D-Lab 2008

Arriving in Mendoza

So far, our trip to Mendoza has exceeded all expectations… Let me try to share the chain of events…  We left Buenos Aires at 7pm, drinking several Quilmes in the airport, and several more on the plane.  The stewardesses on Aerolineas were extrremely friendly, and we were basically able to recoup our flight costs in beer.

Upon arrival we rented a car and drove to our hotel in the city of Mendoza - a beautiful, extremely trendy place called Hotel Boutique.  After checking in we had dinner at a nearby restaurant - possible the best steak we’ve had the entire trip and several bottles of wine.  Once we were sufficiently drunk and ready to sleep, the waiter delivered a complimentary bottle of champagne.  Everyone slept well that night.

Dating in Spanish

Dating in Spanish has been an interesting experience for all of us at D-Lab. Especially for Tank and Seth who don’t speak any spanish (or at least didn’t when we arrived)… Overall, the experience so far have been positive. Initial dates required the Hoff’s accompaniment as a translator, later dates relied heavily on the Lonely Planet Latin American Spanish Phrasebook, which is actually pretty effective. Not being able to communicate our deepest feelings or discuss complex issues definitely has its advantages… We also have found that there is no motivation or Spanish lesson more effective then an evening with a beautiful Argentinian woman, or even better - toda la noche. Along the way, we’ve had some pretty hilarious miscommunication such as Tank being absolutely certain that his girl was a Tango dancer (tengo is a common verb for “I have”) . Some key phrases we’ve committed to memory and routinely rely on are listed below. We highly recommend you do the study them with the disclaimer that they are likely incorrectly written here…

Buenisima - What a babe

Vos es muy Linda - You are beautiful

Tienes unos ojos preciosos - You have beautiful eyes

Quieres entrar a tomar algo? - Would you like to come inside for awhile?

Cansado, vamos a la cama - I’m sleepy, let’s go to bed

Caroline

Danger Danger!! Danger and Caroline’s relationship has gone long-distance. Danger, this song is for you. Hopefully the new web-cam will help sort things out.

The D-Lab Diet and Exercise Plan

D-Lab is proud to announce its trademarked “D-Lab Diet and Exercise Plan”. The D-Lab Diet is currently being enforced, promoted and managed by “Coach” Seth. We invite others to also try the D-Lab diet and share their feedback. Results are guaranteed.

9:00am Wake up. Shit, Shower, Shave.

10:00am 1 cup Cafe de Leche

10:15am-11:30 Snack on Tostads Con Gluten - 0 fat and 0 sugar (Basically it is stale bread)

1:00pm-2:30 Lunch - 1 pound filet mignon, 1 large salad with lettuce, tomato, eggs, heart of palm and onion, 2 sweet pickled peppers, 1 empanada, and 6 oz of chimi churri sauce

3:00pm 1 cup Cafe de Leche

6:00pm Pass the Yerba Mate around

8:30pm-9:30 1 hour run - approximately 6 miles - from Recoleta to Centro to Puerto Madero

11:00pm-12:00 1 pound flank steak, 1 large salad with lettuce, tomato, eggs, heart of palm and onion, 2 sweet pickled peppers, 6 oz of chimi churri sauce and two bottles of wine.

12:00-2:00 6 Quilmes Cervezas

2:00-4:00 Several Vodka Redbulls

5:00 Rest and Relaxation

Danger’s Back

With his girlfriend gone, Danger is once again Dangerous. We were worried, but he sufficiently redeemed himself this weekend.

Argentine flight delays spark passenger violence - Yahoo! News

Wow - Hope they sort this out before we fly to Mendoza next weekend!! This may explain why it took us several hours on Saturday just to pay for our tickets. Aerolineas has a fairly archaic IT system which probably doesn’t help… It was pretty entertaining watching Hoff pull out his laptop and show his reservation confirmation to the ticket office…

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Frustrated passengers smashed ticket counters and threw objects at airline staff at Argentina’s main airport on Saturday after the country’s flagship airline canceled international flights for a second day.  Television images showed damaged ticket counters and broken glass in the main hall of the Aerolineas Argentinas terminal, where passengers angry at delays caused by a baggage handlers strike and a walkout by ticket counter workers shouted down an Aerolineas Argentinas employee and threw objects at him.

Argentine flight delays spark passenger violence - Yahoo! News

A New Sexual Revolution In Argentina

This is an interesting article on Argentinian women and the so-called Sexual Revolution that is occurring here. So far, none of us have been asked to the bathroom to bring back our underwear - although since we don’t speak spanish, it is quite possible - wait, is that what Luciana was trying to say last night??

And so now, according to the article, they’re becoming more sexually dominant. We’re probably not talking about whips and chains (though they could be involved). But these women are becoming sexually assertive and even aggressive. Of a famous café it is said, “At Moria Restó y +, men are welcome but generally don’t go alone or in packs.” So now Buenos Aires is like a permanent bachelorette party. Good times. We wonder how often guys are asked to go to the bathroom and bring back their underwear. Do Argentine guys even wear underpants?

A New Sexual Revolution In Argentina

Unico in Palermo

Seems that we were a little slow to figure this one out, so in the spirit of education, here’s something you should know if you ever go to Palermo. There is a great bar called Unico - located on Fitz Roy and Honduras. It is the oldest bar in Palermo - established way before the barro became trendy. The drinks were cheap, and the place was packed…. so packed that the crowd overflowed onto the patio and into the street. We stood around drinking beers in the street talking to local girls until about 5am. We really enjoyed ourselves.

LESSON TIME: so what we learned after the fact - so far two separate independent sources have confirmed - is that this is the bar where local girls go when they want to have a “great night”. “Great night” as in sex. Every day we learn something new. [INSERTED: Please read the comment for a well articulated but conflicting viewpoint from Mariela]

DLab2008.com Makes Money

Well, Danger and I are now one day into our work project - we are working with a (unnamed) startup in Argentina which is developing a widget to aggregate a users online identity and present it on their page - The work has been interesting. I’ve never had a job where playing around with my facebook or myspace page was considered work… we’ve also spent some time researching the blog community as we think bloggers may serve as this company’s initial users. Researching blogging introduced us to monetizing blogs, and that’s how I came across Smorty a service for blog advertising. Apparently, if we write reviews about different products or websites we can get paid money. By writing this post - we should receive $6 from Smorty - that’s about 18 pesos - and at Unico on Wednesday’s that will get you three beers - not a bad commission for typing a short article. So, with that said, I am optimistic to try Smorty’s service and see if we can actually make some money with our site. It may not exactly pay for our trip to Patagonia, but every little bit counts.

Dad?

In a shocking new development, Danger has sidestepped his roll as D-Lab’s Chief “F” Officer and taken on the new title of “Dad.” Dangerous? I’m afraid not. He’s about as dangerous now as he was on the bench of his middle school football team. In shedding his previous title, he has turned his unique talents towards more productive efforts like contract negotiation and flower arranging.

As compensation for his new promotion, he will be granted company housing on the couch in D-Lab’s Libertad Street office and one additional board seat.