Update delayed...

I know I promised to continue my Prague trip, but unfortunately, it is 4am right now and I have a 10 page paper to finish by 9am. I am definitely only on page two, as we speak. Time to put my all-nighter skills learned in San Diego to use....

In the meantime, enjoy this great picture. This is the original group that all met up within the first two weeks of Barcelona. We had a reunion dinner last week and it was great to have all of us at the same table. Its been awhile. We were still missing people, but this is the majority of everyone. This is just an example of some of the incredible people I have met throughout these months. I can honestly say I will keep in touch with everyone at this table and plan to visit them all throughout the U.S. within the year.

Time to get on this. Get back to you tomorrow! d:-)

"What's REALLY in Prague? I mean, who REALLY knows?"

That was one of many unforgettable quotes from this past weekend. Myself, along with a few of my good friends in Barca, went to go visit Prague over the weekend for Thanksgiving. The city itself is incredible! It has that big city with a small town vibe to it. Not a huge fan of the people. We definitely met a few incredibly helpful/decent people, but overall, they weren't really kind to us. Either that or they just didn't wanna go out of their way for us. Not really sure. Then there's the language....Let me just say I'm glad we knew someone otherwise the trip would've been a nightmare trying to translate Czech.

Bryan and I got in around 2:30ish, which means there is only about 1 1/2 hours left of sunlight. Real strange to me...We check in to our hostel called the "Czech Inn" (haha?) and it is by far the best hostel I have stayed at. Waterfall showers, keycards to get into the rooms, buffet breakfast, and all for only 30 dollars, not euros! Sweeeet. Then we head over to Cassie's apartment, who is Brad's girlfriend. Thank God for her this whole weekend. Without her, we would be lost and confused in that city of Czechness. We (as in them) made an AWESOME Thanksgiving dinner that looked like this. It was really weird and strange being away from family on the holiday, but this was definitely second best. Good company, good food that night! We then went out to a club later that played a lot of old-school hip hop. It was a good trip down memory lane. Not too much more, because we had to get up early the next day for adventures!

The next day was awesome! It consisted of churches, castles, bagels, infamous clocks, Christmas decorations. It's a lot to go into, but here are some of my favorite pictures...

  
               

Ah, my internet is starting to load real slow and fail with uploading anymore info. I will continue this tomorrow...2am time to go to bed.

Ugh

I am 3 presentations, 4 papers, and 5 finals away from being completely done with my undergrad work.

Didn't I graduate in June? It is starting to look like a dream the more I think about it.

Well, hello again!

"Oh so you are gonna have a blog while you are in Barcelona? That's awesome. Good luck keeping up with it though. That's usually the hardest part."


These were the words that Lindsay told me right before I left California. Sadly, it is becoming true, since my last blog was at the beginning of this month...and about Michael Jackson. Yes, I'm a huge fan and with it being around the release of his movie, it was all I could talk about. Now onto Barcelona updates.

Looking back on the 2 1/2 months, it has been quite a wild ride. I have experienced just about every emotion possible over here, while still looking back and having nothing but fond memories and great friendships. As my time here is wrapping up, I am starting to get nostalgic, as usual. I find myself not only thinking of my time here, but the whole year of 2009 in general. With it being my last year at UCSD, my last year RAing, last year on-campus, first and only college graduation, and the many unforgettable memories that have been captured on film, it makes the idea of coming back home have a very interesting feel to it. In exactly a month, I will be back in the Bay Area and happy to see everyone back over there again. I just about secured a place to live in SD until June, so know I just need to follow up on job offers and make all these plans a reality.

Life is so much up in the air right now. After graduating, I am starting a brand new chapter in my life (one that I have no experience with). Not being busy from 8am-12am with meetings, rehearsals, study breaks, and other priorities is going to be real strange for me in the beginning. Still, as I am embarking on a new journey, I can't forget the last four years of my life. UCSD has been more than a second home to me, which is why I never second guess returning down there. I had THE BEST college experience and couldn't have seen any of it coming when I arrived there as a scared freshman back in the fall of 2005. As I mentioned earlier, I want to return and get back in touch with everyone, including those who I haven't spoke to in awhile.

Whew, that was definitely some self-reflection up there. Hope some of that made sense, at least. On another note, I am having a blast in Barcelona. I couldn't imagine myself being happier here and making some friendships that will definitely last forever. It hasn't been a perfect trip, but its honestly been pretty damn close. SO, since I was slacking for the last couple of weeks, I have promised myself to update this thing daily. Since I have travelled a lot the last 2 months and haven't come close to blogging about them, I may either mention some on here or just wait to share them when I get back. The idea of blogging about every single trip in the past is just overwhelming, which has a lot to do with why I haven't updated this in awhile. Also, I wanna be able to come back with SOME stories!

To start this new promise off, today a group of us checked out this area outside of Barcelona called Montserrat. It's a huge giant mountain range about an hour away from the city and you have to take this ski lift kind of contraption up for about 3 minutes. We were SO high above the ground, so it was a little intimidating when we first got on. Once we did make it up there though, the view was spectacular. We continued to climb the mountains for the next 2 hours and took this awesome picture. After that, we went back to get a buffet lunch, check out an art museum, and spend some time in a monastery. The whole day cost about 35 euros, which was a GREAT deal.

This week will be easy. Three days and then on Thursday, I take off for Prague for Thanksgiving. This will be my very first Thanksgiving that I haven't spent in Pinole. Very strange to me. However, I am spending it with good company and we will be making our own Thanksgiving dinner. Definitely excited.

Talk to you all soon....seriously!

That WAS It!

It's 2:30am right now. I should REALLY be packing now, because I have to be up at 7:30am and have a lot to do before my flight to Dublin tomorrow night. However, I just saw an incredible movie and must write a short review of it...

I wasn't sure how This Is It would be publicized over here, because it's another country. However, I saw these posters up all over Barcelona ever since the movie came out last week. I waited VERY patiently all week to see it tonight. After reviews online, it seemed to get great reviews, overall. Most of the negative ones had to do with people complaining about it not being a documentary about the entertainer's life. This was supposed to be a film that showed his preparation for his comeback show, not a biography on his life.

Josh and I were frantically looking for the theater and got lost, which resulted in us missing the first 15 minutes. We walked in and it didn't seem that we missed much. Overall, this movie was incredible. Yes, I'm a huge fan, so I guess you can say I'm somewhat biased. Still, for a 50 year old, Michael has incredible energy and moves/sings as if he was back in his younger years. Plus, this wasn't even the final product! He was always known to be a perfectionist and he is still flawless in this movie. With every song, Michael Jackson had a big screen projection of some sort to accompany the song. After thinking about it, this makes complete sense. Not only was he an amazing entertainer, but he is extremely well-know for his classic music videos. The screen wasn't necessary, but for Michael Jackson, it was definitely ideal. I am shocked at how humble he is throughout the entire film. He always thanks and praises his dancers, without any attitude. I mean, he is Michael Jackson and he knew it. Still, at the end of the day, he knew that everyone was just as important to putting the entire show together.

Another amazing part is how well he knows all of his songs. He would critique aspects of each song, which prove how much his music means to him. From tempos of songs to lighting on the stage, it is clear this is not new to Michael Jackson. The idea of making Thriller in 3-D was incredible and looked like it was going to be real cool. Billie Jean was a flawless performance and he was moving just as well as he did back during Motown 25. The ending song, Man in the Mirror, is the one that gave me goosebumps. It's such a great song with a powerful meaning. At the end of the movie, everyone got up and clapped. It was a memory I will never forget. The impact he had on people all over the world is a one in a million opportunity.

Throughout the film, MJ does look incredibly thin. He also never shows his legs or arms. Some of the critiques voiced their concern with the movie not being completely honest, in terms of the state he was in during rehearsals. While this is true, who would pay to see a movie that showcased his struggles and declining health? I was glad to see him at his best. This concert looked like it was going to be the comeback of all comebacks. Now that he has passed, it's hard to say how successful his show would've been. Still, after seeing the movie, I'm convinced this concert would've been a reminder to the world why he is known as the King of Pop.

All in all, great movie! Personally, I think it does a great job of showing how he really acted around others. I would've loved to meet him. For being an international superstar, he seemed very down-to-earth. Go see it if you haven't! I will be waiting for the DVD release, for sure.

Now, I'm off to Dublin for the weekend...with two giant midterms waiting for me on Monday. Wonderful. Here's to a good weekend, more updates on Monday, and hopefully A's on those exams. Take care everyone!