Why I still think David Letterman is cool

ah... New York (another pretentious note to a reader who will probably never read this)

In my various lines of work I am sometimes asked to interpret (translate) conversations, some of which occur over the telephone. This provides me with the somewhat unique opportunity to do so with people in different, sometimes far away places. It also sometimes requires me to perform odd linguistic tasks that would otherwise be unthinkable or obnoxious, such as refer to myself implicitly and explicitly in the third person, so as to be as unobtrusive to the conversation as possible.

However, without fail, for a particular entity that is located (I believe) in New York, when, as happens frequently, the Spanish-speaking person utters "muy amable" ([you are] very kind) at the end of the call, I know that she is referring to me, and not to your annoying, rude person, even though I render it (as I should) in English as though she were, you stupid New York asshole.

futility

I was trying to write a brief but clever post about my pleased state having just completed a reading on my comps list but the browser hung on me, so I had to force it to quit and it is now lost forever, and I'm too annoyed at the whole thing to attempt to reconstruct it.

time for break

The fall break is upon us. When I attended the University of Wisconsin I do not recall having a fall break. But it is a good thing. It means there are no classes this Thursday and Friday. Since I have none on Wednesday this semester I get an extra day.

I'm really tired.

I have to use the time "off" to catch up and, really, to try to "get ahead" also.

I've got my M.A. Comprehensive Exams on November 10th, and I need to really really really really start studying for them. I began a little bit a couple weeks ago, but have lagged in recent days. Even if I'd been keeping up, it's time to kick it up a notch or two, ya know what I mean?

Check out my old pal Jeffrey P. Worthen's blog. He's been posting like crazy lately, usually with some interesting photos or scans. I laughed my ass off at some of them. You will too. I promise.

Me too, eh

White and Nerdy

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Congratulations again

...to Todd and Lindsey!

follow up

The Swap Meet thing was pretty cool. Around here they call them "Flea Markets." We got some souveniers and a bunch of foodstuffs, including some coffee.

the highlight of my week

That's right, I'm going to get a free coffee!

correction

The awesome burger place we ate at in Hawaii was Teddy's bigger burgers, not Freddys. I'm about to correct the original post so ironically this one will be the only record of the original error. Kind of weird, hey? Editing... what a concept.

Also, their menu says "...charbroiled to order..." so I assume it was kind of randomness (or laziness) that explains why the first time when we ordered the 9 oz. burgers they were rare (and delicious) and the other time when we ordered the 5 oz. burgers they were well done (also delicious).



current music: "Get me" - Dinosaur Jr.

best swag ever

Jack White does the best covers.

Click here to see and hear what I mean. Big thanks to my lovely wife and assistant Holly for bringing this to my attention. Incidentally, she is way bigger Jack White/Raconteurs/White Stripes fan than I am. Also incidentally, I had origianlly tried to embed this video here so you could watch it right on this page but the owner of the video has chosen not to allow that, so you have to click over to You Tube to watch it anyway.

aloha

Well, we're about to leave Hawaii. We've got the morning to do some more stuff and then our flight leaves (I believe; I'd have to ask Holly who's sleeping right now) around 4:30 p.m. local time.

Here's a summary of all the highlights so far:

1. Seeing LOST premiere on the beach the first night we were here. (See previous post.)

2. Teddy's bigger burgers. This local made-to-order fast food place definitely has some kick ass hamburgers. We went there after seeing the LOST premiere on the advice of a cabbie. We got 9 oz hamburgers which happened to be cooked deliciously rare. (The burgers come in various sizes, I think 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 or 18 ounces. Yesterday we had the 5 oz burgers for lunch and they were well done. Now I'm not sure if they are normally served rare, or well done, or if it depends on the size or what, but the burgers were exceptionally delicious either way.

3. The "International Market" down the street from our hotel. It's like an outdoor mall with a bunch of vendors operating from carts in the walkway in addition to the actual stores. They have an awesome food court with lots of cheap Asian/Pacific Rim options. We went there Saturday (our first day here) for lunch with Todd, Lindsey and Jane, Lindsey's mom. I had this huge Vietnamese platter which was very good.

4. Dole Plantation. We went there on Sunday with Todd, Lindsey and Jane, as well as Todd's parents, grandma and brothers. It's pretty cool. There is a huge koi fish pond where you can feed them and they really fight each other for their little fish pellets. We also rode the train, ate some pineapple ice cream, and went through their hedge labyrinth, which is supposedly the world's biggest maze. Also, Holly, Lindsey, and Jane, got fresh pearls for cheap and some jewelry (not so cheap) to go with them. Lots of places here have oysters that contain pearls and they crack open the oyster and dig it out and sell it to you for cheap, and then sell you jewelry for not so cheap to set the pearls in, and the Dole Plantation giftshop is one of them.

4. The ranch thing. On Sunday we also went to the Kualoa Ranch which is next to beautiful mountains and in their valleys. We took a tour through it and saw where many different films have been shot, at least in part (such as Pearl Harbor, Jurrassic Park, Mighty Joe Young, Godzilla ('97 version), etc. etc.) They also film part of LOST there but due to security concerns we were not allowed to see much of the actual places where they film.

5. Tudo de Bom. I finally went to a Brazilian BBQ joint this Monday night. It was excellent, and also a lot cheaper than it would have been in the Atlanta area. Todd, Lindsey, Jane, and Todd's family joined us and were pleasantly surprised.

6. The USS Arizona. I went on Monday morning with everyone except Holly who was sleeping to this monument to those who died in this ship as well as everyone else who died in the Pearl Harbor attacks. It is a very worthwhile visit, with a great museum in addition to the monument, which sits over the sunken Arizona which was impossible to raise or salvage, and is now the grave for many sailors, including some who survived the attack but have chosen to be rested there after they die of natural causes, to join their brothers. Also very interesting is that the ship is still leaking oil, a quart or two a day, even after over sixty years. Holly and I might go back this morning so she can see it.

7. Luau. We went to this crazy luau last night and got drunk and saw people do Hawaiian dancing and other stuff. While watching the pig be ceremonially lifted from the cooking pit we were seated in the front row and I was chosen by a hula girl to sample some poi (a very odd tasting local food, a bland sauce...) and coconut deserts and pineapple, which was mildly embarrassing at the time, but will be a funny memory forever.

8. Swap meet. Holly and I are going to this famous " swap meet ", kind of a flea market type thing today. It is supposed to be well worth it.

8.5 Japanese Candy. There are a lot of imported foodstuffs available for purchase and some of the Asian candies and snacks are very interestingly packaged.

9. TODD AND LINDSEY GOT MARRIED YESTERDAY! We are so happy and proud for them. It was a beautiful and brief ceremony on a beautiful, quiet beach. We are jealous and want to have a rededication ceremony some day on a beach in southern México.

Photos, scanned images and hyperlinks are forthcoming.

LOST in Hawaii!

Not lost, but Lost, the TV show. As you know, it's filmed in Hawaii, and the first night we were here, Saturday, a couple days ago, they had this big outdoor party to give an advance screening of the season premiere on the beach a couple blocks away from our hotel. It was awesome and we got to see the actors too, and Holly talked briefly to some of the producers also. We also got what I shall henceforth refer to as the "best swag ever" for filling out an ABC TV survey which was an authentic looking Dharma Project package of freeze dried ice cream. I'm going to scan the package when I get home so you all can see it. That (seeing the Lost episode on a giant screen on the beach before the rest of the world, and then getting the Dharma Project ice cream), has probably been the highlight of our trip so far. We've done some other stuff too, perhaps more about that later.

Tomorrow Todd and Lindsey get married!