south of the border

So here I am, finally in the land of Peru. Its been a while since I have had a chance to put in an entry so I thought I would tell of an interesting day I had about a week ago. It was my first day in Peru and our group of newbies had a trip around Lima arranged. We were taken to some of the sights by a local and told a little about the history of Peru.

Our first stop was at an archeological find just outside of downtown Lima. We were shown the remains of a wall that was built around the old city as a means of protection. From what you might ask? Well, pirates of course! You know, the infamous pirates like Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Francis Drake.

Yup, this version of history portrays the "explorers" of the western world as being pirates who were only set on plundering the gold that the Incas had. Gotta protect them riches!

But as the tour continued, it was explained to us that Lima was not an Incan city (such as the legendary Machu Pichu) but rather a Spanish built city on the coast. The tour guide was proud to point out that the Spanish that came to modern-day Peru were not conquerors but rather people settling an uninhabited land. Afterall, the Incas were hundreds of miles (or kilometers) away in Machu Pichu and they weren't doing any harm to the Incas, right?

Here's where history takes a little detour in my book. I was taught that the Spaniards that came to the New World were called "Conquistadores" and did a demo job on the natives of the continents via swords, guns, and germs. A relative few did a massive number on the native populations and thereby inhabited the region. Hence how they got the gold from the Incas, right?

But wait, who's right in this case? What is the real version of history? Is this woman (of Spanish descent) correct in her telling of what she had been taught? Did the Spaniards and Incas live in harmony (except the whole "germ" thing) and have I been misled all these years? And are "great explorers" like Cavendish and Drake really just pirates? The walls were built for a reason - to keep someone out, but who? Did the walls go up to protect them from pirates or Incas who desired their gold back?

All very interesting questions indeed...

bling

DSC_3462.JPG
Originally uploaded by feelinMN.

I don't quite agree with what the rest of the bike has on it but that front wheel is BLING baby!!!!

troops

Always be prepared
Originally uploaded by wiseacre photo.

Be careful when you go to the kitchen next time...

happy trails

I do believe the boys from Van Halen said it best...

Nmmmmmm dip dip Mmmmnnnnmm
Bum-ba-deeda-bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda (continued throughout)

Happy trails to you
Until we meet again
Happy trails to you
Keep smilin' until then

Who (Ooh-ooh) cares about the clouds when we're together
Just (Ahh-ahh-ahh) sing a song and think 'bout sunny weather

(two, three)
Happy trails to you
'Til we meet again

distressed

Author's note - this is a totally personal entry and is just me venting. Just wanted to write it down, maybe some cathartic remedy in putting it down on paper (electronic paper but you know what I mean).

I recently took a scouting expedition to Lima and found many new and exciting things there. My new home will be an exciting and fun-filled place to live. There is a lot to say about it and I will do so after grad school is done. I got back to my house in Rotterdam (its mine until Thursday) and crashed for the night. My roommate was out with friends and I had the place to myself to watch the US - Italy game.

When I got up this morning, I found out that my roommate was actually out with someone that I had dated during this school year. We started last fall and broke up soon after and then started again at Christmas and lasted for a couple of months. We had a somewhat tumultuous relationship both times we dated that stemming from issues dealing with trust. Needless to say, we weren't the best of couples.

We had known each other for 2 years before we hooked up. We went out with some friends to a local establishment and before I knew it, she was drunk (I was a little tipsy too) and we were becoming more acquainted. Though the communication side of our relationship was lacking, the physical side was just fine. It was the problems in communication that helped with the demise of our relationship - there were quite a few problems but that was the central one.

Since our split, she has been on the prowl for someone new. There was a rumor around school about a one-night stand with the concierge although there was no verification of it. She is known to frequent a few local establishments in search of someone else and last night she was successful in her attempt to fill the void in her life (needing a man). What floors me is that she went out, hooked up with this guy, and brought him back to her house the next morning - all while her teenage daughters were throwing a party in their new house where lots of alcohol was being consumed. The man was surprised to enter her house and find kids still littering the floor at 6am the next day (as I would be as well if it happened to me). *Roommate provided me with this information*

So what's the point of this entry? I have so many emotions coursing through my veins at the moment that its hard to pinpoint just why I am making this entry. I am sad for her because she feels the need to constantly find men for fulfillment in life. I pity her girls for the example that she sets for them because they are starting to follow in her footsteps. But most of all I feel used.

I don't know why I feel this way - it wasn't a long relationship or deeply meaningful for that matter. We went out occasionally, spent time at my place relaxing and having dinner, managed to alleviate some stress in our lives through sex - nothing too dramatic, I've had relationships with a lot more invested in them. But this one is the first where I feel like I was just used as a stand-in for the purpose of having a man. Someone wanted me in their life just for the sole reason of needing to have a penis close at hand for her fulfillment needs. I know it happens all the time to people but like I said in the beginning of this entry, I'm on a rant and this is more for my need to vent than your need to comment. I can honesty say that I have made it through my 35 years (dating for half of those) without ever feeling this manipulated before. I've usually been a good judge of character and never been hurt like this before and when it does happen, I go through the same gambit of emotions just like everyone else does. I don't have a problem with her dating other people, I want her to find happiness (in some shape or form) but what I don't like is how she seeks that happiness. I feel like I was picked up in the same way as these other one-night-stands and that our relationship was just another fling, a way to cure her sexual appetite. Once I was out of the picture, she just starting trolling the bars again, looking for another was to get her fix. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to get laid once in a while but how she is doing it just makes me feel like I was used. Its not a feeling I am accustomed to and this is my venue to vent those feelings.

In my final days here in Holland, I'll enjoy the scenery and my friends before I leave. I will not miss the single social scene that I've been a part of here. The women I've dated in the last 3 years have all been unique and different and horrendous and selfish and so many other adjectives that I'll not comment on. Let's hope that Peru has something different to offer...

good night and good luck

company logo
Originally uploaded by bcurry35.

Well my faithful readers, this is it. This is my final entry from Holland - I am off to terrorize other parts of the world - mainly Peru. So if you hear of any major disturbances on CNN in that region of the globe, you'll understand why.

My time here has been eventful and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to live in the Netherlands. I've learned so many new things and been exposed to a completely new culture and while I can't say that I've loved every minute of it, my experience in Holland has overall been good.

However my professional time here has been wonderful. Three years ago I felt like leaving education and making my way into sales or something like that. Due to a few strategically placed students, that thought has left my mind and my passion for teaching rekindled. Thanks to Weezie and Libero and a whole host of other students at the American International School of Rotterdam for reminding me of why I went into education in the first place (to warp young minds!!!). I am still feeling the sorrow of leaving those amazing students here while I move on to Lima. *I may not be in Rotterdam, but you'll always be in my thoughts.*

So farewell Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, and Nederland. Its been real, its mostly been fun, so that means that its been mostly real fun. :) Take care of my kids until I come back to see them again...

tot ziens!

Well, the time has come and my days in Holland have come to an end. Tomorrow is the last day of school and I depart for my new home in South America on Monday. My tenure in Rotterdam has reached its conclusion - guess I'll have to change my tagline. The "Live from the Land of the Flying Dutchmen" will be replaced when I can think of something new - something that reflects my new home in Peru.

The last week has been filled with so much. I sold my motorcycle, packed my life into boxes and luggage for its impending departure to Peru or my storage facility in California, and have starting saying my farewells to my friends at school (both staff and students). Stress levels have been up and down, frazzeling me in every which way that I care to remember.

Luckily for me, I've found a great website to help me distract myself as I pack. Its called Pandora.com and you should give it a try. Its a great way to listen to your style of music while getting a broader perspective of what's in that genre. Personally, I wanted to find some more bands that have a funk feel to them (kinda like Tower of Power) and was happy to have this "radio station" play some new artists for me like Graham Central Station and The Drifters. You can customize your sound depending on your mood and make different "stations" for your different musical tastes. And just perhaps you'll give artists you had already written off a second chance. I never would have thought that I would like Prince without the New Power Generation - but hey, whaddaya know??!!

which iPod are you? it don't matter - just do it!

An interesting new development that I read about today. The increasing merging of sports and technology brings Apple and Nike together. Here's a little something from The Street.com that I read today (click on title above to directly go to the story).

Long used on the run, Apple Computer's (AAPL) iPod soon will be customized for runners.

As part of a deal announced Tuesday with Nike (NKE), the company will soon release a kit that will essentially allow the digital music player to function as a pedometer, giving runners information on the distance they've gone, the calories they've burned, and the length of time they've been running. The kit will include a wireless antenna that will connect an iPod nano to specially designed Nike shoes.

Apple plans to release the package within two months for a price of about $30. Nike will begin offering shoes that include the pedometer sensor and the wireless antenna to talk to the one for the nano beginning next month. The shoemaker plans to update many of its shoe lines to incorporate the technology.

Many companies have been trying to tap into the success of the iPod. Car companies have been adding iPod connectors to their car radios and consumer electronics makers have come out with a raft of different iPod accessories, including speakers, wireless headphones and the like.

But the deal with Nike is one of the first efforts to connect the iPod to a nontraditional electronic device.

In addition to the pedometer information, the Nike+iPod kit from Apple will include software that will allow customers to designate a "power song" that they can play at the touch of a button during workouts, and to set up customized song play lists for use with particular workout routines. As part of the deal between the two companies, Apple plans to add a sports music section to its iTunes Music store.

Shares of Apple and Nike both rose following the announcement. In recent trading, Nike's stock was up $3.03, or about 4%, to $81.01, while Apple's stock was up 67 cents, or about 1%, to $64.05.


Hey, maybe this will help (not cure) in getting people off their sofas and into exercise a little more. Considering I detest both companies (Nike for the sweatshops they run and Apple on principle), this is a great idea. I might even consider this combo myself if my knee wasn't in such horrible shape.

modern roman orgies

I hang my head in shame for what the world, more specifically America, has produced. In a day where there is still hunger and starvation in EVERY country in the world, a growing sport is emerging. It even has an official sanctioning body.

The International Federation of Competitive Eating sanctions more than 100 competitive eating events a year. That's two competitions a weekend of people ramming as much food into their bodies as possible. The participants involved call it a sport, some even call themselves 'athletes'. Heck, even ESPN is covering it (click on 'modern roman orgies' above). Flat out - its gluttony; one of the seven deadly sins, remember?

In a society where we acknowledge that kids and adults are too fat because of what they eat, we now have a "sport" where people try to do exactly what we tell them is bad for them - and the "sport" is growing both in the number of people involved as well as the caloric content being ingested. Why does an idea like this even enter a grown person's mind? I've seen teenagers attempt to out do each other just to prove their macho-ness but why didn't someone say, "That's just pure stupidity. Why are we promoting such behavior? Fire the the ad agency who came up with this idea and beat the moron who suggested it."

But no, this raw symbol of why people think Americans are the spoiled kids of the world continues to shine forth. Its greed and callousness and contempt all rolled into one. We know what the world needs but don't give a shit enough to help out. We'll free the people of a domineering dictator as long as they have oil, which serves our needs. We have so much stuff that we make competitions to see how fast we can make it go away. We are so self-absorbed in the drive to get all things materialistic that we ignore what simple needs others have. I think America would be better off giving the world the finger at the beginning of each press conference, at least there would be no doubt about our intentions.

So like the ancient lore of Roman orgies being one of the trademarks leading to the collapse of its empire, competitive eating has become a trademark of the good ole US of A. I'm ashamed indeed...

super slo-mo

Bottles and_Bullets II
Originally uploaded by brynman.

This is a totally cool picture of a bullet smashing through a bottle of wine. The physics geek in me finds this amazing, especially the shockwave traveling through the wine. Its also cool in its artistic side as its well-lit giving it an etheral feel to i. The bullet striking it and the shattering of the glass is all frozen in a brief moment of time.

Art and science rolled into one. Wicked.