Project Planning

So I've been a little down recently; nothing serious, but it's been a rough two months workwise (which, for me, means I'd be a LOT richer if I had taken an expensive 2 month vacation).  In my line of work, runs like this happen, and I expect them (at least in theory) but it doesn't mean I'm completely numb to them.  I've decided I need some projects to give me an outlet, a distraction from work.  I'm obviously in a gorgeous place, but that alone isn't enough of a distraction.  So far golf has been my biggest distraction from work, and that was the case the last two years I was in Vegas as well.  In college, sailing was a great outlet for my energy, and in high school and before I had running, tennis, soccer refereeing, baseball umpiring, sportswriting for the local paper...

You know, back in high school, I remember hearing that colleges were looking for someone who was well-balanced and was involved in lots of things.  It seems the older we get, the more life becomes focused...you give up hobbies and activities, whether voluntarily or otherwise.  It's been somewhat gradual for me: I gave up music, running and playing tennis competitively, and sportswriting in college.  I was taking classes in lots of different subjects early on, but by my senior year, my studies became more focused.  And now, it feels like I have all my eggs in one basket: sports betting (and more generally, sports analysis).  It's weird too, because I'm often overwhelmed with all the different projects I'm working on: trying to create a tennis model, refining football props, Massey-Peabody rankings, golf betting every week, a side project analyzing NCAA women's golf with Cade, college football and NFL halftime betting, and baseball (which I honestly haven't done anything on in a little while, but there's always next season looming on the horizon).  And while the mechanics of what I'm doing can be very different in each sport and each project, they are generally related.  Somehow, I simultaneously feel like I'm spread too thin in one way, yet I'm too narrowly focused in another way.

I had a few ideas today for some distractions.  The first sort of comes from something I did this weekend.  Lisa, Katherine and Jill (the roommates), and I went to a barbecue in Tafuna on Saturday night hosted by Naomi, the coach of the women's national soccer team, which Lisa trains with.  I had a great time actually and probably had a few too many Vailimas.  There were a bunch of young 20-something guys doing the grilling, which was in a homemade grill, made of cinder blocks.  I really love grilling, although my repertoire is fairly limited, and would love to grill on a regular basis out here.  I could learn to clean and gut fish, and buy the local catches at the K-S Mart.  But first I've decided I want to make my own grill/fire pit.  No Weber grill for me.  So that's project #1.

Every day, I walk down to either Sadie's or DDW Cafe where I can use the internet.  DDW was located on the east side of the island until it was destroyed by the tsunami two years ago.  Now it's in Utulei, situated on the land that previously had been the Pago Pago Yacht Club.  There are four Hobie Cats just laying by the beach.  One has a mast, but I don't see any sails and the boats look abandoned.  I asked the owner of the cafe, who said that the boats used to be privately owned, but he thinks they were abandoned.  He gave me the name of the director of parks and recreation on the island, who I'm hoping to contact to inquire about the boats.  Project #2 would be to salvage one of the boats.  I'm not the most handy guy in the world, but I think it would be a really fun project.  And I can hopefully enlist the help of Rob, the sailor who I met last week.

The last project is really just exploring the island.  It's a small island, and I've already exhausted the hiking trails, but I would love to summit Mt. Matafao, the tallest peak on the island, which does not have any trails and is quite physically imposing.  So first I need to see if it's actually going to be possible without any equipment.  The mountain is pretty far from any road, so it's going to be quite an undertaking.  I've concluded that the south ridge is probably my best bet, so I'd like to explore that side of the mountain at some point this week.

And there's golf still.  I did just shoot an 82 last week (my second lowest score ever!) and am dying to get back out there.  Hopefully, the betting turns around soon, but in the meantime, I at least have some ideas for projects to distract me.

Samoan Golf

I played my third round of golf in Samoa yesterday (and shot an 82!). I thought I'd outline some things that differentiate Samoan golf from its American counterpart:

• In America, the starter might be playing solitaire on a computer; in Samoa, the starter is always playing solitaire with a physical deck of cards.
• There is no rough in Samoa.
• There are also no fairways.
• In America, greens are green; in Samoa, greens can be brown or tan (with some green splotches).
• I have seen Samoan golfers using wooden drivers
• In America, you may move your ball a club length if it comes to rest in the cart path; in Samoa, you don't have cart paths, but your ball might come to rest on a lava rock in the middle of the (would be) fairway
• In America, golf courses have sand traps; in Samoa, most of the sand has been stolen from the sand traps
• In America, a max of 4 people are allowed in a group; in Samoa, 7-somes are common (in fact, I've had a 5-some ask my twosome whether I wanted to join them).
• Those 7-somes in carts will play through a solo golfer walking.
• Holes #13 and 14 on the Samoan course turn into soccer and rugby fields in the late afternoon.
• In America, people get pissed off if you hit into them; in Samoa, soccer players will not move out of the way for you--they are fine with you hitting at them while they are playing.
• In Samoa, someone asked me to teach their son to play golf (In America, someone might ask me to show their son how NOT to swing)
• In America, dogs are not allowed on the golf course; in Samoa, you may encounter wild dogs while golfing.
• In America, there are cart girls driving who sell refreshments; in Samoa, there is an older lady with a banana stand next to the third tee box.

But there is one area where Samoa has a distinct advantage: 18 holes costs $5!

Making Connections

A few days ago, Lisa suggested that I join a soccer team in the co-ed league she plays in every Saturday. She assured me that the quality of play was bad (so I'd have a shot at not getting embarrassed). It would be a good way to make friends. I staunchly refused, since I wouldn't be able to play on her team, and I would be playing a sport I hadn't played in 12 years with a bunch of people I didn't know who would probably be speaking mostly in their native language (Samoan).

Since this conversation, I've been an unstoppable force at making connections--and not just any connections--useful connections. Yesterday, I decided to check out a Filipino fast-food place in Fagatogo called Shan-J. After paying $12 most days for the catch-of-the-day at one of the cafés I work at, this was a nice cheap alternative. There were assorted trays of delicious Filipino food that I could select from, and pair with either noodles or rice for only $3.75. While eating, I met a fellow palagi named Rob, who lives on his 40-foot catamaran that he's been cruising on for the last 3 years. Rob, who has a gray beard and strikes a passing resemblance to the captain of the Titanic, was a doctor in his former life, but his lifelong dream was to live on a sailboat and cruise the world--a dream he made a reality after retiring in 2007. He's 99% sure he'll be here in Pago Pago for the next 5 months or so, since typhoon season is fast approaching. He hadn't planned on being here but he needed a place to ditch his crew, a woman who was the human equivalent of a dementor. Rob is planning on keeping busy doing some work on his boat, but may be the snorkeling buddy I've been looking for. AND I'm hoping to convince him to take me out on his boat. It really is a shame there isn't a decent sailing scene here; there's been a great breeze every day I've been here!

Yesterday afternoon, I played my second round of golf at the 'illi'illi Golf Course. The course isn't in good shape, but it is only $5 to walk 18 holes. After shooting a crappy round of a 93 (par 72) I ran into 3 palagis leaving the course: Brian, Brandon, and John. Brian is the pastor of a church and assistant principal of the academy it runs; Brandon, his twin brother, is a teacher; and John works at getting talented Samoans scholarships to play college football in the U.S. They are all big football fans, and have a TV with cable in their house!! So I now have a sailing buddy, football buddies, and golf buddies. What more can a guy ask for?

That's easy, a car (or truck). I'm considering looking around for an old junker to use for 6 months and then sell when I leave. As great as the $1 bus system is, buses doesn't run on Sundays and don't run after 6 pm. (Do I sound bitter? My round did end at 6:15...) And while there are a lot of buses running the Tafuna and Aua routes, I've had to wait 45 minutes for a bus to the east side of the island. The worst part of the buses, though, are the fa'amoles and fa'amolemoles (translation: please and pretty please). It's what a dozen or so people seem to say every time I take the Tafuna bus to play golf. What it really means is "Please drive 2 minutes up this side street to drop me off at my house and then turn around and drive 2 minutes back to the main road."

But transportation on Tutuila Island is not as bad as I'm making it sound, since hitchhiking is legal--and common, and it is fun riding in the back of pickup trucks. And if I can't catch a hitch or a bus, I can pay a whopping $13 for a 30-minute cab ride.

First Friday

On Friday, I met up with my friend Al, who I sat next to on the first leg of my trip here. Al--who I'd guess is somewhere in his mid-40s--is Samoan, and spent part of his youth in Samoa, but lives in Las Vegas now and works in some capacity for a Polynesian dancing group (he's not a dancer). He's back in Samoa for the first time in 11 years to remodel a house and take care of some things on his family's land.

Al's family owns about 15 acres of land on the west side of the island. His mother's house sits next to a larger house where his extended family lives, and Al's brother lives right across the street. Land is American Samoa is family-owned--most land has been in the same family for many, many generations. Samoan law actually forbids any non-Samoan from owning land or a business, which is unfortunate because I could probably afford a pretty sweet place here! It's very interesting that the median annual income in AS is around $6,000, yet gas costs $4.40 a gallon, the teriyaki chicken sandwich I just ate cost $8.99, and American products are purchased at American prices. I've been told the reason is that Samoans don't have housing costs...there's no rent, no mortgage. And if a Samoan loses his or her family, I've been told that another family will take him or her in. So pretty much, if you're a native Samoan, someone will take care of you even if you make nothing.

For the families lucky enough to own a "plantation" (as Al calls it) they can make great money off it by renting to foreigners. Al claims that his family rents out 6 houses that each cost $5,000-$6,000 to build. The renters are farmers, who pay $500/month plus 10% of the profits from selling their crops. It's a pretty sweet deal for the Samoans, and the only way around it for a palagi is to marry a Samoan.

Ok, I've digressed enough. The real action on Friday was at the Samoana/Leone high school football game. In American Samoa, there are 7 public high schools, but all teams play their games at the same field. I understand why after seeing the "field" at Samoana high school, which is quite literally a dirt track. Unfortunately for me, the varsity teams never got a chance to take the field. A fight broke out in the fourth quarter of the JV game, and both teams forfeited. That's right, both teams got an "L" and the varsity game was postponed. Why? Apparently, the communal attitude here translates to the football field too, and it was very likely that if the varsity teams had played there would be some sort of retribution. The football I did see was actually quite impressive for a JV game, though I'm not sure I have any basis for comparison. There were some clear strategical differences from the American game, the biggest being that Samoans avoid the kicking game at all cost. The uprights at the field are crooked but they might as well not even be there, since neither team will kick a field goal or extra point. Punting is rare too--Samoana actually went for it on 4th-and-3 at their own 25-yard line (and made it!). I'll borrow a John Madden saying to describe the offensive philosophy: "Three yards and a cloud of dust."

Photo Dump #1

https://picasaweb.google.com/rufus.peabody/HeyPalagi?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOLGu_mFhrDsOQ&feat=directlink

An Introduction

Several month ago, my girlfriend Lisa moved out to American Samoa to spend a year teaching high school students at Samoana High School. Several days ago, I made my long-anticipated (by Lisa at least) arrival myself. I'll be spending the next 8 or so months living with Lisa and her two roommates in Utulei, a village located in the Pago Pago area on the island of Tutuilla. I'm not quitting my job as a professional sports bettor; I'll be working from my computer on the beach or at one of the island's WiFi hotspots (or both!).

American Samoa has been an American territory since around 1900, and the American influence is noticeable. There is a McDonalds, Carl's Jr., and even a combination KFC/Pizza Hut. The increasingly western diet has led American Samoans to be some of the largest people in the world. American Samoa is also known for its football prowess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSF-aFgo5RE&feature=related

The island only has one main road, numbered 001. The maximum speed limit on the island is 25 mph, which may seem slow, but in fact there are rarely opportunities to drive faster, as the road hugs the coastline in most places. There are plenty of cars--actually, there are more pickup trucks and SUVs--but American Samoa has an interesting bus system that I will regularly be taking advantage of. It's extremely easy to catch a bus (since there is only one road) and if you are in the Pago Pago area, buses drive by about every minute. Just put out your hand as if you are patting a dog and the bus will pull over for you. The buses are not your typical American buses--think of them as half pickup truck, half bus. The front literally is a pickup truck, but the bed was replaced by a wooden bus structure. The buses are colorful and loud. Nearly all have tricked-out sound systems, with multiple subwoofers in the back, and an amp and out-of-market speakers in the front. Drivers blast jams like the Samoan remake of Justin Bieber's "Baby Baby". Generally, the buses only cost $1 regardless of where you are going.

White people (called palagi in Samoan) are considered somewhat exotic. The western depiction of Americans as sexually promiscuous has led to a somewhat distorted view of palagi. Samoans are very...forward.. about their intentions regarding palagi. One Samoan girl, after talking with me for a few minutes AND meeting my girlfriend, asked me to watch her change. Another girl told me she loved me. So much for the idea of the "Ugly American".

The house that Lisa, her roommates Jill and Katherine, and I live in is very basic. We have the necessities, but no real amenities. And I'm including air conditioning and hot water as amenities. It will take some time before I'm used to cold-water showers. Despite the accommodations I'm really enjoying life here. I've taken a bunch of pictures already, which I will upload when I figure out how. But right now, I'm off to some Samoana High School talent show/pageant, where Lisa is serving as the honorary timekeeper.