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Friday, December 05, 2008
Starting your day on the road at 6:00 A.M. is considered late when your trip is more than five hours long. At least for me who came from a place where people wakes up at 3 A.M. to catch the first trip of the public transport just to get to the next province. I thought then my friends would not make it to the set time of picking me up. However drowsy I was, I made sure that I was ready before they get to my place. This meant me being up all night preparing my luggage and trying not to sleep and realize in the morning I was left behind. They arrived on time. I was glad as this avoided me the anxiety setting in before the day started.Since it was a five hour drive from California to Las Vegas, for the first part of it I dozed off. There was nothing much to see from my place until you get out of the California State except the valley, communities and shopping centers depicted in various ways and the sand as we drove through the Mojave Desert. Or there could have been like the occasional Joshua tree along the road. Until a friend told us that on our next stop over for food and restroom had the World's Largest Thermometer.I didn't know that such a thing existed. Realizing how Guiness and Ripley's had a following, this thing could actually be real. As suggested by the word alone, I was anticipating a gray mercury or the red equivalent (i don't know what substance it is) encased in a gigantic crystal clear gauged cylinder. After a time, it shed light on me that this thermometer was actually a commemoration of the highest temperature in the US recorded in the Death Valley . The thermometer, standing 134 feet, was located in Baker, California, dubbed as the "Gateway to the Death Valley". It's height was symbolic of the highest temperature recorded in 1913.Even before we got to the fastfood joint where we could ease up, my eyes were already probing to spot the gargantuan replica of a clinical thermometer. When we already had gotten back to the car, still not a thing very recognizable. Then a couple of feet up, we drove along this post which was less striking than the flashing billboards back in the city. If nobody mentioned that it was the World's Largest Thermometer, I would not have a clue. The clinical thermometer in my mind was construed by a steel post with LED lamps flashing the temperature.
My frustration was not contained until a friend justified that the clinical thermometer in my mind was not feasible. Imagine the hazards of contamination in case it was broken. It was indeed broken once in it's life due to the harsh desert winds.
As a consolation, being in this place meant that Las Vegas, our final destination, was only less than two hours away. In less than minutes, we were back to the the horrid scene of the dessert and the seemingly endless road ahead. Good thing it was only mid morning. Anything frightful was far off our minds.
 By the way, we did get to Las Vegas, enjoyed it and got back in one piece.
Posted at 10:12 pm by AnjPerez
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Tuesday, December 02, 2008
To Be On Top Of The World
There were two things that I wanted to do when I was in Chicago. First was to see Sue - the T-rex at the Fields Museum. Second was to climb on the Sears Tower Skydeck The former was to witness a wonder of nature. The latter to experience the greatness of mankind.
Sears Tower, until today, still holds the worlds tallest building in one category. This may come as a surprise when we know that this was already dwarfed by Taipei 101 and Shanghai World Financial Center. Even until year 2002, it was holding the same title on three categories.
For three decades, the status of Sears Tower remained. When the east joined the race to the skies, the criteria for the tallest building was redefined. For now, Sears Tower holds only the tallest building if it is compared by measuring the height from the pavement level to the tip of the antenna. If the antenna will be excluded to consider only the architectural top, Taipei 101 holds the record. If the highest occupied floor and height up to the roof top will be the basis, Shanghai World Financial Center is on the lead.
With the magnificent Chicago skyline, day or night, the the Sears Tower was a thing you cannot miss. As we drove our way to the hotel, the skyscraper was already in sight. When we got to our room, it was the view on our window. While we walked the Lake Shore Drive the following morning on the way to the Fields Museum, it's black frames & trans-black window panes was a great contrast to the mid morning skies and pastel or metallic surrounding buildings.
Maybe I had too much of the Sears Tower already that I decided the night before to skip. If the view of the skydeck was to see the aerial view of the city, the view from the plane as it lands and takes off had much more going. Or maybe not. I don't know.
As I am wondering about this, in 2009 another structure will claim this title in the Middle East. Maybe that time, I won't relinquish the chance of being on top of the world.
Posted at 06:31 pm by AnjPerez
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Monday, December 01, 2008
(These were the learnings I had about Sue - The T-rex prior to my trip to the Fields Museum in Chicago.)
It all began when her life ended. But nobody knew how it happened. For now, it doesn't matter. What's more astounding was the fact that she was preserved and unearthed because she has recreated life not only hers but many of those before her. Sixty-five millions years ago, her herd and all those living in these times spent the last days of their existence. She may have passed away long before this happened. But she was a piece of the puzzle for her species.
It was her time. She was already at the dawn of her life when catastrophically or naturally she lay rested in that riverbed. She may not have that death worthy of recognition that significantly defined an era, but it might be the reason that nature preserved her well. 
She had her life...and more after that. Who would have thought that after their dominion another life form was emerging and walking on the same soil as they had, responding to the same compulsion of existence and survival. And to this day, that life form evolved and became the generation that unearthed her. Her discovery was not accidental. It was much more of unexpected since fossil collectors were already in the area. They are in the dig site collecting fossils commercially. It just took another careful eye of Sue Hendrickson, a fossil hunter, to have her remains noticed. It was suposed to be a day off from sweltering heat and dust at the site since most of her companion went to town to fix their vehicle. She stayed and made use of the time hunting for fossils. 
The find was huge, it was a bone of a dinosaur. Although they did not know the sex of the reptile, they named it "SUE" after the fossil hunter who discovered it. (Can you see me in the picture?)
Posted at 09:07 pm by AnjPerez
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