Blogs from Michigan, United States, North America - page 80

We'll we're back in Michigan, although I'm not quite home yet. Things in Chicago went very smoothly and I escaped U.S. Customs without losing anything. I had checked a box saying I was bringing in food (although it was only commercially packaged curry spices) and as soon as the customs officers saw that he sent me over to U.S. Agriculture and decided to pull apart the suitcases of some other victim. This is one of the few times I've escaped inspection at O'Hare. For some reason, they like to pick on me. While I can't list what contraband I brought in on a public blog, I was happy to get it through. Nothing too serious drugs or anything that would harm national security, but the RIAA and some folks in Miami may not be happy with ... read more

I confess to being a control freak. Whether it’s with a campaign or with a trip, I like my environment and my future to be scheduled with everything arranged and in its proper place. While my duties at work often exceed those of anyone else in the office, my desk is nearly bare by comparison to those of my co-workers -it appears that I do nothing. I don’t deal well with uncertainty and a lack of organization. I’ve realized through my planning for this upcoming trip that Thailand is far from predictable. This country is so laid back and chaotic that it is impossible to acquire the feeling that I’ve adequately prepared for this trip. My favorite haunts, Ireland and Toronto, fit my personality well. I know exactly what to expect from them. The TTC (Toronto’s ... read more

Geo: 43.2447, -83.6682Trip Tidbits....Lisbon - Lodging: We booked a hotel for our stay in Lisbon. We stayed at the Residencial Alegria, located just off Avenida da Liberdade. We booked through a booking company online but they also have a website: www.alegrianet.com The room rate was 43€ a night for a double room including the typical European breakfast. The hotel has an elevator and small bar in the breakfast room. Our room was small but nicely furnished. A very hard double bed, recently remodeled bathroom, TV and air-conditioning. The staff was friendly and the hotel is right next to a police station. It is located on Praça da Alegria, a square that has great potential. The only problem with this hotel was this square... despite the police station, there is a very large population of bums that ... read more

Well, the United States of Ameeeeeeericaaaaa is exactly as I had envisaged, Big cars, Big Hwy's and Big all over. After 30hrs of travelling it was good to finally take a shower and get some shut eye! The flight over was smooth and all transit points were quite simple. Going through customs at JFk (New York) wasn't as bad as I thought, as long as your up front as to whatever your carrying it's all go. We didn't end up getting the Chev Impala SUV, however, the Ford Explorer SUV isn't a bad ride. The first time I decided to turn the tv on in my room I landed on the Flash News Update...and wasn't that just the biggest mistake ever cos it had a chart with the latest crime figures in Detroit for this ... read more

Tuesday night after camp me n Kim went to the Royal Oak music theater. We got there to see a band called the Secret Machines just starting, who were pretty good. There was about half the amount of people there was for Ben Harper. Which was good because it wasn’t too crowded and we got up nice and close. When they came out the singer had shaved his beard and he looked a bit pretty boyish, with his voice not what I expected him to look like. It was super loud and poor Kim was half deaf for a few days after. The Kings where really good live and I had a top time, thanks for coming Kim, you’re a champ. ... read more