Best Songs of 2009

Here are my favorite songs of 2009. Most were released this year although some are a bit older.

10. The Maccabees - Love You Better


9. Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind


8. Matt & Kim - Daylight


7. Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West and Common - I Poke Her Face


6. Vampire Weekend - A-Punk


5. John Mayer - Edge of Desire


4. Company of Thieves - Even in the Dark


3. We Are Scientists - After Hours


2. Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension


1. Foals - Two Steps, Twice



On the outside of the top 10... some because they're almost good enough, some because they were overkilled on the radio.
IKO - Look What You've Done to Me
Will Hoge - The Wreckage
Phoenix - 1901
Wale ft. Yael Naim - New Soul
Owl City - Fireflies
Pretty Lights - World of Illusion
Secondhand Serenade - Twist in My Story
Laura Marling - Ghosts
Dorrough Music - Ice Cream Paint Job

Merry Christmas

Every Christmas I leave Atlanta and travel up I-75 with my family to visit my old Kentucky home. We stay with my grandparents in Richmond in the house they've lived in since the 1940s. My mom grew up in this house that has 2 bedrooms downstairs, a den with a foldout couch-bed (where I sleep with Zabba) and a loft upstairs that has 4 single beds. Oh yeah, and the house has a bathroom. Yes, one bathroom. My mom has 6 brothers and sisters... I can't imagine the chaos.

The house is small and familiar, but as the years have gone on my grandparents have accumulated more stuff. Aunts and uncles give them books and knick-knacks as gifts every year, and they could fill a library. Instead, they're filling every open space in the house. The den, where I'm staying, is a room that is about 10x25, but with the bed rolled out and all of the toys, magazines, books and other random items, there is only about 10-15 square feet of walking space out of the 250 square feet in the room.

Most holidays I spend here, I escape off to Lexington to spend a night or two with my friend Matt, whom I've known since 3rd grade. Yesterday he volunteered to pick my brother and I up, so we spent most of the afternoon catching up and relaxing in a house that didn't feel like the walls were closing in. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time at my grandparents house. Some of my earliest memories are of this place. I just want to do some kind of home makeover to give us all more room while we are here.

The first day we spent in Kentucky was a noteworthy one because I went to my first UK home basketball game since I graduated in 2004. We played Long Beach State, which should have been a pushover. After a bit of sweating, we pulled it out in the end. It'll probably be another long period before I'm able to see another game at home, so I'm glad I could go.

Christmas day was fairly typical. We got together at my aunt's house here in Richmond with most of the cousins, aunts and uncles. We're even to the point where some of my cousins are marriend and have kids. They're all younger than me. Scary. I did get to model a leopard print Snuggie, which was fun. My 12 year old cousin (the Snuggie owner) wasn't too happy of the mockery, though.

Tomorrow we're going to Elizabethtown to spend some time with my dad's brother, my cousin and her daughter. I haven't seen them all in a while so I'm looking forward to it. They came down for Thanksgiving in Atlanta this year, but I was out of the country (see my Thanksgiving post).

Merry Christmas to all!

Back in Rupp Arena

Has it really been 5 years since I've been to a UK game? Has it really been 5 years since I graduated and moved to Atlanta? Wow.

My friend and fellow UK Club Soccer Alum, Phil, hooked me up with a few tickets. I sat with my brother and my dad sat in another section. We played Long Beach State, which I was hoping to be a blowout. To everyone's dismay, the game was really close until the last 5 minutes of the game. The redneck sitting a few rows behind me was especially upset. He kept screaming "Put thu bawl in the howle!" We were in row Z of the upper deck, mind you. It was somewhat entertaining, because you have to love Kentucky.

We won and I stayed after to sing My Old Kentucky Home, as is tradition. I really miss that.

My old Kentucky home far away...

Worst Christmas Song... EVAR!

If you've never heard Last Christmas by Wham, you've been lucky enough never to hear the worst Christmas song ever created. It's cheesy, bitter, and overall just a horrible song. I remember in 8th grade we were allowed to bring a CD to share with everyone in French class. I remember nothing from French class, except for this memory and the song Alouette.

Here is a literal translation of Wham's video for Last Christmas, which I love since I hate the song so much.

Back on US soil

I'm finally back in the States, and on my first night I dream about Miley Cyrus' song "Party in the USA". What have you done to me, homeland?

I spent the weekend in Miami at my company's awards celebration. We rented out the entire Sagamore Hotel on South Beach, and didn't really have time to explore the city (unfortunately). I met James Blake and Melanie Oudin, two tennis stars that are sponsored by BackOffice. I wore a tux (for the first time since... prom? Wow, about 10 years) and cut a few rugs, of course. All in all, it was a good (and warm) way to be introduced back into normal life.

I'll be going back and expanding on all of my Chile experiences as I have time to look through my notes and remember things that happened. So bear with me on these, and come back in a few weeks to see the whole picture.

Last Weekend in Chile... for now

Still editing this post... stay tuned for more.

I realized I didn't post anything about the soccer game I attended a few weeks ago. The match was the first leg of the Chilean league championship between arch-rivals Colo-Colo and Universidad Catolica.

Get Well Rounded

I've always considered myself a Renaissance Man, or at least that's what I would like to be. When it came to sports, subjects in school, whathaveyou... I always seemed to be somewhat decent at a lot of things, but not an expert in any one thing. It's actually what I use as my biggest weakness in job interviews. Depending on how you look at it, having a breadth of knowledge instead of a depth in one subject can be a strength. Here are a few reasons why you might want to be a Renaissance Man.

Hit me with a brick

I called in sick to work yesterday for the first time in my life. There's very little worse than being sick in another country. Thank goodness it was only a 24 hour bug. I couldn't even keep water down for most of the day. The last thing I ate was an avocado, I hope that this doesn't give me a taste aversion because I love them so, but even thinking about one brings that vomit taste back in my mouth. I don't think I ate anything that was weird, and I've been drinking the water since I got to Chile with no problems (it is potable and clean). Unsolved Mystery.

Valparaíso - "Little San Francisco"

My two new European bffs and I decided to take a trip to the coast for the weekend. We met up at the Universidad de Santiago bus station on Saturday and booked a 2.5 hour bus ride to Valparaíso. You never realize how convenient cell phones are until you don’t have one. Even though I knew the time and the place where we were to meet, what if something happens and you are going to be 10 minutes late? You hope they wait, or you are screwed. Luckily, it hasn’t burned me yet. So we booked tickets on Tur-Bus, I think it cost around $3.000 each. I slept for some of the bus ride because the scenery wasn’t that exciting between the two cities.

Valpo had a very different vibe from Santiago, and you could feel it when we first arrived. It is a port town and all available waterfront has gone to the navy, cruise lines, harbor tours, barges and docks. The city rests on a bunch of very steep hills (cerros) and only has about three blocks worth of streets that are flat before the drop off of the harbor. All of the houses were painted in solid vivid colors. Supposedly this started when people had leftover paint for their boats. There were a few high rise buildings in the flat section leading up to the hills, but once you hit the 20 degree grade (yes, they were that steep), it was all one and two story houses and shops. The hills are so steep that they have vernaculars (that is an English word and no, I’d never heard it before either) to take you up the hills if you didn’t want to hoof it. Basically, they are like elevators on rails instead of a cable that go from top to bottom.

We didn’t have a set plan, and there aren’t that many ‘attractions’ in the city, so we got a map and started walking around to get our bearings. Carolien asked a random chileno for directions in Spanish, and he did his best to explain for about two minutes. He saw that we weren’t getting it and said in almost perfect English, “Can I just tell you in English? Because that would be easier.”

We had a good laugh about that… as it turns out, he had studied in the US for a semester and had an American girlfriend. His name was Francisco and he was born and raised in Valpo. He told us where we needed to go, and then invited us out that night for his friend’s birthday party. Talk about lucky! We picked this random guy, and now we had a plan for the evening and I could get a taste of the real chileno nightlife.

We wandered around the city for a bit and started to get hungry. We found this tiny little empanada shop on Calle Urriola with two older ladies behind the counter. It may have been because I was hot, hungry and a bit tired, but that was one of the best meals and definitely the best empanada I’ve ever eaten. They were made to order and you could put pick pretty much any ingredient to stuff inside. Delicioso.

After that we made our way to the Hostal Polanco, a hostel that was recommended by one of Kristine’s friends. I had never stayed in a hostel before, but it was about what I imagined. There was a kitchen, lounge area, dining room, one bathroom and 4 dorm rooms with 5 or 6 beds. We were lucky enough to get a room that had no one else in it for the night, so we didn’t have to worry about our stuff getting stolen (which was a concern of mine). It was on the dirty side, which is something I am not used to. I think it is typical for a hostel though, so if you are a neat freak and need a clean bathroom to shower in, I would recommend getting a hotel (although in Valpo, I don’t remember seeing any).

We dropped off our packs and went to walk around some more. The best thing about the city is the graffiti. I use the term lightly because it’s really noncommissioned street art. Almost every available street-facing wall space is covered in beautiful and colorful murals of every imaginable style. Walking the streets was more like going through a modern art gallery - around every corner was a new masterpiece.

It was time for dinner before we knew it and we got a few recommendations from locals (in Spanish) to a place that was just a short walk from the hostel. It served typical chileno food and could only seat about 30 people. There only happened to be two other parties there, so the place was relatively quiet (except for the Americans behind us… stupid gringos). As my European friends met in Spanish class and were still studying during the week, I suggested that we do our best to order in Spanish although the waitress spoke some English. I have come to discover that everyone is very enthusiastic when I explain to them “Mi espanol es muy malo, pero quiero practicar.”

A few other waiters came over since there was hardly anyone there, and we asked a lot of questions about typical food, what was in it, and did our best to understand. Sometimes they had to switch to English, but they obviously enjoyed sharing their culture with us. We got a bottle of carmenere, an appetizer of some kind of brushetta along with three different main courses. Mine had mussels, fish and a few things hard to decipher mixed into a creamy broth that was really good. After dinner we were treated to a drink on the house. It wasn’t that good, but it was interesting to try. The liquor was clear but had herbs in the bottle. It wasn’t minty, but had a very distinct flavor. Saludos for the gesture though.

Carolien got Francisco’s cell phone number, so we called him and walked to a major intersection at the bottom of a cerro to meet up (without a cell phone, I don’t think we would have been able to find him... +1 for technology). We walked to a pub and met his friends at a low key pub. Francisco introduced us to vino con frutillas: iced red wine mixed with strawberries and sugar. He ordered a whole pitcher of it and passed it around to everyone although we already had drinks of our own. It was… ok.

The next stop was a disco. As you know, my hobbies are ping pong, sun bathe, watch women make toilet, and disco dance. There was a small cover to get inside, but it got you a free drink. Or, you could just let us in for free and we can buy drinks. Whatever. One room was playing house style music (ick, flashbacks to Bar Constitución, get me away) while the other had popular dance songs (some chileno music, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, etc.)

Francisco’s friends were really cool and we had a good time dancing and talking. It wasn’t that much different from a club in the States, except for the stupid bar lines. There were quite a few gringos there to my surprise, but I guess when people travel through Chile, they only spend a few days in Santiago and then come to Valpo and Viña del Mar (definitely worth the trip if you find yourself in Santiago). A lot of people were still going strong in the disco, but we wanted to be functional on Sunday. We ended the night around 3 am with a stop at a food cart for completes. These are very popular low end cuisine, comprising of a hot dog with cole slaw, pureed avocado and loads of mayonnaise. They had me until the mayo, but I took a bite of one anyway.

We didn’t get up until around 11 am and checked out of the hostel. A different woman was working, and she arbitrarily raised the rate $1000 pesos, saying that was the standard price. I wasn’t going to argue, because we thought it was going to cost $10 US, and now it was going to cost $12. Kristine was pretty pissed, but I wasn’t going to sweat it.

We had one more thing to do in Valpo before we hit the beach at Viña del Mar – a boat tour. From what I could tell, there were 3 companies all vying for your business, waving their arms and walking up to you to get on their boat because it was the best. We settled for one that looked almost full for $1500, little did I know they were going to cram 10 more people on it after us. We sat on benches toward the back and I really hoped I wouldn’t get seasick. And I couldn’t be the only gringo on the boat AND the only one to get sick. I keeps it real. They flung each of us a life vest that went around your neck and tied at the waist. Little kids, well… they were out of luck. No baby life vests. Parents didn’t seem to care though.


Our boat tour guide was apparently pretty funny because all of the other passengers were laughing at things he said. The jokes were lost on us. I understood a few clips every now and then, especially when they stopped the boat and asked if everyone wanted to pitch in more money so it lasted an hour instead of just a half hour. No, gracias. We drove by some massive ships, saw some sea lions and got a beautiful view of the city from the water.

There is a tram that runs right along the coast and connects Valparaíso with Viña del Mar. After about a 15 minute ride that took us to a station in downtown Viña, we headed to the beach. The city was so much different from Valpo… there were palm trees, wide avenues, high rise condo towers and parks along our way. It looked more like Miami. I was told that all of the well-off people in Valpo move to Viña.

The beach was somewhat crowded, but it is still early in the summer season. It was definitely hot, but the water was cold from the Antarctic current. I was really tempted to change into my trunks and lay around on the beach with Carolien and Kristine, but none of us had any sunscreen and I didn't want to look like a lobster the next day. I also wasn’t too keen on being all gross for the return bus ride later on. Instead, I decided to walk around the city. I told the girls that I would meet up with them in a few hours.

I didn’t see all that much that was interesting. The streets were packed with restaurants, hotels and boutiques. There were a lot of families and small children, probably on vacation. I got some gelato (very popular here) and sat down on a bench in the shade because it was pretty hot. I got approached by two gypsies that wanted to read my fortune, but I just said, "Lo siento, no comprendo." One walked away mumbling something, I think to the effect of 'You understand, alright.'

After a few minutes of relaxation I met up with the girls and we took the tram back to Valpo and walked to the bus station. After another nap we were back in Santiago and I was ready for another work week. These two places should be on your MUST SEE list if you ever make your way down here.

The Most Interesting Thanksgiving Ever

It was no surprise that no one celebrates Thanksgiving in Chile, so I was prepared for the fact that I was going to have to work both Thursday and Friday. I did my best to stay away from all of the Facebook status updates, put my head down and work.

I spoke with Carolien, my Dutch friend I met in Santiago, early in the week. She seemed excited to put together a Thanksgiving meal since I was missing it back home and she had never experienced it before. The plan was to bring a few of her friends and some food over on Friday night and then go out afterward.

I got home from work on Friday and before I knew it there were three women cooking in my kitchen. Carolien brought a friend from Canada, who luckily was a very good cook and familiar with Thanksgiving, and another from Brazil who was also having her first Thanksgiving meal. I invited Erik, one of my Brazilian coworkers, to the party since he had told me he was interested in learning about the holiday.

Check out our Thanksgiving spread:

Once dinner was cooked, we made our way up to the 22nd floor roof of my apartment building to eat and admire the view of the high rise expanse that faded into the Andes - an American, Canadian, Dutchwoman and two Brazilians celebrating Thanksgiving in Santiago. It wasn't a traditional meal by any means, but definitely one of the most memorable holidays of my life.

After dinner we went out to a bar area in Providencia on Avenida Suecia. There are lots of Swiss-style buildings, which gave it the name. We went into one karaoke bar that gave us a free drink, and then walked around for a while. A lot of people would try to drag you into their establishment promising drink specials. We ended up going to a salsa club with a live band called Ile Habana. It had a nice vibe and was very Latin... hot and loud. I wouldn't recommend going to this area alone or in small groups as it seemed to get a little sketchy as it got later.

Next up, Valparaiso and the beach!

Working on Thanksgiving

I've had to work on Thanksgiving before (when I worked for CNN), no big deal in the grand scheme of things. It was a little depressing to look at status updates on Facebook while I worked (I guess that's not really working though). I decided to take a jog up to Cerro San Cristóbal and watch the sunset... an ok tradeoff I think.

Monumento Natural El Morado and Baños Morales

My new European compadres (see previous post) and I planned to meet and go hiking on Sunday morning. We spoke with someone on the phone with the bus system, and through my very limited Spanish we learned that the bus (#72) for Monumento Natural El Morado left from the Bellavista de la Florida bus station at 8:30 am. There was only one bus to the park and one bus back to Santiago at 6:00 pm, so you had to be there on time.

Hopefully anyone else thinking of doing this trip will read this blog and learn from my experiences...

First of all, before you leave you need a backpack, some food for lunch, and enough water for a 4 hour hike. It's not very strenuous, so no gear is necessary. Depending on the month you're going, a light jacket might be needed as you get closer to the glacier and snow. I went in mid-November and was fine in shorts and a light long-sleeved shirt.

The metro doesn't begin service until 8:00 am on Sundays. So when I walked up at 7:30, it was shuttered. I got nervous about waiting for it to open since I had to take a connection to get to Bellavista de la Florida. Note that Estación Bellavista de la Florida is NOT in Bellavista. It's the last station going south on Line 5 (Green line) before Estación Vincente Valdes. I ended up taking a taxi, and the driver didn't know of that metro stop - definitely bring a map just in case. It ended up costing me $6.000 pesos, which is more than the $3.000, 2.5 hour bus ride to the park. Oh well, I had to get there, right?

I got to the station, and by then it was open. After walking around and asking a ticket operator, I found the Connections area and Bus #72. The station was pretty empty, and there were other gringos in hiking gear there. It always helps to know what to look for when you're in a strange place.

The bus cost $1.500 each way, and still functioned as a city bus as we went out of town. Random people would get on and off as we sat for a few hours, anticipating the destination. The bus stopped once for a coffee and bathroom break, and the scenery along the way was a great change from the city.

The roads got a bit curvier and the mountains got closer as we came into San José de Maipo. We reached the park and were reminded that we had to be back by 6:00 or be left to fend the elements for the night. There was a little store and souvenir stand, but I would still recommend bringing your own food and water. You had to sign your name/passport number at the ranger station and pay $1.500 to enter the park.

Here are the details about the park and why you should go. Cajón del Maipo is a beautiful and accessible park, and the best place to go if you want to experience the Andes mountains near Santiago. El Morado is the highest of the mountains in the area, and hovers at 5,060 m (16,596 ft). The hike will take you up to 2,373 m at Laguna Morado, where snow melts and forms a (not that impressive) lake near the end of the hike. There are a few more details here.



The hike started out kind of intense, but after the first 1 km or so, it flattened out and went right up into the canyon. This isn't a canyon in the American sense, but you are surrounded on all sides by mountains (except the access trail behind you). There was a main path along with a few side trails, but they all led in the same general direction. It was impossible to get lost, and there were children as young as 10 on the trail with us, if you're trying to gauge how serious it is.





The view was unbelievable. A few parts of the path were covered by snow and were a bit tricky, but all in all you could walk and enjoy the view. The river flowed to your right during the whole hike, and there seemed to be no rules about staying on the path. There was really no major vegatation to damage. Also, as a side note, I was surprised at the lack of wildlife. We saw a few horses roaming around, but they were shod and used by the locals to take the lazy up into the canyon. There were a few yellow chested birds that clustered near the laguna (because that's where the food was), but that was it.



We didn't go all of the way up to the glacier, but I wish we had. Laguna Morado seemed to be the area where most people sit on rocks, enjoy the view and have lunch, but the laguna itself was less than impressive. I was expecting some kind of big glacier lake but it was really just a dirty pond where all of the snow melts and then drains into the Rio Maipo. Here is a video I took at the turning point:

We wanted to save time for Baños Morales, which was back at the entrance to the park, so we didn't make it to the glacier (another 20-30 minutes of hiking into the canyon). We turned around and went back to hopefully relax in some hot springs.

Just opposite the park where the bus dropped us off, we entered the springs and had to pay another entrance fee. It was a chilly 65 degrees or so, and we were hoping to get warmed up while we soothe our muscles from the hike. Our expectations, unfortunately, were not met. First of all the water was a strange orange-ish color:




Second of all, IT WAS FREEZING! We braved the water and found where the spring actually bubbled up, and huddled in that corner with a few chilenas and practiced our español. We kind of got used to the water, but it wasn't comfortable by any means. I guess later in the summer when it is warmer outside, the pool would probably be filled with people. But do NOT go there expecting a hot spring. Looking back, we definitely should have hiked up to the glacier instead of coming back to the springs.

We still had an hour to kill, so we went into the shack/store that had a small wood burning furnace to warm up. As it got later, it started to get chilly and we could use the warmth. We got a few cups of tea and ate the rest of our food as we waited for 6:00 to roll around. The locals working and socializing there were very hospitable, as were their dogs. One was named Lobo, and they claimed that his mother was a wolf. I was a bit skeptical.

The ride back (for another $3.000) was uneventful, except for the fact that I had to use the bathroom for the last hour and a half. And my assumption that we would stop halfway again... was a wrong one. We picked up more locals just using the bus as a regular service again and made it back to the station in a few hours.

I recommended the hike to a few coworkers and they went a few weeks later. As it was warmer and into December when they went, there were more people going because of the nicer weather. Balance the higher traffic with the nicer weather to see when you want to go.

Here is my favorite picture, not only from this hike, but from my entire month in Santiago:

Crossing Paths

After my late Friday night, I slept in a bit and then woke up to a solo day in Santiago. I was free to explore the city and I wanted to start with Cerro (Hill) San Cristóbal, which is located in a city park very near my apartment and has a great overlook of the city (click for a better view):



There is also a Virgin Mary statue at the top of the hill. It's an easy climb to the top, with a wide paved road for cars going all of the way up. I Google mapped it and it was only 5k from my apartment to the top. I was a bit hungry and lazy when I got there, so I took the fernicular back to the bottom. There is a zoo in the park as well, but I didn't think it was worth seeing based on its size.

The base of the hill flows right into Bellavista, so I strolled the streets to see what it was like during the day. There were some cafes serving lunch and street vendors selling cheap trinkets on the sidewalks. I walked by a cafe and two girls caught my eye, gringos of course. I saw that one was reading a guidebook, another clue that they were tourists. I kept walking and went to the corner, and made a decision that would change the course of my trip.

Should I go back and talk to these strangers (which by now, you should know that I absolutely hate doing), or do I continue on my way? I decided to go back and talk to them. I asked if they spoke English (in Spanish), and was surprised at their accents. They weren't American, as I had guessed. One was Dutch (Carolien) and the other German (Christine).

Here's a pic of my European amigos:


They were super-cool and invited me to go to a museum with them - Pablo Neruda's former residence in the city. I had read about him a little in my guidebook, but didn't know that much of his work. I had no real plans for the rest of the day, so I tagged along.

Pablo Neruda was a popular Chilean poet/political activist from the '40s-'70s, and even won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Neruda supposedly founded the neighborhood of Bellavista... there are a lot of artists, lofts and graffiti/murals that can be attributed to him living in the neighborhood and surrounding himself with those kind of people. He was a very eclectic guy, and counted Diego Rivera, Che Guevara and Andy Warhol among his friends. His house had a very weird design to match his tastes, and was filled with art from all over the world. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it if I was recommending things to do in the city, but it was a good way to waste a few hours since I had time. Also, there is only one English tour per day on Saturday, so make sure you get a reservation.

The Euro girls were nice enough to include me in their plans for the next day (and weekend). More to come on that (see my next post).

I finished up the day at Parque Arauco, one of the premier shopping malls in the city. I was surprised to find that it wasn't that different from a U.S. mall, except for the language of course. Prices were exactly the same to my dismay, but I still ended up buying a shirt at Zara. Their department stores (Paris and Ripley's were the major ones) were a bit different though. Imagine a store like Macy's, but then you add an electronics section, sporting goods and home appliances. You can literally find anything there.

For a first 'free' day in the city, it was a good start. I was beat, and had a big hike coming the next day. I didn't even attempt to go out on Saturday night. I decided to rest up for the next day's adventure.

Can using a phone in Chile be any more complicated?

Apparently these are the rules for using the phone in Chile.

Cell phone to cell phone - all cell phone numbers start with a 7, 8 or 9 and are followed by 7 more digits, so you'd call 9-999-9999 for example
Cell phone to land line - must dial "02" before the 7-digit land line number ... 02-999-9999
Land line to land line - this is the easiest, just dial the 7-digit number ... 999-9999
Land line to cell phone - you have to dial "09" before the 7,8, or 9 + 7-digit number .... so it would be 09-9-999-9999

These were passed on to me by a friend I met in country, so don't take my word for it. Even with these rules, I have yet to get my condo's phone to work correctly. I think I decided that it is because my landlord restricted calls to cell phones. I think.

First night out

My first weekend in a new place started well. The Indian guys I work with cook every night, which can be annoying when you're looking to explore the city with people. However, when you get invited to dinner you don't turn them down (especially when you love chicken tikka masala as much as I do). We chowed down on food that was spice-subdued enough to allow me to eat it. Then the guys and I went out for a night on the town. I knew this would be a good story, if nothing else.

My Lonely Planet guidebook really talked up this neighborhood near ours called Bellavista. It was supposed to be THE area to party in Santiago. Sanjay, Nayan, Sheilindra, Mandar, Amit (henceforth referred to as 'The Indians') and I rolled into the area around 11:30 pm. I had heard that it didn't really get hopping until after midnight, but I thought we could walk around and explore to find the best spots.

Our taxi driver confirmed that Patio Bellavista was the place you wanted to be on the weekends. We walked through a portico into an open air square that was lined on all sides with restaurants and their patios. Every restaurant was packed and there was a really nice vibe.

The Indians really, and I mean REALLY, wanted to find the discos. Bars were not good enough. They almost convinced each other that Bellavista sucked, since the only places we found had people, sitting and drinking. No dancing = no fun, apparently. I tried to explain that things don't happen until later, and they were finally convinced to stick around for a bit.

We found a place called Bar Constitución that had some promise for the guys. It seemed to be the only place playing disco music, and people were starting to filter in at the same time we were. A DJ cranked up some constant bass beats (the typical house music), which got pretty old after about a song and a half, at least to me. The Indian guys loved it though, and spent the whole night at the front of the bar dancing with each other in typical Indian fashion.

As it turned out, Bar Constitución is THE foreigner bar in Bellavista (see the review in the link above). I picked out a few random guys and girls, and found it relatively easy to start conversations with people... where are you from, what are you doing in Chile, how long are you here, etc. If you know me, you know how much I don't enjoy talking to strangers, but this was simple and care free (as well as necessary unless I was going to roll solo for my entire stay). It's funny how you can make eye contact with a stranger and know for certain that they are from the States. I met some pretty cool people that night, but most were just passing through on vacation, so I didn't find any Santiago compadres.

One Week Down

After the initial culture shock wore off, things haven't been hard at all to get used to here in Santiago. My apartment is a two bedroom condo in a 22 story building in Providencia, the more upscale business and metropolitan neighborhood of Santiago. I would live in this place in the States. The view from the top of the building is amazing:






























Work has been interesting. Every monring I ride with 7 Indian consultants (you don't want to rent a car in Santiago, trust me). There are also 5 Brazilian consultants that we work with. Add the chileno clients to the mix and in any given room where we work, people are speaking Spanish, Brazilian, Hindi and English (I am the only native English speaker). It can be a bit crazy. Luckily, everyone except for a few of the clients speak English.

I haven't had a formal Spanish class since high school, so needless to say, I am a bit rusty. I spent a few weeks in Costa Rica a few years ago, and I've been hitting Rosetta Stone pretty hard to dust up on the language, but I'm nowhere near fluent. My coworkers give me the chance to practice Spanish and can bail me out when I give up and start speaking English again.

Every night this week I walked to restaurants for dinner in Providencia. FYI... dinner doesn't start down here until after 9:30, so most restaurants will be fairly empty until then. Partying doesn't start until after midnight and lasts until 4 or 5 am, but more on that later...

If you are in this area, Liguria is definitely a restaurant that you need to check out. They serve typical Chilean food and the atmosphere is very cool. Nearby is a place called Phone Box Pub, which is a British style restaurant, although the food is a bit more chileno than British.

And So Begins My Adventure In Chile

I had this great plan for my 9.5 hour, 4,600 mile direct flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Santiago, Chile. Eat the dinner they provide an hour or so into the flight, pop a Benadryl, and knock myself out for the rest of the trip. The only problem was that I left my Benadryl at home… oops. Now I had to occupy myself between the in-flight movies, the Lonely Planet guidebook for Chile, and the 70 year old woman sitting next to me. I prayed for sleep that came in fits.

One respite from the torture of monotony and purgatory between sleeping and waking was a great movie called 500 Days of Summer. It told the story of a guy’s relationship with a girl named Summer in a very unique way, jumping to different days in the relationship throughout. I thought that it accurately portrayed the mindset of a typical guy dealing with a breakup and trying to move on. At least to me, it felt very close to home. I’m still waiting on that new ‘Day 1’. See the movie to see what I’m talking about. Also, the soundtrack was filled with quality music, so check that out.

I ended up having a few brief conversations with my geriatric neighbor. As it turns out, at least half of my flight consisted of senior citizens going on a 3 week cruise from Chile, around Cape Horn and finally to Rio de Janeiro. It sounds like a cool trip, but I came to spite many of my fellow passengers. You cannot fathom the deafening snoring that I endured as I tried to find some sleep. Imagine your grandfather x 25. One man was snore-hickuping, or slowly dying, I’m not sure which. It was one of the strangest sounds I’ve ever heard.

Finally, a few hours of sleep and 4,600 miles away, I made it to Santiago. Fun fact: Santiago is actually 2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. It's something you don't really think about until you go there. My client provided a driver to take me to the hotel for a few real hours of sleep before I went into work. I'll try to take notes of what I see and do as I live here, and so begins the month abroad. Day 1.

Check out the view from my temporary home.

Jet Set Update

It's official, I'm going to Chile! After weeks and weeks of debate on where it would be, and if I would actually get to go, I finally know for sure. November 16 - December 11 are the dates. Hello frequent flier miles, hola espanol! More info to come...

Halloween - I'm On a Boat!

Here is my friend Kyle and I before last night's Halloween party at Park Tavern:






















Here's the inspiration if you've been living under a rock.

Where in the world?

Finally, some news about my upcoming project. Not quite what I expected, though:

---

Hi Jay,

We are waiting for ****** to provide us the details for New Zealand. They are wavering on the requirement which is why we have not provided you with information. It appears that instead of New Zealand, ****** may want someone for Chile. The bottom line is we do not have any solid updates to provide at this time.

We will reach out as soon as we have firm details or a start date.

---

I might be packing my bags in the coming weeks. I'm skeptical at this point since it is taking so long.

Post Secret

Yesterday I went with my friend Sheena to listen to a lecture with Frank Warren, the creator of Post Secret. He spoke about how he got started, the impact some of the postcards has had on him, and showed some that could not be added to the books for various reasons. It was all pretty interesting.

He got to the Q&A part, and people were hesitant at first. A few people asked questions about the project, and a few came up and told secrets. Here was the most controversial:

"Hi, last year I went to bible college to become a missionary. It's really expensive to go to private school, so I sold cocaine and acid."

Wow.

Lynchburg

I traveled to the booming city of Lynchburg, Virginia this week for work to do a software installation. Usually when I travel for a project, I am with a team of consultants. This time I was the first person on site and was basically left on my own to figure things out. While this is a good sign in my professional life, it left me with a week to entertain myself with no chance of outside assistance.

Anyone that knows me can tell you that I don't really talk to strangers. It's funny to say, but it's just something that I don't do. I don't eat dinner alone, go to movies alone, or anything else. However, something came over me in Lynchburg. I ended up going out every night to different restaurants. Maybe it was the book I was reading as I ate, I don't know.  I also chatted up the Marriott manager every night.  I think she was as bored as I was to be in the town.

I ended up enjoying myself in this quaint town of 70,000+, though it felt much smaller than that. It's the home of Liberty University, which was founded by Jerry Falwell. If you haven't heard about the strict rules at this college, they are borderline ridiculous. Okay, not borderline. Way over the border.

The code of conduct includes possible reprimands and, later, fines, for such activities as attending dances, violating curfew, viewing R-rated movies, drinking, smoking, viewing sexually explicit material, entering the bedroom of a member of the opposite sex, having an abortion, and participating in unauthorized petitions.

So much for the college experience. As you can imagine, I didn't find ANY nightlife in the city... not that I would have interacted with anyone though, right? I ended up jogging on an rails to trails path that ran through downtown and along the river. That was probably the highlight of the trip.

G'day Mates!

I got this email from work today:

----

Hi Jay,

I am reaching out to you to gauge your interest in international travel. I have a fantastic opportunity for an analyst position in New Zealand for three months with a follow up assignment in Australia for three months. This will require temporary relocation to New Zealand for the three month period. The client is ************ and they would like someone to start as early as 10/20.

Tell me what you think.

----

Um, gee. Let me think about it. YES!

I met a unicorn last night

Here is an artist's recreation of the event:



It was glorious.

My Muse

Here's a pic I took of Zabba in the park yesterday. My neighbor Drew, a photographer, applied a filter to make the colors pop.

New Post on Anna's Style Blog

Check out my latest post on Anna's blog for my views on what people wear in airports.

Triathlon #2

I completed the Peachtree City Triathlon a few weeks ago. The race distances were 525 m swim (1/3 mile), 13.1 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. I did the same race in 2007, and was shooting to beat my time of 80:58. I am an absolutely horrible swimmer, but I'm pretty decent at the other two disciplines. I did a decent amount of training this summer, especially in the pool, but I hit a snag when I pulled a muscle playing soccer about a month before the race.

I was still able to swim and cycle, but my running fitness went down. The day of the race I was nervous, yet confident that I could compete with my previous time. I felt like my swimming technique was better, thanks to some pointers from a friend. I have also spent a lot more time on the bike over the past few years.

As the race started, I swam the lake and hated it, as usual. Physically, I am able to swim fairly quickly, but my brain can't get the breathing down. I know HOW to do it, but I'm much more comfortable taking frequent, shallow breaths while exercising. This leads me to keep my head above water and tilt my body down like a plow as I swim. I'll see if I can't work on this for the future, but anyway...

I ended up shaving about a minute off of my swim time, which I was happy with. My transition was also quicker to the bike. I felt good on the bike, but I knew that I was going to be pushing it to beat my time from '07. I ended up about a minute slower on the middle leg, maybe because I pushed it harder on the swim, I don't know.

As I ran the last part of the race, I knew it was going to be close. I ended up finishing in 81:06, 8 seconds slower than a few years ago. Overall, I finished #306 out of 1000+, so not too bad.

If I can ever figure out how to make swimming enjoyable, I will do a lot more of these races. Here are some pictures.

Do you have a secret?

Tell someone.

High School Reunions

Are high school reunions even relevant anymore? Up until a few years ago, there were people from your past that you wondered about, but could never find out. Now with Facebook, it's only a click away. I'm from a small town with 3 high schools, and there were ~200 in my graduating class. I'm Facebook friends with 300+ from my hometown, and probably most of those that graduated with me.

I graduated in 2000, almost 10 years ago (ack!). When you see these people at your reunion, you're supposed to catch up on the past. You're already friends on Facebook, so you really already know everything that you would have to talk about. You're not really friends, so I imagine there to be a lot of awkward silences.

I had a pretty close-knit group of friends in high school, and I always thought that I would look forward to the summer of our 10 year reunion. After seeing pictures on Facebook from the reunion a year ahead of me, I'm not so thrilled anymore. Honestly, all of the people I want to keep up with, I keep up with. I live 400 miles from there, and is it worth the trip?

This makes me want to join Twitter...

Lance tweets for fans to join him on a bike ride.

Over-used Internet Buzz Words

Please refrain from using the following words.

LOL.
I think LOL is the most overused and ill-fitting reaction to something funny. How many times do you actually laugh out loud when you read something? If you are me, not many. I subscribe to the 'Haha' meter, which I hope to patent. A mildly funny statement only gets a 'ha', something hilarious gets a 'Hahaha!' and something absolutely beyond comparison gets a 'Bahahahaha!', fill in the rest, you get the idea.

Pwned.
Integrating chess and poor spelling does not make the best insult.

FAIL.
Fail Blog can stay, everything else has to go.

Woot woot!
Is this 1995 and are we listening to Quad City DJs?

FTW.
You're on thin ice but I'll let you slide.

Peachtree Road Race

I ran the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th this year. The only other time I ran this 10k was in 2006. It's the largest 10k in the world, with 55,000 runners starting at Lenox Mall in Buckhead and running into Piedmont Park in Midtown. I was in the very last starting group (because I didn't run any races in 2008, I couldn't qualify for a seeded number in the first 10,000).

I rode MARTA to the starting line, and of course, it was late. The only advantage was that when I got to the starting line, pretty much everyone else had already left (even my group). A few stragglers and I showed up and started running without the usual shuffling and slow pace you have at the start of every race.

It also gave the race photographers a chance to snap me without any obstructions. The last time I ran the race, I only had one picture to choose from, and this time I had 10.

Here are the pics.

25 Random Songs On Shuffle

I saw this on Facebook and decided to post it here...

Once you've been tagged... (1) Turn on your MP3 player. (2) Go to SHUFFLE songs mode. (3) Write down the first 25 songs that come up--song title and artist--NO editing/cheating, please. (4) Choose 25 (or so) people to be tagged. It is generally considered to be in good taste to tag the person who tagged you.

Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt - The Mars Volta
Homie Lover Friend (Remix) - R. Kelly
Time - Pink Floyd
Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
Holiday In Spain - Counting Crows
Shout - Otis Day and the Knights
Wandering Star - Portishead
Heady Riser - State Radio
You Should Have Told Me - Kelly Price
Selfless Cold and Composed - Ben Folds Five
Sideways - Santana ft. Citizen Cope
We Will Become Silhouettes - The Postal Service
Detlef Schrempf - Band of Horses
Mrs. Officer - Lil' Wayne ft. bobby Valentino
Sweet Revenge - Spooks
Your Call - Secondhand Serenade
Act Nice and Gentle - The Black Keys
Ms. Jackson - OutKast
Luv 2 Luv Ya - Timbaland & Magoo
Latchmere - The Maccabees
Psychotic Girl - The Black Keys
Black Ice - Goodie Mob ft. OutKast
Adriene - The Calling
No Diggity - Blackstreet
Change the World - Eric Clapton

Keep on running

I was reading an article in Runner's World recently and saw this line that struck me:

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

I Googled the quote, and it can be attributed to the Buddhist Sangha. I am not a Buddhist, but I believe a lot of things described in this article transcend religion.

Of course, it applies to so much more than running. Yes, you are going to fall down, but how are you going to deal with it?

Dreams

Sitting in my hotel room last night, Finding Forrester came on HBO. I forgot how much I love that movie. Here's a quote from the end...

"Someone I once knew wrote that we walk away from our dreams afraid that we may fail or, worse yet, afraid that we may succeed. You need to know that while I knew so very early on that you would realize your dreams, I never imagined I would once again realize my own.

Seasons change, young man, and while I may have waited until the winter of my life to see the things I’ve seen this past year, there is no doubt I would have waited too long had it not been for you."

Lyrics

I wrote this song after a break up that happened more than a year ago. I never claimed to be good at writing lyrics, but it felt right at the time. Now I look back on it and am very embarrassed, but since almost no one reads this, I don't mind.

(to the music of Comfortable by John Mayer)

V1:
I worked on the night shift
And she lived down south.
Less than month later
I loved her without a doubt.
She gave...
Goosebumps.

V2:
She didn’t want love
At least not for a while.
I did what I could
To bring out that gorgeous smile.
She moved here
And we became We

Bridge:
I don’t know just how
We got where we are now
I could do so much better
Looking backwards.

Chorus:
I told her...
She’s the one but
Was it too late?

V3:
A shell of myself
As I go through the day
No sleep and no appetite
Pain won’t go away
I wonder...
What if?

V4:
She wants her distance
To find strength on her own
Get back to the old her
The one her friends used to know
I know that...
She needs it.

Bridge:
I don’t know just how
We got where we are now
I could do so much better
Looking backwards.

Chorus:
I told her...
She’s the one, but
Was it too late?
Why did I
Wait so long?
What's left to say?

V5:
All I can do now
Is just sit here and pray
I’ll get the chance
To do things the proper way
She’s strong now...
So happy...
Moving on...
Too late now?

Chorus:
I told her...
She’s the one, but
Was it too late?
Why did I
Wait so long?
What’s left to say?

I love you...

California, here I come.

My friend Rachel, from high school, got married in Placerville, California a few weekends ago. I flew into Sacramento and drove there, about half an hour east. If you ever get a chance to go to Placerville… don’t. It’s not very exciting. It’s an old gold mining town that hasn’t changed much since then. The one bar downtown was tended by a girl that was pregnant… as in 2 weeks from her due date pregnant.

The wedding was cool and the surrounding countryside was beautiful. We were less than an hour from Lake Tahoe, although we didn’t get to go. Napa Valley was also fairly close, but again no time.

Rather than sit around in an old gold mining town that looked like it hadn’t changed since 1849, Josh and I decided to go to San Francisco to see the sights. We both had an extra day to waste, so we figured why not? I could hook us up with a free hotel room through my Marriott points, so it was pretty much a no brainer. Neither of us had been there, and we only had 12 hours or so to explore.

We got into the city after noon, and went right to the wharf. We walked around to the different piers and had lunch at a little hole in the wall – crab salad sandwiches. The most interesting thing down there, besides the view of the bay, were the street performers. There were a few guys acting like robots, a few acting (or being) crazy, break dancers, a violinist, a steel drum band, among others.

After getting our fill down there, we drove up the hills into Golden Gate Park. Contrary to logic, the bridge isn’t there. It was a really cool park though, and a lot different from Piedmont in Atlanta. There weren’t a lot of wide open spaces, and a road cut right through the middle. We didn’t get out to explore, but it looked as if there were a lot of walking trails.

We made our way to the bridge via Baker Beach. The wind was gusty but the view was great. We hiked a short trail down to the beach and were surprised by two nude sunbathers. Don’t get too excited, they were both old and male. Josh got to touch the Pacific for the first time and we took a bunch of pictures down by the rocks with the bridge in the background.

From there we went to Haight Ashbury per Josh’s request. I had never even heard of it, but apparently this is where the hippy movement started. It was definitely a unique area in the city. Tie dye – everywhere.

By that time it was after 6:00 and we were both hungry, so we went downtown to check into the hotel and get something to eat. Luckily we were close to Chinatown, and ate at a place called R&G Lounge, as recommended by Yelp. It seemed very like a few of the restaurants I ate at in Chinatown, NY.

After that we hit up the bars. We found out that the Mission District is a cool and up and coming area, so we went there. After a going into a few random places, we met a few other out-of-towners and tagged along with them to places in the area. Each bar only took cash, which was different, but they were all smoke free – that made me very happy.

We got home around 2 am and had to be up early to drive back to Sacramento for our flights back east. All in all, I had a good time. There is definitely more to do in the city though. I didn’t even look into the museums, but I assume there are some good ones. We didn’t go up to Coit Tower, visit the parks, cross the bridge into Saulsalito, do anything in Oakland, visit Castro (though it’s the gay part of town, I think it would still be worth seeing).

Take me back, and soon!

Pics from the trip.

Only Fools Rush In

I knew when I met you that I was in trouble
Head over heels in less than a week
If I could imagine the perfect girl
She would be you

Your beauty inside and out
Intimidates me, mesmerizes me, draws me in
I have tasted loved before, but this is sweeter
You are everything I've ever wanted

You couldn't see it at first
But my past follows me like a shadow
And all you want to do is live in the sunlight
It's where you belong

Only fools like me rush in, you're much more guarded
I just pray for a chance
Happiness is almost within grasp
If you'll just look forward

The disparity between the prevalence of white coaches versus white players in basketball

I read a column in the AJC today. It discusses who UK should look for in a coach. Living in Atlanta, race comes up a lot in the responses and some of the comments set me off. One person claimed that since UK is going after Calipari, they are racist. They stated that they should consider minority coaches because most players are minorites. Here is my comment to the article:

I have a theory about the disparity between the prevalence of white coaches versus white players in basketball.

First of all, a good player does not translate into a good coach. In fact, most good coaches were not star players. Phil Jackson was not even a regular NBA starter for his first 6 seasons in the league. Coach K played for West Point. Tubby Smith went to High Point. Pat Riley averaged 7 points in his NBA career. Doc Rivers was an NBA starter for much of his career, but was a supporting player. The list goes on… Dean Smith, Bob Knight, John Chaney, Larry Brown.

How many All-Star players have succeeded as coaches? I can think of one – Larry Bird, and he only coached for a few seasons. But some notable failures are Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, and Clyde Drexler. The only exception might be Lenny Wilkens (who holds the distinction for most NBA wins AND losses as a coach).

Now, you don’t have to be a bad player or benchwarmer to be a good coach, that’s not my point. It just seems to work out that way. Former players like Jeff Capel may break the mold (and maybe I’m missing a few?).

Look at good players and their mindset. Natural ability plays a large role in why players are as good as they are. Do you think LeBron James was coached to be a good player? No. He is just good. There’s no explaining it. Gifted athletes that become coaches can have a hard time relating to players that aren’t as good as they were as players. You can’t coach someone to be as good as you when you are at that level. You either are, or you aren’t. However, as a coach, you have to know how to reach these ‘lesser’ players, draw out the talent, and make players work together.

Now, look at players on the bench. They get a unique perspective that players on the court don't get - you can see the entire court and all its pieces as a whole. Players on the bench have to make up for their lack of talent with hard work and strategy, just to get where they are. If I can’t jump higher, run faster and shoot better, I have to make up for it in other ways – movement off the ball, hustle defense, etc., - which are all helpful things that can be used as a coach. Players on the bench get to listen to coaches and assistants strategize, draw up plays, and motivate players. These are things players on the floor do not see from an outside perspective.

All the years good players spend playing basketball, benchwarmers spend learning about the game. And who do you see at the end of most benches in college and the NBA? White players. This is not racist, it’s circumstance.


As far as UK goes, I was born and raised there, and am an alum. I was happy to have Tubby as a coach, and didn’t know ANYONE that thought worse of him because of his race. Yes, he won a national championship in 1998, but with Pitino’s team. I could have coached that team. After that, there were some good years, but not good years as measured by us. He lacked the recruiting power. Having a black coach does not give you “instant credibility” as said by Cat Shabazz’s #3 point... it did nothing at all. Tubby was not given the chance to coach because of his race, and he wasn’t fired because of it.

Gillispie was not a good fit, and I think we will be better off with Calipari. He seems to have the ego to want such a high profile job, the coaching ability and the recruiting expertise. I feel like our team has potential to be a contender for the first time in a while. GO CATS!

Random Things About Me

This was posted on my Facebook profile until I took it off earlier today...

And just to clarify, I had random facts in my profile before it was cool to write '25 Random Things' notes about it.

My favorite color is blue, for more than one reason.
I'll try anything twice, because the first time might have been a fluke.
I'm a dog person.
I'm an extrovert, but I'm uncomfortable and quiet around strangers.
I bruise like a peach.
Kentucky was a great place to grow up and now visit, but I don't think I could ever live there again. I've always been drawn to big cities.
I always clean my plate when eating.
If you ask me what I think, I will tell you, no sugar-coating.
I'm a self diagnosed nosocomephobiac (fear of hospitals). I'm not afraid per say, but every time I enter one I get queasy, clammy and lightheaded.
I hate small talk.
If I won the lottery, I would quit my job and become a teacher and high school soccer coach.
There are some things I have eaten entire boxes/bags of in one sitting, and could eat until my stomach ruptured: pistachios, Cap'n Crunch (with or without Crunch Berries), and Sun Chips to name a few.
I laugh at people's jokes when they're not funny, because I know what it feels like when a joke misses. Unless it was really dumb.
My favorite music makes me depressed.
I'm a person of habit and routine.
I have never fallen out of love.
I'm allergic to chocolate, but it's only mild.
I can do the belly wave.
I don't wish people a happy birthday because of a Facebook reminder unless I already knew it. I think if I changed my birthday on here, most people wouldn't know that I was messing with them.
People think I'm skinny and it's easy for me to stay that way, but if I don't work out for a month I can gain 15-20 pounds... I've done it before. That said, my waist size is the same as it was 10 years ago.
Halloween is my favorite holiday.
I'm one of the few soccer players I know that doesn't keep up with the professional game. I'd much rather be playing than watching.
I've never gotten stitches, despite all of the reckless things I've done and injuries I've had over the years.

Will Hoge

Will Hoge might just be my favorite musician, though a few are up at the top of the list. The only bittersweet thing about listening to his music is that he was introduced to me by an ex-girlfriend... THE ex-girlfriend... so some of the songs about love, heartbreak, etc, are especially powerful.

When I describe Will's style of music to people, it's kind of hard to find a comparison. There's a lot of rock and roll, a little country, folk, indie, and blues all mixed in. It's very unique.

I have seen Will in concert 3 times: once at the 40 Watt in Athens, once at the Roxy in Buckhead, and once at Eddie's Attic in Decatur (for an acoustic set). He was in a bad auto accident back in August of 2008 that put him in the hospital for months, and his first tour date in Atlanta since that time is going to be in late April.

Here are some of my favorite songs. Most of his stuff is more up tempo, but if you know me, you know I like the slower, bluesy songs.


Carousel

King of Grey

When I Can Afford To Lose

Highway's Home

I'm going to see him on April 24 at Eddie's Attic, and I can't wait!

Indie Music

I don't know when I really started liking Indie music. It's like when you're reading a book and you drift off, and two pages later, you snap out of it and realize your brain was somewhere else. This is the case with me and the music. All of a sudden I'm deep into it, and I'm not exactly sure how I got here.

I've always liked bands like The Killers and The Strokes, I guess it started there. I plugged a few artists into my 'Indie' Pandora station and it escalated from there. That being said, I don't think any music genre will conquer my love for the blues.

Here are the songs on my current play list. Some are old, some are new.

Bloc Party - Banquet
Bloc Party - Helicopter
The Cribs - Men's Needs
The Cribs - Another Number
We Are Scientists - After Hours
The Maccabees - Precious Time
The Maccabees - Happy Faces
All Get Out - Water and God
The Black Kids - I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
Phoenix - Sometimes in the Fall
MGMT - Kids
TV on the Radio -
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Over and Over Again
Good Shoes - Morden
The Kooks - Naive
The Futureheads - Meantime
The Futureheads - Sleet
The View - Super Tradesman
Does it Offend You Yeah? - Dawn of the Dead
The Bravery - Time Won't Let Me Go
Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
Young Love - Discotech
The View - Superstar Tradesman
The Strokes - You Only Live Once
Kings of Leon - King of the Rodeo
Cobra Starship - Guilty Pleasure

I <3 YouTube

I am constantly on YouTube... in fact, I <3 it. Here are some of my favorite videos of all time.

MARTA Soulja Girl w/ Subtitles


Jizz in My Pants


Kung Fu Hillbilly - Training Video


Lazy town REMIX feat. Lil' Jon


Ronald McDonald Insanity


Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama


Bubb Rubb and Lil Sis


Seven-year-old boy steals grandmother's SUV


CSI Miami - Endless Caruso One Liners


The UFO Guy


Flea Market Montgomery
(link to come)

You can always find my latest YouTube finds at my channel.

24 Lies and 1 Truth

I'm constantly getting updates from people posting those stupid '25 Random Things' on Facebook. So here's my 24 Lies and 1 Truth list - see if you can pick out the truth. This is way more fun, so let's see if I can start a Facebook trend...

1. I've never been in a situation in which I thought I might die if I made a mis-step.
2. I've been fired from a job.
3. I changed my major in college.
4. I was never caught cheating on a test in high school or college.
5. I've never seen myself on cable TV.
6. I have been at fault in a car accident.
7. I've never been in a fist fight.
8. I believe in fate.
9. I've been to 2 UK basketball and football home games (combined) since graduating.
10. I've visited more than 5 countries outside the U.S.
11. I've never locked my keys in my car.
12. I live with no regrets.
13. I accidentally gave myself a tattoo.
14. I love to water ski.
15. UK was my first choice for college.
16. I've only had one concussion that I know of.
17. I have a secret desire to try out for American Idol.
18. My favorite movie of all-time is Fight Club.
19. I've been in love 3 times.
20. I listen to music when I go running.
21. I've never had a manicure.
22. I get stage fright.
23. I've only been arrested once.
24. I have always felt closer to male friends than females.
25. I've been a groomsman in a wedding.

Testing the Water

I've never been much of a blogger, so why start now? I've always toyed with the idea, but I thought I would tire of updates quickly. I blogged on MySpace about 5 times, but that site is horrible and I only log in to listen to music. We'll see how long it takes me to lose interest in Blogger.

I really don't have a point or goal in mind. I've debated on how personal I want to get... I don't know if I'm comfortable revealing my thoughts like a diary, but I might feel inspired from time to time. I don't plan on promoting my page or making a big deal out of this. I'd just like to make some observations and tell some stories that might interest or entertain my friends. So expect topics on weekends and experiences in Atlanta, music, traveling (for work and pleasure), family, sports, love, current events, movies, faith and anything else that urges me to share. I'd like to give props to Matt Hosley for the inspiration.

I'm going to play around with the design, so things might look different the next time you read this... IF anyone actually ends up reading this.