Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Almost a year gone by...what do I have to show for it?

Wow. It has almost been a year since my European adventure. I am taking my last graduate school classes and maybe my last classes ever as a student. Currently, I am procrastinating working on my last assignment in graduate school.

What has changed since last summer. I moved away from my old residence in DC into an apartment with my gf and her cat. Adjustment was hard for both of us, but we survived like we always to and persisted. I am also 24. My body hurts all the time, I get tired easily, and I have gained 5 (on a good day) to 10 lbs since Eindhoven. I also went to the dentist (a butcher) and he fixed a "cavity" just to be safe...now the tooth that never hurt, hurts all the time...thanks dick head.

Life has taken some weird turns since the beginning of the last school year. We won the graduate league indoor soccer intramurals. I published my first conference paper. I am currently writing my thesis. I found out that some companies want me and that some opportunities don't ring twice. It has been a depressing year monetarily. The amount of my salary has become very apparent.

However, something good came out of this year. I learned how to survive. In November, I was at rock bottom. Nothing was going well, school was treating me like roadkill, my research was shit and I was putting in double time. I see that life is not how people treat you, or how you are perceived by your peers, but how you proceed and how much time you give the stuff that matters and when you say "fuck it." No one expects you to be the fastest, the strongest, or the smartest, just do it over and persist until you are satisfied.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Dubsteps in Dublin

Nothing like a little RJD2 to get the writing flow going. I am still recovering from Dublin. Its Friday 7pm and my flight leaves in 12 hours, but I have to leave in 8.

1am Friday. Party. Must leave, because if I don't it will be a painful morning. Luckily my chaperon for the evening, Hendrik, isn't drinking. I have the tendency to destroy beer in awkward situations, which is usually the beginning of every party. Hendrik's got a car, its 60F outside and I don't complain.

6am Saturday. Wake up. Hard, but the adrenaline pushes my body to focus and be productive. This is going to be a light trip. We only bring essentials: undies, socks, and a spare shirt and camera. The camera bag acts as a mini man purse. Crucial.

9am Saturday. Our flight leaves. Its Hendriks first time flying. I get nervous. The seats suck. My neck hurts. I am really happy about going to Dublin.

10am Saturday. Get through customs. The guy was really nice. Go to the visitor kiosk and got the Dublin Pass. It includes the Jameson and Guinness factories, a cab ride, entrance at the Malahide Castle and a gift at the temple bar.

11am Saturday. Malahide Castle. On the way we saw some cricket. Beautiful landscape. the Castle was really old and reminded me of Mt. Vernon. The lawn and castle grounds are very striking. Vibrant green grass speckled with tress, against a backdrop of gray topped mountains. Good coffee, american style, and a scone fixed us for some walking.

12am Saturday. Malahide. The town was amazing. It has the best parts of what Ireland means to me. A small fishing village with lots of shopping, but not overcrowded. The mud beach and the harbor is so different than what I am used to. I take pictures.

1pm Saturday. Get off the bus. Right in the center of Dublin. Our destination is lunch and I directed our path. Before the trip, I had researched the best fish and chips in Dublin. Leo Burdock's Fish N' Chips was good, but I was suprisingly disappointed mostly because of the bones in the fish! Do yourself a favor and go to Eammon's in Old Town Alexandria. That is fish and chips.

2pm Saturday. Jameson Brewery. Trips have a funny way of eating time. Therefore we were really pressed to get our day finished early so we could go to this recommended bar crawl. The Jameson distillery is really fancy, but not what I expected. A shot for 5 euro. Ugh, realize that bartenders don't eyeball the amounts and use the special shot restriction apparatus. Somehow I spend way too much money here...worth it though.

5pm Saturday. St. James' Gate. It was like the sun shone only on this portion of Ireland as to say, "you have arrived." Heaven may look like this. The brewery is also a museum, kinda boring until you get to the gravity bar. Excellent 360 degree views of the city. Is it wrong if we emptied out of other people cups? They were nearly full, little room for backwash.

8pm Saturday. We missed the bar crawl. Spent a lot of money at Guinness too. This trip is only for 24 hours and somehow I have already spent more money that on the 2 day Paris trip. St. Patrick's Church. I figure I already worship him every year, I must see what its all about. Its a church.

9pm Saturday. At a bar. Don't remember the name. Talking for 20 minutes with an Irish guy. I have no idea what he is saying. He leaves. I go for his beer. I spill it everywhere. We move and get free Bulmer's for putting my name on something.

10pm Saturday. I am very drunk. I have not had dinner. I am smoking Winston cigaretes. I do not realize the danger I have put myself in with these cigarettes. I eat a sandwich and I find strength. Temple bar looks nice.

11pm Satuday. In Temple bar. We talking with Irish people. I can understand what they are saying. They don't like my American attitude. I don't like their 8 euro beers. We talk until closing. I have no idea what I said.

3am Sunday. Bar closed. I am tired. I want to go to the airport. Hungry. The first option is BK. 5 euro for a burger...not meal just burger. I eat half and give the rest to Hendrik.

3:30am Sunday. 9km ride cost 25 euro. WTF. Get through security. Most uncomfortable/cold terminal in the world. I realize what the Winstons have done to me. I pass out on the cold floor.

6am Sunday. I feel terrible. I am tired. I am surrounded by people. I am dirty. I want to go home.

10am Sunday. Land in Germany. Hour ride home. I am exhausted. I can't stay awake. Hendrik drives. I am sick.

1pm Sunday. I fall asleep. What a trip.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Go to sleep in Amsterdam wake up Paris...

Amsterdam to Paris on a night bus. It sounds like an indie movie. Tony got here on Thursday and did the Amsterdam thing till I got off work. After a nap, cause he was lagged, we went to a rooftop party at the

Tony, Hendrik, and I went to Amsterdam Friday morning. We went to the Rijksmuseum,where we popped bottles (a sick Belgian Triple) in line, which has the history of the Netherlands and famous Rembrandt's, and is free for Philips employees, but unfortunately we left our badges at home. After a day in Amsterdam, walking around the red light district and eating frites and mayo, we got on a bus at 10pm to Paris. Much more happened, but I am abbreviating because of time.

We arrived in Paris at 6am and went to see Jim Morrison's grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetary. Unfortunately, at 6am nothing is open so we went to our next destination: the Louvre. We were first in line obviously and when it opened at 9am we went straight to the Mona Lisa, then saw the Venus de Milo and what not. We spent 2.5 hours walking around, and we could've spent 2.5 days. Side note: when we got there a woman in a trench coat with an entourage of like 4 men walked right into the plaza. She took off her coat and low and behold she was naked! The guy with the scooter helmet took a bunch of pics until the Louvre security freaked out and started yelling. Good Omen.

After the Louvre we met some of my friends that live in Paris. They met us for lunch and were our guides for the entire trip. I can't thank them enough for their willingness to give up a weekend and show us around Paris. After lunch, we walked from the Louvre to the Arc de Triumphe, then took the metro to the Eiffel where we walked up the steps (1000?).

We had to go back to our hotel around 5pm so we could buy things for our picnic. I should say, we were invited to come with our friends to have a picnic and watch a french film in a park. We bought very french things, but of course they were all "too cheap" and incorrect (this is a common french thing and it takes getting used to, its hard not to get offended). We had our wine and food and went out in St. Michele. I got extremely drunk, but I think I was more tired than anything else. At 3:30am (the bars are open all night) and three 8 euro beers later (Paris is expensive!) we walked home...mistake. It took us 45 minutes to walk home and we weren't even lost. I think it was around around 3 miles. We went to bed around 4:30am.

Let me tell you about our hotel. Disgusting by US standards, but it was cheap, had a balcony, mold in the bathroom, crumbs in the bed, exactly what trip advisor said...Didn't accept my credit card, so I payed with cash...blah.

We met for breakfast and had great omelettes and coke, something about coke just reminds me of home. The omelettes were 5 euro and the cokes were 4 euro each...are you getting the picture? After breakfast we hiked up Montmarte, it has amazing views of the city and some of the best known artists resided here for some time. It reminded me of Italy, which I have not been to yet. After Montmarte we saw Le Chat Noir and Moulin Rouge and then hopped on the metro back to the city center to walk around on Rue de Rivoli the Marias. Rivoli is like Constitution Ave in DC and lots of the buildings look the same. After walking for sometime through the Marias (small street with lots of shopping) we sat in a park had cokes (cheaper thank god) and bread.

This is where our French guides left us and we went to the Pere Lachaise again alone to find Jim Morrison's grave. This is also the time where I almost died from exhaustion. Interestingly, Jim Morrison has a very small grave stone, and Oscar Wilde is buried here as well. Since none of us could name any of Oscar Wilde's books, we decided to skip his grave. The cemetery was a necropolis, literally a city of tombs.

After the cemetery, we walked aimlessly for a couple of hours, had some cheap food and waited for the bus. We left Paris at 7:30 and arrived half past midnight in Eindhoven. The trip is exhausting even to talk about, but luckily for me a picture says a thousand words.

Quick lets go to Utrecht, 'cause ze Germans are coming!

The pics are below the post. The Germans from Mannheim returned the favor and came and visited me. The pictures of the guy in his underwear: we were playing some night soccer at the lake and the ball went in so the dude stripped and retrieved it. Let me start by saying I got super drunk the night before the Germans arrived. There was a party and then we ended in Stratum and partied until 4 am. So in my drunken stupor Hendrik and myself decided to go to Utrecht early Saturday. Unfortunately for me he didn't drink because he drove, so came early to my house. Talk about hangover, awkward sleep while a friend drives. We got to Utrecht and walked around. This trip was actually really important to me because it is the only other dutch city I have seen besides Eindhoven and Amsterdam. I got a tight shirt and admired the women, let me reiterate: Holland has hot women. The city is like 60% women anyways because of the college. Mind blowing, but none can compare to the beautiful woman waiting for me in the States.
We arrived at 3pm and the Germans had arrived at 1pm, so naturally they were drunk and hungry. We went back to the Stratum and as you can see we found some famous people. I got a bad picture of the guys from Miami Ink. I guess they were here giving tats...wish I would've gotten one. After food we went to a park and had some food, then went back out to Stratum...ugh...
50 euros and 3 or 4 rounds of Jager later, yes Germans love Jager...Oliver got lost and Volker and I spent 10 euro calling him. Everytime he went to answer the phone he threw up. This continued for about an hour, hence the 10 euro phone bill.
It was good to see old friends and know that if I am ever in Western Europe I gots peeps.























Sunday, August 2, 2009

Gay Pride in Amsterdam












Amsterdam. This word can bring a number of images to the mind. Nothing could prepare me for the debauchery and party atmosphere I felt that one Saturday in July.
I have never been to a gay pride parade, but I can assure you that the one in Amsterdam is definitive world wide. As you can see from the pictures, thousands of people crowd around one of the canals that circle around Amsterdam. Hundreds of boats filled with half naked people dancing, singing, drinking, touching...An excuse to get drunk in public. So when in Amsterdam during the gay pride parade, what does one do? Well, we walked on the canal where the party was taking our time, drinking beers and snacking on chips. Really as usual the whole trip was a blur, but I can tell you that there was A LOT of public same sex intimacy, not just guys either... Anywho if you want to know what really goes on in Amsterdam, you will just have to go!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

In Bruges with Stu and Les

So....Weeks later, officially one week late with this post. I have been very busy with work, and Leslie's visit.

Brugge in English, Bruges in Flemish, was amazing. When I came to Europe I had this idea of what I thought it should look like, and Brugge fit that mold perfectly. The city has been completely restored in many sections to what it looked like in the 17th century. In fact, many buildings had the date written on the building and most were around 1650...Absolutely amazing.

This was Leslie's trip to plan, and she did such a good job. Since we have been together we have never taken a proper vacation, and for people that know us well, know that its been a long time for no vacation time. We spent our days walking around the city, but it was nice to cool off and relax in this little bed and breakfast in the heart of town. The price of the room for 2 nights was a bit heavy, but worth every penny. Our host was great, good breakfast and food recommendations. So kudos Leslie!

We left right after work on Friday and hopped on the train around 6pm. We changed trains twice, once in bumfuck Holland, and once in Antwerpen, BE. The trip went really quick and we got about 400km in 4 hours. We arrived at the B&B at 10pm and our host suggested a bar to enjoy some tasty Belgium Beers. I was in heaven. If you find yourself in Brugge for some reason, please go to De Gaar. It was this little bar, and every beer was around 3 euro, we are talking Golden Draak, and Chimay...not cheap stuff in the US! The place was small and crowded so we had to share a table with a couple from where else, San Francisco. It was nice to talk to Americans, lord knows I have had enough of the American stereotyping and bullshit. After several good beers and cigarettes we parted ways to go to another bar with some good jazz. When we got there the bar unfortunately didn't have any music (it was around 3am) but we did get some Absynth, proper. The guy lit it on fire and we poured water over sugar. The stuff is gross, and well made the rest of the night a little blurry...

The next day we walked around and did the sites, I ran out of money and the ATMs here are touch and go so we had to find one that would work, we found one thank god. After a few sites, the Belfry, chocolate stores, and Lace museum we found some food at an Italian place, we needed the energy. The night was short for us and we tried to recreate the magic at De Gaar, but we were tired and a bit hungover from the night before.

Our last day there we finally rode bikes around the city and got a good feeling of what Brugge is actually like...and it is awesome. We went into a windmill, and made our way home. The trip back wasnt so nice we left at 1 and got back at 7 :( Definately worth the money and the time though!