Out with the old, in with the New

I pulled out the box containing my old Super Nintendo (SNES) from the closet today. I hadn't hooked it up for several years since I have all the ROMs and an emulator for the PC. I even have a gravis gamepad that is similar to the SNES controller. So, instead of throwing it out, I decided to see if I could trade it in.

I went down to the town center game store, and put my SNES on the table. The clerk was immediately excited. His face beamed as he said, "yes, we do trade for those". He then called the owner, and asked if he could buy it once I traded it in. Never thought a 15 year old game system would fetch such excitement.

For 1 SNES, 2 controllers, 1 Original Nintendo controller, 5 or 6 SNES games, 2 Gameboy games, and cables, he offered me $21 in store credit. The store doesn't do cash. Since it was ending up in the trash anyway, I took the store credit, and put it towards the new Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS. Basically I got a $40 game for about $16. And my closet has one less box occupying its space.

Early Bird

Every day this week I was up at 5:30 AM to do some running before work. This hasn't been my normal schedule. In the past I was well renowned for my ability to sleep in.

However, I've come to realize some things about the morning.

1. Mornings are nice and peaceful. There's a stillness and a quiet that just doesn't exist at any other time (while there is daylight anyway).
2. It's still cool in the mornings, making it ideal for summer time running.
3. When you get up at 5:30, you are at work at 7ish, and done by 4ish, that's pretty nice. When I used to get to work at 10, I'd still be there at 7.
4. No worries about motivating yourself to work out after work.

I think I'll keep getting up early and running. It's good training for high altitude hiking.

Back from Europe

I have just returned from my first trip to Europe. My sister and I went on a 2.5 week adventure through England, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, and Italy. We saw things old and new, pious and racy, urban and natural.

I didn't expect: Graffiti everywhere! It got worse as we proceeded south.

Something I learned: America is a wonderful place. You truly can't appreciate it until you spend time in other countries.

Most Annoying: Europeans don't have the same concept of personal space, they have no problem being less than a foot from you, which can be quite uncomfortable when it's hot and you're stuck on a metro train.
Close 2nd: Discovering that our travel agent had booked us in a city 1.5 hours from Amsterdam, when we were there to see Amsterdam.

Most Interesting: Stonehenge, as well as it's history

Least Interesting: Berlin. I'd avoid the Checkpoint Charlie museum, it doesn't boast many interesting exhibits. You get numb to seeing bigger and bigger peices of the Berlin wall.

Most Fun: My 600m ascent hike near Innsbruck, one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on.

Least Fun: 6 hour train rides

Most comforable: Walking into our Rome accomodations with air conditions (the only air conditioned hotel in Europe apparently)

Least comfortable: Traveling in a couchette with 4 other people, on a hard bed with tissue paper sheets and flat pillow.

Oldest thing seen: Roman ruins in Rome

Newest thing seen: Probably the World Cup stadium in Berlin

Pictures Taken: 268

Most expensive tourist item: These string things that people con on you in Paris, (10 euros each!)

It was a decent trip. I'll probably go back someday, but I will take a very different trip next time. Most likely with a concentration of hikes in the Alps.

Pictures can be found at http://www.keith-roberts.com/gallery2/v/EuropeTrip
I'll be uploading the various countries throughout the week.