tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191015212011-12-14T22:06:29.470-05:00"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain - Innocents AbroadMackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1138071974842721782006-01-23T21:54:00.000-05:002006-01-23T22:06:15.116-05:00

SPOILER: Match Point. I will talk about this movie in a minute, but only jus’ta little bit. But first, something needs to be mentioned.Ok. So, at Regal Hollywood 20 theatre here in Naples, I always order, what should be called, “The Corn Platter”. As Jill and I have discussed many times, anything you order at the theater is…well, basically corn. When it comes down to it, everything you eat

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1136932745157593672006-01-10T17:26:00.000-05:002006-01-10T19:31:54.513-05:00

It's official. I have a Florida drivers license. I know. My palms are sweaty and my throat is itchy. I guess I never really saw it coming. But all of a sudden the day to get a resident license was before me.I loved having my Indiana license. It was such a valuable trump card. Plus+ I looked ultra smokin' on picture day. The FL one - not so much. Basically I look like I have been

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1136862153115337192006-01-09T21:54:00.000-05:002006-01-09T22:02:35.783-05:00

Dear Mr. Back Row Popcorn Eater,Hello!. I’m so excited that ‘Brokeback Mountain’ finally came down to Naples, FL (read: 4 showings daily, at 1 theatre in a 20 mile radius, but whatev…). I’m also very excited that we were able to see the first matinee of the day, on a Monday, when the children have all gone back to school so there are no distractions (like eleven year olds riding skateboards

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1136736595147762672006-01-03T11:03:00.000-05:002006-01-08T11:09:55.163-05:00

Bienvenidos a South Beach.Shine party at the Shelborne on South Beach.So serious. I must have really liked this butterfly.Grilled cheese, already!

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135635744460374312005-12-26T17:19:00.000-05:002005-12-26T18:07:17.756-05:00

Something isn’t right about ‘Deal or No Deal’. It is so awful and addicting and I’ve been waiting to take my Ambien until the show is over. I don’t know why I watch it – I’m convinced the whole thing is fake (weird, because usually reality TV is real…). It would be an easy show to creative write. I love how Howie Mandel stole the “we’ll find out…after the break” from Ryan Seacrest’s method

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135635238320321562005-12-05T13:41:00.000-05:002005-12-27T19:50:54.910-05:00

Family Vacation + Thanksgiving + Picky Eaters (my dad and I not included) = NCL cruise. Norwegian Cruise Lines has this thing called “Freestyle” cruising which basically eliminates the set seating dinner times of traditional cruise industry times of 6:00pm and 8:00pm. Which do you prefer, grandpa???This was the Mackey-Jessee 2nd annual Thanksgiving cruise. Well, I guess you need more than two

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135634650908660442005-11-25T20:02:00.000-05:002005-12-26T18:21:46.853-05:00

While I was gallivanting through Guatemala on chicken buses with Crazy Christa, we both received bad news via email once we arrived in Flores, Guate. Nothing is worse than getting bad news. Bad news via email really sucks. Bad news via email from family will make my palms sweat. Christa’s grandmother had to go back in to the hospital and I received a run-on sentence email from Kath that she

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135635084835968022005-10-28T23:08:00.000-04:002005-12-26T17:11:24.840-05:00

Here’s the thing about hurricanes. The anticipation sucks. And Al Roker and Jim Cantore do such a damn good job at instilling this fear as the storm approaches – for like 5 days. Days and days go by and the “storm trackers, trakkers, or trekkers” give play-by-play updates every half hour on the 8s. On every station. Just to be dramatical and all.I was painting the exterior of the house

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135634287906348372005-10-03T13:55:00.000-04:002006-01-10T23:26:52.523-05:00

It’s my birthday ya’ll. 31. This year’s birthday is only cool because it shares the same number as Halloween. Other than that – it is pretty uninteresting. Same number as the longest month of the year. Same number as Friday the blankteenth, except in reverse.But anyway, it is my birthday and I love it. I did the RSW-MIA-ORD route and headed to Chicago to party with Jill and to see a few

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135634880193127082005-09-15T09:16:00.000-04:002005-12-26T17:08:00.196-05:00

I got one of the last positions in the Aug/Sept session of Ed Klopfer’s School of Real Estate in Naples. They said they were totally full, but I don’t think they would have really turned down my $400 for tuition. The school is in a strip mall next to Outback Steakhouse – oh you know that the evening classes smelled like raunchy Bloomin’ Onions.Anyway, my instructor’s name is C.J. Lee, but I

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135634792840535442005-08-26T14:15:00.000-04:002005-12-26T17:06:32.840-05:00

I finally sold the condo at The Retreat in Indi! I’m really pleased with the girl that bought the place. If I could have picked a buyer/successor myself to pass the condo on to, she would have been the winner. She’s so cute, and mos’def needing a cozy condo like mine to call home. Yea for her.Dave’s brother, Dan, and his crew packed up all of my belongings and moved it into storage. I hit

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135634529768477722005-07-19T11:43:00.000-04:002005-12-26T18:36:07.910-05:00

Craig and I came up with this idea of “possibly” moving to Washington DC. Big city, mass transportation, good gay scene, smart people, museums, universities… but in that soup of ingredients I forgot to add the element of “politics”. Oh well, we had to give it a dry run weekend to see if it was what we were looking for in a new home.Craig nixed it jump start; I was actually liking the city

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135635517720657772005-06-28T21:16:00.000-04:002005-12-26T18:30:17.030-05:00

I don’t think I can live my life anymore without a Chicago Pride. Even if my future employer relocates me with a healthy relocation package to Antarctica, I’ll still save frequent flier mileage to return to the ORD every June. Maybe it is because I’m Midwest. It might have something to do with loving everyone and hugging trees and hoping for a better world. Or possibly it is just because I’m

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135633947147495172005-05-12T15:30:00.000-04:002006-01-02T20:53:45.036-05:00

I went to The Body World exhibit in Chicago and now I can’t eat meat directly off of the bone. I am one step closer to becoming vegetarian. And not the type of vegetarian that eats Tofurkey. But the type of vegetarian that can’t put a mound of dead flesh in their mouth and strip off the beef from the bone with their teeth. I’d love to make all of my food and eat only organic and raise my

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1135635368134862532005-05-09T15:14:00.000-04:002005-12-26T18:26:10.270-05:00

I won the “Wicked” lottery. I never win lotteries. I’m sure it was by osmosis or something. Kathy wins everything. I’m not kidding – my mom is the person that goes to every industry function and walks away with the door prize. Or two. Or even the grand prize twenty-g rare blue diamond necklace that a sponsor put up not really thinking that someone would walk away with it.I was the 4th

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132338375806801912005-03-31T15:17:00.000-05:002005-11-18T19:44:15.066-05:00

Thursday morning arrives in San Jose, Costa Rica and Craig and I are having to part ways. Oh and you know my shit was crying in the cab to the bus station. And then crying in the 6 hour standing-room-only bus with no aircon to Playa Tamarindo. Foolish. And totally 7th grade. I should have been listening to trashy 80s love songs on my Pod. I am in Central America, after all.Tamarindo. TamaGringo.

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132338530124077032005-03-20T13:02:00.000-05:002005-11-18T20:22:07.823-05:00

Blur.Where has the time gone? Damn.Since my last posting, I closed the necessary chapters in Guatemala (summited one last volcano, kissed the last Guatemalteco, drank the last favorite café, spent money down to the last Q, strolled through central parque one last time...) and journeyed on to Panama.The 4am shuttle to Guate City never showed up. Time was seriously running out and I am running

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132338745466999382005-03-01T16:28:00.000-05:002005-11-18T13:33:02.046-05:00

I heart, slash through the bloody heart, Hotmail in Central America. But I have almost ripped out my bottom othodontic retainer with frustration at MSN. Honestly, if I had a Q (quetzal) for every email that I have written and Hotmail decides that its server is just too damn busy to send it out, then I'd be a rich ass man in Guatemala.Entonces, I'm coming out of the Yahoo closet. Of course there

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132341285930523372005-02-25T22:17:00.000-05:002005-11-18T20:38:19.920-05:00

Straight away, I want to express my severe astonishment about Marissa coming out on the O.C. Holy, jaw on the ground!And now, the journey continues...POPTUNTravelling south through the northern jungle of Guatemala, we decided to stop at a working farm in Poptun for a few days. The silver monkey, Nena, welcoming us at the front of Finca Ixobel, was recently rescued from a local brothel where she

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132341120828046812005-02-20T12:07:00.000-05:002005-11-20T17:51:18.413-05:00

I met Christa in Nicaragua. The Wednesday before I left Antigua we ran into each other on the streets, frustrated with our current situations, and decided that we both have caused enough spells in Antigua that we needed to jump boat. The plan: The Big Loop; travel though the grunt north of Guatemala for a few weeks. Christa and I are, well hmmm, we tend to clear rooms. People are, apparently,

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132340991513951672005-02-03T16:10:00.000-05:002005-12-26T20:11:46.636-05:00

And these are the days of Antigua...First of all, after much confusion with my name, I found it easiest (down here) to go by ´Rayan´, como ´Mayan´, but with an R.In reference to my last posting regarding the tsunami. Well, it hit. Little did I know that I, myself, would be the tsunami... and cast waves of drama. I swear. Sometimes I'm not sure how I do this to myself. I don´t recall

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132340762447885562005-01-28T14:33:00.000-05:002005-12-26T20:08:42.930-05:00

Oops, I´m stuck in Antigua. I guess when you join a gym that it means you are planning on staying a while. And maybe even get a job bartending. I decided not to trek on to Quetzaltenango (Xela). Uh, maybe a cause de it is 2 degrees there and under a fierce cold snap. Yes, I have left EE.UU because of cold weather. I don´t need it down here. Entonces, hanging out in badass Antigua until I

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132340616160828192005-01-20T22:36:00.000-05:002005-11-18T14:03:36.163-05:00

Ingredientes for a delicious journey from the south of Nicaragua to highlands of Guatemala:Add the following ingredients over a 3 day period of time...follow instructions exactly.1 - Colectivo from San Juan del Jur to Rivas, Nicaragua (make sure you do this really early in the morning)1 - Major hangover from Flor de Cana rum y sodas2 - Chickenbuses from Rivas to Managua, Nicaragua5 - Armpits in

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132340390598572502005-01-17T21:18:00.000-05:002005-11-18T13:59:50.600-05:00

I'm not sure, but, I think I just finished filming the sequel to "The Beach". I decided that I got to play LeoD.Cap and am now in an internet cafe reflecting on all the friends I made...wipe a tear, right? The soundtrack will be an Amazon dot com smash...TONS of reggaeton (especially the song 'Gasonlina'), dashes of Boney M, a pinch of Pin Back, and maybe some Marley...just to be cliche. Even

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132340290937579572005-01-13T14:06:00.000-05:002005-12-26T20:02:59.113-05:00

Just a flash right quick email to let you know that I am now in the drastic drastic drastically beautiful Bahia Majagual on the Pacific Ocean of Nicaragua down by Costa Rica. Staying at an ecolodge and camping on the beach...so just think how fast the email is, verdad. Keyword> ecolodge. I'm renting a tent on the beach with oh.so.fit hottie surfers and hangteners for like, um, $2 a night. We

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132340167930976882005-01-06T19:09:00.000-05:002005-12-26T19:56:10.473-05:00

It doesn't matter that a man out front was dressed as Monte Python - this is New Year's Eve, after all. But it seriously can't get any better when you pay your cover charge, walk in the door, have 2 shots involuntarily poured down your throat (somewhat violently), and then find out that the $6 cover includes all drinks for the entire night! So, NYE at la Fabrica in Granada was a drunk fest of

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132339976100523962005-01-03T16:38:00.000-05:002005-11-18T13:53:52.816-05:00

The hippie nomad. If you've ever been in the backpacking circuit (especially 3rd world countries), you know what I'm talking about. I can't decide how it happened - or even if I need to dissect. Maybe it was when Jerry died and the Deadheads had no where to go? It certainly is a different breed of hippie than the Americano kids that follow Phish. I mean, silly Rabbit, Phish is for Rich Kids! And

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132339915741291612004-12-30T00:18:00.000-05:002005-12-26T20:06:50.336-05:00

I love the 12" plastic bows that are on the heads of the horses that drive the carriages around town. They look so pretty with the big bow attached to their ears - maybe even accessorized with a matching ribbon around the tail. Even if the horses are going for the Mary Kate Ashley Olsen look, I still think they look runway hot. I even love the man who walks around the plaza and scoops up the

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132339449269195622004-12-27T21:53:00.000-05:002005-11-18T13:44:09.273-05:00

Where do I begin?First, Hotmail didn't appreciate that I mass emailed a million people yesterday, so they shut me off for 24 hours. If you are receiving this email ... you are one of the chosen few that I have whittled the list down to. Please feel free to forward if I have left anyone out. MYesterday's email was not to let everyone know the truth...just to let everyone know that I am here.

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132339066024492302004-12-26T20:03:00.000-05:002005-11-18T13:37:46.023-05:00

Hola! Just a quick note to let you know that I have made it to Granada, Nicaragua. And only to rub the wounds of my freezing cold, fellow cornfed Midwesterners....it is hot as foo-huck down here. Try 90+ degrees on ya. Wearing a Lacoste polo and jeans was prob not the best decision when I left Naples, FL this morning at 3am. Soaking wet, but still cute.More to come.... Hope everyone had a

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132342138204775172004-11-25T21:04:00.000-05:002005-11-18T14:28:58.216-05:00

"Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy." Um, yeah - that is on the girl's shirt next to me. She's a gem and you know I've become the bestest of best friends with her. Just for the fun of it. The other night she requested that song at the disco and even did a shout out to all from Lake Geneva. Keywords. The saying is airbrushed on the shirt, bee tee dub.So the cruise. Yeah, still on the boat. Wow.

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132342384938698682004-03-24T13:18:00.000-05:002005-11-18T14:33:04.940-05:00

Paradise. Deserted. Burnt skin. Pina Coladas. Shhh,,, we're in Vieques. And I'm only telling you that,,, cause if we tell other people, than before we know it our little secret is discovered by Paris Hilton and I Fly ATA starts bringing crackers down here in the herds.Ok, short on time in this lady's house (thanks for letting me use your internet). But it is "exactly what the doctor ordered"

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132350249160050532003-04-05T21:24:00.000-05:002005-11-18T16:44:09.163-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if I could really do that show. This journey is alittle on the stressful side. Fun, but I can't imagine doing this in the love of The Amazing Race. Who am I kidding? I would kick some mejor ass.We've made it back to Mexico. Acapulco was a'yight but several notches in the belt called travel experience. Not sure if I would recommend the swealtering miserable heat, I mean -

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132350510727297902003-04-03T20:56:00.000-05:002005-11-18T16:48:30.726-05:00

And we decided to go there. Hot as foohuck. Sweating in the swimming pool as my skin turns a hundred of shades darker. I think I am going to paint my master bath the color of my skin. Taking pictures so the experts at Loew's can match the paint. Boca Chica is fancy dancy, Mexicans stay here = no gringos, so you know we are loving it.Okay, so the other night we were walking back to our

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132350853144048382003-04-02T01:19:00.000-05:002005-11-18T16:54:13.146-05:00

So we took a bus this morning to Lovely, I mean - Taxco (mining town they discovered silver in Mexico = you know that we went crazy today with the markets). This place is gorg to the eous. Total tropic paradise in the mountains.Yesterday we went to Teotihuacan in el D.F. and climbed el piramides del sol y lunes. El sol is the third largest pyramid in the world. Much fun pretending we were

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132349207673359342002-06-15T18:05:00.000-04:002005-11-18T16:26:47.676-05:00

I'm in Aquas Calientes after spending the day at Machu Picchu. Jes, we finally made it! Having an unbelievably beautiful time and meeting some of the greatest people. Clift notes (read further for details): um, Camino Inca. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. Mentally, physically, spiritually. Take it from there. Never will I do it again in my life, but I can't even

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132349806106751892002-06-11T00:09:00.000-04:002005-11-18T16:36:46.106-05:00

So, I am in this internet cafe with stray dogs barking at my feet and about 15 of us are on computers trying to connect to the world sharing one 28k modem. Funtimes, and loving the Guns-n-Roses remixed into El Debarge on the blaster. Not loving the cusquena children trying to sell me postcards right now though. No gracias, but you are too damn cute.Long day yesterday. We ended up staying at

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19101521.post-1132345717359718432001-09-28T15:27:00.000-04:002005-12-29T20:15:05.170-05:00

This is Ryan. This is his blog.

Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08802662153944236470noreply@blogger.com0