CAFTA-DR Passed

I read today that the Central America - Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement passed - just barely. I remember getting into a pretty interesting and heated discussion about free trade agreements at AXLDS in Venezuela. I'd be really interested to hear what people think in CA/DR. Any thoughts? Here is the article that I read this morning.

Confused. Scared. Frustrated.

I found out about 20 minutes ago about the car bombs in Sharm al-Sheik. 30-40 people dead and over a hundred injured. To my relief, Jen is okay, but I still haven't heard from the dozens of other AIESECers who are there.

I've been glued to my computer trying to find out as much information as I can. I've come across articles about how a man was shot in London in connection with the London bombings and how police are starting to do random bag searches on the subways in my home city, New York.

What the hell is this world coming to? It's starting to seem like every week there's another bombing in another country. It's getting TOO NORMAL for me to be sitting at my laptop, waiting for people to comment on nomadlife as to whether or not they're okay! I'm tired of wondering if my friends are dead or alive around the world.

I feel sick.

Confused as to how the world can be continuing to go on while I feel like I've disengaged from it and am looking down at everyone going on with their lives. Will's roommates outside jumping on the trampline... I just want to cry.

When will it happen to someone I know? I hate living in fear.

4"....gone.

I chopped off my hair today. I love that I can get a haircut with a cup of tea and a scalp massage for $50 cheaper in Seattle than I can in NYC. Everytime I leave NYC, I'm reminded of how damn expensive it is. Yesterday I saw signs for $2 wells at a bar here in Fremont. TWO DOLLARS. You can't get an ice water for $2 in a NYC bar.

The Northwest

I almost forgot how much I love it here. I got in late last night. It was nearly 3am New York time. Didn't sleep much on the plane. Was too distracted by the miniature TV on the seat in front of me playing channels that I haven't watched in nearly a year. God bless Jet Blue. Will picked me up and as we drove into his neighborhood I could already spot signs indicated that I was indeed back in the Northwest. Winchell's Donuts. I don't think I've been there since I was 5. Thai food restaurants on every block. Birkenstocks, North-Face wearing folk everywhere. Good stuff.

Vacation!

Jen left for Egypt today and I leave for the Northwest tonight! I'm flying to Seattle to hang out with my best friend, Will, for a few days before we head down to Portland (my original hometown) for the weekend. Two of my old friends from P-Town are getting married to each other! Kind of random actually... My best friend from elementary school is marrying my best friend from middle school. They randomly met each other in high school (after I moved to CO) and now they're getting married! I'm really looking forward to seeing all of my old Portland friends at the wedding. It's going to be like a reunion!

Hookah bad for your health

Omar sent this article across the US-NYC listserv today. A sad realization for us hookah lovers.

Calling all Simpson's Fans...

Here's another random fact about Portland, Oregon. Matt Greoning, creater of the Simpson's is from Portland! Check this out: http://portlandor.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=portlandor&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnmcbride.com%2FOregon.htm.

I'm homeless.

I can't believe it's already mid-July. Mid-July is pretty much mid-summer, right? How did the time fly by so quickly? I know it's been a while since I blogged, but we've had visitors all week which has kept me busy!

I managed to dodge the heat today by staying in the office until 9pm. Not really the most ideal way of keeping cool, but the air conditioner is definitely much more powerful in the office than it is in my apartment.

I found out on Sunday that my parents are planning on moving back to the Northwest. I actually grew up in Portland, Oregon. I lived there for 14 years before heading to Colorado because of my dad's job. I remember thinking at the time that there was no greater punishment than having to move away from my friends to live in Colorado where I imagined it to snow 24/7. When we first arrived in Colorado to live in Highlands Ranch (which is connected to Littleton, where the Columbine shootings took place), I couldn't get over how all of the houses looked identical. It was my first time in suburbia and I was one of a very small population of minorities. But since then my opinion of Colorado has dramatically changed. I realized that it doesn't actually snow all the time, and in fact, the dry climate is really the best in the nation. Although I despised high school, I eventually got out of Highlands Ranch and moved to Boulder for college and realized that Colorado could actually be beautiful. Really beautiful. I discovered the flatirons, Diamond Lake, and best of all...SKIING! My parents move to Larkspur - home of the Rennaissance Festival - and eventually Colorado became home.

I'm really happy for my parents that they're going to move back. Although I know they love their home in CO, most of their family and friends still live in Oregon and Washington. My dad is going to be able to keep his job with Qwest and their moving to a town called Castle Rock in Washington, an hour north of our old home in Portland.

Somehow though...I'm a little sad. For purely selfish reasons of course because I know it's the best thing for my folks. So many of my friends have moved out of Colorado, it feels like soon there won't be anyone left! Will and Aaron are in Seattle, Jon is in New Orleans, T is in Germany, Phill is moving to NY or CA, Nate and Kate are in Utah, Laura is in Boston, and Marie is in Japan. Thank God for Netto, Yuri, Jorge, K-Dawg, and the AIESEC Colorado gang. I'm going to miss getting in a day on the slopes over the holidays. The flight from NYC to the west coast is going to be a killer! I'd better start racking up those jetblue miles now!

I guess another thing that makes me a bit sad is that I have no where to really call home anymore other than NYC. I've always kind of seen my time in NYC as being temporary. When people ask me where I'm from, I still say "Colorado". Am I losing my "Colorado" privileges if I no longer have a bed to sleep on when I go back? How sad!!! I don't know if I'm more afraid of losing Colorado as a home or scared that NYC is slowly becoming my permanent home. Of course, I love our happy, cozy, little apartment on the Upper West Side. But there's something different about that familiarity of going back to Mom and Dad's. I guess I'll have to live it up when I go back to Colorado for probably the last time at SSC. My parents want me to clear out all of my stuff from the basement. No more free storage. :( I'll have to go out with a bang. I was searching the web today for a bungee jumping place in Colorado. Anyone else interested? One last thrill in the home state before it becomes just a vactioning spot!

Anyway, enough moping. Like I said, I'm happy for my folks. And I'm excited to get back to the roots a bit in the NW. I'll get to see more of Aaron (my old VPF...BEFORE Paul) and Will (old college roommie and best friend) who are livin' it up in Seattle. I'm also excited to get to meet the new AIESEC Oregon members. I'll be heading out to Portland next week for a wedding, so it should be a good opportunity to scope out my folks' new homefront.

Here are a few fun characteristics about both of my hometowns that I bet you don't already know:

Colorado Random Facts:
1) The weather is the best you'll find. It can snow one day and be 70 degrees the next day.
2) A-Basin was open until June this year. That's a lot of skiing.
3) The Rio in Boulder has a limit of 3 margaritas because they're THAT strong. I highly recommend the strawberry marg. Yummy!
4) Boulder has its own burrito chain (which has recently expanded into Denver) that far EXCEEDS the likes of Chipotle and QDoba. It's called Illegal Pete's and it's known for it's Boulder-esque employees (vintage tee-shirts, messy hair, tattoos) and it's loud music.
5) Douglas County (where I went to high school) is the fastest growing suburb in Colorado.
6) Colorado does not sell liquor on Sundays and only 3.2% beer is sold in grocery stores. Other than being landlocked (and too close to Kansas), this is the state's only downfall.

Oregon Random Facts:
1) Although known for its rain, Portland, OR has an average temperature of 80 degrees in July and only .5 average percipitation. (However, the percipitation in December averages 6.5.)
2) Oregon (and possibly Washington) may very well be the only state where Starbucks does not have a monopoly on the coffee market. Oregon is known for its diverse coffee selection, including Coffee People (My personal favorite, far quirkier atmosphere... The Black Tiger is to DIE for), Kobos Coffee, Portland Roasting Company, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Stumptown Coffee Roasters in addition to Starbuck's.
3) Oregon's small breweries sold 18.3 million gallons of beer in 2003. Yay, microbrews!
4) Portland, the City of Roses, holds a Rose Festival every year with three parades, the crowning of a Rose Festival Princess and Junior Princess (of which I made it to the final 8 when I was 10 years old), Dragon Boat races, a carnival, an art festival, and so much more!
5) Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state.