Following my one true passion

Well, that was a mistake! Whomever told me to follow my passion forgot to explain a small little detail: if you have more than one passion, trying to figure out which one is “The One” that you must follow will paralyze you for years.

I’m sure there are some folks out there that from early in their lives have known and pursued their “one passion” and I’m sure have attained great career heights. Entertainers like Michael Jackson and men of science like Charles Darwin, were so focused on their area of work, that their lives and work were so intertwined that it’d be difficult to tell when they were not engaged in work or just making a living.

At the other end of the spectrum you can find me, and millions of others, that have been blessed with enough resources to allow us time to wonder about the possibilities of pursuing one avenue versus another, but who are also paralyzed by the cheer number of possibilities.

Bored I’m not. Nor am I resentful of the opportunities in front of me. God knows that I’ve enjoyed investigating every potential intersection and every possible turn in my life. After countless personality tests and aptitude surveys, I know myself better than I ever cared to. I know my likes and dislikes to the upmost, but the fear of choosing the wrong path or missing an opportunity that might just be ahead if I waited, has rendered me unable to jump-in and enjoy whatever is in front of me. You might be able to read between the lines that I am a little frustrated with my inability to find the ONE thing that I am here for or at least something that would keep me focused for some time.

Not sure where this advised came from, but I think I’ve found a solution to the analysis paralysis that have plagued me for the better part of three years. If you are facing the same dilemma, here’s what you need to do:

1) Embrace Your Passions. Forget about trying to narrow down your interests to just one passion. Just have them all. Find themes or principles common to all your interests and you’ll find that they usually point to your true north . If you have been blessed with many passions, live with and enjoy them.

2) Embrace any opportunity that comes your way. As long as the opportunity you are facing points in the direction of your true north, jump to it full force. Don’t worry whether this is the one thing you are supposed to do, just do it. More than likely even if this doesn’t pan out, it will likely point you to other opportunities or at the least, teach you some along the way.

I’ve been practicing this advice and it has taken a heavy burden off my shoulders. Almost out of the blues, a friend from Durham, NC called me a few weeks ago to see if I had some time to help him launch a business. Normally I would have been questioning whether this would have anything I could feel passionate about or if I could do this happily for the rest of my life. But with my new approach, I simply saw it as an opportunity in front of me. I jumped in without a lot of questioning just making sure it was something that I could do and would not deviate me much from my interests and my true north. It has at least two main ingredients that I’m passionate about (learning and helping-out) so why waste time wondering about the possibilities or analyzing it to death. I feel liberated!

Note: The pictures are from the San Diego skyline last week and some Cabernet grapes ready for harvest in the Temecula valley of California.

The doctor will see you now...

We’re on the half way point of a 5 week outing that has taken us completely across North Carolina. The first week in Durham, the second by the coast on Emerald Isle and at the end of the third week we traveled West on Interstate 40 all the way to Tennessee to finally arrive in Dalton, Georgia. The reason for the last part of the trek was to visit B’s niece Sarida Hoy and to be there when she presented her doctorate dissertation and defended her thesis at Georgia State University in Atlanta. During the last four years we have heard of Sari driving the 180 miles roundtrip from her home in Dalton, GA to downtown Atlanta several times a week. Not only was she attending school but she also worked as a full-time science teacher at the Dalton High and on top of that she managed to continue to raise one daughter and having another one that is now only one and a half years old. As if that wasn’t enough, she managed to get awarded as the Teacher of the Year for both her school and for the whole district. Ed, her husband was also busy teaching and also completing a doctorate degree so I don’t think she was counting on him for a lot of help around the house, but somehow they managed.

I don’t think I ever had that much drive and determination and even if I had, I wouldn’t have attempted that many feats in such a short time. Just trying to list the number of things she must have done everyday gets me exhausted, let alone trying to do any of it. But today having some of her family members witness the completion of just one of those feats was a reward for her and a great celebration for the rest of us.

Interestingly, Sari’s doctorate thesis was about Latin women in science. She followed the career of a prominent Cuban-American scientist who struggled with balancing family, education and career. The struggle must have seemed very familiar to Sari. A passionate and dedicated woman dreaming with a career as a scientist that ultimately had to choose between the demands of long hours at the lab and the demands of a husband that was “supportive” but that expected that his dinner should be ready and on the table at 5PM when he got home from work. It’s not an uncommon struggle and not one that will go away until family-raising roles are a bit more equalized at home. And because these “roles” have been ingrained in us from generations past, who knows when equality will go beyond tacit support to actual full, hands-on back up on the home front. It's amazing that some women have actually succeeded in their workplaces. With all the extra layers of responsibilities they are dumped with, it wouldn't be easy for just anyone to overcome the obstacles and to also have a successful career. For some reason I have always believed in equality at home. Of course, that doesn't mean that B and I are 100% in agreement on who does what, but I have never believed that there are gender-specific roles or that there are some privileges exclusively available to one gender over the other. Of course, there are exceptions, such as childbearing. Even if I could, it's something that I wouldn't volunteer to do.

Not sure exactly why I feel so strongly about it, maybe it was from seeing my own Mother, a very talented secretary in her days, bypassed for promotions and responsibilities for the mere fact that she is a woman. Two generations later, I hope those that share their lives with our sons are thankful that her influence has translated into very balanced and caring men as those two sons of ours have become. There is hope for the world.

The last weekend of our NC visit we stayed with our eldest son and wife at their home in Greensboro, NC. The weather was perfect and we spent some time outdoors enjoying some good food and some lively discussions.

Time to revisit my roots

Last month we went to Panama with our eldest son, Milo and his wife, Jackie. B and I had never traveled together to Panama even though in the last few years we had been there independently a number of times. So we took advantage that our son was still thinking that we were cool enough to travel with, that we decided to go back to Panama to show them the sights. I was excited to take Milo to the place where I first gained consciousness of my surroundings having lived there from ages 5 to 10. Also for them to spend some time with my ‘brother’ Rafael, who had offered to be our host in Panama during our visit. However, the trip also put me in Panama for the first time after Fernando’s passing. My childhood friend Fernando and I had traveled to visit our other childhood friend, Rafael on a number of occasions in the last few years, and we always talked about one day bringing our respective families to make it a big family reunion. Fernando didn’t make it in person, but I’m sure he joined us in spirit because his presence was always imminent.

Something I was very curious about was to see how well I had predicted what part of Panama Belinda would like best. I thought for sure she was a big-city girl and would like the energy and glamour of living in the Panama city. However, I missed the mark 100%. She actually liked the countryside village of Volcan, located on the highlands in the province of Chiriqui on the skirts of the Baru Volcano. Go figure. After more than 30 years together and I still can’t figure women out. Somehow I don’t think it’s only that I’m stupid (although that may be part of it), but its just a testimony that women are complicated creatures. Anyhow, even though I was wrong, I was pleasantly surprised because with it’s cool weather and beautiful views, Volcan would be more my type of community and thus it was actually surprising that we liked the same type of surroundings. Just wait until she finds out that with the beautiful views, there are also beautiful hills and for her, bicycling and hills don’t mix, so one of them is going to have to go if we ever decide to spend some time in Volcan.

Rafael did a great job hosting our visit as we were treated to all the best that Panama could offer and at the end I hope my family was impressed with the country of where I spend some precious years.

Note: The Peacock Bass (Sargento) we caught in Gatun Lake in the waters that feed the Panama Canal.

For more pictures of our Panama trip copy and paste this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/oirsula/Panama09?feat=directlink

Cool Palm Springs with friends

I didn't think the end of June was the most appropriate time to visit Palm Springs, CA, but during our last weekend in L.A we stayed with my childhood friend Perlita in Lake Elsinore, CA. A few weeks back she had invited us to visit Palm Springs and this sounded like a good idea at the time. Being in the middle of the desert, about 200 miles from the California coastline, the temperature was definitely going to be a factor. It was expected to be around 105F during the day so we were embracing for that. On our way there, we arranged to pick up our old-time friends Edwin and Alma who live near Temecula, CA. I was happy that Edwin offered to drive as this would mean less exposure to the CA Highway Patrol and thus more chances that I would be successful at not getting another ticket. A couple of interesting things along the way were the very large outlet mall right off Interstate 10, where we "had to stop" to enjoy the 100F air, and the other one was the sight of a huge windmill field right by the highway and in between the San Bernardino and the San Jacinto Mountains. I'm not sure how much electricity is being made in those fields, but it was certainly impressive to see the tall towers with their huge blades lazily moving with the wind. If Don Quijote had seen these he would have thought he was dead and gone to heaven for sure.

The highlight of our Palm Springs visit was going up on the tramway. As we went up the mountain, we felt the same effect as moving towards the coast in any California city. The temperature and vegetation changed from the 105F at the base of the mountain in Palm Springs, to a pleasant 75F at the top of the mountain. My fears of burning up the whole day in Palms Springs were subsided when we reached the top of San Jacinto at more than 8,000 ft above sea level. Once there we were able to hang out to talk about the old days at the same time that we enjoyed the views and lunch at a nice restaurant on top of the mountain.

The summer is here and with it, the travel season for those associated with schools. So, I'm looking forward to spending a few days at home before our next outing.

Look Mom, no tickets!

The week in L.A. Was successful in that my main goal was to stay away from becoming too friendly with the LAPD and the CA Highway Patrol. To keep my level stress under control, I relied on the L.A. Metro to get me to most places. I even convinced B to use the Metro and so everyday I would accompany her to her work, come back to downtown, then headed back to have lunch with her, and back again in the evening to pick her up. I became very familiar with everything having to do with the Metro to say the least. So I can't say that I didn't get a ticket because I was driving more carefully but more for staying away from the streets for the most part. I'm sure being in the Metro everyday was not the most exciting thing for my spouse, but she obliged for the sake of keeping me more relaxed and for preventing me from giving my regular “contribution” to the city of L.A. The governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is going have to find another way to fund his state's deficit. I'm through with my donations.

Our visit to L.A. Coincided with the passing of Farrah Faucet and Michael Jackson. Since they lived in L.A and reached the top of their careers in the area, the city went all out as if the lost was personal. I happened to be walking around the Walk of Fame in Hollywood when the news of Michael's passing started to spread. Within minutes fans, old and young, were seeing walking around as if dazed and confused looking for Michael's star to place some memorabilia. Unfortunately for them, the star happened to be covered up with the red carpet for an upcoming event that night at the Kodak Theater. But I'm sure they eventually found a place to make a memorial to show their grieve.

San Francisco Tour Guide

After just three days at home in Miami, we headed out again to do the San Francisco / Los Angeles monthly tour. While the rest of the country seemed to have been basking in the hot summer sun, these cities were as usual, cool and pleasant. The temperature difference from the coast to just a few miles inland is very pronounced. It's always wise to bring a light wind-breaker jacket along and it's a constant ritual to put it on and then take it off as you get closer or farther to the coast.

The first week I played the role of tour guide to Nellie and Hobert from North Carolina which accompanied us in San Francisco most of the week. It was refreshing to revisit most of the

tourist must-see landmarks which I don't usually visit anymore. Fisherman's Warf, The Golden Gate Park, The Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Chinatown, Hargett & Castro districts, Lombart Street and finally the wine country during the weekend. As I planned each day's activities, I thought about the sequence of events, the best angle to approach the site, the best time of the day to visit, my client's level of energy and where it'd be fun to eat for the different meals of the day. The client's were very accommodating and gave me full control of their schedules. At the end I hope they got a comprehensive and enjoyable visit. It was a good change of pace for me and I enjoyed the city through their eyes.

"Pilas" -the key to a successful life?

The sun in Cusco definitely has “pilas”* Just as much cloudiness as there was in Lima, now I´m overwhelmed by the sun´s intensity in Cusco, Peru. At sea level (Lima), a layer of air and moisture filters the sun rays effectively, but at Cusco´s elevation, the filter is reduced by the 3,400 meters of space missing and thus the sun hits with all its might. It is even difficult to take decent photographs as the contrast between the sun and the shade is so intense that the shady part of the photo looks underexposed and the sunny parts way too bright. Even temperature-wise, in the shade it is in the 50s but just stepping into the sunlight the temperature goes up about 20 degrees.

But the “pilas” I´m referring to is from an expression our youngest son used during our visit when referring to what makes a worker (or a girlfriend) more desirable. Erick has been living here for over 3 ½ years and now speaks fluent Spanish. Through emails, phone calls and the occassional visit, we have witnessed his evolution from an unfocused, carefree young-man to a energetic, focused, responsible adult in his late 20s. Faced with his own inmaturity, the new culture, a language that he barely knew and completely new surroundings, he struggled for months before finding his footing. Now it seems as if he has finally figured “it” out and has become wise and responsible. He sounds like a man my age when he talks about why some of his friends and aquantainces do well while others flounder or even completely fail at becoming independent, productive members of society.

He compares himself to others that also come from priviledged backgrounds but which are so ´spoiled´ that cannot stand on their own two feet without the crutches provided by Mom and Dad. Young men and women that may already have years of education and life experience but when given the opportunity to work, they never show a viable level of interest or display the work ethics and dedication today´s employers expect. He claims that those that don´t have “pilas” to exceed their bosses and their customer´s expectations often are the ones that don´t get the entry-level jobs or when given the opportunity, eventually get fired for lack of motivation and dedication.

I´m not sure where Erick got his “pilas” but seeing him work at the Andina Travel Agency, I can sense what he means by having the "pilas". He is very personable with his colleagues and customers. Goes the extra mile to help out without expecting anything in return. After closing the transaction, he even gives out his own personal mobile phone number in case any of his English-Speaking customers run into any trouble or would benefit from hearing some words of advice from a local. He has definitely found his niche in the tourist trade of Cusco and loves to get out in the mornings to be the first one in at the office.

Pilas make you or break you. But, how do you get those pilas to begin with? Is that something that comes built-in in your DNA? Is that something that parents have anything to do with or can influence in their children? Can your pilas get recharged or replaced? I don´t know the answer to these but I have a feeling that some of it may be the result of B and I preventing our kids from having just anything they ever dreamed of. My philosophy is that its better to live wanting just a little, rather than bowing to your or their every desire. A little bit of hunger didn´t kill anyone, but it sure makes you appreciate food when you finally get it.

Maybe we had something to do with it or maybe not, but we our proud of our two sons becoming decent, law-abiding, independent, and productive members of society. Don´t know where they got their pilas from, but we´re happy that they are also loving sons which love to share with us and don´t mind when we witness and admire their transformations through life. I'm a lucky man to have been allowed to live through this.

*Pilas – Noun, Plural, Spanish pronunciation=[PEElas]. Literal translation: batteries. Slang: Energy, Charisma, Vigor, Potency.

Sunny day in Lima (not!)

OK, I haven’t seen the sun in about 5 days and now I’m at the stage that I’m avoiding sharp objects in the hotel room and avoiding being too close to wide-open windows in tall buildings. When things are so gloomy and depressing, one cannot be too careful.

We have been in Lima, Peru since Sunday morning and our arrival coincided with the arrival of Lima’s winter doldrums. The sky is dark grey, fog permeates everything and mixes with the exhaust from the buses to the point that you don’t know which is which, the air is cool but the kind of cool that is not really that cold at first but after a day or two it becomes so impregnated in the environment and in your clothes that it makes your bones tremble and clatter. Like many other cities of this size (8 million) most people in the street dress the part. Not with lively bright colors as in Miami, but dark hues of grey that better match the sky and the smog than a tropical beach anywhere. Not a very fun place to be if this happens to be your only destination but I’m looking forward to visiting with our son in Cusco for the weekend. I don’t care where he is but please let it be sunny!

After a few visits to Lima in the last couple of years, still it’s not as if I know how to go directly to the public library as I do in the other US cities that we usually frequent. For one thing, libraries are not your main tourist attraction so they are not found in the tourist maps or advertised in the hotel’s city guides. So I end up hanging at the several bookstores found in the nice section of town where we usually stay (Miraflores). One section of the bookstores that is always interesting is the cookbook section. There are all kinds of large colorful books on Peruvian cuisine. They usually have close-up pictures of the foods detailed inside and browsing them makes for a great pastime. If I do that a couple of hours before the next meal it works wonders on my appetite and makes the search for the next restaurant an adventure. This city is known for its ceviche and tasted a great variety of them I self-proclaimed myself as a 'ceviche connoisseur'. And of course to keep with my reputation, this week I have already done a fair sampling of their delicious adaptations in a number of venues.

The sampling started on Sunday right after the airport. A local friend invited us to eat at the Marriott Hotel across from Larco Mar, an affluent shopping center built right off the cliffs in front of the Pacific Ocean. I was pleasantly impressed with their all-you-can-eat buffet of typical Peruvian cuisine. It didn’t help that the buffet also included refills of their famous Pisco Sour drinks so by the third trip to the buffet table I had to be extra careful that I didn’t trip on the steps and made a fool of myself. The best thing about it was that in addition to all their offerings, they had a ‘ceviche bar’ where a chef would custom-make your ceviche on the spot. The chef had several types of fresh fish and seafood cut in cubes, finely-cut red onions, spicy red pepper, Peruvian corn and chunks of sweet potato and he would mixed them per your request and top the product with plenty of ‘Leche de Tigre’ (spiced lemon juice) to cure it all. I normally stay away from hotel restaurants but having this experience definitely made me a little more open minded about the possibilities.

It’s about 11AM right now and I must be heading to the nearest bookstore to start the process in preparation for my next meal. Hopefully I’ll get to browse a book about sunny tropical beaches to enliven my spirits a little as I continue the arduous task of sampling all the ceviche that Lima can muster.

Hoping for a sunny (ceviche-filled) day tomorrow, I remain.

My Alter Ego

I have to fez up to the cruel reality that I may not be as green as I claim to be. In my most recent blog entry I even announced that I was ready to move to Vauban, Germany to become even greener than we are in our South Beach home. It’s true that our only car sits in the parking garage for weeks at a time and is only used when we are entertaining visitors. It is also true that because parking is such a big issue in South Beach I make it a point to bicycle or take the $.025 bus to the grocery store, the bank, post office or just about anywhere that I need to go. It is also true that I don’t own a gas-powered lawnmower, don’t have lawn sprinklers and that I recycle most of what goes into our trash. But when I head back to Emerald Isle, North Carolina, all my green goes out to the deep blue ocean.

It’s not that I mean to be less green, it just happens that being less green is a lot easier. In the other half of my double life, I’m not just a condo-dweller but a seasonal rental house owner. So, it’s not that I have a lot of choices, but even using what I have available I’m not very conscious of minimizing my environmental impact. I rationalize my actions by saying to myself that I don’t have a lot of time or that the distances here are not as convenient for walking or that it’s too cold or too hot or too wet. Regardless, I find a way to acting very much like just about everyone else in the area. For transportation I get to use a 4X4 small pick up truck that my brother-in-law kindly lends me. He doesn’t use the truck as much because it happens to be a gas-guzzler, so I take it and I don’t even blink when filling up at the gas station. I use the truck to travel back and forth the Raleigh-Durham airport and I also to do my errands during the two weeks I’m here. When I’m here, I dispose of and buy all kind of ‘home stuff’ to make the house more comfortable to our summer renters and of course need a truck to move them.

When shopping, I’m not looking for ‘greenness’ as I’m looking for ‘value’. At the store, I want to know what is cheaper and whether it will withstand the onslaught of tenderness from renters and visitors and pay little regard to where the item was made or under what conditions it was made. When we have weekend guests, I go back and forth to the supermarket several times during the weekend and make little effort to maximize the utility of my trips or even to consider whether I could bring the items on a bicycle. It’s just so easy to hop on the truck and drive away that I don’t even take the time to think whether I might be missing something for which I’d have to return in a couple of hours.

And if this is me that I consider myself to be environmentally conscious, at least in my other half of my double life, what could we expect from those that are in complete denial that global warming maybe at least in part aggravated by our use of hydrocarbon fuels or those that feel that the world was created simply for man’s use and enjoyment? As long as it continues to be just so simple and cheap to get on your car and drive to do whatever, it will be continue to be a major challenge to convince at least some in the population to reduce the carbon footprint for the activities that we do daily. With the recent announcement of the new gas-mileage and emission standards made by the Obama administration just yesterday, I’ve been also listening to some talking about the possibility of a “gas tax”. Of course, proposing any sort of gas tax would be equivalent to political suicide, but thinking about it, this will be the only way I will feel forced to think about my driving habits seriously. It happened last year when gas was over $4 a gallon, but now that it’s back down to $2 we, including myself, are back to our old ways.

I yearn to be green. Really, I don’t want to live a double life. But I need some help. Only when it becomes economically feasible, will I truly leave the other half of my double life and live my life fully being a conscientious inhabitant of this wonderful planet. Please help!

We're moving to Vauban, Germany!!! (well, maybe)

I don't want to sound as if I am complaining about where we reside but you must always be on the lookout for that next (better) place out there. Los Angeles, with all it's ethnic diversity, it's world-class public library and it's Metro, make for a great contender. But then when you throw in it's notorious smog and the occasional earth-shaking episodes, L.A looses a bit of it's charm. And of course, the worse being that it being such a car-centric society one would be hard pressed to do anything without the almighty car. Also, where there are cars, there are usually cops. And during the last 10 minutes of our last visit I received an unexpected farewell from an LAPD officer who claimed that I “broke the white line of the right-turning lane” when instead of continuing straight on my lane, I moved to the right lane too closed to the intersection. I have a feeling that the area around the airport must be a great place to catch unfamiliar tourists doing things they shouldn't be doing and I happened to be the unlucky one at that time. And it left a bitter taste in my mouth about L.A which makes me question whether I ever want to return again, let alone the thought of ever living anywhere nearby is unfathomable right now.

Yesterday we arrived back in North Carolina for what has become our regular semi-annual visit to the NC coast. It was back here where I started writing this blog during my days of fishing and lounging by the beach. Now it's just for a few days of cleaning and preparing the house for the (hopefully) busy summer season. Still, it reminds me of the wonderful life we had here bicycling mostly everywhere we needed and doing our daily walks right on the beach. Well, not very different from Miami Beach in that sense although this setting is definitely more isolated and peaceful.

Reading today's New York Times (online) I found an interesting article about Vauban, Germany which sounds like the utopia for bicyclist and those like me that have this love-hate relationship with their cars. Vauban has only one street where cars are allowed and the houses and condos have no driveways or parking garages. Parking is allowed in a building on the outskirts of the town where homeowners can purchase a parking spot for $40,000. With all these restrictions, 70% of the residents don't even own a car and 57% of the residents sold a car before moving to the community. Everything in the community is conveniently located within walking distance and cars are not allowed in the central part of the village. As a result, families feel safer when their children play outside, the environment if cleaner and I bet that if we look at this in 5 years, the residents are going to be healthier by being forced to walk and bike to most of their outings. According to the article, some of these bicycle/walking-friendly communities are being planned in locations throughout Europe and even some in the USA. I can't wait to go on my next California round because the article mentions that the Quarry Village community on the outskirts of Oakland, CA is being designed as a car-free community. Wait for my report about it in an upcoming blog.

In the mean time, I'll have to make the best of the bike lanes in Emerald Isle, NC as well as fighting the traffic with my bike in Miami Beach. As to moving to Vauban, Germany, I'll have to see whether they have a thriving latino social enclave and a good Cuban bakery/coffee shop. And if they do, I'll be looking seriously at the possibility of making Vauban our next seasonal migrating spot. I'm not holding my breath.

Since I mentioned my love-hate relationship with the cars, I have to close with the pictures of some neat cars that were in Ocean Drive (South Beach) last week for the closing of the Gumball 3000, which is a “race” of luxury cars from LA to Miami Beach.   The picture above is of South Beach & Biscayne Bay from the air.

The Mariachi Girls in L.A.

As Cinco de Mayo approaches, we decided to go with our Los Angeles friends Edwin and Alma to a truly Mexican experience to enjoy some Mexican food and music at the El Cielito Lindo restaurant in South El Monte, a suburb of Los Angeles. This was supposed to be just about 16 miles from downtown L.A. but traveling East from downtown on highway 10 at 6PM could mean moving as fast as a pouring honey out of a long skinny jar on a cold day. Thank goodness for the Car Pool lane which made things move a lot faster for the few of us that had two or more passengers in their vehicles. If I lived in L.A. I'd hire a person just to ride along with me so I could use the Car Pool lane all the time, it's definitely a time saver.

The main reason we made the trek to El Monte was to see the Reina De Los Angeles mariachi which is self-described as "the first all-female mariachi ensemble in the USA". This mariachi plays on Wednesdays of every week and the very famous Mariachi Sol de Mexico plays from Thursday to Sunday of every week. We were sitting at our table by 7:15PM and placed our food order shortly thereafter. Edwin ordered the fajitas, Alma ordered the chopped steak, B ordered a fried sea bass, I had the surf and turf house specialty. The show started promptly at 7:30PM and by that time the overhead lights over the tables had been dimmed and the stage lights immediately came on. By the time the food arrived, a few minutes into the show, it was a challenge to see what I was putting in my mouth because it was so dark, but whatever it was, it was rather pleasant and tasty so I didn't complaint.

The show was very entertaining to say the least. The women seemed very relaxed and easily handled the cheering, applause, yelling or whichever other way those in the audience decided to show their appreciation. Some, which must have been drinking Tequila straight from the tap, were very expressive and seemed to be having a great time, and were letting everybody know about it. At some point during the show, the ladies called the names of those new to the audience including where we came from. I have a feeling that Edwin may have had something to do with them knowing our names and where we were from, at least the didn't call me an "unemployed Miamian" so I didn't feel too bad. They also acknowledge those that were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. At one point the musicians walked down the isles to be very close with the audience.  It made for a very intimate show with the Reina De Los Angeles. I think that all of the musicians at some point put their instruments down and picked up the microphone to lead sing. They alternated in the different songs and sometimes even within the same song they would pass along a mic to interchange the lead singer spot. They all did a great job. Of course one or two of them could really hold the notes for a very long time, which made for a great crowd pleaser, but overall it was difficult to tell which ones were better than the others.

During the introduction the ladies mentioned that they were there just about every week but that next week, for the Cinco de Mayo celebration, they were not going to be here in L.A. They had been invited to perform for President Obama next week so we were lucky to see them just before they were on their way.

As Edwin had predicted, this was a great mariachi show and the food was not bad either. I was very pleased with both. Not only did we enjoy the 7:30 show but waited for the 9:30 and almost waited to the 11PM but some of us had to work the next day so we decided to end it somewhat early. Los Angeles is proving to be quite the fun place.

Here's a clip with just a few seconds of one of their last numbers. 

Tofu House in K-town

Another interesting feature about Los Angeles is the level of diversity you find in the streets. The fact that this is a huge city might have something to do with it but I doubt that even larger cities, such as Mexico city, have the diversity you find in this town. To take advantage of that, this week we have already eaten at a Salvadorean restaurant, a couple of Mexican restaurants and a Persian restaurant in Glendale. But the most novel experience to us happened just a block away from our hotel. We are staying in Koreatown, also known as “K-town” to the locals, which is just about three miles west of downtown L.A. Around the hotel there are many Korean businesses including supermarkets, banks, and especially restaurants. A couple of days ago we decided to venture into a Tofu House that is located just a block away from our hotel. I always see this 24-hour restaurant full, at times even with a waiting line outside. And the people inside and on the line seem to be mostly Koreans. I wish we had a Korean friend to help us figure out what to order and how to eat there but we decided to take the chance on our own. We went in, requested a table for two and were quickly escorted to our table. When the menus were delivered we were happy to find at least one or two words in English under every menu item. Definitely a very brief description because the entry in Korean was a lot more extensive than the translation. Our waitress was friendly but she didn't speak much English and was so busy with many other tables that hardly had time to give us a quick overview of what was available. She definitely noticed that we were not of the usual crowd so she tried to help however she could. At the end B ordered a Curry Soon Tofu which was described as including onion, beef, potato and carrot and I ordered a Seafood Soon Tofu which seemed to include some shellfish and shrimp.

The first delivery to our table were two very hot, heavy-iron pots covered with a heavy lid. We opened the pots but closed them up right away when we realized the rice inside was still in the process of being cooked. A few minutes later the next delivery were the side dishes (banchan) which included a small whole fried fish for each and a few bowls containing various fresh and pickled vegetables (Kimchi) such as cabbage, ginger, bokchoy, red chillies and a bowl with two cold fresh eggs in their shell. We were just sitting there not knowing if we had to wait for something else or if we should start eating. We kept watching our neighbors to see how they were eating everything but fortunately our waitress came by and said something like 'eat, appetizer' and motioned as to start eating which we did right away. Our utensils were a long-arm, small, metal spoon and two skinny, metal chopsticks so we started to dig into the fish with our chopsticks.

The last delivery came in two other heavy metal pots with something that looked like a well-seasoned broth. Mine had seafood and a large ball of tofu. B's had curry beef and vegetables. They were literary boiling and impossible to be eaten at this temperature. Our waitress came to help us with the rice which was already cooked by this time. She spooned most of the rice out of the heavy pot into a smaller metal bowl for each. Then she showed us how to crack the eggs open and poured them into the soup and then mix them quickly with the chopsticks. We figured that eating wouldn't be too far off now.

With the chopsticks and the spoon we managed to pick from the plates with vegetables and pieces of the fried fish and the rice to mix them in the larger soup bowl. Then with the spoon we would enjoy the end product. A few minutes into this process our waitress came by and poured some hot water into the heavy pot on top of the leftover rice where it had cooked. She motioned that this was to be drank as a tea at the end. I didn't particularly enjoy the flavor of that last “drink” but I'm sure it must have some traditional significance. That's were having a Korean friend would have helped.

At the end, we had fun. We enjoyed the mystery and the newness of the experience. It was nourishing, tasty and educational. You can't ask for a more lovely evening.

And to think that we can repeat this cultural experience almost every night. You can't beat California for it's cultural diversity and easy access to legitimate ethnic foods just around the corner.

LA Metro & Library

We got up early this morning to start our daily routine of having breakfast, changing clothes and getting ready for work. Well, my work is not of the kind that makes money but I still don't want to lose the practice of getting up early and so I do get up and prepare myself to get out like everyone else. As of late our routine, usually involves a hotel in a foreign or domestic city and this week is no different. 

Last week we were in San Francisco and this week we are in Los Angeles, California. Sometime it takes a moment or two to remember where we happen to be at the time to make sure I know what kinds of activities I have for the day. In some of these cities I am at the point that I no longer have to visit the obligatory tourist attractions and instead can leisurely focus on more mundane activities such as finding a grocery store and of course, finding the local public library as a safe place where I could easily spend all day.

Last week I celebrated Earth Day on 'ground zero' for environmentalists and pacifists: Berkeley, California. I bet Berkeley must have more Toyota Prius per capita than anywhere on earth. It's difficult to spot a GM or Ford vehicle but Priuses and bicycles seem to part of

the landscape. I love their wide bicycle lanes and how much of an institution it is to be and to look "green". Unfortunately my bicycles are sitting comfortably in South Beach and our rental-car was not a Prius but nevertheless I found a good parking spot and managed to spent a good amount of time hanging at the UC Berkeley campus and libraries.

This week in L.A. I have already taken care of the basics for survival so I headed to the L.A. Public Library in downtown. Of all the libraries that I have visited, and I can say that I have visited a few, the L.A. Library is the most complete, comprehensive and user-friendly of them all. Not only do they have many of the recently published books, but they keep multiple copies of each on the shelves. It's a safe bet to come here and to find whatever type of information I happen to be needing at the time and with free wireless Internet, it's like a little piece of heaven. It may also be safe to say that L.A must have a highly educated homeless population since the group with whom I was waiting for the opening of the main doors at 10AM, seemed to be mostly from that part of the population. I'm not sure if I already look the part but I had to make sure my shirt was tucked in and my appearance was not too dilapidated to look more like an unemployed Miamian and not like a local homeless. I wonder if the recent movie “The Soloist”, whose real-life counterpart happened just a few blocks from the downtown library, may have influenced some of the local indigent population to get some education or maybe this is just a very friendly environment for folks with nothing to do in the large cities of our country. I haven't dared to investigate.

Another feature of Los Angeles that I'm finding very appealing is their Metro system. When you think of L.A. you think of California's car culture, but if you have a chance to explore the underground Metro system you'll find it clean, easy to use, cheap and reliable. Of course, the city is so expansive that the few lines hardly cover a significant section of the city. But if where you are and where you happen to be going are on the Metro line, you're in luck. Not only you don't have to fight (and pay) for a parking spot, but for $1.25 you can go as far or near as you need to go and usually there will be a seat available for you to enjoy the ride. The Metro even goes to the LAX airport so it would be convenient to enjoy the city even if we didn't have a rental-car. However it seems as if I'm one of the few Angelinos that has ventured underground because everyone of our friends in the area have heard the good things of the Metro but none of them have ever tried it. The sad fact is that the L.A. Metro rides mostly empty and above, the freeways look like parking lots, but that's the way it is in our car-loving societies. What will it take to push people to enjoy and take advantage of the Metro? Maybe increases in the infamous L.A. Smog to the point that breathing causes emphysema, or the continuos gridlock on 20-lane highways make them just so inconvenient, or maybe a $15/gallon gasoline will persuade people to finally get off their cars and try public transport. Who knows, maybe it will not have to come to any of that.  But if V.P. Biden continues saying that riding the Metro would be unsafe for his family during the current flu pandemic, it may even take longer to get Angelenos to enjoy their wonderful Metro.  I try to be optimistic but reality throws my best efforts to the ground.  Hope I'm wrong again.

Here's a short clip I took while waiting for the L.A. Metro in downtown:

How will this change us?

And change us it will. If you don’t believe me, you can ask someone that has had to deal with a grandparent or a friend that lived through the Great Depression. They can tell you. It changed them. Through the rest of the Twentieth Century, they were typified by being reluctant to add new debt by borrowing, distrusting their money to financial institutions or the stock market, afraid of relocating or disrupting the likelihood of remaining employed, some even were found on the streets even when they amassed a fortune stuffed in a mattress somewhere.

And who can blame them? The banks they trusted defaulted with their savings, their trusted jobs left them high and dried and their way of life or at least their perception of life, was changed forever.

If you dissect the news reports or listen to President Obama, we are not exactly at the same level of depression as we were in the 1930s, so we should feel more at ease that things will not be as dismal. But I am almost sure that this experience has affected us more deeply than we now recognize. For one thing, people are already saving more, buying less, and thinking about what debt they are willing to undertake.

But at a deeper level, how will our lives change after this? Will we become more environmentally conscious? Will we recycle more? Will we use less bottled water? Will we look for and purchase hybrid or more fuel-efficient vehicles? Will be buy smaller houses? Whoever can figure out how this experience will change us, will definitely have the potential of really making it big in the years ahead. But I’m not trying to be the one that figures it out, I’m just hopeful that what WE end up being, is going to be better than the alternatives.

I challenge you to allow it to change you in a meaningful way. Let’s be known by how different we are from the generation that brought us here. Remember, it was mostly greed that made banks accept those less-than-desirable mortgages, it was greed that created those mortgage-backed securities, it was greed that made us buy more house than we could afford and greed that made us overlook the fine print of those too-good-to-be-true mortgage papers. Let not greed be our legacy.

How will this change affect our environment? Must we work hard to attain a positive double digit GDP (Gross Domestic Product)? Or would just 1 or 2 percent GDP be OK? Must we just shop our way out of the recession or could we figure out a more sustainable way of living on this planet? Should we find environmentally sound ways to fuel our vehicles and homes? Lot of questions. And only history will be able to tell how this financial downturn affected our generation. But it will be our collective responses that will ultimately define us.

It must be Spring!

In less than 10 days we will have been living here for one whole year. Well, “living” is a matter of opinion since with all the traveling that we did during the year, at least one of us was here for half that long. Nevertheless, we consider ourselves “local SoBe residents” and don’t even glitch with any hesitation when asked where our home is. It has been an interesting year to say the least. With all the politics, economic depression and bailout to recovery, I’m sure this will be a year that we will never forget. Even though normally Americans tend to have a very short memory span when it comes to politics and the economy, I’m sure most of us will remember the names Citigroup, AIG,and Madoff for years to come.

Having almost a full year of experience in this new environment, I have built my sensory database to the point that I may be able to tell what season we’re in by just taking a walk down Ocean Avenue. You see, in this parts we don’t have the very clearly marked seasons as most of the rest of the country. If I go outside is not as if I can tell whether the palm trees are shading their leaves because it’s autumn. The only things falling of the palm trees are the coconuts, and they fall pretty much all year around, especially if you happen to be sitting right under them. So we’re left with two big seasons, a very warm and humid one and another one just a little less warm and humid.

I'm guessing Spring must be around the corner, not only are the few comfortable cool days gone but walking down Ocean Avenue and the beach seems as if half of all those from northern climates have decided to take at least temporary residence here. The beaches, now with a strong testosterone smell and covered with tanning bodies, remind me of beaches, normally seen in the pages of National Geographic, blanketed with mating sea elephants. Except that the males of our species seem to have a little less control over their female counterparts. Another difference from the sea elephant colonies is that the women here behave more like those birds from nature programs that try to attract the opposite sex with their elaborate and colorful plumage and behavior, in this case the women wear a lot less plumage but at least their feet are well protected by wearing their 4” stilettos. Not sure exactly how well those heels do on the sand but I don’t think the users care much about the functional practicality. It’s pretty clear to me now that Spring is definitely just around the corner!

Maybe to stay clear of the Spring Breakers, last Sunday I decided to volunteer with the Arsht’s Center folks at the Carnaval de Calle 8. I had to be there early to set up so was able to see the whole thing develop from a few vendors and passersby to a 20-block, shoulder to shoulder crowd of my peeps. I can’t imagine where else in the world would you have to go to see such a large diverse gathering of Latinos from every corner of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Many were wearing their flag colors and seemed to loose all inhibitions (and fear of the Immigration officers), when their country’s name was called from any of the stages. With a million people on the street, it was difficult to make it just a block way. I’m sure there was a lot of music and food all over and I would have enjoyed more if I had been able to walk a little faster to the different stages and venues.

Oh well, that will certainly nicely close my year long experience in SoBe, oh wait, there is the Gay Pride Parade coming up in a week. Let’s see, don’t I have a trip pending somewhere…?