This was my first time keeping a blog, on top of my first time living in a new city, living with my boyfriend, having a real internship. The act of blogging was a wonderfully efficient, effective and meaningful way to document, both in words and photos, my feelings, experiences with myself and everyone I share my life with. I don’t know how interesting all the information was on here, but thank you for reading anyway. The graphic that showed my hits per day really pumped me up sometimes. I think my record was 30 something, that was pretty darn neat!

There are moments when I wish I were keeping a real journal, the traditional one that you write in and paste pictures, movie stubs, plane tickets etc. However, if there is something univison taught me, it’s that the internet and journalism have become in separable from one another. If these blogs are going to be my rehearsal for a future profession in writing, I feel I’m on the right track by using the web as a journalistic medium.

I think my flight may be bording soon, so I’m going to say a farewell and another thank you.

I’ll be starting a new blog very very soon, filled hopefully with exciting new stories from abroad.  If you found Miami Beat worth while, I expect you’ll enjoy the next one as well.  All I can promise now however, is that my next blog will have a name that didn’t take 0.5 of a second to think of…

Both Luke and my parents have graced us with their much anticipated presence in Miami.  Barbara and Bruce are staying in coconut grove, while my parents are staying in South Beach. Their hotel, The Tides, is located directly next to The Palace, the most famous gay bar in South Beach (which is really saying something).  This means that we are privileged enough to watch the evening drag show every night right from the bedroom window–SoBe living doesn’t get much richer!

We rented a boat yesterday and totted around Florida’s intercoastal waterways and the bay.  It was so much fun, even when we practically ran out of gas, once Bruce took the wheel.

Going to hang out on the beach today, so wonderful!  TTYL8r

We drove north for 6 hours and once we reached Jacksonville, turned east and drove 20 miles over the state’s Intercoastal Water Way in order to reach the Atlantic Ocean. The Goelz’s, our family friends, live in a small, beautiful town called Atlantic Beach, appropriately named for it’s astounding proximity to the Atlantic coastline.  Their house is directly on the beach, so you can imagine how lucky we felt to be hosted there for a whole weekend.

Friday night, we were taken out to the local seafood joint in the town, and I had a delicious mixed grill plate of lobster, shrimp and mahi mahi.  The next day Luke and I made some coffee and took a bike ride around the town before lounging on the beach for a couple of hours.  That night we stopped at a BQQ hosted at a neighbors home and watched the fireworks from the balcony.  Not great ones, but they did the job.

On our way home, we stopped at the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral.  We knew they were going to charge and arm and a leg to get in, but we figured the rockets there would be big enough we could see them through the entrance, and snap a few pictures.  The place was so silly, and the people visiting we all the tourists from Orlando, Florida who needed a day trip from Disney World.  The admission was $40 per person, so I felt totally justified that we didn’t try and go in.

It was nice to get back home, and the weather has been fairly dry considering the norm around here.  I’m finishing up my last week at univision, while Luke is commencing on another adventure.  He began vollunteering last week at Camillus
House, a miami-based homeless shelter.  He’s been helping out in the kitchen, pouring water during lunch time and basically hopping on any task he can help with.  He tells me he’s the only volunteer there who’s not on some kind of parole; what a crowd!

I finished another article today that seemed to take forever! I completed my first phone interview to do it, which was stressful, but very fulfilling.

It’s called: Gays aún esperan por Obama

Check it out, some saucy stuff.

This guy who works for Univision in the Entertainment channel has been interested in jamming with Luke for some time now.  Julio is from Lima, Peru and is a percussionist.  After the soccer game Wednesday night, he asked Luke if he wouldn’t mind stopping by their jam session tomorrow night.  He said that another friend would be there to play guitar.  “Dis guys really into ‘punk-rock,’” he said–that must be what sold Luke

So we got to the house last night at 8:30, a quick 15 minute drive away from our place.  The living room was so tastefully decorated with colorful woven textiles and big congo drums.  It felt so nice to be in a clean, beautiful space and I felt very comfortable right away.  The jam session began after cracking open a few cervezas, I had brought along a six-pack of ‘el sabor de Jamaica’ to thank Julio for the hospitality.  The three guys sounded so great together and I enjoyed so much just sitting back and watching.  I realized I hadn’t seen Luke play music in so long, as odd as that sounds, and it gave me that warm, proud feeling all over again; that feeling that I used to get almost every weekend at Kenyon parties.  Luke was even forced in front of the mike and sang an impromptu song he had just made up.  The other guitarist had just finished singing his own original composition, “Sexo: Caliente Como Fuego!” (Sex: hot like fire), and the two peruanos wanted to hear something in English from the gringo.

The music lasted over two hours before we stated to pack up for the night.  Julio and I got to talking about Spanish literature after I told him what I was majoring in at school.  I got some great author recommendations that I have since put on my wish-list on amazon.com (hint, hint).  Even cooler, Julio gave me a copy of a book of poetry he had published back in Peru.  He’s the second Univision editor that I’ve discovered having a double life: the professional life of  a journalist and the private life of a writer.  It’s obvious which one pays the bills, but it’s really inspiring to see that people keep up their personal passions, while ‘working for the man.’

Last thing–before we left, Julio invited us to try some peruvian corn that he’d just boiled up for dinner.  “It’s the best corn you’ll ever eat,” he promised.  It came in a bag, and had been shipped from Peru, how good could it be? I thought.  The kernels were mutant big and I was nevertheless very excited to try it because I knew that the Incas had developed hundreds of different corn breeds, so much more diverse than our corn industry here.  The corn was seriously like a potato, it was amazing.  The kernels were full and starchy, like no corn I’d ever tried.  I don’t know if I prefer that type of corn to our sweet, crunchy type here, but it was so fun to try this alien vegetable.  Julio said all the corn down in Peru is like that, so hopefully I’ll be able to try some during my time in Chile.

So we are off now! Hope everyone has a wonderful independence day: Go America!

Scary Big, HUH?

New article:

La historia al alcance de una tecla:
Hemeroteca del diario La Vanguardia

The story we were covering was about mirgrant workers in South Florida and a new ‘green’ housing development in Boyton Beach.  Upon arrival I learned many more details concerning the project.

‘In the Pines’–the name of the housing development–is also the name of the non-profit organization that creates affordable housing for agricultural workers in South Florida, most of whom are Latinos.  The new development contains 20 condominium units, meant to house 20 families.  The new homes are built directly facing the communities homes.  These old houses were shockingly small for families with children and in great need of renovation.  The new homes are LEED certified platinum, which is the highest certification of its kind.  This is something that really struck me about the project, that the organization managed to combine financial accessibility with environmental stewardship–this is something rarely seen.   When worrying about money, takeing environmental initiative understandably takes the back seat.  It was really unique to see the whole package put together in this case.  Here are some pictures from the trip.  We will be finishing a media essay on the story next week I believe.

A woman with her son speaking about her new house

The old housing units

The old and the new

Contextual shot

The niño movie star takes a break

"The Beginning of the End in Iraq"

This publication will be good for those of you who do not speak Spanish.  This media essay, detailing the 6 year timeline of US presence in Irak, is meant to coincide with the gradual withdrawal of troops that begins today.

http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=3&schid=303&secid=304&cid=1992312&pagenum=1

To get to Key West, one takes US-1 south- as far south as you can go!  You ‘key-hop’ for a few hours, go over a 7 mile bridge (the Atlantic Ocean is on one side, and the Gulf Coast on the other) and in about 25 more minutes you’ve arrived in Key West, aka “The Conch Republic.”  I found our small bed and breakfast on New York Times.com, under their travel section- I’d trust that site to the ends of the earth.  The Angelina House is a B & B hostel like place that is a converted brothel from the time when Key West used to be truly, unconventionally wild.

So sweet, right?

The place was located 2 blocks from the main drag on the island, Duval Street, so after parking the car, that was the last we saw of it for two days.  After getting settled in and showered, we brought the computer outside and sat on the side walk, listening to tunes, drinking some beers and pretending we were in Cuba.  As you would imagine, sunset on the southern tip of the US is much anticipated, so we soon made our way down to Mallory Square, the town’s famous plaza located on the western side of the island.  Following the waves of tourists that go to see the sunset night after night, a commercial market has been created in the plaza.  There are enough performers, gift stands and burnt-out locals to entertain a crowd of drunk, red-blooded Americans for a long while, or at least long enough to keep them away from the bars and on the dock during sunset.  It was cloudy that night, but sunset was nice looking anyway, and it was fun to observe the scene.  As the crowd and the sun died down, we walked to dinner at a restaurant per recommendation of nytimes.com, once again.  I had some tasty swordfish, my first seafood meal since arriving in Florida.

The next day we awoke to the sounds of roosters from the street outside.  Just another element that adds to the absurdity of Key West, there is feral poultry running a muck in the streets.  Why?  Why Not, is the answer I assume most Key Westerners would give you.  We started our day off by going to a funky open-air restaurant just down the street from our B & B that had a sand floor, a black dread locked man playing the guitar on a wooden stage adorned with coconuts and shells.  Wishing you were there yet?  We grabbed an over priced cup of java and relaxed amongst the rest of the crowd, all of whom were well into their second Bloody Mary of the day.

We drained the coffee and hopped on our bikes and headed for some classic tourist destinations.  We stopped and took a picture at the famous cone that says ’90 Miles to Cuba’ and headed onwards to a nearby beach.  We rented a Kayak from a man named Fran, who’d moved to Key West  five years ago from his native Delaware.  I never know what to say when someone tells me they are from Delaware- so, first state in the Union huh?  My stop-and-chat ends there…  Hey was a real chiller and gave us the boat for almost an hour and a half and charged us only for the hour.  The water was quite rough and I was a baby and complained about my arms and then about feeling sea sick.  Luke was the real man power behind the operation.  On our way back from the beach we stopped outside of Ernest Hemingway’s house, but did not go inside because they charged about $12 for a tour.

As sundown approached again, we stopped by the acclaimed B.O. Fish Wagon, an open-air fish shack known for their fish sandwhiches, conch fritters and the Food Network episode when chef Bobby Flay commences a ‘throwdown’ between himself and the restaurant’s owner.  We split a grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich as an appetizer and then headed off to a small, quiet dock to watch the sunset.  It was less cloudy than the night before and the colors were very impressive and beautiful to look at.  For dinner we went to a lively Mexican restaurant on Duval street and each ordered fajitas which hit the stop effortlessly.

We woke up early the next morning to go for a quick bike ride around the island, stopping for a cup of café cubano along the way.  Saying goodbye to Key West was sad, but I’m always happy to leave a vacation wanting more.  It didn’t rain the entire time we were there, but the moment we got back into the Miami area, the downpour started again, just to remind us what we’d been missing.

Latin Streets

Don't sacrafice great taste for less calories: MGD 64, it's real...

A view above it all

The parties goin'!

The first sunset

Cup ' Java among the cocos

The kayak takes a break

I'm the one who needed the break

Hemmingway's Humble Abode

Gotta Have One! Hand rolled from a woman named Lupe

¡Qué Rico!

Better sunset yeah?

The casual clothes from the Obama's drew cheers from surprised onlookers, says CNN

I just read a two page article by CNN explaining, in detail, the Obama’s pre-Father’s Day trip to a frozen custard shop in northern Virginia.  The story made me feel just awful.  The thought that Dad and I couldn’t go to Woody’s Frozen Yogurt in Strawberry Village, whilst being followed by secret security and a plethora of paparazzi…all because I’m in Miami…simply kills me!  To make up for my negligence, I sent him a copy of Cormack McCarthy’s “The Road.”  Amazon even threw in a free ‘gift message,’ where I could spill my gratitude in just two short sentences.  We chatted on Saturday for a good while.  I was shaving my legs and talking on speaker phone until he complained about my voice being too “echoey.”  The double tasking got seriously challenging.

Besides all this, you are probably wanting to hear the results of the soccer match.  The game was held at an indoor field, but the facility had no air conditioning.  As Luke had feared, all of the univision players, though much older than he, had very skilled foot work and seemed well accustomed to playing in the suffocating humidity.  There was no half time during the 60 minute game and Luke had to take a mini break to make sure he didn’t pass out.  It was fun to watch and I now have an inkling of the excitement soccer mom’s get when their kid scores a goal.  Luke sunk a beautiful shot in the upper left corner and I had to make sure I didn’t scream- that would be embarrassing for both of us…

Friday night we went out with some of my co-workers from the office.  We all met up at Tobacco Road, the oldest bar in Miami.  It was our first time visiting the downtown/Brickell area, and it was quite impressive.  The part of Miami is so much closer to Coral Gables, and I wish Univision’s offices were located there.  My travel time in the morning would be cut in half no doubt.  All of the high rises along Brickell Bay remind me so much of Panama City, but with a greater commitment to urban planning.  You have the water on one side, big buildings on the other, with a canal running through the center- much like Chicago actually.

At Tobacco Road, we successfully saw the Spam Allstars, but again, they did not start playing until around mid-night.  Unless you are drinking heavily, which our wallets cannot support, it is difficult to hang around at a bar for 2 hours waiting for the music to start.  The group turned out to be one of those bands that I love to listen to when I’m doing my homework, or cooking.  In concert however, the set appears kind of boring and un-structured.  Neither of us had eaten dinner, so by 12:45 our stomach’s were practically eating themselves. That’s the wonderful thing about Miami- you can eat at practically any time of the night.  We drove to Coconut Grove and ordered a large cheese pie and ate two huge pizza slices in the car while we waited.  I’ve never felt so satiated.

The next day we did another bike ride into Key Biscayne, but stopped at a beach along the way to soak in some rays.  Saturday night we stopped by Novecento, a very chic Argentine Restaurant in Merrick Park, to listen to our housemate play in his weekly jazz ensemble.  Seth turned out to be an awesome drummer, and he and Luke are talking about possibly jamming together.  I really hope that happens; I think they would sound real groovy together.

I published another article today that I had done research on about two weeks ago.  Univision’s television network is featuring a special tomorrow night about Hate Crimes against Latinos in the United States.  The web-site has been featuring a variety of articles with the intent of ‘previewing’ the channel’s special report.

Here’s the article:

http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml;jsessionid=MN43DSHQJUISWCWIABQCFFAKZAAGMIWC?chid=3&schid=160&secid=166&cid=1988007

I’m excited to watch the news special tomorrow night.  It will be my first time in fact watching a univision news report, and it will be nice to know that I contributed to the project, if only in the periphery.

The peace sign, eternally hip?

Still hip!

Hi Luke...

http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=3&schid=160&secid=161&cid=1984018

This is some real stuff- very cool I had the opportunity to do this; good way to end the week!