On the open road

In a couple weeks I have driven some 3000 miles up and down the west coast, and next week im headed up to the bay area again. I have been wanting to take a road trip up to the bay for a few months now for pleasure, but all these trips have been work/school related. The trip next week is also for law school.

Driving up the I-5 is a wonderful experience, if you can stay awake. Since the rains over winter, much of the land flanking the highway is green and alive. The trees look healthy, even as they are subjected to napalm-like strikes of pesticide from planes flying above. On my first trip I made it as far as San Francisco for an interview over the course of the weekend. Man, the City is such a charming place. I think I would love it up there if I had to live there for a while.

The next time I drove up I went all the way to Portland, Oregon. So it was deja vu all the way up to Sacramento. From there on I got to see California like I had never seen it before. I had my road map open on the passenger seat and at one point I knew I was approaching Mt. Shasta but I still couldn't see it. According to the map it should have been right in front of my face. I stop in the town of Mt. Shasta to have lunch and the fog begins to lift. So I get back on the road and all of a sudden I look up in front of me and see it. Have you ever seen a natural wonder so awesome that it gave you the chills? That was the feeling, I got so nervous for some reason as if the power of the mountain scared me to my bones. Its the kind of feeling I get when I look down into the Grand Canyon or feel an earthquake. It was amazing.

Then, driving back was just as pretty. It was late at night on a full moon. The moon was sitting low in the sky, shining but sort of glazed over with orange like it was drunk. The silhouette of Mt. Shasta become sharper as the moon moved behind it. At one point, the moon was fully hidden behind the mountain and shone its light creating an aura of light around the mountain that looked magical. After a few minutes the moon peeked out from one side and then fully came out again leaving the dark mountaintop behind. What a sight! And to think, if I didnt decided to drive down that night I would not have witnessed that.

That didn't really make up for the rest of the 15 hour trip that was pretty boring overall, though. Remind me next time not to decide to drive up that far by myself again. Thats all.

...keep it fresh

- Neil

Tequila Gimlet

Thought I'd share my favorite drink recipe with anyone and everyone.

For those of you who sometimes go to a bar in the mood for a new drink and refuse to give in to a Jack and Coke, the Tequila Gimlet is a great option. That is, if you like tequila. I was introduced to the Gimlet by a bartender who offered the drink in response to my request for 'the strongest drink I could get for my last 12 bucks' at The Standard Downtown. Unlike the margarita, a gimlet will preserve the taste of the tequila. In case you forget what you're drinking, take a sip and it says, "Dont get it twisted, you're drinking alcohol." I love it. To be fair though, the pinch of lime tones down the bite of the tequila enough to make it a pleasant drink for people who aren't the biggest fans of cien porciento agave. All in all, its definitely worth trying next time you're in an adventurous mood. Trust, knock back two or three and you'll be doing the Macarena to Soulja Boy and Walkin it Out to The Ketchup Song!

Recipe:

2 oz Tequila Reposado (avoid dark or sipping tequila)
1 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz Rose's lime juice
1 lime wedge

Fill a shaker with ice, mix all ingredients, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Quit baggin on me

In my effort to accumulate less "stuff", I have started making it a point to ask stores not to bag items for me if I can carry them in my hands. Here's the crazy thing: More often than not, the cashier gives me a bewildered look and sometimes I even get a dirty look! At first, I wouldn't remember to ask not to bag the purchase until it was already done. In that case, I guess some people were annoyed that I didn't ask earlier so they didn't have to take the stuff right back out. Now I make sure to ask right when they start scanning items. This works much better and also breaks the ever-present awkward silence between customer and cashier at the register. Try it!

Planet Earth

The Planet Earth series by the BBC, aired on Discovery Channel last year, is one of the most fantastic documentaries I have seen. It is intensely beautiful, educational, and interesting beyond compare. 5 years and 25 million dollars went into the production of this amazing series. Thinking about the importance of this show and its impact on awareness and conservation across the globe on a $25M budget, I cant help but wonder what kind of impact this type of work could have if only we reserved a fraction of the resources we use in Iraq for conservation efforts. Right now, the cost of the war in Iraq is upwards of $450 billion. I have no idea how to interpret an amount like that.

Looking at what the BBC crew was able to accomplish imparts a sense of pride to me in the potential of human ingenuity. Looking at what the US has accomplished instills in me a fear of the self-destructive power of human hostility. Lastly, looking at what my hometown of Cerritos has accomplished with the construction of a $40M "state-of-the-art" library w/ underground parking structure just makes me frustrated at the ambivalence of upper-middle class America.

$25M was spent on educating people on the importance of conserving diversity of life on this place we call home, and $450B has been spent on destroying life. It doesn't seem equitable, does it?