Traveling Through My Time

The last three months of my life have been hectic. I enrolled in Advanced Fluid Dynamics, went to North Carolina and Southern California, underwent surgery, and now I am buying a house. I should also mention that I am seeking a new position at my company, and purchased Gran Turismo 5. I'm dedicating this blog mostly to my travel to SoCal and N.C.

Portland has really skewed my mind. For instance: roads should be narrow, freeways difficult to access, and sunscreen is a waste of money. Traveling outside of Oregon is essential to forget that I live in this "bubble" of existence. The last week in September, I traveled to Southern California, around Anaheim for work.  The experience taught me that if the weather is nice, people will live there. I prefer not to spend hours everyday in my car looking at the concrete jungle of civilization, nor do I like the haze above. The laid back feeling was quite nice, and most likely needed when you say things like "it's only ten miles up the 5" when referring to a lunch destination. Since much of my time was spent driving (or rather being escorted) around, I have a couple of observations. Driving through Newport Beach in a ML350 feels almost cheap, yet uncomfortably nice while in Compton. Seriously, how did so many people get that much money! Lastly, the folks in the region don't ever need to clean the dust off there sunglasses like I do.

On a side note relating to weather, I would like to start a petition to remove all tourist attractions from Hawaii. Seriously people, the current agricultural capabilities are severely limited. The need for domestic food sources will always be paramount. Importing pineapples from Chile and Coconuts from Asia is not sustainable. Plus, where will you get your Macadamia nuts? Of course there is also coffee, but I don't drink it.

Portland has also exposed me to how insufficient the Northwest is at the southern delicacy of Barbecue. During my trip to North Carolina, I ate Barbecue every day. Somehow they mastered the Toyota Way by achieving great quality, low cost, and excellent service. Frequently when I mention this problem in Oregon, people spout out their favorite local places. I tend to respond with "it isn't bad, but still expensive and not nearly as good." N.C. may have good barbecue, but they lack lots of variety/quality in other culinary groups. Basically stick to the fried and meat food groups. The fall in N.C. is pretty nice. I was there around Halloween, and the weather was great. My previous trip to N.C. took place in January and the scenery was not nearly as nice. All the vegetation turns brown during the winter. At least in the Northwest, there are still plenty of Evergreens to remind that something is alive. However, it doesn't matter what time of year it is, I'll go back for that delicious BBQ.