Monday Afternoon

Wow! I had big cleansing conversations last night. It felt so amazing. First, Mon heard me rant about differnt thoughts I had been having, being very calm and wonderful and listening and feedbacking and just being all around awesome. Then Juan came on by to talk about his experience, stopping a relationship that he wasn't ready to get into, stopping at the friendship zone where they both can be comfortable. It's a pretty great feeling when you feel you did the right things. When you communicated with the ones you love so they can know where you're at, so they can share more in the experiences that you feel. Life is good when that happens.

On another note, Christmas (and other, less Christian holidays, though they rock too...except we have a better soundtrack) is quickly approaching. Don't forget about those that aren't close to you physically but were, at least once, part of your circle of friends. Yes, I am talking about Orlando Castillo. Send him a post card. The address? You don't have it? Well, here it is:

Orlando Castill aka Hermano Jose Maria (either and/or both)
Urb. Los Girasoles de Huampani
Av. Circunvalacion/Esquina Las Orquideas
CIB LOTE 8
Chaclacayo, Lima 8
PERU

There is no excuse. It cost 70cents to send a postcard. Don't slack. He's a good kid. He wouldn't slack on you.

And no, the token picture of the message:

Here's to Procrastination

There's the picture of the day. And now, for more procrastination...

(c/o katy murphy-lubowicz)
Ever:
1. smoked a cigar – no
2. crashed a friend's car – mom's
3. stolen a car – no
4. been in love - yes
5. been dumped – 8th grade
6. dumped someone - yes
7. taken shots of alcohol- yes
8. been fired - no
9. been in a fist fight – no, but i shoved a kid into a shed once
10. snuck out of a/your house – no-ish. more like snuck in
11. had feelings for someone who didn't have them back- yes
12. been arrested – no
13. made out with a stranger - not really. did something else, though
14. gone on a blind date – no
15. lied to a friend – yes :(
16. had a crush on a teacher- no
18. seen someone die – no
19. been on a plane – yes
20. thrown up in a bar - no
22. miss someone right now - yes
23. laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by - yes
24. made a snow angel – yes
25. played dress up – no
26. cheated while playing a game – yes, but not recently, except when i play putt-putt
27. been lonely – yes
28. fallen asleep at work/school – all the time
29. used a fake id - no
30. felt an earthquake – no
31. touched a snake – yes
32. ran a red light - yep
33. had detention – yep
34. been in a car accident - yes
35. hated the way you look – yes
37. been lost – men are never lost
38. been to the opposite side of the country – yes
39. felt like dying – no
40. cried yourself to sleep – no
41. played cops and robbers - yes
42. karaoke – absolutely
43. done something you told yourself you wouldn't – yes
44. laughed till some kind of beverage came out of your nose- i accidentally drunk from a straw up my nose
45. caught a snowflake on your tongue - yep
46. kissed in the rain - yes...only good in warm rain
47. sang in the shower - when do i not?
48. made love in a park - not yet
49. had a dream that you married someone - i don't remember. i don't think so
50. glued your hand to something – to my other hand
51. got your tongue stuck to a flag pole - no
52. worn the opposite sex's clothes – yes
53. Been a cheerleader – spirit club count?
54. sat on a roof top - yes
55. talked on the phone all night - not strictly speaking, but yes enough
56. ever too scared to watch scary movies alone - yes. Exorcist iii
57. played chicken fight – always
58. been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on - yes
59. been told you're hot by a complete stranger – yes
60. broken a bone – no (knock on wood)
61. had a 3-some? - nope. but i have been licked by many dogs and puppies all at once

Thanksgiving Time

So we approach the time to go home and appreciate our gifts, our families, our homes, etc. I'm going home to just my folks, which is kinda sad considering that at one time my house was filled with 9 people living there permenantly, not to mention guests we'd have. Yet, I might be making it down to Miami for thanksgiving, to spend time with the family there. Sounds good, but it will be weird not being home. This Thanksgiving will be different. My birthday is November 24. My grandmother's was November 22. She passed away a month ago. I'm over the loss; she was 87 and not enjoying the state she was in. Yet, we always threw a party at our place and invited the usual Nicaraguans. Maybe not this year. It's a shame to end such a great tradition, but so it goes. I guess it's time to start a new tradition.

On another note, Monica is the gal I love. She's not doing so well b/c school is frustrating her into apathy which frustrates her cause she's not an apathetic person. She is overworked, underappreciated, and feels like she's drowning. There are great things in her life, like her friends, her situation, (eh hem) her boyfriend. But it is so hard to appreciate those things when times spent with them are cancelled or retarded due to work, meetings, rehearsals, etc. I hope Thanksgiving break is good to her. She, as far as I know, is staying her because it's prohibitively expensive to go home. It sucks to be away from her family in such a time, and it sucks that a lot of friends won't be here either. Hopefully she'll make it to Decatur and hang out with her illini family, the Koniches, or with her STL family, the Garcia-Maciases. She's loved no matter where she is. I love her a lot. Isn't she purrrty:)




She's gonna kick my ass for including this picture!

Late night

This is a short message, written at quarter to 3 in the morning. Just writing to say update some things in my world. Sunday was the first night of the rest of the semester and I'm living it that way. Chi-town is a pretty sweet place, which is where I spent the weekend. I came back renewed, refreshed, and rejuvinated, all actually meaning the same thing. Tomorrow, though, I'll be tired. No food to help celebrate Ramadan and not a lot of sleep to celebrate 8:30am classes. Goodnight.

This day and age

Does anyone ever wonder that they may not really be saying sayings correctly? I almost wrote 'this day in age'. That's what I say, but no one notices my mess-up. Oh well, I digress before I even begin.

School is tough stuff. Senior year isn't as easy as it was in my fantasies. The time is quickly approaching where all decisions for the next 5 years of my life must be made. And before I can make those dicissions, I have to survive the semester. I am not too sad about how things have gone so far, but I am trying desperately not too get too much more behind than I am. I have learned a lot this year. I have learned that you cannot feel comfortable with anyone until you settle down in the literal sense. Let me clear that up with the instance that I learned it. When I came to the STL in August I got a kind of uneasy feeling about how Monica and I were doing because there didn't seem to be too many happy times in the first few days. Turns out it had nothing to do with Monica or me, but rather it was that I was only in town for less that 18 hours at a time for those days and when I was finally here for good and could take a breath and Monica could actually spend quality time with me, things got great again. Again, the lesson is that I have to be able to be in the moment to enjoy the moment. I also learned that most everything people can say has a logical problem in it (thanks LSAT). I learned that retarded people and kids cannot be executed. I learned that Kant was a really boring man for most of his life, and then he became a beast philosopher. I learned that the city of St Louis has a very very sketchy political system. I learned that even if you don't talk to someone most of the time, the times you do talk can be wonderful. I learned that hip hop dancing is hard and really fast. I learned that I can never do the worm. Working out is good. Columbia will never match up to Colombia. Halloween is for whores. I'm whore-hay.

The list goes one. I'm going to include a picture now cause I want to. Pictures are nice. We are great. God is great. We are done.

Too Long

Sorry, kids, that it's been so long since I wrote. I bet most of you don't even come up to visit the site even now and again. Well, I promise, at least for this coming year, though the site might be neglected, it won't be forgotten, so keep looking up now and again. Once in a while will do since I'm inconsistant. School is kicking my ass right now. LSATs and this and thats and 2 tests coming up, each of which I haven't started studying for so I could keep up with one class that kills and the LSAT which also is killing me. Lots of work to do tomorrow.



The above is a picture I took at the beginning of last year. I hope to make a visit to the confluence here in the STL again this fall. Its too perfect. Now I'm off to a meeting. Peace.

Sunday

This is my brother. He's in my thoughts today. His 23rd birthday is coming up the 14th of August. This is a picture of him and my folks in Peru on the day he became a novice in the Family of Jesus Healer. I miss him a lot. The girl in his arms is his inspiration, he says. If you've recently heard me talk about him, I probably mentioned her. She's a four year old bundle of God's love, apperently. A man needs inspiration. I'm off. Just a Sunday message on Tito. Br. Joseph Mary. Brother.

Life

There are so many arguments for all kinds of things. Reasons to do things quickly, for taking your time, for attention, for neglect. They say hindsight is 20/20, but is it really? Does every see the past with the same clarity? Is that even a fair question, because everyone has a different lense in which they see the world. There must be some sort of universal truths that bring things into a certain light. But even with that, the rest of what we look at is tainted with ourselves. Even if the there is a univeral lense, there is a personal tint. Universal truths...(sigh), you got to have faith in something. I'm not sad, by the way. Only introspective.

Hawaii

Here are a few pics from the trip to Hawaii.


The weather in the islands is perfect. Highs in the mid 80s, always a good sea breeze. It tends to rain only where the mountains are, so by the water is generally dry...well, except for the water. This view is from a restaurant balcony where we ate. Its the clubhouse of the Mercedes Championship, where Tiger, Vijay, Sergio, and the rest of the gang plays.


Of course I tried to surf. The waves are bigger in the winter, but I held my own on the rink-a-dink waves. I stood up. That's more than some can say. I think tight shirts are my style.


This picture above is when the fam and I went to a luau. Hula girls are pretty. Maybe its just that they'r half naked. The girl on the right came out for one of the dances without a shirt, though her hair and a lei were covering her unmentionables...or funbags (tomAto/tomato).


This is the view from the room. In front was a nice looking golf course and off in the distance you can see the ocean. The place is amazing. That's if for now, boys and girls. I have to get ready for MDA camp. Peace out.

Who am I

Stealing from the wonderful Isabel Cristina Acevedo, here I am:

Get to know me..

((ME))
1. Full Name: Jorge Martin Castillo Castellon Herdocia Garcia Garcia Silba Rivera Manning Arguello
2. Nicknames: Nica, Whore, Jorgito
3. City / State: Tampa, FL or St Louis, MO
4. Birthday: Nov 24, 1983
5. Age: 21
6. Zodiac Sign: Saggitarius
7. Schoo: Jesuit High School(high), Washington University in St. Louis
8. Sports: all
9. Hobbies: driving, random 10sec dance sessions, all things beachy
10. Righty or Lefty: Righty

(( FAMILY ))
1. Parents Names: Orlando Jose and Cecilia
2. Siblings / Ages: Orlando 22
3. Do you get along with your parents?: yes
4. Do you get along with your siblings?: Yes
5. Do you all live together?: Orlando is in Peru

(( FAVORITES ))
1. Day of the week: Friday
2. Month: all?
3. Season: spring
4. Holiday: Thanksgiving
5. Movies: three amigos, only the strong, gone ins 60 secs, batman begins
6. Actors: chevy chase, sean connory, cedric the entertainer
7. Actresses: catherine zeta jones, chick from king of queens, jada pinkette smith
8. TV Shows: Family Guy, Simpsons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Mystery Science Theater 3000
9. Songs: La Bamba, El Aventurero, This DJ, Steal My Kisses
10. Music Groups: DLG, The Allman Bros, ZZ Top, Orisheas, Los Lobos
11. Music Singers: Van Morrison, Bob Seger, Etta James, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton
12. Quote: "[St Ignatius] had lived and traveled, studied and taught in a tumultuous world, and his religious exprience, as profound or even as mystical as it was, occurred in the context of history."
13. Colors: Yellow
14. Animals: Mandy
15. Flowers: Tulips
16. Books: A Short History of Nearly Everything, Animal Farm, The Bible
17. School Subject: Recess
18. Foods: Rice & Beans (Gallopinto)
19. Drinks: OJ
20. Ice Cream: Brownie A La Mode
21. Pizza Toppings: Bacon

(( FRIENDS ))
1. Best Friends: Ryan, Atom, Mon, Langer
2. Funniest: Silvio
3. Most Trustworthy: Mon
4. Most Loyal: not Mandy
5. Most Honest: Atom
6. Gives you Advice: Orlando
7. Shyest: Marla
8. Most Boycrazy: Kevin
9. Most Trendy: Those Indian gals (India is so in fashion)
10. Lives closest to you: Criollo
11. Lives farthest away from you: Maria Cristina Capello
12. Are you most like: Atom
13. Most talented: Mon
14. Best Singer: O'Malley Sisters in the car
15. Best Dancer: the Guidies
16. Most memories: Pat Burley and I were friends since pre-K

(( RELATIONSHIPS ))
1.Boyfriend/Girlfriend: Mon
2. Crush: you
3. Qualities you look for: latina, curves, dances, social, shorter than me
4. First Kiss: Lauren in tour of N. France, summer before 8th grade
5. First Relationship: Leigh Montejo, for 5 periods of one eighth grade day
6. Most Romantic Moment: kiss at the eiffel tower
7. Personality or Looks: both

(( THIS OR THAT ))
1. Baseball or Football: Buccaneers
2. Ben Stiller or Ben Affleck: Affleck in non-romantic comedies
3. Cat or Dog: Mandy
4. Truck or Car: Supra
5. Rain or Sun: Sun
6. Winter or Summer: Summer
7. Love or Lust: Love
8. Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast: Princess Jasmine (oh yeah)
9. Movies or Broadway: hmmm, tough
10. CD or Tape: CD
11. DVD or VHS: DVD
12. Ham or Turkey: Turkey
13. Feet or Hands: Hands
14. Legs or Arms: Legs
15. Dance or Singing: Dance
16. Cell or Housephone: cellie
17. Friends or BF/GF: they're down with each other

18. Flying or Driving: Driving, with a stick shift
19. Running or Jogging: Jogging
20. Christmas or Birthday: Birthday
21. Pink or Blue: Blue
22. White or Black: White linen
23. Britney or Christina: Christina
24. iPod or MP3: anything pirated

Today is a day

Today is a day that I write a bit. I started the summer all bored and with nothing to do. I did a lot of cleaning of the room, which I left incomplete, but still I was bored. The trip to NYC mentioned below fixed that for a week, but still I was bored when I came back. Now my days start at 8:15am and go nonstop to 4:30. Now that's not a full days' work, but I do get a lot in. A work out in the morning and working at a camp in the afternoon. Kids wear you out. Now I come home satisfied. My nights are tired, though. And I miss my friends. There are some here in town, but there are many who are not. So here's a bit of an ode to those kiddies.



Atom is his name. Great nephew of the great Einstein, this man with the weird name is one of my best friends of all time. Today he went to Brasil for a month and a week, and he goes back to school earlier than anyone else. Why? I don't know, but I do know it's not cause of school. I guess he just likes to get out of Tampa. Despite his tendency to exaggerate any situation, he's the most loyal friend I've ever had. If he can possibly be there for anything, a good time or an emergency or everything in between, he's good to go.



Irish kids are awesome, and none more amazing than Archway Court. Nights out, parties in, movie nights, Desperate Housewives club...It was all great. So thanks for the times with these kids and the memories. I miss you.



Tyler Survant is a guy that doesn't get much press. He's kinda on the quiet side, but by no means does this take from his character. He's a strong, very cool-ly dressed dude that I met a year ago and got to know last fall. I don't think he know's how much I appreciate his friendship. Visiting for one night in Italy was one of my major European highlights. Good guys.

So this concludes my friendly rant. Appreciate those around you. And don't neglect to call those that aren't. Peace.

Mandy

Mandy
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Its been too long since I've graced y'all with my words (i'm special). So, here's a quick rundown of why I've been busy. When I got to the States June 5 I started a shake-down in my room. All crap must go. Little did I know I'd find more crap that my parents thought was mine in there. It took a while. A random good thing that my parents put in the room while I was gone is a hammock. Awesome to rock yourself in your own room while watching TV.

Then I went to NYC and NJ for a week, to see the cousins, celebrate graduations, and see Monica and the fam. Good times were had by all. I suprsed people at the graduation party, which was awesome to do. I also had din din at my friend Basta's house. Great family. He's got a 97 year old home in Brooklyn that is gorgious. I also had my first trip to Coney Island and had Nathan's hotdogs with Monica and Chris Sullivan. Good times.

In NJ I saw Philadelphia (I know its not in NJ), went to the Jersey Shore, which is pretty impressive despite the freezing water, and went to a young Kathleen O'Malley's graduation. Thanks for the good times.

Now it's Father's Day stuff, so adios. Enjoy life!

ps-that's a picture of the beautiful mandy above. she's my true love.

The Three Amigos

IMG_1102
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Do do justice to my boy, Steve, from London, I include this photo of London in March where he was great enough to spend an evening with us and take us around the stupid touristy parts of town. He also was the hook up in London this time, despite the fact that he was over and under and all kinds of whelmed with his final paper. Steve, you are the man!

Temple in the sky

Temple in the sky
Originally uploaded by skinica.

The ruins in Pompei. Pretty impressive. Its a huge place.

Skylights

Skylights
Originally uploaded by skinica.

My dinner view. There is nothing wrong in Capri. Except, I guess, moving around sucks unless you got a Vespa

B-E-A-uitiful

B-E-A-uitiful
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Its been a long time, boys and girls. I's sorry to have left you with kinda sad stuff about frustration without replacing it with happy stuff about me and the world. Now, then, I will leave you with happiness and good times. I just got back from a few days vacation after my papers and before my last/only exam. The papers came back with one top honors, one first honors, and one second honors, which is basically ABC. Sucks for the C, but so is life. I'm going to have a word with the teacher to see if he can give me the one point I need for the B. And the test yesterday was ok. I think I at least got a B. I'm happy.

Now, the travels. Went to London for two night to hang out with Wash U kids, which turned out to be only Sergey Schelmelev, who is the man. Thanks for the good times. You were the best damn host. Hung out also with Brain Lange (see below) and Zack Humphries from Jesuit High School. Good times. We saw Star Wars there, and on the Jubilee Line we did NOT mind the gap. Hell yeah!

Then Italia for Jorge. In Naples I had pizza. Good stuff. Saw a pretty dirty city, but it had some charm to it. Then, for the real reason of the trip, to get my fix of sunlight and palm trees, I went to the island of Capri to chill. Awesome times. Found some cool chicas to hang out with, got a tan, saw the most beautiful sunsets, spent absuurd amounts of money, and had an amazing time. Then a few nights in Sorrent to see Pompei. Look above for some pics! Ciao

Road to somewhere

Road to somewhere
Originally uploaded by skinica.

I am supposed to be writing a paper right now. I'm supposed to be finishing up with school. I got 1800 words of 3000 down, and I can't concentrate. Its the feeling of freedom that kills me. Or maybe it's that when I get this paper out of the way I will travel around a bit only to come back and take an exam May 28. Maybe its that I really want to read a book I bought. Maybe its that I'm going to miss leaving these Irish kids. Maybe it's that I'm so happy to be going home, where the juice is fresh, the dog loves me, things are clean, and I have my car. I don't know, but I feel restless.

Restlessness, obviously, I guess, is something that everyone deals with. It's just another frustration of life, like the frustrations of exhaustions, of longing, or of anything really. I would then venture to guess that treating these frustrations would be very similar to each other. Finish what needs to be done first. If you can't, find peace and then do it. How do you find peace? Prayer works for me, just as yoga or stretching or whatever work for others. It works for me cause I suck at it, and therefore, when I do it I really try hard to do it in a way that works for me (cause, again, prayer is different for everyone). If it doesn't make sense for you to hear me say I suck and then show how I do it right, tough. It makes sense to me. Anyways, right now I am praying. That is how prayer works in my life. The stop, drop, and pray drills don't affect me much, and I never remember to do them anyways. It's life that is a continual prayer for me. This break from writing is my prayer....in writing. I guess it's not the writing I'm breaking from, but rather the writing crap that I don't care to write about. I offer my frustration to God, and I hope he's open to taking some more. I know he gets a lot, but he asked for them.

I also think I need to sit up properly and breath better. I've drunk lots of water, so that's not a problem. I slouch. Its bad for you in many ways, not least of which is the afore mentioned breathing......Ok, I think I've prayed myself stupid.

Thank you, God, for the opportunity to get frustrated and for something to look forward to when I overcome it. Adios.

Hello Motto

Quick notes, as they say, to express the thoughts of the day. As I neglected to pick up my friend from the airport yesterday, I realized that I have much much less time here in Ireland that I thought. I go home June 5, have a paper due the 13th, an exam the 28th, and that's it. Damn!, I have to go. I'm off to littler parts of Ireland.

Fern n Me

Fern n Me
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Well, classes have ended for the most part here in Ireland. I have some Latinos visiting me. That made the Irish-Hispanic population jump about 300%. Its nice speaking Spanish with my boy Fernando. Also, Alejandra PdeL is chillin' with her friend in my crib. She's doing the tourist thing while Fern is chilliando with me. We went to a Gaellic Football game, and it was pretty good times. They get into their games, crazy Irish. Wexford was our team, and they got pretty rocked. I guess that's why they were the underdogs. Now, its off to check out the town and drink Guiness like good tourists. Peace.

Langer

Langer
Originally uploaded by skinica.

It is time to reflect a bit on Euro Trip 2005. This is the man I've travelled with most, which you already knew b/c he's mentioned below. His name, Brian Lange. Good guy. Nice, tall parents. Big Notre Dame family. Bigger brother. Don't pick a fight with him. At least I won't (I'm small). Anyways, Langer has been my friend since he moved to Tampa, so 'round 10 years, give or take 3. So it was really nice to travel around with someone who gets yous, doesn't need every action explained, etc. He a good looking guy (ladies, he's available to the highest bidder). Very smart. Full of random facts about history of wherever you end up, which is due to his history buffery. All in all, a winner. Together we did Madrid, Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Auschwitz, and Vienna, with London still left. Why make a post about this man and give you random details that no one really cares about? Because I just finished a paper and have nothing else to do before I go to sleep. Goodnight.

Hey Zeus

Hey Zeus
Originally uploaded by skinica.

I'm in a religious state of mind right now. I guess it doesn't help that I'm writing papers on the subject. The one that I'm working on most right now is comparing the Gospel of Matthew with letters from Paul, namely Romans and Galatians. Apperantly they're talking about different things at time, at least that is what teachers tell me. I guess the church would say something different (and when I say the church, I mean my church, the crazy papists). It seems as if the scholars look at the stuff with a very strict eye. They pick every word apart with a fine-toothed comb to find differences in doctrine. The religious people, I figure (that's the next paper I'm writing, how the Catholic Church interprets the Bible) would say that they are not saying different and incongruous things, but rather they are saying parts and pieces of the same and whole truth, and that their message is geared to the faith of a section of believers. I'd say Paul takes a little more authority when he writes, but the fact remains that he was writing to his crews. Matthew not only was of a different make up, but was made while the group itself evolved, so it's mixed with messages geared to both old Matt-kids and new Matt-kids. The question posed is why are they saying different things? Maybe the first question would be, are they? Maybe. I have yet to write the paper. Today was a waste of hours and hours of potential paper. Hope you like the picture I took in the Cathedral Real in Madrid in March. Enjoy life, y'all.

The way it works

Hag
Originally uploaded by skinica.

I was searching some blogs of friends of mine, and they use it to write some deep stuff, like what a community is and what one does for its members. That's some pretty deep stuff! So is that what blogs are for, I guess, unless there is some specific aim? Its not a culinary site. Just my random ravings. Is it supposed to be my journal? I guess people will tell me it's whatever I want it to be and whatever I make it. Well, that doesn't give me direction. I guess what I could do is gear these writings to whatever I think the audience will enjoy and actually read. Who the audience is I can't tell. So that doesn't do much for me yet. I guess I could just write whatever randomness comes to mind, whatever I'm inspired to do at the time. I should make an effort to write at different states of mind. Right now is the tired state. I promise fill in some drunken moments, sad ones, manic ones, and everything in between. Until then, enjoy the random picture of inside a cathedral in Vienna. Peace.

boring

ducks ii
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Before I begin this installment, I would very much like people to leave a little message now and again. It lets me know that someone has read something and also is entertaining to me, which is most important.

That being said, let me introduce you to my duck friends. They were showboating in a fountain next to the Louvre Museum in Paris. Crazy ducks. Back here in Dublin, school work has been getting to annoying levels. I'm 4 chapters from finishing the Gospel of Matthew very carefully. It's taken me forever, I have 3 or 4 letters from Paul to read before I can write my paper comparing these two dudes. It's a very, very slow process. So that's been occupying my time lately. But not tonight. No, we celebrated Katy's birthday. 21 years old. She's old. Tapas tonight with sangria as our drink of choice. No wastedness, though. All of us that went out have work to do. And that's where I'm off to now. Peace.

Katy Murph-Lub

Katy Murph-Lub
Originally uploaded by skinica.

This is my roommate, for those who don't know. Well, one of them. She came from Wash U with me. If you see her on the streets, give her a high five. She's a winner.

Me and Uncle Ben

Me and Uncle Ben
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Check out London. Its a good place to be. I recommend it, but bring lots of money or sell your body. Be a creature of the night. Doesn't the clock look like Big Brother has his eye on you?

We are not amused

We are not amused
Originally uploaded by skinica.

She's not going to like this one, but its so funny. She's taken by suprised cause all night I was stealing her food. Actually, all trip. Look at those eyes!

Lovers' night in Paris

Lovers' night in Paris
Originally uploaded by skinica.

Mon and I had a nice night in Paris, with dinner on the Eiffle Tower, followed by a river cruise and a Cabaret show. We are the hotness.

Chicano

Well, I have been quite busy these past few days. Papers galore are up and about. Also, I haven't really emailed anyone about my blog, so it hasn't been too successful. I'll work on that. Just a quick note to say that one paper done and 2 to go. They aren't fun cause they're like 12 pages or so. C'est la vie, though. I haven't really done much work since I've been here.

If anyone know her, Hopie Wells is chillin' in the house for a while. She's travelling all across Europe and one stop was Dub-town. Ok, I'm out. Peace.

ps- still haven't figured out how to put pictures up. this sucks. any help?

In the beginning...

Welcome, y'all. I have decided to start a blog b/c I find it a bitch to try to email all of you with the yahoo and the hotmail and the whatnot. Sorry. I guess it means you'll have to search me out to know what I'm doing. Actually, some of you may find this a blessing. I'll put a link to this on my AIM name, SkiNica, if you care to check it out there. Besides that, you're on your own to find me.

To recap my life for the last month I have done one thing--travelled. Here's the long and short of it. Monica, my girlfriend, came from the Lou to me and we went to Galway (in Ireland), Paris, and London. Then I went to Rome and Florence, back home for St. Patty's in Dublin, then off to Brussels, Amsterdam, Warsaw, and Vienna. Then my parents came and we did Dublin and London. Now back to school. Its a tough life I live. When I get home I'll put up some pics so you can see too (I'm at a computer lab right now). The following will be more detail; feel free to skim, skip, or come back to this if you're short on time, don't care, have a short attention span, etc.

Monica time:
It was really really good to have Mon over here. She's a cutie. We took our time on the Island pretty chill, seeing a movie, drinking beer (me), shots (her), and whiskey (both). We went to Galway and got to see the Cliffs of Mordor or Moher or something like that, where Mon conquered her fear of tragic death by falling from dangerous hights to a rocky and salt-watery death, only to be attacked by scavanger leprechauns. She survived, as did I, and life is good. I also got to meet Andrew Somethingorother, Katy Murph-Lub's boyfriend. (For those who don't know her, she the only other WashUer who's here with me.) He's a winner, and does a killer German impression. Then was Paris to see the Eiffle Tower, the Seine River, the Arc de Triumph, the Champs Elysse, the Louvre, the Moulin Rouge, Versaille, and other random French things. Highlights include but are not limitted to: being lost for an hour cause I'm an idiot, eating at Dans le Noir where one is stripped of their eyesight and served by blind people, eating at Altitude 95 in the Eiffle Tower, a kebab, and Mon's model session inside the Louvre. I'll see if I can upload a picture or two of that. Then we went to London where we chilled a lot. We didn't have much time, so we relaxed instead of trying to see everything. We did see the Globe Restaurant, almost as good as the theatre which we missed, Buckingham, Big Ben, London Eye, and Steve Gabster. The last one was the best, cause Steve is a pretty sexy guy. Then she left and it was sad. We rock, though.

Langer time:
The rest of the travels were mostly with my boy from Tampa named Brian Langer, aka Langer. He's a Notre Dame kid who is studying in Dublin as well. We met up in Rome to meet our bud Tony Toledo, who unexpectedly was out of town. That sucked, but we chilled with other ND kids anyways. We went to the Vatican, so that was pretty cool. I'd been to Rome 5 years before, so I didn't spend much time and instead went to visit my old roomies in Florence. That was really really nice and relaxing. Much lovin' to Ferdinand, Tyler, and Steph who cooked good food and made for a great end to leg one of Jorge's travel-a-thon. Then I did absolutely nothing for St Patty's day here in Dublin. I suck, I know, but I was tired and I had no Raj to motivate me. So I chilled. Then off to Brussells for waffles and chocolate, then Amsterdam for Anne Frank and VanGogh and..., then off to Warsaw which was pretty damn cool. It was a relatively cheap and chill town with good lookin' gals, if you're into tha Arian race style gals with blond hair, light eyes, much taller than me, etc. And the Pols have some good beer. Good job Poland. While there we went to Auschwitz, which was too far away to be a daytrip, but we did it anyways. That place is pretty depressing, not very fun. Pretty sobering actually, which was good. The most impressive thing was how damn big the camps were. Anyways, that's another rant. After, we went to Vienna via Bratislava. There I coincidentally ran into Anna B (Eliot 9, what what), and Myles from ZBT. They were taking time off from their rough Madrid to chill in Central Europe and I stubble upon them. They made for good nights out. Pretty palaces, opera houses, churches, etc abound there. But it was good to go home the 24th. I ate lots of schnitzles. mmmmm....schnitzle.....

Parent time:
We did lots of Dublin, ate much better food that I have grown accustomed to, and did lots of walking. They brought me rice and beans too. Gotta love them parents. Then we went to London to see the sights, eat rediculously good food, especially Indian food, and then toured around Windsor, Bath, and Stonehedge. Good times. Now they're back and so am I.

Well, papers to write and life to live. Enjoy life, y'all. Peace.