I remember far too vividly the days when Jules and I found ourselves stranded at the dinner table in front of what seemed like a never-ending slab of meatloaf. "Guess what we're having for dinner tonight," Mom and RJ would ask tauntingly as Jules and I fell silent, followed by raw denial. Tears swelled as we reflected on the unavoidable shape our night would soon take. It was made even worse when Mom forced us to prep the ingredients that led to our eventual demise. We scoured the kitchen for bread and sauces to distract from the taste, to no avail. No matter how voraciously we tried, our night always ended the same. Blood shot eyes, tear stained pajamas, two plates of untouched loaf; the only way it could have been worse is if I had to face it alone. Jules knew better than to desert me on meatloaf night.

My apologies, I got lost in the story, akin to dads speech at my graduation party :) The point I was trying to get to... at the end of that brutal night Mom would threaten us by boxing up our meatloaf for breakfast the next day (and we would let her believe it was a threat because it was our only chance for freedom from the dinner table).

Last night, the little girl didn't finish her fish and her mom boxed it up and made her eat it for dinner tonight! What kind of a mom actually follows through with that sick joke? But, moral of the story, every little girl needs a sister to share in the suffrage of inedible foods. I suppose I was intended to be that surrogate sister, but I don't play those games. I live in constant fear of my señora kicking me out for not licking my plate clean.

My señora is now scolding her daughter, the little girl is screaming, stomping, crying, and Mariah Carey is blasting in the background. I can't think of any worse form of torture. Get. me. out. of. here.

Sant Jordi.

More books and roses than Barcelona knows what to do with,

but beautiful no less.

Not only is Bob Esponja haunting my every move, but now attempting to teach life lessons as a side job. The last episode featured a standoff between Bob Esponja and Patricio, initially flaunting their best friends t-shirts. As soon as Bob Esponja found out Patricio doesn't wash his hands all bets were off. It was like dogs in warfare (don't know what that means but I saw it on wiki and it involves my favorite phrase, dogs). I hope this isn't foreshadowing...

Speaking of implicit messages, the rolex store I pass everyday on my way to class is plastered with big, blue letters reading mothers day. They took the words right out of my mind. Mom, you can expect one of those is headed your way.

The little girl has added a new pair of pajamas to the mix. Striped, light blue and white, with a minimum of three hello kitties and perfect for summer. I can't wait until she pulls out a pink nightgown with a hello kitty the size of her torso, then we'll be ready to duel.

Side note: I googled duel for the correct spelling and this is how it is defined...

a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor

That is exactly what's going down. If Hello Kitty isn't a point of honor I don't know what is. Some things are just worth fighting for.

Other points of observance:

• If I lived in Barcelona full-time I would never get anything done. The beach is so enticing. When I'm not basking in the sun on my brown scarf, court-side to the Mediterranean, I'm daydreaming about it.
• I'm visiting North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Gettysburg, and Washington DCburg this summer.
• Bono's birthday is May 10. His anniversary is August 21, it is by no means a coincidence that this just happens to be my birthday.
• Thats actually all thats occurring as of late.

More stress. My señora's brother and wife came over to drop off their chillin (I swear this word means child) for the night, good thing she was incredibly cute. If the unexpected drop-ins continue I may develop an ulcer, or worse yet, my bladder may explode. Luckily I spent the day at the beach to fend of any unwarranted stress.

Moving on. Today we went to a town outside of Barcelona to see Castellers de Vilafranca.

They basically did this on a smaller scale.

But, when we were building that tower I felt like it was at least fifteen stories tall. Dang, if I get worried about fire escape routes at house parties, you can imagine how nervous I was about the safety of these shenanigans.

So, to coerce my fear of everything, I decided to partake in the practice of human castle building.

Drum roll please,

mounting the top.

prepping for the big spin.

the initial dismount.

final dismount.

Sitges, I will return to you.

In a dream I had

I was on a stage with Queen

Michael Stipe and Elton John

Bono and Springsteen

Singing hallelujah, rock and roll is king

People Like You, Live

Live and I dream the same dream. But I'd be a backup dancer, breaking down the electric slide, or even better, the chicken dance.

Today I came back to the apartment to find the little girl had two friends over. Naturally I was stressed about the situation, one small child makes me feel awkward enough. The two girls were decked from head to toe in dress up clothes, including fake hair pieces (I'm going to have to steal one of those in the night to permanently cover my mullet). And a little boy watched in awe as the girls gave him a relentless stream of orders. Sounds like my childhood, though we spent our free time playing vending machine and boat. But, that is neither here nor there.

One of the girls, Carla, couldn't figure me out. Every time she walked by my room she would stop and stare, and I, of course, smiled nervously. This persisted until she finally decided to stop by my room and sweep the floor with the worlds tiniest broom. Even a five-year-old could tell my room needed to be swept (my love affair with digestive cookies is to blame) but I know it was her way of saying she wanted to be my friend. So, we said hello, introduced ourselves, made some small talk, and set a lunch date for next week. Great success, my first spanish friend. She even gave me a hug on the way out. In regards to the hug, she actually just stood next to my bed with her head cocked as if she wanted to give me a hug. But, since spaniards rarely hug and instead do the double kiss I ended up giving her one kiss and a half hug. It will probably be our new secret handshake.

Tomorrow I'z going to Sitges. Wiki it, you know I already have.

Here's a little preview...

I lead a really hard life.

The woman and little girl I live with performed an eclectic rendition of english songs today, including but not limited to Thriller, Looking in your Big Brown Eyes, and Colors of the Wind (they must have known of my past Pocahontas obsession, and by past I mean everlasting). The english was barely recognizable but the hummed melody was spot on, culminating in both a hysterical and heartwarming listening experience. Probably akin to Jules' famous Under Pressure performance.

As I narrow in on the final stretch of my study abroad adventure, I expected to have had an epiphany of the future by now, but... to no avail. I imagined a scene with really bright, blinding lights atop a mountain. Earth, Wind and Fire would show up singing Fantasy, something like...

recognize its your life now in review

and as you stay for the play, fantasy, has in store for you

a glowing light will see you through

it's your day, shining day, all your dreams come true

...and with the final vocals I'd know I had arrived. But since that didn't happen, maybe I'll stay in school as long as possible. Though sadly that reality is slowly coming to an end as well.

In other news, there is no other news.

Barcelona is becoming more and more saturated with tourists. Though I'm certainly not a local, I wouldn't call myself a tourist either. I believe Sonia said it best this weekend, we are all but a few focals. Fake locals. I like the energy of crowded streets and warm weather, but la Boqueria and las ramblas are just way too crowded as of late.

That's all I've got.

Oh except, the define function on google is one of my most useful assets. You simply type define: followed by a word and suddenly a wealth of definitions. Its my second most frequented site next to wikipedia.

Ahoy :) I'z back.

Now, let me get my ducks in a row.

• Over the course of the past month my dad, Caleb, mom, and Sonia have visited. I also adventured to Budapest and Vienna. I make no promise to cover these events in any certain order.
• Mom and I hate our pictures from her visit, so much they nearly caused us to jump. That being said, please bear in mind that the mullets are temporary but the jeggings are not.
• Tomorrow marks three months that I've been out of the US and A, crazy. Those of you counting down the days, I'll be home May 28.

I think I have writers block, this must be cured sooner than later.

The people in the apartment below me listen to techno.

My senora is listening to spanish music for the first time since I've been here, its nice.

Today I treated myself to a day at the beach, ice cream included, to combat the stressful event known as class registration.

U2 has a concert in Chicago this summer.

:)