Weekend in Munich

Munich provided a good haven for fun this past weekend. All revolving around football (soccer). We focused on following the crowds to watch the games and party afterwards. Starting with the Germany vs. Sweden game, it was quite an event. An exciting game with several goals, it proved to be a great victory for Deutschland.

People all over we chanting "Berlin, Berlin, wir fahren nach Berlin!!" ... translates to "Berlin, Berlin, we're going to Berlin!!" claiming that they will be in the finals. The culture is a strong one, and quite different from mine. Structured and conservative in most areas but liberal in some random ones...like below, a girl carying a guy on her back...I was like, DANG!!!

After pransing around Leopold street with the Germans we found refuge at the Hallhurer Bar to watch the Argentina vs Mexico game. I great spot that played reggaeton during the breaks...it evolved into a total party scene with a Turkish drumming group showing up thereafter.

Although the language barrier was difficult to overcome at times, it was pleasing to meet several people with a working knowledge of english. It was inevitable that I would come across as the ignorant american no matter how hard I tried to avoid it.

Our host and bomb-diggity Venezuelan pana, Michael aka el Cocker, did an AWESOME job to show us the best time in Munich. Seriously, this kid is outstanding and I can't thank him enough...I just wish to be able to host him at some point in my life. It would be an honor.

It's funny to see how people get around...like going to the club on your bicycle... :) My friend Larrence (French), showed me her styling ride and granted me a free joy ride...I'd still opt for my scooter though. HA!

Today, we watched the England vs. Ecuador game at the Fan fest in the Munich Olympic Park. It was a dull game and the hooligans left a lot of cheering to be desired, but at least I got a tan.

The final outcome brought a bit of prancing and some wild one running around but that was the end of it. We broke out and headed back to Leopold street to enjoy some fine Bavarian cuisine at the Haufbrahaus. Having met up with Story and his cousin Enrique, we caught the AWESOME Portugal vs Holland game on the big screen. It was a nail bitting match with a lot of great plays and crucial moments. I'm so glad Portugal pulled out the win and look forward to following them next game.

We bought our train tickets to Prague for tomorrow morning at 6:45am...right now it's about 3am and I'm definitely ready for bed. The Eastern European tour begin tomorrow and I need all my strength to make it a good one. The plan is to meet up with Ovidio at 2:30pm in the Prague train station and watch the Italy game. Doing the touisty stuff might be a little compromised to to football...but since it will be five of us, perhaps we can split up...

World Cup Game: Brazil vs. Japan

As a true testament to my vow to post daily, I'm typing away with my last once of energy; nevertheless, expect this to be brief. Roberto and I have just arrived to Munich via our original flight plan...so my plan worked out better than I expected. Yesterday was full of excitement and thus with little sleep. After gathering ourselves and figuring out how to work the train system from Dusseldorf, we made it to Dortmund and the Brazil vs Japan game.


It was sheer pandimonium all over town, with a neet red carpet that led from the train station to the stadium. Having stored all our belongings at the train station, we were free to roam. The strong German beer took it's toll on our state of mind given our empty stomachs, so it was a fun time. We scalped 3 tickets at about 200euros/ea from a cool Afgani outside the stadium...it was a lil shady since cops were cracking down on the activity.


Once inside it was clear how easy you could move around, so we basically saw the game from great Category 1 seats overlooking midfield. A great game ending 4-1 Brazil, we were ecstatic.

We continued the party at a downtown bar called Alex. It was popping with old sckool Hip-Hop, Latino, Rock..everything really. We had a blast a completely forgot about making any lodging arangements, :)

So we knocked out for a few hours in the cold ass train station with a good 100 other people. We left Ercole at 10am to his 5hr train ride to Munich while we headed to the airport. Right now it's 4:30pm and we're right on track to meet him at the Munich Central Station. Hopefully, he arrives without delay cuz I'm tired and want to catch some good Z's already.

Arriving in Dusseldorf, Germany

I've just touched down in Dusseldorf on my direct flight from Miami. As I was the first one of the group to arrive, I orchastrated a fine plan to gather Roberto and Ercole from their respective flight. Ongoing access to the web and text messaging was key in this plight. We were able to change our Munich flight to tomorrow, but because Berto opted for checking in his bag in Los Angeles, we've been waiting for a couple hours now trying to find it. It seems that the bag has continued on to Munich and so he is arranging for it's storage there until tomorrow. The S-bahn to Dortmund will cost us 5euros each and leaves every 30mins. I overheard some Brazilians talking about how much they paid to scalp tickets for the Brazil vs. Australia game...300euros/ea. Ouch! Hopefully, we can get them for cheaper against Japan, but even at that price I would take them. Ercole will continue on to Kaiserslautern tomorrow to try and catch the Spain vs. Suadi game, whereas Berto and I will most likely continue straight to Munich, arriving at noon or so. The issue of where we plan to sleep tonight is still not discussed. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking we'll leave our bags in a locker at the train station in Dortmund and party it up until tomorrow. Donno, we'll see.

Taking it back to 2001

This is an interesting little video that I put together several years ago from a trip to Seaworld. I thought that it would be a good addition to my blog in this time when I've had most of my family close to me. It also consitutes one of my first production attempts using a Sony DCR-TRV120 HandyCam. Some of the shots came out super saturated and the volume cut out a few times, so I had to cover it up with some special effects, :) Enjoy.

Rocking Rocco

Tati hooked up yet another fun VIP experience...the setting was at Pearl (upstairs from more reknown Nikki Beach). Mami and I joined in for a fashion show accompanied by a complete open bar...sponsored by a famous hair dresser, Rocco (shown above wearing the hat). It was exciting to show Mami the glamour and sparkle of the who's who of Miami.

Funniest part about it was that the event took place during Game 4 of the Heat vs. Dallas NBA finals, therefore leaving the space void of males, :) I was surreal but suffucanting, like trying to exist in a vacumn...great scene to people watch, something Mami enjoys very much. In the mixup of the event, someone happened to leave their bottle of Moet Champaigne (sponsors) sitting in the chair beside me. Unwilling to let it go to waste, we popped the bubbly and enjoyed cheering to our own celebration.

I had the gal to ask for a bucket of ice and the tall glasses to make the effect as high profile as possible...it was pretty funny to see us...we had a great time!!

Feeling the love...

This past week has been a blessing for me...since I've been a bit soft lately I'll give you a *CHEESE ALERT*...THISClaimer: The following post may be a source of severe ridicule for the average Cold Hearted SOB, so please refrain from eye-rolling, gentle nodding, pointing, and flat out laughter as the comment section below is the only tool provided for feedback.

And so it's my 32 birthday and boy was it a great one. Starting it off was the arrival of Mami from Chile at the beginning of the month (June 2006). She doesn't visit that often, so it is cool to have her around. One slight mishap though was my absence at Havasu this year. Although she proly wouldn't admit it, I know skippin out to the lake that never sleeps would've been a total buzz kill for her. I got a lot of heat from the Go Dude brotha-hood and even risked missing Vic before a neverending term at sea. Graciously it wasn't so, but I'll admit they had me on edge.

Due to a missing child report sent out indirectly by Berto's mom, I called the boys up to make sure everything was ok. In the exchange I heard what were the receding waters of a tidal wave of love coming my way. Havasu stories were funny as ever, culminating with the announcement of Rod's engadgement...(I plan on making his wedding experience as seamless as ever). Their comments like "we woulda subsidized your trip" and "we voted you off the crew", were all small torture trips of my missing out. But one subtle P.S. brought it all back to love...from Joser: "P.S. So that you can't say that we forget about you. Happy 32nd Birthday." It turned everything around for me...transforming what seemed to be a collection of Grundy hating into clear messages that I was with them in spirit throughout the trip...that's priceless indeed. I'm still looking forward to the Rod's Famous Havasu Top10...one of everyone's favorite renditions of the traditional trip.

From my end of the country I spent my days building up to June 13, planning a day at the beach...going all out to gather the best of my south florida peoples. I must have gone to Target like 8 times exchanging and stocking up on supplies for an Evite list of close to 50 people. Then the rain came (and the wind)...talk about the ultimate disaster. I had preplanned for the bad weather (given Tropical Storm Alberto knocking on our door), so I had a sturdy gazebo to protect the munitions. Being the only ones at the beach along with Mami, my borther Mark, cunada Kim, and sobrinos Jonah and Ryan, it was certain that the life gaurds' evacutation alert due to lightning threats was aimed directly at us, :) So we gathered the soppinng sand covered gear and headed home in shame.

Plan B's execution was impecable...rerouting the group to Lucky Strike for a day of bowling took surprisingly little effort, thanks to Jeff and Ovi. We the hours chatting between gutter balls and drinks, all while watching the World Cup matches and the Miami Heat ass-wooping...

Then came the 13th...a Tuesday...another day or surprises. Ovi gets the win on the first one to grant me best wishes...then a flurry of emails, ecards, text messages and phone calls showered my day...a few random folks definitely caught me off gaurd, never expecting them to be aware of what the day meant to me or to get me something. I really felt special and I thank them all for it...including those reading this post, :)

The crazy part it that as satisfied as I was, there was more. Mami se paso...organizo y implemento una cena de compleanos que fue espectacular. Uno de los pocos cumpleanos como adulto que he disfrutado con la compania de tanta familia. It was awesome really, Tia Ani, Mami, Alan (hermano), Mark (hermano), Kim (cunanda), el Negro (Orlando), y yo. La pasamos conversando y hechando bromas toda la noche. They almost got away without me snagging a picture, but on my day I wouldn't allow it.

Mami Wakeboarding Highlights

This past weekend I brought my mom with me on a routine wakeboarding outing...Mami se paso de emprendedora....she joined me as a fan but quickly turned into a amateur...successfully getting up on the board on the FIRST try and skiing out of the wake in the second...now I know why I have such an affinity for the sport...Mami, me haces super orgulloso de ser tu hijo, te pasaste de lanza'a! :) TQM.

Palo de Agua!

The day of the wedding reception was full of activities and memories...so many that I can't possibly cover them all here as vividly as I remember them. I will try, however. The day started slow, with a 9am early rise to hit the gym and the pool. Great chats with the grooms' parents and friends resulted in precious laughs. Being the most outspoken, I found myself the victim of the best New York dry humor I've ever heard. Frank, Joe D, and Paul pretty much tore me a new asshole but I dealt my share of zingers, so it was all in good fun. I gathered some great wisdom and advice along the way while making a strong impression on them all.

After that, Jeff, Ovi, and I did the only tourist activity of the whole trip: visit Pico Avila by way of the teleferico. At 2000m or approximately 6000ft above sea level, the view of Caracas was awesome.

On the return trip to the hotel we took a pit stop en la Plaza Venezuela to try--what according to our driver, Castor-- where the best hambugers in world...Me meti 'La Criminal' which carried an egg and an avocado as key ingredients...tasty on the way in but painful on the way out. The right choice woulda been: 'Damelo pa Pola...pa pola manana!'

The wedding itself took place at 9pm and lasted through the night...til 6am I believe...yeah, that's a party alright...the pictures to follow say it all. The formal ceremony took place in New York so the purpose of this party was simply to celebrate...NICE!!

Drinks were in full effect, although I never got faded. Why? Cuz of all the dancing!! For real, there were like 5 live band acts, and all of them were GOOD! The night began with a solo Jazz musician, then an Elvis act, followed by La Hora Loca with the Carnaval theme, later a Salsa/Merengue group that I coulda swore was Oscar de Leon, Gilberto Santarosa, and Marc Anthony all rolled into one by the close imitation of all three.

The grand finale left nothing to be desired: Tambores. Yup, the ritualistic Venezuelan high-energy folkore dance and rythm common to the coastal towns. The MC captured the audience's attention with his clever commentary and typical Venezuelan humor...he challenged the bride and groom with following his quick commands that bounced at the beat of the drum. Tuku-ruku-TA!! He would say as he swayed his finger, indicating what thier hips should be doing... it was a blast indeed.

Y pa los que pregunten a que se refiere el titulo: "Palo de Agua"... es porque le caemos a TODAS!! JA!!

Gran Melia y San Ignacio

Our arrival to Caracas was smooth and unprecedented. We found our 'secure' driver without a problem and hit the winding road for the hour drive into the city. The damage and poverty left behind by the disasterous rainy season of 2002 and the lax government was very evident along the way.

Our driver, Castor, was passionate to share his view of Venezuela and current government. An older gentleman, proly in his 50's with dirty gray hair and blood shot eyes, went on and on about the failures of the Chavez leadership.

A city plagued with crime, a 40% unemployment rate, and a transportation infrastructure that frankly is a mild step up from mideval times, Caracas has really suffered the decay of an ignorant, absent minded, and unproductive government. I could go on for paragraphs about my ever changing perception of Venezuela's reality and the options left to correct it, but in interest of the brevity I shall digress.

Once we settled in to our 3 bedroom suite at the Gran Melia 5 star hotel *SWEET*... we took the time to get to know the surroundings...mainly the hotel, pool, gym, and attached mall "El Recreo".

We hit up a sports bar for dinner and caught the US vs. Venezuela soccer game. A 2-0 loss to the US was not what the crowd was looking for, so we tried to keep our "gringo-ness" to a minimum.

Later that evening we met up with the wedding crew for a little dancing at the San Ignacio complex in El Chacao. It seemed to be the safest choice...we had a blast.

I don't know why but for some reason I was in the mood for making faces in all these party pics...see if you can find me in the one above...HA!!

Wowi visits Venezuela

In the honor of my roomate and great buddy, Ovidio (aka Lil Wowi), I dedicate this most entertaining of posts. The plan has been set for months now...a trip to Venezuela for Memorial Day, 2006. The MO: Wedding Crashing. I seemed to have logged posts with this theme before but never to this extent. Picture this, a niece of a Venezuelan ex-president decides to marry a US national from Nova University and personal friend of aforementioned Lil Wowi. At the rate that past South American politicians looted the countries they represented, you can imagine the level of bling-bling this event aims to attract...lets just say Franco de Vita is on the guest list. So as a devout roomate and friend, I along our other buddy Jeff decided to accompany Lil Wowi on this adventure.

So far it has been just that, and we haven't even gotten there yet. We arrived at the airport on time (out of character for me but Wowi wouldn't have it any other way) to find that the flight was delayed by a plane malfunction...three hours later they get us another BRAND NEW plane, a Boeing 767-P to be exact.

Whatever, right? Well turns out that in the switch MY seat was eliminated and I was bumped to Business class...you know how people say that Business class on foreign airlines is like First class on american ones? uhhh, hell yeah!! And being the true homie that I am, I rose up to pull Lil Wowi up with me...it was a bit of a challenge to swing Jeff up as well but I'll get'm next time...At any rate...Gadang, we were balling it up!!! Drinks, confort, and technology...this is bliss...

White Hot!!

My friend Katie invited me to a Maimi Heat Playoff game against the Chicago Bulls...it was a tough game but we (the Heat that is) emerged victorious...I'm wearing a white pom-pom on my head that they gave out to support the White Hot marketing campaign...it was cool to see the whole arena covered in white!!!

One cool effect in the game that caught my attention was how they chose to pass out the free White Hot T-shirts...they parachuted them down from the rafters...I took a pitcure of it and indicated the parachutes with some red circles below...

Chi-town Busi-nizzy Trip

Motorola sponsored event...my coworker, Shervin, and I took full advantage of the nice weather the Windy City had to offer...Arriving Monday evening (4/10/06), we jumped in our rental and rolled down to Dearborn and Division where our cozy Hotel awaited our arrival. Hotel Indigo to be exact, affordable boutique style shelter turning faces in the city from what I heard. The room was spacious and the beds were fluffy enough to bury you, but we were ready to EAT!!


We strolled down to the Magnificent Mile to a quaint spot on right on Michigan called Banderas. My instructions were clear...order the Gluck and Moo...not on the menu, but tasty as ever. Boy was I happy with that choice...

The next day was hectic to say the least. Starting with the hour commute to the Motorola facility in Schaumburg (Chicago traffic SUCKS!), we spent the entire day jam packed with meetings. No breaks, just lunch at the award-winning cafeteria...err, NOT! Well, getting out of that fiasco to hit another hour of traffic wasn't thrilling...but once we got back to the city it was walkabout again. We tried to catch the Michigan shopping extravaganza but were semi-disappointed...the stores were top notch but the closing times were early and the selection not very impressive by Miami standards...nonetheless we scaled the John Hancock building for it awe inspiring views.

From the 95th floor we stared down at a neverending urban sprawl that only sighs disbelief. The roof top bar is free as opposed to the Observatory, but the waiters keep hounding you to order something...we didn't last too long, but snagged this sweet pic...


Our next stop that evening was Japonais, a Sushi/European fusion cuisine catering to the high profile crowd. Definitely worth a visit although it may seem it's a bit removed from the city action. The downstairs lounge was crawling with "gente fina" and the number of suits I saw was a bit overwhelming. Even up against my Banana slacks and Polo shirt, I felt underdressed...it was fun though, we sat beside a first-date couple that wasn't going too well. The girl was from Miami and I guess we drew more of her attention than we wanted to. It didn't help the situation that the dude kept going to the bathroom, 3 times by my count, wtf?

Wednesday was pretty much a quick day of work...mainly in close out meetings. I took Shervin to the airport around noon and returned for one last pow-wow. At around 4pm I was heading back to the city, you'd think I'd miss the traffic...err, NOT! Got in to the Hotel for a quick clean up and I was off to enjoy the great 70's weather...I bought me some sweet Addidas kicks that i'll be sporting at the World Cup this summer. To close the night out, I met up with my boy Chris Stier...aka Big C! We chatted it up in the Lex for a bit before deciding to check out a Latin fusion restaurant called Carnavale...with great atmosphere but an over-exaggerated menu (Arepas de Cangrejo n ish), we enjoyed the time. During the commotion we met an entertaining crowd of females who were heading out to a nightspot, Y-bar. We joined but couldn't sustain the energy level they had...by midnight we were dragging so we bailed. After the drop off, I set up for my 4:30am wake up call for my 6:30am flight back home. It's nice to be back!!