Hello, hello! Yup, can you believe it? I made it to Spain safe and sound. The journey to Barcelona last Wednesday was a rather long one (SF0-LON-MAD-BCN)– 20 hours door-to-door, but the important thing is that most everything went according to plan. I even managed to bump up my flight (using my broken Spanish) and get into the city an hour or so earlier than expected.

Barcelona is amazing! It’s a rather compact city, so I was able to see plenty in just two days. Plus, everything is very clean, tidy, and public transportation rocks (always a plus in my book). Man, before my trip, I had gotten myself all freaked out about petty theft and such. I hardly saw anything sketchy. I don’t know if maybe the city started becoming more aggressive about combating pickpockets or what, but seriously, I noticed way more sketch in Shanghai. Yes, the morning after I arrived, I procrastinated for a good thirty minutes before working up enough courage to go outside and roam the streets. But once I got out there, it was totally fine… Really, I felt like I had gone way overboard splitting out my money and documents into three separate places, etc.

Now the part of my trip that totally bombed? My fucking shoes. It’s ALWAYS the shoes. Had I known Clarks (Privos!) would fail me yet again (strike 2), I would have just worn my goddamn Sketchers man-shoes. You don’t even want to guess how badly my feet are fucked: mondo blisters (which I punctured at night)… maybe the lesson here is simply that my feet are abnormal. I have no idea what the problem is: maybe my feet are too wide for Clarks? I dunno. I just have deformed stubbs now. It’s a true shame, because I had even painted my toenails. Ah well, I can’t get it all right. So the status now is: I think the shoes are BETTER… granted, I had been wearing them nonstop for 10 days BEFORE the trip started (I probably should have known then, but I was in denial) so they have come a long way. But still… they aren’t the same as my beloved Birks.

But back to Barcelona. I can’t speak much for the food– I went to a few places but eh, not particularly memorable. A bit salty for my taste (I’ve been craving Bub’s food actually). But the city itself is very very nice. Really great architecture, some funky architecture (more creepy, freaky than anything else), and then just a little bit of everything in terms of geography: mountains, beaches, city, parks, marina, and the weather was quite good. I can really soak up that Mediterranean sun.

I arrived at my host family’s flat on Sunday night. I’m staying with a retired couple in their late 50s (but they remind me more of my grandma, who is in her 80s). But it’s very much like staying at a grandmother’s house: they turn off all the lights, the chandeliers are missing most of their bulbs. The bulbs that ARE there are CFLs. The handsoap is majorly watered down… it’s pretty funny. I consider myself pretty conservationist, but uh, grandmothers are a whole other level. Yesterday, the apartment was so dark when I got home that I rammed into an accent table (luckily, nothing was broken) in the hallway. Now I have a monster bruise on the hip. Another student is also staying with the couple. He’s an older Brit who has lived in Germany for three decades. He’s a lively chap– very chatty, and since he knows German and French, he just spews all the words out in trying to communicate with Senor and Senora. I kind of just keep quiet, but I’m trying to talk more. It’s a little intimidating– and a bit unexpected. Anyway, we eat breakfast and dinner (9 pm!) at the house. In between, I kinda just stay on campus or walk around downtown. The days are long that way, but there’s no cell connection or internet at the house (they don’t even own a computer!), so you know me… need to stay connected for as long as I can.

The classes are going really well. At first, I was bummed about not testing out of basic basic, but it’s ok. I’m making good progress. They are not kidding about immersion… it’s full on!

Ok, well the school is closing in about 15 minutes and it’s getting dark outside. I should pack up and get going. I’ll try to update again tomorrow and post some pictures.

Hasta manana!

John turned me on to Dr. Phil recently… Yeah, I know, Oprah gave her seal of approval years ago way before he had his own show; my only explanation is that I’m always about 10 years behind on pop culture. Seriously. Felicity, Sex in the City, Entourage, and many more I’m sure. Anyway, my exposure to Dr. Phil comes at a good time considering that I placed a call to the counseling hotline just this past weekend. In short, I’m fed up with my depressed friends. I don’t know what it is, but I’m like a magnet for miserable people. I’ve tried so many things with so many of them… but as I have been told before, change has to come from them. And I have to stop trying to find the answers.

Long story short, the phone counselor suggested two things: 1) stop the endless research for resources 2) don’t suggest anything 3) ask what they intend to do about their unhappiness 4) try to reconnect in common areas. So 1-3 is actually a different method for me, so I should give it a try. Maybe it’ll be less frustrating, because I won’t feel like I have wasted my energies thinking up options. Number 4 is going to be tough… especially since two decades have passed since we were in the same state. I don’t know what we have in common anymore.

But back to Dr. Phil. He’s pretty direct, and I like that. But in tonight’s episode, I didn’t get his position, backing a 21-year old mother (instead of her own very organized mother) in keeping custody of her 2 kids. The chick had issues: I mean, she dropped out of school, she was hanging with some ex-con dude who chain smoked around her kids, she had horrible relationships with her family even though her parents were raising her kids now… God, she was just a fucking mess. Sure, she deserves a chance to get back on track, but why should her kids have to hang around waiting for her to get her shit together. Either have your shit together or your kids should be cared for under more stable conditions. Anyway,the episode is to be continued, which means I’ll never know what happens.

But Dr. Phil made an interesting comment. He said many of his clients ask, “How do you know who’s a loyal friend?” His answer? Loyal friends come through the door when everyone else leaves. Then he said, you don’t have to agree with everything someone does in order to support them. So now I’m totally confused. Which is which? On one hand, change comes from within, so if someone doesn’t want to change, what can I do? On the other hand, if I feel I’ve done all that I can and I decide to just lie low, am I being disloyal? Ugh. Too much emotional drama.

I should be cramming my Spanish…

Since returning from my trip back East, Spain trip prep has become a full time second job. Seriously. But I think I have all my shit in order, including ATM/Credit cards without international fees (Go Schwab!), a travel adapter, my safety whistle, and gifts for the host family. Most importantly, I’ve whittled my shit down to just one carry-on luggage, which is AMAZINGLY minimalist for me. Three weeks, remember? Yeah, I rock.

This weekend was another packed couple of days. John and I hosted our first annual chilli cook-off. I was convinced ours was near the top of the list, but I dunno, guess our taste buds are totally different from everyone else’s. We were dead last. What a bummer. But the party was still fun, and I got to see a bunch of people whom I hadn’t seen in ages. Then today, we went to a monster pumpkin patch south of HMB– Arata’s. They also had a crazy maze and petting zoo (goats!!) which was cool. Have you ever noticed that goats have the strangest body shape? From map view, they are diamond-shaped because their abdomen area is so oddly bloated. Very weird creatures. The wonky eyes really freak me out actually. They would be cute otherwise… Anyways, we carved our pumpkin. The design was John’s idea (something he had seen on a TED talk or something?) with my handiwork. I thought it turned out pretty adorable.

Eeks, it’s been ages. Busy, busy. Honestly, I don’t know where all my time goes. September ended with a bang (as you know). After receiving endless tweets about cheapo flights to Europe, I finally took the plunge and booked tickets to Spain for a 3-week immersion program in Salamanca (west of Madrid). Leave it to the end of Q3 to push me to action. Yeah, I even finished Gladwell’s book, and it was terrific. I’m ordering the Chinese translation for my parents. Anyhow, for some reason, the book gave me an extra push to do more.

After the thrill of reserving my Spain trip wore off, I got down and dirty with a whole other list of todo’s. In mid-October, I went to visit the family. Got so much shit done in a few days, I felt like a real superstar: took parents to check out Charles Town, WV (casino and horse racing). Checked out Harpers Ferry (neither parent is outdoorsy but boy was dad excited about his $10 lifetime senior’s park pass). Saw the beautiful fall leaves turn along Skyline Drive in Virginia. Met up with my Reston house property manager (was good to put a face to a name). Visited with my college roommie. Lunched with the in-laws. Visited my grandparents. Called a bunch of plumbers regarding a nasty sewage backup at the grandparents’ house (yeah, I have a pretty tough tummy, but I almost hurled!). Researched health insurance options for the gramps. Purchased new tires for my mom… Yup, I was worked to a nub back East. The good news is my family is mostly healthy and well. I also discovered a kickass crab cake at Bonefish Grill (of all places). Super meaty, no filler. Delish.

The trip home was a good reminder/reality check. I just thought about all the things my parents have done for me, and all the things they do for their parents… and I just realized that yeah, it’s a lot of work but I just need to shut up and do it. Because honestly, if all this crap (e.g. health insurance research) is confusing for me, it must be ten times worse for my parents trying to understand all the complicated mumbo jumbo. Plus, I see that they are starting to slow down. Aging just sucks. So anyway, I just try to put things back into perspective. It’s not easy, because I do enjoy my bitch/woe-is-me sessions, but enough is enough. Suck it up and move on.

By the way, I thought my parents were going to flip about me going to Europe alone (without John as my chaperone), but then I realized, as long as I put the educational spin on it, I’m golden. And what do you know, they were totally supportive. My friend Pamela is so right… it’s all about the angle (and the spin).

Ok well I gotta head into work now. Check out my recent pics though.

Traffic was an absolute bitch today. I think it took me about 2 hours to get home, and I was trying to hurry too so that I could book my Spanish immersion program. You see, the school was running a special and well, I wanted to catch it before it ended. And who knows what the cutoff is really, right? I mean, is it September 29 Madrid time, Pennsylvania time (HQ), or my own time? Who the hell knows, so just to be safe, I wanted to get in with some buffer. Of course, after I finally completed the online registration, I realized I hadn’t see the prompt for a promo code, so it was all for fucking nothing. Seriously, I HATE when places run promos and don’t just automatically apply it at checkout. Especially if the promo is pretty widely publicized like all over the homepage anyway… honestly, don’t be a procedural tightass, just apply the discount to everyone who meets the stipulations! Anyway, major pet peeve, and now I have to call them tomorrow to try to negotiate the discount. What a fucking pain.

I swear, my days really can go from superb to shitty in a flash. Yesterday, I was all psyched about this project we’re doing with the Goog. The mainstream news was going to possibly interview me about the partnership. Then, after like 3 hours on site, they never even interviewed me. Nothing was promised but still, they were on OUR lands. What a letdown, because I had really prepared. And it wasn’t really that I was denied my 15 seconds of fame or anything, I just felt like the news dude wasn’t very friendly, wasn’t genuinely interested, and just plain didn’t give a shit about our side of the partnership. But whatever, I got over it by the next day (today). And today went relatively well. Had some good meetings, made good progress on my work but then the drive home turned me into a sourpuss. My eyes were dry, I was starving, the wind was howling, the sun was in my face, and people drove like crap. It was just one thing after another.

Then tonight I tried to calm myself down and watch the Ken Burns series but I just could not get in the mood. I could not sit still. And now it’s almost time for bed. Game over. Gotta wait until tomorrow to start it up again. So frustrating!