Last Post

Hey everyone,



To my fans that are still checking this (I think this includes my uncle and my mom): this is my last post! But you are getting my last post from my new HP laptop, so feel good about that.



My travels are done. And so are my videos. Here is the last part of "A Lot of America".

The file is too big to upload, so this will take you to my Youtube link of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz81NJbnadc




Enjoy and thanks for reading.



AJ

A Lot of America - Part 4

Part 4 of 6



You can also see my videos on Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/user/AGameProductions

A Lot of America - Part 3

Part 3 of my series A Lot of America, the film about my road trip with my buddy Dan.



In this part: Grand Canyon, Arizona, New Mexico, El Paso.

A Lot of America - Parts 1 and 2

Here is Part 1 of "A Lot of America" - Utah and a bit of Arizona












Part 2 - Las Vegas and Hoover Dam

This is a 6-part series, so be on the look out for the rest.






Filmed and edited by A.J. Cabrera and Daniel Thomson

An A Games Productions Film

Road Trip: What Actually Happened

I hope you enjoyed the preview in the preview blog (to those in the Islands...I understand if your internet is not good enough to allow you to view these clips. They're not going anyway). If you haven't seen it yet, scroll down and watch it. If you've seen it already, watch it again.

More movies are definitely on the way. My buddy Dan and I are taking this film editing project pretty seriously. In fact, I think we're taking the film of our road trip more seriously than we took the actual road trip. Ponder that.

Anyway, a little bit about the trip:

Over 4,000 miles driven in 12 days.

Amount spent on lodging: $0.

Number of couches I slept on that were too small for me: 3

Tempurature in Utah, April 27th: 50s.


Tempurature the next day in Nevada: high 60s


Tempurarute in Phoenix, the day after that: high 90s!! And like -10% humidity!



Best meal: Atlanta, fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, sweet corn, corn bread, fried steak, and Coke, but not imported Coke because Coke is made in Atlanta, so it tastes better there (or so I convinced myself).



Longest drive: El Paso to Houston....12 freakin hours. I'd say 10 of those hours are through NOTHING.





NOTE: To Texans: stop boasting how big your state is if there is nothing even as interesting as a tumbleweed in 65% of it.





ANOTHER NOTE: We did see and in fact run into several tumbleweeds along the way. But that happened in Arizona and New Mexico, where there were cacti and dust storms, two things way more interesting than western Texas.





A FINAL NOTE: Don't make fun of Connecticut.








Longest road: we were on I-10 East for the longest time EVER. From Tuscon, Arizona alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way to Mobile, Alabama. Thank you, Interstate 10 East. Dan and I miss you dearly, but at the same time, we dislike you a lot. We've had too much of you.

Interesting things we saw:





Salt Lake Mormon Temple


Rocky Mountains


The desert! (first time for me...well, not true. Spain has deserts, but these are a little different)


Las Vegas Strip


Hoover Dam


Grand Canyon (best part...every human on Earth should see this thing)


Mexico border at El Paso


Astors game


NASA


9th Ward in New Orleans


French Quarter in New Orleans


beautiful beach and Atlantic Ocean in North Carolina











First for me: eating crawfish in New Orleans. It was not that bad, but I prefer the fried shrimp poboys.




Places stayed at, in this order: Provo, UT; Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; El Paso, TX; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA; Mobile, AL; Atlanta, GA; Willmington, NC; Williamsburg, VA; Greenwich, CT




Some rules followed:



1. No junk food in the car (it's so easy to mindlessly snack while driving, but you feel so rotten afterwards).





2. No fast food. If there were no local eateries we could check out, we usually resorted to a low calorie, low budget snack: baby carrots, Wheat Thins, peanut butter (for the record, the peanut butter we bought in Phoenix is still in Dan's car...and still edible), and Gatorade...lots and lots of Gatorade. The elixer of life, as I like to call it.





3. No AC. Saves gas. There were a lot of sweaty backs in the southern states (gross).


4. I'm sure there were some other rules, especially ones we made up along the way, but I cannot remember them now.












A Fun Game to Play on Road Trips:
The Vanity Licsence Plate Game


We taped a blank page onto the dashboard to mark Dan's and my scores. Every time we saw a car with a vanity liscence plate (like "HEY BUD" or "FLYGRL" or "LIZZZZZ") you would have to a) shout it out first and b) shout it out correctly to get the point. This game got VICIOUS. So competitive. Dan kicked my butt.

Motto of the trip: "Victory or Death"

We adopted that somewhere in South Carolina. Dan and I listened to 1776 on CD. Awesome story. We both really got into the whole battle of Trenton, Washington crossing the Delaware (we now both refer to him as His Excellency, as he was referred to back then), and one of the passwords of the night was "victory or death." So that's obviously what we're going to use now.

Other things we did to pass the time:

1) Memorize all of the state capitals. We did it, but we memorized two incorrectly. On our map, it looked like Philadelphia and Lexington were the capitals of Pennsilvannia and Kentucky, respectively. But they are obviously Harrisburg and Frankfort!! Duh!!

2) Try to rank all 50 states in order of square miles!! It's really hard to do. Hint: start with the smaller states. The biggest 4 are simple, and so are the smallest 10. But everything in between gets a little tricky. Dan and I actually did very well. Yay spacial reasoning.

3) The Power Cabinet. This was the most popular thing we did. This easily took up several hours to think about. Essentially, we want to create a Presidential Administration that is comprised entirelly of fictional characters from film and TV. We have to fill out the top positions in our government with people like Han Solo or the Terminator. The character cannot have already held that position, or else Jed Bartlett from the West Wing would obviously be our president.

Here is a taste of what we came up with:

President - Don Vito Corleone, from The Godfather

Vice President - Professor Xavier from X-Men

Sec. Defense - Optimus Prime from Transformers

Sec. Tansportation - Dr. Emmit Brown from Back to the Future

Chief Justice - Jack McCoy from Law and Order

Head of EPA - Captain Planet

Sec. State - Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings

and so on.

NOTE: We have asked almost every person we stayed with, including many liberal-minded females, and there has not been ONE good idea for a female character, especially for the position of First Lady. Society's fault, not ours.

Ultimately, this trip felt great for me. It's a fitting way to end my "transition year", my year of coming back home to the states. Just two weeks with my buddy, no worries, and a chance to finally see most of this country that I need to now start calling my home. For any of you who have lived abroad for so long, you will feel me when I say it's easy to call another country your new home.

After living back on this "main island" for almost a whole year at this point, and after feasting my eyes on the beauitful Rocky's, sprawling deserts, the Grand Canyon, and the great people in this country, I think I'm ready to feel more settled into America.

Don't miss out on my videos about my road trip, coming soon!

Road Trip

I'm back! 3 weeks ago I flew out to Provo, Utah to see my friend Dan graduate from BYU. I spent a week in the land of Mormons and it was a blast.



Two weeks ago he and I left for our road trip across the country, back home to Greenwich, CT. Dan and I have planned this trip for over a year now.



I have tons of pictures that will be posted soon. I am also making a movie of our trip. But for now, enjoy a small teaser trailer:

East Coast Party

Hi everyone.

Let's consider these past 8 months of mine to be one big road trip. One big party on the east coast.

I want to take this time to reflect on these past 8 months because, well, right now I'm not traveling, and that's a huge shock to me, in a way. My life was dictated by my next destination, the hours it would take to get there, and the mental preparation needed to consider a 5 hour drive normal.

So let us consider the past 8 months.

Travelling, for me, started in the middle of September.

According to the second to last blog I wrote in 2007, I traveled roughly 12,500 miles! That took place in about 90 days.

That's an average of 139 miles a day!

Now the second half of my job.

I started travelling again in mid-January. I finished my job at the end of April (although two weekends ago I did make (driving) it up to and down from Boston in 3 days.). So in the past 3 months, I traveled to New Orleans, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, Worcester, Fairfield, New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Charlottesville, Williamsburg and Washington DC.

According to my GPS, since I began to use the rental car on the last day of January, I have driven over 4,610 miles. That does not include driving from New Orleans to Mobile, Jacksonville, FL, to Miami, and my recent Boston trip. Oh yeah, and the flying.

So with all of the flying and driving taken into account, I have traveled about.....

7,600 miles.

Now, if we take that number and add it to my first couple of months as a recruiter, we get...

20,100 miles! That is how much I traveled this year. That of course does not count my winter trip to Spain, or the train I took to and from Greenwich and Baltimore.

And all of that was accomplished in 7 months.

It's been a crazy year, and calculating those numbers proves it.

What is left to do after an accomplishment like that?

Obviously travel from Utah, down through the south, back up to Connecticut in about 2 weeks.

Road trip! Starting tomorrow! Until then, enjoy a video to celebrate my past year of traveling.

April

Hello everyone.

Blog posting has been down.

Why?

Because I'm not traveling any more. I'm in the office in Baltimore, doing office work. It is a nice break from the craziness of driving miles and miles and miles and miles.

But two new updates for you:

1) I'm driving up to Boston this Friday (hopefully stopping at Greenwich to pick up some Garden Catering High School Special with extra honey mustard) for an idealist.org international volunteer fair. Coolest part: I'm driving stick shift all the way up there. Should be interesting. Hopefully I will be part of some high-speed chase scene, because it looks cooler if you are driving stick during a high-speed chase scene. Let's be honest.

2) April 22nd is an important date. NO! Not because of the PA Primary (Obama is going to win the nomination). Because a different type of traveling will start on that date!

What do I speak of? I will leave you in suspense for now.

Meanwhile, watch that Micronesian video I made so you, like me, can wish you were there right now.

The Things They Carried

Being on the road is exhilarating; meeting many new people, visiting beautiful and often historic college campuses, driving through the American countryside (I know he eastern seaboard can hardly be called the quintessential American “countryside” in relation to the Midwest or the west coast, but give me a break).

The life of a road warrior is also exhausting. For the past 7 months, as my traveling comes to a close, I reflect on how crazy I must have been to be able to withstand the vigor of being away from home, sleeping on couches, playing guest, being “on” all the time, etc.

One thing I think about is how organized I had to be in order to survive on the road, to stay fresh and clean and prepared. Here are ALL of the things that I usually had with me while traveling from city to city, college to college.

1 Rental car.

One laptop bag. One laptop computer, headphones, extension cord. Promotional DVD. Checkbook for emergencies, flash-drive, name tag, a few pens, extra copies of application and promotional brochures.

One display stand. One stand-up poster. Three pamphlet stands. 6 different types of small booklets, about 50 each. Stacks of single sheet, half-page brochures, over 100. Stack of bigger, 10-page booklets, about 50. Application booklets, also about 50 at a time. A bag of promotional pins. A couple of handfuls of promotional pens.

A travel bag with travel sized toothpaste, two shampoos (in case I lose one, which I have), travel sized body wash, small (not travel sized) shaving cream, disposable razor, toothbrush, nail clipper, ear plugs, eye mask (I have been made fun of many times for that, but when I’m sleeping in a living room, where the light shines in early in the morning and people are walking about, it has been very useful). Cold medicine for the day, cold medicine for the night. Advil. A bag of cough drops.

One big travel bag to keep clothing in the car. One smaller travel bag, which usually contains my toiletry bag and the clothes I am wearing for the next day.

Two pairs of shoes, three pairs of pants, anywhere between 3-4 dress shirts, depending on how long I will be away from home. 4-5 white under-shirts, 7 pairs of boxers, 7 pairs of socks, sweatshirt, jacket. Flannel pants, long-sleeved pajama shirt. Winter hat, gloves, scarf.

These are the things I bring with me on my travels. Sometimes I realize it’s too much, but it’s nice to know that I am prepared and have enough clothing where I do not have to re-wear dirty clothing.

Also, thankfully I have a car to store all of these things in. When I travel by plane, it’s a pain to carry all of these things with me.

So that’s what I take with me. And as I leave Greenwich for Baltimore (I’m currently on the Amtrak train right now, leaving New York City), I am glad to realize that my travels are finished for the year. This 4 hour train ride is considered the last trip to conclude 7 months of this insanity.

Which is why it was a complete pleasure to only pack my computer, a pair of socks and my basketball shorts for this Easter Break. That’s it. Traveling with nothing is a liberating experience. You should try it, if you can get away with it.

Micronesia video

I made this video this morning, Saturday, March 22nd.

I've been back home in Greenwich since Thursday.

I have turned my work phone off. I have not checked my work email. Not counting my Amtrak trip up to CT from Baltimore, my traveling is essentially finished.

More details on that later (I need my GPS to calculate the total miles I have traveled).

Anyway, enjoy this video I made. It's a good time for nostalgia.

Leap Year!

It shouldn't be February right now. But it doesn't really matter. It's been a while, but my video post was a hit. And by hit, I mean people really cannot beleive I would take the time to 1) film the suite that I stayed in while I was at Holy Cross 3 weeks ago and 2) upload it to my blog...and I guess 3) get very excited about it. But did you see the video? It WAS huge.

So what has gone on since we lost spoke ... telepathically, obviously. Here is a recap:

- I've been to Fairfield, Fordham, St. Joseph's, Villanova and Seton Hall.

- A got a really bad cold, I mean really bad, that I actually lost my voice! Literally lost it. First time that ever happened. That's not so good for recruiters.

- I head down to Baltimore Sunday, then down to Duke next week. After a week in NC, I will head up to Virginia, then Georgetown, then Baltimore, then ...... then that's it! Done with recruiting!!

- I don't have my GPS with me right now, but I need to start adding up the miles I've driven since I last calculated (that's the interesting part of my blog, right?).

- I took a career/personality test with the Career Services at HC. Got the results today. I guess I'm supposed to be a college instructor. Your thoughts? (Lion tamer came in a close second).

- The scan button has been fixed!!! And by that, I mean that it has been discovered. I think I let you into the sad realization that my new rental car did not have one. Well, it did! I just forget to let you into the sad realization that I'm an idiot.

- I'm on www.realclearpolitics.com like 5 times a day. It's great to catch up with politics, ie. the drama of the current democratic race (hopefully will be over on Tuesday). I don't know about you, but I'm psyched for an Obama v. McCain debate. I beleive I have said that before.

- I'm getting better with the cold. Much better. Sleeping in 65 degree rooms does not bother me as much as it did before...OK, that wasn't very interesting. Um, let's see...I killed a bear with my own hands yesterday!


Ok, silly season has begun. I'm off to my college instructor job. Peace.

Holy Cross Presidential Suite

First of all readers, I'm not even sure I should be sharing this information with you.


With that said, let me tell you about the Presidential Suite at Holy Cross, in Loyola. This suite, which makes many hotel rooms look bad, is where I stayed for the past four days while recruiting at my alma mater. The trip = very good. Where I stayed = the best place ever and easily one of the coolest perks of this job.


This room is mostly for trustees when they visit, other big name guests, and lowly JVC Recruiters.


It has 3 bathrooms, kitchen with complete appliances, two bed rooms, huge living space, washer and dryer, chandeliers.


Enough typing (and reading on your part). I might as well just give you the video tour.

Up next for me? Back to Greenwich for Fairfield. Some days in the city at Fordham. Then the Philly area, then hopefully down to Virginia and North Carolina for a quick visit. Then we'll see.

When my blogs are less about my travels and more about the excitement of the rooms I'm staying in, you know I am easily amused.

February

Hi everyone. Sorry I have not posted in a while. Here is a quick recap of the past month:



Hung out with the JVs in New Orleans. Slept in a cabin in 50 degree weather; almost died.



Spent time with New Orleans and Mobile JVs, the same ones I met back in September. They were my first friends I met on the road.



Saw a Mardi Gras parade...a week before Mardi Gras. Many beads were thrown to me.



Went to the Univeristy of Florida in Gainesville. 70 degrees during the day, 39 at night!



Welcome to Miami....and the wonderful 82 degrees! Also got to see my cousins.



I was in Baltimore for a total of like 12 hours in the entire month of February, and that's the way it's going to be for the rest of the month. Good thing I'm paying rent for an aprtment I am never in.



I am now in Providence College. Then Boston College. Then Holy Cross. It's nice coming back to these big schools. It's very familiar territory.



That's it for travels. I think I'm backing Obama in this election. It took me a while to decide. I hope it's McCain v. Obama. Here is a nice video for you all to see: http://www.dipdive.com/





Oh, bad news: I got my car from Phily, which I will keep with me for the next two months. Well, guess what, it's not the same car. Biggest difference: no scan button!!! I'm ruined!

Clinton vs. Obama vs. Facebook Wall vs. Mimosas

Why hello there! Welcome to my blog. You must be very bored, or really interested in my travels!

Well, about my travels: I can tell you that I'm currently in the George Bush Houston International Airport (in Houston....the Houston in Texas). I am stealing the wireless from the President's Club. Good times. I will be in New Orleans in a few hours. So as of now, I don't have anything interesting to say about Travels with AJ. (Or do I???? Read all the way through!)

Instead, I will throw out some thoughts about politics and Facebook:

Here is a little game you should play. It's a fun way to learn about today's candidates.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/candidate-match-game.htm

However, since I distrust the news media, and since USA Today is not exactly high caliber (sorry, but if I should be snobby about something, it might as well be about how I receive current events), I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is.

Here is a GREAT website to help you figure out who to vote for!

http://www.2decide.com/table.htm

Here is something to try if you're bored in the office. Go back and reread ALL of your Wall Posts on your Facebook Profile. I did that the other day. My first one goes back to November 3rd, 2004!!

Here are some of my favorite wall posts (I'll respect the anonymity of the posters...except for my brother):

6:16am on October 18th, 2006

"AJ I am also in a primitive community in a different country, Ireland. Today I woke up and went to the ritual feasting center, McDonalds, and then watched an ancient "mimetic drama box" or some of the kids call them Televisions. I took a ride in some sort of chariot drawn by invisible druid spirits which are called "Volkswagen" over here. People here worship an intoxicating black fluid called guinness and often go into trances where they are possessed by the demons of said liquid. It is a strange land, but I'm slowly acclimating myself to their culture. Slowly."

at 6:38pm on February 9th, 2006

Happy Birthday manjkl. Have a great time. Oh, by the way, I reminded Gandalf that today was your birthday, and he said he'd personally stop by Chuuk to wish you all the best. Same with Luke Skywalker, actually... and Dumbledore, come to think of it. Ditto Indiana Jones, Neo, Marty McFly, Homer Simpson, and Walter Mitty. So that should be fun. Lastly, Zeus said he'd sacrifice 10,000 bulls to honor the occasion... you know how sons get about celebrating their father's birthdays.. Allllright we miss you!

at 9:52pm on March 14th, 2007

"This note is more to the whole of the internet community than it is specifically to A.J. But I find it apalling that no one has posted on this wall since A.J.'s birthday. I think there should be wall messages daily. Even if it reminding him of what day it is back in America (Wednesday). Anyway, please post on this wall, or else I will get beaten when he returns."

(my brother wrote that one)

at 3:46pm on June 26th, 2007

"there is photographic evidence of your presence in Washington, DC recently. There is no evidence (electronic or otherwise) alerting me to your presence. I may revoke my status as the deity of your religion over this."

at 8:00pm on August 12th, 2007

"gorgonzola"

UPDATE:

So I was sitting in a little chair in the terminal, sitting across from the President's Club, mooching the internet, when this guy stopped in front of me, looking at one of the big poster boards I carry around for recruiting. He apparently works with the Jesuit Conference in D.C. We got a talkin', exchanged pleasantries, then he went on his way. A few minutes later he came back and asked if I would like to sit in the President's Club instead of out in terminal.

Heck Yeah!

So now I am munching on a nice toasted bagel with fresh orange juice in a nice comfy chair and I have my laptop on my own personal desk, not my lap. Pretty sweet!

Let me find some Mimosas and then I'll be on my way!

Viva Espana

My Christmas: Version 3.0*

Happy New Year everyone.

First off, I need to say that I have not made ANY New Years resolutions. Why would I do that? Let's see how well you know me by taking a short quiz!

I did not make any New Year's Resolutions for 2008 because:

a) New Year's Resolutions are dumb and stupid and dumb.

b) New Year's Resolutions were just a lame creation by the media in order to potentially market New Years in yet another way, giving sales and advertising yet another plug for their products in our holiday seasons.

c) I can't keep any resolutions (except that time I decided not to ever drink alcohol until a week after graduating from college).

d) Let's be honest: we're just waiting for 2009.

e) The only thing I'm looking forward to is May 22nd, 2008, and that's it.

f) We should be making new resolutions about ourselves on a daily basis while continually examining the direction of our lives ... or sit back and see what happens. Either way.

The answer is at the bottom of this blog.

Now about my trip to Spain.

My mom, dad, brother (see his blog at http://www.thesaltminer.blogspot.com/ ...he pays me every time I mention his blog) and I left on Continental for a direct flight from sunny Newark to Madrid. Yay Continental One Pass miles! After a 6 1/2 hour flight and delicious airliner food (I'm not being sarcastic here...once, when flying from Chuuk to the other islands, the meal we had on the plane was one of the best meals I've had in a while, so I have a new appreciation, nay, love affair, with airplane food) we landed in the 40 degree capital of Spain.

I can talk about seeing one half of my family (my dad's side) for the first time in 7 years, or the nostalgic feelings I experienced whenever I visited several sites that I have frequented as a child, but instead, I will give highlights, mostly dealing with food.

(This is a Spainard.)

Jamon EVERYWHERE. That's ham in Spanish. They literally have the leg of a pig clamped on this stand, and you just merrily slice off little pieces. It was delicious! I definitely overdosed on jamon.

Chorizo and morcilla, both of them pig sausages. Yum. Also aceitunas (olives), tortilla (spanish omelette), pulpo (marinated octopus) and mejillones (marinated mussel). I stayed away from the sea food...it's got nothing on the good Pacific-lagoon sashimi.

Tapas Bar hoping (my favorite bar hoping) - men and women and children of all ages head into bars (never sketcyh, except for the insane amounts of smoking going on) and eat stupidly delivious appetizers (tapas) while drinking good beer such as Mahou Cinco Estrellas and Cruz Campo. And of course sangria. This is where I overdosed on jamon.

An amazing spread/soup that I will make this weekend called Salmorejo. Ingredients:500 g very ripe, very red tomatoes 1 clove of garlic 1 soup spoon vinegar 4 soup spoons of virgin olive oil salt 2 hard boiled eggs and some chopped up jamon serrano to put on top salt 1 stale Spanish/French stick bread (the quantity of bread may vary) - By stale bread I mean that it should be very dry (but not moldy)....AWESOME. I wish I overdosed on that.

Chocolate con churros. You may have had these in Disney World. They have bars in Madrid dedicated to these fried treats. We entered this bar PACKED with people with tea cups filled with melted chocolate while they dipped these huge fried sticks of fried goodness in them.

Almond soup, a Christmas tradition. Very sweet. I would have bathed in it (gross?).

Rabbit. Tender. Rich flavor. Better tasting than dog and turtle. Great appetizer for...

Roasted pig and lamb, famous in Segovia. The roasted pig is called cochinillo asado, the roasted lamb is called cordero asado and the rabbit and rice is called paella con conejo. I would live off of that.

If you haven't noticed, I like food a lot.

And Segovia is known for...

...its medieval castle and 2000 year old Roman aqueduct, still going strong (I bathed in it). This town is north of Madrid, past the snowy mountains, east of Mordor and south of the Shire. No dragons.

El Escorial. Every time I went to Spain as a child, that is where I stayed. Small mountain town an hour north of Madrid, home of Philip the II's monastary, or summer home. Huge castle/16th century royal palace/pretty sick Catholic cathedral. Also a pretty awesome recreation of biblical Nazereth. By recreation I mean life-sized plaster replicas of shepards, Arabic warriors (they should have more of them in the Bible), and the three wise men, one of them riding an elephant (obviously).

Visited a huge cross carved out of a mountain that includes a tomb/cathedral also inside the mountain. Former Spanish monarch/dictator Franco is buried there. It is eerily majestic inside the huge and beautiful cathedral.

So that's about it. The jet-lag was not so fun. Also, Spaniards like to have lunch at 2:30 and dinner any time after 10. We ate at 9:30 pm once, and everyone else was complaining that the Americanos were eating too early.

Also, check out this castle I stayed at last weekend for a JVC retreat. Jesuit retreat center Inisfada on Long Island. Not too shabby. The Jesuit vow of poverty is evident here.

My travels start again next week as I head towards New Orleans for a second time.

Until then, stay classy, planet Earth.

PS: The answer to the quiz: none of the above. I just forgot to make a New Years resolution. But I like the other answers.

*This blog may be re-edited and have different versions. My parents, especially my dad, will most likely correct my spelling or facts about his homeland.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.

Happy Holidays for the P.C. readers out there.

And Happy New Year.

I know this is a blog about traveling, and as much as you want to hear about the exotic east coast and the parties that are to be had, I want to let you know that my next blog will be about my trip to Madrid, Spain. I leave today and come back 6 days later.





Don't fret, my entries will go back to the splendor of fun exciting places like Raleigh and Ohio later.





So enjoy the vacation. Sleep until 11 am. Eat cake for breakfast. I'll be enjoying chocolate con churros in the land of my peoples.



(A cold, still night in Greenwich)

Fall Travel Check, Thoughts on Politics and Pop Culture

Total Miles Traveled starting on September 15th:


6,610 (last counted on October 19th, before heading up to Boston College from Baltimore)



Since then (in the car): 5,387 miles



Air Travel from BWI to Buffalo and back: 550 miles



Max speed according to GPS: 109 mph! (In Vermont)



Average moving speed according to GPS: 55.2 mph.

Moving time (since Oct 19th): 97 hours and 34 minutes

Total Miles this fall: 12,547 miles!!

Crazy!

Now my thoughts. (WARNING: these may get a little deep. So I apologize.)

Thoughts on Politics:

I tell people I'm a moderate because I find it hard to put myself in one of the other two categories. I think because I am educated and experienced, I am able to have diverse thoughts on domestic and international issues that do not necessarily fit into a blue or red state.

Joe Klein, author of the book "Politics Lost" I just listened to, said “to be moderate is to be homeless in 21st century American politics.”

Mr. Klein labeled both parties well...

About Republicans: “once the home of a prudent conservatism has gone foolishly radical, fiscally irresponsible at home, intemperate and bullying aboard, purveyors of an intrusive religiosity that is shockingly intolerant of science or reason.”

About Democrats: “Once a home of democracy’s gracious impulses has become a reactionary bastion. It’s signature issues of health care, education and welfare held hostage by teaching and social work bureaucracies that are utterly resistant to change, its spiritual vigor sapped by vehement secularism and an overdependence on the Judicial system, symbolize by the fanatic defense of abortion rights, its soggy internationalism spineless in the face of a dangerous world.”

Both parties swan towards their extremes. And that’s too bad. The above is a negative portrayal of both parties, sure, but if it an accurate depiction then for now I’m happy being a moderate.

This is what politics should really be like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAXz6j4Yj9M

Thoughts on pop culture:

It puts a callus on your soul.

Interview Part 2: Return of the King

Daniel: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the second part of our one part series, "Interviews from the Beyond." I'm your host, and we're here tonight with our guest, A.J.

A.J.: Who are you talking to? Are we on the air now?

Daniel: Um...

A.J.: Don't worry about it. Let's do this thing.

Daniel: Right. In case people forgot - which I find hard to believe - you recently came back from Micromachine Island, correct?

A.J.: No, that is not correct.

Daniel: Nanoneasia?

A.J.: Try again…although that name should work.

Daniel: The Federated States of Micronesia, specifically the island of Chuuk?

A.J.: Close enough.

Daniel: Oh? Is Chuuk a nation unto itself but part of a larger, sovereign nation?

A.J.: It is one of the four states of the independent country of FSM. Micronesia is the name of the area that spans over 3000 miles; Palau in the west, Marshall Islands in the east.

Daniel: I see. That's very different from the large land mass of North America. What's it like not being constantly surrounded by water?

A.J.: It was amazing when I first arrived back on the "main island" 6 months ago. The isolation was a bit overwhelming, I'll be honest. Being able to travel over 3 miles is revolutionary. The Chuukese picture all of the continents of the world as bigger “islands”.

Daniel: When you see a large poster of the ocean do you ever convulse in fear, or try to dive in a la Wiley E. Coyote, only to realize it's a brick wall?

A.J.: I DO find myself being drawn to any picture of a beach sunset or a palm tree. It's like I block everything else out to look at the palm tree while saying, "Yeah, I've been there." Then I crash my car into that wall you were talking about.

Daniel: I imagine another physical difference is the temperature. How have you dealt with that change?

A.J.: It's not just a difference in temperature, but in climate overall. The story I tell everyone is how on the first two weeks of being home, while my friends were in shorts and a t-shirt, sweating under the sun, I was wearing long pants and a sweat shirt, and very cold. That is not an exaggeration…Also, did you know that it gets cold when the sun goes down? That's a new one for me.

Daniel: I always thought the moon was just a big ball of cheese, which brings me to another point - being in the eastern hemisphere and basically living on the equator, were things backwards? Did toilets flow the other way, did the sun go up at night, and was every day opposite day?

A.J.: We ate dog and treated spam like out pets. I guess that is opposite. While I enjoyed the luxury of modern toilets, they also had holes in the ground, using the Japanese name "benjo". That's another thing that was a huge change: a lot less Pacific Islander and Japanese culture here on the east coast. Who knew.

Daniel: I see. Did you try and bring back any aspects of the Micronesian - Pacific Islander or Japanese - culture back here? Did any island spirits follow you home?

A.J.: If it's anything like the movie "Spirited Away", then I'm afraid, so I'll say no. I didn't really bring anything back with me, unless you count a better sense of peace, confidence and a new understanding of where I fit into this world. I did NOT bring back the concept of "island time", which basically means just show up whenever you want. But they still believe in spirits in some parts on the islands.

Daniel: That's really cool about the spirits. Do they wear watches in Micronesia? Do you currently wear a watch, or own a timepiece?

A.J.: I can look up into the sky and tell the time, give or take 12 seconds.

Daniel: Impressive. Let's talk about what it's like here. For you. Now.

A.J.: Now it is 61 degrees in my apartment, but 76 degrees and CLIMBING in my room. Two words: space heater.

Daniel: A smart move. However, have you become more aware of the large environmental movement that is taking place?

A.J.: The "global summer" crisis? Anything for a longer summer. "Global summer" is the more positive way of saying global warming ... sorry, my brain literally froze, I forgot the original question.

Daniel: Why do hate Mother Nature?

A.J.: Because she didn't put pristine Pacific lagoon waters in the Long Island Sound. I can never swim at the beach here ever again. The geography was ridiculously beautiful. Of course, it was the people that were the most beautiful thing of my two years.

Daniel: Aww…wait, no, it was the sunsets. Don't lie.

A.J.: Yeah, that's true. You got me.

Daniel: I'm reminded of a moment from the made-for-TV film "Rescue From Gilligan's Island." If you recall, the castaways are rescued and they return to the United States. At one point, the skipper remarks to Gilligan, "Can you believe it, before we left, girls wore their shorts here (gesturing with his hand near the knee), when we were gone they were here (gesturing closer to the hip), and now they're back to here (gesturing back to the knee)!" It was hilarious.

A.J.: (Serious face) That's not funny at all.

Daniel: The point is, um, do girls dress differently here?

A.J.: Yes, it's very traditional on Chuuk, so coming back was shocking in the way that it seemed like borderline nudity when I returned. The sexual messages also seem more explicit here, especially after being away from TV and advertisements.

Daniel: Are you overwhelmed by TV, the internet, the fast pace of technological advancements and the hyperactive society we live in? Do the financial, political, social, and religious problems bombard your consciousness, making you yearn for the simple life you were part of for the past two years?

A.J.: Go to a happy place, go to a happy place ... sorry, my mind wandered to one of those tropical scenes we usually see on screen savers.

Daniel: So it appears you've been able to find a happy medium.

A.J.: Well, I would rather avoid TV. I like to mute commercials when I do watch television. I think I freak my father and brother out when I do that.

Daniel: I have no idea what you’re talking about... when do you think the writers strike will end?

A.J.: (silence)

Daniel: Do you care?

A.J.: I didn't, until I realized that a big issue lies with the fabulous new invention of being able to
watch entire TV shows on the internet...but no, I still don't care.

Daniel: Fascinating.

A.J.: So yeah, overall, the transition has been OK, but I think it's a process that will take a while to get through.

Daniel: Like it'll end tomorrow?

A.J.: I am pretty sure the transition will end in 3 days from now.

Daniel: That's mighty quick. But it sounds good. How does culture shock compare to static shock?

A.J.: One is slightly more painful, but I’ll let you figure out which one.

Daniel: What's the worst part of culture shock you've experienced?

A.J.: It's weird because I am home, but most of the time I don't feel home. But it's not necessarily a bad feeling. Very surreal, though.

Daniel: The worst thing you came back to, or the thing you miss most?

A.J.: I really can’t stand the advertisement industry. I feel like Charlie Brown in “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown.”

Daniel: You have legitimate problems when you try to pick out a Christmas tree?

A.J.: They don’t sell palm trees! What the heck?

Daniel: I see. And what's the best part of culture shock, if one can say such a thing?

A.J.: Burritos.

Daniel: Well said. And like a burrito, layers will keep being added on to the coming home experience, until you can wrap your mind around it. Then there might be heartburn. I think I've extended the metaphor enough. Maybe on your travels you can find a better one.

A.J.: You can never extend a metaphor long enough...

Daniel: … (Awkward silence)...

A.J.: …I don't know what that really means.

Daniel: Cosmic.

A.J.: Indeed.

Daniel: Thanks for discussing some of your experience with culture shock and rediscovering Western civilization, i.e. Monday Night Football. I'm sure there is a lot more to it, which people can ask about in the comments.

A.J.: No one else reads this blog. So I can say things like "are you ready to rob this bank with me Daniel?"

Daniel: That's true. I would of course say "I'm already inside the vault. Now get me out!"

A.J.: Interviews inside a bank vault are the best. We should do this again sometime.

Daniel: Definitely. But I'm on "island time," so we'll see when that'll be.

A.J.: Touché.



Daniel Cabrera frequently writes on his blog titled "The Salt Miner" which can be found if you click one of the links on this website. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize with his book "Das Boot 2: The Shoe Fits." He currently lives at home in the state of denial.

Coming soon...

Hey fellas. The next blog will be another interview conducted by my brother. The format will be the same except with a new topic: adjusting to culture shock in the past 6 months.

Stay tuned.

If you don't know what these are, you are living a sad, sad life. Garden Catering High School Special with honey mustard, side of fried zucchini, and Express Pizza pizza. What a lunch!

This has nothing to do with the upcoming blog, but I had a picture of this on my computer, and pictures are awesome, this food is the best, so it was obvious that I had to post it.

The Unis

Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side. This was taken on November 7th and it was very, very cold.

Hello fellow travellers.

Oh wait, that's just me. You're all behind desks.

In the past few weeks, I've been able to go from 45 degree weather to 23 degree weather on the same ROAD TRIP. New Hampshire and Vermont are ridiculously beautiful. There are signs that warn you of "Moose Crossings". Also, I finally saw land completely covered in snow.

And yesterday, at UCONN, it was snowing. Incredibly majestic, nostalgic, and almost as emotional as watching a Charlie Brown Christmas (best Christmas movie EVER...if you disagree, we're in a fight).

So now I'm back at Holy Cross, then going to BC tomorrow, then going to PC the next day, then Yale, then make a stop at Philadelphia while on my way to DC.

But we're not here to talk about me (lie). Today, we're going to kick off the award season with the first ever Unis! Short for University Awards.

What are the Unis?

This is where I award certain schools for qualities that make them stand out above the rest. I beleive I have had some reasonable experience in dealing with different college campuses. Granted, I usually just pass through these universities for a day, or even less, so these qualities are mostly superficial. But my keen sense of judgement (which is never wrong) has been able to pick up on what makes these places great.

So forget the Kaplan book of all the universities out there. Forget the U.S. News and World Report issue on Top Colleges in the country! It's time for the ultimate college guide:

A.J. Cabrera Presents the First Bi-Annual University Awards!

(Let's do this!)

The nominees for Fall 2007 are:

Spring Hill (AL), Loyola (LA), Southern (LA), LSU (LA), Wheeling Jesuit (WV), U. Dayton (OH), Xavier (OH), John Carroll (OH), Mercyhurst (PA), Union (NY), St. Joe's (PA), Villanova (PA), Loyola (MD), Catholic (DC), Georgetown (DC), Holy Cross (MA), Boston College (MA), Providence (RI), Scranton (PA), Canisius (NY), Duke (NC), Elon (NC), Davidson (NC), UNC Chapel Hill (NC), UVA (VA), William and Mary (VA), Fairfield (CT), Sacred Heart (CT), UCONN (CT), Dartmouth (NH), St. Anselm (NH), and St. Michael's (VT), Smith (MA) and Assumption (MA).

And the winners are......................................................dun dun dun ...............

Best College Town

I do not necessarily spend time in these nearby towns, but they are important for students. These quaint little hamlets provide a nice atmosphere for students to further enclose themselves in the protective, comfortable haven that is the college campus.

1st: UNC - Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Awesome place.

2nd: UVA - Charlottsville, Virginia - Thomas Jefferson bias helps this winner.

3rd: Smith College - Nothampton, MA - I literally plassed by this town the other day for one second, but was thoroughly impressed. The two students with whom I talked with at Smith agreed ... obviously. Who disagrees with me?

Best Community Feeling

For the smaller campuses, there is that community feel that definitely illuminates the spirit of that particular school. Everyone knows each other and you do not feel lost in the crowd.


Winner: St. Mike's



Most Beautiful Female Population

What can I say, it's something I notice. Hate the player, not the game.


Winner: Boston College



Best School to Play 18 Holes of Golf

I think this award is pretty self explanatory. If you need more explanation, feel free to email me. I will not respond.

Winner: Spring Hill








Best "Would Be the Best School if it Was Not For the Cold Weather" School

Let's be honest, I still can't deal with the cold. Harvard can offer me a full ride and room and board, but since it is too cold in Boston, I'd say no thank you ... and go to Princeton, the better Ivy.



1st: St. Mike's in Vermont (19 degrees?!? Please.)

2nd: Canisius (My first snow I experienced. This school specifically has tunnels connecting the buildings so students will not perish from the elements in Buffalo.)



Best Food

Sometimes I have enough time to spend time at the dining hall. Now, I remember loathing college food, but that was back when I was a spoiled college student (no offense, college students). But after 2 years of spam and not-fresh everything, I love college food.



Winner: Canisius. Being in Buffalo, home of Buffalo wings, certainly helps.




Nicest Jesuit Residence

I am lucky enough to be put up in these quasi-hotels for a night if I am visiting campuses. The Jesuits are great people all around, and although they live a life of poverty, it doesn't necessarily show in their residences. All these winners were incredibly close, but if I had to rank them:


1st: Holy Cross

2nd: Scranton

3rd: Canisius




Best School in the Middle of a City

I am not a fan of city schools. However, this winner is able to have that beautiful campus feel while being stuck in an urban area.


1st: St. Joe's in Philadelphia

(close second): Loyola in New Orleans

(close third): Georgetown in Washington, DC

Coolest Student Center

I usually table at the Student Centers, where students can come for hanging out, food, or other services. This winner definitely stands out above the rest. I would go to this school SIMPLY for its awesome student center.


Winner: Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio

(closest second): Davidson, North Carolina

(playing XBOX 360 on a huge wide screen HD TV helped put this school up on the board) Fairfield U.

Most Pleasant Overall Feeling

When I visit a campus, I may get a gloomy feeling from the faculty and students, or I am well recieved with love and warmth and candy canes and rainbows and smiling suns and ... you get the idea.


(Tie)

St. Mike's

St. Joe's



Most Beautiful Campus

This is the big award, the Best Motion Picture of the Unis. This takes into account the layout of the campus, the buildings, the greens, the weather, EVERYTHING.

I also took the size of the school into account. For instance, Elon in North Carolina was INCREDIBLY pretty, but only, like, 3 students go there. Plus it's in the middle of no where ... plus I had a lame visit. That's the politics of the Unis.


For a small school: Spring Hill

For a big school: Duke







That's it for now. If you would like me to rank certain schools in other categories, please let me know. If your school did not win and would like to lobby for it, I encourage it.







Thanks for watching. I'm sorry this award blog took 3 hours to read (that's an Academy Awards reference, it's OK if you didn't get it).







PS: I just discovered Craigslist.com . My goodness, they have everything!! My favorite is how people post up those random connections, like "I saw you on the bus today in Worcester and we made eye contact, email me if you are reading this." What is the world becoming? Not any warmer.

BONUS: Play the "What should AJ do when he grows up?" game!! If you submit ANY answer, you win! Don't be a loser: play this game!