Top 5 Moments of Summer 2010

Top 5 Moments of Summer 2010

1. Hanging w/the family especially that girl of mine. She's a gem when she's not being gnarly.

2. Birthday week in D.C. w/the sis and a really cool batch of friends!

3. Seeing and doing things in my hometown that I've never done: go to Mary Coyle for ice cream, visit Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland, ate broasted chicken from that place on Portage Path, ate at The Lockview in downtown Akron, visit Lanterman's Mills in Youngstown (see image below).

4. Managing my way around Amsterdam dolo!

5. Driving my Jeep baby ... though it did nearly die on me twice in the last few days. When I left it had 207,000+ miles.

And now that it's officially and totally over, how was your summer?

Winter in Ohio: January 2010

Pictures from my parents neighborhood in Akron, Ohio. That's my Jeep.

I am not enjoying the snow in Ohio. It's just so blah. I guess I could change my attitude. Embrace it.

FAQ About My Relocation to Cairo, Egypt

Here are my responses to some of the questions that I have been asked about relocating to Cairo, Egypt:

Where will I be teaching?
The American University in Cairo (AUC)

Is the school affiliated w/American University in Washington, DC?
No

Is it an English speaking school?
Yes

What will you be teaching?
Radio Journalism

How'd I find out about the job?
Job posting on The Chronicle of Higher Education website

How long is my teaching contract?
At least one academic year (nine months), with the option to extend

Is the job a part of a larger program?
No

Where will I live?
The university provides housing for faculty.

Will I have to wear a berka?
No

What will I do w/my Jeep?
Leaving it at my grandmother's house.


That's all for now ... my departure date is nearing - Saturday, August 1. I will arrive in Cairo sometime on August 3.

New Window for my Jeep

I love my Jeep Wrangler and that's part of the story here. How far will I go to please my Jeep? Read on.

The driver side window in my Jeep was beginning to show signs of wear and tear, but cosmetics don't bother me much. A Jeep w/character is what I call it. What finally got me to get some new windows, or as they're called in the world of all things Jeep - skins (just the plastic and not the frame) was that the window would no longer zip up. Yes, the zipper was stripped in multiple places (the passenger side window zipper is busted too). Miraculously, rain has not seeped in via the unzipped portions. But I did not want to test my luck and so I broke down and got the new skins. 2 for $219.

But there's a trick to dealing w/the plastic windows on Jeeps ... they need to be pliable. WTF. I know this, but I live in Ohio and I don't have a garage. So I'm waiting for a sun shiny day to pop along when I can change out the windows. Keep in mind, when I bought the windows the guys says "you should be able to put them on yourself, just be patient". WTF. When you get that type of advice after a big purchase, watch out.

Patience did eventually work, but not before I nearly broke down and cried. Here's what happened:

It was supposed to be 74 degrees on Saturday ... I had been reading the weather all morning on the radio and I was confident that this was the day to put in my new skins. But time got away from me and before I knew it, it was 4 p.m. I had dinner plans for 6 p.m. but I can do this, right? Apparently not. By 5 o'clock, I was searching for a shoe horn. Yep, that's the tool of choice for this job. You see, the skins were not very pliable, read: soft enough, to get around the corners of the wire frame so I needed something to pull it over the top and not rip the fabric.

Long story longer ... I went to dinner w/out the window on the driver's side. Not a big deal, but it was getting cooler and I knew that I'd have to make it through dinner quicker to get back to my task because of course, there was rain in the forecast. I got home a little after 8 and headed straight for the bathroom and the next tool of choice, a hair dryer. Need this to make that window pliable since Mother Nature did not work in my favor.

I bought the window in the house and I wrestled w/that frame for about 20 minutes. Patience. Patience. The shoe horn was of no help since it was plastic and began to bend. I finally ended up using a screwdriver. I was a bit fearful that I would puncture the plastic and be back at square one w/a busted window. But the screwdriver worked like a charm as I used it to guide the pliable plastic window over the frame. The screwdriver seemed to be saying "why didn't you ask me for help sooner?" Silly me, but I love my Jeep and I can see clearly now - at least out of the driver's side window...

It's a Mileage Milestone :: Jeep Wrangler Hits 200,000 Miles

I've blogged about my Jeep Wrangler before ... I love my Jeep. I've had it since February of 1997. Bought it at a now closed dealership on the westside of Cleveland.

Well, recently I hit a mileage milestone: 200,000

Of course, I was driving and I determined that, oh, I am going to exceed 200,000 on this road trip. Some of you might not think that that's a big deal, but that is huge. Because it's all mine. I've driven nearly all 200,000 miles. The only other person to really drive my Jeep at all is my sis (love that my sis can drive a stick shift).

It's been fun w/my Jeep too. I remember one time when I first got it and I had taken the top off, but I did not look at the weather forecast. I was on the highway driving from Cleveland to Akron and it started to rain. As in rain, rain. Lucky me there is a rest stop that wasn't too far away. So I pull into the rest stop and start to work on getting the top up (this is when the 'no frills' thing is not a selling point). Anyway, I don't know if I appeared to be struggling or not, but a couple of guys walked over and offered to help. The one guy noted that he used to own a Jeep Wrangler. Just a nice gesture.

Which brings me to my next point about the Jeep Wrangler: there is a Jeep Wrangler wave! As in a greeting. When one Jeep Wrangler driver sees another, we always throw up a wave or a peace sign. That is so cool. I remember when I first moved to Pittsburgh and another Jeep Wrangler spotted me and gave the wave. Just made me feel welcome. Again, it's a nice gesture. It's also funny when the Jeep Wrangler wave takes place and someone is with me. They will say, do you know them? And I have to explain the Jeep Wrangler wave, which is sort of corny, but is really kinda cool.

What's to love about the Jeep Wrangler?

• No frills
• decent gas mileage
• very 'cool' factor when the top is down
• American made

Someone recently asked me if I've ever taken it off-road? The answer is yes. I used to drive on the trails at Salt Fork State Park in Ohio. Love that park (btw, the largest state park in Ohio).

But just as much as I love it, it does have its shortcomings. My Jeep has been broken into several times (via let's cut through the plastic windows). The loss has varied from my Public Enemy "Fear of a Black Planet" cd to an expensive audio recorder. Also, the plastic windows can be a bit complicated at times - like at toll booths.

Well, I think that's plenty on me and my Jeep Wrangler ... at least for now. I'm going to celebrate the mileage milestone by getting some new 'skins' for my windows. that just means I'm replacing the plastic windows - taking off the old skins and getting new ones ; $219 for a pair. Yay me.

Bike Fixed

Oh, this is such good news. My timing is a bit off (end of summer), but I did fix my bike. That's right I fixed my bike. I guess I should note that there was really nothing wrong w/it. I had tried to put air in the tire to no avail.

Well, there is this place called Free Ride. They will not fix your bike, but they will help you determine the problem and tell you/show you how to fix it. Very empowering. Well, Shawn was my go-to guy. He was a great teacher: patient and friendly. When he's not working on bikes, he working on his 'world class' garden'; well, maybe not 'world class' but definitely bragging material and edible too! ;-)

So in addition to properly inflating the tires, I put on new back brakes. Very cool (and easy). Those are the old brakes below.
The most interesting part of this story is the fact that I do not own a bike rack, so I put the back seat of the Jeep down and stuck the bike in the back. It was a bit awkward, but I did not have far to travel. Crazy thing is though, the bike almost slid out the open back window!!! Ut oh ... I had to take a hand off of the steering wheel to pull it back in (tore the seat cushion and the Jeep spare tire cover in the process. But that is minor damage considering ...).

Love the concept of Free Ride though. They have all the tools that you need. Everything else is dirt cheap like patches for tube are just 25 cents and the actual tube is $1. I highly recommend it. Lots of cool folks too.

So now it's off to get a bike rack. Incidentally, I found a guy who is selling a bike rack for Jeep Wranglers. Yea me!

Just a Reminder ...

... of the Winter that was. Here's my lovely Jeep just a few months ago ... remember those days?

My random 7

My random 7:

1. I'm not as impatient as I use to be.
2. I am purging my wardrobe; really.
3. Radio is my passion.
4. I want to improve my handwriting.
5. Neutral, natural colors are my fav.
6. I absolutely love my Jeep.
7. Multi-tasking while watching reality TV is something that I often do.