free rommy New York → Kansas City → San Francisco → Stockholm → Berlin

18May/101

India in 3 minutes

Mike Matas, a fellow Rickshaw Runner we met early on in the trip, put together this video that is simply amazing. We are indeed featured throughout, though we were only with Mike and Corwin for a short period in the beginning. Thanks Mike!

(If the embed below is laggy, click here. It *might* be better.)

Journey Across India from Mike Matas on Vimeo.

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15May/101

A Nepal taxi horror captured perfectly…

I know this comes about four months late, but I randomly found this blog post on the horror of being driven in a taxi from Pokhara to Kathmandu.

http://page59.com/post/469525767/pokhara-to-kathmandu

As I read it, it made me almost sick to my stomach with my own memories of the fear and dread I felt on our seven-hour taxi ride from Butwal to Kathmandu, complete with fog, mountain roads, and gut-wrenching images of other head-on collisions that we saw moments after they happened.

Then it reminded me that I need to start planning my next adventure. :)

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14May/102

The Road Trip – An American Thing

I woke up this morning with a strong desire to take a road trip. Then it occurred to me that I haven't taken a road trip in two years (except for that small one I took in January). Then it further occurred to me that in general, Europeans don't take road trips!

Living in northern California, road trips were a very regular way of getting away from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco city life and the techwelming Silicon Valley. They were a way of letting off some steam. Road trips were big there because many people had cars, at least those of us living in SF and working in Silicon Valley.

Very few months went by when we didn't take road trips. We'd often take short day trips to Napa and Sonoma. Then there were the longer ones to Tahoe, Big Sur, Santa Barbara, and the national parks. Perhaps what made it so easy to road trip in San Francisco, was the relative proximity of so many amazing places. Summers in northern CA were an opportunity to throw the top down on the car, escape the bonechilling fog of San Francisco and hit the road for a little good old American frontier exploration.

Heck even Kansas City saw its share of road trips to St. Louis, Memphis, the Ozarks, Nebraska, etc.

I don't miss my car here. In fact, I don't want to ever drive again if I can avoid it. I'd gotten so used to my car as a utilitarian vehicle for transport, that I began to resent it.

Europe is a mass transit culture, inter and intracity. I know very few friends with cars here, and they rarely use them for recreational purposes. Most people I know here would avoid driving if they could and they often do. Most friends I had in California couldn't comprehend life without a car or vehicle of some sort. It was a mental and financial burden that I was glad to shed when I came here.

But there are those moments when you just wish you had a car to hit the road and to escape from reality for a bit. I think I need to get some friends together for a European road trip this summer.

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13May/100

Language Barrier Anxiety

There's a certain anxiety that comes with moving to a new country where the native language is different from your own. Going to Berlin a few times in the past few months reminded me of what it was like when I first came to Stockholm.

To be fair, an English speaker experiences far less anxiety in Stockholm, due to the fact that Swedes in general are just about fluent in English. But there's an anxiety nonetheless. It manifests itself in the form of reading menus, going shopping, or getting asked for directions. Perhaps you're at a party in Sweden, where most people are Swedish. They'll often speak Swedish with each other then have to switch over to English for your sake. This gets especially awkward when you're the only non-native speaker in the place. You often find yourself left out of conversations, not purposefully, but just because people will always default to what is socially comfortable for themselves.  Drinking and translating on the fly for a native speaker is simply not comfortable. In a public place, such as a restaurant or sandwich shop, someone will start speaking their native language with me.

Having gone to Berlin a few times in the last month, I feel myself thrust back into this slight discomfort. As a college student traveling through Europe I could never recall having had this anxiety. This was likely due to the fact that I was energetic and only in these cities temporarily. I was also often times blind drunk which assists in eliminating the language barrier anxiety.

But now as an old, sober guy with a bit less energy and an inherent inability to consume/absorb/learn as quickly and easily as I once could, I find it tougher. I still have the same enthusiasm, but it is coupled with a bit of frustration at not being able to communicate. I also lack the the patience I once had.

I'm excited at the prospect of learning another language. I could never get quite as good at Swedish as I would've liked. I think another couple years here and I would've nailed it. In Paris, I became fluent in six months (then again, it was my college minor and a language I had already been speaking proficiently for a number of years). In Berlin, I fully expect that I'll be proficient in a short period of time and fluent within a couple years.

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12Apr/101

The best opening to any set ever

Two weekends ago, I celebrated Easter weekend touring Edinburgh with my friends, Thérèse and Peter.

On the plane ride to Edinburgh, Peter was going on about how Top Gun was the best film ever made. Thérèse thought he was smoking crack (then again, hers appeared to be Dirty Dancing). I think they're both wrong. It's easily Footloose.

That Sunday night we went to a bar called Biddy Mulligan's which was a fantastic place loaded with locals. These old geezers got up on stage and opened with, what Peter would likely argue was the best opening to any set ever (you'll see his ecstatic reaction). Make sure to watch the whole video, as it then seamlessly blends into some awesome traditional Scottish folk music.

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23Nov/096

A brief moment in San Francisco

For the first time in the 15 months since I left San Francisco, I came back. The occasion was a bittersweet one as I briefly got to see the friends that made it so memorable and yet I didn't get to see them enough. I got a brief glimpse at one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I got to eat to my heart's delight.

Alas the trip was short. I arrived on Friday afternoon and am sitting at SFO now awaiting my flight to board. The brief moment I spent here reminded me of what I miss as well as why I left.

I did have a few things I set out to do and I did them.

  • The Tuk Tuk Goose fundraiser at 111 Minna. Check.
    • After arriving at SFO on Friday afternoon, on practically no sleep, I went to the apartment of my dear friends Barb and Seema (where I would end up crashing for the weekend. Thanks!) and mentally prepared myself for a night of reunions, doing good things for great causes and  getting too drunk to function in a coherent sense.
    • It hadn't occurred to me until it was too late that not only hadn't I slept, but I hadn't eaten, and any more than two beers would send me into a shame spiral from which I wouldn't emerge.
    • Following the event, I'd spilled a drink, dropped thai food all over myself, and fell asleep at the restaurant. I literally probably had like three beers (and maybe a couple shots).
    • Needless to say, the event was a success and it was great to see some friends who I missed very dearly.
  • Mission burrito at El Farolito. Check.
    • After getting my ass over to El Farolito, I sat there alone with my burrito and I savored every taste of carne asada, cheese, salsa, black beans, sour cream, avocado, and epic burrito flavor. It's the street food that has no equivalent anywhere in the world.
    • I had to walk halfway across the city to burn this thing off so I could make room for Saison.
  • Dinner at the hot, new San Francisco restaurant, Saison (recommended by my friend AJ). CHECK!
    • Navin and Barb joined me at the new restaurant where we indulged in a SEVEN course prix fixe menu and wine pairing (BOTTOMLESS) that you only get in a place like San Francisco. The food was all sourced locally and the flavors were mindblowing. The menu had been set on Friday and the restaurant is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so I consider us to be very lucky to have gotten reservations just a couple weeks ago.
    • More than just the food, the ambiance and service were second-to-none. Housed in a former horse stable (no joke), Saison is very *casual* in terms of style even though the food (and the prices) dictate otherwise. Like some other popular establishments in SF, the dining room opens into the kitchen so you can see the masters of the art at work while you eat. It lacked pretention and was a dining experience that sits amongst the top that I've had in San Francisco. Kudos to Joshua Skenes and team for yet another top-notch San Francisco restaurant.
    • The menu speaks for itself: http://saisonsf.com/pdf/saison%20menu%2011.21.09%20web.pdf

The weekend wasn't a complete success. Sadly the thing I missed and hurt the most was not getting to see Bucky's newly-birthed offspring Liam. And worse yet, it was substituted by an hour of mockery from my other "friend" JT on Friday night. :)

But I'm not worried. I know I'll be coming back.

Now...to New York, Thanksgiving, and a wedding.

Filed under: Friends, San Francisco, food, personal, rickshaw run, travel 6 Comments
30Oct/091

Rickshaw Run 2009 – Rick Dangerous

Rick Dangerous' video from the Winter 2009 Rickshaw Run.

It's tough not to get completely anxious about our own Run in just TWO MONTHS!!!

CLICK HERE to donate to Tuk Tuk Goose's Winter 2010 Rickshaw Run Fundraising effort!!!

Filed under: rickshaw run, travel 1 Comment
2Oct/095

On missing a transatlantic flight

My good friend Mike had his wedding last weekend in Philadelphia.

And I almost missed it.

I hopped the Flygbuss last Thursday. A flying bus? No, silly. Sweden isn't THAT advanced. It's the airport bus to the Stockholm Arlanda International Airport.
I never miss flights. In fact, I'm the nerd that shows up to the airport way too early every time. So when I looked at my itinerary, I knew I needed to hop the bus at 3pm to make my 5:20 flight.
Figure 1. The email print out of my itinerary.
I must've looked at my itinerary a dozen times and my eyes kept seeing 5:20. So of course, I arrive at the airport at 3:50. *face palm*
I will take the blame for being a dumbass. But honestly, if the page break didn't occur at the wrong point, I may not have missed it. Here's what I wish it looked like:
Figure 2. What I wished my itinerary looked like.
So needless to say, I commenced my panic attack and started sweating profusely in my new Marmot jacket. Soon I calmed down and decided I would try to get a later flight.
There were no later flights. The desk clerk told me to get on the phone with AA to see if I could get another flight on Friday. The AA Advantage folks were scrambling with their partner airlines for over an hour trying to figure out how they could get me to London so that I could make the wedding on Saturday. The search proved fruitless, for no matter how much they tried to route me, they couldn't guarantee one leg of every journey, which means I would've gotten stuck in some random European city. They could get me there on Saturday to some city in the mid-Atlantic region, but that would be too late. The wedding was at 3:30 in the afternoon. So I told them to forget about it and that I would just swallow the pill and not go.
After talking to the lady friend (yes...I did just say that...stay tuned for the final installment of Single in Sweden) who also scrambled unsuccessfully to find me flights, and my mom who told me that she was sure Mike would understand, I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be making the wedding.
I emailed Mike and Amy and apologized. I was noticeably upset. Mike didn't respond which just made me feel worse. Amy who is super positive and nice told me to keep trying and not to worry. This made me feel EVEN worse.
So I went home on Thursday night cracked a beer and sat in a pool of my own misery. And I went to bed, setting my alarm for 6am to make it to the gym.
I woke the next morning and trudged over to my laptop hoping to see an email from Mike telling me not to worry.
I didn't.
But, I DID see a confirmed ticket from AA that left in two and a half hours. Without completely reading it, I grabbed my still packed luggage and bolted out the door to the flying bus.
I felt great. Until I read my itinerary.
Figure 3. The itinerary from hell.
That's right.
Stockholm -> Helsinki
Helsinki -> Paris
Paris -> London
London -> New York
I would be taking four flights and touring most of western Europe to get to New York by 11pm Eastern, then waking up early to hop the NJ Transit and SEPTA to Philadelphia.
Mike and Amy were absolutely worth it. I've known Mike for a long time. We knew each other in Kansas City and moved out to California to work for eBay/PayPal within months of each other. We had great conversations, epic stories, and tons of memories. He was one of my closest friends out in California. I wouldn't have thought twice if they'd doubled the number of flights to get to Philadelphia. I would later find out that Mike said "First of all, Rommy will make it. Second of all, he's just building up the drama."
I have no idea what he's talking about.
So I would make it to Philadelphia just three hours before the start of the ceremony. I would grab beers with some friends I hadn't seen in years. I would lose a button on my dress shirt moments before the ceremony started, causing my baby hair chest to be exposed in a house of worship. I would go back to my hotel immediately after, keeping my hand steady enough to thread a needle, recalling my home economics skills from 20 years earlier to sew the button back on. I would actually manage to get over my jet lag to do a full seven hours of drinking. I would even manage to not cry in the lobby when Penn State got spanked by Iowa.
The epic hangover actually made sleeping on the London -> New York flight remarkably easy. When I arrived in London, of course, British Airways had me as cancelled on all flights to Stockholm. I was actually so tired, that I was remarkably nice. If I were alert and gave enough of a shit, I might've punched the dear British Airways customer service representative in the face.
She saw the itinerary I'd had, and with the utmost sympathy (and profound respect) booked me on a later flight to Stockholm. I made it home, even prepared dinner for M and we were asleep by 9pm.
Lesson Learned: Before crossing the Atlantic, be sure to take advantage of buying duty-free Cubans for you and your buddies. They will appreciate you more.
Filed under: Friends, humor, personal, travel 5 Comments
19Aug/090

Thank you, friends! But it doesn't end there!

Rather unexpectedly, we managed to raise 1,000 GBP for our Rickshaw Run adventure in one week. None of us were expecting to raise that kind of money that fast, especially when we had five months to do it.

I would like to particularly thank those of my friends who helped us get to there so quickly:

  • Mike Bogan
  • Barb Chang
  • Marcus Edholm
  • Zeina Ghaly
  • Ryan Kaisoglus
  • Mike Paylor
  • Kim Petty
  • Dave and Julia Simard
  • Joe Stojkov
  • Kathryn Tomajan
  • Owen Tripp
  • Chris Van Benthuysen
  • Joe and Tara VanDette

Fortunately, your folks' enthusiasm has fueled an urge to set our sights EVEN higher (and to tap into our friends who wanted to donate but haven't done so yet!).

This is why we're now looking at raising $10,000 for three new charities by way of Global Giving.

It's a hugely ambitious, but not unattainable goal. If we can raise $1700 in a week, then $10,000 in five months is doable. But we need your help.

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Here are the deets (short for details):

We’ve setup a Tuk Tuk Goose Global Giving page where we’ve selected three strong charitable organizations which are very relevant to our team and our adventure, and serve three distinct and impactful causes. Global Giving provides the means to get direct funding to organizations by way of their website.

The first organization is a local San Francisco effort called Spark, that seeks to empower at-risk young women by giving them job training, counseling, and parenting help.

The second organization is an Indian charity called Non Formal Education Centres seeking to provide education to children in remote tribal areas of India.

The third organization is a Nepalese charity called EcoSystems which provides bridge infrastructure in remote, dangerous areas of Nepal to help promote economic development in those areas.

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I've also introduced a new widget on the sidebar to let you know how far we are on our way to the $10,000.

In the meantime, don't forget to keep up with our Rickshaw Run blog at http://tuktukgoose.com. Your support as always is greatly appreciated!

Filed under: Friends, rickshaw run, travel No Comments
11Aug/090

Tuk Tuk Goose: The Fundraising Has BEGUN!

You may remember when I posted about our entry into the Rickshaw Run some time back.

Well we're now on our quest to raise money for both Mercy Corps and Maiti Nepal. So these widgets you see at the top of my blog will continue to occupy that prime real estate until we've fulfilled our quota (and hopefully blown it out of the water).

I encourage you to read up on the charities. But most importantly, I encourage you to donate. You'll not only be an active part of our adventure, but you'll also be helping to save lives and changing them for the better. And the world always needs a little more of that.

Thanks for your support.

Filed under: personal, rickshaw run, travel No Comments
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