Mixed blessings...

It has been a day of ups and downs. It has been raining all day. I am unable to connect to the wireless network here at Sydney Law. This means my antivirus protection is out of date (a Norton pop-up reminds me every hour). I am not sure if it is my computer or their network. Other people have been able to connect but not me, maybe I will stop by Hidde's place to see if I can connect to his wireless network. If that doesn't work Dell will have to fly someone over here and fix my computer (hey I paid good money for that coverage). The whole thing has me a little frustrated and of course since Sydney University is on it's "winterbreak" there is nobody from IT to assist me. It makes me want to figure out a way to blow up the law school and destroy my laptop in the process (just kidding, oh wait here comes the CIA I think they want to deport me).

Last night I went to my first opera. We (Me, Grant, Emily, and Squire) went and saw Nabucco at the Sydney Opera House. What a great experience, my mom would have loved it. They need to fix the AC though cause I couldn't stop sweating (it didn't help that this cold is hanging on). The acoustics were outstanding even in the back row. I was amazed at how small it was on the inside given how big it is on the outside. It was absolutely the most expensive show I have ever been to. Lolapalooza 1995 was cheaper and more entertaining (just ask Jason). I still had a wonderful time because I love to dress up and do cultural stuff like that. Even if I never go to another opera in my life I will have been to at least one good opera. Before that the only opera I had ever seen was with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

Tomorrow I jump from 14000 feet. I am going on my first skydive. Hopefully the first of many to come. I will let you know how it goes. Today I got some news that I have been waiting almost 3 years for, I have been invited to join the DFFL. It is a fantasy football league that Captain Rubber Legs has been in for several years. They take it seriously and everyone pays up. I think the buy in is $100+ and 12 people so there is considerable prize money. After all the crap that has been frustrating me today that is exactly what I needed to brighten up my day...

Good times...

Through the worst of it...

OK folks I am now officially on the mend. The past 2 days I have come home after class and crawled into bed. Juice and Kung Fu movies have been the order of the day. Diddy kept telling me that Aussie girls are impressed by a guy who can download a lot of Kung Fu movies, but so far I have been finding other stuff seems to work better. However for a sickboy like me Kung Fu and fluids are just what the doctor ordered (right mom). It helps not being the only one in the group that is sick. People have been very sympathetic and understanding. I still haven't missed class, I am saving that for when I feel great and the weather is nice. It has been raining the past couple of days and today when I came back to my room I opened the curtains and saw a full rainbow (gorgeous). I may post the picture if the wireless ever comes back on at Sydney Law Library.

If all goes as planned and I still feel good tomorrow I have a trip planned to see an opera at the Sydney Opera House. I will let you know how it goes. I am starting to make plans for my last week in Australia. Tonight an English girl asked me if I wanted to join her for a trip up to Cairns to go Scuba diving. It sounds like a good time and she's cute. So before the end of the trip I may have learned how to Scuba and go skydiving. I am definitely up for some adventures. Besides if skydiving is half as exciting as bungee jumping I will love it. I am enjoying the company I keep immensely. I have met some good people and some interesting people. I have been trying to take my dad's advice and stop pretending to be interested. I guess it shows...

I recently shared a poem with someone very dear to my heart. Many of you may already be familiar with this poem but here it is anyways...

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied,"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I Carried You."

...for those of you who know me well you know I am an Agnostic. I have struggled my entire life with faith and trying to better understand life and it's meaning. This is not meant to be a religious revelation, but it does touch me deeply. I cannot carry you through life's hardest times, nor do I expect to be carried through mine. However I will always carry you with me in my heart, and it makes my journey a little more bearable to know that I am also carried in yours.

I love you and I am always with you...

I am dying...

They say that perfect health is the slowest rate at which you can die. I am going a little faster than that. I have caught the bug that is going around our group. This may be my shortest post yet, I just dont have the energy. These late nights and early mornings aren't helping any either. I am trying to figure a way to get deported so I can come home. If I get woken up at 3AM again, by the kids here at the hostel I may have found a way to solve that problem...

It's been a couple of days...

...so let me catch you up on life down under. Seeing as my last post was Thursday afternoon I will start with the Route 69 Pub Crawl Thursday night.

The Bus left the hostel around 7PM and I made it back by 3AM. We had an hour at each bar and some extra time in between for transport. On the way to the first bar we stopped at 2 other youth hostels and picked up a bunch more "kids". At the first bar I had 3 beers and talked Grant (Emily's husband) into doing shots of Tequila with me. They don't have Partron silver here, and by the end of the night I was dong shots of Jose Cuervo (god help me never again). By the time we got to the second bar we were mingling with the other groups and I was up to a six pack and 3 shots. At the 3rd bar they had a bikini contest which I think was mainly for our benefit. That was the nastiest floor I have ever seen, sticky carpets and not in just one spot it was all over. At that bar Grant tried to order a snakebite (shot of tequila) and got some fruity drink that's when Jose stepped in. Thankfully at the next bar (The Cock & Bull) there was a great pizza place next door. But after soaking up the alcohol I only had 10 min to down another couple of VB (Victoria Bitter). The 4th bar served up some kind of butterscotch shot way too sweet for what I had going on so it was more VB and anther shot of Jose. By the time we got to the last bar I was being scolded by a 19 year old English girl for getting too close to one of her friends (damn babysitter). By the end of the night I wasn't crawling, but had a nice little stagger going on. I decided to sleep with my window open and only had 3 1/2 hours to sleep. I woke up 2 hours later with rain pouring into my room. All my clothes were wet, the only dry stuff I had to wear to class was the clothes from the previous night and lots of cologne. I did better than some though because I actually made it to class. I realized after doing some math that I sobered up by the time class was over at 1PM.

Friday afternoon a couple of classmates and I went down to the local sports book to watch that 4th quarter of game 7 of the NBA finals (go Spurs). After that I came back to the hostel and got a couple hours sleep. Later that evening I went into the city to go to the Aquarium with a couple people from the program but ended up going to the IMAX instead. 3D movies should not be the first order of business when you have a hangover.

Last night we went to Telestra Stadium at the Olympic Park to watch the Sydney Swans play the Collingwood Magpies. The Swans won 77-76. It was quite and experience especially since we were sitting in the section next to all the Magpie fans. After the game our group went to the Sidebar for a few drinks. I decided to take off a little before everyone else (11:30PM) so I could get a good nights sleep. That didn't quite go as planned. As I was waiting for the train I started talking to a couple of cute girls who unfortunately happened to be out with their boyfriends (Anton & Koleen and Dario & Maria). By the time they were getting off the train Anton invited me to go to a bar with them and Koleen and Maria grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out of the train. We went to a bar called Industrie and they bought me drinks till 3AM. I just figured what the hell how often am I in Sydney. They were a great bunch of people and Anton made sure we exchanged phone numbers so I will definitely be going out with them again.

Today I picked up my laundry because it is cheaper to get it washed than to do it myself. Now people are trying to rush me off the computer so we can go to Paddy's market. I am leading the expedition because I have been there before and am already comfortable with directions in the city. If I can survive NY anywhere else is a breeze...

No Signal

The wireless network is down here at Sydney Uni Law (big surprise). So once again this will be a short post (I am more comfortable writing on my laptop). After class today I went to Paddy's Market in Chinatown. I guess there is a Chinatown in every major city in the world. There are 1 1/2 billion Chinese people so go figure. It was a great little place to bargain shop. Full of knock offs of everything you could ever want (lots of Von Dutch). I picked up a Drizabone (brand name) leather hat made from 100% genuine Kangaroo. It is basically a black leather cowboy hat (most of them are brown but I am the bad guy). I like the look, I'm sure eventually I'll post a picture of me in it so you will all have to tell me what you think.

I am going to try to go back to the hostel and take a quick nap. We are all going out on the Route 69 pub crawl at 7PM. It has been brought to my attention that this may actually be more of a pub ride. A pub crawl would more like Bogarts, Dizzy Lizard, and Bar Illusiones (Strong Island) or Mill Avenue or Old Town Scottsdale (AZ) or The Rocks (Sydney). But I'm not going to let the lack of crawling hold me back from having a good time. I would bring the camera with me but that would likely just create incriminating evidence. One thing I have learned in law school is if they can't prove it happened, it didn't happen.

I have mostly gotten over the whole class rank thing after a good talk with one of the women in my program here. She reminded me that the lowest ranked member of the graduating class is still a lawyer. I am a B- student who is going to play my 2nd and 3rd year for the same reason that these Aussies play game 3 of State of Origin, for PRIDE. One of the things that I am learning from a UNC professor here is that it takes a lot more than good grades to make a good lawyer. It takes a backbone, a conscience, and a lot of hard work. I have all three and the rest will follow.

I may not come back from tonight with pictures but maybe a good story or 2.

AGAIN CONGRATS TO DR ROBOT

PLEASE EXTEND YOUR CONGRATULATIONS

Mr Robert "Robot" Bohanan has been granted admission to the Medical College of Wisconsin. I am very proud of him and I am sure he will become an outstanding doctor.


This is the view from my room. I wanted to take a shot from the rooftop but they don't open that until 8AM and by that time I am already on my way to school. I am absolutely wiped out, this getting up at 6:30AM stuff is killing me. I would like to say a lot more but my brain is scrambled right now.

I got my class rank today and I am not proud to admit that my 2.6 puts me 236/263. That means I just barely stayed out of the bottom 10%. It is a bit of a shock to my system to think about it and that may be why I am at a loss for words right now. I know a lot of law students would not share that kind of information or would outright lie about it. I don't care about much of anything right now, so you got me wide open. I wish law school was my biggest concern in life. But I have so much more to figure out...

I love you all...

I have all the time in the world now...

Well today was another interesting day in a long series of such days. I am online here at Bondi Beach House, which means I am paying by the minute. It's OK though because like I said yesterday I have figured out how to connect to the wireless network at the law school. In fact today I showed half a dozen of my colleagues here how to connect themselves to the wireless network. It took me about 45 min to walk them all through it and make sure they were taking the right steps along the way (it's amazing what missing a simple "/" can do to a proxy setting). They were all in awe that if figured it out with no help from the IT department. They couldn't believe that I had the patience to figure it out all on my own. I told them that those of us who go to second tier law schools have to work a little harder to keep up with the likes of a bunch of UNC students.

They were so thankful for my help that they are all chipping in to buy my ticket for the Route 69 Pub Crawl this Thursday night. It should be a good time. I am having so much fun with this group. The pub crawl won't be the first time we've all (almost all) gone out drinking, and most of us have been here less than a week. They are all except for one guy (not me) very positive people. We got into an interesting character showing discussion in class today about the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and how it applies to the legal profession. But it didn't even come close to getting ugly because no one is angry or bitter enough to let it get out of hand.

We unlike Australia's parliament know how to control ourselves. Today as a group we sat in on Question Day in parliament. It is a weekly opportunity for members of parliament to question their leadership. It was just as bad as any of the idiotic highlights you may have seen of the English parliament. They embarrass themselves and make a mockery of government. I have seen high school activity groups with more professionalism and self control than these "grown men" displayed. I am amazed that they would let people in to see their little circus. They should be ashamed of themselves. Our politicians may be lying cheats but at least they are polite about it.

There was also a group of high school girls in the gallery with us from a private catholic school (cute little uniforms and all). One of them was having trouble getting her phone to stay turned off so I turned around and suggested she remove the battery. She wondered why she hadn't thought of that to which I replied "Us Yanks come up with a good idea every now and then" to which she began to swoon. She told me how much she loved my accent and tried to get me to keep talking till we had to be quiet for proceedings. Every time I turned around she was making goo-goo eyes at me and made a special point to say goodbye to me as she was leaving. She was of the age of consent but still a little young for me. I don't think she would have gotten me deported but it could have made for a hell of an interesting story. I had never thought of the fact that I may actually have a sexy foreign accent here.

I am still amazed at how law school can ruin a perfectly good vacation. In the past 2 days I have read over 100 pages in one textbook and 50 pages in another. It's only been 2 days, but I don't like the pattern that is starting to develop. I'll have to do something about that tomorrow, maybe I'll finally hit up Chinatown to get that hat I've been looking for. I am so glad that I planned a week after class ends with nothing to do. By the time I get back to the US I want to learn to surf or go skydiving. I am trying to experience as many new things as possible...

Just as short as the last one...

I can't say much cause my battery is about to die. Wasted 3 hours of my life trying to connect to the internet here at Sydney Law School. Just trying to help out the group. Almost Everyone has a laptop, but no one could figure out how to connect to the internet. The IT dept wasn't much help either. Like I'm some kind of genius who managed to figure it out all on my own (Eli would be proud). Speaking of Elias Paul Sinderson please send him your best wishes and loving thoughts as tomorrow is the big 30.

So far I like my teachers but they expect us to do a lot of reading in a short time. I don't know how realistic it is but I am willing to sacrifice my enjoyment to do well. I just checked and my last grade finally posted. My first year GPA is 2.6 not great but still qualifies me as a B- student. The grades from summer do transfer to Hofstra so I am going to put in a little extra effort to see if I can squeeze out a couple A's. I should kick ass because this Law School doesn't hold a candle to anything we have in the US.

Gotta go. Keep Smilin'...

I know what time it is in Darwin Australia

Well I have made it to Bondi Beach House. The accommodations are not nearly as nice as at Glenferrie, but I think they will make up for it because there are so many more "kids" here to provide entertainment. I haven't met many of them yet though as I have only been here for a couple hours and I spent most of that time making my room to my liking. I rearranged the bed so I have a place to set up my laptop (yes mom I did check very closely for bedbugs). No wireless access here so I had to buy 5 hours of internet time for $15. I do have wireless at the law school so from here on out most of my blogs will be done after class, and that is also the only way I will be able to upload pictures.

I went out last night with Hidde and the boys and once again had a great time. But this "morning" I woke up on his couch at noon to find out by email that I had to be at the law school at 1:45. So I has time to grab a quick breakfast and hit the road. No shower no clean clothes none of that. Not the best first impression, but what the hell, some of them were "fresh" off of the airplane so I wasn't alone. I got there at 1:55 and thought I was late, but I still got there before everyone else (no worries). The group is a great bunch of people. I was right about being excited to meet them. We went on a dinner cruise around the harbor. It was a great way to get to know a handful of them real quickly.

I am going to cut this short as I have already used 25 min of my time...

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Rocket Man and the Art of Kung Fu Blogging.

Goodbye to Gelnferrie

Well I was woken up this morning by housekeeping who informed me I had overstayed my welcome. Wouldn't be the first time I had done that. So I talked to the front desk and Judy was kind enough to give me an hour to shower and pack, just enough time to get it all done. I met a handful of college students at Glenferrie who are also over here through an exchange program. Most of them from the midwest Minnesota, Indiana, etc. If there are 4 million people here in Sydney at least 1/2 million of them are just visiting.

Last night Hidde and I end up in the Crown Hotel Bar at the end of the night. We shared a table with a couple of cousins. He was from Ireland and she was from Scotland. We had 4 nationalities at the table and not one of us was an Aussie. One thing I have discovered is that much of the rest of the world shows their individual ignorance by disliking me because I am an American. I have worked on a standard response to people who actually tell me they don't like me because I'm a Yank. "Look here you shit for brains prick if you are going to dislike me do it because I am an asshole not because I am an American, it only shows your stupidity." I have started to draw an analogy between the USA and the Yankees, in that other than the Red Sox everyone else hates us because we are more prosperous than them. In all fairness though plenty of Americans show their ignorance with the whole red-state blue-state bit.

I am currently at Hidde's place and in a couple hours I will head over to Bondi. I can't wait to meet everyone else in the program. First day of classes is on Monday. Until I get to campus I probably won't have internet access. So I may start missing a day here and there with the blog. I love the fact that I get to hear from all of you, it makes my day a little brighter to know that you are thinking of me...

The Outback is on the other side...

Well as promised here are the pictures of my day trip to the Blue Mountains. Technically speaking the Outback is on the other side of the Blue Mountains (Continental Divide) so I have seen the Outback but haven't been there. There sure are some curious animals down under. I definitely think the wildlife park was the most interesting part of the trip, as you can see that is where 9 of my 12 pictures are from. We got to hand feed the Kangaroos and Wallabies. We were allowed to pet but not hold the Koalas. The only souvenirs I took with me were my pictures because the only thing I would have bought was a shirt that said "The Dingo ate my baby!" but apparently they don't think that's very funny here.

There was plenty of beautiful scenery and I got to play a diggery do. We were in a small group of about 15 people and had a great tour guide, he told us about the teachings instead of the legends. The legends are for white men and the teachings are real. For example the legend of the 3 Sisters is that a witch doctor turned them into stone (boring). The teaching is that a medicine man sat his 3 daughters down near a water-well while he went into the bush to hunt. He warned them about throwing stones into the water well or a monster would come out to get them. Of course being young they didn't heed the warning and threw a stone into the water-well and the monster came out to get them. To protect his daughters the medicine man waved his medicine bone and changed them into stone. The monster then turned on the medicine man who turned himself into a Lyre bird. By doing so he lost his ability to hold his medicine bone and was stuck as a bird while his daughters remained stone. The lesson is if you put too many stones in the water-well there won't be any room for water. The other lesson is to listen to those who love you because they care.

Warning here comes my ethnocentricity. As much as I was impressed by the scenery I have seen the Rocky Mountains and the Grand Canyon. Need I say more?

Well tomorrow I leave the Glenferrie Lodge here in Kirribilli and head over to the sexual chocolate of youth hostels in Bondi Beach. I look forward to meeting the rest of the people in the program and getting classes underway. Today I received an email from my dad informing me that my financial aid check finally arrived (nice of them to send it a week after I left). So no worries I won't be a bum on the streets of Sydney. Although I have been told that the majority of illegal immigrants here are from the US and UK. Don't worry I am coming back soon enough...


A Koala (not a bear)


Ask Dmitri where my hand is...


A Kangaroo chillin' in the sun


Wallabies are like mini Kangaroos


An Emu hanging out with Wallabies


This little furball is a Wombat


A Blue Penguin


Kissing Parrots


Not sure what this bird is called but it sure is colorful


Three Sisters


Three Sisters in the foreground


It's faint but there is a rainbow here

The Blue Mountains

I had a great day in the Blue Mountains today. I'd post the pictures right now but I am way too bushed to do anything that requires concentration. So stay tuned for what will likely be a dozen or more pictures tomorrow when I get up. Time for some shut eye...

Good on ya mate...

I would like to thank all of you who have extended kind words and opened your hearts in response to my depressed musings from the other day. It truly does my heart good to hear these things from people so close to me. Thank you.

State of Origin II

Today I slept in till noon, no particular reason I wasn't up very late but I figured I'd take advantage of the opportunity while I had it. Lord knows it's not something I get to do all the time. I went for a walk this afternoon, but didn't go too far just here in the neighborhood of Kirribilli. I took no pictures and did nothing of note. It was a very nice day if I do say so myself.

Tonight I am watching The State of Origin II. It is an Australian Rules Football game played every year for the past 25 years between New South Wales and Queensland. That would like New York playing New Jersey or Arizona playing New Mexico. There is a football league here but these teams represent their state and play only each other and only play 1 series per year. The series is 3 games (this is the 2nd game hence II) and even if one team wins the first 2 games they still play the 3rd game strictly for pride. The level of pride involved reminds me more of great college rivalries than anything else. NSW won the game tonight and the series will be decided July 6th.

Today I got my grades back from spring semester. The only grade with which I am truly disappointed is my Civil Procedure grade it was worse than constructive failure but better than actual failure (I do not have to retake the class). I was not surprised though because 3 of the 5 credits I earned for civ pro were completed last semester but were not added to my record till this semester. Last semester in civ pro I along with a handful of other people earned 6 out of 50 possible points. Even if I had aced the spring semester it still would have resulted in constructive failure. Knowing this ahead of time gave me strong disincentive to try my hardest and since the grade has been recorded talking with my teacher would be pointless. Perhaps I should have taken a lesson from the State of Origin and played the spring semester for pride. The rest of my grades were OK (no A's) but unless something goes horribly wrong with my one remaining grade I will still be a B- student. Not great, but respectable. Given my history my current goal is to do well enough this summer and next year to bring my GPA up to 3.0 which means from here on out B+ or better is my aim.

Tomorrow I am taking a guided day trip to the Blue Mountains, and I should come back with some exciting pictures. Must remember to charge the camera and clear the memory stick. I need to start getting ready for bed because I have to catch the tour bus at 8AM from Circular Quay (pronounced KAY) and will come back by boat around 6PM.

What a Beautiful City...

I went for a couple of walks today. The first time I went out I stopped for a cheeseburger at a local deli. The burger was big but flat and they used Teriyaki sauce. It was good, a bit of local flavor. I forgot to bring my camera with me though. So I went out for another walk shortly before sunset and got the pictures below. The skyline picture was taken from the base of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Quite a view for only walking 5 min from my hotel. The skyscrapers are impressive for a city of 4 million. There are more people in NYC than there are in the entire country of Australia. The picture of the Opera House was taken from on the Bridge. There was a tower in one of the bridge's pylons that you can climb for $8.50 but I figured I'd wait for a sunny day and make it worth my while so I'll have to go back. It was a great walk and got the blood flowing. I'm going to go for another walk in a little while to go have dinner at The Mad Greek a local resturaunt that has a huge sign painted on the window that says "Everything $10" but I checked the menu and they lie. Go figure a lying Greek. I am feeling a little better than I was earlier today, and I am really looking forward to class starting so I can get some focus going. I miss home and all my friends and family...

Outside the Wall...
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.

Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.

And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall.


Sydney Opera House


Sydney Skyline

I went to The Mad Greek tonight which is now The Mad Greek/Italian. Apparently a few years back they decided to expand the menu and wanted the name to reflect it. I had Lamb Souvlaki with Mashed Potatoes. It was absolutely delicious. I promise not to post anymore meal menus unless they are out of this world. On the way back I caught sight of the harbor at night and it is gorgeous.

In the morning I am getting my hair cut by Judy the lady who runs the hostel. Last night I suffered a horrible clipper accident. The voltage difference caused my clippers to cut twice as fast. That was great until the clippers started to rattle apart and a screw came out and fell down the floor drain. At that point I had only shaved half of my head. I tried to finish the job with a razor but to no avail. Now the back of my head is a patchwork of bald spots. It wouldn't have been so bad except every local barbershop was closed for the Queen's Birthday. Thankfully Judy is a former hairdresser who still has her equipment, and all I need is to make my eyebrows the only hair on my head.

I'm off for my fourth walk today. I'll be back with a night picture of the harbor...

Sydney Harbor at Night

Before I Hit the Street

I'll be back later with pictures

Before I hit the streets I should catch all of you up on Sydney so far. I got in early Sat morning and had no trouble getting picked up by my cousin. I even had time to pick up a mobile phone (see below). Shortly after I arrived we went to where my cousin and his roommate Derk played in a club field hockey game. What a blast there were grown men playing against teen girls. It may have been the most disorganized team sport I have ever seen. At one point there was a guy wandering around the field handing out glasses of wine to the players. He was out there again later with a plate of chicken wings, half of the players on the field gathered around while the rest continued to play around them. We spent the afternoon hanging out and cleaning the house getting ready for a party. I got to meet a bunch of Hidde's friends here (lots of dutch). The party was a good time I practiced my social skill by asking lots of questions and pretending to be intersted, apparently that makes a good impression. We partied till about 2 AM and then went out to a few bars (Sydney is 24hrs). We went with a couple girls from the party, a couple of Kiwi (New Zealand) sisters. Damn those Kiwi girls are tough. At around 4 AM I went home with Derk and his girlfriend while Hidde remained at the bar. When I got up around 11 AM Hidde was just getting home and had a few interesting stories to tell about a gay bar. That afternoon Derk brought me to my hotel where I am now...

When You're Young...

___When I have too much time on my hands I get lonely. I am sitting in my room in Sydney by myself. By myself is how I spent too much of my time. I can be alone in a crowded room. I know my parents and family love me but in some small way I feel it is because they want me to do well because it reflects on them. I feel sad.
___I have only been in one serious relationship in my life (tears welling up). That only lasted 8 months and I think it ended because I was emotionally unavailable or maybe because I kept telling her I would leave eventually (and I did). That was 5 years ago. There hasn’t been a trace of love or intimacy in my life since. Is there someone out there for me or did I miss her already because I was scared to say something.
___I don’t care anymore. I hate being a nice guy. It only takes me a few minutes to enter the “friendzone”. I see my friends with someone to love some of them have children, and I want just a little bit of that joy in my life. Have I spent too much of my life self-medicating the pain away to find happiness? Have I become emotionally dead inside? I don’t think so because otherwise I wouldn’t feel this pain.
___This past school year I went out on 2 dates. I thought they both went well but shortly afterwards both women stop responding to my contact attempts. Was I not aggressive enough? Did they mistake my genuine interest in getting to know them as weakness? Did they see me as a poor student with nothing to offer? Does it really matter why? I won’t stop putting myself out there, because like the lottery says “You can’t win if you don’t play.” But then again I have always said the lottery is nothing more than an idiot tax.
___I turn 30 in 1½ months and this is where my life is. I have no one but myself. That’s not true I do have some good friends (Jason, Rob, Dave, and Eli). I have more friends but these are my closest. I have met some good people in NY but it remains to be seen if the bonds created actually stick.
___Maybe I’m just whining, maybe I’m feeling a little depressed. Either way dwelling on it won’t do me any good so I am going to go out and wander the streets of Sydney. I don’t think I’ll find what I’m looking for there but maybe it’ll take my mind off the pain inside.

Maybe my needs are dislexic and I just need a dog to make my life complete.

My Phone in Australia

011 61 4154 92410 is my mobile number here in Australia but I only have 300 minutes to last me 7 1/2 weeks so if you do call be frugal...

Besides unless you have an international calling plan it'll cost about $24.99 per second (not really but it ain't cheap)

I made it!!!

I am in Sydney. I will keep this short till I have more to say but I wanted to let you all know I made it safely. Tonite I am staying at Hidde's and then tomorrow over to Glenferrie Lodge. Check the link in my last post. I lost an entire day and will never see June 10 2005...

THEY DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD HERE

Me and Hidde

This will be my last stateside blog till August...

24 hours till blast off. My flight will be 14 1/2 hours long and I will arive at 6AM. My laptop has about 8 hours of battery life so I can watch a few movies and try to sleep a little. My first night there I am going to stay with my cousin Hidde. My cousin and his friends apparently have a party planned for the night I arrive, not in my honor but they say in life timing is everything. For the week after that I will be staying at Glenferrie Lodge www.glenferrielodge.com then I think I will end up at Bondi Beach House www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?HostelID=193 once classes start.

Tonight I went out to dinner at the Golden Buddah and had pot and shrooms. Potstickers and Gang of Mushrooms to be exact, and yes it really was a gang of mushrooms. I had the pleasure of enjoying the company of my oldest friend Eli and his girlfriend Nia. The food was wonderful and the service was outstanding, but the best part was the company. I tried eggplant for the first time in years. It does my heart good to see my friend doing so well...

My next post will be from down under...

I have now figured out how to post pictures and will try to do so with regularity...

This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do...

This is the view from my buddy Eli's place in Santa Cruz, CA what a wonderful place to stop on my way overseas. I love being here with you...

Rocket Man

This blog was originally titled rocket man because as many of you know I am taking off for Australia...

It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

I made it to California

Well I got this blog thing underway...

I have yet to fine tune the whole thing but I can at least post my thoughts. Its all a little fuzzy right now seeing as I spent the last couple of days traveling, first to Tucson then here to California. Santa Cruz is beautiful as usual, I can see why Eli loves it here.

I had a good flight out with a connection in Phoenix of all places (wasn't I just there?) I helped and elderly spanish speaking couple find their gate because no one in security spoke spanish. One lady pulled the "if I speak louder in english maybe they will understand" routine. So I led them to their gate and no one at the gate spoke spanish either. I wonder how an American would react to that same situation if the roles were reversed. Then the flight from AZ to Cali I had two crazy loud 6 + 8 year old brothers sitting behind me. They were obnoxious from the minute they got on the plane till we took off. The moment the wheels left the ground they passed out. It couldn't have been more perfect.

I understand some of the better blogs address political and philosophical issues but for now I'm just getting started so I'll use it as kind of a journal. Feel free to post comments, ask questions, suggest postings, etc...


This was my goodbye to first year law school:
I'd like to give mad shout outs to the D-Block crew. Comrade Dimo I couldn't have picked a better roommate if I had to choose one now. B Diddy you’ve been nothing short of a mentor and a role model and I can’t wait for the B Diddy3s to drop. My little sailor from Texas you’ve helped show me the way to damnation through the web. Oklahoma never stop working to find a cure for ILS and don’t listen to Diddy when he says jump. Bob-O there’s always time to blaze one and thanks for keeping me fed. Crazy thanks for all the hot outlines we’ve got something to talk about next fall. To the little monkey you need to learn that in life timing is everything, but I still owe you an Italian Bomb and think you’re a good kid. Snaggletooth you are way too much for me to figure out, just remember what you put out comes back to you tenfold. To the back of the class crew I’ll see you there next year. Everyone will miss the littlest fruitcake when he’s gone…
Oh ya and thanks to you know who for you know what.
Last words: I’ll see you on the other side…

Can I write a blog please...

I can...