Vilnius – As Last Days Go

I have been concerned that I was not working out enough when on this trip to southern and Eastern Europe. Well Spain was a great deal of walking and Lithuania was both more walking and lots of hill hiking. Today is my last day in Vilnius and it was a great day for exercise. I had just one thing to do today and when done I went on a two hour walk around town. You know you have walked when you are happy to take a seat if even for a few minutes. After my two-hour walk I went for another two-hour walk up to the Museum of Genocide and it was closed today, but it was a good walk. By three o’clock I was back in the room for a second and then back out to do a hike up the hill of crosses. In the end I walked and hiked for six to seven hours – not bad for a Tuesday in Vilnius.

The highlight of the day was that I duplicated what you would get in a Vilnius city tour but I added a bit more. I did two new things on this trip. First, I went to the National Museum of Lithuania. This was a great spot and I wonder why I missed it in the past but I am glad I went this trip. Second, I hiked up the hill of crosses. These crosses are the subject of some of my past artwork and it was great to see them up close: Here is a link to some photos: http://yonaitis.shutterfly.com/14448 . I also was able to get some great shots from my morning walk: http://yonaitis.shutterfly.com/14391 .

Perhaps the biggest surprise this week was the Trakai Island Castle.   This was a tour and it was a good one. A very pleasant tour guide made the difference. What a nice day in general, perfect weather for a long walk in and around the castle. There was some great beauty to see – as there often is around a lake. I took some photos that I hope can communicate the beauty of the Island Castle: http://yonaitis.shutterfly.com/14277 .

If you have never been to Lithuania you should consider going. As for me I have to be up in nine hours to hop in a taksi and head to the airport. I will be in Madrid tomorrow afternoon and then I have to cut my trip short and head back to the states on Thursday.

Cheers,

Rob

On being afraid

I have started keeping a daily blog to recount my preparations as prepare for my hike up Kilimanjaro in July. In researching for this blog I found a site that showed the daily journals of hikers on their approach to the summit and as they made it to the top. Later in the evening, as I read further I noticed that one post did not recount tales as trekkers arrived at this camp or the next one, nor did it say that someone just summited, however it did say that two trekkers fell ill due to the low oxygen conditions and they had to be taken down the mountain.  Their attempt to summit Kilimanjaro ended far too soon. I have to admit I was sad and their story stayed in my thoughts. As my head touched the pillow and my eyes slowly started to close the blog post about the two trekkers was still on my mind. This morning during my first workout it hit me and I thought to myself how sad I was for them.

It made me reflect a bit on my life, where I had come from and what I valued in life. Was I afraid? We are taught in life that there are two basic answers to the question of a personal challenge, fight or flight. This is perhaps the worst lesson that we can learn as it promotes fear to a level it should not achieve. Some of the greatest stories of the ages are of people who accomplished one of two things in a situation where they had fear; they faced it and overcame or they faced it and failed. Many times you will find both. Even the most basic of scientific discoveries are a long list of failures leading through to some truth and of course the discovery.

Today, I thought for a while about what if I get sick, what if I get sick at 17000 feet, and what then? That is when my day turned around. I could answer this from experience. You see, I have the fortune or misfortune of remembering my failures in life and the resulting outcomes. I failed a lot in life! It is absolutely amazing how much I have failed, but that is not my story. My story in this blog post is about what happens after the failure. It takes me back about twenty-seven years and to one of the scariest moments of my life. As a young man I had lost my job, could not pay my rent, sold my belongings to buy food and was counting down on the days until I was homeless. I was terrified – literally frozen by my fear. You see unemployment had run out, I think it was 16 weeks back then but regardless it was insignificant.

I was wallowing in self-pity awaiting the end of my world.  I wanted to see no one and of course talk to no one. That is when the phone on my wall rang; yes we had land lines back then. It was a friend of mine he wanted to come down and have some beers and I said that I did not feel like it I was broke and miserable. He said “look I will come down with the beers” and after a ton of prodding and insisting I agreed. He had to walk a few minutes to the Quincy T station and catch a bus down to Hough’s Neck. It was a warm summer’s night and he was full of energy and very excited. We walked down to the sea wall and looked across the harbor to Boston. We both cracked a beer and started talking.

After about five minutes he pulled a bottle out of the bag, it could have been JD or it could have been champagne, I do not remember but I will never forget what he said; “Bob, let’s celebrate”, I responded “Celebrate?” , he replied “Yes Celebrate.” I was thinking he must be crazy, he took a swig and said “to your next job-you always land on your feet doing so much better than you did in the past” and then he passed the bottle. I took the bottle and looked across the harbor to Boston and said, “Thanks and one day I will be in charge of systems at that building in Boston . “ He was right I would get up on my feet again, I would get a better job and I would fail again and get up again. On that day I had a clarity that was never forgotten. I would fail, over and over and I should never fear it but I should look at it as an opportunity.

My thoughts then turned to my own climbing and that has been mixed with failures and successes. It is also true that some of the most epic failures have led to the most epic successes. I thought to myself that from the moment those trekkers stepped on the trail at Kilimanjaro they had succeeded! They did not need my pity and they blazed a trail for me.  I finished my workout, hit a sauna and felt honored to be amongst a group of people that challenged their fears. It is important to understand that success is often preceded by failures and the failures are often as epic as the success. So good luck in your next failure – may it lead to amazing successes.

Ciao

Rob

 

Posted – My New Year’s Resolutions 2012

When I was a smoker it occurred to me that quitting smoking was the most perfect New Year’s resolution to make and  and I made it every year. I think we can be naive about how hard it is to start or change habits. So every time I tried to quit I failed. After many attempts I remembered advice from a family member that was simple; “Cold Turkey is the only way that works”, alas that was always followed by the advice; “no you need meds, nicotine gum and of course counseling.”  One day, no resolution required, no grand announcements required and at no particular time I simply quit.

So, as I look at 2012 I think it is important to define what New Year’s Resolutions are to me. I have adopted the method of making a list for everything. I am unsure if it comes from being a trained engineer or if it is something I received from a friend at some point but it is what I practice. Additionally – a big focus of mine is making things part of me.

What does this mean you may ask? Simply put, we are surrounded with information; we can know so much without really understanding anything. I always think of a travel commercial that stated; “You wouldn’t search Bing for Pictures and have them printed and put them in a scrap book. – Would you?”  This speaks to the simple truth that you can read and learn about something, but it is never part of you until you truly understand it by actually experiencing it.  Just think of reading about a job or a book or a game; you may truly learn the rules, requirements and have knowledge of it but until you actually go and participate you will never know if it is for you nor will you understand its true nature.

My resolutions are divided into parts as always and for Travel:

• I would like to understand North America beyond reading and pictures and having said this it is my goal to try to go to as many major cities and minor ones by train, plane or car as possible. I will also try to reach out on-line via different avenues to further understanding.

• I would like to do one of two treks; “leave it all behind on the mountain” a Kilimanjaro trek or Pick a route and trek to El Camino de Santiago (the way of St. James.)

• I would like to go to Mexico City and get a feel for the capitol and travel to other Cities in Mexico.

• The explorer in me is demanding new adventure and as I approach my departure for Antarctica, I am thinking that it is time to get to know my inner fish better and take up scuba. By thinking of – I mean it is time to do it!  As you may know it is true that man has explored more of the surface of the moon than it has the ocean.

And for health:

• I have been blessed with good health and strength since I died, however, nothing is guaranteed. As we age it is harder – not easier to keep our health. Understanding this I will work to keep and exceed my current health and strength: 50% more weights, run at least 3 days a week in the new tear, at least 20 miles a week on my treadmill.
• I will eliminate all toxic items that I can from my diet – not that I have tons to eliminate.

And for art:

• I will paint more, as I come closer to developing my own style and this is important, I will try to paint and sketch a few days a week, giving; at least 1 painting or sketch a month.
• I will finish the my new Novella

And in general:

• In all other areas I will endeavor to improve myself; spiritually, physically, and in general knowledge of all things.
• I will source all my products food, electronics, and general to assure that I do not support, via my purchase, slavery or exploitation anywhere in the world.
• I will increase my charitable contributions

This may seem like much but they are actually minimal goals and I generally exceed my minimal goals. The trick for me is writing it down because then I have a measure. I have left out material things as I have made the mistake of doing something once in my life for material gain only. In doing this I learned, success aside, if your goal is simply monetary gain you will receive just this. I have found that if you love what you are doing all kinds of successes will follow so I never focus on things like money. This list does not include professional goals as I always hold them separate from personal goals Life is much fuller if you keep these things separate.  I hope that all my friends and family have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Rob

My thoughts on a Personal and Professional Bucket List

A friend of mine asked if a trip I recently booked was on my bucket list as I called it “number seven”. It was not a bucket list item but a goal of sorts. I think the two do not have to be the same while in some ways they have similarities. So I thought I would take a moment to explore the differences between my goals versus a simple bucket list and I found them to be equal so I decided to put out some current goals. First, I am reminded of Shakespeare and what Hamlet said to Horatio:  “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Second, I am reminded of a simple quote from a very interesting man, ‎”We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have – for their usefulness.”  Thomas Merton. These two thoughts are my starting point.

These guiding principles help me to think about and define the things are that are the most important for me to accomplish before I die, “Kick the Bucket”

• Go to Mt. Everest and achieve basecamp from Nepal or Tibet – Next Year
• Hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro -Next Year
• Finish up stepping on (literally) and doing some level of exploration on all seven continents with Antarctica (That is what started this post) – January
• Of course that leaves to Madagascar and the Seychelles Islands as they are not designated as part of the seven (I believe-more research is needed) – Future
• Paint the perfect self-portrait – No idea if I will ever do this but I will not stop trying
• Build an airplane – Yup
• Learn to dive and explore the ocean – Soon
• Learn to speak Spanish, Italian and Latin – Ongoing
• Play the piano well at one of my Christmas parties
• Spend a few million that I have yet to make over the next 50 years
• Help others  and continue my education – Ongoing
• #########

I think people get too focused on hoarding or spending and owning things, cash or people, to ever enjoy just being. So my focus is to value myself as a person versus stuff, this explains the last item on my list. I also must add that I did not discuss my professional life and education but those are not bucket list items. From a professional perspective I would add:

• The best accessibility resources free and open source that will solve the issues of education and tools that remain in the space today. – Working on it
• Finish three different books  that I am working – Working on it
• Make dynamic and flexible Quality Assurance Tools – ConPraxis Baby (Working on it)
• Educate engineers and technical advocates on the true power of simplicity – Every day
• Help others achieve their professional goals – Everyday
• Contribute to organizations that support my professional beliefs and goals- Ongoing
• #########

Spiritually speaking, I will continue to strive to have a better personal understanding of and participation in my faith and to live my beliefs to the best of my ability. This includes Charitable giving to organizations in the form of participation, money, and time. I also fully believe that the accomplishment of any of the things any of  my lists has to be done on my own without causing anyone any harm and the same is true on the professional side with regards to good business ethics. E.g. Bernie Madoff probably did some amazing things, donated to charities, gave people raises and was genorous but he did it by theft and fraud and who needs that darkness on their soul!

The ######### represents the things that I do not know of that will change my list dramatically. I would argue that many things I have done in my life never would have been on my list, either.  So that is why I believe in lists. If you want to do something you need to write it down, a pencil is fine (with a good eraser). I find that if we do this we are more likely to start something. Without the written list, we are not likely to start. I think we can all also agree that if we do not start something it is a sure thing that we will not complete it. I also add check back in 10 years and I will have a new list, or better put 10 minutes.

~ Rob

Oh wait: I did not get to fly a plane over the Serengeti/Africa in General, this is definitely on my list for my next time in Africa! I would also add that my friends and family fall in all of the categories.

And Wait: So goals are basically a bucket list to me, some long and some short term, especially the ones that I write down!

The way you found the Lion was unplanned or don’t be a Zebra

The title of this blog post is pretty appropriate for the following story which is a brief recount of a true series of events that happened while I was in Kenya last Thursday. The day started like any other day; wake up, get ready for work, and leave for work. The difference was that this day would all be done from Kenya, Africa – as I was in country for a conference – IGF 2001 (Website: http://igf.or.ke/ ). My time was pretty much booked for the entire conference with sessions every day that I was slated to attend. On the 29^th, when I awoke, I decided to review the schedule and the morning sessions. Given the progress of the previous day I decided the entire day besides one afternoon session was not really something that I would be able to contribute in or benefit from – they were just not in my space. So I tried to figure out what to do. I was already going to go flying the next morning (Flying=rent plane and fly it around the countryside) and I had taken a city tour the day before. The one day safari option was costly. In the end I bit the bullet and decided to spend the 90 Dollars for the package. When calling to book the day package I was; one hour late and they wanted another 100 dollars because the daily group had already left. I would be alone on the tour with the guide – this would turn out to be my advantage.  This blog post tells the story of September 29, 2011 and the animal photography hunt that was conducted.

When we got to the preserve it was already hot out and we wasted no time in getting under way. My guide was a short man of a small build. He was very happy to have the assignment of guiding me around because he was low on money and it would help his family. He promised to do the best job possible. I thought – and wrongly, that I had received a rookie guide and the day would be a loss. We headed out and within five minutes we hit a traffic jam. Giraffes and more giraffes were blocking our progress on the path and on the only side we could pass which was on the right. Giraffes are beautiful animals and just fun to watch walk and run. If you get a chance to watch a Giraffe walk or run focus on their legs – amazing. The bumpy on road and off road photography hunt continued and we saw Impalas, Gazelles, and normal antelopes and:

• Ostrich
• Gnu
• Vultures
• Buffalo,
• Rhino in the distance but not up close
• Zebras
• And a couple of planes, like the one I was renting on Friday morning, flying around

Unfortunately, the only lions that we saw were a male and female way off in the distance – and only by binoculars – I could not get a picture – and their position was unreachable. It was getting to be mid-day and the heat would most likely end the search for furry predators. My guide noticed lion tracks and pointed them out. Being an engineer/generally curious person I asked how you track a lion. He said; “well you just follow the tracks and look for other indicators”, simply put of course. He noted that with all the Zebras – and there were a huge number (more than normal even in the migration period) that a lion being around was unlikely. So I figured, based on our previous conversation, that he was excited to make money so I did what anyone would do: I offered 500 Kenyan Shillings (more or less five dollars) if he would show me how to track a lion and 500 Shillings as a bonus if we found one.  The incentive worked and we were off. For all pictures including those of the lion tracks, giraffes and other animals please view: http://yonaitis.shutterfly.com/ .

We followed the tracks a bit and then lost them. The guide noticed the proximity to a watering hole and decided to look there to see if we could reacquire the path. We headed that way and the guide spotted what he thought was a dead zebra. We could not tell what it was and only see a bit of a rib cage and I asked if he could drive closer. The guide said he basically had two rules – do not go up to animals and stay on the paths and loosely called roads. He said his company did not offer an armed approach. I asked nicely and he said sure but just for a second. I later found that he could get in trouble for this and it was not actually safe. We got closer about 8-10 feet and found that it was a Giraffe – what is interesting is that this young man from Kenya and I from the USA had the exact same response. We were both saddened as we did not find a zebra like the guard thought but a giraffe. Now a giraffe can kill a lion with a well-placed kick and they are not very vulnerable to lion attack. With this in mind the guide said the animal must have been sleeping. (A couple of days later while waiting for my flight out of Africa I would learn that giraffes were pretty safe from predators but not so much near watering holes.) It is hard to describe the sadness. We went forward and found the watering hole and many more tracks than before and we assumed that the lion was walking around. It should be noted that we thought the lion had killed the giraffe in the AM as it seemed like a pretty fresh carcass, no vultures. What should be interesting here is that I the guide and I were agreeing. I have never done anything like this before.  In retrospect – what I asked for and paid for – might have not been so smart.

We moved on and it seemed to get hotter by the minute. We stopped at a lookout overhang – a very high area and the guide snapped a few photos for me. The problem with traveling solo is finding someone to take pictures and it was great to get a picture for a memory today. After this it seemed like we drove for an hour and saw nothing and at this point I thought the day was over. And then I saw it. An odd rectangular shaped piece of wood – I stared and the wood moved – LION! And yes it was a lion; we broke out the binoculars and confirmed it. We drove forward 50 yards and I got a picture. The guide suggested we loop back and then see what the lion was stalking and get a head on picture. I concurred. We drove around and seemed lost. Nothing! Then I saw it, an odd rectangular shaped piece of wood-again-and so did the guide. The problem was that it was still far off. What I learned from earlier was that the guide could be incentivized with a tip and so 500 Shillings and a request that he go close to the lioness so I could get pictures. The Driver agreed.

We drove in at a 20 mile per hour clip when the vehicle stopped short; I had to stabilize myself as I almost hit my head. I said “what” and the driver said nothing. I looked out in front of the truck and I saw them, a small lion pride – three cubs and a lioness. The lioness that we were heading for was still 50 yards or so in the distance. There was a recent kill situation and the lioness we ran into was sitting in front of a dead zebra, the blood from the zebra covered the cub’s faces. We shot some photos and decided to move closer. The cubs were very handsome and had blood on their faces. They were young and still had most of their spots. From what I understand a lion reaches maturity soon after it loses its spots. I asked the driver to drive closer and he objected but did so and claimed that I needed an armed tour – tips work and they should not! As we drove closer the cubs got spooked and ran. The second lioness – that we originally were looking for, was aware that the cubs were scared and started running at the vehicle. I am unsure what I felt – I considered the thrust angles needed by my initial push to prevent the lion from getting into the vehicle. All of this happened within a few seconds.

In the end the cubs stopped running away from the truck and turned toward the lioness, stopping about 10 feet from the safari vehicle. The Lioness stopped and licked their faces and went for lunch thanks to the Zebra. I have NO Doubt IF THE CUBS DID NOT STOP THAT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INCIDENT and alas it was worth more than 1500 shillings. I shot some more pictures and we left. The guide was very proud and boastful as this was only his third time ever finding Lions in a kill situation.  It was inspiring. I takeaway – be safe not stupid and above all do not be a zebra – be a lion!

-          Rob

P.S. It rained the next morning and I could not fly, I missed my spot. But in retrospect and if I had a choice I would change nothing.

Don’t forget the short hikes

This past weekend I had a good four hours to do something on Sunday and I could not figure out what that should be. I knew it was hot and getting outside somewhere (hopefully cooler than Concord) would be a good thing. With this in mind I decided to do a short hike. Now a short hike is good exercise and in many cases a good trip through nature. Never underestimate the joy of being somewhere that does not have a Starbucks nearby. I decided to head to the flume gorge. http://nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/flume-gorge.aspx.  This is a simple two mile hike around some rocks that were covered by Glaciers during the ICE age.  See the above link for more information.

I think that overall the hike was a decent break in the day and a reminder that I need to hike more. For those that do not like the idea of hiking,  for a couple of miles, there is a bus that will take you very close to the gorge, and then after a short hike you can see the gorge, the water falls, maybe a rainbow and then head back to the bus. Unfortunately you will need to leave your dog at your camp or home as dogs are not allowed.

Next weekend I will take a short hike up Black Mountain http://www.adirondack.net/hiking/black.cfm. And the weekend after it will be Columbia (Bogota) for whatever hikes / tours that the trip may hold. Remember, it is the summer, and for those of us in the north we need to remember to get out and enjoy the weather. Put the video games down and find a trek or a short trail. You may find the Appalachian Mountain Club to be a good resource http://www.outdoors.org/.

If you see me out there please do say hello! Here are a few pictures from the Flume:

tree growing on rock

Covered bridge

Rob Y headed up stairs

Till next time!  Here are some more Flume Gorge Photos http://yonaitis.shutterfly.com/11976

Cheers,

Rob

“And now we’re going to live on the internet!” ???

Flag of the City Philadelphia Pennsylvania

In the movie, “The Social network” (2010), the character played by Justin Timberlake, Sean Parker, said, “We lived on farms, then we lived in cities, and now we’re going to live on the internet!” Recent news stories show us how dangerous “living on the Internet” can be and we need to view these stories as cautionary tales. But first, let’s take a look at the quote from the movie and parse it a bit. When we lived on farms, we got to know our neighbors personally (of course this is happening today as farms still exist (stuff does not grow on the shelves of the grocery store magically)). Living in cities we interact with other people, albeit not always in the best of forms, but we react with other humans and develop social skills. Finally, the “living on the internet” shows how misunderstood all of these living situations are.  Here are a few of the problems with concept of living on the internet:

• The validation that you get in social gatherings does not exist online
• Behavior is dramatically different

With regards to validation, very recently we have had the Syrian Lesbian Blogger event; most unfortunately this tragic tale of the gay girl from Damascus was in fact written by an imposter who was an American man living in Scotland.  What is comical is that people believed it to be true. While the concept of identifying yourself as someone you are not online may be quite familiar to anyone who has participated in online dating, this situation is harmful in new ways.  The blogger misrepresenting his identity perpetrated a fraud that not only hurts the readers, but also the groups impacted by the consequences.  Imagine the same blogger trying to fool the people on the farm or in the city? Frankly this fraud would be close to impossible.

With regards to behavior, people act differently online then they do offline, as a people, we give a voice online to those that normally would be rebuked in our farm or city, or worse. Imagine Congressman Weiner at a local party, going up to people to whom he had just been introduced, and handing out pictures of his underpants / other stuff. If he did this, we would not just throw him out of our house we might call the police. Or if you prefer consider the loudmouth person in a room that shouts to get his voice heard, (not referring to the congressman here), our reaction to this would be to tune them out promptly and they would have to find ways to change the unacceptable behavior or find a new city or farm on which to live. On the internet they do not have to change. Instead, they can continue to self-validate their ill-conceived behavior / topics. There is of course a darker side, think of a group of people fighting for independence in a nation, telling stories online of how they longed to be free after they just finished gang raping a reporter and right before they set off to burn some Christian churches.  On our farm or in our city would we consider them heroes?

You cannot take a farmer and drop him in the city and say live, just as you cannot take a person from the city and drop them on the farm and expect them to survive. What we need is to understand that social rules that existed on the farm and in the city have brought the global community a bit closer. Having traveled the world extensively I can tell you that there are still farms everywhere, in fact, I have worked on them just to survive. I can also tell you that each city has a distinct and unique personality.  It takes a village and validation to keep a conversation civil. When we come together in a group we can accomplish great things. Personally I believe we can do this because:

• We can sense the loudmouth person in the room
• We can spot the people that are not what they say they are

Moving from farms into the cities created a large majority of the population that probably could not feed themselves if they had to farm. If we are going to live on the internet in the future we will no doubt be in constant conflict as people will not learn how to behave in emotionless and faceless groups. As an Engineer I look at the internet as a tool rather than as a place to live. While the educational benefits of the internet, if validated, are huge, the social benefits or determents are not clear at this point.

More information about the Syrian blogger deception can be found at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303848104576383861153713734.html

If you live in a vacuum and have somehow missed the news about Congressman Weiner you can learn more at: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/17/2011-06-17_day_after_rep_anthony_weiners_resignation_sexting_scandal_scarred_expolitician_s.html 

Cheers,

Rob

Memorial Day Hike

Well after not hiking at all this weekend; because I had to finish up school and it was raining. I will be headed to NY, the Adirondacks for a small 2.5 hour each way (Up and down) a small hill. I look forward to that and some kayaking. If you have never been to the Adirondacks you may want to check out this site: http://visitadirondacks.com/, from here you can find many great ideas of what to do and where to hike. I also imagine there will be a barbeque or two or three. It also appears that the weather will be good-very good but not great for the weekend. I am looking forward to paying four dollars a gallon for gas, not.

So, I completed my requirements for a certificate in Instructional System Design this week, it is nice that when I have so much to teach that I now understand the adult learner a bit more and I can effectively design courses. Personally I am not a firm believer in certificates but I may have to rethink that a bit as I think this is a very important certificate. I am now also considering being finished with School for Degrees. While I imagine I will take classes; online, local university, local art studios but I think I may be done chasing degrees and or certificates.

I am trying to plan all of my summer trips, I have two – three day – DMB concerts to go to this summer, one next month to Atlantic City  and then another at Governor’s Island in NY. I know I also have to go to Madrid in June and it would be nice to hit Vietnam in July so I am getting a bit behind on planning. Does anyone have a tip on where I should go for different summer holidays?

Lunch break is over, back to writing code and trying to change the world! Have a great day and Memorial day Weekend.

Off to Peru

As trips go Peru should be fun. If I can put aside that I booked the wrong hotel in one town and forget my train tickets at the house. I am flying continental again and as a united person it is always somewhat daring to me. I was shocked to see how bad united and continental did in a recent consumer review. I wonder why I have never had real issues. I did however notice that delta got great reviews and as i make the decision o. Do i do 1K or do I change airlines a flight on delta and start earning miles on them? I hear they have great Asia options.

Have a few hours to blow in airport, perfect to catch up on e-mails and blogging. I am looking forward to seeing peru and hoping for some clear skys when I am at the higher elevations. It will be nice to see further then possible in the city. I also am trying to decide if I want or need to change money from dollars, i have around 400 sols already and I have three things where payment will be in USD already.

I will be looking for a hat in peru an I do hope the long search for the hat will be over. I also brought my sketch book pencils and a rudementry sharpener, i am hoping to get a few good sketches out when in the mountainsand perhaps in the city of kings.
Time for so work emails, getting excited re ConPraxis…

Ciao,
Rob

Opera, Pretzels and Family

Hello All,

One opera down, two days with family and over 25 pretzels eaten, yes I have a pretzel issue! and I am back in the office. The short lived mini vacation is over and it is a bit sad. From landing in the rain to leaving in the sun, it was good. Some notes on the Hyatt next to the Opera Theater; old, tired, bad service, and to be avoided. Some notes on the Opera Company of Philadelphia – Do not avoid, Tosca was a great performance. What was the most fun in a two day break,  you may ask, besides cousin Karen, it was the Philly Art Museum and all of the art and the featured expo – Art into Fashion, Robert Capucci. Some of the dresses truly were sculptures.

The restaurant in the dining hall was fantastic, the soup and espresso was perfect. When we entered the art museum the sky was dark  and it was raining. When we came out of the art museum we were a little more enlightened and the sun was out and the sky was blue. After this we took a quick drive to a Philly casino, and in the casino I won 5 times my stake for playing, Five times your money is a great thing.

I was supposed to stay till ten on Thursday but my trip was cut short for a work call in the evening.

Before I left I did get to spend the day with my Cousin Karen and I did get to eat about 6 pounds of pretzels, bliss! Looking forward to going down next month to go out on the boat with Karen!

Ciao Ciao,

Rob