Two Months? Really?

I'm a bad blogger, I admit it. I was just "too busy," etc. Well, I'm not going to write up an over-arching post, so I'll just take little bit and put them up as I get to them. Maybe I can pre-date, or at least re-order. This trip has defiantly been quite a journey. More so when I start to review my "notes" for these entries. I've remembered why I liked diving so much in the first place, and come to terms with the fact that I'm more on vacation than not. It's good, vacation's a lot more fun than work.

Right now I'm in Dumaguete, biding my time until the next release for work is done, so I can move on to Apo island, supposedly one of the best dive spots in the Philippines. Dumaguete is okay, but really, the cities here are not really special places in my experience. However, I think that may have more to do with the food than anything else. The food is okay, but there are a lot of chains to go along with the smaller shops. Folks seem just as happy to eat at McDonald's as anywhere else. The big impressions I had of Bangkok and Thailand in general was defiantly stomach-based. You can get over a lot of sweaty, dirty, pervy when you're eating a super tasty curry that cost you $1, served up street-side. Also, I can't find a nice bar to sit, have a beer, and hang out to save my life. The expat(old dude/young ?wife?) crew are out in enough numbers to make viagra a "street-drug." What should be the nicest strip in town, appears to cater to this set. I guess old guys with money are the most attractive game in town...ahhh universal truths uniting people everywhere.

The tower in town, the one that dates back to the Spanish occupation really is neat, and photo-worthy if I can get my butt out of bed early enough to catch the sunrise. I hear tell there's good dirt bike riding to be had out in the hills. Tomorrow's mission is to find an XR200 to rent. I will finally be glad for hauling those hiking boots all over the damn place.

I'm spending Christmas on a tiny island doing another scuba certification (PutAnotherDollerIn to be sure.) Sounds good to me. No idea about NYE. Flights and Ferries are going to be a nightmare, so I bet I end up back here. Perhaps I'll try out the Disco up the street, down by the water...I hear it's good for a laugh if nothing else.

So, I haven't been a totally derelict photographer. Here's the photostream anyway:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94594657@N00/

Another Look at Cebu

Lonely Planet has this to say about Cebu City, Cebu : "With apologies to a few Peace Corps veterans and the like, if we were to draw a portrait of the average foreigner here, it would be of a self-exiled, twice-divorced, chemically dependent middle-aged man with a much younger Filipina on his arm. Sound familiar?" I can't argue with that assessment, but I think they're really missing the forest for the trees. Yes, there's a pervasive sex industry in Cebu. I have been propositioned on the street, watch escorts pickup at the mall, and frequently feel like a foreigner among the foreigners. You know what else I see though? Kids playing basketball in the ally down the street from my apartment, the staff and their friends laughing and carrying on outside my window, and regular people going about their business. Cebu is a university town, a port town, and a technology town. Everyone I've had "normal" interactions with have been nothing but gracious, friendly, and helpful. If we replace "Cebu" with "New York/Chicago/Seattle/Dallas/L.A." and "foreigner" with "millionaire," what do we have to say for ourselves? Cebu isn't surrounded by picturesque beaches and fishing villages, but there are some great shows at the local disco, and lovely people if you care to look.

Cebu

From Manila, I took the slow boat down to Cebu. All the guide books, not suprisingly, have it pretty much right-on : Manila light. Not as much traffic, pollution, people. Still not much in the way of stuff-to-do that I'm really captured by. That's not too much of a shame, as I've been concentrating on work for the past few days. I'm trying to find a longer-term room to rent here, but am having problems coming up with something. The Jasmine Pension house, where I'm staying, is fairly cheap, but the lack of hot water and blankets is getting old. Figure if I can't find something in the next few days I'll head on out. Camiguin came highly recommended, and is relatively just around the corner. I'm off to go look for a room. There are a few pictures of the Ferry on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94594657@N00/

Okay, Finally Acctually Overseas

I haven't really had the energy to keep up with this blog while I was in the states.  Busy with work and friends.  Excuses aside, I'm now in Malate City within the greater metro Manila area.  It's the old red light district, and there are still lots of bar girl bars/street walkers outside the guest house early in the morning.  Also backpacker central, so you see lots of aggressive begging.  That always leaves me cold.  It's hard to stay open when every other person is asking for money or selling you...sunglasses, watches, Viagra (seriously), and jewelry.

So, more  about Manila : smells bad, polluted, poor, sad.  I was up really early and decided to have a walk around while the party people/"hobbiests" were asleep.  Headed up along the ocean shore to Rizla park on the north side of Malate.  Lots of joggers, and probably three or four large groups of people doing the Filipino equivalent of Jazzercise.  Didn't get any pictures, unfortunately.  Also, badminton must be some kind of national sport.  Shuttlecocks everywhere.  After my very weird Friday, it's time to move on I think.  Booking a room in Cebu and passage on the SuperFerry.  (thanks Lucas!)

Pollution :

Ever Friendly, the US embassy is ready for the Riots:

Not just in Seattle, Starbucks across from Starbucks  : 

Times, Dates, Travel Plans

Not much happening in Colorado.  Work is slow and it's hot outside.  Did a little camera research and decided on a solution.  Anyone want to buy a Nikon D80?  I'll put up a separate photography post when I get everything assembled.  As it is, I was feeling proactive today, and decided to buy some plane tickets.  I'm starting to apply for visas and need to send in itineraries, so this was needing to happen soon anyway.

So, if you're wondering where I am, or when I'm going to be somewhere, a safe bet is to check this link.  It lists all of my known air travel, and automatically updates from my Big Travel Spreadsheet (tm).  Please say 'hi' if I'm going to be close.

Where, When, How I'm Getting There

Track Day

Dave and I woke up early, okay 10am isn't early, this morning to head out to do a track day at the local kart track.  Dave needed to do some testing for his race next weekend, and I brought my street bike out to have a little fun.  This is the first time I've had the bike out since I rebuilt the engine last December.  Previous to that it had bee sitting for about 4 years.  We got a little video, and here it is:

Track Day Fun

End of The Road

Leaving Salt Lake, I was left with a fairly mellow drive through to Denver.  The truck survived.  The trailer didn't so much.  By the end, both sides of the axle were bent, one severely.  Any attempt at waterproofing was moot, and I just wanted to get there.  Nothing fell off, or was damaged, but I don't think I'll ever do that again.

I got into Denver in just enough time to dig out the leathers, and do what Dave and I do when we get together : go race motorcycles.  Dave's been participating in the Colorado supermoto series, and invited me to tag along for the round.  Now, in retrospect, I really should have just slept in and organized my stuff.  It was fun to be out on a supermoto, but the track kindof sucked, and I ended up crashing hard enough in the first heat race I didn't feel comfortable continuing (minor head trauma, saw stars, etc.)  Dave crashed out of second in his first heat race, injuring his ankle and making the rest of his day both painful and disappointing.   Oh, and 48 hours isn't apparently enough to acclimate to the altitude.  I was sucking wind after about 10 minutes on the bike.  Well, this is about par for the course when the Price brothers go racing, so no one should be surprised.

I don't want to dwell on work, so I wont, but it's going to be a good gig for me.  Lowish effort, and my concerns about my ability to do the work are easing.

I did give in and buy a new computer.  The four plus year old macbook wasn't cutting it anymore, and Apple had some good deals on their refurb site.  I'm now using a 15" Macbook pro as my primary computer.  It gives up about half a pound to the plastic fantastic that I was using, but Eclipse and Ableton sure are pretty with all these pixels.

Tomorrow starts my first real weekend in about a month.  Looking forward to some relaxation.  Time to go see Denver a bit, find a coffee shop and organize the last of my crap.

Continuing the Trip Story

 So after a quite late start, I was beginning to regret my decision to take on a passenger (hey a tank of gas is a tank of gas).  When I started following the directions to out meet up spot, I really regretted it.  Due to construction and small towns, the agreed upon grocery store ended up being an hour or so out of my way....just in time to catch traffic through Portland.  I have lost many of the details to sleep deprivation, but I'm pretty sure there were a couple of personality disorders happening in my passenger seat.  Hey, at least I had someone to talk at me while I drove all night...

A hectic start to the trip quickly settled into a delightful stay with my friends Erik and Amy (the folks behind BadgerTrek) in Salt Lake.   A much needed nap and early bedtime preceded a really great day riding motorcycles with Erik.  Erik has built one of the finest motorcycles I've seen, and certainly the best sport bike I've ever had the pleasure of riding.  You can read about the details on the web site, but it's a real work of art, both to look at and to experience.  There's something particular about the roads in and around the rocky mountains that really has to be experienced on two wheels.  Clean pavement, crisp air and spectacular views.  Perhaps it has to do with growing up in this part of the country, or maybe it's the contrast with Seattle, but the big sky and winding mountain roads are always good to me.

Erik and Amy were very gracious hosts, and I appreciate their hospitality and the advice/experience on traveling.  I'm sure I'll be back to Salt Lake before the end of my traveling.