the Seventh Week...again...for the first time...in Ireland.

And so we've made it through yet another week, this time with a taste of Ireland mixed in. It was a great experience. It's so weird to be here, go to a different country over the weekend, and then come back and actually have to go to school. I say that a lot, but the feeling never goes away. I still wouldn't say that I have a travel bug that gets me to want to go to every country I can possibly go to, but I do know that I have found the traveling to be a rather enjoyable experience. Surprisingly, I've been able to keep my stress level relatively low even with all of the checking in, checking out, passports, and hostels. Now, I didn't spend all of my week in Ireland, but for the sake of the reading public I'll just skim through the week until Ireland. (By the way, take note of the irony of me saying that it's for the sake of the "reading" public)

SATURDAY-WEDNESDAY: All that really happened during this period was school and getting back grades for tests, as well as taking a few. I doubt any of you read this to keep up with my grades, so you probably don't need to know all of that boring stuff.

The important thing was that I didn't fail anything, and for the most part I stayed relatively consistent. One funny story. I went to the convenience store on Saturday and spent 30 minutes looking at 3 items not being able to decide what to get. So I went with something completely different.

THURSDAY: Thursday was the day I left for Ireland, though I did have to take a science test right before we left (got a B+ on it by the way). The test itself was not very fun. The flight to Ireland wasn't much fun either actually. But it was extremely short.

The one thing I will say is that it's not amazingly fun to show up at a new place at midnight when it's around 35 degrees and you get dropped off from the bus about six blocks from where your hostel is. But somehow we made it through alive and I was able to get a relatively decent nights sleep before the long day ahead.

FRIDAY: We spent all of Friday checking out the sights on the south side of the Liffey. It was pretty cool. I had fun noticing a couple locations from the movie Once while I was there, though I probably looked kind of dumb when I was pointing at random spots and saying,

"He played guitar right here and then a guy stole his money and ran right through there and then he chased him and caught him right there." Yeah. I felt mildly nerdy. But it was about a movie, so that makes it okay. We had dinner with some people from Spain and a guy from Italy. It was really fun and probably the most interesting dinner conversation I've had in quite some time.

SATURDAY: I spent Saturday on my own walking around the north side of the Liffey. It was my first experience walking around a different country on my own, but it was a great way to get my feet wet as a world traveler. I got to eat at a little plaza area that had small independent bands playing, which was really fun for me to watch. Then I walked in Phoenix park, which is about 1750 acres.

Needless to say I didn't actually see the whole park. After two and a half hours in the park I decided I'd seen enough green grass and fun stuff like that. My day on my own was everything I could have hoped it would be, especially the freedom of being able to see something random and just change my direction to go check it out. Freedom is a good thing. Someone should tell important people that.

SUNDAY: We had to leave for the airport at 4 in the morning, which wasn't exactly the most fun part of the trip. What made it interesting was that I decided just to stay up all night so that I didn't have to worry about waking up.

I hung out with some guys from San Francisco who happened to be staying in the hostel and we watched the Giants game online. I didn't get to see the end though because I had to leave. We got back to the house in London around 9:30 and I must say that it really did feel like home. Thinking back on my first trip that wasn't planned by Pepperdine I must say that it went about as well as it possibly could go. And that's all you can ask for.

MONDAY: Here's a day that isn't super interesting. Going back to school was absolutely no fun, but it was weird to realize that I am now officially over half way done with my time in London this semester. How far can a dog walk into a forest? Halfway. After that it's walking out. And that's me for studying abroad. Except I'm a human, not a dog. And I'm studying abroad, not walking into a forest. Yeah. I suppose I'll allow the rest of the world to continue with it's business now that I've caught everyone up to my own world. It seems that the sun has now set on my time in Ireland. Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.

The Sixth Week...again...for the first time...in Greece.

And so we've made it to another week and with that another country. This past week has been spent in Greece, which was...pretty alright. In all honesty it was one of the highlights of studying abroad thus far. Not only was it interesting to see all of the amazing monuments and statues and buildings that I had read about, but it was a great chance to stand in the places of so many great people that came before me. I looked in a mirror where Socrates spoke, I recollected stuff where Plato spoke, I read a Bible where Paul spoke, and every once in a while... I spoke. And now, instead of speaking, I will write...for you.

MONDAY: We left the house at 5:15 (not too long after I posted my latest blog) and arrived in Athens at around 2 Greek time. Athens was a bit different than I expected. It is a very packed town to say the least. In any case, our hotel had a view of the

Parthenon. It was an amazing view. Quite pleasing to the eye. I spent quite a good portion of the day just staring at the Parthenon from the roof of the hotel. No big deal. Just an interesting broken down building to look at.

TUESDAY: On this day we actually went up to the Acropolis, and the Parthenon. It was very exciting. It made me feel very small. The real highlight for me was going to Mars Hill where Paul made his speech about the unknown god that the Greeks had. It was interesting to look out and think that he stood feet from where I stood and walked up the same steps that I had walked up.

After we did that I went shopping in the Plaka, where I realized that I'm a terrible haggler. I did get a chess set for 17 euro that was originally 20. But a pro probably could have done much better. If I were really good the guy would have paid me 17 euro just to take it off his hands. But it was really a girl so that's my excuse for not getting it cheaper. I would have felt guilty.

WEDNESDAY: This had to be the absolute longest day of the trip (once again, just a feeling of length. Actual duration was the same as any other day). We spent six hours of the day on a bus going to and from Delphi. It's so awful to go to Greece and have to go on a bus to Delphi to see a bunch of two thousand five hundred year old artifacts. The day was made whole by the fact that I was able to have my first gyro. It was 2 euros for a gyro. Just the fact that it was possible to say that made impossible not to get. Also, had an extremely good tomato. Yes... tomato. Liked it. As a friend. And then I ate it.

THURSDAY: This was what I would consider the most exciting day of the week. We went to Aegena, which is an island in Greece. I got to skip more stones. I've now skipped stones in three different countries. Let's hope that number increases.

The exciting part was when we were exploring the island and it started raining. Pouring actually. It was pretty awesome. Plus I discovered what could be my new favorite candy bar. It's called a Kinder Bueno. Chocolate with a wafter and light fluffy milk and hazelnut filling. Basically heaven in my mouth. Very good stuff indeed.

FRIDAY: This was the last day in Greece. We saw the canal, where about half of the group went bungee jumping, not including me. I'm afraid of heights, plus it was 60 euro. The combination of those two things made the adventure a no-go for me. We went to Corinth after that, which was much more interesting than watching twenty people jump off of a bridge. We got to see where Paul likely spent time selling tents and stuff like that. It was very interesting. This was the only day of the week that we really had any sun, which is sad because it was the last one. But just as a good way to say good-bye, right as we were getting on the bus to go to the airport from Corinth...it rained again. With lightning and everything. Zeus was saying good-bye. I feel like you all must know that the most difficult part of this blog was deciding which pictures to put up. If you crave more, just check facebook. If you got to this blog through facebook then you probably don't have to. If you don't have a facebook then get one, friend request me, and then look at the pictures. Yeah...they're that important. The sun has now set on my week in Greece. Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.

The Fifth Week...again...for the first time...in London.

And so we've made it through yet another week, though this one is actually shorter than a week. Inconsistency is so fun. But I don't know if I can be consistently inconsistent. I feel that my attempts to be inconsistent could prove to be inconsistent leading to a consistent state of blah. It's a sad thought really. Don't ask me to explain what I've just said, just take the time to acknowledge that I said it. It's been a relatively exciting past few days, with some big news and small victories mixed in the midst of it all. I suppose I'll tell you about it. Since I assume that's why you read this. Unless it's just to look at the pictures.

WEDNESDAY: I had my last midterm of this period on Wednesday. I must say that it was one of the more not fun experiences I've had here thus far. The good thing was that once I finished it I had the rest of the day to relax and wind down knowing that I had survived the day. Sleeping was most certainly involved, but the true joy came in having an Even Stevens marathon with some other people in the house. There's no better way to mentally withdraw from society.

THURSDAY: It was on this day that I made an amazing discovery which will probably lead to many nights of unhealthy eating for me. There's a convenient store basically right in our backyard here. Two oven baked pizzas for four pounds. Score. Now I can have the unhealthy food without having to walk a mile to get it. I may actually gain weight now.

FRIDAY: This was my first experience geo-caching in London. It was quite fun actually. We went to the Natural History Museum and spent the day looking for clues to tell us where the magic box was. It wasn't actually magic, in fact it was hardly even a box, but it was still very exciting. Perhaps the more exciting part was when we saw the name above ours in the ledger of who had found the box. It was only later we found out the first name was actually Ben. Not Bear.

SATURDAY: I actually got a new job on Friday. Forgot to mention that (yet I clearly remembered here and was just to lazy to write this on that day). My new job basically just gives me a lot of added responsibility in the house and that kind of thing. That night my friends and I decided to go out and celebrate. We stayed up 'til ten at night doing shots of chocolate milk. We all felt so well nourished and enriched with the calcium that promotes healthy teeth and bones. Everyone thanked me for teaching them that we didn't need alcohol to have fun. I responded in the only way I could. "Oh, don't thank me. Thank my parents for teaching me good values."

SUNDAY: I went to Chipotle. It was a very good experience. I had really missed the taste of good salsa. The food I had there was absolutely amazing. It was even run by a guy from the States, which made me feel like it was much more authentic. I'm certain that I will go back there many times this semester, despite the fact that I know it will probably hurt me in the end. Maybe I shouldn't go. It's such a good experience having something for the first time in what seems like ages. I can't wait to have like a million experiences like that when I come home from London. But now the sun has set on this week of mine. When the sun rises I shall be in Greece (How's that for a cliffhanger?). Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.

The Third Week...again...for the first time...in London.

And so I've made it through another week. Though this has actually been longer than a week. I had thought that opening this blog with the idea that I'd write whenever I had time would actually encourage me to write more, but clearly this is not the case. In any case, I have now found the time to write. So here I am. This past week has been spent missing home a little bit more, but that could have to do with the fact that school is getting a bit tougher now. I suppose I'll tell you about it now.

THURSDAY: I do a lot of grocery shopping. Here in England it seems like nothing is made to last more than a week. If I can find a loaf of bread that has more than five days before the expiration date I am ecstatic. We were shopping for family dinner, since it was Thursday. It was my turn to make food with Melissa Keohane. All I did was helped shop and I put corn in the microwave. We decided to make fajitas, which were extremely good. I don't know if they were really that good or if it was just because of the fact that it's been so long since I've eaten Mexican food.

FRIDAY: We went to Brighton on Friday. Which was very exciting. Brighton is on the southern border of England. The biggest thrill for me was probably skipping stones into the Ocean and getting nailed by the smallest wave I've ever seen. I mean. So small that I didn't even see it until after it hit me. Following the stone skipping we walked on the pier, where I just happened to win at the claw machine, which was probably the highlight of the trip. Yeah.

SATURDAY: Saturday was quite the event. I visited Abbey Road for the first time. No big deal. It was actually quite the nerve-wracking experience. Basically you have to rush out onto the crosswalk hoping that cars stop for you and you take the picture as fast as you can. Multiple times I just didn't worry about the picture and blazed my way across. But eventually I got the picture I wanted. There was a wall on Abbey Road as well that everyone who goes signs. I wrote, "Tell me what you see. Sand & Snow." Yeah. We're international now.

SUNDAY: Sunday was a day of rest.

MONDAY: More school on this day. As much as I try to get used to going to school here it still seems very unnatural to be in a classroom when I'm abroad. It's hard to explain. In any case, class is mandatory so I went. It was on this day that I realized how much group dinners mean to me on Monday nights. After a full day of classes there's only one way to describe the meal that night. "Freedom Food."

TUESDAY: Tuesday my Humanities class went to the V & A, which is a museum about a block away from our house here. It was an extremely interesting experience, made more interesting by seeing a perfect replica of the statue of David by Michelangelo. It was...very...large. I made eye-contact the whole time. I love art. (I posted a PG rated picture. It could only be G if he was wearing a shirt)

WEDNESDAY: This was the first day in which my habits as a picky eater really came to the surface. Don't worry mom, I still tried everything. But that doesn't mean I liked it. We went to a Scandinavian restaurant (...seriously. They exist) and had these weird meatball things. Now, personally, I'm a fan of meat. But not when it has a bunch of onions actually mixed in with it. Not even just placed on top. It was actually mixed in. There was nothing I could do to get them out. No matter how hard I tried, and believe you me, I tried hard. Needless to say, I ate a lot of potatoes that night.

THURSDAY: Thursday was my first time going to the theatre in London. I must say it was quite the experience. We saw the Lion King. It was brilliant. But we were sitting in the balcony, and for someone afraid of heights such as I the balcony can be quite scary. I was in the third row from the front on the balcony, which meant I had to take the stairs down past 20 other rows, and they were steep stairs too. I had an extremely strong grip on the rail going down. Aside from that the show was great.

FRIDAY: Friday was spent sleeping in. I went three weeks without doing it, but at this point it was necessary. Waking up at 11:30 felt amazing. I mean, I still have my goal of being a morning person. But that takes baby steps. I'm willing to take those baby steps.

SATURDAY: But that doesn't mean I won't occasionally sleep in two days in a row. Which is exactly what I did. But the true highlight of Saturday was going to the Science museum. The museum itself wasn't as exciting as I had expected it to be, but it did have one quite entertaining feature. It had a giant sign that said "The Future" right before we entered a different part of the museum. The first thing we see upon entering this room is what appeared to be a giant Atomic Bomb. That's the future. Tell your friends.

SUNDAY: I was quite proud of myself on this day actually. I almost made the mistake of sleeping in three days in a row. I woke up at 9:15 with church starting at 9:30 and I easily could have just stayed in bed, especially since I go to house church every Sunday night anyway. But no. I rushed up, put on a suit (not because I wanted to look amazingly nice. The suit was just the last clean item I had) and then ran to church, with my hair flowing in the breeze. I hope you all enjoy that image. (P.S. The picture is of the church I went to)

MONDAY: The first test of the semester was on this day, and it is a big part of the reason why I hadn't posted the blog in a while. The first test was everything I expected it to be, which was utterly brutal. I'm hoping I acquired a bit of college gold though (meaning a C). It seems like a bit of a low grade but at this point I'd be quite happy with it. Once the test was over I rushed downstairs and got ready for my freedom food, which was amazing. Honestly, on Monday nights it probably doesn't even matter what the food is. Anything would taste good after a test. Except maybe Scandinavian.

TUESDAY: Tuesday was spent mostly celebrating the fact that I had finished my first test. It was very nice to have a day of relaxation after a day of such stress. I spent time watching tv shows and other mindless tasks, and went to a place called Wafflemeister. It was amazing. If you're going to New York in December they're opening one up there. Let them know I sent you, though if you do tell them that they will most likely just stare at you awkwardly and pretend to know what you're talking about. Great tip right? Anyways, it would seem the sun has set on these past two weeks we've had. Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.

The Second Week...again...for the first time...in London.

And so I've made it through another week in London. This past week has involved more food, exciting travel, and classic American tourist excursions that you all have to look forward to reading about right now. How exciting. I officially give all readers complete permission to live vicariously through me. See the world through my eyes, experience the bits and pieces that I allow you to experience, and most of all, feel homesick when I feel homesick. I'm sure that's the best part anyway. Now for London.

WEDNESDAY(of last week): Wednesdays are good days for me when it comes to school. I only have one class in the morning and then I have the rest of the day off. The only problem with this is that it seems like I'm the only person in this program that has the rest of the day off. Shopping seems like the most logical thing to do when this sort of thing happens, so go shopping was exactly what I did. Only for bread and pastrami though. Not that exciting.

THURSDAY: In terms of excitement Thursday was full of it. I got to have tea at Kensington Palace, which I must say was one of the better experiences I've had thus far, and also one of the first clearly British things I've done. We sat at a table and had tea and mini-cucumber sandwiches(which I did try, for the record), scones, and cake. We discussed the weather and in general had an awfully British time. Other exciting news was that it was the first night of my group's weekly "family" dinners. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend(emphasis on the "end" of "weekend" because that's more British).

FRIDAY: We went to Stonehenge on Friday. It was my goal to be the most touristy person in my group, and so I wore the "Stonehenge Rocks" shirt that Spenser got for me. I had saved the shirt for that day specifically so that I could have an epic reveal of my nerdy tourism for all the world to see. It was very exciting. The rocks were cool too, but looking like a tourist and being super proud of it felt much more American. We also went to the Salisbury Cathedral where I got to see the Magna Carta and felt much less cool wearing my "Stonehenge Rocks" shirt.

SATURDAY: I went shopping again, twice actually, on Saturday. Once for myself and once to help show a couple people where the store was at. It was certainly good exercise. Plus, the grocery store was having an epic half-off sail, which means as a college student I have to take advantage by buying the complete supply of canned goods and non-perishable items. I didn't actually do that though, but my friends did.

SUNDAY: I went to a more normal church on Sunday. Now to move on to the fun part. I decided to use my Sunday afternoon to take a nice 3 hour walk around the city. It was very exciting. I walked through Hyde park, which is always exciting, and I also got around to going to Portobello Road for the first of many times to come. It was certainly a great place to walk around. Then when I was walking back through Hyde park I spent some time watching British people. It was very exciting. I saw a father teaching his son how to play football(soccer) in the distance and it made me think of how cool British people were. Then I walked by and heard the father talking in a perfect American accent. I don't understand why a British person would do this.

MONDAY: School started again on Monday, and it was my bad day of school yet again. The good news is that I got to have a hamburger that night for the first time since being here. It'd been a whole two weeks since I'd had a classic hamburger, so I was quite happy with it. Though, in all honesty, I've probably gone longer than that without having a hamburger many times in the states without even thinking about it. I suppose you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. I should get the rights to that phrase. It seems very original and clever.

TUESDAY: Tuesday my Humanities class went to The National Gallery for a museum trip. It was very interesting to stare at a few of the paintings for minutes on end. I'm so used to going to museums and just walking through quickly so that I can see everything that it is a nice change of pace to be able to have the time to just look at a couple paintings in one trip. I have the next two semesters to go to all of the museums here and see everything I want to see. Which is quite a bit, but also not very much.

WEDNESDAY: There is a communal guitar in the lounge here at the house, which I find myself playing for a couple hours each day, but not this day. I really like the guitar, but one of the strings broke and it made me sad. I could still play it, but it didn't sound the same and I really just want it to be fixed. It will happen soon enough, and when it is fixed I'll be even happier with it than I was before I'm sure. Aside from that the day was relatively boring. And it would seem that the sun has now set on this week. Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.

Week One...again...for the first time...in London

And so it would seem I have made it to another country. It has been a while since I've written and so I'm going to do the natural thing and pretend the last four months are completely irrelevant to this blog. I have decided to not use the format of attempting to write every Saturday, and instead I have chosen to write just when I happen to find the time. I'm a much more laid back person now. Obviously. Anyways(sorry Mom), I am now in London, England. It is quite the thrill really. But I'll share the intricacies of British life more as this blog progresses. I no longer have my little blue man, but I'm going to assume that the readership of this blog have the imaginations to place him where he need be. So I suppose now I shall tell you about the experiences of the last week.

WEDNESDAY: Wednesday was basically a non-day. Got to the airport at 11:30 to leave for London, and then was on a plane for ten hours until I got there. By the time I did get to where I am now it was...

THURSDAY: Arriving in London was quite the thrill for me. I have never been this far away from home and so it has been interesting to experience this new found freedom. It's like I have all of a sudden become more independent. Which is why I'm writing this blog for my parents and friends and family back home to read. Independence. My first real meal in London naturally had to be something completely British, and so we went to a restaurant called Wagamama's, where I had curry chicken and rice. So very British.

FRIDAY: Friday was spent in orientation for the London program, where we spent a whole lot of time hearing about what we would be doing in said program. Relatively unexciting stuff. But we did spend time walking around the city and getting to know our surroundings, which was exciting. Once again when we went to lunch I decided to have some good old fashioned British food. A spicy chicken sandwich with potato chips(french fries). So very British. I did enjoy the napkins they had at the restaurant though. Mine said, "Now remove all evidence." I found it quite clever.

SATURDAY: Saturday was the biggest day so far I'd say(though technically all of the days have been equally big, accept for the one I am currently in which is not finished yet, so who knows what might happen). We went on a group photo scavenger hunt which was very exciting indeed. Most of the pictures on this blog will have come from that one day. We basically saw all of the big sites in London, while acting like insane lost American tourists. But we did all of the normal things. Took a picture with a cabbie, took a picture with a man wearing a Union Jack t-shirt, and ate more British food... pizza. Totally normal British things to do.

SUNDAY: I went with some friends to a church called Hillsong. One fun thing about the church was that it was in the same theatre that shows the We Will Rock You musical. Though it did seem somewhat strange to go to a church that had a statue of Freddie Mercury on top of the entrance. The church itself was more like a motivational conference than a church. A band played music and there was lots of jumping around and that kind of thing. Then a preacher went up and talked, naturally having a slow musical build up as his sermon ended to make sure everyone had an emotional connection. Then there was more singing and jumping and then it was over. (The picture to the right is clearly not the church we went to.)

MONDAY: It didn't quite seem right to be going to school in a place like this. It really still seemed like vacation. But Mondays are certainly my toughest days this semester, considering the fact that I have 3 classes. Hopefully I'll be able to do alright in all of them. If not then maybe I'll try to be average in all of them. In any case, I'll be consistent. We did go out and have crepes for dinner that night. Not your normal run of the mill crepes. My crepe had Indian curry chicken with rice. Quite delicious. Quite British. As usual.

TUESDAY: I woke up at 7:30, even though I didn't have class until 10, because I'm attempting to turn myself into a morning person. I believe it's possible, it will just take some work. So that means if you're reading this in California and you want to talk to me you could just stay up until midnight and chances are I'll be awake and totally willing to have someone to talk to. School was much easier and somewhat enjoyable on this day, but I'm not getting my hopes up that it will always be like this. I'm sure it will be dreadful soon enough. In any case, I have now been away from home for an entire week, and in my opinion(which will always be correct) I have adjusted quite well. It's technically Wednesday now, but where I come from, the sun has set on what has been my first week in this grand new place. Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.

The Thirteenth Week

Let's just not have pictures for now.

And so we've made it to week thirteen. Lucky thirteen. This post, of course, is coming well past week thirteen. My apologies for that(Maybe thirteen isn't so lucky), I've had a busy time though, so I hope you will understand. Week thirteen brought with it much change. And I'm not just talking about the coins I found on the ground throughout the week (42 cents, but who's counting). I'm talking about the fact that I am now officially done with my freshman year of college. I survived. Only three more years to go. But let's just take it one week at a time for now.

SUNDAY: You'd think I'd have been studying for finals at this point, but no. Both of my actual finals wouldn't come until Friday, so I decided to give myself the weekend to rest. How nice of me, right? I did watch Pretty Woman for the first time though. It was pretty funny, but I think I like the Richard Gere-Julia Roberts duo a little bit more in Runaway Bride. But that's just my opinion.

MONDAY: Note to self: It's a bad idea to get a Nintendo 64 with Mario Kart the week of finals. It wasn't me that got it, but I did participate in the breaking in of the game. I just have no self-control whatsoever. Mario Kart has to be one of the best games ever created though, mainly because it's one of the few video games that I can do partially good at. By good I of course mean not come in last every time.

TUESDAY: Tuesday I finally got to studying, and I said good-bye to SAAJ as an actual class for the rest of my life. I will miss it for sure, but at the same time, I won't miss it. As much as I try to love a given class, the love of that class never changes the fact that it is still a class. And I love being out of class far more than I love being in one. We did have pizza though. Pizza makes it much much easier to be in class. If any professors or teachers are reading this...please take note.

WEDNESDAY: Wednesday was the last day of my Philosophy class. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the class, and I would recommend a philosophy course to anyone, but still I'm glad it's over. I'm like a broken record or something this week. But I ended up getting a B+ in the class, which in Mini-Mitchell-College-Grade-Vocab=College Platinum. Just wait... it's gonna be a thing. If not for everyone else then just for me.

THURSDAY: And out of nowhere we're at Thursday, my very last day of my freshman year of college. This would have been a much happier day had I not had two finals. First came my film final (which could have gone worse but thank goodness it didn't), followed by my Humanities final. But once I got through those I was off and running towards my nice comfortable bed in my home sweet home (not actually running of course. The journey takes enough time in a car, running would have been brutal).

FRIDAY: The toughest part about being home from college is finding something to do while everyone else is still away at college. So what did I decide to do on my first full day back? Well go to high school of course. I visited my former teacher Mr. William Turek at my former high school which I will choose not to name so that my real identity won't be compromised. It was quite the thrill, though I must say I felt quite old, but at the same time being around all the teachers in the teachers lounge made me feel so so young. Thank you Mr. Ernest.

SATURDAY: Saturday went much more like I expected my weekend back to go. I went to a Padre game, but more importantly... I bought a new hat. In my opinion it suits me just perfectly. It's a two and a half inch brimmed grey fedora of the Stacy Adams mold. Now all I have to do is get some good clothes to go with. It has been quite the week, but all I can really say is that it's nice to be home. I'll just have to spend my days for now preparing the way for all of those people who are still off and away at college so that when they get back we can all hit the ground running. No time to waste, we must move with haste. But the sun has now set, now in a much more familiar city. Here's to the future that seems like it will never come.