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.

:)

I left Barcelona this morning with one pair of clean underwear and a suitcase full of dirty laundry, en route to Budapest.

Rest assured, there will be oodles and noodles of updates upon my return.

Cheers!

It's a powerful word, it's lovely to say.
It's implying more than 'get up and dance, baby.'
- Bono, in regard to Rejoice

I've been looking forward to blogging all week, but suffered through a few setbacks. When I got back from Dublin my computer was infected with the blue screen of death. I lost a lot of sleep over the matter but finally got it fixed. Living without a functioning computer is like being trapped on an island (I imagine this island to have a large cave in the middle, in which I am tied to the outside) with millions of spiders slowly approaching; the panic continues to build with each passing moment. This is NOT an exaggeration.

And so it begins... Dublin was larger than life.

The trip started out swimmingly with my own row on AerLingus flight EI563. I spent the first hour literally laughing out loud to Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs. I was overcome by such bliss, I didn't even mind how obnoxious it seems to giggle publicly about a book. After my Augusten fix I cranked up U2 on my pod and attempted to take a snooze. I reclined my seat once it was officially safe (I don't dare break that rule) but it slowly crept back to the upright position. It felt like riding in the Boss with my seat at a 75 degree angle. However, it lacked the company of Jules and RJ occasionally banging their heads against the window and complaining about our beautiful chariot.

Some highlights from the trip:

• The sign at the Patriot which read: In the interest of safety, please refrain from dancing. For real life footage, see my pictures from Dublin.

• Harold's Cross Greyhound track. We've been to the dog track many a time in Pensacola, so we knew what we were getting ourselves into. However, this was a cream of the crop track. We made reservations for dinner, which I was slightly hesitant about due to the fact that the array of food at the Pensacola track extends from french fries to pizza with ice cream and popcorn in-between. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find a four-course meal awaited us. The track was full of energy, and when the rabbit (whom I will refer to as Swifty) was let loose the crowd went wild. The best part... the people who bring the dogs out to display as you make your bets (at this point Gabe elects the dog taking the biggest crap) were dressed in lab coats! There was no rhyme or reason to this process which made it all the more fantastic. And for a better adjective, mysterious.

• Dinner at the Tea Room: aka a restaurant part owned by Bono and the Edge. What's not to love?

• Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Gaol. U2 made a music video at the jail. I have a current U2/Dublin obsession.

• Guinness. I tried it, I liked it. Or should say, I didn't dislike it.

part Irish, part rock. I liked them.

Next, Dad and I will be tearing up the streets of Barcelona. Stay tuned for more. Bear with me through my rapid influx of visitors, posts may be far and few between. Until we meet again :)

I can't seem to shake this little yellow creature.

He's following me all over the globe.

Okay, let me try to retrace the past few days (well, more than a few, a little negligence on my part).

I found the cutest jumper at a store the other day. I've drug myself into that store everyday since, just to continually admire it. I'm hoping one day I'll break down and buy it.

Usually the music in the metro is less than satisfactory and commonly involves peter pan pipes. But, yesterday someone got a little crazy and switched it up. His intro was a little off because I initially thought he was singing a Smashing Pumpkins song, but soon realized it was none other than U2, With or Without You :) Naturally this was one of the few times the metro was already sitting there waiting for me so I didn't get to bask in the U2 glory, but it still lit up my heart.

Though I've always known the little girl and I share a love of pink, velour, hello kitty items (or mainly just soft, cozy things), tonight at dinner I realized we have something else in common. She and I share the same jammy cycle. This entails wearing one pair of pajays for two to three weeks straight and then changing to a new pair. She alternates between a pastel yellow, velour, striped pair and the hello kitty pair. Maybe one day we'll do the jammy shuffle.

Some updates on my day-to-day life:

• I still have the pathetic excuse of an umbrella. I don't know why I'm holding out, it seems like it rains at least once a week in Barcelona.
• I've made it a goal to floss my teeth more often. My dental hygienist told me that even people with perfect teeth can one day wake up and need dentures if they don't floss their teeth often enough in life. She obviously didn't know who she was talking to. I take those kinds of threats to heart. I won't delve into other fears, but its been a lifelong trend.
• I find myself rushing to class every morning, big surprise right? By the time I get to the metro I'm a sweaty mess and even more of a spectacle than my not sweaty, not late American self.
• I've nearly eaten two whole containers of crema de cacahuete (peanut butter) since I've been here. Oh my gravy... maybe thats something I should have kept to myself. But, now that its out on the table, this is essentially what I look like everyday.

Until we meet again.

ps: Dad and I will be tearing up Dublin this weekend.