August 3, 2004 6:12 AM

More lessons from our intrepid traveller

More random observations about life in Miami:

  • So what have we learned on our first full day in Miami? Well, how about ALWAYS TAKE YOUR UMBRELLA! Apparently, it rains a hell of a lot here in the summertime. Who knew? One good soaking is all it took for this lesson to take hold.
  • It appears that I got into MIA just in the nick of time. With the flooding from the torrential rains Sunday afternoon and early yesterday, 76 arrivals and departures were cancelled yesterday, stranding several thousand unhappy travellers at what is really a rather depressing excuse for an airport.
  • The great thing about staying in a corporate apartment is not having to pay the air conditioning bill. Call me irresponsible, but I LOVE air conditioning- just ask Susan. It drives her nuts that I'm always wanting to turn the air conditioner down to below 70 degrees. Guess what? It was 61 degrees in my apartment when I was eating dinner and watching the news. It wasn't heaven, but it was as close as I'm probably going to get this month.
  • The traffic in this town really can be a pain in the @$$. It's not as bad as Washington, DC or San Francisco, but it's not a day in the country, either.
  • The sun seems to be little more than a rumor. I actually had to use my sunglasses when I went to lunch, but that little tease was followed by a torrential downpour. The color du jour seems to be Gunmetal Grey.
  • I decided not to bring my golf clubs with me, and it's probably just as well. I'm not sure I'd want to subject myself to the gawdawful humidity for 18 holes- even though the office I'm working at is less than a mile from Doral Country Club (Yeah, like I, a card-carrying member of The Unwashed Masses, would be allowed to even sniff the first tee at Doral....).
  • Ricky Williams has filed his retirement papers with the NFL. Can we please stop talking about him now? Besides, isn't Shaquille O'Neal in town? If this city is going to obsess about a pampered, over-hyped, and obscenely-paid athlete, shouldn't it be obsessing over one who is actually going to PLAY this year? Thank you. That is all.
  • The people-watching here is fascinating. Whilst munching on my salad at a McDonald's this afternoon, I just sat and listened to the people around me. I heard nary a word of English. All I heard was Spanish, and this seems a common phenomenon. I'd hazard a guess that Miami can be a frustrating place to live if you're not bilingual. Huevos Rancheros para todo el mundo!!
  • What would for most people would be an ordinary trip to the grocery turned out to be a fascinating exercise in the beauty of cultural diversity. I bought a loaf of Cuban bread, a Cuban sandwich for today's lunch, and I could have pretty much gone hog-wild buying an amazing assortment of Latin American foods. Man, I cannot wait to check out that Venezuelan restaurant down the street....

And the fun is just beginning....

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 3, 2004 6:12 AM.

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