Complaint #1312

Here I am complaining again, but the hotel drycleaners (I'll go out on a limb and call them this since that's what they seem to think they are) have destroyed my clothes. My nice clothes.

I'm sitting here at work unable to bring my lovely Lacoste sweater anywhere near may face. (Which is hard, let me tell you, because its on my torso and arms.) There are so many dry cleaning chemicals that have saturated my sweater that the smell is killing me. I knew this when I put the darn thing on this morning, but I only brought enough outfits to make it through a week at a time. I thought the air would help to diminish the chemicals, but I sit here at 5pm on the verge of either a headache or a buzz after smelling this stench all day.

Everything else had better not smell this way, but they've also burned the shit out of my clothes by obviously washing them in hot water and scorching them with the iron. They didn't even match up my socks! *gasp*

For 3 sweaters and 3 pairs of pants, I paid $69! That's over $10 per item only to have them ruined. I could cry. Honestly...I need 2 wardrobes. One full of nice clothes to have at home, and another full of worn-out, mis-shapen articles to take on the road. Because at this point, I'm adding up all of the money spent on these clothes that look like shit. Oh, and I smell like a paint factory.

I'm Not an Economist, Part of the WHO, or a Journalist

Economic stimulus, recession, bailouts, swine flu. Its like a broken record.

They wonder why TV news viewership and newspaper circulations are down. Its because we can't catch a break.

Its like you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. First, we've got people in financial ruin, losing jobs and their money. And now, people are afraid for their health.

History has shown that these things are cyclical, but I can't help wonder if its a self-fulfilling prophecy (the economic side). Bad news promotes poor reactions, which promotes bad behaviors,which leads to more bad news.......

Feeling Homesick...and Now I'm Going to Get Over It

Phone calls, emails, webcam, etc. just isn't cutting it. I miss my girl. Let's see...12 more days, 3 of which will be in Sydney, so I'll be distracted. As much as I love to travel and should be struck down for bitching about it, its HARD to be away. You realize that life goes on and you have nothing to contribute towards it...and vice versa.

I think I just need a hug. :)

Weekend #2 in Australia

I had another great tour this Saturday. This time I went to a number of "animal" attractions, mainly on Phillip Island outside of Melbourne (about 1.5 hours away). The main attraction was the Penguin Experience, which is being able to sit on a beach and watch the penguin wash ashore and head to their huts (some 1.5km away from the beach!). It was great to see, but of course there was a "Morgan Curse" added to the whole event and I got to sit on the beach in the pouring rain the whole time. About 150 penguins arrived; the night before there were almost 800. A bit disappointed, but how can I be when I got to experience something so cool and different from anything else?!?! We couldn't take pictures of the penguins, so I had to buy some. I'll scan later.

Otherwise, I saw/fed Kangaroos. Koalas. The whole Australia experience, including Dingoes which literally look like dogs.

The absolute highlight was spending 45 mins. with a Clydesdale horse. I know nothing about horses, have only been on one once, but this was awesome. It was at a heritage farm and as soon as I went up to the pen, the horse came over. I have to admit, I was a bit scared at first - do they bite? But it was just amazing. I was a little emotional during it to be honest (I might know why now), but I loved that horse! Weird. Who would've ever thought. Plus, the woman who took my pic with the horse invited me to join her family for the rest of the tour. I declined, but how nice!

Overall, another great day. Pictures are posted on Facebook, but here's one of me and my "love".

Miss California

I obviously don’t agree with Miss California. And to be honest, I am so happy I’m out of the country so I don’t have to deal with Hollywood or some just as obnoxious person(s) on the other side of the issue on CNN for the next week. But, when de we stop allowing people to disagree with us?

What really bothers me is this. This woman was asked about Gay Marriage in a beauty pageant of all places, and she responded with HER opinion. *Gasp*. First of all, what did people think was going to happen with such a polarizing/politicized question being asked? Secondly, when did people lose their right to express their opinions? We’re not in Iran! Thirdly, to be dumped upon like this poor girl has, is just a shame. Give Miss California a break.

My prediction is this. We as a country are so caught up in what we think is right, is right, that we are about a stones throw away from someone being beaten and/or killed for their beliefs. And I don’t mean this in a MLK Jr. or Matthew Shepard kind of way, I mean this is going to happen in a neighborhood or something.

Police: Ma’am, why did you kill your neighbor?
Woman: Because she didn’t agree with me; she agreed with Miss California.

People are going to start hunting each other down for having a differing opinion. The amount of hate that is generated towards people for just having the opposite opinion is staggering. And while I’m not old, nor am I young (keep your comments to yourself), I don’t think I’ve seen such hostility. Ever. I mean red-faced, spitting mad hostility. Christians and Republicans get dumped on for their ideals and for being socially unjust - a lot of it deserved, but this is a street that definitely runs in both directions. This woman is getting yelled at for “hating”, by a bunch of people that are “hating” right back. Oh, but I forgot…they're righteous in their hating…my bad.

I fear for Miss California’s safety. Have we lost our minds? Don’t get me wrong - its nice to have people support me and causes that are dear to me, but if this is how the supporters are going to fight, I’ll take my chances on my own. The end doesn’t justify the means.

What Miss California said echoes the sentiments of over 50% of her own states population…and I won’t even go into my tirade about how it would be more if people could voice their vote/opinion without anyone knowing their identity…but I digress. If you don’t agree with her, don’t vote for her for Miss USA. If you don’t agree with her, don’t have her over for dinner. If you don’t agree with her and you ever have the chance to talk to her, maybe try to convince her through discussion. For God’s sake, let’s let people have their own opinions. Imagine how dull it would be if we all had (or were forced) to agree on everything.

Pizza Mate

It only took 28 minutes and who knows what will actually be delivered...but I think I just successfully ordered a pizza from Dominos in Australia. Chalk one up for the little guys.

This traveling thing is glamourous, isn't it?

Australia - Update #2

Hi everyone...or all 3 of you that read this.

I've had a few requests to post some pictures of Melbourne/etc., so here they are. If I'm your friend on Facebook by chance, I've posted an album of pictures from my day tour of The Great Ocean Road - check them out.

The pictures are of my hotel, the Melbourne Waterfront, and a picture of The Great Ocean Road. Outside of the tour yesterday, I spent most of today exploring the city. To be honest, its another city. Don't get me wrong, there are some fantastic things about cities, but they've started to look the same to me. The day trips on the other hand...that's what separates these trips...and yesterday was awesome. I go on another trip next Saturday, so I'm excited.

This weekend, I've walked probably 20-25 miles. I'm sweating to death and all of the Melbourne-ites are wearing Fall jackets. What's up with that. My walk tonight was to an Italian restaurant that my friend Steve suggested from when he and his wife visited here. Very good! I got the lasagna...unlike any I've had before. Stock full of carrots. You probably could've heard the groan back home when it arrived at my table, but it was really good.

I think I'm finally over my cold. Yay! It was a pretty rough week. Now, I'm going to work my butt off this week so that I can let up towards the end.

I hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all.

Karla - still no kangaroos...although I see them on the menus here - gross. I did see koala bears, a fox and a porcupine.

Horrible

On my way home from work yesterday, I saw a woman get hit by a car. Yes, literally. It was the most disturbing and violent thing I have ever seen.

I was in my taxi van and I noticed this woman in a rush getting ready to cross the street. She took a step into the road and then noticed a car coming and tried to get back on the curb. Needless to say, she didn't make it in time. All the way in my cab, the next lane over, I heard a large thud and watched her get thrown into the street. I screamed and covered my eyes.

When I eventually opened my eyes to look out the window, I saw that she was getting up and talking. That was shocking! Maybe she's fine, maybe she was on an adrenaline rush, but I hope someone made her go to the hospital.

I can't get the vision or the sound out of my head.

Australia - The First Few Days

I made it!

22 of the 29 hours flying were no big deal...almost enjoyable. God bless Ambien.

I arrived in Melbourne on Monday night at about 8pm and found myself staying in a really cute hotel. You can tell at one point in time it was a classic building and recently it was changed to a somewhat modern hotel. I'm pretty excited because given the length of my stay, they are going to move me into an Executive room, which hopefully means more space...maybe even a fridge.

Other than last night, I haven't had an opportunity to look around the city much. I covered a few miles last night and have figured out that I'm in a rather beautiful, but lame part of town. My hotel is near a number of government buildings, bank HQ's, and the like, which means that almost everything closes at 6pm. Tonight I am going to investigate the tram system to see if I can get around town without hassle. I've decided not to get a rental car given the amount of traffic and confusion (wrong side of car, wrong side of road)...don't need to put my life and others at risk.

The plant is quite small. Its situated in a subdivision, of all things. Strange. My lunch choice is a "take-away" across the street. To give you an idea of the food choices there, today I ate a battered potato pancake. Can't say it was great, but it filled me up. It reminds me a lot of South Africa when I was at a plant there.

I've decided that I'm going to spend 2 weekends in/near Melbourne and 1 in Sydney (even though the ornery cab driver told me Sydney was a waste of time...especially since I live near the Great Lakes). This weekend, I'll be going to Phillip Island with a day of exploring the city. Next weekend with be a trip on the Great Ocean Road....all coordinated through a coach tour company. I'm very excited.

Now...I have to start taking pictures. Hopefully I'll have some the next time I post.

Only bad news is that once I hit Singapore, my allergies have gone berzerk. Its miserable...and of course its hard to get medication when things are only open until 6. I'm going to leave a bit early today to get some meds...don't need to ruin any of this trip by not feeling well.

More later. Bye.

Good Friday

I had a fantastic Good Friday. Tigers Opening Day with so many good friends, family and the girl.

I leave tomorrow for Australia...for four weeks. While I'm excited, there will be a lot that I miss out on. Be sure to drop me a line through email or this blog, I guess. I will be ahead 14 hours.

Have a good month and I'll try to keep you up-to-date on my Australian adventure(s).

Bracket

I ended up in 70th place after an amazing free-fall in my NCAA bracket. MSU is choking right now, but I thought it would've happened WAY sooner.

For the record, my co-worker is kicking my butt by 40 spots. Darn!

Next time I am picking my bracket by uniform color/style. UNC has a nice argyle pattern on theirs.

Detroit

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090402/METRO08/904020395/To+urban+hunter++next+meal+is+scampering+by

An article from the front page of the Detroit News…actually found it on Drudge. Some retired guy from Detroit is supplementing his income and his freezer by hunting and then selling raccoons.

Last month (or maybe earlier) there was a news story that hit all of the major news outlets about a guy that was found head first, up to his knees, frozen in a giant puddle in an abandoned house or warehouse. See link attached
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090129/METRO08/901290400

I don’t even know what to say. I used to think people exaggerated the amount of bad press that the City of Detroit/Metro Detroit received, but day-after-day it’s the same God awful news. Bailouts, unemployment, Detroit turning into a wasteland, being one of the fattest cities in the U.S., raccoon hunters, frozen homeless men.

When I was a little kid, I remember there was an advertising/PR campaign “Say Nice Things About Detroit”. No one does these days. I love this city. We just need a break and some positive news – maybe something good will come from the Final Four events this weekend.

I got kind of emotional today. I had to pick up my season Tiger tickets and I passed the first highway built in the U.S., I saw the GM Building, a guy begging with a sign that said “unemployed auto worker”. I’m tired of it. We are hardworking people and we introduced the automobile to the country and to the rest of the world. Sure, the Big 3 hasn’t done themselves many favors over their run, but manufacturing “things” is what we (Detroiters/Americans) do.

If anyone is thinking of buying a car, please buy American…Detroit and its workers could use it.

Non-Existent Words - Volume 2

CONVERSATE is not a word. Its not a word...even if Beyonce uses it in a song.

On a side note, if I could move my ass like Beyonce does, my life would be SO much better.