Black Friday

As I was browsing the NYTimes this morning, I came across this appalling article:
Walmart Employee Trampled to Death

It makes you wonder what type of world we have bred in America. We are suppose to be the place where virtually limitless freedom and opportunity is available to everyone. We are suppose to be the showcase for a successful capitalist society with a free market that serves as the beating heart for the global economy. We are suppose to be the hands that help pick up the less fortunate and fight the injustice that seems to plague so many places around the world these days.

Instead, in recent times, it seems we are less known for being the land of opportunity and more known for being a place that condones a severely twisted system of values. Among other things, we've created this insane materialistic mindset that is fueled at it's core by intense greed. Our holiday season has already turned into a spectacle which is serving as a center stage showcase for how American culture is using a veil of delusion to suffocate all of us into a sense of euphoric consumptive submission. This greed apparently lead a mob of people to trample a poor minimum wage worker at a retail store just so they could get the cheapest price on the latest "Tickle me Elmo" doll or a shiny new flat screen TV. Is this what capitalism is all about? What good is a society that puts the value of some product above the value of human life?

We may be more sophisticated and live more comfortably than our neanderthal brethren from prehistoric times, but it appears that we haven't evolved quite as far as we like to think.

It's only two days after Thanksgiving and American greed can be found everywhere you look. It seems to be at the core of a deeply flawed society that, on average, has been living far beyond it's means for the last 20+ years.

The question is, are we too far gone to make it right? Have we been so caught up fearfully living inside our narrow minded bubbles of seclusion that we've forgotten how to be honest and caring human beings?

Indie Rock Report: Kid Dakota and The Evening Rig

This weekend I was out at the Uptown Bar catching a few bands on Friday night.  Two bands I highly recommend are:

Kid Dakota (Rock/Indie):

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2881328

The Evening Rig (Rock/Country/Crunk):

http://www.myspace.com/theeveningrig

Both bands rocked the house, even though the Uptown Bar is a pretty horrible venue for live music.  But if you like good Indie rock, check these guys out live if you can.

Imitosis

I've been rather introspective lately so I thought I'd share some personal thoughts.  

I've been thinking a lot recently about relationships and trying to figure out what makes them work.  After all this thinking, I've come to really no conclusions except one.  This one conclusion is that trying to analyze and understand human behavior will drive you to the brink of insanity and lead you to no conclusions.

In the few longer relationships I've been in throughout the last couple of years, I've come to realize that each of these relationships has followed this odd pattern which resembles the highs and lows of taking a road trip.  But not just a normal road trip... a long, fun, and exciting road trip across the country which somehow ends tragically in a fiery collision between my vehicle and a very large semi truck.  

I've recently been having a set of reoccurring, oddly amusing dreams that deal with this metaphorical road trip.  I can't explain them in full detail, but they go a little something like this...

The excitement begins with the planning of the trip.  I've been waiting for the right opportunity and when it finally presents itself, I seize the moment.  When I first embark on the trip, the excitement builds.  I'm exploring different parts of the country and seeing things through a totally new perspective.  As the road trip goes on, the excitement starts to fade a little, but I'm still left with a tinge of exhilaration.  Because, let's face it, this road trip experience is way better than how things were before the trip.  If I'm feeling tired from driving, every now and again a song comes up on the radio that reenergizes me and brings me back into the moment.  All in all, the trip is going great.  I feel a strong sense of contentment about the trip.  Weeks, then months, go by and I slowly begin to make my way back home.  Just minutes away from my homecoming, Andrew Bird's "Imitosis" comes on the radio.  It's late and I'm driving the final mile before I make it back to my place of residence.  I pull up to a stop light, patiently wait my turn, then the light turns green.  I slowly inch into the intersection and then suddenly I'm blindsided by a semi truck whose driver couldn't make up his mind whether to stop or try and run the red light.  By the time he made a decision, it was too late.  I can feel my car spinning a few times and then roll over.  A few moments go by and suddenly everything goes black.  Then I wake up in my own bed and it's like the road trip never happened.  So I start planning it all over again.

Most of the metaphors in the dream are not lost on me.  But I'm still trying to sift through it all.  For the first time I'm actually tempted to buy one of those dream books that I've always mocked as ridiculous, just to see if I can analyze it on a deeper level.  I guess the moral of the dream is take your time and enjoy the road trip, because pretty much everything ends in a metaphorical "fiery crash".

Happy Sunday :-).

Post Secret Exhibit at Minneapolis Central Library

Found out this week that a Post Secret exhibit is on display at the Minneapolis Central Library (on the second floor) until the end of November. PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. Then the secrets are posted online at http://postsecret.blogspot.com. Check it out. I promise it's worth it.

The Quest for Artistic Inspiration

As many of you who have seen my place may have observed, the walls of my apartment are somewhat bare when it comes to art. This is partly due to my minimilistic attitude, but also because I've been struggling to really find/create a good piece that will really work with everything else in the room. There is only one wall which I splurged on and had some cool poster prints wood mounted.

This weekend I finally found some inspiration and created my own piece which I thought I'd share. My best friend Chris happened to be in town this weekend as well and he offered some great suggestions and comments as I was going along. The general idea came from an illustration I found when browsing around Flickr.com. So I put my Photoshop skills to work and created this piece. The final product will contain the three prints below wood mounted on three blocks which measure 20 inches wide by 30 inches tall. Combined they will be 60 inches across.

Loft Assignment 1 - Gasoline List Free Form Writing

For our assignment last week we were instructed to do some free writing based off of a gasoline list of thing we enjoy, which we created in class last week. This class is about learning how to write a memoir and/or better non-fiction. We were told to pick two items from our gasoline list and write a two page story that ties them together. Here is my first stab at it. My two items that I decided to write about were travel and live music. It's unpolished, but free form writing is suppose to be.

Gasoline List Free Writing

Before going away to college, I never really had the desire to see the world or experience different cultures. Growing up in a small Indiana town nestled inside the shadow of a slowly dying steel industry didn't provide me with a very worldly upbringing. It instead lead me to be mostly apathetic and ignorant to the world beyond my small town until I headed away to college. However, my apathy for traveling was profoundly decimated my sophomore year when I began reading “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac. This one book opened my eyes to the America that I had never seen or experienced. Reading about the ideals that drove the “beat” generation ignited some dormant passion inside of me to explore everything that all these distant places had to offer. Since the fateful day I closed the frayed and torn pages of the “On the Road” book, which I borrowed from the University library, I've made it my mission to see as much of the world as I can. I love the sublime wave of adventure and freedom that washes over me as I'm shifting my car into reverse and pulling out of my stuffy garage before a long road trip to a destination I've never seen. Or the over joyous feeling of excitement and wonder as I board a flight to a country whose culture is completely different than my own. Traveling for me is about the journey. The journey that you take which could potentially change your perspective on the world and the people in your life. I feel like every place I have had the privilege of visiting has left a little piece of it's culture and history inside of me. Those piles of pieces help me to better understand this world and the people that live in it.

I recently took a trip to Germany that epitomizes everything I enjoy about traveling. One evening while wandering the streets of old town Dusseldorf, my travel companion and I came across a small hole in the wall bar called “Da Spiegel”. “Da Spiegel” was similar to a lot of dive bars in America except for the fact that they had an exceptional breadth of amazingly good German beer available on tap. Upon entering this fine establishment, I was overwhelmed by the shear number of people that managed to cram into this tiny multi level pub. The bar was packed to the brim with a variety of locals as well as tourists. On the first floor was an ornate mahogany wooden bar that spanned almost the entire length of the place. The smoked soaked walls were lined with random photographs and colorful paintings that showcased local artists and musicians. The second level was no larger than a city apartment. It had similar paintings as well as a smaller bar and a small wooden stage just above the stairwell. As we walked up the stairs to the second level, we were pleasantly surprised and excited to hear some great live rock and roll music being played by a local band from Dusseldorf. For as long as I can remember I've loved to watch and listen to live music. No matter what the genre of music may be, I've always been enamored by the visceral connection that a great live band can make with their audience. After listening to a few German rock songs and drinking several pints of a local Dusseldorf “Alt” beer, the band randomly broke into playing some American classic rock. So here I was, standing in the middle of the second floor at a German dive bar a few blocks away from the Rhine river listening to a spot on rendition of CCR's “Fortunate Son”. To my left were a group of asian tourists boisterously singing along and dancing what I can only describe as some type of mambo. To my right were a group of older german gentleman in sweaty de-shelved suits holding up their glasses of alt beer while doing some synchronized swaying as the drummer of the band rocked the bass drum louder and louder.

The band was connecting with everyone in the room and that's the moment you realize that despite all the cultural differences we may have between us, there are many more things that connect us together than drive us apart. That's one of the most important lessons I've learned in all my travels and I've found that live music is frequently the vehicle in which that lesson is conveyed. It's something I see continually over and over again no matter where my journey ends up taking me.

Loft Writing Class

A couple weeks ago I began a writing class at a local community writing school called The Loft. So far it's been a fun experience. Over the coming weeks I'll be posting all of my weekly assignments on here, so check back soon.

The Rice Lake Chronicles

This weekend I had the good fortune to spend time with some friends up north at a small cabin in Rice Lake. It provided me with some much needed time to decompress and clear my head.

This cabin had all the seemingly standard amenities of a Minnesota/Wisconsin cabin. They had the jet ski, fishing boat, pontoon, and a few kayaks/canoes. It's been a long while since I've gotten to tool around on a jet ski and I definitely forgot how much I missed riding one. Along with tubing, jet skiing is one of my favorite things to do on a lake. I took the jet ski out for a long spin around the lake and really got to appreciate this small swatch of land just across the Minnesota border in Wisconsin. There were a lot of cabins along this lake but nothing really too pretentious. Which is a fairly rare site these days.

We also had an opportunity to play a very unusual game of volleyball with some random people we met. The lake where we were staying had something the locals called the "sandbar". This small sandbar had a partially submerged volleyball court on it and a place where people parked their boats, drank, and hung out. So in an effort to get the full "Rice Lake" experience, we parked our little boat and started a game of volleyball. This volleyball court was rather unique because the court was in water that came up to just over your knees. Oh and it had a tad bit of a slope as well. So you can imagine how difficult it might be to actually play volleyball in those conditions (but maybe that was all part of the fun). We played about 10 games and even though they all required a lot of high stepping and ridiculously ungraceful acrobatic diving, we all had a good time.

Once darkness fell, the evening became cool and damp. The neighbors had a raging bonfire going by that point so we visited and shared little pieces of our lives with these friendly strangers. At night you could definitely feel that certain edge in the air which comes as the seasons begin to change. Additionally, since I've been living in the city for a few years now, I am always struck by the serene silence of the country at night. I guess I just get used to the white noise of the city and it just seems odd and a little disorienting at first when I don't have those sounds there. However, this feeling quickly passes and I have no problem enjoying the silence. I also love how crystal clear the skies are on a cool crisp night in the middle of the country. The thing I miss the most about living in the city has to be the stars. No matter what may be going on in my life, I always take solace in looking up at the stars and it immediately makes me realize how little my problems are in the grand scheme of things.

To cap off the evening we did some bar hopping to several dive bars around the area. I always love bar hopping and visiting small country bars. A few things struck me as odd while we were making the rounds. No matter how shady a bar may have looked on the outside, almost all of them had large flat screen plasma TV's mounted on every wall. I found this strange because here we were visiting these establishments at prime-time on Saturday night and most of these bars had more animal heads mounted on the wall than actual customers. Additionally, when the bartender told us the price of the beautiful frothy golden beer that she placed in front of me, I had to ask her to repeat herself because I thought surely I must have misheard what she said. The non-happy hour price for a glass of draft beer was $1.25. After downing about a beer and a half we also found out that using the pool table was completely free. So we then proceeded to play pool and drink into the early hours of the morning while listening to some classic rock tunes on the jukebox. My total bill for the evening.... $10.

Even though there are a lot of things to be jaded about these days, I'm glad I can still experience the unfettered simple pleasure of drinking with friends at a small town dive bar in the middle of nowhere in particular.

Shakopee Renaissance Festival

Elephant and Camel Rides at the Shakopee Renaissance Festival

Shakopee Renaissance Festival

Minnesota Vikings Preseason Football Game against Pitsburgh

Minnesota Vikings Preseason Football Game against Pitsburgh. Got hooked up with some awesome free tickets 13 rows from the field.

View from the Science Museum in St. Paul

Minnesota State Fair - Sharon Jones and the DAP Kings

Target National Sales Meeting

Jonas Brothers at Target Sales Meeting

John Legend at Target Sales Meeting

Target National Sales Meeting

Michael Handler Project @ The Groveland Tap Summit Fest

Michael Handler MySpace Page

Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps @ 7th Street Entry

Caroline Smith and The Good Night Sleeps CD Release Party @ 7th Street Entry
Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps MySpace Page

Band opening for Caroline Smith and The Good Night Sleeps @ the 7th Street Entry.

Minnesota Twins

One of my buddies got some sweet tickets to the Twins game this weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a game and sat anywhere besides the “cheap seats”. So even though they were playing the Indians, we decided to go and enjoy ourselves. During the game we almost got hit by a fly ball and also got on the fan cam (which is a first for both of us). Unfortunately, the Twins had a miserable outing and proceeded to lose to the worst team in the division. But after we had a few beers in us, we didn’t really seem to care.

Happy Apple @ Peavey Plaza

Happy Apple rocking out in Peavey Plaza. If you haven’t seen these guys, they are brilliant musicians. On top of that, they are pretty funny as well.

Twins put on a clinic and destroyed the Texas Rangers. Final score: 14-2

Coors Light Labor Block Party

Basillica Block Party

Riding out the storm @ The Basilica Block Party

Augustana @ The Basilica Block Party

Need to Breathe @ Basilica Block Party

Something Profound This Way Comes

I snagged this excerpt from a chat between my buddy Chris and I last week. Thought it was an interesting midday exchange that sums up my philosophy on life and happiness.

• CC: so how grown up do you feel?
• CC: or more importantly, do you feel any closer to knowing who you are and what your destiny is?
• PJ: not that grown up.
• PJ: god no
• PJ: i'm just trying to enjoy life as much as I can
• PJ: and appreciate the simple things
• PJ: i don't know if I believe in destiny anymore
• CC: I'm not sure the world conspires to help you toward your destiny either
• CC: but...
• CC: I'd hope that I could know myself, and what would make me happy, and to strive for it. Or rather, just go ahead and do it.
• CC: at least after I get this "Scope of Competition report" done :-)
• PJ: lol
• PJ: i've come to the conclusion that deep down I'm not sure if there is anything that can make me profoundly happy all the time.
• PJ: simple things like spending time with friends and family. Going to live music concerts, and sporting events. That makes me happy.
• PJ: having the money to do those things without worrying about paying rent.
• PJ: that makes me happy
• PJ: having a job that I at least partly enjoy and people I work with that are decent and honest.
• PJ: that makes me happy
• PJ: so i'm trying to appreciate each of those for what they are
• PJ: i think that's the only real way to be truly happy as much as possible
• PJ: but that's just my opinion
• PJ: and that's just how I feel now
• CC: you have a very Buddist outlook my friend
• PJ: heh
• CC: enjoy each day for what it is
• PJ: it's simple, but I think it's starting to work for me
• PJ: but to each his own
• PJ: and of course I still think about the bigger picture some time
• PJ: but what if we really weren't put on this earth to serve some purpose?
• PJ: what if we are just here drifting aimlessly?
• PJ: i want my life to be about the people i was with and how I treated the people around me
• PJ: i want to try to be as good and decent of a person as I can
• PJ: and I think if I can do that
• PJ: i'll be satisfied
• CC: satisfaction is a tough thing to find :)
• PJ: indeed

Quote of the Day

"Maybe the older you get the more you realize that life doesn't have rules, and if it does you sure haven't figured them out."
- Chris

Music Open Stage @ e.p. atelier

Lawn Bowling Team Outing @ Brit's

Minnesota Lightning Soccer Game

Jack Johnson Concert @ Rivers Edge

Air Guitar Regional Championships

The Long Road Home

We checked out of our hostel at about 10:00 a.m. and headed out on our long journey home. It started out pretty good and the weather in Amsterdam was absolutely phenomenal. Fortunately, we’ve had pretty good weather our whole trip. It never really got hot and I’m very thankful for that because in Amsterdam we didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning in our hostel.

Our first train ride was from the central Amsterdam train station to the Amsterdam airport. We took advice from some people we met the previous night and tried to ride the one stop to the airport without buying a ticket. After all, throughout the entire trip, we have never been checked on the intercity trains so we thought that was a great idea. Unfortunately, our luck ran out on the way to the airport. Fortunately, the “train police” were kind to us and only made us pay a fraction of the actual fine. It was definitely something we laughed about later.

Once we got to the airport it was relatively smooth sailing. Our flight out of Amsterdam left on time. We were once again in business class, which was absolutely amazing for a long flight. We had a three hour layover in Detroit, which went off without a hitch and left on time, but then we were stuck in the air for about an hour and forty five minutes longer than the flight should have taken because of bad weather in Minneapolis. We got in about 10:00 and I was on the Light Rail with my backpack by 10:45 or so. I didn’t sleep at all on the plane because I wanted to get properly acclimated to the Minneapolis time zone again. So by the time I went to bed I had been about for a little over 24 hours straight. To my surprise, I was actually feeling pretty good for staying up that long. It didn’t really hit me until about 2:00 P.M. the next day. I’m struggling to finish writing this right now.

And now for the big wrap up. All in all, the trip was amazing. We accomplished what we needed to at the business conference and we successfully transitioned from business mode to vacation mode for the last few days. My traveling partner from work was a true pleasure to travel with. We share the same innate curiosity that drives us to better understand the people and culture of the places we visit. It helped us stay on the same page throughout the trip.

As usual, traveling changed my perspective on the world once again. It gave me something that I feel I’ve been missing for a long while…. A certain sense of fulfillment. It showed me that the world can still surprise me.

The Long Road Home

We checked out of our hostel at about 10:00 a.m. and headed out on our long journey home. It started out pretty good and the weather in Amsterdam was absolutely phenomenal. Fortunately, we’ve had pretty good weather our whole trip. It never really got hot and I’m very thankful for that because in Amsterdam we didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning in our hostel.

Our first train ride was from the central Amsterdam train station to the Amsterdam airport. We took advice from some people we met the previous night and tried to ride the one stop to the airport without buying a ticket. After all, throughout the entire trip, we have never been checked on the intercity trains so we thought that was a great idea. Unfortunately, our luck ran out on the way to the airport. Fortunately, the “train police” were kind to us and only made us pay a fraction of the actual fine. It was definitely something we laughed about later.

Once we got to the airport it was relatively smooth sailing. Our flight out of Amsterdam left on time. We were once again in business class, which was absolutely amazing for a long flight. We had a three hour layover in Detroit, which went off without a hitch and left on time, but then we were stuck in the air for about an hour and forty five minutes longer than the flight should have taken because of bad weather in Minneapolis. We got in about 10:00 and I was on the Light Rail with my backpack by 10:45 or so. I didn’t sleep at all on the plane because I wanted to get properly acclimated to the Minneapolis time zone again. So by the time I went to bed I had been about for a little over 24 hours straight. To my surprise, I was actually feeling pretty good for staying up that long. It didn’t really hit me until about 2:00 P.M. the next day. I’m struggling to finish writing this right now.

And now for the big wrap up. All in all, the trip was amazing. We accomplished what we needed to at the business conference and we successfully transitioned from business mode to vacation mode for the last few days. My traveling partner from work was a true pleasure to travel with. We share the same innate curiosity that drives us to better understand the people and culture of the places we visit. It helped us stay on the same page throughout the trip.

As usual, traveling changed my perspective on the world once again. It gave me something that I feel I’ve been missing for a long while…. A certain sense of fulfillment. It showed me that the world can still surprise me.

Amsterdam Day 2

Today we grabbed a leisurely breakfast along one of the canals in downtown Amsterdam and then headed to the Van Gogh Museum. I’m not a huge art fan, but I do appreciate Van Gogh’s work and some of my favorite art comes out of the Impressionist period. So I was excited to visit the museum.

It was interesting reading about Van Gogh’s history and seeing some of his most revered work. While I was walking through the exhibit I definfintely was able to relate to Van Gogh a little more than I ever thought I would. The museum did a great job of conveying his struggle to find his place in the world and leave a lasting mark before he faded away. I was surprised to learn that he didn’t really start painting until about 8 years before his death. He seemed to restlessly wander from location to location doing a variety of jobs before he became a painter.

When he started painting he felt all the pangs of uncertainty that any of us would face when embarking on a drastically new career. For some reason I have always had this picture in my head that all great artists understand their greatness and the legacy they are leaving to the world. They know they are making something special and it’s just a matter of it being found and appreciated. After reading Van Gogh’s personal letters, it was evident that he was incredibly uncertain about what he was doing and what his contribution would be to the world.

Towards the end of his life, doctors think he had developed Epilepsy and he checked himself into a mental institution for a while because no one really understood the condition back then. After that he seemed to completely lose faith in himself and ended up taking his life at 37 years old. He never knew the impact that his work would have on the generations that came after him. It deeply saddens me that he left this world thinking he was a complete failure. He never imagined that history would later look back on him as one of the most revolutionary painters to ever pick up a paint brush.

Even a painter of his caliber struggled to find meaning and purpose in his life. I don’t know if that means there is more or less hope for us finding those answers. But I think it does show us that none of us are alone in this quest.

After the Van Gogh museum we took a canal tour of the city that was pretty run of the mill. Then we hit up a bar that was recommended by one of my coworkers called Golem. It was a quaint bar in a small off the beaten track alley. The bar had a million and a half beers available and the inside of the bar looked like it would be better suited for a small loft apartment than an actual bar. But nonetheless, these are the type of places I love.

The first thing that strikes you when you walk into the bar is the beer list of course. But shortly after that I looked around at the patrons surrounding the bar and they were almost all locals. It reminded me of a book I read recently called the Tender Bar. The people were friendly and Syril the bartender was a great host. We ordered my new favorite beer of choice Leffe Blonde (a Belgium beer) followed by several Delerium’s. After hanging out for a bit, the bar started getting more and more crowded. So we took a table up at the top level of the little bar and a few moments later we were talking to the group of people next to us. We learned that two of them were actually from Minneapolis (what are the chances of that?). One was a teacher and the other worked at the Bedlam theater. They were on a month long trip and were squatting at the apartment of a friend in Amsterdam. So we talked with them for a while and then headed out around 12:00 or so to wander around the city.

On the walk home we came across the famous couple streets with windows of prostitutes. At that time of night there were probably 25 girls, one in each window, basically showcasing themselves in bikini’s and other scantily clad clothing. This was a truly eye opening experience. As most people know, prostitution is legal in Amsterdam (among other things), so it’s not every day you come across women legally selling their bodies. I’ve always had this visceral negative reaction to prostitution that I think has been engrained in me for a long while by my practically Puritan upbringing. I had this perception in my head that walking down “hooker row” and looking through these windows would be a depressing ordeal. I imagined that these women would all be selling their bodies because they have no other choice. I imagined that each of them would be plagued by disease and their bodies would show it. After seeing the whole environment, it really changed my perspective.

It was about 1:00 A.M. by now. The streets were quite busy at that hour with a variety of people wandering about and checking out the women in the Macy’s like store windows. As we walked past one window after another, I didn’t feel the depressing soul crushing sadness that I thought I would. Most of the women we saw were drop dead gorgeous and actually looked enthusiastic about doing their job. They seemed to almost take a certain pride in it all. The way the windows work is that these women rent a window for an 8-10 hour shift for 60-150 euro depending on the location. Then they charge 40 to 50 euros for 15-20 minutes of sex (reference: Wikipedia). Prostitution is treated like any other self employed trade job in Amsterdam. They get access to the social security system, can form unions, and have to pay income tax.

I’ve traveled more than most people I know, but I’ve never seen anything like “hooker row”. In a way, it really forced me to humanize prostitution much more than I ever did before. I’m still not a supporter of women selling their bodies, but the whole trip definitely changed the way I think about it.

Amsterdam Day 1

We traveled by train to Amsterdam this morning direct from Brussels Nord. The train ride was fairly uneventful. We went through lots of country side and had several stops along the way picking up a variety of interesting people. One of them was a girl named Ashmael from Morocco who we struck up a conversation with along the way. She was incredibly easy on the eyes and spoke bits of broken english. We found out that she had been living in Amsterdam for the last four years. Not real sure what she did for a living but, we were able to make very small talk with her.

When we first got on the train I was a bit concerned because there were so many American’s it was ridiculous. But after arriving and getting setup at our place, I realized those concerns were unfounded. Since we’ve been here we haven’t seen a many American’s at all. We’ve actually met more Canadian’s than anything. On the other hand, it might have something to do with where we are staying. We’re staying in a hostel called St. Christopher’s at the Winston in the heart of the red light district. I know you are all probably getting incredibly seedy images in your head right now, but honestly, the area isn’t any where close to as bad as I thought it would be. It’s actually a pretty cool place where lots of young backpackers hang out. It has about a billion bars in the few square miles that encompass the area which mostly stay open extremely late. Sure there is the occasional sex shop and “coffeehouse” every few store fronts, but since we’ve been here I really haven’t felt even remotely unsafe.

The hostel is clean and friendly. It resides above a great little bar called Belushi’s that has two for one specials on various drinks most of the day. The reception area is actually in the bar. The rooms are pretty much dorm style and my travel companion and I have two twin beds with a bathroom that is about 3 x 3. With all that said, it still seems like it’s going to be a great place to stay. It’s also incredibly cheap when you compare it to some of the hotels in the area.

After we got situated at the hostel we took off and headed to the Anne Frank House. We were able to get our bearings pretty quickly (for a change) and find the museum without getting too lost. The whole exhibit was incredibly moving. I read the Diary of Anne Frank several years back and I remember thinking that her words were so profound for a little 13 year old girl. The story is heartbreaking and just being in the location where it all happened really left me speechless. In a way, I feel like the exhibit showcases the best and worst of humanity.

First, you have these people suffering extreme anguish in many forms because of oppression based on who they are and what they believe. A whole lot of people, not only in Germany but in other countries as well, thought that the Jewish people should actually be wiped off the face of the earth. In one breath it makes you think there is no hope for us living in a free and tolerant world. But then you read and hear the words of Anne Frank. Somehow she was able to keep this intensely optimistic perspective on the whole situation. Throughout the whole diary her words show you that she was able to hold on to this hope of a better world and she was able to forgive her oppressors. Even after everything she went through, somehow she hung on to compassion over hatred no matter how cruel her oppressors may have been to her friends and family.

It amazed me that she was able articulate all of this so clearly even at such a young age. The exhibit was definitely all that I hoped for and my travel companion and I had some great discussions about the whole thing.

After that was over we walked around Amsterdam for quite some time just exploring the various neighborhoods. Once again, we got lucky with the Euro Cup and had the unique privlege of watching Holland play against Italia while we were in Holland. The bars were packed with people and the excitement in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. We actually ended up talking with this interesting guy named Adam from Canada at the bar next to our hostel in the Red Light District. He had been traveling for five weeks and was helping to build houses in Egypt and Jordan. He was in Amsterdam on his own for a bit of a layover and definitely shared some great stories with us. For those of you that know me, I’m definitely a sucker for great travel stories so we got along great. After the game was over we wandered around for a bit longer and then headed back to the hostel. It was actually an early night for us and we were in bed by 2:00 A.M.

Brussels Day 2

It was another fine day in Brussels for us. My coworker and I took a bus/walking tour around the city and then proceeded to learn the nuances of the Brussels metro system. Brussels really is at the center of Europe. It seems you can get everywhere from here via train.

After our tour, we took the tram to the north side and went to a spanish festival they were having in the park where the Atomium is located. It was packed with people and reminded me a lot of the Taste of Chicago (except the spanish version). I’ve been trying every exotic food I can get my hands on (which will probably catch up to me after a while). But at the spanish festival I had something called Jumba which, as far as I could tell, was a certain kind of jumbalya. It was mixture of crawfish, rice, oysters, peppers. It was really pretty delicious. There were a ton of locals at this festival so I feel like we really had a chance to emerge ourselves in one of the many sub cultures of this city.

After the festival we tried to go to mini europe but sadly it closes during the week at 5:00. So we missed the closing time. Instead we wondered around the city for a while and stopped at an internet cafe. Then headed back to the main district where we were staying. We decided to chill out and hit up an Irish pub called O’Reily’s and we happened to come across a huge soccer game going on. Poland and Germany were playing in the first round of the Euro Cup and the Irish pub was packed with people. It reminded me a lot of the World Cup atmosphere that I experienced back at Brit’s a few summers ago. It was truly an insane envoirment. It’s amazing to see the sense of nationalism that europeans get rooting for their soccer team. I’ve never seen such passion for a sports team. It’s truly an electric enviornment that is just fun to be around.

After the bar cleared out, we hung out on the rooftop deck pretty much until bar close enjoying the fine weather and scenery. The rooftop of O’Reily’s was overlooking a monument in downtown Brussels which I’m pretty sure was older than our country. While we were there we struck up a fun conversation with our waitress. The waitress was a young thin blond with a pretty thick russian sounding accent. She happened to be Serbian but spoke very good English. Her name was Alena and she just finished her undergraduate in Political Affairs at a small college in Brussels. She was working at the pub to get some money so she could get her Master’s degree. She said her goal was to one day become the president of Serbia. Usually I would laugh at a comment like that, but she said it with a certain gravity that really captivated you. I really enjoy talking to people who still have the will power and fortitude to follow their dreams. We got to know her a little bit after talking to her off and on for a couple hours. I truly hope she is successful in her endeavor to become President.

Brussels Day 1

Today we travelled to Brussels via high speed ICE train from Dusseldorf. I always love traveling across Europe on the high speed trains because they really are light years ahead of the train travel we have in the U.S. We reached 250 km/h for a good portion of the trip and it was immensly enjoyable. We had a short transfer in Cologne and had the opportunity to take some pictures of a magnificent (medevial) cathedral that was absolutely breathtaking. Then we got into Brussels at around 1:00 P.M and proceeded to hit the town.

We checked into our hotel at the Bedford in downtown Brussels which ended up being pretty nice. I was able to get an extremely good deal on the room rate so my coworker and I are splitting the room.

First impressions of Brussels is that it’s extremely quaint. It actually reminds me a lot of the port city in Crete that I visited last summer. There are a lot of alleyways and cobblestone walkways, not to mention a plethora of bars and restaurants that attract people of all ages.

Our first night here we had some great pizza at a small italian place down the road from the Grand Place area. Then we decided to walk across town to see a few local bands. We ended up in this warehouse (that reminded me a lot of 7th street entry) which was kind of in the middle of a random residential district. The venue was pretty sweet but the rock bands that played were a little harder than what I typically like (similar to AC/DC) on the stage. We stayed there for a bit and then made our way back to the main restaurant and bar district so our ear drums could recover. On the way, I’m pretty sure we passed 3 or 4 hookers that were residing in the surrounding areas around the live music venue we visited. It was definitely an interesting location.

Once we got back to the main bar district we sat outside for a while and just people watched while drinking a random selection of belgium beers. I had my first experience with cherry based beer which is very different from any beer I’ve ever tasted. It is actually quite good, but far too sweet for me to pick up drinking it as a normal habit.

Once 1:30 rolled around we wandered back towards our hotel and took some pictures of the Grand Place at night. Tomorrow we are going to find some waffles for breakfast and grab a tour of Brussels that was recommended in one of the guides that I borrowed from my brother in law (who lived here for a month or so a few years ago).

Dusseldorf

The last two days in Dusseldorf have been quite a whirlwind.

Our first night we wandered towards the “old town” in Dusseldorf which reminds me of St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis. It’s filled with brick walkways and cafes with the beautiful Rhine rivers just a few blocks away. Last night we ended up having some great white fish for dinner and then proceeded to bar hop around old town.

We first chilled out at a few different outdoor cafes and people watched for a while. Then found this hole in the wall bar called “Da Spiegel” that had a band playing in a small area on the second floor of the bar. They were actually pretty good even though they played a lot of American classic rock. It was interesting to see how American culture has seeped into so many different areas of the German culture. At the bar I had my first experience with “Alt” beer, which is a local Dusseldorf beer. It was absolutely delicious. We ended up staying out at the bar until dawn just listening to great music and mingling with the german people.

Europe '08

Today I embark on my first international trip for “the company”. I’ll be headed to Dusseldorf Germany for a conference highlighting some new print technologies. The circumstances around my trip overseas last time around was markedly different than this trip, but I am taking a few extra personal days so I can travel to Belgium and the Netherlands while I am in that part of the world.

Some of the benefits of traveling for the company I feel like I’m going to enjoy:
1) Business Class Roundtrip Flights
2) Luxury hotels in Germany
3) A Company Perdium

I’ve never flown business class before, so I’m really looking forward to chronicling the experience. I got to the airport a little early because I heard that a business class ticket would get me access to the Northwest Business Class lounge. I read a little about this lounge on the internet before I came here today so I had pretty high expectations. Thus far, I have to say I’m a little underwhelmed.

I frequent the Minneapolis airport mainly for personal travel and I’ve always been mildly intrigued by the seemingly wonderous world that lay just beyond the large frosted glass sliding doors at the precipice of the Northwest Business Class lounge. Would the perk of having access to this luxurious lounge truly be worth the exorbitantly priced business class ticket? In my humble opinion, absolutely not. Sure you get access to free coffee and alcoholic beverages. There are also a few random flat screen tv’s and free wireless, but all in all the lounge reminds me of a nice hospital cafeteria.

As far as I can tell, there seem to be two types of people in the lounge. Weathly older individuals and weary business travelers.

The wealthy older individuals have this air of entitlement about them. They seem to relish the fact that they don’t have to sit with the commoners outside of their terminal.

The weary business travelers have a certain quiet desperation that seems to radiate from every word they speak. They trudge in and out of the lounge grabbing a beverage or a cookie before rushing off to catch their next flight to somewhere important. It’s almost a depressing site to watch. It makes me really thankful that I didn’t jump into the consulting world after college.

Take me back to my people… you know the ones who bring granola bars in their day packs and carry empty water bottles through TSA security so they can fill them up on the other side without paying for a two dollar bottle of water. I think that’s where I belong. But I digress… on to Germany!

Parachutes Fail at The Fine Line