tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17496553701520324732024-02-02T20:13:14.182+01:00the end is near...jdenparisUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-46991186546531478202011-05-31T17:13:00.002+02:002011-05-31T17:13:24.760+02:00the end is near...Dad came to Paris for a week to help me move home! Here's the first album...<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5612897663906887201%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-84054398327415471612009-04-09T15:33:00.002+02:002009-04-09T15:33:49.644+02:00All around Xi'an<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5322680680492132289%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-61067647135763327312009-04-05T09:00:00.001+02:002009-04-05T09:00:34.171+02:00Terra Cotta Warriors - Xi'an, China<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5318614308125442833%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-82806841269055747482009-03-29T16:05:00.001+02:002009-03-29T16:05:50.588+02:00The Great Wall -- Badaling, China<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5318254727075149585%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-18400596322871409612009-03-28T15:10:00.000+01:002009-03-28T15:11:56.084+01:00Beijing, China - Forbidden City and T-Square<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5317513044399625729%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCK6i5NqegZX7qAE" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-8834605737513723752009-03-27T10:19:00.000+01:002009-03-27T10:20:45.552+01:00Delhi and Agra, India<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5316779030703890193%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCM77_bfpi8njiwE" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-30819082521606444432009-03-26T01:18:00.002+01:002009-03-26T15:44:53.664+01:00Goa, India and the elephants<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5317061078744123633%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCKKZ0vfGsLjAHw" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-63173195094262006742009-03-25T01:16:00.001+01:002009-03-26T15:45:22.216+01:00Mumbai, India<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5316912440366717761%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-89081368577788536872009-02-22T19:29:00.003+01:002009-02-22T21:09:20.329+01:00Hello, and welcome to PretoriaFor the past three weeks I've been running around America: commuting from the Island to the City at 7am, crashing on couches (thanks Ken, Ju, Dayna, Bud, Josh, and their respective roommates, Jon('s friend), and Scott Joey and Nii) to save commutes, driving back and forth between DC/MD and New York a few times, and doing med school interviews. I did not stop to rest once, and it was definitely a great three weeks. But alas, I must leave behind my verizon phone and buffalo chicken pizza and resume my duties as the Techincal Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. For the next two weeks, that means my first tuberculosis (TB) mission!<br /><br />Friday at 5pm, I took off from JFK headed for Johannesburg, South Africa. I was told that this route is the longest non-stop commercial flight on Earth. That claim wound up being wrong on two counts: it is neither non-stop, nor the longest (wikipedia has a top 10 list <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-stop_flight#Currently_operating">here</a>). We flew for 6 hours across the Atlantic and stopped in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakar">Dakar, Senegal</a>. Then another 8 hours to Johannesburg. I slept a good portion of the time and also squeezed in a viewing of Matchstick Men (I had no idea it ends that way!). As it was the Sabbath, and inspired by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Biblically-Literally-Possible/dp/0743291476">A Year of Living Biblically</a>, I decided to order the lamb for dinner (apparently lamb is the biblical sabbath meal of choice). Oddly, my lamb arrived smelling, looking, and tasting a whole lot like chicken with rice. Hmph! <br /><br />After a 24-hour(time adjusted) journey, I arrived safely in South Africa. While it may not have been the longest direct flight, I do believe those 17 hours surpassed my previous record of continuously sitting on an airplane (14 hours from Paris to Mexico City - direct.).<br /><br />I was greeted at the airport by a really kind driver who identified himself as Lincoln. He took me on the 45 minute trip from Johannesburg to the <a href="http://waterkloofguesthouse.com/">Waterkloof Guest House</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretoria">Pretoria</a>. I'm not 100% positive, but I'm almost certain that en route, we passed a dead person lying in the road. There was lots of traffic, I saw two empty sneakers (thought what are those doing there?), and as we passed the police cars, there was young man lying face down on the road - shoeless. <br /><br />Anyway, the guest house has been nothing short of pretty excellent! I woke up bright and early, then went and had my tasty complimentary breakfast (bacon, eggs, grilled tomato, toast). I also had a really fresh croissant, warm, flaky, buttery. Interestingly, it's been the best croissant I've had on this journey (mind you, I've lived in France for 6 months on and off)!<br /><br />While sitting in the sun (or rather, the shade - so under rated!) reading my books (I finished Living Biblically, and began Barack Obama's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_from_My_Father">Dreams from my Father</a>) all day, I worked up quite an appetite. Now, the South Africans have a thing for hospitality, which I found out the... uhhh... easy way. I went and asked the receptionist (who I believe is the owner here) if the fruit out was free to take. Her answer did include a resounding "why, yes, of course!" but also (remarkably) a beautiful 'pastrami' sandwich being delivered to my room a few minutes later!<br /><br />She escorted me into the kitchen and started pulling everything out of the fridge (it's more like a house kitchen than a hotel kitchen - they don't really operate a restaurant here). In her South African accent (think Danny Archer, 'Dinny Ahh Cha' from Blood Diamond), "Here, lets get you some bread, do you keep halal? kosher? [no, not reall-mutters] Ok, here, we have some pastrami, lets slice you up some tomato, you want cheese? no cheese? here, how about a little mayo, do you know mayo? it'll make the meat just.. mmm!" Shortly thereafter I had a 'pastrami' club (or two?) cut up into quarters and served with little gherkins, all complimentary! Nice. I put the pastrami in quotation marks, as this is, like the Glatt Kosher pastrami in le Marais (and the 'smoked meat' in Montreal), NOT like New York Pastrami (capital P). I guess you can't get the real thing anywhere else (except Boca, where I understand Ben's opened up shop a few years back).<br /><br />It's not all play here, mind you! Today I met with a few members of our team who are currently trickling into town. Tomorrow we have meetings all day, and Tuesday I head out on my first of two missions! This week, I'm going to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpumalanga">Mpumalanga</a>, and next week to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpopo">Limpopo</a>! After that, it's off to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai">Mumbai, India</a> (yes, of Slumdog Millionaire) for the <a href="http://www.14wctoh.org/">14th Annual World Conference on Tobacco or Health</a>!<br /><br />It should be a pretty wild few weeks, and I upgraded to a 2 gig SD card to capture it all. Hope to be able to share more soon!<br /><br />A bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-2174482321324904082009-02-14T04:32:00.000+01:002009-02-14T04:34:41.916+01:00cupcake birthdayy / hangin in bk<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5302489770883993889%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-30638247264069415032009-01-26T22:18:00.001+01:002009-01-26T22:18:17.091+01:00More Paris pics with Maman<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5290318227338907121%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DiNV26-dCf_Q" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-9218648240508241532009-01-17T13:00:00.002+01:002009-01-17T13:02:47.255+01:00Mom's Paris pics<div style="width:800px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FAbcDavid103%2Falbumid%2F5292012256969876161%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/AbcDavid103/ParisW_Jordan" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-62246641771074723202009-01-17T11:19:00.000+01:002009-01-17T11:20:00.247+01:00Day 1 of Mom's visit to Paris!<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5290169725737767297%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3Di8Wcgj7Ly00" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-65353444091340522492009-01-11T23:14:00.003+01:002009-01-11T23:24:56.645+01:00we took a QUICK sidetrip to Belgium...Well, it turns out that in Amsterdam, there is one casino group. If you work for the group, you cannot get into any of the casinos within 6 months of your termination. Damian and I found this out the hard way. Looking to make a few quick bucks last summer, Damian took a job at the main casino in Amsterdam as a cocktail waiter. From what I understand, the job lasted about 4 days - July 15th - 19th. This date is so precise because we were not allowed into the casino there, as the hold on Damian's name expires Jan 19. They check passports.<br /><br />Defeated but still determined, we decided to take a quick trip to neighboring Belgium, as Brussels has a pretty nice casino (and, as it were, Christmas festival)! We booked a hotel, packed a bag, and took a drive south. I set both an upper and lower limit on my gambling, just as the Travel Channel advises on all of their vegas shows. I did have some exciting blackjack hands, like piggy backing one guy's hand and getting blackjack right away, or increasing my bet by a factor of 2, splitting, and winning both hands! Woo :) Ultimately, I did hit one of my limits, and diligently stopped.<br /><br />Aside from the casino, we did ALL of the musts while in Belgium, and all in under 24 hours: beer, waffles, french fries, chocolate, brussels, and antwerp. Really efficient trip.<br /><br />Anyway, enjoy some pics!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5287943988009239793%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DgX5Ig9ds4s8" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />A bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-45139489802255992872009-01-10T00:13:00.000+01:002009-01-10T00:14:11.244+01:00photos from ScandinaviaFollow up from <a href="http://jdparis.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-new-year-from-scandinavia.html">Scandinavia</a>, here are some pics!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5288314514847199329%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DrO_JitpGyBU" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-48354211369679763072009-01-07T22:48:00.010+01:002009-01-10T12:19:10.215+01:00I'm Notsterdam, He Is-sterdamWell, if you've never been to Amsterdam, you must make the trip. What a city. Go quickly though, cause the things you may have heard are starting to change. First of all, apparently there are fewer registered prostitutes in the Red Light District. Fortunately for us, when we walked through, there were plenty: skinny, fat, old, young, black, white, brown, purple, anything you could want. Damian's pretty similar to me though, and so we did just walk through, neither of us even wanted to look in, lest we make eye contact and our skulls explode. <br /><br />A change of greater significance to me and my line of work, the city has gone Smoke Free! What a victory! This, of course, refers only to tobacco, and so a new job has come into existence. In Holland, and well, most of Europe I guess, a type of marijuana, hash, is rolled into joints mixed with tobacco. They don't smoke weed joints like I imagine the hoodlums do in the United States. However, with the passage of SF laws, there are now enforcement agents whose job is to enter coffee shops (the standard euphemism for a place where you get marijuana) and smell for tobacco! If they smell weed, all is fine. Tobacco, big trouble! What a great country :) <br /><br />Another change is well underway: the outlawing of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin_mushrooms">Psilocybin mushrooms</a> aka'd as shrooms or magic mushrooms. Now I was talking about this with Damian (my Dutch friend, a native of Amsterdam). He said that at first they only outlawed the dried mushrooms because they are more potent and more difficult to detect (no odor). That left the wet kind which were, yes, less potent and EASIER to detect. Well, evidently they too are on their way out now. Damian told me that although there have been deaths attributed to mushroom use, the argument against their illegalization is that there are way more deaths attributable to alcohol! This was most shocking to me, however, because of the fact that in the Dutch legislative body, there exist elected officials and lobbyists fighting for 'shrooms!<br /><br />Thankfully, Amsterdam isn't only about prosties and drugs. We dedicated a full day to museums there! First up was the Anne Frank House. Contrary to our expectations, we didn't wait forever to get in or go through. We did the whole thing from arrival to departure in an hour. Not bad. The house was really interesting and I'm glad I went. There's not a lot to see, as Otto Frank, Anne's father and the only Frank to survive the Holocaust wanted the Annex to remain unfurnished, since the Nazis stole all of the furniture shortly after imprisoning the occupants. It was definitely a moving experience and I'm glad I went. Next up was Van Gogh.<br /><br />Lots of art at Van Gogh. My favorite was his painting of a skeleton smoking a cigarette. I bought postcards for the people at The Union. Didn't see <a href="http://www.poster.net/van-gogh-vincent/van-gogh-vincent-starry-night-7900566.jpg">starry night</a> :/ Did see the famous <a href="http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=van%20gogh&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi">self portraits, bedroom, and landscapes</a>. They are nice. Lastly we went to the Heineken Experience / Brewery.<br /><br />Heini was great! Loved the museum. I learned a lot about the branding and the awards they've won. My favorite was their claim about how Heineken makes the world just a little greener :) Also, I never knew before, the the 3 "e" letters in the branded name are smiling! Look closely next time. The best part of the museum was the ride that made me feel like a piece of barley goin through the beer-making process. Of course, the tasting stations were nice too, but as I would learn soon, were no match for the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen. Heini also had some cool <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/SURFACE/index.html">Surface</a>-esque tables. Lame implementation. It was also pretty funny when one of the brewmasters went to use a grinding machine which I had broken just moments before. I tried to tell him at first, but he was presenting to another group and I didn't want to interrupt! Then it was just too embarrassing to 'fess up to that in front of our whole group... Plus there were 2 cute girls following us.<br /><br />One day Damian took me to a port town in Holland (forgive me for not remembering the name every time... Fullendam? **<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volendam">Volendam</a> - Home of the annual Herring festival - Thanks Lori!!**). This place was really cool. And by cool I just mean freezing!! The boats and sea were really picturesque. On the way back, we stopped by one of the dikes. Here you can really see why in French, Holland is called Pays-Bas (Low Country). It's way lower than the sea! (see pics).<br /><br />The best thing about Amsterdam may have been Damian's family. They took me in as one of their own. First of all, his mom's boyfriend let us stay the whole two weeks for free at his place, conveniently located right near the city and on a pretty canal (see pics). Then, his brother and sister-in-law had me over for not one, but two christmas dinners! Again, see pics. Lastly, both of Damina's Omas (grandmas - same as in German, Dad's side of the family!) had me over for lunch! So sweet. His Indonesian grandmother made a fantastic noodle stir fry, and we had some good pastries with the Dutch one. Good times, thanks Damian's family for making me feel like one of your own!<br /><br />Enjoy les photos.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5287931186889071249%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DJrdyQE1L9JM" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />A bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-62746151001956513922009-01-01T11:37:00.005+01:002009-01-05T00:03:05.675+01:00Giza<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y1dPi6_a0Qf3RsZis2dyyZOR7g4kSl_d14evUURYkH6h-f3Q0kRAM9Df3Sf-hKr6KiCFWTV3hkjhMGWnfdGhp1xuJ8EW69Z2f5OaWrV4XiPndYW1AW3NNiCR_eL8oT_jT2MqvjfgV-E/s1600-h/Giza.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y1dPi6_a0Qf3RsZis2dyyZOR7g4kSl_d14evUURYkH6h-f3Q0kRAM9Df3Sf-hKr6KiCFWTV3hkjhMGWnfdGhp1xuJ8EW69Z2f5OaWrV4XiPndYW1AW3NNiCR_eL8oT_jT2MqvjfgV-E/s400/Giza.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287577944056775970" /></a><br />Of course, no trip to Cairo would be complete without seeing the pyramids, and mine was no exception. Right after class, I chartered one of the hotel cars to Giza (not a Hummer this time :( ). Since we were running early, the driver told me there was a chance he could get one of his friends there to take me around back through the desert on a camel. That sounded awesome and I was really pulling for it, but, I guess due to that horrible Cairo traffic, it didn't happen. (Un)Fortunately, the driver had some OTHER friends that I would meet before seeing the (interesting? cheesy? educational?) pyramid sound and light show.<br /><br />First up was perfume lady. The driver told me, "here, you go with him (his friend), he's my friend." The three of us (me, driver, friend) went into a shop where a woman (perfume lady's assistant) offered us drinks. Now, courtesy of a Delta ad on the LIRR, I had read that it was an offense to turn down a drink in Egypt. The ad had led me to believe that this applied primarily to alcoholic beverages. I was probably wrong (drinking is prohibited in Islam), and so perfume lady's assistant asked 4-5 times before accepting 'no' as an answer. After a few minutes, the driver and his friend stepped outside for a smoke (guess I wasn't doing my job there...), and I was left alone with perfume lady and a room full of flasks with colorful liquids.<br /><br />Perfume lady, noticing I was drinkless, began the incessant drink-offering ritual again. After another 4-5 offers, I realized this one wasn't taking no for an answer. I begrudgingly accepted a tea (I don't really like drinking caffeine, much less in the evening). While the defeated assistant prepared my drink, perfume lady got to work.<br /><br />She began with a brief schpiel about the origins of perfume and cologne, and how these were all concentrated oils made from all natural ingredients, et cetera. As she took each one from the wall, she opened it, took a bit on her hands or a swab, and rubbed it on a new spot on my person: my left wrist, my right wrist, my palms, the back of my palms, the lapel of my sweatshirt, the other lapel, and so on. She even did some trickery with one, dropping a bit of it into boiling water and forcing me to smell with my eyes closed. That peppermint cleared my passages better than any <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maror">maror</a> ever has. By the time she was done, I smelled worse than a trigger happy 6 year old in the makeup department of macy's trapped by the promise of KB Toys while his mother is swooned by the lancome salesperson (like I would know...). <br /><br />After this _powerful_ demonstration, perfume lady started talking about prices. I assured her I didn't want any, but like the tea, 'no' was not an option with this one. I wound up with the smallest bottle of concentrated aftershave (just add a drop to water!) at half the initial asking price. Boy did I take HER for a spin!!<br /><br />As the sun had set, I figured I was done meeting my drivers' friends and it was time for the show. Nope. The original guy told me to follow him. He led me around a pitch dark bend over the side of the street covered in what felt like livestock excrement (it probably was - the street was lined with donkeys, rams, goats, camels, everything). We arrived at a papyrus "museum," which was run by more 'friends!' Great. <br /><br />I sat down as the guy in there told me to wait. He left and returned with another woman. After another 40 minutes of drink negotiations (I won this time), the guy stood behind the counter, the woman motioned me over to another counter and started a papyrus demonstration. Cut by hand, soaked for 6 days, turned, soaked another 6 days, fresh water, weaving, pressing, ya ya ya - its a time consuming process. They had all these prints on the walls, supposedly made from hand crafted papyrus! They can even add my name in hieroglyphs!<br /><br />To make a long story short, I left with 4 of the things with free personalization, the student rate (50% off list), and the 4th free. Guess I took them for a spin too!! Hah!<br /><br />When I finally met up again with my driver, he asked how I liked the "museums." I said it was interesting, and that they were very pushy. He assuringly replied, "you didn't have to buy anything... These people know how to sell to anyone. You tell them you're Japanese they do one way, American they know how to make you buy, anyone." Well great! Thanks for bringing me to them.<br /><br />The sound and light show was pretty cool at some points. The Sphinx narrated it. He told us about the 5,000 years of sunrises he's seen, and all of the famous people like Napoleon who've come to visit. I was really quite shocked that the educational show made no mention of the words "Jew," "Jewish," or "slave." Hmph. I found it amusing to hear the people boarding the tour busses saying that the show was the most amazing thing they'd ever seen in their lives.<br /><br />I guess if you have a family, you can bring them. Otherwise, I'd opt for going during the day, riding a camel around the desert, and watching the pyramids rise above the dunes. I did see them appear in the distance from the highway, and it was really amazing. They're absolutely huge and majestic. This effect was somewhat diminished when I realized exactly how close the Pizza Hut/KFC had encroached on one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world (the answer: you can basically throw a tennis ball from the pyramid and hit the eatery).<br /><br />When I finally got back to the hotel, I was too hungry to go upstairs. I decided to go to the adjoining mall and find some food. Of course, the entrance has airport security, and so I had to put my papyrus and perfume through the conveyor belt xray machine. Unfortunately, the papyrus look like a pipe bomb, and so the next security guy who saw me carrying it forced me aside and opened it all up to inspect :p <br /><br />Well, enjoy the pics!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5284525841970300577%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DV3roxU0W3KQ" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />a bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-55368855874788764202008-12-31T18:36:00.012+01:002008-12-31T19:23:59.899+01:00happy new year from Scandinavia!Yesterday Damian and I took a side trip from Amsterdam up to Copenhagen to stay at the wonderful Hotel von Essen and bring in the new year in Scandinavian style. After fighting on the phone with Orbitz til 2 in the morning the night before our 8am flight, we woke up at 5 and were on our way. We met Sarah (Danish cousin? fam friend? hotelier?) at McD's in Copenhagen Central Station, and she showed us the streets and pointed us to a few good sites, but not before treating us to our first Kringle and 6 pack of Carlsburg - mmm. <br /><br />First up was the Carlsberg brewery. At first we thought it was totally lame compared to the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, but then we got to the bar at the end of the tour. We made friends with two of the bartenders while our indecisive American / Dutch palettes sampled almost every beer on tap. They decided not to collect our drink passes, and so we each had 4 free beers, with tickets to bring back on Friday :) !<br /><br />Next, like true world travelers, we went to Hard Rock for dinner. I had this awesome burger with guacamole and something spicy. Mmm. Afterwards, we went to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens">Tivoli Gardens</a>.<br /><br />This is a big amusement park in Copenhagen, and apparently served as Walt Disney's inspiration for that place in Orlando. For us, the best amusement was the big open coal pit to warm cold fingers. We only stayed 33 minutes. I know this, because that's exactly what the clerk told us when we asked for a refund. We could have gotten it before 30 minutes.<br /><br />Today we decided to squeeze in one last country excursion for 2008, and so we hopped on a train and went to Malmo, Sweden. 66% of Scandinavia in just 2 days! There, we saw this cool ice show with dance-skaters and music. Feeling kinda hungry, we went on a hunt for some Swedish meatballs. We wound up in a restaurant that smelled like Ben's, and so I was confident they'd have the goods. Unfortunately, they did not. We asked our waitress the best place to get meatballs, and she told us Ikea. Ha! We found a few at this hole in the wall nearby, and we froze while eating them.<br /><br />This guy from Chicago sat down next to us and started talking to me. And he kept talking to me. With no end in sight, I had to jump in and tell him it was nice to meet but we had to run. Apparently he was this finance guy from Chicago who worked at a firm on Long Island and spent time in DC (Georgetown) too. He was trying to convince me that hospitals on boats that went from poor coastline to poor coastline were a good idea. I was just confused how the patients were supposed to get home if they're discharged in a different country than they were admitted in.<br /><br />Tonight we're back in Copenhagen for the New Year, and currently intend to spend it outdoors. That may change when we actually set foot outdoors, but who knows.<br /><br />See y'all in 09! Happy new year :)<br /><br />A bientot,<br /><br />(ps - I'll have the rest of Egypt w pics this weekend and hopefully be caught up w posts soon!)<br /><br />*edited by DamianUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-22925741658614196462008-12-27T17:51:00.008+01:002008-12-28T23:59:29.945+01:00let me tell you something about cairo...After my amazing trip to New York, there were exactly 0 minutes of down time. I went straight from the Bloomberg Brunch to the airport with Jose (my boss), and we landed in Paris on Tuesday morning (middle of the night NY time). I went to the Union apartment, took a 1 hour nap, showered, and went in to work. The next two weeks were absolutely crazy, as The Union was hosting its annual World Conference in Paris (last year was Cape Town, SA, next year Cancun!). 2,000 of the world's leading Tuberculosis experts descended on this big conference center, and I was assigned to man the <a href="http://union-imdp.org">International Management Development Programme</a> booth. At this point, I had been working for 27 days straight, including weekends and travel. After the conference (it ended on a Monday), it was straight off to Egypt on Saturday (25 oct)!<br /><br />The flight to Egypt was pretty cool. I got to see the Alps, which looked to be just about as high as we were flying. Jose and I were on the same flight, and so I was able to talk to him at length about some really interesting things, like his involvement in the tuberculosis program in India that expanded treatment availability to 500 million people when the funds were meant for just 250. I speculated that someone he knows was sure to win the Nobel prize (he said "our circle" which made me feel important), and he replied that one of his professors at UPenn did.<br /><br />Anyway, we got to Cairo, and found the driver from the <a href="http://www.citystars.com.eg/citystars/holidayinn/">hotel</a> with the sign with our name on it. As we walked to the car, he looked at us smiling and said "the only car available was the Hummer." I started hysterically laughing, as Jose is such a straight-laced guy, and we were about to ride like 50 cent's entourage. When the driver went to get the car, I told Jose that a Hummer is one of those huge cars that gets <10 miles to the gallon and usually transports people blasting rap music. Sure enough, our Hummer was no exception :p<br /><br />The hotel was incredible - best I've stayed in so far for work (didn't beat <a href="http://www.cheeca.com/gallery/">Cheeca Lodge and Resort</a>). I had a big queen size bed, 26in flat screen, robe, slippers, the works. I was even able to set my wakeup call from the tv! The course started immediately the next day, so again there was no time for rest. After work, Jose and I went to dinner. He was really excited about this restaurant they have in the mall adjacent to our hotel. He said it was like being in the jungle. It was.<br /><br />My first dinner in Cairo was a Safari Burger at the <a href="http://www.rainforestcafe.com/">Rainforest Cafe</a>!<br /><br />The next day after class, I met up with Lauren Linakis for dinner. She's working the second best internship in the world as an assistant to the president of one of the American Universities in Cairo (or maybe The American University of Cairo?). Anyway, I had one of the Egyptian Union staff help me out getting downtown from the hotel. We went to the concierge together to ask about getting a cab and negotiating a price. There are two types of taxis - legit taxis that have meters and stuff (yellow), and black taxis that you have to bargain. still legit but perhaps less regulated.<br /><br />Concierge: "Well, you can the black taxis, but just know it costs about 30 - 40 Egyptian pounds to go, so thats what you have to ask for."<br />Union Employee: "But sir, I, as an Egyptian, would only expect to pay 15-20 Egyptian pounds for that."<br />C: "No. I... AS AN EGYPTIAN... pay 20-25 E pounds, and so he should expect to pay 30-40."<br /><br />and so on...<br /><br />I wound up taking a yellow taxi with a meter. I had a hard time getting the cabbie agree to turn it on, but he finally did. As we were driving, we turned right off the main roadway, drove for 5 min, turned around, and went back to the main roadway. He did this 2 more times, always returning to the same roadway. I wonder what he was looking for on those detours... <br /><br />Driving in Cairo is the worst I have ever experienced. Even worse than stand still tuk tuk Bangkok (though maybe not during the protests). First of all, there are no traffic laws. As a tram approached, cars crossed the tracks until the very last second. I don't remember if there are traffic lights, but if they were there, nobody obeyed them. Secondly, the air is UNBREATHABLE. It's a combination of the constant stand still traffic (resulting from no traffic laws and overwhelmed streets), super old cars with nonexistent emissions standards, and smoking in restaurants. We finally got to downtown Cairo, but it was not where I asked to be let off, and i felt sick after the detours and smog. At least the ride only cost 2-3 USD. Regardless, I had to ask a bunch of people for directions to the address I had, and it took about 20-25 min more to find it.<br /><br />Finally I met up with Lauren in this restaurant downtown and not far from the Nile. We had a nice Egyptian meal together and it was great to see a familiar face :) After the meal, she showed me the Nile. On the way there, she was getting lots of stares for not being veiled and for showing her ankles. Apparently that's 'ok' there, but it's so shocking to actually see it rather than hear on the news. Crossing the streets was a death wish. We had to traverse a traffic circle. God was on our side. <br /><br />When we safely got to the river, she pointed out that there were so many people on the bridge looking over the water. They were all the young men and women courting each other as part of the arranged marriage process! There's no real dating in Egypt - nuts. I had to go back to my hotel at this point, and I decided to take one of the unregulated black taxis. Lauren tried to negotiate a fair price for me before I got in the cab, and she told me to get out, throw the money in the window, and just walk away at the end. Good advice! I made it home safely, and not ripped off (that was lucky as I would soon learn...)!<br /><br />Ok will share more + pics later<br /><br />a bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-48336076569735401912008-12-25T18:54:00.000+01:002008-12-25T19:17:50.279+01:00My Business Trip to NYC :)(October, 2008) After a few days in <a href="http://jdparis.blogspot.com/2008/11/cuernavaca-mexico.html">Cuernavaca, Mexico</a>, I made it up to New York Citayy for the tail end of Rosh Hash and Yom Kippur. Being on the road for so long (at this point it had only been 1 month living out of a suitcase. Now, 4), I was happy to get back to America. There really was some reverse culture shock. Primarily, I was SHOCKED to always be able to understand and communicate with everyone! Language is something I can't take for granted anymore.<br /><br />Since I came to the US a few days ahead of schedule, I had to live at home on Long Island and commute to the financial district for three days before my hotel reservation downtown kicked in. I'll just live close to work in the future. Luckily, I wound up working on Wall St. during the most fascinating time! There were a ton of protestors every day out there -- big rats, people scaling flagpoles, you name it. <a =onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmBm-3HCExMg_Rg049lKFwf0D40Fa0CjchKi2WG0NnAUV_eXlyKCaJIUmylor7IRwrePaGWX9PnT5751a4S876cU9ked70zyEpsxcFXaSJRN_zrcBWmOislvLHpvXtCXGSjE5yLaFjB4/s1600-h/foreclosed.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmBm-3HCExMg_Rg049lKFwf0D40Fa0CjchKi2WG0NnAUV_eXlyKCaJIUmylor7IRwrePaGWX9PnT5751a4S876cU9ked70zyEpsxcFXaSJRN_zrcBWmOislvLHpvXtCXGSjE5yLaFjB4/s400/foreclosed.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283696532694436834" /></a> Apparently there was some economic crisis... I don't know.<br /><br />In any case, it was great to be back, and I don't think I stopped moving for one second. I went straight from the airport to Rosh Hashanah dinner night 2, then home to LI, then to work the next 3 days, etc. I spent the weekend doing winter shopping and still commuting to the city to go out at night. The whole next week I lived at the hotel, woke up at 7 for work, commuted to NYU after work, got home by 12, and started over (my goal was to make my schedule as crazy as Sam's, but I don't think I could ever come close). I didn't even have the second weekend off! After a long night at nyu Friday, I woke up early Saturday morning to go hang with Dad's side of the family at Aunt Sandy's brunch. I really miss bagels and tuna, mmmm. <br /><br />On my way to the uptown bus, I missed my subway connection by less than a second, and watched my early arrival to brunch pull away into the darkness. When I finally got out of the subway, I found out that Ken and the other NYC commuters had caught the bus 5 mins before I got there, and I had to wait an hour all by my lonesome for the next one. I took that opportunity to have a pre-brunch breakfast and get a quick haircut :) It was great to see everyone on Dad's side of the family - thanks so much for putting it together aunt sandy! <br /><br />Straight from brunch, I went home to check on Mogen, as he had some surgery on his leg (see slideshow). When I decided he was doin alright, I hopped back on a train to the city to go to the Bloomberg Initiative Partner's dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Rockefeller ice rink / Christmas tree. The next morning (Sunday) I was up at 6am to go to the meetings. What a great experience. I got to meet so many of the LEADERS of the global fight against tobacco - people who have lobbied city and national governments for Smoke Free laws, tax experts, CDC representatives, and more. I met Tom Frieden, who's the commissioner of the NYC Dept of Health - the guy responsible for smoke free, no trans fat, and calorie counts in the city's restaurants! Sweet. They even let me sit in on the smaller breakout sessions where these people developed plans for the specific countries. I made the presentation that our representative gave to the whole group :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCzQ66fhSrNaJ2snlidiRJuMnfBb4g13NF7e2wL1Iu0_1bUZy_qMzv9lXBqgatUYI9rQj2k0QzOlB7MtxzOKyWVzu283Ym_WxCT4D8hqpLzoHAhSx4Y_ubraFhwL_kr7OavGmroYApCs/s1600-h/bloomberg+-+stephen++-+me+-+peter+-+small.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCzQ66fhSrNaJ2snlidiRJuMnfBb4g13NF7e2wL1Iu0_1bUZy_qMzv9lXBqgatUYI9rQj2k0QzOlB7MtxzOKyWVzu283Ym_WxCT4D8hqpLzoHAhSx4Y_ubraFhwL_kr7OavGmroYApCs/s400/bloomberg+-+stephen++-+me+-+peter+-+small.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283688595238579458" /></a>The next day was definitely the highlight though. Monday, Columbus Day, I was up at 6 again to get uptown to the Bloomberg building for brunch with the Mayor. <br /><br />The entire group of tobacco control experts was waiting with coffees and juices before brunch when the Mayor made his way up the stairs. He began shaking hands and moving through the crowd with his photographer, and settled first on the group of people I was standing with! In the photograph, you see Jose's hand and cup (my boss), Mayor Bloomberg, Stephen from WLF, me, and Peter from WLF (<a href="http://worldlungfoundation.org/">World Lung Foundation</a>, The Union's sister foundation, conceived of and founded by my boss Jose).<br /><br />When the Mayor walked up to us, he introduced himself, shook hands, and began with his clearly prepared, but very entertaining schmooze-script. "You know when you're mayor, you never get a day off. Right after this brunch, I have to go to the Latin Americans Columbus Day Parade. Yesterday, I had to march in the Italian Columbus Day Parade. Why can't they just join together and have one parade? One year, I closed fire houses, raised taxes, and banned smoking in the City's restaurants and bars, and I still managed to march in a parade in Staten Island. If you can do that, you can do anything!"<br /><br />He was also hysterical when congratulating the entire crowd for our great work in fighting tobacco. "Last month, I attended the European Respiratory Society conference in Berlin with 20,000 attendees. One reporter asked if I would do a lung capacity test. Everyone with me kept trying to persuade me not to do it, it wasn't planned, we didn't know the results - it would be a PR disaster if I didn't pass. My people have great faith in me. Anyway, I took the test, and it turned out my lung capacity is just where it should be for a 66-year-old sex symbol!"<br /><br />My trip home was amazing. I got to see just about everyone I miss while abroad, and I finally got to live in the city, if only for a few days! Look forward to being back in Feb (ish).<br /><br />Merry Christmas, and a bientot!<br /><br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5283739733708189969%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3Debu4Rtbx8mI" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-19849046921844845352008-12-01T19:53:00.006+01:002008-12-02T14:08:33.499+01:00this is NOT what I signed up for!ps. (I just posted below...)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkOOTNmldTGdEPXpeU7s1QvhRDaLlN27NlVXWV425AmoUyWHHBm_66Sb7AMjI3z61lcN2BFqURGXIKDnU-_aszeF9UPa3KyKXk8OM87QTkAcZR7PbH3LFN7m5rUf81xmgDaji8wRWD-4/s1600-h/weather.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkOOTNmldTGdEPXpeU7s1QvhRDaLlN27NlVXWV425AmoUyWHHBm_66Sb7AMjI3z61lcN2BFqURGXIKDnU-_aszeF9UPa3KyKXk8OM87QTkAcZR7PbH3LFN7m5rUf81xmgDaji8wRWD-4/s400/weather.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274897550797328034" /></a><br /><br><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />note* temperature is presented in Celsius. <br />This is Paris.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-91765450092362219412008-12-01T19:32:00.004+01:002008-12-01T19:47:17.938+01:00was john mellencamp french?This morning I developed an interesting hypothesis. After waking up, I opened up my computer and started up the music for my morning shower (yes, I got the whole system <a href="http://jdparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/qui-ferme-les-lumieres.html">straightened out</a>), as I went to bed last night just as a great song was starting up (it was a live version of "with a little help from my friends" by Joe Cocker, straight off the United We Stand collection, courtesy of Seth's cd collection). <br />(here for your listening enjoyment:)<br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6FMq0iDX1yE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6FMq0iDX1yE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object><br /><br />The playlist ran throughout my shower and while I dressed, and then a miraculous thing happened as Jack and Diane was played while I did my hair. A French police car drove by with the usual European drone of a siren goin (mehhhh dahhhhhhhh mehhhhhhh dehhhhhhhhh), and it went PERFECTLY with J&D! The rhythm, the pitch (as the alarm was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_shift#Sirens">incident</a>), the whole thing!<br /><br />Was John Mellencamp French, or were the developers of that siren just huge Mellencamp fans?<br /><br />A bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-22666453637090866502008-11-30T21:52:00.001+01:002008-11-30T21:52:59.676+01:00Thanksgiving McGee :)<object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4VfDw_0CKD4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4VfDw_0CKD4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-69546260056351136852008-11-09T12:01:00.001+01:002008-11-09T12:01:42.024+01:00j'ai quelques photos!<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5266603299882987073%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />Enjoy :)<br /><br />A bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749655370152032473.post-91469325614753110212008-11-05T23:01:00.003+01:002008-11-06T00:04:35.754+01:00cuernavaca, mexicoIn honor of Barack Obama being elected in a LANDSLIDE victory over John McCain, I've decided to finally make a real post, despite recovering from an early afternoon migraine...<br /><br />So I was scheduled to be in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuernavaca">Cuernavaca, Mexico</a>, city of eternal spring, from 23 Sep - 4 Oct, and then head up to NYC for a week or so. I knew it was gonna be an interesting trip when I got there and couldn't communicate with the locals. While my French is not on par with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z_6UfkQ-c0">JCVD's</a>, I can manage to get around here, I haven't gone hungry yet.<br /><br />I got to the hotel at around 8 or 9 pm, but after being in transit for 20+ hours and jumping back in time 7 hours, I was exhausstedddd. The restaurant was closing soon so I just had time to drop my bags and get there to eat. Luckily the receptionist gave me a free upgrade to the corner room, cause the initial room he showed me seemed...lacking. Anyway, I got down to the restau, and couldn't understand a word on the menu (naturally). I couldn't communicate with the guy to get seated either, but this lady there helped to translate. She was actually kind enough to invite me to join her and her friend for dinner. They were meeting for the first time in like 30 years after being friends in middle school. I should have eaten alone.<br /><br />Anyway, I had some nice Mexican fare, and the guacamole was delicious. The ladies were nice - wrote down lots of info for me of things I could see in and around Cuernavaca. One even offered to give me a personal tour of a zoo where she used to work (she was a biologist).<br /><br />The next day I got up bright and early, still exhausted from the grueling day of travel just hours before. I showered, got all dressed up in my CUSTOM tailored Bangkok suit, and went down for breakfast. As I walked down thru the lobby, I noticed a sign for our course which said 25 - 30 Sep. I stopped in my tracks. <br /><br />"What's today's date?" I asked the reception guy. "Uh senor its 24th."<br /><br />This was gonna be a great trip.<br /><br />I changed, had breakfast, went to the gym, sat out by the pool, and finally in the afternoon met some of my colleagues from the Latin America Resource Center. The course started the next day. <br /><br />When I got back to my hotel room that night, I noticed there was a GIGANTICCCCCCC black moth chilling on the door right next to my room. This thing was like a pterodactyl. It was gross and made me nauseous to look at, think about, or be in any sort of spitting distance of it. I quickly got the key in my door and slammed it behind me, careful not to let the Land Before Time recreate itself in my hotel room.<br /><br />The course was ok - it was all in Spanish so I didn't follow much (read: anything.). I just waited for Jose to show up and give me instructions. Unfortunately, that day I received an email that Jose wasn't coming! I was like a fish out of water. Everyone spoke spanish almost exclusively, everyone asked me what I was doing there, and everyone was mad Jose wasn't coming. I did learn SOME spanish though (donde esta la comida? yo quiero carne y pollo con guacamole y riz y queso). The LARC staff was really nice to me, and always translated menus and stuff. <br /><br />That night, and each night, as I returned to my hotel room, I still noticed my friend the gigantic nauseating moth chilling in the same spot on the door next to mine. Every time I went in and out of my room I was careful to be swift and stealth-like, like a veloca raptor. <br /><br />The day off was cool. I slept in (til 8), got up, had me a nice hearty mexican breakfast (they serve like... beans and quesadillas), went to the gym, sat in the hot tub, went for a swim, and then got a nice massage.<br /><br />Like a fish out of water though, I was pretty determined to get out of there. Luckily, Continental made that possible, and I was able to make it home for Rosh Hashanah!<br /><br />The last night, as I was all excited to get back to my room and pack, I noticed the moth was not there. As not much was going right this week, I figured he had somehow snuck into my room with the housekeeper / plumbing expert (that's a WHOLE 'nother story) or something. I was partially right - nothing was going my way this week. The moth was not in my room. Rather, he was RIGHT on my door!!! I was effectively locked out cause I was not going anywhere near that hairy beast. I guess I'm like Ace Ventura - lover of animals, petrified of bats.<br /><br />I tried to go find some rocks to throw at it. I came up with some dirt from a nearby potted plant, but the moth didn't budge under the dirty attacks. Then I found my water bottle. I gave it a little spritz, but nothing. Then I gave it the monsoon treatment, and in one fell swoop it beat its tremendous wings and flew RIGHT at me and away into the afternoon sky. I dove out of the way with my big nerdy backpack on and dressed in my work clothes. Just at that awkward moment, some of the LARC staff was downstairs and saw the thing fly away and me freak out like I had just been assaulted with napalm. They cried in laughter and encouraged me how horrible those things are.<br /><br />Anyway, here are some pics from the night I went downtown with the LARC staff. Still to come: NYC and my meeting with Bloomberg!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="800" height="533" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJor.A.David%2Falbumid%2F5265299650345658113%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />A bientot,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1