Since I have been back in America I have said probably 30 times that I miss being in Ireland. Today I think it really hit me however. I was biking home after going out for a drink with a co-worker of mine and I saw a group of Irish guy carrying hurling sticks (Hurleys) back to the thier apartment and thats when it really hit me. As miserable as the weather was in Ireland the reason I really liked it there and made such an effort to stay for longer was because it felt really natural to me, it felt like home. That might sound strange seeing that I have no family from Ireland or no one in my family had ever even been there before me. There was just something about the place that I took to right away. I was comfortable with the miserable weather, the horrible infrastructure, the semi-corrupt politics, and also the beautiful green landscapes, the caring people, the small town feeling now matter where you were in the country. I'm not sure if I will ever get the opportunity to live there again, but I can say that today I felt home sick for the first time in my life, and it wasn't for the place that I grew up in New York and New Jersey.  ¶ 11:56 PM

  Today is my Dad's 50th birthday! Which I think should always be a big deal in a person's life. He's always been a very low-key guy however and the day has come and gone without a huge bang. I really admire that, no matter what happens he has always had the same demeanor through out the years. Just for future reference I am referring to my step-dad, thats usually who I'm speaking about when I say my dad or my father. That I suppose is a story for another time.
This week has been interesting at work, I had a student who told me she was quitting school today, and I tried to tal kto her find out the reason why and I couldn't really get to the bottom of it. I would explain all about my job and where I'm working at the moment but I don't want to get in any trouble for writing stuff about the company on my blog. I got in enough trouble with ESPn and Michelle Bonner a couple of years ago that I'll stay away from mentioning anything about huge corporations.  ¶ 12:19 AM

  Yesterday was Indpendence day, and it was my first one in California. Pacific Beach became one giant party yesterday, apparently ever since drinking on the beach got banned house parties are the thing everyone does. The party was at Kim's place over on Haines Street, how fitting a name eh? Just to fill you in on who Kim is, she is a girl that I knew back in Boston, she graduated a year or 2 before me and she moved out here to San Diego almost immediatley after. John Guiney has also been living out here for the same length of time, and graduated NEU the same year as Kim. I hadn't seen them for 3 years or more before I moved out here, and now its been pretty good to hangout with them again. Pacific Beach is a huge college spring break neighborhood so they have never really left the college mentality. The party yesterday was great, exactly what I had been missing in Ireland, partying over there often involved going to pubs or clubs, a good old fashioned house party was really hard to find. I took some footage yesterday during the party, this video clip was definitely the best one however.
After drinking all day and playing beerpong, flipcup and a few other party games, everyone went down to the Bay to watch the fireworks. They were good, but not as much of a spectacle as the New York or Boston firework shows have surrounding them.

  ¶ 3:27 PM

 
This past weekend was a wild one, on friday night Joe, Ashley and myself attempted to get into a nightclub in the Gas Lamp on 4th street, but we showed up too late and missed the guestlist. Being the cheap skates that we are, there was no way we were going to pay for a $20 cover. We ended up in Tikki Lounge getting drinks called "Horny Monkey's", and I have to say either bartenders are making drinks stronger out here or I am turning into a pussy. If you pick the latter you might be correct :(
On Saturday I went to a pretty amazing beach, in a semi-hidden location near Torrey Pines. I had to climb down the sandstone cliffs to reach the beach, when I looked down at how far it was I estimated it had to be about 700 or 800 feet to the bootm. It was the first time in my life that I have ever gone cliff scaling if thats even a real thing. What made the beach so unique was the black sand that it had cover about 60 percent of it, as well as the fact that there were very few people on it, because of the seclusion. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I hope I'll go back again soon. Then on Saturday night, we went to a club in downtown SD and made it in time for the guestlist this time. It was a pretty different experience than what I had gotten used to in Ireland. The music was all hip-hop with a west coast bias for sure, but no matter what coast you are on right now I think Lil Wayne is the dominant hip-hop artist, unfortunately.
Sunday was the European Cup 2008 final between Germany and Spain. I was hoping that Germany would win, but with no real allegiance to any of the teams playing I was still quite pleased with the outcome. Spain won 1-0 on a goal from Fernando Torres or El Nino as he is called by the British Press. I love that all of my favorite players are now making waves with there national teams as well as there club teams.  ¶ 1:10 AM