Hurricane

Or so it seemed today. Took the ol' bike out for a spin and was dissapointed to find me and my bike being swept into the street every 30 seconds or so.

But I made my way down to the ATP 500 Tennis Open. Tickets for the semis today and finals tomorrow were sold out by the time I got there but it was still worth the ride. The party was outside. There were 3 seperate "zones" outside of the Agora, each equiped with their own bar, lounge, and dj. Hundreds of people just soakin up the sun. There were of course all the freebies and swag and advertising at the tents around the building as well.

And now I'm watching the always anticipated Real Madrid-Athletico derby with some pizza. Gonna get to bed soon cuz we've got a big game tomorrow! Goodnight all.

Interesting bits

411

New Scientist

US SKIES are clearer than usual after the switch in June from analogue to digital TV freed up a chunk of the radio spectrum. Astronomers are now rushing to see what they can find before transmissions from cellphone companies and others fill the space.

Prior to the switch-over, naturally occurring radio waves at frequencies between 700 and 800 megahertz were obscured by analogue TV signals, preventing astronomers from investigating the universe using this band. Now a receiver has been installed at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to take advantage of the new-found clarity.

The window is giving astronomers their first radio views of galaxies that thrived when the universe was about half its present age. They hope to measure how much hydrogen - the raw material for new stars - the galaxies had. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see galaxies in that range," says Arecibo researcher Chris Salter. "We're able to see an epoch that hasn't been observed before with radio eyes."

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/06/us/1106-FORTHOOD-ready_index.html

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Well let's see whats up.
My body is hurtin. But the good hurt. I've been working hard.
Went grocery shopping yesterday so I actually have food in the house now. Although most of it is canned beans and vegetables cuz its takes about 10 seconds to prepare, is delicious, and is packed with protein.
I went and trained this morning and now am just resting my legs before training tonight.
Oh and yesterday I watched the movie The Darjeeling Limited. It was suprisingly great. The soundtrack was the best part. That and Adrien Brody's glasses. "This Time Tomorrow"-The Kinks.

It think this blog is going to get a whole lot more random because I constantly find cool stuff online and I'm just gonna start posting on here.

Well I was going to wash dishes and do laundry but theres no running water for some reason. Oh well.

Hope everybody is having a good day!

Oh and reading some exerpts from a recent Obama speech regarding Iran I was impressed. I think he realizes that the percentage of the population in Iran that is educated is growing and these people realize that it is in their economic and political interests to cooperate with the U.S. While the government has this image of recklessness that they perpetuate through the media by launching missles after we accuse them of enriching uranium they are, as all governments are, somewhat accountable to the people.

It's been a while....

As I'm anxiously awaiting the Arsenal game to start I decided I could write a little.

I hope there are people reading my posts out there but more than anything I find writing almost therapuetic. There are days when the words come easy and I ramble and then there are days like today where I don't know where to direct my thoughts.

I've had good days and bad days just like anybody else. I've learned to take it all in stride and keep emotions in check.

Futbol has been frustrating lately. My hip flexor was pulled and I continued to train with hopes of expediting improvement and instead I damaged it further. I've had this injury numerous times but never has it taken so long to heal. I haven't been on the pitch for about 2 wks. I'm sure this will be a recurring injury for the rest of my life which is dissapointing but I'm glad I decided to take this time to rest it instead of playing at half speed. So, in the meantime I'm working on keeping my fitness up so that when I have the opportunity to play I'll be ready.

The weather has been beautiful. I went to Alicante on a whim a couple days ago and returned yesterday. It really rejuvenated me and I'm so glad I made the trip. Photos are on my facebook.

And thats about all the news I have. I've been going out with some people at night lately but just can't keep up with them. I've bailed a lot because the night starts at midnight in Spain. Last night for instance we were going to the Discoteca at 12:30 and my body and mind just can't keep that schedule so I cancelled.

Excited to see family this month! It can get a little loney and I'm really looking forward to it. Talk to you all soon.

Jardi Botanic de la Universitat de Valencia

Well.....the title pretty much sums it up.
I felt like today would be a good day to hop on the underground metro and get off on a stop I don't know anything about. Or for that matter have ever heard of. I stumbled upon the University Botanical Gardens. I was pleasantly suprised.
Everybody in Valencia should check this place out. Never have I been more relaxed in my surrounding.
The gardens contain plant species from all different parts of the world. Many are able to survive side by side while others are kept in impressive greenhouses to immitate their climate. Theres some really cool pics if you click on this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/michaeljbarkman. I also took a couple pics of my metro station, and the Torres Serrano. And a couple random things that I found intersting. I seem to take pictures of the streep lamps. I think all cities should havet hese cuz they really are beautiful.

Dia del Comunidad de Valencia

Most things are closed today except for the businesses downtown that have great views of the parade and the other events. They have doubled their prices today haha. King James the First of Aragon reclaimed Valencia for Christianity on October 9th, 1238. At 12 this afternoon the flag was lowered from a decorated balcony.

Thousands of people gathered in the historic square of Valencia while music was played, flags were waved, and protesters yelled. All in all very exciting. Valencian pride was running rampant as people draped in flags and paint followed the procession throughout the city. It turned out that navigating through the crowd on my bike was very difficult.

There were a bunch of really cool pictures that I took. If your interested I will be posting all of my photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/michaeljbarkman

I watched Bowling for Columbine today and as much as Michael Moore angers me, I kinda liked the movie. My thoughts have always been that there really is no need for guns but there are many people that have grown up in a different culture emphasizing protecting one's life, liberty, and property without relying on the government whatsover. So, with restrictions, I was fine with people boasting about the ability to excercise a right. For some reason that movie personalized the affects of guns for me in a way that I haven't experienced. Seeing the people gun murders have affected, other than the person shot obviously, was dramatic and while my life may not have been directly affected by guns, it is not fair that millions of people suffer irreperable damage so that nra members can flaunt their 2nd amendment. Another hesitation I had was, of course, our changing of the Constitution. But I think that the second amendment was written for a time when slavery was accepted as well. Maybe we should have abolished both.


On another note I am very against all of Moore's accusations of media and government. Its a broken record and nobody liked the song in the first place.

Then today I met up with Mattias before training, a friend I haven't seen in a while. It was at a cafe where his wife works next to the field so it was very convenient. Spent a couple hours with him. He's a great guy and is always offering help and i dont just mean advice but he continually is willing to dedicate time to help me. Not a whole lot of people here that sacrifice their time to help other people. His wife and baby are awesome as well. He speaks english too so that helps. He lived in NC for a long time. And now he's banned from the U.S. for five years but thats a different story. Actually, he helped his brother across the border illegally and served a couple months in jail. He was in the U.S. army and loves his country so its a shame. He's always praising the United States and says that its his home and he cant wait to return. If anybody reading this has any legal advice on how he could expedite his return I would really appreciate it and I of course he would too. He has three years left before he is allowed to return.
Then, training tonight was good. I was feeling really well and thinked I showed well. Wish I could start scoring more but every game I get closer and I'm finding more and more opportunities in practice so I'm optimistic. Rode my bike home in the gorgeous temperature. 10:00 and its like 75 degrees. Took a pic of my daily ride if your interested:

GOODNIGHT!

Early run this morning!
Yesterday we won our first game. we are now 1-1-1. 4 pts after 3 games is less than we want but its a step in the right direction. I finally bought a new camera today which im excited about. I went to the Bancaja Cultural Center today because they have an exhibit by Joaquín Sorolla. His work was in the Prada Museum in Madrid for a while and was very succesful so now, dead for almost a century, he's on tour. But not too say he wasn't recognized in his time. He won multiple awards at the World Fair in Paris. I was really impressed though. All of his work is oil paintings and he differs from many not only in his intricate detail and realistic portrayls but also by the size of his masterpieces. His most famous works are about 10x20 yrds. With the amount of detail and size I was suprised at how prolific he was.

I thought that there was some guy at the counter adding a number everytime someone walked in but it was cool. When somebody entered there was some kind of screen on the floor that would beep and then the number on the sign would go up. Entrance was free too which was really cool. The government supports the arts out here like crazy so even though nobody can find a job they can always find a free art exhibition.

I bought this poster because it was his painting of Valencia. And the actual one is a lot more impressive than this picture. I was interested though because it was obvious he portrayed his perspective of all the different cities in his paintings and compared with his others I saw Valencia shown as very proud with bright colors.

Sevilla did not make a good impression on him. It just involved the Easter celebrations which sounds harmless but if you look up pictures of easter in Spain you'll know what I'm talking about. Ill provide one.

Sunday

Woke up at 9 this morning. Put on some pants and went downstairs for some breakfast. Had my usual coffee and crossaint. Alex, the goalie, picked me up at 10:15 for the game today. We drove to a pueblo about 30 min away. Not a great team but we went down early 0-1. Then we had a penalty and Marcos hit the post. With 20 min remaining Jordan volleyed a cross out of the air into the corner. Quite beautiful and we salvaged a point. I started and subbed out 15 min into the second half. I played pretty well but I could improve. We really needed to get the whole 3 pts from that game cuz the team was weak but we'll regroup this week and work towards our next game.
Now I'm in a cafe near my house with internet. Something about this cafe always gives me a headache. Lotta smoke. Maybe thats it. Just catching up on the cyber world. It is amazing. When I go on my computer I have like 20 things to check. Its fun. Twitter, Digg, Facebook, Gmail, Espn, various sports and music blogs. Talk to yall soon

Weekend

Just got back from the Apple desk in a department store dtown. There is no repairing the ol ipod. And according to them its so old that there is no trade in value. So looks like im in the market for a new mp3 player. I did see something cool while I was there. It had music video and internet. Anyone have any advice on this subject? Im gonna look into that.
 But it was a beautiful day for biking. Cant wait till i get my next camera so that I can show you guys what I see every day. My bike ride to and from soccer is unbelievable.

Im excited for the game tomorrow. Ive started working out every day in the morning and then go to soccer at night. First week of this so my body is quite sore but Im sure itll get better quick. Team we play tomorrow won their first  game easily. I guess they have a impressive history. I hope we can get it together and play more maturely than last week. The guy who got the red card hasnt been at practice. If i was the coach I would have cut him there on the spot. Last night was a tough practice. And from now on I end my blogs with the music Ive been listening to:

Ive been having a good day. I woke up at 8:30. Well that wasnt a great part. I'm convinced Ariel was determined to wake me up with all the noise he was making. Then I spent two hours making calls looking for various opportunities. While I didn't find much I spoke with some nice people who have assured me that they will keep me in mind when opportunities arise. Its also good practice speaking on the phone in spanish. I've decided that when I speak with someone face to face we communicate visually a lot so the phone is a challenge. Then I went to La Rosa Negra, a bar/cafe/resteraunt thing to check on a little venture going on over there. The owner was supposed to be there but wasn't. The people there were wondering where he was at as well. So i read the newspaper with my dictionary in the 90 degree sun. I was gettin a little pale. Came back for La Comida. Ariel was planning on making a fish soup stew thing and he taught me and I wrote everything down so hopefully one day I can impress some girl. I went and got a bottle of wine for our meal with Mary Jose and met a cool Italian guy there who turns out lives in the same building. I think I might go to an Erasmus part with him and some friends tonight after soccer. Well thats all for now. The meal was delicious and now I am tired.

Forgive my sports/hockey rants but i just get all riled up and gotta let it out!
Let me say that I am psyched for the Avs season. I haven't been this excited for an Avs season since '01. No thats a lie. I still remember summer 2003. where I was when I heard not only would Peter Forsberg be playing with us but we had also aquired Paul Kariya and Teammu Selanne. In case you were interested I was at Victoria Beach. That was the beginning of the end for the dominant Avs. Expectations were high, and we the fans were gravely dissapointed with the results. For the pathetic years after, the organization has been giving their followers false hope time after time as they try to piece back together a championship team. And every year, expectations are failed. The people of Denver were living in a high that came from winning the Cup the first season we had a team. We expected nothing less.
Well this year is different. The many mistakes of the front office are behind us and instead of reminiscing about the glory days lets find pride in our new young Avs.
This year we play with the lowest expectations an Avalanche team has ever had and I for one am elated. No more dissapointments. I dont believe that any players on this Avalanche team are fit to be playing in the NHL but that kinda makes it fun. When you have nothing, there is nothing to lose. These young players have already proved in preseason and camp that they will work harder than their opposition. Their futures in the NHL depend on it. I hope Foote can teach his disciples a thing or two this year so that they will have the experience neccessary to carry on without tested veterans in the future. Stastny and Wolski had huge amounts of pressure put on them to save the organization and they failed miserably. I hope that they can find their places on this new team without all the pressure to win. Finally, I hope the loyal fans of Denver can have patcience with our newcomers and with results. Lets accept that we are the underdogs for once. That we most likely wont have a winning record. But lets watch our team develop and let us be a part of these development years instead of turning our noses up.

Just a thought as i was reading adrian daters article in the dp about footer. I see the decision of appointin foote captain less of an honor and more of a slap in the face to stastny. everybody thought that after stastnys rookie season he would take the role of leader and the face of the new young avalanche. well, after a mediocre injury plagued season last year it is obvious he did not live up to the organization's expectations. But Foote is temporary. How many years does the 38 yr old touch guy have in him? He is simply filling the void until Stastny matures to the point where he was supposed to be last year. While Adam may not be an NHL star any more, he is less of a dissapointment than the rest of our team last year.

So today I got my bike. It needs a new tire which im gonna get on Monday but besides that it gets me from A to B. I dont know how i lived without a bike though. I am really relient on. I think I was startin to get lazy cuz it was hard to get stuff done without transportation. Im still working at Picasso in the mornings but i dont know how long that will last because three people really is overboard for the amount of work we have to do. The other two guys have worked there for like 20 yrs and are close friends of the owner so ill be cut if needed. Im also doing some work at Ben's Inn now. Its a great situation because cuz im working PR and promotional stuff. I have a lot of liberty in the job so thats really nice. I can give certain discounts and I essentially create insentives to go there. Im also in the process of talking to nearby restaurants that would benefit from a realtionship with Ben's Inn. Thats keeping me pretty busy along with picasso and soccer. Till next time...

Worked this morning and then had a coffee and read the newspaper for a while. I was reading about how the gov is selling madoffs house for 6 million or so. If I was a journalist I think I would write a piece on Madoff with a different slant just for the heck of it.
i mean, i comprehend that he took a lot of money but it seems that thats as far as the media likes to go. then everybody gets all up in arms demanding punishment. this is my article's title:
MADOFF STEALS MILLIONS from people that will be recompensated by investment insurers who were responsible for checking the validity of the investments in the first place.
Its not like he beat up children and stole their money. The investors that sought him out had heard that they could make a lot of money if they disregarded the possibility that it was an illegal enterprise. The people that lost their money had no interest in checking the legality of their investments and didnt ask questions because they knew that they wouldnt like the answers. But back to my title, they are going to be repaid anyways because all of the investments were insured by companies who also knew that the validity of madoffs investments were questionable. and then the government profits by seizing his assets and selling them to the same people that were already compensated for their losses.
Oh and the article about the guy that killed the kid is on page 26 under the car advertisements.

i think i left off satudray when i had to leave for my game. game saturday. lost....3-0.....but we had a bunch of players just trying out cuz its still preseason and the coach told me that they would not be making the team. no vale. i played the whole 90 min in i think the second hottest game ive ever experienced. the first being real salt lake. after the game, body hurting, coach says that i have to meet him at the corner of blasco ibanez and manuel candela at 8 am cuz im gonna play with the top team in the club. so woke up early (again) but i was still pretty excited. wow. they were good. i played the second half because the coach knew i had played the day before but this field was unforgiving. might as well played on concrete. and that was one of the fastest games i ever played in. first two times i get the ball i lost it. i improved significantly after i got the feel for the game but i didnt play great. then again nobody played great. we lost 3-2 but we played Crack's cf which is probably the most famous soccer school in Europe. Theyve produced dozens of professional players. Cracks has actually become an accepted term in europa that means superstar. Training tomorrow with the a team.
Today was the first day of work in Picasso-Cafe. I worked from 10-12 in the morning. Quite the experience. To get the job Mary Jose told the boss that i was experienced and there was actually a bidding war for me among the bars in the area. So I was trying to live up to that while attempting to understand what people wanted. I started to get the hang of it. I think there has been worse first days so im satisfied.
im thankful we have no soccer today so my legs can try to heal and i think im gonna study some spanish and probably go to the beach at some point. goodbye for now.

Game day.... we've started out 0-3 but if we could score we would win every game. But we also have new jerseys so we'll for sure win.

sittin on my bed listening to some Marvin Gaye CDs that a friend gave me.

I dont think I'm very good with blogging. I've never been one to share all my thoughts. whats the fun of everyone knowing what your thinking and doing. I do enjoy writing though. or rambling. a fine line with me.

I can't really imagine what else I could ask for out here. I get to play soccer in the mornings. Eat/drink with friends. Watch all the soccer games in a bar right next to my place that has a huge projector and good people. I also start working there along with another bar in a couple of weeks. Everybody says that all the people come during September so I'm excited to see what that looks like. I think its pretty busy right now. But I'm looking forward to there being more students out here and especially English speaking ones.

Yesterday i bought the book Oh Jerusalem by Dominique Lapiere and Larry Collins. Has anybody read it? I spent two hours yesterday reading it. Its in spanish and this is not the conversational spanish that i have been learning so i got through 2 pages. I'm proud to say I understand everything on those two pages. It is good practice though.

I'm likin this Starstrukk remix with katy Perry.

oh gotta go. check in soon. me.

Hey! So got back yesterday all dandy. Train ride was really relaxing and i was just watching south park on my laptop so it went really quickly. Sad i had to leave Barcelona so quickly but I had tons of fun there and it is nice to be home. I went to soccer at 9 this morning. Then after went to the grocery store with Jose, player on Don Bosco, and one of 10,000 Joses ive met. The names that are saved in my phone really aren't helpful cuz i have some joses and some hectors and its kinda hard to remember whos who. and im doin some laundry now. and i cleaned my room and my bathroom. First time ive ever really scrubbed a bathroom with gloves and chemicals and all. not very fun but ihad never cleaned it so the grossness had accumulated. now im gonna eat. its like 1:20 here and then i may go to the beach for a while. might go see the movie public enemies later cuz it just came out here and it looks really cool. anyone seen it? Before that though i need to go and play some piano. its been a while and its no fun playin when your rusty. Oh and im also working on a sudoku samurai that i tore from the paper yesterday. its like 5 sudokus that are all interlinked. its crazy. and its taking me forever. alright well hope all is well back home.

Im in Barcelona! I decided Friday night because if i join this team, Don Bosco, which it looks like i will, im not gonna have a whole lot of free weekends so i thought it would be the perfect time. i came by train yesterday. we watched slumdog millionare on the train so that was fun. it was in spanish but it also had spanish subtitles so that makes it easier. i had decided that when i got in i was going to do a bike tour of the city that i had found on the internet. i had to print of the ticket when i got there. oh ya but i did miss my train yesterday morning cuz i left my passport so i took the later one and had to reschedule to the night tour. anyways it took the whole afternoon but it wasnt too bad. finally got it and was killing some time before it started when all of a sudden i smell smoke. then i see smoke so i decide i should leave. as i stood up the cops rush upstairs and yell at me to get out of the hotel. i was like the last one out cuz im on the top floor. when i get outside they had taped off the street. there were probably 1000 people watching and taking pictures along with the news cameras watching the fire. turns out burger king next door is to blame. so i was outside for like 5 hrs with no money or anything but we finally got back in and the hotel was all good. unfortunately i missed my bike tour...again. but i had really good salad and calamari for dinner and then got to sleep as i had been awake for like 40 hrs.
this morning i changed the bike tour to this afternoon. before i went to camp nou-the barca soccer stadium. i took a tour of it and it was awesome. i also took a lot of pictures that we will never see cuz guy swiped my camera on the metro. im done stressing though and am just gonna enjoy the rest of my stay cameraless. anyways, the stadium was awesome and quite elaborate. there was even a chapel inside the stadium for the players. we got to walk next to the field and it was unbelievable. the stadium holds 100,000 people. it also had the biggest merchandise store ive ever seen. the ccheapest thing there was a t shirt for around 50 bucks but it was packed so i think they were doing alright. then i came back. bought myself a huge water bottle and am currently working on that and watching simpsons before 4 30 when i go on my tour. its been really fun here. im really glad i came. i think tomorrow before i leave imgonna check out the modern art museum next to the hotel. oh and the hotel is a really cool deal. it is practically the middle of downtown but is pretty small. it shares an entrance with a watch store and a dentists office. my room consists of a single bed and a tv. the bed is pushed up against one wall and there it is impossible to walk in the space between the opposite wall and the bed. its like a little box. there is a bathroom though. so im paying like a third of the price of all the other hotels next to me and im right downtown. alright, check in soon

just got back from soccer- its 10:49 here- and am eating a delicious ham and cheese sandwhich. today, i hung out most of the day. did all my laundry. i went to the beach for a while to find a place to use my internet and hang out but ended up hangin out with this argentinian guy and this other guy that lived in the puerto rico and the US for a while. they were really cool and im gonna go hang out with them tomorrow at the beach. i couldnt today cuz i had to figure out how i was gonna get to my tryout. anyways that was fun today. then for the tryout. geez these guys were annoying. the coach would call a foul when we were playing everytime this one guy would fall down. i was getting so annoyed. we both went up in the air and he just fell and started whining. i decided to give him a real foul. it was worth it. coach said to me and the other c mid after the practice that we were both good enough for the team but he had already signed 5 c mids. im thinking you could have mentioned that earlier and saved a lot of time. well the other good just takes it. hes like oh i know i know, thank you, and then just walks away. the coach had said earlier that he was just looking for forwards. so i made up a nice little story that sounded even better in broken spanish saying how ive played forward all my life and am actually better at it then c mid but i just prefer c mid cuz its more fun. sooooooooo tomorrow im going back to try out as a forward. well that was pretty much my day. im gonna eat my sandwhich and go to bed. have a good rest of the day everybody!

just woke up! today on the agenda is laundry and soccer tonight. Im trying out with another preferente team tonight at 8. im looking forward to that! the laundry not so much. i play soccer in 100 degree weather and then take a shower and stick the soccer clothes in my bag where they sit for about an hour. it all gets pretty bad. think im gonna go grab a coffee quick and then I may head over to the cafe with the piano. checkin back soon.

oh and a shout out to my boy TD who balls everyday up on Biscay

So its been sorta tough to get to the blog lately because the internet has been so unreliable. but right now its working so ill take advantage. Last night I went to Museros- another preferente team. When I got there the coach said i could practice with them but he didnt have any spots open on the team. I figured I would play anyways. Bad News: Facing a lot of rejection from soccer teams. Good News: Last night was the first night that I was really happy with how I played. While I dont have any teams especially interested in me right now, I have improved since the first time I played here more than I could ever have expected to. While the Rapids season was a challenge, the soccer here is developing a forgotten area of my game. The pace and strength of this preferente level is forcing me to play with my head up and think quicker. My first tryouts here were frustrating because I seemed to never be able to find an option and consequently held on to the ball too long. Now, I'm thinking and acting quicker. Im excited for tryouts to come because I believe that in the month or so I have been here I have finally started to adapt to the level of soccer I want to play here. While constant rejection from teams is frustrating, my confidence is growing. I believe that this year, despite what team I make, I will vastly improve from just a season ago and am excited to show the new soccer me to college coaches at some point in the future.
Today, I have no teams to practice with. Yesterday was rough. But with the amount of teams out here my determination has not been detered. Today Ariel has offered to help find teams on a website suggested by the coach last night and he said he'll call them up. I can get by with Spanish face to face but over the phone it is impossible. I also think Mom might have been right when she said I listened to the TV too loud because I now find it very difficult to talk on the phone to anybody, even in English. Oh well, everybody says that the communication in our world is increasingly more impersonal so maybe I'll just claim that I'm fighting a world without human interaction.
The last few days here its actually been cloudy which has been fantastic. There was even a slight drizzle this morning. When its like this I always go to the cafe downstairs and have a coffee and read the newspaper in the morning. I love how empty the streets are and the air seems so fresh.
Last night, me, Ariel, and Mary Jose went to the Kebab place after soccer. I was dying of thirst so I had three waters and a coke- which is unbelievably expensive here. A tiny bottle of water is like 2.50 euros. An angry debate over U.S. policy ensued. As they continually denounced capitalism as a moraless greedy plot devised by George Bush and Dick Cheney to take over all the oil in the world and then put poor people on the streets, I found it really hard to argue in Spanish. After they would say something I would sit and go over each word in my head to understand it. By the time I understood they would start on with something else. I am really sick of all these Europeans taking shots at the Bush Administration. While I don't agree with many of his decisions these people need to get their facts straight. They call the U.S. imperialist but then critisize for lack of action in third world countries. Apparently, news of U.S. aid to other countries doesn't reach Spain. Also, even though the number one source of income in Mexico is money sent from immigrants in the U.S., legal and illegal, the U.S. is "repressing" those poor people. It was a tad frustrating.
Mary Jose did explain to me what a CV is and what finding a job here entails. I'm a lot less intimidated now. The CV is just a resume but a really informal resume. I went to a lot of cafes and bars to ask about job opportunities a couple weeks ago and all of them said that they needed people. I think this is a good industry for me because i am told that my spanish will improve quickly. Also, all of the lounges and cafes on the beach said they are looking to hire people so once soccer is a little more concrete I think I may get a job there.
I also thought that in Sunday night's Entourage episode E was extremely dissapointing. I now have very little respect for the man I had admired so much this season. He is back to being the little guy. Have a good day everybody! I'm going to blog more often! I mean it this time!
Anyways, I should get back to my search of soccer teams.

Wow its been over a week since i last blogged. what an awful term.
its been hectic. im playing with 2 teams but i should clarify i dont have a spot with either. in the mornings i play with the team alboraya. its a juvenil team so theyre all around 16 yrs old but these kids can really play. Some just dont have enough strength yet but they really know soccer. The game is so much different out here. Everything is perfectly technically. The game just flows much better than in the U.S. I play with this team from 9:30- 11:30 monday-thursday. Its in Puzol a pueblo and there is nothing to stop the insane heat. Yesterday it was around 44 degrees c but fortunately they have a pool that we all go to after playing. Then, me and Ariel will go to a bar where ill get my usual Horchata. Then we come back, he cooks la comida, and then we sleep. Then i wake up around 5 to get ready for soccer at night which is infinitely more demanding than the soccer in the morning. These guys are all around 23. Not only can they play but they are quicker and stronger than any team ive played with. I do that from 8-10 and then take the metro home. I usually get back around 11:30 and have to wake up at 7:00 so the midday siesta is really helpful.
Last night we went to the plaza de torros! check out pics from that on facebook. That was definitly something interesting. Then we hit up a few bars after and then came back and slept. Its unbelievable how many people are awake at insane hours here. The bull thing started at 11 and went till 1. After is when all the people go out. We went back to the house at 3 and thats when the majority of the people started arriving.
Today Ariel and I went to a couple music stores where I bought some music and then found the only book store in Valencia with any english books. Now were gonna eat soon and im typing this while im waiting for pictures to load on facebook.
Tonight i have a game with San Marcelino- the team at night. its the first preseason game and i think im ready. My legs are really tight from playin all week but they usually loosen up pretty quickly when i get playing.
Hope all is well with everybody!

Streak of Good Things Continues

Yesterday, I had an email from a team that I had called earlier. The guy told me to come by their offices in this town outside of Valencia and we could talk. Well, I typed the address into google and apparently that street runs through more than one town so, after the subway, bus, and taxi, I was in the wrong city. Finally a taxi driver knew what I was looking for so I found the stadium. After a couple hours of waiting the guy I had emailed shows up and he says that the coach is running the team by the river- which is a lot closer to where I'm staying. He calls the coach up and the coach says that I should come out and run with them. He also said that they were starting at 8:00 pm, in 30 min. I have no idea where I am at this point or where I need to be. There are no taxis in this town. The president of the club called a taxi for me and this dumb lady is driving so slowly while im changing in the back seat. I failed to mention earlier that i keep a pair of cleats and soccer clothes with me wherever I go. Anyways, finally get there and i cant find them. I'm frantically sprinting all over this place and then after like 20 min I find them. its 8:10 and the coach tells me to start streching with them. He then tells me that I need shoes because we're running on concrete. I didnt have any with me so he told me just to come back tomorrow. Well, it has been a pretty long day at this point so im not giving up now. As im walking away I find some people and ask them if theres a place nearby where i can buy shoes. theres a mall really close. I sprint to the mall, find the first store with shoes and just buys the first pair of 11s I see. Sprint back, cant find the team because theyve left running so im sprinting all over the river once again and finally I find the coach. He's liking me quite a bit at this point cuz I dont think the other kids trying out showed up dripping in sweat and out breath before a 2 hr run. I get going with them and find out that Spanish players are incredibly lazy during the summer and im in better shape than any of them. So, I looked pretty good for the coach, talked with him a bunch, and am going back to run more tonight.

Today: Woke up, went to work out, then went to the socccer fields for technical stuff. Theres this African kid there who's freestylin and is pretty sick so I start juggling with him. He couldnt speak that much spanish because he only knew French so it was pretty hard talking with him but he was with these other Africans that I've seen working out there everyday and these guys are in pretty good shape. Well I talked with them and they said that they workout at the fields from 9-11 every day and invited me to come on Monday. Mondays my tryout in Puzol but I told them I'd see them Tuesday. The kid I was kicking with stayed a little longer cuz he lived in a different direction and turns out he moved here a year ago from Liberia because of war. He told me, in broken spanish, that his father and mother were killed by the rebels and he was lucky because he escaped. I dont know if thats luck. He made it to Spain and now he stays in a shelter. The shelter opens its doors at night for everyone to sleep and then is closed the entire day. He said he cant do much cuz he has no money and nobody will hire him because he is African so he just walks around everyday. Anyways, I'm gonna see him Tuesday if I dont have soccer and I got his number.
He kept sayin that America was so good. I realize this doesnt really make sense and it didnt to me at first either because im giving you as much context as I had. But I see what he means. Everybody in Europe and most likely around the world loves to hate the US. Everyone I talk to says that Americans are just greedy and idiotic in general as they ridicule our politics. After they rag on the US for a few minutes they always say, but Americans are the nicest people in the world.
I'm learning what this means. All the critics say that our borders are so tough now we would be lying to say that we take the tired, poor, and huddled masses but aside from immigration controversy, there is no nation that is as accepting of foreigners as the US. I think Spain mirrors the rest of Europe in that people generally refuse to interact with people of different ethnicities, cultures, countries, and just immigrants. Spanish employers will not hire Africans or Muslims which just perpetuates the tensions between races here. Today is a good day to be an American : ) haha I love saying that. Its good to hear from a bunch of you.

Ryan accomplished something not many people do so congrats to you man. A lot of people have given up putting in the work by this age. It takes a lot of determination to make it to the next level. I'm really excited for you and I know that everybody else is too. Good luck and I'm looking forward to following your blog so start that up ASAP! Haha love you all!

Today has been a great day. I'm not gonna be overexcited and take it for granted because i know how fast luck can turn. I'm just thankful for one successful day. I had decided last night i'd go check out some soccer fields that i had seen the day before. i figured it'd be fun to just go kick around at a cool field. Well i worked out this morning-not as well as i should have- and then took a cab to the fields. well i had no idea where i was going so i told the cab to take me to the soccer fields along the river near downtown but apparently there are more than one of these. well i get out, pay him, realize im far from where i wanted to go but decide to go check out the fields anyways. I got some pretty cool pictures of a dirt field there and the grass field that was obviously exceptionally maintained. Found an old locked up trailer but i thought i would go ahead and knock on it. as im walking to find the nearest taxi this guy walks out and i ask him if he plays there blah blah blah he gives me the director of the clubs number. i called him up and he said i could tryout. then i came back and checked my email. email from this agent that hasn't contacted me in a while saying on the 20th im in a tryout with other young players being looked at for villareal and castellon- 2 very big first division teams. then the other agent that i havent spoken with in weeks calls me to apologize for not being in touch. he says that he tried to get me into a tournament but wasnt able to but is still working hard for me.
on top of all this good news i was able to talk with the fam and bre a lot today which was nice. Also if anyone wants to talk or text the number is 663299137. Lets not do it regularly cuz it probably cost tons for both of us. Miss everybody and am grateful for this turn of fates but i know i gotta keep workin hard to keep the good things coming.

The Hypocracy of the Republican Party

What's the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank has illuminated an issue for me that I hadn't considered before but now seems central to politics. Oversimplified, why do states such as Kansas with working class populations vote Republican? The working class man has seen his people suffer through deregulation of industry and other pro business policies. He works in worse conditions for less money; that is if his job hasn't been outsourced. He depends on federal aid but votes against it.

The leaders of the Republican party know what they're doing. They're stealing this demographic that rightfully belongs to the Democrats. They do so by manipulating these people into thinking that economics are negligible and they should vote based on values. Conservative leaders force the idea that America is in the midst of social (moral) decay. That by prohibiting abortion, gay marriage, and gun laws, our nation's values will be restored and life will improve for everybody. It is significant to note that while Low Income Red America sacrifices wealth for values the leaders of the conservative party are making more money because of cheaper labor. We can all see the direction that social policy is going. Roe v. Wade will never be overturned and if by some miracle it is there will be some much contradictory policy in place that it won't matter. Gay marriage is becoming more and more accepted throughout the country. Gun laws are as strict as ever and Obama promises to make it even more difficult to bear arms. So, in reality, if Republican leaders are even fighting for these social changes, they are doing a really bad job. All they succeed in is continuing to deregulate profit motivated corporations and lessen government.

There is an example given in the book where a woman works as a secretary in a small town.She is in desperate need of financial help walks into the office of a Republican governer and announces she will not be voting for him. She reasons that because he is pro-choice he is too liberal for her. Frank describes the situation simply but powerfully, "And that is Kansas for you: a state where the working-class heroes are even more Republican than their bosses."

The scheme would not be perfect without vilinizing the opponent. The Republican party propogates to the masses that the typical liberal is a rich snob who lives on the coast, drinks lots of lattes, and has no motivation other than to ruin life for the rest of us. That the Democratic party is not the party of true Americans.

So, the workers of the Midwest Red States rise up, infuriated because their small towns are now poor and jobless, because working conditions are worse, because the income gap grows, and proceed to vote Republican.

TGIF!

Happy Friday everybody. been a long couple of days. yesterday i woke up late and decided to go to a soccer stadium in the town of Puzol. after an easy ride on the metro (subway that is partially above ground) i found myself in the town of Rafelbunyo. That was the closest I could get to Puzol and the map sure made it look close. Of course I had never heard of either towns and learned that they were both very poor pueblos. there is no bus system so I decided I could walk it. Turned into around a 4 hr walk one way- at hour three I knew what I had gotten myself into but decided that it was too late to turn back. The way back I tried to hitchhike but I must have looked really strong and intimidating so nobody picked me up. Got home late but had a good dinner cooked by Ariel.

Today I got up at 8, walked to the rec center, and worked out for 2 hrs. Then came back and kicked the soccer ball against the wall trying to get it off the half bounce, no bounce, etc. After I spoke with the parents for like 2 hours which was good. Found out all about Jill's exciting adventures in Canada! Ask her about them. I actually didnt talk to her cuz it was 5 a.m. denver time and she was trying to sleep with mom and dad in her room. But it sounded like she had fun. Had a variation of Paella-national dish- for lunch which was made my Ariel. I love that he loves the cooking. He, and the Spanish people in general, have strong wills and he insisted that I not drink water while and eat and sleep immediately after as to help my digestion. went downtown. checked out the famous train station cuz im thinking of takin a couple days in Alicante next week to look at teams down there. Now im finally going to get my hair cut at one of the hundred Peluqueras on this block. Tomorrow is gonna be hot and sunny so im definitly spendin the majority of the day at the playa. Hope all is well. Talk to everybody soon.

P.S. I have political commentary on the way. Cafe con leche is easy to say so i order it a lot. The combination of coffee and a book get my mind going.

Hey guys! Well trying to keep you updated...yesterday i was lazy. but i did get a working phone and a bus/metro pass which i really needed. besides that i didnt do much yesterday. ive actually gotten out today though. this morning i woke up and me and ariel went to the "rec center" here and turned in all the stuff i needed to get a pass. i went there a little later to work out and well the weight room is terrible. theres almost no machines and theres a hundred people crammed in a little room. then i went to the pool but turns out i need a little swimmers cap to go in. so it could have gone smoother but at least i got a little workout in. and ive realized that out here the first time i do something it never goes according to plan. i think with everything i do out here the more times i do it the better it is. i hope to go to the gym earlier so that there arent as many people and i will buy a cap tomorrow no matter how goofy i look in it. oh and i smelled cuz the people have a laundry machine here but no soap. so after working out i went and bought soap and the grocery stores here are actually pretty fun cuz theyve got some crazy stuff. then i came back to the bar near the house, had a beer, and read the marca newspaper (soccer newspaper). filled with ronaldo of course. it was amazing how much it made me relax and im feelin pretty good right now. ariel and marioja are coming back soon and gonna make me some lunch. -Miss you all-

Yesterday

Well yesterday was intersting. The bartender from the discoteca is a really cool guy. He lives around here so i always see him and and we always talk and all. He said he wanted to help me buy a phone here. well we went and all that- by the way i never mentioned my religious affiliation due to the mass amounts of Arabic paraphanelia in his car. We buy the phone and a card for it and everything so its all good to go but i forgot my passport so he had to put it under his name-no problem. come back to the house and ask ariel to help me change the name the phone is under cuz i couldnt understand the spanish. He asks where this guy is from and I say Morracco. He was not happy. Apparently if your Jewish or American-heaven forbid a combination of the two- under no circumstances do you interact with Morraccans or Algerians. The racism out here is unbelievable. And it actually has more power than in the States cuz in the US im not scared when i interact with foreigners but here, Ariel made me fear for my life if i talk with Muslims. He said we're throwing the phone away and getting a new one. I dont know. Im not sold. The guys name is Somi and he's tight. I understand that his friends may not be cool with me even if he is but i dont know. Thought i had finally made a friend! Theres two things that i believe in that are currently conflicting. One: I will never discriminate based on race and creed. Two: I will always be proud of being Jewish and will not hide it. I didnt think this situation would arise but i dont know how to honor both beliefs. Well besides that my day was really good. Today I went for a run to the beach in the morning and now me and Ariel have been hangin out at his girlfriends bar. Oh and im gettin all my music from itunes right now so if you guys readin have any new music suggestions send them this way. Thanks for readin and update me on what happen in the 303!

Smyth Trade

Woke up this morning and saw that we traded Ryan Smyth. I also see that everybody hates this deal and thinks were just giving up. but giving up on what. we were last place in the west last year. preissing may have his flaws but i dont think were gonna be any worse. i believe that improving our defense is much more important at this point than buyin some expensive forwards. signing heatley (talented free agent that has a reduced price tag) isnt gonna win us the cup next season. or the season after that. and in all honesty we wouldnt have any money left. because of stupid deals like theodore smyth hannan etc we have no money and a really bad team. gettin rid of some overpaid players will give us a lot of money and a really bad team. still preferable. at least this way we'll have options-somethin the avs havent had in a long time. the players that we got are questionable but i dont think that we can count them out yet. even if they turn out to be flops its better than what we dealt with last season.

thursday the 2nd afternoon

sorry everybody for not updatin. hope you still check in from time to time. i woke up this mornin around 12:30 which is pretty standard for me now. this climate just makes everybody sleep all day. the guy i stay with is currently partaking in his daily siesta. when i woke up he took me to this national park where we hung out on the beach. pretty amazing. ill be posting pictures. its intersting seeing the city from the perspective of a local. oh and i thought it was pretty ironic that im the one that always complains that the beach isnt as good as the pool cuz its dirtier and then today i proceeded to get oil all over my feet. i was the only one in the water who managed to do so. well turns out it doesnt really come off so oh well. just gotta wait. after the beach we went to the pueblo of palmar, where they invented paella- famous dish in spain. bought some of that and took it home. ate the paella with a onion and tomato salad- which is what i always order at noodles lol (btw not too many noodles and co out here-as in none) i find it interesting that the chain restaurants havent found their way out here. there is a lot of money to be made here in the food industry. well i think thats all. and in response to all the photo comments on facebook that nasty lookin thing i ate was delicious- the sea monster was not a part of it unfortunately and i am not drinking excessively out here mom. ariel just likes to buy me beers- well until next time-stay classy colorado

Had my first legal beer!!! and it was fo free cuz the girlfriend of the guy im stayin with is a bartender. and then i talked to my parents and bre for over an hour in a room that was about 3 ft x 3ft. fortunately i can say whatever i want out here cuz nobody understands english. and then i went to el supermercado. i got 8 1.5 L bottles...and peaches and then i found out that they dont put your groceries in bags but your actually expected to bring your own. so i dragged that home for about a mile. now im talking to bre and it is awesome. gonna go to bed soon cuz im gonna run tomorrow morning on the beach!!!! posting pics on facebook as we speak

6-27-09

Im on very little sleep and yet i feel suprisingly good. didnt sleep last night beacuse the lady on the airplane decided to wake me up to go to the bathroom every five minutes. night before was spent with my baby. so i havent slept the last two nights. oh and its 12 40 in the afternoon here i think so hopefully tonight ill sleep well. people im stayin with way cool. really nice and are really helpin me out. they drove me to find a phone and i saw a bit of the town. probably the coolest architecture ive ever seen. its hot and humid. we have no aire condicionado but i think im gonna like this place. oh and bre, the guy saw your pictures and was like ella es muy guapa. he said that like ten times. and im gonna post some pictures when my rooms all clean! oh and for the contacting me issue. i think i have somethin lined up but until then skype me, email me or facebook me.

6/25/09 A.M.

Leaving for the airport tomorrow at 4 a.m. so i wont be sleeping in my own bed again for a long time. I need to pack today which shouldn't be too bad. Pick up a new pair of lotto cleats and then im all set. I'm not nervous or worried about going, just concerned about what i'm leaving behind.