Vacation

What a trip! I don't even know where to start... After 28 hours of traveling, I arrived in Sydney where I spent 8 full days being touristy. I got to see the Sydney Opera House and the bay bridge... went to the aquarium and animal park down town. Got to browse through the botanical garden... took a tour bus to 27 different destinations throughout Sydney. I even got to go to the top of the Center Point Tower, which is the really tall building in the center of the city. The architecture was magnificent, the weather was in the 70's when it was suppose to be in the 50's during this time of year... One of the last days we drove outside Sydney to a zoo-like place where Cook's Turtle (when it was alive) lived. They still had tons of native animals there, including a kangaroo petting zoo, platypuses, Tasmanian devils, and koalas. I got to pet both the roos and the koalas.

After a great 8 days with Mike and Allie, we packed up and headed to Fiji. Talk about beautiful! We stayed on the main island, at a resort right outside the town where the current president was raised. The resort was on a bay so we could see across it to the Nadi, one of the main cities in Fiji. The mountains were beyond words, and it was off season so most the time we had the resort to ourselves. On the second day we took a boat out to another island where there was snorkeling, better beaches, and more great views. We hit it off with the locals, which ended us up in town during part of a Fijian funeral (Christian, but they had some derivations) The whole town was involved, we stopped so our bus driver could pay his final respects. Two elder brothers died within days of each other.

The last day was the wedding, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. A Fijian choir as well as traditionally dressed ring bearers/flower girls. There was no rehearsal so I was freaking out that I'd mess up. Oh, and I got to sign their marriage certificate!

Anyways, I'm exhausted, and my brain isn't fully functional due to jet lag, so sorry the brief details. I'm off to bed.

Labels: allie evans, marriage, mike smith, vacation, wedding

I've was in San Francisco for almost a week! I went there for the Facebook f8 conference that I mentioned earlier. The exciting news that they announced was the whole Facebook Platform, a interface for developers to make applications directly embedded in their website. This leads the way for endless possibilities, all with instant access to 24 million regular Facebook users... that is 12 million daily (and growing).

In the week since the conference I have already made an application for Facebook that has nearly 3000 users! I've already made $18 from advertising as well. woohoo! I have many more ideas that I can't share until they are implemented though..

San Francisco is absolutely gorgeous... I don't believe I've missed out on that my whole life... I guess I can't complain because I have seen all of Europe, unlike most Americans... I mean, most Floridians haven't ever seen snow... so I have had a great life, but now my life is even better after seeing San Fran!

The first 2 nights Kyle and I stayed downtown in the Marriot. Smack-dab in the middle of the city. On Friday we walked from our hotel, all the way through China town, and finally to the Fisherman's Wharf... This had to have been one of the longest walks of my life... it was up one of the steepest hills I've ever climbed...

We saw almost all of downtown on this never ending walk... On the docks there was lots of entertainment, including some break dancers. We had some great food while we were there as well... As of right now, San Fran is close to being my favorite city in the US (that I have been to)... Lincoln Nebraska might still top it, but only for it's cool, cheap, housing... and being in the state that brought the world somebody as wonderful as myself...

We'll see how things go, but I am definitely hoping to end up there someday.

Labels: facebook, kyle gower-winter, san francisco, vacation

Since I graduated I have been really busy... I keep trying to finish organizing my things, but people keep needing my help in far away places. I've been traveling a ton lately, first I was flown out to Ft. Lauderdale for an interview... the next week, I had graduated so I went on a camping trip in Anastasia Park near St. Augustine. The dogs absolutely loved the beach. I bought a fishing license, a pole, lure, etc, and attempted to fish, but the poles we bought were too cheap and the wire would tangle after every cast.

The day after I got back from there, I headed to a celebration that my family had planned for me in Atlanta. It was good to see my aunt, and my cousins. They took me to the Atlanta aquarium, which was really really cool, just a little too crowded.

I got back from Atlanta, and the next day my uncle Mike calls me up and tells me his computer broke. Best Buy wanted $350 to even begin to fix it, so he decided to use frequent flier miles to get me to Birmingham, Alabama. Well, Tallahassee is extremely small, so I had to fly through Atlanta (I was just there the day before). Not only that, he decided he wanted me there ASAP, so he put me on the 6:15 AM flight. Turns out (once we looked at a map, that Birmingham is only a 300 mile drive, rather than the 400+ I thought it was). Well, I get there, and his hard drive was fried so we bought two new ones, I got Windows up and running for him, and finally I used Norton Ghost to make the second one identical. Now if one hard drive fails, the other automatically starts working, and all his files are the same. He also backs up to CD, and uses an online backup program (made by Quicken) to store his files on a server automatically, every night. A little paranoid! he he... It was good to get to know him better, he is my least known uncle.

I finally get home, spend a day trying to organize, when I get a call from Patti asking me to come to Gainesville to cheer her up. Unable to let a friend down, I dropped everything I was doing and made the 2 hour trek to the Gville. I think I have only slept in my bed one night in the last 3 weeks.

Next week is the Facebook conference in San Francisco that my friend Kyle and I are going to. I am pretty stoked about that! Then it is back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Labels: austin foster, bailey foster, dmitri sokgobenzon, dogs, facebook, gainesville, kristen foster, kyle gower-winter, mike folts, movie, patti botero, tallahassee, vacation

1300+ miles each way... Long drive, but well worth it. Last week was Spring break and Dmitri and I drove ALL the way to Boston (24 hour drive, with only food and restroom breaks) to see my best friend Megan. We stayed there for 3 nights and she gave us a tour of the historical parts of the city. We saw Paul Revere's house, as well as the church he lit up... We also went to the original Cheers restaurant, pretty cool place!

After Boston we drove out to Vermont and stayed 4 nights .5 miles from the base of the ski slopes! It was absolutely great. When we weren't skiing, we were relaxing (something that I don't get to do often in grad school!)... Of course, knowing my luck, we got the coldest week EVER recorded in Vermont for March... -15 degrees Fahrenheit, without the wind chill, and the wind was 20-30 miles an hour! I mean gosh, the second day was so cold that we couldn't ski, so we went to the mall in the town over. The car refused to start for a good 2 minutes (rather new car, it was just too cold)... The windshield wiper fluid was rated to work as low as -25 degrees, but it was frozen solid. Anyways, once we finally got to the mall, we bought some books and went back to the hotel and read all day. Quite nice indeed!

Labels: best friend, boston, grad school, skiing, vacation

So far it has been a hectic Winter break! Grandma and I drove all the way from Tallahassee to Lincoln Nebraska to attend my cousin Tara's wedding. From St. Louis all the way to Lincoln we had to drive through the massive storm that shut down the Denver Airport. We were supposed to leave Wednesday the 20th, but grandma showed up on Tuesday and peer pressured me into leaving a day early to avoid the storm. We made it to Metropolis Illinois around 11:00 PM (12 hours after we left), we gambled for about an hour (I won $80! Go me! Grandma broke about even), then finally we went to sleep around 1:00 AM. At 4:30 that same morning, Grandma decides that we should probably hit the road so that we can make it through St. Louis before rush hour... Unfortunately, we were further from St. Louis then we had thought and ended up hitting the beginning of it. About 4 hours into our second day I was exhausted, so we pulled up into a McDonald's parking lot and slept for an hour, restocked our supply of energy drinks, and then continued our never ending journey. Finally, at around 3:30 PM we arrived in Lincoln.

We spent the first night in Lincoln at my Aunt Kelly's house, but the next day Grandma and I, along with the many other relatives flying in that day, checked into the Embassy Suites... They had a complementary "cocktail hour" from 5:30 to 7:30 every night which was the first thing to make me feel like I was on vacation.

On the 22nd I went to the wedding rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner... The dinner was much more enjoyable because it turned out that I wasn't even need at the rehearsal (I was an usher for the wedding). The wedding the next day was probably as close to perfect as a wedding could be... and the reception afterwards was a blast. Like my cousin April's wedding, I once again caught the garter... Last time I caught one, I ended up dating somebody for 4 and a half years, maybe this means something good is around the corner.

On Christmas Eve I flew from Nebraska to Salt Lake City, took a bus out to Park City, and met up with my second family, the Rushes. I spent the last two days on the slopes, but now my knee is killing me, so I reluctantly decided after the first run to take the day off. For those of you who don't know me well, my absolute favorite thing in the world is skiing, so taking a day off when I only get to go once or twice a season, is a really really big deal. I'm going to try and get back into my exercise routine when I get back to Florida and condition my knee for next time. I hurt it about 2 months ago while playing soccer.

Last night after skiing, Samantha and Astrid brought me to their Yoga class... an hour and a half of what seems easy, but really is a major work out... For the first time since I was 6 I attempted a hand stand, I had somebody helping, but I was able to do it, so that was exciting. The whole working your "inner-being" hoo-ha was kinda weird, but I don't remember the last time I was that relaxed.

Tomorrow I fly back to Nebraska to begin another endless journey back to Florida. Hopefully this time we'll have sunlight... Hope everyone is having a great vacation!

Labels: april pinner, aunt kelly, family, grandma, nebraska, rush family, skiing, tara polly, vacation, wedding, yoga

Well, Thanksgiving was very much appreciated... If it weren't for such a great holiday then I wouldn't have been able to get a break from school and work... The week prior I slept very little in order to finish all my huge school projects early, so that I could use the entire Thanksgiving week for relaxation. I headed down south to my parent's house last Friday, and didn't come home until this past Sunday. On the way down my sister Megan and I stopped in G-ville and had dinner at Friday's for Patti's 24th birthday. Unfortunately we got there right during rush hour so we had to wait nearly an hour before Patti made it there. I was glad to see her despite how little time we had!

On Saturday I decided I was going to camp out for a Wii since my previous attempts of pre-ordering it failed. I headed out at around 7:00 PM thinking 5 hours before it was sold would be plenty... I had heard every Walmart would have around 50 Wii's... Well, that was before they sold them to their employees first... I went to both the closest Walmarts and I was told that the line was already longer then the magical number of Wii's being sold... Depressed, I headed home and decided that I would try good old Amazon.com instead... Not knowing when they were going to start selling them, (I knew it was going to be between 3:00 AM and 3:00 PM EST) I decided I would wake up every hour on the hour and start pushing the refresh button... By 10:00 AM I was pretty drained and loosing hope... Still not for sale... Finally, at 11:00 AM, I thought I would try one last time before heading out to the Hard Rock Seminole Casino and the Sawgrass Mall with mom and Grandma. Sitting there pressing F5 while casually talking to my mom, I glance over at the monitor and I see "Buy with One-Click Ordering" appear on the page! YAY! I got one, they sold out in less than a minute and I was one of the people to get one! Go me!

The Wii arrived on Tuesday via UPS overnight... I unpack it, set it up, put Wii Sports in... "Unable to read disc..." I get an error... after browsing Nintendo's website I find their customer service number... They are sending me a new one, but it sucked because I had no game to play on my brand new system... I ended up renting one from Blockbusters, but I wanted to bowl, or play tennis... After getting bored of the game I rented, I headed over to Gamestop, and mentioned that I got the Wii and was waiting for Zelda to be shipped to me... They then told me that some guy sold them his used copy of it (4 days after getting it!)... Of course I went ahead and bought it for $10 less then it cost brand new... I was the first person (at least at their store, but probably anywhere) to get a used Wii game... Pretty cool...

On Thanksgiving we were suppose to goto Epcot and eat at the German-all-you-can-eat buffet... Well, when we called to make reservations, we found out that they were completely booked... So, last minute, we had to change plans and cook a Thanksgiving feast... My dad and I headed up to Melbourne to pick up my Grandma (who was there the day before our plans changed, but headed home thinking she was going to meet us in Orlando)... At first I was disappointed because I was really excited about the German food, but in the end (after sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, peas, turkey, cranberries, 2 apple pies, and 2 pecan pies) it all turned out well...

Now it is back to school where, despite being ahead of the game before I left, I am right back in the "ahhhhhhh! Grad School" mode, trying hard to stay ahead... I just have to keep telling myself "3 weeks left!"... but then of course I think about the 14 page paper, the programs, and the bookwork I have yet to finish... Oh well, we'll see what happens...

Labels: family, gaming, grad school, grandma, lori folts, megan folts, patrick folts, patti botero, vacation, wii

Last week I helped Amanda move to Jacksonville... It wasn't something I was very happy about doing, but it had to be done... Her apartment seems really nice, big bedroom, mature roommate... Glad things are working out for her, just wish she didn't have to be so far away! This week has been really long without her to lean on...

Well... after helping her move, Dmitri and I drove to Gainesville. We dropped Vaska off at Dmitri's parent's house, and then headed off to see my second best friend Patti. Yes, my second best friend, it is a long story to explain why she doesn't quiet top the list (of course, she is a very close second), so I'll save that for another time... Anyway, when we met up with Patti, she, along with the entire University of Florida dentistry school, were attending a BBQ at a lake right outside Gainesville. They had quite a few events, including a raffle for mp3 players, dvd players, and even a flat screen TV! Well, I was only 10 tickets (out of thousands) away from being the big winner and walking away with that flat screen TV! I was completely bummed about being so close, yet so far from absolute glory... After the BBQ we headed over to her place where we watched some football and just hung out... Once all the good games were over, we went to what I think is the best restaurant in Gainesville, and then we went to see the movie "Open Season" (which I recommend if you like animated films)... My only regret about the whole weekend is that short time I was there... I got there late Saturday afternoon and had to leave first thing on Sunday... It would have been nice to see my other Gainesville friends, it has been forever... Of course, it'd probably be weird since it's been so long... <sigh> oh well, next trip I'll definitely have to at least give them a call...

On another note, I finally was able to get something better than a B on a Aggarwal test! Very proud of myself, of course it is just one test, and now there is a 14 page paper and an intense program due... but at least I was able to prove to myself that I can do it, it'll help motivate me for the final...

Lastly, but definitely not least, I was asked to be in my cousin Tara's wedding this December, which makes me feel real special, even if it is just ushering... I am going to be the best damned usher there ever was! I am also in my sister's wedding in July... man everyone's getting married!

Labels: amanda vichich, brian and patrice mankowski, dmitri sokgobenzon, dogs, family, football, gainesville, grad school, movie, patti botero, tara polly, vacation

I wish the world would slow down so I can think... I need time to relax, time to imagine, time to catch up with old friends... I have so little time for myself that I don't even know what I want from life anymore... Where do I want to be in a few years? Who do I want to be with for the rest of my life? Why do I want these things?

I am emotionally and physically drained... I have been sick for the last two and a half weeks despite my increase in physical activity and the half gallon of orange juice a day... Since the beginning of grad school I have had sleeping problems, which is something I thought I'd never have... Even when I was addicted to caffeine (yummy dr. pepper) I could fall asleep faster then anyone except my father (which is about 15 seconds)...

What I really need is a good 3 month vacation from everything, where I could do what I want when I want... not have to worry about school, or work, or money... Organize all the many fragments of memories that I don't want to loose, and reminisce while skiing down a Alpine slope... (skiing is my favorite thing in the world to do)... I could just worry about me, get healthy, get to know myself again... Rediscover why it was that I could program all day and night and absolutely love it... Figure out how to enjoy the things I once did... I've been trying to buy happiness and it just doesn't work, time is happiness, and I don't have any time... Routines that never change make it seem like I'll be doing the same thing forever... until finally I pass away and everything I did will no longer matter... Unless of course I have people to share my life with, people I affect... but if they just become part of the routine, then what good will that do? Everything will blur together, and time will fly by so fast that it may as well never have happened...

Oh well, in another blink of the eye I'll be 95 years old, and all this worrying will be forgotten...

Labels: diet, grad school, sick, skiing, vacation

Well, I decided that it doesn't matter how broke I get, my happiness is priceless... I have to go skiing... in 3 weeks to be exact... it has been 3 years since I have... and that is way way way way (etc.) too long... This time I am going with my friend Kelley Jones, my roommate Dmitri, and possibly Angie and my roommate Micah... Of course, knowing me, I have to do it right, so I went ahead and bought myself brand new K2 ski equipment... they are freestyle skis so I can have fun skiing backwards, doing tricks... etc... because of my chances of breaking a bone, I bought a helmet and goggles too... all I need now are boots... The ski package I bought comes with a case and bindings... and what looks to be a long underwear shirt that matches the skis, which is really nerdy, but so me...

UPDATE: Skiing was awesome! Here are some pictures:

There was a blizzard that brought fresh powder for us!

We also went to Chimney Rock:

Chimney Rock is near the largest waterfall east of the Mississippi river, this is a picture of the very top of it:

Labels: angie kapec, dmitri sokgobenzon, kelley jones, skiing, vacation

Well, yesterday I went on my first "date" in six years (they aren't "dates" when you are in a long term relationship)... Of course, despite my relationship skills I had when I was younger, I was scared... For one thing she was a Gator as recently as last April, and I have had a particular horrible experience with a Gator in the past... Of course, nobody probably agrees with me on that, but I don't care... Anyways, it went a lot better then I expected and I actually didn't scare her off and it looks like we are going to the movies this Saturday... We seem to have a ton in common... Some of the exciting things are that we're both allergic to shell fish and hate all other fish with a passion, we both have lived in Europe, etc... I don't know if anything is going to come out of this, but it is a definite morale booster getting voluntary attention from a female... Also, last weekend at a Chinese New Year party another female was all over me... he he... anyways, I am finally below 175, which had been my plateau for about a year... I hit 169.5 last night in fact... pretty sweet... During Christmas and Thanksgiving I had started to gain some weight back... I was back up to 189... so I've lost 20 lbs since New Years... I only eat out twice a week, I work out MUCH more often then I ever have, and when I eat at home I eat mainly fruits and veggies... Anyways, my whole point is that I'm finally feeling a lot better about myself, even if it doesn't work out, my perspective on things is definitely improving...

Labels: dating, diet, exercise, vacation

I got a dog on Saturday! I got it from the local shelter... it is a German Shepherd mix (they think it is mixed with a black lab, but it looks more like a German Shepherd but without the extremely pointy ears) He has to be neutered before I can bring him home, so I won't get him until Tuesday. I am really excited... now my family has 4 dogs so Christmas and Thanksgiving are going to be hectic... His name at the shelter was Pirate, but he needs a manly name since he is being neutered, so that name is definitely out of the question. I went and bought him food, food dishes, toys, collar, leash, etc at Petsmart already... and I bought a collar for the invisible fence... I can't wait till Tuesday...

UPDATE: I decided to name him Jäger!

Labels: dogs, family, vacation

Yesterday we went to a Dave and Busters like place called Main Event... first we bowled for an hour, which my arm is still sore because I used a 16 lb ball... I am getting really good at putting the spin on the ball though... anyways, once we were done with bowling we played some arcade games to win points (equivalent to tickets)... with $30 we won 2206 points because we found this one game that Megan was really good at... so we just kept getting points... but that was only after we wasted 10 of that $30 on skiball which gave us hardly any points at all... With the points Megan got a gumball machine and a stuffed animal... and then we both got cups with spiral straws and cool little parachuting aliens... oh, and I got a deck of cards... the gumball machine has got to be worth at least $20 alone... at least if you bought it at Spencer's Gifts it would have... so yeah, we made off pretty good... if only we didn't waste all that money on skiball we'd have a ton more points... Well, after that we played two games of pool before heading home and watching Hitch... which is a great movie by the way... Then I was stupid enough to introduce Megan to the Sims 2... 7 hours later I was able to pull her off so that I could go to bed... now she is obsessed with the game... I'll have to be more careful next time I suggest the Sims 2... it tends to have that affect on people...

Today was Megan's last day here... her sister suggested that we all go to this park down town that is a natural spring that pumps 36 million gallons a day into a creek... They gated it off and damned two ends to make the creek deeper near the spring and to keep the street runoff from polluting the immediate area so it is completely clear and clean... (even if a little kid would to pee in the springs, 36 million clean gallons would be there the next day)... at first the 68 degrees that it is year round is extremely cold after being in the 95+ degree air... but after about 5 minutes in the water it becomes rather refreshing... After swimming, we sat under an old tree and talked, which was just another way to relax...

Oh well, bed time...

Labels: austin texas, best friend, bowling, gaming, vacation

I highly recommend everyone goes and sees Mr. And Mrs. Smith... It is hilarious and Angelina Jolie is gorgeous... Batman Begins is also a great movie... Anyways, my younger sister is in town for 12 days... I have been really busy working 10 hour days so that I don't have to use my Paid Time Off this Friday to head out to Homer, LA where my Grandparents built a lake house... I am really excited, I get to see my best friend Megan (best friends since 9th grade) because she is driving down there from Atlanta... I don't think I am going to have time to finish the Harry Potter series in the next 15 days 16 hours... to busy and I am falling behind because I can't read when I have a lot on my mind... which I do...

Next weekend I am setting up somebody's computer and that will earn me some extra cash... As I probably mentioned, my sister and I are trying to go to Europe this Winter and I have to pay for a lot of her until she can pay me back, so I have to make as much as possible... I might change my mind and just end up buying skis and going to Colorado, but that doesn't sound as fun... It has been forever since I was in Europe and it is my favorite place to be... We'd stay at a youth hostel in Munich and take a train everyday to the Alps and go skiing... Then, on Christmas Eve we would take the train up to Frankfurt area and see the Treffehns for Christmas... Both Tatiana and Mike are going to be there visiting too... I haven't seen Mike in a million years and he use to be my best friend... He also might come and visit me and his sister in Tallahassee this Fall...

I am excited about school starting... I hope I get to work in the Lab still because I get to be social and the regulars there are fun to talk to... and the money is nice as well...

I am really excited about the sofas I am getting from Adriana... They are sooooooooooo awesome... I've spent a lot of nights passed out cold on them... and a lot of days sunken deep between their cushions watching movies... good times good times... uber comfortable...

Labels: adriana infante, best friend, harry potter, honey folts, megan folts, mike treffehn, munich, papa folts, tallahassee, tatiana treffehn, vacation

Well, I went Orlando this weekend, it was uberly fun... I stayed at Joes on Friday and Saturday night... Friday night we went to ESPN Club on Disney Boardwalk... it was pretty expensive, but I still had fun... we had to spread out onto 4 tables since there were so many of us... Joe, his girlfriend, his roommate, and I went early to put our name on the list only to find out that there was no list so we waited for an hour until the other people finally showed up (after major drama because Shanon got lost on her way and was mad)... Overall though, it went well... Joe had one of every speciality drink they made and then he got a pretty lame birthday cake (it was free for birthday people)... it was really nasty so his other roommate ordered a HUGE ice cream Sunday that came in a football trophy bowl... and so we all chipped in a dollar (all 18 of us) so that she didn't have to pay for it... and we had 18 spoons and were all eating it (it had strawberries, oreoes, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, cherries... etc... you name it, it was probably on it... oh and peanut butter... I got there early Friday because Joe wanted me to meet his girlfriend... then we went to Blockbuster and bought ourselves xbox games...

Saturday I went to Epcot first thing in the morning, but for the first time ever my parents didn't leave South Florida before 5 AM... they actually left at 7 so I was there an hour before them... so I had to find my way away from Epcot and went to a place closer to where they were so I could meet up with them... We parked one of our cars at Publix and drove together once they finally arrived... So once we finally got there we ate... first thing once we got into the park... some pastry place, pretty good... then we went through the educational rides for a while... Megan and I got a fastpass to the ones with long lines... when we finally were suppose to go on those rides we split up from my parents... of course, knowing my luck (it has happened on every ride I have been on since I was 12 it seems like, all three of them stopped in the middle of the ride... and say they are experiencing difficulties... when I went to Islands of Adventure a while back every ride stopped for some reason or another... the Dragon ride, twice... once they made Francisca and I get off because she had no sandals on, the other time who knows what happened... also the Spider man ride broke for like 20 minutes when I was inches from getting on it... This all started at Oktoberfest the year that the ride crashed killing 6 people... it broke down when I was in line to ride it... it didn't open until the next day (the day it crashed)... lucky I wasn't there the next day... that same year I went on a ride there called the "Frisbee" it spun like one of those gravity machines that throws you against the wall, and it rocked at the same time (like one of those big ships that go upside down and sit there)... that was probably the worst (as in the best) I have ever been on... buutttttttttttt... the girl two seats from me vomited... ALL over everyone next to her... luckily we were spinning the opposite direction, otherwise I would have had it in my mouth... like almost everyone else... luckily it didn't cause a chain reaction because then I would have gotten it too... poor girl... more importantly poor people... Oh well... back to the story... ok, so... once we finally got through with those rides we met my parents in Germany for dinner/lunch... it was about 3:30 at the time... it was a buffet they had all the German goodness... Schnitzel, Kartofflen (Potatoes), Wurst, Semmel mit Kase und Fleisch (bread roll with cheese and meat), Sharf Senf, Curry Ketchup... und am bestem die Apfel Strudel mit Vanilla Sosse... it was really really really really good... ALSO they had freshly made Spetzi (for those of you who don't know, which is probably most if not all, Spetzi is a drink in Germany that is made from mixing Coke and citrus drinks... yummy goodness) I loved it... so did my family... I only spoke German for the whole 3.5 hours we spent there... I told the waitress that it was my Dad's birthday so when the band came on they announced it and sang happy birthday to him in German... everyone was swaying their Steins around singing along... or mumbling that is... so finally when we were done we went on to the other countries in a rush because it was raining and cold... we completely skipped France because it isn't worth our time... he he... we watched some video about Canada though, but that is because we happened to walk by when it was starting...

So when I got back to Joe's, the party was about to start... the cops broke up the party... that was another exciting yet scary thing that happened... that happened at 1:00 I think because I remember Joe complaining after he was excited about being the first party out of his friends to be broken up...

The next morning I was woken up by my sister at 11 something because she wanted me to go to Melbourne (my Grandma's house) and watch the Vikings loose... I got up and left Joes and picked up Patti went... We had fun in the car ride catching up... There was a ton of food at my Grandma's house too which made it worth while... Once the game was over we drove back and then I watched her play video games for about an hour and then Eric, she and I went bowling because it was Sunday night and they had a special 1.50 per game and 1.50 for shoes... we played 3 games we all won one... the last game the score was pretty low because all of our arms were tired but it was REALLY close 84 (Me), 85 (Patti) and 86 (Eric)... I won the second game with a 120... my first game sucked because I was using a 12 lb ball rather than the 15... after bowling we went to walmart and then we went back to her house and I passed out... The next morning I woke up and drove home in 3 hours and 10 minutes... I love cop radars and loud music... When I got home I played video games like usual but then at 8:00, since it was cold, I ran around the block... I was going to do the same today but it is below 30 tonight and that is too cold for any clothing I have... I don't want to get sick again...

Today was my first meeting for my TA job... It seems like it is going to be easy so I am excited... I checked out my office... not bad... not particularly good either though... but now I have access to a fridge and microwave so I can eat on campus... I also got everything worked out pay wise and filled out my time cards for the first two weeks even though I didn't work... I found out that I actually don't start until next Thursday, and then I only work 2 hours... so for the first 4 weeks I will only have worked, including meetings and getting use to the software, about 5 hours and I will have been paid $800 for it.. B) that is $160 an hour... B) I have a lot of responsibility on my hands though once everything gets rolling... I am the administrator or whatever and that brings with it making sure everybody is happy...

so within the next month I will be getting about $1500+ from all my different jobs... what they owe me and what they will owe me... life is good...

This weekend I am going to dive head first into the whole grad school/job applying thing... I just don't know what to do for the statement of purpose... we'll see... ok, well I think I have even started to bore myself with this blabbing so that's enough...

Labels: bowling, eric rubinstein, francisca amunategui, grad school, joe castelbuono, ketchup, lori folts, megan folts, patrick folts, patti botero, publix, sick, vacation, work

I am going to Orlando tomorrow to see my uncle, Joe, and my friend Patti... I haven't seen all of them in way to long... I haven't seen my uncle since my Grandpa's funeral 3 years and a week ago... I miss my grandpa... I never let myself think about him for more than like 3 seconds because I don't want to start crying... I hate saying goodbye... I never have been good at it... I hate change in general... anyways... today it is my dad's birthday... I didn't get him anything... I am broke... I worked on my Aunt's website that she is paying me to do... I love making websites... I wish I could get paid to do other people's... If somebody pays for the site (yeah right) then I would make a Posse page... I found a service that I can make a post thing like this (this being livejournal posts)... just for the "Posse"... if you can still call it that... I am really not in a good mood... I am half way through the third Harry Potter book... I can't put it down at night, I force myself to put it down and go to sleep... I don't know why I am in such a bad mood right now... my heart feels heavy and I just feel like whining and pouting and yelling and screaming, etc... oh well... I'll shut up now...

Labels: grandpa, harry potter, joe castelbuono, kristen foster, patrick folts, the posse, vacation