Ok, so I guess I've forgotten to visit my blog. Poor little blog. Lucky for me, someone else maintains these pages, so they haven't died (like my lawn).
I'm not hopping around the world like I used to, but I still have opinions on travel, dining and random moments of life. So, with that said, I will commence my running commentary on whatever comes across my mind.
First up, my weekend trip to Miami...
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Friday, October 10, 2008
Dear Philadelphia: You Suck!
Ok, I don't think the entire city of Philadelphia sucks, but I do think a good number of their baseball fans do.
Ran Philadelphia has some nice things - museums, food, rivers, etc. What they don't have are sports fans with any class or manners. And why do I write this? Well, with my favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, scheduled to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, I just had to go. It's been 20 freaking years since the Dodgers have been in the NLCS. I was not going to miss it!
I bought some overpriced tickets on eBay, booked a train ticket, reserved a hotel room, and tool the afternoon off from work. I've been to Philly before, for work and fun. I've even been to, and survived, and Eagles game. Hell, this couldn't be worse than an Eagles game? Oh how wrong I was!
I expected some (ok, a lot) of heckling from the Phillies faithful. Frankly, they don't have much else to look forward to in life. So the "You suck" and "You really suck" comments didn't bother me at all. And they're not very creative. I loved the "Faggots" and "Homo" comments coming from guys skipping hand-in-hand with their beer buddies. And getting yelled at by some old dude is hilarious. One elderly guy screamed at me and I turned around and just said "Look old man, you spent your whole life in this crap hole. At least I get to leave." He didn't know what to say. Just hurried away with his AARP club card.
Now the best part of the experience was after the Phillies had won. Poor losers? In the word's of Sarah Palin "You bet ya!" This spew came flooding from all corners. Little kids, old ladies, young ladies, and even a police dog barked at me with an attitude. Fine, you won. You still suck!
As we got up to leave, my buddy had to take a stop in the restroom. I was standing outside sending a text message to someone, ignoring the idiots around me. I looked up just in time to see some Phillies fan jump on the shoulders of my buddy and knock him to the ground. Security quickly pulled Einstein off of my dazed friend. They then decided it was a good idea to escort us out of the stadium and into the safey of...the streets of Philadelphia! Brilliant move Kojak! At this point, I was yelling at everyone who dared look at me. I told them they all sucked, their city sucked, their mascot was lame, etc.
Moral of this story? Don't waste your money attending any kind of sports event in Philadelphia. Spend your money in a place where people will appreciate it.
Ran Philadelphia has some nice things - museums, food, rivers, etc. What they don't have are sports fans with any class or manners. And why do I write this? Well, with my favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, scheduled to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, I just had to go. It's been 20 freaking years since the Dodgers have been in the NLCS. I was not going to miss it!
I bought some overpriced tickets on eBay, booked a train ticket, reserved a hotel room, and tool the afternoon off from work. I've been to Philly before, for work and fun. I've even been to, and survived, and Eagles game. Hell, this couldn't be worse than an Eagles game? Oh how wrong I was!
I expected some (ok, a lot) of heckling from the Phillies faithful. Frankly, they don't have much else to look forward to in life. So the "You suck" and "You really suck" comments didn't bother me at all. And they're not very creative. I loved the "Faggots" and "Homo" comments coming from guys skipping hand-in-hand with their beer buddies. And getting yelled at by some old dude is hilarious. One elderly guy screamed at me and I turned around and just said "Look old man, you spent your whole life in this crap hole. At least I get to leave." He didn't know what to say. Just hurried away with his AARP club card.
Now the best part of the experience was after the Phillies had won. Poor losers? In the word's of Sarah Palin "You bet ya!" This spew came flooding from all corners. Little kids, old ladies, young ladies, and even a police dog barked at me with an attitude. Fine, you won. You still suck!
As we got up to leave, my buddy had to take a stop in the restroom. I was standing outside sending a text message to someone, ignoring the idiots around me. I looked up just in time to see some Phillies fan jump on the shoulders of my buddy and knock him to the ground. Security quickly pulled Einstein off of my dazed friend. They then decided it was a good idea to escort us out of the stadium and into the safey of...the streets of Philadelphia! Brilliant move Kojak! At this point, I was yelling at everyone who dared look at me. I told them they all sucked, their city sucked, their mascot was lame, etc.
Moral of this story? Don't waste your money attending any kind of sports event in Philadelphia. Spend your money in a place where people will appreciate it.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
2008, Where Did You Go?
So usually I'm all over the world in a given year. But here it is October, and I've been out of the USA only once. ONCE! Now it was a nice trip to London, but come on! Ok, I guess my near death experience kept me close to home and used up two weeks of my vacation.
So now what? I have to crank in two long haul trips in order to renew my United 1K status. Can I do it? Dubai for a weekend in November and Hong Kong in December? Yeah, those are the tickets!
So now what? I have to crank in two long haul trips in order to renew my United 1K status. Can I do it? Dubai for a weekend in November and Hong Kong in December? Yeah, those are the tickets!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
2007 In Review
Ok, I wasn't as diligent about updating my travel posts in the latter half of 2007. Apologies. I was in fact continuing my travels and just got lazy.
I managed to continue racking up miles and hotel stays in 2007: Over 130,000 miles in air travel (mostly on United) and at least 70 hotel nights (mostly Starwood and Marriott). If I add in meal in restaurants, I guess that would probabably end up in 300 range. Maybe I should just stay home in 2008?
Where did I go in 2007? Within the U.S. I visited (some several times): Los Angeles, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Dallas, Long Island, Philadelphia, Denver, Las Vegas, and of course, continued to explore Washington, DC.
On the worldwide front, I visited India for a month (work), Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong & Macau, Italy, Dominican Republic and Colombia. I will try to back track a bit and write some stories from some of those trips. But I need to find good pictures to accompany the blog, and I'm just too disorganized right now.
Where will 2008 take me? Already been back to Los Angeles/Pasadena, New York City and Chicago. There will be a couple of trips to Las Vegas for sure (since I've already paid for them), plus who knows where else. I do plan to try to make it to Vietnam and New Zealand this year. Why? Because I haven't been to either place. I don't want to repeat too many countries just yet (except for I's: Ireland, Italy and India). If anyone has a suggestion, please share.
For now, how everyone had a nice holiday season and is now well versed in signing dates with 2008 instead of 2007.
Cheers!
I managed to continue racking up miles and hotel stays in 2007: Over 130,000 miles in air travel (mostly on United) and at least 70 hotel nights (mostly Starwood and Marriott). If I add in meal in restaurants, I guess that would probabably end up in 300 range. Maybe I should just stay home in 2008?
Where did I go in 2007? Within the U.S. I visited (some several times): Los Angeles, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Dallas, Long Island, Philadelphia, Denver, Las Vegas, and of course, continued to explore Washington, DC.
On the worldwide front, I visited India for a month (work), Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong & Macau, Italy, Dominican Republic and Colombia. I will try to back track a bit and write some stories from some of those trips. But I need to find good pictures to accompany the blog, and I'm just too disorganized right now.
Where will 2008 take me? Already been back to Los Angeles/Pasadena, New York City and Chicago. There will be a couple of trips to Las Vegas for sure (since I've already paid for them), plus who knows where else. I do plan to try to make it to Vietnam and New Zealand this year. Why? Because I haven't been to either place. I don't want to repeat too many countries just yet (except for I's: Ireland, Italy and India). If anyone has a suggestion, please share.
For now, how everyone had a nice holiday season and is now well versed in signing dates with 2008 instead of 2007.
Cheers!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Italy: A Solo Tour
I just returned from another trip to Italy. This time I went by myself, as it is getting impossible to find friends who can get the time off or that I can tolerate on a trip. I'll fill in the details over the next few days, but suffice it say the trip was good fun.
Italy is overhyped as a tourist destination for Americans. Whether it's people who read some book about the Tuscan sun, have some Italian blood, or simply want to see the history of western civilization, Italy gets inundated by scores of crazed Americans every year. This trip was all about avoiding those people.
My plan: pack light and hit spots I'd never been to before. Since I'd been to Milan, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Venice, Sicily, Capri and Amalfi, that wasn't going to be easy. I booked a roundtrip ticket to Rome, packed up a bag, and off I went.
The good news is that I'm writing this post-trip, so you know I survived my loosely planned journey. The bad news? Well there really isn't any to report here. But some funny stories that some might consider bad. Check back and I'll share them with you.
Ciao.
Italy is overhyped as a tourist destination for Americans. Whether it's people who read some book about the Tuscan sun, have some Italian blood, or simply want to see the history of western civilization, Italy gets inundated by scores of crazed Americans every year. This trip was all about avoiding those people.
My plan: pack light and hit spots I'd never been to before. Since I'd been to Milan, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Venice, Sicily, Capri and Amalfi, that wasn't going to be easy. I booked a roundtrip ticket to Rome, packed up a bag, and off I went.
The good news is that I'm writing this post-trip, so you know I survived my loosely planned journey. The bad news? Well there really isn't any to report here. But some funny stories that some might consider bad. Check back and I'll share them with you.
Ciao.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Common Sense and Lost Luggage
Today's Washington Post had a front page article on the increase in complaints about lost or delayed baggage on U.S. carriers. The usual excuses were given by the industry: weather, smaller planes, short connections, etc. They left out, but the reporter added in, the issue of bag theft.
Seems moronic that TSA does such a good job screening all of us and our bags before the bags (and our bodies) become the custodial property of the airlines, yet the airport employees seem to be able to ripoff so much stuff right from under their noses!
The article included a story about some really stupid woman who had checked a bag with $18,000 (yes, 18 THOUSAND DOLLARS) worth of jewelry. The bag went to Canada instead of Dulles, but she was lucky and got them back, jewelry included. First off, anyone who checks valuables is a moron. Second, why in the hell are you bringing that much bling on a trip? Yes, we all know you have lovely taste in diamonds and such, but leave them at home. Reminds me of tourists who visit developing countries loaded down with items that make them both shameless show offs as well as easy targets for theft.
Here are a few tips: 1) Leave the expensive stuff at home - if you have to bring it, carry it with you!; 2) NEVER check electronics in your suitcase; and 3) stop packing so much crap! Turns out they sell just about everything you'll ever need in most major cities in the world.
Save yourself the headaches and just pack light.
Seems moronic that TSA does such a good job screening all of us and our bags before the bags (and our bodies) become the custodial property of the airlines, yet the airport employees seem to be able to ripoff so much stuff right from under their noses!
The article included a story about some really stupid woman who had checked a bag with $18,000 (yes, 18 THOUSAND DOLLARS) worth of jewelry. The bag went to Canada instead of Dulles, but she was lucky and got them back, jewelry included. First off, anyone who checks valuables is a moron. Second, why in the hell are you bringing that much bling on a trip? Yes, we all know you have lovely taste in diamonds and such, but leave them at home. Reminds me of tourists who visit developing countries loaded down with items that make them both shameless show offs as well as easy targets for theft.
Here are a few tips: 1) Leave the expensive stuff at home - if you have to bring it, carry it with you!; 2) NEVER check electronics in your suitcase; and 3) stop packing so much crap! Turns out they sell just about everything you'll ever need in most major cities in the world.
Save yourself the headaches and just pack light.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Oh the Irony!
Today I finally went to get my Indian visa renewed. Got all the paperwork together and hoofed it over to the consulate here in DC.
Turns out they've decided to outsource the visa process to a private company! So the country that is absorbing a large amount of outsourced work from the U.S. had decided to follow the model and outsource a key function of their own!
I'm sure the poor woman who mans the visa desk is happy. I just wonder if she'll still have a job next week.
Turns out they've decided to outsource the visa process to a private company! So the country that is absorbing a large amount of outsourced work from the U.S. had decided to follow the model and outsource a key function of their own!
I'm sure the poor woman who mans the visa desk is happy. I just wonder if she'll still have a job next week.
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