There's gonna be a strike in Paris.

So, wouldn't you know it? I'm going over to Paris next week with my dad and stepmom, and it turns out that on Thursday there will be a major strike. If you read French, you can go here and see more. My French is about as rusty as a nail that's endured a dozen Minnesota winters. (I don't know how rusty that nail would be, but it sounded like a good analogy.) All I really know is that Thursday, March 19 will be a great day to WALK around Paris instead of using public transit. And who knows what else will be closed for the day!

I need to buy a CD...

In a few weeks, I'm making an international trip, and I need your help. One of my personal traditions is to buy a CD before a trip overseas and listen to it a LOT during that experience. Then, once I'm home, I've made an emotional/memory attachment between that CD and that trip.

The first attachment was accidental, during my first trip with the fam to Europe back in high school. I only had 2 tapes with me (CDs recorded onto tapes, old-school style), so I listened to those 2 tapes for the entire trip. It's been 20 years since that trip, but anytime I hear either CD, I'm reminded of the experience.

So, I'd like your suggestions on a recent/new CD that I should consider buying for my trip in mid-March. No boundaries, no rules on the suggestions. Maybe I'll pick a suggestion that falls way outside my usually tastes. We'll see!

Music at the airport.

When I left Sacramento on Monday morning, there was a musician in the B concourse, adding musical cheer to the atmosphere. I was tired and a little cranky, so I didn't have a full appreciation of his contribution.

Apparently, this may be a holiday trend at airports this year:

It was an odd sight, to be sure: a rock show amid a tempest of luggage carts, weary airline crews and rushed passengers. But this is the exact reaction the airport's marketing and communication manager, Jane Sullivan, was hoping for when she tapped local musician Marc Capelle to curate a series of concerts at SFO [San Francisco International Airport], billed as You Are Hear.

The intent was to give travelers and the 30,000 employees at the airport a bit of entertainment during the hectic holiday season, and maybe make the whole travel routine a little less stressful for everyone involved.

"People keep telling me it's an unexpected delight, which is a phrase you don't normally hear at the airport," Sullivan said.

Check out the full story here, on the SF Chronicle's website.

Seattle: Day 4

So, today was my last full day here in Seattle. Spent a lot of time again in downtown Seattle, wandering the general area between the Seattle Center (home to the Space Needle) and Pike Place Market.

So, I'm really afraid of heights but I decided to go to the top of the Space Needle, anyway. It's pricey; $16 for an adult. Still, it offers awesome views of downtown Seattle, the Puget Sound, and all the surrounding cities. In this particular pic, you can see a sea plane flying through downtown.


I'm not sure why, but I struggle to smile for this kind of "MySpace" self pic. I'm still trying to peg the "emotion" on my face. It's probably, "Wow, it's a lot sunnier here today than it was yesterday, which means it's warmer and I chose jeans instead of shorts, and it's also really bright, which is going to leave me with some sun on my face and is making my eyes a little tired, too." Yea. You know that emotion. Don't deny it.



These two photos are from the Olympic Sculpture Park (I think that's the right name), near the waterfront. The most interesting sculptures are the large cones. I felt like I was going to get ticketed for walking into the Cone Zone. Oh, I also rode the monorail through downtown today. Nothing to do with cones or sculptures. But I just thought of it. And these entries are more freeflow than organized.


It scares me to think that at some point, there was an "Unsanitary Public Market" somewhere in the Pike Place neighborhood.


Yep, this photo very clearly made an impact on me. I think it's even funnier than the "Turkey Crossing" signs near my house. Maybe.

Seattle: Day 3

Today was the first day that I finally got into the "real" city of Seattle. I don't have a rental car, so all of my travels are either by foot or by public transit. So far, the bus system has been easy to use, and my decision to find a hotel near a transit center ended up being one of the best decisions I've made for this trip.

I'd never been to Seattle before, so today's itinerary centered around a few "important" places downtown: the waterfront, Pioneer Square District, Pike Place Market, and of course, the original Starbucks.

I was amazed that the public market was much smaller than I had imagined. Perhaps I was thinking of something on the scale of Pier 39 or Ghirardelli Square in SF, or even Cannery Row in Monterey. It wasn't as big as any of those. But it was still an interest site to visit. Managed to not buy anything, either.


Saw some fish-throwing, but the camera on my phone is too slow to catch the action. Had to settle for a pic showing all the non-customer tourists gathered around the shop awaiting a flying fish.


Yeah, seriously, this is the original Starbucks. It isn't very big or impressive, but it feels almost like a shrine with the number of customers filling the store. But I did wait in line, and ordered my venti green tea lemonade with 5 splendas in place of the sweetener. I may not drink coffee, but I'm capable of my own Starbucks addictions.


The store has the semi-original logo on its wall. This is, of course, the "re-introduced" logo that has generated recent controversy because it shows the mermaid's breasts.


My bus route back to my hotel took me past Boeing Field and the Museum of Flight. This is the (apparently rebuilt) building where Boeing got its start. Unfortunately, my bus route also took me along a LOT more city streets than the route I took downtown. So I spent almost 2 hours on the ride to the hotel. Praise God for the iPod!

Seattle: Day 2

Last night, I decided Tuesday would be my "chill" day. So I slept in this morning (only until 10AM, which isn't very late, I guess), and then just relaxed around the hotel for awhile. I caught an afternoon showing of The Dark Knight, along with maybe two dozen other people in a huge theater. Pretty funny.

The movie was great. It has the same dark feel as Batman Begins, but with a lot more action. I'm not sure if I like it more, less, or the same as Batman Begins. Regardless, it was worth seeing. Probably even worth a second view.

This evening's been quiet. Just doing some reading. Couple phone calls. Some texting. Not much else. Weather has been nice and overcast today. The high maybe hit 70.

Wednesday morning I'll head into the city, spend some time in downtown Seattle. Should be fun.

Seattle: Day 1

Got here to Seattle. Technically I'm outside the city in the suburbs because that's the only place I could find a hotel. Downtown seems completely booked. But I'm near a transit center with good access to the city, and I'm near plenty of shopping -- which is also good because I didn't want to pay $400+ for car rental this week. Yea, crazy trip!

This pic is from the flight here. I'm pretty certain these are the Three Sisters mountains in Oregon.

Back in town. And then gone again.

I got back last night from a quick trip down to Orange County, to see the guys at Simply Youth Ministry. I've been doing freelance editing work for them for about 3 years now, and we got together to talk about some upcoming projects.

Trip highlights, you ask? How about these...

• Finally eating a meal at the great, glorified Wahoo's Fish Taco place
• Seeing the new student ministry building at Saddleback, The Refinery, and having oh-so-short chats with Doug Fields and Josh Griffin
• Spending a day in nice OC weather
• Renting a car and remembering how much I really like driving my *own* car
• Hearing Andy Brazelton offer lame excuses on why he was skipping his 10-year high school reunion
• Admiring Nadim Najm's ability to keep a close eye on so many websites every day

Next week I'm in Seattle, for "pure" vacation time. Should be fun.

Memories and the senses.

I recently came across a CD that I hadn't listened to in years. Once I tossed it into my car's CD player, I realized that it was filled with all kinds of songs that brought back memories of my first trip to Europe, way back in 1989. On that trip, I took along 1 cassette for my super-hip Walkman, and I practically wore out the tape by the end of the 2.5-week vacation.

But I also unknowingly engrained those songs with memories of Europe. As I listened to each track, my mind was filled with visual and emotional memories of a train between Brussels and Paris... a train station in Paris... walking around the streets of London... experience the Rhine River in Germany... all kinds of wonderful memories.

Last fall, I traveled to Greece with my mom and brother, and I intentionally listened to one album on my iPod repeatedly, in an attempt to re-create this experience.

It worked. Those songs now remind me of the great trip last year.

Our senses seem to be so closely linked to memory. When I smell cigarettes, I often think of smoke-filled sidewalks in Athens. Certain smells remind me of my childhood, including times with my grandparents or other family members. The feel of shag carpet reminds me of my paternal grandparents' floors. A humid evening will stir memories of Missouri or Alabama. Cool weather around Thanksgiving time reminds me of college trips during that holiday. The smells and sounds of Christmas evoke more memories than I can possibly record.

I wonder what senses in a year or five or ten will evoke memories of my life right now.

Good to be home.

Just got back in town a couple of hours ago after a full day of driving home (Sacramento) from down south (Orange County). The trip reinforced my disdain for L.A. and its smog and its traffic, although the OC is nowhere as bad. Driving 8 hours alone is always fun... faster pitstops, no real conversation, and lots of choices on the iPod.

Great trip, overall. Odd to see green hills almost the entire way, and even saw a little snow on some of the hills along The Grapevine. But now I'm home and tonight we all lose an hour of sleep. So it's "really" 11:19PM, and that means it's definitely time for bed!

Hmm, Blogger won't let me add a pic. Argh. And i'm tired. So maybe I'll update with the pic tomorrow.

UPDATED: Finally, I can post a pic (4:25PM Sunday)

Fun times in Southern Cal.

I've been down in Orange County for a couple of days now. Weather has been ideal, conversations have been great, and it's been a good time. A few of the highlights:

On Thursday, I got to hear/observe the recording of the Simply Youth Ministry podcast at the SYM offices. That was pretty cool, especially since it was the first time they've tried live simulcast online from their offices (an earlier session was done at a youth workers conference a couple weeks ago). I hung out for a bit, talking with Nadim and Andy and Chris, plus the podcast regulars of Doug, Matt, Josh and Jana.

Then I got to hang with Fields for a little while to talk about some book ideas. It was great to get some feedback on the strentghs, weaknesses and possible audiences for the concepts. Good stuff.

Later in the afternoon, had coffee with Sandie Morgan, a good friend for many years. I worked with her and her husband Jean over in Greece back in 2000-2001, and my senior pastor is her brother. Got to spend a little time on the Vanguard University campus, which I'd never really explored much in the past.

Today was great. I slept in. Felt so good to do! Of course, I FIRST woke up around 6:30am, and took me about an hour to go back to sleep. But after 7 hours of driving Thursday, and knowing that I still have a lengthy drive ahead Saturday, sleep is good!

This afternoon, had lunch with Josh Griffin, Jeff Baker and Tony Steward. First time to meet Jeff and Tony, and first time to finally have a long-promised lunch with Griff. Then Josh took me and Jeff on a tour of the new student ministries building over at Saddleback. That's gonna be one sweet place! (The pic is Josh and Jeff showin' off their construction best in front of "The Refinery.")

All in all, good times down here, and I head back tomorrow -- just in time to lose an hour of sleep Saturday night because of the time change! Argh...

Odd dream.

I don't really have too many weird dreams. Sometimes I remember them, sometimes I don't. But last night I had a really weird one. (Honestly, it was probably early this morning, and we all know that's when the truly bizarre dreams occur.)

Details, as much as I can recall:

I was on a vacation to London. But we didn't visit any of the major tourist places. We were visiting places that I don't remember as being terribly London-ish, and I don't even remember who I was with. But then I recall being on an airplane headed to the next destination, and the airline was Oahu Air, so the plane flew like a dolphin, up and down and up and down. The right wing of the plane hit another plane but we were all OK. I could look out my window and see Big Ben, and then our plane flew under the London Bridge.

And then I was in an airport terminal, needing to buy tourist gifts for friends back home. I don't remember what was being sold. But I remember my mom and dad having a disagreement over what rental car to get, which is odd because 1) they're divorced and 2) I think this trip was nearly over, so what was the point of getting a rental car? (Sidenote: At least I wasn't trying to rent and drive a car in the middle of winter in Ohio.)

And somewhere around this point, I woke up and realized that it was a pretty odd dream with absolutely no hidden spiritual meaning. Only meaning I could find is that I enjoy traveling to Europe, haven't been to London since 1989, and maybe it's time to make a return visit. Perhaps? Yea, pretty weak. I agree!

I've arrived in Iowa.

Yesterday turned out to be a full travel day getting from California to Iowa. There were no problems in the morning getting to the airport and leaving Sacramento. And there weren't any major problems in Chicago, either. But while I was waiting for my flight from Chicago to Cedar Rapids, they announced that they were looking for someone to give up a seat on the plane, in exchange for a later flight AND a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the U.S.

I was tempted. But I had some freelance editing work to finish, and I just couldn't see myself doing the work in the middle of the airport. Then they made a second announcement. You could literally see passengers looking around at other passengers wondering, "Well, is someone gonna do this?" I walked up to the counter and asked if I'd qualify, because I already was flying on a free ticket. The woman working the counter said it was fine.

So, I decided to call my dad to see if it would be alright. The last thing I wanted to do was through off their plans by arriving 4 hours later. But he said it would be fine (though it WOULD mean I'd miss most of the Kansas basketball game on TV). I ended up giving up my seat, getting the free ticket, finding a relatively quiet place (with a table, even!) to do my work, and then taking the much later flight.

During that time it snowed, and many of the planes were getting the de-icing treatment. But eventually my flight made it. Needless to say, by the time I went to bed last night, I slept solidly. And my body didn't really want to get up this morning!

Cold days ahead for me.

I'm leaving Monday to visit my dad and stepmom back in Iowa. Just checked the weather forecast, and it looks like the HIGH temperatures may never break past freezing while I'm there. I think that's been the case both of the other times I've visited, too. Gotta make sure I grab my gloves, a scarf and my beanie!

Random moments from Greece: Part 3

21 September 2007: Irakleion, Crete

Someone on this ferry apparently thought that the hits of Lionel Richie would be a great way to send us off musically here in Irakleion. His music is playing right now. Interesting, eh? No. Not really.


22 September 2007: The road to Meteora

Rick had an interesting episode today. We ate at a restaurant along the route to Meteora. Apparently something he ate gave him food sickness, and we had to stop so he could throw up. But he only ate a salad -- one of the two things I ate at lunch. I haven't thrown up, but something else has been working through my system in other ways. Ugh.

Postscript: On the drive back to Athens, we noticed this: "All Time Classic" on the signage for the restaurant where Rick got sick.


23 September 2007: Meteora

Just finished visiting a second monastery here at Meteora. Smaller than yesterday's but still interesting, with great views. This one had some surveillance cameras all over the place, keeping an eye on us guests. Yesterday's may have had cameras too, but I wasn't looking and didn't see any.


24 September 2007: Athens

Sometimes a free flower really is a free flower. Mom was just offered a rose by a young German guy. She refused it, because she thought he was a vendor trying to sell a flower (that has happened a couple times to us). But it wasn't. It was just a free flower.

Random moments from Greece: Part 2

15 September 2007: Athens
We're continuing to see tortoises here in Athens. Very weird. First one was near the Acropolis a couple of days ago. Then we saw some while watching through the National Gardens. So far, we're up to 4 tortoises. I lived here for six months and never saw any. Weird.


15 September 2007: Athens
Large man, loud music, small car. I was expecting that we would get passed by a Mercedes or a BMW, but it was just a guy in a Smart car.


18 September 2007: Crete
We went driving today. End up way in the northeast corner of Crete, around Vai. If you have to pay to park at a beach, leave! That's what we did. We kept driving on the road, with some winding roads and slow drivers along the way. Mom got some pictures of goats along the side of the road. We reached signs telling us we couldn't take pictures because we were in a military area. Then we saw signs telling us to turn around -- because we were in a military area. Oops.


19 September 2007: Crete
Along the national road, there's a sign saying it's 64 kilometers to Agios Nikolaos (where our hotel was). A few km later, we see another sign...saying we have 65 km to go. Huh??


19 September 2007: Agios Nikolaos, Crete
So, who are these 6 percent? We just a report on CNN International saying 80 percent of people surveyed believe O.J. Simpson was guilty of those murders in 1994, and 14 percent don't think he did it. So who are the 6 percent who can't decide one way or the other?


19 September 2007: Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Sorry folks, but I just don't think soccer is terribly interesting to watch. We have two soccer options on TV right now, but I just don't get much out of watching soccer on TV.

Random moments from Greece: Part 1

11 September 2007: Frankfurt
We were walking through passport control, with long lines. Suddenly, one of only two lines for non-EU people closed, sending that line into ours. Needless to say, people were quite upset. One guy started yelling, "Wake up Germany! Open up the gates!" Remarkably, he wasn't arrested. But many people's tempers were rather short. Ironically, just as we reached the passport control, they opened up several more lines. Lucky us.


11 September 2007: Athens
This is pretty cool. I'm in Athens with Mom and Pepie; we just ate dinner. We stopped at a business owned by some of our extended friends here, and a woman just bought a copy of the Sandie Morgan's Greek cookbook. Pretty cool.


14 September 2007: Athens, National Gallery of Art
Translations in art museums can be fun. Just walked past an artwork translated as "The Holly Trinity." Hmmm...


14 September 2007: Temple of Poseidon, Sounion
I didn't come all the way to Greece to listen to some Americans debate politics. But that's what I've been hearing for the last few minutes. Ugh. Had a couple of ignorant tourists (not Americans, btw) go past barriers here at the temple. That just bugs me. The guy even went up to the temple and put his hand on it. Why? Because his lady was taking a picture of him.


15 September 2007: Athens
While walking through Plaka, heard a restaurant guy attempt to get a potential customer's attention by saying "konichiwa," even though the guy clearly wasn't Japanese. (And no, I wasn't the potential customer.)

Traveling far from home.

Here are some thoughts that I had while visiting the ancient Minoan site of Malia on Crete, during my recent trip to Greece...

It's hard to imagine living a lifetime without traveling more than a few miles from your birthplace. I can't even imagine never leaving a single state, like many of my former students who had never left California. I guess I'm a reflection of my family's habits and the current state of my culture.

Growing up, our parents traveled. A lot. We moved 4 times before I was 9 years old. I've visited 45 of the 50 U.S. states, and much of that happened while on family trips. I've been to Canada several times, Mexico four times and Europe six times. Family members have been part of many of those trips.

And it's just so easy -- though, perhaps not always cheap -- to get on a plane and be on the other side of world. Sure, it might take 2 or 3 or 4 flights to get there, and it might require nearly 24 hours of travel. But you can't travel on a train for 24 hours and end up in Europe or the Middle East. You can't hop on a steamship and do it, either. Today's culture truly has made the world "smaller" and easier to experience.

The irony for me is that I don't get the same "feeling" when I travel, that I once did. Yes, I just returned from two weeks in Greece. It was awesome. Had great time. Good memories with my mom and brother and friends. No regrets. And yet, it doesn't hold the same level of "magic" that travel once did. Maybe I've traveled to Europe too many times. Perhaps I should go to Africa or Asia or South America. I love traveling, and I never want it to become routine or boring. It's a long way of reaching that stage, and I never want it to get there.

Back home.

Yep, I'm home. And I'm tired. No real posting tonight. Maybe updates throughout the week on how my trip to Greece went. Bye.

Nice quiet day.

So, today wasn't really a sightseeing day. We all slept in (which everyone should do as part of a vacation), then we relaxed around the hotel grounds for most of the day. We drove into the nearby town, Agios Nicolaos (St Nicolas), for lunch and some walking and some great Greek ice cream. But that was the biggest part of the day.

It's been really muggy here today. We've been blessed with great weather throughout our time in Greece. This was the first "bad" weather day we've had, and it's tough to call it bad compared to some of the weather they're having in Paris or London or other parts of Europe this week. We're content with highs in the 80s and 90s, even if today had its touch of humidity.

Tomorrow is our final day on Crete. We don't return the rental car until the early evening, and our ferry leaves at 9PM for Athens. We arrive early Saturday morning, and then we drive with a friend up to a place called Meteora, which has some of the most incredible monasteries imaginable. Once again, photo-posting will have to wait until we're back home next week. I've shot more than 200 digital pics and I've used about 5 film rolls so far. I only brought 8 rolls with me, so I've tried to conserve them.

That's it for today. Hope your Thursday is beginning well, going well or ending well -- depending on when you read this!