welcome back to america

what a wake up call. everything that happened on my trip back to america has pointed me into the opposite direction. first i took a taxi to the charles de gaulle airport. i got the one taxi driver who didn't accept cards. so i had to run into the airport and pull out cash in order to pay him. then he yelled at me for making him wait. then i went back into the airport. whoops wrong terminal. so i had to take a tram to the correct terminal which was a 5 minute tram ride (which wasn't too bad), and a 1/2-3/4 mile walk to the right area. then to collect my tax free, i asked the lady at security where i can do that, she said its past security. went through security and customs, which the customs in france is very very friendly. the guy who helped me told me i was beautiful, which i was very flattered since i had gotten no sleep because of going out till 8am when my flight took off at 12:40pm (i allowed myself just enough time to go back, shower, get my stuff, and get myself to the airport). so after i went through security, i went to the tax refund place. once i got there the girl working told me i needed to go back to customs where i can get my receipts stamped. so i got the run around and had to go back through security, once i got back, the tax free office was closed. so i didn't even receive any cash back. then my plane started boarding, not allowing me to get anything to eat for today. the plane ride wasn't so bad. i had an entire row of seats to myself on a very large plane, but i was surrounded by kids that were very excited about flying. shit.

getting off in houston i had to go through customs again. then as i was picking up my luggage, a customs agent comes over to me and asks to see what was in my bags. asks me all of these questions about what i purchased. maybe it was because i look like trouble compared to all the others at the airport. maybe its because i was the only asian in the airport and the side of my hair is shaved. i told him that my flight was taking off pretty soon, so he proceeds to go through all of my stuff. i was so annoyed, kind of felt violated. he ended up adding all of my receipts and charges me $77 for miscalculating how much stuff i had purchased. he didn't even explain to me what was going on. i asked the other guy who was charging my credit card why i was paying more taxes when i had already paid taxes for my purchases. he told me i need to just sign before any questions are answered. then he tells another guy to explain to me what was going on. these guys were the biggest dicks ever. getting on the plane back to san diego i got into my seat. i have an inflatable pillow that i take with me and i put it on the top of my seat just so i can get settled in, and this guy behind me asks if i can move it. wtf. it wasn't even in his way. and i wasn't even going to keep it there. can somebody just send me back to france? i hate people.

welcome home. what a perfect way to end my trip.

sadness

today is my last day in europe. i'm going to the musee d orsay. shopping shopping and more shopping. sadness. i prolly will go out again till i have my flight to catch. =(

i do look forward to seeing my friends and family.

guide to losing sleep

-book your flight for 11am
-go out until 8am
-go back to place of shelter just in time to pack up
-grab taxi at 9am to make it to the airport just in time for flight

guide to sleeping the day away

refer to instructions from "guide to missing your flight".

-rinse and repeat.
-wake up at 5:30 pm

guide to missing your flight

-first get kicked out of hotel room
-second book your flight for 6am on a sunday morning
-third stay with grace who parties like a rockstar
-fourth let her convince you to stay another night
-fifth go to multiple bars
-sixth stay out till 7:30am on sunday morning

guide to getting kicked out of hotel rooms

- wait until last possible minute to book hotel.
-perhaps as you are getting onto the airplane to destination(barcelona).
-take improper count of days staying in said destination.
-hotel was booked for 4 nights.
-travel time in destination was 1/08/08-1/13/08
-go out to multiple bars till 8am on day of check out.
-fall asleep thinking that you don't have to check out.
-recieve call from front desk telling you to leave.
-argue with front desk person, even though he or she is right.
-take count of days booked and realize you are wrong.
-make unbooked night a saturday so all rooms are filled.

thank big baby jesus, that grace is letting me stay with her.

amazing grace

she is my new bff. jorge introduced us. sort of. grace is jorge´s friend. she lives here in barcelona. he told us to meet. he´s unfortunately not here. amazing grace took me out last night. we ended up going to like 3 bars. stayed out till 5 or 6. i´m finally getting out of the hotel right now and it´s 3 pm. we are going to the mies van der rohe pavillion and posiibly the sagra familia by gaudi. and lunch