Running with the Ponies!

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 7, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

After a few failed attempts to watch the ponies run at the local horse track, today we were finally successful. The horse track, Hipodromo Argentino, is located in our neighborhood, Palermo, about 3 KM from our apartment. Both of us really enjoy watching the ponies, something we do every year on Thanksgiving which also happens to be our anniversary… according to Marc. For the record, we got married on 28 November 2002 which was Thanksgiving Day that year. Thus, Marc considers Thanksgiving to be our anniversary… I like to celebrate both. J

We arrived at the track a little over an hour before the first race, grabbed a race program and started studying like crazy before we placed our first bet. Deciphering the program was our first challenge especially since programs in English don’t always make sense, but we had the extra challenge of translating the program from Spanish. The first few races were a little tough since we didn’t know the jockeys (Russell Baze doesn’t have any relatives in Argentina) or the feel of the track, so needless to say we lost our first few races.

We hit a low on race three…we decided to go for the long-shot with 20:1 odds when we placed the bet. However, at post-time the odds on our long-shot increased to 110:1. The horse didn’t totally suck based on past performance, but at this point we were just hoping he’d finish. On the bright side, since we bet $6 to win, we figured we would clean up on this one race and head out to a really nice dinner giving. Our horse, XIXALIZCO, had a different plan and seemingly decided to stop for a meal before sauntering to the finish line—he finished dead last and at least 30 cuerpos, or body lengths, behind the winner.

We decided this was our last attempt at a quick win and hit the racing form hard to make realistic picks. We got into the swing of things by the fourth race where we hit the First Place and Second Place horses. And we just kept rolling… at times picking the horses based on their names, like Strong Princess, who came in second for us; other times based upon the winning jockey.

The premier race of the afternoon, Race 7, had twelve horses to choose from. We went back and forth and we each finally picked one horse. When our horses crossed the finish line we had a 1st Place and 3rd Place showing. Thank goodness we had money across the board (Win, Place & Show). Our winnings paid for our next race and even allowed us to pocket $17.

The whole day was a lot of fun, sitting outside enjoying the sun, mixing in with the locals and doing something we really enjoy, watching the ponies. The 2400 meter racetrack was absolutely beautiful. Umbrella covered wooden tables were placed “track side” on a lush green lawn, backed by a shady grandstand and a beautiful clubhouse. The only disappointing feature of the track, which we got over as soon as the ponies started to run, was they didn’t sell beer. An ice-cold beer on a hot day while watching the ponies just makes sense, crazy… oh well, I am sure we will have plenty of other opportunities for beer.

Other notes: Since it is now April, baseball season is in full swing in the United States. We are lucky enough to catch a few games on ESPN in our apartment, but we haven’t been able to see our beloved San Francisco Giants play a single game. We had high hopes for the Giants this year since they paid some ridiculous amount ($10M/year) for their new star pitcher, Barry Zito. We attempt to follow the Giants online by getting scores and stats from each game and downloading the daily KNBR Podcasts when we can poach some free Wi-Fi.

Things are not looking good so far this year, but it’s a long season. Bonds does have a home run on the year and is one step closer to breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record. However, only a few games into the season it appears the Giants already need a boost (and some middle and late relief pitching). We’ll be home in a couple weeks and hopefully attend a game before heading off to New Zealand and more soccer, rugby and cricket.

Just a Quiet Day in BA...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 6, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

It was around 12:15 PM when we woke up this morning, the day after Marc’s birthday celebration. We had a wonderful dinner at Rio Alba last night, whose specialty is Ojo de Bife, or rib eye. Marc ordered the specialty, the full portion, figuring he’d bring home leftovers for a nice breakfast of steak and eggs. I ordered the pork tenderloin which looked like a giant penis and tasted wonderful, and we shared a nice bottle of Luigi Bosca Malbec Reserve. We’ve been following our friend Angela’s motto, and enjoying at least a bottle of wine every night since we’ve been in BA… a bottle of wine on any given night!

It didn’t matter that we woke up after noon today since it was Good Friday. The majority of businesses were closed to honor the holiday. We suspected this may be the case and spent the majority of the day strolling through quiet streets, pausing at parks, and occasionally stopping to pick up bread, wine, cheese and other staples so we could cook dinner in our apartment tonight.

Not much else to say… it was a quiet day in BA and we’re just chillin’.

Happy 40th Birthday, Marc!

Today is the day Marc writes the entire blog describing what it feels like to turn 40 since, well, today is his 40th birthday. We will celebrate in Buenos Aires with a nice steak dinner (Yes, Marc requested steak for the first time in at least eight years) and a trip to the Japanese Tea Garden in Parque 3 de Febrero.

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Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 5, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Laura says I have to write the blog update for 5 April 2007. First, let’s get a few things straight. Since I’m the Editor in Chief for our blog my job actually includes editing, adding “color commentary”, inserting hyperlinks, and uploading photos and quick-time movies to all of our updates. I admit Laura is responsible for > 95% of the content in every update and our blog would be nowhere near as slick without her dedication and prose. At the same time, it’s not like I’ve never written for our blog.

So… per Laura’s request I need to write the blog today and explain what it feels like to turn 40 years old. I’ve decided to approach the answer to this question from a Time Perspective and from a Physical and Spiritual Perspective.

Time Perspective:
Laura seems much more excited about my 40th birthday than me. This isn’t surprising since I rarely give much thought to my birthday, and probably wouldn’t even remember my birthday unless she reminded me each year. Plus, I usually get a call from the four sets of parents singing “Happy Birthday” in my ear or on my voicemail. I really stopped thinking about my birthday after my 21st… not that my 21st was that special, but at least I didn’t need to use my roommate’s ID to buy a twelver of Keystone Light anymore.

So… what does 40 feel like?

Well, the reason I don’t give it much thought is because in the overall picture of time; infinite and without a beginning or and end, 40 years is simply… well nothing. Think about it… Earth is nearly 4.6 billion years old and Man has only been scurrying around for about 30-40,000 years. So, I haven’t even been around for 0.1% of the time Man has inhabited our planet and only 0.0000009% of the time our planet has existed. Can we say insignificant?

So, to ask what it feels like to be 40 is sorta like asking a grain of sand in the Sahara desert what it feels like to be part of the world’s largest desert. I guess it would feel like a grain of sand.

I realize 40 is a major milestone to many people, but to me it’s just another moment in time. Don’t get me wrong… I’ve enjoyed nearly every moment, and those I haven’t enjoyed have been valuable learning experiences. I sincerely look forward to spending many more moments navigating my way through this universe, but living for 14,600 days feels about the same as 13,778 days.

Physically and Spiritually:
Chronologically my physical body is now 40 years old. I tend to view my body as a vessel; like a boat, truck or plane carrying “who I am” through this universe. Physically, I feel like I’m in pretty good shape for a “40 year old man”. At the same time, in the past few years, I’ve discovered my vessel isn’t as resilient as it used to be and I’ve had to make compensations. There are parts that need adjusting and other parts I wish I could simply replace, but from an overall perspective I think this vessel should last a few more years. Keeping my vessel in working-order is very important since it is currently the only means I know to navigate “who I am” through time.

This of course leads to questions… “Who am I?” and “What happens when I no longer have a functional vessel?” I sincerely believe these are the questions that cause people so much stress and anxiety about aging.

Personally, I’m comfortable not knowing the answers to these questions.

I realize there are countless questions that will never be answered and things I will never understand; hey, I’m just a 40 year old man. Rather than worrying about these questions I’ll continue to take advantage of the limited and unknown time I have at my disposal. For me it’s all about being happy… I’ll continue to explore life with my loved ones and hopefully help as many people along my path as possible.

So, in my opinion, that’s what it feels like to be 40.

Another Cemetery and a Big Pile of Dookie...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 4, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Even though we have plenty of time in Buenos Aires, we want to make sure we see all the great sites. So, we decided to put a rough timeline together outlining everything we want to see while we’re here in BA. Of course this includes all of the restaurants too.

Tuesday was the first day of the plan and we decided to check-out the Recoleta neighborhood including the infamous cemetery. We were greeted by sunny skies and temperatures in the 80’s as we headed out the door; making for perfect photo opportunities in the cemetery.

We walked about 5 KM to the Recoleta district… again stopping at several ATM’s along the way, many with very long lines; we finally succeeded after five attempts. After wandering through several small parks and little neighborhoods we found ourselves at the cemetery where famous Argentineans such as Evita, Sarmiento, military heroes and past presidents are buried. The crypts are extremely impressive; made of marble with very intricate designs. It appeared some of the burial chambers had fallen victim to grave robbers; with only broken windows and dried flowers remaining. I was a little freaked-out as I peered into the vandalized tombs. I imagined the deceased, who were supposed to lay in peace, angry and seeking revenge. Luckily, I didn’t sense any of this anger, and spent the day pleasantly strolling around snapping pictures.

When we left the cemetery we tried to hit one of Jorge Luis Borges old haunts, but it is closed on Tuesdays—damn! Instead we headed to one of the little parks in the area to see what it had to offer. We went to Parque Thays that didn’t really compare to Parque 3 de Febrero, but it was a nice open space where kids played on the jungle gyms while their older brothers’ practiced futbol.

We strolled through a few more parks on our way to the Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays near our apartment. We walked through the garden the other day, but the rain and gray skies prevented us from getting any photos, not to mention the giant mud puddles. As we cut through the park, hundreds of feral cats were lounging in the grass, soaking up the sun and sideling up against locals that were feeding them kibble and snacks.

Marc is responsible for writing the blog tomorrow since it is his 40th birthday… stay tuned!

Other notes: Google Analytics is really cool! It’s fun to see where people who check out our blog live. Right now someone in Beijing, China is the furthest away. We aren’t sure if this is Kevin Dieker, who recently took a trip to China, or someone in China who’s simply taken an interest in our blog. The majority of the people are in California, as expected, but we do have visits from several states, including Hawaii, Wisconsin and Kentucky, to name a few.

Also of note… as we’ve explained previously, dog poop is a big problem in Buenos Aires. You must constantly watch your step as you stroll along the sidewalks, through parks and basically anywhere you go outside of the house. Obviously, Portenos think leaving their dog’s big, steamy piles of fecal matter is perfectly fine behavior. Due to the abundance of dog shit, we can only assume they take pride in the size, consistency and enjoy sharing it with their fellow citizens. See example below, Laura’s foot provides scale to the prized mass!

Car Talk and a Little Macking...

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 3, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

Fin de Semana Largo continued into Monday, making Sunday another perfect night to go out and hit the town. The Monday holiday, combined with the first day of sunshine in eight days, was also perfect to get outside and enjoy the weather. We did both.

We had reservation for 11:30 PM (we’re so cool) at a chic Vietnamese restaurant, Green Bamboo, recommended to us by a lady I worked with, Joanne. We arrived “fashionably” early and had to wait outside until the hostess let us in through the locked door. We walked into the dimly light room and made our way to the bar until our table was ready. Asian trinkets were scattered across the top of the bar with little room to place a drink; the bar obviously isn’t used very often. We played with the bobble-head tigers and admired the Asian lava lamps while we polished-off a couple beers prior to being seated.

We shared another great bottle of Malbec, a delicious shaking lamb, spring rolls, and a spicy, lightly breaded, white fish with cherry tomatoes. The restaurant didn’t compare to the top Vietnamese places at home; however, the cuisine was as authentic as I would expect and we welcomed a reprieve from the numerous parillas. There are still a few more Asian fusion places we hope to visit before we head back to San Francisco in a couple weeks.

We jumped in a cab to avoid the thunderstorms and made it back to our apartment by 1:00 AM and watched a little late-night Argentinean TV (which we have found to be quite liberal) before heading to bed.

We were lucky enough to catch an automotive comparison show on one of the local stations. The show compared the Mini-Cooper, the Chevy Spark and the Fiat Nuevo 500—all sub-compact models, approximately the size of the Mini. All cars were rated in four different categories: comfort, suspension, safety and durability. The best part about the show, and why it’s worth mentioning, is that it was based on having sexual intercourse in the vehicle. So… comfort, suspension, and of course safety and durability were all rated during coitus. The program actually showed a couple vigorously testing out each sub-compact car before giving their rating. The show explained the importance of cars to young couples in South America. Most children live with their parents until they’re married and thus the car is their only safe refuge for getting intimate. The program also outlined the importance of putting newspaper in your window to avoid being interrupted during the act.

I won’t hold you in suspense any longer… the winner was the Mini-Cooper; the Cooper’s safety and reliability put it on top of the Spark and Nuevo 500 (pun intended).

As you can guess, we had to watch the whole show to find out the winner before turning off the lights. This means we had a late start on Monday morning—good thing it was a holiday and we didn’t have anywhere to go!

Our plan was to spend the day at the racetrack watching the ponies run, but we first needed to make a “quick” detour to the ATM to get some cash. As expected our trip to the bank wasn’t easy, nor was it quick. What more do I need to say… after attempting to get cash from at least five different ATM’s we gave up and altered our plan.

We opted to head to one of our neighborhood parks instead. We went to Parque 3 de Febrero. The park reminded us of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park—complete with a Japanese Tea Garden and planetarium. There were plenty of in-line skaters, bicyclists and runners; all taking advantage of the vacant streets that were closed to the holiday traffic. We found a patch of sunny grass after walking a few miles through the park. As soon as we sat down, a flock of wild parrots landed in a tree next to us, squawking above our heads and making us feel right at home. The ground was a little damp after the severe thunderstorms the night before, but this didn’t stop the teenagers and those in their early 20's from making-out (macking) and rolling around the lawn.

As the sun started to set, we decided to head back to our apartment and leave the love-birds to mack away the rest of the evening in the park.

The best part… another Fin de Semana Largo (long weekend) starts again on Thursday!

Bocas Win, Bocas Win!

Buenos Aires (Palermo District), Argentina

April 1, 2007
S 34°35.045
W 058°24.500

We woke up Saturday morning to what were supposed to be clear skies; they were, at first, but on our way to morning coffee it started to sprinkle. We didn’t let the sprinkles put a damper on our day though.

It was our first morning trip to a café since we’ve been in our apartment; we’ve been taking advantage of our kitchen and having breakfast at home the past couple days. After getting our caffeine “fix” we were headed to see the Boca Juniors play futbol. What more could you want for a Saturday, especially our first Saturday in BA?

As the rain started coming down, we opted to sit inside rather than outside, but the cool café vibe was still there. We sat there, drank our coffee and brushed up on the key words of the Boca Juniors fight song—“Boca Juniors, Boca Juniors.” We got a few strange stares, but nothing to convince us to stop. As the rain came down outside, we hoped for a break in the weather before game time, still thankful it was a warm rain.

Our ride arrived at 2:00 PM and our tour guide was outfitted in Boca gear, obviously a big fan, and seemed very excited to share the experience of seeing a match with us. We jumped in the van and headed off to the match, picking up nine others along the way. When we arrived at the stadium, our guide went over the rules: don’t take pictures outside the stadium or even take you camera out, stay together, and whatever you do… don’t root for the opposing team! The skies were gray, but no rain in site!

The Boca Junior’s stadium is in a sketchy barrio of Buenos Aires called La Boca. There are warnings to stay away from certain rough sections of La Boca even in the middle of the day and this was part of the reason for the guided escort. Plus, it’s almost impossible to get Boca Juniors tickets if you don’t go through one of the approved ticket agencies that have rights to the majority of season tickets.

We climbed the stairs to our seats, looked down and saw a sea of blue and gold; everyone was wearing Boca colors. Fans hung-up their signs to show support for their team including several blue and gold streamers that formed the section holding the “12th man,” a large cheering section for the most devoted Boca fans. At the opposite end of the field, in the very top section, a small contingent of Nueva Chicago fans proudly displayed their colors (green and black). There were at least two-dozen police officers surrounding the section, even though barbed wire fence separated the rabid fans from the Boca Junior loyalists.

Fans were tearing up newspapers, programs, advertisements, anything they could get their hands on, and tossing it into the swirling winds. The winds quickly carried the confetti to all corners of the field; creating small eddies of debris throughout the match. As soon as the Boca Juniors starting line-up was announced the fans went nuts… screaming the Boca Juniors fight-song, throwing confetti, wildly waving their arms, whistling, and essentially working themselves into a frenzy.

From kickoff, until the game ended in a 2-0 Boca Juniors win, the section of fans making up the “12th man” never stopped chanting and screaming. The BJ’s controlled the ball for the majority of the game, but held us in suspense by not scoring until the second half. They quickly added a second goal, to the hysterical delight of the fans.

Before we could leave, our guide made us wait until the fans from Nueva Chicago were escorted out of the stadium. We sat in our seats cheering, for the now 1st place Boca Juniors, for another 45 minutes before filing out to the safety of our waiting van.

After getting back to our apartment it took us a few hours to unwind before heading out to dinner. Dinner at 8:00 PM in BA, is like catching the “early bird special” and you’re still geeky if you go to dinner before 10:00 PM.

We were hip enough to get seated at our restaurant of choice at 10:30 PM and followed dinner with a few beers at a local bar. We left the bar around 2:30 AM; still early since the majority of hipsters don’t even head out until 3:00 AM.

As we walked into our building a group of four girls, dressed to kill, were heading out to the clubs—better them than us. This is definitely why the streets of BA are totally deserted until 5:00 on Sunday afternoon.

We had a truly Argentinean day, all the way down to the late(r) dinner. We didn’t hit the clubs, but remember we’re now only four days away from Marc’s 40th. Is Marc’s vessel too old for all night discotheques? (Find out when Marc writes the blog on his birthday, April 5th.)

Other notes: We attempted to make a reservation for accommodations in Iguazu Falls. The hotel actually requested we give them a deposit for one of the two nights by going to Western Union and wiring money to a designated account. Luckily, we were able to find another place that didn’t require such a ridiculous request.

Also of note… Marc thwarted another pickpocket attempt today. This time it was a group of four people. One lady bumped him and fiddled at his left pocket, while another other lady attempted to unzip his bag. Marc heard the zipper and quickly turned around, made eye contact with the lady and gave her a stiff shoulder to her chest. Without a word or comment, the group quickly turned around and walked away empty handed!