The RunTooFar Blog

hoboing it up

2010-04-14T14:58:00.017-06:00

I must look poor? Maybe its the beard, or whatever the hell is growing on my face. I was about to shave it all off the other day when a few random Peruvians girls I met said I was "sexier" (and looked at least 5 years older?!) with than without after I showed them a few photos. I also received yet another Leonardo DiCaprio "compliment". (The first one started back in 8th grade after the movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" premiered.) He was a retard back then, but after Titanic, a heartthrob. (Best part of the movie: when Jack dies!) My longer hair and beard now look more Danny Archer Blood Diamond.

To me though, it feels I have a beaver (go ahead and laugh...now) growing on my face that a squirrel is soon to start burying nuts in for the winter. But back to poor...Both yesterday and today at lunch, the server wrote down the wrong price on the bill. In my favor both times. While only about $1 less than expected, these meals only cost 1-3 dollars so its a good discount for looking like a gringo-hobo (new word: gringobo?).

For those keeping track of karma points, I paid the first one as written, but the second one was corrected. The food was worth the extra buck anyway and I even left a small tip (which I've not done for quite some time down here). My mindset on tips and paying for shit has changed so dramatically in the past 6 months, I feel as though I'm a super cheapskate (or bum...fiscally speaking) these days. A dollar here and there is now (partially) scrutinized and the best bang for the buck is always searched for. Damn budgets.

Why beard? It's something to play with besides my top-of-the-head hair? And Andrea likes it too and that of course counts for something (Andrea, Read: A LOT). However, the reason I started the whole growing thing was to see if it was possible for when I arrive in a random country where the size of your beard determines your amount of respect which means how easy it is to get to where you want to go.

So for now I keep the beard. It's not finished and partially my reason for dislike. There are missing parts, not completely filled in or out or down (up is good). I don't mind being thought poor in the meantime, but I dread the day when thought hippie...

Two Weeks Ago - Best Picture I Have Of IT

me...planning?

2010-03-16T14:30:00.001-06:00

Most of my constituents, yes you whoever is reading this, I just gave you an official, professional-sounding title, know me as the non-planning type, the spontaneous, the make-it-happen-right-before-its supposed-to-happen type. Well, I am here to inform you I have larger ambitions than just tomorrow...somedays.

Nearly 18 months after taking on a grand adventure of sorts around the world, my, as expected, mind has begun wondering into the next big idea. Yes, this one is not over, yet. Hell, its barely half over. I think. But my mind apparently doesn't give a shit.

So enough, what is the idea? A bar of course. Well...a cafe, bar, restaurant, brewery, hostel, something, something, something. Most of you know of this, or parts of it. But lately I have been...Making spreadsheets. Consulting foreign laws and regulations. Researching rent prices. Speaking about it on a daily basis. Taking pictures of others' designs. Putting notes on paper. Creating menus. Naming beers. And of course, registering domain names.

That is today, tomorrow it will be more or less. One of the joys (and obvio advantages) of traveling all-the-time, is finding new ideas, to copy, to improve, to implement in my next dream. Which makes all the above easier yet more difficult not being able to start, yet.

So I fight the urges to move on before finishing my current goal. I'm glad I put in my mind before I ever even started that the trip came above and goes beyond anything currently in my life, or else things (like leaving Colombia) would be nearly imposible.

So there it is, the largest thoughts going through my head as of late. Not Africa. Not Europe. Not Asia. Not that those will not come before. My mind has jumped a good year or two into the planning stages of life. Loco.

i written this before...

2010-03-15T10:57:00.001-06:00

it goes like this. i never blog enough. especially on my personal site. last time, april 2009. ouch. hmm...granted i try to keep up to date with pithy-ish articles over on roadsunknown.com, but i fail miserably in blogging my personal life. remember that life, a life without borders, a life without censorship?

where did it go...i think its buried in there somewhere. maybe i grew out of the blogging phase, the telling everyone exactly what i was feeling today phase, is it around? does anyone give a shit if i write about it...or what i write about? maybe i will start again, slowly. first personal blog in almost a year coming up this afternoon...stay tuned.

crazy gringo...

2009-04-04T22:12:00.002-06:00

It's the common joke around here that I'm the crazy gringo. I've always been a little crazy in my own ways, most people are. Normal is just boring. Right? Right. But today I may have taken it to a whole new level. A different one, but a new one. Another kind of crazy. Simply put, I allowed two photographers to throw paint, wrap me in color tubing, and douse me with water to their hearts content while they captured it all for the world to see on Flickr.

Although I had to act a little crazy to get into the part, I think it was more crazy letting them have any which way with me. At one point I felt posed like the newcomer in the jail shower. Another time I was chest down in sewer looking dirty rainbow water. The whole time I was wearing only a pair of gym shorts. Crazier (it would have been for me) to dawn a speedo as is customary in Brasil, but fortunately I do not own one. (Not yet, so I'm told.) I was asked to strip out of my gym shorts for one op, but reminded them of this fact and that I wasn't signing up to do pornography. (Not yet, so I said.) It might has well have been and I'm surprised I required no beer to go along.

But maybe that's why I was deemed worthy for the shoot, I was crazy enough to go along with it. Photographer one told number two, before the day even began, the levels of my so called insanity. She showed up just to find out for herself and I think she was quite content with the negatives. Negatives has multiple meanings I suppose and others see such things as positives. I like that. And I don't mind being considered a little crazy, it makes me happy. Embarased or not, I had a marvalous afternoon today. Thanks Iafa and Carol!

transitions and ambitions

2009-04-01T18:23:00.006-06:00

I cannot think of a title. Maybe by the time this ends. I've been on the road for exactly 6 months now. October 1 until April 1st. Crazy. What to think about that? Europeans I've met along the road travel upwards of 9-12 months before returning, but as far as Americans, it's rare. Since our culture likes to set anniversaries for things, I figured something would happen at this point in time. I assumed it might be some sort of realization, maybe a random change in itinerary, perhaps a friend joining, or an epiphany of small magnitude. I did not however imagine being solo. Ironic it is our trip, this road we were on, has taken a twist of unknown proportions today.

So what's next, then? 5Ws? For me, I'm staying put for awhile. Placing the backpack back in the closet and temporarily settling in to a new, short life here in Rio de Janeiro while I earn and save up the dough to continue on. During my anti-sabbatical, I will be hoping to further document life here in "The Marvelous City". Maybe I'll even catch up on a few blogs, I seem to write more while alone.

My itinerary at large has not changed, but I do suspect time lines will be altered. The general plan will be to head to Colombia, perhaps via Venezuela and following up with Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Eventually landing in Argentina, I'll search for that boat to cross the Atlantic to South America in time for the World Cup 2010. Crossing the African continent, cutting over to Asia, eventually I'll return somewhere? Will it all happen? I cannot see further than 3 days into the future, but setting this goal to see the world I am still sincerely committed to and hope to finish successfully with the continued support of friends and family.

That's about it. Glad we could have this talk, Blogger. Catch ya laters...

where, when, who

2009-03-22T11:28:00.002-06:00

just a few questions im trying to answer for myself: where next? when there? who, a few whos: who x? who y? and who z?

super fun time last night. nothing crazy, nothing big. just good conversation, good friends, good atmosphere, good.

two things i'm disliking at the moment: dishonesty, obscurity.

two things i'm liking at the moment: potential, optimism.

send me some sleep please

2009-03-20T14:52:00.004-06:00

i spent enough time on the internet i ought to post more blogs. i've been slacking even over at roadsunknown.com to put anything down on paper in awhile. there it's because i try to write more "professionally" but here i can just type and type and it doesn't matter. so it should be easier...

a few updates from the last 24 hours...i was up late last night, or this morning depending upon how to look at it. i got back in touch for a former employer who is going to be able to throw a little software development my way, so that's super because we are quite literally broke. the check is in the mail, but i'm sure that will only pay off the debt we've racked up on the credit cards this past month. so anything is good right now in terms of employment (if you have any need for software/web development let me know). for those wondering why work, this trip was never expected to be done with the savings we had, but it did end a few months earlier than expected. why? we like to spend money. and neither jason nor i budget for shit...but we've been having a good time so who cares.

i seem to go to sleep about 4am every morning so when tabetha said her flight came in at 530 i figured what's the point. the point would have been not staying up straight for 22 hours, i cannot do that anymore. the bus was typical late, i started waiting around 515 and jumped on at 605 putting me at the airport at 7. 30 minutes later i found her and we waited for the bus to get back. 1 hour later it came, 1 hour later back in Ipanema...sleep...4 hours. wake up. work on new job mentioned above. 7am roles around i'm not done yet. 9am, go to sleep, 4 hours. suck.

i'm tired. going to nap.

i need too

2008-10-28T23:41:00.002-06:00

post more blogs like i used to on here when my mind was completely and uterly wondering and before i knew anyone actually read my blogs and cared if i sensored or did not my language...

like this one

and that one since im currently in mexico

so tomorrow i will post a blog i wrote over two years ago and leave it as is without any modification, but perhaps a week or month later i will post another one following it up (the reason i never posted in the beginning i never finished it)

...and one day someone will read all this shit, put it together in some sort of "the life of..." book and it will never sell (to school aged children)...oh well.

my mind still wonders, but its about bigger, maybe? better ideas.

mmm...love that flor de cana.

donde?

2008-10-28T23:30:00.002-06:00

estoy? i'm somewhere in the middle of mexico, having already spent over a week in belize and day in guatemala...i will be here for a week more for day of the dead and then its off to see the rest of central america...have no idea what i'm talking about, maybe you should log onto www.roadsunknown.com if you have been hiding in the dark for the past 18 months while i spouted off about this big trip around the world i was taking...so tune in, check it out, and when i feel like i have something inappropriate for the "business" to be associated with or something "personal" in nature that i want to share with the world, as i try to always do...i will continue to put it here on runtoofar. until then, its all here.

playing sides?

2008-10-05T15:08:00.003-06:00

ran across this article today, actually its a blog, i read a few other posts but this one was most interesting and received many comments. comments that i could actually read which is not usually the case. ever wonder why the people who are the loudest sound the most incompetent? if you don't follow my train of thought here, try logging into youtube or reading comments on the msnbc blogs...

going away party

2008-09-17T22:18:00.001-06:00

its real simple. PARTY. saturday 20th. 6pm. beer. food. jumpy castle. dj. fun. be there.

its time...

2008-08-24T20:09:00.002-06:00

4 weeks...it can come soon enough...im ready, been ready, even more ready now than ever before...be apart of something big...support us with prayers, money, your presence...see you there.

www.roadsunknown.com

if traveling with me

2008-06-18T00:14:00.003-06:00

an informative article for your review...

usar

2008-06-11T23:46:00.002-06:00

no thats not us army...its spanish for to use...at least i think it is and i have barely 3 months to start relearning a few important words so i hope im right...here is a tangent.

friend and i had a conversation the other day about the difference between use and abuse...everyone uses everyone. period. human nature is well not good...don't get me wrong, it has great potential but it will never be perfected...no one is totally altruistic and no one is whatever the opposite of that is (if you don't know its on ginapp's vocabulary list somewhere)...so just taking that into perspective, we all aim to gain something from something, that includes people...

how does that work? what did i say? i think the issue we westerners (and perhaps easterners too) have is believing that to use people is bad...its not. its resourceful, its human, its friendship, and it can also be hate...but it doesn't have to be...i associate with people who provide me with comfort, fun, adventure, long long nights of drinking, travel experiences, new languages, ideas, and go on and on and on and on...tu comprende. and the same goes vice versa, people hang with me for whatever crazy reasons they feel necessary, but usually its so they can wake up in the morning and go, boy im glad im not that guy, whew...

then there is abuse...this i disapprove of, but its a very gray area, the line is not fine...why isn't it black and white...interpretation which can be delusional, crazy, insane, sweetness, powerful...but abuse occurs when one desires to share no part of what someone else has to use (or offer if you still don't like that word)...example? girl takes a guy to dinner and guy wants nothing to do with the girl, ever, period...not even the eye candy or the company for a nice dinner or even the food and wine...absolutely nothing in return but is accepting someone elses "use" of him without reciprocation...so unless you find yourself in a situation such as that, you're still clean unless you count...

now i actually didn't have any clue about what the opposite of abuse is or what "use" is taken too far, out of the ring of moderation, but i tried anyways...bottom line, we are foolish to think we do not use people and they do not use us, for personal, emotional, spiritual, selfish and unselfish gain during every minute of every day of our immediate existence and therefore realizing this (i.e. reading this) implies agreement and acknowledgment...insert legalese here...initial here____

part 3 of i hate flying

2008-06-11T10:08:00.002-06:00

i could ramble, vent, curse, and more but the bottom line is i spent 15 hours either in a plane or an airport yesterday...why? technically mother nature.

i wake up, a little hungover so the day isn't off to a great start yet, but its not horrible...flight is at 1145 so i have plenty of time but with my recent string of great luck i got there 2 hours early, eat a sandwich from dunkin donuts, set my alarm and pass out on a bench...i wake up a few times and the plane is about to start boarding, still hungry i to-go a few eggrolls from chili's...the only food i will eat from that place...

plane, seat...exit row, good deal i checked in that morning and changed my seat because i was going to need it...flying above the clouds of houston and the pilot cannot land...apparently its "thunderstorming" below us...circle a few times, few more, im barely awake, sleeping the whole time...then its "we're out of fuel so we are going to new orleans" to put more gas in the tank...guess they closed up shop there too so we land in lafayette...1 hour later, "we're about to take off, please put your shit back in the overhead bin, crosscheck and prepare for takeoff"...5 minutes later, nothing...hour later, "we're going to try this again, get out of here before the storm hits here too"...nope, didn't make it...3 hours later we finally take off, at least watching the storm was cool...

land in houston, obviously everyone has missed their connecting flights...and every flight for denver is booked solid until 9am next morning...although i was told i was on the standby list, i didnt see the point (it was 30+ long when i first looked it up) and apparently i never was...but after hustle, bustle, arguments and more, i get on the list at 19...it'll never happen right, but i guess sometimes im wrong and after a great meal at pappadeux's i boarded the last flight of the night...sweet another exit row.

i got on the plane but

2008-06-05T22:11:00.002-06:00

im not there yet...there being florida...no, i didn't miss my flight, well, sorta...my flight missed me...plane showed up late to DIA and then for whatever reason people don't know how to load a plane in an orderly quick im in a fucking hurry fashion so we didn't take of until about an hour past schedule...my layover in houston was only 45 minutes so i kept praying, literally, that it was also delayed...and it was, just not long enough. we finally touch down at IAH and the plane is taxing to the terminal when we stop to let other plans in front of us clear away...then i knew, i was screwed...one of those planes happened to be going to fort lauderdale...it left 26 minutes late but not late enough...3 or 4 of us on the denver flight we supposed to be on it, you'd think they might just wanna wait a few more minutes but no...

so im sitting in the hilton garden inn after receiving my voucher...the room, rudementary, not the best, no queen bed, boo...the meal voucher didn't work because well, the kitchen decided to close just minutes before the shuttle arrived carrying a packed ride of voucher holding travelers...so i headed across the street to what they call in texas "Kettle"...its like a Denny's, just not as refined and looks like a mere upgrade from a dive diner (which i do enjoy) but its all thats within walking distance so i sit down...horrible menu design but i finally found the only thing you cant really go wrong with in texas...chicken fried steak...two eggs over easy and hash with loads and loads of toast for some reason, but i only ate the "Texas" sized piece...its over used an cliche but shit is bigger in Texas, including the massive steak, i didn't eat it all, my trainer would have a field day...as if he isn't going to already but what the hell...

i call my dad to give him the heads up, guess id forgotten to tell him i was going to florida in the first place...he said something to the effect of "planning" to not miss my flights but whatever...i give him the run down, hangup and seconds later the table in front of me starts talking...to me. like i was sitting in the bar stool next to them, but the bar stool was a booth...it works...real nice couple, answered a few questions, complained about the aweful humidity of Houston, life and then of course, the trip...they we're stoked, first questions, rhetorical was, you're single aren't you? so blah and blah i found out one interesting thing about a place down in bolivia that does experimental medicine treatments by injecting pure oxygen into your jacked up parts of your body to start and speed the healing process...3-4 weeks of treatment all for a measly $3k...not to shabby, might have to check that out...and you get a full body cleansing, oxygen again and something to do with the blood stream...

so im off to bed, jason said don't get drunk tonight when i called him to inform him and mariah of my yet continuing unfortunate circumstances...ive never heard those words come out of his mouth before i do not believe, guess there is a first for everything...or iraq just really screws with your head.

adwords...

2008-06-05T12:06:00.002-06:00

so im getting into the adwords business...you may have noticed a few adds on my blog...please don't click them because then google will say ive encouraged you to do so and cancel my not-so-money-making account...really, zero people have clicked on the ads and for good purpose, because these are what have been showing up...

He Dumped Me

And now he won't stop calling me. It took 1 day and he turned around.

seriously? is that "content" oriented? are my blogs really about relationships so much? guess so because apparently there are...

6 Relationship Red Flags

Get Info To Help You Live A Healthy Life. Browse Our Free Articles Now!

wtf? ok, really...im not the home depot but they can help

Fix Your Marriage

An Alternative to Counseling. Get Free Marriage Help Immediately.

so here is the disclaimer, if you are reading my blog and have a marriage problem, i'm not the person for advice? or am i and i dont know it? blah, i don't really like the idea, but i guess if you click that will solve all your problems...

insatiable

2008-06-05T10:32:00.002-06:00

thats the name of the bottle of wine im drinking...insatiable...its defined as "always wanting more: always needing more and impossible to satisfy"...literally, thats on the bottle...i agree with it sometimes, in fact my last post was somewhat of a happy yet unsatisfied nature...but i dont think its impossible.

the bigger question is how i ended up in this state of finishing off a bottle of wine at 1030 in the morning...well it got started last night and essentially it was the final result of missing my flight at 7am...i know better, not about missing flights but i knew better when booking it at 7am doesn't come easily for me, yet i still booked it...fortunately, and thanks to the military, and the discounts it can provide, i rebooked for 450pm this evening which fits my life schedule much better and in the end it only cost me $150 change fee plus i received a $25 credit as the flight was cheaper...go me and making things work out...it actually started at $700 more, moved down to $450 and eventually, well -$25...i think i fared well, pun totally intended.

so when i finally do make it to this airport of a tepee (and this is weird) i will be headed out to florida for what i call a quote "financial" conference...although skeptical, i've been convinced its worth my while either way and i ended up planning it because should it be a flop or not, doesnt matter its free, i will finally make it to florida to see mariah and as a bonus jason, who just arrived in country back from iraq last week, booked his flight yesterday to attend.

needless to say my head hurts right now...but it was totally worth it, headache and money both...i hit up an on again off again friend to just tell the story, get it off my chest, just to see what she thought...i had no life changing moment again, no difference will come of the conversation, except for mentally...there is a reason i blog and there is a reason people tell stories and for me, half the time its to air the dirty laundry even if its not so dirty...laundry however i was in the middle of before i literally passed out at 330am, only 1.5 hours before i was to leave for my flight...because sharing has that powerful affect (or is it effect) of releasing or say, relaxing the mind...and thanks for listening.

life today and tomorrow soon

2008-06-02T00:38:00.003-06:00

today marks 4 months until my journey begins...many things have been going on lately...i was in la last weekend for a conference (with johnny) and ill be in florida next week for another (also visiting mariah)...ive been working in between all of that, playing of course as always but not as much as id like to but such has been the case since i moved to denver...im nearly finished with draft 1 of my trips website and will be launching it very soon so stay tuned in for that...i also have a number of other side projects im starting or finishing or who the hell knows...yet in all of this im still bored. i still cannot wait to leave. i enjoy just about every part of my life currently, i moved recently into a sweet ass apartment/condo, received yet another unexpected raise, but there is still this yearning, the longing to be somewhere else doing something different not wrapped up in it all...i can leave for a weekend or go on vacation but it never quite satisfies...im super looking forward to summer however, all the friends being back in town...jason arrived in country last week and is putting up with his final days of the army bullshit in kentucky...sherrill is soon to return home from her spain voyage and paige is over their visiting currently (i was supposed to be there too but something about saving money stopped me)...and to top it all off i had one of those conversations last night with someone that id been avoiding (and was okay with it) for several years but what the hell honesty is good whether is comes early or late (in this case)...my little sister graduated from high school last weekend and she is super excited to be going off to college, of on her own life adventure and im really proud and happy and excited for her myself too...and thats admitting ive not always had great relationships with my sisters but now i realize the importance and want to grow those even more...we counted, alison is 18 and so far traveled to 12 countries...at her age id only been to 3 (counting mexico and canada)...im still a few ahead at 14 and will be adding more here soon...ate dinner with my two grandmothers a day after and lianna, who we both admit we never see nor speak to each other due to separate lives but it was also nice to talk and find there are still common bonds...so what exactly im writing about i have no idea but i was about to go to sleep and decided ive been spending so many hours in front of a computer not doing the thing i love and that is writing for the sake of writing or for the sake of telling a story and ive been, once again, not doing it as often as id like to...so here it is, this is all you get, no drunken banter of a story, just a whats up in my life, my head, my circle...goodnight.

ah, those days

2008-04-21T20:03:00.002-06:00

not the good 'ole days because well im not sure if im old enough yet for those...so ive been working at re-cataloging my mp3 collection having required it recently from jason's bedroom and in the process ive come across many a song ive never heard, never wanted to here again, ashamingly know the lyrics to by heart, and well you get the idea...

"crash and burn" by savage garden - remember the slow dances at the 8th grade spring fling or whatever the fuck they called it...half way through the song she puts her head on your shoulders and you try not to pop a boner, god knows thats why you don't dance in middle school, as you whisper sweet nothings into her ear that are lamer than the fact that you borrowed them from the 17 magazine you stole from your sister...

i believe i was in 7th grade when dangerous minds came out, go michelle phifer and coolio's "ganster's paradise", one of my best friends hungout with one of the bigger middle school dealers of our neighborhood and we thought nothing of it, bloods/crypts, red and blue...gansters were fucking the shit for pubescent youth.

"thunderstuck" by ac/dc was introduced to me later in life, i was a senior and still earning my rocks as a cool kid...we'd rented a hotel for the girls volleyball championship tournament in denver, drove the parents van while they were out of the country, and partied up a hotel room...keep in mind i didnt drink back then but that didnt stop everyone else from introducing me to my first drinking game ever...its called take a drink everytime you hear "thunderstruck".

speaking of classics "wad" was his nickname, i can never remember his real name but if you're from holyoke you know who im talking about, got layed into and flew across the dance floor at our junior prom just as the DJ cut the plug to billy idol's "mony mony"...apparently the school principal had required in the contract the song not be played because apparently loud obnoxious high school boys and girls alike enjoy yelling "get laid, get fuck" during the chorus lines...

don't lie, you know the lyrics to afroman's "because i got high" and could still sing them if you heard it, damn stoner you...

first and probably last country song ill admit to still enjoy the sound of, the first one i ever heard played on a jukebox in a backwards restaurant on a family roadtrip somewhere in the middle of the mid-west around the age of 10 or so, but you gotta admit, its about getting booze, women, and cars down yonder on the "chattahoochee" by alan jackson.

i was 18, just barely, but everyone wanted to be avril lavigne's "skater boy", she's was hot, enough said.

still a classic and still a requirement in certain countries but we all had to do it at some point and some of us still do "fight for your right" to party with the beastie boys...

another prom favorite and ive met more girls in my life who knew the lyrics better than any dude ever..."okay back back to the fuckin' basics, you got yours and mine ya want tah taste it, open wide oh no don't 'cha waste it, oh shit all over ya face kid..." the rest are too R-rated for my blog readers...way to go easy e with "gimme dat nut"

this song reminded every boy who played mean tricks with his sisters barbie dolls, whether it was lighting them on fire, burying them outside or just "undress me everywhere", until mother beat the crap out of you, but at least you had fun "come on Barbie, let’s go party"...by Aqua.

and i would be disappoint my stoner friends if i didnt make at least make a reference to sublime and all the crazy shit they wrote but had i been a pothead im sure id have a story to tell about this one time were i "smoked two joints" while wasting away a lunch hour in the school parking lot, hearing the bell ring, dumping a full bottle of visine into my flush blood red eyes, leaving the windows cracked a little as i ran into the school building and grabbed a seat in the back of mr. pittman's psychology class...

there are more but this is way to long and i have over 50gb of music left to sort through so perhaps ill have a part two when im all done with this monkey business...

next time...

2008-04-21T17:08:00.004-06:00

I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.
- Stephen Hawking

this is a damn good quote to start a damn good blog but im not feeling it yet so here it is to ponder upon until i do...

another illegal

2008-03-02T18:36:00.002-07:00

two friends shouldnt both have 25th birthdays on the same day...it causes several things to occur of which ive listed below, not all bad not all good...

running around town from one bar to the restaurant to the bar and back
drinking wine from the bottle at 3am
having people pose in jason's green tractor hoe shirt
eating multiple dinners while attempting to moderate ones diet
throwing the wii controller at the wall on multiple occasions
getting stiffed by a bartender who thinks u gave him a 10 spot instead of the actual 20
getting your ass grabbed by random strangers on the dance floor
trying to chill a bottle of white wine quickly and finding it blown up in the freezer the next afternoon
pouring shots of cointreau into wine glasses because there are no clean shot glasses and then not having wine glasses for the wine (see number 2)
finishing all the half bottles of every liquor in the apartment because the bars/clubs close way to early
waking up in the morning and having to scrub the kitchen floor down because your socks are sticking to it
drunk dialing spain at 4am and leaving unsaid number of hilarious messages each of which include all of the following words each time: whore, slut, bush
waking up on the couch with your feet in the air having never made it to bed
having no taste buds for any meal the next day
getting rid of all the bud light in fridge finally
having to reread myspace and facebook posts to confirm u weren't too obnoxious
opening the door to the security guard saying someone called you in for noise violations
staying in bed until you think the room won't spin when u stand up
finding a bag of bread on the kitchen floor half eaten
forgetting your credit card at the first bar of the afternoon
having to call and activate your other credit card while the bartender pours your drinks at the 3rd bar having used all your cash at the second
someone in the party actually considering driving the car when there are ten denver cop cars parked in the street 20 yards away
fitting 6 girls and a guy into the back of a toyota prius hybrid cab
actually attempting to play psychologist of a relationship gone awry conversation at 4am
thinking that an after party is a good idea.

la familia

2008-03-02T18:09:00.002-07:00

a week ago friday i got a phone call from my cousin that my grandma val, mom's mom, wasnt doing well...that i guess would put it lightly...i known she'd been in the hospital for a few days but hadnt gotten around to calling her...details aside, as my grandmother isn't big on sharing her getting old with people including relatives, after talking with her and hearing those words, "i love you", something i've always known, but rarely heard said...it just wasnt how she usually expressed herself and im the same way so i get it..., i thought it best to head down to austin with my mom who was already booked on a flight for the next day...after moving her flight around at about 430 i booked my own 730 flight to austin...

as family, not seen together in over 10 years, arrived from san antonio and mcallen and minneapolis, we all hungout in the hospital...a place i normally dont find a funny place, turned into a riot and we knew grandma was gonna make it when we all got yelled at by her for, as my mom calls it, "joking" too much...

id been meaning to make a trip to texas for awhile...my plans were to do it under better circumstances but ill take whatever life throws my way...my cousin danny and i had our every 5 years chat till all hours of the morning...everyone wanted to know about the big trip and what the plans were and how i was paying for it...we all appreciated each others company, something i rarely experience with family and not since my sisters wedding had i enjoyed the phrase 'hangin with the fam' so much...monday i was able to get away and see some old friends up in round rock for lunch and dinner where i had to teach the bartender what a 'press' was...she still got it wrong...

te quiero

2008-03-02T17:40:00.002-07:00

perhaps i ought to start using spanish more frequently in my conversations, both aloud and wrote. last night i wanted to find out how to say brotherly love, phileo in greek, in spanish but apparently there are only two definitions for it in the language, querer and amor the first of which is used more often...but thats better than the english number of only 1. one word or not love is still effective either way and in another conversation, details excluded, i reverted to the Bible to provide a friend the best definition i know of...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

so what the hell am i talking about love for? its not really my strong suite ill admit...i love a very very few people in life, but love them by this definition i do hope to...no my segway is into a little national holiday we have every year in february...mine of which i spent dropping a load on sushi and introducing nick to sake bombs.

during my morning commute is listen to maxim radio quite a bit and in the two weeks leading up to the 14th i heard so so many different ideas of what this day is, what it means, what it implies, and more and more and then...ill admit my ideas on the holiday changed and im ok with it...for now. getting to the point already, im not a fan. i feel there is something missing from our society's definition of love if we need a special day of the year to show our love for someone. plainly this love we share on this day, the gifts of chocolate and flowers, the expensive dinner reservations should not restricted to only one day...these things ought to be done every random day of the year just for the hell of it...just because u love someone.

however in following this thought process and the consideration of not celebrating the holiday, i realized it goes against one of my other issues with our culture here in america, we don't have enough holidays...we dont celebrate life, love, happiness, family, friends, selves, etc. enough...in germany everyone joked about the shear ridiculous number of holidays...i dont know about you but i wouldnt complain...in spain according to friends there exists another large section in the cultural isle for fiestas...brazil does a good job too...where as in america if a holiday falls on the wednesday, we push it to friday and call it a three day weekend...brazilians leave it put and celebrate the whole damn week...the also dont combine presidents and founding father birthdays into one...i could go on but this isnt about bashing america, thats a blog for later i guess.

so the end result, lets have a holiday, but lets not make it exclusive to couples and dinner for twos and candied hearts and day old roses that say ive fucked up all year...lets celebrate our love for each other every day of the year so that on this day, maybe we make that hug extra big or that kiss just a little longer, but not over the top with expectations of galore.

its time to write

2008-03-02T17:30:00.003-07:00

several conversations ive had recently centered around my passion for writing...as different topics were discussed my problem of lately not being able to sit down and put words to screen, pen to paper, even though i had all these ideas and such i wanted to share...conversation in one of these instances moved to how i would be able to write a book if i have this condition...of which my response was essentially this. i feel restricted sometimes even burdened to write when im stateside but whenever im abroad i cant wait to find an internet cafe and start typing away, i feel inspired...there are several possible explanations for this but thats another blog for another day...however since i do not have the opportunity immediately to jump a plane im going to force myself moreso to keep the thoughts flowing despite my current location, mentally and physically...so enjoy the next few posts, i have some catching up to do...