Why Iowa Must not Change its Primary

I'm from Iowa, you think we like the candidates invading our state earlier and earlier every year? Well when it was President Bush or Al Gore visiting, we got a little excited about the pomp and circumstance, but hearing about Edwards' 12th visit or some hick from Arkansas or New Mexico visiting Des Moines, we really get peeved. Moving up Iowa's primary date will only make this worse, and here's why keeping it the same will make the process better.

South Carolina is just the latest of several key states that have moved up their presidential primaries. More and more states are moving their primaries to the beginning of the 2008 calendar year seeking to draw some of the attention from Iowa - it isn't working. The candidates are still focused on Iowa, and this is a good thing. Iowa represents main stream America and that's a good place to gauge how the contenders are doing. We have the two most separated senators but the state is pretty much evenly divided during presidential campaigns. We're good where we are because we're a moderate state but not beholden to any particular ideology.

The second reason we shouldn't move our primary is because other states will be too intimidated to move past us. There would be a huge uproar from any number of folks from the presidential candidates to interested parties in Iowa. This won't happen as long as Iowa stands strong. Instead, what is happening is a consolidation of the major primaries in just a few weeks. The process has something to gain from this, i.e. fewer stories with mentions of Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, Mike Gravel, and Tom Tancredo. The sooner those guys are eliminated, the sooner Mecca and Medina can rest safe, and parks everywhere will no longer feel humiliated.

I think its long past the days when we could hope campaigns would only last a year. Now, they begin as soon as that last ballot is cast in the midterm elections, and in some cases earlier. Until campaign finance laws are changed, candidates will be jumping the gun earlier and earlier every year. The only way to put a halt on this absurd process is to at least keep the primaries in same calendar year as the election. Knocking off people like Kucinich and Tancredo will allow the real candidates to have a better, more engaging debate about the relevant issues.

How I kept British troops in Basra

Yesterday, I single-handedly changed America's relations with Great Britain. I was standing on the National Mall, as I often do on Monday afternoons reserving the field for the award-winning Harkin Heroe's softball team. Since a storm was brewing and the humidty induced sweat in my hair was being replaced by bountiful rain drops, I had to put Harry Potter away and find other means of entertainment. Thank God I had a soccer ball because that's what shaped everything.

Well unlike Mr. Bush, I knew that Gordon Brown wasn't a famous rugby star, though he did play in high school. And like every male with the slightest interest in sports born outside of North America, loves soccer. So I enter the story on Gordon Brown's historic first visit to the United States as PM. As I was practicing my Ronaldinho impression, Bush and Brown's motorcade drove by me on the mall. I saw Brown look right at me, and then turn to Bush and make a comment. I'm pretty sure this is what he said in his gruffy, Scottish accent:

"Damn, you eejits actually play football, what kind of pitch is that w/o goals."

"Damn straight we play football, the American way."

[mutters under his breath] "He really is as dumb as yer man said."

Still, this is my thought: Today, Brown announced that he would delay bringing troops home from Iraq. After seeing yours truly play the world's sport on the National Mall, a certain nostalgia came over Brown. America can't be all bad if we have youngsters playing soccer right here in our nation's capitol. I can't give up yet, no matter if the leader of the free world is a dimwit. I think the city of Basra owes me (and Brown) a thank you.

Happenings

So this is my new best friend, Samuel Zbogar, the Slovenian Ambassador to the US. We spent some time chilling last week at the Slovenian Embassy in Georgetown. A delegation of the 21st Century Forum of Des Moines was in town meeting with various DC agencies and one trip was to the Embassy. The group is designed to promote Democratic politics in young professional circles around Iowa's capitol. I've been growing a beard lately (see the picture) so I fit right in.

The Ambassador was great, very engaging. I was quite surprised becasue based on the US ambassadors I've met, I figured he would be about 60, grey, and a political appointee. Instead he was a very dynamic guy who as you can see is pretty young and appointed based on, surprising I know, a meritorious system. I got his attention when I asked a question about Kosovo and Russia - and he was very diplomatic about giving no answer whatsoever.

Other happening in DC include losing my cell phone, a DC United Football (soccer) game, lots of softball, and Nationals games 2 and 3.

When I say I lost my cell phone, I can imagine the irresponsible connotations of a young college student this must conjure, but none of them are fitting - I'm sure. I left it on a park bench in Alexandria, VA. What an idiot. But let me just digress a bit and discuss how cell phones have revolutionized social life. I may sound like an idiot complaining here, but just think about it. We are almost always on the move planning on calling later to meet up at a certain place. Theres lots of changing of plans, destinations, all conveyed over cell phones. Plus no one is on time in this generation so amendments to pre-agreed to plans are inevitably required. So, for one who has lived without a cell phone for over a week now, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'll be ecstatic tomorrow when I finally get reconnected, but should we really place such reliance on being connected to other poeple? That's all I'm saying.

These last two Nationals games have been awesome. Well not really because they still play in RFK stadium which abslutely blows, but becasue the Nats have won in dramatic fashion. Scoring the game winning hit in the 10th was D'Angelo Jiminez who had something like a .079 batting average. The game was a bit depressing for awhile becaue of the rain that sent most of the stadium packing, but I was there until the end. (Just so I don't get sued, photo is from the Wash Post).

Game 3 was also a nail biter, but this time I felt like my own cuticles were in danger. Mark, another intern in Harkin's office scored 6 free tickets and a parking pass that were 8 rows behind the 1st base dugout. Talk about being right on the field. After a pretty good pitching performance and weak hitting by the Rockies (12 runners LOB), Austin Kearns hit a bomb in the bottom of the 8th to close out the game for the Nats 3-0.

In softball news, I'd say both teams are getting better, though Harkin's performance at the States of the Big 12 Annual tournament is not a very telling sign. We were out quick after an 0-2 performance and I'd say the free lunch and booze were serious hurdles for much of our outfield. (Mark screaming "we've got 'em right where we want 'em" as we walked in a run making the score 14-1 perhaps is a good example.) Last Monday we showed the "Hill's Angels" from Clinton's office a thing about taking over Iowa. On Wednesday, the think tank league matchup of the night against a State Department team proved too much for my New America colleagues, but we had some pretty tasty half priced burgers after the game. My gigantic wound is by no means healing and I'm wondering if I'll ever have hair on that part of my leg again. If not, at least its a good story to tell.

Been doing a lot of reserach on Saudi Arabia. I don't think America has ever been more secretive about our relations with an ally than we are with the Kingdom. Feel free to prove me wrong.

And in news that everyone seems to be trying to figure out, Harry dies in the 7th book. Ok not really I don't know and haven't read any reviews, just throwing that out there to scare some folks.

Next week should be a fun one, two softball games, reunions for DC 05 interns and Budapest 07 friends, plus I'm being dragged to Harry Potter #5 the movie and paid to drive to the beach in Delaware (ok that one I can handle). Maybe next weekend I'll get back up to New York and wine and dine with the famous grandma of Sara Greene.

Oh the DC United games was pretty exciting, a 3-3 draw with lots of action. We scalped tickets of course for less than the price and sat about 20 rows back from one goal post. The atmosphere is so much different than a Nationals game. First off, everythink said over the intercom is in English and Spanish. There is so much more electricity in the stadium and the game is much shorter making sure you don't miss anything. My first pro soccer experience was great, hopefully theres more where that came from.

An Epic Wound in the making

So this is a pretty amateur photo taken just a few minutes ago, but i'm sure its going to develop into an epic wound. I say this because I'm going to play a lot of softball and probably not slow down.

I made the worst of the wound on Friday during our softball victory over the DCI thinktank. Let's just say I rounded first a bit too far on a gravel field and bit the dust. And no I didn't come out of the game - i had to cover up the blood well enough so no one would say anything.

Then today in a game on the national mall, I was not going to make the 1st out at third in my quest for a triple - the sacrifice: reopening the wound.

And with a game tomorrow and a tournament on Saturday - I'm guessing there's no rest in site. So like I say an epic wound. Below is a photo of the original wound.

Cage of Death

When I say I work in a cage - I actually mean it. Compare this to the picture below of my New America office.

What a week

I've had a pretty unbeatable week of events. I think the starting point was last Friday with the game in Baltimore and only got better. Monday - Nationals vs Cubs, Tuesday - BBQ feast with view of downtown DC, Wednesday - fireworks on the National Mall, Friday - Yankees vs Angels at Yankee Stadium & VIP tour of Statue of Liberty, Saturday - Coney Island and Live Earth Concert, Sunday - swimming in Maclean.

O let's just get this out there - I love baseball and road trips, so its natural to say I'd be up for anything. When my friend on Thursday was like, hey we're going to new york tomorrow - you should come, i was like why not. But i'm getting ahead of myself - Fireworks in DC.

Boston and New York might be the only other places equal to DC for the 4th of July. I'm sad to say that this was my second time ever not being in Okoboji, though happy this time its for DC and not Yale, Iowa (pop. 287). Oddly enough, Alex, the friend who was gonig to New York had been to Yale, Iowa for the 4th of July and knew Tim Sheaf a good friend in the debate world.

Anyway, when I think of 4th of July, I think of bbqs. Well indeed thats what most of the day consisted of. First at Renee's, then Courtney and I ventured to various work bbqs before shots of Hungarian palinka and then fireworks on the mall. They are really special not because of the quality, but because the Capitol and Wash. Monument in the background, standing next to Lincoln and Vietnam, and capping a whole day of bbqing. Not bad.

I forgot to say that Monday was spent watching the Cubs destroy the Nats at RFK. How come the stadiums I live in close proximity to always suck. The Metrodome and RFK have to be two of baseball's worst stadiums (after Montreal disappeared). Still I was happy to see the Cubs win - who as of today are only 4 games out of the wildcard.

Its ok though, Friday night I got up to Yankee Stadium which is like the Vatican for Protestants. Sure you can admire how great and awesome it is, but it still has a lot of baggage that goes with it. Plus I sat in the bleachers with two New York fans making it espcially depressing. I got to see those famous lights for a very long 14-9 game. I forgot my camera all day Friday so no pictures.

Also, I love driving in NYC. Basically you are restricted by traffic and stoplights, not by speed limits so its pretty exhilirating. Its much better than driving in DC. In DC I get frustrated becasue there are cars everywhere, but in NY its just buildings and people which are less antagonistic.

Friday night, Sara (friend from Budapest) and I trekked all the way out to Brooklyn and got about 3 hrs of sleep before a 7 am view of Coney Island. Odd feeling for a board walk that early, but surprisingly lots of people were out. After a couple of hours on the beach, it was off to the greatest concert ever. 10 hrs of music with headliners like Dave Matthews, the Police, Bon Jovi, Akon, Kanye West, Ludacris, John Mayer, etc played at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. It was pretty unreal and we had an amazing time. Charles - the guy that got the VIP passes and tickets is in the picture. On stage is my good friend Alicia Keys. We were pretty exhausted by the concert on Saturday so chose to just stay in for the night. Only took about 4 hrs to drive back to DC on Sunday and I was home for about 20 minutes and couldn't stand the heat. My good friend from school Amelia invited me over for a swim - and 4 hrs later i drug myself out of the water.

Great week - should have some more stuff about what I'm doing at work and the upcoming DC United game - I've never been to a soccer game - still dont' think it will compare to European soccer.

Three quick thoughts

Where have all the men gone?

I was doing some research yesterday, and I came across the fact that the Northern Mariana Islands (a US territory) have the highest female to male ratio of anywhere in the world. There are 100 women for every 77 men, and for some incredible reason tourism is declining in the region. Guess it's high time i flew to the Pacific.


Dissemination of Information

Here at the think tank, we've created a blog that should be up and running in the next few weeks. Althuogh its exciting that I'll have another forum for my thoughs, one being more academic, I'm also kind of displeased with the thought of yet another blog. This goes to an idea my friend Katie wrote about awhile ago - yes on her blog. A friend from Budapest, who maintains her blog from Prague now, explains that there are way too many blogs out there people should voluntarily remove their own blogs.

I like this idea, because its true, there are too many blogs - even professional bloggers that do nothing but write posts all day. It seems to me there are so many blogs out there, there are more people writing and less people getting all the info. Its great there is such a variety of info available, but with all of it available, there has to be a corresponding trade-off, I'm just not sure what that is yet. And yet here i sit writing a blog post so...

Iowa in the news.

Ottumwa, Iowa has recently been in the news because of the new iphone. Steve Jobs used Ottumwa as an example of why he had to pick AT&T for the iphone network. Only two companies had wirless internet networks that could reach this part of the state - so he had to choose.

Iowa always pops up in the news as that other place. I was reading another article awhile back and Iowa was the home of Joe six-pack for some study. Also back at Middlebury last year, a professor arguing about foriegn policy and how complicated it was, used for example that a person in Iowa wouldn't understand the nuances of foreign policy. As a very ardent supporter of Iowa, this is all quite discomforting. We're not really known for anything excpet attracting the leading presidential candidates. These guys know much more about Iowa than any natural politician should. American politics is a circus, but thats not the point.

I guess its good we get in the news for something, but we really have to work on our reputation so we're not always - that other state.

Fun with Renee

My cousin Renee is out here for the summer interning at a hospital in the district, so we've been hanging out a bit. I have to recount two of our adventures. First was an epic bike ride, second was one of my favorite pastimes - Major League Baseball.

Last Thursday, Edwin and Rosalie graciously invited Renee to dinner. Renee is living in an apartment and probably doesn't get all the home cooked meals like I do. So we agreed to meet up at the capitol at 5:30 for the ice cream social and then head out to Virginia for dinner. Well Renee decides we should both ride the whole 10 miles on ONE bike. Mind you this is not flat, and there is a thunderstorm brewing. So after we're riding for precisely three minutes, Zeus releases his full arsenal of rain. It just poured and poured for about 10 minutes. Rather than seek shelter, we powered through.

Needless to say we received just a couple of funny looks from drivers. At this time, there were no pedestrians to be seen - thats how hard it was raining. Well about 3/4 of the way home I get a call from my grandpa in Iowa. We're late for dinner and he's the messenger. Trouble is, I can't call Edwin and Rosalie back because Verizon messed up their phone system and they couldn't receive calls. Well after about an hour and half (ride usually takes between 45 min and 1 hr) Renee and I finally struggle in soaking wet. Our hosts were as happy as could be and made us some delicious pork chops and veggies. I think I will discourage Renee from riding that far on one bike ever again.

Our second adventure was up to an Orioles game in Baltimore. Naturally I love baseball, but I've never really described what I've nicknamed "the little boy feeling." You all have had it at some time or another, but maybe you just haven't given it a name. It happens at different times for different people. For me, it happens when I enter a baseball stadium - every time.

Let me try to describe it. When you're a little kid from rural Iowa, going to a baseball game is a big deal. So you walk into that stadium and see all the lights, the flashing neon signs, all the people, the green, green grass, players with names like Puckett, Ripken, Sandberg, something inside you just makes you really excited. Sure you might call it butterflies, but its something more. Its experiencing something that is very rare and something you've done in your head a thousand times. I had it when I stepped onto the Rialto in Venice, and when I entered Times Square for the first time. It no longer comes for games in the metrodome, but I definitely felt it upon entering Camden Yards. Call it corny or what you will, but I am comforted every time it happens - I haven't grown up yet.

Surprisingly we actually got to see a really good game. Orioles first basemen Aubrey Huff hit for the cyle, something that only hapens once every 800 games - about the same odds as seeing a no-hitter. I've seen two cycles but never a no-no. The angels looked good early, taking a 5-0 lead, but then let the Orioles back in who when it swung in their favor 7-5. The Angels rallied back with a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th to take the final lead of 9-7. Great day for baseball.

Renee and I also got to venture on American public transportation - train up and bus back. It was weird randomly talking to passengers, something I never did in Hungary (that whole language barrier), but I did miss Hungarian prices ($7 for the train and $10 for the bus). I think it would have cost $2 round-trip in Hungary. Oh yeah, they were giving out those sweet orange hats during the game...

The DC Experience

Everyone who has ever worked in DC knows how it goes, this city is unlike any other in the way you always meet new people. This is because its a transient city where almost none of the professionals are actually from DC. Its kind of a sad dichotomy because the district is very poor, has terrible schools, so its hard for natives to break out. Well what actually ends up happening is that everytime you meet somone it goes like this?

Hey, where you from? (answer either a state or major city)
What school did you/still go to?
What do you do in DC?

Usually if either A or B are somewhere you know of you play the name game as in, do you know this person. Also, in today's world it seems that everyone going to about 30-40 different colleges in the northeast knows somebody at every other school in the Northeast.

Well I bring all of this up, because its interesting about howI might play baseball next saturday. So I was at this party with fellow Iowa interns, when two random neighbors in the apartment building just invite themselves in - not that weird actually for this city. Some of us were talking about baseball and pretty soon this guy was recruiting us to play for his team on Saturday. We didn't turn out last weekend becasue of the 9am start, but next weekend we might be in the mix. This is really just to illustrate how quickly acquaintances are made in this city.

The second example is how if you have even the littles thing in common with someone - it sparks off great conversation. For instance this guy I work with grew up in Vermont so instantly there is plenty of conversation. Rest assured, just about anywhere in this city is ripe with possiblities for meetings. Since no one has a home base here - everyone is looking for more.

Just an update about work. I've been digging through lots of old Harkin files and there are some interesting things. I found all these old memos on the constitutionaliy of Impeachment hearings. Up until Clinton's trail, all past impeachment hearings had been held in secret....

Here at the New America Foundation I got to do registration at an event today with the leader of the Green party in Germany. He spoke a lot about Iran, but I was interested in how amazing the building was. We were at the Carnegie Institute which shares space with the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institute. This is like the Mecca of the think tank world. New America is right there, just no one knows it yet...

How to get ahead

When you think of playing in the US Senate's Softball League, it brings to mind two things. The first is an image of Tom Cruise playing softball in A Few Good Men. Now the movie is pretty good, but what pops up in my head is Tom Cruise hitting ground balls to an atrocious shortstop while Kevin Bacon argues legal theory. The movie does justice to the seriousness of the sport.

The second image that pops into my mind is Matt Damon trying to defend playing poker with his law school professors to his girlfriend. The conversation goes something like her thinking hes getting in the door because of his extracurricular potential. He'll be like that lawyer who is assured of a job as long as he shows up at the interoffice football match every year. While I don't think softball has become this serious yet for the US Senate, it does matter.

Well it just so happens that both of my day jobs are accompanied by ambitious softball teams with huge desires to succeed. The Harkin team comes with special attachment as we play our inter-state, cross party rival in the form of Senator Grassley's team. This is big. This is so big that Senator Harkin actually shows up to the game to cheer on the team. Now with all this talk of partaisanship in Washington, it is probably no more reflected than on the softball field. Thing is Dems or R's can be just as mean to each other when it comes to softball.

Now you would guess the "think tank" league would be a bit less competitive, but oh no my friend, you have no idea what it means to those future assitant secretaries of state and whitehouse third level advisors to win a softball game. Not to drop any names but word on the street - Heritage and American Enterprise are quite the competitive institutions.

So just getting it out there that softball is the shit in this city in the summer - watch out if you want a job in DC but can't field a glove

My Day Job

While I do tend to enjoy my time in DC with its laundry list of attractions, I thought I would post a bit about my day jobs for those interested. On Monday and Friday I work at the US Senate catalogging Senator Harkin's archives. Hmm, that sounds a little bit prestigious when really I'm listening to an ipod trying to decide which of the crap is more important and worth saving. Probably the most interesting thing I've found so far was a briefing for a congressional delegation to Vietnam in 1995. While flipping through the pages, I found a piece on the demographics of Vietnam. My favorite line: "Women who are close friends often hold hands. They are not lesbians." I mean who prepared this report that just in case our congressional leaders were worried - they can rest assured that lesbianism is not rampant in the land of Ho Chi Minh.



On Tuesdays and Thursdays I hang out at the New America Foundation. This is a centrist think tank that was founded on the principle of not promoting a democratic or republican ideology but instead focused on ideas. I'd say the think tank has a lot of dems working there but could care less about what the political parties advocate when publishing their research. Still there are a number of very right wing fellows at the think tank which makes for some good diversity.



What I actually work on is usually economics or foreign policy based. I've been doing research lately on the rise of the Chinese middle class and the affect of public investment on private investment. Other projects have included researching the missile defense system in Europe and Cuban terrorists - i know, REALLY exciting - but for someone like me its not bad actually. The head of my program runs a blog here, and the guy I overhear talking in the office next door runs a blog here.



Also, this is a picture of the office where I've been hanging out lately. The way the think tank works is that half the people are never in their offices because they are travelling the world or working from home. Usually Flyntt Leverett hangs out here, but instead I get to enjoy his view. I hadn't heard of any of these people until about three months ago, but I'm learning that they actualy make a difference in the world out here - so I guess they are important. Now that you all know my day jobs, I'll hopefully have good "water cooler" talk to post on here.

I want to ride my bicycle

Cycling in DC, what a perfect place for a bike. I really got adjusted to cycling around a city in Budapest, but my fascination has continued here in the district. On Sunday I rode about 30 miles on a path along the Potomac on the Virginia side of the river. On Friday I even took my bike the 10 miles to work and cycled all around the city. Maybe its that feeling you get when you get that bike in like 4th grade where the whole town is yours. Dexter and I would go everywhere on our bikes and take over the town. Maybe I still have that feeling where once I’m on a bike, I can get anywhere.

Its so much easier and faster to get around a city by bike. Especially DC because its so much more spread out than Budapest. I’d say cycling is better here too because there are cycling paths and bike lanes everywhere. In Budapest these were almost unheard of. Also I’d say there is a pretty good cycle culture here. The radio I was listening to today was giving away a fancy bike instead of a TV or grille that would seem more typical. I’d say it also helps that there are police and guards everywhere because this city is so full of itself (see earlier post) that most bikes are generally protected. Still one of my fellow interns said hes lived here for 5 years and said he’s on his 4th bike because of theft.

Maybe the thrill of cycling is that you’re on the roads with all the cars but you have really no protection. You’re just there with complete freedom. Might be scary to some, and I should really get a helmet, but I kind of like that feeling. Guess we’ll really see how much I like it when I get to Argentina.

I'm an Idiot

I just signed myself up for an interview at UPS for tomorrow at 5 am. If this thing goes well, next week I might just be unloading and loading UPS trucks everyday from 4 am - 8 am. I'm not sure what made this sound like a good idea when I was completing the application. I guess I just need more obligations out here, and why not make some money while I'm at it. I'll really be working Cody hours (working at a golf course now). Except I'm not very good about going to bed early, so maybe this will teach me a thing or two about the necessity of sleep. Not sure how focused I'll be on thursday afternoons about 4 pm when i should be researching the decline in US consumption on worldwide imports - We'll see how it goes.

Calm Down

I hate DC interns. I know this is absurd because I’m one of them, but the over ambitious youth in this city are nauseating. So many college students thinking their pesky little three months here are going to change the world. Are you kidding, politicians spend years here and don’t get anything done. The Union Station metro station is of particular displeasure. Seeing all the senate interns pull our their IDs, check their ties, and unplug their ipods. Has our culture really lost all sense of itself. Are we really this geared on power that we have to care about our lives when we are so young. Yea call me a hypocrite but at least I can acknowledge how much pressure there is to succeed at such a young age. Something needs to be done to convince us to relax and live a little. A lot of people can do this alongside such internships and take them with a grain of humility, I like to think I’m in this category.

What I’m really trying to say is that this has to be the most arrogant city in the world. Sure New York is busier and London and Paris probably more glamorous but DC is so full of itself. Nowhere will you meet so many self important people. Last week at my think tank we had this function for foreign policy types. I mean people were too busy to even tell me their name for registration before going to the seminar. I mean are you honestly that important when I’ve never even heard of you before. Do so many people really always have to be on their blackberries, have to interrupt every meeting for an “important” phone call? Does the world really end if you don’t take that? Alright my rant is done, but this city needs to relax.

I would walk 500 miles

The proverbial American roadtrip – an experience that everyone has at some point in his/her life. I suppose we have Dwight D. Eisenhower to thank for making it possible. I’m not sure where the idea of the roadtrip comes from, but its something that every American burns to do. The Oregon Trail, The Wilderness Road, maybe its from our historic desire to move West. Harry Truman loved to take road trips and drove all over the country because he could. Even today with flights cheaper than ever the interstates are just so inviting – and I’ve more than once taken the offer. A midnight ride to New Orleans, 1:45 am departures from Vermont, I like the road.

So it was no surprise that last Saturday I set off yet again for a cross country trip from Iowa to Washington DC for my various internships. My great Aunt and Uncle Edwin and Rosalie Demoney have been kind enough to let me stay with them for the summer. The thing that occurred to me was that I had never done any of my major trips alone. 20 hrs in a car is a long time to spend by yourself. Lucky enough I had a cell phone and weekend minutes to burn. The roadtrip started easily enough thanks to McDonalds breakfast at 6 am with Dex. I made it all the way to Joliet, Il before any problems surfaced. Now Joliet is quite the microcosm of American culture. People of all socio-economic levels were present at this Wal-Mart. Women in heels got out of their mazdas next to guys in pants/shorts who were blaring music out of their duct taped subs. The place was interesting in its own right.

I had stopped to buy a battery for my mp3 player but when I returned to the car its own battery was completely dead. Here I was in the middle of Illinois with no means of getting around. I had to make it to Pittsburgh that night. More than anything I was pissed this was going to set me behind schedule. So I marched back into Wal-Mart got a car battery, bought some tools, and was back out to the car to put the battery in. After an hour I was safely on my way, the new battery working well. I will forever remember the Wal-Mart of Joliet, Il. Drove through Pittsburgh and stayed with Szabi whose family treated me like royalty and fed me delicious Hungarian food that I hadn’t experienced since I left the motherland. What a nice surprise. Toll roads suck – I recommend avoiding them at all costs. Made getting across Ohio rather expensive.

Got into Arlington ok and was happy to see Edwin and Rosalie. I haven’t been here for a year and a half but it felt like I had never left. Got settled right in and felt right at home.

Still that road trip was one of the easiest ones in my life, but it just shows how we love to drive across this country. I think somebody needs to look into it – what’s are obsession with driving, why don’t we have useful transportation? I spent 9 months criss crossing Europe without a car. Now I can’t even get across my own country w/o a car?