Facts of Life

Established during the trip to Reno/Tahoe:

1) Yellow Starbursts are the worst flavor
2) Grape popsicles > Orange popsicles
3) Cereal goes in BEFORE milk
4) Ice cream should not be chewed

Haha. Actually, nothing was really established and these are still up for debate. What do YOU think?

Slowww down.

This semester is going by way too fast. Normally I wouldn't mind, but it recently hit me that I'm going to be seeing a lot of people that I really like a lot less frequently after this semester. Growing up sucks, and I'm doing everything I can to make the most of my last two months before graduation (Yikes!)

It's been a while since I posted about what's been going on in my life, so I'm going to spit out things I remember in no particular order.

1) I'm going to Europe after graduation! A buddy and I bought tickets to fly into London and come back from Athens. We're kinda winging the itinerary in between the end-points, but we're getting unlimited rail passes for 21 countries in Europe (unless we find an equally safe, but cheaper option). The "plan" is to pass through Paris, cities in Germany, Vienna, and I dunno where else before we end up in Greece. I can finally cross this off my lifetime to-do list, and use the 4 years of German I learned in high school. Exciting.

2) I just came back from Spring Break, and it was the best one I've had throughout college. I worked/chilled with some of my bros earlier in the week, caught up with some high school buds, and went to Tahoe and Reno at the end of the week. Learning how to go downhill on a snowboard (I didn't say "learning how to snowboard" because I'm nowhere near proficient yet) and play craps was cool, but what really made the trip were the people - Julius, Kristine, and Kyle, I love you guys. Highlights:

a) Falling on my @$$, back, knees, etc... There really is something to the whole "you don't learn unless you fall" and "no pain no gain" philosophies.

b) Losing $40 bucks overall. However, factoring all the free drinks and fun I had, I don't feel like I lost that much. Plus, we made friends with a few of the cool dealers. Nancy, Jas, and Kim, you rock.

c) Food: Buffet, Five dollar steak and eggs (so worth the wait), and Fenton's on the way home. Oh baby.

d) Meeting up with my cousins, even though we all were slightly inebriated* each time we saw each other this weekend. You guys are hilarious, from the drunken yelling at the blackjack dealer to the talking to the waitress in a fobby cantonese accent. Nothing beats family.

Link to album

Ok. I guess I really only had two things on my mind. But they were two big things, and this is one long post. For me, anyway.

I really need to find some way to slow down time (and a way to slow down on a snowboard).



*actually, you guys were wasted.

dreams

This one was kinda weird.

I was driving over a bridge when my tire blew out and I went over the side. This dream was unusual because I remember so many details - usually it's bits and pieces, but this one felt real. It's almost like I really experienced crashing through the barrier, the car plunging into the water, breaking the window with my keys (after taking it out of the ignition), and swimming out of of the window to one of those orange buoys. The funny thing was that during the whole dream I had this penetrating feeling that I was invincible.

Why can't I get rest even when I'm asleep? It seems like my mind keeps trying to prepare me for things that COULD happen and it doesn't have enough time to accomplish this during my awake hours.

Summer

I'm trying to plan out an itinerary for this summer. I want to travel through Europe for two to three weeks. Here's what I have so far:

San Francisco -> Paris ~$500 RT Flight
Paris -> Frankfurt ~ $100 Train
Frankfurt -> Milan ~$200 Train
Milan -> Rome ~$200 Train
Rome -> Athens ~ $250 Flight
Athens -> Paris ~ $200 Flight

So about $1500 for travel and $500 for everything else. I just need to find someone else who can do it. These prices are through Statravel.com and raileurope.com. I'm still doing research because I'm pretty sure I can find a cheaper way to get around.

I also want to drive across the U.S. if anyone's interested.
----------------------------------------------
UPDATE
So. $470 RT to Frankfurt (statravel.com)
Unlimited train rides for 15 days in 21 countries for $449 (eurail.com)

Travel for $1000!

Hostels are ~$15 a night, but I'd totally just sleep on the train

~-~

I realized something about myself.

It seems like as soon as I start to like something, it comes to an end.

That, or I only like things if there's a chance that they'll leave me.

!

Notes of the day

I said this week was gonna suck and be awesome at the same time. Here's why:

Suck:
1) I have so much work to do. And I'm going on a retreat this weekend so I need to get a lot of it done by tomorrow.
2) I got audited at work. But, it didn't go as bad as I thought it'd go. Actually, I didn't realize that I got audited until about halfway through when I had to sign something.

Awesome:
1) A bunch of electronics I ordered came (finally), and the best part is that I didn't have to "pay" for any of it! I used credit card points. I now have the green iPod nano that I've wanted for 6 months.
2) I found out that my parents finished paying off the house.
3) Ok. I'll say it. I got the full fellowship to Stanford. It's definitely my top choice school right now - I haven't even heard back from MIT or UCSD yet, but it kinda doesn't matter anymore. Maybe.
4) I'm gonna see Josh Blue tonight! He's coming to campus. I need a good laugh. Here's a link to his website. He's inSPirATionAL http://www.joshblue.com/
5) I'm going on a retreat this weekend. It's my last one as an undergraduate (woah...), which makes it sorta sad, but it should be fun.

The awesome part is definitely winning.

Random comment: That song that goes "I hope your vagina tight, I go underwater and I hope your piranha bite" makes me laugh, even though it shouldn't. Lil Wayne, you slay me. And now you get the picture.

OH YEAHHHH!!!!

I just got some news and almost pissed my pants. This is the first time I've had to read something twice and pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Great. Now I can't sleep and there's no one around to celebrate with.