there are two reasons to venture to the midwest. 1) to attend a conference for minority journalists and 2) to see boatloads of friends who have transplanted themselves in the middle of all things troy/university of michigan.

notes from the conference
1. workshops galore on how minorities are screwed in health, wealth, education, prison, everything. apparently we minority journalists are supposed to write stories about it all.
2. a quick guide on how to tell a print journo from a broadcast journo.

we don’t really care about radio, but they’re probably more like faceless print journos than anything else.

3. the senegalese president was speaking at this conference about free speech. there was quite the kerfuffle, and a fist fight actually broke out amongst critics and supporters. missed the fight, but did get to see a lot of angry people.

as for my many friends who live in chicago, our one night of partying can basically be summed up by this pic:

i just wish i could remember what song was playing.

for this journalism conference thing. more deets to come.

doesn’t jimmy look fancy standing next to statues of animals serving food and golfing (with terrible form, no less)?

other highlights from san fran include dim sum, a mini asian high school reunion, seeing the golden gate bridge up close and personal, fog-blocked fireworks, smelling urine everywhere, watching the 5th element, not going out at night at all, vintage shopping, and lots and lots of walking. most importantly, we made our way to berkeley to see the tree sitters i’ve been writing about at work for MONTHS. they’ve been up there for almost 20 months now. they even waved at me. this is the best shot i could get of their humble abode.

and i miss the perfect weather already.

fresh from the foggy shores of san francisco, i return with stories of fourth of july antics and anthropomorphic animal statues. but first, a photo of me looking wistfully and patriotically at the golden gate bridge. i love america!

honestly, i’m too tired (read: redeye flight) to blog much more, but i felt as if i should get the good ol’ nubby fingers ready for my ironic take on a typical family vacay. i’m off to finish “atonement,” which i bought at the worst-ever airport bookstore. book’s pretty good, although i’m always embarrassed to carry around a novel that has the characters from the movie on the cover, but apparently that’s the only thing air passengers want to buy and read.

also sad is the fact this is the first time i’ll be using the “books” tag on this blog. yikes. gotta read more.

yes, the official blog of the transportation security administration is actually quite good (in a “i can’t believe the TSA has half-functioning blog” sort of way), and with a name like, “Evolution of Security: Terrorists Evolve. Threats Evolve. Security Must Stay Ahead. You Play A Part,” you know you’re in for a sweet ride.

check out this video of happy DCA (reagan national airport) workers pimpin in their new uniforms. i totally can’t wait to fly out of national now!

it almost makes you forget that the TSA is the 3rd unhappiest subagency in the federal government (out of 222).

a hint.

i …

… was in LA and huntington beach all weekend (obviously).
… took the obligatory hollywood sign picture while hiking with jimmy and jessica.
… saw horses on that hike (pictured above).
… smelled their poop.
… never actually went to the beach, despite the fact i was staying in huntington beach.
… could go a long while without seeing slightly overweight, greasy-haired rich men with their very fit, blond wives and spoiled, well dressed children.
… saw a lot of hipsters.
… went to a bar that was so cool that it didn’t even need one location. or a sign.
… slept on an air mattress.
… ate a lot of delicious mexican food.
… bought new clothes because it was cold and rainy (unheard of!), and i was irresponsible and didn’t check the weather before i left, therefore packing completely inappropriately for the inclement weather.
… was trapped on a metro bus on the way to the dulles with 60 people and a homeless man who managed to vomit all over the floor with 25 minutes left in the ride.
… was trapped in the long beach airport starting at 9pm because of a foreboding “security problem” for an hour and a half.
… got sick.

overall, a good trip.