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November 26, 2003
Beautiful Day
What an amazinginly nice day today was. Bright sunlight, though the sun did not rise until 11.20. Even then, it sort of hung in the air like it might be too cold to actually get up off the horizon to say hello.
We went to see Gullfoss and Geysir. There are some amazing pics that I got, and will hopefully be posting them this weekend.
It was brilliantly cold as well... I´´m finally happy -- snow and cold in one trip. It was about -8 Celsius (do the conversion yourself).
Posted by Samer at 01:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 25, 2003
Snow, Wonderful Snow
So I´m in Iceland for the fourth time, and this is the first time I´ve had significant snow.
Walking around, the place is covered in a two-three inch layer of white powdery snow.
It is wonderful. Makes you love being alive.
Makes this place even more inticing and inviting.
Posted by Samer at 07:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 24, 2003
A Little Down The Road
I've finally finished my plans for going to Oregon. The tickets are bought, the hotels are booked, and the plans are in place.
I'm nervous to meet "L" and, at the same time, I am extremely happy. I really cannot wait for December 12 to roll around.
Here's hoping it all turns out well. Cheers!
Posted by Samer at 04:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 23, 2003
Up Next
Iceland.
Headed there from London tomorrow... Going to run into these fine people there...
I think it will be fun...
Posted by Samer at 02:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 20, 2003
Scottish Fare
Is it a wonder the Scots have one of the highest levels of heart problems in the world?
A sampling of the food I had in the last 24 hours: fish and chips for dinner; haggis, neeps and tatties for lunch; and a deep-fried Mars bar for dessert.
Firstly, they fry everything here. Everything. The chip shop, in addition to the batter fried fish and the chips, also batters and fries: hamburger, cheese burger, spring rolls, pizza, chicken, and, of course, desserts. We'll get to that in a minute.
The haggis was damn good and people should stop fearing it and get along and have some. The taste was very meaty and a bit peppery. Very nice with the turnip mash and mashed potatoes. The sauce was superb.
Dessert, though, was the most amazing thing I've seen done with a candy bar. Take one Mars bar (the kind found in the UK, not the US variety), dip in batter, deep fry. Allow to cool slightly and then devour.
The taste of this treat is remarkable as the chocolate melts and mixes with the rest of the bar. The coating on the outside is nice and tasty and allows the chocolate to ooze out slowly. Yum!
Posted by Samer at 08:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 19, 2003
A Date
Talked to the delightful 'L' last night. Well, chatted on IM.
She offered up a range of dates for me to come out and see her. Looks like sometime in mid-December. Gulp!
I'm coursing with emotions right now. I'm obviously elated at the chance of meeting this woman who has made my life a little more lively and fun for the last couple of months. I'm happy to finally meet this person that, despite not having met, I miss by virtue of being half way around the world.
But I'm scared. Scared of failure, of screwing it up. Scared she might not like me as much in person. Scared that the opening moments when the best impression is made will be awful because of a bad flight or something.
But, I think the emotion I am in touch with the most is hope. I'm very hopeful that this will be everything I think it can be. Everything that I think it already is, just taken to a more physical level.
Posted by Samer at 08:39 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 18, 2003
Train Trip
Took a train trip up from London to Edinburgh today. It was a lovely trip up through rolling hills and wonderful farmland. The English countryside is every bit as wonderful as you would think.
But this family got on at York. A small kid, maybe five, a woman far to young to be a mother and grandma. The kid was out of control. Yelling, screaming, throwing his toys around. He'd mutter "Christ, the trains stopping again!" and things like that.
They proceed to give him some sips of coffee!?!
That really helped. Argh. Almost three and half hours of that bouncing, loud out of control kid. Urgh.
But I got here and went and had a pint. That made things better.
Posted by Samer at 04:29 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Misplaced Driver
I took the train last night to Kent to see my other cousin there. On the way down, the train splits in two -- the front goes off in one direction and rear goes off to the place we were going.
After five minutes of waiting for something to happen, the announcer comes on and says "We're sorry for the delay, but it isn't our fault. They seem to have misplaced the driver of the other train."
Misplaced, we agreed, was a euphemism for "he popped off for a quick drink and didn't tell anyone".
Earlier in the day, we heard the announcement on the Tube that one of the lines had been delayed "due to pedestrian action", which apparently means someone jumped on the tracks.
Posted by Samer at 04:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Getting Out of Dodge
Looks like I got the hell out of London just in time. Our esteemed president is finally there and traffic and everything else looks to be soured.
What a bloody nightmare: 14,000 police in London, another 2,000 in Blair's home town. Shrub is bringing about 700 of his own people with him.
Ken Livingston, the mayor of London (more people voted him into office than any other British politician, I believe), called Bush the greatest threat to the world. Brilliant.
Hoping it all dies down before I get back on Friday.
Posted by Samer at 04:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 15, 2003
Visible
Got to London yesterday and finally got a chance to see my cousin's new bar and lounge, Visible.
I really like the place a lot. Nice red and blue colors on the wall, exposed bricks, fireplaces, cancels lighting up the rooms. The bar is nice but a little cramped.
The seating area is a lot of couches and low stools around low coffee tables. Makes it really comfortable for small groups to gather round for a couple of drinks.
Their drinks menu is kind of impressive. The beers include Guinness and Stella on tap, as well as Duvel and Liefman's Kriek and Framboise in bottles. But they excel at the cocktail. I had a port wine based drink they call the "Smoking Jacket" to start off the night. Very nice, deep drink. Satisfying on all counts.
I was then convinced to try the Lavender Martini. Now I am a martini purist -- good gin, stirred, olive or twist, nothing else -- but this thing surprised me. It was well balanced and sweet, and while the smell of lavender was muted, once you sipped it there was no mistaking it.
One of my good friends came out to meet me here and we had a blast. I miss not having her around Washington, but if we get together one more time before I leave, I will have seen her more often than I did when she was in DC.
I'll have a more full look at Visible later.
Posted by Samer at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 13, 2003
Good News
The girl I'm interested in just heard today that UVA is very interested in her application to be a professor there. They want her to send them some materials by next Thursday, including a chapter from her dissertation.
She's obviously a little nervous about it. But I know she can do it. She knows she can do it. And the job sounds like it is right up her alley. As an added bonus for, if (when) she gets it, she'll be a lot closer than she is now.
This is truly a very good piece of news.
Good luck L!
Posted by Samer at 08:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wind
There were some freakishly strong winds today in Washington. Immensely powerful, they were wreaking havoc all over town.
Amtrak trains were stopped between Washington and Baltimore because of power lines downed on the tracks. I got to meet some fun people who decided to take Metro to Greenbelt and then the bus to BWI. From there they would take the train up to Baltimore. What a hassle. But they were talking to their coworkers on their cell phones, and some of them were still stuck at Union Station.
The wind also gave me considerable grief in getting to the airport. The short walk from my apartment to the Metro almost ended in me losing my phone. Apparently, as I stopped to button up against the wind, I dropped my cell phone. I went on to get on the Metro, but stepped off as soon as I noticed it missing.
I went back home and called the number. Seems a nice gentleman had picked it up and was very happy to return it to me. He met me down the street, I thanks him and gave him a small reward. And after all that I still managed to make it to the airport on time.
Posted by Samer at 08:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2003
Vacation Time
Well, it is time to pack up the bags, load up the camera and check out what's new in other parts of the world.
I'm off to merry old England on Thursday. I'll be back on Thanksgiving day. In between, I'll hit London, Edinburgh and Reykjavik.
Never been to Edinburgh before, and seriously looking forward to it.
Yes, the trip is shorter than normal, but I want to save some vacation time and money. For a reason, look to the previous posting.
I'll try and put a few things up on the blog while I'm away, but I will not be updating the main pictures site until I get back.
Posted by Samer at 09:12 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Online Relations
I've met someone new. Well, newish.
I've known her online for over a month. We've been talking on the phone for a couple of weeks. And, more than anything, I really want to meet her.
She's got a lot of what I like and want: she's smart, a geek, a Mac geek, a Unix geek, and a beer geek. She's sexy. She has the coolest laugh. I get this amazingly powerful energy when I talk to her, online or on the wire.
Two big downsides, though. First off, she lives all the way over in Oregon. Yes, the first long distance relationship I had was with a wonderful girl from Oregon. Yes, it was because of her that I think I could do a long distance thing with someone else. Yes, I think this could work, if it gets that far.
Secondly, she's not really looking for a long term relationship. I doubt she would walk away if there is something there, but I don't think she wants the hassle, nor is she ready, for a full time relationship.
I hope she and I do meet, and soon. I think this thing has a potential. I'm not sure a potential for what, but I'm certain it will be something good.
If this is meant to be, it will find a way to happen. I'm certain of that.
Posted by Samer at 09:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friendster
So I joined Friendster a little while ago.
It is an interesting concept. Sort of a six-degrees of separation for normal people. I add friends and my personal network grows to include their friends. And their friends' friends. And you can click on all these people and get in contact with them.
It has a lot of potential, but the interface sucks and the site takes forever to load. And things work and then don't work. It needs some work, but I think you should join and add me as a friend. Mostly because I want to up my numbers, and partly because it is kind of cool.
Posted by Samer at 08:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Metro Sucks (two in a continuing series)
So today is a federal holiday. Metro, of course, ran on a holiday schedule. Not really sure what that means other than the normally stupid train scheduling becomes really stupid.
I waited at the Rosslyn station for over twenty minutes for an Orange Line train. Two six-car Blue Line trains came through, both mostly empty. Guess what? No one wanted to get on those trains. Two Orange trains come by, but they are both four-car trains. And they are packed to the gills.
Just when you thought Metro couldn't suck any more, they find a way.
Posted by Samer at 08:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 01, 2003
Bell's Beer Tasting
A week ago Thursday I went to another fine tasting at the Brickskeller. This time, the amazing beers of the Kalamazoo Brewing Co. were on display. Better known to most as "Bell's Beers", if they are known at all, these are some of the finest brews in the country.
Larry Bell did not make the trip to Washington, but sent Production Manager John Mallet. John is a veteran brewer and has been head brewer at Old Dominion.
In addition to being a talented brewer and builder of brewing plants, John happens to tell a great story with a dead-pan delivery that left the audience laughing and informed.
He told us about the new brewhouse he just helped Bell's build. They bought most of the brewing equipment, a fifty barrel Steinecker brewhouse, from Anheuser-Busch. It seems that Wolfgang Puck was opening a brewery/restaurant in Los Angeles. When the riots hit, no one came and the brewery, built at a cost of almost $35 million, closed its doors. Anheuser-Busch bought the equipment and had the German company come back and take it apart and package it for shipping. Then they did nothing with it for 10 years. Mallett could not say enough good things about this brewhouse and the quality of the construction and engineering. And the deal the got it for.
He also told us about how Larry Bell started the brewery. Originally it had been a homebrew supply store opened in 1983. A few years later and not making any money, Larry went to the Michigan state business office and wanted to close shop. Apparently the conversation centered around having to pay a $125 fee to file for bankruptcy, and how if he had the money he wouldn't be closing shop. And he decided, thankfully for us, that he would keep it open instead.
Onto the evening's beer list: We were served Bell's Pale Ale, Winter White, Best Brown, Double Cream Stout, the Java Stout, Two Hearted Ale, Consecrator Dopplebock and something they call Batch 6000.
As you might guess, the beers started off nice and smooth and built up a huge character and higher levels of alcohol as the night continued. My favorites were the Best Brown and the Two Hearted Ale. The Two Hearted is open top fermented and has a really nice hoppy aroma. Very drinkable and tasty.
The one that surprised me the most was the Java Stout. Not a drinker of caffeinated products, I liked this stout immensely. Everything about it screams cup of joe, from the dark color to the intense smell of coffee. The beer has two types of coffee and apparently a 12 oz serving has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.
The Batch 6000 is a special brew that was meant to be laid down for a year or so. We were the first to taste it, and it was still kind of overpowering, having only been bottled two weeks earlier. This beer is going to get more drinkable with time.
Sadly, Bell's is not distributed in this area. The closest seems to be Philadelphia. Sounds like time for a road trip soon.
Posted by Samer at 09:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack