Rome, Day 4

Today was really cool, but full of a lot of Drama. We woke up early and checkout of our hotel in Rome. Then we drove for 4 hours to Pompeii and toured around the ruins. It was soooo hot! The tour was long, and hard [lol, yea... Im immature] but very interesting. One of the cooler and more immature things I learned, was that on the streets and walls of Pompeii, they carved out the shape of a penis that pointed to the brothel. I thought that was funny, and even funnier to see. Many of the annoying people from Texas complained that our chaperone (Sasha) went too fast, but I thought he was fabulous. If he went any slower we would have been in the sun way too long and possibly missed our other tour deadlines. Two chaperones got into a fight about weather he was good or not (can we not just agree to disagree anymore?). That is a stupid thing to fight about in my opinion. The fight left high tensions between Texas and Washington for the rest of the day, and I hope it doesn't continue throughout the trip.

After Pompeii, we got onto the buss and headed out for another 2 hours to our new hotel... in Sorento. One word describes this place - Beautiful. Everything from the buildings, to the water, to the beach, to the kittens was beautiful. I supervised the kids when they went swimming, and then we ate dinner. Then we went for a walk, and happened upon a bunch of little kittens! they were so cute and fluffy. They wouldn't let us get close enough to pet them, but we sat for some time and just watched them play with each other. I did manage to pet the mama cat, and she purred up a storm. After we put the kids to bed, us cool chaperones went out to the patio overlooking the bay and drank while the sun set. It was gorgeous.

Tomorrow we will take a boat to the island of Capri. I am really looking forward to it, but am afraid of getting sea sick on the way. Fingers crossed! If I have one regret about this trip, well... its not really a regret, just a wish, it is that I was here with a special someone (for the lack of a better word). Many times thus far on this trip I have enjoyed a spectacular sunset, or amazing piece of artwork, and feel that something is missing. I would like to come back someday with that special someone. On another note, I am becoming good friends with the other chaperones, and we are having lots of fun with these kids.

Time is running out

Sometimes it takes a glimpse of death to appreciate life. RIP Jerry Tennis

Rome, Day 3

I don't know if any day can top today in terms of being crazy (some good and some bad) stuff happening. I started out my day going on a tour of the Vatican City. I saw so many amazing paintings, sculptures, tapestries, frescoes  and mosaics in the museum. the Sistine Chapel was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! I spent 3o minutes just standing there staring at the walls and ceiling. I wish I could have stayed there all day. Everything was so perfect, and detailed, and colorful. It looks cool in pictures but in real life it just makes you feel so alive. I felt blessed just standing in the room. Standing there looking at all the paintings and knowing that Michelangelo hand painted some of it was just a tremendous feeling. We also went into St. Peter's Basilica, which was so breathtaking. All the walls and ceilings covered with gold, and paintings... After that we went into the  Capuchin Church, which is an old church decorated with bones and skeletons of dead people. It was incredible cool and awesome, but at the same time it was very creepy. For dinner we went to an underground restaurant with cool lighting, and a disco ball. the food was fantastic! After we put the kids to bed, most of the chaperones went to the hotel bar and stayed up talking and drinking. 


These things made up the majority of my day, but a few other interesting things happened throughout the day. One of the chaperones got pick-pocketed for 5 euro, another for 100 euro, and my dad for 190 dollars. I guess I am glad that we are able to bring stability into the Italian economy. It just reminds me to stay aware of my surroundings and alert at all times. The group of students and parents from Texas have grown more and more annoying as the trip has progressed. On the bright side, the dislike for them has brought many of us closer together. They always seem to be a popular subject of conversation. I would like to see us just forget about them and enjoy the trip, but many people seem to lack the ability to do so. Tensions and building, and I hope then diffuse before they explode. 


Tomorrow we will leave this hotel and go to a new one in Sorrento. On the way we will stop in Pompeii. I look forward to tomorrow and the great things I hope to see there. TTY2M

Rome, Day 2

It is currently 4:30am, and I am showered and ready to go. I received my wake up call 3 hours too early, and did not have a clock to see the mistake until I was up and showered and awake. Apparently the person giving the wake up call did not set their watch to the right time zone... UK time. At this point, I might as well stay up and see my first Roman sunrise. I do feel much better than I did yesterday now that I have some sleep under my belt, although I would have enjoyed a few more hours. I will write more in the evening when something more notable has happened over the day.

So, the rest of "Rome day 2" was super busy. We started out going to the Colosseum, which was sooooo cool to see in person! Walking in a group of 51 people (half of which are from Texas) is a bit chaotic. These particular Texans are rude, loud, a little stupid, and very immature. Anyway, the Colosseum was the bees knees. Being able to walk in it, and touch the same stone that was there and in use more than 2000 years ago is amazing to think about. Just being there in person, and seeing all the things I learned about in school was amazing. After the Colosseum we went to the Roman Forum for a few hours, and looked at many other ancient ruins of buildings, statues, gardens, and even the death place of Julius Caesar. After that, we went to a place known as the Spanish Steps, and got some free time to shop and explore in Rome. That was a lot of fun! After lunch, I saw the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and a beautiful church that I cannot remember the name of. One thing that kept impressing me was the size of all of these sculptures. On TV or in a book, they are described as being large, but seeing them towering over me was absolute insanity. So far, the Pantheon is my favorite thing I have seen. The dome, and the hole, and the paintings... amazing.

We ended the tour with another chunk of free time, which I spent sitting under a mist machine at a bar, drinking limoncello and eating calamari and prosciutto with mozzarella. It was 95 degrees and we had been walking all day, so I really enjoyed the chance to rest. I signed up for an optional night tour of Rome too. Rome is so different at night. We revisited most of the sights we saw earlier in the day, and I spent most of my time looking at how each piece was lit.. being a techie and all. We returned to the hotel at 12:45am from the night tour, and I am exhausted.

I discovered a sunburn on my face, neck, and arms... I itch. My feet hurt pretty bad too from all the walking we have been doing, but it is totally worth it. I am having some problems with my cell phone habits too. There are certain people (you know who you are) who I am in the habit of texting or talking to on a regular basis. I keep finding myself reaching for my phone to share with them how cool something is, and then I remember that I can't. I would love to come back here someday with a great friend or loved one and share this experience with them.

Rome, Day 1

Today has been such a crazy long day! I was up at 9:00am to get ready for the big trip to Rome. We arrived at the airport early (as any good chaperone does) and waited for the students to arrive. once they all showed up we hurried through  security checkpoints and got to the gate just in time to wait.. for 2 hours for our flight to board. The last time I flew on a flight for an extended period of time was over 10 years ago, so the whole TV in the back of the seat with movies, games, TV shows, and other things was a bit of a shock. They definitively helped to make the flight bearable. I have a notorious history of not being able to sleep on cars, boats, or planes,so the 10 hour flight seemed to go on FOREVER! Thankfully, many games of solitaire, chess, my iPod, and free movies came to my rescue. On the flight, we also got free dinners and breakfast. I was pretty happy with the flight despite how tired I was and how my body was screaming at me to get up and move the entire flight. The 10 hour flight landed in Paris.

This was my first time in France, but I really did not get a chance to see or do anything because I spent 3 hours in the airport just waiting for my flight to Rome. The little flight from Paris to Rome was in some ways worse than the 10 hour flight to Paris. I was already dead tired and this plane of course had no TV or anything to do, so keeping awake was a bit of a challenge. During the landing procedure, we hit some massive turbulence, and my body decided it needed to react in the form of throwing-up. I managed to keep it down (TMI?) and then, I was in Rome!!! 

I was (and still am) super excited just to be here in Rome. The start of this tour however, has not been promising. We were picked up from the airport by our tour guide, and took a 2 hour buss ride to dinner, which, to be honest was not that great. I hope to experience a little better Italian food in the near future. During dinner we met the other members of out tour who were from Texas, and then took an hour bus ride to our hotel. I am writing this [or was when I wrote it] from my hotel room, and it is a bit gross.  It is messy, unclean, poorly constructed, and a bit sketchy. On the plus side, it has a bed, and I am excited about that! During the time I am writing this I have been awake for.... 29 hours, most of which has been sitting on a crowded plane, terminal, or bus. I can only look forward to tomorrow when I actually get to see some cool stuff in Rome! I end this day with the faith and hope that this shitty day of travel will pay off over the next week. [ps: it did]

When in Rome... Blog on Paper?

Here is the deal, I am leaving for Rome in a few short hours. While in Rome I will be keeping a Journal and no computer or cell phone. When I return I am planning on posting my Journal on this blog for you all to read, and by "you all" I mean the 3 of you who follow me : ) Until then, I hope that you all stay safe, and I will too. After that, who cares! TTYL

It's Hard to Keep the Faith, I'm Never Gonna Fade Away

I will be in Rome in 3 days! I am getting pretty excited about it. I have almost finished packing already because apparently I have so little to do this summer that packing 3 days early was a good idea. I have had the blessing of having one of my good friends back in town for the past week. He and I have hung out a lot, and talked about many things. Just being able to talk about life sometimes makes it so much easier to think about it clearly. I have noticed that I act differently around him that some of my other friends. This got me wondering "whats up with that?" When I stop to think about it, I guess I am a little different around everybody. Which one of those is the real me? Am I only me when I am alone, or is it some sort of combination of how I am with everyone put together? I think the real answer to that question is that I am the constant between all my different "personalities" (I know I don't have split personalities or anything, it is just the easiest way to put it). The things that remain the same despite whoever I am with are what make me who I am. All of the aspects of me that change based on who I am with are not important to me, and therefor adapt to fit the people around me. I wondered for a while if this adaptation of sorts makes me a weak person, but I think it just means that I know what is really important to me, and everything else is just sand in the hourglass.

Lost in a Simple Game Cat and Mouse

Today has been a very good day. I spend most of my day at home, doing Job research and relaxing. I hung out with a few friends in the evening, went to get ice cream, and then played Frisbee in the rain for like 4 hours! I am cold, wet, and exhausted but it felt really good to get out and work of some of the energy that I have been storing up for the past month.
       No, the cat picture is not random. Today, I found my cat, Lynx, had brought me a little present. A little bird was sitting on the front door. I was about to go and sweep it up and throw it away, when it fluttered a few feet, and Lynx began to play with it. While it is cruel that he (and most cats) play their prey to death, I was reminded of how death is simply a part of life. Lynx is doing his part to survive, and just following his instincts. In the same way, i must remember to just do what I need to survive. I believe I am here for a reason, and when it is over, I will leave this world. Death will be a part of my life, and there is nothing I can do about it. This is still hard for me to accept, and I am not going to pretend that just because I am blogging about it I am over it, because I am not. Just something I am working on. In the meantime, all I can do is find my bird and play with it too. Weird metaphor, but whatever. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

I Don't Like How I Gotta Work, And They Just Sit Around And Get Paid

Throughout my life, I have developed certain habits involving how to work. I have been brought up to believe that if you do something, you give it your all and that people who work hard mill make it far in life. things such as football, track and field, homework, theatre, work (whatever it may be) all should be looked at in this manner. I find it so frustrating when other people do not work hard at all. I understand that everyone is different, and so everyone works differently, blah blah blah.... The thing I cannot stand to see is the people who do absolutely nothing productive, and still get the same recognition/reward as those who actually do something. On the plus side to this frustration, this is part of what drives me to work as hard as I can. How is it that people do not see the difference between those who do their job, and those who don't. I find it blatantly obvious. I often wish that survival of the fittest was at work in our society (which I am convinced it is not) so that these people would die, and the rest of us hard working people could actually get something done. Sometimes I think these nonworking people are doing it just to piss me off, but I know that is not true. I think maybe it is just laziness, or stupidity. I find that this lazy issue is particularly prevalent in the youth of today. How often do you see a kid working hard? I can say that I don't see it nearly enough. Connecting the dots between stupidity and the youth of today, I am reminded of someone from my college career. this person was the worst worker I have ever seen. he tried all he could, but never got anything done. he was literally the stupidest person I have ever met. I know this makes me sound mean, but he was not mentally ill or anything. Common sense things just did not make it into his brain. I would love to write about some of the stupid things he did, but I cannot without making it obvious to people who know me who he is. For this reason, I will not, and just end this post with a quote from a great man. "Some people are only alive because it is illegal to kill them".
RIP survival of the fittest

It’s All Success If It’s What You Need, Do What You Like And Do It Honestly

Did you ever have one of those days where you realize that you haven't been acting quite like yourself recently? I had one of those moments today. I was recently chatting with a good friend on the phone, and in the context of asking him questions about his life and how it was going and listening to his responses, I began to reflect on myself. I feel as though listening is one of the best methods of learning about one's self and others. This is part of the reason why I am often the quiet kid at large gatherings. I usually just prefer to listen to other people. In the words of Jackie Chan "I like to let people talk who like to talk. It makes it easier to find out how full of shit they are". Anyway, after the phone conversation with my friend, I felt much better about my life and everything going on in it. I believe that this is primarily due to the realization that I was going about it all wrong, and changing my point of attack on many issues. Its not to say that things in my life have been fake or anything, just not done in the right spirit. I believe that much of what matters in this world is the spirit and faith in which you pursue things, and your intentions.  Upon reflecting on my life for the past few months, I have come to realize that I am in need of some changes. I hope that these changes will effect my life in a positive manner.

Technologic

Yesterday, my computer broke. I thought for a little bit that it would be fine if I gave it some time to recover or something, which in hind site was a stupid thought. It is still broken, and it is over the past few days that I have realized how much I depend on my computer. I find myself sitting at home with absolutely no idea what to do. There are clearly many things to do and I out of habit can only think about what I cannot do on the computer. Video games  Facebook, blogging, and email are an important part of my life. I do not however believe that my life should come to a standstill if I do not have access to them. I am trying to uphold my 21st Birthday goal of getting outside more during this time of my lack of a computer. I worked out today, went for a run, and spent time with my family. I also wrote many letters to people I had been meaning to for a long time. I hope that I can continue to find ways to spend my time without a computer in the future.

It seems to me that in todays society, we use computers as a necessity, instead of just a tool. I believe that we must be careful about our growing dependence on technology and computers. Many opportunities in life can be missed while sitting at a TV or computer screen, and life is too precious to waste. Ironically, I am talking about this subject on my blog, from a computer, but such is the way of our world. There is a balance between using technology and abusing it that we must find. 

When It's Time To Party We Will Party Hard

It has been a good past few days. My 21st year has started well. I went to a Moody Blues concert today with my folks, and it was pretty fun. I am not the concert going type, so I didn't get crazy with all the other 70 year olds there, but I sat back and just enjoyed the music, the weather, and people watching. It always amazes me how music can bring people together. I love watching people who have never met before dance, hug, laugh, and share stories all over a little common interest. I am also going to go to another concert in a few months. My best friend and roommate got us tickets to go see Motley Crew. That should be a lot of fun too. A little different type of music, but whatever. Tomorrow I have my family birthday party, where a bunch of my family and friends are getting together to celibate my 21st. I look forward to spending some time with the people that I don't get to see a lot. I already know that my least favorite part of tomorrow will be when everyone sings "Happy Birthday" to me, and the presents. It just makes me uncomfortable when all those people are paying attention to just me. As per usual, I will try to remain quiet and make sure that I let everyone know how thankful I am for them caring about me and coming. The time people take to come and visit with you, or call you, or send you a gift  is one of those small things that I think a lot of people don't remember to be thankful for.

Just Another Brick in the Wall

Here it is, my first day of being 21! Being the rebel that I am I decided to go against the grain and not get sloshed on my Birthday. I don't have a huge crowd of friends in my hometown anyway, so I spent the day listening to music, playing some games, and responding to messages, phone calls, and texts. I ran lights for a Benjamin Franklin impersonator, and then went out to my first bar with my parents and my brother. I know very little about drinking, as I don't really do it much, and so I had each of them order one drink for me. Out of the three drinks I had, I am sad to say I liked none of them. I guess its all a part of the learning process. I am pretty sure the rest of my family had more to drink than I did, as I had to drive one of my parents home. I still had a great night with my family. I have been asked at least 5 times today how it feels to be 21, and I must confess, I feel pretty much the same. I was also asked to come up with a goal for myself for next year, and I figured this is a good place to put it so i can be held accountable. My goal for the year of my 21st birthday is to  get outside a little more. I like being outdoors just fine, but I spend most of my time inside. I would like to get out and enjoy the world and nature more this next year. Today has been a great day. Pretty much all the aspects of my life are looking up, and I hope they remain so. As far as the significance of this day is concerned, I see it as just another brick in the wall.

Crazy "Little Thing" Called Love

I have come to the conclusion over my vast years of experience (soon to be 21) that it is the little things that matter the most in this world. All of the things that have mattered to me the most are small things that someone did, or said to me that made a huge impact on my life. I never really gave this much thought until recently, when I realized that I don't do enough of those "little things" for other people. I have taken it upon myself to try and be a little bit more outgoing when it comes to my friends, and the people I love. Besides the fact that doing small things for other people has proven to bring joy into my life, it will hopefully make a few other peoples lives a bit happier too. After all, what could I possibly hope to do with my life if not to make people happy? It is my hope, that like in that one car commercial about doing nice things to others, these small things I do will inspire others to do the same. I know I am a bit of an idealist.... but all I can do is try. : )