This was my first weekend with nothing to do all summer, so naturally I had lots of time to sit and think. I started to think about a few things that I want to accomplish in the next year. I realized that most of the goals I have are things that will take longer than a year to achieve, so I had to simplify things a bit. If I was living at home and working, I would definitely have saved enough money to get myself back to Europe by now. Mostly because I live on my own and have several monthly expenses, it will take me a long time to save up the money for work permits, visas, etc. That is why my number one goal for the upcoming year is to find a job where I make significantly more income. This is a task that is much easier said than done, especially in the current job market. Wish me luck!  ¶ 2:47 PM

 
Today is the last day of my "summer vacation", at 8pm tonight I have to take the last of my summer visitors to the airport.
My mom was the first visitor I had in San Diego, when she came out in May, and they continued on throughout the summer. It was perhaps the busiest 3 months I have ever had in my life. Basically from June 1st on I was doing something ever single day, going to parties, showing my friends around the tourist spots in So Cal, and even traveling around the rest of the state of California.
While I only really had a week of vacation this summer, the whole thing was one long party. The picture that I've posted sums up the whole time for me, and like I mentioned a few weeks ago, the lesson I learned is a simple one. It's all about who you are with and not where you are, that makes everything okay. Last summer when I arrived in San Diego, I had no idea what was in store for me only a year later. The year in between was very forgettable, all my time was spent worrying about work and mostly alone ever weekend wishing I was some place else. During the 3 months I had my friends here, I only wanted to be here, because if I was any place else I would have been missing the time of my life.
Now that they are gone it's time for things to unfortunately go back to the way they were. Work will consume my life once again, and my thoughts of wanting to be somewhere else will get stronger everyday. The difference is that this time, I intend on doing something about it, and by next year, this time I may be writing a completely different story, from a completely different place.  ¶ 3:56 PM

 
Last week, I finally made it up to San Francisco, and was absolutely amazed at how cosmopolitan that city is. Having only been to San Diego and Los Angeles before, I just assumed all the Californian cities would be the same. Giant suburbs with a small downtown consisting of a few financial buildings, along with several beach communities incorporated in the city. San Francisco was nothing like that. It had culture, history, art, a large downtown, and urban landscape. I spent 3 days there with Damien last week, and visited my friend Josh. The irony in the situation was that the last time I saw Josh was when I lived in Cork with Damien and James. In just 3 short days San Fran has jumped into my top 5 favorite American cities, because I love creating lists so much here are my top 5 favorites.

1.) New York City - NY gets the hometown nod

2.) Philadelphia - vastly underrated by most people, this city has more to offer than you would think.

3.) Chicago - The greatest thing the mid-west has to offer.

4.) San Francisco - Perhaps the most beautiful of the top 5.

5.) Minneapolis - The conscious of the mid-western states.


rounding out the top 10: Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, Las Vegas, and San Diego  ¶ 7:30 PM