Lo, how the mighty have fallen....
so, an update on the lack of updates. Last week sometime went down to Ceske Budejovice to see friends of ours. That was the era of the famous underwater tigers. Since then I've returned safe and sound. And in between then and now have seen Christine, figured out how i'm going to get to Croatia finally, picked Katie up from the airport, saw the 3rd Pirates movie, and still have not started packing. And i leave tomorrow.
Christine's Visit
When I was returning home from Ceske Budejovice, I was under the impression that Christine and I had agreed to meet at the statue on Staromestke Namesti around 7:30. Since my train was due to arrive in Prague a little after 6:30 i felt that I had enough time to dash home, drop my stuff off and then beat it back into town to meet up with her in time. Alas, i was released at around 7:15. So i had just enough time to make it to the square. But i should've remembered that this was Christine, and thus I should always add at least 20 minutes to whatever time i say to meet up. Also given the fact that this was a foreign country with a language she didn't speak, I should've also assumed that it was going to take a while. But, if i did leave, she would've appeared and leaving her wandering in a Prague solo after I told her I'd meet up with her is douche-ish, and thus i waited. Eventually we found eachother. And after being slapped and hugged by her we compared stories of getting to the square. It fits our relationship perfectly. First off, the statue in question was undergoing repairs. And rather then leaving scaffolds up all over the center of downtown prague, they covered the area around the statue....with a picture of the statue. Christine, overlooked this. She was busy running around the area between the Clock tower and the upper end of the statue. I was seated on the other side of the statue facing the direction of St. Nicholas church and the metro since i thought that that is where she'd be coming from. She walked within 15 feet or so of me before turning around and going back the other way. And that added an extra 10 minutes or so to our wait game. But we met up, went to Hany Bany, which is a little bar near school that we used to frequent after class. Anyways, she got Itallian coffee (which contained alcohol *gasp*), and I had a beer and dinner, and we got to catch up on how the semester went, etc. After around a half hour, she proceeded to attemp to translate the back of a coaster. She was wrong.....but it made a good story. But after the story, she started asking me the meaning of words on the menu, and she picked up the language really quickly. Plus, her accent was good. But after several hours I eventaully needed to make my way home, so I walked her to her place and then caught the tram.
We met up again the following day, and since she had the entire day free, we got to spend a substantial ammount of time with eachother. So after grabbing a couple of things i needed to finish dinner, we come back here, and proceeded to then head off to Baba, to show her another angle of Prague which most people never see. We hung around there for at least an hour and a half, since she was asking questions about which landmark was which, how they were pronounced, etc. It was really cool to be able to teach her the basics of the language, and what surprised me, was while she didn't know grammar very well, as she had only been learning it for a day, she was able to pick up more in that day then many of the kids who were here for the entire semester. And her accent was better too. And we saw giraffes. After dinner we still had several hours to kill, and after doing all of 5 minutes of research we decided upon going to see the singing fountains. If any of you come to prague, go see them. I took a video of it, but since youtube only allows a max upload of 100 megabytes, i was unable to upload it as of yet. I'm seeing about trying to find a different site to upload it to, but as of yet i'm unsucessful. So i'll upload a single picture of the fountains for you to be amazed at.
But there you have it. The singing fountains. very pretty. anyways. She has since left, and has started up work at Busch Gardens the day after she got back, so Chrstine, if you ever read this, I hope you've gotten over the jetlag and have memorized your music.
Now, in response to the subject heading. Due to my massive ammounts of time spent alone (till katie came) I was thinking. In the event that some great misfortune should befall me, would I be happy with the life I've lead. Granted there have been a few moments of questioning what the hell I was doing, but overall, I'm pleased with who I've become. Some of the people I've attended school with have fallen off the beaten path. Names shall never be released, since that is crass and not very nice, but regardless, the fact remains. The concept of getting trashed every weekend, hooking up with random people whose names you shall forget within a few weeks. It just doesn't make sense. Are you proud of such an accomplishment? The same circumstances apply to drug usage. All that happens is that you just end up destroying yourself over time. And now for the part that makes me seem full of myself, but yet, since i've done them, and in case something does happen, there will be a permenant record. In these short 21 years of life, I've played a wide range of musical instruments from flute to bassoon, been able to attain my grade 8 in both piano and voice from the ABRSM, also recieved my grade 5 for descant recorder. Made all state choir, govenor's school, and honors choir. I took fencing for 4 years (ended up obtaining a silver medal in the regional competition for dry foil), ballet for 12, Marinera for 5ish. Came in first place in New Jersy, 3rd for 2 years and 2nd another in Virginia, 3rd in Miami, 2nd and 4th in San Francisco, and competed twice internationally at the competition in Peru. Second year even made it to the semi finals. I've been sailing on tall ships since I was 13, going all over the great lakes, the gulf of the St. Lawrence, as well as sailing up the Atlantic Coast. I'm fluent in a foreign tounge and can get around in another. Been to every continent but 2 (Africa and Antarctica) even if I don't remember living in Asia anymore. Made Dean's List at George Washington. Joined Phi Kappa Psi, and have been steadily maintaining above a 3.2 gpa. Within the next 2 years I've got the option of going to Singapore for work, or potentially anywhere in the world I desire to go. And finally, yes I have been with a woman. So, in the event that something bad should happen to me, I'm proud with what I've accomplished, and who I've become. However my only regrets would be that I've yet to sail across the atlantic solo. That's one thing I would like to do. Also, at some point I would like to be a father, but otherwise....i'm me. And I'm damn proud of that.
Finally in closing, heading to Budapest tomorrow. The following day we're making our way to Zagreb. Still need to work out coming home, but otherwise everying is a go.
Christine's Visit
When I was returning home from Ceske Budejovice, I was under the impression that Christine and I had agreed to meet at the statue on Staromestke Namesti around 7:30. Since my train was due to arrive in Prague a little after 6:30 i felt that I had enough time to dash home, drop my stuff off and then beat it back into town to meet up with her in time. Alas, i was released at around 7:15. So i had just enough time to make it to the square. But i should've remembered that this was Christine, and thus I should always add at least 20 minutes to whatever time i say to meet up. Also given the fact that this was a foreign country with a language she didn't speak, I should've also assumed that it was going to take a while. But, if i did leave, she would've appeared and leaving her wandering in a Prague solo after I told her I'd meet up with her is douche-ish, and thus i waited. Eventually we found eachother. And after being slapped and hugged by her we compared stories of getting to the square. It fits our relationship perfectly. First off, the statue in question was undergoing repairs. And rather then leaving scaffolds up all over the center of downtown prague, they covered the area around the statue....with a picture of the statue. Christine, overlooked this. She was busy running around the area between the Clock tower and the upper end of the statue. I was seated on the other side of the statue facing the direction of St. Nicholas church and the metro since i thought that that is where she'd be coming from. She walked within 15 feet or so of me before turning around and going back the other way. And that added an extra 10 minutes or so to our wait game. But we met up, went to Hany Bany, which is a little bar near school that we used to frequent after class. Anyways, she got Itallian coffee (which contained alcohol *gasp*), and I had a beer and dinner, and we got to catch up on how the semester went, etc. After around a half hour, she proceeded to attemp to translate the back of a coaster. She was wrong.....but it made a good story. But after the story, she started asking me the meaning of words on the menu, and she picked up the language really quickly. Plus, her accent was good. But after several hours I eventaully needed to make my way home, so I walked her to her place and then caught the tram.
We met up again the following day, and since she had the entire day free, we got to spend a substantial ammount of time with eachother. So after grabbing a couple of things i needed to finish dinner, we come back here, and proceeded to then head off to Baba, to show her another angle of Prague which most people never see. We hung around there for at least an hour and a half, since she was asking questions about which landmark was which, how they were pronounced, etc. It was really cool to be able to teach her the basics of the language, and what surprised me, was while she didn't know grammar very well, as she had only been learning it for a day, she was able to pick up more in that day then many of the kids who were here for the entire semester. And her accent was better too. And we saw giraffes. After dinner we still had several hours to kill, and after doing all of 5 minutes of research we decided upon going to see the singing fountains. If any of you come to prague, go see them. I took a video of it, but since youtube only allows a max upload of 100 megabytes, i was unable to upload it as of yet. I'm seeing about trying to find a different site to upload it to, but as of yet i'm unsucessful. So i'll upload a single picture of the fountains for you to be amazed at.
But there you have it. The singing fountains. very pretty. anyways. She has since left, and has started up work at Busch Gardens the day after she got back, so Chrstine, if you ever read this, I hope you've gotten over the jetlag and have memorized your music.
Now, in response to the subject heading. Due to my massive ammounts of time spent alone (till katie came) I was thinking. In the event that some great misfortune should befall me, would I be happy with the life I've lead. Granted there have been a few moments of questioning what the hell I was doing, but overall, I'm pleased with who I've become. Some of the people I've attended school with have fallen off the beaten path. Names shall never be released, since that is crass and not very nice, but regardless, the fact remains. The concept of getting trashed every weekend, hooking up with random people whose names you shall forget within a few weeks. It just doesn't make sense. Are you proud of such an accomplishment? The same circumstances apply to drug usage. All that happens is that you just end up destroying yourself over time. And now for the part that makes me seem full of myself, but yet, since i've done them, and in case something does happen, there will be a permenant record. In these short 21 years of life, I've played a wide range of musical instruments from flute to bassoon, been able to attain my grade 8 in both piano and voice from the ABRSM, also recieved my grade 5 for descant recorder. Made all state choir, govenor's school, and honors choir. I took fencing for 4 years (ended up obtaining a silver medal in the regional competition for dry foil), ballet for 12, Marinera for 5ish. Came in first place in New Jersy, 3rd for 2 years and 2nd another in Virginia, 3rd in Miami, 2nd and 4th in San Francisco, and competed twice internationally at the competition in Peru. Second year even made it to the semi finals. I've been sailing on tall ships since I was 13, going all over the great lakes, the gulf of the St. Lawrence, as well as sailing up the Atlantic Coast. I'm fluent in a foreign tounge and can get around in another. Been to every continent but 2 (Africa and Antarctica) even if I don't remember living in Asia anymore. Made Dean's List at George Washington. Joined Phi Kappa Psi, and have been steadily maintaining above a 3.2 gpa. Within the next 2 years I've got the option of going to Singapore for work, or potentially anywhere in the world I desire to go. And finally, yes I have been with a woman. So, in the event that something bad should happen to me, I'm proud with what I've accomplished, and who I've become. However my only regrets would be that I've yet to sail across the atlantic solo. That's one thing I would like to do. Also, at some point I would like to be a father, but otherwise....i'm me. And I'm damn proud of that.
Finally in closing, heading to Budapest tomorrow. The following day we're making our way to Zagreb. Still need to work out coming home, but otherwise everying is a go.