Current mood:	awake
Current music:	John Prine- Angel From Montgomery

My life right now...
I realized I haven't written in here since I went to Europe, and since I've been back I haven't had a whole lot going on, so I haven't bothered. Europe was amazing, and it left me amazingly broke. I could spend forever writing about this trip, but I wont. I'll keep it to the minimum. I kept a written journal while I was there anwyay. I will go as far as to say that my favorites were Santorini/Greece, Dublin/Ireland, Stonehenge... just outside of Salisbury/England and Loch Ness in Scotland. I got sick as shit in Drumnadrochit/Lewiston (two towns on Loch Ness) and it still managed to be one of my favorite places. Backpacking is harder than it looks and I expected to lose a ton of weight while I was there. That didn't really pan out because I literally ate my way through Europe too (an experience I couldn't pass up). It was incredibly hard and frustrating at times, but so completely worth it just to have had that whole experience. I discovered that some of the things I expected to be hard were actually easier than I thought, and difficulties that I didn't even think about made me want to scream. Madrid is forever tainted in my mind (it's a long and torrid story)... basically I left feeling that everyone in that city was a big bastard. I advise sticking to Barcelona for a major city in Spain. In fact, stick to Cordoba or Granada; the smaller the better. And I feel that I have to go back and mend my relationship with London one day, because we got off on the wrong foot, by no fault of the city. Everyone has such a divided opinion of Italy. My favorite was Florence. My feet never hurt as bad as they did in Rome, no matter the amazing things I saw. Venice was lovely despite the mosquitos, even if I was in one of the most romantic cities in the world with my gay friend. :> Edinburgh was awesome for all the old gothic architecture. I kissed the Blarney Stone in Blarney Castle, but don't really feel more eloquent. Athens is one of the dirties cities ever and I will never go back. I got yelled at in Greek more times than I can count in the shops there. The Acropolis was all that was worth it. Pompeii was both beautiful and heartbreaking, and far more detailed than I ever imagined. And Toulouse/France would have been just fine if it weren't for that fucker at the hotel. It has been over two months since I've been back and it almost feels like I dreamed it, but lucky for me, I have pictures. :)

I'm working at a Volunteer job here in Hollister. I get paid a small living stipend, but I feel pretty good about what we're putting together. I work as a Resident Activities Leader for a learning center for children from low income families. It's an Ameri Corp volunteer program organized by the National Farm Workers Association. I'm getting teaching experience and I'm surprised to admit that I really enjoy what I'm doing. And since I still don't know if I'll be getting my PhD next year or getting my credential, I can't think of a better time to do volunteer work. I was worried about my student loans, but I have a couple ways around that in favor of what I'm doing right now. I probably won't ever find a free year where I'll be available to do something like this again.

Since I've been back I've seen most of my high school friends, which is always amazing. I'm seeing them more often than I have in the last two years. I miss LA though. I miss ethnic food and all the random things to do, even though I was usually too busy to do them when I was there. I will miss LA friends and roommates. I miss being on my own. I had planned to go to LA for Halloween, but I can't now because I'll be here making a haunted house for the learning center kids.

I'm rewriting my Master's thesis. I was dead set on getting it published, but the more I looked at it I realized I was holding myself back. I was self-censoring myself because it was something for school. I now realize how lame that is, so I'm amending my ways. Hopefully it'll be ready to be published by the end of the year.

I joined a gym. I felt like a lump, so I joined the gym. I missed yoga and kickboxing. For someone who always hated the gym, I found that after living in LA I came back home to Hollister only to realize that I'd grown accustomed to it. I feel more disciplined and alert during the day when I wake up early and make myself go.

I'm totally in love with the new HBO series True Blood. It's based on a series of books I've been reading since... high school, I think. Its a little different, but they're trying real hard to get it right. I'm pleased. I haven't been a huge fan of a TV show in a long time. I feel a little bit nerdy, but I'm embracing it. I recommend it if you don't mind vampires, blood, and almost an obscene amount of sex. Lord knows I don't. :)