photos

I will now be posting photos on flickr. check out the link on the right....or click here:

PHOTOS that I made

A final thought.

This will be my last post from Europe. After i wrote last, I did end up having some chocolate and it was not enough to change my thoughts on Brussels. I would be happy if i never visited that place again. It was the most dirty, boring, male-filled city i have been in. They did have some good brews though and the downtown area was nice. I think it was just the part of town we stayed in. We went to London yesterday and that was nice. We hit up Camden town, did some shopping, and then went to TATE. Last night we went and saw Amber sing in The Black Peter Group! It was her roommates birthday and we went to the party in a tiny little pub in Soho with all her fashion friends. Today Cait and I ventured on our own back up to manchester to fly home in the morning. Her cousin met us down here and now we are going to find a pub to watch england play in the world cup. So that is that. Amazing trip, amazing places. See you in the states.

Amsterdam and Brussels

ok so i realized something about the blogs i have been writing....pretty boring...even for me. so this one is going to be different. instead of telling you how many hours i slept and when i ate some food, i will try and sum up the good parts and only tell a brief story or two. any details that you absolutely ,ust hear that i am leaving out, you gotta ask another time. here is what happened since prague: so,e people got 500 crown citations for having the wrong bus pass, got on a train that we nearly missed that had no beds left. so i slept on the ground between the seats, was woken up by german train people multiple times, woke up in frankfurt, then took a train to amsterdam. the whole time i was looking forward to a nice hotel as a reward from my hellish night prior: only to arrive in a city where virtually every hotel was booked. we found a nice little place for the girls and us dudes ended up paying 60 bucks each for the dirtiest most disgusting apartment type thing. i had to sleep in a gross bed. some reward. Amsterdam ended up being great though. the food and the people were amazing and i now wish we had canals in our city. we left this ,morning and came to brussels, belgium which isnt all that impressive, but i havent tried the chocolate yet so more on that later. We take a chunnel to London tomorrow morning. now i am going to eat. by the way this keyboard has the buttons all rearranged so this post has taken far too long. see ya

Dynamics and Nomburrs

Prague, why are you so crazy. This town is amazing. I think that this is the part where I write how much my mind has changed about things. I just woke up from my third and final night in this city and i feel like i am going to miss it. So much happened to fit in one story but i'll get the highlights. First the City is so awesome. The first night we just wandered around after checking into our amazing pension with Eva, my new czech mother. That first day was also the first time we got to experience the patio times (ask me some other time). That night we just went to a pub and headed home. The next day we all kind of woke up late and me, cait, jordan, ryan, and brian went and saw the dancing house and had market juice (beer). Look it up on the internet if you want. It's an amazing piece of architecture. Then we came back, met back up with Alethia and Cat, had a little more patio time, showered up, and went to this old square that was amazingly beautiful at night. We sat in a neat little place in the square that had a dixie land jazz band playing and brian and I split a 35 dollar glass of whisky. Worth it for one time. The girls headed home in a cab and us boys drank some market juice on some benches in the center of town. I bought a bum named George some food and he praised the name of New Jersey after smashing his wine glass of whiskey. Us boys got home at like 4 in the morning. Yesterday we awoke again to head back to that old square and have lunch and shop. By the way, the whole time Cait and I have been eating like royalty. After some more patio time at the pension, we went out and back to the square again. Cat and Alethia headed back around 1 and the rest of us went to the bridge to drink market juices and bid farewell to the town. We asked a guy to take a picture and we ended up hanging out with him until early in the morning. His friend, Utice, was from Idaho, and Charles was from prague. Long story short they were amazing people and Charles was the perfect example of everything good in this City. He made the choice so easy between sleep, or staying up way to late so he could buy us all drinks to celebrate graduating and have good conversation. That was a night to remember, as was this city. From here we take a night train to Amsterdam. More adventures to come later. Also i feel like I should detail that being here in this city, with this group, and my lady, has helped shape my views and understanding about so much. Mostly interaction, group dynamics, my relationship, my role as a man, and so much more. Also the dixieland jazz band sang when the saints go marching in and the singer didn't really have an accent except for the word "number" which sounded like "nomburrs" and was hilarious.

Prosím

Right now I am sitting in a little room in Prague (aka Praha) typing on a keyboard. I might be in heaven. Yesterday morning we left Interlaken and took a train into Zurich. From there we were planning on heading up to Germany but we ended up finding an overnight train that went direct to Prague. We booked ourselves in and the were left with 9 hours to kill in Zurich. Luckily there were lockers for us to stash our packs for the day. I was bummed at first because I was really looking forward to hanging out in Munich but that feeling was quickly swept aside as we explored Zurich. It ended up being one of the most awesome cities I have visited yet. We walked around and looked at all the cool old buildings, sat in a mini-sports arena and watched the U.S. soccer team lose to the Czech team in the world cup, ate bratwurst and drank a beer on the side of the street, and listened to the churches ring their bells while standing on a bridge over a river. I also got some of the best pictures yet in that city! After the long day, 10 p.m. finally rolled around and we got on our train. We were a little confused because our train said Praha/Budapest, which are two cities that are like hundreds of miles apart. Turned out that our cars split up in the middle of the night though so we were good to go. I stayed up for so long just looking out the window of the train and taking in all the dark scenery. It was so beautiful. Then we drank some wine and went to bed and woke up here in Prague. I'll write more in a few days after I have had some adventures here. By the way Brian and I figured out we have been to like 12 different countries together. He is a good travel buddy.

p.s.

by the way. today is mine and Caits 9 month anniversary. we rented mountain bikes and rode around the lakes and looked at the alps. words cant describe it. ill try with amazing. thats a good start. google image a picture of interlaken switzerland and you will get the idea.

Those Dang French Trees

So I am now in Interlaken, Switzerland. I wanted to put an exclamation point after that sentence but i don`t know where that key is on this crazy key board. It was kind of a rough crazy journey to get here. We left two days ago out of Spain on an overnight train to Geneva. About four hours into the ride our train sort of just came to an abrupt halt somewhere in the middle of France. We found out that apparently our train had hit a tree that had fallen on to the train tracks and messed the engine up. They said the wait would be unlimited because they had no idea when they could find a replacement engine to tow us. We were up for a good three hours without going anywhere. Around 1 in the morning we all just fell asleep. The good part is that we woke up in Geneva. None of us really knew when we got going we just know that our train was originally scheduled to arrive at 8 a.m. and we arrived after 12. Oh well. At least we had beds. We took a beautiful train through switzerland to get here to interlaken, which is a series of lakes surrounded by the swiss alps. It is an amazingly beautiful small little town. The only bad part is that it is a hot spot for a lot of American backpackers so a lot of the nightlife is similar to MTV springbreak, which is kind of lame. We found a nice little swiss pub last night though that was not too bad. We should have also reserved a hostile earlier too because the only thing we found was this tent village for like 20 dollars a night. It is definitely not the most accomodating situation but hey, i am in the swiss alps. Can,t be that bad. We stay here one more night then it is off to Prague to live like kings. We are all looking forward to that. I will write more when i get there but until then, Goodbyzenhausen

The Rain in Spain...

So we left the U.K. a few days ago and made a quick stop over in France before arriving in San Sebastian Spain! I think this might be one of the best places on Earth. It´s a spanish beach town with everything good you can think of! We have just been walking around during the day and taking in all the beautiful scenery, beaches, and old spanish architecture. At night we found some little hole in the wall clubs that are amazing. A guy from Nevada named Chris led us to the place, which is called Burunda, and the bartender Ramon might be the jolliest Spaniard I have ever met. We went to the beach yesterday (topless women by the way) and I got in the water to do a little surfing. Waves weren´t too good but hey...I still surfed in SPAIN! It´s nice to be able to understand the language as well! The people are so beautiful and so kind and we also met a bunch of travelers from all over the U.S. We are heading out either today or tomorrow, depending on what kind of flight or train ride we can find. Eventually we will end up in Prague but we are figuring out the next few days as we go. Kinda crazy but kinda fun. My lady is amazing and we are having such a good time. I´ll post more in a few days!

Items to remember: Calimocho: Coke mixed with mine makes the most refreshing drink ever. Burgers with a fried Egg on top. Brian was the M.V.P. the first night, Alethia was the second night. Logan and Elisha know Melody. I got a bloody nose surfing and I got scared of Sharks!

Manchester United!

Well I am here finally. Cait and I flew all by ourselves for over twelve hours only to arrive in Manchester, England! We got here at like 8a.m. which was midnight in san jose. That means we have been up for like 24 hours or so traveling! Kinda crazy but we took a phat nap. When we got in we took a train into town and we were walking to the hostel to meet up with Brian and Jordan and Ryan(Jordan's brother). We ended up running into them on the street while they were on their way to eat breakfast. We all ran back to the hostel and dropped our bags off and then went with them to breakfast. We had a proper english breakfast with the beans and bangers! After that we walked around and looked at the city and found a free museum which was so awesome. Around noon cait and I started to crash so we went back to the hostel and slept for two hours. It was hard to wake up but i eventually did! Then we went out again, exploring and what not. We found this awesome outdoor beer garden and spent like an hour and a half there just drinking and eating. Good conversation. We planned the next few days as well which should line up to be pretty stinkin awesome. Then we just looked around some more and found some shopping area. We hung out for a while more and then came back to the hostel. Jordan Ryan and Brian all went to see Ed Harcourt tonight but Cait and I stayed back because we are still adjusting and stuff. They won't be back til like midnight and we all have to be up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight to SPAIN! Cait and i just grabbed some dinner and now we are going to head to bed (it's like 9 p.m.) We are gonna catch up on some sleep and be the wake up crew tomorrow. So that's my first day. I'm safe...took some photos...loving life.

update...

Hey originally the airdate of the Price is Right episode that I will be on was on April 24th but it changed. Now it will be on May 1st. I still haven't gotten my watches yet. I think I will wear them both at the same time when I do.

A dragon.

“I wondered if people who grow up with great fathers don’t walk around with a subconscious sense they are wanted on this planet, that they belong, and the world needs them.”
-Donald Miller, To Own A Dragon


Pressure

It’s a pressure cooker. There is this room that sits two quiet people, myself and my father, and each of us are trying to figure out what went wrong… if the other really cares… if there is something that could change. What I am really wondering is when a good time to just stand up and leave would be in order that we might avoid one more second of the awkwardness. It’s kind of weird to feel awkward around the one who made you. The best part is that all of the feelings are barely leaked out as we try and make some sort of normal conversation.
“How have things been going?”
“It’s a really tough time at work right now you know? Very hard times,” he manages to mutter out in his thick Hebrew accent.
“Yeah.” It’s the same thing he answers every time to the same question I ask every time. Now it’s his turn.
“How is school?”
“Oh you know…it’s really hard but I’m sticking with it. Just had some big stuff due, but I got it done.”
“Good. Good. You know I am so proud of you.” Yeah right. “After this you go get a job that pays and then maybe after while, you go back and get your masters and become a doctor or a lawyer.”
What am I six? That’s just it. I want to scream in his face and explain to him that I am going to school for me, not for him. I am not a kid anymore. I am an adult now. Maybe I don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer. Does he even know what a lawyer does? I just want to stand up and shake him and make him understand and have him realize all of this. This all the while hoping that when he says he’s proud he means it and I might actually be worth having a relationship with. But I simply answer, “Yeah…that would be cool dad.” And then silence. It’s a pressure cooker.

For me...The Price was wrong.

So most have probably heard by now...but I'll explain anyway. Last Wednesday and Thursday, I traveled down to L.A. with some people from The House and my sis and stuff to go check out The Price Is Right. We only had twelve and we could only be guaranteed admission if we had 15. But we went anyway in hopes of meeting some people. We got there on Wednesday afternoon and the show taped the next day so we decided to go hangout on sunset and check out the sights. We were by Mann's Chinese Theatre and we got offered to go see The Showbiz Show with David Spade that night. We went over to that studio and met four people in line who ended up joining us the next day to go on the show. We didn't end up actually seeing the Showbiz Show because we had 12 and they only had room for eight more by the time the line got to us. We just went and ate at Mel's diner and went back to the Motel. The next morning we woke up and went down to the studio around 9:30 and met up with the four we met the night before. We headed into the waiting area and hung out for a while and then one of the guys who was checking people in started giving us a hard time about the four who we met the night before. He thought we met them at the studio and had them join our group which was a big no no. I tried to explain the real situation but he just got mad and cussed and wouldn't listen. So we had to have the four people leave which was sort of a bummer but we still got in which was a relief.
Before we got into the actual studio we had to go through interviews. The Producers interviewed each person for about 30 seconds. When they got to me I pretty much acted like myself, excited to be there and all that. Then we got into the studio and my sister and I were freaking out because it looked like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory! We sat down and got all situated before the show began. Then they started calling the first four contestants down. Now what you have to understand here is that the whole time before we went on the trip I was telling people I was so sure that I was going to be on. I felt pretty good about my interview so now I just had to wait and see. SO they start calling people down and they call the first person down....not me......second name called.....not me.......Third person......wait......DAVID COHEN COME ON DOWN!!!!! I was freaking out and jumping up and down and stuff. It ruled. So then we get right into it and I was the third bidder and this old lady was the fourth. The first chance comes and I forgot what I bid. What I do remember is that old lady bid 1 dollar more. What a punk. We both lose. So they play a game and then the second bidding starts. Again she bid 1 dollar more than me and I was getting frustrated. We both lost again. Then they play the second game with this really dumb girl that Bob was making fun of and it was so funny. She won a car. Then the third bidding starts and I make my bid and sure enough she bids one dollar more....and she wins. I was so annoyed. Anyway she won a trip to Jamaica and then they did the spin to get into the showcase showdown. So then I was in a good spot! They filled the spot next to me which meant that they were the first to bid which rounded around to making me the last bidder. So these watches come down and it goes around and the lady to my right bids 1250....so I bid 1251!!!! I had to do it and I ended up winning but I felt sort of bad because I knew how annoying it was. Anyway I played a game called 2 for 1 and I lost. Had to guess the price of this silverware in order to win the silverware and this awesome Flat Screen TV. I was bummed I lost but I still had a shot at the showdown! Two more people come up and do their thing and then it was wheel time. I was the first to spin and got 90 cents but I almost fell over because the wheel is sooo heavy! The next dude spins and doesn't make it. Then the next girl spins and she is having trouble spinning it all the way around so she tried a few times, doesn't get more than 90 which meant I was in! I was laughing and jumping and loving it. So they start setting up for the showdown when the producers come on stage and everything pauses. I see them talking and got worried. Turns out they reviewed the tape and that girl didn't get it all the way around on her first spin so they had to reset and give her TWO MORE SPINS! I was nervous because I thought that my shot was drifting away! She spun and still didn't get 90 cents so now for sure I was in! So they set it all up and they set it up right where I couldn't see anyone from our group. Sucked. They let my sister come down right where I could see her though which was cool. So I was first to bid and had the option to pass if I wanted. They start showing the stuff...first were some old scary movies....next.....a hot tub.....and last.....a huge sail boat! I thought I scored and that the second showcase would be a living room set or something. So I decided to bid but I was scared because I had no clue how much a sailboat was. So I bid a cautious 19,500. The lady gets her showcase and it's a car and some other crap and I knew as soon as I saw the car that I had lost. She bids 24,000. They come back to me....actual retail price of my showcase....36,000!!!! I was way off. Her showcase....26,000. She won and I walked off stage and hung my head in shame! I didn't really care though because it was such a fun experience and I got those two watches out of it. And I got to hear Bob Barker say, "The Price is Right...Bitch." Priceless.

Transition

I was reading Zach Lind's (the drummer of Jimmy Eat World) blog and just checking out what he has been writing about. I read this post he wrote about where and how his life with Jesus walks in step with the church. Broader than that, he talks about the gap between the church and the rest of the world. I was listening to parachutes by coldplay as i read and was instantly directed to the song "High Speed". Check out the lyrics:
Can anybody fly this thing?
Before my head explodes
Or my head starts to ring
We've been living life inside a bubble
We've been living life inside a bubble
Confidence in you
Is confidence in me
Is confidence in high speed.
The reality is that i probably have grossly misinterpreted the words but so be it. They fit so well. I am in a place right now that feels so weird. Weird in a good way. When i first became a Christian I had this sort of pride about coming into a life with Jesus, but still having worldly experience. I felt as if i had some special connection to people who didn't know Jesus, because i was just there, and that i could somehow speak to them better than someone who had been a Christian their whole life. It will be nine years now in July and things are different. I still feel this desire to be that bridge between the church and the secular world but sometimes I catch myself saying things or feeling certain ways that are so far from that bridge. "Church" thoughts you know? Then i go into this sort of sub-concious battle in my head. The best way i can describe it is as if I was Donald Miller's friend that he writes about in Blue Like Jazz. He explaine how his friend felt that the best way to read the Bible was to do it while smoking and eating Chocolate. I love that! I have been growing into this place where i have just been getting so tired of the same old church thing that i never thought i would get stuck in. It's like the Coldplay song. I am in a place where i am looking for someone to grab the wheel and drive before i go crazy. I need to make sure that Church doesn't become a bubble, but that i treat it as an experience with God that will speak to people. In reading Zach Lind's blog, having friends like Jon, reading books and listening to people like Don Miller and Rob Bell, i see something new. I'll write more later but does that make sense so far?

everybody needs to hear this song.

Brian made me a CD full of good Mp3s that i kinda forgot about. I was cleaning my room and found it and popped it in and heard this Styrofoam song featuring Ben Gibbard called Couches in Alleys. It's wonderful. go to www.myspace.com/styrofoam and listen to it.

A real job.

So I'm graduating from college this May and I couldn't be happier. I am for sure going to try and be a firefighter but i know that is going to take a little while so in the meantime i decided it would be fun to test the waters a little and see what other kinds of real jobs i could get with my newly obtained degree come May. So long story short I have been poking around the Apple employment website and just put in an application to work at iTunes. How stinkin awesome would that be? We'll see what God has in store won't we?

some photos

i am going back to this area in june. I feel sort of lucky. Cait and I fly into Manchester the morning after Logan and Elisha's wedding. Kinda neat because it is our first trip together. There we will meet Brian, who left the day before and flew all by himself and slept over night in a hostile by himself. Brian amazes me. When we meet up with him we will go right away to London to Amber's flat where we will meet her and Jordan and Ryan and Alethia and Catherine and Adria. From there we will go down to France for a bit and then to Switzerland and then over through Germany all the way to Prague! Then from there back up through Germany to munich and Berlin. If i have it my way we will swing over to Amsterdam before heading back to England. When we get back to England Brian is going to split up and go up to Scotland. Cait and I have to be back in Manchester to fly out the morning of the 21st. Like i said...i really feel lucky.

this is the beginning of something i might fail.

hey so this is the start of something i might ruin. I only mean that i am not much of a writer and i am not one who normally keeps these web type things alive. I figure it might turn into something new though. We'll see.