As I write this post I sit watching a film in French. Watching French cinema and the brief conversations I have on instant messenger is the only link I still have to language that I somehow want to be completely fluent in. 2 semesters in college and 9 months of lessons at the Alliance Francais in Cork has done wonders for me, but I know that I will need to dedicate a lot more time if I ever want to be conversational.
Although the Spanish speaking world is much larger than the francophone nations, something has always drawn me to French. Before I had ever visited France or even met a french person, i just knew that I wanted the language and culture to be a part of me. Much like the unexplained way that figure skater Johnny Weir speaks fluent Russian and considers himself a russophile, even though he is undeniably American.  ¶ 12:09 AM

 
In a month I will be going to Europe again, to visit friends and family but also on some personal business. It has come up a lot in conversation recently and so many people have mentioned to me that they have never been outside of the country except to Mexico or Canada in most cases. That's when I realized that I've been to London 6 times already Paris twice, and Dublin more times than I can count on my fingers and toes. During the nearly 2 years I lived in Ireland, I spent almost a 3rd of the time in England. I went to London 3 or 4 different times then, and also almost all of the other big cities there including Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Leeds. Not only have I been to places in Europe, I've also traveled are most of the places worthy of my time in the United States, and I realized that is also something uncommon for most people I've met as well.
I absolutely love traveling, and I realize that I make so many sacrifices to be able to maintain my ability to travel. I spend virtually nothing on clothes and shoes, which is probably why I have all the same clothes I've had for years in my closet. I don't eat out very often unless I have visitors or its a special occassion. I don't go to clubs that often except for in the same circumstances when I have visitors or its a special occassion. In fact this year alone, I've gone to Las Vegas twice, Austin, and London and its only August. Just about everything I earn is spent on traveling, and I don't regret it at all. By the end of the year I will probably add a few more places to the list of places I have been including the second trip to London this year coming up in less than a month.  ¶ 8:17 PM

  As much as everyday seems the same it brings something a little bit different. Today was one of the days that is a bit more trying than others.
Since the middle of July I have had visitors at my house, first it was my sister and then my friends from Ireland came about 10 days ago. This past weekend I went to Las Vegas with my friends Daragh, Christina, and Ryan from Ireland. Since coming back to San Diego, I have felt different than I did when I left. I went to work yesterday and started to deal with all the same issues that I had been dealing with before I left, it wasn't the same however. Whenever I get away from the office and do things in the real world I come back with a much different feeling. It's very hard to explain but I get the sense that what I do isn't making a difference in anyone's life. If I wasn't there to do my job for example, the people who I work with would still figure there own stuff out. While I like saying that I work in education, my individual job is quite meaningless.
Everyday all around the world people get up and do meaningless jobs with a sense of urgency that isn't really there. I have been well aware of this for a very long time, but I feel helpless to do anything about it. I would be a hypocrite if I didn't tell the truth, and that is that I am definitely one of those people.  ¶ 8:02 PM