this week has been by far one of my hardest weeks in college the last couple of years. or maybe its just one of those weeks where i feel like its been that hardest. regardless...i am again reminded of how great the God i worship is.
ou weekend was good. traveling. eating. being with people. state fair. just being home. it was all good. the weekend wasnt too shabby besides UT football shooting themselves in the foot but we wont go there bc football is football at the end of the game. massive allergies in dallas tho. boo dallas allergies. set me back the next couple of days. made me unmotivated to do anything. big accounting test wed night. seems like thats the story of my life. accounting tests that i can only just sit there and laugh to myself how i even got here in the first place. ha. accounting. how grand you are.
however, a bright spot in my week was mens football wednesday night after my test. i came 20 mins late. i was hoping that we wouldnt be losing by lots but to my surprise, we were winning by lots. but it wasnt just the winning. it was faces and the morale that made my week. i think its a beautiful thing to see your brothers in joy and just having fun. its been a real pleasure going thro the rough times in football and to finally see some smiles and some encouragement. i was super excited bout mens football this year. i was hoping that i could continue the tradition of brotherhood in sports so that it would be a blessing to our community. at first..i had my doubts. i mean..guys will be guys. guys wanna win. guys wanna play. guys are guys. its never easy to lose. but i think the men on our team are humans. they feel pain and frustration. they have pride. they want to win. i feel them on that one. i was hoping we'd just win win win and not look back. not the case tho. we lost some heartbreakers. not too many smiles the first two weeks. but the men on the team are something else. they know where their joy lies. they are rooted in something deeper and i think that in itself is a huge boost to just being light to each other. i am glad we have lost. im glad we have tasted defeat and frustration. it directs us back to the fruit of life. football is good. brothers are good. God is good.
i hope i can look back on this week and see how good God is among all the stress and frustration. i hope to see that my reliance on people, the joys of the world, the touch and smell of something pleasant, the taste of my appetite...that those are all temporary. even moreso just mirages. real but fake. i need to remember that i am not sustained by those things. my body is weak and easily tempted, but i hope my soul longs for something deeper. though this first week of october has been rough..i will not savor this month but something greater ahead. i need to really pick things up and just move forward with some stuff.
man dissapoints. the world disappoints. God does not fail me.
currently on my mind - in Christ alone
Friday, October 8, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
5th year
wow. its been a while. somehow ive kept all my thoughts in my big head of mine w/o just letting it ooze out. the school year has started. half a week in the books. i came in the year hoping to just enjoy and be relaxed during this year. its my super senior year. my last year in the MPA program. didnt think much of school. didnt think much of studying. yet, so far...the year has been anything but a cakewalk. but in a good way.
i dont want to be relaxed my last year. i dont want to settle for just being chill and wasting the abundance of opportunities. i want a challenging courseload. i want to feel the pressure of being a graduate accounting student. i want to sit in econ420k mircotheory economics TA session and not know what the flip is going on with the calculus review. i whine about it, but i know that this year is not meant to be a cakewalk. i want the ministry in AACM to be challenging. brotherhood-ing wont be easy. loving neighbors and roommates wont be easy. when life is easy, i forget the calling. i forget how joyful it is to talk to strangers and get to know people i typically just walk by. i dont want to be a spectator this year. i want to be a partaker in the joy of having freedom to love. i want big expectations and high hopes.
i do not want to be satisfied. i do not want to settle.
currently on my mind: relient k - getting into you
i dont want to be relaxed my last year. i dont want to settle for just being chill and wasting the abundance of opportunities. i want a challenging courseload. i want to feel the pressure of being a graduate accounting student. i want to sit in econ420k mircotheory economics TA session and not know what the flip is going on with the calculus review. i whine about it, but i know that this year is not meant to be a cakewalk. i want the ministry in AACM to be challenging. brotherhood-ing wont be easy. loving neighbors and roommates wont be easy. when life is easy, i forget the calling. i forget how joyful it is to talk to strangers and get to know people i typically just walk by. i dont want to be a spectator this year. i want to be a partaker in the joy of having freedom to love. i want big expectations and high hopes.
i do not want to be satisfied. i do not want to settle.
currently on my mind: relient k - getting into you
Thursday, July 29, 2010
2:53 am
you know its a good time to blog when its 2.53 am. oh the joys of being a night owl. nothing good happens after 2 am. false. my thinking happens. whats up post 2am thinking. im actually pretty tired, but i have stuff on my mind. i shall unload it like a huge dump.
i have done absolutely nothing since being back in america. unproductive..yes. awesome..also yes. i knew i would take a couple days to just unwind and be a loaf. america is definitely soaking back in. ive got to experience free tap water and refillable fountain drinks. it was delightful. ive got to experience chinese food on a daily occasion. its been delightful. ive got to experience english speaking people. frick yes. ive got to experience the love of a family and friends. this i cherish the most. im turning 23 in a couple of months and i must admit, that being home the past week has been one of the best times ive spent w my parents.
this post goes out to all the parents out in the world. well no..jk it really doesnt. this one goes out to my mom. her bday was last monday. she turned......20. no but she seriously doesnt look her age. go mom. but anyways...ive grown to really appreciate my mommers over the years. i know that sounds a little foolish, but in all honesty, i have really given my mom a chance to grow on my heart. i mean..day in and day out she does what she does. she takes of work and customers, a home, a family, food (at times), cleaning, financial stuff, worrying stuff. just bout everything. and shes still hopping at her ripe age. still has a sense of humor. her english is still a tad off, but i enjoy it a lot bc i get to make fun of her. she just keeps trucking. an honorable woman. a woman to be loved and appreciated. i think something that really opened my eyes was this past tuesday. it was her day off. i slept in til 230. it was awesome. but i had a friend staying over who was interviewing for a job in dallas. he shall be unnamed but most people can figure it out. anyways..job interview..new life stage..all that jazz. a lot going on. a lot of pressure. a lot of stress. just a lot of things you know? and out of left field (my left field at least), my mom tells me we should pray and give praise to God for this opportunity for my pal. my first reaction was...wait..what? you want to pray?. not gonna life. my family isnt super spiritual. subpar spiritual if that. hints and shades? yes but i dunno..the notion of religion is saturated in the leu household. i pray it will be one day tho. i really do. i can only recount a few instances in my life where our family has like earnestly came together and pray. or ask for prayer. or like just pray in a geninue, wholehearted way. i was taken back at my moms request. i was kinda confused. but at the same time i was encouraged. and happy. and just in awe of it. there are biblical principles and ideas that the man of the house is to lead. lead in many aspects. one of the being a spiritual leader. no knock on my dad, but more of a uplift-tion to my mom. my mom has definitely been a huge spiritual proponent in my life. seemingly leading our family when she can. i value that. i respect that. i love that. from the first time we really talked about the bible my freshmen year in college to just praying together and talking about spiritual stuff, my mom has been more than a worldly mom. God has been gracious. God has been good. i desire for a woman like my mom. i know people say that allllll the time. well, throw me in that group. a woman who seems to do it all. a woman who isnt fearful of embarassment or rejection. strong. independent. a woman who can lead when she needs to. a woman who desires to "listen to loud Jesus music" to calm her spirits. a woman to love and to be loved. monkeys me..thats my mom. this ones for you. i enjoy our conversations (english, chinese, chinglish). i enjoy how you yell through the phone. i enjoy (for the most part) your redundancy of questions. but most of all, i enjoy how you replicate what a woman of God looks like. i hope we continue that bond. may my future lover of leu be all these things (broken english optional).
you know your mom's cool when she lets you do her 'do
hahaha.
currently on my mind: sanctus real - lead me
i have done absolutely nothing since being back in america. unproductive..yes. awesome..also yes. i knew i would take a couple days to just unwind and be a loaf. america is definitely soaking back in. ive got to experience free tap water and refillable fountain drinks. it was delightful. ive got to experience chinese food on a daily occasion. its been delightful. ive got to experience english speaking people. frick yes. ive got to experience the love of a family and friends. this i cherish the most. im turning 23 in a couple of months and i must admit, that being home the past week has been one of the best times ive spent w my parents.
this post goes out to all the parents out in the world. well no..jk it really doesnt. this one goes out to my mom. her bday was last monday. she turned......20. no but she seriously doesnt look her age. go mom. but anyways...ive grown to really appreciate my mommers over the years. i know that sounds a little foolish, but in all honesty, i have really given my mom a chance to grow on my heart. i mean..day in and day out she does what she does. she takes of work and customers, a home, a family, food (at times), cleaning, financial stuff, worrying stuff. just bout everything. and shes still hopping at her ripe age. still has a sense of humor. her english is still a tad off, but i enjoy it a lot bc i get to make fun of her. she just keeps trucking. an honorable woman. a woman to be loved and appreciated. i think something that really opened my eyes was this past tuesday. it was her day off. i slept in til 230. it was awesome. but i had a friend staying over who was interviewing for a job in dallas. he shall be unnamed but most people can figure it out. anyways..job interview..new life stage..all that jazz. a lot going on. a lot of pressure. a lot of stress. just a lot of things you know? and out of left field (my left field at least), my mom tells me we should pray and give praise to God for this opportunity for my pal. my first reaction was...wait..what? you want to pray?. not gonna life. my family isnt super spiritual. subpar spiritual if that. hints and shades? yes but i dunno..the notion of religion is saturated in the leu household. i pray it will be one day tho. i really do. i can only recount a few instances in my life where our family has like earnestly came together and pray. or ask for prayer. or like just pray in a geninue, wholehearted way. i was taken back at my moms request. i was kinda confused. but at the same time i was encouraged. and happy. and just in awe of it. there are biblical principles and ideas that the man of the house is to lead. lead in many aspects. one of the being a spiritual leader. no knock on my dad, but more of a uplift-tion to my mom. my mom has definitely been a huge spiritual proponent in my life. seemingly leading our family when she can. i value that. i respect that. i love that. from the first time we really talked about the bible my freshmen year in college to just praying together and talking about spiritual stuff, my mom has been more than a worldly mom. God has been gracious. God has been good. i desire for a woman like my mom. i know people say that allllll the time. well, throw me in that group. a woman who seems to do it all. a woman who isnt fearful of embarassment or rejection. strong. independent. a woman who can lead when she needs to. a woman who desires to "listen to loud Jesus music" to calm her spirits. a woman to love and to be loved. monkeys me..thats my mom. this ones for you. i enjoy our conversations (english, chinese, chinglish). i enjoy how you yell through the phone. i enjoy (for the most part) your redundancy of questions. but most of all, i enjoy how you replicate what a woman of God looks like. i hope we continue that bond. may my future lover of leu be all these things (broken english optional).
you know your mom's cool when she lets you do her 'do
hahaha.
currently on my mind: sanctus real - lead me
Thursday, July 22, 2010
AMERICA, I HAVE MISSED YOU!
i am back. oh how ive missed america! *hug america* life is good right now. summer days are still aplenty so i am looking forward to the rest and relaxation leading up til school. praise God for my experiences in europe and the safe travel. it was quite a blessing and a great learning experience for me. ill expound later bout it. for now...i leave my daily logs i kept while in europe.
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 1
July 8, 2010
Crazy, rushed day, but I am sitting comfortably and clean in my hostel bed. Prague is no more and I’m excited about my future euro travel with James and Charles. I’m glad that summer studies are over. Tests are never fun, especially when they are multiple choice (possible) multiple answer tests. But I actually learned a lot this summer with cost accounting and international tax and multinational corporations and what not. But it’s over. Yay. Now, it’s time for eurotrip and the real summer vacation with the fellas. Berlin. Florence. Pisa. Madrid. Pamplona. Barcelona. Paris. London. All in 12 days. It’s going to be a lot of traveling and moving, but hopefully a lot of good sights and good conversations.
Last day of Prague was quite eventful though. Took my international tax final. It wasn’t too terrible. I knew most of what I was doing and what it was asking, but I couldn’t wait to get out. Printing at the school took forever too. Czech is real behind on technology, especially with computers. End up going to the square to grab some souvenirs for family and friends. I had a lot of cash to blow so I was hoping just to grab a lot and go, but unfortunately, my stand and think mentality took over. I ended up with small trinkets since I don’t have much room in my bag. Then rushed home to pack in like 30 mins. I have so much crap I feel stupid. A packed backpack and duffle are not fun to carry around. Late to the train station. Almost missed the train. Praise God, seriously. Craziness. Got onto the train all sweaty. Had some good convos. Watched some Lost. Napped. Listened to some good music. All was well.
Hello Germany. Very modern looking place. I love Charles’ first quote when he stepped off the train “The women here are huge”. They certainly are. Personally, I think they’re a lot better looking than the Prahaians, but we’ll see how the rest of my stay in Berlin is like. Buildings are a lot more spaced out so that means more walking. Carrying luggage and trying to enjoy the scenes of the town are tough. But we saw some good buildings (church dome, Atles and Peregemon Museum). Yay for free admission Thursdays. Ended up walking to our hostel. It’s located onto of a bar. Very clean and spacious. I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight. Ate dinner at a local gyro place down the street. Food was pretty good. I’m still not a big fan of the euro. It seems very convenient here, but when you convert everything back to dollars, it’s expensive. I do miss them American bucks though.
I’m showered and slowly getting tired. Probably will watch an episode of Lost before bed. I’m starting to get into the show more and enjoy the characters. I love starting shows that have a ton of seasons to look forward too. Tomorrow is our Berlin bike tour then museum hopping. I’m hoping for some awesome things. Praise God for this trip and all the blessing He’s seriously endowed me with. It’s been a great experience and I look forward to the next couple of weeks.
Day 2July 9, 2010
Our first full day on our eurotrip starts in Berlin. I got a pretty good night’s worth of sleep. The bed and pillow were comfortable enough for me to not wake up til morning time. Our hostel was pretty cool since it was located on top of a bar because they had a relatively nice breakfast for a bar. Got in some nutrition in my system before our bike tour. Walked over to the big television tower to meet our bike tour. Fat Tire Bike Tour. I heard about them while surfing sites and what not over the past half year and wow…they definitely were up to par if not superb in their tours. We got a crazy awesome Irish guy name Cieran who’s been in the city for only 6 months. Yet, he was so knowledgeable and well-informed about the city and its rich history. The bikes were super comfortable. I don’t think I’ve ridden a more comfortable bike in my life. My bike was called “Dan the Man.” We rode through most of eastern Berlin, since that’s where much of attractions and pavement are located. Saw us some crazy awesome buildings, many of which had to be rebuilt again due to WWII. The likes included Alexander Square, Mark/Engel, book burning square, Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial, beer garden, Reinestag (parliament), Museum Island. The ride was definitely manageable and not as rigorous as the Croatian bike tour. I definitely loving bike coasting and just letting gravity take its place downhill. We were pretty exhausted afterwards from the heat and dehydration so we just chilled and ate dinner at the local bar and ended over to the station. Our train was delayed 45 mins so we made sure to get some postcards and some snacks for the ride. Our night train wasn’t too shabby, but I was disappointed that it didn’t have power outlets. But it worked out just perfectly because I got to get in some solid conversations with James and Charles and just relax. I’ve definitely become very technology-dependent over the years and Europe has really taught me to see the other beauties of life, including the people I’m with. After our long conversations and just relaxing, it was time for bed. I did have a more difficult time sleeping though. Got cold at night so my limbs were aching when I woke up. Our train arrived 30 mins late to the station and I feared missing our transfer to Fussen. But God is still good and we managed to get on right when it pulled into the station. So I’m on the train to Fussen now. Day 2 is officially in the books and I praise God for awesome history, enjoyable weather, and great company.
Day 3
July 10, 2010
Today was all about them castles. I love castles and I’ve been fortunate to see like 5 or 6 castles now in Europe. It’s just one of the rare gems in Europe since America has no castles. Castles are just so intriguing in its architecture and all the time and effort put into how detail things are. We spent the day in Fussen today at Housphchar (sp) and Newsweinstein (sp) castles secluded in the mountainside. The place and castles were absolutely a work of art. I love the interiors and all the awesome gifts and artifacts of a castle. These castle dwellers really put the time and money to make sure their castles were legit. The artwork on the walls are simply gorgeous and so detailed and always full of symbolism and sentimental value. I love how the royalty really respect and keep up with their family name and just cherish it in art and gifts. The castles in Fussen were pretty sweet. Not the biggest castles in the world, but definitely decked out in awesomeness. Essentially artwork on every wall of every room not to mention the gold, silver, bronze plated decorations. Every room pretty much had a super expensive and symbolic heirloom of its kind. The landscape in Fussen is quite breathtaking since from the castle where you get to look over the local city. All in all, the place was definitely worth the visit. The train ride to Munich was kinda rough and hot. I ended up napping of course. Got into Munich and currently situated in a pretty cool, trendy hostel. Tons of rooms and tons of people. Ate dinner at a local brewery/bar/restaurant. Great beer (Austusinger). Small world but we randomly met a girl from UT named Grace and she ate dinner with us and was filled with stories and just full of energy. She also gave us tips and a brief Italian language lesson (since she’s Italian). Makes sense. Probably gonna call it a night soon. Beer makes me tired. So does traveling and the sun. Tomorrow is filled with a 7 hr train ride, Florence, and the World Cup. Should be a packed day. I’ve definitely enjoyed the trip so far. Meeting people randomly is a pretty cool blessing and a great experience just to listen and talk. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. I still miss home, but home will have to wait. Let the good times roll.
Day 4
July 11, 2010
Today was the longest travel day of the trip (I think). We woke up from a pretty decent night of sleep in our hostel. From Munich, we took a 7 hr train ride to Bologna and then another 1 hr ride to Florence. The trip to Bologna was straight up long. Great thing was that there were outlets so I got in a good 3-4 episodes of Lost and some good nap time and some good music/sermon listening time. All in all, the ride was long, but productive. It was however super hot throughout the ride (no ac is killer even though I should be use to it by now). Got into Florence and the city just seemed dirtier. Maybe it was just the old-school nature of Italy and the town, but it was dirtier and less modernized. However, we were pleasantly surprised with our hostel. Initially we were a bit hesitant because there wasn’t even a sign or anything, just a call-bottom to an apartment, but we got in and were greeted with great hospitality and our room was clean, tidy, and ac powered (woohoo). We were suppose to be in Florence for a day and a half, but we soon found out that all museums are closed on Mondays throughout Europe. I should have known that, that’s just how the planning went. So with the help of our hostel owners, we were able to put a Tuscany tour to Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. Didn’t know much about those places except Pisa and the Leaning Tower so I was kind of excited for the next day. But for the rest of the night, we just walked around Florence trying to see what we could of places from the outside. Walking everywhere has definitely taken a toll on my body, mentality and physically. Long walks just suck all the energy out of me, but seeing cool landscapes and buildings helps out. We saw some nice buildings and bridges in Florence (Duomo and whatever that bridge with shops that survived the war). The view from the top was pretty amazing, but since I’ve seen Prague, Budapest, and Dubrovnik, from the top, Florence “alright.” My favorite is still Budapest and Prague. But I mean, Florence is still beautiful from the top, but I think I liked the peaceful aspect of Budapest and Prague since there weren’t huge crowds there. But all in all, Florence was beautiful, but not a place I would want to live. Nope nope nope. We finished the night watching the World Cup finals. Props to Spain, but I was definitely rooting from a penalty shootout ending. O well. The sleep in Florence was good besides the fact of waking up early for our trip to the Toscany the next day.
Day 5
July 12, 2010
I think being flexible and making the most of your situation is essential to enjoy the blessings of life. Today was just that. With museums closed and having seen most of the Florence’s city walls and what not, today was a great day to just go with the flow and experience new things. Our plan of action for the day was leave Florence, visit Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and stay in Pisa for the night. We grabbed the last 3 seats of the 1st bus to depart for the Toscany (praise God) and were welcomed by a great host and travel guide, Sandra. I think I developed a mad crush on her throughout the day. She was so sweet, charming, and never quick to flip out on anything. Great qualities in a tour guide and in a woman for a matter of fact. Bus ride was a little crammed beside we had to sit in the back row and we had Andre the Giant in front of one of the seats in which I sat behind a good amount of time. The history lesson of the Toscany (or how Americans use “Tuscany”) wasn’t too shabby and relatively brief and to the point. I didn’t get bored that easily and the rides inbetween places didn’t seem that long. First stop was Siena. A small city known for their banking businesses. I must say that the tour guide in Siena wasn’t that stellar. It was hard to heard the guide and her accented English with a mini-microphone device. It was a bunch of garble to me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed looking at old school, small city life towns. The building structures and how compact things were arranged with very cozy, as well as brilliant from old-school architectures. I loved seeing different types of architectural styles (14th, 15th, 16th century) throughout the city. The cathedral (Duomo) was absolutely magnificent. Straight up awesome architecture w baller paintings and designs. It was quite a treat to see the works of famous painters and sculptures, not to mention a room of refrescos that haven’t been touched since the 15th century. But after a while of course I had to get out because I was getting a bit freaked out by the art and church enclosures and what not. The quick trip to Siena was enjoyable. Next was lunch a local farm in the Toscany. Homegrown vegetables, raised cattle, and authentic pressed wine and olive oil were killer ingredients to a fantastic meal. It seemed very Italian with bruscetta, homemade pasta, cheese, meats, and wine. Had great views of the countryside from the farm that was situated a little higher than most places in that area. Next stop was San Gimignano. I really wasn’t expecting much from it. They are known for their 14 towers throughout the city and more importantly, the world’s BEST gelato. In fact, 3 years running. We definitely hit that bad boy up first and I must say, it was the best gelato I ever had (or maybe all in my head). I definitely splurged on it and was greatly satisfied. We also got to see a view from one of their forts located high on their city grounds. It was pretty serene to see the country landscape. Open skies and some clouds added a great touch to a seemingly artistic scene. Slept all the way to Pisa. Got to Pisa a bit discombobulated, but I knew why we were there…for the Leaning Tower of course. It’s actually quite a nice image to see even though I’ve seen it so many times online or in books or what not. Real life isn’t much different but it’s pretty surreal like…”Oh man..that tower is straight up leaning.” Tried to take some ridiculous pictures. Ended up taking normal ones. I’m content w it though. Got our bags, left the tour group, went to the airport to find out hostel located nearby. It took a while, but we got there safe and sound. I absolutely loved this hostel. We pretty much stayed upstairs at a local’s house. It was a nicely furnished bedroom (3 beds, AC, cable tv, wifi). Great hosts with great amenities. However, the night sleep wouldn’t be that stellar because of our 530 am wake up call to make our flight tomorrow morning. Nonetheless, I had a great experience seeing the Toscany and experiencing more great culture.
Day 6
July 13, 2010.
I hate waking up early. 530 am early. Balls balls balls. I wish I could have enjoyed more of my queen size bed and ac filled room. But good thing is that I actually got up and was quick with getting out the door. I notoriously of lagging behind, which I have for a good amount of the trip. Darn that extra luggage to carry around. But the airport is like a 5 min walk from our hostel. We checked in without a hitch and boarded a Ryanair flight to Madrid. Ryanair is a low cost carrier because it cuts out a lot of amenities. The seats were terrible. Little to no leg room. No drinks served. But hey, it got us to a destination so I won’t complain too much. Got into Madrid and only stayed in town for 7 hours. Had a train to Pamplona at night so we had to see what we could of the town. For the most part, Madrid isn’t a huge, huge touristy place. There aren’t like really famous landmarks and buildings, but it was very chill and a nicely organized and clean city. There’s many squares and hotspots in town so we walked around and around and around the town. Pretty much painted the town asian.
Day 7
July 14, 2010
Halfway home. Today was by far one of the crazier days of the eurotrip. It started off with another early morning wakeup call. This time…515 am. The last 3 nights are seriously killing me and my sleep habits, not to mention my acne. I break out like crazy w/o sleep. But we were up and out of our hostel at 540 just in time to catch the bus to the local town center. We are in Pamplona, Spain. I’m going to be honest, I had no idea where Pamplona was nor why we were going to it when we started planning out the trip. I did not know it was where the famous “Running of the Bulls” took place. I just knew it was Spain. But now I know…Pamplona, Spain. I’ll never forget Pamplona. First, I won’t forget the smell of it. The town has an annual festival called San Fermines (or something) and they pretty much just party all night every night with the running of the bulls (of course) in the morning. We got into town last night and it smelt like 2 weeks of start partying. The grounds were dirty, people were passed out everywhere, the smell was nauseating (imagine booze, urine, vomit, trash all mixed together). I wondered what I was getting myself into. Oh right, I was going to run with bulls. Initially I was going wussying out and just watch James run and you know…be the mom waiting in the stadium taking pictures and what now. But when I found out Charles was running too…well I guess I couldn’t be the 3rd guy out. As much as a “play it safe” kind of guy, I decided… “what the hell.” Worse comes to worse, I die. Best case scenario is I run untouched and experience something few Americans can say they did. I was quite nervous leading up to this whole ordeal imagining all the worst case scenarios and the what ifs of it all. Well the time had come. Bright and early Wednesday morning in the streets of Pamplona. Gates being reconstructed. Drunk people waking up. Drunk people still sleeping. We walked the course. We saw the bulls. We saw the stadium. We stood halfway in the course (predominately where the noobs stand) after the death turn where the bulls tend to slip and run over themselves (and people). We were ready. Stretched. Prayed. Shoes tied. First rocket goes off (doors open). I start getting jittery. Bulls run pretty fast. I need to run fast too. Apparently there is a mix of wild and tame bulls (didn’t find that out til afterwards) and some younger steers. Second rocket goes off (all the bulls are out of the pen). F that. I’m pretty much galloping down the street sideways looking over my shoulder for the mass of people and the bulls coming down. People standing on the sides are throwing elbows and pushing back at the people running down the street. I catch a few solid elbows. The crowd is chopping now. People are running for their lives. You can hear it in the crowd that the bulls are coming. I try taking off but the herd of bulls catch my eyes and I'm just in awe for a split second as the barrel down. Everything literally goes in slow-mo and I'm like “Andrew…don’t get gored.” Those bulls were pretty fast. I don’t dare trying to get to close to touch one. They run by. Phew. Goodbye bulls. Tradition is that the bulls and people end up in the stadium and they let one of the smaller ones free and people just mess with it and torro it and what not. So I'm running behind the bulls to get to the stadium, but one of the gates closes off the course. All three of us see each other and we’re like “wtf.” Why did they close it off before the stadium? Turns out one of the bulls got turned around and started going after people. I saw the replay afterwards on tv and it was crazy. It kept coming back for some more. But at the time we didn’t know so we’re behind the gate…pretty much waiting for it to be over. I thought so at least. But no no no no. There is a build up of noise behind us. People are getting restless. People start shouting. “There are more bulls behind us. OPEN THE GATES.” I was seriously thinking…o..m..g…this is messed the frick up. People start panicing. Everyone starts pushing. Cops are trying to open the gates, but the gate opens towards the people waiting behind it so people are like pushing to get out of the way. But when hundreds of people are packed together…it takes forever to move the masses. But with bulls coming, people were moving the mass like crazy. I think I got pushed up against Charles and was praying for nothing to come into the crowd. I get pushed more. Turned around. Shoved. I'm in a mess. The doors open and people just break out. I’m still thinking . . . “Andrew, don’t get gored.” I'm pretty much towards the end of the run where the tunnel meets the stadium. But I have no idea were the bulls or if they already passed or not. I'm just kinda jogging and well…luck has it that 2 younger steers are still coming and I'm bout to enter the tunnel where there’s no safe zone. So I think to myself…run run run or kinda stand and stare. As I'm staring at the 2 bulls coming…yeah I just continue to stare and make sure I got get any horns in my butt. The 2 go harmlessly by. Yay. I survived. Now time to get in the stadium for the festivities and fun. I’m literally like a couple strides away when the stadium door starts to close. It catches me completely off guard and hits me as I pass through. Thrown off balance, a guy from behind pushes me and I eat it. So much adrenaline is flowing that I just get up and I’m looking around to make sure no bull is dancing around me. I managed to find James and Charles. Safe. Woo. Except for the whole bull in the ring and people trying to mess with it and it responds by trampling them. We eventually hop out and watch people try to touch the bull and what not and have the bull gore and trample. It’s a younger bull with protective caps on its horns so aren’t sharp. It just rams people and tramples over them. still pretty brutal. By this time, I'm behind the wall taking pictures and making videos. Haha typical me. James decides to hop back in and touch the bull. Well, he ends up getting a butt full of bull skull, but accomplished what he set out to do. Nice. We end up making our way out of the stadium. Get our bags. Taxi. Train station. Train ride to Barcelona. All the craziness from the morning is still flowing in our system. But then we all pass out on the train. Get into Barcelona. Wonderful town. Not super compact like Florence, but also not that spread out like Madrid. A perfect mix with great buildings and lively streets. Walked around Las Ramblas (famous touristy street) for a bit and saw the usual gift stands, weird painted people trying to get money, outdoor restaurants, all the goodies. Went down to the shore and the beach. Barcelona beach > Croatia beach in terms of actually beachness. Sand was great. Water wasn’t as clear but felt great. Tons and tons of people there just chilling, sunbathing, playing sports. I could enjoy a great day w friends there. We end up on the dock just straight chilling. It was really relaxing and just peaceful. I love the beachshore. I love peaceful chilling and waves. It’s just a beautiful combination. We leave. Eat dinner. Do laundry. Here I am. Woo. The seemingly climax of the trip is over. We’ll be spending a few days in Barcelona, then in Paris, and finally in London. I’m hoping to enjoy these last 7 days.
Day 8July 15, 2010
Finally a decent nights worth of sleep last night. Didn't have to wake til 1020 to try and make our Fat Tire Bike tour. I woke up right at 1020. Got ready in 5 mins and we were off. A lot of people were waiting for the tour and there was a slim chance we might not get to go, but thankfully we did. Now Barcelona isn't as bike friendly as berlin. It's a bit more touristy so there was a lot of foot traffic in town. So riding around was a hit chaotic at times. But for the most part the ride was good. We saw some cool landmarks rich w history. Our tour guide was relatively new but I think she did well to get the info across. It was nice to ride in the Barcelona sun. We ended at the beach which was relaxing. Got some sangrias there. I do like sangrias. I got dehydrated again. I wish my body would retain water better. So I went back to the hostel and passed the frick out. Woke up w a huge headache. But we were off for dinner. Dinner was a disappointment. Got a rack of lambs. They were delicious but it was sized for a child. Then we hit up the top of the hill in Barcelona. Got a glimpse of the city at night. Trees obscured a good photo tho. Regardless barcelona is huge and quite beautiful. We descended down the hill just in time to make theagic fountain. Oh boy oh boy. It was definitey magical. I absolutely loved it. I remember planning for Barcelona and the magic fountain show and man...it was so legit. Great view. Great show. Great times w the fellas. Best part of Barcelona for me. Went home. Showered again. Go me. Chatted. Slept.
Day 9
July 16, 2010
Today was a chill day. We saw a good bit yesterday from the bike tour and magic fountain. Today we planned a tour to the local music theater, famous Guell Park, and some visits to buildings by Gaudi. The Palace Musica Catalana was up first. It's located in the heart of the town since 1898. It's gorgeous. A work of art and a place I definitely want to come back again w my wife someday for a concert. It's so rich in history and just gives you an authentic musical vibe. Next was Guell Park brhe trek to get there was painful. It was a disappointment to say the least. I thought it'd be bigger and have cooler things in it. The only cool things were the entrance and performing artists there. O well. I went and saw. Good enough for me. We walked back and saw some of Gaudis work. There were long lines and pricey to get in. O well. Again, I hope to be back and see the insides. I'm sure it's pretty neat inside. We ended the afternoon by shopping for souvenirs. It was actually a good walk and some good bro time w James. Charles went to go look for other things. Found out later he got crapped on like whoa and went back to the hostel early. Poor guy. Got back. Got our stuff. Headed out. Went to the wrong train station. Dummies. But still made it in time. On the train now. It has reclining seats. I hope I get some good sleep. Paris tm. Prob another bike tour. I do like riding bikes. Last 2 destinations left. May God bless them.
Day 10
July 17, 2010
Up and off to Paris, land of the frenchies. Eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, expensive stuff, frenchies, potential American haters. Who knows what to expect. Our night train wasn't too terrible. Only woke up a couple of times bc my legs fell asleep. Into town and it reminds me of new York a bit. Though it's been a while since I've been there, the subway system feels like it. The streets and people seem like it. Drop luggage off and were off to another bike tour. This will be #3. Our guide is a guy named Brian. Very cool very talkative guy w a great sense of the town and it's landmarks. Been in Paris only 7 months been he seems very adept to the city. Weather is wonderful. A bit on the chilly but it's a nice break from the heat. The ride was enjoyable and seemingly quick. Saw and stopped less than the rest but Paris is beautiful. The town is nicely spaced. I like the town. We finish the tour after a nice lunch in the garden infront of the lourve. Visit the famous cathedral of notre dame. Another church giant w great works of art inside. A young boys choir was also performing so that was kinda cool. Yay for free admission. Got some great pics too. Head up to Montarnpasse, a huge skyscrapper in the city that gives a nice view of below. You can pretty much see everything. Got some nice pics. Waited for the sun to set. It did. More pics. It got cold. Went to the arc de triomphe. Wish i went up it but it was still a good viewin of it and the streets were still very busy. Then went to a plaza across the river from the Eiffel. Absolutely an amazing view. Stunning. Eiffel looks way better lit up at night. I really enjoyed it. I'll be back for sure. Home. Sleep. Yay for day in Paris.
Day 11
July 18, 2010
Sitting on a train ride back into town at the moment. Got some time to reflect. Paris is legit. Tons to do. Not too hard to get around. Still expensive tho. Woke up early to go to the lourve. Didn't have any expectations of it. I'm not an art buff. I enjoy art but I don't drool over it. It's the lourve. You gotta see it. In the doors by 915ish. Saw the Mona Lisa first. Most people are disappointed by it. I was content w it. It's still a masterpiece and I got a picture so I'm all g. Had 3 hrs to kill afterwards. Didn't really know what else was there. Walked around. Took pics of the brochure highlights. The more I saw the more I realized that musuems just don't fancy me. Most of it freaks the hell outta me actually. People paint the creepiest people and sculpt scary things. And the ambiance is always somber and dim. Gives me goosebumps. But the lourve was alright. Huge w great art. Props for sure. Next to the Chateau Versilles. Supposedly a mammoth of a palace and garden. Took the train out. Got there. Long fricking line in the heat. Palace was huge tho and very decorated. Very legit. Louis XIV was a stud. I enjoyed all the rooms. Only part I didn't like were the tour groups. Esp the Asian ones. They are everywhere in Paris. The more I encounter the more I'm like...Asians are annoying. I'll leave it at that. Gardens were vast and nicely kept. Took some pics. Still hot. Time for some food. Tonight is our "splurge" night tho it'll still prob be simple since we are made of money. I with Paris was cheaper. O well. My stay here has been nice. Paris is one of my top cities of the trip. London tm. Hope the city is nice bc I sure do dislike the Brits :)
Day 12
Day 12
July 19, 2010
The land of the Brits is upon me. If only I could write in a British accent...but it's just English. But I'm in London. Last stop on the Tour de Europe. Today was actually a relaxing day in London. Typically the first day in a new town is hectic and jammed full, but today was the opposite. Woke up. Grabbed some parisian souvenirs. Train was delayed 45 mins bc of a train track causality :/. Very sad news. But i don't know the details. The ride was good tho. Got in some Lost. Wrote an email. Napped. Got in London. Looked aroun or our hostel. It's quite a walked for the nearest station. London is different from the other cities. Not really touristy. Just another big city w people minding their own business. The city is alot more spread out too. First impression is meh. Paris and Barcelona are still favs. Today we just toured the eastern part of the Thames River. Ate dinner at a pub. Food was alright. Prices here are lame. Gonna hit up them value meals first thing when I get back. Anyways, coolest thing we saw was the tower bridge. Very cool lit up at night. Got a nice glow to it. Now I'm in a 14 bed hostel watching Lost just chilling. Bike tour tm since we missed it today. Maybe some other places to see at night. We shall see. Last full day in Europe.
on the 20th...i did stuff. on the 21st, i flew back. watched she's out of my league and invictus on the plane. enjoyed both. k dinner time w the rents! yay
currently on my mind: sanctus real - i want to get lost (acoustic)
on the 20th...i did stuff. on the 21st, i flew back. watched she's out of my league and invictus on the plane. enjoyed both. k dinner time w the rents! yay
currently on my mind: sanctus real - i want to get lost (acoustic)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
You are the peace that calms my troubled sea
its been a while. my thoughts are overflowing my brain. everytime i wanna write, i just get tired of thinking haha. but its sunday afternoon and i have some time to just relax and be at peace so here i am. week 3 in prague. a fast week. a not-too-shabby week. school has definitely picked up in the sense that we get piled w more work...work that seems a little too much for a study abroad program. or maybe its bc my expectations were low to begin with. regardless, ive endured my first school stress this week following a horrendous tax quiz which i scored the lowest in the class. haha. its stupid bc i read and took notes like no other and yet managed to counter my common sense/logical thinking when it came to the quiz. o well. live and learn. move on.
ive been dealt w other frustrations in life, mainly that of my fall registration and schedule. i thought i had it all planned out last spring. i mean..8 am registration. perfect times. somewhat okay professors. i took 5 mins to get everything i wanted and i went back to bed at peace. turns out...everything is f-ed the f-ed up and well..now my schedule is conflicted since the econ department decided to change all the times of their classes. im forced to scrabble to register in something else and well..its just everything that i could hope against. but in the midst of it, i wonder why things turn out like that and i laid at night and questioned why i even got frustrated with it. im always quick to forget that when times are good, i dont praise God enough for just being favorable and merciful to me. and yet when times are bad, i get all pissy missy w it. tho im not really like rawr rawr rawr w it, i still forgot that God is good...all the time. and well, if my scheduled is messed up..then i have to think positively and carpe diem it. it is what it is and i must seize the day. i even thought of that throughout yday (mainly in concern w USA soccer). but funny how situations just make you forget your beliefs in a split second. i need a tattoo that says carpe the frickin day on my forehead. so yah..i shall move past it and seize this opportunity. my days will be long but i mean, better than having short uneventful days. i look forward to the fall semester. i have so much desires and im anxious to see how life plays out. there are greater things that i forward to than school itself so i need to remind myself of that. may i be faithful in trusting that the future is not written by me, but by someone even more awesome. i await you, fall 2010.
phew. long vent session partly over. part dos.
i am quite homesick. =/. i have realized that europe is beautiful and the scenery is one of a kind, but the lifestyle and the people are just not the same. maybe ive lived in america my whole life. maybe im comfortable w plano and austin and all its amenities. maybe im just too in love w the people and culture back home. but europe seriously isnt that cool. the culture here is different. its not entirely bad, but i just dont see myself living here. ever. first of all, i dont think hospitality is in their vocab. being here makes me miss southern hospitality. i know people say its just a texas thing...that other parts of america arent as hospitable and what not..but from what i have experience here..there arent many people (few i would say) that even know how to smile. everywhere i look, i see people w faces of death. faces that seem so hallow inside. maybe its just how their faces are..i dunno, but there seems to be no joy here. even worse, people just have no sense of desire to connect w each other in a positive way. people just push thro people. people shoot glares at each other. people just yell at each other over petty things. people dont smile. people really just dont give a flip about anyone else than themselves really. i would give examples..but every situation is a case by case. however, ive yet to experience a good case. im hoping the next 2 weeks brings at least 1. for the time being, i miss america. i miss my family and friends. i miss american sports. i miss american food. i miss juice (gahhhh). i miss driving my car. i am excited to travel the rest of europe in a few weeks. like really excited. but im also excited to be at home.
ok i feel like ive whined and moaned a good bit. to my surprise, i did have a good relatively peaceful weekend. stayed in town. saw some places i wouldnt have gotten a chance to. went to the national museum. it was okay. not that spectactular, but it was nice to walk and experience art and science and jazz like that. i went to vysehrad castle grounds. wasnt like a hugehuge castle place, but they had some neat places and a beautiful church. a really nice cemetery where a lot of famous people and like generations of families are buried. however, cemeteries frick the hell outta me. went to the zoo on thurs. i absolutely love zoos. im taking my kids there like every year. to like every zoo in america. i just love love zoos. itll prob be moreso for me. zoos and sea world make me feel like a youngster again. praise God for animal creation. i also went to a ballet. haha i know..not my 1st option in life, but it was interesting. saw "goldilocks." but definitely didnt see any bears. it was about a princess and some dude w his dog. it was different but kinda coolish haha. thats about it. im gonna go enjoy my restful Sunday. all the time, God is good. God is good all the time
i love desiring more.
i love dinosaurs. w a passion.
churches are beautiful
i love being in touch w my inner artfart
currently on my mind: leeland - beautiful lord
ive been dealt w other frustrations in life, mainly that of my fall registration and schedule. i thought i had it all planned out last spring. i mean..8 am registration. perfect times. somewhat okay professors. i took 5 mins to get everything i wanted and i went back to bed at peace. turns out...everything is f-ed the f-ed up and well..now my schedule is conflicted since the econ department decided to change all the times of their classes. im forced to scrabble to register in something else and well..its just everything that i could hope against. but in the midst of it, i wonder why things turn out like that and i laid at night and questioned why i even got frustrated with it. im always quick to forget that when times are good, i dont praise God enough for just being favorable and merciful to me. and yet when times are bad, i get all pissy missy w it. tho im not really like rawr rawr rawr w it, i still forgot that God is good...all the time. and well, if my scheduled is messed up..then i have to think positively and carpe diem it. it is what it is and i must seize the day. i even thought of that throughout yday (mainly in concern w USA soccer). but funny how situations just make you forget your beliefs in a split second. i need a tattoo that says carpe the frickin day on my forehead. so yah..i shall move past it and seize this opportunity. my days will be long but i mean, better than having short uneventful days. i look forward to the fall semester. i have so much desires and im anxious to see how life plays out. there are greater things that i forward to than school itself so i need to remind myself of that. may i be faithful in trusting that the future is not written by me, but by someone even more awesome. i await you, fall 2010.
phew. long vent session partly over. part dos.
i am quite homesick. =/. i have realized that europe is beautiful and the scenery is one of a kind, but the lifestyle and the people are just not the same. maybe ive lived in america my whole life. maybe im comfortable w plano and austin and all its amenities. maybe im just too in love w the people and culture back home. but europe seriously isnt that cool. the culture here is different. its not entirely bad, but i just dont see myself living here. ever. first of all, i dont think hospitality is in their vocab. being here makes me miss southern hospitality. i know people say its just a texas thing...that other parts of america arent as hospitable and what not..but from what i have experience here..there arent many people (few i would say) that even know how to smile. everywhere i look, i see people w faces of death. faces that seem so hallow inside. maybe its just how their faces are..i dunno, but there seems to be no joy here. even worse, people just have no sense of desire to connect w each other in a positive way. people just push thro people. people shoot glares at each other. people just yell at each other over petty things. people dont smile. people really just dont give a flip about anyone else than themselves really. i would give examples..but every situation is a case by case. however, ive yet to experience a good case. im hoping the next 2 weeks brings at least 1. for the time being, i miss america. i miss my family and friends. i miss american sports. i miss american food. i miss juice (gahhhh). i miss driving my car. i am excited to travel the rest of europe in a few weeks. like really excited. but im also excited to be at home.
ok i feel like ive whined and moaned a good bit. to my surprise, i did have a good relatively peaceful weekend. stayed in town. saw some places i wouldnt have gotten a chance to. went to the national museum. it was okay. not that spectactular, but it was nice to walk and experience art and science and jazz like that. i went to vysehrad castle grounds. wasnt like a hugehuge castle place, but they had some neat places and a beautiful church. a really nice cemetery where a lot of famous people and like generations of families are buried. however, cemeteries frick the hell outta me. went to the zoo on thurs. i absolutely love zoos. im taking my kids there like every year. to like every zoo in america. i just love love zoos. itll prob be moreso for me. zoos and sea world make me feel like a youngster again. praise God for animal creation. i also went to a ballet. haha i know..not my 1st option in life, but it was interesting. saw "goldilocks." but definitely didnt see any bears. it was about a princess and some dude w his dog. it was different but kinda coolish haha. thats about it. im gonna go enjoy my restful Sunday. all the time, God is good. God is good all the time
i love desiring more.
i love dinosaurs. w a passion.
churches are beautiful
i love being in touch w my inner artfart
currently on my mind: leeland - beautiful lord
Sunday, June 20, 2010
been remade
My lips are ready to confess,
But my heart is slow to feel,
And my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to thee;
Break it, wound it, bend it, mold it.
Unmask to me sin's deformity,
That I may hate it, abhor, flee from it.
mark.7.14-22
currently on my mind: tenth avenue north - you are more
But my heart is slow to feel,
And my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to thee;
Break it, wound it, bend it, mold it.
Unmask to me sin's deformity,
That I may hate it, abhor, flee from it.
mark.7.14-22
currently on my mind: tenth avenue north - you are more
Thursday, June 17, 2010
off to buda and pest
the weekend is here. what is upppp. im kinda tired but kinda excited all at the same time. this week in prague has flown by. the first week, everyone was excited to like see every part of the town, but its definitely slowed down this week. i feel pretty comfortable getting around town, knowing some of the culture, paying for things, etc etc. however, school has picked up. ive concluded that school and summer...they just arent meant to be. they just arent compatible. BUT going to school hasnt been half bad. ive actually learned a good amount of accounting. granted one class is straight lecture for 5 hrs where i want to shoot myself. the other one w lendecky is enjoyable and the time flies by. i havent had this much fun doing case studies...EVER. lendecky is by far the coolest professor at UT. hes partly why i joined MPA so i gotta give props where props is due. hes a really cool guy outside of class too. just one of the dudes haha.
but yes, this week hasnt been half bad. i have 3 fulls weeks left. 3 weekend trips left. im sure itll fly by. im heading off to budapest in about 7 hrs. heard some great stuff about it and its really really cheap. prague is cheap, but budapest is like even cheaper. im excited for cheapness. hopefully it wont rain. i do hate rain. we'll see.
highlights of the week.
-being able to wake up on monday and wednesday and go to school early to read. im not a huge reading, but it was really relaxing to just sit and read. and just soak in words for the mind. i dont think ive ever done that during college
-having a nice convo w my mom. it was nice. i enjoyed it =)
-being able to finally fall asleep! success. i figured it out...i cant listen to my ipod at night. guess the music is just so awesome for my brain to shut down.
-successfully did my laundry. finding the laundry room took me a good 10 mins. but alas i have clean underwear. i was down to 1 and i wore one for like 3 days.
-found these chocolate wafer cookie sandwich thing at the store. it is amazing but prob super fatty but it was only like a $1.50. what a great buy
-got my first.......................................spider bite in my life. maybe it was a bad idea to eat nutella and jam on my bed late at night (it was so good btw), but i felt this little tickle on my leg and i slapped at it and like...cupped a freaking spider. then i started panicing and was like omgomgomgomgomg. but so far im okay. a classmate got bit too and was like messed up in class so he got drugs. i hope my body can take it.
but i did end up finding the dead spider after i flicked it away. i wouldnt have killed him if he didnt bite me..but he did. sorry mr spider but thats what you get.
budapest, here i come!
no dryers here. not a problem
MEGA DUO
i shall name you "bitey"
currently on my mind: jason morant & abby merkel - love song
but yes, this week hasnt been half bad. i have 3 fulls weeks left. 3 weekend trips left. im sure itll fly by. im heading off to budapest in about 7 hrs. heard some great stuff about it and its really really cheap. prague is cheap, but budapest is like even cheaper. im excited for cheapness. hopefully it wont rain. i do hate rain. we'll see.
highlights of the week.
-being able to wake up on monday and wednesday and go to school early to read. im not a huge reading, but it was really relaxing to just sit and read. and just soak in words for the mind. i dont think ive ever done that during college
-having a nice convo w my mom. it was nice. i enjoyed it =)
-being able to finally fall asleep! success. i figured it out...i cant listen to my ipod at night. guess the music is just so awesome for my brain to shut down.
-successfully did my laundry. finding the laundry room took me a good 10 mins. but alas i have clean underwear. i was down to 1 and i wore one for like 3 days.
-found these chocolate wafer cookie sandwich thing at the store. it is amazing but prob super fatty but it was only like a $1.50. what a great buy
-got my first.......................................spider bite in my life. maybe it was a bad idea to eat nutella and jam on my bed late at night (it was so good btw), but i felt this little tickle on my leg and i slapped at it and like...cupped a freaking spider. then i started panicing and was like omgomgomgomgomg. but so far im okay. a classmate got bit too and was like messed up in class so he got drugs. i hope my body can take it.
but i did end up finding the dead spider after i flicked it away. i wouldnt have killed him if he didnt bite me..but he did. sorry mr spider but thats what you get.
budapest, here i come!
no dryers here. not a problem
MEGA DUO
i shall name you "bitey"
currently on my mind: jason morant & abby merkel - love song
Sunday, June 13, 2010
stale bread, nutella, and ham
ive been requested by my brother to blog more. seems i dont write enough. im actually more confident that he wants me keep up w my travels and stories more regularly since he has that much free time at work. correct me if im wrong brother dear? haha but ill try not to get too deep and just blog bout my days. so yah. im sitting on a sunday eating stale bread. nutella. and ham. deadly combination
last weekend. south bohemia. rich in czech history. i thought it be all like voodoo bohemiahemia-ish but really its like..the south. haha just like..kinda plain and parallel to hickish people from the states. they are very old school. bus ride there was terrible. for reason, i still cant sleep here in prague. maybe its bc i sleep too late (sorry mom). or maybe bc the sun still rises at 4 fricking am. or maybe bc the birds rise when the sun rises. i dunno. it takes me 45min-1hr to fall asleep. and trust me..ive thought about everything in life. gone thro this and that dream. counted sheep. i think i counted hamsters the other night. like the really fat cute ones. no dice. pray for good rest.
right..we saw a castle 1st day. couldnt take pics so that was super lame. castles are amazing. so cool to see all the rooms and like what they were used for and stuff. and like not just living rooms and dining rooms but like really bizarre small things like..changing room. or waiting room. or serving room. thats why theyre so big. they got rooms for everything. when im king, id have a "thinking" room. it just have a huge pillow. and maybe some fruit snacks. but yah. super cool designs. too bad i couldnt take pics. i did however sneak some pics of the armory and weapons. that stuff was legit. straight deadly force..killing..people.
then we went on a boat ride. it was stupid. really stupid. best part of the trip was dinner saturday night. it was free first of yall (thanks ciber). but the meal was excellent. 1st time having deer and wild boar. dessert was excellent. yum. then we slept at like some old communist dorm block. i felt like i was in prison.
next day. graphite mine tour! super coool bc of the super cool outfits. haha tour was a little interesting. B-. then we rafted down a river in a small town. it was super awesome. like just straight chilling on a raft. catching some sun. catching some branches. catching some rapids. catching some beer and burger on the way. super awesome. pants got soaked tho. soaked the rest of the day. felt like i wet myself like on repeat. its a nasty feeling.
then another castle. i totally snuck pics bc i couldnt bare the "no photos of awesome castles" rule. its ok. i didnt use flash so everything is still preserved. =). no worries.
came home. world cup action usa vs england. good game. i feel like we could have played better. good for timmy howard to step up and do his thing. gold star for him. not sure what to think of englands goalkeep. i feel bad..but...i dont...in a way. but playing goalie the last couple of years, i can somewhat sympathize. the position is the last line. a lot of pressure at times just to perform well. i think people just expect you to be 100%. thatd be ridiculous if you were even like 75%. its not like a striker is expected to score on every shot. most shots dont even arent on goal. yet the goalie is just expected. but yah, im glad he choked. im feeling good bout making it past group play. i also love europeans and soccer. they love this crap. just straight up engulf it. its a crazy experience to be in europe. i mean..czech's not even in the world cup but people eat it up like me eating my stale sandwich. nomnomnom.
other news. im officially down to 6 korunas. thats like...$.30. haha. i have no money and my debit card was rejected. so...hence me eating my stale bread sandwich. but having no money does allow me to really cherish and thank God for having money in the states. people got cash. people got credit. people got it good. when youre really poor like..6 kc poor, you really appreciate the comfort of having money. i mean...i was in line at the store w 2 bars of soap and then i realized.."f me..i dont have enough money. each bar was 9 kc ($.43). i had 16 kc =/. so i goodbye 1 bar of soap. i will cherish this bar of soap. none will go to waste. life lesson learned.
ok i finished my sandwich. it was dry. but i am satisfied. i got skype today to call BofA. what a genius program. i am officially w the skype hipness. sweet. cant wait to veg out tonight and just relax. chat. read. sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. may God bless this week w new experiences and new blessings. i miss back home. i miss seeing family and friends. i love desiring more life and more experience. til then. peace out player player
currently on my mind: sanctus real - these things take time (acoustic)
last weekend. south bohemia. rich in czech history. i thought it be all like voodoo bohemiahemia-ish but really its like..the south. haha just like..kinda plain and parallel to hickish people from the states. they are very old school. bus ride there was terrible. for reason, i still cant sleep here in prague. maybe its bc i sleep too late (sorry mom). or maybe bc the sun still rises at 4 fricking am. or maybe bc the birds rise when the sun rises. i dunno. it takes me 45min-1hr to fall asleep. and trust me..ive thought about everything in life. gone thro this and that dream. counted sheep. i think i counted hamsters the other night. like the really fat cute ones. no dice. pray for good rest.
right..we saw a castle 1st day. couldnt take pics so that was super lame. castles are amazing. so cool to see all the rooms and like what they were used for and stuff. and like not just living rooms and dining rooms but like really bizarre small things like..changing room. or waiting room. or serving room. thats why theyre so big. they got rooms for everything. when im king, id have a "thinking" room. it just have a huge pillow. and maybe some fruit snacks. but yah. super cool designs. too bad i couldnt take pics. i did however sneak some pics of the armory and weapons. that stuff was legit. straight deadly force..killing..people.
then we went on a boat ride. it was stupid. really stupid. best part of the trip was dinner saturday night. it was free first of yall (thanks ciber). but the meal was excellent. 1st time having deer and wild boar. dessert was excellent. yum. then we slept at like some old communist dorm block. i felt like i was in prison.
next day. graphite mine tour! super coool bc of the super cool outfits. haha tour was a little interesting. B-. then we rafted down a river in a small town. it was super awesome. like just straight chilling on a raft. catching some sun. catching some branches. catching some rapids. catching some beer and burger on the way. super awesome. pants got soaked tho. soaked the rest of the day. felt like i wet myself like on repeat. its a nasty feeling.
then another castle. i totally snuck pics bc i couldnt bare the "no photos of awesome castles" rule. its ok. i didnt use flash so everything is still preserved. =). no worries.
came home. world cup action usa vs england. good game. i feel like we could have played better. good for timmy howard to step up and do his thing. gold star for him. not sure what to think of englands goalkeep. i feel bad..but...i dont...in a way. but playing goalie the last couple of years, i can somewhat sympathize. the position is the last line. a lot of pressure at times just to perform well. i think people just expect you to be 100%. thatd be ridiculous if you were even like 75%. its not like a striker is expected to score on every shot. most shots dont even arent on goal. yet the goalie is just expected. but yah, im glad he choked. im feeling good bout making it past group play. i also love europeans and soccer. they love this crap. just straight up engulf it. its a crazy experience to be in europe. i mean..czech's not even in the world cup but people eat it up like me eating my stale sandwich. nomnomnom.
other news. im officially down to 6 korunas. thats like...$.30. haha. i have no money and my debit card was rejected. so...hence me eating my stale bread sandwich. but having no money does allow me to really cherish and thank God for having money in the states. people got cash. people got credit. people got it good. when youre really poor like..6 kc poor, you really appreciate the comfort of having money. i mean...i was in line at the store w 2 bars of soap and then i realized.."f me..i dont have enough money. each bar was 9 kc ($.43). i had 16 kc =/. so i goodbye 1 bar of soap. i will cherish this bar of soap. none will go to waste. life lesson learned.
ok i finished my sandwich. it was dry. but i am satisfied. i got skype today to call BofA. what a genius program. i am officially w the skype hipness. sweet. cant wait to veg out tonight and just relax. chat. read. sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. may God bless this week w new experiences and new blessings. i miss back home. i miss seeing family and friends. i love desiring more life and more experience. til then. peace out player player
currently on my mind: sanctus real - these things take time (acoustic)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
1st week in prague
call me a homebody, but i think the most relaxing parts of my day are when i get to home at night and just sit on my bed w my laptop and just reflect about my day. my days have been fun-filled and eventful, but i find the most peace just sitting and thinking. maybe i think too much. o well. i am me.
1st week is almost over kinda. im in class for only 4 days outta the week so tm is like a friday. its gone by fast. its been blessed tho. ive seen God at work. ive seen myself be challenged and ive seen opportunities where i need to act more and stop being so lowkey (or how many people say..being "asian"). i feel like asians get a bad rep bc we're passive. well truth be told...im passive in many incidents. these last few days, ive experienced different cultures in a sense. the prague culture (given) but also the white american culture. ive lived in an asian, christian bubble for the past 4 years. i love it. its encouraging. but its only a small speck of the diversity and personalities out there. i had so much anxiety leading up to this trip mainly bc....man when was the last time i really got out of my comfortable, fluffy, happy bubble. in other words, i was scared to interact w white people. i dont mean to sound racist..im really not. but its been like 8 yrs since ive been in community w the caucasian race. i must say that they have exceeded any expectation and many have really shown me that...God's people are truly created to be in relationship w one another. its amazing. small gestures. small conversations. small initiations w me from them. ive truly appreciated the people ive met. ive been encouraged by their intentionality. it has made this week enjoyable. for instance, i kinda live away from everyone. they all live in building d w suites connected. i live in building e in a double-bed room. last night, im in my room..kinda lonely haha kinda away from everyone bc i really dont know what people are up to and where they are. knock on the door. oh hello there. 2 girls i had recently met are like..you need to get out of your room. lets go. get get get get. at first im like...man..i havent showered..im sitting talking to people..i feel "comfortable." but of course, they drag me out to the local pub. best 4 hrs in a drinking atmosphere ive been in ever. much different from 6th in austin (where i feel like the majority of people go just to get hammered). pubs are so much more chill and people have a grand time just chatting and joking around. and its a treat. i met a good amt of people just so willing to spring up any conversations from all walks of life. its great to hear people's stories, tell people mine, and just laugh at silly things in the world. what an experience. started from a blessed gesture. or even small things to me really show me the beauty of people and how they influence emotions and attitudes. like this morning. im waiting for the tram to go to school. kinda standing there alone bc i just missed the last one. a group of people are walking up to the tram and one girl just so happens to catch my eye and she has a very enthusiastic smile and waved at me. i was kinda like..whoa..hello too. how can i not smile? how can i not feel loved in a small sense? how can such a small gesture make me feel welcomed? the people ive met have been so loving and intentional and its really welcoming. im sure they could all tell..man this guy doesnt know many people. but they dont just stand there and ignore me. they find instances to interact w me. they invite me to things. they keep asking me to go on their weekend trips. they get excited to be in community. like...really excited haha. i sit here and wonder..wow. im apart of a fellowship at UT. a large fellowship. and yet i hear the unwelcomeness that people take away from experiencing the fellowship. sure...everyone's different. everyone's personality is different. i know i know. but what if...our joy and our love would just pour out w a smile and a wave just to say "hey! i acknowledge your presence and for that i am smiling." i would like to be apart of that. i would like to see that. im sure she wasnt planning it...like oh..i see andrew. we kinda met last night. im gonna plan for a big wave. she was like. andrew! *wave* (i mean..i dunno. maybe?). but i still hope i can love like that. love w/o thinking. no planning. no nothing. just be so in love w loving people that its natural. i need to work on that. stop thinking. just love. thats a good concept to hold onto.
ok that was too deep. so far...i walked the town the first day i got there. i went on a 4 hr walking tour of the town the other day w my group and we ended up at prague castle. it was the longest walk of my college career. goodness. but i saw some awesome things in prague. some small nooks and our tour guide was wonderful. so much rich history and stories. i love it. i took a lot of pictures, but i couldnt tell you much bout each building now. but prague castle is one of a kind. its beautiful. i love castles. they are so unreal. the architecture is astonishing and the intricacies are so detailed. people's talents amaze me. esp like back in the day w/o awesome technology and techniques and what not. like they were still legit. thank you God for talented people. but yes...i saw prague castle earlier tonight too. its beautiful during the day but at night..it is just gorgeous. so peaceful. i was in awe just to stand in one of the courtyards and look at the highest point. too bad i didnt have my camera.
im going to south bohemia this weekend. suppose to see some more castles and mroe rich culture of czech. im excited. i hope to grow my relationships w people. ive truly enjoyed some of their personalities. they are like peppy...sometimes super peppy, but in the end, they bring a smile to my face. i mean...man.. smiles really make the world better.
my facebook is the sucks right now. my uploading of pictures keeps failing. i can like upload 3 so far and they arent cool. please work tm. ill leave w this note...
currently on my mind: aaron ivey.amos story
1st week is almost over kinda. im in class for only 4 days outta the week so tm is like a friday. its gone by fast. its been blessed tho. ive seen God at work. ive seen myself be challenged and ive seen opportunities where i need to act more and stop being so lowkey (or how many people say..being "asian"). i feel like asians get a bad rep bc we're passive. well truth be told...im passive in many incidents. these last few days, ive experienced different cultures in a sense. the prague culture (given) but also the white american culture. ive lived in an asian, christian bubble for the past 4 years. i love it. its encouraging. but its only a small speck of the diversity and personalities out there. i had so much anxiety leading up to this trip mainly bc....man when was the last time i really got out of my comfortable, fluffy, happy bubble. in other words, i was scared to interact w white people. i dont mean to sound racist..im really not. but its been like 8 yrs since ive been in community w the caucasian race. i must say that they have exceeded any expectation and many have really shown me that...God's people are truly created to be in relationship w one another. its amazing. small gestures. small conversations. small initiations w me from them. ive truly appreciated the people ive met. ive been encouraged by their intentionality. it has made this week enjoyable. for instance, i kinda live away from everyone. they all live in building d w suites connected. i live in building e in a double-bed room. last night, im in my room..kinda lonely haha kinda away from everyone bc i really dont know what people are up to and where they are. knock on the door. oh hello there. 2 girls i had recently met are like..you need to get out of your room. lets go. get get get get. at first im like...man..i havent showered..im sitting talking to people..i feel "comfortable." but of course, they drag me out to the local pub. best 4 hrs in a drinking atmosphere ive been in ever. much different from 6th in austin (where i feel like the majority of people go just to get hammered). pubs are so much more chill and people have a grand time just chatting and joking around. and its a treat. i met a good amt of people just so willing to spring up any conversations from all walks of life. its great to hear people's stories, tell people mine, and just laugh at silly things in the world. what an experience. started from a blessed gesture. or even small things to me really show me the beauty of people and how they influence emotions and attitudes. like this morning. im waiting for the tram to go to school. kinda standing there alone bc i just missed the last one. a group of people are walking up to the tram and one girl just so happens to catch my eye and she has a very enthusiastic smile and waved at me. i was kinda like..whoa..hello too. how can i not smile? how can i not feel loved in a small sense? how can such a small gesture make me feel welcomed? the people ive met have been so loving and intentional and its really welcoming. im sure they could all tell..man this guy doesnt know many people. but they dont just stand there and ignore me. they find instances to interact w me. they invite me to things. they keep asking me to go on their weekend trips. they get excited to be in community. like...really excited haha. i sit here and wonder..wow. im apart of a fellowship at UT. a large fellowship. and yet i hear the unwelcomeness that people take away from experiencing the fellowship. sure...everyone's different. everyone's personality is different. i know i know. but what if...our joy and our love would just pour out w a smile and a wave just to say "hey! i acknowledge your presence and for that i am smiling." i would like to be apart of that. i would like to see that. im sure she wasnt planning it...like oh..i see andrew. we kinda met last night. im gonna plan for a big wave. she was like. andrew! *wave* (i mean..i dunno. maybe?). but i still hope i can love like that. love w/o thinking. no planning. no nothing. just be so in love w loving people that its natural. i need to work on that. stop thinking. just love. thats a good concept to hold onto.
ok that was too deep. so far...i walked the town the first day i got there. i went on a 4 hr walking tour of the town the other day w my group and we ended up at prague castle. it was the longest walk of my college career. goodness. but i saw some awesome things in prague. some small nooks and our tour guide was wonderful. so much rich history and stories. i love it. i took a lot of pictures, but i couldnt tell you much bout each building now. but prague castle is one of a kind. its beautiful. i love castles. they are so unreal. the architecture is astonishing and the intricacies are so detailed. people's talents amaze me. esp like back in the day w/o awesome technology and techniques and what not. like they were still legit. thank you God for talented people. but yes...i saw prague castle earlier tonight too. its beautiful during the day but at night..it is just gorgeous. so peaceful. i was in awe just to stand in one of the courtyards and look at the highest point. too bad i didnt have my camera.
im going to south bohemia this weekend. suppose to see some more castles and mroe rich culture of czech. im excited. i hope to grow my relationships w people. ive truly enjoyed some of their personalities. they are like peppy...sometimes super peppy, but in the end, they bring a smile to my face. i mean...man.. smiles really make the world better.
my facebook is the sucks right now. my uploading of pictures keeps failing. i can like upload 3 so far and they arent cool. please work tm. ill leave w this note...
currently on my mind: aaron ivey.amos story
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Co je dobré Moji drazí Američané
"whats good my fellow americans?" thats what my title says. i just used an eng/czech translator site. czech is way to hard to pick up. i can barely say please and thank you. im more of a smiler and a head nodder. it seems to get the job done =). but anyways..HELLO FROM PRAGUE. or how the natives say..PRAHA..ha..ha....ha. but yes. i am here and alive. praise God like seriously. he is good. no doubt about that. as i sit here in my dorm room bed in the dark w the connecting kitchen door cracked open w light (for those who need a vivid picture..oh im also half naked for those who want a more vivid one), i must praise the God i believe to be the creator, provider, and comforter of my life. so much anxiety leading up to this trip and this experience and yet God has seemed to meet every one headon and say.."andrew..i got you. no worries." im feeling good bout this trip. im feeling uncomfortable in a sense, but knowing that me and God are gonna do it big in czech. we got lots of catching up to do, but we're gonna get it done. i like that feeling.
so these 1st 2 days have been good, if not great. lets start w friday june 4. after a night of frantic packing, some good conversation, and little rest, im off to the airport w my parents. my mom accompanies me all around the airport. shes a great mom. a mom that guards, advises, and a constant reminder of things. kinda to the point where im stressed out before i leave. but it was good and i am thankful. i got a connecting to chicago ohare. flight was alright. sat window. takeoff was kinda nerve racking so i ended up passing out. woke up to some awesome looking clouds. just straight up amazing and a work of art. looked like stepping stones. in the midst i imagine what it was like to be God and just roll around in those clouds and chill. it must be awesome. landed. kinda harshly actually. i give the pilot a 5 out of 10. anyways. ohare. ate mcds. called mom. peed. off to london via virgin atlantic! i must say..the british accents are kinda overused and made fun of but..it is pleasant to the ear when youre traveling abroad. virgin crew were super nice and polite (some kinda cute) w killer accents. the flight provided a nice blanket, pillow, some socks, toothbrush/paste, and a tv thingy. i was kinda impressed but im sure most airlines have it. i watched the blindside on the trip. after all those rave reviews i get from friends...i did like it. i enjoyed it. loved big mike and his character. i am a huge sandra bullock fan now. maybe i just liked her character a lot. a strong, vibrant woman w a huge heart and some looks to die for. ever girl should aspire to be like her character. anyways, sleeping on the plane was super uncomfortable..i slept for like 2 hrs maybe. no bueno. by the time i got to london it was 8am local and like 2 am usa time so i was starting to get tired. heathrow is huge and very beautifully structured. reminds me of irobot haha. the subway rail is super awesome too. so smooth and sophisticated. very easy to get around. i ran back and forth tho trying to change my return flight w no success. im hoping ill succeed by july. i ended up traveling to london w a new mpa friend (casey) shes a soccer player at ut and really easy to talk to. not only was our flight to london fast and super smooth (a 9.5 fo sho), but i got my own row of seats and a nice nap. go brit tish airways! im glad i had a newfound friend w me when i arrived bc getting around the airport was like...w..t..frick. it almost seemed deserted too. a lot of things were closed. there were like a handful of people. but we shared a van w some other bhp finance people (studying as well) and arrived to our dorms. dorms are okay. very ikea like. check my fb later for pics. but downfalls include no microwave, no wireless internet, terrible room setup, useless blinds haha, no ac thermostat. some cool things include new furniture (go ikea), my bed and pillow (amazing), clean bathroom, some silverware, netural smell (no jester here). its pleasant. my roommate (james haha how ironic) is pretty chill too. he slept a lot the 1st day. anyways, i checked in, showered and i was out and about. pretty much casey and i were like the only mpa people in the dorms. all the other mpa-ers were out i guess. bhp people kept to themselves so casey and i were like..lets czech out the city. we get a tram pass and we're off. prague is cool bc everything feels so connected. cars dont dominate downtown. its all trams or people walking. you can get around anywhere on a tram. we get off near the center of town just start walking. like..walk.walk.walk.walk.walk. no map, no nothing haha. we just started walking and taking pictures of whatever we saw. the architecture of the city is unique. everything is like compressed together but like 15 stories high. like EVERYWHERE. but the cool thing is that each building is styled differently. so its like compressed but like super eccentric. its like if were you were taking gummy bears and smash them together. all still gummy bears, but w nice mix of color and stuff. its pretty cool. each street has like a million streets that branch off it. its like a huge maze. and there are like NO street signs at all. people just know i guess. we ended just walking down any street we saw cool. weaved in and out of places, looking for the coolest places to take pictures. we ended aroudn the charles bridge which overseas the vltava river which runs thro the city. it was quite beautiful. we ended up walking bak in random directions to this awesome square/center. there were some statues and random street performers w restaraunts on the edge. we ended up just sitting and grabbing dinner. it was kinda romantic in a platonic way haha. great for couples tho. the sun goes down super late too. around 9pm. we ate til round 930 then and we started headed back. its crazy how fast people disperse. walking back was very empty. people were gone all of sudden. it started to get kinda scary bc we had no idea where we were and people kept eyeing us. maybe casey was good looking..or maybe i was? haha it was prob bc it was like an asian guy w an american white girl haha i dunno. but we figured out how to find the right tram back so praise God some more. got back and didnt have internet. so i was like..maybe ill upload some pics or watch some lost. my adapter thing didnt have the 3 prongs for my laptop charger so i tried to borrow my roommate who was still sleeping..but like..it didnt really work and i didnt want to break it so i went to bed.
day 2. woke up at 5am w the sun shining bright. first instinct was like.."is it noon already...5 am?! wtmonkeys" (pass out). did this a couple times. woke up at 3 pm. woot. 14 hrs of sleep. went to the local grocery store. got some fruit to make mamma proud. some bread/meat. nutella (which ive never ever bought in the usa. but was like..this feels like home haha). and some manzana lift (feels like...mexico i guess?). made a sandwich. had orientation w the rest of the group. i can definitely feel the cliques in the group. its okay tho. im gonna break them all up. haha or try. we'll see. found an ethernet cable and INTERNET FTW! i felt at peace =). it was good to see my email. my mom writes the funniest emails. i just got her a gmail so we could vchat while in prague. first email wrote "hell, Andrew // is mom. i already open g-mail waiting for you. you chat with your friends. when you finish you can call me . i sleep in your room." isnt that adorable. =) in a later one, she used an emoticon, which i proudly taught her. it was epic. but yah, ended having some good convos so thank you americans for checking up on me and keeping me sane. called my mom. it was good to her. yay mom. ate dinner w my roommate which was pretty eventful. good convo. learned a lot and was just amazed at people's life stories and what not. had a pretty good dinner at a local pub. beer was surprisingly good. food was good. waitresses were nice w us. and it wasnt too expensive. beers are super cheap here. got a tall one for like a buck. i got a feeling ill be eating at this pub a lot since its so close and cheap and good. and so here i am...at home..online. the life i love =D.
i enjoy blogging. it lets me unravel my thoughts and hold onto some memories that i might have just overlooked. good times so far. God is so good. im really looking forward to studying and traveling. cant wait til james and charles get here. then we can be that clique. watch out europe.
ok time to leave myself w some likes. dislikes. and some photography =)
----likes (so far)----
-czech money. rolling around hundred kc bills, even a thousand kc bill feels kinda cool. but its really like only have $10 bills haha. 21kc = 1 usd
-new found friends. yay casey and james (and some other bhp peeps)
-walking around town. its so chill and casual. i wish american cities were more like that
-my bed and pillow. like seriously. we get free linen changes each week too. no more semesterly cleanings
-this is for chow. the women here are gorgeous (for the most part). everytime i see a good looking one, i think of you.
-trams are pretty sweet
-czech people dont seem to hate americans. well not asian americans.
---dislikes (so far)---
-czech money. us bills are still easier to use. and dividing by 21 takes time
-european air. people smoke a lot. bad air clogs my nose. =cant breathe, nasty looking boogers, snoring (sorry james)
-time difference. 7 hrs ahead. people..get on earlier. k thanks
-phone. no data. limited app use. czech num: 00420773454763. call me. itll be worth the $50 bill. trust me.
-lack of wifi areas. maybe i need to look harder
-group cliques
-you have to pay for a lot of amenities like the bathroom (in public)
(UPDATED)
-early morning sunrise making me not fall back asleep at 530 am...=/
-NO water fountains.....seriously?
-lack of ac appliances. its all natural air in the praha
may the list continue. ok now for my visual senses.
me on the charles bridge
my view from the dinner table
currently on my mind: tenth avenue north.you are more
so these 1st 2 days have been good, if not great. lets start w friday june 4. after a night of frantic packing, some good conversation, and little rest, im off to the airport w my parents. my mom accompanies me all around the airport. shes a great mom. a mom that guards, advises, and a constant reminder of things. kinda to the point where im stressed out before i leave. but it was good and i am thankful. i got a connecting to chicago ohare. flight was alright. sat window. takeoff was kinda nerve racking so i ended up passing out. woke up to some awesome looking clouds. just straight up amazing and a work of art. looked like stepping stones. in the midst i imagine what it was like to be God and just roll around in those clouds and chill. it must be awesome. landed. kinda harshly actually. i give the pilot a 5 out of 10. anyways. ohare. ate mcds. called mom. peed. off to london via virgin atlantic! i must say..the british accents are kinda overused and made fun of but..it is pleasant to the ear when youre traveling abroad. virgin crew were super nice and polite (some kinda cute) w killer accents. the flight provided a nice blanket, pillow, some socks, toothbrush/paste, and a tv thingy. i was kinda impressed but im sure most airlines have it. i watched the blindside on the trip. after all those rave reviews i get from friends...i did like it. i enjoyed it. loved big mike and his character. i am a huge sandra bullock fan now. maybe i just liked her character a lot. a strong, vibrant woman w a huge heart and some looks to die for. ever girl should aspire to be like her character. anyways, sleeping on the plane was super uncomfortable..i slept for like 2 hrs maybe. no bueno. by the time i got to london it was 8am local and like 2 am usa time so i was starting to get tired. heathrow is huge and very beautifully structured. reminds me of irobot haha. the subway rail is super awesome too. so smooth and sophisticated. very easy to get around. i ran back and forth tho trying to change my return flight w no success. im hoping ill succeed by july. i ended up traveling to london w a new mpa friend (casey) shes a soccer player at ut and really easy to talk to. not only was our flight to london fast and super smooth (a 9.5 fo sho), but i got my own row of seats and a nice nap. go brit tish airways! im glad i had a newfound friend w me when i arrived bc getting around the airport was like...w..t..frick. it almost seemed deserted too. a lot of things were closed. there were like a handful of people. but we shared a van w some other bhp finance people (studying as well) and arrived to our dorms. dorms are okay. very ikea like. check my fb later for pics. but downfalls include no microwave, no wireless internet, terrible room setup, useless blinds haha, no ac thermostat. some cool things include new furniture (go ikea), my bed and pillow (amazing), clean bathroom, some silverware, netural smell (no jester here). its pleasant. my roommate (james haha how ironic) is pretty chill too. he slept a lot the 1st day. anyways, i checked in, showered and i was out and about. pretty much casey and i were like the only mpa people in the dorms. all the other mpa-ers were out i guess. bhp people kept to themselves so casey and i were like..lets czech out the city. we get a tram pass and we're off. prague is cool bc everything feels so connected. cars dont dominate downtown. its all trams or people walking. you can get around anywhere on a tram. we get off near the center of town just start walking. like..walk.walk.walk.walk.walk. no map, no nothing haha. we just started walking and taking pictures of whatever we saw. the architecture of the city is unique. everything is like compressed together but like 15 stories high. like EVERYWHERE. but the cool thing is that each building is styled differently. so its like compressed but like super eccentric. its like if were you were taking gummy bears and smash them together. all still gummy bears, but w nice mix of color and stuff. its pretty cool. each street has like a million streets that branch off it. its like a huge maze. and there are like NO street signs at all. people just know i guess. we ended just walking down any street we saw cool. weaved in and out of places, looking for the coolest places to take pictures. we ended aroudn the charles bridge which overseas the vltava river which runs thro the city. it was quite beautiful. we ended up walking bak in random directions to this awesome square/center. there were some statues and random street performers w restaraunts on the edge. we ended up just sitting and grabbing dinner. it was kinda romantic in a platonic way haha. great for couples tho. the sun goes down super late too. around 9pm. we ate til round 930 then and we started headed back. its crazy how fast people disperse. walking back was very empty. people were gone all of sudden. it started to get kinda scary bc we had no idea where we were and people kept eyeing us. maybe casey was good looking..or maybe i was? haha it was prob bc it was like an asian guy w an american white girl haha i dunno. but we figured out how to find the right tram back so praise God some more. got back and didnt have internet. so i was like..maybe ill upload some pics or watch some lost. my adapter thing didnt have the 3 prongs for my laptop charger so i tried to borrow my roommate who was still sleeping..but like..it didnt really work and i didnt want to break it so i went to bed.
day 2. woke up at 5am w the sun shining bright. first instinct was like.."is it noon already...5 am?! wtmonkeys" (pass out). did this a couple times. woke up at 3 pm. woot. 14 hrs of sleep. went to the local grocery store. got some fruit to make mamma proud. some bread/meat. nutella (which ive never ever bought in the usa. but was like..this feels like home haha). and some manzana lift (feels like...mexico i guess?). made a sandwich. had orientation w the rest of the group. i can definitely feel the cliques in the group. its okay tho. im gonna break them all up. haha or try. we'll see. found an ethernet cable and INTERNET FTW! i felt at peace =). it was good to see my email. my mom writes the funniest emails. i just got her a gmail so we could vchat while in prague. first email wrote "hell, Andrew // is mom. i already open g-mail waiting for you. you chat with your friends. when you finish you can call me . i sleep in your room." isnt that adorable. =) in a later one, she used an emoticon, which i proudly taught her. it was epic. but yah, ended having some good convos so thank you americans for checking up on me and keeping me sane. called my mom. it was good to her. yay mom. ate dinner w my roommate which was pretty eventful. good convo. learned a lot and was just amazed at people's life stories and what not. had a pretty good dinner at a local pub. beer was surprisingly good. food was good. waitresses were nice w us. and it wasnt too expensive. beers are super cheap here. got a tall one for like a buck. i got a feeling ill be eating at this pub a lot since its so close and cheap and good. and so here i am...at home..online. the life i love =D.
i enjoy blogging. it lets me unravel my thoughts and hold onto some memories that i might have just overlooked. good times so far. God is so good. im really looking forward to studying and traveling. cant wait til james and charles get here. then we can be that clique. watch out europe.
ok time to leave myself w some likes. dislikes. and some photography =)
----likes (so far)----
-czech money. rolling around hundred kc bills, even a thousand kc bill feels kinda cool. but its really like only have $10 bills haha. 21kc = 1 usd
-new found friends. yay casey and james (and some other bhp peeps)
-walking around town. its so chill and casual. i wish american cities were more like that
-my bed and pillow. like seriously. we get free linen changes each week too. no more semesterly cleanings
-this is for chow. the women here are gorgeous (for the most part). everytime i see a good looking one, i think of you.
-trams are pretty sweet
-czech people dont seem to hate americans. well not asian americans.
---dislikes (so far)---
-czech money. us bills are still easier to use. and dividing by 21 takes time
-european air. people smoke a lot. bad air clogs my nose. =cant breathe, nasty looking boogers, snoring (sorry james)
-time difference. 7 hrs ahead. people..get on earlier. k thanks
-phone. no data. limited app use. czech num: 00420773454763. call me. itll be worth the $50 bill. trust me.
-lack of wifi areas. maybe i need to look harder
-group cliques
-you have to pay for a lot of amenities like the bathroom (in public)
(UPDATED)
-early morning sunrise making me not fall back asleep at 530 am...=/
-NO water fountains.....seriously?
-lack of ac appliances. its all natural air in the praha
may the list continue. ok now for my visual senses.
me on the charles bridge
my view from the dinner table
currently on my mind: tenth avenue north.you are more
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
See You America
ever since i was small, my parents and i would always say "see you" instead of "goodbye" bc goodbye meant forever in a sense to my rents and see you was temporary. so we'd always catch ourselves and say..oops see you see you see you. like..my rents would say it bout 50 times. thats funny how thats kinda stuck around for my whole life. but yes..."see you" america. i shall miss you the next 2 months.
so i leave the country in 2 days. friday 135 pm to be exact. well...i leave dallas then..then off to chicago..then to london..then to prague. so i guess ill be hitting the atlantic around 8pm or something. anyways..as the days draw near, my anxiety draws greater. like a lot greater. last few days have been super chill at home and ive just been thinking. just sitting. and thinking. and yah..its been a tale of 2 cities. im really nervous and scared but yet im pretty stoked and excited for this opportunity. i havent been on a plane since hs and i think one of my biggest fears is dying in a plane crash so...i really hope that doesnt happen haha. i dont think ill be a big fan of airport crowdedness neither. itll be an experience for sure. its a scary thought to enter a foreign territory. i could research all i want and i could ask as many people for advice, but until im there, ill never be sure what ill experience...so yah..im scared. its like 1st day of kindergarten. when you stand there and your mom is there and all these kids are there. i dont remember if i bolted and gave my mom the peaceout sign or if i stood next to her and clutched onto her leg, but im pretty sure ill give my mom a huge, awesome hug before i depart bc to be honest...theres a lot of craziness that could happen overseas. so in a way, im kinda fearful of my life over there. but i dont want to entertain anymore thoughts of disaster and crazy occurances but..i mean..im a realist. i fantansize bout lots of things, but in the end...im real w it. plus i doubt like its no one's business.
but onward to my excitement. i have longed to see europe ever since middle school i think. i have longed to see the beauty of the european land and its culture and its buildings and its people. i dont think my excitement for that will hit until i touch down in london on saturday. sure london might be very similar to america, but i know prague wont. i mean..i can only say hello in czech. america will be history in my mind. ill have to be a native...asian...czech haha. im sure ill stick out like no other but im gonna try and embrace it. i hope to see myself encouraged to branch out and experience this culture..like try and talk to people there..try to understand their customs there...just be one w them. i really hope im not a debbie downer and a big whiner there. theres always a couple in a group that will become like that and just complain complain complain. please..please dont let it be me. i want to just live life freely and with a blessed heart and take it as it comes. my biggest excitement/fear is my program im going with. theres like 30+ people going..and i know NO ONE. well kinda 1 girl..but when i looked thro all the fb's of the people going (we set up a group..i didnt stalk all of them with my own resources)..every person had her as a mutual friend so she knows like everyone and their moms..and prob their dads. but yah. i know no one. so im really excited to see what God has in store. i might get along w no one. i might get along w a good few...but im praying that God will really show me what it looks like to love people. God's will not mine. i know God will do wonders in His ways. right now..im just anxious to see it. its like waiting for a bathroom stall when you really gotta go. youre like..ready to jump in there and see the wonders of life. lets it get onnnnn!
im also excited for traveling. i mean..its europe. traveling is a must. cant wait to see prague. ive been practicing picture-taking for a couple weeks now. i mean..i suck at it..but ive trained just for these weeks. put me in coach! im definitely excited to travel w friends there too. cant wait til i finish my classes and i hit the road w my 2 close dude friends. i cant wait just to do things and not think. jsut do it. we're young and stupid. lets just do it. i gotta see how long i can go w/o showering in europe. i mean..i might fit right in w the locals =P. but really..i just want to enjoy the blessings this trip. im thankful for friends coming and traveling. we shall make it memorable.
but aside for that..theres just various random things that have my heart unsettled. among all the prague, europe, traveling business..theres still life as we know. just the normal routine aspects of life that always..i mean always always always keep me wrestling w things. i mean..we all deal with it...faith and relationships. two aspects in life that i just encountered and seek after everyday of my life it seems. my faith and my walk this summer have been frustrating. i wish it wasnt..but it has been. constant back and forth wrestling. ups and downs. lefts and rights. just everywhere. my relationships w people and my family...the same haha. wrestle wrestle. and i guess im not sure what to make of my study abroad opportunity. the timing of it seems like its destiny. but once again..theres always two sides of looking at it. one side is..i might be able to find some answers..find some peace with a different scenery. that maybe God is granting this opportunity to rethink some things and find truth and clarity away from the routine of my life. i mean..that sounds awesome. the other side is that its an opportunity for me to run away from it all. to see my struggles and to see my desires and just say.."yall stay in america, im gonna go party in europe." i mean..that kinda sounds awesome too...in a dangerous way haha. so yah..theres definitely a lot of things on my heart and ideally..i would love for europe to be a place where i do find some peace and closure and better insight about my faith and relationships. i mean..i wanna have some fun too..but i definitely dont want to run from these issues. ive cowarded out many times on things that i feel i could have manned up and just done. i hope God presents those opportunities to me so i can just sack up and face the realities of life. i hope to be back in late july w a renewed, refreshed attitude about things and people. get..excited.
ok ive rambled enough. ill leave with my misses and not misses regarding my trip to praha, czechaslsekljkcjelkkmdepublica
things i will miss while in europe:
-my family of course
-some of my friends? =)
-hanging out w them
-american sports
-my cinnamon toast crunch and fruit snack stashes next to my desk
-driving w the windows down and music loud..siigh. i love it
-my desktop...starcraft
-waking up late
-my guitar =/
-data on my iphone
-american women that smell nice
-church/biblical community (i do hope for it there tho)
things i wont miss while in europe
-my fricking hot room
-terrible american radio
-the weather here
-vitamins and vegetables. sorry mom =)
oh and prayers is a must. please pray for me
-safe travel to and fro
-health
-possible cultural shock?
-roommate for the summer
-people in my program. for me to love and be loved. being bold and extending truth
-temptations from european debauchery
-finding biblical community
-safe travels afterwards w buddies
-encouraging attitude regardless the situation
-trusting God w my faith and relationships
i guess thats that. europe..here i come =D
on my mind: relient k - be my escape
so i leave the country in 2 days. friday 135 pm to be exact. well...i leave dallas then..then off to chicago..then to london..then to prague. so i guess ill be hitting the atlantic around 8pm or something. anyways..as the days draw near, my anxiety draws greater. like a lot greater. last few days have been super chill at home and ive just been thinking. just sitting. and thinking. and yah..its been a tale of 2 cities. im really nervous and scared but yet im pretty stoked and excited for this opportunity. i havent been on a plane since hs and i think one of my biggest fears is dying in a plane crash so...i really hope that doesnt happen haha. i dont think ill be a big fan of airport crowdedness neither. itll be an experience for sure. its a scary thought to enter a foreign territory. i could research all i want and i could ask as many people for advice, but until im there, ill never be sure what ill experience...so yah..im scared. its like 1st day of kindergarten. when you stand there and your mom is there and all these kids are there. i dont remember if i bolted and gave my mom the peaceout sign or if i stood next to her and clutched onto her leg, but im pretty sure ill give my mom a huge, awesome hug before i depart bc to be honest...theres a lot of craziness that could happen overseas. so in a way, im kinda fearful of my life over there. but i dont want to entertain anymore thoughts of disaster and crazy occurances but..i mean..im a realist. i fantansize bout lots of things, but in the end...im real w it. plus i doubt like its no one's business.
but onward to my excitement. i have longed to see europe ever since middle school i think. i have longed to see the beauty of the european land and its culture and its buildings and its people. i dont think my excitement for that will hit until i touch down in london on saturday. sure london might be very similar to america, but i know prague wont. i mean..i can only say hello in czech. america will be history in my mind. ill have to be a native...asian...czech haha. im sure ill stick out like no other but im gonna try and embrace it. i hope to see myself encouraged to branch out and experience this culture..like try and talk to people there..try to understand their customs there...just be one w them. i really hope im not a debbie downer and a big whiner there. theres always a couple in a group that will become like that and just complain complain complain. please..please dont let it be me. i want to just live life freely and with a blessed heart and take it as it comes. my biggest excitement/fear is my program im going with. theres like 30+ people going..and i know NO ONE. well kinda 1 girl..but when i looked thro all the fb's of the people going (we set up a group..i didnt stalk all of them with my own resources)..every person had her as a mutual friend so she knows like everyone and their moms..and prob their dads. but yah. i know no one. so im really excited to see what God has in store. i might get along w no one. i might get along w a good few...but im praying that God will really show me what it looks like to love people. God's will not mine. i know God will do wonders in His ways. right now..im just anxious to see it. its like waiting for a bathroom stall when you really gotta go. youre like..ready to jump in there and see the wonders of life. lets it get onnnnn!
im also excited for traveling. i mean..its europe. traveling is a must. cant wait to see prague. ive been practicing picture-taking for a couple weeks now. i mean..i suck at it..but ive trained just for these weeks. put me in coach! im definitely excited to travel w friends there too. cant wait til i finish my classes and i hit the road w my 2 close dude friends. i cant wait just to do things and not think. jsut do it. we're young and stupid. lets just do it. i gotta see how long i can go w/o showering in europe. i mean..i might fit right in w the locals =P. but really..i just want to enjoy the blessings this trip. im thankful for friends coming and traveling. we shall make it memorable.
but aside for that..theres just various random things that have my heart unsettled. among all the prague, europe, traveling business..theres still life as we know. just the normal routine aspects of life that always..i mean always always always keep me wrestling w things. i mean..we all deal with it...faith and relationships. two aspects in life that i just encountered and seek after everyday of my life it seems. my faith and my walk this summer have been frustrating. i wish it wasnt..but it has been. constant back and forth wrestling. ups and downs. lefts and rights. just everywhere. my relationships w people and my family...the same haha. wrestle wrestle. and i guess im not sure what to make of my study abroad opportunity. the timing of it seems like its destiny. but once again..theres always two sides of looking at it. one side is..i might be able to find some answers..find some peace with a different scenery. that maybe God is granting this opportunity to rethink some things and find truth and clarity away from the routine of my life. i mean..that sounds awesome. the other side is that its an opportunity for me to run away from it all. to see my struggles and to see my desires and just say.."yall stay in america, im gonna go party in europe." i mean..that kinda sounds awesome too...in a dangerous way haha. so yah..theres definitely a lot of things on my heart and ideally..i would love for europe to be a place where i do find some peace and closure and better insight about my faith and relationships. i mean..i wanna have some fun too..but i definitely dont want to run from these issues. ive cowarded out many times on things that i feel i could have manned up and just done. i hope God presents those opportunities to me so i can just sack up and face the realities of life. i hope to be back in late july w a renewed, refreshed attitude about things and people. get..excited.
ok ive rambled enough. ill leave with my misses and not misses regarding my trip to praha, czechaslsekljkcjelkkmdepublica
things i will miss while in europe:
-my family of course
-some of my friends? =)
-hanging out w them
-american sports
-my cinnamon toast crunch and fruit snack stashes next to my desk
-driving w the windows down and music loud..siigh. i love it
-my desktop...starcraft
-waking up late
-my guitar =/
-data on my iphone
-american women that smell nice
-church/biblical community (i do hope for it there tho)
things i wont miss while in europe
-my fricking hot room
-terrible american radio
-the weather here
-vitamins and vegetables. sorry mom =)
oh and prayers is a must. please pray for me
-safe travel to and fro
-health
-possible cultural shock?
-roommate for the summer
-people in my program. for me to love and be loved. being bold and extending truth
-temptations from european debauchery
-finding biblical community
-safe travels afterwards w buddies
-encouraging attitude regardless the situation
-trusting God w my faith and relationships
i guess thats that. europe..here i come =D
on my mind: relient k - be my escape
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
hello summer
for many, summer started a couple of weeks ago. but for me, i shall recognize the start of summer now. mainly for the sole reason that im at home, away from people, kinda to myself. now don't get me wrong...im not emo right now. its just the fact that when i think of summer, i think of lazy days and the last couple of weeks have been anything but. they have been crazy busy. fun filled. just jammed back it seems like. but they have been good. super fun. joyful and very cherish..able? haha. maybe i am emo right now. and its like 330 am. and just lost in spades. but i feel the need to unravel my thoughts. its been a while since my last post. mainly bc ive been busy and had little time. or maybe its bc ive had a lot of things on my mind and yet couldnt figure out how to express them. regardless, i just havent blogged. ive wanted to, but just didnt. so here i am...pretty tired...not really sure what ill write, but writing nonetheless in hopes that i can read this maybe tm or next week and be like..oh..ha. thats what i was thinking.
lets start with...this blog. ive been tempted in recent weeks to change blog sites..mainly with the notion of fitting in. seems like everyone and their moms are getting tumblrs. i was like..ooo everyones joining the tumblr community..i should make one and switch over. then i thought..wtf am i thinking. tumblr is just like blogspot. maybe its got some extra little tidbits or what not..but in the end, its no better than a xanga. i love my xanga btw. but ive started something good w mr blogspot. and i shall stick w blogspotter. join the blogspot community. stick it to tumblr.
bigger things on my mind. last 2 weeks have been memorable. ups and downs for sure, but overall a good memory. 4 years have come and gone. good times. bad times. its had all of it. man..its starting to slowly sink in now. coming home from austin, i feel like i wont see many of the seniors ever again. its quite sad to even come to that realization but i knew that it was something that would most likely happen. now i wont know who ill see and who i wont, but when i think about how ive impacted or have ive been impacted by some people ive known in college, i do feel a sense of regret. not a regret in knowning them per se or just experiencing their personality, but a regret of not laughing more with them. not smiling more with them. not playing grab butt or messing with them. seems like in those 4 years, i always told myself.."oh ill get to laugh w them more"..or "oh ill get to smile w them more"..but truth be told..i told myself that every year and now..i wish i actually did get more laughs and smiles. its a sad truth. i hope next year isnt another year ill tell myself "oh ill get to.." i shall miss the seniors. i shall miss the laughs i did share and the smiles i got to experience. it seriously wont be the same w/o them.
however, i do know i will see some of them in the future. ill get to see where they're living. ill get to see who they've met. and ill get to see how God has molded them. ill get to see all these wonderful things that people dream about in their future after college. i am eager to see some people move on with their lives. eager for some marriages. lets go people. lets get on that! im eager for more laughs and smiles. and hopefully..just hopefully ill get to see God has worked in their lives. and i hope they have that same mentality. i dunno if its like a study or stat or what not, but supposedly (check me if im wrong), many people are the closest and the most faithful to their spiritual walks in college. something like that. itd be a shame for those who've walked in the light in college to quickly tiptoe to the darkness w/o even flinching. for some..i can honestly imagine it. i pray not for it, but my human brain can picture it. i hope the seniors see that this world isnt so great. that theres really not much that the world has to offer thatll satisfy the soul. i say that bc ive been there. growing up...i lived frugally. it wasnt bad. its who i am. but i always imagined myself w some new cars. a nice house. a pretty smoking wife. you know..the works. and in some sense ive kinda tasted or seen that in the real world. in a 3 month internship, i got to ride in some pretty nice rides. i got to see some pretty nice things in the corporate world. but after its all said and done..i didnt go home thinking about cars, houses, women. my salivation was brief. like a 10 min car ride..ooo nice leather. or quick nonhomosexual glance at a guy ...ooo that guy dresses like a baller. short lived. at the end of the day...i was thinking about God. and his will. and what aspect of my spiritual walk was influenced by my day. i could think of all my mishaps. i could think of all my praises. i could think of all my prayers. and it was good. it was real good. i felt quenched of the dryness of my day.
so yah..i hope the seniors get quenched. if not, God help their souls.
ok im getting tired. still got tons on my mind. ill blog later about it. keywords so i know what im thinking. prague. bucketlist.
do not do what is good for the body, but do what is good for the soul. for what is seemingly good for the body might be cancerous to the soul. seriously...some of yall out need to wake up and smell the cancerous roses.
lets start with...this blog. ive been tempted in recent weeks to change blog sites..mainly with the notion of fitting in. seems like everyone and their moms are getting tumblrs. i was like..ooo everyones joining the tumblr community..i should make one and switch over. then i thought..wtf am i thinking. tumblr is just like blogspot. maybe its got some extra little tidbits or what not..but in the end, its no better than a xanga. i love my xanga btw. but ive started something good w mr blogspot. and i shall stick w blogspotter. join the blogspot community. stick it to tumblr.
bigger things on my mind. last 2 weeks have been memorable. ups and downs for sure, but overall a good memory. 4 years have come and gone. good times. bad times. its had all of it. man..its starting to slowly sink in now. coming home from austin, i feel like i wont see many of the seniors ever again. its quite sad to even come to that realization but i knew that it was something that would most likely happen. now i wont know who ill see and who i wont, but when i think about how ive impacted or have ive been impacted by some people ive known in college, i do feel a sense of regret. not a regret in knowning them per se or just experiencing their personality, but a regret of not laughing more with them. not smiling more with them. not playing grab butt or messing with them. seems like in those 4 years, i always told myself.."oh ill get to laugh w them more"..or "oh ill get to smile w them more"..but truth be told..i told myself that every year and now..i wish i actually did get more laughs and smiles. its a sad truth. i hope next year isnt another year ill tell myself "oh ill get to.." i shall miss the seniors. i shall miss the laughs i did share and the smiles i got to experience. it seriously wont be the same w/o them.
however, i do know i will see some of them in the future. ill get to see where they're living. ill get to see who they've met. and ill get to see how God has molded them. ill get to see all these wonderful things that people dream about in their future after college. i am eager to see some people move on with their lives. eager for some marriages. lets go people. lets get on that! im eager for more laughs and smiles. and hopefully..just hopefully ill get to see God has worked in their lives. and i hope they have that same mentality. i dunno if its like a study or stat or what not, but supposedly (check me if im wrong), many people are the closest and the most faithful to their spiritual walks in college. something like that. itd be a shame for those who've walked in the light in college to quickly tiptoe to the darkness w/o even flinching. for some..i can honestly imagine it. i pray not for it, but my human brain can picture it. i hope the seniors see that this world isnt so great. that theres really not much that the world has to offer thatll satisfy the soul. i say that bc ive been there. growing up...i lived frugally. it wasnt bad. its who i am. but i always imagined myself w some new cars. a nice house. a pretty smoking wife. you know..the works. and in some sense ive kinda tasted or seen that in the real world. in a 3 month internship, i got to ride in some pretty nice rides. i got to see some pretty nice things in the corporate world. but after its all said and done..i didnt go home thinking about cars, houses, women. my salivation was brief. like a 10 min car ride..ooo nice leather. or quick nonhomosexual glance at a guy ...ooo that guy dresses like a baller. short lived. at the end of the day...i was thinking about God. and his will. and what aspect of my spiritual walk was influenced by my day. i could think of all my mishaps. i could think of all my praises. i could think of all my prayers. and it was good. it was real good. i felt quenched of the dryness of my day.
so yah..i hope the seniors get quenched. if not, God help their souls.
ok im getting tired. still got tons on my mind. ill blog later about it. keywords so i know what im thinking. prague. bucketlist.
do not do what is good for the body, but do what is good for the soul. for what is seemingly good for the body might be cancerous to the soul. seriously...some of yall out need to wake up and smell the cancerous roses.
Monday, April 26, 2010
sports sports sports
hmm this blogging thing doesnt seem like a bad idea after all. im always thinking, might as well jot down some thoughts. today was quite the day. church, im softball, im indoor soccer, mavs playoff game. great day w great people.
as the day ends, ive been wrestling with the idea of sports and how it impacts my life. i love sports. i love everything about it. i could watch any sport, at any time, at anywhere if i had to. everything is a sport. there is competition all around me. thats what i love about. i love the competition. i love the adrenaline rush. i love winning. i love trash talking. i love playing on teams. sports is just a beautiful creation. thank you God for sports.
however, ive grown fond of sports throughout the years. most guys would be like..thats okay. youre a guy. thats normal. but for me..i think ive grown too fond of it to the point where sports dictated a lot of my life..mainly my emotions. i looked back at my xanga (haha what a silly thing btw) and man..there were a lot of emotional and angry hate posts about sports (some that are kinda shameful). i can kinda laugh about it now, but in all seriousness, i find it disappointing that i was like that. true, ive grown up and really swallowed a lot of pride when it comes to sports. i try to talk less trash. i try to not let others' trash talk get to me. i try to find other joys whenever something upsetting happens in sports. all these things i try..or have tried..or am trying.
i just hope that years down the line, when im a working class man (maybe with a wife..maybe even kids..thats crazy too btw), i can look back at this post and laugh at myself for even letting sports dictate a little part of my life. don't get me wrong..i am a loyal sports fan. but i want to be a loyal sports fan w/o all the negative baggage. its one thing to be upset at a loss in the sports world, but its another thing to let a loss turn you into a person who has no regard for his own self-respect and the respect of others. i pray to God i may flee far from that person.
in the end..sports is sports. a loss is a loss. frown and move on. there are by far many greater joys in life worth cherishing than sports. i hope i can truly live this out.
God bless
as the day ends, ive been wrestling with the idea of sports and how it impacts my life. i love sports. i love everything about it. i could watch any sport, at any time, at anywhere if i had to. everything is a sport. there is competition all around me. thats what i love about. i love the competition. i love the adrenaline rush. i love winning. i love trash talking. i love playing on teams. sports is just a beautiful creation. thank you God for sports.
however, ive grown fond of sports throughout the years. most guys would be like..thats okay. youre a guy. thats normal. but for me..i think ive grown too fond of it to the point where sports dictated a lot of my life..mainly my emotions. i looked back at my xanga (haha what a silly thing btw) and man..there were a lot of emotional and angry hate posts about sports (some that are kinda shameful). i can kinda laugh about it now, but in all seriousness, i find it disappointing that i was like that. true, ive grown up and really swallowed a lot of pride when it comes to sports. i try to talk less trash. i try to not let others' trash talk get to me. i try to find other joys whenever something upsetting happens in sports. all these things i try..or have tried..or am trying.
i just hope that years down the line, when im a working class man (maybe with a wife..maybe even kids..thats crazy too btw), i can look back at this post and laugh at myself for even letting sports dictate a little part of my life. don't get me wrong..i am a loyal sports fan. but i want to be a loyal sports fan w/o all the negative baggage. its one thing to be upset at a loss in the sports world, but its another thing to let a loss turn you into a person who has no regard for his own self-respect and the respect of others. i pray to God i may flee far from that person.
in the end..sports is sports. a loss is a loss. frown and move on. there are by far many greater joys in life worth cherishing than sports. i hope i can truly live this out.
God bless
Friday, April 23, 2010
4/23/10
oh yippie another blog
this must be like my 4th blog site yet im not much of a blogger. i am a big thinker tho. the hamster is always running, but i dont seem to write many things down. however it is nice to be able to look back after months/years and see what exactly i was thinking or what was happening in my life.
i just looked back at my old xanga page. wow. i was an interesting guy back then.
i hope ill actually use this blog in the future. not for any type of comical relief, or amazing daily posts, but just what life is like. what im feeling. how im doing. what things in life really got me thinking. what things God is showing me.
ill leave it at that for now.
God is good. has been. praise and glory.
this must be like my 4th blog site yet im not much of a blogger. i am a big thinker tho. the hamster is always running, but i dont seem to write many things down. however it is nice to be able to look back after months/years and see what exactly i was thinking or what was happening in my life.
i just looked back at my old xanga page. wow. i was an interesting guy back then.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
| many times i find myself lost..confused..faithless not physically..nor mentally but spirituality its tough to soak in some things in life and other things..i cant quite explain why i do them yes i go to church and truly love every second of it and understand the meaning of most lessons but i still realize this gap a spiritual gap that i feel is gettin larger and larger as each day goes by life is a struggle and i know that but..man..life can just be a pain in the ass and it never seems to go away im not sure why i really writin this i just feel lost and i need you God build me up give me strength give me discipline |
i hope ill actually use this blog in the future. not for any type of comical relief, or amazing daily posts, but just what life is like. what im feeling. how im doing. what things in life really got me thinking. what things God is showing me.
ill leave it at that for now.
God is good. has been. praise and glory.
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