June 24, 2003
The best commute in the world
No news=good news. So they say. I don't remember any of my dreams last night, so I spent a night without drama and I woke up without trauma. Cheesy? Whatever.
So, unlike yesterday, I remembered to pack my belt and underwear into work. In fact, said belt and underwear are inside the backpack on my back in the picture above. Today's mishap was that the towel that I had left in the embassy bathroom was stolen overnight. I had no towel, and hence, I could not shower. Fortunately, it was a little chilly today and I wasn't too sweaty. I wet my hair, deodorized my pits, sprayed on some cologne, and considered myself clean.
The tragedy is that the towel was my Mickey and Minnie in Vietnam towel that I had bought in Hanoi back in January. It's really not that cool, it looks like a brightly-colored Disney towel, but I really got a kick out of it. I mean, Mickey and Minnie in Vietnam? Why not just 'Nam? It pictured the two mouse lovers riding a moped with screws flying off of it. If I ever get it back (which I won't), I'll post a picture of it. I guess I have one more excuse to go back to Vietnam: to replace that towel.
Little progress was made on my research projects today. I found another human rights article about police torturing suspects, but that was about it. I'm about to commence another project on religious discrimination in Brazil. The research will require a bit more work, but it sounds like a good challenge to me.
Jed, Alessandra and Geoff: The Political Youngins
I rode my bike over to the blinged out Marine house after work. A Marine named Mack is a bike expert and he's going to take a look at my wheels and see if there's anything that needs repair. The first thing that he noticed was that the bike sucks. He's going to look it over for me, but he was quick to offer me one of the spare bikes that they just happen to have lying around. It's a beauty. I don't know anything about it, but it's chromed-out and has some nice front suspension. It's also about half as heavy as the other bike. He's going to see if I can borrow it until August. All he has to do is ask the officer in charge of the house. Done. That was really nice.
Geoff showed up after Mack had taken my bike, and we lifted for a while in their weight room. I didn't get to take a good look at the house, but it looks like those Marines really live in style. Their own private Portuguese teacher was there giving lessons when I arrived, they have a pool, they have a monstrous stereo and light system in the basement, a great weight room, and a fully stocked bar. And oh yeah, they have about 6 really nice mountain bikes lying around too. Style. From there, I rode a long way home. I'd be interested to find out how far I've been riding because I'm beginning to think that it's more than I thought. Yesterday my left knee was acting up a bit as I pedaled. It wasn't so bad today, but if it keeps giving me trouble, I might have to put the bike away for a bit.
One more thing. I'm going to move out of Rosa's for a few weeks starting this weekend. I'll be house-sitting for another family here. This one has a pool and a grill. Party at Jed's! SIKE!
music listened to while writing: Aphex Twin's 26 Mixes for Cash