Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Two Weeks Until a New Chapter: Graduation and The Future

If you were to tell me that I would one day be less than two weeks from graduating from college I would have laughed in your face. Well, that day has arrived. In less than two weeks, I will be walking across that stage. In less than two weeks I will be going to my final senior formal. In less than two weeks, I will be saying my goodbyes to some of the people who have shaped me in my most malleable of times - when I first entered the collegiate world.

The only things that stand between me and that day is when I will no longer be an undergrad are a three page group write up and two cases, that, and time.

It terrifies me to think that I four years ago, I was going through a similar period of nervous energy and anxiety when I knew my high school graduation was similarly around the corner. Like it was four years ago, graduation will serve as the page turn that opens to a new chapter in my life. Instead of entering my potentially final years of schooling, I will be entering the workforce. Instead of saying goodbye to friends who I knew almost exclusively within the concrete wall confines of my high school or the shell of a boat, I will be saying goodbye to people who I have lived with...

people I have seen every day for years

people I took my shot of alcohol with

people who have seen me at my very highs

people who I have seen in the lowest of lows

people who I have gotten lost in foreign countries with

people who have made me more mature

and people who have made me embrace the times to let loose.

But beyond just saying goodbye, I will still be able to stay close with many people who I'm proud to call now some of my best friends.

The job I was able to get will keep me in the DC area. Many of my closest friends, people I have known since the first day I moved in to my freshman dorm, are also going to be working in the DC area at least for a few years. If there is one lesson that graduating from high school taught me, it's that to keep your most trusted friends close to you. I made many friends in HS, but I equally lost contact with nearly as many people once we went to our ways for college. I know that many relationships I have today will also likely end in the same way. It's the unavoidable consequence of meeting countless people but eventually crafting a close group of those who you really trust. My close circle today is smaller than it was in high school, which I think is for the better. We've experienced more together and have bonded at a level which I think is deeper than my relationships were in the past.

I will also not have to say goodbye to my boyfriend in the same way I expected I would have to. He too will be interning in the DC area this summer. While I don't want to sound selfish, I can't say that I was not a little excited when I found out he will be here. While we both will be working, I hope to still spend time together over the next few months and once he returns for his final year at school as well.

I'm scared. I'm excited. I still don't know what I'm really doing with my life.

I guess I will just have to take things one step at a time.

-JP

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Into The Woods

I recently went on a retreat  that was organized by the LGBT center here on campus in the mountains of Northwestern Virginia. I initially was hesitant to go; retreats never felt like something I would be interested in. Since my freshman year, they always felt to me like they were only done for those take unusual pleasure in extended self introspection and storytelling, things I never were truly interested in. I also didn't intend to go on this trip because my boyfriend was hesitant to push me, a senior, go, because it was targeted more towards lower years. In the end, however, I decided to apply and give it a shot.

We left on a cold, rainy morning and arrived at the retreat headquarters a little over an hour later. I knew there would be a busy and well followed schedule on this retreat and this turned out to be true. We had a quick lunch and and soon the icebreakers and discussions began. I thought I would hate or at least dislike having to look at myself in such a deep way. I have never been one who enjoys facing my inner demons or even my inner strengths. It makes me uncomfortable. That said, however, I came to enjoy hearing the stories, the talks, the bonding with my fellow LGBT peers. It grew slowly but surely, and the next thing I knew I was starting to tell my story, my experiences, and my fears. That initial peeking over the fence soon led to me climbing over entirely and diving head first into the retreat.

The day which started so early in the morning flew by quicker than I ever imagined. Soon the sun set and the lights were turned down low. As students, alumni, and faculty read their reflections, I felt tears start to well up on multiple occasions. Tears of joy, tears of sympathy, tears of fear. As we broke off again and again into our small group reflections and meetings, I found myself talking more openly than I had in what felt like years. It was moving. It was liberating. It was terrifying.

That first night, after all planned activities had come to an end, I wandered off on my own into the dark. I stood in the middle of the road and breathed in the cold, mountain wind. I listened to the silence, punctuated by the occasional sound of wind whistling through the branches of the bare trees. I stood in the pale glow of moonlight and stood in wonder of the stars above. I felt small.

The next morning the talks continued. The theme of the day was to look towards the future. Where did I wan to go? What do I want to do to better myself? I heard the stories of an Alumni and the director of the center. An individual who I had known and met back during the very first week of my freshman year. She had helped see me though my time of fear and hardship when I didn't know what I wanted to do. She had continued to help me all those years since and today, I finally got to show her my appreciation. I hugged her harder than anyone else I knew on that retreat.

Her story, the stories of my peers, and my experience over those past 24 hours left me confused, anxious, but also reflective. In my last post, I talked about how I felt regret, sadness, and even jealousy over just how little I feel like I had done over the past four years. What if I had done more? What if I took that extra step? What if I just had the courage to take charge and not hold back? These talks, however, helped me realize one thing. While I may have only less than one semester left at my school, I should not waste time looking at what I hadn't done with my time at college, but I should work to embrace and take advantage of what time I have left instead.

A weak man spends his whole life wondering about the past and regretting his missed opportunities, but a brave man takes those regrets and turns them into action moving forward. I want to be a brave man. My time at my school as a student may be limited, but the opportunities to make those most of my time are almost endless. If I can make even the tiniest positive change on campus, the LGBT community, and the lives of those I have touched, I will be satisfied.

JP

Monday, February 3, 2014

Regret and Hope

It's an odd feeling being a second semester senior. Whenever I've been asked by people about how I feel, I always give the same "bittersweet but excited for what the future holds" response. It is bittersweet knowing a place that I have called home for the last three and a half years will soon be over. I will be leaving with a treasure trove of memories, experiences, knowledge, and friends that I hope to keep for the rest of my life, but I will also be leaving with something else: a sense of regret.

Life always operates by us looking backwards and reflecting on our past. The "what ifs" of my lives will always follow us like a shadow. Looking back, I wonder about what I would have done differently, what I would have tried sooner, what I would have not tried at all, and what I would things be like if I just decided to talk to this group versus that  the first days I arrived on campus. I wonder about what things might have been like if I said "hi" to my boyfriend when I first met him over two years ago instead of just getting to know him better within the last year like I did. I wonder about how things would be different if I just got more involved in a club more. 

I regret having burned some bridges while I was here. If I could go back and stopped myself from ever doing what I did, I would. Many of these bridges have been mended, but many no longer remain.

For all my regrets and "what ifs", I am hopeful for what the future holds. I recently received an offer from a company that I really like for a job that would have me doing something that I love. I would also be able to stay in the DC area which was one of my top criteria when looking for jobs. I'm pretty sure I'm going to accept the offer once I figure out some last details. 

My boyfriend and I are still together and it feels like each day I care about him more and more. He's had a positive effect on my life that very few people ever have. He makes me laugh, he makes me think, he challenges my thoughts, and he makes me happy. I don't know what I did to deserve him, but I feel like the luckiest man in the world.

I'm thankful for what I have and where I am right now. I'm not just content with the world and myself like I usually am, I'm legitimately happy. 

All the best,

JP

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Winter has Come. Happy 2014!


I've made more promises than I have been able to keep when it comes to this blog. From when I first started writing back in 2009, this became my way medium for expressing things I could otherwise not say and also as a chronicle of my everyday life. Today, it's been neglected. I'm sorry, Une Vie Compliquee, I have let you fall into disrepair. Here, then, is m latest attempt to revive you.

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Soon 2013 will be coming to an end. It seems crazy that it's happening so soon. Over a year ago I returned from Denmark and possibly the best semester of my life. I have completed another semester of college and now only have one left. Heck, I remember talking about how I though graduating high school was crazy on this blog; now, heck, I'll be entering the real world. 2013 has, in fact, flown by.

Nostalgia aside, many things have changed since I last wrote in October:

1. I finally found a job for the Spring semester. The search that I began back in October bore fruit in late November. I'm currently working at the university over winter break and will be working the same job in the Spring as well. I'm dropping to part-time student status in my final semester since I only need two more classes. It will be nice to be able to earn some money while I look for a permanent job as well.

2. I rocked this last semester. I pulled off the amazing my first semester of senior year. I ended up getting the highest grades I have ever gotten at college, pulling off straight As for the first time ever. I worked hard and it all paid off in the end.

3. The guy I mentioned in my last post, the junior who I have known for a few years now, we're now together. I don't know how much I will write in the future on this blog (I'm not gonna say I will because, well, we know how that turned out last time), so I'm hesitant to give him a name, but I will. We'll call him Clark. Clark and I bonded over his hospital stay, and since then, things have really progressed. We went on many dates and we made things official during this past finals period of all times. He's a fun, smart, hot, and all around amazing guy. If there is a way to sum it up, he makes me happy. He is, I guess, also my first official boyfriend. 

4. I got a smartphone. Yes, my few remaining readers, I only just got a smartphone. I broke off from my dad's cell plan and will now be paying for everything myself since I have a source of income, and well, because I think it's the responsible things to do. No, I did not get an iPhone; i'm an Android kind of guy.

2013 ended up being a pretty great year. I'm still really excited to see what 2014 has in store and the new adventures that await. Hopefully it will involve a job, Clark, and happy memories.

So, my dear readers, at least for those of you who have stuck around and listened to the ramblings of a now 21 year old near college graduate from since he was in high school. I wish you the happiest of new years and good health.

All the best,

JP

Monday, October 21, 2013

Where Have I Been?

I realize it has been nearly two months now since I last posted on here. I haven't died, been injured, or been abducted - I actually wanted to let everyone know that everything is going well. Actually very well.

I've settled in nicely into the house. The housemates, after a warming up period, are all pretty cool too. The house had its fair share of issues earlier this month - the plumbing in the basement was a bit wonky so we had to do a few repairs and the AC blew out at the start of September - but everything is good now. I worked hard to make my room my own little escape in case I need to get work done or just relax and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I've had it described as "Hyatt or Hilton-like" which I think is a good thing.

My classes are also going well so far. I'm only taking four this semester and will be taking only two next semester and dropping to part time. I'm graduating in May and got ahead with credit transfers and the like which is why I am able to get away with not having to do a full 15 credit schedule. Grades have been solid so far and I just found out I aced my Operations Management midterm which has me really happy. In addition to Operations I'm also taking a course on managing brands, a class on conducting business marketing research, and a class on sexuality studies for fun.

I'm still involved in the grilling club and despite saying I would retire from doing publicity work for theatre groups, I got pulled in to do be a mentor for another show this fall. I'm also still involved in the LGBT organization on campus which has been pretty hectic because October has coming out week and all sorts of events. Other than these, I've been trying to focus on getting a job for the Spring semester and also for after I graduate. I think I want to stay in the DC area after I graduate so that is where my search is centered around as of now. Of course, if an amazing opportunity presents itself away from home, I'll definitely give it a lot of consideration.

On the personal front, Brandon and I are still talking but things have changed. After summer ended, we realized that despite what I would have wanted, things would likely never work out for us given my school schedule, his work schedule, and the fact that he will be moving to North Carolina at the end of the year. What he do agree on is that we both truly care about each other and we will always be friends. At this point he's like a brother to me; we've shared our life stories to each other and spent many beautiful, memorable nights together, but I realized it was time to move on. It hurt and was tough, but life goes on.

Here on campus, I recently starting seeing a guy I've known since my sophomore year when he was a freshman. He's now a junior and while we were never very close back then, we have gotten to known each other much more this fall. Recently he was in the hospital to get a few surgeries and I've been spending the last few nights with him to keep him company. I don't know where this is headed and where we currently stand, but I figured that he could always use someone to keep him company when he's trapped in his sterile prison. He's a really sweet guy, really clever, and we can just talk for hours without getting bored; something very very few people could ever say. I know it's senior year and relationships built this late in the game are risky, but maybe I'll be willing to take this risk. It certainly is headed in the right direction so far.

So yeah, I apologize for disappearing. I know I have really dropped the ball this year on posting. Senior year was supposed to be easy and relaxing but in reality it is everything but that. I can't say when I will post next, but if anything major does happen, expect to hear from me.

Hope everyone has been well and if you're still reading this, thanks for the continued readership and support. It's been over four years since I started this blog and I've surprised I've made it this far. Here's to hopefully many more to come.

All the best,

JP


Saturday, May 18, 2013

I'm Back

Hey guys,

So I've gotten a few emails from people wondering if I was okay and where I had disappeared to. Well, I'm happy to report that I'm alive and well. The reason I was gone for the past month is because I've been basically too busy with school/clubs/internship stuff that I had to put a lot of my more pleasure activities to the back burner, this blog being one of them. Now, however, I'm home, done with my junior year, employed (yay!), and will be filling you guys in on what's been going on in the near future.

Again, thanks for the support and concern for those of you who reached out to me, I really appreciate it. I hope to get this blog up and running again now that it's summer.

All the best,

JP

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Not Gay Enough

I have an issue with the LGBT group on campus. It's not about the messages they are trying to send or the efforts they undertake to make LGBT issues on campus more visible, it's how they go about doing it.

I was recently elected to the board of my school's LGBT organization and almost immediately I felt tension between myself and the rest of the members. I tried to keep it as internalized as I could, and so far I hope I've done it well. After today however, I am beginning to question just how long I will be able to do so. Let me explain.

In all honesty, I feel the LGBT organization here at my school does a poor job of representing the gay community on campus. The board members, as nice and well intentioned as they are, represent only the most extreme of the socially and stereotypically "gay" community. This is where I feel out of place and at odds against the rest of the board. Yes, I am obviously gay, but I'm also not very "gay acting" in the stereotypical sense. So while the rest of the board is singing, going out to a drag show brunch in DC, buying wigs, and being well...really gay, I'm feeling not only excluded and unable to identify with what they seem to enjoy, but even uncomfortable.

For me, being gay is the part of me which regards my sexual preference towards men, not necessarily how I act, my music preferences, going out habits, or something else. So while I'm happy chilling with my roommates, being involved with the grilling club, and even tossing around the word "bro" and "man" now and then, my fellow board mates, I feel, seem to view what I do with an air of curiosity and even disapproval. Quite honestly, I don't feel gay enough to be part of the organization at the level at which I am now obligated to be in.

A fellow member made a comment a week ago which struck me as both odd and even slightly offensive. We were discussing casually how some event turnout is low, and he casually said:

"Those gays who conform to the straight norm, I hate them"

For being a group so concerned with equality and the right to self expression, I found this off handed remark to be both shocking and disappointing. By saying that, I felt like he was implying that being "straight acting" or even just not being like him, an out and somewhat flamboyant gay man, was wrong. While I didn't address the issue then and there, I found myself angry later on because I identified with that group he had just expressed hatred towards. By no means am I "conforming" to anything. I do what I do and act how I act because that is what I'm comfortable doing. I am not putting on a show, literally "acting" like a straight male, because I feel pressured to do so; I act "straight" because that is just how I naturally act. I'm gay because I like guys, not because I have to act a certain way.

Getting back to the point, the LGBT organization I feel is a poor representation of what I feel the LGBT community at my school is. Gay students at my school range from the gayest, most flamboyant of men and the butchest of lesbians to the most ordinary and "straight acting" men and women. Upcoming events, including the annual drag dance, are proposed to be advertised with drag queens riding on the back of a golf cart and lots of rainbow flags and glitter. In addition, all of this is to be done during an accepted students weekend, where high school seniors ill be visiting campus and deciding if they want to come to my school or not. I feel this plan is a horrible idea and I wish I had the courage to speak up at the time to voice my objection to this. Not only does it send the wrong message that being "gay" at my school is only about the aforementioned things, but it only reinforces the stereotypes about the LGBT community on a camps which is already not the most gay friendly in the world. I'm actually worried that some bright prospective students could be scared off if they saw that.

With events like these and the means by which they are being publicised, I feel like it's my duty to bring some balance to the club and be the voice of a group that is often ignored. While the other board members are too preoccupied with gay power, rainbows, and glitter bombing people (yes, it was an actual comment/suggestion made), I feel like I need to be the voice that speaks up and explains maybe why a large portion of the LGBT community feel alienated by the club's activities. Maybe if they get the message that people might actually be uncomfortable by what they are doing by being the voice and face of the LGBT community, they might recognize why event attendance is so low. There are many faces to being gay, and right now, only a very small handful are being shown by the club. This has been a reason told to me by a few of my gay friends as to why they don't show up at club sponsored events, because they think an affiliation between them and the club is undesirable.

Next week, I hope to open a discussion during our weekly board meeting and address some of these issues. As the club is supposed to be about inclusion and bringing the voice of LGBT students and issues to the university community, I feel that it is time that the club be brought more towards the center of the gay spectrum. The clubs needs to project an image that says yes, it's OK to be gay and like sports and that it is just as OK to be gay and enjoy going to drag shows every weekend. Maybe, hopefully, the club could then grow and be a student organization that all LGBT individuals could be proud to say they're a member of and willingly attend events of, rather than the small, consistent group now that exists now.

JP

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The Slutty Phase

I have quite a few regrets in my life - missed opportunities, saying things I wish I had kept to myself, and most pertinent to this post - things I have done.

The image I may have portrayed on this blog since I began it back during my junior year of high school might be one of me being "the good boy" for the most part. Indeed, I have tried my best to be studious, socially active, and to take care of myself. Well, defying the point of this blog as a means of me to talk about things I hide from the public, I have held out on you guys, but hopefully this will be a first step to eventually precede many more. I'm going to try and open up, at least a little, and get some things of my chest that recently have been weighing on me, especially now that I'm home and have time to think about things other than school work. Call it my guilty conscious getting the better of me once again (it's a side of me that has plagued me since I was little), but maybe this is my cue to start talking about it a little.

My slutty phase lasted for a rather long time. You know how some people are habitually always on the prowl and some just have that one week where all they want to do is get with anyone that happens to walk by? For me, my slutty phase lasted from the end of freshman year of college through winter break of sophomore year - a solid seven months of horniness that now haunts me with the potential consequences of what I have done.

After entering college and actually getting with a guy for the first time instead of just dreaming about it while I was alone, it felt like a whole new world opened for me. It was a drug- the roughness of holding a guy and getting hot and heavy in the back corner of a room. It only took one hit and I was hooked. As many of of you guys might know, years of holding back feelings that you knew you could not actually recognize or act on suddenly being released is something that is hard to control, and by the end of freshman year, things were bad. As the summer between freshman and sophomore year began, I was stuck back at home, but my craving still continued. Still partially reeling from Mark and the few other guys I hooked up with my freshman year of college, I realized I wanted more, and I wouldn't let be being stuck at home alone stop me. Thus began my slutty phase.

The internet is a dangerous place for many reasons. As people know, anonymity makes you both powerful yet weak. Nobody cares who you are if you don't want to reveal your name, yet that same can be applied right back to you. There is not nearly as much need for trust, disclosure, or socializing to a meaningful extent like there is meeting people in real life. Only a few weeks into my summer break did I start turning to online resources to get with guys. Grindr happened first but that was lacklustre and my need for physical contact quickly outgrew the frequently 40+ y/o guys that would try to chat me up and that I continuously denied. Yes, I did actually hook up with one guy via Grindr, it was a sloppy, uncomfortable experience at his apartment in Virginia which made me question if I wanted to continue with what I was doing; that view lasted all of a few days. Soon after I ended up back on the web searching for the next guy, this time using a site that has a less than stellar reputation, (I think you can figure it out), but nevertheless, it worked.

Looking back, I regret letting myself stoop to such a low level as I did for sex. Grindr was bad enough, but this was even worse. Why did I keeping going back to it? I think it was the excitement. It was the raw, no-string-attached type of stuff I was after at the time. It was so accessible and so easy; all it took was saying what we were looking for, some pictures, and we were off to the races. I didn't let myself stoop to the level of sending anything X-rated (something I would never do) though it was something many others readily did. Once school started again, first semester sophomore year let me get a break from this online circus which only started back up come winter break 2011-2012. That winter I ended up messing around with a guy at a local university. Awkwardly, I've seen him around since then because he works at Tysons Corner Mall. Whoops.

I between summer and winter got with 6 guys via my online escapades. Ages ranged from 19 to mid-20s. There were students, a department of defence employee, a store manager, and some who I had no idea of what they did. I'm not going to lie and say those hookups weren't hot - they were, but the means I used to get them is something I am not even close to being proud of. If I had the chance, I would go back and stop myself from going as far as I did. It was a mistake, a huge one. It's one that could come back to haunt me and damage my reputation and career later in life if it came to light- something I'll just have to deal with. In addition, while I didn't engage in any unsafe acts, I knew there were health risks that I could have put myself in. Even before my slutty phase began, I had already gotten into the habit of getting tested for STDs periodically which I continue to do. All is clear thankfully, but that is yet another needlessly risky thing I did.

My slutty phase is something I'm glad is over, however, just because my slutty phase is over doesn't mean I've gone celibate, quite far from it actually, but I've definitely slowed things down and am not jumping guy to guy every week now. What brought about an end to it? I think it was because the novelty of it finally wore off. When I was seeing a new guy so frequently, part of what kept me going was because it was exciting. It was the fact that (presumably) I wouldn't have to see that person again and that things could be full throttle from the start. By the end of it, I didn't get that rush anymore. It got, well, boring, and my slutty phase died out. It wasn't until later did my logical side catch up and remind me of the consequences of my actions.

Have I been tempted by the lure of the anonymous hookup since? Yes. Have I acted on it? No. It was a once time thing, albeit a very long one time thing in my life. It's not something I'm proud of, though I will always remember the rush of trying to escape the consequences, jumping from one dude to the next. My slutty phase was another chapter in my life. It was hot, it was fun, it was dangerous, and I'm happy I got it out of my system.

Lessons learned, memories made, stories one day to be told.

-JP

Monday, February 18, 2013

Love in the Air

So.....hi there.....

It's been a while, eh? So what happened exactly? Well, with school starting up, I made a series of promises to myself. First, that I would try and get as much work done as possible ahead of time for classes, second, that I would do all my assigned readings, and third, I would go to the gym as frequently as possible, with an aim for 4x a week. Ever since the end of January happened and classes really kicked into high gear, I realized that Junior year was going to be rough work wise. Unfortunately, in order to keep up with everything, some others things ended up getting neglected, one of which was my blog. Nevertheless, I'm going to try and start writing more again, and that promise begins now.

So since I was last here, lots of stuff has happened. I'll break it down for you:

1. Classes: Classes as I mentioned have been revving up. These next two weeks are going to be rough as midterms start next week and I have papers and all sorts of assignments due this week. For the most part, its just been keeping up with the piles of cases I've had to read and also articles for other classes. My professors for the most part have been really cool. I especially love my business law professor and my other business class professors. One professor however, my anthropology professor, I haven't been so keen about. Her classes are literally all spent on discussion and her going on tangents about her own experiences with little time dedicated to actually teaching the material. As such, I've been left to try and figure things out on my own from the book which is not a style of learning that I do well with. I'm hoping that she spends time to actually review with us before the midterm. Maybe it's just me, but if I'm paying thousands to go to a school, I expect professors to put an effort in to actually teach the material.

2. The Roomies: Everything is going really well with the roomies. My roommate E's girlfriend visits every weekend which is really awesome since we all love her. For Valentine's Day she brought us four dozen cookies which was so awesome in addition to an ice luge and more Wii controllers. Otherwise, my other roommates C and A are also doing well. We're all pretty busy so we hang mostly late at night and on the weekends.
Ice Luge. We drink a lot in this house. I'm not going to lie.
3. Guys: The situation between Brandon and I have cooled a bit in the past few weeks. I think the fact that we don't live near each other (relatively) and that he works and I still go to school puts a hindrance on every being able to see each other. Also, the one time we almost did decide to hang out he bailed last minute which ended up pissing me off. We haven't spoken for almost a week now. I'm pretty sure that I know what he was looking for out of our "relationship" and while it worked over the summer, I think I'm looking for something more. Given that, there is another dude who is in the news. This is a guy who I've known since freshman year and always kinda liked and found attractive, but since he was a year ahead and had a boyfriend at the time I didn't really bother with. A few weeks ago that changed and we ended up chilling at his place after a party we were both at. We hung out a few times after that and come February 13th....

4. Valentine's Day: I asked him out to dinner for Valentine's Day. We ended up getting dinner near campus at an upscale burger place (we agreed that we didn't want something formal). It was cool and we talked a good bit at dinner. He's a senior from New England, about 5'10', blond, slim, and ran track. He's also involved somewhat with the theatre group I'm working with. He's a funny dude, a little awkward at times but otherwise fun to hang out with. He's been gone this weekend for a conference in Nashville but we've been talking every day which is nice and cute of him. At this point I don't know where things might be headed but the feelings are mutual. So who knows, it's a little scary but also pretty exciting.

5. Jobs/Internships: I've been searching and I have a few bookmarked but I haven't had time to start applying truly. I'm looking for marketing and PR style positions and I know I want to stay in the DC area this summer for sure. I'm definitely going to apply to the HRC once their application is released but otherwise, I'd be happy with any company right now. If anyone knows of some good companies to look for internships at, please let me know!

So that's what has been going on in a nutshell recently. It's been a lot of busy work with a some time to relax mixed in. My goal for this semester is to match my last semester sophomore year before I went abroad and get on the Dean's List again. It's an uphill battle but I have high hopes for the semester.

Also, I see I have a few new followers so a huge "hi" and "welcome"! Sorry I've been boring lately but I'll get some opinion pieces out there soon.

All the best,

JP

Monday, January 21, 2013

Oh Hey Mr. President

Hey guys, I haven't posted in a week since things have been pretty hectic with the first official full week of classes all, but there have been some events that have transpired which I want to share.

First, I'm out of that horrid Linguistics class. The professor was unhelpful, the material being taught required a level of prior knowledge in linguistics which I did not possess (which, given it was quoted as a "no previous reqs" class kinda pisses me off). Instead, I enrolled in an Anthropology class. I've taken psych and sociology classes before and I feel this will complement them well. So far, it's a pretty decent class (given the one class I've attended so far) and I hope I'll enjoy it. The professor seems nice and the course load seems reasonable. My other classes have been going pretty well as well. I've been able to stay ahead of my readings and work which I hope to continue the rest of the semester. Given that, I expect the work load to start piling up more soon, and now that I'm working as publicity director again for another show with one of the theatre groups on campus, that will also start eating into my time.

Moving on, living with the roomies has been awesome. This past week, E's girlfriend was here which was awesome since we all love her. She goes to school in New Jersey but visits often and will be doing an internship in DC this semester as part of her university's internship/class program so we will be seeing her pretty often. Me and E's girlfriend get along really well and chat about lots of stuff (guys mostly haha) which is funny since behind a lot of the questions we ask one another, she seems determined to find out my type. She jokes that even though she's with E, we're true soul mates and should be together instead haha.

In my personal life, I do have some complicated news. At the start of the year, a sophomore and I had a quick fling, but while he was really into me, I wasn't really into him. After a week of constant texts, I decided to cut things off with him. I said I was still trying to figure things out and didn't know what I really wanted in my personal life, though I'd be totally cool to still be friends.  He was really appreciative that I was being honest with him and we're on good terms which nice. I think why I didn't really feel really interested in the sophomore is that I'm still really into Brandon. We text and stay in contact and once everything settles down, we're going to try and see if I can get him to DC and show him around and stay for a Friday or Saturday. The next time I see him I hope to settle things for once and see where things are headed for us. The last time I saw him, I got caught up in just being with him and we ended up falling asleep on the couch until I woke up since one of his roommates came back. In the end, I just want to know if things are worth pursuing beyond just being close buds like we are now.

This past weekend was a four-day one for me since I have no classes Friday and we had today off for MLK Day/The Inauguration. Saturday, we tried to throw a surprise birthday party for E's 21st birthday but he caught us wheeling the keg dolly away from campus back to the store. E's girlfriend was supposed to keep him away from the apartment longer but he kept insisting to go back since he had work to do. After they ran into us, she tried to explain things like how we might be trying to move out a fridge or helping a friend move their stuff, but a keg dolly is pretty obvious and there was a keg sitting in the kitchen when they got in the apartment. The whole series of events was a pretty funny after the slight disappointment wore off. The party itself went well - lots of people showed up, the music was sick, we had a laser light, pong, and E had a fun time. The fact that the apartment didn't get trashed either was a nice surprise. The next birthday is my roommate R's 21st in May which means we have some time until the next big party rolls in.

Now, given I go to school in DC, it's only fitting that I participate a least a little in the inaugural events going on for Obama's 2nd term. E, his girlfriend, and I decided that we were going to skip the inauguration itself and instead go see the parade. We left at 10:30 and walked to near the Treasury Department building and grab a spot. We ended up getting a great spot though the wait took forever since the parade itself started late. Here's some pics from the event:


It began with the Metro Police


Pershing's Own Army Band



Representatives from all branches of the armed forces came next




And then it was time for Obama!
It was pretty sick I gotta say. Obama walked for a bit before he reached where we were standing and I wish he came out again, but nevertheless, it was really cool. Biden, Michelle, and other key members of Congress were also riding with the same group as the President.

Alright guys, that's all I have to report for now. Hope things are going well for everyone.

Cheers,

JP

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Welcome Back - Spring 2013

Hey guys. It's been a little while but I do have some updates I want to pass along. First, I'm all moved in back on campus! Classes started on Wednesday so I began moving my stuff on Monday. One of my roommates moved back already so me and another guy took advantage of that so it wouldn't be such a mess on the actual move-in date on Tuesday. I'm finally out of dorm housing and am now in an apartment which is still school owned. It's a two bedroom, four person flat with a massive living/dining room but a tiny kitchen; it gets the job done though. The guys I'm living with are really awesome. I've known all of them since at least Sophomore year if not longer, and yes, I'm out to all of them: two of them since freshman year, and they're cool with it all and really supportive.

I'm taking five classes this semester: Advanced International Business, Business Law, Management Science and Decision Making, Buyer Behavior, and for kicks Sounds of Language which is a linguistics class. I only have classes Mon-Thur which is sweet but I did have to take an 8AM class to get it which is kind of a pain. So far, my classes already seem much more difficult than Denmark which is expected, but getting back into the groove of things is still going to be a challenge. Advanced IB is also the last class in order to complete my International Business major so that will probably be a lot of work. The other classes are basically working towards my Marketing major (it's official, I got my faculty advisor signatures and did all the paperwork) and the Linguistics class is basically going to a liberal arts credit. The linguistics class is actually a class I thought would be pretty simple but now I'm kind of scared because I will have to learn and be able to reproduce the International Phonetic Alphabet which entails learning this which is more than a little intimidating. If anyone out there has taken a linguistics course or is a linguistics major/nerd do you have any tips?  Other than that, I'm expecting this semester to be pretty challenging so I gotta be sure to balance work/play.

Other than school stuff, I'm looking for summer internships. Most companies who are posting summer internships are mostly large investment banking and consulting firms like Barclays, Goldman, Credit Suisse which don't really fit into my major. I'm just looking and hoping something shows up. It's nerve racking since almost everyone else in the business school (aka Finance majors) is constantly going to networking events and scrambling to get in their applications for the summer while I'm kinda stuck until more marketing type internships open up. I talked to one of the marketing professors who pointed me in the directions of a few government agencies which I think I'm going to look into like the Department of Commerce which could be a good bet. One thing that does annoy me about my school is that while it does attract some very well known and powerful recruiters, it's such a finance-centric atmosphere that it leaves many others who aren't in the field or major a bit out of the loop. Nevertheless, the two professors I talked to said later in the semester there will be more opportunities for networking events with more marketing type firms which I'll attend. I'll also have to go to some on-campus interviewing workshop for later in the semester when even more recruiters start coming on campus.

Yesterday was the Spring activities fair where basically all the clubs and organizations come out and table for all the students to come see what they're all about. First I helped with the the grilling club which is doing well; in the semester me one of my roommates who is also in the club were gone, the number of new members - freshmen and sophomores, went up at least 50% which is pretty awesome. They all seem really nice and kinda shy at first (perks of being senior to them haha) but they open up quickly. There's a pair of them at the post-grill party who were hella good at beer pong though. They were on a 8 game winning streak when I left last night which probably is a new record. Me and my roommate E were ahead until the last cup when they narrowed it down to 1-to-1 and bounce shotted it in. Overall though, the weather was beautiful and the grill was sucessful. I also did some tabling for the LGBT club on campus. It went well but I don't feel as particularly close to them as I used to, I guess mostly because many of the members don't really have enough in common with me for something like that. Most of the guys in the club are, and I don't mean this in a derogatory way, really, really gay. Like, you can tell after two seconds gay. Everyone should be happy with who they are and whatever they do, but for me, it makes being able to identify with the rest of the LGBT population for difficult. I'll probably go into depth about this more in the future post since I've been thinking about this for a while now.

Alright, well that's what's been going on in the past few days in a nutshell. Hopefully I will find time to write in the future once classes really start getting underway. I'm planning to start a series of posts regarding stereotypes in the LGBT community and specifically its impact in a college atmosphere so hopefully you guys will find that interesting. I did a similar post a few years ago which you can read here but I plan on expanding and going into more depth in this series.

Cheers everyone; I hope everyone is doing well.

All the best,

JP

Saturday, December 15, 2012

The End of Study Abroad: Vi Ses Denmark

I can still remember clearly as day the first time I walked into this house. I still can feel the warm sun on my skin, the light breeze, and the perfect 70 degree temperature. I still remember starting to unpack everything, unsure of what to expect out of the next four months of my life and the people I would meet, the classes I would be taking, and whether I would love my time here or hate it. Today, exactly four months to the day, I sit in my room with it looking like it did the first day I arrived: the desks are clear, my suitcases on the ground full of clothes, and me wondering if everything around me was reality or just a dream.

Where did the last four months go? Did they even happen?

Four months ago I was excited, scared, and nervous; today I am conflicted. I'm ready to go home. I miss my family, my friends, my dog, my car, but I also feel like I'm leaving my family all over again. I cannot even begin to describe my gratitude to my host family and everything they have done for me. They took me, a complete stranger, into their home, their family, and their culture with a level of warmth and openness I have never experienced before. I was their first host child so I can only imagine what their expectations were when they picked me up from the airport. I can only hope I lived up them.

Looking back at everything I did and saw in the span of a semester makes me dizzy. I saw a nation from head to toe, travelled to Paris, to Hungary, and to Austria. I made dozens of new friends, tried new things, and even did a little learning along the way. Even with all the photos on Facebook and the stories in my head I can now tell, it still all feels like I was in some dream, some massive, beautiful, surreal dream, and I don't want to wake up.

Angels, both of them
I can only hope I won't cry when I say good bye at the airport tomorrow. 

JP

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Please, Just Give a Sh*t

Well I'm back....again. That was fast. I'm just in a sour mood because I'm just really annoyed at people right now. Tomorrow is my final presentation for my Danish class and to say that my group's presentation looks like crap would be an understatement. Our topic is immigration in Denmark which is actually a pretty interesting and complex thing to talk about, but right now, I can only imagine how our actual presentation is going to go. Two out of five members in my group have literally gone AWOL and the slides they made for the presentation have nearly three paragraphs worth of text on them. Rule 1 of Powerpoint is to not have too much text. They teach you that all through HS and college, c'mon guys. Problem is, me and the other people can't edit the slides because at least for me, I'm sure they haven't bothered trying to memorize one bit of what they are going to present. I know it's the end of the semester as people really just don't give a crap anymore, but it's still 10% of our grade, which, when I last checked, is still important.

What's also frustrating is that I also just caught literally what could have been the most blatantly in your face BS statement I've ever read in over a month. I'm not going to delve into what exactly happened, but sometimes people are so bad at hiding they they are bold-faced lying, that it just makes me want to punch a baby deer (okay, fine, maybe a stuffed one so I don't go to jail or whatever). If you're going to lie, at least be good at it.

Back to he point, the most I can do now is to basically just go in to class tomorrow and try and present my slides well and be professional about it and just let my other group members do their bit. At least I can try and come across as prepared. I seriously can't wait to be back home and with people who actually care about doing work even if they are studying abroad.

*                    *                    *

In a related note, can I mention that I'm kinda annoyed about the grading structure in one of my classes? In my Nordic mythology class, the professor who teaches isn't the one who is grading the assignments. This is something I find fundamentally wrong in my head. Now, this isn't like the whole teaching assistant grading quizzes type stuff; I mean a completely different professor, one who is never there, is grading our exams and papers. How on earth does that make sense? In addition, out of gut instinct and based on how she has graded some quizzes, the grading professor is a pretty picky to begin with. Coupled with the fact that she isn't there to witness how the material is being taught, the level of engagement, or is available to talk to after class, I don't see how our grades can accurately reflect how well we actually are doing in that class. Just yet another frustration of study abroad life.

Alright, I've gotten most of what I wanted to say off my chest. Sorry about ranting, but like I've said a thousand times before, this blog is one of the few places where I can actually rant relatively openly so thanks for being patient with me.

G'night,

JP

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Internships, Growing Up, and Geek Stuff

So the deed has been done. I've decided to go ahead and change my finance major to a marketing major. While it isn't official on my transcript and I still need to get a good deal of paperwork done when I get back to school, the classes I signed up for basically put on the marketing track and off the finance track (track being the series of courses I would need to take to complete the major). Basically everyone I asked about this said to do what I would be most happy with, passionate about, and would enjoy doing, rather than what would make me the most money. It makes sense though it was still a difficult pill to swallow. Nevertheless, I'm glad I did it.

My focus now, well, apart from preparing for the arrival of my mom, aunt, and some friends, is figuring out what I need to do when I get back to the US. Mostly, I need to figure out whether or not I want an internship in the Spring when I get back. My gut tells me I should, but many of the internships require a level of time commitment which I'm worried would eat into time I would be spending on classes otherwise. Unlike my senior year, where I will basically be taking 3 classes a semester (maybe 4 if I have to for credit requirements), I have 15 credits (aka 5 classes) this semester. Combine that with the work I will be doing as Publicity Director for the theatre group I work with, the grilling club, and any other activities, it may be a tight squeeze. I'm thinking I might try and find a job on campus right now so I can earn a little extra spending money on the side but doesn't require overly high time commitments instead. Then in the Spring, I will work my ass off to find an internship for the Summer which can potentially continue on into senior year. With most deadlines for Spring internships being this week or within the next two weeks, I also don't know/think I want to dive into this without preparing as much as I think I should. Stressful stressful...

Gah, this growing up thing sucks.

*                      *                        *

In other news, I am still focusing on finishing the semester here in Denmark strong. One of my classes is already done so I only have four to worry about. I'm not too concerned with two of my classes: I-Marketing and Danish, but I am more worried about I-Finance and my Nordic Mythology classes. My finance course is simply difficult but my Nordic Mythology class is more a struggle to stay interested and up to date. You'd think Vikings and Norse gods would be cool....wrong. It's surprisingly boring, especially after having the preconception of it being epic painted in your mind because of Hollywood movies and comics. A paper I wrote and turned in for the class really wasn't the best in all honesty and I'm kinda worried about how that's going to turn out. I had the option to pick a topic which was most interesting to me, but once I started writing, I realized that picking a more conceptual and abstract topic was much more challenging than a simple research topic based one. Plus, what seemed very interesting on the surface didn't have enough substance I felt for a full 8-10 page paper. That paper in addition to a final exam are the two main causes of stress for me in that class.

Finally, beyond class stuff, I've also been reconnecting with my geeky side lately. I've been obsessed with this Youtube Channel:
 
 
 
Basically, this channel is hosted by Hank Green who I recognized from this:
 



In the SciShow, he discusses a variety of topics, all science/history/math related which I absolutely LOVE. Basically, as I've mentioned before, I'm a huge geek for anything car, science, or tech related. This channel, along with a few others I won't mention, has been eating up so much of my time the past few weeks it's unhealthy. But anyways, if you like that kind of stuff too, check out SciShow for sure.

Also, I really want this:

http://www.amazon.com/Pokemon-Rocket-Symbol-Black-T-shirt/dp/B0058L7TGY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352933283&sr=8-1&keywords=team+rocket

I might actually ask for this for Christmas.

Yeah, judge me all you want.

All the best,

JP

Saturday, November 10, 2012

What do I want to do with my life?

Pre-registering for my Spring 2012 classes has caused me a big realization: The future direction of my life, career, and basically what my world is going to revolve around for the better part of my adulthood is being decided right now through a few clicks of my mouse. For the longest time I thought I knew what I wanted to do, to major in, and to what direction I wanted to take my life, but now I'm not so sure. I'm caught in between a rock and a hard place, between what I think I should do and what I think I will actually enjoy doing.

For the better part of the last two years, I knew I wanted to major in international business. That was a given. I find the how interconnected the world is, the hundreds of cultures, and how these all collide both in peaceful and more risky ways fascinating. I knew that I wanted to be able to travel the world and hopefully use the knowledge I gained in school to help coordinate business efforts between companies. It's part of my nature, something I realized even more when one of my friends made a out of the blue comment on how I'm good at bringing people together. At first I didn't know how to react when that was said; I knew it was a compliment, but it still felt odd. With time though, I realized that maybe it's something I should take pride in, and nowadays I have.

My second major is something I've been more confused and conflicted over. For almost as long as I knew I wanted to do IB, I thought I should have Finance be my second major. It was practical, would basically guarantee me a high paying job even right out of college, have great possibilities for promotion down the line, and from what I thought initially after taking Business Financial Management, something I could do. But now having taken International Financial Management and looking at the other finance classes I would have to take, I thought to myself, "Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?". Finance for me is a rather dreadful concept in reality. It's dull, challenging, and will have me working in an environment greyer than London in winter. I know some people enjoy the risk and reward aspect of it and analyzing FOREX futures and the such, and I don'twant to change my major "just because it's too hard". I like a challenge, but there's that gut feeling that tells you if a challenge is something you enjoy and know you are benefiting from, or you are just being challenged and am just unhappy with it. For me, finance is falling towards the latter.

The other major I've considered has been marketing. The problem with marketing though is that's seen, and especially in comparison to Finance and Accounting is, as the frou frou major. No offence to marketing majors or those who work in marketing, but that's just the stigma attached to it at my school. The classes aren't any easier per se either. Sure, many things of what we learn can be considered intuitive, but with the business school curve and professors knowing they need to really push us in a field like marketing, things even out with other non-marketing business classes. What I've realized is though is that I am a lot more interested in learning about things like consumer behavior rather than hedging options. While I've never really look forward to any of my classes, I can say comfortably that I was a lot more at ease in my marketing classes than my finance ones. I'm more of a people person than I previously knew and I hate the idea of being stuck for the rest of my life in a cubical or sterile office crunching numbers. A marketing major will give me better access to jobs which can have me out in the world more and seeing the logic behind consumer behavior beyond just percentages and numbers on a sales chart.

However, apart from the image thing, another problem with pursuing a marketing major is my future job search. Finding a job will be more difficult and the starting salaries are not nearly as high as for the types of jobs that finance majors receive. While I don't think I will be unemployed coming out of the college I'm at, the type of job will likely be less prestigious. Starting off strong off the block is something that I place as as pretty high priority for myself which is why this decision is also so difficult for me.

I know I should pursue the major and career that will give me the most satisfaction and happiness later on which is why I'm leaning towards changing my major now, but I'm still not completely comfortable with it. I've talked to some of my friends and they think I should go for it and change too, but what are you opinions? Should I go for it?

JP

Friday, November 9, 2012

Vienna and Budapest

So here's the delayed Vienna/Budapest post. My friend still hasn't posted her pictures which is a shame since she had some amazing ones but mine aren't too shabby either (at least I think so....)

So starting out with Vienna....It's a very nice, clean, modern European city. Given that, it was also disappointingly boring. Yea, it's the home of Mozart, classical music, and all sorts of classy things, but one they they never mention is how much it costs to actually get in and see these things. 40 Euro for a lacklustre seat to see an opera performance isn't something that a student's budgets can really afford. Nevertheless, Jackie and I found things to do in the city and enjoyed our visit. Everything is pretty much in walking distance which is pretty cool and our Hostel was in the Chinatown/Nachsmarkt flea market area which was a fun surprise. We actually had some of the best Chinese food in Europe so far there so props to them. I will never forget hearing an Asian woman speak fluent German though...seeing someone else do it made me realize how creepy Asians speaking "European" languages can be, me included. Beyond that, we did notice is that the city can, essentially, be done in about 2 days. We stayed 3 and got really bored so if you ever decide to go to Vienna, keep that in mind. Nightlife in Vienna was also lacklustre. We went to a gay bar which the hostel recommended and it was crap. No dance floor, tiny, expensive, and dead. I feel sorry for the Viennese gays....For all its downsides though, Vienna did hold a few surprises which I will now show....

It rained alot when we got there


Parliament

Our buddy Johann Strauss

Mermaids did exist at one point....they were all executed by angry little children though
Schonbrunn Palace, where I learned of the "jumping photo"
 
It had some wtf statues
 So Vienna was good, if a bit bland. Budapest...well that's another story. If Vienna is the good child in the family that is Europe, the one who did all his homework, ate his vegetables, and went to an elite school, then Budapest was the party boy who went to state college to drink, fuck, and have a blast. Budapest was insanely fun. It was the polar opposite of Vienna: lively, cheap, exciting, and a little rough around the edges. We arrived on a national holiday and what was going on? Protests of course. A labour union from what I could figure was having a protest which ended up blocking many of the streets. However, because it was a national holiday, lots of he museums were open so Jackie and I ended up hitting those up. One of my friends was also staying in the same hostel as us and we ended up hanging out alot at night. They found a bunch of bars and places to go at night. During the day we wandered about and visited the Hungarian royal palace and both the Buda and Pest areas of the city. Overall, lots of fun and we spent next to nothing while there.

Protests

Hungarian National Museum

The Royal Palace

Buda is much more rural

Parliament still decked out for Hungarian Revolution Day

Best book ever.

The grand central market - lots of food and souvenirs.

 Funny to think that now that my day is almost done, my second week-long break is starting haha. Yeah, I have another week off already. I decided against travelling this break for a few reasons in the end. First, cost; I didn't want to go through another $500 to visit Germany. It would have been nice, but I feel I will have plenty of opportunities to visit later on when I actually have the money. Second, I have visitors coming, mainly my friend Kelsey, who is coming in from London, and my mom and my aunt. Both are coming next week and I want to prepare for their arrival. Finally, I miss having alone time and having a house to myself. Since both my host parents work, I figured that I can take the chance to just sleep in, relax, watch some movies, and cook which I haven't been able to do very often. So, it may not be the most exciting break ever, but I'm still really looking forward to it.

Hope everything is well in your neck of the woods.

All the best,

JP



Sunday, October 14, 2012

Homesick

Well here's a flash of surprise for a change: I'm actually horribly homesick right now. Not so much homesick for my home home in Virginia, but homesick for my university.

I came to this realization a few days ago after realizing just how few shits some professors give here. It might sound strange, but I really miss the rigor, structure, and challenge of classes back at my home Uni. I miss having professors who are actually interested in teaching and want to help their students succeed. I miss being able to ask questions and expect a reasonably prompt response. I miss being pushed to my limits and having others around me feel the same way about the work we're doing.

I miss actual work and I miss being surrounded by people who care about work.

I also miss my campus. I miss being able to roll out of bed and be surrounded by other students. I miss having my little corners of campus where I can hide out and work by myself or with some close friends or just enjoy some coffee and listen to some music. I miss the gym, the classrooms, and the feeling of community. I even kinda miss the dining hall (even though it has gone to crap...again).

Don't get me wrong, I love Denmark. My host family is wonderful, the trip to their holiday home was brilliant, and meeting my host-grandma actually put one of the biggest smiles on my face since coming here, but I really, really want to fly back for some reason.

Not only do I miss my friends, but I also really miss Brandon. We haven't talked in a while but that whole summer really left an impact on me. I didn't expect that this would happen as forcefully as it has; it really came out of left field quite honestly. I just wonder if he's feeling the same way.

It's weird that of all times for homesickness to strike it would be now, nearly two months after arriving.




JP

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Paris

Gather round children and you shall hear, of the story of my study tour in many photos so dear. Paris so grand and shiny she was, so we Danish students did did many French things, as one in Paris does as a Parisian does.

So we arrived last Monday and started off doing a bike tour like this
and saw lots of this

and we even decided to pose in a roundabout like this

then fancypants tour guide decided to do this

but I much preferred our hot Portuguese guide, so I snuck a photo like this
we rode around and saw this
and later we ate some of these.
(Photo credit Amy)


Later in the trip me and some of the guys went to this

and saw cars like this. It looked like an angry Cockatoo


And for not causing an international relations crisis, being the loud Americans we are,
we celebrated with drinks like this.

The last day we went to this little place

and saw this famous little lady

and that night we went to the oldest restaurant in Paris and ate food like this
 
And afterwards went up the Eiffel Tower to see Paris all lit up like this

and finally admired her beauty one last time before departing home to Copenhagen.
 (Photo credit James)
 
 What you didn't get to see was the tiny hotel rooms three of us had to share and the sometimes bland-sometimes interesting business visits we did, but who needs to know about that? I did get to use more French in that one week than I had in the previous now three years since I stopped taking French though. I did surprisingly well actually and really impressed myself. You also didn't get to see our 17-hour bur ride back home where I also got to play rough-translator when we stopped for lunch in Germany and I was the only one who had taken any German which was....fun/painful...I guess. The same ride also involved angry German women at rest stops, gummy bears, vending machine sex toys, and Rambo, not all together though. Anyways, now I'm home.

Unfortunately, I did get a little sick during the trip. It's most likely because one night we spent a night out in the rain and I ended up with a slight cold. In addition, I now also have a stomach bug which makes me wonder why my body is waging war on my now of all times. I'm hoping all things mend themselves soon enough. I think the medicine for my cold made my stomach flu symptoms worse and gave me some freaky dreams though so I can't wait until I'm done with that.

In the school world, classes are rolling along which I guess is the best way to put things. Nothing terribly interesting, nothing out of the ordinary. I did pretty well on my I-finance quiz though which makes me feel better about freaking about whether or not I should/want to be a finance major. I'll be getting back my other midterms soon enough. I do have a case in that class due next week which my group got a good chunk of done today, and I've been relatively on top of things so I'm not too frazzled.
 
This weekend I'm going to my heading down to my host family's summer/vacation home in Southern Denmark which should be pretty sweet. It's close to the German border so we're going on a light booze cruise before going to the house though. The week after that I actually have off from classes as part of a travel break (rough life, I know). So... my friend Jacqui and I will be traveling to Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary over the course of that week. We've booked our hostels and flights to and from Denmark and just need to work out the train between the two cities now. It looks like it's going to be so awesome.

So yeah, that's life in Denmark right now. It's getting colder, I'm still being kept busy, and I'm still searching for my hot Danish man to bring home.

Just over two months until I head back to the USA....

Take it easy guys,

JP