t-day special

at this time last year, i was miles away from family in the warm caribbean sun, walking the streets of the colonial zone in the domincan republic's capital city of santo domingo. with banks of the ozama river knifing through the heart of the over populated city and the caribbean sea forming the southern border i was far from the cold fronts that were passing through the midwest and the great lakes region.  by this time, i was still not fully acclimated to the humid climate of the south and was craving just the slightest hint of wind burn on my lips and my mother's sweet potato casserole that was sure to warm my insides.

memories to spark emotion

last night i was catching up on my list of blogs along with some reading from matador reading where i came across a movie called before sunrise, set entirely in vienna. (also check out the sequal before sunset which takes place nine years later in paris)  before the page was fully loaded i was redirecting myself to youtube checking to see if i could find the film in the youtubesque part 1 of ... segments format.  the ten part movie was found with no issue, and my evening was set. besides to romantic nature of meeting someone on a train, falling in love, and setting out to rendezvous months later,

a mini viennese reunion

last week, one of my "old" friends, corrinne, from vienna was in town for the weekend after spending a week doing relief work in haiti. while using ft lauderdale as her main transportation hub, the greyhound as the carrier, and the chance to reunite with someone who lives at the extreme opposite side of the continental 48 as the motive, a mini viennese rendezvous was able to take place. this was not only a great way to touch base with the happenings of the past year, but also a way to reminisce in a way that only a fellow traveler can understand. we talked about the trip itself, how we

na zdravie

i found this also, laura posted it on the facebook group...maybe it will trigger a memory of the cheap slovakian beer from that night or the waitress (i think she was pretty good looking) i do not know, could have been the beer again

vienna remembered

i know that there are not too many people who follow or even read much of what i try to document through this site, but this is something that i hope reaches the masses a bit more for many reasons. it is something that i have thought about for awhile, only lacking the initial steps that lead toward an end result. it could be due to many things; lack of motivation, lack of creativity, lack of means, patience, or desire. no, i believe the reason might have stemmed from a fear of reopening a wound that bleeds a longing to explore, search, or discover something new while encompassing freedom and

cup o joe

before vienna, the idea of coffee and cafes was nothing more than another episode of friends to me. now it means a quiet place to catch up on work emails, place to read and listen to classical music, surf the web, or just people watch. in fort myers, i have slowly begun to spot more and more cafes as i branch out to the local surroundings. my two main hubs are borders at gulf coast town center (lame but close to work, cheap, and the baristas are very friendly) and blackhawk coffee at bell tower shops. i have routinely spotted more in downtown fort myers that i would like to check out

a comparison of the two

i wanted to take a minute to give me readers an idea of the differences in the attention to detail that europe has compared to what i witnessed in santo domingo. it seems like every country has some sort of national monument to pay homage to their heroes of the past. the picture to the left was taken at the altar de la patria/ altar of the nation also known as tumba de los padres de la patria/ tomb of the patriarchs of the country or more simply the national mausoleum. built in 1976 and made of

my life post europe

since i left vienna last april, my life has been a series of ups, downs, and tailwinds into i do not know what. filled with randomness and an unorganized chaos that has led me to a place of peace and uncertainty...i would not have it any other way. i returned home near the end of april and returned to school. (the better part of my trip can be seen at alslusher.blogspt.com, up until thomas and larry came to visit and, well, lets just say hell broke loose for the next week and amsterdam...i´m sure i would never have forgotten it if only i could remember)