Digital Glam

Sensible planning

2012-01-23T06:46:00.004+01:00

I was quite happy to read about the sensible addition of a pissoir to the new Dolores Park in a letter sent to the house by the San Francisco Planning Department.

Sure, this was announced a few months back (even the NYT mentioned it), but it's news to me!

It is exciting that our elected officials are taking a pragmatic approach at urination. I mean, men already pee all over the park, so why not build facilities that will be used on busy days. Currently the toilet situation at DP is inadequate at best. The men's room has a urinal that fills completely with water and one stall. There are a few port-a-potties around the park, but those are an eye-sore and unisex, which means queues on busy park days.

Dutch pissoir in Amsterdam

Having a blog is a lot of work

2012-01-23T06:30:00.003+01:00

I started this blog before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. This was before it was easy to share pictures and updates from the palm of my hand. I had to take pictures with a digital camera (remember scanning?), upload them to my hard drive and then upload them to the blog. Since I'm not a very good writer (or maybe it's I just don't have the patience to articulate my thoughts through the magic of prose), I chose to let the pictures do the talking. Afterall, a picture is worth a thousand words, is it not?

Now days, I can use Instagram to share pictures to my community and even email my parents with a few clicks on my iPhone. No longer do I have to sit down and think of fun comments and share the story behind the picture.

Why am I saying all of this? Well, because if I want to start blogging again, I am going to have to write about things of substance (not to be confused with substance abuse).

Any ideas on what I should blog about?

More QQ'ing from BYU fans

2010-06-30T22:38:00.002+02:00

Doug Robinson, columnist from the Deseret News, is still sour that the Pac10 chose BYU's instate rival, Utah, over the Cougars.

The Cougars came with what most would consider baggage: They won't play on Sunday, which would create headaches for the Pac-10 TV contract, and their honor code and conservative living don't fit in with the liberal Pac-10 crowd. Otherwise, BYU should be as attractive as Notre Dame, another religious school that is repeatedly courted by BCS conferences.

He hit the nail right on its head. BYU is not a good fit with the rest of the Pac-10. It is a religious school that openly discriminates against gays and doesn't allow it's students to play on Sunday. That does not fit with the likes of the University of California and the other 7 public universities. The two private schools in the Pac-10, Stanford and USC, are private, non-sectarian research universities.

Bottom line: BYU fans can scream till they are blue in the face, but they will never be part of the Pac-10.

Something's Brewing down in Arizona

2010-04-23T18:51:00.004+02:00

Republican Governor, Jan Brewer, has until Saturday to act on arguably the nation's toughest legislation against illegal immigration. Both sides of the debate have really been protesting furiously over the past few weeks, and there is no question that this a hot-button issue during an important election year.

The media has been covering this like crazy, but I want to know why nobody has brought up one very important fact:

Is Jan Brewer actually Terence Stamp as Bernadette from "Priscilla Queen of the Desert"?

Noonan on Palin

2009-07-10T22:05:00.001+02:00

I rarely agree with what Peggy Noonan has to say, but she really is quite eloquent when it comes to Sarah Palin.

"In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying."

I think she literally is talking about her disco stick!

2009-07-09T21:09:00.003+02:00

First, let's start out with the fact that I am completely in love with Lady GaGa. I thought that I was too old to get all starry eyed over a pop diva, but I guess at age 32 I still can fall in love (like I did with Madonna, Kylie, Cher, et al).

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the Lady Gaga's song "Love Game", specifically, what is this disco stick that she sings of? The easy answer would be a penis, right? But why would Lady GaGa lower herself to such a simple metaphor for the male genetalia. Besides, I'd like to think of her as one big lezzzzzzzz. Oh you know you want to see her eat out Katie Perry's snatch just as much as the next person. But that still doesn't answer the question as to what this disco stick really is.

The good people over at BuzzFeed were wondering the same thing, and came to the same conclusion. What does she use this disco stick for? Is this how she harnesses her power? Is it magical? Does she use it to make muffins with? I think I'm going to make my own disco stick and see what kind of trouble I can get into with it.

I <3 Umami

2009-07-08T20:05:00.002+02:00

I can always rely on my father to fill my inbox with about 4 - 5 emails a day. They are 99% forwards or webclippings of articles that he feels I would appreciate. The topics cover the whole spectrum, from MLB Baseball to cooking to family genealogy.

The other day, he sent me an article titled, "Is MSG Making a Comeback? After Years of Demonization, MSG Remains Ubiquitous as a Flavor Enhancer". It's a fun little read for those of you who grew up with a little shaker of "Ajinomoto" in your kitchen. (My parents were against having it in the house, even though we probably consumed enough of on a regular basis.)

I'm a fan of MSG and I'm not afraid to admit it. I won't eat at a Chinese restaurant near my house that has a huge sign out front that says, "Absolutely No MSG". Please. The reason why I eat Chinese food is for the MSG!

Color Splashed

2009-03-23T22:18:00.006+01:00

A few months ago my friend David asked me if I wanted to meet the host of HGTV's "Color Splash", David Bromstad, and possibly be on TV. Never to let an opportunity like that pass, I said yes saved the date on my calendar. For those of you who don't know, David Bromstad is the openly gay hottie designer on cable television.

On the big day, fellow Star-F*cker, Sam jumped in my car and we drove up to Corte Madera to be on the live taping of Color Splash in West Elm. I was pleasantly surprised to find only a few other people, which gave me time to chat with David and ask him for his advice on decorating a room. After the taping, I got his autograph and probably made a complete fool out of myself since I was gushing like a 12 year old girl.

My episode of Color Splash aired this past weekend and I was amazed at how many of my friends watch it. I don't think the "Fusing Contemporary and Tribal" episode is available on HGTV.com yet.

David even said my name on tv.

The March to Spring

2009-03-16T03:42:00.002+01:00

Beware the Ides of March, for they are upon us. Winter is slowly retreating back, and giving way to the longer days and warmer weather of spring. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. Thanks to Day Light Savings, we now arrive home in the evening a little happier (although waking up is a real bitch), which gives us more time to do that last bit of work around the house or enjoy a margarita with Trader Joe's Margarita Mix, which retails for just $2.99 here in San Francisco.

This has been a tough winter. Hopefully with the snow melting and the bears coming out of their dens comes happy fun times.

random thoughts

2009-01-25T10:12:00.003+01:00

So tonight, I taped the UCLA-Washington game. It was on this afternoon on the "Comcast Sports Bay Area" channel, which I think is such a joke. Back when I lived in Seattle, Fox Sports Northwest used to own the airwaves on Saturday and Sunday doing the live broadcast of collegiate sports. But I digress...

The Huskies and visiting Bruins battled it out on the hardwood in one of the oldest NCAA basektball venues in the country. I have to do my homework on Hec Ed Pavilion (you can call it Bank of America Arena or for the old skool, Sea First Arena) but I think good ole Hec Ed is one of the most historic.

My Point. For my Pac-10 Friends out there, I wonder .... if you didn't go to your school, what Pac-10 school would you choose and why. I'm talking runner up, 1st runnerup and 3rd ...

Email me. thekeau@gmail.com

My trip to EA

2008-09-12T00:41:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I took CalTrain down to Redwood City to visit my friend Mark at work. He's an animator for Electronic Arts (EA). I had been looking forward to going down to visit him because I've always been a big video game fan and I also think it's neat to check out where your friends work at. We spend so much time at the office yet very few of the people close to us get to experience any of that.

My trip down to Redwood City took about 50 minutes since I had to take two forms of transit to get there. I found the CalTrain depot to be rather pleasant (although getting there took awhile since there's no direct route from my house to the station) and the ride down the peninsula was scenic and comfortable. My roundtrip ticket (1 day 2-zone pass) on CalTrain set me back $8.

Upon arrival at the Belmont Station, Mark picked me up and drove me the 2.4 miles to EA's campus which sits on reclaimed land and the old site of the Marine World Theme Park, which moved to Vallejo in 1986. The main lobby was impressive which wasn't surprising since EA makes some huge titles. Mark gave me a tour of the division that he works in, which was really cool and then we had enjoyed bbq at the EA cafe. Mark then gave me a tour of the rest of EA's campus, which included a maze that he said you can see on Google Maps! How cool is that? I ended the day by playing the new Sims game that he's been working on, which is set to be released next month. I got dropped back off at the CalTrain station and took the northbound train back to the city.

I enjoyed my trip down to Redwood City and EA, but I have to admit that I really wanted to play video games when I got home!

CalTrain Station in San Francisco.

The entrance to EA's campus.

Video games set up in the lobby.

Mark!

Tuesday Morning

2008-09-09T19:35:00.001+02:00

Jackass Joe Lieberman has been un-invited to weekly Democratic meetings. Next step is being kicked out of the caucus entirely!
Sarah Palin is a big fat liar and her church says they can "Pray Away the Gay".
The 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on the Huskies at the end of the game against BYU last Saturday really upset me and I'm sure just about anyone who watches football has some strong opinion about it. The bottom line is, the refs made the call based on the rules. I think the rules for unsportsmanlike conduct are too overreaching and too stringent.
American Idol runner-up, David Archuleta, has a new single out and I'm trying to figure out who exactly he has a crush on.

Kickoff Weekend 2008-09

2008-09-02T07:47:00.002+02:00

I am a college football maniac and I have really been looking forward to this weekend's non-stop College football extravaganza. For the past two seasons, I have been out of the country during football season so I this year's season has been highly anticipated. This year, I get to enjoy it on a flatscreen in HD with DVR (I <3 acronyms).

Unfortunately, my much beloved Washington Huskies got their asses kicked at Oregon. It's not exactly the way I want to start the season. Next up is BYU who is picked by the MSM to be the BCS Cinderella story. Everyone loves an underdog, even if that underdog Morman.

I'm watching Tennessee at UCLA right now on a 4 hour tape delay, which is awesome. I was able to have people over on a Monday holiday, then go out for some fun and then come home to watch the game in HD. Live is good.

UCLA Fight Fight Fight!

Gossip Girl

2008-09-02T07:45:00.001+02:00

Yuck. I just threw up a little in my mouth.

In Search of Lo Pan & Aunty Lindo

2008-08-22T23:54:00.001+02:00

Last month Joe came to visit me here in SF and we took a day trip to Chinatown to find two of our favorite people in the whole world.

We started off looking for Gracie Law's office, which we knew was somewhere in Chinatown. If we found Gracie, I'm sure she could have led us to Egg Shen's place, where he could help us prepare for the battle against Lo Pan. Unfortunately, we were unable to find Gracie's office, so we decided to save our chi and see if we could find Aunty Lindo and maybe play a game of mahjong. We roamed the streets of Chinatown, weaving between the tourists and exploring back alleys, but we were unable to find Aunty Lindo. The closest we came was Waverly street. I wonder if Aunty Lindo named her daughter after this very street?

Joe preparing for his battle against Lo Pan.

Joe has best quality heart.

8 More days to Kick-off

2008-08-22T17:55:00.002+02:00

College football fans, your time is almost here! In just over one-week, the college football season kicks-off.

It's time to dust off your favorite school-spirited gear and practice your fight song and cheers.

My Washington Huskies open the season with a bang at the University of Oregon. Nothing would make me happier than a big Husky victory over the much hated Ducks. Washington is a 13 point underdog, but it's the first game of the season and anything can happen! Go Huskies!

Rachael Maddow to host her own show on MSNBC

2008-08-22T17:50:00.002+02:00

I am very excited for the addition of Rachael Maddow to the MSNBC prime-time line-up. She has been an outstanding contributor and fill-in for Keith Olbermann, but now I get to enjoy her 5 nights a week.

Apparently, her hiring has caused quite a stir. Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com comments:

"The reaction to Maddow's show highlights just how suffocatingly narrow, and right-wing, the spectrum of mainstream political discourse in America is. Hiring Michael Savage, Joe Scarborough and Tucker Carlson to host their own shows didn't jeopardize NBC's news brand, just as giving Glenn Beck -- Glenn Beck -- his own show didn't jeopardize CNN's. Most mainstream political and media figures even continue to insist that Fox is a legitimate news organization because Brit Hume confines his overt right-wing talking points to the Sunday show. But the presence of a liberal on MSNBC instantaneously destroys traditional principles of Journalism."

Friday Morning News

2008-08-22T17:35:00.003+02:00

Hallmark is now offering same-sex marriage cards. Great news! That means I can now go there the next time I'm going to a Lesbian, Jewish-Buddhist, mixed-race wedding!

A Delta Airline Jet in Florida had to delay its landing due to walking-catfish on the runway. I think they should have let the jet landed and had a catfish fry that afternoon.

The drama continues in Berkeley with the season home opener right around the corner. These people in the trees are nuts, but I have to admit that I love their nicknames. "Dumpster Muffin"? Really?

Local boy Bryan Clay won the gold in the Decathlon. He's also half black and half Japanese. I think I'm in love.

Tour buses have been dropping off crowds of gawking visitors to The Castro and it's been causing quite a stir in the neighborhood. You can't get married without someone taking your picture!

To my friend Coach

2008-08-21T11:56:00.001+02:00

To my friend Coach,

I apologize for the lack-luster performance of my blog.

I have been distracted recently and have neglected to express my experiences here on my little spot in the internets.

I will try my best to keep you informed, because from what I understand, an honest writer is a productive one.

My Birthday & The Golden Girls

2008-06-27T03:24:00.003+02:00

Last week Friday, I celebrated my 31st birthday with a few of my friends and had a memorable night here in San Francisco. We started out the evening with drinks and nibbles at the Lookout. I was impressed with their pizzas and bar snacks and the beers weren't bad either. Then it was off to see two episodes of the Golden Girls performed by drag queens! I am a huge GG fan and this was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. The show was amazing and we got a picture with the cast afterwards. I love San Francisco.

Greg and Craig flew all the way from London for my birthday!

Matt and the Hapas.

Blanch's gay brother!

Can you pick out the drag queens in this picture?

Blown Away by Glass

2008-06-20T21:50:00.000+02:00

On Wednesday, I took my visiting sister and niece to see, Chihouly at the de Young, which opened last weekend at the de Young Museum here in San Francisco. I have seen many Chihouly exhbits in the past (he's also a fellow Washington Alum. Go Huskies!), but this one blew me away. The exhibit showcased various stages in his fabulous career and was displayed with breathtaking brilliance. The exhibit runs until September 28 and I recommend checking it out!

Exploring the Bay Area: Walnut Creek

2008-06-11T17:57:00.000+02:00

Just 30 minutes away from San Francisco on BART, sits Walnut Creek. A pretty suburban area located east of San Francisco, Walnut Creek boasts a population of about 65,000 and also serves as the business and entertainment hub for the local area. Nestled at the foot of Mt Diablo, Walnut Creek boasts beautiful open spaces, sensible urban planning and a vast array of shopping and dining options. The city offers a free shuttle between the BART station and the downtown core which makes things accessible for those without a car.

Sam, a friend of mine, met me at the BART station and gave me a tour of the downtown area. His insightful knowledge about the area and upcoming developments to the city were very interesting and I found the tour to be quite pleasant and rather enjoyable. We stopped for delicious lunch and dined on one of the many open air patios that dot the urban core.

After lunch, Sam treated me to a little career shadowing and took me to check out a vacant lot in the city that will soon be developed. After doing a quick inspection of the area, I gave him my opinion and I started to wonder if a career in urban planning was in the cards for me?

I returned to San Francisco later that afternoon happy to have explored a new part of the Bay Area. If you're ever in the area, I suggest stopping by Walnut Creek to enjoy its beautiful urban center and easily accessible shops and restaurants.

Just making sure I got off at the correct BART stop.

There really is a creek in Walnut Creek!

Where Sam works.

Sam took me to a site inspection. I suggested to him that this plot of land could be better used.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

2008-06-10T02:37:00.000+02:00

One of my little projects around the house has been our back patio area. I recently installed a few paper lanterns that add a lot of color and give off nice light on a mild evening.

My brother has hooked me up with some great plants. I have roses, a hanging fuchsia, lavendar, some herbs, a cymbidum orchid and red geraniums. Of course, I can't forget the gnome keeping watch.

I love my little oasis in the city and I can't wait to make new additions.

Summer hits San Francisco

2008-06-09T23:55:00.000+02:00

Summer has arrived to San Francisco, and contrary to popular belief, Mark Twain did not say the famous (or infamous) quote, "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco."

For lunch, I was feeling a little adventerous and went for a walk to Noe Valley where I discovered a small-town feel right in San Francisco. Seperated from Castro by a relatively large hill, Noe Valley is a world completely to its own. Like it's gay sister to the north, Noe Valley was once a neighborhood with working class families. Nowdays it is a blend of yuppies, young families with money and gays. Serviced by the J-Church Muni line and filled with beautiful Victorian homes, Noe Valley was rather pleasant in my opinion. I could definitely tell that it was a neighborhood that's heavily influenced by it's large gay population, but it was also prim and proper. 24th Street reminded me of a mini-main street where good looking young woment walked with their equally good looking offspring. Boutiques, cafes and flower shops dot the corners in this area of town where the sun shines brightly.

I made the tactical error of eating at Pomodoro. Who eats at a place that is named after the Italian word for "Tomato" during a massive salmonella outbreak in the US that stemmed from tomatoes? I sat down and enjoyed a cold glass of ice tea and a steak panini. After exploring the area, I jumped on the bus and returned to the Castro. I was just 15 minutes on foot away, but it felt like I was world's apart.

Sunny and peaceful.

Yum.

Back in the Castro. I couldn't help myself. A muscle-couple carrying their groceries and gallon of milk home. :)

Fun GraftitiAround Town

2008-06-09T23:37:00.000+02:00

I do not condone civil disobedience, but these two acts of vandalism caught my eye. Pics taken with my Sony Ericsson Phone.

SJP never looked so good.

How are your allergies now Claritin boy?

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday Night.

2008-06-04T07:01:00.003+02:00

I'm officially convinced that the USA has become the new playground for English tourists.

Would you spend $5,000 to go to Antartica for a few hours or take that money and have a big vacation somewhere else?

People who drink Fiji water are Eco-Terrorists.

Aren't you glad the Democratic Primary is over?

I wonder what Cindy McCain's real hair color is?

Target wine in a box is great!

Facebook, the new blog?

2008-06-04T06:44:00.002+02:00

Facebook has been stealing all of my blogging/writing/exhibitionist energy recently and I apologize for it.

I'll try to be better about this and you can thank Graham for bringing this to my attention.

Frustrations

2008-05-14T18:56:00.003+02:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything political, but as each day goes by I find myself getting more and more frustrated with the primary elections.

This quote from Michael Crowley sums up exactly how I feel.

[O]ne gets the overall impression that the Clintons feel Obama shouldn't be here in the first place--that this 'young man's' very claim to power is itself questionable. In this sense, the Clintons may be victims of their own sense of victimhood. The vileness of the Clintons' past enemies seems to have convinced them that their enemies always are, by definition, in the wrong. And that Obama's candidacy is almost like another illegitimate attempt to steal a White House that, in some sense, belongs to them.

Happy Birthday Jen!

2008-04-18T07:22:00.001+02:00

A couple of Sundays ago, we celebrated our roommate Jen's birthday. We started off with tequila at Tres Agaves and then hit the ballpark. We drank more lemonades with tequila in the outfield and then partied it up at Matt's house. Fun times.

Gav, Damien, Jen and Steve at Tres Agaves.

The Giants lost to the A's in a expo-game. Go back to Oakland! It's a free toll in that direction.

The after-party.

Gavin after too many tequilas.

The Olympic Torch comes to San Francisco

2008-04-10T22:45:00.002+02:00

What a mess this whole torch thing has become. First people disrupt the run in London and then the flame gets put out three times in Paris and is eventually put into a bus before they can run it through its set path. The world is up in arms over China's human rights record and the Chinese PR machine is trying to spin this thing faster than plates on a 12 year old acrobat from Shanghai.

Yesterday the torch came to San Francisco and since I have a lot of time on my hands (yes, I'm still looking for a job), I grabbed the camera and went downtown to see what all the fuss was about. When Gavin and I got to the Embarcadero, there were already thousands of people lining the streets. For the most part, everything was really peaceful. There were cops everywhere and there was a buzz in the air as everyone waited for the torch to make its way through the city and down to the waterfront.

Finally at 2pm, the police put on their helmets and everyone started going nuts because they thought the torch was on its way. The police signaled each other and they let the crowds into the streets where Pro-Beijing protesters clashed with Pro-Tibet ones. Words were exchanged, but it was non-violent and few arrests were made. Rumors started going around about where the torch had been re-directed and the scene was chaotic as news of the torch's whereabouts spread among the protesters.

At this point, we were too tired of waiting around and didn't want to chase after the torch so we went home and watched it unfold on tv. I have to say that I am happy that the torch never came down the Embarcadero, because there was no way the police could have stopped the crowds. It would have been a big mess. Sure, the City wussed out and changed the route at the last second, but at least everyone got to protest peacefully and the torch got to be run. Was this the true meaning of the Olympic Spirit? Probably no. I wonder how the torch will do in Buenos Aires and other stops along the way?

Thousands of people lined the Embarcadero.

At one point, the police put on their helmets and everyone got excited because they thought the torch was coming.

The police were notified that the torch was re-routed and so the crowds flooded the streets.

Pro-Beijing and Pro-Tibetian protesters clashed.

A night with Rihanna!

2008-04-01T21:08:00.000+02:00

I really have the best friends in the world. Last week Friday, my friend Clinton surprised our friend Steve with tickets to see Rihanna in a special VIP concert here in San Francisco. It was part of "A Girl's Night Out for Rihanna's Believe Foundation" which was sponsored by Escada. For about an hour Rihanna rocked 500 fans in Ruby Skye and I was in pure bliss. She performed 8 of her hits with great style and looked amazing in a purple corset while sporting a sassy short hair-do. It was obvious that Rihanna was a natural performer and she looked as if she was having so much fun and really enjoyed being on stage. I will not forget this wonderful experience. Thanks Clinton!

Me, Jolina, Steve & Clinton before the show.

We were so close to the stage that at one point, I felt as if she was singing right to me.

Rihanna was captivating.

The Big Apple

2008-03-25T18:21:00.004+01:00

For spring break 2008, I took a trip to New York City to meet up with Joe (Dallas) and hang with our two good friends JL & Rich. This was an opportunity for me to try out United Airline's p.s. Service (Premium Service). United runs a specially configured Boeing 757 that flies between LAX, SFO and JFK that has only First, Business and Economy Plus seats. Each class of service includes certain amenities not offered on regular flights. I was lucky enough to land a seat in 1st and was spoiled rotten. The seats are angled lie-flat and were so comfortable that I slept for most of the 5.5 hour flight. When I wasn't sleeping, I played with the hand-held DVD player which had 10 movies, a dozen tv shows, a handful of games and about 200 songs. The food and drink were top notch and the double meal service was fine dining at 34,000 feet. It truly is the only way to fly between the coasts.

New York is an amazing city. The amount of art, culture and food can't be beat anywhere else in the world. Joe, Rich and I went to the MoMA and saw an amazing exhibit titled "Design and the Elastic Mind." I really enjoyed the exhibit and it defies description. I'm usually not a fan of modern art (a bunch of crap glued together is not art), but I was blown away by the combination of technology and design. I spent about an hour and a half exploring this exhibit alone. If you are in NYC, definitely check this exhibit out.

There is never a shortage of bars or restaurants in this city. We had drinks under artwork by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Richard Prince, Damien Hirst, and Julian Schnabeat the Gramercy Park Hotel bar and enjoyed fantastic food at the restaurant Wakiya. Other highlights included cupcakes from The Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery in the Lower East Side (my favorite cupcakes in the world) and my favorite izakaya restaurant, Kenka, where you end the meal with cotton-candy that you make yourself.

It was great seeing my friends and experiencing NYC, but I was exhausted and ready to return home at the end of my 6 days in The Big Apple. New York is such a dynamic place that never has a dull moment and I'm sure I'll be back to NYC sometime soon.

30 Rock.

United p.s. Service was amazing.

Joe and I LOVE meat.

John and I love cupcakes almost as we love argyle.

Easter at Dolores Park

2008-03-25T16:47:00.002+01:00

San Francisco is my kind of town! Only in San Francisco would you celebrate Easter by boozing with 1,000 of your closest friends while watching the Hunky Jesus Contest in a public park. This past Sunday, Gavin and I spent the afternoon with, what felt like, 1/2 of the city at Dolores Park (quite possibly the best urban park in the history of the world) for an afternoon of socializing and merriment.

I really appreciate the hands-off approach of law enforcement in this city. Nobody gets hassled for drinking in the park (or smoking a wee bit), but in return everyone pitches in and the space is shared by the community. Park goers pick up after themselves and nobody really misbehaves, which is amazing considering the amount of alcohol and controlled substances that were consumed. I was impressed that there were no altercations and everyone was on their best behavior. I guess in a city like this, people just want to have fun. Man ... I love SF.

Cheers girls.

Easter is the best!

There were a ton of people at the park!

Easter Dinner

2008-03-25T03:02:00.003+01:00

One of my favorite things to do is entertain. Gav and I selected our apartment with the full intention of having people over as often as we can. I think that he and I make a pretty good pair when it comes to hosting a little soiree and we put our skills to the test this past weekend. We threw a little dinner and egg-coloring party for Easter.

Our dinner menu was pretty much 100% from Costco and it consisted of a lamb roast with mint sauce, a ham, roasted fingerling potatoes and veggies and a delicious spinach salad with pesto dressing (thank you Ina Garten).

After dinner, we dyed about 4 dozen eggs and I don't think I've had this much fun coloring eggs since I was 8 years old. Check out the link at the bottom of the post to see more pics of the eggs. My personal favorites were the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737, Papa Smurf, The Globe, Yoshi's egg, the penis egg and the strawberry.

Gavin and the heart-shaped potato.

He really knows how to handle a big piece of meat.

Good friends, food and wine. Perfection.

The finished Easter Basket!

Easter Party 2008

Flashback: Tokyo, September 2007

2008-03-04T08:40:00.000+01:00

After spending a wonderful summer in Seattle, Gavin and I hit the road again and started the Asia leg of our world tour. In September we flew from Seattle to Tokyo with our friend John to experience Japan.

We spent one week in Japan and visited the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima. With our Japan Rail Pass and a lot of determination, we saw as much of Japan as humanly possible in 7 short days. John, Gavin and I put together and ambitious itinerary that had us zooming at bullet-fast speeds across The Land of the Rising Sun.

Our adventure started out in business class on an United Boeing 777, where we drank copious amounts of sake and were treated like rock-stars. Upon arrival in Tokyo-Narita we were overwhelmed by that feeling you get only when you travel to a new country. On the plane, I tried my hardest to brush up on my Japanese, because I knew that my two companions would depend on me to make things happen on their first trip to the Orient. It had been over 15 years since I last visited Japan as a teen-ager and I wanted to show the boys a great time.

We easily found our way from the airport to our hotel overlooking Shinjuku Station, the busiest commuter rail station in Tokyo. High up on the 27th floor, we were treated to an amazing view of the Tokyo skyline. I've been to some big cities in my life, but Tokyo has got to rank up on top of the list in size. What a metropolis!

The three of us were excited to see what Japan had to offer in terms of food and drink, and we were not disappointed! We were on a mission to try experience as much of Japanese cuisine as possible. This included shabu shabu, izakaya, sushi, ramen, sukiyaki and yakitori.

In the 3 days that we spent in Tokyo, we went to the Fall Sumo Tournament, toured the Fuji Television Building, saw the world's biggest wholesale fishmarket at Tsukiji, checked out the funky district of Harajuku, went to the Tokyo-Edo Museum and met up with our friend Mark for a wild night on the town.

Check out my Tokyo Album at the bottom of the page.

Gav and John upon arrival at Tokyo-Narita.

Shinjuku by night.

Sumo!

The world's freshest sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market.

More Pics from Tokyo!

The Big Move!

2008-03-04T07:18:00.001+01:00

After experiencing 13 countries on four continents and being home-less for close to two years, Gavin and I were excited (and ready) to finally make the move to our new home: San Francisco. We spent the first part of our trip interviewing cities, trying to figure out where we wanted to move to. San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, New York and Washington DC were all on the list, but one-by-one we worked our way and chose San Francisco as our final destination.

We bid farewell to our friends and family in Hawaii and boarded the United Airlines Boeing 767 at the Kona International Airport (I love the Kona Airport because they don't use jet-ways and actually pull the stairs right up to the jumbo-jets. What says Aloha more than getting off of your 10 hour flight from snowy Chicago and greeted by the sun and warmth of paradise?) and flew 5 hours to San Francisco.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by cold winter weather and the rain. This was the reality of returning to the real world, because for close to two years, we had followed the summer from the northern hemisphere to the south and then back up again. Thankfully, San Francisco's winter isn't nearly as harsh as most other parts of the country.

Without jobs or a home, my brother kindly took us in until we were able to find a home to call our own. It took us about 2 weeks before we stumbled upon the apartment of our dreams. Located not far from my brother and our other friends in the city, Gavin and I signed a lease and moved our few posessions into our new home.

With much pleasure and a lot of excitment, I am ready to begin the next chapter in my life. Wish me luck!

Aloha Hawaii! Until we meet again.

The naked bedroom. I love the hard-wood floors and bay window!

The bathroom with claw-footed tub.

The rug (bought over the internets) in the living room.

Kona!

2008-01-05T05:30:00.000+01:00

Gav and I took an over-night trip to Kona to visit my cousin. It was great to play tourist and explore the Big Island in our trusty rental car. Hawaii is awesome.

Fun Fact: The Big Island of Hawaii is twice as large as all of the other islands put together?

A beach made of little black pebbles?

Gavin after swimming in beautiful Kealakekua Bay.

Saddle Road.

Kegs, Dry Ice and Tetherball!

2008-01-05T05:20:00.000+01:00

For my father's birthday, he got himself a min-keg from Hilo's own Mehana Brewing Company. We set it up in the garage and enjoyed ice-cold beer for a few days. I'm looking forward to going back to Hilo and getting another mini-keg to enjoy with the family.

Kailee's dad went down to Gaspro and got her a few pounds of dry-ice, which gave Uncle Gavin a great opportunity to conduct a mini science lab for us.

A game of tetherball is a great way to work off all of that beer and turkey!

Thanksgiving in Hilo

2008-01-05T05:15:00.000+01:00

Thanksgiving has got to be one of my favorite holidays of the year (I also love Halloween, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Arbor Day). Who doesn't love a day where you can eat yourself into a coma? Come on! What's not to love? In addition to the eating, I also love football and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Oh the good times!

This year, Gav and I flew to Hilo to spend Thanksgiving with my family. My father cooked us a great meal and it was outstanding. The turkey was the star of the dinner, and it was outstanding. My father used a recipe that he read in the New York Times and brined the turkey for 4 hours before cooking it. It was moist and delicious.

Gav, Julia, Kailee, Mom, Dad & Ipo

Mom & Dad (and an unfinshed pineapple upsidedown cake)

Chaos at the dinner table.

Hilo ice-shave. Gotta love it.

Summer in Seattle: Tyler's Lake House

2007-10-08T06:28:00.000+02:00

Sometime in July, our good friend Tyler invited us up to his family's lake house on the Olympic Peninsula. Never to pass up a good time, Gav and I jumped at the opportunity and took him up on the offer.

We carpooled with Ross from Seattle to the lake house, which was located near Port Angeles. Along the way, we got to see the beauty of western Washington and experience various modes of transportation. In a car, over a bridge, in a ferry and in the back seat of a flat bed tow-truck. It was fabulous. (Long story short, Ross' car had some issues along the way and we had to get it towed. The problems were fixed by time we had to return to Seattle and shortly after we returned, Ross got a brand new kick-ass BMW. Happy ending.)

Once we got to the lake house, all of the problems of the world were forgotten. It was peace and quiet mixed in with watersports (hee hee) and lots of partying. Unfortunately, we didn't take very many pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it: We had a great time.

Check out my webalbum link below.

Tyler's Lake House

Almost a Family Reunion in SF

2007-09-30T08:06:00.000+02:00

Back in July, Gav and I flew to SF to meet up with my mom, sister and niece and my brother (who lives there). My dad decided to care for a sick dog and stayed in Hawaii.

This was our first family vacation since I was a kid, so I was very excited to make the most of it. We hit the city hard and played tourist like you would not imagine. From Chinatown to the Golden Gate Bridge, we explored San Francisco like champs!

Check out the pics below and click on the link for more pictures.

Me, Julia, Kailee and my mom.

Me, Kai, Kailee and Gav.

Kailee and I, exploring the wilds of the Castro.

I love my niece.

San Francisco Web Album

A Japanese Media Feeding Frenzy!

2007-09-30T07:44:00.000+02:00

Ross treated us to a wonderful day at the ballpark for one of the best games I've seen in recent history. The Boston Red Sox came to town with their ace pitcher Daisuki Matsuzaka, for one of the highly anticipated match-ups between him and Mariner All-Star Ichiro Suzuki. It felt as if all of Japan's media had descended upon Safeco Field.

A mild Seattle summer day at the ballpark is one of the greatest things in life that I can think of, and a Mariner victory was nothing short of a perfection.

Gavin and the 5-liter Heineken Keg Can. (What does this have to do with the ball game? Nothing.)

Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners.

Ichiro Suzuki. One of the finest baseball players. Period.

Red Sox ace pitcher Daisuki Matsuzaka.

Summer in Seattle

2007-09-30T07:37:00.000+02:00

Gav and I weren't quite ready to find jobs after returning home to the US from Argentina, so put our heads together and came up with a plan to relive our youth and have a good ole fashioned Summer Vacation!

Gav made a stop in Norfolk, VA to visit his family and I flew to the Lone Star State of Texas to visit Joe D in the Dallas area. This was our first time being apart in over a year and a half! It felt awkward being alone, but it was definitely needed. In Dallas, I stayed at the palatial home of Joe (honestly Joe ... 3 floors of living?). Joe was a wonderful host and we had a blast during the 2.5 weeks that I stayed with him. Unfortuantely, I didn't have the camera, so no pictures were taken during my stay in Dallas, our trip to the Six Flags waterpark, the weekend trip to Austin with Ross and Rich or our trip to Oklahoma City to meet up with the Air Force Boys.

Gavin and I met up in Seattle in mid-June. We decided to cash in on some of my social-capital and couch surf our way through the lovely city of Seattle, Washington.

We arrived in Seattle just before my 30th birthday, and I had the most amazing time celebrating it with my amazing friends. I love Seattle.

The Seattle skyline looking north.

My first time behind the wheel in almost 8 months.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Grrr ... Seattle traffic sucks!

Hello stranger!

2007-09-27T11:29:00.000+02:00

It's been a few months since I've taken the time to write about my life here on the net and I have to apologize for being such a stranger. My summer in Seattle was just too much fun and I didn't have any desire to share my adventures with you cyber-voyeurs on the world wide web. For this, I give you a sincere apology.

Now time for the bad news. I won't be able to blog about my travels because I am currently in Thailand and I don't have a dedicated internet connection for the lap top. I am writing this from a cyber cafe in some seedy alley in Bangkok. Gavin and I got here yesterday after spending a perfect week in Japan with our friend John L (Seattle). We'll be in Bangkok for a few days and then its off to explore Chiang Mai for a week. We'll then cross the border into Laos and then Cambodia and then return to Thailand in mid-October. We'll head south to check out the beach resorts of Phuket and Koh Samui. We're going to hit the full moon party next month in Phang Nga.

I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do after Thailand. There's talk of us going to Hong Kong or China, but I think we may be running out of travel funds, so we'll be forced to head back to Japan and then fly to Hawaii to collect whatever things we have stored there. We hope to be in San Fracisco by Christmas.

I promise to upload pics and bring you up to date on our many adventures (we've been having a lot of them).

Until then, please accept my sincerest apology. I don't mean to be such a stranger.

Culture Shock

2007-06-09T08:59:00.001+02:00

After seven months in Argentina, Gavin and I returned back to the United States last week Monday. We said goodbye to the city that welcomed us and took us in and returned to our mother country. Well ... we did fly back to Washington DC, and Gavin and I proudly say that we are from Hawaii (which some would go further in saying is a completely different from Washington DC and most of the east coast.)

We spent two days in Washington DC with our friend Valy and Pink. Unfortunately, I got a small cold somewhere in transit and Gavin was suffering from a bad case of spring time allergies, so we didn't get to enjoy our nation's capital as much as we hoped we would.

On Wednesday I flew to Dallas, while Gav stayed in Washington. I had plans to visit a few friends in Texas, while he was going to do something similar in the DC area, before driving down to Norfolk to visit his dad and grandma.

Well ... I don't really know what to say right now. I know thatI am going through culture shock, so I am not going to get too emtional, but it is very difficult for me to be in this part of the US right now. I am so happy to be around my close friends, but after spending 7 months in Buenos Aires, I am having hard time adjusting to the American lifestyle in DC and Texas.

In a week or two, I will come back to the subject, but right now, I am busy feeling things out and trying to figure out what I want to do.

Pics and more stories from Argentina to come soon.

Fall is here.

2007-05-29T22:37:00.000+02:00

Adios summer! When Gavin and I got here back in November, spring had sprung and the city was in full bloom. We enjoyed a great summer in Buenos Aires (nobody loves the summer more than the Argentineans!) and now it's fall. When we got here back in November, we didn't have plans to stay this long and thus, we don't have clothes for the cold. (I also refuse to buy anything else since we are returning to the northern hemisphere and I don't want to carry around anymore shit.)

Here are a few photos from the past month. We've met some great people and have done some amazing things. Words can't begin to describe our experience here in Buenos Aires.

With just a few days left in this great city, I find myself reflecting on the past 7 months and counting the many ways that this has changed my life.

I will miss Argentina. I hope to return sometime in the future.

Buenos Aires "Subte". Incredibly cheap, but often times more packed than a can of sardines.

Kata & Celia (Germany) with Gav and Losida.

Oxtail Stew. Yum! (I know how much you love the food pics!)

Gav at the racetracks.

Opening day at the Palermo Hipodromo.

Ricky & Jonathan (Ecuador) and me in Buenos Aires.

The Tango Show at Cafe Tortoni.

Me, Johan (Holland), Silvana (Argentina) and Gav.

A typical Argentinean fruit & veggie stand.

My favorite pasta maker in the city.

Me, Stephen (UK) and Gav.

Gav and I with Aldo, our spanish teacher.

Flashback: February in Argentina. Iguazu Falls & Misiones Province.

2007-05-29T21:58:00.000+02:00

It's almost winter here in Buenos Aires. Yesterday it was 37F/3C and that's a bit too cold for me. Gavin and I are flying back to the US in just a few days, but before we leave, I have a few blog entries to write.

Back in February, Jeff H and Keven H made their way back to Argentina for one more visit. (They just couldn't get enough during their previous visit in November.) This time around, we didn't waste anytime playing tourist in Buenos Aires, but rather, we explored the the northern province of Misiones and Santa Cruz to the south.

At the same time, our friend Jason E from London was in Brazil celebrating Carnival and decided to fly down to BA to visit us and also check out Iguazu Falls. It was great seeing Jason again. The last time we got that opportunity was in London, last September. Jason is an amazing guy and he's always up for a pint of beer, so as you can imagine, we're natural friends. (Hmm ... it's 5pm. I think it's time for a cold one.)

It was a blast living it up in BA with Jason, Jeff and Keven. Fancy dinners, champagne, late nights out on the town and much much more.

We flew from Buenos Aires to Iguazu, which is located in Misiones Province. Misiones borders Brazil and Paraguay and is in the northeast corner of Argentina. It was a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of BA, but the heat and humidity was a bit much.

The actual Port of Iguazu didn't have much to offer, but that wasn't the reason why we were there. The gem of this corner of Argentina is Iguazu Falls. Vastly larger than Niagra Falls, Iguazu Falls rivals Victoria Falls in Africa and is one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Truly stunning.

In addition to the falls, we took a day trip to visit some stupid mine and also the ruins of a Jesuit mission. I would not recommend this day-trip, since it was close to a 4 hour bus ride in each direction and incredibly boring. (Not to mention that Argentinean drivers are crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy!)

Gav, Jason & Jeff in Jorge Newberry (Aeroparque) Airport, Buenos Aires.

Iguazu Falls.

Gavin in the ruins of the Jesuit mission.

Iguazu Photo Album

Jesus Coming Soon!

2007-05-11T05:57:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago Gav, Losida and I went to "Tierra Santa" which is a Christian theme park here in Buenos Aires. There are no rides at "Tierra Santa" (translated to "Holy Land", but we refer to it as Jesus-Land), but instead there are replicas of famous scenes from The Bible. I pretty much know squat about The Bible, so I can't really go into details over this. (I really wish JL was there with me so he could explain everything to me.)

We took a collectivo (public bus) to Jesus Land. It was a 80 centavo (28cents USD) ride from our house to the park's location near the domestic airport. We were right under the path for the ancient Aerolineas Argentina's Boeing 737-200 (those jets are so old and loud!).

Everything in the park was made of fiber-glass and the people working there were dressed in middle-eastern garb. We saw a re-enactment of The Creation, The Birth of Jesus, The Last Supper and at the top and bottom of every hour, Jesus rises from the giant fiberglass mountain. Gav took a video of it. Check out the youtube video below the fold.

One of the best parts of the park was that they served beer in the restaurants. If that park was in the US, there is no way in hell (no pun intended) that any form of liquor would be sold. That's one of the beautiful things about Argentina: Abusing Alcohol is just not in their culture. (This needs to be written about in another post, but I rarely see drunks here. It's amazing.)

Our day at Jesus Land ended up being a whole lot of fun. We had a riot posing with the fiberglass people that populated the park. Oh good times.

Jesus Loves Us!

Jesus and the air conditioning unit

More Pics!

E.S.L (English As a Second Language)

2007-05-11T05:46:00.000+02:00

One of the most rewarding (and definitely frustrating) parts of this trip has been learning a new language. Gav and I have been in Buenos Aires for over 6 months now and I am impressed by the amount of Spanish that he and I have learned. When I got here, I could only say a few words (which I only knew because I memorized them) and order another beer. I am by no means fluent or even conversational at this point in time (my problem is understanding Spanish when I hear it), but I am no longer scared to venture out by myself. I can now go shopping and enjoy a day on the city by myself. Talk about a liberating feeling!

I can't believe how many years I spent learning the Japanese language. I thought that I had a small grasp on the Japanese language, but after trying to learn Spanish and actually living in a place where you are forced to learn how to communicate, I realize that my Japanese was complete crap! Yes, I could read hiragana and katakana pretty well and I knew a bunch of kanji, but I could never survive in Japan. (Granted, if I lived there I'm sure that I could pick it up in a few months). Being thrown into a new surrounding is a giant kick in the pants. Furthermore I have this incredible urge to "feel normal" and thus communicate with my peers, so my drive to learn the language is pretty intense.

We've been taking language classes and I have various ways of practicing my nearly learned skills (I can hold my own in a chat room!). I am going to focus on spending this last month in Buenos Aires on trying to better myself.

I'm going to complain for just a second now and complain about why I don't want to blog. The answer is fairly simple, but its rather difficult for me to articulate my words into English because I've been really busy trying to think in Spanish all the time. Overall, I'm not too worried about this because I know that when I return to the US and get a job, everything will come right back. It's kinda like riding a bicycle, right?

Well, it's been a bit difficult for me to compose my thoughts and put them online, but I'm going to try really hard to do that right now. Besides, won't writing in my blog give me a great chance to practice writing?

Oh the hardships of living in a foreign city and trying to learn a new language.

Heaven's to Murgatroid

2007-05-03T06:41:00.000+02:00

I've been thinking about an episode of Drawn Together that I saw awhile ago that had a gay scene with a cameo by Snagglepuss. I was a kid when I last saw Snagglepuss on tv, but after doing a quick look on youtube, I found this gem of a clip:

Happy 204 Everyone!

2007-04-20T05:32:00.000+02:00

Today is April 20th, which in the US is 4/20 (in the rest of the world its 20/4).

Feliz Cumpleaños a Losida

2007-04-20T05:01:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging, but yesterday was Losida's birthday. Who the heck is Losida, you ask? Well, she's a lovely gal-pal that we met here in Buenos Aires. No, she's not a former Mexican maid or the daughter of a Latin American Dictator, but rather a temporary ex-pat (like Gav and I) who is from the Grand Canyon State who has been here in the city with us for the past few months. We originally met at the first Spanish school that Gav and I attended (horrible school, but we met a lot of fun people).

To celebrate her birthday, we joined the German ex-pats Celia & Kata and had a fab dinner at swanky Bar Uriarte. I had veal ravioli (yes, I eat veal), Gavin had adado (Argentinean bbq) with grilled veggies and Losida had saffron risotto with braised lamb.

After dinner (and desserts!) we went to see the drag show at Sitges Bar. Gavin and Losida are completely in love with this particular drag queen and I have to agree that the show (complete with a VegasShowGirl type Argentinean woman) is great. Its always fun seeing drag queens a foreign place, especially when they are speaking another language. At one point in the show, the drag queen came down into the audience, threw her scarf in my face (¡la concha de la lorra!) and started to sing to Gavin and I. Figuring out that I didn't know what the song was about (Gavin claims that he understood "most" of the song), she stopped the music and asked if we spoke Spanish. (For those of you who have never had a drag queen stop a show and ask you a question, I can tell you that it's a terrifying experience. I can hardly answer a 6' tall make up wearing man in English, let alone Spanish! ¡Que terible!

We got home around 3am and stayed up for awhile discussing various topics pertinent to our socialite lives. I love birthdays. They are a fun way to tell your friends how much you value their friendship!

Quick! What do get when you throw two guys and a girl into a jacuzzi tub with lots of bubbles and champagne?

You have lots of good ole clean fun!

You Must Be This Tall To Ride This Ride

2007-04-17T00:06:00.000+02:00

For the record: I love being tall. "Some people" say that I am height-ist, but then I have to remind them that I have a lot of shorter friends. In fact, I'd say that most of my female friends are under 6'. See, if I really was a height-snob, I wouldn't have any short friends. Take that!

Also for the record: I am not complaining about my height. I'm constantly helping people put their luggage in the overhead bins on the airplane or reaching canned goods from the top shelf for little old ladies in the supermarket ... and I am happy doing it. I see it as my civil duty. Kind of like an ambassador of tall people (if Angelina Jolie can be the UN Goodwill Ambassador, then I can be an ambassador for tall people.)

Where am I going with this nonsense???

Oh yes. Now I remember.

Here in Argentina, I am unusually taller than most people. I am constantly the tallest guy at the bars and dance clubs (not to mention that there are pretty much no Asians or hapa people in this city). I constantly have to watch my head when I enter older buildings and a lot of things are built for shorter people. I have to bend my head a lot to fit under the shower and I'm always hunched over the kitchen sink since the counter tops are a bit shorter than what I'm used to. Just tonight, Gavin said that I need to stand on an "Un-box" or even better .. he was going to dig a little whole for me to stand in as I do the dishes.

Oh the price I pay for being tall.

Congratulations Julia!

2007-04-16T23:59:00.000+02:00

Congratulations to my little sister who is graduated with a BS in Nursing from the University of Hawaii-Hilo next month. I'm extremely proud of her and I can't wait until she is making more money than our parents! (Making more money than her older brother is easy since he doesn't have a job now! Get a job you lazy bum!)

Unfortunately I won't be able to attend her commencement ceremony in Hilo since I'll still be in Buenos Aires. Now the pressure falls on our brother to finish his studies (hint, hint).

Way to go!

Kailee & Julia. Easter 2007. Hilo, HI

todavía estamos aca en buenos aires

2007-04-13T04:04:00.000+02:00

Hola Chicos! Como estan?

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't updated my blog is almost 3 months (thank you JeffH, KathyK and JoeD), so I figured that it was about time that I got off of my lazy butt and did something. (In my defense, I've been busy going to spanish classes and other things that I'll tell you about later.)

We're are entering month 6 here in South America and we are still going strong. We have plans to be here until the end of May and then we're going to Peru to visit Cuzco and Machu Picchu. After that, the plan is to return to the US (via Washington DC and with a trip to visit Gav's fam in Norfolk) and then we're going to head west. (GO WEST! We saw the Pet Shop Boys live in concert here last month. So camp!)

I have so many things to blog about, so you'll have to excuse the mess if I start jumping around from date to date.

More to come.

The Boys of Summer

2007-01-28T20:29:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago, while Rich S was visiting Buenos Aires, he commented on the fact that the three of us have had three summers in 2006. We started off the year down in Syndey for Mardi Gras and then Gav and I spent summer vacation with JL and Rich in NYC and then here we are in Buenos Aires as the rest of the northern hemisphere is freezing.

We're such brats.

El Obelisco

Jeff H visits Buenos Aires!

2007-01-23T01:43:00.001+01:00

One of the best parts of our trip, and I always talk about this, is when we meet up with friends from other cities in new (or "third party") cities. Good ole Jeff from Honolulu has been one of those friends. We've met up with him in NYC and Washington DC and it was our pleasure to host him here in Buenos Aires back in November. He brought his friend Keven from LA and the four of us had a grand ole time living it up in Buenos Aires. Gav and I got to play tour guide and show the boys around and also pick out the city's best restaurants since Jeff and Keven are really serious when it comes to food and drink! We had a great time with them and we're looking forward to their return to Buenos Aires in a few weeks. YAY! Check out the pictures in the album. :)

Me, Gav and Jeff in San Telmo.

Gav, Jeff and Keven enjoying 1kg of the world's finest ice cream from Persicco!

More views from our apartment.

Jeff visits BA

Feliz Navidad

2007-01-03T18:55:00.000+01:00

Christmas 2006 was spent in the beautiful suburb of Buenos Aires called San Isidro. Our friend Ezequiel invited us over to his sister's house (which he was house-sitting) to lounge around the pool and to have Christmas dinner with. It was great to get out of the city and to learn how Christmas is celebrate in Argentina. Here's a quick rundown of the holiday:

1) The whole family gets together and tons of food is eaten.

2) At midnight, there's a champagne toast and the kids open their presents.

3) After midnight, it's party time! The celebration lasts until dawn.

4) Fireworks, Fireworks, Fireworks. The city turns into a War Zone!

For dinner, we fired up the parilla, the Argentinean bbq, and grilled a few beautiful steaks. We drank copious amounts of fantastic red wine and enjoyed a mid-summer meal in the backyard. Not a bad way to celebrate Christmas!

"Ever-lasting" Christmas Trees are so much better for the environment than real ones.

Zeque firing up the parilla.

Gavin with a bottle of bubbly and the pan dulce.

Feliz Navidad

Feliz Año Nuevo!

2007-01-03T18:40:00.000+01:00

Gav and I rung in the New Year with the help of 40 of our new friends that we met here in Buenos Aires. The crowd was made up by people from the Spanish Language School that we've been attending plus a few other friends. We had no idea how many people were going to come, but let's just say that the First Annual Gavin & Keau New Year's Toast and Pre-Funk Extravaganza was a huge success!

All of the guests had a great time and even I managed to enjoy myself until I gave the green light for the confetti to come out. What a mistake! It took us 3 hours of cleaning the next day to get the apartment back into shape. Next year, we're either going to hire someone to clean or someone else is hosting the party. :)

Americans, Aussies, Germans, Hungarians, Brazilians, Argentineans and more!

F@ck! What a mess!

New Years BsAs

Buenos Aires ... Six Weeks Later

2006-12-17T04:28:00.000+01:00

I can't believe that it was more than 6 weeks ago when Gavin and I boarded our United Airline's flight from Washington DC to Buenos Aires. The time sure has flown by! Three visitors and a month and a half later, I find myself wondering where the time went.

I will attempt to blog and bring you up to date on all of the adventures that we have had in this great city.

The view from our fabulous apartment.

One of the city's many dog walkers (this city is filled with dog poo! who has time to pick up after 8 dogs?)

Pyromaniacs!

2006-12-17T04:10:00.000+01:00

In between Europe and South America, we sandwiched a trip back to Virginia to regroup (that's what Gavin calls it) and to visit the family.

On one chilly Fall evening in Norfolk, Gavin's dad fired up the bbq pit affectionaly named "The Log Waster."

Why do boys love fire so much?

Don't get too close Gav. The fire might singe your manicured eyebrows!

Beer and fire. Grunt Grunt!

Hot Stuff!

Fall in Washington DC with Rich and Leaf Peeping in Shenandoah National Park

2006-12-17T03:45:00.000+01:00

Back in October, Gavin and I spent the Halloween weekend in Washington DC with our good friend Rich who braved a bus ride down from New York City.

We had a great time exploring the city and although we didn't dress up in costume, this was definitely a Halloween to remember.

Rich S and I sitting pretty in our Nation's Capital.

Democracy in action!

Before leaving for Buenos Aires, we took a drive to Shenandoah National Park to check out the fall foliage. I've never done "Leaf Peeping" before, and I was very excited!

My hands are in my pockets because it was freezing cold!

Leaf Peeping

Buenos Aires

2006-12-01T09:13:00.000+01:00

I'm guilty of it again.

I've managed to let a month pass by and not post a single blog.

We've been in Buenos Aires and it has been nothing short of amazing! I promise to blog about it soon, but we've been busy visitors (Jeff come back soon!).

Promise to blog soon!

Cute Babies, A visit from Jeff and sitting on baskets!

2006-11-09T04:46:00.000+01:00

There are few things that I love more than meeting up with friends in new cities. (My mom & brother flew out to NYC to visit and we met up with John L in NYC & London, among others). So you can imagine how excited we were when we found out that Jeff H was going to be in DC the same time we! How bout that?

Check out the pics from our date with Jeff in Washington DC.

Jeff H in leather at the Ethiopian Restaurant. (That's a bottle of mead in my hands!)

Communal eating at its finest.

Gav ate a chili pepper! Gah!

For more pictures, check out my Picasa Web Album below:

Capital Antics

Back in the U-S-A

2006-11-09T04:38:00.000+01:00

After almost two months in Europe, I was about ready to come home to something familiar. Don't get me wrong, Europe was amazing and I can't wait to go back, but it's only natural for you to miss "home". (Techincally, Gav and I are still homeless, since we don't really have a "home.")

Our flight back home was almost as great as the trip over, and we landed in Washington DC feeling rested and ready to take on the USA!

We spent a few days in Falls Church, VA with Valy, Pink & Keira before going south to Norfolk to visit Gav's fam.

Here are a few pics from the first few days back in the US.

Stars & Stripes

Monkey business at the Washington Monument

Push this button and you'll be added to the "No Fly List".

For more picture, click the picture below!

Back in America

Eating Our Way Across the Iberian Penisula

2006-11-09T04:29:00.000+01:00

I started doing my blog about a year ago and the number one comment I get from people is that they absolutely love it when I talk about the meals I've had and take pictures of the delicious items that I devour!

We ate really really well while visiting Spain and Portugal. Gavin and I have an uncanny ability to pick out restaurants while we visit new places that end up being fantastic! Nothing gets me more excited than a hole in the wall place where Gav and I are the only ones speaking English. So hot!

This blog entry goes out to all of the people who read my blog and love food!

Finger licking pastries in Porto, Portugal.

Ice cold Spanish beer with a Boca del Rey Burger (hamburger, egg, ham, bacon., lettuce and just a touch of mayo!).

Fresh clamari with herbs and salad in Porto, Portugal.

For more food, check out my Picasa Web Album:

Eating Our Way across the Iberian Peninsula

Who ever knew the mid-term elections could be so much fun?

2006-11-05T07:18:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you, but I can't get enough coverage of the upcoming mid-term elections! I'm trying not to get too excited about everything, but when CNN and MSNBC both have non-stop stories about how the Dems are poised to take over the House and possibly the Senate (plus some key Governorships around the nation). We're in the home-stretch now. Tuesday will be very interesting!

Oh yeah, we're in Buenos Aires now. I have a bunch of blogs to write and then I'll get to South America!

Oh London

2006-10-26T05:31:00.000+02:00

After leaving cozy Porto, we flew back to London via Ryanair on a One Euro fare. Can you believe that? Can it get any cheaper? With fares that low, it's really easy to never use the train again ... until the oil runs out, that is.

So we flew Ryanair for the 3rd time and it was a bit more pleasant than flying before. I used to be a junior airline snob since I had friends like Joe and Ross who the only people they were monogamous to were their respective airline and their loyalty scheme. (Zinger!) The thought of flying Southwest was worse than wearing a brown belt with black shoes. This one time Joe joked about wearing a big hat and sunglasses when we had fly Southwest from Chicago-Midway to Columbus. (Thankfully to Joe we were prepared. He brought on a couon book and practically threw it at the flight attendant when she brought the drink cart down the aisle.) Back to Ryanair ... its safe and clean. Its no frills to the extreme. Their seats don't recline, the rarely have seat backs pouches and you are bombarded by advertising every turn you make. They are an extreme cost cutting baraccuda that has brought tourism to small European cities (Porto, anyone?).

So we flew back to London-Stansted and landed around 11:30pm then flying through customs and rushing to catch an hour long train back to Liverpool Station. Gav and I got into what I call an "Amazing Voyage Fight", and didn't make it to Ryan's house until well past 1:30am. We were so exhausted from our full day that we promptly fell asleep and missed out on a Saturday night that featured Jason E's birthday and Graham's P's going away party. (Check out his website and blog. He's fab.) We got a good night's sleep and went to the Columbia Road market on Sunday with Ryan and let me tell you ... I was in hog heaven. There are few things in life I enjoy more than a real town street market. My love affair with the bazaar must have happened back when, as a 17 year old, Chaired the South Hilo 4-H Federation Country Store and oversaw and orchestrated a multi thousand sale of pies, cookies, breads, crafts, plants, preserves, sushi game and much more. I love myself a street fair! Ryan and Gav drank fabulous coffee as I made small talk (and attempted to use my French learned) with a nice French girl who was selling fresh oysters on the half shell from England. For one pound, she would grab an oyster out of a bucket, clean it off, pull out her knife and schuck the thing for you! Squeeze a fresh lemon and add a bit of tobasco and I was in HEAVEN. Yum!

Oh London ... I love you so!

You really look like ....

2006-10-21T06:45:00.001+02:00

Has anyone ever come up to you and tell you that you look like a celebrity or someone famous?

I've found this website that takes a photo of you and matches it up with celebrities to see who you most look like. Check out MyHeritage.com

After doing it, I don't think I completely agree. Why don't you give it a shot and see what happens.

Porto - Day 2

2006-10-20T20:42:00.000+02:00

In my mind, Porto went from obscure destination to my favorite part of the entire European trip in just two days.

Gav and I were treated to two wonderful early fall days in this beautiful city in Northeast Portugal. Great food and wine, friendly people and a part of Western Europe that wasn't overly-touristy or as Gavin says, "picked-over".

We decided to spend our last day in Portugal by doing a little more exploring, a little more eating and a little more port wine tasting! Blessed with another sunny day, we checked out of out hotel and shared a delicious meal of a whole roasted chicken on the outside terrace of a nearby restaurant. After that, we stopped off at a bakery and picked up a few goodies to enjoy down near the river.

The ride down to the Riberia on the furnicular was even more spectacular during the day than the night before. I was a bit trigger happy with the camera as we slowly went down the hill, but if you were there, you would understand why!

The riverfront was alive with people enjoying the sun, street vendors and the outdoor cafes were buzzing with activity. We shared our yummy nibbly bits from the bakery and enjoyed a glass of port wine at one cafes with an outdoor terrace. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon on our last day in Portugal.

When it was time to head to the airport, we jumped on the metro (how convenient!) and were wisked away to Porto's brand new airport facility.

Goodbye Portugal! I'm sure I'll be back sometime soon.

The view of the Douro River from The Funicular dos Guindais.

Going up the hill on the furnicular.

Buildings lining the waterfrong on the Ribeira.

Porto's brand-spankin new airport.

More Pictures!

Porto Day 2

Port tasting!

2006-10-20T20:05:00.000+02:00

I've come to the conclusion that my absolute favorite thing about traveling is tasting the wonderful food and drink from each destination that we visit. (I really love good food and drink!)

No visit to Porto is complete without tasting the dessert wine that has made this region so famous!

After a little research, Gav and I decided to visit Solar Vinho do Porto, which is considered as one of the finest places to taste port wine. Located in a 18th-century villa with stunning views of the Duoro River, Solar Vinho do Porto was almost exactly what we were looking for. The atmosphere and wine were amazing ... we sat and drank 40 year old port wine in a garden overlooking a river ... but the service was horrible! With the help of the wine and cheese, we were able to still enjoy ourselves. :)

We tried a total of 6 different port wines. Two whites and four reds.

Salute!

Port Tasting

From Lisbon to Porto

2006-10-17T04:20:00.000+02:00

After two days in Lisbon and a train ride up to Porto, I have been nothing but impressed with Portugal. I have to admit that we planned our trip to Portugal at the last minute and only added it to our itinerary after we found cheap airfare on Vueling (Barcelona to Lisbon) and on Ryanair (Porto to London-Stanted). Not knowing anything about the country, we flew in pretty much blind and relied on our skills as world travelers to get by. What we discovered was a country rich in history, culture and art. A place in Western Europe with friendly people and not priced so it would break our bank account. Throw in delicious food and great wine and you have my favorite destination of our European leg of the trip!

Gav and I booked our train ride from Lisbon to Porto online. We were pleasantly surprised as how easy it was to navigate through the Portuguese rail website (they had an english version). After paying via our credit card, we printed out tickets and we were good to go!

On board the train, we were treated to assigned seats. We had stopped at a bakery before hand and picked up lunch for the three hour train ride, so it was nothing but smooth sailing all the way up the coast.

Upon arrival in Porto, we made our way from the train station to the Metro (subway) stop and discovered a brand-spanking-new rail system that was quite user friendly. We checked into our four star hotel and we were ready to explore Porto!

Boarding the train in Lisbon.

Porto at night.

Porto's city center.

Scenic Porto on the Douro River.

Porto Pictures

Adios Barcelona and the “Gavin Roots Tour Part II”

2006-10-07T16:28:00.000+02:00

It’s difficult saying what parts of Europe have been my favorite since there is so much difference between cities, but I have to admit that I was extremely happy with our five days in Barcelona. The city’s public transit was top notch and affordable, the food and drink were excellent and it was a very affordable city (esp after our stay in London and Paris!). We were blessed with wonderful weather and the city had a great laid back vibe to it. I definitely would like to visit Barcelona again sometime in the future.

Saying goodbye to Spain was tough, but I was really looking forward to Portugal. I call this the "Gavin Roots Tour Part II" since he's almost half Portuguese. (Part I was when we went to Ireland.)

We had booked our flight from Barcelona to Lisbon on the Spanish low-cost carrier, Vueling, which in my opinion patterned itself after the US low-cost carrier, JetBlue. We were treated to a wonderful two hour flight from Spain to Portugal and landed in Lisbon in the early evening. We decided to treat ourselves to a Four-Star Hotel (we actually got a great rate on the internet) and caught a cab to our hotel, which is something that we never do. We dropped our bags off at the room and took the Lisbon Metro (another great example of a European city’s mass-transit system) to the city center and explored the beautiful, yet hilly, Bairro Alto neighborhood.

If you have been to Lisbon you know what I am talking about when I say that it is one hilly city. Think of San Francisco with cobble stone roads. If I lived in Lisbon, I would have one firm ass from all the climbing that people do! We poked around the Bairro Alto for an hour or so and stumbled upon a small restaurant that was filled with people and run by an older woman who waited on the tables and an older man (her husband?) who ran the grill/kitchen. We were the only ones in the restaurant who wasn’t speaking Portuguese and there was no English Menu (my ideal type of restaurant!) so we tried our best and played “International Charades” and ordered up a storm! We were treated to a hearty Portuguese meal of mean, seafood and bread and shared a two jugs of a great local white wine (the Portuguese really know how to make wine and it’s so affordable!). After stuffing ourselves silly for less than 20 euros, Gav and I rolled out of the restaurant and found our way back to the hotel.

It was the perfect way to end another great day in Europe.

Kids catching a free ride on one of Lisbon's trolleys.

Lisbon

Oct 6, 2006 - 18 Photos

Scenic Stiges

2006-10-07T15:59:00.000+02:00

The Sitges Tourism website says, “Be careful when you visit Sitges, because you will never want to leave.”

Well, Gavin and I were up for the challenge and we wanted to see what all the hype was about, so we shelled out the 5€ per person for a round-trip ticket and made the 35 minute train ride to the beautiful seaside town located southwest of Barcelona. Once we got there and wandered through the narrow streets of this quaint town was early October Mediterranean bliss. Stiges is home to beautiful architecture set next to a picture perfect stretch of shoreline with stunning sandy beaches. Gavin and I dropped our things and headed straight for the surf (yes, there were waves) and were welcomed by the warm early Autumn waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It was magical.

I have to admit that we are quite skeptical when people recommend a beach, especially in a non-tropical climate, but Stiges was well worth the short train ride out of the crowded city. The next time we visit Barcelona, I want to spend a few nights in this great seaside town.

Stiges

Oct 6, 2006 - 6 Photos

The Naturist Beach

2006-10-06T21:32:00.000+02:00

On our second day in Barcelona, Gavin wanted to check out the beaches and swim in the Mediterranean Sea, so he did some research and found a beach for us to check out. After a short 15 minute trip via the Metro we found ourselves near the water, but we had to hike about half a mile to the actual beach. I wondered to myself why the beach was so difficult to access and then we suddenly found out why: Gavin had brought us to a nude beach without knowing it.

I was not prepared for what I saw when I turned the corner. I know what most of you are thinking … Wow! A nude beach in the Mediterranean. Hot! Well, it wasn’t. It was filled with leather skinned old people who looked like walking Hermes handbags! Luckily for us, there was a younger section of the beach and getting naked wasn’t compulsory so we got comfortable (not that comfortable) and enjoyed the warm October weather in Barcelona.

Oh yeah, Gavin had fun in the warm Mediterranean Sea too.

This is as close as I dared pull the camera out.

If you look closely, you can see a few naked bodies.

Barcelona Day 2

Oct 6, 2006 - 5 Photos

Hola Barcelona!

2006-10-06T21:07:00.001+02:00

From Paris we flew to Barcelona on the low-cost airline, Easyjet. Usually, I would never fly an airline with bright Orange letters or the word “EASY” in its name, but when you’re trying to create value you really don’t have much choice.

Our flight from Paris-Orly to Barcelona was actually quite pleasant and I would easily choose Easyjet over Ryanair in the future. (I would also like to say that most American cities, especially those in Hawaii, really have a lot to learn about making their airports accessible. Getting to and from all of the European cities that we have visited, via public transport, has been incredibly easy.)

Rich with history and the capital of the Catalan region, Barcelona was thrust into world spotlight after the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, which it hosted. Gavin and I were both pleasantly surprised with Barcelona and instantly felt comfortable navigating the streets and attempting to communicate with the locals. Barcelona residents speak Catalan which would best be described as a mix between Spanish and French, but will speak Spanish to visitors.

Gav and I jumped on one of those cheesy tourist buses with the open upper deck (you know which ones I’m talking about) to get a better feel of the city. Barcelona does have a wonderful subway system, but seeing the city above ground sure helps you understand how large it really is.

Check out my Picasa web album via the link below to see more.

You are what you fly!

Barcelona

Hola Barcelona

Oct 6, 2006 - 13 Photos

The Naturist Beach

2006-10-06T21:07:00.000+02:00

Barcelona Day 2

Oct 6, 2006 - 5 Photos

Famous Paris Landmarks

2006-10-06T20:53:00.001+02:00

You’re never prepared for seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. I can’t even guess how many times in my life I have seen a picture of it, seen it on tv or in a movie, but seeing it in real life is really quite amazing. You’re not prepared for how massive it is and how it really is the focal point of the city. (For example, the Empire State Building IS impressive, but its also surrounded by a ton of other skyscrapers. The Eiffel Tower is by far the tallest structure in the city and it is made quite apparent when you see it in person.)

For a mere 3€ we could climb the stairs to the observation deck and we were treated to a bird’s eye view of Paris. What a deal!

If the Eiffel Tower is Paris’ number one landmark, the Arc de Triomphe is a close second. Impressive in its own right, the Arc is also situated so it is one of Paris’ focal points and can be seen for kilometers in all directions.

Paris, what a romantic city!

The view from the Eiffel Tower observation deck.

The Arc de Triomphe at night.

Our xmas card.

Paris 3

Sep 27, 2006 - 6 Photos

Versailles

2006-10-06T20:40:00.000+02:00

I have to confess that after being on the road for over five months and after traveling to various points on the globe, I have become a bit numb and my memories have begun to blend in with each other. Unlike a traditional vacation where I would visit somewhere for a week or so and then go home, we are going from country to country without a break or at the very least, a chance to reflect on our travels. I’m not saying that I am taking things for granted, but I am a bit sad over the fact that I haven’t really been able to savor each destination … until Paris.
Paris is amazing. Simply stunning. It was like I was in a movie or as if a postcard had come to life. With its art, culture, architecture and famous landmarks, Paris definitely makes an impression.

Since Gavin has visited Paris before, he took it upon himself to plan our itinerary. Day 2 included a trip to Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.

Built by France’s royalty, Versailles is now considered a rich suburb of Paris. After a quick train ride out of the city, we were at the doorstep of one of the most impressive man-made structures I have ever been to. With its beautiful gardens, over-the-top decadence and rich history, Versailles was quite a treat and its no wonder why the French are so proud of it. Any trip to Paris is not complete unless you visit Versailles. Words cannot begin to describe what we saw and I doubt our pictures will do it justice. It is impossible to properly put into perspective how massive and impressive the whole experience of visiting Versailles really is.

From the cathedral to the theatre and the famed Hall of Mirrors, Versailles is a monument to the decadence and power of the once great French Empire. Filled with art and gold, one could only imagine what it would have been like to be a visitor to this grand estate during the reign of Louis XVI.

Paris 2

Sep 27, 2006 - 17 Photos

My new favorite band

2006-10-03T02:10:00.000+02:00

Check out the band, Junior Boys. I downloaded their single, "In The Morning" from iTunes (it's currently their Free Download of the Week) and was so impressed that I purchased their album. I'd call them techno emo-pop with soft vocals and a soothing beat.

Good Stuff.

Bonjour Paris!

2006-10-03T01:45:00.000+02:00

When using a computer, never ever forget the Number One Golden Rule: Save Often! It's quite frustrating losing a blog post after spending 45 minutes writing and researching French words and various web-links. Mere!

After a week and a half in Belgium, it was time for us to pack up our bags and take the show on the road yet again. (After 5 months of living out of a suitcase and being technically "homeless", you really appreciate a friend who will let you stay at their house and use their high-speed internet, hot water, car and just about everything else that I used to take for granted.)

We jumped in the car with Mai and her friend Morgan and drove 2 hours to Paris. We said Au voir to Belgium and crossed over the border to France. Mai and Morgan had been planning this day-trip to Paris and they were nice enough to ask if we wanted the lift (heck, it saved us 100Euros that we would have spent on 2 train tickets!).

Our first two stops were the Musée Maillol and the Musée National d'Art Moderne. The Musée Maillol had a stunning exhibit by Bert Stern. In 1962 he photographed Marilyn Munroe for a Vogue Magazine spread. The collection of photographs were stunning and they captured her natural beauty (she didn't have any makeup on in any of the pictures). The Musée National d'Art Moderne, The French national modern art museum, had an exhibit by American minimalist sculptor, Dan Flavin (who we saw at the Tate Modern in London a few weeks before). He's famous for creating sculptural objects and installations from commercially available fluorescent light fixtures. Simply brilliant.

After the two museums, we checked into our budget hotel that we would call home for the next four nights. In an attempt to create value, Gav booked us in something that fit into our buget and let me tell you: Paris is not cheap. (Check out the photo in my Picasa webalbum. The link is at the bottom of this blog entry.) The hotel sure wasn't the Hilton (New Hilton Sydney?), but it was exactly what we needed since we had a crazy agenda of trying to see as much of Paris as we possibly could.

This was my first time to Paris and I was blown away by it. No matter how many times you see images of the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, nothing can prepare you for the feeling you get when you see it in real life. We took a ton of pictures, so please check out the web-album link below.

Enjoy!

Welcome to France!

Paris seen from the 2nd floor of the Louvre.

Real life Parisian Dog Shit.

Paris Day 1

Sep 27, 2006 - 17 Photos

It's Not The Out Ones That You Need To Worry About

2006-09-29T23:43:00.000+02:00

I really try not to let narrow-minded bigots get to me. You know, those Holier-Than-Thou types who don't let Gays adopt or become Boy Scout leaders because they are afraid of pedophilia, child abuse or the ever-so-dangerous Gay Agenda. But sometimes, really F*cked up things happen that make me laugh out of sheer frustration and yell at the top of my lungs, "It's not the OUT ones that you need to worry about!!" Seriously, us out gay men and women have spent our entire lives coming to terms with our sexuality and we are not about to spend our free time chasing after young boys and girls when we have bigger fish to fry, nor are we going to spend thousands of dollars to adopt a Mandarin baby just to sexually abuse her! Or perhaps the biggest load of crap that I just don't understand is: Why on earth would any out gay man sacrifice his weekends to be a Boy Scout Leader?

People, listen closely. It's not the out ones that you need to worry about. The rainbow flag waving homos that march down Main Street every June are not the ones you need to target. The ones who are most likely to sexually abuse kids are probably married and live in the suburbs and most of all, they are probably the biggest anti-gay hate-mongers you will find.

Take Spokane, Washington mayor Jim West. He spent his entire political career (over 25 years) trying to pass the most vicious anti-gay legislation you can think of and guess what? Last year it was revealed that over the same amount of time he has lead a secret life of a closeted homosexual who used his position to get sex from young boys! What a perverted and twisted piece of shitte!

It gets better ...

Just today Repulican Congressman from Florida, Mark Foley, abruptly resigns the day after ABC broke a story about an email exchange between him and a then 16 year old Congressional Page. Apparently this scumbag sent the 16 year old from Louisiana an email asking him if he was okay after Hurrican Katrina and then asked him what he wanted for his birthday and requested that the young boy send him a picture! Eeeeew!

The list goes on and on and I won't even touch the whole molestation scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.

The next time you hear someone spitting venom against Gays and Lesbians, you should think that maybe that person is trying to hide some deep dark secret and this is their defense mechanism in action. Seriously, it's not the out and proud ones that you have to worry about. We have bigger things to worry about.

Now what brand of designer jeans should I buy next?

A Belgian Beach and a Belgian Delicacy

2006-09-29T11:40:00.000+02:00

When Gavin and I meet people and tell them we're from Hawaii, he loves to mention that he grew up on a beach and that there are no beaches where I'm from (yes, there's just lava rock and ocean). So when we found out that Belgians have their very own stretch of beach on the North Sea, Gavin jumped at the opportunity to check it out.

Oostende is a quaint seaside town in Flemish Belgium. Located about an hour and a half from Mai's house, Oostende does deliver a great beach experience on a warm sunny day. Ok, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about a beach on the North Sea, but I was pleasantly suprised at what we found. The water was cold as heck, but the sand and sun couldn't be beat!

Hundreds of sun-seekers filled the beach on a sunny Thursday in September.

On Saturday night, and our last night in Belgium, Mai took us to have a dish that Belgium is famous for: Moules Frites or Mussels and Fries! Belgium had been an eating dream for me and this night did not dissappoint! Mai's friend Fa (short for Fabulous!) was visiting from Luxembourg and together they translated the menu for us (since they took us to a local favorite and not a tourist trap that you might find in Brussels.) The menu was quite extensive with dozens, literally dozens, of ways to have your mussels seasoned and steamed. Here's a few examples of the 50 ways that you could have your mussels done:

Garlic
Garlic, tomatoes and paprika
White wine & garlic
Curry
Cream
Mustard
Cream, white wine, mushrooms
Port
Pastis
and more!

Fa chose Moules au Gorgonzola, Mai had Moules au Pili-Pili (spicy sauce), I had Moules Valy (tomatoes, curry and champignon mushrooms), and Gavin had chicken (you are what you eat!).

The restaurant's van. I love the fries' mayo hat!

Fa and Mai.

Yum! My Moules Valy with Frites

Oostende and Mussels

Sep 27, 2006 - 9 Photos

Lille, France

2006-09-26T09:57:00.000+02:00

Traveling around Europe is a bit like traveling around New England and the Northeast in the sense that an hour drive could have you crossing some sort of border (in the US it would be a state border and in Europe, you're in a different country!). Size and distance is often relative. For example, growing up in Hawaii meant you had to fly at least 5 hours to get to another state (California) or at least 8 hours to get to any country that really mattered (Japan would be the closest, although countries like Fiji or Tahiti are technically closer, but I don't know anyone who really visits those places.)

On a sunny Thursday, Gav and I packed up the car and drove a short 40 minutes to the beautiful French city of Lille. Crossing the border from Belgium to France was a bit like crossing from Washington State to Oregon State: there was no stopping (traffic permitting).

The metropolitan population of Lille (which extends into Belgium) had a population of just over 1 million, but the city itself is home to around 250,000. Lille is at the northern tip of France and also has a Flemish (Dutch) name Rijsel.

While in Lille, I got my first taste of driving in France complete with a three lane roundabout! Am I ready for driving in Paris? Probably not, but I still felt a sense of accomplishment. :)

After some sightseeing, a rest in the park and a beer at a cafe, we were ready to head back to Belgium.

Au revoir!

Crossing into France was never easier! Thank you EU!

One of the many beautiful old buildings in Lille.

A high speed French train.

Gavin relaxing in the park (The "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" Cam)

Huskies beat UCLA!

2006-09-24T08:52:00.000+02:00

After being in the basement of the Pac-10 Conference for the past few years, it was great to see the Huskies beat the Bruins on Saturday for many reasons.

The last few seasons have been down right miserable for us Husky Fans, so a 29-19 victory over UCLA is something that I am going to cherish for sometime. To make things even better, the game was televised nationally on TBS. The Bruins had previously won 8 out of the last 9 games, so this victory was a welcome treat!

Up next is Arizona down in the desert. Visions of a big W will be dancing in the minds of us Husky Fans!

Je ne comprends pas Français

2006-09-22T12:55:00.000+02:00

Oi LiendaBella che fa?
Bonita, bonita que tal?
But belle, Je ne comprends pas Français.
So you'll have to speak to meSome other way.

"Belle", Jack Johnson

Belgian Fries, Brugge & The $70 Tank of Gas

2006-09-16T14:47:00.000+02:00

Belgium has been nice to us. It's been great being able to relax and enjoy some nice late summer weather and Mai has been an incredible host.

Since we don't speak the language, it's been very frustrating trying to interact with Mai's friends and people around town, so we've taken it upon ourselves to try and experience as much as possible - hands on - in an attempt to overcome the language barrier.

On Thursday night, Mai took us to get a Belgian sandwich and fries called mitraillet, which in French means machine gun, but in Belgium it refers to a special kind of sandwich that served with frites or fries.

Going to the shop was a treat and I'm glad Mai was with us because she helped translate the many choices that we had not only for sandwich fillings but also for sauces for our fries. There must have been about 20 different sauces ranging from Brazilian (spicy) to Ketchup-Curry and Sweet and Sour. Sandwich fillings ranged from lamb to chicken to breaded cutlet to meatballs! Our meal was so delicious and I have absolutely no idea why there aren't any of these shops in the US (I believe there's one in Seattle and one in NYC).

On Friday, we borrowed Mai's car and drove about an hour and a half to the beautiful city of Brugge (Bruges in French). With a population of just over 100,000, Brugge is a filled with old buildings and a canal system that reminded me of Amsterdam (just smaller and prettier). It was interesting seeing the change from French speaking Belgium to Flemish (Dutch) speaking Belgium and how the people in Brugge spoke French, Flemish and English (compared to the French-only speakers in the Walloon region of Belgium. For more information, check out wikipedia's entry on Belgium.

I drove from Mons to Brugge and Gavin drove back and we were both a bit scared in the beginning since Belgian traffic signs are very different from what we are used to. After a quick lesson in Belgian driving (really, what would we do without the internet?) and a stop at the gas station, we were ready to hit the road!

For more pictures, click on my Picasa Web Album link at the bottom of the page.

We totally pigged out on frites and Belgian sandwiches called mitraillet.

Brugge.

53 Euros later, we have a filled gas-tank! (The car is tiny, too!)

Brugge

Sep 14, 2006 - 17 Photos

Bonjour from Belgium

2006-09-14T22:30:00.000+02:00

For the first time in a long time, I am writing in my blog about events that just happened. In other words, I am caught up (well, with the exception of the entire time when we were between SF and Montreal!).

We got to Belgium on Tuesday and flew into Charleroi which is outside of Brussels and close to the area in which we're staying in: Mons.

Mons is a cute town near the French border that has 4 Universities and about 91,000 people. It has a great small European city that is pretty much untouched by tourists, but close enough to major cities (Brussels is about 40 min and Paris is about 3 hours away). It reminds me of Hilo, where I grew up because of its small town feel and friendly people. It has a great pedestrian square with cafes and restaurants. It's a great place to enjoy a Belgian beer and people watch!

We're staying with Mai, who we met while she was in Hawaii visiting her friend (and my former co-worker), Valy (who we stayed with in DC. Whew!)

Last night, Mai took us to a "bbq" in Mons which was out in the woods, but it ended up being more of a bon fire event with a bunch of boys in their mid-20s who spoke French and no English. (I know what some of you are thinking, and cut it out!) It was great to get out of the city and enjoy some fresh air and see the stars, esp after the crazy times we had in London and Ireland ... It was exactly what we needed and we would never have been able to find this sort of thing if we were playing tourists and staying in a hotel.

Gav & Mai and a great spread of fine cheeses and wine!

Chateau de Havre

The Belgian boys and their fire.

Ireland and a TON of pictures

2006-09-14T20:50:00.000+02:00

Ireland is a stunningly beautiful country and we were blessed with four days of perfect weather, so you can only imagine how many pictures I took (being the trigger happy camera wielding boy that I am). I've tried to whittle down the ones that I thought were the best and put them in my Picasa Web Album, by Google.

The pictures are from our stay in Dublin then Cahir Castle, Kellarney & Kerry, Galway & Clonmacnoise.

We're such rebels (with or without causes?)

The freaking Xmas Card

Ireland Slide Show

Sep 14, 2006 - 32 Photos

Luck-O-The Irish

2006-09-14T14:50:00.000+02:00

editor's note: written on Thursday, Sep 9

After our crazy time in London, I felt that anything would have been a disappointment but boy was I wrong when we got to Ireland. Sure Dublin seems like another large British city since the architecture and building heights feel quite like London, but that’s where the similarities end. Filled with incredibly friendly people (and HORDES of American tourists), Dublin is a now a major European Capital city that is experiencing incredible growth and a hungry economy that is surging faster than the Guiness can be poured.

In an attempt to Create Value™ (Dublin is one helluva expensive city) we decided to give the Back-Packer’s thing a go. The first time Gavin visited Europe after college, he did what most recent college American college graduates do and got a rail pass and stayed in hostels along the way. I didn’t get a chance to do the whole Europe thing after I graduated, so I figured this would be my first time at it and boy was I in for a shocker. Some say that I’m a coddled and spoiled brat, but I’ve really gotten accustomed to having my own living space and privacy and it was quite a rude awakening when I found out that we had to share a 6 bedroom closet with a middle aged German couple and two young Aussie girls. (I figured it would be all male or female or trans-gendered or something, but that’s not how it works in Ireland! So much for the conservative Catholics!) Let’s just say that after a few beers to calm my nerves and some well needed ear-plugs and a face mask, I was ready to have quite a nice sleep. If you can get over the smell of feet, then staying in a European Hostel is quite the way to Create ValueÔ.

Ryanair and the £1 Fare

2006-09-13T14:00:00.000+02:00

For those of you who aren’t In-The-Know, Ryanair is Europe’s leading low-fare carrier. Patterned after Southwest in the US, Ryanair flies an entire fleet of Boeing 737s and are as bare-bones as you can get. For example, their seats don’t recline, the safety cards are printed right on the back of the seat in front of you, there are no seat pouches and they charge you for just about everything (drinks, snackies, checked luggage, and other amenities). If you have a flexible schedule and know how to work the system, Ryanair can be the absolute cheapest way to get around Europe. For example, Gav and I got £1 (equivalent to $1.89USD) airfares from Nottingham East Midlands, England to Dublin and again from Dublin to Brussels. Now that’s seriously hard to beat! Of course, we had to pay the taxes imposed by the British and Irish governments, but you can’t escape that stuff.

Cricket

2006-09-13T13:37:00.000+02:00

editor's note: This blog was originally written and meant to be posted on Aug 30.

In addition to Creating Value™ , we've also been on the look out for Cutural Experiences. These could be as simple as trying a new dish (soul food in the south, fish and chips in London) or learning new slang.

While in London, Gav and I got introduced to cricket. I always thought cricket was some obscure game that was played in England and the rest of the commonwealth and that it was boring, and I was right. People are quick to bash baseball, but let me tell you ... cricket is boring stuff.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, we were treated to an intra-office match of cricket played by Her Majesty's Treasury. We met up with Ryan (who's Aussie) at his office and went

Ryan & Gav on the way to the cricket match.

Ryan, the batman, striking a bowled ball and successfully defending the wickets (he also scored a few runs).

Loving The Lounge Life

2006-09-13T13:23:00.000+02:00

editor's note: This entry was originally written and meant to be posted on Aug 31.

On our last night in London , Ryan took Gavin and I to one of the swankiest cocktail bars that I have ever been to, Lounge Lover. We were joined by his two friends Jesse & David. It was quite the way to celebrate the end of what was a great week and a half in my favorite city. We enjoyed wonderful concoctions and each of us shared stories from our travels around the world. Two Yanks and three Aussies in a foreign land, linked by a common language and all from former colonies of the British Empire.

Party Party Party! That’s our Image!

2006-09-13T13:01:00.000+02:00

editor's note: This blog was originally written and meant to be posted on Aug 29.

For those of you who might not know this, Gavin and I love ourselves a big-ass gay dance party and London has one of the best parties in the known world: DTPM. Happening every Sunday at the usually straight and very posh club, Fabric, DTPM combines the best dance music and the absolute hottest guys I have ever seen in one location (and let me tell you, I’ve gone to some great parties in my time!)

On three day weekends, or Bank Holiday Weekends as they are known to the British, DTPM turns into the crème dele crème of parties.

Gav, JL (who was visiting from Seattle/New York) and I met up with a few of our new London BFF’s and danced the night away. Good Times were had by all!

If you’re ever in London for a Bank Holiday weekend, I highly suggest you make DTPM part of your itinerary.

A trip to the British Museum

2006-09-13T12:02:00.000+02:00

editor's note: this post was originally written and meant to be posted on August 29

If there has been one thing on our trip that I have enjoyed the most, I have to say that it’s drinking. J Secondly, I love going to museums. In each city that we make a stop in, we try to do something educational and visit an art gallery or do something cultural. (Gavin says that we pick the gems of each location, which I’d have to agree with.) We visited the Getty in Los Angeles, the Field Museum in Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Smithsonian in Washington DC and in London we had to check out the British Museum and National Gallery. The United States has some of the world’s premier museums, but there’s something to be said about a collection that dates back hundreds of years. I mean, you can’t even think of acquiring some of the antiquities that the British have in their collection. I’m not condoning how many of these items had come to rest in their hands, but I am happy that I can see them … for free. Talk about massively Creating Value™.

The most stunning thing about both the British Museum and the National Gallery is that they have entire collections of artifacts or paintings from a classic artist or time period. When most museums would be happy to have ONE mummy, the British Museum has about a dozen. When some galleries would be glad to possess a painting Well the British Museum has about a dozen. No joke!

Probably the most popular of all items in the collection would be the Rosetta Stone. If you’re not familiar with this very important artifact, it allowed linguists to translate ancient Egyptian writing into English (or French or some other modern language). For more detailed info, I suggest you look it up.

British Museum

Aug 29, 2006 - 9 Photos

A Boy Named Ryan Robertson

2006-09-13T12:00:00.000+02:00

It was a year ago when I got the call from Seattle that a dear friend has passed. How could someone who meant so much to me and also someone who I really looked up to suddenly be gone at such a young age? Now I stand here one year later and I am still filled with the same questions and feelings which still linger. I miss you now just as much as I ever did and wonder how you were always able to cast your spell on me and leave me just as (if not more) bewildered than I ever have been before.

I Love London

2006-09-09T03:57:00.000+02:00

London has always been my favourite (notice the spelling?) city in the entire world. From my first visit back in 2000 until now, I have continued to fall deeper in love with this cosmopolitian metropolis.

I believe in Love at First Sight (re: G MacElwee) and I subscribe to the fact that you you really don't get a second chance to make a first impression. The point I am trying to make is that London is my kind of place and don't be surprised if I somehow manage to live here sometime in the near future.

So back to our trip to London.

It all started out with a fabulous flight from Washington DC to London Heathrow on United Airlines. We were lucky enough to get upgraded to business class, and honey, let me tell you that there are not better ways to jump the pond than sitting in the front of a Boeing 777. From the get-go, we were poppin the bubbly and wondering how our lives could get any better (my head is getting very big now!).

In my opinion, London is one of the few truly cosmopolitan cities (New York being another, but after 6 weeks of the Big Apple, I realized that I couldn't live there). London has a way of making me feel urban without all the hustle and bustle of a big US city. I'm not sure if it's the near-constant cloud cover or the open acceptance of social drinking, but London has cast her spell on me and I am her's for the taking!

Check out my picture album from our trip to London and hopefully you will understand why I love this city so.

London

Aug 29, 2006 - 28 Photos

3 England Blogs Combined into One!

2006-09-09T03:44:00.000+02:00

Manchester. United.

After 10 amazing days in the city of London, Gavin and I said good-bye and made the journey north to England’s second city, Manchester. We watched London get smaller as we got further away from the city and got to experience the beautiful English countryside. Once in Manchester, we were met by my friend Steve who I have known since 2000. We met when both of us had made plans to visit Sydney and had stayed in touch since. I was quite excited to finally get the chance to visit him in his hometown and to see another part of England, since this was the fourth time that I have been to London but never have I been outside of the city.

England’s second city, Manchester is a vastly different from London. I compare to London to New York for its vast size and multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan feel, where Manchester is a lot like Chicago. It’s large in size, it played a large role in industrial development of the country and now has changed direction and focus in keeping up with the times.

With a great public transport and a ton of new buildings (the IRA blew out a huge chunk of the city center in 1996), Manchester has a very different feel from other English cities. It’s city center was easily walkable and as long as you have your umbrella handy (it rains a LOT here), you’re ready to see the sights. The city’s gay district, The Village, and specifically Canal Street (as seen in the UK version of Queer as Folk) welcome you with open arms and a large selection of restaurants, bars and clubs to choose from.

Overall, I found the city of Manchester and it’s people to be very laid back and welcoming. The boys were a bit reserved compared to those in London, but also eager to meet visitors to their beautiful city.

I’m so Lucky, but I don’t even truly realize it.

For my 20th birthday, my father flew up to Seattle, where I was living at the time, and took me to Memphis, Tennessee to pay homage to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Any true fan of the King would give their left arm for this opportunity, but I have to say that it was almost entirely lost on me. Yes, I was blown away by the lavish lifestyle in which he lived and by the over-the-top style in which Graceland was decorated, but other than that … nil.

Yesterday, Gavin and I took the train from Manchester to the beautiful English port town of Liverpool as part of the rock and roll pilgrimage that I have been so lucky to be part of, yet not truly appreciate. Sure, I know who the Beatles were and how could I not know a handful of their songs, but you have to admit that any true Beatle fan would be beside him or herself for the opportunity to have a beer at the Cavern (where the Beatles played 287 gigs before making it big) or for the chance to walk down the same streets that they Fab 4 sang about.

If someone out there is reading this and beating their head against their monitor out of frustration, please do send me an email and let me know how big of a fan you really are.

The Merry Men

On Tuesday afternoon, Gavin and I said good-bye to Manchester and boarded our two car train and headed east towards Nottingham. Made famous from the tales of Robin Hood, Nottingham is a quaint English city that has managed to keep up quite nicely with the changing times. A light-rail tram easily navigates through the city’s narrow streets and the architecture is a lovely blend of old and new (Nottingham got bombed a total of 11 times in five years during WWII, which is a lot less than other cities in England.) Unlike London and Manchester, Nottingham has a few hills which makes for an entirely different feel. Modern pubs and coffee shops dot the easily navigated city centre and we were blessed with two days of sunshine and summer-like temperatures.

Obviously a tourist destination, Nottingham has many attractions which try to get would-be tourists to spend their cash to learn more about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. As loyal readers of my blog would know, Gavin and I continue to Create ValueÔ and find alternative ways to not pay the admission fee and still have a proper Nottingham experience. This means, we stood outside of Nottingham Castle and peered through the fence or giving what we thought was fare for us to see the churches instead of giving the “suggested donation”. Call us cheap, but we are on a mission to see as much of this world as possible and the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the GB Pound is at an all time high.

The one attraction that we did spring for and pay the full price was the City of Caves which is located under the local Westfield Shopping Mall (damn Aussies!). For £4.50 we got a tour and history lesson for a few of the caves that lie beneath Nottingham. We found out that over the past millennium these caves were used for tanning leather to cesspools for human waste to bomb shelters during WWII. Gavin and I give this tour Four Thumbs Up and recommend it to anyone who visits Nottingham.

View The Pics!

England

Aug 29, 2006 - 10 Photos

Trying Something New

2006-09-09T03:40:00.000+02:00

If you have the bandwidth and the curiosity to see a few pics ...

check this shit out!

Ireland

Sep 8, 2006 - 18 Photos

Hey Keau, Why the sudden increase in blog entries?

2006-09-07T19:17:00.000+02:00

Those of you out there in DigitalGlamNation who have been sending me countless emails wondering why I haven’t been updating my blog as often as I used to will now be happy to know that I have found a renewed inspiration and method for tapping into my creativity. Before I divulge my sources, I need to give you a quick history lesson on my blogging habits.

When I first started Digital Glam in late 2005, I was doing it out of sheer boredom. It was therapeutic for me to visit the burn lounge and spend a quiet Sunday evening with the computer, a glass of wine and just me and my thoughts. I was working long weeks and spending my entire weekend with Gavin, so Sunday’s were a time for reflection and introspective thought.

When I moved in with Gavin (in October of 2005) and started this voyage (April 2006), I had to make time to sit in a quiet area and find the inspiration to write about my thoughts and what we’ve been up to. At first it was easy, but as we got busier and busier and access to the internet became harder to find, it became a bit more challenging to update the blog until I just got too lazy to do so.

Busted!

Ok, so that wasn’t what you wanted to hear, I know. So what I’ve decided to do is instead of taking the time to format my pictures, upload them and then link them to my blog, I’m going to upload just a few that are pertinent to the entry and then provide you with a link to my wonderful Gooogle Web-Album so you can see more pictures from our trip.

Like always, if you really enjoyed a blog entry or want to know more about a particular segment , please email me and let me know. I probably can share a story or two that I didn’t feel was appropriate for the public. J

I’d like to thank Jeff H, Jason S, my mom, Graham P, Ryan H and everyone else that has inspired me to continue blabbing about our little adventures. Honestly, it begins to feel a bit trite to write about what we do, but knowing that someone out there reads this stuff makes me happier than you’ll ever know.

Oh, and comments are always welcome!!