Você é assim, um sonho pra mim
E quando eu não te vejo
Eu penso em você desde o amanhecer
Até quando eu me deito

The other day, a close friend asked me: "You're going to Europe!? Whaaaat? When did you start thinking about going to Europe?"

Actually, I really didn't have the slightest inclination to travel Europe anytime soon, but things change....

As a last minute change of plans, I am staying enrolled in school for the summer (although I am really "graduating" in May) so that I can do one last study abroad in PORTUGAL -- which they just announced 2 weeks ago.  Wow, I had quite an ordeal going to various offices and advisors in order to get myself off the spring degree list.  I'm so frickin' excited, this being my third study abroad on 3 different countries (& continents).  I just had to accomodate that last bit of undergraduate goodness (thus avoiding the horrors of full-time office work), and I just can't decline when offered a $3000 scholarship!!  Thank you random Berkeley academic-based financial aid. 

Of course, if I have to go to Europe, I'm going to damn well travel around.  First... to Berlin to stay with Joyce and her family and partake in the WORLD CUP festivities.  Many people don't know, but I love football (aka. soccer), I played for 8 years as a kid, and it's probably my favourite sport to watch.  Unfortunately, tickets are selling in the thousands... urrrhhh... so I will just hang out at the pub and watch the games on TV.  When the World Cup was in Korea/Japan 4 years ago, I remember staying up all night to watch Korea's games (and subsequently falling asleep through my entire high school graduation), and then flying to Korea during the quarterfinals and automatically being handed a "Be the Reds" t-shirt to wear.  Mobs of red-clad people everywhere -- that was some craziness. Anyways, I get to experience the craziness all over again!  Maybe take a side trip to Amsterdam and/or Poland from Berlin, then I go to Portugal for the program.

From Portugal in mid-August, I'm going to Madrid and the Andalucia (South of Spain) and from there I'm taking a ferry to Morocco.  Oh my Allah, I'm going to Africa.  Crazy!  As much as I am looking forward to Portugal and Spain... Morocco is the icing on the cake.  Marrekech, Fez, Casablanca, the Rif, souks, mint tea, full Islamic dress in 40 Celsius heat... it should be an adventure!   Then I plan on going north through Paris to London to stay with my Little who will be studying there.  Now, if I can just find a friend to stay with in Paris and/or Madrid. Anyone...??

So now, instead of writing my final papers, I'm trying to get rid of my heavy Brasilian accent. I always got scolded (along with the one Mexican guy in my class) for speaking with a Mexican accent, so now switching my accent to the Portugal dialect should be a fun challenge.  Also, I just printed out a Darija (Moroccan Arabic) language book.  Ooh rather dificult, but Joyce can help me learn when we are at work, since we don't do anything all day except drink tea and discuss various things.  Fuck, I love working in the library, especially since I can spend my 4 hour shifts more or less as follows: 2 hours of talking and combing through art anthologies, reciting Spanish poetry, or looking at old issues of Ladies Home Journal; 1 hour of surfing the net (hence the myspace whoreness); 1/2 hour of reading the newspaper and going out for coffee; and then maybe, just maybe, 1/2 hour of actual data-entry which is invariable interspersed with e-mail writing. Back to the topic at hand,  I also have to learn some French and maybe pick up a few German words besides my limited "Guten Tag" and "nein" which actually is probably all I need to know.  Quite a few language and travel books come through our office, so we always get to read them before they are sent off.

Craziness... just one more day and I'm DONE with all things undergraduate.  Whoa I can't believe these 4 years have just gone by.  College didn't even become enjoyable until this past year when I realized taking 21 units a semester actually is NOT fun.  Wish I had learned that earlier.  Now that I've reached this realization, I actually kinda want to study and write papers.  Hence my spectacular 3 hour crazy writing session where I actually wrote a final paper in one sitting instead of surfing wikipedia or leaving stupid comments on myspace. 

I'm gonna miss everyone: APATH folk, PSPers, the Cave collective, library crew, a few random classmates!!!  It's so hard to see people, even in Berkeley, between all the work, study, classes, and prior engagements that everyone has.  I wish I could have dropped in on people's apartments more often or had long AIM conversations into the wee hours of the morning, but there's only 24 hours in the day and my old, granny ass needs a solid 8 hours of sleep a night.  I also meant to make pretty graduation presents for everyone, but I didnt' do that either.  There's a lot of things I wish I could have done, but nothing that I wish I hadn't.  Where did all my time go?  Damnit, I want it back.

I'll freakin' update.. jeez stop harassing me, but true ... way overdue anyways...

Exciting times, this past semester. You live, you learn, right?  Myself and most of my closest friends are "graduating seniors" .. what a scary position to be in: ready to jump into adulthood while grasping onto the last shreds of a tumultuous (& incredibly enjoyable) 4 years of college.

What can I do except reminisce (slightly un-chronologically)...

Top o' tha mountain at Tahoe with Jon, Tony, Jean, and my awesome ski goggles.

"Hazing" my Thetas... unfortunately, I suck at being mean to my 12 little ones.   What an incredible initiate class.  Party on, my Asian brood!

Jean broke my tongs. Thus making me very sad at Theta retreat.... and Tim, always ready to take one for the team, chugging OJ.

Umm... yeah... cuz they are gonna jump out and give you a good mollywopping!! Happy B-day Simon!

PSP Family!

Joyce, my other half, attempting my rope swing during spring break.  So wonderful that she came back from Germany this semester... don't know what I would have done without my LC.

..and us picking oranges at my dad's orchard.  Then, I ate tangelos and only tangelos for 3 straight weeks because my dad made me take boxes back to Berkeley.

Cheers Young, 22nd shot for a very happy and drunk 22 years.  Plus my idol, Lisa Tse!  I'm so honored by the "Lisa Tse Award" awarded to me at banquet.  Most likely to come to Chapter drunk... amen to that... not many people dare to drink wine in plastic travel mugs.  Only the best -- take note, kiddos.

Last but not least... a whole buncha pics from PSP banquet:

 Little & Big

The two sexiest people in PSP.  Jerry, you hot stuff!  He's available, ladies...

...and I just reached the upload limit... crappy Xanga..

Anyways, I might add more later...

On a side note, I had an abrupt change of plans and I am actually graduating (officially) this summer after I go study abroad in PORTUGAL this July.  Also visiting Spain and Morocco afterwards in August.  Thank you random Berkeley scholarships.  I'm so excited, plus I get to avoid a real job for at least a couple more months.

If you know me, then you know I'm obsessed with my cat which I've had for 15 years!  I occasionally take her for walks and have in depth and emotional conversations with her as well.  No she's not pregnant, just fat, but she's losing weight!  How you ask?  By using her superpowers to overcome your puny human frame.  Party Cat .. ATTACK!

Ooh the Campanile is so pretty! Damn I'm gonna miss all those pre-football game parties... or more likely... I'm just gonna miss all the free beer.

Me and the Bros at the my first and last football game   I know!  My as has never actaully been to a game.  I'm lame, so shoot me.  It was... boring during the first half, but very worthwhile and I'm glad I went and had a great time learning all the cheers and seeing our new QB rock their socks.  HA HA, Stanford sucks!!

Notice I am the only white person....