Sorry everyone for neglecting this site.  It seems everyone is on Facebook these days.  If you’re on face book, look me up.  My profile pic is of Mao wearing a red baseball cap.  If you search NYU, that should make it easier to locate me. 
   I still think this site is much better for blogging though.  To back brief, 2008 did turn out pretty eventful.  Started a business with Danny and finally took the plunge and became a Warrant Officer, but still haven’t gotten into a flight slot yet.  So although 2008 was eventful, things didn’t really turn out favorably.  Here’s hoping 2009 will yield good results.

Wow, it’s been a while since I last made an entry.  That usually means I’m home and not romping around the globe, though I wish I were.  It’s a new year and I’m hopeful it’ll be an interesting and exciting one.  Didn’t get much done last year, but hopefully, that was a precursor leading to an exciting 2008.  In any case, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and Happy Chinese New Year! 

Happy New Years Everybody.  I started off the new year by letting Bobby bite me on the face!    It could only get better right?

Bobby is a dog!

1)  For Thanksgiving, I went dorm hopping for dinner at two dorms because I have no shame.  I was elected to be the Turkey cutter at the first dorm I went to and I reserved the left leg for myself.  It’s a girl’s dorm by the way, and picture number (2) are the people in that particular party.  The food was great and plentyful, desert was awesome: chocolate cake, tiramisu, flan etc.
3)  Here was the second place I went to, the crowd I normally hang out with with that dude Casey doing the cooking and cutting of the turkey.  And again I had the left leg.  Why?  Because how many people can say they had two turkey legs for Thanksgiving, and both the left leg?  This party was a lot more merry because they arranged the tables in a big circle and everyone was in the same room.  We ate, we drank, we sang, (I have videos), and although I had classes and a quiz that day, it wasn’t a total bust.  I helped out with the dishes so I wouldn’t be a complete freeloader.

4)  This is Venice, and that statue is a replica of Michaelangelo’s Pieta with Christ on Mary’s lap with an American flag.  This statue was paraded through Venice during September 11 to commemorate the 5th aniversary of 9-11.  Passerby’s might think it’s blasphemy, but I like it.
5)  That’s my friend Xiomara in San Marco Square.  It’s so beautiful there.  I laid down on the floor and Xio and Jimena, the other girl I was traveling with threw bread on me and I almost got devoured by the pigeons.  Don’t worry, I protected my goodies… good times.

   Anyways, this past weekend was pretty much our last chance for a big excursion, so I decided to go to Vienna with one bunch and declined Paris with another bunch (yes, I’m that popular).  We hit the sites, saw the museums and 3 euro tickets for standing spots in the opera house, but I guess what I’ll remember from this trip is that we played Hide and Seek Tag at night around a Christmas village (where they sell ornaments and sweets, similar to Unions Square in December), which was located right outside the “Rathouse,” we called it that because we don’t know how to really pronounce the name of that place.  Also, Borat.  Yep, Monica and I saw Borat in Vienna.  I’m such a romantic.  Anyways, see y’all in ten days!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!

I have classes and a quiz today, yeee!

 
My brother’s new baby girl born in October 28, 2006.  On average, couples in myfamily ususally has 2 – 3 kids per family.  So say if my bro has another 2 kids, that leaves me approximately four years before my parents will look towards me for grandkids.  O boy.

 
1)
 My buddy Casey holding a “Roma” sign I made out of cardboard from
a dumpster trying to hitch a ride at the tolls on the autostrada
leading to Rome.
2)
 Me and Fraggio (I think) after hitching a ride to the autogrill
(highway gas station).  Fraggio brought us as far as he could and
told us the autogrill is a good place to get rides.  He was
actually our second ride, our first one brought us to the tolls.
3)
 Casey and me in the Vatican Museum, notice the finger on the
camera, Europeans can’t take pictures, that’s why I photoshopped my
pictures that first time.

4)  Me outside the Coloseum.
5)  Casey and me inside the Coloseum.
6)
 Us inside the Coloseum overlooking the ruins across the street.
 We couldn’t find a decent place to drink in Rome, one of the
decent places to drink is a gay bar, another one people were playing
board games, we got the heck out of Rome.  We spent hours hitching
and actually walked an exit on a highway, which I’m pretty sure isn’t
legal, and finally just decided to take the overnight train to Sicily.

 
7)  Me in Tomaso Natale, north of Palermo in Sicily.  Very nice weather and beautiful waters.
8)
 Casey and me in our jump gear.  So we were drinking (again,
we’ve been drinking everyday that week) in this bar and the big plasma
tv was showing skydiving clips.  The bartender noticed we were
interested and asked “You like?  We do wednesday,” and that was
our next adventure.  I got to see Sicily google maps style!
9)
 Same day, after skydiving, we rented a scooter, not exactly a
vespa, but it’ll do.  150cc, I had to drive us all the way back to
our hostel, about an hour ride.  In retrospect, it probably wasn’t
one of the best choices I could make, but fortunately, we lived.
 I warmed up around the block for about five minutes and we took
off.  Very scary.  By night, I was exhausted from a full
day’s worth of adrenaline.  That’s Casey the next day where we
found a gas station with a big enough parking lot for him to practice.
 Good thing he wasn’t old enough to rent his own since this is the
first time he’s been on one.


10)  Me in Mondello after lunch by the sea.  So close to the sea that the water splashed us while we ate.
11)  Me on 150cc monster of a scooter.  Yea!  The semester is halfway over, sigh…

Oh,
and to end the week on another interesting note, Casey is a pretty good
cook, so we got a shark and cooked it for dinner saturday night.

   Apologies everyone for
necklecting my xanga, it’s midterms season.  Anyways, to recap, I
didn’t do much the last weekend execept going to a chocolate festival
with a bunch of girls from FIT’s study abroad program, it was
fun.  The weekend before was great!  On Friday the 13, we had
a custome party to celebrate Holloween because on the 31st, everyone
will be away on fall break.  It was great, then right after the
parties and clubin, my friends Casey, Zio, Liza and I headed out on our
rental car to Munchen.  We drove through Switzerland, Germany, and
Austria in a single weekend.  Great food, great beer, loads of
fun.  Now everyone wants dibs on the next trip.  All of a
sudden, I’m popular because I’m old enough to rent a car.  I guess
age does have it’s uses.
   Anyways, this fall break, Casey and I are heading
south.  We’re going hitch-hiking.  He’s the only one I can
find crazy enough to do this with me.  Destination is Rome, and
maybe Sicily if it works out.  Anyways, if you don’t hear from me
after a while, start the manhunt.  Til then, Ciao!

Update on  Florence:

This past weekend was amazing guys… I’m getting so spoiled. 



To
the left is me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I have another one
where I’m knocking it down, but it didn’t come out as good. Pisa
is a pretty quiet little place, not much to do, so if anyone visits
Italy, Pisa is a “pass by” place where you stop off for an hour or two
to take some pictures.  If it wasn’t for the leaning tower and
their Duomo, it really wouldn’t make it on a tour book.  The
center pic is me in Cinque Terre.  The background is of
Manarola.  I went there with a friend of mine the previousweekend,
but he wasn’t feeling well, and the fact that we just went without any
planning and he didn’t feel like roughing it, he left and I
continued.  I ended up sleeping on the beach and froze my ass
off.  I snuck into a private beach and slept on their floating
beds, (the pic on the right), but it was so cold, I had to deflate
oneof them and use it as a blanket.  Good times.  I woke up
early the next morning and got the heck out before I got caught, waited
till it was warm enough and took a nice dip in the Med Sea.  Then
I hiked through the five towns and headed home.  Not bad.

This
past weekend is the total opposite in the same place. Originally,
we planned to go to Cinque Terre this past weekend, but since Sindy was
visiting Florence, I kept the weekend free for her, but since we had
problems communicating (say John – all his fault), I decided to tag
along last minute. To the left is one of the crews that would allow
this geezer to tag along, good people.  And the center picture is
where we spent the night, that’s right, it’s aYACHT!!!  The
weekend before, I slept on the beach like a bum, and this past weekend,
I stayed on a YACHT!  For free!  It belongs to the parents of
one of my new friends.  To the right is me (just in case you
forgot how I look like) and Giovanino (I think that’s how it’s spelled)
in the engine room below deck.  He’s the captain and cook, and
what an awesome cook.  He made us a four course meal, all seafood,
complete with wine and deserts.  I felt so out of place, but it
was amazing.  We hiked, dined, swam, drank,… it was a great
weekend.  Well… back to class.

To the left is Villa Ulivi,
where most of my classes take place and the middle pic is the view from
one of the classrooms (it awesome!), overlooking the valley of the
campus onto Villa Natalia, where I have lunch and where most of the
freshmen reside.  To the right is the Piazza Della Signoria, where
the Plazzo Vehicco and the Uffizi museum is.  I hang out here all
the time with the statues.  They’re replicas of the originals, but
the atmosphere is freakin’ awesome.  Around the corner is a
gallery with statues of the great artists.  There’s one of
Donatello and of Leonardo.

The
left pic is from a garden near campus overlooking Florence. 
Tourists don’t come here because it’s a bit away from the touristy
areas, so it’s all ours.  Next are some of my new
buddies.  They’re good people. 
Then of course, the Duomo, in the center of everthing, and finally on
the far right, yours truly, lookin’ good in the middle of a road
flanked by these
awesome Cypresses (not sure if that’s how they’re spelled) in the
middle of campus.  Anyways, wish all of you were here so I
wouldn’t feel so old.  Peace!