vacation part 2

so after a while of not writing and having a disastrous birthday , im here to finish my short vacation entry.

as i was saying the day after the whole family went to downtown cartagena, my father decided to go to rosario islands, theyre like 24 islands one next to the other in some cases but in others theyre quite separated.

so every travel agency that sells trips to these islands, have their own private islands where tourists can relax and have lunch for a while, after these everyones brought to another island called white beach its called like this because the sands very clear and it has crystal clear waters, it was and ok trip i didnt really wanted to go there, after spending all the entire day on this we came back by boat to cartagena and that was the day.

the two final days were spent buying stuff likie souvenirs and things like that, and that was the whole vacation not good or bad just ok, the only thing that helped for this trip to not suck was music specially the music i brought and my discman it helped me calm down or distract myself from what was going around me if i was bored or kind of depressed.

improvize a vacation part 1

well last week i wasnt in the city where i live, i was with my family in cartagena a city thats famous for history and old buildings i could say it was and improvized vacation since the one who plan it didnt asked anyone specially me if they could go in that date or anything, he just make the reservation for the whole family and left it at that.

i was kind of nervous thinking i was going to lose a week of classes, though i only go to the university twice a week, wednesday for a class on educational psychology and thursday a meeting with my thesis director to correct my thesis.

the trip started ok, though we had to wait in bogota for a while and ate lunch there, finally when we arrived in cartagena the weather was very hot and humid which was a little exasperating to be honest, after that we checked in into my dads friend apartment which was and ok place not the best but not the worst either, since there was only three beds, we had to inflate a mattress that had a pump to inflate it, we didnt go out anywhere the first day thank god, but i didnt slept too well while the others slept great.

the next day was the familys first trip to the beach i wasnt ecstatic about this to be honest, but the rest of the family was so whatever, i brought my discman and a crossword puzzle magazine to kill some time while they swam in the ocean, then it happened those anoying beach venders started coming to where me and my family were offering massages, t-shirts, sunglasses among other things.

so whenever you go to cartagena be careful of these beach venders theyre anoying and sometimes insist too much on someone to buy their product which stresses the person out, after this we had lunch in a restaurant near the place where we were staying i admit the lunch was great though as always my father was looking closely at the prices of everything everyone ate, contrary to popular belief not everyone that goes to cartagena only eats fish every freaking day at least i didnt did that.

in the third day of the trip we went to the center of the city, that day was extremely hot and humid , we walked in downtown cartagena and in the old city for a while my father bought cholados for everyone this is chopped ice with a specific flavor, everyone sat on a park bench for a while and after that we took a taxi to a supermarket to buy some grosseries for the breakfast of the next day, and finally we came back to the apartment we were staying in.

end of part 1

about colleges , lifes and decisions

well its been a while since ive writeen anything here to be honest, ive been stressed out doing my thesis thats a research about the elderly which hasnt been easy to say the least, and this past friday i got the worst news ever the place where im doing the research is moving to another city , and now i have to find another place to continue it , since the thesis is vital to graduate hopefully next year.

suffice to say my college life and journey so far hasnt been easy, its been filled with ups and downs, and sudden decisions that affect life in a way i think, maybe im wrong but its just and opinion , i started studying medicine like 11 years ago things were going well until i hit a bump in the road and had to repeat a whole semester, after that things werent the same and at the end my father took me out of that career, and asked me to choose another one quickly.

i chose psychology which im still doing right now, ive had some problems because i tend to be a loner and hang out alone, but apart from that its been ok, im thinking what will happen after i graduate, since things in the world right now arent ok, who knows, just finish what i have left and dont let myself get stressed out .

and try to to relax once in a while i guess, music helps on that a lot , thats all for now

a crossroads and life

it seems that there are times in life when we are faced with hard decisions that could help us or not, it happens all the time one could say thats life in a nutshell i guess, obviously lifes more complicated than that sometimes but other times no.

i guess when i had to choose a career after i got out of high school was a difficult moment in my life, i became anxious and started eating a lot and drinking a lot of water, after i calmed down i was able to come up with a good decision i thought at that moment, years later i think i might had been wrong.

atfer some years i started to not do as well as before in the career i chose, and my father suspicious of this went to my university and found out and gave me a long lecture on responsability and why did i lief to him about it.

after this i had to choose another career i chose psichology the one im in right now, at first i was depressed and didnt do too well then i recovered and now im one step away from graduating, if one step is another year because the university didnt let me do my professional practice this year because they thought i wasnt ready.

my thesis will be about elderly people but i wont say what specifically about them , ill do my best to do it well and great and finish this career without any worry, and yes we find crossroads and obstacles in our lifes everyday but its our job to find and choose the best path for our respective lives.

umm, here we go again

well the year started a while ago and it has been ok, for the most part like always there will be ups and downs not everything will be easy, there will always be obstacles to surpass, mistakes, problems that we learn from everyday of this path some call life.

i have been a little depressed lately thinking of all that has happened for me to be where i am right now, ive fough and struggled a bit to be able to show myself and the world that i can do anything i put my mind into , in this case graduate from my career, who knew college and life per se could seem so hard sometimes.

its been 11 years since i graduated from high school, i kind of feel bad and guilty that me being the oldest sibling i havent graduated yet, like society and family standards seem to say its the older siblings job to be and example for the rest of the siblings, this may seem easy at times but there are moments when this doesnt happen, to make things worse if you have a parent that is constantly pressuring you to advance faster than you can; you can end depressed or stressed out like it seems to happen sometimes.

ive been thinking lately that life seems routinary or planned for some people, there are exceptions to the rule that seem obvious at times, the normal path is to study a lot in your first years, then graduate first from high school then college, then get a job, and then what? some people take sabatical years to decide what theyre going to do with their life in the near future while others end up in dead end jobs and fall into stress and depression, and a small percentage of people end up doing something they love and can help others ; in todays modern world everyone seems to go at a fast pace and sometimes they dont think before they do something in general, we see people stressed out and depressed, among other social problems like poverty and violence , we see goverments try to help their country and the world, or tear their country apart from the inside.

maybe in the near future us and the future generations will help make this world a better place, if we have a good plan and work as a team so things will get done without any problem, ill try not to fall into a rut, and apart from studying doing activities that can spark my creativity and that can inspire others, ill continue writing in this blog, mainly cause i like writing it helps a lot when you need to express something and you dont know how to say it.

like i said one day lifes a hard road to walk

Favorites of the year

• Favorite albums of 2008
  well as promised here are the albums i enjoyed the most this past year, theyre not in order except the last 3 , the movie list will be up tomorrow.
• Nada Surf-Lucky(Barsuk)
  well this was a surprise for me , a band that was known for one hit song back in the 90s is making nowadays good indie rock and this album proves it worthwhile.
  
  
  Attack and Release- The black keys(Nonesuch)
  Now this is a good blues rock album, i recently got into this band and i think this is one of their best albums i may be wrong, but it may become a favorite of mine
  
  
  Mike Hale-Broken with no Hope(Asian Man)
  
  this could be called another album from a punk singer singing country, well it isnt, instead of turning in a country album like others have done mike hale delivers and acoustic album with great songs and lyrics that anyone can relate to.
  
• 
  
  
• The bronx-The bronx III(White Drugs)
• 
  

this is a late entry, another band i discovered this year not only do they have aggresive and fast songs but they also have good old rock and roll tunes too, i think this is their most coherent and best album to date.



Mock Orange- Captain Love(Wednesday records)
This record has enough twist and turns to keep you listening


Nick Cave- Dig Lazarus Dig(Anti)
i agree with what everyone saying that this is one of the best record of the year, its pretty diverse.


Bridge and Tunnel-East/West(No Idea)


debut album from this new band with and exmember of latterman, it has various standout tracks and doesnt hold down at any minute.


Scream Hello- Everything is always still happening(Red Leader)
good debut album from a band that has taken some elements from braid and texas is the reason to make their own music that sounds fresh and different.


Cheap Girls-Find me a Drink Home(Bermuda Mohawk)
this is just a good old pop record, taking cues from the smoking popes and other bands, they make a good record that you can listen to relax on and old sunday afternoon


Portman-From here to your eyes and ears(Walnut Tree Records)
this album took me by surprise its another debut album from a band that could get up kids fans might like.







The Riot Before-Fists Buried in Pockets(Say 10)
a good old folk punk record with good songs and singalong anthems

Off with their Heads-From the Bottom(No Idea)
when you think lifes been treating you down this record could help you overcome what youre thinking or feeling, a great debut album from this band



The Casting out-Go Crazy Throw Fireworks(Self released) the debut album from the new band of nathan gray from bot sets fire fame, its just a good old melodic punk record.



Frightened Rabbit-The Mignight organ fight

just a goold old indie rock record with some folk influences.
heres the top 4.

4. The Night Marchers-See you in Magic (Vagrant)
Jhon Reis and company still know how to rock, and they show it well on this debut album from his new band

3) Smoking popes-Stay Down
the popes have done it again, after and 11 year hiatus they come back with another strong album that develops and expands on the sound shown on their last album before this one called destination failure, this album has in my opinion one of the best openers in and album this year with welcome to jainesville.2) Mogwai-The Hawk is Howling/The Copyrights- Learn the Hard way(Tie)
the new mogwai record catched my attention from start to finish a good record but not good enough for the top spot, and the copyrights record was one of my most listened record of the year , good melodies and songs, though not as good as make sound still great at its own right.





1) The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride(4AD)

the best record of the year and the best in the bands career in my opinion, not only does it have great music but also good lyrics, and jhon darnielles characteristic great storytelling.
albums that might have make the list if i had listened to them a little more
Papermoons-New tales
Shearwater-Rook
The Slackers-Self medication
Less Than Jake-GNV FLA
Chuck Ragan and Austin Lucas- Bristle Ridge

Honorable Mentions
Good Luck-Into Lake Griffy
The New Frontiers-Mending
LaGrecia-On Parallels
Lasalle-Pretty World
Paint it Black-New lexicon
Polar bear Club-Sometimes things just disappear
This will destroy you-S/T
The Futureheads-This is not the world
and others.

Best Pop-Punk Album of the year
Teenage Bottlerocket-Warning device
i think this record needed a category of its own, its really good and memorable.

another awkward christmas

seems like every year christmas has become at least here where i live kind of boring, the same activities, the same concerts, the same everything.

i guess this blog entry is more like a kind of complaint than anything , so let me start by saying no one in the house likes crappy christmas music except my father, hes keen on letting everyone know that when this time of year arrives; he will always put the same crappy music and when any member of the family tries to play something remotely different he shuns the person and demands his music to be played at all times which at the end becomes boring and repetitive.

what else i dont know how to say this another way so here it goes, its traditional to do the novena at least thats how its said here that follows the journey of jesus from before he was born to the day he was born, my mother is very religious so its a obligation for her to do this the only relatively boring aspect of it is the christmas carols that are called villancicos here which are always the same and never change except if you look for something different or write it.

this christmas was spent watching movies, listening to music and that was it, the neigborhood where i live was deserted everyone was locked up in their houses spending the holiday eating christmas dinner and opening presents; me and my sister were bored almost all of the night so as i said before we watched some movies to get out of our boredom.

hope new years is different, ill make a best of 2008 list before the year ends too, ill have to think well what i put in it and try not to repeat bands or movies.