"It's Overrated"

albaninasia

2008-06-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard, I started a new blog entitled bangkoscow. It will be my sole blog while I travel through Asia and Europe. Please visit!

Iceland - Day 3 (Golden Circle)

2008-04-03T17:08:00.001-07:00

All 27, minus one late-comer.

Thingvellir - Ancient Viking parliament site.

Gulfoss

Gulfoss

My reward for patiently standing at attention with camera in hand.

Iceland - Day 1 & 2

2008-04-03T16:28:00.002-07:00

The Blue Lagoon: enough to make you feel like a super-hero. Blue Lagoon photos were stolen from J. Payne. For more pics from her angle, click here.

Victims of the red-eye special.

Thor, our steadfast Icelandic driver.

Lutheran church, Reykjavik.

Reykjavik.

Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights).

Daniel, mid kickflip.

Scandinavia

2008-03-28T02:21:00.000-07:00

Many of you may know I am currently in Scandinavia. As I reread the previous sentence, I'm realizing that "many of you" makes it sound like a significant number of people will be reading this. Who am I kidding? When was the last post, October? Regardless, this is just a heads up. Once I get back into HVA's groove, pictures and stories should be appearing from what has been a hectic but rewarding tour of Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway.

Crazy Hair/Clash Day 2008

2008-03-19T18:07:00.001-07:00

I borrowed the yearbook camera on Crazy Hair/Clash Day a week or so ago. Here are a few resulting pictures. Stephen Herr, Bible; Alban Howe, Math.

Awmi and Korrin

Airtime

Ben and Me

Mr. Herr

Decoration, Or, How to Get Students to Stare at the Ceiling in Silence for Forty Minutes.

2007-10-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in my now clean office (with my bonsai), looking out into the classroom. I've just reconstructed the paper lanterns that Phil and I had in our dorm room and hung them up for my Algebra II students to enjoy. It looks pretty sweet I must admit. Since there are five tables, and I have five lanterns, each table has a lantern directly above it. Two dark green and white, one light blue and gray, one lime green, and one yellow and light blue (the last one looks like a nursery accessory).

I think I may have the students recreate the laterns, only in a larger or smaller size. It would be very interesting to use proportions to create the perfect piece for a 36" or 3" diameter lantern.

Now to grading I go. Hurray (can you sense my excitement?).

New

2007-10-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Don't complain. It's only been half a year since I last posted. Nothing major has happened in my life since that point. Save a hectic school-year finish including several Much Ado About Nothing performances, a superb sailing summer at MiVoden, and an unexpected switch from student to teacher. Nothing major.

I like blogging, but I'm lazy, and prefer putting pictures up. The absence of a camera is forcing me to do otherwise.

Yes, the rumors are true. I ditched Walla Walla for a year to teach Algebra II and Computers at Highland View Academy (and an SAT prep class for Koreans/Taiwanese). It's exhausting, but I love it. Some of my students were here when I graduated. It's crazy.

Other news: Both Arsenal and the HVA soccer team are doing famously. HVA has played 7 games and won 5 of them. They tied to SVA and lost to TA (due in part to shoddy refereeing). Arsenal remain undeafeated. I love to give updates on the games to my students. Most of them don't care, but I figure they'll at least be curious by the end of the year. When they tease me by saying "Arsenal Sucks!" I simply reply "Hey, I just think the US is remiss in their negligence of the most beautiful game in the world. I'm supporting real football through Arsenal. If you don't like them, support the game through some other team!"

As I finish this short update, I ask myself, "How many consistent updates will it take before people start checking this dormant page again?"

PS Did you notice all my it'ses are correct? Thanks, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves."

Trippin

2007-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we visited Chan Chan, Trujillo´s answer to Machu Picchu, made completely out of adobe. It looked a little lame from far away, but the actual park was pretty impressive. There was an innumerable amount of tall mud-brick walls with decorations carved into their bases. Most of the decorations were either pelicans or fish, but they also had walls that were built to looks like nets. It´s hard to explain, so check out Ansley´s blog for pictures.

At 1:45 we left Trujillo for Chiclayo, 3 hours to the north. We were somewhat dismayed to learn that Frede would be coming with us (bless her paranoid peruvian heart), but in the end it turned out to be a blessing. In Chiclayo we hoped to catch a 12 hour bus to Chachapoyas. As we entered a taxi in Chiclayo, Frede pulled her classic "They´re missionaries from the Adventist church with little money! Lower the price!" Although this was annoying and embarrasing to us, it paid off this time, as the taxi driver was an adventist. For the next 15 minutes Frede and the driver gabbed about mutual friends, current pastors, and other various topics related to the church, and of course Frede threw in suggestions about lowering the price every time she could.

Unfortunately, there were no buses to Chachapoyas, so we caught a bus to Pedro Ruíz, 60 KM from our destination. We were relieved to be on our own again, but were not excited about the prospects of more violent movies. All the movies they show on the buses here are extremely violent, leaving you with a sickening feeling as you get out of the bus. During the eight hour bus ride, we had competitions to see who could NOT look at the TV. Each glance recieved one point, and the winner was the person with the fewest points. During the first movie, I won, with 4 glances (two of which were of the reflection in the window), Ansley came in second (6 glances), and Aaron lost horribly with 14 glances. John was and is somewhat sick, so he did not participate. The second movie went a little better, probably because we were either sleeping or listening to our iPods the whole time. Aaron and I got two glances, Ansley, zero. You´d be surprised how hard it is not to look when the volume is blaring down your neck. I tried to ignore the sounds of gun shots and punches by listening to The Horse and His Boy (thanks Alan).

After arriving in Pedro Luíz at 2AM, we waited two hours by the side of the road until a taxi finally agreed to take us to Chachapoyas. After about an hour and a half, the driver stopped the car, claiming we had to wait out the rain. After sitting there for an hour listening to our Taxi driver, rightly dubbed Moleface, snore, I got out and asked a Policeman what in the world was going on. He went over and talked to Moleface, and Moleface reluctantly helped us transfer our gear into another Taxi (that already had two people in it). This taxi then carried us the rest of the way to Chachapoyas, where we arrived at about 8AM this morning.

Trujiullo

2007-03-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

After spending a night in Lima, we travelled to Trujillo, 10 hours north. The landscape along the coast is very strange, sometimes dropping several hundred feet to the ocean directly from the road. The slopes are rocky or sandy, and there is no vegetation at all. I didn´t realize how much of Peru is desert.

Trujillo is a nice town close to the beach. We are visiting el pastor Gerardo and his wife Frede. They are interesting people. Frede thinks we can´t understand Spanish very well, so she is always trying to act things out or say a word here and there in English, which only confuses us to no end. It´s hilarious and slightly annoying at the same time.

Chosica

2007-03-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Bueno, por fin llegue a Peru esta manana a las cinco. Ansley y John estaban para recogerme, y entonces fuimos en bus a Chosica, donde tienen unos amigos con quienes podemos alojarnos. Hablamos de muchas cosas, y miramos las fotos en el MASK para que pudieran conocer unos de mis amigos.

Estoy tan emocionado estar de nuevo en un pais donde se hablan espanol. Hace demasiado tiempo! Es "lo maximo" estar entre parientes y amigos donde puedo hablar espanol sin temor de equivorcarme. Los amigos de Ansley son muy amistosos. Hacimos unas chistes sobre el espanol de John (mi primo), pero en realidad, habla bastante, no, muy bien puesto que no ha estudiado nada de espanol. Ansley tambien habla excelentemente.

Despues de comer un almuerzo delicioso (de pan, queso, mazamora, etc) cantamos una canciones de nuestros himnarios adventistas, y salimos a comer helado, cambiar dinero, usar el internet, y llamar a nuestros padres. A si que bueno, estoy usando el internet ahora mismo.

Hace mucho calor y ya que es muy humido, mi pelo es muy ruloso (algo al azar). Vamos a recoger Aaron en unas horas o minutos. No se si viene pronto o mas tarde. Que viaje bueno.

Felipe: que tengan una fiesta buenissima. Ya que vas a estar, y Trina va a estar, sera una fiesta bastante divertida. Cuidate loco...

En route to Peru

2007-03-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

I'm chilling in Miami airport currently, and extremely happy. I've finally finished every for the quarter! Since I left Walla Walla in a hurry on Monday, I still had a six page paper to write for "Methods of Teaching Modern Languages". Besides that, there were two one page summaries and an outline. Instead of stressing about finishing them on Monday, I chose to take advantage of travel time. It wasn't hard to finish everything in my first two flights since together they were about seven hours. I was a little concerned that something might go wrong, but after sending the e-mail with four attachments to my professor (although it will regrettably cost me $4.95), I feel pretty confident.

Now there's nothing but 3 more hours of sitting, and one flight to Lima and I will be enjoying the company of my amazing sister and cousin (and friend, don't forget Aaron). Sweet.

Good luck to my compatriots that remain in Walla Walla and are still worrying about finals.

2007-03-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

It's one of those weeks. I transfer my pile of clean laundry from the floor to the bed instead of folding it neatly. I forget about my 10 page paper en español and play fútbol. I blog instead of going to the library to study. I miss drama production try-outs, then regret it and e-mail the director. When I see her, I turn around and walk the other way, hoping she won't see me. I wake up at 7:59 and rush to my eight o'clock class, arriving just before my presentation. Didn't I set the alarm for 5:30? I delay work and go to Midweek Meditation. Instead of paying close attention to the sermon, I stressfully make a schedule for the next three days. Will I have enough worship credits? Those times I did music and forgot to write my name down...

Next week will be better I tell myself. I'll be on my way to Perú, with no cares in the world. Or will I be memorizing lines for the upcoming play? Or writing a paper due on Wednesday, e-mailing it from 5,000 miles away?

Next quarter will be simpler. I'll quit my job. There! That's fifteen extra hours. Then I remember tutoring: five hours. Church organ playing: at least four. Oh, and then the play: Much Ado About Nothing, 286 lines to memorize. Practices every week?

I hate and love being busy at the same time. When I have more time, I fill it with something else.

It's one of those weeks. The weeks that make you appreciate peaceful times, peaceful places. Metallak Island. Hawaii. The farm. Reading newspapers in a London flat. Hiking around the Cinque Terra. Picking blueberries. Sailing.

2007-02-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

What my computer often sees.

Kauai Pictures

2007-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

To see more pictures like this one, go to Phil's blog.

London Pictures

2007-02-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

Long overdue photos from London. More to come.
The Underground
Fixing Evan's Table
London Riverfront with Gurken
Tate Modern Slides (we slid)
Evan demonstrates our favorite pastime.

Janitorial Skills

2007-02-08T23:09:00.000-08:00

Every week, I spend fifteen hours cleaning rooms that have been sullied by complaining teachers and students. Yes, I'm a janitor, so in honor of my disappreciated position I thought I would outline some of the skills and shortcuts I have learned over the past four months. These 6 in particular pertain to vacuuming as this has been my primary duty.

1. When using a vacuum pack, attach the hip strap around the back of the vacuum. This keeps the strap out of the way (since it is completely useless either dangling or sinched around the stomach).

2. When vacuuming linoleum, keep the side of the vacuum nozzle closest to you a little off the floor. Not only will the nozzle slide much more easily over the floor, but this simple action prevents against the fingernailsonachalkboard sound which is produced when it is forgotten.

3. After vacuuming a classroom, it is more efficient to coil your cord up neatly than waste time later untangling the mess which is sure to appear.

4. If vacuuming a classroom that has tables in place of chairs, it is often helpful to throw the cord on top of the tables to avoid catching it in the table feet. The cord is will run smoothly over the tables instead of being caught under its feet.

5. When vacuuming stairwells, always plug the cord in on the second floor. This allows for access to all three floors, but only if using number 6.

6. When vacuuming stairwells, you can reach all three flights if and only if you drop the cord straight down the middle of the stairwell, instead of letting it follow you down the staircase.

I find janitorial work to be slightly ironic. We clean for people who are always complaining about the uncleanliness that they themselves have caused. If THEY would be a little more careful, maybe we could keep up with everything.

Kauai 1

2007-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

It's Friday morning, and everyone is still asleep except for Alan and I. I'm sitting in the middle of a large room. I would guess that the ceiling is about 16 feet tall, and measures almost 15 large paces in both directions. The decorations are mostly pastel, and there is a large, low, spinning and rolling purple chair. In the corner is are own personal aviary, and inside there are 3 medium size trees and other plants. The view out the window is of a lush lawn, rushing river, and thick green foliage.

We arrived on Oahu Wednesday at 11PM, spent the night on some luggage carts, and left for Kauai at 5AM. Yesterday we collected our rental car (a large Jeep SUV), drove around finding different things to eat, enjoyed the scenery, and tryed to stay out of the rain. To some of us, especially Cody and I, Hawaii is a strange mix. It feels like a mission trip, but there are nice cars everywhere, and we are staying in an awesome room, relaxing and generally doing as we please.

By this time, Tommy and Cody have roused themselves, and only Phil remains subject to his pilow. I look through the gigantic skylight and notice blue sky, with some skattered clouds. Looks like today's weather will be slightly more upbeat than yesterday's. We have no plans, but this day could hold surfing, hiking, kayaking, macadamia-nut roasting, or whatever other island activity we can think up.

My feelings are summed up in William Clark's famous quote, "Ocean in view! Oh! The Joy!"

Christmas Weekend (Oh wait, it wasn't).

2006-12-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

Friday (Sunday):

We headed to the Shepherd's Bush tube station at 6AM, expecting regular service to King's Cross Station, where we would catch a train to Cambridge. The large, cold iron gate shutting us out brought us to the harsh realization that it was NOT Friday, but Sunday. Thankfully, we managed to secure a shady cab-service for 15 pounds. The fact that we had to wake the driver and clamber into his swerving Toyota minivan was slightly disconcerting, but we made it with time to spare. Arriving in Cambridge, we joined the queue (great Scrabble word) for the King's College service of "Nine Lessons and Carols" (maybe you've heard it on NPR). The service, which takes place at 3:00PM on Christmas Eve, is broadcasted to millions of listeners, but only 600 have the priviledge of listening in the gorgeous chapel, the epitomy of high gothic style. For this reason, the first die-hards arrived Thursday evening and enjoyed three nights on the lovely rural campus. Evan and I arrived at 8AM, waiting until 2PM in the freezing cold before being allowed into the chapel ("whew, we were two of the 600"). We noted that this occasion broke the record four hours spent on Thanksgiving Day in front of the National Gallery's Van Gogh exhibit. Anyways, the service was fantastic, including the classic lessons, some excellent organ works by Bach and Messiaen, carols sung by 14 choir-boys and 14 undergrads, and several singalong hymns. After the service we walked around Cambridge for an hour and then caught the train back to London.

Saturday (Monday):

Christmas day we again got up early to catch a ride with Evan's friend Peter to his parents' house. We cooked a rather large breakfast considering lunch was scheduled 4 hours later, but once potatoe bread had been added to the menu, we had to add eggs, and so on. The first course of dinner was smoked salmon, salad, and rolls, and was followed by the main course: roasted potatoes, mock-chicken and red onion streudel, various vegetables, turkey, etc. I was slightly taken aback by 3 sets of forks and knives, but thankfully I remembered to start at the outside and work my way in. After the main meal we watched HM the Queen's speech on the tele and then had dessert. After dessert we had coffee and each had a reading. Peter's mother chose the section of Little House on the Prarie that describes their friend fording the raging river to bring them Christmas presents. Evan read a story by Sufjan Stevens entitled "Christmas mysteries of the Chicken McNuggets as explained by macrobiotic star people and Aunt Harriet's Ouija board" and I read "In the Bleak Midwinter". After the readings we had cheese (stilton, brie, and mature cheddar) and crackers.

Sunday (Tuesday):

We slept in until 11 or so and then Evan's friend Simon arrived to spend 30 hours with us. The rest of our day was devoured by 6 hours in the pub watching football. We first watched Liverpool loose, then Chelsea draw (thanks to an own goal by ex-Arsenal player Ashley Cole), and finally Arsenal win. It was a satisfying day, largely due to the fact that it was so relaxing.

Since this entry is so long, I'm awarding a prize to the first person who reads the entire thing (no cheating). If you e-mail me at alban.exe@gmail.com with the words I WON in the subject line before anyone else, you might get a prize. Cheers.

2006-12-23T03:57:00.000-08:00

Times in London continue to be excelent. Thursday I enjoyed the British Museum for several hours while Evan perused a massive book store. I enjoyed Egyptian sculptures and mummies (including Cleopatra's), the Parthenon sculptures, and exhibit entitled "Sacred Objects of the Pacific", exhibits of Korea, China, and Japan (very cool folding tiger screens!), and a "Treasures from Bengal" exhibit. It was overwhelming, so I took down notes in the back of my sudoku book to remember some of the amazing artifacts that I saw. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I walked past the Rosetta Stone without noticing, but there were huge kingly stone heads that distracted. I returned later to find it completely inundated with Korean tourists. Needless to say, I took a picture (of the tourists and their cameras).

Yesterday Evan and I straightened, no, cleaned the flat, then set off to Trafalgar for a lazy afternoon. We listened in on a practice for the Messiah at St. Martin in the Fields, and while there bought tickets to a performance of all Bach's Brandenburg concertos. We are very much looking forward to this performance which will take place next Thursday. After enjoying the practice, we spent some time in the National Gallery. We saw paintings by Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Raphael, Da Vinci, Van Eyck, Michelangelo, Cezanne, and others. It was pretty fantastic.

To Ansley: yes, Hawaii. In a moment of excitement, we (we being Alan Newbold, Phil Gray, Tommy Poole, and myself, with a recent addition, Cody Lonning) bought tickets to Hawaii for the first weekend in February. Hurrah for rash decision-making.

London

2006-12-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Chilling (quite literally) in London has been absolutely fantastic. Days so far have been just as relaxing as full. Sunday we watched two fantastic soccer matches: one between Everton and Chelsea (2-3), and one between West Ham and Man U. (1-0). West Ham is 17th out of 20 Premiership teams, Man U. is 1st, having lost one game to, you guessed it, Arsenal. Evan and I watched in amazement as Man U. were embarrassed for the first time at West Ham's home stadium. The next day, we checked out UCL, got some free internet, and generally enjoyed the tube (hurrah for week long passes!). Tuesday we went to the British Library and looked at original scores from such composers as Mozart, Bach, and Chopin, as well as an amazing collection of Bibles (Gutenburg, Wycliff etc.), books and the like (an original copy of Alice's Adventures Underground, letters of Jane Austin, Shakespeare's plays, Tolstoy, etc.), and some amazing scientific documents (Chinese acupuncture charts, Da Vinci drawings, a Japanese flower-arranging text-book). It was most awe-inspiring. We had planned to watch an Arsenal - Liverpool game, but it was postponed due to fog. Today we spent 4 or so hours in the Tate Modern, and experienced the 5 and 3 story slides that plummet to the ground (all inside of course). This interactive artwork as well as an amazing set of equa-distant mirrored electronic sliding doors were the most accessibly incredible things in the museum. We stood in the center of all the doors for some time, slightly confused, giddy, and excited. It sounds simple, but the effect inside is absolutely paranormal. Carsten Höller, the artist that created both these pieces, is now my hero. You may be able to find pictures on Google. Of course we did much more than this, but at least you get the idea of how much fun we are having. Flights around Europe range from .01£ to several pounds, so we may take a short trip. Travel is great.

Wishing for Reindeer?

2006-12-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

Friday morning, after buying tickets to Hawaii for a weekend (what were we thinking?), Phil and I set off from Walla Walla towards Seattle, about a 5 hours drive away. After missing the exit for the Pasco airport, count them, 3 times (where I was to drop off Phil), I continued by myself. After traveling about two hours northwest to Ellensburg through slushy conditions, I was informed by glaring signs and flashing police lights that the interstate was closed. Instead of driving straight over the pass, I had to backtrack an hour, go south into Oregon, west to Portland (in driving rain), and north to Seattle (in one of the worst wind storms the region has seen in years). After a grueling 11 hours. I arrived. I'll finish retelling the account of my journey to London later. It gets better. Really... Actually... not really. I changed my mind today.

Scrabble

2006-12-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

The main point of this update is to prevent any further abuse from such visitors as Phillip Gray, Paul Howe, etc. (see previous update's comments). I have little excuse for the large expanse of time that has elapsed since I last updated, save the fact that I am overly attached to placing pictures with each and every post. My lack of a camera and the inability of Blogspot to read the files I uploaded from Phil's camera have "prevented" me from updating (notice the quotation marks if you're critical).

Having said that, my roommate Phil, my friend Lance, and I have recently become slightly addicted to the classic game "Scrabble". Did I say slightly? Slightly is an understatement. Today I feel incomplete because we haven't yet played this fantastic game (and probably won't considering it's 10 PM and there's organ to be practiced). Lance has dominated every single three-person game except for one, when Phil managed to oust him out of the top spot. As you probably already realized, my record isn't amazing in three-player games, but I have managed to beat Lance twice in two-player.

When Lance isn't around, Phil and I play in Spanish with my handy "Scrabble, Edición en Español". I haven't won once. We have played about 5 times in Spanish, and I have lost by 50 points, 120 points, and even a whopping 160 points. The most frustrating game ended with a score of 308 to 305, after which I didn't speak to Phil for an hour. When Phil played his last letter, his final score was 306; I sat precariously at 307. Imagine my dismay as I stared down at my rack of two one-point letters. You know you're a nerd if you only have problems with your roommate over a Scrabble game.

Arsenal vs. CSKA

2006-11-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today Arsenal had a very disapointing match against CSKA Moscow, leaving them with one draw-point instead of the desired three alotted for a win. Although the home side kept the heat on the entire game, they missed chance after chance, the most blatent a mistake by Thomas Rosicky. As the comentators stated, "It would have been easier to sink a goal than to pass it into the arms of the Moscow keeper" (as Rosicky so skillfully did)! The Gunners will remain one point behind CSKA, tied with Porto in group G of the Champions League. Better luck next time!

Ultimate

2006-10-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

This Friday we played Ultimate Frisbee for three hours straight. Since talking about the games would be pretty boring, I thought I might introduce some of the players:

Me: I love diving and firing long passes. Some people complain when I hold on to the frisbee for a long time, waiting for an open teammate. My favorite phrase: "Take it slow!"

CJ: The best way to describe CJ is small. Really small. CJ is a short asian freshmen who cherry picks very effectively. He knows how to run a mean cut in the inzone. The best thing about CJ is that he goes almost unnoticed because of his size.

Greg: Greg creates an entire game plan just because of his ability to come up with the frisbee no matter who is defending: "Oh look, Greg is in the inzone. Huck it!" He's tall and big, not very creative, but almost always catches a difficult throw in traffic.

Derek: If Derek was an animal, it would be a giraffe. He's SUPER awkward, but since he's so tall, he can get throws before people have the chance to jump. He always falls down after making a catch even if it was a really easy one. Seriously.

Nick: Nick organizes Frisbee Friday. He sets up the fields and makes teams (often to suit his wishes). He has a good throw, and catches well, but isn't the fastest guy around.

Nate: Nate will destroy any offensive effort. He's quick and sees the game well which allows him to intercept loads of passes.

Brandon: This guy is one of the best players. He throws well, has a very good game plan, and runs fast. Sometimes he fires to quick or without looking and nails the ground.

Of course there are others, but these people help give the game flavor. Can't wait until next time....

The Conference Conference

2006-10-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend Ryan Aquí and I traveled to Camp MiVoden to do music for the Upper Columbia Conference Bible Conference. Unfortunately, there wasn't much do to, so we ended up shooting random pictures with my iSight camera. It's harder than it looks.

Sevice Day Juggle Mania

2006-10-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Blue shirt: Tyson Hallock; Salmon shirt: Carl Canwell; Red shirt: Me; Black Shirt: Taylor Wilkens. 12 club madness where passing occurs every other throw. First Tyson and I, then Carl and Taylor, etc. Why do I have such a look on my face? Because Tyson just through me a bad pass and now I am holding the wrong side of the club.

12 club feed juggling. Carl and I pass every throw, alternating partners, Mike and Tyson pass every other throw, always to Carl and I, respectively.

Our captive audience.

Taylor and I catch Tyson and Carl's passes mid-flight and hand them each a club, then pass the clubs we snatched across to each other.

Several of us juggle three balls inside a memory loss facility.

I play the Maple Leaf Rag while Tyson astounds with his mad unicycling skills.

Green Dazzel

2006-10-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering what our lanterns look like, here's a picture I took with my handy iSight camera.

451

2006-10-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

This is my roommate Phil and I in Bolivia. It's 6 AM, freezing cold, and 12 thousand feet. Our thoughts: "Why did we bus all night just to get here? This is so overrated..." Phil and I are now doing much better. It's warm, and the room smells of freshly cooked rice and a sweet and sour guava concoction Phil invented to put on top (yum!). It pays to have a chef for a roommate. The silence is filled with the smooth sounds of bossa nova, which perfectly matches the greenish lighting created by our amazing paper lanterns. Life is good.

Victory

2006-09-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today Arsenal captured a win against top seeded Manchester United, shaming them into second place behind Portsmouth. After Gilberto missed a penalty shot, Adebayor put one in with five minutes to go. The win brings Arsenal up from a disappointing start in the Premiership: 17th to 10th.

Catamaraning

2006-09-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, this WAS last summer. Still, the minute-long single pontoon run deserves mention.