Be a better complainer

If there are two things I can be counted on for, they are:

1. arguing with doormen and bouncers.
2. complaining about airports and airlines.

I have a lot of experience doing both, so I argue from a place of truth. Perhaps I should start being a bit more formal, a la this genius letter to Richard Branson, head of Virgin Atlantic airlines.

www.popbitch.com/home/which-one-is-the-starter-which-one-is-the-desert

Please read the whole thing. He really hits his stride when he starts discussing the overwhelming quantity of mustard delivered with his meal, and suggests that perhaps the potato masher broke and the contingency was to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird.

And you complained about your chicken parmigiana.

My nomination for toddler of the year

It may not be possible to cram more cute into 3 seconds. He put those boots on himself, mind.

Casual Friday in Paris

They might as well call it Pop Your Collar Friday.

This year's holiday will not be in the Carolinas

Last year I did a Who's Who of European travel for my London anniversary. If you didn't make the list in 2007, you weren't about to miss 2008! Except for all those people who did.

This year I'm switching to a fiscal calendar. And the winners are:

The 2008 HOF
Brad (I'll count Cairo)
Bernardo
Conor (I'll count Budapest)
Derek
Drew
Glenn
Lorraine
Nate (x2)
Rebecca
Sang

On first glance this list looks shorter than last year. Like half. That makes me sad about 2008, which runs counter to my actual 2008 which was the best year EVVVVER.

Let 2009 be the year that -- against all odds of being [most likely] rich and white -- you take advantage of free accomodation in London. Or meet me somewhere else on the continent or the hemisphere. I will meet you in the middle. WE CAN DO THIS.

So this is the new year. And I don't feel any different.

Just got back from a marathon tour of Americana: friends, family and work. Now it's 3:19am and I'm wide awake in London. Hungry but with an empty fridge. If 2009 means a poor dietary regiment and late nights then it sounds a lot like 2008. Which wouldn't be a bad thing.

I have high hopes for the year. I'm going back to Mother Africa in March. I'm hoping to see Asia for the first time. Maybe I'll do the trifecta of emerging market continents and shoot for South America at some point.

I'm excited about work. My role has shifted slightly and I think it suits me. I want to work hard and get things done this year.

This year I'll turn 29, which is the last year that I'll enjoy being alive until I turn 30 and realize it's not really much different and that another year of experience has its positives.

That is all.