Yearly Archives: 2011

Wednesday night – Maniac

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Actually Manioc.. as in .. what I had for dinner..   I’m in Sao Paulo, one of the worlds biggest cities.. and so far I really like it.

I spent the mornign in BA working .. it was great to have that time to catch up. One cool surprise was to see this guy come by the window (on the 18th floor).. What a job !!!

 

around 11 I went out for a short run.. it was a little gritty out there… but lots to see…

 

Around 1 I walked over to the IBM site to meet up with Julie S who’s also heading to Brazil.. we shared a cab to the airport..

I got to Sao Paulo about 7..  It’s a HUGE city.. so far I really like the people .. and the scenery.. it’s pretty nice here.. very warm and spring like..

as I imagined.. they didn’t have much for vegetarians at the hotel resturant.. but I did get to try Manioc.. it’s a bit like potatoes.. so they were fried like french fries.. yummy.. but… fried.. still wodnering why I ate them.. but they were very tasty..

 

now watching crazy Brazilian tv.. I better turn it off and get some sleep…

so.. more tomorrow..

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

Tuesday night – Buenos Aires

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Buenes Noches from Buenos Aires.. I’m here mid way on my mix of IBM talks and vacation. I had a great day in this wonderful city .. I arrived in town at 6:30 AM after a long but uneventful trip from Mexico City by way of Panama City.   It was only a brief stop there .. but time enough to place a samstone on top of an arcade game there .

 

Buenos Aireas is a big city.. it looks very European in some ways..

I went straight from the all night flight to the IBM meeting I was speaking at.. Oddly enough.. I wasn’t that tire.. the meetings today were really great. I absolutely love events like this that bring folks together face to face.. there’s really nothing else like tit for building networks.. I enjoyed speaking to the group today.. but even more, I enjoyed listening to the other speakers. I learned stuff about the company and even about stuff I help make that I never knew.. and I had to come literally half way around the world to hear it.

 

After my tlak at IBM… Nestor and Javier took me to to the National Techical University of Buenos Aires.. The country’s premier technical university..

 

 

It was a packed house of mostly 1st year engineers and other technical students.. I had some AV issues wit ht e projector, but after we straightened that out, the rest of the talk went fine.

my fAVORITE Prt was hanging out and talking to the students after my talk.. they were really bright and fun kids.. This is what I enjoy doing most in my career !I’m so glad that doing this is part of my job.. or at least that I make it part of my job 🙂

After the TALK , Nestor and Javier took me back to the hotel just in time to meet up with Gabe, his roommate Will and our good freind Hannah from Vermont.. i was SOOOO happy to see3 Gabe.. He looked great and had so many stories to tell.. they’ve kept these kids so busy.. I can’t believe all that they’ve crammed in.It was really fun hearing al the sorties and observations and looking through gabe’s pictures.. I am so proud of him making this all happen.

 

It was also great meeting Wil.. he’s a great kid.. and fun to be around.. I’m glad that he and Gabe have been able to hang out together..

It was also great and wonderful to get to hang out with Hannah.. She’s here for four months of study It’s surreal seeing this kid have know since she was born here as an adult.. Time passes.. hannah is also having a fantastic time here..

The four of us headed out for a walk down town and dinner.. We sopped in  a random restaurant and had a very good dinner of empanadas and pizza.. yum !!!

 

 

we even stopped by gabe and will’s school.. a very cool old building.

 

around 11:30 we put Hannah in a cab and Gabe, Will and I walked back to Gabe’s house. it’s only a long block from my hotel

..

Again.. it is so wonderful getting to hang out with Gabe  here.. !

I said goodnight and walked the creeepy streets back to my hotel. Now it’s 1:30 and I’ve only slept 7 hours in the last 48.. time for sleep !!!!

More tomorrow

for now.. gnite all, gnite sam

-me

 

 

Monday afternoon – Gracias, Mexico !

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Greetings from the Mexico City airport.. I’m still here because Aerolineas Argentinas decided to ‘delay’ my flight until tomorrow. Hence I baught a new ticket to Argentina by way of Panama City.. I’m boarding that flight in a few minutes.. The delay did allow me to get in a full day of work back at my hotel and here at the airport.. so there’s almost always a silver lining never a dull moment…
I do want to take one more moment to thank the people of Mexico for beign such good hosts to us both while working and playing. This plac has true heart.. the folks here are passionate, friendly and fun…the countryside is gorgeous and varied.. and the food is wonderful. I’m so impressed with the level of technical know how I encountered.. I know this place is going to be growing in high tech lover the next couple of decades.. It will be fun watching that happen

So Gracias para todos Mexico.. !
nite all, nite sam
-jc

Sunday night – headng back

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Greetings from Mexico City.. again.. Diane and I are now hanging out in a hotel near the airport as we await our early mornign flights in opposite directions.> She’s going North back to Vermont and I’m heading South to Argentina.

We’ve had a really wonderful week together here in Mexico. the people here are so warm and friendly.. as I’ve been saying all week.. they just radiate love.. .. the foods been good, the scenery has been really nice.. and we’ve gotten in some very much needed relaxing.. Doing ‘nothing’ is not something either of us do very often.. and it was nice to get that in as well..

Last night we had a late dinner and did a little walking around Cuernavaca.. we came across this great scene, a crowd had gathered to watch Mexico vs Columbia for the jr world quarterfinals on large LED screen set up in the town square.. I caught sight of all these folks totally still,. bathed in green light.. it looked like something out of strange encounters.

This mornign we woke early and headed back in to town to see a little more of Cuernavaca.. We checked out the Cortes Castle.. the sometimes home of the Conquistador Hernan Cortes.. A man with mixed reputation here.. The house .. or castle is built on the site of an ancient Nahal (?) temple.. The place now houses a really nice collection of precolumbian to modern artifacts and art..

Afterwords we walked up to the Jardin Borda.. the one time summer palace of the Mexican Emperor Maximillio Habsborgo .. It is now a modern art museum and public gardens.. Very beautiful !

By that time is was approaching noon.. and we had to head back to the city.. we walked back to the hotel.. checked out and caught a cab to the bus station. We took another one of Mxicos really nice busses up to the mexico city airport.. the US needs busses liek this.. clean, comfortale, with videos, drinks and snacks.. the two hour ride passed wuickly

Once here we called my freind Javier to see if he and his girlfriend Nadege wanted to meet for dinner. We were in luck .. they said yes !. Javier picked us up and we all went down to La Contessa to walk around and have dinner.
It was great hanging out with them and getting to know Nadege.. she’s awesome.. and lived in Montreal nearby us for many years.. (without us knowing it, of course).

It was a really nice evening.. it’s always good to make new friends..


OK.. we need to wake up at 4AM.. so I’m going to hit myself over the head until I fall asleep…
more tomorrow..

nite all, nite sam !
-me