February 2004 Archives

Ahh, a weekend marked by random korean nights and playing with my new toy - there's nothing better.
Addie looking curiously at her master's new toy. I finally caved and bought the phone I wanted. It probably won't get any better reception at work, and the camera's photos aren't exactly crystal clear (witness if you click to see the larger image) but still fun to play with :)

Matt belting out a tune at the Korean kareoke place. The picture's all grainy because 1) the camera isn't the best (see above) and 2) any time a song came on the lights automatically went out and the disco ball started up. It was actually really fun. The machine rated you on some arbitrary scale - we always got in the 90s - but Monica and I managed to squeak out a perfect 100 for our duet on Barbie Girl with much help from Justyn in the booming male voice department.

Gatto - or whatever his new name is - Pat's cat - has fun with the toilet paper. I just liked that he tried to look innocent by hiding behind the door just 2 feet from the massive pile of unrolled tissue.

I saw the movie Eurotrip with Matt, Pat and Tony today - a really funny movie if you like movies that would amuse 16 year old boys (I haven't matured beyond that, probably never will). Some choice camios too. Anyway. In the movie our hero has an interesting email program with probably the best mail notification sound I've ever heard. It sounds like Mr. T speaking at high speeds saying "mail motherfucker". Okay, well I thought it was funny. Anyway I really wanted the sound but for some reason it wasn't out on the net anywhere. So with some help from one of my friends I... aquired the first half of the movie.

Downloading 300 megs of movie to extract to extract 28 k (1.6 seconds) of sound. Well worth the effort :) So here for those who know me or those who do a google search or whatever: Eurotrip - mail motherfucker in wav form.

28k, I don't think I'll get as hosed bandwidth wise as when I stupidly hosted the starwars kid movies or the Dave Chapel GTA movie.

A mullet:

My office-mate Chad had to find a picture of what a mullet was to prove that it wasn't what he has (he has a top knot). This was the first picture he found.

So Whistler happened. Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed with the snow. More like a crunchy frozen crap than snow. It was too bad really since the areas that were crunchy and frozen to the point of being unskiiable would have been pretty fun in fresh powder. That's the price of having a mountain on the coast I suppose.

The village, however, was definately nicer than the one at Silver Star. Well, depending on your mood I suppose. It was certainly bigger. It had it's one Crepe restaurant, several nice clubs and bars, plus not one but TWO cosmetic surgery clinic. Because, you know, that's what I look for in a good ski resort :)

The trip was fun even if the skiing kind of sucked. Valentine's day out at the stinky beagle (not the actual club name, just what I remember) was fun, good music to dance too even if the dance floor was kind of small. I found out that Kristen - whom I hardly knew, and still don't know very well - is a phenomenal snowboarder. I tried to keep up with her on the second day and failed miserably. Her brother is even better than she is. I stuck with Sherry, Matt and Jennie on the bunny slopes instead. It wasn't exactly challenging, but it was certainly more fun than running into trees (which I did again). So was it worth the 5-6 hour drive both ways? hard to say for only a day and a half. For a three day weekend it would be fine, but for this trip I think I spent more time driving than skiing. But I did have fun while I was there.

In other news, my boss had a baby - well his wife did. 7 pounds, 12 ounces of little girl. Congrats Dave.

I changed the layout ever so subtly - can you tell? I liked the look of this site and so "borrowed" from it thematically :)

It's input time for anyone who comes across this site. I'm not sure which of 5 top banners I like. I settled on this one for now. click the image to rotate through them, tell me which you like. I may just have them change with the day or something, though that seems excessive.

Also, the gray pictures in the background are static for now while my web hosting company resolves an issue with PHP's dynamic image creation. After that they'll sort of rotate randomly.

Yeah, I should probably finish converting the entire site to the new layout before changing that, but at least this test the ability for easy change. It was, just three files to change. plus this was more interesting to work on :)

Heading back to rome in april, I can't wait. I have to choose between waking up early on wednesday - I mean REALLY early - or spending a night in denmark. I'm leaning towards NOT denmark at this point since it'll give me that much more time in rome and those cursed danes stole my maces oh so long ago. bah.

The desire for crepes overcame me the other day, and Jeni had an easy recipie (just dump everything in a blender and go) so we decided to give it a try. The first round didn't go so well :)

After realizing we had forgotten about 3/4 of the milk, the second batch went much better. It was generally crepe-like but lacked the "fresh from the street vendor" taste. Just another reason to go back I suppose.

I also managed to break my digital camera. No big deal, I thought, I'd been thinking about upgrading. Well the cheapest non-sucky digital camera I could find was about $300 so I decided to put a little more effort into fixing my broken one. Upon opening the camera I found nothing obviously wrong though did spot a large capacitor. For those not in the know, capacitors store large amounts of electricity for short bursts - like for a flash. My mind told me it was still probably charged but I went poking about with metal tools regardless. Several thousand volts through my right hand later I decided to give it a rest for the day. $300 isn't really that bad.

... uh yeah, like the subject line says.

https://www.arr-the-kraken.com/travel/paris04/

Not my best work graphical layout wise, but not too bad for a quick job.

I'm back, though my body apparently needs a little more convincing. I woke up at 4:30 this morning after about 5 hours of sleep. I can't tell if I'm jetlagged or I'm just used to running on so little sleep - guess time will tell.

The flight back was uneventful if not, um, un-annoying. I was seated near a woman who had apparently hurt her hand in some kind of wine tasting catastrophy and was retelling the story to anyone with ears. I think I heard it about 15 times. I'd feel bad about being calous, but one of the women traveling with her just kept rolling her eyes every time she started up so I imagine this wasn't the first time she'd told the story. Earphones drowned out most of the rest of the flight(s) though.

Pictures should be developed shortly and I'll post them, this should make for a good end to this travel segment. Quickly though, a few things I forgot to write about that I don't want to forget.

• The catacombs were interesting, though really there are only so many ways you can arrange skulls and femurs in interesting patterns before it all just starts to look like a brownish morbid blur. Icy droplets of water falling down the back of your neck do not help the ambiance.
• My french accent apparently improved in the 6 days I was there, one of the clerks at the hostel actually congratulated me on it. So now I guess I can speak all of the 20 or so words and phrases I know that much better :)
• pineapple crepes could potentially be good if you used bits of pineapple instead of two large rings. and if the pineapple was ripe. Yeah, I didn't get the good kind. Still I was glad for the late night diversion.
• If you have AT&T Wireless for your cel phone company, when you call them to set up service for international roaming, say "please add the service", not just "yes, I need that" - otherwise they'll do nothing and leave you wondering why your phone doesn't work.
• I love the feeling of not missing TV. Sure, I don't get to hear the latest on why MTV can apparently never do another superbowl halftime show, but it's a price I'm willing to pay.

I think that was about it. I don't know, I'm too hungry to think straight and I have to crepes to satiate my hunger. Off to buy food.

I've just seen Sarah off to the train station, David left this morning and randy (only stayed one night) has moved on to the next hostel. Rajulio is still here, but only ever studies so there's not much chance of doing anything other than pack tonight. Makes for an easier time getting to the airport tomorrow I suppose but I'd rather have spent another late night honestly.

Today was filled with quite a few metro rides. I went back to the Rodin museum with sarah and randy this morning - thankfully it was open despite the construction. The small Caryatid I'd seen in the corner of the massive bronze "gates of hell" was nothing compared to the real thing. The caryatid with her stone and her sister with an urn flank the back steps of the small mansion that comprises the gallery. A large collection of bronze renditions are placed about the garden and you can roam around viewing from all angles and - most importantly - touching the statues. I'd only five works by name (daniad, caryatid, the kiss, the thinker and cathedral) so seeing all of the new sculptures was quite something. The buiguasies (that isn't spelled coorectly) was particularly interesting, I shot at least a role and a half at the museum. The only disappointing thing was that The Hand of God couldn't really be photographed well and that the Daniad was behind glass so couldn't be touched. Other than that it was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.

Sadly - that meant that the Museum d'orsay was kind of a let down. The statues were alright I suppose, the impressionist art were all classics as should be expected but largely I'd seen them all already. I suppose had I not just come from the largest collection of sculpture by my favored artist I would have enjoyed it more, but since I had, well, I didn't.

We also saw the Paris Mosque - brilliant tile work though really falling into disrepair - ate at an outdoor cafe now that the weather has perked up a bit and saw the site of the bastiele. Oh yes, and I returned the phone. The store apparently took me for an idiotic tourist or someone with no spine. On no less than three occasions they tried to shift me away to another store, or changed their story. After inisting that I could just switch it for any other phone of a different model I got to prove how loud and forthright americans can be when we don't want to be screwed with - they handed me cash about a minute and a half after that. It was actually quite satisfying :)

And now, since I have nothing left to do but pack, a small list of things I've learned while on this trip - due largely to many late night, post pub coversations.

• If you want sprinkles on your icecream in ireland you have to call them "hundreds and thousands", in the south you call them jimmies. But don't ask for jimmies in texas or your icecream will be covered in condoms - or as the irish apparently call them "french letters".
• All men cry at the movie Rudy. Some men cry during Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory (though this usually involves whisky or pot).
• Every city needs a metro system - seriously. One that doesn't smell like pee in half of the stairwells would be prefereable however.
• When you sleep with your head on a pile of clothes because your hostel has no pillow (and you brought none) you wake up with really strange lines all over your face. Expect funny looks in the morning.
• Nothing tastes as good as the crepe you've been looking for for 3 hours.
• Mc Donald's is a disease. While I can appreciate the opportunity for some good old fashioned junk food every now and then, McD's more frequently spaced than in the densest of american cities is just not right.
• ...and as always, staying in hostels is the only way to go. Nothing forges friendships better and faster than shared hardships, showers and whisky - not necessarily in that order.

And now I must pack. I shall try and visit the louvre tomorrow (note the absense of the word "again" there) before I leave. If not, well just another reason to return. Which I can do for free with frequenty flier miles now. Twice over.

mmm (cake).

today and yesterday were largely days of goodbyes. Leslie and Aubrey moved into their appartment on yesterday, paul left this morning back for dublin, and Chrissy took the train to her new host family (hopefully the owners of a yellow car). Still, we managed an excellent meal of tex-mex french style with the Village People playing in the background. That and naturally another night or two at the pub.

Speaking of which. Rum in paris is not "normal" rum. If you ask for rum you'll get "Rum Labat" which seems to translate roughly to "paint thinner". you have to specifically ask for becardi. Figuring that was the odd quirk for this particular pub we set about trying to prove whether rabits where rodents are not (we settled tentativly on not) and learn some good Gaelic words (I remember the word for water and goodbye, but that's about it). About an hour into the evening the bartender starts roping off an area with toilet paper, we figure it's for a private party. Instead they stage a murder there for some student film or art project, we get to be props, it was fun.

So near misses, Sarah and I set off with a new arrival this afternoon for the Rodin museum (having finally located it) only to find it closed for the day and heavily under construction regardless. The gate keeper was nice enough to let me sneak in to grab a shot of the "gates of hell" which has a small rendition of the Caryatid statue in one of the upper corners. I thanked them and we headed off to find the wax museum (too expensive for what it was), the moulin rouge (plenty of pictures, but no shows) and another visit to Sacre Coeur (the afore mentioned church I couldn't spell nor pronouce). I got plenty of shots on the way up the hill but found out I'd left my extra film at home once we got to the top. No matter, I'll just squish it in with everything else tomorrow (it's going to be a busy day).

Finally, the dumb luck. I'd been looking for a particular cel phone available largely only in europe. Having stopped in several stores I finally found one that said that no one in france carried any of those phones at all. Undaunted I tried on more shop and they had it. The shop was, of course, located snugly between the Sex-O-Rama and the all leather facemask shop (it was by the Moulin rouge).

So now it's home to drop off crap, pick up film, figure out dinner and see what to do tomorrow. Sarah leaves at around 7:00 then I come back and pack, it seems paradoxically like I've been here forever and yet the time has gone too quickly. Just a price of travel I suppose.

Sest Le Vie

Besides the showers that spit on you and require you to constantly hold a button to work, this is probably one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at. As always, the determining factor is the people.

I arrived a little after 1:00 and wasn't able to check into my room for a few hours so went to sit down in the cafe area and just rest a bit. There I met Chrissy, Leslie and Aubrie - three college girls from kansas here on vacation - sarah - same from LSU - and William from minesota. Rather than sit and be tired I went with them for lunch, ended up getting home at around midnight after seeing a chuch who's name I cannot pronounce let alone spell and notre dame by night. I had my first Crepe and a whole lot of fun. It was a good prep for some of the marathon days to follow.

Friday I got up early (relatively) and went with the kansas girls and got to attend a small private mass at notre dame - I don't have any idea what they said but it was an incredible service. The cathedral is spectacular with morning sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. After that I headed off with chrissy to see the "inside out building". I can't remember its name either, but it's the building with all of the heating and cooling systems running on the outside of the building. I saw a few more galleries and walked the full distance to the Arc de Triumph. A nice long lunch nd finding of harry potter in british form and we headed back to dinner. The remainder of the people I'd met as well as an italian named Adriano were making pasta for dinner and we all sat around talking and drinking wine for a few hours. At about 9:00 sarah and chrissy and I went off to try and find the Eiffel tower (harder than it sounds when you can't tell where you are) and managed it after a half hour or so. Conquering my distaste of heights (sarah couldn't) we went to the top of the tower and shot about a roll and a half of film of the paris skyline by night. It was gorgeous, though the wind could easily pick you up and hurl you off the top if there weren't fences all about. A nice walk home and more talking until about 2:00 am.

Saturday I got to sleep in a bit (11:00), then it was off to the nepolianic war meuseum. Made a date of it with chrissy and it was a blast though I wish I'd been able to read more of the signs. A nice 2 hour crappy chinese meal and we went back to the hostel to meet all mentioned above as well as David from tacoma (not sure what he's studying) and Paul from Dublin - man is he a kick. We putted around for a bit then headed off for sushi (nice paresian fare, no?) enjoyed some raw tuna and sake then wandered the streets looking for tobaco, whisky and Crepes - prefereably from the same location. We eventually settled on a reasonable looking bar with good enough whisky for the irishman and set about wasting time until around 1:00 when they darkened the bar. A rapid run home (the hostel locks at 2:00) with a quick stop for more crepes and whisky from a store and we head home to loudly debate politics and religion until around four in the moring. My god given birkenbuel charm works wonders and I finally go to sleep at around 5:30 am.

And that leaves me here. I slept through my alarm for about 2 hours so missed the first thing I wanted to do today so figure I may as well type something up real quick. This is really just a brief summary and I can't begin to describe how much fun this has been - even if I'm constantly on too little sleep. Most of the people saving sarah and david leave sometime tomorrow, so I'll be seeing the Louvre and Mueuseum D'Orsay then (everyone eles has already seen it).

Well it's nearly noon now, best find some breakfast before I head out.