This isn't an attempt to change the purpose of my blog (keeping you all updated), but I guess it is equally important to share with you my thoughts and feelings about my particular place in life, rather than just telling you where I am and what I am doing.


It is interesting to see where life takes us, what lies in our path, and what hurdles and rewards we find along the way, whether it is along the wayside, or right in front of our face. It is interesting how our perception of our blessings and acknowledgment of curses can take place of each other, how our gifts can feel like faults and our faults become our gifts. What is it that is important? What is insignificant? Self discovery is a lifelong process. I have gratitude for the events and processes in life that enhance or change our perspective, the moments that spring us ahead, and the moments that make us feel like we have been set back. In hindsight it all has worked in our favor, to bring us where we are right now. Our experience gave us who we know, who we love, what we have, what we need or have come to find out what we don't need... It has given us our passions, our qualms, our instincts and our dreams. For this I am grateful, for this I am here. For this is the point.
As you can see in my older posts, I have been handed some pretty incredible opportunities and adventures. It has been an amazing couple of years, and I would like to publicly acknowledge the blessings that have been given to me.

Sundance TWENTYTEN

So, just to keep you updated on what I've been doing at this year's Sundance Film Festival, I thought I'd post a summary of what's going on. With the help of a friend I was able to join the crew of official Sundance drivers, in charge of getting celebrities and film makers to their different parties, destinations, and hotels. Although I only worked for a couple of days I was stoked to be Malin Akerman's personal driver for a day. After driving her to her different dinners and photo shoots, I ended up dropping her off to the last party of the night that was being hosted by her agent. After an evening of good laughs and lots of joking between me, her and her friends, they decided that they wanted me to come in for the last party of the night. At first I hesitated, but then remembered that this whole life thing only happens once and who knows if I'd be able to do Sundance again next year. So I went in as another one of her "friends," and was able to meet Bryan Singer (director of the x-men movies) and John Ortiz. Life is good at Sundance:)

As I waited for Malin and Co. to finish at their dinner the other night I found myself with more than two hours on my hands. I decided to help a couple of sharp-dressed businessmen out by offering them a ride. Confused as to why I was removing my name tag and sundance window stickers, I explained to them that I was an official driver for Sundance and was not allowed to charge them a fare for their ride. "So sit back and enjoy a free ride... Of course, tips are gladly accepted." They both had a good laugh at this. After finding out a bit about me, I started asking what they were doing at Sundance. It turns out that I was driving the City Attorney for San Francisco who was there to support 8:The Mormon Proposition. After a 15 minute conversation about religion and politics and the relationship between the two, he said to me, "Listen, if you are serious about applying to law school in the Bay Area, I would really like to write you a letter of recommendation. My letters get people into law school." Coincidence? Read it how you will, but I'm ecstatic that the City Attorney for San Francisco is going to write me a letter of recommendation for law school. Easily the best tip I got at Sundance.

you wanna sunDANCE?

I was pulling into a parking spot at the top of Main Street to wait for my French actors to get out of their premier. As I was pulling into my spot I heard a rather frustrated man call to me, "Get the f** out of the way you fuzzy faced b**." Somehow that car ended up pulling in behind me, so I put my car in park and walked back for some clarification. He was sitting in the passenger's side rear seat and was easily 45 years old. So I walked up to his window, leaned down and asked him if he would repeat himself...

45: What?! What are you talking about?
Me: I was just wondering if I heard you correctly back there.
45:(all sorts of heated up at this point) What did you think you heard?!
Me: I heard what you called me, I just wanted you to repeat it for me.
45:What?! I didn't call you anything!
Me: Yeah, you did. I'm sure of it.
45: What did you think I called you?!
Me: Fuzzy faced b***."

It was almost as if my repeating his gesture flipped a switch in his brain that sent him over the edge. He started to get out of the car. When he opened the door and the dome light came on I could see that he was accompanied by about five teenage girls three of which started yelling, "Dad! No! Dad, STAY IN THE CAR!" So he sat back down and the driver started to inch away. While he was busy giving me a scowl I gave him a big smile and said, "I know exactly what you said, I was just curious if you were actually going to man up to it." If I thought he was irate before, then I don't even know how to classify his anger after I said that...
So the story ends with a scene of me standing in the middle of the road at the top of Main Street, giant grin on my face, white sedan pulling away with a man yelling obscenities out the window drawing everyone's attention to him and then back to me. I'll be honest, I was worried that it was going to come to blows. I think the thing that worried me the most is that the street and sidewalk were completely covered in ice and slush... and I was wearing a brand new pair of jeans:)

I am here...

I recently sent Zach and email about one of my experiences here in DC and also complained about not having enough time to update my blog. He told me to just copy and paste my last email and call it good, so here you go. Here is one of the many awesome experiences I've had while living the dream at our nation's capitol...

"So I just went to a Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs hearing that John Kerry conducted and he invited Peter Bergen, Bruce Hoffman, and Marc Sageman (google all three of these names). These guys were my favorite readings in my International Relations and Terrorism classes... hands down the worlds leading experts on Afghanistan and Al Qaeda. I thought it weird that it wasn't until about 2 hours into it that someone finally asked about the drug problem there. The experts pointed out that it is a huge problem, but not to forget that the taliban damn near destroyed the opium cultivation and production in Afghanistan back in (and I could be wrong on the years here) the 60s or something. Yeah, the TALIBAN did. I remember reading about that and learning that they did it for religious purposes and did an extremely good job of it.

Anyway, after that hearing I gained a bit of confidence in the government for pulling these guys out of their careers for a couple of days to hear what they had to say about our involvement in Afghanistan. One of the guys was the CIA field director in Kabul, Afghanistan for 3 years, the other guys spend everyday learning about the place when they aren't actually there in person. Talk about a stimulating hearing. One of the Senators asked the three guys what they would advise the president to do if they were in the situation room with him right now. All three agree that it was going to take a sustained effort on behalf of the US, but the thing that made me realize the reality of the huge complexities of the situation was that NONE of them had a clear cut strategy that they were confident in. I thought that if anyone could judge it correctly that they could, but nope. God be with us, right?"

I'm going here

Yes, it's official. I'm spending 6 glorious weeks in the land of fire and ice, the land of my forefathers, the land of the vikings, the land of.... okay you get the idea, ICELAND! I have loved the different reactions people give me when I tell them where I'm spending half of the summer. For the most part they don't really know if they should be excited for me because they really have no idea what the island has to offer. It's interesting how Sigur Ros has opened the eyes of our generation to the beauty of the country with Heima. I was wondering why Bjork didn't promote the beauty of her home country instead of showing off her swan outfit (still trying to figure out what that was) and her right-hook on super nice fans/news reporters (still trying to figure out what that was too). As far as I'm concerned it seems to still be a pretty well kept secret in the vacation world, and I really don't mind. While everyone else is saving up for years for that trip to Paris, London, or Rome (to which I mean no disrespect and do not wish do downplay the beauty of each), I've become rather fascinated with the obscurities our planet has to offer. Antarctica... well, I'll save my latest infatuation for another blog, I tend to get carried away with the length of my posts, so I'll stop while I still have your attention. I leave June 12th and get back July 26th. It's still up in the air if I'm going to include any other travels while I'm out and about and jobless.

I Envy This

Anthony Bourdain.
I envy this man's career(s). Author- always an excuse to learn and use new words, get published, and run away into the woods so that you can focus on your writing. Chef- surrounding yourself in food and being able to create the meals you love. Traveler- well, I shouldn't need to sell anyone on this idea. Mix all three of these professions and you have what I would consider a fantasy life. I don't even care if he is one of the most arrogant people on television, he has something that I want and I'm taking the high road by loving him for it, not hating him because I want what he has. Am I allowed to call this a healthy form of envy?

Love This

I love the fact that Jack Bauer comes up in so many discussions concerning politics. Not only in my different political science classes, but I also just read a bit in the Washington Post where he was mentioned in the topic of our interrogation tactics. I asked myself if it is even possible anymore to have a discussion on the matter without using Jack Bauer as a point of reference.
It gets me thinking that maybe we should just use some privately contracted "Jack Bauers" to compose interrogations since the military and government officials' hands are tied. Issue a bounty for the information, then once Blackwater gets it out of somebody we can just pay for the information. Problem solved. (tongue in cheek)

And as for a side note, CTU was way cooler than the FBI will EVER be.