Well I'm finally home after 2 1/2 weeks of wandering the earth...Diego Garcia is the definition of tropical paradise...granted the only things to do are exercise or drink and I'm not a drinker...long walks on the flour soft white beaches in the morning and evening. I found a turtle nest one evening, watched a bunch of sunsets and sunrises, snorkled almost daily in the lagoon and hiked some great jungle trails. An hour or two of work a day just to say that we accomplished something...it truely made up for the week spent in Bahrain which is about the furthest thing from paradise that one can get. I did my best impression of either a mad dog or and Englishman as I walked to a local mall under the noonday sun...I think it was 100degrees (or more) of as they say "dry heat" sorta like hell...I lost 7lbs in 2 hours...not one of my smartest actions that's for sure. I now understand why the locals don't do anything in the middle of the day...night time was a much better time to explore the markets (called souqs)...I bought a bunch of saffron for my whole family (xmas shopping early) and a couple of rugs...Rug shopping is very fun...I had a budget and a particular country of origin (Pakistan) of the rugs I wanted. Pakistani rugs are simpler, bigger patterned, and of lower quality than say Persian/Iranian rugs but of better quality than say Indian...I would love to buy an Iranian rug but they are waaaaaay beyond my budget (like 5-10 times what i want to spend) and in truth too fine a rug for my household (cats and dogs) but handling them while shopping sure is nice. I think I looked at 70-80 rugs narrowing it down to about 6-7 before walking on the rugs to figure out which one I wanted...then came the bargining...a good half hour of bargining from about $400 down to to what I actualtly paid which was $220...it was definatly worth it though and the carpet looks great in our bedroom. I also added to my collecting of prayer rugs. Sadly my trip home all 27 hours of it was not fun at all, topped off by KLM/Northwest losing our luggage (all 11 pieces) someplace between Bahrain and Detroit...Made going through Customs easy though. Oh yes and once I got home I realized that I left my cell phone in the room in Diego Garcia...thankfully they found it but it'll be two weeks before I have it again. Never thought I would be jonesing for my cellphone


vagabond-punk

The musings of Tony Peters, a perpetual child, no matter where I am I will find a way to climb something or go skateboarding Read more »

sure ain't kansas

well I've had my MAC for almost a month now and I'm pretty much converted I received my Education edition of Photoshop last week and it didn't take me a day to realized that CS3 is drastically different that CS2...Time to start learning again (not that that is a bad thing)...Thankfully it comes with video workshop I'm about half way through it, funny thing It's kindled an enjoyment to learn again...I Go »

books and rolling

It always seems that 2-3 books that I have been patiently are all released by the publishers at the same time...such was the case for me with Wrath of a Mad God and the latest Dresden files book Small Favor...unsure which one I wanted to read more I switched from day to day reading one and then the other. Go »

vacation and such

well my father, brother and I set out last thursday for Ithaca NY, my father and I on our motorcycles and my brother in his LandCruiser pulling a trailer/tent. The goal was to get from Rhode Island to Ithaca for a family reunion and back by using only back roads. We succeeded and we plenty of adventures to boot...my Go »

Mornings....

It's cool today. As I pull on my jacket, the leather creaks as the zipper closes. The engine, a bit reluctant to turn over in the brisk morning air, settles into a rumble as I finish donning my gear. Go »

Change 3

a 07:30 phone call saying ooppsss uimmmm well it turns out that you are gonna have to go after all and we are gonna have to send 2 teams is not that way I wanted to start the day. Neither is sweet talking the travel clerk who's day we ruined yesterday to redo all the work she did yesterday....however other than cancelling my New Years plans, a ride with my dad and a climb with my brother, this on again off again travel thing isn't too much of a burden. Go »

got a new drug

2 weeks ago I sold my BMX cruiser with the intention of shedding a toy to buy a bike better suited to commuting to work, at one time I rode a racebike and i really wanted to start riding one again except with the simplicity that I enjoyed on my cruiser....so I bought a fixxed gear, no not going through a mid life crisis I have ridden a fixxed gear before and I know what's involved, it arrived last friday and after a scramble to assemble it (and switch the brakes to motostyle) I rode it to work, I have ridden to work every day for the last week (because it only rains on my day off) and my legs are just starting to adjust I have aches in places I haven't felt in years but I feel better and judging by the way my pants feel I'm sure I'm starting to look healthier too. No riding a fixie is not for everybody, I have people who give me terrified looks when they realize what I'm riding but it works for me and thats what is important, besides when the weather is nice I can leave after work and ride down to the beach and back on a 20 mile loop and still get home in time to make dinner for my wife and I. Go »