Starting to blog again...

Yeah, so the last time that I actually put something on here was in 2006 and now it is 2008. I guess I just got busy with things and let this go to the back burner. Anywho, what's new with me? I moved back to Kentucky after my adventures in Europe, got my old job back, then got a new job with American Airlines at the airport. That means I get to fly at my leisure, which I use pretty often, well I think I do. This week I am planning a trip to Toronto to see Lindsay and Rafay. It's super duper exciting because I haven't seen them in almost a year. 

Aside from that, I moved from Nicholasville to Lexington to be closer to work. I also acquired a doggy named Artemis. She is such a sweet dog, although she has been nicknamed Chewy by some. I admit if you leave her alone for a while she will go to town with whatever she can find in the trash or your pair of shoes you foolishly left on the floor.  

My life is somewhat boring at the moment. I go to work at 4:30AM, work 10 hours and then come home and usually just sit in front of the tv and then go to sleep. Although, lately I have been socialising a lot more with Liz. We found a new watering h

ole in town. Well it's not new per se but new for our finding it «The Pub». $4 pints during happy hour, not a bad deal eh? The other weekend we all went out for Liz's birthday and had a hell of a time. By the end of the night I had lost my wallet and took a taxi home. Barnacles! Got everything canceled and replaced, but what a hassle. Teaches you to take extra precaution whilst inebriated. 

New things I learnt today: 

@ in English -> "commercial at"

@ in German -> Ätt or Klammeraffe or Affeschwanz (Schwyzerdütsch)

@ in French -> Arrobase or à commercial (Québécois)

Very useful to know when speaking in tongue. 

Das Ende meines Auslandsstudiums

Now I am back in Kentucky. Originally, I thought I was going to be absolutely miserable being here, but I have been delightfully surprised.

So here is how my journey home went down.

9 hour train ride from Vienna to Frankfurt, Germany. I finished a bottle of Salmiakki (Finnish alcoholic drink) before I even got half way there...hey it was a party train. Once I got to Frankfurt at 4AM I had a 7 hour layover before my flight to Orlando. So then I get to Orlando and am waiting for my flight to Houston. Unfortunately, there were 10 inches of rain that fell in Houston and all flights to and from were being delayed. I eventually got to Houston and had missed my connecting flight to Lexington. This is where things get interesting.

Everyone who missed their connecting flights got a hotel voucher to stay the night in Houston and wait for the next flights the next day. I am waiting in line and finally get reticketed to go to Cincinnati. I asked if I get one of the hotel vouchers and am disappointed to find out that I don't because I am on a buddy pass (basically, I paid next to nothing to fly because my friend works for the airline). This really nice woman who was standing next to me heard my plight and offered to let me stay in her room for the night. I was flabbergasted! I told her that I would sleep on the floor, anything is better than staying the night in the airport.

On the way to the hotel I was joking around and said that I was going to get a bottle of vodka before going to bed. She turned and said, "Wanna share?" Hellz yea! This woman is cool. She was Asian and looked around mid-twenties. We arrive and I hide behind a pillar so that the attendant behind the desk does not see me and I can get in the room. He asks her if she and her travel companion want a king size or two doubles? Two doubles thank you. Do you need two food vouchers or just one? Two please ($10 each).

We go up to the room but soon go down to the hotel bar. My drinks totalled up to be around $40 and she insisted on paying! Would not even let me get a dollar out. What a lady. Turns out she is a dentist in California and has a son who is almost my age. I suppose she was around 40 years old or so. Her husband back in CA was quite nervous that she picked up some random guy at the airport and is letting him stay in her room; I think his apprehension was justified. I gave her my passport and driver's licence so that she could relay that information to him on the phone. He was then reassured.

The night ended with my passing out before the lights were out. The next day I had to get up at 5AM so I could catch my flight to Cincy. Nothing more exciting happened after that.

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For the time being I am living at my mother's house, where I don't have a room. I get to sleep on the couch. It is not that bad because I wear earplugs and don't hear anyone when they get up. I applied for jobs at 4 banks, 2 airlines, and dropped the hint at my old work that I would be willing to work part time. Mainly, I just need to get some money coming in so I can pay some of my debts.

I am really happy to see my family again. I get along really well with most of them, especially the women in my family. I just got back from my grandparents' house, where I spent a good 2 hours just chatting with my grandmother. We can talk about everything. She even asked me when I knew I was gay, and so we discussed that whole matter. She is right about one aspect; family is the most important thing in the world and that is all we have when it comes down to it.

Fever of a different colour

Fußballweltmeisterschaft
Soccer/Football World Cup
La Coupe du Monde de Football

Whatever name you tack onto it, I am not partaking in this global fad.

I keep hearing on the news that there are 300 million viewers tuning in to waste their brain cells glued to the tv. I just don't get it...All this hype for a game that I find to be rather boring. Seriously they run back and forth the field hardly ever scoring a point.

Honestly, I think this is more of nationalistic egotism than athleticism or sportsmanship. How often do you see all the supporters for one team get completely knackered and then go cause trouble with the locals in the bars and such. This whole cultural mix of testosterone, alcohol, and nationalism, in turn, creates hooligans.

Did you know that Germany actually imported thousands more prostitutes into the country to service all the willing clients!

Now whilst in Austria, my German roommate was going to the grocery store whilst wearing his German Flag-laden t-shirt and almost got in a fight with a group of 5 Austrians who said Deutschland was going to lose.

My distaste for mass-ignorant fad sports does not just pick on soccer/football, but it also includes American football, baseball, NBA basketball, and hockey. I just go to SuperBowl parties for the free food and spend my time on the host's computer doing something dorky.

I'm sure there will be one third of the planet telling me that there is so much skill involved in these sports and they're really complex mentally...blah blah blah I don't want to hear it. Fine if you really do love the sport but nowadays I think people take it too far.

I'm more of a fan of individual sports i.e. the Olympics, tennis grand slams, biathlon, etc. I will be glued to my tv for the men's singles final of the French Open where defending Rafael Nadal will be taken on by Roger Federer, the world #1. To me it does not matter very much who wins. Nadal has a nicer body and tan, whilst Federer has more charm. All I am hoping for is a good match to enjoy, regardless of the outcome. And you won't see me out in the streets plastered causing trouble with passers-by just because someone lost. I'll keep my celebrations in check for the courtesy of others who may not want to hear my yelling at 11PM.

Seriously people, reality check!

Friends no matter what continent

This post was inspired by watching the series finale of Friends.

I have been in Austria since September 2005 and when I first got here I knew no one. I had never even been to Austria before and knew absolutely nothing about the country! The first night I got here I was outside on the back terrace and I heard someone speaking English from his/her window and waited till the end so I could yell up and speak in English. Unfortunately, she talked for a reallllly long time and I eventually went in.

I met Máire [pronounced More-uh] (Ireland/Éire) at a party on the forth floor. I walked in and I heard English so we started chatting but that was about it. At a second party we encountered each other again and I so rudely asked her if I could borrow her apartment because I really had to #1...She obliged. From then on we became really good friends.

Máire did not want her roommate to arrive. She had the aparment to herself and she wanted it that way! Fortunately, Laura (Belgium/Belgique) arrived and she was an amazing girl and she and Máire got along great!

The next step was when I was in the lobby with Máire and she was telling me about this English guy that she thought might be gay. Well hello! Show him to me! So we walked up to him and started talking but soon found out he was actually straight. Cool...whatever. His name is Divesh (nickname Dee) and we became friends.

Nicolas (also Belgian) came into the picture when Laura met him and they spoke in French. One evening Laura and I were walking in the back and we saw him. At first I thought he was French and kept on walking but then found out he was Belgian so we invited him to a party. I thought he was gay too...he was just tooooo well dressed to be hetero. Well at the party that we invited him to he wore white socks with black pants. Instant sign that he is straight.



Some how we all just hung out all the time and became great great friends, especially Máire and I. I brought this game from the U.S. called Rook. It is a card game somewhat similar to Spades or the like. Well eventually they all picked up the rules and we would play it every day almost. It was the greatest fun ever. Nicolas hated playing with me because I was pretty competitive but I realised that and tried to turn it down a thousand.

Dee is an English guy with Indian roots so he could do a pretty good fro and at the end of the week we would always have Fro Friday. Fluff it up and get drunk. Máire drinks Radler, Nicolas, Dee and I would drink vodka, and Laura was pretty much the sober one, although not always. I remember one evening when she was drunk and dancing around my kitchen with the radio, thus we nicknamed her DJ Laura.



So a group of one Irishwoman, one Englishman, one American, and two French speaking Belgians. We paid out each other a lot for accents but it was all out of love. This was the greatest time that I have spent in Vienna.

Oh I forgot to mention the times that I took them all to gay clubs. I thought the boys might be reserved but hell....they absolutely LOVED it. Whenever Michael Jackson came on you had to get out of the way so Dee could show his stuff and when Whitney Houston was played you could count on Nicolas to shout along with the lyrics. One evening when I was in Niederösterreich (the mountains) they all went to a gay club without the token gay! How unfair!



We were all so uninhibited because we were together. Often times we would go to a party early and there would be very few people there and we wanted to dance. So us five retards would get out there and start shaking our bonbons even though no one else was. We had several routine dances memorised: The Billa (grocery store) so one person would be the cashier and call out "Grüß Gott" (hello) and then slide all the items and then yell "Zettel" (receipt) and everyone would go shopping....Prater dance is next. We lived at Praterstern which is the red light district and tons of drunk bums...so the dance basically consisted of pretending to guzzle down beers and be drunk. The Karlsplatz! (Charles Square) is where all the druggies are so the dance was us pretending to shoot up and be high.

The Funny Bunny Game! It's a game where you put your hands on your head and make like you have bunny ears and then throw them to someone else who must be paying attention. Again I reiterate that we were completely retarded in public, but that is the point!

There is a picture of me and Máire kissing on the U-bahn (métro/subway)...her boyfriend was not particularly happy about that photo, and what is even worse is that the day that he came to Vienna she was busy so I was obliged to go pick him up at the airport. We had a "talk" on the train back to town. I assured him that I only like penis and that it was just for fun. He turned out to be a dick anyway so as a group we dislike him.



Nicolas and I were the last ones to leave Vienna. In that last month we really solidified our friendship, maybe through beers or just hanging out, who knows :) All I have to say is that when he left I bawled my eyes out and still miss him terribly.

Having straight males friends is especially important to me because I am gay and as a stigma it is not often that I have them. So when they accept me for who I am, and are truly my friends I cherish them. These 4 people in Vienna have really embraced me and I love them so much. It is unfortunate that now we will all be in our respective countries, yet on the other hand I have such great memories to relive in my head and to retell.

I just want to thank Máire, Dee, Laura, and Nicolas for making my stay in Vienna one of the best times in my entire life and I will never forget you no matter what! When I have money I will definitely see you again in the future. I better be invited to your marriages, anniversaries, christenings, and any other major events!

I love you and wish you all the best!
Je vous aime et vous souhaite le bonheur!

Prostitutes, cleaning ladies, and dodgy store front

So I may live in the red light district of Vienna because it's really cheap, but I didn't know that the price you pay for living here is getting picked up by prostitutes left and right! Usually, I sit at my desk and observe the people out my window and maybe once or twice a week I see a "transaction" go down between a worker and a nice Mercedes...

However, sometimes when I am walking to or fro uni, some ugly witch pops her head out of a door on the street and says something like, "fickie fickie?" I'm sure that is understood in all languages. Of course I just walk away as fast as I can. Can't they see that I am wearing a backpack?! Hello! studious dork! Or at least they should think that, even if it's not true.

Anyway, today I was coming back from Billa (Austrian grocery store) and as soon as I turn the corner to my building some hooker calls after me saying, "Hä Hund!" and so I just keep walking and then she follows me. I put in the code to the door and she walks up behind me and says, "Hä Hund, sex machen?" and I as a normal person say, "NEE!!" and close the door to as fast as I could.

Translation of the conversation
"Hey stud"
"Wanna have sex?"
"NO!"

And as we speak my roommate and I were watching them outside and their pimp arrived...Shortly afterwards a police car drove by and they all ran away like little kids! Hilarious!

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All right so the building I live in is a brand new one that opened up in September and the administration wants to keep it in pristine shape, therefore, they provide a cleaning service every week to clean your apartment. Basically, that means some fat immigrant comes to wipe down the counters and make sure you have not trashed the place. The kicker is that she comes early in the morning and I am always asleep.

The doorbell sounds like a fire alarm. Thankfully, I found it and cut the wire so that it no longer works in my room, only in my roommate's. Evil I know. Well not that evil, since he gets up at 5am every day anyway and is always awake when she comes. They make fun of me every time because I am always asleep. Compared to him I must seem like a lazy slob.

I wear earplugs now to drown her out.

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Right-o. My neighbourhood is not that great but I don't find it to be particularly dangerous. However, there is a store directly facing my window and it seems as though that it is a front for some illegal activity. I say this because it is always open but no one ever goes in and buys anything. How can it still be in business when no one goes? It is so dodgy.



Anywho, the other day someone actually bought a couch and you can see from the picture exactly how they toted it away. What will these people think up next? I tell ya, I am ready to move!

Life and death

So I have this friend named Lindsay who is the greatest friend you could ever have. Basically during first year at university I was best friends with her roommate, Kelly. Kelly and I did everything together, we even slept together (in a sleepover fashion since I am gay). Unfortunately, Kelly and I fell out, but Lindsay and I started hanging out a lot. As time went by she started making her mark in my life. She ate at my apartment, she slept in my bed, she studied with me, we shopped together, we did everything together and all of a sudden Lindsay was my best friend and the apple of my eye.

So when it came time to find out who you wanted to be roommates with in second year, Lindsay and I didn't even discuss this. We just said to each other, "so shall we go look at apartments?" Then we found an apartment on rue Peel in Montréal and lived together. She was the greatest roommate ever. I think the only time we ever argued was when I took two of her apples and ate them at lunch. She left me a note saying, "stop stealing my apples!" so I bought two new ones and replaced them. Bad me.

Then I went to Vienna, Austria for a year and she had to get her own apartment. The thing is...the doctors found cancer in her pancreas and liver. Lindsay does not smoke, she does not drink whatsoever, she goes to the gym 3 times a week at least. I drink too much, I am lazy...But she is the one who got cancer.

She had to stop going to university and move back to Toronto to home. They started her on chemo and it worked but it was too slow. She decided that she would transfer from McGill to the University of Toronto and finish her degree there. Her doctor told her not to do that because she would not have enough time left. Enough time left in her life to finish her degree.

How can such a great person have cancer and die within the next five years? Life is unfair. Totally unfair. The thing that kills me the most is that I am not in Canada to see her. I want to be there with her and enjoy her!

So basically the moral of this blog is to enjoy the people in your life whilst you can. Otherwise, something might happen to them and you will have missed your chance to enjoy the greatest time of your life.

Where is home?

Right now I am swallowing a big pill. See I am an American who was born in Kentucky and spent most of my life there until I was 16. I knew I was different from everyone else and that I would never fit in with Kentucky culture. Therefore, I went on exchange for a year in Lyon, France where I learnt French and expanded my horizon. Unfortunately, I had to come back to Ky for my final year in high school..and I suppose it was okay. I mean I am the type of person who will make the best of any situation.

I finally found my true home though. That was Montréal, Canada. I decided that I wanted to get out of the U.S. and this time Canada was far enough for me but still close enough to appease my parents. In Montréal I was in the same boat as every one else. They were dorks too! And since Montréal is a very progressive city, I told all my friends and coworkers that I am gay. I finally found the place where I can be myself and people will love me for whatever I am. On top of that I was thrilled to do my education in English at McGill University but still be in a French speaking city where I could maintain my level of French. This is the ideal place for me! The big buildings swallowing me up on the street, the cafés situated at every corner, the hustle and bustle of the cars and exhaust fumes and finally walking down the street where nobody knows who you are! That is what I wanted. The exact opposite of earing the cows moo in Ky and whenever you do something deviant everyone in the entire town finds out! I finally have my so longed for anonymity.

Well as I have an itch for travelling I decided to go on exchange again but this time to Vienna, Austria and that is where I am at right now. I will be going back to Ky in about 3 weeks.

My dilemma is that I don't have enough money to go back to Montréal to finish my final year of university. So I am forced to stay in Ky for another year, get a job, and live with mom and dad. God how I will hate being there. Again, I will make the best of it, but I feel like I am going to be supressed.

I learnt in my International Organisational Behaviour class about culture shock and resocialisation. What happens is when you go abroad you think it will be easy to go back to your own culture so you don't make an effort, but in reality, you have to be resocialised because you have changed as a person. This is exactly what is going to happen to me when I go back. Here I go to exquisite coffeehouses (Kaffeehäuser) and live the city life with wonderful Europeans. I warn everyone that I will be arrogant and grumpy for at least the first 3 months when I am back. I can't help but look down upon you for being monolingual, southern accented English speaking, fat Americans.

I applied for a job at American Airlines so I can travel for insanely cheap prices and go back to Canada often enough to keep me sane in an insane situation. I'll be going to Vancouver to visit the man of my dreams, Mikey, to Toronto to visit my best friend Lindsay, and to Montréal to visit the best friends I have ever had.

If you are searching for your home too let me know so I know I am not the only one who is displaced.

Österreichische Rettung ist so langsam und depparta

So last night...another interesting night. Roommate drank a wee bit too much and basically I was in the position of what to do...So I called the ambulance. On the phone I asked them if they spoke English and the guy said no. So then I went on to explain in German and at one point he asks me a question that I don't understand so I said to myself, "fuck I don't understand". At that point he proceeded to tell me in English what I needed to do...Doesn't speak English my ass.

So yea the roommie went to the hospital but he said a great line when he was in the ambulance. "And the fat guy drove the ambulance like he won his driver's licence in the lottery. I told them that even now I could drive better than he!"

Mein Freund, Thomas, hat mir den Preis in der Kategorie "Verantwortungsvollster Austauschstudent" gegeben.

Swedes' farewell partay

Last night my two friends, Klas and Filip, threw a huge party in the basement because they return to Sweden on Sunday. So sad to see them go. Especially since Filip is one of the hottest mofos on the planet!



They're two guys who are the coolest in the building I think. They're a lot more cool headed than I am. Perhaps that explains why so many people came to their party.

Anywho, so many random things happened last night. When my roommate was in the stairwell, he, for some reason unbeknownst to me, threw his key up the steps. As it so happens, it landed in vomit, and at the same time bent his key so he couldn't get in the apartment and still can't.

What else happened...This time I did not walk up to the hooker-look-alikes and tell them that they look like prostitutes. However, every time I walked past them I gave them this look. You know the look.

Geezus...gotta get all my fun in now before I have to go back to boring ole Kentucky.

Derzeit, mein Lieblingslied ist Murder on the Dancefloor von Sophie Ellis Bextor. Loade es down und genieß!