Farewell USA on July 12

I sent an email to all my college friends and other associates of many sorts shortly after I graduated from Hillsdale, bidding them all farewell and thanking them for their friendship. I really meant it. It ended up being a waste of time since about 2 weeks later I took a job at the college and came right back. Well, I really enjoyed my work these last two years at Hillsdale despite the desolate location. I've learned so much on the job, and I've met some incredible people.

I'm headed off to new things now. One of those new things includes a trip down to the Paris of South America, Buenos Aires. I will intern at a banking consultancy for 10 weeks and then spend a week in Santiago, Chile. For those of you who remember me planning to do this two years ago then backing out... I actually AM going this time. Yes, I bought the plane ticket and everything.

My cell phone will be gone by the end of the week, so don't call it. You can get a hold of me via email, and I will try to find a way to call you back. I don't plan on getting a new phone since I fly down to Argentina on July 12th. If you need to get a hold of me via phone, you can try my parent's home phone at (email me for this #... don't want to put the rents' number down publicly). I will be there from July 1 - July 12.

I will blog (in spanish) periodically during my time down there. I plan to post photos and commentary about the situations I come across. For those of you who don't know Spanish, Google has a pretty good translation tool - look it up. I hope to see some of you before I leave, and for those who I don't, I hope to see you when I get back. My contact information is below.

There are some email addresses that I was unable to find. Go ahead and forward this to whomever you please.

e.) joe.petrides@gmail.com
blog.) comeonfranco.blogspot.com

Cheers!

Joe

Just back from DC

I just got back from my 5th trip to DC in 2 years. I like DC much better than I do New York, but maybe that's just because I know more people there. Either way, I'll have a post about it soon.

The French Open is taking place right now. It is one of the 4 major tennis tournaments each year (similar to the US Open, British Open, Masters and PGA Championship in golf). The event is the only of the 4 majors played on clay, a surface suited to slower, more strategic players verses power players. The Americans these days do not do well at the French since power has come to define the American game. In fact, Pete Sampras, the individual with the most major championships of all time never won the French Open.

These days in tennis, we are witnessing perhaps the greatest clay court player in history. If he's not the best ever, he's certainly second to Bjorn Borg. Rafael Nadal from the island of Mallorca off the coast of Spain has never in his life lost a match on the clay of Roland Garros (in Paris and the site of the French Open). At 21 years old, "Rafa" is 3-time defending champion. Currently No.2 in the world, Nadal has no other major championship victories. To give you perspective of how good he really is on clay, world No 1 Roger Federer has a 1-8 record vs Nadal on clay two of those being French Open finals. Within the last 3-4 years, Roger displayed absolute dominance over the sport of tennis on all surfaces except on clay with Rafa on the other side. This year, it looks like those two will once again meet for the final, and once again, Nadal will likely be the victor. He is on an absolute tear this tournament - none of his opponents are even threatening him. The statistics paint a picture of complete domination. If you are a sports fan, you should try to see this guy play on clay sometime before his reign over the surface ends. Notice that he hits forehands that loop high over the net - he does this with incredible topspin making the ball bounce very high creating awkward shots for his opponents. The clay makes the ball bounce higher than other surfaces giving Rafa's game a huge advantage. His competitiveness is unmatched in the sport - he hustles to every ball including many that others give up on. He's the sort of guy you like to see out there.

You can catch the French Open on ESPN2, NBC, and the Tennis Channel. If you only watch one match, try to see the men's final if it turns out being Rafael Nadal v Roger Federer - it will certainly be a classic.

New York Photos

Alongside the Wall Street Bull in Bowling Green Park. For good luck, investors must rub the nose, horns and, yes, testicles. In case you doubted me, I did all three.













A shot of Grand Central Station. Commuters from Jersey and Connecticut, and the outer New York Suburbs arrive here every morning. I got my tennis racket strung at a shop here. Hint - click on the linked text "Grand Central Station" above for a really cool social project.



















Me in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Spooky to think that over a trillion dollars changes hands here every business day.


Here I am in front of Times Square.