regulator and a CO2 cannister for carbonating beverages. This was to the kids gift to our dad, who also appreciates exotic gifts. The setup is rather simple but yields remarkable results. We made homemade root beer, carbonated juices, coffee, egg nog, milk, and other drinks. My unexpected favorite was the milk which was delicious. The egg nog was probably the least enjoyable but worth the experiment. On the whole, I ate and drank entirely too much food over the course of the two weeks I was home but I figure that's what the holiday's are for. Now, I'm back at my apartment with a baren pantry, save for all the treats I received, and will be back to my sparse diet.

Other adventures included sledding, a trip to grandma's house, target shooting BB guns in the backyard and the annual Christmas tree hunt. In this last adventure I take special pride because I actually helped picked out the tree. In years past I've ignored the looking part for snowball fighting but this year I managed to find a suitable pine between bouts of throwing. However, whatever pleasure derived from locating a tree was erased by being bested in a wrestling match by my younger brother. I take a certain pride in being the most athletic Ritz and when Asa brought me down I was severely deflated. We wrestled once more the next day to a draw but that is unacceptable. I have not been working out as much as I have in previous ages but I now vow to become fit again and regain my right role as the dominant sibling.

Aside from all this family action, I had a great time hanging out with friends and of course, Natalie. Ames is remarkably comfortable to me and it was excellent to be able to spend so much time with loved ones. I received everything I asked for for Christmas which is certainly more than I need. Natalie spoiled me with too many goodies but I'm not really complaining. I appreciate everything that came my way and hope everyone else had equally good holiday seasons.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-12-15T22:54:00.001-06:00

Holy crap, I am busy! It is the time of year when sleep is low and stress is high. Oh how I have missed you. I did not realize it until just today but this is one the things that I missed about school and I now fiend for it. People, myself include, always complain about having too many assignments, too many tests, too much work to do. Stress levels spike - it's difficult not to become overwhelmed - but in terms of how much is accomplished in a short period of time, it's quite remarkable. Despite how it feels at some moments, invariably everything gets finished, turned in and taken care of. And, when it's all finished you may wonder how that was possible but it feels so damn sweet to look back at the work and finally relax. Two finals finished, one more to go. Man I can't wait for Wednesday afternoon.

Thanksgiving Brief

2008-12-03T18:52:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was, as always, an episode in gluttony and relaxation. When it comes to turkey, stuffing and pecan pie I really have no sense of over indulgence. Most animals have some means of limiting how much food they so they do not become ill; I, however do not.

This year was especially painful as well since I had two Thanksgiving meals and desserts. I went to Natalie's house to eat with her family and literally went straight from her parents table to my own. To my credit, I did not have seconds at her house, but I can't say I did the same at my house. I made it a point to weigh myself before and after all consumption had concluded. The gain was quite astonishing; 8 pounds. Granted some of it was water weight, but nonetheless it was impressive (or disgraceful - not really sure yet).

Apart from the eating, the rest of my time at home was also quite enjoyable. I watched several movies, went mountain biking and got to hang out with family and friends. The Tip-Top run was another success and even included an additional stop in the park for a little boost to make it to the bar. Coffee liqueur at 9:00am while running 4 miles is not desirable.

The ride home was a bit dicey though. It took about 8 hours to make it from Webster City to Madison (a trip which typically takes 4). I went back with a second year named Catherine and she did an admirable job navigating treacherous highways all the way back. I lost track after two dozen cars off the road.

In the end, a successful trip. I did not do as much homework as I should have and am now forced to make up for. Oh well, the end is near and I am looking forward to Christmas.

Recent Happenings

2008-11-16T08:35:00.004-06:00

There has been a lot going on lately which means two things: One, I don't post anything on my blog because I am too busy. And two, I have to catch you all up as best I can. I'll just briefly fill you in on the excitement of my life 'round here from the last couple of weeks.

Going way back, I volunteered at the Madison Jaycees haunted house the weekend before Halloween with some other people from my program. I biked over to the location after work one Friday night and got completely soaked during a down pour. The haunted house had already opened up for the night so I threw on a mask and hid in a black hallway. I was fun except I was freezing for the rest of the night and the mask was disgusting.

The following week the Fighting Bobs advanced to the semi-finals of the co-ed intramural soccer championships. We had a thrilling come from behind victory in the quarters where yours truly picked up the only yellow card of the season and the game winner. Apparently refs don't like to be asked whether they've ever played soccer before. Who knew. The loss in the semi's was disappointing but on the whole we had a good season and I think everyone really enjoyed it.

A little press about the team: http://www.lafollette.wisc.edu/news.html (look a third the way down)

Halloween was up next and it was a good weekend. Natalie came up and we went out with some friends. Casablanca was our theme for the night and I must say her outfit was better than mine. She actually looked like Ingrid Bergman, and I couldn't really pull off Humphrey Bogart. Madison is known for debauchery on Halloween but we didn't really partake. We did see a few good costumes, however. My favorite were Bunsen and Beaker from the Muppets.

Obama & Biden 2008! Nuff said.

After then, all excitement has ceased and studying has commenced. I've had two tests and now I've got a draft of a paper due tomorrow and a presentation. The tests went better than the first round but I don't have my scores yet. After I get tomorrow out of the way it'll be clear sailing until Thanksgiving. Woo Hoo!

VOTE!

2008-11-04T08:48:00.003-06:00

I don't need to remind anyone that today is Election Day. Nor do I have to stress the importance of actually getting out and voting today. This is certainly the most important election that I have ever been able to participate in during my lifetime. I was, unfortunately too young to vote in 2000, a fact which I have rued for nearly eight years.

Though this day is some two years coming in terms of campaigning, it is somewhat anti-climactic for me as I have already voted absentee in Iowa. According to the sticker on my bicycle "I'm ridin' on Obama & Biden" so needless to say, I voted for the Obama, Biden ticket. I don't get the thrill of standing in line for who knows how long just to spend three minutes filling in circles, but that is the democratic process at its best. I am incredibly excited and anxious for the results to role in throughout the evening. This could be one of the most triumphant days in electoral politics or the most crushingly disappointing. I wait with bated breath. But, I will not wait alone. One of my professors is hosting an election party tonight and it should be fun. A lot of my friends are going and there will be a lot of professional people there as well.

It will be weird however, not be barraged with political advertisements and flyers at every corner. I've gotten used to seeing and hearing my buddy Barack and uncle John everywhere; they've become ubiquitous. Oh well, I think I'll manage.

In closing there's only one more thing to say, VOTE!

Microeconomics 1, Ian -1

2008-10-16T15:08:00.004-05:00

The statistics midterm passed without much incident. It was a night test and coming out of exam I realized I made a couple careless errors. I have a propensity for doing this, it seems, and it's incredibly frustrating. I studied a lot, knew most everything, but inexplicably froze up during the exam. After the annoyance with myself passed and I received my test back, the score reflected my work. I didn't do exceptionally well but I did fine.

The microeconomics midterm did not go so well. I have never felt so badly finishing an exam as I did yesterday. I studied quite a bit (not as much as I did for stats) and felt mildly confident at the outset. That confidence was clearly misplaced. The test was remarkably difficult. Much more difficult than any of the homeworks and even last years midterm from my perspective. I have been in a terrible mood since then and have visions of me flunking out of La Follette or at least being put on academic probation. Neither of which are very enticing options.

This was definitely a wake up call. I obviously don't know what my actual score will be or how the test will be curved, but I have already committed myself to more diligent studying. Grad school in general is meant to be more difficult and La Follette is a top program, so it is expected that it will be challenging. The first phase is over (I'll call it the honeymoon stage) and midterms were a swift kick in the junk reminding me that I have to get my shit together. Marriage isn't about fun, it's about sacrifice.

Some Pictures

2008-10-11T08:34:00.005-05:00

OK, I've finally got some pictures to put up. I've been meaning to take some photos of the various significant locations to me here but just haven't gotten around to it until now. Enjoy.

View of Lake Mendota from the La Follette Building

The La Follette House

There it is

Inside Willy Bikes

Test No. 1

2008-10-09T10:34:00.002-05:00

T-minus eight hours until my first test at La Follette. My first statistics exam is schedule tonight from 6:00-8:00 and I have no idea how it's going to turn out. I have been studying quite a bit but still can't get a reading on how I'll do. Some problems I am very confident, others not so much.

Our professor tried to reassure us the other day saying, "I don't expect people to do well on the exam. Just get your first 50 points and then the rest is gravy." Not the most comforting thing, but at least he tried.

Some people are stressing over the exam. I don't really know why. I've somewhat given up on absolutely freaking out about tests and other school work. It's simply not worth the trouble. It's not in the interest of professors to fail you out of the program. In the end, everything passes as it should and life goes on whether the assignment went well or poorly. Regardless of how the test goes, we're all heading out for celebratory/conciliatory drinks at the local watering hole afterward. Yippee!

VP Debate Reactions

2008-10-06T09:01:00.002-05:00

The "Beers for Biden, Pies for Palin" vice-presidential debate party was a resounding success. Six of my policy cohorts came over and nearly two full apple pies were consumed along with two dozen bottles of beer... fantastic. I myself enjoyed three slices of pie - well I say enjoyed until the last three bites of the third when it became mildly painful to finish (my marginal utility for each successive bite was falling close to zero).

In terms of the debate, I thought the night was quite revealing. Neither candidate is an exceptional debater but they stuck to their strengths and it turned out to be a rather instructional for me as a voter. Firmly an Obama/Biden supporter, it reaffirmed many reasons why. For any number of reasons (Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, education, energy, etc.) the Obama/Biden ticket resonates with me and it was reassuring to see first hand Joe Biden's mastery of the area, foreign policy, where Obama strikes me as the weakest. Previously relatively unknown to me, Biden made a strong impression as a knowledgeable and capable politician. Not flawless however, as he has made gaffes and has been forced to change or compromise some of his positions as part of the Democratic ticket.

On the other side, Sarah Palin did well for herself and the Republican party. She did not have any disastrous moments of 'Deer-in-Headlights Syndrome' and answered the questions in a way that really should help solidify the Republican base of voters. However, I hope it was as painfully obvious others who saw the debate as it was to me that she is painfully underqualified and illequipped to be the vice-president of the United States. She had three talking points that reocurred over and over again regardless whether the question was about education, foreign policy, health care or whaterver: she and John McCain are Mavericks (whatever that means exactly), she's an outsider from an energy producing state, and doesn't like taxes. It was amazing how many times she mentioned these things and how little substance there was to them. Not that it was terribly unexpected, but she dodged every other question and reverted back the talking points that the McCain handlers scripted for her.

In the end, I would say Biden won the debate by a good amount. He dictated the pace of the debate and answered questions directly and with good information. His knowledge of foreign policy is impressive. Palin on the other hand held her own and did fine. The talking points came through strongly but there was little, if any, substance to her rhetoric.

Beer for Biden, Pie for Palin

2008-10-02T07:58:00.003-05:00

Tonight Scott, my roommate, and I are hosting a Vice Presidential Debate Party. Yes, yes quite dorky perhaps but I am policy student and it comes with the territory. The theme of the party, as all good parties have some type, is "Beer for Biden, Pie for Palin." Beer is an obvious choice and we decided on pie because, well, we like alliteration too. More directly however, a couple girls in our program went apple picking over last weekend and came back with an excess of 10lbs of apples. Apparently one of the girls already made more than a gallon of apple sauce and there are still plenty of apples left over for some delicious pie.

I am quite curious to see how the debate tonight turns out. Admittedly I am quite partisan toward Obama-Biden, but I am always interested to hear what the McCain-Palin campaign has to say. McCain definitely played a wild card in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate and up to about a week ago I would say it was paying off. Palin's interview with Katie Couric was a disaster, but that makes this debate all the more interesting. All the politically minded folk around the country are waiting to see what happens tonight; it could be a real boon for either campaign for sure.

A Little Morning Excitement

2008-09-25T08:06:00.004-05:00

I stared certain doom in the face a couple mornings ago and didn't bat an eye. Running a little late to class, but perhaps more of a result of a nice tail wind or the fact that I was feeling ambitious, I was biking hard toward campus. I had just crossed the street and was standing up and accelerating away when a combination of bad events occurred simultaneously. First, my foot slipped off the front of the pedal and dropped to the ground. Second, somehow my chain came off the crank. Next, because my foot had fallen off and was dragged on the ground, my crotch had also dropped onto the nose of the seat and then onto the top tube of the frame.

Now wobbling semi-uncontrollably, the light post that I usually zip past without a second thought became a real concern. The pole was rapidly approaching and I was still struggling to get my bike under control. I employed the sophisticated technique of grinding my foot, grabbing the brakes, swearing, and steering fearfully and managed to skid to a stop just past the pole no worse for the wear, really. Topping things off however, my front wheel somehow developed a nice wobble and so I had to limp to my building on campus. Fortunately, I avoided disaster but it definitely not the way to start the morning.

VICTORY!

2008-09-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

The Fighting Bobs moved to 1-0 with a pulsating 2-1 victory in our first game of the season. Despite showing up only a few minutes before kick off, the Bobs started quickly and went ahead 1-0 in the first half. The first opportunity to play together, our eclectic gang of policy dorks looked strong throughout the game and opened up a 2-0 lead in the early stages of the second half. Yours truly netted a fine goal, slipping the ball past an oncoming keeper after a mazey run through the opposition's defense. Our attack created chances but we could not capitalize. They pulled on back later in the half and the game tightened up a bit. Balls flashed across the face of the goal and we clanged the woodwork but could not finish. Stout defending secured the win and now we move on to the second game with high hopes and expectations of good things to come.

Classes, Homework and IM Soccer

2008-09-12T10:21:00.003-05:00

After coasting through the first week of pseudo-classes, everything has picked up in earnest starting this week. I have officially completed my first full week of graduate school and to this point things are going well.

My microeconomics of public policy is my favorite class at this point. For some reason I understand the conceptual elements of economics rather well and by in large am enjoying the lectures. Unexpected, but certainly not unappreciated, hopefully my understanding of the material will continue throughout the semester.

Statistics on the other hand is already proving to be a bit more prickly. I say without reservation that stats will by my nemesis for this semester and the prospect of another stats class in the spring is loathsome. Stats is quite abstract and I am not suited for that type of number manipulation. I will manage but I think it will involve a fair amount of head-bashing and sluggish progress. Hopefully things will improve as the course wears on.

My homework for this semester will largely consist of problem sets for both econ and stats. These weekly assignments haven't been too difficult so far, but it is still way to early to tell how they will be. I've got a study group for both and we get together to go over the problems, correct errors and complain about the assignments. From what I understand, study groups in grad school are about whining about how difficult and stressful life is as they are for actually doing school work. Misery loves company after all.

However, I my proudest accomplishment thus far relates to intramural soccer. I am quite pleased with myself for organizing an IM soccer team for the LaFollette School. Appropriately our name is "The Fighting Bobs" (in honor of our namesake Robert 'Fighting Bob' LaFollette. Little do the rest of my teammates know that I am a Fighting Scot; they will never know the insidious pleasure I am taking in our team name. We had a bunch of people sign up and in compliance with our unknown skill level, I signed us up for the co-ed recreational division. Our first game is this Sunday so we'll see how we do.

One Day Down

2008-09-03T10:26:00.003-05:00

On day of classes down, whew! Only three more months to go - piece cake right? I had my first official day of classes yesterday and it was a breeze. Man if grad school is like this, I'm going to stroll right through it without breaking a sweat. If only...

I had my statistics class and it followed the standard formula for the first day: pass out the syllabus, talk about the course briefly, send students away early. I am hoping for more of the same today but we shall see what the afternoon holds. I suspect things will pick up in earnest on Thursday and then it's going to be nose to the books until the middle of December.

I have Statistical Methodology, Microeconomic Analysis, and Intro to Public Affairs. Three courses doesn't seem that bad, especially compared to some other graduate programs (law, medicine, PhD), but I have been assured by second-year students that they lay it on pretty heavy. Stats is meant to be especially difficult and since I'm not much of a math guy, my hope rests on latching on to a smart study group and hanging on.

I am a little anxious for the start of the semester but I also feel ready to get going. This has been a long time coming and those who know me, know how well I deal with waiting. That said, we'll see what I'm saying a month from now when the first round of midterms are looming.

Madison

2008-08-24T21:21:00.003-05:00

I have officially been in Madison for over a week now and so it's time to give a little recap of my first few days in the wild new place.

Natalie volunteered to help me move my junk up here and we journeyed up to my apartment last Saturday afternoon. It's a good thing she decided to help me because other wise it would have taken me twice as long to cram everything into the back of our mini van and then lug it into my apartment. We narrowly avoided disaster arriving at the front desk of the apartment complex at about 4:25 (unknown to us, the office closed at 5:00 after which we could not have gotten my keys), and piece by piece, hauled my junk up a flight of stairs into my new home.

I must say, somewhat proudly, that all my possessions fit into the back of one vehicle. I know I have a lot of junk but compared to most other Americans, I have next to nothing. My most prized possessions probably are my soccer ball, soccer shoes and a couple bicycles. After that, I really don't need a whole lot. The slight hypocrisy of writing this blog on my fancy, expensive computer is not lost on me, but I definitely am sickened by the amount of useless crap that people continually by in this country.

Ahem, back to Madison. Natalie left last Monday evening (which was definitely difficult) and pretty much since then I've been working at Williamson Bikes almost every waking hour. Willy Bikes, as it is known, is definitely a high end bike shop. It has more dollars of inventory on one row a bicycles than we have at the entirety of Skunk River Cycles. I was blown away by the selection of cool shit that they carry and I am still trying to wrap my head around the notion that a shop could sell all that stuff. Madison is most certainly an anomaly in terms of bicycle markets, everyone here bikes, but they're also willing to drop a lot of moolah on their bikes as well.

Anyway, I struggled a little initially to acclimatize myself to the ways of the store, but on the whole things are going quite well. I have already proven myself a capable sales person and the managers are both very pleased with my performance at the shop. I have been aided by the fact that Skunk River and Willy carry almost all the same brands (Cannondale, Marin, Schwinn, GT) and now, after a few days, I am settling into the rhythm of the store. Bike shops attract an amalgam of characters (myself included) and Willy is no different. The employees are eclectic but everyone has friendly enough to me so far and I am feeling more and more comfortable and confident at work.

I am in the midst of orientation and haven't worked for a couple of days. It has been nice to have a little more free time away from work and we'll see how many hours I can manage once classes begin. Alright, that's enough for now. Time to watch the Democratic National Convention... Obama '08!

Williamson Bicycle Works and Fitness http://www.willybikes.com/

Summer Recap: Top 5 Events

2008-08-22T21:57:00.003-05:00

Alright, so I've decided to do a little bit of back fill since it had been over a year since my last posting. And, since I am disinclined to write a little blurb about a bunch of different things, I will simply do the next most logical thing; a list. So, here are the highlights of my summer (order listed does not reflect significance).

Skydiving - Jumped from an airplane at approximately 9500 feet, falling at a speed of 120 mph all while strapped to the chest of another man.
Building a new road bike/Century ride - Being dorky with bicycles is excellent, so too is riding them for over 100 miles.
Minnesota weekend - Seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time and kickin' it a lake cabin... can't beat it.
RAGBRAI - Though long and somewhat anti-climactic, the whole thing was a good experience
Loved ones - I felt quite busy throughout the summer and now into the fall, but I was able to spend a lot of time with people very close to me. Which of course, is really all that matters.

Alright, enough of that. The I promise the next post will have more current content. I am now in Madison and definitely will a bit more diligent in writing (blogging seems such a marvelous form of procrastination). Besides, I know my mother will like it.

At Long Last

2008-08-01T20:23:00.003-05:00

Well, I must say it's been a damn long time since I last posted anything in my blog. A year, in fact, has passed and I have nothing more than my own laziness to account for such a long lapse. Perhaps my life has been uneventful in Ames, but I know that is not the case. I have done my best to keep busy; certainly there have many events that merited mention, but I simply didn't do anything. Now, however, as I am once again embarking on new location, one in which I do not know anyone at all, I figure I ought to start it up again so that I may keep family and friends up to speed on my adventures. Hence, the rebirth of my blog and hopefully your entertainment. That is all with more to come... I think.

Back in the USA

2007-06-27T16:34:00.000-05:00

I must say, after four and half months in Central America, it is a little strange being back in the States. It was interesting stepping off the plane in Houston and being able to understand everything that was said around me. By the end of my time in Costa Rica I would say I felt ready to return to the U.S. and see family and friends again, but not ready to be smacked in the face with American consumerism and excess. I think readjusting to these distinctly American characteristics has been the most challenging part about be back in the country.

So far, however, I have actually had a fantastic time. My parents picked me up from the airport in Chicago Friday evening and after taking them back to the airport Saturday morning to visit Aaron in Philly, I met up with May Lin. She was playing in a volleyball tournament and so I watched that during the afternoon before Eddie and Stefan arrived from Minnesota. They had an extra ticket to go to the Gold Cup final (a North American soccer tournament) and so it worked out perfectly that they were coming to Chicago for the weekend.

Sunday afternoon Eddie, Stefan and I went to watch the US play Mexico at Soldier Field. It was great because the stadium was sold out (interestingly the ratio of Mexican to American fans was probably 6:1) and it was my first national team game. After a sluggish first half the action picked up in the second half on and off the field. The US scored two goals in the second half to pull out a 2-1 victory but we missed a ten minute chunk of time due to a brawl that erupted literally over top of our seats. We managed to get out of the way before fists started flying but it was an annoying distraction.

I hung out in Chicago Monday and took off for Iowa City to visit Claire and some other high school friends on Tuesday. Claire and DJ cooked a delicious meal and we ended up going out and doing a pub quiz with a few of my good friends from high school. Sadly we lost a tiebreaker and only got second. However, we did not let that dampen the evening and we all ended enjoying the night a little too much.

All in all, it's been a fantastic welcome back to the country and it will be disappointing when I have to start thinking about real things again like work...damn.

More Pictures

2007-06-21T12:44:00.000-05:00

Antigua´s church at night
Holy shit that´s hot!

Spectacular sunset

Volcano Boarding, Really?

2007-06-20T16:16:00.000-05:00

So as it turns out, I wasn´t able to meet up with Mike. He was busy with Peace Corps training and it just wasn´t in the cards. Somewhat downtrodden after not being able to see Mike, I hoisted up my backpack and headed to Nicaragua. It was a remarkably long and trying day (I think the count was two borders, two taxis and six buses and 12 hours), I arrived in Leon, Nicaragua. Arriving in the city, a cool colonial town that used to be the capital of the country, the hostel I went to was full. Fortunately for me however, there was another literally across the street and I crashed there.

I turned out really well because the hostel, BigFoot, offers a unique tour to a nearby black sand volcano. The tour runs a couple afternoons a week and takes people hiking up an active volcano and then boarding down before heading back. I was reluctant to sign up because it was $20, which is a lot on a travelers budget, but I´m glad I did because it was one of the most fun things I did on the trip.

About 15 other people, all roughly my age, set out hiking up the side of Cerro Negro with our boards in tow. It was a clear sunny afternoon and we had plenty of time to climb down into the crater and do some practice runs before heading down hill. With a 40 degree decline, I was a little intimidated peering down. But with only one shot, I told myself if I was going down, it would be in a blaze of glory. Our boards, more closely resembling crudely made toboggans, looked like veritable death machines and my confidence was only slightly bolstered by our prison uniformesque proctective jumpsuits and goggles.

I pushed off down the hill and the sensation was just like sledding, I guess minus the volcanic rocks whipping you in the face. Things were going smoothly until I neared the bottom, which was the steepest part before shallowing out, when I realized I was going way to fast. I was flying down (by all other accounts, I was the fastest on the day) and knew it was going to end badly. I hit a bump and went tumbling over the front of the sled, did two rolls and then popped up on my feet.

Another guy got it on video so hopefully I can get a copy of my wipe out, but I emerged from the wreckage relatively unscathed, only got a couple scratches. The next day I hoofed it to Coco and now I´m back safe and sound after my whirlwind trip. I am getting my things together and will be flying back to the good ol´U, S and A Friday morning.

Check out YouTube see some other videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnqcm1GOMsY

Tic Toc

2007-06-15T18:34:00.000-05:00

Well, today officially marks the beginning of my final week in Central America. By this time next Friday I should be hugging my parents at the airport in Chicago and starting the symptoms of reverse culture shock. I must admit however, that I am looking forward to heading back to the U.S. I have definitely enjoyed Costa Rica and traveling but at the same time it will be very nice to see friends and family again.

Since Tikal, I took a remarkably uncomfortable overnight bus to Guatemala City and then on to a small touristy town of Panajachel. The town is situated on shore of crater lake of a collapsed volcano and the whole area is incredibly beautiful. I was there for just one night and then it was on to Antigua, cool colonial town in southern Guatemala. I stayed there for a couple days and met a really cool young German couple who were staying at my hostel.

I am currently in San Vicente, El Salvador, a small town right about in the center of the country trying to meet up with my friend Mike from Mac. He arrived in El Salvador last week to begin a two year stint with Peace Corps here and I am trying to hang out with him for a little bit. Unfortunately, I don´t know if I will be able to see him because he is busy with training sessions and we have been unable, as of yet, to communicate well. I have to be moseying back to Costa Rica soon and so I can´t hang aroud too long. Fingers crossed, hopefully it´ll work out.

Tikal photos

2007-06-10T16:19:00.001-05:00

Temple I

Spider monkey... mid swing

Not dirt on my chin, just a man-beard

Central Plaza
(on either side of the plaza, there are temples equally as tall as the one in the distance)

Not a bad seat

Let´s forget Belize, but Guatemala is sweet

2007-06-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

Since my last post, I have sucessfully made it through Belize and am now in northern Guatemala. I say ´successfully´rather loosely, however, as I ran into some snags and barely made it with my bags and in one piece. After taking the fairy from Guatemala, I rode a delapidated school bus for seven hours before arriving at Belize City. Getting off the bus, I realized I had forgotten my small bag under my seat with my camera and other pricey things. I realized it quickly and grabbed a taxi and told him to take me where the bus ends up. Our only chance was to catch it a gas station and fortunately it was there, so I got everything back.

Mostly a stressful experience, I stayed in Belize City (which offers very little other than grungy buildings and hustlers) for two nights. I did manage to make it to Caye Caulker for an afternoon which is absolutely gorgeous. It´s an island in the Caribbean and it is just like you see on TV or in magazines... aqua green waters, palm trees and a coral reef. I should have gone there right away, but I messed up my planning.

The interesting thing about Belize is that it has an incredibly diverse population relative to it´s size and is a mix of English, Spanish, Indigenous and African decent. Still part of the British Commonwealth, Belizeans speak English, but most commonly speak a type of Creole derived from English and African languages.

Transferring buses heading to Guatemala, I put my big backpack in the rear of a bus and then went to the bathroom quickly. When I got out, I saw my bus driving away so I chased after it waving my arms and yelling. It was a couple blocks ahead of me but fortunately they saw me and I, once again, managed to make it through unscathed.

I am glad to report that Guatemala has been much more tranquil and enjoyable. I stayed the last couple nights at sweet little hotel that overlooks a beautiful lake in the northern part of the country. The town is tiny, but is near the Mayan ruins of Tikal, which I must say, where perhaps some of the most impressive things I´ve ever seen. There are a series of six temples, which are massive and tower over a tropical dry forest, and all kind of other buildings. You wander around for hours just feeling the immensity of these buildings, some of which have been around for more than 2000 years, and you just feel wonderment. There were also lot´s of monkeys swinging in the trees and birds flitting through the air. Pretty awesome.

It was a fantastic respite from the chaos of Belize and now I´m on my way to Antigua, Guatemala to climb a volcano and hang out for a couple days. Then it´s on to El Salvador, hopefully to meet up with my friend Mike Melamed (from Mac) where he is just starting Peace Corps. That´s all, hasta luego.

Guatemala & Fotos

2007-06-04T17:06:00.000-05:00

Yup, that´s a real live Scarlet Macaw
Copán

Mayan god of wind

Of course one of my favorites, the Mayan ball court

I got up early and crossed into Guatemala this morning. It was blisteringly hot on the bus but mercifully the seats weren´t too small for my gringo legs and I surprisingly had two seats to myself for most of the trip. I am now in Puerto Barrio, a bustling and grungy little port town on the Caribbean coast. As I got off the bus I was greated by a man with a Caribbean English accent who introduced himself as ´Uncle Willy,´and he works helping ´you guys out with things.´ He actually helped me find a decently priced room (for a small fee, of course) but I declined his help in procuring other things which I assume would be prostitutes or drugs. I am on a ferry tomorrow to Belize and as promised, some pictures.

So far, so good

2007-06-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

Alright, so I coming at you live from the tiny little tourist town of Copán Ruinas, which is situated at the extreme western side of Honduras. The community is completely dependent on the tourists who come here to see the nearby ruins, only about 1 km away. It is quite well developed and ´cute´you could say relative to the rest of the country this is the first real destination on my journey so far.

I got here yesterday evening, after about nine hours in transit, and went to the Mayan ruins of Copán today. I will post some pictures as soon as I can, but they do not do the site justice. Nestled in a valley, the ruins appear out of the forest including, large pyramids, a ball stadium, intricately carved pillars and a hyroglyphic stairway for which the site is most well known. Copán was the southern most city state of the Maya empire and reached the height of its prominence between 400 - 700AD. I spent the whole morning just wandering around looking at all these magnificantly crafted monuments and wondering what the city was like 1400 years ago.

Brief Recap:

I took off from Coco Wednesday morning and travelled northward almost all the way through Nicaragua. I breezed through Managua, as quickly as possible because it is big, noisy and somewhat dangerous. I thought I was going to die several times on a taxi ride between bus stations but managed it alright. I got an odd sensation being in Nicaragua. It´s not hard to imagine given the poverty, political unrest and civil war but there is a strange sense of sadness in the country. The people are proud, but have lived a hard life.

Continuing on, I crossed into Honduras on Thursday morning and worked my way to Tegucigalpa, the capital, where I spent Friday as well. I stayed it a cheap hotel near one of the craziest markets I have ever seen. For blocks and blocks, stalls and vendors sell about everything you can imagine. People and buses clog the streets and you have weave your way through to cross into the downtown/historical part of the city. I walked around the city all day Friday which was highlighted by going up to a park on a hill that sticks out of the middle of the city. It had a great view of the city and it was relatively serene compared to the chaotic city below.

From here I´m planning on crossing the border into Guatemala tomorrow and going north to the Caribbean coast. From there it´s a ferry to Belize and then back into Guatemala to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal.

That´s it for now, I´ll put some photots up as soon as I can. Adios.

Just Some Pictures

2007-05-28T14:31:00.000-05:00

That´s some cold water

Cow crossing

Playas del Coco

Oh no, my feet are wet

More Free Time

2007-05-25T14:54:00.000-05:00

I have been contemplating quitting The Journal for the last couple weeks and just travel around Costa Rica and Central America for my remaining time. I have not been particularly interested or happy working with the newspaper and the idea of visiting other countries has become incredibly appealling (it was actually my original idea when I made plans to come to CR). I was mulling over the whether to quit at the end of next week, but as I was very diplomatically asked not to submit any more articles after today, the decision has been made for me.

I can´t say that I was actually surprised at all that I was fired. The Journal has been going through a transition period of the last month or two and a lot of people have been cut out from the staff. I definitely stuck it out through the darkest of the days but Miguel just wants me gone I think. I have very little respect for him as an owner for the way he treats his employees and runs the business.

I feel quite content and a little releived actually not have to work any more. I have already started making plans to go to Nicaragua and beyond very soon. I have a lot more free time now and am determined to make the most of what time I have left in Central America.

Good for what ails you

2007-05-22T10:16:00.000-05:00

Once again soccer has come to the rescue. I have been sick with the flu and have down and out for a days. I do not get sick very often and when it happens, as my mother can surely attest, I am not the most pleasant person to be around.

I was feeling slightly better on Monday but still down on my luck when I received a phone call from my coworker Carlos. Last week he said there was a possibility of playing soccer this week but it was still uncertain. There are all kinds of small sided ´canchas´ for ´fútbol sala´ around and he told me we reserved space to play that night. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity and hopped on a bus to Liberia.

I felt a little weak and sluggish but it was still so much fun to run around and play for a bit. We had the space for an hour but I was drenched with sweat after five minutes. It´s 4v4 plus goalies in a space slightly smaller than a basketball court and it felt great to work hard and sweat out most of my cold. We ended up tying 18 - 18 after an hour´s play and I even scored a good goal.

I spent the night at Carlos´ house in Liberia and went with him to work in the morning. I am still in the final throws of being sick and another day should do it. My overall personal state (physically and psychologically) has improved significantly which has only reinforced my belief that soccer is my go to cure-all. And what´s the overaching lesson to be gleaned from the experience, you might ask: soccer is good for what ails you.

It´s hot and I don´t want to work

2007-05-18T15:21:00.000-05:00

It has been hot almost every single day since I´ve been in Costa Rica, but now it is getting ridiculously hot. I have taken to sweating profusely while sitting still and usually don´t wear much more than shorts whenever I can. However, that still doesn´t help. I have the fan locked on me while sleeping and I am missing the air conditioning of my old apartment more and more.

Compounding the situation is that I have little to no motivation to work this past week. It was a struggle to find stories and write them for some reason. I just did not want to work. Truth be told, I am not enjoying working for the Journal that much anymore. I love the people I work with (minus the owner), but I don´t feel interested in researching and writing articless and it is becoming more and more tempting just to quit and bum around for a while. We´ll give it another week or two, see how I´m feeling at that point, and go from there.

Despite my complaints, things are still fine in Costa Rica. The week was challenging for several reasons, the car crash being the primary factor, but it´s just one of times everyone has to deal with at during life. I am sure I will be right as rain, which is falling with more regularity and intensity, shortly.

A Whopper

2007-05-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, have I got a whopper this time. The whole story starts last Friday when Katie and I – my friend from Macalester who was visiting for the week – decided to rent a car for a couple days. The idea was to get the car so that we could go hike around some national parks in Costa Rica, use it to take her to the airport, and then drop the car off afterward.

It is nearly impossible to get to many of the parks in Costa Rica by public transport and we really wanted to hike a volcano to top off what had already been a very fun and adventuresome week. We got the car, a small sized SUV, and headed off to Rincon de la Vieja Friday afternoon to hike for a bit. We made up to a sweet, hidden waterfall halfway up the mountain and back down without a problem.

Feeling optimistic, we made plans to go visit another national park, Guanacaste, a bit farther north on Saturday but that turned out to be a disaster. Although it is a national park, there are no signs directing you how to get there. We drove around looking for it the entire morning and ended up stopping at a stream and spent most of the afternoon walking amongst the rocks. We intended to hike a volcano, but we had to settle for this alternative.

The story really doesn’t get interesting until we’re about two miles from my apartment. It had just stopped raining and we were coming down a big hill that leads into Coco. I was driving at a reasonable speed, certainly not going excessively fast, while a bus was coming up the hill in the opposite directly. I pressed the brake to slow down as we passed it but the car skidded on some oil or something slippery on the road and veered into the path of the oncoming bus. I tried to slow down and steered the car away from the bus, but that unfortunately put us heading toward the shoulder of the road and we were still sliding out of control.

The rest of the images I remember in very clear, but disconnected flashes as we skidded off the side of hill, catching our tires on something and rolling over twice before we landed right side up and stopped. The whole thing happened so quickly I didn’t fully realize what had occurred until we stopped.

The windows and doors were smashed and our things were tossed all over the place as we rolled, but miraculously, Katie and I were almost completely fine after the crash. Dazed and mostly angry, I emerged from the wreckage literally without a scratch, and only with a sore neck. Rolling on her side of the vehicle, Katie fared only slightly worse with a scratch on her shoulder and thigh, and bump on her head and forearm. Which, all things considered, could have been a lot worse for both of us.

The response from passers by and emergency personnel was rapid, but fortunately nothing was severely physically wrong so we got a ride back to my apartment and that was that. Katie was a bit more shaken up than I was and it was a psychologically difficult rest of the night and morning as I went with her to the airport Sunday morning.

I have definitely been in a weird state of mind since the accident (unfortunately for Katie because I should have been more supportive) but am gradually getting back to normal. Strangely, my initial reaction was simply being pissed off that the whole thing happened, but time has gone by, the gravity of the situation has sunk in a bit more.

Looking at the car afterward, pretty well smashed up, it was astounding that nothing worse happened to us. Without any warning, and for no drastic reason, the car skidded out of control and flipped twice. I simply pressed the brakes and we could have (and perhaps should have) been injured much worse than what actually happened.

In was especially a shame because it put an incredibly sour flavor to an otherwise very fun week. We met up with one of Katie’s friends living in Costa Rica, went boogey boarding, SCUBA diving, went out to eat and a bunch of other things that were a lot of fun. I wish I were writing about those instead, but this story definitely trumps the others.

I have been graced with good fortune throughout my lifetime and everything has always seemed to work out for me just fine. It’s the luck I have lived by and thankfully it hasn’t run out yet. However, a situation such as this quickly and dramatically, puts things in perspective and is a stark reminder how your fortunes can change in an instant.

I am back at work and have made a claim and started the whole process to get this resolved. It promises to be a long and drawn out process, but we bought insurance on the car so I am optimistic it will not be too much out of pocket. However, considering the extent of the accident, any amount of money is pennies in comparison to what could have been.

SCUBA Diving

2007-05-09T17:13:00.000-05:00

I am now an officially certified PADI Open Water Diver, which means I able to dive anywhere in the world for the rest of my life. The Open Water level is the most basic level of independent divers but I am incredibly exited about. There are still lots of skills and other tasks you can do to gain experience and advance your level, but those you generally accumulate over time.

The course consisted of a series of book/theory exercises out of the water and there was also a number of in the water skills activities. I was definitely nervous at first but I gradually became more and more comfortable with the skills, breathing and moving around in the whole aparatus. It is a strange sensation to be breathing underwater and swimming past rocks and fishes but it is really cool. It´s incredible to see things that you´ve only seen on nature shows or read about in books.

My first deeper water dive was a bit of a challenge because I couldn´t equalize my head properly so my ears were killing from the pressure. Eventually I got it but thoughts that I wouldn´t be able to finish the course were running through my head.

Of all the many things I´ve seen, highlights have been seeing some huge sting rays gliding along the bottom of the ocean, a moray eel (they´re remarkably ugly), a couple sea horses and three sharks. On one of the dives a person had a camera and I might be able to get some under water photos from him, but I´ll have to wait and see.

La Poza Mono Feliz

2007-05-04T15:22:00.000-05:00

Though there has been a string of inconveniences lately, things have not been all that bad. Last Saturday, after finishing up my last article, I hitched a ride from Liberia in the back of truck with Ines and her family back to their house for the weekend. Ines has always been incredibly nice, almost like a surrogate mother, and she invited me to go swimming at a river near their house.

Anyway, we woke up early Sunday morning, packed some food and made our way to the “Happy Monkey Swimming Hole.” It was definitely a family affair including all of Ines’ nuclear family plus a couple cousins.

The river is no more than a big stream but the place we went to was remarkably deep and had gigantic rock walls leading directly down to the water – perfect for diving off. You could scramble your way up to some good jump-off points, but what made it even more excellent was the addition of a rope swing and ladder going up the rocks.

The weather was hot, the water was refreshing and needless to say, I made the most of situation. Actually, I think if I were to rate all the days I’ve been in Costa Rica, I would have to put this up there as number one or two.

We headed back to the house in the afternoon and in the evening I went back into Liberia to play some soccer and basketball with Ines’ husband, son and nephews. We rode our bikes into town, which took us on the Pan American Highway, played for a couple hours, and then worked our way back. It took us a lot longer to return because we had to stop a couple times to drink some beer, finally arriving back home about 9:00.

I was exhausted and sore just about everywhere in my body, but it was definitely a good kind of a pain after a fun weekend.

Head Lamp Dinners

2007-04-30T14:40:00.000-05:00

Candle light dinners are definitely one of the more romantic affairs you can experience it life. Almost inherently you feel differently, the mood is tranquil and the food might even taste betters. There is just something about eating by candle light, real or fantasy, that turns even normal meals into special events.

Dining by head lamp however, which has been annoyingly common lately, does not have quite the same effect.

Beginning some time early last week there have been blackouts at regions throughout the country lasting for several hours at a time. In-fighting between the nationalized energy provider ICE and the Costa Rican government has make it remarkably inconvenient for me, and the rest of the country, to live and work. Ongoing disagreement about a rate increase has resulted in ICE cutting power to manage operating costs to various sectors at scheduled intervals daily.

Fortunately, I have not been stranded anywhere and nothing bad has happened to me, but it is rather tedious sitting around, unable to do any sort of work, while waiting for the electricity to come back. The couple times the power has been out at night I´ve had to improvise and walk about my apartment using a headlamp my brother gave me to cook, clean or do whatever else I had to do.

Resolutions are being passed around between officials and hopefully the blackouts will end shortly. Which is a good thing because illuminating a spaghetti dinner for one with an LED bulb definitely does not provide the same ambience as a candle light dinner, and is as you might imagine slightly depressing.

La Playa

2007-04-25T18:35:00.000-05:00

I have succesfully made the move from Liberia to Playas del Coco, phew. It convenientely was boiling hot the day I was lugging my bags around but I managed to get everything transfered OK. The cabina is quite nice and I like it a lot so far. Things are a little bit more difficult at the moment as far as work because I have to go to an Internet cafe to try and do things. Hopefully I can get internet in my room and then I´ll be all set.

I still don´t exactly know how, but I locked myself in my apartment the first night. Apparently there is a trick lock that allows you to turn the key to lock the latch from the inside, but you cannot undo it. So, after my very first night, I had to call the owner to come and rescue me... man sometimes you just feel like an idiot.

In other slight inconveniences, the handle on the kitchen faucet broke so I had to shut the water off. It is in the process of being fixed (hopefully by tomorrow) but I´ve had to get all my water from the shower for the last couple days. It hasn´t been too bad, especially since it hasn´t really mattered at all due to the random, rolling water shut offs that plague the area.

Guanacaste is the driest province by far and with the exploding development in the province, there isn´t enough infrastructure to support it. You know, watering those fourteen private golf courses daily sure does suck up a lot of drinking water... goddamn gringo golfers.

Cell Phone

2007-04-19T17:37:00.000-05:00

Hear ye, hear ye! I have finally gotten my hands on a cell phone and for you information, I know for a fact that it receives international calls just as well as is makes them. Not that I really expect anyone except my parents to call, but it would also be a little sad if they were the only ones who do.

The number is (506) 350-3422. The parantheses are the country code and the rest is just my number.

In other news, this week has been rather frustrating in light of power outages and crappy coverage of events. I actually started this post about 2.5 hours ago, but thanks to a random power outage I am just now re-typing it. It is rather difficult to write articles if you have no means of typing them, that's for sure.

Also, earlier in the week I was set to go to cover a conference but for no particular reason it was delayed and then cancelled to the complete befudlement of everyone who was to attend. Inexplicably, the whole thing just did not happen. And yesterday, I had a hell of time travelling to visit a artisan museum that is to be opened next month. Ticos are incredibly nice and offer help willingly, but as was reaffirmed yesterday, they often do not have any clear idea of what they are talking about.

The great problem in Costa Rica is inefficiency. It is understood that things kinda just happen and everybody seems perfectly content waiting around until they do. Like for buses to arrive or people to show up in a location, for example. For the most part, being a laid back, roll with the punches type person, this has not bothered me but it is still frustrating at times. I definitely think part of the problem is that I am from the U.S. where everything is structured to be as convenient as possible. I am sure another part is that I still don't 'get' exactly how things operate, but for whatever reason this has created the friction.

I guess the only thing to do when you're stranded at some bus station in rural Costa Rica is think to yourself, "Pura Vida."

Just a quickie

2007-04-14T18:32:00.000-05:00

Just a quick little update. I had a busy last week with getting my articles written but they´re all finished now and turned. The close for articles is every Friday and so there is always a crunch trying to get everything put together as the week winds down. Definitely believe I am getting a better feel for the whole process of researching, interviewing and writing but I still would hardly consider myself a proper journalist. I which I had a bit more constructive feedback about my stories but as it is, we don´t really have an editor to speak of and it is more of a learn as you go along type system. Oh well.

I also have been looking into new apartments at the beach and think I found one that will work out nicely. I actually just got back from Coco and found a studio/cabina apartment that is only a five minute walk from the beach and at a resonable price. The apartment is currently occupied but will open up Monday or Tuesday, so hopefully be Wednesday I can start moving in.

Lastly, I have applied to a masters program in International Peace Studies at the University for Peace here in San Jose. It is a UN chartered university that offers a number of programs related to conflict resolution, reconstruction and sustainable development. Mine is a one year program and I will find out if I was accepted or not at the beginning of May. I don´t know much about the selectivity and number of applicants so I really don´t know what to expect. Classes would start next September and it would cool if I got in, but I certainly won´t be shattered if I don´t.

Pictures from Semana Santa

2007-04-13T18:19:00.000-05:00

Nice, just nice

Yes Eddie, that´s a statue

- No, no too sexy!
-Ah yes, but I must!

Santa Elena and Monteverde

2007-04-13T18:06:00.000-05:00

Here´s something you won´t find in Iowa

Thumb´s up says it all

Me, Travis (guy from Iowa), Jen & Eddie

Cloud forests, bus rides and Semana Santa

2007-04-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

After being chided by my mother for not posting, here’s the latest installment of my Costa Rica saga. Again, I apologize for the length but there was a lot to say.

As some of you may have known, one of my bestest buddies from Mac, Eddie, was in Costa Rica last week visiting his parents (his dad is on sabbatical studying nematodes). And since Costa Rica is approximately 80% Catholic and being that is was Semana Santa last week, much of the workforce throughout the country was on vacation. Lucky that I am, I did not have to work last week so, it worked out splendidly that we could hang out quite a bit. Eddie and a friend of his from Lincoln, Jen, who was also in Central America came up to Liberia last Monday and we all traveled together and did the best we could to enjoy ourselves. We did of course, and unfortunately for Jen, this meant we gave her a hard time often.

After spending a cramped and uncomfortable night in my apartment, we got up early and headed to the cloud forests. There was no direct route to get there but finally, after being jostled around for several hours winding our way up a terribly bumpy road, we arrived at Santa Elena. There is nothing exceptional about the place, it is a rather small, touristy town that merely serves as a gateway to the nearby biological reserves, catering almost exclusively to those who have come to see the cloud forests.

In a remarkable “small world moment,” Eddie, while periodically lifting his head off the seat in front of him in an effort not to become car sick, spotted a guy sitting at the front of the bus we came in on wearing an Iowa State baseball cap. We ended up talking with him when we got off the bus and as it turns out, he graduated from ISU in the mid 90’s and has been traveling Central America for five weeks. Weird... Go ‘Clones!

Anyway, after getting off the bus we got some lunch, dropped off our bags and hopped aboard a short shuttle to the Santa Elena biological reserve to do a quick hike Tuesday afternoon. It was great! Incredibly dense, diverse vegetation with all kinds of things I’ve never seen before, but they are definitely called rain forests for a reason. As soon as we got off the van it turned from a fine mist into a steady rain and we trudged through the forest for about an hour and a half. It was incredibly beautiful with plants and vines everywhere and a towering canopy, but it was difficult to enjoy because we were busy getting soaked to bone (Eddie and I conveniently blame Jen although it was entirely our own faults. You know rain jackets don’t do a whole lot of good balled up in your backpack at the hostel).

We made it back no worse for the wear and the next morning I was fully equipped for a monsoon at the Monteverde Reserve, 5km the opposite direction from Santa Elena. But wouldn’t you know, it barely did anything more than a light mist…figures. I had my heart set on licking some poisonous dart frogs and seeing a resplendent quetzal, but unfortunately neither were to be found. The two reserves are much the same as far as flora and fauna, but there were far more tourists at Monteverde. We saw some howler monkeys, a variety of birds and a few lizards but had to hurry back and get our stuff in time to catch the last bus for San Jose.

We were heading to Eddie’s parents house and because every thing shut down for Semana Santa there was a mass exodus of people leaving the reserves. We had to go on Wednesday afternoon, lest we be stranded there until Saturday and met a bunch of travelers in much the same predicament (i.e. not necessarily wanting to go to San Jose but with no other options because buses didn’t run on Thursday or Friday). Interestingly, I did talk to this guy, who knew another guy, who could hook us with a special deal for a bus just for us on Thursday if we stuck around. A tempting offer but needless to say, one we did not take him up on.

Both lanes were clogged with traffic going into and out of San Jose and when combined with a flat tire, normally a four hour bus ride annoyingly turned into a seven hour trip. We didn’t reach Eddie’s parents house in Heredia, a suburb a few km north of San Jose, until late Wednesday night. With everything closed for Semana Santa activities, there wasn’t a whole lot going on so we just took it easy for a couple days. We did play some soccer and walked around downtown San Jose which were both pretty fun. Mr. and Mrs. Powers were incredibly nice and it was great to kinda be around some familiar people and some semblance of a family.

Eddie and Jen left for the States on Saturday and I took off for Liberia that same afternoon. It was great to meet Jen and hang out with Eddie for the week but now it’s back to the grind. I’ve been looking for new apartments, albeit not very resolutely, but this week I think I’m going to try and move to the beach. I’ll let you all know how that turns out but that’s all for now.

Photos from Nicaragua

2007-03-30T19:33:00.000-05:00

Masaya Market building

Fountain and church in Granada (note the goat)

View of Granada from a church belltower

Pedestrian street in Granada

More Photos from Nicaragua

2007-03-30T18:39:00.000-05:00

Inside the Masaya Market

Yeah, c´mon and gimme some of the good stuff fishy...

Too Cool For School!

When Dreams Die at the Border: Chocolate Covered Promises (the Adventures of Sand and Fire, a.k.a. Youngblood and Danger)

2007-03-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Author’s Note: Be prepared for a very lengthy and hopefully entertaining post.

Working somewhat illegally under a tourist visa, I am obliged to leave the country for 72 hours every three months so that I don’t get deported and forbidden from entering Costa Rica again. I’ve only been here about two months, but Alex, one of the other writers, needed to leave the country to renew his visa. Seeing that I wanted to go to Nicaragua anyway, I decided to go with him over the weekend.

Sometimes you just know when things are not going to turn out right. You have a feeling of sorts and I definitely had this same type of auspicious feeling beforehand. And as it turns out, we had a pretty adventurous weekend.

It all got started on the wrong foot as Alex was unable to catch two early morning buses from San Jose to Liberia on Friday because they were full. The idea was for him to come here, celebrate Ines’ birthday over lunch, then catch another bus to the border and go from there. We had a great time eating at an Italian restaurant in town , but Alex wasn’t able to get here until late so we decided to wait until the next day to head north.

As fate would have it, Alex met a girl on the bus and somehow managed to talk us into a trip out to her family farm on Saturday to go horseback riding. It seemed pretty sweet until we arrived where we were to meet her but she was late (predictably by my account) and couldn’t take us to her ranch because she had things to do in Liberia. Adding insult to injury, the already crestfallen Alex was further distressed by the fact that his digital SLR camera got stolen on the bus going after what he deemed, “chocolate covered promises.”

Deciding to cut our losses, we ventured to the bus station to head to the border (only about an hour away) but the bus wasn’t leaving for another hour. We actually ended riding up with a couple other people in an unlicensed taxi and it was definitely faster and reasonabley priced. Things were going relatively well until we actually stepped out of the car and were immediately mobbed by a dozen or so guys who make there living swindling people at the border.

I of course did not realize just how treacherous these guys were as they closed in offering to change money, give us a taxi and find us housing. Amidst the frenzy and confusion, I, needing to change money, gave them more than I should have. I expected them to take some money off the top and foolishly not knowing exact exchange rate, did not realize that they had taken us for more than half of what we gave them until it was too late. I concede that this was more than a dumb move, but I had a little more faith in the goodness of these people that they wouldn’t completely dick us over. But, alas, they did. I was profoundly disappointed in myself first of all, but certainly by the wankers at the border as well.

Anyway, the actual immigration process went remarkably smoothly and we hopped on a bus, (a little expensive but nice) going to Granada, Nicaragua. This worked out well because it was getting dark and we didn’t know of any other options after this bus passed. Granada is a very cool city. It was founded by Fransisco Cordoba in 1524 and is the oldest colonial city in the Western Hemisphere. It has a long and often tumultuous history full of pirate raids and power struggles but a great deal of the colonial housing and architecture has remained intact.

Interestingly, William Walker, ancestor of our fearless President established a stronghold in Granada and from which he tried to take over Central America in the 1850´s. Following mass dissent and renouncement by the U.S. government, he and his army were driven from the city but managed to raze the city on their way out. So you see, W, comes from aa long pedigree of brilliant foreign policy that has helped mold him into the leader we have today. I guess the apple doesn´t fall far from the tree.

I digress...

Alex has been through Nicaragua before and spent some time in Granada in particular so we went back to a cool hostel he knew of near the center of town. Thank God they allowed us to pay at the end of our three nights because we barely had enough money to cover our food expenses.

Fearing it being stolen or lost, I did not bring my credit card with me so we had to pinch every one of our Cordobas and tighten our belts to make it through. I must say, interesting thoughts run through your head when you are in a third world country with no certain way of getting back home, that’s for sure. Fortunately for us things are a little cheaper still in Nicaragua and we were able to ration our remaining money well and got enough food to get us through the days comfortably.

However, we definitely did not have enough to pay for the hostel and the return bus tickets so I had shamefully had to call my parents to have them send us money and bail us out. THANKS MOM AND DAD!! I try to be independent and self sufficient as much as possible and don’t like asking my parents for things, particularly money, but it is wonderful to know that they’ll be there to help when I need it.

I don’t know, perhaps in some ways it gives them an odd source of pleasure that us kids still look to them to take care of us. Or, I could be really off base and they really are fed up with me. Who really knows…

We got money (by the way, Western Union offers a fantastic service to dumb, stranded gringos) and had just enough to make it back to Costa Rica without any more complications. In retrospect, once we got inside Nicaragua, things were really quite enjoyable. We went to a cool arstesania market in Masaya and saw a little of Managua too. Nicaragua has so much more colonial history and culture than what I´ve seen in Costa Rica and Granada is a cool place.

All in all, it was a decent experience. I made some blunders and learned some lessons the hard way but came through it all right and I am still here without a whole lot of fuss. I wish perhaps I could have learned the same things a different way but sometimes the best way to learn is to fall flat on your face.

To Move

2007-03-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

Well, following a break downs of pros and cons, and the unanimous and resounding council from family and friends, I have decided to continue with The Journal as a full time writer. I met with Miguel last Friday and after discussing things with him, I accepted the offer and will be moving to Playa Coco sometime soon. I have many things to do now in preparation for the move like finding a new place to live, getting a Costa Rican bank account, get a cell phone and move out of my old place. Fortunately I don´t have much down here so the actually moving process shouldn´t be too bad.

I am both excited and apprehensive about the new job as I really don´t know what to expect from it. The work shouldn´t be too different which is nice, but I will have greater accountability within the newspaper and will have to take more initiative. This, however, is not the part that worries me.

I don´t know if it is unique to the management of this newspaper or a Costa Rica thing in general (though I think the latter), but things are rather disorganized. There always seems to be a bit of a scramble to finish each edition and communication between Miguel and the rest of us is poor at best. He is a nice guy and a good person but he is above all, a businessman. He is always looking for a way to save money and make more and unfortunately this has caused problems for some of the other people with the newspaper. He likes me but he is fickle and so I am nervous that his disposition toward me could change without me even realizing it.

So, I take the job with guarded optimism and I guess we´ll see how it turns out. If things are not going well I guess I can just leave. That´s a nice option to have but hopefully it won´t come to that.

I am in Nicaragua now with Alex Lane and to say the least, it has been an adventurous trip so far. I´ll write about it when I get back to Liberia.

To Move or Not to Move...

2007-03-21T19:07:00.000-05:00

Today I had a meeting with Miguel, the owner of The Journal, and he actually presented me with a very interesting proposition to move to a beach about an hour away from Liberia and continue working for the newspaper but as a full-time journalist.

It is a very tempting offer because I will be paid more for approximately the same amount of work that I am doing now. It will be a little more expensive to live on the coast and the particular beach is not exceptionally nice, but it still is a beach.

The problems I have with taking the job is that it would potentially mess up plans to travel to South America after the internship is done. The job is for an indefinite period of time and I have been planning and looking forward to returning to Chile and travelling around the rest of South America for a long time. I also still have my return flight to the U.S. mixed in there in June so it might be alittle difficult to coordinate all this logistically.

I told Miguel that I would think it over and get back to him on Friday. In the meantime, I am asking anyone who checks this blog to get me there opinions on the matter, so please let me know. Thanks!

Sweet Release

2007-03-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

Well after a crazy last week I decided that I needed to get out and do something adventurous. Long ago I realized that the best way for me to deal with any sort of negative situation is for me to go and exercise. Without ready access to my usual cathartic crux, soccer, I had to improvise and to this end, I decided to tackle one of the many national parks that dominate Costa Rica.

I hopped on a shuttle bus that departed from a local hotel and made the hour trip to Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja to get out civilization for a day and see what I could see. The park has a couple different trails leading past fumaroles, bubbling mud pits and waterfalls but I wanted to try my hand at something a little more exciting i.e. hiking up to the crater of an active volcano.

It took me about four hours to get from the ranger station up to crater itself and it was absolutely incredible. The trail worked its way up through a forest where I saw gigantic Fichus trees, some crazy looking birds and some monkeys that were pissed I was taking pictures of them. Just as I was getting out above the forest line the trail split and there was a sign pointing out an easier way and a more difficult and dangerous path. I thought about it for a second and of course I ended choosing the tougher route, I mean what kind of pansy would I be if I took the easy way, geez!

It was windy and slow going on the way up but I persevered. It actually wasn´t too bad but I imagined myself as Sir Edmund Hillary, minus my faithful shirpa Tensing, summitting Mt. Everest (well, or something like that). I actually first went to an inactive volcano crater that was along the way but I couldn’t really see anything because it was shrouded in clouds. After the inactive volcano I worked my way over to the real deal and the view was incredible on the cusp of the crater. I could see for miles in all directions! I was hoping to see lava bubbling but instead there was this sorta translucent milky colored lake in the crater. It smelled terrible and the sulfur gases burned my throat a little bit so I didn’t stay too long. I made it down with time to spare before the bus came back to pick us up, so I took a quick jaunt on another trail to see some more smelly, bubbly things. All in all, it was definitely a great trip.
My legs were sore yesterday so I hopped on another bus and went to the beach for the afternoon. Volcanos and beaches in consecutive days... yup, Costa Rica is pretty sweet and it´s hard to stay down for too long.

Still Here and Still Kicking

2007-03-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

Well I am still here in Liberia and still working, though it has been a pretty crazy week. Jan is definitely not with The Journal any more and I haven’t seen him or talked to him since last Friday. I don’t know what he’s doing but I’m sure he’s fine. The office is still locked and the computers are still gone. I was told initially that our tech person who took them would be back on Wednesday to re-install everything but that definitely didn’t happen. So consequently, I’ve had to work from my laptop and Internet cafes all week to try and get things done. Apparently the computers will be there on Monday but I’m not holding my breath.

I also spoke with the owner Miguel and he is not worried about the future of the newspaper. I think Jan perhaps overestimated his influence in the company so hopefully everything works out. I don’t know for sure, but I feel much better about everything.

Moving on, last weekend I was actually able to meet up with Chad and the soccer guys from Ames. I took the last bus from Liberia to San Jose and got in about 12:30, hopped in a taxi and showed up at the hotel at 12:45AM. I called up to the room and woke up Chad and told him to come down to the lobby and let me up. I would have slept well but one of the dads who I was sharing the room with snored louder than anyone I’ve ever heard in my life. It was so bad that I actually hit him with my pillow in the middle of the night. I had to wear my headphones with the pillow over my head and only then was I able to get a little sleep.

The next day was a lot of fun because I just hung around with the guys and actually got to play in their game. It was great to run around and touch a ball again. Later that night we went to a game between two of the top teams in the Costa Rican professional league. It was a good game and it was especially cool because it was really foggy and at some points you could barely see across the field.

Sunday I left the team and met up with Alex and Peter in San Jose, the two other writers, and we went to a fiesta near where Peter lives. It was fun until a huge street fight broke out and somebody got knived in the throat. We were all standing right at the front when some drunk crack heads started going at it but I was the first one to get the hell out of there when shit started to get really crazy. People were throwing bottles and garbage cans and it was escalating quickly when the police finally arrived. Don´t worry Mom, I bolted when things got out of hand. ¡Loco!

Alright, gotta get back to work. Sorry, to cause alarm to anyone. Things have been pretty hectic but are getting back under control.

Black Friday

2007-03-09T15:25:00.000-06:00

Well I arrived at the office this morning and the doorknobs and locks had been changed. I clearly could not get in and was incredibly confused as to why something like this happened. At first I thought that we had been robbed during the night and for some reason the theives changed the door knobs. That really didn´t make any sense so I walked over to the other office to speak with Ines and call the owner of the newspapers.

I don´t still don´t know exactly what is going on but apparently there are some serious issues going on between Jan and the management. I think Jan is being fired for reasons that are still unclear to me and the owner had the locks changed so that Jan couldn´t get back into the office and sabotage the newspaper or something. A little absurd if you ask me but I´m sure that´s happened before.

There has been a bit of disorganization among the management and payment of bills and salaries and stuff lately and I think this the fallout of all that. I am doing fine and have had no problems with anyone but I am a little concerned about things to come. To be completely honest, Jan does a lot of stuff for The Journal and I think it will be difficult for them to replace him. I was talking to another writer and he is worried that the paper might go under. I don´t think it is quite that severe but then again, I´ve only been here about five weeks.

As of right now things are OK for me but we´ll just have to wait and see how they progress in the next couple weeks or two. If worst comes to worst and they need to get rid of me then I guess I just start my travels early. Not entirely a bad thing I guess.

On a much happier note, Chad is actually in San Jose right now and I´m going to meet him over the weekend. For those who might not know who that is, he was my high school soccer coach and lives next door to my house in Iowa. He´s down here with the high school team for a trip before their season starts. I leave Saturday morning and it should be great because I´ll get to hang out with him and see San Jose for the first time and I might even get to play a little bit too! (I´m a little out of shape so we´ll see how long I last in the heat though)

Dance Lessons?

2007-03-07T22:45:00.000-06:00

OK, so a couple of weeks ago I started having lunch with Ines and Rosibel at a different office here in Liberia. They work for a newspaper called El Independiente which is actually owned by the same person who owns The Journal. The used to be in the office where I´m at not but have subsequently moved on a couple blocks away. Ines brings me a home made lunch from her mother, who sells baked food and I buy of course, and we usually just have lunch together. I bring a drink, juice or Coca-Cola, and the lunch is always good and cheaper than if I were to get the same food at a restaurant. We always have a good time and it definitely beats eating alone.

Ines is taking an English class and so I help her and she helps me with my Spanish. Pretty cool. She is incredibly nice and chatty and funny and today she decided she was going to teach me how to dance. It was pretty comical that´s for sure. I wish I had recorded it and could post it for you all to see because I´m sure you´d be on the floor laughing. I learned the steps okay but could only do them for a little while before I goofed up. I blame it partly on the cultural difference that Americans don´t dance and on my genes because for some reason my muscles are always tense. Even when I´m fully relaxed I´m still stiff as a board and when it comes to dancing I have no rhythm. This has always baffled me because I am athletic and play soccer in which you obviously use your feet. I think of course, that my footwork should be better but apparently being sporty does not necessarily transfer over to being a good dancer. I am determined to practice and will get better (though that still doesn´t mean I will be good).

¡Fiestas Cívicas de Liberia 2007!

2007-03-06T18:04:00.000-06:00

Last week were the Fiestas Cívicas de Liberia and let me tell you they were a pretty good time. They are an annual event that have been going on for over 100 years and are meant to celebrate the cultural traditions of Liberia and Guanacaste. A quick little history lesson, Guanacaste was not originally part of Costa Rica, it was it´s own country and was actually annexed about 150 years ago. It is hotter and dryer than any other province in Costa Rica and maintained a strong tradition of agriculture, ranching and the like. So, the Fiestas are to commemorate and preserve its strong folk heritage and they have lots of music, dances and parades throughout the week.

It was cool because our office overlooks the park in the center of town which was where a lot of these events took place. So, I could just look out my window and see a procession of horses clopping away and people playing traditional festival songs below. I enjoyed getting a good taste of Guanacaste culture for sure.

Aside from the songs and parades and normal stuff, Liberia also has some very odd traditions that go along with the Fiestas. "La Diana" happens every morning at 5:00AM and is where groups of people go around playing instruments, banging on things and setting off M-80´s to remind everyone it´s festival time. This gets especially raucus when people are just coming back from partying and join in the fun.

Also, the bull riding here is crazy! People absolutely love it because it is both idiotic and courageous at the same time. Riders try and stay on as long as possible but after they are off the bull stays in the ring and chases after everyone else who´s inside. There may be 100 or more young men in there and they duck and dodge to avoid getting hit by the bull. The point is to try and run past the bull and touch it and inevitably people get really hurt. The most dangerous bulls are the ones they let out without riders because they are usually a little bit smaller and faster and have pointed horns (they truncate the horns of bulls that are ridden). I saw one guy get caught from behind and then flipped in the air, another couple got slammed and one guy even got killed on Friday. The locals all say with a wry smile that it´s not a good bull or Fiesta unless some gets seriously hurt. ¡F´n loco no!

Aside from the traditional cultural events, they also have a fairgrounds where they set up food and drink vendors and these two gigantic portable discos. I´ve never seen anything like them before and they pounded dance music until 2:00AM just about every day. Two other writers for the Journal whom I hadn´t met yeat, Alex and Peter, came up on Thursday from San Jose and we went out Thursday through Sunday. The biggest night was Saturday which was absolutely nuts. There were hundreds of people in the discos and hundreds more spilled around outside. I was out late, around 4:00, every night and I can tell you there´s nothing quite as delicious as a juicy, salty stick of meat for $0.20 each when you´re walking home from the Fiestas early in the morning.

Birthday (Part 2)

2007-03-01T17:56:00.000-06:00

The first entry about my birthday was earlier in the morning and I wanted to do another post because the rest of my day merits sharing.

I was a little uncertain how the day would actually go because birthday´s can sometimes be depressing especially if you´re away from family and friends, but this was definitely not the case for me. Though of course I missed people back in the U.S. and where ever else they may be, everyone here made me feel quite at home.

Lunch was great! We had some very traditional Guanacastecan food called "arroz de maiz," which is actually an oxymoron because it literally means "rice of corn," rice with chicken (also very Tico) and for dessert we had my cake with milk. It was interesting because I encountered a very unique cultural difference between United States and Costa Rica in that I asked for milk to be served with the cake. They were a little surprised by this but everybody knows you have milk with dessert. It was a bit odd for them perhaps but they humored me for my birthday and in the end, I think I didn´t matter at all.

Later that night I went out to dinner with Jan and then headed back to the same bar as the night before. We met up with a couple people there both work and non-work related and like the night before, it was decided that tequila was to be the honorary drink of my birthday. This time it was not of choosing but nevertheless, I ended up having more than a couple shots plus other drinks, which is both the up and down side to any birthday.

Also, as anyone who has ever been a country where they are not a native speaker could attest, alcohol does wonders for your ability to speak up to a certain point. For some reason words seem to flow better and everything is great until you reach the zero barrier and it falls off precipitously. Fortunately, the drop off did not happen to me (or at least that´s what I remember... the jury´s still out) and I ended up having a great night.

My Birthday!

2007-02-27T11:09:00.000-06:00

Today I turned 23 years old and I don´t really know what to think about it. It is not a bad age to be but I mean there is nothing special about being 23. Most of all, it reminds me that I am getting farther and farther out of college and it is becoming less and less socially acceptable for me to do the same things that I did then, damn. Oh well, it´s important to stay young/stupid at heart.

It is actually pretty cool because this is the second time I´ve had my birthday outside the U.S. and in two different countries. It´s fun but at the same time I miss being with family and friends back home. However, today should be a good day all the same.

I got my birthday started off properly last night with a shot of tequila at Midnight. I don´t know why I chose tequila, I actually really don´t like it all, but after a couple drinks with Jan, it seemed like an OK idea. After the tequila we each had a couple more drinks and I was a little worried about how I would fare at work today until Jan told me I shouldn´t come into the office until noon. It´s kinda nice drinking with your boss.

Also, I talked myself into buying a cake for after lunch today. I don´t know exactly how it happened but I´m buying my own birthday cake and we´re having a little party over the lunch hour. Later tonight I think we´re going out for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Liberia and then we´ll probably go out again after that. All in all, not a bad way to celebrate being one year older.

Food

2007-02-22T17:14:00.000-06:00

The food here so far has been pretty good. I don´t have a kitchen to speak of (only a refrigerador and microwave) so I have been eating a variety of different things trying to figure out what will work. In the beginning I was eating out quite a bit and most of the restaurants serve the same for food for the most part. There are a couple OK Italian places and some Chinese places, which were not particularly good, a lot of typical Costa Rican food.

The staple Costa Rican meal is called "Casado" and consists of your choice of meats (chicken, beef, pork, fish), white rice, black beans and a vegetable. It is not necessarily very exciting but it usually is relatively flavorful and fills you up. It is always the best value of price/quantity so I´ve been eating this a lot. I do buy some groceries, mostly cereal and cookies, and also these little snack pastry things that you can get any breadstore. I´m starting to figure a relatively nutritious and cost effective diet.

The best aspect of food in Costa Rica is the fruit. It is cheap, plentiful and delicious. There all kinds of vendors selling mangos, pineapple, cantaloupe, guanaba and a bunch of other dilectable items around my office. Today I went and bought a piece of pineapple for $0.40 and it was perhaps the best tasting pineapple I´ve ever had. The other really fantastic thing here are these smoothie type drinks called "batidos." They´re really simple, fruit juice with milk and some sugar, but some how they make them taste so good. There´s nothing better than drinking one these on a hot, sunny day.

Two Weeks and Counting

2007-02-19T10:10:00.000-06:00

Today marks two weeks officially working for The Journal and all in all things are going quite well. I am pretty proud to announce that for the last two editions of the newspaper (it comes out every Wednesday) my article has been the lead story. I don´t know what that says about me since I have next to no experience in journalism, or what that says about the newspaper, hmm. I prefer to think I just have natural journalistic ability.

Let´s see, what else? Yesterday I went to the beach for a little while. It was actually a pretty good trip. Liberia is only about 45 km inland from the Pacific Ocean and buses run all the time to and from beaches and towns along the coast. I went Saturday and asked the lady at the bus terminal when they leave and she said every hour. So, Sunday morning I got up and arrived at 9:45 to catch the 10:00 bus. However, that bus didn´t come until 12:30. Apparently the woman failed to tell me, or more likely I failed to understand, that the schedule doesn´t apply for Sundays. Anyway, I made to the beach and back without incident which was what I was going for. The water was warm and there were a few clouds so it didn´t get too hot, which was great.

Friday night I went to a cool café around here to cover a small concert there. I was a little disappointed because it didn´t start for an hour or so after it was supposed to so I was just sitting there doing nothing. The first performer was this scrubby young guy from Philadelphia and I have no idea how he ended up singing in Liberia. He was OK but then this girl got up and sang and she was really good. I think she´s the owner of the café and she had a great voice.

Finally, the featured musician was a guy named Max Goldemberg. Apparently he is famous around the province as a folk singer and although the setting was small, he put on a good show. It was cool because it was jut him up there with his guitar. He sings traditional serenades and was wooing everyone in the audience. I was talking with another guy and he said Goldemberg´s style is reminiscent of the old days when men would stand outside the window and sing to their fair ladies. The guy told me these situations would end up two ways: one, the father would approve of the singer and the guy gets the girl or two, father hates the singer and the guy gets shot at with a gun. ¡Hay, que romantico!

Happy Valentine´s Day

2007-02-14T07:48:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine´s Day everybody! I hope you all have fun and do something interesting. I still don´t know many people here so it is unlikely that I will do anything in particular. Valentine´s Day doesn´t really seem a big deal in Costa Rica and I would hazard a guess that it´s not really a big deal anywhere outside the United States (thank you Hallmark and Hershey).

In other news, the people I work with at The Journal are great.

Jan, the contact who helped set up this whole thing, is in charge of marketing and publication for the newspaper. He is from the Czech Republic and a Mac grad. He can be very forceful and demanding when it comes to the newspaper and partying but is fun to hang out with.

Carlos is in charge of the international news section, loves soccer and is a nice guy so we get along really well. We talked about soccer for about an hour yesterday and he helped me sort out transportation to cover an event after I couldn´t understand what was being said to me over the phone and what was going on in general.

Ines is a secretary and she has been incredibly kind offering me all sorts of help and answering lots of questions. She actually just moved offices to a different place only a couple blocks away. She is wonderful to talk to and reminds me a bit of Aracelli, my Chilean host mom.

I´ve met a couple other people but those are the ones who I see most often and actually talk with. Work is going well, I moved into an apartment (which is tiny, but nice - see pictures), and life is pretty good.

My Iron Stomach

2007-02-09T18:38:00.000-06:00

I, like most of my family, have a remarkably tolerant stomach. I have not tossed my cookies, lost my lunch, booted or ralphed (including soccer progressives) since the 4th grade; a fact of which I am very proud by the way. I can (and have) consume(d) most everything and I have taken this mentality with me during my travels before but as of yesterday evening, I wish I had not been so adventurous down here in Costa Rica.

I laughed when I heard my brother´s dreadful stories of gastro-intenstinal malfunctions while travelling around Europe and China but I was always somewhat skeptical those things would happen to me. So, upon arriving I proceeded to ignore all the precautionary measures that a gringo should abide and ate food from vendors and drank tap water. I figured the true test of my iron stomach would be take it on a microbial roller coaster right away.

I was doing well for about five days when yesterday afternoon the rumblings started. Fortunately, I did bring along some Immodium because it certainly helped calm the beast. Though last night was less than pleasant, I must say that I have felt a lot worse. I am not yet back to 100% but I have come through the worst of it. I am confident my stomach will adjust and I will be able to continue my culinary odyssey in Latin America.

Beaches

2007-02-08T09:11:00.000-06:00

OK, so up until Wednesday I haven’t really gotten out of Liberia. Liberia is relatively small, only about 70,000 people, and actually haven’t seen too much more than the central, commercial part either. But Wednesday I went with a couple of our distributors along their delivery route and it was absolutely incredible to see more of the country.

I have heard things about how beautiful Costa Rica is and it looked impressive in all the pictures on the internet, but there is no comparison when you see it in person. It pretty much is a tropical paradise. There are hills and cliffs that lead straight down to pristine beaches and sparkling aqua colored water.

I went along in the first place because I had to interview a couple tourists who had come to Costa Rica to surf. Yeah, I know. Not a bad first assignment, I have to go to the beach and ask people about surfing. Anyway, I talked with a cool guy from Australia who had basically surfed his way down the coast from Mexico and now was in Costa Rica but the best part was driving around and taking in the scenery.

Our newspaper is in English and is marketed to almost exclusively to tourists and ex-patriots. We carry a lot of articles from Reuters and the New York Times but our advertisements are for real estate and development and we distribute to a lot of hotels and other tourist spots. So today, on the normal delivery route, I saw some of the most luxurious hotels and resorts I could imagine. They were the most resplendent places that simultaneously elicited intense repulsion while at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to kick back and bask in the opulence of the resort.

Enjoy the pictures!

I Made It!!

2007-02-04T10:51:00.000-06:00

I made it! The flights actually went quite well too. There was a short delay leaving Chicago but it actually worked out just fine because it just shortened the layover in Houston. It was a relatively short flight from Houston to Liberia (only about 3.5 hours) and I sat next to a very nice and chatty guy from San Diego who was going to Costa Rica to look at buying retirement property. That´s the thing to do apparently as the land is relatively cheap.

I arrived at the airport, which isn´t much more than a big, open aired shed and passed through customs with no problem. The customs officer asked me where I was going to stay and since I had no idea, which he didn´t seem to approve of, he reluctantly let me pass. I was told that there would be a woman there to pick me up but I wasn´t sure if that was actually going to happen. Fortunately, a woman and her son were there waiting and took me into town and arranged for me to stay a hostel for a couple days.

All in all, everything is good. I´ve been wandering around Liberia most of the morning just trying to get a feel for things. I´m meeting Jan this afternoon and hopefully he´ll illuminate the situation a little bit more. I think general confusion best describes the days in a foreign country and I´m no exception. Never fear, I´ll sort it out soon enough.

A Whirlwind Finish

2007-02-02T16:09:00.000-06:00

Holy Hell!! It's been a pretty crazy last week. I am back in Ames and am literally minutes from leaving for Chicago. We're only slightly behind schedule which is not too bad for the Ritzes. We finally found a subletter and the GREs, though one of the more distressing single experiences in recent memory, went pretty well. I hope that I will never again have the misfortune of taking another standardized test. Alright, I'm being called out the door. More to come soon, maybe.

I Hate Moving

2007-01-23T22:37:00.000-06:00

I think that moving might be the most frustrating and annoying activities in life. Never mind packing, transportating, and unpacking all the junk that one inevitably accumulates, the process of finding the right place is agonizing in an of itself. I have been trying for well over a month to find someone to sublet my apartment and it has been a much more difficult undertaking than I had ever imagined.

I've been posting on Craigslist and talking with everyone I could think of and though I've had some inquiries, everyone has completely flaked out so far. I think everyone I've contacted so far, save two or three, have been complete sketchballs and either not replied or changed their minds. As the time before I leave quickly dwindles, my lack of subletter has dug itself closer and closer to the front of my mind to the point we're I had a hard time studying because I was stressing about finding someone in time. Fortunately, I think I found someone at work who wants to move in but my fingers are crossed as they knock on wood.

This is a test, This is only a test!

2007-01-22T10:44:00.000-06:00

Alright everybody, here is the inaugural post of my blog. I've still got about a week and a half until I actually leave for Costa Rica but I've got what feels like a million things to do before leaving. I am making progress but there are still some big things I need to take care of, namely finding someone to sublet my apartment/move out and take the GREs. Neither of which are the most alluring tasks.

Anyway, I hope this post works. More to come sometime soon.