Mark of the Beast

Well, this weekend I went out surfing with my roommate and his girlfriend to get my second surf lesson in. I've done bodyboarding and have lived near the ocean most of my life, but I've never really gotten into surfing. This summer, while the water was a little warmer, I wanted to try and learn. My roommate was willing to teach me so we decided to go out on Saturday morning. The waves were fairly small, and I wanted to take it easy after having a rough start the first time. This time I was doing well, standing up on the board. My roommate and I had both felt some Sting Rays under our feet so I was trying to shuffle around when I could to not get stung. After about ten minutes I caught a wave, stood up, and then got off my board only to land on something slimy before feeling something hit me in the side of my foot. After letting out a few profanities, my roommate asked me if I had stepped on a Sting Ray. I was sure I had so we went in so that we could get to the closest lifeguard tower. The first five minutes after weren't too bad so I limped over to the closest lifeguard tower, and they dragged me off shortly after to the main station so that I could stick my foot in hot water.

As I was sitting there soaking my foot, I felt like I was part of a club. The lifeguards and a few other people walking by saw the wound and told me their stories of being stung. The funniest story I heard was from one of the lifeguards, who told me that he had treated a guy who rolled of his board, and got stung in the groin. He told me this story while the pain was at it's worst, so I couldn't even imagine getting stung in the groin as I looked at the hole in my foot. I could laugh about my sting as I was eating breakfast about an hour and a half later. I think an injury in the groin like that would probably make me give up going to the beach. I never liked sand that much anyway. :)

float on

well, overall today was a laid back day, and I definitely didn't get too much done. I ended up leaving work a little early to relax and swim. While I was watching TV for a little while, I heard what will probably be the end of a story that was definitely depressing to hear. A teenager (I feel a little bit weird calling him that since I'm only 24) that I had actually met a couple of times a while ago was missing from a camping trip with friends this past weekend, and his body was found today. It hit me a little hard because I had met Eric before, but I also knew his Mom, Wendy, really well because I worked with her at my old job at the library. She actually ended up becoming my boss there also, and half jokingly taught me to basically call all women "miss" when they came up to the counter. :) Her and her family all were, and I'm sure still are great people so it was hard to hear that something like that happened to a family I know as well as them.

Other than that, I watched the movie Big Fish last night which was really well done. I do like a lot of Tim Burton's movies, so I'm a little biased. Big Fish is pretty different from most of his movies, that are a lot darker usually. It's definitely a movie that's worth checking out. That's all I'll say so that I don't spoil it though.

The Reflex

Well, there hasn't been a lot of exciting stuff so far this week because I've had to work through most of it. I'm back to sharing an office at work, and the guy I'm sharing an office with is totally into 80's music. Especially 80's metal, so we ended up having a music battle while we were working late. I like a lot of music from the 80's like David Bowie, Oingo Boingo, New Order, Duran Duran, Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Wasp, Hall and Oats (yeah I'll admit it :) ), even the Flock of Seagulls and some Depeche Mode and Cure so it was fun. This is my office mates favorite band so I hate to say it, but I can only take so much Queensryche though. I'm not even sure why. I guess I just found my limit on 80's big hair bands. Poison and White Snake are up there too. I think that there's only so many ways you can make a power ballad or wear tight pants with a cod piece. And I'll end my rant there. :)

I'm Back

Well, I have no been back from Europe for a little over a week. The trip was an amazing experience, and I was unable to blog during the trip for a few reasons: cost, time, and the fact that there was almost too much happening around me to blog about. Plus what happens in Europe stays in Europe. :) Mostly kidding. I kept an actual written journal instead, but I can't imagine a blog description of the trip would be that exciting. I've retold the story a few times verbally since I've been back, which has worked out well because I can show some pictures to go along with the tales also.

Either way, I came back to a little bit of a different world. I was away for just under four weeks too. Pepsi and Coke have gone soft with their low carb sodas, Kobe Bryant is now basically running the Lakers, my Mom and Step Dad are moving to Arizona, my cousin had a baby, and I had to move my office when I came back also. ok...that's not that long or bad of a list. It did seem different when I came back, but I think that I've changed also in the way that not as much shocks me after a trip where I was out of my element almost the whole time.

Overall, it did feel a little strange to be home, but after being home for a week I have realized that despite the changes, most of my relationships with friends and family have stayed the same luckily. I did get a little jealous when my friend, who's still over in Europe traveling, e-mailed me to tell me about Stockholm and Denmark though. Hearing about these places just gives me a reason to go back the next time I get a chance . I'm much more of a home body than he is so I don't think that I could travel for three to six months at a time like he is doing. I was happy with four weeks, and I think that about three months would be my limit on living out of a suitcase.

That's about all I have to say about that. I got to go to a collage of places starting out in London, then Nice, Corsica for hiking and beach time, Barcelona to party, the Bordeaux region of France to recover, Paris for culture, Vienna also for culture, and then Amsterdam for just about anything. If you know me and want to know more I'm willing to swap stories, but I think that you can get a quick summary from the cities I visited. :) Less is more sometimes...right?