Happy Birthday Charlie

Charlie Wagner (right) was a very good friend of mine years back who we lost in a car accident in May of 2008. Today would have been his 24th birthday. Everyday is still hard but days like today are, of course, much harder. I think of the life he had ahead of him and the plans that he had, none of which will ever be fulfilled. I think of all the times I wont have with him again and all the things that would be different if he was still here. Its a hard day. Every year on this birthday I go to an Irish bar and I drink a Guinness in his honor, because, I know that's how he'd want it to go. So here's to you Charlie, Happy Birthday. We miss you.

Travel Dos and Don'ts

As I've mentioned before, I have traveled a lot in my short life so far and traveling is really where my passion lies. In recent years I have gone on 3 trips with groups of college age people and then traveled around by myself afterwards and something became all to clear to me; kids this age don't know how to act. I'm not saying I never did anything wrong or never drew negative attention to myself but compared to the people around me I was practically a local. I think people i was with picked up on this because I sort of became the unofficial leader of the group and kinda of kept people in check and organized. I don't know if it is because of the traveling I did growing up or if it had more to do with my over planning, always trying to be one step ahead, cautious nature but I always seemed to be wise beyond my years when it came to conducting myself in a foreign country. My mom has always told me that I should write a book geared towards young people traveling alone or for the first time. A basic Dos and Don'ts of travel for people my age. I think it's a great idea and I have decided to use this as a beginning to that. Every once and a while I'll post a Do or a Don't and just see how it goes. All of my travel experience has come from Europe so they will be geared towards that region. I have some friends that have traveled other places that I may have guest star in my blog and give me some advice about traveling in other parts of the world as cultures and customs dictate how you should act more than anything else. But of course, some dos and don'ts are universal.

Summer Time

I know it's a little early to be thinking about my summer plans but it seems to be most of what is on my mind right now. I think i think about it so much recently because it's kind of an escape from all of the bad things that have come into my life lately. I have a few ideas of what i want to do. My job ending sometime in June and then I'm unemployed with all the free time in the world so I've decided I'm going on vacation. I always leave central Texas over the summer because I just can't stand the heat and the humidity so I jet.
Option #1: Barcelona
I traveled to Barcelona in the summer of 2009 for 5 weeks with a study abroad program and I really really loved it. Its the perfect combination of relaxed, historical, fun and there is a ton to do. And the best part is, it's a beach town and I've been really really in the mood to go to back and just lay on the beach and do nothing. If i was to go to Spain this summer i would go for a while, like at least a month. Id find an apartment or something to rent for the time and just kind of hang out. the only down side to this plan is that i more than likely would be going alone. The alone part isn't a huge deal, I've traveled alone quite often, but not for that long so i may get a bit lonely but i don't foresee finding anyone to go with me.
Option #2: China/Southeast Asia
My co-worker and new friend Emily will be in China this summer for...something...and she thinks i should come over and visit her towards the end of her stay and she'd show me around and then we could go to Thailand or somewhere beachy and relax for a while. I like this option because it's a part of the world I've never been too before. But at the same time, it's a part of the world I'm not 100% dieing to go to and being in China not knowing any Chinese and it being a language that you can just pick up and understand quickly, i think it would really freak me out. Another good part though is that i hear once you get there, it's pretty cheap, a lot cheaper than Europe that's for sure.
Option #3: Alaska
I think this option can be done in conjunction with another because it would only be for max 2 weeks. My dad has decided that he would like to take the whole family on an Alaskan cruise. My parents went on one a few years back and loved it. My family hasn't all been on a vacation together in almost a decade and i think we are all at a place where it would be fun. I like this idea.
Option #4: Anywhere else
Maybe I'll go visit family in Hawaii or California or maybe I'll go to India or Ireland or back to France or somewhere else random. I'm very open to suggestions. Point me in a direction and I'll explore it.

Who am I?

What a question...who am I? Well I'll start with the basics:

I'm 22 years old and up until I graduated from high school, so pretty much as long as I was kept there by force, I lived in El Paso, Tx. I mention that only because growing up in such a place (if you've been there you know what I mean, it's different) made me who I am today through it's people, experiences and culture. I didn't love it, but I have to admit, I do get a little nostalgic about it now that I don't live there everyday. I left El Paso and moved as far away as i could get without leaving the state, which put me in Tyler, TX attending UT Tyler. I was there for 2 years, I made a lot of very good friends, and I was exposed to a lot of new things in East Texas. I transferred and now I am a recent graduate of Texas State. I could not be happier to be finished with school. I've always hated school. I got my BA in Political Science with an emphasis on International Relations which, I admit, made college a bit more bearable because I was learning about something I was genuinely interested in. I currently work for the Texas House of Representatives in the Chief Clerk's Office. I, if that didn't give it away, live in Austin. I just moved here in January when I got this job so I'm still exploring the city and figuring out what all the hype is about (to be continued...)

Random Facts:

I love to travel and I have been fortunate enough to have visited many places in my lifetime already. I've been all over the US, Mexico, France, England, Scotland, Germany, Spain, and others. Some have been vacations with the family but 3, (France twice and Spain) were study abroad programs. I speak French pretty well but I'm hoping to be fluent at some point and I'm also very interested in learning other languages like Spanish, Italian, and possibly maybe a middle-eastern language like Arabic. I also love sports....like a lot. I'm a Dallas Cowboy, New York Yankee, LA Lakers, FC Barcelona and UT fan and I am VERY loyal to my teams and I get real into watching them. I also have a soft spot for the home teams though like the Mavs and the Rangers. I love art and fashion as well and I have an adorable ginger cat named Jaxon. All of these things will be common topics in my blog I'm sure as I just plan to write on the going-ons of my everyday life and whatever comes to mind (at least thats the plan for now, I'm hoping it'll get some direction once it gets going.) Thats all for now....Enjoy : )