Nicaragua Week 3

Week 3 and things are starting to get to be more of a routine. My spanish is still fairly bad, but I'm a little more comfortable with my family and my town. Through the last week, some notable events:

As part of our training period, my group of trainees in Niquinohomo are required to work with a youth group on a project within the town. Our first meeting was last week, and it marked the first time that we had to give a presentation in Spanish. For the most part, our parts were scripted out and rehearsed, but it went fine, and the group was more than patient and helpful.

We will continue to meet with the group for the next 8 weeks, working on a project that they decide to do. So far, we've been lucky, as our group has shown interest and done a lot of the work by themselves. Considering our Spanish level, we're grateful for their initial ambition.

Last weekend I went with family and friends to San Jorge, a town on Lake Nicaragua. All 23 of us rode in the back of a UHaul-type truck, sitting in lawn chairs, for the hour or so long drive. The beach was fairly nice and was surrounded by two volcanoes in the distance, making it a nice spot to spend an afternoon.

I also was attacked by a dog this past week. At my house, I essentially back up to a compound-like area that holds four or five homes for the entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents). In the middle of this compound is four or five dogs that either roam around or are chained up on trees, sinks, cars, etc. During the day, the dogs aren't a problem and I'm free to walk around the place. As night falls, however, a family member walks me through the compound so that the dogs don't attack/bark at the unfamiliar face.

Anyway, I was walking back to get my dinner one night when I get to the area that the largest dog is normally chained up. I realize I'm rather close to this area and that it's beginning to get dark. At this moment, I see the dog charging from underneath a sink with mouth open and fangs showing. I jump out of the way, just in time for the dog to rip my pant leg but miss my leg. It was a scarry moment, but not quite as scarry as the sounds I heard coming from the dog as it was punished by an older woman after the poor dog had done what it was trained to do. The worst part is that I'm down to two pairs of pants...one of which currently has gum all over the butt after I sat in something on the circa-1988 school bus that functions as public transportation.

Other than that and a large unidentifiable bug on the inside of my mosquito net last night, things are fairly normal and quiet. This next week we continue with classes and on Wednesday I teach my first class at the local high school. How I will do this with my language ability, I'm not quite sure, but I'll let you know in a week. Next weekend we leave our training towns for half a week to visit a volunteer at site which will be a welcome break and a nice way to figure out what it'll be like after I leave my training town in 7 weeks.

Things I want: An afternoon game at Comerica Park to watch the first place Detroit Tigers.

Nicaragua Week 2

I typed out a fairly long review of my first two and half weeks in Nicaragua this afternoon only to have the computer bring up an error message when I tried to upload. Needless to say, I lost the entire post...welcome to the third world.

To summarize, I made it to Nicaragua on May 3 with 16 other trainees. Our first three days were spent in a really nice resort type hotel in Managua before we were sent to our host towns and families. Each town has three to four trainees, grouped together based on language ability. My group tested into the novice mid category which essentially means that we speak in isolated words, grunts, and phrases that only the most sympathetic ear can understand. The first weekend with my family was a lot of me saying ¨Si¨ to things that I didn´t understand.

I live in Niquinohomo with my host mom, 7 year old sister, 19 year old brother, and 26 year old brother. Our house is fairly nice...it´s a U shaped house with a small courtyard type middle. We normally have electricity, and we have a flushing toilet, but we rarely have running water.

My days are busy and tiring. I normally wake up at 7am (although I rarely sleep through the night because of roosters, dogs, busses, etc. There´s an absurd amount of noise) I eat breakfast with my mom and sister, then I have language classes Monday through Thursday. Wednesday afternoons, Fridays, and Saturday mornings are spent taking technical classes with the other 16 trainees. We travel to various towns around Masaya where current volunteers teach us about teaching, Nicaragua, security, etc. Fridays are also the days that we´ve been receiving our vaccacinations...7 and counting, so far. After classes I eat dinner with my family and do whatever homework I have before retiring to my room around 9 or 10. I go to bed with my mind swimming in Spanish and English.

My Spanish is improving, I suppose, but it´s an uphill battle. You lose your personality when you can´t talk...it´s one of the more frustrating experiences I´ve had. I´m severely jealous of the trainees that came down essentially fluent. I´d give anything. So much patience is needed.

My town is fairly small, and although there´s an internet cafe, the connection is not always great and it´s rather expensive for our Peace Corps allowance. Now that I´m getting to know some other towns and the bus system, I hope to be able to update a little more...no promises though.

Things I want: a giant burrito from BTB (what´s the new name?), a budweiser, a wallow spot on the hoover couch, a tv to watch game 7 of pistons vs. cavs

20 in their 20s

Crain's Detroit Business just published their 20 people in their 20s making a mark on Detroit. It's really good stuff and makes me want to stay in this region for the next two years. What's so exciting about these 20 people is their commitment to stay in Detroit and their willingness to create the job they want or become the catalyst to change this region. Most exciting though and something I've thought about a lot, are the comments about Detroit as an opportunity. Detroit offers a young person the opportunity to quickly become one of the leaders that this region so sorely lacks. This opportunity does not exsist in Chicago or New York or any other more established city, and it's an opportunity that I look forward to taking advantage of upon my return. In the meantime, I wish all of these 20-somethings good luck. They are the reason I've become excited and will continue to stay excited for Detroit.

Peace Corps

"The Peace Corps invites you to NICARAGUA." Uh oh, it's finally arrived. My formal Peace Corps invitation marks decision time after a year's worth of pondering, questioning, and flip-flopping. And though I'd rather just get started with my service if I decide to accept the invitation, a May 1 departure date is frighteningly close and leaves little time to waste. So, inspired by Dan's law school post, I give you a rundown on Peace Corps/Nicaragua:

Nicaragua
Status: Second poorest country of the western hemisphere, distribution of income is one of the most unequal in the world.
Visit: Never
Family: None
Friendship: None
Weather: Tropical
Peace Corps Program: It sounds like I'd be teaching a Junior Achievement type course in local high schools and vocational institutes.
Language: Spanish
Language Knowledge: Minimal
Housing: Concrete or brick home with wooden doors and windows and a tin roof. Latrine and shower in backyard. Probably electricity and running water though both are prone to outages.
Intangibles: Sleeping under a mosquito net for two years, machismo, relatively "normal" food, short flight for most potential visitors
Prospect: Shit, I'm scared!

There you have it. Peace Corps/Nicaragua. What do you think?

And finally, because it's never to early to start planning, I offer you possible flight options for Spring Break 2K7: Nicaragua.

Detroit, MI to Managua, Nicaragua: $703
Nashville, TN to Managua, Nicaragua: $752
Atlanta, GA to Managua, Nicargua: $796
Denver, CO to Managua, Nicaragua: $705
New York, NY to Managua, Nicaragua: $702
Phoenix, AZ to Managua, Nicaragua: $668
Los Angeles, CA to Managua, Nicaragua: $578
Boston, MA to Managua, Nicaragua: $653

Quicken Loans Moving Downtown?

"I'm David Hall, President of Rock Financial." These ads, played over and over during Pistons games, would quickly move from the bottom to the top of my list of favorite advertisments on TV if David Hall plays any role in convincing Dan Gilbert to move his headquarters downtown. Please, Lord, let this happen! This rumor has been floating around for a few months, but to my knowledge this is the first time that Dan Gilbert has publicly said he is indeed considering moving downtown.

Considering the old Statler Hotel site and the old Hudson's site, I would prefer to see them develop the Hudson's block. Although a development this size on the Statler site would provide a legitimate anchor for Grand Circus Park, the move to the Hudson's block would really help finish off the Lower Woodward cooridor. Detroit has plenty of pockets of development going on, but nothing that seems to be completely finished. Quicken Loans, Compuware, Campus Martius, One Kennedy Square all within a stone's throw from eachother would create a truly walkable district and potentially fill in the remaining downtown Woodward storefronts.

This is really exciting, but I won't get my hopes up until I hear Quicken Loans official announcement.

Doug Rothwell Interview

This is a great question and answer session with the president of Detroit Renaissance, Doug Rothwell. Once again, I'm happy to learn that there's a lot of talented leaders thinking about Michigan's future. I'm excited to read his group's major recommendations to Kwame Kilpatrick, and there's a lot in his answers that suggests some good things to come. I particularly like that he mentions the importance of building the "urban core" and talks about Detroit Synergy folks embracing Detroit for what it is. The "edginess of Detroit and the grittiness of Detroit and the hardworking nature of Detroit" are certainly all traits that I've grown to love over the last year. The idea of building a "brand and an image" around these is exciting and although you'd take some of that edginess away when you have have politicians and CEOs building an "image," I definitely agree that Detroit's grittiness is something worth promoting.

Airport City

Airport City, a landscape of modernity and prosperity, has helped Detroit become the nation's fastest-growing big city and pushed southeast Michigan back to the top of America's best economic performers, a place it has not held in 70 years. The quality of life in southeast Michigan — which at the start of the century embarrassed bright young adults and drove them away — is now a point of pride keeping them around.

This is the vision of Wayne County's development director, Mulu Birru, and an exciting plan for southeast Michigan. As the article points out it has some serious obstacles in its path, but I think Birru has the right attitude when he says, "It's a big project and it will take a lot of consensus, a lot of cooperation and a lot of imagination to make it work. But it's all possible."

The Airport City vision and yesterday's conference "Where Do We Go From Here? at least let me know that the region's leadership is thinking about Michigan's struggling economy, though time will tell if Michigan is able to successfully transform itself and thrive or if it will be left to languish and struggle.

Pop City

Model D just launched the Pittsburgh version of their site, calling it Pop City. Like Detroit, Pittsburgh has to continually fight old stereotypes and tired perceptions to "break the bad news cycle." Often beating the Free Press and News in publishing development news, Model D is exceptionally good at highlighting Detroit's transformation. The neighborhood visiting guides are well thought out and well written and the features are always informative. I can't imagine Pop City will be any different...Pittsburgh enthusiasts will be excited with this new website.

I haven't formally visited Pittsburgh, but I have driven through and as Charley in The Perks of Being a Wallflower said, it really did make me "feel infinite." Driving through the tunnel and emerging on the other side in the heart of the city was one of the cooler drives I've done. A quick look through Pop City tells the story of very healthy city with a lot of cool neighborhoods and potential.

Pittsburgh’s Downtown remains healthier than those of many midsize American cities. Geographically and economically central, it absorbs a 41-percent daytime population surge, the fourth-highest among U.S. metro areas; what’s more, 48 percent of Downtown workers arrive by transit – and, over lunch, it can seem as if nearly as many are bargain-hunting at Kaufmann’s landmark department store.

Here's to a sister rustbelt, blue collar city and Pop City's success. Pittsburgh, you give me hope for what Detroit will become.

Chevy Camaro

Please come out with this car. I think if the production model looks like the Camaro concept that debuted at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show, GM will have a hit. My only worry is that it'll take a good two to three years to develop the car and get it into dealer showrooms. Regardless, retooling the Oshawa plant as a flexible manufacturing facility and saving close to 6,000 workers is good news.

Cultivating Community

Anyone wandering around the Diag this week should keep an eye out for the Cultivating Community banners advertising our benefit dinner. My efforts making these banners, though minimal, required more of a commitment in an extracuricular activity as a non-student than I ever made in my four years as a student (excluding water polo). That's pathetic.

Talk to Brent or I if you're interested in attending or learning more about the project.

Riverfront Development

Over the last month there's been a lot of exciting news about Detroit's riverfront. Two of the three former cement silos are now slated for redevelopment that will include condos, retail, and restaurants, creating a walkable/liveable community along the river. This announcement comes just a month after GM selected a development firm for property just east of the Ren Cen, and construction is set to begin on the new Asian Village development in the same area. It looks like this neighborhood is well on it's way to taking off and becoming a downtown destination. I wish it could happen overnight.

Detroit's Super Bowl success, riverfront news, and news that the city leads southeast Michigan in new housing permits should finally give some skeptical suburbanites legitimate reasons to get excited about their city.

Weezer

Rivers Cuomo is a strange bird. I hope he's listening to Puccini now, writing something even remotely close to as good as Pinkerton.

I'm not sure what's stranger to me...thinking about the lead singer of Weezer living underneath a freeway in Culver City, CA in a black apartment with the windows covered with fiberglass insulation, or realizing that the Blue Album came out 12 years ago when I was 11 years old.

Garden Fresh Salsa

Who knew this was made in Michigan?

A Super Super Bowl Weekend

It started on Thursday. The Super Bowl weekend. The weekend Detroit had been planning for and working towards for five years, and I wanted every part of it I could get my hands on as a downtown street ambassador volunteer and as a "cast member" for the Super Bowl halftime show.

I've been to Detroit almost once a week since late summer, admiring the improvements made each week in preparation for the Super Bowl. Just last week, the week before the Super Bowl, I was impressed with some of the last minute changes that were happening. But, even arriving with high expectations on Thursday for my first shift as a street ambassador, I was wowed by how good Detroit looked. The lights, the throngs of people, the temporary store fronts, the facade improvements...this wasn't the Detroit I saw a week earlier.

My partner, a 65 year old sassy black woman and life-long Detroiter named Jo-Ann, and I were assigned a route behind the Fox Theater that was mostly parking lots, but also required a convient walk past the Town Pump Tavern, one of my favorite bars downtown. On our second walk past the bar, Jo-Ann, without really asking, grabbed my arm and said, "Let's go in here. I really want a Crown Royal on the rocks." Good. I've never had a Budweiser taste so sweet than while in that bar, wearing a red Super Bowl volunteer coat, sharing a drink with my new friend, and basking in Detroit's glory, knowing that my weekend was just starting.

After our first drink, we didn't really spend much time on our "route." We wandered around all of downtown checking out the Winter Blast tents and markets. We stopped in a couple more bars along Woodward and otherwise just enjoyed being in the thick of it all. It was still hard to believe how good everything looked.

After my shift was done, I met my brother and two of his friends downtown and drove up to Midtown's Bronx Bar. Even outside of downtown it was packed...was this really going on in Detroit? First day...so far, too good to be true.

Friday, I worked the early shift from 10am-2pm which was hard to get up for after staying out until 1:30am Thursday night, but like I said earlier, I wanted every bit of Detroit that I could get this weekend. I was paired with Wilma, a late thirties accountant who grew up in Detroit, moved to Washington D.C., and had just returned to Detroit a year ago. She was so impressed with downtown after her first shift on Thursday, that she brought her family back that night to the Winter Blast. Again, we didn't really stick to our route, instead wandering around the main attractions and even stopping in the new downtown YMCA long enough for Wilma to open a family membership and tour the facility. (I had been meaning to do this since the building opened in December, so this made my day. It was the nicest YMCA I've been in, and one of the nicest health club facilities I've seen.)

After my shift, it was time for the halftime rehearsal at Ford Field. For the most part, the rehearsal was a lot of waiting and trying to organize 2,000 or so "cast members" and stage hands, but it was exciting to run onto the field and be a part of the "dress rehearsal" where the Rolling Stones performed their three song set to our small crowd. I also found out that we were going to be part of the pre-game show with Stevie Wonder...did you want to be on the Super Bowl field twice during the game? Is this some sort of joke!?



When we finally were done with the rehearsal, my brother and I met up with one of his friends who lives in the Lofts at Merchants Row, along Woodward. Again, I had been meaning to tour these lofts for awhile, so when this opportunity presented itself I decided that this day was damn near the best day of my life. The lofts were definitely the nicest I've been in. The Kales Building has the best view, but the Merchants Row lofts, you could tell, were down very well, with quality in mind.

Downtown was crazy busy now (11:30pm or so) and I caught the tail end of Clint Black's performance on the Winter Blast Sprint Stage before meeting up with Ann Arbor friends. Mike and I roamed around downtown looking for a bar that didn't have a line outside--they were hard to come by--and finally stumbled into Foran's Irish Pub. The bar was more of a house party than a pub. All of the taps were out, and they were serving bottles of beer out of the boxes. Miscellaneous fifths and half gallons were behind the bar with trash, bottle caps, and two liters. We liked it. More friends met us there and luckily got into the bar before two people were shot two doors down from Foran's. Everyone was kept inside the bar for awhile while the police barricaded the area. When we were allowed to leave, we headed back to Ann Arbor. It was a sad ending to an otherwise perfect day. If they find the man responsible for this shooting, I'd like a judge to sentence him to public humiliation--strap him into a pillory and let the 3,000 or so members of Detroit Synergy shit on him for embarrassing Detroit.

Home at 3:30am and back in Detroit at 9:30am Saturday morning (need coffee!). I had the 10am-2pm shift again and I was working with Wilma and one of Wilma's coworkers, Annie. We rode the packed People Mover (it's normally the Person Mover) over to the RenCen and wandered around the crowds there. It was a cool atmosphere inside with a lot of fans roaming around looking for sports stars. We saw Emmit Smith giving an interview downstairs and passed by Shannon Sharpe on the second level.

If you've ever been inside the RenCen you know that it is far from user-friendly. It's more of a maze than anything else and we helped plenty of people that had gotten lost wandering around. On the second level concourse a man in a suit approached looking for where he parked his car, "I'm really lost in here. I need to find where I parked my car, but I forget what garage it's in." Just like they taught us in training, "Sure, we can help!" with a big smile on our faces. Then, for the next twenty minutes we help Steve Mariucci try to find his car! We take him to where he points on the map..."No, no. I was on the other side of the building." Okay, we'll walk you back that way. The whole time while roaming around with him, Mooch is being bombarded by fans for autographs and pictures. As we turn around to go back into the thick of the crowd, he looks at all of us and says "We have to go back in there! Alright, I'm going to keep my head down. Walk quickly." He probably would have been better off without three red Super Bowl coats surrounding him, but his sense of direction required it and we finally got him into the parking structure he was looking for. We helped him find his car (he wasn't sure if it was on the first or second level) and bid him farewell.

After my shift, my brother and I went to Detroit Beer Company for a couple of over-priced beers before heading to Lafayette Coney. What's a Detroit Super Bowl weekend without a coney island? The line was out the door but we got to see the cook make coneys with machine like efficiency. Once seated and served, I bit into the best damn meal I've had in awhile. All was right in the world sitting in a coney island in an alive downtown Detroit.













Super Bowl Sunday. My brother and I got downtown around 1:30pm and it was nothing but yellow and gold--it could have been Pittsburgh. We got a ride up to the State Fairgrounds where the pre-game and halftime cast were meeting. Checked in, ate lunch, got some last minute reminders, and then the pre-game cast filled twelve Taylor Schools buses. A police escort took us right down Woodward to a security check-in outside of Comerica and Ford Field. More Pittsburgh fans! The cast moved inside of the Comerica Park tunnel and then waited for the first show. All of the pre-game cast was in the tunnel. The dancers, choir, and armed forces walked by on their way to Ford Field, and each group was met with school children like shrieks of excitement. Doug managed to get the 500-600 people chanting "USA!!" as the armed forces paraded by with Old Glory.

Finally, it was our turn to move out. We started in a slow walk that once outside of the tunnel and at the front entrance of Ford Field turned into a run. Into the Ford Field tunnel that sloped down for a quarter mile or so with production workers begging us to "RUN!" Then, the light, the field, the fans hanging down from the railings as we entered. It was so cooool. It looked like everyone in the stadium had a Terrible Towel. We ran to the front of the stage where Stevie Wonder waited for us and the show started within a few seconds. We danced, cheered, twirled around to breathe it all in. Then, as quickly as we entered, we exited. Production workers again yelling "Run!" as we moved from the field into the tunnel and back into Comerica Park. It was awesome.

We got to watch some of the first half of the game on TVs they had set up in the tunnel, but most of the time was spent getting everyone back in line and organizing the other 1500 people that were part of the halftime show. At the two minute warning, we started to move out. More excitement, everyone buzzing. We waited outside of the front entrance to Ford Field and caught the last minute of the half on the jumbo-tron you could see through the windows. We watched the stage roll into the tunnel in front of us, and we walked closer to the tunnel. Then, "RUN!" We were dashing down the tunnel again with more and more people trying to head for the front. Down the tunnel, onto the field, over the cords, and into the tongue at center field. The giant sheet that covered the middle was already out and we had to climb around underneath it to our "assigned spot." The lights went out, you could hear the crowd. We waited under the giant dutch oven for the Rolling Stones to start their set and our chance to be a part of one of the largest live television events of the year. Fireworks. Guitars. Crowd. Mick Jagger. The cloth tongue starts to move its way forward and we wait...then, light...revealed! Jumping up and down--how'd we get this close!--to "Start Me Up." Yes!!!!! Jagger parades around the tongue over to his left and moves to our area. We could nearly touch him, everyone in the tongue going nuts.

At the end of the first song we were all trying to catch our breath. Keith Richards stands up at the front of the stage and lets his guitar pick fly. It moves to my left, sailing away, then takes a right turn and heads towards me. Is this happening? Very few people around us notice that he threw his pick, let alone that it's being drawn close to our area by the blanket of good luck that had been wrapped around me since Thursday. The pick floats in slow motion, hits a man in the chest, falls slowly to the ground. A girl to the left of me sees it fall to the ground. She moves for it. I move for it. We look for it. Legs, shoes, socks, more legs...pick!!! I reach through a pair of legs and cover it with my hand, feeling it with both hands to make sure it's real. I return standing up and show it to everyone around. No way! I put it in my pocket and through the rest of the performance reach in to make sure it's still there. That this actually happened.




We jump, scream, dance. The crowd is huge. So many cameras and photographers. Clothe banners fall from the rafters, fireworks ignite behind the stage. The end of "Satisfaction." The Rolling Stones bow and exit. We wait for the first part of the stage to be disassembled and then, "RUN! Go, Go, Go!! Watch the cords! RUN!" Up the tunnel, a herd 2,000 strong running up the tunnel so that the large stage doesn't catch up with us and have to stop or worse, start rolling back down the hill and onto the field. Out of breath and into the cold air. We're all done. The best twelve minutes of the weekend.

I'm not sure what I did to deserve all of this, but it was the coolest weekend of my life. I couldn't ask for a better four days. Detroit, all dressed up and on center stage, gave me more than I asked for. I'm still having a hard time believing it all happened.

Detroit in the news

This list was compiled by Detroit Synergy although a number of people (Tom Campion, Matt Lapinski, Brian Emeott, Troy Jackson) have passed along a few of the articles to me over the last week.

Culturally Speaking, Detroit is Hopping (Seattle Post Inquirer)
Detroit doesn't deserve it's Reputation (FOXSports.com)
Detroit gussies up for Super Bowl XL (Toledo Blade)
Detroit shows off a Super new side (USA Today)
Getting Revved Up about the Motor City (Boston Globe)
Motown ready to play its best defense (FOXSports.com)
New Detroit (Dallas Fort-Worth Star- Telegram)
SBXL: Fresh sets of eyes on Detroit (Crains Detroit Business)
Weather is cold, but the reception is not (Miami Herald)

Super Bowl Week!

More...

After all, we don't have South Beach. We don't have Bourbon Street. We don't have Disneyland. But those places aren't real. They are dolled up, stacked coins, candy on candy. They are bars next to more bars and rides next to more rides. They are not cities. Detroit is a city.

of...

When you see The Bus, you see Detroit -- large and slightly out of shape but churning straight ahead, with more to offer than people realize. He's real to the core. It's why Pistons center Ben Wallace, all muscle and hustle and hair, and Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, the sage, reserved leader, are so popular.

this...

Those who still think of Detroit as a blighted, dangerous industrial city in decline will be especially surprised by the new look of the city's downtown.

please.

"It's got its own flavor. New York is great, don't get me wrong, but Detroit, there is something more raw about it that I really, really adore."

Yes! I want more of this.

Bad rap a Joke.

Back to Blogging

I've obviously been neglecting my blog recently...here's what I've been up to:

My winter break was good, spending time with my family and friends. I wasn't sure if I'd get a whole week off from work, but I was pretty much told to take it off. Good. I some how managed to get paid for that week too. GOOD. Otherwise, my job sucks...more on that later.

I spent New Year's in New York with friends. Despite going out every night, we actually saw some sights which was a welcome change from the crippling all day hangovers/wallow fest usually associated with visiting friends in new cities. Overall, it was a great weekend and a nice way to end my break.

Then came work again. The first two weeks of January were the worst couple of weeks I've had in awhile. I was really frustrated with work going into winter break and I thought that a week off would help, but really it just made going back to work harder. I was close to telling my boss that I was done at the end of January, but I waited a bit and decided against it for the time being. It's gotten better since then and if nothing else, the frustration has really forced me to think about what I want to do in the near future...Peace Corps or no Peace Corps.

I had my final phone interview with the Peace Corps the first week of January. The recruiter and I spent the interview reviewing what I was interested in and qualified for before she read off a list of potential programs, regions, and departure dates. I was nominated for a business development program in Latin America leaving early May to late June. The nomination is no guarantee, but they say it's a good idea of where and what you'll be doing. I now have to get my doctor and dentist to fill out a ridiculous amount of paper work before the U.S. government stamps my ass "healthy," and I receive specific information on the country, job, and departure date I've been assigned. Once I get my formal invitation, I'll have ten days to decide to accept or reject and at least four weeks before I'd leave. Decision time is closing in quickly...I'd like to decide in the next couple of weeks so that I can tell my boss when I'll be done with work. If I do this, I'd like to have at least a couple of months to pack, sell most of my belongings, visit family and friends, organize my life, enjoy extra value trash meals, roam the aisles of Meijer, and consume as only an American can.

The past few weeks I've spent gearing up for the Super Bowl. Through a couple of my brother's friends, he and I are trying to get on the field for the Super Bowl halftime show. This would be...SUPER! Regardless, I've completed the training to work as a downtown street ambassador, working three four hour shifts assigned to a city block to welcome visitors to Detroit and answer questions. Through this program's training I was also able to meet and talk to a women who works for Downtown Detroit Partnership, a non-profit group that does different development work and has done a lot of work planning for the Super Bowl. This is the second group doing work in Detroit that I've met with and both times I've been surprised to find out about the extensive and well thought-out plans for where Detroit is headed. It's really cool to hear about this from the people that are making it happen rather than simply reading about the developments. It's clear after meeting these people that downtown Detroit's momentum will not end with the Super Bowl. I'm excited to see the developments in the coming months and years. Right now though, we'll focus on getting the Super Bowl right on February 5th!

Last weekend I was at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Over the weekend we saw five screenings, absurd women's boots, and outrageous outfits/fur coats. It's safe to say that the fans at Sundance were a bit different from the fans at the Detroit Auto Show two weeks ago.

And finally, the most obvious thing I've been working on has been this blog. I've added a third column that includes books I've recently read and music I'm currently listening to. The flickr badge links to my updated and organized flickr account and I included a few more links on the right. I might tweak with the format a little more in the coming weeks. I hope you like it. February will see more consistent blogging...I promise.

Good News for the New Year

Three articles today in the Detroit News were a welcome change of pace from the mostly bad news that this state has generated over the past year.

1) I like that the newly appointed head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. has the experience of watching a once dominant company/industry buckle and eventually collapse under pressure from competitive forces. The Michigan auto industry might not completely collapse, but I think that it's safe to say that it won't be what we know today. I hope that Epolito is right when he says that the "economic revival" is beginning. A good start...business tax reform, 21st century jobs fund, and education reform.

2) It looks like Kwame Kilpatrick is really reaching out to area leaders to address a lot of the problems that plague Detroit. This isn't the first article I've read since the election that has praised Kilpatrick with bringing in outside help and mending fences. Let's hope that this collaborative appoarch of the Kilpatrick administration continues. It's also good to know that the election talks of Detroit falling into receivership sometime in December seem to have been exaggerated.

3) The more I read about Jennifer Granholm, the happier I am that she's our governor during this time. I think that she has a really good grasp on what needs to be done in Michigan to adapt to globalization and eventually prosper from it. I hope that people in Michigan understand that she's right when she says, "It wouldn't have mattered who was sitting in this chair. The voters of Michigan are not stupid. They know globalization and outsourcing of jobs is not something a governor is going to stop."

These three articles really helped put me more at ease with Michigan's leadership. And if everything still goes to shit the next two years, at least we still have Chauncy Billups, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, George Blaha, and Mason. Ball don't lie!