Hello all! Five days to go and I'm getting down to the final stages of packing. The only item of unfinished business seems to be selling the car. Who would've thought that it would be this tough to sell a car in Bristol. It has all the new technology like radial tires, FM radio, even that new fangled unleaded gas. Oh well, in a couple of days, if it still hasn't been sold, I'll be driving down to Carmax to turn it into some quick cash. Beyond that, it's all about trying to keep the bag weights down and making it easy for things to be shipped to me after the fact. Haven't been doing much language study in the past several weeks. I guess I'll be hitting the flashcards pretty hard on the plane!
Next post will be from San Francisco!
Chat at ya soon!
Mitch
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Quick Hit #5: Effing Cigars
If you've ever found yourself out in public, and you've thought "you know, I'm just not being enough of an A-hole." simply light up a cigar. Problem solved.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
From Fine Wine to the Firing Line...
Hello friends (especially any new friends from my Cambodia PC group)!
I have just returned from a whirlwind tour of Northern VA and Maryland. It was nice to get together with Rick and Jenny once more before I took off on the great adventure! This was a long weekend of great food, great wine (so they tell me), five round bursts and narrow escapes!
Everything started with a afternoon tour of the Maryland wine country. Both Rick and Jenny embrace wine as a hobby. Their near religious appreciation for the excellent vintages was offset nicely by my heathen ignorance as we sauntered from vineyard to vineyard bringing a little madness to the haute couture. As we tasted the grapes, some sour, some sweet, a disturbing pattern began to emerge. Apparently, young ladies that pour wine at tastings (R and J would know some nifty wine-person title for them) are especially susceptible to ill fortune. One poor girl told the story of the runaway fiance that left her with semi-fond memories and a nice ring. At a later stop, another known only as Sweet Katherine told us, in her super-hyper manner, that her fiance (I think the Maryland word for boyfriend) was interested only in her "benefits". Sweet K went on to say that she was available to come with me to Cambodia (R and J loved sharing my plans, especially to Sweek K) and that she could keep the shop open until 9 if we wanted to stay. R and J snickered and turned the knife by suggesting a group photo with Katherine. After, there were many comments along the lines of "Sweet Katherine wants to give you her benefits" which to be fair, seemed none too benevolent. One got the impression that while she was tending the shop, somewhere nearby three goats were crossing her bridge unmolested.
The other highlight of this awesome trip was a trip with R and J to their gun club. There I was introduced to the finer points of the Glock 19, the H&K .45 and 9mm. I really thought I was doing pretty well. Most of my shots were grouped in a nice little six inch circle at 25 feet. After about fifty rounds I stood back to appreciate my handiwork and quickly had my baloon deflated as I watched Jenny put round after round nearly on top of each other. Freaking Lethal Weapon man! Give this girl a few more months and she'll be on the damn Olympic team!
All in all, it was a great weekend. It really was great food, great drink (does PBR make a Merlot?) and especially great friends. Now, it's time for me to put the finishing touches on my packing and get accquainted with my new friends in Cambodia group #2!!
Till next time!
Mitch
I have just returned from a whirlwind tour of Northern VA and Maryland. It was nice to get together with Rick and Jenny once more before I took off on the great adventure! This was a long weekend of great food, great wine (so they tell me), five round bursts and narrow escapes!
Everything started with a afternoon tour of the Maryland wine country. Both Rick and Jenny embrace wine as a hobby. Their near religious appreciation for the excellent vintages was offset nicely by my heathen ignorance as we sauntered from vineyard to vineyard bringing a little madness to the haute couture. As we tasted the grapes, some sour, some sweet, a disturbing pattern began to emerge. Apparently, young ladies that pour wine at tastings (R and J would know some nifty wine-person title for them) are especially susceptible to ill fortune. One poor girl told the story of the runaway fiance that left her with semi-fond memories and a nice ring. At a later stop, another known only as Sweet Katherine told us, in her super-hyper manner, that her fiance (I think the Maryland word for boyfriend) was interested only in her "benefits". Sweet K went on to say that she was available to come with me to Cambodia (R and J loved sharing my plans, especially to Sweek K) and that she could keep the shop open until 9 if we wanted to stay. R and J snickered and turned the knife by suggesting a group photo with Katherine. After, there were many comments along the lines of "Sweet Katherine wants to give you her benefits" which to be fair, seemed none too benevolent. One got the impression that while she was tending the shop, somewhere nearby three goats were crossing her bridge unmolested.
The other highlight of this awesome trip was a trip with R and J to their gun club. There I was introduced to the finer points of the Glock 19, the H&K .45 and 9mm. I really thought I was doing pretty well. Most of my shots were grouped in a nice little six inch circle at 25 feet. After about fifty rounds I stood back to appreciate my handiwork and quickly had my baloon deflated as I watched Jenny put round after round nearly on top of each other. Freaking Lethal Weapon man! Give this girl a few more months and she'll be on the damn Olympic team!
All in all, it was a great weekend. It really was great food, great drink (does PBR make a Merlot?) and especially great friends. Now, it's time for me to put the finishing touches on my packing and get accquainted with my new friends in Cambodia group #2!!
Till next time!
Mitch
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Snake Mythology: Addendum
Ok,
Per my previous post, I just spent five weeks in the desert, didn't see one snake.
I've been back in VA for 6 days. Yesterday while running around a lake I nearly stepped on a copperhead stalking me from the edge of the trail. Hilarious.
This just goes to prove two points:
1- Desert snakes are still a myth
and...
2- VA snakes dig my blog!
REPRESENT!!
-M
Per my previous post, I just spent five weeks in the desert, didn't see one snake.
I've been back in VA for 6 days. Yesterday while running around a lake I nearly stepped on a copperhead stalking me from the edge of the trail. Hilarious.
This just goes to prove two points:
1- Desert snakes are still a myth
and...
2- VA snakes dig my blog!
REPRESENT!!
-M
Monday, June 23, 2008
Snake Mythology; T-minus 25 Days and Counting!
Hello faithful readers!
I'm back in Bristol, VA having left behind the lush er...damn hot desert landscape of Tucson. I really liked Tucson (If you ever find yourself in Southern Arizona, make sure to drop by the Cowpony bar. It kicks ass!) I could see myself settling down in Tucson someday, that is if I ever find myself settling down.
One thing left me feeling a little ripped off regarding my time in the desert. Five weeks in the middle of the rocky sandy, blistering nothing and I didn't see ONE...DAMN...SNAKE!! I don't want to hear any more about the desert teeming with Rattlers with a snake lurking behind every sagebrush. As far as I'm concerned, that's bull crap. What a gyp. All those scenes in the westerns where the cowboy is riding along on his horse when suddenly...EEEK! A RATTLESNAKE!! Yeah, right. Maybe if he was riding along in the middle of the night...making noises like a gopher...a sick gopher...with a wooden leg. Desert snakes are a myth!!
Anyway, absent vipers aside, when I got back to VA, my Peace Corps staging kit was waiting for me! The staging kit is the PC signal that the final countdown has started. Inside were updated packing guidelines, a final checklist of things to do/bring to staging, a schedule of training as well as my international flight itinerary. So...
On July 19 I'll be hopping a plane to San Francisco!! I'll be spending two and a half days at the Hotel Kubuki, a Japanese themed 4 star hotel! Woo Hoo!! Originally, I had thought I'd be flying straight into Phnom Penh but I guess that doesn't happen. My international flight itinerary reads like a list of all of the places that I've wanted to go. We leave San Francisco on July 21 at 2pm. We fly 11 hours to Japan (woo hoo!!). From Japan, we fly 6 hours to Bangkok Thailand (WOO HOO!) and from there it's a short 1 hr flight to Phnom Penh Cambodia. I know, I know, it's not like I'll be leaving the Airport or anything, and in actuality, it's probably going to be a pain in the neck passing through all these airports, but for now, it just sounds cool. REALLY COOL!!
So now I'm busy shopping up things like light blue short sleeve dress shirts (ugh!) voltage converters, flat blade razors, "dark" colored slacks all the while trying to learn enough Khmer so I don't sound like a complete jackass. I'm looking forward to finally stepping out the door and getting this next chapter underway. It's close now and I think I'm ready.
I'm back in Bristol, VA having left behind the lush er...damn hot desert landscape of Tucson. I really liked Tucson (If you ever find yourself in Southern Arizona, make sure to drop by the Cowpony bar. It kicks ass!) I could see myself settling down in Tucson someday, that is if I ever find myself settling down.
One thing left me feeling a little ripped off regarding my time in the desert. Five weeks in the middle of the rocky sandy, blistering nothing and I didn't see ONE...DAMN...SNAKE!! I don't want to hear any more about the desert teeming with Rattlers with a snake lurking behind every sagebrush. As far as I'm concerned, that's bull crap. What a gyp. All those scenes in the westerns where the cowboy is riding along on his horse when suddenly...EEEK! A RATTLESNAKE!! Yeah, right. Maybe if he was riding along in the middle of the night...making noises like a gopher...a sick gopher...with a wooden leg. Desert snakes are a myth!!
Anyway, absent vipers aside, when I got back to VA, my Peace Corps staging kit was waiting for me! The staging kit is the PC signal that the final countdown has started. Inside were updated packing guidelines, a final checklist of things to do/bring to staging, a schedule of training as well as my international flight itinerary. So...
On July 19 I'll be hopping a plane to San Francisco!! I'll be spending two and a half days at the Hotel Kubuki, a Japanese themed 4 star hotel! Woo Hoo!! Originally, I had thought I'd be flying straight into Phnom Penh but I guess that doesn't happen. My international flight itinerary reads like a list of all of the places that I've wanted to go. We leave San Francisco on July 21 at 2pm. We fly 11 hours to Japan (woo hoo!!). From Japan, we fly 6 hours to Bangkok Thailand (WOO HOO!) and from there it's a short 1 hr flight to Phnom Penh Cambodia. I know, I know, it's not like I'll be leaving the Airport or anything, and in actuality, it's probably going to be a pain in the neck passing through all these airports, but for now, it just sounds cool. REALLY COOL!!
So now I'm busy shopping up things like light blue short sleeve dress shirts (ugh!) voltage converters, flat blade razors, "dark" colored slacks all the while trying to learn enough Khmer so I don't sound like a complete jackass. I'm looking forward to finally stepping out the door and getting this next chapter underway. It's close now and I think I'm ready.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Quick Hit #5: "New Fix, Old Jones."
I checked out the new Indiana Jones movie a few days ago. The last Indiana Jones movie came out 19 years ago. Holy crap.
Don't get me wrong. I love the character and Harrison Ford is one of my favorites but the bit is so old at this point that the next movie, he'll be digging around in an old tomb or something and find... himself!
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones and the movie that should have been made ten years ago!"
or
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones and the Prostate of Fire"
or
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones and the Dark Incontinent"
or
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones: Raider of the Lost AARP"
or
"Coming soon.... Indiana Jones: I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Sometimes the new old is just old.
-M
Don't get me wrong. I love the character and Harrison Ford is one of my favorites but the bit is so old at this point that the next movie, he'll be digging around in an old tomb or something and find... himself!
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones and the movie that should have been made ten years ago!"
or
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones and the Prostate of Fire"
or
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones and the Dark Incontinent"
or
"Coming soon... Indiana Jones: Raider of the Lost AARP"
or
"Coming soon.... Indiana Jones: I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Sometimes the new old is just old.
-M
Sunday, May 25, 2008
PHOENIX LANDER TOUCHES DOWN ON MARS!!
Yes folks, the Phoenix lander has finally arrived, touching down on the surface of Mars, primed to start it's mission to find some signal, some small evidence of life on the red planet.
After the dust cleared, the first snapshot showed a mangled arm extending from beneath the lander, it's six-fingered hand holding a sign that read simply "Welcome."
Shit, hope he wasn't alone.
-M
ps- I wonder how you say "Our bad" in Martian?
After the dust cleared, the first snapshot showed a mangled arm extending from beneath the lander, it's six-fingered hand holding a sign that read simply "Welcome."
Shit, hope he wasn't alone.
-M
ps- I wonder how you say "Our bad" in Martian?
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