It's been a little over 3 weeks since I've been back in Buenos Aires. From the get-go, there was really no time to transition my way back into the swing of things, no time to let it sink in that I was back.
The last 3 weeks have flown by really, and a lot of that is thanks to all the responsibilities and work I've been stuck with, with my business. I feel like there's been a lot of change, a level up if you will, like in the movies or video games when your character upgrades to the next level.
I came back here with lots of motivation, which I took full advantage of the first two weeks, and then this last week I kind of started to burn out a little. -REALITY CHECK- It's important to make sure there's balance in one's life; On a physical level, a spiritual level, a mental level, an emotional level. I like to think they all keep each other in check, but this week I decided to cut out all social outings and focused on my body - recuperating after getting stitches to my forehead after a freak accident and preventative measures as there's been a big weather shift as we move from summer to Autumn and cold winds are making their way into the city. Back to the accident: I was teaching my English conversation class with my student, Diego, when I somehow threw my left elbow back while adjusting my seat and hit it directly on my funny bone, but at full speed. Pain immediately radiated throughout my body and I stopped everything I was doing. Diego looked at me and asked if I was okay, which I shook my head no. I started feeling light-headed and my arm started rashing up and turning purple so I got up to go to the bathroom to throw some cold water on my face. Once I got into the bathroom, I lost consciousness and I guess fell directly straight, into the corner where two walls met, which I later went back and found was pretty sharp.
Long story short - Diego went with me to Fernandez Hospital in Recoleta (free public hospital), and they took great care of me - stitches, two tetanus shots in the ass, plenty of injections of anesthesia into my forehead, and some sort of shock therapy that measured my heart rate. It's been a week so tomorrow I should be getting the stitches out. My first time losing consciousness (self-inflicted at least; first time was when doctor gave me too much morphine), first time getting stitches, and first time going to a hospital for myself in Argentina. Overall - I'm looking at it as a positive experience. I'm also looking at it as a sign that I needed to slow down and focus on getting my shit together. Thus - this week I've spent mostly at home, in my room, all cozy - working on editing video/photo/marketing/business planning/emailing. I've slept every night this week before midnight, which is an achievement in itself.
As far as business and such - it's been keeping me well busy. I need to start delegating more, but we need to either hire more employees or get some interns in to do some free labor! :) I've always been so focused on the hands-on, running of my business as the figurehead persona, community leader sort of role, but as things are progressing, I'm finding that I might need to step out of that role a bit, and more into the overseer of things - delegating someone to do all of that tedious work and focus more on the bigger picture - legalities of becoming a legal LLC in the US and in Argentina, finding interns & paid personnel, developing our tour packages, finding the right NGO to partner up with, bringing a new project into Argentina - sOccket.
In other news - I'm living with 3 new people. Don't know if I ever updated it, but Robin and BJ both moved to San Cristobal to run a student residence (which there are no students yet), and get to live there for free. I have my friend Lucho (Argentina), Anne (Denmark), and Laura (France) living with me. The two girls are both studying here and Lucho has been my friend here in Argentina for as long as I can remember, about 4 years I believe. It's a good onda and the place is staying pretty clean! I'm also getting a lot of work done, but I do miss the homies, for sure.
Anyways - It's 8:40am - time to get my hustle on. Til next one (I'll try not to make it so long)
- Reality Check - Busy busy, back to balance
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candokid- March 29th, 8:41
- How the time flies
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- candokid
- March 5th, 9:23
nostalgic
I have just awoken from a dream where I was playing soccer with Maradonna and Tevez. It was a blurry dream, as most of them are, but I remember when I woke up, I immediately knew it was my last full day in San Diego. Somberness started to set in.
When I had just arrived in LA and Cj found me in the airport terminal, I remember thinking that this trip was probably going to fly by pretty fast. And now here I find myself, in my home with my family on my last full day in San Diego counting down the hours til we drive up to LA and they send me back out into the world.
I told myself this trip was going to be about family. I especially wanted to spend some quality time with my parents and my grandmothers. I feel like I did get in some good quality family time, but it makes saying goodbye for now that much harder. On Saturday I had a family bbq at home and had a great time; Lots of food, beautiful weather, and good times with everyone together. As my grandma (Mom's Mom) was leaving I helped carry her into my Auntie Lorna's SUV, as she had been sick with kidney failure and at age 88, she was still giving it her all. The seat was pretty high up and she was struggling so I picked her up and gently sat her down inside. She looked at me and started to cry. She said it was so nice to be treated so well (she had stayed with us for 2 days) and to see me with my brother and my Mom. She said she hopes she's still alive when I come back next time.
That was one of the toughest, yet beautiful moments of my life. I'll never forget the look in her eyes, even at her old age and sometimes failing memory, I saw the pain and love at the same time.
It really struck a chord with me. Family has always come first in my book, yet in my pursuit of happiness and success, I find myself thousands of miles away from them, chasing a dream that is just within my reach. I hope and pray they understand why I have to go back and finish what I started. And that no matter the distance, the time we spent together is invaluable and I'll always take those memories with me. Love doesn't end when one person leaves. Love keeps burning even when we aren't looking...when we are sleeping, when we are absent, when we are living.
San Diego is my hometown. It's where I was born, raised, and lived. But the 'ol saying is quite true. Home is where the heart is. It's not about the places I come and go to, but the people. My heart is and will always be with the people - my family and friends who I keep near and dear to my heart. As I wrap up this trip home, I feel even more grounded in my core values of family and love. That is what fuels me to work hard and keep stepping my game up. I have til November to hustle and get my business to the levels I haven't even imagined yet. I really look forward to being back in this place with these people for Thanksgiving!
- Reasessing where I'm at. Confronting expectations
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- candokid
- January 20th, 1:24
hopeful
The days have come and past so quickly these last few weeks. Things that always seemed like they were way off in the distance, are now present time. It's kind of scary to think about. I think that fear comes from numerical reasoning. 4 years, I've been here in Argentina. 27 years old. In my head, there's always been that mindset that 30 is old and that I must accomplish all the things I want to do before then. Well, I'm 3 years off from that number and when I look at where I'm at now, I can't necessarily complain. But at the same time, I'm not where I imagined I'd be.
I find myself in Buenos Aires at the prime of my life (at least I claim it to be). I live in a shared apartment with 3 other Americans, working online every morning doing a job I don't quite enjoy. I must keep doing it for the time being as it pays the bills. On the side I've got a project that is almost 4 years in the making. The real reason I'm still here, is because of BAFA. I guess in a way, it's my way of justifying still being here. It's been a slow process developing the club, but we have come a long way from where we started. The trouble I find myself in now, is figuring out a way to sustain a living from it by itself.
Time. It's going to take some time and lots of hard work. That's what I'm constantly reminded, but after 4 years, 1 1/2 of which we've actually started to run the club as a business, I've gotten the itch to move on to the next stage of my life already. Again, I can't complain about where I'm at because everyday I get to meet new people from all different places and backgrounds. I live in a big cosmopolitan city where there's new things to do and see if I really look for it. Beautiful women and insane night life. Yet, I feel like something is missing. Perhaps its just that I feel stuck in my rut, like I've been doing the same thing over and over again. The thought of another year or longer here, even though I'll be working hard for something I really enjoy doing, just seems mundane. I fear that at the end of it, I won't have anything to show for it, monetarily at least. How would I feel going back to San Diego, 5 years later, in more debt than I started, and having missed so much from back home..
Everything happens for a reason, but I guess I'm just confused as to what I should be doing. I really do enjoy what I do, my business partner is great, and everything is going fine here. But I dunno, something feels missing. Is it my family? Yes. Is it a need for change of scenery? Possibly. Is it the money? Might be. Is it finding love? I sometimes feel like it.
It's been a long rant, but what I'm getting at is this. I'm going to give myself this one last year, to give it my all. I'll mentally note that in one year's time, I'll have to make a big decision. Starting today, everyday is going to be dedicated to putting these doubts to rest. It's good to think about these doubts and hesitations, as long as it drives me to take action, to make it all work out. Having Dave on vacation has been good for me, as it's required me to step up and see how to run everything as just one person. Progress has been made, and I have to make sure to keep pushing forward and learning as much as I can, even when he returns.
19 days til I travel back home to visit. Got a lot on my plate til then. Many people to contact, hours to work, events to hold, and responsibilities to uphold. I want to deserve this vacation, so off to bed I go, to start fresh tomorrow. Til next one..
- The Holiday Hangover...
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- candokid
- December 28th, 2011
3 Days til the final countdown to 2012. It's insane, really, how quickly the time has been flying.
Christmas has come and past. It wasn't really until about 3 days before Christmas that I started feeling like it was actually the holidays a bit. Willie had his friend, Monica, who has been on the road traveling for a while come stay with us while in BA. She brought her Christmas music on her iPod, which we had running nearly 24/7, as well and surprised us by getting us a Christmas tree, decorations, and presents! How sweet!
We ended up having friends over and had a huge dinner. Everyone brought a side dish, BYOB and chipped in for the big meat dishes. In total we had a schmorgasborg (sp?) and ate like kings. Two chickens, roast beef, gravy, potato salad, stuffing, mac-n-cheese, green beans & mushrooms, salad, cornbread, blue berries, chocolate chip cookies, oh my.. The rest of the night was spent guzzling down wine, champagne, and a little herb. All in all, it was just what I think all of us were hoping for, great company, delicious food, and relaxation.
The days following Christmas have been what I call a "holiday hangover." I've just had a weird feeling since Monday when it went back to 'business as usual.' Even though it never really felt like the holidays til just before Christmas, I think we were using the holidays as an excuse to party a bit more, spend more money, and neglect our responsibilities a little more than we should. My roommate Robin has been completely swamped with doing bike tours as most of his guides are away on vacation as well as BJ. He's been pretty burned out, but they've been raking in the money as it's high season. I'm really happy for them, but it's got me thinking about the year ahead.
Come January, Dave will be in Peru for most of the month and the beginning of February. I will be in charge of running the majority of the games as well as overseeing Christian (we hired him to do BAFX - Buenos Aires Futbol Experience), our good Argentine friend, and Anne (we hired her to be in charge of our Women's Games, Business Sponsorships, and University/Study Abroad Representative). On top of that, keeping our site up in tip top shape and motivating our other minority partner and web guy, Marty, to make some improvements on the site and stay involved. All the while maintaining all of this, I will be in charge of boosting our marketing for the club through online SEO, web developments, merchandise, etc., and reaching out to different businesses to create relationships and events.
Just have a mixed feeling at the moment. I really want to kick ass with BAFA and know there's so much potential for 2012. It's going to be a lot of work and it's going to take a lot more effort, especially on my part to do the research that's necessary and do some things that I might not particularly want to do, to make sure we not only stay afloat, but grow our name even more in the futbol-tourism industry and find ways to monetize it. As Dave says, all in due time, it's the bigger picture. I guess I'm just a little impatient and need to start goal setting for teh bigger picture, yet break it down in to smaller, easier to accomplish tasks that can be completed every day and every week. My motivation for this: Well, I'm already on year 4 here and right now especially with the holidays and seeing people getting married, have kids, and just live the 'normal life' has got me thinking I need some stability in my life, maybe settle down a bit. I know there's so many people that are envious of the lifestyle I live down here and what I have going, but it's got it's ups and downs. I want to get our business to the point where we have an organized business structure and we're keeping true to our grassroots futbol club community feel, yet find new, lucrative ways to make money through futbol-tourism. Ideally, I'd like to get to the point where I can move back to San Diego for good, or at least for 3 months by next December, and still keep my shares in the business. In order to do that, we have to set up the business in a way that we can earn residual income and set up the foundation for a business model that will continue to thrive, even without our distinct personalities needed in Buenos Aires for the business to run.
With the New Year coming up, I've started to think about resolutions and things I want to focus on for the next year. I'll save that for the next post, but I just know that it will including taking life in stride, with moderation. Knowing what I want and working towards it, one day at a time, doing what I can, as much as I can, whilst having fun and doing it with a smile. :)
- Christmas Time - Remeniscing of Home
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- candokid
- December 20th, 2011
melancholy
It's Tuesday, December 20th. 5 days til Christmas. The sun is out, the skies are blue, and not a sign of holiday cheer in sight. Sigh
This will be my 5th Christmas living outside of the United States, and it's taking it's toll on my holiday spirit. Granted, it's really nice weather out and been having a lot of fun partying with friends and staying active, but I really do miss all the excitement around this time of the year. Hearing Christmas songs on the radio or anywhere public you go, really. A little cool chill and putting on a warm coat and observing all the holiday decorations. Turning on the tv and seeing all the old familiar Christmas time movies they always play on re-run. I know, I know, they're kind of dumb little things, but for me, these things remind me of that warm feeling I used to always get as a child, counting down each day until the 25th!
Most of all, I miss being around my family. We would have decorations around the house and Mom would always be a little frantic, trying to sort out Holiday parties and getting presents. I'm bummed I'll miss out again on the annual Family Christmas Party as well. I'll make a promise to myself that next Christmas, I'll be back in San Diego to celebrate with my family, whether it be me living there permanently or at least to enjoy Thanksgiving - Christmas, possibly even New Years.
- Back at it - Springtime in BA 2011
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- candokid
- December 12th, 2011
- calm
One of my New Year's resolutions is to try and document my life more. I'm pretty good about doing so through photos, but sometimes photos aren't enough to describe what's really going on. I figured, why wait til New Year's when I know I can start it now.
It's Spring time here in Buenos Aires. It's getting warmer week by week and I can already tell it's going to be a hot one! The last couple of weeks have been a LOT of fun. There's been so much going on here in the city. With the sun being out more hours during the day, we've continued our weekly routine of biking almost everyday, futbol, and cross-fit workouts with Vitruvian. There's been a lot of new people I've been meeting, through various people and mediums. We have a new roommate in the house taking Bj's room while he's back visiting home. His name is Willie and apparently he went to SDSU with Robin, Bj, and I, but I never met him there. It's great though because he's so easy to get along with, just like we've all known him forever.
There's a really good onda about BA right now. I've been going out a lot, maybe too much. Celebrated Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, went to see Manu Chao, which was so fun and amazing - he knew the crowd and the crowd knew him, energy pumping the whole night! Now's also the time for asados and enjoying the park. Parque Las Heras has been a frequent chill spot recently, going out there with friends for some beer, sun, music, and puffin. Been going out to dance a lot with friends and drink. Really enjoying everything now. It's just kind of sad as many of my friends are leaving to go back home. That's the tough part about being here is that so many people are studying for the semester and then leave, or after a while need to go home. One of my closest friends here, Luis, is heading back to Quito, Ecuador as he's having some family issues he needs to resolve.
But such is the life here in BA. I've been here many times before, but at the same time when one chapter closes, another opens. Been meeting a lot of lovely ladies here recently too. I'm having fun and just enjoying it day by day, not looking for anything too serious but really enjoying the company.
In other news, our new BAFA site came out a few days ago. It's amazing. It will make our life much easier and organized. We hired Christian Martinez as our 'Activites Coordinator' for BAFA and so he'll be setting up organized match days, stadium tours, volunteer activities, asados, among other things. We've been interviewing a lot of people as well for a position we advertised within the club to help alleviate some of the work Dave and I do. There've been some that did not impress, but also some others that have some interesting experience. It dawned on us at our most recent BAFA 'Friends & Family Night' at The Office (which was a disaster - they did not have enough food or beer) that Marty would fit the role perfectly if he's keen. So we'll follow up on that and see how it works out.
Today is Monday, and so it's time to start a new week. This week I hope is more productive than the last few. Still getting things done, but just been going out more than I'd like to - spending more than I should. But here's to a week of balance - working hard, and enjoying the fruits of my labour as well.
- My 26th Year of Life. A REFLECTION
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- candokid
- September 21st, 2011
- thankful
First light pierces through the cracks of my window shade. It forces a squint on my face but the radiating warmth is a welcomed start to a new day. I open my window and it's all clear blue skies amidst the city skyline. It's the first day of Spring in the southern hemisphere. This is the start to my 27th trip around the sun.
......................
Flashback 365 days. I can remember how it started just a year ago, on the sizzling Caribbean sands of Santa Marta, Colombia. Lounging in a hammock with some fresh fruit and a good book, overlooking the the palm trees and warm inviting waters of the Caribbean Sea. Amidst the tropical backdrop of a relaxing vacation with good friends, a deserved ending to a previous year of great learning. Thus began the new year of rejuvenation and growth.
I was fortunate enough to be able to visit many places and along the path I met a host of wonderful people from all around the world. My travels took me from the exotic beaches of Colombia and all my lovely Colombian familia in Bogota to a very special & memorable surprise visit to San Diego for quality time back home with my cherished family & friends. I discovered new landscapes on the Peruvian Pacific Coast and Ecuadorian Amazon & Andes with some of my best friends on an unforgettable adventure. And in between, I've been enjoying being another friendly resident in my current home, the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It seems with every birthday, we sometimes expect to feel a change with another year under our belt. As if we'll somehow feel different than we did the day before. I think the beauty in getting older is becoming wiser through life's experiences. Taking the lessons we learn everyday and learning from them to make better decisions for our future. In this sense, this year has been a big leap for me.
As the saying goes, "life is a journey, not a destination." And everyday is a new part of that journey, everyday I find myself making
better decisions. Decisions about how I want to live my life and what''s important. Many people come and go in our lives and some leave a lasting impact on us. Luckily, I've surrounded myself with good people who help make me a better person. People who know that laughter is one of the secrets to a long life for example. And people that appreciate genuineness and sincerity in friends and acquaintances. I've come to realize the things that I value more in my life. My focuses point me in the right direction to where I want to go: Leading a healthy lifestyle - exercise, meditation, yoga, futbol & biking, along with cooking healthy meals and taking care of my body. Pursuing a passion and making a living from it - growing my futbol/soccer business, Buenos Aires Futbol Amigos, here in Buenos Aires with my business partner Dave and constantly on the hustle with my entourage of best friends/entrepreneurs as we live each day doing what we love to do.
Truly, I feel very blessed. I'm not saying that life is perfect, I'm not yet a rich man and am away from my family who I love and miss very much. But I'm happy. Here, pursuing a passion I have and living a lifestyle that doesn't compare to anywhere else I've been or
experienced. Here's to another year of new experiences, continued growth, and quality time with family and friends!
- Minor Delays
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- candokid
- April 26th, 2011
So it's Day 1 of the big trip! I find myself at my living room table, bundled up in many layers trying to sweat out a flu that struck me during the craziness of today. So, yeahhhhh, I'm still in Buenos Aires...
Well, the day didn't quite start off the way I hoped, as something I ate yesterday caused some painful stomach cramps and I had to get up several times throughout the night to vomit. As my alarmed sounded signaling the start of the journey, my only focus seemed preventing myself from any more regurgitating of last night's dinner and to get to the bus station as soon as possible. Everything seemed to go smoothly as my priorities had sort of shifted, and all I cared about was feeling better. As I left for the bus station, I remember telling BJ, "well, at least it can't get any worse!" Ha! I guess I spoke too soon...
Arriving to the airport around 610 in the morning, I am a bit bewildered to see massive lines stretched out all over the LAN Airlines check in counter. Oh great... Turns out the flight has been canceled as there is no plane and we were left to sit and wait for a few hours to see what LAN was going to do to compensate. I was a bit disappointed, but really, I wasn't thinking about it so much cause it was out of my hands. After waiting til about 1030am, I arrived to the front of the line to a smiling LAN Representative. Smiles are so underrated in this country..
After a bit of this and that, she informed me that all flights had been booked for the day, even the connector from Santiago, Chile. I was surprised with the level of service and compensation that I received though. My representative informed me that to make up for it, LAN was offering either 600usd flight credit through LAN or a 200usd refund on my credit card! On top of that, they gave me a remis (private taxi), breakfast voucher, 4 star hotel accomodation in capital, lunch, and dinner! No expectations = pleasantly surprised. The flight money is good for a year so I'm trying to think of where I might travel to within this year. It's quite a lot of money! I'm contemplating visiting San Diego and surprising my Dad for his 60th birthday and my 27th birthday as well. Another option would be using it to go to Brazil for Andrey & Milena's wedding next March, would be fantastic as well.
Well so after arriving to the hotel, I took a restful and much needed nap. The room is really comfortable! But, I woke up 2 hours later with the shivers and with aching muscles, and a bit light-headed as well. Oh no....flu!?! Well, tried to enjoy the nice lunch at the hotel then just went back home have beening trying to relax and just hanging with Robin, drinking lots of hot ginger green tea, vitamin c, aspirin, and wearing a lot of layers! I think tonight I'll just go back and try to get a quick dinner. Then a hot shower and go to bed early...515am call time! I hope everything goes well tomorrow and I finally get to Lima to hang out with the guys!!
Til Peru..
- Life update in BA - BAFA, Bikes, & Backpacking Peru/Ecuador
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- candokid
- April 22nd, 2011
- excited
Today is Friday, the 22th of April, 2011. It's been quite a while, but I'm finally back on here. 4 days away from beginning an epic trip which starts with my solo flight from Buenos Aires to meet up with Armando, Joey, and Tyler in Lima, Peru. I'll get into the trip a little later on, but to catch up on what's been happening since New Year's this year....
Well, you can say I've been really busy. You know how sometimes you find yourself tired all the time and feeling drained? Well, that's been me at some points the last four months...but it's a good kind of tired. The kind of tired you get when you get a lot done and you put a lot of energy into the task at hand. I can remember the first few minutes of the New Year, 2011, and burning away the little paper that I had written all my goals for this year, sending them out into the atmosphere as sort of a way for the world to know what to expect from me. I was visualizing how I wanted to spend this year and the things I wanted to accomplish. Much of it was centered around my futbol club, BAFA, and I'm pleasantly surprised to say that things are on the right track.
Since the New Year, Dave and I have put a lot of time into creating a friendly and fun atmosphere for all the footballers in our community. We've introduced more games into the weekly line up, had a few social "BAFA Friends & Family Nights" at Alan's restaurant, The Office, hosted two One-Day Torneos, started a new BAFA Women's League, which we hope will continue to grow, and are finishing up our first Month-Long Sunday Campeonato. We've been working a lot with our different affiliates for promoting/marketing, planning events, and just helping each other out with advice and ideas. I feel like we've been more productive in the last 4 months than we had been the previous two years. But, in all fairness, everything we've done up to this point has been a learning process. The last two years made it possible for us to get to this point and as we continue to grow, I think the big focus for us is to make sure we keep having fun and that everyone in our club is enjoying the futbol, activities, and especially the onda of the group, which is to say, we want to keep it as 'buena onda' as it always has been.
The last four months has also found me meeting a lot of new people and saying goodbye to many as well. Armando, Ben, Etienne, John, Naara, Boris, Meiki, and many more. It's really nothing new though as Buenos Aires has always been and will always be a transient place for all different types of people. As hard as it is to say goodbye to good friends, the unforgettable times spent in Buenos Aires will always be with us and at the same time, it's always fun getting to know new people as well.When I'm not working on BAFA or experimenting new dishes in the kitchen, I've been spending a lot of time on bike, with the guys, but a lot of times just solo; cruising around the city with my ipod and camera, seeing what I can discover in the city. Biking Buenos Aires has been taking off as well as they've hired a few new guides and really becoming a legit organization. We've been all over the city and really getting to know the biking community, especially through Masa Critica and Masa Nocturna or Critical Mass as it's known in the US. It's a big bicycle movement that is made up of an eclectic mixture of bicycle enthusiasts, with all sorts of unique bikes, outfits, and music. We meet up at the Obelisco in the center of the city and sometimes the group gets to over 1,000 people, taking over the streets of Buenos Aires! It's an amazing feeling to be part of the movement!
And so back to the excitement at hand...
I'll be catching the Manuel Tienda Leon bus to Ezeiza Airport at 530 in the morning on Tuesday to catch my 810 flight to Lima. I'm pretty lucky to have gotten the flight I have aboard LAN airlines, which only cost me about 350USD. The trip starts there in Lima and takes us up the west coast of Peru to Piura and Mancora where we will be staying with Armando's godfather and hopefully get to catch some surf and sun. From there we'll take a bus into Ecuador and make our way through Vilcabamba, Guayzimi (where Joey is doing the Peace Corps), Cuenca, Tena, and Quito. I've heard that Cuenca is a really chilled out place that has a very Bohemian vibe and Tena is supposed to be a great place for doing outdoor activities like fishing and white water rafting, both of which I plan on doing. And Quito - well, I imagine it being similar to all the other big latin american capitals I've already been to in South America, probably similar to La Paz and Bogota. What I'm really excited for is the food! I've heard that there's a lot more seafood in Ecuador than Argentina (which isn't a surprise) and that the country's staples are rice, beans/lentils, fried meats, and brothy stews and soups. That sounds excellent to me! I'm just really excited as well to be traveling with all the homies. Tyler was in Buenos Aires just a week ago and Armando had been in Buenos Aires for the last year up until about 3 weeks ago, but I haven't seen Joey in at least a year as he's been doing his Peace Corps time in Ecuador. Just really can't wait to see the guys, cracking jokes again, and just see what this part of the world will bring.
Til my travels from the road....
- 2010. A year in the life..
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- candokid
- December 30th, 2010
- pensive
It's crazy to think how fast a year passes, and how many things change.
365 days...
Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where it seems like time slows down. Sometimes it sucks cause you're stuck working at a job you maybe don't quite particularly enjoy, or maybe waiting anxiously for vacation time away from studying. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you find yourself enjoying the slower pace. Be it cause you're in a really cool place that brings you peace, or with someone you really love and time doesn't even seem to matter.
One year ago nearly to this day, I found myself with bags packed and ready, and an eager desire to finally arrive in Frankfurt, Germany to see my girlfriend. If you asked me back then where I'd see myself in one year's time, I'd probably tell you some sobby story about a fairy tale relationship and all the cool, awesome things I did this year. Instead, life dealt me a different hand, which took 2010 in a different direction.
At times, it seems like life has a way of taking what you believe to be your "winning" poker hand and shuffling it back in with the rest of the deck of cards. You don't understand why it happens at the time, but I think that's part of the mystery of life. You don't know what the next hand will be, and what fortunes or misfortunes might be awaiting you on the next turn.
I didn't mean for this topic to be a poker analogy, but it just seems to fit, ya know? Life is a big gamble. You sit at the table and get dealt your hand. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. Of course you always want to win, but win or lose, the beauty of the game is in playing it. Learn from your mistakes for the future, and celebrate the victories.
2010 was a roller coaster year with it's many ups and downs for me. I feel like I grew up more this year than I had at any other point in my life. It started off with fireworks in Berlin, found myself wandering around Colombia, rediscovering home in California, and now back in the thick of the summer heatwave in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'll admit, there were points throughout the year where I questioned my life and the decisions I was making. Was I doing what made me happy? All the while I contemplated all of this, life and it's unpredictable nature revealed a new path for me to follow. What came out of it was a transformation, a rebirth if you will.
Just as the phoenix at the end of one life burns fiercely and is reborn again from its own ashes, I feel a rebirth in my life. This year I did a lot of soul searching. I made a lot of mistakes, but at the same time, I learned a whole lot from it all. The biggest thing I learned was probably in my way of living. I realized I'm not someone that can plan too far into the future. But, that everything always has a way of happening just the way it should. In the end, we're always alright as long as we're putting 100% into everything we dedicate ourselves to. I've accepted that I can only do, what I can do, no use in feeling bad or complaining. In my pursuit of happiness, I learned that the only person I should be concerned about being happy, is myself. If you can't make yourself happy, no one else can.
This year was a year for the people. It was a year of family and good friends. I feel so fortunate to have met so many wonderful and interesting people these last 12 months who've made my year so special and memorable. I cherish so many memories from this past year, both the great and small ones. There've been many people who have inspired me so much, from my good friends in Germany, to my Colombian family in Bogota, and of course Buenos Aires and all the wonderful people here who inspire me on a daily basis. My family goes without saying.. they always inspire me.
I had dinner with my roommates the other night and we were discussing what our fondest memories were of 2010. I thought long and hard about it. As many exciting adventures and crazy people I've met along the way this year, there was nothing more wonderful for me than the time I spent back home in San Diego with my family and friends in November. Going back home to the place and people that know me best, I felt a peace that I hadn't felt in such a long time. My family has always been there for me and this year was no exception, especially at times when I needed it most. The only way I can describe my 3 short weeks back at home....Magical.
As I look towards the upcoming year, 2011, I can't help but be excited for what's to come. Although I don't know what lies ahead in the unforseen future, I can only smile because whatever lies ahead, I'll be ready with an open mind and heart. Best wishes for HEALTH, HAPPINESS, and LOVE in the New Year. See you in 2011!
