Architecture of the mind

Open House Is Fun

2006-04-10T15:13:00.000+01:00

So today is the first time I've posted in 1 1/2 years. I am know at UPenn school of Design. Nothing has changed since my last posting. Only all the bitching about how crappy Portugal was can now be directed at Philadelphia. I still dislike Republicans and Red States as always. I am transfering back to Buffalo in 4 weeks because this school is working out the way I had hoped for. Today is open house for prospective students. I think I should just keep to myself today...
I live with 2 people in Center City and they are complete wackos. I can't stand to even be around them for more than 5 minutes. I've never seen two people so dependant on the other for happiness. They both need to be commited.

So any ways, keep it real and I'll talk to all of you soon...PS Joey and Liz suck!

Nothing to do but this...

2004-11-23T21:24:00.000Z

More random shit:

1. Doesn't it say something about our culture that we can go to a war and kill over 100,000 people and have over 1000 of our own dead and another 9000 wounded, but we can't watch Saving Private Ryan on TV. So what we are saying is, "Let's go kill a shit load of people, but lets not let anyone see death because then people will not like war." If we are going to kill all these people in Iraq we should at least let people see what it is they are funding and supporting.

2. I was reading CNN.com today and there was a headline. "UN probes Congo 'sex abuse'". Holy shit, no wonder the UN didn't go to Iraq. Turns out they're probing people in the Congo.

3. Did anyone see that U2 played another spontanious concert in NYC. Hasn't this gotten a bit overdone. They did this for a video already and they did it once before. It's getting to the point where if I go to NYC I should just expect to come across a U2 concert. Bono will be like, "Hey everyone look at me. I'm from Ireland and I'm playing this concert spontaniously" People will just be walking by telling them to stop blocking traffic.

4. To celebrate Thanksgiving I'm going to slaughter a bunch of Portuguese people and take over their land.

5. Did anyone see that Vanilla Ice was arrested because his pet goat and wallaroo escaped. Dude, Ice has a Wallaroo and a goat. What the hell is that. Does he just sit around and get drunk with random animals all day. What a life. I need an ardvark and a dolphin.

Poor Poor Congolese people

Random Stuff

2004-11-22T09:34:00.000Z

Tomorrow is my last day of work here. It sure is a nice feeling. The rest of the week I plan on visiting the rest of the city that I haven't seen, drinking more, and sleeping more. Should be real nice. I go to Paris on Saurday until next Wednesday. It's going to be a great time. My boss Pedro is in Paris now for 2 weeks or so, so we are going to get together there and go to dinner or something. As long as he is paying.

This weekend we had a little party for my friend Jose. He was turning 32. Yes 32. He is a really cool kid. He's from Brazil and working on his PHd here. I actually got drunk with all my roommates for the first time in 2 months. It was fun. Everyone went to bed around 4am but I stayed up by myself until 5:30. I was feeling it in the morning, or should I say afternoon.

Last week I get on the subway and as the doors are closing 2 girls come running on. I guess one of the girls bumped into the other and they started having words. All of a sudden on of the girls punches the other in the face and all hell breaks loose. One girl gets punched into me so I just push her back into the girl who punches her again. I got the assist on that one. They then start kicking eachother and one of the girls gets literally thrown right off the train. I was amazed that nobody broke it up. But the average mail height in Portugal is something like 5'6" so the guys wanted nothing to do with it. They were probably looking at me and my HUGE 5'10" frame and expecting me to do something. HELL NO...I'm not getting involved in that civil war.

If anyone has seen that movie "Secret Window", isn't it just a remake of Fight Club? A guy forms an alternate personality to act out the things that he can't. It was a fairly good movie but it would have been better if Fight Club wasn't already released. No movie will ever rival that movie when it comes to a plot like that.

I watched some movie about 9/11. It was really well done. Some fire chief had to write eulogies for his dead firefighters but he couldn't get his thoughts together so he is refered to a writer. The movie is him telling his story about his friends and her personal struggle with 9/11. Anyways, it was real good. It got me thinking about NYC and when I was there 3 weeks after 9/11. I saw the most patriotic thing I have ever witnessed. As the firefighters were leaving their shifts from groud zero, they would head uptown. While I was walking on 5th Ave, about 5 firetrucks full of ash covered, exhausted guys passed us. Everyone on the street driving and walking just stopped where they were and started cheering. All of a sudden there was more cheering on 5th Ave than a stadium of football fans. People where throwing flowers and bottled water to the guys. I just stood there watching. It really was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The people were 100% genuine and the firefighters did not feel like celebrities. You could tell that it was things like this that kept them going for 12 hour shifts. I just wish that feeling of unity in America lasted. Now there is fighting, racism, hatred, and greed everywhere. It's sad that it takes 3000 people's deaths to unite us.

Right now I'm listening to the Maroon 5 CD for the first time. Ya I know, I'm the last one in the world. It's really good. A few songs sound like N'Sync but they are OK. Number 7 is real good.

All for now. Should probably do some work here instead of doing this. See ya'll soon!

Don't feel like writing...

2004-11-18T15:56:00.000Z

1. I've come to the conclusion that America is great and Portugal sucks.

2. Why do people that know nothing about politics still try to make a point. (It goes both ways, Kerry and Bush)

3. I am really sick of people that have a profile on AIM that is just an attempt to boost your ego or self-confidence. Nobody cares.

4. If you love someone you don't really need to put it in your profile...Obviously the love from that person isn't enough if you need others to see it and be impressed.

5. Inspirational sentences on profiles/away messages are just gay.

6. If someone treats you like shit, don't get back with them you idiot!!

7. Why do the people I live with suck so bad. Are all Europeans boring, inconsiderate, and lazy, or am I just really unlucky.

8. Why did they ever make that movie "Gerry"? If you've seen it, you know what I mean.

9. Why do people think I'm in Spain. Portugal is a seperate country.

10.Why do people here walk down the sidewalk so damn slow. OK asshole, the sidewalks are already tiny so lets not take up the whole thing.

As said by Keith Christopher Kotlarski (from Ohio)

2004-11-06T01:49:00.000Z

OK For all of you people that belive my view of this election is a typical New York liberal stance, here is a comment left by my best friend Keith from Cinci.

"I love you Ben....Nobody says it better than you...Sorry Ohio couldn't pull it off, but we have A LOT of "hilljacks" around here who should just move over the river to Kentucky. Here is the news around Cincy..."The Republican National Commitee announced today that the Republican Party is changing its emblemfrom an elephant to a condom. The commitee chairmanexplained that the condom more clearly reflects the party'sstance today, because a condom accepts inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of dicks,and gives you a sense of security while you're actually getting fucked."......1"

See even Ohio hates Ohio

4 more beers (years)

2004-11-04T19:25:00.000Z

I have worried, bitched, been upset all because of this election, so I will keep this short and to the point because quite frankly I am very tired.
Let me describe myself and the typical Democrat. I(we) prefer speaking to resolve problems instead of fighting. We support "people" and their lifestyles. Be it gay, lesbian, straight; we are open to all unions. We wish to protect the environment instead of pawning it off to big business for a few extra bucks. We believe that you can live your life ethically without preaching from the bible, which in all reality is extremely out of place in modern society. We feel that American deserve to be protected financialy by their government. The rich are rich enough. What about Tom Dick, and Hairy? They work harder than many CEOs and they can't even pay the bills. These are the people that made America. Not CEOs and Executives. Democrats believe that the reason there are so many shootings is because there are so many guns, and everyone can get their hands on them. C'mon, who the hell uses an AK-47 to hunt deer?

So to sum it up... people that care for the environment, aren't gay haters, believe in non-violence unless it is a LAST resort, wish to push the limits of science for health reasons, care for the average working man and woman, don't base their lives on a 2000 year old book that creates an ultra-conservative society, and don't feel that shooting eachother is a good thing...are the MINORITY in America. That is fucking mind blowing. It's about time people in America really do something other than ROCK THE VOTE. With this asshole in office we are going to get to the point where we need a good old fashioned revolution. I want to see riots in the streets. What is it about American society that makes everyone carry a gun and then sit down and take it right up the ass from our government. We have become a scared little country. I believe that anyone that supports George Bush is a scared little person too. Your government tells you to be scared of everything in this world and you do it. If you support Bush because you believe he will make you rich, FINE. America is a greedy place. But don't support this guy because he tells you to be scared of everything you see. You are very weak people.

I really am hoping to see some good old rioting in the next 4 years if things in the Black House don't chnage. And by the way, for all you people that truly believe Bush is going to "start fresh" with his new term; you need to wake up. He was reserved in his first 4 years because of the fear of re-election. But now that all the rednecks and scared people put him back in office, he is going to be worse. He has nothing to lose. Plus he has even more of his Republican friends in the House and Senate. He will destroy this country even more in the next 4 years.

Like Bill Maher said,"I want so much rioting over George Bush that cab drivers are affraid to pick up white people" It's time we stand up for something. Sadly, the democratic way has not worked out too well, so lets use another tactic. But for now...4 MORE BEERS!! 4 MORE BEERS!!

*When I Republican-bash, just know that it does not apply to Zack Papis. He is an exception.
GOD BLESS AMERICA...AND NOWHERE ELSE.

Election

2004-11-04T10:50:00.001Z

What happened? Further postings once I recover

No Halloween???

2004-11-01T01:30:00.000Z

That's right! There is no Halloween here. What the hell is that? There is some holiday tomorrow about god knows what. Probably celebrating the new found wonder of electricity. So that means no work which is always good. I put in 60 hours last week from Monday to Sunday, so a day off is appreciated.

The project we are working on at work is due on Wednesday which is great, because I don't want to look at it anymore. The project came out really great. It's such a nice feeling to create something that really is beautiful. Of course the place we have to drop it off is 3 hours away and I don't really plan on sleeping Tuesday night so that should be a fun trip. As soon as I can I will have some pictures up of the project, but I have to wait until the project goes through judging and such.

I have made plans to go to Paris at the end of November. I am counting the days down. I am staying at a youth hostel just to save money for beer and to meet people. In found a flight for only 215 Euros which is about 275 dollars. I am really looking forward to seeing the city and get out of this country that has no personality. I will be sure to get some pictures of hairy girls and guys eating cheese and drinking wine. Stereotypes are fun! I will be there for about 5 days then I come back to Lisbon, and Big Al might be visiting because he will be in Spain for a few weeks. That should be fun. 4 days after I get back I fly back to NYC for a night and then back to Buffalo.

The election is coming up and the hype here is just as intense as in the US. It is on the news 24 hours a day and on the front page of every paper here. It really is amazing the effect we have over the rest of the world. The thing that has been bugging the crap out of me is the people I talk to here that talk about America and how messed up it is. I've been quite a dick about it. I understand we are doing tons of things wrong, but these people that have never been to the US, are wearing American namebrands, smoking American cigarettes, watching American movies, listening to American music, and working a job created because of the US economy have no right to talk about our country in any way. I can understand talking about the war but when you talk about our social behavior, our news channels, and our way of life, I get quite pissed. We truly are the most free nation in the world. I am hearing this shit from people that live in countries that had dictators in the last 3 decades. What right do you have? I've come to the conclusion that America is SO powerful and influential, that people constantly critique every little thing we do. I don't feel that people really have the right to do this in many ways. Yes, we are powerful and we influence the entire globe, but that is a good thing. I don't feel we should apologize for you and your weak ass boring country and the fact that your economy and culture are not self-sufficient, and you need to import so many parts of your life. Don't get me wrong, I know that we do have a role as a leader and many of our recent decisions in foreign policy have not been made with any intelligence, but we are the hardest working, most diverse, most powerful, and most free country in the world and do not deserve the negative criticizm outside of the War in Iraq. People here really need to see that our country's foreing policy has absolutely nothing to do with the American people and the American culture. In reality, the people here(in Portugal) might be the most boring people I have ever met. And I have made a huge effort to really get to know the people and the culture, or lack there of.

And that's about enough of my patriotic ranting. Maybe I am right in everything I say, or maybe I am just missing home and the culture I have lived in for 23 years. Either way, that felt good to say. AAAHHHHH

So anyways, On Tuesday I am going to the party at the American Institution here. My boss tells me everyone is really cool. It will be great to see Americans again. The funniest part of the whole thing is that this election is totally based on the Arabic community, and the Middle East and I decided that the best idea is to bring my Arab roommate form Algiera as my date. Haha That should make for some interesting conversations. Actually, she will fit right in. But in reality it is a Guy with some Jewish blood taking an Arabic girl to a party in Portugal to watch two strict Catholics fight. Ironic huh?

Just wanted to add that I am watching CNN right now and they just showed a new poll, which is the poll of polls. They took all the polls out there and then polled them together. How funny is that.

So anyways, I miss all you guys back home and can't wait to get back and see all of you. I have 36 hours to kill tilt he election so I guess it's time to start drinking. Love ya'll! PEATH (Gerry)

And the pole says....Nothing!

2004-10-24T14:34:00.000+01:00

There are many things about this election that are bugging the shit out of me. First off, the poles released by Gallup/AP/USA Today/Rueters are complete bullshit. One has Bush up by 8% and another has Kerry up by 10%. So that is a swing of 18%. If you assume 125 million people are going to vote (not me) that 18% translates to about 23 million people. That is just rediculious. If they are going to be this unaccurate you might as well put Nader in the mix. The Newest Ben Siegel Poll has Kerry at 35% Bush at 30% and Ralph Nader at 35%. The margin of error is +/- 87.2%. For all I know Kerry is going to win by 40%; or Bush could. Don't let the poles tell you anything other than the fact that the entire polling system is extremely faulty and biased.

Secondly, John Kerry does not stand for anything. He has the most uninformative answers. He either talks about what Bush has done wrong or a mundane explination of what he will do. JOHN KERRY, take a stand for something. Yes the war in Iraq was wrong and we need to make ammends with the world but what then. The only reason I support the guy is becasue like much of America, "he is not George Bush". And by the way, we all know you served in Vietnam. The dead children you killed are hearing your message. The horse is dead John.

If you happened to catch the episode of "The Daily Show" (which is the best show on TV) with Bill O'Reily, you might have noticed that Bill O'Reily said that he is an undecided voter. That was absolutley hilarious. I don't know if it is a ratings scam or what but I think every person in America knows where he stands. He says that he needs to have an interview with Kerry to decide. I think he is just doing it to insure that Kerry comes on his show. Kerry will go on the show for this reason and the hope that somehow he votes for him. Then Kerry can tell everyone that Bill supports him. It's a joke.

Enough of the election. On Friday night we went out and around 4 am we went to this bakery that doesn't have a license to sell anything but cops don't care. We are waiting to order as the guy runs in the back room. 2 police officers come in to order some stuff. They don't care that this place is illegal, because they do have really good late night food. As we are waiting the phone rings so Chris decides that he should answer it. He speaks no Portuguese. He answers and then says "hang on". Once the guy comes out Chris lets him know someone is on the phone. He starts swearing at him saying "why did you answer, what the hell is wrong with you" The police join in and start bitching. I'm just laughing my ass off. So once they all settle down we decide that these guys can not understand English if we speak real fast so we start talking about them. Chris says, "Wonder if they have donuts here" I start calling the police "pussies" and they have no idea we are talking about them at all. It was absolutely hilarious. In America I would never do this, but here the police are so unintimidating. They never arrest anyone or pull anyone over. They really have no purpose at all.

I am finally going to take a trip in November. I found a cheap flight to Paris so I think I am going November 27th for about 5 days. I'm staying at some hostel. Should be a lot of fun. Hopefully I meet some cool people at the hostel to hqang out with. Portugal is on the outskirts of Europe so they are really cut off. Wonder if it is a good idea to wear an American flag draped over my shoulders. I think the French might still be pissed about the whole "freedom fries" thing.

For the election I got invited to this party held by this American Foundation here in Lisbon. Should be a blast. The winner won't be announced until 4-6am so there is going to be large amounts of alcohol being consumed. Plus, I assume that Americans living in Europe are often time liberals so that will be good. I would hate to be the only Kerry supporter...actually I would love it.

Fantasy football is going good still. I am in 4-2 and in 5th place out of 12 and have an easy game this week. My team has the 9th most points and I am somehow in 5th. My older brother has the 3rd most and he is in 7th. Weird. My dad is in 2nd. I play him in a few weeks so it should be interesting. I'll let him win so he doesn't cut me off financially.

PS if you want to see a good entry about the election take a look at my brother Matt's blog on my link list. It's very well said. PEATTTHHH

What happened???

2004-10-14T18:39:00.000+01:00

I finally got off my ass and did something fun last night. I went to the Portugal vs. Russia World Cup Qualifier. It was really quite amazing. The Europeans are absolutely crazy about this stuff. It was just a qualifier and the 35000 people were far louder than the 75000 at a Bills game. Of course, they're not doing too well though. So anyways, Portugal won 7-1. It was a great game. I went with the guys from work and my boss.

Speaking of sports; I am 3-2 in my NFL fantasy leauge, which isn't all that bad seeing as how I had the 11th pick out of twelve teams. Of course, my dad had the last and he is in second place. Oh well. It's just fun to play each week and try to follow the games on the internet or at the bar if they will show a game. Can't wait to get home and hopfully go to a game.(Shara-that means you)haha

I came to the conclusion that I will be sick sometime in the next month, because I have gotten sick every October for the last 4 or 5 years. Never fails.

Sometimes I sit here and wonder if I am missing anything at home. I can't wait to get back but then I realize that it is probably the same old thing. Goes something like this; Thursday night...get together at Highgate (ya I know we don't live there anymore, but we can still drink there), drink a crap load of beer while Gary, Wiley, Jay and me talk crap about George Bush. Nick is wearing some brightly colored metrosexual outfit and jumping on the couch and giving out random slaps. Michno and his boy Zack are sitting around talking about the girls they see at the gym all week and what they will do if they see them out (God bless Zack Papis). The 130 Lisbon girls (if they aren't too busy with the cool frat boys) are just stumbling around taking shots of crappy vodka. Once at the bar it is the same routine of just sitting around getting totally drunk while hoping to hook up with some girl that you previously had a fling with, because you never meet anyone new there and everyone has already hooked up. After leaving the bar we enjoy jumping in the bushes at the corner, Zack perhaps spearing himself with a sharp piece of metal, while Michno cleans out Sals, Just Pizza, and Mobil all in one massive bite. Once home we talk about how crappy the Steer is and smoke a shit load of cigarettes. The next morning we get together at Toms and put all of our minds together to figure out what happened the night before. And that is the pathetic story of a typical Thursday night in the crappy city of Buffalo...wait a minute....that's a great freaking night...HOLY SHIT...I gotta get home. I miss the Steer!

And a shout out to Gary for his Birthday...keep hooking up with my past hookups dude.

And a shout out for Scott Michno...just because he probably doesn't get many without Zack there. For he is forever tangled up in the misery that is his pathetic life...I'm just sad that I can't be there to watch him squirm in his own rotten stentch of failure. Love you

Parker Lewis, Brits and Boston??

2004-10-09T22:23:00.000+01:00

Haven't written in a while. Sorry folks. Nothing new here.

Chris and I sat around drinking last night and then ended up going to the bar around 1am. After about 5 more drinks we came home and watched the presidental debate. I figured out that getting drunk and then watching George Bush isn't a real good idea. I think we woke up everyone in the house around 3am. Oh well.

Woke up this morning, OK afternoon and went down to O'Gillians Irish pub to watch England play Wales, which is where Chris is from. It was crazy. The place was absolutely packed. Everyone was drinking pint after pint. We had a great time. Plus everyone was speaking English which is great. You go crazy talking to people in half Portuguese and half English. England won, of course, which was cool. We then took a walk around the city to get a bite to eat. We had no less than 10 people approach us and try to sell us hash from Morroco. It's a lot of fun to humor these people. I like to tell them that I am deaf or I am selling hash too.

I have a TV now and we have cable. It's pretty cool. We get about 40 channels and a bunch of them are in English with subtitles. Everyday I get to watch; Mad about You, Will and Grace, Seinfeld, Cheers, King of Queens, and Parker Lewis Can't Loose. Yes that is right. They show all these classic shows and then Parker Lewis. It's very odd. I love that show though. It's like a watered down version of Saved By the Bell. I wonder who would win in a fight, Zack Morris or Parker Lewis. And for that matter, who would win between the "tough friends", AC Slater or Parker Lewis' tough guy friend. I'm going to set that up.

The other day I'm at work and my boss comes up to me and tells me he needs someone in Boston sometime in the next month or two. I have no idea what he was talking about. But I don't know why he would tell me unless he was talking about me. I asked him the next day what's up with it and he said he doesn't know yet. So we'll see I guess. Would be real cool.

And yesterday it rained for the first time since I got here. Now the weather is like it is in Buffalo. I don't know what the hell happened. It was 85 and sunny every day and now it's like 70 and cloudy. Oh well.

Lastly, I talked to my parents last week and for Christmas my dad is flying us down to NYC. Should be a lot of fun. Both my brothers and my parents in the Big Apple for Christmas. I think my little brother and I are staying at my older brother's place in Brooklyn, but my parents got us a room in the city for Christmas Eve. Gonna be a great time. Christmas in NYC is amazing. Went 2 years ago with my ex just before Christmas and it was probably the coolest the city has ever been. 5th Ave is one of a kind during the holidays. Can't wait!

2004-10-04T13:13:00.000+01:00

I showed up at work today and found out I don't have to work today or tomorrow because the project we are working on is postponed until Nov. 3. I took off Friday and now I have 2 days off so I got a 5 day weekend. So once I found out that people here are lazy and take 4 day weekends all the time, I decided to go to the American Embassy to register so that they know I am here in case of emergency. Let's just say that that is the last place I want to be in case of emergency. I arrive to the front gate which is guarded by 3 armed guys. As I pass I overhear them speaking to eachother, and I think "Oh yes, finally Americans that speak English". NOPE-The bastards were speaking Portuguese. What the hell is that. We have Portuguese people guarding our Embassy. The only reason I was there was because Portuguese people are lazy and had the day off, and then I come to find that our American soil here in Portugal is being protected by these same lazy Portuguese people. I then show my Passport and go inside where another god damn Portuguese woman searches me and my bag. I started getting pissed because I am being hassled by a damn Portuguese person to get into "MY" Embassy. So once she does the full cavity search and everything, I walk through another gate towards the building. Well seeing as how they don't tell me where to go I choose one of the two open gates and enter. Immediately I hear "HEY HEY" And I look over to see 2 more effing Portuguese guys sitting on their asses smoking cigarettes, pointing to the other gate. I walk up to the building and pass 2 more of these assholes. Once inside I go into the door that says "CITIZEN SERVICES". I approach the window and a guy greets me with this, "Bom Dia". What in gods name is this. Another Portuguese bastard. Not only that but he had American Flags all over the place. I'll put money that he's not even an American. So I fill out my shit and just want to get out of this damn place. While I'm leaving I look over and see a bunch of postings all over the wall. There's stuff like "Travel, Tourism, Americans in Portugal, bla bla bla" I then turn around and the entire wall behind me is covered in TRAVEL WARNINGS, so I take a look. After spending 5 minutes looking at them I came to realize why the airline industry is doing so bad; there's a travel advisory for every country in the damn world. There was one for Mexico. What the hell is that? The most odd countries were up there. The best 2 travel warnings were as follows; "Travel warning-Middle East and Northern Africa" OK, when you start having travel warnings for entire areas of continents, you know there is a problem. Cities-OK Areas-OK Countries-OK But an entire continent. So After looking at the rest which included, Zaire, Congo, Nigeria, I came to the conclusion that Africa is off limits for Americans. And so is SE Asia and most of East Asia, except China's warning was just lifted. "Travel Warning-Iraq" Ah shit!! There goes my plan to take the wife and kids to Iraq for winter break. Turns out Americans are killing Iraqis like hotcakes. Who the eff needed to see a travel warning for Iraq. I would love to see a travel ad for Iraq. "Come to the beautiful country of Iraq. Go swimming in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, relax and drink a cocktail on top of a mound of rubble, or send the kids out for the day for a fun game of find the suicide bomber, while you and the wife play "behead me if you can" with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and those playful Al Queda." As I left the Embassy I went across the street and tried to take a picture, mostly because the building is actually somewhat famous for it's Architecture. The retarded guard didn't even say anything. The woman that searched me came out and said, "No pictures". That pissed me off the most. This bitch is telling me not to take a picture of "MY" embassy. Hell, my tax dollars paid for it, not her's. She's more of a risk than I am to the security of this place. So I'm know debating whether to write Colin Powell a letter telling him and the State Dept. not to contact me if there is an emergency. "OH NO, the Portuguese and killing Americans all over Lisbon, run to the American Embassy that is controlled completely by.....PORTUGUESE".

2004-10-02T19:09:00.000+01:00

I am on day 2 of not smoking and it sucks like always. I went to the zoo today to try to feel better. It was cool as hell. Unlike in the US where you can't get closer than 100 yards to the animals, here you can get close as hell. I touched a monkey. We did get yelled at for giving monkeys Bugles. I guess that Bugles aren't part of the typical primate diet. I put up some new pictures so take a look.

I figured tonight I will lay around again and do nothing. Hopefully by Monday I will have all the nicotine out of my system. Oh ya, and today is my little brother's birthday. Holly shit, he is 20. I bet my parents feel old now with 3 kids all in their 20s.

I have come to the conclusion that I need to find a girl here. This week I am going to ask some random girl out. It should be interesting. First off, I don't know if she'll speak English. And secondly I don't know if she will go out with me. You put both of these 2 things together and the chances of me getting a date are...um I'd say "bad to very bad". We'll see what happens.

Cigarettes are BAD

2004-10-01T20:18:00.000+01:00

So I decided to quit smoking. I haven't left my room yet today because all the people here smoke and the fact that I am so dizzy I can't really walk too far. Thank god I have a TV or I might kill myself. Oh well, This time I will quit for good.(laugh now) I mean it this time. "There's a new Thurgood Jenkins today"

So how bout that debate yesterday. Was it just me or did George Bush look really uncomfortable. The funniest part of it was the fact that every time Kerry said something about the war in Iraq, like "I would have built a true alliance", George Bush looked at him like he was suprised Kerry was saying it and like he never heard Kerry say it before. I don't know if George has some tactical advisors behind the scenes that did research and figured out that if you look at your opponent and pretend it is the first time you heard these things and that he is crazy, maybe people will believe that he is.

I also really liked the awkward silences George Bush had. He looked like a deer in the headlights. The one time Kerry said something accusing Bush. It was right at the end of the 90 seconds and you heard Bush off camera make some noise saying he didn't agree. Jim Lehrer assumed that Bush had something to say so he gave him another 30 seconds to elabrate on his "Pist". Immediately George Bush had this look on his face like "Oh shit, I was just making that noise to show that I disagreed with John Kerry, but now I have to elaborate on why I disagree. Wait, why do I disagree? How shit, I'm screwed." It just shows that he is so tuned to disagreeing with certain things that Kerry says even if he doesn't know why. The puppetmasters must train him better.

Overall, I thing Kerry beat him, hands down. He looked more like the president and Bush looked like a kid sitting in the principles office while his parents talk to the principle. He was completely terrified. And how many times can he just repeat the same shit.

I don't know, I'm going to lay down before a get real pissed off and smoke a cigarette. Let me know what you guys think.

2004-09-30T18:45:00.000+01:00

OK everyone! I want some people to leave comments damnit. I haven't talked to any of you in a month so leave me a little something.

Sure enough a fight broke out at the bar last night. Some Irish kid started calling everyone "Arsholes". People got a little pissed and a little fight broke out. I just sat and drank my beer.

I'm staying up all night tonight so I can watch the debate. It's on at 2am here so I figured I will get myself a 6 pack and not go to work tomorrow. And I am quitting smoking tomorrow(again). So make sure you leave me some words of encouragment. Cigarettes are only 2.25 here and you can smoke everywhere so I have been smoking way too much. Wish me luck!!

Damn IRS

2004-09-29T13:03:00.000+01:00

Turns out that I will be paying 25% of my earnings here to good old Uncle Sam. Ya that makes sense; the money I get from my Portuguese boss at my Portuguese work that I would be spending in Portugal goes to the US. What the hell is that? And you wonder why people hate our country. I think I am going to write a letter to the IRS and tell them I want 25% of their salary. It's only fair. They take my monet when I'm out of the country, and I take their money.

Anyways, tonight should be cool. Chelsea(England) is playing Porto(Portugal) and the game is on at the English pub I always go to. Should be an interesting mix of English and Portuguese. Hopefully a fight breaks out and I can be the American and stick my nose in and break it up.

Last night all my roommates went out because Kamila is going back to the Ceck Republic today. I didn't feel like going out because I had a long day and had to get up this morning and because I have spoken to her about 3 times since I've been here. Why do something I don't want to do for someone that really isn't close to me at all. So I know everyone else will give me shit about it when I get home tonight.

I don't really have anyone here to bitch to so my blog will feel the wrath.

Here's an update

2004-09-28T22:55:00.000+01:00

So I guess I'm in Portugal. Everything is real cool here. Just been working some crazy hours...like 9:30-8 every day. Not much fun. I've been doing my fair share of drinking though too. The women here are amazing. I look forward to going to work just for the walk. This place makes UB look like 130 Lisbon (figure that out girls).

Here's some random shit I have been up to:

Went to Estoril where there used to be a Formula 1 race. Amazing city. Went to the coolest beach I've ever seen and read a book all day. There are pictures on my other link if you want to see.

I arrived on a Friday morning and ended up going out until 7am Saturday. I met a really friendly Austrian girl that made a Steer slut seem tame. The nightlife here is crazy. It gets started around 12 and goes til the sun comes up.

I tend to go out during the week with my British roomy Chris to the bar around the corner. We always go to have 1 pint and end up getting wasted. The people there are great. Seeing as how we are there all the time they treat us like Kings.

So far I am adjusted to the lifestyle here. It does seen that a lot of people give you a hard time being American. It isn't obvious or anything but more passive. People tend to try to make themselves seen a lot better than they really are just to impress me or something. Look, I'm American, just kill someone or start a war and I will respect you right?

Speaking of the election: HOW THE HELL DO PEOPLE STILL NOT HAVE THEIR MINDS MADE UP ABOUT THE ELECTION!!!! George Bush and John Kerry are really like night and day. True, some of their beliefs are similiar but not to the point that people can't make up their minds. It's like Hitler and Ghandi running against one another and people not sure who would be a better leader. Guess that's why George Bush is president, PEOPLE AREN'T EDUCATED.

My first entry

2004-09-28T11:26:00.000+01:00

Welp, This is my blog. Hope you all like it. It will be updated every day probably so you can see what I am up to.