Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 48

Whoa really?  Week 48 already?

Caturday 6/2/2012
Rainy thesis day
And a great shindig at night
Wulz: you are a champ


Sunday 6/3/2012
Season finale
I need my Game of Thrones fix
I must read book five

Monday 6/4/2012
Work interruption
I had to capture some flags
But then back to work

Tuesday 6/5/2012
More thesis tonight
I'm going hard in the paint
Submission: one month

Wednesday 6/6/2012
Never-ending work
But I finally obtained
Game of Thrones Book 5

Thursday 6/7/2012
Brinner for potluck
Always a good choice.  Always.
Candied bacon: yum

Friday 6/8/2012
Alissa's birthday
That game of darts was intense
And then some dancing

Madrid Part 2: Spain is owning it

Most of our time in Madrid was spent searching for the next place to eat.  That is barely a joke.

Wednesday
We decided to get a fair amount of sleep last night in order to heal some, but it doesn't seem to have worked.  Not letting that get us down, we had some free hostel breakfast and started our day.  Most of the day was spent walking around and taking in the sights.  We went back to Palacio Real, hoping there was no "official business" today.  There wasn't, but it was replaced by an infinitely long line, so we said fuck that.  Then we went to San Gines for some chocolate and churros.  Omnomnom.

Sarah really enjoys sepia mode

Sangria and beer in Retiro park was relaxing.  We followed that up by walking to Palacio de Cibeles.  I shouldn't say "walk," because it was more like a race to the bathroom after those drinks.  We went to the top for a cool view of the city.  Madrid is really flat, so there weren't so many "views," but it was still cool.

Ok that's enough

After more kebab (we're addicted), it was time for a few free museums.  Museo Nacional del Prado is free 6-8, and then the Reina Sofia museum was free 7-9.  We tried to focus on the Spanish artists, including Picasso's "Guerneca."  It was really interesting to see a famous painting, one that I've heard a lot about in school.  While I tend to become angered by most modern "art," I really like this one.
At night we finished the evening with a bit of a tapas crawl.  Well... in spirit.  We went to one bar with the intention of tapas crawling.  But this bar was really awesome and very Spanish.  We had a drink called Caiparina (don't even try to look it up, because my spelling is horrific).  It is a sugar cane based drink, so it is obviously delicious.  We also had some shot they call the "house shot" (or what I think is a "house shot," because I'm not fully sure my translation was correct).  I'm not entirely sure what it was because listening to Spanish is a bit like trying to catch a firefly: I can follow it for a little bit if I pay close attention, but then if I slip up a little then I'm done.  It gets difficult after a while.  But I'm actually impressed with how well I've been doing and how much high school Spanish I remember.  After that bar, we watched Madrid lose to Munich in soccer PKs from outside a bar.  I didn't care too much.  We then decided that ending the night "early" is a better idea for our health, so we went back to the hostel for the night.  "Early" was in quotes because in Spain, "early" is 11:30pm.

Thursday
I woke up feeling a bit better this morning, so that's good!  We packed everything up to check out of the hostel, then went for a quick stroll to Plaza Mayor to get some chocolate and churros.  We're currently on the high-speed train now to Sevilla.  However, my last Madrid experience will be running back to the hostel with only 45 minutes before our train left, because we forgot one of our souvenirs there.  No luck finding it though.  Oh well.
Shit, the train through the countryside to Sevilla is absolutely gorgeous.  Nothing but farmlands and mountains.  And a really cool castle on top of a hill just outside Cordova.  I'll have to look that up when I get back.  Almodovar Castle.

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 47

Caturday 5/26/2012
Polish horseshoes: yay!
Cliff jumping and a rope swing
That's a damn fine day


Sunday 5/27/2012
Whiteface Mountain hike
The Adirondack Mountains
have some insane views


Monday 5/28/2012
The best invention:
Bacon-wrapped s'mores with pancakes
Nothing can compete

Tuesday 5/29/2012
Back to the grindstone
Some progress and some setbacks
But mostly boring

Wednesday 5/30/2012
Making graphs all night
Reprieve with Korean food
Nice Groupon, Sarah!

Thursday 5/31/2012
Friends from home came up
Beers outside: best kind of beer
And Hong Kong scorps bowls

Friday 6/1/2012
Time for a beerfest
Ghost pepper beer: no thank you
Hey Geoff, nice stickers

Madrid Part 1: ok Spain, let's do this

Guess what I just learned?  Eating yogurt with a fork will get you nowhere in life.  Learn from my mistakes kids: yogurt requires a spoon.
Oh also Madrid is neat.

Monday
I took a couple of small comas on the planes, and when we arrived in Madrid at about 5:30, I was both refreshed and relapsed into a deeper allergy-cold thing.  Sarah's bag was lost in London, but we had everything we needed for the night, so no harm done.
The metro was easy enough to figure out and it turns out that our hostel is in the middle of everything, so that's good.  The first moment we stepped out of the subway was one of awe.  Madrid is unbelievably beautiful.  In the kind of quintessential "quaint Europe" kind of way.  Small roads, gorgeous buildings, colors and flowers everywhere.  Every other intersection was an open square with umbrellas and tables and sangria and tapas.  We were both blown away.

Buzz Lightyear is quizzical

Our hostel is a typical "American college student hang-out" place, which is fine.  Except that the beds are children's bunk beds.  Something about a tipsy grown man trying to hurl himself to the top bunk in a room where 6 other people area already sleeping... just a little annoying.
Our first stop was El Tigre, a tapas place recommended by former Madrid resident Katherine "de nada" Rizzolo (and others).  It was great.  I was somehow able to pull enough Spanish together to order some beer and tapas (it came with an ENORMOUS plate of tapas, which are Spanish appetizer-size nom noms), all for 5 euros.  Yeah, Madrid is going to be waaaaaay cheaper than Iceland.
Upon returning to the hostel, we immediately joined a hostel-run "drinking games" event.  It was a chance to have free sangria, meet some people from our hostel, and play Kings.  Funtimes, Inc.  This turned into an all-out pub crawl, where we went to 3 or 4 bars and danced and discussed the future of the U.S. and China, usual stuff.  Madrid is fairly easy to navigate, but I was proud of myself for already understanding the layout of the city and making our way home.  It was only a Monday, but some of the bars started picking up a bit around 2am.  Should be good news for the party cats in us.  Bad news for the replicating virus currently destroying my sinuses.

Tuesday
This morning began with some intense nose blowing.  Toast and nutella, provided by the hostel (shit is getting cheap!  FINALLY) made for a good start as we took the Metro out to see Palacio Real, but it was closed for some kind of "official business."  Likely story.  But we did manage to see the changing of the guard: really cool.  We also went into the Catedral de la Almudena nearby: an immense cathedral.  We derped around some parks after that, visiting Templo de Debod, a donated Egyptian temple.

LET US IN

These are some intense colors

Wait WHEN DID WE GET TO EGYPT?

We then went to the city center, Puerto del Sol, to get some doner kebab.  Yum.  I love cheap delicious food.  From there we walked over to Parque del Retiro, an enormous park with a cool glass house-thing and a huge pond where we rowed a (magical) boat!  Well, after a siesta in the park...
After siesta time we rented one of the row boats on the Retiro pond.  It was a lot of fun: I beat everyone in the pond.  It was like they didn't even know we were racing?  Then we saw some cats curiously feeding on what appeared to be liver.  Were they fed?  If so, did someone put food in an area, which attracted cats, or were the cats already there?  These are questions I need answers to.

I hope the owners don't throw stones in that glass house.  LE CHUCKLE.

Look at these guys!  This is the sorriest excuse for a boat race I've ever seen.

Ok our turn

I want in on some of that rowing action

Kittehs noming on livers (maybe)

After our excursion in Retiro, we started sauntering (yes, sauntering) toward Sol.  We came across a few Madrid attractions: Puerta de Alaca, Palacio de Cibeles, and the Banco de Espana area.  These names mean nothing to you, but trust me, they're cool.  We then migrated to Plaza Mayor.  This place is a really awesome looking open plaza with cafe areas along the sides and open walking area in the middle.  Some more exploring led us to a lot of cool buildings in the area and a market where we tried some octopus and cod.

This is Plaza Mayor.  No joke here.

Muah!

Then we met up with Katie's friend Kate (real original, guys), who tooks us to a cool hole-in-the-wall-ish tapas-ish place called Rey de las Tortillas.  It was pretty cheap for a shitload of sangria, potatos, bread, chorizo, and tortilla (egg/potato awesomeness).  I actually had wine with coke, which is a drink they call... something, and it's not half bad.  But then my face cold started destroying my life, so we're back at the hostel for tea and another regroup.  It's 11pm, but people aren't even starting to get ready to go out yet.

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 46

Caturday 5/19/2012
This weather is great
People watching in the park
Followed by some darts


Sunday 5/20/2012
Bay to Breakers day
I don't even... what the fuck?
... "The Muppets" was good


Monday 5/21/2012
Last day in S.F.
Spent re-hashing yesterday
Is Blake's dick sunburned?

Tuesday 5/22/2012
Back to work today
It will be a long few months
Busy already

Wednesday 5/23/2012
So much busyness
Baked avocado and egg
What a tasty treat

Thursday 5/24/2012
Poems get boring
When all I do is thesis
I packed for camping?

Friday 5/25/2012
Driving through Vermont
Blaring "History of Rome"
With the windows down

Iceland Part 2: kthnxbai Iceland

More adventures from Iceland.  I wrote in the journal sporadically, but I guess I'll keep everything that happens in one day together.  This should help those of you who are keeping along with your calendars, fact checking the history of my life.  You're welcome.

Sunday
We had a spectacular Northern Lights show outside the hostel last night.  It was a big green strip across the entire sky: much better than the previous night.  We wanted to go out again to find a better viewing spot, but we were both feeling a bit shitty, so we called it quits for the night.  In case you were wondering, the Northern Lights are one of the coolest things to see.  Apparently they look like something about "Balto."  I don't understand the reference.
We woke up this morning ready to go explore the city.  It turns out there isn't all that much to see.  We went to the west coastline and harbor areas of the city, then stomped back to the main road area (whose name I still can't pronounce) and found a little cafe where I got waffles and bacon.  We then walked out to a small geothermal pool area called a "Hot Pot."  It was interesting and weird.  We weren't expecting Blue Lagoon, since this was only $4, but it was nice for what it was.  Crowded with kids though, so that sucked.  The outdoor facility was a lot like going to the pool in the states, but it was heated geothermally.  Still had some people trying to sunbathe in the 45 degree air though...
There was a little hot tub called a "Hot Pot," full to the brim with people.  And the entire time we were there, there was some form of entertainment happening on the sides of the pool.  A guy banging a drum, a guy on rollerblades skating around, a guy on stilts shooting people with a watergun, some acrobats, and a band comprised of highschoolers playing some actually good music.  Something about hearing the Icelandic version of "See You Again" while in a heated pool strikes me as weird/awesome.
After lounging a bit with some beer, we decided to take one more look around town and grab some food.  We couldn't find any reasonably priced places, but eventually went to some restaurant that had a soup that sounded good.  Turns out they didn't have it, so we got two dishes that were ok for a few bites and then blew ass for the rest of it.

"You call yourself a swan???" Reference NSFW video.

We chilled at the hostel, reading and having some tea as the Sun set.  Then we figured that since we still had the car, we might as well try to see the Northern Lights again.  We got a pretty good show 45 minutes outside the city: not a bad note to leave on.

This place is CRAZY

Oh this is just a wall covered in pictures of women breastfeeding.

Monday
This morning we woke up at fuck o'clock in the morning and drove to the airport.  A decent size line for such an early flight at a small airport, but everything went smoothly, and now we're waiting for our layover flight to London.
Oh!  I just remembered my favorite part of Iceland.  Sarah and I were driving around by the ocean where we could see some distant snow-capped mountains.  Sarah turns to me and asks "Do you think that's Greenland?!"  excited as a child who found a free bag of candy.  With shame and confusion, I could only whisper "... that's not possible."  She realized later that we were looking at some mountains on a distant penninsula of Iceland, thousands of miles away from Greenland.  I think she was just really excited about being in Europe.

Reykjavik Part 1: SO MUCH STUFF

I am required by law to convey the awesomeness of Europe upon you after Sarah and I stomped around for a bit.  I'm feeling lazy, so I'm seriously just going to transcribe the journal I wrote in while I was there.  When I can't read my own handwriting, I'll make something up.  k enjoy.

Saturday
I'm writing this in Reykjavik, Iceland.  Sarah and I left on a European adventure to Iceland, Spain, and Portugal: a much needed adventure for her and a much needed break from my thesis for me.  We left Thursday night, two days ago, and arrived 4.5 hours later.  The day was just beginning and normally I would have been going crazy just thinking about the adventure possibilities, but we are both fairly sick with some kind of deadly cold, detrimented by the flight.  Detrimented is a word now.
Luckily customs was nothing like it is in the U.S., and we were at our rental car in no time.  We opted to rent a car because it would eventually be cheaper factoring all the bus tours we'd have to take to do all the cool stuff.  I started driving, immediately learning that there is a secret trick to switch from drive to reverse, and it is not intuitive at all.  Once that was figured out, we drove around treeless southwestern Iceland as natives sped past us, because Icelanders drive one of two ways: semi-retardedly, barely driving and trying to make turns from the middle non-turning lanes, OR crazed psychos driving twice the speed limit.  But anyway, we drove our red Chevy station-wagon DIRECTLY to Blue Lagoon. 

Guess where we went

Unfortunately, our guide book told us it was open an hour before it actually was.  No matter.  We took a hard coma in the car until it opened.
Blue Lagoon is a large natural hot pool turned "spa."  You change and shower, getting little bracelets that unlock your lockers and pay for drinks at the swim-up bar.  Then you head into the hot pool... and it is fucking amazing.  You can relax, get a message from a waterfall, head into a steam room, or grab a drink at the swim-up bar.  We then enjoyed the ridiculous temperature differential of 45 degree air and 97 degree water.  And there is this mud silica you can put on your face and look like an asshole, so we obviously did that.  After a few sessions in the pool, we actually started to heal healthier.  And we had enough power-naps under our belts to fight the jetlag.

A natural hot pool with a swim-up bar? I'm sold.

 We drove to the city, where we found our hostel right by the ocean: awesome view.  Then we explored a bit of the area, including HALLGRIMSKIRKJA.  It's one of the tallest structures in the city (and possibly the country?  Reykjavik makes up 60% of the population of Iceland, at 200,000).  The top has an incredible 360 degree view of the city and surrounding mountains. 

Sarah presents HALLGRIMSKIRKJA (you have to shout the name)

Also, Hallgrimskirkja kind of sounds like a dragon shout in Skyrim.  Actually the Icelandic language is kind of like a mix of dragon shouts, german, and elvish.
After derping around the city for a bit, we had some classic Icelandic food for dinner: "cured" shark ("cured" is an interesting way of saying "semi-decomposed shark, having gone through the process where it is buried underground to give it that delicious 'rotting' taste we all love").  It actually caused my mouth to tingle.  I wouldn't say it was "good," but it wasn't bad.  More "holy fuck that's weird" than anything.  Then we had whale meat (depending on how it was cooked, it was either delicious or nasty), followed by Puffin in a potato pate.  My god: Puffin is so good.  I want more.  Too bad.
We left the restaurant and walked along the ocean to the hostel.  There was a huge crowd, some of which was made up by a "Free Tibet" or "Taiwan" protest.  We later learned that the Prime Minister of China was visiting (he also checked out the Geysir Geothermal area with us!).  The sunset at 10:30 was both beautiful and mind-blowing in how late it was.  A band was rocking out back at the hostel, which is actually an awesome place that the locals hang out at.  KEX hostel is apparently a great hostel AND a nightclub.
We enjoyed the music until about midnight.  It was still somewhat light out, but we wanted to drive out of the city to see Aurora Borealis.  We drove out to Thingvellir National Park, where it was mostly dark (the fucking Sun STILL lit some of the nearby glaciers!).  The moment we turned the headlights off: BAM - Northern Lights.  Pretty faint, but unmistakeable.  It was a really amazing thing to see.  After a few more minutes of hoping for more of a show (which we didn't get), we realized we were exhausted and sick, so we drove back for some unrestful sleep.

Sunset apparently happens at 10:30pm in Iceland at the end of April

The next morning (today) I woke up feeling like a bag of assholes.  I now have a cough and a runny nose.  But we pulled ourselves together for our adventure of the day: driving the scenic Golden Circle.  First stop was Thingvellir National Park.  We immediately realized how beautiful the entire area is in the daylight.  We looked down into the valley of the site of the first Icelandic parliament from up on a cliff.

PRETTY

Next up was the Geysir Geothermal area, which reminded me a lot of the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone, with multiple thermal pools and bubbling geysers.  The famous geyser, aptly named Geysir, was not feeling up to spouting in our presence, but would normally be a higher eruption than Old Faithful.  Unlike rule-heavy USA, Iceland lets people walk almost all the way up to the geyser.  The next largest geyser (about half the size as Old Faithful) erupts every 4 minutes, so it was quite entertaining INDEED.

Where are we, Yellowstone?  WHY ARE THEY SPEAKING ELVISH HERE??

From there, it was just a 10km drive to Gullfoss, an amazing waterfall pouring into a crevis cut out by a river.  It was easily way more amazing than Niagara. 

No picture can show how awesome Gullfoss is

We then drove the southern portion of the circle, which isn't quite as impressive as the first half.  A church that we skipped, a small town that as far as I know has a few sandwich places and that's it, and a crater lake that used to be a volcano until it blew itself up.
Completing the tour, we decided to see the 360 degree view from the outer top deck of the Perlan, which is a... building... in Reykjavik.  We then finished our day with fantastic meat soup in a breadbowl, which is a great meal when you're sick.  But now we're back at the hostel, enjoying some Icelandic beer as the Sun is starting to set... at 10:30pm.

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 45

Caturday 5/12/2012
Let's go look at whales!
I've never been whale watching
We saw a shitload



Sunday 5/13/2012
Watched The Avengers
Perfect schwarma reference
So we schwarm'd after


Monday 5/14/2012
Did nothing but work
Potential house for next year?
Better check that out

Tuesday 5/15/2012
It's tea time with Tai
So much alliteration!
I'm a great poet!


Wednesday 5/16/2012
Intense thesis sesh
Break for some Indian food
My stomach is full


Thursday 5/17/2012
A trip to San Fran!
The best kind of bar ever
is a pirate bar


Friday 5/18/2012
Hiking to the beach
Climbing rocks, getting sunburned
Food truck party time!

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 44

Europe is owning it

Caturday 5/5/2012
Sintra trip today
More magic than Disney World
This castle is nuts

9th Century Moorish Castle.  AYFKMB?

Sunday 5/6/2012
More pastries and alcs
Before our long flight back home
Back to the real world

Bye Europe

Monday 5/7/2012
Back to my thesis
My hand appointments are done
At least that is good


Tuesday 5/8/2012
Redbones has saved me
The delicious BBQ
Cures my thesis stress

Wednesday 5/9/2012
Thesising all day
This poem will be boring
Since that's all I did

Thursday 5/10/2012
All-nighters blow ass
I'm having a sleepy day
But I got stuff done

Friday 5/11/2012
Thesis all day long
With a tea intermission
Later: dancing time

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 43

Europe is owning it

Caturday 4/28/2012
La Alhambra.  What?
How can this even exist?
It's so intricate

Random wall in the Alhambra.  What?

Sunday 4/29/2012
Went to bed at 8
Discoteca all night long
Also: free tapas

Tapas are the greatest gift to man

Monday 4/30/2012
Strolling around
Albaicin and trivia
Soccer questions? Ugh.

View from... somewhere awesome

Tuesday 5/1/2012
Another Bullfight!
What an incredible sport
Sad but amazing

Last time to see the Alhambra...

Wednesday 5/2/2012
Early Lisbon flight
Are we in Eastern Europe?
What is this language?

Also, awesome museum converted from a destroyed cathedral

Thursday 5/3/2012
A great night last night
Makes for a rough morning now
Pastries are delish

Pastel de Belem.  SO DELICIOUS.

Friday 5/4/2012
Belem adventure
Monuments and museums
Oh and more pastries

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 42

These are late, but my excuse is that I was on a different continent.

Caturday 4/21/2012
Golden Circle drive
Huge geysers and waterfalls
Northern lights are nuts

Thingvellir National Park

Sunday 4/22/2012
Iceland is quite strange
Expensive and beautiful
Still: northern lights rock

HALLGRIMSKIRKJA

Monday 4/23/2012
Time for Madrid, Spain
Cheap tapas and sangria
This place is awesome

Also kittehs

Tuesday 4/24/2012
El Retiro Park
Y U so friggn gorgeous?
Row boats in the pond

Wednesday 4/25/2012
Kebab is the best
Saw Picasso's "Guernica"
Free museum night

More Retiro Park

Thursday 4/26/2012
Train to Sevilla
Just in time for a bull fight!
Then some Flamenco

Friday 4/27/2012
Giralda today
Then a bus to Granada
Ok, Spain is great

We also saw the Plaza de Espana.  SO PRETTY HOLY CRAP.

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 41

I'm going to be in Europe for a bit, so I'm assuming these are going to come out "late."

Caturday 4/14/2012
Nice walk in the Fells
Delicious BBQ meat
Warm days are the shit 

Sunday 4/15/2012
Tufts cadaver lab
What a cool experience
The brain is heavy 

Monday 4/16/2012
My throat is scratchy
I will not be pleased if I
procure an illness

Tuesday 4/17/2012
Oh man fuck this shit
Going to drown this virus
before it gets me


Wednesday 4/18/2012
Working overtime
Getting ready for Europe
Typing this thesis


Thursday 4/19/2012
Reykjavik tonight
Guess it's time for me to pack
I need lots of socks


Friday 4/20/2012
What time is it here?
Who cares: it's time for swimming
Natural hot spring

Natural hot spring with a swim-up bar

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 40

FORTY WEEKS!?!?! That's a shitload of "poems."

Caturday 4/7/2012
I have just imbibed
the greatest chai tea ever
"Midnight Iguana"

Sunday 4/8/2012
Easter at Sarah's
Great food and bocci! Huzzah!
Our beers came out great

Monday 4/9/2012
Brand new Game of Thrones
Correctly starting the day
Thesis all day long

Tuesday 4/10/2012
Yak and Yeti noms
A grand feast for the ages
Man I'm hungry now

Wednesday 4/11/2012
Working and South Park
The working part was awful
South Park was wondrous

Thursday 4/12/2012
Gary visited!
My car battery passed on
So we had a beer

Friday 4/13/2012
New car battery
Thanks for the jump-start Sarah!
Tonight: Katie's old

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 39

Caturday 3/31/2012
Homemade Shamrock shakes!
Combos well with Carcassone
Ed's birthday: success

Sunday 4/1/2012
Brunch and gecko pics
A good way to start the day
Prep for Game of Thrones

Monday 4/2/2012
Awful thesis news
I need to re-do two months
of analysis

Tuesday 4/3/2012
Game of Thrones board game
We finally completed
an entire game
3 out of 11 words in this "poem" are the word "game." AWARDS PLEASE.

Wednesday 4/4/2012
I learned how to glaze!
Pottery seems relaxing
I need some of that

Thursday 4/5/2012
Peeps rice crispies treats
Looks like Slimer dropped a barf
But they're quite tasty

Friday 4/6/2012
I am le tired
These all-nighters have to stop
Rest comes in New York

Haiku-a-Day Challenge: Week 38

Caturday 3/24/2012
Dim Sum for breakfast!
Those were some tasty dumplings
Then: too much glitter

Sunday 3/25/2012
Two new beers exist!
Beyond Nirvana Pale Ale
Also Bumble Beeer

Monday 3/26/2012
All-nighter again
At least I had free cupcakes
I love them. I do.

Tuesday 3/27/2012
I got some stuff done!
An efficient all-nighter
But now I must sleep

Wednesday 3/28/2012
I ate well today
McCormick and Schmick's seafood
and great lunch with friends

Thursday 3/29/2012
A grand potluck night
Spreads and dip and bread and shit
Holy crap that rhymed!

Friday 3/30/2012
Rough game of O-Hell
then last call at Underbones
Thirty-three ounce beers