Very Nice...

This trip to Chile proved to be better than the first. The whole time was spent with my boss, Jean who was raised by her Greek family in Long Island and spent most of the last decade in Italy. We got along pretty well on and off work. In our field of melons, we took ALOT of notes but for one afternoon, we went to Santiago and toured the main office. We finished our work early so we were able to go to the beach called Vina del Mar. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have come to know. Check out the pics in My Photos. If you ever visit this town, La Gatita is a great small seafood restaurant. All I can say is mozerella cheese on clams with a pico sour and a carmenere red wine on the side is a great way to spend a Friday night.

On Saturday I also was able to do motorcross with Danilo. The bike was a 250. I'm not really sure what that means, I just know that it was much faster than the 100 that I practiced on the week before. We weren't exactly in the mountains. It was a dirt bike trail with bumps, curves and hills. So... I hit the first hill too fast... I shouldn't have been in third gear... and I wasn't wearing much protective clothing beside my helmet... and I was planning to be at the airport in 3 hours... I landed fine, slowed down and swallowed my heart back down into my chest. Danilo measured the jump to about 25 ft. I took the rest of the day easy. We ended a little early and went across the street to a traditional Chilean rodeo. Real cowboys with sombreros, ponchos and huge spurs, all costing less than a dollar. I can't thank Danilo enough for showing me a typical Saturday in his shoes.

Sacramento - Phoenix - Miami - Santiago

In one hour I will start my journey back to Chile. This time I will be evaluating the fruit that I helped pollinate last time. My boss is going to be there too, so I definitely regard this time as more of a training time. I doubt if we will have time to go to the beach, but hopefully we will be able to visit the mountains.

Last time I was in Chile I became friends with a co-worker named Danilo. He and his wife enjoy exploring the mountains on their dirt bikes. The pictures he showed me were very cool. When we said goodbye, he insisted that I ride with him when I returned. Well, I had never ridden a dirt bike before, so I contacted people at the Lodi Motorcycle Club for lessons. Yesterday I met with Ralph and he showed me the basics. I learned how to shift, brake and drive up hills. You can view the track on their website. So I'm ready for Danilo and the Chilean mountains.

Before I arrived at the airport, I had breakfast with my roomate Mike and my new friend Robin. She and I met three weeks ago from an internet dating website. She is very cute, friendly and a bundle of energy. I have a lot of fun with her and I anticipate a DTR talk sometime in the near future!

Refrigerator Poetry

headache s drive hot music
deadline ing the ugly dance
defend walk
tonight kiss love clean (as a triangle with kiss in the middle)
how I take outno show dissertation
little what professor
shop at could would make
please her
if you want
look now ask when
wild cook thing
you are crazy money
today committee can't
he is for research
like we need it
smile and have
old night live
I'm going
yes I am
on good time
why did they all ride me
tell thesis
will eat car
she said
let's talk !!!
can do
see food
big bad MSU
go get them cold
lab where ?
a day to do him
don't major the man

Comments, comments, comments.

I have switched the comment function on my blog so that anybody can write down their thoughts. Go ahead. Give it a try.

The Barking Dog

This Lodi bar has a cage around the dance floor. Seriously! And it is full of old people. Our waitress had to be 70 years old. The average age is about 55. A country band takes one side of the cage as a disco ball shines down from above. There was one man with a Don Johnson style haircut who was dancing with all the ladies, young, old and really old! He was about 5'2" and he wore a shirt that had a pig bathing in a tub and with big bold letters read "Hot Tub Club". The highlight of the night came when he took his shirt off and he had a wifebeater underneath! This is some crazy hic town.

Chile, part three: To the Beach!

For the weekend I was invited to the beach by a co-worker and his family. On Saturday night we had a barbecue at his house and I spent most of my time playing with his two daughters, Haviela (8) and Connie (4). They would hide a stone in their hands and I had to guess. At one point Havi was playing with my hair, pulling it back into a ponytail and she said "Eww, sexy!" I was shocked. An eight-year old in a small Chilean village using the American word sexy. I guess Justin really did bring it back.

So on Sunday we drove to the beach at Iloca, a less popular, more secluded beachfront. The kids started to play with the sand and I thought it would be cool to be buried in the sand. I mean, I've been buried on the sands of Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico (both thanks to Katie!), so why not the Pacific Ocean? Then I learned that creepy little bugs lived a foot below the sand, so I didn't say anything. Another little creature I affectionately call "Bubblehead" was sticky and royal blue and kept washing up on the shore. As I was inspecting it in my hand, I felt a sting so I flung it to the ground. You can see a picture of this tiny beast in my photos. Does anybody know its real name? The tide was pretty strong and the waves were pretty big (10 feet) so we went swimming with no fear of the little creatures. Yet to this day, I am still finding sand in my ears.

Chile, part two

Most of my time spent in Chile was either for work or driving to/from work. I'm really glad that my job set me up with a nice rental car and hotel. Each cost around 60 dollars per day. The hotel was a bargain. All the amenities you can think of and a great cafe. My first meal was a fresh salad with raw salmon and goat cheese seasoned with sesame seeds. The fruit plate was great too because everything was in season. Somehow I always start talking about food.

In the cafe, I met Alastair, a guy from the Falklands which only has around 5000 residents, mainly sheep farmers and penguin tour guides. He was in Chile because his son needed medical treatment. I asked him why he didn't just fly back to the mainland - Argentina. According to him, the Falklander's distaste for Argentina is so great that they don't have any flights to or from Argentina. Maybe its similar to the Taiwan-China affair. Besides this chance encounter, I mainly felt disconnected from people, largely due to the commute. Next time I travel to Chile (early March), I plan on staying at the farm's guesthouse and traveling by bus. This will also allow me the opportunity to know more people.

Chile

Hola! from Santiago, Chile. I am here for the next week to evaluate our melons and the efficiency of the Chilean's pollinization technique. Today is my first full day. I am really happy that my Spanish is fluent enough to talk with all of the workers. I've already caught myself thinking in Spanish. Each day I have to navigate to the station (45 min) in my Saab Peugeot economy car. On the way to work, I heard Shakira sing in Spanish on the radio. Only some of you know how special that was for me.

I am really excited about being in the Southern Hemisphere for two main reasons: I can watch the toilet flush in the opposite direction and I get to look at new constellations. Hopefully I can see the Southern Cross before I fly back north.

Yesterday for lunch I had "porodos granados" which was a yellow soup made with corn, beans and something like potato. The salsa was called "aje" made of hot pepper which was very tasty. For dinner I had two empanadas which are kinda like hot pockets, except with better dough and ingredients and they are handmade, not microwaved and ... anyway I had a Sicilian (cheese, tomato, and tuna) and a typical Chilean empanada which had sauteed onions, beef and cheese. It was strikingly familiar to a Philly Cheese Steak! At first I was disappointed because I wanted another unique Chilean taste experience like my lunch. I didn't want to eat some sandwich thing I could pick up in Philly, but then I was reminded of eating Philly Cheese Steaks with my cousin in Philadelphia and I smiled.

Locked-n-Out

Last week I was talking to Meg on the phone in the parking lot of IN-N-OUT when I suddenly decided that it was much too cold outside to be talking in the car. Can you believe that I've had to scrape ice off of my windshield this week? Plus they are calling for snow! I hate global warming. Anyway, as I was walking in to get my burger I realized that my keys were locked in the car! Meg let me go and I walked into the burger joint to get a coat hanger. The clerk was a little surprised, yet handed me the hanger free of charge. As I unwound the hanger I wasn't really worried because I had broken into my car twice before. I was just glad that this time my car wasn't running.

So I'm working the hanger when all the sudden I hear a loud engine rev. Looking up I see a large white truck with its lights pointed straight at me from about 40 ft away. Thoughts of hicks and gangsters race through my mind. Are they do-gooders wanting to stop a car theft? Do they want to steal my car? I keep working. They drive away. Within 10 minutes I'm eating my burger with my keys securely in my pocket talking to Meg on my cell phone.

Sandhill Crane Festival

Every autumn Sandhill Cranes migrate south to the California Central Valley. These birds stand 5 ft tall and have a wingspan of 7 ft. Lodi hosts a festival to raise awareness for these endangered species and to raise money for their wetland habitat. The Cosumnes River Preserve is one of these habitats and is only a 15 minute drive away. Local artists were invited to capture the moment. I really enjoyed their perspectives. Here you can see a painting the was not quite finished. At dusk hundreds of birds flew in from their feeding grounds. What an amazing site it was to hear and see these majestic birds. Sorry I couldn't get any good pictures.

Digital camera

My cheap digital camera has been on the fritz lately. The back LCD screen blanks out when it wants to and comes back on when I least expect it. Getting frustrated at an all-white screen, I hopped on the internet to find the nearest Sony repair store. To my surprise Google was all that I needed. Other people listed their grievances with the same model, but one guy had a full-proof answer. Here are his posted instructions: 1. Hold camera firmly in left hand 2. Smartly rap front of camera with knuckles of right hand on the "Cyber-shot" logo. So, I tried it and it worked. Amazing! I was dumbfounded. In a matter of 5 minutes searching on the internet, I saved a lot of money and time and gained a greater appreciation for Gore's information superhighway.

Vino Piazza

One weekend I noticed that a local theatre group was presenting "The Twilight Zone" at this place called Vino Piazza. Loosely translated as Wine Plaza, it hosts 10 independent wineries, a small theatre, an excellent Thai restaurant and Dinosaur exhibits. The owner has a slight paleontology hobby and is proud to show his collection. This place is definite stop for any out-of-town visitors.

Talent Show

Ok, so I purposely don't own a TV because I know how easy it is for me to waste hours upon hours in front of it. I have higher goals like reading books, volunteering, meeting people, learning piano, etc... But just like every other addict, there are times when I need my fix. So, I stumbled upon the Yahoo Talent Show. It was like an online reality show where people submitted clips of their idea for Yahoo's next big show. Most entries were goofy, but thankfully the winner was decent. He writes his own music and shoots his own videos. Check out his latest song "Love on the Internet" which is my personal favorite.

Water Conservation

Every morning when I drive to work, the alley has three to four puddles that are becoming potholes. Recently, the city has re-paved these spots, but the pavement continues to be wet! My apartment building sits across the alley from a business complex. One night I noticed that their water sprinklers were on and that some watered plants while others just ran into the alley.

I've heard that water conservation is a big deal in California, so I decided to do my part. I wrote a letter to the local utilities company and I received a call the next day from some guy in charge of water conservation. He thanked me for the letter and said that they would take care of it. Within a week the puddles dried up.

My co-workers tell me that in the city they are only allowed to water their lawns two days a week. WC staff patrol the streets to enforce water conservation regulations. I wonder how much the business complex had to pay for their infraction.

Terrorists in Lodi

Did you know that Lodi has been in the cross-hairs of Homeland Security for the past couple years? Lodi is a comparable to Lima, OH or Jackson, MI in square miles, but it feels much more like a small town. It is surprising to me that the Federal government found a terrorist cell less than a mile from where I live. Don't worry Mom and Dad this Homeland Security "success story" is laden with much controversy. Check out the story The Enemy Within from PBS Frontline. I recommend watching the whole video online if you have a fairly fast connection.

Work

As you can see in this picture, I look very silly/dashing as I work in the field. Of course the long sleeves and hat protect me from the sun, yet my hands are naked and surprisingly haven't burnt. In my right hand I'm holding a machete which I use to cut open the melon. In my left hand I'm holding a melon baller and a garlic press which I use to squeeze out melon juice and put in a Brix meter (located in my blue carpenter's pouch) to measure the sugar content. After we are done evaluating the plot, I pull a flag (orange) from my quiver and jam it into the ground. With such a big knife, a quiver and a utility belt, I kinda feel like an Indiana Jones/super hero type ready to guard against the seeds of injustice and the tyranny of bad flavor.

One week, my boss was at a conference, so I was in charge. I had to keep the Mexicans busy while I evaluated plots of melons. The workers cut them (about 20/plot) and I tasted each one. I picked out the best melons in a plot and we saved their seed. After a couple hours of scooping seeds out of melons in the field, one of my workers said she was all done and unknowingly had a melon seed stuck to her cheek. I said "I bet you're all done", montioning to the sign of her tasting.

Providing Insurance

State Farm just sent me a free gift in the mail along with their advertisement for life insurance. Here is their catch line: "Keep this emergency blanket handy. It's just one of the many ways we can help you stay covered." I enjoyed the pun, but I had to question the gift. I mean, even if my car breaks down, I am not sleeping on the side of the road! Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the gift, not really as an incentive to buy more insurance, but more so as a nice do-dad for hiking.

So...

In the last two months, I have been consumed by online dating and online videos; partly due to the newly acquired high-speed internet access, mostly due to a strong desire for people and community. Sadly enough my social scene here in California needs a major upgrade. I'm trying to change it and I'm sure I'll have stories to tell. Btw over Christmas, I plan to write about some of the adventures I have had in the last two months. Thanks for all of the comments so far; they've been encouraging.

Rancho San Miguel

Today I was shopping in the local Mexican supermarket, Rancho San Miguel. Limes are sold for 10 cents each and a 3.5 lb bag of tortilla chips cost 3 dollars. Meanwhile, I was talking to my Dad who was harvesting soybeans with the combine. As I was reflecting on being in Ohio and riding with Dad amidst the amber waves of grain, Jesus walked by in a mechanic's shirt. I smiled; glad to be in California.

Why We Fight

I just finished watching "Why We Fight" a film by Eugene Jarecki. I have never seen a more even-handed, historical documentary about the state of war in our American Society. Please rent the DVD. I would love to hear your comments. And please be an active participant in this democracy. http://www.whywefight.com