In case you were wondering...

Sunrise in Prague
Originally uploaded by bokutarik

In case you were wondering, the sunrise in Prague happens around 6:15. How do I know this information? Well, I was horribly awoken (is that a word?) this morning with the overwhelming sense the room was spinning. Was I dreaming? I figured so, so I woke myself up immediately...unforunately, the reality was I was literally feeling this way. I woke up and the room was spinning like crazy. It just kept spinning and spinning. I felt I was about to loose any second. I tried to layback down thinking that would help, but it did the exact opposite. It got worst when I was lying down. I literally had to sit up for the next hour or so. I took some advil, but that didn't kick in for a good while. Has this every happened to anyone? I kinda was able to sleep in the sitting position, but then got back up around 9:00, and it's stayed with my all day so far. What is going on? I feel absolutely horrible!! I called the Canadian Medical Clinic, and that was absolutely NO help, and quite honestly, very frustrating. They were getting me in to see the orthopedic? What in the world? I will confess the call did escalate into talking very loudly. I probably need to call back and apologize. She just kept asking ridiculous questions, telling me I wasn't a patient...anyways, I won't rehash that conversation...just know language/cultural barriers suck, especially when you feel like crap. So, I started doing what any girl does, and that's cry. Why? I have no clue. It wasn't going to help or change the situation, but I guess it made me feel better. So, I'm crying on the phone, they put me on hold, so I hangup. I then decided to email my 2 doctor friends at home. Of course, there's the wonderful time difference, so who knows when I'll hear from them. Well, I'm definitely venting a bit and having a slight pity party. I'm just miserable!! If anyone has any advice, please let me know!!!

On a positive note, it's my favorite type of weather outside: cold and rainy. I love it. Perfect for being inside all day. Well, I'll probably be back later...hopefully with something more fun...

A little vertigo

Welp, in case you were worried, wondering, or bored and stopped by my blog, found out it's a bit of vertigo. It's been pretty brutal, and I pretty much have been fighting it all day. Katie, my best friend who happens to be a doctor, said that in her professional opinion it sounded like a case of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. (sounds intense, huh) Basically, that means certain positions can cause dizziness and headaches. There's really nothing that can be done to help it but some random drug that they probably don't carry over here. Waiting it out is pretty much all you can do. It was kinda bad timing because we had a little goodbye dinner for our friend, Jason, who left for the states today. He came over for a to see about working over here, but apparently God has others plans for him. It was sad to see him go, but we had a fun time lastnight. Here's a picture of the group lastnight at the wonderful Balcan restaraunt, Gitanes. We'll miss you Jason!!

Fell in Love with Venice

So, the adventures are done.Took my parents to the airport this morning...4:00 A.M. to be exact. Little brutal, but was definitely able to come home and fall right back to sleep. It's 14:09, and I'm still in my pajamas!!! I've been trying to convince myself to get up and go run, but so far, no such luck. Where to begin!!

Our first stop on our whirlwind vacation was Rome. My parents got to Prague Monday, and we left bright and early Tuesday. The minute we got to Rome we hit the ground sprinting...so much to do and see!!! Found Rome to be completely tourist friendly. It was an easy city to figure out...easy but entirely overwhelming at the same time. Of course, Rome was amazing...the history, architecture, people, everything was great. You can hardly believe what you're looking at when you're there. To think about how long some of those buildings have been there is just incredible. We totally lucked out with St Peter's Basilica, because all day there had been massive lines, and we were able to walk right in around 5:30. So, huge tip for any of yall planning a trip to Rome, see St Peter's late in the day....no line at all!!! Our bed&breakfast was right near the Vatican, so we saved that for the next morning. Again, totally lucked out, and hardly had to wait in line. My favorite part of Rome was St Peter's and the Vatican. I loved the book Angles and Demons by Dan Brown, and had pictured all that stuff in my head a million times, so to see it in person was awesome.

Next we took a train to Venice. As you can tell by my title, this was the highlight of the trip for me...I absolutely LOVED Venice. It was just a beautiful, romantic, chill city. I loved the layed back atmosphere...especially after just coming from Rome. Don't get me wrong, Rome was awesome, but just too overwhelming and busy for me. Venice is everything you imagine...quaint streets, outdoor cafes, and great wine. I definitely want to go back. To top it off, our B&B was totally adorable. Right on the water, so close to the train station, and tucked away enough to get a great night's sleep. Kinda sounds like a commercial, but it was pretty great. Let me know if you're going soon, I'll give you the name!

I kinda hit my wall in Venice...I had been going like crazy the 2 weeks before this trip, and I think it was all catching up to me. I was just getting tired of being a tourist!!! My poor mom was goin like a champ, and me and Joe kinda fizzled out. I did learn a lot on this trip...one thing I wasn't warned of were the massive amount of pigeons in St Mark's square. Totally freaked me out, and just knew I was going to get crapped on at some point. I had a little incident in Prague with a bird not too long ago, so it was kinda fresh on my mind. Fortunately, I walked away without any bird feces making contact with any part of my body...thank the Lord!! On another note, my mom's a picture taking fool, but is actually getting quite good at it. I can thank her for most all my pics. Discovered very early on my job was video taping. In all, we took around 1000 pictures (yes, 1,000) and about 3 hours of video. Mom even wanted to video me shopping in my grocery store! At first, I said whatever, go for it, but as we walked in I was overcome by embaressment. I told her I just had to draw the line there, but, of course, ended up letting her anyways...

It was soooo great having Mom and Joe here. I love that they got to see where I live, meet my team here and many other friends, and see the amazing city I live in. Hope you like the pics, and I'll try to get some video and more pics later! Have a great Sunday!!

What a Beautiful Morning!

Brett Favre 12.31.06 getting signals
Originally uploaded by planetexpress

Despite the fact I appear to be getting sick in perfect time for my parents to get here and head off to Italy, it's a beautiful morning here in Prague! First of all, the weather outside is amazing. Looks like it's going to be a gorgeous day. Second, I found an article on MSN this morning that made me smile. The title, "Favre claims another record." Yes, my favorite QB and yours just became the winningest quarterback in history! Let's be honest, the man's got some talent for sure...not to mention he's pretty hot. And finally, for the main reason this is a wonderful morning...I'm about to pick my parents up at the airport!!! Let the madness begin!!! I pray you slept well, and you also have a beautiful morning!!!

Happy Sunday!!! I made it back from our conference safe&sound (and probably 10lbs heavier with all the Czech food!). It was an encouraging time with fellow AIAers from all over Europe. We discussed many thought provoking subjects such as sports ethics, worldviews, and a little AIA principle biznaz as well. I was a bit exhausted by the end, but know it was well worth it. If you don't know what "Czech" food consist of, just picture the most starch and carbs possible in a meal, and there you have it. TONS of potatoes, bread, gravy, and throw in a bit of meat. Kills me...don't get me wrong; it's good, but just to have every once in awhile. Meal after meal after meal just gets brutal...

Welp, tomorrow my Mom and step dad, Joe, get in, and I can hardly contain my excitement!! It's been 9 months since I've seen them! I can't wait to run and give them a HUGE hug!!! We have quite a schedule the 7 days they're here, so it won't be the most relaxing of trips. We leave Tuesday for Italy, land in Rome, see Venice, and fly out of Milan. Pretty excited about this, but even more excited to be doing this with them. No doubt I'll have some fun pics and video to share when we get back. I laugh thinking about how bad Joe's going to stick out. If there's ever someone who looks so incredibly Texas, it's him. Tall, skinny, loud, belt buckle and all...I love it, but in this setting it's going to be hilarious. I'm definitely going to have to give him some cultural parameters to try and stay in. So, if you're walking through Prague or Italy and notice a loud, tall white guy walkin around, you can safely assume that's probably him!

Random Ramblings...

So what never gets old or mundane is the life I live over here...obviously this is a huge blanket statement, but what i'm referring to in particular would be the tons of people I get to meet from all over the world. For instance, today I said goodbye to a new friend (who lives in France), said hello to 6 new friends who come from Bulgaria, Switzerland, Moldova, Germany, and Scotland...I mean it's crazy. Soooo fun...This world is such a huge place, and the longer I'm away from America, honestly, the more I love it. Don't get me wrong, I definitely miss my mom's cookin, fishing with my stepdad, talks about everything and nothing at Amanda's, Central Market nights with Heidi, my amazing church family, and the list goes on and on, but I really do love living outside American walls. I'll have more on those "American walls" later...

Alright, so I've known for awhile now that I'm not in Texas anymore, BUT I promise you this weather is insane right now. My ensemble today included a coat AND scarf...of course I also rocked the flops. Just not ready to retire the reefs yet. I swear to you I would wear flops all 12 months of the year. Now, this is a bit peculiar given my favorite season/weather is by far winter, but how cool is it to sport your flops with snow on the ground? Well, I suppose it's not for everyone...I only suppose this based on social cues. Czechs give it away instantly when their gaze falls upon my feet and stay there for a good, uncomfortable 5minutes. I could totally get away with it at home...So, the high today was around 56 and the low tonight 46...guess it's time to pull out the sweaters and coats...

Well, I need to get to bed. Hope y'all had a great day today!!

Michigan and Miss South Carolina

So, what do Michigan football and Miss South Carolina have in common? Well, that leads me to an even better question, "How in the world does Michigan lose to Appalachian State....at The Big House!!!" I don't believe in karma, BUT lastnight I do believe I was slightly making fun of those who attend Appalachian State. Honestly, I feel it was completely warranted considering the impeccable answer given by the beautiful Miss South Carolina. (See below) They may not be inheriting one of the brightest freshmen this year, but they apparently have some tremendous talent on the field...or maybe Michigan just isn't living up to it's number 5 ranking. All I can say at this point is I'm darn glad I'm half way across the world. It makes it a TON easier to distance myself from the world of college football. I'm just praying the guys over there at Michigan just want to make sure we have an exciting season this year. Well, either way, enjoy the clip below...it's honestly painful having to sit through it..."Bless her little heart!"

And so it begins...

Well, here it goes...I am making my blogging debut. Small disclaimer: I have no idea what might spill out onto the pages of this blog, so be prepared. There's a lot that runs through this crazy head of mine, so who knows what will happen. I've enjoyed reading so many of your blogs that I figured it's time for me to give back to the blogging world. I'll try to figure out how to work this thing...I know there are all kinds of cool tricks like pictures, videos, links, and who knows what else. I might need some help along the way, so all tips and suggestions are welcome!

It's ridiculously late, so I for sure need to get to bed. Thanks Shanna and Phil for a fabulous dinner tonight! I do believe it was a complete success! Huge bonus was the birth of the Super Southern Super Club!!! Yay for the second Monday of the month! (Except this month of course. Can't say I'm not still a little bitter about this...) Goodnight blogger world!!! Until next time...