I'm a Mean Lean Cycling Machine!

The first productive thing I did in Holland was buy a bicycle. They have special roads designated for cyclers so just about everyone here rides one. Since I didn't ship my car or have any plans to buy one right away, I decided to give the bike thing a try myself. The first time I was here, I did the bus and tram thing, and that sucked. The last time I was here, I hitched a ride from coworkers and that was a pain in the butt, too. This time I am taking the most economical and efficient way to work.

I bought a used bicycle for 100 euros. Pretty pricey, but new ones cost like 400-600 euros!! You'd think there'd be a market for cheaper bicycles here but I guess you have to get something half decent or the sea breeze will rust it up pretty quickly. Anyways, I rode my new bike around the neighborhood feeling like a kid. It's been a long time since I've ridden one. I was having fun. I also felt a bit retarded though, trying to get used to it. It's not just riding. You have to make sure you don't hit anyone or get run over by a car. A friend of mine used to give another friend and me a ride on his bike (one on the handle bar and one on the bar in front of the seat). As often as we did the three-person bike ride, I'm surprised he didn't get us killed. I suppose by the time I'm done with Holland, I'll be as skilled as him in riding a bicycle.

Hello, Netherlands!!

My flight arrived this morning in Schipol at 0700. It was a bumpy ride and the audio system didn't work well so I sat through 2/3 of Kingdom of Heaven having no idea what the hell was going on. I got home (staying with same roommate as before) around 8ish, and decided I'd go back to sleep for a bit thinking I'd get up by noon or so. Well, the next thing I know it's freakin' 5pm. I slept the day (a nice one at that) away. On top of that, I'm going to have a hard time shaking jet lag off. Good thing I don't have to be in work until Thursday.

The next couple of days will be apartment hunting and running miscellaneous errands - like opening a bank account, buying a bicycle, etc. Or, I could just end up sleeping in every day. That would suck.

Bye bye, U.S. of A.!

Well, here I go leaving the country again, this time for who knows how long. I know I will miss home though, so I am sure I will be back at least once or twice a year for a visit. Anyways, next time you hear from me, it will be from my new country of residence.

It's the End of the World as We Know It

Or at least, it appears to be the end of my world. Eric Julien claims in his website, Save Lives in May, he has "received information psychically, which is corroborated by scientific data, according to which on May 25, 2006 a giant tsunami will occur in the Atlantic Ocean, brought about by the impact of a comet fragment which will provoke the eruption of under-sea volcanoes. Waves up to 200 m high will reach coastlines located above and below the Tropic of Cancer. However, all of the countries bordering the Atlantic will be affected to greater or lesser destructive and deadly levels."

The pictures below are from the above website. The left picture outlines the impact zones. The right is a regional diagram of where I live. Apparently, the area outlined in red is going to be underwater after the tsunami. I live about where the X marks the spot.



Normally, I wouldn't give a rats ass to predictions like these, but after the tsunami of '04 and hurricane Katrina, why should anyone be surprised if a comet came and wiped out half of the Atlantic coasts. I had indicated in past on occasions that it would be in the best interest of humanity if mother nature took out majority of the human population. Our world is falling apart, and I really do think it's just a matter of time before nuclear warfare or global warming or some other disaster destroys mankind. My prediction is that a series of disasters will slowly take us out little by little, until what's left of us poses no threat to the environment.

While I do not want to die, I have no plans to evacuate. My siblings and their family are all also in town this week, so it would really suck if we all died together. My parents would be so sad. What would also be annoying is that I'm scheduled to fly out on the 27th. I would be just 2 days away from escaping death. On the otherhand, what you don't see above is another image of Europe and its red line outlining the death zone. Most of Holland is already below sea level.... Anyways, I just hope that when my time comes, whether it's this Thursday or 50 years from now, that it is painless.

Well, I couldn't possibly call or e-mail every loved one before dying to say my good-byes. So I'll do it now. Sayornara amigos. I'll see you in the next life!

Orlando, FL

To celebrate graduation, I took a trip down to Orlando with fellow classmates, Kelly & Melissa. Luckily, Kelly's family down there gave us the hook up - one put us up in their very nice home where we chilled mostly by the pool, and the other got us into Disney World for free. We spent the first day at the Epcot Center and MGM Studios. I was a tad disappointed in both, even though I had been there and enjoyed it way back when. The international pavillions no longer excite me after having travelled so much in the last decade. Also, I've never been too keen on roller coasters, and simulation rides seem to make me more nauseaus the older I get. Furthermore, the shows in these parks are on the cheesy side and performed by amateurs at best. The next day, we went to Animal Kingdom. It was my first time there, and I liked it much better than the other theme parks. Despite all the people, I got a sense of being out in nature. The mini-safari wasn't bad either. Still, I think this could be the last time I go to theme parks in the U.S. It almost seems pointless to go unless you like the thrill of rides. I suppose I am getting old, but whatever.

The rest of the stay down South involved mostly hanging out by the pool and shopping. On the drive back up to Virginia, we stopped in Hilton Head to drop Melissa off so she can join her parents who are there for the week. We stayed a night in their guest bedroom. They had a pretty nice place there - a 3BR place just for the 3 of them, through time share. I'm starting to think I need to stop this budget traveling thing and start doing the luxury travel thing a bit more. I have a few options: 1) travel less and spend more on each trip, 2) get rich, or 3) marry rich. I'm not sure that traveling less is an option yet for me. Maybe by the time I'm 40 I could be making enough to live a little better. As for #3, maybe I need to start stalking some of the diplomats and royalties in or visiting the Hague. If anyone has any other bright ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

Book Review: Life of Pi

Back when I was traveling the world in 2003, I saw several fellow travellers, mostly English, reading this book. I never got my hands on one until now. The book has received great reviews and awards, and for good reason. I found the initial chapters to be slow but by the second section, I could not put the book down. Canadian author Yann Martel tells in the book a story about an Indian boy, Piscine, who survives 227 days at sea on a lifeboat after a shipwreck. Saved on the lifeboat along with Piscine is a Bengal tiger. Piscine must face the challenges of surviving in the face of nature and predator. Intertwined in this story about animals and survival is religion. Interesting perspectives are introduced to make you go hmm.... Anyways, even though it is fiction, I found motivation in the boy's courage and strength to survive. There are some talks about making a film based on the book, so be sure to read it before the movie comes out.

Graduation

Today I received my Masters of Engineering in Modeling and Simulation from the College of Engineering at Old Dominion University. The commencement was held at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

What a fitting end the ceremony was to the grueling 2 years of graduate studies. Actually, neither was really all that bad (I ended up with a 3.93 and was initiated into Tau Beta Pi), but sitting through actual graduation was somewhat painful. I had to get up at 0600 in order to be on campus by 0800. It takes about an hour for all the students to get robed properly and lined up according to their degrees, so by 0900 we were marching into the stadium. The speakers were brief, except one, the honorary degree recipient & CNN host/reporter Wolf Blitzer. Not only was his speech long, but most of the graduates seemed to find it irrelevant to the particular event. The speech, which revolved around the current criticisms journalists faced & the war in Iraq, was hardly motivational. I, for one, was quite disappointed. The longest part of the ceremony was the 'walk' where graduates go up to the stage to receive their 'fake' degrees and shake various people's hands. There were probably 500 graduates for this particular commencement. (The school holds a separate commencement in the afternoon for other colleges.) I took a short nap during the first half. When it was my turn to go up, I did manage to have a moment of cheer and put on a smile for the ODU president and other people. Then I went back to my seat only to spend rest of the 2.5 hour ceremony literally cursing the jerk-offs behind me who were letting their cell-phones ring and being obnoxious in every which way possible.

So why did I bother walking you say? It wasn't in my plan to, but my friends were attending since they invited their families. I did want to share this moment with the girls that helped make these past two years bearable, if not at times enjoyable. If they were going to suffer through the ceremony, I figured I'll suffer right along with them.

When shaking the president's hand she asked if I planned to pursue my Ph.D. My mind said hell no, but I politely replied, "maybe." My only motivation to do a Ph.D. is so I can make people address me as Dr. so-and-so. Whether it is enough or not, I'm not too keen on becoming a student again. At least for now, going back to school is not in my future plans. If anything, I hope those that know me will remind me if I get any crazy ideas how much I disliked being in school.

Riviera Maya, Mexico

I just spent a fantastic week in the Riviera Maya. About three weeks ago, I decided I need to do something to fill some free time I have at the moment. Nevermind that I'm an unemployed student, or that I just had a vacation at end of March.

I decided on Cancun initially for two reasons: 1) I have never been to Mexico & 2) I wanted to see the Mayan ruins. I wasn't quite sure before booking my flight what else I was going to do, but it turned out there are tons to do in the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. Everyday was a full-day, and I did a lot more than I had planned. It didn't quite turn out to be the budget vacation I had hoped tho. The area is a major tourist destination, particularly for Americans. Most things cost as much as, if not more than, the U.S. It didn't matter though, as it was all worth it. Including flight, car rental, lodging, food, and everything else, the week probably cost me $1300. Perhaps I got lucky tho, as I managed to find a travel-holic crazy enough to join me on 2 weeks notice to split the some costs with. The trip would have been a bit more difficult and boring on my own (although I had booked the flight before I had even asked anyone to join.)

My partner in crime for the week was Dave, a chiropractor-to-be from Cali who I met in S. Africa back in 2003. He was a trooper as I rushed us around from place after place to make the most of the week we had there. Here's how the week went:

Day 1: Arrival & Cancun

I got in around noon so I got the car at the airport and headed towards Cancun. There were hardly any road signs so I had no idea if I was going in the right direction but I finally made it into the hotel zone of Cancun. I drove all the way down and into downtown where I checked into our lodging for the night. There was a more direct way to get there but I had missed the turn off because of the lack of signs on the road. Anyway, I was quite amazed at how pretty the water was here. I'd been to places with nice beaches, but this ranks up there, too. The water was a beautiful turquoise color. I couldn't wait to get in it. Unfortunately, access to the beach is limited because the hotels put up fences, but I cut right through a 4-star hotel's lobby and hopped in the water. The water felt great!!! But I got tired of the wave hopping so I decided to go use the hotel's pool for some swimming. Despite being off-peak season, the pool area was packed. I had a hard time finding a full-sized chair to lay on. The people in the pool seemed to be having a good time but they looked like buncha 20 something wannabe's. Not really the atmosphere I wanted. Later in the day, I went looking for food (I skipped lunch so I can get some beach time). Unfortunately, there were chain restaurants everywhere. Outback, Hooters, Johnny Rockets, Planet Hollywood, you name it - they got it. It was too much work for me to find a good local place in my state of starvation so I settled on one of these. I'm too embarassed to even name the place. Anyways, I found the Cancun resort area to be too wide spread and touristic to the extreme. I had no desire to hang around here too long. Dave was due to get in late tonight and my plan was drive our butts out of here first thing the next morning - whether he liked it or not.

Day 2: Chitzen Itza and Ek' Balam

Probably the most frequented and impressive Mayan ruin of all is Chitzen Itza. It was a two hour drive from Cancun to get there, so we were out the hotel by 0730 to get there before all the tour buses started arriving. We spent couple hours in the area looking at all the ruins and sweating our pants off. For lunch, we drove back to the town of Valladolid, about 30 km East, to check into our hotel. It was the nicest place in town, but still only cost us $50 for the night. It was a charming little place with a nice garden and pool. After lunch, we headed up to Ek' Balam, another set of ruins about 20km North of Valladolid. These were much smaller but still nice. We were able to climb one of them for a cool view of the area. Dinner was held again back in town, and for the evening, we headed once again back to Chitzen Itza for the light show, which was a bit on the lame side.

Day 3: Coba and Tulum

I heard the Tulum ruins were a must see as they sat right by the beach and made for a picturesque scene. On the way to Tulum tho was Coba, another set of ruins. This one had an even higher pyramid which we were allowed to climb. It was fun going up it but not much of a view from top since the area was covered by the forest. There was also a lot of walking around in Coba. The distances between sites of interest were large, and we were too macho in thinking we didn't need to rent bikes or bike taxis. If other people are walking, why shouldn't we? Well, for starters, I didn't want to spend all day here, and it was hot as heck outside. I wouldn't have minded the walking otherwise. We only saw a portion of Coba - we were ready to get back to the beaches. Tulum was very nice as promised, but very small. It took less than an hour to see the ruins here, and an hour at the beach by the ruins sufficed (it's a tad on the crowded side). Our lodging for the night was in an el cheapo place (the area is a bit too pricey to stay somewhere nice) but it was on the beach and had palapas. That, beds and shower were all we needed today.

Day 4: Xel-Ha

Most of this day was spent at Xel-Ha, one of the several ecoparks in the area. It boasts great snorkeling, which is what we did most of the day. While not the best snorkeling I've done, I must admit there are a lot of fishes and is great for beginners. I had hoped I would find an opportunity to get out to the reefs later in the week, but alas, this was my one and only snorkeling opportunity. We also had the opportunity to do a river ride on an inner tube, which turned out to be more of a work out than a relaxing ride. Part way down, the current turned against us so a lot of paddling was involved (but I always welcome a challenge.) You can also walk around the lagoon and enjoy the beautiful flora and wildlife. Later in the afternoon, we had the chance to chill in hammocks.

Day 5: Xcaret

This was the mother of all ecoparks, the Disneyland of Mexico. Xcaret was an all-day affair of 9 to 9. The day started with a walk around the park to check out all the attractions such as a Mayan village, wildlife, flora, Mexican cemetery & church, etc. After lunch, we moved onto a 40 minute swim in an underground river which was pretty exciting save for the fact that I had to keep adjusting the life vest strap that kept rubbing against my crotch. Good thing I'm not a guy. (Lesson: make sure you get life vests that fit tightly). The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling by the beach under palapas and hammocks, or swimming. In the evening, they put on a spectacular 2 hour show. The first half told a story of the area's history. They also reenacted a ancient ball game and fire hockey (like ice hockey but using a ball of fire - pretty neat). The rest of the show was lots of singing and dancing.

Day 6: Playa del Carmen and the start of the luxury life

Playa del Carmen is the next most happenning place next to Cancun. The atmosphere here reminded me of Key West and it was a more to my liking. The main area could be covered on foot and I hardly noticed any chain restaurants (although there was a Haagen Daz on every other block.) There are lots of shops in the area so we spent the morning souvenir hunting until we could go check into the swank hotel we booked for the last two night's stay. We had considered staying somewhere nice for a while, but it wasn't put into action until we met some people in Tulum who told us about an all-inclusive deal in Puerto Morelos, just 20 minutes south of the Cancun airport. For roughly $300 bucks a night, they got 4-star lodging, plus all-you-can-eat-and-drink for free (including alcohol!) Resort side activities were also free. So couple days ago we went on-line looking to see what kind of deals we could find, and we found a whopping 40% off deal for a Junior Suite at Hotel Marina El Cid. That's right - we got the room for $183 a night - roughly $90 bucks a person. If I drank like my friends do, it would more than pay for itself in food and drinks alone. The hotel is brand new and just opened in February. The cheap deal that we got is good for couple more weeks so go book your Riviera Maya trip now!!

Day 7: Life of luxury continued

Okay, I'm not usually one who can sit around and do nothing all day. I looked forward to a nice hotel, but I had doubts as to whether I could keep myself busy on this last day. Well, it turned out there was not enough time to do nothing. I was way too busy swimming, doing aqua aerobics, playing beach volleyball, working on my tan, napping under the palapas, swimming some more, hitting the wet bar, chilling in the jacuzzi, reading a book on the beach beds; and enjoying the view of the torquoise water and palm trees, the sounds of the crashing waves, and the feeling of the cool sea breeze. Now this was life. I suppose the fact that days like this are rare in my life makes me appreciate it so. What made it even better was the fact that because the hotel was new, there was hardly anyone there. I had the gigantic pool practically to myself. I was in heaven. I couldn't help but think how nice it would be to live somewhere where I could swim when I want to in a nice, big, clean pool or beach. I'm thinking perhaps Sydney is the place to be. Hmm... I'll have to work on that one.

Day 8: Departure

We milked the last bit of luxury we could in the morning and checked out of our hotel. Our drive to the airport would have been short had it not been for the lack of signs (again) which made us drive way past it and forcing us to do a u-turn. I was sad and bitter upon arrival in the airport as I was not quite ready to face reality yet. I am saved though in knowing that there are more good times to be had, and I will have another trip soon enough.

Pictures are on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancingnomad3/sets/72057594126483910/