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Day 2 of our cruise started waking up to the sound of the waves and with a buffet breakfast at Garden Café, which we took in an outside table.

The day was fully packed of activities, and given my terrible memory, I’m sure I would have forgotten some of them by now. But thanks to the fact that the cruise line gave us access to the net (although only for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), I was able to tweet my activities, and then use the TL to remember them easier.

The morning had all kinds of fun activities waiting for me. While Stephanie had a dance class with the Rockettes, I played some basketball (first time in 18 years, since I was forced to retire from professional basketball due to knee injuries) on deck 16th, then went rock-climbing (the spotter gave me all the necessary gear and told me to go to the hardest course, but… challenge accepted and conquered!) next to the bungee zip line, and ended the afternoon in the videogame arcade playing all kinds of games (finally had a chance to try Guitar Hero!).

We had a late lunch at Shanghai’s Noodle Bar with a couple of travel executives, and visited more parts of the ship, like the spa, the private area (The Haven) and the Studio Lounge.

Then we had an early dinner with show: The Cirque Dreams and Dinner Jungle Fantasy. One of 3 Broadway show on board. What a phenomenal show! Apart from the typical Cirque du Soleil acts (rope acrobatics, etc), the fast changing act, along with the contortionist were truly amazing. And the food was fairly good, actually.

After that we went to The Second City show at Headliners Comedy Club. Tremendously funny (yes, I am “Mainstream Impaired” too ) and witty, they performed an improv session that was indeed very very funny.

While we did go into the Ice Bar (yes, a bar fully made out of ice, in the middle of the Ocean) after the comedy show, it was way too cold to remain there for too long (even with the provided parkas), so we left and went to see Burn the Floor and Slam Allen again, who did amazing versions of Howlin’ Wolf, Ray Charles, and Prince.

The crazy way to end the night was the “Awesome 80′s Dance Party”. I know some of the people on the dance floor were entertainment crew from the ship… but not all of them! And there were many people totally dressed as if it was the dreaded 80′s, including us! (oh, well, when you don’t have a reputation to take care of, it is easy to admit such sins ).

Right after I accepted the IBM Beacon Award for Healthcare and Life Sciences given to my company (Kanteron Systems), I was video interviewed in the corridor. Here is the result:

If I go to the office, I complain that there are too many distractions: whether it is the boom-boom music form the downstairs SoHo store, my coworkers playing ping-pong, street art that requires my attention, or the temptation of a Japanese bento box or mochi with tea…

But if I stay at home, Calvin makes sure I am not as productive as I could be.

OK, I admit it, this was a very silly excuse to try a new slider plugin with Pinterest non-official API… and trying those things is not a diversion or distraction, is part of my job, I swear!

Now that the good weather seems to have arrived to NY, I will be walking more (more than my two hours daily that I already walk), and will be more willing to stop and take photographs of the crazy stuff one sees on the streets every day. Here are some images before April 2013.

(Note: the fun Einstein and Freud images were taken at Chelsea Market, from an exhibition by FunnyFoodArt).

Here are some of my sculpture drafts that I hope some day will become real sculptures: “homeless snail: you and me” and “the lovers”.

Read Quote of Balaji Viswanathan’s answer to Microsoft: Why isn’t Microsoft ‘cool’? on Quora

December 2nd I flew to Montevideo. I stayed at the Radisson Hotel, Plaza de la Independencia. Very conveniently located with some impressive views from the top floor. Good thing it had a pool, because it is not easy to keep my exercise regime when traveling so much.

Besides very productive meetings with IBM (very nice, professional, and friendly executives, by the way) and presentation to several hospital groups (one of the meetings at the Presidential Building, another one at the country’s largest hospital, and a presentation at the Solis Theater), I enjoyed the promenade by the river which seems like a sea, the old town, and a weird Ice Bar.

December 6th I flew to Lima for a day trip of intense meetings and negotiations. My friend Jose Carlos made an extra effort to make sure I ate some Peruvian food and fruit juices, which I really like, even though the trip was really short on time. Thanks!

The odd episode was in the airport: although I did have a boarding pass, since the machine did not scan it (later on I saw it was broken, but of course the idiot operating it kept saying it was not a machine problem), I had to get a new boarding pass and pay airport tax! No time to argue, had to catch a flight, and I did.

I’m still stuck in Baltimore, but it seems I will be able to return to NY late tonight, arriving tomorrow morning afternoon, the day after Halloween (which reaches amazing levels, like Barbie special edition dolls).

So, instead of going to the Village Halloween parade (which has been cancelled for the first time in 39 years), or any of the Halloween parties I was invited to (the New Museum and Cara’s parties have also been cancelled), and wear the cool and simple MineCraft Creeper costume Cory Doctorow twitted (from Comic Con NY):

I will choose one of the volunteer efforts to aid those most affected by Hurricane Sandy and get to work helping those in need… after some much needed sleep and a shower, of course.

Random things seen in New York this weekend:

• A big band of skaters (I only captured a few in my photograph becuase they were left behind in a stoplight, but there were many many more) rolling down south on Broadway. As they passed, people on the side walk greeted and cheered them. More play and less politics, or the return of the playful society, please. [Update.- there is a big story behind it: the Broadway Bomb]
• Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, where you can sample and purchase artisanal cheese, have some wine and small apetizers in the cellar downstairs, but even more fun to just sit and watch them make cheese live, through a big glass.
• Jack White’s Third Man Records‘ Rolling Record Store wheels into locations all over the New York City, then tweets (@ThirdManRRS) each location. I saw it next to the Ace Hotel on Friday.

On Friday I went to NY Comic Con, like everyone else, I guess, with the idea of having fun, of experiencing first hand one of the “major events” that a true nerdy geek can attend. I also wanted to meet Cory Doctorow (although we actually ended up not meeting). It has been years since I last met him, and it was the perfect “excuse” to attend the conference.

When I arrived, I was really surprised to see the size of it. I knew the Jakowitz Center was big, I had been there before several times. But I was not expecting a Comic Con to have such size and be attended by so many people. The waves of attendees kept coming in hours after the doors opened.

Of course, the most readily noticeable aspect of the conference is the customs many people wear. I started taking photographs, only to understand it was a waste of time, since so many people were taking the same photographs, and they would be shared online.

But the phenomenological metaphysics philosopher / cultural anthropologist / developmental psychologist that I carry inside (oh, yeah, it does get crowded in my brain sometimes could not just “let go and have fun”. Had I been socially sharing the event with someone with whom to “just enjoy”, I know I would have done just that. But she was not there. So I let my mind have all the fun.

Many were the traits and inter dynamics to be observed and analyzed. This post could turn into a large essay or a book if I went into detail. So I’ll just make a quick note and keep the longer analysis in my “to-do” list:

• Unlike many cos players I spent hours observing at YoYoGi Park in Tokyo, who were expressing themselves, as a personal need to experience the union and self-identification with the chosen character, the American counterparts seemed a bit more interested in the attention, the show, the “cred”, the social aspect of it.
• Those who were “capturing the odd images” as I first had the impulse to do, re-enforce the permeable boundaries of social spheres by doing so.
• Pre-made identities are quite tempting, for they represent an effortless way to achieve a “persona” without the need to work on the issues and more importantly accept the responsibilities and pain that goes into actually choosing one’s own. Because, although somehow restricted by experiences, circumstances, and neurological structures, we DO have a choice. And over identification with fictional characters is the psychological equivalent of fast food: quick, effortless, filling…  but it keeps us from healthier choices if it is not balanced.
• The naïveté with which some fans approach story lines, characters, and authors, starkly contrasts the ruthless business interest that go on behind the scenes most of the time.
• Most characters and comics draw (no pun intended) from the very same sources Western cultural tradition has been doing over millennia: the classic Greek drama, full of linearity, polarization, violence, tension, determinism, simplification… On the other hand, there are many sketched Western influences in Japanese comic (manga/anime) works, but they are mainly exaggerated aesthetic clichés rather than an structural narrative influence.

Of course there are many more aspects to analyze, and a lot of fun to be had. So I guess it would be a good idea to return next year, but hopefully in good company