connecting the dots.

Oh wow so it's been a month since my last post. Sorry for the delay - I've been caught up in a few things, plus I thought not many people read my posts but as it ends up quite a few people do so here I go.

So the following 4 posts will detail my solo Winter Break East Coast adventures which I promised. I will not dive into too much detail for it will bore the lights out of you and quite frankly I don't have the patience to write so much - I will extract the essence of each destination.

First up is the capital city Washington D.C. (16-19th Dec). This place is just full of amazing things to see, and you'll truly appreciate the beauty of this city if you are familiar with the American history and politics.

And I'm glad I studied American politics at UC San Diego for if I had not I would've been clueless at each sites and miss the true significance of all major artefacts.

The futuristic Washington Metro

The White House

The Capitol

The Lincoln Memorial

The Constitution of the United States

To post every memorable picture would be absolutely ridiculous - for more pictures it's all up on my Facebook so be sure to check them out.

Needless to say, my favourite part about D.C. was being in the presence of the Founding Fathers of this nation, being inches away from their handwritten documents and just being on the East Coast in general - I always wanted to travel to the East and it was good to finally feel a difference. A difference that made me feel like I was really away from home since San Diego is very similar to Sydney in terms of weather and lifestyle - although it wasn't too cold for the Washingtonians for someone from San Diego it was quite a drop.

It was our last night at D.C. when we saw the first snow fall. It usually doesn't snow in D.C., so everyone was quite excited to see a change ... until the morning after. Waking up the next morning we had 30cm (12'') of snow in one night, the biggest snow storm in history - and D.C. wasn't ready for it.

In the absence of a snow bulldozer, people were out on the streets with shovels making way for the cars, and all planes and buses were cancelled. Which could not have happened at a better time given my bus to my next destination Philadelphia was in a couple of hours.

In the end the bus was delayed by nearly 9 hours and we were finally en route Philadelphia. Very slowly through the snow storm.

And that was just the start of a tonne (literally) of snow to be encountered in the days to come.

Before ...

After

All in all I very much enjoyed my stay in D.C. It was "half empty"in the words of a local, as most residents work for the Government in one way or another and had all flown home for the holidays. It is a very safe and clean city, and as said earlier if you are familiar with the American history and politics, this place is Holy Grail. So do your homework if you have plans to visit this treasurous city!

Forgive me for my lack of posts in the recent weeks. As most of you know already I have been at my feet exploring the East Coast of U.S.A. for the winter break. I promise that the future posts will dig deep into the details of each destination (as was my plan) but it is not for those recollection and memoirs of my travels that I am blogging sitting up past 4:30 a.m. in my room in Manhattan, New York City.

You guessed it. Let's do a quick wrap of the year before the clock ticks over and let me take this chance to layout the lessons I have learned, and how I plan to implement those to achieve short term goals, ultimately aiming to reach the ideals that I strive for and believe in.

2009 is the year I feel have become more adventurous, the year I have become more open minded and the year in which I have first hand come to believe that "where there is will, there is a way".

I have absolutely no doubt that the words "Connecting the Dots" to the dot defines (no pun intended) my Year 2009. "Connecting the Dots" to me is quite literal; if everyone and every piece of items around you, the resources, the emotions and the networks that you have formed were represented as dots, the key to short term or long term success lies in, as with the children's playbooks, how you connect those dots together to create the picture you want. I'm pretty sure I've experienced that in 2009 through the diamond business, the Exchange Program, and other projects that I am readying. Also with a bit of luck here and there the end result can be exponentially even better off than the expected outcome.

I hope the phrase always remains as significant to you as it has been for me.


With that in mind 2009 has definitely been my favourite year of the 20 and I cannot wait to see what the New Year has to show me and make me do. 2010 better be ready for me - I'll play my guitar on the streets if I have to. I'll still go on a road trip even if it means risking a busted car in the middle of nowhere. I'll start a project that I know to be the right time to start. Heck, I'll do it all. At least I'll have a story to tell.

I'll end it on that note, and if 2009 wasn't as nice to you as it has been to me, I say the following in the words of Horace -


"The harder you fall, the higher you bounce".


Happy New Year Everybody.

San Diego - Las Vegas - Utah - Grand Canyon (almost).

I can now somewhat proudly say that all you need to make all of the above happen in 24 hours is one silly mind, a few good ol' blokes and 4 wheels.

Walking back to the hotel on one evening after a long day at Downtown San Diego with Jimmy and Ben who came to visit from Sydney, the idea of hitting up Vegas struck and just like that, we made it happen. We rented a converible Ford Mustang in the middle of the night and hit the road.

The Stallion

Whatever happens in Vegas, ends up in my Blog.

Perhaps our organsing skills lacked a tiny bit, as it was already 6 a.m. when we were ready for action, but most places we could visit closed at 6 a.m. on the dot. So we lurked around the Boulevarde, a.k.a. "The Strip" and awed at some of the greatest feat of architecture and engineering pioneered by man.

Bellagio


The Leaning Tower of L.V?


The Love Van


Welcome to the Dark Side

Although Vegas looks glamourous and seems to define the modern day utopia of livin' la vida loca on the surface, the way I see it, it ain't exactly so. The very reason for its existence is based upon the idea of sucking every last penny out of your pockets, at the same time giving you false hope that one day, one day you'll hit gold.

Whilst it was simply amazing to be surrounded by some of the most famous casinos and landmarks of the world, and to be immersed in such a city in the middle of a desert, I have to admit it was a little saddening to know that the billions of dollars worth of buildings and the entire city itself was practically financed by the people that were suckered into the faint possibility of a win.

So anyways we lurked around the Boulevarde for a while, got suckered up by a driver who I thought gave free rides (free only under certain conditions - let's stop there) and landed upon the idea of driving to the Grand Canyon while we were at it. We decided to travel through the north through Utah and anticipated some great scenery along the way, and oh boy, great scenery we got. Check it out.

Deja Vu - the Hangover?

only in Arizona


through Utah ...

Oh, one piece of advice for everyone wishing to travel to the Canyon during the Winter Break: make your entry from the South. Here is why.

Epic Fail. You're fair dinkum kidding!

Yup. Grand Canyon is closed if you make your entry from the North as the road is way too icy. So we got to the entrance and ... had to turn back. Pretty funny actually.

Taking it out on the snow ...


and getting owned ...


twice.

So Vegas somewhat failed and the Grand Canyon epicly failed but we still got a lot more out of the roadtrip than we anticipated. Considering everything was pretty much planned in half an hour and the rest took place on impulse, we did better than nothing. Driving with the boys for 18 hours out of 24 through the sun, the desert, the snow, the rocky mountains and under the stars and moonlight definitely gave a great bonding time.

The world can be a very cruel place.
One can scream for help as loud as, and as hard as their lungs will allow but they may not be heard.


So stop what you're doing and pay attention to those who you love.


Just take a moment to listen for their soundless cries and look for the clues and signs marked all around you that they need help,


because sometimes that's the only way they can be heard.



... And that will change everything.

Let's start filling the gaps with some pictures.

Let's Rock.


Looks calm ... but
" Oh #!$@#^ " is what's in my mind

Oh yeah!


Fail.

Lamingtons FTW!


Tsk tsk ... Frat boys

Yup I made lamingtons. It was for an awesome dinner party that Caroline and Sarah threw at their place where everyone had to cook/make something from their culture to eat and share. Shame that the only thing I could think of bringing were Fish 'n Chips, Meatpies or Lamingtons. For those of you that don't know what lamingtons are, they are essentially sponge cake covered in chocolate and sprinkled with shredded coconut. A classic Australian delicacy.

Recently I've fallen in love with taking photographs. They are (along with blogs) by far the greatest reminders of all the memories and experiences. Going through the photos to post, I stumbled upon those lamingtons and without it I would not have remembered getting my hands down and dirty to make them, nor would I have remembered ... never mind, a lot of things.

Changing the pace, Thanksgiving was awesome. Thanksgiving is a lot bigger of a deal than what foreigners expect. For example before leaving for the break everybody wished me a Good Thanksgiving, like they would for Christmas or New Years, and on the day of Thanksgiving, "Happy Thanksgiving" is a greeting.

I roadtripped it to San Francisco with the help of Gorjan to stay at Alex's place in the Bay Area for the break. The drive was gruesome, some 11.5 hours of epic driving (of which 4 was getting through the infamous LA traffic) and blasting rock music ( \m/ ) through the famous 1 and 101 highways.

Santa Monica is the sexiest name for a city period.


Silicon Valley + San Francisco ...
It was so unreal reading those words on the greenboards


The Crib

So for Thanksgiving the Americans go home, have good family long weekend with plenty to eat, most notably turkey. I had never seen a turkey roasted as a whole before, it's pretty much a crazy big chicken on some crazy steroid. I ate till I was beyond bloated and there were still so much left to eat. The hospitality of Alex's family was second to none (Thank you again Mandy and Valli), they could not have made me feel more at home and comfortable as they made sure I was having a great time, and I sure did.

I hung out with Alex's friends most of my time in San Francisco and also got around to seeing a bit of the SF city but I haven't seen too much - which isn't a big worry seeing as though I will be back to explore with my family when they hit up California.

I'll Be back

Speaking of roadtrips and holidays, the Winter break is on the door, but the wild and crazy Coast 2 Coast San Diego to Miami roadtrip that Marco and I planned has been scrapped due to complications in time frame and finances. We'll definitely hold onto the idea though, and hopefully make it a reality in the Summer break.

So I'm instead flying to Washington D.C and start exploring a bit of the East Coast. The Capital, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City. Fingers crossed that I will at last experience a White Christmas and a blasting New Years Eve in perhaps the most energising, multi-faceted, cosmopolitan capital of the world.


To be honest life has never been better. I absolutely love the atmosphere and the vibe and action you get as a college student. It feels as if you're in the middle of such a big crowd, almost feeling insignificant, yet so significant when you meet more of the right people and live by the principle of making today more memorable than yesterday, and knowing tomorrow will be better than today.

To be brutally honest now, I do not look forward to the last few days here when I'm inevitably going to have to start counting down to the day my flight takes off. But let's not talk or even think about that for a good time being.

Oh and I almost forgot to tell the tale of serenading to hundreds of Sorority girls dressed in a tiny Tigger costume pretending to be Simba with the Pledge class ... but I guess we can leave that as a cliffhanger for a lot more posts to come.


Till then,

Tchau.

I wonder what it's like to be the other person. In so many instances it will make life so much easier, knowing exactly what the other person is thinking - I wouldn't have to regret not doing something because I didn't know what they felt, or to know that I won't have to try to do things when there is no use. It's the fear of the possibility that all that I do means absolutely nothing or makes things worse.

Anyways the last few days have been quite memorable. I danced. I played for hours on my new guitar (thanks again Tristan). I was surrounded by graffiti. I've been covered in sweat. I listened to the talking tree whilst in an unusual state of mind. I was slapped by a drunk Frenchman. I slapped back, Hard (I still love you Jean). I jumped out of a plane. I met her. I bought a new camera which is useless till I get a memory card. I got A in an exam I didn't know about till 2 days prior. I survived on no groceries for 2 weeks. I watched the stars fall out of sky...

Only a handful of things can be missing from my life right now. I've never had more surprises, unexpected turns and constant action than the past two months. The best part: there are hundreds of more turns to make till I see the end.

Crawling my way through, creating memories of a lifetime and having the most fun I can possibly have even after the wrong turns - They're all about connecting the dots.

Till next time,

Peace.

Pool-Fest with some of my Fave Europeans


My Homies

P.S. I'll post the events in more detail soon.

Many people ask:
"How do you like San Diego? How is it different to Sydney?"

In terms of the city itself it is very similar to Sydney. The weather, its laid-back-ness, the friendly people ... it's so similar that if there weren't palm trees I would be mistaken for being in Sydney. However the biggest difference comes obviously in the fact that San Diego is in California. Sounds stupid, but it's a big difference.

Australian population - 20 million. Population of California - nearly 40 million. The big numbers mean more things to do and it's quite surreal. You only have to turn your head to keep yourself busy. If anything, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco is only a couple of hours drive away. That's what I find so amazing. Growing up in Sydney you only hear about these places through songs or movies but living in California, those places are your locality.

I've met people that had their birthday parties in the coast of Santa Monica, people that went to school together with Blink-182, people that grew up with the Golden Gate Bridge outside their window, people that grew up in Hollywood. It still sounds unreal but that's all very normal here.

Enter College.

College life in America is something else. The 4 years of college are the years of your life that you cherish the most, have the absolute most fun and gain the most influence shaping your future. College is a whole new lifestyle, and I have been enjoying every second of it here.

Living at the International House on campus with just so many amazing people from all around the world - I feel like I can go pretty much anywhere in the world now and have good friends there. Also I am pledging a Fraternity. To those at home that do not know what this means, think about it as having half-joined the fraternity. The fraternity experience just lifted the dynamics of my experience to a whole new level, and I shall write about it in a later entry.

I find that university life is quite different in Australia: in Australia we don't have fraternities or sororities, not many students live on campus - unofficially reserved for the rich international students. As a result the universities are busy during the day and absolutely deserted by late afternoons. I find that there isn't much action at the university.

That being said however, if you're looking to study in Australia, you'll still have one heck of a time. There's still plenty of things to do, plenty of places to have fun at, just that the university isn't the place to do it.

So that's just my intro to what it's like living here. And I thought I could get around to reciting a lot of the things that happened but there's just so much s*** to cover.

Enough writing now. A picture says a thousand words. Let them do the talking.
A few pictures that summarise my time here so far very well ...

Till next time,

Adiós.

D-day


My birthday party in my dorm


the Frat party


Heart Failure for $5


Halloween as a Beer Keg


The Fraternity


My pledge brothers

The Beach


California.