I'm in love

There was this super big thunderstorm last night around 1am, except that it was about 10 miles away, nonetheless it was very visible and me and my cousin tried extremely hard to get some shots of the lightning. Most were failures except for like 3 which by some miracle show the bolts.

I also just realized how fucking different milk is here. It tastes COMPLETELY different, so much better, you can taste the lack of chemicals and it's always so fresh because, well, it's so much easier to make and more accessible. I can't even begin with the variety of juices and flavored waters. I think they seep through everyone's veins here.

I'm itching to go to my lake property. It's literally just land and this small little thing with a roof over it that has a table in it (we call it a kitchen...) but tents are totally appropriate and swimming is amazing if you just clean up the seaweed, our neighbor is an alcoholic and there's a bar like a 10 minute walk away, farm animals everywhere, it's perfect.

Is it bad that I'm already starting to miss everyone back home?

It's like 3:40AM over on this side of the world, and I'm up because of jetlag, bored with nothing to really do because everyone is still asleep. The good thing is I'm up just in time to see sunrise. I really wish I had something exciting to say but the most I can squeeze out is that I slept through most of my nine-hour flight here, and woke up with a crazy woman staring at me. I think one of my favorite parts of Poland is the train system here. Well not the system, just the trains in general. They're so old and vandalized, and have little cabins, it's like the only thing in Poland that isn't advancing, and I hope it stays that way because they look so neat.

Obsessed with this video and song. Really good movie, by the way. 

My dumb ass woke up at 9am this morning after coming home at around 2 last night, dead tired, but I needed to finish packing because my mind was absolutely convinced I was leaving for Poland today at 4pm. Comes past noon, I'm pretty much packed and ready to go, shit, I even took a shower. I walk downstairs to find my mom on the couch, asking me "Where are you going?" Jokes on me, my plane actually leaves tomorrow at 9pm. My life is a lie. How did my brain convince me I was leaving today? Where did that thought even stem from?

Looking at my suitcases, I still can't accept the fact that I'll be leaving for like a month and a half. Basically I'll be seeing most of Poland, staying with people I've never even met, with hopes of my cousin taking care of me because sometimes I still feel like a baby. All I'm really looking forward to is sitting by a bonfire on my lake property with my cousins and friends, talking about irrelevant things, taking a night swim, catching frogs, meeting strangers, chasing chicken.

SUMMER GOALS:

• learn how to shoot guns well
• um getting a gun license first would make sense 
• go to a gay club
• have a really large tea collection like a huge one with every type of tea, ever
• go camping 
• go to pitchfork 
• meet a lot of people all over Europe so i have a place to stay at the next time i visit
• dye my shitty hair pink 
• roadtrip somewhere cool
• i swear i'm going to finish this 

My dreams are beginning to freak me out lately, I've had the strangest things happen to me during them with an even more bizarre mix of people who for some reason showed up when I was REMing. I had this inception-like dream a couple of weeks back when I woke up twice within one dream, I clearly remember waking and asking my cousin in my dream what had happened the night before and he said we went to party and I fell asleep? And I woke up again but this time in real life. It blew my mind, I had no idea this shit was actually possible.

Last night's dream was just too odd to even comprehend, maybe it was because I fell asleep pissed off, or slightly drunk, one of those. Regardless, people I barely knew from high school ended up saving my life in this dream and it really makes me question my subconscious because... I don't think about any of these people, ever. In fact I rarely think about people at all. Oops.

Why do beautiful shoes exist

     Spending the last day of my life before the Rapture blogging, teaching a piano lesson, and trying to communicate with the hispanic guy fixing our cable... so far it has been successful.

     Anyway, I have put together a sample of a few pictures of the hair outcome I'd like within the next couple of weeks. Really it's probably just going to be pastel pink but these colors look so pretty. Dipping your hair in bright cake frosting is now tempting, too.

     I have not even began packing for Europe and I leave in 8 days. It still hasn't completely sunk in that I'll be out of the country for a month and half, and a part of me can't wait to leave, yet the other wants to stay because of everything that has been going on lately. Like, bittersweet. This summer has been surreal so far, I don't know how else to put it. 

EDIT: Did I mention I am now in love with greek honey yogurt? Because I am. Also, I feel pretty fucking happy right now. 

Of course my Internet decides to stop working when I'd like to post an entry on here. Nothing new considering my side of the lucky coin.

Why the "Girls love assholes" mentality is wrong:

*I didn't write this, just found it a few weeks ago, couldn't have said it better though... 

     I hate the “Girls only like assholes, not nice guys like me.” mentality. A woman doesn’t wake up one morning and say, “Hmmm, I think I’ll go try to find an asshole to date today.” Often times we’ll date someone who turns into an asshole, but it’s not like we consciously go looking for him, and the same thing happens to men. All of us have a “crazy ex” or two or three or ten, regardless of our gender - but women get blamed for having poor taste in men, while men get to sidestep the blame by playing the “she-was-a-crazy-bitch” card. The belief that “nice guys finish last” is detrimental to women because it suggests that not only do women desire to be mistreated in a relationship, but they’re asking for it. It’s a sexist attitude that insults women by implying that we are poor decision-makers when it comes to choosing partners, simply because said partner isn’t the one that Mr. “Nice Guy” would have chosen for us. Mr. Nice Guy, however, isn’t actually concerned with his female friend’s emotional well-being in a given relationship, and he doesn’t truly want her to pick a partner who is best for her. What he wants is for her to choose him, Mr. “Nice Guy” himself, because he’s better than everyone.** “Boyfriend beating you up? You asked for it, you need to stop dating assholes.” This is a easy way for Mr. “Nice Guy” to place blame on the woman instead of examining himself and his shortcomings to figure out why she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings for her.

     Us ladies - like most guys - enjoy the thrill of “The Chase” involved in courting at the beginning of a potential relationship. We like having to work, at least a little bit, to get his attention. So-called “Nice Guys” (referred to as NGs for the rest of this post) are often overbearing right from the start, giving their beloved ladyfriend nearly no space and essentially scaring her off by texting/calling too often, pressuring her to hang out even after she declines, Facebook messaging her constantly, etc. Even if I like his personality a lot, I’ll hold a NG at arm’s length if I feel like my space is being invaded. And nothing will land Mr. NG in the “Friend Zone” quicker than blowing up my phone repeatedly after I have repeatedly ignored his messages because, clearly, I’m busy. Of course, Mr. NG isn’t doing anything wrong per say, he’s just trying to show that he’s interested and be friendly. But as far as The Chase goes, girls want some element of surprise. Yes, it may seem shallow, but it’s the truth, at least in my case. Not knowing when a guy is going to ask you to hang out, or receiving an unanticipated compliment from him, is exciting because you’re not expecting it. But when his actions are repetitive and make it clear that he has nothing better to do but creep on your Facebook profile, they become turn-offs. A sweet text message loses its sweetness when it’s the 32nd one she’s received from you today. This is the reason us girls are often more attracted to the guy who isn’t constantly reminding us he’s available. Of course, he sometimes does turn out to be an asshole, but we go after him initially because he isn’t predictable. The elements of surprise and uncertainty - in the right amounts, of course - are what spark chemistry and give me those pesky butterflies in my stomach.   

     As far as the “Friend Zone” goes, look at it like this: Think of your best platonic female friend. Why is she your friend instead of your lover? Because she just…is. Why don’t you want a romantic relationship with her? Because you just…don’t. You’re just not attracted to her in that way, and it’s not because of anything she’s done wrong, it’s because you simply don’t have romantic feelings for her. The same thing applies when a girl puts a NG in the Friend Zone. It’s not because he’s done something wrong, and it’s not because she wants to date an asshole - nobody wants to date an asshole. You’re in the Friend Zone because she’s just not that into you, bro - romantically speaking, of course. She may end up dating a guy who you think is an asshole, but uh, you might be just a teensy bit biased because, you know, he’s banging her and you aren’t. There’s also a chance that he may legitimately be an asshole, but in this case she either:

a.) doesn’t notice this because she’s blinded by her infatuation with him. Or his six-pack.

-OR-

b.) he puts on the NG act at the beginning of the relationship and doesn’t show his true colors until later, when she’s emotionally invested enough in the relationship that she doesn’t feel comfortable just ending it the instant things go wrong.

     The “Girls <3 Assholes” mentality is a way for pseudo-NGs to re-inflate their egos after being shot down by a girl they like. Instead of looking into themselves and changing their behavior, or just getting the fuck over it, they find an external target for their anger at being rejected: the woman. Of course, maybe you really are a NG and she really is dating a complete douche. But you know what? On the other hand, maybe you smell. Like, bad. Maybe your grammar sucks. Maybe you play World of Warcraft 40 hours a week instead of doing something productive like going to school or oh, I dunno, working? But whether you’re brilliant and sexy or rude and rocking a mullet, putting the girl of your dreams down for not being as in love with you as you are with yourself doesn’t make you a Nice Guy at all…it makes you an asshole.
     However, there’s a fair chance that you really are a nice guy, and if that’s the case, then you should be happy for your friend because she’s found someone who makes her happy. Then, you should go find someone who appreciates all of your redeeming NG qualities instead of wasting your time pouting over a girl who doesn’t realize how awesome you are. That’s just lame. If you go around claiming that all women want to date jackasses, you’re making a sweeping (and incorrect) assumption that makes you look like, well, a jackass.

   So listen up, ladies and gents, ‘cause I’m about to drop some truth on y’all: The truth is, sexist assholes finish last. The real Nice Guys are the ones trying to figure out what she wants, instead of whining because they didn’t get what they want…and let me tell you, legit Nice Guys always finish first, if you catch my drift…

Vertical Garden, Madrid

I'm just going to start off my first post with a spam of a collection of pictures I've found throughout the past few months that are really cool and that I'd like to one day visit... because I don't have anything to add with substance just yet.  

Tectonic Plate Gap between Europe and America

Abandoned Mill in Sorrento, Italy

The Grotto in Austin, Texas