Austin was great!

This past weekend I got to visit Xinan and Jin in Austin. It was my first venture south to the capital of the Lone Star State, and I admit the city lived up to its billing. From the nightlife along 5th and 6th streets, to the group of weekend joggers along the Colorado River, Austin is a pretty cool city! Xinan and I joined some friends of his at Vicci on 5th street Friday night for a little techno / latin dancing (which was pretty sweet), and on Saturday after our a.m. jog, we drove south to San Antonio and visited the Alamo & Guadeloupe river. Saturday night Jin prepared an excellent "hot pot" dinner for us and 3 of her Chinese friends from business school, and then we played hold'em poker into the night. Sunday we enjoyed dim sum (Chinese food brunch), then watched Italia take l'Republic 5-3 in PKs in the FIFA World Cup finals. Here are four photos: of Xinan and me in front of the Alamo, me in Texas, Xinan and Jin in front of the UT business school, and me at Daryl Royal Memorial Stadium reminding American football fans everywhere to "saw 'em off".

"Darfur is Dying"

Found this crazy flash-player video game called "Darfur is Dying". It's like Oregon trail, only happening now. My people kept getting kidnapped & raped as they tried to get to the water pump. Then I retreated to the refugee camp but my girl got diarrhea. Check out the game: http://www.darfurisdying.com. It's interesting for sure.

... Colorado!

We are back from Colorado!! Gerson, Nilza, Docri, and Olga (from Angola, at OU studying English) and me -- the five of us drove NW to Chaffee County, camping in the Arkansas River basin and hiking the Collegiate Peaks. We had a FABULOUS time! Here are a few photos. Stay tuned; more info to come . . .

** Captions are above the photo **

Gerson (on the sign), Docri, Olga, Brad, and Nilza -- in Colorado!!

The Collegiate Peaks!


Me at the treeline of Mt. Yale (~ 12,000 feet). (Yale is in front of me. I dont know what mountains are behind me. And yes, that is snow in July).

Me, Olga, and Gerson at "Olga's Summit". She didnt go all the way to Yale's summit, but did make 13,000 feet!

Gerson and I, top of Mt. Yale. 14196'. Amazing!

The three amigos, back at the trailhead (do not be deceived, we are exhausted.)

The summit's just up there. Trust us.

Early a.m. breaking camp, 03 July. We tented at the Arrowhead Campground, Buena Vista, Colorado.

My 2nd "fourteener", Gerson's first.

Whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River. Excellent adventures had by all!

Heck yea, on the Arkansas River!

Rocky Mountain High ...

... Colorado (in the words of John Denver [i think!!]) Tomorrow, promptly at 6 a.m., Arielle and I will depart Norman with six of our friends from Angola and drive NW to the Collegiate Range in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We hope to get in some hiking and some whitewater rafting, but most importantly, we plan to admire and enjoy the awesome scenery (and cooler weather!!) of the mountains. We should be back in time to celebrate the 4th in Norman. Enjoy your weekend, and stay tuned for photos and an update.

Update from Norman

These past few days I have been fully occupied -- teaching/preparing class, fighting with MM5 on 'topdawg', playing volleyball, chilling with the Angolans, ultimate frisbee, Cameron's wedding, hosting Gang Zhao & wife, and hanging out with other meteo and church friends. A few photos from the wedding & dinner with Gang:

New US passport ?

My check ($67) has been cashed by the Department of State. Hopefully that means my new passport will soon be on its way! Then it's time to apply for an Austrian visa.

On a related note, take that, Trinidad & Tobago ;) Next time you'll have to try harder to deport me from your country. (But I am still cheering for you in the world cup; the unbridled patriotism was so cool to experience last month, I hope the Soca Warriors make keep up their success!)

It's a whole new experience

Walmart shower pouf (nylon mesh shower ball) + Old Spice high endurance pure sport body wash = Incredible invigoration each morning.

You should check it out. (But my pouf is yellow, not powder blue). Trust me. It's crazy!

Ooooooooooo-klahoma,

... where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, and the waiving wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain!

I am back in Norman. Dad and I had an enjoyable drive west Friday & Saturday - but I could have done without all the fast-food. My U.S. restaurant experiences through mid-day Saturday were: McDonalds (Orlando airport), Wendys (Cary, NC), Ruby Tuesdays (Greenville), Arbys (eastern TN), Burger King (eastern AR), and Sonic (Sallisaw, OK). French fries are good, but not for every meal!

Later this morning I'm headed to church. Looking forward to reconnecting with friends and worshipping in a familiar place. The Bluesteins are leaving on Monday, so I'll stay with Mike French (props to you, bro) again tonight and move into their house tomorrow after class. Speaking of, class begins tomorrow, and I'm excited about it. Funding is worked out (as far as I know), which is a big blessing.

I still have to apply for a new passport -- that'll have to come after class tomorrow. But I'm getting settled, and that's an important step in the transition.

Any thoughts on renaming the blog? As my friend Francine put it, I'm no longer saying good morning to Barbados each day.

Here we go!

The 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins Today. Follow along at the National Hurricane Center, and look for the following names:

Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Florence
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Michael
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sandy
Tony
Valerie
William
*Alpha
*Beta
*Gamma
...

* Will be used should the alphabetical names be exhausted like 2005.

MCO was my home

Yesterday's marathon travel session went according to schedule for the first 3 segments, but even the greatest detail of planning (a 4-hr layover in Orlando) didn't prevent me from missing my connecting MCO-RDU flight. Turns out that AA baggage sent one of my pieces of luggage on a later flight from San Juan straight to Orlando (why it didn't accompany me through Miami like my other checked bag, I don't know) -- so after a 2-hr delay in Miami & waiting to collect my bag, I missed my Delta flight by 8 minutes. But I had an enjoyable visit with extended family, Aunt Dora Ann & Uncle Roger, and cousin Karen, so as Shakespeare would say, "all's well that ends well".

** This post comes to you from the Orlando Int'l Airport Terminal B, where they have free wireless internet -- a definite blessing for one without a cell phone. **