so i think my comment spam issue has been resolved for the most part; the thing i'm going to do from now on is that the beginning of every month, i'm going to close all of the previous month's comment sections. (i have closed most of the existing entries already.) so let me warn you again, if you try to comment and find that you can't, now you know why. no offense! :)
so i found out that my abercrombie belt (which came with a pair of shorts i bought there) sets off metal detectors like mad. at every airport checkpoint i went, i had to remove the belt to pass inspection. and keep in mind that these shorts are too big for me, so my pants would pretty much fall down after i removed the belt. what a pain!
there's a speed dating event in san jose in three weeks. i'm thinking about going.
my hair was unbelievably bad this morning. i washed my hair last night and went straight to bed, so when i woke up this morning, i had a 2-inch fro on my head. it was pretty embarrassing passing by a few people on the way to my cube, because i had left my hat at the office the previous day. but i've been wearing my trusty blue marlin baseball cap for most of the day today, so the hair's been pretty much tamed.
i was sort of bummed that i didn't get a chance to meet up with my friends jeremy and kate a few weeks ago. (they got in from new hampshire on the same day that i flew out to europe.) i miss them. they're the only friends who were happy to just lounge around with me when i was feeling boring.
so what am i doing to gain weight? i'm drinking a lot of dr pepper! i missed that drink, as it was nowhere to be found on my vacation.
in europe, though, i did drink a TON of coke. it's ironic that coke was my first choice to quench my thirst, because it (with its caffeine) actually dehydrates you, right? but either way, i would have up to four cans of coke a day there. (and it would cost me about $5 total, at least.)
i don't feel tired just yet. i think that's a good sign.
so ting's dad is staying with us for at least a week, i think. as in sleeping at our place. i don't know how the sleeping arrangement is going to work out, but i think i'll have to be on my best behavior. which doesn't really bother me, but i'll just to tone down whatever foul language i have stored up, and maybe not lie on the futon as much (which will be hard).
i am excited for the weekend. it'll feel like an oasis.
so i feel better today. probably because it's friday, and i only have a few hours left in the office. and... what follows will be a LONG WEEKEND! *woot*
sleep has been *very* nice lately. i've been going to bed early, sleeping about 11-12 hours a day. in MY bed, with MY blankets, hugging MY cool pillows.
what i've been sacrificing, though, is my _time_ reading (i'm behind by FIVE issues!), and more importantly, hanging out with ting and alan. i feel bad. but i promised myself that next week, i will be back to my regular schedule, and make no more excuses of jet lag.
i just wish football season started this weekend rather than next, so i had some games to watch this sunday. oh well. it'll come soon enough. i'm worried about my beloved cowboys, though; we have an old running back and an even older starting quarterback. i hope it all works out and we make it to the playoffs, although i'm not holding my breath or anything.
not much planned so far this weekend, except for maybe hanging out with some friends on saturday. maybe i'll call up mallory and hopefully her hospital schedule will let her be free on sunday or monday. but i foresee a lot of sleeping and lounging ahead...
how much did i smoke while i was in europe? i estimate that i had about 12 cigarettes a day, which isn't bad considering the tics and the heat and the fact that i was up for more hours than i had previously been in the states. our days started off at like 7:30, which was a whole 3 three hours earlier than they start off back home.
i sort of miss europe now. i don't miss most of the people i travelled with, but i miss being a tourist with no obligations to work or paying bills or even blogging. yes, i love blogging, but it was nice to get away from it and not have to worry about coming up with material every single day. although the comment spam was really annoying; when i logged on for the last time in london heathrow, i had like 500+ comment spams!
so, aside from my previously-state loner moments, what were my other favorite moments of europe? i have to say that they were hanging out with just one other person, which allowed for better conversation and more in-depth exploration of another person.
so my first one was in rome on the 2nd day, with this woman named teresa. the others had to go to the airport to check on their lost luggage (long story, but basically our flight out of SFO was delayed by a broken toilet and an unruly passenger who got kicked off the flight, so the connecting flight to rome from london missed the luggage. luckily, i had carried mine on.) and left teresa and us behind.
so, i hung out with her for a bit near the spanish steps (cue the _roman holiday_ footage with the beautiful audrey hepburn and handsome gregory peck), and we talked for a bit. that was nice.
and other bits and pieces of the trip where i was just hanging out with one other person were nice too... with van in florence, with hai in seville, etc. i guess i just didn't like the group as a whole.
anyways... sorry for the late rehashings, but i guess europe is still on my mind. after all, i've dreamt about it every night this week!