say hello to my little friend

this is zoey.



a 3lb puggle who recently joined the family. she's tiny and cute and smells like puppy*



sometimes she looks a bit--special.



like when she fell off the curb and did a face plant onto the asphalt.

nice one, zoe.

she's got a great temperament, and you can tell she fits right in with the fam...as evidenced by her natural tendency to flaunt her hoo-ha. zoey, you dirty bitch.



welcome home, zoey!



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*puppies smell like shit.

a nice welcome home

haven't updated in a while. i've been busy doing nothing in particular but everything in general.

my fam threw a welcome home bbq last sunday, complete with karaoke competition and water balloon fight.



oh, and giant roasted pig.



we also realized that the balloons, once filled, resembled a familiar shape:



go figure.



imagine that coming at your face. it hurted, mfer.


---
gracias to Rainbow for these vibrant pics.

thank goodness

finally made it home! yay!

i had a connecting flight from london to dc, which as many of you know by now, left without me. yes, i realize that no one is surprised. mom had it in her head that i was just dicking around and forgot to board the plane, but really it's because my original flight arrived late, leaving no time to make it to the 2nd flight.

so here i am in the states and after wandering around baggage claim for a good bit, i was told that half my luggage is still in london. go figure.

mom woke me up at 7am to help cook for the cfc regional members who will be congregating in our basement to celebrate something religious. there were a bunch of candles in the kitchen, and i jokingly said "hey, cool! should i make a ring in the basement and light them?"

mom said yes before she processed the entirety of what i said.

i am still giggling.

i call it a cult* to her face, and she has no come back.

rightfully so.

i love jesus.

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*cult Pronunciation Key (klt) n.
1. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
2. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
3. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.

time to fly

tonight is my last night in spain. kristen's family took her to the beach, and sam's family had a special dinner for her. my host family left me dinner on a tray and peaced.

please do be jealous.

the apartment is dark and empty. i could very well turn the lights on, but then that wouldn't be as dramatic now would it?

it's been like this all semester, very business-like. for 500E/mo they give me a place to stay and regular meals. i also get unlimited amounts of coffee, free internet at night when i sneak into the computer room, and a desk fan.

by not mixing business with pleasure it makes it easier to leave because there are no attachments to my "family" for the past 6 months. i haven't taken any pics of them, and i probably won't. i don't think they'll remember me, and my memories of them are pretty set, perhaps unjustly so.

there's antonia the doting housewife. cooks, cleans, and laundries. pepe the hardworking insurance salesman husband who sits at the head of the dinner table and skips meals just so he can finish watching the soccer match. he also kills the gynormous cockroaches whilst antonia (and i) sequester ourselves in the bedroom. oh and can't forget pepe jr, who is out "studying" all day...but really who is in the library at 2am and what kind of mother believes that?

there is also nacho, marta, and rosana, but they've moved out years ago. i'm sure they'll fade away soon enough, and i'll remember this family as a trio. there's more depth here, but i never got around to seeing it.

maybe it's a defense mechanism on both our parts? i'm the 13th exchange student they've had. the only other student they've ever referenced is some kid named tim who liked to stumble in late at night and drunk off his ass. i'm not exactly sure what i did to trigger that story and remind them of him.

today the council of international educational exchange threw a goodbye party for all the advanced liberal arts kids. there are some people whom i'll never see again, and that makes me sad. then there are those i know i'll see again, as well as those whom i just don't care about. not even in a negative way, but i can honestly say that i don't think about you aside from when you're physically in my face, and i have to admit to myself that i don't know your name. ok, well maybe there was that one time at the one place and that one funny thing.

and life moves on.

my flight home is tomorrow. see you soon.

el parque maria luisa

yesterday we had a picnic to celebrate the foreign slut-ish-ness that is sam. her flight is today and we are saddened.



it was relaxing and chill, though i was somewhat threatened by the random acts of falling bird shit. eventually, everyone peaced and greta, sam, and i were the only ones who picnicked until 8pm. i guess none of us wanted to say goodbye.



i set the camera timer and ran back to my seat. obviously, this is my "oops, i just sat on a glass of sangria" face, which is a direct consequence of the "oops my ass just broke a glass of sangria" crunch.

at least greta and sam look good. how is it possible to talk about nothing and everything for 6 hours?

i love it though. ba da da da da?

two pounds to the chest and a peace sign

leaving for home this friday, but suddenly i'm not so ready to leave. maybe because the stresses of finals are over, or maybe because it's starting to sink in that we probably won't see each other again. won't see these places. won't share these experiences.

i know that once i get to the airport i won't want to leave. i'm not ready for this chapter of my life to end, and as much as i journal about it, i know the memories will fade. life sucks that way, but as a wise gay man once said--while defending his heterosexual activity--"you work with what you got."

as part of our ongoing quarter-life crisis kristen, maria, and i have talked about shaving our heads. the date seems to be set for this wednesday at el palacio. there have also been threats of leaving the hair on lucia's desk as a final ef you to ciee.

i will probably chicken out because there may or may not be a fat roll on the back of my head that i may or may not be willing to admit to just yet.

speaking of denial, this is taylor hicks, season 5 winner of american idol:


this is his cd cover for his upcoming single:


i call bullshit. or at least a damn good photoshop job. if i can get someone to photoshop my double chin that has seemed to have misplaced itself to the back of my head, i'll post post-shaving pics.