Wow I can’t believe it’s only been 5 weeks since I’ve been out here. I feel like so much life has been lived. I have had the privilege of seeing the countryside up in the boonies twice so far and it’s definitely been an experience. First of all the weather is a lot nicer up north…a lot less heat and it’s DRY. It’s a lot like LA weather. T-shirt and shorts is good enough but sometimes you need a sweater or long sleeve. Yeah that sounds like LA. So at first I really liked it up there and after a few days I started getting antsy. I realized a lot about myself while visiting the countryside. One thing is that I definitely need internet. It’s sad how my life got so dependent on that. It kills me to not know what’s going on in the world, and specifically what’s going on with the lives of friends and family. Another realization is that I can’t just do nothing. I’m not good at just sitting around and relaxing….or just sitting around period. This is probably why I can never actually finish books and why studying for long periods of time is so hard. Yeah going back to school will be tough if I don’t fix that issue. The last thing I realized is that I’m such a city boy. Being up in the boonies got me to appreciate the city. Yeah it’s gross and humid and crowded and everywhere you go it smells like smog and toejam…but it ain’t that bad. I kind of like it (the city that is).

So it’s official. I weighed myself in the gym and I lost 7 lbs so far. I moved two notches in my belt so now my pants and shorts look all retarded with that fold/crease that you get when you’re too skinny for them. I don’t really wear my jeans anymore because they’re on the verge of ripping at the heel and I hate it when that happens. McDonald’s is 24 hours so maybe if I just eat a Big Mac at midnight every day I can gain some weight back…but that’s just gross. I don’t understand how I can lose weight like that. I think I’ve been eating the same amount as when I’m home too. It’s probably because I don’t eat much meat anymore and I sweat like all the time. Ah well.

I started braving it out and eating street food and it’s pretty damn good and cheap. I always order two dishes and it comes to about $1.50 at most. It seems like no one seems to eat a lot here because whenever I order two things they look really confused wondering if I want one or the other and when I have both dishes in front of me people walking by just stare. I mean I honestly don’t think one dish is enough to fill a hungry man…but then again I was raised to eat til I was full. My dad was seriously nervous and sad that I was so puny and small growing up. I remember the days when I had to down two raw eggs everyday and eat Flintstone vitamins to help me grow and gain weight or whatever. Yeah I did that after my dad saw Rocky. That went on for a while until I started yacking after a few weeks of raw eggs. I think that’s how I’m so good at yacking on call.

So sleep is another issue I got over here. My room happens to be like a few meters from the street. I guess when people want to sell things they freakin have these horns that have this annoying honk…and they start doing this at like 6am honking away to draw attention. There are also these pick-up trucks that try to sell you produce driving around with a megaphone telling you (I’m assuming) that they’re selling it and it’s a deal. My hearing’s all sensitive in the morning because of the one ear thing so I wake up every single time. It’s been a little over a week now where I’ve had 상꺼플(sp?) on my right eye. Yeah.

On the brighter side I know enough of the language to get around and order things at restaurants. Nice. I practice with the neighborhood people at night so it’s been getting better (I think?)…unless they just gave up on me and just nod when they really have no idea what the hell I’m saying. Also, pac-10 champions for the first time in 50 years is a pretty damn good feeling. Thank you Monty for being a normal coach, cuz honestly that’s something we shouldn’t take for granted, sadly.

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