The Net Monkey

Was down in Louisville this past weekend visiting my sister and brother-in-law who were hosting a bourbon tasting at their home. This was something Lisa won at a fundraiser about a year ago.

This is one of the quality, low-cost bourbons on the market. Sadly, this is the only picture I took while in Louisville.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to return to Indianapolis because I-65 had been closed, but, thankfully, it opened up early Sunday. I made my way home and was able to capture a shot of the water near State Road 11 between Columbus and Seymour.

It looks like a lake to me!

My sympathies go out to everyone who’s affected by this. I know a co-worker of mine who’s entire house is ruined from the flood, but she and her children were evacuated safely.

I got back from Minneapolis two weeks ago and I’m just now writing about it. Bad, Matt!

Anyway, I had a great time and it was super fun checking out the city.  It’s a totally different experience than the one I had a few years ago.

Thanks, Jordan!

I’m heading to Minneapolis tonight for a long weekend vacation.

I’m staying with my friend Jordan who I last saw in February in Chicago.  I also plan on visiting my cousin Lori and her family.  I haven’t seen them in a couple years, if I recall correctly.  My friends Andy and Lou recently moved to the Twin Cities, so I plan on spending a bit of time with them, as well.

Overall, I’m expecting to have a good, relaxing time with everyone, and hope to get some good photos.

Ciao!

It was a bit of a fiasco getting to Kansas City, but it was a lot more relaxed once I got there. I had a good fun and it was really great to spend some time with Mac, who I haven’t seen in a good year and a half.

Good times included eating just about every ethnic food one could have in a weekend: Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Mexican. We also spent a good part of an afternoon at the University of Kansas, where I took a bunch of photos. It reminded me a lot of Bloomington, actually, and I had no idea it was so hilly. I assumed it was all flat!

Here are some snapshots.

Another highlight was making it into Kansas City itself to see the Plaza, which is this outdoor shopping mall created back in the 1920s. Here are some shots from the area, but nothing specific of the mall itself. I guess I forgot to take pictures.

The last highlight I want to mention is that we saw Iron Man at the movie theatre Friday night. I thought it was a fantastic movie (except for the blatant product placements). I highly recommend it if you feel like hitting the movies in the near future.

Photo Set: Kansas City - May 2008

This morning I’m flying to Kansas City to spend the weekend with my good friend Mac (like the computer). I had everything packed and my clothes laid out for me to wear, and my intention was to simply wake up and head out the door to the airport.

Somehow I managed to sleep through TWO ALARMS (my phone and my regular alarm clock) and somehow woke up suddenly at 7:20 AM, about 25 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave.

I rushed to get here like a madman, and managed to pay just $25 to change flights. I thought I was going to be on standby, but Northwest apparently had seats available so I’m all confirmed and ready.

Whew!

I’ll be making it to Kansas City just a few hours later than I expected, thankfully, but now I have to fly through Minneapolis instead. At least I get to fly direct on my return trip.

I’ll post some photos when I have them.

Bon voyage!

Is it bad that I’m writing this nearly a month since I was in Las Vegas?

Yes, it is, but I’m still going to do it.

To be honest, there isn’t a ton to report. The majority of the rest of my time in Las Vegas was spent working in a cold, loud data center cramped for space with some of my co-workers.

Fortunately, I had time to see more of my friends out there: Rick and Allison. Rick and I have known each other for years online, but didn’t get a chance to hang out until recently. Allison used to be my manager when I worked for ExchangeNet in Cleveland way back in 1998. It was great to see them both!

In conclusion, I’m convinced that I wouldn’t visit Las Vegas if it weren’t for my job. I can’t really see myself visiting there otherwise, except for the people I know, but at least I got a chance to experience Las Vegas a little bit and add it to the list of places I’ve seen.

I got into Las Vegas yesterday afternoon on a relatively uneventful flight. There were a few bumps, but nothing special.

We flew Southwest Airlines and I have a few comments to make about the company.

• The Bad: The boarding system doesn’t seem any faster than the other airlines, and it confuses people. I also think the price we paid for the direct flight from Indianapolis was way too high, but that could be due to when we purchased the tickets.
• The Good: The flight attendants are very nice and bring drinks often. I also like their seats, which have lumbar support. I feel comfortable when flying, and that’s a first in a long time.

Anyway, after checking into the hotel and going to work at the data center for a few hours, I had some free time. So I met up with my friend Bryan and his friend Tim.

We started out having a delicious Thai dinner. We ordered too much food; our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, but managed to get a bit of everything. It rocked! Afterwards, we made it to the last bits of First Friday, which is the same as events in Indianapolis and Louisville of the same name.

The big highlight of the evening was going to Fremont Street and seeing the light show. We got ourselves some cocktails (open containers allowed), went out to the street, and had a great time. It’s something I’ve never quite seen before, but I do wish it had lasted longer.

So, after getting a heavy dose of Las Vegas culture under my belt, Bryan and I felt old and tired, and decided to call it a night.

By the time you read this, I’ll be on an airplane to Las Vegas. (Got to love the ability in WordPress to schedule postings.) I’m going to be there for the week, returning on Friday, March 14.

I wish I could say that I’m going there for pleasure, but mostly I’ll be spending my time in a cold, cramped, and extremely loud data center. I’ll still find time for some fun.

I don’t expect to update much on the blog, if at all, but I’ll be posting photos up on Flickr.

Last weekend I was in Chicago, and I forgot to say anything about it!

Good times were had, including dancing at Berlin on Beltmon, real Ukrainian food at Sak’s, Millennium Park, wine drinking, tea drinking, and even some brunch.

Photo Set: Chicago - February 2008

I arrived back from Italy this past Monday (Jan. 7) and finally feel like writing up something about the vacation.

On this trip, there were six of us: Me, Lisa (sister), Jim (brother-in-law), JD and Andrea (who are neighbors of Jim and Lisa), and Rey (who works with Jim at the university).

Here are some of the highlights of the trip.

Florence

I love Florence!

We stayed in an apartment right on the Arno River near Ponte alle Grazie. This put is very close to the center of the city, including Piazza della Signoria, the Uffizi, great shopping, etc.

Of note while visiting Florence, the original David sculpture by Michelangelo is absolutely stunning to see in person. It’s one of the most beautiful works of art I’ve ever seen, and I can’t believe it was sculpted just over 500 years by an artist in his twenties.

According to Frommer’s, one should buy leather while in Florence. So, I did. There were tons of leather shops, but there was this one which sold Piquadro, which is a local Florence brand. I bought myself a wallet, which is a dark brown with a blue trim around it. It’s hot. I also picked up a new toiletry bag, but it’s a different brand.

We were in Florence for New Year’s. According to what we read, if you don’t have any specific place to be, you should go out to one of the bridges over the Arno. So, we went outside a few minutes before midnight and brought in the new year. Lots and lots of fireworks were going off around us! It was a bit scary, actually, because people were being reckless and the fireworks seem to be much more powerful than the ones here in the USA. Some of them reminded me of pipe bombs.

Our stay in Florence was just for a week. For the weekend after, JD, Andrea, Lisa, and I ventured off to Venice, while Jim and Rey set their sights on Sienna.

Venice

Lisa and I stayed at this little hotel in Venice fairly close to the San Lucia train station. The room was small, but had been recently refurbished so everything was new and clean. None-the-less, we had a great view outside of our window.

The really big highlight of Venice for me was Piazza San Marco. It’s huge, and at one end is St. Mark’s Basilica. I was amazed at this place! The original structure was built to the house the relics of St. Mark, which the Venetians stole from Alexandria in the early 800s. The current building (below) was consecrated in 1094.

That’s my sister Lisa on the lower right.

Inside the cathedral, the walls and ceilings seemed covered entirely in mosaics, depicting the various stories of Jesus. I can’t imagine the amount of time it took artisans to do this work, as I’m sure it’d take years even with today’s technologies.

We were also able get some fantastic views of the piazza from up on the basilica.

Inside the basilica were the Horses of St. Mark. These were once at the Hippodrome of Constantinople and were sent to Venice in 1204 as part of the loot after sacking Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. I love stuff like that, so I was all excited about seeing them. They looked fantastic, for having been cast around 200 AD.

Food

A good friend told me that it would be difficult not to eat well in Italy. Boy, was he right! We ate well, for sure. JD cooked a lot, and having an Italian heritage certainly showed.

For New Year’s we had a wonderful dinner.

After going outside for ring in the new year, we had a sweet bread with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top. It was somewhat like a panettone, but without the fruit. Not quite sure what it was called, but it was delicious and took a few days for us to eat it all.

Alitalia

Alitalia lost my luggage! Alitalia sucks!

The first mistake was somewhere at JFK. I don’t know if this was Delta’s fault or Alitalia’s, but somehow my luggage made its way to Atlanta and on the next flight to Rome. It arrived the day after me; however, it stayed in Rome for five days. No one knew where it was and no one was able to tell me if I would even get it.

I eventually had to buy some clothes in Italy. Thankfully, I had travel insurance that with delayed baggage coverage! On the other hand, in Italy, the sizes are smaller, and there I was this stocky American trying to find clothes on New Year’s Eve right before all the stores are getting ready close. I did manage to find some clothes that fit, though.

Finally, my luggage was to arrive in Florence. I went over to the airport to get it, but was told that the flight was canceled, but there was another flight due that evening from Rome. No one knew if my bag would be on it or not, so I decided not to wait around for it.

That night, I heard from the airport folks in Florence. My bag was there! This time it was for sure. I went to the airport the next morning, and finally got it. I was happy, but the whole ordeal set me back €80 (about $120).

Thankfully, on the trip back to the USA, my luggage wasn’t lost.

The most infuriating part of the whole experience was Alitalia’s inability to help me. Every time I called, the most they could tell me is that my luggage was supposed to have been on some flight from Atlanta. Eventually, it sounded like they believed the luggage to simply be lost. So, I was a bit surprised that my bag even showed up. Turns out, they have some major issues down in Rome. My bag sat there for 5 days before they did anything with it.

I’m all about the carry-on luggage next time I travel to Europe.

Asians & Surgical Masks

There are tons of Asians visiting Italy. I don’t know why (and I hope someone can provide a definitive answer here), but lots of them were wearing surgical masks.

What’s up with that? SARS is so 2003. Surely, they can’t be worried about that?

Conclusion

Overall, I had a great time!

I wish i could have seen Rome, but it just wasn’t in the cards this year. Honestly, I think spending another week abroad would probably have been too much, so I hope that some day I can take a trip just to Rome and check it out.

Photo Set: Italy - New Year’s 2008

I’m heading to Italy today!

By tomorrow afternoon, I should be sitting in a flat in Florence with my sister, brother-in-law, and friends. We will be there for a week, and will head to Venice for a weekend. I’ll be coming back to Indianapolis on January 7, in time for my 31st birthday.

I’ll try to do a blog post or two.

See you later!

Whew! Two weeks in San Francisco and New York can really take a lot out of you, but I have to admit that I had a fantastic time!

Traveling with me were my friends John and Shaun from England. I’ve known John for a couple of years and spent time with him when I was in the UK back in January, which is when I met Shaun. For this trip, we all met up at JFK Airport in New York before flying out west.

Everything was fine traveling, but John had problems with his ears. He had a cold a few days prior to flying and had mucous build up in his inner ear due to the air pressure changes This caused him a lot of pain and resulted in an ear infection, but he went to the doctor and got everything cleared up a few days before leaving San Francisco.

In San Francisco we stayed at the Castro Suites which is run by Joel and Sam who have been together since 1964. They have some great stories to tell, too. The apartment they provided was very nice and affordable, and located a couple of blocks from Market Street and the main Castro district.

My friend Jason M. came to spend some time with us and take us around in his car. We drove along Highway 1 to Monterey to visit the aquarium, which was cool, but it sure took a long time to drive down there. We also took a trip up to San Rafael to see Dan L. who then took us down to the Marin Headlands.

Other highlights of our stay in San Francisco include many visits to Daddy’s and The Lone Star Saloon; attending a concert performed by the San Francisco Symphony; spending a few hours in Golden Gate Park; and, lastly, a ride on one of the cable cars, on our way up to Fisherman’s Wharf in a failed attempt to get tickets to Alcatraz.

After spending a week in San Francisco, it was time to head out to New York for the second half of our vacation. Our accommodations in the Big Apple were in an apartment at 14th Street and Third Avenue, which put us at the northern extent of the East Village and a close walk to lots of cool stuff.

I realized while in New York that I really dislike Midtown Manhattan, specifically the areas around the Empire State Building and Times Square. It’s just too much; too touristy, too beige and boring for me. I agree with my friend Devin who said that it’s like being in a whole different city.

Anyway, the three of us had dinner with Devin, Bryan, and Doug at Mercadito in Greenwich Village. It’s a Mexican tapas restaurant, and all we did was fill up on a few different kinds of guacamole and several kinds of tacos. Oh so very delicious! I’d go eat there this very second, if I could.

What else did we do? Well, we spent time visiting the Empire State Building, Times Square, F.A.O. Schwartz, the Apple Store, the Guggenheim Museum, Grand Central Station, the World Trade Center site, the Brooklyn Bridge, and did a bit of shopping here and there.

I had a really good time with the British guys, but all good things must eventually come to an end. I returned back to work the day after I got home; it’s nice to be back home and amongst all the familiar things in life.

Photo Set: San Francisco - 2007
Photo Set: New York - 2007

I’m totally going bi-coastal!

I’m traveling with my friends John and Shaun for two weeks of fun in San Francisco and New York. I’m totally excited about being away from work!

I will try to be a good boy and blog about while I’m gone, and might even post some pictures and stuff along the way.

See ya’!

Here I am again with posting late. Oh well!

Last week I made it to Cedar Point.

I met up with my friend Steve who came from San Francisco for the weekend. He’s originally from Ohio, actually, so this was his opportunity to spend time with friends he still has back here in the Midwest.

I had a really good time the entire weekend, but I’m finding that it is rough riding roller coasters these days. I already have neck and upper back problems (muscle pain probably due to stress), so riding the coasters, while lots of fun, results in some bad headaches.

We rode the Top Thrill Dragster which is this coaster that shoots you off at 120 MPH, sends you leaping up a hill completely vertical, over the hump, and then back down vertically before coming to a rough stop — all in 13 seconds. It was amazing! But I closed my eyes and screamed, “Oh my God!” for most of the ride. None-the-less, I would still do it again now that I know what to expect.

On a positive note, the weather the entire day was fantastic. It was overcast and mild, which meant we didn’t have to worry a lot about dehydration or anything heat related.

In conclusion, it was really great spending time with Steve. I look forward to seeing him again when I’m in San Francisco next month for vacation.

Photo Set: Cedar Point - 2007