pack this

I hate boxes. They look at me with evil grins. I stuff them. No more boxes, everything else is going into garbage bags........the final Cambridge karaoke fest is tonight....i need to shower because I stink....right now all of Harvard Sq smells like a homeless guy after a burrito dinner.....ma- newer

How to Talk to Women

I don't know if this is real or not but its funny....and yes its true, I'm one of the few men in this city who doesn't have something wrong with them..

boxes to the left of me

boxes to the right...here i am, stuck in the middle of boxes....my box scavenging paid off last night when I hit the jackpot outside of a hair salon...i will never pay for boxes....boxes are like tap water...boxes are like sunshine

BOXES

a few more days of packing and i'll be out of cambridge....tonight is the last stand at BLUE RIBBON, the greatest bbq place....git some!

Back in USA - How YOU doin'?

I landed in Newark last night - whee. Now I have to switch from vacation mode to interview mode, my first one's at 4pm today.....

Newark Airport isn't half bad. Its been a long time since I've been there. When I got to the customs counter the cop greeted me with a "How you doin'" Which, since I haven't heard from anyone in ages, except from my own mouth, sounded very good.

Aswan DAAAAAM!

Aswan is HOT. Like being thrown in the midst of a charcoal pit hot. With everyone laughing and not sweating as you sit there in shock hot. Its hot.

We took the night train from Cairo last night, arriving this morning. Hussein, a friend of our cousin's husband picked us up and drove us around all day. First thing we did was check out the High Dam, the view is great and the water is much cleaner than in Cairo. We took a boat to Philea, an island close by that has some temples. Lots of the pictures and words are chiseled out as each new generation tried to erase the last one. There's even some crosses cut in from when it was a church. At this point I was dead tired from the heat.

The Aswan people and the Nubians here are the nicest, most genuine of Egypt that I've come across so far. Which is not hard with pushy Cairenes and crazy eyed Alexandrians. The nubian guy who took us on the boat is getting married tomorrow, and Hussein said we might check out a Nubian wedding tomorrow, maybe its the same one.

I'm slogging around looking for shade and water all the time. Had the tastiest sugar cane juice today. Its all over the country. They have these storefront stands with big ass machines that they feed a couple sugar canes at a time through, and out the bottom comes a couple cups of super fresh sugar cane juice. I think 90% of the machine must be storage for the used up canes that make the delicious and refreshing stuff. Tomorrow morning we'll take a falucca on the nile for a couple hours, and the next day we are going to Abu Simbel early in the morning. Halfway into this trip through beautiful Egypt.

PS. Aswan is hot.

No Man Bags In Egypt

News Flash - Egyptian men do not carry man bags. They may walk arm in arm, hold hands, kiss hello, but never take a bag. Before entering the new library in Alexandria, you have to check bags. When I went to get mine back, the guard asked me "where is the owner (feminine) of this bag?" I told him it was me, he watched me as I put it over my shoulder and walked away, then I realized what had just happened.

This week in Egypt

Sunday, we went to the pyramids. Dusty, old. The tomb interior looked new and spooky. Monday and Tuesday we were in Alexandria. Cool breezes, an amazing cathedral, and delicious and fresh calamari. We went out to Montaza, which was the king's palace on the water. The new Alexandria Library was a great sight to visit too, alot smaller than I imagined. Our aunt hooked us up with someone who took us around the city. whopee

Wednesday we went to monasteries in the deserts outside of Cairo, the monks were nice and they served us a great lunch. I was preparing myself for a gross plate of beans but they brought out chicken, rice, potatoes, and fresh cheese. Mm Mm good.

Yesterday and today are chill out days in Cairo, visited my mom's old friend, went to a going away party for one of Mark's coworkers. They had karaoke. I wanted to sing Ziggy Stardust but no go. Too bad. We take the night train to Aswan tonight. We're going to check out the valley of the Kings, then cap off the trip at a resort on the Red Sea.

Dusty

The pyramids are dusty. And big and stuff. The top of the middle one still has some limestone at the top which must've looked awesome back in the day. They say it was ripped off to make mosques. What the hell? People are still quarrying limestone today. There's enough to go around without taking things off wonders of the world. Egyptian people are giving me a headache.

We climbed up inside the tomb of the great pyramid. There wasn't as many people as I expected inside, which was great. After a while two Egyptian kids came in, we tried to scare someone coming up but he didn't go for it. WOOOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOO. The tomb had a cool echo effect.

The guys around the pyramids are the most annoying ever. Saying no is worse than ignoring them. Threats with rocks don't work either.