for the first time in a few seasons, i feel like we may actually have a great season ahead of us. today was a fantastic day for michigan football.

GO BLUE!!!!!

any american athelete convicted of doping while representing america during international competition should have their citizenship revoked and should be exiled permanently.

during this past week i’ve been in these cities for extended periods of time:

1. springfield, va
2. arlington, va
3. washington, dc
4. cleveland, oh
5. burlington, vt
6. manhattan, ny
7. new rochelle, ny
8. flushing, ny

the good news is that now i get to stay in burlington for a few days without having to drag my stupid luggage around all over. and also the weather here is spectacular.

i won something today! i guess now i can no longer say “i NEVER win anything!!!”!

i love food. i love eating food, i love looking at food, and i love thinking about food. while driving home today, i thought about some of my favorite food/drink combinations, and decided to share them with you. these combinations bring out the best in one another, and the synergy is what [food] dreams are made of.

1. tender, juicy steak and fine red wine. i’m talkin about high quality beef - not the kind you get at outback or applebees. try one of these classy restaurants instead: strip house, ruth’s chris, spark’s steakhouse, morton’s.

2. doughnuts and coffee. fat people across the nation have been exploiting - and in most cases abusing - this killer (figuratively and literally) combo for quite a while now. this delicious duo can be obtained at: krispy kreme, dunkin donuts.

3. hot dog/hamburger/cheeseburger and beer. this combo is the foundation of all barbeques. the success of any given bbq is directly dependent upon the bountiful presence of grilled meat and beer. your local neighborhood bbq is a great place to go to get your hands on this pair.

other notables: fries and softserve, jack and coke (sure, alcohol is a type of food..), kim chi and rice, pho and vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..

UPDATE: i forgot a few notables: chicken and rice, grilled cheese and tomato soup.

1. puerto ricans love fast food. and they love getting it really slowly. the entire island is packed with fast food restaurants (especially wendy’s, mcdonald’s, burger king, church’s chicken, kfc and taco bell), and every one we went to took forever to serve us food. (ellos tienen suenos) also, a large portion of the population is overweight.

2. it’s ok to run red lights in puerto rico. everybody seems to do it. be careful when driving.

3. there is no sales tax (the government is attempting to put into place a 7% tax though).

4. mofongo is great.

5. you should definitely check out the bioluminescent bays (i.e. glowing plankton that you can swim with). that was a surreal experience. ask for captain suarez if you go to the fajardo port’s concrete dock.

6. if you plan on going to vieques, check the ferry schedule and the weather ahead of time!